#his quest to help others and make their lives better even he believes his cannot be

[trashlie]

Love revisiting things with all the new context we get over and over and just really let it all wash over. The theories this episode created were so deeply sad and tragic - and not wrong. Thought we don't know in this exact moment what he meant by spending time with her, the ominous insinuation in "I hope [I see her again soon]" is painful.

And we can't forget Dieter laying back his head like Nol and telling him it felt like drowning, after reading 170. Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I know these have come up before, but I just like rereading and taking screenshots for myself to mull over like this lol Nol was in such a dark place when he first met Dieter, and to be fair, he's always been in that dark place, but it felt especially so in Dieter's flashback.

Also, spoiler for FP 232

Knowing that the name Yeonggi came from someone who gave him comfort when he was locked away makes the fact that he uses that moniker in the same way - to help others, to provide some comfort - just really GETS to me ;_____; I'm too emotional to deal with this ;A;

[astarionancuntnin]

listen, obviously i love astarion for multiple reasons, but ironically when i first started the game i wasnt interested in him, at all. i was fully commited to finding karlach and dating her bc of what i had seen online about her. i had barely heard or seen anything about him other than him being "the flirty vampire" and i was like eh okay

i ended up keeping him in my party cause his remarks were hilarious and i really vibed with his energy. and then he started opening up and you get to see how the whole overconfidence and flirting was an act, he starts talking about cazador and what he went through and how determinate he is to take him down. he keeps mentioning how he cannot wait to get rid of his master and how satisfied hes going to be, and hes smiling just thinking about it

then we learn about the ritual and theres this sudden spark in him, hes convinced that its the answer to his problems, he gets tunnel vision on the ritual, and if you romance him he also thinks its the only way he can assure not only his own safety, but also yours.

and when you finally win the fight, you have to save him from himself. hes desperate, completely blinded by the power he could potentially have. if he has this power, hes never going to be vulnerable, no one will abuse him ever again.

he is willing to lose himself to make sure he never gets hurt like this. even with high approval, if you dont succeed a persuasion roll or refuse to help him, he either turns against you or leaves your party. in his eyes, at this moment, you are the one who turned against him.

if you suceed the persuasion roll, he agrees that he can be better than cazador, and before stabbing him repeatedly, mentions (again) how hes going to enjoy this

only to break down right after. even though its something hes been wanting to do for centuries, all the suffering hes been through came crumbling down after it was done. cazador is dead, hes the one who killed him, he finally got his revenge, and yet he feels this emptiness.

its done, why do i not feel better?

if you saved him, he talks to you later and admits how he wasn't himself, how thankful he is that you helped him out and most of all, you believed in him. you saved him by believing he could be more than what he saw in himself.

if you talk to him after completing dame aylin's quest in act 3 (after killing cazador), he mentions how he expected her to rejoice after defeating yet another person who intended to enslave her, but shes just tired. hes comparing her reaction to his own experience after freeing himself from his abuser

and after karlach's reaction to killing gortash, he brings up the fact that theres "no justice in this world". contrary to what he believed earlier in the game, its not only him thats been wronged for several years. even though in the end they all got to get rid of the people who ruined their lives, they are still hurting.

hes realising that killing your abuser, although it seemed like the simple, satisying solution of finally having your revenge from years of trauma, might free you, but it will not fix you. they're dead, but you still have to live with what they've done to you.

he is my roman empire

[eleanor-bradstreet]

PLEASE TELL ME ANY THOUGHTS YOU HAVE ABOUT ANTOPHIE!!!

Hello my friend!

How kind of you to indulge a dive into my dirty rare-pair ship 😅 Maybe I'm not the only one - I haven't gone poking around AO3 for this stuff to be fair. I completely understand the sacrilege of casting aside both Benedict and Kate, I love them so.

But there's just something about Anthony and Sophie...

(prepare thyself for a tome)

My head canon fascination with them honestly centers around their in-law relationship. I cannot help but believe that even after Sophie marries Benedict with the family's support, she has an intense feeling of inferiority and imposter syndrome around Anthony. He's a titled man and she has NEVER had good experiences with their kind before. She would likely believe that Anthony barely permitted her scandalous marriage to his brother and merely tolerates her - probably looking down on her, ashamed of her, aggravated by having to keep the secret of her true background from the ton, and even suspicious of her honest attachment to Benedict. Anthony may think she was a conniving seducer who latched onto his brother for money and protection rather than love. I would understand Sophie having any combination of these thoughts when she first becomes acquainted with Anthony.

But in reality, Anthony has learned through his own marriage not to judge books by their covers AND to respect his siblings' quests for love and happiness. When Anthony learns about the way Sophie was mistreated by her father, stepmother, the Cavenders, god knows what other abusive employers, he is offended and indignant on her behalf. He's a man of genuine principle and is disgusted to learn how his fellow members of the ton treated a servant, and one who turned out was half-noble and abandoned by her shameful father. Anthony would actually feel compelled to make it up to Sophie on behalf of the ton, to show her that not all of them are cruel. I believe he would most definitely be suspicious of Sophie's intentions and Benedict's flighty proclamations of love at the beginning, and probably felt the migraine coming on about having to deal with his brother's scandalous marriage outside their rank, BUT once he witnessed the genuine expressions of love between the pair, and once he realized he could lose Benedict to ostracization and even moving abroad if he did not help support the marriage and hide Sophie's background, he would be fully committed to protecting the couple. Because Benedict is his closest brother, he loves him, and by extension he will protect Benedict's wife, particularly as she proves to him time and time again that she is a kind-hearted woman with fierce morals who has more in common with him than they each realize.

I envision Anthony will keep Benedict as his closest brother and confidant throughout their lives and thus, the Fab Four of Kanthony and Benophie will have a lot of quality time together. Picture it: Anthony the beleaguered leader, Kate the sassy spitfire, Benedict the flouncing romantic and Sophie the fearless brains of the bunch. She and Anthony will both come to realize that they share a head for numbers. This is canon about Sophie in the books. Sophie will actually be better than Benedict at handling the household accounts when Kanthony need coverage, and Anthony will learn to depend on her counsel for business and paperwork. She also provides the unique perspective of having been household staff herself, which is invaluable to him to make sure he is managing everything with sensitivity and maximum benefit to all. They will also have plenty to commiserate about as they both spend a good deal of time trying to keep Benedict's artistic, romantic feet on the ground. Anthony can give Sophie tips on how to handle his brother, and Sophie can help Anthony navigate any struggles with Kate by providing a woman's perspective.

Not to diminish Kate's painful family history, but the characterizations from the books paint Anthony and Sophie as having suffered much more in their pasts than Kate and Benedict. Anthony was saddled with the weight of title and responsibility due to his birth and traumatized by the death of his father. Sophie was saddled with the weight of shame and toil due to her birth and traumatized by being abused and devalued after her father died. Both of them clawed their way past their trauma and into their happily ever afters through determination, strength of character and self-reliance. They both learned to breathe and enjoy the brighter side of life once they found their spouses. But their spouses are unlikely to empathize with them on these struggles in the way they can empathize with each other.

While Sophie double checks Anthony's calculations in the ledger and Anthony helps Sophie hide Benedict's paint supplies, they will develop a deep and loving familial bond. Seemingly an odd pair - one raised a viscount and one raised a bastard maid - they have so much more in common than they know. I also head canoned a cute shared love of Marzipan in a little fic.

In Anthony, Sophie finds the brother/father figure she never had, a kind titled gentleman who uses his power to protect her rather than scorn her. In Sophie, Anthony finds someone with a refreshingly different perspective; someone who does not hold him to the same level of expectation as the rest of the ton and who does not come to him with the emotional baggage of his blood relatives. She treats him as a person before she treats him as a viscount. He views her as a sister before he views her as a bastard. She is grateful to him for welcoming her into his family and shielding her from her past. He is grateful to her for seeing his better qualities before his flaws, and for taking such good care of his beloved brother. They look behind the pain and strife of their life circumstances to see each other as somewhat kindred souls. They learn from each other, they help each other and they love each other. This is what I dream about for them.

And yeah, as mentioned, I plunged into the depths of my angst bucket and wrote a bit of a fic where they are middle-aged and both Kate and Benedict have passed away. Sophie moves in with Anthony for mutual support and child-rearing responsibilities and after years of grieving together, their existing bedrock of love bubbles into passion and they find a second, gentler, quiet happily ever after together. The title is Some Kind of Love and I will likely never finish it. But the first chapter is written and I've thought of floating it out there as an angsty little one shot. Perhaps someday.

Hope that satisfies your curiosity 😅 told you it would be a dickens! Always happy to talk about Antophie, my beloved rare-pair. 💙

[heaven-s-black-box]

Reason- Ensemble & Dan Feng's child!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: April 20th, 2024

Description: Hello. I'm sorry if this is sudden but I was wondering if you took story requests and if you do, could you please make a platonic Dan Heng story with the reader being the child of his previous incarnation Dan Feng by using his own DNA along with a normal woman's, the reader's existence was kept top secret and no one really suspected anything because the readers appearance was more human than Vidyadhara, and they were only a baby when everything happened so they didn't really get the chance to know their father. I was also kind of inspired by the 1.5 quest with the heliobi and the reader goes through a similar situation to Bailu but the team saw some of the reader's childhood memories which weren't the happiest.

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions. I definitely didn't forget about the Dan Heng part of this story... nope. I still like how this came out though, and if you'd like you can request a part two. Prequel is here. Alternate here.

Word count: 1 273

Back to directory

Caelus was a little surprised to get a message from the general, asking the ghost hunting squad to meet him at a certain address. For one, the general was giving them free reign with the Helobi situation, secondly if there was an issue he would surely post on teh forum, and lastly Caelus didn’t recognize the location.

Preparing for a trap, the squad arrived at the location. It was a private residential area that Sushang led them to. The trailblazer knocked on the door as the other three anxiously waited behind him. Huohuo kept looking round for an ambush, while Sushang held her sword tightly and Guinaifen stayed close behind him.

Jing Yuan opened the door with a tired smile and ushered them in. He took them to a living room with tea and sat them down.

“I need your help.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, general,” Guinaifen asked, “why didn’t you just make a post?”

“Ah, well, this mission is a bit more sensitive and cannot be reported on, even if you twist the truth in your post.”

“Is it about Y/n?” Huohuo asks.

The other three ghost hunters turn to her in confusion as she slaps a hand over her mouth.

“Yes. I believe they’ve been possessed.”

“Who’s Y/n?”

Jing Yuan shifted awkwardly, clearing his throat and taking a sip of his tea. Huohuo also hid behind her cup, avoiding everyone else’s gaze as they looked between the two.

“Everything I’m about to tell you,” Jing Yuan sighed, setting down his cup, “is incredibly confidential, and the only reason I’m sharing this is because I believe it will help you save them.”

---

This Helobi dimension was… nice, oddly so. All of the other Helobi dimensions were dark and gray, with a blue tint from the lights. It was eerie, as expected. So this was even more unsettling.

Everything was bright and colorful; they were in a garden on a bright sunny day.

“Isn’t this… I feel like I’ve seen this place before,” Shushang mumbled as they looked around.

“I have made my decisions,” Jing Yuan’s stern voice boomed across the garden.

The four rounded a high section of bamboo to find Jing Yuan standing in front of a few Vidyahara’s. They all seemed on edge, the Vidyahara’s were scowling and the general’s shoulders were clearly raised.

Cautiously, the ghost hunters shuffled around to get a better view.

“That’s Y/n,” Huohuo whispered, pointing at a young child Jing Yuan had pressed against him.

The child’s ears were covered by Jing Yuan as the elders tried to convince the general to hand them over.

“I will not allow you to punish them for the sins of their father,” the general practically growled, being careful not to raise his voice.

He’d tried sending them off, but the elders had gotten in his way. So instead he was using his body to shield them as much as possible.

Y/n turned their head and noticed the group of ghost hunters. Their eyes widened and they buried themself closer to Jing Yuan.

“They should not even exist!” One of the elders yelled.

Jing Yuan gnawed at the inside of his cheek. He was in no position to argue with them about that, it was a matter of the Vidyadhara culture after all. Dan Feng had always been one to help others, and so when someone had approached him about the viability of a Vidyadhar/Xianzhou native hybrid for interspecies couples, he’d been open to the idea. He was the high elder, it was his responsibility to make decisions in the best interest of the Vidyadhara and the relationship with the Xianzhou.

The first test was not supposed to work nearly as well as it did, a human embryo with Vidyadhara DNA should not have developed as well as it did, but it did.

Their gestation period was nearly as long as a Vidyadhara rebirth cycle, out running both the scientist’s life and Dan Feng’s.

“We should have terminated this experiment after Dan Feng’s execution!”

“I will not comment on the cultural significance of this, however I will not allow you to speak about my charge like that, much less in front of them!”

A quiet sniff came from in front of him.”

“What do we do?” Guinaifen asked. “We’ve never been in someone’s memories before.”

“This isn’t their memories,” Huohuo whispered back, “this is just an illusion created by the Heliobus.”

Caelus stepped forward, catching Y/n attention. Their eyes were red and teary as they sniffed and hiccuped, clingy to Jing Yuan. No one else seemed to notice him, so he stepped forward again.

That caught the attention of the Vidyadhara who snapped their gaze towards him. He shifted his grip on his bat, ready for a fight, but the elders turned to Y/n instead.

“I mean really, why are you even alive?”

“I don’t…” a soft voice spoke up, muffled by Jing Yuan’s uniform. “I don’t know.”

“Why do you need a reason to live?” Caelus asked.

“You’re just a burden. Most of your kind doesn’t even know you exist, and those that do hate you. You’ll never be a regular Xianzhou native. You will outlive everyone you lov-”

Caelus slammed his bat into the elders head, cutting him off.

The man stumbled back before turning back into a Heliobus as the other illusions disappeared in blue wisps. Around them the garden turned into a dark street on the Luofu. Shushang grabbed the small Y/n and brought them back to the other two as they continued quietly sobbing while Caelus captured the Heliobus.

“I-It’s okay,” Huohuo tried to comfort them, her own eyes welling with tears.

Guinaifen pulled them into a tight hug, letting the young hybrid sob into the performer's shoulder.

“Hey,” Caelus called softly.

He crouched down to Y/n’s level as they hiccuped and sniffled, pulling slightly away from Guinaifen. The trailblazer handed the captured Helobus to Huohuo, then turned his attention to the frightened child.

“Y/n, right?”

They nodded, rubbing the tears from their eyes. Caelus grabbed their hand and used the hem of his shirt to dry their tears.

“It’s scary not knowing anything about yourself, isn’t it?”

“Ye-yes,” they hiccuped.

“You didn’t answer my question before. Why do you need a reason to live?”

“Because… I just do.”

“Then, how about we pick something?”

The world around them began to disintegrate without the Helobus free.

“How about…”

---

“Dan Heng?” Caelus called, knocking on the archive door.

“Come in.”

Caleus slid the door open, and the man looked up from his computer. Standing in his doorway was not Caelus but rather an unfamiliar child who looked to be a similar age to Yanqing. The kid shifted awkwardly, looking back at Caelus who gently nudged them forward.

Dan Heng turned his chair around and made his way over, causing Y/n to press themself back against Caelus. He stopped.

“You must be Y/n.”

“Yes sir.”

Y/n’s hand twisted their sleeve awkwardly as Dan Heng extended a hand. They hesitantly took it.

“Would you like to look through the archives? I could use some help filling in the information about the Luofu.”

They looked back at Caelus who shrugged, then turned to Dan Heng.

“Okay.” They stepped towards the younger man and followed him towards the computer. “Are you…” Dan Heng stopped flipping through the archive. “Are you my dad?”

“No, but,” he looked thoughtful for a moment, “I could be your brother?”

A wide grin spread across their face as they nodded happily. “Yes please!”

How about we find some answers?

[linguist-in-a-blanket]

I saw so many BBC Ghosts fans here trashing the American version that I finally gave up and watched the original.

Well, thanks, I hate it.

Some of the plots were more amusing, yes. I personally liked how the sister story played off. I mean, when in American version we see Jo from Mythic Quest show up with that "nice" smile for one episode, we know what's up from the first second. When it's a seemingly genuine woman who has a couple of episodes to actually earn Alison's and our trust, it's much better. I also liked most of the ones that didn't make it into the remake.

But the core of this premise is characters. And British characters... They're just bad, I'm sorry, they're bad. They are all one note! There is no arc for anybody! Even the most annoying one, Thomas! His whole thing is that he doesn't know what boundaries or consent are, and this goes on for five seasons! Come on, man! Trevor in the American version has charisma, and he comes a long way in just 2 and half seasons we've seen him. This all really makes up for him being a huge jerk: at least he's a lovable jerk, plus he changes. Julian is not lovable at all, Thomas never changes, he's the same since episode 1 till the finale one. Why should we care about two one-note jerks? Flower has a lot about herself aside from being not-all-here: sex-drive, pacifism, commitment issues, basketball, backstories about at least three close people from her life (two boyfriends and brother)... Kitty is just a stupid cutie who is not-all-here, nothing else.

And this drives me to my next point. Such one-note characters without any development simply cannot have a deep connection. Nobody likes each other in this show. I've seen a lot of takes that American ghosts and Sam are friends, while British ghosts and Alison are family. Well, if you mean an abusive family that you can't get away from, that never gives you any good feelings, sure. But do we really need that? Whom of the ghosts does Alison actually like? She hates Thomas and Fanny (never has this realization about her unrealized motherly feelings, and Fanny herself never realizes why she is like she is and how she can change), she doesn't understand Robin (after spending a day with him and learning what he knows, she just gives him to Fanny as a pet), at the very best she pities Kitty. The only one who actually likes Alison as a person is Kitty, but she has her own projections, she is like a duckling who saw the first person near them and said "mommy". She's actually not much better than Thomas in that way, same level of neediness and clinginess, just more lovable than him, and it's not sexual harrassment, more... platonic harrassment? Yay?..

By the way, Alison also doesn't change. Whenever she sees a new ghost in a new place, she is creeped out. This was okay in the beginning, but after living in a house with 9+ ghosts for a couple of years, she is still creeped out by others! Oh, I'm so sorry for your inconvenience, mam, this guy just, you know, didn't have anybody to see him or talk to him in a couple of centuries, but no, no big deal, sure. Sam is fascinated by her gift, she is always happy to explore and talk to new ghosts, Alison just finds it weird and unsettling, even after, what, five years? Girl, you are a fucking superhero! Talk to the invisible people, damn you!

Sure, it could be about not being able to change, especially after you're dead, but then... why? Why should we look at bad people who stay bad, and most importantly, why should we look at them for five seasons?

When Alison weighed pros and cons for staying, she put "ghosts" in both columns. I'm sorry, but why? We almost never see her enjoying their company, almost never see the ghosts helping her (which is petty, but when American ghosts did this for Sam a couple of first times, that's when she warmed up to them)... They are always an incovenience for Alison. Never do they respect any boundaries, all they can do is do one big gesture (song, dance, theater) and move on to being annoying and needy. Never can they hear "no", never can they respect what she asks of them.

Sam says a lot of times she can't leave the ghosts, and I believe her. Even Jay loves the American ghosts! Sam has this whole group of friends and enjoys their company. They all have connections with each other and with the livings. British don't, they move in a pack and look for somebody to annoy, be that Alison or that poor neighbor ghost.

[nexyra]

Just wanted to pass by to tell you that I loved your analysis of Neuvillette's type on PDB! Full disclosure, my opinion is subject to intense bias since I'm an ISTP myself (~90% certainty) however I hope this is at least some validation for your part. It's amusing since his behaviors are significantly different from mine, and yet his words all 'make sense', for lack of a better word. Contrast to Wriothesley, who elicits a 'well he's right, buuuut...' feeling. Difficult to describe in 500 charas.

Hello kind stranger ! This was a very unexpected ask i'll say, even though I suppose my username IS exactly the same on PDB as it is here, making me quite easy to find in practice haha

I'm really happy my comment made sense to you ! Even now, I still firmly believe everything I wrote, and particularly that Neuvillette is a high Ti user. I don't know if you've read it, but I think there's another very good example of his Ti in his character story 5; when he describes his opinion on constellation and "fate"

One as great as he should have no need for a constellation to shine over him. After all, "fate" is merely the manner in which the present ruler of this world plays with living beings. Now that he has obtained one part of seven of the authority over the mortal realm, and reforged the throne and title of a "Fully Fledged Dragon," he is one strong enough to equal and rival "the human realm," and logic would dictate that he need not subscribe to this system known as "fate."

I think this is another good example that, at the end of the day, Neuvillette's thinking process is closer to Ti than it is to Te. There is a lot of "If Y, then logically following from this premise we can conclude X" when we're actually given the opportunity to delve into his mind. Pierce made the distinction between Ti & Te this way:

→ « Introverted Thinking — judgement based on what is subjectively denoted; i.e. a priori analysis; e.g. “If you accept my definition of 'murderer', then you must conclude with me that Colonel Mustard is one.” »

→ Extraverted Thinking — judgement based on what is objectively denoted; i.e. empirical science; e.g. “We all see the evidence (bloody hands, scene of the crime, etc.) therefore, we must all conclude that Colonel Mustard is Mr. Body's murderer.”

And I think that if we look at how Neuvillette thinks "for himself", beyond his role of judge where he is supposed to follow the laws, he really does fit the former more. Another example I developed somewhere else on his page that even Vautrain's trial shows this tendency imo ! Forgive me for this copy-past and ramble haha, this was in answer to someone asking how exactly Neuvillette could be "impartial" but have a subjective function as dominant, & my answer went like this:

This impartiality & "objectivity" while being subjective is further shown in his story quest. Despite Vautrain being one of the people he is closest to, he does not treat him differently from others in the court. but his judgment is still subjective, as evidenced by the ease with which he considers "different kinds of justice" during the trial. Te users, due to their "inherent" objectivity, often think that everyone with the same information should come to the same objective conclusion, while Ji users do not. Pierce described… Te : “We all see the evidence (bloody hands, scene of the crime, etc.) therefore, we must all conclude that Colonel Mustard is Mr. Body's murderer.” Ti : “If you accept my definition of 'murderer', then you must conclude with me that Colonel Mustard is one.” The way Neuvillette approaches that trial shows that for him, laws are simply a "definition", a logical premise from which a logical conclusion follow in the context of a trial.

Neuvillette: I acknowledge your arguments. Vautrin, your revenge could be seen as a form of justice. Neuvillette: I understand your decision. Which is why I cannot help but feel regret… and even grief about the judgment I must now impose. Neuvillette: However, personal justice does not equate to justice as defined by the law. To execute your plan for revenge, you abused your authority and conducted informal executions. Your actions have thus violated the law. Neuvillette: Therefore, you will be declared… guilty.

Neuvillette personally understands Vautrain's actions, and even "agrees" that depending on your definition of justice, his actions can be seen as just and right. However as the chief's justice, his job is to follow the established laws. And the way he describes that decision is how we can see the use of Ti despite his "following of the laws". Because the way it describes it pretty much echoes the colonel Mustard example. -> Personal justice does not equate justice as defined by the law. If we can agree that this court judges whether actions are just or not depending on whether they follow the law, then we can see that your actions have violated it. This makes Vautrain, according to the law, guilty. This is basically what Neuvillette says, in subtext. And he stays impartial by holding strong to these kind of decisions despite personal feelings on the matter. It's his job, so he follows the rules of his job. What he personally thinks and how he takes decision outside of it though is a whole other matter.

I feel like Genshin has become much less stereotypical & much more interesting in his character writing as of late so Neuvillette is very dear to my heart on that subject ! And he's, as you implied, a very good reminder that MBTI is first and foremost a system that deals with COGNITION and not behaviour. Thus it is how a character thinks, and not its actions, that should be examined to determine his MBTI type. Thank you again for taking the time to tell me here what you thought of my argument, it was unexpected but very much welcome <3 Hope these additions also make sense to you !

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 26

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “They’ll never slip past me again.” Number 26 is…Lock-Up.

While many of the great villains who appeared in “Batman: The Animated Series” – and, indeed, throughout the DCAU in general – were taken from the comics, there were quite a few baddies that were original to this universe. Some of these villains became so popular, they later were adopted into the comics themselves. Harley Quinn is, by far, the most well-known example of this, but she’s far from the only one: case in point, Lyle Bolton, a.k.a. Lock-Up. In his titular episode, Bolton is introduced as a recent new Chief of Security at Arkham Asylum. He gets his job done well: breakouts and other disasters in this home of the criminally insane have become increasingly rare. HOWEVER, after apprehending a recently-escaped Scarecrow one night, Batman & Robin soon realize that Bolton’s success is coming at a dangerous cost. At an inquest into his time as head of security, the inmates are at first too scared of confessing their fears…but finally, when Bruce Wayne suggests perhaps Bolton should stay on the staff for a while longer, they break their silence. It’s revealed that Bolton violently abuses the inmates, even threatens their very lives, whether they’ve done anything wrong or not. Enraged, Bolton tries to attack those who have singled him out…but is restrained and kicked out of Arkham, terminated immediately. Before leaving, Bolton makes a point that, before his arrival, Arkham was a revolving door for many of the worst people Gotham City has to offer. His methods, brutal and wicked as they might have been, kept the rest of the city safe. Upon being fired, Bolton decides to seek revenge on the ones he believes are TRULY responsible for all the chaos he’s tried to keep contained: “the gutless police, mindless bureaucrats, and coddling doctors.” He thus becomes the supervillain Lock-Up, hoping to bring his own brand of justice to Gotham City. Lock-Up is a great villain – and his episode a great story – because it taps into a fundamental question about superheroes, one which has been brought up many times, perhaps ESPECIALLY in the world of Batman: how far can one really bend or even break the law before they step over the line from hero to villain? Bolton is not someone who seeks power or money, but rather sees what he does as something that SHOULD be done: in his mind, he’s just helping to keep Gotham safe. Batman, of course, will take extreme measures (not AS extreme, but still beyond the norm) towards the same basic goal, and can be quite violent on his own terms. The difference, however, is that Bruce recognizes the value of human life: even when people are terrible, horrible people, they are still human beings, and considering the ones Bolton targets are also people who are mentally deranged, and are supposed to be on a path to rehabilitation rather than simple punishment, he cannot allow Lock-Up to do what he does. He certainly can’t allow it once Bolton decides to go after other people who, really, are not responsible for any great wrongdoing. In a way, I feel like Bolton is a great example of who and what Batman should NEVER be: Lock-Up is more interested in punishing wickedness, and takes sadistic pleasure in what he does. He is a cruel person at heart, despite his preaching of wanting to do what is just and right. Bruce is the opposite, and always should be: underneath his dark demeanor, past all the punches and kicks, he wants to help people find a better life, no matter who they are, something which the series touches on several times. Lock-Up is a nightmare vision of who Batman could have been, if he had not retained some semblance of humanity in his quest to avenge his parents’ murder; we don’t know why Bolton is the way he is, but I’m certainly glad Bruce didn’t end up the same way.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 25! Hint: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet the great Batman! He’s here because he hasn’t got a clue!”

[matrotas-muse-hub]

Potential Muses - Part Two

Continued from here, same deal as before. I’ve listed eight more muses below the cut, muses which are not officially part of this blog but may end up on here at some point. If there’s any interest in knowing more about them or starting a thread, hmu!

Lionel / Guardian - Lionel was originally a tool - nothing but a shield for a faction called V’aarn Athil, a radical sect of psychics who fought the void’s encroachment on the material plane. After his base was wiped out, he lost his memory and was found by a farmer. When he instinctually used his psychic powers to heal the farmer during a prayer, the farmer mistakenly assumed Lionel had been blessed by the god of light, and had become a paladin. Lionel, not knowing any better, became a follower of the light god. He travels the world seeking to help others using psychic powers he believes to be divine.

Ren’dalar Eventide (art by filibusterfrog​) - A shadar-kai swiftblade who died trying to stop a mad wizard from completing an ascension ritual to transform himself into a dragon. The ritual went haywire, trapping the mad wizard - now a dragon - and Ren’dalar in an endless cycle of reincarnation. The two have been fighting and killing one another for thousands of years.

Rob Wylde - A human sellsword who spent many years as a bandit. After killing some adventurers in a brutal conflict alongside the remnants of his old band, Rob, the sole survivor, finished the adventurer’s contract in hopes to cash in on their quest. He was scouted by some other adventurers when he showed up at the guild and, with no bandit troupe to return to, he decided to try the life of a “legal” mercenary.

Sir Rowan Adelard - A knight by social class alone, Sir Rowan Adelard is a skilled warrior who uses feints and sleight of hand to get the upper hand in combat, a man with little aversion to “fighting dirty.” He is a staunch defender of the people, and some rumors say he even has ties to a rogueish syndicate. But that would be preposterous, seeing how he’s a knight and all!

Theran Stryker - Son of the famed hero Scout Stryker, Theran has always lived in his fathers’ shadow. He grew up on the road, never having a stable home and never knowing his mother who died giving birth to him. Forced to learn the ways of the warrior from a living legend of a father, Theran fell short, unable to match up to his dad. After failing a particularly important mission, his father decided Theran needs to travel alone, as he cannot accompany him forever. While his father saw this as a push towards independence, Theran saw it as a betrayal, as if he had been disowned.

Vaelin Goldenbrow - Vaelin is a high elf scholar who taught at a rather diverse school for people from all over the world. After his only daughter marries a human, Vaelin fears for her happiness as she is bound to far outlive him. Wanting his daughter’s marriage to be a long and happy one, Vaelin sets out on a journey to unlock the secrets of chronomancy - looking for a way to make his new son-in-law age much, much slower.

Vivian Song - Vivian, or Vi (pronounced “vee”) as some of her friends call her, is a narcoleptic noblewoman. Frail since birth, she is visited by a god in her dreams who promises her health in exchange for her worship. She accepts, finding herself slowly becoming more physically fit. Once she feels confident, Vivian steals some armor from her family’s storehouse and runs away, hoping to make good use of the divine magic she’s now acquired. She dreams of getting rich quick and retiring, sleeping all day in a comfy bed with servants to bring her food and tend to her needs.

Willow Belvari - Willow is a priestess, a holy woman known for having an interest in scholarly pursuits. What people don’t know is that she is in fact a void fanatic, obsessed with eldritch knowledge that would break the mind of a lesser mortal. She dreams of joining the horrors who lurk beyond the stars - not as a servant, but as an equal.

[discordiansamba]

zuko does not so much as react to him.

katara and the others had warned him it was bad- but he had held out an optimistic hope that his face, if nothing else, might stir something within his nephew. what he got instead was a stranger wearing his nephew's face, who only recognized his name and title- and not the person behind him.

iroh wanted to hate him.

he finds that he cannot. however changed he might be, lee was still his nephew. iroh could never bring himself to do so.

he wishes, iroh thought, that he had found them a job a bit more suited to zuko. his nephew had always balked at being a tea server- even when he'd tried to like it for iroh's sake. then perhaps his nephew would not have spent the past several months trapped in the life of a middle ring tea server, oblivious to his own identity.

iroh speaks to the boy. lee remains polite and respectful throughout their conversation, keenly aware of a class difference that did not actually exist between them. iroh carefully inquires about his scar- and lee's hand strays towards it, much like zuko's always would whenever someone brought him up. it was an accident, he tells him. a house fire. he'd lost his mother in it.

iroh apologizes. it is hard not to, when his nephew so thoroughly believes in the false life he has been given. lee shakes his head and tells him that it happened a long time ago. he used to be afraid of fire for years, but he has slowly been getting over it.

(zuko had been afraid of fire for months, after the agni kai.)

iroh reaches the limit of what he can handle, and releases the young man to his duties. he gives him another bow, before he joins the other servants. he blends in with them, nearly indistinguishable. when the party wraps up, and they depart, iroh lets out a long, shuddering breath.

the avatar and his friends ask if he's okay.

he is very much not. he is relieved to see that his nephew is alive- if you can call having your entire identity stolen from you living. his nephew, he thinks, likely does not see it that way- if anything, he seems happy. it makes sense, he supposes- he is no longer prince zuko of the fire nation, the banished son of fire lord ozai, sent on an impossible quest to find the avatar. his burn is not from the cruel hand of a father, but merely a tragic accident.

lee has his own family. his own friends. his own life.

but he is not zuko.

he looks to katara. they must do something about this. he already knows it will not be an easy task- and he knows that you owe zuko nothing. but please. help him. bring zuko back to me.

katara nods. she always intended to help- but they all agree he'll never get better as long as he stays in ba sing se. they'll need to find some way to convince him to leave. something tells them he will not simply believe it if they say he's been brainwashed.

sokka suggests he hire zuko as a tea server for the caldera.

iroh rejects the idea. zuko's pride would not allow it- and he could never do that to his nephew. they will have to think of something else. if at all possible, he would rather he come willingly. but if they must take him by force...

...then iroh is prepared for the young man who wears his nephew's face to hate him.

still thinking about the brainwashing au sorry. i truly love putting my guy in situations. sometimes these situations are horrifying.

because. the gaang does have to tell iroh eventually. it goes over as well as you'd expect. at this point they've collectively visited the tea shop several times now, each time gathering more information about 'lee'. they learn he doesn't think he has an uncle, so iroh's likely been erased entirely from his memory too. the gaang naively assumes that lee's 'father' is just someone else who was brainwashed.

iroh goes to ba sing se himself.

alas, he is the fire lord now. he cannot exactly visit a tea shop in the middle ring by himself. it would draw undue attention towards zuko- it is not so impossible that opponents of iroh's might be able to figure out his identity, and use him as a hostage. in his current state, zuko is unlikely to put up much of a fight.

but iroh does have a trick up his sleeve. it's quite the familiar one. iroh arranges with king kuei to have a certain tea shop provide refreshments for a small gathering he is having with the avatar and his friends. the owner is honored to accept- and naturally, she brings lee. he is the best tea server she has ever had.

lee wears his best clothes, and accompanies the owner and a few other members of the staff to the earth palace. he is nervous all the while. being able to serve tea to the earth king's personal guests is a great honor- even if most of those personal guests seem to have begun using the tea shop as a hangout space.

he passes through the gates, and wonders at the feeling of deja-vu it brings. he quickly puts it from his mind and sets to work. the only thought in his mind is that he has to do the owner proud today. they are introduced to their guests, and zuko bows- low and respectful. the avatar and his friends always tell him that he doesn't need to do that, but he continues to do so anyways.

all the more so because the new fire lord is also here.

lee looks up at the man- and can't help but notice that he is staring at him. lee feels his hand twitch, and is grateful it is hidden underneath the sleeve of his robes. he collects himself and sets to serving tea, determined to be as unobtrusive as possible. a servant like himself should be invisible to those above him.

but the fire lord smiles, and asks him if he will not share a cup of tea with him. he would like to get to know the people of the great city of ba sing se. he does not get many chances to speak to people who are not nobility, you see. and if he is being honest, you remind him a bit of his nephew, young man.

oh. he... supposes he might understand the fire lord's interest, then. everyone knows that prince zuko went missing during the war. many think he's dead- likely killed by his sister. lee gathers himself and sits across from the fire lord- but not before giving him another deep, respectful bow.

"i am honored for this opportunity," he tells him, "-please. let me pour the tea."

he begins before the fire lord can stop him. he is not certain why he is so sure the man will, if given the chance. he pours them both a cup of ginseng- he knows it is the fire lord's favorite. he drinks from it with a considering look, and praises the tea maker responsible for the blend.

the fire lord asks if he likes tea.

lee blinks. there's that question again.

of course, he tells him. he does work in a tea shop, after all. he is especially fond of jasmine tea. it's always been his favorite.

[mrs-gauche]

Can we please take a moment to talk about this scene?

Because this little scene right here has to be, at least to me personally, the most important moment in Solas' character development and maybe, what could even be the biggest hint at his own fate in DA4.

This dialogue marks his turning point. Quite literally.

Allow me to elaborate. But be warned, this got looong. 😶

(For the sake of making this post, I put the romance/friend dialogue together in the audio, because I think some of these lines are actually way more telling than just the romance options.)

After Wisdom's death, Solas leaves. He mourns in solitude. A loss that reminded and confirmed him in his worst believes of the waking world. He contemplates to leave altogether. But then he doesn't. He comes back.

"I could hardly abandon you now. How can I make this world better if I did not stay to help?"

As opposed to the low approval path, where his personal quest won't even trigger if you didn't have enough approval at this point because then he won't even bother to ask you for help.

But if you choose to help him instead, if you are willing to consider his friend a living being worth saving despite the reveal of its nature, regardless of whether you killed Wisdom in the attempt to save it or managed to break the binding.. He comes back, not only to help saving the world, but he comes back because of the Inquisitor. (I'll get back to this later.)

"It hurts. It always does."

Think about this line for a second. In the span of a thousand years, how many times do you think did Solas have to witness the corruption of a spirit? To helplessly watch from the Fade as his friends were drawn to the waking world, either forced, or to see them "wish to join the living", only to be turned into abominations, be killed and never return?

Only in this instance, it was the first time he could face the people responsible on the other side of the Veil. He's able to confront them, not through a dream but in person and for the first time, has the opportunity to physically punish them for it. To burn them alive is the first impulse of a pain that had been building up for literal ages.

"What happens when a spirit dies?"

Solas then goes on to explain and yet again for the first time, we get to hear about the death of a spirit from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. I will rephrase another post here that I made on this topic some time ago.

Because what he’s describing here, is what I believe could be Solas' own fate.

One of the most popular theories assumes that Solas was once a spirit that was given a body against his will, forced to act against his original purpose, just like what happened to Wisdom in his personal quest, ultimately becoming Pride, hence his name.

Additionally, thanks to Cole's comments in Trespasser and even more significantly now Tevinter Nights, we can assume that Pride was not his first name. In TN, the Qunari were seeking what they believe must be his "true name". And if the spirit theory turns out to be true, then perhaps it was this true name that held his original purpose before it became Pride.

“Voice ringing with fullness from both worlds, guiding me to the shining places. He calls himself Pride. Old pain. Shadows forgotten from dreams too real. This side is slow and heavy, but here is what can change. Wisdom knows enduring is pain. He hurts for her, another of many he couldn't save. He carries necessary deaths.”

What I personally like to think, is that at some point all this time ago, Solas gave himself this name and that whatever happened to him wasn't so much exactly like the corruption of a spirit as we know it, but - given that he already had a body at this point - still in the mindset of a spirit who isn't able to think any other way, even to this day ("We cannot change our nature by wishing" - Solas' words to Varric after Cole's personal quest), was forced to turn into, not only the counterpart of wisdom, but more importantly, into something that was most needed in the wake of leading the enslaved and oppressed to rise and rebel against their false gods, the Pride of the People.

"If the idea giving the spirit form is strong, or if the memory has shaped other spirits, it may someday rise again."

"Something similar may reform one day, but it might have a different personality. It would likely not remember me. It would not be the friend I knew."

Think about it. If this whole theory turns out to be true and the entirety of Solas' personal quest mirrors his own past, then what if it forshadows his own fate as well?

Solas' story is a tragedy. He never wanted any of this.

“Worship makes you more. He just wanted to help.”

“I suppose I am just tired of fighting.”

“Bare-faced but free, frolicking, fighting, fierce. He wants to give wisdom, not orders.”

What would be a more bittersweet and fitting end to his story than letting Pride die and be reborn as the purpose he was always meant to be and, after all this time, finally given back his true name.

He wouldn't remember, nor would he be the person we knew. But after ages upon ages of nothing but fighting, carrying the guilt over the death of an entire civilization and his desperate attempts to undo his mistakes, he would finally be at peace.

What I love about this idea, even as a huge fan of his character, is that it considers every player's opinion on him. When speculating about Solas in DA4, you have to take into account that there are at least just as many people who hate him as there are people who love him. He is super polarizing, which is only a testament to the writing in my opinion if people are that emotionally invested either way.

So, how do you come up with a conclusion to such a divisive character that would please the majority of players? Well, you don't. 😂 Because unfortunately you can never give everyone exactly what they want, but what you *could* do is giving players multiple endings, or you settle for only one canon ending and take the risk to displease one group or the other.

But I think what this end in particular could provide would be a good enough compromise for both sides.

Solas dies no matter what. People who hate him and have just been waiting this whole time to see him die are happy. But "if the memory is strong enough", meaning that if you cared enough for him to give him that final peace, he will be reborn as something different, regaining his original purpose without remembering his past life.

And then right after that, he goes on to say this.

"It's been so long since I could trust someone."

Throughout the whole game, it is hinted at several times that there must have been a great betrayal in his past that scarred him forever, so much so that he hasn't been able to trust anyone ever since. He saw the Evanuris be corrupted with power and Mythal being murdered in their lust for more, almost destroying the entire world as a result.

"You created a powerful organization, and now it suffers the inevitable fate of such. Betrayal and corruption."

"An enemy can attack you, but only an ally can betray you. Betrayal is always worse."

"I know that mistake well enough to carve the angles of her face from memory."

"She was betrayed as I was betrayed. As the world was betrayed!" - Flemeth about Mythal

But now here we are, this 8000 year old man has been proven wrong by the Inquisitor's actions that the power they were given mustn't corrupt them, who has shown wisdom in their decisions and turned out to be a true friend in the time of need.

And yet, even if romanced, he can't bring himself to trust the Inquisitor enough to tell them the truth.

"What would you have had me say? That I was the great adversary in your people's mythology?"

"I would have had you trust me!"

- a romanced Lavellan at the end of Trespasser and, as far as I recall, the only instance in the entire game that he's completely speechless, unable to respond.

This is what I believe could be the key to his redemption. If we could somehow prove to him that we/the current world can be trusted with whatever knowledge and power the Evanuris had that lead them to almost destroy the world and not be corrupted or repeat that history, maybe he can be convinced to reconsider.

With everything we know so far about DA4 (which is next to nothing but please work with me here 😂), I think it's very likely that the Veil will eventually come down, and that at least two of the Evanuris will be unleashed in the process, posing as the primary threat of the game, while showcasing to us what doom Solas actually tried to prevent 1000 years ago (and hopefully give way more insight on what exactly went down back then and I'm super curious to see if that might change people's opinion on him in general, for better or worse lol).

This premise would allow a situation in which Solas and the new protagonist are forced to work together to fight this common enemy and in doing so, putting Solas in a situation where he has to trust the protagonist, having to swallow his own pride. And maybe it's up to us then whether we choose to betray this trust or prove him wrong once and for all (again, considering every player's choice/opinion on him).

"I would treasure the chance to be wrong once again, my friend."

All of this is super hypothetical of course. 😁 But wouldn't it make for a MUCH more interesting story than just "Here's bad guy. Go stop him." That was Corypheus in a nutshell sadly. And I just think that anything else would be a disservice to the depth of his character.

Speaking of which, let's go back to the actual dialogue. His last line and perhaps the most important.

"I know it might seem strange to you. But I appreciate what you did for my friend. That *matters* to me... *You* matter."

And there it is.

His admission. Not just to you, but more so to himself. You matter.

You and this world have a right to exist.

"You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything but it can't."

Remember, only after this scene, he will ask to talk in private, go to the balcony and he will ask the Inquisitor about the anchor and how it has affected them.

"Has it changed you in any way? Your mind, your morals, your... spirit?"

Solas can't accept the people in this world to be real. They are part of his mistake that should've never happened. The Fade has been his reality for 1000 years and before that, the world was one with the Fade. In his mind, the moment he accepts this world to be real, he's giving up on the world of the past, his world that was lost because of him.

Remember the story he told Varric about the old fisherman he saw in the Fade? Why did it have such an impact on him?

Solas sees himself in this man. The man who lost everything. This is his biggest fear. To accept this fate, to give up fighting, to die alone.

But now against all odds, after awaking in this world and experiencing it, actually living it, fighting together and building friendships, he admitted to himself that its people matter, that they are real and that's why he then tries to come up with a narrative in his mind to deny all this.

He wants to believe that it was solely his anchor that made them who they are now.

It's why it's such a comfort to him to hate a low approval Inquisitor, because then he doesn't have to be in denial. Because it would make what he has to do, destroy this world in order to save his, so much harder.

But that's exactly what happens if they become friends.

Let's go back real quick to the beginning of this post and the reason why he chose to come back to you.

You considered his friend a living being worth saving despite the reveal of its nature.

This is not just about the Inquisitor anymore. Now, it's just as much about Solas.

"We aren't even people to you." "Not at first. You showed me that I was wrong."

(ironically speaking) "Ah. People. As opposed to spirits. We are flesh and blood, so we are real."

"It is the Fade. They are *all* real."

To Solas, it's the other way around. The waking world is the dream, the nightmare that must never become reality. His "In Hushed Whispers". Not WE are the real ones, but the spirits are. I won't get to much into this, because this is where it ventures too much into speculation land, assuming that the spirits are the people he wants to save by tearing down the Veil (though if anyone's interested, here's a link to a post that's discussing this :D).

And then lastly, you look at this scene in terms of the romance. In my own interpretation at least, the whole thing can be viewed as a metaphor. Only after Wisdom dies and the scene on the balcony, Solas will fully commit to the romance, unlocking his tarot card.

Wisdom is gone and he makes the most foolish decision.

Because even though the choice would lead to doom them both, remember that from this scene on until that very moment in Crestwood, he was about to tell Lavellan the whole truth and what I believe, ultimately, choose this life and this world over his.

And this is why, to me at least, this is one of the most important scenes in the entire game. :)

[notebooks-and-laptops]

I want to talk about Dragon Age 2 and the word ‘selfish’. 

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of posts that elevate one of the main Love Interests as selfish, while arguing against the idea that the others are. Fenris, Merrill, Anders and Isabela all take their turns as both innocent victims and punching bags for this word. 

But I think a better way to categorise what we’re seeing here is to focus on internal and external world views. Or I think a nicer term is ‘inward focused’ vs. ‘outward focused’. These distinctions can lead to more nuanced analysis of the ‘selfishness’ each character portrays (and I think they all do, to some extent). 

Isabela and Fenris are both inward focused. Their personal quests are about sorting things out in their own lives. For Fenris, that is helping him finally be ‘free’ of slavers. For Isabela, that’s helping her overcome all the shit that’s gone down since she stole the relic and got shipwrecked in Kirkwall. On a more broader level, their world views are inward focused. Fenris, for example, focuses on the abuse he suffered by magisters and then applies that to (basically) all mages and all magic. His own world view is deeply informed by what he experienced personally and his belief that this is a universal rule. Meanwhile, Isabela’s worldview is largely informed by what’s best for her at the time; she’s less likely to worry about morally dodgy issues (like letting a slaver go free so she can have her ship, or letting someone sell deadly poison ‘legitimately’) if they can benefit or even don’t really involve her at all. Interestingly, these are also the two characters who will leave you for a while if you romance them, to work out their own personal problems before they come back to you. This is very healthy and a good introspective thing to do and I think highlights that this inward focused outlook isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different. I also don’t think anyone would argue that it’s wrong Fenris wants to finally be free of the influence of Danarius for example. Isabela and Fenris are thus both inward focused.

Merrill and Anders meanwhile are both outward focused. Their personal quests are about doing things to further a ‘cause’ which they believe will help others even if it hurts them personally. Merrill’s personal quests highlight that she subjects herself to scorn and hatred from her clan and life in an alienage in order to try and restore history that she thinks will be valuable to the elvish people. Meanwhile, Anders personal quests are all about the mage underground and freeing mages from the tyranny of the circles. On a more broader level, Anders can’t understand why people like Isabela, Aveline and Varric won’t put more effort into helping mages rather than focusing on their own personal lives. This makes him come across as ‘selfish’ because he views his own worldview as eclipsing everyone else's; by act 3 he seems unable to see anyone else’s problems as legitimate or worthy of attention. He also cannot get along with Fenris despite the fact that Fenris too fights against a form of injustice, because he views Fenris as in the way of the ‘greater good’. Meanwhile, Merrill can’t understand why her clan is so against her or why her friends think she’s being naïve about the mirror. She will go against the wishes of her clan over and over even if it hurts them if it means that she can restore the history of the elves. She’ll also be confused about why Fenris isn’t more interested in doing so, and ‘on her side’ because to her all elves should be equally interested in this important history. Once again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different. Anders devotes time to his clinic and the mage underground, while Merrill literally manages to build an eluvian from the ground up but both place their worldviews above others. Merrill and Anders are thus both outward focused. 

Seeing this distinction allows us to talk about how both sets of characters can be selfish while acknowledging the fact that both sets also have many things to commend them. It also I think is a nice way to stop the arguments over whether or not Anders is selfish when he devotes so much time to other people and is constantly focused on them...because the answer is yes, but it’s nuanced, ya know? 

Anyway, I’ve had this distinction in my mind for a while, and thought I’d finally share it. 

[mca-attack21]

Damsel in Distress part I

This is a two part Arthur Pendragon x Reader based on the season two episode four of the show. Enjoy! Also you can find more of my writing here: Masterlist

Merlin woke up to a feeling of foreboding. There was something in the air that made his stomach turn with dread. As he prepared to go wake his clotpole of a master, he tried to push this feeling out of the forefront of his mind. But even as he made it down to the kitchen there was this sense of apprehension in the air. He hoped that he would run into you somewhere in the halls and that you would be able to set his mind at ease. He however was not so fortunate.

Instead, he trudged onward, setting Arthur’s food down and opening his curtains before declaring a half-hearted, “Rise and Shine” before quickly gathering some of his clothes to be washed. Arthur didn’t even have time to come up with a jest before Merlin was out of the door. Merlin busied himself, quickly polishing Arthur’s armor and completing other daily chores. He mentally prepared himself to deal with the prince as returned to his door.

“Ah, there you are, I was beginning to think you were avoiding your duties. And what’s this?” he asked, watching as Merlin laid everything out, “You’re actually doing your job for once? Are you feeling alright?” Arthur joked.

His smile soon turned to a frown as Merlin ignored his comments. He shrugged it off and allowed Merlin to help him dress and put on his armor. While Arthur was looking over some papers on his table he noticed that Merlin had already made his bed and was starting to take the dishes from the table.

“Merlin, clearly something is upsetting you,” Arthur pointed out.

“It’s nothing sire, do you need anything else?” Merlin asked with his back against the door.

“No, that will be all,” Arthur dismissed, sending a concerned glance towards his friend as he exited.

Merlin took leave and went back to his chambers to help Gaius. He tried to occupy his mind, but nothing he did seemed to ease that burning pit in his stomach. Something had happened, was happening, or was about to happen, he could feel it.

Somewhat abruptly, he decided that he needed to see you. He went to seek out Morgana, as you were filling in for Gwen while she was taking care of her brother. He knew that wherever Morgana was, you wouldn’t be far away.

It was in his search that he saw a few of the knights rushing for an audience with the king. Something had happened. Merlin followed at a close distance and listened in.

“As you know Sire Morgana, her maid, and a few knights rode for a pilgrimage to her father’s grave early this morning. They were meant to be back by now, but there is no word or sign of them. That was until one of the patrols came across one of the knight’s horses. I am afraid something went wrong..”

“Send men out immediately. Arthur, you will lead the search, do whatever you must to bring her home,” the King ordered concerned for his young ward.

“Of course father,” Arthur answered before hastily making an exit. Merlin was right on his heels, and left to prepare their horses.

---

The mercenaries had both you and Morgana in a tent with a guard posted right outside the doors. The two of you had come up with a plan, it was risky at best. However you were both aware of the fact that the further away from Camelot you traveled, the less likely you were to ever see it again.

“Are you ready for this?” Morgana asked, preparing herself.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”

She was about to step forward when you grabbed her arm, “No matter what happens, I want you to take any opportunity you get. Don’t worry about me. Promise.”

“There is no way I’m leaving without you.”

“Morgana, you have to promise me. I cannot bear the risk otherwise.”

“I promise, but only as long as you promise me the same. We take any opportunity we get.”

With that, the plan was in motion. Morgana demanded that she be allowed to bathe and you both were escorted to the river by two of the men. You took the distraction of her undressing to manage to disarm one of the men and tossed Morgana the sword just in time for her to take out the other. The two of you started running back towards the castle, but there was another mercenary that intercepted you. Being as you were the one with the sword you opted to fight him, thankful for the many hours you had spent training with Arthur when you were younger. Morgana turned back to help you.

“Go, I will be right behind you!” you shouted, watching her hesitate, “Morgana go! Now!”

She turned and ran only looking back when she heard your scream in the distance. She quickly picked up her pace again and ran without looking back. She pushed through the aching in her muscles until she was faced with a crossbow aimed at her face. Relief filling her features as soon as she saw its holder.

“Where’s Y/n?” Arthur asked immediately.

Morgana merely shook her head and Arthur turned before his face could give him away. Merlin pushed down his own feelings and went to Morgana to make sure she was okay and offer her water and food. They set off immediately for the castle and soon came the reunion between Uther and Morgana. She begged him to send out another search party for you, after all you had saved her life.

“I am not going to waste the time and resources on a servant girl who has most likely already been executed as she provides no worth to the mercenaries without you,” he explained to Morgana. The words cut Arthur deeper than any sword ever had.

“Please, there is still a chance. Arthur?” she turned towards him hoping he would take her side.

“I’m sorry Morgana, father is right” Arthur managed before turning and exiting a very angry Merlin on his heels.

“How could you say that? How could you possibly agree with him after everything that you and Y/n have been through? I knew you were a clotpole, but this, this is unforgivable!” Merlin all but shouted.

“Merlin Shut Up!” Arthur raised his volume before regaining his composure as he entered his chambers, “Of course I don’t agree with father, but there was no point in making a scene about it. We will pack and leave at first light. We will find her, one way or another.”

Merlin was speechless for a moment, before uttering an apology for overreacting before. He was then quick to leave and make the preparations for the next day as it was already early night.

The next morning he was surprised to see that Arthur had managed to not only wake himself up, but dress himself. He was looking over maps as Merlin entered. Soon the two of them were off on their quest to save the damsel in distress. The rode for the better part of the day before coming to a caves that were inhabited by wilddeoren. As they made it through the other side Arthur let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding, “I can’t believe the Gaia berries actually worked.”

“Hold up, you mean to tell me that you didn’t know that they would work before you lead us in a cave with giant flesh eating rats!”

“I mean not for sure, I heard stories, but I figured we’d find out one way or another.”

“Now you tell me?! Oh! Oh, what's that wilddeoren eating? It's all right. It's just Merlin. You trying to get us both killed?”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't've risked your life like that,” Arthur said a new hint of seriousness in his voice.

“I didn’t realize that even the great Arthur Pendragon could fall victim to the blindness of love,” Merlin joked.

“What in the world are you going on about?

“Your feelings for Y/n. Why can’t you admit that you like her? I mean you are risking your life and even your father’s wrath just for a one in a hundred chance of rescuing her.

Arthur scoffed rolling his eyes, “She is just a friend, I’d do the same for you. In fact I seem to remember disobeying my father before in order to get you an antidote when you decided to get a few days off my drinking out of a poisoned chalice.”

“That was different and you know it. Besides, anyone who has ever seen the two of you together can pick up on it. Why is it so hard to admit you like her? It’s only me, just say it,” Merlin encouraged.

“I can't! How can I admit that I think about her all the time. Or that...I care about her more than anyone. How can I admit that...I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her?” Arthur confessed struggling to keep his emotion in check.

“Why can't you?”

“Because nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings knowing that...hurts too much.”

“Who's to say nothing can happen?”

“My father won't let me rescue a servant. Do you honestly believe he'd let me marry one?”

“You want to marry Y/n?”

“No! I mean maybe someday...I...I don't know...Regardless, it's all talk, and that's all it can ever be.”

“When you're King, you can change that. If she feels the same way, she would wait for you.”

“I can't expect her to do that, it’s not fair to her. Besides, we don’t even know if she’s alive,” he said regretting the words even as they left his mouth because they caused his stomach to drop.

“I’m sure she’s fine Arthur. She knows that you’ll come for her and that hope will keep her alive.”

The words seemed to offer Arthur some comfort, “Come on. We've got a long trek ahead. Oh, and Merlin...if you dare tell anyone about this, I promise I will make your life a living hell.”

“You mean more than you do now?” Merlin joked, earning a playful smack from his friend.

[anartificialsatellite]

America!

He is a good boy and he really tries. I find him to be super charming and dorky and, like all the Hetalia nations, he is just a dumb guy living his life, though I think he is smarter and more complicated than some fanon versions really give him credit for.

He is not an especially mean person and though he can sometimes be pushy and arrogant, and often takes charge and rolls right over other people whether they want him to or not, it does seem to come from a place of genuinely wanting to help most of the time.

Despite things like canonically opening up a "world map" that only has his borders on it, he's legitimately interested in the other countries and admires a lot of the cultural things they're proud of - For example, England's historical sites, Japan's... everything, China's food (even if he shows it by complimenting China and then proceeding to make his own mangled versions), just to name a few.

Overall, I think he truly believes in and wants to be all the good things that his country has claimed to be but has never managed to live up to, and he does - as evidenced, for example by his awareness that people like Canada more than him, and his quiet envy of Canada's personality - have a lot more awareness of this fact than people can sometimes give him credit for.

There's more, but this is long enough.

In short: A good boy, even if he stumbles, probably better than any of his bosses have deserved. Bonuses: 1. Name? The United States of America, AKA Alfred F. Jones for the purposes of paperwork, driver's license, etc.

Quest? To be the hero, also probably to walk down to the gas station and get a bag of Sour Patch Kids and a Big Gulp Dr Pepper and one of those nasty ass red pickled sausages they have over by the Slim Jims.

The capital of Assyria? Absolutely not, but if you catch him on the right day he might say "Addamascus" and then laugh like an idiot and go "Oh no wait that's Lebanon." It's not Lebanon.

2. Favorite kitchen utensil? Perhaps a surprising answer, but - Stick blender, though he has never not overdone it. Not once. He's had one since the late 1970s and everything he has touched with it ends up the same consistency because he cannot resist going for just a little longer. brrrrrrrrr 3. If they could shoot anything out of their bellybutton what would it be? Reese's Puffs cereal.

4. Single? Yes.

Down? Probably, although he'll want to take you on a date first.

YOU, HETALIA FAN. TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER AND WHY.

Bonus Questions If You’re Brave:

1) What is their name? What is their quest? And do they know the capital of Assyria?

2) What is their favorite kitchen utensil?

3) If they could shoot anything out of their bellybutton what would it be?

4) Are they single? If yes, are they down?

[doctorstephenvincentstrange]

What If S1E4 Meta: The True “Heart”

The same way Stephen couldn’t let go of Christine in the fourth installment of What If...?, I haven’t been able to shake this episode off and out of my head since watching it. I’m pretty sure it’s put me through the grieving process. Lately, it’s been haunting me like a ghost, and while mentally revisiting it for the fourteen millionth time, I realized something BRUTAL that I just had to share ASAP!

Hear me out, homies. What if...

The running theme and title of the episode was Stephen Strange losing his “heart.” But although the setup and storyline seems to suggest the euphemism refers to Christine Palmer, it doesn’t! The “heart” of Stephen Strange is not the girl of his dreams he lost in that car accident, but the greater man he had gained.

OK LISTEN. Let me have a shot to show you what I see (even in shite quality, pardon my crappy screenshots). Let’s start with the DS1 recap, 'cuz I’m still not over the first movie, either, and it’s relevant.

Like the watcher explained, after the devastating and tragic death of the love of his life, Stephen Strange began to look for answers. Not different from Stephen Strange of the sacred timeline, he was obsessed with reversing the great loss and trauma he’d endured. It was with the same perfectionism that made him a great surgeon, that Stephen sought the power to “find his own way back.”

... By any means necessary. 

They both discover that “power” they were searching for when they stumble upon time magic. However, Stephen is lectured that time magic is something that could risk the stability of the universe, and should never be done lightly and certainly never for the sake of one person over all others. Although harm is not his nature and Stephen doesn’t want to hurt anyone, he struggles to give up on his quest to heal his hands, or alternatively, to resurrect Christine. He was told a solution wasn’t out there, but found it in the Book of Cagliostro.

Despite every person that told him it couldn’t be done, Stephen can’t accept that. He won’t admit there’s nothing that can be done, there has to be something he can do. He’s conceited with the delusion he can alter his past to better his present. And he won’t be swayed of it.

But when the Ancient One fell, Stephen Strange rose to take her place and fend against the invading Dormammu. He saw for the first time the world that was so much bigger than him, that he could do so much good for, more than good only for himself. He saw the millions of lives that had not yet been lost to tragedy he could prevent and save from it, even if not what hardships had already been done and could not be undone in his own life. Things he could save, not fix.

And it wasn’t his own life he saved with that time magic in the end, but earth itself. And Stephen Strange became something much bigger than himself. No matter what he’d lost in that car accident, he learned there was still much more he could gain, regardless of what he’d lost. He didn’t need to fix his hands. They were still good.

Better than his brilliant mind, was his beautiful heart. 

His capacity for goodness, not greatness.

And yet, for all the good he’d achieved and learned, on the two year anniversary of Christine’s death, Stephen can’t help but get sucked into his past, and in a moment of weakness, allow his grief power over him once more. He can’t stop reliving the past. He loops it over and over again, trying to reverse fate, trying to find a way to spare Christine and find that “miracle” that must exist to spare her.

The Ancient One has sensed his presence and meddling with the Eye of Agamotto, and warns Stephen that the path he had set himself on would lead him only to more pain. When Stephen refuses to be reasoned with, the Ancient One brandishes him with a single blow before he escapes into the past. He thinks she missed. She didn’t.

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART, AND YOU’RE TO BLAME! DARLING YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!

But *ahem* seriously, notice how Stephen was struck mid center his chest, directly over his heart. It was in that moment that Stephen Strange lost his “heart,” as the Ancient One had knocked it out of him, just as she had knocked him out of his own oversized head when they first met. Theory: she cast a spell to separate Stephen’s heart from his mind, the two halves that make one complete man.  

Because even if Stephen Strange’s mind was still set on Christine Palmer, his heart had been changed, and there was still hope for it. And Stephen Strange’s heart had enough with “living in the past for one day,” and chose instead to share drinks with Wong.

Meanwhile, Stephen’s “mind” searched the Library of Cagliostro for a way to reverse an absolute point and save Christine. Eventually, he found the answer he was looking for. He needed more power, that could be obtained by otherworldly creatures. Now, harm is not in Stephen’s nature. On his first attempt, he actually tries asking “nicely,” and ends up getting ass kicked.

O’Bengh, the librarian of the books of Cagliostro, patches up his body and tries to warn Stephen. He may have lost his heart, but if he he keeps going at this rate, he was well on his way to losing his mind.

But Stephen didn’t heed those words of warning. He distorted his body, darkened himself with every sacrifice he made for Christine’s sake. So caught up in the memory of Christine’s greatness, Stephen had forgotten he’d once had one of his own. Christine was all he saw. 

So obsessed with her, he lost himself.

When Strange returns to O’Bengh’s side, the librarian has aged and is dying. He reveals the passage of centuries Stephen has spent devoted to this madness. As someone Stephen thinks of as a friend passes away, Stephen can’t think to cherish these last moments or listen carefully to his final words. All he can think is to use his magic to spare O’Bengh, which O’Bengh refuses, trying one last time to reach through to Stephen before giving up and leaving hope to the “heart” to be strong enough to withstand and stop him.

*Wink, wink, wink.* Do you see it now?

Now, onto the confrontation between heart and mind. Stephen’s mind can’t achieve anything if his heart isn’t in it, and I love the symbolism of that. He must get it on board first, unite on both fronts.

Stephen’s heart can recognize that this isn’t love, but the work of his broken mind lost in a delusion. And Stephen’s so far gone down the rabbit hole, he won’t even listen to his heart. Instead he ignores it, even burns the cloak of levitation... the very symbol of his finding something new that could uplift him after spending so long down on his knees in the past... and he burnt it to ash. When his heart won’t be persuaded, he resorts to trickery, attempting to con his heart with the same delusion that haunts his mind. It’s the same Christine that Stephen first was hung up imagining when he picked up the eye of the Agamotto and got himself into this mess, his trump card.

But again, the heart cannot be deceived. It knows Christine is dead, and it realizes the fantasy his mind is pursuing is not the same as the Christine they once knew and loved. More importantly, his heart remembers that there are other people who need him now, people that are not beyond saving. And the mind is done playing.

If his heart won’t come willing, then he’ll just have to beat it into submission until it can’t make a single sound of protest, and then swallow it whole. Stephen makes the ultimate sacrifice the Ancient One had tried so hard to prevent, and abandons that heart she saw so much potential in and inspired her to teach him.

This episode AMAZINGLY tackles the narcissism and arrogance that hides in specific shades of grief and depression. In believing our problems are greater than anyone else’s, that no one else could understand as Stephen insisted “they didn’t know her!” The selfishness that comes with refusing to see the world or those around you that still need you and choosing instead to chase the memory of the ones you’ve already lost, who are beyond saving. If we choose those delusions over our reality, in the end, we will lose everything, and the ones who will pay the price for your arrogance won’t be you, but the ones you loved. Even the memory of the one you loved, that you twisted to fit your mold. There’s a selfishness in seeing only the bad of what was rather than the good of what could come.

Unless you want to end up alone inside a cold and empty shell, maybe it’s time to listen to your heart, and move on.

[stardustprompts]

the poppy war - r.f kuang   sentence starters change tenses/pronouns as needed !!  some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying tw :   drugs , death , murder , nsfw , prostitution mention , language

‘take off your clothes.’

‘why would anyone drug themselves before a test?’

‘you’re about to be a very lucky girl, sweet.’

‘wow that’s great. really great. Terrific.’

‘your folks are assholes.’

‘well fuck the heavenly order of things.’

‘don’t you have actual responsibilities?’

‘I don’t want to get on _____ ‘s bad side.’

‘you would make a terrible prostitute. no charm.’

‘what is so wrong with getting married?’

‘do you want to die?’

‘everything is spilling out of my head as quickly as I put it in.’

‘please do not commit spousal homicide.’

‘give me a way out of this shithole.’

‘hello, I’m praying.’

‘I seduced him with my nubile young body. you caught me.’

‘you can’t scare me into a confession, because I’m telling the truth.’

‘and that means you’re shit at your job.’

‘if you cross them—- if they even think you’ve looked at them funny—- they can and will hurt you.’

‘it’s easy to lose a language when you never speak it.’

‘you’re offending them with your very presence.’

‘they’ll make you an outsider, because you’re not like them.’

‘no matter what they say, you deserve to be here.’

‘I’ll kill you. I will fucking kill you.’

‘I went out in the sun once. you should try it sometime.’

‘oh, you’re the one ____ hates.’

‘you’d be a prick too if your family was both rich and attractive.’

‘honestly? I think he just comes in here to get high.’

‘I think you’re flattering yourself.’

‘unless you’ve got a weapon, don’t aim for the face. the neck’s a better target.’

‘we aren’t here to be sophisticated. we’re here to fuck people up.’

‘this is the only kick you’ll ever need, really. a kick to bring down the most powerful warriors.’

‘power dictates acceptability.’

‘he hasn’t done anything to earn my respect. all he’s done is act high and mighty.’

‘you’re nothing. you shouldn’t even be here.’

‘consider me bullied and intimidated, just let me sleep.’

‘he’s playing with her. he’ll end it soon.’

‘they’re good at fighting, but not much else.’

‘spend a lot of time looking at ____’s eyes do you?’

‘a betrayal of that sort would not have been out of character.’

‘come on, you belong here too.’

‘they’re not going to get rid of me like this. not this easily.’

‘I’m calm! I’m extremely calm!’

‘you’d rather kill your own people than let the opponent’s army walk away?’

‘you don’t let an enemy walk away if they’ll certainly be a threat to you later.’

‘he can’t stop raving about you.’

‘oh, don’t pretend to be bashful. you love it.’

‘you’re a walking disaster.’

‘anyone this obstinate deserves some attention, if only to make sure you don’t become a walking hazard to everyone around you.’

‘I heard he got drunk on rice wine last week and pissed into ____’s window. he sounds awesome.’

‘it’s me, your favorite person in the whole wide world.’

‘I do not have a problem. you are making up this problem for reasons unbeknownst to me.’

‘you’re killing the mood.’

‘they were weak as shit. scrawnier than you, even.’

‘you’re a real asshole. you know that right?’

‘your state of mind is just as important as the state of your body.’

‘sometimes you must loose the string to let the arrow fly.’

‘because I want to break his stupid face.’

‘he’s the most dangerous when he’s desperate.’

‘from this point on you’re just going to be a danger to yourself and everyone around you.’

‘you’re too reckless. you hold grudges, you cultivate your rage and let it explode, and you’re careless about what you’re taught.’

‘I knew I was the only one that could help him.’

‘they honed his rage like a weapon, instead of teaching him to control it.’

‘one urinating statue for my easily entertained friend.’

‘I don’t believe in gods. but I believe in power.’

‘one might say you’ve been obsessed with ____.’

‘don’t look to your left. pretend you’re taking to me.’ / ‘I am talking to you.’

‘we’re studying very weird things.’

‘I don’t actually know what I’m getting into.’

‘here is what happened: you called a god, and the god answered.’

‘you know that if you don’t get answers now, the hunger will consume you and your mind will crack.’

‘you’ve glimpsed the other side and you can’t rest until you fill in the blanks.’

‘supernatural is a word for anything that doesn’t fit your present understanding of the world.’

‘I’m supposed to take it as true that you’re a god?’

‘I’m not a god. I am a mortal who has woken up, and there is power in awareness.’

‘are we getting high? oh, wow. we’re getting high.’

‘ah. the law. so inconvenient. so irrelevant.’

‘we are not madmen. but how can we convince anyone of this, when the rest of the world believes it so?’

‘the price of power is pain.’

‘I understand the truth of things. I know what it means to exist.’

‘prey do not question the motives of the predator. the dead do not question the living. mortals do not challenge the gods.’

‘I killed for you. I would have done anything for you.’

‘I have seen the end of things. the shape of the world has changed.’

‘war doesn’t determine who’s right. war determines who remains.’

‘it’s alright. I know what you are.’

‘I thought I was the only one left.’

‘we have developed the power to rewrite the fabric of this world. if we don’t use it, then what’s the point?’

‘I don’t mess with that shit. it screws you up.’

‘I understand the appeal, I really do, but I like having my mind to myself.’

‘he’s a charmer. like a new puppy. you think he’s adorable until he pisses on the furniture.’

‘there’s no routine. no discipline. nothing you’re used to. am I right?’

‘so you’re the last of your kind. that’s sad.’

‘If you hold the fate of the country in your hands, if you have accepted your obligation to your people, then your life ceases to be your own.’

‘____ feared, and so he held you back.’

‘great danger is always associated with great power. the difference between the great and the mediocre is that the great are willing to take that risk.’

‘don’t ever let go on that anger. rage gives you power. caution does not.’

‘don’t give in... you’ve been so brave... but it takes more bravery to resist the power.’

‘the nature of this god is to destroy. the nature of this god is to be greedy, to never be satisfied with what he has consumed.’

‘so. screaming at rocks. is that, like, normal behavior here?’

‘fix this. prove your worth. do your fucking job or get out.’

‘I saved your life. doesn’t that make us at least a little square?!’

‘I was scared of you. and I lashed out.’

‘I thought I was better than you, and I’m not. I’m sorry.’

‘when I killed it, it felt like murder.’

‘look, I’m happy to discuss this, really, but I’m currently leaking life out three different wounds and I think I may pass out. would you give me a moment?’

‘well maybe ____ should get his head out of his ass.’

‘ ____ is more fragile than you think.’

‘look, asshole, I don’t need you to tell me what to do.’

‘they say he can read the future. shatter minds.’

‘you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. I am not your friend.’

‘he’s not human. he—- I don’t know what he is.’

‘but ___ was never allowed to be human.’

‘do you trust me?’ / ‘no. but that’s irrelevant.’

‘you don’t know what true suffering is.’

‘I have seen more than my fair share of suffering.’

‘that boy is beyond redemption. that boy is broken like the rest.’

‘I don’t want to be saved! I want power!’

‘that power will destroy everything you’ve ever loved. you will defeat your enemy, and the victory will turn to ashes in your mouth.’

‘we’ve missed something. something’s been laid out for us, but we can’t see it.’

‘fretting won’t make the dead come back to life.’

‘there was nothing human in those eyes.’

‘It was a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.’

‘I don’t need your pity. I need you to kill them for me.’

‘whatever it takes. swear it on your life. swear it for me.’

‘I won’t judge him. I don’t dare, because I don’t have the right. and neither do you.’

‘you asked me why I wouldn’t stop him. now you understand. you can’t stop an avenger. you can’t reason with a madman.’

‘I am afraid of what he might do in his quest for vengeance. and I am afraid that he is right.’

‘I am about to do something terrible. and you will have a choice.’

‘they give nothing to the universe, and the universe owes them nothing in return.’

‘you cannot survive my death.’

‘you’re trying to deceive me. you don’t get to deceive me.’

‘this is not the way. this path leads only to darkness.’

‘when are you going to stop being such a damn coward? what are you running from?’

‘you will turn the world to ash, and only demons will live in the rubble.’

‘you dress up your crusade with moral arguments, when in truth you would let millions die if it means you get your so-called justice.’

‘you have not cared about anything for a very long time. you are broken.’

‘I am terrified. but only because I’m starting to remember who I once was. don’t go down that path.’

‘your country is ash. you can’t bring it back with blood.’

‘I’m so sorry. I tried to warn you.’

‘you know the worst part? we’re so close to home.’

‘did you miss me? did you miss this?’

‘I just gave him some of his favorite medicine.’

‘resistance here means suffering. there is no escape. no future.’

‘you have nothing to fight for anymore’

‘what are you defending? you owe ____ nothing.’

‘we were disposable. we were tools. tell me that doesn’t make you furious.’

‘I am sick with fury.’

‘I will die on my feet. I will not die a coward. and neither will you.’

‘we could stay here. we could stay here forever. we wouldn’t have to go back.’

‘you’ll have to live with the consequences. but you’re brave ... you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.’

‘I have lost everything I care about. I don’t want peace, I want revenge.’

‘I don’t need to sleep. I need to feel nothing.’

‘do you want forgiveness? I can’t give you that.’

‘we avenged him. he’s gone, but avenged.’

‘you have to believe that it was necessary. that it stopped something worse. and even if it wasn’t, it’s the lie we’ll tell ourselves, starting today and every day afterward.’

‘aren’t you supposed to be a seer? do you ever see anything useful?’

‘we have an enemy whom we love.’

‘I’m going to find and kill everyone responsible. you cannot stop me.’

‘oh I’m not going to stop you.’

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Wizard City’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 4)

Airdate: September 2, 2021

Story by: Adam Muto, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, & Charley Feldman

Storyboarded by: Maya Petersen, Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, & Aleks Sennwald, & Haewon Lee

Directed by: Miki Brewster & Jeff Liu (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

An episode focusing on Peppermint Butler’s dark side is something that the fandom has craved ever since the little guy demanded Finn and Jake’s flesh in season two’s “Death in Bloom.” While installments like season five’s “The Suitor” and season six’s “Nemesis” did much to scratch that itch, the story of the Dark One remained mostly unknown…

And after “Wizard City,” it still remains largely unknown. But that’s OK, because instead of focusing on the character’s history, this special focuses on Peps’ quest to relearn magic at a magic school. Put most simply, this special is largely a fun excuse for the show to riff on Harry Potter and The Owl House-style “magic school hijinks,” and it mostly all works.

The special follows Peps quest to go to WizArts (a definite play on CalArts, the school that Pen Ward and Adam Muto, among many others, went to) so that he can relearn magic and once again become one of the greatest dark wizards of his time. Initially, Peps tries to make friends with cool kid Spader and his posse, but once they learn that Peps is not as talented at magic as they had initially thought, they kick him to the curb. It is at this point that Cadebra, Abracadaniel’s adorkable niece who is fascinated with stage magic, enters the picture. Cadebra tries everything in her power to befriend Peps, but Peps pushes back, since she’s not “cool.” It does not matter, though, because both Peps and Cadebra are sorted into the same “house”—the “Skink House—and are forced to work together.

While Peps and his cohort begin learning more and more complex magic, a secret cult of school professors, led by the otherwise caring Dr. Caledonius, are scheming to resurrect Coconteppi, a powerful dark wizard whose putrid heart has been discovered underneath the school excreting a very powerful ichor. The school cult kidnaps Spader and gives him some of the ichor to drink; they hope that because of his talent, he will be able to house the spirit of Coconteppi. This does not go as planned, and Spader is graphically killed (albeit off screen). (In a more humorous moment, Bufo, the scam wizard from season one’s “Wizard,” also ingests some of the ichor, believing himself powerful enough to handle it, but it kills him.)

Eventually Peps and Cadebra learn what is going on. Dr. Caledonius welcomes Peps, believing that he is strong enough to handle the ichor. When Cadebra’s life is put in danger, Peps reluctantly gives the putrid fluid a swig, which infuses him with the power of Coconteppi. Coconteppi-Peps then kills all the cult members before Cadebra manages to remove the ichor from Peps body. For uncovering a heinous plot, Peps is promoted to the highest house, “Salamander,” but he decides to remain a Skink and learn magic “the hard way” with Cadebra as his friend.

As I mentioned near the start of this review, “Wizard City” spends most of its time riffing on the “magic boarding school” trope, with much of the episode feeling like a light-hearted parody of Harry Potter: The characters, after all, are “sorted” into “houses,” they learn various types of magic from skilled “professors,” and they bunk in different parts of a large castle-like campus. Of course, Harry Potter didn’t invent the idea of a boarding school, but when setting your story in a school for magic, it is very hard not to lean at least somewhat into the Hogwarts relation. And this really is a double-edged sword, for while Harry Potter references can be fun here and there, they can also make the overall story feel like a fanfic parody. This special does a good job focusing more so on the characters rather than the setting, but I won’t lie, at times it did feel as if they show was really trying to make you realize it was making a Harry Potter joke.

Of all the characters introduced in the special, the breakout star is easily Cadebra, voiced by Chloe Coleman. Radiating a sort of Mabel Pines energy, Cadebra is the beam of optimism who shines brightly in an otherwise macabre special. There is something about her plucky personality and sense of wacky individualism that charms the viewer. I appreciate how the show compared and contrasted her with her uncle, the one and only Abracadaniel: like her uncle, Cadebra is a good person who wants to help others, but unlike Abracadaniel, she has a sense of courage and fortitude that results in her taking on a Coconteppi-possessed Peps at the episode’s climax. (Say what you will, Abracadaniel stans, but our favorite custodian would never have done that!) Thanks to her bravery and dedication to Peps, Cadebra is easily the heart of the special.

The episode throws an interesting little curveball into the mix by having the ‘ghost’ of Past Peppermint Butler constantly haunt Peps in the here-and-now. Past Peppermint, it seems, was so determined to become a great wizard, he cursed himself, so that if anything were to go awry, his Past self could materialize and set him straight. It’s confusing, but I do think that mixing the “overbearing parent” trope with a curse is a clever idea; it gives the whole special some dramatic heft. The whole setup is made even funnier by the special’s conclusion: After Future Peppermint Butler is ‘defeated’ and the day is saved, Peps reveals to Cadebra that he still wants to be a great and powerful dark wizard… but he wants to earn that power through hard work and determination. (Peppermint Butler might commune with demons, but he would never sell his soul to one for power; Glob helps those who help themselves, ya know?)

One of the special’s strongest points is its background art. Adventure Time always had some beautiful set pieces, and this special goes above and beyond to give WizArts an ancient sense of grandeur and mystery. Ghostshrimp, a freelance artist who was the show’s lead background designer during seasons 1-4, return for this special as a “visual developer”—basically, he mocked up a bunch of rough designs for the locales, and then the episode’s background artists worked up the final pieces in his style. On his podcast, Ghostshrimp mentioned how hectic he found Adventure Time to be, because he was used to taking his time on pieces. As such, the decision to bring him on for just development was smart, as it allowed him to still come up with iconic background designs while also playing fast and loose with everything. Hopefully the show will continue this approach with the Fionna and Cake miniseries that is coming up. After all, Ghosthsrimp’s style is the look of Adventure Time.

Another strong point for the episode is its voice acting. For one thing, you have your regulars like Tom Kenny and Dana Snyder, and Duncan Trussell, who all give a solid performance. But to voice many of the special’s new characters, the show brought on a bevy of fun actors: Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader, for instance, is now voicing Bufo, and he does a solid job hamming up his role as the old fogey. And then there’s Toks Olagundoye, whose British accent gives Dr. Caledonius a sense of knowledge and expertise. To my delight and surprise, SungWon Cho, an internet personality and voice actor perhaps better known as ProZD, was tapped to voice Brain Wizard, and he does an excellent job. And finally, Anthony Stewart Head, a very talented actor who I know best as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, voices Con Wizard, and is even given a fun little ditty to sing. I can safely say that the voice acting in this special is likely the best of the bunch, and it’s obvious that the actors were all having a great time playing their parts.

What drags the whole thing down, in my opinion is the excessive murder. (I joked on Twitter that during the climax of “Wizard City,” it felt like I was watching an Adventure Time-ified version of Invincible!) Infused with the power of Coconteppi, Peps goes on a brutal killing spree, boiling Potable Wizard into steam, zapping Dimension Wizard into another plane of existence, smashing Berdzerd, and—perhaps most graphically—excerebrates (had to look that word up!) Brain Wiz. On Twitter, @sometipsygnostalgic​ argued that while, yes, the scene is startling, it does wonders to transmute “a poor Summer Camp Island knockoff [into] Adventure Time chaos.” The more I think about it, the more I think that’s a fair point; after all, this is hardly the first dark thing that has happened in Adventure Time. But the part that I cannot really stomach is the fact that Spader was murdered for no real reason, and the special ends without anyone really expressing their horror at the situation. Sure, Spader was a schoolyard bully, but he was also a child. And killing a child—either for the drama or the lulz—feels decidedly out of place in an Adventure Time episode. It’s hard to express, but it just felt unnecessarily nihilistic and mean-spirited.

All things considered, I think this was a fun episode, but it was somewhat underwhelming for a ‘finale.’ Much of this is because it had to air after the perfection that was the back-to-back “Obsidian”/”Together Again” wombo combo. But I can’t help but feel like this special just felt a little... off. A little too meanspirited, and it leaned a bit too much on standard tropes. Still, it was a fun spin, and I know that I’ll rewatch it.

Mushroom War Evidence: As Peps rides the bus to school, he passes a bunch of abandoned houses, some of which are buried in the ground. There is an unexploded bomb above the fossilized elephant in the school. Cadebra has a dream that takes place in the ruins of a city.

Final Grade: B+