#i am not deliberately antagonising people

[theskyexists]

.

[limielle]

idk i feel like so much discourse could be easily minimized if people learned to say "i think" instead of "it is"

[blitheringmcgonagall]

I don't know how to ask this, but, like, I like reading Marauders content but sometimes I read some stuff about them that makes me think I'm a bad person for that. Like. They were bullies. So, isn't horrible that I like them anyways? How can I? Don't I think bullying is bad? Am I making light of how bad bullying is? I wanted to ask you what you think. Like, do you ever get affected by these feelings. Do you ever get affected by how other people see these characters. Do you ever get affected by people implying you are a bad person if you like character X?

Snape says they were bullies. Snape doesn’t tell us that far from being a harmless little loner, he was in fact hanging around with Mulciber and other mini wannabe Death Eaters (Sirius tells us). This gang bullied muggleborn Wix and called them slurs like mudbloods (Lily tells us), and we’re also involved in using dark magic against other students (Lily tells us Snape’s mates did this to Mary). Snape tries to pretend it was no big deal (it was a joke, he says) but Lily angrily disagrees. Snape used dangerous curses like Sectumsempra against people he hated eg James Potter, which btw he invented himself.

James used Levicorpus against Snape which btw was a curse that Snape had himself invented. James wasn’t happy that Snape was salivating with glee at the thought of discovering and proving Remus was a werewolf. Lily wasn’t happy either. Despite their rivalry, James saved Snape’s life when Snape made the dangerous and frankly terrible decision to follow Remus past the Whomping Willow on a full moon (yes Sirius was wrong to tell him but that still doesn’t make it his fault that Snape consciously/deliberately put himself in mortal danger to out one of his classmates because he hated them).

During 7th Year, when James had deflated his head a bit and was mature enough to be named head boy, Remus tells us this:

‘She started going out with him in seventh year,’ said Lupin.

‘Once James had deflated his head a bit,’ said Sirius.

‘And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,’ said Lupin.

‘Even Snape?’ said Harry.

‘Well,’ said Lupin slowly, ‘Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?’

Well, tbf, no, you couldn’t.

So you see, as far as I’m concerned, there were two gangs who were fighting a bit like the golden trio and Draco’s mates, and Snape was just as mean to James as the other way around?

But at least the marauders were fighting blood purist, racist, bigoted little shits who clearly made it known to everyone that they were planning on joining a murderous fascist- dictator type whose forces terrorised a minority group and were at war with innocent people (1970s Wix UK).

So the marauders went out of their way to antagonise these feckers (who clearly did the exact same thing to them). And? I’m not even sure that counts as bullying. It’s not very mature, and I’d prefer if they didn’t, but if my child went out of their way to antagonise bigoted eejits I’m not sure I’d be especially unhappy about it? I might even secretly be quite proud? 🤷‍♀️

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Shadow and Bone 2x06 Review

Ok well again, like with 2x05, I didn’t particularly enjoy this episode. Though I would say that some of this could be because I have read the books so some of the big reveals were things that I already knew, also the reveal was one I disliked from the books so obviously I also disliked it here too. I mean it was an ok episode, some of the crow stuff was interesting but over all it wasn’t my favourite. Also here’s your standard spoiler alert warning if you’ve read any of my other reviews then you know what I am about to say next, book spoilers will be between 2 *. 

Darklina 

So I am switching things up this time and I am going to talk about darklina first. I was really nervous going into this episode because of that interview from Jessie and Ben that talked about a choking scene. To be honest though having watched the scene, its not that bad. I mean its not good, obviously, but not as nasty and brutal as they made it sound in the interview. And I am sure I’ll have antis screaming ‘ab*se apologist’ at me for my next comment but I could understand why Aleks was doing this and where it was coming from, that doesn’t mean I agree with it, just to be clear, just that I understand where his anger is coming from. And it was clear that there was a shift in this episode when it came to the anger he feels towards Alina and I do think that was a direct result of her manipulating and tricking him in the last episode. I mean its the first thing he said to her when he appeared in Morozova’s workshop, that her little plan didn’t work. That she didn’t know him well enough, which is kind of true because whilst we know all about his backstory and what he lost, she doesn’t. She still believes that he created the fold deliberately, for one thing. She doesn’t truly know all the things Anastas and his men did either and she doesn’t know about the events of Demon in the Woods. 

*Speaking of Demon in the Woods we did get another reference to it in this episode. When Aleks has Alina pinned against the wall and she confronts him about threatening children he talks about how he was a child once until he was betrayed and nearly died for it. Obviously this was about Annika and how she tried to kill him for his bones. It did get to me a bit when he said innocent no more, because what Annika and Lev did to him, and him then using the cut on them in return, really did steal his innocence from him and I think it set the course for everything that came after. This was the event that was the catalyst for him making his oath to spend his life protecting grisha and finding somewhere safe for them.* 

 I mean some of the reason why this scene didn’t seem that bad to me could be because of the way it was edited, it was interspersed with other scenes of violence showing the crows fighting Ohval, including Nina being choked. So it wasn’t one long continuous scene where its building in intensity, there are moments when it breaks away from it. Also I don’t think it was really all that more violent than all the other scenes we’ve had so far of darklina fighting each other, like her trying to burn the stag amplifier out of his hand or him pushing her back so that she hits her head on the floor in the last ep. Or their fight in episode 4 when he attacks the spinning wheel. This was just two people who were clearly feeling very betrayed and wounded by the other and whose anger was now boiling over. Alina even when pinned to the wall was still antagonising Aleks because she was pinned and couldn’t fight but still wanted to hurt him and so was doing so with her words.  

Also it seemed more to me that Aleks was attempting to restrain Alina, when he first approaches her when she is at the table he puts a hand over her mouth so she can’t alert Mal and Baghra and then traps her hand, I am assuming so she can’t use her summoning powers. It’s meant to incapacitate her more than it is to hurt her. Its when she breaks free and begins to fight back that he quickly restrains her again by pinning her against the wall and again trapping her wrist. Again it doesn’t seem as if he really does want to hurt her but more keep her in place. As his anger flares he does have moments where he tightens his grip on her throat, which not ok dude, chill out, loosen the grip a bit or even better remove your hand from her throat all together. But I do have a theory as to why it is he is restraining her. I don’t think Aleks has full control over his nichevo’ya. 

This is linked to the scene he has with Baghra after she enters the mind tether, because apparently that is something that can be done now. There is a moment when Aleks says ‘please don’t threaten me’ but the way he says it doesn’t sound like a returning threat, it was almost like he was begging her not to, like was scared. Then Baghra produces the cut and Aleks startss begging, stop, he repeats it over and over, but he’s not just talking to Baghra he is talking to the Nichevo’ya who have appeared. The way these Nichevo’ya behave is intriguing because not only does one grab Baghra, another grabs Aleks and retrains him when he tries to save his mother. Like it doesn’t want him going near the threat. Its almost as if the merzost is a living thing, that has a mind of its own. There are other instances as well when you look back at other episodes in the season. When Genya was tending to Aleks’ wounds and he cries out in pain, suddenly a nichevo’ya appears and advances on Genya. Aleks had no reason to want to hurt her in that instance, so now I am thinking that was the merzost acting of its own accord in response to what they thought was a threat. In ep 3 when David is talking to Aleks about the nichevo’ya, Aleks says they are always with him but seem to appear when he is under threat. Then in episode 4 he draws Alina away from the fighting because his nichevo’ya can be unpredictable. So now I am wondering if the reason why Aleks was restraining Alina wasn’t just out of anger but because he also had some concern that if the nichevo’ya believed her to be a threat they may attack and kill her, and as he doesn’t have full control over them he might not be able to stop them, just like he couldn’t when they attacked him mother. I do wonder if as time has gone on he has less and less control over them. Though to be clear I don’t think it was necessary for him to restrain her by the throat, but I guess that part was fuelled more by his anger at her.  

If I am right and the merzost and nichevo’ya do have a life of their own then it opens some really interesting possibilities as it calls into question every action Aleks has taken involving merzost and the nichevo’ya, because how can we know for sure how much of it is Aleks’ decisions or whether its the merzosts influence, whether it has some control over him and is making decisions and choices of its own? Its actually a really scary and disturbing thought, that merzost might be a living entity. 

Baghra and the Firebird

So when it comes to Baghra I already knew her backstory about the swan toy and how she killed her sister with the cut etc and also the reveal about Mal being the descendant of her sister and the firebird, so it wasn’t some big reveal to me. Mal being the firebird and a morozova is one of those things that I hated from the books because it just didn’t make sense within the lore already created. When Ilya Morozova made the amplifiers he did it by bringing them back from the dead and fusing them with his own finger bones, but this also turned both the stag and the sea whip immortal, yet when he does the same to his daughter she doesn’t become immortal and instead passes it down the bloodline, which makes no sense in the books and still no sense in the show. Then there’s the whole issue around numerous grisha touching him but never sensing that he is an amplifier. But anyway I’ve talked about that all before in other posts, so moving on. 

Obviously Baghra’s backstory is really messed up and I can’t imagine the effect something like that would have on you. But it did seem like in this episode after sharing the story with Alina and Mal that she came to the decision that the only way forward was to completely rid the world of anything related to morozova that she could, burn the workshop down, kill Aleks and herself and Mal would die too when he becomes an amplifier for Alina. Baghra's death scene actually did make me cry. Just Aleks’ reaction to it, how distraught he is at losing his mother. I mean for the longest time she was all he had, his one constant and now she was gone, its hard enough losing a mother but in this situation where is also means a literal eternity of loneliness it must be a hundred times harder. They way he whispered he was sorry, I really did believe him in that moment. 

It was also pretty messed up that she cut his hand off, like I got the reason behind it, to disconnect him from Alina but still, what is with all the amputations in this show this season, Baghra’s finger, Adrik’s arm and now Alek’s hand, oh and how could I forget about that first army soldier’s head from the first episode. But I don’t know how I feel about this whole idea that the link between darklina could be severed because that definitely wasn’t a book thing, because the link in the books wasn’t created by a piece of the stag in Aleks’ hand. It was something between them that was inescapable and always there, it wasn’t something that could be broken and that was the whole point of it.  

I will also admit I was a little irked when Baghra says ‘know that I loved you and that it wasn’t enough’, because like, well duh, of course that wasn’t enough, some proper and healthy parenting alongside that love may have been a good contribution there Baghra, you know instead of burning down villages as if that won’t mess a kid up and give him a warped idea of what love is. 

I am curious about the whole using Baghra’s finger bone, magic, fairy dust to amplify himself and how that all works. Because it makes sense that it will amplify Aleks as technically it was his Nichevo’ya that killed her, so technically he did kill her which would give access to her amplification, but he also clearly didn’t have control over the nichevo’ya, so I don’t know how that would effect that amplification process as can you really say he killed baghra if he clearly didn’t want to and had no control over that which did kill her? I have so many questions. Also that Alchemy grisha sort of tattooed some of Bgahra’s bone dust onto his hand in some kind of experiment, so does that mean now that Baghra is dead this guy is also going to be amplified? How does that work exactly because I know that with the stag Kirigan was the one who killed it but it was alina that was amplified by it and having the piece in his hand connected them so he had control over her powers, so will he now have control over this alchemist’s powers? Again so many questions. But either way it is through taking this amplifier that Aleks is able to see his mother’s last memories and learn that Mal is the firebird. I am curious as to what he’s going to do with that information. 

The Crows 

The crows storyline was a bit more interesting to me as I didn’t know what was going to happen having not read the books. It continues on right from where it left off last episode with most of them trapped in a room with hallucinogenic gas that is killing them. Each of the hallucinations they have though are really interesting and tells us alot about each character.

Kaz has a particularly traumatic vision where his brother is taunting him while also trying to drown him. But there was the part where the vision is talking about Kaz thinking pain was a weakness and that vengeance was the answer but that he is still drowning and asking who he is without that vengeance and without anyone to fight for, which I think was giving that message to Kaz that going on this path of vengeance isn’t going to fix what’s broken inside of him, that’s not going to help him heal from the wounds left by his past, it will only drown him in regrets. Then he gets that image of Inej pulling him up out of the water clearly symbolising that she is a life raft for him, someone who can pull him out from beneath the waves that are pulling him down. I do think when they are discussing the heartbeat that can be heard in Ohval’s home and he says that he believes that Ohval built this almost fortress, it was to protect that heart, that this is very much a metaphor for Kaz and how he has built this fortress around his own heart. 

Inej’s vision I think shows that which she deeply desires. She imagines Kaz asking her to stay, she imagines him telling her he wants her. But she also imagines him taking off his gloves, which are like his armour, and being able to touch her. She wants him to come to her open and vulnerable and honest. Its actually kind of sad because I think she also knows how deep Kaz’s trauma around touch runs. It’s what makes her realise that this isn’t real and that she is hallucinating due to the poison, which helps her snap out of it. When she gives him the butterfly to eat you can see this conflict as she knows she has touch him to save his life but she also knows how triggering that is going to be for him when he comes to. She is so gentle with him though and she tries to comfort him by stroking his face and she whispers forgive me and sorry. I imagine it must be really hard to be in inej’s position where someone you have feelings for and who you deeply care about is triggered by your touch. 

I do wish they had explored Tolya’s vision a bit more, we see that he sees his sister wounded by a blade and when he asks who did she says it was him. So it seems like Tolya has this fear around losing his sister and it being his fault. But they don’t really explore it beyond that. Tolya is able to keep his heartrate steady enough that he keeps conscious long enough to warn Wylan about the situation. Also side note but I do find it funny that whilst the other four are slowly dying inside and having these vivid visions, Wylan is just out side watching the butterflies. Like that juxtaposition was so bizarrely funny.   

Jesper’s vision compared to the others was actually somewhat peaceful as he is seeing his mother. Through the vision we are able to learn more about his backstory and why it is he hides his grisha side. His mother was a durast like him and she helped a girl who had poisoned by drawing the poison into her own body which killed her. After his father made him promise to hide his grisha ability so no one would ask him to risk his life to save them. This plays further into what Nina was talking about in last ep about how she wasn’t given a choice in swearing loyalty to ravka and this idea that the grisha really are forced into service. But also how often they are used for their abilities. I do think this vision with his mother has Jesper heal some wounds and gain an acceptance of his grisha side. 

There was a bit of a reveal when it comes to Ohval and that is that she is the Saint that created the sword that they are looking for, Neshyenyer, and who fought for three days and nights to stop a unkillable army, Sankta Neyar. I do think it ironic that they’ve spent two seasons talking about how Aleks and Alina are unlike no others, that there is no one else like them and there never will be and then in this episode there like oh and here’s another immortal grisha who has been alive hundreds of years. Though to be fair she still isn’t like Aleks and Alina in the sense that they have very unique powers whereas Ohval/Neyar is a Durast, just a very powerful one. Also I couldn’t help but notice that she says she’s been alive for 400 years and I am also sure Mal mentions that Aleks messed around with Merzost and then they got the fold for 400 years so it seems like Ohval/Neyar was born around the time the fold was created, I don’t know if that is significant but it is still interesting. I do think that they use Ohval/Neyar as a foil for Aleks. When she is giving the speech about how she has lived a long life and watched them all die, her family, all her loved ones, taken away by time. It shows that shot of Aleks just lost in complete grief and it really makes you understand how much of a burden his immortality has been to him. Also how this is what awaits Alina who will also never age and have to lose her loved ones. But I also think when she talks about how for hundreds of years she closed off her heart this is another comparison to Aleks who did the same after losing so many of his loved ones. Then she talks about how when you guard against pain you guard against joy, here I think this shows how Aleks is doing this, but also how Kaz is and how Jesper is by hiding his grisha side. Buy denying themselves love to protect themselves from pain they are also denying themselves the joy of love. This was something Ohval learnt over the years, honestly I think Aleks might have benefitted from meeting Ohval she might have been able to teach him a thing or two. I am glad that she gave that speech to Jesper about his durast abilities as I think he needed that final little push to accept who he is. Also that blade really does look beautiful and very impressive. I love how right after the conversation Jesper ran out to speak to Wylan and that whole conversation was adorable but also really relatable like when you see something extraordinary or rare etc and there’s that person you immediately think of who you want to share it with, for Wylan and Jesper that person is each other. 

Extra Details

There was one other thing I wanted to talk about but didn’t really know where to put it. There was a scene where Nikolai and co go to a first army base camp and when they arrive it is obvious that there is some concern about having grisha around first army, which I didn’t mind as that seemed realistic to me, there is fear of the other on both sides. However what I did find highly unrealistic was how quickly and easily this issue is resolved. Nikolai gives a speech, David introduces himself to a first army sniper and gifts him some special made bullets and Genya heals an injured soldiers hand and all of a sudden our fear is gone we all like each other now. This is actually one thing I think they did better in the books. *In book two when at the LP Alina and Nikolai try to unite the first and second armies by having them interact with each other, but it takes time there is tension between them for a while before through working together and eating meals together they are able to get used to each other and get to know each other. Its a process not a sudden change of heart.* 

We also get introduced to Nikolai’s friend and learn that disturbingly The King used to have this boy whipped as a way to punish Nikolai but that they actually became the greatest of friends. They clearly have a strong bond and I would like to know more about their story, I do love a good bromance. 

And so that is another episode done, we are getting through them, only two more to go. 

Favourite Quotes 

‘What we do while we’re alive, who we are, our truth, that is all we can control. That is all we have. Hiding who you are won’t save you.’ 

‘You contain so much goodness, my son. The world deserves to see all of it.’ 

‘I, too, was a child once. A boy named Aleksander, who was betrayed and almost died because of it. Innocent no more.’ 

‘Four hundred years I’ve been alive. I’ve watched them all die. My family, all my loved ones. Taken away from me by time. Hundreds of years I closed my heart, as if that was the solution to ending all pain. What a safe way to live. What a small way, as well. You guard against pain. You guard against joy. But when you allow yourself to be blindsided by love two worlds make a universe. He’s not my weakness. He’s my universe.’               

[resolutepath]

THE KING UNDER THE SANDS. [ G.ENSHIN. AU. ]

"In a bygone time before even the Jinn had stories to tell, the endless sands were rife with the divine. One of their number was he who experienced the whole and gained complex wisdom, he who found out what was secret and uncovered what was hidden, he who was superior to all other kings, a warrior lord of great stature. He who would take no redirection and only offered scorn, the wedge between the rising humans and fading gods. The King of all Heroes, Gilgamesh."

In this verse, Gilgamesh is a deity from before The Archon War who chose to scorn both Celestia's direction and the idea of uprising and instead chose his own path, forming an ancient society beneath the sands of Sumeru. This nation became known as Uruk, a group given the protection of their King, uniquely equipped by his expertise, intelligence and penchant for defying anything that did not suit his existence.

Beneath the sands, there he remained. The times changed in the world above, the dunes shifted and the sun rose and fell. Still Uruk stood, isolated but at peace. The created civilisation swelled, from the initial ziggurat to a network of tunnels below the sands, carefully avoiding the ruins of other gods and the light of the sun. The fall of Celestia's gaze. It's people knew the price of living - you must never seek the surface without cause - and trusted in their King's judgement and wisdom.

Eventually the war and subsequent battles stilled, the archons were crowned and peace prospered. In this time, Gilgamesh foresees a chance for the people of Uruk to acquire goods from the surface. Celestia slumbers and the network of tunnels that are built this time are narrow and intricate, built to be hidden among the caves above. They give chance for the people of Uruk to sneak into Caravan Ribat and later the wider nation and bring news to their King as well as technologies that may aid them. Not that they are short of their own, Uruk did not stagnate when they disappeared but focused on developing agriculture, light and their own systems for writing and time.

In present timeline, Uruk remains a hidden society but a few brave souls have stumbled upon it. The first is Aviv ( @ruinvessel ) who becomes someone who the King holds an interest for, even going so far to regard as a son later on. Others of Sumeru, particularly those who study ancient civilisations ( Kaveh, Faruzan, Al-haitham, Cyno ) are likely able to stumble across this hidden society.

NOTES:

Gilgamesh would have known Rukkhadevata, Deshret, Nabu Malikata and any of Sumeru's ancient gods. I am absolutely willing to discuss dynamics on this but I can say he isn't the easiest person to get along with and I know he and Deshret probably had a fairly argumentative dynamic (though whether it was actively hostile I'm yet to decide, more like two people not afraid to be coarse with each other + Gilgamesh would outrightly laugh in Deshret's face in response to serious demands )

Gilgamesh is currently pouring a lot of his power into his society to keep them from being discovered. Apep likely has sensed their presence due to proximity, though whether she says is another matter. I would say if Nahida actively looked she would become aware there's a space that's deliberately absent of something in terms of just sensing. If she's actively pursuing that's different.

Gilgamesh does not speak to an individual by their name until they have proved themselves to him / he's acknowledging them. The easiest way to do this is pitch in within Uruk (essentially daily commisisions). If you betray him there is no saving you.

He's rude. Please bear this in mind when interacting with him, but also that he does not entertain idle threats or antagonising. He's someone who knows his strength, is arrogant and has the capacity to follow through with a threat when issued.

He rejects the very state of the world. He will not respect the concept of archons nor will he actively promote stealing their authority. He thinks the fact that the gods of this world did what Celestia told them to is downright ridiculous and will tell them as such should they visit. New archons are spared this specific scorn but he is also not interested in bowing to them.

Uruk has beautiful architecture, lighting to replicate sunlight beneath the ground and an abundant agricultural system. It is entirely self-sufficient though this did not come without cost. Gilgamesh bears the weight of the decisions that led to this.

AFFILIATED MUSES:

@ruinvessel - Aviv; Son of Uruk

@gachahell - Kingu ( exclusive )

@daybreakrising - Cyno ( main )

[shimmerbeasts]

"I don't think I have to do that", Mizora said, "You seem more than capable of antagonising yourself."

The Cambion rose a hand and with an orange swirl and sparkle of hellish magic, a shard of the smashed and broken mirror floated towards her and she caught it with fine, long fingers. Holding the shard before a ruby-red eye, her purple lips tugged into a knowing smile as she continued to speak with her gaze half-shielded by reflective glass:

"After all, it was you who stood before that mirror with the vigour of a judge, laying out the reasons why someone deserves a death sentence, who also happened to be you. Some part of you is not nearly as guarded and controlled as you try to cast yourself as. After all, if you were so sure of that, you wouldn't need a mirror to practise your stance and facial expressions."

Mizora dropped the mirror shard on the ground. Her red eyes laser-focussed upon the girl, a gleam of interest and predatory hunger prominently in them. Her wings were slightly open, making her appear even more imposing than she already was. As she stepped towards Adelaide, her bare feet barely graced the shards of the mirror, which lay strewn about between them like freshly fallen snow.

"And of course, I have more pets to play with", Mizora mockingly replied, "But don't you know how that works? When a dog has been trained and responds to his commands properly, there is always the itch to find a new puppy to train." She halted before Adelaide, looking down at her in all her fiendish glory. "You know what I am, Adelaide, and you know why I am here."

Her hand gestured towards the shards of the mirror once more. "You want to be more than that girl in the mirror", Mizora said, "You have strained yourself for perfection, reinvented yourself over and over again for approval that never comes. After a while, I am afraid, you are bound to run out of people you can be. That would not be a problem if you could be satisfied with the masks, you have collected over your long life. But that's the thing: You are not satisfied, aren't you?"

Her hand brushed across the bumps and ridges of Adelaide's spine, causing the hairs on her skin to stand up. Mizora's voice lowered into a seductive whisper, honeyed knives cutting into her target's brain. "You crave more than that experiment with your little masks can give you. You need more power, more might, and more chances to impress. You need a new arsenal of tools, my sweet, and you don't even know it yet."

She stepped back and said, deliberately letting the sentence run into the void: "Of course, I might just be able to help you with that predicament..."

@shimmerbeasts → liked for a starter .

there is a stranger staring back at her , with large , unhappy blue eyes . she tilts her head , trying to find a familiar angle , and she stares , and she stares , and the longer she stares the more distorted they become . if she stands perfectly still against the mirror , she can pretend it's always been this way , that she always felt this hollow , and this ache has always been there , gnawing on the softness of her rotting insides , and this emptiness had cleaved a home inside her chest from her very first breath . had it ? in a moment of weakness she'd asked once : have i ever been happy , daddy ? he said : adelaide . darling adelaide , you have always been you .

tension grips at her jaw , and a flicker of anger flickers in the winter of her eyes . the reflection cracks , jagged slices of mirror scatter on the floor , and only then does her chest descend with what feels like a heavy breath . her posture does not falter as she turns , she moves with the practiced elegance of someone who had spent most of their life under scrutiny .

❝ it's rude to pry . ❞ as adelaide speaks to the blue devil , her tone is devoid of any emotion , as if reciting something she'd heard over a thousand times , until it stuck to her brain . ❝ don't you have any of your own friends to antagonize ? ❞ that is what friends were for , were they not ? dolls , puppets on strings ; you rattle their plastic limbs and entertain yourself until you're bored , and then you toss them away - time for new toys . better toys .

[harukamitsuki]

I don't think Lance should have swapped to the Red Lion.

TL;DR at the end.

Lance's connection to Blue was the first connection shown in the series, which makes it all the more meaningful, and it made no sense to the series own rules. Red is temperamental and difficult to control, which is why Keith was her paladin. I have defended Lance's piloting skills in a previous post, but he is not as good as Keith and does not suit the Red Lion. His affinity is water - as emphasised by the start of season 2. Red is aligned with water.

Plus, if he stayed in Blue he would have gotten a proper character arc by living by his own rules and standards and not in Keith's shadow. I know it was supposed to be symbolism - him accepting Keith as leader and not being selfish about it made him qualify as the right-hand man, but the others accepted him as well, despite ribbing Keith about it earlier.

If anyone should have gotten the role as the Red Paladin, it should have been Allura.

Allura as the Red Paladin would, not only make sense narratively, but would also seem right. Colour-wise, she's closer to Red's hue than Blue's, but honestly, I didn't really care about the colour match-up. What is important, is that it would seem like a much bigger deal than Lance accepting Keith as the leader. Lance hates Keith, but that's probably due to being constantly in his shadow and being compared to him, consistently reminded at the Garrison that he was only moved up because Keith was expelled.

Allura, however, has a deeper reason. (Lance's reason is still valid, btw, just not as big as Allura's). She hated Keith for a good portion of Season 2 because he is half-Galra. Obviously, to us, this is a shitty reason to hate someone. It's racism and the show doesn't handle this well. It doesn't handle a lot of stuff well, but whatever. She gives Keith the cold shoulder and Keith knows she hates him. He says so himself to Hunk and doesn't listen to his reassurances. Then again, Hunk was making jokes about something Keith was clearly sensitive about, so that may have had a hand in it too.

Now, I am not condoning her actions. She made Keith feel unwelcome in a team - a family - while he already has abandonment issues, (not that they knew that), and hated him for something he cannot control. Keith probably hated himself for being born. Both of them disregarded the fact that he is still a person with feeling and blood doesn't change that. Hunk too, as much as I love him, was also wrong in his 'Galra Keith' jokes, as if Keith was someone else entirely, when nothing changed apart from their knowledge.

However, what I am saying, is that Allura's reaction was, somewhat, believable and had a genuine reason - and a good one. The Galra Empire completely annihilated her species (as far as she's aware), betrayed the people she loved, and has monopolized entire planets and controlled them - forced them to work and even fight to the death for their entertainment. Apart from Ulaz, she hadn't a single good interaction with the Galra. One good person is not enough to change your opinion about entire races. I know people who are racist, proper racist, to their own race, no joke.

Allura's reaction was actually rather tame, especially compared to how extreme racism can be in the world, even now. She never rose a hand to Keith and kept it passive-aggressive. She gave him the cold shoulder and genuinely hated him, but she never hit him and she never deliberately sent him on a death mission. The Weblum mission was dangerous, but it was also a requirement and she didn't send him in alone. She may have refused to acknowledge his achievements, but she didn't blame him or accuse him of anything. It's likely that, when she saw him, all she saw was Galra. That being said, she wasn't a bad person, simply badly written. There are many people who hurt others for no reason - people who haven't been wronged in any way, but rate a community simply because they exist or they think they're lower than them or less human, which is wrong on so many levels. Allura, at least, had a good reason, though it should have been built on and written better.

In the end, Allura acknowledged her toxic attitude and apologised to Keith. This in and of itself does not make everything okay, but it's more than what Lance did, (virtually nothing except telling Keith that he has to be the leader). Allura knows she was wrong and sets out to make it right, and this development would have been solidified by her becoming the Red Paladin. Like, let's be honest. Lance does not treat Keith right and it's never explained why, in and outside of the show. He's the one antagonising Keith, even during their first proper meeting, and he's the only starting all the arguments, especially in season 2. Keith has been volatile too, I will admit, but he stops his behaviour in the second season. Lance is the one starting everything. Allura, however, stops her behaviour before it takes extreme lengths and becomes a better person and a better friend as a result. It's then that she calls Keith family for the first time, and becoming his right-hand would have shown how serious she was and how far they've come.

Seeing Allura, who, just the season prior, hated Keith's guts, accept Keith as her leader, the Black Paladin, become his right-hand, would have meant so much more. The symbolism goes even deeper. Red's first paladin was Altean and Black's was Galran. Need I say more? (No, but I will). Many of us were incredibly disappointed with the ending of Voltron, especially with Allura dying. The reason she died was to complete the circle, so to speak. The war against the Galra Empire truly started with the death of Allura's father, Alfor, and the entire species of Altea, and the war is finally ending with Allura and Honerva's death. That being said, it was just so insulting and pointless and nobody was happy. Instead of dying to complete the circle, Allura should have survived and broken the chain, for both herself and Red's own paladin tragedy. It was just a huge slap in the face for people who actually powered through seasons 7 and 8 and trusted the show to pull through and get its head together. I know that Shiro was supposed to get Black back, Keith goes back to Red and Allura controls the Atlas, but if that wasn't the plan, then Allura in Red would have made much more sense.

Additionally, the fight in that realm would have been more emotional if Allura was forced to fight her father and bring him back. Lance had no emotional attachment to Alfor, and I know that was the case with Hunk and Pidge, and Allura had attachment to all of the previous paladins, but still. Think about how heart wrenching it would have been for her to face her father, whom she loves dearly. he wouldn't have even recognised her and would have fought her with the intent to kill after his soul was trapped for 10,003 decapheobs/years. (I know they're different, but Allura says 10,000 years even when she didn't know what years were, so I didn't know if that was a mistake or not). Allura would not have been able to fight as well as she did against the Blue Paladin of Old.

Let's not forget that Allura was the one to convince Keith to take up the role of the Black Paladin. Of all the paladins, it was Allura who knew what to say; who knew why Keith was acting the way he was in season 3. Lance saw Shiro as his idol, Pidge as a legend, and Hunk as a mentor. Keith's relationship with Shiro is so much deeper than that. Shiro wasn't the youngest man to be sent into space. He wasn't someone to look up to. He didn't go to the Garrison because Shiro went there - he went there because Shiro convinced him. He doesn't see Takashi Shirogane, piloting prodigy, idol for all. He sees Takashi Shirogane, his best friend and brother, a man he can trust and how can trust him. Nobody else realises how deep this goes. Nobody but Allura. She's the only one to see how much Shiro meant to Keith. She's the one to call him 'irreplaceable' and she's the only one even by the end of the series, who isn't Keith, who has sacrificed something for him. Allura gave up her freedom for him by allowing herself to be captured, and then she gave up the crystal for his arm. Keith has saved Shiro many times, even his clone, and literally gave up his place in Voltron for Shiro. Allura trusts Keith and Keith allowed himself to trust her. She understands his pain when nobody else saw it.

Finally, Allura would have been inheriting Red from her father. Coran has explicitly said that Allura wanted to pilot Red due to her father piloting her. The Lions clearly have some amount of sentience, Red and Black especially. Black only opens themselves to Keith because he of Shiro. The first time, it's to save Shiro from death. The second, it's because Shiro wanted him to become the leader. Red only accepted Keith because he proved himself to her and has saved Keith many times while he's floating in space. She's described as temperamental, which suggest levels of sentience. Obviously, Red would have more of a soft spot for Allura, the daughter of her previous paladin, than she would for Lance, whom she only opens up to well into season 3 and is someone antagonised and even bullied Keith, her current/transitioning paladin. Allura also shows that she's fiercely loyal and is willing to give one up for the team.

Allura has sacrificed her only contact to her father, she has allowed herself to be kidnapped for Shiro, she has constantly exhausted herself for both her friends and strangers such as the Balmerans, she has given up the crystal in her crown for Shiro without hesitation, and she even dated Lance despite not showing any form of romantic attraction previously. (That last one was joke, obviously).

TL;DR - Lance has literally no reason to have become the Red Paladin outside of a rubbish character arc, and Allura has all the reasons. It would have marked an excellent character arc mid-point and would have set up a great ending, if handled well.

I have nothing but respect for the writers of Voltron for their work, especially after all the intervening of their higher-ups that caused many issues, especially regarding Shiro, Keith, Lance and Allura, who were all robbed of excellent character arcs. That doesn't mean I can't hate what came of it.

[babycracker]

Luck Of The Unit - Day 1 prompt from @wayhavenmonthly: Compliment

Rating: teen & up Pairing: farah&m!oc (tanner drake) Word Count: 957 Warnings: some swearing A/N: yeah, yeah it’s not march yet for most of you. but you know what it’s the 1st here so bugger it, here we go! this one’s for @mrshauville who requested some farah love for day 1. also i have no idea what to do with tags for farah&tanner stuff so i’ve just used the general tag list - let me know if you’re not on it but you’d like to be for these 2! i have some (not all) of the prompts mostly worked out, but if you have any that you’d like to see written specifically for any of my oc’s and their li’s or bff’s, let me know and i’ll see what i can do!

--

“Knock knock, gorgeous.”

Farah glances up from where she’s playing a game on her phone to see Tanner leaning in her doorway.

“How long have you been here?” she asks, locking her phone and setting it down on her bed beside her.

“About an hour, I’m heading out now,” he answers, and she rolls her eyes and tuts at him.

“And you didn’t tell me because…?”

“Because Blondey’s had me in the training room the whole time.”

She casts her eyes over him, only just noticing that his hair’s a little messier than usual and there’s a light sheen of sweat covering his face.

“Have fun?”

He smirks and gives a small shrug, “I got to kick his ass so, yeah.”

“You could stick around for a while, you know? You don’t have to leave as soon as he’s done with you every time.”

“Not ready to see the end of me yet, huh?”

“You’re just about the only fun person who comes here, so not quite,” she answers with a heavy sigh, glancing back up at him with a slight pout on her face.

He nods and steps into her room, making his way over to sit down beside her on her bed.

“I feel you, you might be the best person I’ve met since being in this town.”

Her face brightens and she elbows him lightly in the ribs. “Tanner Drake, did you just give me a compliment?”

“Don’t get used to it,” he grins at her.

“What about Morgan? From what I hear you’ve been having quite a lot of fun with her.”

“From what you hear?”

Farah lifts both hands to tap her ears and winks at him, “I’ve heard a lot. Some of it’s quite frankly disturbing.”

His grin widens and he shrugs, completely unashamed. Somewhat proud of himself instead, it would seem.

“That’s not fun,” he points out, and she frowns at him.

“So what is it?”

“Fucking.” He answers pointedly, and she wrinkles her nose at him. “She’s a bitch when she’s got her clothes on, though.”

She narrows her eyes and points a finger at him, “you watch what you say about her, mister.”

“She’s a bitch to me when she’s got her clothes on,” he clarifies.

“You’re a prick to her when you’ve got your clothes on.”

Tanner pauses for a minute before shrugging again, “touché. It’s beside the point though, I like you better.”

She grins and leans over to nudge him with her shoulder. “And I didn’t even have to get naked.”

She knows that this, whatever it is, between Tanner and Morgan is more than what either of them are willing to admit that it is, but who is she to meddle?

Who is she kidding, of course she’s going to meddle. But there’s a time and a place, and when he’s in a relatively good mood after an hour long training session with Adam is not the time.

“Well, come on. Since you’re being generous with the compliments today, let me have ‘em.”

“Are you fishing?”

“Absolutely. Tell me how amazing I am.”

He laughs and throws an arm around her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze as he answers, “you’re just as amazing as you think you are, Farah.”

She cannot for the life of her imagine why Adam and Nate seem to dislike Tanner so much. At least not until she remembers that he frequently goes out of his way to antagonise both of them as often as he can. Morgan too. She may be the only person that he doesn’t deliberately try to piss off, and she’s not exactly sure why but she’s definitely not going to question it. She’s heard the stories, she’s seen the uncertain looks Adam and Nate have given each other when Tanner starts to get angry. She has no desire to deliberately put herself on the wrong side of him for no good reason.

Maybe she would be a little more annoyed about the way he treats and talks about Morgan, if not for the fact that she says much worse about him and at times treats him appallingly herself. They’re as bad as each other, but for some reason it seems to work for them and even somehow seems to increase their attraction for each other, so Farah sees no reason to get into the middle of that either.

“Damn right I am, and I’ll throw hands at anyone who says otherwise,” she agrees with a determined nod, and he raises an eyebrow at her.

“Will you?”

“Well, no. But that’s what I have you for.”

He nods and holds a fist out for her to bump before getting to his feet, straightening down the front of his jacket.

“Anytime,” he agrees before heading to the door.

“You’re not so bad either, you know,” she calls after him, and he turns to face her.

“Not so bad?” he repeats incredulously. “A glowing endorsement.”

“What do you want from me? You’re a dick to everyone else, saying that you’re as amazing as me might be too much of a stretch.”

“Fuck you,” he flips her off playfully and she wrinkles her nose at him again.

“No, thank you.”

“I wasn’t offering.”

“Sure you weren’t. You wish you could get all this,” she gestures down to herself with both hands and he fake gags, holding one hand over his mouth and one to his stomach as though he’s suddenly fallen ill.

“Please,” is the only response she gets from him before he turns and leaves her alone again.

He really is a dick. But he might also be one of her favourite people, not that she’d ever tell him that. His ego’s big enough as it is.

--

tags (let me know if you’d like to be added or removed): @admdmrtn @masonsfangs @oxjenayxo @mmerengue @agentsunshine @bravomckenzie @freckles-spangledvampire @mistyeyedbi @kelseaaa @detectivewiseman @amlovelies @forestcreatures @maraudern05

[wellthatwasaletdown]

I am black and I could care less if he wouldn’t date a black woman. People have their preferences. According to research studies, you are most likely to date someone of your own race. That’s fine. Why is required that he date a black woman?//// The fight from what I’ve seen looks stupid as well from what I’ve seen. Harry clearly does have a preference but why are white harries deliberately antagonising black fans. 🤷🏾‍♀️

.

[crossdressingdeath]

1/6 JC and YZY were so quick to blame WWX for the attack on lotus pier - we 100% know YZY believed it because she would’ve taken any chance to hate on WWX, and we know JC didn’t say those words out of anger because...13+ years the future he STILL believes it. So, ignoring how ridiculous it is to believe that a teenage boy mildly antagonising an entitled brat led to WRH, one of the most powerful cultivators, wiping out an entire sect - like first of all, if that’s ALL it took then if WWX

2/6 hadn’t ‘stepped out of line’ someone else would’ve at some point - you don’t think that MAYBE this very powerful man was just looking for an excuse to attack? And as soon as the weakest possible reason popped up, he took it because, at some point, he would have done it anyway? It sure as hell didn’t take him much to attack the cloud recesses. But instead, we’re going to blame a kid, who was maybe a bit too vocal in order to help other people in need. And on that note - I would love if the

3/6 Jins and the Lans found out about the “Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan and those people can just die!” moment of JC’s after the Wens attacked. Like...look I am not going to hold a moment of grief against a teenager who had just dealt with a horrible situation. But the problem is, JC STILL believes this stuff! He still believes that WWX should never have spoken up that day, which means he probably would have happily watched LWJ and JZX die in order to ‘save’ his sect. And then there’s this

4/6 part in the book - “in this heart Jiang Cheng knew clearly that...even if Wei Wuxian hadn’t saved Lan Wangji, the Wen Sect would have come over sooner or later.” These are HIS thoughts. And yet, years later as an adult he STILL blames WWX. And he seems to think that if WWX hadn’t spoken up, “maybe it wouldn’t have been so soon.” Yes, but if it was inevitable then it wasn’t WWX’s fault. And yet JC still claims that WWX ‘killed’ his parents. It’s honestly so stupid. And

5/6 if you’re going to hold it against WWX for speaking up to protect someone, how about we focus on how YZY outright antagonised WLJ and WZL when she KNEW they were in a precarious situation. She was the adult in that situation, in charge of the sect in her husbands absence, and she didn’t show an ounce of diplomatic behavior. She slapped WLJ because of her pride and if anything, that was the moment that truly spelt the end for the Jiang sect. YZY could have tried to negotiate more, not

6/6 immediately choose a hostile response when she knew they were waiting to attack. But no, it’s fine for her to deliberately antagonise them when she KNOWS they’re waiting to attack - it’s still WWX’s fault. And that’s the frustrating thing. It doesn’t matter what WWX does or doesn’t do, in JC and YZY’s eyes he will always be a scapegoat.

The most infuriating part of the whole thing for me is how... if this attack really was WWX’s fault (it wasn’t), then the Jiangs knew it was coming. They had time. Not a lot of time, but enough time to at least send the children away. Hell, in the novel they manage to send JYL away; why leave the children behind? There were young disciples in Lotus Pier! We know this! They all died in that attack, the attack the Jiangs supposedly knew was coming (because it was all WWX’s fault, of course) but did nothing to prepare for. From what we see across all versions of the story, the only one to even suggest any sort of preparation is WWX, and they shoot him down!

Here’s the thing: the attack wasn’t inevitable. The Jiangs could’ve fled before the Wens arrived, or swallowed their pride enough to surrender. They likely would’ve ended up fighting eventually, but they didn’t have to face an army on their own. But it’s easier to say it had to happen and WWX caused it, I suppose. It’s definitely easier than JC admitting it was his mother who antagonized WLJ, just because the woman who showed up with a fucking army at her back just happened to be someone YZY saw as beneath her. I mean, I’m glad WWX didn’t have to lose a hand, but looking at the situation more or less objectively that would still be preferable to everyone dying! YZY sacrificed the lives of everyone in her sect, including her own, because her pride couldn’t take having to obey a jumped-up servant. Meanwhile WWX took a risk to protect people’s lives and would’ve done everything in his power to protect Lotus Pier from the repercussions if the Jiangs hadn’t stopped him.

At the end of the day, the attack was the Wens’ doing, but it is... interesting, how many people happily blame WWX for not letting people die when it was actually YZY who pushed things into war, and the Jiangs as a whole who refused to do anything to protect themselves beyond sending their cultivators, down to the youngest disciple, into a hopeless battle when they supposedly knew the attack was coming. But no, no, it’s entirely WWX’s fault that the entire sect was destroyed and no one could possibly have done anything to prevent it after he so cruelly set events in motion to save a couple people who aren’t Jiangs and so don’t matter. Whatever helps JC sleep at night.

[ofhelens]

introducing HELEN WORTHINGTON as the ingenue (emily, she/her, twenty three, GMT)

howdy friends!!!!!! i will try to keep this as brief as possible, but i am a verbose bitch - as you will see through my application. consider yourself warned!

(tw: neglect)

background / headcanons (a mixture of the things that make helen helen & an insight into this fool):

whilst helen has her fair share of parental trauma, she literally refuses to acknowledge it exists. her mom abandoned her when she thirteen - but she hasn’t even admitted that happened, to herself or anyone else! literally, helen probably pretends to receive letters and postcards from her mom and makes up holiday stories - when the reality is she hasn’t seen her mom in ten years!!!!

helen doesn’t know who her father is. all she knows is that he and her mom had a one night stand and that he was incredibly attractive, to the point where her mom was chasing down every man in georgia trying to find him!

she’s a georgia peach baby!!! helen is very connected to her southern roots (via her grandparents, who took her in when her mom abandoned her) and still has a fairly strong accent, although it’s something she drops on stage.

this obsession with romanticising everything stretches way beyond family. she is very much sunny side up about everything, always thinks that things will work out for the best and that people tend to have the best intentions.

one of the most sentimental people you will ever meet - absolutely has a scrapbook for every play they’ve ever done, packed with costume scraps, polaroid’s and script snippets.

helen imagined herself as an ingenue-type figure long before orson clocked her. she deliberately tries to be as light & romantic as possible - doing ridiculous stuff like wearing nightgowns out in the day time, making friendship bracelets and doodling hearts.

has a fantasy of being in a jane austen novel. she’s probably like, jane bennett.

acting is the way she copes with all this trauma she won’t admit. because every character’s pain can just be shrugged off the moment you step into the wings, because you can choose what to feel and how long.

with her roles, she’s not...going into much depth though lmao. in fact helen is a very middling actress? like she isn’t bad but she’s never really had the chance to be good? never needed to either.

wanted connections: (these are supposed to be kinda short n vague so we can just...jump off them you feel?!)

acting related connections!! give me the person who is her assigned scene partner (whether or not they like that is totally up for discussion). give me two people who played enemies/rivals on stage or in class and somehow ended up taking their feud off stage. give me characters who did a romantic scene together and then just...ended up hooking up after class and haven’t spoken about it since!! give me the person she chills with in between scenes!! give me a mentor - someone who thinks helen has more to give and is insistent on dragging it out of her! give me everything!

i would love for there to be one character who just thinks helen is full of shit. who maybe thinks that this whole...ethereal angel thing is a big ol’ facade and tries their best to antagonise her and shake her from it?

i’m a SUCKER for exes!!! give me the person she got together with in like, the first month of alderidge only for them both to realise that this was done in a panicked hurry and not what either of them wanted. give me the blind date set up by a mutual friend and the date went so badly and now they can’t talk. give me CRUSHES (especially unrequited ones!). give me the person who liked helen but then she went way too fast for them and so they backed out.

alibi ! (well, kinda): basically, someone she spent most of the cast party around (and then they walked back to the castle together?) and who have agreed that if shit hits the fan, they will bat for the other and answer any and all questions the police may have.

[madamquacklemore]

Chapter 7-Deadliest of Revelations

a/n apologies everyone for the slow updates.. so here in this chapter we will see all sides coming into the action celts and Danes and perhaps anwser any Q's you have regarding them. enjoy!

There's a game That I play There are rules I had to break There's mistakes That I made But I made them My way

Black Lab-This night

FINAN

He was almost certain it had been a dream as he hesitated before opening his eyes. He just new he would find himself in his tent alone. Sighing Finan opened his eyes slowly and found himself staring up at a ceiling he didn't recognise.

Did that mean-

Finan turned on his side to find her there curled up facing him.

Oh lord in heaven it wasn't a dream.

Smiling to himself he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear thumbing her cheek relishing the night before. Finan cringed at the thought he had literally cried in her arms but she had said nothing and that was all he needed. He showed her a part of himself he didn't even recognise and she had quite literally accepted him with open arms. As if he suddenly realised how uncomfortable it was to be watched while sleeping he went on his back  and wrapped an arm around her cherishing the warm of her body alongside his. He could get used to this as he thought.

Stirring slightly Tarian snuggled closer to him head on chest she murmured "Mornin' Finan."

"Good morning my love" he whispered kissing the top of her head.

He remembered her words how there was much they needed to talk about Christ he didn't even no where to begin. Neither of them had easy starts to this world that was certain but Finan didn't want to think about that now. Life was short all one could do was live in the moment and with her in his arms and by her side that moment was all the better.

"We should probably get up" she yawned.

"Aye they'll have guards breaking through any minute to find their missing warriors."

"They'll think us deserters."

"Let them break in I have no plans to go anywhere any time soon." Finan laughed softly.

"Who says I would let you anyway?" she teased looking up at him with a look  that made him weak in every part of his body-

almost every part

.

"Am I to be your prisoner lady?"

"You are indeed my prisoner Irishman mine to do with whatever I wish."

Before the prisoner could say another word his beautiful captor straddled him and pinned his hands to his sides. Finan the agile was going nowhere anytime soon.

POWYS

With his brother dead Ruari was now the de facto leader of southern Gywnedd and Powys a considerable amount of land and power to be sure however the position was not secure-not yet. With both his younger brother and various cousins all laying claim to this prestigious title Ruari was going to have to be clever. There was also the subject of his niece Tarian  if she comes back or rather when she does which side will she chose? Who would she marry? One of his advisers had suggested he marry his own niece not unheard of but the idea still turned his stomach. Ruari had been his sister's favourite brother to marry her daughter seemed insulting but he new he would never bring himself to kill her. As cowardly as it sounded he had half hoped the Danes would do it so he wouldn't have to and his conscience would be clear.

"I do not believe she would challenge your rule lord" Arthfael told him for what felt lie the one hundredth time. It was bad enough their previous leader had been paranoid he did not need this a second time the more time he thought about it the more he was sure Merfyn was behind Tarian's kidnapping there was only one way to be certain. Arthfael always felt Ruari though younger was the wiser of the two brothers and he prayed to the Gods he was right as he would need Ruari's permission to seeing these answers.

"She might not do it directly but through her another could be." Ruari said absent mindly looking out the window.

"You believe her to be that weak?"

Ruari did not answer the elder man and seemed lost in thought. After an uncomfortable silence he turned to face him. "What is it you want Arthfael you are not one for small talk and I have my advisers for council."

"As you no my lord there has been two attempts on Tarian's life both from the Danes and from our own people I wish to get to the bottom of this Lord."

"And you think what? A trip to Frankia to the great Jarl Jurgen would give you these answers?"

"Yes Lord I do.

"And what if it his him behind all of this? What if it is part of some plan to take our lands from us?" Ruari spat like his brother before him there was nothing he hated more than Danes not even Saxons. "Do not forget he is the reason my sister-your dearest friend-is parted from us."

"I do not believe he would harm his daughter."

Ruari scoffed at the thought.

"I am serious Lord I do not believe he means harm for his daughter."

"Then why is there a large price tag over her head?"

"That is simply how Danes do things. My Lord may I speak plainly?" Arthfael was no fool he knew though despite being the more reasonable of the brothers Ruari still saw Tarian as a threat or certainly as a possibility of becoming one. Tarian was highly respected warrior despite her age her prowess on the battlefield was becoming legend better than her mother and comparing her to her grandfather before her. And with her mother's look s it was only a matter of time for many a man to come knocing. One in particular-Arawn-made Arthfael nervous. He was highly ambitious and a greedy man at that twice Arawn had approached Arthfael to marry Tarian and both times he was refused. He was ten years older than Tarian and watched her close enough to put him on edge and upon his life Arthfael was sure Arawn had something to do with what had happened to her.

"Tarian is something of a commodity as you know yourself should she meet her father here what he has to say then perhaps she may join him and leave these shores. If the great Jarl Jurgen truly wanted this island for himself he would have invaded by now and joined that Danish earl Guthrum at Ethandun which he did not do. It is common knowlegde that Jurgen is happy in Frankia and has no wish to leave its warmer shores. It is also common knowledge that Tarian has no desire for power-she had made that clear from the start." "If what you say is true then it is worth looking into I suppose." Ruari sighed. "With your permission I get everything underway." Arthfael made to leave the room. "No Arthfael I will need you here. You will send your nephew-the mutt." Ruari ordered him. Arthfael hated it when his nephew was referred to as such. Like Tarian he too was half Dane but that is where the similarities end as Illewyn torn between wanting to no more of his Danish culture and pleasing his Celt leaders that he had learnt the language to serve their land. And unlike Tarian his mother did not find love with a Dane quite the opposite his birth had been a product of something against her will. Illeywn's mother had died in childbirth and as his own wife was barren Arthfael took Illewyn and Tarian into his care. "As you wish it lord." Arthfael bowed and left the room hoping IIlewyn had  kept up his Danish he would need it.

Frankia two weeks later.

The great Jarl Jurgen had long given up making conversation with his new bride at dinner times. She was like a timid mouse and he the lion such was the way with arranged marriages he new that but he wasn't the worse man her father could have sold her off too and he had learnt her language but she barely looked at him and only spoken when spoken too. These damn Christians and their frightened little women. Give him a wild brave warrior woman any day. Since her death the great Jarl had still not replaced her and now he was moving heaven and earth to find their daughter and have her where she belongs at-his side. Jarl Jurgen scarcely remembered his daughter just that she had her mother's beautiful red hair and his eyes. 

This very evening word had reached him that a Celt from across the water was hear to speak to him. The young Celt man was no warrior but spoke relatively good Danish so the Jarl had allowed him to pass. There was only one man who could have arranged for a messenger and that man was the caretaker of his daughter. A knock on the door and the messenger's presence was announced. "You will leave me wife." he ordered. The woman looked at him what a night to try and be defiant he thought bitterly as she hesitated. "Now." he repeated. His young bride slowly got out of her chair and gracefully left the room as slow as possible. Was she deliberately trying to antagonise him it seemed so. "What is your name and on behalf of whom to come for?" Jarl Jurgen asked after the Celt had paid his respects.

"Illewyn Lord Arthfael sends me." Illweyn replied. "Well boy?" Jarl Jurgen finished chewing on a chicken bone "What does Arthfael have to say to me?" "Merfyn is dead the future of our kingom is uncertain." "And you are telling me this because?" "There have been two attempts on Tarian's life the first she was kidnapped seemingly on your orders-" "I am already aware of this that man now sits in a cell awaiting my decision whether or not to spare his life. The second?" "Was by one of ours." Jarl Jurgen stopped what he was doing and was now staring hard at the young man who was doing his best not to falter under inspection and failing. "What. Do. You. Mean.? He said dangerously. Illewyn gulped there was no point at hiding it anymore Jarl Jurgen was also nown as the the ruthless Jarl amoungst the Danes and with just one loo Illeywn saw why. "Tarian had found shelter at the home of a noble Saxon family and sworn in her allegiance to Uhtred the Dane Slayer." he said a little too quicly. Was he even supposed to tell the Danish Lord all of this information? He did not now all Illewyn new was that Arthfael had promised he would be safe as Jurgen wanted his daughter safe and by his side. "Uhtred? The Uhtred Ragnarson?" he asked Illewyn nodded slightly alarmed when the great Dane burst into laughter. There was nothing remotely entertaining about this news to an outsider but give the fact that some minor lord by the name of Cnut had asked for his support in overthrowing the last of the Saxons (which he had denied) it was sort of funny in a twisted sense to Jurgen himself. He could have faced the prospect of facing his daughter on the battlefield oh Loki and his games he smiled shaking his head. "Go on." "One of ours had fired a poison arrow at her but she was given the anecdote and lives. Tarian's would be assassin was dealt with but Arthfael still believes a threat to her life exists as Tarian will have to return to her homeland one day." "Of course Arthfael does and Tarian naturally is in contention to the ruling of your kingdom I imagine many an ambitious man wishes to marry my daughter and take the land for themselves would that be correct?" Illeywn nodded. "Very well you will come with me and you will tell Arthfael everything you see him." Illeywn followed the large Dane out of his dining room and down a narrow staircase to the dungeons all cells were empty bar two.

 The first contained two women the guard unlocked the cell and the two men waled in. The women were not chained and appeared to have been treated rather well despite being a cell. "Ladies." the Jarl greeted them in Saxon english and then turned to speak to the older woman "You'll have to excuse your living conditions after your daughter attacked my guards I didn't have a choice" The elder woman seemed understanding but her daughter did not. She had a plain face but her eyes were like golden amber as Illewyn was taken aback by her courage or was it foolishness to be so defiant? "Why are we here Dane? You had us brought to Frankia for what exactly? You are in no need of a wife and I would not be your whore" she spat. "Edhita!" the elder woman hushed. Jarl Jurgen merely laughed "I'd not have you anyway girl. You have information I need and you were told you would be paid were you not?" he said directly to the elder woman. "Yes Lord. What is it we can help you with?" the elder woman asked. "Mother!" "You were a slave on my estate when I lived near the welsh border." The elder woman nodded "Yes Lord." "You were there the night it was attacked the night my wife and daughter were taken from me?" he asked quietly. "Yes lord." "Tell me what you told my guard." "She was murdered lord by one of her own" she said giving a cautious glance in Illewyn's direction. "You saw this?" the Celt asked. "I did lord. She was a lovely woman your wife Lord her daughter and my daughter would play together." "Do you remember the face of her killer?" "As clearly as I see you Lord. He was barely even a man and had a blue mar in his forehead a circle like the sun. He tried to take her but she resisted I saw him slit her throat he hit the child over the head took her away forgive me lord I couldn't-" "There is nothing to forgive woman there was nothing you could have done." he said solemnly. "You both are free to go" reaching into his pocket he gave them each some silver for their trouble and fair ordering the guard to escort them to the port. "Do you now the man she speak of?" "I believe so Lord." Illewyn was in a state of shock . He  knew Arawn was ambitious and possessive but he didn't no that back then he would be capable of such things murdering a woman in front of her own child? And why? None of this made any sense. "His name is Arawn his father is on the council." "Is he a warrior?" "Yes Lord he has earned himself reputation." Jarl Jurgen was silent which surprised Illewyn he had expected a ferocious rage breaking of things howling at the moon that time of thing but he would soon learn that silence was equally as deadly.

The only prisoner left was another Dane Illeywn vaguely recognised him as a trader near their border his name escaped him.  "Egil." The lord said simply.  This prisoner had not been as well taken care of. Chained to the wall one eye so swollen it could not open dried blood and open wounds on his chest and a particularly nasty one on his left side.  "Jarl" he spat up blood.  "You no why I am here?"  "To deliver me to Valhalla lord?" "There is no Valhalla for dishonourable traitors. And that is what you are Egil. I am here to put an end to your suffering."  It had turned out that Jarl Jurgen had not organised the kidnapping of his daughter. Whilst he had offered a reward for information he had specifically expressed that his daughter was not to be harmed in anyway and this man had nearly gotten her killed. 

"What of the Danish lover Gustaf I keep hearing about?" "One of my men  killed him when she tried to escape. Lord please I beg-" but the desperate man's pleas were falling on deaf ears. The Jarl remembered Gustaf well his father had served him well and taught both his daughter and Gustaf the bird call they used to use in their childhood games. "Who was your contact?" the Jarl demanded. "He  didn't give us his-" "What did he look  like?!" he roared. "Not much older than your daughter lord tattoo on his forehead...circle." Egil spat up more blood. "Lord please I beg-" Pulling out his long-sword Jarl Jurgen beheaded the prisoner with one mighty swipe. Breathing heavily with the prisoner's blood spattered on his face he turned to loo at a terrified Illewyn. "You. You will tell Arthfael everything. This Arawn will die by my hand or Tarian's only. Is that clear? Tell him I will be coming. "

@laketaj24 @geekandbooknerd @itzmegaaaaaaan @ariellostatci @tesstrash @medievalfangirl @therealcalicali @sprinklesthrows17 @xthezodiacage

[ofools]

For those interested, the reason I am going to go so hard on this is not because I think I can change their minds. I don’t think any amount of angry emails will make them back down from saying they want to continue to have the right to discriminate against lgbt people, but I know that my work is important to them, and I know that forcing them to confront their beliefs head on has a better chance of long lasting impact

By asking them to remove and destroy my work, the work they value so highly, it forces them to reflect on who made it, and to be reminded of me as a child. They will have to remove my work, by hand, and destroy it, and think about me.

Even then, during that moment, their minds may not change, but my hope is that they will think of it often. That they’ll see where my stuff used to be, or they’ll remember what they had to do, and it may, down the line, create that spark of change.

I don’t want to be rude to them, or antagonise them. I’m being very deliberate with my requests, and my wording.

[storyunrelated]

Flash #1470

“Look at me!” Cackled Proll, prancing. “Look at how offensive I’m being!”

Proll capered hither and yon, distributing hurtful opinions, each and every one meticulously crafted to be as horrible as possible, to hit every beat wrong and ruffle as many feathers as could be ruffled.

Normally this worked a treat. Normally people came boiling up to sling vitriol right back at Proll, antagonised, and Proll would keep on capering and cackling, lapping it up.

This being how Proll sustained themselves.

Today though, no-one was biting. There was no response. Nothing.

People could see Proll. They could hear them. But they weren’t responding. They just looked, briefly, then turned away again.

Proll was stunned. What was wrong?

“But - l-look! Look how offensive! I am! I wrote this article! Look at all the things I said! Anyone? A-anyone?”

Nothing. Sandbagged.

How could this have happened? Had something changed? Why wasn’t it working? Why weren’t they yelling? Why was the hate not flowing back to them? Why weren’t they getting paid?

It did not make any sense. And so Proll spread the net. They picked new groups to be offensive to, hoping that perhaps they’d be richer pickings. Again, no dice, nothing. And Proll’s gut started to grumble, the hunger starting to bite.

And so desperation kicked in. Proll became frantic. Everything they could come up with got them nowhere. They were just being ignored now. Ignored! People wouldn’t even look at them!

It was agony. Agony! The agony of being ignored!

But how could they be ignored? They were saying mean things! Horrible things! Deliberately the worst things! Proll went out of their way to say the absolute worst things - confronting an issue, picking the most horrible position on it and then stating it with the vilest language possible.

And it wasn’t working! People just were ignoring them! Ignoring them! Going about their lives as though Proll didn’t even exist!

And Proll curled up.

And Proll died.

There were others though, so it hardly mattered.

[spoldhamauthor]

Teaser- Hag’s Breath: A Collection of Witchcraft and Wickedness

A little taster for Hag's Breath: A Collection of Witchcraft and Wickedness. If you should decide to buy it, please review. Thank you, I hope you enjoy x

Sussurata strode forward, her door swinging open, welcoming her home. It closed softly behind her as myriad candles blossomed into light and a hearty fire sprung up in the grate. She poured a goblet of something hot to drink and sat down.

“I see you have been up to your tricks again,” she took a sip.

“Did you expect anything less?” a voice rasped in reply. Sussurata smiled. She wrapped her hands about the goblet as if to warm herself against its contents, “I expected better. Your attempts at escape are the feeblest I have ever known,”

“I am perhaps older than any you have ever caught before,”

“Is great old age not desirable in a witch? Should you not be endowed with such vast power and wisdom that you are too formidable an opponent for me?”

“I was, once. Now I am so old that I have forgotten more than even you will ever know,”

Sussurata smirked, “Yet I knew enough to capture you,”

The witch in the cage suspended above her head fell silent, thinking. She cursed her own stupidity.

Frail Agnes had known, of course she had known, of Sussurata’s reputation. But she had believed herself too wily and too learned to ever fall prey to her. True, Agnes had not gone out of her way to cross the witch’s path when she ventured into the woods; nor had she worried overmuch about meeting her, should they chance upon one another.

That had been her first mistake.

Agnes decided to try a different approach; one of antagonising her captor. It was a dangerous ploy, one which could so easily backfire, but she hoped to enrage her enough to make her distracted. If Sussurata should lose her cool composure for even one moment and do something reckless or unplanned it could prove useful to Agnes. All her hopes hung upon the witch’s arrogance and vanity.

“Great old age also teaches us reverence,” she said, “We choose our victims carefully, with deliberation. We know which step is a step too far and we endeavour to avoid making it. Your mother would never have shown such disrespect,”

The silence that fell was immediate and palpable. It was a long time before Sussurata spoke, tight-lipped and sharp, “You will not mention that hag again,”

It was a command that brooked no room for further discussion. Agnes groaned inwardly; another mistake. Sussurata may be vain but she was no fool. She had not lost control as Agnes had hoped. She suspected that all she had succeeded in doing was making her angry. In a witch like Sussurata, anger is a cold, hard thing indeed. Frail Agnes let some time pass before she dared to speak again. She chose her words carefully this time, allowing a note of admiration into her voice, hoping she might be able to flatter where she had failed to provoke.

“What is it you intend to do with a prize such as me?”

“Oh come now Agnes, you are not so old and forgetful that you do not know your own worth to another witch,”

Agnes’ eyes screwed closed. Damn her, she was good.#

“My eyes are rheumy and opaque,”

“Your eyes saw you through the woods well enough,”

“They did not let me see you until it was too late,”

“True,” Sussurata conceded, “but your inner eye shines bright and sees all,”

Agnes tried again, “My lungs are wheezy and hold little breath,”

“You have breath enough to try to dissuade me from using you,”

“My heart…”

“You heart beats strong and fast! It is the quickest thing about you,”

“The quickest thing about me is my mind!”

“Then it is not quick enough!” Sussurata snapped, “There are secrets locked away in it that you forgot an age ago. Knowledge you have misplaced that I can put to good use,”

“You would truly do this? You would desecrate all that is sacred about our calling and use the body of a sister witch to make your own stronger?”

“It is not a desecration, it is a practicality. And you are no sister of mine,”

“Ah no, of course. Sibilanta and Silhouetta are every bit as fabled as you are, yet not as evil, I suspect,”

“The irony is too much to bear. that you dare to call others evil. You will no more mention my sisters than you will my mother, rot her rancid soul!”

Frail Agnes paused, thinking fast. It seemed that every move she made, every word she uttered, served only to worsen her predicament.

“To murder a witch is to lessen her powers. By the time I am dead all the parts of me you crave will be weak at best, useless at worse,”

“I do not intend to kill you,”

“You don’t?” Agnes was surprised, “Then what? Do you mean to watch me die of great old age? I must warn you it will be a long time coming yet,”

“Not if I remove the long-life spell you cast upon yourself all those years ago,”

“Ha!” Agnes spat in disbelief, “Not even you have the power to do that! Do you think me a common witch? A feeble, frightened novice, cowering in your lair? You will find I am far more than that, my girl,”

Sussurata rose. She simply lifted into the air until she hovered, level with Agnes in her cage. The witches were eye to eye when she said, “My powers are far greater than you imagine, Frail Agnes,” her voice was soft, gentle; deeply threatening.

For the first time, Agnes felt a cold thrill of fear, a sensation unfamiliar to her. How did Sussurata even know she was wearing a long-life spell? Agnes began to fully understand the witch’s reputation. Any human unfortunate enough to stray into her neck of the woods never stood a chance. Apparently, neither did any witch.

“Then what?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Then I leave you to die where you sit, dangling over my head like an especially annoying fly. It won’t be the long wait you imagine it will, once the spell is removed. It will be a matter of hours before your true age catches up with you. Let’s face it Agnes, you are dead already, beneath the magic that holds you up. It is simply a matter of me harvesting the few useful parts that remain and preserving them before they rot, too,”

“And the parts of me that are no use to you? What of them?”

“The forest is my walls and my roof; I will throw them out, to the animals and insects that inhabit it. You will not be there for long,”

Agnes nodded in appreciation, despite her despair, “That is something, at least; to know that I will carry on in part, after I am gone,”

“The poor, cursed creatures that devour you will pay for their greed, no doubt. What is it people say? Evil begets evil,” Sussurata gave her most enigmatic smile.

“Certainly true of you and your mother,” Agnes shot back. She regretted it instantly. With barely a flick of her wrist, Sussurata beckoned Agnes’ tongue to leave her mouth. A strange, elastic feeling assailed Agnes throat. Her tongue pulled taut, stretched impossibly, followed by a loud snap. Her mouth filled with blood, searing pain burning her throat and neck.

“I told you not to mention her again. Now you will live out what is left of your sorry existence in silence,”

Agnes watched in horror as her tongue dangled, pulsing and vivid, from Sussurata’s hand, “I can put this to even better use, now that it is so fresh,” Sussurata said, adding thoughtfully, “perhaps I should just help myself while you are still breathing?”

She appeared to ponder this for a moment, as if the thought had not occurred to her before. At last she looked up, “I am torn, Agnes, between seeing you humiliated as I lay eyes upon the real you, hiding behind that spell, or taking what I need whilst it is still as fresh as it can be,”

She looked at Agnes cowering in her cage, her hands to her mouth in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, her eyes wide with what was unmistakably fear.

Sussurata felt a sudden rush of contempt. Any self-respecting witch would never show such weakness. Agnes deserved the most painful, deprecating death imaginable and it was in her power to inflict it.

“I have decided I like my meat fresh,” Sussurata said, stretching out her hands to persuade Agnes eyes from their sockets.

[tkmk]

there was a post on here about being a good ally to social causes and marginalised groups. i think it was a good post that described something important, but there was one line where it said something like “... challenge injustice (when it won’t make the situation worse)...”

and that is always something that really stresses me out. because how do i know that i’m not going to make the situation worse? how do i know that? how can i be sure that i’m not going to antagonise somebody into lashing out towards the group i’m trying to support? how can i guarantee that i’m not going to spread misinformation that detracts attention away from the real issues? how can i be sure that i’m not being influenced by weird personal biases to approach issues in a way that is more about myself than the people i claim to want to support?

it’s very clear that i am over-analysing things here. i think i overestimate the importance of my actions - both in terms of the positive things i expect myself to contribute and the negative things i worry i am going to be responsible for.

the first thing is not to dwell too much on “oh, what if my behaviour is used by fascist types to justify their actions?” because it really doesn’t matter who you are, what you say, or what you do; these people are at a point where they have such twisted ideologies that anything they encounter will be interpreted as “evidence” that they are correct. that is the starting point on the road to passive appeasement, to compromise over things that should not compromised on. putting yourself in a position where setting one foot wrong is going to somehow be the catalyst for some atrocity is giving the people who would commit such acts far too much credit, and if you start defining your behaviour upon that principle, you are always going to be fighting a losing battle.

the other thing is that the standards set for “good allies” aren’t actually that high. i regularly see people showing a lot of appreciation for very basic and simple displays of respect and support. of course, it’s not about getting appreciation, it’s about what’s useful, but observing what people appreciate is a proxy for what we should be aiming for. no individual is going to change the world, but i don’t think anyone actually expects that, and small positive efforts from enough people can add up to something worthwhile.

i tend to forget that when i get hyper-focused on myself, and the more i scrutinise myself, the more i trick myself into believing that avoiding these issues altogether is the only way i can prevent myself from doing anyone any serious harm. the more i avoid these issues, the more distant i get from the people actually affected, and the more the concept of what constitute a “good ally” becomes this abstract, gargantuan, impossible thing. the more i avoid the issue, the more i need to do to compensate for the avoidance!

there’s no perfect answer to any of this. it’s important to at least try, it’s important to understand that you won’t always get things right, but well-intentioned mistakes are never going to have the same consequences or context as deliberate and malicious acts. the bigger picture means you need to take the risk of doing something wrong, and be willing to hold yourself accountable if that happens. the worst case scenario is to passively and timidly avoid the issue entirely; no marginalised or oppressed person in the entire history of humanity has ever been helped by a potentially supportive person dwelling on “i’d be more useful/less harmful if i was dead” type though.

there’s no perfect answer, but there is an imperfect answer: to engage actively and sincerely, and maybe that’s enough.