#i have very strong feelings about these

[cerealjpeg]

spending quality time with each other <3

[benevolenterrancy]

~loathing, unadulterated loathing~

[aropride]

assume the humidity is the normal amount for ur area 👍

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for an incredible 500 days of love and support. I offer you: answers to questions that no one has asked.

(As always, more can be found in the tags <3)

[ewwww-what]

Nobody is as excited about the preview as I am. I have paragraphs.

[fudgecake-charlie]

OH FUCK i thought i was posting today but it was actually yesterday MY BAD!! Here's my contribution to @hotguycomiczine, with script written by the wonderful and amazing @definitelynotshouting <3

it was a blast to be creating and brainstorming something amazing with all these people, definitely one of my fondest zine experiences out there.

[START] [PREVIOUS] [NEXT] [MERCH] [MISC]

[housederiva]

I saw a post earlier (it wasn’t a serious one mind you) that was joking around about how of course Emmrich’s family was poor, his father was a butcher in a country of vegetarians

In a country whose vast majority of citizens are vegetarians, there wouldn’t be much need for a butcher and they could easily be looked down upon and the pay wouldn’t be that high which means Rupert was a dogsbody (a person who does jobs no one else wants to) and probably took the job to keep his family fed. It makes me so sad as someone whose father had a similar role irl

Emmrich wasn’t poor because his father was a butcher. His father was a butcher because his family was poor and he loved his son very very much

[daeneryscel]

hot take maybe but the only reason most show runners/producers/writers/etc. age up the (female) characters from book to show adaptation is to overtly sexualize them and not face mass amounts of scrutiny for it.

put 13 year old daenerys next to 30 year old drogo and the audience understands that daenerys is a victim to him and not an equal. put 22 year old emilia clarke as daenerys next to 32 year old jason mamoa as drogo and they’re seen as a budding romance with a tragic ending (by the general audience) due to their on screen chemistry.

flash forward to today, and now we’re dealing with 21 year old milly alcock playing rhaenyra from 14-19 and how her relationship with (28 year old fabien) a mid twenties criston is seen as -morally acceptable- and not a result of a degenerate pedophile taking advantage of and grooming his charge. “ser criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from ser criston?” rhaenyra was 14 when rumors started speculating that she slept with an almost 30 year old criston. a criston who had know her since she was 8 and had been her sworn shield since she was 9. obviously seeing a teenager in the early stages of puberty next to a fully grown man would emphasize rhaenyra being THE victim, as opposed to the show having an 18-19 year old explore her sexuality and seek out ‘consensual’ sex with her peer bodyguard. the discourse has even reached the point where certain stans try to paint the much younger woman as the perpetrator and aggressor of this event, who forced the unassuming man into having sex with her.

i’ll even take this a step farther, and bring up how if they had shown a 19 year old alicent abusing a 10 year old rhaenyra it would be identified and mutually agreed upon as a reprehensible act on alicent’s part. instead they’re of similar age, so people can attempt to paint the picture as two women of equal standing hating each other, and not a much older woman bullying a motherless child. once again however, some stans even go so far as to try and paint alicent as a victim of rhaenyra, and not the other way around. further cementing this is how both versions of alicent are younger than both versions of rhaenyra, AND how criston is still played by an actor who is younger than older!rhaenyra despite his character being the same age as daemon in canon.

they know exactly what they’re doing too, considering they aged alicent down to give her that innate compassion one typically feels when seeing children being abused on tv (something that can no longer be applied to rhaenyra). despite that never being her story; *she* was the abuser, and rhaenyra was her victim. criston’s victim. it’s a nasty cop out, and i wish more people would call out how sickening it is to flip the switch and attempt to make abusive individuals more sympathetic than the *actual* victims of said abusers.

[wish-i-were-heather]

i was just playing minecraft with my little brother and he told me he hadnt seen the trailer for the movie. so being the evil person i am i decided to traumatize him and show him. he gasped in complete horror when he saw the beginning and fully walked away, he didnt even get halfway through watching it. and when he saw jack black as steve (i had to convince him to keep watching bc he was actually mad) he was mortified

so warner bros just know that having fun colors and silly jokes and famous actors is not fun for the kids. your intended audience doesn't even like it. there are children who still play minecraft. they may not be nostalgic for it, but its their current favorite game. and its just as devastating for them to see it adapted horribly as it is for us. do better.

[roserefrain]

hey ! I have seen some folks spreading around links to suicide hotlines, and though I understand the sentiment, most of the hotlines I’ve seen linked around are active rescue hotlines.

for those who don’t know, a hotline doing “active rescue” is them calling the police on you if they think you’re a big enough danger to yourself. these hotlines are pretty exclusively focused on you making a safety plan or they call the cops, not anything else. (sometimes they will even call the cops on you after you’ve already made a safety plan)

please, if you’re going to spread around resources for suicidal people, consider spreading this list of non-carceral resources.

this has hotlines, warmlines, peer support, self help tools, and more. I can personally vouch for the THRIVE lifeline, though you do need to be 18 years or older to contact them.

[bird-likes-to-fandom]

thank God for Chappell Roan. I cannot appreciate this woman and all she's done for rural, southern, and Midwestern queers, queers in red states, women in the public eye and in general, enough.

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 423 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 ねじ込んだ一撃ーー‼︎ ねじこんだいちげきーー‼︎ nejikonda ichigeki--!! A single, exacting blow--!!

tagline 2 No.423　OFA vs AFO　堀越耕平 ナンバー423　ワン・フォー・オールバーサスオール・フォー・ワン　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 423  WAN FOO OORU vs OORU FOO WAN  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 423 One for All vs All for One Kouhei Horikoshi

1 何故気付けなかった なぜきづけなかった naze kidzukenakatta Why didn't I notice?

2 この窶れた"身体"に「超再生」が適用されない違和感 このやつれた"からだ"に「ちょうさいせい」がてきようされないいわかん kono yatsureta "karada" ni 「chousaisei」 ga tekiyou sarenai iwakan [This] sense of discomfort that Super Regeneration no longer applies to this worn-out body.

3 こいつだ…いやーーー koitsu da...iya--- It's this guy...no---

4 こいつらがーー‼︎ koitsura ga--!! All of these [people]--!!

5 謀ったのだ はかったのだ hakatta no da They conspired.

1 それ単体では それたんたいでは sore tantai de wa By itself

2 あまりに脆弱な"敵意" あまりにぜいじゃくな"てきい" amari ni zeijaku na "tekii" [each one's] enmity was too frail,

3 しかし撚り集まって しかしよりあつまって shikashi yori atsumatte but when they gathered together,

4 いつしか僕を覆い感受を鈍らせていたのだ いつしかぼくをおおいかんじゅをにぶらせていたのだ itsu shika boku wo ooi kanju wo niburasete ita no da before I knew it, they enshrouded me and dulled my sensitivity. (Note: He means his ability to sense one person via Danger Sense became dulled because there were too many people with enmity gathered together in one place.)

5 与一と継承者どもを打ち込まれたあの時にもう精神のみならず よいちとけいしょうしゃどもをう��こまれたあのときにもうせいしんのみならず Yoichi to keishousha-domo wo uchikomareta ano toki ni mou seishin no minarazu Yoichi and all the successors were cast [into me]. At that time, not only my spirit but

6 身体も…‼︎ からだも…‼︎ karada mo...!! my body, too...!!

7 生半可な"身体"では なまはんかな"からだ"では namahanka na "karada" de wa (literal) A half-baked body (official) Your limp-noodle body isn't ready for it.

8 受け取り切れず四肢が爆散してしまうんだ！ うけとりきれずししがばくさんしてしまうんだ！ uketori kirezu shishi ga bakusan shite shimaunda! (literal) can't receive it. Your limbs would explode! (official) Your limbs would pop right off!! (Note: This frame is from chapter 2.)

9 たった2年…！8代目より少し上乗せされた… たった2ねん…！8だいめよりすこしうわのせされた… tatta 2nen...! 8daime yori sukoshi uwanosesareta... "Only 2 years...! I only added a little more to [what it was with] 8th..." (Note: He means he only added 2 years' worth of power to OFA, a tiny amount after what it was when All Might passed it off.)

10 9人分の力の結晶だ 9にんぶんのちからのけっしょうだ 9ninbun no chikara no kesshou da "It's the crystallization of power in proportion to nine people."

1 既に"身体"も すでに"からだ"も sude ni karada mo This body also has already

2 砕かれていた事に くだかれていたことに kudakarete ita koto ni been broken, unfortunately.

3 "個性"が崩れてく… "こせい"がくずれてく… "kosei" ga kuzureteku... "His quirks are crumbling..." (Note: This is a word often used to describe the effects of Tomura's Decay.)

4 やったのか緑谷…！ やったのかみどりや…！ yatta no ka Midoriya...! "Did you do it, Midoriya...!"

1 まだだ‼︎ mada da!! Not yet!!

2 "個性"で無理矢理 "こせい"でむりやり "kosei" de muriyari With his quirks, he forcibly

3 つなぎ止めた！ つなぎとめた！ tsunagitometa! tied himself together! (Note: This word also means "to save someone's life." In this case AFO is forcibly preserving his own life by using his quirks to keep himself from falling apart.)

4 まだ何も為していない まだなにもなしていない mada nani mo nashite inai "I haven't achieved anything yet."

5 誰にも奪わせはしない…‼︎ だれにもうばわせはしない…‼︎ dare ni mo ubawase wa shinai...!! "I won't let anyone steal it away...!!"

6 僕だけが夢を為す ぼくだけがゆめをなす boku dake ga yume wo nasu "Only I will achieve my dream."

7 誰にも…！継がぬ…紡がぬ‼︎ だれにも…！つがぬ…つむがぬ‼︎ dare ni mo...! tsuganu...tsumuganu!! "No one...! [They] won't inherit it... [They] won't spin the tale*!!" (*Note: The word used here means "to spin (thread), to make up a story, to assemble, to put together.")

8 魔王は常に唯一‼︎ まおうはつねにゆいいつ‼︎ maou wa tsune ni yuiitsu!! "The Demon King is always the only one!!"

9 そうだとも繰り返せばいい… そうだともくりか��せばいい… sou da tomo kurikaeseba ii... Even if that's true, I can just do it over again...

10 愚かな弔にそうしたように‼︎ おろかなとむらにそうしたように‼︎ oroka na Tomura ni sou shita you ni!! Just like how I did to foolish Tomura!!

11 OFA無き今緑谷でも…！誰でも‼︎ ワン・フォー・オールなきいまみどりやでも…！だれでも‼︎ WAN FOO OORU naki ima Midoriya demo...! dare demo!! Even Midoriya, now that he doesn't have One For All...! Anyone!!

12 "個性"を「与え」奪えばいい‼︎ "ぼく自身"を「あたえ」うばえばいい‼︎ "boku jishin (kanji: kosei)" wo 「atae」 ubaeba ii!! I can give and take away "myself" (read as: my quirk)!!

1 器を!!! うつわを!!! utsuwa wo!!! "[I'll make] a vessel!!!"

2 もうやめろAFO もうやめろオール・フォー・ワン mou yamero OORU FOO WAN "Give it a rest, All For One."

3 緑谷‼︎ みどりや‼︎ Midoriya!! "Midoriya!!"

4 白雲…⁉︎ しらくも…⁉︎ Shirakumo...!? "Shirakumo...!?"

5 消…太 しょう…た Shou...ta "Shou...ta"

6 山…田… やま…だ… Yama...da... "Yama...da..."

7 ゴメン…ナ…… GOMEN...NA...... "I'm...sorry......"

8 行かなくては…私はーーーーー いかなくては…わたしはーーーーー ikanakute wa...watashi wa----- Have to go...I-----

1 死柄木弔を守らなくては しがらきとむらをまもらなくては Shigaraki Tomura wo mamoranakute wa I have to protect Tomura Shigaraki

2 Xあ‼︎X生‼︎ Xあ‼︎Xしょう‼︎ XA!! Xshou!! (Note: This speech bubble is partially cut off.)

3 やっぱり…‼︎どこまでも… yappari...!! doko made mo... "As expected...!! No matter what..."

4 手ぇ差し伸べちまうんだよあいつは‼︎ てぇさしのべちまうんだよあいつは‼︎ tee sashinobechimaunda yo aitsu wa!! "he's that guy who'll hold out his hand [for someone]!!"

5 A…FO… オール…フォー・ワン… OORU...FOO WAN... "All...For One..."

6 死柄…木弔を…オ返シ…下サイ しがら…きとむらを…オかえシ…くだサイ Shigara...ki Tomura wo...OkaSHI...kudaSAI "Tomura Shigara...ki...Please give...him back."

7 オッおォッ OoO "Ooo"

1 オ友達が待っテイルんデす オともだちがまっテイルんデす Otomodachi ga matTE IRUnDEsu "His friends are waiting."

1 爆豪⁉︎ ばくごう⁉︎ Bakugou!? "Bakugou!?"

2 病院にって…‼︎うっそだろあいつ！ びょういんにって…‼︎うっそだろあいつ！ byouin ni tte...!! usso daro aitsu! "They said [you were heading to] the hospital...!! That guy's unbelievable!"

3 「爆破」で一人で来やがった‼︎ 「ばくは」でひとりできやがった‼︎ 「bakuha」 de hitori de kiyagatta!! "He went and came over alone using Explosion!!"

4 轟の"ジャンプ台"貸りたけどよォ〜〜〜〜〜 とどろきの"ジャンプだい"かりたけどよォ〜〜〜〜〜 Todoroki no "JANPU dai" karita kedo yoO~~~~~ "I borrowed Todoroki's jump platform, but~~~~~"

5 俺に追い越されてンなよ出久‼︎ おれにおいこされてンなよいずく‼︎ ore ni oikosareteN na yo Izuku!! "don't let me overtake you, Izuku!!"

6 AFO…‼︎おまえを許しはしない オール・フォー・ワン…‼︎おまえをゆるしはしない OORU FOO WAN...!! omae wo yurushi wa shinai "All For One...!! I won't forgive you."

1 けれど理解できない化物だとも思わない けれどりかいできないば��ものだともおもわない keredo rikai dekinai bakemono da to mo omowanai "But I don't think you're an incomprehensible monster."

2 …やめろ ...yamero "...Stop."

3 おまえは魔王なんかじゃない おまえはまおうなんかじゃない omae wa maou nanka ja nai "You are not actually a Demon King."

4 見るな みるな miruna "Don't look [at me]."

5 おまえはただの omae wa tada no "You're just"

6 寂しがりな人間だ‼︎ さみしがりなにんげんだ‼︎ samishigari na ningen da!! "a lonely person!!"

1 与一…⁉︎ よいち…⁉︎ Yoichi...!? "Yoichi...!?"

2 緑谷くんは みどりやくんは Midoriya-kun wa "Midoriya-kun"

3 限り限りのラインでカケラが残るよう ぎりぎりのラインでカケラがのこるよう girigiri no RAIN de KAKERA ga nokoru you "seems to have a fragment remain for as long as possible."

4 ぶつける力を調整したんだね…… ぶつけるちからをちょうせいしたんだね…… butsukeru chikara wo chousei shitanda ne...... "I guess he adjusted the force of his hit......"

5 そして　残り火による"感応"で叩き起こしたんだ そして　のこりびによる"かんのう"でたたきおこしたんだ soshite nokoribi ni yoru "kannou" de tataki okoshitanda Then, I was roused awake in response to his embers.

6 僅かな残滓となった僕を わずかなざんしとなったぼくを wazuka na zanshi to natta boku wo I, who became mere dregs,

7 ワン・フォー・オールを WAN FOO OORU wo One For All.

8 正しく完遂させる為に ただしくかんすいさせるために tadashiku kansui saseru tame ni In order to properly follow [things] through. (Note: The order of the lines here makes this confusing. He's saying that, in response to Izuku's final attack with his embers, the barest dregs of Yoichi's vestige was roused. This one last piece of his vestige remained likely because Izuku held back on his attack using Yoichi's vestige. Now that he, the base One For All quirk, has awoken, he will carry out the mission of One For All.)

9 どうでもいい‼︎ dou demo ii!! "I don't care!!"

10 どうでもいい‼︎ dou demo ii!! "I don't care!!"

11 消えるな‼︎顔を見せろ！ きえるな‼︎かおをみせろ！ kieruna!! kao wo misero! "Don't disappear!! Show your face!"

12 無理だよ むりだよ muri da yo "That's impossible."

13 消える きえる kieru "I'll disappear."

14 駄目だ だめだ dame da "You can't!"

15 僕のモノだ‼︎僕を見ていろ‼︎目を見せろ‼︎ ぼくのモノだ‼︎ぼくをみていろ‼︎めをみせろ‼︎ boku no MONO da!! boku wo mite iro!! me wo misero!! "You're mine!! Look at me!! Show [me] your eyes!!"

16 兄さん にいさん niisan "[Older] Brother,"

17 貴方を導けなかった あなたをみちびけなかった anata wo michibikenakatta "I couldn't guide you."

18 これは緑谷くんが見出してくれた これはみどりやくんがみいだしてくれた kore wa Midoriya-kun ga miidashite kureta "Midoriya-kun discovered this for me."

19 僕らへの最期の救済だ ぼくらへのさいごのきゅうさいだ bokura e no saigo no kyuusai da "It's our final* salvation." (*Note: The word used for "final" here means "one's last moment at their time of death.")

1 駄目だ‼︎許可しない‼︎大好きだ！ だめだ‼︎きょかしない‼︎だいすきだ！ dame da!! kyoka shinai!! daisuki da! "You can't!! I won't allow it!! I love you!"

2 大好きなんだ!!!おまえがいないと僕は駄目なんだ!!! だいすきなんだ!!!おまえがいないとぼくはだめなんだ!!! daisuki nanda!!! omae ga inai to boku wa dame nanda!!! "I love you!!! If you're gone I have no purpose*!!!" (*Note: The word used here, dame, means many things depending on context. It means "bad, no good, useless, broken, hopeless, wasted, in vain, purposeless.")

3 そうやって sou yatte "In that way,"

4 全てを己が為に利用してきた代償を払う時だ すべてをおのがためにりようしてきたツケをはらうときだ subete wo ono ga tame ni riyou shite kita TSUKE (kanji: daishou) wo harau toki da "it's time to pay reparations for taking advantage of everything for your own sake."

5-6 彼が起こしたのは僕だけじゃない かれがおこしたのはぼくだけじゃない kare ga okoshita no wa boku dake ja nai "I was not the only one he awoke."

1 先生に喰われて消滅したと思ったんだけどな… せんせいにくわれてしょうめつしたとおもったんだけどな… sensei ni kuwarete shoumetsu shita to omottanda kedo na... I thought I had been devoured by Master and disappeared, but...

2 あんたが俺を あんたがおれを anta ga ore wo were you

3 消え���いように繋ぎ止めてたのか きえないようにつなぎとめてたのか kienai you ni tsunagi tometeta no ka tying* me down so I wouldn't disappear? (*Note: Again, this word also means "to save someone's life.")

4 おばあちゃん obaachan Grandma,

5 黒霧…………… くろぎり…………… Kurogiri............... Kurogiri...............

6 先生から身体を奪い返しただけで せんせいからからだをうばいかえしただけで sensei kara karada wo ubai kaeshita dake de I only stole my body back from Master, and

7 何も壊せやしなかった なにもこわせやしなかった nani mo kowase ya shinakatta I didn't destroy anything.

8 結局俺はおまえの言った通り…泣いてるガキだ��たって事か けっきょくおれはおまえのいったとおり…ないてるガキだったってことか kekkyoku ore wa omae no itta toori...naiteru GAKI datta tte koto ka "In the end, I was just as you said... A crying kid, huh?"

9 この手をX壊せなかったX このてをXこわせなかったX kono te wo X kowasenakatta X "This hand X couldn't break X"." (Note: Some of this speech bubble is cut off. It could say something like "I couldn't break these hands of yours.")

10 …やった事を許せはしないだから戦った …やったことをゆるせはしないだからたたかった ...yatta koto wo yuruse wa shinai da kara tatakatta "...I can't forgive the things you've done; that's why I fought."

1 止めたかったし…止まってほしかったんだ とめたかったし…とまってほしかったんだ tometakatta shi...tomatte hoshikattanda "I wanted to stop [you]... I wanted [you] to stop,"

2 悲しみが紡がれないように かなしみがつむがれないように kanashimi ga tsumugarenai you ni "so that the sadness wouldn't [keep] spin[ning]*." (*Note: This is back to that word that means "to spin yarn, to spin tales, etc." Izuku is saying he didn't want the sadness to beget more sadness. He wants the chain of sadness to stop.)

3 ハッ HA "Ha." (Note: This is an exhalation that could mean any number of things, like shock, laughter, realization, etc.)

4 緑谷出久 みどりやいずく Midoriya Izuku "Izuku Midoriya,"

5 スピナーが生きてたら伝えてくれよ スピナーがいきてたらつたえてくれよ SUPINAA ga ikitetara tsutaete kure yo "if Spinner is alive, please tell him [something]."

6 "死柄木弔"は最期まで壊す為に戦ったって "しがらきとむら"はさいごまでこわすためにたたかったって "Shigaraki Tomura" wa saigo made kowasu tame ni tatakatta tte "Tomura Shigaraki fought until the very end* in order to destroy." (*Note: Again, this is that "finale" word that means "one's last moment at their time of death.")

7 もう…壊したよ もう…こわしたよ mou...kowashita yo "You already...destroyed [it]."

tagline 決着‼︎永きにわたる因縁が晴れ上がるーー‼︎ けっちゃく‼︎ながきにわたるいんねんがはれあがるーー‼︎ kecchaku!! nagaki ni wataru innen ga hareagaru--!! Settled!! The chain of cause and effect that spans a long time is cleared up--!!

[arihi]

Feeling unsafe is not the same as being unsafe and people are unable to distinguish between the two - you always have a right to be safe, but you do not necessarily have the right to always feel safe. This is an underlying theme in a lot of issues, like judging others' kinks, queerness, race, media analysis, and more; what the real heart of the problem is is unfamiliarity, things that people do not know and thus shrink away from in fear or disgust or discomfort. It can be a basic instinct to approach change and unfamiliarity with caution, but it needs to be an intentional act to challenge that fear/world view. It is something that we owe to the people around us, and that we owe to ourselves.

[rawliverandcigarettes]

Thinking about Mass Effect, as you do, and how I'm kind of sad that the way it's been engraved in pop culture has more to do with the way internet reacted to it at the time than what the actual game is about. Yes sure, it's about romance (and not that much all things considered) and it's pulpy (but not solely because of hot lady aliens), but it's also intricate worldbuilding that touches on a lot of sharp ideas, and a complicated tug-of-war between a genuine and vulnerable belief in reconciliation and community VS post 9-11 US military propaganda and steadfast belief in heroic exceptionalism, and the melancholic yet energizing mood, and the daring narrative systems, and so so much more than the 'We'll Bang OKs" and the "There's No Shepard Without Vakarian" and the whole ME3 ending situation

It's all there, but I'm sad the impact of the series is often reduced to (what I think is) the least interesting parts of its sum

[gingermintpepper]

“Your hair’s gotten longer.” 

It’s conscious effort that keeps him from tucking the strands behind his ear, from taking the knife at his hip and shearing it all off. He keeps his stance focused, attentive, there’s little else he can do when he’s taken so completely after his mother when it comes to his hair. His father scratches his chin, the clouds of his beard snaking about his finger like mist parting for mountain-peaks. Ares’ chin is still child-smooth. He can feel the tickle of his over-long fringe against his soft jaw. There’s no heart in his chest, but still he feels as though a pulse is lodged in his throat. 

Father sighs, put-upon, disappointed, and Ares feels a slight tremor start in his calves from holding himself so tense. “Well done, Ares. Go clean yourself up and get some rest. Phoebus will want to look you over later.” 

He should be ecstatic to be praised by his father. Over-the-moon with joy. There should be pride emanating from every pore of his body, the blood on his skin should be sweeter than ambrosia. 

Instead, he bows, manages a soft ‘thank you, Father’ around the lump in his throat and immediately flees the room. A mild ‘make sure to trim your hair’ hits the back of his head like a spear through the skull. He almost wishes the great door had slammed on his foot so he would have reason to feel this horrid in his retreat.  

Phoebus Apollo is waiting for him in his infirmary. 

He’s gilded as ever, gold from crown to heel. Perfect like the statues they carve of him in his temples. He has a smile for Ares when he sees him, a crinkle at the edges of his pretty eyes from the weight of his joy. Ares is waiting to see the crack in the marble, to see if that’s the chip that’ll reveal his fangs.

“Brother,” he greets, and his voice is warm - like the arms that embrace him, his voice is so warm, “Welcome back. I’ve heard you’ve done well.”  

There’s a tremble in Ares’ fingers he hadn’t noticed before. Strain from carrying his sword for so many days, a throb from wounds he hadn’t noticed he’d accrued. “Heard? There’s already gossip?” 

Phoebus blinks, disarming, demure, coquettish, “But of course,” and Phoebus’ voice is honey to Ares’ gravel, the juxtaposition is grating on his skin, “It’s Olympus. The gossip began long before you set your course.” Those warm hands lead him further into the room, bodily sits him on the chaise, pulls his helmet from his head. It’s all one, unbroken motion, “It’s summer alas, so I could not watch your war myself, but I hear it was quite the decisive victory.” 

A thousand thoughts run on horseback through his mind then. 

Did Father overhear some terrible slander that pre-emptively disappointed him? Was Ares’ victory merely a rumour, a bet his father hadn’t bothered to take? Was the gossip more enticing than the stark truth? That Ares wasn’t some child toddling about in the shadow of his sister, that his sword and spear weren’t merely for show - he’d think such a thing would warrant celebration. Not -

“Oh my,” Phoebus is in front of him, pleasant warmth more sticky heat with how close he’s pressed himself into Ares’ space. From this angle, Ares can see the multi-coloured flecks of his eyes, like shards of golden glass suspended in ichor. From this angle, with his hand so gently holding his hair, were Ares to blink too hard, he’d swear Phoebus looked just like his mother. “Your hair’s grown long again.” 

He pushes Phoebus off with such force that he bangs into the wall. It’s Phoebus, it won’t make even the impression of a scratch on him, but Ares wishes it would. Wishes he’d hit his shoulder or crack his neck or hit his head just hard enough for all that perfect, gilded gold to bleed. 

“I’m only here for you to heal me,” the tremble in his hand extends to his shoulder now. He flexes and unflexes his palm. Gods what he would give to just have a sword - “Don’t waste time with the pleasant-work.” 

Phoebus huffs, adjusts the fit of his himation, “...Only because we’re meant to be celebrating your victory.” He crosses the room in two great strides, his hair a swirling tempest behind him as he gathers his poultices and wraps. “The only reason I’ll not throw you from the window is because we are meant to be celebrating your victory.”  

There’s not enough acid in his tone for this to truly be a fight. Ares’ jaw clenches, he bites out a terse, “How benevolent.” 

“Aren’t I?” He’s got nectar and his sutures in hand, that focused look falling upon his face when he switches from overbearing busybody to Paeon of the Gods. “Now strip unfaltering Ares, let us see the measure of damage done to your indomitable flesh.” 

(Somewhere between the fifth set of stitches and the gentle frown that crosses Phoebus’ face when he notices the persistent tremble in his fingers, Ares pins his eyes to the far wall and asks, “What does it mean when Father says ‘well done’?” 

Any other sibling would mock before they gave a true response. Any other sibling would laugh and dismiss it, would say that praise is praise and any lingering ill feeling is just the worst of the war still fogging his mind. Phoebus does not answer immediately. He doesn’t make a single sound. The question settles like fetid water between them, unignorable, the scent right there on the tip of the tongue yet firmly unacknowledged. Ares closes his eyes and tries again to settle his squirming so he does not interfere with Phoebus’ work.  The metallic snip of scissors cutting thread breaks the silence. Phoebus bids him to sit up and slides his warm palms up his back until his fingers tangle gently in the ends of his hair. He twists the dark red strands until he’s gathered it all into a neat handful, holding it loosely as he switches his scissors for his shearing blade. “You should know it was not praise,” Phoebus says softly. The first of Ares cut hairs fall like viscera from his head. Phoebus treats each cutting with the sacredness of a blood-sacrifice. If he focused on the moment of tension right before the blade cuts though, Ares thinks he can imagine the agony of his sister’s sacred birth. “It is acknowledgement. Father thinks you’ve done well so he says ‘well done’.”

Gently, Phoebus releases him. Ruffles his head so all the extra hairs fall like red rain to the floor. Ares runs his fingers through the ends now curling against his ear. “Has he ever told you ‘well done’?” 

A laugh, warm and gilded, “No, and it would not make you feel better if he had.” 

Ares swallows down a thousand different questions. Phoebus wouldn’t answer them, he’s infuriating like that. Instead, he clenches his teeth, the phantom of Father’s dizzying tangle of grey cloud-hairs persistent in the corner of his eyes. “Cut it shorter.”

Phoebus doesn’t protest. He never seems to say a word when it really matters.)

[wolfsong-the-bloody-beast]

I'm kind of obsessed with Blackwall's idealized ideas about the Wardens. He was once picked up by a Warden and lulled by the promise of atoning for his crimes and turning his life around, only for that opportunity to slip away when the Warden not only saved him, but sacrificed his own life to do it. This whole experience makes our Blackwall become a Warden in heart, if not in blood, but with his own ideas of what a Grey Warden should be - noble, brave, inspiring, heroic, self-sacrificial. Everything he now wants to embody. He knows well that he's not there, but he wants nothing more than to start from scratch and be that.

In his beliefs, he reminds me a bit of Wynne in Origins who tells the Warden at some point that the Grey Wardens are supposed to be more than killing machines and weapons against the blight.

“There’s more to being a Grey Warden than killing darkspawn and saving the world from the Blight. Ultimately, being a Grey Warden is about serving others, about serving all people, whether elves or dwarves or men. As a Grey Warden, you are a guardian of men. And you guard them because their continued existence is more important than you are.”

However, we know that's not exactly how it works. That's what they want the Wardens to be. The light against darkness. The shield against monsters.

Although it's not entirely wrong, either, I suppose, all things considered. The more darkspawn they obliterate and push back, the more people are protected from them. Of course, sacrificing their lives to fight literal monsters, which means those same monsters don't eat everybody's kids, ultimately is heroic, and it's something that must have been born out of the need to protect the world and its inhabitants (from the Blight). But to have idealized opinions of the Wardens to this degree, you have to ignore all the other shady stuff and the mentality we, as players, also know the Wardens for. The fact that the Wardens are primarily weapons to slay darkspawn, prevent and end Blights, by any means necessary. The last part is important. After all, they are the Grey Wardens, not the White Wardens. They recruit from all walks of life and are famous for taking in criminals. Not to redeem themselves and get a second chance at life, but because they usually have nowhere to go and nothing left to lose. It's not a coincidence that each of the Origins gets chosen by Duncan, not only because he sees them as capable, but also because they are in a situation they can't escape from. Either they join the Wardens, or they're done for.

We know the Wardens from a few games now, but does the public in the setting even know? Does the average person have any idea how far the Wardens are willing to go? Besides grand stories of slaying monsters in the dark and preventing the end of the world? Probably not. The order is very secretive. And it explains a lot. The Wardens end up sounding almost romantic, when being a Warden is anything but. Is it ignorance talking out of these characters? Perhaps.

It once again shows us this aspect of Dragon Age where you can't take everything a character says as a fact, because the setting is full of people who have no idea what they're talking about, but who are absolutely convinced that they do.

And yet, I can't help but also like Wynne's and Blackwall's romantic ideas about what the Wardens are or should be, almost knights in shining armour and all that. They're fairy tales, but they're beautiful fairy tales. And I can't fault the characters for wanting to believe it or even live it. Especially in case of Blackwall, who sees it as a way to make up for the crimes he committed, somewhat. In the end, this might actually be a bigger draw to join the Wardens than, "Got nowhere to go? Come suffer horribly and probably die gruesomely with us!" It all sounds great on paper, though. I can't fault Davrin for trying to find purpose in life by becoming a monster hunter, either.

And maybe a little bit of idealism doesn't hurt. Not only it's good motivation, but in the end, doing things by "any means necessary" doesn't always pay off, either. It led the Wardens into all kinds of trouble, like getting tricked into employing dangerous forms of blood magic and demon summoning, basically into doing their enemy's work for them. In their determination to win at any cost, they helped trigger a cataclysmic event. Maybe having some principles isn't so bad after all.

In the end, I can appreciate that we get to see the clash of the old and new blood in Veilguard, where there's hope for the order to transform into an organization that's less secretive, less exclusive, and hopefully less prone to letting corruption spread through its ranks and make other devastating mistakes. Duncan once said that letting people join the Wardens isn't an "act of charity", and I like how Evka and Antoine go, "Yeah, you know what? Fuck that." And that likely inspires more loyalty. I imagine Blackwall would like that.