#i mean the treason part sorta did that already but you get what i mean right

[chewbokachoi]

my current favorite theory is he threw himself through the portal because he saw an orphan on the other side

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC’s Half Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar Part 4

(The side characters strike again!)

Part 1 Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Part 2.5 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Part 3

L!MC= Lucifer’s kid | M!MC= Mammon’s kid | A!MC=Asmo’s kid

Let’s get right to it!

The Uncle That Hardcore Simps For His Spouse In the Most Wholesome Way (Diavolo)

Gasp! More half-demon kids? Oh my! Maybe if he tried again next year a kid of his own would pop down! Hang on- he hadn’t slept with a human in almost a century... dang. No kids for him...

...maybe...

Remember when I said Diavolo would try to do those stereotypical dad (tm) things and be hip with the kids? Yeah he keeps doing that.

The number of broken windows related to wayward baseballs goes up 150%. At least that’s how they all figured out that M!MC is nearsighted like their dad!

M!MC had developed a bit of a habit of telling Diavolo about cool human stuff and making the Crown Prince even more interested in the human world than normal.

You may be thinking “what’s so bad about that?” well, the number of yo-yos at RAD went up so high that Lucifer had to ban them.

Belphie and Satan, being the rebels they are, became yo-yo masters specifically to spite Lucifer.

It was sort of like the fidget spinners craze if you were in school for that.

Oh, hi Lord Diavolo. What’s a fidget spinner? It’s this- I should stop talking...

Since no one learned their lesson from the previous incident, Diavolo threw another BBQ.

“Why are we doing this again?” L!MC asked to no one in particular.

“Don’t worry, L!MC. I’ve taken every precaution possible to make sure that what happened last time doesn’t happen again.” Diavolo said and continued in his crusade to cover the entire pathway with sidewalk chalk doodles.

L!MC, Luke, Diavolo, M!MC, Belphie, and A!MC were all busily drawing a wide variety of doodles and drawings with chalk while the other guests milled around nearby. A!MC was in the middle of drawing quite the nice looking Cerberus chibi, while M!MC and Belphie were drawing a lot of stick figures. L!MC and Luke had just finished a wonderful drawing of... an alpaca? Giraffe? Thing...? Hell, even they didn’t know what it was.

Diavolo looked over at M!MC’s stick figure army with a big smile on his face. “So what are all of them doing? It looks like that one’s flying!”

You could practically hear the Addam’s Family theme play as M!MC and Belphie looked at each other and grinned.

“Oh Belphie was just talking about L!MC’s flying lesson fails and I felt that an artist’s rendition was needed.” M!MC explained, he began to point out certain doodles. “Here’s L!MC getting up off the ground, then there’s them actually flying, and this is them falling in the fountain.”

L!MC looked over at the chalk and glared at M!MC. “It’s generous to call that an artist’s rendition. It looks like crap.”

“And what did you draw?” Belphie smirked at the alpaca-giraffe-thing, Luke protectively covered up the drawing (side note, Luke was wearing white and playing with sidewalk chalk, by the end of the day he looked like a walking pride flag).

“None of your business!” Luke huffed.

“And what about that one?” Diavolo seemed completely oblivious to the hostility brewing between the two groups, A!MC was completely used to this and walked away to grab a drink.

“Ah, good eye, Lord Diavolo!” M!MC chirped. “This is a drawing of the time L!MC almost burned down your kitchen.”

Diavolo laughed and gave M!MC a few pats on the head. “Very accurate!”

“You’re so lucky I followed the rules and didn’t bring a water gun...” L!MC growled as they slowly reached for their backpack.

“Yeah... lucky. Real lucky...” M!MC nodded as they tried to casually reach for their bag, Belphie followed suit.

“I’m so glad we all followed the rules.” Luke smiled, his own hand inching towards his bag.

There was a brief moment of stillness before the four of them whipped out their water guns and pointed them at each other.

“This BBQ ain’t big enough for the both of us!” M!MC’s terrible cowboy impression aside, their gun was poised to shoot directly at Luke and L!MC’s alpaca-giraffe-thing.

“Everyone, I know this is a human world tradition but-”

Belphie silenced Diavolo by pointing his water gun at him. “Sh, don’t talk unless you have a water gun as well.”

Deciding not to smite Belphie for treason, Diavolo pulled his own water gun out of his shirt. “Okay, what now?”

“Now, we’re in a standoff...” L!MC glowered at M!MC, the air was practically crackling with hostility...

Until a burst of flames got everyone to whirl around to see A!MC with hairspray and a lighter.

“No water guns! I refuse to go home shivering and covered in grass again!”

Crisis averted. Everyone went to go fail at throwing beanbags into a hole instead of shooting each other.

That was probably for the best... Belphie filled everyone’s water guns with paint.

The Uncle That Does All the Cooking for Family Dinners (Barbatos)

Remember how I said that Barbs liked smol Lucifer? Yea, he likes smol Asmo too. Smol Asmo is willing to admit that they don’t know how to use an oven and is willing to learn.

M!MC is formally banned from being within 50 feet of the kitchen. It’s for the best.

A!MC often tries to get Barbatos to look into the possible futures so they can see if they can avoid messing anything up and A!MC is just so adorable that Barbatos actually thinks about it.

He still says no every single time.

“Could you at least tell me if I have the possibility of doing something embarrassing in the near future?”

“My apologies, A!MC, but no.”

“P-please?”

“The answer remains the same.”

A!MC sighed and went back to helping chop vegetables. Under Barbatos’ tutelage, A!MC’s cooking ability had increased tenfold, they could now make as many burgers as they wanted without worrying about burning down the kitchen.

Pitying the anxious half-demon, Barbatos sighed. “I cannot confirm nor deny a future where your outfit gets ruined.”

A!MC perked up. “H-huh?”

“I cannot confirm nor deny a future where your outfit gets ruined.”

Quickly understanding what Barbatos was trying to do, A!MC quickly nodded and spent the rest of the cooking time carefully taking note of their surroundings.

“Hey! What’re you guys doin’?” M!MC had managed to get in... damn! Everyone must have been putting their best efforts in keeping Solomon away from the kitchen and forgot about M!MC...

“We’re just finishing up, M!MC,” Barbatos had on his ‘oh no...’ smile. “We don’t need any help.”

“Really? You guys sure?”

“Why are you so interested?” A!MC asked.

“Lucifer said that idle hands are the devil’s playthings and that I should go look for something productive to do.” M!MC huffed. “Very ironic phrase.”

“F-fine, I guess you can...” A!MC searched for the least destructive task they could give. “Take the utensils and set the table.”

M!MC gave them a mock salute and grabbed the utensils, as they turned to leave, they knocked a large bowl of chopped fruit over, sending the fruit pieces flying.

Remembering Barbatos’ prediction, A!MC didn’t bother to try and stop the fruit from falling, they only grabbed the nearest big plate they could find and shielded their outfit from harm. The fruit splattered harmlessly against the shield.

“Whoops... my bad. You alright, A!MC?” M!MC asked as A!MC inspected their outfit.

“Y-yes actually...” A!MC turned to Barbatos, who was already getting the cleaning supplies.

“Thank you!” A!MC whispered.

Barbatos smiled and nodded. “You’re very welcome, A!MC.”

Barbatos now has two sorta-children. A!MC and Luke!

M!MC means well, I swear! He just shouldn’t be allowed in a cooking environment!

The Cousin That Your Mom Points at and Goes “Look at Him, He Helps With the Dishes, Be More Like Him.” (Simeon)

Oh man... time for some more embarrassing stories.

“Asmo was the most adorable child, it’s a shame he was such a troublemaker...”

“Really? My dad?”

“What about mine?”

“I think you can guess.”

I cannot comment on Simeon’s help with flying lessons because I refuse to Headcanon what Simeon’s wings look like until canon gives us a GLIMMER. LIKE SERIOUSLY SOLMARE IM CURIOUS-

I have a feeling the children were quite curious as well.

“What do you think his wings look like?” M!MC asked A!MC as the two peered around the corner of one of the hallways in Purgatory Hall.

“I bet they’re super nice. But besides that...” A!MC leaned over and squinted. “Why is Simeon writing with a pen and pencil? He’s writing a book... shouldn’t he use a computer?”

“Bold of you to assume he knows how to use a computer.” M!MC snickered.

A!MC frowned. “Don’t be mean... I’m sure he knows how...”

Simeon picked up his DDD and took a picture of his face, seemingly by accident, with the flash on, causing him to drop the phone in surprise.

“Probably...”

The two surveyed their angel friend like two wildlife documenters, here we see, the Simeon, not in his natural habitat, surrounded by confusing technology...

“Do you think if we scare him his wings might pop out in surprise?” M!MC wondered aloud, A!MC shrugged.

“Maybe... but I don’t think we should bother him...” A!MC whispered. “He looks busy.”

“What are you two doing?”

It took literally every bit of willpower for the two half demons to not scream in absolute terror at the sudden interruption.

Ah... it was just Solomon... in an apron... Solomon... in cooking clothes...

Oh no.

“Spying on Simeon?” Solomon asked.

“N-no...” A!MC giggled nervously. “Just crouching casually in this hallway...”

“...smooth, A!MC.” M!MC rolled their eyes.

“Well, it’s great that you two are here, I made lunch!”

A!MC and M!MC looked at each other in pure horror, they needed to get out of there!

“Uh- um... we’d love to but...” M!MC looked around frantically before just pointing at a random spot behind Solomon. “LOOK! A DISTRACTION!”

A!MC and M!MC ran out of there as fast as their legs could carry them. Finding out if Simeon had wings was not worth being poisoned. Not at all...

Good ol’ Simeon... Mr. Cristopher Peugeot on the other hand- M!MC had some questions for him.

“TSL is literally the most popular book series ever, does that mean you’re completely loaded?”

“Oh, no I’m not, I don’t have any use for human world money in the Celestial Realm. All the profits go to charity.”

“...Dude really?”

“That’s nice of you, Simeon!”

“You didn’t keep any of it..?”

Wait... Who the Hell Are You..? (Solomon)

So A!MC basically has three dads; Fabulous-dad, butler-dad, and wizard-dad!

“So you just... have capes lying around?”

“Yes, would you like a cape?”

“Okay if they don’t take the cape I want it.”

Solomon shows up to RAD with his nails painted different wacky styles every week, courtesy of A!MC.

Though- the unholy combination that is M!MC and Solomon is feared by all.

“Road work ahead?”

“Uh, yeah I sure hope it does.”

Solomon and M!MC’s rampant quoting of vines elicited another glare from Lucifer.

Despite Solomon having literally been alive since the seven rulers of hell were angels, he had kept up with pop culture fairly decently. Decently enough that M!MC had someone that wasn’t Levi to bounce memes off.

“Pff...” M!MC suppressed a laugh at a seemingly normal water bottle advertisement. “Enslaved moisture.”

“I’m not going crazy, right Simeon? You’re hearing this too?” Lucifer tiredly turned to the angel, who shook his head.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Solomon quacked at M!MC earlier and they lost their minds laughing about it.” Simeon shrugged, unbothered by the sorcerer and the half demon’s rampant meme-ing behind them.

Lucifer on the other hand, was quite bothered. Incredibly bothered, if you will. “If you two don’t shut up right now I’m going to-”

“Quick! We must abscond!” Solomon turned and heelied away, followed by M!MC. The shoes that Mammon bought to replace the ones lost during the casino incident were apparently heelies as well...

The day was saved when a rock jammed one of Solomon’s wheels and he slammed face first into the concrete. Yikes... that had to hurt.

A!MC had fun glow in the dark bandaids for Solomon to patch up his face. Even though he he could heal himself with magic, he let A!MC do what they wanted because they were just too adorable to say no to.

Asmo has pictures

The Cousin Squad (tm)

(Luke, L!MC, A!MC, and M!MC)

Ah yes, the bab squad. The most adorable group in the Devildom. Surrender your candy immediately or face destruction.

M!MC teases the crap out of Luke, and A!MC tries to stop it, but L!MC is the one who manages to actually make M!MC stop.

Only L!MC gets to pick on the smol angel. GOT IT?!

A!MC and Luke are already baking buddies because of butler-dad so they get along swimmingly.

Poor Luke’s the victim of many of M!MC’s shenanigans.

Luke: Are you sure this is safe, M!MC?

M!MC (about to put mentos into the bottle of coke Luke is holding): No.

L!MC and A!MC get along really well, being honest, everyone loves A!MC.

A!MC makes sure L!MC gets some sleep because they don’t want their cousin picking up on Lucifer’s habit of living off of coffee and coffee alone. L!MC doesn’t get it but they’re very grateful anyway.

M!MC and A!MC were friends from the start. Well... M!MC decided they were friends right from the start and A!MC did not have the ability to fight the power of friendship.

M!MC: You are being befriended. Please do not resist.

Since M!MC is great and amazing like their pop, they took it upon themselves to be the friend that speaks up when A!MC is too nervous to do so.

M!MC and L!MC? Lucifer and Mammon 2 electric boogaloo. Sorta.

L!MC and M!MC bicker all the time but the babs bounce back from their fights way easier.

One minute they’re at each other’s throats and the next they’re showing each other memes.

“There’s no escaping this.”

Lucifer stood between M!MC and the door... their one way ticket to freedom...

“You need to go to the dentist.”

The entire HOL plus the Purgatory Hall crew were getting ready to go visit the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. It was the time of the year that Mammon dreaded most... and his child felt the same way.

“My teeth are fine! Lemme stay home! I’ll hold down the fort with dad!” M!MC smiled and nodded as enthusiastically as they could, but even the most unobservant person couldn’t miss the sweat beading on their forehead.

“Beel.” Lucifer snapped his fingers and before M!MC could do anything Beel had thrown them over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Don’t worry M!MC, the dentist isn’t that scary.” Beel tried to assure them. By the way M!MC was still kicking and screaming, they were not convinced.

“Y-yeah kiddo, suck it up! Don’t be a baby! I’m just gonna take my car there-”

“MAAAAAAMOOOON?!”

“YIKES!”

Lucifer had the important task of keeping a hold of Mammon as the very large group made their way to the dentist’s office.

A devious little idea popped into L!MC’s head as they all sat down in the waiting room. They began to hum a familiar little tune.

“She said be a deeeentiiiist~ a dentist!” L!MC sang to M!MC, who’s attempts to escape increased tenfold after hearing the song.

A!MC began to hum along, not seeming to notice the commotion going on next to them.

“Son be a deeentiiiiiist~ people will pay you for causing them PAIN! She said be a deeentiiiiiist~”

Belphie perked up and smiled deviously as he realized what L!MC was doing, he began to sing along as well. The three were a veritable choir of terror to poor M!MC. Mammon did not understand his child’s terror and was more unnerved by what a great team Belphie and L!MC made.

Satan rolled his eyes and tried to focus on his book, Asmo was absorbed in his magazine, Levi was having a very in depth conversation with the fish in the aquarium, Simeon and Solomon chatted about school, and Luke was stuck watching the train wreck go down.

Thankfully, it was halted by Lucifer. “L!MC, A!MC, Belphegor, stop tormenting M!MC with show tunes.”

“You would have made a good dentist in another life, Lucifer,” Belphie cooed. “You know what they say, the only difference between a dentist and a sadist is that one has newer magazines.”

Asmo grimaced at his magazine. “Is it the sadist? Because I’m reading a magazine from 1843...”

The conversation was interrupted by one of the dental hygienists coming into the waiting room and saying that Mammon was up first. The Avatar of Greed’s final escape attempt was foiled by Satan (not even looking up from his book) clotheslining him.

Thirty minutes later, Mammon emerged from the forbidden dentist room, with the look of trauma in his eyes and eating a lollipop.

One by one, the group went in, A!MC took it upon themselves to try and make the rapidly panicking Luke feel better.

“It won’t be too scary, in the human world dentists are usually very nice.” A!MC smiled encouragingly.

“I-I’m sure that’s true but...” Luke looked around. “We aren’t in the human world...”

Asmo skipped back in and flashed a blinding grin to the group. “Absolutely perfect, no flaws! It’s your turn, A!MC!”

“If you die I get to say I told ya so!” M!MC shouted as A!MC walked into the dentist’s room.

They did not in fact, die because of the dentist. A!MC walked out and gave a thumbs up. “The dentist said they had never seen a kid with such perfect teeth.”

“That’s my baby!” Asmo chirped.

“M!MC, you’re up.” A!MC and Beel had to practically drag the poor kid out of the room and into the dentist area of doom.

“GO BE A DEEEEEENTIIIIIIST!” Belphie and L!MC shouted one last time as the doors shut. Wow, what dickheads...

Mammon probably would have tried to save his poor little bugger, but he was in the middle an impromptu therapy session with Simeon over the scary scraping dentist knife thingie.

Beel was the last to go, and he walked out of the dentist’s room with his face covered in blood, the dentist walked out after him, missing a hand.

“You tasted like toothpaste.” Beel sighed. “Not good.”

“Don’t worry,” The dentist said to Luke, who looked like he was about to pass out. “My hand will grow back in about four to five minutes.”

Luke, still terrified, nodded. L!MC patted him on the shoulder.

“Anyway, almost all of you are fine, but I have to recommend M!MC to the orthodontist.” The dentist flipped through their notepad one-handed. “Their secondary set of fangs are coming out crooked and need to be corrected with braces immediately.”

M!MC sat calmly for a moment, then attempted to sprint out the door. “NO NO NO NO NO!” One of the dental hygienists grabbed them by the back of their shirt and halted their escape.

“Sucks to be you.” L!MC smirked.

“And L!MC needs to fix their cross bite, braces are a strong possibility.”

The colour drained from L!MC’s face as the news dawned upon them. “Pardon, but what exactly are you talking about..?”

“Your top jaw and bottom jaw aren’t properly lined up.” The dentist explained. “It will lead to problems later if it’s not fixed now.”

Lucifer rubbed his temples and sighed. “L!MC, if you try and run away I swear...”

L!MC stiffened and shook their head. “I’m not some coward, I’m not running away. Just... what exactly are you going to do to my mouth?”

The dentist pulled up a few pictures of the braces and explained what would be done. L!MC nodded, and turned to their father with a big smile on their face.

“It won’t be so bad, mind if I go to the bathroom before I get the mold for my teeth made?”

Lucifer nodded and almost audibly sighed in relief. He basked in the glory of having a child that wasn’t afraid of the dentist and faced their fears like an adult-

L!MC sprinted past the dentist’s office, they had busted out of the bathroom window.

“...Beel.”

“Yep.”

A few minutes later, Beel returned with a completely irate L!MC who was screaming their demands to be put down and be allowed to run for the hills. Taking advantage of the distraction, M!MC ran for the door again, only for Belphie to tap them on the forehead.

M!MC collapsed into a snoring heap on the floor.

“FATHER! DON’T MAKE ME DO THIS!” L!MC practically screamed as they tried to wrestle themselves out of Beel’s bear hug.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “L!MC, calm yourself down. It’s just braces.”

“AS EVERYONE HERE AS MY WITNESSES I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS! NEVER!”

The half-demons in need of braces were dragged right back into the dentist’s area... poor fools.

“They’ll be okay... right?” Luke asked.

“Of course they will be. It’s just braces.” Simeon patted Luke on the head. “They’ll both be fine.”

The scream that came from down the hall right after Simeon said that did not reassure anyone.

“Hey,” Mammon piped up. “How much do braces cost?”

“From what I know about dental procedures,” Satan rubbed his chin. “A few thousand Grimm.”

“Mammon if you try and run for that door I will cut your credit card into a thousand pieces.” Lucifer growled.

Overall, it was a fairly average trip to the dentist. 0/10 would not recommend. A few weeks later L!MC and M!MC were fitted with their mouth prisons- I mean braces, and the two cousins bonded over their horrific mouth pain...

Seriously- braces suck.

——————————————

So! Those are the headcanons! Four and a half whole parts... phew... To all the people who enjoyed this series, thank you so so much for reading! You guys have been so super nice!

Fret not, I plan on writing more for this universe! From what I know about season 2 of Obey Me things will get... interesting. Stay tuned for more! Or don’t, I can’t force you.

...or can I?

[the-ferocious-kittyrose]

Rewriting Haggar/Honerva’s redemption arc

One of the many things that bothered me about VLD S8 is Honerva’s redemption arc. While I was never fully against the idea of Honerva getting a redemption arc, I just didn’t want VLD to do it because I knew that they would fuck it up if they tried. And low and behold, I was right!

But yeah, I wasn’t against the idea of her being redeemed. And I don’t mean “redeemed” as in “all is forgiven and she’s just a good guy now,” but more like a Darth Vader, “the things she did were inexcusable and she would never be able to right all her wrongs but she goes out on one good act to show that there was still good in her deep down and she at least had the potential to change.”

I know a lot of people don’t like the whole, “redemption=death” thing, which I understand, but I personally never had a problem with it.

Ok, so why didn’t Honerva’s redemption work? Well there are a few reasons but the one that baffles me the most is that, instead of trying to make her more sympathetic, season 8 seemed to go out of its way to show her being more evil and vile than ever.

And because I have nothing better to do, I’m gonna go through Honerva’s story in VLD and explain what I would change to make her redemption more believable.

(Keep in mind I am not a writer, this is just me ranting about my favorite character and how I personally would’ve written her.)

1. Realizing she’s Altean

I always thought it’s was weird that when Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” In the S2 finale, Haggar didn’t seem to react at all, she just kept attacking. It’s as if she didn’t care or already knew, which doesn’t make sense considering in the S3 finale and S8E2 it’s established that Haggar has no memory of who she was before she died. And in S4E3 she seems shocked by her Altean face (which also doesn’t make sense because her blue skin isn’t camouflage that’s just how she looks after the rift) so it seems like she didn’t know.

Wouldn’t it have made more sence if after Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” Honerva looked confused/shocked? If she became defensive and said Allura was lying/trying to insult her? There’s def anti-Altean propaganda in the empire so it would be considered an insult.

After that she starts questioning Zarkon. And when she looks into his mind, it’s out of genuine curiosity and desire to know the truth, not because, “the empire needs him” or whatever that meant.

And isn’t it a bit odd that she doesn’t seem betrayed at all when she finds out Zarkon has been keeping all this from her? She’s just like, “oh, you’re my husband? Cool.” Wtf???

2. Her past relationship with Zarkon

Okay, I love Zonerva, but if we’re being honest, Zarkon was not the best husband. He enabled the shit out of Honerva, even when it was obvious that the rift was doing serious damage to her physical and mental health. To me, it seems like Zarkon was so blinded by the power the rift gave him that he didn’t realize/ignored the negative effect it was having on Honerva. In the same way he downplayed the negative impact the rift had on the planet.

I think that should’ve been explored more. Maybe Honerva notices that she’s been acting differently and is worried somethings wrong (think S5 Kuron). And Honerva tries to tell Zarkon that she feels strange and Zarkon just brushes it off.

And later, when Alfor visits Diaibazaal years later. Things are pretty much the same except when we sees Honerva, she is very obviously pregnant and Alfor’s there when Honerva falls and goes into labor (instead of a random quintessence seizure). Alfor and many Galran doctors try their best to save her and the baby but she dies in childbirth.

Zarkon goes ballistic. He’s yelling, throwing doctors across the room, and Alfor turns to the doctor holding Lotor and tells them to get the baby to safely, fearing Zarkon will take his grief out on the baby.

Zarkon turns on Alfor, blaming him for Honerva’s death and accusing him of letting her die so that he could get his way and close the rift. He lunges Alfor and roars at him to leave.

He spends the rest of the night grieving at Honerva’s bedside, when Kova jumps on the bed and starts gnawing on her finger trying to wake her up. This is what gives him the idea to bring her back with quintessence.

3. Her current relationship with Zarkon

I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’re relationship didn’t get better after the war began. Zarkon hid her identity and her child from her for 10,000 years and essentially used her as a tool of war. It’s pretty fucked up.

I know it’s pretty well established that Zarkon treats Haggar with more respect than his other underlings, but I feel like it would be interesting to see that change overtime. We see that after Voltron comes back, Zarkon becomes very obsessed with Voltron/Black, and he and Haggar start disagreeing more and more.

Remember the moment where one of Haggar’s druids told Zarkon Haggar said he needed to rest and Zarkon hit them with his bayard and told them, “remember who your master is”? What if, instead of a random druid, it was Haggar who he hit?

I feel like that would be a good way to show Haggar and the audience just how much Zarkon’s obsession with Voltron is affecting him, and make the audience feel a tiny bit bad for her.

Then later in season 4, when Zarkon wakes up from his coma and finds out Haggar brought Lotor back to take his place he gets pissed. He puts a price on Lotor’s head and has Haggar arrested for treason. She steals a ship, escapes, and later on meets up with Lotor’s generals.

Her and Zarkon are officially broken up and her quest to reclaim her identity and get her son back begins.

4. Oriande

I never liked the concept of chosen/sacred Alteans. The idea that some Alteans are just born more powerful than others just feels iffy. My idea of Oriande is that it’s an Altean holly land, any Altean can enter it just depends on whether or not you can pass the White Lion’s trial. Passing the trial proves that your intentions are pure and and the White Lion will bless you with power.

I didn’t like how Honerva seemed to force her way into Oriande, I think it would be more effective if she had gone through normally because, at this point, her intentions were pure. She was going there to purge herself of the dark magic corrupting her and reclaim her memories so she could go get her son back.

I also like the idea that Oriande is a sorta link to the Altean after life, and you can speak with people you’ve lost. Allura gets to speak with Alfor, and Honerva speaks with her mother.

You could also have her be confronted by the spirits of the Alteans she helped destroy. Have the weight of her past actions bear down on her. An important part of any redemption arc is acknowledging the terrible shit you’ve done in the past, and that was severely lacking in Honerva’s arc.

Another interesting thing you could do is have Honerva talk to her younger self. The one that died 10,000 years ago. This kinda thing actually happened in 80s Voltron, young Haggar appearing in Haggar’s head trying to convince her to be good again.

5. Her relationship with Lotor

Now this is where the redemption arc really falls apart. I forget who, but one of the writers said after S5 that Haggar/Honerva was motivated purely by love for her son, but man did they do a bad job of showing that.

And it would’ve been so easy to fix that problem, just have her not be horrible to him. Have them have actual civil conversations, have her protect and defend him. Don’t have her reject him as a fucking baby!

Imagine if, after Zarkon destroys Lotor’s planet, instead of immediately deciding to

exile him, Zarkon says that this is the final straw and he’s going to have Lotor executed. But Haggar speaks up to defend Him. There’s actually a scene in DOTU where Zarkon tries to kill Lotor and Haggar gets on her knees and begs for him to be spared. (Though the scene was mostly played for laughs.)

she asks for mercy and justifies it by saying it would be unwise to kill his only heir. It’s a weak argument, Lotor’s a half breed and couldn’t realistically take the throne, but Zarkon does concede, he still loves her after all, and has Lotor exiled.

And Haggar isn’t spying on him because she doesn’t trust him, but because she’s concerned for him. When Lotor confronts Haggar about sending her cronies after him, she says she knows he’s hiding something. Lotor asks if she’s threatening him, thinking she’s going to rat him out, but she says no, she’s not threatening him, she’s just trying to warn him against doing anything stupid because, with Zarkon seemingly on his death bed, the empire needs Lotor’s leadership.

At this point in the story, Haggar is questioning her loyalty to Zarkon, so I feel like it would make sense for her to be silently supporting Lotor from the shadows.

Then at the Kral Zera in season 5, It was weird to me how she was helping Lotor through Kuron while also telling him he couldn’t be emperor and trying to put Sendak on the throne. I feel like it would’ve made more sense for Sendak to just show up on his own without Haggar.

Haggar wouldn’t even be at the Kral Zera, she would just watch through Kuron.

And then we get to S6 when she actually reveals to Lotor that she’s his mom. This scene was just so poorly done. She never actually apologizes to him, she’s just like “yeah I forgot you were my kid and I never loved you, but were cool now right?” I remember when I saw S8E2 and it shows her after Lotor rejects her and she looks like she’s about to cry, I was just thinking, “this would be very emotional and sad IF she had actually apologized and made it clear that she genuinely loved him.” But she didn’t and I don’t know why!

And then we get to season 8, and of course everything in S8 is bad but Honerva’s story is particularly bad. She’s supposed to be motivated by love for Lotor yet she doesn’t act like she actually cares about him at all.

She manipulates his corpse and when she sees his gross melted body, she doesn’t even react that much. When a mother sees her child’s mutilated corpse, how do you think she reacts? Screaming? Crying?? Hurling??? But no. She’s just like, “...”

And then when she goes to the alternate reality and meets baby Lotor and he rejects her, her reaction isn’t disappointment or sadness, it’s anger and entitlement. She immediately decides, “ok, fuck this kid. Let’s destroy this reality.”

It just doesn’t make sense! This is the season you’re trying to REDEEM her! Why are you going out of your way to make her so vile?

6. Her S7-S8 plan

(Keep in mind I haven’t watched S7/S8 since they came out and barely even watched S8 to begin with, so I don’t remember some things and I can’t be bothered to rewatch them.)

Okay, starting with S7, she’s not in this season at all but in “The Ruins” the druid dude says that her final order was to hunt and destroy the Blade of Marmora. I guess it makes a certain amount of sense because she saw that it was Keith who brought Lotor’s actions to light, but that whole plot was really pointless in my opinion. (Was anybody really hoping for a rematch between Keith and that one random druid?)

If you want us to forgive Honerva for her crimes, you really shouldn’t keep adding more unnecessary crimes. It’s established that there were a lot of Galra war lords vying for power and pirates looking for money, just have it be that Kolivan got kidnapped by one of them.

Then you have her season 8 plan and I’m gonna be real with y’all, I have no idea how to fix this mess.

I feel like the basics of her plan could work. She tries to get Lotor and Sincline out of the rift but when she gets him he’s a melted corpse so the plan then becomes to use sincline to go to another reality to find a living Lotor, but opening all these rifts causes problems and the paladins have to stop her.

But all the shit with manipulating the colony Alteans, killing the White Lion, desecrating Oriande, and destroying Olkarion and entire realities, it was all so unnecessary.

Personally I would cut the colony Alteans from the story all together, there are other ways for Lotor to betray the team. It was a lazy way of making Lotor 100% evil and having Honerva manipulate them is unnecessarily cruel, especially in the season you’re trying to redeem her.

Here’s a very basic outline of how I would do this plot.

If we’re going by season 8’s logic that she needs a sacrifice to bring back Sincline, I would’ve had the Galra she killed at the Kral Zera be the sacrifice, not the White Lion. She stands on the pyramid and talks about how the empire stole her life from her and she wants revenge as she absorbs their quintessence into herself and then uses that to bring back Sincline.

Then when she finds Lotor dead she takes Sincline and uses it to go to another reality where she can be with her family.

The danger comes when she opens rifts to the other realities and rift creatures start coming out and causing damage. The paladins fight them and follow her into the rift to stop whatever evil plan she may have. Because the paladins don’t know that Haggar is now Honerva and all this is just to get Lotor back. They think this is all some plan for multiverse domination or some shit.

Meanwhile Honerva has just been rejected by little Lotor and seeing Voltron show up pushes her over the edge and they fight.

But when they find out the real reason she’s doing all this they start trying to appeal to her and convince her to give up and close the rift peacefully. And similarly to how the paladins had to sacrifice the castle to close the rifts created by the fight with Lotor, Honerva has to sacrifice herself to close the rifts.

In the end, I feel like a Honerva redemption arc could’ve worked if the writers were actually competent and actually made an effort to have her be sympathetic, but In canon, her reasoning, “If I can’t indulge in the simple joys of life, why should anybody else?” just doesn’t cut it.

It’s disappointing. VLD had so much potential. I’m thinking of just rewriting the entire series from the beginning. Hopefully putting all my thoughts out into the universe will help me move on.

[cblgblog]

Yeah, Steve could have cleaned Sharon’s name after Thanos’s death, it doesn’t mean he didn’t try, but knowing she was stealing art, it may be that in addition to being seen as a traitor, she came to be seen as a thief, and who knows what else and it was impossible for Steve to do anything for her. People need to see what she has become, the government is likely to have clues to what she's been doing, and Steve couldn't do anything for her because of that.

Look, here’s the situation. She’s been gone for 5 years irl, they’re trying to address that stupid now, and there is, frankly, no way to do that that isn’t somewhat stupid itself, and that doesn’t make someone look bad. Frankly, the people I’ve seen complaining about Steve not snapping his fingers—pun intended—and fixing it all for her are the same people who blame him for Sarah Wilson’s financial struggles, and Scott choosing a relatively cushy house arrest gig where he could still see his daughter, or somehow forcing actual King T’challa to help fight Thanos in Infinity War.

The people complaining about it are mostly the same people who couldn’t care less about any of the characters they mention, except in the context of, oh, Stefe dum, here be another thing I can blame on Stefe. Most of the time they don’t even pretend to have bothered to do basic research on what they’re talking about, so their opinions are about as meaningless as always, but let’s try to get into this anyway.

As I said, Feige the All-God hasn’t bothered with her in 5 years. There is no way of explaining that canonically that isn’t somewhat stupid, depending what theory you take, but let’s be clear. Steve could not do a thing for her, as far as clearing her name between the end of Cap 3 and Infinity War. He was in the same boat as her, he was a fugitive, he could do nothing. So, that’s 2 years that aren’t his fault, at all.

EG is where it gets murkier. And more stupid, and a lot depends on what we may learn in future eps. Tumblr dates nothing, so be aware that as of writing, there’s only been 1 ep with Sharon released. That said, we know that, post-Snap, she was listed among the missing. I’m going under the assumption that she was not Snapped out by Thanos. This has yet to be word for word confirmed, but seems likely given how settled she was in ep 3, and the state of her kickass apartment. On the off-chance that she was in fact Dusted, then it wasn’t Steve’s fault at all, or any Avenger’s fault, but let’s go with option 1.

So, she’s already hiding, and has been for 2 years. The Snap happens. Chaos reigns, it’s nearly impossible to find out who’s here and who isn’t.  She’s a spy. A very good spy, who’s already been evading capture for 2 years. How much more impossible is it to find her then, when the entire world is upside-down? Good luck with that.

So, Steve and Nat—who I’m including here because she was also at least acquainted with Sharon and she made it so much of her business to tape the world back together post-Snap—they have to assume she’s Dusted, or that she’s still hiding and as of now impossible to find. Not to mix fictional bs with real world stuff but you know, I’m gonna do it anyway. Look at how pathetic much of the US’s response to covid-19 was. Look at the fighting over what to do, look at the different states making their own rules, violating guidelines, look at the lack of supplies. Now multiply that by at least a hundred, probably more like a thousand.

Steve and Nat and everyone else would’ve been in utter chaos for a long, long time before things even started to stabilize. Finding out if Sharon was even alive anymore would’ve been next to impossible for awhile, never mind clearing her name. Like, it’s shitty, but for a good long time, helping Sharon is going to be A, nearly impossible, and B, not an A-list priority for anyone.

So, after that point. Say it’s been a year, or more—probably more—however long it takes for things to kinda sorta settle. The idea that Sharon is still on the Most Wanted list? That the government supposedly still cares after Steve and Nat are just back and hanging around and no one cares about the treason or the Accords anymore? That is both completely and utterly stupid, and also the exact kind of thing the US government would do. Like, it should not fucking matter that Sharon stole the wings and shield, not in a post-Snap world. It shouldn’t even fucking matter that she’s stealing portraits. Oh, this Monet is gone? Great, the curator’s entire family is gone. Look at the empty streets and stadiums we see in EG. You think that many people were perusing museums post-Thanos? There are billions dead, it should not fucking matter if Sharon is stealing paintings, even the good ones.

So, why does it matter? I see three choices here:

1.       It doesn’t really, the government is just even more stupid than usual in a post-Thanos world, basically forgot Sharon was marked Public Enemy, and just never bothered to fix it.

2.       It does matter to the government, because paintings=money and even in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, money is still king. Also, we can’t actually do much for anyone in terms of actually helping them, but look everyone, look, we’re still going after this evil traitor, still working hard!

3.       We know Hydra never died completely. Hydra thrives on chaos. We know Hydra still had people in the government after SHIELD fell. Some of them may have kept Sharon a fugitive in the eyes of the law because she’s a Carter, the niece of the founder of SHIELD and the one who was always up in their business, and because Cap 2 proved that she will defy Hydra when given the chance, so let’s just make that harder for her.

It could’ve been some combo of the three of those, but the truth is that we have to make narrative sense of a real-life scenario that was stupid, and because of that, Sharon was left out in the cold and any choice you go with to explain that isn’t great. But what happened to Sharon isn’t on Steve, at least not solely. We don’t even know if he knew that she survived the Snap, and frankly, if she’d wanted him to, she probably could’ve gotten word out. Yeah, I know, fugitive, but again, the world was in absolute chaos immediately after the Snap, and for a long time after. She’s the ultimate spy. If she’d wanted or needed Steve’s help that badly, she could have gotten it. She could have found a way to let him know hey, I’m alive, long time no see. So, everything sucks now and it’s all on fire, but could you maybe see about getting me a pardon?

As far as we know, she did not do that. And even if she had, who’s to say anyone would’ve listened to Steve on it? Again, the government is stupid, possibly Hydra infused, and everyone who wasn’t a Hydra baddie had more immediate concerns than getting a pardon for Sharon.

And also, Steve is not affiliated with the government anymore. That’s kinda a big fucking part of CW. Steve does not have the ability to hand out pardons. He never did, and he sure doesn’t now.

So, did Steve fail her? Possibly. Maybe even probably, depending how you want to look at it. Maybe he should’ve looked for her more, been more proactive in seeing what was up with her. Is it bullshit the Bucky got a full pardon and Sharon didn’t? Yes, but that is not personally Steve’s fault.

What happened to Sharon sucks. She was failed, on multiple levels, and possibly by Steve.

Was it all entirely Steve’s fault, oh my God Steve, why didn’t you, personally, fix all of this yourself, somehow? No, no it wasn’t.

[mammonslefttoe]

One Brain Cell Theories: Chapter 17 & 18

There are a few things that may confirm my suspicions and the new chapters have reinforced it. 

SPOILERS AHEAD, please click at your own risk and any input/more theories are welcome! I’m going to try and make this a series. 

This is also a relatively long read so grab some snacks! We diving in boys!!

(This is one of my many theories. One day, I’ll be able to write down what’s happening in my head.) 

TLDR; HUNNY we have to talk about the other human 

A few things to remember before I dive in: 

Solomon has a pact with Barbatos. Solomon has a ring of wisdom and is known to make a pact with larger and more powerful demons. We all know he lowkey wants a pact with Lucifer. 

Lucifer told us not to trust Solomon in Chapter 2 

There’s a possibility Barbatos has tried to poison us with tea, a Mandragora blend. Mandragora has the potential to be fatal, one of the most notable symptoms are hyperactivity and hallucinations. 

When Barbatos sent us back in time, we found out he is extremely OP. He even has the power to look into the past and future. 

Okay now onwards to the only viable explanation I can think of: Barbatos and Solomon are scheming a takeover. (or this really is a messed up “prove yourself” challenge from Diavolo) 

Let’s begin to when shit started to get real. 

A sorta shortened (?) recap of everything that has happened thus far, please feel free to skip if you don’t need it:  

After almost confessing your love to Lucifer and dying in the process Belphie comes down the stairs and its the big reveal, everyone essentially gasps in shock. Beel, Belph, and MC run away to Luke’s joint only to get busted by Dia & Barbatos and they drag away Belphie to throw him in jail for treason (and its implied he gon’ die). Lost and afraid, Beel and MC run back to the House of Lamentation. There we have a really heartfelt scene with all the demon boys and we are determined to storm into Dia’s castle and solve the situation. 

Arriving at Dia’s castle, the pair say they were expecting us. Lucifer stood up to Diavolo & he says please, LOUD AUDIENCE GASP. No matter how much we try to reason, the only way Belphie will be released is if MC goes back into the past alone and figure out who actually opening Belphie’s door. No reason is truly given to this. Diavolo explains that Barbatos has multiple abilities, some of this includes viewing the past & future and, most importantly, time travel. 

As we continue to Barbatos’ room, he is super happy (and creepy) but gives us a very dire warning - do not interact with the past in any way or it will alternate the current timeline. This includes speaking to anyone or being involved in any type of action. If we want to come back to the present, we have to go through the same door that we end up entering through. Then off we go and we land in the middle of Mammon’s room with ALL OF THE BROTHERS sans Lucifer and Belphie. And things go haywire.

As we are running to go up to the attic, we are forced to hide in Lilith’s room, where we have a flashback (or hallucination) of playing hide and seek. Flashback Levi reminds us to go find Belphie. During this time, it is revealed that MC may have been the one to open Belphie’s door and tldr; Belphie kills MC. 

As we lay dying, we are somehow saved by Lilith (our long lost aunt twice removed apparently) and we are outside of our own body...in another one. Dia and Barbatos stroll in saying they knew this would happen & Barbatos did us a favor and revived us using an alternate timeline MC (what). Everyone is pumped we have like 1/10,000,000 genes related to human Lillith and this is their closure. 

Everything seems to be looking up and MC patches things up between Belphie and the other brothers. They throw her a joint party with Diavolo’s birthday party & give her the sweetest gifts. At the end of Chapter 18, Belphie creates a pact with MC. 

This is all fine and dandy but...is it really? 

A few things really popped out during these two recent chapters: 

Belphie is by our side the entire two chapters. Whether this is supposed to signify a new start or something else, it isn’t entirely clear.

Beel and Belph are the only ones that text us during this time. Belphie texts us after every chapter moment. 

Solomon runs into Belph and MC while shopping, randomly asking Belph if he plans on making a pact with MC. Then brazenly offers to make a pact with him instead. Belph refuses vehemently but looks at MC for a reaction. Solomon notices this. 

As Belph gives us a gift of himself (lol same), he mentions how he’s doing this for us and not because of Lilith. 

In the game itself, there’s a completely different game style. MC has more options to speak and the dialogue options have become more brazen. Almost as if...this is a different personality (or could signify MC is more comfortable with them in general). It felt off playing the last two chapters though, for me at least. 

Now onwards to the theory: Solomon is our main antagonist.

In Chapter 2, we are formally introduced to Solomon, the other exchange student. Although the interaction is rushed, we can sense out two things: he’s insanely smart and he’s already comfortable around demons. As he runs off to class, MC runs into Lucifer and we learn a bit more about this mystery boy. 

Apparently, Solomon is a wizard and has a ring of wisdom, which makes him incredibly dangerous. He has pacts with more than 70 demons (I think the exact number was 78 but I might be wrong). Among these demons are Asmodeus and Barbatos. At the end of Lucifer’s explanation, he adds that MC shouldn’t trust Solomon. 

Historically and culturally, Solomon is most known as the “Wise King.” He is also regarded as a fantastical figure, someone who is known to have powers over both angels and demons. 

“According to the Rabbinical literature, on account of his modest request for wisdom only, Solomon was rewarded with riches and an unprecedented glorious realm, which extended over the upper world inhabited by the angels and over the whole of the terrestrial globe with all its inhabitants, including all the beasts, fowl, and reptiles, as well as the demons and spirits. His control over the demons, spirits, and animals augmented his splendor, the demons bringing him precious stones, besides water from distant countries to irrigate his exotic plants. The beasts and fowl of their own accord entered the kitchen of Solomon's palace, so that they might be used as food for him, and extravagant meals for him were prepared daily by each of his 700 wives and 300 concubines, with the thought that perhaps the king would feast that day in her house.” 

Additionally, he was given a ring, known as the “Seal of Solomon,” which gave him the ability to trap demons under his control. 

A magic ring called the "Seal of Solomon" was supposedly given to Solomon and gave him power over demons or Jinn. The magical symbol said to have been on the Seal of Solomon which made it efficacious is often considered to be the Star of David. Asmodeus, king of demons, was one day, according to the classical Rabbis, captured by Benaiah (my note: Benaiah is a human, he was a soldier that helped Solomon rise to power) using the ring, and was forced to remain in Solomon's service. The Seal of Solomon, in some legends known as the Ring of Aandaleeb, was a highly sought after symbol of power. In several legends, different groups or individuals attempted to steal it or attain it in some manner.

And this is a potential plot in our story.

MC is, of course, the main protagonist of the story. We typically are. But there was never a clear antagonist. Or maybe he was playing along with our situation, a wolf in sheep's clothing? 

We all know Levi’s strangely long anime names are a strange foreshadowing of the future. We have: 

Though all titles seem to have a connection with our current plot, I’m going to focus on the first one, which seems to have the most implications regarding our current situation. I also have a sneaking suspicion that the second image with the two titles might be a backstory for Barbatos but that’s another story that I cannot fully prove yet. The third title also refers to a legend regarding Asmo and Solomon.

The first title seems...has quite obvious implications when recounting the events of chapters 15 - 18. Halfway through our journey, here we are, thrust into an alternate timeline, alone and scared but we end up making a pact with...our sixth demon? And this isn’t just a regular demon, this is one of the deadly sins. So now we have 6/7 demon brothers under our power, some of the most powerful demons in Devildom. It’s alarming how quickly MC is able to gain the trust of these demons, effectively creating pacts in the course of...maybe a few months? 

What alarms me the most is how fast Belphie turned from, quite literally, killing us to making a pact with us in a course of 3 chapters. This brings me to my first suspicion in SoloBarb’s plot: This timeline is the only timeline where MC is able to make a pact with Belphie. All other timelines do not reflect this. This placement was 100% intentional from the start. 

It is a known fact that Barbatos is able to view time and its events. It’s revealed this extends to alternate timelines when saving MC. If he is this powerful, wouldn’t he be able to simply look back in the past and find out who opened Belph’s door without the need for MC? This would be the easiest and most direct solution. 

SIDENOTE: Keep in mind, part of the reason Barbatos could not stop the Belphie situation from happening is due to Diavolo’s restriction. Barbatos states that “Diavolo has forbidden him from using his powers freely.” HOWEVER, it then leads to the question: who really has the most control over Barbatos, Diavolo or Solomon? Traditionally, when pacts are made, it means that the demon is completely under the control of the individual but does it outweigh an authority figure? In my opinion, Solomon technically has the most power fo Barbatos. Solomon’s pact with Barbatos = a magically restrictive bond while Diavolo’s rule over Barbatos = a matter of respect of authority. There is no physically restrictive bond Diavolo has on Barbatos.

Also considering how cunning Solomon is, he could have easily manipulated Diavolo into this entire plan as well.

In addition, Solomon’s strangely direct question, asking Belphie if he was going to make a pact with MC, was alarming. It was as if he was proving his own theory: the demon brothers will make a pact with MC and never him. He seemed almost satisfied with this answer and didn’t seem to protest against it too much. Couple this with Solomon’s constant approval when MC makes pacts with the demon brothers during her stay, its...disconcerting. 

Omg he even says “If you change your mind” what kind of creepy

If we consider all of this, it truly does seem as if Solomon is our potential antagonist. It seems to me that everything is pointing at him. He’s quiet enough for us to overlook and disregard as a side character, though he seems to have a certain unnerving edge to him. My god, the demons are even wary of him. If that wasn’t the biggest tip-off, idk what is. 

Also physically, we have yet to hear his entire backstory in the game or have a chapter dedicated to him. So far, in terms of side characters, we have ample interaction with Diavolo and Luke (still waiting on Simeon) but no deep dives into Solomon and Barbatos. (Which means >.> we’ll get them in later chapters) 

This brings me to the next question: so how is MC a chess piece in his plot? 

Hey, remember that RANDOM moment Solomon lent out his power during Diavolo’s house party. AND NO ONE QUESTIONED IT. Honestly, what the hell was that all about?

In regards to this, why did he do this? Some answers include: he did it for shits and giggles, he wanted to test out the theory of us having powerful magic in our bloodline, or he wanted a test run. Yeah. You heard me. A test run. 

Prior to this, MC was unable to truly summon a demon on their own. The most she could do was give out a pretty strong verbal command and the demon (Mammon lol) must carry it out. However, MC cannot fully utilize the pact’s potential due to her lack of innate magic ability. 

This is both an affirmation and leverage for Solomon’s situation. On one end, it’s confirmed that MC has huge magic potential and can properly use it when needed. On the other end, this can be a bargaining tool for the future...

Which could lead to a large plot development: Once MC gains all seven pacts (c’mon, it is going to be impossible to not make a pact with Lucifer), what will they use it for? 

MY PREDICTION: Solomon will attempt to manipulate MC into his control. Magic is powerful in this game but so are humans. A human was the reason Lilith was going to be punished by God. Solomon, a human, has power and control over 70+ demons. Belphegor was set on destroying only the human world. MC has pacts with the, arguably, the strongest demons in Devildom who are also formerly fallen angels. 

From what I’ve seen so far, nothing is more powerful than a pact. And nothing is more powerful than human manipulation. 

What will he use MC’s powers for? ...I have a sneaking feeling it might be to overthrow Diavolo based on Solomon’s cultural legend. Solomon famously has power over Asmo, the king of demons. Of course, we know the Asmo in our game is not the king but Diavolo is. Obey me! has a funny way of interpreting these legends in a unique way. Who knows if they split up Asmo into two different entities. 

but who tf really knows what’s going on

BUT

I guess we’ll have to see what happens in later chapters. Of course, this is all really a far fetch theory but there seem to be so many underlying connections to Solomon in the game. I mean ffs, he’s the only other human here and he’s SOLOMON. The very character itself is so suspicious. 

THIS ENTIRE THING COULD ALSO BE A MESSED UP CHALLENGE FROM DIAVOLO 

OR SOME CRAZY HALLUCINATION CAUSED BY BARBATOS GIVING US THAT SUS TEA BLEND

But tbh who really knows what’s happening. The only confirmed thing is that we’re still on this alternate timeline (that MC totally messed up) and we haven’t returned to our OG timeline. lucifer please pick me up I’m scared 

If you made it this far, you are SUCH A TROOP. I hope this actually has a consistent flow and it makes sense. If you have any questions or observations I didn’t include please feel free to message me! I’m open to discussion! 

A big s/o to wikipedia for the quick info on Solomon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon#Seal_of_Solomon) and a thank you to @the-orizon​ for the screenshots & amazing info! Love you!

[thelastspeecher]

Pirate AU - Down to Davy Jones’

This is a Gravity Falls AU, so naturally there is an equivalent to the portal incident, where Ford gets stuck somewhere for a long time.  Here is that moment in this AU.  Some angst, some Stangst, and some dad!Stan.

Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

              Small footsteps sounded on the deck, immediately followed by Manly Dan’s distinctive, booming voice.

              “NO, Daisy, your DAD said no HARPOONS!” Daisy’s giggled response wasn’t legible through the closed door, but Stan knew that she wasn’t going to give up the weapon easily.

              “You should probably go help Dan,” Angie said. “We’re done with our meetin’.” Stan didn’t get up from his chair, set across from Angie’s desk.

              “No, we aren’t,” Stan said.  Angie looked up from the papers she was perusing.  “You finished saying your piece, now I have to say mine.”

              “I…didn’t realize ya had somethin’ to say,” Angie said, bemused.  She took off her reading glasses.  “What’s wrong?”

              “I’m just…”  Stan sighed.  “I’ve been thinking about the girls lately.”

              “I certainly hope so.  They are yer children.”

              “Not like-”  Stan huffed impatiently.  “I’ve been thinking about how they’re only three, but they live on a fucking pirate ship.”

              “And?”

              “Angie, you’re not dumb.  You can’t think this is a good environment for two toddlers!”

              “What do ya want to do?” Angie asked calmly. “Settle on land?  I’d stay at home, birthing and tending to children, and you’d find some professional, well-paying job?  Or maybe you’d want to pursue farmin’ like my pa.”

              “Not all of that.  Just the settling on land part.”

              “There aren’t a lot of options fer us on land. We’re wanted criminals, fer one thing.”

              “No one knows your real name,” Stan pointed out. “And I’m fine using your real last name, since Stan Pines is a known pirate.”  Angie sighed.  “I know that it would be difficult to figure out, but we can make it work.  I really think we should give up the whole pirate thing.”

              “Stan-”

              “Angie, it’s not safe for our kids to live on a pirate ship,” Stan said firmly.  Anger flashed in Angie’s eyes at being talked over.  Stan forged ahead.  “It’s not just the rusted metal and weapons.  It’s the fact that we literally have battles.  Danny and Daisy are three.  They shouldn’t be anywhere near a swordfight.”

              “I…”  Angie chewed on her lip.  “I just…” She sighed again.  “I made this my life’s purpose.  I built my whole life ‘round bein’ a pirate, I can’t just give it up. At this point, it’s part of who I am!”

              “I know.  But I just- I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Stan said softly.  “Not with our baby girls on board.”

              “I understand.  And I don’t want ‘em hurt or near any sort of danger, either,” Angie said. She reached out and took hold of Stan’s hand.  Stan gently traced the scars on the back of her hand with his thumb.  “I’ll think ‘bout it.  At the very least, we should be able to-”  There was a loud crash.  The ship tilted heavily.  “Fucking hell!”  The door to Angie’s cabin slammed open, revealing Greg.

              “Captain, First Mate, we have a problem.”

              “What?” Angie asked.

              “It’s the Armageddon,” Greg said.  Stan could feel the blood drain from his face. “She came out of nowhere!”

              “Are we lucky enough that the Armageddon’s had a change of captain?” Angie asked, getting up from her desk.  Greg shook his head.  “Fantastic.  Have Dan bring the girls belowdeck.  Stan and I will do our best to handle things.”

----- 

              “Handle things” ended up meaning what it meant the previous times the pirate-hunting ship previously named Orion but now called Armageddon had caught up to them.  It meant a fight.  Stan couldn’t see anything other than the sailors directly in front of him, but a voice cut through the sounds of battle.

              “He’s heading belowdeck!”

              “Who?” Stan called.

              “Bill!” came the reply.  To Stan’s left, there was a loud swear that would put the filthiest of sailor’s mouths to shame.

              My blushing bride.  Said bride cut down the sailor between her and Stan.  Angie’s eyes were wild with rage and terror.

              “Come on!”  Angie grabbed Stan’s hand and dragged him through the chaos, following Bill into the belly of the ship, where Danny and Daisy were hiding with Dan. They caught up to Bill, just before he was about to enter the room that had been designated as the girls’ hiding place. “Bill!”  Captain Bill Cipher turned around, grinning evilly.

              “Hello, Captain Sally,” he said slimily.  Stan’s heart leapt to his throat.  Now that Bill had turned, Stan could tell the captain held Ford in front of him, a knife tickling his throat.  “I’d be careful if I were you.  You’d hate to kill your brother-in-law.  Especially after he committed treason for you.”  Angie snarled.  “Now, go back to the battle.  I have more important things to do.”

              “We’re not going anywhere,” Stan spat.  Bill shrugged.

              “If you insist.  Maybe you can help me find what I’m looking for, then.”  A vicious glint appeared in his single eye, a weak amber that almost looked yellow.  “A one-of-a-kind relic with a one-of-a-kind enchantment.”  Hunger entered Bill’s gaze.  “The ability to open a gate to Davy Jones’ Locker.”  He cocked his head, grin broadening further.  “It’s a funny coincidence, since that’s exactly where pirate scum like you belong.”

              “You’re a fool, Cipher,” Angie said calmly.  Out of the corner of his eye, Stan saw Angie slowly reach for her pocket.  Unfortunately, Bill saw it as well.  Too quickly for Stan to intervene, Bill cast Ford aside, grabbed Angie’s shirt, and pulled her to the ground.

              “Uh-uh.  No guns, lady,” he said in a faux-sweet tone.  Angie hissed at him.  He put his knife to her neck.  “Do you want a new scar to match the one you’ve already got?  If so, feel free to struggle.”  Angie reluctantly stilled.  Stan rushed over to where Ford had fallen.  “That’s right, help your brother while your wife is on the floor.”

              “You piece of-” Stan started.

              “Ah, ah, ah!” Bill said, pressing the knife blade against Angie’s neck.  A bead of blood appeared.  Stan swallowed his insult.

              “Stanley,” Ford whispered.  “Here.”  He pressed something into Stan’s hand.  Stan looked down.  It was some sort of pendant, composed of a glowing opal ringed by gold.  “You’re the only one I can trust with this.”

              “Not so fast, Fordsy,” Bill snarled.  The feigned light tone was gone.  He finished drawing the knife across Angie’s neck, then tossed her to the side.  Stan’s heart plummeted to his feet.  “I thought you might be holding out on me, you-”

              “R hvmw bv gl gsv ylggln lu gsv hvz!” Ford shouted, suddenly shoving Stan off and tackling Bill.  There was a deranged look in his bloodshot eyes.  He gripped the front of Bill’s shirt.  “Drgs nv.”  The pendant in Stan’s hand glowed brighter.  As the light filled the room, droplets of water fell from the ceiling, building from a slow trickle to a gushing waterfall that enveloped Ford and Bill.

              “Stanford!” Stan shouted over the roaring water.  The light of the pendant grew brighter still, forcing Stan to close his eyes.

              When he opened them again, Ford and Bill were gone. What little remained of the water had puddled on the floorboards.  Angie, still on the floor but now soaked through, slowly sat up.

              “What…in the hell…just happened?” she croaked. Stan quickly moved to her side.

              “Stay still,” he instructed.  “If you move too much, you might bleed out.”

              “Relax.  He didn’t really cut me that bad,” Angie said with a scoff.  “This just feels like the ship cat got a bit too frisky with me.” She smiled weakly at Stan.  “I know neck wounds, and this one isn’t a problem at all.”

              “Well, that’s good.”  Stan sat down next to her.  “That’s…the only thing that’s good.”

              “What happened?”

              “I don’t know.  Ford gave me this glowing thing, and then he started saying gibberish, and then it glowed more, and there was water, and-”

              “Stop.”  Angie held up a hand.  “What did Ford give you?”

              “This.”  Stan opened the hand that was still clenched tight around the pendant.  The brilliant glow of the opal had completely faded, leaving it dull.  Angie took the pendant from him curiously.  “I swear, it was glowing earlier.”

              “I believe you,” Angie said softly.  She closed her eyes.  “This is…a big old mess.”

              “Understatement of the century.”  A moment passed.  “So, uh, I know you said we would talk about the whole moving to land thing, but there’s no way the girls can stay on the ship when this sorta shit happens.” There was a beat.  Angie nodded.

              “I agree.”

-----

              “Let me take that.”  Stan took the chair from Angie.  She glared at him.  “You gotta be careful about how much weight you carry.”

              “That’s a chair, Stanley Stanford McGucket,” Angie scolded, hands on her hips.  “Not an anvil.”

              “Can you blame me for being extra cautious?” Stan asked.  He set down the chair just by the front door, then returned to Angie and placed a hand on her already swelling belly.  “We’ve got another little twerp on the way.”  Angie sighed.

              “No, I can’t blame ya.”

              “Good.  Now, go sit in that chair while I bring the rest of the stuff in.”

              “But-”

              “We’re not on the ship anymore, Captain,” Stan interjected.  “You can’t command me.”  Angie raised an eyebrow.

              “Yer playin’ a dangerous game, husband of mine,” she said, but sat down in the chair anyways.  She leaned back, watching Stan bring the rest of the furniture in. Shortly after Stan began to move ashore with Danny and Daisy, Angie discovered she was pregnant again and, hoping to avoid the traumatic birth she’d had previously, as well as help her family settle down, decided to join her husband and daughters on land.

              To be honest, Angie was kind of glad to have an excuse to be on land.  Yes, she might not strictly need an excuse, but she still liked having it.  Stan was clearly haunted and troubled by what had happened to Ford.  He needed all the support he could get.

              To be even more honest, Angie wasn’t being half as argumentative as usual, out of concern for Stan’s mental state.

              Not that I’ll ever tell him why I’m bein’ so gentle.

              “It’s gonna be great to have us all here as a little family,” Stan said, carrying a dresser.  He grinned.  “Y’know, it’s basically what I wanted when I was a kid.  Wife, kids, my own business.”

              “This is temp’rary fer me, though,” Angie reminded him.  “I’m only ashore fer the pregnancy and post-partum period.  After, I’m headin’ back to sea.”  Stan set down the dresser with a grimace.

              “Angie…”

              “It’s not like I’m abandonin’ ya.  It’ll be like merchant fam’lies what have the father gone to transport tea and whatnot.  But in this case, it’s the mother.”

              “I guess.”

              “I know yer not happy-”

              “Yeah, I’m not happy.”  Stan took a breath.  “But I just have to deal with it.  Who knows? Maybe you’ll love your time ashore so much, you decide to stay.”

              “Don’t hold yer breath hopin’ fer that possibility, love.”

              “Yeah, yeah,” Stan muttered.  “You better be giving me a son, by the way.  That’ll make being a single parent more worth it.”

              “I know yer jokin’, but don’t say that ‘round the girls.  They won’t understand.”

              “Right.  Speaking of the girls, uh, where are they?” Stan asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

              “Yer not pretendin’ ya don’t know where yer children are as a way of me stickin’ ‘round, are ya?  I know full well yer capable of takin’ care of ‘em,” Angie said.  Stan frowned at her.  “They’re with Maria.  She should be bringin’ ‘em back any minute.”

              “Mama!” a voice screeched.  “Papa!”  Three-year-old Danny and Daisy ran up, wrapping their arms around Stan’s legs.

              “Hey there, little pirates,” Stan chuckled, ruffling their hair.  “Didja have a good time with Mrs. Ramirez?”

              “Don’t be silly, Stanley,” Maria said, walking over to them.  Her grandson, Soos, was holding her hand.  “I’m not Mrs. Ramirez.  I’m Abuelita.”

              “Yeah!” Daisy said loudly.  Soos broke free of his grandmother’s grip and ran to Stan.

              “Mr. McGucket, can you tell me a pirate story?” he asked eagerly.  Stan grinned.

              “Like you need to ask!  Come on in, kid!”  Cheering, the children followed Stan inside.  Angie got up from the chair and embraced Maria.

              “I’m so glad you kids settled here in Gravity Falls,” Maria said.  Angie smiled.

              “Well, you and Soos seemed really happy here. And Stan was thrilled to be close to you two.”

              “Yes, Soos is a wonderful boy.”  Maria raised an eyebrow at Angie.  “So, what are your plans?”  

              “Stan wants to turn part of the house into a pawn or antiques shop,” Angie answered.  “After all, we have plenty of things from our adventures that he can sell.  And since I won’t be giving up piracy, I’ll be able to help restock.”

              And if Stan sells interesting relics, he’s more likely to meet people who might know something about the pendant that sent Ford away.  Said relic was locked tight in a chest, tucked away beneath the floorboards of their bedroom.

              “You’re not quitting?” Maria asked, surprised. Angie shook her head.  “Surprising.”

              “I just…”  Angie looked down at her feet.  She toed the grass.  “I probably will eventually.  But not yet. I have more I want to do.”

              “I understand.  Though I don’t understand why you and Stan went with the last name ‘McGucket’.”

              “…It’s actually my real last name,” Angie mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.  “My real name is Angie McGucket.  So I went back to that.  And since Stan Pines is a known pirate, he took my last name.”

              “Ah.”  Maria looked Angie up and down, then put her hands on her hips.  “You need to eat more!  You’re pregnant, but look at you!  You’re skin and bones, mija!”  Angie laughed.

              “I was wonderin’ how long it would take fer ya to try to feed me.”

              “Try?  I am not going to try, dear.  Come inside, I will make you something to eat.”

              “Maria, this is my house.”

              “So?” Maria asked, walking into the house.  “I can use a kitchen even if it is not mine.”

              With a chuckle, Angie followed her inside.

[starwarsfic]

I.27

Originally posted August 8, 2020

Summary: Anakin just wants his two best friends to be happy.

Details: Sidious/Obi-Wan. Crack.

xxxxxx

It started with Anakin noticing a faint flush on Sheev's cheeks after Obi-Wan took his leave of their official meeting to allow Anakin and his friend to chat unofficially.

He stared, knowing it was rude but not really caring.

"Do you...do you like Master Obi-Wan?" He was torn, halfway between disgust and glee.

Sheev, of course, tried to deny it, but even with the Force as cloudy as it was on Coruscant, Anakin could see the lie. And even after he'd let Sheev more the conversation onto some other topic, he dwelt on what he now knew about his friend.

***

Obi-Wan was, Anakin supposed, attractive. If stuffy men pushing forty was one's type.

Padmé insisted (to the point of Anakin honestly being a little concerned) that Obi-Wan was very attractive. She even made him look at posts on the Holonet of people swooning over him (how is that appropriate, Padmé? How do you even know about that???).

And, okay, so Anakin could understand it--Obi-Wan was charming, he was fit, he somehow made beige look almost good. He was smart, competent, had a great mind for politics.

Obviously someone like Sheev was going to be into that. Into him. Anakin's Master.

***

The things Anakin knew about Obi-Wan and relationships could be counted on one hand, probably. He knew (horrifically) that he slept with Vos sometimes (Vos delighted in letting him know that). He'd had a few girls he'd liked, too, growing up (or at least that's what Earin had said).

He flirted with nearly everyone, but...did seem to also really like competent people best. Even if he didn't necessarily like them as people or like what they did.

Which was good, because Anakin knew Obi-Wan really, really didn't like politicians (except Padmé, of course, because everyone liked her...and there was Organa, who he also suspected him of sleeping with, and ew he had to stop thinking about his master and sex because then he'll be thinking of Sheev and sex and no).

So, even though he didn't like what Sheev did, he could look past it by seeing who Sheev was. And that was a really good person who wanted the best for the Republic, just like Obi-Wan did. And who was competent and maybe sometimes manipulative, but for people's own good, also like Obi-Wan.

Actually, now that Anakin thought about it, they'd be...kind of perfect together?

*** Except for the whole Jedi thing, he reluctantly remembered, eventually.

Just because Padmé was okay with a secret marriage, didn't mean Sheev would be. And Obi-Wan was really into being a Jedi (could Anakin claim that was an attachment and he had to stop loving being a Jedi so much to be a better Jedi?).

Still, Anakin was in a relationship. And he knew Aayla was. And he figured a few others were, too. Which meant Obi-Wan technically could be.

Should be.

With Sheev.

Who was perfect for him and could maybe actually make him happy and take away some of that sadness that Obi-Wan's eyes showed when he thought no one was looking.

***

The first step in Anakin's plan (which had been a one step plan consisting of locking them in a room together until they realized they should date, but Padmé insisted it needed more steps) was to have them start seeing each other socially.

So, even though he loved his personal time with his friend, he started inviting Obi-Wan to his activities with Sheev.

Obi-Wan was really confused, and tried to back out, but when Anakin had stated it was a fancy lunch and reservations had already been made for the three of them, Obi-Wan was too polite to not go.

It was hard for Anakin not to take up the whole conversation, but he tried. On Sabé's advice he'd set his chrono to vibrate every five minutes to remind him, if he'd been talking for awhile, to get Obi-Wan to talk some.

Sheev caught on quickly, though he did have a little more information than Obi-Wan and way more motivation, and helped. Soon he and Obi-Wan were actually almost relaxing and talking about some weird political function that they'd both been forced to attend annually before the war or something.

Four "dates" in and Anakin was starting to get a little jealous, because they were focusing so much on each other and it took setting his chrono to buzz every minute to keep from drawing their attention back to him.

It was for a good cause.

*** Eventually, they started making plans by themselves and Anakin was giddy to think about what they could be doing (and disgusted, also, but they always seemed to be in public so he was able to ignore that).

They did a bunch of stuff that Anakin and Sheev had never done (and Anakin and Obi-Wan had only done when Anakin was much younger and didn't know how to assert his own interests more). Like going to museums. And poetry readings. And operas.

It was all, Padmé insisted, giving Anakin a hard look he couldn't interpret, very romantic.

That was good. Sheev and Obi-Wan could both clearly use some romance in their lives.

***

According to Rabé, the Holonet was rife with rumors about Sheev and Obi-Wan, and no one took them seriously because of that. She was almost certain Sheev's PR people were the ones causing the more ridiculous rumors to offset the reasonable ones, which Anakin could agree sounded like something they'd do.

Finally, Anakin decided it had been going on long enough, and he "casually" asked Obi-Wan about it.

Maybe asking in the middle of a battle wasn't the greatest timing, but seeing his former Master nearly drop his lightsaber and have to stumble out of the way of some blaster bolts was pretty funny.

It's not like that cloak would have lasted long, anyway.

They had a long conversation (in length of time, because Obi-Wan spent long stretches of it silently sipping from a cup of tea and pretending Anakin hadn't just said something) about Sheev and Obi-Wan finally admitted that, yes, actually, Sheev was very nice and he did enjoy his company.

And then, because it was Obi-Wan and he couldn't appreciate all the things Anakin had done for him, he smirked and started talking about how good Sheev was in bed and then Anakin might have fallen and hit his head.

Regardless, it was nothing some bacta couldn't fix and a few Force techniques that let him repress, repress, repress a memory he really didn't want.

***

Finding out that Sheev was the Sith Master was...okay, so, maybe Anakin had a few hints over the years, but no one could really blame him for missing it! This was even more unexpected than finding out Mace Windu had a sense of humor (which he still didn't entirely believe)!

And, you know what, Sheev was kind of right, wasn't he? It was treason for the Jedi to just walk in there and try to hurt him. He might be a Sith Lord, but he was still the Supreme Chancellor!

And Anakin's friend! And maybe sorta brother-in-law if Obi-Wan got over all this.

***

Obi-Wan, thankfully, was just restrained by his men and not caught up in the executions that were happening all over the Jedi. But of course he was, he'd never have any part in treason.

When Anakin asked Sheev about that, he was assured that Obi-Wan would be fine. After all, Sheev did find his company refreshing and once Obi-Wan saw reason and fell to the Darkside he'd make a really good consort.

Sheev also maybe said something about the sex, maybe, but Anakin definitely couldn't hear that over the screaming of the Initiates, thankfully.

[paradise-of-guilty-pleasures]

Shattered Reflections {11}

[Helsa RP- Fanfic]

Fandom: Frozen

Genre: Post-Frozen/ Canon Divergence

- Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance

Pairing(s): Hans/Elsa, Kristoff/Anna

Previous Chapter: 10.Tender Touch

A/N: 

Sorry for the late update, life got in the way, I've been busy doing other things, but a bit depressed because of the passing of my friend Rhanda over on the Helsa discord server I can't believe it's been a month already, but I do hope to be posting more often again.

11. Spilling the Tea

It had been almost a fortnight since the attack on Arendelle. There were still a lot of tasks to be done, but things had calmed down significantly. Her injured guard staff was recovering well and recruitment for new soldiers had already begun. Elsa had listened to Hans' sound advice and done as he instructed taking the next step regarding the Duke's treasonous attack. She'd sent the envoy with the letter to the Southern Isles, but had yet to receive word back.

With things being more tranquil around Arendelle, she could take more breaks without feeling guilty and stressing herself out about falling behind on her never-ending workload.

Currently, she was taking her customary tea break in the library, which she hadn't been able to enjoy for quite a while. She was doing some light research as she calmly sipped her tea. She sat near the window overlooking the fjord.

She'd been lost in her reading, when she heard a light knock at the door, which surprised her a bit.

"Come in," Elsa invited.

The door opened and the freckled Princess entered the room, she had not been expecting her.

"Oh, Anna, Come to join me?" Elsa asked, as she beckoned her to join her by the window.

Elsa was surprised to see her sister, because she didn't normally join her for tea. Anna much rather have a picnic outside than be cooped up inside for tea like Elsa. As children Anna had enjoyed having pretend tea parties with her, but Anna had not grown to be a real tea lover like Elsa. Anna had a sweet tooth and would much rather have a cup of cocoa to one of tea. So it was not common for the two sisters to share a cup of tea. Though sometimes they'd share a chat instead.

"Uh, sorta." Anna sighed a bit. These things were always difficult, but she'd been increasingly bothered by all this. Not just with the fact that Hans was in their home, but also because he had now been there after the battle for two weeks and Elsa kept visiting him. She made sure she actually knew where he was, but she didn't want to see him. She was concerned she might get violent, even though she knew he was already injured. Still, she let Olaf tell her about 'Hans the Fool' to see if she could gather anything. A few stories, it seemed, but they tended to get jumbled up when Olaf told them.

"I need to talk to you about Hans. Like, especially, why is he in our home? I mean yeah I get it, he needs medical treatment, but he was in our castle before he got stabbed, and I'm super uncomfortable with my ex-fiancee and your attacker living in our home and also apparently having access to swords. It would have been a nice thing to know sooner, and I'm getting really concerned about how much else I might not know with him walking around? The last time before the battle that I saw him with a sword, it was the last thing I saw."

That came out more frustrated and unrestrained than she planned, like everything she tried to address tactfully. Still, she wasn't wrong. These things had been bothering her for weeks now, and she needed to address it. She wished they could have addressed it sooner, but the castle was kind of in a tizzy with the guards and the cleanup and all that. Anna almost wanted to lock her door at night out of fear, but she hated locked doors more than men with swords.

Elsa's face grimaced as she realized the moment she'd been dreading had finally arrived, it was time to talk about Hans with Anna, and as she'd imagined she was a bit upset about the whole ordeal.

Elsa put down her tea cup and closed the book she'd been reading. She stood up and moved over to the sofa, patting the seat for Anna to join her.

"Let's talk," Elsa agreed.

Anna had remained by the door, but took the seat Elsa offered next to her on the sofa. The Princess plopped down beside both sat slightly turned facing each other, with a cushion in between them.

Elsa let out a heavy sigh.

"Well..." Elsa began. "Hans was sort of already injured when he arrived to Arendelle... and I allowed him to heal within the castle walls, instead of the dungeon," she winced. "He was guarded, of course," she added. "He only picked up a sword to defend Arendelle," she reasoned. "He'd surrendered his sword to me when he arrived," Elsa explained.

She understood why Anna would be wary of Hans wielding a sword once again.

"Yeah, 'guarded'." Anna used air quotes. "Usually when prisoners are in a room, they don't just get out. Wait, how was he injured before he got here? And- wait, you told me he was in the dungeon first so, was he healing in the castle this whole time or not?" There were a lot of questions.

Finally she waved her hands a bit. "Maybe, we should start this from the beginning? Go back, explain it all to me again why he's here and what he's here for and what this whole situation is- and maybe also why you keep visiting him and Olaf thinks he's a 'Fool' like we're medieval? Olaf is really bad at keeping secrets." Plus, since the attack Olaf had a lot more time to socialize with Hans, which... Anna was actually kind of okay with that. Olaf couldn't exactly get hurt and it sounded like they were at least getting along well. Just because she didn't like Hans didn't mean she wanted him to die of boredom, so hey, whatever kept him busy and out of their hair.

Starting from the beginning, that was a long story. Elsa took a deep breath in preparation.

"Okay, so, from the beginning. Well, he came to surrender himself, 'To provide if asked' and tell the truth. He just wanted a chance to atone. And, yes, I did originally send him to the dungeon, but things went awry, and I discovered that hiding the fact that he was...on the verge of death. That's when he started staying in the castle to heal. I was worried about him after seeing... how hurt he was, so I decided to visit him." Elsa involuntarily gulped. "And well...I started talking to him and asking questions. And I started to see that there was more to him than the monster I originally thought." She explained. "Olaf found the room, but I didn't want Olaf to tell you, so that's how Hans ended up becoming the fool. So yeah, the door might have been unlocked, but the guards were stationed outside. He could have gotten out anytime, if he really wanted, but he never tried it, he only left the room to help when we were under attack. He..he really isn't a bad guy. He did come to our aid after all. The only reason I didn't want to tell you all this is because I thought you'd be upset, and I didn't want you two hurting each other if you saw one another again." Elsa rambled non-stop, trying to explain everything and answer all her sister's questions.

Anna, to her credit, listened for once. She wasn't well-known to be a listener, but thankfully Elsa was talking fast and didn't leave room for a word in edgewise until she was done.

"Okay, there's a lot there," She paused to try and organize her thoughts.

"People don't just hide being 'on the verge of death', right? How did you not notice when he first arrived?" she, of course, didn't know that even Hans didn't know about the infection brewing beneath his skin. Likely it had only truly gotten established because he didn't have the wounds re-bandaged after arriving.

"I have a really hard time swallowing the idea that he's 'not a bad guy' after he tried to kill us both. But I think the most upsetting part here is, you're hiding things from me again to 'protect me', but every time you do that I feel like I'm not being trusted with anything. At least when Kristoff protects me from stuff he tells me what he thinks is going to hurt me and how to avoid it, with you it's always something or someone shoved behind a door like I'll forget about it. I can't just forget about these things, I need to know, 'Else. Tell me things so I can know what I'm walking into and not be blindsided when the guy who tried to kill me -my ex fiance- has one of the swords from the trophy room and is way too close to me for me to be happy. I'm still trying to scrub my near-dying out of my memory and to stop feeling like an idiot for trusting him the first time, don't make my mistake." Nope, she was nowhere near trusting Hans. She couldn't. At every turn her memory reminded her about her foolish heart and the way she had trusted him so easily. The warmth of his arms contrasted to the chill in his heart, and she would never be allowed to forget being locked in a room to die cold and alone.

Forgiveness would not come easy when she still remembered moving in front of her sister to stop a sword with her hand, knowing she would die from it. Feeling her heart cool until it stopped and the vibration of a sword against her hand that rattled her even as she lost her sight and feeling everywhere else.

She realized she had wrapped her arms over her chest and shivered without thinking about it. How long had she been out of it? Just a moment, but it felt like she had been thinking for a lot longer, losing herself to that train of thought. Occasionally, she still had nightmares about it. Sometimes she turned to Elsa about them. More often these days, she turned to Kristoff. She didn't tell them all the details, some things were still too hard to talk about. Some things about those dreams, she still didn't understand.

"... He's good at masking his pain."

"Anna... I'm not denying all the bad things he's done in the past, but things aren't as straightforward as they seem. I know how much he hurt you and I haven't forgiven him for that, I could never."

Elsa couldn't forgive him, because he'd deeply hurt her sister by breaking her heart and locked her in a room to die. Elsa thought she understood how much Hans had hurt her Anna, but in reality she didn't not. It did deeply pain her that her young sister got hurt, but she didn't fully understand the implications. Elsa had known heartbreak herself when she thought she lost Anna to a frozen heart, yet that heartbreak was not the same as the one caused by Hans' betrayal. Anna's heart was broken because someone she loved and thought she could trust ended up hurting them instead. In that regard, Anna's heart had been broken twice that day, once by her own sister that had accidentally struck her, and secondly by Hans reflecting that heartbreak onto himself instead. Elsa had never had her heart broken like that so she didn't understand all the hidden damage it had done. Anna could not easily disregard what Hans had done for he had: broken her heart, left her to die and also tried to kill her sister as well (which Elsa herself didn't seem to really hold against him).

It stung Elsa realizing that she might have actually hurt Anna more trying to 'protect her', than if she'd just talked it over. Anna was right. It was inconsiderate to continue concealing stuff behind closed doors, when she promised she'd stop keeping Anna out.

"It wasn't fair for you to find out the way you did, I can only imagine how it felt to see Hans again, wielding a sword, without any warning, when it wa-...A part of me wanted to tell you sooner, but I was just afraid to and really didn't know how. I really should have had more faith in you. I'm a horrible big sister, I keep pushing you out trying to protect you, but only end up hurting you instead. I guess I still haven't learned how to stop falling back on my bad old habits."

Elsa noticed how Anna shivered as she held herself, and felt guilty again for inflicting her with a frozen heart and the great pain it caused on her.

"... I'm sorry, Anna." Elsa softly said as she tried reaching her hand to Anna's shoulder.

Anna leaned into Elsa's touch and moved to curl up next to her. She was still annoyed, but she wanted to be held more than she wanted to be angry.

"I don't know how to explain to you how bad he is, and how awful that event was for me. I know I shouldn't be mad, because he risked his life to save us during the attack, but I can't not be upset. Not while I'm still having nightmares about what he did. They're worse than what really happened, but sometimes I wonder if I'm just remembering it wrong. Maybe I should go visit the trolls, they should know what to do about nightmares, right?" She didn't explain what made them so upsetting, but did she really need to?

"Just don't let him hurt you, too." Maybe she should have been more upset at Elsa for freezing her, but it wasn't the Frozen Heart that upset her. If anything, perhaps it had saved her from him.

Elsa felt slight relief with Anna accepting her touch and curling up closer.

"I know. Anna, you have every right to be upset. Maybe or maybe not, I know my mind paired with fear tends to exaggerate my own nightmares. ...I'd just be careful... if you go use troll magic on yourself, I wouldn't want you to lose your memories...again," Elsa worried. It's not that she didn't trust the trolls, per se, they were Kristoff's family after all, and she loved and trusted Kristoff, but it's just that they had played such a pivotal part in separating her from her sister.

" I promise I won't," she reassured. Elsa trusted Hans' loyalty and unlike Anna, Elsa hadn't granted him control of her heart...or at least that's what she thought.

"No, I don't want to remove anything. Just... talk. I just want to talk with them about it, some more distance, you know?" She shrugged, but didn't explain much about what she meant.

Anna curled up with Elsa, uncertain and uncomfortable with Hans being in the castle, still.

"I kind of want to keep guards close. Or at least to keep Kristoff nearby, but obviously I can't have him nearby when I'm sleeping." They weren't married, after all.

"Okay," Elsa nodded with a sigh of relief.

She didn't see any need for guards anymore, they had only been set up as deterrents, but Hans never tried anything anyway. But if Anna felt unsafe in her own home, she'd gladly grant her some comfort.

" You're welcome to have guards or Kristoff if you wish. Kristoff is always welcome to stay in the castle, if he likes, he's family after all. Of course, he won't be able to stay in your room, but nearby is perfectly acceptable."

Anna nodded. "One or two night shift guards to watch over me when Kristoff has to leave. How long, exactly, were you planning to have Hans live in the castle? I know we can't spare a lot of guards right now since the attack." She really wanted to know when she could stop being paranoid. A shame that the idea of his leaving hadn't really been explored, at least not yet.

Elsa nervously bit her lower lip as she was silence, an agonizingly long moment of silence, before Elsa opened her mouth to speak.

"Um.. indefinitely, at least until he fully heals, that is, and then...and then," Elsa voiced. And then what, exactly? She hadn't planned that far ahead. Hans would not be an invalid forever and where was supposed to have him stay after he healed? The dungeon? Obviously not, that would be unfair, Hans was no longer a prisoner to her. Yet, if Anna didn't feel comfortable in her own home, it wasn't right to hurt her anymore, by keeping him there either. Elsa was truly in a predicament, even if she would like to keep Hans nearby she didn't want her sister to suffer. She needed to think of a place to transfer him to that was the perfect compromise. Perhaps he could stay at the barracks, if he was to help train the guards. "...We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Anna looked up at Elsa with a look of doubt and concern. Not about her, but for her.

"If you say so." She seemed, perhaps, disappointed. Not angry, but disappointed. She knew there was more to this than Elsa wanted to say, but she wasn't sure she understood her own feelings on the subject, let alone how to express them.

"But if you're gonna have him in the Castle this long against my better judgement, you better be nice to Kristoff when he finally gets around to proposing." That was a joke, of course. It was more about how Elsa had explosively reacted the last time a guy asked to marry her.

Elsa looked down at Anna, and saw her disappointment, she wished she wasn't so conflicted.

"Hm?" She said at her joking remark, as she realized Anna was trying to lighten the mood.

"Of course," Elsa answered with a soft chuckle.

"I don't want to end up running into Hans by coincidence again. I don't like him having free roam, so I hope this time the guards keep him in." She had her doubts, now that she had seen how well they had done the first time.

Elsa gave a deep sigh, but nodded.

[kendrixtermina]

Further Unique engage quotes compiled by the heroic souls at one of the wikis

For those of us too busy actually trying to win to try out all matchups that might result in dialogue. 

The friend pairs

For example here’s what happens if you make Caspar and Linny fight:

Caspar: Looks like we ended up on opposing sides, Linhardt! Linhardt: Certainly seems that way. I could almost weep over how things turned out. Do you realize, Caspar, that this is the first time we've ever fought? Caspar: Yeah, I think you're right. The first and probably the last!

Not one fight ever? What a pure friendship. Apparently most the preexiting friend groups that you can split up through recruitment get unique dialogues.

Ignatz and Rafael:

Raphael: Outta my way, Ignatz! I don't wanna have to fight you! Ignatz: Stop deluding yourself. You joined the Empire. Didn't you consider the consequences? I don't want to fight you either, Raphael! But this is war. Raphael: Ignatz...

Marianne and Hilda:

Marianne: I-I'm so sorry, Hilda. I... Hilda: It's OK, Marianne. These things happen in war

Anette and Mercie:

Annette: Mercie... Mercedes: Now, now, Annie. There's no need for that. This is a battlefield, after all. Annette: I'm so sorry... You know that, don't you? And also know that you don't have to forgive me... Mercedes: I was going to say the same thing. I'm so sorry if I cause you any pain.” �� Mercedes as an enemy when fighting Annette in Crimson Flower Chapter 17, or as an ally when fighting Annette in Crimson Flower Chapter 18.

Single Tear Emoji.

Always make sure to recruit them in pairs, I suppose.

Edelgard vs. TSWITD

Also finally a sourced transcript of the ‘Edelgard almost blows her cover to get Byleth revenge for Jeralt‘ exchanges.

Death Knight: What are you trying to do here? Edelgard: You're the one who should be answering that question. Stay out of my way! Edelgard: Tomas! No... Solon. I will stop you. Solon: What?! If you insist on turning your blade against me, then expect no mercy.” — Edelgard, fighting Solon in Chapter 8. “Kronya: Huh? What are you- Are you here to kill me? Edelgard: I am. Prepare yourself for death while you still can.” — Edelgard fighting Kronya in Chapter 10. “Solon: So, this is how it is... I cannot let you live! Edelgard: You stole the words from my mouth. You lost the moment you failed to kill the professor.

One of the salient details here is that judging by the exchange with the death knight she most certainly didn’t know or have control over what they were doing/planning which is what I’ve been saying since day 1 but it’s nice to see that im not just imagining it

This is also interesting from an ‘identity porn’ sorta vantage point, because on the one hand she’s acting (about not knowing these people), but on the other she’s very much not (about being repulsed by them and wanting to kill them)

There was definitely a conscious decision on her side to dispose of Solon and Kronya not even just for noble reasons but purely pragmatic ones: it was apparent that she couldn’t control them, that they would just go on to murder and butcher all around, besides, Kronya was ridiculously bad at being undercover and had already compromised their stealth, it’s a recurring theme that the Agarthans don’t take surface humans very seriously. 

For all that personal sympathy for Byleth certainly played a role here and that she took a risk for their sake, Edelgard was also definitely looking to get rid of an inconvenience/ mighty enemy who had outlived their usefulness, and to use Byleth and the class to accomplish that aim but still maintain plausible deniability, she could tell Thales that she had no choice but to fight Solon and Kronya since the rest of her class was there to witness. 

Re: Solon, I also recently read this interesting essay on essay pointing out that just from what we see of their conversations among themselves TWSITD didn’t grasp Byleth’s identity until halfway through (for one thing Arundel thought Rhea had simply hidden the crest stone somewhere else for the same reasns that you don’t keep the keys to a safe on top of them) and that once they did they would not have wanted for Byleth and Edelgard to cooperate.

They wanna kill Byleth due to their connection to Sothis just like the remaining Nabateans (whereas to Edelgard Byleth’s power is as good as anyone elses as long as they’re on her side, and she wholly intends to put TWSITD on its receiving end), and they want to keep Edelgard under control - given that she hates em and has her own agenda, that is only possible for as long as she needs them as much as they need her. If she’s their gun and Byleth’s their target she should be pointed at them, not protecting them. 

I mean come on who’d believe that it’s an actual coincidence that they went for remire of all places, or that “Thomas” “there must be a mastermind” comments were actually supposed to be helpful. 

Especially since Solon has been explicitly shown do be doing some machinations to the effect or turning their potential enemies against each other in the Verdant wind routes (sneaking Claude information since he showed interest in opposing the Church) - Markedly once Claude, who has zero background here, finds out that Solon is Thomas he puts his plans on hold until he knows why they want him to fight the Church.

“Thomas” dialogue is the same in BL as in the BE version of part one because as Cornelia and Thales themselves point out, having Edelgard and Dimitri fight is quite convenient for them, gets rid of both of them and leaves a nice power vacuum for them to swoop in (what actually happens is that Claude swoops in first but they’re not really aware of him as a threat at this point he’s just a bratty half pint with a precarious position at this point)

More Precious Babies fighting

Dorothea: Oh, Ferdie. You opposed Edie for so long... I had real hopes for you, you know? Now you're following her. Is that your duty as a noble? Follow your master when they say to heel? Ferdinand: I will not try to explain my duty or hers. You would not understand. I wish you could. Anyway, no time for idle chitchat!

This one’s really sad, they misunderstood each other early on and since they spent those last 5 years on opposite sides they never get to rectify that. 

Shamir: I cannot bring myself to kill you... You're a princess of Brigid. A hostage of the Empire. Petra: That was the truth in the past, but it is a different truth now, Shamir... I am...the will of the emperor! Shamir: In that case, I won't hold back.

Nice touch to have those two have an unique dialogue. Shamir hardly ever gets behind any cause so she’d sympathize with someone she thinks is forced to be there. 

That Petra had become a true believer at some point is apparent from the fact that she shows up in Enbarr when Edelgard’s already losing and there’s not that much to be gained from siding with her (after Edelgard explicitly told her to get out and return to lead Bridgid at Gronder) 

It’s sorta like how Felix shows up in Arianrhod next to his father if you don’t recruit him. 

Hubert: So, Princess of Brigid. Now we see where your loyalties truly lie. This, after we spared your life in return for naught but your fealty. How ungrateful. Petra: Ten years have been passed. The Empire has been changed, just as Brigid has!

Not cool Hubie, it’s not exactly mercy if she’s super young and it’s a war in which her parents got killed, even if it was the Dagdan leadership who started it, whether she wants to stay part of the empire or not is rly her decision. 

That said he just isn’t too compromising when it comes to his enemies especially when it comes to real or perceived treason. It’s probably because they were sorta friends once that he’s so trenchant. 

Ironic too given that if not recruited she because they’re different from the past leadership that ‘napped her. 

Ingrid: Sylvain. This isn't funny. What are you doing? Sylvain: I'm sorry, Ingrid. I believe in what the professor is trying to do more than I do in my own country. Ingrid: Perhaps my blade will cut away the scales from your eyes!

Look at Sylvain the old cynic actually saying he believes in something. Though I suppose when it comes down to he does consistently try doing the right thing even if he doesn’t expect much out of it. 

Also its highly ironic how most of these conversations have 2 versions depending on whom you recruited like it could soooo easily have been the other way around, because butterfly effect. 

Tailtean Plains

Rhea: An ancestor of the Hresvelgs, who became Adrestia's first emperor... He saved me. Supported me. Gave his all to the cause of defeating Nemesis. That I should find myself here at Tailtean, striking down his scion... Edelgard: I don't advise presumptions, Rhea. I will not die by your hand.

This one’s really interesting because its the one time Rhea expresses something other than complete crushkilldestroy vindictiveness and also gives some characterization to Wilhelm of Adrestia. 

Like without this you could easily get the impression that he just sold out humanity for power especially if he was a former ally of Nemesis, maybe he was passed over when the dragon bones were handed out and Seiros came and offered him some superpowers in exchange for his service. That’s surely what Edelgard believes she wants to but right what he done fucked. 

But Rhea has absolutely no reason to lie here - This here makes it sound like Wilhelm was a True Believer. Like Catherine or Cyril, or Jeralt in the past. Like he followed Rhea because he actually liked her... or perhaps he was just truly against Nemesis and turned against him for moral reasons. Perhaps he wasn’t down with razing Zanado and protected Seiros because he felt responsible. 

That sounds not only like he was good or at least ambiguous, but like he must’ve been really something, because here’s Seiros saying she actually liked a human - So much she remembers him years later, though she met him when the wound from the “humans killed my family” thing were still fresh. It’s wholly possible of course that one of them was using the other, or both. It’s almost making me consider if maybe the legends about him and Seiros having descendants together aren’t wholly fake. 

This also makes me realize a recurring motif with Rhea/Seiros. Both Jeralt and Catherine are said to have protected her (as reckless young warriors) and got healed after that. In her supports Rhea mentions it as a big reason for why she is or was fond of Jeralt at some point.  

I mean it’s still her same old selfish, emotionally shallow thinking, she only cares because they saved her, she cares only about wether you’re for her or against her and most of the humans she remotely trusts were modified by her at some point (see also how she makes the church staff drink her blood) but if you’re not against but for her, there’s an actual degree of  (albeit shalllow) actual care/dedication to be had. At least she’s not ungrateful for or dismissive of good things done to her. 

I mean some part of her is stuck as a little girl who wants her mommy. She’s very afraid, indeed she wants to control humans because she’s scared of their treason which took away her family. Of course she likes to be protected/ longs for protection, you get quite a bunch of support points by acting protective IIRC

Miscellaneous Claude Banter

Claude: We haven't seen each other since Garreg Mach. You've grown lovelier than ever, Edelgard. Edelgard: You're not so unfortunate yourself. And you have the aid of the professor. Frankly, I'm jealous. Now's the chance for you and the professor to leave. Claude: I'm afraid I must decline. Even if we left, we'd just have to come right back.

You know these two have pretty great banter/ are able to have some because they both keep their head against the mayhem, for all that the differing amount of edge still makes for a serious clash here and there. Dimitri got stilted politeness, crushkilldestroy, and no in-between. He either hates his enemies enough to be dead serious, or doesn’t hate them enough to say mean things to them. 

kudos to El for giving them the chance to run tho. 

Claude: Hey... Can you speak? Riegan: ... Claude: Just puppets controlled by Nemesis... Well, they're the strongest puppets I've ever known.

I wondered what would happen if you made one of them engage their own ancestor. 

Claude: Here she is—Her Majesty—looking pleased as a dog with a stick. What exactly happened to make you this way? Edelgard: I'm simply seeing through a promise I made to myself a long time ago. Claude: Isn't this much force excessive? Thanks to you, my own long-held ambitions are nearly destroyed. Edelgard: If you don't want them to be destroyed completely, I suggest you turn tail and flee.

I wish I had the voice clip because the degree of actual personal dislike toward Team Empire that is or isn’t implied here would depend on how he says it.

Claude grew a lot less gremlin-like over the timeskip. Or I was surprised by how much on one he was in his route after not getting to see that much pf him in the other routes apart from how heroic and badass he is afterward.  

Also doesnt this kinda foreshadow how things go post timeskip in her route? Though he markedly doesnt bail in his own. 

also lots of people have probably called Claude a coward in Fodlan without knowing why hed actually be touchy about that and it breaks my heart a lil bit

Flayn: Edelgard! Please! Release Rhea... Release Fódlan! Edelgard: If you strike me down, they will return. I cannot permit what you desire. You are a child of the goddess. You must not be allowed power over the people!

Im glad I found this one in context since it’s often cited to claim that Edelgard’s a facist or something. It doesn’t actually pop when you fight Flayn in CF but in the Church route when you’re about to finish Edelgard in her own house. (the dialogue with Seteth is the same except there’s no ‘please’.)  ″I want this specific small family group, as far as I know have terribly mismanaged the land, to be out of politics” =/= “must exterminate them all just because they’re different” She’s perfectly fine with letting them all go if they surrender/ flee. 

“I cannot permit what you desire” sure doesn’t sound like she’s gleeful about killing them. Though of course the truth is that Flayn and Seteth don’t desire anything other than peace and quiet. 

From her POV it’s like holding animosity against the trumps, if they aint complaining about the shit their father/husband does how good can they be? 

It’s tragic that she doesn’t know Flayn and Seteth are innocent, they know they’re innocent but not what they’re innocent of (Can’t say they had nothing to do with Rheas bullshit if they do not know she did bullshit, and without that knowledge its the most natural thing in the world to oppose someone who wants to fight your sister/aunt especially if all your other relatives were brutally murdered)

One interesting bit of info here is that she knows they’re Nabateans, though she repeatedly mentions that she knows there are others (”the imaculate one and her family”)

It’s weird to think that she knew all along while she and Flayn were briefly in one class together. 

But onto the quote itself as it actually is. 

Kudos to Flayn for trying to talk to her/ showing that she actually means her pacifism talk tho. 

I’m a bit thrown off by the “they” tho. Context would suggest that she’s talking about Rhea’s return and the continued dominance of her and her associates.  Is this a wonky translation? 

Could it possibly the liberation army? She and Hubert sure know that TWSITD are “planning something terrible” and taking them out sorta unleashes the storm that they’d been holding back, but then again Edelgard doesn’t know that Nemesis and the Elites were evil indeed her impression was that nemesis was good, so it makes no sense for her to mean them. 

Hubert’s last stand

Everyone’s seen the “I shoulve killed you when I had the chance!” exchange that you get if you fight him with Byleth (still kinda my favorite cause he must really regret it), but apparently everyone’s favorite dark mage has an unique dialogue if engaged with

Alliance route: 

Claude: It's over, lapdog. Your military rule is at its end. Hubert: For every step you take along that path, our thorns will cut into your heels. Claude: Ooh, that sounds painful. I'll have to wear thicker soles for the march. Hubert: If your boots are too heavy, you won't be able to lift your feet. But enough prattle.

Vintage. Claude’s irreverrent as ever, Hubert has one of his goth moments. Ironic how Claude seems to despise him a fair bit given how his opinion of Hubert is about to 180 once he gets the letter. Then again Claude’s in public here.  

Kingdom route: 

Dimitri: Hubert. I would tell you to get out of my way, but I highly doubt you would abide. Hubert: Heh. Your silver tongue will do you no good here. This is not your path to tread. Dimitri: That is not your decision to make, nor is it mine. All I can do is blaze ahead!

Ah! They interacted!  Don’t think they really do anywhere else but it seems a given that they would hate each other given that each is sorta exactly the kind of person that the other tends to dislike.

I suppose there’s  also the introductory line for this battle where he’s like “Ah here comes the so called savior king with his hands stained red” He clearly sees Dimitri as a hypocrite (”So because you don’t like us stopping the church by fighting them, you will stop us... by fighting us?”)  but at the same time this implies that he seems to have the same misunderstanding that Felix had pre timeskip, that since he got that grizzled vindictive side to him, Dimitri’s only pretending to be civilized and noble (hence “silver tongue” and the general mocking tone), and its not really like that/ more like 2 sides of the same coin, Dedue probably explained it best. Though I doubt that he’d have much respect for Dimitri either way, they just very different peeps. 

My headcanon is that Dimitri hated him at first glance, but, being Dimitri, still felt compelled to greet him in a polite and friendly manner, at some point he mentioned that he “knew Edelgard while she was staying in the kingdom” that Hubert was like “staying there is an interesting way to put it” and hated him ever since. 

There might also have been some lowkey jealousy going on, or, like in Byleth’s case, Hubert simply being aware that being attached to someone who might well become their enemy is just gonna be painful for edelgard in the long run, though, I mean, he was also the one who couldn’t be arsed to say “I’m sorry for your loss” after Jeralt died. I love Hubert but he’s not particularly nice or considerate. 

Church route: 

Hubert: Running into you in the capital like this—I have to say, it's almost sentimental. Ferdinand: Hubert. She must leave. Hubert: You really think you can make her? Ferdinand: It does not matter what I think. Those are my orders.

This ones sad and like... wow? Was Ferdinand basically offering to let them both escape if they flee? :dddd my feelings

Edelgard would of course never do that and Hubert knows. He doesn’t think he can make her. That last bit tho seems very un-ferdie like and ironic... or does he mean that it’s his order to Hubert? Like pulling rank because he’s a Duke and Hubert’s a count? 

Bonus: 

Apparently Flayn’s solo ending is slightly different if Seteth dies:

Flayn, Slumbering Princess Flayn disappeared soon after the war, and after a time, proof of her very existence faded from memory. Many years later, a young woman appeared at the monastery, which had been restored to its former glory. Speaking to no one in particular, it is said that she gazed at the entrance and reverently whispered, "I am home."

Sad :(

Makes me wonder if there’s any other unique content triggered by permadeaths,

[polygon-streams]

April 21st, 2019 - Pat’s Easter/Post 4/20 Donk Souls Stream

Pat played another stream of Donk Souls, back again with Magnum Jr. Stream went on for a little over 3 1/2 hours, so there’s quite a bit to note

Recaps a bit on yesterday's stream, telling the story of Magnum Jr.

Is interrupted by piss as he explains how he wants to find a loincloth for Magnum Jr, we are still on the fight for as naked of a Kong as possible

"Suns out guns out here in Lothric" - Pat, 2k19

Thanks some good subbers

Waluigi subbed up, thank you Waluigi

Vordt of the Boreal Valley is a fun name

"Hey.. hey, man.. hey.... alright bye, guess I'll see you later, man." - Pat @ a skeleton lookin’ enemy who walked away from him

Magnum Jr. has an arrow through his neck is he ok

4/20 was successful because he didn’t do weed due to it being an illegal criminal activity

"I don't want to perry.. what do i look like... Matthew?"

Has a very long stare at the chat ".................Matthew Perry"

Bonk bonk bonk souls

Gives a few more gifted sub shoutouts

Half-logan?

( Chunk of the stream is missing about right here. Only about 30 minutes, sorry about that )

He doesn’t drop pants

Beeline for vort

Memeshart is giving good gamer advice ( I’m sorry Pat, we all know Memeshart is the supreme gamer here )

“I got vorted” - Pat Gill, 2k19

Let’s fucking go, Pat can do it, we got this

Pat has fought this Vordt X times

“Juice time, baby, juice me” - also Pat, 2k19

He’s having more trouble than usual bc his other characters wore clothes

Vordt Souls

RP: do you guys know my dad?

Hums to konkey dong

X is your uber ride, am outside

God dammit, dogs. He’s killing the bone dogs.

One of this weird turtleback men is actually my friends that wants to hang out with me

Does that make me into beef jerky? I want my Kong to be fresh

More dog hate. He’s getting mauled by dogs. “Please lord of Dark Souls don’t let these dogs kill me”

“Why can’t I use ember? Is it because I already am bird shit?” nice joke.

Tropical freeze is such a good soundtrack. He’s done into the past and he may switch to it towards the end

He wants to bottle feed the kittens. He feels the best way to get a kitten to drink out of the bottle is by convincing them they really don’t want it to drink out of the bottle

Just realized he doesn’t know what the fuck is going on in this game after noticing for the first time a person is growing into a plant. Now he’s wondering why the people in this town are turning into trees. Angel b: they’ve commited treason greatest victory : they’re turning over a new leaf

He wants to make today and tomorrow pizza days. And he’s got a big thing of lactaid so he’s set to commit this mistake

He’s working on the environmental storytelling. That’s why he likes it, you have to put it together

If Ken Levine made this game he’d had made it clear by writing on a wall or something but not here

Dark Souls II: spooky stuff here in dark souls. That’s why the game is not called light and breezy souls

He got box stabbed, but he’s having a nice time souls

“This is my friend, Johnny, get it?” - We didn’t get it

“This is my friend, David”

“This is also my friend, Nick”

“Johnny cage.. because it’s a bunch of people in a cage” ( can confirm joke landed only for like two people )

This area gives Bloodborne vibes. Sorta medieval Bloodborne

“I’m not gonna use the whip”

jk he might try

Important update: Charles is sneezing

Camera angle is not in Pat’s favor up in this ruins and he hates it

He doesnt wanna fight anyone called Hodrick

We’re gonna avoid Hodrick and go fight a giant shooting arrows from a tower

22.32 Bijan is here

Memeshart is a consultant-- Pat is calling on memeshart like an Alexa

“Memeshart, play Despacito” Another great joke, Patrick

We’re testing Memeshart’s knowledge boundaries

Memeshart lore: They were picked up from a shipwreck by the current memeshart

Pat doesn’t remember this part being so annoying ( he also doesn’t remember he had clothes for the other characters )

Again with the Johnny/David/Nicholas Cage joke ( but now we all got it )

He’s avoiding killing non hostiles ( he definitely killed them in his main files, though )

Grim Acceptance: The emotion that bopping to The Entire Buck Bumble Theme for 3000 Bits elicits

He’s not particularly excited for the Sega Genesis mini. He didn’t have a Sega so he’s not particularly nostalgic

Bastard Sword: “I am kind of a bastard.”

22.48 Faith’s here

X i s one of hs favorite tracks in the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack

dumbassrights was gifted a sub. a good username, we can all agree

Unspoken chat rule: You aren’t allowed to say you got pizza without also saying the toppings

“He- he packed a bowl, but it was 420 yesterday!” - Pat

Very close to having the loincloth

“Love a big rat”

He doesn’t lock on a lot of enemies, especially big enemies, with enemies surrounding

Even more dog hate. Sorry, can’t relate.

Onion man is with us. he did not help with dog enemy.

“This guy sounds like Paul F. Tompkins doing Alan Thicke”

He’s good friends with the big archer giant. Friendship goals.

Bijan: “Can anyone explain the plot of Dark Souls?” Pat: “No.”

“It’s time to probably die”

Onion man is sleeping, chat decides to spam z for good slumbers

Lore check: this is the son of Magnum Kong , Magnum Kong Junior and he’s trying to find his dad, his papa, his daddy.

Went full “That’s rough, buddy” with “They really just tied a bunch of people to these burning wheels, huh….. rough..”

“I’m not good at archery, but the point is not about doing well, it’s about having fun.”

( sees enemies ) ( gasp ) two of them! ( dies )

Memeshart comes in again to say Pat missed a chest. Thank you for your service, Memeshart

Memeshart was right ( as always )

enemies: throw orbs pat: Is that allowed??

Still hasn’t seen the bone ball. Boneball watch 2k19

“Perfect for us whomst love to hate wear pants”

Spitballing this part because he hasn’t played it.

( picks up a reinforced club ) “I’ve joined the reinforced club. The club is me. I am the club.”

“goin’ on a quick loin cloth quest”

“I’m not sure what burning an undead bone shard does, but 420 was yesterday.” - I am not sure what this means but he isn’t wrong, I guess?

We’re gonna go burn an undead bone shard in a loincloth

“Loincloth is a bit more modest than previous ones but we got the legs exposed which is important” - good fashion advice from pat

“I do like the swing of the cloth it makes you think you might have a little peek if you get lucky”

“I’m touching a lady hold the fucking phone dude. Did I fail the touch?”

Young Man Charles was in the background for like 5 seconds and chat went absolutely nuts. As they should.

“I just wish we could get the ass out more in this game. I guess they cut down on the ass.”

Pat yeeted the sword master.

We’re gonna fuck up a tree. He’s the first or second big boss in Dark Souls 3

Content Warning: Nasty Boss. Pat’s gonna smack this tree’s groin area.

Faith is somehow not fond of this boss. I wonder why

Charlie showed up but Pat is busy busting these veggie’s nuts

Pat’s still adamant about not using the whip: “I’m not gonna whip this tree dude’s nards”

“Watchin’ Highlander on 4/20!”

Does not want to be hollow, would rather be ‘plump and svelte’

“I love when my elaborate attack doesn’t hit.” - A relatable gamer feel by Pat

Pat is having a sweaty one today

“We should clay-less…. We should mackle-less ( old man groaning noises )”

“I think the gentleman doth mackle too much.”

Oh, it’s drag JK Rowling o’clock! sipping_that_tea.jpg

According to Pat you psychologically cannot poop standing up

“Why did she say that? why did she do this?”

Chat says that babies poop standing up. Pat responds with, “Babies aren’t like us.”

“I’ve had enough poopoo peepee talk for today. Fuck JK Rowling.”

Chat is going full trans rights for seemingly no reason, it’s beautiful.

Was that little man always there? We may never know. Pat definitely does not remember the lil dude though, but seems to appreciate his presence nonetheless.

Here goes the french champagne

c h u n k y  r o l l i n ‘

admin duderave put that he spilled cottage cheese on himself in chat, “duderave… how much cottage cheese was spilled…”

admin duderave was laughed at for spilling cottage cheese on himself. it be like that sometimes.

Aerospoon back at it again gifting about 10 subs today. Nice goin’, buddy, doing God’s work on this fine Easter

He was talking about his next stream and got distracted by Charlie, as you do ( the next stream is tuesday at 8pm est )

He’s got the whole day off on Tuesday bc he worked pretty much all week due to traveling

After clicking around for a minute, decided to raid thatguyTagg, and said goodbye

End of stream!

[mrgrant9559-blog]

Safe Keeping: Prologue

A/N: Ayo, whats gucci? Yup, I’m back with a brand new fic! This one is Tony paired, which is a character I honestly thought I’d never write for, and yet here we are! Funny how things work, huh. I should include that Reader can fly and shoot basically energy blasts from his hands. So, pretty much Captain Marvel but not really Captain Marvel, ya know. Anyways, I’m hoping to be better with this fic than I am with Witch Way Is Right, as far as continuity goes. Btw, WWIR is still continuing!! It’s just I’ve been told by mutiple fic writers that in order to get rid of writer’s block, I should write something else. Hope you guys enjoy this one!!

Subject: Tony Stark x Male!Reader

Prompt: @trampledcactusboy - I am humbly requesting a something parter Tony one shot when you have the time too :) (like 2,3,4 however many parts you choose) I hope it can be in civil war time period so Tony's in that kind of mindset/feel and maybe reader can be a shield agent or hero who helped cap & friends escape but really agrees with Tony so he gets protective over him? if not you do you cuz you can never go wrong <3

Tags: @avengersohyeah @uselessace @writeyouin @trampledcactusboy @thegreatficmaster

_________________________________

You’d been with the Avengers for as long as you could remember. You’ve shared laughs, drinks, food, and a couple of moments along the way. So, you couldn’t believe your eyes when you realized what had become of you guys at this point. If someone would’ve told you 3 years ago that your team, THE Avengers, would split into two disagreeing sections over a stupid Sokovian accord, you would’ve taken a shit on their shoes and laughed in their face.

But now, it was almost like you were living a nightmare. No scratch that, you WERE living a nightmare. The same extraordinary people who you could call your brothers and sisters, were literally at each other’s throats.

You see Steve fighting a man dressed in red and blue spandex. And it looks like Steve is losing? You fly at Steve and swoop him up to the roof of the airport building and drop him off, landing in front of him to give the star spangled jolly rancher an ear full.

“What the hell are guys doing?!” You ask angrily.

“It’s long story, Y/N. And I really don’t have time for this.” He replies.

“We’re supposed to be a team, Steve. Almost like family.” I add. “So, imagine how I feel when I’m informed by SHIELD agents that not only are you and half of this so called family commiting treason, but you’re also protecting the man who killed King T’Chaka in cold blood!”

“I know it sounds crazy, but you’ve gotta believe me, kid. Buck is innocent. He’s being framed.”

“He tried to kill you and Fury just a year ago! If he’s willing to kill his best friend, brother in arms, then how am I supposed to believe that he wouldn’t to do the same to the now former king of Wakanda” I interject.

“That wasn’t him! You know as well as I do that he was under HYDRA’s control for years! He’s been trying to escape his past ever since and he’s been doing a great job so far!”

“Listen, I know Bucky is an innocent man, but what if the Winter Soldier comes out again. He’s a threat to others and himself!” I argue.

Steve sighs, realizing that what you’re saying is sorta true. “What if I can prove to you that Bucky didn’t kill anyone including the Wakanda’s king and that he’s innocent?”

“I don’t know Bucky well, but I do know he’s NOT innocent.” I say causing him to look down at his feet in disappointment. “However, if you have proof that he didn’t kill the king, then I’ll be willing to give him a second chance.” Steve looks up at me with a smile and nods in agreement. “Ok then, what do you need me to do?”

“Can you help us get to the quinjet? Take care of whoever gets in our way without causing permanent damage?” He asks.

“I can try.” You say before flying into the battle zone, making sure Steve and Bucky had a clear opening to the quinjet. You had to admit, these new people that Tony found were tough as nails. Definitely wasn’t their first time in a fight, but luckily, you were no rookie youself.

————————————

“Rhodes!!” You hear Tony yell in his suit while flying over to Rhodey’s aid. Rhodey was shot down by Vision, who was aiming for Sam. You tried to fly as fast as you could to catch him, following Tony and Sam in suit, but he had already hit the ground.

The sound. The sound his body had made when it made impact was haunting to say the least. Tony landed down next to Rhodey’s side and took off his helmet to examine the damage. He was unconscious with a bloody nose, which usually means that the person is either dead or damn near. Tony tells FRIDAY to read his vital organs. Thankfully, she replies by saying that there’s a heartbeat and that EMT are on their way.

Finally, Sam swoops in. “I’m sorry”, is all he could really say at the moment, even though he wasn’t entirely at fault. Tony didn’t care though as he raised his hand at Sam and blasted him, knocking him unconscious as well.

“Tony, you didn’t have to do that! It wasn’t his fault!” You say.

He moves his arm in you direction, his repulsors ready to fire. “Shut the hell up, Y/L/N! You’re just as in the wrong as him! I saw you helping Steve and Bucky back there. You’re supposed to be on MY side. You’re supposed to be MY friend!” He yells at you in anger, feeling betrayed and mostly hurt.

Your eyelids start to build up tears, as you find pain in what you’re about to say next. “Last I checked, we’re ALL supposed to be friends.” The look on Tony’s face tells you he was taken back by your words. “Look around you, Tones. Look at what’s become of us. We’re supposed to fight the enemy, not each other, and you know Bucky had nothing to do with the death of King T’Chaka.” Tony starts to lower his arm, which has now powered down.

Realization washes over him as he sees medics take Rhodey away on a stretcher in critical condition and the rest of Cap’s team get detained. The Wakandan Prince disappeared probably gone off to find Steve and Bucky. Tony knows Bucky couldn’t of been the one doing all these terrible things, at least not on purpose.

You and Tony finally arrive at a high max security prison in the middle of the ocean, where they were keeping the rest of Cap’s team for God knows how long. Tony walks over to each cell to talk to them about what they’ve done and how foolish they were being. Clint mostly, who retorted with his own words going back and forth with him. Tony then sees a new guy and wonders who he even is which punt a dent in the poor guy’s ego. He then walks over to Sam and asks if he’s been fed at all.

Sam just replies with snark, “Oh, so you’re good cop now?”

Regardless of what happened, Tony still cares for everyone and wants to make sure they’re at least being treated right. “I’m just the guy who need to know where Steve went.” He replies.

Sam tell hims that the only way he’s gonna get info outta him is if he goes full benny hanna on his ass. Tony starts messing with his watch, shutting off all coms in the prison system.

Tony tells Sam this, and he reveals to him everything he knows about where they could’ve gone. Tony rushes out of the cell block, with you following in suit. “Did you find out where they went?” You ask, following him to his private helicopter.

“Yup.”

“Great, I’m coming with you...”

“No, you’re not.” Tony retorts, spinning on his heel to face you.

“But I-“

“No, you don’t.” He interjects before you can finish your sentence. “What I need you to do is to stay here with the general and make sure he doesn’t send any of his people to follow me. I already told him I’m going back to the compound, but he might still suspect something.”

“Just, make sure you come back as friends. Last thing I wanna see is The Avengers break up over some dumbass accords.”

“I promise, we’ll all being sitting in front of a campfire singing Kum Ba Yah, and eating s’mores.” And with that, he enters the helicopter, on his way to help Cap and Buck find Zemo, so we could all be a team again.

Or at least thats how I hoped this day would end.

________________________

I’m so sorry for taking so long people! I’m a busy guy, but I knew I needed to out something out for you guys so here it is. This was pretty much my way of adding Reader into the movie without changing much. Also, I’m thinking of upload my fics to Wattspad. Should I do that?? I don’t know, but I hope you guys like this new fic!

[serenagaywaterford]

i’m getting a little anxious about s3. and not in a good way.  (don’t worry. i’m not talking about tuello/serena again.)

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

mostly cos there’s that article that confirmed basically what we already sorta knew: that june is gonna be at lawrence’s as his handmaid. (so at least no more ceremony rape which is nice.)

but forgive me... but i’m pessimistic about the fracturing of the main cast. that never really works well? and we’ve already seen how tht handles it. (not well lol)

now we have june, serena, nick, janine, and moira all in different places with divergent stories. (we know emily and nichole will join up with moira, luke, and erin. and likely sylvia and oliver. so there’s a whole canada crew.) i mean janine has never been a core player but she’s fairly important. and rita... will... likely go with the waterfords wherever they go.

but without june at the waterfords, she’s separated from serena, fred, nick, and janine all in one swoop. (but then of course the waterfords burns down so lol)

now, things i’m really not interested in which i feel are going to take up a lot of time because of this fractured cast:

- serena and fred’s failing relationship. call me biased but i honestly don’t give a shit. i don’t care about fred’s feelings in any way whatsoever. i don’t care about him being sad. or angry. or anything. i simply do not care about him. he needs to die this season. him being upset at his wife who hates him now is so dull. i love serena, i care about what is happening with her character but fred is an accessory to that, not the centre of it. i know there has to be something about him cos he’s tied to serena’s character in many ways, but i’m not here for Poor Fred’s Sad Times Manpain.

- nick being in the army or whatever. i just don’t think he’s a strong enough actor or character to carry scenes by himself. it only worked cos he was playing opposite powerhitters like moss, fiennes, and strahovski (even sweeney). without them to carry the scenes, i fear i’m gonna be bored af. even as a character, he’s just... not that interesting. sorry. the show has managed to actually strip the book character of his moderate complexity and made him into some flat love-interest cliche. who magically survives every treasonous thing he does. so for him to suddenly be a tough guy who is commanding a guardian regiment is fucking laughable. just plain batty. thus, because it’s so nonsensical, it bores me. nick, just in general, bores the fuck outta me on a good day. i dread s3 scenes with him. how nick isn’t fucking DEAD by now for all the shit he’s pulled on waterford it’s bonkers. at the very least, as an eye he should have been removed from that assignment. but i digress. yawn.

- lawrence/june stand-offs or lessons or whatever they wanna frame them as. “he’s testing her”. UGH. i mean, i don’t mind some of it (and apparently they’re gonna partner up)... but i really will be bored when every scene of her in a household is just a showdown of some kind with lawrence. quite frankly, again, maybe i’m just a misandrist but i give zero shits about lawrence either. i don’t wanna her about his pathetic man-struggles and his humanity. i don’t care about his regrets. 

here’s how it goes: i do not care about the men. period. like, there’s no mystery about why men do what they do. there’s no complexity. their stories like this have been told 6,203,009,484,836,334 times already in fiction. we see them in our history books over and over. there have been a million psychological treatises on why nazi men did what they did. why lawrence went along with it, why he continued it, what his contribution was, etc. etc. --- i. do. not. care. i really don’t care about him teaching june the trolley problem or whatever the point is. if the general audience is that lacking in ethical philosophy they need to be taught this, maybe this show is too much already. i also am not here for him using this to excuse his fascism. so, basically, my issue is i don’t care about lawrence. i’ve heard his story a 100 times already. 101 isn’t gonna make it somehow mind-blowing. or even interesting to me...

- lawrence flashbacks will be the death of me, and not in a fun good way. do not show me them. do not waste my precious fucking time on this loser dickhead.

- luke... well, i do sorta care about how the refugees are doing. mostly cos the show has handled it SO BADLY THUS FAR. they made it look super easy and just. no. their canada-side of things has been shit and completely bogus unrealistic. (but then i suspect atwood is partly to blame for that lol.) but i mean, the last thing i need is another full episode dedicated to woobie luke’s woes.

- basically, i give no shits about manpain in this show. none. every second of manpain is a second that a woman’s story is sidelined.

so, my issue with the set up is that when you separate the core characters, they all become strangely boring. what is interesting is their dynamics. and the fact that unless you are june, your story is really thrown to the wayside if you’re removed from her. look how they treated moira last season. and luke. even emily to some degree (but not nearly as badly as moira). she got fuck all to really do or be. luke, even worse. (not that i’m really complaining about that tbh.) emily and janine’s colonies subplots were hack jobs just to show what a colony is. 

now, fair play, i am 100% biased but the only character other than june that comes close to being able to carry a whole, complex story solo is serena. (hello 209). which, ofc, i’m not opposed to. but again, there is something missing in her narrative when she’s isolated from june for too long. 

moira could, if they’d let her. but so far they’ve squandered wiley’s talents and moira’s potential.

it’s sorta exactly because of how they’ve dealt with moira that i fear what will happen when they pull apart the main cast to this degree. yes, it’s the handmaid’s tale. yes, the book was a june solo story. but the show itself has always showed itself to be about other handmaid’s and women in general, almost as much. and how all these women interact. 

the thing is, the show is already treading dangerously into the ridiculous with half these characters even still being alive (june, janine, nick, emily), so it would take a shitload of magic for them to all stay together in one place. and when you pull them apart, it takes some magical deus ex machina shit to put them all back in the same place (hence that weird baptism thing when absolutely insanely they allow janine and the putnams in the same room lmao. plus june, serena, fred, aunt lydia... like yeah right. why doesn’t nick just show up too? hell, moira could stop in for a bite too. why not. nothing matters anymore.)

i dunno. maybe i’m just really cynical and pessimistic... but i don’t like the way it feels. pulling one character out is one thing. having two separate groups of different sides of the border is one thing. having every main character in their own story world is quite another. either the writers actually know what they’re doing after fucking moira & co. over last season, or it’s gonna be a rehash of that and we’re gonna be left with a lot of unsatisfactory, half-baked independent narrative arcs that don’t really weave back into each other in any sensible way.

on a completely separate level, i’m anxious cos of what they’re turning june into.

if the articles are to be believed, they’re making june become... some sort of rebel leader, loose with morality.

“You have to fight fire with fire,” Moss teases. “That’s become [June’s] journey in season 3. To fight against the people she has to fight, she has to become more like them.” Adds Miller: “We’re not doing a montage of June being radicalized — it’s 13 episodes. To see someone go through this process of becoming ruthless was a real challenge. We didn’t want to sensationalize it, or make it too morally easy, either.”

*sigh*

part of what i liked about june was that no matter how awful people were, she was always* very present and empathetic, and yeah she made stupid decisions, was selfish and narrow-minded at times, but inherently a GOOD--if flawed--character. i don’t wanna see serena 2.0. we have a serena, thanks, and she’s a bad person and the whole point is we want her to become a better person, not make june become a worse person to fit in with her lol. i don’t mind june harnessing some of that grit and power and cutthroat attitude, but serena is one of the weakest people and emulating her isn’t the best idea? am i crazy? i especially don’t need to see june turn into lawrence’s rebellious protege.

i dunno... it bothers me when every story about women ends up with “well they have to be more like men! that’s real power!!” (and i’m side-eyeing the male showrunner and male writers so fucking hard rn.) i’m not naive. i know some change is necessary, and to fight such a perverse system you have to infiltrate it, violently fight against it, and understand it. but you don’t need to become it. or again, maybe i’m just naive?

I DO NOT WANT “RUTHLESS JUNE”.

i’m sorry. i don’t. do some ruthless things, yes, that’s probably inevitable but to become a ruthless person? yikes. how has gilead not won then? it seems it has.

(*with the exception of eden. don’t even get me started...)

maybe i just need a cup of chamomile tea and to shut the fuck up until i actually watch it.

[sydney-stylites-blog]

Of betrayals and backstabbings | The Dragonpit edition

Yeah the title really doesn't make a lot of sense, but I liked how it sounded 🤷🏻 I kind of wanted to explore the whole Jon betraying Dany thing again, and why the Dragonpit scene conclusively ended any doubts I might have had regarding that.

I've been staunchly against the concept of Jon betraying Dany and I've addressed it multiple times already. Betraying Dany doesn't fit in Jon's character sketch. There a million already existing problems which everyone has to deal with, and Jon playing Dany is not one of them. Of course, then we have the classic case of Ygritte brought up. If Jon could betray her for the Night's Watch, why can't he betray Dany for his family? What antis conveniently forget every time they bring this up is that Ygritte (and the wildlings) were coming to destroy the Night's Watch (and a ton of innocent people while at it). So Jon betrayed her because he had no other option. Dany is coming with her armies and dragons to save Jon's home, save the North...so why, why would Jon betray her? What would he have to gain by this?

Consider this. When Sansa and Arya played Littlefinger, that was awesome! We not only supported it, but we were thrilled af when it happened! But what about when Littlefinger had betrayed Ned Stark, and that was after telling him he shouldn't have trusted him? I mean, he had warned him earlier hadn't he? So the betrayal wasn't out of the blue, right? It was something we should have been expecting, wasn't it? But did we support that? Did we agree with or sympathise with Littlefinger?

And okay, when Jon betrayed Ygritte, who did you agree with more? Did you feel bad for Ygritte but also felt that Jon had done the right thing? Could you see Jon's struggle between love and duty and acknowledge that the right choice wasn't as easy to make?

Why were our reactions different to all those situations? Short answer - motive. Our reaction to betrayals are based on the motive, and how well it is portrayed in the narrative. 'A woman murdered a man' evokes a different reaction than 'a woman executed a man who had led to the death of her own father'. Throw in the fact that he was still trying to get her to kill her sister, and we not only agree with the woman in question here, we are positively cheering her on! Because that's the difference motive makes - it justifies actions otherwise considered wrong, and we have numerous examples of it in Game of Thrones. My personal favorite, of course, is Jaime and the Kingslayer story because it perfectly highlights the difference between us knowing the reason, or judging the action as it stands.

So what could be Jon's motives for playing Dany?

We have the obvious, to protect his family and Winterfell from the unstable witch (that is supposedly Dany on tumblr).

But that's the thing again antis. Dany has never once, not once threatened or even implied in extremely vague terms anything that could be constituted to be a threat to Winterfell or the Starks. In all their interactions, whenever she wanted Jon to bend the knee, she never even went in the general area of threatening his family if he refused to. The issue of family wasn't brought up at all in that sense, so the idea that she would harm his family now, after having clearly developed feelings for him, has only sprung from the minds of the Jonsa Fandom who very much want it to be true because it justifies their POV and their ship. Because the assumption that Dany would want to destroy Winterfell, destroy the Starks and Jon realized this and is appeasing her by catering to her romantic feelings would work extremely well if, if it had been implied anywhere at least once, even if vaguely. But it hasn't been portrayed, and by itself fails to suffice as the motive setting up Jon conning Dany.

Jon will never betray Northern independence for love, and is only faking it to protect the North from Dany's ire.

Considering that the North was already protected from Dany's ire before Jon pledged himself to her, I don't even know where this comes from. Dany promised to fight the White Walkers without asking anything in return (an action which squarely put her in the 'good guy' category), Jon playing her to accomplish something which had already been accomplished is not only senseless, paranoic and unnecessary, but it also would then put him firmly in the douchebag category. Dany let him keep the North, only for him to offer it to her twice, and then ultimately turn right around and say lol, kidding?? Really Jonsa peeps? That makes sense to any of you? Why is it so hard to accept that Jon judged her worthy of his allegiance? But of course, that wouldn't work for the antis and this mess is far more appealing.

About the Northern independence though, I've already mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. The whole 'King in the North' concept arose because the Starks would not accept the Lannisters as their king, not after what they had done. Supporting the Baratheons would have been treasonous and dishonourable, and would have embroiled them in a civil war they had no interest in being part of. The main reason however, was that the Northern Lords had grown disillusioned with the Southern kings who did not care about the Northern issues at all and only paid attention to the North when it was in their own interests. Now, with Daenerys pledging herself to defeat the White Walkers, the entire dynamic of the game had changed, the Southern ruler in point, was not a Lannister or a Baratheons, but a Targaryen, who was coming to save the North instead of abandoning them to their plight and, contrary to popular belief, could in fact be trusted. The North Remembers, and it is this that Jon hopes the North will remember once the Walkers have been defeated, that Daenerys is not her father. So, in short, Jon is not playing Dany for Northern independence because it's frankly ridiculous and the alternative (he feels she's a worthy ruler) makes much more sense in this case.

Jon is playing Dany for Sansa's sake, either because he took her advice about not making mistakes seriously or he's deeply in love with her.

This is a very shipper reason, as canonically there has been no love shown from either of them, but I would have still accepted this reason if they hadn't already made it crystal clear that Jon and Sansa don't agree politically. They both have different views regarding politics, and while Jon does ask her for her opinions, he does what he believes he should do anyway. Also, while Sansa has a more grounded worldview which takes into account people's feelings and motivations - rewarding those true to you for their loyalty (Karstarks and Umbers), taking Cersei more seriously, not abandoning the North and literally everything else, Jon's are more idealistic and based on his strong moral code of 'honor' - not taking the castles away from the Karstarks and Umbers, choosing to believe in Tyrion, putting his own life on the line to save his people (by going to Dragonstone). Jon has been consistently portrayed, all throughout this season, as valuing honor above everything - a very strong Ned Stark trait tbh - and not taking Sansa's advice as seriously as he should (which is what she notices as well, and it upsets her). So with this set-up, believing that he is actually playing Dany because of what Sansa has told him is, quite frankly, a stretch, because there is no narrative indication which would make us believe that. This would also explain Sansa's reaction to learning he had bent the knee, she's resigned to it because she knows that though Jon loves and respects her, he still does what he thinks is the right thing to do. Also, Sansa doesn't berate him for doing what he did in the way she would have had she believed he had been repeating Ned's and Robb's mistakes - - > she doesn't believe he's making those mistakes ie bending the knee to Dany is not disastrous (as the antis would have you believe). Sansa is upset because Jon clearly didn't consider asking Sansa's opinion about a very important political decision, and she's upset because she knows that the Northern Lords will not accept this easily, but she doesn't react as if it's the worst thing in the world ever, nor does she act thoughtful, which would have indicated that all is not as it seems. In short, Sansa's reaction is very much expected under the circumstances, which are that Jon doesn't take her as seriously as he should. And given this, it seems unlikely to imagine that he's in cahoots with Sansa and they're taking down the Dragon Queen together (together! 😂)

Every reason for Jon playing Dany would have worked if the narrative had given some sort of suggestion about a possible motive, some indication of Jon treating Sansa's advice seriously, or made Jon give up the North before she pledged to fight the Walkers. And the nail in the coffin for the 'undercover lover' theory was the Dragonpit scene. Nothing would have cast stronger doubts on whether Jon truly loves Dany or not, than him accepting the truce. Despite it being the smart political move, it would have also raised a tiny red flag regarding Jon's true intentions, in my mind at least. Jon basically had nothing to lose by accepting the truce, nothing except for his honor. And that made him refuse! It wasn't just him making a public proclamation that he loves Dany (although it sorta was 😂), it was him being faced with a choice to sacrifice his honor, his word, to get what he wanted, it was him being asked to choose whether he truly was his father's son, it was him being expected by the one who knew the truth to do the dishonourable thing for the greater good. He could have lied and supported Dany later, he could simply have walked away from the battles to come because they didn't directly concern him and his people and let Dany fend for herself. But would it have been the honorable thing to do? Smarter, yes. Wiser, yes. More beneficial to his own people, yes. But honorable? After taking Dany's help to defeat the White Walkers, which let's be honest, are a far greater threat to the North than anywhere else, after taking her armies and dragons to save his home and then turning his back on her when Cersei came at her with fresh forces would have been as far from honor as possible. If Jon has indeed been playing Dany all along, then he should have accepted Cersei's offer - which would not only have placated the Northern Lords later, but would also have served as a potential hint of him playing Dany. But in keeping with the characteristic theme of this season, Jon chooses honor over the alternative more politically savvy choice. He upset everybody, even Dany, with this choice when he could have gone with the easier one, which would have ensured everyone - those at the Dragonpit as well as the Northern lords - would have been happy with the outcome. Everyone would have gotten what they wanted, and the subsequent - if any - reveal of Jon having played Dany all along would have made much more sense to the audience.

But Jon did not make the easy choice. The deliberate inclusion of this scene was only to portray that even when the choice is tough, Jon would choose honor. This is his character, his identity. Also, the callbacks to Ned Stark, aside from foreshadowing that when the time comes to choose, Jon would most likely choose his Stark heritage, remind us that Ned Stark valued honor above all, and the only times he sacrificed it was over love - love for his sister and love for his daughters, which caused him to abandon his honor for their survival. So for Ned Stark's son to betray a woman who trusts, loves, respects and admires him, a woman who's had the same struggles in life as he himself has, a woman who is willing to set aside her own personal goals to help him destroy the threat to his home, for him to betray a woman who has already given him everything he wanted, is actually a betrayal of Ned Stark's legacy and everything he stood for. By going so far as to blatantly lie in Ned Stark's name, Jon would have, in one stroke, destroyed everything that Ned Stark inculcated and symbolised, given what we already know about him having no motive at all for the undercover lover angle. So the callback to Ned was very necessary in highlighting that Jon is truly Ned's son, and throwing away his honor without an ironclad reason is not his character. It's simply not.

Also, this scene was very important because it very starkly set up the contrast between Jon (and even Dany) and Cersei. Remember how all of us were totally skeptical about believing Cersei at all in the first place? Even after the convincing reason of her wanting to protect her to-be-born child, it still was hard to believe that she would actually help them. And why was that?

'When enough people make false promises words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies.'

As the audience, we now know not to trust Cersei. Even when she's being completely sincere, it's hard to trust her because her words have long since stopped meaning anything to us, she's not someone who's promises we'll ever trust, because as Jon said, they are only better and more elaborate lies. And lies won't help us in this fight. So Jon not lying is very important to show us this difference, of how we basically trust Jon's promises and how cautious we are when it comes to Cersei. And as if that's not enough, Cersei's scene with Jaime lays it all completely out, when Jaime is do adamant about sticking to his promise and is struggling to understand how Cersei could have lied to them.

Cersei: I'll say whatever I need to say to ensure the survival of our house

To Cersei, the priority is only her house, her family, to the point that she can't even acknowledge the enormity of the Northern threat. She's focused on ensuring her family's survival, everyone else be damned. And that is categorically shown as an evil thing. Saying whatever is needed to be said, making false promises, basically everything that the Jonsa fans expect from Jon is clearly and emphatically shown to be evil, to be wrong. The whole purpose of the Dragonpit scene is to bring out this contrast between Jon and Cersei - Cersei doesn't care about futile things such as honor and promises when the question is about her own family's survival, Jon however not only cares about the realm, as a whole, but he also highly values honor and takes his promises seriously. We even have Jaime Lannister (my cute nugget 💖) walk away from Cersei, whom he loves above and beyond all, because of his honor. If, after all this, Jon is shown to not have any honor at all, then...

[clifi-journal-blog]

Loosed Upon the World I

Looking at the Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction

Introduction:

TL;DR: We think it’s not gonna happen to us. We thought wrong. Here’s our attempt at making fiction make things seem more real. Humanize the threat.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Welcome to the end of the world, already in progress” (xi)—focus on already in progress, see CC. There’s no clear beginning or end, but for sure we are amidst massive climate upheaval.

“Fiction is a powerful tool for helping us contextualize the world around us.” – s/o at fiction for being able to help us understand what’s up.

Foreword:

TL;DR: Lust for techno-fix—instant gratification, instant solution. Oh, how fucking human. We keep avoiding the real problem and thinking oh yeah we’ll just go to Mars or something sci-fi like that. Multiple fantasies exists; there are stories that warn you about the dangers of climate change and then there are those that will defo tell you it isn’t real.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“If you were to live in that world…that might make an impact” (XIII) well, you think it means nothing b/c it’s not happening to you. INDIFFERENCE.

“It’s interesting that by creating a made-up world, you can show the real world more sharply and clearly” (XIV)—fiction is how we make sense of the world, ironically, forces us to empathize. A million is a statistic, one is a tragedy.

[About “feel-good technology” advertised to combat climate change] “They are, in fact, fiction, or if you really want to stick the knife in—fantasy” (XV)—less realistic than the possibilities embodied in the stories is the idea that one device can fix all these damages that we have done to the environment.

Shooting the Apocalypse, Paolo Bacigalupi

TL;DR: Timo and Lucy find trying to get some good scoop, comes across the reality of what happens when water becomes scarce. Sacrifices, fights, treason, all that BS, all about the Central Arizona Project. These people were getting ready to go to war, an army against the apocalypse—the end of the world, without water, a basic necessity.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“All anyone wants to do is tell their story, Timo. They need to know they matter.” – the power of storytelling in community and world-building (of how we interpret the world around us)

The Myth of the Rain, Seanan McGuire

TL;DR: Climate change’s effect on the local fauna (ft. migration, tourism, and the rich getting everything at the expense of the poor, of the marginalize who suffer the most even though they didn’t do as much damage as the rich people did). God Complex, manicured nature, “the great outdoors” and by doing our job, we pat ourselves in the back and say, well done.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Forget the poor. Forget the disenfranchised. They were the ones who had done the least to destroy the world as we’d known it for so long, and now they were the ones being left behind.” – see CC, CWC, why are those countries that contributed the least amount of pollution the ones suffering the most? Unfair.

“When the world catches fire, something has to burn” – s/o at THG series, see: very dystopian society, see: role of government intervention, and how someone has to take the consequences of it all.

“Humanity was the architect of its own destruction” (34)—we did this to ourselves. Architect= design, artificiality, we designed our own end.

“Was it mercy or arrogance…Did we have the right?” (36)—God Complex, roots back to Adam and Eve and control of environment.

OUTER RIMS, Toiya Kristen Finley

TL;DR: Mother helps this dude who’s sick, ends up getting infected. Everyone in family dies in hospital with the rest of the others.

Key Quotes and what’s up: “No one regretted last chances unless they weren’t taken” (39)—BIG MOOD, mother nature @ us, “only know you love her when you let her go”

KHELDYU, Karl Schroeder

TL;DR: Bro and sis fight about how to save the world, b/c one lowkey doing it for his own good and sis is like wtf?? And sis’s friend works for the bro and it’s all complicated af, but in the end, basically try to contain the damages of the bro’s plan.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“industrial logic. About what happened when the natural world became an abstraction, and the only reality was the system you were building” (71)—see Foreword and world building through fictions and the stories we tell, also see L2DIE and system mentality.

THE SNOWS OF YESTERYEAR, Jean-Louis Trudel

TL;DR: Making a business out of saving the word; rescuing the old professor. Sins of before come to haunt us now, but sorta happy ending= we aren’t as doomed after all= ISOLATED events, guy from Ontario love story lol

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Saving the world would have to yield dividends to catch this group’s attention” (71) profitability of green tech otherwise it’s useless, no one cares if you can’t make money off it.

“The world beyond the small tent…drowned cities, burning forests, shifting sand dunes…He’d stopped loving the snow when he’d realized it was an illusion” (103) effects of yesterday not so far from us but we feel distant, safe, cut-off= ILLUSION.

THE RAINY SEASON, Tobias S. Buckell

TL;DR: Acid rain, literally. Run offs and hallucinations and coming back “home”.

Key Quotes and what’s up:“The place wasn’t the same. The place you lived no longer existed.” (112)- see CC and the ending of the pastoral, nostalgic past.

A HUNDRED HUNDRED DAISIES, Nancy Kress

TL;DR: pipelines and water supply shortage, mutiny, and the loss of dreams, of “daisies”, have to make up a new, pretend one—kinda to give hope to the younger sis. PAPER DAISIES= not authentic, but an idea. Power of what’s on paper

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“I’m not a child, and this is my future, too” (129)—affects everyone, all ages, not just the oldies. Gotta take part of changing the system.

“It will be a war, won’t it, Danny? Like in history” (140)—shortages in anything triggers violence, everyone needs water=FIGHT FOR IT

“Even our small town…has a black market” (140)—making money out of the shortage of water, still people profiting from it

THE NETHERLANDS LIVES WITH WATER, Jim Shepard

TL;DR: In Netherlands, we cope with the rising water; life built around water. Public/Private interests—who wins?

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Henk’s class is viewing a presentation at the Climate Campus—Water: the Precious Resource and Deadly Companion” (153) 1)they actually have a campus dedicated to climate studies? Explain. 2) precious resource and deadly companion—you can say that again, the necessity of water is exactly want makes it dangerous, see previous story.

(***FAVE)THE PRECEDENT, Sean McCullen

TL;DR: law, climatologist setting the precedent in this post-apocalyptic kinda war camp, being visited by figure of death all the time. Realizing it’ll be a lot harder for him because now he’s set up these high expectations of how to live. Lots of Holocaust and Nazi references, and law & econ so BAE AF.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Economic growth was considered about as healthy as cancer” (177)—consumerism vs. environmental struggle.

“The world will go on, but your world has been unsustainable for a long time” (178)—see L2DIE and EOSC lectures about how it’s us dying, as humanity that scares us.

“Most were fools, not monsters.” “The fool kills just as dead as the monster” (186)—it doesn’t matter what the intentions are. Dead is dead. SHOOK.

“everyone born before 2000 is an eco-Nazi, guilty of climate crimes” (186)- ECO NAZI! WOWZA

“You look like me,” (@ Death) (196)—see L2DIE, death is a reflection of our own mortality.

“Without you (death), I will not be human” (201)—part of living, of being human is accepting death, see again L2DIE.

HOT SKY, Robert Silverberg

TL;DR: Delivering ice berg, ship encounters another ship, awks dilemma about mutiny and take these men who have gone crazy. Screen, a.k.a. sunscreen and going heat crazy. Question of conscience vs. survival. Helping others vs. helping yourself.

Key Quotes and what’s up:

“Who had asked for any of this…Not us. Our great-great-grandparents had, maybe, but not us. Only they’re not here to know what it’s like, and we are” (219)—lowkey guilt tripping this generation through voices of future possible grandchildren.

“No sense looking back. You look back, all you do is hurt your eyes.” (228)—survival of the fittest, that’s how it’s always gonna go.

THAT CREEPING SENSATION, Alan Dean Foster.

TL;DR: Super size me, NATURE edition.

Key Quotes and what’s up: “Humanity was adapting to changed climate…her only fear was that something else just might be adapting a little faster.” (239)—who will win?