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meanbossart · 17 days ago

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Ask compilation: DU drow, Orin, Astarion, lore things and little fun facts.

Trying to make a dent in this dang inbox. As always, thank you so much everyone for your patience and curiosity! Sorry that it is straight up no longer possible for me to reply to everyone, but I will keep doing my best within reason. Enjoy!

Absolutely! I had a lot of requests for bottom Astarion on my patreon which is why I was kind of on a roll there for a minute.

Though, for the record - I am really not very invested in strict bedroom roles at all. Or clear and distinct dominant/submissive dynamics. So please don't overthink it whenever there's a switch, no pun intended.

You wanna know how often they smash? Man, I don't know, I guess fairly often considering their lifestyle post-game (very active, often on the road).

Assuming that everyone agrees that sex doesn't have to involve penetration, I'd say once every other day or less, really depends on the circumstances though. DU drow's libido is much higher than Astarion's, but he's not an animal and can hold off fine. Astarion is likely to be pickier in regards to location and how-recently-have-we-bathed status as well.

I keep meaning to draw him, but I have like... A million things I want to do 😂 so its rough!

BUT you will at least continue to see him in ANE! And I'm sure i'm bound to draw him again in the future.

[MORE UNDER THE CUT]

If you mean in his bhaalist "AU", where he has the red robe and the extra scars, I imagine he would have gotten it through killing Isobel.

I think as a changeling she probably has the ability to just... Transform her hair however she likes at will, right? And based on her attitude plus some lines we get from Sceleritas about her own former-butler, it sounds like she would be really opposed to being serviced in that way, to me at least.

I see her as pretty aggressively independent with the way she operates, which is another factor that sets her apart from DU drow, who really enjoyed lording over the other Bhaalists and making an errand boy out of Sceleritas, to the point where he practically depended on their help to function.

Neither! I wasn't willing to let anyone take either of my eyes in my first playthrough, LOL.

I have since always given the Volo eye to SOMEONE, usually Gale, but I don't consider that canonical. I don't think anyone was desperate enough to let mister frumpy-hat over there ice-pick their eyes out.

He did do them himself. It was a profoundly stupid display he got caught up in because of Gortash. Also, de-handment is kind of a theme in his life, at least inside his head.

I have a comic about it planned for the future ;)

What do you mean, that's canonical to the game and everything! He loves the cuck chair!

He is an angsty 29-year old in denial. Your interpretation is still perfectly accurate.

Hates the guy. Hates when Shadowheart Astarion people joke about him being the Drizzt of his generation. Hates the guy like literally any countercultural weirdo hates Taylor Swift or the Weeknd. If he saw him at the line in the grocery store DU drow would find a way to roll his eyes loudly just so he could notice being an asshole.

Stay tuned, I'm cooking 🧑‍🍳

If you're asking about game strats, badly, LOL. Pretty sure I died twice to her in my first run and it was a rough way of being thrown into "serious" DnD combat.

With the exception of a couple of encounters that just so happened to turn out SURPRISINGLY cinematic, I'm just realizing that I actually don't think too often about how most of the fights went in real-time! I imagine Autie Ethel's in particular wasn't one that DU drow went into of his own accord, probably rather at a companion's insistence. That's as deep as I've thought about that personally.

Now... Back to game strats. I personally try to get a surprise round on her however I can by sneaking and shooting an arrow or AOE in her general location, since she always stands on roughly the same spot while invisible. I have my companions spread about the arena so we can take her clones down as fast as possible, and as soon as I identify who the real Ethel is I just have the strongest martial characters wail on her until she begs to be let go. Hers is one of the few fights that is actually pretty dang easy at this point for me - and I SUCK at this game.

That would certainly take a while! But, Bhaalist DU drow does kind of have an end goal, actually.

That might also turn into a comic eventually, but it would a rough one.

He pretty swiftly disposed of her, DU drow doesn't like being talked down to, which Minthara very promptly does. Him (and I, by extension) had very limited exposure to her and she was just kind of a speck of dust in his story in particular. Though I have since grown to adore her character in my proceeding runs where I do recruit her!

I guess if he got an invitation and it wasn't particularly painful to arrive at the venue, sure! He would specially love to take Astarion to Gale's wedding ceremony and purposely upstage him at every at every opportunity, LOL.

Yes. He got pretty freaky with the pain-priest. This is gonna sound like a lie but I made him get naked for it without even knowing there was a buff to be gained (I didn't get it, unfortunately, I don't remember whether I failed a check or if I had camp clothes toggled on, so it didn't count as being truly nude). I wasn't taking the game very seriously and just doing dumb roleplay things to see what would happen, LOL.

And I consider that canonical. I think DU drow saw the opportunity to show off his physique And had a strange inkling that this was a practice he was... Somehow familiar with.

Imagine my joy when Astarion and Shadowheart start having a back-and-forth about my absurd display. That's when i knew those were my people, to be honest.

#ask compilarion #ask #du drow lore #du drow and astarion

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 3 months ago

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Sussex Survivors Club

Tom Sykes of The Daily Beast dropped an article yesterday about the latest Sussex employee to bail out.

There's some good gossip in the article, such as:

For example, one photographer who was requested to pitch to work for their wedding told The Daily Beast: “It was incredibly exciting to be asked to present for the wedding. I had to go to Kensington Palace where I laid out several mood boards in what was then their office. Eventually, Meghan walked in, took one look at what I had prepared and said, in the meanest way possible, ‘No.’ Then she spun on her heel and walked out. I was left in tears. It was horrible.” Another contractor, a florist, The Daily Beast was told, was “monstered” by Meghan after posting an innocuous message on social media trying to source flowers for a bouquet Meghan had requested they make. The florist vowed never to work with Meghan again despite the prestige associated with such a client. Harry, by contrast, has generally been seen as a considerate and thoughtful boss. Another contractor who worked at his wedding told The Daily Beast how Harry helped set up one of the bars in a marquee before the event kicked off.

There's also a couple eye-rolly moments like this one:

Reports this week, in the wake of Kettler’s departure, have claimed that 18 people have resigned or left Harry and Meghan Markle’s employ since she married Harry, with nine leaving since they moved to the USA. However, defenders of Harry and Meghan would be quick to point out that some staff, such as James Holt, who moved to America with the Sussexes, have remained in post for many years, and point out that there is plenty of churn in Prince William and Princess Kate’s office too, but they don’t get accused of being bad bosses every time a new hire doesn’t work out.

(Eye-rolly because why do we even need to drag William and Kate into this to begin with? Oh, I forgot. Because Tom needs his paycheck and Meghan needs her SEO.)

Anyway. I was going to do a deep dive into the photographer and florist to see if there's any more details there but...18 ex-staffers seems awfully low compared to all the stories that have trickled out over the years.

So let's count them!

Kensington Palace Survivors

Christian Jones. Meghan was papped taking him to lunch, causing many to believe she poached him from Burberry and he was working directly for her; however, when the household split, Christian stayed at KP with the Cambridges. I'm too lazy at the moment to check, but I think Christian was one of the four KP staffers that planned to testify in one of the lawsuits, and I'm fairly certain Meghan's pissed at him about something (or everything) because Endgame ended up being a hit job on Christian.

Amy Pickerill. She was formerly Harry's PA but transferred to staff Meghan during the engagement and was so closely trusted by Meghan that Amy was given the honorable task of...airport duty? (Amy was tapped to pick up Doria at the airport for the wedding.) Amy is suspected to be one of the two PAs that Meghan bullied, descriptions of which Jason Knauf included in his letter. Amy quit working for the Sussexes, went private for a little bit, but was then immediately hired by The Royal Foundation, where she became involved with Earthshot, where Kate was overheard greeting her with "Well done, Amy!" It's also believed that Amy is the PA whom William was once witnessed comforting while she was upset. Amy is also suspected of being the aide seen crying (after being yelled at by Meghan) by one of the royal reporters; the reporter chose not to print this incident when it happened because "privacy" but later admitted it sometime post-Oprah.

Melissa Toubati. Formerly Robbie William's PA, she joined KP during the engagement and was assigned to the Sussexes' staff, where she helped plan the wedding and the Australia tour. She quit after about six months or so after the Australia tour, where allegedly Meghan threw a cup of tea and/or a pair of scissors at her, which allegedly led to a handsome payoff by the BRF and a NDA. She is the aide that Valentine Low described as getting fired for something she didn’t do, suspected to be related to a disagreement over Meghan’s accepting of freebies. Harry then threw her under the bus in Spare, writing that he and Meghan turned her in to HR for taking freebies that were sent to Meghan. (Thanks for the correction, anon! Original text left below.) Melissa is thought to be the second of two PAs referenced in Jason's letter.

did get a shoutout from Harry in Spare, who said that Melissa and Meghan butted heads over Meghan wanting to keep all the clothes she was given while Melissa was in favor of following protocol (i.e., returning all the clothes or sending payment for each item received).

Samantha Cohen. She was a valued aide to Queen Elizabeth, given to the Sussexes to help Meghan learn the ropes and whip their staff into shape. Samantha the Panther famously accompanied Meghan on her first (only) engagement with The Queen - yes, the hatless toilet tank engagement - and to Australia. Sam's assignment to the Sussexes was just supposed to be a few weeks, but it stretched for well over a year. Samantha later made private remarks that have since become prophetic, that Meghan had no interest in getting along with anyone (or something to that effect) and she has also made comments that Meghan often screamed at the staff (including her) and pushed Samantha past her breaking limit.

Edward Lane Fox. He was Harry's valued aide, having worked for him for five years and is largely the brains behind Invictus Games. He announced his departure from the Sussexes' staff a few weeks before the wedding, allegedly citing Meghan as the reason why he was leaving. He continues to serve on Invictus Games' board. About six months before the wedding, Ed gave Meghan a 30-page dossier on being a member of the BRF, on everything from curtsey protocol to fashion tips to advice about walkabouts to information about charities and public life. Meghan apparently refused to read it.

Sonia Lane Fox. ELF’s wife. I can't find her name or many details about her, but she supposedly worked for Meghan during the engagement and couldn't take it anymore. She left soon after ELF did.

Edit: I’m getting asks from anons saying that ELF and Amy Pickerill are married but that’s not true - at least not in 2018-2019 when all this went down. I did some insomnia research and found this list of Sussex wedding guests, where ELF is mentioned as attending with his wife Sonia (and here is their engagement announcement). ELF and Sonia could very well be divorced now and Ed remarried to Amy (but still, I doubt that because there would be mentioned in some of the stories about former Sussex staff); however, since what is known about ELF’s wife working for the Sussexes is dated to the wedding, this means Sonia and she remains a separate entry.

Unnamed Assistant. Bower discusses this assistant in Revenge, saying this particular individual once had to call Meghan after hours for clarification, which led to Meghan screaming at her "you can't do anything right, I'll do it myself."

Sara Latham. Technically Sara didn't quit the Sussexes, the Sussexes quit her. She worked for the Sussexes all the way through Megxit, after which she was absorbed by Buckingham Palace.

Natalie Campbell. Natalie was a KP staffer mostly well known for the work she did with Meghan's Hubb Cookbook (aka I think Natalie did all the work and Meghan just posed for the photos). It's not clear what other work she may have done for the Sussexes (or the Cambridges) or how/on what terms she left the Sussexes' staff.

Clara Loughram. Clara's an interesting staffer. She initially came into the Sussexes' employ while working at KP. She helped with the wedding planning and was the woman who gave Meghan her flowers when she arrived at St. George's Chapel for the wedding. She stuck by the Sussexes' when the household split and lost her job through Megxit; however, the Sussexes later re-hired Clara as a freelancer for Archewell, who worked on their UK projects but Clara has since left the Sussexes' employment.

Edit: Apparently Clara established her own company that the Sussexes continue to contract for support planning their overseas work, according to some anons. I’ll still leave Clara in this list because she doesn’t technically work personally for the Sussexes anymore.

Jason Knauf. The big kahuna. Everyone knows Jason's story. He was the Communications guy for KP, working with William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan. When the household split, Jason stayed at KP with the Cambridges. He advised Meghan on her letter to Tom and poked a lot of holes in her testimony. He also wrote a damning letter about Meghan's behavior towards staff that led to the bullying investigation, which was DOA.

Katrina McKeever. She was part of the communications team at KP and was said to have also helped Meghan with the wedding planning. She quit just before the Australia trip, allegedly over Meghan's harsh criticism of how certain wedding plans were executed though Meghan denies criticizing anyone.

Melissa Crow. She used to be Madonna's assistant and allegedly worked for the Sussexes but quit abruptly. There's not a whole lot of information out there about her - it's totally possible that people confused her for Melissa Toubati, but I'm including her anyway on this list.

Unnamed Female RPO. This woman quit after (or in the middle of) the Sussexes' Australasia trip. Many suspect her to be the blonde RPO seen escorting Meghan through the terrifying Fiji market.

Staffer Who Quit In Africa. An unnamed staffer who quit the Sussexes' office - or pulled out of consideration for a Sussex position - after joining the team for the Sussexes' South Africa visit.

The Midnight Nanny. One of the nannies hired by Harry and Meghan after Archie was born allegedly quit mid-shift in the middle of the night over the Sussexes' behavior.

Another Unnamed Nanny. If I'm remembering the details correctly, the Sussexes went through several nannies before finding "the perfect fit." I think there were three nannies trialled, including the midnight nanny (see above).

Another Unnamed Assistant. I don't know if this is the same unnamed assistant as the one further up or if this is someone who's already been named, but there was a second assistant who Tom Bower claims Meghan threw under the bus with her freebies.

Let's take a break for a second. That's 18 known staffers that quit working for the Sussexes. (Okay, 17 because Sara Latham didn't technically quit.) Already we've blown Tom Sykes's estimation out of the water. Again, 18 people that quit their jobs in a span of 23 months. But sure, let's talk about the turnover in William and Kate's staff.

And we're not even counting the RPOs Meghan pissed off by treating like her personal servants!

Archewell Survivors

Ben Browning. He was the head of content for Archewell and worked the Netflix deal. He quit after the docuseries.

Bennett Levine. He was also involved in the Netflix deal with Archewell.

Catherine St-Laurent. She's the Gates Foundation poach. Didn't last very long, less than a year I think. Not really sure what her role was. I think she was supposed to be like a CEO or an Executive Officer to Archewell. Her quitting was the subject of a CDAN rumor alleging that no one actually likes the Sussexes, they're just working for the resume credit.

Josh Ketter. Harry's CEO-assistant who quit this week after only three months in the position. The Sussexes are spinning it as his employment was only temporary. Sure, Jan.

Fara Taylor. She was hired to do Archewell's marketing but lost her job when they "streamlined" the Archewell staff. (aka they didn't have money to pay their staff.)

Rebecca Sananes. She was on the Archewell Audio side of things and helped Meghan with the podcast. She quit (or was "let go" - it's not clear which) after Spotify failed to renew Archetypes for a season 2.

Mandana Dayani. She's the big kahuna of post-Megxit, and the staffer who worked the longest with Meghan. She served in a COO-type role for Archewell, overseeing much of the charity work and helping Meghan with her personal brand development. Mandana did accompany Meghan to Uvalde. Mandana allegedly abandoned Meghan, leaving her high and dry by creating American Riviera Orchard for Meghan but not doing any of the paperwork or developing any ideas for product.

Toya Holness. Archewell's press secretary. She was said to be a mini-Meghan or a "Meghan in suits" (something like that, which didn't make sense). She didn't last very long.

Now, Tom Sykes said there were 9 staffers who left the Sussexes after they moved to California. This is only 8 people. I'm not sure who the ninth is - maybe he's counting Clara, who was rehired by the Sussexes post-Megxit? If so:

So in sum. That's 26 known people who've quit working for the Sussexes. There's probably a few more that we don't know about, both from the KP side and the Archewell/post-Megxit side.

Tom Sykes can go ahead and shove his "let's talk about Kate not being able to keep a CEO" talk where the sun don't shine because 26 people quitting is not the same as 3 people quitting.

#sussexes #brf #staff woes

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pointlesschairjokes · 1 month ago

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A Needlessly In depth Analysis of the Hypnos Subplot thus far

So, the new update is out and my sleepy boy has gotten his own story moment. I have... concerns. Going purely off of dialog I'm worried the subplot is going to simply be comic relief. The joke set-up has been obvious. Mel thinks Hypnos is wise and powerful, everyone else is being sarcastic because they know he's a lazy goof. Hypnos wakes up, Mel's image of him is shattered, cue laughter. On the one hand, I would personally find that resolution disappointing because I'd like to see more done with his character, but on the other, I hold out hope because a purely comedic subplot just wouldn't make sense. I've seen comments here and there saying Hypnos must just be conked out cause Hades and Nyx aren't there to scold him, and if this were to be pure comedy that'd probably be the case. But, if there is one thing Hades 1 makes clear, even if you interpret Hypos' character in the shallowest possible way, he cares very deeply for those he loves. When he drops his cheerful tone to ask Than to spend more time with him, it is distinct, and he nearly tears up calling Zag his best friend. I simply do not buy that he would choose to sleep for years when it means being separated from his friends and family. But then again, the first games treatment of him was just a bit odd. The only time him being the god of sleep is relevant is a single line of flashback narration where we learn he's able to put the entire house, including Hades, to sleep. For the rest of the game no character acknowledges that it makes sense for the god of sleep to be sleepy, and his keepsake, the coin purse, has nothing to do with his aspect or his character. I really hope the subplot goes in a direction of addressing that disconnect. So as to what we actually have so far: the dream scene. A lot of what we see is fairly easy to interpret, Than is there resting close to Hypnos, Hypnos is surrounded by massive stacks of work with an angry Hades looming in the background. Now this is a bit interesting, as in the first game Hypnos appears oblivious to Hades anger in his interactions with him. Perhaps this is evidence that some of that cheeriness is a defense mechanism, its hard to say, but its clear that Hypnos feels overworked. I feel its also important that Mel remarks how unusual it is that he is still asleep inside the dream. Given that, and given that there's a craftable item involved, I suspect that the scenery of the dream is going to be different each time Mel uses the dream vapors. There may even be a puzzle involving the character cutouts. As for why Hypnos is asleep, its still unclear. Could it be exhaustion due to overwork? Possibly, although it wouldn't be the most satisfying answer. I'm actually a bit reluctant to say its Chronos' doing. None of his magic seems to operate in a way that would make sense in Hypnos' case. I'll throw out one wild theory though, that its actually the Fates who have put him to sleep. We know from the prophecy list that Mel is going to locate them at some point in the story, and thus far its completely unclear how. If she can communicate with them in dreams however... What could be a better ace in the hole than a god who not only is underestimated by everyone, but who's also in an 'eternal' slumber?

#hades hypnos #hypnos hades #hades game #hades 2

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splendidunboyfriendable · 1 year ago

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hold on (brian quinn x reader)

[I know this is a little random but you know what older men do to me. Trigger warning for mild descriptions of sexual assault. This is also posted to the japage3moondog ao3.]

Part One: Hold Me Back

Part Two: Hold Me Down

"So, what would you say is Q's biggest flaw in your relationship?" Joe asked.

"I love him," You answered. "but he can be a little jealous."

"In Q's punishment today," Sal started to explain. "we are going to be exploiting this flaw."

"We're gonna see if we can get him to punch someone in the face basically." Murr joked.

...

You had been dating Brian for almost half a year now. He'd kept your relationship pretty much just between the two of you, especially in the early months. The privacy was nice. Even though he wasn't a necessairily big celebrity, he still attracted some publicity and you weren't really the type to enjoy that.

Brian was your dream man. He was almost too good to be true. You could have serious, intelligent conversations with him but he could still make you laugh. He made you feel safe, loved and respected. Every moment with him was a cherished memory. His only real flaw was his jealousy.

Everyone who knew Brian, knew about his possessive tendancies. He would glare at every guy who looked at you when you were out. He was fiercely protective and shut down any joke or jab at your expense. He would keep his arm wrapped tight around your waist in public, keeping you close as possible.

As far as he was concerned, anyone who hung around you for too long was trying to get in your pants. He made it his mission to show those punks that you were happily taken. You knew part of it was just his touch-starved side but there was definitely some underlying insecurity you were trying to work through together.

He made you aware of the implications of dating him from the start - the show, his tight friend group, his insecurities. All thanks to doing a risky 20 questions on your first date. You were grateful that he was upfront, if not intimidated by his honesty.

Meeting the guys was like meeting his parents. It was a little awkward, given how well they knew each other but you got along fairly well. When Murr asked you if you were interested in being featured on his show, you were surprised that they wanted you to be involved.

You had to give it a lot of thought and they had to give you a lot of convincing but eventually you agreed. They were waiting on an episode where Brian would lose so they could use you in the punishment segment. Something involving random strangers hitting on you while Brian was forced to deal. Initially, you were hesitant to touch on such a sensitive part of your relationship but the guys assured you that they'd take the fall if anything went awry.

...

The guys stood outside of the club, riffing while they waited for the shoot to start.

"Q," Murr said, grinning at the camera."you are the loser of today's episode."

"And for your punishment," Sal explained. "you're going to the club!"

Brian rolled his eyes as the other jokers laughed at him.

"Why don't you take a look at this outfit, buddy?" Joe threw clothes at him that landed at his feet.

Brian picked up the shirt first - a cropped baby tee with the phrase 'SINGLE & READY 2 MINGLE' across the chest and 'GRAB MY ASS 4 MY PHONE #' along the back in pink, puffy paint. He chuckled, comparing the small size of the shirt to his chest. Underneath the shirt, laid a pair of equally small, booty shorts that looked like they would cut off the circulation to his legs.

"Uh, I don't think these are my size, fellas." Brian said, confused.

"That's 'cause it's not for you," Joe went on, between laughs. "it's for your lovely girlfriend."

Brian's pleasant expression dropped immediately. The thought of a random guy groping you made his blood boil. He subconsciously curled his fingers into tight fists at the hypothetical.

"While your girlfriend is out making some new friends," Sal laughed. "you're going to be behind the bar of this club behind us."

"And if you make any drinks wrong," Murr added. "let's just say we'll be upping the anti."

...

You put on the outfit the guys had chosen for you. You had to admit that it felt nice to be part of one of their jokes but you were nervous for the outcome. You checked yourself out in the club bathroom mirror. The shorts clung nicely to the curve of your ass, leaving a cheeky bit of flesh visible. The tshirt barely covered your bra, the text stretched over your chest. You smiled at your appearance, hoping that Brian would get to see you like this.

You checked the time on your phone, awaiting the start of the punishment. Sal had sent you a text, telling you to sit at the bar but not to order anything yet. You followed the instructions, picking the stool farthest from the noise of the DJ's booth. You were greeted by the sight of your boyfriend in dinky bartender's garb.

"Can I get you anything, sweetheart?" He asked, leaning over the bar to be closer to you.

"They told me not to get anything yet," You answered. "your outfit's adorable."

"I'd say the same to you if we weren't here right now." He spoke through his teeth. "If anyone even looks at your ass, I swear to god, I'll murder them with my bare hands."

You could see the anger burning in his eyes. His usual big brown irises shone with flicks of colour from the club lights. His brow was furrowed and he was biting the inside of cheek. He was trying to keep true rage a secret, but it was written all over his face. He moved closer to you, his fingers grazed your chin, tilting your head upwards. Your eyes fluttered closed as your lips connected. As embarrassing as it was to be the type of couple to make out in public, you knew you both needed this.

"Hey!" Sal scolded, sitting beside you at the bar. "Cut that out, you're making it seem like she's off the market."

You pulled away, still tasting him on your lips. Brian was already shooting daggers at Sal, exhaling deeply through his nose.

"Can I get you anything?" Brian asked, his jaw clenched.

"A beer," Sal said, pulling out his wallet. "and a drink for my lady friend here."

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose before pouring Sal a beer and slamming it down on the table in front of him.

"What would you like, baby?" He turned to you, placing his hand on yours.

"Just a water please." You answered as he slid you a bottle of water.

Sal put down a ten dollar bill and slid an arm around your waist.

"Why don't we hit the dance floor?" Sal set your drink down and you followed him away from the bar, but still in Brian's field of view.

"Hey!" Sal scolded, sitting beside you at the bar. "Cut that out, you're making it seem like she's off the market."

You pulled away, still tasting him on your lips. Brian was already shooting daggers at Sal, exhaling deeply through his nose.

"Can I get you anything?" Brian asked, his jaw clenched.

"A beer," Sal said, pulling out his wallet. "and a drink for my lady friend here."

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose before pouring Sal a beer and slamming it down on the table in front of him.

"What would you like, baby?" He turned to you, placing his hand on yours.

"Just a water please." You answered as he slid you a bottle of water.

Sal put down a ten dollar bill and slid an arm around your waist.

"Why don't we hit the dance floor?" Sal set your drink down and you followed him away from the bar, but still in Brian's field of view.

You looked back at Brian, shooting him a sympathetic look as you danced with Sal.

"It's a pity we haven't spoken much before this." He said, twirling you to the music. "It does make this funnier though."

"Are guys really going to grab my ass?" You asked nervously. "I don't want Brian to catch a charge."

"It'll be fine, I'm here to make sure nothing gets too crazy," He assured you. "just relax and have fun."

You did your best to listen to him and focus on the music. You didn't go out often, especially not out to clubs, so getting to dance around was a treat. The music wasn't what you'd usually enjoy but there was something about the lights and the people around you that just made it perfect. Sal would shoot you a comforting grin every now and then, reminding you of the joke.

It took barely twenty minutes for the first guy to grab your ass. If you hadn't felt it, Brian shattering a beer glass against the bar would've felt it for you. You turned around to a stranger holding up his phone with his contacts open. Out of shock, you put in a bunch of random numbers so he'd go away. You looked back at Sal, jaw still grazing the floor. He had his fist in his mouth, cackling away.

You turned to see Brian trying to jump over the bar, Joe and Murr holding him back to prevent the murder that was about to occur. You mouthed at him that you were okay but the distance between you made it unintelligible. You tried to walk back over to him but Sal pulled you back.

"I'll talk to him, just wait here." He said. "Murr'll come over, we'll switch places."

You were definitely more stiff without the security of Sal by your side but Murr didn't make it a long wait. You were just waiting for the punishment to be over, trying to enjoy what you could.

"Q is totally going to kill someone tonight." Murr laughed.

You looked back at your boyfriend, Joe and Sal calming him down.

"How many guys have to grope me before this is over?" You asked.

"Only a couple more," He answered. "do me a favour, give the next guy Q's number."

You giggled at the thought of Brian getting a late night text from a horny stranger. The next guy looked about half your size and you could feel his hands shake even though the touch was only for a second. You dutifully put Brian's number in as your contact, leaving a winky emoticon next to some made up name. You didn't even have to turn around to know that Brian was fuming. Murr looked like he was about to die of laughter. You giggled along too, the humour of douchebags thinking they had a chance with you forcing up a chuckle.

The final switch was made, Joe taking Murr's place. He awkwardly danced next to you, glancing at Brian every so often.

"You having a good time?" He asked.

"I'm alright," You shrugged. "but, I'm a little worried about Brian's blood pressure."

"We'll get him on pills." Joe joked, making you laugh.

"Hey, baby." A stranger came up behind you and pulled you up against him by your hips. You froze for a moment, in shock of what just happened. After the realisation hit, you turned around slapping the man across the face.

"Where's my number?!" The guy snapped.

Joe signalled over club security, pulling you away from the creepy guy. The bouncer

"Holy shit," Joe said. "are you okay?"

"I'll live," You answered honestly. "I knew it was a possibility, I'm fine, really."

Brian rushed over to you, hugging you as tightly as possible. You reciprocated the embrace, wrapping your arms around his neck and letting him hold you. You could feel his rapid heartbeat thud against your chest. His breathing steadily evened out as he held you.

"God almighty, sweetheart," He whispered in your ear. "I'll never let that happen again."

"It's okay, Brian, I'm yours" You assured him. "I'll always be yours."

When you pulled away from the hug, you saw the guys huddled around you, looking shaken up.

"Is everything cool?" Sal offered you a sympathetic look. "We don't have to air this."

"Yeah, we can always put him in a cage with spiders." Murr joked.

"No, you should use this for the show," You said. "it's funny."

"You guys can head home," Joe made shooing motions. "we'll stay and film the outro."

Brian nodded at them, sliding his arm around your waist as he led you to the car. You rested your head on his shoulder, relieved to feel his hands on you instead of some perverted stranger. You breathed in his cologne while he gently rubbed your side.

"I really am fine." You said, looking up at Brian.

"I know, I know," He spoke gently. "you just seem cold. I can feel your goosebumps, honey."

He opened the passanger door for you, giving you a chaste kiss before getting in the car himself. He rested his hand on your thigh while he drove. You leaned against the window, listening to him hum along to the radio. You could still see a glint of anger in his eyes.

"Just so you know," He made eye contact with you through the rear view mirror. "I'm going to destroy your ass when we get home."

#brian quinn x reader #impractical jokers x reader

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ikea09 · 9 days ago

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Currently thinking about how the underworld saga could fit in with events in the odyssey.

For those not familiar, in the odyssey when odysseus goes down to the underworld, He sees a bunch of ghosts including his mom and tiresius but he can't talk to them and they don't recognise him untill he does a ritual involving digging a trench and filling it with honey, blood from a black ram, wine and other stuff that i can't remember and none of the souls can talk to him till they drink from it. Then tiresius drinks from it, gives him the prophecy and tells him to let other ghosts drink from it to talk to them which he does and he gets to talk to his mother and a whole load of other ghosts and this could have happened in epic where when we here anticlea in the underworld, it's that first time when none of the ghosts do, then between the underworld and no longer you, he does the ritual then between no longer you and monster he gets to talk to all those ghosts.

Also, in dangerous, we don't really get a detailed account of odysseus's journey with hermes and its hinted to be fairly long so potentially... he could've stopped off by the phaecians. (Not in the same way as in the odyssey but similar nonetheless) heck, what if the reason he survives charybdis is because he was a given a better boat by the phaecians. Potential nausicaa?

Just saying, there is a lot from the odyssey that could possibly be cannon to epic even if not explicitly referenced.

#epic the musical #odyssey #odysseus #anticlea #nausicaa #the underworld saga #the vengeance saga

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pinkeoni · 1 year ago

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Figuring Out Lonnie’s Whole Deal

(Or, assembling a timeline of pre-show events inspired by a culmination of theories centering around one Lonnie Byers)

After spending much time deliberating and theorizing, I’ve come to what I believe is a solid timeline of events relating to Lonnie Byers grounded in evidence from the show.

Now I don’t have all of the pieces, but also if I had all of the pieces then I wouldn’t need to be theorizing in the first place. Still, I’m fairly confident in my assessment. Maybe it would be wise of me to wait for The First Shadow to come out to give me more information, but for all intents and purposes of this I will only be looking at evidence within the text of the show. So no cast or crew comments, no supplemental materials, and as much as I love it, no speculation regarding TFS. Still, I think the show has enough evidence to support my assertion.

Things to establish:

A lot of what I’m about to talk about comes from a basis of these three things—

1. Will and El’s storylines mirror each other, which I charted out here. Their stories share a lot of differences, and a lot of similarities.

2. Powers are being used in this show to explore themes of sexuality through a sci-fi/supernatural lens. I talk about this in length here, but tl;dr El’s powers are used to explore the exploitation and reclamation of female sexuality, and Will’s powers are being used to show the demonization and repression of homosexuality.

3. Oh yeah, and Will has powers, by the way.

Surface Level Information We Are Given About Lonnie Byers:

It might be best to have a refresher of what we know about Lonnie Byers. Most of this comes from season one and all of it is displayed directly to the audience—

Lonnie is the absentee father of Jonathan and Will and ex-husband of Joyce

He left his family at an unspecified date that led Jonathan and Will to build Castle Byers the night of

He currently lives in Indianapolis

He used to call Will homophobic slurs

Joyce once argued with him about not showing up to a visitation with Will

Jonathan and Joyce do not speak of him fondly. Will’s feelings are unclear but seem positive “It’s fun to go with him sometimes”

Expressed interest in wanting to see Jonathan more

Referred to Joyce as “babe” despite being apart and having another girlfriend

Did not take Joyce’s calls to his house

Doubted Joyce, took down her Christmas lights and tried to repair the hole in the wall

Has unspecified debts

Likes to fix cars

Doesn’t like cops

Tried to use his “dead” son for lawsuit money

Was kicked out by Joyce and hasn’t been seen on screen since

Things to glean from just below the surface:

The following are things that are not stated directly, but can be easily inferred from clues given in show—

Lonnie is likely an alcoholic, shown through an abundance of beer bottles littering his house. Even if he splits it between him and his tiny girlfriend, it’s still an absurd amount of beer for two people. It’s possible he may have other addictions as well.

Lonnie was likely physically abusive towards Jonathan given his “You’ve gotten stronger” comment in the house. It’s possible that the extent of his abuse could stretch far beyond that for both Jon and Will.

Will likely used to hide from his dad. Jonathan and Will built Castle Byers the night he left, which Jonathan remarks that Will likes to hide in. Not to mention the “he’s good at hiding” comment.

The rest of this post is going to be much more speculative, but it’s all speculation that is grounded in what we see on and just below the surface.

Theory #1) Lonnie was involved with MK-ULTRA

This was an idea that I tossed around a while ago, that after spending time with and finding new evidence I’ve now grown more confident in.

Most of this confidence comes from this conversation between Becky and Jopper. Becky tells Hop that him and Terry would have gotten along, as Terry didn’t like authority or the government— “The Man , with a big capital M.” (which is ironic given Hopper is a cop)

When discussing who was involved with MK-ULTRA, Becky mentions “people like [Terry]”

So people like Terry, who maybe don’t like authority as was just mentioned?

It seems as though the Byers have always been down on their luck in terms of finance. Would it be hard to believe that, especially given the close proximity of the lab to the Byers house and Lonnie's willingness to get money in the show, Lonnie might have partaken in a paid study in the past? ("You were in it for the money!")

Above I mentioned the implication that Lonnie is an alcoholic. If he was involved with a study involving hard drugs, could he have developed addiction problems through the program? Furthermore, wouldn't it also make sense for Lonnie to gain a mistrust of authority after being taken advantage of by the government?

In my initial post about it I discuss how this could be foreshadowed through Hopper’s past as well. Hopper was involved with something government related that required chemicals, something that ended up affecting his child.

Theory #2) Lonnie was working with the lab during season one

Another part of proving Lonnie’s MK-ULTRA involvement is his connection with the lab. Everything that I’m about to list could align perfectly with Lonnie simply just being a shitty ex and father, but everything that I’m about to list could also align perfectly with the idea that Lonnie was working with the lab against Joyce the entire season.

1) Lonnie’s fishiness with Joyce’s phone call

I’ve already made an entire post about this here but I’ll recap all of the important bits.

Right before we see Joyce call Lonnie in the first episode, we are shown the lab spying on her conversation explicitly. Joyce is then sent to voicemail, which given the ordering of scenes makes me wonder if the lab purposefully intercepted her call.

Joyce also never actually talks to Lonnie on the phone. Cynthia picks up until their call is disconnected, which could have been Cynthia but also could have been the lab interfering again.

When Jonathan confronts Lonnie about not returning Joyce’s call, he kind of shrugs off his answer.

Why the hesitancy at first, Lonnie?

Lonnie tells Jonathan that he’s talked to police, which is likely, but then adds a comment that makes me question if he talked to any Hawkins cops at all.

Why do you need to ask if Hopper is chief, if Hawkins police came to question you, Lonnie?

2) The timing of Lonnie showing up in Hawkins

Even after being told this his own son is missing, Lonnie does not show up in town until after—

Will’s “body” is found in the quarry

Joyce refuses to sign off on the fake body

Joyce actually speaks to and is able to see Will through the hole in the wall

The next time we see Joyce is when Lonnie pulls up that night at the Byers house. Here is what Lonnie does while he’s there:

Tells Joyce that Will is in her head

Tell Jonathan not to feed into Joyce’s “delusions”

Takes down the Xmas lights that Joyce was using to talk to Will

Covers the hole in the wall that Joyce saw Will through

Unsuccessfully tries to convince Joyce to use Will’s "death" for money

All of these actions align perfectly with Lonnie’s character, do you also see how it also aligns perfectly with Lonnie trying to purposefully cover up the truth?

We don’t see Joyce call Lonnie to come over and I highly doubt that Jonathan asked him to come. Granted, Lonnie was most likely notified by police of Will’s death, why not come right away? Why wait until after Joyce refuses to believe that it’s Will’s body and after she actually sees Will alive in her walls?

Remember that the lab had likely bugged her house as well, given the scene where Hop finds a bug in his cabin.

Think about the timing of when the lab decided to place Will’s body in the quarry and have it found, something that we know for a fact was their doing. This comes after Joyce had discovered the ability to talk to Will through the lights and right after the writing on the wall scene, when Joyce was coming closer to the truth.

If a lab personnel showed up at the Byers, took down the lights and hammered over the wall, that would obviously draw a lot of suspicion towards them. But if the lab could get someone on the inside to do it, perhaps an ex-spouse that can be easily manipulated with cash and already had connections to them, that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.

That’s also where the lawsuit comes in. If the lab is paying off Lonnie and his family, they can’t just give them the a ton of cash directly, it would likely have to go through a third party under the guise of something else, like a legal suit. I’m willing to bet all my money that the suit Lonnie wanted to file on the Sattlers was just another cover from the lab.

Theory #3) Lonnie was trying to hand Will over to the lab

Another note about Terry, if Will and El are mirrors then Lonnie and Terry may possibly be mirrors, too. If Terry was desperate to get El out of the lab then maybe Lonnie was desperate to get Will into the lab. Also the difference between Terry's daughter being taken from her/Lonnie voluntarily leaving his own son.

Something we know about Lonnie Byers— he was homophobic towards Will and did not want to visit him after he had left.

Something else we know about Lonnie Byers— he likes to fix cars.

We have confirmation that Lonnie was trying to “fix” Will, at least in a less aggressive manner, by taking him to baseball games. Jonathan says explicitly, “He’s trying to force you to like normal things.” This line is so incredibly loaded, what Jonathan is saying below the surface is "He's trying to force you to like girls."

The above scene is in the same episode where Jonathan goes to Lonnie’s Indianapolis house, and we get a line from Lonnie about him fixing up a car.

Yes, Will is being compared to a car. Lonnie wants to fix him.

And remember, Will has powers, and powers are being used as a way to explore sexuality.

So given Lonnie’s connection with the lab from MK-ULTRA as expressed before, along with Lonnie’s hatred of Will and homophobia, along along with powers as a metaphor for Will's queerness, it leads me to believe that Lonnie was trying to cure Will of his powers through the lab. This would essentially be the supernatural version of gay conversion therapy.

I want to talk about the word “mistake”

This word is so potent and really sticks out because we haven’t really seen it used in this way on the show before. The writers could have had Will say “monster” to relate to El's arc, or they could have had him say “freak” which would not only relate to Eddie but is something that Will has called himself in the past. But instead they decide to give him a new word that is different from the labels other characters give themselves.

The word mistake is unique to Will.

What do you do with mistakes? You fix them.

I have a lot of fun with Will-being-a-lab-kid theories, and nothing but absolute love to those who make them, but after doing a lot of my own thinking I’ve since come to the conclusion that Will didn’t grow up in the lab at all, but Lonnie was making an unsuccessful effort to ship Will to the lab. Part of El and Will’s narrative mirroring is Will coming from a normal background while El does not.

Which isn’t to say that the lab didn’t want Will, I think they very much did. I’ve seen the take that Lonnie tried to hand Will to the lab but he didn’t display powers at the time so they wouldn’t take him. But do you really think that that would stop them from wanting him anyway, especially if the boys father was giving him to them willingly? Do you really think that Martin “you wouldn’t stop” Brenner was gonna turn down another child? That someone was willing to give to him?

So then, if Lonnie was willing to give Will to the lab and the lab was willing to take him, what was stopping them?

For starters, I’m guessing that the process involved in receiving a new test subject, especially one that wasn’t born into the lab, would take patience. They can’t just nab Will off the street. They would probably have to surveil things for a while, gain intel from Lonnie, and come up with a strategy.

A strategy that may involve falsifying an accident, a fake body, and the funneling of money via fake lawsuit?

I’m not saying that the lab was the ones behind Will’s disappearance, at least initially. I think the mothergate opening was completely unpredictable from their end and instead necessitated the plan to be accelerated due to sudden unforeseen circumstances, as well as taking advantage of Will’s presence in the Upside Down to try and take him for themselves.

So why wait until now? If they had an airtight plan, why not act sooner?

Could there have been an incident, perhaps, with the lab, which happened prior to Will’s disappearance, that may have delayed this process?

I’m willing to bet that a mass death event of majority of the test subjects and personnel from the place that Lonnie was trying to send Will to, might be enough to put the brakes on this operation, if not on delay for a few years so they can regroup.

While we’re here, I wanna talk about Will’s similarities to Henry Creel

The comparisons between Henry and Will aren’t something hidden under the layers for only die hard theorists to find, this is something that everyone and their mothers were discussing on twitter. The similarities were noticeable even from casual viewing.

Image via Reddit

We know from his monologue that Henry’s mother knew he had powers and wanted to send him away to a doctor, a doctor that we later learn was actual Papa Brenner.

If Will and Henry are similar, is it possible that their parents wanted similar things? The main difference being that Will actually did evade Dr. Brenner.

Furthermore, is it possible that Will has powers similar to One’s and that the lab could have been knowledgeable of this? If that is the case, it may stand to reason that they might be hesitant to bring in someone with similar abilities to the guy who just killed a bunch of people.

I used to think that Will and Henry had to have completely different sets of powers, and while I do think that Will may have abilities unique to himself, given how they are compared I do think that Will may have similar powers to him. In fact, we may have already seen Will display a traveling into the mind ability in season one.

Theory #3.5) Lonnie’s departure correlates with the Hawkins Lab massacre

If Lonnie was desperate to get rid of the son he hates, and then was told that there was an unexpected delay, it would make sense for him to give up and leave town.

There’s been comments from cast and crew in the past regarding when exactly Lonnie left, but it’s never been confirmed in show.

Evidence for why I think it coincides with the massacre actually comes from the shed scene.

Joyce first mentions Will’s eighth birthday, which would have been in March of 1979. The massacre was in September of 1979.

Mentioning his eighth birthday specifically places emphasis on that age. Jonathan then follows Joyce by talking about the night dad left.

We don’t get an exact timeframe or age, but the fact that this follows the story if Will’s eighth birthday does create a correlation with that age. We then switch timeframes when Mike brings up kindergarten.

Think about it, if their dad had left when Will was eight, bringing up his age again would be redundant because Joyce just mentioned it. Mike mentions kindergarten to let us know that this is a different time and age that we’re talking about.

Let’s talk about Lonnie’s debts

What exactly these debts are that Joyce brings up is never specified. And it could be anything. Maybe a loan he took out, drug or gambling debts, since nothing is stated it’s all possible. But here’s my take:

Will is Lonnie’s debt. That’s what he owes.

Remember that the exact way that Lonnie was going to pay back these debts was with Will. He is linked with this debt conversation.

It is Joyce who brings up the debt, but since she doesn’t specify there’s a reasonable doubt that she herself doesn’t know the specifics. She could know that Lonnie is indebted to someone but not know what/could have been lied to.

I’m imagining the lab giving Lonnie some kind of advanced payment for Will, with the promise that they’ll eventually have him. It would be a way for the lab to control Lonnie. He now owes them, and the lab expects to collect their debts. Despite the lab and Lonnie having similar goals, there is definitely a power imbalance.

Lonnie does want a family, just not one with Will in it

More thorough post here, but in season one we get indications in Lonnie's dialogue that he does want to be around his family, like expressing interest in seeing Jonathan more and calling Joyce "babe," which seems to contradict him living in another town, or hell even leaving his family at all.

When Joyce gets mad with Lonnie over the phone about not coming to visit, it was specifically a Will visitation day. It's seeming more and more that Lonnie's departure is centered on Will. (Which doesn't take away from any of the potential abuse he hurled at Jonathan or Joyce. He doesn't care about their interests, only his. Furthermore, I'm not placing blame onto Will for Lonnie's absence. That is all Lonnie's doing)

Am I saying that Lonnie has powers?

Well, maybe.

That is something that I’ve been wondering if Lonnie had powers, which granted is something that relied heavily on speculation regarding TFS which I said I wanted to stay away from for this post. Since I don’t have all the pieces yet, I want to consider as many options as possible.

Option A) Lonnie was born with powers, and MK-ULTRA was simply how he became acquainted with the lab/his powers were repressed and MK-ULTRA activated them

Option B) Lonnie received powers from MK-ULTRA and passed it on to Will

Option C) Lonnie was not born with powers nor received powers from MK-ULTRA but it did give him super-powered sperm

May I remind you of Lonnie's comparison to Terry from earlier in the post, and the fact that Terry herself does have powers.

I oftentimes see the theory that Joyce herself has powers, and I myself even theorized that her Aunt Darlene may have had powers. However I'm more inclined to believe that Joyce is a carrier of this gene rather than having powers herself. Most of the evidence used to suggest that she has powers comes from Joyce reacting to what Will is showing her. There's also no indication that Jonathan has any powers.

If Lonnie participated in MK-ULTRA after Jonathan was born, then it could explain why Will would have powers and not Jonathan. Moreover, having both a mother who is a carrier and a father with powers/nuked balls would likely have a higher chance of having a powered child. (That's how genetics work, right? Please forgive me if my science is wrong.)

Notes on Lonnie's character

You'll note that there are multiple times in this post where I acknowledge that I lot of Lonnie's actions are explainable because of his identity as a shitty guy, and maybe that's all this is. However, I want to explain why having this type of character is actually perfect for a reveal like this.

In order to pull off a successful reveal, you have to hide the truth while also giving enough information so it doesn't come out of nowhere. Lonnie's personality allows for the truth to be hidden in plain sight.

Let's say that Lonnie was actually an upstanding man. Jonathan and Joyce both had fond memories of him, but he left in the past for some unknown reason. Lonnie was always a great husband, but for some reason he's doubting Joyce and taking down her Christmas lights even when she asks him not to.

Do you see how that would create a huge plot hole? How season one would feel incomplete? How it would create a giant unanswered question that needs answering?

Why didn't Joyce know about any of this?

Unfortunately we are told pretty explicitly in season one as to why something like this could have been happening under Joyce's nose. We are told in the first episode that Joyce works long hours, leaving early in the morning and not coming home until later in the night. Jonathan is expected to get Will up, make breakfast, and take him to school. My guess is that Lonnie may have been in charge of such tasks when he was still home.

If Lonnie was, say, taking Will to the lab for some preliminary tests or meetings, he could have easily done this while Joyce was at work or while Jonathan was in school.

We even hear from Joyce herself that she hasn't been keeping up with Jonathan, she isn't in the know how with her sons. (This is not me calling Joyce a bad mother btw, this is definitely a symptom of capitalism rather than bad parenting.)

Why doesn't Will say anything?

If Will was being taken to the lab for appointments in the past, wouldn't he say something about it? Especially to El, who grew up in the lab?

Well, there's a chance that Will doesn't remember this.

Longer post here, but we are given a scene in season four where Will expresses not remembering something from his childhood very well.

Which I could write off as Will being too little to remember this small detail, but this is also coming from the same season where we just got an entire plot line about memories from El's past being erased. (El who, as I stated in the beginning, has a storyline that mirrors Will's)

The Final Timeline

Tl;dr, or, the timeline written out chronologically:

Lonnie marries Joyce and has Jonathan. Jonathan is born without powers

Lonnie becomes involved with MK-ULTRA sometime prior to Will's birth as a way to make money

Joyce and Lonnie have Will, who was born with powers

When Will is very young Lonnie knows that he has powers

Lonnie begins taking Will to the lab in hopes of curing him

Lonnie and the lab strike a deal that involve taking Will in exchange for money

There is a plan to take Will involving a fake accident. Lonnie will file a fake lawsuit in order to exchange the money and avoid suspicion

The Hawkins Lab massacre happens and the plan is delayed

Lonnie leaves

Mothergate is opened by El and Will is taken

Upon realizing that Will is in the Upside Down, the plan moves forward with Lonnie in on it

Things don't go as expected and Joyce is on to Will being alive, so the lab asks Lonnie to come home in order to help with coverup

Joyce is infuriated about the lawsuit and kicks Lonnie out

The rest of the season follows as we see on screen and the labs plan unravels, some of the personnel is killed by El and the demogorgon in the school

#lonnie byers #will byers #will byers has powers #tw child abuse #stranger things #stranger things theory #my theory #woof this is another big one #maybe giant posts like these will become my thing #okay the plan is post now but schedule a reblog for the morning to ensure traffic #maybe someday i'll talk about how owens is continuing the surveillance of will #byler #<- target audience

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inconspicious-random-thoughts · 6 months ago

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Husk

I have a lot to say about Husk for about 2-3 months now and I really don't know where to start. Que a lot of rambling that I hope comes out coherent.

I think the best unique thing about Husk that I love is the fact he can potential crossed paths to most of the sinner characters we were introduced, in their living life. He was born between Alastor and Angel birth years. I did the math on this once but I can't be bothered with it now. I think Angel and Alastor were about a decade-possibly 15 years apart, while Husk was in between. So they were from the same generation.

The thing that sets Husk apart from the other characters, was he actually grew to an old age. While the others died relatively young or midlife.

The fact that Husk was a world traveler means he wasn't stuck in the city/town/state he was born in like the others may have been. Increasing his odds to cross paths with the other sinners.

I like to imagine that Husk has some type of butterfly effect of the other characters lives that he unintentional and unaware he caused that lead the sinners lifes to what they are.

I lowkey headcanon (not seriously, just for funsies) as weird parody of an guardian angel. Here me out. He not a guardian angel tho. I love his avian cat design. But admit it, its freakin weird he has wings as a cat right?

The only ones we see with wings are the royalties of Hell (Can the Ars Goetia fly?) the sins...and angles.

Beside Valentino. But Val sort of makes sense...hes a moth. Moth has wings by default. Husk is a cat, yet he has wings? It also makes sense why Val is a moth. Granted I think a prostitute be more moth like...standing by a street lamp on a corner street at night. THAT makes sense. But given, Val a pimp...I guess it works for him too.

So Husk, a cat, has wings...makes me think why he has wings in his afterlife. Seems like a random thing to be given when it seem to be reserved mostly for royalty and wings seem like it be a huge advantage to have in Hell when most sinners don't get it. Must be some type of reason Husk has them. But alas I don't know or we probably never know beside cool character design.

Now, going on with this weird wing thought...and my lowkey non serious headcanon (Which im 100% isnt going to make canon), Husk is some unintentional weird type of opposite effect of an guardian angel.

Husk with his potential of crossing paths with a lot of the sinners we know, I think it be hilarious if he butterfly effect that he indirectly caused their path towards Hell or death. Like for example, he gave Nifty directions that started a weird Rube Goldberg machine situation of cause and effect that caused that directed her to find a man she became obsessed with and stalked then eventual murdered. Husk involvement is completely indirect but at the same time, the vent would never would happen if he wasn't involved.

Moving on from his living life to his afterlife.

Husk died in the 70s and the pilot 2019. Alastor was missing for 7 years (starting 2012), I vibe that Husk been under Alastor ownership for quite awhile before that. No later than 2000 but I'm fairly sure he was owned much before that. But I'm going with the minimal amount of time of Husk soul being sold. So Husk was able to fall, rise to overlord fairly quickly only to lose the status just as quick. His reign was very short lived. The rest of the time was serving under Alastor. That's quite a wild ride in a span of 30 (But I personally believe its much shorter) of unbounded soul years. Which seems a lot of years, but when you have eternity to live out the rest of your life, its very little.

I don't question how Husk was able to become overlord so quick. He a master magician...so very good at sleight of hand/cheating as well as lifetime gambler. He able to keep a stoic expression to minimize his own tells, while being very perceptive and skilled at reading other people very well. He can easily win and work with and manipulate people desperations of gambling their souls to him without much risk to himself. He can easily play hand in his favor with his skills and the rare chance he can't, he can fold and cut his losses before it gets to deep.

However, what had him lose it all. Because I doubt someone was better at cards then Husk. Especially in Husk own house. I don't doubt Alastors good at cards. But I don't think Alastor skill at cards is greater than Husk. To the point Husk lost everything to him including his own soul. I think they both cheat if they play a game together. In fact I think they have play a game, with intent of cheating and trying to catch each other in the act. Its their own game while playing a game, knowing each other enough that they will cheat and it brought a new level of fun trying to catch each other while not getting caught themselves. It probably became a own special drinking game, that one has to drink when they got caught. But I don't think Alastor the reason why Husk lost everything.

I think the reason Husk lost everything in Hell as quickly as he gained it...is by self destructive depression. Husk was the cause of his own downfall.

I only suggest this because...how else an extremely skilled card player who also skilled at sleight of hand, will lose hand after hand in his own gambling house?

My other clue is this:

Along with his heavy drinking. I think Husk always been a heavy drinker but it hit a all new level when he lost his love and became extremely jaded by the event.

I think Husk had found a very special someone and something happen to them. Be it died during an extermination or been betrayed by them, etc. Or it may be someone in his living years and something reminded him of them and triggered a downwards spirals for him.

Mostly, I think he caused them to leave him or indirectly caused them permanent death, etc. and he filled with self loathing, regret and remorse. Because he did love and care for them...but he fucked it all up due his own self-centered, selfishness and greed at the time. The pain caused him to close off his heart to avoid feeling that loss again and drink himself stupid to avoid feeling anything or to quiet his self hatred thoughts.

I believe the lost of them sent him a destructive spirals of depression. He started drink insanely heavier, which impaired his judgment greatly and just grew apathetic.

Enter Alastor and the lost of Husk soul

Alastor may have very well manipulated and cheated his way with the impaired Husk to gain his soul. Very possible. Especially the way it was pictured in the flashback. Alastor symbols and lit up eyes and extended antlers along with a sinister smile as well as Husk stunned expression of his loss of the game.

BUT

I don't think that how it went down. I can't remember the exact wording but it sounded like Husk turned to Alastor for help. It was a last resort, but Husk was desperate enough to go to it.

They were both overlords at the same time at one point. Alastor and and Husk was good friends once. Maybe, not close like Alastor is with Rosie but still good friends. Alastor probably took a liking to Husk as he from the same generation. I also assume Husk appear around Vox falling out with Alastor as Husk and Val fell around the same time. So Vox probably started befriending Val and helping Val with his rise to overlord. I can see Alastor do the same with Husk just to spite Vox and cause him to be jealous. But even if it started as a ploy to upset Vox, Alastor probably end up liking and growing fond over the cat. Playing hands and having late drinking and jazz sessions and such. Alastor appreciate Husk blunt and often correct observations and insight.

So when Husk was clearly not doing well and smarten up enough to seek Alastor for help. I think Husk knew the rate he was self destructing he was going to lose it all, including his soul. So he went to Alastor and struck a deal before Husk truly got in a shitter situration with a shitter dealer that he would regret much more.

Because let's be honest. Husk knows what he was getting into when he offered his soul. Think about it. Even if Husk had an impossible high number of souls...say a billion. He lost a billion souls by suddenly being bad at gambling. Even if the pot is a billion souls that he want to regain back, its not worth the risk of betting your own soul. Even if your got an amazing hand...Is it worth the risk during a harsh losing streak playing against another overlords as an opponent?

Husk knew he was going to lose his soul with his spiral. He knew what he was getting into. He an overlords himself. He may have treated his own souls more poorly than Alastor himself. I don't think Husk was cruel... I'm sure he had his own moments like Alastor and had causes. I do think he was a apathetic/detached master. The souls he owned was just a commodity he use for gambling. When sharing his retelling to Angel about this. He sounded remorseful that he betted souls like they were just an object and not a precious thing. I think he only felt that way AFTER his own soul did not belong to him. That's when he realized what a shitty and dick move it was to prey on desperate souls and pass them around when it should been obvious.

Husk collected souls to use as a commodity. Husk preyed onto the sinners desperation and addiction to get them.

While Alastor, I don't think he really cares about hoarding souls. He powerful enough without them. BUT if an opportunity reveals itself, he take advantage. But he only does it with quality souls that has real potential and use. He a quality over quantity man.

Husk knows what it means to sell one's soul. Yet he still offered it to Alastor. Because despite the rep Alastor has being ruthless, Alastor is probably one of the "kinder" overlords to have as a master. But Husk only knew that by insider information by witnessing himself by hanging out with Alastor and possibly glimpsing how he treated his contracts. Which appears not to be much different than any other sinner.

I know Alastor performs horrendous acts. He goes on killing sprees, probably enjoys torturing people. But I don't think he does it to his own souls. Because, TBH, people who do that want to feel powerful and they do it with people who cant fight back. Alastor is already powerful. He doesn't need weak prey and why damage his own property when no one can stop him from breaking someone else's? Alastor is so powerful that its boring. Where's the fun and entertainment when everytime you "play", the game is stuck on easy mode and the opponent is knocked out of the ring within minutes. Heck, Alastor gets even less than that. He just looks in their directions and people forfeit. Alastor wants the thrill of a challenge and exchange wits and banter. So he seeks stronger opponents to fulfill is needs for carnage and havoc. Not some frighten, defenseless slave.

Alastor not a good man as he willing to commit terrible acts and enjoys it. But from what we seen, hes not a bad man's as it appears he doesn't attack without cause or reason. He appears he only acts monstrous when he defending. He has no interest in sex so he not going to force Husk into sexual acts. Alastor may have his contracts to demeaning things or just do things for shits and giggles and entertainment but overall, hes tamed to souls he own. (The souls he doesn't own that pledge their service and loyalty however...is another story) Alastor pretty much just let his contracts do what they please as long as they respect him and do what he commands as he needs them. Which, honestly isn't much. Alastor seem to summon his shadow minions over his soul contracts because it seems less of a bother to everyone while Alastor remains more in control of the situation. It's simply less chance of error if Alastor used his shadow minions that act on his will vs some contracted soul who most likely is performing half heartedly as they are forced to do something they don't want to do. He use the contracted soul for a long term project since it would take too much power and effort to maintain and sustain his shadow minions over a extended time. It seams Alastor only have souls as a resource an a backup reserve. More of a "better have it and not need it then need it and not have it." Alastor even gives them task that align with the skills they are good at. I think part of it is because Alastor is also on a leash so as much as he denies it, he has empathy. But he will still utilize the resource when needed but overall he self reliant and a lone wolf and rather no really on people if he can help it, even if he does own them. I also think he knows Overlords and soul ownerships sort of go hand and hand. But I think soul ownership leaves a bit of a sour taste in his mouth. Not because of his own soul but being a mixed man in the 30's....its very likely he had some heritage on his precious mother side of ancestral slaves. So, Alastor understand the necessity needs of ownership for survival and advancement in Hell, but still has a distaste to it.

Granted we don't see how Alastor (beside with Husk and Nifty)or anyone besides the Vees, interact with their contracts, and we know they treat their people poorly. But I think from what we seen is Alastor is very mild. Including the scene he threatened Husk.

Mind you, Alastor was giving clearly giving clues he was already agitated before that interaction. He was essential a growling dog warning he was going to bite if it interactions going to continue. His snapped his neck irritatedly along with a clearly exasperated "what is it" that didn't have a radio filter when he addressed Husk when Husk went to get his attention. Husk was trying to warn Alastor about Mimzy but it was clear to even someone who doesn't know Alastor...(and Husk knows Alastor well) that Alastor was already on edge. Yet Husk continued to push forward. Even then...Alastor kept composure. Laughing off and dismissing Husk concerns. It was when Husk muttered a jab about sensitive personal information (One that I'm sure Husk wasn't even originally meant to know )about Alastor that anyone could have overheard if they were near, and that same sensitive information promised to trigger Alastor...THAT'S when Alastor became terrifying and threatening. So granted, no one deserve what happened to Husk when he was threatened but at the same time...it was Husk own undoing at the moment. Husk muttered that jab to Alastor that antagonize Alastor to reacted harshly. Husk was lucky that Alastor restrained himself ONLY to threat....Alastor gave Husk mercy by warning him to watch himself because next time would be the last time.

So Alastor is rather mild with his demands with contracts for the majority of the time but when he isn't, he very brutal but he usually given a cause to turn.

So Husk offered his soul to Alastor knowing what it would mean to sell his soul. Specifically chosen Alastor because, it would surprise to anyone to hear, is the lesser form of evil in such a situation. He sold his soul while he was somewhat lucid and not completely impaired to work out a deal that doesn't completely screw over Husk. Place some terms and agreements. I do think they did play a hand and wager, either to finalize a clause they couldn't agree with and use the bet to finalized it or just have Husk go out a way he comfortable with. Alastor may also play some mild manipulation but I don't think Alastor preyed on Husk as its implied. Alastor was sought out for a reason, and on Alastor part, an overlord soul is too tempting to resist. Especially being handed on a silver platter. If Alastor wanted to decline the offer, for the unlikely name of friendship, knowing it would ruin it. It wouldn't have done any good in any scenario to decline. If Husk was worry about losing his soul due to his own destructive impairment, might as well gain something from it and offer some protection to a friend then lose out on a quality soul, instead of watch from afar the downfall of his friend which he probably won't see again afterwards. It also strategy. It either gain a quality and powerful soul to his collection, or lose out and someone else has it...that could be potential be used against Alastor, along with any possibly knowledge Husk had gathered on the Radio Demon. So even if it wasn't tempting or desirable, its about survival.

Naturally, their friendship has soured greatly since then. Because, how can it not? I don't think Husk hates Alastor. I know the fandom believe he wants him dead. But Husk is just being jaded and surly. Husk didn't treat Alastor more venomous than any other resident when he was introduced. Husk is also comfortable enough to voice his less than kind opinions about Alastor or to Alastor. Husk doesn't act like a terrified servent in Alastor presence. (Unless he knows that Alastor in bad mood and looking for a cause for someone to be his punching bag), The two act like longtime friends but one is grumpy because he there out of reluctant obligations and just frustrated, annoyed and just tired of this shit of Alastor antics that hes forced to endure. Alastor seem to treat Husk more friendly, which to be fair can be an act but I think it part genuine.

Out of the two of them, its Husk that reminds everyone that Husk is on the Alastor leash. Alastor not the one that usually "putting Husk in his place", Husk the one that normally does it. If anything, I think Husk hate and angry with himself that everything is is own undoing. Frustrated and annoyed by Alastor who amused by it. Alastor is also just a reminder how low Husk became. It's easy to blame Alastor for his problems and even understandable that he does. He does blame Alastor for his current predicament at times simply because its just easier to do so and feels better to blame someone else to be the cause of your problems but ultimately, Husk knows he brought it all on himself and I think that's what hurts and bothers him the most.

Husk wants his soul back, but I don't think he wants Alastor to be dead for it. Tho, I think Husk feels that's the only way to get it back at times. But despite it all, he cares about Alastor. Even if its begrudgingly. I think Husk also knows its better to have as Alastor as a great ally than an enemy, even a dead one to gain his soul back. Husk is wise, even is Husk gain his soul back, regain his full power and strength it still fails to compare to Alastors own power. Husk knows there are greater foes that Husk cant compete and defend for himself or his newfound family against, but Alastor can, even if Husk doesn't fully trust Alastor. But Husk trust his own experience and knowledge of Alastor to guess his motivations and intentions.

I think Alastor called upon Husk to the hotel to bartend, because A) He knew from their former late night hang outs that Husk can make great drinks. but B) Husk also has wisdom and experience that can fulfill Charlies needs and benefit for the hotel. Husk has skills on perception and reading people from gambling. Husk knows about losses, knows the woes of losing his soul, knows about addiction, lost of love etc. I think Alastor pulled Husk to the hotel not only because Husk has skills that can be utilized to help but I think Alastor knew Husk can benefit from the hotel to be the sinner Alastor remember he use to be. Not the "husk" he became. Alastor doesn't believe in redemption, at least one that send someone to Heavens gates. But Alastor can see the possibility of rehabilitation. Something Husk could benefit. He lowkey subtle hinted it at the pilot. "I thought you be perfect to man the front desk as the job seem to be made for him" (At a rehabilitation hotel) Husk is not going to work on himself because Alastor commanded him to be. So Alastor has Husk station there with the possibility and off chance of Husk getting help even if its through osmosis from the sidelines. May even warm up on the idea and want to better oneself. Guess what...its working. Alastor won't admit his underhanded method of helping. He has a reputation of being ruthless to maintain after all.

I think its also why he pulled Nifty. He using her skills but also figure a place like the hotel is one of the few place that accept Nifty the way she is and let Nifty develope friends and family that would embrace her. I think Nifty was a lonely soul and she just TOO much for most sinners to handle. But at the hotel, she can be welcomed and be herself. It also a place Nifty would enjoy to be in. She a simple girl. She likes to clean and kill bugs. A large building will grant her that.

Alastor even try buttering Husk up and get Husk more comfortable with the idea of working at the hotel by offering him cheap booze free of charge. Alastor didn't have to care at all and can just say "I own you so...tough shit." But he did try to get Husk to warm up to the idea despite Husk not having a choice in the matter, and wanted to at least ease his grumpy avian cat into the change.

If Alastor care so much why doesn't he release them? One might ask. Beside overlords being super possessive and Alastor being a control freak? I think for Nifty, She doesn't want to and she needs the protection.

Husk...I think Alastor fears with their soured friendship, there is nothing stopping Husk to reveal any or all his sensitive knowledge about Alastor if he not bound to Alastor and forced to be silent by it. Husk is probably the only one that knows about Alastor own sold soul beside the one he sold it to. Alastor confines to Rosie but I think he still restrained himself real intro personal stuff. Husk is probably Alastor other confident (Tho, probably not by choice by either, Husk being forced into now, and Alastor lips being loosen by Husk made drinks combined with the comfort and nostalgia he has with the cat while inebriated. Which he rarely indulges in because of that fact, but still does on really hard days and regrets the things that slip but at least Husk can't tell a soul on Alastor command.) Information can be such a powerful tool that can be weaponized. Husk knows things about Alastor that would just completely ruin, may even destroy him or actually bring Alastor to his final demise. Also, small part and Alastor won't admit it, he values Husk perceptive insight and Alastor trust him to be his eyes and ears.

I'm sure there's more I wanted to say. But I'm sure I ramble incoherently enough about my thoughts on Husk.

What do you all think?

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel headcanon #hazbin thoughts #alastor the radio demon #hazbin theory #hazbin hotel thoughts #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel the radio demon #the radio demon #radio demon #husk hazbin hotel #hazbin husk #hazbin hotel husk

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ask-olive-huchers · 5 months ago

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just for funnies, I'm gonna do a relationship chart thingy realll quick with the characters Olive has interacted with (plus maple, Chris, Ditch, and pebble bc they technically have met but there's so roleplay for them-)

Olive and Bailey: close friends, kinda like siblings! Olive definitely sees him as a big brother, though! And (don’t tell anyone!), They definitely look up to Bailey a lot

Olive and Sora: close! Sora is like the mother of the group, so naturally Olive see's him as a role model!

Olive and Zaria: they know she helped Rowan with her plan. So. hate.

Olive and jasper: ehh, neutral (ish). Just has fun messing with him most of the time. So I guess possibly another brother figure idk

Olive and Rowan: despises. Hates. Would kill. Could kill. It’s their fault. Or, that’s what olive thinks anyway.

• Olive and Finn: neutral. Not much to say in this in, olive just doesn't really know Finn that much.

Olive and Jay: ZERO OUT OF TEN. HATE EACHOTHER, DEARLY. WOULD PUNCH THIS MAN FOR A CRUMB OF BREAD BRO. ANYTHING TO MAKE HIM SHUT UP.

Olive and Skipp: do I even need to explain this one? ok, fine. Olive definitely "likes" Skipp. Let's put in simple terms for now, shall we?

Olive and Yuki: Dislike. Only bc bro was in a bad mood when they had met. Then again Olives kinda always in a bad mood, so..-

Olive and Ray: sorta dislike. Only because they had a bad first impression as well. But all of Olive's first impressions involve anger so..no hard feelings?

Olive and Quinn: a like for sure. I mean, her dog had already won them over! Plus she was pretty nice!

Olive and Stone: neutral. I mean, he's okay I guess.

AND NOW, TIME FOR THE OTHERS THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY ME!:

Olive and Ditch: hate. Hate. Hate. Pure annoyance. If given the chance, Olive would stab him in the neck and stomp on his body. They'd throw his body into the ocean. Plus, Olive would tie giant rocks to his body so he'd sink to the very bottom. Where no one could find him. But he's too important to the story so that'll never happen! Perhaps in another universe...

Olive and Chris: neutral. Not practically close, but Olive does like to call him out for anything he's done wrong. They find it funny how ironically clumsy he is.

Olive and Maple: neutral. That's all I have to actually say but, I don't reallly think they'd have have a straight bond. It would probably be from their friend group, if you know what I mean.

Olive and Pebble: I guess sorta like? I mean, he must be cool if they're dating Bailey. Right? Though I think they've only met like, once..-

AND BONUS: OLIVES RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS!! And Adi!

Olive and Calvin (their father): hate. I thought that was obvious..? But yeah. He's a pretty shitty dad who was verbally abusive and physically abusive. What was worse was it was only olive that WAS being abused, so it was favouritism for sure.

Olive and Charolette (their mother): Strong disliking. Not much as a hate, though. Their mother was fairly nice to them when they were younger. And the only golden child to appreciate. But once Their sister was born, Olives perfect little world had fallen apart.

Olive and Adi: let's get something straight. Olive hates a bunch of people. Like, a lot. But Adi takes the number one spot on the leaderboard. Olive absolutely DESPISES HER. I mean, she RUINED their life! If you were to ask olive how they ended up on the streets, they'd probably say their father. And little sister. If they could torture anyone until the end of time, Olive would 100% pick Adi. I mean, that's the whole reason they had murder their mother. To strike fear into the child, and to get the message clear for her small little mind.

And yeah! I think that's everyone? Question mark? Well, that's everyone olive met! I think? I'll probably put this is the masterpost, and it'll probably change over time as well!

Last updated : Aug 4th, 2024

#ramshackle #ramshackle olive #ramshackle oc #ramshackle au #ooc #Ramshackle Bailey #ramshackle sora #Ramshackle Yuki #Ramshackle Zaria #Ramshackle bla bla I AINT ADDING EVERYONE IM TOO TIRED FOR THAT-

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alpaca-clouds · 1 year ago

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Some more Nocturne Theories

Alright, with the new trailer out, let me theorize a bit more. Please note, before I start: I also take into account meta information we have about the series, like the writers involved and such.

Let me first talk about Richter. Now, the new trailer confirms two interesting things. First: He is once again the last Belmont, so presumably the rest of the family is dead again - or at least he is under the impression that it is like that. Second: Yeah, he definitely is able to use magic.

So, let me talk about the "last Belmont" thing. Because of course this is a bit strange if we assume that the first animated series is canon to this. Mostly because it leaves just open the question of the village of Belmont. To be perfectly honest with y'all there is some weirdness about that either way, because if you ask me, it is still weird to see the French Revolution happen as is, based on the fact that technically speaking the "sharing of the knowledge" should have changed history a ton.

But besides that... It does make me wonder, how Alucard fits into the picture. Because other than with CV3 he obviously does not end the series on "Yeah, gotta take a 300 year nap. Peace!" with him staying around with Trevor and Sypha and the village. And a part of me has just assumed that he would remain a guardian for the family. But... well, that is the question, right? Because we so far do not see him in the trailer. We know that Callis is in the cast voicing him again, but there is most certainly a reason why we do not see him. It is either an active decision to keep something from us - or he only shows up in the very last episode, which could be possible, too.

The second thing is that he is able to use magic, but he does not use magic the way Sypha does. Now, some have speculated that Juste is his father (who in the game canon is the most magically gifted Belmont there is). I am going to disagree with that assessment for one simple reason: It would make him an incest baby. Julia, who we know to be his mother, is a Belmont. And as long as they do not change the rules for the Vampire Killer, she is of Belmont blood, because she carries the whip.

Given that he also is gonna be a descendent of Sypha, him having magic is nt really so weird - what I find more interesting is that it is so very different from the magic that we see Sypha and in Nocturne also Tera use.

Now, so far the big question with Annette is, how her background ties into the plot. Because we see in the trailer, that she and Edouard are looking for Richter. And this is where I am very certain that her entire backstory plays into the story. Because here is the big thing: Based on the fact that 3 out of the 4 writers on this series are Black - and the fact that in the old series also worked in Isaac's Blackness into the story.

We know that Annette is a runaway slave from the Caribbean. While I think it is not explicitly stated anywhere, it is very likely that she comes from Haiti, just because the Haitian Revolution and the French Revolution intersected so much.

Now, why is this interesting? Because from everything we see, the entire conflict does seem to be a conflict of class and possibly also about colonialism.

Do not make the mistake to think, that colonialism did not play into the French Revolution. It did. It had everything to do with each other. It was not the only influence, but it was one of the things that lead to the Revolution happening. Again, there is a direct connection between the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution.

The fact that Edouard is Black as well, might play into this, too. My current theory for him is that he is probably only quarter or even an eighth Black, because with the right parentage that would actually give him some privilege within society - and he needs some, because otherwise he would not sing at the opera of Paris.

The other thing about Annette is her magic though. Because it seems unique. I am fairly certain that she is an Earth bender. What we see her manipulate within the trailers is earth and metal. And it is interesting what the background to this powers is.

Also: I am still wondering what is going on with the Fleur-de-Lis tattoo/branding on her hand. My best guess is, that she was actually property of the French royal family, before she escaped. It is the one thing I can think of.

To be honest: I do not have a lot of theories about Maria. She seems so far the most straight forward of the characters and also the most straight adaption from the game material, featuring the exact kind of magic we know her to use in the games.

What I do wonder, though: Are they going to explain her magic? For one, it is a kind of magic we have not seen within this canon before. But also: Why the hell is she summoning creatures from fucking East Asian mythology?

In the games, that originate with Japan - and especially Rondo of Blood, whcih includes all those anime hommages - it seems a lot less weird, as in the more... well, "grounded" seems the wrong word. But definitely less anime world of the series.

(Especially considering that in the games she then evolves into a fucking ninja. Like... I love my SotN, but that is just weird, right?)

Now, one interesting aspect is, of course, that the trailers so far meaningfully keep from us, that Orlox is gonna be on the side of Richter and Co. In this church fight scene he saves this dude (more about the dude in a moment) from what seems to be vampire cultists. We know that because through the leaked images we know that those skulls are Orlox's magic. But the trailers really do their best to keep from us, that Orlox is on the heroes' side.

The fact that they made Orlox indigenous and have this Indigenous vampire fight on the side of our heroes makes me once again think, tht the political landscape of the time will somehow play into this.

The old series is very agnostic towards the politics of the times. Sure, you will find just two or three simple mentions of some things, but in general: Castlevania on Netflix could theoretically take place at any time between like 1450 and 1500 and it would not make a ton of difference.

With Nocturne being set in the French Revolution, which in itself was a political event, this obviously has to change.

Now interesting is the colors this nice dude is wearing. White cross on black ground, which is the colors of St. Piran, an Irish saint. Now, this is interesting, because these colors at the time were worn by Cornish people rebelling against the British crown. And yes, some of them were involved in the French revolution, in the hope that if the revolution succeeded, the French could help them tople the British monarchy.

This finally brings me to Drolta. Because with her I am also so very certain that it is more than it seems going on with her. Simply because everything we see so far does speak for a classist/colonial conflict taking place. With most of the vampires we outright see being aligned with the French upper class. And yet, their leader is a Black woman, who clearly serves Erzsebet.

There are shows where I would just shrug and assume that this just is "we chose some random characters to be Black because diversity" (which would be fine), but from all we can see so far - and also based on Castlevania handling Isaac as well as it did - and especially with the mainly Black writing staff... I do not think it is that easy. I do think her Blackness is gonna play a role.

What role that is... I do not know. My gut feeling is, that it is either her trying to serve Erzsebet in a hope to get recognition in this vampire society that very much mirrors the historical class structures... Or that she actually does have some connection to Annette.

But that is just gut feeling.

I do think, though, that she is gonna be a fucking interesting character.

One big thing that is also still a question is, what is going on with the monsters here. Given the dialogue with Richter: "What are they?" - "I don't know, but I bet they can die." I am going to assume they are not night creatures. Because I am going to assume that Richter would recognize night creatures.

The running theory is, that they are vampires. After all, in the games it is a common occurance that vampires change into a more monstrous form during the boss battles. But again: It would stand to reason that if this within this universe was common, Richter should know about it, right? (Or Tera, for that matter.)

So, I am going out on a limb and say: I think the ritual with the branding allows them to change shape. Or, maybe, even forces them to change shape after a while, allowing Erzsebet to control them.

Oh, by the way, one thing that is interesting about the second trailer: Outside from a few very short things, all the sequences we see seem to be from only four action scenes:

One taking place on a graveyard overseeing the city

One taking place on a plaza within the city

One taking place in a church (Notre Dame, maybe?)

One taking place in the dungeons

So, yeah, there is a lot that is being hidden actively. Which makes this whole speculating thing so much more fun. xD

#castlevania netflix #castlevania #castlevania nocturne #richter belmont #maria renard #erzsebet bathory #annette castlevania #theory #speculation #history #french revolution

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thisbuildinghasfeelings · 6 months ago

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Tag Game Tuesday: 911 Lone Star Fandom Edition

How fun! Thank you for tagging me @tellmegoodbye!

When did you first start watching Lone Star? Who or what introduced you to the show?

In early February 2022, I began to see some Push gifs on tumblr and I was very intrigued. Two beautiful men, one waking up from a coma, both of them obviously in love with each other...I had to know more! I started season 1 a few days later and it took me around a week to get completely caught up. I was just in time to watch 3x07 as it aired. I've been completely consumed by the show and Tarlos ever since.

Which season is your favorite?

I think season 3 is the most consistently great season, though I love a lot about all the seasons. Still, if I have to pick a favorite, it's season 3.

Who is your favorite character? (Bonus: If you answered TK or Carlos, who is your favorite besides them?)

TK and Carlos are absolutely my favorite characters. I love them so much. I don't think I can even choose between them to pick out one single favorite. Aside from those two, I think my next favorite is Marjan.

Top five episodes. Go!

1. In the Unlikely Event of An Emergency (3x08)

2. Push (3x04)

3. Saving Grace (2x09)

4. Riddle of the Sphynx (3x13)

5. A Bright and Cloudless Morning (3x18)

If you could pick any character to be given a "begins" episode, who would it be and what would that episode look like?

Carlos. My dream season 5 episode would be somewhat of a "begins" episode for him, focusing on his relationship with his father and showing him working through his feelings about that and his grief. It would include flashbacks that would give us a chance to see more of Gabriel. I would also love it if Carlos was solving his father's murder in the present!

What is a scenario or storyline that you would like to see in season 5?

The one thing I want most from season 5 is great Tarlos content. Particularly, I want to see TK and Carlos working together as a team. They make a pretty good team, after all! I think it would be great if TK helped Carlos solve Gabriel's murder. Bonus points if this storyline involves both of them freaking out over the other being in danger!

What do you think is going on in this still?

There are so many potential scenarios! My best guess in this moment is that TK is upset and worried about Carlos--maybe he's being threatened by Gabriel's murderer or putting himself in a situation where he could be in danger. Carlos is trying to tell TK that everything is going to be ok when he gets a phone call that ends up being related to the danger somehow or potentially gives Carlos some information that will lead him into more danger.

Either that or maybe TK went to the pet store and they were all out of Lou's favorite crickets and so he came home devastated that he couldn't provide his lizard son's favorite food. Carlos, determined to not allow his husband to be disappointed, gets on the phone and begins calling every single pet store in Austin.

We all know about the elusive 5x05 spicy scene that has been teased, so what is your prediction for how it could possibly top 1x02?

To be honest, I'm not quite convinced that it could possibly be hotter than 1x02. I know Ronen said that it is, but he's very enthusiastic and recency bias could easily play a role here. However, I could imagine an excellent scene following a brief separation or a moment where one or both of them were hurt or in danger. Like some life-affirming/reunion/slamming each other up against the walls of the loft kind of sex! Really, it does not have to actually top 1x02 to make me happy. I'll be happy with anything!

Where was the Tarlos honeymoon in your mind?

Somewhere fairly close to home where they could have some peace and quiet and relax and enjoy each other's company and gaze at each other's wedding rings and get all sappy about it. What I want most for them is to be able to rest and be happy and in love, so that's how I picture the honeymoon.

Shoutout one of your favorite fan creations.

There are so many incredible fan creations in this fandom. So many talented people! It's very hard to pick just one. The first that comes to mind in this moment after just thinking a lot about what I want from season 5 is How I linger to admire by @ladytessa74. If the show gave me a season 5 just like this fic, I would be very happy! See also: this list of the fic that brought me joy in 2023

No pressure tagging:

@lemonlyman-dotcom @ladytessa74 @she-walked-away @reasonandfaithinharmony @carlos-in-glasses

@paperstorm @vineofroses @laelipoo @herefortarlos @bonheur-cafe

@literateowl @welcometololaland @goldenskykaysani @carlos-tk @toomanycupsoftea

@autistic-lesbian-story-lover @guardian-angle22 @reeeallygood @goodways

#911 lone star #tag game tuesday

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redrikki · 3 months ago

Text

Scott's Season 2 Master Plan

In Teen Wolf season two, Scott McCall has a problem. Gerard Argent, his girlfriend’s evil grandfather, is threatening Scott to force him to help Gerard get the Bite to cure his cancer. Scott solves this problem by pretending to comply while switching out Gerard’s medication with mountain ash to ensure Bite rejection. The plan and who Scott chooses to involve (or not) in it say some interesting things about Scott’s character and his relationships.

Of course, Gerard doesn’t just explain what he’s after. Scott has to figure out the truth from disparate clues like Erica’s motivation for receiving the Bite and Gerard’s cancer smell and behavior. Once he’s figured out what Gerard’s game is, he comes up with a plan which pulls together things he’s learned about Bite rejection, mountain ash, and disguising murder to look like a medical emergency. It’s a smart plan. The show has spent a lot of time harping on Scott’s academic struggles, but this shows his how clever he actually is as well as his attention to detail in terms of replicating Gerard’s pills and pill case. Scott may not be book smart or good at figuring things out on the fly like Stiles, but give him the space to think and he shines.

It’s also a very passive aggressive plan, which is fairly typical of Scott. He rarely liked to confront his problems head on when he can come at them from the side or get a third party to deal with it (kind of like Gerard). Here he plays possum, plays Gerard and Derek off each other, and uses a tool which could not have been traced back to him if he needed plausible deniability for his involvement. Scott shows both Gerard and Derek exactly what they want/expect to get them where he needs them and shows nerves of steel in the pill handoff and waiting out the clock for them to take effect even as Gerard keeps the pressure on.

The plan displays Scott’s sense of poetic justice. Gerard wants the Bite? Well, Scott’s going to ensure that he gets it in the worst possible way. Derek won’t stop biting people even after Scott tells him not to? Well, Scott’s going to ensure he bites Gerard wether he wants to or not. We haven’t seen this from Scott before, but we will absolutely see it again in season 5 when he uses Deucalion as a sort of reverse uno card to destroy Theo’s pack from the inside the way Theo tried to do to him.

It’s unclear, exactly, what Scott hoped to do aside from making sure Gerard didn’t become werewolf. He has repeated conversations about how Bite rejection kills, so he had to know Gerard’s death was at least a possibility. In canon, Gerard manages to alienate his entire family at the last second, but had things played out with slightly fewer witnesses, Derek would have been the one taking the fall for all of it. Scott would have kept his hands clean while allowing Gerard and Derek to destroy themselves/each other. I wish we’d gotten to see Scott’s reaction in season 3 to learning Gerard was still alive. Allison was shocked, scared, and angry. Scott being shocked (or even relieved) would be a hint that he planned/expected Gerard to die, but sadly the show skips right past a reveal in favor of evil grandpa story hour.

After seeing Gerard kill the omega in 2.01, Scott is understandably scared of him, but he consistently underestimates him. Gerard’s true threat lies not in his ability to personally cause harm, but his ability to inspire, manipulate, and lead others to do so (he’s a dark reflection of Scott in that way). Scott gets one over Gerard by preventing him from becoming a werewolf, but it is ultimately a hollow victory. It doesn’t break Gerard’s hold over the kamina or prevent Gerard from raising/funding a hunter army in season 6. In fact, it took Scott in Gerard’s eyes from a scared kid to be manipulated to an arch nemesis to be to be destroyed.

Derek is an essential component of Scott’s plan, but he doesn’t get to be in on it. This makes sense given that their history largely consists of Derek threatening Scott and his friends and screwing Scott out of his hope of a cure after promising to help. Derek has repeatedly saved Scott’s life, but he can’t be trusted to do what Scott wants. He seems visibly hurt by Scott’s “not my Alpha” speech. He’s willing to help Scott with his tattoo in 3.01, but he clearly has no interest in involving Scott in his troubles with the Alpha Pack until Scott forces the issue.

The only person we know is entrusted with the plan is Deaton, as evidenced by the pill-making flashback. Deaton is Scott’s long-time professional mentor who has kept so many secrets, but is helpful when asked. As a werewolf, Scott can’t wield mountain ash. The will behind the pills’ magic is Deaton’s and he hates Gerard. He also believes that Scott has the capacity to be a True Alpha, but that blood on his hands will negate that. This plan allows Deaton to take out a guy he considers a murderer (or at least prevent him from becoming a werewolf) without getting Scott’s hands dirty. Whose idea was it to use the mountain ash this way? Would Scott even have known it could be used this way without Deaton’s guidance considering it’s a pretty far cry from how it was used at the rave?

It is unclear how much, if anything, Stiles knows about the plan. In season 1, any time Scott was hurt or threatened, it was followed by a conversation were he and Stiles discuss it. We don’t get any scenes like that in season 2 after Gerard declares war and threatens Scott (or after Victoria tries to kill him). The boys don’t really talk to each other after what happens at the Sheriff’s station, and it’s unclear whose idea that is. When Stiles expresses anxiety about how things are going to go down, Scott doesn’t remind him of the plan or even assure him that there is one. Stiles comes back from his beating at Gerard’s hands and doesn’t respond to any of Scott’s 17 missed messages and entirely misses Scott’s big reveal. Obviously, he learns about what happened later, but all signs point to a distinct lack of communication between the friends about what’s going on. What’s less clear is why. Does Scott no longer fully trust Stiles? Is he trying to protect him somehow by keeping him in the dark?

Scott also isn’t communicating with Allison. The difficulties of hiding their relationship from her parents absolutely plays a part, but he cuts her out of the channels of communication they do have. She repeatedly asks if there’s something going on with Gerard and Scott repeatedly says no. She checks her window for messages multiple times after the rave and gets nothing. The price of knowledge is responsibility and Scott is trying the shoulder that burden alone, but knowledge is power and in doing so he denies her the ability to make informed decisions about her relationship with her family. Gerard offers Allison up as a prize at the lacrosse game and then taunts Derek that Scott is doing his bidding all for Allison. That’s not what’s really happening, but I wonder how Scott’s lack of denial plays into Allison’s decision to break up with him.

Isaac doesn’t know the plan, but after Scott told him to be careful at the rave, he doesn’t care. He’s ready to back Scott up because he always tries to do the right thing and the fact that it works just makes him trust Scott even more.

Gerard threatens Melissa as soon as he realizes Scott is a werewolf, but Melissa does’t even know she’s in danger until he’s choking her with the kamina’s prehensile tail. Scott and Melissa’s relationship has grown increasingly strained over the course of the series, but Scott’s reluctance to trust her with the truth of what’s happening to him might be a sign of how their relationship was already strained. Melissa freaks out and refuses to really speak with her son after learning he’s a “monster.” Her begging Scott to protect her and then showing up for him at the game and with Jackson is the first step of them repairing their relationship, but the dynamics are permanently and knowingly reversed. While Scott has been trying to protect his mom without her knowing since Peter tried to date her in season 1, now Melissa knows about the danger and fully expects Scott to deal with it.

In the end, Scott is forced to reveal his plan after Gerard starts screaming about mountain ash. The tactics he used (playing possum, secret-keeping, manipulation, and using third parties to do the dirty work) are all tricks Gerard also likes to use. The difference is that Scott is trying to do what he thinks is right to protect others, while Gerard is strictly out to help himself. Scott damaged relationships with his actions and in 3.01, he declares his intent to be a better son and a better friend. When he faces Gerard again in season 6, he does so as someone who communicates openly with his allies and draws on his community rather than attempting to work around them.

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#teen wolf #scott mccall #gerard argent

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 1 year ago

Note

Would Death note change if Light had an identical twin? In one hand, Light would not share anything as he didn't with his family. But if the twin was closer to a clone (as with the Bella twins discussed in this blog), it would make things significantly harder for Light. I don't know if they would be able to make a long alliance, given their pride, but what do you think?

The horrible post anon's referencing.

Interesting. Not much would change but we'd get even more family drama.

The Thing About Light and Kira

Light didn't decide to become Kira until after he'd accidentally killed using the Death Note. At which point, he decided a) because he was a murderer b) because that murder in his eyes was justified and the world was a 'better' place he had to go all in. Before that point, he was bored yes, but it took him about a day to decide to kill every heinous criminal he possibly could (at which point Ryuk became very impressed and interested).

So even an alien experiment Light Yagami clone from birth who is identical in every way would not be Kira just because the other Light is Kira. From what we see in the Yotsuba Arc, Light without having take the step to kill himself and decide to become Kira, from an outsider's perspective, thinks Kira is fucking insane and heinous and absolutely should be stopped.

Which is where twinny mc twin comes in.

The Other Thing About Having Two Light Yagamis

Light in canon is the first born son. There's Sayu, yes, but she's several years younger than him and it's established early on that Light is extremely brilliant and that Sayu while sweet is normal. Light adores his little sister and were it not for Kira they'd have maintained a great relationship (as it is, Light distances himself from his family and something truly awful happens to Sayu, but he never stops caring about her).

However, Light now has a twin and they are equal on every level. Light is highly competitive and a perfectionist and so I imagine while he loves his twin (as he's extremely family oriented as a character) there's also a lot of tension and a complicated relationship as both feel they have to be the best and out do the other.

We're not talking about people who are each other's best friend, confidante, or even get along all that well beyond the nebulous idea of being closely related.

Even if Light were so inclined, this isn't someone he'd want to confide in and someone he'd be extremely wary of.

What Does Twin Know?

As you note, Light takes great pains to keep his family in the dark. His father dies believing Light isn't Kira as Light had gone to great lengths so he was not technically owner of the notebook when his father viewed him with the eyes.

Sayu and Sachiko who had no direct involvement in the case were kept very in the dark about the case details and investigation.

Remember also the reason Light was able to track the investigation so closely was that he hacked his father's computer and was looking at files directly from the NPA homicide division. Soichiro was extremely tight lipped about details and never revealed to what extent he (and later Light) were involved in the Kira case. The family could figure out the answer was "heavily" but it was nothing outright said and god knows what Sayu and Sachiko were told about that time Light disappeared for several months with no contact, no appearances at his university, and was not able to call home.

I doubt it was "a detective has handcuffed him to himself and is unrelentingly convinced he's a serial killer".

And note that later Light has as much information as he has because he 'joins' the task force. By that point, the general NPA had been cut out and Light no longer had useful police files on the investigation.

Point being, twin has very limited information.

Light Becomes Kira, Twin Does Not

So, we start off in canon. Twin notices Light behaving strangely for a few days but doesn't think much of it. Light's always been fairly solitary and being locked up in his room after school isn't... too weird.

It's not immediately obvious what's happening, either, as people at first did not put together the connection of Kira and then didn't want to put together the connection of Kira. It wasn't until Lind L. Taylor that Kira went from internet urban legend and weird coincidence to either a) a god like being having it out for the wicked or b) a human criminal psychic who has a very terrifying talent.

I imagine twin is dubious at the initial rumors pre the broadcast, while also being somewhat :/ about the coincidences. Twin doesn't know how bad it is, as twin only sees the news at this point which I imagine is censoring just how many are dying of heart attacks of all things, but it's still enough to be weird.

Then Lind L. Taylor happens and "what the fuck" is twin's initial response. Twin doesn't suspect Light, because that's insane and Light's not a psychic or vengeful god, but is instead just reeling from the fact that Kira exists and is doing this.

Twin is absolutely in support of their father being directly involved in the case and itching to be on the case themselves and dying that they're too young. I imagine they talk to Light about it (where Light has to act his little heart out) and both agree that they have to get into the homicide division as soon as possible to help catch this motherfucker.

"Oh well, hopefully L will manage it before that point," twin muses, as realistically that'll be another several years.

"YEAH, HOPEFULLY," Light says.

Twin won't internally notice anything's amiss for some time (as after the initial mental breakdown Light did a fantastic job pretending that everything was fine/not changing his behavior patterns) but then the FBI agents show up. Now, Light noticed he was followed in part because of a) Ryuk b) he was expecting this sort of thing. Twin may not notice, but if they do, I imagine they start wigging out because why are what are clearly government/police following them around. If they notice, twin probably confronts Light (not wanting to worry Sayu and Sachiko, and not wanting to push things with Soichiro) and Light will either have to a) gaslight b) agree "yeah it totally looks like we're both being followed, what's up with that?" Regardless, twin will notice when Light takes a girl??? to Space Land??? out of nowhere and think it's all very odd because Light doesn't do dates or girlfriends.

Where things could go... potentially sideways as since Light and Twin are the same person on paper--does L know which one's Kira? He never really has a concrete reason to suspect Light specifically. He narrows it down to Japan, a police family, then to the family of those followed by Raye Penber, and settles on Light as his primary suspect but--here's another young teenager, an idealist, who is as brilliant as Light.

L may use his voodoo powers to magically think Light is the correct one but--he may also not be sure which it is or if it's both. In which case Twin is in for a terrible terrible time in the future.

But before this post gets too long, I think I'll say I can see how Light would not be found out by Twin and Twin would either die ignorant or else be horrified and have to be murdered by Light when twin discovers what Light really is.

But I think it'd take some time to figure out or that they never would both because they have limited information, because suspecting Light would be insane, and because Light is their brother and that's a horrible truth to confront/admit.

#death note #death note meta #death note headcanon #light yagami #meta #headcanon #opinion

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