#it’s in military bonding and has been for centuries

[rrr-is-gay]

Hello kids, today I’d like to preach to you about the deep eroticism of The Fight, because warriormale literally lives in my mind and compels me to speak.

When Ram and Bheem wrestle outside the governor’s palace, they are releasing so much sexual energy, it’s actually insane. Hell, even before the wrestling, when they’re exchanging punches, there’s this sizzling tension that they’re both too heartbroken to actually think about, but it comes out subconsciously, in how their bodies react to each other. Bheem takes each punch standing up, then fuckin smacks the shit out of Ram, knocking him to the ground, showing his dominance. Ram whips his head to the side to LEER at Bheem before deciding his next attack.

And what is his next attack? TO CLIMB UP BHEEM’S THIGH and THROW HIM TO THE GROUND so he can MOUNT HIM. Bheem does not kick out of this hold or push Ram’s body away, he ROLLS OVER, TANGLING HIS LEGS with Ram’s, keeping him close. He refuses to go on the defensive, he must stay on the attack, to overpower Ram with the strength of his thighs. This need, this primal masculine aggression, is shared by both men as they continue rolling over each other. It is such an intricate ritual!

They are so deeply, intimately familiar with each other’s bodies. Think of how Bheem yanks open Ram’s legs so he can get right between his thighs. He knows where Ram bends and folds. He’s been here before. Think of how Bheem shoves his hand over Ram’s face to hold him down, covering his lips and nose, feeling his heat and insisting upon his submission. Think of how Bheem LIFTS RAM UP dirty-dancing-style to twirl him around, embraced by his thighs, testosterone spiking like adrenaline.

There’s a raw physicality that is shared between sex and combat that’s difficult to describe to those who don’t feel it. It is so primitive, so base, it defies logic. Ram and Bheem have absolutely no reason to be turned on during this fight. They’re both utterly heartbroken, to a point where they’re basically dying inside. And yet their bodies tingle with desire; the desire to touch, smack, yank, bite, grab, hug, roll, spread, fuck. They can’t help it! That’s why they fight so close and tight, because the magnetism pulling them together is stronger than the betrayal tearing them apart.

Absolutely nobody on this earth can convince me that I’m wrong!

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Don't you think it's funny cause actual canon gay characters in BL manga will say "I love you" but only the shounen bromance can spew out some of the most romantic shit akin to a 19th century poet writing a letter expressing his surpressed love for his lover 😭.....

Genuniely can't tell if it's bait or not, but I'm going to treat this ask seriously anyway.

Here, have some examples of beautiful and poetic expressions of love in BL media!

I'm going to start with my favourite murder husbands, Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu from Word of Honor/Faraway Wanderers!

This happens in episode nine, less than one third into the story- it's that early, they've known each other for like a week and are already able to tell they're meant to be. They've made their decision to be together, and over the course of the story:

They defend each other multiple times and fight side by side in multiple episodes, sometimes protecting their adopted kid/mentee Chengling as well

Zhou Zishu is willing to go against the whole martial arts society for his boyfriend. With zero hesistation, might I add.

They both know the other has done horrible things (lots of murder on both sides here) and that's not only okay, it's a big part of why they're soulmates and get each other so well!

Zhou Zishu is slowly dying (poisoned nails in his chest, long story) and Wen Kexing can and will risk his life to save him. Don't worry, they get a happy ending both in the show and the novel even if the show's last episode is behind a paywall and Netflix didn't even include it for some reason?

But enough about them, let's move on to the immortal fantasy genre boyfriends Hua Cheng and Xie Lian from Heaven Official's Blessing!

Please note how Hua Cheng is ready to accept Xie Lian in whatever state he's currently in- as a god, a fallen outcast, even grieving and angry and at his absolute lowest. He's stood by Xie Lian in his worst moments, even if at the time Xie Lian had no idea it was him.

Hua Cheng has loved Xie Lian for 800 years, ever since he was a boy Xie Lian saved from falling to his death during a procession.

Xie Lian became a god, then fell due to horrible circumstances, almost committed a war crime against another nation that destroyed his country, spend 800 years wandering the mortal realm as a poor cultivator with his powers greatly reduced, and eventually ascended to become a god again. Throughout it all, Hua Cheng loved him and did his best to help him and then find him.

They're both adorable and the definition of a power couple once they're reunited- no spoilers, but they eventually fight an incredibly powerful god side by side and win & the last scene in the story is them reuniting for good since there's no more obstacles to their immortal love.

Let's move on to my favourite Japanese BL, Our Dining Table (also available as a series that came out semi-recently, but the examples below are from the manga.)

Yutaka is a lonely salesman who meets Minoru, a restaurant worker and his much younger brother Tane grieving the death of their mother.

Yutaka and Minoru hit it off by bonding through food they cook and share. The series is incredibly heartwarming, and as seen above Yutaka becomes a much happier person thanks to both his new relationship and big brother-like bond with little Tane.

As a little bonus, the whole found family together!

This post can't be complete without Golden Stage (or Golden Terrace, as the English official translation calls it).

Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan aren't even in love at this point! This is at the beginning of the story, when their marriage has just been arranged by the emperor and they're still bitter rivals.

Yan Xiaohan is already protective of his future husband- later on, he also builds him a mansion meant to accommodate his disability (nerve damage in both legs, which requires a wheelchair and/or crutches). They're both incredibly powerful military generals, and the emperor was an idiot thinking an arranged marriage would humiliate them.

Of course they fall in love, of course they're a power couple, of course they send each other letters through trained geese when they're separated during the war, of course they run to each other as fast as they can across a wide cold river when they're finally reunited! Of course they're important to me!

....Aaand how about some Wangxian to wrap up this post? They need no introduction, an absolutely wonderful and complex relationship in a complex fantasy/intrigue story available in several forms - the books, the animated series (as seen above), the live action series, the audio drama, there's so much!

Some of their most beautiful moments:

Lan Wangji writing a song for Wei Wuxian and naming it Wangxian. Years after it's composed, Wei Wuxian plays it and LWJ is able to recognise him even in a different body.

LWJ begs WWX to come with him to Cloud Recesses, to safety, after WWX makes himself an enemy of the whole cultivation world for protecting innocent people.

They confront the final villain together, and work together to expose his crimes. This is also when their final love confession happens, and it's hilarious- in front of everyone's salad, WWX declares he also wanted to sleep with LWJ.

Despite censorship, the animated series was still able to allude to their wedding, showing them in red wedding robes (unfortunately can't find a gif rn)

Respectfully, if you genuinely think BL doesn't have beautiful love confessions and displays of romance, you need to find better BL.

[lyon-77]

Erlang Shen in Chinese Literary Tradition Pt. 1: The Investiture of the Gods and Bond with Nezha

I was just reminded of the iconic event of Yang Jian (Erlang) transforming into a magic ferret in The Investiture of the Gods.

For those unfamiliar with this 16th-century historical fantasy, the story is set during the war marking the transition between the Shang and Zhou dynasties around 1046 BCE. In the novel, Yang Jian, not yet the sacred divinity or Erlang Shen, is a young Daoist who just came down from the mountain to gain experience in the mortal world. He joins the Zhou camp and serves as the quartermaster, alongside Nezha who with his temper leads as the vanguard. Despite the humble introduction and minimal backstory, Yang Jian shows extraordinary abilities from the start. It could be that the audience of the period all knew something about Erlang Shen, thus there was no need to be explicit and go into the specifics. I'll just use "Erlang" going forward for simplicity.

The Legend and the Hero (《封神榜之凤鸣岐山》; 2007): Left to right as Yang Jian (Erlang Shen), Nezha, and Huang Tianhua (黄天化).

Erlang's first appearance in The Investiture of the Gods is when he arrives at the Zhou camp with military provisions amid a prolonged struggle against the four Mo brothers (the book's adaptation of the Four Heavenly Kings) on the Shang's side. Mo Lishou (the Heavenly King of the West), commands a magic ferret that has already devoured and killed many people. Erlang volunteers to confront them directly to break the stalemate and to gather some new information. He goes to the battlefield, allows himself to be devoured by the ferret, kills it from within that night, and takes on its form to infiltrate the ranks of the Heavenly Kings. Meanwhile, Nezha and Jiang Ziya, the grand strategist on the Zhou's side, believe Erlang is already dead and have been mourning his death until Erlang sneaks back to the camp and loops them in on his plan. Erlang plays a pivotal role in the defeat and death of the Four Heavenly Kings.

New Gods: Yang Jian (《新神榜：杨戬》； 2022)

At the end of the book, all magical beings died in the war were resurrected and made gods—hence the Investiture of the Gods. This history, however, would explain why, in New Gods: Yang Jian, the four Mo brothers, especially Mo Lishou and his ferret, still seem to harbor some bitterness toward Erlang.

In The Legend of Nezha's adaptation, Erlang saves Nezha from the Shang camp while being undercover. This animated series was actually my first introduction to Erlang Shen.

The Legend of Nezha (《哪吒传奇》; 2003): This goofball is captured by his own camp when sneaking back and needs Xiaotian to help prove his identity.

Upon revisiting my childhood anime, I got curious about the inspiration behind Erlang's golden hoops there (not that I mind them at all). With the second of the Creation (Investiture) of the Gods trilogy set to release on the first day of the 2025 lunar new year, I've been wondering if it could be partially canon for Erlang Shen to actually wear a metal hoop on his left side, especially when he appears as the god of hunting. This style is a traditional custom for men in several ethnic groups in Sichuan that have historically revered Erlang Shen (including the Yi and some Hmong subgroups). The actor who plays him in the trilogy happens to be of Yi ethnicity and always wears a one-sided earring off-set. Just a vision...

Creation of the Gods (《封神》) Actors for Nezha and Yang Jian (Erlang Shen) from 2018 to 2023.

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

The Music of Dolphins by Karen Hesse

Mila creates headlines around the world when she is rescued from an unpopulated island off the coast of Florida. Now a teenager, she has been raised by dolphins from the age of four.

Researchers teach Mila language and music. She learns, too, about rules and expectations, about locked doors and broken promies, disappointment and betrayal.

But the more Mila finds out what it means to be human, the more deeply she longs for her ocean home.

Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell

Emmy was a good girl. At least she tried very hard to be good. She did her homework without being told. She ate all her vegetables, even the slimy ones. And she never talked back to her nanny, Miss Barmy, although it was almost impossible to keep quiet, some days.

She really was a little too good. Which is why she liked to sit by the Rat. The Rat was not good at all . . .

Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer

1763.

Gideon Seymour, cutpurse and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine -- and Kate and Peter's only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Kate, and Peter are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.

Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon

It's not easy for Danny Dragonbreath to be the sole mythical creature in a school for reptiles and amphibians -- especially because he can't breathe fire like other dragons (as the school bully loves to remind him). But having a unique family comes in handy sometimes, like when his sea-serpent cousin takes Danny and his best iguana friend on a mindboggling underwater tour, complete with vomiting sea cucumbers and giant squid. It sure beats reading the encyclopedia to research his ocean report . . .

Undertow by Michael Buckley

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s only hope of survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

Poison by Chris Wooding

Poison has always been a willful, contrary girl, prone to being argumentative and stubborn. So when her sister is snatched by the mean-spirited faeries, she seeks out the Phaerie Lord to get her back.

But finding him isn't easy, and the quest leads Poison into a murderous world of intrigue, danger, and deadly storytelling. With only her wits and her friends to aid her, Poison must survive the attentions of the Phaerie Lord, rescue her sister, and thwart a plot that's beyond anything she (or the reader) can imagine. . . .

Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller

Life will never be the same for Ananka Fishbein after she ventures into an enormous sinkhole near her New York City apartment. A million rats, delinquent Girl Scouts out for revenge, and a secret city below the streets of Manhattan combine in this remarkable novel about a darker side of New York City you have only just begun to know about…

Willa by Robert Beatty

Move without a sound. Steal without a trace.

Willa, a young night-spirit, is her clan's best thief. She creeps into the cabins of the day-folk under cover of darkness and takes what they won't miss. It's dangerous work--the day-folk kill whatever they don't understand--but Willa will do anything to win the approval of the padaran, the charismatic leader of the Faeran people.

When Willa's curiosity leaves her hurt and stranded in the day-folk world, she calls upon the old powers of her beloved grandmother, and the unbreakable bonds of her forest allies, to escape. Only then does she begin to discover the shocking truth: that not all of her day-folk enemies are the same, and that the foundations of her own Faeran society are crumbling. What do you do when you realize that the society you were born and raised in is rife with evil? Do you raise your voice? Do you stand up against it?

As forces of unfathomable destruction encroach on her forest home, Willa must decide who she truly is, facing deadly force with the warmest compassion, sinister corruption with trusted alliance, and finding a home for her longing heart.

Sammy Keyes by Wendelin Van Draanen

Grams always told her those binoculars would get her into trouble. Now Sammy's witnessed a crime at the Heavenly Hotel-a light fingered thief stealing $4,000 from Madame Nashira, the astrologer with the fire-hazard hair-do. Thing is, while she was watching him, he was watching her, too...

First Light by Rebecca Stead

Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland, where his father studies global warming. Peter will get to skip school, drive a dogsled, and finally share in his dad's adventures. But on the ice cap, Peter struggles to understand a series of visions that both frighten and entice him. Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they've built deep inside the arctic ice. As Thea dreams of a path to Earth's surface, Peter's search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home.

[mariacallous]

CUT DEEP into the innards of the southern front, Ukraine’s first underground hospital feels like something out of a James Bond movie. State-of-the-art gadgetry begins with admissions. Wounded soldiers arrive directly from the battlefield: in cars, ambulances, quad bikes, or whatever else can carry them. They are assessed and colour-coded into modules by urgency: “red zone” cases for immediate operations, “yellow zone” for other treatment. Alongside an operating theatre, enclosed in steel barrels several metres below ground level, is an intensive care unit. There is a ventilator, and even a laboratory for blood tests. The centre is set up for sophisticated operations: bone repair, soft tissue reconstruction, and even arterial bypass surgery.

In military jargon, this is a “role 2” facility, the second of four treatment tiers from frontline triage to tertiary hospital care. Doctors move people on if they can. Those stable enough are whisked off to “role 3” facilities, approximately 30km away. The rest are treated and stabilised here, a little over 10km from the contact line. The hospital’s immaculately joined wooden beams—chosen over concrete to soften shrapnel in the event of a Russian strike—project a deceptive warmth, like being in a Scandinavian sauna. The drones and glide-bombs that terrorise the skies outside make clear that this is not a place to relax. Ukraine’s medics are here, underground, not by choice. Like the soldiers they treat, they are among the hunted.

Evhen, the underground hospital’s chief medical officer, grunts at any suggestion that Russia might follow the Geneva conventions, which forbid targeting medical units. “They don’t even know what it means,” he says. To the Russian military, doctors are “force multipliers”—they patch up soldiers and send them back to fight, take a long time to train and are hard to replace. Ukraine now tells its medics to remove any markings that might set them apart. “If you put a red cross on a car, you’ll be fired on within 15 minutes.” The goal is still to get wounded soldiers from the frontline to a role 2 treatment unit within an hour, but drones drag out the process, often for hours. The delays often mean life or death; limb or no limb. Leave a tourniquet on for more than a few hours, and tissue damage is irreversible.

Ukraine believes survival on the battlefield is the key to regaining the edge in a war that has become largely attritional. The underground hospitals are a key part of the puzzle, says Roman Kuziv, the 35-year-old doctor who helped design them. A technocratic planner with experience of working as a surgeon in Europe, Dr Kuziv has quickly risen through the Ukrainian ranks: from local hospital chief to medical commander of the entire eastern and southern front. He lets data guide him to new standards and protocols. War pulses through the monitors in front of him. He claims the medical data give him “80% of the picture” about what is happening on the battlefront. Where units are well organised and where they are not. Where morale is good and where it is not. He makes a call to commanders whenever he spots a problem.

Swiping through images on his smartphone—a surreal blend of family photos and flesh wounds—Dr Kuziv reveals the brutal injuries and hard choices his teams face daily. He pulls up a photo of a man with a gaping hole in his upper body, alongside a kidney sliced in two, and a 30cm slab of missile metal that had been lodged deep in his midriff. “Did the man make it?” Remarkably, yes, he did. Another soldier, this time with a deep gash across his back, part of his spine missing, internal organs spilling out. That soldier survived initial surgery in the underground hospital, but died two days later. A third clip shows a soldier in his 30s, convulsing violently as he tries to drink a cup of water. What was up here? “Hydrophobia,” the commander says. “An extreme aversion to water.” In short, the soldier had rabies, caused by a single bite from a cat, and it was too late to save him. The army saw a handful of such cases before culling wild animals in the area.

Almost three years of war have brought Ukraine’s army doctors a mountain of unexpected challenges. Drones have largely rewritten the rulebook on battlefield wounds: the numbers are rocketing, and the attacks are more persistent, more targeted. The “golden hour”—NATO doctrine for evacuating a soldier to proper care within 60 minutes—has become something closer to fiction. Chemical weapons have returned to the field, too, with the re-appearance of agents like chloropicrin, a poison gas first seen in the trenches of the first world war. The gas, used to flush out Ukrainians from their trenches and foxholes, attacks the soft tissues of the respiratory system. At higher doses, it kills.

The demands have seen Ukrainian military medicine develop in quick time. Today’s setup is unrecognisable from seven years ago, when Dr Kuziv first began working with the army. The commander regularly tracks Russian social media to gauge how well he is doing. He’s usually happy with the comparison with Russian front-line medicine. “It’s the second world war over there.” But the demands and need to stay ahead are relentless. The ministry of defence has just approved another 20 of his “role 2” underground hospitals, which are being co-financed by an industrial sponsor. The commander is also working on an overhaul of “role 1” facilities, front-line triage units. According to his futuristic vision, these will be accessible underground by a system of mechanical elevators.

There have been mistakes, thousands who could have been saved. But Russia’s war without limits would test the resources of any military medical service, Dr Kuziv insists. “All-out war gives you one or two months to study and adapt.” NATO countries should be thinking about how they would cope, he says. “Honestly, they are not prepared. They wouldn’t know what’s hit them.”

[probablyasocialecologist]

As Sheila Ryan writes, from 1948 until mid-1973 “Israel had received the staggering sum of over $8 billion in economic assistance from various foreign sources, or $3,500 total for each Israeli – an average of $233 per year per capita in aid. Thus, an average Israeli each year received in aid alone more than double the per capita income of an Egyptian ($102 in 1969).” Between 1943 and 2023, the US has provided Israel with $160 billion in aid (with inflation adjusted reaching about $260 billion), without considering the regular loan guarantees extended to the entity that are worth billions. This aid to Israel is an investment in militarism for US-led imperialism. The peculiarity of the Zionist entity lies in it being a settler-colonial formation, as much as the US, incubating a mode of consciousness that promotes imperialist values and secures US hegemonic domination in the region. By acquiring nuclear weapons and through its numerous military attacks on and invasions of other countries of the region – i.e., such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Israel has been the major force behind imperialist capital accumulation and its corollary, Arab de-development. As the Palestinian leftist circles in the 1960s-70s consistently emphasised, Zionism is the spearhead of imperialism in the region. As much as the liberation of Palestine is a struggle against US-led imperialism on whose behalf Israel acts as a gendarme, an attack on Israel is an attempt to undermine directly the core interests of the US and its reactionary allies in the region. As per the oil-rich Gulf monarchies, the control of the ruling classes of these political formations guaranteed the supremacy of the US dollar at the international level through dollar-denominated oil sales, which were then being recycled in the purchase of US treasury bonds and weaponry. In recent years, following the various attacks on the sovereignty of secular Arab republics (Iraq, Libya, and Syria), coordinated with the money and weapons of the Gulf countries, the US has also pushed an agenda of normalisation with Israel. The more Israel is recognised officially in the region, the more secure the interests of US-led imperialism are.

[hashimasims]

Hypnos: It's good that you've been able to see your friends from before all this, even if it has been limited. Have you been able to keep in touch with them besides? I know I tried calling you before coming many times but it always went to voicemail.

Elucea: Yeah, I got a new number but I didn't want to cancel the old one just yet. I have my old phone turned off though. Kanaloa, though centuries old, is far too tech savvy for my liking. Maybe it has something to do with his military career. The girls and I . . . well Paka'a isn't a girl but they're one of the girls you know. *laughs* We text and email just about everyday but taking care of all these animals and crops just monopolizes all my time and I'm just so tired ALL THE TIME even with help.

Hypnos: Being pregnant I hear is a very tiring endeavor and you adding on ALL THIS isn't really helping that. I can give you something to help you get better sleep if you'd like.

Elucea: No, that's OK. It's strange, but I like feeling tired at the end of a long day, I feel like I accomplished something. I can honestly say that being out here, doing what I do now, nothing really bothers me anymore. I haven't really gotten into my own head at all, I don't think about the past really and it doesn't seem to bother me that much. There's been a few nights so full of nightmares I couldn't sleep, but those have all but gone. And I don't . . . I remember them mentioning something about me being like them - a Goddess? - but I don't feel like one. If anything I feel like I've been acting like a petulant child throwing a tantrum with this hiding out, or like Abs, all woe is me and hiding from his problems or bitching until he got his way. Something else I would like to avoid more of. But I can't . . . I don't . . . . I mean, I do miss them and I don't want to do this parenting thing alone, but I can. It'll be hard but I just want to give my kids the best life I can and keep as much negativity away from them as possible.

Hypnos: You can't protect them forever. They are going to have to deal with some hard things as they grow up.

Elucea: I know that but I will take control of all the things that I CAN. If that means keeping Absalom and Kanaloa away to keep my home peaceful then so be it.

Hypnos: I want a few more sessions with you, if that's alright? For the most part you seem to have a level head even after all the trauma you've been through, and maybe this farm is exactly the step you needed to take to heal. It hurt them when you left but they just want to know you're OK. They want you to let them in and they want to be in your life. Together. I know to you the Bond doesn't feel like it's changed at all since you left, but maybe that's because it doesn't have to. Maybe they've been OK since then. I know what you heard, and I can see how that can make you feel, so I can't MAKE you change your mind and I don't want to, you need to make that decision yourself. You being on your own for this time really has seemed to be doing wonders for your healing and mental well being, and from the way they spoke of you I was expecting to find a small, shattered thing, not the woman that's before me today. I can tell you that you can talk to them without them getting your location, through the Bond, if you really want to get in contact with them. With it, you can Dream Walk to them and have a conversation. I can show you.

Elucea: Are you sure they wont find me?

Hypnos: Yes. Let's get you to sleep and then I can walk you through how to make the connection.

Beginning|Previous|Next

[warrioreowynofrohan]

For quite a while, the section “The Bishop in the Presence of an Unknown Light,” was my favourite bit of Les Misérables, and this was my favourite line of that section:

“A cloud had been forming for fifteen hundred years; at the end of fifteen centuries it burst. You condemn the thunderbolt.” [1500 from at little before 1800 gives you somewhere around 300 A.D.; this is far too long to be referring to the Bourbon monarchy - thanks to a friend for the idea that it probably refers to the creation of a state church under Constantine in the A.D. 300s.]

N.K. Jemisin has a line communicating what is, I think, a very similar idea in her Broken Earth trilogy, in a world that is beset by great earthquakes:

When a comm [community] builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever was stupid enough to think they could defy the laws of nature forever. Well, some worlds are build on a fault line of pain, held up by nightmares. Don’t lament when those worlds fall. Rage that they were built doomed in the first place.

And this us not, in some respects, all that different from what Bishop Myriel himself said in an earlier chapter:

“The faults of women, children, and servants, of the feeble, the indigent, and the ignorant, are the faults of their husbands, fathers, and masters, of the strong, the rich, and the wise…If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.”

As I’ve learned more detail about the French Revolution, I have become unconvinced of the conventionary’s assertion that it “loosened all the secret bonds of society, made the waves of civilization flow over the earth, is the consecrecration of humanity.” If it destroyed the old tyranny and oppression, it replaced it with a new tyranny and oppression (actual several new ones, from the partisan purge to the ‘managed democracy’ to the military dictatorship); if it removed the old religious intolerance, it replaced it with a new religious intolerance. It was more willing to kill people for following their consciences than the regime of Louis XVI that preceded it, and it encouraged ordinary people to kill not rich oppressors but ordinary neighbours (ref: Murder in Aubagne by D.G.M. Sutherland, a case study on the cycles of violence that came from it becoming socially normal to kill your neighbours for being associated with a different form of republicanism than yourself, and then normal to even kill anyone who agreed with you politically but objected to the murdering).

You condemn the thunderbolt, is, I think, the more convincing assertion - if pressure builds up to a certain point, it will break, like a dam, and the primary blame lies with those who allowed it build up to that point. The argument is not that the dam breaking is the ideal, but that under certain circumstances it is inevitable. Oppression should be fought; reform should be made, firstly for its own sake became it is good and necessary and just and compassionate, and secondly to avert the damage the thunderbolt would do to the innocent; and if that reform is not happening fast enough, the answer is not to say to the suffering, “Be patient!” but to say to the powerful, “Move faster!”

[hainethehero]

Stucky headcanon of Steve and Bucky meeting in the 21st century...

"The mission is simple, get in, get the containment, get out. Minimum casualties."

Steve nods at Fury's instruction, accepting the report he'd just been handed.

"Thought this was a one-man job?"

The sound of heavy, thick-soled boots echo throughout Fury's office. Steve turns to look at James Buchanan Barnes, otherwise known as The Winter Soldier. Natasha had given him the run-down on Barnes and according to her, he was the best assassin SHIELD had ever commissioned. With over two dozen assassinations, one being a U.S president and top World Court officials making up the rest, Steve had to admit that the guy's resumé was impressive.

He rises to his feet and holds out a hand, a gesture in greeting cos his Mama always taught him to be polite.

"Hello, I'm Steve," he says with one of his best smiles.

Barnes watches him, then his outstretched hand and then turn backs to Fury with a dry look of mild annoyance.

"I work better alone. You know that."

Steve's smile drops along with his hand and he returns to his seat a little put out by Barnes's hostility. He could feel his cheeks burn from embarrassment.

"Well, Captain Rogers has been added to the scheme. He is at your disposal. And when I say disposal, I mean, he's the reason why the mission is minimum-casualty-coded."

Barnes lets out a frustrated sound, a hand on his hip. Steve takes in his black combat gear, noting the probable location of several knives and guns. He's got a black hoodie on but only one hand is gloved. Steve assumes it's simply a training preference. Natasha never mentioned just how good-looking he was, though.

Steve usually kept his attraction to other people carefully hidden beneath a veneer of indifference. Barnes just shattered it. He was Steve's height, with dark, chocolate hair that was swept up into a lazy bun, strands framing his face fashionably. His eyes were a wolfish blue, deep and intimidating. He was thick and brawny where Steve was slim and agile. Steve found himself wondering how it would feel to be under all that muscle during training.

He blushes from the absurdity of his own thoughts and looks away while Barnes continues to plead his case.

"I don't need help-"

"These orders come from the top, so there's really nothing I can do, Barnes." Fury tells him tiredly. "Now, quit pestering me and help your newest teammate get acquainted with mission training. Goodbye."

Bucky rolls his eyes and stalks out of the room before halting at the doors. He doesn't even turn around to look at Steve, but grunts,

"You comin' or what, Spangles?"

Steve hesitantly follows, heart in his throat because it was obvious this Winter guy didn't like his guts. He assumes his rep as the legendary Captain America would have some of the top guys at SHIELD skeptical, hell, he wasn't even well-liked back in his day. He vividly remembers being attacked with fruit during the USO tours. Remembers the resentment on the faces of men like Hodge and Greg, and most of the unit he'd served with until he'd earned their respect when he brought back the 107th.

If he hadn't done that, he imagined he'd be a poster boy for war bonds for his entire miserable life. He'd been to the Smithsonian, seen his exhibit and how they emphasized his time in the military. It was almost as if they didn't know there was an actual Steve Rogers underneath it all. As if they just wanted the world to know that he was all gung-ho for the war. Like he hadn't joined because he'd just lost his mother and wanted to do his best to follow in her footsteps and protect people from bullies.

Suddenly all his nerves had gone out and he was left in a state of shocked despair and depression.

It made sense for Barnes to despise him. Everything he was screamed self-righteousness.

"You comin' or what?" Bucky asks gruffly, shaking him from his thoughts. The elevator had stopped, he realizes, onto a new floor. He follows Barnes, finding it suspiciously hard to keep up with the man's quick and powerful strides.

They enter a standardized training room that's already buzzing with what Steve guesses is Bucky's team. There are about ten men milling about, some doing weights while others are working on weaponry. Steve notices one guy he'd worked with during the New York invasion with the Avengers.

"Holy shit," the man cackles, approaching them covered in sweat.

"Rumlow," he greets with a more professional air. If Bucky's reaction to him was anything to go by, he figured it'd be smarter to be professional, rather than polite. He was used to people not liking him very much.

"Rogers, didn't expect them to bring you in already."

"You knew about this?" Bucky snipes in a pissy tone.

Brock shrugs, "Heard a rumor a couple weeks ago, didn't think of it til now."

"Great," Bucky mumbles while the other guys approach them. Steve takes a step back warily, feeling a bit like a specimen under a microscope.

Bucky glances at him, eyes narrowed for a second before he talks again. "Captain, this is my STRIKE team. I'm assuming you know Rumlow, he's second in command. After him, Rollins. Wilson is one of our newer recruits but we've worked with his team before. He's pararescue. And our two specialists, Lopez and Murdock."

Lopez signs "hello" at Steve and he signs back in greeting, offering her an easy smile. Then he glances at Bucky who's eyes seem to harden and his smile drops again. Great, now his team captain thinks he's flirting with the only woman on the team.

Keep it up, Rogers. You'll be kicked out within the week.

"We have roughly two weeks to prepare for this retrieval. And now, thanks to Fury, we also have to bring Spangles into the loop." Bucky announces, matter-of-factly. Steve winces at the nickname he can already see as a permanent moniker in the very near future.

"Let's get to work."

This is for @thebrooklynnway as per my last post about Marvel villains being absolutely enamoured with "the pretty blonde himbo with big tits and a nice ass."

Also, I feel like I should write a fic about this.

[baberoe-archive]

hiiiii everyone im going to make you look at art <3 okay <3

first up we got two photos from august sander's people of the twentieth century, a decades long project he never finished aimed at identifying and organizing the "types" of people in early twentieth century germany. in photos for this project he usually identified people along socio-economic and geographic lines. on the left we have officer, world war i, cologne (1914) and on the right we have boxers, cologne (1928). museum had a bunch of sander on display and they paired it with the shortcut to the systematic life: superficial life (2002) by tsui kuang-yu, which is outside the scope of this post but super interesting so i encourage everyone to look it up lol

up next: the junkers officer (1934) by george grosz, another artist associated with neue sachlichkeit/new objectivity. im not well versed in german art but recently i have been so intrigued by leftist art of the weimar republic and it felt simply serendipitous. unfortunately by the time i saw this the museum was closing in 15 minutes so i had to rush out </3 SAD

this is air war (1944) by ralston crawford. first time i heard of this artist! during wwii he served as chief of the visual presentation unit of the weather division of the army air corps in washington dc and southeast asia.

negro soldier (1945) by robert smullyan sloan. sloan was drafted in 43 and illustrated army educational materials and posters for war bonds. the wall label says the title was given by the artist, which makes me think sloan didn't personally know this guy, which makes me very curious about the circumstances of its production. no name is given to the sitter, but he served in the european-african-middle eastern campaign in the army and was awarded a good conduct medal. sloan has a drawing at the met (station hospital [1943-44] ), but unfortunately i can't find much else about him online that might help contextualize this painting.

i think it pairs really well with this horace pippin from 1943 called mr. prejudice. pippin served in wwi with the harlem hellfighters, and the soldier at center might be a self portrait. he has a pretty good amount of paintings about the war actually -- i normally associate him with landscapes for some reason, though i think thats just because the pippin at my local art museum is a landscape lmao. his illustrated war journals are digitized at the archives of american art if you want to check it out!

up next are some pieces of interest that i want to share but about which i otherwise have little to say

L: untitled (military maneuvers at an abandoned mine) (1940-42) by harry gottlieb

R: italy goes to war (1941) by arthur dove

L: christ before pilate (1949) by david aronson. wall text wants us to note the soldier's helmet is german

R: the funeral (1949) by francisco dosamantes

ending with this delightful 1914 the wrestlers by henri gaudier-brzeska, whom the label quotes as saying, "i went to see the wrestlers -- God! i have seldom seen anything so lovely... they fought with amazing vivacity and spirit, turning in the air, falling back on their heads, and in a flash were up again on the other side, utterly incomprehensible." something about wrestling/boxing that make men gay as fuck. beautiful

[rontra]

i know yr abt the girlfailure teachers rn but do u perchance have any more thots on that rhea and edelgard comic from a bit ago where Edie said she needed a healer and woke up rhea??

are you ready for a long ass post? because this is a VERY! LONG! POST!

tl;dr yes i have a fair amount of thots, and theyre all serial-numbers-filed-off chop-and-screw-it final fantasy fourteen thots. i will recap that first, and then the AU itself (final warning for Long Post)

enjoy (or avert thine eyes. it's up to you)

oh, yeah! so that au (tagged "SETR" because they can't resist an unreadable acronym tag*) began with mostly just riffing on the Scholar job quests from final fantasy 14 before veering off in order to separate from "being in ff14" (<- i simply don't feel like keeping up with all that) (<- he's just now getting to stormblood). so it's pretty much a crossover where one half of the cross had its serial numbers filed off HAHA

so obviously people who are familiar with ff14 SCH lore have a head start on this one, but let's see…from the top, let's TL;DR the stuff from the game proper:

in ff14, Scholar is a type of healer you can play. lorewise, the original scholars belonged to an ancient civilization that fell centuries before the game begins, so their art is completely extinct and lost. but back in the day, their like, marine city-state nation was at Big Magic War with a couple others (bigger nations with stronger/more plentiful mages). their smaller nation's sorcerers, too precious and few in number to risk putting on the front lines, took up dual duty to serve as both healers and tacticians/commanders. to that end, they learned to form pacts with faeries; relying on these familiars to act as their co-healers, the casters were able to give more of their focus to Studying The Art Of War (and were given the new title of Scholar for their big brain tactical caster schemes)

however, this nation and their brilliant military tacticians were wiped out by calamities (the Big Mage War they were involved in ended in huge colossal devastating floods and stuff) and their arts lay forgotten……until centuries later as [PLAYER CHARACTER] gets involved…. because of course you do <3 that's not really important though

what IS important is that at the tail end of this civilization's existence, they also had to juggle a Fucked Up Arcane Plague that one of their enemies strategically infected them with. the plague ("green death", or simply the "sickness from the sea") transformed the people into monsters and more or less demolished the standing army. the mutant plague was contained by quarantining the infected behind magical wards, but attempts to find an actual cure were unsuccessful. tormented by their prolonged isolation and the outside world's rejection of them, the plague's victims gradually became consumed with resentment, eventually depriving them of all reason. after the calamitous floods, the sealed temple--protected by its warding spells--has remained intact, but lays submerged. its transformed population has been trapped inside, alive, for centuries. yikes!

(gameplay wise, what this means is basically you have a fairy pet from the bygone era who automatically casts a basic healing spell called Embrace whenever you or anyone in your party is missing HP (<- in easy content she can sometimes do your job by herself which is very funny) and also, there's a dungeon full of monsters you feel kinda bad about killing)

the main important materials here for us are the "ancient civilization" aspect, the familiar/caster bond, and the simultaneous war/plague problem . <- list of ingredients to add some 3H sauce on

(

*here's the connecting tissue that got us from A (ffxiv) to B (fe3h)

my funny NPC retainer in the game is an au'ra woman named au'rhea (here is a pic of her). she does my banking and sells wares for me. beautiful dragon woman

while dicking around with glamourer i accidentally disguised my character as au'rhea. it was rly funny to see her running around doing stuff for once (because retainer NPCs normally Just Stand There)

i (scholar main) started glamouring my fairy to look like au'rhea so i could drag her with me on adventures (she does not get paid for this extra work)

scholar fairies can't be glamoured in this way so i had to use the ingame petglamour function to change mine into a carbuncle first. i chose topaz carbuncle because yellow is cool

somehow in the intersection between everything that's going on with my game at this point, the log window begins referring to this entity as "Topaz Au'rhea"

the groupchat starts making jokes about topaz au'rhea and scholar edelgard (apropos basically nothing). because it would be funny for rhea to run around getting super busy and stressed about keeping edie's health up while edie is aggroing every enemy on the map or whatever. you get it

Scholar Edelgard + Topaz Rhea. "SETR". incomprehensible? absolutely

)

----

so with all of that context out of the way,

this story is not set in the normal fodlan setting, so it's unclear what everyone's up to / what the current societal climate (and international relationships) of each country is (<- this would probably be ironed out if the AU was more fleshed out than it is)

adrestia and hresvelg's shared history is also a bit different, namely due to incredibly heavy losses suffered during the war of heroes. after barely surviving the war with a devastating pyrrhic victory, the newborn adrestian empire was probably uh not powerful enough to rise up and control all of fódlan lmao

without the support of either seiros OR any big Ws to pick them back up, they're probably still a smaller country (and . maybe not really an "empire" since…idk if they have the means to take and control several territories unless they 1) made a Huge Recovery since then and 2) nobody else on the continent minded that sudden expansion enough to corral them back into their pen HSBHFDF)

^im spitballing here, obviously this would also get ironed out more thoughtfully if i did more work. but that's kind of the vibe it has atm. like idk how big they would be without any strong Ws, without seiros, and without the church

it would also be an AU where there is no empire-church war to fuss around with (due to the absence of. well. the church of seiros--at least in its canon form) and rhea is not a figure in anyone's lives at all, so edie's list of priorities is much different

however because she is still an edelgard and it's important to her swag, her predicted life span is incredibly short due to an Evil Blood Curse(TM) woven in her childhood by the ancient enemies of her family (the nefarious slitherers…)

her condition is unheard of and utterly arcane to adrestia's mages and healers, and attempts to reverse its effects have been futile

after finishing up whatever other shit she had going on in this AU (<-???) (again, would be fleshed out if i had more than 1 post in the SETR tag lol), with no big wars or anything on her docket, she's already free to pursue leads on how to remedy her situation and possibly brighten her prognosis

in a handful of surviving archives private to the hresvelg family, wilhelm I wrote about the old pre-"adrestia" hresvelg territory, the war of heroes, and the allies that shored up the first army's faltering strength

he also made notes about their enemy's tactics, which included sending Curséd Plagues Most Foul, a tactic that all but demolished the pre-adrestian forces

it's not much but it's the best lead anyone's got at this point

wilhelm occasionally referenced his contemporaries' progress in combating these arcane plagues

this and the war combined take up more than 100% of their resources. they are working at a noticeable deficit, war is going rapidly downhill, and wilhelm's notes become more fragmented as the situation becomes increasingly unsustainable and dire

around this time, he also writes about mages forming pacts with "[word untranslatable to modern fódlan languages]" (but edie uses context clues to figure out it's some kind of magic familiar or something) to aid them, primarily in healing

while much of his text is either obliquely phrased or just straight up faded by time, he does pass down a swaggy amulet to his descendants, which is now in edie's possession (the "crest of seiros", if you can believe it)

edie starts investigating, referencing the texts for Important Places To Search For More Clues. starting with a place wilhelm wrote about very often: the last standing stronghold of the first hresvelg army and their allies

the red canyon.

the ruins there are thousands of years old and entirely forgotten by time. but one stubborn emperor (or whatever her title would be) is determined to search every inch of Old Fódlan for Curse Clues

deep in the lost ruins of zanado is a warded sanctum, still protected by an ancient spell. according to wilhelm the first, this was the very last and most hidden warded zone in the red canyon, erected in absolute secrecy just before their forces left the canyon for the final battle at the tailtean plains

the warded zone was left behind to protect the victims of the plague and keep the curse quarantined while the few remaining mages continued working on a remedy

despite the ward still being active, it has grown quite weak and allows edelgard to pass through (likely due to her blood connection to big wilhelm)

exploring deep into the warded zone, she finds it pristinely safe but utterly untouched for god knows how long. eerily quiet, preserved in time but abandoned by it…

at the heart of the warding spell is its caster, who edelgard initially mistakes for a human mage but quickly realized is the "familiar" wilhelm wrote about. she is Not in fact a funny heehoo imp of some kind, but in fact, a tall as fuck , Whole Ass Woman

(the untranslatable word in wilhelm's writing on the topic was obviously nabatean, a proper noun, the long-forgotten name of a people who once lived alongside humanity but were wiped out)

(the nabateans, few in number but possessing astonishing magicks, invited the battered army to take shelter in what remained of the nabateans' home in zanado. wanting to help beat the agarthans back, they offered to join their own power with humans in "pacts"--special contracts between a human mage and a nabatean caster that was beneficial for both partners and allowed them to work in great synergy)

(the pact magic, innovated by the nabateans, greatly enhances the human mage's capabilities, and imparts a certain degree of mutual mind-to-mind awareness of their partner, which the two can use to strategically coordinate their movements. although very few were left alive at this stage of the war, the nabateans were extremely powerful and could flex into any role on the battlefield--but they were also greatly prized in the sick bays and quarantine zones for their potent healing magic)

(the tactical advantage of pairing a war mage and a nabatean caster is credited by wilhelm as the key to many victories that would otherwise have been crushing defeats. also, the remaining nabateans had a vested interest in allying up to beat the agarthans down, as this was their ancient enemy who recently laid waste to the red canyon and decimated most of their population--and was about to conquer humanity as dessert)

wilhelm, the leader of the hresvelg army, formed a pact with the leader of the nabateans . the two of them combined were a force to be reckoned with (excelling in both tactics and raw force, but also defensive maneuvers), but due to how thinly stretched their manpower and resources were, the two commanders were forced to part ways at the very end. one commander was to depart with their army and finish the war, and the other was entrusted with staying back to defend zanado and keep their most vulnerable people safe

for thousands of years, rhea has been casting the same spell, maintaining the final barrier around the sanctum. the plan was for wilhelm and his (hopefully victorious) army to return here, but that uh, did not happen, due to him and his forces being annihilated in the massive effort it took to bring the war to an end

and it did end. only barely. wilhelm's descendants and whoever was left of their supporters founded adrestia proper and continued the hresvelg line into the future, but big wilhelm was absolutely dead and never came back and neither did anyone else sorry

anyway.

edelgard knows that this woman is one of the healers who were working directly on the Curse Problems back in ancient times, and is hoping she will know a solution to the "wretched curse is killing me" problem

the crest of seiros edie carries breaks the centuries-long casting trance and wakes rhea up

the first words out of her mouth are, in essence, WILHELM THANK FUCK YOU'RE BACK, DID WE DO IT? DID WE WIN?

(edelgard voice) erm about that

she basically has to explain to rhea that the last thing she remembers before beginning her Long Watch was, in fact, thousands of years ago, and that wilhelm and everybody else she knew is dead (on top of all the nabateans and allies rhea already knew were dead ofc). the world did manage to survive the war thanks to their efforts, but that's like, the one positive note in all this, lol

rhea understandably distraught and more than a little bit overwhelmed

also quite at a loss for what to do, being a magic guy from an era that in its entirety doesn't exist anymore (and hasn't existed for a very long time)

for all she or edie knows, she might be the very last of her kind (since all records are lost, wilhelm's notes obviously stop kind of abruptly, and no one's heard anything in the millennia since then)

obviously the amount of time that has passed means the people she was holding the ward for are also long gone. she's pretty devastated about that too as they're going through the sanctum and quarantined zone

edelgard trying to tactfully rummage around for clues for her own problem while the big lady spirals

i straight up feel like one of those plants that evolved for a type of bee that doesn't exist anymore

however rhea sadly must return the favor when edelgard is like. so you guys had this curse problem. and you were a very prominent commander/healer at the time. it so happens that i have curse problem. what is the solution to curse problem. i need it badly

and rhea is forced to be like . well we very much did not solve curse problem in my time. sorry. i don't know it. i don't have the solution. we didn't find it in time before our whole shit collapsed

so it's really bad news all around

but because edelgard is wilhelm's blood descendant and has used the crest of seiros (which marks the pact between wilhelm('s blood) and the nabatean rhea), they are pact-partners now, Just Like Old Fódlan Used To Make

rhea can't crack Terminal Blood Curse right now, but she does have a lot of knowledge about it and its course/symptoms (and she can confirm edelgard's problem as being The Very Same Indeed)

she feels pretty strongly about finishing her work, and is suddenly edelgard's funny pact partner, and third of all has Nowhere Else To Go And Everything She Knew Is Gone--so she says she'll help lmao

edelgard is more or less used to not finding concrete answers to her curse problem at this point given the difficulty level of this investigation. so she p much just moves on to the next lead on her checklist. gotta keep it moving if she's gonna crack this thing in time

road trip!

rhea basically provides her with palliative care while they look for ways to break the curse. she does feel noticeably better with a more specialized healer (<- kind of an understatement) and it is buying her more time to work with which is good

strangers separated by millennia of history but slowly bonding!

maybe on the way they'll also root out the bitches who put the curse on her to begin with

if you are out there slithering in the dark. you better not be

finally,

edelgard is a big axe guy. she does not do healing magic. she is basically face-tanking everything and rhea is so busy casting heals and shields she barely has time to do any DPS of her own

im sure they run into other characters n stuff on their funny road trip too but that all is the basic concept

(rhea voice) i'll Embrace but christ alive

[mac-lilly]

Arranged marriage Juke AU

Let’s start the week with a juke au: An arranged marriage/enemies-to-reluctant-allies-to-friends-to-lovers au for juke. (Inspired by this whiny post.)

Won't be around for Juke Jeudi this week. So happy Lulie Lundi! (I blame @thedeathdeelers for that term.😛)

☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆

Setting: ~18th century

The two kingdoms of Los Feliz and Hollywood have been at war for decades, and recently, Queen Rose's life fell victim to the armed conflict.

To end the war, King Caleb makes a shady proposition: A marriage should tie a bond between the kingdoms.

King Ray strictly opposes the idea, of course. But to his utter horror, his daughter, Princess Julie, accepts. After her mother's death, she's become a ghost of her former self. Since her mother's death, she's barely smiled and has banned music from her life. If this deal spares the lives of the innocent, she's happy to sacrifice herself by marrying the Prince of the enemy kingdom.

But since Caleb does not have an heir, he picks one of his minions to fill the role. For whatever reason, he chooses his most rebellious soldier.

At the age of 15, Luke runs away from home to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. As King Caleb has a reputation for valuing and supporting music, he travels to the capital.

Surprise ... It's a trap to lure in young people.

Upon his arrival, he's immediately drafted into Caleb's army.

Over the next three years, he attempts to desert multiple times. But he gets caught every time. And when he gets summoned to the king after his latest failed attempt, Luke's convinced that this time his punishment will be much more severe.

It is ... kinda. Luke isn't thrilled to become a pawn in Caleb's plan but ultimately has no choice. Either he plays along and marries the Princess, or his friend Bobby will be hanged in his stead.

So, the wedding happens. And it's an awkward and strange wedding with the atmosphere of a funeral. Nobody is very happy to be there – except for Caleb, who is sickeningly cheerful for the entire ceremony.

Afterward, both kings announce a truce, and to celebrate the fragile peace, the newlywed "couple" gets to tour through both kingdoms.

Which is even more awkward than the wedding because Julie and Luke can't stand each other. Even after volunteering, Julie still despises Caleb and his actions and believes Luke must be as bad as his king. Plus, his constant guitar playing and singing irritate her because it stirs up painful memories. (After her mom's death, she's banned music from her life.)

Meanwhile, Luke's too worried about his friend to care much about a moody and (presumably) snobbish princess.

However, despite their mutual dislike for each other, in public, they delinquently play their roles.

Until they get attacked.

Soldiers set an inn they were staying at on fire. However, Julie and Luke manage to escape the death trap and flee.

They argue about whose country is to blame. (Although Luke already has a sinking feeling regarding the identity of the real mastermind. But keeps his mouth shut.)

The duo proposes a temporary truce as they try to figure out what to do next. After all, the assassins are probably still after them.

The usual road trip stuff happens from here on.

As they travel aimlessly around the country, they get to know each other and eventually build trust. Julie confesses that she hates hearing him play because she associates music with her mother's death, and it hurts. To her surprise, he respects her feelings and doesn't play when she's in earshot.

Luke, in return, tells her bits of his story – that he left home to become a musician but then accidentally joined the military. He omits the real reason why he agreed to the deal, though.

As time passes, their alliance slowly morphs into a friendship which then evolves into a much more complicated and deeper bond.

Julie's fascinated by his personality. His charisma and charm, his passion for music, his untamable energy -- it's highly infectious, and suddenly she finds her heart filled with so much life and joy again. His support gives her the strength to enjoy music and eventually sing again.

And Luke's awe-struck by her voice. And her beauty. And her intelligence. And her bravery. And her kindness.

In short, he is totally SMITTEN with her.

Especially after she helps him write down his songs since he never got much education and his reading and writing skills are rudimentary. 

And at least once, they pretend that Julie's pregnant to hitch a ride to the next village.

While they travel, they make plenty of new friends who tag along: A runaway lord, a wannabe trickster, a badass huntress, and an ex-soldier.

They escape death a few more times, btw.

And every time, they celebrate their success.

And it's during one of these celebratory gatherings (and maybe they are a bit tipsy when it happens) that Julie and Luke share their first (real) kiss under a starry night sky.

And then they never talk about it …

There's also some betrayal happening because Willie and Bobby need a plot too. (Willie is a spy; Bobby is brainwashed, and Carrie leads a group of female bandits.)

Anyway, they eventually come across a small fishing town, which happens to be Luke's hometown.

Julie visits his parents for him and later assures him that they are alright, although they do miss him and are worried. Luke promises to return and talk to them one day.

Then they learn that Caleb is using their disappearance to justify another attack on Julie's kingdom.

Julie's mad at Luke, believing he's been in the cahoots with Caleb all the time. So, Luke tells her the truth. He also tells her about his rising suspicion that this has been Caleb's plan from the beginning: Kill Luke and put the blame on Julie. Then execute her for murder to break her father's will.

At first, Julie's furious that he withheld the information from her. But she understands that his intentions were noble. They decide to return to Julie's castle.

There, they get separated, and a very, very angry Ray is about to sentence Luke to death for kidnapping his daughter until Julie intervenes.

They explain the story, and Ray apologizes.

He also announces that the marriage will be annulled once the war is over, which shocks Julie and Luke because they've never talked about their feelings.

They FINALLY confess their love

JUKE KISS

Ray is super-duper proud of his daughter.

The marriage won't be annulled.

In fact, there'll be another wedding because Caleb's presence totally ruined the first one.

MORE JUKE KISSES.

AND FOREHEAD TOUCHES.

AND NOSE RUBS. AND HUGS.

And then, they develop a plan to get rid of Caleb.

(More plot happens here that's not really Juke-relevant)

They defeat Caleb, the war ends, and they all live happily ever after. 

(And maybe they travel the lands after they exchange vows again, and maybe this time they do not have to pretend that Julie's pregnant to hitch a ride.)

The end.

[beyondthescorewithrafi]

The coexistence of sports and politics: the dynamics of soft power in 21st century sports. 

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sports we all love it, it’s a way to disconnect, forget about all your worries; win, lose you create a real bond with your specific team whether its football, formula 1 or even ping pong these sports make us feel alive; gives us a special feeling that only live sports can give you. What if I told you that sports you love are being used by governments and multi-billion-pound companies to shoehorn their own agendas and ideologies all for their economic benefit. Some may be surprised but this a concept that has been going on since the roman empire. The use of sports to enrich culture and shift public focus away from negative activities. Especially in the 21st century this has been a popular method in commanding power, Machiavelli once said in his book the prince ‘It’s better to be feared than loved’ but in this generation it’s better to be both. This way of commanding power without using the typical strategies of hard power such as military; is usually referred to as soft power.  

Soft power is a theory first discussed by Josef Nye in 1995. Soft power is the opposite to hard power as soft power is defined by the ‘ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.’ (Brannagan, 2018) Knowing this it is clear now why governments and big organisations target mega sport events as it gives ‘opportunities to increase their soft power.’ (Brannagan, 2018) So why would you want to gain soft power? Why is it more important than hard power? Military control in the 21st century is outdated and can cause much more uproar and headache; as seen in many conflicts for power around the globe. This is why soft power is equally or even more important way of commanding power and ‘the hosting of sports mega-events brings with it an unprecedented global media attention.’ (Brannagan, 2014) Which is what governments who want to increase their soft power are looking for; as seen with Qatar for the 2022 world cup but more on that later.  Although in the context of the 21st century soft power has always been prevalent since the dawn of time, and it is important to see how soft power was used in different world context. 

(PUBLIC DOMAIN)

I want to take you back to soviet China. In alliance with the Soviet Union by the late 60s and early 70s chairman Mao could sense the soviet’s losing power and regarding their relationship as non-beneficial. Mao knew that a relationship with the United States would allow them acceptance into a new modern era; as innovation is a key component motivating China. Even president of the United States Richard Nixon in 1967 wrote ‘We simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations.’ (ANDREWS, 2018) And equally chairman Mao believed ‘ties with the Americans might serve as a deterrent against the Russians.’ (ANDREWS, 2018)

 Both China and America opened secret communications ‘but the real breakthrough came courtesy of a public encounter between a pair of ping-pong players.’ (ANDREWS, 2018) Surprising right? During the 1971 table tennis championship held in Nagoya, Japan. And the relationship between China and America started building and it all started with A fresh faced 19-year-old American ping pong player. Glenn Cowan hoped on a shuttle bus carrying loads of red shirt Chinese players. ‘Most of the Chinese eyed the shaggy-haired American with suspicion’ (ANDREWS, 2018) as most of China’s population was taught to hold a prejudice towards the Americans. ‘But Zhuang Zedong, the team’s greatest player, stepped forward to shake Cowan’s hand’. (ANDREWS, 2018) Zedong spoke to Cowan for a while through an interpreter later even presenting the American with a gift: ‘a silk-screen picture of China’s Huangshan mountains.’ (ANDREWS, 2018)  Cowan a ‘self-described hippie’ returned the gesture gifting Zedong a t-shirt ‘emblazoned with a peace symbol and the Beatles’ lyric “Let It Be.” 

(GETTY IMAGES / CHINAFOTOPRESS)

Although at the start of the tournament the Chinese players were told explicitly to not contact any American players but after gaining knowledge on this encounter between cowan and Zedong president Mao saw this as a political opportunity. Stating ‘Zhuang Zedong is not just a good table tennis player, he’s a good diplomat as well.’ (ANDREWS, 2018) The famous trip began on April 10th 1971, with an American team full of diversity ‘including everyone from the hippie Glenn Cowan to a college professor to a Guyanese immigrant to a pair of high school-age girls.’ (ANDREWS, 2018) This team wasn’t inherently ‘good’ they were ranked 24th in the world and had to beg for loans and funding to even make it to the table tennis world championships but without a doubt this team inadvertently became the most important American diplomats in history. 

Through this case study soft power is not just a concept being adapted by 21st century, example like this remind us that sports and politics have always co-existed. China was one of the first to manipulate sports in such a way that it would benefit them politically and economically resulting in politicization of sports which in the present-day other nations and companies are using this as their fore front of gaining soft power. This is evident through Qatar who hosted the 2022 world cup. 

(GETTY IMAGES)

The Qatar world cup was surrounded by controversy from the moment it was announced. From the 2015 FIFA scandal where it was discovered former president Seb Blatter had taken bribes and ‘donations’ from both Russia who hosted in 2018 and Qatar who hosted in 2022. To other concerns around human rights, weather and infastructure. So already off the jump Qatari officials were hoping for a much better image of Qatar to be portrayed, so that’s why they looked towards sports. ‘Saudi Arabia sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal told BBC Sport recently that its unprecedented investment in sport - estimated at £5bn’ (Roan, 2023) he stated for such reasons such as: ‘boost tourism,’ ‘create jobs’ and ’provide sports federations with growth potential.’ (Roan, 2023)

But there’s more to meets the eye with the Qatar 2022 world cup. Qatar and the middle east in general have a poor reputation from a western perspective. Many people know it for its ‘woeful record on human right’ (Kyle Fruh, 2022) and as well as ‘women’s and LGBTQ rights.’ (Kyle Fruh, 2022) So how does a country and region make themselves more appealing to the west? By hosting the most coveted football tournament of all time the World Cup. ‘Global sport is one of the most effective mechanisms for promoting better understandings of Arab and Eastern cultures’ (Brannagan, 2018) for a person who may have prejudice towards Arab countries and culture it forces them to take part and acknowledge it. Due to the football being hosted;  it brings that middle ground inviting loads of different people around the world to tune and take part in the culture and traditions. Its fair to say that ‘Qatar, World Cup 2022 was as much a societal project as a sporting event’ (Næss, 2023) testing the waters to see what the people take in, all in the aim of gaining soft power.  Qatar have been on this relentless path to gain soft power due to ‘its military influence being very limited’ (Brannagan, 2018) when lacking hard power, you must gain some power in another way, and this was Qatar’s attempt of gaining soft power. 

(GETTY IMAGES)

Although Qatar took all the right steps in gaining soft power, we can argue that it backfired more than helping the countries reputation. Qatar’s main pursuit for soft power was to ‘strengthen its reputation and attractiveness across international society,’ (Brannagan, 2018) and although it showcased the middle eastern culture you can argue due to the mass media attention it did not strengthen their reputation positively it further damaged it. Especially in the media where sensationalism and negativity sells; as more and more time passed, we kept on uncovering negative and poor acts committed by Qatar. One we specifically highlight is the treatment of migrant workers. It was often described that the ‘working conditions of the labour force in the construction industry – often compared to a slave’ (Brannagan, 2014) which further supported the point that middle eastern countries are human rights violators. Ultimately yes, the Qatar world cup bought many eyes to the country, but it did not do successful job changing the reputation and view of middle eastern culture in the west.  With academic such as Næss, H.E stating ‘FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM as an example to demonstrate why history, relation and scale enrich the understanding of how states use major sporting events for soft power purposes.’ 21st century sports have taken loads from soft power, but it still has a far way to go to perfecting that pursuit, especially in the slippery slopes of the digital media age. 

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sportswashing is a term you have heard of before. The term has come to light in recent years especially during the build-up to the 2022 world cup. But what does it mean? ‘Sportswashing is a complex phenomenon, which is tightly related to many different phenomena, such as concept of soft power and other forms of “washing”, such as green- and pinkwashing’ sportswashing specifically ‘refers to a strategic effort by states, corporations, or other entities to leverage the positive associations and global appeal of sports to cleanse their tarnished reputations’. (Miettinen, 2024)  Yes, you can make the argument that the 2022 world cup was a sportswashing scandal but we want to take a specific look into another pollution infecting our sports and that is fossil fuel companies. 

Fossil fuel companies have been in attempt to clean their reputation since the dawn of the time this is often referred to as greenwashing. However, in recent times fossil fuel companies have adapted sports in to their strategy to clean their reputation. It is stated how companies have started to invest around £4bn "in an attempt to divert attention from their role in fuelling the climate crisis and harming human health”. (Roan, 2024)  It was found ‘that football had the most partnerships with the energy and petrochemical industry (58), followed by motorsports (39), rugby union (17), and golf (15).’ (Roan, 2024) These aren’t inherently small owned business either’ a lot of it ‘is coming from massive state-owned fossil fuel sponsors’. (Roan, 2024)  Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco ‘was the biggest fossil fuel sponsor of sport.’ (Roan, 2024)

In age where we a conscious about looking after our environment how does these big oil companies get away with openly destroying our planet? We can see money is the main component of this but also the sports. ‘When sports provide a useful function, they are usually ‘co- opted by politics’ (Murray, 2013) and this can be clearly seen with vast amount of investment these fossil fuels companies have poured into various sports in the attempt to clean their reputation. Inherently this strategy does work; as the average sports fan show no interest in where the money for their sport is coming from, they are simply there to indulge and enjoy their chosen sport. If their sport is still being invested in and funding is still available, they are happy and are highly unlikely to question the source of the funding. This could be explicitly shown by the recent take-over of Newcastle United where 93.8% of Newcastle United Supporters Trust members supported the club's takeover by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) as they saw the financial power and backing to be more important than the source of where the investment is coming from, and this can be easily relatable to ‘winning hearts and minds.

(GETTY IMAGES)

In the terms of soft power Fossil fuel companies have succeeded well in gaining it. the fact the biggest oil investment comes out of Saudi Arabia and has an estimated £4bn invested in the most successful and watched sports within west, shows how much leverage and soft power they have gained; all in the name of sports. They have single handily made deals in the west to boost their economical climate and built relationships with well-known companies; building relationships across the pond which puts them in a situation where they are controlling these western sports and using them for their benefit. Slowly building a monopoly of various football teams, Formula 1 teams and many more. 

In conclusion, soft power may be a political theory however we believe that sports have done well to adapt it to its specific context. With China using sports for diplomacy back in the 70s; this was the first case of how powerful sports really is in influencing international politics. Those ‘Chinese and American ping-pong players paved the way for the restoration of China’s seat on the United Nations Security Council’ (Murray, 2013) which during the Soviet Union would have never been though of but sports made it possible. That was the original blueprint, and we saw it be translated with many other 

(Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

mega sporting events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2018 world cup and the 2022 world cup. In the case of Qatar, we think that they were unsuccessful and unlucky in their pursuit of soft power as their reputation did not improve while hosting the world cup; you could pinpoint this on the social media and digital era. Finally, with the use of sports/green washing reflected by the large investment into sport industry by fossil fuel companies; has done well learning from soft power. Saudi oil companies have been successful in using sports to clean their reputation; still going on to make gigantic profits while laying down important international relations within the west. As they are massive stakeholders in major sports such as many football leagues across the world and in the major motorsport federation in the world; formula 1. Throughout the dawn of time governments have endorsed ‘international sporting competition as a testing ground for the nation or for a political ‘system.’ German Nazis, Italian Fascists, Soviet and Cuban Communists, Chinese Maoists, western capitalist democrats, Latin American juntas – all have played the game and believed in it.’ (Murray, 2013)

furthermore, you could argue that the sporting institution has learnt to much from soft power. Traditionally adopted by governments in a way to control their reputation however sporting federations such as FIFA, UEFA, the FIA have found the use of co-opting and manipulating soft power all in the name of making profit. Selling mega sport events to the highest bidders, no matter how unethical and how strange it could be. For example, the world cup is a summer tournament and has always been hosted during the summer months since its creation. However, it was decided that it should be changed to be played in the winter due to the harsh summers in Qatar making it unbearable for players to even run around for even 5 minutes. This shows there was no actual thought about the traditions of the world cup and there was no thought about players or fans. Sports hugely benefits from nations pursuit for soft power as it’s a way to skyrocket their profits.

Bibliography

ANDREWS, E., 2018. How Ping‑Pong Diplomacy Thawed the Cold War. [Online]  Available at: https://www.history.com/news/ping-pong-diplomacy [Accessed 2024].

Brannagan, P. a. G. J., 2014. The FIFA World Cup 2022. Qatar’s soft power gamble.

Brannagan, P. a. G. R., 2018. Qatar, global sport and football’s 2022 World Cup finals. In Leveraging Mega-Event Legacies. Soft power and soft disempowerment: , pp. 89-105.

Kyle Fruh, A. A. a. J. W., 2022. Complicity and Corruption. Sportswashing: , pp. 101-118.

Miettinen, H., 2024. Sportswashing effects on nation brand. 

Murray, S., 2013. ports diplomacy in the modern diplomatic environment.. Moving beyond the ping-pong table, Volume 9, pp. 11-16.

Næss, H., 2023. A figurational approach to soft power and sport events. The case of the FIFA Worl. 

Roan, D., 2023. Why is Saudi Arabia spending so much on sport?. [Online]  Available at: https://www.bbc.com/sport/67713269

Roan, D., 2024. Fossil fuel firms 'spent £4bn on sportswashing' says report. [Online]  Available at: https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cvgxe2n05v3o

[oc-poll-tournament]

OC Poll Tournament Round 1 Poll 4

Propaganda below the cut:

Valerio Álvarez (he/him) @lieutenant-amuel: “Off-screen”: Valerio is a fandom OC. He lives somewhere in the 19th century in a fictional kingdom inspired by several Latin American countries. In my story where he’s one of the main characters he’s 35-42 years old.

About the character: Valerio is a history school teacher. The reason he’s decided to become a teacher is his wish to inspire other people, guide them, and help them fulfill their full potential. He’s kind, outgoing, warm, and very good at understanding other people’s emotions which makes him empathetic, open-minded, and compassionate. He’s extremely people-oriented and always makes sure to get to know everyone in every company he joins.

And why history? It was his favourite subject when he was a student and later on it became the main target of his study since history made him think and analyze a lot about the current regime of his kingdom.

As a young man, Valerio travelled a lot around the world, and one of the purposes of his adventures was not only seek out new experiences but also to discover and learn something new. He was curious and adventurous to the point of being a thrill-seeker (cliff jumping was one of his favourite activities). Despite being possibly the craziest among his friends Valerio had always been a shoulder they could rely on and a wise guide who could give them advice and comfort them when needed.

Besides he’s very responsible, has great strategical skills as he’s an amazing chess player and is also very good at planning. All of these qualities he’s kept to his current age.

At first glance he might seem way too perfect, right? Unless you learn about his past. It’s veiled in mystery, and to put it literally he wears gloves in order to cover his burn scars he’s got after surviving a fire.

Nobody in Valerio’s new surrounding knows that he was born in the military family. He’s a son of the reputable Royal Guard and always strived to do everything to make him proud even if he didn’t fit into the military environment and never thought being a guard was his true destiny.

He had a very strong bond with his mother and after her death he could finally realize how power-hungry and violent his father actually was.

He wanted to leave the guard but couldn’t due to his father’s high position and after graduating from the military school, he stayed there as a teacher, assisting his mentor who had a very big (and positive) impact on him when he was a student.

Eventually Valerio left the guard. But certainly not the way he wanted. He was driven away with shame. After becoming a fire victim he committed a crime the weight of guilt of which cannot release him from its grip even nowadays.

Valerio doesn’t want anyone to find out any details of his past, and whenever someone gets close enough to expose it, his dark side comes out. He tends to run away from his problems instead of dealing with them, he’s indecisive, aggressive, and prideful as he never listens to other people’s advice and thinks he knows better what do to. The fact he’s good at reading people helps him to inspire them but it also helps him to play with their feelings to direct them against themselves - he’s manipulative.

Anyway, to not make him sound like a redeemable monster, Valerio is also scared of being a burden which makes him keep his feelings to himself to the point of exhaustion because he doesn’t want to bother anyone with his problems and also because he’s deeply attached to people.

He had a close relationship with his late mother and late wife yet he never showed to anyone how much he grieved after their death. When he lost them, those periods of his life were the most directionless to him because he didn’t know what to do and who he was without them.

Will Valerio ever accept his past and stop running from it? Well, this is what his journey is about so he have yet to find out!

The main ideas I want to convey through his character:

A character with the dark past who tries to stay positive and kind to others.

A character stuck in his past but from a bit different perspective: he’s not captured by the thoughts about his past - he ignores his past and runs away from his fears which doesn’t allow him to accept it, move forward, and be himself.

A character who strives to help others yet is damaged himself.

I have a lot to say about him but I’ll stop here so I won’t reveal everything in one post. He’s my favourite among my OCs (and I have many), and as I developed him, he’s got to be very important to me on a personal level too so I’ll be very happy if anyone finds him interesting 🖤

Viper (she/her) @maple-writes: Loyal and devoted Viper is a member of a small band of mercenaries led by Winter, her definitely not girlfriend (neither have admitted it to the other) called the Aristata. Within the Aristata she is in charge of their horses, training, upkeep, and anything else that comes up, and she loves them all. Unable to speak around those she doesn’t know and trust, she can only manage a whisper with those she is able to talk to. She comes off as a stoic, strong silent type to those around her or in front of anyone watching her while she is actually very anxious around those she doesn’t know and prefers to have a friend she can lean on in social situations. Viper is observant, and smarter than she thinks she is but will swallow what she knows and any feelings of unease in favour of what Winter wants done and will protect her no matter what.

[lukedanger]

6, 9, 11, and 23 for the WOTR mechanics asks?

For Elaina:

6: What about their skills - what story is told by their skill and feat selection, or was it pure gameplay?

Between 14 INT, being human, and Fast Learner, Elaina had a full spread on Persuasion (her primary skill) and both Lore and Knowledge skills, with (Mythic) Skill Focus in Persuasion. She had a formal education in rhetoric, particularly as part of the Order of Heralds where she used it to challenge overzealous Inquisitors or to help get the minor orders working together. While not a full time scholar, she was extremely well read thanks to her upbringing and education at the abbey, which served to inform the rhetoric she used.

In terms of feats, Elaina going down Dazzling Display, Cornugon Smash, and Shatter Defenses was meant to build on her high CHA and Persuasion during combat. Story wise I see it as where she dips into the ‘Angel of Retribution’ branch of the Angel mythic path, putting the fear of Iomedae into those Abyssal bullies. The rest of her feat distribution I did not have a specific story behind, other than playing on her being in more of a supporting role such as Extend Spell to pair with the angel spellbook or Selective Channel later on to lean into Holy Champion maximizing CPE.

9: How does their Background choice reflect their character, and how does it play into their build?

Healer was more or less why Elaina’s archetype was Hospitaller instead of the standard Paladin or Divine Scion. Build wise, it was also so that she could add her INT bonus to Lore skills rather than using her average WIS. This being bundled under ‘Oblate’ also gave me the idea of her being raised at an Iomedean abbey.

11: How does their mythic path synergize with their build?

Angel naturally synced up well with being a paladin, as it gave Elaina a wider pool of defensive spells to cast on the party (particularly once the communal wards unlock), and Sword of Heaven stacks with Weapon Bond. By the end game, between both Elaina may not be using fancy techniques but when her sword connects it hits hard.

Bolt/Storm of Justice was flashy, devastating (especially with a maximize rod), and also just super fun to use, but ultimately didn’t really sync up with the way she fights.

23: What units did they pick in the Military Council (Infantry, Archers, Cavalry, Spellcasters, Grand Tier), and why?

Infantry - Conscripts. The idea was that they reflected the pragmatic reality of Mendev and the Fifth Crusade’s situation: this is an existential war that has gone on for nearly a century, and the rest of Avistan is (mostly) using the Crusades as a dumping ground for undesirables. Mendev can’t afford to turn those recruits away, especially now that they’re on the offensive and need more bodies to cover more ground.

Mechanically, they also are just absurdly over-tuned: four times the HP of Champions and twice that of Spearmen, only one less AC than Shieldbearers, and only a third/half the infirmary space of those two. For infantry they give really good bang for your finance points without instantly filling your infirmary when something glares angrily at them.

Archers - Marksmen. While conscripts were needed for numbers, with ranged troops vetting quality would pay more dividends as using warbows requires strength and training. Peasants with self-bows or slings would just not do the necessary damage to hurt demons past dretches or babaus. Besides, anyone who wanted to be an archer but couldn’t could be funneled into the infantry afterwards. Rangers were also a viable option, but those specialists were needed for scouting, screening, and skirmishing rather than pitched engagements. Thus, Marksmen.

If Odan had suggested crossbowmen instead of slingers (which would have actually fit the argument he presents), those probably would have been picked on similar grounds to Conscripts. Crossbows compensate for all the issues of using a warbow without training, even if they still need some.

Cavalry - Paladins. It’s not an Iomedean campaign without these righteous warriors and their sheer survivability. Their job of course was to directly engage the nastiest demons and keep them off of the bulk troops, being uniquely equipped for both jobs between Smite Evil and Lay on Hands.

Spellcasters - War Priests. Mechanically, spellcasting tanks that can also heal much like paladins, drawing damage towards a unit that can take it. Story wise, the idea was that they would support the bulk infantry and help them through alive with divine magic.

Also, it felt like a natural evolution of recruiting Priests as “mercenary” units in the first half of the game.

Grand Tier - Dragonslayers. In this case, it was looking to ensure they had specialists who could bring down large demons that were being deployed increasingly often as they closed on Threshold, and to have them as instructors for training troops. The Knights of Ozem would fill many of these roles as well, but they both have their duties in Lastwall and by this point the demons’ undead forces like their ghouls have been eradicated.

[Link to Ask List]

[aldbooks]

A Strange Melody - Chapter 9

@sunshinebingo

Read on AO3

Azriel fidgeted in his seat as his brothers discussed the report that had been delivered that morning from Windhaven. He hadn’t really been needed for this meeting, he never was for such things. Cassian was the military expert for all that they had been training together for centuries. There was a reason Cassian was the General, Rhys the king and Azriel the lone spy. Still a part of his job involved the gathering of intelligence and if something was brewing in Illyria, he needed to be apprised of it.

He had been unable to keep his mind off of Gwyn all morning. Truthfully, he’d been unable to stop thinking about her since last night. Once he’d had time to process the change in his feelings for Mor, it was as though the last obstacle holding him back from Gwyn had disappeared. His need to be around her increased tenfold and he was finally able to put a name to the feeling that had been plaguing him since she’d first arrived. The thing his shadows had been quietly chanting since they first saw her.

Gwyn was his mate. 

He’d spent most of the night contemplating how to handle this. Had Rhys known? Was that why he’d bargained with her? He still did not know the particulars of that bargain. Had Gwyn sought him out or had Rhys found her? And why? Did Gwyn know? If she didn’t, should he tell her, or wait until he had courted her more so as not to scare her? It would already be a chore to tamp down his instincts enough to properly court her instead of claiming her as the bond wanted.

He needed his brothers’ advice.

Finally, Cassian and Rhys wrapped up their discussion, the feeling in the room becoming more relaxed as they moved away from the discussion of business. Azriel was about to open his mouth when his shadows suddenly became frantic. 

Noticing their erratic behavior, his brother’s turned toward him in concern. “What is it?” Rhys demanded.

“I-” Azriel’s panicked gaze met his brother’s. “Gwyn.” Without another word, he shot from his chair, barreling through the door and into the hall. He followed the insistent tug of his shadows as they led him down two flights of stairs towards the flight balcony- where his heart stopped at the sight that met him through the open doors.

Bright red hair whipped in the wind, a vibrant spot of color amongst the gray hues of the morning. He watched in stunned horror as she climbed atop the railing, dropping the cloak around her shoulders - his he realized - revealing her naked back to him as she lifted a foot, and stepped off into open air.

A scream tore out of him as he sprinted after her, his boots slipping on the slick stone of the balcony. He did not stop, even as his brothers shouted at him from behind, leaping off the balcony after her.

The water was shockingly cold for midsummer as he plunged through the surface. The fall should have hurt more from such a height but the storm had broken the waves enough that he fell through them with ease. As soon as he did, however, he realized that hitting the surface was not currently the greatest danger.

He was immediately disoriented as a the churning tide tossed him about like a ragdoll, his wings scrapping painfully against the jagged rocks near the shore and he desperately attempted to right himself, only to be tossed about some more. Pain streaked through his temple as his head smashed against the rocks, stunning him enough that he stopped trying to swim momentarily.

In that dazed moment as he stared into the yawning blue sea before him, his vision blackening at the edges, he caught sight of shimmeirng scales, and a flash of red. Gwyn’s wide eyed gaze appearing before him followed by- was that a tail? - before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

Energy and magic has rushed through Gwyn’s veins as she hit the water, her body transforming in an instant as the joy of returning to the sea filled her. She allowed herself to float for a moment, reorienting herself to no longer having legs before giving one last look at the palace, blurred through the rippling surface, and turning away towards home.

She hadn’t made it far at all before her vision was obscured by a cloud of ink. No- not ink, shadow. It whipped frantically around her head tugging on her hair to turn her attention back from the direction she’d come. Following some gut instinct, she looked back, nearly choking as she saw what had garnered their concern. 

Azriel was floating a few feet below the surface, blood streaming from the side of his head and his body terrifyingly still. Racing back towards him, she watched his eyes slide closed, an alarming amount of bubbles escaping his mouth as he fell unconscious just before she reached him. Hooking her arms beneath his, she heaved him towards the surface with a mighty slash of her tail. Coming above the waves, she fought to keep his head above water while she tugged him to shore as best as she could without the use of legs and shouted for help.

Her words were lost in the storm and she reached out mentally, praying Rhysand would hear her. Rhysand! Bargainer! Please! 

She had no stone to trade this time, but she’d grant any favor in return if the bargainer could save him.

A whirlwind of darkness appeared not far form her on the shore and Rhysand sprinted out onto the beach, hurrying to help her drag Azriel onto the sand. Another massive shape landed nearby and Gwyn looked over her shoulder to see Cassian staring at her with his jaw hanging open.

“What the hell?”

“Later, Cassian,” Rhysand snapped, the general jumping to assist him as they supported Azriel’s massive body between them.

“Help him, please,” Gwyn begged. “He hit his head, I don’t know if he swallowed any water, but he was bleeding-”

“Easy, little syren,” Rhysand soothed. She was too worried to bother correcting him but did not miss the way Cassian stiffened. “We’ll take care of him. You take care of yourself. It will be no safer for you in this storm if you’re spotted by sailors. Go. We’ll look after him, I promise.”

She watched helplessly as they hoisted Azriel between them before Rhysand’s darkness swallowed them up and they were gone. Rhysand’s voice still floated to her mind on a tendril of darkness left behind. Go. 

Heart pounding, she swallowed her fear for the man she had come to care so greatly for, and crawled back beneath the surface.