#like her character isn‘t THAT hard to get | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

somenamewithepineapple · 1 month ago

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✨Hiya ma dearest Jackie, hope ye’re daein weel!✨ Are you getting excited for your gift yet? It’s almost time! 👀

Thank you for your fresh set of answers, they’ve all been really helpful in finetuning your gift. I will neither confirm nor deny if you’ve gotten any of the (hypothetical)characters right.😈 Now, before I’m going back to finishing, polishing and wrapping your gift, I’m sneaking in one last big round of questions for you.

First off, some more Silrah related ones, because I’ve been absolutely loving getting to know your views on our favorite idiots❤️:

What are Saul’s and Farah’s strengths and weaknesses (besides each other, of course)?

Do you think they’d ever actually get married? Or would they be content without putting a ring on it?

What would each of their favorite Christmas/Yule/Solstice desserts be🍨?

Tell me a random hc of yours (that you haven’t told me yet)about our two blorbo’s!

What would these two gift one another when they’re still “enemies”? And what when they’re together? Which one would be the better gifter (or alternatively, who would suck the least at gift giving)?

And finally, tell me some more about yourself🧐:

What is your favorite fic you have written yourself? Alright I’ll be fair, give me your top 3! (Bonus if you want: why are they your favorites?)

Tell me about something that you have learned this past year?

Why is Last Christmas the greatest winter song of all (not saying it’s not, just genuinely curious about your reasoning)? Do you have any more favorites?

What is your favorite Christmas dessert? (Or just tell me all your favorite Christmas dishes😋)

That’s it!🎉 I hope you’ve been enjoying replying to all the (sometimes hard) questions I threw your way, and that you’re going to love your gift. Have a super-duper lovely time this Christmas, I hope you get to have plenty of delicious Glühwein and eat lots of yummy food!

Cheerio! See ye soon at yer gift reveal! 🎁💝

P.s. How do I know of Andrea? Weeeeeeeeeell…I’ll tell you another time!

Hellooooo my dearest anon and again I am sorry for the delayed answer (I was sick and the thought of thinking made my head hurt)

But i am super duper excited for my gift and I will be healthy enough to savor every word of it because I am sure it‘s going to be amazinggg (pretend I am putting a lot of emojis into this text but on this keyboard the emojis are one too many klicks away)

Oh how much I have missed your tough questions^^

Okay okay let‘s get to it before the pain killers kick in…

For both of them, their weakness is their past and how they both handle it in the worst way possible. Farah has a very tunnel-vision-ey way of absolutely not repeating the mistakes (hers, Rosalinds, everyone‘s mistakes basically) and being adamant on handling absolutely everything by herself (because she has to be the one to atone for her sins by taking on the mental load). Also communication, she doesn’t know her. Saul‘s weakness is being unable to properly handle his emotions (really, he should have gone to therapy because killing your bestie is not easy amirite) like giiiirl you don‘t have to put Andreas on a pedestal, people are allowed to be problematic and also you are Sky‘s Dad everyone but you knows that.

But Farah‘s strength is her leadership skills. She‘s a pretty good headteacher and generally a good mentor-figure and if she‘d allow herself to show emotions because the students already respect her, they also need to see her as human. Sorry my brain isn‘t braining, does that make sense? I also like to think that Farah‘s strength is the quick strategic thinking while Saul‘s strength is the quick strategic acting. Also, his ability to close doors behind Farah is mesmerizing. (Also the tight shirts and the distressed face lol) does all of this make sense? Probably not

I don‘t think they‘d need to get married. For them, being partners forever is more than a signature and a fancy name (also none of them could be bothered to do the necessary paperwork because they already have each other right?)

Saul‘s dessert would probably be something heavy with chocolate and lots of spices. And Farah would certainly love some form of fancy cookies (also with fancy spices) that go well with tea.

My headcanon about them is that Farah is two or three years or so older than Saul and back in their school days Farah hadn‘t found a partner yet because while the Specialists in her year were fine they didn‘t klick and she couldn‘t use her full potential. So when she was partnered with Saul for fun basically (because no one really thought she would work with a first year) that was the first time a Specailist actually got her right. That‘s how it all started.

Babe you are asking the worst gift giver in the world I have noooo idea! But both would be good gift givers with Saul being the most chill about giving gifts because he has a hand for finding he perfect things while Farah would stress out about finding something worthy. So Saul would be the greatest gift giver of all time. He‘d get an amazing gift even when they‘re enemies just to show off his perfection.

Now to the questions about myself:

Hmmmmm my favourite fic….. that‘s hard!!! Probably Alliance (bc enemies to lovers also this is a huge fic so i have to love my biggest baby the most), The Proposal (again enemies to lovers, also i can write down every bad joke my brain comes up with so this is actually amazing), A Night to Remember (my 8k procrastination work, gotta love that)

Have I learned something this past year? Definitely not how to fight against my FOMO because that is still strong whoops… but I now know I can do a two week bike trip (which I have never done before) and I want to live and work abroad for a few years at some point of my life

Last Christmas is the greatest song because for me it is winter and Christmas. There is just something about the melody and the lyrics and the singing and the memories that makes me think of a (Christmas) Winter Wonderland. I also love Do They Know It‘s Christmas because I like the melody and You Make It Feel Like Christmas. I love the cheery Christmas songs

I love all forms of Christmas Cookies they are my favourites!! And we always have some form of meat (or whatever vegan alternative) and red cabbage and Knödel for Christmas and that‘s always amazingggg

Okay that was my super long answer I hope I‘m not too late with that!

See youuuuuuu can‘t wait^^

#ftwsholidayexchange #ask thingy

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the-green-april · 5 years ago

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...might fuck around and do an Endorssi meta post this weekend just because the wikia article on her personality is so aggressively terrible

#she deserves so much better #like her character isn‘t THAT hard to get #you can just tell that entry was written by a man who probably thinks gigguk on youtube is the height of anime humour #thirdthoughts

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static-fanatic-1 · 3 years ago

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Hello fanatic, how about HC hxh machi, Killua, kurapika “accidentally” slapping their darling out of anger and how they reacted and what they did would do afterwards? Kudos👍🏽

Machi “Accidentally” Hits Darling:

This is must have been a really, REALLY, bad day for Machi. Like seriously, she is one of the best when it comes to keeping her cool and not letting things get to her head. Somehow the stars alined and she smacked you harshly across your face.

You must have been fighting against her in some way to help loose her cool, as well as maybe some trouble or money loss earlier that the day. But damn, something in her snapped, and the product was a clean slap to the face. You could feel the sting for hours after.

Machi shows her regret of course, she really hates hurting you, but at the same time it’s really hard for her to apologize. She isn’t one to vocalize her feelings, so the little touches she usually does turned into bigger hugs and kisses after the “accident”. Machi becomes more touchy in hopes you’ll forgive her.

Killua “Accidentally” Hits Darling:

Killua is strange, on one hand it would be difficult to push him far enough to hurt you, but on the other hand that doesn’t mean he isn‘t a ticking time bomb.

When he smacks you it is like thousands of pounds crush your jaw, you can still hear it creaking to this day. He immediately huffs and storms off though, before coming back a few minutes later to try and comfort you. Though you really don’t want his help right now.

He gets you any sweets you could ever desire, and he holds you so close and he caresses the wrap around your broken jaw. Man, he‘s so sorry for what he did. Killua was just jealous, or passed, or some other stupid emotion that caused him to hurt you.

It wont happen again, he says, but can you really trust him?

Kurapika “Accidentlly” Hits Darling:

Kurapika probably hit you intentionally more than any of the other characters on this list, simply because you didn’t do what he wanted you to. To some capacity it was between you endangering yourself or one of you little ones, or you tried to escape him and he wasn’t in a good mood.

If hitting you keeps you in line, keeps you safe, it is worth the little bits of hate.

Despite that belief, Kurapika still wants to be loved by you. So as he wraps up the wound if it is really swollen or if he broke skin, he will tell you how sorry he is but how nessecary it was to keep you safe.

Manipulation and gaslighting is really what makes him terrifying. He will figure out a way to justify hitting you, that it was our fault to begin with. If you believe it or not is not important, but getting the point across that you are safe and sound locked away from the world forever is.

#Yandere #yandere killua #Yandere Killua x reader #Yandere Killua Zoldyck #Yandere hxh #yandere Hunter x hunter #Yandere Machi #Yandere Machi x reader #Yandere anime #Yandere Kurapika #Yandere Kurapika x reader #Yandere x reader #Hxh x reader #Yandere hxh x reader

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emblemxeno · 2 years ago

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Not surprised about Dorothea. In the last time many people start hating her. People on tumblr seem to hate her way more than on pther sites. It‘s a bit funny since she was quite popular at first but now she isn‘t anymore. Edelgard and Bernadetta were already hated but Dorothea will surpass them in terms of being hated

Yeah it's just... I don't wanna come off as a petty fuck here, but Dorothea is whiny. Straight up. She whines and yells at people who did nothing to her, blames others for her problems, doom mongers her own future constantly, etc. And she laments constantly about having to fight former friends, when she had full control to NOT JOIN THE FUCKING WAR. It's especially egregious on CF because she's on the side that started the bloodshed yet still has the audacity to complain about it, when it's been established that she didn't have to follow Byleth and Edelgard. It's annoying, and it became harder and harder to sympathize with her over the years.

Further on, I can't bring myself to feel bad for a character who's an established famous and successful opera singer who complains about not having a future. Girl, you're the one who's possibly cut her own future short by banking on finding a spouse this early instead of continuing what you do best! And I can't even take her being doom and gloom about why she feels that way seriously, because the writing wants me to look at it from an angle of "women have it hard later in life", hence why she specifically mentions that in her support with Byleth (about how women have it harder about age anxiety and future prospects); but the game doesn't care about misogynistic shit anywhere else! When Edelgard is canonically woobified in-game because of THE CRESTS, when Hanneman's sister's awful life gets attributed to THE CRESTS, when the numerous female characters lament about being objectified in order to have financial security or more ties among the elites because of THE CRESTS, when Sylvain's overt misogyny gets justified because of THE CRESTS, now all of a sudden the game wants me to believe that Dorothea's misogyny laden characterization is genuine? Yeah, fuck that.

And that's before going into how she constantly criticizes nobles for being shallow and judgemental when Dorothea is THE MOST SHALLOW AND JUDGEMENTAL PERSON IN THE CAST. She blames the "church's noble regime" for her troubles, she blames Ferdie for her perception on nobles, she calls Felix out on thinking he knows what's what about her, she blasts Lorenz for having his own standards, etc. She takes no responsibility for how she treats others, and what's worse is that the writing is on her side; she's written as in the right in numerous supports where her whining to others is seen as a revelation instead of as the misdirected anger that it really is. Maybe localization and voice direction had a hand in this, too, considering how much she sounds like a "confident Girlboss, smash the patriarchy and capitalism while also being vulnerable and insecure but also being correct about everything" caricature that you'd find on modern day Twitter, but I don't know for sure.

#queue #fire emblem discourse #character hate

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so-many-fandoms-here · 2 years ago

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Sfw-Alphabet

(English isn’t my first language so feel free to correct any mistake you notice.)

• Characters: Hikari Kuina, fem!Reader

• Genre: fluff, angst

• Warnings: mentions of death

༺♡༻ ༺♡༻ ༺♡༻

Affection: (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

In private more than in public of course but she will definitely grab your hand at any given opportunity and make you a lot of compliments.

Sometimes you catch her with her cigarette between her lips just staring at you, eyes filled with love.

Beauty: (What do they find especially attractive about you)

Your beautiful smile? The way your eyes light up when you’re happy? How your body looks in your swimsuit? She can’t decide what’s the most attractive in her eyes when everything about you is just so wonderful.

Comfort: (How do they comfort you? How do you comfort them)

She would hug you and try to talk you trough your feelings.

If she needs comfort hugging her too will work the best. She feels safe in your arms.

Dreams: (How do they imagine their future with you)

Leaving Borderlands together and living as normal as possible as a couple. She want’s to introduce you to her mother.

Ending: (How would they break up with you)

It’s rather hard for her even if she is the one that wants to end it. She would talk to you in a calm moment and tries to be as nice about it as possible.

Fight: (How are they during an argument)

She tries to stay calm but can’t hide the fact that fighting with you makes her sad.

(I couldn’t even be mad at her :c)

Gentle: (How gentle are they? physically and emotionally)

Kuina is as gentle as possible. The last thing she wants is to hurt you in any way.

Hugs: (Do they like hugs?What are their hugs like?)

She loves your hugs and you love her hugs. <3

I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Probably a little bit afraid of this sentence. Boederland isn‘t the best place to be in love with somebody but she swore to herself as soon you two get out of there she will tell you every single day.

Jealousy: (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

She usually won’t get jealous because she notices the difference between the looks you’re giving her and the looks everybody else gets as good as other people.

Sometimes tho, mostly when she has dysphoria, she starts to compare herself to other girls and is scared you might not find her feminine enough or don’t see her as a „real woman“.

Kisses: (Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

She loves to kiss you on the lips and same goes for where she likes to get kissed the most.

She gives the sweetest kisses ever <3

Little ones: (How are they around children? Do they want own children)

She loves kids and definitely want to give a kid the good life they deserve and couldn’t get in an orphanage. Also she would love to get a sperm donor and see you pregnant.

Marriage: (Do they want to marry?)

Definitely!

Nicknames: (How do they call you)

Baby, Honey, Dear, Love, the list has no end.

Open: (When would they start revealing things about themselves)

It would take a lot of time because she is afraid of how you could react. She would slowly open up, first getting to know how you stand to the topic transgender and as soon she knows you love her no matter what and you wouldn’t see her any less of a woman she’s ready to open up.

Patience: (How easily angered are they)

She almost never gets pissed off by you. Maybe because you wake her up in the morning but beside that I can’t think of any situation.

Quizzes: (How much would they remember about you)

Everything that is important in her eyes. (Very much)

Romantic: (Are they romantic)

At first she’s way too shy and doesn’t know how to act but after knowing you for a while she enjoys it when you’re being romantic and gets romantic herself too.

Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Inside of borderland it’s more likely that she protects you because she knows martial arts.

But outside of borderlands you’re ready to fight everyone that misgenders her or tries to bully her.

Try: (How much effort would they put into dates, gifts, etc)

She puts her whole heart in it. She just wants to make you happy.

Ugly: (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Comparing herself with others.

Vanity: (How concerned are they with their looks?)

She is quite concerned about her looks because she’s always so afraid she somehow looks like a man or manly

Whole: (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

If you’d die: yes

If not she still would miss you if you’re gone for a while but I wouldn’t say she feels incomplete. After all she knows that you’re alive

Xtra: (A random headcanon for them)

Loves to sing with you no matter if it sounds good or not

Yuck: (What are some things they wouldn’t like)

Transphobic behavior (obviously!!)

Not answering her texts. She would be worried about you.

Zzz… (Some of their sleeping habits)

Always has her hands under her pillow.

#fanfiction #alice in borderland #aib #hikari kuina #kuina hikari #kuina #alice in borderland kuina #kuina x reader #hikari kuina x reader #kuina x y/n #kuina alice in borderland #alice in borderland x reader #aib x reader #alice in borderland x y/n #aib x y/n #x reader #fluff #angst

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just-a-sleepy-idiot · 4 years ago

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The walking dead preference: Sensitive Reader

Rn I‘m watching the governor episodes so this only includes characters I know so far. My favorite characters here so far, you can’t request for other characters

Daryl

First you might think that you annoy him since he‘s more the rough looking kind of guy, and it’s pretty hard to read his stern face too. But truth is, he‘s secretly looking out for you ever since he learned how sensitive you are. You only realised this though when he acted upon it for the first time- he had seen that something gruesome was about to happen and hurried to spin you around so you were facing his chest when it happened so you wouldn‘t see. He‘d hold onto your wrist and have a hand on your back, before slowly letting go and carefully eyeing you with that unreadable expression of his. He‘s the first to look out for you when something happens, quietly staying by your side and wordlessly offering his support.

Michonne

Like Daryl, she isn‘t the best when it comes to comforting words but she‘ll try her best wording that you can rely on her if anything happens. First she might be a little annoyed at you being sensitive, but the more she gets to know and like you she opens up to her own sensitivity through you. Because you remind her that she is allowed to feel sad as well, and that it‘s just human to react to all these gruesome things like you do. Will check in on your personal space first before starting to put her arm around you whenever you react sensitive to something, fixating you with her eyes and asking about how you‘re feeling. She‘s the best listener, attentively listening to you and nodding once in a while to let you know that you can tell her anything.

Glenn

Is more the kind of physical comforter, because if you feel bad he has the urge to do something about it even if that just means giving you a hug. He‘ll rub your arm or take your hand, leading you somewhere private so you don‘t feel embarrassed letting your emotions out. He doesn‘t care how many times he‘ll have to do this, he will be there for you every single time. After some time of hugging you he‘ll crack a joke or say something silly to make you smile again even if it means making a fool of himself, something he‘ll only do for you. Then he‘ll suggest you‘ll have dinner with the others, engaging everyone in a nice conversation that will lighten the overall mood and make you feel more comfortable.

Milton

He is a sensitive man himself, even though he tries not to show it since people already tend to underestimate him a lot. But he will relate to your feelings a lot and be able to spot even a subtle change in your mood quickly. Even though he isn‘t good arguing with others he‘ll demand even Merle to shut it if anyone is being insensitive towards you. You give him the courage to overcome his own anxiety at times, just to make sure you are ok. Whenever you are upset he‘ll make you a cup of tea and carefully ask if you wish to talk about it, assuring you that he will understand what you are going through. And he‘ll never, never make fun of you or say that you’re overreacting no matter what you talk about to him. He‘d be too shy to hug you, only if you initiate physical contact first he‘ll hold onto you and softly brush over your hair.

- - -

Please comment to show your support!

#daryl x reader #daryl dixon x reader #michonne x reader #the walking dead michonne #twd glenn #glenn rhee x reader #milton mamet #milton mamet x reader #the walking dead

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frobin · 3 years ago

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Okey serious question here. How much do you actually believe that Oda ships Frobin? Like do you think he actually have like doodles/sketchs of them in a pairing kind of way? like for the strong world film riding the motorbug? (Personally i would love it to be true but he has stated one piece isn't about romance in that way)

Hey there anon! Thank you so much for your question and I hope I can answer it seriously enough. Also once more sorry for the late response. I felt like a question like that needs some research and that is what I did these last few days.

So... I think I'll start with the tl;dr because that way people can read that and ignore the rest.

So, long answer short: I 100% believe that Oda has one or more sketchbooks with drawings of his characters that are absolutely self-indulgent. I am 98% sure that he has drawn Franky and Robin in a romantic way at least once (and supported the ship). I am 80% sure he still is shipping FRobin.

Little disclaimer: I actually have no idea if any of this is true. I pull everything in my arguments out of my own experiences and knowledge and since I'm not a 46 year old Japanese Mangaka my perspective might be WAY OFF.

argument - reason- example - conclusion... behind the cut (or in the google doc)

So, why do I think that Oda has a secret sketchbook?

Simple answer is that he is an artist. He is drawing a lot and no artist will publish everything. That can have multiple reasons like imposter syndrome or because the artist thinks it’s not good or interesting enough or they just forget. There are even more reasons I forget and every person has their own.

For Oda I can imagine two big reasons as to why he would keep secret sketchbooks.

First: He is a horndog. You can skip this part if you don’t want to read about it, to the second reason.

Anyway, we know thanks to answers in the SBS, the way he likes to draw big-breasted women and how some of his characters are classified as perverts that he can be considered one too.

Let me show you a few of a few lewd SBS questions he likes to answer in a funny way:

Chapter 228, Page 46

D: How are ya, Odacchi? I know how much you like getting butt-naked, so this must be a favourite season for you. <3

O: Yes, yes. I just LOVE getting completely naked. In the summertime, after I take a bath I just run STRAIGHT OUTSIDE!! And when the girls' softball team running on the sidewalk looks over at me, they say, "Yup, it's really summer now!!" ... AS IF!! I'D GET ARRESTED!!!

(x)

Chapter 433, Page 68

D: If Lady Robin can use her Hana Hana Powers to make any part of her body sprout somewhere else, does that mean she can do it with her ample bosom as well? "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Boy, I'd like to take a hit from that sometime... P.N. Ero Ero no Mi Devil Fruit User.

O: "Ichirin-zaki" (Single Sprout) "Nirin-zaki" (Double Sprout) "Nyurin-zaki" (Breast Sprout) Very clever!! NO IT'S NOT!! STOP THAT!! I'm sure she CAN do it though ♡

(x)

Chapter 798, Page 64

D: Oddachi, I'll give you a pornographic book, so please answer my question. Sanji won't allow anyone to waste food, but what will he do if a woman does so? P.N. Smoker's Cigar

O: I think he would grab the plate and eat it up. Now please give me the pornographic book.

(x)

Nowadays I’m sure there is a focus on those lewder questions compared to the beginning because that is what 13 year old boys laugh about and we all know that is Oda's main demographic (of course).

I think a very good picture of that is given by Tekking101 in his breakdown video of SBS Volume 100.

youtube

“Let’s get diving into these questions (...) now, this is a huge moment. I mean, not many Manga manage to reach 100 Volumes, Okay? Now I know Oda usually starts these off with questions relating to boobs and things that don’t really… you know, aren’t really relevant but you know, this is a big celebration so we’re gonna dive right into it. I bet the most important things that we need to know about the One Piece Story are right here in these pages, okay? I printed them out. That is how important this is. So let’s start off, shall we? Epic voice, Barry!

‘Mister Oda, there is a UFO over there with huge big-breasted beauties on it. That memorable 100 Volume of the SBS is about to begin.’

[pause] Yeah, like the first five of these are all related to boobs in some way. You know what Oda? Sticking true to your guns! Godspeed, Sir Oda. Godspeed.”

(end at around 2:30)

So, Oda is a man who likes beautiful women and who draws.

Coming to the conclusion that he will draw his own characters in suggestive poses, naked and even doing adult stuff is not hard.

Obviously he would not show these sketches just around. He would probably keep them in a secret sketchbook that he keeps at a safe location. Maybe his wife and some close friends know about it? Maybe it is his and only his little secret.

I don’t think it would be unlikely to learn about this years into the future, maybe the next generation of Anime Fans will hear about this.

And it would not be the first time that something like this happened.

Not that long ago the daughter of Osamu Tezuka - groundbreaking Mangaka, known for his works of “Astro Boy”, “Kimba the white lion” and many more - found his adult Furry art. Source; Japanese article;

It’s a fact that many Mangaka did indeed start their career with art of the more risque kind and/or as doujinshi artists.

So again, I have no doubt that Oda, a known pervert, has one or more secret sketchbooks with „the p0rnography“ in it. Is there only hot stuff in there? Not necessarily.

The second reason to keep a secret sketchbook would be to collect information in there, that could be considered canon but he is not willing to use it in the Manga. Maybe they are not important enough or will be used later.

What am I imagining here? Anything that could be considered too weird for the normal sketchbook but isn‘t too risque. Funny things that might still not be „appropriate.“

Like a sketch of the male Strawhat ding-dongs with the sizes beside it. All the lewd jokes the fans did about Luffy's stretching qualities? I’m sure Oda thought about them too and drew that in the past if he had the time and it made him laugh enough.

But also maybe there are scenes in there that never made it in the Manga. The Strawhats interacting with each other in their daily lives, ideas for colorspreads and maybe chapter-titles. Oda probably has noted/sketched down a lot of unofficial stuff somewhere.

Another example, even an artist like Oda himself would have needed to exercise drawing two people kissing. Why not use Characters he thinks that might work out together?

Why not Franky and Robin? I would imagine he sketched up a few panels of Franky and Robin having a romantic date, going shopping together in Dressrosa, having a conversation that we never got to see because it was too on the nose.

Which brings us to the second point of me being very sure that Oda had drawn FrankyXRobin at one point.

I’m sure in those sketchbooks there is at least one drawing of them doing anything couple-related together. Again it does not have to be downright nasty but it could be them holding hands, kissing or even just Robin leaning onto Franky while reading, like all those fanarts that exist out there.

It’s not hard to imagine. Even for other Characters I think that is possible

And there might even be proof for that idea. The sketch of the Strong World movie you also mentioned, anon. The one movie that can be considered canon is Strong World. It was basically written/directed by Oda. Shiki the antagonist had an appearance in the Manga.

This sketch is drawn by Oda. Robin is holding onto Franky.

Can it be read as romantic? Yes. Can it be read as Robin holding onto Franky because there is nothing else to hold onto? Also Yes. But couldn't she just have used her power to keep herself secured on the bike without holding onto Franky? WELL YES. Could Oda never have thought in these circles like I do right now? I hope he did not because I hate it and I don’t wish it upon him.

In the movie Robin is NOT holding onto Franky. Now the really interesting thing - that is neither proof pro nor anti FRobin - is that we can see the sketch provided by Oda as a “between the scenes”.

In the movie Strong World the old trio is collecting information at the Pirate assembly. The next time we see them they use the Batta GT-7000 to slowly approach the destroyed village, which had been ravaged by the animals, and start to look for their friends. No need to hold onto Franky and no need for Brook to lean back. They are looking around.

The sketch is clearly not the same scene as the one we see in the movie.

In conclusion the drawing is indeed a between the scenes drawing. And yes if there exists one, who is to say there aren’t more?

Talking about Animal-Bikes...

Is there any meaning about the fact that in the opening scene (that is part of the talked intro after the opening ‘We Go’ - a huge thanks to antiherofangirl, ccb0nnet, JFL_Estudios and Maems, over at twitter!) Franky and Robin build another grasshopper-based vehicle? Maybe not but I still feel like it’s quite a callback.

Where did the idea to put this in the beginning come from? a) an editor had the idea inspired by Strong World; b) maybe it’s another sketch that Oda provided.

Neither seems very far-fetched in my opinion.

So yes, I am very sure that Oda has drawn things that we would consider FRobin.

Now to the last point (the first being Oda having a secret sketchbook, the second me arguing that Oda might have drawn FRobin).

As I said in the beginning I’m very sure that at one point Oda did and kinda that he still does ship Franky and Robin. Because even though every Interaction of two characters can be depicted as romantic or platonic, Oda used ROMANTIC TROPES with Franky and Robin.

They have never kissed on screen but we had

finishing each other's sentences

coordinated clothes

one using the others lap as pillow

hand on cheek caressing

and we can’t forget that Robin had answered Franky's invitation to ride on another animal-themed bike with a heart.

Edit: I didn‘t say anything about „no romance in OP“ so ask again if you want me to talk a bit about that. Sorry!

Those are things an author of Oda's level would not write or draw without being aware about how teasing this is. He has to be aware that every single line he draws will be analyzed to the end of the universe and back. People earn money by saying their opinion and interpretations about the Manga on Youtube.

These interactions are not something outlandish like “There was once an Anime Scene in which Robin was wearing something blue and exactly 28 episodes later Franky was wearing something violet and then 39 episodes later they both stood beside each other for exactly 69 seconds.”

Whenever I think about these facts, things that are not about interpreting but are factual, black ink on white paper but also about the little things, about how Frank and Robin help each other to become better, how they support each other… I want to say YES! ODA IS 100% on board! While in reality I’m 80% sure and 20% of me is wondering if I’m not actually analyzing too much into it. If maybe he really is abandoning ship. Maybe I will become the person who will curse his name and throw my Mangas and fanfictions in an active volcano?

I don’t know and it’s impossible to say what is going to happen.

And with that I've concluded this answer, and it only took me around 2k words and four days.

#FRobin #One Piece #One Piece Meta #Odas secret sketchbook #One Piece analysis #Adult themes #Notreally Frobin #long post #2k words #ask #modpost #kon #boy this was something #sorry about any mistakes

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edendaphne · 4 years ago

Note

are- are the instagram accounts like? an ARG??? i was told by my friend theyre edits but people seem to be treating them as canon im so confused

Nope, they’re not roleplay accounts, they are literally run by Zag employees XD

Originally, a person named Erin was in charge and she worked really hard on the accounts. From what I understand, she had all the textures, models, and assets, etc. available at her disposal and I think she worked alongside animators who would pose and render the characters according to the storylines she’d had planned out. The “characters” replied to fans’ comments, and it was honestly one of the best things to come out of the show and the marketing team because it created a lot of excitement and hype, plus an insight into each of the characters’ daily lives.

Alas, all good things must come to an end; Erin had to leave that job and pursue other opportunities. She left a bunch of materials and storyboards, etc. for her replacement to use. But for some reason, whoever they hired isn‘t using any of those resources. I don’t know if they were instructed to discard all that, or if they chose to do that themselves. But anyway, now all we get are screencaps from the show and badly translated dialogue that come across as crappy RP accounts. I really wish they’d let the accounts die a dignified death instead of trying to revive them and ruin what was once an extremely fun and clever way to interact with fans.

#ML IG #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug instagram accounts #Anonymous #ask

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flowervolcano · 4 years ago

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It’s finally time I sat down and just wrote this whole thing so I can get it off my chest and maybe help flesh things out for the majority of the fanbase.

Black Widow Spoilers are upcoming, scroll past if ya don’t wanna be spoiled.

Let’s start with “Hello, I am a Tony Masters fan, I adore him and his personality and generally everything about him, of course I am going to be upset that his character suffered such poor writing and adaptation, because it was insulting and gut punching to see a character you love be poorly executed.“

continue reading please because I’m trying to be reasonable here and share what a majority felt when viewing Black Widow (it may differ from yours but I hope it enlightens a few who may be confused or whatnot about this topic, generally it’s how I feel the fanbase as a whole had been handling it poorly)

quick side note, no one wants to feel their opinion doesn‘t matter, so be mindful the next time you fight someone just because you disagree, I love debating and talking so you can come at me if you disagree, I like educating myself on these things too in case someone can bring up actual arguments that prove their side and reasoning, on the other hand if I hear one more “it’s because she’s a girl huh?” I might very well scream.

Is it bad because he turned out to be a woman? Why is this the first thing that gets debated??

Let me explain just how annoying it is that this is the debate whenever it cuts down to it.

The answer is yes and no, I will explain why, because I don’t believe the gender should always matter to a character.

Although everything great about Tony was stripped from him, all of it, only the title “Taskmaster“ and I guess the color scheme if you will, stayed the same, it would’ve been the same trash written character even if he wasn’t a girl, because they had no personality no resemblance of the beloved character in the first place, which is why it is a bad idea to have changed him into a woman, why you may ask?

it’s the image, it creates an idea that women cannot be as great as men, that a female version of Taskmaster would just suck, be terrible and useless, it paints Antonia to be bland plot device character to show Black Widow‘s pain and suffering. The character herself has no substantial personality or drive, nothing, she’s just a victim. And yeah it is a tragic story I won’t say it isn‘t but it didn‘t work for me, and for a lot of fans as I’ve witnessed.

It would’ve been more effective to had foreshadowed the possibility of her being alive only to find that she had died and Natasha would then have to live with the fact that she murdered her for ”nothing” but no instead we decided that she would survive, only she was brainwashed, so there’s no real vendetta or motive as to why she tried to kill Natasha, it would’ve been more impactful if Antonia was angry with her attempt to kill her, wanting to show she could best her in every well possible. Like trying to tarnish her Avenger status.

There were variables on how to make Taskmaster a better written character, there is potential but I personally would like the Mandarin effect (which I love the comic Mandarin I was so mad in IM3 so I can’t believe they did it x2)

On top of it the fact that the plot twist you could see coming a mile away also felt like the biggest after thought in the whole movie, it felt like they had a different direction they were originally going to go, but they took the easy bait of “we need a big twist” which Marvel has suffered for years on, always with some twist and it’s getting sickening to see it happen every movie.

Besides the point, it doesn’t go over well a lot of the fanbase is conflicted, angry and there are actual debates, which it happens we have differing opinions, its hard to find a thing we all agree on… and yet the only defense I’m seeing is “it’s because she’s a girl now?“ “you just hate women.” I’m tired of being told it’s sexism when it’s not, this version of Taskmaster was already doomed, they didn’t wanna go a comic accurate to begin with, you can tell by how ugly the suit was. (no cape?? not even the mask was cool)

I had already suspected from the beginning of the first trailer that was NOT Tony Masters, something about it just felt like Blindstrike from Stretch Armstrong to me (they kept making it seem like a dude only to reveal it was a woman, although they executed that perfectly please give it a watch)

I had already called it, we barely even met Taskmaster yet I knew it from the trailer, I didn’t enjoy the movie it played out exactly how I expected (which my expectations were low)

I found it insulting for a few reasons, it made it seem like Black Widow is either too good or not good enough to fight a man, it felt like they wanted to push how powerful women are, which I’m all for, women are very powerful I would know because I am one.

But it rubbed me the wrong way that she can’t have an enemy go toe to toe with her unless it’s a woman?? It didn’t sit right with me, is this meaning she can’t have a rival that’s a man because men or stronger or weaker… that’s where my head went, the gender shouldn’t matter to her ever, we know Natasha can take out anyone, so why the sudden change of a character whose always been a male?

I understand the MCU wants to be diverse, but there are more female characters than a lot of the fanbase realize, the MCU has barely scratched the surface, instead of changing other characters drastically in the name of “diversity” they should just pull actual diverse characters, or create some, this version of Taskmaster doesn’t feel anything like Tony Masters, they lacked all flair, the fact that it’s just Winter Soldier and Ghost from AMATW 2.0 is just lacking.

it’s something we have seen before, and this wasn’t needed to “full circle” Natasha‘s story.

It’s not because Taskmaster is a girl that is the problem it’s the general writing that felt like they didn’t really care about the character and changing it to be a girl was like leading a lamb to the slaughter, so many fans were going to be enraged because they ruined everything about the character, so you should be mad they put the actress in this position, they chose to do that to the character and it feels like it was done on purpose, just for the reaction.

The character was already bad making it a girl just made it worse because it just felt bad. It gave me the impression that a female version of Anthony Masters is just boring, that is not what we should think but so many are, and yes a lot of people are mad just because it’s a woman because they might get the idea that the character would’ve been better if he was written to be a male, but what we all really want is just a good adaption of the character, that’s all, he very well could’ve been a woman and everyone might’ve been alright (some might be iffy or mad you cannot avoid this) but I know with good writing I would’ve been fine if it was Toni Masters, not this Antonia Dreykov.

And that is what I really could not tolerate and handle with what they did to Taskmaster.

It didn’t feel like they had plans to flesh the character out they were just marking boxes on “what comic character can we use for Black Widow” checklist.

I freaking love Tony Masters and he (and she) deserved better writing all around than what the MCU gave them (and us)

There was more I was going to add on but in my frustration I began to forget where I was going with this and didn’t get to properly express my feelings.

Now next time you see someone complaining over Taskmaster don’t just assume they are sexist, there’s so much more depth to the character which is why we’re so angry over this iteration, and the fact that people defend the character just because it’s a girl doesn’t go well for me, that’s a poor excuse for people who had more pressing reasons why the character was a failure, not because they’re a woman but because it feels like we can’t dislike them because they’re a woman.

Imagine if your favorite suffered the poor writing just for a different characters development, it is a terrible feeling and having people tell you not to be upset or say you’re sexist for being upset is so invalidating.

Not to mention that the MCU continues to erase many traits and personalities of characters and on top of that, their sexualities (where is that diversity??) is already frustrating but it’s starting to feel like the writers don’t even value the characters they have.

#marvel mcu #mcu #black widow #bw #natasha romanoff #taskmaster #tony masters #tony #black widow spoilers #marvel rant #rant #I’m just really upset #Sad

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randomrants-and-rambles · 4 years ago

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Ramble: Kane Chronicles

So I’m a huge fan of the entire Riordan verse. I got into them really late in the game (like at age 25ish lol) and I devoured every single book. Kane Chronicles was hard to get into at first because I wasn’t familiar with the mythology so I wasn’t super excited when a god or monster was mentioned because I didn’t know anything about them. Regardless I ended up really loving the series. I think there’s something special about having the story told from siblings but because they didn’t really grow up together you still get very different perspectives from both of them to keep things interesting.

There is really only one issue I have with the series. I’ve seen lots of complaints from lots of people about the Kane Chronicles and I think the series gets way more hate then it deserves but there is one ‘problematic’ issue I tend to agree with. Sadie Kanes relationship with Walt. Now hear me out because I need to explain something else first.

I do not have any problems with her relationship with Anubis (it reminds people a lot of Leo and Calypso’s relationship). For some reason I view both of them as teenagers. Anubis said he’s seen as a child by the other gods and he appears as a teen, he’s a teen in god years (like dog years ya know). I could go into my thoughts on Calypso if anyone in interested, I’ll do a separate post on her and my thoughts on how she’s young. But in my mind I can see Anubis as a teen god.

Now Sadie is 13 and Walt is 17 I already hear all the cries of ‘4 years isn‘t that long’ BUT WOULD YOU TRUST A COLLEGE STUDENT DATING A MIDDLE SCHOOLER!? I wouldn‘t trust a college student going after a freshman in high school. We had a guy who graduated coming by the high school every day trying to chat up us high school students and we all thought he was weird and a loser because of it. I don’t think Walt is supposed to be weird or predatory, I know that wasn’t the intention but as a 28 year old I can look back and say that the years we as people experience the most rapid growth as people in between the ages of 15-19. The mind set of a 17 year old is massively different from that of a 13 year old. Even if Sadie had to ‘grow up quick’ it doesn’t matter, she still has the mind of a 13 year old. I just would see a lot of issues with this relationship if it were real. As it is I know it’s fictional but in my introduction I mentioned I care to much about fictional characters so ya’ll signed up for this! Lol.

I honestly try to read the series and just forget about what age they’re supposed to be just so I have some peace of mind.

#riordan universe #kane chronicles #sadie kane #percy jackson universe

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bottomcasbigbang · 5 years ago

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Here you can read all the stories of our second round and check out the artwork our participants have created! Thank you to everyone who was a part of this, be it as a writer, author, beta, reader, cheerleader or helping hand! Thank you so much everyone and we hope we’ll see you back for the next round! ♥

Without further ado, the BCBB 2019/2020 creations:

Wayward Sons by Substiel (Explicit, 29k)

Illustrated by bees0are0awesome

It's the year 1919 and the Wayward Sons are the most powerful criminal organization in the country. It's ruled by Dean Winchester who bares the Mark of Cain. A curse given to him when Mary Winchester made a deal with the Devil to save her dying son. Dean was always a cold blood killer who did everything for business, and he never let anyone into his heart. He didn't dare let himself get too close to someone. That was until the Roadhouse hired a new bartender.

Castiel always admired Dean from afar for helping the lower class have a voice. For some reason, the bartender knows how to get under Dean's skin. There was something different about him which led to the beginning of their newfound relationship. Two broken souls finding each other in the middle.

Archive Warning: Graphic Depiction of Violence

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

My Bloody Luck by TaymeeLove (Mature, 16k)

Illustrated by Kamicom

Castiel was a struggling actor who never had luck on his side in life or his relationships. He met with an accident and his life was never the same after. Will his luck in relationships turn around this time?

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Metanoia by adestielable (Explicit, 24k)

Illustrated by Noavice

Castiel’s existence has been nothing but pain, humiliation, and degradation. He’s an omega in a world where omegas are objects for an alpha’s enjoyment.

After a brutal assault on his nineteenth birthday, Castiel began entering into beastie fights—matches where instead of people going head to head, bio and mechanically engineered beasts fight to the death. And in Castiel’s months of fights, he’s not lost once.

It’s after one of these fights where Castiel meets Dean, his supposed true mate. Castiel hates alphas, and has vowed never to let one into his life because all alphas do is inflict pain. Yet…Dean is different. And Castiel finds he can’t help being drawn to him.

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Profound Kisses by BENKA79 (Explicit, 20k)

Illustrated by Gio (sketching-fox)

Dean knows he's screwed. He discovers he is in love with Castiel in Purgatory, and now he can't even have the angel in front of him, because he knows it's a one sided love. It’s Valentine's day and Dean tries very hard to hook up as always, but he can't get Cas out of his mind. So he drives back to the motel, drunk, and he finds Castiel trying to help him. Then, when Dean asks Castiel for some experimental kisses and the angel accepts, Dean starts a very dangerous game… finding in Castiel's kisses the most delicious experiences, but also, his own perdition. Will Castiel fall in love with him? Or will he stay emotionless as always?

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Sparks by DragonSgotenks (Explicit, 20k)

Illustrated by VampyRosa

Omega Cas meets Alpha Dean during one of the worst weeks of his life. Sparks fly when they realize they're truemates. But after a wild and intense night that ends with both of them sporting new mating bites, could a simple misunderstanding tear the new couple apart before they even have a chance to begin?

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Lesson Number 1: Monsters are Real by blueye22 (Explicit, 20k)

Illustrated by kuwlshadow

When Anael "Jo" Novak goes missing during a hike in the mountains with her boyfriend, worried brother, Castiel, goes in search of her. Castiel is surprised to receive the help of FBI agents, Dean and Sam. But what are they hiding?

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

You At the End of the Rail by spnsmile (Explicit, 30k)

Illustrated by verobatto-angelxhunter

Dean receives a text message from a new human Cas telling him of his suspicion that angels have found him in Gas n Sip. Still filled with guilt for kicking the ex-angel out of the Bunker, Dean steps up to make it up to his friend. Worried, Dean concludes the ex-angel has to disappear for many days so he asks Cas where he wants to go.

Cas’ answer?

Trains.

Fucking trains.

Archive Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

On Your Knees by raths_kitten (Explicit, 14k)

Illustrated by angeltortured

When Dean gets the assignment to follow the Fallen Angels on tour and write a feature article on them, he isn‘t their biggest fan. But that quickly changes when he hears them play live - and meets their charismatic lead singer Castiel in person.

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Just Like in the Movies by noxsoulmate (Explicit, 46k)

Illustrated by lotrspnfangirl

In a world where a new mark appears whenever you fall in love, Hollywood sweetheart, Castiel James, is known for his unblemished skin. Oh, he has the faint shadows of old crushes and childish infatuations, but no mark is that of something deep and true. No mark has ever stuck, no mark has ever become more than a hazy outline. Because Cas, well... Cas has never been in love.

The skin of bookshop owner Dean Winchester, however, tells another tale entirely. Dean loves freely, quickly, and deeply. He loves his family, he loves his friends, he still cares for his exes. While the first two don’t show on his skin, the latter do. All brushed over his body in various shapes and forms and colors. Of varying clarity. But even Dean has yet to get that one mark. That mark that sticks. The mark that is so deep, and so sharp, and so clear, it can only be that of a profound bond.

These two men share a common hope; a common desire. That one day, they might have a mark that means they have found a love that is as deep and true as love can be - just like in the movies.

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Granted by Andromache_42 (Explicit, 20k)

Illustrated by agusvedder

At forty-one, Dr. Castiel Novak is the proud recipient of a generous grant to fund his project on sustainability and urban farming from the Campbell Foundation, a small investing firm based out of Chicago. The night before he meets the award committee, lonely and pushed by his friend Balthazar, Castiel has the best sex of his life during a casual Grindr hook-up with “just-visiting” forty-seven-year-old Dean. Castiel’s life appears to be coming together, until he discovers that Dean is the head of the grant award committee. For the sake of professionalism, Castiel is willing to ignore the intense attraction between the two of them, but Dean turns out to be too tempting to resist.

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Finding Bigfoot by Desirae (Explicit, 22k)

Illustrated by Tamapochi

“Don’t be such a worrywart. It’s vacation time. Campfires, fishing, beer. What’s better than that?”

“Apparently a sasquatch sighting?” Castiel snarked, with an arched brow.

“Well, yeah. I mean, Sam’s a good substitute, but it’d be nice to see the real thing,” Dean grinned.

Finding Bigfoot wasn't exactly on the itinerary when Dean, Cas, and Sam planned their annual boys-only camping trip, but with his brother in a noticeable funk, Dean was prepared to do what he had to do. Even if it meant keeping quiet about a long-waited love confession from his best friend.

Determined to stay focused on distracting Sam from his troubles, and not make him feel like a third wheel, Dean and Castiel decide to keep their new relationship status to themselves, until after vacation is over.

After years of mutual pining, that shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Meet me at Sunset by Suus_Arido (Mature, 55k)

Illustrated by celstese

Ever since the Barrier of Melaina fell and plunged the worlds of men, monsters and magic together, the Republic Elohim has kept its citizens save with help from the hunter organization the Red Circle.

Dean Winchester has never known how the world looked before the fall of the barrier. He and his family have been part of the Red Circle for generations and he knew it was his faith to die in battle. All he is supposed to want is to protect the innocents from darkness. But how can he when his soul is dark and corrupt?

As the monsters start to adapt and become more intelligent, the rise of chaos is not far behind. It’s midst this chaos that Dean meets a human with the name of an angel. Not only does this man believe in the salvation of the world but he also seems to believe that Dean is redeemable as well.

A love story may perhaps develop but Dean knows better, for it is known that the faith of a hunter is tragedy. Will Dean be able to make the right call? Even when blue eyes turn unrecognizable?

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Beyond Borders by xHaruka17x (Explicit, 53k)

Illustrated by Diminuel

Sometimes doing what is right, what feels right, doesn't mean you’ll escape the consequences of those actions. Dean Winchester is the Head Alpha of one of the largest packs of the Western Hemisphere. He is days away from being a married and mated Alpha, ready for the next chapter in his life to commence, only for a horrific accident to change everything. Adam, Dean and Sam's little brother, is killed in a car accident across the globe in Russia. Dean finds out his little brother's now widowed Omega is all alone and pregnant, left to the mercy of his horrible home pack. Dean makes a decision and he knows things will explode when he gets back home, but he knows in his heart it’s the right thing to do.

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

The Cleric's Birthright by Scribo_Vivere (Explicit, 34k)

Illustrated by yoyo-deano

Castiel Novak lost his husband and the love of his life, Balthazar, three years ago in a slaying no one has been able to solve. Burying himself in his work at the university as a leading anthropology professor there, he attempts to put the past behind him. When vicious murders begin to plague him in an eerie replication of Balthazar’s death, Castiel decides to find out on his own what sort of evil has descended upon them all. But the answers he’s looking for may not be so easily found, and the revelation forced upon him could destroy everything he knows - about himself, his world, and the faith he once held so dear. Complicating things is his new relationship with Dean Winchester, who may or may not be what he appears. Why is Castiel inexplicably drawn to him like a moth to the flame?

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

To Soar Without Grace by QuillsAndInk (Explicit)

Castiel is an alpha and a cleric serving the gods of his kingdom and wielding their power in preparation to join a holy war. When he gets taken by the heretical high prince of a rival kingdom, Castiel knows his fate is sealed. That is, until prince Dean tries to persuade him to take on a mad quest to kill his father and end the holy war. With heretical magic Castiel can’t understand forcing him away from the gods he’s always served, Castiel joins Dean. But in the mountain wilderness in the dead of winter with only his sworn enemy for company, can Dean and Castiel get past their differences or will the war swallow them up.

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

Cow Bells and Snow Globes by Pimento (Explicit)

It really doesn't matter what the gossip columns say. Dean knows the International Ski Champion Castiel Novak, aka, Casanova of the Slopes is actually just Cas. Loyal, kind, caring Cas. The same Cas he's absolutely not had a crush on since they were teenagers on the competitive circuit.

He's had two plus decade's practice at hiding his feelings, how difficult can it be to suppress them a little longer.

They just so happen to be in the same ski resort, at the same time for an entire season, so Dean is damn well gonna enjoy having his friend back in his life for a while and not screw it up. The fact that he seems to have the magic touch with the grumpy teenage daughter that Cas is trying so desperately to reconnect with is just an opportunity to ease his friends' troubles while he finds his feet again.

Art Masterpost / Fic Masterpost

#supernatural #Destiel #bottom!cas #top!dean #masterpost: 2019/2020 #BCBB

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compartmentalisinghmpf · 4 years ago

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Are We the Bad Guys, Hans? (unfinished Laundry essay dump, pt. 2)

First part: HERE.

---------------------------

For what it‘s worth: Bob really isn‘t James Bond; that would be Mo, of course.

Mo‘s greater Bond-resemblance also implies, almost from the start, (certainly from The Jennifer Morgue onwards) a greater ruthlessness – although she is kept relatable by the fact that we see her suffer considerable aftereffects from her „jobs“ - general PTSD and pangs of conscience both. We mostly see these through Bob‘s eyes. (Stross makes the IMO somewhat unfortunate decision of giving us Mo‘s own POV only after several years, when she has finally reached her breaking point - which means we never get to experience the POV of a pre-breakdown Mo. This is a bit of a shame, and makes her pre-breakdown character harder to get a proper sense of.)

Occasionally ruthless or no, Mo clearly is one of the good guys, too. The people she kills with her violin are generally evil fucks, and she‘s properly, devastatingly sorry afterwards. Like Bob, she is only doing her job, which, like Bob‘s, is Saving the World from things too evil to contemplate.

Right?

Here‘s the thing. If you take the more science-fictional part of the Lovecraftian worldview at face value (the Vast Inhuman Intelligences that want to destroy humans/other sentient life utterly part, that is - not the racism part), you can‘t help but root for the Laundry, broken eggs and all. Surely, preventing the extinction of sentient life on Earth is an omelette worth making!

Lovecraftian logic is a very convenient type of logic for the type of spy fiction that wants its Dubious Shit justified absolutely.

Which is to say: when you combine Lovecraftian logic with spy fiction logic, you almost inevitably end up in a dystopian place. If the threat is large enough – be it total nuclear annihilation, or total annihilation through extradimensional alien intelligences – radically utilitarian ethics begin to make a kind of sense that they don‘t, quite, when applied to less all-encompassing calamities. And very soon, you can justify just about anything.

By book eight in the series, the Laundry conspires against the British government – with the noble-enough intention of preventing so complete a form of enslavement of the public that even the idea of resistance would become meaningless. They accomplish this by installing, via a covert coup, another alien power that is only marginally less evil than the one that was attempting to take over the government, and whose main advantage over the latter consists in finding struggling humans somewhat amusing, thus preserving some modicum of free will, purely for entertainment value.

To drive home what kind of deal is being made here, the new Prime Minister quotes Hitler at length, to a senior Laundry official.

Mo is directly and knowingly involved in this conspiracy; Bob somewhat more proximately. Both of them are, by the end of the book (in fact, by the middle or so already) sworn to loyalty to this new Power, which in the Laundry universe means rather more than a simple matter of conscience. Why they end up in this situation, how they come to make the choices they do, is always understandable, the reader is always lured into tacit agreement. (To the degree that these are choices at all… Latter-day Bob, in particular, doesn‘t get to choose very much of his own accord anymore: the higher he rises in the Laundry, the more people seem to make all the most important choices for him, and imposing them on him by magic, though his narrative tacitly absolves them, rendering him a willing participant in his own subjection, if only after the fact. It‘s hard to get rid of the impression that he‘s secretly glad that he doesn‘t actively have to embrace that guilt – on top of all his other guilt… Bob still frames his guilt in terms of how many people he has killed, but that really isn‘t the most significant way in which he is becoming a monster.)

At some point around here – say, by the time the future Laundy-approved PM does his Hitler impression – it should dawn on the reader that what Stross has been doing, slowly and carefully, over the past several books, is to ease them (and thus, us) into the kind of mindset that justifies totalitarian dictatorships.

We have met the enemy, and they are us.

#The Laundry Files #words words words #Laundry series #yet another unfinished essay dump #pt. 2 #there is no pt. 3 #I ran out of steam #though there were issues I wanted to cover #written before the latest two books

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cinaja · 5 years ago

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Before the Wall - part 15

An acotar fanfic on the time of the War. For the summary and the entire story, click here

Disclaimer: The world and the characters belong to sarah j maas

TW: Suicide (not explicit)

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There was no keeping what happened during the battle secret. Not when every healer saw Miryam run off and the Illyrians are, apparently, able to sense witches and have been close to revolt ever since they found out that one of the camp`s commanders is one.

Jurian feels horrible. He is well aware that this situation is almost entirely his fault. Miryam‘s most closely guarded secret is secret no longer. And she could have died. All because he pushed her. (Although if he is entirely honest, a part of him is also glad that it went this way. At least Miryam stopped hiding from her own power and can perhaps begin to use it properly. He doesn`t dwell on these thoughts too long, though, because they always make him feel like a prick.)

It is a good thing that the post-battle clean-up keeps Jurian extremely busy. That way, at least, he has reason to stay away from Miryam without having to admit to himself that he is too ashamed to face her. Instead, he gets into a fight with three Illyrians for hissing insults at her and sentences ten of his own soldiers to guard duty when he overhears them wondering if they want a half-Fae witch in their midst.

But - and this is the true surprise - the people hissing insults are outnumbered by far by those who seem awed by the news. He overheard more than one of them whispering of a blessing, a gift from the gods. It`s better than the others, but still somehow unsettling.

„Jurian.“

He turns around to face Tia, who is running towards him, waving a letter.

„This just arrived from the Alliance“, she says.

„For me?“

„And Miryam.“ Tia winks at him. “But I thought I‘d deliver it to you and have you tell her.“ Jurian takes a face at her. Tia grins. „What? I didn`t watch you dance around each other for months only for you to bolt because you messed up once.“

Jurian snatches the letter out of her hand. He inspects the sear, then rips it open and scans the content. He curses softly. Now he is really going to have to talk to Miryam. He doubts it will be a pleasant conversation, though.

„I have to go“, Jurian says.

„Have fun!“, Tia calls after him.

Jurian makes a rather rude gesture over his shoulder. Miryam, fortunately, seems to be in her tent, saving him from having to search the entire camp for her. He hesitates for a moment before entering. There are voices coming from the inside.

“-will cover that order”, Miryam is saying, “With the battle, no one will even question it.”

“So we`re out of trouble?”, Mor asks, sounding relieved.

“Which”, Mor`s cousin cuts in, “is sheer dumb luck, Mor.”

“Oh, shut up!”

Jurian has to admit, he`s curious. He`d love to remain standing before the entrance, but he has already crossed one line lately. Eavesdropping on a private conversation (especially with lots of Fae who are likely to catch him) doesn`t seem like the smartest move. Besides, he has news to deliver.

Everyone turns to Jurian as he enters. Mor and her cousin exchange a look.

“We were just leaving”, Mor says.

She takes her cousin by the arm and shoves him out of the tent. Miryam smiles wryly, Jurian shakes his head.

“Do they think”, he asks, “that we don`t notice what they are doing?”

“Oh, I´m sure they just don`t care.”

Jurian grins, but sobers quickly. “About the camp talk…”, he begins, but is unsure about how to continue.

Miryam`s face tightens. “Don`t worry about it”, she says, “I always knew it would happen. Honestly, I`m surprised they aren`t calling for my head.”

Jurian clenches and unclenches his fingers. He`s already trying to come up with a way to shut down the talk, no matter what Miryam says. He knows, though, that this will be damn near impossible once the news pass beyond their camp, which is bound to happen anytime now.

“You should be angry with me”, he says.

“Maybe. But I`m not.” Jurian is about to reply, but she shakes her head. “Can we just drop it? Please?”

Jurian sighs and holds up the letter. “They set the time for the meeting.”

He didn`t think that Miryam could grow any tenser, but she does. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?” Now, Miryam is staring at him with wide eyes, like she is searching for a hint of a lie. Unfortunately, Jurian is telling the truth.

“At least by then, news of your abilities likely won`t have broken yet.” It`s a piss-poor attempt at comforting her, but he really can`t think of anything else.

“She`ll be there”, Miryam says softly.

Carefully, Jurian reaches out for her hand. “You won`t be alone”, he says, “I`ll be with you and it will be fine.”

Miryam nods, but the look in her eyes tells her that she sees straight through his empty words. Because Jurian may be going with her to the meeting, but he is no politician. During the discussions, she will be on her own.

----

Drakon is not having a pleasant day. He thought it couldn`t get much worse after the nightmare of a meeting he had this morning with Sinna and the commander of the unit the Alliance sent to replace them. They are from Prythian, with membranous bat-like wings. So far, Drakon‘s experiences with their new allies have been... difficult. In their meeting, the Illyrian leader kept sneering at Drakon and calling him boy – which was still polite compared to how he treated Sinna. Unsurprisingly enough, the meeting ended with the Illyrian`s nose broken and Drakon having to keep Sinna from killing the male.

In the two hours since the meeting ended, he was already called in to break up three fights between his soldiers and the new ones. (Sinna seems more inclined to start fights than to stop them these days, so he is stuck playing peacemaker.)

This round through the camp seems to be going better than the last one, though. It looks like the soldiers learned to stay out of each other`s way at last. Besides, Drakon and his soldiers will be leaving tomorrow so the tentative peace won`t have to last long, anyways.

Drakon reaches the waste disposal area. It seems like the now soldiers are already digging new latrines. Drakon looks into the hole in construction and is surprised to find only one soldier working inside.

“Where are the others?”, he asks, “Surely you aren`t supposed to dig the latrine all on you own?”

The soldier puts down his shovel and gives Drakon a wild grin. “Oh, I`m more than enough for one such hole.”

He seems far more pleasant than the other Illyrians Drakon met so far. Younger, too, which is somewhat refreshing. (These days, Drakon is usually surrounded by people at least a hundred years his senior.)

“Want me to help you?”, Drakon offers, “Otherwise, you`ll be busy until past midnight.”

“You volunteer to spent your afternoon digging through hard dirt?” The Illyrian laughs. “Well, I can`t save you from yourself, then.”

Drakon takes that as a yes. He grabs a shovel that is lying next to the hole and jumps down. From there, he gets a better view of the male. There are seven red stones – syphons? – glinting on his armour. From what Drakon gathered, the amount of stones is usually related to a person`s rank.

„What did you do“, he asks, „to end up in this shithole?“

The male snorts at the pun. „Was born a bastard.“ He shrugs, grinning, „And mouthed off to Lord Devlon about getting his nose broken by a female.“

Drakon frowns. „If you knew half of the females I‘ve met, you wouldn‘t be surprised.“

The Illyrian laughs. „Oh, I know my fair share of scary females, too, so I wasn‘t surprised. But for Devlon, getting pummelled by a female is a new experience for him. Almost a pity you guys are leaving - maybe someone would be able to beat some sense into that thick head of his.“

„Well, as someone who has been stuck here for months, I`m looking forward to leaving.” Drakon thinks back to the look on Lord Devlon`s face after Sinna punched him and adds, “Although watching Sinna break that guy‘s nose might have been worth staying a while longer.“

“On first name basis with your general.“ The Illyrian whistles softly and throws a shovel of dirt out of the latrine. “You‘re highborn, aren‘t you?“

Drakon nods, unwilling to say any more on it. Maybe it‘s stupid, but it is freeing to be a normal person for once, instead of the Prince of Erithia. Like he isn‘t responsible for thousands of lives. The Illyrian seems to consider his answer for a moment, then nods.

„Where were you stationed before this?“, Drakon asks, happy to steer the conversation into a different direction.

„Further south.“ He wrinkles his nose. „Fighting these Black Land bastards. Fire magic really is no fun. You?“

„I‘ve been stuck here.“ Well, except for his brief visits to the other parts of the army and Erithia. „But we‘re leaving due north tomorrow. I can‘t say I‘m sorry to be leaving this place.“

The Illyrian laughs. „Oh, I can imagine. I‘ve been here for a day and already want to leave. It‘s-“ A bucket full of dirt hits him square in the face, cutting him off. Drakon spins around to the source of the attack.

„Hey, bastard!“, a voice shouts from above. Three Illyrians are standing at the edge of the latrine. „Enjoying eating dirt?“

Drakon frowns up at them. „Leave him be.“

„What is it to you?“, one of the Illyrians asks.

He kicks a bunch of dirt into the pit, but it bounces off harmlessly on the shield Drakon set up. For a second, he is sorely tempted to let the dirt they shovelled out of the pit in the last hours bury the soldiers under them. Unfortunately, getting into a fight with your allies is not a very prince-like thing to do. (Bad enough if Sinna does it.)

So instead, he does the mature thing and says, „I generally do not permit soldiers in my camp to provoke fights. So if you aren‘t here to help, I‘d suggest you leave.“

„Your camp?“, one of the soldiers snorts. “Sure. That`s why you`re digging around in the dirt.”

Drakon really doesn`t like most Illyrians, he decides. “Well, someone needs to dig the latrine, unless you`d prefer to take a shit in the middle of the camp”, he says, “And I`d not be a very good commander if I asked my soldiers to do something I`m not ready to do myself, would I?”

The soldiers exchange looks. Drakon is pretty sure that none of their leaders ever bothered with such undignified tasks. But they seem unwilling to risk a punishment, so they leave with barely any complaint.

Drakon turns back to his companion, who is watching him with raised eyebrows.

“You`re Prince Drakon of Erithia?”, he asks.

“Would you believe me if you said I`m not?”

The Illyrian laughs. “No.” He picks his shovel back up. “Well then, Your Highness. Better get back to work.”

----

Miryam barely recognizes herself in the mirror. If she thought she was dressed up for previous meetings, it is nothing compared to this.

The dress was a gift by the Grand Duke of Sangravah. It is all flowing silk, midnight black yet shimmering in the light. Around the hems, there are silver embroideries. With it came a necklace of diamonds glowing like stars and a diadem.

It makes Miryam look less like a girl of nineteen and more like a grown female. More than that. It makes her look like she belongs with these royals. An impression that couldn`t be more wrong.

From where he is sitting on her desk, Kiel lets out a shriek and puffs up his feathers. Miryam turns around to the bird.

“You`re wondering what I`m doing, aren`t you?”, she whispers, “Well, I don`t know either.”

Before she can change her mind and bolt as her entire body is screaming at her to, she steps out of the tent and into the camp. A bunch of passing soldiers stop short to stare at her. Jurian stops speaking in what appeared to be the middle of a conversation with Tia. Miryam blushes.

A few soldiers begin whispering amongst each other. “Witch”, Miryam hears, and “Gods-blessed”. She doesn`t know which word she loathes more. Before this can go any further, she steps towards Jurian. She doesn`t miss Tia giving him a nudge and Jurian quickly snapping back to attention.

“Let`s go”, Miryam says quietly.

Mor is tasked with winnowing them to the meeting place, although she herself is not invited to participate. She holds out her hand to Miryam.

“You look stunning”, she says, “Go show those pricks their place.”

Miryam manages a shaky smile, then Mor winnows them away. When they reappear, Mor only gives her hand a quick squeeze before she vanishes again, leaving Miryam and Jurian on their own.

The meeting is held in the Continent‘s neutral meeting space - a palace that was built by some long-ago king in the middle of a huge lake. It has been long since abandoned and after the three bordering territories spent centuries fighting over the island, it has been declared neutral ground.

The guards waiting at the gate belong to every territory, but it has been chosen that Alliance members are searched by Loyalist guards and vice versa. Miryam hands her dagger to a guard and then tries to keep a neutral look on her face as the guard begins searching her, hands lingering a bit too long for comfort. Next to her, Jurian looks like he considers punching the guard searching him. (Miryam wonders if it was perhaps a mistake to bring him along.)

But then, they are through the control. A far more friendly-looking guard points them to a glittering crystal bowl standing just before the entrance. Miryam takes a knife lying next to is and presses it agains ther palm lightly. A drop of blood wells up and falls into the bowl.

„I swear that while I am on these grounds, to do no harm to anyone here, not by action or intention. I swear it on my life and on my blood.“

The blood in the bowl turns to blinding light. Rays of it shoot up into the air and merge with the wards that encircle the palace. They are more complicated than any Miryam has ever seen. Far too complicated for her to ever understand. But when Miryam steps forward, the wards move aside to allow her through. A step behind her, Jurian whistles softly as they step into the foyer.

„Well, this is certainly impressive“, he mutters, looking up at the high ceiling and the ornate admonishments. Miryam nods, although she can‘t say she is overly impressed. Unlike Jurian, she has seen her fair share of Fae architecture and while she can usually still appreciate its beauty, today, the thrill is lost on her.

She barely spares her surroundings more than a glance and instead focuses on the assembled Fae. Her eyes scan the room with practiced ease, but the Black Land‘s delegation is not there yet. (A brief reprieve, Miryam knows. Still, she can‘t help feeling relieved.) There are other familiar faces, though.

Miryam knows most leaders of the Continent‘s bogger territories at least by sight. She recognises the Xian empress, dark-haired and light-skinned. She is deep in conversation with the Raskan king. Further off, she spots the current leader of Montesere‘s High Council, who is glowering at Jurian.

He isn‘t the only royal to spot their arrival. Quite a few turn and stare, some snarling, others seeming more curious than angry. Miryam lifts her chin and loops her arm through Jurian‘s. At the end of the room, she spots some of the other Alliance delegates and makes to lead Jurian towards them.

But before they are even halfway across the room, two females step into their pass. Jurian stiffens immediately. It takes Miryam a few seconds longer than him to recognize them. It‘s the red hair that makes the memory stir at the end - something she remarked already during the battle two days ago.

„Look at that“, one of the females drawls. She is the less beautiful one of the two, but somehow more terrifying. Not that it fazes Miryam much - even General Amarantha of Hybern could never even come close to Ravenia. „Two dirty little humans“, the General continues, „thinking they can hold up with their betters.“

Her mouth curles into a smile. Miryam‘s every instinct shouts at her to run at this smile. Or at the very least to lower her head, bow quickly. Make herself invisible. Instead, she squares her shoulder and smiles back.

„And here I was, thinking we were here because you had trouble holding up with us.“

Jurian rasps a laugh. „It certainly looked like it during our battle two days ago.“

Now, that is a blatant lie. They would have gotten their asses kicked if the Hybern soldiers hadn‘t run when that witch`s spell failed. The moment of surprise really did save them. Miryam doubts it will work a second time, though.

Still, the second female. -Clythia, Amarantha‘s younger sister, more beautiful but just as cruel - now watches Jurian with interest. There is an intensity in her gaze that makes Miryam bristle.

„So you are the General who pushed our armies back?“, she asks, „An impressive feat.“ Amarantha scoffs and Clythia pats her arm without tearing her gaze away from Jurian. „You must be a fine General.“

„Now, now. It‘s hardly skill “, Amarantha says, „unless you now count having a way to repel our spells as a feat of the commander.“

Miryam has to remind herself to keep breathing normally. She knows that her secret will be out within a few days, but for the span of this meeting, she`d prefer to keep it.

Clythia steps towards Jurian in a fluid motion. His hand darts for his belt, he, too, had to surrender his weapons. Clythia whispers something to him, to low for Miryam to hear. Then, she lets go and steps back. Amarantha is frowning, she grabs her sister by the arm and whispers furiously to her as she leads her away.

Miryam turns to Jurian. „What did she say to you?“

Jurian presses his lips together, his hands are clenching and unclenching. „That we‘d meet again. She said our lives are intertwined.“

Behind them, a laugh sounds and Helion steps up between them. „That‘s seers to you - always saying things to mess up your lives.“ He claps Jurian on the back. „Don‘t let it get to you.“ He grins at Miryam. „You look absolutely stunning.“

Miryam forces a smile, but still can‘t shake what Clythia told Jurian. She may not know much about seers, but even she knows that only a fool takes their words lightly. She wishes she could talk to Jurian in private, but then, the rest of their delegation is standing around them now and Miryam is busy greeting all of them, discussing strategies and playing confident leader. (What was she thinking, agreeing to lead this delegation?)

Finally, the clock chimes twelve and everyone files into a huge meeting room. Miryam, as leader of the Alliance delegation, takes the seat at the head of the table. The chair opposite her remains empty. Ravenia still isn‘t there. Miryam isn‘t surprised - she accompanied the female to enough meetings to know that she loves to flaunt her power by turning up late. By making everyone wait for her.

A few of the Loyalists look annoyed at having to wait, too, but when Miryam suggests to start the meeting early, none of them agree. They are all too scared of Ravenia to risk angering her by starting without her. So they sit in silence as the minutes tick by. Miryam feels her nerves beginning to fray. Next to her, Jurian is tapping his fingers on the table.

After half an hour, the door opens and Ravenia enters. The queen of the Black Land looks radiant, dressed in a white cloth so light she seems to glow, gold jewellery glinting in the light. Her gaze sweeps over the room with the disinterest of a female who knows that she is on top of the world and everyone is so far beneath her that she can barely see them. She is flanked by two advisors. And, behind her, three human slaves follow. Children, like all of her personal slaves. Miryam tenses. Next to her, Jurian hisses softly.

Ravenia takes her place and her eyes finally find Miryam. Her eyebrows lift ever so slightly, the only sign of her surprise.

„That belongs to me“, she says and jerks her chin towards Miryam.

Murmuring rises aroung the table. Miryam wants to reply something, but words escape her. All she sees is Ravenia at the other side of the table, her slaves standing behind her. She can‘t push the memories back. It`s like it is her standing next to Ravenia instead of these slaves. All that pain and fear and suffering. What was she thinking, coming here like she stood a chance against the female before her?

„She belongs to no one but herself“, Jurian says.

Miryam wants to shoot him a grateful look, but she can‘t tear her eyes away from Ravenia. She feels like if she does, she won‘t be able to hold it together anymore. She will just fall apart into a million broken pieces.

Ravenia smiles at her like she knows exactly what Miryam is going through. „That‘s not true, now, is it, Miryam? You may fool them all into thinking you their equal, but in the end, You‘ll always belong to me.“

Miryam just holds her stare. She prays that people will interpret it as defiance and not understand that she couldn’t speak if she wanted to.

The Xian empress saves her from thinking of something to say. „Could we get on with it, then?”, she asks, “No one cares about your runaway slaves and we are already late.“

There is an edge to her voice. The Loyalists may be allies, but that doesn‘t mean that they wouldn‘t throw each other to the wolves at a moment‘s notice if it benefited them. That‘s an advantage, but Miryam still can‘t find the words to take it.

The meeting is a nightmare. Miryam does her best to stir the conversation, but her words feel stiff and unwieldy. She is way out of her depth among these royals, all of whom don‘t seem inclined at all to go easy on her. On a good day, she might still have been able to stand her ground. But not today, not here. Because standing before these people, she isn‘t the emissary of the entire Alliance anymore - she‘s just a slave girl, alone in a room full of Fae.

The conversation spirals out of control far too quickly. Her allies have begun shooting Miryam questioning looks, but she can‘t do anything against it. They are losing, and losing badly. By now, some of the Alliance members look like they are inclined to agree with what the Loyalists are saying – promises of peace, of new trading deals and prosperity for all. If only the war ended. Utter rubbish, but some of the Fae seem to believe it.

„It isn‘t that we are fighting for slavery“, Ravenia says, „We are fighting for our freedom. Our freedom to choose how to run our countries. None of us wish to force you to start owning slaves, but we want to keep our property and our way of living.“

There are murmurs of agreement. To Miryam‘s horror, some come from Alliance members.

„What you call freedom“, she says, fighting to keep her voice even, „includes the enslavement of thousands of people. Your way of living destroys thousands of lives and what you call property are living, feeling beings.“

But it isn‘t enough. The words lack the punch they would need to draw the audience back on her side. Ravenia smiles and Miryam shrinks back in her seat. Jurian puts a hand on her arm and she only barely manages not to flinch.

That is when one of Ravenia‘s slaves moves. She lifts her head and takes a step forward.

„We are not property“, she says, staring at Ravenia, “You can beat us and chain us up and kill us, but you will never truly own us.”

Then, faster than any of them can react, she draws a knife from under her thin clothes. At first, Miryam thinks that she is going to attack Ravenia. But the girl just looks at Miryam. For a moment, their gazes lock. Then, she turns the knife towards her own chest and plunges it down.

„No!“

Miryam jumps to her feet, but the girl is already collapsing. Without thinking, Miryam rushes around the table and falls to her knees next to the girl. She knows that she is too late, but she still presses her hands on the bleeding wound on the girl‘s chest.

She is only a few years younger than Miryam, with the same curly dark hair and brown skin. Had things gone a bit differently, this could have been her.

„Please“, the girl whispers, her voice barely more than a breath. Miryam doesn`t know what she is begging for and the girl never gets a chance to say it. She doesn`t even get another word out before she dies.

Still, Miryam remains kneeling on the ground. There is blood on her hands, blood on her dress, but she can‘t tear her eyes away from the girl.

„Could we get on with it, then?“, Ravenia asks.

Like there isn‘t a dead child lying on the floor. Like this girl‘s life was nothing. And suddenly, Miryam isn‘t scared anymore. She is angry.

„You will never win“, she whispers.

„What?“

„I said“, Miryam says and lifts her head, „you will never win.“

Slowly, she stands up and turns around to face Ravenia. For the first time, she meets the queen‘s gaze without fear.

„Because we will never stop. Even if you win this war, even if you kill us all, you won‘t win. Because you create your own downfall.“ Miryam pints a bloody hand towards the dead girl. „You take everything from people until they have nothing left to lose. And as long as there is a single slave left, there will never be peace.“

„You seem to think“, Ravenia says, „that we would hesitate to kill every human in our territories should it become necessary.“

„You can‘t.“ Miryam shakes her head. „Humans are the ones who build your palaces and houses. The ones who grow your food and serve it. For all your power, you are nothing without us. And in the end, that‘s what you will be in the end: Nothing.“

The entire room is silent now.

Miryam says, „You are all doomed. Every territory that owns slaves is walking towards its downfall. Maybe you will win this war, maybe you will survive. But you are still doomed. Even if it takes centuries, in the end, you will lose.“

She turns back to Ravenia and takes a step towards her until she is standing directly in front of her.

„But you“, she says, „you will not survive this war. They say you create your own doom and it will be my pleasure to be yours. I will destroy you. When this is all over, there will never be slaves again in the Black Land.“ She dares a glance towards her allies on the other side of the table before she turns back to Ravenia. „And if no one will stand with me, I will do it alone. If it is necessary, I will march into your capital on my own and personally free every single man, woman and child you deem property. I will tear down the palaces you paid for with my people‘s blood with my bare hands and when you stand in the ruins and your land is burning around you, you will remember this moment and the fact that you have no one but yourself to blame.“

For a moment, something like worry flickers in Ravenia‘s dark eyes. But then, she tips her head back and laughs. A few of her allies join in.

„I‘m a queen“, Ravenia says, „and you are nothing. Just a human worm. And you think you can destroy me?“ She laughs again. „Go ahead, then. I‘d like to see you try.“

Miryam stares her down. And for the first time, she releases the hold she has on her magic. She doesn‘t let it do anything, just flow through the air. A few people gasp, but Miryam sees nothing but Ravenia.

In a voice she barely recognizes, she says, „I‘d like to see you stop me.“

This time, no one laughs. They just stare. Miryam holds the queen‘s gaze a moment longer. Then, she turns away.

„Unless you free your slaves, there will never be peace“, she says, „As far as I‘m concerned, there is nothing else to say.“ Miryam pulls open the door. “This meeting is over.”

For a heartbeat, she thinks that the others won‘t follow. But then, Jurian rises. The rest of the Alliance members get to their feet as well. As one, they leave the meeting.

----

Tags: @sjm-things

#miryam #jurian #drakon #clythia

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