#myriam is just like “what do you MEAN”

[ace-and-sleepdeprived]

[inspired by a post by @the-cat-and-the-birdie ab miguel being completely clueless about “old” universes]

miguel, being very much genuine after visiting myriam’s universe for the first time: you guys have electricity AND cars? i thought you didn’t. i thought you still used horses and wagons.

myriam, not sure if he’s joking or not:

[it is quite the experience teaching and showing miguel that 1945 is not as primitive as he thinks it is.]

[acircusfullofdemons]

DAYDREAMTOBER 2024 [01 / HOME]

╭──→ 💭 ──  DAYDREAMTOBER 2024

│ 🌫️ PROMPT ❞ 01 / home

│ 🌫️ PARAS ❞ n/a

│ 🌫️ PARACOSM ❞ eternal labyrinth

│ 🌫️ WORD COUNT ❞ 733

╰──────────── 🤍

There is one consistent location in my paracosms that shows up time and time again. That being, RoseWood Manor. I have made a post talking about it, though it’s a bit old and slightly outdated, so consider this a re-introduction of sorts. 

OVERVIEW

RoseWood Manor was built in the late 1600s for a wealthy vampire by the name of Richard Irvine. To assist in managing the house, Richard employed Emory Warwick and Myriam Travers. This proved to be a horrible mix, as the two quickly caught on that something wasn’t right with the house or their boss. Unfortunately, they ended up turning their suspicion on each other, leading Emory to become a cat and Myriam to become a poltergeist. 

With those two out of commission, Richard continued to employ anyone who was willing to work for him over the years. Most were merely servants, tending to the various guests the manor had and making sure it didn’t fall into disrepair. 

Due to the nature of his job — nobody truly knows what he does — Richard has to travel frequently, causing him to leave the manor in the care of a handful of trusted employees. The current caretaker of the manor is Daniel Hayward, with assistance from Emory Warwick. 

The manor’s location is…questionable. To sum up, it varies. Not like it actually teleports — I don’t think so, anyway — it just…exists in a lot of places at once. Notable locations include: 

Earth IV [Florida, USA]

Arcadia [Dustlosa, Nidre, Verona]

Earth I [Tulgey Wood, Heart Kingdom]

LAYOUT

On the surface, RoseWood’s layout is nothing special. It is your typical old mansion, complete with a basement, three floors, and an attic. Also on the property is a greenhouse, pool (with an accompanying pool house), stables, and an infirmary. Of course, renovations have been made, and this was built for a vampire, after all.

Note that some rooms have been assigned different purposes over time.

Basement: Divided into two layers. Layer 1, the lower part, is hidden from most residents. It is full of old torture equipment. Layer 2, the upper part, is the layer that is accessible to all residents. It’s a normal basement, and where the laundry room is located. 

Floor 1 [Necessities]: Includes the lobby, dining room, kitchen, living room, training room, and a half-indoor pool that leads outside. 

Floor 2 [Rooms]: Where most bedrooms are located. All rooms have a built-in bathroom. Other than that, there isn’t really anything special here.

Floor 3 [Entertainment]: Full of paranormal activity, which is unfortunate as this is where most of the entertainment is. Includes a music room, office, med bay, library, art gallery, and an investigation room. 

Attic: An oddly normal attic. I mean, there’s probably weird ass shit up there, but the space itself isn’t anything special. 

TERRORS

As if RoseWood wasn’t a nightmare enough, there are also “Terrors”: supernatural occurrences that cannot otherwise be explained. They also can’t be avoided or prevented. 

Shifts: Every night the layout of the house changes. It’s usually small differences, often feeling like you just went down the wrong hallway. Sometimes, though, rooms will change floors completely, leaving guests lost and confused. It is recommended you do not leave your room past 11:00 PM. 

Mirrors: If you look into a mirror for a long period of time (the exact time seems to vary/is unknown), then there’s a large chance of getting possessed or accidentally creating a Doppelganger. Said Doppelganger will then try to kill you and take your place. 

Rain: Sometimes it will rain blood. Thankfully, this only happens during a blood moon, so it’s not as bad as the others. 

Woods: The surrounding woods are full of various dangerous fauna and flora. They can mostly be avoided by staying on set paths and knowing where you’re going. Still, it's best not to wander too far.

RESIDENTS

Due to its nature, RoseWood has many rotating residents that largely depend on the time and location. However, there are a few that are tied to the place, whether they like it or not. 

Emory Warwick: Mysterious stray cat that somehow knows everything. 

Delilah Warwick: Emory’s sister. Haunts RoseWood as a ghost. 

Myriam Travers: Poltergeist that haunts RoseWood’s mirrors. 

Claude, Cyril, Céleste Aydelotte: Siblings that worked for Richard in the 1790s. The twins (Cyril & Céleste) died, then later drove their brother to insanity. All three haunt RoseWood as spirits, Claude as a ghost & the twins as poltergeists. 

Willow Murphy & Connor Wolfe: Ghost girl & cannibalistic werewolf that live in the surrounding woods. 

At least two ghosts in the music room.

At least one ghost in the interrogation room.

Just a lot of spirits in general.

[nikatyler]

Friday night!

crying at the face he pulls here

Smoochies! Speaking of which, we should probably get around talking to someone...

Um, got distracted, anyway, YOU CAN DO THIS????? 😭

You know what, even if I was playing a really evil messed up character (which I'm currently not), I can't see myself forcing him to do it, I just can't.

Anyway now we'll rub it in Araj's face that we will, in fact, be bitten tonight 💀

Look at my new Barbie doll! :3 for real tho pink looks good on him

Time to get Myri's second hand busy (she's already using one to hold Karlach)

Get her hand busy. Yes I do realize how that sounds. I mean. I guess that will be happening too. 💀

I can never get tired of this scene ;-; It means so much to me.

And of course, a million pictures of the hug, because what kind of Astarion girlie would I be if I didn't take a million pictures here amirite

...and it was at this moment I realized I may not be able to go with the angst I'd planned for Myriam and her two lovers in and post act 3 🥹🥹 I just want them to be happyyyyy is that too much to ask for (I say as the person making all the decisions heh)

…yall. Yall I don't think I can ascend him when the time comes, I can't. I just keep thinking about it and…nope 💀

I feel like I should play the game like that at least once but I can't bring myself to do it. Is it dumb? I feel dumb 💀

(x)

[teecupangel]

College is so stressful but anyway what if Desmond wears eyeliner or kohl and wear feminine and masculine clothes depending his mood because he seems androgynous to me and when he timetravels and just go "fuck gender roles" and kills templars while he grows his hair and wears jewellery and lace

I hope you get some time to relax soon! And the awesome thing about Desmond is that he changes face in every game that we can call him androgynous if we feel like it. Dude doesn’t really have a canon face anyway. And even if he doesn’t, this involves time traveling so we can just chalk the sudden androgynous look to some kind of Isu BS XD

Desmond will definitely be the bisexual awakening of a lot of people with his time hopping. Altaïr alone would be more confused than he was when he found out Maria was pretending to be Robert. If anything could be considered sorcery, it would be Desmond’s ability to confuse the hell out of people. They meet him wearing masculine clothes and think “Oh, he’s a dude” and then their next meeting with him, he’d be wearing feminine clothes and be like “??????” and BSOD.

Altaïr would try to push any confusion he might have and focus on gaining the information he needs from Desmond (who may or may not have killed someone to get the information, the Brotherhood can’t be sure) but, goddamn it, that’s hard to do when he’s just standing nearby, watching Desmond put on kohl on his eyes and painting his lips red just because he was ‘feeling pretty’ today, whatever the hell that means and he’s just draped in silk bedsheets because he hasn’t thought of what clothes he should wear today and Altaïr is pretty sure Desmond is doing this on purpose because there’s no fucking way that bedsheet coincidentally just slipped enough that Altaïr could see his collarbone. Then Desmond tells him to check his chest and pick a dress for him and holy shit, there are undergarments there that Altaïr had never seen before and his brain just gives up on him that way and all blood flowed downward after that.

Ezio would know Desmond as Leonardo’s favorite muse and he’d flirt with him, thinking he’s a woman at first. Ezio and Desmond would definitely have some fun and Ezio’s just going to be ‘oh, cool’ with anything Desmond does. Seeing Desmond assassinate someone will always be hot regardless of what clothes he decided to wear during that time. (The Borgias will definitely have a boner for him and it’s half hot-person-yummy and half he-can’t-be-more-beautiful/handsome-than-us, especially from Lucrezia). Ezio and Desmond definitely posed for one of Leonardo’s works (that doesn’t exist in the OG timeline) and it’s the steamiest painting Leonardo had ever done.

Haytham’s prudeness will definitely make him annoyed, both at Desmond himself and at his own attraction to seeing Desmond wearing those infuriating scandalous clothes. Ratonhnhaké:ton, on the other hand, would just think “white people weirdness” when he first sees Desmond. When he learns that other white people think Desmond is weird, at that point, Ratonhnhaké:ton wouldn’t even care anymore as he liked Desmond as a person and he likes seeing Desmond smiles. Desmond is also Ratonhnhaké:ton’s plus one for Myriam and Norris even though Ratonhnhaké:ton told him that he doesn’t understand what a ‘plus one’ even means. Ratonhnhaké:ton wouldn’t say it outloud but he thought Desmond outshone Myriam on her own wedding day.

Shay’s definitely going to be tongue-tied whenever he sees Desmond. Also, Desmond got a few fashion tips from Hope and he looks so good in female Assassin robes that he definitely outshines Hope. Liam likes to tease him about it but even he’s not immune to Desmond’s charm, especially when Desmond stares at him. Even when Shay defected, he could never raise his hand against Desmond and… maybe a part of him enjoyed being stepped on by Desmond’s heels, he’s trying not to think too deeply about it considering he can already see Haytham’s disapproving face.

Arno… Arno would find him strange, sure, and he’s definitely going to ignore his attraction to him because he’s in love with Élise, damn it. But it is becoming too hard to ignore it when Élise always finds ways to leave him behind while he will always see Desmond in the cafe, smiling at him as he welcomed him back. He doesn’t even know where he stands with Élise anymore and Desmond… Desmond confuses him so much but, at the same time, Desmond is the only person who makes so much sense right now that… fuck, Arno’s going to get drunk and just let his drunk self do whatever. He’ll deal with the consequences later.

It’s Jacob who sees Desmond first. Flirts with him ‘cause he thought he was a woman. Evie sees him next while he’s wearing masculine clothes… but Evie can’t be sure. There’s something about the way he moved and the way he looked that just makes Evie unable to fully conclude that she is seeing a man. Jacob and Evie never see him at the same time. Every time they see him, they see him as a woman for Jacob and a man for Evie. Then they finally see him together, wearing formless clothes that could worn by anyone and he’s talking to Ned and they’re both “ooooohhhhh” but they don’t really get it, they just think they do.

[dandelionh3art]

I feel like people have a complete misconception about Islam.

Of course there are extremists in every nation, but you can't put every person of a certain religion, ethnic group in the same category.

Let's start with the Quran. The Quran can't just be translated into English, the meaning of the words and phrases it all gets lost in translation.

Linguistic problems include the lexicon, morphology, syntax, text differences, rhetorical differences, and pragmatic factors. Human translation of Arabic into English is difficult enough, but machine translation presents even more problems when translating between these two languages. The translation must be faithful to the original text in terms of both meaning and style. The translation should mirror the original meaning.

In saying this, I think if you really want to learn anything, you need to dig and do proper research, google is not a good source, I have found that Google has a lot of misinformation.

Talking to someone who is in fact Muslim. Talking to people will teach you way more than anything else.

https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/fake-news-islamophobia-racism-muslims-islam-british-uk-latest-news-54784/#

Let's start with the prophet Muhammad.

A lot of people think that he married a 6 year old girl. That is not true.

There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about this subject.

This is what I learned.

Let's get straight to the point.

Firstly, the Quran indicates that there is an “age of marriage” (4:6) when both consenting partners are mature physically and mentally to enter into the legal contract of marriage.

We all know that

The bigots and haters who bring up this issue in

Debates again and again, are not interested in knowing the facts about Aisha and her age at the time of marriage,

But their agenda is to

Desperately, "prove" that

Prophet Muhammad was a lust-driven, sinful and

Unethical person.

But I am hoping to share some information that will help.

I find the explanation of

Myriam Francois-Cerrah

Most apt on this issue. So I quote her directly from her article in The Guardian (17th Sep 2012).

"Since the early Christians heralded Christ as a model of celibate virtue,

Muhammad - who had

Married several times-

Deemed to be driven by

Sinful lust.

This portrayal ignored the fact that before

His marriage to Aisha,

Muhammad had been

Married to Khadija, a

Powerful businesswoman 15 years his senior, for 25

Years.

When she died, he was devastated and friends

Encouraged him to remarry.

"What the records are clear on is that Muhammad and

Aisha had a loving and

Egalitarian relationship,

Which set the standard for reciprocity,

Tenderness and

Respect enjoined by the

Quran. Insights into theirs

Relationship, such as the fact they liked to drink out of the same cup or race one another, is indicative of a deep connection which

Belies any misrepresentation

Of their relationship."

To paint Aisha as a victim is completely at odds with the person she was. During a controversial battle in Muslim history, she emerged

Riding a camel to lead the

Troops.

She was known for her assertive temperament

And mischievous sense of

Humor – with Muhammad.

Sometimes bearing the brunt Of the jokes. During his Lifetime, he established her

Authority by telling Muslims To consult her in his absence. After his death, she went to be become one of the most prolific and distinguished scholars of her time."

Which means she was definitely not a 6 year old girl. She was of adult mind. I have reached the conclusion that she was anything between 16 and 19 years old when she got married.

I will post some articles from Muslim scholars who are trying to rectify some of the misinformation.

https://www.counterview.net/2022/06/hazrat-aishas-age-was-16-not-6-weak.html?m=1

https://www.islamicity.org/11238/10-misconceptions-about-islam/

May Jesus have been Palestinian? He may very well be.

"Most religious scholars and historians agree with that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C. and would become the lingua franca in much of the

Middle East."

Who still speak this language? This is what I found.

"Jewish Palestinian Aramaic is the term most frequently used today to describe the Aramaic written and spoken by Jews in Palestine during the Byzantine Period."

Historical records as well as genetic studies indicate that modern Palestinians, mostly descend from local ancient Levantines who converted from Judaism and other Levantine mythologies to Christianity and later to Islam. The researchers also determined that the Canaanites - who frequently appear in ancient sources, including the Bible - descended from a mixture of an earlier Levantine population and migrants coming from the Caucasus region or modern-day Iran.

So my question is, are the Palestinians the Jews from the Bible?

Can't say for sure.

But what I have learned is that Muslims are a peaceful religion.

They fight back only when they are being attacked, they have morality, integrity and most people's hate is due to brainwashing and ignorance.

I find it ironic that the people who are always going on about their rights to make their own decisions and literally have lost most of their morals want to tell others how wrong and evil they are. You have the right to choose. But every decision has consequences.

Before you think you know everything, do your research and forget what you were taught.

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: The Wildcat's Claw (Reread pt. 15)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES EXCEPT THE BOOK OF SHANE.

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“There was bloodshed in every village” (2). So, same as the Second Devourer War, then?

“There was no village, no militia, and no army that could prevail against a legion of Greencloaks when they partnered with their spirit animals” (2). Okay, I sort of get the point against having a group be too powerful. But didn’t these people notice the spiral that was on the Greencloaks’ brows and understand what happened? Weren’t they told it wasn’t the fault of the Greencloaks?

“She released Myriam from passive state” (2). I am 99% sure that Myriam was spelled Miriam the last time. 

“ . . . they exuded a sense of accomplishment” (3). What does that even mean?

“It was the first food she’d seen in two days” (4). Why are they starving her? Don’t they want her alive?

“‘Go on, take a bite. Eat it all. Gorge yourself.’ . . . Lenori instead curled her hands into her lap” (4). Why didn’t she eat it? It’s not like the Oathbound were holding it away from her.

“Then the woman struck Lenori again, even harder” (5). Are they allowed to abuse prisoners before a trial has even taken place? How is that legal?

“Then slowly, she ground the food between her fingers, disintegrating it. Her faith may be tested, but she would not falter” (7). How is it a betrayal if you eat a small piece of cheese? Does she want to be constantly hungry?

Chapter 2

“It was an invisible burden he feared he would carry for the rest of his life” (8). Oh, thank goodness the narrative didn’t show him getting over the Wyrm thing immediately.

“‘I could show you guys a real Euran meal,’ he continued. ‘Shepherd's pie and all’” (9). This kind of parallels Hunted, when he went to Trunswick looking for his family.

“Hopefully he wouldn’t start shedding or hacking up hairballs” (10). That would be hilarious.

“Meilin leaned over and thumped Rollan’s ear” (11). I should start collecting Rollan-and-Meilin-act-like-a-married-couple moments. Although I don’t really approve of the physical abuse.

“‘The rumors were that the wildcat was as large as Tellun.’ ‘No, even larger’” (12). I think it’s stupid that they’re undermining the greatness of the Great Beasts. Like, yes, it’s probably just a legend, but still.

“Conor had remembered seeing the replica of this sword, but only once, when he was working as a servant to Worthy” (12). I think it would’ve been cool if they’d shown Conor walking past the replica during the very first chapter of Wild Born.

“Shane, the former leader of the Redcloaks, had died while fighting against the Wyrm. Abeke didn’t speak of him much, but she’d cared greatly for him, even if those feelings were complicated” (13). I think we should hear more of Abeke’s inner monologues about Shane. She surely has some thoughts on him.

“‘I just want the Redcloaks’ help temporarily. Erdas doesn’t need their protection full time. That’s why there are Greencloaks’” (15). He sort of kind of has a point? Kind of?

“Just running his hands through Briggan’s luxurious gray-white fur calmed him” (15). This author appears to favor a lot of descriptive writing.

“Worthy put on a good show, but Conor knew that the whispers and judging looks bothered him” (16). He can’t be a hero if everyone thinks he’s a monster.

“‘I . . . well . . . I kind of don’t know where the records are that will lead us to the Wildcat’s Claw.’ . . . ‘You see, there was a fire at the manor. It was the only way to protect Dawson.’ Worthy shook his head. ‘It’s hard to explain. I was having a really bad day’” (17). He keeps saying that. “Worthy, why did you do [thing]?” “Oh, I was having a bad day.” Also, Devin didn’t even start that fire??? The people did?

“‘The records are there somewhere. I’m sure’” (18). Okay, so Worthy’s logic is that he thinks the library is still intact? Wow, okay. That’s just such a stupid mistake to make. He’s leading them on, and while they have little time left, too. That’s just. Ridiculous.

Chapter 3

“‘I think we can spare a few minutes if you want to see her’” (20). I wonder if Anka truly cares for Meilin on some level.

“‘That is, unless Rollan shares his cloak with us.’ Rollan seemed to blush as he pulled the thick brown cloak tightly around him” (21). Why is he blushing? Also, this is the perfect cue for someone to say “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing with Meilin.”

“‘And we were the heroes of the Second Devourer War. Every gate was already open to us’” (22). Wow, okay. Huh. There really weren’t security measures?

“She cast her eyes at Conor up ahead. ‘I know,’ . . . ‘I’m not accusing him’” (23). Abeke getting defensive about Conor, my beloved. 

“‘It’s important work. Maybe even more important than always looking for a fight’” (24). Meilin character development flexing go brrrrr.

“‘So what will you do next, once this is over?’ . . . ‘Retire your green cloak?’” (24). Convinced that Anka cares about Meilin and is trying to persuade her to join her side. Subtly.

“Both had died in silence, like true Zhongese warriors” (25). Today on I analyze random details too much: Meilin still has some respect for the Emperor. But Song confirmed that the Emperor liked to emulate true warriors even though he wasn’t one (the braid). We also know that the hyena ripped out the Emperor’s throat, so he logically wasn’t physically capable of making noise. So, this could be symbolism for how everyone sees the Emperor as this strong, warriorlike man, even though he’s a fake, I think. 

“Meilin hoped that her face didn’t reveal how shocked she was. She hadn’t told Anka who her father was” (26). You are literally famous. People will find out anyway.

“‘I took up the cloak a few months afterward’” (26). So Anka’s claim also states that she’s new to the Greencloaks. Did she actually join the Greencloaks? Or is she lying?

“‘You’re a hero in Zhong, just like General Teng’” (26). Yeah, exactly.

Chapter 4

“‘Worthy, heroes aren’t supposed to boast,’ Meilin said” (27). Worthy’s pretty much in it for the boasting.

“Worthy only took one bite before spitting out the tough, lean meat . . . which had just meant that there was more for Rollan to eat” (28). I imagined Conor looking all wounded at this, since he caught the snake.

“Her hair was a black as Meilin’s bangs . . . ” (29). Hold on, Meilin has bangs???

“Anka had offered to switch places with him, but he politely declined, turning bright red in the process” (30). Hmmmmm. Also, politely??? Out of character much?

“ . . . he often found himself thinking about things that he’d rather not. His mother. The Wyrm. Shane. Tarik” (31). Shane? Rollan thinks about Shane? This I need to hear . . . 

“It was her hand, sliding into his” (32). I forgot how ship-heavy this arc is.

“A warm loaf of bread would be nice, he thought to himself. He was sure that Essix would enjoy it as well” (32). Would she? She’s a carnivore . . . 

“‘But I don’t know if I’ll ever really trust a Redcloak’” (33). Rollan trust issues arc rolling around again? Also, thank god they’re talking about this. This is the conversation I’m here for.

“‘For all we know, they might be planning to stab us in the back and steal the gifts as soon as we collect them all’” (33). I mentioned in my Heart of the Land review that they never suspect the Redcloaks of setting up the attack on the Citadel. Guess I spoke too soon.

“‘ . . . that still doesn’t erase all the bad things he did when he was plain old Devin Trunswick. Don’t forget, he and I didn’t exactly hit it off the first time we met’” (34). This entire book sort of parallels Hunted, kind of like how The Return parallels Rise and Fall.

“ . . . as long as he got to hold Meilin’s hand for the rest of the walk. That would have made the extra distance worthwhile” (35). Ship fodder galore. They don’t hold back.

“If Rollan could find them again, he’d buy something for the kids when he reached the village” (37). Aw.

“Rollan wasn’t sure, but it looked like the woman had drawn blood” (37). Bruh.

“Rollan shook his fist at the animal. He still didn’t like horses. The feeling was seemingly mutual” (38). That horse literally laid eyes on him for two seconds.

“‘You’re such a softie,’ she said. ‘It’s one of my favorite things about you’” (39). Okay, I don’t know whether this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I don’t like how Rollan’s generosity was used as fodder for shipping culture. 

“Abeke had been collecting rocks to shape into arrowheads during their trek through Eura . . . ” (40). Competent! Abeke!

“Rollan realized that she might have been too good with the weapon” (42). Yeah, lol.

“She followed that up with three backflips. Rollan couldn’t believe it. She was actually dancing” (43). HA.

“‘Or do you not remember the quarterstaff that you swindled from that pirate on the boat?’ ‘I didn’t swindle him’” (44). Rollan berating Meilin for thievery and the sort is so ironic. And why were there pirates???

“‘I was just thinking - that was a really nice sword’” (47). It was indeed.

Chapter 5

“Abeke often found herself looking at Uraza’s hind right leg when she thought the animal was asleep” (49). Imagine Uraza wasn’t asleep and was straight up like, I know what you’re doing.

“‘You move like Uraza, you know. Delicately. Softly. All catlike.’ ‘So do you’” (50). No, he doesn’t??? He makes noise. That was canon. It was mentioned???

“Then she playfully tackled Abeke, nipping at her ears and fingers” (52). I like that this book seems way more of a character and relationship-building book than the other one.

“He performed a triple somersault before landing beside Abeke. She rolled her eyes, but still clapped for him” (53). The guy needs to be coddled. 

“‘Did Shane really talk about me?’” (53). Of course he did.

“‘Shane would let us joke around about the Greencloaks, even letting us say some not-so-nice things about Conor and Rollan. Especially Rollan. But you were always off-limits’” (54). But most of the Redcloaks wouldn’t have fought Conor or Rollan personally or even known much about them, right? How would they have anything to insult them over? Also, what about Meilin?

“There was so little that she knew about Shane once he’d become the leader of the Redcloaks” (54). Yeah, I wish The Book of Shane had gone more into his time as leader of the Redcloaks.

“But as Abeke spoke, she realized she didn’t know if Uraza had forgiven her for shooting her with an arrow” (55). I think Uraza probably feels guilty over this. Like Conor.

Worthy apologizing to Elda is peak redemption arc behavior.

“‘I’m excited about going home’” (57). I wonder if Worthy considered telling Abeke about the fire at this moment.

“He took a deep breath. ‘I don’t exactly know-’” (58). Oop, called it.

Chapter 6

“She closed her eyes and counted as others fired all around them” (61). How is she counting with her eyes closed? Maybe she’s analyzing the direction the arrows came from?

“Conor stopped talking, shifting his body so he was turned away from the others” (62). Wow, Conor’s so bad at lying, his solution is to just. Stop talking.

“They were funneling them a certain way. . . . ” (65). There we go. She got it.

“‘The mighty Briggan, caught in a net. Guess you aren’t such a Great Beast after all’” (67). I feel like the disrespect the Great Beasts get in this arc is just so weird. Briggan has been a legend for centuries. Sacred, especially to Eurans. How could that all have been undone over the Wyrm thing? It’s ridiculous and makes no sense. The trapper should have at least been a little in awe.

“‘But the Greencloaks were under the power of something called the Wyrm-’ ‘Just more Greencloak lies’” (69). I don’t get why the trappers didn’t somehow see the spiral. And some Eurans would’ve been infected, too. That means that they should’ve more intimately understood what happened, right?

“It was a signal. Meilin wasn’t sure, but she thought it meant that Rollan wanted her to play along” (71). Have they never been in such a situation before?

Can’t believe Rollan and Meilin form a plan that involves flirting in front of the trackers.

“It was the falchion, the very sword that Meilin had been drooling over at the trading post” (73). At least she won’t have to pay for it now.

“Meilin knew Jhi could hold her own against the men, but she still worried for her partner” (74). Jhi can hold her own against three men with sharp, pointy things?

“But Jhi and Essix didn’t have time to waste on those men . . . Uraza and Briggan joined the fray . . . ” (75). The Four Fallen fight together again. Iconic. 

Meilin straight up broke a cage with Jhi’s strength???

“Feeling Jhi’s power coursing through her body once again, she leaped into the air and landed a roundhouse kick squarely on one of the trapper’s jaws. Then she spun around, kicking two more to the ground” (77). Yeah, gettem.

“‘What were you saying about this sword?’ she asked, a large smile on her face” (78). This made me smile. Absolutely slaying.

Chapter 7

“‘Also, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for your loss,’ he added quietly. ‘How many people survived?’” (81). Conor being soft . . . I’m weak. Also, if the trappers truly believe the Greencloaks were responsible for the plundering, then they would see this as a manipulation tactic, right?

“‘I hated disappointing anyone - even Worthy, when I was his servant . . . ’” (82). It doesn’t really seem that way. Like in Wild Born, the only thing that really appears to stop Conor from expressing his annoyance toward Devin was the fact that Devin was a noble.

“The fence he mended for the Widow Tomball for a few coins - which he promptly returned to her after feeling guilty for taking her money” (82). Didn’t he . . . need that money as well? It’s not like he was the epitome of wealth, either.

“Worthy pressed his hands together and fell to his knees” (83). Dramatic Worthy is the best kind of Worthy.

“He really was too nice sometimes” (83). Conor acknowledging his own being too kind???

“‘Everything’s just fine. Nothing strange happened. Nothing burned down or anything like that’” (84). Wow, Worthy might be an even worse liar than Conor. 

“Worthy jumped in the air, waving his fists. ‘Don’t worry guys. Your can depend on me!’” (84). This is almost cartoonish.

“‘Devin!’” (87). Dawson called him Devin?

“ . . . she sat down and began to eat Dawson’s spruce plant” (87). LOL.

“‘Kunaya!’ Abeke said. The cat . . . jumped into Abeke’s outstretched arms” (88). We finally got our iconic Abeke-Kunaya reunion after eleven books.

“‘Devin burned it down the last time he was here.’ . . . ‘ . . . I was having a bad day’” (88). Devin whenever someone asks him about that short story’s events: I was having a bad day, okay???

Also Devin did not burn the castle down??? That was the townspeople??? Karmo literally had to tell him that the manor was on fire.

“‘To be fair, I really did hate Greencloaks at the time. You guys were just so . . . smug. It wasn't fair” (90). Look who’s talking.

“ . . . the citizens chose me as the new Earl of Trunswick” (90). He’s like twelve, though??? There’s seriously nobody else who could’ve done it?

“Dawson was young, but of all the Trunswicks, he was the right person to lead the town” (91). Yes, of all the Trunswicks. Why does it have to be a Trunswick? The best candidate is literally twelve.

“‘With the way father disgraced our family and fled the town, why would they pick any Trunswick to serve as earl? I mean, I’m sure you’ll do the best you can, but you don’t know the first thing about running a city. You’re just a kid’” (91). Worthy hit the nail on the head (and literally in the next paragraph, too . . . ).

“‘You’re a kid, too. You all are. But that doesn’t stop you from doing your duty, does it?’ He relaxed a little as Rumfuss hoofed over to him. ‘And to be honest, I think it has more to do with Rumfuss than my amazing leadership skills. His name carries way more weight than ours right now’” (91). A kid should not be leading the town when there are better-equipped adult candidates around. Worthy became a Redcloak because it was his only choice. The four are on this mission because they were the only ones who escaped. There were no better options for them. There is for Dawson, regardless of his spirit animal. The town could at least have a fill-in until he’s old enough.

“Beside Dawson, the Great Boar snuffled proudly” (91). I feel like this is the ending of Rumfuss’s character arc, in a way. We’re told over the course of the series in so many ways that Rumfuss is often seen as the “least” of the Great Beasts, between Devin’s mockery in Tales of the Fallen Beasts and the Great Beast conference in Tales of the Great Beasts. But now, he finally has the respect he deserves.

“‘Do the townspeople know that I’m a Redcloak?’ There was an air of hope in his voice. ‘Do they know what I did to help save the world?’” (92). Why exactly does Devin want to be a hero so bad? Like, he had a shit ton of wealth and privilege anyway. Why does he feel the need to prove himself? Maybe it’s because the Earl was abusive or something?

“‘I’m not lying!’ Worthy yelled. ‘I really was trying to save a woman! She was in the stocks in the square’” (93). It’s like the boy who cried wolf. I bet Conor would know that story, lol.

“‘Conor, can you ever forgive me for deceiving you like that?’” (94). Dawson didn’t deceive Conor, though? He just . . . delivered a letter? And he was literally ten years old?

Chapter 8

“‘The woman in charge was offering a hefty reward,’ Dawson continued. ‘Enough to feed some families for half a year, if not longer’” (98). How much do we want to bet that Cordelia would not keep that promise.

“‘I mean, Greencloaks and Redcloaks’” (98). Still not over the fact that the Redcloaks literally copied the Greencloaks.

“Everyone knew he’d rather travel with Meilin” (99). Oof. Oooooooof.

“‘Yeah, and if he joins anything, it’ll be the Redcloaks!’ Worthy said” (100). I don’t know why, but Worthy is so comically cartoonish in this book. Also, this implies you can be a Redcloak even if you weren’t a former Bile-bonded Conqueror.

“She leaned over the edge, then curtsied for Abeke” (101). Iconic.

“‘They’d be fools to follow us up here.’ . . . ‘Um, now who exactly are the fools again?’ . . . ‘If it was a bad idea for us, then it’s a horrible idea for them’” (103). Obsessed with this interaction. 

“‘Of course, it was always frowned upon if a woman ever wanted to-’” (103). I like how this series doesn’t overdo it with the feminism. It’s just “oh, this is the way things are” and then they use the female characters to defy those stereotypes. It’s done so well.

“Abeke gasped. ‘Meilin!’ Meilin shrugged. ‘What? I didn’t say kill them. Just shoot them in the shoulder or leg or something so they’ll stop chasing us’” (105). I love how casually morally gray the characters are. Even Conor.

“‘Do you yield?’ Meilin asked. ‘Never,’ one of the men said. Then he passed out” (106). LMFAO.

“The other man had regained consciousness” (106). How??? That would mean he passed out for, like, ten seconds.

“‘Their leader, Cordelia the Kind, said she’d destroy the town if she discovered you were here’” (107). So she said she’d destroy it if they were there, but then offered a reward for their capture, as well?

Chapter 9

“ . . . Rollan knew he couldn’t continue traveling with the cloak and hiding it from his friends” (109). Wait, it was a secret??? What??? But they literally saw him fall off the cliff and saw the cloak save him in Heart of the Land, right? Or was it too dark?

“‘The wildcat’s name is Wilco’” (110). Hey, how come the gila monster didn’t get a name?

“‘They lived a long time ago, back before they were even Greencloaks’” (111). Which makes sense timeline-wise, gotta love that. (The four bond tokens and their owners live and eventually give their tokens to their lands → First Devourer War and creation of Greencloaks → The Greencloaks are given the bond tokens as thanks for ending the First Devourer War.)

It makes me wonder why Amaya is called the New Lands, then, because it’s clearly been around for a long time. 

It has to mean something that Gransfen’s story started because of the Crimson Raiders, who coincidentally share a color with the Redcloaks.

“‘If these gifts are so powerful, why didn’t the Greencloaks keep them and use them to defend Erdas? . . . ’” (113). Yeah. Exactly.

“‘It’s enchanted. Full of old magic. No one enters that place anymore, not even hunters’” (113). Magic??? Magic exists in this world??? Enchantments??? It’s probably just a legend, Worthy.

“‘But then my men found the strangest item in his bedroom, hidden underneath the floorboards’” (115). Why does the militia have a search warrant for the Earl of Trunswick’s house??? Like, he wasn’t even suspicious before then???

“Rollan didn’t miss a beat. ‘Dawson, you’re a Greencloak! You should have told us-’” (115). Exactly what was Rollan trying to achieve here? The militia already know they are Greencloaks. Was he trying to shift the blame onto Dawson and hope he could talk his way out of it??? It seems weird. 

“‘Are these the kids you saw running through the streets?’ ‘Yes, Captain,’ the oldest one said. ‘The two girls. The boy wasn’t with them’” (115). They betrayed them??? (Yes, betray is a strong word, but Meilin and Abeke helped them, and they returned the favor by turning them in.)

“‘Their leader, Cordelia the Kind, threatened to ransack only half the town if we turned you over upon their return’” (116). Bruh.

“‘I’m called Worthy,’ he said. He reached behind his head and unfastened his mask. ‘But before, I was known by another name’” (118). The way this almost perfectly parallels Shane’s reveal is so. I love it. Shane said “I’m called King”, then removed his mask, then revealed that he used to go by another name. Maybe Shane taught the Redcloaks how to dramatically reveal themselves.

“‘We marched to the castle after that and burned it down . . . ’” (118). Yeah, see. Devin didn’t burn it down.

“‘I’m sorry for bringing the cloak with me. I just couldn’t part with it yet’” (119). 

“Meilin raised an eyebrow. ‘About everything?’ Rollan could feel the heat rising to his neck” (119). Why’s he blushing??? What’s there to blush about?

Chapter 10

“”But Meilin reminded herself that the people of Trunswick had much to lose as well if the Greencloaks weren’t successful” (121). True . . . ish.

The iconic Rollan-horse rivalry strikes again.

“ . . . Meilin noticed that the flags flying above the city walls displayed the image of Rumfuss the Boar” (121). Not Briggan?

“”’But this isn’t really my home anymore” (122). Devin Trunswick changing his name to Worthy symbolism for him abandoning Trunswick?

“‘Dawson was right - the old Devin Trunswick was a real bully . . . ’” (122). I like that they don’t make his bad deeds seem lesser now that he’s good.

“Meilin blocked each strike, then leaped onto a tree branch, out of reach of Anka’s staff” (124). She just . . . jumped onto a tree???

“Smirking, she began to run in a circle, dragging her boots heels into the dry ground. She was creating a small dust storm” (125). This is almost the exact same tactic she uses when she fights Anka again later.

“‘I’m glad fate brought us together, Meilin. You’re almost like the sister I never had’” (125). I wonder if she said those exact words to Song.

“‘At least, that’s what my tutors used to tell me when I misbehaved’” (127). That reminds me, what happened to the iconic Rollan-Meilin tutor inside joke?

“‘Knowing the Greencloaks, they could have started the rumor about the forest being enchanted’” (127). Oh, thank goodness it isn’t actually enchanted. Thirteen books in is a little late to introduce new lore.

“‘My kids would love to hear more about your adventures’” (127). Worthy’s hero arc peaks.

“ . . . for the first time on their journey, he wasn’t wearing his mask” (127). Huh.

“Meilin didn’t want to agree with Rollan, but he was right” (128). Will Meilin’s first instinct always be to argue with Rollan?

“They kept moving, walking through lunchtime” (129). Worthy didn’t complain about being hungry: character development?

“Meilin shrugged. ‘We wait. And hope that the tree outlasts the bears’” (133). I’m obsessed with Meilin being the one to suggest waiting. Not that there’s a better option.

Chapter 11

“Worthy only tripped twice. Conor took this as a positive” (135). I love how Conor is haggling (in his head) about Worthy’s clumsiness.

“‘Some rumors say that the black wildcat breathed fire when she was really mad,’ Worthy said. ‘When she hissed and spat, she’d be liable start forest fires. Maybe some of that heat is still around.’ Meilin rolled her eyes. ‘Or more likely, we’re close to a geyser or fault line that keeps that area warm’” (137). The grammar is killing me. Also, gotta love how Worthy loves to exaggerate the wildcat tales. At the end of the day, she was just a normal spirit animal, she was just bonded to a hero.

“Meilin hesitated after removing her pack, almost as if she was going to pull something from it, but left it on the ground with the others” (138). Rollan’s cloak, right?

“With his red cloak billowing behind him, he almost looked like he was flying as he dove into the water” (140). WEEEEEEEEEEE.

“‘Worthy, that was amazing!’ Conor said, kneeling beside his friend. Worthy had a few scratches, but otherwise seemed okay. ‘I can’t believe you did that!’” (141). Awwwww. He called Worthy his friend.

“She pulled out his green cloak” (142). Ha, called it.

Chapter 12

“Worthy had no idea why he leaped off the cliff to save Rollan” (143). Uh, because it was the right thing to do? Because Rollan’s part of the group?

“Prior to joining the Redcloaks, he’d always had trouble making friends” (143). Because he was a bully???

“The gyrfalcon squawked a reply. Rollan nodded” (145). I guess spirit animals and humans don’t have to be able to “speak” to one another to communicate?

“Meilin was the finest warrior he’d ever met. How could someone so ferocious be afraid of spiders?” (146). PTSD. Also, Devin canonically used to be scared of spiders. 

“‘The closest I’ve come is: Each day must end, but the mighty shall rise again under a volcano’s roar.’” (148). Imagine if Worthy was wrong, though. Or only partially correct.

“‘And on the boat . . . Worthy said the wildcat’s roar was as loud as an erupting volcano.’ . . . ‘Volcanoes also spew lava when they erupt,’ Meilin said. ‘Fire. Heat.’” (150). Obsessed with the fact that Meilin figured this out pretty much on her own.

“Gransfen and Wilco had been the protectors of an entire land. He was just a kid in a white mask and red cloak trying to make up for his past mistakes” (152). His redemption arc is almost as good as Shane’s.

“Is this the Great Briggan? And Uraza and Jhi? He looked up at the nook in the ceiling where Essix rested. This is most unexpected” (154). Yeah, following the timeline, when Gransfen died, the Four Fallen would have still been literal Great Beasts. Also, at least this time, we’re getting a solid explanation for why Gransfen is willing to give them the bond token.

“He puffed his chest out and placed his hands on his hips” (154). Worthy trying to look heroic even as he talks to a hero is funny. 

“Bond tokens are powerful, but also deadly when placed into the wrong hands” (155). Okay, at least we get a solid explanation for why the Greencloaks hid them, then.

“There were men who used distrust and division to turn leaders into sheep . . . They would channel rage and anger into weapons of destruction and death” (155). This is shockingly similar to what Kikimi said. She also used “d-words” such as death and distrust.

“Instead, she instructed me to create one of my own. My bond token, like her crystal bear talisman, would amplify Wilco’s powers” (156). This makes me wonder whether bond tokens and talismans are the same thing. The only difference is that talismans can only be used by the Marked and bond tokens can be used by anybody, but what if the Great Beasts used to be bonded to humans even before the First Devourer War? What if that’s how they got talismans in the first place (bond tokens, actually) and then when their human partners died and they became Great Beasts again, they swore to look after their bond tokens for all eternity? This theory doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but . . . 

“‘The Greencloaks have always been secretive about information they consider dangerous,’ Anka reminded them. ‘Like the source of the bonding Nectar and the location of Stetriol.’ She ran a small finger along her chameleon’s bumpy back. ‘Perhaps that’s why the nations lost their faith in them’” (158). Anka showing signs of being a traitor already. Not that these aren’t valid criticisms.

“‘Maybe that’s why the Great Beasts were so protective of their talismans,’ Rollan said. ‘I would be, too, if I knew someone could come along and smash it, wiping me from existence’” (159). We get a solid explanation for that, finally. Also, it kind of makes sense that the Great Beasts, in all their power, should have a weakness.

“‘But as long as there’s complete trust between you and the animal-’ ‘We should move out’ Meilin said, rising” (160). Meilin being the one to interrupt . . . hm.

Chapter 13

“‘Perhaps I should take the gifts,’ Anka whispered to Conor and Rollan” (162). Wow, I completely forgot about this. She really is suspicious.

“‘Meilin, honesty is a currency that doesn’t have to be spent all in one place,’ Rollan said” (162). Why is this such a Rollan thing to say. Like even without context, it just drips Rollan. I don’t know how to explain it.

“Spirit animals rushed in with them” (163). I feel like this arc completely undermines how rare spirit animals are supposed to be. An army of this size should not all have spirit animals. Besides the Greencloaks, of course. 

“‘No, more like I bit it,’ Worthy said, as he spat out a few yellow-green scales” (164). Worthy bit a snake. A snake. Which he refused to eat at the campsite. Hmmmmm . . . symbolism???

“A woman with a ruby-red sword rushed toward Anka. The woman’s brown braided hair flopped behind her as she ran” (165). Cordelia. Okay, so she’s not going to hurt Anka.

“‘Put down your weapons,’ the woman said, moving her blade closer to Anka’s throat. ‘This battle is over’” (166). Okay, so Anka must have been knocked down on purpose on her part so that Cordelia could fake-threaten her.

Chapter 14

“ . . . she thought she saw the glint of a silver bade right before the red cloak fell over it” (168). Indeed, she did.

“‘I could add you to my collection. Or perhaps I’ll make you my pet’” (168). Cordelia has a collection? Of what?

“‘ . . . I only burned the homes of half those trappers. I’d threatened to destroy all their belongings if they failed me. Again, my kindness has no bounds’” (169). She says, after literally describing a boundary of her kindness. At least she doesn’t actually appear to think she’s genuinely kind.

“It only lasted a moment, but Anka’s eyes flashed to the ground, toward Worthy’s feet” (170). She almost certainly did that on purpose.

“She stopped. Worthy’s red cloak was draped across his arm. He held the Wildcat’s Claw in his other hand” (172). That was actually a neat stunt.

“ . . . fire spewed from the jewel like a geyser turned on its side . . . ” (172). There’s no way the wildcat actually breathed fire. What???

“Abeke picked up Cordelia’s abandoned crossbow. Not as good as a bow, but it would do” (173). Abeke canonically thinks that crossbows are inferior to bows.

“‘I’ll hold them off for as long as I can. Try to buy you some time’” (175). And Worthy becomes a hero.

“This time the entire sword glowed. The steel blade had turned shiny blue. ‘Tell Dawson I was a hero!’” (176). Worthy finally getting his priorities in order. He only cares about what Dawson thinks now, instead of everybody. 

“‘Knowing Worthy, he’s probably already out, hiding in the trees. Just waiting for the perfect opportunity to reveal himself’” (180). She’s not wrong.

“Abeke couldn’t see Anka, but she was sure that she was crying, too” (180). I wouldn’t be so sure.

“‘Kovo, the Great Betrayer’” (181). Well, to be fair, he sort of did make up for that.

This book sort of parallels Hunted. In many ways, but in particular, in both books they don’t actually end up retrieving the item they came for (the Iron Boar, the Wildcat’s Claw). Very interesting.

Also, wow, does this author favor long chapters. The book is only fourteen chapters, but it's just as long as any other book in the series.

Final thoughts and rating:

I love this book. It’s definitely a character and relationship-developing book, as I mentioned, but it never feels like it slows the story down. Despite taking time to show characters’ thoughts on certain things (like Rollan’s thoughts on the Redcloaks and Abeke’s thoughts on Shane), it never sacrifices the plot for that. I like Worthy a lot in this book. His perspective is crucial to his arc and I love how it’s shown that despite his external arrogance and generally dramatic demeanor, he really does acknowledge his mistakes. Abeke’s thoughts on Shane and admitting to herself that it may do her good to talk about it was. I simply melted. When Worthy talked about how Shane taught the Redcloaks to be a team, it really brings Shane’s arc full circle, because it’s shown in many ways that when he was the Devourer, he did not care about his own soldiers at all. Rollan not trusting the Redcloaks works well with his background, and although it feels a bit like we’ve regressed in terms of his arc, it did feel realistic. Worthy sacrificing himself for the team made me soft, he truly became the hero he’d always wanted to be. The parallels to Hunted. I adore them. The way the entire book sort of mirrors Hunted, except now Conor and Worthy are on the same side? I love it. It’s another way Worthy is emphasized to have changed. I also love how Rollan used his wits to find a way to break out of the cage in the trappers scene. We need more of that. I also like how it’s implied that Anka genuinely cares about Meilin and she subtly tries to convince her that the Greencloaks are not good. It’s so genuinely chilling to reread that and see how manipulative what she says really is.

I wish Princess Song had a chapter in this book. I don’t even think she was mentioned. I wish this arc had kept up the trend of having a couple of chapters of Song’s perspective in every book, it would’ve simply been so good. We could’ve seen her spiral and lose her mind while keeping up this pristine image! We could’ve had little Easter eggs that make us feel something is off about her! It would’ve been such amazing foreshadowing! But we didn’t get it. While I like that Worthy sacrificed himself, I don’t like how he sacrificed himself. He chops off a chunk of stone, causing a collapse that falls on him as well as the Oathbound. But that’s so stupid! All he had to do was escape out of the cave and then cut through the walls on the cave to collapse it on just the Oathbound. Then he could’ve escaped through the waterfall with Abeke and the Wildcat’s Claw. Worthy’s sacrifice was necessary to the story, I agree, but holy shit, was the execution the dumbest thing ever. While I understand the parallels to Hunted and losing the bond token, I do wish the token had made it out. I wish the gang had learned to use it, especially Conor. It would’ve been so cool. Because the token is a flashy thing! It can set fire and slice through stone, both of which would leave visible marks that the Oathbound could use to track them! So the bond token would come with disadvantages that would balance the positives and I love that! It would’ve been so cool to explore. 

Rating: 9/10

[creoterative]

The TWDG x Diablo Collection

Hey guys! Yeah, two posts in a row, and they're huge, wow!

Okay, enough with this xD I'm a little sick at the moment and started to read a few TWDG stories again. You know, it's only a matter of time before I get back into the fandom again, it always is with me. And then I can continue to write Let's play a Game then, with all my heart. Just feels wrong writing it without having my head in the game.

Anyways, remember these funny little shorts I made about Marlon the Demon Hunter and Louis the Scoundrel? Well, I put them all together now!

Have fun and a nice day!

PS: Just so there's no confusion, I changed their names, so here's a list.

Marlon - Demon Hunter (player character)

Louis - Lyndon, the Scoundrel

Brody - Eirena, the Sorceress

Aasim - Kormac, the Templar

Clementine - Leah, niece of Lee

Lee - Deckard Cain

Ms Martin - Myriam

James - Tyrael

Kenny - Haedrig

Katjaa - Mira

Lilly - Magdha

Abel - Cultist

Carver - Zoltun Kull

Minnie - Cydaea

Chuck - Shen

Charlie - Urzael

Clem's mother - Adria (I got lazy, ok)

---

Marlon after picking up an axe: “.... I can’t.”

Me: “What?”

Marlon: “I can’t use it....”

Me: “What do you mean, you can’t use it? It’s an axe, swing it!”

Marlon: “I’m an archer!”

Me: “Do I look like I care? Kill zombies, doesn’t matter how!”

Marlon: “I literally can’t use an axe.”

Me: “Take it, with both hands please, and swing it around.”

Marlon: “.........”

Me: “Okay, fine, use that old, dirty, almost falling apart bow, but don’t you dare gimme a heart attack when you don’t deal as much damage as you should.”

---

Marlon: *passing a random perfectly cooked boar in the middle of the forest*

Me: “....No.”

Marlon: “.....”

Me: “Don’t look at it, it’s probably infected, we are not going back to take a bite, we are not checking if it has any loot, this is definitely a trap- we’re going back, alright.”

---

Marlon: “What is your uncle searching for?”

Clementine: “He’s trying to find the last pieces of the prophecy, that will show us how to make an end to the prime evil. Urgh, just another one of his many fairytales.”

Me, looking at Marlon, then at my pet devilish plant, that I named Rosie: “...Clem, you are literally standing next to a guy with red dragon wings, glowing eyes and a murderous plant. What do you mean ‘FaIrYtAlEs’???”

---

Ms Martin: “After fighting against the terror in his soul for so long, the King had to go insane, one way or another.”

Marlon: “He’s not the only one... My sister fell to darkness after our parents were slaughtered by the dead.”

Me: “...”

Marlon: “...”

Me: “And then you hit her with the flashlight or what?”

---

Aasim: “I will accompany you on your journey. Under one condition.”

Marlon: “What?”

Aasim: “If we find the old relics and folios of my order, they belong to me.”

Marlon: “Alright, I don’t have any use for books.”

Me: “Yeah, you like to shoot at them, especially the old dusty ones in hopes of finding gold, you maniac. That actually explains quite a lot.”

---

Marlon: “Of course there are three of them.”

Me: “Oh come on, I hate this task... just tell me in which crypt the crown is, damn blacksmith...”

Marlon: “Huh, it’s not in here. Gotta check the other ones.”

Me: “Uh-huh..... yeah..... sure.....”

Marlon: “Figures. It’s not in this one either.”

Me, on the edge to insanity: “WhO wOuLd HaVe GuEsSeD?????”

One insane horde of monsters and zombies later

Marlon: “Ah, there it is.”

Me: “.....Marlon, we went through SO much trouble for a dusty, broken, fucking old crown, I want more enthusiasm, you hear me??? Imagine finding food in the winter for Ericson’s, THAT’S gonna make you happy, right?! Imagine that and project it onto this little worthless piece of crap over there, because I am NOT doing anything like this again!!!”

Marlon: “....”

Me: “....”

Marlon: “....Should head back to Tristram.”

Me: “Yeah, sure.”

---

Louis: “Nice walk we’re doing here.”

Marlon: “We’re not on a walk, we’re fighting for our lives!”

Louis: “Even more reasons to enjoy the view!”

---

Clementine: “Look at this! This must’ve been built before the war of sins!”

Louis: “Oh, I can show you a thing or two about sins.”

Marlon: “Louis, shut up.”

---

Marlon: “Did you grow up as a Templar?”

Aasim: “No. Our sacred scriptures order us to spread out and fight the evil within people, then make them pure again.”

Marlon: “Huh. My initiation ritual was less... formal. I was asked if I want to kill demons and I said yes.”

Me: “...Marlon.... you.... you were twelve or so and severely traumatized.... I-I don’t know if... you really had a choice back there.....”

---

Aasim: “Do you ever feel fear when fighting the unholy creatures?”

Marlon: “If I ever felt it, it was comsumed by my hatred.”

Me: “So that’s why you thought it was a good idea to shoot at that big old door in the crypts, KNOWING that SOMETHING was waiting behind it. Something BIG.”

---

Maghda: “Nevermind! You will never get the second piece!”

Marlon: “Go to hell, witch!”

Me: “Damn, Marlon, wish you would’ve had these balls with Lilly. You know what, Imma call Maghda Lilly now, gotta make up for past mistakes, right?”

---

Louis: “HMMMM, sometimes I have a feeling you don’t really know where you wanna go.”

Marlon, after running towards a dead end in the spider cave for the fifteenth time: “Th-The right way isn’t always clear, you know?”

Louis: “Mhm, sure.”

---

Marlon: “So, where do you come from?”

Louis: “Kingshaven! The city right next to our beloved sea. Full of great treasure and nets with stinky fish.”

Marlon: “I know. What were you doing there?”

Louis: “O-Oh, well, I, uhm, at the moment I’m in a transition phase, you know?”

Marlon: “Nothing honorable, no doubt.”

Louis: “Hey, I’m the most honorable thief you’ll ever meet!”

---

Before Lee’s death

Lee: “The scriptures about the eternal conflict tell us about an old temple, where-”

Marlon: “I’m not interested in books, old man. Tell me where to go and I’ll do what has to be done.”

After Lee’s death

Ms Martin: “You look a little gloomy there. Tell me what old Ms Martin can do to lighten up your mood.”

Marlon, shadows swooshing around him, eyes glowing red: “I’m not in a bad mood. I’m excited for the moment when I kill Maghda and every single member of her godforsaken circle.”

Ms Martin: “Heavens, if that’s what you look like when you’re excited, I don’t wanna be around when you’re angry.”

---

Marlon: “Why do you waste your time lusting after women?”

Louis: “You can’t waste your time with anything better.”

Marlon: “But you let them fall without remorse.”

Louis: “There was only one who would’ve been worth it, but... she’s out of my reach now.”

Marlon: “That’s no excuse for running after every woman we meet.”

Louis: “You’re totally right, sometimes THEY should be running after ME!”

---

Marlon: “Who taught you how to fight?”

Louis: “My older brother. He thought the crossbow was the ideal weapon for me because it gives you time to run away if things go wrong.”

Marlon: “The crossbow is no weapon for cowards.”

Louis: “Nawww, did I insult you?”

Marlon: “Be quiet.”

---

Abel: “He’s unstoppable! No ordinary human could slaughter our brothers like this!”

Lilly: “Then die well! Lord Belial will honor your deaths!”

Abel: “He’s here! Kill him!”

Marlon, busting through the door: “COME AND GET ME, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!! GO BACK TO HELL, ALL OF YOU!!!”

Louis: “Damn right, they didn’t even mention me!”

---

Louis: “Do you think I’m her type?”

Marlon: “Whose type?”

Louis: “Your friend, Clementine’s!”

Marlon: “No.”

---

Marlon: “You look a little glum there. What is on your mind?”

Kenny: “Oh, I was just thinking about Katjaa...”

Marlon: “Oh... your wife. I’m sorry about that, but it had to be done. Do you want to talk about her?”

Kenny: “If you would like to listen... Actually, we met here in Caldeum.”

Marlon: “Here? How?”

Kenny: “You won’t believe it, but she was in a cage!”

Marlon: “What, you married a criminal...?”

Kenny: “No! She was accused of having used ancient, forbidden spells!”

Marlon: “You married a WITCH???”

Kenny: “Argh, forget about it.”

Me: “Marlon, you are running around with one, no two, wait, THREE witches yourself, a guy who we all think is some kind of ancient being, a guy who was an ARCHANGEL and a lady who can see the future. And don’t forget the thief!” *Louis waving in the background*

---

Carver: “You and I aren’t that different from each other. I can help you to gain the power of your birthright, the power, to rule the world.”

Marlon: “That’s a bad idea. I can’t fight with someone I don’t trust.”

Me: “....Wait, hold on, if you trusted him, you WOULD do it???”

---

Marlon: “King’s Haven is a great city. Why did you leave?”

Louis: “Oh, the usual, I wanted to see the world!”

Marlon: “Let me guess, you stole something from an important person and got caught.”

Louis: “...yeah....”

---

Minnie: “I hope you didn’t take on too much, little boy.”

Louis: “Hah, never!”

Marlon, back to back with Louis, almost bleeding out: “NEVEEEER!!!”

---

Aasim to Marlon: “Wait. Before we fight this unholy creature... When we first met, I thought you were reckless and eaten up by your own hatred-”

Me: “You weren’t wrong there, buddy.”

---

Ms Martin: “Horrible things happen, even as we speak. I see a city in flames and an old friend, who pays the ultimate price so that the truth can come to light.”

Marlon: “That sounds familiar....”

Ms Martin: “Oh, you can see the future too?”

Marlon: “No, I - forget it...”

Me: “....No, please do elaborate, what the fuck did you accidentally activate this time?”

---

James: “I called these holy heavens my home... To see it in shambles like this, it pains me more than the endless battles we fought day by day against the dark armies of hell.”

Louis: “Oh, with a bit of demon blood and ashes scattered across the floor, they’ll look just fine, don’t worry!”

Marlon: “Louis, if you don’t shut up, I’ll throw you back to earth.”

---

Louis: "Westmarch is just one big disaster. I need a drink. Or five."

Marlon: "Wait until we're done saving the city."

Louis: "But you're always taking so long!"

---

Louis: "Sometimes I can't tell which one of our friends is the most insufferable. Kenny is always miserable and Chuck eats like a boar. Somehow, you seem to be the normal guy in the group."

Marlon, thinking about his cruel, dark, traumatizing past: "....I'm sorry, what?"

---

Marlon, to a villager: "Leave that necromancy stuff, you hear me?!"

Louis: "You're one to talk."

Marlon, offended: "Hey, shadowmagic is totally different!"

---

Charlie: "But what I saw were humans. Lots of them. They kill, they sin, they enjoy the bloodshed they cause. And they always choose violence."

Louis: "And sometimes we live, laugh and love. Hell, some of us even marry."

---

Louis: "Do you think our journey still has a purpose?"

Marlon: "What purpose could be greater than fighting the personification of Death itself?"

Louis: "Oh, I dunno, a nice evening in a bar with friends that don't die in the end?"

---

Louis: "I wonder where all the Nephalim went that lived in this city."

Marlon: "You can see those bones on the ground, right?"

---

Marlon: "Why didn't they send reinforcements from Bramwell or Kingshaven?"

Commander: "Didn't you know? The maidens are attacking every single city from here to Caldeum."

Marlon: "Oh..."

Louis, slightly panicking: "That's all you gotta say?! OH???"

---

Louis: "Leave me alone..."

Marlon: "Stop drowning yourself in liquor. It won't bring your brother back. You should bring that knife to Kenny and find out who killed him."

Louis: "I already know that, it was the goddamn clan of thieves...."

Marlon: "That's only a guess. And that can be dangerous."

Louis: "Listening to you is dangerous!"

---

Clem's mother: "She... has a good heart, my daughter."

Marlon: "What, you didn't want that?"

Clem's mother: "A good heart doesn't help us in these difficult times."

Marlon, looking over his shoulder:

Louis in the background, playing with a little meat golem that he found in the woods

Marlon, looking back at Clem's mother: "That guy over there is still alive and helpful as ever."

Louis: "Hey Marlon! It can give a high-five!"

Marlon: "....Mostly helpful."

---

Marlon: "Only the dead smell this bad. The fallen star has to be close."

Louis: "Funny, I thought that smell came from you."

---

Marlon: "Old Tristram... Diablo's essence still haunts this place, even after all these years."

Louis: "Was it the never ending darkness or the dead people walking around that made you guess that?"

---

Aasim: "How did I not see how corrupt my order is?"

Louis: "We all make mistakes. You just make some more."

Marlon: *elbows him in the gut*

---

Marlon: "Our enemies keep coming, no matter how many of them we kill..."

Louis: "What, are you getting tired?"

Marlon: "Never. I'll kill them all, whatever it takes."

Louis: "Geez, always so serious."

---

Louis: "Pretty aggressive foliage here, hm?"

Marlon, dangling from a few living vines: "Oh, how ever did you guess that?!"

---

Louis: "You know, I'm known as a real philanderer back in King's Haven."

Marlon: "I couldn't care less, Lou. It's not important right now."

Louis: "Of course it is! Women get wild in the apocalypse!"

Marlon: "Sometimes I regret agreeing to your company."

Me: "And the fact that Louis has never touched a woman in his life makes this even more ridiculous."

---

*Marlon and Louis saving a poor peasant from a horde of monsters*

Peasant: "Thank you so much! My wife and I thought we'd be dead for sure!"

Marlon: "You're safe now, no need to be scared."

Peasant: "Please, come with me, my wife wants to thank you too!"

Louis: "You're wife, you say?"

Marlon: *shooting him an annoyed look*

Peasant: "Here, my darling, the two brave men who saved us!"

Marlon: "..."

Louis: "....Are you... seeing what I'm seeing...?"

Marlon: "That is no longer your wife."

Peasant: "She hasn't eaten very much in the past few days, but I still love her!"

Marlon: "Sometimes, love is to let go."

*the woman's head falls off*

Peasant: "Oh, she fell asleep..."

Louis: "If I ever fall asleep that way, throw me to the pigs, it's long overdue."

---

Marlon: "Would you ever robb a grave?"

Louis: "Well, is it really robbing, when the person it belonged to doesn't have any use for it?"

Marlon: *shocked gasp*

Me: "Hold on, mister. We've been running around in this game for months now and you never questioned it when I made you loot a corpse or two or seven at once. You literally broke into so many crypts, I've lost count. And NOW you're wondering if that's a good idea? It never was, no doubt, we got into more trouble than we would've if we'd just let them lay there. But boy, your moral compass is a roulette wheel, if I've ever seen one."

---

Clementine: "We're not that different, you and I. The only difference is, that I can't control my power."

Louis: "Clem, Marlon wears a mullet, I'm not sure if he's able to get properly dressed in the morning."

Marlon: "I'm standing right next to you, you know?"

---

Louis: "So, those are the Halls of Agony. What a charming place."

Marlon: "I hope that was irony."

Louis, sarcastically: "Whaaat, no, I love being impaled by an iron maiden or getting burned by some crazy cultist, that's my favorite thing on saturdays!"

---

Brody: "That man you are traveling with, he has the same aura as a Seraph!"

Marlon: "James. Yeah, he fell from heaven to help us save the world."

Brody: "You are truly blessed with your comrades."

Marlon, looking at Louis: "I am?"

---

Louis: "Treasure might be the finest thing in the world. There's nothing like it!"

Marlon: "You're always talking, aren't you?"

Louis: "It's one of my better qualities."

---

Louis: "I can get you a better bow if you'd like, Clemmy."

Clementine: "By stealing it?"

Louis: "Does it matter?"

Marlon: "Of course it does."

Louis: "How strange."

---

Louis: "What is your deepest wish?"

Aasim: "To serve my order valorously."

Louis: "Oh."

Aasim: "You sound disappointed."

Louis: "My wish is to be incredibly wealthy and surrounded by beautiful women. Yours is simply lacking by comparison."

---

Alright, that was it! Hope y'all like it and have a nice day!

[nikethestatue]

do you think after we get the last 2 ACOTAR novels and the novella, that sjm will decide to expand the series even more? I feel like because it's now her most popular series and it sells like crazy, that she and her publisher might decide to continue with it.

I mean the shadowhunter series was originally supposed to be a trilogy but it gained a huge fanbase and now there's like 20+ books.

Would you personally want more books in the ACOTAR world? Although there are lots of interesting characters, i think the author has run out of ideas for new plots and is only interested in writing smut/romance.

I am not a huge fan of authors giving anything definitive or numeric in terms of what is being planned. Things change all the time, works get expanded, or minimized, and I don't see the point of saying--well, there will be 6 more books, when in reality, there is only space for 4, or maybe for 9.

I dont want an author to 'over write' to fulfil some quota, or 'under write' because of the same reason. If the story is there, then write the story. If it's a successful story, then I am sure a publisher will sign up for more books. If it's self-published, then just do what you want to do.

Sure I'd read more SJM! She pegged herself into this corner with 3 novels and 2 novellas, and now the crossover. She should've just kept writing, and when it was over, it was over. There is just so much pressure now and mostly disappointment, from the readers, because of these book counts.

I would be greatly interested in reading more books from the TOG universe. I'd love some ACOTAR prequels too! Do I need a Viviane and Kallias book? No. But would I read a Myriam and Drakon book? Yes. The First War book? Yes! Also, would LOVE other POVs books. Like we have Feyre's POV. What about Rhys's? of the same events. Do I want to learn more about Amarantha? or UTM? Totally. Give me an Elorcan book!

There is plenty of material. Question is does SJM have it in her to write it?

[zenruption]

The Best Financial Investments in Healthcare

Healthcare is one of the most profitable sectors in the world, and there are plenty of investment opportunities to be had too. When investing, you don’t need to start with thousands or even hundreds. You can look for smaller platforms that allow you to put less in, so you can slowly build up your investments over time. 

Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash

The healthcare business investment possibilities cover everything from medical supply manufacturers, technology companies, service providers, pharmaceuticals, and even assisted living business opportunities.

How can you invest in healthcare? 

There are several ways that you can invest in healthcare; some of them you may have heard of, while others might be nice. 

REITs are healthcare real estate and involve things like seniors living, medical offices and hospitals, or other medical facilities. 

ETFs are healthcare exchange-traded funds, which means you can gain access to many companies but a single product. 

Stocks are something that most people are comfortable with and understand, and there are a lot of options and sub-industries within the healthcare field that are open to investments. 

Directly into a business is as possible and will give you a more hands-on role.

Should you always invest in the most expensive stocks?

There is a big difference between the most valuable stock and the most expensive. Expensive stock can be hundreds or thousands per single stock, and that gives you a relatively small position to start with. 

Keep in mind that during the big gold rush, people made money in two ways, one was the shovels used to dig, and the other was the digging itself. In the care of healthcare, you can look at the supply chain and look for a lower-cost stock. 

And not all expensive stocks are good stock. 

What industries can I look at within the healthcare sector? 

Healthcare is a broad term when it comes to just how many opportunities there are for investment. 

Pharma, BioTech & Life Sciences

Life sciences and tools are clinical testing, research services, and analytical tools.

Biotechnology developed vaccinations and other products from live organisms. 

Pharmaceuticals research and development, plus production of products like pills and vaccines from artificial sources

Healthcare Equipment and Services 

Healthcare technology is companies that offer technological tools and services to the sector, platforms, programming and systems, and others.

Healthcare providers and services are things like wholesalers, insurers, healthcare products, those that provide healthcare services, and even distributors. 

Equipment and supplies like bandages, needles, machines, beds, and stethoscopes. 

The healthcare sector is always going to grow; people live longer than ever now, and with new technology, there are serious advancements in treatments and medication. We will likely see more breakthroughs, so investing in. 

It would be best if you always kept in mind that when you make investments, it should never be more than you are prepared to lose, and seeking further financial information and advice from an advisor is a good idea. 

There are a couple of things you can do to help yourself get investment ready, too; here are 3 Things You Need To Do Before Investing — corruption. 

[myriamas]

❂

myriam listened to zahra, her friend's words cutting through the haze of her doubts. the shadows of the room seemed to deepen, creating an intimate cocoon around them. she gazed down at inaaya, the baby’s tiny fingers still curled around her own. a small sigh escaped her lips. “speaking to the merchants sounds like a smart move,” she began, her voice tired but thoughtful. “but what if by doing that, i’m stirring up internal issue in volantis? it’s not even our realm. i don’t want to ignite more conflict or cause harm in a place we don’t control."

she gently rocked inaaya, the baby’s warmth providing a small measure of comfort. “it’s just... i want to believe there’s a way to make a difference without compromising who we are. it’s hard to see how when everything is so tangled.” her eyes met zahra’s, searching for reassurance. “the comet... i want to trust it means something good, but it feels like just another issue, zahra.”

drawing a deep breath, myriam tried to push away the lingering doubts. “do you have any connections in volantis?” she asked, her tone suddenly curious. “i remember seeing you speak to that lady once. can we start there? maybe she can point us toward the right people.” the thought of reaching out to someone specific gave her a sliver of hope, even if it was a tentative one.

the flickering firelight danced across the room, casting fleeting shadows on the walls. myriam held her baby close, drawing strength from the tiny life in her arms. “i don’t want to betray our legacy or our values. but we need to find allies who believe as we do, who see slavery for what it is.” she paused, feeling the weight of her words. she looked at zahra, gratitude and determination mingling in her gaze. “thank you for being here, for helping me see things a bit clearer. even if the path isn’t obvious yet.” the room’s quiet settled around them, the bond between friends a small but steady beacon in the uncertain night.

zahra sat across from myriam, the shadows of the room weaving around them, but she could feel the weight of her friend’s words pressing on her. she could hear the conflict in myriam’s voice, see it in the tight set of her shoulders as she cradled inaaya close, the baby’s tiny hand still curled around her finger. zahra understood the weight of that burden—had carried something similar herself. but there was something else now, something she could not ignore. she had known myriam for years, and this was different. this wasn’t just about power or strategy; this was about the core of who they were.

the seer's gaze lingered on myriam, her mind working swiftly. “perhaps if you want to find those in volantis who oppose slavery,” she said thoughtfully, “start with the trade guilds. the merchants, the people who don’t rely on slaves for their wealth—many of them resent the practice, seeing it as outdated and inefficient. if you can find a way to speak with those who hold influence in those circles, you might uncover allies who share our values."

zahra leaned back in her chair, folding her hands in her lap. the moonlight on the walls seemed to deepen the shadows, lending an air of intimacy to the quiet room. her eyes glanced briefly toward the window where the comet’s faint light bathed the night, a reminder of the uncertainty they all faced.

she glanced at myriam, her heart aching for her friend’s inner turmoil. “you are not betraying your legacy by seeking peace, not if that peace protects your people. you’ll find a way to balance it, like you always have. I believe that.”

zahra stood and moved to the window, her silhouette framed against the starry night, her eyes flicking up to the comet that myriam had spoken of. "the comet," she murmured, "it’s an omen, yes. but not a bad one. don’t mistake the sign of change for one of destruction. trust that it means something new is coming—something that may not be clear yet, but it’s coming. it doesn’t mock you, myri jaan. it’s just… a sign that things are never as they seem."

turning back, she met her friend’s gaze once more, her expression resolute, yet gentle. “you are not alone in this struggle. and sometimes, it’s okay not to trust your heart fully… as long as you trust those around you, those of us who see your heart from the outside looking in."

[night-eagle-flight]

Connor Kenway x Reader

Random short one-shot. Hope you enjoy!

“Where’s Y/N?” Connor asked after he looked around.

“I saw her dozing off on a chair just a minute ago.” Myriam said with a smile.

Connor thanked Myriam and began to look for you and after a minute he found you curled up on 2 chairs in a corner. He smiled and walked over to pick you up.

“You two leaving already?!” Yelled Norris.

“Yes. Y/N fell asleep and if she stays she’ll end up feeling achy tomorrow.”

“Bye Connor!” Yelled everyone as he walked towards the door.

Connor nodded and walked off to the homestead. When he was far enough he spoke, “We are clear.”

You opened your eyes, “Thank goodness. That chair was starting to hurt my shoulder.”

Connor laughed, “Why did you want to leave the party early?” 

“I uh.... I’m not very good at social events. I mean... I care about everyone but sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed.” 

“Hmmm...” Connor was pensive for a second, “It is still a bit early to go to bed. Would you like to do something with me?”

“Like what?” you asked.

“You will see.” 

Connor sat you down on a log behind the homestead and disappeared inside. After a while you were about to go in when you saw him coming out with a pair of steaming cups and a blanket. 

“You like hot chocolate and I know you like to be in a quiet space.”

You smiled, “Connor!” You gushed, “You know me too well!”

Connor handed you the mug, sat next to you and covered you both in the blanket.

“Would you like to hear a story?”

You nodded and so Connor began to tell you the story of how he managed to not punch Paul Revere. 

“He didn’t even help you bring in the boat and he has the audacity to tell you to hurry up!?” You were mad.

“Well, he did fall off the horse and into the mud at one point.” Connor replied.

“How?” You asked.

“The horse “accidentally” got spooked and stood on its hind legs.”

You started laughing and Connor started laughing with you.

“I love you Connor.” You said out of the blue.

“I love you too Y/N.” Connor said as he leaned down to kiss you. 

He always liked it when you drank hot chocolate because the kisses always became that much sweeter. But he kept that little secret to himself.

[separatist-apologist]

Ohh i saw your reblog on Jurian, Miryam and Drakon thing. Yessss, I love him. Like he is a general, he had lives long enough and actually see the rest of the HL grow old and almost half of them were barely in their 20s, 30s when Jurian were in the war and the whole Cythia thing. I mean, the respect he had gained during that time? And his name must-have pass among human as a legend? Come on, give this human a lott of credit and respect. He deserves it and to have his lover TURNED her back from him. Lord, this man got patience. As he lives with lucien as the band of exile right, I wonder if Lucien went dumbstruck one day and be: "Couldron, this must be one reason why this old man is kept alive 500 years" and secretly respect him. I cant with Jurian, it is so sad and tragic. He is the man that has live too long to be consider as human and nothing about him fit as a fae.

He lost his lover, the people he had love were no longer exist, trapped as a ring, raised from the dead and brought again to life. I mean, if i am him, I will carry a small calendar with me to remember this is no longer 500 years back when humans were slaved then slapped anyone dared to say no to me.

I think what annoys me about the Jurian narrative is the framing. All humans are slaves or slave adjacent when Jurian is born. He stages a successful uprising and is actively fighting back and keeping the worst of Hyberns commanders at bay with no magic.

Myriam comes to him when he's out in the Dead Lands or whenever. It's not like Drakon did her any favors by freeing her. He's just like, good luck. Whats stopping anyone else from harming her? Enslaving her? It's not as if she has any true rights.

She joins the army as a healer. Other Prythian territories, like Beron Vanserra (known terrible person) + Rhysands father (also known bag of dick's) are in this war. Spring is aiding Hybern, you have to assume the weren't the only ones. Day Court was also on the side of humans but the rest? Unclear.

And what irks me is that the slavery + war is written to show Rhys is a good person without confronting how utterly horrific the whole thing is to start with. Look at this good dude fighting for liberty. But SJM has effectively centered the oppressor in her own fight and demonized Jurian for what?

Killing slave owner Clythia? I wish he would have killed more. Myriam encourages him to do it, which I imagine felt akin to selling your soul and while he's trying to fight a war, Drakon has arrived. Not because it's the right thing to do but because he can't stop thinking about Myriam. She's his mate and now this has another fucking layer of terrible to it.

Myriam is very clear she ends things with Jurian before running off with Drakon and Jurian is suddenly the Tamlin in the Feysand retelling, only if Tamlin had been fighting to keep monsters from enslaving everyone and now Feysand is mad about his methods.

The last time anyone sees Jurian, he's taking on Amarantha on his own. Drakon and Myriam LEAVE. Close their borders and just go. And when Jurian returns, everyone is so worried he's gonna be mean to her like idk I think Myriam deserved to hear some criticism for her choices, if nothing else. They got painted as friends and for what? Having to be begged to do the bare minimum AGAIN? Lucien Vanserra had to drag them kicking and screaming out of their fucking hole and they get to lecture people on morality?

Part of it is just SJM does not think about the indications of this sort of shit which is why I LAUGH when people are like, there are breadcrumbs HIDDEN like baby this isn't a TSwift album. She doesn't even flesh out her magic system and routinely paints her rebels as the villains if they hurt their oppressors feelings (crescent city).

Look. If it were me and the dude who'd been a magic ring for 500 years were brought back by the same people who trapped him in the ring, I'd be fucking suspicious that maybe he was mad. MAYBE he was up to something. Maybe they were not pals.

And literally everyone in ACOWAR was like "Jurian is helping Hybern, makes total sense"

In what fucking world?

[neutrallyobsessed]

Exams of the Ace Attorneys

if I had a nickle for every respected doctor that cheated on their exams I'd had two nickles, which isn't a lot but considering I'm not into medical dramas and just so happen that the two medias I like that have doctor protags have cheated is more than a huge coincidence...

In any case, that got me thinking about if the ace attoreney characters have ever cheated on their exams so here's a list of my headcanons

Have in mind that this isn't about the bar examination, since that's a more lengthy process, and while you probably can cheat in any of the steps, it's a more complicated issue for me to think about... so maybe for another post (or you can steal this concept idc). This is about the exams and tests taken in law school to get the degree necessary for taking the bar exam in the future

and here it is:

Phoenix Wright: yeah?? by virtue of being the protagonist I think he cheated a couple of times, specially when he was jaggling with the art degree but he stoped when he ditched the arts and concentrated in law, what kind of lawyer could he be if he cheated (more)?

Apollo Justice: he didn't cheat, but sometimes he wishes he did lol

Athena Cykes: she cheated once but will tell you that it was the professor who left a loophole so it wasn't really cheating (but was it?)

Mia Fey: she has prepared cheat sheets for test she didn't feel all that confident but didn't actually use them so she didn't get to cheat

Diego Armando: yeah he did cheat, but it was more of checking that his answers were correct rather than looking over before answering (and never to Mia uwu <3)

Lana Skye: no, she would never

Neil Marshall: not only he doesn't cheat, but snitches on cheaters

Marvin Grossberg: he cheated once and felt really guilty about it, never again

Robert Hammond: actually I don't think he cheated. i know it's obvious for the bad lawyer to do bad things like cheating but i think is funnier if he didn't xd

Gregory Edgeworth: he didn't cheat but let others copy off him <3

Miles Edgeworth: he didn't cheat but lets other copy his wrong answers and when they turned over their exams he would erase and turn in the correct answers <3

Manfred Von Karma: NEVER CHEATS. PERFECT SCORE ALWAYS. PEOPLE SAYS HE DID BUT HE DIDN'T. HAS SNITCHED ON MANY CHEATERS that's kind of why people think he cheats

Franziska Von Karma: she didn't cheat on law exams but has on other classes. like who cares that the mithocondria is the powerhouse of the cell when ballistic markings being the fingerprints of a gun is much more interesting?

The Payne Brothers: they cheated a couple of times yeah, they won't admit it but they did

Klavier Gavin: didn't cheat but thinks Kristoph did

Kristoph Gavin: yeah he did cheat but thinks Klavier did too so there's no problem

Simon Blackquill: i don't think he did... if he got to prosecute despite being a convicted felon then that could mean that he's really fucking good at his job, meaning he didn't cheat (or maybe Edgeworth isn't inmune to Blackquill's manipulation who knows?)

The Students of Themis Law Academy: not only most of the students cheated but it's actually encouraged to do so. end justifies the means and such. it's only bad if you get caught 'cause if you're not going to be good at the exams, at least pretend that you are good En el caso que nos compete: Myriam is the best, Hugh is the worst, Juniper is the exception and Robin just done it a couple of times~

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi: he doesn't cheat and sends cheaters to The Hell of People Coming Into Your Room And Not Fully Closing The Door When Leaving

Dhurke Sahdmadhi: i don't know really..... i want to say that he would never, but he has that vibe that he has done it at least once...

Raymond Shields: look eating the answers of an exam BEFORE taking an exam is NOT cheating, ok????

Sebastian Debeste: y'see is not that he cheated per se... but his dad made sure he passed and if it wasn't for him, he couldn't approve any of his exams... so Sebastian himself didn't cheat, it was his father's doing y'know

Blaise Debeste: oh yeah he totally cheated lol

Jill Crane: another non-cheater but snitcher

Jacques Portsman: no, he would never! that's not sportmanship-like! >:( (unless?)

Byrne Faraday: hahaha yeah, he has cheated but would never tell that to Kay (i mean, how could he?.... spoilers aside). Tyrell would tell her tho

Calisto Yew: she pulled a Furio Tigre in all of our faces, she's never been a lawyer to begin with! she's never taken the bar exam, she never took law school, she doesn't have a degree on anything, she didn't cheat on tests, SHE CHEATED THE WHOLE ASS SYSTEM!!!

Bonus: none of the judges cheated but all of the detectives did

btw the doctors I referred to are Kenzo Tenma from Monster and Derek Stiles from Trauma Center xd

[dykesbat]

[VD: A clip of an interview from Sky News between journalist, Dr. Myriam Francois, and news anchor, Yalda Hakim.

Hakim: Dr. Francois, there are many who are saying the Biden administration, frankly, should have acted sooner and faster. That hundreds of billions of dollars has been put at risk because the Houthis have held this area in the Red Sea at ransom.”

Francois: Sorry. So, let me just get this straight Yalda. We are bombing the poorest– one of the poorest countries in the world that has been under a humanitarian blockade. There has been famine, these people have been decimated. And we are bombing them because a couple of guys in dinghies in support for the Palestinians, who are having a genocide committed against them, they’re objecting to that and we’re bombing them? Come on, now.

Hakim: Well, it– I–

Francois: I mean, this is just an insane world for us to even think–

Hakim: I–

Francois: I’m so sorry your Amazon packages are delayed, I really am. Like, I wish mine came on time. But, you know, genocide, guys, genocide. There are two mothers a day dying in Gaza right now. It’s 109 days into a conflict in which a humanitarian crisis has been declared to the world day in, day out.

Hakim: By the way, Dr. Francois, there are many who are Yemen watchers who monitor and follow the Houthis, who say this is doing wonders for their branding, actually.

Francois: Mhm.

Hakim: That it isn't just the Palestinian cause that they're focused on.

Francois: So call a cease-fire now and end the positive branding. If you want to stop the Houthis doing what they're doing, then call a cease-fire right now.

Hakim: Do you genuinely believe that the Houthis would stop doing what they're doing, if...

Francois: They have literally said that that's why they're doing what they're doing. They have not previously blocked those routes for any other reason except this one. So, yes, I do. And I also think the West needs to start to understand, that you cannot just go around playing cowboys in the world. There are consequences to your actions. You cannot just go around bombing people's countries, ignoring international law and expect no repercussions. For every cause there is a consequence and just 'cause you don't like a couple of guys trying to resist. The fact that this is–

Hakim: I mean, these are now proscribed terrorists, the Houthis.

Francois: Sure, according to Western governments, they are terrorist governments, yeah.

Hakim: Well, also according to the Yemeni people, because they've obviously been–

Francois: Yeah, which is a Saudi-backed government, which is essentially our.

Hakim: Yeah, but the Yemenis who live under Houthi rule, talk about the fact that this group continues to terrorize them as well.

Francois: Yalda, I'm no fan of the Houthis apart from when they're blockading in favor of a cease-fire, which should have been called a long time ago. 25,000 people are dead in Gaza right now. There are over 60,000 people injured with no access to food, water, aid. How dare we have a conversation about trade, when there are children right now being treated without anesthetic?

Hakim: Well the fact is that—

Francois: There are some things that require us to make some sacrifices and this would be one of them.

Hakim: I mean, they do have the global economy, global markets hostage.

Francois: Good for them.

Hakim: Bill Browder

Francois: Good for them. Cease-fire now, cease-fire now.

Hakim: We're gonna have to leave it there. But Dr. Myriam Francois—

Francois: You cannot allow these people to be decimated and expect there to be no consequences.

Hakim: I think that is a separate conversation.

End VD.]

[dandelionh3art]

I would like to write a thread. I have never really done this, so bare with me. In the last few weeks I have done a lot of research and read a lot of information, and I have also consulted with a Muslim friend.

I feel like people have a complete misconception about Islam.

Of course there are extremists in every nation, but you can't put every person of a certain religion, ethnic group in the same category.

Let's start with the Quran. The Quran can't just be translated into English, the meaning of the words and phrases it all gets lost in translation.

Linguistic problems include the lexicon, morphology, syntax, text differences, rhetorical differences, and pragmatic factors. Human translation of Arabic into English is difficult enough, but machine translation presents even more problems when translating between these two languages. The translation must be faithful to the original text in terms of both meaning and style. The translation should mirror the original meaning.

In saying this, I think if you really want to learn anything, you need to dig and do proper research, google is not a good source, I have found that Google has a lot of misinformation.

Talking to someone who is in fact Muslim. Talking to people will teach you way more than anything else.

https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/fake-news-islamophobia-racism-muslims-islam-british-uk-latest-news-54784/#

Let's start with the prophet Muhammad.

A lot of people think that he married a 6 year old girl. That is not true.

There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about this subject.

This is what I learned.

Let's get straight to the point.

Firstly, the Quran indicates that there is an “age of marriage” (4:6) when both consenting partners are mature physically and mentally to enter into the legal contract of marriage.

We all know that

The bigots and haters who bring up this issue in

Debates again and again, are not interested in knowing the facts about Aisha and her age at the time of marriage,

But their agenda is to

Desperately, "prove" that

Prophet Muhammad was a lust-driven, sinful and

Unethical person.

But I am hoping to share some information that will help.

I find the explanation of

Myriam Francois-Cerrah

Most apt on this issue. So I quote her directly from her article in The Guardian (17th Sep 2012).

"Since the early Christians heralded Christ as a model of celibate virtue,

Muhammad - who had

Married several times-

Deemed to be driven by

Sinful lust.

This portrayal ignored the fact that before

His marriage to Aisha,

Muhammad had been

Married to Khadija, a

Powerful businesswoman 15 years his senior, for 25

Years.

When she died, he was devastated and friends

Encouraged him to remarry.

"What the records are clear on is that Muhammad and

Aisha had a loving and

Egalitarian relationship,

Which set the standard for reciprocity,

Tenderness and

Respect enjoined by the

Quran. Insights into theirs

Relationship, such as the fact they liked to drink out of the same cup or race one another, is indicative of a deep connection which

Belies any misrepresentation

Of their relationship."

To paint Aisha as a victim is completely at odds with the person she was. During a controversial battle in Muslim history, she emerged

Riding a camel to lead the

Troops.

She was known for her assertive temperament

And mischievous sense of

Humor – with Muhammad.

Sometimes bearing the brunt Of the jokes. During his Lifetime, he established her

Authority by telling Muslims To consult her in his absence. After his death, she went to be become one of the most prolific and distinguished scholars of her time."

Which means she was definitely not a 6 year old girl. She was of adult mind. I have reached the conclusion that she was anything between 16 and 19 years old when she got married.

I will post some articles from Muslim scholars who are trying to rectify some of the misinformation.

https://www.counterview.net/2022/06/hazrat-aishas-age-was-16-not-6-weak.html?m=1

https://www.islamicity.org/11238/10-misconceptions-about-islam/

May Jesus have been Palestinian? He may very well be.

"Most religious scholars and historians agree with that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C. and would become the lingua franca in much of the

Middle East."

Who still speak this language? This is what I found.

"Jewish Palestinian Aramaic is the term most frequently used today to describe the Aramaic written and spoken by Jews in Palestine during the Byzantine Period."

Historical records as well as genetic studies indicate that modern Palestinians, mostly descend from local ancient Levantines who converted from Judaism and other Levantine mythologies to Christianity and later to Islam. The researchers also determined that the Canaanites - who frequently appear in ancient sources, including the Bible - descended from a mixture of an earlier Levantine population and migrants coming from the Caucasus region or modern-day Iran.

So my question is, are the Palestinians the Jews from the Bible?

Can't say for sure.

But what I have learned is that Muslims are a peaceful religion.

They fight back only when they are being attacked, they have morality, integrity and most people's hate is due to brainwashing and ignorance.

I find it ironic that the people who are always going on about their rights to make their own decisions and literally have lost most of their morals want to tell others how wrong and evil they are. You have the right to choose. But every decision has consequences.

I hope you make the right choice.

[dhaaruni]

Do you have some recs for books with unlikable female protagonists? I mean moraly gray,awful and absolutely insufferable ones lol

Let me see what I can do for you lol. I don't read a lot of contemporary literary fiction so far warning there.

Medea by Euripides: the classic

White Oleander by Janet Fitch: destroyed me the first time I read it, completely recommend

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell: extremely good, and look up the plot before reading it because I can see it being extremely triggering

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: Scarlett O'Hara is the best villain protagonist of all time

East of Eden by John Steinbeck: Cathy Ames is a close second

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: I'd recommend Sharp Objects too but I didn't love Dark Places

Problems by Jade Sharma: this book by the late Jade Sharma is truly amazing and I'm sad she died before she was able to write more

Green Girl by Kate Zambreno: Zambreno's book of literary criticism, Heroines, is my personal favorite but this fiction book is great as well

Sula by Toni Morrison: just an amazing piece of literature

Mean by Myriam Gurba: very good, very sharp and well, mean

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante: listen, Ferrante tells it like it is and I think her nonfiction and essays are even better than her fiction

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: if you want to be very annoyed, read the Goodreads reviews where a bunch of grown adults are wishing violence on a fictional 11-year-old

That should get you started!!