hizumisakurai

[littledead-ridinghood]

It’s not that Jason came back to a changed family where he didn’t fit into the gap he left behind anymore. It’s the fact that his family never scooted over to make more space for him once he returned.

[greghatecrimes]

Okay. This has been in my drafts for months, and I’m finally sitting down to write it out. It’s so important (to me) that House is the one to call Chase “the prodigal son”, while Thirteen calls herself “the prodigal daughter”.

Chase would never refer to himself as House’s ‘prodigal son’. He was House’s first fellow; the relationship he’s had with House has always leaned more towards mentor/student. He looks up to House as a father figure/pseudo-god-figure by some arguments ("and by god, I of course mean you”) and oftentimes is the one ‘doing anything to prove House right’ (as pointed out by Cuddy in 4x01). At times he sees House as infallible. He lets House get under his skin; he gets sucked into House’s “vortex”, as Wilson says, along with Cameron and Foreman.

He would never be so presumptuous as to refer to himself as House’s ‘son’. that’d be kind of like calling himself Jesus. But House knows he isn’t a god ("god doesn't limp.") And House calling Chase his ‘prodigal son’, to me, is his way of saying, ‘despite all the crap I put you through, I really care about you and I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for deciding to come back.’ He’s acknowledging that no matter what happens between them, Chase will always be someone he respects and sees as one of his ducklings.

On the other hand, Thirteen has spoken to House like much more of an equal from the very beginning. She was never afraid to contradict him or argue with him. When he meddles in her personal life in You Don’t Want To Know (swabbing her water bottle and submitting her DNA for a Huntington’s test) she rightfully yells at him and enforces her boundary. She calls him an idiot over and over again in The Fix (and breaks into his apartment!) despite the fact that he’s her boss again. She even calls him a friend in Charity Case. No matter how much he tries to mess with her, she is the one person who never gets caught in his mess or blindly enables him the same way the others do, as Wilson points out when she leaves in s6. House knows that. He knows their relationship is unique. So of course he wouldn’t refer to her the same way he refers to Chase (prodigal son/prodigal daughter). He also wouldn’t go out of his way to refer to her as a ‘daughter’ because he doesn’t want her to think that he looks down on her, or sees her as lesser/on a lower level (“Yes, I think that little of you and that much of me.”)

Throughout the series, he repeatedly never puts a label on their relationship. So for Thirteen to refer to HERSELF as ‘the prodigal daughter’, she’s 1) reaffirming to House that she cares about him, the same way she did in Charity Case, and the same way House did for her when he promised to kill her in The Dig; and 2) finally acknowledging that she does see House as a father-figure/mentor, and not only a friend or an equal. Part of the shock in House’s expression after their conversation in Holding On is from her saying “and you don’t even like me that much”; but I think the rest of it is from her referring to herself as House’s prodigal daughter. She’s telling him, ‘I’ve never put up with your crap, and I won’t start now. But I care about you a lot, and you are important to me. You’re my friend, but you’re also like a father/mentor to me. Even though I’ve left to go my own way, for the rest of my life I’ll always be one of your ducklings/fellows, and I’m grateful for that.’

[all-pacas]

Potentially stupid question, but when House punches Chase in S3 (Finding Judas I think?), did the other fellows find out? We see Wilson find out and presumably Cuddy would as well (hospital liability), but it wasn’t clear to me if Foreman and Cameron knew about the punch and I’m super curious how Cameron would have reacted and/or thought about it all.

And on that note, do you think it did much of anything to House and Chase’s (admittedly weird) relationship? Because it kind of feels like it should have and yet…didn’t? I’ve never been sure what to do with in but love reading your insights.

So first, the other fellows definitely knew: House punched Chase in the middle of a crowded lobby, so I assume the whole building knows, and in the next episode Chase is sporting a massive bruise and being unusually quiet in differentials. Wilson also mentions the punch to Cameron later, who doesn't act surprised. My guess is the rumors got around immediately, Chase probably confirmed when the others asked because he's mad and not in the mood to cover for House, and then Chase did his thing and brushed it off because talking? About his feelings?

As for how it changed House and Chase's relationship… I don't think it changed their relationship much, but I think it did definitely change Chase. In a real way, Finding Judas was a turning point for Chase. He spends half the episode being openly derided by Foreman and even Cameron, the entire hospital thinks he's a rat who is BFFs with Tritter, and he's done nothing wrong. He finds out that everyone, even his colleagues, think he has no moral character, that he's just a useless rich kissass. He solves the case, and gets punched by his mentor. Chase keeps looking for approval, and not only does he not get it, but everyone thinks he's pathetic.

CHASE: He nearly maimed a little girl. I got it right. And I told him, and it didn't matter.

It didn't matter. It's one thing to get picked on and called an ass-kisser (Foreman's been calling him that since season one) if in the end, you get proven right, you get respect from the person you want it from. But it didn't pay off. It didn't matter. Everyone thinks Chase is pathetic, even when he gets it right. Wilson tells him how pointless it is to wait for House's approval, and Chase says he's not waiting anymore.

And he… kind of doesn't. He still laughs at House's jokes (Chase actually finds him funny, this is genuine), but suddenly Chase is acting a lot more confident around the office: in Insensitive he comes up with a good idea the others give him credit for, in Half Wit Chase is suddenly okay with the risk of breaking into House's place and having sex in House's bed with only a "if I'm getting fired anyway…" shrug. He's uncomfortable with the hospital sex, but goes along. And sure, a lot of this is because he wants to get laid, but Chase's defining character trait from S1 was don't risk your job. He's suddenly pretty blasé! In Airborne he solves another case. In Act Your Age he ignores House's orders and goes home for the night. In the Foreman resignation drama, he gets annoyed and starts poking at House and Foreman, and let's not forget that when Chase gets fired in Human Error, it's after he barges into House's office and starts to lecture him on the Foreman situation.

Which, for the record, I don't think House was offended by. But Chase gets really assertive after the punch. He's making good calls, he isn't constantly covering his ass, he's being kind of defiant. He's not looking for House's approval. And ironically, I think House probably likes him more this way. House grins when Chase first calls him out on the Foreman situation, and is pleased in The Jerk when Chase does it again. And this trend, of course, continues into S4 and S5 and beyond. Chase isn't trying to impress House anymore, not in the same way. He's standing up for himself and it's working for him. And House in turn treats Chase just a little more like an equal.

Later seasons Chase still likes House a lot, laughs at his jokes, and tattles to him all the time, but he stops kissing his ass. He's less likely to defend House at face value, and far more likely to push back or even ignore House entirely and do what he thinks is right. He punches House and grins when he apologizes, unconcerned that it will get him fired. Chase stops being a lapdog, and I think it all goes back to that punch in Finding Judas.

[heavenslittlehellion]

i have to say

seeing s2 and remembering they could not renew prodigal son for another season because of gos2 reminds me of just how utterly and deeply UNSETTLING michael sheen was in his role in that. fresh out of s1 good omens going from angel to creepyscarysmart serial killer was the equal and opposite reaction of seeing the 10th doctor suddenly have liquid hips and a post-sex swagger

[pynkhues]

can you explain the biblical allusions in succession? kendall's attempt to cleanse/baptize himself in bathtubs, him essentially being the plastic jesus to logan's god

[senseandaccountability]

“Is this truly our prodigal son?” - meta ramblings about Astarion and Cazador and breaking vicious cycles

“I didn’t have a choice… but it seems now I do.” Astarion is indeed the prodigal son in the sense that he has to return to his home in order to find himself and his purpose. 

For at least half the game, he is - at least outwardly - what he has been made to be. A pretty facade to be consumed. In the mirror he doesn’t see himself, he remembers nothing of his past, he can’t even read the words etched into his own back - he is, in all aspects, unwritten, unmade until he starts walking back into his own life. Reclaiming it. Or rather - remaking it. Because there is nothing sustainable there to reclaim, his heritage from Cazador contains nothing but death and violence. And power built on those two ingredients. Even when he claims that’s what he wants - power, walking in the sun, to never be afraid of anyone again, you can hear how hollow the desire is. Isn’t this what you want for me? he asks Tav, equal parts manipulation and the fact that he probably has no idea whatsoever how to figure out if he wants something like that for himself. He’s never had the luxury of choice. Shouldn’t I want this? When Tav later says that considering slaughter of seven thousand spawns isn’t who Astarion truly is he doesn’t even say she’s wrong, he replies: IT SHOULD BE.

“If I can’t have my freedom, then neither can they.”

Astarion is also, to use the same religious myth, the son who remained behind and keeps count. He counts the injustices done to him, he compares, he gathers bitterness and lust for revenge over two hundred years. Nobody ever did anything to help him. Nobody came to his rescue - he even says so himself early in the game that no hero saved him, it was the mindflayers who did. He admits to Gale that he’s prayed to all deities - but no one answered. When Tav prods about the countless of spawn he’ll sacrifice for his own ritual he brings up the same argument - what about what he’s owed? Everything was taken from him, too!

“You’d almost feel sorry for the poor, deluded souls. But they’re idiots who brought this on themselves, so… don’t.” 

Astarion doesn’t want to identify with the victims because then he has to identify as a victim. (Or even worse, someone who willingly accepted the offer of a vampire, aka idiot who brought this on himself.) And no matter how much he talks about what Cazador put him through, he’s not ready to do that, not fully. Instead he pushes them further away from himself, especially as his guilt and pain and self-loathing gets poured into preparing for the Ascension. That one thing that will finally separate him from everyone else, make him safe and untouchable. The others, the victims, they’re weak, pathetic, nothing like him at all, they’re too far gone, they’re different, they couldn’t survive out there so it’s better he kills them so they serve a purpose. It’s not exactly subtext, either, Tav can outright ask him if he really intends to kill them just because they remind him of himself and his voice breaks when he answers that. “They do not. That weakness inside me is dead. It’s dead. I have a higher purpose.” He comes a little bit closer to breaking out of his cycle with the Gur children, they happened not that long ago, he’s visibly moved by the fact that he had forgotten them and felt nothing when he delivered them and when Tav asks about his feelings on the subject, he admits: “I just… I never want to see these little scraps of misery again. The world doesn’t need to know my shame.”

But it takes the encounter with Cazador to truly break out of the pattern.

“Did I not make you who you are?” “Do not slouch before me, boy! Have you no respect for yourself?” he snaps at Astarion when you first enter his ritual. And when the camera pans to Astarion, so full of rage and fully intent on killing Cazador with his bare hands if he has to, we see that he actually does slouch. He’s that boy again.

He’s returned, the boy who caused so much trouble, who screamed the sweetest when he was tortured, who was thrown into a tomb for a year for refusing his order and who eventually stopped fighting back. Godey says: “You always were sharp, little one. Sharp enough to cut yourself.” The boy who Cazador tried to make something of, but to no avail. He was incorrigible. “I fondly remember your empty boasting, your tired jokes, your endless prattle…” All abuse aside, Cazador hurts Astarion in that precise way only a parental figure can hurt a child - through constant disappointment, the cruelty of not caring. The parent that only punishes, that sees nothing but faults. He even tells Astarion that he ought to be begging their forgiveness for coming crawling back after abandoning them. “Forgiveness? You’ve never forgiven anything.” / “No! No, fuck you and fuck everything you’ve ever done to me.”

“I’m so much more than what you made me,” Astarion tells Cazador when he finally has him on his knees, one last attack away from getting the revenge he’s dreamed of for two hundred years. When he asks Tav for help he - again - brings up the “isn’t this what you want?” Because even if he knows he’s more than what Cazador created him to be, he doesn’t know what that “much more” consists of yet. If you detect his thoughts at that moment you learn that he’s afraid, hungry, intoxicated. That all he can see is the power of the ritual and the freedom to do anything - to be anything.

“I want you to live a life you’re proud of,” Tav pleads. “You can’t be proud of this.” Tav who sees someone else in him, a way forward that isn't steeped in Cazador's tyranny. Tav, who treats him like a person, with autonomy.

“I know you think this will set you free, but it won’t. The power will trap you, just like it trapped Cazador.” And it was this Astarion required to truly remake his life. Returning as the prodigal son to the place that was his home, where he was taught he amounted to nothing, that he was a means to an end, that the only way to ever feel safe in life is to hold power over someone else. 

That’s why I found his “No! No, fuck you and fuck everything you’ve done to me” so powerful, because it’s it’s much more than an insult or a protest. It’s an acknowledgement that you were hurt and that you didn’t deserve it. 

And by extension here - that you’ve hurt others in turn and they didn’t deserve it, either. That perhaps you are just the same as the weak, pathetic spawn in the dungeons. That perhaps we all are. That perhaps the true power lies in daring to hope. For forgiveness, for understanding, for more people out there to have a heart like Tav’s. That you, if you’re given a chance to make choices for yourself, can make a life you can feel proud of. Even if it means you have to let others see your shame. To care again is to live again, like Tav says while they're exploring casa Cazador. And Astarion wants to feel alive.

When you can make Astarion realise he can be better than Cazador, he immediately shows  protectiveness towards the spawn, telling his siblings to lead them to the Underdark and then telling the truth to the Gur but making sure to point out that if they come hunting - they’re hunting their own children. Cazador’s been dead for a couple of minutes and Astarion is already doing a better job as some sort of wretched father figure for these poor souls. Because he's given them freedom to make their own choices, treated them as equals. Shown them the care nobody ever showed him before. That's how you break cycles and pack one hell of an emotional punch. Fuck you and fuck everything you’ve done to me, indeed.

[haveihitanerve]

Bruce's cloak moving because the batkids are under it is a lovely headcanon and everything… But the real reason Bruce’s cloak is always moving, even in the watchtower (because let’s be real his kids aren’t always there) the reason it’s always flowing majestically is Gotham. Bruce Wayne is Gotham's prodigal son, her darling baby, the one who looked into the darkness and was not afraid, but rather embraced it, and fought for her. Gotham makes the sky split open, makes thunder shake the earth and lightning fork the sky behind him to scare villains, Gotham brushes dirt off his shoulder lovingly and pushes a breeze no one else feels between his legs to make his Cale billow, Gotham cradled him every time he grapples, shadows cushioning his falls, Gotham makes the Batman fly. Even in the watchtower, where her reach is not long enough, Bruce has breathed her air too long, his body pumps more Gotham sewage than blood, his movement mirrors the flow of Gothams traffic, always moving to her rhythm, to the point where his Cale still billows, the shadows still seem to peel closer for him, his feet hardly touch the ground. Bruce Wayne, The Batman, is Gotham's first born child and she watches over him like a mama bear. He may not be a meta, but Gotham is older than magic, more ancient than water, she is and was and blesses all her children. Bruce claims he cannot control shadows, or the wind, but Clark still isn’t fully convinced that he can’t fly, Diana swears up and down that he lives a second life as a dancer, and Hal once saw him part shadows to look into a dark corner.

[vivacissimx]

Theon's choice not to visit Alannys was not a choice

Cannot believe it took this long for me to get around to this meta—also, feel free to read my whole spiel about Theon's father figures in Ned, Balon, and Roose here, because it does inform my view.

OK, Alannys Harlaw hours.

The conception of Theon's motivations in the situation where he does not go to see his mother when he returns to the Islands is a bit harsh on Theon. It ignores that Theon has not been avoiding Alannys all these years: he has been kept from her. Theon's access to her has always been controlled by the NedBalons in his life.

I want to get into the idea that this is not happenstance. That Theon's father figures control his access to his mother, which is not even a novel concept in ASOIAF. Jon Snow, who is Theon's foil, also has access to his mother restricted by—woah! Ned Stark as well!! (And both Jon and Theon are expected to be grateful for this too.)

Theon's homecoming to Pyke does not result in him rushing triumphant as the prodigal son into his loving mother's arms because in fact Alannys is not even on Pyke (though Theon thought she would be). Nope, it's Theon's suspicious, resentful, and yes "homophobic" uncle as well as father who Theon meets. From here it is just assumed that Theon has perfect access to Alannys, and that him not hopskipping over to Harlaw is purely his preference. (Are you catching on to the idea that I disagree with this, yet?)

Getting into Theon as a character & how he acts under suspicious/mistrustful eyes:

As a boy, he had lived in fear of Stark's stern face and great dark sword. His wife was, if anything, even more distant and suspicious. [ACOK, Theon I]

-

“What I am about to tell you must not leave this room,” she told them. “I want your oaths on that. If even part of what I suspect is true, Ned and my girls have ridden into deadly danger, and a word in the wrong ears could mean their lives.” “Lord Eddard is a second father to me,” said Theon Greyjoy. “I do so swear.” [AGOT, Catelyn III]

-

Ned turned back to his wife. “Once you are home, send word to Helman Tallhart and Galbart Glover under my seal. They are to raise a hundred bowmen each and fortify Moat Cailin. Two hundred determined archers can hold the Neck against an army. Instruct Lord Manderly that he is to strengthen and repair all his defenses at WhiteHarbor, and see that they are well manned. And from this day on, I want a careful watch kept over Theon Greyjoy. If there is war, we shall have sore need of his father’s fleet.” [AGOT, Eddard IV]

Theon knows he is not trusted in Winterfell. Catelyn including Theon in this circle of ooh secrets is mostly due to the fact that Robb physically brought him & also because she knows that Theon does not really even have the ability to betray her on this front. He definitely knows that. Ned does not have a paternal relationship with Theon & does not perceive himself as Theon's father any more than Theon believes he is Ned's son (in the manner that Robb or Bran or even Jon is), so why does Theon lie here?

HE IS OVERPERFORMING HIS COMMITMENT TO THE PATRIARCH FIGURE IN WHOSE HANDS HIS LIFE/FUTURE LIES.

Theon predicates his vow to Catelyn with an affirmation of his willingness to do service to Ned, and in fact that's what his access to her relies on. That's probably why he makes such a production of incessantly flirting with her too; because of how it implies he is in Ned and later Robb's good graces! Of course AGOT Theon is also just a flirt for the purposes of producing his masculinity in general. But does anyone really disagree? Moving on.

The door was grey wood studded with iron, and Theon found it barred from the inside. He hammered on it with a fist, and cursed when a splinter snagged the fabric of his glove. The wood was damp and moldy, the iron studs rusted. After a moment the door was opened from within by a guard in a black iron breastplate and pothelm. "You are the son?" "Out of my way, or you'll learn who I am." [ACOK, Theon I]

(Even the damn door is in on it LOL)

Theon knelt. He had a purpose here, and might need Aeron's help to achieve it. A crown was worth a little mud and horseshit on his breeches, he supposed.

-

He was playing the part of a dutiful young prince for the moment, while he waited for Lord Balon to reveal the fullness of his plans. [ACOK, Theon II]

-

"My father gave me the command here, Uncle." "And sent me to counsel you." And to watch me. Theon dare not push matters too far with his uncle. The command was his, yes, but his men had a faith in the Drowned God that they did not have in him, and they were terrified of Aeron Damphair. [ACOK, Theon III]

THEON IS PERFORMING FOR BALON. His father doesn't approve of him and Theon is playing the part. He is making every overture and concession to obedience, or piety, that is asked of him. Balon, Aeron, Asha, even Victarion make sure he knows when he's failing—whether it's with an express disapproval or just a knowing laugh. Theon notes all of this because due to how he was raised he's extremely perceptive of how those with power over him regard him.

And Balon does not criticize Theon for not visiting Alannys.

"Will I find my sister and my lady mother at Pyke?" "You will not. [ACOK, Theon I]

-

Harlaw is only a day’s sail, and surely Lady Greyjoy yearns for a last sight of her son.” “Would that I could. I am kept too busy here. My father relies on me, now that I am returned. Come peace, perhaps...” [ACOK, Theon II]

Theon visiting his mother is not reliant on his own self-motivation, but on whether or not Balon grants him access to her. This is not to say Balon expressly forbade it or that there would have been any direct consequences if Theon had gone over... but it's about goodwill, not permission! What else changes between Theon asking about Alannys when he returns to Pyke and when he explicitly tells Asha that he can't go see her because Balon, because war? Simple: he needs to prove himself to his father as loyal and strong first. To make it explicit, Ned & Robb allowed Theon access to Catelyn in the same manner that Balon refuses (or, at the least, disapproves of) Theon's access to Alannys. Theon is sensitive to this disapproval and does not push the matter.

The only person who pushes Theon to go to Alannys is Asha. Asha obviously has Balon's trust, though, and it could be said she takes it for granted. Asha's level of understanding of Theon is complex; she recognizes him but she doesn't know him. When she says this:

You are blood of my blood, Theon, whatever else you may be. For the sake of the mother who bore us both, return to Deepwood Motte with me. [ACOK, Theon V]

it's actually wild how much is packed in here. For the sake of the mother who bore us both: Theon doesn't yet have the right to Alannys or even know how she'd receive him, given his other receptions on Pyke. Return to Deepwood Motte: the castle Theon believes he should have been tasked with taking above Asha, a concrete proof of his father's mistrust in him, which amongst other reasons spurs on his taking on Winterfell to begin with.

Personally I think Theon as a symbol of Balon's failed rebellion does make him, in Balon's eyes, also a symbol of his failed marriage. Theon does not confirm Baelon's masculinity as a son should, as Asha does. He is a reminder of the ways in which Balon lacks.

I also believe that Theon ~misses his mother, FWIW. He thinks back to his childhood sleeping in the Sea Tower while on his way to Pyke which is a mommy-coded memory; he expects to sleep in his old chambers again when he returns to Pyke—both that and his expectation of seeing Alannys are swiftly disabused. He will not be slipping into his old roles, Theon learns through the reunion with Balon which is violent in more ways than one. It's interesting because Theon actually expects to have to prove himself to his father (which is why he comes armed with a plan for taking Casterly Rock) but he doesn't expect to be punished for having been held hostage all these years.

If we are indulging in symbolism, though:

Above the Sea Tower snapped his father's banner. The Myraham was too far off for Theon to see more than the cloth itself, but he knew the device it bore: the golden kraken of House Greyjoy, arms writhing and reaching against a black field. The banner streamed from an iron mast, shivering and twisting as the wind gusted, like a bird struggling to take flight. And here at least the direwolf of Stark did not fly above, casting its shadow down upon the Greyjoy kraken. [ACOK, Theon I]

The Sea Tower where Theon's childhood memories & hopes for return to his family lie is dominated by his father's banner. At least it's Balon Greyjoy and not Ned Stark, Theon tells himself. Yet the result is the paralleled, mirrored, as Balon and Ned often are with Theon: under Ned's control Theon can't see Alannys because he is Balon Greyjoy's son, while under Balon's control Theon is discouraged from seeing Alannys because he isn't son enough. Perhaps Theon does prioritize the goodwill of his patriarch because he views it as an essential ingredient to his survival and success... but he's also absolutely aware of the role the wife/mother/lady/queen plays in the whole arena too. As power, as leverage. It's pretty plain when you consider that he tells Barbrey she could claim leadership over the North if she so desired. He took such pleasure in being relatively intimate with Catelyn as well.

So, he knows. Yet they're still all held above his head like a little treat. Delicious.

[brightmalcolm]

trying to see if there's any interest in doing another prodigal son appreciation week ? maybe in september for the anniversary of the pilot :) and if anyone would be interested in hosting with me, feel free to reach out and we can talk!

[imakemywings]

Fairy Tale Imagery in Vivienne's Story

Reposting this seven year old meta thing because I realized since it was posted on my old RP blog you could not longer access the part below the cut.

I love the use of symbolism and imagery and yadda yadda as themes in a character’s story, so I thought I’d address the use of fairy tale imagery in Vivienne’s character and story arcs, just briefly, because I think it’s cool.

To begin, she falls very much in line with The Stepmother: a beautiful, powerful woman who is emotionally cold, disdains sentimentality, and is murky about her motives. She is strongly independent (The Stepmother is rarely submissive and does not fit the dutiful housewife archetype), unshakably self-assured, and her character is purposefully presented in a way that’s meant to make the player suspicious of her intentions. She openly admits in banter to choosing her dress to inspire fear or intimidation–it’s part of her character design: the tall heels, the horned hennin, the dramatic and luxurious dresses and robes. In general, her admiration for luxury and apparent fixation on appearances fit here too. The Heroine (ex. Cinderella, Beauty) will be guileless, but The Stepmother is cunning and political (She will hide her abuse of The Heroine or persuade the Father that The Heroine is wicked and needs to be punished for her own good.) –a good player of the Game, for example.

Her personal quest is called Bring Me the Heart of Snow White, again tying her to The Stepmother, and if you poke around her balcony before going out for the wyvern heart, you’ll find a recipe for what appears to be a youth potion. The Stepmother is a figure of power–and her weakness is often her envy of a younger, prettier rival (such as the Queen and Snow White–”the fairest in the land”). The game leads the player to believe Vivienne’s fear of losing her power and relevance has led her to the youth potion, which she is roping the player into without explaining.

Ultimately, the potion is not for Vivienne–it’s for her dying lover, Bastien. Here, The Stepmother imagery fades away into something softer–the Doomed Lovers. Time, of course, dictates that Vivienne was always going to see Bastien die–he’s significantly older than her, so barring an untimely death on her part, she was always going to outlive him. But Vivienne has fought against time and ill health and wielded every tool in her arsenal trying to save Bastien anyway. She travels far and wide across Thedas in search of ingredients for her magic potion, and still she sits by his deathbed, and when it’s over, announces “There’s nothing here now.”

Her relationship with Bastien also pays tribute to tales of courtly romance and intrigue–Vivienne is a knight-enchanter, a commoner who, with her own skill and determination, rose up to a position of power in the imperial court. Her lover is a married noble, someone far above her station, who loves her openly regardless of the fact that they could never wed or bear children. They are both adept players of the Game and together combat the hostility of the Orlesian nobility to their relationship.

Bastien himself gets the fairy tale treatment as well–most of his backstory s about his wild youth spend as a sort of Robin Hood-type figure, pursuing vigilante justice as a bard with the legendary Black Fox, until familial duty eventually called him home, where he becomes something of the Prodigal Son: he takes over running the Ghislain estate and associated lands, marries a proper noblewoman, has two children, and becomes head of the Council of Heralds, turning his wit and charm to playing politics.

If Vivienne does not become divine at the end of  the game, she becomes Grand Enchanter–either of the Circle or the College of Enchanters, depending on certain outcomes. She becomes officially The Archmage, a figure of power and wisdom, whose guiding hand instructs possibly thousands of mages (one could also read this as her becoming The Queen, although she doesn’t rule a specific country). Pegging Vivienne at around her mid-forties by the time this happens, she is moving gradually towards becoming The Wizard: an elderly magic user with a storehouse of knowledge to pass onto newer, younger adventurers (ex. Gandalf, Yoda, Dumbledore, etc.)

I’m working on weaving some more of this type of stuff into my headcanons for Vivienne and her background because I just thin it’s fun how the writers slid so much of this in there.

[greghatecrimes]

I was having a conversation with @oddlittlestories the other day about House as a parent/mentor, and Bee came to a conclusion that has stuck with me so strongly ever since: Chase is the child/mentee that House pushes. Thirteen is the child/mentee that he comforts. That reminded me a lot of my my prodigal son/prodigal daughter post (why it’s significant and important that House calls Chase the prodigal son, while Thirteen calls herself the prodigal daughter). At some point I want to write a meta continuing off of that post on why he treats Chase and Thirteen so differently throughout the show (and that despite that, he cares about them both in the same way).

[all-pacas]

random house ask (slash musings)…

i’ve been reading your chase and thirteen metas, and it struck me… there’s another character in the show who’s referred to by house as the “prodigal son” - amber. (s04eo3)

house says it as a joke, obviously, but thematically seems like it’s either totally irrelevant or the key to the whole show and i can’t for the life of me figure out which, or what (if anything) it means. just wondered if you had any thoughts, given the show’s general wealth of symbolism around amber and that line specifically being deeply tied to chase (and arguably thirteen).

I saw this just before I went to bed last night and my guy, I've been thinking.

So, what's immediately interesting to me is this:

13 calls herself the prodigal daughter. She's the only one comfortable enough to define her and House's relationship like that: she's the most comfortable with him, neither trying to impress him or become him. 13 and House aren't actually that alike in a couple of crucial ways: she's independent to a fault, cutting her phone lines and making huge life changes, and House needs to be around others as much as he hates them. For all that 13's mysteriousness is a self-imposed meme, she's actually very single-minded in a lot of ways: she decides something and she acts. And in that way she is like House, in that she acts according to her beliefs and doesn't like to involve others or change her mind. She cuts her phone lines and goes to jail. She quits medicine and moves to Greece. She asks Chase to bring her an ultrasound, then punches him when he tells her they need the hospital, even though he is right. And that stubbornness is very House, but that independence isn't. House in his own way is very social: he needs people to react to, to bounce off of, to antagonize. He doesn't do well alone, he doesn't like to be alone. He hates people but he thrives when he's around others. He doesn't make decisions in a vacuum like 13 does, he isn't really capable of making the huge life up-ending changes she does once per season. And they're both stubborn and single-minded and sarcastic and get along great, but it's interesting that 13 is the one who calls herself the prodigal daughter: not that she's wrong. But she decides. She leaves on her own, exists on her own. She is comfortable defining her and House's relationship.

House calls Chase the prodigal son, and it's a joke, but it's also not. Chase in early seasons is defined by wanting to be like House and failing, being a bit pathetic and silly and ridiculous for the ways he emulates House despite being insincere (House is deeply sincere — not the same thing as being pleasant or kind — Chase is an actor), despite Chase being presented as a bit dim. Foreman is like House without trying; Chase has to try, isn't that slightly embarrassing? It's only later that Chase is shown to be just as brilliant as House when he wants to be, not just solving cases but cases House can't. It's only over time that Chase becomes more House-like, and they're still less similar as people and more similar in terms of their lives: Cameron is basically Stacy. Chase becomes more cynical and isolated and lonely over time, staying static and unchanging as everyone around him moves on. He might have wanted to be House once, but by S8 he feels stuck and lonely and that House is all he really has, something he accuses House of enabling. He's also the one House tells not to be like him: House sees these parallels and tells Chase he wants better for him. Don't be like me. Don't be stupid and irrational and angry, don't react just because you're scared. Calling him the prodigal son was a joke, the hug was a joke, but Nobody's Fault/Chase were not jokes: Chase is like him, and House wants better for him. Chase has always wanted validation from House, wanted House to say I care for you or I'm proud of you (House wanting his father to say you did the right thing, Chase doing the right thing in Finding Judas and getting nothing); House instead tells him don't be like me.

13 isn't all that much like House and is comfortable with it and their relationship. Chase is forever insecure in his and House's relationship and is told to not be more like House than he is. They're House's favorites, but the dynamics are very different. Chase would never call himself House's son, because that's too big and huge: 13 is fine joking she's House's daughter because she's secure in who she is.

So here's where Amber comes in: she's the one House thinks is just like him. They're quickly made to be social equals (as Amber points out), and fall into a series of power plays and games that are very equal: they're fighting for Wilson. House doesn't treat her as a subordinate or a follower; he engages on her outside of work, at her home, in social spaces. This isn't something House does with his fellows, especially not in S4. And part of that is her relationship with Wilson kind of elevates her, right? He can't treat Amber as an employee. But House calls her a female version of him (conniving, manipulative, defensive, intelligent, not very likeable). House doesn't seem to like Amber much, but he respects her. She's the one he hallucinates and who becomes his sort of… well, literally his subconscious. Where you can make a case House sort of sees 13 and Chase as his surrogate kids (they're definitely his favorites), he definitely doesn't think of Amber as one of them. They're equals. She's just like him. And House doesn't like her.

13 isn't much like House, Chase is but shouldn't be; Amber is House, and where the first two are his favorites, he of course doesn't like Amber at all. And so of course she's, in a weird way, the most important of the three to him.

[fluffbyday-smutbynight]

~ FluffSmut's Masterlist: Everything Else ~

SHIPPING SHIPS (original ficlets)

Love Hits You Unexpectedly, Sometimes

The Most Beautiful Ship in the World

MADE-UP FIC TITLES ~ fic ideas/synopses/plot bunnies 🐰 (generated in response to this ask game)

Fluffsmut's Totally Correct Sherlock Quotes ~ if you fancy a chuckle. Hehe.

~ BBC Sherlock: Headcanons  ~

Fluffy headcanons you can pry from my cold, dead hands

Smutty headcanons that live in my head rent free

Mycroft's Chocolate Stout Cake (for Greg, and Greg only)

“The Dads Are Alright” Headcanon (parentlock/fluff)

221B pets

221B rules (written by @kitten-kin)

Fluffbruary 2022 Trivia Tuesdays: Week 01 . 02 . 03 . 04

~ BBC Sherlock: Rewatch Meta ~

ASiB ~ Why I Love Irene Adler So Much // THoB  ~ Pt. 1 - Beware of the Dog / Pt. 2 - Lights in the Darkness / Pt. 3 - Killing the Hound // TAB ~ Way Too Deep // TLD ~ The Morgue Scene: a look at the script // TFP ~ The Coffin Scene

~ BBC Sherlock: Character Meta ~  Molly Hooper has been done dirty (and I say this as a hardcore Johnlocker) // (mini-meta) John Watson, a man with issues: one and two

~ Good Omens Meta ~

Petronius' Oysters (a modest contribution to a post by @ineffablyruined)

When in Rome... - Aziraphale's Hot Girl Summer?

The Hundred Guineas Club (a modest contribution to a post by @niceprophecies)

Analogies with the Divine Comedy - Canto V (a modest contribution to a post by @theonevoice)

***

Italian language/culture 101 with Fluffsmut:

Good Omens x Michael Sheen x Ancient Rome - a match made in heaven Italy

The versatility of "cazzo"

"Sticazzi" vs "me cojoni"

Random stuff:  

Half-Assed Fic Recs

Martin Freeman Appreciation Posts

Random Thoughts: StartUp (TV show) // Ghost Stories (2017 film) // A List of Things Sherlock and Malcolm Bright (Prodigal Son) have in common

****

Jump back to FluffSmut's Masterlist

[waitmyturtles]

A lot to process for the fourth episode of Moonlight Chicken, and I’m working through how it connects to the previous episodes and all the themes that I’m trying to catch Aof bringing together.

1) Last night, I reblogged an absolutely incredible meta by @telomeke regarding the meanings of a lot of the Thai-Chinese cultural references in the show, particularly focusing the DVD of Comrades: Almost a Love Story and all the interlaced meanings of the title, story, and music surrounding that movie. I will throw my hands up in the air and hand it to @telomeke and @respectthepetty for further explanations about the Thai-Chinese cultural interchanges throughout the show, but I just want to say that reading that post before watching episode 4 helped me gain a LOT of context that I would have otherwise missed, especially regarding Li Ming. 

2) Some quick notes before getting back into Big Things: Mix is so great. He’s just -- so great. His simmering DISDAIN for Alan -- it’s sparkling. I want to know more as to why things ended up so bad with the boi. 

3) And First, leaning into Alan’s everything -- anger, jealousy, disappointment, heartbreak. The man can do it all.

4) I don’t know about y’all, but it seemed to me that Earth and Mix were ad libbing the cat food bit, and I was cackling. 

5) I love that Aof doesn’t forget us by way of gratuitous shirtlessness (of which I’m still processing as I write my massive meta on Bad Buddy and have Ohm on the mind), but anyway, besides THAT -- I am desperately loving that Li Ming and Heart don’t feel like just a side couple. They really have a significant story going on, including what Heart may process by way of considering studying abroad. 

I am in love with the storyline of Li Ming’s kindness, that we get to see that side of him. I might need more time to unwind this, but I wonder if Li Ming is playing the role of the young person with one foot in the old world, and one foot in the new world. When he “comes home” to his uncle to celebrate Jim’s birthday, and Wen nudges him to apologize, it felt to me like the tiniest bit of a prodigal son moment -- he’s a kid in that moment. (And Wen makes that reference about the generation gap in the bedroom to Jim later that night.)

And then we see Li Ming’s utter maturity at the church, bringing Heart to a shared deaf community. And touching the speaker. Just....what a lovely gesture. 

6) And speaking of old vs. new, with all apologies to @respectthepetty for warning us to not do this, but I CAN’T HELP IT -- I got a touch of the chills seeing Tian Wen on the floor of the bedroom with Phupha Jim on the bed. Waaah! I got just a few goosebumps. 

Okay, so. Per @telomeke‘s analysis, this episode was rooted in Thai-Chinese cultural references, but I also think it was rooted in this one foot in/one foot out dichotomy of old vs. new cultures tugging at each other. Li Ming represents the generation that either will or will not carry the mantle of the old culture forward to modern times. And Jim, quiet Jim -- rooted in the past, of his heartbreak, of his diner, of the culture that his diner represents, and potentially unable to move forward.

I absolutely loved the meditation at the end by the church father. That everyone needs to choose their path in life. You have to be ACTIVE, not PASSIVE, to help determine your fate. And I want to think about juxtaposing that with what Li Ming said to Jim at the start of the episode -- I didn’t ask to be born in this poverty. I was born in this, and I am working my ass off to try to get out of it. Going to America may break the chain. What Li Ming sees is Jim’s inability to be able to break that chain on Jim’s own, because of how firmly Jim is rooted in the past. 

Alan comes in to complicate matters vis à vis Jim, but separately -- we also see that Alan himself is rooted in a past that’s filled with pain. And Wen is trying to move from HIS past with Alan as well, and have a new potential future with Jim. I see, in the preview for episode 5, that Alan doesn’t take “I don’t love you anymore” as a reason for Wen to break up with him, which is fascinating. What is rooting Alan so heavily in this non-relationship?

Gaipa is going to lose a significant part of his past, his mother, and will need to move forward either with Jim, or on his own. (Khao did not get a lot of screen time this week, but good LORD, IS HE GOOD.)

And you know what I love that’s such a quiet touch -- Leng and Praew’s pregnancy. The birthing of a next generation, the next step forward in pushing Pattaya’s culture forward. I am always, always a sucker for pregnancy-related symbolism. (Dudes, isn’t Mark Pakin GREAT? I gotta see him in more things!)

I am VERY INTERESTED in what’s being discussed between Jim and Alan for the next episode -- as if Wen were a commodity that Jim could hand back to Alan. I’m kinda thinking there might be some parental ownership issues between Alan and Wen? We’ll see. 

Final thoughts: Fourth and Gemini, I REALLY LIKE YOU GUYS, you two are great. What a ridiculous cast. 

I’m not going to rate the episodes that clearly don’t have any food in them for the Khao Man Gai Appreciation Rating, but this household DID appreciate the chicken shirt, which I need. GMMTV, the apron and the shirt, I have my credit card ready!

[thywheelof-fate]

swears with an upraised hand (this is not enough)

swears with an upright hand (this is not enough) on ao3

Pairing: Dark Urge/Enver Gortash, Dark Urge/Astarion (background)

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Rough Sex, Knifeplay (Gauntlets), Bloodplay, Light BDSM, Biting, Office Sex

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

If you’re so determined to learn about your past, why don’t we make another deal? “What do you want?” Lennox arched an eyebrow. “You already have my soul. Probably.” Oh, if only. My proposal: I show you a snippet, and all you have to do is keep your mouth shut about it. I’ll even sweeten the deal and show you something you can get back after all this nonsense. It’s a deal that appears to be tilted heavily in Lennox’s favor, which made it all the more suspicious. “I’m guessing this won’t be a useful memory at all.” Usefulness is subjective. I think you might enjoy it. But perhaps you’d rather stew in ignorance.

Lennox slowly learns about what being a warlock means and the creature who holds the other end of his pact. An offer to experience one of his forgotten memories gives him a chance to learn about the person he was outside of killing. But who was Enver, and why was Lennox hooking up with him in his office?

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

This is the promised rewrite and extension of my fic of the same name, which can be read here

It still remains a piece focused on the fact that Lennox is a warlock, but fleshes out his relationship with some of the other companions and his patron more. I also wanted to explore Durgetash in a slightly meta way by having Lennox play voyeur to his own memories- who does he assume Enver is to him, when the context of their history is stripped away, but their own sort of affection remains?

I'm a bit out of practice of writing smut, so the Prodigal Son series has been an unintentional opprotunity to flex that muscle, haha. I'll probably alternate between pre-canon and canon timeline works, so my next project is aiming to have Durgetash exploring each other's bodies as Chosen of Bane and Bhaal.

There are little things I want to write about my fics, but I don't know if meta analysis on my own fanfiction is a bit too self-indulgent. Vague textposts I make is probably me hunching over my keyboard and mumbling about the motifs of it all.

Comments/kudos/asks are always welcome :)

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

[slavicafire]

Dear Żmija, I have just finished Inquisition that my dear friend that got me into DA is very fond of, and I just couldn’t explain to her why… it just doesn’t right with me. I loved Trespasser and ESPECIALLY the Solas romance but making Inquisitor a Mary Sue and overall focusing on her role in Thedas too much (as well as Corypheus being the villain… bleh) just felt like such a waste. What are your thoughts on the game? Because I remember you calling it „catholic”. (i’ll welcome a rant. Also hope you are well!)

ah. I have cast them away but alas, here come all my dragon age brain worms, happily returning to the fold like dozens upon dozens of prodigal sons.

quick foreword: i always play as humans, and i always play as warriors - I have played dai as a mage just once. so, in theory, I should be the one type of player the game caters to the most, lore-wise. alas.

inquisition is absolutely the weakest link in the da games - and it takes, for the lack of a more polite word, a giant shit on the lore and atmosphere set up by origins and expanded/played with by II.

and don't get me wrong, the first two games blundered and made a lot of mistakes, contained a lot of inconsistencies, contradicted their own set up plenty of times - but the expectation was (very much so) that inquisition would not only avoid fucking up in the same way but also! would fix some of those mistakes. add both proper gravitas to the story of the world - and allow for the return of the fascinating, genre-appropriate - again, for the lack of a more polite word - whimsy. it was supposed to be more comprehensive, more complex, more creative. heavy, again, yet funny. meaningful.

instead, inquisition made sure to make everyone bland, rather catholic and centrist in their convictions and beliefs - which, in a setting so fueled by the absolute injustice enacted on entire subgroups of people, simply means it made most characters bland conservatives, on the in-universe axis regarding chantry, mages, circles, elves, slavery, dwarves, the qun, and basically anything else you can think of. even characters who are supposed to be Hardcore Believers in whatever it is their convictions are end up being kind of undecided or confused about it all - see sera (love her as i might) or cassandra (no comment), or even bull when talking about the qun (which we are supposed to approach from a more liberal perspective now, diminishing its actual depth). don't even get me started on cullen, wannabe war criminal creep, who had a chance to become something interesting at the end of da II and then instead got wattpadded into the game as your trusty sidekick to prank instead of, you know, asking about how fucked up places starting with k get when he's there.

and then the game doesn't allow you to actually take a stance yourself - it just lets you choose the tone of expressing the one or two stances picked for you. you can't actually play as a meaningful character with proper agency - you must play as someone whose goal is to uphold the andrastian approach (not even faith, but approach), enjoy being the head of a giant religious militia, subdue mages at least partially, yield to accepting the apparent non-issue the grey warden order becomes, and then also give even less of a shit about elves and slavery than the previous games did.

I believe the only way to actually play the inquisitor without megatons of meta roleplaying in your head is to be kind of an evil cunt - and I don't mean choosing the asshole options in dialogue and missions, I simply mean accepting the fact that no matter what you do or what you say, you can't do or say anything all that meaningful. or good. nothing revolutionary, for sure.

the companions and advisors won't mind too much either way, after all.