#so if we sold her we could use the money to buy all the food we can’t have in the ouse

[raythegray]

my mom won’t let me sell my sister to the butcher ☹️

[eff-plays]

I got a party banter between Bellara and Taash about how the Lords of Fortune steal elven artifacts. And then Taash clarifies later that they have a Dalish expert on the team so they can check to make sure the Lords don't sell something culturally important and instead return it to the elves.

Like. I get it. You want the Lords to be fun swashbuckler Disney pirates and Robin Hoods instead of actual pirates who steal and plunder. Because we're only now in Western society realizing that stealing from indigenous groups is, uh, bad. But like. Writing really uninteresting factions for your "dark" fantasy (tho lbr Dragon Age hasn't been dark fantasy since DA2) isn't gonna solve real-world neo-colonialism, ya know? The Lords not stealing priceless elven artifacts and returning them to the elves doesn't signal to me that the Lords are total rascally good guys, it signals to me that BioWare itself is trying really hard to seem morally conscious. "See? We know stealing from other cultures is bad!!!"

And man. Not to be a "political correctness has poisoned media" grifter on main (tbh it's less political correctness itself and more the commodification of real-world activism) but I couldn't help but imagine how this convo would've played out in earlier games, potentially even Inquisition.

You could've so EASILY made this interesting while giving the Lords and Taash and Bellara a lot more depth, while also making it clear that stealing from indigenous groups is wrong.

Just have the Lords, yeah, actually sell those artifacts. But also establish that the Lords take in and help elves from all walks of life. That they free slaves, or collaborate with alienages. Then you could have Taash defend the practice by saying to Bellara that little orphaned elf kids being sold as slaves probably don't give a flying fuck about some artifacts they're never gonna see, but the money from selling those artifacts goes to buying them food. And have Bellara fire back that preserving elven culture is also part of its survival, and that there are Dalish clans that would be willing to pay for them or offer something in return. Or have her say that the Lords are doing charity for the sake of recruitment rather than actual altruism. And then Taash responds that those high and mighty Dalish elves don't do shit to help abandoned city elves, just because those aren't part of their correct elven subculture, and they care more about reclaiming old glory than helping the people that exist here and now.

Then you could have side missions or at least codex entries that describe maybe some Lord recruit being conflicted about what they're doing. Maybe a few of them are collaborating to hijack a deal or steal back an artifact. Have implications that some high-ranking Lords are, in fact, using those artifacts for their own gain, despite claiming otherwise. Have some Lords genuinely trying to help, and believing that gold and trinkets don't matter as much as people's lives, so they sell them in exchange for safety for refugees or slaves or some other helpless group.

But no. Instead it's "hey do you steal from my people?" "nah lmao we have a cultural advisor don't even worry about it" "oh wow so cool and woke of you!" And then that's it. No need for any further discussion. No conflict and no complexity. No bad actors and moral quandaries.

Weh.

[mangocheesecakes]

Please do keep donating to Madleen's fundraiser.

My other posts about her campaign have lots of notes, but donations have slowed down and Madleen messsage me that it's making her very worried.

She is currently at $44,720 / $70,000.

This money you have all contributed has been a tremendous help to their family. Just last week when they were forced to leave Rafah and go to Al-Zawaida, Madleen shared that her brother transferred $5000 to her which she used to buy a tent, medicine, and food. She sounded so hopeful that time and even told ME not to worry about her. We talked about a woman in their neighboring tent who gave birth and how strong she was for being able to go through that. She talked about how she could write a book about her experiences during the war, and though she said she was only joking, I told her that I believe she can write it and that I would very much love to read it someday.

She messaged me again just a couple hours ago, but this time she sounded tired and hopeless again 😢 She said that things are hard, and that the prices of commodities are unimaginably high. The borders are still closed, they only let in food which is being sold at really high prices. There are a lot of insects because of the heat, and a lot of pollution and trash.

She shared that her brother sent them another $5000 to buy food and medicine for her son, Mohammed's, eye. She said that everyday they have to go to a doctor to clean and change the dressing to his wound. Mohammed has not recovered from his eye injury, but Madleen says that he is trying to be good 💔

I feel Madleen's frustration because they literally were just waiting for their name to be called so that they can travel to Egypt before the Israeli demons stormed Rafah. Now they are forced to use the money they have gathered to provide for themselves amidst the lack of resources and impossibly high prices in their camp.

Please keep donating. As Palestinian users have said, even if you can only donate a little, collect change from your car or allot a portion of your paycheck for donation, but please keep donating and encourage people you know to do so as well.

[piratefishmama]

Finders Givers | Part 1

“—But maybe someday when my ship comes iiiin~ She’ll understand what kinda guy I’ve been, an then I’ll win”

“Chrriiiisss!!” Eddie whined as he tossed himself onto his front, burrowing his head under the pillow

“And when she’s waaalkin, she’s loookin, so FI-I-IIIINE!!”

“CHRIS!!” It was no use, she couldn’t hear him. Too busy belting out Billy Joel in their little kitchenette at… he shoved his pillow aside, realising it was a fruitless endeavour to try and block out the dying cat that was his roommate.

They’d gotten in at just gone two in the morning after blowing the very last of their ‘rainy day’ fund on ten for two dollar shots at a local student haunt, and now it was… ten in the morning, they didn’t have jobs left to get ready for, he still hadn't been able to find his wallet anywhere.

And Chrissy was. Singing.

As if they didn’t have to start job hunting again or risk the fury that was their greasy landlord and his mission to extort them of all their hard earned money. They’d be out on their asses by months end if they didn’t find something soon and the band wasn’t raking in as much cash as he’d have liked for it to be raking in.

Last he heard some big shot was looking to buy the Hideout too, probably shut them down for good. That’d be just their luck.

“An when she’s TAAALKIN she’ll say that she’s MI-I-IIINEE!” He threw his covers off, accepting defeat. At least it smelled like eggs and bacon, so she was clearly cooking the last of their breakfast foods.

Chrissy was of course in her sleep shirt, legs bare, with naught but slipper socks to keep her toes cosy on the tile floors of their kitchenette, swaying to the vinyl player belting out Billy Joel by the open window. Many a man’s fantasy come true, Chrissy was a vision while lost in her favourite music, but to him, Eddie Munson resident flaming homosexual, okay she was still beautiful he had eyes, but those leggy legs and swaying hips didn’t do it for him, thanks. “CHRISS!!”

And she jumped, barely managing to save the bacon from winding up as a sacrifice to the dastardly floor gods. Whipping around to face him, she graced him with the signature Chrissy ‘sunshine smile’ which… didn’t track for the killer hangover she ought to have had given she had three rounds of those shots all in that tiny-ass body of hers.

“Eddieee!!”

“Chrisssyyyy, what’cha doin, Chriss?”

“Breakfast! And Billy Joel!”

“I see that, at… ten in the morning, after student night!” They weren’t students, Chriss could pass for one though “Whaaat’s going on?”

“Letter! The letter, on the top there, read it!” And she was turning her back again hips swaying, moving the foods over to two plates, the only two they currently had clean, oof, it was his turn on dishes, damn what he wouldn’t give for a dishwasher.

Curiosity piqued, he crossed the short distance (it wasn’t a large apartment) and plucked up the neatly tri-folded piece of paper, letterheaded with a real fancy SH logo, a business address and corporate phone number, the letter reading,

“Dear Tenant” he didn’t do inner voices, he had to read it out loud “This is to inform you that as of the week commencing June 12th the building will be under… under new… new ownership?!” He looked up, eyes wide with alarm.

“Keep reading!!” She prompted as if predicting his alarm, she wasn’t even looking at him, clearly jazzed about something, new ownership? The building had been sold from under them and she was happy? He looked back at the paper.

“At this time, we will be… suspending… suspending?” She nodded, turning with two plates in her hand to their tiny little table that Wayne had donated when they moved in “suspending your required rent payments as we… look toward renovating the building and all apartments within.”

“Keep reading, there’s more!” He sat down at his usual chair, paper held in both hands, eyes fixed to the print as he read.

“Any rent arrears accrued in the duration of the building renovations will be… hold up—”

“Yep.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope, not joking, it’s official I called them this morning, took me ages to get through to someone but it’s legit, Eddie.”

“But—but shit like this—this doesn’t happen Chriss, and you know what the Police said that one time you got scammed, right? If it seems too good—” he was still looking at that word, that one little word that made all the difference.

“Then it’s probably too good to be true! I know, I know, but I got the confirmation from their office, I GOOGLED the number too, I didn’t just call the one on the letter cause I know scams can get’cha that way.” Although what kind of scam it could be was baffling as it wasn’t asking for money it was saying they wouldn’t be asking for money for a while “sobered my ass right up let me tell you, best hangover cure in the world, and Mrs Jablonski next door got one too! And Dottie across the hall, I’m pretty sure I heard upstairs yelling earlier, an I mean like happy yelling, not yelling yelling like usual. Cheering! I think it’s legit, Eddie…”

“So… we just… we don’t have to pay rent, at all… for however the fuck long these renovations take to happen? Do we have an expected completion date to these renovations? Or start date?”

“Nope, just a from week commencing, the lady on the phone had no idea about them but she got the confirmation from ‘upstairs’ and just said there’d be more information sent to us eventually and not to worry about it.”

“Not to worry—not to worry about it?” He wanted to worry about it, every fibre of his being demanded he worry about it. Not that they could even pay rent if it was asked for, they had no money and no jobs after he’d decked their line manager for calling Chrissy fat, she was not fat, and she’d only just stopped staring at herself in the mirror as if every inch of her was wrong. She’d passed the month mark since she‘d last forced herself to throw up. She was finally getting some plump back into her cheeks.

She was on the mend. She was recovering. And he’d just—Eddie had seen red. He just wished he’d have been wearing his rings at the time.

“You can call them if you want!” She spoke around a mouthful of sunny side up eggs. “I think whatever it was, was a really random decision high up, like… it wasn’t something decided upon by a board of directors or anything because she took a while to get confirmation about it, but—but I dunno Eddie, maybe… maybe things can be good for a while.” They wouldn’t have to panic about getting jobs.

Wouldn’t have to deal with grease trap Carl the guy who collected their rent every month who seemed to just… always be greasy. Hands, hair, face, clothes. Who’d look at Chrissy like she was a piece of meat, or make disgusting comments about how lucky Eddie was to live with her, while she was stood right there holding Eddie’s arm back stopping him from launching at the guy.

Wayne had offered to run the guy over one time “Would be a one an done, son, would catch him at just the right time as he left the place an be gone just as fast, wouldn’t even know I was there.” Like a grade A parent, with all the gold stars available at the local craft store. But Eddie could deal with Carl.

They wouldn’t have to anymore though. If this was legit, it meant Carl was gone. No more Carl.

“…Screw calling them, I think we should go down there and see what’s up.”

“M’kay, but eat your damn breakfast that’s the last of the maple bacon an you got the bigger piece.” If he immediately traded the bigger piece on his plate for the smaller one on hers, well… she only smiled over it, she liked the maple kind more than him anyway.

Or so he'd told her.

Part 3

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hi, this is an odd question but I've got a friend who visits the same part of Wales (near Bridgend) a lot and she's noticed that the chip shops around there also tend to be merged with Chinese restaurants and I was wondering if that was a common thing in Wales or maybe just that specific area.

It's not common, per se, but it does happen. Sometimes it used to be a fish and chip shop but got sold to be a Chinese, but the new owner wisely realised they could double their clientele if they kept the fryers. It does work, though I've yet to find the kind of chips I want from a fish and chip shop on the menu in one of these places - they always seem to buy in bags of neat ready-cut chips that they then fry up and serve, and that is absolutely fine but a true fish and chip shop does the slicing and prep and so the chips are thick, fat and messy (insert your own jokes here).

You know what I mean? You get this:

When what I want is this:

Not really a problem for me, though, because if I go to a Chinese takeaway, I want the Chinese food.

And, in fact, especially not a problem for me, because Swansea has the 5th Best Chip Shop in Britain:

Hiks for the win.

Also for Chinese in Swansea there's Gigi Gao's Authentic Chinese Restaurant, over in the Marina - opened by a woman who migrated to Britain, went to a Chinese, and went 'Wtf that is not Chinese food' and so opened her own. I went there last year not long after Chinese New Year, and all the tiger decorations were still up. As we were paying our bill we were discussing how beautiful they were, and I mentioned that I think I was born under the tiger. It was Gigi herself serving us, and she whipped out her phone and double checked my birthday, and then ran off and came back with a lucky gold banknote that they'd given out for the new year; she gave it to me with the sentence "For you, Tiger Girl! It will bring you luck with money!"

And I was charmed to hell and back by this anyway (plus the food is fucking orgasmically good) but then three weeks later I was offered my now-job at almost twice the salary I was on and it got me away from the awful people I was working with so like. There's also that.

Sorry this has become extremely rambling, what were we saying?

[theresivy]

PLEASE HELP: SIGNAL B*OST, D*NATE, OR C*MMISSION ME!!

Listed below are the TL;DR, How to Help, and Full story/Context. I’m sorry I had to resort to this but i have no other choice.

TL;DR version

Please help a mentally disabled fan artist’s family to pay for medical debts for c*ncer, insulin, maintenance meds (for depression, anxiety, etc), and cat food

How to Help

D*nations!!! - I only have P*yPal (also thru K*-fi) and GC*sh! Please dm me for the link or QR code

C*mmission me!!! - I really hate asking for help with nothing to give in return, so preferably please c*mmission me. I havent updated my new set of c*mmission sheet samples BUT heres a short, quick version attached on my post as a pic.

B*y my let-go collection of merchandise!!! (PH-based only please and sorry) - In order to try and make up for the em*tional ab*se me and my mom have to go thru on a daily basis just by living with dad, I ended up in a downward spiral and tried to buy things impulsively since 2020. So, now, we’re paying the price and I have been deeply regretting it ever since. So, plsase please please help buy my palugi (selling for a loss) let-go merchandise, theyre mostly official and am selling for a loss, we badly need the space and especially the funds. Weve only sold less than a half of my stock and it doesnt help that my dad keeps mocking me about it.

Share and S*gnal boost!!! - Tumblr is the only site where i have somewhat of an audience. Please please please help reblog, share, and signal boost.

Full Story/Context

Hi, I’m Theresivy (Teh-reese-ivy), I have been depressed and mentally impaired (among other things) who draws art as a multifandom self-taught fan artist, As of 2020 my mom’s tumor has turned into cancer that has only been given medical attention to in 2022 onwards. And as of then, i have indefinitely become a N,E.E.T for my mom and our finance’s sake while being there by her side. As of now she has gone through FOUR surgeries because more and more unexpected complications keep popping up. She doesnt deserve this, why couldnt it have been me,

We live with my emotionally abusive and manipulative dad (her husband) and our two fur daughters Pancake and Waffles (of which my cats and mom mean more than the world to me) while being forced to live in one of the countless apartment complexes my equally abuse maternal uncle (and his wife, my maternal A-I-L) as we have no other choice. And as such, my dad has been kissing their asses since we were forced to move here more than five years ago.

Both my uncle and my A-I-L took it upon themselves to become the defacto head of my maternal family ever since my maternal grandmother passed just because he became rich thru the means of evil entrepreneur practices. We cant do anything lest we want to get kicked and live on the streets. He is a real-life mastermind as he is always a few steps ahead of us, even making it so that his eldest daughter became his perfect pawn of being his personal lawyer. He always has connections and to them we are merely insects.

My parents and the rest of our family dont really see “artist” as anything that could get money rolling in (and day by day my failed attemptes have been proving them right), and on top of that, they see me being depressed and such as being the “freeloading couch potato”. So they keep bringing up how much of a failure I am. Weve been living in such toxic conditions that my mom has developed this sort of stockholm syndrome type relationship with my dad, and her younger brother (my uncle), and his wife (my A-I-L, her S-I-L). At first i thought i could try and save mom but shes too far gone that she strictly forbids me from fending for myself whenever either of the three try to berate me and drive me to tears and breaking down for the fifth time every week.

All i wish now is to be able to pay back at least some of the debt, for my mom and my fur daughters’ sake, and hopefully my own. I have been in a downwards spiral ever since i have been tolerating being the “odd one out” kid from school. in general, and even in the family, its been literal years and my entire life, im tired of being used and tossed to the side, im tired of being the punching bag of a cosmic joke, and im tired of my disabilities. im tired of being useless to the people i care for the most. so please. help us.

My wish now is to be able to help mom and our fur daughters move away from our domestic ab*sers. everything is an endless spiral of dead ends and im sick of it. ive been self sabotaging for years but a small part of me still has hope, please. i dont want to believe that this is where it ends for us. in this world of darkness and cruelty that spits on our faces, only my mom and our fur daughters have shown me the smallest glimpse of happiness. and even then ive failed them by becoming a barely functioning patient of depression. so, please, dont take my sunshines away.

[jampc]

angeleyes ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

ʜɪ ! ɪ ꜱᴀᴡ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅʙᴢ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴛᴀɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʏᴏᴜ :) ɪ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛ ᴀɴ ᴀᴅᴜʟᴛ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇ ᴛʀᴜɴᴋꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟɪɴɢ ʜɪꜱ ɢꜰ (ʏᴋ ꜱɪɴᴄᴇ ʜᴇ'ꜱ ʀɪᴄʜ) ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴇᴛᴄ !! ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴍ <- anon

pairing: trunks/f!reader

words: 1,224

content warnings: none.

tags: fluff, drabbles, romance, sfw.

rating: G

a/n: so fluffy it might make you explode. or at least cause massive amounts of eye rolling 😭. hope you enjoy it nonetheless ⋆˙⟡♡✧˖°

"I've told you before, it's my money. I can do whatever I want with it!"

"But-"

"And no buts! This is my house and if I say we're going out to the fair then that's what we'll do." The young man smiled down at his girlfriend as she pouted up at him in a sulk.

She knew how much he loved this time of year, when all the local businesses would set up stalls around the town square for people to come along and buy their wares from them.

It was like Christmas on steroids, with everything being open until late into the night every day of the week. There were rides, games, food stalls and so many other things to see and do.

“But you know I don't like crowds," she whined. "And there's bound to be lots of drunk people who might try something."

"I promise I won't let anyone take advantage of you while we're here. And besides, everyone knows me. They'd never dare mess with us." He gave her a kiss on the cheek before standing up and pulling her up by the hand. "Come on, let's go."

She sighed as she followed him out of the door and towards the car. He had a point though; he could probably handle any trouble that came his way if it did arise.

Even now, they only needed to look at each other for a few seconds and they both knew exactly what the other one was thinking.

They drove through the town centre and parked up near the edge of the market area.

“We should get some tickets first," he said as they got out of the car. "That way we can ride all the rides without having to wait in line."

"I suppose so," she replied. "But you know I'm not really that fond of rollercoasters or anything too fast."

He laughed as he took her arm and led her over to the entrance gate.

A few moments later, they were inside the grounds and walking amongst the stalls which lined either side of the walkway.

Most of them sold clothes, jewellery and other accessories but there were also plenty of food stands selling hot dogs, chips and candyfloss.

"It looks busy already," he commented as they made their way slowly through the throng of people.

"I think we're going to have to fight our way through. But I think I know a shortcut."

"Oh goodie!" she replied sarcastically. "How exciting! Let's go."

The finally found the ticket booth.

“Two please," he said to the lady behind the counter. "For two adults."

She handed them each a paper ticket as well as a plastic bag containing a pair of wristbands.

He slipped his on and watched as his girlfriend did the same.

Once they'd put their bags back in the boot, he looked around and spotted a small kiosk on the far side of the field.

"Come on," he said excitedly. "Let's go on the merry-go-round."

He grabbed your hand and pulled you along after him as he made his way across the grass.

You could hear the music playing as you walked towards the brightly coloured horses.

When you got to the front you realised there was a queue leading onto the ride itself and several more queues waiting to get on once the previous ones had left.

"I knew i should've bought out the fairground earlier," he muttered.

"Oh hush, it doesn't matter," she whispered sweetly in return. He started pushing the people in front of him aside until he reached the head of the queue.

As soon as his turn arrived, he held your hand tightly as you stepped aboard the ride.

You held on to his waist firmly and gripped tight the metal bars above your head.

Then, the whole thing began moving round and round, faster than you thought possible.

Your boyfriend's hands tightened even further as you squealed with excitement whilst trying desperately not to lose grip of the bar.

After about five minutes of dizzying motion, the ride stopped again and you felt yourself start falling forwards as it slowed right down.

Luckily your boyfriends strong arms kept you from plunging off the seat completely, although they couldn't keep hold of one hand for very long.

“Wheeee!! That was fun," you cried breathlessly. "Let's do another!"

“We should go on one of those little bumper cars next," he suggested with a chuckle. You nodded your agreement eagerly.

They headed towards the exit and went outside where there were dozens upon dozens of these miniature vehicles racing around a large wooden track.

You choose a vehicle and climbed inside. Your boyfriend choose one nearby, hopped in beside you and wrapped his arms around you protectively.

"Hold on baby," he growled softly in your ear.

"Ooohhhhhh!" you screamed in delight as you careered around corners, narrowly missing other cars on numerous occasions.

You bounced up and down against the seat as you spun around, laughing madly, feeling safe in your boyfriends embrace.

Eventually he released his grasp on you suddenly and you fell forward as you tried to grab the steering wheel. The force sent you hurtling off the seat and crashing to the floor, hard enough to knock the wind out of you.

"You alright?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Y-yeah I think so," you stammered between gasps for air.

“I love you," he told you as he leaned down and kissed you tenderly.

After a moment you recovered your senses enough to smile at him and reply.

"I love you too."

A short time later, you were sat back down enjoying yourselves on one of the benches whilst he was feeding you ice cream.

You were giggling like children, holding hands and talking about all the stupid things that happened to you during the day. Eventually, the sun started setting and the crowd started thinning away.

“I know sometimes we argue but it makes me happy to spend time with you," he told you earnestly.

"It does make me happy too," you admitted. "I wouldn't want to change a thing."

"You’re so beautiful," he continued dreamily. "So caring and compassionate too. If you weren't so shy, I could tell you how wonderful you are to me."

You blushed deeply, embarrassed at having been spoken to quite so openly.

But still you felt your heart begin to beat faster as the words sank in deep within your mind. He leant in closer, his voice dropping even lower.

"I've fallen in love with you," he mumbled quietly into your hair. "And I intend to marry you someday."

You froze up instantly and stared wide eyed at him. His face dropped slightly and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Well, it’s getting late we better head home," he said with forced jollity. "It's a long drive tomorrow."

You nodded dumbly and allowed him to lead you back towards the car.

Once they were both seated safely inside, he turned towards you with a big grin plastered across his handsome features.

"So..." you murmured uncertainly. "Are you sure...you meant that...?"

His mouth split into a huge grin and he shook his head playfully as he spoke.

"Yes, of course. What kind of idiot do you take me for? Now buckle up, sweetheart, 'cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

[arsonsara]

Welcome Home Theory that's been running around in my brain. In the recent update, Food comes up quite a few times. Sally asking Poppy to bake her a cake, Sally buying some goods from Howdy, Frank helping Poppy to bake and the multiple times we see Frank in his garden, using chopped up vegetables as fertilizer.

One thing I noticed in particular, especially when it came to Sally, is that Sally doesn't particularly assign the concept of Eating with Flavor at all. Howdy sold Sally a box of Soap Flakes as Instant-Mashed Potatoes, a Sponge for Bread, and Wood Chips & Sawdust as Cereal. And when asking Poppy for a cake, she was more interested in the cake's aesthetically qualities more-so than how it actually tasted. Now this could just be seen Howdy fleecing Sally and Sally being quirky, but I couldn't help but feel that was...weird. Especially the idea of Howdy selling Sally a bunch of actual junk and calling it food. Sure, he seemed eccentric but he wouldn't sell anything to a friend that could actually hurt them just for a quick buck! Heck, he doesn't even take money! What reason would he have to fleece Sally, much less recklessly endanger her like that? Than there's Poppy and Frank with their...muffins? I mean, they're baked in Muffin Tins but they're just an amalgam of seeds and peanut putter from the sounds of things! And aside from the Peanut Butter it doesn't sound edible, it sounds more like a cartoonishly exaggerated idea of what a Giant Puppet Bird would eat from an aesthetic perspective, not so much a realistic one.

My guess is the Puppets don't have access to actual food. They probably couldn't even eat actual food! They're puppets! Everything they "Eat" are arts-and-craft amalgams or props of what would look like food for a show!

It would also put more focus on when Frank said "You eat with your eyes first." Whether he knew it or not, that's literal! It doesn't matter if it's actual food, just if it looks like it!

The only thing that could disprove this theory are the decomposing vegetables in his garden. Wheras every other bit of food we've seen could be written off as meant to look like food and not act like it, his torn up peppers and tomatoes look fairly realistic. That being said, they also don't look decomposed either. They look like they were freshly torn into and just plopped onto the ground. But at the same time, it's hard to say. Now, what does this imply? So what if the Puppets are eating fake food? Well, it's just a hunch, but I think this adds credence to the idea that the world the Puppets exist in is fake and manufactured, like the show they supposedly come from.

Another detail in the Bug Videos is that, as opposed to the Lost Media that was posted onto the website, the Bug Videos are far more candid and calm. They feel more like Slice of Life segments than they do cut up moments from the show!

I think this is meant to imply two things! 1. The Puppets in Welcome Home are real. And I mean that as in, they aren't just puppets. They have feelings, emotions, and they do things when the cameras aren't rolling. They have lives outside of the show they're a part of and broadcasted at towards children. 2. This world is fake, and was made by someone. More than likely the Playfellow Workshop. Whether or not this is a literal world the staff made, or simply that the Puppets see the sets they live in as a world and the Playfellow Workshop does a good job to prevent the puppets from being Truman Show'ed is another thing. Heck, maybe it isn't even the Playfellow Workshop! Maybe it's another third, unknown entity we have yet to encounter! Either way, I get the feeling this theme of the Puppets being in a Fake World, as well as the details of Wally pushing past the fourth wall of reality, imply that the story takes place in two realities: The real world, and the puppet world, and that the main conceit of the story and the horror come from how the two worlds blur together.

[agentrouka-blog]

I've seen a handful of people speculate that if Jon is truly alive (assuming that the wounds he received at the end of his chapter in ADWD were fatal to begin with), he could maybe inform the Vale of the ongoing food problem at the Wall and therefore, Sansa (or rather "Alayne" in this case) would receive that message and maybe try to reunite with Jon in some way. It sounds a bit wishy washy to me... Do you think that theory holds any merit?

Hi there!

Well, GRRM made very sure to explicitly state that the Vale is sitting on a big food surplus in his TWOW Alayne sample chapter, and that Littlefinger is pressing certain lords to hoard it in order to drive up potential profits in the future and weaken his political opponents.

And while GRRM also made sure in ADWD to emphasize the dire food situation in both the Riverlands and at the Wall, it is only Jon who actually connects this to the Vale in his thoughts:

Our best hope may be the Eyrie. The Vale of Arryn was famously fertile and had gone untouched during the fighting. (ADWD, Jon IV)

He then proceeds to show us Jon negotiating for a loan with the Iron Bank and collecting (meagre) funds from the wildlings as part of the agreement to let them pass the Wall.

Bowen Marsh sighed. "If they do not slay us with their swords, they will do so with their mouths. Pray, how does the lord commander propose to feed Tormund and his thousands?" Jon had anticipated that question. "Through Eastwatch. We will bring in food by ship, as much as might be required. From the riverlands and the stormlands and the Vale of Arryn, from Dorne and the Reach, across the narrow sea from the Free Cities." "And this food will be paid for … how, if I may ask?" With gold, from the Iron Bank of Braavos, Jon might have replied. Instead he said, "I have agreed that the free folk may keep their furs and pelts. They will need those for warmth when winter comes. All other wealth they must surrender. Gold and silver, amber, gemstones, carvings, anything of value. We will ship it all across the narrow sea to be sold in the Free Cities." (ADWD, Jon XI)

(Jon. Why. Not. Tell. Him.???)

So GRRM obviously sets up the idea of money procured for the Watch in order to buy food, and food sitting by waiting to be bought in the Vale.

There are complications, of course: Jon's stabbing and potential loss of direct political influence in the North (at least for a while), the uncertainty of the loan going through given Tycho is still roaming around the North, Littlefinger's desire for maximum profit, alternative needs for the food such as the Vale's own starving wildlings which are the mountain clans....

But the connection is obviously there.

I doubt it will be handled as neatly as (recovered) Jon asking and them selling. Much more likely, it is Sansa herself who will try and forge a connection between the North and these food stores GRRM took so much care to inform us of through her POV. The bread riots in KL would have left a lasting impression, and there is the imagery of food used both to tempt her (wine, lemon cakes, pomegranates) and to depict her rejection of Tyrion:

He wanted something from her, but Sansa did not know what it was. He looks like a starving child, but I have no food to give him. Why won't he leave me be? (ASOS, Sansa IV)

(She ends up serving him overcooked peas during tense and unpleasant dinners.)

What happens when there is food and there are recipients she very much wants to feed, after reuniting with Jon and learning the true extent of the plight of her people?

It may be that Sansa herself will be pressured to pay a high price for that Vale food if she wants it to go North. Whether she ends up having to pay it, is a different matter, but it would absolutely set up a nice mirror between Jon and Sansa in the North toward Joffrey and Margaery in King's Landing, when she arrived with the bounty of the Reach to feed the cheering people - who had been starving due to her own family's blockade of the food supply in the first place. The dark irony of that might be turned on its head. A starving North, a princess with the key to their survival, hard choices, high drama.

[novemberhope]

Summary: Cordelia gets her devil fruit. Notes: I figured since I had some time on my hands I might as well put it to good use and come up with another short story. Oh well. Word Count: 2045

On this hot summer evening in Sabaody, the Rip-Off Bar was filled with people drinking and laughing. The crowd was a mix of rough pirates and pirate wannabes, all searching for fun and excitement and most of all, one drink after another. It was a lively place, but Cordelia still didn’t feel at ease here. She had no memory of her parents, no recollection of where she had come from, and had only some days ago started to trust Shakky enough to keep coming to the house to eat some food. Recently, she had even allowed herself to sleep for a few hours curled up on the couch. She never stayed long though. She accepted Shakky coming near her with food but if anyone else so much as tried that, she bolted right through the door.

The first time Shakky realized she was making progress with the little girl was when she was called names by a drunk pirate at the bar which had resulted in Cordelia biting the man’s hand. Both Shakky and Rayleigh had to held back their laughter while Shakky dealt with the angry pirate after Cordelia had ran out.

Tonight, Rayleigh strolled in, looking excited. Cordelia was standing behind the bar with Shakky, watching Rayleigh carefully as he stepped closer.

“What have you got there?” Shakky asked, pointing to the strange looking container he was carrying.

"I found something interesting on one of the pirate shipwrecks down at the shore," Rayleigh exclaimed, placing the container on the bar where currently no one was sitting.

Cordelia looked up with curiosity but didn't say anything. Although she could speak fairly well, she rarely did, except when it was just her and Shakky.

"Looks like Rayleigh brought some treasure," Shakky told her, sounding amused.

Cordelia's blue eyes widened but she was too small to see anything from where she was standing. But she was good at climbing, so she immediately ran around the bar and started to climb on the barstool that was furthest from Rayleigh.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" he said, winking at her. He already knew what was in there but he still made a show of opening the lid of the container for Cordelia's benefit, seeing that the little girl could barely contain her excitement.

Among some silver coins was a peculiar looking fruit that Cordelia had never seen before. But Shakky had.

"Is that…?"

"Looks like it… but I have unfortunately no idea what this one does." "Well, I'm not eating it, that's for sure," Shakky told him. "I like my early morning swims in the ocean too much."

"Nobody's eating it," Rayleigh said. "But that thing will surely bring a lot of money if sold to the right person."

"Yes, more overpowered pirates trashing my bar," Shakky replied, rolling her eyes.

Suddenly, people were shouting at each other in another corner of the bar. A glass was flying through the air, nearly hitting a very tall pirate in the face. He growled and spat at the other guy while the rest of the rough looking crowd at their table was shouting at them. Seconds later, both of them were having a fist fight on the floor, after bringing down the table and everything on it.

"Oh no, not in my bar," Shakky angrily said and ran around the counter. "Hey! Cut it out!"

"Always the same idiots," Rayleigh grinned after realizing who those people were. He got up lazily and followed Shakky, knowing fully well that she was able to handle them on her own.

Within minutes, people stopped shouting at each other. One of them reluctantly handled Shakky the money for the broken glasses and the damaged table.

"Now out, the whole lot of you!" Shakky said, pointing to the door. "I told you last time I don't tolerate shit like this in my bar. You want to fight, you go somewhere else. I'm not buying new furniture every time you come in here."

"Yeah, whatever," they grumbled but in the end they got up and walked towards the door.

"Better not show up around here for a while," Rayleigh warned them. Although he was smiling, there was an edge in his voice that made it clear that he did not like to be crossed.

"And now I'll have to clean up after them again," Shakky grumbled. "And you better get that Devil Fruit away from the counter, Rayleigh, before any of them sees it. I've had enough fighting here tonight." Rayleigh glanced back toward the counter. Cordelia was gone, probably scared away by the fight. But he quickly made his way towards the counter with a suddenly very uneasy feeling - and he found the devil fruit as well as the coins gone.

"Shakky!" he called.

Alarmed by the sudden urgency in his voice, Shakky came back to the counter. She took one look at the empty container and sighed. "Shit… I should have known… after being half-starved, that girl eats everything in sight and runs off with the rest, probably hoarding it somewhere."

"Let's hope she's only hoarding it," Rayleigh said. "You realize she will be our responsibility if she really ate that Devil Fruit? Those powers need to be trained - and used wisely."

"Isn't she already our responsibility?" Shakky sighed.

Looking around the bar, things seemed to have settled down. People already had returned to their drinks and conversations, so Shakky and Rayleigh quickly went outside and started to look around.

“Cordelia!” Shakky called. “Rayleigh, we’ve got to find her!”

"If she's already eaten the damn thing, something tells me she's not far off," Rayleigh said. "Those things taste horrendous."

They ran around the house just in time to see a sickening scene. Cordelia knelt on the ground, retching violently. She was as white as a sheet.

“Oh, dear,” Shakky said. She rushed to the girl’s side, kneeling down beside her. “It’s alright, Cordy. It's very bad food and you were not supposed to eat it."

"I'm amazed you managed to eat it all," Rayleigh said with a chuckle. Yes, the situation wasn't ideal. But what was done was done. At the very least, the Devil Fruit didn't seem to have altered the girl's appearance. That would make it easier to hide that she now had powers. "Most people only take one bite."

"Let's take you back to the house so you can have a glass of water to get that taste out of your mouth," Shakky suggested, gently stroking Cordelia’s hair.

Rayleigh knelt on the girl's other side, concern replacing his usual humor. “Sometimes, things are not yours to take, Cordelia,” he said softly. “That fruit you just ate was definitely not meant for you. And it will have - well, let's call it side effects. You will never be able to swim now and you need to be very careful around water. You understand that?"

Cordelia coughed, frustrated and nauseous. "I can't swim anyway," she muttered.

"Well, now you will never be able to learn," Rayleigh said. "Also, I do believe you have some coins that do not belong to you either."

Panicking, Cordelia scrambled to her feet.

"It's alright, just put the coins back in the container once we're back in the house," Shakky told her.

But Cordelia was in full-on panic mode now. She instinctively raised her hands, projecting a shimmering force field that enveloped her, pushing Shakky and Rayleigh back several feet.

“What the…,” Shakky exclaimed, caught off guard. She tried to step forward, but an invisible wall held her firmly back.

“Stay away!” Cordelia shouted, her voice trembling. She looked like she didn't understand what was going on and was more scared of what was happening right now than of Shakky and Rayleigh.

“Hey, it’s alright!” Rayleigh said, his tone soothing. “We're not mad at you. We'll fix this, ok? You can just put the coins back and we'll deal with your… ability. Just take a deep breath.”

But Cordelia was scared. She felt safe behind the force field but on the other hand, she was scared of the force field - what the hell was happening right now?

“Just stay calm, Cordy,” Shakky added, trying to keep her tone of voice light and friendly. "Don't be scared. The fruit you ate is called a devil fruit - you've seen some pirates doing things they shouldn't have been able to do, right? Remember that strange guy two days ago? He also ate one of those fruits. You have a power now too - and one that is pretty handy, it seems. It protects you - you will be very safe from now on. Nobody can touch you without permission anymore."

The words hung in the air. Cordelia peeked at the two adults through her shimmering shield, her curiosity battling her fear. Shakky stood firmly, smiling at the girl. Rayleigh, too, showed a patient expression. With a deep breath, Cordelia took a few steps back first before slowly lowering her hands. “You’re not… angry I ate the fruit?"

“Not at all,” Rayleigh replied, his voice steady. “Truth be told, if I were your age, I would have taken a bite too. If anything, we should have told you you were not to eat it."

Slowly, the force field dissolved. “It… tasted so horribly," Cordelia whispered.

"They always do," Shakky replied with a smile. "Let's go and get you a glass of water to get rid of the taste."

Cordelia hesitated. Then she slowly put her dirty little hand in Shakkys. "Ok…"

They went back in the bar where some impatient customers were already waiting to get more drinks.

"What do we have to do to get served around here!?"

"You'll get your drinks when you get them," Shakky told them off. "Now sit down and shut up. I'll be right with you."

"I'll get her some water," Rayleigh said and opened the door to the backroom for Cordelia. He did not want the girl in the bar where she might get scared and project a force field in front of all these people. "I'll be with you in a minute," Shakky told them and went to get her customer's orders.

Cordelia had sat down on the couch when Rayleigh approached her with a glass of water. He was walking very slowly and stopped some steps away from her, putting the glass on the table.

"Here you go…"

"Thank you," she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

She gulped down all the water at once.

"That must have been one foul-tasting fruit," Rayleigh grinned.

"I'm never eating one again," the girl said with a shudder.

"Well, that's good news then," Rayleigh chuckled, making sure to sit on a chair opposite of the girl and not directly next to her.

To his surprise, however, she did get up and walked over to him, stopping shortly before she had reached him. Holding out her little hand, she showed him the coins she had taken from the container earlier.

"Well, thank you," he said, gently taking them from her. "If you need some money in the future, just ask first."

She nodded and went back to the couch. When Shakky entered the back room, Cordelia had her hands outstretched, staring with fascination at the force field she had created.

"Someone's having fun," Rayleigh chuckled.

"Looks like it," Shakky said with a grin. "You want to sleep on the couch, Cordy?"

There was a tiny moment of hesitation. Then Cordelia nodded.

"Good," Shakky smiled. "Then you'll need to wash yourself and brush your hair."

Slowly, Cordelia got off the couch and walked up the stairs. Shakky and Rayleigh watched her go.

"Looks like she's slowly starting to feel at home," Rayleigh remarked.

"I was trying to look into where she comes from," Shakky admitted. "But nobody seems to know who the parents are. People have seen her around though and there are a lot of maybe this, maybe that kind of answers, but… nothing concrete. Looks like she was not rescued from a sinking ship - I'm sure that's something people would remember."

"Guess we're her parents now," Rayleigh said with a smile. "I mean, she's only one girl… after raising Shanks and Buggy, how hard can it be?"

"Oh boy," Shakky grinned. "Let's hope you're not in for a surprise…"

[eppysboys]

Born in 1938, Astrid was a war-child, and her wealthy family lived in the well-heeled area of Altona, Hamburg. Evacuated to the Baltic, she missed the word of the hostilities, but life was not easy on her return to Hamburg. “Luckily, my family’s house was not destroyed, although all the windows were blown out and we did not have any heating. Thankfully, we were all alive. The main focus was “How do we get food?” My mother was especially successful in this. She sold or exchanged everything we had, the furniture and all her jewellery, to get money to buy food.

“Although it was the war, I had a happy childhood. Altona is close to the harbour, and many houses – including the whole road next to ours – were destroyed, but we had a lot of fun playing on the bomb sites. Our parents warned us not to play there, but we always did – because it was so interesting!”

Astrid’s artistic flair- especially for textiles – was soon recognised, and encouraged by her mother Neilsa. “At home, we lived in the kitchen because that was the only place my mother could heat. It was also the only room that still had windows. We did not have any radio, so at night my mother used to draw things such as the dresses she used to wear before the war. She would sit in the kitchen on dark winter nights sewing little dresses for my dolls, and would show me how to do it. Here family had been very rich, and she taught me about texture and things that are fine. That influenced me a lot. She taught me to draw when I was 6 or 7. Later I was keen to become a fashion designer.

When it was time for me to go to college I attended Hamburg School of Fashion and Design.  Here I met Reinhart Wolf, who taught me about photography. Gradually, I changed my mind and decided to become a photographer. Reinhart taught me about faces – that it was what was behind a face that a photographer should try to reach when they tool a portrait. When I graduated, I became Reinhardt's assistant, which was a great honour. My mother bought me a good camera – a Rollercord – and Reinhart encouraged me to take pictures in my spare time. He let me use his dark room and was always prepared to discuss my photos, and the art of composition. That was what I was doing when I met The Beatles.”

Astrid Kirchherr on her upbringing. Interview by Colin Hall for Get Rhythm, August 2001

[coolbeesbro]

Hello everyone, I'm in urgent need of help! I'm so sorry for the break in content for this, but I wouldn't be posting this if it wasn't an urgent situation. Taking donations $3 and up, and the deadline is August 21st! Outside of donations, I'm taking in writing commissions, art commissions (pricing is on my Ko-Fi page) as well as having an Etsy shop selling LGBT+ apparel that has free shipping in the US on any orders over 35$.

New Cult Of The Lamb Ko-Fi exclusive being sold till the 21st for this as well!

This is my sister's cat Kiwi, and she's an old girl (almost 13) who has a serious dental problem thanks to genetics that's causing her lower jaw to absorb some of her back teeth. I'm worried we might have to push off her procedure if we can't get enough money for it (it's roughly $2000 but I'm attempting to reach a $700 goal), and the longer we have to wait, the bigger chance she has of this growing to be an infection that could become fatal.

If she can get this surgery, her quality in life will grow significantly, as will her life span. She'll also be able to enjoy the treats she used to love before her jaw started to show symptoms and she started throwing her food up because she couldn't chew it properly. The goal is to reunite her with my sister once she's healed (Kiwi is in my care currently for personal reasons I won't go into) but we won't be able to if she can't get better.

So please, even if you're unable to donate anything, if you could share this post to get it out to more people that would help out significantly! She's just a small fruit! We want to reunite her with her person, and for her to live a good long life!

08/09 Update: My dad is meeting me half way for this, so we're at $1300 out of the $2000 ultimate goal!

08/10 Update: we're currently at $1303.50! Although $3.50 isn't much, it's still $3.50 more than I had yesterday! $696.50 left to go till we hit the goal for Kiwi's surgery!

08/11 Update: So far through Ko-Fi shop we've been able to reach $8.33. Still doesn't look like much, but thats $4.83 more than we had this morning! Trying to stay optimistic, but there's now less than 10 days left till Kiwi's surgery happens.

08/12 Update: WE DID IT!!!! Holy shit I’m so excited! In celebration the Cult Of The lamb collection will all be extended to be sold till the end of the month! Expect a sticker sheet soon, along with more designs coming out between now and next month!

Everything on my Etsy shop is now 30% off until the 21st as well! I have hoodies, t-shirts, tank tops, buttons and stickers! As always, all prices are the same across the board no matter the clothing sizes!

[jayarrarr]

There's Nothing Good on TV

The US government will never side with Palestine because the US government only appreciates pain that it can exploit as porn, fodder for snowflakes on hashtag-bothsides to invent and reinvent fresh daily assaults on their collective souls, both self-perpetuated and perpetuated by each other. And they are not alone in their spiritual commodification— we are spoonfed objectification sprinkled sweet on our fast-breaking food from the youngest of ages. By the time I was old enough to tell you my age I knew the secret to controlling a man somehow lies somewhere between my thighs, those a lady keeps closed but a pretty lady leaves a gap between. And I knew the world was a stage because I had always been watched, always been told to value appearance over comfort because girls are pretty things to look at and any comfort or security they had before they left home will wither in the stifling heat of the male gaze. Does the lack of pockets keep her dependent or burdened? And I knew that her struggle was a billion-dollar industry, that there were profits to be made just by changing the color to pink and jacking up the price, like the ill-fated attempt to make "jilling off" happen as a euphemism for female masturbation even though us cunts do just as much jacking as anyone else. Pussy. Despite this too-early knowledge I came of age ,if age is a thing you can come of, believing that I was in fact uNiQuE and my sluttitude was borne not of a lifetime of sexualization in the age of toddler bikinis and Co-Ed Naked T-shirts worn in Absolut public but—AHA!—profound emotional spiritual sexual enlightenment I had somehow stumbled upon (having never sought it or reflected on it). The truth is we are all products of our environment, which is to say we are all products, which is to say we are all whores and ain't a damn one of us uNiQuE, not you and definitely not mE. Pray sell yourself a bit softer next time. Once your struggle has been properly branded and affixed with logos and hashtags and verified accounts, you're allowed to have a parade about it, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Pay no heed to the huddled masses desperately yearning for a past parodied on a porn set, to the tradwife influencers screaming that women should be seen and not heard, to the author of children's fantasy novels imagining herself some sort of authority (on anything other than children's fantasy novels), to the rapist producers and the producer rapists— these are just the natural reactionary byproducts of progress. Progress: It's What We're Making™ Corporations will buy colorful floats and pay off your favorite in-group cult celebrity and fling plastic beads across pavement all so they can continue to refuse to hire you and refuse to pay you when they do and refuse to promote you when they do but you will buy the T-shirt with the logo and you will post pics with the hashtag because you are proud and you will spend more money than you should have worshipping at the altar of your newly branded identity but you will tell yourself it is for a good cause. The cause is lining the pockets of a man (it's not always a man but it's always, ultimately, a man) who could literally lose the equivalent of the average American annual income every hour of every day and not notice for weeks and yet he still has space to complete the commercial exploitation of the corpse of your radicalism. Revolution isn't sold in Target—but if it was, it would have pockets. What I'm trying to say is that of all the things you should lament, you should lament the least the fact that the US government has not yet found a way to commodify and capitalize on the brand of your struggle. ©2024 by Jennifer R.R. Mueller

[brienneoftarth1989]

“Ohhhh please something with Brienne of Tarth, maybe Reader is a princess who sees Brienne being sold as a slave and saves her I don’t know 🤷🏾‍♀️” - unmeisenpai

You Belong to Me

Brienne of Tarth x f reader

Summary: - Your father is the King of the Seven Kingdoms making you his heir. Your father takes you to a slave auction where you meet Brienne. You decide to buy the tall beauty wondering what you will do with her.

Warnings: mentions slavery and implies rape.

Requests open

———————————

“Father, do I have to come?” You asked as you left the throne room and headed out to the horse and carriage. “Yes y/n you do! You are my heir and therefore you need to know this stuff. We are preparing for a war and we are running out of men to fight in our army” your father said with his stern voice. “But father I don’t understand why would we buy more men when we can just recruit them from the city?” You were confused at how this was a smart decision. In your mind it made more sense to recruit young men and train them instead of paying all this money for trained men. I mean I get the logic but it just puts us in more debt. “Look you will understand one day when you are the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms but until that day comes stop questioning me and just observe” your father said getting into the carriage with you following pursuit.

“I apologise father. I will not question you again. But may I ask where we will be travelling too?” You asked making yourself comfortable for the journey ahead. “We are heading for as many slave markets as we can over the next few months. The more men we can recruit over this period of time the better. If I had it my way we would travel to every slave market in Westeros but we don’t have time to do that. We have been given five months to get to as many as we can so you better make yourself comfortable because this is going to be a long journey.”

It took about a week before you arrived at the first slave market and to be honest you were kind of disappointed. You had pictured in your head that there would be hundreds of chained men waiting to be sold but when you arrived at this little slave market there were only ten. “Father, please do not tell me that all of the slave markets are like this! If this is the case it is not worth going to anymore” You moaned. “Y/n! Will you stop questioning me! No they will not all be like this. This is the first of many. Some of the markets we attended may only have a few for sale. Some may have as many as a hundred. It all depends on how many slaves they have. This is a start. They may look like a small number but the quicker we get to these slave markets the quicker we can build our army” your father protested.

That was it now. Your father was a stubborn man. He thinks this is a brilliant idea but you can see it all blowing up in his face. You follow your father over to the master of the slaves that were available to buy. “How much do you want for them all?” Your father asked. “One golden dragon per slave” the master said, holding his hand out in front of him waiting for your father to either hand over the money or not. After some thinking your father got out the coins and handed them over as the master gave him the chained slaves and the keys. This is going to be a disaster and you knew it. Your father ordered some of his men to start heading back to the city and they were to return again once the slaves were in their cells. This way your father could save on food as he didn’t have to worry about feeding the slaves.

Over the next coming weeks you stopped off at six more slave markets. The biggest one you have come across so far has had fifty slaves for sale. You saw this as a pointless task. There were plenty of men back at the city that could’ve been trained up to fight in the army and yet here we are spending months on the roads and spending all the city's money on these men that have minimal training. I think father believes that these men are going to be like the unsullied but he is far from right. As you came up to the next slave market you could see this was a lot larger than the rest and there were both men and women for sale. You knew father wouldn’t buy any female slaves to fight in his army because he believes that they can’t fight even though he is training you to become the future ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

Your carriage came to a halt and you jumped out following behind your father. He goes straight over to the men while you look around the market because at this point you were just fed up and wanted to go home. You were about to head back to the horse and carriage but you were stopped by the sight of this beautiful tall blonde woman. You were entranced by her and you knew you couldn’t leave her behind for some pig of a man to buy her to most likely just use her for sex. You find the master of the woman in the area. “How much for the tall blonde?” You asked. The pig of a man looked you up and down “what do you want with her? I doubt you could even afford her!” He stated giving you a smug look. “Well if you give me a price I will be able to tell you if I can afford her” you said smirking back at him. “140 silver stags” he stated looking straight into your eyes to see if he could work out if you could afford her.

“Easy” you said, grabbing the money out of your pocket and handing it over to the master. He was shocked that you even had the money to afford her. “Now give me her key and we will be on our way. He rummaged around for her key before tossing it your way. “I really don’t know how you can afford a slave,” he stated. “Because I am the future ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. That is how I can afford her” you smirked before grabbing the woman you now owned and walked away. You were about to head off to the carriage but before you could even make it in that direction you heard your father call out to you. “Y/n why in the Seven Kindoms have you gone and bought yourself a slave. You couldn’t even have bought a male one. At least then he could’ve fought in our army” he moaned at you, clearly disappointed in your life choices. “I bought her because I wanted to. She will be coming with us for the rest of our journey whether you like it or not” you turned to your new slave “come on sweetheart. Let’s get you cleaned up” you said to her glancing up before pulling her by her hand rather than her chains to your carriage.

“So tell me what is your name and how did you end up in this situation?” You asked, pulling her into your carriage. “Well my name is Brienne of Tarth and as for how I got in this situation I was taken hostage and passed around from castle to castle. I was eventually sold to the masters where I was used until they finally had enough of me” she said, starting to sob. “Oh I’m so sorry Brienne. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just curious how someone as beautiful as you could end up in a situation like that” you said placing a hand on her leg. “So what do you plan to do with me?” Brienne asked. “I plan to do nothing with you. I brought you your freedom” you said, picking up the key and unlocking her chains letting the metal hit the floor.

She looked at you with confusion and shock and then she started to cry. “I don’t understand. Why would you do that?” She asked. “Because I wanted to save you Brienne. No one no matter what they have done in their past deserves to be treated like that. It’s not called for. Now come on Brienne let’s get you back to the city. Stay here while I go and find my father. I won’t be long.” You leave Brienne in your carriage while you head off to find your father. You find him amongst the masters preparing to buy more slaves for his army. “Father a word once you have finished speaking” you said to him. He pulled you aside “what is it y/n?” He asked. “I’m going back home with the slaves you're sending back. I’ve had enough of this journey and I would like to get Brienne cleaned up.” You said telling your father rather than asking. “Who is Brienne?” He asked. “My slave that I bought. I’m taking her back to the city so I just wanted to say goodbye to you now.” You said to him turning on your heels and walking back to the carriage where you left Brienne.

You open up the carriage door to see Brienne sitting where you left her gazing around the carriage before her eyes landing on you. “Come on sweet one. We are going back to the city tonight. I will be honest it will most likely take a month before we arrive but it’s better than travelling further away without getting you cleaned up” you said to her grabbing a wolf skin so she could wrap herself in it. “We will head off today. Hopefully the sooner we head off the sooner we can get back” you said getting ready to leave sooner rather than later.

Over the next month you, Brienne, your fathers slaves and some of his men travel back to the city. Over the course of the journey you and Brienne became a lot closer and an unlikely friendship formed between the two of you. You learnt a lot about each other. Brienne loved to fight and she was actually really good at it. You asked one of your guards to let her borrow one of their swords so she could show me what skills she has. Turns out she is better than some of the best trained men in the army. She would be a great asset to our army but you knew that you wouldn’t force her to fight unless she actually wanted too. You also learnt that she was a knight but due to being captured and made a slave they stripped her of all her titles. You were to make sure as soon as you were back in the city that all of her previous titles would be restored.

As you arrived home you thanked your fathers men before heading up in the direction of the castle while they headed in the direction of the cells where the rest of the slaves are currently being kept. You took Brienne up to the communal baths so she could finally get cleaned up. “Here you go Brienne. I’ve made sure that no one else will enter. Take as long as you need in here even if you just want to relax. I will be back in a little bit to come get you to show you to your room” you said to her. “Thank you so much y/n you have been so kind to me. I thank you for saving me. Who knew what would’ve happened if some pig of a man bought me. I’m glad it was you who rescued me” she said to you with a small smile on her pale dirty face. “I will be back soon” you said as you turned around and headed up to your own room to find something for Brienne to change into.

After about an hour you decided to head back down to the baths to check on Brienne. You knocked on the door and slowly entered to see Brienne quickly put her top over her damp body. “Sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you. Just wanted to check on you. Did you enjoy your bath?” You asked blushing due to the amount of skin you just saw. “Yes it was lovely y/n. I do thank you for allowing me to clean up.”

“Well let’s get you to your room” you suggested as you guided Brienne through the castle and up to her room which was conveniently next to yours. Brienne gasped as you entered, clearly not prepared for the luxury of the room. “I’ve laid out some clothes for you that I believe should fit. If they don’t please let me know and I will have some tailored for you” you said to her showing her the clothes that you had left on her bed. “Thank you y/n, I really don’t know what to say”

“Don’t say anything Brienne. It’s the least I could do for you. I also wanted to let you know all your previous titles will also be restored. You shouldn’t be stripped of them just because you were forced into slavery. I’m also currently having a suit of armour and sword custom made for you. Once it is ready you are more than welcome to leave and head back on your journey wherever that may be now that you're a free woman” you smiled at her trying not to let the disappointment swarm your face at the thought of your new friend leaving to continue their journey that they were on before they were enslaved.

“Actually y/n, I’ve decided to stay here if that is ok with you. I would love to become your personal knight. You saved my life and it would be my honour to protect yours from this moment forward” she said standing to her full height and walking over to you placing a hand on both sides of your shoulder.

“I would love that Brienne. I will make sure you will always have a place at my table and never let you go without food. I will never ask anything of you that may bring your name dishonour. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes us” you said with a smile from ear to ear.

“Me either your grace” she said smiling just as wide as you were. You couldn’t wait to see what the future would bring for you both.

[drchenquill]

Writing share Tag~

Thank you @just-emis-blog for the tag!

let me share with you all the first chapter of my somewhat old and forgotten WIP "The Forest"

~~~

The bow is taut. Target in my sight. The wind was blowing, but my grip was tight. My target was a doe. She hadn't noticed me between the bushes. My breathing was calm, my eyes focused. She was still grazing, unaware. I had to wait for the wind to die down, but then she lifted her head. She had noticed me. Without waiting a second, I shot the arrow. It was carried by the wind and didn't miss. The lifeless animal fell to the ground with a loud thud. I came out of my hiding place to look at my prey. I knelt down in front of it, pulled the arrow out again and examined it. She seemed young, which meant her flesh would be tender. Her fur was soft and unblemished. The animal would earn me a lot. Now I had to bring her back. I whistled twice and immediately heard the heavy footsteps of my faithful companion. He came through the bushes, neighed briefly and then nudged me with his muzzle. I stroked his black coat. I had had this stallion since I was a child, we grew up together, he was the only living creature I shared my life with. “Good boy, Aragon.” I whispered to him. He nudged me again. With a jerk, I threw the dead doe onto Aragon's back, fastened it and climbed up myself.

Our destination was a nearby village, where I would visit the butcher to sell him the meat. Then I would go to the trapper, who would buy the hide from me. That way I could scrape together enough money to buy enough food to survive for a few days. I would put the rest of the money aside so that when I had enough, I could continue my journey. That was my life. Free of responsibility or rules, just Aragon and me. I had been going through life like this since I was ten. In the beginning, it had only been small and weak animals. The bigger I got, the bigger my prey became. Now, at the age of twenty-six, I became one of the best. I got money for hunting, so I hunted everything. It often happened that I had to hunt humans. People paid more if they were humans, so I didn't care. I wasn't plagued by feelings of guilt either, as no one dared to make me feel such feelings. I was once described as “Malio” in a village, since that day I used that name to introduce myself. My own name was unknown to me, just as much of my life was unknown to me. It did not worry me, so I did not seek answers to questions I had never asked. The wind picked up again as I turned onto a small country road and ruffled my hair, which I had tied in a half-open ponytail. It wasn't too long, it reached my shoulders. I didn't want to wear it too long because it might get in the way when I was hunting, but I wanted it to at least cover my neck. I was lucky that my hair was the same color as the wood of the trees, so I could hide better in the forest. I galloped calmly along the roads, looking forward to the chunk of gold I would receive with this magnificent specimen. It would have been better if I had found a bull, then I could have sold the antlers. If it went well, I would have enough to continue my journey. You could already hear the people in the village, so I increased my pace slightly.

Aragon quickly reached the gates of the village. It was quite close to the forest, so the ride had not been so strenuous for Aragon. Once in the village, he walked with light steps. I had been settled here for a few days, so people knew me and avoided me. You couldn't blame them. I was not a talkative man, and people are naturally skeptical of strangers. But I couldn't care less, because I didn't want to make friends. I spent my days either in the forest or in the room I had been given at the lowest price, which earned me even more suspicion from the inhabitants. Many people walked past me in silence and avoided my eyes. Only one person stood in the street and seemed to be waiting for me. “You've outdone yourself again, Malio.” The man said to me. The butcher was standing in front of his shop with his apron covered in blood and his shirt just as dirty. I stopped by him and got off my horse. “Bring her inside.” He said and went inside. I tied Aragon to a pole with the reins. With a jerk, I slung the doe onto my shoulders and followed the older man. I had to duck briefly to get through the door. The butcher went to get the money and I left the animal on the butcher's table. “Here, you've earned it.” He said briefly and handed me a small bag. I heard the sound of the coins inside and was satisfied. Without bothering to engage with the man any further, I walked away, but the man still had something to say. “I strongly suspect that you will be traveling on.” I thought about it for a moment and realized that he was right. With this bag, I had enough to buy food for a journey. I nodded. He came closer and looked around, as if he was about to tell me a secret. “I have some information I think you'll be interested in.” He then said, slightly covering his mouth from the street's gaze. I had already untied Aragon, who started nudging me with his muzzle because he wanted to go on. “Speak.” I said simply. He held out his hand. His eyes were fixed on the little bag. He wanted to be paid. I stuffed the pouch into the side pocket of the saddle and rested my iron gaze on the man. He swallowed briefly, withdrew his hand and said: “There seems to be a village in the north with problems. Something seems to be killing their livestock. I assume they're paying well to get this problem solved." He then winked at me and smiled as if he had just told me the secret to a hidden treasure. I nodded again and got on Aragon. “How far?” I asked. “If you ride all day, you'll probably arrive in four days.” He said to me. “Will you be leaving today?” He then asked me. I looked up at the sky. It was clear, the sun was shining, but it wasn't hot. It was still early, so we were both still fresh. I nodded. “Why don't you wait another day and I'll give you some of the meat you brought me?” He offered, but I declined. As ridiculous as it sounded, I didn't eat meat. He patted his apron and said, “In that case, have a good trip, Malio.” “Thanks.” I simply replied and signaled for Aragon to set off. And so my journey began.

~~~

Tagging, with no pressure, @finickyfelix , @excessive-vampires , @ivaspinoza , @theink-stainedfolk and open tag~

[kitcatia]

I have a weird fascination with this character from greek mythology called Mestra of Thessaly. I think about her so often, but there's so little written about her. She is the shapeshifting daughter of King Erysichthon, the absolutely awful guy that killed Demeter's sacred tree and got punished with eternal hunger because of it. His story has been told many times (Overly Sarcastic Production's version of it is very good!) so I'll be focusing on her point of view this time around.

She got shapeshifting powers from Poseidon as a boon because he had taken her virginity. Yeah, it's a bit similar to Caeneus' story, but Caeneus chose to be turned into a guy, while Mestra just prayed for a way to escape from… okay I'll get there when I get there. I don't think it's ever stated in the original myths if it was consensual or not, so that's up to interpretation. He is often called "her lover", so I think it was not as violent as it could have been? I don't know, and that's up to the re-teller to choose if you want more or less abuse in her story.

So, after her father spent all the money of their kingdom to buy himself food, he tried to SELL HER AS A SLAVE FOR MORE MONEY. She ran away and shapeshifted into a man to escape the guy she was being sold to. Some versions say that she prayed to Poseidon in this moment to call in that favor he owed her and that's when she got her boon. There's something really interesting about ocean deities being tied to shapeshifting, maybe because of the volatility of water? If you look at a god like Proteus (who Mestra's powers are compared to) or to the Argonaut Periclymenus (grandson of Poseidon, also got this power as a boon), these connections really start to appear. But I digress.

SO, THIS GIRL HAS JUST GOTTEN MAGIC SHAPESHIFTING POWERS SHE COULD USE TO BECOME ANYTHING AND ANYONE SHE WANTED. And what does she do with that newfound freedom? She goes back to her father to be sold again and again. This part never fails to intrigue me. Mestra could have left, restarted her life as anything she could imagine, but she made the conscious decision to fly back to her father's house and submit herself to this cycle of being sold and then turning into different animals to escape each time. I think it's never explicitly stated if these later times she was sold were as a wife or as a slave.

Wanna hear something even weirder the myths ommit? They never tell us what happened to her after all that! They just go from saying: "and then mestra was sold again and again", to: "but Erysichthon's hunger was still too great so eventually he ate himself". And we never get closure on Mestra's story!

There are some fascinating articles about how much of an outlier Mestra is among the female shapeshifters of greek mythology, given she is the only one among them that is not a virgin and that succeeds in her attempts to use shapeshifting to escape marriage.

And in a random one-off line, Ovid says Mestra was "wife of deft Autolycus". This makes my brain spin so much. Like, Autolycus? The son of Hermes? The Thief King of Parnassus? That guy? Also one of the guys that we KNOW tried to "buy" Mestra as a wife was Sisyphus! He tried to get her to marry Glaucus, his son, but she ran away like she always did. So yeah, Autolycus and Mestra have one more thing in common which is pissing off Sisyphus. Good for them.

It's never stated HOW Autolycus and Mestra would come to know each other. We know he was very well-known and very hated all across Greece, so if things came to Erysichthon trying to sell/marry his daughter to THIS GUY, I think things were already starting to go to shit. Maybe his good fame was withering away and he no longer managed to arrange good marriages to his seemingly endless number of daughters. I think that technically, if the groom lost the bride, the responsibility was no longer on the father of the bride, so Erysichthon was not to be blamed for all the brides suspiciously disappearing right before the wedding night, but i think it still got him a bad reputation. As if his rep wasn't bad enough already.

So maybe Autolycus was the last option? Or maybe he wasn't the last option, but he somehow convinced Mestra to stay with him and actually marry him? I'm in purely fanfic zone now but I love the mental image of these two shapeshifters being an actually happy couple, stealing stuff and conning people all over Greece. She's even described as "fox-like" by some accounts, while Autolycus is The Wolf Himself, they even have a motif going on! I like to imagine a version of her story where she gets a happy ending, changes her name to Amphithea and becomes mother of Anticlea and grandmother of Odysseus.

Amphithea is like, mentioned in the Odyssey as Autolycus' wife and Odysseus' maternal grandmother, but we don't even know her PARENTAGE. That's why i have my crack theory that Amphithea IS Mestra using a new name to distance herself from her traumatic past.

OK, that's it for today, thank you for coming to my TedTalk!

things that feature Mestra that I like:

The Cannibal King's Daughter · | Lore & Legend: Halloween Special · Part II: kinda heavy and fucked up in some aspects, really heed the content warnings. but this version really explores mestra with more depth and i'm oh so glad it exists.

the man who ate himself by darkside_cookies on ao3: so far the only fic on Ao3 with Mestra as a protagonist. Gives her side of the story a lot of depth and genuinely fascinating psychological turmoil. Definitely worth a read.

Visibility by odiko_ptino: a fun fic where Dionysus organizes a gathering for all the characters of greek mythology that have, voluntarily or not, changed their sexes at some point, so Mestra gets a moment in the spotlight, and it's a very good moment. It's like ancient greek genderqueer support group and it's a delightful fic.