#technically his mother marie gets both of those traits from them

[flickys-courage-club]

[First cuts to Nathan and Teresa getting ready for their night out. Their son Barry(who is aged three at this timeline) is playing with his toys. It is said that two special relatives of his father are coming to babysit him]

Barry: Where are you going dad, mom?

Nathan: Well, me and mommy are gonna go somewhere for tonight

Barry: But I'm gonna be all alone in the house

Teresa: Oh you won't dear

Nathan: In the meantime, I'll have my two special relatives of mine to babysit you while we're gone

Barry: What's "babysit" mean

Teresa: It's a task giving by an adult to look after children when their parents are out

Barry: Oh, right

Nathan: [hears the doorbell] Looks like they have arrived [Barry gets up, and walks to his dad as he gets to the door]

[Nathan opens the door and sees a darker grey female cat wearing a hazel brown dress and a darker grey male cat wearing a jade green suit with lighter stripes]

???: Ah, Nathan! My mira nepos(wonderful grandson)

Nathan: Hey grandma

Nathan: Hey grandpa

???: Buonasera(Good evening), Nathan [pats his grandson's head]

???: Teresa, my carus(dear)

Teresa: Cinnamon!

Cinnamon: Oh how it is wonderful to see you

Teresa: Piperita, wonderful to see you too

Piperita: Grateful as always Teresa

[Nathan and Teresa speak with Cinnamon and Piperita for a while. As for Barry, he was playing “Sherlock Paws” with his plushies]

Teresa: Barry?

Barry: Yeah mom?

Teresa: We're gonna go now Barry [she kissed her son's cheek]

Nathan: [lifts Barry up] We will back till your bedtime, okay [kissed his son's cheek] [Teresa leaves the room, his grandparents came in]

Cinnamon: Hello my little darling

Nathan: Barry, this is your great grandmother Cinnamon

Barry: …Hello

Cinnamon: Ah Barry, my great grandson. I have heard so much about you dear Barry

Barry: [points at Piperita] Who's that… behind you?

Cinnamon: This is my husband; Piperita

Piperita: Hello, Barry

Barry: Hi

Nathan: See you later Barry

Barry: Bye dad. Bye mom

[Nathan and Teresa left the house. While Barry, Cinnamon and Piperita watch them at the window]

[It cuts to them in the kitchen. Barry was sitting at the table. He was looking at Piperita rolling the dough, then he tossed it into the air until it became a flat circle. He spreads a spoonful of red tomato sauce all over the circle. Cinnamon came around with one bowl full of grated cheese and one bowl full of sliced up fish and salmon. Barry was fuzzled of what are his great grandparents are making by the counter]

[15 minutes later. Piperita opens the oven door and he is now taking the dish which is a fish and salmon pizza out of the oven]

Piperita: Finito–(Finished–) [he places it on the table]

Barry: [looks in awe, his eyes sparkling] Whoa–

Piperita: Italians like myself called this capolavoro(masterpiece)... Pizza! [he pulls out a circular pizza cutter, which he cuts a slice out of it] Puoi mangiare, ragazzo(You may eat, boy)

[Barry takes the pizza slice and eats it. His eyes are sparkling by the consuming delight of this wonderful dish. He immediately eats it all up]

[2 hours came, it was now Barry's bedtime. Despite that, the three are watching a film in the living room]

Piperita: Well, Nathan and Teresa are gonna be back till bedtime, Barry [latter nods in response]

[While they are almost at the end of the film, Barry's eyes begin to feel drowsy, meaning that he is starting to get tired. He lays his head on the side of Piperita's body. Piperita and Cinnamon see him falling asleep on him]

Cinnamon: ¡Ay, qué linda!(Oh, how pretty!)

[Piperita lets out a chuckle, he looks at Cinnamon and she looks at him]

Piperita: Ti amo, fascino mio(I love you, my charm)

Cinnamon: Te quoque amo, mi smaragdus(I love you too, my emerald)

[Then it cuts to Barry's bedroom. Piperita lays him gently in his bed, and he places the blanket over him and his plush to the right side of him]

Cinnamon: [whispers] Te quoque amo, mi smaragdus(Good night, my dear) [she then gently kisses him on the forehead]

Piperita: Dormi bene, pronipote(Sleep well, great grandson) [rubs his head gently, which the lil cat smiles while sleeping]

[An hour later. Nathan and Teresa came back from their night out. They didn't notice that Cinnamon and Piperita have left already and they even already put their son to bed]

[firelance2361]

The Oliverse (Earth-5203)

Here’s a little something I’ve been working on for a bit. It’s a character roster for an AU with Oliver Osnick/Steel Spider and many others. In this universe, after Oliver’s girlfriend, Jane Lane was paralyzed by Muggers, instead of going after them solo, he sought out the help of Peter Parker/Spider-Man to bring them to justice. Because of this partnership, not only were they able to bring the muggers to justice, but they also found a suspicious hidden link to them and Miles Warren/The Jackal. Due to this, not only was the life of Spider-Man’s unborn child saved, so too were the lives of the clones created by Miles Warren for Norman Osborn. Those clones being Ben Reilly, Kaine Parker, and Gwen Warren. Osnick’s actions also allowed for the Clone Saga to be resolved faster than it was in the original timeline, exposing both Osborn and Warren’s inhuman actions to the public, leading to their arrest. This is set 10 years after these events, in where many changes have happened. - The Parker Family has grown exceptionally in this times.        - Peter and Mary Jane successfully had their child, May Parker, who took on the mantle of Night-Spider. They also discovered through an investigation of Osborn's and Warren's experiments, the existence of their half-human/half-symbiote child April Parker/Mayhem, who they took in with welcome arms. She and May get along well pretty well, though April still has some issues keeping her symbiotic side under control.        - The clones of Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker have become part of the family as well, becoming Peter’s official brothers and May’s “super-uncles.”        - Peter’s secret sister, Teresa Parker was also discovered earlier in this universe thanks to Peter and Oliver’s resources in Oscorp. It took a while for her to get back into the family, but they’re slowing starting to accept Terry. She aids them out in the field as the hero, Birdstrike. - Oliver himself gained a little sister named Sadie, who after suffering an attack from Kidney Failure, received a transfusion with Spider-Blood that saved her life.        - Said event gave her traditional Spider-Powers, along with bone-like stingers similar to Kaine Parker, leading her to become the heroine, Spindle. - Felicia Hardy retired as the Black Cat due to worsening conditions with her mother’s health, entrusting the mantle to Mary Jane. - The Various Spider-People, including the clones, have reorganized into the Spider-Society, with Ezekiel Sims as a consultant/mentor of the group.         - Cindy Moon does exist in this universe with her powers, but she has yet to emerge as the heroine Silk. For now she serves as technical assistant, while training on the sides with some of the other Spiders. - Oscorp came under the control of Oliver’s father, Milton Osnick, who as CEO, reorganized the company into something more beneficial for the public.                          - Peter Parker works as Oscorp as a consultant on the Scientific Board. - Earth-5203 Oliver, sadly, like his mainstream counterpart, lost his arm in a confrontation with Eddie Brock/Venom and Lily Hollister/Demogoblin that also took the life of Jessica Drew.        - Such incident caused Ollie to take a brief Hiatus as Steel Spider until he could get back up on his feet again.        - He does usual therapy sessions with Jane once a week, which has helped out with some of problems in their relationship.                - Ollie also built a working prosthetic arm to compensate for the damage, which was able to interact with his hero-tech; a trait that helped him out it the field when he finally did return to crimefighting.        - Julia Carpenter and Mattie Franklin stepped into the void left by Jessica Drew's death, becoming the unofficial leaders of the Spider-Society.        - Eddie Brock, gave up the Venom Symbiote due to Cancer treatments. In his wake, his son Dylan Brock bonded with the Sleeper Symbiote, becoming a somewhat more versatile antihero than his mainstream counterpart, with some harder anger management issues. - Carolyn Trainer has taken up the mantle of Doctor Octopus after Otto Octavius suffered a neuro-related injury to his cranium after a fight with Spider-Man, leaving him comatose. She serves as Oliver’s antithesis in this universe. - In this universe, other sidelined heroes and villains have started to have a greater influence in the superpowered community, from Sally Arvil/Bluebird to Dwight Faron/Counterblow and Elias Wirtham/Cardiac, and several others. Sorry if the bio’s a bit lengthy, I just didn’t want to skimp on the details here. Hope you like it!

[ejm513]

FAIRY TAIL NEXT GEN CHILDREN-GRUVIA EDITION

 NALU

1-I know there is now a cannon child for edo Nalu and edo Gruvia with names and everything. I also know that Gajeel and Levy have twins and Levy is currently pregnant in 100 Years Quest.  I love it and their names and everything about those precious babies-but I’ve had these ideas and characters and backstories growing and developing in my head for years so I’m being the stubborn Taurus that I am and sticking with it.

2-Also please forgive any misspellings and grammar mistakes as I am dyslexic and my school failed us at teaching spelling and grammar. I did my best.

Hello my lovelies!! 

So I’ve spent most of the day working on the first two ships and editing everything so I figured why not just post the second one right away. 

And the next ship we’re doing on this crazy journey is my personal favorite my OTP to end all OTPS 

GRUVIA!!

Ah yes people... I’m in my happy place. 

THE FULLBUSTERS:

  Nicolai Sliver Fullbuster- Nicknames- Nick, Nicky, Nicky Bear (gotta love little sisters)

Birthday: March 15th, 797 (Bonus points if anyone gets the reference :P)

Magic: Ice Make Magic

Appearance:

-Height: 5’10 (same height as Gray)

-Hair: Dark and thick like Grays, slightly wavy curiosity of his mother.

-Eye color: Dark blue and large like he’s mother’s.

-Built like his father.

-He and Gray are the closest to clones.  

IMPORTANT FACTS:

-Gray doesn’t want his boy to deal with the consequences of being a demon slayer… so he doesn’t teach him how to be one. At least not completely. He does pass on some techniques and skills but nothing more.

-For example he teaches him Ice Make Sliver. 

-He got the name Nikolai Sliver from both of his grandfathers-I chose a Russian name because I have this idea in my head that in the real world Juvia would be Russian and nothing can convince me otherwise.

-Though he got over it eventually poor thing hated the cold and having to strip in the snow.

-He too got the illness Ultrear had, and while he didn’t get through it as easily as the Dragnell children he got through it in the end.  

And before anyone ask yes… he stripes.

Personality:

-Kind

-Loyal (but maybe not to a fault)

-Laid back like his father

-A little moody and temperamental at times

-Can be a bit reserved but more or less wears his heart on his sleeve like Juvia.

-Very imaginative like his mother… which sometimes lead him to being a little ditzy and spacy.

-Very loving

-Very protective of those he loves

-Definitely inherited Juvia’s possessiveness-when his sister was being introduced to the guild for the first time after she was born he grabbed hold of her little blanket, stood in front of her and said

“No! She’s MY baby sister!!”

-Gray QUICKLY helped him get it under control

-A huge romantic like Juvia…like MAJOR romantic. He even enjoys reading her romance novels (but don’t you dare tell anyone)

-He also enjoys drawing, doing anything in the snow and ice

-Very intelligent and did well in school-given his magic he was particularly skilled in art. No one understands how he managed to do so well in school because his note books are covered in doodles

-In general just a much more open and expressive person than his father or sister, much more like his mother.

Relationships:

-Extremely close with both of his parents-the Fullbusters are known for having a very close knit and loving family.

-Like almost every boy in this generation he is a total mama’s boy and you better not call him out on it.

-Also idolizes his father and wants to be just like him

-Absolutely adores his little sister is very gentle and sweet with her. He’s extremely protective of her  and one of the only four people he can be a little possessive over (the others being Lila and his parents).However, she can get on his nerves because like most little siblings she follows him everywhere and wants to do everything with him. Plus they can both be temperamental and stubborn. They are also so much alike yet express themselves in such different ways that it causes clashes.  As a result, they bicker the most out of any of the siblings in the next gen-but their fights never, EVER turn physical. But the bottom line is they are exceptionally close-so close in fact they are one of the only pairs in the next gen that can successfully pull of a Unison Raid.

-Real he just wants Eliza to stop calling him Nicky Bear… in public at least.

-The first of his two best friends is Simon Scarlet. At first it was a matter of convenience because he was the only boy in the guild close to her age, but it didn’t take too long to become genuine friends. They love to bond over their love of sweets. The other of course is Lila.

And naturally Happy… Happy is everyone’s best friend

-He has loved Lila pretty much his entire life-before he even understood what that feeling was. When he learned what the concept of marriage, he knew right away she was the one he was going to marry. As stated before he constantly referred to her as his wife as children and when they were older (like almost 20 or older than 20) he would say “You know I’m going to marry you one day Dragnell right?”

Elizaveta/ Eliza/ Liza Ur Fullbuster

   Birthday: November 23rd, 801

Magic: Water.

Appearance:

Height: 5’2 (a couple of inches shorter than Juvia who is 5’4 according to the Wiki)

Hair: Long, thick and wavy like Juvia’s, dark like Gray’s

Eyes: Juvia’s shape but dark like Gray’s

-She has the same gifted build as Juvia, but somehow a little more fragile looking

-Has her father’s smile

-Yes that beautiful beautiful smile 

-Has heard from Gray that despite her strong resemblance to her mother something about her reminds him of his mother

IMPORTANT FACTS:

-Elizaveta or Eliza Ultear got her name from Juvia’s mother and obviously Ultear. Eliza is what she goes by and only those closest with her call her Liza

-Eliza was born five weeks early and this caused… problems. She was extremely sick as a baby. She ended up becoming dyslexic. Finally, it messed with her powers. She has water powers like her mother, but because she was born so early they are technically incomplete because her body isn’t completely made of water like Juvia. This means she’s not impervious to physical attacks, but she makes up for it in other ways.

-Due to being born early and being a little sickly, when she got that infamous illness all the children in the next gem see to get Ultear’s illness (I have no idea what else to call it) she got hit the worse. She actually came close to dying and Gray and Juvia were told to expect the worst.

-Because of this, despite obviously being a skilled and well trained wizard, Eliza is more known for her emotion strength and endurance rather than her physical strength (at least until she was almost an adult)

-Is definitely no ice wizard and can’t stand the cold, but did learn some tricks including how to freeze her rain into snow or freezing rain.

And yes… she is absolutely forbidden to strip under any and all circumstances unless she doesn’t want to see the outside world until she’s 30 or until Gray is dead… which ever comes first

Personality:

-Massive, huge heart of gold

-Very sweet

-Very shy and introverted

-Extremely reserved, keeps everything close to her chest like her father

-Appears laid back but is a ball of emotion and anxiety and occasional bouts of depression

-Comes off as an ethereal, sweet, Mary Jane type of dainty princess when she is anything but

-Actually, has a very snarky, sarcastic sense of humor a la Gray and is just funny like her mother.

-Is never willing to start a fight but if you push her enough she follows the same line of thought as Lila;

-Is very stubborn, moody and temperamental at times

-Very ambitious and always smiling despite everything that’s happened to her.

-Is quiet laid back with her language when she’s older and has been known to swear.

-Is also great at impressions.

-Has Juvia’s quiet astounding imagination and is definitely a dreamer.

-Is a HUGE romantic, openly reading her mother’s romance novels. Otherwise she’s very good at hiding it… mostly.

-Exceptionally smart but struggles with math and is a slow reader because of her dyslexia. She excels in history and music.

-I have a head cannon that Juvia can sing because of all the hydration she gets from having a water body, mermaids/sirens luring sailors with their voices and because apparently Juvia’s voice actress can sing. So Eliza inherited that gift but never sings on stage for the public.

 RELATIONSHIPS:

-Because of how sickly she has always been, and because she was the first girl born to the guild a string of boys, and because of how bad she’s treated by kids at school, Eliza is utterly spoiled and a little coddled by all. No on one minds though because she never acts spoiled. She just loves having such a safe and warm space to fall.

-Like her brother is super close to her parents.

-Juvia is her rock and the pair are inseparable.

-She is also daddy’s littler girl though don’t you ever get her to admit it. They love joking around with each other and just talking.

-She adores and idolizes her big brother-her Nicky Bear. She always wanted to follow him around and do what he did-which after a certain point would get on his nerves. She also sometimes get annoyed with how protective he can be. They can both be a little possessive over each other and their parents.  As mentioned before they have many of the same personality traits but express them in different ways, so they bicker a lot. But in the end she would be lost without him.

-Like her mother Eliza was unfortunately bullied badly by kids outside the guild and even more unfortunate a few kids in the guild. So her three closest friends are Lila Dragnell, Hazel Redfox and much to her chagrin Iggy Dragnell.

-Iggy is the only person who can flare her temper on the daily and who she has fought with-he never fights with more than words but from time to time she will blast him with water just to get him to leave her alone. He is more or less the annoying younger brother she never asked for but similar to her own brother would be lost without him.

-And before you ask no she has not and will never have a crush or any romantic feelings for Iggy… but Simon Scarlet on the other hand….

-Has a love hate relationship with Happy after he was flying her around ounce and dropped her from pretty high up which gave her a fear of heights.

 All right my lovelies!! That is it for this round! I’ll be back soon... hopefully with the next ship!!! 

GAJEELX LEVY!!! 

[padme-amitabha]

Is Anakin a Mary Sue?

Now it may shock you to learn this but it turns out that Disney Star Wars is kind of a contentious topic. The fandom's been more or less divided between those who like the sequel trilogy and those who like good movies but both groups spend a great deal of time slinging [ __ ] at each other over every form of social media known to man and truly no battleground is more fiercely contested than the protagonist of each trilogy. People who hate the Disney trilogy tend to criticize Rey for being an overpowered, flawless, perfect, invincible and unrelatable character for whom everything just kind of happens with no real struggle or difficulty a Mary Sue if you will.

Meanwhile supporters of the sequel trilogy are quick to leap to her defense usually with one of two potential counter arguments:  1. You just hate strong women 2. So what if she's op as [ __ ] Anakin Skywalker from the prequels was a Mary Sue too and you don't criticize him. You just hate strong women. This argument was brought into sharp focus for me the other day when I was perusing twitter in search of calm, logical, rational discussion about the merits of the sequel trilogy and I chanced upon this little gem of a comment. Ah yes that famously perfect protagonist who wins everything, always makes the right decisions, has a selfless and compassionate personality, and is universally loved and respected by everyone. Well random twitter [ __ ] as it turns out, I am ready to have that conversation right now. So saddle up y'all because the drinker's here to round up this [ __ ] and put an end to this argument once and for all. Let us journey deep into the world of the Star Wars prequels and see if we can figure out whether Anakin Skywalker really is a Mary Sue.

Now in order to do this, we have to nail down what exactly a Mary Sue is. Well according to the dictionary definition it's a term used to describe a fictional character, usually female, who is seen as too perfect and almost boring for lack of flaws originally written as an idealized version of an author in fanfiction. Now the finer points of what makes a Mary Sue can vary depending on who you talk to but after consulting multiple sources and drawing upon my own experiences as a writer, there's a few common traits that I think most people would generally agree on:

1.      Mary Sues usually possess skills and abilities that are not consistent with their situation and personal history. They can do stuff they shouldn't realistically be able to and they can do it better than anyone else.

2.      They usually possess flawless idealized personalities that no real person could measure up to they never give in to negative emotions like anger, greed, jealousy, selfishness or arrogance.

3.      They're universally loved respected and embraced by every good character they encounter even when there's no logical reason for this to happen.

4.      They never get seriously challenged, fail at anything or get beaten by anyone, success and victory come easily to them.

5.      They always make good decisions and strive to do what's right in any situation so why is this actually a problem.

Well I think the answer should be obvious, Mary Sues are boring as [ __ ]. If a character has got no flaws or weaknesses and never really gets challenged or tested by anything then what is there to get invested in?

It's the flaws and failings of a character that make them interesting in the first place and their struggle to rise above and overcome these flaws that make them so compelling. If these things are missing from a character, then there's nothing for the audience to latch onto or care about. There's nothing to like or root for. That's the essence of a Mary Sue and that's what we're going to be looking at here. So, with that in mind let's see how Anakin stacks up against this list shall we?

Point number one: Being overpowered and having abilities that he shouldn't. Now this more than anything else is what people tend to latch onto when they criticize Anakin and who can blame them really? On the surface it seems pretty ridiculous to see a nine-year-old boy doing stuff like this autopilot but let's put it into a wider context, shall we? When we first meet Anakin in The Phantom Menace, he's a slave living with his mother on Tatooine. He's spent most of his life salvaging junk and using it to make new stuff that can marginally improve their quality of life. As a result, he's become pretty good with technology. Well that makes sense, I guess. He's even applied these technical skills to pod racing where he's been fairly successful despite suffering at least one major crash that we know about. Again, this kind of makes sense when you consider he's strong with the force which would likely give him heightened perception reactions and understanding of the world around him, you know qualities that are important to high performance racing drivers. Anyway, his racing abilities allow the main characters to win an engine part that they need to repair their ship as well as enough money to buy his freedom. Sensing his importance Qui-Gon Jinn takes him under his wing and begins to teach him about the force. Remember when older mentor characters were allowed to teach the protagonist things? I miss that. He also takes part in a space battle that destroys an enemy mothership at the climax of the movie. Now as goofy as this scene is in its execution, it's not actually inconsistent with Anakin’s abilities and experiences. If you've worked around technology vehicles and ships your entire life and you can pilot a racing pod to a high standard then it stands to reason that you could probably operate other types of spacecraft as well, particularly if you have a droid on board to manage most of the ship's systems for you. However, for the sake of argument let's concede the Anakin in The Phantom Menace is indeed more skilled competent and capable than your average person.

So, what kind of effect would this have on a young man from an impoverished background suddenly thrust into a much larger world of power, politics and opportunity? Well that brings me neatly along to point number two: Mary Sues are supposed to have flawless personalities never giving in to anger, jealousy, resentment, vengeance or ambition. All throughout the second and third movies in the prequel trilogy, Anakin displays an increasingly severe set of personality flaws that begin to undermine his position in the world and his relationship with other characters. He's impetuous and hot-headed, frequently rushing into dangerous situations without waiting for backup or considering the risk to himself particularly when someone he cares about is in danger. Keep that one in mind because it'll be important later. He's ambitious but also impatient, feeling like he's been unfairly held back by other characters, particularly Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this resentment causes a growing rift between the two men that eventually spills out into open conflicts. Rather than taking the longer and harder path to wisdom and understanding, Anakin wants everything right away. He also cares deeply about people close to him and this attachment often manifests in explosive bites of anger and jealousy when he feels that they're being threatened like when his mother gets kidnapped and killed by Tusken Raiders, causing Anakin to go on a violent rampage that escalates into wholesale slaughter. Afterwards even he's shocked by what he did or when he believes that Padme has turned against him by Obi-Wan Kenobi, causing him to lash out violently against both of them. By this point he's been totally consumed by uncontrolled jealousy anger resentment and betrayal. All of the emotions that lead to the dark side of the force. The point here is clear: if you [ __ ] with someone he cares about then mercy and compassion go right out the window.

All of his skills, abilities and potential which seemed so overpowered and unnecessary in the first movie in fact serve a very important purpose for his character development. They've generated a sense of superiority, arrogance and overconfidence, and a reluctance to listen to criticism or advice no matter how well intentioned they might be. These are dangerous flaws in his personality all by themselves but combined with his overwhelming emotional attachment to people he cares about it creates a potent cocktail of reckless ambition and deep-seated insecurity that makes him uniquely vulnerable to manipulation something which will later prove disastrous because while Mary Sues are universally loved respected and trusted by everyone, Anakin certainly isn't in the first movie. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Yoda are all against training Anakin to become a Jedi despite his obvious potential because they know he's already too old to be inducted. This lack of early discipline in his life would leave a dangerous gap in his personality, making him unpredictable and less able to control his emotions, two factors which are extremely dangerous for Jedi. These misgivings would carry over to the next two movies where Anakin is elevated to the Jedi high council on Palpatine’s orders but the council itself refuses to grant him the rank of master because they feel he hasn't earned it yet. Now a different man would see this as an opportunity to prove himself by working hard and earning their trust eventually winning them over and gaining the recognition he deserves but Anakin takes this as a personal insult from the council which drives a deeper wedge between him and a Jedi order which he believes will never truly respect or accept him. Wow it's almost like Palpatine knew this was going to happen and engineered the whole thing to pull Anakin closer to him portraying himself as the only one who can help Anakin realize his full potential. It's a surprisingly smart piece of characterization that's completely consistent with everything we know about both men. The higher Anakin rises the more it stokes the fire of his ambition and superiority and the more he comes to see anyone who doubts or cautions him as a threat to his success. This arrogance and overconfidence also causes him to test himself against powerful opponents before he's actually ready for them and unlike Mary sues who easily win every battle they have to fight, Anakin’s recklessness causes an escalating series of losses like here where he tries to take on count Dooku all by himself and it ends with Anakin getting his [ __ ] arm sliced off. But his desire for revenge against the man who defeated him ultimately causes a more powerful and better prepared Anakin to execute him in the following movie, again proving his willingness to give into vengeance and anger even against helpless opponents or here in his climactic confrontation with Obi-Wan where his enemy has the advantage but Anakin presses the attack anyway and well I think we know how that turns out. Just as a side note I love how this carries over to Return of the Jedi. See Luke’s taking the high ground here just like Obi-Wan did.

What we have here is a clear pattern of behavior from a man whose ambitions consistently outstrip his abilities. Rather than demonstrating patience and restraint and taking the slower and harder path to lasting wisdom and fulfillment, Anakin’s inherent character flaws cause him to push himself beyond breaking point with increasingly disastrous consequences which brings me neatly along to the final points: whereas Mary Sues consistently make good righteous decisions and always strive to do the correct thing, Anakin on the other hand demonstrates a consistent pattern of mistakes and misjudgments that ultimately cost him everything. As I've already shown you the flaws in his personality are exacerbated by his powers and abilities making him easy prey for a ruthlessly ambitious man that knows exactly how to flatter his ambitions and prey on his weaknesses this eventually causes him to commit terrible crimes like murdering an entire tribe including unarmed civilians murdering children, executing a helpless opponent, helping to kill a jedi master, trying to murder his own wife, trying to kill his mentor and best friend, joining forces with an evil dictator to overthrow the republic, delivering this scene…

What I’m trying to say with all this is that Anakin Skywalker is the very furthest thing from a Mary Sue that you can get. Trying to label him as a Mary Sue for no other reason than because he's good at lots of stuff demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what a Mary Sue is and also of who Anakin is. The reality is that he's a powerful but deeply flawed man whose unique combination of circumstances and abilities have created a dangerous personality that's vulnerable to manipulation and corruption his greatest strengths ultimately proved to be his most terrible weaknesses with consequences that echo across the entire galaxy. Now I have my own thoughts on the prequel trilogy as a whole and I’d be lying if I said they were great movies but fundamentally I think the story they tell is actually pretty [ __ ] good and I’m just gonna say it: Anakin’s rise to power and fall to the dark side is a damn good piece of character work that Disney would have done well to pay more attention to. Anyway, that's all I’ve got for today. Go away now.

I would argue the prequels are great movies but he makes some very good points. I have seen so many Disney fans claim Anakin is a Mary Sue, when he’s anything but a Mary Sue. 

[lady-plantagenet]

What hasn’t already been said: The Spanish Princess 2

Episode 2: SOdden (or Sod ‘Em depending on your persuasion)

(Dont know how long I’ll be able to keep these puns up)

Catherine, like this woman, does not really fit into this era. But while this woman seems dropdead cool and at least looks the part, Catherine just...

To all those of you keen enough to have come back for another segment of ‘what hasn’t already been said: TSP’, as opposed to have just been scrolling when you see this - welcome back! (Scrollers you too <3)

To anyone who’s seeing this for the first time: what this is a list of observations, jokes, reactions and criticism which occur to me upon a rewatch. I wait every week until Saturday to do this so that I have had my fill of scrolling through the tag and aggregating what has already been said. I tried doing a whole spoof (here where I gave up 10% in) but tbh a) I don’t know the history well enough b) it’s more time consuming than I thought and c) this series is just not as funny or as crazy as TWQ, so it’s untenable. Having said that: This is not a hatepost. I’m not hatewatching this series and nitpicking on purpose but expressing my honest views and trying to find the good in it as well as the bad.

Without further ado...

First Scenes:

The baby cloth lifting into the ceiling of the chapel had nice ‘myth of the demon countess of Anjou (ancestress of the Plantagenets)’ vibes. I am 100% that was unintentional. I get this impression by the cringiness of the baby’s screams (what’s up with those sound effects? It sounded like a zipper).

Henry gives me such softboi vibes? It’s pleasing to me because it’s making me attracted to him as a viewer, but no good in convincing me this is Henry VIII.

I think Catherine’s exposition about how she feels is pretty ok actually, it’s fitting that she would feel anger.

CHARLES’ FATHER IS NOT MAXIMILIAN, IT’S PHILIP (or rather it was). ~~ A quick wiki search guyz, a quick wiki search. Ughh

Again with the whole everyone acting like Catherine is Queen. Can they cut it out? Also while we’re at it, what was Catherine’s attendance in councils even like?

The music was nice

Post Child announcement phase:

Oof I hate to say it but I lowkey wanted de la Pole back in this mother. Mainly because it would mean more Margaret Pole and by this point I am scared her storyline will fade in prominence now that there’s no longer a Yorkist subplot (showhorned as it was, it was the crowning glory of last season tied with Arthur x Catherine).

More x Maggie Pole and all of it over Seneca and learning :’). I already know this will be the best part of the episode.

‘We certainly know stoicism in our family’ ~ I guess she’s referring to Reggie? Because our boi Clarence was no poster boy for stoicism. Though could she be making an ironic reference to her father~?

Edmund de la Pole Debacle:

Well this convo at least passed the bechdel test.

Maggie and Edmund’s interactions here are touching. I know this plotline was rushed but I think it was just right to bring us back here for 5 min as a mournful throwback to the bygone era to which Maggie Pope belongs to and now continues to do so alone. It is emotionless and you can just feel how the York cause was hanging on by a tired old threat by that point.

Maggie Pole is becoming matronly now and I like this transition.

What bothers me about a lot of fans of Margaret Pole is that what they don’t realise is that she wasn’t all like ‘I want nothing to do with my family I’ll stay low and obscure’. While far more cautious than the likes of her ancestors, she did engage in land disputes with Henry VIII and was an outspoken supporter of Catherine and Catholic. Having her be a woman woth dubious loyalties towards the Tudors is accurate.

Scotland with Meg and Jammes:

LMFAO it’s like they read my mind when I spoke of how much I laughed when Meg was like ‘Alexander Steward you pig!1!!’ last episode.

Nice reference to Aulde Alliance

I like James.

Henry and Catherine on the balcony:

Was she commander of the forces? Was Howard appointed that? Regent she was, ok.

Charlotte Hope’s new hairstyles really suit her!

‘Will you please stop cursing’ agahsjdk ahah

No offence to women (of which I am one) but this comparison between childbirth and war is just... wrong. I know Starz think they are being smart but childbirth is far less impressive than winning or surviving a battle - comparing the two diminishes the bravery of soldiers. YET ,having said that, childbirth is necessary for our society whereas war is almost always futile and by comparing them, it wrongly represents violence as something inherently as natural to us as birth and continuing of civilisation. overall not a smart, respectful or accurate parrallel to make.

Meg and prep for invasion + Catherine in her weird armour:

So Margaret dreams that her husband is dead and bloody in her bed. Ughh show you neeed to get more creative. But I did like the whole ‘dreams are how our ancestors talk to us’ line from Angus Douglas.

Re: Meg in her beret... Why is Meg dressed like me going to the London shops in October? Digging the aesthetic but not sure about the accuracy.

Rich of Catherine to bring up Edmund.

Why is Ursula Pole crying??? What is all this to her really?

Did Howard just call the guard... sonny?? Is this some WW2 crossover?

Catherine - James and the tent parlay:

Did Catherine just insult Meg’s intelligence??

Also lmao I’m going to miss James.

Re: Howard saying ‘I’m not going to get insulted by a man wearing a dress’ .. UMMM Starz, you do know that just thirty years ago men were prancing about in dresses and leggings (essentially). From around the middle of the 14th century to the beggining of 16th century (if not earlier), Englishmen were also essentially prancing about in ‘skirts’.

Am I getting a weird cooperation-partnership vibe between Meg and James?

The Battle:

Charlotte Hope looks so good with the helmet, she’d really suit an english hood! Such a shame they won’t give her one!

Ewwww he’s eating mud, why?

Just standard battle scene. They are all the same to me no matter which movie.

Aftermath:

Jesus, I find the whole Meg crying over James IV so heartfelt ‘you arrogant bastard’ for some reason just came out so full of emotion. Can someone please explain why the hell I ship them more than Henry x Catherine?? Like how ??

Awwww Linna is sooooo adorable ughhh. Also this whole Catherine going into armour among all the women crooning over the children gives this adorable sense of Catherine boyish and bloodying herself out to protect their peace, idk. All I have to say is that these series is less eager to pitt women against each other than the previous. I think that’s a step forwards.

Also, good to see Catherine being modest about her victory so Henry can save face. Finally starting to seem like the real Catherine.

‘Go on you dog’ arghh ahah he sounds like some public school rugby lad egging his mate on.

Re: Wolsey cock-blocker; the real Catherine would know it was uncatholic to have sex when you were pregnant. Also Catherine is not technically speaking in confinement if she’s wandering about.

It’s nice to see Catherine sticking up for Howard, she at least learned to respect him during the battle.

I foresee Oviedo having enough of this Christian stuff and wanting to return to the berber domains (I suppose Spain is out of the question)

Knighting Ceremony:

Apparently Margaret Pole herself was made Countess of Salisbury during this same ceremony... right? @houseofclarence

Also Maggie Pole being like: “being a rebel is in my blood, or so they tell me”... gahhh what’s with these shows and the Clarence erasure? Can’t they make one bloody reference to her dad or grandad Warwick? Ugh. Especially with lines like this. Actually? You know what? Ignore my previous comment about the stoic remark and it being an ironic reference to Clarence. I put such subtlety above this show’s writers.

Catherine has a habit of going to the coldest places possible to lose her children...

Haha @ Henry asking Bessie Blount (of all people) where Catherine is.

Conclusion:

6/10

What I’m happiest about is that Flodden got dealt with in one episode because warrior xena Catherine is not what interests me most about this show. Having said that, it was a true shame that James IV died because his were some of the best scenes. This whole show is starting to feel so historical fantasy-ish because the aesthetics are so confused. Granted it’s still pretty (not eyesore like Reign) but it doesn’t penetrate.

I am as always invested in the Poles (and More) but am also starting to get attached to Princess Mary whose actress exudes plenty of charm. This show remains confused with its feminist message because while it shows women being proactive there is so much emphasis on babies that what remains with the mind after watching is this womanish birthdrama, as opposed to a show about struggles which affect both genders.

You might tut at me and say I’m being ridiculous and that it is historically accurate to put so much emphasis on women’s babies and I say that’s swell. I would happily watch a show where that element is strong (most pre 1995 historical dramas are like that with traditionally feminine characters and I gulp them up like sustenance), but if a show promises feminism and women-men being partners I want it to deliver that properly. As I said in my previous post, why do we keep trying to make women engage in acts like war as if such an abhorrent act is the only way to take them seriously? I await the day where cunning, rationality and cool-headedness will be the traits portrayed as feminist ones.

There is nothing else to really comment on... the only potentially deeper message in this is the gender discourse. I am unsure about the accuracy so I can’t speak of the historical value of the interpretation. But what I will say is that though I remain excited for each new episode... I’m just not as invested as I was in TWQ (rewatch every year dont @ me) or TWP despite their many flaws. Some characters pull me in eg Maggie Pole (Carmichael is a bae), Thomas More etc but not the whole cast like TWQ. Anyway... would be interesting to see if anything happens with Lina and Oviedo tommorow as their storyline is conspicuously slow.

[phantoms-lair]

MSAxBNHA AU

After stopping the slime monster All Might doesn't go after Izuku. The kid has the heart and the mindset, but All Might was the strongest hero in the world and now he's condemned a to slow painful death as his body deteriorates. Being a hero is a dance with death and he wasn't to see that brave and kind soul snuffed out so young.

 What he doesn't realize is his words about Izuku not being able to be a hero without a quirk did what over a decade of bullying failed to. He broke Izuku's spirit. And Inko doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know how to help her son, feels like she never knew how to help him, so she tried for a Hail Mary. There’s a trinket said to belong to a great spirit that once swore to help her family. A small metal tag with a hole on the top and a stylized question mark. She lights incense and prays for the spirit to help her son. The lights flicker and she sees the silhouette of a massive nine tailed form that vanishes, leaving behind a small white dog where yellow tinted pince-nez. "Hello Inko,  daughter of Vivi, daughter of Mushi. What can I do for you?"

The logical part of her brain wants to deny whats in front of her is a spirit. Animals with quirks were rare but not unheard of. But this is the only thing she can think of, her last hope, so she forges ahead. She tells the dog about her son's love of heroes. Of how 80% or the worlds population, almost 100% of the younger generation has some kind of superpower. Of how her son doesn't. How he strived to be a hero, studied every hero no matter how big or small. How he was bulled for not having a quirk and the teachers would look the other way. How he never gave up until the man he looked up to above all others told him he couldn't be a hero, confirmed in his mind the years of being told he was worthless. And she begged this being that looked like a dog but wasn't to help her son, that's she'd pay any cost- 

"Never say that," The creature said sharply. "There are those who would take you up on it." 

Inko frowned stubbornly So much like Vivi "For my son, I'd give anything." 

 "And if they asked for his life or soul? You'd already said anything, you'd have to comply." 

Inko's hands flew to her mouth as the color drained from her skin. 

"I would never ask that of you," The creature said, a warm kindness in his voice, though his tone was still firm. "But others would. I merely want you to not make such risky statements where another might take advantage. Tell me Inko, do you have a box that's been passed down from your family? A metal box with English writing a little over a meter in length?" 

Inko knew the box he meant. She had inherited along with the tag that summoned him. "It's in the attic." 

"Let's get it then. What's in the box should help your son more than I could.". 

Inko shakily gets to her feet and leads the way. She dusts the box off so the letters are visible. 'Yukino' is written in kanji on the top.  There's two words in English too, she'd translated them on a lark while she was studying for her degree in library science. Pepper on the right and Kingsmen of the left.  What 'From Snow' had to do with a fruit or a King's guard she didn't know; no one had ever been able to open the box. 

The thing that certainly wasn't a dog lightly touched it with his paw and it sprang open. Inside was what seemed to be an old metal baseball bat covered in ofuda. Beneath it was a star pin, a set of violet tinted glasses, and a golden heart shaped locket. The beast blew lightly on the three objects on the bottom. "Vivi, Lewis, Arthur. It's time to wake up, Your great-great granddaughter and great-great-great grandson need you."

At first it seems nothing happens. Then the items being to spark. The golden locket is the first to rise in the air, purple fire forming a massive skeletal figure. Then a powder of delicate blue ice pushes up the glasses and form a more petite one. The star takes a few tries, false starts before the electricity forms into a much more lanky skeleton, one arm glowing unnaturally. And for the first time Inko fears she's made a mistake. She doesn't know what these powers she's courted are. What if they're dangerous? What if they hurt her Izuku? 

"Look at you!" The blue themed skeleton hovered over her in glee. "You have to tell me about yourself. What's your favorite color? Is it green? What do you do for fun? Wait, Mystery implied you had a son? What's he like? Do you have a husband? A Wife? Both?" 

"Vivi, chill. You might want to put on your face. You're scaring our granddaughter." True to his word the lanky one shimmered and suddenly seemed much more human. A Caucasian man with blonde spiked hair. 

He approached Inko much more slowly. "My name is Kingsman Arthur. You may not have heard of me, but I'm your couple of times great grandfather. This is my wife, Vivi, and our husband, Lewis." The last skeleton, who'd taken on the appearance of a dark skinned man bowed.

Inko bowed back, still a little shakily. 

"None of that." The exuberance had left Vivi's voice, instead leaving a soft gentle tone. "You're family, Inko-chan. You have nothing to fear from any of us. We're here to help, whatever you need."  

"Shouldn't you not offer open ended things?" 

 "You learn quickly." The not-dog commended. "Obviously not a trait you picked up from any of these three." 

"Shut it furball," Vivi said, albeit with a note of teasing in her voice. "And technically you're correct, but Mystery wouldn't have awoken us if you had less than pure intentions. So what do you need that he couldn't help with?" 

"My son's dream was shattered yesterday and it feels like his spirit died with it. I don't know how to help and people have a history of not taking him seriously." She'd lost track of how many times she'd been told 'quirkless people are just a little more fragile' along with a shrug when she'd brought him in with an injury.  Of being told 'he has to learn to accept facts' when she confronted the teachers over the bullying he received for being quirkless. As if to society her son was worth less for his lack of quirk when he meant the world to her. Her hands balled angrily. "Izuku is selfless, brave, and intelligent. He risked his life to save someone who had bullied him, when the authorities were frozen in fear. Only for him to be berated by the professional heroes while his childhood bully is praised for his bravery and told he had what it takes to be a professional hero when all he did was get captured and destroy half the shopping district with the same quirk he's used to hurt my boy." 

 She looked at them with fierce determination, tears streaming from her eyes.  "I want my son to be happy. I want him to thrive. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me and he deserves better than to believe not having a quirk means he has no worth." 

"Let's introduce ourselves to him then." Arthur said casually. "What? We have to talk to him if we're going to help. Remember how well not talking to each other about important things went? It went bad is how it went."

“Bad is an understatment,” Lewis agreed.

"Mom, are you okay? I thought I heard voices..." Izuku's voice trailed off as he saw two strange men in his attic along with a floaty skull lady. He felt himself tense. If these were villain trying to rob his house- 

"Oh my gosh, he's got freckles just like you did at that age Artie!" The skull lady flew over to him “Remember Lew?"

"How could I forget, he was adorable." Lewis said shaking his head. "But you really need to put on your face dear." 

"Who are you people, what do you want?" Izuku was scanning the rooms, trying to find the best way to get his Mom to safety. If only he knew their quirks. 

"They're, well, they're you grandparents Izuku.” Inko explained. “Grandmother Vivi, and Grandfathers Arthur and Lewis." 

"A few greats need to be thrown in there, but yeah." Arthur sheepishly put one hand behind his head. "I guess you can say we're family guardians. Your mother summoned us to help you." 

"Help me, with what?" 

 "That's what we were finding you to discuss." The blue skull lady now had a face. "Tell us what happened, Izuku-kun." 

Izuku looked at his Mom. "This is about yesterday isn't it. I just got a wake up call to reality, that's all." 

 "Bullshit." Vivi said brightly. "Try the whole story."

Izuku was taken aback.  "Well, I mean, we live in a superhuman society. Eighty percent or more of the world has some kind of super power." 

 "Really?" he heard who he took to be Grandfather Arthur whisper to a dog he hadn't noticed before, The dog nodded. 

"And with that came the rise of heroes on villains. And when I was a child, I wanted more than anything else to be a hero. Especially a Hero like All Might. He's amazing! His sheer power is incredible. He saves so many people and no matter hope bad the situation is, he always smiles. He brings hope to everyone. I wanted to be just like him. But...I didn't have the power. Since I was four everyone told me becoming a hero was a pipe dream, but I thought if I worked hard enough, studied hard enough, I could do it. I even sent in an application for UA, the best Hero school in the world but-" Like his mother, tears were beginning to stream down Izuku's cheeks. "Yesterday I met All Might. He saved me from a villain. And I asked him if I could be a hero how I was and he-he said no." Izuku swiped his arm across his eyes. "I shouldn't be surprised, right? It was obvious. And I caused even more trouble when I tried to save Kaachan from that villain." 

"And again I say Bullshit." Vivi cut in. "From what your mother told us, you were the only one who was willing to help while the so-called heroes sat on their collective asses. That makes you more of a hero than they'll ever be."

Izuku wasn't sure how that made him feel. The reassurance was nice, but it still felt a bit empty. So he had the spirit of a hero, but not the body? What good would that do?

"You mentioned a school. Is that the only method of becoming a hero?" Grandfather Lewis asked. 

"Well, technically you only need to pass the licensing exam, but it's almost impossible to get through on self-study. There are other schools, but UA is the best with the highest pass rate. You need to do a written and a practical to get into the hero course, and no one knows what the practical is." 

"So we need to get you into the school first. What's your power kiddo? Need to know what we're working with." 

Izuku stiffened at Grandmother Vivi's question. He'd thought they'd known.  "I don't have any power. I'm quirkless." He braced himself, Waited for the 'what are you wasting our time for' that every guidance councilor had given him. 

"Oh that's what that means." Arthur nodded. "So you're gonna Batman it."

"Batman it?" Izuku was as baffled by the phrase as the fact that hearing he was quirkless hadn't dissuaded them in the least 

"You don't know who Batman is?" Arthur sounded aghast. 

"It's been decades if not centuries, Art." Lewis reminded him 

"Batman is forever." Arthur grumbled. 

"Was that the movie with the nipples on the costume?" Vivi asked with a grin.

"Anyway"  Lewis turned the attention back to Izuku. "In our time, before superpowers were apparently a real thing, we had comic book characters and one of the most famous was a hero named Batman. There were multiple comic books, cartoon series, and movies abut him. One of the biggest debates was if Batman would win against Superman, a being so powerful he was night invulnerable and strong enough to change the planet's rotation. And do you know what Batman's superpower was?" 

Something Bat themed, huh. "Maybe echolocation? One at a frequencey that could disorient even the Superman guy?" 

"This Superman guy?!" Arthur explained in disbelief. 

 Lewis grinned. “Nope. He was, as you would put it, quirkless. Not a single superpower to him. Just cunning, creativity, a bunch of gadgets, and an indomitable will." 

"And martial arts training." Vivi reminded. 

"And a really cool car," Arthur added. 

Lewis rolled his eyes. "The point is, superpowers aren't what being a hero is really about. Batman didn't need them. Neither did Ironman, Black Widow, or Hawkeye. So if you want to be a hero, we're going to help." 

"Right." Vivi nodded. "Lewis can handle physical training, he was in the best shape of all of us in life.  I can teach you melee combat with fists or a baseball bat. I know a little sword work, but you'd probably be better off with actual lessons. Arthur can do free running and strategy.  I don't know how much we can help with the written test though, our knowledge is too out of date. Inko-chan could you help him study for that?" 

Inko was taken aback for a moment. She didn't know what she expected the spirits to do, besides possibly give her son a quirk of some kind. But they didn't need him to have a quirk to believe his dream  and supported him without questions. The way she wished she had done when he was four. "I...of course I can! I'm a librarian. I can find whatever books Izuku needs to help." 

"Speaking of books, we have another option on the table." Mystery said with a smirk. "Quirks have been all the rage for a century and a half. Magic is all but forgotten. It would be something almost no one would have access to. Between Vivi and myself there is a fair amount of occult knowledge we could impart." 

"Magic is real? You're offering to teach me magic?" This was a dream, it had to be. There was no way this was real. 

"Yes. But we have a mere ten months before your exam.  Your schedule will be packed to the gills with little time for levity. It won't be easy. I may not be able to guarantee  you'll get in on the first try. But I promise you this. With all of us helping, you will be a hero."

All his life Izuku had craved hearing that he could be a hero. The sheer assurance that he would be one was almost more than he could take. "Thank you! I won't let you guys down." 

 The three ghosts and kitsune smiled. "Of that we have no doubt."

[possiblyimbiassed]

What happened to Sherlock? Part VIII - The Sign of the Hetero Norm (2)

This is the second installment of my meta about the significance of Mary in BBC Sherlock and hypothesis #8 in this meta series; that John is not the father of Mary’s baby. It follows directly on the first installment, which you can read here. 

(For the record, I’ll also repeat the disclaimer: My suspicion here only concerns John’s biological offspring. It would still be possible that John, and perhaps also Sherlock, might father the child - if it exists - by adoption. It does not exclude a metaphorical reading where the baby represents, for example, Sherlock’s and John’s relationship. i also want to stress that this hypothesis is an attempt at logical reasoning based on observations in the show and in ACD canon; it’s not meant to be ‘gossipy’ and has nothing to do with whether I would actually like to see this happen or not - that’s a whole other story. ;) ) 

Mary’s background and canon similarities

The first time Sherlock meets Mary in TEH, he deduces a series of things about her, most of which we haven’t seen explained this far. But there’s one thing in particular that seems to stand out to him: that she’s a liar.

In HLV we learn that Mary has lied about her background to John, and she keeps lying and deceiving in S4. But even if HLV and S4 aren’t ‘real’, and Assassin!Mary only exists in Sherlock’s imagination, this doesn’t mean that his first deduction was wrong; the fact that Mary’s lying trait is repeated later seems to indicate that it’s important. Mary might be lying about other things instead. Like, for example, about who’s the father of her baby. (Continued under the cut)

Some other deductions in this scene might also be significant; that Mary ‘bakes her own bread’ might refer to the idiom ‘a bun in the oven’, slang for being pregnant. A hint that John will not be responsible for her later pregnancy?

Another ‘feature of interest’ about Mary is her possible US connection. America is definitely a recurring theme in BBC Sherlock; the US or ‘America’ is referred to over 20 times throughout the show. These references occur on a plethora of different occasions, and in three specific circumstances the CIA is mentioned. In one of them (HLV) we learn from Magnussen that Mary has been doing “wet jobs for the CIA”. Sherlock also suspects that while Mary’s accent is English, Mary herself is not. So, Mary might have some kind of connection to America - at least in Sherlock’s mind. The idea is hinted at, but never developed.

Mary Morstan’s British background may be described in canon, but ACD’s original stories contain even more US references than BBC Sherlock. Big parts of the novels A Study in Scarlet (STUD) and The Valley of Fear (VALL) take place in America, and many characters have connections to the US - the most prominent of them perhaps Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia (SCAN), who was born in New Jersey. 

The Noble Bachelor (NOBL) is particularly interesting in this context. In the beginning of the story, Watson points out that it happened “a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms with Holmes in Baker Street”. I believe this talk of Watson’s marriage might be significant mirror-wise. The case in NOBL is about a bride - an American woman - who disappears directly after marrying the British nobleman Robert St. Simon, because she learns during the wedding ceremony that her beloved former husband, who she thought was dead, is still alive.

(X) The bride doesn’t reveal this during the wedding, but an hour later she is gone. So legally she was still married, and the new marriage to the nobleman would therefor be nullified - hence the story title of ‘bachelor’, I believe. On Lestrade’s questions about the case, Holmes answers:

“Just one hint to you, Lestrade,” drawled Holmes before his rival vanished; “I will tell you the true solution of the matter. Lady St. Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been, any such person.”

This is, more or less, the role I think Mary Watson plays in canon after SIGN; she’s a myth, a heteronormative façade (see reasoning in the first installment of this meta). In fact, I don’t think she ever appears in canon under the name Mary Watson (please correct me if I’m wrong). Now, if Sherlock’s deductions about Mary’s background in HLV would be true (in spite of all the other things about this episode that might be his mere imagination), that Mary Morstan is a false name and she has lied about her background, this would technically also nullify her marriage to John, wouldn’t it? You can hardly marry someone who doesn’t exist. ;)

There’s also a literal hint in TAB that Mary might soon be on the run, just like the bride in NOBL:

In this scene, in the midst of Sherlock’s Victorian Mind Palace dream, Watson is suddenly dressed as the modern John and seems more angry than worried about Mary’s disappearance. So I can’t help wondering: Does Sherlock foresee this outcome from his subconscious deductions about Mary and the baby?

A possibly vengeful bride

In TSoT we learn more about Martha Hudson’s late husband Frank, when Martha talks to both Sherlock and John separately about how “marriage changes you as a person”. Her marriage was like a “whirlwind” at first, which Martha felt “swept away” by. Her best friend Margaret seemed to have been devastated and left the wedding early. But we also learn that Frank Hudson ran a drug cartel, was sentenced for murder and had several other women, that Martha found out about after they had moved to Florida, USA. Martha was actually relieved when he was arrested for “blowing someone’s head off”. From ASiP we also know that Sherlock was the one who made sure Frank was executed (by lethal injection according to TSoT).

There seems to be something still missing from the plot narrative here, though; in what way was Frank’s death beneficial to Martha? And I can’t help wondering why the Frank Hudson case is even brought to our attention? Why give us these details that don’t quite make logical sense, and then nothing more? And why are we being told, again and again, that “marriage changes you as a person”?

In ACD canon there’s nothing about Mrs Hudson’s husband, as far as I know. There is, however, a sailor named Hudson in The Gloria Scott (GLOR), who comes to blackmail Holmes’ friend Victor Trevor’s father and threaten him with exposing him to public shame and dishonour by revealing his criminal past. Hudson manages to literally frighten Mr Trevor to death. In The Five Orange Pips (FIVE) there’s also a mentioning of someone named Hudson, who is associated with the KKK. So even if Mrs Hudson’s criminal husband in BBC Sherlock is non-canonical, the existence of at least two criminals named Hudson is clearly canon.

Anyway, what has all this to do with Mary? Well, this is very much speculation of course (and not originally my idea; I'm pretty sure someone has posted a theory about it - I just can’t find the reference at the moment. Please alert me if you know who, so I can give proper credits!): What if Mary is Frank Hudson’s daughter and her mother is one of those “other women”? And what if she’s out for some kind of revenge against Sherlock, who made sure her father was killed? After all, the whole Victorian part of TAB - which we know happens in Sherlock’s Mind Palace, where he goes back to solve a case by first solving an older one - is focused on vengeful brides (’Un-Dead’, as it seems - I see you there, Dracula! ;) ). The Emelia Ricoletti case also has clear connections to America.

Could Mary have hired a ‘consulting criminal’ (Jim) and got the advise that burning Sherlock’s heart out by marrying John would be the best way to take revenge on him? Or could she even be paid by Jim to fake a marriage? 

Just speculating, as I said… :)

The revelation at the wedding

One of the strongest arguments for the baby not being John’s is, I think, the scene at the wedding reception in TSoT, where Sherlock deduces Mary’s pregnancy. At the revelation, both John and Mary look terrified, like they’ve seen a ghost or something:

Seeing as these guys had lived together at least for a year, their panic reaction doesn’t quite make sense to me - especially since they’re both trained in medicine! If Mary wasn’t even medically tested yet, why panic? Why would Sherlock’s ‘deduction’ seem more reliable to her than her own knowledge of the matter? After all, she had morning sickness. How many women in this world need a male detective (rather than a doctor) to tell them that they’re pregnant? I think Mary rather looks like someone being caught lying, with dire consequences to expect. John doesn’t expect this and seems totally shocked. Neither of them appears happy about the revelation. I think the sum of the couple’s reactions fits better into a scenario where Mary has been cheating on John, and is therefore not protesting at John’s negative behaviour regarding the pregnancy. But she knows she is (or might be) pregnant and has perhaps tried to hide it to John.

Mary is a smart person, and must definitely know what Sherlock actually means to John. She has seen his grieving for a long time and also witnessed his violent reaction once Sherlock returns. She even teases both John and Sherlock about their obsession with each other. Why isn’t she jealous? How can she go on and marry someone who is clearly in love with someone else, and who actually pays her very little attention in comparison? There’s something fishy there...

And what about John himself? There’s an entry on the blog where John Watson’s deductive reasoning skills seem to reach a new low mark (which is a bit strange, seeing as he has been working together with Sherlock Holmes for years at this point):

In short: Sherlock helps a same-sex couple to get together by showing one of them a path out of her arranged marriage. This woman has been threatened with exposure; an abusive person who is out for her money has literally blackmailed her to marry a man and choose a heteronormative life. But John’s conclusion is still this: “I swear that my forthcoming wedding has softened Sherlock.”  “Naturally, I assumed it was because he saw me and Mary together and just wanted to make someone else happy.” So John is utterly convinced that his own, heterosexual marriage plans are what inspired Sherlock to help this gay couple out of an arranged, heteronormative marriage? Sherlock, who has been against all John’s girlfriends so far and also clearly stated from the beginning that girlfriends are “not really my area”? Good thinking, John -- not! :)))

And still John seems utterly surprised and terrified when his good, happily married heterosexual wife turns out to be pregnant, after living together with him for a year? Hmm...

Why the “why” is more important than the “how”

I’m going to go out on another tangent of speculation here, just to illustrate the extent to which I think heteronormativity increasingly rules this show, but also how I believe Sherlock’s and John’s emotions play into it. Even if Sherlock seems to have no prejudices regarding gay couples (as demonstrated by the blog case above), when it comes to John and him, I believe Sherlock has bought the hetero norm hook, sink and line. And ‘Mary’ is a metaphor for this, becoming more and more blatantly obvious as the show goes on. To Sherlock, she symbolises exactly “what John needs”: an ‘ordinary’ life and marriage with an interesting but ‘ordinary’ woman. But Sherlock’s subconscious is telling him something different about her, which I think he fails to fully recognise, no matter how much psychological evidence his mind collects.

And the main problem is Sherlock’s repression of emotions; this problem is at the same time cause and effect. His unwillingness to show or talk about his emotions towards John makes him appear as a cold-hearted person, mostly called a ‘sociopath’ or ‘psychopath’. Which makes John not want to risk the stigma of coming out, or even recognise his own feelings to himself. Adhering to the hetero norm is much safer, and it allows John to escape from his emotional dilemma in an unsatisfactory and hypocritical way: to marry a woman whom he hardly even knows. Which in turn makes Sherlock believe that John living with a woman is the only reasonable option. And so on and so forth, until eternity. The example below is from TEH, John’s reaction to Sherlock’s return.

JOHN: Now, you let me grieve, hmm? How could you do that?

Sherlock doesn’t respond to this, but tries to avert the question by talking about John’s moustache. What could John, in his highly emotional state, possibly make of this? This is where he becomes violent, and Sherlock doesn’t defend himself. John grabs Sherlock and punches him (which is confirmed by his blogpost about this: “He genuinely thought it would be funny to surprise me. I think he was more surprised when I nutted him.”). And it goes on and on:

JOHN: You know, for a genius you can be remarkably thick. SHERLOCK: What? JOHN: I don’t care how you faked it, Sherlock. I wanna know why.

I think John makes it very clear in TEH that - unlike Watson in canon’s EMPT - he is not interested to know how Sherlock survived the Fall. John doesn’t give a rat’s fart about the method he used to fake his own death, neither is he interested in knowing why Sherlock found it necessary to fake his death to Moriarty and his henchmen. But Sherlock doesn’t get this because the question is entirely emotional; John could just as well have asked ”Why did you force me to live without you for two years; why did you abandon me? Don’t you care about me, didn’t you even miss me?”. But he doesn’t ask this out loud, since neither of these guys are honest about their feelings - not even to themselves, as it seems. And apparently it totally escapes John’s conscious mind that Sherlock might have had an emotional reason to come back precisely to interrupt his proposal to someone else.

I suspect (speculation again) that the ‘why’ of John going on to marry Mary after Sherlock’s return was not only about convincing himself that he needed a “normal” life and submitting to the hetero norm because John is closeted. It was at least just as much about punishing Sherlock on an emotional level, letting this ‘sociopath’ know exactly how it feels to be abandoned, not knowing if the other even missed him. It was revenge and punishment in their eternal, on-going game with emotions, where neither of them is letting his guard down to show vulnerability towards the other. But this was probably subconscious and nothing John would freely admit to. Consciously, this arrangement allowed John to simply register that Sherlock apparently was fairly OK with things, since he even went on to organize John’s wedding. Thus, John could reason, his feelings for Sherlock couldn’t be requited anyway.

I also suspect, however, that the concept of ’Mary’, as we see this character from HLV and onwards, is Sherlock’s way of punishing himself for abandoning John. The wedding planning and the ‘vow’ in TSoT, in my view, was a very special sort of self-harm, where Sherlock tried to sacrifice himself to pay off his emotional debt for having hurt John, by doing his utmost for John to be happy with his choice. 

But apparently this wasn’t enough, so when ‘Mary’ shoots Sherlock in HLV, even this is (supposedly) Sherlock’s own fault. I think ‘Mary’s shooting Sherlock symbolises the blow to the heart that Sherlock received on the wedding. But why was this a ‘blow’, one might ask, if Sherlock himself was prepared for the marriage and even helped planning the wedding? Well, there was a second blow on the wedding reception, wasn’t it? (Just as there were two murder attempts depicted in TSoT; one before the wedding and another during the wedding reception). The second blow was when Sherlock deduced Mary’s pregnancy. Because a child would most probably cement John’s relationship with Mary forever. Not only would the baby’s presence be an obstacle for John spending any time with Sherlock; it would also erase any attempt from Sherlock to confess his feelings to John in the future, since it would make him guilty of disrupting a family involving a third, innocent little person.

Mary definitely works as an internalised hetero norm. In his own view, Sherlock has no value, and he doesn’t deserve John. Thus, ’Mary’ is needed to keep John happy, and comes back to haunt Sherlock’s mind, even after she’s (supposedly) dead. No matter what atrocities she commits, ’Mary’ is always excused by Sherlock. In many ways, she’s the new ’Sherlock’: solving crimes, being passionate, leading John into adventures, using disguises, speaking (supposed) words of wisdom and even dressing like Sherlock. She fills in an empty space that Sherlock refuses to fill in himself, because a) he doesn’t consider himself worthy and b) he wants to avoid ‘Sentiment’. Instead of facing reality and try to do something about it, Sherlock tries to have a place in John’s life through ‘Mary’ and other invented avatars.

I think John makes it clear on his blog that he does not intend to forgive Sherlock any time soon: “Turns out he’d faked his death because Moriarty had threatened those close to him. Including me. He’d gone into hiding, happy to leave me and everyone else thinking he was dead. He’d done it to save us but he hadn’t trusted us enough to tell us what was really going on. Not sure I’ll ever truly forgive him for that but as the saying goes, life goes on.”

But then he’s back to talking about the cases and his own motivation to keep his friend after all: “So I ignored him and got on with my life. But God, it was dull. I knew he was back. I knew that he was out there having the time of his life and I was… working”. The image John gives is actually that he keeps hanging out with this ’sociopath’ for the sole reason that he can’t resist the danger, the ’thrill of the chase’. In other words; Sherlock seems to be right in HLV when he claims John to be a sort of adrenaline junkie who craves danger and therefore needs a dangerous wife (to replace Sherlock, who is not good for him because he’s a real junkie and a man to boot, but he doesn’t say this).

John’s ’deeper’ question of why rather than how in TEH (which doesn’t apply to Sherlock’s supposedly ’scientific’ world view where emotions always are a problem risking to bias his conclusions) has its complete repetition in TLD. Once again Sherlock tries to convince John that he can predict the future. Sherlock expects to impress John with the explanation of how:

JOHN: How did you know?

In fact, I think a great deal of what we see in TLD is Sherlock’s mental repetitions of what happened between him and John after his ‘return from the dead’ in TEH. However, in TLD (as in all the episodes from S3 and onwards) John is not impressed by Sherlock’s intellectual shenanigans; he hasn’t seemed to be for a long time, but especially not after the treason Fall. In TLD John may have started by asking “how”, but in the end he just wants to know why Sherlock has lured him to come to his rescue when he’s in trouble.

JOHN: Never mind how. He’s dying to tell us that. I want to know why.

Sherlock tries to explain that he needs John’s help with a case because he ‘can’t do it alone’. But John doesn’t buy it this time either; his disbelief and judgment of Sherlock is even harder and more emphasised than in TEH. And this is, i believe, the key question; to answer it honestly Sherlock has to talk about his feelings, show his emotional vulnerability. Which he still isn’t ready for. So this is why ‘Mary’ and 'Rosie’ keep popping up until the end of TFP; they stand for Sherlock’s heteronormative alibi to avoid talking about feelings. Even if Sherlock comes a long way with hugging John in TLD and hugging Eurus in TFP - basically to comfort them - he still hasn’t told anybody about his own feelings, has he?

Sherlock ’had chips’ with ’Faith’. (Dinner!) But we never see him eat anything, he just goes on impressing Faith by telling her about how his deductions about her private life work. It’s the scientific ”how” rather than the more emotional ”why”.

I’ve also been wondering about Mary’s traveling around the world in TST, ’on the role of a dice’ when she learns that Ajay is after her. This is the cold assassin who tried to kill Sherlock and lied to her husband about her background, and yet she is suddenly ”moving the target away” from John - why? In HLV Mary claimed that the truth would break John and therefore he could never know that she lied to him. What’s actually going on here? To me this seems more like Sherlock trying to justify to himself his own fake suicide and his following absence for two years in order to ’protect John’ from Moriarty’s network. The whole ‘Mary-the-hero’ plot line is an indulgence in Sentiment, complete with self-sacrifice and a tearful self-absolving note. But this over-romanticized scenario gives Sherlock no satisfaction, since it ends with John’s grief and sorrow and alienation. Conclusive discovery: escape is no solution; it just postpones the problem.

OK, this has been a looong meta, and a bit speculative. For the finish, I’d just like to summarise a bit about Hypothesis #8 and why I suspect that John is not the father of Mary’s baby. Here’s my TL;DR:

John wasn’t even aware on the wedding that Mary might be pregnant - and he’s a ‘bloody doctor’!

None of them seems happy when Sherlock deduces Mary’s pregnancy; Mary appears shocked that he noticed it and John seems shocked before the unexpected task of fathering a child

Their relationship doesn’t strike me as honest and genuine on either side; they’re not really into each other

Mary is a liar who conceals her background to John

It’s suspicious (but also canon consistent) that Mary encourages John to spend a lot of time with someone she should know that he’s in love with; why would she want to start a family with such a guy?

David seems to remain too close to Mary for being an ordinary ‘ex’; he might actually be the father of the baby!

The Watsons have no children in canon

Rosie in S4 doesn’t strike me as a real character (Mary’s pregnancy in S3 might still be ‘real’, though)

The whole concept of John’s wife is a heteronormative façade (which goes for canon as well); why then would John’s fatherhood be real?

And, finally, just one more thing that occurs to me:

The baby is a perfect plot device to keep John and Mary together in a modern time when divorce is common, and also to keep Sherlock guilt-ridden about confessing his feelings. A revelation that John is not the father would likely mean a breakup of the couple, with the possibilities that this would open for the ‘Johnlock’ option. ;)

Thanks for bearing with me in meta-marathon, and Happy New Decade! :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: @raggedyblue​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @sarahthecoat​ @gosherlocked​ @loveismyrevolution​ @sagestreet​​ @thepersianslipper​ @tjlcisthenewsexy​​ @elldotsee​​ @88thparallel​​  @sherlock-overflow-error​​ @yeah-oh-shit​

[pettishrew]

MIND MY WICKED WORDS AND TIPSY TOPSY SLURS; I CAN’T TAKE THIS PLACE, NO, I CAN’T TAKE THIS PLACE.

𝖖 𝖚 𝖔 𝖙 𝖊 𝖘

i don’t feel very human anymore. —7:59 pm 4/28/15; l.m.

Where did you get those big eyes? My mother. And where did you get those lips? My mother. And the loneliness? My mother. And that broken heart? My mother. And the absence, where did you get that? My father. —Inheritance, Warsan Shire

“And I’m a master of speaking silently—all my life I’ve spoken silently and I’ve lived through entire tragedies in silence.”— The Meek One, Fyodor Dostoevsky

How do you move on? You move on when your heart finally understands that there is no turning back. —J.R.R. Tolkien

“There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests”

UNTIL LIONS HAVE THEIR OWN HISTORIANS, THE STORY OF THE HUNT WILL ALWAYS GLORIFY THE HUNTER.— Chinua Achebe

“Self-hatred is only ever a seed planted from outside in. But when you do that to a child, it becomes a weed so thick, and it grows so fast, the child doesn’t know any different. It becomes as natural as gravity.”— Hannah Gadsby, Nanette

You got to take a deep breath and give up. The system is rigged against you. Bo Burnham

𝖇 𝖆 𝖘 𝖎 𝖈

NAME: Peter Thomas Pettigrew NICKNAMES: Pete, Wormtail, or Wormy AGE: Twenty BIRTHDAY: August 22nd GENDER: Male PRONOUNS: He / Him

𝖋 𝖆 𝖒 𝖎 𝖑 𝖞

MOTHER: Enid Pettigrew. 47. Alive. FATHER: Sean Morivan. 52. Status Unknown. SIBLINGS: None

𝖕 𝖍 𝖞 𝖘 𝖎 𝖈 𝖆 𝖑 𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖇𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖘

FACE CLAIM: Alex Wolff BUILD: Moderately Overweight HAIR:  In need of a haircut. Curly and unkempt. HAIR COLOR: Brunette. In the summertime, it gets a golden, almost colorless hue. EYE COLOR: Brown SKIN COLOR: Light with olive undertones DOMINANT HAND: Right ANOMALIES: He has a birthmark on his left shoulder.  His skin freckles in the summer. He also has faint scars on the inside of both of his forearms. He also has a small tattoo on the outside of his right thigh. Peter got it on a dare and it looks like ( x ) SCENT:  He often smells like chocolate or peppermint. Mostly because those are the last things they would have eaten. ACCENT: British. More of the cockney nature than anything else. ALLERGIES: He is moderately allergic to dairy. Not enough to stop him of course, but enough to make him uncomfortable if he eats too much of it. DISORDERS: N / A FASHION: Peter wears whatever is comfortable and fits for the most part. He does tend to stick to neutral colors, like black, grey, and beige. He doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. NERVOUS TICS: He stutters when he’s nervous. He also rubs the back of his neck when he’s uncomfortable. QUIRKS: His quirks are identical to his nervous tics. One doesn’t often happen without the other.

𝖑 𝖎 𝖋 𝖊 𝖘 𝖙 𝖞 𝖑 𝖊

RESIDES: Plainview Point Apartments BORN: St. Mungo’s RAISED: A little outside of London PETS: A Tawny Owl named Eros

CAREER: Obliviator EXPERIENCE: 2+ years in the position EMPLOYER: The Ministry of Magic

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: The Order BELIEFS: Peter doesn’t believe strictly in anything. MISDEMEANORS: None FELONIES: None DRUGS: None SMOKES: Tobacco, and occasionally Marijuana ALCOHOL: Infrequently DIET: Poor

LANGUAGES: English, Welsh, and some Italian

PHOBIAS: Death or Serious Injury. HOBBIES: Reading and Baking. TRAITS: { + }: forgiving, analytical, easy-going, optimistic { - }: fearful, cunning, indecisive, meek

𝖋 𝖆 𝖛 𝖔 𝖗 𝖎 𝖙 𝖊 𝖘

LOCATION: Anywhere that is small, where Peter feels like no one can get to him. SPORTS TEAM: Ireland GAME: Wizard’s Chess. MUSIC: He doesn’t care much for music. If he does listen to it it’s softer sounding music, that’s almost wistful. MOVIES: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope 1980. Alien is a close second. FOOD: Anything sweet. Peter’s sweet tooth is insatiable. BEVERAGE: Pumpkin Juice or soda. COLOR: Pale Yellow

𝖒 𝖆 𝖌 𝖎 𝖈

ALUMNI HOUSE: Gryffindor WAND: UNICORN: Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing. FIR: My august grandfather, Gerbold Octavius Ollivander, always called wands of this wood ‘the survivor’s wand,’ because he had sold it to three wizards who subsequently passed through mortal peril unscathed. There is no doubt that this wood, coming as it does from the most resilient of trees, produces wands that demand staying power and strength of purpose in their true owners, and that they are poor tools in the hands of the changeable and indecisive. Fir wands are particularly suited to Transfiguration, and favor owners of focused, strong-minded and, occasionally, intimidating demeanor. 9 1/2 Inches and unyielding. AMORTENTIA: Chocolate, Peppermint, Garlic, and Old Books. PATRONUS: He cannot produce one. BOGGART: Prior to the war it had been his mother dying. He truly doesn’t know what he would do without her. However, since the war has begun his Boggart is Lord Voldemort.

𝖈 𝖍 𝖆 𝖗 𝖆 𝖈 𝖙 𝖊 𝖗

MORAL ALIGNMENT: True Neutral MBTI: INTP

INTPs are often thoroughly engaged in their own thoughts, and usually, appear to others to be offbeat and unconventional. The INTP’s mind is the most active place, and their inward orientation can mean that they neglect superficial things like home décor or appropriate clothing. They don’t tend to bother with small talk but can become downright passionate when talking about science, mathematics, computers, or the larger theoretical problems of the universe. Reality is often of only passing interest to the Architect, as they are more interested in the theory behind it all.INTPs are typically precise in their speech and communicate complex ideas with carefully chosen words. They insist on intellectual rigor in even the most casual of conversations, and will readily point out inconsistencies of thought or reasoning. Social niceties may fall by the wayside for an INTP who is more interested in analyzing logic, and they may offend others by smallmitting their dearly held values and beliefs to logical scrutiny. Trivia: - more likely than other types to study a foreign language  - most frequent type among college students committing alcohol and drug policy violations - have the lowest level of coping resources of all the types - one of the types least likely to believe in a spiritual power - highest of all types in career dissatisfaction in school have lower grades than would be -- predicted by aptitude scores - more likely than average to complete engineering programs - personal values include autonomy, freedom, and independence - Overrepresented among working MBA students - Commonly found in science and technical occupations - famous intps: albert einstein, abraham lincoln, marie curie, and charles darwin

MBTI ROLE:  The Architect or the Logician ENNEAGRAM: Type Five ENNEAGRAM ROLE:

The Observer: Fives are alert, insightful, and curious. They are able to concentrate and focus on developing complex ideas and skills. Independent, innovative, and inventive, they can also become preoccupied with their thoughts and imaginary constructs. They become detached, yet high-strung and intense. They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation. At their Best: visionary pioneers, often ahead of their time, and able to see the world in an entirely new way.

TEMPERAMENT:

Melancholic. The melancholic temperament is fundamentally introverted and thoughtful. Melancholic people often were perceived as very (or overly) pondering and considerate, getting rather worried when they could not be on time for events. Melancholics can be highly creative in activities such as poetry and art - and can become preoccupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world. Often they are perfectionists. They are self-reliant and independent; one negative part of being a melancholic is that they can get so involved in what they are doing they forget to think of others.

WESTERN ZODIAC:

Leo With the Sun approaching the end of Leo, August 22nd has its peak in creativity and our childish need to present our inner being and express ourselves. This is an emotional date when passions need to be calmed in order for us to swim out of them with a clear mind and a plan we can hold on to, so our dreams can be reached. Those born at this time are connected to others on a different level than the rest of Leo representatives and feel a constant need to set free from ego battles and follow their hearts.

CHINESE ZODIAC:

Year of the Rat The Metal Rat are honest, frank, and optimistic, and will not get depressed no matter how terrible the situation is. They have a quick respond and strong environmental adaptability. They treat people kindly. But most of the people born in 1960 year of the Rat are self-centered. They always think of themselves first. They are impatient, suspicious and kind of vain.

PRIMAL SIGN:

Otter: Social, funny, and outgoing, those born under the sign of the Otter use their warmth and charm as their primary tool in navigating life. Like their animal namesake, members of this sign are clever, feisty, and gregarious. They usually spend a lot of time grooming themselves for their looks are of great importance to them. They are not terribly territorial either, preferring to sleep where their adventure takes them for the night. A nice home will eventually be required, but a young Otter can travel the world for years without getting too homesick. Otters like to be in charge. This way they can not only get what they want, but receive attention and respect while doing so. They can occasionally behave somewhat self-centered and egotistical, but are usually smart enough not to push their self-proclaimed authority too far. Otters want to be the best, and they understand that being the best takes work. As long as they get to do thing their own way, there is little they won’t undertake.Members of this sign have a sense of pride that only a few other signs can top. They absolutely hate looking unintentionally foolish (though they will act the part of the fool if it gets them a good laugh) and have little tolerance for those who don’t respect this important (if unspoken) rule. They like to be seen as evolved, wise, and powerful, which they often are, but this can sometimes cause them to hesitate trying new things. Above all things, Otters don’t like to live by other people’s rules. As long as they keep life in perspective this shouldn’t be a big problem, but out of perspective Otters risk becoming greedy and narrow-minded and there is always a chance that they will take what they want if nobody is willing to offer it up to them. Members of this sign can also be a bit judgmental of others, particularly those who are less successful than they are at that point in their lives. As they mature they tend to realize that everyone operates differently, and will slowly come to accept this, especially if they have a hard road to reaching their goals.

TAROT CARD:

The Fool: The Fool, at its core, represents the unfettered soul. Free of experience and prejudice, they are also free of fear, and therefore come into new events without the trepidation often experienced by those that know what they might expect. This is both a benefit and a detriment to the Fool, their eyes are on the path ahead, or on the sky, but not at what is right in front of them. This can make the Fool easy to trick, to persuade, or to side-line. But they also do not know what others believe is ‘NOT’ possible, and this makes them capable of greatness, new ideas, and innovation. They do not know a thing cannot be done, so they merrily set about to do it anyway. Sometimes they succeed.

TV TROPES:  

All the Other Reindeer, The Chessmaster, Cornered Rattlesnake, Dirty Coward, Fair Weather Friend,  and Opportunistic Bastard

SONGS:

- Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons - If It Kills Me by Jason Mraz - Sinner Man by Idris Elba - Creep by Radiohead - The Devil You Know by X Ambassadors

IDEOLOGIES:

- Beer is the scum of all the alcoholic beverages. He think it tastes akin to piss and doesn’t understand why anyone would opt to drink it willingly. - Peter has never had a pet aside from the owl. And doesn’t understand the want to keep things in captivity for your own benefit. This principle extends to muggle zoos as well. - Chocolate frogs are the best candy that Honeydukes sells, this is not a matter of discussion that he is willing to hear. - Peter believes that if something is easier done through violence than diplomacy that in those instances the people should be empowered to pursue violence without diplomacy first. - Wool is a terrible fabric and he won’t wear it. It’s itchy. 

[strangerthanfiction]

and it's wrong, wrong, wrong            (but we'll do it anyway 'cos we love a bit of trouble)

𝖖 𝖚 𝖔 𝖙 𝖊 𝖘

“i don’t want to be just a nothing, a sick blank, withdrawal into myself forever. i just want something, beside the emptiness i’ve carried around in me all my life.” –– allen ginsburg

“a man takes his sadness down to the river and throws it into the river                but then he’s still left    with the river. a man takes his sadness and throws it away                                            but then he’s still left with his hands.” –– richard siken

"i was not a lovable child, and i'd grown into a deeply unlovable adult. draw a picture of my soul, and it'd be a scribble with fangs.” –– gillian flynn

“you will always be fond of me. i represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” –– oscar wilde

“power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” –– george orwell

𝖇 𝖆 𝖘 𝖎 𝖈

NAME: Rabastan Edric Lestrange NICKNAMES: “Rab” by most, “Bash” by those who know him best, “Eddy” by his grandparents AGE: Twenty-six BIRTHDAY: April 13th, 1954 GENDER: Male, cisgender PRONOUNS: He/him/his

𝖋 𝖆 𝖒 𝖎 𝖑 𝖞

MOTHER: Sabine Lestrange (nee Avery) (52) FATHER: Gaspard Lestrange (48) SIBLINGS: Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Lestrange (sister-in-law), Narcissa Lestrange (sister-in-law), Lucius Malfoy (brother-in-law), Andromeda Tonks (sister-in-law)

𝖕 𝖍 𝖞 𝖘 𝖎 𝖈 𝖆 𝖑 𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖇𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖘

FACE CLAIM: Penn Badgley BUILD: Fit, muscular, and clearly works at maintaining it. Wishes he was taller always. HAIR: Longer than it should be, according to his mother, growing out of the buzz cut he got in November, thick and wavy. He’s also sporting stubble that’s quickly turning into a beard. HAIR COLOR: Dark brown, almost black EYE COLOR: Hazel on a normal day, amber on a sunny day, murky brown on a cloudy day SKIN COLOR: Pale, thin and translucent, like parchment. Anyone can see when he’s hungover or had a shitty night of sleep because his eyes look hollow and the skin underneath it looks almost purple. DOMINANT HAND: Right ANOMALIES:

TATTOOS: The Dark Mark on the inside of his right arm, a sketch of the sculpture of Laocoon and His Sons sketched out from the top of his left rib cage to his hip, the first lines of the Iliad on his collar bone, stretching from his left shoulder to his right shoulder, a stick and poke of a muggle ghost on the inside of his ankle, and, perhaps his favorite of them all, the word “TERROR” on the inside of his bottom lip. He charmed it so that, any time he flips his bottom lip out at the world to show the tattoo, the letters pop out in a magical version of a jump scare.

SCARS: His elbows and knees are shredded up from years of Quidditch and not following proper rules when it comes to healing potions. He’s got the slightest scar in his left eyebrow from falling off his broom when he was nine. Plus, he’s got the scrapes and scars of a fighter, a soldier, and he wears his ragged skin with the brashness and boldness of someone unafraid of battle.

SCENT: Tobacco, crisp linen, and, if he’s getting all dolled up, he puts just the tiniest dab of amortentia at his throat, because, well, “then I always smell good.” ACCENT: RP because his mother wouldn’t have her children sounding like scoundrels. But his Northern accent slips out every now and again when he’s particularly hammered. ALLERGIES: Bees. DISORDERS: Rapidly developing alcoholism. Slowly developing PTSD. FASHION: Punk but make it pureblood. Lots of silver rings with huge gemstones inset or crests carved into the metal. Amazing shoes always – be it chunky black combat boots, beautiful leather loafers, or the occasional (slightly) healed Chelsea boot. Skinny jeans and slouchy hoodies on his days alone in Manchester. Pressed shirts rolled up to the elbows and perfectly fitted trousers on his days at Lestrange Manor. His favorite robes are black velvet, with a gold clasp across the chest in the shape of a skull. And, of course, his clubbing outfits. Leather, mesh, crop tops (yes, Rab wears crop tops, and no, none of you will ever see it because he’s CAREFUL heh), muscle tanks, and the odd denim shorterall (with nothing underneath) moment. NERVOUS TICS: He used to bite his fingernails as a kid, but the nannies spanked that out of him. His oral fixation has been replaced with cigarettes – any slight bit of tension, and he’s lighting up. QUIRKS: He doesn’t know how to sit normally in a chair because he’s gay.

𝖑 𝖎 𝖋 𝖊 𝖘 𝖙 𝖞 𝖑 𝖊

RESIDES: Lestrange Manor 75% of the time. His own flat in Manchester 25% of the time. BORN: In France, while his parents were on holiday. He wasn’t supposed to be due for another three weeks, but his mother’s water broke while she was on the beach, and Rabastan was born five hours later. RAISED: In Yorkshire, with every other summer abroad (France most years, but sometimes Italy or Spain, and one very special year, Norway), until he went to Hogwarts. PETS: Gunther, a black Great Dane, who lives at Lestrange Manor, and technically is both his and Rodolphus’ – their mother got the dog for them as a means to help them bond, but really, Gunther is Rabastan’s and only gets attention from Rodolphus when their mother is around, so as not to offend her. And, in Rabastan’s eyes, but probably not in the eyes of other, more progressive individuals, Iphigenia, the Lestrange family house elf.

CAREER: Spending the Lestrange fortune. Being a Death Eater. EXPERIENCE: He’s been doing it his whole life. Nine years. Since his final year at Hogwarts. EMPLOYER: Voldemort.

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: The Death Eaters / Pureblood values. BELIEFS: Purebloods created this world, and now it’s their time to defend it. The Dark Lord is the only one capable of leading them to victory, and the purpose of men like Rabastan is to give him the aid he needs, no matter the personal cost. MISDEMEANORS: Truancy, defacing Hogwarts property, breaking curfew, bullying, tardiness, breaking dress code, and infinite more. He was never quiet about his rebellions, always laughing in the face of authority. And, now that he’s no longer at school, there’s nothing he can’t buy himself out of. FELONIES: Well. He’s killed more than a few people and gotten away with it, so. You do the math from there. DRUGS: Rabastan likes muggle drugs a little too much. Cocaine, particularly. He’s also been known to dabble in expensive, experimental potions from an alchemist the Lestranges have been using to cure their every ail and malady since Rabastan was a boy. SMOKES: Religiously. He started because every young boy wants to be just like their father at one point or another, and then he just never stopped. ALCOHOL: Rabastan’s rarely without a drink in his hand. It’s a glass of brandy as soon as he comes home, flask of whisky constantly at his hip, a Bloody Mary and some pepper up potion to eliminate his hangover first thing when he wakes up. It’s not a problem, he can stop at any point, or so he says. He learned how to be a functional alcoholic from all of the men he observed around him at a young age, and he’s found a very specific line – enough to feel gently numb, to feel invincible, but not so much that he’s incapacitated. And more and more, in recent months, especially since the disappearance of his brother, has he crossed that line. He’ll go through spurts of detoxing, of getting painfully sober for a few days, and then, he’ll be so overwhelmed by the world around him, by how loud it is, by how unforgiving, by how painful it can be, and then he’s right back where he was, with a bottle in one hand and a bump on the back of the other. DIET: Rabastan eats extremely well. Mostly vegetarian, except for fish, lots of legumes and greens, lots of fiber, etc. He knows how much crap he puts into his body, and while he doesn’t particularly care about the fact that he’s shortening his life, he does care about what it does to his physique. And, of course, the trade off is never going to be equal, but he does try to eat as cleanly as he can.

LANGUAGES: English, French, German, and self-taught Latin

PHOBIAS: If you asked him, he’d say he has none. And that’s mostly true. But there isn’t a day that goes by where he doesn’t think about getting outed to his family and then being banished by the Lestranges for his deviant behavior, and there isn’t a day that goes by where the very thought is enough to turn his blood to ice. HOBBIES: Drinking, fighting, fucking. When he’s not indulging his vices, he’s actually quite a scholar – he’s read through every book in his father’s study twice, and he taught himself Latin when he was thirteen. He also loves flying and still takes to a broomstick when he needs to clear his head. He’s also surprisingly adept at tending to plants (he effortlessly got O’s in Herbology his whole time at Hogwarts), and he’s got a lovely, melodic voice.  TRAITS: { + }: Quick-thinking, fierce, loyal, playful { - }: Reckless, vulgar, lazy, submissive

𝖋 𝖆 𝖛 𝖔 𝖗 𝖎 𝖙 𝖊 𝖘

LOCATION: Spiny Serpent, specifically the secret fight club in the basement. It’s his favorite place in the world, the one place where he actually feels alive and free. He’ll heal all of his visible injuries with magic, but sometimes, he’ll leave a bruised rib or a tweaked knee because the pain of it reminds him that he’s alive, he’s present, he’s real. SPORTS TEAM: Wimbourne Wasps (and United ever since he started living in Manchester, but he’d rather be caught dead than admit to following the muggle Premiere league) GAME: Quidditch and he’s trying to start his own Swivenhodge league MUSIC: Much to his mother’s distaste, he’s an avid Hobgoblins fan, and his father begrudgingly took both his boys to meet Stubby when they were fifteen and eighteen respectively. Rab would never admit to listening to Celestina Warbeck, but after he’s had a few, he’s been known to do his own rendition of, “A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love” MOVIES: Too muggle. Absolutely not. (But he’d fucking love ALIEN if he knew it existed) FOOD: Venison, so rare it’s still bloody BEVERAGE: Double whisky on the rocks COLOR: Gold

𝖒 𝖆 𝖌 𝖎 𝖈

ALUMNI HOUSE: Slytherin WAND (length, flexibility, wood, & core): 13 inches, Holly, Dragon Heart String, Brittle AMORTENTIA: Pine trees, cigar smoke, candied ginger, and the unmistakable musk of all the men he’s ever fucked (oops) PATRONUS: A Deerhound BOGGART: A blue ticket. Even though he’s no expert in muggle history, he spends enough time in queer muggle spaces to know what they are, and the first time he found out about that, the first time someone told him about dishonorable discharge because of something so seemingly trivial, it made his blood turn to ice. He couldn’t shake the image, the idea of it, and to this day, he avoids boggarts at all costs because he knows it’ll give away his secret.

𝖈 𝖍 𝖆 𝖗 𝖆 𝖈 𝖙 𝖊 𝖗

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral MBTI: ENFP MBTI ROLE: The Campaigner ENNEAGRAM: Type 6 ENNEAGRAM ROLE: The Loyalist / the Skeptic TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine WESTERN ZODIAC: Aries CHINESE ZODIAC: Horse PRIMAL SIGN: Hammerhead Shark TAROT CARD: The Devil TV TROPES: Beard of Sorrow, Millionaire Playboy, Black Shirt, Draco in Leather Pants, Lovable Rogue, Punch-clock Villain SONGS:

1. balaclava by the arctic monkeys 2. bury a friend by billie eilish 3. to be so lonely by harry styles 4. make up your mind by florence & the machine 5. winter of our youth by bastille 6. broken crown by mumford & sons 7. i’m still standing by elton john 8. people by the 1975 9. ball and a biscuit by the white stripes 10. let’s have a kiki by scissor sisters (am i joking? idk)

IDEOLOGIES:

Adores birthdays and refuses to let people get away with not celebrating them. He loves any excuse to drink and party, and he knows he gives a mean toast, so people might as well fucking celebrate so he can put his skills on display. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Despite the contradictory nature of this, he doesn’t hate all members of the Order / all blood traitors on principle. He understands that they’re just trying to defend their place in the universe, and frankly, he respects the survival instincts he’s seeing play out. Of course, he knows his side is going to win – that’s inevitable. But it’s still admirable to see them all go down with such a valiant fight.

Hates cats. Period, full stop.

Refuses to go to St. Mungo’s, or any hospital for that matter. His uncle on his maternal side went there for a minor illness and came out in a box. Rabastan was seven, and his tiny brain came to the conclusion that the hospital was what did in his uncle, not his illness. And now, Rab knows how illogical it is, but he’d rather pay the family healer to come take a look at him than go to the doctor.

Would rather stand on public transportation than sit next to a stranger because he loves his own personal space just a little too much

As much as he does spend his family’s money a little too freely, no one can ever accuse Rab of hoarding his wealth. He always buys a round for everyone in the bar, picks up the check without being asked, buys things for his friends that they want but don’t need, lets people crash at Lestrange Manor whenever they need to. He’s not miserly in the slightest, not like Rodolphus.

Never makes a crucial decision without consulting a seer first. His mother taught him the habit.

Always flips one cigarette in the pack when he buys a new one.

No matter what time he wakes up, breakfast food has to be the first food he eats.

[cornerverse-mlp]

I wrote this post, like, a year and a half ago but I just found it so here I’m throwing it into the void!

Okay, I have no justification of any kind, other than “the other night I rearranged my room, saw my mlp toys on my Percy Jackson shelf, and decided to debate with myself about “if the MLP cast were all in the PJO Universe, who would their godly parent be?”.” 

Obviously they’re all Humans, or well, Demigods, in this AU(Actually, there’s one Mortal), instead of being ponies(I think by default horses are Poseidon territory). That said, their in-show abilities/traits count for what I choose. Same for choosing the ‘godly parent’, meaning that while full Myth(and my interpretations) will be in play, how the gods work in the PJO books count as well. 

I’m also keeping to just the more well-known gods/goddesses. Because while there’s a lot of minor ones and I could probably spend days going down the rabbit hole of Wikipedia articles to find a ‘perfect fit’, why would I do that? For that same reason, I’m also sticking to Greeks instead of trying to balance ‘should I make them Greek or Roman?’. 

So! On that note, this is mostly a list, however, I do add more and give reasons for my choices, even talking of ones I debated about. And a few bonus headcanons.

Twilight Sparkle - I feel like Athena is the obvious choice. I mean, Twi’s intelligent and strategic so Daughter to the Goddess of Wisdom is a good idea, plus she has a pet owl which is one of Athena’s symbols. It’s what most people go with.

However, I’m going with her as a Daughter of Hecate. My reasons?

 First of all, Hecate is Goddess of Magic, and, well, Magic is Twi’s thing. She’s a talented spellcaster, and that’s a big part of her character.

Hecate is also a Goddess of Crossroads, something we see a lot with Twilight, in multiple ways.

She is the character with the most ‘counterparts’, not just her literal Counterpart in Sci-Twi, but metaphorical counterparts, ‘other paths she could have taken’. I mean, there’s Sunset, Starlight, Sci-Twi, Trixie, and also Moondancer that show off places Twilight could have ended up had she chosen differently in life. 

However, Twilight is also the Crossroad for others. She is the character who is trying to lead others down the best path, giving them the choice of where to go. Again, we see this a lot with reforming villains. She offers them a chance to change the path, to turn and go down another. 

Another thing that Hecate is associated with is childbirth and nurturing the young. 

In the show, Twilight earned her Cutie Mark by hatching Spike, and even if she wasn’t his direct mother(I headcanon them more as siblings), she did help to raise him. 

She’s also a teacher, both in usual subjects (as we saw with the CMC in Twilight Time), and in teaching others about friendship(While those characters are not ‘young’, it counts).

Pinkie Pie - Again, it seems like an obvious choice as a Daughter of Dionysus, God of wine, parties, and madness. Okay, we have no idea how Pinkie feels about wine since this is a kids show(Personally, I feel like she shares my tastes and doesn’t care for it.)

Which is why I’m making her a Daughter of Apollo instead. He’s God of the Sun, and Pinkie is a metaphorical ball of sunshine. Other things Apollo is the God of include: Healing, Music, Art, Archery, and also Prophecy.

Pinkie’s relation to Music and Art are obvious, and while we don’t get to see her with a bow, she seems to have good aim. As for Prophecy? Pinkie Sense. She’s canonically able to predict the future. 

Now, you might not think Healing fits in, but it does. After all, isn’t Laughter the best medicine? Okay, jokes aside, while Pinkie isn’t a ‘healer’ in the doctor sense, she’s more like a ‘healer’ in the therapist sense(Obviously not licensed, but you get the idea). When she can’t cheer someone up from just a simple party, she puts her all into working through their problems and getting them to be truly happy again. And that’s a type of healing people forget about alot.

Rarity - Huh. Another one that gets a ‘this has an obvious choice’ category. A Daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty, Love and Lust, able to charm any into doing what she wishes. And in terms of the PJO world? She’d fit right in with the others of the Aphrodite Cabin(Well, she’d probably punch Drew in the face but whatever.).

However, once more, I’m going for an odd choice: Daughter of Hades. And before I go into my reasoning, take all the memories of Hades as a villain and anything from Disney and chuck that out a window. Not just here, but in general. Because damn it, he’s not evil. He’s probably one of the most chill of the gods. Stop making him the villain. Even this series only used him as a fakeout villain in the first book. And we don’t talk about the movie. What movie? That doesn’t exist!

Anyway, while Hades is God of the Underworld, he also has a few other things he rules. Hades is also known as the God of Wealth, as all of the precious metals and gems in the Earth were of his domain as well. Rarity and her ability to manipulate Gems reminds me a little bit of Hazel’s abilities(though obviously less cursed(And I know Hazel is technically ‘Pluto’s’ but they’re both the same god and not the same god)).

However, there’s a few other things that made me decide to have Rarity be a Daughter of Hades instead of Aphrodite:

First is the fact that, as much as Aphrodite was a good fit for her in quite a few ways, she is also considered a Goddess of Desire(not just Lust, but all desires and even the fulfillment of said desires). As materialistic as Rarity can be, she’s also the Element of Generosity. While the MLP universe can balance the traits, making her want things but always giving to others as well, putting Desire in her nature feels wrong.

Secondly, within the PJO series, Hades is shown to be very generous, even if it’s a trait rarely seen by the other gods(due to family feuding), but is shown in his relationships with the women he loved.

His love with Persephone, for example. He was kind and patient with her, wishing for her to love him as he did her. He started with magnificent gifts,and took to spending all of his time with her and doing whatever he could to make her happy. He even hired the most skilled (deceased) gardeners in the Underworld to grow a magnificent garden for her. He says that though he is God of Wealth, she is dearer to him than any precious metals or gems.

(Because I know someone will point it out, the whole thing with their relationship and the pomegranate seeds has several interpretations, some happier than others. The PJO version has Persephone truly fall for Hades, and one of the gardeners tricks her with the pomegranate seeds. (My personal interpretation of the story is that Persephone fell for Hades and ate the Pomegranate seeds on purpose so that they wouldn’t be separated. I mean, within actual Greek Myths, they’re the most stable couple with the least affairs))

Back to the books, we have Maria di Angelo. Hades tried to convince her to live in Underworld with him, despite the fact that it would piss off Persephone a bit, to protect her and their kids from the other gods. He insists that he will build her a beautiful golden palace by the River Styx, but doesn’t get a chance to because Zeus kills her first. (He wishes to resurrect her, but even a God of the Underworld must obey the laws of Death.)

While it’s technically ‘Pluto’ and not ‘Hades’, we also have Marie Levesque. He loved her so much he swore on the River Styx to give her anything. When she took him up on that and asked for all the riches of the Underworld, he begs her to ask for anything else, as the greediest wishes come with curses. And even though she ignored the warning and cursed their daughter, he did what he could to protect them. 

Another reason is that I find that most interpretations of the afterlife are Generous, in a way. While there’s definitely punishment in the afterlife, most versions include some version of ‘unless you’re a huge dick you’ll be rewarded with everything that would make you happy’. 

Final reason: the fanfic “In the Twilight of Death” which includes Rarity as a Grim Reaper. It doesn’t really factor in ‘logically’, but tbh I can’t help it. That fic’s good though so check it out.

Applejack - While it’s obvious, I’m not going to pull what I did before and be like ‘this is obvious but..’ thing. Applejack would be a Daughter of Demeter. Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest and all that.

Rainbow Dash - I debated about this one for a while. I thought of using Ares(Rainbow’s middle name is ‘Fight Me’), Zeus(Because God of Sky and Lightning), and even Iris(Because Goddess of the Rainbow).

However, I ended up deciding on her being a Daughter of Nike, Goddess of Victory, Strength, and Speed. It fits quite well. 

Fluttershy - Daughter of Iris. While I considered this for Rainbow Dash, I feel Iris fits Fluttershy more because of the version in the books. I mean, non-violent, only attacks in self defense, a little with the hippie crowd, severely underestimated due to their most known traits(Iris is known for messages and rainbows, Flutters is known for being kind and shy) but will totally kick your ass when needed.

Sunset Shimmer - Okay, I really want to put Hestia, because I associate Sunset with Hestia a lot because of reasons. But apparently Hestia has no kids as she’s one of the Virgin Goddesses. I’m really trying to think of other options. Like

Hecate, because like Twilight she’s Magic

Apollo, because of the Sun connection, good with her hands(art and music)

Athena, because she’s intelligent and strategic

Hephaestus, because she could totally build magic robots(Again, good with her hands) and also fire association

But just.... none of them feel right.

Fuck it! I don’t fucking care. Let’s just pretend that Hestia is like Athena, she creates children through other means and is still an eternal virgin. IDK, maybe they spawn out of her hearth fires. Anyway, Sunset’s a Daughter of Hestia.

Celestia and Luna - I’m putting them together because their headcanons are a bit connected. Okay, so, in this AU they’re either half-sisters or adopted. Celestia is a Daughter of Apollo(because Sun), but Luna is a Mortal.

However, because they’re always together, and because Luna can see through the Mist, she knows all about the whole ‘Demigods’ thing. But this puts Luna in a lot of danger, and Celestia insists she be allowed to come to CHB too so she can protect herself.

Obviously they don’t allow it since Luna’s Mortal, but Celestia decides that instead she’ll train Luna with all the Greek weaponry herself. 

At some point, they’re off on their own somewhere and end up running into some monsters. They handle it beautifully, and catch the attention of Artemis. She invites them both to join her Hunters, which they agree to. Luna took to the life better, being nocturnal and seeming to almost be able to see through the darkness, so she quickly became the Hunters’ Lieutenant

Discord - Son of Eris. Come on. That one’s too perfect.

Chrysalis - Daughter of Aphrodite. Again, kinda perfect on that one.

Cadence -  Can we go three for three on perfection? Yes, because here’s another Daughter of Aphrodite.

Shining Armor - I was debating on this, because he and Twilight are siblings so how should this work? I don’t want him to also be a son of Hecate. So they’re step-siblings on the Mortal side in this AU

I was also debating on whether to make his godly parent Ares or Athena. On one hand, while both are war/battle gods, Athena has a heavier emphasis on strategy. On the other hand, Athena also has heavier emphasis on her non-battle qualities.

Not to disrespect any character and/or gods, but while Shining is intelligent and a good strategist, he doesn’t fit the rest of the Athena kid qualities. So I’m making him a Son of Ares, though a bit more strategic and less bloodthirsty than his godly half-siblings(he gets it from his mom’s side of the family).

Spike - Son of Hephaestus, and definitely has those fire powers. While his character isn’t known for building, I think he could have some skill with it. As for his relationship to Twilight and Shining in this AU: He was adopted by their Mortal Parents. I’ll go more into that later.

Sweetie Belle - Rarity’s half-sister, on the mortal side. Daughter of Apollo. She sucks at healing and if you value your life keep her away from the bows, but her music skill is fantastic. Her prophecy abilities only show up when she’s being sarcastic.

Scootaloo and Flash Sentry - Full siblings(because I headcanon them as such in-show). Children of Athena. An odd choice, but I think it works. We know Flash is a Guard in-show, meaning he’s likely good with fights, and if Scootaloo had a middle name it’d be ‘fight me’, but both have also shown some craftsmanship abilities. Well, Scoots has(working on her scooter and all(also, you have to be smart to calculate those tricks yourself)) and I headcanon that Flash has shown those type abilities as well because the show gives him so little character that anything with him is ‘canon until proven otherwise’ and- Whatever. Rant for another time. 

Big Macintosh - Full sibling with Applejack. Son of Demeter. Self-explanatory.

Applebloom - Daughter of Hephaestus(AJ and Big Mac are her step-siblings in this AU). I chose this because all expected her to get a Cutie Mark for, well, building shit in general. (I’m still a little salty there)

Starlight Glimmer - Daughter of Nemesis, Goddess of Justice/Vengeance/Balance. You can figure out that one on your own.

Diamond Tiara - Either a Daughter of Hades,or another example of me saying ‘fuck it!’ and making her a Daughter of Hestia like Sunset. I am undecided. 

Have a few more headcanons for this AU:

This all would be post-PJO series, because a few things would vary a lot from Canon if it were during-series.I mean, Hades can only loophole kids into the series so many times before someone snaps. Also Luna becoming the Hunter’s Lieutenant would involve Thalia either dying or stepping down. And I want this to be when minor gods/goddesses have their own cabins too, and perhaps CHB has established something similar to New Rome where adult Demigods can just chill(Or Percy said ‘fuck you let us have a safezone to chill as adults’ and had some friends help buy a horse ranch in the middle of bumfucknowhere for people to set up their own town of Demigods. Because I’m pretty sure summer camp has an age limit.)

As for ages, most of them would be the ages I usually headcanon for them: Mane 7(And Flash) are 16-19, younger siblings(And Diamond) are 13/14, older siblings(and Starlight) are in early twenties. Might drop Celestia/Luna/Discord/Chrysalis down to early twenties too. 

I mean, age is irrelevant, as I’m not writing a story with them at these ages. I’m just giving the ages relevance to one another. 

Oh! So, I mentioned the whole Twilight, Shining, and Spike thing and how all that goes down. 

So, Twilight and Shining’s Mortal parents are their in-show parents. Velvet met Ares during her ‘rebel phase’ and had a one-night-stand that resulted in Shining. Night Light met Hecate and had a bit more of a relationship, but it was only a few nights and then she ‘stopped texting back’, allowing him to move on. He soon met Velvet and they fell in love. Then one night Hecate knocks on his door, drops newborn-Twilight into his arms and is like ‘Hey, I had a kid, she’d yours. I can’t take care of her or stay in your life. Bye!’. Despite the confusion, Velvet sticks by him and they get married. Also, imagine that itty bitty Shining pretty much thought Hecate was ‘the stork’ until sex-ed classes. 

Anyway, while both kids are showing various abilities(Some more concerning than others. Shining is the embodiment of ‘Let me see what you have...’ ‘A knife!’), their parents don’t know about Demigods or anything. Just that their kids have powers. They convince them to keep it all secret, which works for a while. Until one year on the last day of school. At the time, Shining’s 11 and in 5th grade, Twi’s 6 and in 1st grade. Spike happens to be going to the same school, though he doesn’t run into them often because he’s in Kindergarten. Spike’s story is that he’s an orphan, his bio mom having either disappeared or abandoned him. The adults weren’t sure about his age but stuck him in Kindergarten(we later find out he’s actually 4 at this time, but he’s a smart kid so he didn’t struggle through it). 

As I said, it’s the last day before summer break(because of course it is), when a monster manages to herd the three of them into an empty classroom. They fight the thing off well enough. Luckily, one of their teachers happened to be one of CHB’s undercover people(maybe a Satyr or a former camper). Unluckily, their teacher has to take them on the run since more monsters are chasing them. 

During their ‘on the run to camp’ time, Twilight and Shining bond with Spike a lot. They all get to camp, and get to properly message their parents(AKA give mom and dad another heart attack because phones are banned but rainbows work fantastic!), and essentially get the rundown on the whole Demigod business. 

Unfortunately, they get separated pretty quick. All three get Claimed, and sent to different cabins. While they slowly get used to sleeping so far apart and do end up making some friends with other campers, they stubbornly refuse to be separated. People try, but it’s hard to argue with the guy with a perfect intimidating stare and knife collection, the girl who has little issue spellcasting when angry, and the toddler with fire powers. 

By the end of the first summer, Twilight and Shining don’t want to leave Spike behind. I mean, his two options are either becoming a year-round camper, or going back into the foster care system. They talk to their parents about it, and it doesn’t take much convincing for them to legally adopt Spike into the family.

Oh, another family thing I’d have to talk about is Pinkie and her family. I’m not quite sure how though. Maybe she’s adopted by them at some point? I don’t usually like making Pinkie the ‘adopted’ one, but I’d kind of have to since she’s third oldest and that’s better than the alternatives. But I don’t think any of her sisters are Demigods. 

Her relationship with the Cakes though! I headcanon differently. So, I’m gonna bump up the twins to elementary school age(7). Anyway, the twins are also Demigods(children of Hermes). Someone’s probably asking ‘uh, wouldn’t that involve an affair?’. Well, I’m just going to go with either 1.)Mr. and Mrs. Cake weren’t together yet or 2.) open relationship?

Anyway, Pinkie met them two years ago. She happened to be hanging in the park near their bakery(because they still own a bakery in this au). The twins go to the park a lot after school, usually with one parent supervising the playground. This time, however, a monster attacks. Since Pinkie was nearby, she leaped into action. She manages to get the cakes to run off, and follows because the monster seems more intent on the easier kill(Aka, she can’t lure it away). 

Eventually, she manages to kill the beast, and the twins are scared but think she’s a superhero. She correctly guessed that Mr. Cake isn’t their bio dad, and asks if there’s been any other ‘incidents’, either attacks or unexplained things happening. She does decide to tell them the truth, showing off her own powers to prove it. After that sinks in, she tells them about CHB, and how it can keep the twins safe, and teach them to defend themselves. 

At first, they’re against it, as they really don’t want their kids to learn something so dangerous. But Pinkie sticks around to protect them, walking them from school in the afternoons and babysitting when they want to go to the park. Monster attacks and weird things become a bit more frequent(mostly because now the Cakes now about this, and also Pinkie can testify that it wasn’t ‘small children with overactive imaginations’).

 So they ask Pinkie about CHB again, how safe is it? She assures them that it’s safe, and that if they want, they can do it just for the summer, pretend it’s a normal summer camp. So yeah, after the school year ends they let Pinkie play navigator and drive to camp. Pinkie helps them with the sign-in process(since Mortals aren’t usually allowed in and she doesn’t have the authority yet), and both Pumpkin and Pound have been going to CHB for the summer since. Pinkie still sticks with them during the other months, protecting, babysitting, and making sure they keep their skills sharp(which terrifies their parents because, uh, you are dual-wielding swords to battle small children??), but they’re happy and safe and Pinkie’s grown on them, so they’re good with it!

I don’t think I have any more specific headcanons on how the others found out/how they got to camp. 

[dapperfvck-arc]

BASIC.

FULL NAME. John Constantine NICKNAME. officially, Conjob, mostly from his days on the punk scene. On the esoteric side of things he may be referred to “The Laughing Magician” or, more derisively “a petty dabbler”. BIRTHDAY. May 10 (by original Hellblazer canon, he was born in 1953, but I’ve taken it upon myself to adjust his birth year to some time in the early 70s give or take) ETHNIC GROUP.  Caucasian NATIONALITY.  English (with strongly implied deep Russian roots) LANGUAGE.  English, basic grasp of most major European languages, profound fluency in dead/magical/infernal languages SEXUAL ORIENTATION. Bisexual af RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Verse/continuity dependent, though this blog is fairly heavily multi-ship. However, it should be noted that on the MCU continuity, John is in an exclusive, committed relationship with Matt Murdock ( @dcviltongued ) CLASS. Middle to lower class. Is very good at getting fast money (scams, gambling, dealing in magic artifacts/antiques of questionable quality and veracity) so may appear to be better off at certain times HOME TOWN / AREA. Liverpool, England, but has been living in London since leaving the family home at 17. CURRENT HOME. Heavily verse/continuity/thread dependent. John is a frequent traveller. PROFESSION. Somewhat verse/continuity dependent. Really it’s just a matter of whether or not he charges for exorcisms or magic rituals. My personal endgame for John is legitimacy. Like becoming a preternatural PI (and sometimes mundane) for hire or whatever. As a general rule though, his profession is con artist. He’s never worked a honest day’s work in his life. The closest he ever got was when he was a “rock star”. He could also be considered a professional gambler, patronizing horse tracks, underground card games, legal casinos, and I imagine can hustle at pool. Scams range from blackmail to using his reputation as an occultist to take advantage of people willing to pay for spell work.

PHYSICAL.

HAIR. Short and usually rather messy. He rocks bedhead pretty aggressively. May be shaved and very short on the sides and styled into a faux to actual mohawk. He’s very blonde despite not getting very much sun as a general.  EYES. Electric blue, often almost fever bright. Deep and captivating, extremely intense straight on. NOSE. difficult to pin down due to the range of styles in which John have been drawn. Usually broad and more or less regular, occasionally somewhat crooked from being broken, though by and large, it’s portrayed as straight. Some artists, such as Moriat and Sean Murphy have drawn it as narrow and somewhat aquiline. I guess, I tend lean toward the former despite my deep love for Murphy’s interpretation of John, simply because I feel like my choice in FC is somewhat based on Tim Bradstreet and Leonardo Manco’s artistic interpretations of John, both of which I honestly adore just as well. FACE. Yet another loooong explanation here, I’m sorry. Artists tend to lean between giving him either a square face, classically handsome appearance (Steve Dillon, John Higgins, Ron Tiner, most of artists that have drawn him in the DC titles he’s appeared in), a broader, more every man appearance (Sean Phillips, Leonardo Manco to some degree, though later proved quite capable of drawing him stunningly handsome, and Tim Bradstreet), however still attractive but somewhat more haggard, stubbled, and/or slightly seedy in appearance, and finally a sharper, more diamond shape to his face featuring high cheekbones, a pointed chin and fine bone structure (Sean Murphy, Marcelo Frusin, and Moriat). Once more, in reference to my face claim for John, I suppose I tend to favour a more classically handsome appearance, simply because I like the idea of him having a pleasant, almost trustworthy face given that he is a con artist and considered an extremely good one (sometimes even the greatest con artist alive but idk whatever), and I feel like looking as dodgy as say, Frusin’s interpretation, I can’t imagine him being as successful as he is, you feel me? That guy looks like he’ll fuck you over for a corn chip. LIPS. Sensuous, faintly lined from his his smoking habit COMPLEXION.  Like any good Englishman that tends to move about by night and quite a bit dressed, John’s very pale. I do think he has a faintly pronounced undertone of pink. This colour will get brighter when he gets drunk, aroused, angry, or the exceedingly rare instance that he’s embarrassed  BLEMISHES. None SCARS. Aside from the scarification, which is better off detailed in the next section, and I ALWAYS FORGET TO MENTION THIS, he definitely has a long scar over one eye from a demon trying to cut it out with a blade. Since many magic rituals call for blood, I head canon that he also has faint scarring on his arms because he doesn’t practice human or animal sacrifice and his own blood instead.

TATTOOS. Arse tattoo of pine tree courtesy of Swamp Thing being a punk bitch, ritual tattoos faded into appearing as scarification. HEIGHT. 5′11 (184.34 cm) WEIGHT: prolly ranges between 150-160lbs (140 at his lightest) BUILD.  Long legs, somewhat of a broad upper torso, can be a bit soft in the middle. In general, he’s rather thin but his musculature is not usually very defined. In other words, no big, sexy pecs or cut abs. If anything he’s more sleek lines and narrow planes. ALLERGIES.  none USUAL HAIR STYLE. Freshly fucked USUAL CLOTHING. Dark suits, usually dark blue or black and trench coat, usually tan, has also been portrayed as black, yellow, or a mossy kinda green. In theory it could be said that these aren’t just differing interpretations from artists but that John owns coats in different colours, styles, and fabrics, but his favourite is the tan, longer style

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR. abandonment, amounting to nothing, not being able to protect those he cares about ASPIRATION. survival, making some kind of mark on this world, a measure of contentment POSITIVE TRAITS. Compassionate and determined, above all. Though not about to admit to it, he's still deeply idealistic. Strangely forgiving. He doesn’t really keep grudges. Loving, considerate, understanding, and rarely judgmental  NEGATIVE TRAITS. Those good things up above? They’re encased in a shell of harsh cynicism and apathy. Depending on his mood or particular part of his life depends on how hard a shell he is to crack. He may also experience depressive periods where he doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything and just wants to drink. VICE HABIT.  Chain smokes, drinks, frequency dependent on what’s up in his life, though I do not believe he’s an alcoholic, sorry, because lol look, drinking a lot doesn’t mean you have a dependency. Indulges in drugs infrequently, mostly hallucinogens and weed, though I also tend to head canon that he flirted with a cocaine habit while fronting Mucous Membrane.  FAITH.  It’s complicated GHOSTS? Duh. He sees them plain as any living person AFTERLIFE?  Yeah, but uh, he doesn’t consider them eternal respites. They’re just planes of existence that he can either enter, leave, or pull people out. REINCARNATION? Maybe? ALIENS? I meeeeaannn....technically in DCU he’s acquainted with the concept of aliens and may or may not have fucked Hal Jordan POLITICAL ALIGNMENT. Liberal ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. comfortable  SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. working class warlock EDUCATION LEVEL.  Predominately self-educated. His frightfully intelligent and has been cited as having genius level intellect. Although I’m not sure I’d go so far as confirm that, I do thing he’s extremely clever and pragmatic. School bored him to tears and he was the type of kid the counselors and teachers say “exceedingly bright but unwilling to apply himself”. He reads voraciously, has an eidetic memory, and isn’t afraid of putting himself in new situations.

FAMILY.

FATHER.  Thomas (dead, murdered by the Family Man) MOTHER.  Mary Anne (died in child birth) SIBLINGS.  Cheryl (murdered by husband, currently residing in Hell), an unnamed twin brother referred to as the Golden Child or Boy, the true heir to the Laughing Magician (stillborn, soul was later absorbed by John in trippy magic ritual, only to be expelled later in life when it was revealed that...uh...he was influencing John’s destiny to be perpetually sabotaged. Hellblazer’s a weird comic, you guys) EXTENDED  FAMILY.  Gemma, his niece. They have a rather stormy relationship. Chas, his best mate. Lovers may also be included in this. NAME MEANING. John: Jehovah has been Gracious/Shown Favour (lmao) Constantine: Constant, steadfast, generally referred to as “The Constant One”

HISTORICAL CONNECTION. Is strongly implied that John’s related, if perhaps distantly, to Constantine the Great.

FAVOURITES.

BOOKS.  Prefers non-fiction MUSIC. Rock music, most notably 70s and 80s era punk rock. Likes the Pogues. Given the stack of evidence that John skirts the edge of the Goth scene cos he likes the aesthetic on women, I have a feeling he’s adopted into his music tastes. The Cure, Smiths, and Cocteau Twins in reference to an 80s mixtape John might make. Which i question the Smiths heavily, but The Cure and Cocteau Twins seems fairly legit. I bet Kit loved the Cocteau Twins. In that same vein of thought, although I tend to think John doesn’t like electronic music, he may have adopted some industrial bands into his preferences but he’s not about to talk about ti any time soon. DEITY.  Whichever one doesn’t hate him HOLIDAY.  doesn’t care MONTH. same SEASON.  Fall PLACE.  London or New York, in the case of sentimentality that he will never be able to get back to, the years when he was bumming around Ireland with Brenden and Kit WEATHER. Overcast SOUND.  He’s a city boy through and through, even if he may get frustrated with society on a whole, so he’s comforted by city sounds more than silence SCENT.  A freshly poured pint, the first cigarette of the day, skin and sex sweat TASTE.  Gin FEEL. He’s a sensualist. Body to body, breathing another person’s breath, his please, another person’s pleasure, his pleasure, all that good stuff. I also feel like he enjoys being drunk or stoned for the sake of having his thoughts dulled to a degree. He’s the sort of man who has lots of thoughts and situational observational input. John is basically perpetually mentally overstimulated and he likes the relief from that in inebriation. ANIMAL.  Fox  NUMBER.  hahaha idea numerology man COLOUR.  warm and neutral tones

EXTRA.

TALENTS. So many. He’s a jack of all trades in a lot of ways. He can pick a lock, displays some artistic talent in that he can draw very intricate magic circles and sigils, if you consider that John wrote Venus of the Hardsell, he’s clearly got some ability to express himself in lyrics and words, i like to think he can play guitar, is apparently good with delicate craftsmanship (he used to help Dani build furniture for her dollhouses. This is canon by the way), suppose you could say he can sort of sing, but that’s debatable, and of course he’s very manipulative and speaks very well, is educated enough to be able to bullshit through various situations. TURN ONS. Total ass man, loves a great ass on a man or woman, dark hair, dark eyes, strong men, he’s a switch, but loves being manhandled and dominated to a degree, by either gender, honestly, danger, open affection, being wanted, loved, and cherished. So many things, honestly. John Constantine is easy. TURN OFFS.   Hardcore kink HOBBIES. Sleep, pub crawls, pretending he’s normal, reading TROPES. Con man with a heart of gold, charming bastard, unrepentant rogue, urban magician, supernatural detective, living legend AESTHETICS. smoke, chalk dust, wind and rain swept streets, London after midnight, narrow, dark alleys, haunted places, rumpled bed sheets, messy hair, dive bars, wicked smiles, deep kisses

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC. Ewan McGregor // comic caps from various issues he’s appeared ALT  FC. Keanu Reeves for my filmverse OLDER  FC. Don’t have one as yet YOUNGER  FC. Ewan McGregor   VOICE  CLAIM.  Jason Stathem

Tagged by: @vamptrampbamf Tagging: lmao fuckin everyone.

[pomegranate-salad]

Seeds of thought : Wicdiv 455AD

Hey everyone ! Fair warning, this month’s analysis is a bit heavy on the History lesson side. I try not to go all nerdy on here because I want to emphasize that this is only my opinion/thoughts and not “10 things you need to know to understand this issue” but the further we go back in time, the harder it gets to analyse things without putting them in context first. So yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, as usual spoilers under the cut. Enjoy !

FOUND ROME IN MARBLE, LEFT IT IN SHAMBLES

 What in G-O-D’s name did poor Eleanor Rigby have on her face that made Ananke so pissed ? Because let’s face it, between 1831’s wannabe necromancer and 455AD’s emperor in training, her double murder ranks maybe a 3 on the Lucifers-are-a-pain-in-the-ass-o-meter. Having been a main character in the comic and both specials, Lucifer is at this stage the god we’re the most familiar with in the grand scheme of the Recurrence. And while our data is inevitably skewed because we haven’t seen enough incarnations of the other gods, it means that using him, we can begin to talk about gods not only throughout one specific incarnation, but as a succession of incarnations, and analyse their recurring traits – and their evolution – both as a character and a religious/mythological figure.

 A few hours before the special came out, I wrote this short analysis of the various wheel symbols of Lucifer in which I saw a common theme of both religious inadequacy and performative value. I observed that according to their symbols Lucifers were not mystic leaders, but performers, closer to the popular idea of themselves than to themselves. Turns out I was accidentally dead on, at least when it comes to the 455AD special. This time, Lucifer is literally an actor, and although it’s unclear whether or not he was one before becoming a god, I think we can assume it is the case, seeing how vindictive “Julius” is about making people respect actors.

Contrary to Greek traditions, actors in Rome were considered the lowest part of society, barely superior to slaves ; in fact many of them came from families of former slaves. A lot of them were basically courtesans who occasionally acted. And of course, the profession was associated with “shameful” sexual practices, homosexuality first and foremost.

Furthermore, Roman theatres are not a place of worship. It is rare to see gods in plays, and there is no religious meaning behind attending a play – something that is hinted at in Dionysus’ choice of calling himself Bacchus. So when “a catamite actor boy” reveals himself to be a god, should the tables turn ? Not as much as it would have seemed : in his flashbacks with Dionysus, Lucifer’s clothes and housing remain shabby, his tone bitter. Divine or not, Lucifer is just an actor. He cannot make History, only resurrect it onstage while Rome is falling. He is loved, but not respected, hated but not feared, brilliant but not enlightening. Who he was is in constant tension with who he became and what he wants to accomplish. Can you blame him for deciding to put on his stage costume permanently ?

In fact, this entire pantheon seems to have faced the same problem : who must you be to inspire people when you have so little time ? In later centuries, and especially in modern times, the answer will be much easier : be a performer. But in 455AD, inspiring figures are not onstage, they’re in the forum or on a battlefield. Those are political times. The answers the gods gave are varied : Baal is a city leader, Inanna arranges a political wedding, Mithras is a general of some sort, Minerva is linked to a place of knowledge. But as for Lucifer, a roman actor, who better to be than the ultimate junction of man, god, acting and political power ? He will be emperor.

 But adding a third facet to himself – actor, god, and now emperor – doesn’t solve his paradoxes and inadequacies ; it aggravates them. This special weaves a complex web of references linking all those facets, all of which ripe with tragic irony. There is of course the figure of Julius Caesar, who never technically became emperor and died trying, which Lucifer turns into some grand saviour of Rome. Then we have the usual suspects, Caligula and Nero, the madman and the artist, both of which wanted to succeed to the “great” emperors Julius Caesar and Augustus only to fail, finding a new incarnation in Lucifer. But I see two more emperors eluded to in this issue. First there is Tiberius, who started the practice of throwing criminals in the Tiber, and also famously forbade higher-class citizens to entertain relationships with actors. And even more interestingly, there was another emperor who straight-up forbade his priests and senators to set foot in a theatre : Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor.

 Holding Christian beliefs became legal in the Roman Empire in 313 under Constantine, who also became the first emperor to convert. Christianity then quickly became the dominant religion all over the empire, extending to the various Germanic tribes who had started integrating themselves to Eastern territories in search for cultivable lands, and had adopted roman culture for sometimes more than a century at the time of the special (if anyone was confused by Genseric being a Christian, here’s the explanation). But in 362, Emperor Julian briefly tried to restore paganism before dying from a battle wound. Only a few years after his death, paganism was outlawed for good in the Roman Empire.

 If there’s one invader hovering over this entire special, it’s not Genseric, it’s Christianity. A subject I find fascinating but hadn’t been touched much before by the comic is the relationship between the worshipping of the pantheon and the status of monotheistic, worldwide religions. In modern times, the two seemed to coexist in relative peace, as the cult of the pantheon didn’t seem able to transcend its members’ death. The Pantheon is an event, Religion an institution. But here, four centuries after the birth of Christianism, we are at the end of a cultural shift : Christianism has become the dominant religion while paganism is quickly disappearing. What this means is that this generation of pagan gods is experiencing, maybe for the first time, what it’s like to exist in a world that no longer worships you. Paradoxically, as these gods get farther away from the times they were actually dominant figures, they’ll have an easier time drawing from those sources and adapting them to match the current taste. But in 455AD ? The Pantheon is suffocating in the shadow of the Christ, not relevant enough anymore to sustain a cult on their own, not syncretised enough to resonate within the context of Christian culture.

 And this brings us to our poor Lucifer. Of all the members of this pantheon that we know of, he’s the one that will be assimilated most directly and most textually to Christianity. You could argue that Inanna found some sort of syncretism with the Virgin Mary, but if only by their names, all of them save for Lucifer will remain decidedly more pagan than Christian. Lucifer, on the other hand, will see his pagan origin completely erased by his Christian recuperation. From a minor god presumed to be the divine incarnation of Venus, he will gradually become one of the most important figures in Christian iconography, a position that will allow him a degree of changeability in concepts and role that will make for an incredibly rich series of incarnations. Eleanor drew from the evolution of mores and morality to create a supremely cool and even areligious devil, yet one that had the tang of a crisis of faith ; XIXth century Lucifer was both the devil of Romantic artists, a tragic incarnation of creativity and also the remnants of popular beliefs, the grotesque figure of evil philosophy quickly being replaced by higher concepts.

But in 455AD, Lucifer is a difficult one, “this time most of all”, because he finds himself in the middle of an identity crisis. He is being robbed of his traditional divinity and turned into something else. Something that, according to most interpretations, is not even divine, just “a dog shivering from the Divine’s whip”.

Taking the mantle of the emperor is not just an act of hubris, it’s an act of desperation, not only to stay alive as a member of the pantheon past two years, but as a divine figure past his time of worship. It’s interesting to note that if some emperors were indeed deified, they were so after their death ; to Lucifer, they are the proof you can retain divinity even after your time is over.

 But of course, you cannot escape programmed death, in more ways than one. Christianity is pertaining at every corner of this issue, dooming the gods to obscurity. The final destruction of the library of Alexandria is said to have been ordered by Pope Theophilus ; the figure of Ildico, the wife suspected to have assassinated Attila, will get overshadowed by Saint Genevieve, said to have stopped the Huns’ march in Gallia. As for Mithras feeding his army with his own flesh, I’m afraid we’ll only remember its famous precedent.

Ananke herself seems to incarnate the unstoppable march of Christianity : draped in a blue shawl reminiscent of the Virgin Mary herself, she is referred to by Lucifer as “the most necessitous mother”.

And as for Lucifer himself… he might try to be an actor, a pagan god, an emperor all at once, but at every turn, he is Christian. I joked that his own symbol, the upside-down Chi Rho, has never been associated with him, but indeed, his own symbol has never been associated with him. Upside-down or not, a Chi Rho is a Chi Rho, and it only ever refers to the Christ. In 455AD, you cannot even signify Lucifer anymore without using the Christ. And then we have Lucifer’s last moments. Like the actor he is, the builds his scene to evoke both his pagan origin (with Jupiter as his father) and his chosen personality Julius Caesar with his last words a direct reference. But while Caesar’s last words “Et tu, Brute ?” were addressing his son, in this context “Et tu, Jupiter” is addressing the father. A father who has abandoned him while he was trying to sacrifice himself for a people. Father, why hast thou forsaken me.

 Lucifer dies closer to a failed Christ as he does to his own pagan roots. But how could he have not failed ? It wasn’t that he was bad, or powerless, but he was inadequate. As an actor and as a god, in a time that had no use for the old him anymore and no use for the new him yet. More than anything else, Lucifer is battling the invincible push and pull of History. Being born in the wrong time and place, practicing the wrong profession, loving the wrong person. Being the wrong god. When you’re out of place in History, there is no changing the stage. You can’t create your own atmosphere. When you’re not in tune, you’re not in tune.

And through Lucifer, it’s the death of Rome itself that’s told. Deified emperors were not just additions to the pantheon ; they were the divinities most closely associated to Rome as a political entity. In pagan times, when they invaded other regions, Romans famously let people keep their religion, but all had to be present on the days of celebration of deified emperors. They served as a unifying cultural fabric throughout the Empire. The emperors were the gods of Rome. Lucifer, like Julian the Apostate, tries to reinstate paganism, but with a particular target : the very spirit of the greatness of Rome. He vows a cult to the idea of the Empire more than its gods.

 But the Empire is done. And so will be, in barely 70 years, the Vandal kingdom, reconquered by the Eastern Roman Empire. As for what vandal will come to mean… In her final speech to Genseric, is Ananke purposely lying or is she just as ignorant of the future as he is ? Most of all, I think she does not care. In her own words, gods are meant to burn bright to light humanity’s path, but each and every god of this pantheon accompanied the end of an era. If the gods serve any purpose, they do not ensure that the path will remain the same, only that there is a path to continue on. Failure is just as significant as victory ; the pantheon walks alongside History, they do not shape it. The 455AD pantheon’s purpose was to bear witness to the fall of the old world, of their world, and Ananke would not let them deviate from it.

In fact, we are two specials in, and so far have we witnessed anything but endings and falsification ? The events of the summer of 1831 did not just remain a mystery as Ananke destroyed Inanna’s journal, they also coincided with the end of the golden age of the Romantics. 455AD does not simply marks another step towards Rome’s rapid fall, but what really happened is now mere “wilder theories” according to David Blake. So far, it seems a successful pantheon to Ananke’s standards is one she managed to almost erase from History. Once again, ironically, this special IS our Sulla : we’ve seen Ananke rewrite History once, we know she can do it again. How many times HAS she done it ?

“Lucifer was only an actor made great by History” and, as Ananke hints, so is everyone. But Lucifer in the History she rewrote is neither great nor part of History. If truly we are all actors on the stage of History, then every generation is playing for the future ones. The actors do not know their role and the audience does not know the truth. And if the play goes wrong, Ananke will there to sweep the stage after each performance. Alea falsata est.

  WHAT I THOUGHT OF THE ISSUE

 So, before anything else, can we agree that if Wicdiv ever gets to make figurines of its characters, Lucifer with his homemade harp needs to be one ? Because I have a figurine of the Hieronymus Bosch knife-penis from The Garden of Delights that needs a friend. Cool ? Cool.

 I do admire the wicdiv team’s will to have the special be their own thing instead of a simple extension of the normal wicdiv canon. They read like a completely different series, with its own language and rhythm. This one had even fewer kieronisms than the last one and the style is almost antithetic to McKelvie’s. But what this also means is that this reads like the issue #2 of a series more than an outgrowth of the main one. Meaning, it’s a series that’s still finding its footing.

Wicdiv 455AD is much better than its predecessor Wicdiv 1831, but as part of its series I have a feeling it’s not quite what it has the potential of being yet. The story 1831 was trying to tell simply didn’t work for the one-shot format : it felt rushed, with stakes minimal, and its referencing didn’t seem to add up to anything. 455AD, despite technically happening on a grander scale, tells a much more personal story. The limited number of pages certainly works better with one character and a straight timeline than it does with four on multiple storytelling levels. And if the references forced me to take maybe one too many trips by Wikipedialand, it felt purposeful, adding to the text instead of subtracting from it.

So the most obvious problems from 1831 have clearly been fixed. The story of 455AD works wonderfully as a one-shot, albeit one that requires a decent baggage on both the Wicdiv canon and ancient History. This is one of those “the less you know about the character, the better” cases, and reading the reviews I find it very telling that everyone seems to have different levels of empathy for the main character. Over the course of the one-shot, he appears both extremely sympathetic and insufferable. But the shortness of the plot never allows us to form a meaningful connexion with him, meaning we always keep a certain distance from the story, which in this case is a good thing : this special is about the movement of history, the towering feeling of hindsight, the spectacle of failure. Having such distance to the characters allows us to seize the foolishness of his quest while also finding room for sympathy ; if we were more involved, we’d resent his failure. In that perspective, we are more on Ananke’s side than his. We come from a place so far away in History that we cannot possibly root for his success, because we cannot envision the dramatic change that would mean for our own history. Just like Wicdiv #27 took a time limit and turned this limitations into an asset by embracing frenzy and confusion, Wicdiv 455AD took its limited number of pages and used it to tell a story on ineluctability. It had just the right level of story not told to get us just as involved as we need to be.

 However, the format of the one-shot still feels a bit too short for its story. It focuses on the character, which was the most important element, but to the detriment of the rest. Rome is falling, but we barely see it ; the most we get is burning rooftops and murdered courtiers. It’s hard to feel the toll and stakes of it all when the camera is zooming so closely on the main character. And call me greedy, but I would have liked to see more of Araùjo’s depiction of Rome. I just love this style so much. I’m not sure if that’s a common type of style in Anglo-Saxon media, but for me in Europe it’s a huge nostalgia bomb. I grew up on French/Belgian comics and this kind of super detailed, expressive and somewhat cartoonish style is basically my childhood. Plus, coincidentally, this type of comics was obsessed with Ancient Rome. Here however, the story happens mostly in geometrical interiors, and save for the triumph scene, the city feels almost empty. Of course, part of it is intentional : Ananke’s walk to the Tiber, from the magnificent streets though walls too small to be intimidating, to a dirty river under dirty stone exudes maybe the most powerful pathos Wicdiv has ever wrung out. But as a whole, the setting lacks scale and life. I think I’ve already said before that locations are maybe the least interesting graphic aspect of Wicdiv, but goddamn, if you give me Rome before the fall and I don’t get a little bit whiplashed by the setting, I feel robbed. Clearly the décor had to be kind of sacrificed for the characters, and the expressions here are just fantastic. They achieve a level of ugliness that’s completely foreign to McKelvie’s style ; even when his characters are pissed, they never stop looking like perfect cut-outs from magazines. The expressiveness of Araùjo’s drawings immediately plunges us in something realer, more tangible and grounded. I just wish there had been more of a balance between character and background.

As for the writing, it still occasionally feels like there was way too much going on in those scripts and what made it onto the pages is what won at eeny meeny miny moe but as a whole there’s much more breathing room in the dialogues. Lucifer and Ananke’s discussion is the one bordering the most on overbearing, but it’s too much of a delight to see Ananke’s manipulative ways to really mind. Of Gillen’s habitual writing style, this special retains its disjointedness (which as usual works when it works and lets you roll with it if not) but adds a substantial touch of natural that’s not that common in the main wicdiv run : bizarrely, despite the complex speech patterns of Antique Rome, this special feels more intimate and direct than the average Wicdiv issue.

 Overall, I did really like this special. I think it was starting with a bit of an advantage given how interested I am in Ancient Rome. The Art is to die for, even though it still felt like it could have been showcased even better. The story is purposeful and all the googling didn’t feel like a waste of time. Still, I feel like there’s still some wiggle room to make a truly great one-shot in which the limited space and the conceptuality won’t hinder the emotional connexion. I’d also like to see the specials mix it up by maybe getting away from the “end of the pantheon” motive, and given the next special should be the modernist pantheon and we’ve already seen their end, it feels like the perfect place to do it.

Yeah, I’m aware my opinion is not all that interesting this time, as for me this special falls in the “very good but not great” category, and I’m not that clear on what could have been done to make it great. Most of all, I think it tells us that standalone issues are hard, and when they have to do with a completely different historical context and revelations on the main canon to cram in somewhere, it’s not every day you’ll get something as rich and enjoyable as this.

[crossedswordsrp]

The Philosopher

❛ Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles, I am the lawyers and judge all in one. We like to get the trial over with quickly because it’s the sentence that’s really the fun. ❜

Full Name Fernand Baptiste Alias — Age 28 (b. 1613) Alliance Court of Miracles/La Bande Noire (The Black Band) Position Unofficial authority in the Court of Miracles/Revolutionary Leader Negative Traits Mercurial, Secretive, Obstinate Positive Traits Charming, Inspiring, Idealistic

Ah, the Court of Miracles – the sprawling, stinking slums of Paris, the underbelly that is less under as spilling up and around, with the eventual result like a very small chicken perching over an overlarge egg. It is called the Court of Miracles, because it is here that blind men see and that lame men walk when a day’s begging is done and the makeshift maladies put upon to make a beggar look more piteous can be placed away. Like every court, it has its hierarchies, despite the chaos that seems to exist. It is here that Fernand Baptiste holds sway through sheer force of personality.

Son of formidable former patriarch François Baptiste, Fernand had grown up a native of the labyrinthine twists and turns of the slum districts of Paris, navigating the streets as soon as he could toddle with his adopted younger sister Simone in tow. Ever since childhood, he had been a mover and a starter, taking well to petty thieving and taking it upon himself to mentor other children in the best methods of survival. Having never known his mother, he considered himself his father’s son in every way, and idolized the man completely, taking his lessons considering independence, resourcefulness, and equality to heart. He also took it upon himself to impart these lessons to his adopted older brother, Émile Moreau.

Small, quick, and clever, it might have seemed that Fernand lived a charmed life of a freedom that many of the upper classes in Paris might only dream about, but his carefree days of stirring mischief in the dusty streets came to an end relatively quickly. When he was nine, he lost Émile to the King’s Musketeers, setting the stage for the future unfortunate event when Émile was part of a party of Musketeers that organized the arrest of François Baptiste for conspiracy against the Crown.

Using rumors concerning the current king’s bastardry and the loss of François’ sister Angeline, secret wife of the late King Louis Valois and mother of the rumored legitimate king, François Baptiste had been involved in starting a nascent group of revolutionaries entitled the La Bande Noire. The name of the group referred to the black band members perpetually wear to mourn the loss of Angeline, and was founded to support the one true legitimate King. The only difficulty was, of course, that they had no idea who he was, but if they could find and maneuver him onto the throne, the nephew of François would likely support the Court of Miracles were he to take the Crown.

Due to the Cardinal’s unwanted infiltrations into the Court of Miracles, however, several skirmishes with the Red Guard led to François’ La Bande Noire becoming far more visible - perhaps far too soon. This culminated in the 1627 Court Massacre where a small company of men under Captain Herbert Dubois were murdered by several of François’ men. The Court Massacre led to a further troubled relationship between the denizens of the Court of Miracles and the Red Guard in addition to their occasional conflicts with the King’s Musketeers.

After his father’s execution for conspiracy in 1629, at sixteen, an orphaned Fernand decided to take over where his father had left off. He used his father’s death as a tale of martyrdom to rally others to his cause and began to organize meetings in secret tavern Les Trois Chemins (The Three Roads) in the back of the inn Dauphin (Crown Prince) in order to further continue his father’s work. Under his charismatic supervision La Bande Noire grew, to far surpass any numbers seen in the organization before, although it still remains an underground movement. Fernand is devoted to finding and championing the true king of France - not to aid in particular any cosetted aristocrat, but to best provide for the people under his care and to find justice for his cousin and lost aunt.

Within the Court of Miracles, much respected and enjoyed for his jovial personality and intelligence, Fernand serves as an unofficial authority figure along with Simone, often making the final decisions about the fates of intruders, and continuing to mentor those new to the criminal underworld. Despite his drive towards his cause, he presents an often playful, non threatening façade to the world outside. However, this superficial charm belies a great intensity and underlying moroseness, and with his ability to inspire many of the inhabitants of the Court of Miracles, and a brilliant strategist at his side, he is not a man to be in any way underestimated.

Connections

Émile Moreau – He was deeply saddened by his best friend and adopted brother’s leaving of the Court of Miracles, and was stunned and disgusted by his joining of the King’s Musketeers, seeing it as a betrayal of everything their father had taught them. Thinking Émile a pet of the false king, he forced himself to forget him in every way he could, and Émile’s involvement in his father’s arrest only deepened his anger towards him. Now Captain of the Guard and unofficial authority in the Court of Miracles respectively, the two men should be natural enemies. However, Fernand’s love for Émile still runs deep, and he has not given up hope that Émile will remember where it was he truly came from and will eventually return to the fold - and see the light as to the man he fights for.

Simone Baptiste – Despite his often outwardly playful nature, Fernand is a terribly private man considering his own emotions, and his adopted sister is one of the only people that he is willing to confide in and share his doubts with. Simone was adopted into the Baptiste family when Fernand was two and they were raised as close siblings. As Fernand’s mother died when he was young, and Simone never knew her birth parents and was raised by François, they were both effectively orphaned upon his death in 1629. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Simca’ by Fernand, he is highly protective of Simone and they retain a close sibling relationship, toughened by years of relying utterly upon each other. She is one of the few who is able to sway his opinions, and it is said by many in the Court of Miracles that while Fernand may hold sway by reputation, through her shrewdness in dealing with her brother, it is Simca has the true influence over the slums.

Gaspard - Fernand was involved in the care of the boy along with his sister and father. Amused by his lively intelligence and seeing potential in him, he took him on as an information runner from the age of six for La Bande Noire. When Gaspard discovered his identity, he aided him in that endeavour, even giving him some of the clothing he had worn as a boy. Now that Gaspard has grown, he continues to be fond of his protégé, as Gaspard is a kind of family, after all.

This character is portrayed by BOB MORLEY and is TAKEN

OOC Notes: Philippe Donadieu is the legitimate heir to the throne, the son of the former King Louis Valois and revolutionary François Baptiste’s sister Angeline. The former King divorced the former Queen Marie-Claire in secret in order to secretly marry Angeline. Angeline gave birth to Philippe in equal secrecy, dying in childbirth, and King Louis died in mysterious circumstances just before. The Cardinal, hoping to unseat Marie-Claire who disliked him and hoped to secure the throne for her bastard son (Alexandre Valois, who was conceived while Marie Claire and King Louis Valois were technically divorced), in the future, sent Philippe away to the aristocratic Dubois family to be raised as their own.

Although there are general, unprovable rumors concerning the current King Alexandre Valois’ bastardry, the only living person who is aware of the status of Philippe Donadieu as the legitimate heir to the French throne is the Cardinal at start of game. Marie-Claire, Jean Bourbon, and those connected to La Bande Noire/Black Band movement are the only living people apart from the Cardinal at start of game aware that the former King was married to Angeline or that the former Queen and King were ever divorced at all. However, Marie-Claire, the Cardinal and those connected to La Bande Noire movement are the only characters aware that Angeline had a son. François Baptiste was given letters that went missing after reading from his sister Angeline about the late King Louis Valois’ marriage to her and her pregnancy, and passed down the information to his son Fernand and daughter Simone. Fernand and Simone are trying to find Angeline’s son, but they, like Philippe, are not aware that he is the son.  Please see The Cardinal, Alexandre Valois,  and Marie-Claire’s bio for more information if needed, and the plot.

On every November 13th, the date his late father François was executed, Fernand holds a life celebration for him in the hidden Les Trois Chemins (Three Roads) tavern.

Please see Les Trois Chemins (Three Roads) tavern (see locations) for more details about La Bande Noire’s meeting place. The location description of the Court of Miracles and the Bastille Saint-Antoine might also be useful. Note that Fernand has an additional connection with Charon Daucourt.

[dapperfvck-arc]

RULES.  repost, don’t reblog. tag ten whatever. TAGGED BY: @hittcr TAGGING. fucking everyone

BASICS.

FULL NAME. John Constantine NICKNAME. The Laughing Magician, The Hellblazer, Conjob AGE.  usually portrayed as mid to late forties BIRTHDAY. May 10 ETHNIC GROUP.  caucasian NATIONALITY.  English LANGUAGE.  English, Latin, most dead languages tbh, a grasp of most major European languages, prolly some Infernal languages or whatever SEXUAL ORIENTATION. hella bi RELATIONSHIP STATUS. defaults as single, but also heavily verse/continuity dependent, practically married to Matt Murdock CLASS. unknown, tbh. Is generally portrayed as blue collar, working class (even though he’s never technically worked a day in his life) or even impoverished, however it has also been heavily implied that he’s got quite a little nest egg stashed away. HOME TOWN / AREA. Liverpool, England  CURRENT HOME. verse/continuity dependent PROFESSION. Con artist, exorcist, paranormal investigator, human disaster

PHYSICAL.

HAIR. blonde EYES. electric blue NOSE. slightly crooked FACE. highly dependent on artistic license, though generally portrayed as having sharp features and a triangular face LIPS. sensuous COMPLEXION. very pale  BLEMISHES. mostly just scars SCARS. one over an eye from a blade, heavy scarification over entire torso (see: tattoos) TATTOOS.  a crude pictograph of an evergreen on a buttock (Swamp Thing is a punk bitch) and protection sigils and various occult symbology all across his torso in which the ink has faded and been rejected, resulting in them remaining as intricate scarification HEIGHT. 5′11″. WEIGHT.  150lb BUILD.  rather thin, somewhat lanky, not unfit, but that can be attributed to walking a lot and yoga. Not built however. Very flexible FEATURES. scruffy good looks, great smile, trench coat  ALLERGIES. none. USUAL HAIR STYLE. bedhead USUAL CLOTHING.  dark blue or black suit and tie, trench coat, either black or tan (depending on artist), and oxfords, usually worn and scuffed

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR. It’s more related to those close to him, mostly of them dying because of him, drowning, leaving this world unaccomplished ASPIRATION. um. Not to lose complete faith in humanity? POSITIVE TRAITS. highly intelligent, forgiving in his own way, deeply compassionate to a fault NEGATIVE TRAITS. manipulative, cynical, duplicitous, somewhat self-serving VICE HABIT. smokes heavily, drinks, some drugs FAITH. it’s complicated GHOSTS? I meeeeeeaaaannnn...he’s basically a medium and can see and talk to them on the reg, sometimes without ever realizing he’s speaking with one AFTERLIFE? ALSO COMPLICATED. BECAUSE HE KNOWS FOR A FACT BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL EXIST???? ESPECIALLY HELL BECAUSE HE’S PRETTY MUCH TAKEN DAY TRIPS THERE FOR REASONS REINCARNATION? I don’t............think so? ALIENS? yes POLITICAL ALIGNMENT. extremely liberal ECONOMIC PREFERENCE. getting by SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION. none EDUCATION LEVEL. I think he dropped out of secondary school, never went to university. Self educated in the occult, among other things

FAMILY.

FATHER. Thomas (murdered) MOTHER. Mary Anne (deceased in John’s birth) SIBLINGS.  an old sister (Cheryl), twin brother (stillborn) EXTENDED  FAMILY. nice (Gemma), an unnamed aunt and uncle that took Cherly and John in when they were younger upon their father’s brief incarceration NAME MEANING.  John, Yahweh is Gracious; Constantine, Constant, Steadfast, in Hellblazer canon, he’s referred to as The Constant One HISTORICAL CONNECTION. Heavily implied to be related to Constantine the Great

FAVOURITES.

BOOKS. Mostly prefers nonfiction  MOVIES. documentaries, mostly, though he finds most films to be painfully predictable. Likes Hitchcock tho. MUSIC. punk rock and other rock genres DEITY. lol nope HOLIDAY.  nah MONTH.  October SEASON.  fall PLACE. London or New York, it’s a coin toss WEATHER. Cool but not too cold, overcast SOUND. comfortable silence SCENT.  fresh pure beer, burning tobacco, citrus, juniper, whiskey TASTE. a lover’s sex sweat, the first cigarette of the day, top shelf whiskey and gin, curry FEEL. skin on skin, a comforting bed ANIMAL. fox NUMBER. I don’t do numerology man COLOR. attracted to neutral tones

EXTRA.

TALENTS. ritual magic, some artistic talent, manipulation, sex BAD AT. self care, sleeping, opening up to people TURN ONS. confidence, a strong body and mind, all shapes and sizes of women, honestly so so much TURN OFFS. blondes and sexual violence HOBBIES. reading, drinking, and trying to be happy TROPES. paranormal detective, urban magician, asshole with a heart of gold, human disaster, charming bastard, infamous con artist AESTHETICS.  old books, smokey pubs, wind-swept streets, the witching hour, incense burning, rumpled bed sheets, coffee and cigarettes, freshly turned earth, occult sigils

FC INFO.

MAIN  FC. Ewan McGregor ALT  FC. - n/a OLDER  FC.   - lol maybe Sting if I ever go with his proper “canon age” YOUNGER  FC. - Ewan McGregor (cos he’s been in the biz for years, man and I got plenty of material to work with) VOICE  CLAIM.  Jason Statham