#they did not state any restrictions on her powers

[bogslob]

Okay but why did they never have Alison rumour an apocalypse out of existence

[sugar-grigri]

Pochita, if you can read, why don't you speak ?

Wouldn't it be humane to protect humanity and demonic to protect the underworld? And what if... it was actually the other way around.

The interweaving of questions and answers is exactly what this chapter does.

While Yoru sordidly states that children are nothing more than the property of their parents, the one who can't speak, instead of devouring a human as he did with all those demons, decides to go to the blood drive.

Pochita understood what the sign meant. He knows how to talk. But he'd rather hold up that sign and roar than make any demands.

Worse still, he does not decide to give any orders.

It's not words that symbolise order, it's that raised index finger that already in Roman times expressed command.

In the United States, arms are a constitutional right (as recently reiterated by the Supreme Court, which does not admit of any restrictions), a fundamental freedom but also a means of preserving one's freedom, allowing organised militias to fight and protect the State.

You can see how it's all a construction, the weapons are a technological creation, the State is an administrative and political creation.

And that's where things get interesting. First of all, this chapter is highly symbolic and has a very strong political message (oh my god, political interpretation in a manga, impossible..........)

Yoru has sliced off the index fingers of those who support the right to bear arms in the United States. Or campaign for that freedom. But what Yoru is doing. In fact, it's taking it away from them. How can I shoot without this index finger? You can't do it.

It's by taking weapons away from men that they actually regain their freedom.

But it goes even further than that. Why does Yoru sacrifice these fingers? Because it reinforces the fear of weapons. Let's say I point a gun at you (sorry). You'd be less scared if you were as armed as I am. Especially when you're trained, know how to defend yourself and aren't afraid to shoot.

Yoru makes those who thought they were invincible with weapons vulnerable. She strengthens the Gun Devil's power. She contracts with them through her sacrificed child.

Weapons,

freedom,

deprivation of childhood,

of loved ones,

obsession with a mentor,

To think that a god created them.

Remind you of anyone?

Infanticide is what makes you immortal.

The sacrificed demons become weapons, lost between humanity and the demons. Not being human, nor demon, because they have no parents. Even artificial weapons like Reze and Katana display these characteristics. Isn't loneliness one of the ingredients?

Humanity sacrifices its children. As Fujimoto confirmed, they were prepared to do it for eternal youth.

And now you're going to say to me. NOOOO! Yoru too! Just as Makima wouldn't hesitate to do. The demons are also ready to do it.

Yes, because they are influenced by men.

Yoru speaks, uniting with humanity to say horrible things. Whereas Pochita doesn't speak. Worse still, he has chosen not to speak. Worst of the worst, even worse. He'd rather be a dog than a human. That's his choice.

Pochita fights for those he loves, he doesn't sacrifice them.

The demon of birth, it swallows but can spit out. Suspending existence, giving it new life, denying none of it.

Wasn't Makima devoured by Denji proof of this?

Nayuta is the symbol of this rebirth. A perpetual love that surpasses hate.

Pochita loves demons. He also loves those who mean something to him, like Denji. But he also knows that when we become too human, we can end up sacrificing ourselves out of vanity rather than love.

Pochita has sacrificed himself for love, without expecting anything in return as he waits permanently for Denji's dreams.

He is also Denji's lock, preventing him from fully adapting to men.

That's why killing Black CSM was Denji's wish come true. Because Pochita is preventing Denji from becoming normal.

Because he wants to protect him from humanity. Pochita has never been for humanity.

He is simply the guardian of the underworld, all those demons whose existence he guards, a supreme mother. Humanity must endure in order to continue to be afraid. But if humanity is prepared to overcome the ultimate fear of losing its child, then fear is scorned.

So Pochita tried to wipe out the weapons' existence, to devour them. But they still existed. Why? Because they are already the result of infanticide.

being devoured by the demon of birth, mother of the underworld, actually reinforces their existence.

Being devoured by their mother is the reason for their nature.

Whereas weapons are beings born because their mother has killed them.

Denji is the result of the death of the Supreme Mother.

It's not a weapon.

He's a wall.

Hero of the underworld.

A hero of the underworld who has been fighting from the start for the victory of love, sacrificing himself for those he loves and not sacrificing them. So he asks for blood.

And I'm sorry. If weapons really are born like that, they have to look human, and I think this is the last possessed human.

Someone's been ringing the doorbell.....for 100 chapters… it's time to answer it, isn't it?

[impactedfates]

"You were...everything" - Archons + Wanderer x GN! Reader

★ Summary: Your immortal lover was a wonderful experience...and you were everything to them (i.e - immortal characters reaction to you dying)

☆ Characters Included (Separate): Venti, Zhongli, Ei/Raiden Ei, Furina + Scaramouche/Wanderer

★ Genre/Trope: Hurt/No Comfort (I tried anyways)

☆ Warnings: Major Character Death (You)

★ Extra: Some may know the audio, others may not. But I think it's angsty so here you go // Furina might be OOC as I haven't actually done the Fontaine story quest yet

As the anemo archon, Venti cared deeply about freedom. And he also cared deeply about you. He was a great boyfriend and was never that protective of you, he always believed you deserve to have freedom, not to be tied down by any restrictions.

But maybe he should've trusted his gut when you went away on one of your adventures, he always sent the wind to protect you and it would always bring you back into his arms. But when the wind could only return the sound of silence when you were meant to come back. He grew worried.

One day, a knock on his door came and he went to check. Jean stood there and looked at Venti before slightly bowing to him, she didn't need to utter a word. He knew what was going on.

You were gone.

Gone due to an accident. Gone because you wanted to protect others but that only got yourself killed.

After that day, after your funeral not many saw him. For days on end, when he did show his face though. He had a smile, continued on with his life as if nothing happened.

But people around him, even people who didn't know him well enough. Could see with each passing day, that this mask he put on would soon fall. He wouldn't be able to act like he got over your death, he never will.

But at least you had freedom right? Wherever you were. He just wished it was with him.

Zhongli was used to seeing people close to him come and go. He knew eventually you'll leave him too as many others did before. He knew he'd likely outlive you, so he wanted to make sure he spent as much time with you as possible. Telling you he loved you and making sure you felt loved.

He never wanted for you to be stripped away from him, and you promised you wouldn't. You two made a contract. A contract that stated you'll be with him for as long as you could, because even you knew he'd outlive you. A contract where he vowed to protect you.

You two truly loved each other, it's a shame he couldn't save you that day. The day where your contract with him ended. Too soon for the ex-archons' liking. He should've been the one to take the hit, he would've been just fine. But you cared about him too much to even see him hurt.

And all he could do was finish the treasure hoarders off before carrying you and running as fast as he could to a doctor. He wanted to believe you'll be okay, he just needed to get there faster, get your wounds treated.

But he knew deep down that no matter how much he hoped, the feeling of your body growing cold against his arms was enough to tell him he was too late.

He had lost you.

But what did he expect? He knew himself loving a mortal would be dangerous, he knew loving a mortal would mean he would eventually lose them.

Yet when he met you, he couldn't help but fall in love.

He was silent at your funeral, silent after that day. No amount of Hu Taos attempts at lightening his mood would work. Nor would anyone's attempts.

He had lost someone he had sworn to protect, and he couldn't even do that.

Eternity.

That's how long Ei wanted to be with you. For all of eternity, for as long as she's able to hold you in her arms, for as long as your mortal life would let her.

She never wanted to let you go. For you to go. She's already lost so many people she cared about. You couldn't be one of them. She didn't want you too. She did everything in her power to protect you.

But that didn't stop her finding your motionless body on the ground.

She knew she didn't have the best reputation after the Vision Hunt Decree. She knew people would be mad at her. She knew people may want revenge against her.

But why did you have to be the one hurt? You did nothing. You did nothing but love her and help her settle back in the life she once abandoned. You were so dear to her heart, you were so kind to her.

You didn't deserve the fate you received.

She never went to your funeral, only hearing from Yae Miko about how it went. The kitsune saw the look on Ei's face and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"They wouldn't like if you went back into isolation you know"

The archon knew that, and she wouldn't want to make you upset. Even if she couldn't see you, she knew that wherever you were, you wouldn't like it. She even promised to you she wouldn't.

She continued on ruling over Inazuma. Things were at ease, the culprits responsible for your death were punished. People were starting to warm up to her, though her actions were never forgotten.

And just as she wanted to, she'll be with you for all of eternity. Even if that was merely by your grave.

Furina always worried if she was a good archon, if she made her people happy despite how she may act around them. She knew she likely could never fully replace the past archon but she wanted to be liked.

Furina also worried if she was a good partner to you, yet despite how she may act to mask her insecurities. You stayed with her. You made her feel more confident in herself. She's truly so grateful for you. She never wanted you to disappear.

But you did.

The trail had to be rigged. It just had too. You weren't a criminal. But all odds pointed to you. But she knew you weren't the culprit for the crime.

It wasn't like you.

You wouldn't have done that.

You were with her that day.

She wanted to speak out, she had too. But her mouth went dry, no words could come out as you were taken away, to be detained. To be placed somewhere until the set day of your death.

And she could only watch silently as it all happened.

After that day, after the one she loved so dearly, the one who loved her despite her flaws was gone from her life. She was never the same. No one saw her act as she did before. She only sat in her seat silently as trails went on.

People of Fontaine, even the ones who weren't too satisfied with her. Was worried for her, of how she was going to be. If she was going to be okay.

But she won't be.

She had failed her nation. She had failed you.

"Get up!"

"Getupgetupgetup, GET UP."

Those were the only words that Wanderer could think to yell at you. He shook you, pinched you. Anything, just anything to wake you up. You were just asleep right?

Yeah, just asleep. Just taking a peaceful nap. Sure, your eyes showed nothing but it being unfocused.

But you were just daydreaming like you always do right?

Sure your body had become cold.

But that's just how your temperature is right?

You're not dead. You can't be dead. You told him you wouldn't betray him. Then why weren't you waking up? Stop messing with him. It isn't funny. It's not funny.

Please, just let him see your smile again. Just once.

.

.

. Please?

Nahida slowly came behind him and patted his back, trying her best to reassure him. Wanderer could only continue looking into your eyes as they slowly lost their light. His shakes to your body slowed down as he finally and quietly let out a faint sob.

You were the only one able to fully break down his walls, to fully see him for who he is. You didn't mind his words, you loved him. He loved you. People were thankful you two were together as the words that would leave the puppets mouth became much less harsh.

After the day you left him, betrayed him in his eyes. He got back to his usual self before he met you. He became much harsher though, to the point Nahida advised him to take a few days off. Just being alone. Just to cool down. It wouldn't be fair for others to be victim to his harsh words just because of how upset he was with what happened.

He wanted to hate you, he wanted to despise you for breaking your promise about not leaving him, he wanted to ignore you because you betrayed him like many others did before...but he loved you.

But he no longer could have you.

Teehee. I only based Furina on what I think she's like, I gotta stop procrastinating and actually start the quest fweooif (please don't spoil!!)

Also I am aware that archons can exactly die, however I'm pretty sure they can't from old age. So if all goes well, they can live for awhileeee.

Anyways! I hope you liked it :>> I might make a pt 2 with different characters if this gets enough attention.

Thanks for reading!!

[xoxochb]

— the perfect universe

warnings: pre marriage, angst with tons of fluff pairing: apollo x daughter of aphrodite and ares a/n: do ya’ll know that one scene in young sheldon when mary was losing her faith because that one girl died and then sheldon sits on the porch swing with her and he’s like “there’s (something) billion people on the earth what are the odds that you’re the perfect mom for me?” or something like that well I’m rewatching the show right now and I wanted to write something using that quote so here we are sorry for yapping hope you enjoy this 🫶🏼

back, forth, back, and forth, and back again. the silence of the slight breeze and your silky nightdress brushing against the stairs is all that fills your ears. the sun god’s hands rub over your knuckles slowly, taking his time going over each one as to keep you aware of his comfort. you close your eyes and take in a deep breath, letting it out as slow as humanly possible. you restrict the tears brewing in your eyes from streaming down your cheeks. a large pit had formed in your stomach when you had awoken this morning, throughout the entirety of the day it hadn’t left your body. the thoughts, the voices, scolding you for every stupid decision you make. “he’s going to leave you” “you’re going to end up alone” “what kind of god would settle down with an idiotic goddess like you?” “what speciality to you have?”

you couldn’t physically or mentally understand why these voices took up your mind. but what if he did hate you? what if he thought you had gotten hideous since your first meeting? what if he had already met another women more beautiful than you?

breathe. in, and out, he’s here, he loves you, it’s okay

“look at me, darling”

you open your eyes as soon as the sound waves travel to your ears, turning to apollo, meeting his golden eyes as asked. he cups your cheek with his free hand and pulls your head to rest over his chest, placing a kiss to your hair. he rests that same hand on your back and rubs up and down with the patterns of your breath

at last, he speaks again, “did you know if the universe was slightly more powerful the world would collapse?”

you take in his statement. since when was the god of the sun interested in outer space? you shake your head regardlesss

“and did you know if it was slightly less powerful the earth would fly away?”

you furrow your brows and lift your head up from his chest. “where are you going with this?”

“well gravity is exactly where it’s supposed to be. any less or any more and earth would cease to exist. what are the odds of that?”

“get to the point, please” you whisper and roll your teary eyes

“there’s eight billion people on this earth and you’re the perfect lover for me. what are the odds of that?”

your lips quiver, and for only a quick second you can hold back tears before your eyes deceive you and you let out an uncontrollable sob, returning your head back to its spot on his chest. you clutch at the fabric of his clothes, and release wherever water was left in your body until you had finally calmed down, every breath still shaky as you return to a normal state. you sigh and lift your head again to find the god already looking over at you

you sigh before speaking, “I don’t know why you’re so persistent to prove you love me when any other god would have moved on by now”

“the other gods haven’t been granted with the ability to know what it’s like to be in love. real love”

“you can’t love me. you of all gods”

“listen, my love” he removes both hands from around you and cups your face between them, kissing each tear that drops “if I have to bind my soul to the river styx to prove to you I will never love another woman for the rest of my life then so be it”

“you’re immortal, you’re bound to find-”

“darling, as much as I love nothing more than listening to your voice, I loathe when you use it to speak such nonsense”

“will you do it? bind your soul?”

“I would do it whether or not you trusted I’ll never love anyone else”

a shaky breath escapes your mouth. you accept his statement, aware he’s entirely telling the truth about doing what he pleases to make you happy regardless of how you feel it may harm him. slowly, but surely eventually— your lips both meet in the middle, to a kiss that would say more than words ever could (actions do speak louder than words as the mortals say). and the next morning, a vow and a binding would be made to cement tonight’s words

[shiny-holographic-star]

LILITH (H13) OBSERVATIONS PT 2

Part 1

⚠️ Attention: I'm describing two very specific cases of women with Libra Lilith who cheated, and that DOES NOT mean that every woman with that or any other placement mentioned in this post are cheaters.

Remember the previous Lilith obs post? The two Virgo Lilith guys who one was cheated on and the other one was the second guy in another relationship? Well, both girls involved had Libra Lilith.

The ‘mean’ girl of my class who cheated on her bf (as stated before) and had a very toxic relationship with him, has Lilith conjunct Venus in her natal chart.

They had her Lilith opposing his Saturn at 1°, maybe she found him restricting or controlling. His Saturn was also opposing her Venus at 0°, she could have felt he couldn't love her the way she wanted, that he was cold or didn't show enough appreciation for her.

She has her Lilith in a Leo degree, so it's very possible she violated societal norms -cheated- in order to get what she wanted (Lilith), which was attention and appreciation (Leo).

About the other girl who cheated on her bf with the Virgo Lilith guy: she has her Libra Lilith sextile his Venus and Mars at 1°. She found him attractive and wanted to have something casual with him, that's all. He played hard to get but ended up falling harder than she did.

It's interesting that she had Lilith in a Capricorn degree (22°) because she proposed the affair almost as if she was offering a work deal. Very “I want this, you have it. I'll give you this in exchange. We'll both get what we want and be satisfied.” She also said very clearly that she only wanted something casual, but he really thought she would leave her bf for him and got offended when she broke up their relationship.

Plus, I'd like to add that when they broke up, our classmates, who were very well aware of their relationship, chose his side and treated her like an evil and heartless person not because she cheated but because she broke up with and hurt the second guy's feelings… Like especially his girl friends really villainized her (Lilith topic) even when they had cheered on their affair while being aware she had a bf.

Also, I think it's worth noting that before they started their affair, he really had played hard to get by jokingly putting her down. He acted as if he had her around his finger, simping for him like a lovesick girl when she actually had a pretty cool head and just knew what she wanted and communicated it without filters.

He might have loved feeling more powerful (Mars) than her (Lilith). He even might have felt that she loved him more than he loved her (Venus/Lilith), and he resented her when he realized she had always been in control, he had always been dancing on her hand. He must have felt humiliated, knowing how men are.

Checking more on their synastry, he has Chiron square her Fama asteroid (408). This might mean he will alway remember her as someone who hurt him.

[hbpseverus]

For the past day somebody has been in my TikTok comments arguing about Snapes Worst Memory and the definition of SA (mind you, under a post that was entirely unrelated to the topic!) and their replies are just... insane? I'm going to block this person and I would hope they are simply quite young and very biased towards their favorite character (being James), but I thought I'd share some of my... highlights here. For amusement but also for further discussion since TikTok replies are too restrictive for proper analysis. Obvious trigger warning for discussion of SA ahead.

- Let's start with this topic of pantsing. I do not think this term is appropriate for what happens in SWM because that scene goes beyond the usual understanding of what 'pantsing' is. Severus was simultaneously being choked and magically restrained upside down in the air in a position where he could not defend himself or simply pull down his trousers/robes again. Imagine a boy and his friends restraining a girl in the schoolyard, exposing her underwear for everyone to see and collectively laughing at her. Or a stranger pulling down a womans skirt on the train, for example. Surely both of these cases would be considered SA, right? These women could undoubtedly go to the police with this. So why is it different when it happens to Severus? To me it feels like it boils down to the 'boys will be boys' mindset. When a boy does this to a girl we all agree that it's SA, but when a boy does the same thing to a fellow boy it is 'not that deep' and just a prank. And this exact mindset is a serious issue, with male victims not being taken seriously, especially by fellow men.

- Well... this last reply I thought was absolutely insane so I'll let it speak for itself lol. Fact is, whatever James' intention, the act of exposing someones underwear and especially genitals against their will is always inherently sexual. For obvious reasons, this can not be compared to a parent changing their childs diaper.

- They then dropped this definition at some point. What bothers me the most about this is especially the second part. The intent of SA, even rape, is never truly simple sexual arousal or gratification. It is first and foremost about abusing power. James saw Severus as a love rival when it came to Lily. He did not threaten to undress Severus to gain sexual satisfaction, but to humiliate him and therefore gain power over him. That does not mean it was not SA. The attackers intention matters little to the victim. There are of course also so many forms of sexual assault that do not include physical touch, it can even happen online.

- Finally they tried to argue that James did not threaten to remove Severus' underwear at all, stating that 'pants' refers to trousers, not underwear. Now I am not a native english speaker, but it should be obvious to any literate person who reads the chapter that this cannot be the case. It is described that, as Severus is lifted upside down into the air, his robes fall over his head, immediately revealing his bare legs and underwear with no mention of trousers, followed by other characters explicitly seeing and mocking his underwear. He clearly was not wearing any trousers under his robes. I also argued that it was translated into 'underwear', not 'trousers', which they did not want to hear because JKR did not translate it herself. The movies can not be used as an accurate source here. The source material are the books. The movie was not written by JKR either. The movie scene as a whole was changed drastically. The movie could also most likely not display the full original scene as it's target audience were children and it would be considered too graphic. They then used quotes about other characters wearing trousers as 'proof' that Severus also had to have worn trousers under his robes. Do with that what you want. What I will say is that this conversation often shifts towards victim blaming, i.e. 'it is Snapes fault for not wearing trousers under his robes!'. I don't need to explain how dangerous and morally horrible this is.

Well. Honestly being a Snape stan can be exhauating sometimes. I'm honestly getting real tired of having this conversation so often, but as long as I wake up to my comments blowing up with people arguing about the fucking definition of SA I will keep talking about it because this clearly goes beyond simple arguments over fictional characters.

[whateversawesome]

SxF Chapter 91: Perspective, History, Empathy

Let me start by saying that I didn't think this chapter would make me so emotional. Was it the same for you?

A small side character like Millie, who we saw only as one of Yor's annoying co-workers, turned out to have a very sad backstory and gave us a glimpse of how things are for young people in Ostania.

This chapter talks a lot about people understanding and misunderstanding each other. Millie was just talking about her own experience and feelings, she was explaining why it was so difficult for her to help during an event like this, and that lady felt personally attacked because she saw things from her own point of view and her sufferings.

In no way the story discards any of those ladies' sufferings; what they went through during the war was very difficult, I'm sure. Nevertheless, comparing their sufferings and demanding Millie to act the same way just because they were able to do it, it's not right.

They both had different experiences because their circumstances were different, so they face life in their own way. That's exactly Yor's point.

Here, Yor demonstrates her best quality (and one of the many reasons why her husband fell in love with her): Emotional strength.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Yor is a very emotionally intelligent character. The way she stood up for Millie displayed all her emotional strength. She called out that woman in such a smart way!! She wasn't rude but her words were true and very wise.

One of the most important things Yor mentions is that we cannot bear the same load because we're different. And I couldn't agree more👏

Also, if we take it as a metaphor, Yor is such a strong person because she carried a very heavy load: as a child and an orphan, she had to take care of her brother. Because of this, a naturally kind person like her had to learn to murder in order to survive.

It was a beautiful chapter. On top of everything, we learned a few important things:

1.Yor did lose her parents during the war and because of the war.

2.Donovan Desmond did NOT start the war. But plenty of young people like Millie don't know that, so it's possible that since he was Prime Minister during most of the war, he gets blamed for starting it.

3.Donovan Desmond is hated by many. That's probably the reason why he's no longer in office. And it also wouldn't be surprising that the majority of people in Ostania who voted against him want to move on from the war.

3.Melinda still wears her wedding ring and, even though she's separated from her husband, she still counts him as an important person for her. I guess, you can hate a person's actions and opinions, hate what they have become, but care about them at the same time...their marriage is complicated.

4.Not only Yor and Twilight fear the SSS because of their jobs. The general population do too because they know rich and powerful people can make them disappear regardless whether they are spies or not. That means arrests and disappearences of innocent people are common.

5.There was a repression during war time. This means the state controls and restricts certain rights of its citizens. When war happens, the state may determine it's necessary to protect their country and citizens. Chances are that policing of others started then and Ostanians got used to living like that.

And now some questions:

Was Melinda being sincere? In my opinion yes (for the most part). Melinda is no longer campaigning for her husband. In fact, she's going there incognito. Since her husband is no longer the Prime Minister and they don't have any elections to win, she doesn't have to support this types of events. If you think about it, once a politician retires from the public eye, their spouse generally goes back to their normal life.

Something that caught my attention was that it was mentioned Melinda has a lot of enemies; probably because her husband has a lot of enemies too. If that's the case, it would be easier for Melinda to move abroad, where she could have a care-free life, yet, she has chosen to stay in Ostania. Why?

Melinda is still a very mysterious character. We don't know her plans or intentions. We don't know why she separated from her husband. My only guess is that she's suffered a great deal and that's why she's able to empathize with Millie, even though their experiences are different.

What do you think?

Bonus (to end on a light note):

This is the Sxf when we see Yor 😄

[292pantone]

Okay! Time for some Glass Onion analysis bc I'm already obsessed with this movie.

GLASS ONION SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

I've seen people saying that it was unnecessary for the movie Glass Onion to be set in May 2020 during the height of the pandemic, and that it took away from the movie, but I disagree. The specific setting is relevant because of all the movie's subtext about the Black Lives Matter movement and its resurgence in May 2020. Hear me out- there are several parallels between Andi's death/Helen's avenging her death by wrecking the mansion, and the riots in 2020 following the unjust deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others.

To begin with, there's the power dynamic between Andi and Miles. A mediocre, unexceptional white man stole the contributions of a brilliant black woman and got away with it because his influential friends closed ranks around him in a system designed to benefit him. He got the benefit of the doubt and weaponized the legal system to financially ruin her. Even though she was telling the truth, no one believed her, and Miles fully expected this pattern to continue once her sister Helen took up the cause.

Miles burns the incriminating evidence of his lies and flat-out tells Helen that no one will ever believe her with only circumstantial evidence. Even Benoit Blanc acknowledges that his skill as a detective can only go so far without the police and courts on his side.

In the case of police brutality, cops similarly weaponize the legal system and avoid accountability for their murders by closing ranks through police unions that invoke "qualified immunity" (aka shielding the cops from legal liability). The privilege of white men, compounded by their wealth and connections, makes it difficult for them to face actual consequences for the harm they do.

We see the concept of avoiding consequences again with Miles' crew of "disruptors", all of whom rely on his money to bail them out of trouble. Birdie was implied to have done blackface, made tone-deaf comments comparing herself to Harriet Tubman, completely ignored all COVID restrictions, and tweeted ethnic slurs to the point where her assistant had to take away her phone, but her line of loungewear still takes off thanks to Miles' financial backing. In response to the latest scandal, personal assistant Peg says "We will do what we always do! Deny, half-apologize, then go silent awhile." Despite her litany of offenses and half-assed attempts at accountability, no consequences stick to the privileged Birdie either.

However, Helen refuses to accept this unfair state of things. In a situation where she appears powerless, with her sister gone and the valuable napkin burned, Helen essentially goes "fuck that" and makes Miles pay for what he did anyway. If the law won't take her side, she has to take it into her own hands. This is where the parallels to the 2020 riots come in.

We see her smashing the symbols of Miles' wealth, starting with his glass sculptures, and at first the other characters don't mind. They cheer her on from the couches, even though they all just refused to testify for her in court. This parallels the performative activism seen in many celebrities, who would rather watch from the sidelines and say vaguely supportive things rather than do any meaningful action to change the system. The other guests are happy to break the glass sculptures alongside her, saying how cathartic it feels, but they get antsy when she moves on to breaking more valuable things instead of giving up after a short while like they did. The camera shots of Helen smashing things and lighting a fire linger uncomfortably long as it starts to sink in that this isn't just a momentary temper tantrum. The so-called "disruptors" wince and gasp and exclaim how a piano belonged to Liberace and so on, completely ignoring how THE DESTRUCTION IS THE POINT, because if Helen only broke safe, acceptable targets, then it wouldn't actually mean anything. Similarly, when people rioted in 2020, there was a huge amount of pearl-clutching by people saying rioting is going too far, and can't we all just be nonviolent and have unity and forgive each other? In both cases, there's a veneer of support from people who just want the victims of injustice to "get their anger out of their systems" and move on without any serious changes being made.

I find it very fitting that Helen burns the Mona Lisa with Miles' own unregulated hydrogen fuel cell, using the override switch that he carelessly installed. She exploits the natural consequences of his self-centeredness so they all catch up to him at once. In the end, Helen's acts of protest do disrupt things and lead to change, even as people tell her she is going too far. Once Helen does the actual work of tanking Miles' reputation for good, only then do the "disruptors" jump ship and promise to back her up in court. They're willing to take the side of justice only when things have shifted to the point where it's the better act of self-preservation. If there was any chance of still hanging onto Miles' golden titty and making his reputation their hill to die on, they would've done it.

Blanc, the protagonist of the movie, gives Helen tacit permission to burn everything down by handing her the chunk of hydrogen fuel. He stands by her the whole movie and takes her seriously, demonstrating a path to better (non-performative) allyship.

Glass Onion shows that lasting change has to be demanded, not wheedled, and that sometimes things have to reach an undeniable crisis point to do so. In other words: protest is necessary.

[13thdoctorposts]

At some point 13 fans needs to actually put the numbers to paper on the era's audience numbers, because my recollection is that they're perfectly on par and at times even better than Capaldi's and several of the latest specials. I'm tired of haters whining about 'everyone hated it' when they mean misogynists targeted it and boycotted it from the very instance of a rumour that 13 would be a woman.

Peter Nolan from Blogtor Who did a post on the numbers after the airing of Power of the Doctor, in one section of the post he compares the Whittaker and Capaldi eras…

“It’s remarkable then, that the Whittaker era of Doctor Who is overall on course not only to retain the audience it was given, but actually very slightly grow it. The average Thirteenth Doctor was watched by 4.67m viewers, up 0.12m (2.6%) on the 4.55m average of the Twelfth Doctor. It’s median viewing figure of 4.21m, meanwhile, is 0.34m (7.4%) lower than Capaldi’s, representing the boost Whittaker’s average is given by the large audiences for her first series. But overall, we haven’t seen Doctor Who just do a respectable job all things considered. Rather, it actually got ratings that would be good a decade ago.”

You can check out the whole article here https://www.blogtorwho.com/doctor-who-power-of-the-doctor-viewing-figures/?amp=1

As you can see the Whittier era did quite well especially when considering it had to fight to get through the Pandemic, which people seem to like to act like isn’t a big deal with their revisionist history of how difficult that time actually was. Not only were millions dying and getting sick, people were losing their jobs and lock downs were keeping people at home and a number of parents learnt how hard it was to home school your child even with a teacher on zoom, some while also having to work full time at home. This isn’t to mention the ridiculous amount of restrictions on how they could make the show and keep everyone safe. Sadly they also just didn’t have budget, it was why they needed Disney to come in. In the Who Corner to Corner podcast Chibs talks about how he wanted to do a new years special after Flux but was told there was no budget and he couldn’t do it but he wanted there to be a new year special so he ask if he used monster from the cupboard (a couple daleks they had sitting there) a warehouse and only 2 guest stars could he do it and they still told him they didn’t think so but he told them they were doing it and then we got Eve of the Daleks, one of my fav episodes of the run.

This goes to show the show was struggling to afford to make episodes it had no real money for marketing. If series 12 and Flux got the marketing series 11 did of course we would have seen even bigger numbers but Chibs stated in his Radio Free Skaro podcast from Gally One in 2023 that the only marketing budget they had after series 11 was marketing that could be done on the BBC that’s extremely limiting. They also didn’t have a brand manager unlike all previous eras. If you can afford a brand manager you’re not going to choose to not have one and having one probably would have also help quite a bit.

It’s not 2008 anymore, even Tennent couldn’t pull his 2008 numbers and that was with the big Disney budget to make the show and market the show, and they had a year to market the show and the most well known Doctor, so considering that vs what Chibs had to work with the Whittaker era is a solid era of Doctor Who. It just came at a time when the Budget was struggling, and the TV landscape was changing along with a campaign to try and destroy it before it began simply because they chose a Woman to be the Doctor, as demonstrated by the fact the BBC had to release a press statement backing Whittakers casting and the change to a Female Doctor. And that did have a snow ball effect of people picking everything apart to an insane level they do not do with any of the episodes from the male Doctors episodes a lot of which could be seen as far more problematic.

All this to say could the numbers had been better? Yes, if they had budget to market the show the way it needs to be marketed in a landscape with a million competing shows on far more streaming services than there were regular channels back in the day. But did the show do well with the limited resources it had. Also Yes.

[ophthalmotropy]

what's happening in argentina?

I don't fault you for the broad question because I'd ask too, but I need you to know that as a non-smoker I've never felt so strongly the need for a cigarette as I did just now thinking about answering this question. But I'll do my best.

In November of last year, the country elected Javier Milei as president. He would swear into office the next month. Javier Milei is a self-identified anarcho-capitalist and libertarian, although he states he is a minarchist in the short term (meaning he thinks the only functions the State should serve are those of law enforcement: no public education, social development, market regulations, etc etc). Some of his most controversial campaign statements included projects to legalise the free and unregulated sale of organs, and, along with his vice-president Victoria Villarruel (who in her youth organised visits to Jorge Rafael Videla in prison), apologia for the 1976 military dictatorship by revindicating the theory of the two demons (fair warning that from what I skimmed that article is biased in favour of the theory) and casting into doubt the estimated 30.000 victims of state terrorism (torture, disappearance followed by death) (also warning that that article uses the name the military junta gave this process) during its duration.

Since he took over six months ago, the population's purchasing power has dropped by 38%, plunging millions of people below the line of poverty. In stark contrast to this, Milei has been travelling around the world using public funds to visit his ultraright idols; most notably, Trump, who is not the political leader of any country at the moment (making his trip to see him a personal visit and not a diplomatic one, thus invalidating his arguments for using our money to go there).

On the subject of diplomacy, his government has been swinging quite a lot of bats at hornets' nests, accusing China and Brazil of communism and insulting the wife of the president of Spain. All of this is an international relations nightmare that will take endless apologies to undo.

Another interesting resolution deregulates the operations of foreign companies, SPVs, and offshore companies (article in Spanish), with the stated goal of attracting investments. Those types of companies have historically been used to conceal illicit activity, so resolutions in that vein pave the way to effectively turn Argentina into a fiscal paradise. This isn't the only problem they pose (offshore companies don't pay taxes, so there'd be a loss in the public sector, for example), but it is the most worrying to me because they also eliminated restrictions for Sociedades de Acciones Simplificadas (simplified stock companies), most of which have historically been used to commit crimes among which is the drug trade. Once you have narcos in your country, there's no taking it back--Argentina would be at real risk of ceasing to exist as we know it.

This administration is also slashing public spending, resulting in some universities suspending their activities temporarily. They also failed to deliver oncological medicine, depriving cancer patients of assistance the state is obligated to provide. As a result of this, several people have died already. In this climate of extreme poverty, soup kitchens have been shutting down en masse due to the withdrawal of state funding, and laws that protected tenants' rights and regulated rent prices have been severely modified to the detriment of the tenants.

The violent decrease in public spending also resulted in thousands of state workers being fired overnight. The attack is especially centred on state organisations that promote the arts or whose purpose is to fight discrimination. On this subject, 10% of the transgender and travesti workers who had their positions guaranteed by the law were fired illegally, and government members are outspoken about their opposition to this law--which isn't surprising. Diana Mondino, the current chancellor, has compared same-sex marriage to "the right to having lice" while she held a position in Congress. Ricardo Bussi, a current legislator, compared homosexuality to disability in October 2023. Coming to this year, Francisco Sánchez, the Secretary of Religion, said that the laws protecting the right to abortions, divorce, and same-sex marriage "seek to pervert our children and damage society". Milei is also on record describing abortion as "homicide aggravated by the bond".

Also recently, Milei's biographer, Nicolás Márquez, gave a one-hour interview in which he characterised homosexuality as a disease, claiming that when the State "promotes homosexuality" (as it allegedly did before Milei came to power), it is aiding a "self-destructive" conduct, supporting these claims with unfounded statistics about the correlation between STIs and homosexuality; he also denied the existence of homophobia and described lesbians and gays as being "against nature". For the sake of full disclosure, I will say he explicitly freed Milei and his government of responsibility for his declarations--but I think it's really important to point out the kind of people and rhetorics this government is giving a platform to; after all, nobody knew Nicolás Márquez before he started writing for Milei. In approximately the same time frame, and in response to a horrific hate crime that resulted in the death of three lesbians, Manuel Adorni, the presidential spokesman, said that he "doesn't like" to talk about a hate crime because men suffer violence too--and he said this in a press conference.

I'm probably forgetting something important--so much has happened in the past months--but I hope this is enough to give you an impression of the changes our society is undergoing. Please let me know if you have follow-up questions. <3

[sweet-little-tank-top-number]

Ok so, logically I know that Stargate SG-1 is episodic television that has to return to some semblance of status quo at the end of each episode. Therefore, physical injuries are always resolved before the top of the next episode, with no lasting ramifications unless they are relevant to the plot. Hand waved because the show format demands it.

So… I’ve got a little personal headcanon about it: I think Sam regularly uses the goa’uld healing device.

The healing device belonged to Kendra on Cimmeria and SG-1 obtains it after her death (and after Sam’s possession by Jolinar) in early season 2. Furthermore, we don’t see Sam actively use it onscreen until she heals Cronus in early season 3. So my little theory doesn’t account for earlier injuries, like Jack’s busted leg in Antarctica.

In any case, it seems silly for them not to use a resource like this.

So I’ve got a few points to this headcanon:

They prioritize study of the hand device first, trying to figure out how it works and if they can replicate it or create a version anyone can use. They can’t. It’s the only one they have unless they find more later.

They might be worried that repeated use might cause a milder form of the madness induced by a sarcophagus.

They’re not sure about the power supply and how much juice the thing has in it, so they don’t know how long it will last.

Due to the Naquadah in her blood after Jolinar, Sam is the only one at the SGC who can use it for quite a while… until Vala comes along, I think.

Sam takes a while to learn how to use it, just like there was a learning curve with her using a kara kesh in season 2. The thing requires Sam to tap into strong emotion/desire to use it and she is someone who keeps a tight lock on her emotions.

According to the tie-in novel, Roswell, it takes quite a lot out of the user, so I imagine Janet would try to restrict usage so that Sam doesn’t do any harm to herself. A goa’uld using one can easily repair their host, but Sam doesn’t have that luxury.

The same novel also mentions that the device can create a mental link, much like the kara kesh did between Sha’re and Daniel in Forever in a Day. I can see Sam being uncomfortable with that aspect of it and reluctant to use it except in the most dire circumstances.

The device can only heal, not bring back the dead.

There also seems to be a limit to the extent of injury it can heal, as evidenced by the failure to heal Daniel after he got irradiated. Or maybe Sam just isn’t skilled enough to handle the catastrophic failure happening in Daniel’s body at the time compared to a bullet wound or staff blast.

All this to say that I think they keep the healing device around and Sam is brought into the infirmary to help from time to time. But they don’t rely on it, and only have her step in to help with injuries that are life-threatening or may result long-term, crippling damage. They just use good old Tau’ri medicine for everything else.

So while Sam does truly enjoy her scientific work in her lab, this headcanon adds another level to her workaholic tendencies. She has an incredible sense of personal responsibility and self-sacrifice, so I think she would feel compelled to stick around the SGC in case they need her. I don’t think she’d forgive herself if someone died in the infirmary when she could have made a difference.

No wonder Jack can never get her to go fishing…

(Wrote up this whole longpost just to justify the shippy scene in my head where Sam uses the healing device to fix the staff wound on Jack’s leg after Netu. Because of her rattled emotional state due to the deep dive into Jolinar’s memories, she sorta fumbles when trying to heal him and inadvertently creates a strong mental link. Both Sam and Jack get a deep look into each others’ vulnerable mental state.)

[mrschristensen]

Kinktober Day 23 (10/23): Marking starring Scott Barringer

Kinktober Masterlist

WARNINGS: spice/smut? (READ AT YOUR OWN RISK), female s/o, dom Scott/sub s/o, marking, making out but not actual sex, s/o's reason for being at Horizon isn't stated, pet names (baby), lmk if I missed any!

synopsis: It's been a wild ride secretly dating at Horizon; however, it doesn't mean that Scott is trying super hard to keep it that way.

-> note: I'm sorry it's so short!

WC: 346 words

If a word was needed to describe how it's been secretly dating at Mount Horizon, it would be exhilarating. The best thing to ever happen, but also the scariest. Constantly trying not to get caught is definitely not the greatest thing in the world.

"Scotty, stop," she breathed out, giggling a bit, using that nickname that pissed him off so much in an attempt to get his attention. They were in the Cliffhangers' dorms, but it was pretty much right out in the open (on purpose obviously, since that's how the counselors wanted it to be). If anyone walked in... they would be facing at least a month on restriction, and Peter doing everything in his power to keep them separated.

He ignored her, continuing his assault on her neck, kissing and sucking and nibbling on the soft flesh. She huffed, and put her hands on his chest to create some distance. "Come on, Scott. You know the rules."

"Since when did we give a shit 'bout the rules?" he questions, leaning in again to kiss under her jaw. "I love you, and if they got a problem with that, they can fuck themselves for all I care."

But she wouldn't give up, continuing to try to reason with him. He eventually gave in, thinking he heard someone coming in, and they both rushed to the bathroom together. He locked their lips in a rough, passionate kiss, and they made out for at least a solid ten minutes.

"Need to make you mine," he growled, biting down on her neck a bit harder than usual, causing her to gasp and leaving a nice bite mark indented with the shape of his teeth.

He smirked at the sight, reveling in his work. "I think it suits you, baby. So pretty."

He then leaned in again, and kept marking up her neck with hickeys and bite marks.

"Scott, they'll find out-"

"Good," he interrupts, moving down to her collarbone and starting there, moving her shirt out of the way. "They need to know who you fucking belong to."

[jeannereames]

hello dr. reames! I've been wondering if you have some sources you can recommend on fashion and clothing in alexander's empire. greek clothing is a little easier to find, and military dress is decently enough documented, but I was wondering if you know of anything that would talk about the clothing in all the different provinces of persia and possibly cover more than nobility/royalty. image search results are a little lacking on this - many are either not described or the credibility is suspect, not to mention the influences of orientalism. do we have any legit documentation? were there any restrictions in who could wear what? how did the servants and working class dress? how different was clothing in the heart of the empire to, say, the easternmost provinces? how did persians influence dress in the greek city-states they ruled? that sort of thing.

Unfortunately, there aren't many recent books on this. Harry Thurston Peck did a lot of things in the late 1800s, and there are some others from the early 1900s, when there seemed to be a boom of interest, and not just in Greece and Rome. Textiles were a thing, but more in an "oriental exotica" way. There are also nationalist sites that sometimes elide when things started, to intentionally push back the advent of certain clothing trends. Some years back, I was told about a billboard in Tehran showing stone carvings from Persepolis of people wearing the face veil, meant to make modern veiling more palatable for women. Problem: the figures they were showing as "women" were actually MEN. Veiling in the ancient world had a different purpose (namely, the expression of power: I can see you but you can't see me). So there's that sort of thing to beware of. As well as just uncareful research. I've also spotted mention of "lemons" in Achaemenid cooking. Er, no. Citrons yes, lemons no.

Probably the best recent book for Greece is Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones's Aphrodite's Tortoise: the Veiled Women of Ancient Greece. But as the title suggests, it's almost exclusively about women. Fun fact, Lloyd was one of Oliver Stone's advisors on Alexander, at least for clothing. So most of what you see there is pretty accurate, except for whatever the hell that was Angelina Jolie wore as Olympias...because (I've been told) she refused to wear what Lloyd told her to wear. 🙄

Anyway, as you mention, military is easier to find. For others reading, I'll link to the Osprey series on military history that often includes illustrations that give some idea of clothing, but it's military specific. My other complaint is that they're a little too inclined to give the suggestion of "uniforms" in a modern sense, although maybe they've improved on that in recent years.

Harvard has a pretty good website (with long bibliography) about ancient Greek weaving, which would, of course, include a little about making clothing. And there's material on daily life--which includes clothing--in various collections of that sort. Robert Garland has a good one I use in class. But again...Greece.

The Getty has a website with pictures of Persian material from their own collection, but I saw nothing there about clothes.

For Persia...yeah, there's not a lot that I know of, alas. Again Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones might be the best name to chase, as he does both clothing and Persia. You could even email him and ask if he can recommend some material--probably going to be in article form. And it might be in German. A fair bit of good research on the ANE is in German. I just don't know what's out there on clothes, specifically. But he's probably the most likely to.

I do recall an article by Olbrycht that includes, inter alia, a discussion of what pieces of Persian royal wear Alexander adopted. But that's obviously royal, and probably not much help.

That's the best help I can offer. I'm sorry!

Perhaps other people know of reputable sources and can either reply with them or repost with them.

[ashisgreedy]

Richard Jackdaw: A Timeline of Events

This is a full detailed breakdown of the lore of Richard Jackdaw in Hogwarts Legacy. By Me

・Richard is a student at Hogwarts and works as an assistant in Mr. Olivander's wand shop in Hogsmeade.

・Richard is trying to court Appolonia Black.

・He sets up a date with her in the Forbidden Forest. He leaves a letter on the bridge asking her on a picnic. It mentions he knows how much she loves a good mystery. (This letter went unanswered and the loot at the romantic spot is an ‘Adventurers Scarf’. This letter is found on the bridge after you get a map, starting the quest "Ghost of our love", showing you where its located. It's believed Appolonia didn't want to follow it or couldn't find it.)

・Anne shows interest in Richard. (not sure when exactly) Appolonia finds out and is not happy about it.

・Richard finds the map Peeve's, the poltergeist, left in his wake of destruction in the library. (Possibly in the restricted section, but he does mention it was "outside" the library in one of his voice records.)

・Richard showed Appolonia the map he found/pinched from Peeves but she rolled her eyes despite him knowing she loves mysteries. She was quoted by Richard saying “What would I want with yellowed old pages torn from a book?”

・Richard realizes Appolonia’s heart has grown cold towards him.

・He decides he will find whatever treasure the map leads to in hopes that will surely intrigue Appolonia.

・Richard sets up a riddle to a puzzle for Anne to solve, inviting her to come with him to the Forbidden Forest and follow the map. He promises her adventure and this excites her.

・Richard steals a family heirloom wand he believes to be powerful from Mr. Olivander's shop, runs off, never to return.

・Anne mentions to someone that Richard invited her to follow the map he found. It was either to Appolonia herself or someone else that ended up telling Appolonia.

・Appolonia is jealous that Richard invited Anne even after she rejected his initial invitation.

・Anne never solves the riddle, thus never solving the puzzle, and doesn’t get to read the letter Richard leaves for her telling her where to meet him in the Forbidden Forrest. Anne was described as "not bright enough" to solve the riddle. (The letter has romantic undertones and states that he is excited to spend his future with her.) 

・When Anne never shows, Richard goes into the cave alone, thinking he was being rejected and not even considering she couldn’t solve the riddle. 

・He forgoes all the treasure chests along the way in order to find the big/interesting treasure he believes to be in the cave at the end of the map. 

・During his time in the cave, he discovers the wand he stole from the Olivanders is just a normal wand and doesn't have any more significant power than his own. 

・As he nears the end of the map, Jackdaw is beheaded by the Pensive Protector's sword, the wand he stole breaking to the point of disrepair.

・Richard is confused after his death and does not have memory of what just happened or where he was. He remembers a ‘refreshing breeze’ and feeling ‘light headed’ and that was the end for him. 

・His headless ghost appears briefly in Hogsmeade, confused and unsure of exactly how he died, losing his body in his confusion. 

・He is seen by several people and news spreads of Richard Jackdaw’s demise. 

・His heart is broken, and he takes off and travels the world for the next 50+ years to try and ease the heartache. 

・When Richard doesn’t return and the tale of his headless ghost being seen in Hogsmeade reaches Appolonia, she decides to take the opportunity and lie, saying Anne told her she would take Richard into a cave and kill him. This is referenced by 3 parties saying she did this due to being jealous of Anne. 

・Because of Appolonia’s family power, the fact that Anne is muggleborn, and that the only clue was the unsolved riddle, her word is believed and Anne is sentenced to Azkaban despite them never finding Richard's body or having any proof. 

・Anne spends the next 50+ years in Azkaban for a murder she never committed. 

・The Auror, Helen Thistlewood, is unable to solve the case and it grows cold. 

・The Auror eventually retires, still dead-set on getting, what she believes to be, an innocent woman out of Azkaban.

・During this time, Anne is able to solve the first riddle Richard gave her before his death. However, she is stuck in Azkaban and unable to follow through to find the next clue.

・According to the Black Family’s house elf, Scrope: In her old age, Appolonia was delirious. She mistook Belladonna for Elderberries and passed away.

・MC is sent to find the pages since they are part of the book that opens the Map chamber, beginning our Ancient magic trials. 

・We are given the answer to the riddle from Anne in the Hufflepuff questline and we solve the puzzle in Upper Hogs Field. 

・MC is the first to find Jackdaw's remains but does not recover them. 

・At some point, Richard joins The Headless Hunt and goes through a serries of 'paces' to be intiated in as their newest member.

・Richard does not know the story of how Appolonia lied and sent Anne to Azkaban. He thinks Anne is out living her best life.

・In the Hufflepuff playthrough, he learns the truth and says he will speak with the Auror that was working on Anne's case to help absolve her. Over time, his memories come back as to how he died. Even most recently when he takes us through the Forbidden Forest and guides us to the cave.

・He is not shocked Appolonia would do such a thing to Anne and mentions that the whole of the Black family is full of vindictive people.

・Unfortunately, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor's playthroughs do not delve into Anne’s side and Richard is left in the dark about Anne, leaving her in Azkaban for the foreseeable future. 

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

If you would like to watch this quest line, I have created two videos below that show the entire quest line from all four houses. The 1st video is the long version and is very detailed. The 2nd video is a short supercut version and has information about Jackdaw and his lore only.

Long Detailed Version - Every House - Jackdaw Quest Line

Short Version - Every House - Jackdaw Quest Line

Feel free to correct any information given. I appreciate any feedback and would love to delve more into theories with you!

[specialagentlokitty]

Saul silva x reader - in the eyes of a god

Part 2:

Saul kept his eye o it for you during the entirety of the training session, but you weren’t anywhere to be found.

He wasn’t sure what you were, if what you said was true or not, so when training came to an end he headed to the library.

Alfea wasn’t exactly short of books, especially books based of its history and similar themes, so there was no doubt in his mind there would’ve been something.

He decided to look for books on family insignias, no doubt that’s what was engraved into your wrist brace, so it would be easier to track who you were or at least what family you belonged to.

Taking the book he was looking for from the shelf, he walked over to a table and set it down, turning the lamp on.

He sat down, and began the process of looking through each and every one if the pages.

None of the ones he was coming across seemed like a match, and he sighed, setting the book aside.

“Looking for something?” Farah asked.

“You remember the person who attacked the specialists?”

She nodded her head, making her way over.

“Yes, I did try to track them, but I couldn’t find anything, not even a magic trail was left behind.”

“That’s impossible, they used magic Farah, I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Then they’re incredible at covering their tracks, because I couldn’t find one, even Ben tried, nothing he made showed any trace on that scorch mark.”

He pinched the bridge if his nose, tilting his head back slightly.

“I’ve had a look, I can’t find the insignia. It’s the only book we have as well.”

Farah stood next to him, taking a look at the cover of the book before she shook her head.

“There is another one, hold on.”

Taking the book he was looking through, and placed it back on the shelf, then she walked back over, gesturing for him to follow her.

They both made their way to the far end of the library, to the restricted section, and she opened it, letting them both in.

“I keep this one locked away because of the types of families that are included. Students don’t need to know about these people, or what they’ve done.”

Farah walked over to a shelf, unlocking a glass cabinet and she pulled out a book, placing it on the pedestal.

“Most of these were known dangerous families, it individuals, all of them are long gone, but it was settled that it was for the best that they couldn’t possibly find a link between these people and them if they’re related.”

Saul opened the book, slowly going through the pages, and some of the names he recognised.

Some were renowned threats to the realm years ago, some of them were taught in basic classes, as a lesson about how dangerous it was to mess with magic.

Others he had never heard off.

“This one.”

He pointed to the page and Farah looked at it.

“The (L/N) family, not really noticeable for anything truly significant. There’s no real history on them or the people of the family, or family tree or anything. It’s not really known what kind of family they were or what powers they possessed.” Farah read.

Saul nodded his head, then turned the page, and he studied the image, pointing to it.

“Not until this one at least. The only member of the family that made any sort of name for themselves.”

“(Y/N) (L/N), age unknown, strength unknown, agility unknown, powers unknown. The only thing reported about them is the fact they could summon lightening.”

“Air fairy?” He asked.

“I don’t think so, it takes a lot of power and training to do something like that more than once. If they are they definitely spent time practicing. What else does it say?”

Saul turned back to the book.

“(Y/N) was a general for the solarian army, it doesn’t say when, they were strong but unpredictable, always rushing head first into battle, as time went on it was reported that they slowly began to slip into a state of bloodlust, became too dangerous. One day they just disappeared. It was rumoured they were executed but it was never confirmed.”

Farah nodded her head, and Saul closed the book, handing it back to her so she could put it away.

“It isn’t far off that they wound become the god of war, people have become gods for far less. I mean looked at your family tree, your ancestor became the god of blacksmithing.”

Saul sighed, leaving the enclosed space and he waited for her on the other side.

“Even if that’s true, they don’t interact with people, not without reason. All of them also left when modern technology came about, they didn’t like it.”

“When was the first time you encountered them?”

“Training, I was in the middle of putting up one of the ribbons when they attacked.”

“Well if that was their shrine then they wouldn’t have liked you leaving something there, and what brought them here?”

Saul followed Farah out of the library and down the hallway.

“Riven stole something from the shrine and they wanted it back, then engaged me in combat but never threw a hit at me.”

“They could’ve seriously hurt any one of you if they really wanted to, but they didn’t.”

“Exactly, so, why are they still here?”

“What makes you think they are?”

Saul stopped for a moment, looking out if the window.

“It’s a feeling I have, but I can’t find them.”

Farah placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Get some rest, I’m sure they’ll leave you alone now.”

He nodded, making his way back to his room to get ready to sleep.

Knowing you were out there it made it hard for him to get a good sleep, even as days slipped by he still found it hard to properly rest.

You studied his training, watching how he taught his students and it made you scoff slightly.

He was good, you’d give him that.

Standing in the wall, you crossed your arms as you looked down at him tidying the training grounds.

“You’re strong, but your form is inadequate at best. You’re still, you have now fluidity to your movements. Seriously, who taught you such weak fighting stances?” You huffed.

Saul drew his sword and looked towards the wall that you had shouted down from.

You titled your head to the side a little bit, grinning ever so slightly.

“Seriously, you pass your technique on and they just change it, rather disrespectful if you ask me.”

Putting your hands in your pockets you titled your head back just a little bit.

“I could easily defeat you with my hands in my pockets.”

“Is that a challenge?” He asked.

Going based of what Saul had read about you he theorised that you wouldn’t be one to turn away when presented with a challenge.

You had a big ego, and you would do anything to prove that you’re stronger than anybody.

So when you grinned even more, eyes widening slightly with excitement he knew he was right.

You jumped down, bringing your hands up to unclasped your cloak, then you took your sword off and dropped it next to your cloak.

You put your hands in your pockets, and you looked down your nose at him.

“It absolutely is. If you manage to win I’ll train you myself to be a true fighter.”

“And if you win?”

You shrugged slightly.

“You have nothing I could want, I just think it’ll be fun. I’ve done my research on your Saul silva, the best specialist in Solaria, let’s see if you live up to that name shall we? Don’t hold back now.”

Saul charged for you, swinging his sword, and just as quick as blink of an eye, you were gone, you stood behind him, turning to the side as he swung the sword backwards.

You were just toying with him, sometimes you’d let him get close to managing to land a hit on you, other times you would just completely avoid his advances.

Even without you attacking back, hands in your pockets he couldn’t even get a scratch in you.

You were fast, agile and able to move in ways he hadn’t even seen before.

You had a unique technique that was unpredictable, he couldn’t guess your next move or where you were going to move to next.

You kept going around in circles around him, ducking, jumping, moving from side to side.

You weren’t even breaking a sweat.

“Oh you are determined, I admire that. I remember when my foes had such determination, oh how fun it was to watch them fall!”

You spun around, finally bringing your leg up and you slammed it into his chest, sending him flying backwards, sword falling from his grasp.

Walking over to him, you stood above his head, leaning down to look at him, a frown on your face.

“You’re predicable, it’s pathetic. You don’t change your routine, it makes it easy to guess your next move.”

Huffing, you stood up, walking over to his sword you you kicked it over, then made your way to your things.

You put your sword back on your belt, then picked your cloak up, putting it back around your shoulders and turned around to look at him.

“Swordsmanship used to be a craft of art, now it’s just a pitiful display. That really pisses me off.”

“Well it’s not fair if I’m fighting an apparent god.”

Saul ran at you once more, this time you didn’t even move, you just reached out, grabbing his wrist, bending it it backwards so he would drop his sword.

“Never go for the cheap shot, it pisses me off when somebody tries to use a cheap shot, that’s not very respectful you know.”

“Respectful?” He scoffed.

You pushed him back, placing your foot on his sword to stop his advances in order to get it.

“You must always respect your opponent Saul Silva, if you don’t you get cocky, if you get cocky you get killed.”

“You’re cocky.”

You scoffed a little, placing your foot under his sword you kicked it up, catching it by the hilt as you studied it.

Jumping backwards you landed on the wall so he wasn’t able to reach you.

“I’m not cocky, I know what I can do. There’s a difference.”

You looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“Your sword is dull, it’s weak.”

You threw it down, stabbing it into the ground below.

“You give swordsmen a bad name with your horrific training, your terrible weapons.”

He scoffed, walking over to pick up his sword and he put it away.

You clearly weren’t going to attack him, you had absolutely no interest in that whatsoever.

Whether you enjoyed taunting him or trying to piss him off was behind you.

A smirk slowly spread across your face, and you crouched down, resting your arms on your knees.

“I’ll train you.”

“What makes you think I’d want that? Plus I never won the fight.”

“I admire your dedication to the craft none the less.”

Standing up, you pointed at him.

“You shall be my prodigy!”

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Analysing my favourite lines from Six of Crows chapter by chapter: Chapter 3, part 3

Same as usual: famous or popular quotes being missed doesn't mean I don't like them it just means I don't have anything new to say, and some quotes will not have explanations because I just like them I don't really have anything to analyse

' "We fed [jurda parem] to three Grisha, one from each order,"

"Happy volunteers?"

"Indentures," ' - the VOLUMES this speaks. And the willingness with which he admits it because it's such a normalised practice??? I think Anya is actually a really underrated character and we should talk about her more

"[amplifiers] only increase a Grisha's power. Jurda parem alters a Grisha's perception" - can we talk about how Leigh Bardugo is a goddamn freaking genius for foreshadowing the plot of KoS/RoW with this single line? Because that's insane. This line specifically implies that the power parem unlocks for a Grisha is always possible, they simply lack the perception or understanding of it to find that power without the drug inhibiting whichever neural pathways it inhibits. The ability to shed yourself of the restrictions created by strict limitations between abilities, the Orders, etc. is always there but because there's such an ingrained cultural belief Grisha have effectively lost the ability to perceive their power in the way the Saints once did. I hope this makes sense, it kind of links to my post about the small science versus magic in terms of the revelation in KoS and RoW. Even Nina explicitly states that Heartrenders and Healers have the same gift but perceive it in different ways, and yeah I feel like I'm rambling but hopefully this makes sense, I think it's incredible foreshadowing particularly because we really think nothing of it in the moment.

' "What does it do to sorry sobs like you and me?"

Van Eck seemed to bristle slightly at being lumped in with Kaz, but he said:

"It's lethal" ' - ok so first of all I love that Van Eck's superiority complex is so very obvious from so early on, and in this particularly moment it's brilliantly conflicted as well because Van Eck will also see himself as superior to Grisha since he owns Mika's contract on indenture and possibly others. Second I would argue this is yet another red herring, I talk about this constantly but Leigh Bardugo embodies her own ideology of 'always hit where the mark isn't looking' in her writing style and will often give us hints that seem like foreshadowing but never come into play, whilst using them to far more subtly foreshadow what actually happens. Have I ever mentioned that I think she's a genius? In this case, reading these lines made me more concerned that an otkazats'ya character such as Kaz or Inej was going to end up injesting the drug and being killed by it than I was a Grisha character such as Nina. Now that's partly becasue this is given to us before we find out the kind of toll the drug takes on a Grisha and so we don't see anything to fear in it for Grisha themselves, only for the otkazats'ya who fear a loss of their dominance/control. In actuality we never see any otkazats'ya character forced to or accidentally ingest the drug, because it's a precious and rare resource that would only be wasted on killing them when there are plenty of other methods, but in this moment - particularly since, as far as we know, we're yet to meet a Grisha main character - parem is established as more threatening to the characters we know than the characters we don't, so our immediate concerns are raised towards them and we let our guard down slightly to the idea of a Grisha main character being threatened by the drug. Now yes, the danger of the drug for Grisha is established very quickly after this, and our fears for Nina taking it do become much more heightened than any other character, even Jesper, during the Ice Court Heist, but there are still a lot of red herrings and hidden pieces of foreshadowing surrounding Nina's ingestion of the drug, most notably Matthias saving her from Jarl Brum and appearing to have alleviated the threat of the drug only for her to take it by her own choice shortly afterwards, and we still have this initial perception in our minds for what we were first told about the drug: powerful to Grisha, lethal to otkazats'ya.

The fear that I've spelt otkazats'ya a different way every time I wrote it in that paragraph is real.

"If it's not identical to gold in every way then the difference has eluded us. Have it tested if you like," - the challenge, the superiority complex, good lord I detest this man

' "Perhaps you heard of the Shu paying off their debt to Kerch with a sudden influx of gold? The assassination of the trade ambassador from Novyi Zem? The theft of documents from a military base in Ravka?"

[...]

Kaz hadn't heard anything about Ravkan documents, but he nodded anyway. ' - I think this is another red herring (????) I remember reading this for the first time and thinking it must be really important but then it never seems to come up again, or at least not that I've noticed in any of my rereads. If anyone has noticed that it's referencing something please let me know because I might just be missing something, but it catches me out every time

' "Financial markets would be thrown into chaos. The world economy would collapse,"

"How very exciting," ' - I love him

' "At the Ice Court,"

Kaz stared at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing. ' - not only is this so goddamn iconic of Kaz but it's actuallu a really clever writing tool as well, because with this reaction and the short exchange that follows Bardugo quickly and succinctly tells us all everything we need to know about the Ice Court at this time, ie it's impenetrable, introduces the main premise of the novel, and successfully hints at her worldbuilding in a way that tells us there's more to discover but we don't have to deal with it right now. It's effectively a brilliant way of avoiding an infodump and it gets to come hand in hand with such an iconic Kaz moment, so bonus points.

"Kaz pocketed his pistol" - this is so funny to me because I'm sure they establish it's Van Eck's pistol but he just takes it and no-one questions him I love it

"There's no point to a fortune I won't be alive to spend" -later echoed by "you can't spend his money if you're dead" and I find this really interesting because it implies that Kaz absolutely has a set price in his mind for everything. Ten million kruge is not worth drying for but thirty is.

"He had the eerie sense that the carved fish on the walls had halted mid-leap to listen" - I love this so much. Just as a quote in itself I love it. But also, there is a kind of theme following through of this discomfort the characters often find in murals, mosaics, and the like, and they are also often used as a metaphor to represent the character's relationships or arcs, such as the wolves destined to run in circles for as long as the Ice Court stands that represent Kaz and Inej or Nina's comment about how Ravkan folk monsters wait to be awoken by the call of heroes, but she is no hero so hopefully no monster will come. I haven't found a satisfying answer for what the carved fish may represent, but they could possibly just link to lack of trust that should be placed in Van Eck and really the uncomfortable feeling should be more about the merch than his decor. I did a little bit of reading about what fish can sometimes represent in Dutch art, the culture on which many aspects of Kerch are based although Ketterdam itself is confirmed to be an amalgamation of cities around the globe with particular emphasis on Dutch-Republic era Amsterdam, and I found out that in the fish would often be shown dead as a warning of moving away from faith by gluttony or greed - so perhaps a symbol of Van Eck's performative religious acts and the greed that truly controls him. (Yes, I actually spent my time researching fish in Dutch art for the purpose of a one sentence reference to carved fish in Six of Crows, and I know what you're thinking: I must be really fun at parties)

"the dream he'd had since he first crawled out of a cold harbour with revenge burning a hole in his heart"

' Mika started to cough, and Kaz saw blood on his sleeve.

"Sit," Van Eck instructed gently, helping Mika into a chair and offering the Grisha his handkerchief.

He signalled to a guard.

"Some water," ' - I'm not 100% sure on the relevance of what I'm about to say but looking at this exchange retrospectively it just seems so performative and I really question it; I don't this is part of the façade Van Eck presents generally to the world or if it's, in his mind, for Kaz's benefit to give him no reason to distrust him, or what, but I know that I don't for one second believe that in private Van Eck would politely give an indentured Grisha his handkerchief and send someone to fetch him a glass of water.

' "DeKappel oil painting [...] I had been assured that my gallery was impenetrable [...]"

"I do seem to remember reading about that" - the audacity in this child knows no bounds and I'm so here for it

' "I'm inclined to believe that the thief took it for a different reason,"

"What would that be?"

"Just to prove that he could,"

"Seems like a stupid risk to me,"

"Well, who can guess at the motives of thieves?"

"Not me, certainly," - I adore this excahnge so much. And as a side note it's really clever becasue we as the reader know with so much confidence what's going on that there's no need to extrapolate and explain it to us, yet we feel like we have the full story. And of course later we learn it was Kaz and Inej working together and I love this because cna you imagine one of them bringing the paper to the other after reading about the 'impenetrable gallery' and they're just looking at each other like "... we have to, right?" "Hell yeah we have to, get your coat,"

"Kaz had heard rumours of a firepox outbreak [...] skin crawling. He wanted no part of a plague" - this is some mad foreshadowing right here, and the fact that KAz is seized by an unexpected flashback mere lines later tells us so much because when we look back on it we realise that he's so stressed by the idea of a plague and his concern only makes it harder for him to anticipate a flashback.

"Van Eck led him through a door and into a manicured garden, thick with the new nectar scent of early crocuses. The smell his Kaz like a blow to the jaw. Memories of Jordie were already too fresh in his mind and, for a moment, Kaz wasn't walking thorugh the canal-side garden of a rich merch. He was knee deep in spring grasses, hot sun beating down on his cheeks, his brother's voice calling him home," - so this is the flashback I mentioned a second ago and it is literally just a couple of lines after Kaz's concern about a potential plague outbreak. We also have the added twist of crocuses traditionally symbolising rebirth, mirthfulness, and innocence, contrasting Kaz but also arguably existing to taunt him with the younger version of himself and his brother the scent reminds him of. The idea of twisting what crocuses usually represent is also famously used in Vivki Feaver's poem, 'The Gun', where she writes "the King of Death/ had arrived to feast, stalking/ out of winter woods / his black mouth/ sprouting golden crocuses" and Bardugo could be doing the same thing here by using something traditionally associated with youth and joy to represent or hint towards Kaz's traumatic experiences as a child. Possibly the metaphor is extended by the way the scent of teh crocuses is so quickly lost to the stench of the boathouse, particularly with the idea that there are dead bodies in there linking to the feeling of dead flesh, to show the stark contrast of Kaz's life before coming to Ketterdam, and after.

"Councilman Hoede lost a lot of blood. But he's in the same state as these men. He's been removed to the country with his family and the staff from his house" - this was very much the same vibes as the way you can pay an awful lot of money to be buried outside the city or you can be burned on the Reaper's Barge and it's so interesting to me, that even in death your body is priced and part of an institutionalised nonsense social hierarchy.

' "Why do you wear the gloves, Mr Brekker?"

Kaz raised a brow.

"I'm sure you've heard the stories,"

"Each more grotesque than the last,"

[...]

"Pick one," Kaz said, as he vanished into the night, thoughts already turning to thirty million kruge and the crew he'd need to help him get it, "They're all true enough," ' - this is a brilliant excahnge and I love it but when we're looking back on it after knowing the full story it's so sad because part of Kaz genuinely views himself as a monster