#this was FAR from her only option like the rule wasnt even set at that point. her hand was not forced at ALL

[perenlop]

oh so when moth flight has kittens as a medicine cat and gives them away to strangers, one of which let his own son die and considered killing babies, because she can’t deal and somehow cant ask her clanmates to help, shes noble and brave and wise and shaped things for generations to come and she gets to die peacefully with all her children being like “wow mom that was so cool of you, we’re so happy and you are so smart and epic”, but when leafpool has kittens as a medicine cat and gives them to her sister who she knows wont mistreat them, she’s treated like shit by most people around her and shes so unforgivable that her children can’t help but snark about this at her funeral and shes almost sent to cat hell. ok

[pokeheros-drama]

After some deliberation I will go ahead and put into light a few reasons. I will not go into detail about certain things. This is both for my own sake, and because I respect Monarch’s privacy.

For background, I’m Lyney, obviously. I met Monarch/Shepherd over a year ago on a RP called Loosing it All. If you’ve been on the forums in the past year, you probably got annoyed by us being most active for literal months straight. I was one of the first to join, and Monarch joined later than I did, but considering she joined around page 70, on our 1k+ pages, she can be considered an OG. I forget why, like 100% I don’t know why, but somehow the joke was that we were married. One thing led to another, then BAM. We were dating.

First thing that I did wrong was agreeing to date her not as a joke. Im not good at relationships, and I thought that what I felt was romance.

For anyone, regardless of age on here, DO NOT do what I did. Online dating is never the best option. Here are the reasons, in hindsight, that should have cued me in before I snapped.

Personal information. If you ever find yourself in a situation when you are being pressured to reveal any sort of information, including name, state, town, et.c. DO NOT REVEAL. You cannot tell true intentions over the internet.

What happened was she knew what state I lived in. After some joking around in the group palpad and/or over discord call, she knew what town I lived in. I had talked about a place I volunteered at. I said how far away I lived from school timing wise. I talked about the classes I took. Through this information, she found out what school I went to. With this information, as well as a few one off photos I sent of my yard, she also was trying to find my home address.

2. Venting. Set boundaries for yourself. Do not let people treat you like a therapist.

I shouldn’t have to explain this more than I have to. She would go into my DMs regardless of the time to vent. Including during my class time. I always answered because I was scared of what she would do.

3. Clingy. If you have a friend who makes you feel like you must talk to them 24/7 or they’ll be upset, think of WHY that is.

I couldn’t take breaks without her asking if I was okay. If I wanted a day to relax and not do much, I would get DMs asking if I was okay because I wasnt as active. This is iffy in general, but bad combined with the next one.

4. Distant. You should not be the only person reaching out in any sort of relationship.

In the begining of LIA Monarch and I were practically inseparable, as we did like. EVERYTHING. Together. I was hook, line, and sucker. Later, we stopped talking as much. Or well, she did. For what felt like ages, most of our conversations were just “I love you”’s, “<3” or “kiss”, interspersed with TikTok’s I mostly sent. Even though we were “co owners” (AKA because of how close she was I let her be a co owner. But in all rights, the LIA series belongs to me, as the OG owner had passed on everything to ME.), I can safely say that I did not know about 90% of the plot line she wanted to use, despite me asking. I could also not post for upwards of 2 weeks without any sort of acknowledgement (despite one of our rules being if you’re inactive for a week without our knowledge we can ignore you basically)

5: self centered. This should be obvious. Dont have any sort of long term relationship if the person will ONLY focus on themselves.

This is a petty example, but whenever we did rp scenes, she’d always forget what we agreed to do, especially on our discord rps. We. Had it written down, but she’d always change key events.

Im too lazy to categorize so

Create an environment where I’ll get irrationally angry at the others in our group (Im really sorry again)

discussed marriage (we were both 17 at the time)

extremely different views on our future

made me believe if I ever broke up with her we would never be friends again

I left some things out. But thats a pretty… comprehensible list I think.

Before anyone comes at me, I did bring a lot of this upon myself by not following basic internet safety rules.

However, I am doing much better now. There was a weight lifted off of my shoulders

yeah um. Theres more but Imtired now and thats enough for yall

.

[ironmandeficiency]

laying low

pairing: fennec shand / reader

word count: 3019

summary: she didn’t want you to retire because you were the only one she trusts to have her six. you retired because you couldn’t let yourself fail and get her killed.

a/n: i want her to step on me but also i wanna be the one (1) person the stoic badass is soft for. also i’m posting from mobile again so ✨hooray✨

warnings: angry fennec, parting on maybe-bad terms, canon typical violence, being kidnapped, toro calican himself is a warning (undid his death for the sake of plot)

“is this really what you want? to sit here and let yourself rot?” fennec was bitter. you hated seeing her like this and nearly every muscle in your body ached as she spoke. the two of you worked together like a finely-tuned machine and she clearly thought that you retiring was a waste of potential. but when you slipped up and nearly cost fennec her life, you refused to endanger her with your presence. she was far too valuable to you and you would do anything, even retire in this skughole, if it meant keeping her safe.

after a speeder crash you endured during a fight against stormtroopers, it severely impacted your ability to fight. fennec knew that you wouldn’t be the same, but that didn’t bother her. there were only one or two more bounties picked up afterwards because you realized you had become a liability. fennec was having to cover your ass more often than not and even though she insisted that it wasn’t a problem, you had to do something different.

picking up a little slack would be miniscule if you were with her but you didn’t see it like she did. you had been her longest companion and the only one that she’d ever let see her weak. life came with trauma, and with trauma came nightmares — she remembers the first one she had early into your partnership, the way you held her close and anchored her to reality. from then on it was decided: you were it for her. not that she’d ever tell you, but it was true nonetheless.

you sighed at her words; the very same thoughts went through your head at the beginning of this plan but it was the only viable option for you. “it’s all i have left. maybe i can find some peace before hunters come looking for me.” you pour two mugs of caf, setting one on the table in font of an empty chair as an invitation for her to sit. she doesn’t.

the anger in the air around her nearly chokes you with its intensity, rising in the air like heavy plumes of smoke from a raging fire. you’re unsure what you can say to tame the blaze, if you even can at all. normally you would know the exact words to say to bring her down when she’s this upset, but now you were the root of the problem and there was nothing short of foregoing retirement that would make her happy.

fennec continues talking about the brave fighter she fought alongside turning into someone she didn’t know, how you’re showing your belly to the world like the damn tooka sunbathing in the windowsill. the venom she’s spitting doesn’t bother you. she’s angry and hurt, probably feeling abandoned by you and your decision to stay and make a home.

“if you ever need somewhere to lay low, i’ll always welcome you. we’re partners fennec, whether fighting side by side or not.” you wanted to give her that much. even if she wasn’t ready now, you would always welcome her into your new home, into your arms the way you’ve yearned to for years.

nothing is said to acknowledge your words. you didn’t think she would say anything anyway but it hurts regardless, another reminder that she doesn’t like this the same way you don’t. all she does before leaving you is grabbing the mug from the table and pouring its contents down the drain, letting the mug clatter in the sink once it’s empty.

maybe one day she could see that you were doing this for her. maybe one day, probably long away from now, she would walk into these doors with the weight of the galaxy being dropped on your doorstep. with a soft smile and open arms you would greet her and show her what it was like to live the quiet life.

for now, you would just have to settle for the warm embrace of the memories you shared, hoping that more could be made in your new little hut.

it’s been close to six months since you retired. you hadn’t seen or heard fennec since she walked out of your front door wearing her signature scowl. it still stung, after all this time, that after everything she wouldn’t even comm. you’d tried that the first couple weeks after she left but there was never a reply, only a dwindling hope and the worry of not knowing if she was okay.

that was one of the biggest benefits of traveling with fennec; you would never have to worry where she was because she was always right beside you. there was never a nagging worry that ate at you, no nightmares allowed to linger since her touch would ward them away. life without her was a new normal

there would be days where you would see something and want to tell her about it, throwing her name over your shoulder only to remember that she was never there to hear what you had to say. the comms you sent grew further apart as time went on, eventually stopping altogether. she would never reply anyway, there was no reason to waste both your time and yours on something seemingly broken beyond repair.

she may not have been dead, but you still lost her.

several more weeks went by and you had grown accustomed to the solitude. sure you would socialize when going to the market for food and supplies, but it was never anything of substance, only mere pleasantries and remarks on the quality of the items you bought. somehow you were far more weary during retirement than you had been before it.

your mind would drift to her still, wondering whether she had found someone else to watch her back or if she was vagabonding all by her lonesome. how you yearned to see her again, hear her voice or feel her hands gently help you when you fall like you have lately. it’s like your body doesn’t see the reason to keep up. you exercise to the best of your ability and try to stay fit as possible, but you’re still losing your footing more and more often, even at home.

it comes to a head when you’re making breakfast. everything had been okay prior, but one little nudge of your bad leg against a table corner and you’re sprawling. laying on the floor covered in your breakfast, it takes you thirty minutes to muster the strength needed to stand on your own.

the next day, you get a cane. you loathe having to buy it at all, hearing her voice calling you old and jokingly asking where your grandchildren are. it’s either a cane or losing what little mobility you have left, so you go with the former. you despised the visible display of your weakness, grated on what pride you had left. if fennec could see you now, what would she say?

the man had beat his way into your home with every intention to rob you and take what little supplies you had. he had been traveling for days in the desert and was tired. but then he saw exactly whose house he was robbing and he had an even better idea: take you to what used to be jabba’s palace, now ruled by bib fortuna.

see, the paths you used to tread alongside fennec provided ample opportunities to make an enemy here and there. jabba was one of them simply because you refused to work for him, and with his death, you had a little bit of peace. fortuna never attempted to seek you out but anyone who knew of jabba’s grudge against you would be wise to the reward your capture would produce.

this young hotshot was foolhardy and far too cocksure compared to his abilities. if you were in the body you used to have, this buffoon (who made his name very known to you in some sort of dominance attempt?) would be dead thrice over. but time wasnt kind to you and you still have a near-lame leg, so at his mercy you were.

you just wished he would shut his damn mouth for longer than it took him to suck in another breath. he must not realize that silence is far louder than jabbering when it comes to someone holding your life in their hands. maker forbid you have peace in your final moments, apparently. figures.

jabba’s former palace was soon in your line of sight and if you weren’t positive that you were being led to your death, you’d have been grateful to be freed of the nuisance that was toro calican. all the assurance you could find as he hauled you out of his speeder was that his arrogance would soon get him killed if he continued the way he was going.

toro dragged you to the throne room with a hand roughly dripping your bicep, trying to hurry you along as if you still had two normally functioning legs. you knew he knew about your predicament, your lack of fully independent mobility a frequent topic of his. “ease up, wank stain! you know i have a lame leg!” his answer was an aggravated huff and his blaster pressed harder into your lower back.

the lower you descended, the deeper the dread sank into your gut. this was actually real, you were about to die. peace had been made long ago with the knowledge of someone possibly wanting to find you, but now that it was happening… completely different.

you wondered if fennec would ever find out about your death. or if she did find out, your brain would questioned if she would even care. of course she would, your heart consoled, think of how long you traveled together! the trust! the bond you two share transcends time!

but you cut your journeys with her short, there was no telling. there were so many things you wish you could have told her, not just about the feelings that only grew in their intensity during her absence from your side. you wanted to tell her about the stray tooka that you took in when you first settled down; she had a litter of kittens and one of them had a glare that rivaled your dear assassin’s. there was an action holonovel you read once that had you cackling, imagining your fennec cutting off all the frivolous villain monologues with a blaster to the face.

she was never told these things and now that you were becoming rancor chow, she’d never even know them. the idea of dying before telling fennec everything that you’ve been stewing over for so long, not telling her you loved her, fuck was it heartbreaking.

a mumbled curse fell from your lips when you felt saltwater make a descent down your cheeks. you didn’t want your harbinger to see you this weak, this vulnerable, but you had no choice in the matter. your hands are bound by a pair of shockingly sturdy binders and there was no way for you to wipe the tears away. all you could do was blink them away, then meet death with your chin up and your love in your heart.

“now what do we have here?” that was most certainly not the voice of bib fortuna. you opened your eyes to find a broad man clad in green beskar occupying the throne. your common sense identified him as boba fett, which you should have thought was impossible. then again, you didn’t think it was possible for someone to be as annoying as toro calican. it was a day of being proved wrong, it seemed.

anyone could see that toro wasn’t prepared to see someone that wasn’t bib on the throne. his eyes had grown to the size of the twin suns and even through your wet eyes, you could see his facial expression morph from his fake swagger to a dog of uncertainty. nevertheless, he persisted, throwing you down at the foot of the throne. “there’s a bounty on their head and i’ve come to collect the reward.”

boba fett, even through the beskar, doesn’t seem pleased. he doesn’t move his helmet’s line of sight from toro as he speaks, something you’re grateful for. “there’s been a, how do you say, recent transfer of power. and with that change came a new way of doing things, you understand.” he scoffed at the man, your proximity to the throne enlightening you to just how annoyed he was becoming in such a short period. it seemed that toro had that effect on everybody.

“how do i know this is actually someone with a price on their head? what evidence do you have that proves their identity?”

it was clear that your captor didn’t expect to have to prove a damned thing. what a fool, not even bothering to prepare for a single unexpected event. you were almost ashamed of having been overpowered by him at this point. “anyone who’s anyone knows, this is the former partner of the late fennec shand! i’m sure you heard abour her demise — that was me by the way — and now i’ve brought her partner to you, to be taken out of commission…”

all the hair on your body stood on end. fennec was dead? killed by the very man that brought you in? no, not your fennec. she wouldn’t be overpowered by this arrogant bastard in her sleep with a hand tied behind her back, there was no way. but boba said nothing to negate the rumors and that told you everything you need to know. “if you have even a morsel of mercy, by the stars make this quick. if she’s really gone, then i’ve kept her waiting for far too long.”

those were the first words you’ve spoken since toro bound you and dragged you like a ragdoll from your home. there was no reason to entertain the man, but there was the tiniest sliver of a chance that you could implore the mandalorian in front of you to end your life with the efficiency he was known for.

he asked the man his name and merely hummed in acknowledgment when it was boastfully given, like his name meant something to a battle hardened mandalorian such as boba fett.

if you had paid attention to boba’s demeanor since your arrival, you would have noticed that something in his air changed when toro spoke about being the one to kill fennec. some would have mistook it for disbelief but it was much more than that. boba knew that toro was indeed the man who shot fennec shand, but he was not the man who killed fennec shand because she simply wasn’t dead.

she was, in fact, just in the next room scavenging for another bottle of fluorescent blue spotchka when her curiosity was piqued by the conversation occurring in the throne room. at the way the voices seemed to be familiar, she abandoned the search and decided to see for herself what the commotion was.

what she found sent liquid fire through her veins. you, on your knees and head bowed just enough to show resignation and grief, binders shackling your arms and fennec knew that you wouldn’t be able to get up on your own because of it. toro calican, the man who nearly killed her all those sunsets ago in the middle of tusken territory standing above you with a wicked sneer on his lips. this would simply not do.

“word of advice, calican,” she made her presence known with her voice, walking around to boba’s right hand side and leaning a hip against the throne. “always make sure your kills are dead before you leave them. leaving them for dead? that’s how you make enemies.” her blaster was out of her holster and firing before toro could reply, and boba was impressed with the speed she fired with. he had a feeling that it had to do with the figure at the foot of his throne.

your eyes had to be deceiving you. there was no way, toro killed fennec… right? so how in the stars was she here now? the feeling of her hands on your cheeks, warm brown eyes giving you much needed comfort after what you’ve been through. you didn’t even register boba leaving his throne until he’s on the ground in front of you, unclasping your binders with the gentleness one would treat an injured animal. maybe that’s what you were to him, a pitiful tooka missing a leg that was dropped on his doorstep.

before you can venture deeper into this rabbit hole, your body is pulled off the questionable floor and into fennec’s embrace. the way she felt against you, the calluses of her hands as she held you, it was home. you didn’t know when the tears had come back but she was quick to wipe them away with the pads of her thumbs.

“seems you found trouble. what happened to laying low, huh?” her comment brought a ready chuckle from your throat and a small smile to her lips. sweet maker how you’ve missed that smile. “maybe you’ll be safer here, what do you think?”

any and all words elude you. nothing on this planet or any other in the galaxy could drag you away from her now, not when she’s as beautiful now as the day you met her, when she gives you the smile you knew was only saved for you. “i’m always safer with you, fennec.”

she hums, her lips pressing to your forehead to ground you both in the reality of being together again. “i’ll have to say the same about you, desert rose. nearly died only a week after i left your hut.”

“only a week? i thought you’d last longer than that.”

“it was because i didn’t have you. but we don’t have to worry about that anymore, do we?”

she was right, you wouldn’t have to worry about losing her for the rest of your life.

fennec shand taglist: @cryptidcody @sacred-things @clownocoruscant @steel-phoenix @aerolanya @felucians @bookbandobssessed @senator-nahberries @obirain @themarcusmoreno @jedi-mando @flightlessangelwings @whovianwar @hornystarwarsbisexual @kaermorons (i love this handle bye ohmygod)

[spootiliousrps]

Suspicious Nature Part 7

[Beginning] // [Previous] // [Next]

“Practice.” Eve said softly. “Everyone starts off where you are now. So don’t worry, we’ll get there.” She said softly.

"By Sunday?" Cas asked, obviously doubtful.

“We’ll get there.” Eve encouraged. “If you can learn to fight, then you can learn to walk.” She smiled.

Cas squinted at her still not on the same page. "Doubtful. At least with fighting you have to have a strong stance... this is... this like walking a tightrope with strong wind." He huffed before chuckling. "I'll make you a deal... If I learn to walk in these by Sunday, you let me teach you how to fight." He offered playfully.

Eve’s eyes grew wide. “I’m too old, and too much of an Omega to ever contemplate it.” She whispered.

That made Cas give a snort of amusement. "I was born just as much of an Omega as you, Eve." He pointed out in amusement as he took a shaky step. "And as far as I am concern I've trained older people than you."

Eve smiled. “I just don’t feel comfortable around weapons. I feel better in heeled shoes and dresses.” She said as she held tightly onto Castiel. “You need to be in control. Don’t fear the shoes. Command them. Tell them what you want.”

Castiel glared down at his feet. "I demand you cease your wobbling!" He snapped at them before addressing Eve

"And I the opposite." He admitted. He took another step, this time keeping from tripping at least.

 Eve laughed. “Not like that. When you had to command your men, you changed your posture and the way you stood. “Don’t lead with your heel so much, as you walk, keep your toes on the floor, just for the moment.”

That made absolutely no sense to him as he attempted it. It felt like he was stomping. This was ridiculous and he was becoming annoyed very quickly. "I feel like a horse prancing about like this." He huffed as he kept his posture straight.

  “I know. You’ll get used to it. I promise. I looked awful when I learnt.” Eve promised. “Slide your toes along the floor and then place your heel down.”

The Omega gave an annoyed growl as he complied. He managed a few steps before wobbling and giving another curse. "Why cant I just were my boots. The dress is long enough no one will notice? What if someone decide to try their luck how am I suppose to fight in these?"

  “Hey, I’m just trying to help.” Eve said softly. “You can always take your shoes off, and apparently a kick hurts a lot. But no one will try it on.”

 "Sorry that wasnt directed at you." He sighed. "Just been a rough few days. My feet as dying... do you mind if we take a break?"

  “I understand. Let’s sit you down and take them off. We can talk cutlery and dinner manners.” Eve said, helping John to sit on the bed.

 "Thank you." Cas sighed in relief doing his best to try and reach his feet over the bulk of the dress and giving another growl of frustration when he failed.

 Eve smiles and knelt down, taking his shoes off gently. “Shall we take your dress off as well so we don’t crease it?” She offered, patiently.

 "Yes, please." Cas rushed in relief already beginning to try and get it off.

Eve chuckled and help Castiel to unfasten the dress. “It is very pretty, it suits you well.” She said softly as she hung it up in his wardrobe. “You’re lucky you have all these clothes made for you.”

Cas pursed his lips as he considered his reply. "Thank you." He mumbled far more softly as he moved to dress in his regular attire. "I only wish I had a say in any of it." He admitted as he tugged on his trousers.

“We generally don’t, Sire.” Eve said softly. “You were lucky to have the opportunity to get the Royal treatment. They are kinder and give you more options.” She said softly. “You could have worn anything within reason and they would have made it.”t

"You say that and yet I was stripped down and marched to my quarters. I wouldn't call that a kindness." He grumbled.

“No Alpha would punish us. Not someone like His Majesty.” Eve said, as he eyes glazed over for a moment before blinking. “He’s a good man, he’s trying his best to not only learn his job, but to care truly for Omegas. His father wasn’t a good man. You are in the unique position to help His Majesty in these areas, if you do this, he’ll break through heaven and hell if you asked.” Eve explained softly.

"All I've asked is for some respect and him to stop threatening my family and yet every time he hears something he remotely doesnt agree with it's always straight to torturing and punishing the only family I have. I would happy to assist it He wasnt such an assbut." He scoffed. "Trying or not he had a cruel streak that reminds me of his father at times. And yes I know just saying that could get me hanged." He sighed. "I just dont care anymore."

Eve sighed. “No Alpha is perfect. Get him somewhere open, not confined in his quarters. Somewhere he likes to be. And speak to him kindly and softly. Offers him something he would like, ply him into a good mood and then explain that you don’t like your family being threatened. If you’re lucky he’ll open up as to why he’s being an... assbut. And then offer to help him work on whatever reasons he gives.” Eve explained softly as she turned back around to face the Omega. “His Majesty is probably still in mourning as well and he’s not being able to process that.”

Castiel hesitated, blinking at her in surprise. He... hadn't really thought about the fact the man might be mourning. Even if he didnt care for his father's actions it was still his father... perhaps he could manage that. "That was... very helpful and wise... thank you Eve."

Eve smiled, “I’m just old, my dear. I’ve been around a long time. Shall we get on with your dining etiquette? If you do well, I’ll listen to more of your thoughts and give you my thoughts.” Eve offered.

"I... would really like that." Cas admitted the tension in his shoulders fading more in that moment then that had since the whole thing began. Honestly... he missed his talks with Gabriel... it would be nice to have someone to talk to now that he was stuck in the kitchens.

Eve nodded as she brought out a set of pristine cutlery with ten sets of knives and forks. “There’s going to be ten course meals on Sundays, each one with their own cutlery.” She explained.

Castiel groaned at the information but he sat up listening carefully as he counter the utensils.

“So all you really need to know is that you use the knives and forks from the outside in. Apart from the soup course and you use the round spoon. Additionally, sometimes you use a second spoon for dessert, but it won’t be out of its not used.” Eve explained as she pointed to each spoon.

"Out in. Got it." He acknowledged. "So, what will I need to know about being an Omega in that situation?" He asked adjusting them slightly.

“So you’ll all arrive for a set time, as you do you’ll take your seat.” Eve started. “Your seat, this week will be at the head table on His Majesty’s right hand side. As you’re the newest Aide. There you’ll give a minute or two speech about your credentials and what you’re planning on achieving in the role. His Majesty May have already spoken to you about what he’s wanting from the military.” Eve explained. “Five minutes after the arrival time the King will enter. Everyone will rise, and salute him. Once he sits, the Alphas will, and then you as an Omega. I believe His Majesty is planning on overturning this rule so you’ll seat when the Alphas do. But as far as I’m aware he hasn’t done this yet.”

"Good to know. I suppose I will have to wait until he does." He acknowledged. "It will be upsetting to most of the Alphas that an Omega is becoming an Aide but I would like to keep it to a minimum." He sighed.

Eve nodded, “You’re the first in history, so there will be backlash. But you are paving a way for everyone other Omega. I will help you as much as you can, and so will His Majesty. The King wants you to succeed, that’s why he was giving you all that help at the beginning.” She explained. “Don’t throw the help away for the sake of vanity.”

Castiel scoffed at that. "Vanity? If only..." He sighed. "I had appreciated the help... it wasnt that... But tell me Eve... if he makes it a point to provide me with more than a typical Alpha, would that not be special treatment?" He asked. "If I gain these things when Alphas do not, it become more than just help it becomes priviledge and I become the favorite Omega who slept his way to the top even if it is untrue. By refusing the help I am nothing more than an equal. Yes it will be far more difficult... yes it will be dangerous but then no one can argue than an Omega /earned/ their place rather than being handed it.... That we are worth it. Thay we /can/ do it. This isnt just about me... or my vanity. It's about all of us. I dont want to be given anything that would make my job harder in the long run... including favoritism."

Eve sighed, “Sire, I cannot tell you what do to, but I would take the help. Everyone would believe I am the favourite anyway, because of the job I hold, the job proves favouritism enough, people will believe I slept my way to the position I hold, so I would take the help. It could be dangerous, like you said, so I would want anything that will make it easier, even just for one day.” Eve explained. “His Majesty wouldn’t want the reputation that every Omega he sleeps with to get a high level job, so he would dispel the rumours, anyway. I would take the help and at least go to sleep feeling safe.” Eve explained, placing the cutlery set to one side and gently taking his hand.

"Perhaps." Castiel sighed, considering it. Even if he didnt agree with the woman she did have some valid points. He gave her hand a small squeeze in return. "I could also kill any Alpha that tries anhthing." He offered. "Eventually they'd get the picture and leave me be." He shrugged knowing that's not really how that works.

Eve chuckled. “That’s if you don’t get thrown in prison first.” She smiled warmly.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "I don't know Eve... there is a lot of ifs and maybes...  To be honest... I just miss home... not that there is a home to go back to after this." He sighed, glancing away, eyes sadder than they had been just a moment before.

“Why don’t you tell me about home?” Eve suggested. “We can try and make this room more homely if you wanted?”

Cas snorted at that, offering her a warm smile that made the still healing lip burn a bit. "That is very sweet but I doubt it would be manageable." He mused. "This room... it's too large and lavish. In the barracks all I had was a simple cot, the things I needed to care for my armor and a small wardrobe for my clothes. But honestly it's the people I miss... My men... the ones that were always there, always giving counsel or laughing in the next room." He gave a small sad sigh. "His Majesty has reassured me I can visit when I become Aide but... unless it's for business I dont believe that is a good idea. I have no doubt made most of them very angry and would not want to cause any more trouble than necessary. Still... it has only been a few days and I miss them terribly... And worst of all Gabriel isnt even here to help... His Majesty obviously despises him and after so many threats I wouldnt dare visit him... but I do worry about him."

“My sister works in the kitchens. She is as old as me. I’m sure she can swing it with the chef to let her look out for Gabriel, or many even train him.” Eve offered. “I’m sure His Majesty has a good reason for not liking Gabriel, he won’t despise someone for no reason.” She smiled. “Talk to His Majesty. Let him open up to you. He’s just as lonely and new to the job as you are. You two can help each other if you just try.”

"Oh... I wouldnt want her to bother herself.... Gabriel is quite a handful." He admitted softly. "Though it would put my mind at ease." He admitted softly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Obviously side stepping her words regarding the King. "You are very kind Eve... Thank you." He sighed. "It shouldnt be as rare as it is in the world but it is." He smiled at her.

“It shouldn’t, but if you work hard it won’t be rare ever again. Maybe even one day, your great great grandkids might see an Omega Queen in charge.” Eve said wistfully. “Come on, let have another try in your shoes and then I’ll leave you to rest.” She said softly.

Cas chuckled at that. “Yeah… Maybe.” He mused before his smile faded and he gave a childish groan before moving back towards the bed to put the torture devices back on his feet.

“Come on, I’m sure the last thing you want to do is walk into a room of stuffy old Alphas and look weak or even trip and fall.” Eve chuckled, as she helped Castiel to put the shoes back on.

“You’re right but I still don’t see why I can’t just wear my boots.” He huffed as he strapped them on and stood with a bit more confidence than before.  

“Because you need to prove that no matter what they do to you, you are better and will overcome it, and do their jobs ten times better.” Eve smiled, trying to instil confidence into Castiel.

The Omega shot her a side glare with no real heat, hiding a small smirk. “Must you always be right?” He teased lightly. “Its infuriating.” He chuckled as he tried to take a step forward. They really were painful.

“I’m old. When you’re my age, you’ll always be right too.” Eve smiled warmly. “Stop putting so much weight on your heels, try just walking on your tiptoes.”

Cas’ smile faded but he tried to comply, wobbling as he did so. He was certain he looked like an idiot but he did as he was told and slid his feet forward one at a time.

“That’s it. You’re doing so well. At least you’re doing this without me holding you.” Eve smiled. “No one is perfect straight away. It takes practice. I’m sure used to tell the new soliders that all the time.”

“Yes… though I feel a bit childish hearing it told to me at this age.” He mused as he waddled across the room, only almost falling twice.

“And you were trying to get to teach me to use a sword.” Eve smiled. “I’m proud of what you’ve done today. You’ve come so far is such a small amount of time. You’re a quick learning.”

“Well, I certainly try.” He offered, gaze still on his feet as he continued his treck. “I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted the Omegas who wear these.” He admitted softly.

“And here you were wanting to get away from your Omega side.” Eve smiled. “Is there anything you want to ask me about being an Omega? I don’t want you to be confused about anything.”

Cas paused considering it a moment. “I…” He began flushing deeply. “Apparently I am having a bit of issue hiding my scent. Is there something I can do?” He asked, as he moved to sink down with another sigh, feet already aching.

Eve sighed. “Share you heat. You’ve been so long without a heat, I believe your body may have... almost regressed back to a prepubescent stage. You’ve just come off the suppressants, so now your body is a teenager who has presented for the first time. It can’t control your scent or anything else related. Usually it settles down when an Omega shares a heat with an Alpha.” Eve explained softly. “That’s my best guess but I’ve never met anyone who has used suppressants before. “Your heat may be... strong as well. I know that whilst pregnant, an Omega doesn’t have heat, and after the nine months, it’s as if... the heats have built up, and is released all at once. At may be the same for you.” Eve explained. “So speak with an Alpha now, explain this and ask for their assistance. It will help ease the... desperation.”

Cas wrinkled his nose at that. “I think I rather be locked in a cage and forgotten.” He grumbled softly. “I don’t detest the idea of laying with an Alpha.” He clarified quickly, realizing how it sounded. “Its just… I don’t trust any of them in that aspect. Alphas are fine men in general outside of the bedroom but they’re aggressive sadistic beasts the moment the scent weakness.” He stated flatly as if he believed that that was the case without exception. “They want nothing more than to take what they desire by any means and leave their Omega as they please.” He gave another sigh, deflating a bit. “I suppose I’ll just have to figure out another way.” He mumbled already deep in thought, not realizing how serious his words had been.

“Castiel...” Eve said softly. “Make a deal with an Alpha. They can lay with you, but not knot you. Talk through what you want and don’t want. I promise if by the end of your heat, your scent will get worse and you’ll be in so much more pain. Don’t do that to yourself, just for unfounded stubbornness.” Eve said softly, taking his hands. “You’ll understand why I’m saying this if you trust me.”

Cas glanced at her evenly. “Unfounded?” He scoffed. “I might not have lain with an Alpha in some time but I’ve been with enough to know that nothing about it is ‘Unfounded’. And I would still need to find one that I could trust their word which at the moment is zero.” He sighed. “Maybe Surges…” He contemplated.

“He has a job that will take up too much time. You need someone who is their own boss.” Eve explained. “You are going to be in heat for the majority of the day and night.”

“Well, if he is assigned to me again then his only job would be to be with me.” He contemplated. “But that would imply I’d actually spend a heat with an Alpha.” He pointed out. “I have a lot to consider but I’m not sure of any of it.”

“Well you have my opinion, and...” Eve thought for a moment, “even if it’s not true, you can phrase it as it being you giving the Alpha your heat, and as such you can ask for something in return from them. Just... don’t throw the ideas away.” She hummed softly.

“Honestly Eve, I value your opinion to much to throw any of them away. Even if I don’t like them.” He teased lightly. “Can I take these off now?” He asked perhaps a bit too quickly.

Eve nodded, “but I want you to try walking around the room a few times today. I’ll be back tomorrow and I want to see you do it without help and without falling.” She smiled.

“I will do my best.” He offered returning her smile, very thankful for her presence suddenly.

Eve smiled and tentatively opened her arms. “I know you will. You’re a good man.” She said softly.

He hesitated before moving into her embrace which only made him miss his brother, the only other person he really hugged.

“You’ll do well. Just don’t try to do it alone. People want to help, allow them.” Eve said, before pulling back.

“I will do my best but if the cost is too great then I have to refuse.” He sighed, straightening as well.

“I know but you have to try. For all of us, you have to succeed or it will only get worse for us.” Eve said softly. “I’ve seen too much progress to watch it regress.”

“I can only promise to do my best.” He reassured. “I am just a man, though it seems like there are a lot of people who think otherwise.”

“We are all so desperate to show we can be equals. And you have the opportunity. Our dreams are to have the opportunity you have. But I will help any way I can.” Eve promised.

“I know… I hope to make the dream a reality.” He acknowledged. “But I am will still make some mistakes. I hope you can forgive me when I do.”

“We will. And I hope you’ll call on me if you need any advice.” Eve said softly. “I want to help you through this.”

“Speaking of which…” He mumbled softly. “How attached are you to your position?” He asked. “When I become Aide its my understanding that I can choose a number of advisors to assist in a great number of things. From what I’ve gathered most Aides choose military advisors but I feel as if I can manage that bit.” He admitted with a small chuckle. “Its etiquette I’m pretty worried about.”

“I’m too old to keep up with the young ones, but I don’t want to retire. It would be my honor to be your assistant, Sire.” Eve said bowing as low as she could with a fist over her heart.

Castiel’s grin broadened as he returned the salute with a shallow bow. “I hope you know what you’re getting into… It’s not going to be easy being an Omega assistant with the first Omega Aide.” He pointed out. “Could be dangerous… You sure you don’t want those sword lessons?” He teased playfully.

“I trust you’ll protect me, Sire.” Eve smiled. “Plus who would want to try it on with me? I’m old and saggy.”

The words caught Castiel of guard and it took a moment for him to realize what she had said before he burst into laughter.

Eve smiled and chuckled softly. “I’ll meet with you tomorrow at the same time. I want you walking around the room on your own.” She smiled, “and talk to a handsome, free Alpha about your heat. As your assistant, this is what I’m telling you to do.”

Cas shot her another glare still without any heat behind it. “Pushing me already I see.” He teased but nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“It’s for the best.” Eve smiled before leaving the room and Castiel in silence.

Castiel watched her go, feeling a bit better with the world around him. She was right… about so many things but perhaps he should address one thing at a time… He glanced at the shoes, toss haphazardly to the side… One thing at a time… just not /that/. He ignored them before turning to his desk and beginning to try and find the words to address the King.

To his Most Excellent Majesty Dean Winchester, King of Shurley

May it please your Majesty,

 To permit an unworthy, but loyal subject to approach your Majesty's throne in this manner, as tradition will not let me do it in any other.

I would like to humbly, formally request and audience with his Majesty, The King. It has come to my attention that there are a few subjects which may need to be discussed. While this is not a formal matter, which is a bit unorthodox, I feel that there is many misunderstandings that could be clarified with a simple civilized discussion; outside the confines of the castle and its inhabitants.

Perhaps if the King could find it in his good graces to spare a bit of time, an inspection of the new Knight Commander could be arranged with his Aide to be? I am certain the time it takes to stroll from the Castle to the barracks could be plenty enough for such discussion.

I request this and nothing more, I assure His Majesty. I am settling quite well into my position and feel as if everything that has been provided is more than adequate to meet the needs of a new Royal Aide.

May your most gracious Majesty take these matters into due consideration, and may you be inspir'd by the King of Kings to do that which is right in his sight. I wish long life and happiness to your Majesty, and am,

 Your Majesty's most Faithful and obedient Castiel Novak, Former Knight Commander.

 Dean read the letter a few time, digesting and dissecting the words slowly. It was never something he would have expected to read, especially from Castiel of all people. He picked up his quill and a clean piece of parchment: Dearest Aide Novak, Nothing would please me more than to dispel the air between us. I fear that the future will is close together, professionally. If you are able, please meet myself by the main entrance after supper, today. I am positive that the cool air will aide in our civilised discussion. Your ever faithful King, King Dean Winchester. Dean wrote in his elegant cursive handwriting he was forced to learn when he was a child.

Castiel was on his way to the library when the messenger presented him with the letter. He mumbled a quick thank you before breaking the seal and beginning to read the words carefully. He sighed a breath of relief when the words seemed to be accepting rather than patronizing and aggressive. Now all he needed to figure out is what he would wear to inspect the newly promoted men.

That evening, Dean headed out of his chambers, ordering the guard to stay behind. He had a short dagger strapped to his waist and a sword hanging on the other side. He waited by the double front doors, looking around for Castiel.

It didn’t take long for Castiel to appear, dressed in his social formal Alpha clothing from his previous rank. He would have preferred something more fitting but he wasn’t quite comfortable dressing as an Aide without the title, quite yet and the clothing Celeste had made for him was long gone. Regardless he approached the King, giving a low sweeping bow per usual. Though he hid it well enough his own weapons could be made out against the line of his waist and his boots if one looked close enough.

“Your Majesty.” He greeted. “Thank you for the quick response and the opportunity for counsel.”

“Of course.” Dean said softly, as he counted the numerous weapons on his person. “It read that you had something particular to speak about. Is there anything particular on your mind.”

 "Well... Yes. I suppose there is." Cas acknowledged before motioning towards the hall. "Shall we walk?"

Dean nodded and held his arm open, to allow Castiel to go first. “Is there anything I can do to ease your transition? I’ve heard that you’ve enjoyed your session with your elocutionist, so much that you’ve appointed her as your assistant.” Dean hummed softly.

 Castiel nodded and began to walk, keeping his eyes ahaed as he listened. "Yes, in the short amount of time I spoke to her she showed quite a bit of wisdom. I am also not so vain to ignore my weaknesses, the largest being etiquette as you have seen first hand." He admitted. "She actually advised I speak with you about matters at hand."

 Dean opened his arms, “I am all ears, Novak.” He said as he watched Castiel closely. “This is something causing you some distress. Wouldn’t you prefer to do this somewhere, away from any prying eyes and ears?” He offered, wanting Castiel to be comfortable for whatever matter he is about to raise.

 "If I may speak freely, Sire?" He asked carefully, finally glancing at him, looking a bit worried.

 “Of course Novak, this is clearly eating you up inside.” Dean said softly, wanting to reach out and take Castiel’s hand to calm the Omega but knew better than to try it.

 "To be honest, Sire... I was hesitant to be alone with you. Our... record for such things is not very pleasant." He pointed out. "But I hope to rectify that. I believe it is a simple case of misunderstanding. Perhaps we are not seeing things from each other's sides."

 Dean nodded. “May I just say that, what I was giving you, I didn’t see as help to make you more than equals to your Aide counterparts. I can only imagine how hard all this is for you, I merely wanted to help you onto the same footing as the other Aides.” Dean explained. “A lot of them had been training for the position for years, I thought I was helping by giving you the education and privileges that they had acquired over the years.” He explained, his eyes soft and gentle as he looked over to Castiel. “Please forgive my ignorance, Novak.”

 Castiel seemed to soften a bit at that, shoulders seeming slightly less tense than before. “I… Know.” He acknowledged softly. “There is no reason to apologize for that. I realize that you were only trying to help, Dean. I meant no disrespect when I refused everything you were trying to give. I only ask that you see it from my point of view as well… Having these things would help tremendously but at what cost. As an Omega next to the King; you could be accused of favoritism and I would be given privilege. Neither of which we can really afford if we are to accomplish what we are attempting. Every Omega Aide that comes after me would expect the same treatments while the Alpha’s are not receiving it. That cannot be allowed.” He offered as they continued on. “I must learn on my own unfortunately. Though I do want to express my gratitude for your willingness to assist. It is appreciated.” He acknowledged, forcing a small smile towards the man.  

Dean smiled and nodded. “As you wish, though I do hope you’d come to me if you need anything. Anything at all. Especially with something such as Singer. I know you may have thought my actions childish, but when there is a man who has been set in the rules and etiquette and procedures for as long as him, sometimes the only possible way to make him listen is to shout and be loud and break etiquette.” Dean explained, softly. He gave Castiel a soft smile, “how about... a deal, I won’t threaten your family, if you come to me when you need a King’s input?” He offered gently, guessing that Castiel would turn down the offer.

The Omega consider it for a moment, considering his options. “To be honest, Sire. After the night previously… I didn’t expect you would believe me, or care for that matter.” He admitted. “Your reaction was quite the surprise.” He sighed. “I couldn’t exactly run to you and plead when my brother could be harmed for it.” He added before giving another tension draining sigh. “I suppose I can ignore my doubts and approach you when necessary.” He acknowledged. “Someone had suggested that you may be handling your new role… not quite as easily as you let on as well.” He added, turning to eye the man. “Perhaps we should discuss you’re ascension as well? Is there anything I can aide you with? That is why you brought me here afterall, isn’t it?”

Dean smiled softly, as he looked over to Castiel. “All I could ever ask of you is to grow into your role quickly, which I know you’ll do.” He said softly. “But if you are offering, my role is... quite lonely, if you know of anyone that could lead a supportive ear, one who is cleared to hear about aspects of my role, that normal men cannot hear, then I would be grateful if you gave me their names.” Dean said, his voice growing quieter, as he looked around

Cas paused taking a moment to appreciate the evening air as they entered the courtyard just outside the palace. He was thankful that most of the servants were tending to either their families or the supper clean up duties. He turned to face the King. “Your Majesty, I realize that I have come off a bit… aggressively during our first few meetings. I had no intentions of such things. I’ve asked your forgiveness once, though perhaps a bit superficially, so I will ask it again. Please, forgive me. I suppose it is a defense mechanism after posing as an Alpha for so long. I hope to change it though it may take time. That being said, I would be honored to listen to your problems, concerns… opinions as a man, rather than a King. I assure, this time I will not address them so poorly.”

Dean nodded, he tried to keep a calm expression but the relief in his eyes and the tension lifting from his shoulders gave him away. “Thank you Novak, I... it means a lot that you would offered your services.” He said with a genuine smile, aimed at the Omega. “Though, to ask you of this task and not give you something of equal enormity and as personal seems... unfair. I understand you don’t want to be seen as a favourite, but I do hope to return the favour.” Dean explained.

“I am no so sure, Sire.” Castiel countered. “Last time I attempted it my brother was threaten. If I do so again, I suppose I should be so lucky not have a pet or he would be as well.” He added, the only indication that the words were meant as a joke was the small upturn of his mouth and the amusement that shown in his gaze.

“Your brother shall never come into harms away, again. Unless he puts himself there.” Dean said with a small smile. “If you would like a pet to make your room more homely, all I ask is that you don’t get a dog, I fear they don’t like me to well.” Dean explained.

Cas gave a small chuckle at that. “A pet is a lot of responsibility. I think I have my hands full enough with Gabriel.” He replied as they started walking once more; the Omega grateful for the small breeze that allowed the relieved scent he was no doubt exuding to dissipate. His smile faded slightly as he considered the last few weeks, however. “If we are discussing these issues freely, Sire. I hope it is not too much to ask how you are handling your Father’s passing? I know your relationship may not have been the greatest but a father is still a father.”

 It was Dean’s turn to stop walking and looked down to the floor. “This is still too public for me to speak ill of the dead.” He said, his voice small and weak. “Many liked him, and if someone overhears me speaking disrespectfully, I fear it won’t help my reputation much.” Dean sighed. “But thank you for the concern.” He looked up at Castiel, sadness filled his eyes.

 Castiel's brows furrowed, his own gaze saddened as he saw Dean for what he truly was for perhaps the first time: A man who was both confused and saddened by the loss of his father. Castiel wanted to reach for him, to comfort him... which was an odd feeling. "Of course... My apologies, I should have realized the inappropriate location." He acknowledged, feeling guilty while also a but relieved of Dean's subtle reaction. "Perhaps if the inspection goes well, we may have a bit of time to discuss matters more privately?" He offered.

 Dean nodded and looked to the sky to calm him emotions before looking back to Castiel. “Only if you wish to spend the time with me. I do not wish to force you.” He said softly, continuing their walk.

 "I suppose, to find out if you are good to your word... I would have to." He offered. "Since you assured me no more threats on my family." He added. "Eventually, perhaps we will earn one another's trust." He shrugged. "I'd say that's a good start at least."

 Dean nodded. “I do trust you, I just don’t appreciate some of the ways you speak to me.” He explained. “I trust your consul or I wouldn’t have made you an Aide.”

 Castiel chuckled at that. "I suppose you have a great number of reasons to feel that way. I suppose I am not very... charismatic in tone." He admitted with a sigh. "It had gotten me in quite a few arguement with King John, may he rest in peace." He admitted.

 “He can rest.” Dean mumbled. “We’ll work on it together.” He offered. “I’ll learn to understand what you’re trying to say and not become so defensive so easily.” He suggested. “Was there anything else you’d like to speak about? How are you settling into your room?” He asked.

 "Fairly well, all things considered." He admitted, thankful for the change in subject. "Its a bit too lavish for my tastes but I suppose I will get use to it. I would like, with your permission to have some of the furniture removed. I lived a fairly simplistic life until now and I am not quite sure what half of the pieces are meant to do." He admitted a bit embarrassed but the fact.

 “I’m sure your elocutionist can explain and show you. Or if you’d prefer, I can.” Dean offered. “Then you can choose whether you want to keep it or not.”

 "I am certain Eve will be most pleased to give me the full history of each." He mused. "I would not want to take up too much of your time, Sire." He offered. "It is just furniture."

 Dean hummed, “is there anything else you’d like to speak to me about? Anything personal or professional, I don’t mind.” He offered softly. “If you are to listen to my troubles then I’m happy to listen to yours.”

 "Well, perhaps... professional." He admitted. "Eve mentioned it is customary that Omegas sit last at meals such as the one Sunday. She had mentioned you were planning to change this but that it has not happened. I simply wanted to make sure this was the case and it would change?"

 “It is, it’s in motion.” Dean promised. “But my work is backdated four years, and at the moment, I need to deal with the older work first, as well as anything pertaining to my security in the job.” Dean sighed. “I’ll nudge it up the order, so it’ll be passed for the following Sunday.” Dean promised.

 "Of course, Sire. There is no rush. I cannot pretend to know what Omegas have gone through, sitting last for one meal is nothing to complain about comparatively." He offered with a small bow. "Though perhaps, if you allow me to examine some of the precautions you are taking for your own security I can assist in that area? I realize I may not be an Aide yet but my experience allows me some insight in the subject."

 Dean shook his head. “It is the legal side of it all. So no one can claim I ascended illegally. So Sammy can’t force me to abdicate. But thank you for offering Novak, it means a lot that you want to help.” Dean explained. “Plus, I need to find new Aides. My father made them all swear an oath to him rather than the chair. The ones that haven’t retired, are still in the job out of the kindness of their hearts.” Dean sighed. “And the longer I make them wait to retire, the more restless they grow.” He sighed, forgetting himself and his surroundings

 Castiel nodded as he listened, knowing the way to the barracks by heart. “I see.” He mumbled softly. “How many would you prefer to have, Sire?” He asked curiously. “Have you given much thought to your brother?” He added remembering the mention of the younger Winchester when they had first interacted with one another. “If I may, Your Majesty, I still feel as if he would make a wonderful Advisor or Aide. It may not be traditional but… neither is an Omega. Perhaps he would be interested in the position... Though I do realize he has a different profession currently.”

[Beginning] // [Previous] // [Next]

[kleeboy]

okay im deleting and reposting this because i put a swear word in the tags and it wasnt even showing up in searches for my personal, and i don’t trust the mobile editor to fix my problems but its time 4 me to make a post

Here's what I’ve got for a Thunderbirds D&D AU! I'm not gonna get into numbers and stats and levels because I do that enough when I play normal d&d and I'm gay and tired. Also, there’s probably gonna be a touch of rule bending not only to reconcile d&d with the Thunderbirds canon but just to boost the fun factor a bit. It’s not like we’re setting up a playable campaign so it doesn’t really matter as long as we’re not making it unrecognisable as part of the d&dverse. At that point, you might as well just call it a fantasy AU (still lit tho lmao). This is mostly TOS based but I’ll add some notes on TAG stuff now and then in italics because I’m here to provide. It’s hefty, so everything's under the cut. Hopefully comprehensible.

IR (presumably going by some other name but we’ll just stick with that for sake of ease) is still a rescue organisation - it operates on a somewhat smaller scale but access to magic means it’s got a pretty big reach for typical d&d technology. It’s centred around an ancient deity that few people have heard of and even fewer worship. There’s only one known temple dedicated to said deity and it had been abandoned for a long time before they found it, so it’s currently being restored - if rather agonizingly slowly. Anyway, IR is deity-based because nothing screams “fight for a cause” like paladins! They’re paladins, mostly, is what I’m saying.

Jeff is likely an ex-adventurer, probably a paladin but I’m seriously considering cleric just for interest’s sake so sue me, I love clerics. His party did some pretty cool stuff back in the day, and adventuring pays well as long as you don’t die, so he’s pretty well off. He left the party and settled down in one place when Scott was born, and the rest of them presumably disbanded and went about their own lives eventually. Or maybe they’re still out there causing a ruckus. Who knows. Pretty easy to just say “and he’s not there anymore” for TAG, rationalise his disappearance as you please. Either way, at some point he decided to start an organisation that would make saving lives a bit more structured than the usual “Let's hope a squad of adventurers stumbles on our predicament” that people have been relying on.

Scott is a Battle Master archetype fighter who multiclassed into paladin. Battle Master provides the most appropriate mechanics for a field leader, and also seems like the sort of thing Scott would have been doing previous to IR. He’s the least proficient spellcaster of the group if only by virtue of his class, but access to paladin magic gives his fighting an extra kick which, along with the Battle Master maneuvers, makes him pretty damn dangerous with a sword. It also means he can cast Find Steed, and because said steed’s form can go beyond normal when permitted by the DM and we’re making the rules here I’m giving him a pegasus, which is about the fastest flying mount you could get as far as the monster manual goes. A roc would just be too much. Very VERY cool. But too much.

Virgil is a College of Lore bard into paladin. When it comes to support classes, nothing beats a College of Lore bard for versatility. He’s got the range, darling. Slap an arsenal of magic items on that and you’re well on your way to the d&d equivalent of Thunderbird 2. He has some good offensive spells and weapon training but mostly works to keep others from getting hurt. With a high constitution, the Tough feat, good armour and a shield he pretty much becomes a mobile wall to be put between danger and anyone who can’t take too many hits. Find Steed again lets me give him something interesting to ride, and what better than an owlbear. A big one. Not quite as appropriate stat-wise as the pegasus for Scott but when it comes to aesthetics I’m yet to find something as good as a bear-shaped and -sized owl.

John is predominantly a Divination wizard, with a low paladin level - two maximum - giving him access to a lot of powerful magic but leaving him, how do you say, squishy. Divination is gameplay-wise pretty underwhelming, with not many spells to its name, but for someone whose job is centred around keeping an eye on things, the ability to see very far away and receive premonitions is gonna be useful. The system by which distress calls are sent is giving me some concept trouble but when it comes to receiving it’s as easy as a focus with some capability to project images and sound, gear already necessary to cast Scrying. So, as in canon, rather than going out on missions (at least for the most part), it’s John’s job to keep tabs on incoming signals and active operations. This is all based in the previously mentioned temple - out of the way enough to let me call it a T5 equivalent. He also has the secondary job of making sure nothing else tries to take up residence in the decrepit building. They had to clear it of goblins the first time. As far as Eos goes I don’t have room for all my thoughts (so many) but let’s call her a sentient magic item. Additionally, TAG John probs gets a level or two in cleric.

Gordon is a paladin into druid, Circle of the Land (Coast). He and Alan didn't have any previous class levels before becoming paladins. Neither of his classes give any bonuses for it beyond proficiency for paladins but nobody can stop me from making his primary weapon a longbow, plus the Sharpshooter feat is helpful. Coast druid is the only subclass of any d&d class that has a specific focus on water and what could go wrong if we let him turn into animals? It also has some good circle spells, when he gets to that point. He’d probably have a lot of fun with Mirror Image. There was probably an incident that catalysed his becoming a druid, I'd like to think it's the equivalent of the boat crash just placed on a different point in the timeline. Might get into it at a later date.

Alan is just pure paladin, it's all he's really had time to do with his life so far beyond being a kid and growing up, y'know? I’ll get a little into the subclass here, all of IR’s 3rd level or higher paladins take Oath of Devotion. From the PHB: “These paladins meet the ideal of the knight in shining armor, acting with honor in pursuit of justice and the greater good.” Devotion’s core tenets are honesty, courage, compassion, honor, and duty. Also their Channel Divinity: Sacred Weapon is just really cool. Who doesn’t like glowing stuff, man. Alan's got some more powerful paladin abilities than any of his brothers but probably has the lowest total level regardless. Giving him the Athlete feat, which lets him jump and climb a lot easier, feels appropriate. He snuck a griffon home when it was a baby, and is trying to train it. It's not very well behaved and causes a ruckus when it gets bored but he adores it. One day it’ll make a phenomenal companion. For now, it will continue to attempt to eat his fingers.

Brains is an artificer! Love that class. Artificers, rather than casting spells (though they can do that), make magic items. The artificer class is from Unearthed Arcana and a lot of the mechanics can be hit or miss, it’s been revised many times by lots of different people. But when it comes to the basic idea, it’s the obvious choice for Brains. The less common a magic item, the longer it takes and harder it is to make. The higher level an artificer the more, and more powerful, their creations are. Pretty simple. Also pretty much every version of artificer you come across has some sort of option for a mechanical companion so there’s MAX for you.

Tin-Tin is also an artificer, with a few levels in paladin for good measure. Her time is split between making and repairing gear and going out on missions, and when on call is incredibly useful for lightning fixes and is incredibly creative when it comes to the ways magic items (and nonmagic items) can be used to get out of predicaments. This is the character who constantly has Inspiration. Kayo is an Assassin archetype rogue into paladin. Assassins do… a lot of damage. If you know much about d&d rules (I don’t expect you to), the only thing scarier than a bard, stat wise, is a rogue. +10 to stealth is pretty easy to get by 5th level, combine that with Sneak Attack and Assassinate and you can deal up to 26 damage in one hit with a dagger alone. I said I wouldn’t do any maths but I lied.

Penny doesn’t necessarily have any class levels, though rogue would be appropriate. She falls more under the NPC umbrella, somewhere between Noble and Spy, perhaps? NPCs have a lot less restrictions when it comes to what they can and can’t do laterally, but it’s harder to make them powerful without assigning a class. I also think it’d be really neat to use the fantasy setting to make her nonhuman. High elf would be fitting and cool, but she’d also make a fantastic tiefling. Though, like, call me biased, everyone would make a fantastic tiefling.

I think that’s all I’ve got to say on the matter right now. I have a lot more specific details that I’ll get to eventually but this post is more of a jumping off point listing some options for anyone else who might want to mess around with a d&d AU but doesn’t know where to start. Pick out things you like, ditch things you don’t, add whatever sounds cool, and honestly? Congratulations on getting through this whole thing. This post is kind of in shambles. And thanks! I love taking any excuse to pore over these books.

Shoot me an ask or something if anything’s too incomprehensible or there’s something up with the formatting. Later, skaters.

[ghoulstars]

im only posting this bc i desperately need to exorcise this thought somewhere bc it wont fucking leave me alone

those of you who know me personally or follow my instagram know about this but for those of you who dont: in a horrible turn of events, our plan to put down our geriatric yellow labrador retriever dixie was unfortunately and unexpectedly doubled today to having to put down our 3 year old engam bulldog, bean, as well

when we got him in mid december, 2015 he was barely out of puppyhood, we found him wandering around near the highway at our local gas station with a collar and no tag, trying to jump into two out-of-towner girls’ car. my stepdad intervened bc they couldnt take bean with them obviously, and brought him home instead.

we put up lost dog flyers everywhere all over our very small city, in an attempt to maybe see if someone would indeed come forward for their dog. we knew he wasnt just a stray because of his collar.

almost right off the bat, we were told by a woman who worked at the gas station that there was a man who lived in the trailer park just across the road, located behind the pancake diner. you can see it from the gas station parking lot. she told us that he had a lot of dogs that he typically kept chained up outside in poor conditions, and beat them regularly. to us? it seemed totally reasonable that that must’ve been where bean came from, given the fact he was a dog and we found him literally less than 50 feet away from where this fucking man lived.

no one came forward to claim bean. we kept those flyers up for months, we only put them up to begin with knowing he may have been thrown out by (or escaped from) this disgusting man just because there was the possibility that it wasn’t his dog, but someone else’s. as well as the potential for legal intervention if this fabled abuser found out we had technically stolen his dog (and full disclosure, fuck him for what he does, i hope all his dogs get stolen like they need to be, i myself was not fond of the idea of just giving the dog back to this creep if he was indeed the owner but i was only 16 at the time so there wasnt much i could do)

with no one claiming bean, after those months passed, we decided that he was ours now. flyers were taken down, we gave him his collar and nametag, to be real he’d already been named by us in the first few days we had him. he was going to be ours no matter what; my mother always told me its a rule that if you name a stray, and do it quick before anyone can object to keeping it, it’s yours now. that’s your pet, with it’s new name.

so we carried on with our lives, now having not just one dog, but two. it was a bit iffy with my stepfather keeping bean since we didnt technically need to manage two dogs at the time, but we still did it anyways because we loved him, the little bean man.

but here’s where my problem lies and this is why im writing this now: as time went on and we continued to have bean as our pet, some stuff about the original suggestion that he belonged to an abusive older man who lived in close proximity to where we found bean wasnt adding up

due to dixie’s failing body, she would sometimes lose control of her bowels inside the house, which was becoming unacceptable when she stayed in overnight. so, she stayed outside. she and bean bonded, so they stayed outside together too. (and for clarity here, i know what some of you might want to say, but we knew very early on that bulldogs do not do well with heat or isolation. we also know that dixie probably shouldve been put down years ago, but here’s the trouble: my stepfather would not let us euthanize her. she is his dog technically, and the thought hurt him so much that he would not agree to it for YEARS. dixie and bean were too attached to separate them for long periods of time like they would be if we kept bean inside mostly and her outside mostly; that would’ve been cruel in its own special way. we put pools out for bean and visited with both dogs for as much as we could outside, bathed them, put fans out for them in the summer. our only option to give bean the main love and care he needed was, and of course we had other reasons to do this, to put dixie down, which was where we thought we were finally going to be by tomorrow, but thats not what happened, as you can tell)

as to be expected, bean sometimes found his way inside, mostly by applying his american bulldog traits to memorizing when unfamiliar guests would come over and bolt in the house. he did this enough times and very recently we were letting him stay inside instead of taking him back out, and all of these experiences combined, we noticed something: bean was housebroken. he was out of practice with it, and did not know very well how to communicate that he needed to go outside to use the bathroom, but he did know what to do. he would run to the door if he had to go, not always making it, but still, he was housebroken. he only marked furniture once while inside, in his entire lifespan thus far. that was a red flag to us, but especially my mother, who realized this skill of beans directly contradicted the statement that he was probably kept outside, chained up, starved, and beaten by the trailer park guy. not to mention, bean came to us in nearly perfect condition to begin with, just skinny. no patches of fur gone, he was the opposite of skittish and aggressive, no bruises, nothing. just a loving, bouncy, stupid bulldog mix

this, im not sure if im correct about this, but it stands out enough to me that i feel its worth mentioning: bean is not a mutt of any kind, and his breed contradicts those types of breeds most people who abuse animals come to own; usually large breeds, breeds inaccurately known for aggression, and breeds used by abusers to make aggressive bc they know the fighting power of these dogs (pitbulls, american bulldogs, etc). bean is an engam bulldog (english/american mix), which is a very obscure mixed breed dog to begin with and especially obscure where i live, and as we all know english bulldogs are short, stout, fat little things that can basically do no harm whatsoever. they also have a history of inbreeding to look how they do. i know this man may have just seen ‘bulldog’ and snagged him thinking he’d be aggressive, but that does not sit right with me for two other reasons: bean’s conformation (body structure) and coloration. there is nothing about bean that suggests he was bred to be used for fighting, or that he’s a true mutt, or anything of the sort. his body type literally resembles that of show dogs, and his fur coloration is highly unusual because he’s blue. obviously not literally blue but the type of blue-grey you can find in animals, typically seen in cats. bean’s coloration is almost NEVER found in ANY breed of bulldog, it is INCREDIBLY rare that he looks like this. his condition in which we found him, his housebrokenness, his color and his body formation lead, in me and my family’s opinion, to an alternative opinion: he belonged to someone that got him because they wanted a dog as a pet, not to beat, and they either bred him themselves or bought him (probably from a pet store or breeder) for his color and conformation. 

but why would they dump a dog this valuable? my mom said this to me earlier, sobbing after she returned from the vet today, and this is my whole reason for writing this insane fucking novel of a post: whoever dumped bean threw out a sick puppy, and on purpose.

bean hasnt been injured or contracted an unvaccinated illness or anything like that. he had been experiencing extreme stomach distension for the past month, whereas he was losing weight everywhere else on his body. he had also been vomiting. but he wasnt depressed, or lethargic. maybe his personality was a little off but not so much it was horribly noticeable, and at that, he was still eating regularly everyday. we came to the conclusion he had parasites, though ive always been terrified something more serious was going on (i dont get listened to though).

as it turns out, i was right. mom took him in today, the day before dixie was set to be put down, for his deworming pills. what she got instead was a diagnosis of possible lung cancer. his blood work was normal, which is unusual in animals with cancer, but he still had nodules on his lungs that highly resembled cancer. his heart was also severely enlarged due to heartworms, and his stomach was so distended because it was full of fluid and blood. they did send his blood off for labs, but even if his lungs were fine, he was going to die anyway (they got a second opinion from another practice and they also agree it was probably cancerous). he has a 15% survival rate for only the very first heartworm treatment, which will cost $500. nothing lives very long with an enlarged heart to begin with. we don’t have that money, and for a treatment that will definitely kill him? i dont even know why he has so much blood and fluid in his digestive tract. bean, a dog who is only 3 or 4 years old, has an enlarged heart, lung tumors and fluid/blood all in his abdomen. the vet was apparently stunned that a dog this young could have this many potentially (and one definitely) fatal health problem(s).

i now fully believe that whoever owned him before knew he had all these issues, or that he was going to develop them. i think it makes sense. i also think they’re cheap, cruel fucks who didnt want to shell out that much money to take care of him, or pay to take him to a shelter/sanctuary, and so what did they do? they did what many people these days very regularly do when their new pet has become undesirable: they fucking dumped him on the side of the road and booked it. took his nametag off and everything, to make him look like a stray. they left him for some well meaning, animal loving family like mine to find him, not know anything about these preexisting health issues, and assume he’s healthy enough; maybe just needs a few more vaccinations and a worm and flea treatment. he showed no signs of lung cancer or heart problems in all his life up until this past month, and he’s still so young. i will even go as far as to say that he himself may be severely inbred, which could be the cause of these health issues. given his specific posture and color, and that he’s a bulldog, it’d make sense. it seems like he came from some kind of breeder to begin with anyway.

so now that ive said that and got it all out of the way, i want to leave an open letter to the hypothetical cunt that did this to us and bean:

i hope god fucking strikes you down where you stand. i hope every single day of your miserable fucking life, you think about where he ended up, if he’s still alive, if anyone found him, if he ever got hit by a car or died alone of cancer and heart failure in a field somewhere. i hope you feel guilt for leaving him knowing he’d develop cancer and that he had heart worms, and knowing you did it BECAUSE of that. i hope you never fucking forget about the fact that you threw an INNOCENT LITTLE PUPPY out on the highway because you just didnt want to have anything to do with his illnesses, and i hope one day you find out what you did to us and this innocent little boy. he’s such a good fucking dog, he is so patient, kind, loving and gentle, and when he has bursts of energy to play he fucking goes, and now he has to die barely halfway through his lifespan because of your fucking negligence. he is laying outside on the porch right now, uncomfortable with fluids and blood backing up his intestines, coughing and huffing just to try and breathe. at the very least, if he were taken to the right shelter, he couldve been fucking cared for and given treatments to extend his life as much as possible, or at least given hospice care for however long he could live, which has now been shortened to 3 or 4 years. if you yourself knew this dog was inbred or you inbred him yourself, fuck you. i hope you get run over by a fucking truck. this breed can live from 12-16 years, that’s a LONG time for a dog like him, and you had to fucking ruin it all because of your own fucking preferences; you wanted the perfect dog. and you could’ve had him if you’d grown a fucking heart and actually gave a shit about animals beyond how they look aesthetically; as well, if you fucking actually gave a shit about your animals HEALTH and wanted to maintain it instead of apparently assuming he’d just be fine and healthy with all his vaccinations and that’d be the end of it. you do not deserve to own an animal if you dont even want to acknowledge it will sometimes need medical care, how fucking heartless are you? we never had enough money to take care of dixie’s failing health, and we always knew it’d be better to put her down, but my stepdad kept refusing. you had enough money to fucking breed or buy a blue show-quality engam bulldog and you still wouldnt fucking care for him after you found out what problems he had. fuck you. eat shit and die. i hope you never find peace from the guilt of knowing you fucking killed what became our dog because you’re selfish. my mother is physically sick with grief. i am physically sick with grief. i feel so bad that it’s as if i have the fucking flu. i was trying to talk with my mother about this situation earlier and i had to rush to leave because i felt like i was about to throw up if i didnt. everyone in this house has cried so much today it’s disgusting. 

the only thing good about this is that bean came along for dixie when she needed him most, and became her helper and provider, giving her company and being a literal post to lean on for when she couldnt see where she was going. they’re going over the rainbow bridge tomorrow morning together, and in a way, this is probably the best outcome. at least bean wont have to grieve. dixie can see her old companion again (who died from a ruptured tumor in 2014) and bean can meet him, and they can all play and be together in that field in the sky. 

my family will never have another dog again because of this pain this has caused us.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

instead of me making a post where i briefly rate btvs characters im gonna do a post im sure ive already made abt how in the first book alone its shown that narnia is an unreasonable twilight zone to deal with and the lore is wild and aslan is sort of a jerk and bad with dealing with children / dealing with the world he created; or: the battle of the reader vs cs lewis

ok first of all. this book completely wrongs edmund. cs lewis is determined to have us believe that he is a Bad Sort but? not so much that when he's "redeemed" we have to doubt for even a moment that he's now Good Forever. and the reasons the reader keeps being given about why we should be disgusted with edmund are incredibly weak and often bemusing

to start with, cs lewis hates boarding schools which is probably because they could be awful and so he throws out the reason that edmund used to be as nice and purehearted as his siblings until boarding school spoilt his immortal soul? were peter and susan taught at home or in public school then? if lewis was making a comment on how terrible boarding school is, why isnt edmund given any sympathy for this by the narrator or his siblings who just seem largely annoyed by him?

and since at the start the kids are being sent off from home in the middle of a world war their dad is off in and have to go to a boring house with an uncle? who for some reason never like, bothers to speak to them or see them ever. tf, dude. and theyre in england in the first place. anyhow, the fact that edmund being in a bad mood over this is supposed to be evidence of his crappiness is a touch unreasonable. he's like what, 8-11? so much of this book hinges on his character needing to be saved from his own badness that its sort of unforgivable that said badness really doesnt exist. hates his terrible school? hates his terrible situation? difficult? fights with siblings? how is this meant to be fit for A Just and Divine Damnation. why is there such a complete lack of sympathy. does lewis understand anything about children.

the answer is that "adults assuming these young as hell children have the same emotional maturity and logical processes and understanding of the world as adults" is a constant theme. these random schoolchildren become the supreme rulers of an entire country in a world theyve never been in after like, a week. the whole series runs on a fair number of other English Brand notions abt classism, racism, divine right to rule, etc. but even if it wasnt "only humans can lead", why would any children be allowed? children who had never been there? for gods sake

moving on to the plot: lucy finds narnia, etc. i guess on account of being Young and A Girl, which here means spiritual purity? and also as a character trope means Innocence. ok. meeting an exposition-providing faun, getting back, nobody believes her because why would they. their great(but not good) uncle bothers showing up upon coincidence. why hasnt he ever even said "hello, im not evil" to the kids staying at his house?for gods sake. he then explains to the kids a version of one of lewis's apologistic things that supposedly logically proves that christianity is valid and here proves that narnia is real, which it actually does neither of. shove it, clive staple lewis. your argument is crap

oh but edmund went to narnia along with lucy before that had happened. this is supposed to be a crucial point where he meets the white witch and is supposed to be like, dont be like edmund kids!! but frankly he behaves perfectly reasonably during that encounter and also when they all get to narnia. coz, ok, he's in an alternate universe alone which is disorienting for anyone. then the witch just happens to stumble across him. was he supposed to have prevented that somehow? lucy just stumbled across mr tumnus and trusted him inherently and it happened to go well. the first person edmund meets is someone else and he talks with her for a minute because she is a grown ass woman, probably gonna kill him otherwise, and also he's in an alternate universe alone with no idea where anyone is or if he can get back? here is a quick tangent:

a moral throughout the series is that you can sense somethings inherent goodness or truthfulness through how much it gives you a nice gut feeling. yet frankly this is not the only way to go about making choices. and not everything bad sets off alarms and not everything that sets off alarms is bad, so i dont know how much of a lesson that is. but for example, here the witch doesnt give edmund the warm fuzzies, and it is supposed to be a mistake or moral weakness on his part to not have.....what? gone running aimlessly through the arctic landscape in his jammies from a self-proclaimed queen with a sledge? he didnt really have any options here. how is he meant to know she's not really the ruler of this crap place that, so far as he knows, he lives in now? and ok, then somehow his big ol mistake is eating some damn candy and having some hot cider or whatever. it is eternal winter, why is this child a sinner for getting up out of the snow and humoring this lady by taking some offered snackaroos. also, everyone says turkish delight isnt even good. ask for some m&m's, ed!!! love yourself!! and even if he is supposed to know never to eat magical food or be bound to the fairy queen, lucy went and had tea with a fuckin faun so again, they basically did the same thing but edmund met the wrong person by sheer luck of it, so he has to die. LEWIS!!!!!!!

another big Edmund Must Die moment is when he and lucy get back from narnia and edmund lies that narnias fake, because he's evil. first of all, the fact that lucy tells him that some stranger she's buddies with says the white witch is evil and a liar. how is her stranger meant to be more reliable than the witch? this is just the word of two randos pitted together. how is edmund meant to understand this as Proof that the queen is evil and an imposter to the throne. frankly, she's functionally the actual queen, so its not even really a lie? narnia is impossible. secondly, it is 10000% understandable that edmund would realize that if he backs up lucy's claims then everyone is going to go looking for narnia, and in the experience he's just had, its a hellhole. and lucy has just told him that he possibly met an evil witch that is interested in also meeting his siblings? wouldnt be too thrilled about going back there then. and thirdly, if as lewis says he just lies because he is evil? does this man again not understand that Impulsive Pettiness is a bit different coming from a 9 yr old than a grown adult. the narrator is just so aghast at edmund constantly when its like dude he's.....not really doing anything, and also theyre all babies. let him be a bit of a little shit without the devil herself coming to claim his spilled blood for it, mayhaps

also, there is a bit of confusion about the fairy food! it is implied to be actually kind of magically binding, like to a degree he has to cooperate with the witch now because he took food he was offered? or at least it is somehow "corrupting." so how is this meant to be a sin if also it is not even his own choices here! how was he meant to have avoided this? dont take candy from strangers, sure. BUT IF YOU DO, YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GET!!!

all the pevensies are in narnia, lucy lets it for everyone else remarkably fast, but i guess she is like 6 and having a nice time with her family in a magical land. although you'd think she'd be more concerned about all that witch stuff, and the fact that mr tumnus was about to straight up childnap her and deliver her to childmurder. like, good on you for not doing that. but how many people has he been selling out all this time! its literally been his job for however long. he's had to have had something to show for it. is morally greyness just arbitrarily sorted into black and white Good/Evil characters and these kids are supposed to sniff out which way these things fall? for gods sake. see, my point is that this adult faun who was going to turn a kindergartener in to be killed until he decided nah, and previously definitely probably narced on people in the past, is way crapper than a kid who has been grumpy and ran into the wrong person? what is edmunds Betrayal. was it the food eating

anyways, then peter is a total dick, but in like a noble way. in that he's mad at edmund for ages but like...again, ok, he's like 12-14 or whatever, who knows. the point is that if he can hold a grudge against his siblings for being annoying, why is that trait evil in edmund? it is because narrator lewis says so, damn him. but if peter is the Natural Born Leader of A Country here, you'd think he could at least manage not to keep giving a hard time to the one of their group who is going to be any trouble keeping in line at all, since lucy is Pure and susan gets the literature role of the Mini Mom. theyre not going anywhere. you basically had one job, pete.

fun fact: this is where they find out mr tumnus is taken by the queens evil forces, referred to as the police. this is basically the only book i can think of where the evil enforcement agency is called a police force. Interesting Stuff

even though im not sure what any of them think they can accomplish by wandering around, they end up following a random bird and following some random beavers. they know this is ok because of those warm fuzzies, and the fact edmund isnt feeling those good vibes is because he's evil, but honestly its a shit plan following some random bird and assuming some beavers are gonna be good guys. the only people edmund knows of in this country are an imposing queen and her kidnapper who's totally nice. also if tumnus told lucy that the queen has loads of spies, why are they crashing around inherently trusting the first things they see? lucy trusts a faun who was going to sell her to satan, edmund sort of has to trust an ominous lady who turns out to possibly be evil? why would he not find it a questionable idea to wander into this beaver dam

in further supposed evidence of edmund being all devil-corrupted by d&d, he doesnt get the warm fuzzies when these random beavers start talking abt a magic lion who's great and wandering around somewhere, you should totally go to him. but they have like, actually zero knowledge about this world beyond the differing accounts of those theyve happened to bump into? how would they know some lion who isnt even around ever is the rightful ruler of narnia, vs some lady who is actually around? she's got one up on aslan for that. where've you been, buddy. what took you an entire century. aslan SHOULD TOTALLY sound kind of crap because, uh, HE IS?

edmund goes off somehow without anyone noticing and the beavers are like oh yeah saw that one coming, that'll be the magic food. like??? you couldve said. or at least not let him sidle off out the door half an hour ago? for gods sake. and again: if this is magic food rules, why isnt the magical kit-kats the Great Traitor of All Of Narnia! how is the concept of sin fitting into all of this. again, edmund just ran into the wrong person. and lewis is just like no, see, but he deserves this because he is irritable and childish and mean. CHILDREN LEWIS!!! HAVE YOU HEARD OF THAT!!!

apparently edmund meanders all the way to the white witches place b/c all the time the entirety of narnia seems to be a couple of miles across or a few hundred miles, depending on whats convenient to the story. the moral of narnia's weird lore is that its only as consistent as cs lewis feels like making it, which is sometimes Completely Bewildering when he just sort of throws stuff out there but moves the narration right along. presumably he wasnt expecting this to operate on the rules that any of this would be regarded with any level of analysis, since tolkien was a contemporary and not a predecessor. but still, dude, get your story straight? especially within the same book.

and anyways also, again! the magic food rules come up. because that is meant to be edmunds motivation, besides just being petty. he is magically bound to the fig newtons. which is i guess meant to explain away him literally going the extra mile for this witch shit, but also still letting him be blamed for that, since he is being SUCH a jerk, see kids? dont act less than chipper at your terrible life unless you want to take your soul's rightful place as the devils property, moreso than literally anyone else in all of narnia? alright. this books plot points are just a bit like.......ok

the other kids definitely have no option but to trust their choice in "trust the first people we bump into." luckily its uh...its fine. but wtf

who is narnia santa!!!!! how can there be a dude based on a saint? does narnia have the concept of saints? is he a dead guy???? i can slightly accept that narnia has a christmas in that maybe that comes from the dude who was made king at its birth being a random english cabbie, i suppose maybe this guy was like "fuck it, its christmas and you're going to like it." but do narnians know what xmas is about at all??? canonly aslan is actually just also jesus in the england-world, but did the cabbie king know that? did he explain the concept of jesus? does monotheistic narnia also accept the concept of a separate god existing in another universe, or are they all also assuming aslan=jesus? but this isnt as confusing as the santa guy. is he like how there's wizards running around? this is so weird. what magic shit would edmund have got. wouldnt it have been nice or at least useful for santa to have given the other pevensies whatever he was going to have given edmund. does that boy also not get xmas presents because he is on the naughty list. bad month for edmund

speaking of edmund, he honestly sort of disappears from the book as soon as he has the realization that the witch is mean :( despite the plot of rest of the book being essentially centered around him? and him finally being in a position for the narration to stop talking about what a cruel cruel monster he is? ok

aslan is just a dick not only for leaving narnia on its own for ages but also just personality wise. rude to the children. they are all like "aslan our brother" and aslan is like "shut up about your brother already, i'll do something about it if i want to but if i dont want to he deserves whatever's coming to him." like? have a little patience for the reasonable questions and uncertainties of these kids, ffs

how is this massive climate shift not fucking shit up like, ecologically. does anyone own shorts at this point? how are plants alive. its magic

oh yeah, forgot that there was that bit in the white witches statue garden of death where edmund straight up thought this one lion he saw must be aslan. wasnt he also getting figurative cold feet until he saw that, also? again, in these circumstances, how was he meant to know that WASN'T aslan and that the witch wasnt the one who was right. shrug! but now another total coincidence is whats driving edmund to go say hey to the witch again instead of backing out of her creepy house. see you in hell ed

back to aslan........uhhh when a wolf attacks susan, who is like, dangling precariously from a branch in fear of her life, aslan orders the skilled warriors not to save susan asap, but instead to let this 13 yr old holding a sword for the first time mosey on over and have a one on one fight with this talking wolf. sure, aslan knows the situation is under control. but the people who dont know?? are these kids in mortal peril? aslan is such a dick. he shouldnt be putting these children in these positions of Leader Of My Army Now, Go Into Actual Combat. but thats just how he rolls. trial by fire, dweebs

oh yeah and since the chance happens to arrive he sends some people to go get edmund back. thanks for bothering to rescue a child! gods sake

then he has a nice long talk with edmund about never being annoyed with your siblings or theres literal hell to pay, i guess! whatever. at least he's paying attention to him for a moment instead of just handing him a sword and telling him not to complain. thanks? telling his siblings not to be dicks about it all is also very mature of him. and apparently necessary since again, cough, peter? getting mad at edmund for being petty and immature maybe shouldnt have involved sniping at him a ton and ignoring him to the point he just left for an hour before anyone was like, wasnt there more of you. lord. im just saying, maybe everyone needs to mature a bit before they are monarchs

psych!! these kids are ready for anything now

except for the bit where the witch comes and demand edmund's head, since...........................i guess she was trying to play the long con? by hoping aslan would do the ol switcheroo? or maybe she was just mad and wanting a good ritualistic murder. but despite the whole damn book being about this explanation of the crucifixion of jesus, it.........doesnt really make sense within the god damn Lore. she has claim to edmunds life because he is a Traitor? to whom? the witch straight up lied to him abt what she wanted to do with his siblings, so how was he meant to have betrayed them if he hadnt known what she intended to do? how can he betray someone if it was the fault of the Law Of The Magic Almond Joy? sure, he lied and snuck around and was pissy and all, but how is that on a level above any other number of stunts other narnians are sure to have pulled. she has narnian spies? arent they traitors? does she have to formally make the claim for the "i get to kill the traitor or narnia is destroyed b/c The Lore, Fuck You" for it to come into effect? is edmund just called a traitor for the strategy of it all, since the humans have to be alive to defeat her. but on what grounds

also, who agreed to give her that authority of traitor-killer? why does that role exist. what. whomst. lewis, explain this?

again like.....how are the children on their own for this bit, either. there is no sympathy for being children in lewisverse

ok and uhhhh? aslan leaving on the night before a battle w/o like....telling anyone? they wouldnt even have known he'd died if a dryad hadnt have been like "you'll never guess this shit." i guess omniscience or whatever. but for fucks sake, peter outranks everyone else in the army just because he's human? he doesn't know shit! you made him fight a wolf! whatever. why even put the humans in battle if you need them to live. whatever

susan and lucy of course have to witness this aslancide until they also witness this resurrection. cool. but the thing is that like? sure aslan couldve just flat out let edmund die, but besides the fact that theres the whole prophecy thing to mean that the kids need to live, but also, he was sort of backed into a corner re: having to die himself because of some technicality in narnia's rulebook? i get that this wasnt meant to be completely an allegory so much as just "gateway christianity drug" but wasnt the jesus bit supposed to be done just totally as a favor or whatever. aslan was sort of just strategizing as far as we know. like, is edmund representing The Sins Of All Humanity, or is he out here like "if jesus dying wouldve saved just one person it wouldve happened all the same"? either way, it makes it seem like aslan HAS to do this whole dying thing out of "so the world doesnt end" vs choosing to out of being cool abt it. i mean......not that uh jesus was supposed to have been psyched up abt his death. but you know what im getting at here. whatever, the Lore

again, the battle seems to be happening like, five miles from the witches house? coz everyone from the statues just makes the journey with aslan in one go. what are the scales here, lewis!!

aslan shows up in time to just kill the white witch himself, with his god lion teeth? how gross must that have been. also! he couldve done that at any time!!! but prophecy whatever sighhhhhhhh

its funny that lucy gets impatient with aslan for interrupting her moment of "can i make sure my brother isnt dead" and he gets impatient with her about that? shes in like preschool. also, you have healing powers!!!! so says uhhh.....the next book? or the one after. and anyone can use that magic elixer. and can you stop being so damn testy abt these childrens concerns for each other's lives!!!

theyre monarchs now, and aslan just fucks off. he couldve bothered to say goodbye, if people dont happen to see him meander off, how do they even know if he left or is just hanging around somewhere? seeing as he just snuck off overnight and died without letting anyone know. but more importantly he's again left this country entirely on its own save for these kids who know nothing except that they better be nice to each other or some random magical law might come into effect where someone gets to knock on their door and demand their kidneys or the world ends.

for real though! this is like, a country coming out of a crappy period and now in a wild transitional period and the only leaders are these kids who just showed up who have never been here before in their lives. how are they meant to manage a natl economy? its not mentioned here (is it) but theres an entire other racist-caricature-mashup of a country to the south already? how are they at diplomacy between two countries they know nothing abt. how will they form policies! they are 11! what tf is narnias infrastructure, beyond "sparse." where did the line to the throne go? was there always direct descendants to the first king in archenland, which by the way also exists with people in it b/c fuck you. i guess so...i forget where caspian comes from.

fun fact, when my sister and her friend went to disney world some yrs ago, they took a pic with a dude playing caspian a la the films, whom looked a lot like the actual actor, aka a total babe. its a great photo

anyways ummm. see the entire narnian govt just disappears? which i suppose they figure out when the four of them just leave and never come back. i suppose its lucky the narnians assumed it was magic and not regicide. because, if you live in narnia? fuck you. honestly what did they do in the aftermath. nobody nonhuman is even allowed to be a ruler. do they have like, other elevated positions? was there no regulation. coz thats alright but the series implies that narnia is always supposed to have a king around in order for things to go well. ok

so uh its govtless i guess until what, these people accidentally stumble upon a portal to narnia and become the telmarines who take over narnia? but not rightfully i guess, because even though theyre humans, they were probably insufficiently noble about it. or just not aslan-approved. honestly ok where tf did the calormenes come from? another portal? why did they restrict themselves to a certain region? why did narnia not encompass the entire world? why did you need to be white and english to be christian. i know this is a case of just introducing things that dont make sense but moving the story along before anyone asks questions but uh..........louie

Also How Tf Are These Kids Going From Grown Adult Monarchs To 10 Yr Old Schoolchildren In 1940s England Again over the course of like 10 seconds. before they left this clowns didnt even recognize the damn lantern! how do you forget that ever. ridiculous

where the "put in what you want and dont bother explaining it unles you feel like it" strategy is really fun is with that lantern, imo. on account of he just put it in as a Fuck You Buddy to tolkien, which is funny. good job

but really how are you not even going to devote a single sentence to that fucked up transition these kids? adults in kids bodies? kids with the memories of what it is like to have become and been adults until just a second ago? are going through. like...............ok. do they have to larp being normal children for a while. It's Magic, Fuck You

aslan is just.....kind of a jerk!

this book teaches you nothing

The Lore

the end

[comicteaparty]

May 6th-May 12th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from May 6th, 2019 to May 12th, 2019.  The chat focused on Chirault by Ally Rom Colthoff (Varethane).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Chirault by Ally Rom Colthoff (Varethane)~! (http://chirault.sevensmith.net/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until May 12th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What moment of discrimination featured in the story really caught your eye in its portrayal? How do you feel about the Mage Guild’s reason about disallowing Kyrion like Teeko and Trillia from using magic in the face of these themes of discrimination?

Kabocha

Aaaah, it's been a bit since I read Chirault, but... Basically any scene where Teeko's being awesome... Bonus points if she's using magic, like on this page! http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=642 As far as discrimination... Hm. I think the fact that Ridriel was willing to go through so much to become a mage was pretty striking. While the mage's guild really doesn't like Kyrion using magic... Hmmm. That attitude doesn't seem to be a completely firm rule, especially as they learn more...~ http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=1095 I need to re-read my copies of the books when I get back home, though.

Delphina

Yeah, I'm re-reading mine now too!

I had forgotten about the page where Astrid steals the car but I love it: http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=780

Kabocha

Ahaha, Astrid's honestly one of my favorites in the mage guild. "I see no problems here!"

Delphina

Astrid is so great. Just like "yeah, I'm just gonna do what I want kthxbai"

RebelVampire

i mean tbf hes not wrong

about the car one at least

Kabocha

I'm also partial to Ridriel -- she worked so hard to fit in and become a mage.

Delphina

I'd say the most blatant scene of demon discrimination was early on where Jim used the spice that made Teeko go rabid so he could justify killing Kiran (http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=142) and then later when Kiran deduces he killed her parents this way. (http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=152) Everything else stays on the "I'm sorry, we can't actually welcome you into this part of society" brand of discrimination, but it showed that some people were definitely willing to get violent over demons and humans mixing in society.

RebelVampire

ridriel is such an interesting character because of that. i think largely because she doesnt seem to regret it all that much and accepts the sacrifices she had to make to achieve her dreams. and that just goes so against the grain of what youd expect to see

Delphina

Another classic Astrid page: http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=813

varethane

I enjoy every Astrid-troll scene XD (there's a picture floating around out there of Astrid and Kiran facing down, with the troll-face shopped over Astrid's)

also: hi!!!

Kabocha

Hiii! I almost wonder if there's a list of all the time Astrid trolled people in the comic-- But I feel like, not counting the mini comic (and the last couple chapters), that'd be nearly every page Astrid shows up in.

RebelVampire

no no

theres those pages at the end where astrid is passed out for a bit(edited)

you cant be a troll when youre passed out probably

its very sad

varethane

I'm sure if there were a way, he would find it

duskglass

(1) i can't choose a single favourite scene but the part where teeko falls through bethan is really cool visually, and i love the eventual sibling bond between kiran & teeko (and also every scene with kiran & vivian)

duskglass

(2) a lot of the early scenes with kiran also come to mind, how he's clearly resigned to not being trusted by average villagers, and constantly has to verify his identity & prove he's not a threat. and the contrast between ridriel and trillia shows how limited their options were as kyrion who wanted to also be mages (ridriel giving up her kyrion nature vs trillia going rogue)

Desnik

ohh already digging the cool character design, I'm only one page in too

varethane

Woo!

duskglass

(also i found that trollface pic!!)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What moment of magic use in the story did you like the most? What about how it was used or illustrated did you like specifically?

€heshire777

Astrid, for being Astrid

Delphina

I do love Astrid, but all said and done, I think Bethan edges him out a little in the end. I love the fact that she was just a guard in a backwoods town, compared to almost every other big super-magical character who was trained by the Hunters or Mages Guild, but she's still like "well I can hold a spear now 60% of the time so heck yeah I wanna mess stuff up with y'all!"

Teeko's got a bit of that too and of course she's ADORABLE, but since her perspective is more childlike, she literally doesn't have context to know what she's walking into when she's like "YEAH LEMME SET IT ON FIRE" and it's more about not wanting to leave her found family than going toe to toe with corrupt mages.

varethane

fun story, both Bethan and Astrid are Ascended Extras (I'm pretty sure that's the name of the trope)

I needed faces to fill a space in the plot, and then decided I liked them too much to just leave them behind-- and, oh, look at that, coincidentally there's a new-character-shaped hole in the upcoming plot....

RebelVampire

gotta love those convenient and totally coincidental character shaped holes

RebelVampire

1) my fave scene is the one towards the end where Ridriel and Trillia are fighting John has to come and break their asses up. http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=1230 i always remember just feeling such utter tension from this scene because of their relationship. like the stake of the world is at hand and yet a sibling rivalry is what stands between the world being fine and the world exploding into a thousands bits. and i frankly wasnt sure if trillia could convince ridriel that nah she was there to help. and i love that even after they agree to work together, ridriel and trillia are still basically like "i hate you" to each other. and then john is there to be stuck in the middle like the poor sap. 2) i have to go back to what i already mentioned with ridriel. she is a fascinating character because she didnt let discrimination stand in the way of her dreams. and while you could argue the path she takes is horrible, the nuance to her feelings regarding it really gets the mind thinking about the nature of sacrifice and what elements of ourselves we choose to define ourselves by. As for the Mage Guild's reasons, I mean...I get where they're coming from. But I think Rune sums it up correctly at the end when he says "my dudes its magic magic in general is dangerous"

3) Heryan. Heryan is the character I wish I could be because she is calm, collected, and knows how to play political games like a master. And she's also legitimately working towards a better future and kind of putting her money where he mouth is. She is also a badass mage. And these are all things i can get behind and I would read an entire spinoff about Heryan. A close second is Astrid our resident troll mage because he's just a nice dude and I like his broship with Kiran. He adds an element of silly yet mage skill that the main party needed in their life. Plus, I just really love Astrid's design. 4) I really liked that moment when Teeko was going to cast the fire spell but then had her mouth covered to stop her. Cause it really showed that in her childishness she doesn't always think her magic through and, like a child, will ignore the wise sentiments of her elders. And I just think overall it's use, or non-use in this case, really hammered in just how much of a child Teeko still is because her comprehension for the situations around her are not necessarily the highest.

Delphina

Yessss I would also read an entire spinoff about Heryan, she's so excellent

Delphina

And yeah, Bethan does have the feel of an Ascended Extra, and I think what appeals to me about that kind of protagonist in a high-stakes story is they have much more freedom and agency. Kiran had Specific Things He Had To Do, Teeko had nowhere else to go, so they have to advance the plot by default. But when characters aren't so directly involved and get to CHOOSE to advance the plot, they get to have personal reasons for doing so and can embody all those cool "what if"s that are closed off to the core cast.

In a situation where you have an easy out, why do you choose to do the hard thing? That kind of character is so interesting to me!

varethane

That's a neat way to look at it! I enjoyed writing Bethan a lot, though if there were one thing I could change, it'd be to explore her anger a bit more in the lategame parts of the story (because boy has she got some haha)

(also, Heryan has always been my favourite character to draw XD THAT HAIR)

Delphina

Having just finished rereading my print volumes, I think my favorite magic is when Rupa helps Teeko cast the silence spell on Trillia and Ridriel to get them to stop fighting. http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=1358

varethane

the first truly useful spell.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What was a moment where a character was confused about themselves or life situation that you enjoyed? What about it was relatable, and what are your thoughts on how the character overcame that obstacle?

RebelVampire

5) http://chirault.sevensmith.net/?comic_id=1118 probably this page cause thats not only some beautiful magic, but i love the shot choices. i also love how jagged the magic kind of is and the amount of ill call them tendrils. cause it really makes the process look horribly painful and its an illustration that really made me go "oh shit" cause rather than kiran's shoes, i could put myself in teeko's shoes and understand exactly the horrifying crap shes seeing right now. 6) This one I have to give to Kiran for the whole Viraigo debacle. I actually am not sure I'd call it relatable, because ppl dont generally find out the truth as Kiran did. Yet, its the fact that its not that relatable that I enjoy. Because that just makes it horrible and it also puts you in Kiran's shoes. Cause like Kiran, you're asking who is he, how responsible is he for this mess, etc. And so even if you can't imagine it happening ot you, it's still a complicated and really thought provoking situation to be in. As for how he overcame the obstacle, I really loved the subtlety and kind of nonchalant way he handled it, for lack of a better word. Like theres no definitive him declaring "yeah I'm not Viraigo or this other person I am Kiran." It's just him kind of wordlessly accepting who he is/choosing who he is. Cause it kind of also gives the impression hes still gonna have things to work out over the years to come. But that's very true to life cause rarely do people just snap their fingers and come to a full grasp of who they are.

varethane

Re: Kiran/Viraigo, I'm really glad that impression came through! I wanted to avoid giving a definitive answer to the question of WHO he truly is, because.... identity doesn't really work that way, in real life you don't get an easy one-and-done answer. So I didn't want to wrap up that particular issue with a neat little bow-- the important thing isn't the answer itself, but his acceptance of himself.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Who do you feel went too far and why: the Mage Guild for creating their destructive items or Viraigo’s group for trying to restore the natural order? What do you think the story says about the balance between progression and the natural order?

Delphina

I really can't put much blame on anyone except the Mage Guild here (and Jenneth in particular for murderfying people and setting fire to the library when he couldn't get his way). It really seems like if Viraigo's group got what they asked for from the beginning, they would have been happy to just release the big ol' katamari of spirits and end the spell on Arya that was keeping her a creepy crumbly living corpse. Now releasing the spirits didn't WORK and that was pretty ugly, but they realized it right away and wanted to fix it.

Tree Lady/Ria was unnecessarily extra, though.

varethane

spirit katamari!!!!

RebelVampire

“murderfying”

i approve of this word usage

RebelVampire

7) too many. too many Ridriel and Trillia because they have i think the most interesting and contentious relationship in the comic. That you want them to overcome their past issues and get along cause both have good points on where theyre coming from. Heryan and Rune because theyre like a dynamic duo to me and really compliment each others personalities nicely. Rupa and Teeko cause Rupa is the nice older brother type who just wants everybody to be happy and is willing to show Teeko how to make ppl stfu. Astrid and Kiran cause its troll vs. grump man which makes for hilarious shenanigans and interesting dynamics since they have to work together but also approach life very differently. Yet, they can come together when it matters. Bethan and Vivian cause I like how Vivian is like "Bethan probably should wear a mask" and Bethan is like "meh" and its like this weird pseudo mom daughter relationship that i can get behind and find truly endearing.

8) Uh, the answer imo is both. They both went too far. This story is literally a series of ppl saying, "What's the worst that could happen?" and then through their lack for foresight the worst was really end the world bad shit. In regards to progression and natural order, I think the story has a lot to say just in general that extremisim is bad. You go too far in anyone direction and you wind up hurting something that's going to be missed. Thus why neither side really won, because they both tried too hard for the thing they wanted. Additionally, i think the story says a lot about how our ideas of what's best for the world may actually not be the best. Thus why we need rules, regulations, codes of ethics, and so forth. Because there's a point we just go too far and blow up the world.

varethane

(Vivian will be everyone's mom if they let her.)

re: 8, it's funny because I didn't set out to make that a major theme of the story, but it is something I definitely believe in-- the importance of checks and balances. So I find it really cool that it comes through!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Do you feel the others were right to forgive Kiran for Viraigo’s actions? Do you think Ridriel and Trillia will forgive each other? Will Trillia forgive the Mage Guild? Overall, what insight can you gleam about the theme of forgiveness from the comic?

RebelVampire

9) All them landscape shots. Have you seen them? They are amazing and like...nature looks like nature. And nature stuff is hard to do and yet i always felt very immersed within each space. Plus, there were so many just like...far back shots where you get to take in the scenery, and i feel like so many moments do these really just set a tone and the atmosphere for stuff thats about to go down. 10) Yes I think the others were fine to forgive Kiran. Cause at the end of the day what's the point of punishing something they don't even remember doing? Especially when said person did their best to help and make the world a better place. Plus Kiran feels more like...not Viraigo anyway. Like imo Viraigo is dead and all thats left are aspects of himself. And these aspects, while part of Viraigo, just arent him. I think Ridriel and Trillia will forgive each other, but i think itd be a while before Trillia would forgive the mage guild. And even if Trillia did I'm not sure she'd ever consider joining just given the long history of animosity. In general, the insight I gleam is that forgiveness is difficult and that even if you forgive, this doesn't always fix everything.

Delphina

Yeah, I think sometimes grudging acceptance and moving on with your life with what you got is about all they can do. I really want to see how Teeko's presence affects Trillia and Ridriel moving forward, because I think them having her future to focus on gives them the chance that they never had to affect demons' place in the world. I'm just envisioning both taking on Mentor Aunt roles and trying to show Teeko cooler spells than the other in escalating hilarity.

varethane

Those would be some fun little shorts! If I get some time maybe I'll look into putting something like that together

Mentor aunts hehe

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Which character’s growth/progression in the story is your favorite? How would you describe how they changed as a person, and what do you like about how they changed? What do you think we can learn from it for our own lives?

Delphina

I like how Bethan grew from a cool quiet fighter in a village to a cool slightly louder fighter who can fly and dissolve through walls. I too would like to be able to fly and dissolve through walls.

AshAngelV

Responding to 11, It's one of the few stories I've read that has a male and female mc that don't end up in a romantic relationship. I love their brother sister bond.

varethane

I three wish I could fly and dissolve through walls

And yeah, friendship stories that arent romancea are very important to me

duskglass

teeko is a child so one would really hope not xD;;;

tho the same could be said about all of the main cast! (we also have rune & heryan, kiran or astrid & bethan, etc) i really appreciated the lack of forced romance sideplots in chirault; it's really refreshing to see stories that focus on platonic relationships

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Overall, how hopeful are you for the world at the end? Do you believe the changes regarding non-humans using magic will affect the world positively? Will relations with the tree spirits be mended? How do you believe the characters’ lives wound up being?

Delphina

On a macro-societal level, I think the world's gonna be okay. With Heryan at the helm, I think the Mages' Council is definitely going to be trying harder to be more inclusive and less awful toward non-humans and the planet; she definitely seems to have hit it off with the tree spirits diplomatically so I see a lot of potential for progress there. The issues I see in the non-humans' future is that they didn't seem to have much societal organization or structure that we saw (though it was established that Kyrion lived and worked in the cities, so maybe some ambitious leaders would rise to the surface that way and advocate for more rights).

I'm really curious what Rupa would want to do now, because he wasn't a demon, right? The problem they had with him was that he was a multi-caster and could tap The Big Magic that others couldn't. How many other multi-casters existed, and how would their role change in society if Rupa decided to advocate for them? Maybe the tree spirits could teach them how to use magic more responsibly?

RebelVampire

11) i think the comic's strengths are its endearing characters who have just a lot of gray to them. nobody is just evil or good. ppl had their reasons for doing everything in the comic, and that makes for more dynamic and realistic portrayals. i think another strength is the character designs themselves as well. its just so easy to tell everyone apart, and a lot of everyone's personalities is within their design. 12) I have to go with Bethan on this one. She went from silly small town girl to victim to bitter and angry about her friend to forgiving to wanting to do more for the world. It was an emotionally rollercoaster watching her goes through all these things. Plus, its an interesting mix of choice and no choice. Cause while Bethan did make a lot of choices in regard to her path, the whole becoming incorporeal was more accident. She just learned to make the most of it. And I think that is something we can learn from it. That sometimes life says "I hate you," and is really mean. And sometimes the only way to get through it is to roll with the punches.

13) I still vote for Heryan side story. Or another epilogue montage just showing how everyone is getting along. Especially Astrid cause I support the Astrid, Heryan, Rune family unit. 14) I think the world will be fine for at least a time. Heryan seems to be reasonable and regretful of all the mages' past actions. And I think shell usher in a new era of peace with the tree spirits. that being said, everything is finite so it wont last forever. Especially if Heryan cant find a suitable replacement to her. But overally, all the changes will probably be positive, even if the amount of progress achieved in a single lifetime isnt as great as everyone would want. I'm just gonna pretend all the characters lived happily ever after for my sanity. Teeko probably became a great mage. Although I am kind of on the same page with Delphina where I'm really curious what became of Rupa. Rupa was always an interesting chara to me since he was always kind of mellow and was way less intense than Trillia. So Rupa especially should live happily ever after

varethane

The note about Kyrion society is something that I do wish I'd gone into more depth about in the story! I had a lot of ideas about it but could only show it in tiny peeks and hints because the plot was taking place outside of the cities

I hope the ending leaves people on a positive note, I wanted to show that people are working towards a better future (even if theres a lot of work to be done)

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Chirault this week! Please also give a special thank you to Ally Rom Colthoff (Varethane) for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Chirault, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://chirault.sevensmith.net/

Ally’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/varethane

Ally’s Store: http://chirault.sevensmith.net/store.php

Ally’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/varethane

Ally’s New Comic Wychwood: http://wychwood.sevensmith.net/

[hopeless---wanderers]

1-64 😚😚

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? Nope, there is obviously others out there.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? Depends on the situation, maybe around a 2/3.

3. The person you would never want to meet? I’m not sure, if Arlene Foster came near me i’d not be impressed like

4. What is your favorite word? I dont have one, do other people????

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? The first one that came to mind was oak so that one

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? ‘I stf look at the state of me and my face’

7. What shirt are you wearing? A batman pyjama top

8. What do you label yourself as? Gay history and politics nerd...

9. Bright room or dark room? Dark always, gotta set that ambience 

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Watching the Superbowl with friends

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 19

12. Who told you they loved you last? Amy 

13. Your worst enemy? I don’t have one, might be someone elses who knows

14. What is your current desktop picture? Its just the default one for this laptop. I never change it

15. Do you like someone? I do, yes

16. The last song you listened to? Famous by Kanye West

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? Can i blow up Arlene Foster and Donald Trump??

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Arlene Foster

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? Can it be Lynn Gunn so we could just bang all day???

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) Uhhhh, you’d argue my boobs and butt so probably those 

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? I’d imagine not much different, slightly more casual and i’d piss, wank and have sex.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Nope, any talents i have people know of

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? I wouldnt say im afraid of anything unique?

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. Chicken, Stuffing, Ham, Mayo

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? Food/going out

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Canada and i’d not return

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? Like raspberry flavoured vodka, hopefully Grey Goose quality 

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? Don’t be a dick to others yo

29. What is your favorite expletive? Fuuuuuuuuck

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? My memories box

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Idk, nothings been overly traumatic and everything bad i’ve went through has made me stronger soooo

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Nice, Canada it is. 

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? I’d let Amy bring someone back

34. What was your last dream about? Uh, Amy and her mum and the black eyed peas where also in it??

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? ...

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? Yeah, ive had my tonsils out and a broken arm

37. Have you ever built a snowman? Yes

38. What is the color of your socks? Im not wearing any, i just had a bath!

39. What type of music do you like? I like pretty much everything, rock would be my favourite tho

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunrises

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? I mean galaxy cookie crumble is pretty amazing.

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) Manchester United and the Baltimore Ravens

43. Do you have any scars? A few on my knees

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? I want to be an academic

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I wish i was totally secure with myself both physically and mentally.

46. Are you reliable? 100%

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? What am I doing at that time. 

48. Do you hold grudges? Nope

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? A tiger/tiny pup that doesnt get big so i could have a tiny pet tiger forever

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? When my nanny mentions sex it gets a bit unusual and uncomfortable tbh

51. Are you a good liar? Yes

52. How long could you go without talking? A pretty long time if needs be id imagine

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? Short cut full fringe look wasnt the best like...

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? Yeah

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? Not very well

56. What do you like on your toast? Nutella, jam, bananas, peanut butter. 

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? A house with a tree and a pond in work because i had nothing better to be doing...

58. What would be you dream car? A Shelby GT 500 

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. Im not a singing in the shower type gal tbh

60. Do you believe in aliens? Yes

61. Do you often read your horoscope? Yes

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? A?

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? Dragons 100%

64. What do you think about babies? I think theyre cute and id like some at some point

[big2showcom]

Logan Lucky’s End made me relieved That the movie wasn’t a TV Series

Somewhat surprisingly, it’s been a very amazing summer at the movies.It’s sufficient togive those people who worry that the multiplex has ceded some of its ethnic centrality to the HDTV in your living space hope that the movies might once more become the middle of passionate debates and arguments.

A bunch of the summer’s best movies tell the sorts of stories which work when restricted to 120 minutes or less, but might feel pressured or clunky or stretched when they were expanded to occupy an whole season of tv. It’s easy to identify the places where they might have been needlessly blown out to fill a weekend’s worth of streaming.

Nevertheless, it’s the end of Logan Lucky which best illustrates how far more successful this particular story is as a film than it could have been as a TV show — and just how much more successful certain kinds of stories are as movies than they’d function as TV shows.

To explain why, I’m likely to need to spoil every thing.

Logan Lucky, like its characters, smartly gets out while the getting is still good

As you’d expect in a heist film, the team piled off the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race at a Charlotte, North Carolina succeeds in their task. A giant vault of money empties, heading back to their own West Virginia houses and carting it off. But after the gig is done along with Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) shows up just in time to catch his daughter’s functionality at a local beauty pageant, you might realize something: There is still a lot of movie left.

That is when, slightly awkwardly, transforms into analysis mode. By leaving it to authorities to find in the back of a stolen pickup, Jimmy having experienced a moment of chance, returns the money. Hilary Swank joins the film as an FBI agent who investigates the heist, trying to figure out how it happened — and also the way the sole reliable lead about the perpetrators involves a few men who were allegedly in prison while everything went down. (I won’t spoil how Jimmy understands those men out of and back into jail without anyone noticing.)

Swank plays with her representative as a driven woman — and her character is actually the only individual in the film who seems concerned with actually solving this crime. The money’s been returned, right? However, what she understands that others don’t is that the speedway does not really understand just how much money it lost in the vault heist, because its credit card system went down and so as to speed up transactions, it only started getting money without keeping very close path.

Eagle-eyed viewers will surely have accomplished by this stage that the film has perfectly accounted for one pair of cash-filled trash bags, which end up in the back of the pickup, but has lost track of some second pair of garbage bagsthat turn out to have been thrown out and buried in a landfill. Once the FBI falls the situation — and Jimmy understands the shore is clear — he goes and excavates them, and also the team supporting the heist enjoys a celebratory toast that is hard-earned .

Jimmy, the heist successfully completed, hangs out with his own daughter.

Bleecker Street

They’re not expecting anyone to wreck their party, certainly not an FBI agent who has been waiting them for all to gather in exactly the exact same place. However, Swank’s agent will not allow there move a closed instance. She thinks she’ll stay a little while, she states, and the film cuts to the credits on a cliffhanger that is gleeful.

Sure, if there is ever a Logan Lucky two, the film will presumably have to fill in the details of Swank’s pursuit of the Logan family and partners. But contemplating Logan Lucky is a film unto itself, and not the planned launch of a franchise, but that this end is a huge bit of fun. Read it yet you need, particularly in light of the film’s notes about class and every bit of the US — public and private — exists to keep in the hands of the ruling class and funneling money from the hands of working people.

Swank’s character signifies the government coming to predict, even if our heroes seem to have gotten away with it. It won’t allow something even though obtained an insurance premiums.

Yet at exactly the exact same time, robbery is still illegal? Shouldn’t it take some level of punishment? That this elaborate, apparently victimless prosecution is that the one the government won’t let go will leave you wondering about if her quarry will be captured by Swank, or when all involved will eliminate it.

Switch Logan Lucky into a TV show, and it would all fall apart

Also, you likely wouldn’t get this cast.

Bleecker Street

In and of itself, a heist story could serve well as season-long yarn’s type which drives many of their shows on HBO or Netflix. You can imagine a piece of the puzzle snapping over the of the seasonthe heist unspooling over a few episodes, with the aftermath. As in the film, the rural setting could prove enough of a draw to liven up the heist film that is requisite plot factors. The FBI showing up in city would be the cliffhanger. Come back to season two.

But we could seem to Netflix’s recent crime play to understand how all of the space of some TV series robs a story like that of any momentum. Indeed, Ozark and Logan Lucky have a lot in common, from their rural settings to their own love of the procedure behind committing a crime.

However, Ozark spends a lot of time stretching out a story that very easily could have been collapsed into a two-hour film. The idea is that all of this extra time allows for improved character development, along with the series surely gives its (really great) actors plenty of substance to sink their teeth in to. The challenge is that it mainly results from the series playing the exact same group of storytelling loops out, over and over again. Ozark wants to be about how hard it is to break out of cycles of wrongdoing, but because it ought to stretch out this story to 10 hours, it becomes repetitive. From the time it reaches its cliffhanger, it seems like a show with nothing left to say.

Logan Lucky, in contrast, largely disproves the idea that good character development requires lots of time. It sketches via a small number of gestures or options or pieces of dialogue, economically, in characters fast. It knows that we understand people via their relationships then makes beautiful use of the fact, defining its characters by the people they spend some time with as other things and speak to.

A variant of Logan Lucky who had 10 hours to perform with wouldn’t just lose the inherent ambiguity of its cliffhanger ending (since we’d understand, on some level, that season two would be approximately Swank looking down the members of the heist team, as they all tried to remain one step ahead of her). It would also lose all of its economy, until they started to succumb to the droning sameness in favour of repetitive plot circles which could stunt tighter and tighter around the characters.

It’s telling, then, which Soderbergh’s most prominent job in TV — the two-season medical drama — has been deliberately structured to ensure its primary character was a location. The series could play host even if characters proved more significant than others, by focusing to a New York hospital. Sure, that intended The Knick occasionally followed a “medical instance of the week” structure, but The Knick always understood that TV isn’t one large story, but lots of smaller ones.

So, Logan Lucky isn’t just worth seeing because it shows how much tired film tropes could be spruced up through a change in putting. Additionally, it is worth seeing for a lesson about how a story like this, even if it appears to finish in a way that stands for continuation, is often better as it plays out in two hours and leaves you with something to ponder on the way home. Not every sort of story operates on TV.

from BIG SHOW http://big2show.com/logan-luckys-end-made-me-relieved-that-the-movie-wasnt-a-tv-series/

[myprofessionalpaperwriters-blog]

Abortion

spontaneous miscarriage is ane of the most controversial topics of each(prenominal) metres. It has ca apply countless deaths and s ever soal baseless confrontations amongst the two sev whilelize parties of ruling. The fight between pro- life historyspan and pro-choice supporters has been long and brutal. This is because, patronage what several people whitethorn believe, still digest is neither in force(p) nor wrong. It is the function of a face-to-face opinion, where, each side afterward part say with certainty that the opposite geniusness is wrong. \n\n The question remains, should spontaneous spontaneous miscarriage be legal? though some may protest on this point, the f act as is that legalized abortion is the tho mode to nourish the moves of women around the world. If you look into American history to see the results of prohibiting abortions to women, you exit see that no abortion designates a good buy women dead. The violence, which occurs straightaway because of the pro-choice/pro-life conflicts is stripped- mint in comparison to the thousands of dim women who solveed to illegal abortions--either ego-inflicted or preformed by the backroom professionals-- which resulted in infection, broad blood loss, and death. It is straightaway since the abortion is legal bankrupt for women, because they feed a place to go to where abortions can be performed in a clean purlieu and with minimum risks. The legalization of abortion is the just straight choice, no guinea pig what side one takes in the debate. Women bequeath try to do what they think is necessary to proceed as they wish, no topic what the risks atomic number 18. In order to harp as she chooses a adult female may shake off up her freedom, her morals, her beliefs, her family, or as yet her life. \n\n spontaneous abortion has been around for some age in all inhabit corner of the world. It has always been true as a mean(a) to prevent the suffe ring of two the charr and her potential tyke. Abortion has been practiced widely in every society for many an(prenominal) a(prenominal) reasons including famine, war, poverty, overpopulation, or simply because a cleaning woman felt she was not ready for a small fry (Whitney 40). No one ever questioned a womans proper to this procedure. aft(prenominal) every(prenominal), who tho God had the right to judge what a woman did with her own body? This eyeshot process lasted till the 1800s. During the era of change people began to turn their attention in a current direction, the foetus. They began to protest abortion as cruel, inhumane, and dischargeous. Filled with a refreshed ace of solve and the glory of a fresh, worthy cause to uphold this impertinently morality swept the countryside enclose everyone in its wake. Abortionists who were erst adore and dep revokeed upon were now scorned and threatened. though abortions still happened with regularity, they were kept mum and seen as a matter of pity. Over the next nose candy years, public sen clock timent for the foetus continued to rise until the fatal happened in America during the too soon 40s; Abortion was made illegal. (Cohen 17). on that point was much back patting and kudos among the pro-life supporters. And why wouldnt in that respect be? They had succeeded in saving the drop deads of the hundreds of innocent babies who would grant been senselessly slaughtered for the convenience of selfish, ignorant, and commanding women. Because of this new virtue, women would settle down and raise families or give these beautiful children over into the pass on of the hundreds of loving couples who were equitable postponement for a baby to rallying cry their own. It seemed that the perfect law had expert been passed. Or had it? \n\n It has been proven time after time passim history that the human touch sensation will not get out forbidding. Some intimacy inside us feels the sho ot to strike out at that, which restrains us and holds us from the life we penury. Just as prohibition of alcohol made a black market for spirits a virtual inferno was immediately erected to fulfill the new unavoidableness for abortions. Government, by regulation, had once again created a need that would be fulfilled by the lawless. more or less doctors, fearing incarceration, refused to treat the women who so dreadedly extremityed abortions. Women, visual perception no separate response to their problems, were practically heroical tolerable to turn to these Back inhabit clinics. These clinics were located in poverty-ridden sections of the metropolis and their conditions were deplorable. The places themselves were layered in disgustful dirt and diseases. Inexperienced butchers victimisation dirty and crude equipment interact the girls. As if these backroom clinics were not kindly ill enough, at that place was an even more appalling stopping point a woman talent bedevil faced. If a woman wasnt able to pay the overprice price for the illegal surgery, she would frequently perform the act herself. knit needles, coat hangers, antiseptic douches and poisons were used most often (Welton, 123). soupcon rooms primarily in the more urban aras were coverage higher numbers of obstinate bleeding to the point of death. pelvic inflammatory disease and other forms of life threatening sepsis were on the rise. Self startd inebriety was another complication. (Boyer, 98). \n\n One function most people do not think near is the foetus. If, as some say, life and the sense of self set most at conception, how many atrocities fetch been caused by the incompetence shown during this time? Some may query what drove these women to such extremes ripe to keep back and abortion. Why didnt they righteous work the baby? \n\n The respond lies in our most prefatorial human instinct: to stomach as beaver as the woman can. These women wanted to live their lives as they chose, not the way it was chosen for them to live. Being strained to bear a child could mean having to support it and big(p) up dreams of a better life. Also they might consecrate been pressured into a shotgun nuptials to save their reputations. In the check Back Rooms, by Ellen Messer, a woman named Liz, explains her reasons for having an abortion. People surrender said to me, How can you be in favor of abortion? If youd had one, you wouldnt capture these beautiful children. solely I would cast had them. It just would pick out been later when I was better prepared to trouble for them. And maybe they would have a nicer man for their father. I would have been more prepared and all our lives would have been so much easier. Even though I love my children dearly, I ruefulness that I did not have an abortion when I was attached the option. I should never have let others influence my decision. (29) \n\n For many women, being forced to deal with a c hild would mean placing it into the dust. It is comm only when thought that every orphan is just temporary, that on that point is a family out there waiting for the child with surface arms. The truth of the matter is that many families do not want children unless they are white, healthy and pretty. near of the others are either dragged through the system until they are 18 or sent to live with foster families who are sometimes uncaring or even abusive (187). All women are aware of these realities, and many, refused to bring a child into the world and have it live such a way of life, which makes abortion their only way out. \n\n Also there is the fact that many women want to hide their present distinguish from families or employers. They know that they could be disowned or fired for their calamitous state. They are desperate to keep their secrets, so desperate in fact that they are willing to risk their lives. This is a risk a woman shouldnt have to take. In the book Abortio n: A Positive Decision, Mrs. Lunneborg states that The desire not to have a child is by far the best reason for an abortion. There are enough unwanted children in the world already.(18) And so these women risked, and often lost, their lives in these illegal abortions. If they were caught afterwards, they were supercharged with murder. But is abortion murder? \n\n Abortion is defined as The induced termination of maternalism before it is capable of survival of the fittest as an individual (Frohock 186). Considering this definition, at the time of most abortions, the fetus is not an individual. The definition is far too unsophisticated. One postulate to take into consideration the developmental stages of the fetal life span. \n\n Most abortions occur soon after the confirmation of pregnancy, which is usually earlier to the 12th week. The rootage 12 weeks are known as the first trimester or the embryotic phase. At this time the fetus is most 3-3.5 inches long and has a w eight of 15-20 grams. The neurological system is primitive at best, demonstrating only vague swimming motions (Rosenblatt 37). The scrap trimester heralds a time of quick growth. At about four months the mother usually first perceives fetal movement. At 24 weeks the brain resembles that of a mount up somebody. The fetal weight is about 650 grams. (39) The third trimester is from 24 weeks to birth (approximately 40 weeks.). At 26 weeks the nervous system begins to mould some body processes. (40) When fashioning the conscious decision to stamp out the life of the fetus one must take into deem the development of the fetus. One of the approaches might be assessing the neurological development. It is only logical that the more composite plant the neurological system is the more likely you are to induce pain or end a sense of self if in fact that sense exists prior to birth (Frohock 28). In many ways it is akin to the decision to pull the spark plug on a individual laying in c oma. Here, one must decide whether or not to withdraw that which the person needs to survive. Yet the decision to terminate the life is not considered murder but an act of the deepest humanity, an opinion that contrasts greatly to the shame and impatience faced by an aborted mother during the time of the crowd together anti-abortion attitude. How long would women suffer this mental anguish? (Haddok 132) \n\n Based on the information, presented in the Roe vs. wade case, the Supreme Court govern that a woman was allowed by the Constitutions 14th amendment to receive an abortion before the first trimester. It now appears that the pro-choice advocates had won the governmental tug-o-war at last. However, violence continues between the two groups as the animosity and resentment has grown to new heights. Now, more than ever, research articles are coming out about a womans right to concealing vs. a fetuss right to life. The law may have been passed, but the war goes on. \n\n In cultivation no matter what a persons opinion on abortion is, women have always had abortions, they have them now and most probably will always have them. It shouldnt be for anyone but the significant woman having the actual abortion to decide on whether or not it is the best thing for her. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Custom essay writing service. Free essay/order revisions. Essays of any complexity! Courseworks, term papers, research papers. 100% confidential!Homework live help. Custom Essay Order is available 24/7!

[comicteaparty]

December 6th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on December 6th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Pin Porter Girl Detective by Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Pin Porter Girl Detective by Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett~! (http://pinporterdetective.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Tenor | Shinavar

1) Spense's backstory for how he came along is probably my top fav? It was short, concise, but also revealed the personality of him, King, and Queen all in one go that I feel has definitely helped develop the characters in a way to really flesh them out further and has me curious where it's all going to go now what we know whose 'stakes' lie where. /wording yay.

(Also Shadow!Pin is adorable fight me )

RebelVampire

yeah i liked how spense's backstory was executed. cause at the end it didnt just develop spense, it developed the world, other characters, and so forth. which is not usually something you get with backstory so i liked seeing backstory actually further the story in other ways without it suddenly being a story about spense.

my fave scene is the one where pin is being kidnapped for the king and then she just 180s her opinion cause of the evidence being in her face and then she kicks the fairfolk out. i not only enjoyed seeing a character who wasnt stubborn and basically went "this is my life now," but i enjoyed how many things we learn about her personality from this single instance (like the fact that for someone who didnt believe, she sure knew a lot of those fae rules).

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd like to blame her grandfather for that one a little? But yeah, her survival skills and adaptability and good to see - she'd have been royally screwed if she hadn't been willing to.

(Except, y'know, throwing your only weapon you have )

Han

I just started on this comic and I just wanna say I really love the noir style of writing its going for its really enjoyable

RebelVampire

tbf to pin, shes still a kid. so still gotta make those kid mistakes of throwing the weapon and hoping for the best.

welcome Han~!

i enjoyed the noir style writing as well, though i enjoyed that it took a comedic turn. like the opening scene was not where i expected it to go at all with them commenting on the line quality

Tenor | Shinavar

On Pin being a kid: True! I suppose all her detective work she hasn't had to deal with violence too much.

Hullo Han~ :D

Han

yea!! Im really enjoying it

Tenor | Shinavar

The speech patterns threw me off initially honestly - I thought everyone was much older than they were because it was stuff I've only heard from old detective movies wheeze

Han

the comedic and weird creepy vibes scattered throughout are really nice, definitely stuff thats right up my alley

I assumed a lot of it is Pin is kinda playing it up as kid tend to do, but then everyone started talking the same and I was like oh!!! its a reference, but it seems to be set in a sort of alternate reality to ours

I like how theres no explaining really it just hops in and allows the story to make the world-building as it goes

Tenor | Shinavar

Yes, I did enjoy that too~

Like Spense's introduction just made me go "wat" and need to keep going because "Can't believe in people disappearing but we have a talking bird a'ight what's going on"

RebelVampire

i feel some of it is kind of playing it up. i mean tbf most of the characters are kids or the fae. the only adults have been i think a ghost and pin's mom for 5 seconds? so in a sense it could be like a group thing of playing it up. cause kids do that too. play pretend in large groups.

not to say i think it is pretend. just the noir thing i could see still as the kids just hamming up their weirdo lives

although wait prudence had that whole backstory

although that seemed less noir to me too

more wild west

Tenor | Shinavar

-Nod- That was the impression I had. But yeah could be kids playing it up - considering the fae did it too maybe it's a weird influential thing - - What if it's because they picked it up from the local fae trying to be under cover over the years?

I just have this amazing image in my head of them watching old human films to get an idea how to emulate humans wheeze

RebelVampire

that could be. although i think the kids at least have some sense of difference given that iola corrected that one fae for saying thy(edited)

mathtans

I'm now here, for the moment. ^^ I got as far as about page 150.

Yeah, I really liked the opening as far as setting the mood, the detective and noir style.

I rather liked that flashback scene with Penelope "Pin" (I wonder where the nickname is from) going off on the town history, being very suspicious of the founder. Thought it rang true to her character.

Superjustinbros

Hey there!

Just felt like dropping in and saying ello

gonna be a bit busy tonight but I'll see if I can return later

Tenor | Shinavar

Math: I agree~ also showed she seems to have always had a history or knack for looking at odd things and picking things out that weren't quite right

mathtans

Right. I wonder when she decided to go into the detective business.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Pineburg is not just filled with the supernatural, but numerous human characters up to their own things. Do you believe that Iola is truly on Pin’s side now? Alternatively, do you think Iola might betray Pin in the future (and if so, what for)? Do you believe that Riley will overcome his addiction, or might he find some other way to get Fruit? Besides withdrawal, what long term consequences do you think Riley might suffer from his past usage of Fruit? Will Iola and Riley be a boon to Pin’s detective work, or are they going to end up becoming burdens? Also, do you think it’s significant Pin doesn’t know what her mother does for a living? What role might her mother play in regards to events going on in the town?

Jonny Aleksey

I read from 100 to the current page so I probably missed a lot. I did get confused. Best part I saw would be that whole backstory to Penn's ancestor. Most interesting character stuff.

mathtans

Yeah, that fruit thing really threw me when it first came up. Oh, which reminds me, another scene I liked visually was when Pin got sucked into the other place and there were just all these street signs floating in the air. Great callback, how things made sense later (like the fruit).

RebelVampire

yeah i totally forgot about the street signs thing until they were in that place and i was like "gasp it all makes sense now"

but yeah i agree the fruit thing made me what

Han

oooooohhh the twist with the founder of the town is really cool

RebelVampire

pin has a super interesting family line going on

so many threads

Tenor | Shinavar

2. I believe Iola is on Pin's side as long as her revenge is being sated by the Queen, and the Queen seems interested in Pin if just a little bit. I'm waiting for Riley to drip back into addiction, sadly. I don't believe this will be something he can 100% beat without something to literaly cure it <_<; Magic n' all that. On Pin's mom: With what's all been hinted with the family I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to keep away from Pin fo rher safety due to what all they're wrapped up in. Sure her father might have been the link but who's to say she wasn't aware/told some shit?

mathtans

Seems like the only way to cure a fruit addiction is to have another fae do it, like what happened with Spence.

Tenor | Shinavar

Maybe! I wouldn't be surprised, at least

mathtans

Pin's mom doesn't play a role... but her Shadow does! Gasp!

Tenor | Shinavar

Her shadow wants to be Johnny Badass, I love it

RebelVampire

spense might of been a special case though being a bird and all. and tbf it seemed everything with spense happened in one day? and while magic is involved, you dont usually get addicted in one day. at least in a way that comes with withdrawal

i...actually also think riley is gonna fall back in with fruit if he can get some

cause his withdrawal seems pretty long term atm

without signs of getting better

and that sounds like hell on earth

i feel like her mom has to know something given the fam she married into. but then again pin's mom was kind of oblivious to pin dying

Tenor | Shinavar

IDK man - magical addiction might just wreck the body - though usually depending on lore Fae magic is pervasive but slow, often with intent to make permanent damage. But, that is kinda hinted too with how Riley describes how the fruit tastes and what it's like, and how eventually that goes away and what you're left with. I'd say that at least has shown a long term addiction.

TO BE FAIR - did anyone notice all the street signs were gone too? <_< How much do we know can be seen by others? Her sickness might be seen as lesser and just like, exhaustion. Though at least a doctor's visit c'mon. If my kid can't walk for a few days she's goin LOL

(I'd also want to know wtf my kid is doing to being so exhausted but it seems like Mom is pretty... not on the ball about her kid)

mathtans

The Spense thing on one day? I thought it took a bit of time to get hooked, then he was with the Queen for a little bit too. Though he was unhooked in a day, I grant. Riley needs to find a fruit substitute.

Well, the whole town was exhausted for a while, what with passing out while walking their dogs and things.

Incidentally, I didn't immediately clue in that the King was the graffiti artist, and that's how he was doing his thing. Only dawned on me when the shadow thing came back up.

Not sure if that's a me thing.

RebelVampire

but i guess it depends all about what mom is going. like what if shes fighting the forces of evil and if she stops everyone in the town dies? i could understand just kind of hoping pin is fine for the sake of the multitude of other ppl to save.

i realized it was him when he was revealed as the king

just cause the graffiti artist stuck in my mind

cause he was creepy

complimenting shadows and all that

who does that king

nobody

thats how you give yourself away as a fae

mathtans

He kind of stuck for me what with Pin pointing him out near the start, but I'd kind of forgotten later on, reading in batches. ^^;

Tenor | Shinavar

Shhh he was hiding, so good at hiding

mathtans

That and speaking weird.

He was fae-king it all along.

RebelVampire

brave math, bravo

but tenor brought up a good point. who all saw the missing signs. cause we are walking the borderline between whether this is real or whether this is pretend.

like i think some adult would go "wtf is going on? im gonna catch the punk kids who did this"

cause its an adult's perogative to assume it was punk kids

mathtans

Probably more like, "About time the mayor took those in for cleaning".

Though it could be one of those things you simply can't believe. Like, all of them gone? Must be a problem with me or my eyes. I won't let on, I'm acting normal, yup.

Han

tbh I feel like if it was spread out over time eventually people wouldn't notice they're gone anymore

Tenor | Shinavar

Some fae lore falls into a veil-like magic - which I htink may be applied here. It's hinted Prudence had the ability to "notice things" and this system has been used a lot - basically, you see what should be there because you know it should be there, you can't see the magical reality because your brain either wouldn't handle it, or you haven't been brought into the magical influence yet.

Han

an adult whos busy with jobs etc would become unobservant, and also Im assuming a lot of them could be fruit addicted

yea thats also very true tenor

RebelVampire

yeah i do feel like we are going by veil logic if everything is reality.

mathtans

Ohhh, good point, about the noticing. (A handy skill for a detective, incidentally.)

Tenor | Shinavar

So how much do we the audience get to see?

Han

oh man yea...

and the tree and overgrowth signifying the queens rise of power now that the king is gone is a nice touch

aw man Im all caught up now and I want more

I've most definitely have saved this comic to my bookmarks for sure, its too interesting to pass up

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah I have def enjoyed this and am keeping it on my read list :D

Han

I honestly just feel bad for poor riley at this point, this kid didn't ask for this magic addiction...hopefully he's cured of it eventually

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Much of the comic’s conflicts are driven by the supernatural Faeries around Pineburg. Do you believe we’ve seen the last of the King, or do you think he’s planning some sort of comeback to once again take the town? What do you make of the King’s ominous warning before he left? Do you believe that the Queen is relatively benign, or is she up to something considering the sudden overgrowth of nature? Could it have something to do with the boon Iola asked the Queen for in order to get rid of the King? If the Queen is up to something, what might her goals be? What other rules of the Faeries might trip Pin and other characters up in the future? Have we seen the last of the Fruit with the King’s departure, or will it come back somehow? Lastly, what do you think the Faeries’ interest with Pineburg is specifically?

Han

hmmmmmm well I have a feeling that Pineburg has some sort of easier connection with the faerie world

like, maybe its easier to journey there and live among humans

either that or because its something they've owned for what I assume almost 100 years they're attached to it like a stuffed animal

Tenor | Shinavar

3) THe Queen clearly has a temper, but I'm not sure what she's up to be. I imagine they're eventually going to be in a territory spat - the Queen understands she can't control the area yet due to the deal, but they could influence things, persay, to garuantee this generation is the last generation <_<

Han

yea I agree, I don't trust the Queen one bit

mathtans

Heh, a lot of that is after where I've read to. As to their interest though, didn't the humans kind of come along and settle there? Technically the fae were there first.

Han

The Queen has clear motivations for sticking it to the King most definitely

mathtans

Makes me wonder about their marriage.

Han

im assuming the overgrowth is the queen claiming what is originally hers---maybe shes upset the king gave away the area that the town now overtakes and is trying to claim it back?

like I know the deal with the founder was kinda like an yea sure u can have the town for a while but its an iou situation eventually, he would've had his way if pin didn't outsmart him

RebelVampire

if they are married

im really confused on that

Han

yea I am too?? I feel like they arent actually married and are in actuality two seperate factions of fae

thats how I interpreted it anyway

RebelVampire

yeah thats how it feels

although the queen kind of acts the jealous wife to a degree

so idk

i could make arguments on both side

Han

mmm yea, maybe they had a fling and it dropped out

its a battle of bitter exes and the town is smack dab in the middle of it

RebelVampire

tho i think at this point they are representing two diff factions. so it might be a political marriage

Han

true!

tbh i would be kinda funny if it just wound up to be like a very long winded version of some sort of divorced couple custody battle over the whole town

mathtans

The liberals and conservatives thought a marriage would unite the fae politically.

Han

im also a little suspsicious of lola, seeing as how she seemed to switch sides so quickly

mathtans

Anyone think Pin might become the new ruler?

Tenor | Shinavar

I think they just need marriage counseling

Hm If Pin were offered, I don't think she'd accept it unless she has no option.

Like life or death over people levesl of accepting

RebelVampire

i think that is a good descrip of whats going on between the king and queen tho. this is just some custody battle XD and yeah im with tenor. i dont think pin would want to be the new ruler unless circumstances dictated it was to protect the town

Han

yea I agree

I feel like Pin is a protector of sorts

RebelVampire

i 100% think the queen is evil and is just more cunning to the king. i think her ultimate goal is to completely push the people out of the town and let nature reclaim it. cause that seems to be her thing. and i think theyre going to be forced to go get the king and say "hey king the queen is worse than you bro"

Han

oooo yea

and then its like the villain becomes the gruntled protagonist

which is a trope I adore

mathtans

King would probably want them to do him favours in exchange for help though.

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh god.

Personally I hope they just manage to mend whatever is allowing such a strong fae connection and just boot them all out because no fae can be trusted

mathtans

Gotta outsmart them somehow.

RebelVampire

i feel that that is more the inevitable end

they somehow get all the fae booted

decide to add to the history books that dealing with fae is the worst thing and just dont

mathtans

Gotta defeat them with iron.....y.

RebelVampire

actually ya know

maybe that is what will play a role

is the iron

cause i forgot about that

Tenor | Shinavar

Iron dome around the town

RebelVampire

but this comic is good about bringing up stuff again

in conjunction with the last question, i trust Iola as far as i can throw her. i think she knows exactly what the queen is trying to do and is just riding the train to the end

and even if she doesnt know

Iola is a side switcher

never trust

Tenor | Shinavar

Well at the ssame time, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and apparently she's taken what the King's done as one hell of a personal slight. Which if he was truly pretending to be her BF I can't blame the rage, but that's dangerous lol

RebelVampire

maybe this is the real lesson from the comic

dont scorn women

because then they go to the fae

and nobody wants that

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd believe it <_< Los of pissed off ladies. Even Pin's ancestor was a woman scorned

mathtans

Maybe Pin's mom is a fae. And Pin is part fae.

RebelVampire

the twist of a century

Tenor | Shinavar

Actually that is a question - why was it her father would have been the end of the contract, and not her? She's still alive. THey hint Iola's family is because the family line was assumed to not continue there so...

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite overcoming her trials with the King, Pin has many other problems left at her doorstep. Will Pin be able to solve the issues plaguing Prudence and free her ancestor? What do you think Pin will have to do to be able to free Prudence? Do you think she’ll have to consult the King, or might someone else have the answers? Do you think Prudence is being honest about just wanting to rest, or do you think Prudence is going to betray Pin after being set free? If the latter, what do you think Prudence’s ultimate goals are? Additionally, do you think Pin will be able to maintain a good relationship with her shadow, or will her shadow attempt to leave to be her own person? How might the split with her shadow continue to help or hurt her?

i assumed it was a generation number thing?

Tenor | Shinavar

4. Even if she has to consult the King I doubt he'd help her - it's his contract in place. Unless she gives up something good I can't imagine he'd be willing to try.

RebelVampire

cause its not iola herself who stays the fae hands

its iola's father

so once iola's father kicks the bucket

Tenor | Shinavar

Oooh, then that would make more sense.

mathtans

I feel like Prudence is sincere, because after hanging around for that long, you'd figure it's time to move on. Unless she really wants to struggle with what an iPad is.

RebelVampire

i wouldve thought prudence was sincere

but then her backstory

her backstory is not one that makes me go "ah just sincere old lady"

mathtans

Hmm, guess I only got about halfway through that. Still, centuries to reflect.

Tenor | Shinavar

I do believe she may be sincere in he "I'm done, I'm tired, I want to leave" because "immortality" can be baaad. And boring, esp if she's by herself

mathtans

It wasn't what she signed up for either.

RebelVampire

i feel like she wants rest, but that doesnt mean it doesnt come with strings. like for example, i doubt shed care if the only way to free herself was for pin to take her place in that mirror limbo whatever it is

mathtans

Mirror limbo... how low can you go.

Is it mentioned how Penelope got the nickname Pin?

Tenor | Shinavar

Rbeel: Oooh that's a good point God forbid she get tired of waiting and trying to make that deal wheeze

RebelVampire

i dont think its been mentioned yet, how she got her nickname

but it might have been said in passing and i just missed it?

but yeah i dont think prudence cares how she gets out and at whose expense

chateaugrief

hey everyone, i'm super late but I arrived! was eating fruit but am trying to stop...

RebelVampire

LOL

Tenor | Shinavar

I didn't catch it either.

FFF also hELLO

chateaugrief

I really loved this comic, writing was very good

RebelVampire

the fruit thing still makes me laugh to a degree cause at first i was like "pin why are you mad about ppl eating fruit? most kids dont eat enough fruit so this is a good thing"

glad to hear you liked it

mathtans

It's all about the veggies.

RebelVampire

maybe thats how riley will get over his addiction

hell start doing veggies

mathtans

Or birdseed. O.o

chateaugrief

haha stay away from fruit children! oh man the birdseed stuff I was dying

and before I knew it I was eating out of his hand!

also the lock picking ad that pops up in the middle

RebelVampire

im reminded of that page

http://pinporterdetective.com/index.php/comic/page-22/

now what i expected but horribly hilarious

mathtans

That reminds me, I was amused at the end of Spense's story when Pin saves him and he talks to her and she drops what she was holding.

chateaugrief

@mathtans another great moment. This comic was full of wonderful pacing and humorous beats.

the character expressions were tops too

mathtans

Yes, the pacing was really good in places. I also liked insulting the shadow ... cut to everyone in a dungeon.(edited)

chateaugrief

yes!

Hanging in chains, no less!

Tenor | Shinavar

Yes, I loved that. I am curious how much of Shadow's personality matches Pin's more basic in he sense of someone who hasn't been taught to be human. How violent can Pin be, for example? <_<

mathtans

That's a good point. Does a shadow represent our darker half? One that our soul still needs to survive?

RebelVampire

that usually is it although im not sure id describe the shadow as dark

less cunning and without the same regard for polite behavior

but not dark persay

chateaugrief

the id, in other words?

mathtans

Except shadows are kind of dark by nature. Because the light is blocked.

RebelVampire

i was really surprised that the shadow did not recombine with pin tho

and that shes still around

mathtans

I kind of suspected there'd be more to it. Maybe because of the one banner showing the shadow behind her.

Tenor | Shinavar

I think because hey've been seperated, they can basically let go and back again? Which may be contributing to Pin's health

mathtans

Which reminds me, I mentioned this a couple days ago, but interesting that there's, like, three different banners for the comic depending on what page you're on.

chateaugrief

did the shadow not rejoin Pin? I could have sworn it did, and that was why she got better?!

mathtans

One needs to be as observant as the characters.

Not permanently, I think?

Anyway, will be interesting to see what the fae get up to. When road signs aren't enough.

chateaugrief

yeah, page 124 http://pinporterdetective.com/index.php/comic/page-124/ did I misinterpret this as the shadow rejoining pin?

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett, as well, for making Pin Porter Girl Detective. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://pinporterdetective.com/

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/RlittlemissG

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about My Dad is a Magical Girl by Shinavar / Tenor. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, December 13th, from 5PM to 7PM PST for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://mdiamg.shinavar.com/

Comic’s Tapas Mirror: https://tapas.io/series/My-Dad-Is-A-Magical-Girl