#v: champion hawke;;

[idolbound]

"I hear you visited several times while I was unconscious." Sioned makes her way into Meredith's office with too much familiarity, not even bothering to knock. She's still recovering from the Arishok's wounds, but at least she's on her feet again. "Did you miss me that dearly?"

@kirkwll

The sharp tone of Kirkwall's newest Champion catches the Knight-Commander's ear long before the sound of her heavy door sliding open or that of her bootsteps; a hand comes to ball into a fist at the undue interruption. To say Meredith had not expected Hawke to be on her feet, much less in her office is an understatement.

Still, her jaw tightens as she rises to her full height, blatantly eyeing the younger woman over. The fight against the Arishok had been brutal, from what she was told by eyewitnesses, and from the very fact that Hawke had collapsed and stayed as such for days afterward.

"I did," Meredith admits; it isn't a lie, though her intent had not been out of friendship nor respect, but a matter of checking whether or not Hawke was going to succumb to her wounds or remain alive for the time being. Clearly, as it were, the latter seems to be the case. She sighs under her breath, and folds her arms across her breastplate; piercing blue eyes stare at Sioned without breaking away.

"Do not flatter yourself, Hawke. It was out of obligation. Who else would tell the City if their newly anointed Champion had perished after such an... historical victory? I am certain they would've erected a statue in your honour, had that been the case. But it appears you are... alive and well."

[melpcmene-arch]

@ada1r had sent this in: ❝ god damn…i was almost a pancake. ❞ @ hawke ! | resident evil: 4 remake starters. ( accepting !! )

He tried to suppress the laughter. This was serious, Hawke had to remind himself. But her reaction was so funny - so were her words. He stood there. His staff - redwood and tall; imbued with magic that Hawke pours in. He used the head of such a staff to hide his smile.

"Are... Are you okay?"

[multifandomwhore-003]

Coward

Pairing: Robby Keene x female! adopted! Moskowitz! reader

Summary: Honestly, just the most angsty shit I've written in a while.

Genre(s): angst,angst, and more angst.

Warning(s): I'm only following the show's timeline from season 1 to the first half of season 4. They're Taylor Swift/Billie Eilish/other depressing artists coded, more specifically "No time to die", "My tears ricochet", "I love you", "The Archer", "Afterglow", "Line without a hook", "All too well" "That way", "You broke me first", "The Great war", and the list goes on and on so just pick your poison.

Taglist: @rafecameronswhore @barbiekatz @l-o-v-r-s @kaitieskidmore1 @rosepetalsparks join taglist here

A/N: QUICK DISCLAIMERS, I made the reader adopted bc clearly Eli's/Hawk's family is white so this way the reader can be a poc if that's the case, I started this back when S4 came out and just finished it... what does that say about me? Idk. ALSO, Robby's S4 era will always be superior, Robby from S4 you will always be famous, he was unhinged, hot, a menace, and iconic, in this essay I will-

Gif credits to whom they belong

𝙼𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚗

REQUESTS CLOSED

THIS IS NOT FREE USE, YOU CAN NOT USE MY WORK

Reblog if you like

The All Valley's karate rivalry was as old as time, as strong as god's will, and in your opinion, as stupid as it sounds; not to everyone though, especially your brother, the great and mighty Hawk who loved to parade around the city with his new look that carried every piece of confidence he had, unfortunately, now that it was taken away from him, he felt worthless.

You never had a thing against any of the participating parties in this ridiculous dispute, you didn't mess with them, and they didn't mess with you, but you had a limit whenever they attacked your brother, a tiny fine line that went from 'superficial wounds' to 'profound damage' and they crossed it. More like, Robby 'cute face' Keene, crossed it. Even though there was a 98% chance that your brother had brought this on himself, he was still your brother and you'd do anything for your family.

You pushed the glass doors storming into the empty section of the building and hearing them slightly vibrate behind you, "Keene," your voice was stern, no response, "Keene!" 

"Back here!" He yelled from the back room.

The stride of your heels resounded in every corner of the concrete, a strong, dominant, and potent tone that could easily make anyone even slightly fearful. And Robby Keene wasn't the exception, no matter how many times Sensei Reese and Sensei Silver prepared him to be a champion, no matter how many hours he had proven to be Cobra Kai's worthiest inheritor, no matter how much muscle mass he gained by the minute, no matter how many days he spent in prison, no matter how many people he'd fought, no matter how many kids in the valley were scared of him, everyone has a weakness, and you were one of his.

There wasn't something in this world he could hate more than that because it didn't make sense, it didn't make any fucking sense for you of all people to hold so much power over him after everything that happened, there was an evident reason behind esteeming the adults around him, some of the other students even, but you? What else were you if not a lovely face? The most beautiful thing he's ever seen in his life, he knew the answer, a little too well for his liking, and as much as he hated it, the fact that you were so out of reach made him want you more.

But he pretended, okay? Oh, he loved, adored even, to act all tough and cocky around you as if you couldn't break his entire facade into little pieces if you so much as softened your features for him, a minimal act he thought he'd never see again, and still, he'd imagined it, he'd daydream about it almost every time you were near him, which with the new tournament coming up, seeing you became more and more recurrent, and so, it didn't get easier to hate you, in fact, the more he saw you, the harder it got.

If and only if you were held at gunpoint, you'd admit that the boy was attractive, pretty even, mostly because you would be sentenced to death by your family or hanged for treason by your brother's friends, but also because confessing to like him meant confessing you liked the guy who for better or for worse, ended up in juvie, and it was something that you didn't wanna be linked with.

You didn't have to say it to know that after all, you were still genuinely captivated by his physique and attitude, the way he carried himself everywhere he went, his ability to make himself seen without saying a word, how he wasn't easy to overlook; maybe it was just you who noticed his presence so intensely, perhaps you convinced yourself the rest of the world did as well just so you wouldn't feel so pathetic by the fact that you couldn't ignore him. And in the attempt to make your life easier and 'problem-free' by neglecting your feelings, it backfired by raising the complicity lever of your desires.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" he didn’t bother to turn around perhaps you’d go quickly so he didn’t have to train his self-control, not again.

If you were in a different mood, you would've rolled your eyes at the little nickname you despised so much, he gave it to you not only to point out that your economical status was clearly higher than his, but also to remind the 10-month-old age gap between you and your brother, a small amount of time that doomed your life to always be put under him, to your family, he was going to grow to be a King, the one who was gonna inherit every important part of their heritage, and you were stuck to be only that, a Princess.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put your ass back in jail?" You fumed, irritation blurring out your judgment.

"Because legally, I did nothing wrong, and even if I did, you have no proof of it," he grinned.

"Then explain to me what the hell is wrong with you?!” you spun him by his shoulder,  “You really thought you could just casually shame my brother by cutting his hair and I wouldn't come here to defend him?!"

"You mean the same hair that made him think he could be a bully?" he remained calm.

"You know damn well I never agreed with that," you spat, "Do I need to remind you he was suspended for a week because I went to the principal? And regardless of that, you wanna complain about him making others feel less with violence while you do the same?" you scoffed,  "Wow," you stated with sarcasm.

"It's hair, it'll grow back,"

"You humiliated him! You made him nothing! Not to mention you used a barber's blade, idiot, did you think about how fucking dangerous that was? You could've seriously injured him if he made the wrong move!"

"I warned him, good thing he knows how to listen, he’s not as stupid as he looks," he taunted you more.

You shook your head, "You're gonna listen to me Keene, and you're gonna listen to me very carefully," you got close to him, "If you even so much as breathe in his direction before the tournament, I will end you,"

He chuckled, "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"No, only cowards like you and your minions make threats, mine is a promise,"

"I'm not a coward," he clenched his jaw holding back the increasing anger.

You laughed, and somehow said more than words could.

"Says the one who came here when it was all alone knowing that if it wasn't, you would've gotten your ass beaten,"

"By who? Your little friend who's on probation?” you tilted your head with an arrogant smirk, “No, you see, I came here at this time because I'm smart, I mean let's be honest, you've never done anything to hurt me and you never will, because… well," you raised your shoulders feeding the fire in his eyes.

"So what? Do you want me to hurt you to prove that I'm not?" he towered over you.

You nodded, "Yes," you took another step towards him, "But then again, you don't want me to win, do you? Because if you hurt me, then that means you care about what I think,”  your voice got slower, “and what would that say about you? True winners don't have to prove anything to anyone but themselves, that's the difference between all of you and me," you separated from him slightly, "But go ahead, make my day and land the first punch,"

He froze in his place processing your words and just barely he noticed he missed your closeness, he couldn't bring himself to do so, pushing down the consuming rage that, later on, would show up stronger when Silver and Kreese find out about this encounter.

"That's what I thought," you scrunched your nose,  "You karate nerds are so stupid, who needs to get physical when you have words?" you told more to yourself, and right when you were about to make, what you considered, a triumphal exit, your arm got yanked, your chest hit him, and your faces were less than an inch away, "What are you doing?" you whispered.

The vulnerability of your words and the fragility of your look melted him, for a split second he lost track of his purpose, but it wasn't until he remembered your words that he snapped out of the trance, "Hurting you," he whispered back before placing your lips on his.

It didn't take long for his action to hitch your respiration, stun your nerves, fill your veins with adrenaline, whisk your logic, and for you to correspond. It was embarrassingly quick if to be completely honest, but it didn't matter, frankly, you were so unashamed of it that your hands slipped behind his neck pushing the two of you impossibly closer. It was hungry, desperate, and frantic; you finally understood Adam and Eve no matter how much you hated religion, finally comprehended the temptation of the forbidden fruit, sweet, delicious, and addictive.

Instinctively, he gently pushed you against the nearest wall and you felt his fingers getting lost in your hair, "I don't need to use a lot of strength to hurt you," he pulled you away trying to recover his breath, "I'm gonna hurt your pride by making you moan my name,"

"Easy there, snake boy," you managed to gasp out as you trailed your fingertips fastidiously along his jawline whilst slightly lifting his chin, "What makes you think you won't moan mine," you weren't ready to let your guard down, not yet, you then switched positions holding his shoulders against the cement. In an act of pure selfishness, you softly cupped his face somewhat catching him off guard, his nose brushed yours as your top lip created contact that was so minimal it could almost be imperceptible, "Nice try,  Keene, but unfortunately for you, I don't fuck losers," you mumbled, although you could've said it in a more impactful tone, you knew, you knew that the intimacy of it all would make your words burn into the very depths of his soul.

You walked out of the Dojo quite easily with him as perplexed as a Marmol statue, the catch was having to drive around the city to cool off your system and release the tension of it all. However, it didn't work, not even a little bit, not even at all, your mind played every different scenario of the continuation of your reckless actions, it was your fault, and you had to accept it, you went to face him knowing damn well how you felt for him, you went knowing damn well he wouldn't just back down easily, knowing he would've put up a fight one way or another, you knew deep inside you, you knew this could happen, you wanted it to happen. 

It was inevitable, your brother was just the perfect excuse and you used it, you took advantage of it, you abused it even, he begged you not to do anything and you didn't care enough to listen, you just had to see him, you had to confront him after almost a year of holding back. 

You met him while he was still working for the LaRussos, Daniel and your mom had known each other since college, so whenever they began a conversation, no one could stop them or be part of it; on that occasion, you two were invited for dinner, you brother naturally skipped it, but you were forced to go. You couldn't really complain, Sam was nice company at times, and you would mostly gossip about school or complain about teachers, nothing too deep; however, it even amazed you how rapidly you connected with Robby. Was your entire conversation from that night centered on making fun of the adults? Yeah, but you couldn't stop cackling the entire time. After that, whenever you saw each other you two resumed that same chemistry, constantly coming up with inside jokes or witty comments regarding your family, friends, possible love interests, etc. It then patiently evolved into a solid friendship by revealing heavy details of both of your lives; other types of sentiments involved or not, there was a time when all you had was each other. 

But the school fight changed everything, Hawk had a personal vendetta against the person who put one of his best friends in a coma, and you... you were scared, not furious, not bitter, just terrified. Of him, your brother and his friends, Sam, everyone that had to go through the aftermath of it all; you burned all of those bridges, gasoline and everything, changed schools in a different part of town, shut down that part of your life. You couldn't afford to give your family another reason to put you under. 

"Y/N,  could you stop procrastinating and do something productive?” your mother interrupted your thinkings, “I gotta take this call, take care of them for a minute," she pointed at the waiters.

"Oh, yeah, sure, I- I'll watch them," you answered.

She stepped away.

You huffed scanning the restaurant your family proudly called theirs, it was a second home, warm, comfy, filled with known people, and although you couldn’t make sense of it, you’d always perceived the hazy calmness through the chaos. 

There was something hardly recognizable besides the door, at first glance your eyes overlooked it, but as you double-checked your body tensed and your eyes widened so much you were sure they were gonna pop out, he was here.

The last time he showed up at the business was the night before the incident, your parents had conveniently gone to a business dinner and your brother had no intentions on getting out of the house with his hangover, and like every other time he'd been there, you two would steal food from the kitchen, go up to the rooftop and talk about nothing and everything.

Flashback

"And now Mr. LaRusso doesn't wanna have anything to do with me," his voice weakened.

"Oh my god, Robby," you wasted no time in hugging him tightly, "I'm sorry," 

He nuzzled in the crook of your neck sparking something in your gut, you never failed to react to the crumbs of intimacy you always had. His eyes began to water, tears falling into your shirt.

"It's okay, it's okay," you comforted him, both of your torsos gently swinging.

"It hurts so much," he sniffled, "Why does it hurt so much?" it might've sounded a little too melodramatic, perhaps absurd, but he wasn't afraid to be like that, vulnerable, not with you, you never gave him a reason to be.

You pursed your lips, your throat was dry, you were speechless although you'd never been the quiet type, and all you could do was hold him even tighter, a subtle yet relevant symbolism that reminded you that was the closest you could get.

"Why does everyone always leave?" he let the question settle into the breeze although it felt more personal.

It broke you to see him like this, no pain you've ever felt was comparable to seeing he whom you love miserable, there was nothing else you could do but be there, though you didn't think it was nearly as enough as what he needed, "I- I don't know," you couldn't tell if you were lucky to have never experienced such experience, or misfortunate to not have said wisdom to heal him. You cautiously cupped his face, as if one of your movements could hurt him more, he was like stained glass, complicated, fractured, fragile, and yet, his cracks and colors made him the most beautiful soul you’ve ever met "I won't leave you," you ran your thumbs through his cheeks, drying the small showings of his pain.

"You promise?"

"I promise,"

End of flashback

You tried not to draw too much attention to yourself while jogging towards the entrance, "What the hell are you doing here?" you blurted out.

"I wanna talk to you," he seemed happy, probably because of how fearful you, on the other hand, were.

"You- you can't be here right now, I'm not messin' around," you shook your head, you had to react as discreetly as possible.

"Why? Your brother isn't here,"

"It's not just my brother, okay? My family will kill you on sight, please, listen to me," you grabbed his shoulders, "We can't talk, not here,"

"Where then?"

"I-" you looked around making sure your mom was still in her office, "Do we really have to do this right now?" you insisted.

"Yes," he stated firmly.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, "Okay, come on," you pulled his hand with a strength that wasn't necessary.

You entered the tiny meetings room on the other side of the establishment, because of your dad's usual tantrums, it didn't have a camera and it was sound-proofed; you made sure to lock the door and turn off the light so it wouldn't be visible from the bottom of the wood.

"Okay, make it quick, I need to get back to my mom," your words were rushed and stumbling with each other.

"You truly are terrified of your parents aren't you?" he crossed his arms.

"I don't have time for this Robby-"

"Thought I was 'Keene',"

You only began to call him that after in consequence of the Karate outrage, his first name felt too personal, too close.

You shut your eyes in frustration, "Can you stop being an ass for a second and get to the point of whatever it is that you wanna talk about?"

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?" he continued to tease, truth is, he wasn't sure what he was doing there in the first place, all he knew was that here he was, with you.

"It doesn't matter, just- start talking," you pressured.

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?" he repeated.

Your fingers twitched, a manner you developed out of stress, "Because if they see me with you, I'll never hear the end of it, okay?" you fidgeted then with your jewelry.

"If you never wanna be caught in a lie I suggest you stop doing the ring thing," he pointed out, "It makes it easy to tell,"

You halted the action and then shrugged.

"Why are you so nervous about me being here?"

"Because they already filed a restraining order against you, I guess you didn't get it because you're here, but if they call the cops you'll probably end up in juvie and I don't want- If you ever wanna go back to school or get a job is gonna be incredibly difficult,"

He assumed at first you didn't wanna be seen with him because of how much you cared about the reputation of your new life, a valid perspective given how much you made an effort to conceal it all, but hearing you enlightened him, sore him "Don't look at me like that," a small part of his grudge came out.

"Like what?"

"Like you still care about me,"

A choked laugh resounded from your part, "First of all, I'm not apologizing for that, and second-"

"You should," his demeanor abruptly became more defensive.

You tilted your head, "Why?" your energy matched his.

"Because you don't care about me, and acting like you do is very hypocritical of you,"

"When have I ever told you that I don't care about you?" you frowned.

"You don't have to say it, you already proved it,"

"How so?"

"Don't play the innocent part now," he was close to losing his cool,  "You try so hard to hide everything that happened but at even the slightest inconvenience, you go right back where you started, tell me, do your mommy and daddy know you went to see me two days ago? Huh? Or let me guess, you were too scared to tell them?" 

"Oh, fuck off Keene, is that all you got? Is that the only thing that you think will affect me? My parents? My reputation?"

"Yes! Because that's the only thing you care about! You're nothing but a self-centered spoiled brat that doesn't know any better than to run away from her problems! You wanna know who the real coward is here? You are! Some of us don't have the privilege of a new start! Keep pretending all you want, but don't forget, I was your friend and you turned your back on me, I wasted my one phone call on you because you were the only person I had, and you hung up on me like I was nothing! Tell me, how am I supposed to be the coward if I'm the one who got hurt because of your selfishness?! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" as much as he attempted to divert the subject of the conversation, his eyes sabotaged him, quickly covering his face in a salty heartbreaking liquid. "You... you weren't there-" 

You were both stunned by his reaction, you'd think that with everything he's been put through, he wouldn’t snap so easily, so passionately, so emotionally, but no, all of this was a new part of himself that only you made him feel, he’d only allowed you to do so.

"I needed you! I needed you! And you weren't there! And- and then the first time you say anything to me after I got out-" 

If there's something he had while being in juvie was time, precious time he'd spent weaving, machinating; about you, about his dad, about the LaRusso's, about Miguel, about him. Strategizing his next encounter with the world was arduous, but the action of going through with it was the true challenge, and he realized how useless all that time truly was when he heard your voice the first time, suddenly all of it was gone, the effort, the time, the sleepless nights, the daydreaming noons, all of it, turned into nothing, you turned them into nothing. 

"I was happy," he exhaled like freeing himself of chains and shackles, "I was so happy, and I enjoyed seeing you mad so fucking much, seeing you in general," he laughed, "I tried to-" he choked on his words, "I tried to hate you so much because you bailed on me but I can't," every inch him began to feel... lighter, "I can't hate you," he sighed, "I- I just can’t,”

Your body didn’t allow you to move, roughly grounding you, vines of regret holding you hostage against soothing him, stopping him, following him outside, responding coherently to your family’s screams, to forget.  You’d lost count of how many days you’d feel as you were still glued to the wooden floor, completely stuck, dried-out blossoms of hope from your heart, rageful deep thorns clinging to your debilitated frame, daunting poison sinking your head.

—How many times?—

How many times would you have to come up with every pretentious and overly-thought narrative to justify everything? You’ve been silenced by your reluctance, aghast by your idealization, confined by your denial, triggered by tension, frozen by your guilt, and finally steered by resentment. 

You stared at the faint reflection from the glass, you wanted to immortalize the picture, hair slightly out of place, tugged at clothes, blood burst out of the skin, purple underneath the large organ, nostrils flowing with the lack of air, mouth agape. 

—Why?—

  You prepared yourself for the question before anyone else asked it. 

—Why was protecting Robby’s honor against someone as irrelevant as Natalie Dalmasos worth it?—

 You noticed your knuckles finally matching your brother’s.

—He’s never even met her—

Your stomach sunk as if releasing all the ire and digesting it as dread.

—Was it worth it?—

Hammering head.

—Did she deserve it?—

Striking heart.

—You screwed up everything you built—

Trembling legs.

—What did you do?—

Numbed face.

—Why destroy it?—

Streaking neck.

—Why him?—

Overwhelmed.

Then reality came back.

—Shit—

You reached for your phone, quickly texting your mother the first perfectly constructed lie you could think of, you had to disappear at least for tonight, eventually relieved by her believing your sleepover story, you started the car.

—Where else would you go?—

You blankly saw the infamous logo, the white clearness hiding the inside, you took a shaky breath and struggled to get yourself inside the walls, you didn’t have to make yourself known by words, the heavy door did all the work filling it with creaks against the floor for it being poorly moved. 

You saw him cautiously walk out of the dark.

“Robby,” you let out a soft smile.

He frowned as you gradually got nearer.

“I- I um-” you gulped, “I just got into a fight, the party- I-,” there was now a lightbulb over your head.

He rushed, “Y/N, holy shit,” 

“I- I’m fine, I swear,” you chuckled.

“Fine?! You look like shit!” 

“You should see the other guy,” you joked

He shrugged, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that, I’m just-,”

“Shocked?” you interrupted him, “Surprised? Amazed? Astonished? Stunned? fucking… every other synonym there is?”

He nodded still scanning your body, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” he placed one of your arms on his shoulder to then swiftly carry you bridal style to his mattress. You tilted your head observing the side of his jaw.

“I never noticed you had a scar there,” you whispered.

“One of many of my mom’s bad boyfriends,”

“I’m sorry,” you delicately traced it.

He smiled, “It’s okay,” 

You were laid down rather dramatically, or so you thought by the way he treated you like you were made out of paper, you just rolled your eyes and sat up while he went to get the first aid kit. 

“This is gonna hurt,” he wet the cotton.

You scoffed, “Relax Robby, I’m a big girl, this isn’t my first drill,” 

“Right,” he nodded.

You lowly hissed when the chemical made contact.

“Thought this wasn’t your first drill,” he teased.

“Okay, just because I’ve been hurt before doesn’t mean it’s not painful,” you both laughed, “I can still handle it,”

The rest of the cleaning went somewhat silent, just a few mumbled sorries were thrown around, but by the time he had pulled out the bandages, you grew impatient.

“You’re not gonna ask?” you broke the ice.

“Not really,” he admitted. 

“Why?”

“Because,” he raised his shoulders, “It’s too late to go and make ‘em pay for it,”

“Oh god, please don’t, I already did that,”

“What do you mean?” he began to wrap your hand.

“I’m the one who started the fight because they were talking shit,”

“What kind of shit?”

“All kinds, throwing rumors and just- bullshit,”

“About who?”

You licked your lips.

—Really? Now you go silent? You’re already here, fuck it—

“About you,”

“What?” he tightened the cloth too much.

“Ow,”

“Sorry, sorry,” he let go.

“Yeah,” you confessed, “They were talking shit about you and I shut them up,”

“Who?” he was still confused.

“Some girl from my school who thinks she’s fucking… Regina George or somethin’, she’s just a bitch,” you shook your head.

“Why?”

—Why?—

You grabbed his face, and gave him the most mellow and honeyed eyes you’ve ever had, “You haven’t figured that one out yet, have you?” you joined your foreheads as you closed your eyes, “You’re not the smart one out of us anyway,” you heard him giggle.

He brushed his nose with yours, shyly getting closer.

—Are you sure?—

—Yeah—

—Fuck it—

You kissed him for the first time, but held on to it like it was the last, how was it that you could say everything with just that? The most disarming and humble expression there is; the touch of two epidermises, and the completion of dual fantasies. You almost blubber in it, oh sacchariferous little poison of yours, worth every penny, every dime, every tear, every scream, and every dream. 

He paused, taking a deep breath, yet never breaking contact.

You sobbed, “I love you,” you dried his cheeks.

“I love you too,” he whimpered.

[dragonagekeeper]

Act 2 / Dragon Age Inquisition Polls

See quest descriptions from Dragon Age Wiki below

Finding themselves physically in the Fade, the Inquisitor's party receives help from what appears to be the spirit of the late Divine Justinia V, who reveals that the Nightmare stole the Inquisitor's memories of the Conclave the last time they were in the Fade, and that killing fearlings here would restore them. The Inquisitor and their companions gradually piece together what had really occurred that day: Corypheus had infiltrated the Conclave with a group of mind-controlled Grey Warden mages, and intended to sacrifice the Divine to unlock the Orb and gain the Anchor for himself. However, by pure happenstance, the Inquisitor inadvertently interrupted Corypheus' ritual and allowed Divine Justinia to knock the Orb out of Corypheus' hands. When the Inquisitor picked the Orb up, the Anchor was bestowed upon them instead. The ensuing magical explosion destroyed the Temple and killed everyone inside, except for the Divine and the intruder, who were physically transported into the Fade. Before they could escape, they were attacked by fearling demons, and the Divine sacrificed herself to give the Inquisitor a chance to flee. It was Divine Justinia's shadow in the Fade that was believed to be Andraste by those who witnessed the event.

Despite the Nightmare's attempts to manipulate their fears, the group eventually locates a rift that would take them back to the waking world. When the Nightmare blocks their way, Justinia's "spirit" leaves a final message for Leliana and sacrifices itself to temporarily incapacitate it, but the party still has to fight its weaker aspect. While they fight, the Nightmare recovers, and the Inquisitor is forced to leave either Hawke or their Grey Warden ally behind to buy the rest time to escape.

Whoever is chosen will likely die.

If Hawke is chosen: Hawke will demand to remain behind to fight the creature as Hawke feels Corypheus is their responsibility and the Warden ally must remain to restore the Grey Warden order. When charging the creature, Hawke will say farewell to Varric and their love interest. If Hawke does not have a love interest, the Champion's final words instead correspond to their personality.

If the Warden ally is chosen: The Warden ally, after the revelations about the Warden involvement in the Divine's death, will demand to remain behind to fight the creature. Choosing the Warden ally as the sacrifice may have impact upon the next pivotal decision made.

[notebooks-and-laptops]

4 and 19 for the hype questions?

WORLD STATE WORLD STATE

I think my world state (at least for my first game) is probably gonna be my canon worldstate aka

Guinevere Amell; Hero of Ferelden

Romanced Leliana, mage, survived the Fifth Blight, let the architect live

Aiden Hawke; champion of Kirkwall

Revolutionary, rogue, romanced Anders, sided with the Mages and let Anders live

DeLila Cadash; The Herald of Andraste

Sword and shield warrior, romanced Sera, sided with the mages, drank from the well

As far as question 19 goes - I will DEFO be replaying hopefully all three games (I've started with inquisition and Amelia Trevelyan but I wanna replay DAO and DA2 as well).

As far as expanded universe goes, I'm gonna reread Tevinter nights, and the novels I haven't read yet. Probably won't reread the comics? But we'll see I wouldn't put it past me. I'm also gonna read through World of Thedas Volume 2 (I v recently read through all of vol 1 cover to cover so I'll probably just dip in and out of that one)

And I'm gonna make my flatmate watch absolution with me haha

[v-arbellanaris]

on divine justinia (pt 2)

Justinia V will be remembered as one of the most progressive Divines in the history of the Chantry. Before her untimely death at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, she made strides to break down barriers for both mages and elves, as well as encouraging free thought among the Maker’s many children. For her views, she won as many enemies as she did supporters.

-- World of Thedas Vol 2.

PART TWO of a series, exploring Divine Justinia’s political stance. Was she really as progressive as people claimed?

Firstly, before we even dive into looking at Justinia as a character, we should define ‘progressive’. In the most base of definitions, it implies progress -- a gradual betterment. As a widely accepted definition, someone whose politics advocate for social reform. 

PART ONE - LELIANA'S SONG. / PART TWO - DRAGON AGE II. / PART THREE - THE MASKED EMPIRE.

Dragon Age II

Important things to note that are of particular relevance to the political landscape in Orlais and also the interaction between Kirkwall, Orlais and the Chantry:

Divine Beatrix III, who we meet during the events of Dawn of the Seeker, dies in 9:34, the same year that Hawke becomes Champion of Kirkwall, prompting the election of Divine Justinia V. 

Divine Beatrix III nominated Revered Mother Dorothea to become the next Divine before her death.

Dorothea’s suitability as Divine was hotly debated; because of her “worldly” background and demonstrating "forgiveness to sinners" (no specific examples I can think of other than Silas and Leliana from the previous post in this series) -- not because she was hailed as progressive or a reformist.

And, indeed, based off her appearance in Leliana’s Song, we can see that, so far, there’s nothing particularly reformist or progressive about her. 

The Chantry (and, by extension, Orlais) already has a history of involving themselves in Kirkwall’s politics, oftentimes outright violating Kirkwall’s right to rule themselves: in this case, specifically referring to Meredith’s rise to power in Kirkwall:

Beatrix III, known as a friend to the Emperor Florian of Orlais , pressured templars in Kirkwall to overthrow Viscount Perrin Threnhold; but Knight-Commander Guylian refused to become involved in local politics. It’s implied that the Viscount attempted to expel all templars from Kirkwall and assassinate the Knight-Commander, which may have been a set-up, but it allowed Meredith to succeed Guylian and launch a successful counter-attack against the Viscount’s Keep.

The reason Beatrix did this was because the Viscount blocked passage through the Waking Sea, exacting large fees from Orlesian ships specifically who wanted to pass.

As a result of her actions in Kirkwall, Meredith was promoted to Knight-Commander by Elthina. Meredith then appointed Marlowe Dumar as the next Viscount (not the nobility of Kirkwall) following Divine Beatrix’s advice. (Specific source unclear to me, but quoted from the DA fandom wiki page.)

Kirkwall, as of 9:37, is under Chantry rule. Marlowe Dumar is killed by the Arishok in 9:34; Act 3 begins in 9:37, and Meredith is explicitly blocking potential elections for a new Viscount specifically in order to maintain control of the city. This is established in the opening of Act 3, irrespective of whether you side with the mages or the templars. 

I specify Chantry rule and not templar rule because Meredith answers to no one in the entire city -- except Grand Cleric Elthina. As Knight-Commander, Meredith answers to the Grand Cleric, who holds authority over her, as the highest ranking member of the Chantry in the region. This is an undisputed fact; Elthina has legal authority over Meredith. An argument can be made that she might not have power over Meredith, that Meredith can choose to disobey her, but that’s just not true. In fact, the exact opposite is cemented in the very opening of Act 3, when Elthina is able to get Meredith to leave Hightown with nothing more than a few words. Meredith, even at this stage where she’s “insane”, still listens to Elthina. Elthina had three years to order Meredith to allow elections for a new Viscount. She did not, which is tacit approval. Templars ultimately answer to Elthina, as she is Meredith’s superior in the Chantry hierarchy.

Ergo, Kirkwall, as of 9:37, is under Chantry rule, not merely templar rule. And considering that the Chantry is an arm of Orlesian imperialism and colonisation...

Justinia’s primary involvement in DA2 is during Sebastian’s companion quest in Act 3, part of the Exiled Prince DLC, called Faith. The quest begins with Elthina requesting for Hawke’s help. 

“The Divine is concerned about the situation here. She does not want to see the Free Marches become another Imperium. She has sent an agent to ... assess the danger. Meet with her, please. Tell her drastic measures won’t be required.” -- Elthina to Hawke.

It's clear from this excerpt that the Divine is considering an Exalted March on Kirkwall as a response to the mage rebels. This interpretation is the widely popular one and there’s definitely evidence throughout the quest and even after the quest to support the idea. This is the main interpretation of this quest that I’ll focus on for this current analysis.

The important takeaway here is that, one way or another, for one reason or another, Divine Justinia V is considering calling an Exalted March on Kirkwall; she sends an agent to Kirkwall to investigate whether a March would be necessary to resolve the situation there. 

A lot of the discussion between Hawke, Sebastian and Elthina about the Divine’s possible motivations in investigating Kirkwall are actually only tangentially relevant, in my opinion, because it could be partially attributed to Elthina exaggerating the danger in order to make Hawke involve themselves. However, there are three lines of dialogue from Elthina that I think are particularly pertinent to Justinia. The first one (emphasis mine):

Hawke: What argument would convince her? Elthina: The Divine has heard my protests already. I must trust your own powers of persuasion now.

This confirms that Elthina and Justinia are actively in contact with each other. Divine Justinia V ascended in 9:34, 3 years before the start of Act 3, and well before the quest. Kirkwall has been under Chantry rule for the past three years. Justinia is in contact with the single most powerful member of the Chantry in the entire Free Marches.

To be clear, this means that Justinia could have ordered Elthina or Meredith to allow the nobility to elect the next Viscount -- she could have done so in this very conversation that Elthina alludes to. She didn’t. (We know she didn't because no one has ever brought it up. Not in DA2 and not in DAI.) Nor does she through Leliana when we meet her later. She could have sent a Seeker of Truth (like, say, Cassandra) to forcibly relieve Meredith who is actively interfering in the politics of an independent nation. (She sends a Seeker of Truth to investigate whether there's really that much blood magic in Kirkwall, but not for this?) She didn’t.

That, to me, reads as tacit approval of Elthina and Meredith's actions in Kirkwall. She has no issues at all with Meredith assuming control of the city for the templars. The Chantry has had vested interests in maintaining control in Kirkwall since Divine Beatrix’s time -- this is not new. There’s no real change here from Beatrix to Justinia and there’s certainly no protest -- not even a token protest -- or investigation into Meredith’s treatment of the mages. No independent investigation, following her ascension as Divine, into the situation in Kirkwall before now.

Because it wasn’t a problem before now. Before the mages started rebelling about it -- violently. .

The problem Leliana is being sent to investigate is not whether or not Meredith is abusing mages. It's not whether or not Meredith should continue to hold power in Kirkwall. It's about how dangerous this mage rebellion is becoming.

Leliana’s dialogue later, in my opinion, confirms this:

Leliana: The Divine has long suspected that Kirkwall’s problems were being spurred by an outside group. This attack proves she is right.

The group Leliana is referring to are the Resolutionists, who are closely affiliated with the mage underground -- both mage resistance groups based in the Free Marches and operating in Kirkwall. 

It’s explicit here that the problem is not the Chantry’s violation of Kirkwall’s sovereignty, it’s not that the Chantry and the Order has held the entire city under martial law for the past three years, it’s not even the blatant abuses of the Circle mages at the hands of the Kirkwall templars. It’s not even the alarming amount of blood mages or Tranquil mages in Kirkwall.

It’s a mage rebellion. That’s Kirkwall’s problem.

The next dialogue (emphasis mine):

Sebastian: She is the voice of Andraste. She cannot turn the might of the Chantry against the innocent due to ... proximity. Elthina: Were no innocents harmed in the Exalted Marches? She will do her best, Sebastian, but she must act first to defend the faith.

This is an interesting insight to Elthina’s viewpoints of Justinia. We know they’ve been in contact. Elthina is the second highest ranking member of the Chantry -- Grand Clerics are second only to the Divine in Chantry hierarchy. I sincerely doubt this is the first time she’s ever contacted her own boss in three years. 

Elthina posits herself as someone pushing for peace, especially at the end of this quest when Sebastian pushes her to leave Kirkwall (despite her not really ... doing much to resolve the situation and actively refusing to do anything at all by claiming she has no power to help the situation but that’s another post). Yet, she says that Justinia’s primary motivation above all else is defending the faith. Not defending the innocent or defending the templars but specifically defending the faith. 

The subjugation of mages is a central tenet of the Orlesian Chantry. It is a belief so central to Orlesian Andrastianism that the mere suggestion of Andraste being a mage or mages being allowed to exist outside of the Circle, say in Tevinter, causes a religious schism.

Elthina suggests here that Justinia will take action to defend the faith against the mages. That a mage rebellion, in essence, is an attack on the very foundations of the Orlesian Chantry and Justinia will react accordingly. 

And I think she’s right to assume that of Justinia.

Leliana: Divine Justinia takes the situation here very seriously. She believes it is the worst threat to Thedas since the Qunari invaded.

The worst threat to Thedas since the Qunari invaded. The Qun, one of the most pervasive religious forces in Thedas, to rival the Chantry. The Qunari, whose invasion of Kirkwall (provoked as it was by the Chantry in the first place), enough to get the templars to take action to defend the city. 

Leliana: The whole world is watching Kirkwall. If it falls to magic, none of us are safe. Tell Elthina to leave. There is refuge for her in the Grand Cathedral in Orlais. She will not be safe here.

Here, Leliana makes it very, very clear. Justinia views a mage rebellion as a threat to the faith; she will defend it as such.

Crucially, Leliana’s dialogue also sheds some light on how Justinia views the Circles.

Leliana: There have always been factions that support freedom from the Chantry and the abolition of the Circle. We have ... tolerated them. But the Resolutionists have become violent. They are likely behind the unrest here.

Even if the abolition of the Circle was an extreme stance to take, some level of freedom from the Chantry beyond what the Circle already has would be a progressive stance. Yet, Leliana presents it here as a transgression. In fact, the very beliefs of the Aequitarians -- the largest Fraternity in the College of Enchanters; Orsino himself is part of the Aequitarians, as are Wynne and Irving, who are presented as "good" mages in DA:O -- inherently wish to improve the conditions of the Circle. They seek reform by trying to comply with the ideal of a “good mage”, ones who uses their magic ethically and responsibly to help others -- but they seek reform still. This is made obvious even as early as DA:O, in conversations with Wynne. But even that moderate, and popular, view seems to be deemed as transgressive. Something to tolerate. Something to entertain but certainly not something to act on, or take seriously.

More than that, there are more Fraternities beyond just the Aequitarians and the Resolutionists who themselves are a splinter of the Libertarians. There are the Isolationists, who would abolish the Circle only to retreat further from people and keep mages separate. There are, of course, the Libertarians -- however, they don’t push for the abolishment of the Circle but rather it’s independence from the Chantry, to become a self-governing body.

Yet, Justinia merely tolerates the mages’ views of how they themselves should live their lives -- and there is an abrupt end to this tolerance, time and time again. Here, in Kirkwall. Again, in 9:38, after the events in Kirkwall, when the Chantry -- of whom Justinia is the leader of -- disbands the College and stops them from meeting at all. Mages can’t meet up even within their own Circles. And this is not done by the templars. This is done by the Chantry.

Is that really progressive? Meredith does the same in Kirkwall; she locks the mages in their cells, she inflicts harsher punishments on them such as Tranquility, and ultimately, she requests for Annulment from Justinia, expecting that Justinia will approve it. Based off the above discussions, was she wrong to assume this? I don’t think so. And there's plenty of reasons, considering the relatively recent Qunari invasion, to not grant the Right of Annulment, which have little to do with whether or not Justinia values the lives of the mages. She views a mage rebellion as bad as a Qunari invasion. The two are equivalent to her; both antagonistic forces to her goals, and the goals and beliefs of the Chantry at large.

One of the arguments I’ve seen many people use is to say that Justinia sent Leliana, who is pro-mage, to deal with the situation in Kirkwall, implying that Justinia is somewhat sympathetic to the mages, and that the Resolutionists reacted based off their own prejudices, thereby inciting any future Chantry-violence -- in a way, provoking the Chantry into reacting as they did. This is often accompanied with an ‘oh if only the Resolutionists weren’t so violent’-style commentary. It’s even lampshaded by Leliana herself: “I let word slip that an agent of the Divine was coming to investigate the mage troubles. It is how they chose to react which condemns them.“ 

However, talking to Elthina gets this notable dialogue:

Hawke: What can you tell me about this servant of the Divine? Elthina: I was not told her real name, only to call her Sister Nightingale. She is said to be the Divine’s left hand, sent to do the work that might blacken the Divine’s name.

Again, I delved into this already in the exploration of Dorothea in Leliana’s Song, but I thought it was important again to highlight here. Over a decade later, Justinia V is still using Leliana’s bard skills for her own gain, irrespective of her personal sympathy for Leliana. Importantly, in carrying out the Divine’s wishes and orders, Leliana can be made to act and behave counter to her own personal beliefs, something that is evidenced again later as well, when Justinia sends her to talk to Celene (which I’ve briefly discussed here). Leliana’s personal support of the mages is not indicative of Justinia also supporting the mages. If anything, sending Leliana is actually a threat more than anything; as “Sister Nightingale” is widely known as the one who does assassinations and spy work for the Divine. (On that note, I believe Aveline herself says something to the effect of how Leliana provoked them, but I can’t find any compilations on youtube that includes Aveline’s commentary.) 

Conclusions so far:

Once again, Justinia's politics don't seem progressive but rather incredibly typical of Orlais and the Orlesian Chantry, and her political interests align with that of expanding the influence of the Chantry and Orlais. The templars holding Kirkwall against all legality is perfectly acceptable to her -- Meredith killing nobles to stop an election of a new Viscount is acceptable, Meredith authorising the hunt and subsequent persecution of non-mage persons under the excuse of "harbouring apostates" is acceptable, the templars killing and raping and beating and lobotomising the mages is acceptable, but what is not acceptable is when the mages fight back. That is something she considers an attack on the very foundations that the Chantry was built on -- and she will react accordingly. She sends Leliana, Sister Nightingale, the Left Hand of the Divine, well known for doing work like assassinations, to Kirkwall as a threat to the mages. She has only ever tolerated the College of Enchanters' existence. She has taken no actions to curb either Meredith or Elthina, despite having multiple opportunities and the authority to do so. She views a mage rebellion as much of a threat to Thedas as an invasion by a foreign power. What, about this, is progressive?

Sebastian: You were right. The Divine will be taking action against Kirkwall, though the sister didn’t say what. 

[vigilskeep]

wip wednesday

tagged by @amatres ! uh i don’t have much here’s a v messy scene from a while back of these losers being annoying because i think often of the immediate act 2 aftermath before things settled down into... relative calm

Anders says, “He’s going to be fine.”

Merrill sits down, suddenly, hours of nervous energy escaping her in a breathless instant. Varric swears, something relieved and unaccountably dwarven he won’t trouble himself to record. Fenris leans forward in his seat and rests his face in his hands, fingers pushing back his hair, nails digging into his scalp.

“Thanks be to the Maker,” says Sebastian, fervently.

“The Maker always gets the bloody credit,” mutters Anders, but without much heat. He looks exhausted, circles drawn darker under his eyes than ever before. Clearly he’s cleaned up, wearing some guardsman’s shirt a few sizes wrong, but there’s a trace of red smeared by a careless hand on the uneven line of his jaw, and he hasn’t seemed to notice.

“Was it bad?” says Varric.

Anders leans against the wall, running a hand over his face, just missing that blood. It’s shaking, slightly, the hand. Varric notes that his teeth are stained slightly with lyrium blue as he opens his mouth to say, acidic, “Was it bad?”

Varric winces. “I meant—anything we have to worry about? He’ll be up in the morning, or what?”

Anders closes his eyes, makes a non-specific gesture with his hand.

“What does that mean?” asks Fenris, sharply.

“It means,” snaps Anders, “that I’m a mage, not a prophet. He’ll make it. What else do you want? Haven’t you done enough?”

“I—?”

“Do you see anyone else around here who threw Hawke to the wolves? If you hadn’t suggested that duel—”

“If I hadn’t suggested the duel,” says Fenris, very slowly, “Isabela would be on her way to Par Vollen and worse than death.”

“Better the one responsible for this mess than—!” For whatever reason, Anders cuts himself off mid-sentence, scowls like he isn’t happy with it. “At least she had the decency to leave.”

Fenris crosses his arms. “Hawke knew the risks, and was victorious. Your lack of faith is not my concern.” His gaze flickers between Anders and Merrill. “What does concern me is the danger you pose now. We all know it. The Knight-Commander saw what you are. The witch, too.”

Anders bristles. Merrill frowns.

Varric scrubs at the brewing headache between his brows. How long has it been since he’d left Hawke at the gates of the Qunari compound? Feels like years. “Can you two just take it easy?” he says. “One night? Until the city stops burning?”

“The threat is not mine,” says Fenris, grimly. “And it cannot be wished away. Until we know what move she will make, I leave Hawke’s side when they do.”

“She named Hawke Champion,” protests Sebastian. “Before all the assembled nobility of Kirkwall, whatever her thoughts on his companions.”

“It’s not going to be that simple, is it?” says Merrill. “She didn’t look like it was going to be that simple.”

“I can’t go anywhere,” says Anders. His shoulders have begun to hunch now the fight has gone out of him, fingers digging into his arms. “Even if I... Believe me, there’s nothing I want less than to bring Meredith down on Hawke, but he’s not out of the woods yet. I can’t leave him.”

Fenris nods grudgingly. “We should delay any return to the estate. With Aveline’s aid, we can hold the barracks, should it come to it.”

That headache of Varric’s is getting worse. “Please tell me we’re not actually readying for a siege.”

“Si vis pacem, para bellum,” says Fenris. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

[red-black-aesthetic-bout]

Round one matchups under the cut!!

EDIT: ROUND ONE IS CLOSED. CHECK PINNED FOR ROUND TWO

Bracket 1

Ruby Rose (RWBY) vs. Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)

Mello (Death Note) vs. Rhaenyra Targaryern (House of the Dragon)

Kuga Yuma (World Trigger) vs. Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service)

Clifford (Clifford the Big Red Dog) vs. Dracula (Castlevania)

Kai Satou (Your Turn to Die) vs. Ladybugs/Ladybirds (real life)

Zuko (Avatar: the Last Airbender) vs. Kuro (Katamari)

Kate (Shadows House) vs. The Cat (Ghost Trick)

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Marvel comics) vs. Red X (Teen Titans)

Elric of Melniboné (The Elric Saga/Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion Multiverse) vs. Naomi Armitage (Armitage the Third)

Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate) vs Keith Kogane (Voltron: Legendary Defenders)

Lance (Sym Bionic Titan) vs. Panpeus (Gitaroo Man)

Six-Eared Macaque (Lego Monkie Kid) vs. Flick (Animal Crossing)

Watchdog (Jupiter-Men) vs. Crowley (Good Omens)

Eye of Sauron (Lord of the Rings) vs. Giant Horse (Breath of the Wild)

Razer (Jak X: Combat Racing) vs. Kieran Valentine (Monster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love?)

Wei Wuxian (The Untamed/MDZS) vs. Yifa Snorgelsson (Dimension 20: Neverafter)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs. Black Sonichu/Blake (CWC's Sonichu)

Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon) vs. The Toy Soldier (The Mechanisms)

Ada Wong (Resident Evil) vs. Jack Spicer (Xiaolin Showdown)

Top Hat (The Nightly Manner) vs. Marceline the Vampire Queen (Adventure Time)

Parr Family/The Incredibles (The Incredibles) vs. Pioneer 9 (17776 and 20020)

Guilmon (Digimon) vs. Julian Devorak (The Arcana)

Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) vs. Sundancer (Worm - Parahumans)

Hal 9000 (2001: A Space Oddyssey) vs. Eas/Cure Passion (Fresh Precure)

Harley Quinn (DC comics) vs. Itachi Uchiha (Naruto)

Scorpia (She-ra and the Princesses of Power) vs. Redcloak (Order of the Stick)

Scarlet Kingsnake (real life) vs. Hornet (Hollow Knight)

Maka Albarn (Soul Eater) vs. Toa Tahu (Bionicle)

Thorn (Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost) vs. Litten (Pokémon)

Maned Wolf (real life) vs. Orko (He-Man)

Rebecca Rubin (American Girl Dolls) vs. Lucifer (Obey Me)

Death the Wolf/The Wolf/Lobo/Death etc. (Puss in Boots: the Last Wish) vs. Joker (Persona 5) Bracket 2

Miles Morales/Spiderman (Marvel comics) vs. Cynder (Spyro)

Edelgard von Hresvelg (Fire Emblem franchise) vs. Sanguine (The Elder Scrolls)

Artegor Nexus (Galactik Football) vs. Beidou (Genshin Impact)

Barb (Trolls) vs. Mao Mao (Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart)

Wrathion, the Black Prince (World of Warcraft) vs. Vox Akuma (Nijisanji En)

Romeo (Minecraft: Story Mode) vs. Hua Cheng (Heaven Official's Blessing/TGCF)

Sharkface (Red vs. Blue) vs. Ashley (WarioWare)

Carmen Sandiego (Carmen Sandiego) vs. Beatrice (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)

Claire Stanfield/Felix Walken (Baccano!) vs. Deathgripper (How to Train your Dragon)

Default Mii Brawler (Super Smash Bros Ultimate) vs. Silver (Pokemon franchise)

Joui Jouki (Ordem Paranormal) vs. Banica Conchita (Evillious Chronicles)

Dreadking Rathalos (Monster Hunter Generations) vs. Black Widow Spider (real life)

Celestia Ludenberg (Danganronpa) vs. Gira/Kuwagata Ohger (Ohsama Sentai: King Ohger)

Garnet (Steven Universe) vs. Black Knight (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

Scott Summers/Cyclops (X-men) vs. Heather Chandler (Heathers)

Lon (Sendokai champions) vs. Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

Darth Maul (Star Wars) vs. Detective Turret (Portal 2)

Easthies (Witch Hat Atelier) vs. Grim (Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)

Zagreus (Hades) vs. Freddy Kreuger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Black Rose Dragon (Yu-Gi-Oh!) vs. Marian Hawke (Dragon Age 2)

Michael Burnham (Stark Trek franchise) vs. Mapo Tofu (Food Fantasy)

Flapjack (The Owl House) vs. Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug)

Red-winged Blackbird (real life) vs. Pucca (Pucca)

Overblot Riddle (Twisted Wonderland) vs. Quattro Bajeena (Mobile Suit Gundam franchise)

Pyramid Head (Silent Hill) vs. Lord Hater (Wander Over Yonder)

Sigmund Sinclair (The Reckoning) vs. Vash the Stampede (Trigun 98/Trigun Maximum)

Ranma Saotome (Ranma 1/2) vs. Valerie Gray (Danny Phantom)

Mephone 4s (Inanimate Insanity) vs. Regina (Doki Doki Precure)

Mordecai Heller (Lackadaisy) vs. Sideswipe (Transformers G1)

Satan (Lil Nas X's Montero music video, and also Christianity or something) vs. Zealot Carmainerose (Epic 7)

Zero (Code Geass) vs. Yor Briar (Spy x Family)

Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy franchise) vs. Ryuko Matoi (Kill la Kill)

THESE ARE OUR CONTESTANTS. NOW WHO'S READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!!

[scapedgrace]

TOP FIVE SONG ASSOCIATIONS. share the top songs in your playlist that most inspire / represent your muse the most. bonus points if you include lyrics that go along with it.

i. king, florence + the machine.

But a woman is a changeling, always shifting shape. Just when you think you have it figured out, something new begins to take. What strange claws are these, scratching at my skin? I never knew my killer would be coming from within. I am no mother. I am no bride. I am king. I need my golden crown of sorrow, my bloody sword to swing. I need my empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology. 'Cause I am no mother. I am no bride. I am king.

ii. everybody loves me, onerepublic.

Don't need my health, got my name and got my wealth. I stare at the sun just for kicks all by myself. I lose track of time so I might be past my prime but I'm feelin', oh, so good, yeah. Oh my, feels just like I don't try, looks so good I might die. All I know is everybody loves me. Head down, swingin' to my own sound, flashes in my face now. All I know is everybody loves me.

iii. whatever it takes, imagine dragons.

Always had a fear of being typical, looking at my body feeling miserable. always hanging on to the visual. I wanna be invisible. Looking at my years like a martyrdom. Everybody needs to be a part of 'em. Never be enough, I'm the prodigal son. I was born to run, I was born for this. Break me down and build me up. Whatever it takes, 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins. I do whatever it takes 'cause I love how it feels when I break the chains. Yeah, take me to the top, I'm ready for whatever it takes 'cause I love the adrenaline in my veins.

iv. tales of dominica, lil nas x.

Oh, finally grown, ain't nothing like I hoped it would be. Out on my own, I'm floating in an ocean-less sea. Could I be wrong? Was everybody right about me? Scary things in my head, I can't dream and I just—woke up on the floor. Oh, this plastic bed don't blow up no more. In this broken home, everyone becomes predictable. Oh, sometimes you're angry, sometimes you're hurting, sometimes you're all alone. Sometimes I'm anxious, sometimes it makes me feel like there's only now. I've been living in my lowest, it's safe to say. Hope my little bit of hope don't fade away. I've been living on an island made from fate. Can't go running back to home, I can't face her face.

v. age of the dragon, miracle of sound.

Just a lowly refugee, your Champion arrived. Brown shores of Ferelden fade to Kirkwall's buzzing hive. Rose above the poverty and rose above the pain. My friend became the saviour of the white city of chains. Fight for your values and fight for your friends. Fight through this Blight, find the light at the end. Through the age of the Dragon the people will talk of the day they were saved by a hero named Hawke.

tagged by: @fenhara tagging: whoever wants to!

[fangsandfeels]

Oct 25 - Favorite Inquisition quest

In Hushed Whispers

That quest did an outstanding job in defining the stakes. That was the experience that and knocked some sense into Sybil. Traveling to the future, seeing the reality barely holding itself together, utter horror and desolation, and her companions dying to the yet-to-be-seen enemy – this made her realize that her hatred for being voluntold to be the Inquisition leader aside, she might be the only one standing between this and the life as she knew it.

Also, Dorian. I fucking love Dorian. Not only he made an amazing entrance, he was a beacon of confidence. After all, the Inquisitor is confused as fuck, their companions in this timeline are traumatized after seeing all the horrors - and Dorian is the only one to say "Don't worry, I'll get us back and we can fix that".

Another thing that I love about that quest is that how the rebel mages were hounded by Venatori. Fiona did reach to the Inquisition first. She did try to work with them - but her attempts were literally erased by the temporal magic. It's easy to say that rebels chose to work with Venatori, but the truth was that Venatori were going to make them work for them, one way or another.

(also I love this quest because red lyrium templars are nightmare fuel and body horror galore and the entire theme of supposed protectors becoming monsters slaps.)

Here Lies The Abyss

There is so much going on in this quest and I loved everything about it. First of all, Sybil got to meet Marian Hawke! She heard a lot about the Champion of Kirkwall and had nothing but respect for the woman capable of flipping the tables in everyone's face. However, if Varric responses were anything to go by, Hawke wasn't a fan of the title and Sybil could relate to this.

Meanwhile, while Hawke trusted Varric, but was not fully sure about the Inquisitor. So there was a moment of awkward silence before these two were able to start a genuine clown-to-clown conversation.

Second, the sudden trip to the Fade. Seeing all group members being extremely uncomfy with being in the Fade, while Solas had the time of his life was low-key hilarious. Also, it was so Sybil to burst into a random room after hearing cries for help and reflectively go grab a shiny orb flung in her direction. Girl meant well, but she also turned into a cat for a moment.

The drama part was also well-handled. After waking up in Haven and finding herself accused for the tragedy at the Conclave and the death of Divine Justinia V, Sybil spent quite a while cursing the woman under her breath. For someone called Most Holy she didn't have enough holiness not to die and leave her deal with the outcomes!

So for her, to regain her memories of the event - and to realize that Justinia, the most important figure at the Chantry, instead of rushing to the Rift herself, lingered to make sure that Sybil (someone who is much less significant status-wise) is saved too. That Justinia, instead of clinging to Sybil to save herself, chose to let go and let Sybil escape.

There was a child-like wonder and guilt in Sybil's voice when she asked Justinia (never doubting that it could be anyone else) if she was a soul remaining in the Fade. She didn't need Chantry to believe in souls, especially when she saw one. And she wished she had a moment to thank Justinia, so she made sure to respect her request and say her last words to Leliana.

The truth is, despite her distaste for the Chantry, Sybil didn't really wished ill on anyone related to it. She just wanted to be allowed a way to live her life without committing herself to the Chantry in any way. What she remembered in the Fade finally helped her to shift her focus from perceiving the Conclave tragedy as a sick joke some asshole designed specifically to fuck with her, and see it as the disaster it was. Also, realizing that there truly was no intervention from Andraste, just an artifact anyone could pick up, was a relief to her.

There was no crazed Greater Will at play, just an ancient madman who used to be human, and his toys. That Sybil could work with.

--

Also this quest takes the cake for the scariest fucking thing to ever be found in the Fade:

I hate it. You can't convince me that this is not the actual Fear Demon because this is literally what happens when arachnophobia, trypophobia, and megalophobia decide to make a baby. I hate it and I hate that we don't get more monsters like it, and I couldn't leave Marian to fight this thing. To be honest, I hated to leave Stroud too, but if I had to choose between Stroud and seeing Varric in shambles while preparing to write a letter to Fenris. Nope, just nope. I'm sorry, Stroud, I'd rather have our entire gang engage in a boss fight with this abomination than leave it to you.

What Pride Had Wrought

My favorite quest because it provides some juicy bits of lore that you can catch the gist of even if you just look around...

...and more Morrigan in all her glory and hubris.

(I just loved watching Sybil go "Magic woman, please, explain the thing" right at the moments when Morrigan had no fucking clue about the thing.)

This quest has also shown the only unsettling part about Corypheus - his way of resurrecting - and I think that the plot should have capitalized on it more. For instance, we could have closed off each encounter with seemingly killing him, only for him to re-emerge like nothing happened. But, these are just my ideas.

In terms of character building, it also was a good way to see that while Sybil is genuinely curious and well-meaning, the differences in views and understanding were still there and that her discarding all types of rituals as irrelevant and redundant bit her in the ass - she did not want Abelas to die. Maybe they could have reached at least some agreement with him - but she would never know that because of Morrigan.

All companion quests

Seriously, it's impossible to pick one because they are so well-written in terms of us discovering something new about our companions or letting them make fundamental choices. It was particularly interesting to see how assisting allies Sybil didn't have much understanding with, changed her perspective of them.

Sybil didn't like Cassandra at first. Well, of course, the woman gave her quite a rough awakening, and then definitely kept an eye on her in Haven. They had so very little in common and Sybil expected Cassandra to despise her. But, after surviving Haven, fully realizing the scale of the threat, Sybil started seeing Cassandra not as an angry zealot, but as a very tired, yet very resilient woman truly whose faith was real, not a way to boost status and improve social standing. Moreover, Sybil was surprised to discover that Cassandra shared her resentment for golden cages and chose to leave her life of privilege. So, of course Sybil chose to motivate Cassandra to rebuild the Seekers - after all, she had the experience, the honesty, and the integrity needed for the task.

Vivienne was another character Sybil generally tried to avoid. The woman was everything her parents wanted Sybil to be -- at least, in one of their scenarios. A successfully married socialite, a picture of elegance. Impeccable, no matter the scrutiny, neck deep in intrigue and only interested in keeping up appearances. Ugh. Due to this, Sybil really kept Vivienne at an arms length - respectfully. But, in time she started seeing her differently. As the pieces of her story and the glimmers into her past (courtesy of Cole) surfaced and when Sybil also had to very politely ask for Vivienne's advice at the Winter Palace because she couldn't remember attending a ball without ruining it, Sybil realized that all the posh manners and cold, condescending politeness were Vivienne's way to survive and stay in control. And stay in control she did in the end -- at the cost of building walls around herself. Of course, Sybil realized most of the latter when she was helping Vivienne to find a snowy wyvern heart. Yes, she did what Vivienne asked of her without demanding answers. Her guess was that their queen of style was going to make a fancy face cream or maybe she ate that stuff every five years to keep her good looks, but whatever. But, Sybil was wrong and not only she was wrong, but also Vivienne invited her to witness her during her one of the rare and vulnerable moments. She never gave Vivienne's and barons marriage much thought - political relationships were not rare and spouses often merely tolerated each other. But whatever she saw between the couple, was real. Sybil could also see a gesture of trust when she saw one - and she appreciated it. A lot.

[tamrielic]

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS —

〔 only the ones that i have somewhat/fully developed 〕

maevaris telvanni 〔the elder scrolls online〕 – female dunmer | dark elf nightblade・utilizes dual–wielding daggers and a bow・ebonheart pact・disowned by house telvanni・champion of vivec・member of the psijic order・in love with darien gautier

thaesandra caerllin 〔the elder scrolls online〕 – female bosmer | wood elf warden・utilizes bows and a bear summons 〔“bear grylls”〕・werewolf・aldmeri dominion | eye of the queen・follower of the green pact・ silencer of the dark brotherhood・member of house ravenwatch・in love with fennorian

jane shepard 〔mass effect 1/2/3〕 – female commander of the ssv normandy・spacer | sole survivor・biotic | vanguard, utilizes assault rifles / submachine guns・romanced garrus vakarian

kay shepard 〔mass effect 1/2/3〕 – female commander of the ssv normandy・spacer | sole survivor・biotic | vanguard・utilizes pistols / sniper rifles but favors melee / biotics・romanced kaidan alenko

estelle ryder 〔mass effect: andromeda〕 – female pathfinder・biotic | explorer profile・romanced jaal ama darav

mihris mahariel 〔dragon age: origins〕 – female dalish elf warden・rogue archer and dual–wielder・bard & ranger specializations・romanced alistair theirin

ainsley hawke 〔dragon age ii〕 – female human champion of kirkwall・mage | spirit healer specialization・supported mages・romanced anders

mihris lavellan 〔dragon age: inquisition〕 – female dalish elf inquisitor・mage | rift mage specialization・supported mages・romanced solas | fen’harel

charlotte “charlie” hawke 〔dragon age ii〕 – female human champion of kirkwall・rogue | duelist specialization・supported templars・romanced sebastian vael

athera lavellan 〔dragon age: inquisition〕 – female city elf inquisitor・rogue archer | tempest specialization・supported templars・romanced cullen rutherford

candace monroe 〔fallout 4〕 – female sole survivor・general of the minutemen・railroad heavy & codename: agent whisper・utilizes pistols and melee weapons・romanced hancock

petunia murphy 〔fallout 4〕 – female sole survivor・paladin of the brotherhood of steel・utilizes rifles and heavy weapons・romanced paladin danse

patricia smith 〔fallout 76〕 – basically just a lil’ baby disaster gay

valerie “v” valentine 〔cyberpunk 2077〕 – corporate lifepath・utilizes monowire | blade weapons | hacking

ahlysaaria “the dark urge” 〔baldur’s gate 3〕 – female seldarine drow・bard・romanced astarion

updated – june 22nd, 2024

[heavenforblog1111]

Jeremy Lin is an NBA player and is currently a free agent. His career in the NBA has been full of ups and downs, from being undrafted to finally winning a championship in 2019 NBA finals with the Toronto Raptors. He graduated from Harvard in 2010 and was not selected by any NBA team. It was because of Donnie Nelson that Jeremy Lin got a chance to play for Dallas Mavericks in the Summer League in 2010. After the Summer League, he finally received and accepted an offer to play for the Golden State Warriors. After that Jeremy Lin has played for several teams like the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors etc. This image is a screen shot of the video whose link is given as below Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K2Pw3WhEnY *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research Jeremy Lin gained fame during his time with the New York Knicks. In his first 4 starts for the Knicks, he averaged 27.4 points, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. The craze "Linsanity" surrounding Jeremy Lin grew to extreme levels as Lin excelled. However, his good time in New York didn't last long. He suffered an injury in the knee which led to a drop in his performance as he averaged 13.9 points, 5.9 assists and shot only 39.1% from the field in his last 9 of the 26 games. After that, in 2012-13 season Jeremy Lin signed with the Houston Rockets, where he averaged 13.4 points and 6 assists per game. Ever since then, Jeremy Lin has had average performances and did not quite live up to the expectations of what everyone initially thought he was capable of. The past season he did not have great stats (7 ppg for Toronto Raptors, 10 ppg for Atlanta Hawks), however he was lucky enough to win a championship. Lin signed with the Toronto Raptors on 13 February 2019, the team which eventually became the NBA champions. Jeremy Lin: Raptors Championship Parade This image is a screen shot of the video whose link is given as below Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMchC9LtRwk *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research Jeremy, when asked about his goals which included playing as a point guard in the NBA and win a championship, Jeremy replied "It has been an incredible journey and I am having fun along the way. Definately giving all the credit to God, just knowing that there were so many things I couldn't control but to be able to achieve all those things and being able to experience that, just super thankful." Jeremy Lin has had an incredible story and everyone should feel happy for him getting a ring and being the first Asian-American player ever to do so.

[blondie-inky-esaldir]

Unpopular opinion

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a great game.

Origins and DA2 are great as well, especially in their time. But I love Dragon Age: Inquisition for its open world and I actually enjoy the sub quests.

For Dragon Age Origins, I do think it has the best written plot. I also like the scheme of gathering allies. It reminded me slightly of this other game, Suikoden V, where I had to gather all 100 allies, some of which were optional and didn't even really add to the story. But I need to gather them all to get the best ending for the game. But I digress. As for Dragon Age 2, I like the relationship mechanics of the game of having 'rivalry' points and 'friendship' points, which is an interesting approach to the high vs low approval thing. It's interesting how you can still romance them even with rivalry points being high. Not that I'd ever go for a rival romance with Anders, or anyone for that matter.

Going back to Inquisition, I actually like that we can really control the Inquisitor's backstory since there's some lacking to the back story compared to the Warden for Dragon Age Origins. I like that there's no strict canon to follow and you can decide your own headcanon for them.

Finding shards and guessing the puzzles in the Astrarium was also fun. I also think all the companions are interesting. I don't like Viviene that much, or more like… I like her least of all. But I do like some parts of her personality. Particularly, I like the difference of her treatment to you when she has a high approval vs low approval after getting to Skyhold.

For the specializations, they're fun to do in the gameplay. For Mage, I love the Knight-Enchanter spec. For Rogues, I always go for 'the Tempest.' For warriors, I only tried Reaver to get interesting dialogues from the Iron Bull romance. However, my favorite is 'Champion.'

Since Corypheus is a returning enemy, I don't quite care that he was kinda downplayed. For me, he's not really the 'big boss.' As the Inquisitor didn't suffer anything personal for him, aside from getting the mark. I mean, it's not like Corypheus killed someone special to the Inquisitor or such.

It felt more like the Inquisitor had to stop the breach and get things back to normal because literally no one else can do it but them. If you compare them to the other PCs… Well, the Warden had to but they weren't the only ones who could slay the Archdemon. The plot just put them there, but there were also other Grey Wardens. That's why the game provided the option to have Alistair or Loghain make the sacrifice. Hawke is the Champion of Kirkwall, but in the first place, he's also just some guy just trying to survive and help their family (and failing, sadly. Sometimes, it's cathartic play an douche route Hawke so my heart won't break so much for them.)

Anyway, I'm rambling. I just really love this game.

[whatsonmedia]

Multi Sports: Sports Events This Week!

WhatsOn student journalists Zareen Subha brings a list of sports to watch this weekend and relax at your home comfort. This can be watched in TV, mobile or tablet just get the your happy hormones going. Here is the list of Sports to watch this weekend! Football : 11.02.2023, Saturdaypremier LeagueWest Ham vs ChelseaTime : 12.30Venue : London StadiumLeague 1PSG vs MonacoTime : 16.00venue : Stade Louis Women's Super LeagueMan city women vs Arsenal womenTime : 12.30Venue : Meadow park 12.02.2023, Sunday Premier LeagueMan city vs Aston VillaTime : 16.30Venue : Etihad Stadium Serie AJuventus vs FiorentinaTime : 17.00Vanue : Juventus Stadium La LigaBarcelona vs VillarrealTime : 20.00Vanue : El madrigal Women’s super LeagueLiverpool FC Women vs Leicester WomenTime : 14.00Venue : prenton park 14.02.2023, Tuesday Champions LeaguePSG vs BayernTime : 20.00Venue : Parc des Princes 15.02.2023, Wednesday Premier LeagueMan city vs ArsenalTime : 19.30Venue : Emirates Stadium La LigaReal Madrid vs ElcheTime : 20.00Venue : Santiago Bernabeu 16 February, 2023, Friday Europe LeagueBarcelona vs Man UnitedTime : 17.45Venue : Camp Nou Cricket : Zimbabwe vs West IndiesTime : Sun 12 - Thu 16 February, 14:00 (BDT)2nd Test, Zimbabwe v West Indies - 2023 Test SeriesVenue : Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. Australia U19 vs England U19Time : Mon 13 February, 06:00 (BDT)1st Youth ODI, Australia vs England - 2023 Youth ODI Series | Venue : Allan Border Field, Brisbane. 11.02.2023, Saturday Match 2, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa, 2023Time : Sat, 06:30 PMWest Indies Women’s vs England Women’sVenue : Boland Park, Paarl. Match 3, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa, 2023Time : Sat, 10:30 PMAustralia Women’s vs New Zealand Women’sVenue : Boland Park, Paarl. 12.02.2023, Sunday Match 4, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa, 2023Time : Sun, 06:30 PMIndia Womens’s vs Pakistan Women’sVenue : Newlands, Cape Town. Match 5, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa, 2023Time : Sun, 10:30 PMBangladesh Women’s vs Sri Lanka Women’sVenue : Newlands, Cape Town. February 14.2023, Tuesday Match 8, ICC Women's T20 World Cup, South Africa, 2023Time : Tue, 10:30 PMAustralia Women’s vs Bangladesh Women’sVenue : St George's Park, Gqeberha Basketball : 11 February, 2023 Time : 7:00 pmNBA BasketballPhiladelphia 76ers at Brooklyn Nets Time : 8:00 pmNBA BasketballIndiana Pacers at Washington Wizards 13.02.2023, Monday Time : 8:00 pmNBA BasketballAtlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets 14.02.2023, Tuesday Time : 11:00 pmNBA BasketballWashington Wizards at Portland Trail Blazers Hockey : 11.02.2023, Saturday Time : 7:00 pmNHL HockeyColorado Avalanche at Florida Panthers Time : 8:00 pmNHL HockeyNew York Rangers at Carolina HurricanesHurricanes 13.02.2023, Monday Time : 8:30 pmNHL HockeyCalgary Flames at Ottawa Senators Time : 9:00 pmNHL HockeyArizona Coyotes at Nashville Predators 14.02.2023, Tuesday Time : 9:30 pmNHL HockeyBoston Bruins at Dallas Stars SOCCER 11.02.2023, Saturday Time :8:00 pmEcuadorian Serie A SoccDeportivo Cuenca vs. Barcelona Time :9:00 pmMexico Primera Division SoccerJuárez vs Santos Laguna 12.02.2023, Sunday Time : 8:50 pm2023 CONCACAF U-17 ChampionshipCosta Rica vs Guadeloupe 13.02.2023, Monday Time : 8:50 pm2023 CONCACAF U-17 ChampionshipTrinidad and Tobago vs. United SHoPredators 15.02.2022, Wednesday Time : 9:00 pmNASCAR Cup SeriesBluegreen Vacations Duel 1 At DAYTONA, Qualifying Golf : 11.02.2023, Saturday Time : 1:00 amDP World Tour GolfSingapore Classic, Final Round MIXED MARTIAL ARTS 11.02.2023, Saturday Time : 9:00 pmESPNLO1UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski -Suriname Read the full article

[xtruss]

What 2022 Meant For The World! Some Years Bring Disorder, Others a Resolution. This One Asked Questions

Leaders | The crucible | The Economist | December 20, 2022

It was a year that put the world to the test. From the invasion of Ukraine to covid-19 in China, from inflation to climate change, from Sino-American tensions to pivotal elections, 2022 asked hard questions. The ordeal has not only sent the world in a new direction, but also shown it in a new light.

The biggest surprise—and the most welcome—has been the resilience of broadly liberal countries in the West. When Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24th, he expected the government of a corrupt state to buckle. After a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the decadent, divided West would surely fail to match condemnation of Russia with real backing for Ukraine.

In fact Volodymyr Zelensky and his people affirmed that self-determination and liberty are worth dying for. They became an inspiration. After an upsurge in popular support, Western governments threw their weight behind democracy’s new champion. Led by the Biden administration, the West is providing arms and aid on a scale even hawks had not imagined.

At home voters also made themselves heard, siding against taboo-busting populists. In America, despite the awful approval numbers of Joe Biden, centrists used their ballots to preserve fundamental rights, including in some states the right to an abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. In competitive races hard-core election-deniers endorsed by Donald Trump almost all lost.

In France Marine Le Pen camouflaged her far-right origins, but was still beaten by Emmanuel Macron, a centrist. After Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s first far-right post-war prime minister, she leaned to the centre. Even in stumbling Britain, both Labour and the governing Conservatives are calculating that victory in elections lies away from the populist extremes of right and left.

As messy democracies show unexpected resolve, so seemingly steady autocracies have had feet of clay. Mr Putin is the prime example, doubling and redoubling his catastrophic gamble. But he is not the only one. After three months of protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for failing to follow the rules in wearing her hijab, the security forces in Iran have taken to shooting female protesters in the face, breasts and genitals. Now that the mullahs have forfeited the faith of their people, they have no other lever but violence.

Those who admire strong leaders for getting things done should be careful what they wish for. Xi Jinping has extended the dominance of the Chinese Communist Party, installing himself as its permanent chief and the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. But his steps to cool the property market, rein back consumer tech and block covid did grave harm to the economy. Today, as the virus spreads, it is clear that his government wasted months when it should have been vaccinating the elderly, stockpiling drugs and creating intensive-care beds.

Even China’s all-encompassing social control showed cracks. Although the Chinese security services swatted down widespread protests last month, these had been triggered partly by the sight of maskless crowds in Qatar enjoying the World Cup.

For all those who embrace classical liberal values, including this newspaper, Western resilience is heartening—and an important change after a long retreat. But the good news goes only so far. The tests of 2022 have also revealed the depths of the world’s divisions and have set big government on the march.

To gauge the divisions, compare the almost universal support for America after the attacks of September 11th 2001 with the global south’s determination to stay neutral in the fight over Ukraine. In the most recent un vote to reprimand Russia, 35 countries abstained. Many understandably resent how the West asserts that its worries are issues of global principle, whereas war in Yemen or the Horn of Africa, say, or climate-related droughts and floods, always seem to be regional.

In much of the world liberal values are embattled. Despite the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, democracy is under strain in Latin America. As he presides over ruinous inflation in Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is prosecuting potential opponents in the election in 2023. In Israel Binyamin Netanyahu is trying to avoid jail for corruption by forming a coalition with the Arab-hating, gay-bashing far right. Indonesia adopted an illiberal criminal code in December that threatens to ban sex outside marriage, stifle free speech and impose religious orthodoxy. India’s economy is brimming over with tech-inspired enterprise, but its politics are majoritarian, ugly and cruel.

All around the world, the idea of limited government is taking a beating. Because of the post-invasion energy shock, European governments are pouring money into fixing prices. They are also powering the transition from fossil fuels, itself a welcome goal, using industrial policy rather than markets. America’s answer to the security threat from China is to deploy trade barriers and subsidies to decouple its own economy and boost home-grown industries. If that harms America’s allies, too bad.

Economic nationalism is popular. The largesse during the pandemic changed expectations of the state. Creative destruction, which reallocates capital and labour, may be unpalatable to ageing populations that put less store by economic growth and to younger voters who embrace the politics of identity.

But big-government capitalism has a poor record. Given decades-high inflation, caused partly by ill-judged fiscal and monetary policy, especially in America, it is odd that voters want to reward politicians and officials by giving them power over bits of the economy they are not suited to run. State-backed champions in energy and tech sometimes succeed, but the more that countries pile in, the more waste and rent-seeking there will be.

The Chips Were Down

Judged by the liberal yardstick of limited government, a respect for individual dignity and a faith in human progress, 2022 has been mixed. However, there is hope. The West was arrogant after the collapse of Soviet communism. It paid the price in Iraq, Afghanistan and the global financial crisis of 2007-09. In 2022, having been rocked by populism at home and China’s extraordinary rise, the West was challenged and it found its footing. ■

— This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Why 2022 Mattered"

[sewingbear]

I posted 310 times in 2022

That's 44 more posts than 2021!

152 posts created (49%)

158 posts reblogged (51%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sewingbear

@z-raid

@nightlydeertrivia

@fivepointpalettes

@mox-amber

I tagged 116 of my posts in 2022

#shelly streams - 37 posts

#my art - 24 posts

#vtuber - 19 posts

#shelly v - 12 posts

#digital art - 12 posts

#twitch - 8 posts

#doodles - 8 posts

#my oc - 7 posts

#vitalia's delivery - 6 posts

#oc - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 101 characters

#also i actually had this horror shelly sketch for a little bit now but never knew where to go with it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I have been reminded of my favorite holiday >:3

67 notes - Posted August 2, 2022

#4

Eugene from Drawtectives. You can watch it here https://youtu.be/LHqJKe8ORDg

If you didn’t know well you know now, drawfee is my favorite youtube channel and I love their series drawtectives a lot. I’ve been loving the new season a lot. I don’t normally draw guys because girls make brain go brrrrrr but I wanted to try draw some fanart so here we are.

Anyways~ Enjoy~!

70 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

#3

Champion of Kirkwall

Been really enjoying playing Dragon Age 2 a lot! It’s my first time playing and I’ve been having a ton of fun. Decide I need to draw more dragon age fanart, so I bring you a Hawke! I still don’t know who my favorite character is in da2 yet. Well besides Varric, but that bias since I loved him in dai.

Anyways, Enjoy! 💖

105 notes - Posted January 28, 2022

#2

Josephine Montilyet

Random thing to say but like heck I’m really happy I decided to try and draw Josie again because last time I drew her it looked so bad. 

129 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I can draw my vtuber in a bunny suit as a treat.

191 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

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