#very purposeful capitalisation

[postpunkblunt]

i like the photos where paul looks borderline Evil

[wise-rainfalls]

The Professor Case - The Two-Faced God

While Stronghart provides an exquisitely satisfying resolution to the game, one cannot help but ask if it were necessary for him to exist. In some ways, it’s clear that Stronghart’s existence is in service to the game’s resolution: he very much symbolises the flaws of the British judicial system. In this way, defeating Stronghart both stands in for fixing those flaws, while obscuring their continued existence by effectively twining correlation with causation. The British judicial system both produces and allows men like Stronghart to thrive. Stronghart did not single-handedly create every problem in the British judicial system at once (no matter how much it might feel like it for our main characters). It’s a striking sleight-of-hand at the last moment from a game that had otherwise been consistent in examining how the failures of the justice system are exactly that – failures of the system. It is especially interesting in how this sleight-of-hand interacts with our perception of another contentious character: Klint.

Looking back at the case, there was a specific point where it struck me that the Stronghart reveal could have been omitted without breaking the logic of the story itself. This is the point just preceding the reveal that Klint himself was blackmailed by Stronghart. Two discrepancies are left in the case: Klint’s will and Barok’s denial that Klint was capable of killing his own mentor. Only the first one really holds up to scrutiny: after all, Gina thought Gregson could never be the Reaper while Kazuma swore his father to be incapable of killing another man. Both were proved wrong, why not Barok also? Especially on the tail of the Professor reveal itself. Stronghart’s story rings true: we could easily imagine a world where Klint is the final, unexplained root of darkness, his motivations forever shrouded behind the veil of death.

Yet that’s not what happens. The reveal that Klint was being blackmailed by Stronghart, on closer examination, functions slightly differently from the other reveals of the case. It doesn’t, in fact, change the information known to us. In the case of Genshin and Gregson, each reveal further clarifies what they did do and didn’t do: Genshin didn’t kill the other four nobles, Gregson was involved in the Reaper cases, Genshin killed Klint, Gregson collaborated to fake the autopsy. Here, however, new information is uncovered. Klint still killed four men by ordering his dog to rip their throats out. The sole purpose of the reveal is to re-apportion blame from Klint to Stronghart. Stronghart acts as a lightning rod for the darkest possibilities that Klint contains, cementing the fact that within the narrative, he is Klint’s shadow; the second face of the same body.

While Stronghart may have capitalised on Klint’s inexperience in covering his own tracks, the original impulse – the belief that the justice system was insufficient for a crime heinous enough, and should be supplemented by a vigilante act of violence – that stemmed from Klint himself. The first murder was Klint’s alone. The Professor was born in Klint, not Stronghart. It was Klint’s actions that gave Stronghart the opportunity. Rather than the issue being that Stronghart forced Klint to kill, it’s that Stronghart forced Klint to kill people he didn’t think were the ones that needed killing. That is a quibbling difference of opinion that has already ceded the frankly vast ground that anyone should have the right to be killing at all. Both characters have as a base assumption that the failures of the justice system cannot be fixed by actually improving the justice system, and continue onwards from there. In other words, both Klint and Stronghart are symptomatic, symbols and products of the British judicial system’s impotence.

When comparing the Reaper and the Professor, the former is clearly an iterated improvement on the latter. As Barok points out, a serial killing conspiracy of this nature can only have such longevity if it were an organisation. The Reaper’s ability to organise means that the figurehead for the organisation always has a bulletproof alibi while the murders themselves are nondescript, disguised with few defining marks. Shared suspicion means more easily deflected suspicion, especially with Barok present to divert the lion’s share of it. Meanwhile, Klint acting alone with such a distinctive signature weapon is exactly his downfall: it allows Stronghart to catch him out, not to mention Genshin. Even Barok suspected. As Genshin points out, the primary shield protecting Klint was his reputation, but even that shield was never going to last forever. Accordingly, the Professor had only four true victims spread out over about a year, whereas over the course of five years the Reaper takes over a dozen lives. Stronghart perfects what Klint begins, bearing out to its bitterest conclusion the ideals that caused Klint to take his first life.

In this way, Stronghart reflects the man Klint would have needed to be for eliminating those beyond justice through private means to be sustainable. Crucially, they are different points on the same path. We begin with Klint, and end with Stronghart. Klint’s nobility cannot be divorced from Stronghart’s grasping cruelty: the two of them are manifestations of the same root object, seen from either the light or the shadow. To reject one is to reject both: it’s why with Stronghart’s fall and the truth come to light, Barok must allow Klint, as well, to be no more.

But let’s backtrack to the Professor case. It’s from this first miscarriage of justice that, narratively, every other miscarriage follows. While Klint treats Genshin’s offer to duel him to the death as an act of mercy from a close friend, we must remember that Genshin only went ahead with this personal deliverance of justice after the judicial system proved utterly unresponsive. It wasn’t consideration for Klint’s reputation that brought Genshin to Klint’s manor, but the belief that there was no way other than the personal through which Klint could be stopped.

Stronghart: The Professor?!

Asogi: Yes, beyond all shadow of doubt. You must issue a warrant to search his home at once!

Stronghart: ...Don't be absurd. The man comes from one of our country's most illustrious families. He's a paragon of justice here in the capital.

Asogi: Yes, that's the point! That's why none of you British can see it! He's using his noble status as a diversion whilst he commits these atrocious crimes behind the scenes!

Stronghart: ...Do you have evidence?

Asogi: ......... Nothing definitive as yet. But he keeps an enormous, savage hound on the estate. We need the full support of the judiciary for this! We're up against a member of the aristocracy!

Stronghart: ...So a large family estate has a fierce guard dog. You should know that's commonplace here in Britain. I'm sorry, but I can't possibly put Scotland Yard onto this based on the tenuous accusation of a visiting student.

Asogi: ...!

Certainly, Stronghart is narrating here, which means we likely should take this with a grain of salt. However, considering that everything else Stronghart says is damning enough – considering that he’s admitting to an entire list of crimes at this point – I don’t see why he would lie about this fairly innocuous exchange. Especially when it fits in so well with what we know of him being unwilling to prosecute the Professor (due to, of course, being half the Professor himself). The belief that the Professor is a beneficial, in fact, necessary piece in the justice system, and thus should be outside of the justice system (not to mention the personal benefit to Stronghart himself) is what causes Stronghart’s reticence. It’s this reticence that spawns Genshin’s own extrajudicial killing, from which follows the fabrication of evidence by Gregson, and from there, the entirety of the Reaper. Far from being increasing the reach of the justice system, Klint and Stronghart create the space from which an ever-wider system of private murder has room to operate parallel and parasitical to the justice system.

The outcome of this idea is made fully apparent in Stronghart’s final appeal to the judiciary. Stronghart’s entire manifesto is that the justice system is not enough to actually deliver justice: that he, Stronghart, will step in where the system fails. That is a damning indictment of every single person in the room, since they themselves comprise the justice system. Yet far from viewing it as an attack on their ability, or seeing it as a call to reform so that the need for Stronghart is eliminated, the entire gathered judiciary rally around the cry for Stronghart’s name – and implicitly, the Reaper. It is an abject surrender of responsibility by a judiciary inculcated into complacency. In codifying the Reaper’s existence as necessary, Stronghart renders the entire justice system a toothless joke.

It's for this reason that the game escalates the stakes to Queen Victoria. While I have my quibbles about the decision, I can see how it fits into the general thread the game weaves. Stronghart and Klint are characters centred around grappling with the idea that the justice system allows heinous crimes to go unpunished due to reasons of status and influence. It is fitting, then, that Stronghart is the final monster struck down by an extrajudicial hand, when he himself has acted as that hand for the last ten years.

Within the game, the rumour that the Reaper is Klint’s ghost, come to reap justice for his little brother, appears again and again. From a literal point of view, this is a narrative Stronghart actively disseminates to cultivate the view of Barok as some sort of supernatural being, or at least the Reaper killings being divine justice. The reality is, of course, that the Reaper is just Stronghart and his many arms. However, from another point of view, this rumour is true. The Reaper is Stronghart – and what is Stronghart but the twisted ghost of Klint, the man who Klint would have become if he lived?

[spoontriestowriteandfails]

a real man » stucky

╰┈➤ " i guess no one ever taught you how to be a real man. "

tags : stucky (steve rogers x bucky barnes), established relationship, worried steve, unaware bucky, fluff, bad writing, very short oneshot (under 1k words)

a/n : no capitalisation because capital letters are yucky !! hopefully i will use apostrophes and commas, but no promises. set in a weird sort of limbo that has the vibe of an early avengers film (either avengers 1 or age of ultron), but not quite because bucky is there.

the first avenger had been scribbling and tearing out pages practically all day, writing and drawing in his unusually messy cursive handwriting.

he spent most of the morning tying to write; to keep himself busy whilst waiting for another mission. then, when he got bored of writing, he would start trying to sketch random things around avengers tower. then the drawing wouldn't turn out the way he had wanted it to and he's go back to writing.

simply, steve was mentally draining himself with a pen and paper.

bucky had been out doing god knows what all day - probably just driving around on his motorcycle or training with sam in the gym - but wherever he was, steve hadn't seen him. not even in his attempt to draw something from every room in the tower.

it was like his boyfriend was avoiding him. whether it was on purpose or not, he was unsure. but there was no way he hadn't seen him since they reluctantly rolled out of bed together this morning.

it was about 6pm when steve started getting worried. due to the season, it was already pitch back outside and bucky still wasn't back.

he knew he had no reason to be worried, that bucky could easily look after himself no matter what time of day it was, but that didn't stop him from tapping his foot anxiously and waiting by the door.

he'd spent most of his time asking the other's in the tower if they had seen him, even going as far as to ask tony if he could check the entry and exit logs of the building. but the winter soldier had seemingly disappeared.

steve's writings in his book was now just worried and messy splotches of black ink, occasionally accompanied with a doodle or scribble in the margin.

it was 10pm when bucky got in. steve had long since gone to bed, but left a note on the door saying that he'd put leftovers in the fridge for him.

the brunette was completely fine, having just been exploring the parts of the city that he had never been to before. he just hadn't expected to get so carried away.

he pulled the sticky note off of the door, heating the leftovers in the microwave and taking them up to bed with him.

steve on the other hand, was still wide awake. sketching and drafting, trying to think of anything that wasn't the danger bucky could've gotten himself into.

he was so tuned in with what he was doing, he didn't realise the other man had entered the room until the bed dipped beside him and he smelt the smallest waft of heated chinese food.

the oh-so-beloved book was discarded onto the duvet the moment he recognised the presence next to him, the blonde's head falling onto bucky's shoulder and his arms wrapping around his midsection.

"you alright, doll? haven't been gone that long, have i?" bucky was the first to speak, resting the plastic takeaway box on his knees so that he could still eat his rice whilst wrapping his other arm over steve's shoulders.

"you were basically gone forever," the taller man grumbled tiredly, struggling to keep his eyes open "i ran out of things to draw."

bucky chuckled, setting his fork down to pick up steve's book and flick through the pages. most of them had been torn out, leaving remnants of jagged paper still glued to the spine.

the paper that was still in there was covered in nonsensical scribbles of words and pictures, the brunette's smile faltering as he observed his lover's slow descent into worry.

"are you okay, baby? talk to me, hun. what's up?" he asked, his metal palm gliding over the shoulder of his own steve's shirt.

"just worried, s'all." was the quiet response of the male, slowly hiding his fae into his lover's shoulder.

bucky didn't push it, but set his food down on the bedside table next to him, rather in favor of wrapping his arm around his boyfriend and guiding him to lay down.

his fingers curled into the other's hair, scratching and petting at his hair until he felt his partner's breathing start to slow as he fell asleep.

bucky pressed kisses into steve's hair for as long as he could before he felt his own eyes start to flutter closed as well, content in letting himself rest.

[markerofthemidnight]

😶

Er… Luxury? You… didn’t tell me which character you want me to dump some headcanons about…

…ah, whatever. Guess this is a wildcard. Well, while I’m at it, I know a place that could attract some attention to my ask blog… and a way to capitalise on a little joke I came up with as of recent…

😶 A random headcanon!

Soul and Heart never really named their weapons. The closest they have to real names are “the Trident” and “the Mistake”.

Mind, however, is not Soul or Heart. Well, not anymore, that is. He wasn’t born with his weapon: instead, the Headspace gave him the parts he needed to make it, a test of intelligence perfect for a ruler such as himself.

And so, he did indeed name it. It’s called Solar Flare, his very own personal chainsaw.

(Oh yeah, you thought I was done with this joke, didn’t you?)

He very rarely uses Solar Flare for anything. Chainsaws are more than effective, but too heavy, which is definitely a problem considering he’s the least mobile Jashling even without one.

He only even considers using it when he knows, for a fact, that some shit is about to go down. And even when he does, he’d never use it against Soul or even Heart. Sure, he took out that fucker’s eyes without hesitation, but that was- as much as he doesn’t want to admit it- an accident: purely heat of the moment, and nothing else.

There’s no way he’s dumb enough to try to throw a chainsaw at a moving target. And despite the fact that being a weapon is its purpose, Solar Flare is still his precious creation. He’s not getting blood (or rather, more blood) on his baby boy.

But when he does use it… be careful around him. You can run, but you can’t hide. And every second you’re not running, he’s only getting closer.

[laura1633]

Currently thinking of the chaotic mastermind that is Fred Vasseur and always the alphabet of Ferrari strategies. It is plan V for Verstappen.

Fred noticed how Max just is around Charles and decides to capitalise on it. He purposely chose a blue race suit, makes sure they’re in the drivers press conference together, and tells Charles to stick as close as possible to Max the whole weekend. Charles is a bit confused but he’s never one to turn down time with Max and he’d like to see his reaction to Charles properly flirting anyway!

Cue Charles being as distracting as possible either in a cute way by excitedly talking about introducing their pets to each-other in Max’s ear on live tv or by being a sexual menace and bending down to pick up his AirPods directly in front of Max after being indecent with a water bottle. It’s hot in Miami and he’s very clumsy okay 😅

The actual plan V is called out over the car radio and Charles has an early lap dance/battle with a very confused and worked up Max before the Red Bull can completely pull away- racing directly with Charles is not helping the situation at all. After one particularly good overtake Charles blows a kiss towards Max and the Dutchman goes completely wide losing valuable positions!

Everyone agrees it’s a very successful Ferrari strategy and Charles is pleased with how his own experiment went- it gives him the courage to ask Max out in fact.

Haha Ferrari getting inventive - Charles blowing Max a kiss in the race would probably be the only thing to put him off his race! It's a risky strategy though because I can imagine Max racing twice as hard to get back to the front alongside Charles so he can get another kiss blown.

Ferrari getting all the way down to strategy V would not surprise me in the slightest though 😂

But then Red Bull don't want to be beaten on strategy so the next race they will probably make Max walk into the press conference and just sit in Charles' lap or something 😍 Max does it happily because by then he is already (secretly) dating Charles.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Okay I finally FINALLY watched the first two episodes of s2 of Arcane and it’s safe to say I’m losing my mind omg

I have only watched these 2 epsiodes so far but spoiler-containing thoughts are here:

I have on more than one occasion (half-jokingly) said that I can’t decide who between Viktor and Jayce is meant to be Frankenstein and who is meant to be Clerval so I think it’s fair to say I just went insane watching that (i have also been known to go on to joke that actually they both represent Frankenstein and their love for each other represents Frankenstein’s narcissism)

Loving the new intro, can’t wait to have enough information to dissect it properly but I’m especially notably intrigued by the hands grabbing at/trying to puppeteer Mel as a very distinct parallel to the way she so readily practised control and puppeteering in politics throughout the council, the chaise being the stage for both Mel and her mother, and Vi wiping off the vi that a) I thought was a tattoo and b) had for some reason assumed was a six in Roman numerals and coincidentally resembled her name lol

I can’t decide if Silko might be alive or if they want me to think that he might be alive for some kind of purposes…

Utterly obsessed with the animation as always but I love the way they’re sort of pushing I to segments of other formats, like Cassandra’s funeral being almost like a pencil sketch surrounding Cait and Vi

Cait and Vi lowkey mimicking the end of s2 Good Omens goodness gracious my heart can’t take this

ALSO Cait and Vi mimicking “you never said they were from the undercity […] they’re dangerous!” “I’m from the undercity” just cut my heart out why don’t you

Thank god they reconciled so quickly (though I don’t trust that bc it surely means more angst to come)

Again, just losing my mind over everything happening with Jayce and Viktor - marginally concerned about what Viktor’s up to, erm…

This lil kiddo who’s following Jinx… oh sweetheart I’m worried about you…

“Whether I pull the pin or not everybody who gets close to me dies” 💔💔 she only wanted to help you guys SHE ONLY WANTED TO HELP

I thought the minimisation of Vi and Cait in episode two was fascinating to kind of create a dual perspective and I really like it when we get more time to explore characters individually so getting a lot of time more centred around Jinx’s perspective was interesting

I thought Maddie was doomed and then I thought she had a glimmer of hope and then I thought she was doomed again and now I can’t tell - though if she’s doomed then the writing’s stringing the poor kid along for a while. Why do I feel like she’s gonna be another Death of Innocence…

This kiddo following Jinx could also be another Death of Innocence…

(Btw I don’t really know if that’s a real literary term or not lol but when I say that I mean anyone who comes under death of an innocent individual or death of the concept of innocence, either within an individual or within the narrative, and I capitalise it so I can distinguish it clearly when I go through notes and stuff to write my analyses; thought I should probably explain that)

And on that! Is it arguable that Caitlin is currently undergoing a Death of Innocence? Or that we are seeing her on the other side of one, perhaps? When I said I wanted to understand her inner workings better I didn’t mean break her open like a geode 😭 my poor girl

In summary I loved it, everyone needs a hug, i cannot wait for more but ahhhhh I just know there’s gonna be so much more angst (I both love and fear the angst)

Please no spoilers for later in the show in the notes!!! <33

[the-voldsoy]

My current thoughts about Remnants (pod), as of ep10

(a disjointed list of theories, thoughts and opinions that have been bouncing around in my head and need to put down somewhere. A lot of this will likely be disproven when e11 comes out.)

(under the cut because there's a lot)

First of all, Sir. I don't think he knows what he's supposed to be doing, really, either. Or rather, he knows the what but not the why. He might be afraid, and that might be for a lot of reasons. It might be for what they're doing together, it might be for A. It might be something else entirely.

I also have half a theory working right now that Sir was either made with the First And Last Place[which I will be calling TFALP from now] (has always been there, doesn't remember anything from before or why), or was a previous Apprentice. In this case, he could be lying to the Apprentice so that he doesn't try to replace Sir in turn.

Sir is not human, we know that. He might have been, once, but he's not anymore. He seems to have some sort of magic(?) that can make A forget things, and possibly has wings (flapping noise in e6). He also may-or-may-not be something of a biblical angel, in the sense that his true form cannot be comprehended by A without his mind exploding.

The Apprentice. He is there to give (unbiased?) judgement about something he doesn't understand. That is his purpose. His memory is wiped every time he gets too close to understanding what TFALP actually is, although it is unclear whether it is because Sir has an ulterior motive or just because A's mind can't handle it all. I'm leaning more towards the "understanding TFALP causes eldritch madness" idea though, it makes more sense with the evidence we have.

It is possible that neither Sir nor A are actual people, but rather constructs made by a larger force, or simply just concepts given bodies

The code of capitalised letters from the episode captions so far is: HE IA M OR EOR LESS MST HAS ILTOT [spaces separate episodes]. The only clue we have been given is a picture of 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner from Eira. I think this means that it will be able to decode/be separated into words in multiple ways, rather than the words themselves having double meanings, but I have no confirmation for this.

However, I also think it's multiple different codes(?), being separated by every time A is "reset". (look, just hear me out).

The "HEIAMOREORLESS" part came ep1-6, and the "new" A is shown in e7. If we take this as a separation point in the code, then this part reads "He I AMore Or Less" (Am, more). This would make sense in the context of the show itself and other clues we've been given.

But the next part (ep7-10) can't be put into any obvious words (yet). "MSTHASILTOT". This needs to be decoded differently, possibly with an actual cipher.

I don't know, we don't have the whole code yet so it shouldn't make any sense yet so I'm probably completely wrong but you see my point I hope?

So far the morse code reads: Apprentice / reshelve or discard / the question / is not what / it may / first / / appear to / be if indeed / it appears / to be /

I reckon the next parts will say "anything at all". Not a huge theory or anything, I just wanted to guess. However, this does tell us that there is more about "Reshelve or discard" than is immediately obvious. I have so many thoughts about that though, it needs its own post.

The TL;DR of what I think right now is that yes, it is reincarnation, but it's not clear which option makes the person in the Remnant reincarnated -- I think it's the discard option, because reshelve implies that the ones on the shelf can always be moved around but the discarded ones are gone (living a life?).

I am not confident in that though

But if that is the case, then which is worse?

I haven't thought about it very much yet, but all of these Remnants are going to be connected in some way, I just haven't figured out why. It could just be that the show is more fun (on a meta level) when you have to break out the red string, but the fact that Sir seemed to have some sort of investment with e6 makes me think it's more than that.

Or, rather, what was so important about e6? Why did he care so much that A read it? Did it reveal too much too soon, or did Sir have some sort of emotional investment or involvement with it?

If Sir has an involvement with some of the Remnants implies...I don't know what it implies to be honest. That he was a person once? That he does, in fact, feel emotions? That he has read the Remnants? We already know he seen all the Remnants, he's told us that outright, and he says he doesn't remember "the way that you [A] do" (e10). Is Sir God?

That sounds like a joke but I am making faint connections in my mind ok I'll explain that when they're clear enough to see

I think it would be kind of cute if Sir just sort of...went to a jumble sale and bought a bunch of trinkets, and that's why they're all related

Someone in the Discord said those dust-sprite-things might be discarded Remnants also. That doesn't help my theory at all I just wanted to mention it because those Dust Sprites and the letters from e6 and TFALP itself all mean something but I don't know what

When I was reading through the e6 transcript, I forgot that A says he thinks there's something else in there with them. Not sure if he meant the Dust, or TFALP itself, or the Remnants, or something else entirely, but it does intrigue me.

If it is something else, it could be an antagonist of a sort. There seems to be something working against Sir, creating the "paper trails" and showing A e6, which Sir was not happy about. But why was Sir not aware of it happening? He acts as though he should have seen it?? Could it have been left there by A previously, as a clue so that he could try and remember and find answers again?

Why does Sir care so much about A? He apparently has to regularly erase his memories, would it not be easier to get a different random person each time? The fact that it's always the same person makes me think that A was created for specifically this purpose, but he also seems more...human? than Sir, understanding sarcasm and jokes and empathy and that sort of thing. Is A supposed to be a representation of all of humanity? So that he can be a fair judge? Sir does say that A always has the job (e7)

And Sir says that "Things will not change, not until I see fit" in that episode. This implies that he has some level of control over TFALP and the Remnants and how it all works. So the question is, why? Why can he control it, why is it how it is?

Or maybe Sir cares about him because of familiarity, he's gotten used to and fond of A being around, he doesn't want to have to replace him. But that then raises the question of why he kept him around to start, before he got used to him, and it circles back round. Maybe they were both human, once, and they knew each other, and now only Sir remembers for whatever reason.

[ressioo]

Can you tell me more about your solar flare AU? I just found out about it and I want to know so much more!

Hm. There's not too much i can reveal at the current moment, as i plan to steadily reveal more with drawings. I'll tell you what i can though!

The present events of SF happen sometime around Spearmaster - Survivor.

Neither the bug maze/CC pearls or the events leading up to them happen. Because of this Moon is very much still standing.

The iterators are off the string! I wont go into detail on how exactly since that'd be quite a bit of text, but they essentially refined the overseer/structure connection and applied it to puppets.

Due to the way their cooling system works, they exhale steam when experiencing strong emotions or doing things that require a lot of energy! They have several vents along their body for this purpose. At regular temperatures, they simply exhale warm air.

Nsh's puppet is quite inefficient and as such is much easier to overheat and takes longer to cool down. He's made no attempts at fixing this issue.

The iterator halos appear behind the puppets even when not actively in their chambers! Suns modified theirs so that it appears over their head instead of behind them. It's not exactly stable however and oftentimes looks like its dripping. It also tends to appear behind their back like its supposed to.

Pebbles capitalises Suns' pronouns when speaking about them in text.

Moon's rage in Lyss' comic is very much justified. However she should not be taken as a reliable narrator here, as she has possibly the least information out of the main cast about the sunstone situation.

All art i have done of this au so far has taken place before that comic :]

Moonie has retractable claws!

Suns has quite the violent tendencies. They do not show themselves often, but they're certainly there.

The UI Incident of cycle 1756.166. It exists.

Oleander flowers, huh.

[kmesons]

Actually, I completely forgot to ask, so sorry about that. What does your made inevitable swap au entail?

I'm sorry for taking so long to answer this! my ramble is under the cut, since it ended up being. really long. yikes

no need to apologise, and thank you for asking about it! the idea isn't completely coherent right now, but hopefully it still makes sense :]

as a disclaimer, I haven't really considered the timeline aspects of this or its implications for other timelines, so there are likely some inconsistencies.

in this AU, Charles Coven was working at PEIP when the idea of building a portal to the Black and White was just beginning to be conceptualised. a high position in the unit meant that he was one of the first ones to discuss the portal's creation. knowing what he did about the Lords in Black—their power and the money he could make by utilising it—he left PEIP shortly after this idea began to form. this is relevant, I promise.

Charles took with him the preliminary research and design plans for whatever device was intended to create the portal and, in doing so, prevented it from ever being realised in full. very few at PEIP knew of the idea's existence. thus, PEIP never built their own portal. for a long time, longer than in canon, the Black and White was closed off to mortals.

fast-forward several years: CCRP has been established for a while and has been conducting experiments and developing technology related to the Lords. Charles arranges for the construction of - surprise! - a portal that will allow CCRP to access and drain power from the Black and White (or so they think). the portal is created within the depths of CCRP, and they send Paul Matthews - who's been working in their cover technical department for a while now - through for experimental purposes, because they figure they can pretty easily replace him with one of his clones (which would be canon to this AU's timeline) if anything goes wrong.

Paul goes through the portal (he is one of CCRP's best workers, after all. he doesn't ask, and they don't really tell him anything about it. I'd imagine it could even be disguised as something inconspicuous. not entirely sure about the details here) and it immediately closes. CCRP inexplicably loses the ability to open it again. they aren't aware, but this is because Pokey is preventing it from being re-opened. they've just given him a gift (the star of his show), and he's not letting the opportunity run away from him.

inside the Black and White, Paul undergoes Pokey's apotheosis, which, in this case, would work similarly to how it did in Yellow Jacket, except since Paul is Pokey's optimal blank slate - his prophet, his leading man - the control is shared a little bit.

(as a side note, I'm not really sure what would happen with the Wilbur/Miss Holloway fight in this AU, but I'm choosing to ignore that for now, both for space, as I've already typed a lot, and my own time)

the portal opening isn't of concern to Wiggly yet, since Paul is Pokey's toy, not his. it's important to note that Pokey is also more of the leader of the Lords in Black in this AU than Wiggly, so Wiggly's plans aren't as extravagant as Pokey's.

meanwhile, Wilbur Cross still works at PEIP, but knows nothing about the Black and White or the Lords in Black, much like most of PEIP, as very few knew about the portal and the research preceding it. Wiggly capitalises on this and initiates his apocalypse in this timeline (which I would imagine would be a kind of "test run" for something larger he'd be planning, because, though he wants amusement, he also wants power). it'd most likely be something similar to what he did in Black Friday, except its purpose would be to single out his own prophet, as opposed to bringing himself into existence outside of the Black and White.

Wilbur doesn't fill this role, but he does capture Wiggly's attention. he fights against the nightmare scenario with PEIP, but it's evident that he's having his doubts about the system he's working for. at some point, Wilbur and some other members of PEIP (possibly John) end up in the CCRP building, although it's been abandoned because of the apocalypse. Wilbur inexplicably feels drawn towards the portal, and somehow, for a brief moment, Wiggly is able to reach through to Wilbur's mind. it isn't apotheosis, but rather a sharing of information—and the potential of power. I'm sure I could go into further detail here, but I think you (hopefully?) understand what I'm trying to get at here. Wilbur devotes himself to Wiggly in order to reform the world (as Wiggly probably put it).

in another timeline, Pokey has successfully enacted his own plan for world domination, with an infected Paul at the forefront. Paul ends up visiting Wiggly's apocalyptic timeline, intrigued, which is when Wilbur learns of the other Lords in Black and the full extent of the timeline shenanigans. chaos ensues!

so, in summary: Paul still worked at CCRP and Wilbur at PEIP, but it's Paul who enters the Black and White through a portal (CCRP's) and is driven insane (and then apotheosised), after which he serves Pokey, the King of the Black and White (as opposed to Wiggly), while Wilbur lives unaware of the Lords in Black until his timeline is overcome by Wiggly's apocalypse, after which he becomes a servant of Wiggly in that timeline, but is unaware of the other Lords in Black until Infected!Paul, curious, visits Wilbur's timeline—his original timeline—from a timeline involving Pokey's world domination. and then they terrorise different timelines together

(there's also the possibility for Wiggly to attempt to usurp Pokey's rule in the future of this AU, which has some interesting implications for Wilbur and Infected!Paul.)

[reviewinghiccup]

DEFENDERS OF BERK | HTTYD SERIES | BREAKING DOWN HICCUP

Blog Post Series: Breaking Down Hiccup

Title: Tunnel Vision

Ep/Season: Episode 4, Season 2 (Defenders of Berk)

Premise:

Somethings brewing underneath Berk and it is up to Hiccup and gang to find out exactly what that is.

THE VALUE OF TEAM WORK

From the very trivial pursuits like giving Gobber a bath to fighting off the Screaming Death, the team has to be in it together. As girlboss as Astrid is on her own, as intelligent and savvy Hiccup can be and as strong as Stoick is, IT TAKES A (literal) VILLAGE to well... run a village.

Though the episodes called Tunnel Vision, everything about it is peripheral. The gang straggles along for answers and solutions to their water problem and then to the rogue dragon issue and then back to Gobber's bath. It is just interesting to actually see an episode where the dragon dynamic also relies heavily on teamwork.

I didn't catch this at first, but the Screaming Death and his siblings, the Whispering Deaths, are one whole unit and function as a team too. As such, the strategy to beat them can't be one-to-one combat. To be fair, Hiccup and gang always function as a team but the movies don't highlight the importance of the other members of Hiccup's unit as they should. I understand why they built it that way, and I love the movies (no complaints), I am just thankful we get to explore it in the shows.

Defenders of Berk, unlike Riders of Berk, focuses more on the life there and what they do to defend it. It has a more nuanced approach to the other riders than just solely on Hiccup and Hiccup training them. Which is an interesting shift suited to the mood of the second season.

I say that this was a pretty feisty episode and I like that it stayed within the confines of the village, because I can't get enough of the day-to-day village-viking-dragon issues. It's theatrical in one word. And the way the Screaming Death was introduced is a great built up to becoming an actual threat to Berk.

SNOTLOUT THE BUSINESS MAN

Can we also like appreciate the fact that Snotlout's pretty industrious. I mean, he's a jerk by community-living standards, but if anyone is going to capitalise on anything, its going to be Snotlout. That drop Astrid laid when she discovered Snotlout charged the villagers for water was a hilarious exchange, because let's be honest, we've all purchased bottled water. We've all been taken advantage off. I mean, why isn't water free? Anyways...

I like how despite the episode harbouring on teamwork, the individual aspects of Snotlout, Astrid and Hiccup was highlighted in this exchange. Astrid explains that Hiccup didn't mean for the people to be charged for water and Snotlout's proud that the trade was his idea because he thinks profit and Hiccup thinks people. This is just a great marked difference between leadership qualities and a capitalist.

ENEMY DRAGONS

I do not emphasise enough on Hiccup's dragon nemesis. I really should've paid more attention, but after re-watching this episode, it just clicked. The Screaming Death is a terrifying monster of a villain. I mean, I suppose he's not a villain, he's just marking his territory where he was planted. The Outcasts are villains, but the Screaming Death is a worthy adversary. It's intelligent, strong, fast and responsible. I mean, all its trying to do is protect its own and find a home, just like anyone of us would.

And that's why, I never really viewed them as Hiccup's nemesis, because they're just doing their thing in line with nature. People like Viggo or Alvin the Treacherous or Dagur purposely upset the balance of the ecosystem to get ahead in life. So it's easier to pin them as threats or enemies. But, I like that in the second season, Hiccup doesn't just have to deal with difficult people, but very difficult forces of nature and survival.

The Screaming Death would go on to have another episode I really love in the franchise and I can't wait to get to it.

THE GREAT APOLOGY - I CAN EXPLAIN

I have been away for too long. Longer than I expected to. Numerous are the reasons but procrastinator, that I am. God, I am not sure if that previous sentence English-ed well. The truth is, I needed a break. I was super gung-ho about the last number of posts and made many in response and was super hyped by them, I literally lived to produce content for this page.

But then, I kind lost the luster for it after I finished my exams and resigned from my previous posting because I was just feeling really blah. I'm quite honest with my feelings on this page, and if you've been following, you'll know that my life is in a period of a pretty great transition and that hasn't really been... transitioning. So I got stuck. Then I got sick. And am still a little under the weather. And every time I wanted to post something, I felt like I took too long a break, no one's gonna read this stuff anymore, so I stopped writing.

But I never stopped consuming HTTYD content and I was in the Jay Baruchel rabbit hole for a very long time and frankly, I missed my Tumblr interactions. (Images above placed to illustrate me, being in a hole.)

I also felt like, I wanted to improve my writing and analysis, so I was reading a lot more. Then I got stage fright, or writer's fright, and got scared you guys might find me dull and cancel me. And lived in that period of insecurity for weeks.

Well, today I got out of my head and decided, look, I did this because I love HTTYD. I never expected to have a single following. I wrote because it gave me purpose, it realigns my life. It provides structure to my day-in-day-out and I miss you guys. So, I took out my laptop, re-watched this episode, cut my stills to post this.

I'm really sorry for disappearing, I guess I was just embarrassed, but the truth is, I'm trying and with each day, it is getting easier to keep at it again. I hope.

Love you guys!!! XOXO and thanks for sticking around.

[enderwoah]

DOUBLE LIFE/HOMESTUCK HANDLES & TYPING QUIRKS

ello ello ello! happy belated homestuck 4/13 AND hermitcraft birthday! it's been a very long time since i have touched this au, but it occasionally starts rotating around in my brain so i decided, "hey! it's not like the homestuck presence in this fandom can get any more dead! why don't i make some headway on that?"

this will be a comprehensive list of all fourteen double life members' chumhandles and typing quirks (where applicable; otherwise, i might just put down their general typing style). it'll go in rainbow order for the trolls, but there are only seven of them so some may be skipped! c'est la vie.

for people that don't know homestuck, a chumhandle is essentially an internet username used on the messaging system "pesterchum" (or, for the trolls, the messaging system "trollian"), consisting of two words that are usually unnecessarily rare and big. a typing quirk is something trolls all have to differentiate themselves from one another, both for expression purposes and also because they all have to use their blood colour as their online colour and it could get confusing. hope that helps, let's go!

-

TROLLS

grian (rust):

sign: true aires, sign of the excavator

no noticable typing quirk, but does use an overabundance of bird puns whenever he gets the chance. not because he thinks they're funny, but because they get on other people's nerves and gets their feathers in a twist.

procrastinatingBellbird [PB]

procrastinating: to delay or postpone action; put off doing something. is this not grian's entire existence? have you watched his hermitcraft videos? can the man go half an hour without getting distracted by something and putting what he should be working on off for later? like..oh, i don't know. the back of his base?

bellbird: the loudest bird in the world! you little attention-seeker, you.

ren (bronze):

sign: taurga, sign of the guardian

unnecessarily and often incorrectly uses the olde version of words, adds a lot of 'e's and 'th's and 'st's where therest shouldn'th be for ye olde effecte. is a hemoanon (someone that does not reveal their blood colour by typing in gray).

cynoidCacology [CC]

cynoid: dog-like; canine. speaks for itself.

cacology: bad choice of words or poor pronunciation. this is partially a jab at his 'incorrectly uses old words' bit and partially a slight reference to his constant innuendos being played off as simply a bad choice of words. someone probably lied to him and told him that this word meant royalty and was really old and cool.

tango (gold):

sign: gemiborn, sign of the uproarious

the first actual typing quirk, tango types in ALL CAPS, EXCEPtt FOR HIS tt'S ttO MAttCH THE PAttttERN OF HIS HORNS!

reinedAzidoazide [RA]

rein[ed]: keep under control; restrain. it'll make more sense with the second part.

azidoazide [azide]: the most explosive chemical compound ever created. so together, his entire chumhandle is just a big sign that yells 'i have thinly-controlled anger issues!,' lmao.

bdubs (olive):

sign: lenius, sign of the restless

SPEAKS IN ALL CAPS. TYPES VERY SPORADICALLY. CUTS OFF HIS. SENTENCES. CHANGES HIS 'I'S TO '1'S AND HIS 'S'S TO '2'S WHEN THEY'RE NEXT TO EACH OTHER. LIKE IN W12H. AND F12H. (to make a 12! like on a clock.)

nyctophobicBryophyte [NB]

nyctophob[ia]: extreme or irrational fear of the night or of darkness. he definitely has it! lol!

byrophyte: the informal group name for mosses, liverworts and hornworts. oh yeah, baby. moss time, baby. eats moss, prolly. and has a cool cloak!

scott (cerulean):

sign: scorza, sign of the strategist

he's both too cool for an elaborate typing quirk and too lazy to go out of his way to type in perfect capitalisation like he wants to. Middle ground, he capitalises all his 'M's and he types as forMally as possible without having to try. uses eMoticons as punctuation lot (:K and keysMashes rather often. (his sign, scorza, looks like a weird M, so he just ran with it. if the people he's talking to can't deduce that it's him, that's their problem, not his. his horns look like antlers and he felt like a K was the only letter that really encompassed the antlers vibe (((:K)

kenodoxicHart [KH]

kenodox[y]: an obsolete, rare word meaning the love, study, or desire of vain-glory. only someone truly vainglorious would flaunt their vainglory. and you know what? good for him.

hart: a male deer; a stag. sure, he could have just gone with stag, but 'hart' sounds like 'heart,' so it's just unequivocally better in every way. his lusus is a horrible combination of a hart and a spider.

cleo (purple):

sign: capripia, sign of the brusque

she really doesn't have a patterned quirk like some others might...she simply prefersssss to elongate her 's'es whenever it feelsssss...sssatisfying. never uses caps. alwaysss usesss precisssse punctuation. makes use of ellipsesss to enunsssiate her pointsss. will often change the 'c's to 's'es in sssertain wordsss because typing out a bunch of 'c's doesn't have the ssame effect. (her horns are painted to look like snakes, and thus!)

vafrousPhantomime [VP]

vafrous: cunning; sly. sounds about right, yeah.

phantomime is not an actual word! it is a combination of phantom (a ghost) and pantomime (a dramatic entertainment, originating in Roman mime, in which performers express meaning through gestures accompanied by music OR a theatrical entertainment, mainly for children, that involves music, topical jokes, and slapstick comedy and is based on a fairy tale or nursery story.) to explain this would be to explain a lot of cleo's backstory, which is not what this post is for; the simplest way to explain the phantom bit is "blame joe hills." the pantomime bit is just a very mild reference to The homestuck song, and also...she's a clown. not, like, super seriously, but she is a clown.

etho (fuchsia):

sign: pius, sign of the free

/? you won't catch him dead making fish puns. that's all he wrote. /? (they're like little fishing poles :D y'all really think etho is out here with the patience to constantly change the way he types? absolutely not.)

xericQuerist [XQ]

xeric: containing little moisture; very dry. again, this is not the place to delve deep into backstory shenanigans, but it's safe to say that despite being a fuchsiablood, etho does not feel very free underwater. also, he's a dry texter <3 good for him

querist: inquirer; someone who asks questions. he's questioning the SYSTEM and the PLANET he'll have to take over when he gets over and the CHANGES to the FLAWED HIERARCHY it holds so dear <- deranged. half of the reason he picked his name when he was like 12 was that having two super rare letters as his handle looked sicknasty.

-

HUMANS

(note to all my non-homestucks: humans have no use or care for the funny signs i've been putting for all of the trolls, but i'm going to put them here in case anyone wants to see what they Would be :)

scar (orange):

sign: aquasci, sign of the charitable (snrk)

all lowercase, little punctuation aside from EMPHASIS!!! sometimes the emphasis comes in the form of an *appropriate* amount of asterisks.

affluentAllay [AA] / affluentVex [AV]

affluent: having a great deal of money; wealthy. how else can you put it? the man is loaded!

allay: diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry). an in-universe reference to actual minecraft allays.

vex: make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried; cause distress to. affluentVex was his original handle before allays came out and he shelved this to being an evil alter ego that frequently appears. as this is homestuck and i do need to clarify, this evil alter ego is not real.

bigb (dark blue):

sign: sagittanius, sign of the nascent (wait i love that actually that's so good)

Average mobile user, doesn't turn off autocorrect, all of his sentences start off capital and everything looks fine until you notice the lack of punctuation or commas or anything the phone wouldn't be able to automatically pick up on

nitidNyctomania [NN]

nitid: bright with a steady but subdued shining. it's typically used to describe the moon.

nyctomania: the condition of being very happy and comfortable in the dark. half of the group was convinced that bigb was a troll because it always seems to be night whenever he talks to his friends. he literally just lives in a place where the sun doesn't rise. and you know what? he's happy.

impulse (yellow):

sign: gemcer, sign of the intimate (0_0)

uses lowercase letters, but proper punctuation! uses fullstops at the ends of statements, proper commas, question marks, and exclamation points! maybe even two for the extra emphasis!! often uses FULL CAPS to denote shouting (not that he does it often)!

sanguineVenule [SV]

sanguine: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation OR blood-red. he's just an optimistic and happy guy! also a blood player!

venule: a very small vein, especially one collecting blood from the capillaries. he's trained in first aid for some reason? also a blood player!

pearl (gray):

sign: licen, sign of the worshipper ((santa pearla voice) more like sign of the worshipped amirite)

nothing tooooo special, she types like a normal person and elongates certain words for the emphasis!

pearlescentMoon [PM]

pearlescent: having a luster resembling that of mother-of-pearl.

for the record, she has been adequately clowned on for having what is basically her full name as her online handle, but she simply couldn't be bothered to put in all the effort of finding those stupid big words. maybe there was a point in her life when she was, like, eleven, where her handle was iridescentLuna [IL] or something, but those times are far, far behind her now.

martyn (lime):

sign: cano, sign of the translucent (wth is that even meant to mean)

types like its a conversation or real dialogue, so expect either very long messages or for him to send about seven messages just to form one complete thought. when speaking to ren, he will mirror the old-speak as well as possible (unless its a serious moment).

hearkeningCavalier [HC]

hearkening: listening. i think we can all guess.

cavalier: a knight. i also think we can all guess. also, it's a breed of dog! cheeky reference to his king, that is.

joel (forest green):

sign: leiborn, sign of the paradox (oh i love this)

when normal, he types like a normal person. makes more typos than your average man, but thats alright whereas WHEN HE GETS HYPE ABOUT SOMETHING HES PRFONE TO LONG BOUTS OF TPYING IN CAPS AND HE TYPES FAST AN FRURTYOUIS SO TEHTEERE AE TYPOS ABOUnD

dionysianFleer [DF]

dionysian: relating to the sensual, spontaneous, and emotional aspects of human nature. joel just gives vibes, really. i think he heard that dionysus was the god of madness and thought it was cool because he really does go crazy at the block game AYEEE

fleer: an impudent or jeering look or speech. he's a prick. moving on,

jimmy (light blue):

sign: taurmino, sign of the lonely (my man...)

uses caps for shouting *very* often because he is a shouty boy, and uses asterisks for emphasis. is very prone to using an overabundance of question marks because...funny?

juxtaPredestination [JP]

juxta-: a prefix meaning near; alongside.

predestination: the divine foreordaining or foreknowledge of all that will happen. jimmy is basically the resident jade harley. not in the sense that he knows what's actually going on, more in the sense of him getting thrown into Situations and then he goes "oh, i saw this in a dream once!" and then gets clorted by whatever it was that he saw. but he believes in fate and luck very heavily and sort of thinks of it as an endearing rival.

-

CONCLUSION:

so yeah, those are all the handles! i will do the extras (mumbo, lizzie, and skizz) eventually and put it in the post, so stay tuned for that (ill reblog this when its done <3)! hope you enjoyed the result of my days-long bout of insanity! reblogs appreciated, have a nice day/night!! <3

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hey theitsa! I’m a second gen Greek-American and unfortunately a lot of my family is pretty racist. The reason why I bring this up is because they use a certain word for black people that, because of their ideology, I can’t trust is a respectful term. While I doubt it will come up in regular conversation, I’ve seen mostly debates about Ancient Greek terminology for black people and not modern Greek besides a quora post. Do you have any insight on this vocabulary issue? Ευχαριστώ θείτ��α!

Hello there! The issue is not too clear in Greek either because the Black community in Greece is very small and also diverse. Looks like the most used and accepted term is "Afrogreek" but I've heard some call themselves Black ("Μαύρος") online and in a discussion by the Anassa institute.

"Afrogreek" is more prevalent because most Black people here atm are 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen immigrants from various African countries. Of course not all Black people identify as Africans so it's best to ask each individual what they're comfortable with.

In the TedEx below, Idra identifies as "Αφροελληνίδα" early on and few seconds afterwards as "μία Μαύρη γυναίκα". (Idk if "Μαύρη" should be capitalised but for now I'll keep it like they do in English)

Greek language doesn't feel too comfortable colouring people linguistically, especially since a few decades ago "Μαύρος" was used in the offensive call "ο Μαύρος" for Black people. (And still today) "Μαύρος άντρας/Μαύρη γυναίκα" are okay because "Μαύρος" in this is an adjective that describes the person. While in the offensive scenario the person is assumed to be their colour. In a similar fashion it's more polite to say "ο κοντός άντρας" instead of "Ο Κοντός".

In Greece people might not be too familiar with color terms for people but there's a need for the terms "Λευκός" and "Μαύρος" to exist in order for anti-racist discussions to take place.

The two words I mentioned (Μαύρος and Afrogreek) are the appropriate ones and - afaik - other terms are not acceptable. "Έγχρωμος" , the translation of "person of color" is not acceptable and it also doesn't make sense linguistically for us, as Indra also notes in the video.

Now, just in case you want to know about a specific word, I'd say go ahead and ask by writing the word. (In ask or in a DM) You don't have to do it, I'm just saying. This will be for educational purposes only cause there are quite a few bad words around and I cannot imagine what your family uses. And we cannot know the proper context of words, and if they can or cannot be used, if we never ask about them. As long as we don't endorse slurs and don't use them to characterise people, it is okay to identify them and learn why they're wrong so the next time we hear them we can also explain to others why their use should be avoided.

Check my tag #afrogreeks for more! Searching "Afrogreek" on YouTube also gives some very interesting videos.

Anyone who knows more feel free to chime in!

[mariana-oconnor]

Charles Augustus Milverton pt 2

We return to The Worst.

“You would not call me a marrying man, Watson?” “No, indeed!” “You’ll be interested to hear that I am engaged.” “My dear fellow! I congrat—” “To Milverton’s housemaid.”

Holmes.

Holmes... did you...

Did you fucking seduce some poor woman just to get information?

“But the girl, Holmes?”

Thank you, Watson!

“You can’t help it, my dear Watson. You must play your cards as best you can when such a stake is on the table. However, I rejoice to say that I have a hated rival who will certainly cut me out the instant that my back is turned."

There's that, I supposed. But I am disappoint.

I did not remember this part of the story.

I seemed to see every possible result of such an action—the detection, the capture, the honoured career ending in irreparable failure and disgrace, my friend himself lying at the mercy of the odious Milverton.

You're acting like this is the first burglary he's committed, Watson. This isn't even the hundredth burglary he's committed.

Though I do appreciate this glimpse into Watson's anxiety.

“Yes,” I said; “it is morally justifiable so long as our object is to take no articles save those which are used for an illegal purpose.”

Watson ponders the nature of ethics and morality and contemplates the justness of the justice system.

A case of two wrongs making a right?

"Between ourselves, Watson, it’s a sporting duel between this fellow Milverton and me. He had, as you saw, the best of the first exchanges; but my self-respect and my reputation are concerned to fight it to a finish.”

Holmes: I can take him. Let me at him. I can take him!

Watson: Only if I come, too!

Holmes: NO! You might get arrested.

Watson: I feel like there are some double standards here.

"You know, Watson, I don’t mind confessing to you that I have always had an idea that I would have made a highly efficient criminal."

We know, Holmes. You talk about it all the time. One of your favourite things to say is 'if I were a criminal, I would be very good at it.' In the last story you told a police officer all about how you sort of wanted to be a burglar... and in fact are a burglar because you keep burgling places.

This is not a secret! It is the opposite of a secret! You would tell someone that you kind of want to be a criminal if you just happened to be standing behind them in a queue!

I'm surprised you don't introduce yourself as 'Sherlock Holmes, private detective, which is a good thing because I've always been convinced I would make an excellent criminal.'

Literally no one is surprised that you have a state-of-the-art burglary kit lying around.

And no one is surprised that Watson will make the masks.

"On the other hand, like all these stout, little men who do themselves well, he is a plethoric sleeper. Agatha—that’s my FIANCEE—says it is a joke in the servants’ hall that it’s impossible to wake the master."

I see no reason for this capitalisation other than Holmes shouting the word like he wants the world to know.

This is so weird.

The place was locked, but Holmes removed a circle of glass and turned the key from the inside.

He's not even picking the lock, he's literally cutting holes in the windows.

He seized my hand in the darkness and led me swiftly past banks of shrubs which brushed against our faces. Holmes had remarkable powers, carefully cultivated, of seeing in the dark. Still holding my hand in one of his he opened a door, and I was vaguely conscious that we had entered a large room in which a cigar had been smoked not long before.

Hand-holding and B&E, the perfect date!

We were in Milverton’s study, and a PORTIERE at the farther side showed the entrance to his bedroom.

Ooooh, it was capitalised because fiance is a french word... okay then. Sure. We'll go with that.

My first feeling of fear had passed away, and I thrilled now with a keener zest than I had ever enjoyed when we were the defenders of the law instead of its defiers. The high object of our mission, the consciousness that it was unselfish and chivalrous, the villainous character of our opponent, all added to the sporting interest of the adventure. Far from feeling guilty, I rejoiced and exulted in our dangers.

Watson:

With a glow of admiration I watched Holmes unrolling his case of instruments and choosing his tool with the calm, scientific accuracy of a surgeon who performs a delicate operation.

Too late.

I understood the joy which it gave him to be confronted with this green and gold monster, the dragon which held in its maw the reputations of many fair ladies.

Wow. This imagery is intense. Holmes playing on Watson's chivalric instincts really went deep, huh? A dragon with ladies' reputations in its maw. Watson's out there fancying himself a modern-day St George, I guess.

Then the footsteps continued backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, within a few yards of us. Finally, there was a creak from a chair, and the footsteps ceased. Then a key clicked in a lock and I heard the rustle of papers.

Dun dun duuuuuuuuun

Cliffhanger time.

Now, I do think I remember what happens next. But still. Who has come into the room? Will Holmes and Watson be discovered and their career change into crime be cut off before it can truly flourish? Will Watson ever get over this simultaneous hit to both his competency kink and his chivalry kink? We may never know.

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting invites four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this chapter, the Baroness causes conflict with the Commander.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Next entry. Words: 2,626. Rating: all audiences. Warnings: discussion of war and grief, death mentions.)

Chapter 35: Baroness Touledy's Strategy (Reprise)

Soldiers pushed and parted as a woman, armed and armoured, marched through their training grounds. The Baroness Touledy held her cane in one hand, and her sword—sharp—in the other.

The girls had done their best. Tried playing with the man. But he was more accustomed to the Game than he pretended not to be. And that made what the Commander had done to them all the more disgusting.

He knew what he was doing when he used Lady Trevelyan. He knew what he was doing when he invited Lady Erridge’s friend. And he knew what he was doing when he promised Samient help.

Every part of it, done for his benefit.

No fucking more.

“Commander,” said a lieutenant in warning, eyes widening as she saw the Baroness approach. The Commander, beside her, turned.

“Baroness,” he greeted, bowing.

“Good morning, Commander,” Touledy replied. She flourished her sword, blade glinting in the sunlight. “I thought I might invite you to spar. Since we did not quite have chance on my previous visit.”

The last two words were said with a venom—yet the Commander appeared immune. He handed off his mantle to the lieutenant. “Very well.”

The Baroness smiled. This was the beauty of her plan—for whether he accepted or refused, she would achieve her goal.

That goal was very simple. It was one laid out by Lady Trevelyan herself. The other Ladies had not been there, that day, when her Ladyship had pointed out the Commander’s weakness. That was why they had made the mistake of confronting him privately. But if they wanted to best him, they needed a crowd.

Public humiliation required it.

A space was quickly cleared for the conflict to come; eagerly, too. Soldiers gathered ‘round, whispering and waiting—but were sent away again by the lieutenant. Back to training! Sidelong glances would have to do.

The Baroness welcomed them. She circled into position, facing the Commander. Her greaves ground into the dirt, finding purchase. One hand rested on her cane, the other brandished her blade. She was a mesmerizing sight, and she knew it.

The Commander, less so. His sword had been unsheathed in a draw that was typical of him. No flash, no flair. All seriousness. All bore. A helm was offered to him by a solider, but subsequently rejected. He took his stance opposite the Baroness, and raised his sword.

Hers met it—slowly, in acknowledgment. A look of understanding passed between them. Their swords withdrew.

And then, they clashed.

Touledy’s blade sailed into the Commander’s, clanging with the force of the hit. He, stalwart, withstood the blow. The ricochet of his blade was used to his advantage, momentum carried into a downward swing.

The Baroness blocked it. She jabbed for his side. The Commander jolted away. Nearby soldiers gasped at the close call.

Stalemate reached, the fighting paused. Each backed off, to readjust. Stances changed, blades twirled. Premeditated unpredictability.

“I have heard what you have done for my fellow Ladies, Commander,” the Baroness muttered, taking a step forward.

He watched her feet. “Mm?”

“I wished to give you my thanks in person—and to query why. What could have affected this change of heart, given your earlier purpose in bringing us here?”

“It was the right thing to do.”

He lunged for her, blade swiping down toward her shoulder. The Baroness’ sword shot across, and batted it away. He was left open; she capitalised.

“So you acknowledge that your previous intentions were wrong?” she accused, stabbing towards his gut.

The Commander sidestepped it. “Freely.”

“Interesting. Then one wonders why you had them in the first place?”

“I misled myself.”

Touledy laughed, spinning her blade. “And how exactly does one mislead oneself?”

“We all are prone to suffering a lack of good judgement, on occasion,” said the Commander, “though I take it yours is infallible.”

“Hardly. Though it is devastatingly precise, when required.”

As if to prove it, she pounced, a lancing blow slipping past his attempt at defence, and striking against his armoured side.

“Hit,” he said. They withdrew, to begin again.

The Baroness prepared her stance. “I would say our dear Lady Trevelyan suffered a lack of good judgement, in trusting you, perhaps.”

The Commander’s grip tightened around his blade. “Perhaps.”

“Though I am sure you never intended to hurt our dear Lady.”

The Baroness shot forth, sudden like a spider, striking at his stomach. He smacked it away.

“I never intended to hurt anyone.”

“That seems at odds with your methods.” She swung again. Their swords met, in a series of blows. Through them, the Baroness grunted: “You wished to do harm to us without doing any harm?”

The Commander did not falter with her question. He kept up the onslaught, until an opportunity presented itself. He came up on her left; she defended right. His blade struck the very edge of her chestplate.

“Like I said,” he told her, “my judgement was poor.”

“Hit,” she muttered.

They reset.

“Is that poor judgement the reason you failed to, at any point, tell Lady Trevelyan why she was truly here?” The Baroness raised her sword. “Before you knew such knowledge would break her heart?”

The Commander’s face changed, but he did not respond. Touledy strode forward.

“How long did you intend to keep the truth from her?” She thrust her sword at his abdomen; he stumbled back. “How long would you have lied?”

He tried to counter, but the Baroness slammed his blade to the side.

“Did you consider her feelings!? Or were yours the centre of your concern?”

She sent a cleaving blow sailing towards his shoulder. He deflected it with the back of his blade.

“Do you seek our favour to win back her affection? Do you only do for others that which benefits you!?”

Another strike; denied, again. The Commander readied to defend, and stared her down.

“Baroness Touledy,” he said, “how many mages are in Val Misrenne?”

Touledy froze. “What?”

The Commander lunged, twisting his sword around hers, and wrenching it from her grasp. The tip of his own he raised to her neck, and held her there.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“The Red Templars seem to believe you possess a small army.”

The Baroness clenched her fist, and backed away. The Commander lowered his sword. She watched as he bent down, to collect hers, and offered it to her.

She took it, but sheathed it.

“You know the business of Red Templars?” she asked.

The Commander nodded. “Of course. The safety of the Inquisition and the people of Thedas depends on it.”

“I see. I have no idea to what you refer. If you are aware of the Red Templars’ attack on Val Misrenne, then you know it to be a senseless act of violence.”

The Commander holstered his blade, and stepped closer. “I do. But that does not negate the fact that they attack for what they believe to be some kind of reason.” He regarded her with a gaze that she did not allow to intimidate her. “I cannot believe it would be more than ten.”

Touledy sighed. She had a feeling, one way or another, whatever she told him, that he would uncover the truth regardless. And so, instead, she simply told him the truth:

“Six,” she confessed. “There are six.”

The Commander acknowledged this, and glanced at their surroundings. Though quiet enough for their speech to be naught more than mumbles to his soldiers, he gestured for the Baroness to walk with him, away. She drew her cane up from the earth, and walked.

“They arrived some time after the Circles fell. A group of eight,” she explained, as they gained some distance from the training grounds, “though one left to find home, and another passed of old age. They were led by a young woman, who knew my brother—he was a Templar at her Circle.”

“Your brother?”

“Ser Ouen Touledy. She was a but a child when he met her, and very reminiscent of his beloved baby sister. He protected her, like an elder brother would. So much so that, when it came to her Harrowing, he refused the killing blow.”

The Commander glanced at his feet, knowing perfectly well what that meant. “Ah.”

“She survived the Harrowing. Yet, as you can imagine, Ouen was discharged for what he did, and passed at our home, from lyrium withdrawal.”

“I am sorry,” murmured the Commander. “That should never have happened.”

“It is done, and cannot be helped,” Touledy lamented. “But she could be. She arrived at my door, with her little group, to see my brother, and thank him for what he had done. She did not know he was gone.”

Touledy thought of that moment. It had been an ordinary day, despite all that was happening beyond the confines of their town. Then, strange visitors had arrived, her staff told her. But they knew Ouen, so Touledy had to see them.

When she entered the parlour, her world changed. She saw the face her brother had died for, and understood. The Baroness could have believed she was staring into a mirror, held up from the not so distant past.

The girl was so kind, and so sweet, and so grateful. Oh, how she had cried when Touledy had told her.

“I know this is nothing, compared to your pain,” she’d wept, “but he was as if a brother to me. I cannot remember the family I had before. He was the closest I had.”

The Baroness took her hand, in that moment. And she told her, “Then we are sisters.”

She closed her eyes now, to stop the tears of that day from falling anew. “Thallia, is her name,” Touledy told the Commander. “She wanted to repay the debt she saw herself as owing my brother, and volunteered to stay in Val Misrenne, as a healer. I said she owed nothing—but she was welcome to stay, they all were. She is the last I have of Ouen; to turn her away would be to dishonour his memory and sacrifice.”

“I understand,” said the Commander. A gentle tip of his head, and he kept them on a steady path. “People have fought for less.”

“Much less,” agreed Touledy. “She has delivered babies, healed the sick and injured. One of her compatriots is an ‘erbalist, who discovered a source of disease within our crops and eradicated it. When the Breach opened, a rift formed in Val Misrenne. With the last of my brother’s lyrium, they were able to seal it. If not for them—I cannot imagine…”

The mages had been celebrated, after that rift. Those who were cautious before were finally convinced. Parties were held across the town. No demons allowed in Val Misrenne!

Until the Red Templars arrived.

“It was a small band who first came,” Touledy explained. “They knew of my dislike of the Chantry, and thought perhaps we might ally against our common enemy. They wanted supplies, safe shelter if need be, and access to other nobility.”

The Baroness’ reply was predictably derisive.

“One of them was from my brother’s Circle. Tried to claim some kind of friendship, with him.” The Baroness chuckled. “Unlikely. But—he saw Thallia. He recognised her. He whispered to his fellows, and they left.”

“And then they staged their first attack?” asked the Commander.

“Yes,” Touledy confirmed. “They wanted the mages. Val Misrenne refused to capitulate.”

“I cannot imagine they liked their defeat.”

Touledy smiled. What a bittersweet victory it had been. “No. I do not know if they return simply to punish, or if they truly believe that, because we fought so hard to defend our people, that there must be something grander and more insidious going on. I think I do not care either way.”

The Commander sighed. “I doubt they do either.”

They neared a low wall, and the Baroness announced a sense of fatigue. The Commander rerouted, so that she might take a seat.

She rested her cane against the stone. “I will not bore you with details of the siege, as I assume that, if you have done your job correctly, you are already well aware of them. However, I can tell you that the mages plan to do the unthinkable.”

“What?”

“They wish to hand themselves over.”

The Commander shook his head. “The Red Templars will continue their attack regardless.”

“I know. I have tried to persuade them, but as the situation worsens, they become harder to convince.” She bowed her head. “I had wished to stay here, waiting for Lady Trevelyan… but Val Misrenne needs me. I must return.”

“And what of my troops?” the Commander asked.

The Baroness raised her head. “What of your troops?”

“I have a force arriving to the west of Val Misrenne.” He folded his hands behind his back, spine straight, shoulders squared—silhouetted by the rising sun. “They wait on your command.”

“What?”

“I had thought you would ask earlier, but I understand your hesitation—the association of the Inquisition with the Chantry is not ideal for Val Misrenne,” he went on, “but the Ambassador is seeing to it that the clerics hoping to leverage this situation are kept subdued, for now.”

Touledy stared up at him, bewildered—as bewildered as she imagined the other Ladies had been, in their encounters. “Your troops cannot be sizeable, if the Red Templars have not discovered them?”

“They are a discreet party, returning from the Western Approach.”

She shook her head. “Such a small force will do nothing but delay the inevitable.”

“As I have told you before, Inquisition troops know how to defeat a Red Templar.”

She insisted: “And as I have told you, they are not to be trifled with. Even trained soldiers struggle against their numbers.”

The Commander smiled. “The Inquisitor has proven quite capable of dealing with greater numbers than this before.”

The Baroness repeated his words, if only to ensure she had heard them correctly: “The Inquisitor?”

“The Inquisitor’s party happens to be travelling that way,” the Commander muttered, ridiculously coy, “and would be glad of a diversion, should Val Misrenne open its doors.”

Touledy rose, steadying herself upon her cane. “I cannot put the Inquisitor in danger.”

“The Inquisitor is always in danger.”

The Baroness shook her head—but not to refuse. She could never refuse. It was that she knew the betrayal she committed against Lady Trevelyan by accepting. But Lady Trevelyan would simply have to understand. She had no choice but to accept.

“Do it,” she told the Commander. “Please.”

“I’ll send word now,” he said, already turning to go—but Touledy called out to him:

“Wait!”

He stopped, and waited. She came to face him.

“Commander, while I am thankful for this, whatever the outcome; while I am thankful for what you have done for all the Ladies—this will not heal the rift between yourself and Lady Trevelyan.”

The Commander avoided her gaze, yet nodded.

“Lady Trevelyan claims insult on our behalf, yet the greatest injury this has caused is hers, and hers alone. She has never had a home, Commander. Never known that comfort, nor safety. Her parents do not want her, it seems, and the only other place she belonged to is destroyed.” Touledy sighed. “She believed she had found home, here. You have shattered that illusion.”

In mournful tones, he replied: “I know.”

“Then you know what you must do.”

“I do. I will try.”

The Baroness straightened, her usual composure finally returned. “I would wish you luck,” she said, “but, despite our conversation, I do not wish you to succeed.”

“Fair,” said the Commander.

“Let me know, as soon as you know anything.”

The Commander stepped away. “I will.”

[lyinginbedmon]

Fey and Archfey Familia

With two adorable little nephews running around, I've been on the search for something they can call me that isn't aunt, uncle, or kinnie (which I swear to god is legitimately the Best option I've found so far, yes they are actually that bad). I've sort of slipped into the role (partially by accident, partially very on purpose) of being construed as a changeling fey creature amongst the branches of the family tree.

Well, I've fleshed that idea out a little more and I'm giving it freely to any nonbeenies with little relatives to use.

Why?

Nonbinary people aren't a new thing by any means but cultural acceptance of us is still quite unsteady, and one of the most common questions (and thinly-veiled accusations) is "what are we going to tell our children?"

In answer to that, this approach uses a sense of whimsy and fantasy to help children understand that people who are different are perfectly fine and welcome and even healthy to have around in their family gatherings. In a nutshell, we're the weird ones in the family, and that's not only okay it can be really hecking cool.

It's not inspired by any one tale of fairies or pixies or whatnot from any one culture, and in places intentionally borrows from several to further the theme of friendly cooperative integration where appropriate.

What?

Fey and Archfey Familia (and other spellings & capitalisations of the same, I personally enjoy "fae" but use "fey" here for ease of child reading comprehension) are the visible emergence of ancient supernatural phenomena in a human bloodline. For some of them it's the result of long-forgotten pacts and contracts, for others its the result of distant intermingling, for others its just a spontaneous jerk reaction of nature re-asserting itself against the overwhelming human presence (a signal perhaps to say "don't forget, we're not leaving").

This phenomena manifests with individuals who, though seemingly human at first blanche, go against the grain of conventional human society in odd ways. Sometimes these are small clues you could blink and overlook for years at a time, and sometimes they're more overt, like a blatant eschewing or uncommon mixture of physical characteristics.

Most are joyful, even revelling in this differences that mark them out from the rest of their erstwhile family, though many similarly face difficulties with mental health and medical support. Cultures rarely thrive amidst colonists, and fey-kind likewise struggle to exist living amongst the civilisation of poor neighbours.

Importantly, though different, these fey are relatives within the bloodline. They are no less related to their kin than a relative who skipped the big ears gene or who goes to a different church. Some may describe themselves as changelings, implying they aren't truly related, but the actual practise of replacing children with fairies is a relic of myth.

Fey vs Archfey

Individuals are distinguished as either Fey Familia or Archfey Familia. There's not any concrete rulings on who gets to be what, but the Archfey Familia are usually the "elder" fey in one way or another, often those whose nature became more apparent further back than their peers.

It's important to note that whilst "archfey" has traditionally referred to an individual atop the court hierarchy, Archfey Familia are only such within their own clan (that is, every family may have one but they're not lord above all amongst their kind globally, which is reserved for the rarely-seen Archfey in Ordinary).

Every family can have multiple fey and archfey across multiple domains, without restriction. It can however be said that families more welcoming to good neighbour relatives tend to host more good neighbours amongst their ranks.

Domains and courts

Family fey are usually (though not always, more Fey Familia in particular tend to be non-court than Archfey Familia) attached to a particular domain or court of wisdom. This may be stories, or space, or the animal kingdom, etc. Different individuals in the same family are under no obligation to spring from the same source, nor adhere to the same presentations or courts.

This typically confers a degree of responsibility on the fey to educate and encourage curiosity in a given subject of study, but some are occasionally a little too caught up in their fixations to actually spend time teaching them. Though historical prejudice has cast the fey as trickster and even malevolent spirits, they were usually educators and helpers, though occasional misunderstandings did happen.

Essentially it's a signal to tell younger relatives "hey, here's someone you can talk to about X", providing a clear social function with which children can engage. Functionally, it serves to cite the relative as demonstration that it's okay to celebrate and enjoy things, and to show and exalt that enjoyment even into adulthood. It can also imply a sense of unity, by identifying a common pursuit amongst a group of relatives.

[talenlee]

Dissed Content

I produce media across about five major forms and three major platforms. You will find me posting regularly on Reddit, Youtube, Cohost, Mastodon at the Kind.Social instance. You can also find my games on itch.io and invincible ink, my shirts and stickers on redbubble, my behind-the-scenes development notes on patreon, and multiple podcasts I both perform on and edited and uploaded and maintained myself.

Over on Youtube, I make video essays, I translate my articles on games into a audiovisual format, and I do a lets play series with a cohost that involves playing the games and talking through the process of playing them together, while putting what we’re doing in context across the history of playing games.

Simply put, I do a lot of things.

Sometime this year, near the start, I resolved to stop calling it ‘content.’

Content is a term that evolved in our online spaces to refer to anything that you could do to fill the time that wasn’t explicitly not there to be enjoyed. The term is a marketing language term, where the ‘content’ was used to deliver ‘the product,’ which is to say, people would watch TV shows and when they were doing that, you could show them ads. Content is a term that has become part of common usage to refer to internet material that covers a host of broadcast platforms, even the ones that are meaningfully different and require different sets of integrated skills.

There’s this guy, Jim Davis, who serves up videos about Magic: The Gathering Arena. In that, he streams on Twitch, live, and interacts with his chat, engages live, and brings to bear his considerable expertise on how to play the game and improve at playing the game. Then, he takes those videos, and splits them up into smaller videos that he shares on Youtube, with a set of live editing behaviours. He sculpts how he performs so that it can be translated across the forms, and in the process, he’s doing two things at once.

It’s a really impressive skill!

Then some of those videos get cut up and made into shorts, and served on tiktok as well, because part of the point of being an online media maker in his specific form is you have to be everywhere and all forms of production are designed to sequence you back to the central base. I think this is really impressive and I like what he does, but I also know it involves a small team of people to do the different things that are part of capitalising on the skill he has that he wants to show people (how to play the game better and ways the game can be more interesting). There are editors and moderators and just people doing work that let him do this, and all of it and all of their work is quietly elided under ‘content.’

I think about this a lot every time I slip up and say aloud, the word ‘content’ to describe what I do.

Reason Three: Everything I Do Requires Different Skills

I am a video editor, sound engineer, script writer, improv performer, researcher, essayist, educator, mentor, game developer, games academic and low-key comedian. These are all distinct skills that it takes a lot to be very good at, and I think it’s important to underscore that I am not very good at all of them. But each of these skills is a thing I can develop individually, and each of them produces different rewards. Yes, they can all be referred to as ‘content creator,’ which puts a better handle on what I do, it’s not a cumbersome term, but the term serves to put what I do on the same level as what, say, Harris Bomberguy does, and also what James Somerton does – people who put wildly different types of effort into what they’re doing. When all three of us are put into the same space as broadly as that, the effect is to treat it as if all these skills are unified in their application and purpose and hide all the things that people do and have to do.

In my Jim Davis example, something he is incredible at is explaining a thought process aloud for playing a very challenging game, and he does it to a live twitch chat and to a community who aren’t there who can’t absorb the references from that twitch chat. That is a specialised skill, to both make a lesson immediate and particular while also ensuring that it is broad and communicable.

Some of my vidoes are off-the-cuff recordings of me where I process my feelings about the games I’ve played in my mind onto the record with very little editing. Some of it is highly scripted. These are two different skills, and the kinds of things they make are meant to serve different aims.

Reason Two: Content Flattens Meaning

If you treat all media that people make as ‘content’ you lose the ways those things are different. Reading my articles aloud makes it clear to me how much my rhetorical delivery plays into how the reading feels. My Carrion article and my Carrion video are not meant to be experienced the same way, and my reading of the video is not the normal way I read my articles. You can tell, because I did it differently.

Podcasts have a conversational, whimsical air. There’s shifting moods and diversity of position – I can have my mind changed live, or be shown I’ve made a mistake and step through that. Scripted articles are meant to be rigorous and clearly defined at the start of the presentation, which is all they are. Video essays are in many cases extremely slowly delivered powerpoint presentations after all.

And a powerpoint presentation has a different skill demand to it too! Which is just a preamble to the biggest reason I am trying to stop call my stuff ‘content’ and why I think you probably should to, if you can help it:

Reason One: I Don’t Show You Fucking Ads

All the stuff I put on the internet is, as far as I can tell, provided ad-free. My Youtube Channel is not monetised and should not show you advertisements. My itch games do not include ads, except for showing you my other games you might not know about. The media I serve to the internet is, by definition not ‘content’ because there is no product for it to deliver. What I am putting on the internet, with my own effort and blessedly paid for by my Patreon subscribers who are just paying as thanks for the stuff existing, is by the original usage ‘not content.’

When your work is content you are buying into the model of the advertiser. Even if you use advertisements like a twitch ad-shower, when you call your work content, you are doing it with a willingness to tell the advertisers that they get to define what your work is, and it is not focused on who you are.

This isn’t advice that I expect anyone to follow.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!