#well its hard to even say shes the god of justice when she seems to prioritize being cool or smthhh

[jils-things]

fontaine stuff blahblah

before the trial even started i was like. "watch. the twins are going to be not what they seem." AND I WAS RIGHTTTTTT OUUHHHHHH I DIDN'T THINK THEY'RE FATUI BRUHHHHH‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ I KNEW THEY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE KNAVE BUT NOT LIKE THISSSSSS

THE WHOLE COURT GIMMICK IS MY FAV FOREVER. IT GIVES ME SO MUCH ACE ATTORNEY AND DNGRNP VIBES ITS SOOOO 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

LIKE THISSSS FUCKS SEVERELY UGHHH the court record thing reminds me of aa so much and then the CRIME RECAP (SEE IMAGE) IS DEFINITELY THE CLOSING REMARKS FROM DNGRNP LIKE DHHDHFHDHDSS MY GOOUYDGHH I LOVE IT SO MUCH

MY HUMSS ASS IS SHAKING ‼️‼️‼️‼️

[ms-demeanor]

Knowledge Fight anon again - thank you for the list and recs! I look forwatd to checking them out. I was excited to see there's a West Wing podcast because I enjoyed that show, but yourself and the hosts hate it so maybe not for me lmao. Though I will still give the first episode a listen - very curious to understand why our feeligns about the show differ so vastly. And if you -want- to rant about why you hate TWW - feel free! I'm genuinely curious - I'm European, have never lived in the US, so for me it was one of the biggest tools of learning how US politics work, which made it absolutely fascinating to watch.

Anyways! I'll be looking at the other podcasts as well, they all seem very interesting, and the common-denominator format you describe them having does jive with me. Thanks again!

My very republican father and sister very much wish that all democrats would act like the democrats in the west wing. It's touted as a point of honor and a great example of compromise when Democrat Jed Bartlett appoints a republican justice to the Supreme court, any time there's an environmentalist or a union supporter on the show they're painted as extreme and uncompromising, in the later seasons the Jimmy Smitts character is running as a democrat on a pro-school-vouchers, anti-tenure/union (so anti-public school, basically) platform, the show as a whole is against entitlements (free college especially is something the ostensible dems in the show aren't even interested in enough to lament).

Idk at a certain point it gets frustrating to see anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-healthcare republicans being praised as the mature compromisers in the room with complicated motivations and good points when every time a leftist protest shows up it's a warehouse full of people without enough message discipline to talk to to cameras without erupting into a shouting match and getting brushed off as whiny babies by toby zigler.

"Oh, we need CJ to look a little loopy, let's have her agree with these cartographers who are pointing out that the mercator projection privileges the global north." "Oh we need to present something that's a ridiculous waste of money, how about a wildlife crossing that would prevent keystone species injuries in an area of urban incursion, that's bullshit that we shouldn't spend money on." "Oh, we want to explain why big pharma can't provide free HIV meds to african nations in 2003, let's suggest that it wouldn't matter even if they did because *Africans don't have clocks and can't take meds 12 hours apart.*" "this hollywood producer is pushing too hard for gay marriage in 2007, let's lecture him about how you need to slow down and respect the process instead of being an activist about it"

There's this interview with Aaron Sorkin where he's saying "America used to be the world's heroes, when my dad was a soldier people would say 'thank god, the Americans are here' and they don't say that anymore and it's because of Donald Trump" - Sorkin totally ignores US imperialism and the way that people in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan wouldn't say 'thank god, the americans are here' to an extent that is genuinely startling, and that shows up in the show. At one point in the show president bartlett okays the assassination of a foreign leader and says 'today we enter the league of ordinary nations' as though the US hasn't backed coups or assassination around the world, as though the CIA isn't a thing, as though Henry Kissinger isn't a thing, and it's *bizarre* from a show that is supposed to be politically aware.

I'm actually super hesitant to recommend the west wing thing to general audiences because i don't always agree with the hosts or their guests but as an analysis of the surprisingly right-leaning politics of the show it's a worthwhile listen.

It's honestly something i could rant about for way too long because I had early warning signs about it. My sister *loves* this show and its politics. She's got a "my president is Jed Bartlett" sticker that she keeps next to her signed copy of one of Ann Coulter's books. If my sister thinks your liberal character is reasonable and level headed and has good policy positions, your liberal character isn't all that liberal.

The show is steeped in American exceptionalism and imperialist apologia but it's got a tearjerker soundtrack and maybe the best and most charming cast ever assembled so you ignore it when CJ wants to brush off constitutional protections against illegal search and seizure or cruel and unusual punishment (she's a huge fan of cops and intelligence agencies and not a fan of oversight) or when she shits on affirmative action (she believes her father lost his dream job to a less qualified candidate who was selected due to minority status, and that that job loss led to his mental decline - CJ Craig thinks that DEI hiring practices killed her father) because Allison Janney is an incredibly talented and charismatic actress who is elevating the hell out of her character.

But, you know, it would be kind of fucked up if a Democrat president's chief of staff was cheerfully on-record about the fact that she thinks intelligence agencies are more effective when nobody knows what they're doing so we should leave them to their own devices.

Thank you for the opportunity to rant i cannot fucking stand this show and i kind of want to do an episode-by-episode breakdown of various flavors of bullshit but there are much better things to do with my time so i don't but it's nice to have a chance to yell about the stuff that makes me crazy off the top of my head.

That said: if you want a podcast that is less vitriolic but does actually get into how parts of the US political system work, check out 5 to 4, which is a podcast by 3 lefty lawyers talking about Supreme Court decisions. It's great!

[that1geek06]

Hello!

Could you write something with teen!reader and the Avengers where reader got in a fight with his sibling, says something he regrets, and then the Avengers encourage him to apologize and tell reader that he's not a horrible person?

That would be awesome. If you can't, no worries! I'm excited to see what your writing style is like.

Have a good day/night

-V

AHHHH OMG YESS I love this idea, I had a big fight with my sibling not to long ago so lets see how this goes, I hope I do your daydream justice, this is my first one so I'm sorry if its absolute garbago 😭 ANYWAYS enjoyy

-SIBLING RIVALRY-

Avengers X Teen! Male! Reader (Platonic)

Warnings- Angst (I'm not entirely sure how warnings go so pls lmk if I missed one)

Y/N sat at the dining room table, the sound of the ticking clock seeming to make his nerves even more on edge then they were. He grips the roots of his hair tightly as he stared at all the study guides and previous home work assignments, hoping that it will all be engraved into his brain by this coming Monday.

He sighs heavily, finals week was always the worst especially since he has his internship on the line with these scores. Now don't get it wrong Y/N wasn't like Peter Parker, using the internship as a cover for the teen hero to help and slowly join the Avengers. No, Y/N was just a normal kid, sure he was smarter than most but he wish he could just focus on training and hacking rather than why Avogadros number was still accurate when being used in modern day chemistry.

While sitting there the front door opens, and his older sister walks in. Y/N pays no attention his head not even moving up to see who entered which he knows Nat would say is an ignorant move.

"Its nice to see you too Y/N, and thanks for asking, my day was just fantastic, how about you?" Sarah said sarcastically, standing on the other side of the table and watching with a raised brow as she waited for a response.

He mumbled a fine in response, eyes never wavering from their focus on the many papers. In which his sister scoffs, "I get your stressing about these tests but you could show a bit of respect you know."

"Please stop bothering me Sarah I'm trying to focus.." Y/N says dryly, ignoring the oldest comment.

"I would just like to actually get some attention from you, I barely see you because of our schedules and your always to busy now a days-"

"Oh my god, what is so hard to understand about the words Stop. Bothering. Me. I'm trying to focus." He snaps back, finally looking up at her with an annoyed glare. To which Sarah gives one back.

"Well sorry if I come home and I want to talk to the only family I have." Y/N scoffs at her words, "Oh so now your trying to guilt trip me."

She straightens her stance and takes a deep breath, "I just want-"

"No, just shut up, SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE! GODDAMN CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO SEE I HAVE A GOOD LIFE INSTEAD OF ENDING UP WITH SOME WAITRESS JOB AND IN A SHITTY APARTMENT! I NEVER ASK YOU TO TAKE ME IN AND HONESTLY I WISH YOU NEVER DID!" He looks up and sees his sister just staring at the ground and he scoffs, "You're not even going to listen to a word I say like normal! Whatever I'm wasting my breath. I'm going to the tower where people know how to leave me alone when I'm busy."

He quickly grabs his papers, stuffing them into his bag and storming out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N finally makes it to the Avenger tower and heads straight to the elevator, using his keycard to get to the upper floors.

You see, while he wasn't a hero he was still close to the team, his talent made him stand out in the lad and Tony Stark himself took an interest and introduced him to the team. Since then he's been surprisingly close the Earth's mightiest hero's.

The elevator opens to the Avengers living area, Bucky and Steve sitting on the long couch watching an old 80s movie that was still on the list of things to catch up on.

He stomps through the room, going to the empty kitchen area and taking a seat, dropping his book bag and immediately going back to studying.

Bucky and Steve share a questioning look with each other. But before they could say anything Tony and Nat walk in, both were somehow roped into the binging with the super soldiers.

"What's up with sour face over there?" Tony teases, eating a handful of freshly popped popcorn as he takes a seat on the couch.

Steve shrugs, "He just walked in like that, we aren't sure what's wrong."

The 4 of them watch as Y/N's face slowly changes from anger to guilt. His attention seeming to not even be on his work.

Bucky pauses the show and stands, walking over to the sulking teen as the others follow. They all take a seat at the table, concerned and wondering what was the matter.

"You alright kid?" Bucky asks with a worried expression.

Y/N looks away, feeling his eyes start to water as he shook his head. "I think I screwed up, big time." He says in a wobbly voice.

Natasha gives a small encouraging smile, "I'm sure it can't be that bad, why don't you tell us, maybe something can be worked out."

The rest nod in agreement but Y/N just keeps shaking his head. "No, there's no fixing this, I...I was really stressing about my studies and my sister came home. She didn't even do anything wrong she just wanted to talk."

He takes a deep breath, voice shaking as he tries to hold in his emotion, "I wasn't thinking straight and I yelled at her. I told her to shut up, how I wanted a better life than her and I wished she didn't take me in. I didn't mean it at all...I'm such a shitty brother."

Y/N's shoulders slump as he sits there, regretting everything he did.

"Listen kid, I know you think nothing will make what you did better but she's your sister for a reason, sure you made her feel bad-" Steve hits Tony's shoulder at those words, glaring at him before he goes on, "But she'll forgive you in the end, you just have to tell her your sorry."

The 4 look at Tony in surprise and he rolls his eyes, "I get I don't a lot but is me giving this advice really that unbelievable?" Y/N smiles at that, looking at them all while thinking.

"...Do you really think she won't hate me for it?"

He asks softly. Steve smiles and puts a comforting hand on the teens shoulder. "We know she won't."

With a new sense of determination, Y/N stands and grabs his things. Swinging his bag onto his shoulder, "Then I'll go do it now." He heads to the elevator and calls it up. While waiting he looks over at the 4 Avengers, a grateful look in his eyes.

"Thank you, for the advice and everything." He says, and Natasha smirks at him, "They call us hero's for a reason." Y/N laughs, and enters the elevator, the doors slowly close as he starts heading down. Ready to make things right.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bucky looks over at Tony, an angered look on his face. "So are you going to take your own advice and apologize for turning my shampoo into pink hair dye?"

Steve and Natasha starts laughing as Tony groans, "Number one it was temporary so don't get those super soldier panties of yours in a twist, and number two, I'm not apologizing for something as funny as that."

Bucky lunges at Tony who quickly jumps out of his seat and starts running. He was determined to get that apology, even if he had to squeeze it out of the cocky bastard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I HOPED YOU LIKED IT, I enjoyed how it came out, let me know what you goobers thoughtt,

[justaghostingon]

God Games: A master class in Character Depth

An analysis of God Games from Epic the Musical

Handling Characters is hard, especially when u have only a few lines in a song to establish an entire personality, while sharing it with five other new characters. Where most would result in sterotypes or flat characters, Epic the musical manages to make its gods seem developed and three dimensional, and act it does by deliberately playing against audience expectations.

In the modern era, Greek mythology is fairly mainstream, thanks to works like Percy Jackson. The gods in god games, Apollo, Hephestis, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hera, are all well known, with established canon. Even if u don’t pay attention to greek mythologu if u can help it, u prob know thr basics like Hera getting mad at Zeus and his (often unwilling) affair partners, Aphrodite as the goddess of love who is always causing problems, or Ares as the brash god of war. Epic the musical knows this. Its expecting you, who have listened for this long, to be familiar with the core myths, and so builds off what you already know by subverting expectations.

Beginning at the first solo with Apollo, famous for music and the sun, we see this begin. Now arguably Apollo is the least well known of the bunch, so he has to establish himself in the opening “you all know im a fan of catchy songs.” But what fasinates me is what he doesn’t say. Now im not a hundred percent certain if Apollo and Helios have been merged in Epic the musical, since in Mutiny they don’t to my knowledge mention the sun god’s name, but its implied to be apollo. Apollo’s friends, the immortal cows, have been killed by Odysseus’s crew, but Apollo doesn’t hold a grudge against that. He doesn’t even mention it. Instead he focuses on the sirens, who most would consider monsters, and argues for their personhood by denouncing their massacre: “with so many siren’s gone, i think ody’s in the wrong” Athena backs up this personhood established by Apollo by never once acusing them of being less human than Odysseus, only arguing that they struck first. She even claims it will teach the other sirens to be more cautious, which ultimately wins Apollo over. Taken together, this paints Apollo as far more than a flippant singer, but rather someone who does not hold the actions of others against Ody, and instead sees personhood in those who are often denied it. He is just and compassionate, and it is through appealing to both his sense of justice and compassion that Athena wins.

Next is Hephestis, blacksmith of the gods. Although his birth of being thrown off olympus by Zeus for being ugly and subsequently working his way back up is fairly well known, his most common myth is his marriage to Aphrodite and her subsequent cheating on him. Hephestis in god games shows signs of being burned by this betrayal, focusing on thr work it takes to trust someone. “trust is not given its forged” In asking why he should help someone who “sacrified his own cohort” he is essentially asking why he should help someone like aphrodite and Zeus, who were willing to turn their backs on those that trusted them for their own petty gain. Athena then refutes this by reminding Hephestis of the differences in Odysseus’s story and his own. Odysseus was betrayed first, and thus has thr right to act, as Hephestis once did when he literally caught Aphrodite and Ares cheating in a golden net and left them that way for all the gods to laugh at them. To close the deal, Athena reminds Hephestis that Odysseus still has people who trust and miss him, and he has thr opportunity to rebuild, just as Hephestis himself has had to do, thus winning his support.

Aphrodite marks the beginning of the most famous trio introduced in this song. Most listeners already know her as the frivolous god who pushes romantic above everythinf, even to the people’s own detriment. Just look at the mess she made with Helena and Paris! Aphrodite herself is well aware of her reputation, calling Athena out for judging her, “little miss high and mighty.” But her beef with Odysseus is not for his rejection of Calypso or even Circe, but rather his mother’s suffering. The focus on the platonic love between mother and son reveals another side to her character, that she is representing other types of love as well, especially that of women who are so often forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Even Athena overlooks Aphrodite’s point, claiming that Odysseus’s war was a justifablr reason to overlook it. However Aphrodite stands her ground, pointing out how his proud snd unnecessary actions are the reason he could not get back to his mother in time “more like busy spiting the cyclops” Athena seems to realize this in the end, switching her tune to a gentler one to match Aphrodite’s before she is intrupted. In the end, it is the reminder that “a broken heart can mend” and i suspect the mention of Odysseus’s son that sway her. Unlike his mother, Odysseus has a chance to mend his son’s broken heart, a goal Aphrodite is willing to release him to meet.

Ares interuption establishes two things about him right up front. First that he is every bit the brash, dangerous god he’s known as, and to establish he has his own sense of honor, which disaproves of Athena changing her tone to sway Aphrodite “really athena? These old tricks.” His following rant about Odysseus leaving his friends to die without even trying further establish his worldview. He’s not mad at Odysseus for failing against Cyilla, he’s mad he “held back” his power and “didn’t even try.” Much like Uncle Ben, Ares believes with great power comes great responsibility. By Odysseus “holding back” he fails in his responsibility as a leader anf a warrior. In Ares eyes, every fight should be fair, face to face instead of using tricks, a proper test of skill and power. To hold back power or to resort to trickery is in his mind the same as having none leading to the comparison with Odysseus’s son. It is here he makes his misstep. By calling someone Athena values as weak, he is escentually calling Athena weak, giving her the opportunity to call him out This briefly gives Athena the upper hand, “hold your tongue now, his son’s my friend!” Which she uses to both finish her arguement with Aphrodite, “tell your lover,” and remind Ares that despite his actions in the past, Odysseus in not going to hold back anymore, not against the men camped out in his palace harrassinf his wife and kid. This ultimately causes both Aphrodite and Ares to agree, though nether is fully convinced.

The final battle of wits is against Hera, the queen of thr gods herself. In most common myths, Hera comes across as bitter and petty, lashing out at the unfortunate women her husband takes advantage of (and their hero children) instead of her husband. But God games hera instead stands aloof, almost omnipotent. “So many heroes, so many tales” she reminds Athena that to her, Odysseus (and even Athena herself) is mearly a story character, one of thousands of stories she has seen. Why should she interfere? What makes this story different? “Give me one good reason why yours should prevail.” Hera isn’t impressed by any of Odysseus’s accomplishments or skills: “he’d got the mind of a genius, try harder.” What matters to her, (and what i suspect Athena knew from the getgo would be her trump card) is the marriages she is the goddess of, and the faithfulness even her own godly husband is incapable of. “Never once has he cheated on his wife.” In bringing up this fact, in making it personal, Athena turns Odysseus from a character in a story hera is tired of, to one she is rooting for, thus winning her support.

All in all, i think god games did an excellent job of handling these five gods’ introductions. The depth of character is truely impressive.

And if u don’t know what im talking about, look up god games on youtube, they’ve got some beautiful animatics.

[bonefall]

What are the four seasonal gods like generally? Sol seems to just be A Little Bit Chaotic, Midnight is said to be benevolent, but what about Rock and One Eye? (I know One Eye requires sacrifices? But ig that wouldn't necessarily make him malicious? Idk fsgcghdfj)

I'd like to learn more in general! Gods and mythology go brrrrr

ALL of them can actually take sacrifices, it just so happens that only Sol and One Eye have actually done it in the timeframe of BB.

It doesn't HAVE to be blood either, it can be anything of value. Sol and One Eye are just like that.

SOL

He gets bored easily.

It's not that he's evil, he's just self-absorbed. Everything is about having fun.

He really was a pretty terrible god, though. Fallenleaf comes to learn his services are in high demand, and he was really needed.

You might think he's vengeful, but he's not. If you beat him according to the rules they agreed on, that's winning fair and square.

I feel like he feels kind of bad he abandoned Harry so quickly, like he knows it was a dick move and he kiiiiinda doesn't want to think about it.

Something about him is more mortal than anyone realizes, but even I'm not sure how. He's strange compared to other gods, as if he didn't lose himself in the ascension to godhood.

Ironic for a God of Change.

MIDNIGHT

Is lonely. So lonely.

She can give you eternal life, but no one ever takes it. Why does no one ever take it?

But she's too nice to overstay her welcome or defy a request. And too cowardly to explore the world and find more people who leave eventually.

So she just stays in her den by the ocean, hosting all who pass through.

Minds her own business and draws cats to her as visitors.

Fallenleaf liked her at first, but has actually grown a negative view of her. Midnight wants something and won't go get it, using her immense power to just stare at the ocean.

What a waste!

I feel like she keeps a distance from mortals because she feels like she has some kind of obligation to not interfere. Besides, what good is a god no one wants to visit?

Shouldn't people WANT to go out of their way to seek her wisdom??

(And then she drags them towards her anyway lmao. Actually a very funny character. I have thoughts about her)

ONE EYE

He likes to see what words people use for him.

He likes to see what people call upon him, too.

This entity is not one who forces himself upon the land. He simply comes when he is called and they call him evil. Another one of his many names, he says.

At leaaaast... that's what he says. He is a VERY vindictive being when he feels slighted. If you declare war upon him, he will finish it.

"Scorched Earth" translates directly.

He can be incredibly cordial though. Surprisingly so. I actually have been thinking of having him visit each Clan in Thunderstar's Justice, meeting with its leaders, testing who would be his greatest partner.

During Hollyleaf's Century, Lion's Roar summoned him with a certain number of sacrifices.

But once One Eye moved into his body as a vessel, he didn't let go.

He was still using Lion's Roar as a vessel in DOTC. Lion's Roar had lost all control of his body, practically hollowed out.

I have a really clear feeling of his personality but it's hard to put into words. He's charming. He's well-spoken. His words smell like roses and sound like trickling blood. He asks to be invited and refuses to leave. If you offend him he will destroy you. He is interested in you. He watches hungrily like a snake.

And he ate Tom, partially because he was delicious, but primarily because he was a disobedient and disrespectful rat who did not know his place.

Star Flower is expected to know her place, too. She serves him. He is kind to her, and she loves him, but if she has to give up her life for him-- he expects her service.

As a god of war, sun, and fire, he's every bit as dangerous as you think he is.

You don't kill Gods. You trick them. Sun Shadow tricked him, seeing his body was unstable, and challenged,

"You are not the sun. Behold the sun that shines above us! It is there and you are here!"

"Haa. Your taunt shall not work. I am the sun and I shine just as bright."

"You do not shine now. I see no shine."

"Then behold!"

And that's how Sun Shadow got the guy to explode himself inside his shitty battered vessel LMAO

I have this full story in my head I just need to write it out tbh.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

ROCK

He wants to be left alone. He does not like you

He wasn't always this way. He is a god of measurement, archival, the night sky, memory. Quintessence and moonbeams, that which subsisteth, and what seems.

And once upon a time, he hosted a trial for those who wished to be his temporary vessels. Going down into the tunnels wasn't a trial for ALL warriors, just those who sought his ancient knowledge.

Once upon a time, he believed that the purpose of knowledge was to be shared, but only to those who would do right with it. He chose his vessels carefully and benevolently.

But what happened in Hollyleaf's Century changed him. It killed him. A selfish tyrant, the actions of her opposition, the senseless destruction of the victorians humans...

And then his vessel, Jay's Wing, was murdered. He felt him die and he couldn't save him; he's just a god of truth. Not of affecting it.

He's kinda got Sotha Sil vibes. His last big action was burying his vessel and casting a great spell upon a patch of Old Growth forest in what's now ThunderClan; the humans did not see it for many years, as if it simply wasn't important.

When the illusion faded, the humans simply believed they had not noticed it, or had underestimated its size.

Funfact: humans have big brains and lots of meat and are easy to disorient. That patch has a reputation for confusing people, hikers get lost there a lot.

Doesn't like people. Especially doesn't like Sol or Fallenleaf, refusing to distinguish that they are two different entities.

"You won't be, eventually. No I won't help you avoid that fate. Fuck you"

Has a softness for Jayfeather in particular and no one else. He would have let Hollypaw and those kits drown if he wasn't part of the group, that day.

But also Jay knows how to annoy him. If it wasn't for the fact he was the reincarnation of his beloved and tragically killed Final Vessel, he would have let him drown long ago.

Lightly malicious, in a way. Doesn't value mortal life. Mean.

Kinda ironic that Jay's reincarnation is more like Rock in this life than he is to Jay's Wing. Rock would lament that his influence has ruined him.

[greengamernoob]

Time for a bit of FFXIV speculation :

I realize that a bulk of FFXIV players have already completed the whole of the story arc ( probably more than one time ) so please don't hold it against this 🌱 while I think-out-loud about my feelings towards the story so far even if I'm still experiencing ARR.

( also pls no spoilers, but I appreciate encouragement and assurance my questions will get answered. Lol )

Somethings have been picking at my brain since I encountered them. One of which is when the Amal'Jaa are surprised we do not fall to tempering stating our "soul must belong to another" and then Ifrit himself says that while he can see we do not already serve a primal that the paragons warned the Primals about the godless-blessed one's aborrent existence. Does that mean that while we may or may not be tempered by a primal we are controlled/ guided by some 'other' thing outside the paragons or the 12. If we are being Guided/controlled by what we don't quite understand but is big enough or strong enough for the paragons & primals to worry about —- should we be worried about its overall motive & can it truly be benevolent and omniscient with that much power? Does it seek to follow through with its own agenda regardless of the plight of others.

The reason I say this is because of another encounter that seems to stick in my mind. A point in which Y'stola chastises Merlwyb for breaking the treaty with the Kolbolds. She basically says and has a solid point (that I had already thought of before this scene) when she tells Merlwyb that this constant war with the Kobolds was of her own doing in letting Lominsans break the treaty. The kolbolds are just defending themselves. Or course there is an a back and forth that ensues but the point being both Merlwyb and the Kobolds are doing what they believe to be right for justice sake and for the sake & safety of their people.

I extrapolated this further. What makes us, the scions, so sure that what WE are doing is right? Because a giant crystal says so? We kill gods/primals and move against another society that perhaps (outside of their military) could possibly be wanting freedom and peace like those of Eorzea do. What of the Garlemald society? They can't be all military. Its not hard to believe that there are some suffering at our hands because of what their military decided to do, not them. I guess essentially what I'm saying is, how are we so certain we are not falsely lead to believe what we do is just and right when what we do is kill gods/primals, murder tribes on sight because of who they are and pushing our agenda on them. There is point where there is a kobold says that those of their community at war with us do not represent the whole of their society. … and I hear that the crafting questline with the different tribes show us that not all of the their race want to fight. So is it hard to reason that perhaps not all Ishgardians hate dragons? That not all dragons hate the elezen. That not all Garleans follow their military and that perhaps what we perceive as right may only be a perspective of one cosmologic being with enough power to have us believe in what they want?

on top of the fact that the Ascians say ' if we knew more, that we wouldn't be fighting with them.... that we would basically understand’ ... leaves me feeling 🤯

What the hell is going on? I know mother crystal is our main guide... but tbh I'm feeling pretty sus about things and honestly the motives of Hydaelyn. I realize they are presenting her as a mothering ‘goddess’ but I’ve always been the type of kid to ask “why”

The answer of ‘just because’ … ‘because I said so’….. ‘because this is how it’s always been done’ ….. ‘because I’m the boss’…..

Has NEVER sat well with me. As a kid or now. With my parents, with teachers, with management or upper level bosses. I need to know the why, the motives, the implications or consequences, the benefits. I need this information because the end does not always justify the means. Especially if on a core level I disagree with it and feel there is an alternate route.

That probably says more about me then I intended but yeah… lol

... anyhow.... thank you for letting me just babble on about the beginning of this ( I'm sure to be ) wild ride we all know and love called FFXIV.

:::: Newbie rant over ::::

[rottencoreofalpes]

omg yes I cant shut up about tetro to the homies... I feel bad but like,,,,, tetro,,,, pls,,, tetro..... anyways what are your thoughts on this weeks videos? I think this has definitely marked a tone shift, not necessarily that the tone hasn't been there already but its been definitely been empahsized! I'm mourning who we've lost but gosh its suuuppeerrr hype I'm so excited for more! any predictions you've got? for who the killer is or for any future plot lines!

LOL. I SAW YOUR OTHER ASKS AND IT'S ALRIGHT.

Tetro brainrot is about all of it. I just wanted to talk more about staffside since it haunts my day...!

But I don't mind answering this question.

Spoilers for CH3 under:

First of all, I agree wholeheartedly about the tone shift...and I'm digging it. Don't get me wrong, I love how much more lighthearted student side is compared to staffside, but I'm a sucker for painful and angsty stories and oh god.

The murders? Amazing. I love how brutal Kamimura's death was. It hurts my soul on a completely different level. Especially when I think about how distrustful he was towards everyone and how he was slowly opening up to more people (Hayashi, Tamba).

I can't imagine how terrible all this feels for Ken. Ken and Kamimura hit it off pretty early and their relationship was just so great! They had great chemistry be it a friendship or maybe a future romantic relationship.

So seeing his friend who he ALWAYS worried about (according to ken's interview) and who he listed as the second most likely to be targeted must STING.

I'm really worried for Ken and how he will deal with this.

Moving on to Tsuno. Omg. Tsuno.

Tsuno Manami. She wasn't a character that I focused greatly on, but I did enjoy her dynamic with many characters. Especially the one she had with Hiroaki, since she seemed to be most comfortable with putting down the cheerful mask she usually had on around him. Her talk with Hiroaki hurts so much worse now that she passed away.

Recent threads from the staff were discussing her and that drove the point harder for me. I think despite liking Kamimura more as a character, Tsuno's death hit me harder.

I just loved her death and how we got to see it on screen! The voice acting was phenomenal and the way she didn't say anything after getting impaled djdododo.

It seemed as if she didn't see that coming and that hurt her a lot!

Now moving on to Okazaki, who is my main suspect (unfortunately). DUDGDUSUSU.

I think I have been very outspoken about what I think of Okazaki (in the server). Im an okazaki apologist lol(mostly joking, cause i love wada a lot as well...and it is very hard to have to pick sides between the two.)

While I do know that what Okazaki did to Wada is wrong, and while I did wish for Wada to get justice over that... I mainly felt the need to defend Okazaki cause the most of the fandom views her and decides to dub her as evil.

I don't think labeling someone evil is that simple. Humans are just not that black and white. I also hate that many people seem to think Okazaki is cold and that she does not care for anyone, even Watari.

What Okazaki thinks of Watari was solidified to me in Thanatophobia which is my no1 fav episode of Tetro ever, followed closely by BDA4 and then Right Hand.

But yeah, slay Okazaki... I was kinda rooting for her to be a ch5 blackened and to manage and win the trial, but oh well, don't i love getting my dreams shattered?

[imauthicktic]

Just read the Leo one and OHOHOHOHO love your style!! If it's ok, could I request an oneshot for dbd Wesker with a kinda new survivor reader who is very persistent. No matter how many times they die or get tunneled they always try to save everyone or try to give a hard time to Wesker (even if they dont really know how to do that yet) and the match where they finally manage to escape, but insteand of being mean they smile and say how well Wesker did before going back to the camp.

OMG thank youuuu <333

I've never followed Wesker much so I hope I did him some justice!! I've seen the movies but its been a while lol.

Anyways... Here's the short scenario I made for you!!

Made this a gender-neutral reader as well.

Description: the reader is super persistent in trying to help their friends and always manages to best Wesker.

Wesker x gn!reader

Again… again… and again. You constantly try to be one step ahead of Wesker during trials. He’s tired of you always managing to be out of reach even when you’re grabbing someone off a hook, you slip right between his fingers. He’s losing his patience and you never seem to grow tired of always playing the hero. He sees how often you take care of the other survivors and most of them return the favor, but there’s always the select few that are too much of a coward to help you when you do so much for them. If he didn’t find you so annoyingly admirable he would do his best to torture you outside of trials. 

You were in your third consecutive trial at the moment and quite frankly you’re getting tired. You weren’t here for very long. Only recently being brought to this realm. You were always a caring person before the Entity grabbed you. You were a trauma nurse in the military before you were here. Being brought here didn’t change the way you care for others in the trial. 

You were helping Adam with a generator when all of a sudden it exploded. You jumped back with a yelp. Going around the generator you grab Adam and start running.Hearing a scream in the distance and without a moment of hesitation you run towards it. “(Y/N), go ahead and grab them. I'm going to try and find another generator and fix it so we can get out of here.” Adam yelled behind you. You turned and waved your hand in acknowledgement and continued towards the scream. You turn the corner and see Jane on the hook. She sees you and sighs in relief and then winces the next second. “Thank god (Y/N), get me off this thing.” You quickly get to work and grab her off the hook. 

Little did you know Wesker was waiting for you to grab her, giving him enough time to grab you once she runs off. His plan worked out a little too well, because here you were, in his grasp. “It’s about time I get my hands on you, rat.” Wesker spit out. You’re turned around in his grasp and you’re face-to-face with him. “Well… if it isn’t my favorite person.” You chuckle with a little tremble in your voice. He sneered and threw you over his shoulder. You’re kicking trying to get off. You always thought about what you would do if you were finally caught by him. 

You thought he was a bit handsome and always wondered what was under those glasses of his… Looks like it’s time to find out. You pushed yourself up quickly and toppled over onto the ground. There was no way he was going to try and struggle with you. He can just grab you again. What he didn’t expect was for you to grab him by his shoulders and take him to the ground with you rolling on top of him with strength he didn’t know you possessed. You quickly grabbed his glasses and ran off with a giggle and a loud “Gotchya glasses.” 

You heard the hatch open as you were running away at top speed. You dropped a palette, which you knew got Wesker as he nearly roared in anger. You kept pushing forward and as soon you saw the gate you powered through and pushed forward. You had to hurry, the gate was about to close… so close, you let out a little yell as you slide underneath the gate as it closes, just to look up and see Wesker on the other side. You stand up and put your hands up as you face him.

“Good run today, Wesker. You got my blood pumping in just the right way.” you wink. He has the smallest smirk on his face as you walk closer to the gate and look him in the eyes. You grab his glasses and reach over to put them back on his face. For some reason, he let you. Not before grabbing your wrist with a firm hand, his tentacles wrapping around your arm and gently poking your cheek. “I won’t let what happened today happen again, little mouse.” You gave a small laugh, “Sure thing, hot stuff.” He had already unwrapped himself from your arm and walked back into the fog. 

You look forward to dealing with him again, you smiled and walked towards the survivors camp. Little did you know you are marked territory after that match.

I hope you liked it! Lmk what yall think!!

Requests are open!!

[tokyogruel]

For the milgram ask game, Kotoko for 6, 8, 12, and 19!!! :3

6. favorite relationships with another character in the prison?

its so cliche to say mahiru i think but truly- mahiru. theyve got such a playful relationship and the way mahiru talks so sweetly to/about kotoko makes my heart melt.

and ive been thinking a lot more about her with shidou... they dont directly interact, but theyre fun to think about... shidou "im left to clean up the aftermath of your actions" vs kotoko "i dont care if youve been overly-forgiven by the warden, i will not let you get in the way of justice" also... 5 + 10? YELLS

what is your theory for their crime? if there is general consensus on it in the fandom, do you have any other, not-so-widely-accepted thoughts on it?

i feel like kotokos crime is pretty straight forward: vigilante justice carried out as vigilante justice usually is; poorly and with grave consequence

and hm... my thoughts on it.. well, i definitely dont think vigilante justice is good, ever. one person should never be judge, jury, and executioner. but with kotoko... i want to know more about WHY she is driven towards vigilante justice.. what has driven her so far to the point where she is willing to burn all her bridges, distance herself from others, spend her hard-earned money and drop out of school for the chance to kill someone she deems to be a bad person- even though she risks going to prison after the first time she ever draws blood? why is she risking so much, for so little?

12. what do you wish would be discussed more often about them in the fandom?

god. anything and everything. kotoko is very widely ignored by fans unless they are interested in her, specifically. and it sucks! she is such a weird character, but such a good character. you say you dont care about others, yet you claim you want to protect the weak, but if they get in your way regardless you will crush them. what drives you? what happened to you to make you think like this? why are you so back-and-forth?? i also want to see more people talk about how she potentially has DID, its one of my favorite theories. i want to see more discussion on the wolf-theming, and why her headspace seems to be a barren desert. i want people to talk about how, even if she does terrible things- she is not beyond saving, there is a kind and gentle heart hidden away under her layers of fear and trauma.

but i do wanna ask a few questions to the audience, and let you all take a moment to stew on her character before deep cover...

what do you think happened in her past to push her to believe vigilante justice should be her path?

what do you think drives her to focus on the specific targets she has in harrow?

why do you think kotokos victim looks so much like fuuta?

who do you think the 3 different girls are in harrow? do you believe one of them may be kotoko herself?

what could she possibly gain from draining her life savings on a false sense of justice?

why do you think she actively pushes away any sense of connection in her life?

in regards to her family members, why do you think she mentions these specific people, in this specific order? (for your reference, her family interrogation answer is thus: (taken from the milgram wiki)

19. what do you think their childhood/teenage years were like?

bad. LMAO. i think she went through a majorly traumatic event as a child, and she's largely blocked it out of her memory, but it still drives her actions today. i wont go into detail on it now, because i fear it would be very very triggering for others (and deserves its own, carefully-written post), but i believe her past may consist of the following: child abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking

edit: as for her teenage years, i think this is when she really started to self-isolate. she probably didnt have many friends to begin with, and pushed the remaining ones away at this point. she probably dove head-first into her vigilante research first, and her studies second, and everything else beyond that was just noise to her

[cookinguptales]

OH right, Blue Beetle!

I really enjoyed it! I've been a fan of Jaime Reyes for a long time and I honestly never believed he'd get his own movie. And?? Such a good one???

I worried going into it that he looked too cool in the trailers. Is that weird to say? I loved dorky baby teenager Jaime when I was a kid. He felt like One Of Us, y'know? And then I watched the trailers and I was like "hmmmmmm."

But even though he's a bit older in this movie and has his shit together a little more, he's still very much Jaime Reyes at heart. 💙 Love that weird little dork of a man that always means so well, even if he doesn't always know what to do. And I found myself rooting for him so hard!

The movie was overall just really charming and fun and occasionally emotionally devastating. A good mixture of action, character relationships, humor, and politics, imo. The characters were so endearing, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how things develop going forward.

A few more thoughts (with spoilers) beneath the cut.

I was actually a little surprised by how sad parts of the movie were, but it felt right, too. The heart of the movie really was the simultaneous power of familial love and horror of family separation. Family separation really seemed to affect all the characters in their own ways, whether that was due to corporate greed, politics, war, racism, or just good-old-fashioned horrific US policy.

Like... You come to realize that it really permeated every part of the movie. Alberto's devotion to his family, the years he put into bringing them all to Palmera City. The very real fear that going to the cops would invite an unfair immigration investigation into their household. Jenny losing her parents at such a young age, and the sharp divide between her and her aunt. Jaime's family loss as well. Carapax's truly fucked-up backstory. Hell, even divisions being sown between Victoria Kord and her brother when her father gave the company to Ted instead of the person who'd built it.

(Don't get me wrong, Victoria Kord was truly evil, child soldiers and all. I was not rooting for her. But lbr, that doesn't seem to be why her equally war-mongering father cut her out of the company. You have to wonder if she would have done quite so much damage in the end if she hadn't felt such a virulent need to prove herself and destroy her brother's pacifistic legacy. But! Who knows? She might have been even worse if she'd had all that power from the beginning.)

And, y'know, all of the characters deal with the horror of family separation in different ways. Carapax became weaponized by an imperialistic power that didn't give one shit about him. Victoria became embittered, violent, and downright brutal. And Jaime could have gone the same way, so furious over the loss of his own family that he gave into wanton destruction as well -- but Khaji Da didn't let him. (WAILING.) Instead, he managed to take the same route as Jenny: transmuting his rage into a need for justice, into a passion for making the world better so no one else would lose their loved ones the same way.

Y'all, I was in there crying at a superhero movie!!! IT'S FINE, I'm FINE.

I heard that the creator of the movie hadn't actually initially intended for Alberto to die (which I understand, tbh) but I did think it was really beautiful the way it was incorporated into the movie. Bringing Mexican culture to the foreground yet again in its discussions about and attitudes toward death. God, those candles were beautiful. ;;

I mean -- as someone who literally dropped all of my DC subs the day they "fixed" Oracle and never gave DC another cent until this movie came out, I really am passionate about the need for diverse heroes. Part of the reason I felt like I was getting emotional in that theater was because I remembered how much Oracle meant to me as a young disabled teen who couldn't make sense of her trauma or her disability or her inherent power. I remember how much losing the only positive role model I had devastated me.

And like... I want kids with the same background as Jaime to see themselves in him. I want them to be able to feel the way I felt back then. Honestly, that was a lot of why I finally broke my boycott. I think characters like Jaime, while brilliant in their own right, are also important, and I want to support them.

So when I realized how raucously, joyously, passionately this movie was gonna depict Latino culture and its own diversity within the US, I was thrilled! And I cried lmao.

(What can I say, I've been kind of weepy lately lmao.)

But yeah, honestly I cheered in the theater when Khaji Da switched to Spanish. I was like YEAH GIRL.

Other times I was actively fangirling in the theater:

Nana Reyes gunning down imperialists

Ted Kord reveal(s)!!!

"Batman's a fascist. Blue Beetle knew how to have fun." :')

Khaji Da stopping Jaime from killing that man

Milagro and Rudy having no such compunctions

Dr. "Sanchez" standing up for himself and his name reveal (which is a very fun easter egg for WWDITS fans, lmao. I wasn't expecting it and I had to stifle a little shout of laughter.)

Honestly, as a former DC fan I really loved how much thought and care was put into incorporating the really messy canonical history of the Scarab. Obviously they deviated from existing canon, but in ways that I thought were really fun and interesting. I'm excited to see what happens with the Kords going forward, y'know? I hope that Jenny, too, isn't cut out of her own family legacy. I'd never want to separate Khaji Da and Jaime, obviously, but there has to be something for that woman to do to follow in her father's (secret) footsteps.

I realize that this review is kind of all over the place (like my mind the past few days), but I really, really enjoyed it. I was feeling pretty out of sorts the day I saw it and it really raised my spirits a lot. It turns out that after all these years, I still really love Jaime Reyes! And I love his family! And I love Jenny, too!

even dr. de la cruz a little bit, even if he sure did take his sweet time to find a backbone

The movie was just super fun (as well as unexpectedly thought-provoking) and I really enjoyed it!

[animeniac]

Ascension Chapter 1

Finally, she had made it to the top - the zenith of her career. Spotlights shined down brighter than the sun. Cameras flashed from every corner of the room as the eager press hungered for pictures of her. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate the attention. All eyes and ears were on her for this moment. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, feeling the rush of the vast event hall. 

Either way, she was not about to filter her words for the Hero Billboards Ceremony. She made plenty of sacrifices and risked her life, and she could confidently say that she deserved this moment. 

Her rabbit ears twitched vigorously as she anticipated her moment to shine... after Ryukyu, Gang Orca, and whoever else was leftover from the rubble of The Final War. She wasn’t even listening at this point to whatever speech they had to say about peace or justice. All she could think about was finally being declared the Number One hero - the first female number one since Nana. 

Her ears perked up again, standing erect above her head. 

From the wings of the stage, she caught a particularly striking stare. Golden eyes leered at her with a heat hotter than the glaring lights above her. Hidden away in the dark shadows of the stage, Keigo Takami’s slim figure watched her intensely. She had hardly recognized him without his bold crimson wings. Adorning fresh scars and a roughly trimmed haircut, Rumi had to admit he looked a little more rugged, hardened by war this way - not that it mattered to her. 

That bird better not say a damn thing when it was her turn. She shot a quick glare at him. 

“And now, a word from this year’s symbol of Peace, the new Number One Hero - Miruko the Rabbit Hero!” announced the master of ceremonies as he presented her the mic. A roar of applause quickly followed. 

“Hey, it’s Miruko!” she shouted into the mic as it boomed throughout the event hall. She hopped to centerstage, posing in her signature, trademark bunny-girl stance. Her prosthetic limbs felt hollow as she got into position. “You’re in good hands with me. I’m the best that ever was - a god walking among the Earth. And, I’m not gonna let anything get in my way!” And that was it. She took a deep breath, inhaling the sounds of the crowd that echoed throughout the building. Now that was worthy of a mic drop. 

However, as the mic left her hands, it fell into the hands of another. The crowd hushed before it ever reached its climax. 

“President Takami here, but you can call me - President Hawks,” smirked Keigo as he turned his back to the crowd and walked backward. “These heroes are something else, but I think it’s time for Japan to move past all this celebrity worship. Maybe we don’t need promises of Peace or Power. Maybe we need something different - something fresh.” 

Rumi bore her teeth as her eyes met Keigo’s. Her foot thumped hard against the floorboards, threatening to crack the wood.  The blaring air-conditioned draft did little to cool her boiling blood pumping through her body - well what was left of her. This was supposed to be her moment. 

Twisting around to face the audience, Keigo continued. “Who knows, maybe we won’t find it in the glamor of the Hero Billboards top 10 - or even in this room. The real heroes we need might just be civilians, everyday people standing on the horizon of a future we can’t yet see.”

Kamui Woods muttered, “Here we go again - he does this every year. The kid just can’t seem to share the spotlight.”

Veins throbbing at the temple of her head, Rumi clenched her jaw until it hurt. “Dammit...” she muttered. Keigo was illegitimizing her entire speech and all her accomplishments. He was completely humiliating her - or trying. His words, and the crowd all vanished in her mind as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. All she could see was white - no, red! 

Breaking her fuming anger, the crowd erupted into a giant applause shook the building, and overwhelmingly surpassed the accolades she received. 

As Keigo and the other heroes exited the stage, Rumi stood still. She couldn’t let this slide. Pivoting on her heel, she ran to exit. Leaping high into the air, her shadow covered the blonde Keigo and all his security personnel.

He turned, glancing up at her. 

“Hawks!” she roared before descending onto him. Her bottom landed square on his guarded abdomen. 

The landing forced wind from his diaphragm in a strong gust. “Hooh!” he coughed.  “I’m still sore, you know!”

Maybe he should have thought about that before he stepped in front of her! “What the hell was that about, you plucked chicken?!” she snarled, pushing her forehead to his.

Keigo waved off the security agents nearby. He brought a hand to his neck and sighed, “I heard what you had to say, and I just wasn’t feeling your speech. It wasn’t sending the message I wanted to send - or any message at all for that matter.”

“What the hell does a paper pusher like you know what Japan needs right now?” Rumi spat.

“You’d be surprised what the President knows,” Keigo said with a sly grin. “I just want to get away from all the pomp and circumstance and go for something more authentic...more hopeful to boost morale. The one-liners and character acting aren’t gonna cut it anymore. You get it, right?” His voice remained pleasant yet strained beneath Rumi’s weight.

Rumi crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Right, the two-faced bird-boy doesn’t think I’m authentic?” she growled. She knew how she got to the top was as organic as her prosthetic forearms. And, although she had told herself that the path to the top didn’t matter...it kind of did. She yearned to be the rightful ruler who sat at the top - not a vapid benchwarmer waiting for the next draft. 

Her crown suddenly felt gilded and light. 

Keigo shrugged, his golden eyes scanning her for something with a glaring skepticism. “I mean, you’re no All Might. You’re not even an Endeavor at this point.” 

Slamming a hand to Keigo’s chest, Rumi snarled again, “What the hell is that supposed to mean, you chicken? Don’t ever compare me to that flaming, fissuring asshole!” 

“Enough,” called out Ryukyu as she picked up Rumi into a Nelson hold. Her calm, mature voice countered Rumi’s rage. “He’s just tryin’ to provoke you, y’know? It’s just Hawks.” 

Finally free, Keigo slowly stood up, dusting himself off and straightening his tie. He smiled politely, pointing finger guns at Ryuko. “You get the idea, Ryukyu! Just trying to inspire some change. Anyway, I’m a busy bird, so I’ll have to see you guys later,” he said before turning around to glance over his shoulder. His tone lowered as well as his gaze. “Oh, and Miruko, I hope we can work well together for the future.”

With that, he walked away along with his entourage of suited men. 

Like hell, that would never happen. But, Rumi knew of the obligations of the top hero. HPSC agents had thoroughly briefed her on her expectations as the number one hero. Would she really have to swallow her pride?

Ryuko released Rumi and caressed the crown of her steaming head. “There, there. I know it’s frustrating. Remember last year? He provoked Endeavor from beginning to end. Now, they’re basically family - or so I hear.” 

Truth be told, Rumi had not even been paying attention. All the details of the last ceremony had vanished in her memory. She barely knew her peers outside of Ryukyu - that included Mr. President. “Yeah, well, he better watch his back,” she said through her teeth. “Or, else, I’m gonna get him.”

Jogging up to the pair was Burnin, she chimed in. “Who are we getting?” she asked playfully. Her eyes darted between Rumi and Ryuko who desperately tried to wave away the conversation. “Wait, what’d I miss?” 

"Oh, nothing much. Let’s go over there,” Ryuko said before guiding her friends to the women’s dressing room. They reluctantly followed along. Once settled, Ryuko and Rumi explained the situation.

"Hawks!?" Moe exclaimed. "Rumi, you can't just go jumping the president of the HPSC - especially without me," she snickered before patting Rumi on the head. “But seriously, he’s like quirkless now. That’s messed up.” 

Rumi finished, her voice laced with bitter amusement. "Yeah, I noticed. Maybe he should have thought about that before coming at me like that. He’s still walking around here like he’s hot shit.” Admittedly, Rumi found his arrogance amusing when they first met - the way he’d take charge of situations and make snarky remarks. However, when he directed his condescending snark towards her - well, that’s where they’d have a problem. 

"Still," Ryuko cautioned, holding up a graceful hand. She smiled, warmly down at Rumi. "Don’t underestimate him, Rumi. Regardless of his age, he’s still someone whose accomplishments deserve respect.”

When Rumi’s ears began to twitch frantically, she realized she needed a break. "I've gotta put him in his place somehow," she muttered, her foot slapping against the tile floor.

Sighing, Ryuko took a deep breath. "Rumi, just relax. Enjoy the moment. You're the Number One Hero! Celebrate that. I think he just doesn’t realize how much of an impact you have on the world.” 

Moe had been steaming in her thoughts as she dressed in her street clothes.  She crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "You know," she said in a lower tone, a spark in her eyes, "I've been hearing some interesting rumors about our little President lately."

Rumi and Ryuko leaned in towards Moe. 

"Well," Burnin continued, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "he's been seen out and about with various women. Fancy restaurants, private events...”

Rumi's eyebrows shot up. "Hawks? On dates? No way! He’s such a nerd, though.”

"I know, right?" Burnin grinned. "Who would've thought? The guy who was all business as a hero, suddenly turning into a ladies' man as the quirkless HPSC President."

A playful smile slowly spread across Rumi's face. "So, the high-and-mighty President has a weakness," she hummed with a sly nod. “A weakness for women.”

Moe, seeing the glint in Rumi's eye, ventured further. "You know... if you really wanted to get him, maybe you can use that against him.”

“Moe...” warned Ryuko.

"What do you mean?" Rumi asked, her ears perking up again. Like, finding a woman for him? Wait, Rumi was a woman...

"Well," Burnin said, her grin widening, "maybe you should... seduce him. Then you could break his heart or something. That’ll knock down his ego a few notches.” 

Ryuko's eyes widened. "Burnin, that's—"

“That’s genius!” But Rumi was already considering it, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. 

"Rumi," Ryuko cautioned, "you can't be serious. You've never shown interest in... well, anyone. You've always been focused on fighting, on being a hero. Isn’t that what matters?” Ryuko’s concern was evident as she strained to help Rumi understand the goal. 

"Exactly," Rumi said, shaking her head cocky and proud. But that’s what made this so great. Rumi was quick on her feet - possibly even quicker than Keigo now. "Which means he'll never see it coming." She uttered a diabolical cackle - quite unfitting for the newly crowned number-one hero. 

With a cackle mirrored Rumi’s laugh. She stuck her tongue out.  "Come on, Rumi. I was just kidding. I doubt you could do it. You've got the looks, for sure, but when it comes to romance, you're on like a 6th-grade level,” she pointed at Rumi. 

Rumi's eyes narrowed curiously with a lethal smirk. Did she smell doubt? Well, where there was a doubt, there was a challenge. She loved a good challenge.

"How much do you wanna bet, then?" She grabbed Burnin's shoulders, her grip firm, her voice a playful purr. "I bet I can make him putty in my hands. I bet I can make him bow down to me. I bet I can..." A wicked smile spread across her face. "I bet I can make Hawks fall for me."

Burnin's eyes widened, realizing she might have pushed too far. "Rumi, you're insane! He's Hawks! He’s obviously got some experience with this kind of thing, and - have you ever been on a date before?” 

Rumi's grin only widened as she pointed to herself with a thumb. "Challenge accepted, Moe. If I win, you have to take me to Okinawa for that survival boot camp.”

No one liked exercising with Rumi. She dominated the class, assuming the role of the workout instructor wherever they went. "Fine. But if you lose, you have to help me organize the next local festival - and you have to be the guest dancer, too.”

Rumi's eye twitched. She hadn’t danced since high school. But fine, it’s not like she planned to lose. “Deal,” she agreed. 

Ryuko shook her head, a frown growing on her lips. “This is a surefire way for someone to get hurt. I suggest you reconsider,” urged the hero. “Just take some time with it. Think it over and concentrate on being the best hero you can be.”

Perhaps Keigo’s words had left a lasting impression on her like footprints in wet mud. However, her determination burned her blood like oil, fueling her to plan her next move. That bird was going down. 

Looking up, Rumi realized that Ryuko and Moe had already gotten dressed in their street clothes. 

“Hey, are you getting ready or not?” grumbled Moe as she folded her arms behind her head. “Let’s go to the afterparty.” She was always ready for a party. 

But, Rumi felt a bit reticent, like shrinking into her bed. “Actually, I think I’m gonna head back to the inn. I’ll see you guys later.” As she began to walk away, her shoulders slumping and her feet dragging below her, her mind bounced around to reflect on the events of the day. 

However, before she could take another step, Moe and Ryuko grabbed her shoulder. 

Ryuko sighed, with a wry smile. “Hey, is everything okay?”

Through grit teeth, Moe agreed, “We don’t have to party if you’re not up for it. But, you’re kind of the guest of honor, you know.”

They should have known that Rumi was far too proud to admit that the Billboard Ceremony was a huge bust. Even the high and mighty Miruko could be humiliated. But, she resolved to right this wrong. She could play this game of seduction with Japan’s most eligible bachelor, and she’d be sure to dominate him. 

With that, she took off her leotard. “Fine, let’s go,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t need you guys pitying me.” 

[feyhunter78]

The Dowager Queen (3/?)

Description: Aemond claims Vhagar and both he and Lucerys are injured in the process. Justice must be served, and Rhaenyra fears her reign will be one of never-ending death.

Previous chapter

Alicent kneeled before Aemond, holding his hand tightly. “My son, my love, what happened?” His cheek was horribly slashed, a curved jagged line, his left eye a mangled mess, and bleeding profusely as the maester attempted to stitch up the wound.

Aemond was trying hard not to cry but his good eye flickered to Rhaena and Baela who stood with their grandparents.

She could hear Lucerys, who stood beside Aemond’s chair, talking quietly to his mother. Rhaenyra’s shoulders brushing Alicent’s own as they both tended to their youngest sons.

 He was sobbing, his face slashed as well was though the wound was less severe and ran above his right eye.

“I tried to stop them; I swear. I told them Vhagar was his, he claimed her.” He told Rhaenyra, who was gently dabbing at the wound with Sir Harwin’s handkerchief. Waiting for another maester to arrive.

“You have claimed a dragon?” Alicent asked Aemond, excitement coursing through her veins. This was all her son had wanted since he was old enough to understand the bond that was possible.

“Yes, Vhagar, the late Lady Laena’s dragon.” He said quietly.

“She was my mother’s dragon.” Rhaena protested, her chin held high in defiance. “You stole her.”

Yelling erupted from the children, as they hurled accusations back and forth across the room.

Alicent saw Helaena appear, her small hand held tightly by Jacaerys as he led her through the crowd.

“Everyone quiet.” Rhaenyra called, Lucerys clinging to her skirts. “I will hear from both parties what has occurred.”

“My son should speak first; he is the one who is most injured.” Alicent said, standing up swiftly, keeping Aemond’s hand within hers.

Rhaenyra nodded, her eyes flickering towards Daemon who leaned against the wall, hand on his sword.

“Go on, Aemond.” Alicent urged him, squeezing his hand as a guard dragged Aegon in from gods know where.

Aemond cleared his throat. “I heard the call, and I answered it. Lucerys accompanied me, and when we returned Ladies Rhaena and Balea were in the hall. They accused me of stealing Vhagar, and when I told them she had chosen me, they attacked me. Lucerys tried to help, but one of them pulled out a knife and—” He winced as the maester finished the final stitch.

“Rhaena had a knife, the one Uncle Daemon uses. She tried to take Aemond’s eye and I—” Lucerys flinched as the maester attending him began his stitching.

“Lucerys pushed me out of the way and when we fell the knife slashed him as well.” Aemond finished for his nephew, sending Lucerys a small smile of gratitude.

Her fury rose until she felt it would boil over inside her and she turned to Corlys and Rhaenys. “Your granddaughters attacked my son, they intended to take his eye, what say you?”

“The queen decreed both parties would be allowed to speak, Alicent.” Daemon said, pushing off from the wall and going to stand beside his daughters.

“That is Dowager Queen Alicent to you.” Criston said firmly, taking his own place beside Alicent and Aemond.

Daemon made a show of half-bowing, a mock apologetic expression on his face.

“Do not let him bait you Sir Criston.” She said quietly, glancing over at her steadfast protector.

“Yes, my queen.” He said, bowing his head, and subtly placing his hand on Aemond’s shoulder.

Alicent didn’t miss the way Aemond seemed to draw strength from Criston’s silent support.

“I will allow the girls to speak.” Rhaenyra said, standing now, her hand still in Lucerys.

“He stole our mother’s dragon, Vhagar was mine to claim.” Rhaena said, a defiant look in her eyes.

Alicent felt for the poor girl. Until tonight Aemond had felt that same desperation, that same insecurity, but he had not lashed out in such violent ways even when his brother and nephews taunted him so cruelly.

“A dragon cannot be stolen, only its eggs.” Aegon said, surprising almost all who were gathered.

“Aegon is right, Vhagar is not a slave, nor is she a mindless beast. She will choose a rider out of her own desire.” Rhaenyra said, passing Lucerys’ hand to Jacaerys who carefully ruffled his brother’s hair. “And it seems she has chosen Aemond. That cannot be undone.”

“But he crept to her in the middle of the night, Rhaena did not even have a chance to attempt to claim her.” Balea said, taking her sister’s hand.

Alicent saw the way Rhaenyra softened, and a kindling of fear began to crackle within her chest. She left Aemond’s side and stood beside Rhaenyra.

“Rhaenyra, they have maimed Aemond, and Lucerys.” She reminded her softly.

Rhaenyra pursed her lips, her eyes on Daemon.

“Maester, how is the wound on my son?”

“It will scar, but besides that, the prince will recover with no injuries.” Maester Rickaen informed her. “But Prince Aemond’s eye is lost, and it will scar greatly.”

“The girls were defending their last memory of their mother, surely you would not punish them for such an act.” Daemon said, his voice smooth as he stepped forward joining Rhaenyra and Alicent in the center of the room.

“I cannot deny that I understand their motivation.” Rhaenyra said quietly, as Daemon toyed with the pendent that hung around her neck.

Alicent grabbed Rhaenyra’s hand pulling her attention to her. “Your son will be healed, and I thank The Seven for that, but Aemond has lost his eye.” She looked up at Rhaenyra, blinking away tears. “He is your brother Rhaenyra, your blood.”

She watched as Rhaenyra looked over at Aemond whose head was bowed, as he talked quietly with a sniffling Lucerys.

“He is my blood.” Rhaenyra said, stepping back from Daemon. “But Rhaena and Baela are my nieces, so I will not call for their eyes as well.”

“They must be punished, they harmed both our sons.” Alicent pleaded, squeezing Rhaenyra’s hand.

She would not let this act of violence towards her son go unpunished, even if she must deal out the consequences herself.

“The girls will be confined to Driftmark until they turn six and ten. After that they may roam the realm, but they are forever banished from King’s Landing.” Rhaenyra announced, head held high, the voice of a queen echoing around the room.

Corlys and Rhaenys protested, and Daemon hissed something in Valyrian.

Quick as a snake, Daemon had his hands around Rhaenyra’s throat, crushing her windpipe as he spat curses at her. Everyone panicked, and Alicent heard Sir Harwin’s shouts, and the cries of the children around them.

Without thinking she grabbed the dagger from Daemon’s hip and plunged it into the exposed flesh of his neck, driving it forward until she felt it pierce the other side and Daemon went limp.

She released the dagger as Daemon fell, eyes wide with shock.

“Alicent.” Rhaenyra breathed gratefully; her voice raspy.

“I—” She didn’t know what to say, or what to do, her mind had reverted to some primal fight or flight mode, in which her only thought was to protect her friend, her other half.

Rhaenyra crushed her to her chest. “The gods have given me the most loyal of Hands.”

Rhaenyra feared her reign would be one of death. She confessed this much to Harwin in a near silent whisper as Lucerys lay between them. She had given up the charade this night. Her son wished to be sheltered between his parents and she no longer had the strength to deny him, to hide what she knew was clear to her sons.

“The deaths will end Nyra; I swear to you. Your reign has only just begun, do not let despair darken your future. You will be a good queen, a glorious one.” Harwin reassured her, his large hand resting on her hip, keeping Lucerys safe between them.

It was the screams that awoke her, that caused her to push Harwin from the bed, and bolt up. Flying to the door she cracked it open and asked a nearby servant what was going on.

Sir Laenor had been found dead, his body charred, and his lover Sir Quarl gone.

Was this his plan? The one Daemon had set in motion to allow Laenor to be free?

Even with the sight of the body she couldn’t tell if it was Laenor or not, but she mourned him all the same. Alive in Pethos or dead at the bottom of the sea, she had lost a dear friend, and her nieces had lost the last true link to their mother.

She did not retract their banishment, even at the request of Rhaenys, at the threat of removing Lucerys from Driftmark’s line of succession. In fact she told her aunt to name one of Laena’s daughters heir. Lucerys would not return to this place, not as long as those who had attacked him remained.

Harwin’s comment that the girls would live better under the care of their grandparents eased her guilt a small amount. Her Uncle Daemon was many things, both good and bad, but it was clear that he had not been a father to the girls.

As she flew on Syrax’s back, the wind rushing through her hair, she made up her mind. She would apologize to Rhaela and Baela when they were older, when they could understand why she had made the decision she had. But now she had a brother she must congratulate.

Rhaenyra directed Syrax closer to Vhagar and called out to Aemond. “You are doing wonderfully Aemond, father would have been proud.”

Aemond looked up in surprise, as if he hadn’t known that the only reason, he was allowed to fly Vhagar so quickly after his injury is because Rhaenyra had offered to fly with him. “Thank you.” He called back.

“We shall reach the Keep soon, remember you must land her outside the city then you will ride back to the Dragonpit with me.”

Aemond nodded and leaned closer to Vhagar as if the great dragon had been unable to hear the words exchanged.

They both looked up as Vermax and Dreamfyre sailed above them, the carefree laughter of their riders echoing on the wind.

“Helaena is happy with him.” Aemond said, as Rhaenyra drew closer, her eyes on her son’s dragon.

“That is good.” She said, giving him a soft smile.

They flew in silence until Vhagar had landed and Aemond joined her on Syrax.

“I speak truly, Helaena is quite fond of Jacaerys.”

Rhaenyra made sure he was safely strapped in then urged Syrax into the skies once more. “He is fond of her as well.”

Aemond hummed in response, and she remembered the way she’d caught him watching some of the girls of the court that were around his age, as they frolicked through the gardens.

“Is there anyone you may be fond of?” She asked lightly, biting back a smile.

Aemond shook his head, and she could see his ears turning bright red. “No, no one.”

“Do tell me if you wish to choose a betrothed, though you are young still, there is no need for haste.”

He mumbled something that sounded like an expression of gratitude, and she smiled.

So long had she mourned her brothers who had not drawn breath, neglecting the ones who lived and breathed merely a few halls away from her.

“I am sorry Aemond. I have not been the sister I should have been.” She said, once they dismounted and the dragonkeepers lead Syrax away.

Aemond looked down at the ground, his scar still an angry red. “I have not expected much, father did not care for me, why should you?”

Her heart broke and she kneeled in front of him, brushing his hair back gently. “Father did care for you; he was simply too ill to show it.”

Aemond looked unconvinced.

“I will send my personal maester to check on your wound. Perhaps you and Lucerys would like him to come attend you both at the same time?”

“I am not scared.” Aemond said, though his shoulders were tense.

She gave her a soft smile. “I know you are not, but Luc is.”

Aemond gave her a surprised look and she put one finger to her lips. “Do not tell him I told you, but it would make him feel braver if you were there as well.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “If it will help, then I will sit with him.”

“Perfect.” She kissed his unscarred cheek gently. “Thank you, brother.”

He nodded, his cheeks a light pink. “Of course, sister.”

Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @svtansdaddyx, @fan-goddess, @dc-marvel-girl96, @shintax-error, @bellameshipper, @the141bandicoot, @the-phantom-of-arda, @haydee5010, @partypoison00, @serrhaewin, @issshhh, @pax-2735, @malfoytargaryen, @sahanna, @dellalyra, @mxrgodsstuff, @jkhomes, @unusual-raccoon, @boofy1998, @kravitzwhore, @caribbeangel, @krispold, @issshh, @afro-hispwriter, @ryswritingrecord, @prettykinkysoul, @elissanatok, @sahvlren, @its-sam-allgood, @happinessinthbeing, @8e-h-e8, @feyres-fireheart, @just-emmaaaa, @crazylokonugget, @hedahobbit98, @devils-blackrose, @mercedesdecorazon, @snh96, @imjustboredso, @izzicle, @hiatuswhore, @aslanvez, @devils-blackrose, @yentroucnagol, @queenofshinigamis, @partyposion00

[mouseratz]

on tragedy.

(cw: child death)

"For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." That was the "saddest" single sentence story our teachers taught us. I remember thinking how awful it must be, to lose a child so early, before they had lived enough life to even wear a shoe. And it still is, I guess, but it's only a fraction as horrific as what I've seen now.

When I was a kid, sometimes, I would sleep in my grandmother's bed, and when I couldn't sleep, I'd talk to her, and she'd respond, half-alseep as she was. I don't remember what I asked, but at some point, she told me about the most awful thing she ever saw: A little boy had been run over by a car. She never saw the boy, but she had seen the little shoe fly away on impact, across the street. She said it was stuck in her mind forever. It must've been decades since she'd first seen that little boy's shoe when she told me this. That boy was a stranger to her, herself only a random passerby. I still remember thinking it was properly awful. Now, I wonder, for how long I'll remember what I've seen, for a child I held so dear.

My grandpa, her husband, worked at a morgue in the 70s, before my father had been born. They lived in a big Florida city, Miami, then. He kept odd hours, and my grandmother hated them. He liked the job well enough, though, so he kept it, and the morbidity never bothered him. That is, til he got a baby's corpse. He did his work, and he quit shortly after. His wife had never convinced him that his job was too grim and strange, but that dead child had, resembling too closely to the kids waiting for him at home. Reminding him that he could lose them. I guess that child's death was one of the things that led to my father's existence- if he'd kept that job, would they have ever moved away? I wonder if my brother's corpse broke any hearts I didn't know, made anybody quit their job.

What did I see? Too much, too much that's fair to say, things I don't want in anyone's mind, much less my own- but I'll share this much:

A bright orange shoe floating aimlessly in the sickly, still, dark green water. I remember picking out those shoes at the store. They were so colorful, I knew he would like them. And he stomped so happily the first time he wore them. And earlier that day, I remember slipping them on his feet, despite his grumbling at being held down that long; he never seemed to understand the point of shoes other than stomping. I hadn't taken them off when he got home, because I knew he liked to stomp around the hard floors of our new house, so I found no harm in leaving them on for a bit- if he wanted them off badly, he knew how to do that himself. And now, I think to the garishly orange shoe in the midst of his death-place. He must've flailed them off while he was seizing, however brief that was. I know why people say they feel god laughing at them. The cruelest things can and do happen here, and maybe it's some comfort to imagine someone enjoying a sick irony from it.

We like to imagine evil, to imagine something to push back against, to make it feel like a story, too- tragedy is when evil wins. But there wasn't an evil here. There was only a little accident, and the agony it caused. Tragedy evades rhyme and reason, it evades your best efforts, it evades any justice, even when there's no evil at all. Only the wrong place, the wrong time, the wrong domino falling.

It doesn't matter whether I believe in a god or not. For the record, I still do, but I believe in chaos as well. Swirling around and around, in something incomprehensible even to him, even as his own creation. Nothing is controlled, orderly, tamed. The world is strange, and wild, and terrible, and that's how your baby brother drowns in your backyard. No one will ever understand why, because there isn't a why. It is reason-less, it is tragedy at its finest. It happened simply because sometimes these things do, because sometimes the world is horribly wrong and twisted into a terrible imitation of itself without any intent at all.

Evil is real, there are evil people, evil actions, some of the greatest cruelties are from human hands, don't mistake me there- but sometimes, it isn't here. Sometimes, there's only tragedy, naturally sprung from the turning and turning madness that is everything. Sometimes, there's so much love and goodness, and it can't save you from a little accident.

[aeliarasart]

The Villainess Cycle: Ch. 01 - The Capital of the Skies

Series Blurb: To keep the multiverse in check, sometimes you've gotta get your hands dirty. When Amon took on the mission to find two missing agents, she didn't expect her brother to betray her in the process. Nor did she anticipate his betrayal would leave her stranded, with no way home and living off of scraps. Determined to accomplish her mission and bring him to justice, she will do anything--even if it means the fate of the world she was meant to keep intact.

---------

“If we don’t do this, who’s to say you won’t kill us next?”

Amon jolted, kicking her legs out and knocking over a trash can. She leaped forward, catching it before it could crash to the ground.

As she readjusted the can, ignoring the smell of moldy food and the maggots that slipped onto her gloved fingers, she listened intently to her surroundings. This had been her best sleep in months—who dared to interrupt it?

For the past week, her home had been an alleyway in the markets between a garment shop and a cafe. Mice and other small critters called themselves her companions—sharing the scraps from the end of business days in a huddle away from the sight of the streets. Light barely graced them during the day, but the streetlights threatened to reveal them once night fell. That’s when they would become almost one with the discarded trash, her tattered clothes helping her blend in to look like nothing more than a pile of discarded fabrics.

She brought her cloak closer around her as she peered deeply into the alley, towards where the markets met the slums that she tried so hard to steer away from. Yet it seemed fate had other plans, pushing her closer to its shrouded depths that she may never return from.

Three figures stood under a tiny lamp at a back entrance to some establishment. A brothel? Amon shifted a bit closer, leaning against a chain-link fence that served as a physical border for the change in districts.

Two women dressed in overextravagant finery leaned over a mousy fellow. He extended his hands out to them.

“No, listen, please. I promise it was nothing like that. Just let me go. Let me go and we—we can all forget about this, right?” His voice heightened to a higher pitch at the end.

Amon winced, rubbing her ears. Gods above, she missed the glamours her fellow agents would conjure for her. Being in her true form left her too sensitive for the world in the skies. Still, she watched the interaction, her stomach tightening in trepidation.

One of the women scoffed and pointed something at him. He recoiled, squealing. Amon narrowed her eyes, noting how the object reflected the light.

A gun?! Her heart raced.

“Look, it was just one whore. None of you liked her anyway. Why would you ca—“

BANG!

Amon’s eyes widened as the man’s body slumped forward, headless. The woman not holding the gun gripped what remained of his head. Only then did Amon notice the sword at her side.

The women knocked on the back entrance. It swung open to reveal a burly fellow who waved them in. They walked with a skip in their step, twirling the man’s head in their grasp.

Once the door closed, Amon moved away from the fence, only to be ripped back and almost fall onto her arse. She looked back to see the glove of her left hand caught in the metal chains.

Cursing to herself, she wrenched her hand away. But the fence fought back and took her glove, leaving her skin bare and her Mark out and proud for everyone to see.

I’ll deal with it later. It shouldn’t prove a problem tonight.

Amon sidled over to the body. She wasn’t proud of it, but she hoped he had something on his person to help her eat something that didn’t have insects or mold.

She knelt on the ground, nose scrunching at the blood clinging to the clothes. She certainly wouldn’t be able to sell the suit—a shame, as it looked pretty well-made now that she could see it in better lighting.

She paused as she realized just what she was doing. She wanted to curse the skies, the RKC—hells, her brother. She used to be a hero, an agent who kept the multiverse intact. Now, here she was, rifling through the remains of a dead man in the hopes of finding something worth enough so she could have a proper meal.

Shaking her head, Amon fiddled with the suit's lapels, flipping the jacket open and running her fingers against the inner linings. They brushed against something hard, but more inspection revealed a metallic card.

Bringing it more into the light, Amon dropped it with a gasp, recoiling from the body as though it had come back to life.

She cursed under her breath. The Gods must be laughing at her. She needed to leave before—

“Ambassador Ailadon?” A voice called from the end of the alleyway in the slums. “The Council has requested your presence on the Surface.”

Amon scrambled away from the body. Her heart thundered in her ears, draining out her other senses. The need to go, to run, coursed through her. If she didn’t, then they would think she did it. She would be brought to the Guard for judgment, and they would recognize her. Then she would be turned over to Parliament and—

She released a long breath, forcing herself to calm down. She couldn’t spiral. She wouldn’t spiral. Right now, she needed to get out of there.

“Ambassador?” The person called again, a hint of worry in their voice.

Amon scrambled for the other end of the alleyway, towards the bazaar that boasted its nightly crowd.

“Uncle?” She heard just as she broke through the exit. “Uncle?!”

She weaved her wave through the masses, keeping her eyes forward.

“Do you smell that?”

“By the Gods, have you ever heard of a shower?”

“This is surely in the jurisdiction of the Guardians, right? Why would they let rodents out on the streets?”

Amon ignored the murmurs, though her face betrayed her as it bloomed several shades darker until it resembled a plum. She tried to move to the less-crowded sidewalks, but a bouncer for one of the late-night clubs pushed her. She fell to the ground, her hood falling back and revealing her face.

She winced as pain spread across her bottom. Months of malnutrition left her slower than usual, but still, she needed to go before—

The bouncer narrowed his eyes. “Horns?” He whispered to himself. “Violet eyes like the Void itself…”

Shit. She hastened, clambering back upright and bringing the hood back over her head.

Before she could step away, a large hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her backward.

The bouncer leaned over her, a wicked grin on his scarred face. He appraised her, a knowing light in his eyes that had Amon’s stomach curling inwardly.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the false heir,” he sneered, bringing himself close enough to sniff at her. He grimaced. “Needs a bit of a bath, but I know quite a few people out there who would pay a pretty price for your head… among other things.”

Amon thrashed against his grip to no avail. If this were before, she would have smashed his face into the building and sprinted off, but now she struggled to even keep herself on her own two legs. Gods below, she wished she could rip that smugness off his face and feed it to a valhound. 

“Now, how about we get you into the—” Just as he pulled her closer to the club, a shout from down the street paused the crowd.

“Stop!”

A tingle ran through Amon’s body as she looked in its direction—finding everyone around her, including the man holding her, frozen in place.

At the end of the street, close to the alley she had come from, a younger-looking man leaned against the brick wall of the garment shop. Sweat lined his brow, but his gaze never left Amon as he stood taller, wiping what looked like blue blood away from his mouth.

The Voice. A form of magick very few could command. To the point that in her half-a-millennia of living and so many worlds traveled to, Amon had yet to see someone else wield. With just a simple command, they overtook a person’s control of themselves. To do so to an entire street… Amon didn’t want to stick around long enough to find out how powerful they indeed were.

She took advantage of the bouncer’s stillness, ripping herself out of his grasp.

The Guardians on either side of the Voice-user seemed frozen as well. Amon reckoned in his haste he hadn’t considered directing it properly. And by the way he struggled to walk in a straight line—repeatedly falling into frozen bodies and tripping over his feet—she figured she had a better shot at running now than before.

Amon rushed through the crowd, weaving between the bodies. The further she got, the more she saw telltale signs that they were regaining control of themselves. A few muscle twitches here, an eye-rolling there, and even a gasp escaping one person. 

From what she remembered from the arcane books she would study alongside her brother—rather than completing the mundane work her superiors insisted upon—those subjected to the Voice were fully aware of themselves even under its spell. They just couldn’t do anything. The thought alone of it happening to her left a queasy feeling in her stomach as she reached the other end of the street.

“Stop!” Another rush washed over her, but she continued to move.

How am I unaffected?

She reasoned it didn’t matter as she ran into a nearby side street.

Yet it continued to linger in the back of her mind as she rushed further into the heart of the city—the man’s voice continuing to echo until it eventually died out.

[firstumcschenectady]

“Yearning for Joy” based on Micah 6:6-8 and Luke 1:67-80

I was in a “non-violent communication” workshop one time, which is a place that teaches about human emotions and how to have them without judging yourself for them. So, we're in this workshop and someone takes the MOST obvious of teaching moments, something that would almost make you groan except that in this case, I didn't KNOW the thing she was teaching so I was grateful that she made it so obvious.

We'd just come back from lunch and we were asked how we were doing, with the request that we respond with how we were feeling. It was practice with using feeling words. The co-teacher responded, “I'm feeling torn. I'm excited to be teaching this group, and at the same time I'm concerned about the two students who aren't back yet.” There I was, in my 30s, and I'd just learned that it was VALID to hold MORE THAN ONE EMOTION at the same time. Which was helpful, because I'd done that plenty, but somehow I hadn't known it was OK.

(This is why I often share really simple stuff about emotions with the rest of you – it was late in life learning for me and its been really significant. I dearly hope most of you already knew this, but when I look around at our society, I'm not sure who would have taught you.)

So I learned that when I take my feelings seriously, both on their own, and as flags pointing me to things I care about and value, I am allowed to feel more than one emotion – even seemingly contradictory ones. This knowledge has been very helpful for me, particularly in moments in my life when my life and the world as a whole were doing really differently. Like when Trump was elected and there was fear of what his presidency would look like – and I was newly in love and wedding planning at the same time. Or when there was a global pandemic and the country was locked down and everything was hard and confusing and – oh – I finally got to become a parent.

Which is all a long introduction to say: this is Joy Sunday, and heavens that can be confusing in the midst of sadness, anger, fear, and exhaustion. There seem to be plenty of reasons to skip joy – grief and heartache, violence and injustice for example.

And yet, none of that negates joy. In fact, oddly enough, making space for any emotion can make space for others too. It is possible to be deeply sad and deeply joyful at the same time. They don't cancel each other out, sometimes they even harmonize.

Micah 6:6-8 is one of my favorite texts, and I know that's true for many of you. “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We try, really hard, to live this. But sometimes, I can get off kilter. I can get so focused on trying to do justice, that I forget to notice I'm also supposed to love and savor kindness. I also can forget that God is God and I'm not, and the responsibility for the whole world is NOT on my shoulders.

In recent months I've been hearing nudges from God to make more space for joy. It has been interesting to notice my own resistance to it. There are biases in me that worry about making space for joy. They tell me that I was born with rose colored glasses, and being an adult member of society requires me to see the injustices of the world clearly. They tell me that joy is trite, and not very serious, and I should be serious. They remind me of the things that break my heart, and suggest I worry more about those and less about trivial stuff. Basically, there is this whole narrative within me that says I'm supposed to be a mature, responsible human, and that means I should just attend to the hard stuff of life.

And that's all really interesting because I KNOW BETTER. I believe that God wants all people to be well, to survive and thrive, to experience joy and wonder. I don't think that anyone is excluded from that, so I believe we are honoring creation and connecting with the Divine when we experience joy.

I know that joy is resistance, that there are parts of our society that try to create anxiety, and sadness for personal gain, and it is useful have joy to repel that. I also know that joy creates internal resistance, making it possible to do the hard things when they come because they aren't the only thing.

I know a God who calls us to Sabbath- away from consumption and productively and into connection- and I know connection to be a great source of joy. That is, I believe God sets aside time for just joy so that we don't get confused into thinking life is just about work and hardship.

I also have the honor of being with people at the end of their life, and being with loved ones after a person has died. I know which memories are savored, which things are regretted, and how meaning is made of a life – and it all ends up calling us towards joy.

Finally, and this one may seem backwards – when we mourn unfair and early deaths, a lot of what we grief is the lack of space for the person to continue to have joy in their lives. That would seem to tell us that those who love us want us to life and find joy and savor it! JUST LIKE GOD DOES.

I know all that, I can expound on it for a lot longer than this, and I still find it hard to let myself do it. Some people are better at this than others, and maybe some roles in life hold emotions differently than other roles. I don't know. I kind of hope this is one of those sermons that doesn't resonate easily.

Some of the ones who are wise about God suggest that goodness, wonder, and joy lie at the heart of all things, and if you can just see them at the right angle, everything positively sparkles with joy. Other wise ones about God say that it is a mark of true faith to have deep joy.

Which is all to say, if there is some resistance to joy in you – be it your own struggles, or seemingly conflicting emotions, or some narratives that tell you that joy isn't right for you – I invite you to push back. God wants joy for you, and requests that you stop squelching it. Joy is for everyone, that's actually the thing we're doing. We're working with God to build the kin-dom of God, and one of the ways we'll know when we get there will be the abundance of joy. And one of the ways we get there is to stop getting in the way of joy!

So, a final story. When I was in college, I had a fairly significant fight with a friend because I'd shared that cookie cutters brought me joy and he maintained that was simply ridiculous. I argued I had a right to feel how I felt, he maintained that … well, basically it seems he said all the stuff I internalized as a narrative about what it means to be a mature adult. Hmmm, I thought I won that fight!! Anyway, there are sugar cookies available with coffee hour today, cut with cookie cutters and decorated with too many sprinkles, and I hope they bring you joy – you deserve it. Thanks be to God for that, amen.

Rev. Sara E. Baron  First United Methodist Church of Schenectady  603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305  Pronouns: she/her/hers  http://fumcschenectady.org/  https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

December 17, 2023

[waters-and-the-wilde]

tags by @kyliebyelie

YEAH IT'S ALSO ABOUT THE HOPE

HI UR SO RIGHT AND IM GONNA PIGGYBACK OFF THIS

honestly Buddy's line about his enduring moral core just keeps coming back and grabbing me by the throat because it's like that's IT that's HIM the fact that every time it's about that reckless and unflinching integrity without hesitation, and both that and the hope are sorta twin facets of each other. like fundamentally. he's still manages to be someone who wants to trust others and to be trusted and is still capable of those things and still chooses them even when his experiences could have fucked that over completely.

'it is always incredibly stupid of me, but for all the pains it's caused, it's also brought my greatest joys' like!!!! HE'S FULL OF LOVE IN A BIG MEAN WORLD AND HE'S BEING SO BRAVE ABOUT IT

probably wasn't all that controversial to begin with considering how much this has gotten around by now, it just kinda seemed like once the whole Betrayev speculation thing cooled off, there was a lot of the whole 'pathetic wet disaster king of emotional repression' thing going around. which i get wasn't coming out of nowhere, but it seemed like a bit much for a narrative going 'okay have some Hidden Depths, your cool competent suave master thief Has Anxiety and is being Put Into Situations where his usual coping mechanisms are backfiring on him. of course he doesn't Have It All Together because Literally Nobody Does, not even the Coolest Person You Know (Buddy Aurinko) has It All Together. also hey did you like how we made him look suspicious so we could hit you with the way his overdeveloped sense of integrity got him into this mess? how was that, huh?'

and The Thing about him for me is like. Slip's line about how a person can't just tell you who they are because there's too much to string together into something tidy. and that was what made the 'emotionally repressed disaster hiding under a cultivated mask' take feel unsatisfying. bc both those facets of him are a bit true but not enough to actually sum him up, and are ultimately outweighed by the fact that his capacity for love and hope and trust and the courage to try for those things are literally irrepressible

also it's 2 in the goddamn morning but i'm gnawing on another corner of this wall and i think it's pretty well illustrated by the juxtaposition to Diamond, bc of the part where she talks about thinking it through and weighing out the consequences. like. she frames her perspective of her choices in that situation as realizing that she and Juno were getting caught up in a capital-R Romantic fantasy about Truth and Justice that wasn't going to hold up, and clocked the implications that it would have for their lives, and wasn't prepared to see it through. in its own context it was a measured decision made by a generally smart, thoughtful, capable person who also had ideals she wanted to live up to, made in a pause away from the action. and it was the kind of ultimately self-serving rationalization that perfectly hinged emotionally stable people make all the time to preserve their situation. (also while i'm here and we're talking about hope, there's an element of cynicism to it, of saying 'this won't really matter, so I might as well not.') it's understandable which is also what makes it easy to justify and reinforce (and god knows if you're an overcautious overthinker it's a tough thing to unfuck, too, especially when it can be the right call in its own time and place). in the narrative context I think it's the flawed human commonality of it that shows the opposite choice admirable and a precious quality in someone else, that sets up what we like about Juno and Nureyev and what they like about each other

it's close to being just a Doing The Right Thing Is Hard kind of moral but i feel like it's more Doing The Right Thing Can Make You Look Kinda Batshit To Outsiders bc the consequences are dire whether you fully understand the implications of them or not (like the whole thing with Juno eating the pill. yeah getting into that situation Was Dumb but like. what the hell else was he going to do once he was in it.)

and also I love the fact that this show has a go at the various forms of getting caught up in the fantasy of Doing The Right Thing but doesn't let that negate the inherent power of Doing What You Can In The Moment, Not Always Wisely But With Resolution And Commitment

anyway my longstanding and probably most controversial peter nureyev opinion is that he is actually pretty well-adjusted and emotionally mature (like not just Despite The Horrors but certainly all the more impressive considering, you know, The Horrors) and in light of the finale i am revising that to holy shit he's been running on hope and dedication and gay theatrics for twenty years he can have a fuckign messy room if he wants it's a goddamn miracle he's made it this far