#when she ordered the assassination

[evecallum]

I know its an old meme but…

[bluerosefox]

Hmmmm... This one and this one I guess -digs through old AU/Prompts ideas and starts tossing them into a melting pot to make something new-

Royal errors, maybe Ghost King (Or just very powerful and respected by the Infinite Realms) Danny, AND deaged Dan and Ellie. With half-sibling Damian.

Talia is a woman with many, many secrets, this is a cold hard fact.

She has so many secrets its no wonder not a single living soul knows them all...

So when seventeen, almost eighteen, Damian really shouldn't had been surprised (he was though) when out of the blue he gets a call from an unknown number that somehow bypasses his firewalls against unknown numbers about his apparent five year old half-sister and brother Helen 'Ellie' Fenton and Dante 'Dan' Fenton.

That their father, Daniel Fenton was taken (by a shady should had been disbanded government agency) and they couldn't get a hold of their mother Talia at all (she was in a middle of stopping a coup happening, a rival assassin group, AND some idiots trying to revive Ra's at the same time, thus radio silent). About how Ellie and Dan were in danger of being taken as well but they needed to put in them a safe place so they could go rescue Danny before word gets out to... well lets just say some very POWERFUL beings weren't going to be happy and they are working on very limited time to get him back.

Jasmine Fenton tells him she knows he had no clue about his mother being with her brother and having kids with him, its something she and Talia often got into small arguments about but try not to bring it up to often around Danny, Dan, or Ellie, and that his relationship with her is often... rocky but she begs him to please watch over them while she, and her brother's best friends go a rescue mission for him.

That they were two very scared five year olds that had to watch their father be taken away after he barely managed to get them to safety and that Damian was the only one she could think of being able to watch over and least protect them at this serious moment.

Damian, and the rest of the family, are stunned silent when Jasmine finishes explaining, her voice on the verge of breaking and no doubt she was trying so hard not to sob.

[discordiansamba]

rotating my boy avatar zuko and thinking about how the fire nation at large doesn't know that a.) the avatar is fire nation and b.) the avatar is the banished prince zuko. ozai's regime is keeping strict information control in place in regards to both of these facts, fearing that it has the potential to spark rebellions.

so of course, once team avatar arrives in the fire nation, they set to work right away spreading rumors about both of these things. hey, did you hear? the avatar's actually fire nation. i heard he's actually prince zuko, and that he's turned against his father. ozai and azula are caught up in a catch-22 where they know zuko and his group are probably in the fire nation, but they can't put out wanted posters for them. the populace of the fire nation doesn't know what their scarred prince looks like... but they know he has a vicious scar on his face.

(azula sends combustion man after zuko in hopes that he'll clean up her mess and actually kill him this time.)

at the fishing village, they speak of a fire nation boy with a scarred face who waterbent to help them clean up the river. in fire fountain city, the populace hides as there's a great clash between a combustion-bender and a scarred fire nation boy who bends earth and fire. and during the day of black sun?

well. the invasion forces make no attempt to hide zuko's presence there.

at the boiling rock, the prisoners whisper to themselves about the clash between princess azula and prince zuko- and about how the latter bent metal at the same time as he deflected his sister's flames. by the end of the war, it's practically an open secret in the fire nation that zuko is the avatar, even before iroh confirms it during his coronation when he refers to the no longer banished prince as the avatar.

(and if ozai's own son and brother decided to rebel against him... maybe there's something there.)

[quietwingsinthesky]

you cant just put a character in front of me and go ‘btw when she was seventeen, everyone she knew cut her off completely so she could be bait for the most evil company in the world to hire, and then some fucking guy swooped in and took advantage of her for years’ and expect me to believe she’s the villain here. or to ever be normal about this. what the fuck!

[bonebabbles]

Slash's Famous Scene

Here we are, lads. Everyone's favorite scene in the totally best arc of WC. The one where Slash pins a pregnant woman to the ground and licks her face, while threatening her fetuses and cutting her cheek open so Clear Sky can have more man pain.

So far I've been using "fridging" as synonymous with the brutal killing of a female character to advance a male character's arc; but I do want to remind everyone that the term "fridging" describes disproportionate violence done to women in the service of their husband/brother/father/son's arcs. It doesn't HAVE to be death; it can also be battery, maiming, depowering, or sexual assault.

So far, 8 women have died to serve male arcs, most of them for Clear Sky specifically. Fluttering Bird, Bright Stream, Storm, Misty, Bumble, Turtle Tail, Rainswept Flower, and Petal. Now Star Flower gets sexually harassed and kidnapped, bringing the arc's fridge total to 9.

Anyway content warning, obviously. It's still Warrior Cats and doesn't get too graphic, but this bag contains a dead dove.

First, Clear Sky gets another toesucking from the ghost of his wife who died after leaving his controlling ass. Specifically, after he threw his disabled brother out of his Clan, and after his lust for seeing random people (including his brother) get mauled at the border resulted in the death of Fox.

She tells him that his behavior never drove anyone away, it was all totally not his fault. I'm waiting for a laugh track and it never comes. The apologetics in this arc are unrivaled.

Then, Clear Sky wakes up and his pregnant wife is not next to him. So he goes looking for her and sees her being flanked by Slash and his memorable minions, Grunt 1 and Grunt 2. Star Flower is so possessed by fear that she doesn't move.

They REALLY need to sell that Slash is TRUE evil, PURE evil, because of the wet fart that is Clear Sky's redemption arc. They're saying that Clear Sky ISN'T bad, because he is not this. A dirty, sadistic monster who coos evilly about how he's going to hurt the kittens in his wife's belly and cruelly twitches his whiskers.

(as a petty side detail, please also note that this passage cannot even keep Slash's fur color straight. Behold, a cat so evil that he cannot even remain a brown tabby! He turns gray when he commits nefarious deeds! Ashfurification included!)

Star Flower is the one being pinned to the ground and having her face cut open as Slash screams about how she promised her father she'd be his mate, but this scene is about Clear Sky's distress. Star Flower is an object to this narrative, which these two men are in conflict over.

The pinning, the violence, the sexual implications, are being done to make Slash as monstrous as possible to contrast to Clear Sky. Slash doesn't kill anyone, so the narrative needs to make you SO UPSET your emotions are thrown into overdrive, so you'll accept how truly terrible he is.

The simple truth that this rancid book is trying to make you ignore, is that Clear Sky is exponentially more deadly. He has caused harm so unspeakable that they have to describe his bloody murders in passive voice. They "died" now, instead of "were killed," and the violent system he created is presented as "making up" for the trauma he's caused to the survivors.

"Pushing his muzzle close to her injured cheek, he licked the blood from her fur with a long, lingering lap."

Think critically about the characters they are presenting and the actions they make them do. None of these are real people. They are writing choices. They have portrayed Slash as a perverted, domineering, child-abusing savage, so Clear Sky the Settler can look good in comparison.

then Star Flower gets dragged off, kicking and struggling, feeble and completely unable to defend herself as clear sky thinks about how she might die along with his fetuses.

Obviously Clear Sky is so very stressed out by all this and needs to blow off some steam, so he smacks the nearest woman and starts screeching about how Star Flower is more loyal than the son he abuses

The first thing he does after the Slash event was physically assault the nearest woman. I can't... I don't have the words. Are you seeing this. Do you see what I am fucking dealing with. literally the first woman he sees.

"DOES THAT FEEL LIKE AN ACT??" He bellowed like a fucking wifebeater at the girl whose face is bleeding because he cut her in a fit of rage. That's fine as long as you don't lustfully lick it afterwards I guess!!!

[six-improbable-things]

An incomplete list of some of Rook's worst decisions (aka, all the very powerful people he's pissed off)

Told a major villain "if you want them you'll have to go through me" while on 9hp. (Got killed.)

Threatened (unknowingly) the BBEG to stop him from getting revenge on someone who ruined his life. (Only survived unharmed because the BBEG had gotten attached to him.)

Got nose-to-nose with an ancient moon dragon after being told "you are nothing" and said that he would not be leaving the dragon's kingdom, no matter what. (Narrowly persuaded the dragon to let him live via his loyalty to his friends.)

Intentionally taunted a giant snake-that-is-a-demigod that was capable of swallowing him whole and turned down its offer of a miracle by saying "I want my fucking friend back, you son of a bitch." (Killed it by stabbing through its mouth that was aiming to swallow him. Would have died if attack missed.)

Told another major villain "I'm the one who stole [item villain wants]!" to draw his attention away from another party member. (Got killed and had his organs dissolved. Had to be revived via magic tarot card.)

Stuck his face in the face of a very powerful -- and above all, vain -- arcanaloth to tell her she was wrong and she made a mistake, while so injured and sick he couldn't stand. (Only survived because she has a vested interest in keeping him alive so that the demon lord who cursed him can't come the material plane and ruin her business contracts.)

[kaerinio]

dany's constantly seeing wolves in visions?? dany sees robb's fate in the house of the undying without knowing it's him. she hears a wolf howl on the dothraki sea, and it makes her feel lonely. the dany-stark alliance is going to be so real!

[inkperch]

God, the 'write Kronya/Edelgard' demons are whispering to me again-

[swordmaid]

braeryn mention!!!! also 'willing to wade through the squalor' shri’iia’s like?? girl thats my home ur talking about

[littlequeens]

yes reading is subjective but do you ever just see a review that completely misses the point lol

[fstbmp-a]

"I love when assassins show up. It's always when there's a lull in the general fun and it really keeps me motivated, y'know? Like, oh, you've spiked my drink! Now I'm going to have a handicap while I kick your butt! Exciting!"

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

Jere is so observant and caring

The way he suggested going out to the golf course coz Cam was going to have a stroke due to their shenanigans 🤣

"The funeral was fucked, everyone was messed up....."

The way Belly thought everyone hated her for what happened at the funeral but Jere understands that Belly was grieving Susannah too just like everyone else and she wasn't making it about herself 😭❤. I think hearing that meant a lot to Belly especially coz her own mom was upset at her for the funeral day.

These are just a few examples

[dimension20stuff]

First and foremost I'm a Belizabeth Brassica apologist

[bluespiritshonour]

Could also be that since Azula was really small—if they spoke in euphemisms Ozai could have easily convinced her that that's what Azulon wanted. Because Ursa might have a little doubt here and there if Ozai plays that card. But having a kid talk about something they overhead is more believable. Especially when it's shown that Ursa learns about the throne room conversation when she overhears Azula telling Zuko that.

This flashback in ATLA, Azulon becoming enraged with Ozai for disrespecting Iroh and the recently deceased Lu Ten, is usually interpreted as Azulon then ordering Ozai to kill Zuko. I disagree with this for two reasons. 1: We don’t actually hear Azulon say that, it’s only referred to by Azula (who was around seven or eight at the time and might have misunderstood what she heard) and by Ozai, years later, when he is taunting Zuko on the Day of Black Sun. Neither Azula nor Ozai are reliable narrators. 2: Azulon is, at the time of this flashback, the ruler of the Fire Nation who has just lost one of his only two grandsons and heirs. What kind of monarch loses one heir and then turns around and demands the death of another, especially when losing Zuko would hardly bother Ozai? My interpretation of this situation is Azulon ordered Ozai to give Zuko into Iroh’s care, replacing Lu Ten as Iroh’s heir, neatly removing any argument Ozai had about Iroh’s line having ended. Ozai of course would never accept this. He either lied to Ursa, claiming Azulon wished Zuko dead, or outright told his wife he’d kill Zuko before seeing him get ahead of him in the line of succession, thus manipulating Ursa to help him assassinate Azulon. I think this theory makes far more logical sense than ‘Azulon ordered the murder of his nine-year-old grandson’.

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

it's interesting to me how much endo seems to be thinking about the underlying themes of spy x family given his utter indifference to his characters

like i applaud it, i do agree that the fandom may trend toward focusing on the more domestic and less dark themes of the manga/anime (just from my brief dive into the first two pages of ao3), and i was picking up on the darker aspects

it just strikes me as odd how much it seems to mean to him when, again, he doesn't care for his characters at all

he's a curious dude

[anam-mana]

It fascinates me that Alistair gets lumped in with the “Chantry Boys” in discussions about Dragon Age Archetypes because it’s just. Very untrue. But it’s an idea the text actually pushes you to connect with in a way I think is purposeful.

This guy introduces us to the lore of the Blight by asking if we want “the chantry version or the truth.” If we ask if they’re not the same thing he smirks and says with some attitude “they rarely are.”

He sums up his religious beliefs saying he’s “not especially” Andrastian, and that “believes in the Maker well enough.”

He’s actually LESS religious than Zevran, who describes himself as fully Andrastian with a regular prayer routine in optional conversation branches.

The things that people use to categorize Alistair’s supposed “Chantry Boy” boy status all have non-religious motivations.

For example, the big one, his virginity, is because 1. He’s nervous around women, which is the gender he finds most attractive 2. He’s actually the youngest Party Member, being freshly 20 years old. 3. And most importantly, he correlates sex with love and was brought up to see them as requiring the other and so feels uncomfortable having sex without what he sees as “true love.” And he just hasn’t been in love yet.

Another example would be his reaction to the Urn of Sacred Ashes. He reacts with wonder akin to Leliana where many others react with a contrasting blasee attitude. Even the Andrastian Zevran.

But you gotta read between the lines here. Zevran doesn’t hold remains as sacred. He’s an assassin. So his prophet’s body is in that urn. It’s a body. The least remarkable and most mundane, perhaps even the hardest to swallow, thing she could ever be to Zevran is a corpse. Kinda takes the wonder out of faith for an assassin if she dies and rests just like any one else.

But Alistair is fascinated, in awe. 1, probably because the Chantry he doubts so much now has some kinda proof that something they said was true, unlike what he previously believed. 2, Alistair is WAY more patriotic than he is religious and we gotta remember that the Fereldans pride themselves on Alamari heritage, and Andraste was probably the most powerful and influential Alamari person to ever live. 3, he’s actually a giant history buff. He info dumps history on you often, with the memorized readings of whatever question you ask. If asked about the King and Loghain before the betrayal at Ostagar, he shows respect for Loghain’s service in the War for Independance, and knowledge of his tactics. And when speaking about his time in training with the chantry as a child, he says the education was actually what he liked most. And a lot of his gifts are things like replica soldiers, Fereldan historical things, maps, (along with his interest in magical artifacts but that’s for another day.) etc. Given his patriotism and love of learning history, yeah, the Urn is a big deal to him.

I have more things I could say, but really, I just find Alistair to be one of the most misrepresented by fandom characters. His character has a TON of subtext that challenges you to look beyond what others represent him as and the low opinion he holds of himself.

The perception of him as Andrastian and devout is one pushed on him by people like Morrigan (and others to some degree) who fights Alistair more like a straw man representing society than she engages with him as himself. She sees him as a Templar even though he left the order specifically because they abused him And he fundamentally disagreed with their practices, The Harrowing specifically being what pushed him to fight to leave.

There are, textually, two ways to interpret Alistair. Through face value aesthetics and symbolism pointing to association with the Chantry and by observing other’s opinion of him. Or through actually listening to what he says and watching what he does.

And it’s just interesting to me that a lot of people get caught in the trap of what he represents aesthetically rather than who he is.