#you can choose to disagree with any of this but please be civil about it

[todaysjewishholiday]

7 Menachem Av 5784 (10-11 August 2024)

Shabbat Chazon concluded with the havdalah ceremony and we’re now in the final countdown to Tisha B’Av. If you are fasting this week, remember to hydrate heavily across the next 48 hours. Get what rest you can, and stay out of the sun. If fasting would be dangerous to your health, please remember that Judaism is a religion of life, and that we are commanded to choose life and not to afflict ourselves in harmful ways. There are other ritual ways to remember the sadness brought about by the two burnings of the Beit haMikdash and the resulting periods of communal exile and spiritual turmoil that do not involve self-harm. Fasting is one specific form of mourning for those for whom it is medically safe.

The years of rebellion against the Roman Empire were long difficult years. Factional conflict within the Jewish community and rebel leadership did not make it easier. And as is often the case the most extreme factions were often just as willing to target their own people as they were to attack the enemy they claimed to be fighting.

The Qanai’im (Zealots) and Sicarii (Dagger Bearers) had been advocating the overthrow of Roman occupation long after Nero’s excesses persuaded the rest of Judaean society to join the cause. Deeply aware that their views remained unpopular with the majority of Jews, they sought to force the majority into alignment with them through campaigns of terror. The Sicarii were so known because of their campaign of assassination against Jewish collaborators with the Roman authorities. The Qanai’im had taken their own name from the biblical word for zeal (as in the pasuk “the zeal of your dwelling has consumed me”) but were called Biryonim (Hooligans) by the authors of the Talmud, who blamed them for the revolt’s failure and the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.

According to tradition, the wealthiest men of Jerusalem had pledged stockpiles of food and fuel to help the residents of the city survive an extended Roman siege. The Qanai’im encouraged a more aggressive campaign of attack against the Roman army, but were rebuffed by the other factions, who were convinced that Jerusalem’s strong defensive position was one of the rebellion’s greatest assets, and that a direct onslaught against the larger and better armed Roman forces was doomed to failure. The story goes that on the 7th of Av 3829, the Zealots set fire to the stockpiles of food and fuel that prepared the city for a siege, convinced that if the residents of Jerusalem had no choice but to fight than the revolt would succeed. When the majority still balked at a direct attack on the Romans the Qanai’im then seized control of the city and took retribution against those who disagreed with them, plunging wartime Jerusalem into civil war. Within a year, the city was in ruins and the Beit HaMikdash destroyed. The zealots has barricaded themselves within the walls of the temple in the final days of the siege, and while the Romans may have destroyed it under any circumstances in their revenge upon the city, the Talmudic sages were certain that the presence of rebels in the sanctuary using it as a fortress was a Jewish desecration which preceded and helped bring about the foreign desecration of the holy place.

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

A matter of the utmost urgency

Pairing: Fingon x Fëanor (Pride and Prejudice AU)

Others: Anairë and Fingolfin

Themes: Angst-ish

Warnings: Same as above

Word count: 1.3K words

Summary: Fëanor calls on Fingon to question him about rumours surrounding him and Fëanor’s nephew, Maedhros.

A/n: This Pride and Prejudice! Russingon fic was inspired by this post and this ask. I drew a lot of inspiration from chapter fifty six of the book in order to set the scene, but I hope you all enjoy reading it.

His Lordship entered the study with an air that was more than usually ungracious and greeted Fingon’s warm welcome with a curt tilt of the head. Lord Fëanor sat down without even being invited and declared, “The rest of your family, I suppose.”

The others, though amazed, were still flattered by having such an important guest and received him with the utmost politeness and civility.

“Yes, my lord,” Lady Anairë replied. “My daughter is lately married, and my second son is about the grounds, walking with a young lady who has accepted his proposal and will be a part of our family by Michaelmas.”

A brief silence followed. Lord Fëanor turned to Fingon and said, very stiffly, “You have a small garden here.”

“Indeed, sir, it is nothing compared to the gardens of Formenos, but we are pleased with it all the same.”

“Would you like some tea, my lord?” Lord Fingolfin offers, hesitates. He considers the time. “Or something a little stronger, perhaps?”

“Certainly not.” Lord Fëanor rises with a start. The rest stands up with him. “I wish to speak to Lord Fingon alone. It is a matter of the utmost urgency.”

“I see.” Lord Fingolfin looks to his oldest, then the others, utterly bewildered. “Perhaps, my son, you could take his Lordship on a turn about the gardens and show him the different walks. It is still quite fine out.”

Fingon obeyed, and attended his guest outside. Lord Fëanor’s carriage stood by the door, elaborately carved and gilded, and crusted with jewels. Some had gone on to whisper that Lord Fëanor crafted it all himself. Fingon did not doubt them.

They continued in silence along a gravel path that led to a little maze. Fingon was determined to make no effort to start a conversation with a man who proved to be even more insolent and disagreeable than before.

As soon as they entered a path lined with plump yew shrubs, Lord Fëanor said, “You can be at no loss, Lord Fingon, as to why I am here.”

“Indeed, you are mistaken, my lord,” Fingon demurred mildly. “I cannot account for the reason for such an honor.”

“Lord Fingon,” Lord Fëanor countered in an angry tone. “I must warn you, I am not to be trifled with. However dishonest you choose to be, I shall not be so. A report of the most alarming nature reached my ears three days ago that not only has your brother secured for himself a most advantageous marriage, but you, Lord Fingon, intend to be united with my nephew, Lord Maedhros. Naturally, I did not wish to disturb him with news of such a scandalous falsehood, so I resolved to journey here and make my sentiments known to you.”

Fingon stared in amazement. “If you believe such a report to be a falsehood, then why did your lordship trouble yourself by traveling this far?”

“To hear it contradicted by your own lips.”

“Surely your lordship understands that by coming here to see me and my kin,” Fingon replied coolly, “you will only give great credence to such a report, if indeed it ever existed.”

“If?” Lord Fëanor replied, coloring with great disdain. “Do you claim to be ignorant of it then?”

“I have never even heard of such a thing,” Fingon returned truthfully.

“Then Lord Maedhros has made no offer of marriage to you?”

“Your lordship has declared it to be a scandalous falsehood.”

“It ought to be so; it must be so, but do not take me for a fool, Lord Fingon. I know those like you and your upstart pretensions. With any art, with any allurement, you may still attempt draw him in and make him forget his duty toward his family.��    

Fingon flushed in anger, and said, “If I have indeed attempted to draw him in, I would be the last person to admit to such an act.” 

“Foolish, selfish boy!” Lord Fëanor stammered in disbelief. “Let me make myself plain. This engagement that you desire for yourself can never take place. My nephew has already been promised to another. Now what do you have to say?”

“Only this,” Fingon said. “If your nephew is indeed promised to another, your lordship need not worry about him making such an offer to me.”  

Lord Fëanor went silent for a moment, somewhat appeased.

“This engagement is of a most peculiar kind,” he began anew, "and has been planned since Maedhros’ infancy. It was the sincerest wish of the lady’s family, as well as his. And now, just as all of our wishes are to be accomplished to their fullest, just as we await news of a true and lasting attachment, are they to be prevented by a young lord of inferior birth? Have you no regard for the wishes of his kin? Have you no sense of propriety? Have you not heard, from my own lips, the tacit nature of his engagement?”

“Indeed, my lord, but what is all of that to me?” replied Fingon. “You and the lady’s father may have wished for such a marriage, but the completion of such a dream was wholly dependent on the actions of others. If Lord Maedhros is neither by honor nor by oath bound to the lady, what stops him from making another choice? And if I am indeed his choice, why should I stop myself from accepting him?”

“Why?” Lord Fëanor cried with energy. “Because of honor and decorum forbid it, that is why. His family and those connected to him will not welcome you, nor shall we even mention your name. Such an alliance will be a disgrace to us all."

“These are grave hardships indeed.” Fingon found himself growing angrier by the moment. Yet, with the utmost composure, he added, “But they would be short-lived, I am sure. Any spouse of Lord Maedhros will have so much happiness, on the whole, to fill them that they will find no cause to repine.”

“Headstrong, unfeeling boy!" Lord Fëanor raged, "Tell me once again, are you engaged to my nephew?”

As much as Fingon was not obliged to reply, he said thus: “I am not.”

Lord Fëanor, relieved, went on to ask, “And will you swear to never enter into such an engagement should my nephew make you an offer of marriage?”

"I shall not and will never agree to such a request," Fingon replied with resolve.

Lord Fëanor purpled. "I have heard enough, Lord Fingon. Now, hear me in silence. Do you think I am ignorant of your lack of fortune?" He accused. "Or that I am ignorant of the scandalous particulars of your sister's infamous elopement and the hasty marriage that was only achieved at the expense of your uncle? Is such a girl to call herself my nephew's sister? And her husband, a lowly soldier no less. Is he to call himself my nephew's brother? Heaven and earth, are the shades of Tirion to be thus polluted?"

"You have, my lord, insulted me and mine in every possible way," Fingon retorted angrily. "And now must have nothing further to say. I insist upon returning to the house."

Lord Fëanor was still furious. "And this is your resolution, then? Very well. I know what must be done. Do not think me so easily defeated, Lord Fingon."

He continued to speak thusly, and Fingon made no further attempt to answer. When they reached the carriage, Lord Fëanor stopped by the door and said, "I had hoped to find you amenable to reason, Lord Fingon, and I am most disappointed to see that you are not. I shall not take my leave of you, nor shall I leave you and your kin my compliments. You are unworthy of such attention."

Fingon did not reply. He quietly walked into the house and went straight to his own chambers, ignorant of the curious looks of his family.

[araneitela]

A canon-strict and lore-heavy portrayal of Kafka from Honkai: Star Rail, written by Sae (30+). It is worthy to note that my writing for her does not take anything from Honkai Impact 3rd. Instead, you will find selective inspiration drawn from her namesake, Franz Kafka, as the choice of name is certainly no happenstance. Furthermore, my activity here will also be sporadic and will fluctuate, due to my time being split between here, Yelan, and Guizhong.

The phonograph record is being played, spinning nonstop. Even the sounds of all those hoarse shrieks cannot escape the heatwave and are dampened by its tepidity. She seemed unprepared and utterly enthralled by the fascinating melodies: it started with sincerity and anticipation, followed by a passionate catharsis, with one climax after another... Until the record's spinning came to a final stop and those hoarse shrieks were no longer audible.

Mains: daybreakrising. resolutepath. hxkerwxlf. astrxlfinale. avaere. apocryphis.

Quick Navigation: Threads. Meta 1 (2) Memes. Mains Self promo. Inbox call. Rules under the cut if you prefer a dash view of them!

Writer/Disclaimer. I'm Sae, I just hit and entered the dirty 30s and while I was born and raised in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, I currently live in France, which places me in the GMT+1 timezone. I'm a proud Frenchie in both heart and mind, and I'm your (apparently) a typical INTJ. My experience with this concept that we call 'life' has gotten me to bear a fair bit of unpopular opinions 'round these parts of Tumblr, but I have always been taught the extreme importance of respect and civility, and so I practice them both commonly. Extreme topics aside; disagreeing with another person is perfectly okay. Discussion is good.

Forget all about fanon. Before anything else, I cannot iterate how desperately I urge you to forget any and all fanon takes of the character of Kafka if you choose to look through my blog. I do not adhere to 95% of the fandom's takes on Kafka. But it's also incredibly important to note that I am exceedingly canon-strict, which means that, well, apparently fanon and I just strongly disagree; this seems to be a consistent thing with me. My portrayal of Kafka touches on a modern woman, meshed in with a very archaic and conservative traits and tropes. She is not a dominatrix, she is not power-hungry nor does she flaunt her power, she is not a hater of men, she is not some sex goddess, and by all that is holy and unholy, Kafhime will not find any sort of reign here. In other words, please take Kafka's own words before you dilly-dally your way through my blog: you won't remember a thing except me. In other words, forget everything fanon has ever taught you.

Mains. I practice them, and you can find all the information needed over here!

Shipping/Romance. I'm exceedingly particular about ships beyond canonically confirmed pairings, and quite honestly, while I write my own fair share of romance-oriented threads and love to do so, I don't go out of my way to seek to write such material. Now, Hoyo is rather good at keeping a lot stuck in insinuations, but I am an avid shipper of both Kafblade and KafCae. If these aren't up to your fancy, that's quite alright, I have tags that I tie to all posts that relate to either that allow you to blacklist them if it's preferable to you. Any judgment will be promptly deleted, as I'm quite frankly not here for it. Now, I'm not stuck to merely to those ships, but I'm a very firm believer in chemistry, development and realism. It is worthy to note however, while I can ship Kafka perfectly fine with women, I do not ship Kafhime, nor am I fond of Kafstel. No, in regards to the latter: I don't hate women, I simply think that there's an immense significance to the power dynamic when it comes to Kafka.

Social Politics/Etc. This is incredibly simple: your mess is your mess and it is no one else's. Take it to the dashboard and I will unfollow you. I'm too old and too tired for this, I don't do and never have done call-out culture, I don't do anon-hate, I don't do pettiness, guilt-tripping and quite frankly, I have zero interest in seeing people take advantage of having an audience of followers to air any kind of dirty laundry in front of. I'm simply not here for it. In other words, I will unfollow you if you're guilty of any of this. And also, as it's happened in the past— I do not and will not engage in white-knighting of any kind whatsoever, and this rule counts, again, regardless of my connection with you.

[eumeliafeu]

I should probably do one of these at some point I guess

Get to know me!

~My name is Eumelia(You-Me-Lee-Ah(I choose this way of doing it as it's easier to figure out then how people USUALLY put name pronunciations)) or Eumie(You-Me)

~I am a teenager currently in school so as much as I'd like to help people, I really can't. I will do my best but please don't come into my asks for anything other than fandom based stuff, this is a space for that whereas my tiktok is where I am more actively doing what I can.

~My twin is @minafeu!

~Semi baby witch and Norse/Greek pagan

~I am from the Midwest so if I say the occasional y'all that's why!

~I speak English but I can speak and understand some Spanish and can understand some Portuguese!

~To find some of my random rambles you can look for the tag eumierambles :) (it's tagged on this post too!)

~Go show op some love <3 is where all of the fanart/fanfics I reblog go to. Really, go show them love guys. They're all amazing.

~I do write fanfic but honestly don't post like ever but my AO3 is Eumelia_Feu

~Currently a multifandom blog and the COO of my twin's Glassheart Academic Rivals AU(aka the person directly underneath her that reports directly to her. If you have any questions, ask me, I'll answer them while Mina writes amazingly)

~I was originally an Aphblr blog!

~Had a half year stint as a QSMP blog and loved every second of it. Te amo la comunidad de QSMP, te extrañaré.

~I sometimes liveblog!

~I was once a DSMP fan but never a Dream Team fan and completely disagree with their actions.

~I am a minor but considering I have grown up on the Internet I promise you I have read/seen things worse then you can imagine :3. I promise it's not that bad if a minor interacts w/ your posts, make a safe space for them if you're so worried about them seeing weird shit. There's a reason why we can filter in things(specifically certain content), let's be civil about this for the love of the gods. There are worse things going on in the world than a minor interacting w/ your 18+ blog(especially if it isn't ONLY 18+).

~Fair warning, I have the mouth of a sailor(You might have already been able to tell) so the occasional swearing will happen.

~I do sometimes post ab discourse and things I disagree with others about so a fair warning and if you have a problem with it then fuck off because this is my blog, not yours. Feel free to block me :)

~Do not come into my asks being creepy, weird, or an asshole. I will just block you.

~As I said previously my asks are open but so are my DMs! Please please DM me if you think I should block anyone in particular.

Anyway! I hope you have a wonderful day! Blessed be!

[nowoyas]

FAQ and Rules

General rules:

I will likely never write kidfic, pregnancy fic, breeding kink, or anything related. Please do not suggest or tag me in posts surrounding these topics.

I will probably never write a dom!reader. Switch!readers will be considered under duress. I'm a full sub and, fundamentally, writing things that I personally want to read, so dominant readers do absolutely nothing for me.

I do not accept requests, but I DO accept suggestions. The key difference being, suggestions are just that: throw an idea at me and I'll see whether I can work with it or not. I may not be able to make anything out of it, but I'll definitely give it a shot and see if it's something I have any ideas for. This is bc forcing myself to do requests I'm not inspired for just turns out like... less-good stuff, lmao.

Generally, I am not opposed to darkfic if the right mood strikes and the premise seems interesting. I'm not as confident in treating darker topics, but I welcome the practice!

I will probably never write an explicitly unhappy ending or pure angst without any sort of following comfort. I'm just not really into them.

I block liberally. If you approach in bad faith, I will block you. There is no reason we cannot have a civil conversation on whatever you're mad about. You can cry "tone policing" all you want, but I don't have the time to deal with people who are approaching a disagreement to argue and get mad. Approach with the intent to come to a more complete understanding, or don't bother. (This includes assumptions of malice when it comes to ignorance. I have zero tolerance for assuming anyone's lack of knowledge is a moral failing and not simply an opportunity to learn.)

Why are you opposed to DNIs/why don't you have a DNI?

Put simply, they don't do anything. The only people I particularly am against interacting with entirely are people who are going to be rude, aggressive, violate my clearly stated boundaries, or who interact in bad faith, and these people... aren't going to give a shit if I have a paragraph somewhere on my blog telling them I don't wanna talk to them. The other category of DNIs would be having something somewhere about minors not interacting, which, like, if they're mature enough to abide by the 18+ warnings they're probably fine anyway. I do not have the energy to set these types of boundaries and enforce them--I am disabled, I am mentally ill, and I am fucking tired. I use tumblr for fun. What's left of these two groups after the DNI are people who don't care about my boundaries and people who are lying, and in many cases, if both parties approach a thing in good faith, we CAN have a conversation about whatever it is we're disagreeing on and one (or both) of us can reach a more informed opinion. If we can't, if they're approaching in bad faith or it turns out they were pretending to be of legal age in order to talk to me about age-inappropriate topics, that's what blocking is for.

So you're okay with minors reading your smutfics?

Minors are going to read them anyways. Lying about your age on the internet is a rite of passage, and I am not under the illusion that sixteen year olds haven't heard of sex before coming across a fic I wrote. What I am not okay with is minors interacting directly with me in conversation about 18+ topics, because I am an adult. This will be enforced first by a "hey your bio says you're like 15 I'm not comfortable talking about smut with you" and then by a block. Choosing not to use a DNI isn't because I think kids should do whatever, it's a recognition that a DNI is the equivalent to a "no girls allowed" sign on the bedroom door and won't prevent anything except the people who are probably mature enough to be an exception anyway.

Did you know you follow someone who ships x/writes RPF/likes this fandom?

You and I have fundamentally incompatible approaches to the concept of free time. One day, we are all going to die. We're going to die messy and broken and marked with all the things we've done, good and bad. Do you realize how little time there is in a day? I sleep seven and a half hours, on average, a night, and work shifts that are usually about seven hours without any breaks. I spend half an hour on the road. Every day, I have three meals to prepare, eat, and clean up after, and I have a million hygiene tasks to take care of to keep my body clean and functioning. If I slack on cleaning my apartment for even a second, the roaches invade. I host or take part in 3-4 writing events a week and am working on writing an original novel in between prolific fic writing and all my other hobbies. I'm not going to waste the few minutes I have left in the day worrying about the guy writing incest shipfic about the Zoboomafoo brothers, or debating you about why I should. I have to use the time I have left to fulfill my soul before my body completely falls apart.

Okay but what if you follow someone that's racist/pedophilic/transphobic/etc.?

Sure, let me know, but I do need proof instead of an anon ask that just claims a random tumblr user hates minorities or is into kids. And no, liking a character from some piece of media, shipping characters who are 17, or aging up characters for smut (or even NOT aging them up) is not pedophilia. Show me proof that they are actually attracted to real children and not sets of lines that do not have ages and cannot experience harm, and I will take you seriously. If the subject you are telling me about is a minority in some way, you need twice the proof, and if they're queer, you need quadruple the proof and also to go read up on the history of the queer community, including the parts where queers are repeatedly accused of pedophilia or marked as dangerous to children as an excuse to legislate against and oppress us.

So are you proship?

I'm actually just tired. If you're asking whether or not I think certain topics should be disallowed from being the subject of art and whether or not those topics should be censored, the answer is that I'm not fucking Plato, so no, I don't think art needs to only portray that which is morally good and advances the goals of the state, nor do I trust any entity on the internet, especially on websites with a profit motive such as tumblr, to decide what constitutes morally good art.

[insert hot button queer discourse here]

Look, man, discourse has historically been used to divide the community. Save it for when we're not at risk of our sexualities being illegalized, and maybe then we can entertain the granularities of the situation. Everyone is queer, unless they aren't. No, I will not censor the word queer. I also won't censor "faggot" or "tranny". I didn't get my life threatened in a Zaxby's for you to tell me what words I can call myself or that I'm not really oppressed or whatever new discourse the feds have successfully implemented this year.

You're a bi lesbian and also a man? How does that work?

Back in the day, any woman who liked women was a lesbian, including bi women. I call myself a bi lesbian because my primary sexual attraction is focused on women. I am multiple genders in a way that is too complicated to explain. You're just going to have to meditate under a waterfall for a thousand years and achieve true mental transcendence, but if you're going under for dental surgery anytime soon, it can have the same effect.

I saw you talking about being Buddhist/Jewish/Shinto...

Yeah, cus I am! Maternal line Jewish, but raised Evangelical Christian (which I have since thoroughly disavowed because, like, come on man). I'm considering conversion someday, but don't currently live in an area with much of a Jewish community at all, so this isn't feasible for me and so I haven't yet put much thought into it. Most sects of Judaism do consider me Jewish as I have an unbroken maternal line, so conversion is for my own sake. I arrived, independently, at an explanation of my own beliefs that ended up being very similar to Shinto, so it's simpler for me to just say I'm Shinto than to list off a bunch of things that just so happen to be true of Shinto, and I practice Zen Buddhism as it's often intertwined with Shinto practices.

Ok but did you know about [whatever atrocity/zionism/state Shinto]

This is not an appropriate response to learning someone's religious beliefs, and in the vast majority of cases, I do, in fact, know more than you on the subject. For some reason, historically non-white religions tend to invite a lot of people who don't practice or have any firsthand knowledge of the religion to demand that every practitioner they meet come prepared with a Master's thesis denouncing atrocities committed under their religion's name. In the future, don't approach strangers to demand their stance on these things.

[mebongster87]

JonSa foreshadowing from Dany’s HOTU visions

In Daenerys’s vision when she is in the House of the Undying, there is the bit where she chances upon Rhaegar and a woman with a baby. The passage runs like this...

“Will you make a song for him?” the woman asked.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire. He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. "The dragon has three heads." He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.

-Daenerys IV, ACOK.

Now I know, most folks think that this foreshadows Jon as the prince that was promised and the three heads of the dragon mean Jon, Daenerys and one more (because of the line “there must be one more”).

Here is my alternative speculation for this..

What if the line “there must be one more” actually refers to ONE MORE SONG instead of one more head of a dragon/dragon-rider/third head of the dragon?

Hear me out...

The woman, Elia, is asking Rhaegar, who is a harpist, to make a song for the baby. Rhaegar says he already has a song. He is the prince that was promised and his song is the song of ice and fire. When you omit the line "The dragon has three heads." this is what remains of that passage..

“Will you make a song for him?” the woman asked.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire. He looked up when he said it and his eyes met Dany's, and it seemed as if he saw her standing there beyond the door. "There must be one more," he said, though whether he was speaking to her or the woman in the bed she could not say. He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.

Now if you read it, it really appears that the line “there must be one more” does not talk about any dragons, at all. This is such a nondescript statement that the first thought that goes through your head is “there must be one more what?”. However, it could mean that it talks about another song. This is a story about songs after all.

What if GRRM interjected that passage with the line “The dragon has three heads” as a red herring? Because after this passage, Daenerys is fixated in believing that there must be one more head of the dragon to fulfill the three heads of the dragon..though at this point she needs two heads to make up the three heads, given that Viserys is dead, she does not know Jon or that he is a Targ, fake Aegon is most likely fake and she is the last Targ!

 "Prince Aegon was Rhaegar's heir by Elia of Dorne," Ser Jorah said. "But if he was this prince that was promised, the promise was broken along with his skull when the Lannisters dashed his head against a wall.""I remember," Dany said sadly. "They murdered Rhaegar's daughter as well, the little princess. Rhaenys, she was named, like Aegon's sister. There was no Visenya, but he said the dragon has three heads. What is the song of ice and fire?"

-Daenerys V, ACOK.

Her belief that there must be three heads of the dragon really shapes her decisions and thoughts from this point onwards, and along the same lines, due to the POV trap, we start buying into this and start looking for all manners of clues in trying to decipher who is the prince that was promised and who will be the three heads of the dragon, in trying to figure out the answer to the riddle “there must be one more”. The dragon has three heads could simply mean Daenerys’s three dragons and not Jon, Daenerys and someone else.

Anyways, going back to thinking that the “prince that was promised” has a song, his is the song of ice and fire..we have the title of the book: A song of Ice and Fire.

I believe this refers to a poetic way of recounting the history of Westeros since Robert Baratheon’s death. Why I think so?

Archmaester Ebrose himself said so while lecturing Samwell Tarly about writing history, in S0702 Stormborn, 

Ebrose: “I am not writing a chronicle of the wars following the death of King Robert I so it can sit on a shelf unread. What?..You don’t like the title?”

Samwell makes a face...seeing which Ebrose says “What would you call it then?”

Samwell: Possibly something a bit more poetic.

Ebrose: We are not poets, Tarly.

I believe this was the show (and D&D and GRRM) hinting that A Song of Ice and Fire is a poetic way to describe the history of what happens in Westeros post-Robert’s death, all the wars fought between the different Houses and the even greater battles that will be fought between White walkers and later on against Daenerys and her dragons. Archmaester Ebrose is the GRRM stand-in.

Additionally, it means the two major antagonistic forces that plague Westeros, the Ice of the White Walkers and Night King and the Fire from Daenerys and her dragons. This is a direct nod to Robert Frost’s poem Ice and Fire, which served as one of the many literary pieces that influenced GRRM.

This does not refer to Jon and Daenerys being the Ice and Fire and their love story is the song of Ice and Fire.

So back to “there must be one more”...what does Rhaegar do next in Daenerys’s vision...

He went to the window seat, picked up a harp, and ran his fingers lightly over its silvery strings. Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist, only the music lingering behind to speed her on her way.

Even Daenerys in her next chapter confirms that this man is her brother Rhaegar

Dany could not let it go. "His is the song of ice and fire, my brother said. I'm certain it was my brother. Not Viserys, Rhaegar. He had a harp with silver strings."

Ser Jorah's frown deepened until his eyebrows came together. "Prince Rhaegar played such a harp," he conceded. "You saw him?"

-Daenerys V, ACOK

Rhaegar starts playing on his harp, a song that fills the room with sweet sadness. We do not know whether he plays “a song of ice and fire” or something else entirely. But this bit with “sweet sadness fills the room” reminds me of the song that Marillion is composing at the Vale.

"Do you require guarding?" Marillion said lightly. "I am composing a new song, you should know. A song so sweet and sad it will melt even your frozen heart. 'The Roadside Rose,' I mean to call it. About a baseborn girl so beautiful she bewitched every man who laid eyes upon her."

- Sansa VII, ASOS.

“A song so sweet and sad” does sound awfully similar to “sweet sadness filled the room” when Rhaegar played whatever it is he was playing.

Both these songs have that in common in addition to the fact that both Marillion and Rhaegar are using their harps to compose/play this song.

What’s interesting is that of all the songs that we know of in the world of ASOIAF, “Roadside Rose” is a new song being composed in the current timeline of ASOIAF that we do not know anything about, except the fact its “About a baseborn girl so beautiful she bewitched every man who laid eyes upon her”. Yes, there are quite a few songs that are mentioned in the text like Florian and Jonquil, lyrics to which we do not know, but these songs historically exist and have already been composed and have been mentioned a few times in the story. The only new song being composed is Roadside Rose. Similarly, we know nothing about the song of Ice and Fire....

Jorah Mormont says.."It's no song I've ever heard." in Daenerys V, ACOK.

What if “there must be one more” is this song about Sansa, the Roadside Rose? Just like Ice and Fire are a pair, what if these two songs “Roadside Rose” and “A Song of Ice and Fire” are a pair, two songs about the two of the main characters of the story? What if these songs connect Jon and Sansa and their union brings the balance to Ice and Fire and unites the warring Seven Kingdoms to restore peace within the realm?

1. We for sure know that the Roadside Rose is about Sansa. This song is so sweet and sad that it will melt Sansa’s “frozen heart”. “Frozen heart” means icy heart, and this phrase has been used in one other place, 

They said Robert Baratheon was strong as a bull and fearless in battle, a man who loved nothing better than war. And with him stood the great lords her brother had named the Usurper's dogs, cold-eyed Eddard Stark with his frozen heart, and the golden Lannisters, father and son, so rich, so powerful, so treacherous.

-Daenerys II, ACOK

Ned, the bearer of a Valyrian Steel greatsword called Ice, is said to have a frozen heart.

Both Ned and Sansa here represent the Ice or the frozen heart. What can melt a frozen heart? Fire. In Ned’s case, it was Catelyn, with her red hair, kissed by fire. In Sansa’s case, it is going to be Jon, him being half-Targaryen, so he is the Fire to melt Sansa’s frozen heart.

What is another song that is also sweet and sad that can melt Sansa’s frozen heart? 

Jon is the song of ice and fire, which is so sweet and sad, that it will melt Sansa’s frozen heart.

2. “A Song of Ice and Fire” could be about Daenerys or Jon, because if that is the song of “the prince that was promised”, there is enough evidence to argue a strong case for either of those two. I am not going to go into that. Melisandre believes Jon is the prince that was promised and has been wrong about a lot of different things. Missandei, in S7, claims that it could be the prince or princess that was promised. Missandei belongs to the cult of Daenerys so both are unreliable sources. 

Anyways, I think that Jon could be the prince that was promised, mainly because of this last part of Daenerys’s vision...

“Sweet sadness filled the room as man and wife and babe faded like the morning mist..”

There is a song called “On a Misty Morn” sung by Marillion (again!) in Sansa I, AFFC and the song is about a mother who mourns her dead son, the lyrics of which goes like this...  

Oh, have you seen my boy, good ser? His hair is chestnut brown He'd promised he'd come back to me Our home's in Wendish Town.

Jon’s hair is dark brown and thanks to Season 6, we know he comes back from the dead. Use of the word “promise” further cements Jon, who came back from the dead, as the prince that was promised. So I think it is safe to say that Jon’s song is the song of ice and fire.

These two songs connect Sansa with Jon, who is the prince that was promised, from Daenerys’s visions. Jon and Sansa get sad and sweet songs in the end (bittersweet ending), Daenerys does not. 

"We're all just songs in the end. If we are lucky." 

-Catelyn V, ASOS.

Sansa, with hair kissed by fire, is lucky and so is Jon. Why? Because Jon was born when Ser Arthur Dayne, who fought with a blade called Dawn, forged from the heart of a fallen star, was nearby guarding Lyanna at the Tower of Joy in Dorne. 

“He had seen a falling star that night. Falling stars were supposed to bring you luck....”

-Ser Duncan the Tall, The Sworn Sword.

As I mentioned, this is all speculative, but if Jon and Sansa are truly meant to be the endgame pairing, then it makes sense for them to be foreshadowed in Daenerys’s HOTU visions, as their love could be Daenerys’s “treason for love”.

[silkscream]

sangria🍷 jealous peter and enemies to lovers

genres: enemies to lovers, jealous!reader, academic rivals, implied smut

you didn’t have a particular reason to hate peter parker. if anything, anyone you knew who would surely disagree about your negative opinions of him. but maybe that was what did it — the kid was squeaky clean, new york’s favorite boy-hero, and had an academic record to impress any ivy league. how utterly cliché.

peter had tried to be civil with you, but after years of your high school bickering, he took his throne as the top of the class with you as second, and the two of you were known rivals.

“would it kill you to be nice to him?” mj quips next to you. “he’s my friend.”

“you have poor taste in friends. i mean, look at me. midtown’s cunt, is what flash called me?”

“oh, but you love that title.”

you shrug, smirking as you take a shot.

“i need a cigarette.” mj nods and salutes you on your way out to the steps of the large row house.

perched upon the front steps, you light your camel crush and exhale the smoke into the velvety night, the summer air thick with august’s end. your ears perk up when you hear voices at the end of the street getting closer. it sounds like a lovers’ quarrel.

“not now, cat.”

“you are such a buzzkill, peter. i thought getting outed as spider-man would give you a reality check but you’re still so small and scared of the world around you! like, have you even talked to anyone at this party?”

“yes, i have. i don’t need you following me around when i’m off-duty!”

“oh, please. you need me. your virgin status is a cry for help.”

you don’t mean to eavesdrop. you’re just… there. but when peter gets to the front of the house with an incredibly attractive silver-haired girl attached to his hip, your face goes hot for some reason.

“hey,” you mumble.

he either doesn’t hear you, or he chooses to ignore you.

“can i bum a cig, lovely?” the girl asks you, her tone saccharine-sweet. she grabs peter’s arm before he’s able to walk up the steps. “peter, don’t be rude! say hi back.”

“this is my last one, sorry.”

“hey, y/n,” he huffs.

“hey,” you echo. “i thought i was the only one allowed to bully you.”

you use a playful tone but he rolls his eyes. for some reason, it stings.

“oh, honey, i’ve probably been at it way longer,” silver hair quips. her mere presence is making your blood boil. you try to hold your tongue until it bleeds. you stomp the cherry of your cigarettes on the concrete.

you clear your throat. “i wish we could stay for a chat, but i just remembered that our friends were just looking for peter!”

peter flashes you a confused look when you grab him by the arm and usher him into the foyer, slamming the front door in black cat’s face. out of panic, you open the first door you see in case any of your shared friends see you.

“what the hell was that?”

“she was annoying me,” you shrug.

“okay… so why are we in the coat closet?”

you purse your lips, staying silent. frantically, you reach for a light that isn’t there and end up accidentally touching peter’s chest in the dark. as you lean back into the wall, your body hits the light switch.

“are you okay?” you sigh. “she seems like a bitch.”

“she is a bitch,” peter shrugs. “nothing i’m not used to. why do you care?”

“maybe i’m nicer when i’m drunk.”

“oh, was that supposed to be you defending me back there?” peter doesn’t even look at you. instead, he’s looking around at all the random shit around the two of you. when he jiggles on the door handle, it doesn’t budge.

“oh, shit.” he bangs on the door. he looks at you with a hardened expression.

“if this is one of your little games, i’m not in the fucking mood.”

“it’s not!” you exclaim, crossing your arms in defense. you swallow the lump in your throat. “i was… trying to save you from her cruelty!”

“or you’re jealous because you’re not the only bully in my life. is that it?”

“you’re just as much as a dick to me!”

“i’m really not, y/n. you started this in freshman year and haven’t stopped since. i had no idea why, i don’t think i’ll ever know why.”

he searches your face for clues and it leaves you vulnerable. fuck it.

you press your lips to his quickly, clutching his shoulders as you lean in. he’s kissing you back to your surprise, holding you by the back of your neck. you gasp in between kisses, leaning back in for more passion each time as your tongues mash together, tasting of cider and cigarettes.

“so, that’s how you’re nicer when you’re drunk and jealous?” peter sneers, his voice low. his face is inches away from yours.

“i’ll be a fucking sweetheart if it gets you to shut the fuck up.”

“there’s my girl,” he muses. your eyes close when you feel his warm tongue on your neck.

[its-deputy-caleb]

If you're feeling up to writing a bit of Mikey, could I please request him being an asshat to everyone and being told off by his S/O after he asks Jack if he wants to earn a dollar?

(You know the part where he says to ask Arthur about the stick up his butt?)

He's such a dickhead and I find myself telling the screen off when he does it! 😂

OR

His S/O giving him a slap and a bollocking after he kicks Cain, then they fuss over Cain and force Micah to make friends with him.

I dunno, it's up to you 😂 You could write any scenario you want, I'll still love it 😘😘

i am always up to writing for a bit of mikey (that nickname is so cute) but ngl i had no idea how to write this or put this together. I watched the clips again so i could get it accurate but i changed it bc i didn't know if u wanted a happy ending or not but i hope i delivered <33 also u asked for either and i gave u both :)

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

Clemens Point was a strange place with even stranger people. After leaving valentine in a hurry it seems the entire gang was on edge and ready to blow like a stick of dynamite. It seems having to act like upstanding heartfelt citizens to the Grays and the Braithwaites has meant everyone is that aggravated and pent up.

On more than one occasion you’d seen Sadie lose it when Pearson got to pushy with chores and it seems Abigail and John couldn’t stand to have a normal conversation for five minutes before one of them broke. It wasn’t much better with Dutch and Hosea who were constantly disagreeing on the right moves for the gang, although they were much more civil about it.

You did your best to keep out of everyone’s way, to avoid the confrontation but knowing your luck you’d end up getting involved one way or another.

You were returning to camp one sweltering hot afternoon with Sadie after you finished collecting the gang’s weekly stock from the general store. You were only half listening to the hustle around the camp as you were too busy listening to Sadie tell you all about Pearson’s dear aunt Cathy. You stepped off the wagon and headed to the back to start unloading some of the supplies when the sound of Micah’s voice could be heard talking to Jack.

“How’d ya like to earn a dollar?”

His voice with thick with malice as he hunched over the wooden table. In Micah’s hands was a silver nickel that he fiddled with between his fingers, much like you’d seen of him do with his knife. Your eyes found Jack who was almost reluctant to get anywhere near the man who you knew scared him. However, being the innocent child that he was his eyes lit up at the sight of something shiny.

“A dollar? Sure.”

You carried the heavy bag of potatoes over to Pearson’s wagon as you went back for another round of supplies but you kept the boy in the corner of your eye.

“Well…go on up to old Arthur Morgan, ask him about the pole he’s got stuck up his ass and I’ll give ya a dollar.”

Micah’s face lit up in a smirk, his accent thick and his typical evil giggle falling from his mouth. He sat back on the chair, satisfied at the mischief he’s caused.

Before you could get anywhere Jack had run off to where Arthur was sitting in his tent, reading over a letter. You placed another round of ammunition into Strauss’ wagon, dropping it hastily and running as you saw Arthur walk right up to Micah with a murderous look in his eye.

“I’ll give you a dollar if you shut your—“

Arthur didn’t get to finish his insult before you stepped in front of him with a soft hand on his shoulder. You gave him a soft smile and a nod, quietly saying to your dear friend that you’d handle this.

With that you turned with your own look of anger directed to Micah. Everyone knew you loved him but they also knew you didn’t hesitate to call him out and get him to behave when you had to.

“Micah leave the damn boy alone!”

He scoffed like he wasn’t offended you didn’t defend him and instead chose to call him out. Micah’s hands came up in his signal of fake defeat as he slowly backed away from his place at the table, acting as if he was nothing more than the innocent bystander and not the one who nearly ended up on the ground with a broken nose for starting it.

You watched as Micah lingered around the edge of the camp, his eyes trained to yours as he lit a cigarette but you ignored him. Instead you walked over to Jack, smiling softly and taking his hand to lead him to the river’s edge.

“Common, why don’t we go see if we can find any beautiful rock on the sand, hmm? I’m sure your mother would love such a beautiful gift.”

-

Of course, it wasn’t more than a few days later when you ran into trouble again with Micah. You’d spent your time ignoring him mostly, instead choosing to go hunting with Charles and Arthur, practice your throwing knives with Javier and help teach Jack to read. You knew how badly it pissed Micah off to do things without him but he needed to understand that there was a way to treat people, especially with people you considered family.

You rolled up your sleeves, using your forearm to wipe the sweat from your forehead as you picked up the knife and started cutting carrots and potatoes for tonights stew.

“Are you a good boy? Yes you are! The best boy”

Your head came up to notice bill sitting against the log by the campfire, scratching under Cain’s chin and giving the energetic dog pats along the back. You couldn’t help but smile at the new addition to the gang and how happy it made you to see Bill less stressed. It seemed that having Cain made everyone feel more caring and loving.

All except Micah.

“You’re the fool that feed’s him Marion. He ain’t nothing more than a filthy mongrel and an extra mouth to feed.”

Micah had stood from his place on the opposite side of the campfire to antagonise Bill. A frustrated noise leaves you as you slam the knife down on the wooden bench, ready to storm over there and chew Micah’s ear off. You take a step forward only for Miss Grimshaw, who was working next to you, to grab your arm and stop you before you get any further.

“There is a time and a place dear, don’t make it worse.”

Of course you knew Susan was just trying to keep another argument from happening but you push past her when you see Micah inching towards Cain who had left his spot at Bill’s feet to hide by a wagon. In a split second decision you pick the knife you’re cooking with and use it like a throwing knife to get his attention. The knife swings through the air, not getting near anyone, it wasn’t like you actually wanted to stab Micah no matter how badly he could get on your nerves and watched as it got wedged into the tree behind him.

Micah’s head shot up, his foot moving away from Cain and stared dumbfounded and shocked, unused to seeing you so skilfully throw a knife but your practices paid off. You walked right into his personal space, taping your finger against his chest.

“Don’t. You. Dare”

Micah’s first response was to try and sweet-talk his way out of it like he always does but you were in no mood to deal with his slyness.

“Dare to do what sweetheart? Common now… weren’t gonna do nothin—“

Your hand came to give Micah a crisp slap across the cheek, apart of you was shocked that you’d even do such a thing but the other half of you was furious.

“Don’t underestimate for a minute that I won’t dump you right now and throw you out of camp Micah. I’m not some stranger you can sweet-talk when you get in trouble. I swear, if I see you go anywhere near Cain the knife isn’t going to hit the tree next time.”

Micah’s eyebrows shoot up in shock as you lecture him in front of almost the entire gang. Even Dutch put his book down when he heard your slap. He was lost for words, truely, having now other thought as he watched you walk away back to preparing tonights stew. He didn’t move from his place until he heard you whistle for Cain to sit by your feet, where he went and meandered off into the forest to give you space. All he knew was that he must have fucked up bad if you threatened to leave him.

-

A few hours later you’d managed to calm down, watching the sunset after Ms Grimshaw gave you the rest of the night off to relax at how pent up you were. Now sitting here you couldn’t help but feel like you may have over reacted but Micah had pushed your buttons one too many times and if Micah was going to listen to anyone it would be you. You let out a soft but hearty sigh as the tension and stress from your shoulders left with your breath. Your body relaxed against the tree and you watched the sun gently dip below the horizon.

It was well and truely dark before you heard the rustling of grass and the thud of someone sitting next to you. You thought it may have been Arthur coming to check on you but that thought died when arms wrapped around your waist and you felt Micah rest his chin on your shoulder, his stringy hair tickling your face at the gentle breeze.

“…M’ sorry…”

A very quiet and forced apology was pulled from Micah as he cuddled into you, mumbling it into your shoulder at the pain of actually having to apologise.

“Sorry won’t cut it Micah. You have to stop treating people that I care about— people that are family better.”

Micah sighs, the defeated, tired one that shows he’s willing to listen because no matter how badly he stirs up trouble, the thought of losing you is enough to have him turn his mind around.

“I know…gonna make it up to ya I promise.”

A soft and very cautious kiss is placed on your shoulder with Micah knowing he’s still not forgiven by you yet.

“You’re damn well gonna make it up to me. Firstly you’re apologising to Jack first thing tomorrow and secondly you need to pull your weight for this gang— and no I’m not talking about robbing another coach. To start you can sit on guard duty with me and you can wash my clothes.”

“I’ll just buy you new clothes”

You give Micah a death glare as you tilt your head to look at him. Instantly his teasing smirk leaves and his arms come to wrap tighter around your body, resting his hands on your stomach and intertwining your fingers.

“Alright, alright… guard duty ain’t so bad.”

You sit together for a while in a comfortable silence. All the energy from today had left you and you no longer had it in you to keep arguing. You’d hold Micah to his promise to do better but for now you leant back into his embrace and rested your head against his.

“Can I at least sleep in the tent tonight?”

You smiled softly as you hummed in contemplation just to tease him. Micah hadn’t come to sleep in your shared tent since the day he messed with Jack and both of you had missed each other despite the frustration and anger you had.

“Hmm, we’ll see.”

Micah thinks you’ve said no, panicking internally but is stopped when you turn your head and place a soft kiss to his cheek over the mark from where you’d slapped him not so long ago. It wasn’t the kiss that he wanted but he still needed to make it up to you before you gave him what he wanted.

You reached a soft hand up behind you, cradling his head and rubbing your thumb over his sore cheek.

“Is your cheek okay?”

Micah let out a gravelly noise, deep from his chest as he leaned into your hand.

“Ain’t gotta worry sweetheart, I’ve survived much worse”

You don’t get to reply when a tentative and cautious Cain makes his way over to the two of you. You pat your leg and he curls up beside you with his head resting on your leg and his tail thumbing, relaxed and happy.

Micah on the other hand was not relaxed or happy as he tensed up and moved away from the dog and you. If it wasn���t for your hand holding the back of his head he probably would’ve jumped away.

“Micah Cain isn’t going to hurt you, he just wants attention like you. See? No need to be afraid.”

To prove your point you reach a hand out and gently brush over his short, grey fur, watching as he perks up.

“I ain’t afraid!”

You would’ve believed him if you didn’t catch the waver in his voice but you knew. You knew after seeing him be spooked by the animal more than once around camp.

The hand that was still intertwined with his gently guided his hand pat Cain, letting him slowly get comfortable to him.

It took some time but finally Micah had gotten used to Cain enough to realise he was clearly not a threat. At some point Cain had moved over to Micah’s side, resting beside him as the night became later.

A yawn left you and you slowly sank into Micah’s embrace, your eyelids falling shut as you dozed, clearly exhausted.

Holding Micah to his promise was a job for tomorrow, but for now you let yourself fall asleep in his arms, the tent be damned.

[burytherosemarysprigs]

Oral Sadism and Literary Arguments

A/N : Ok, so, like enemies to lovers???? slow burn??? literature??? fuck me.

/ Masterlist /

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader (College AU)

Word Count: 6k

Summary: There’s probably only one thing worse than chauvinist literature, and that’s the sardonic boy who sits two rows behind in Lit class with his torn paperbacks and ineffable aversion.

“Well, I actually disagree with you,”

If you didn’t have that much self-control, you would’ve snapped the pencil you were holding in half, as you heard a deep voice speak up behind you, and before you could retort, Professor Gordon spoke,

“And why’s that Jason?”

“I think Bukowski was trying to present how men will hide their inner thoughts and feelings, really their sensitivity in that aggression as an attempt at protection.” Jason spoke up, his voice boiling your blood as the rest of the class stayed in relative silence, as you turned around to look at him as he stared directly at you,

“I’m sorry, protection? What part about misogyny and blatant objectification of women as only being sexual objects that can be discarded and picked up when he pleases passes as protection? Women that are empty and uncharacterised to the extent the reader begins to agree with Chinaski that yes, women are less. Women are not important. And women don’t require compassion and consent, what part of any of this reminds you about goddamn male – “

“All right, I think that’s enough for today.” Gordon interrupted your heated rant with a sigh, which you share and quickly turn around close your eyes to try and avoid the weight of Jason’s stare as Gordon begins to dismiss the class.

“All right everyone, I hope you took something useful from that discussion, though I’m not sure if you would classify that as a discussion,” He added sarcastically, before continuing, “I expect you all to have brief outlines planned out for next week, and please try to work as collaboratively as you can with your partner to do so.”

The last part was directed at you and Jason – though neither of you payed proper attention – while the rest of the class let out small snickers.

“Right then, class dismissed, and uh, you two, could you both please stay behind for a minute.”

Fucking great. You thought to yourself, even though Gordon didn’t specify both you and Jason, his tired expression tells you otherwise and you start collecting your notes and pens into your bag in a silent fury and made your way to the front of the class, where Gordon was leaning against his oak desk, watching both of you stand in front of him – not casting a single glance towards the other as you waited for him to speak. He sighs,

“I don’t think you both understand how frustrating it is when your top students both have it out for each other and can’t hold a single civil discussion before arguing like little children,” He begins, becoming more wary as he continues, “Which is why I paired you up for this assignment and I fully expect you both to work together, and I hope I can expect that from you?”

He looked at both of you with an expectant look, and Jason only nodded curtly as a response, and you did the same but decided to chirp in,

“That’s great that you think we’ll be able to work together, sir, but on a totally unrelated note, how would my grade be impacted if my partner was suddenly mauled by a car over the weekend and was unable to complete the project with me?” You spoke, voice deadpanning, as your professor barely restrained in a smile while Jason looked at you with an empty expression.

“I would say that would be a fail as you missed the premises of ‘working with a partner’, as well as some serious legal consequences.” He replied, somehow maintaining a serious look as he spoke.

“That’s great to know sir.” You spoke, nodding along before he dismisses you both, leading you to quickly walk out of the classroom, breathing out a sigh of relief as you see Barbara leaning against the wall, busy on her phone, waiting for you to come out.

“What took you so long,” She asks as soon as she hears your sigh, pocketing her phone, and linking her arm with yours,

“I swear to God, one day, I might as well skin him – “

“Look, if I had known before that you could be so dramatic, I would’ve told you to choose drama as your major.”

“Ha. So funny. It’s just – fuck him.” You say the last part under your breath as you turned around to see nobody in the empty hallway.

“You two are really something else.” She states, making you roll your eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s supposed to mean that you and Jason are really annoying. And petty.”

“Well, he’s the one that needs to contradict and compete against every single fucking thing I say, every single fucking time! It’s really fucking annoying,” Barbara only rolls her eyes in amusement. “And Gordon paired us up together for this project, and, God, I just can’t do anything with him without wanting to punch him in his stupid face.”

“I know, and that’s exactly why Gordon paired you both up, he really likes you both and he wants you both to stop having this weird rivalry between each other.”

“Wait. You knew?”

“Well yeah. I’m his daughter.”

“Well, why didn’t you tell me then?”

“Because I like seeing you suffer.”

“You know, you’re a terrible friend.”

“Thank you,” She replies, with a small laugh, before she links her arm with yours again and whips out her phone to frantically shoot another text as she lets out a deep sigh. “Where is Steph? She took my car this morning and said she’d pick us up.”

“You let her drive your Bentley?” You ask, surprised she would give Stephanie one of her most prized possessions.

“Yeah, I know,” She spoke, absorbed in her phone, “But, she promised me that she would keep it safe, and we all know that I will kill her if something happens to it.”

“I do.” You reply, a small laugh escaping your lips before a blue Bentley pulled up in front of you both, causing Barbara to quickly pull open the door and shuffle inside, leaving you to chuckle to yourself before making your way to the back seat of the car, the blaring music making you wince as you enter the car but Babs quickly turns it off as both of you settle in.

“See! Your car is perfectly fine, just like I told you it would be!” Steph smugly announced, her blonde curls bouncing wildly as Barbara stared at her unimpressed, before both of them fall into their routine bickering as, this time, Babs begins to criticise her driving and apparent ‘mishandling of the most precious thing to me’, while you only roll your eyes at their antics before pulling out your phone to scroll through the messages you’ve missed throughout the day.

“Hey,” Steph’s voice shakes you out of your thoughts as you meet her eyes through the rear-view mirror, “What’s up with you today?”, her seemingly innocent question provokes a snicker from Babs – to which she receives a smack on the shoulder from you.

“What?” Steph inquires further.

“Nothing, why don’t you ask miss ‘I-fucking-hate-Jason-Todd’ here.”

“Fuck off, Barbara.” You grit out, glaring at her through the rear-view mirror.

“God, both you and Jason actually act like children,” Stephanie chimes in, “You’re both almost the same but you both compete against each other against every little thing – “.

“Are we done talking about Todd?” You retort, ignoring Steph’s comment, “I have better things to do than think about him.”

“Mhmm, sure.” Barbara winks at you and it takes a lot for you not to launch at her right there, in the car but Steph draws your attention away by babbling about some boy she met in her criminology class and the conversation in the car gradually fizzles out, until Steph asks,

“You guys heard about the party this weekend, right,” A matching ‘yes’ from you and Babs prompts her to continue, “Well, you’re going then, right?”

“I don’t know, but why’re you so pressed about it?” Bars questions, with a raised eyebrow.

“No reason, I’m just curious.”

“It’s Tim, isn’t it?” This time, you pipe in, and Steph almost yells,

“No. No, it’s not!”

“Oh my god. Of course it is.” Babs laugh echoes with yours as you eye Steph in the rear-view mirror, to see a blush dusting her cheeks as she quiets down.

“Whatever, are you coming or not.”

“After this conversation, yeah I am.”

“God. I hate you both.”

Standing in the corner of the party, nursing a red solo cup of something that burns your throat when you drink it, you regret not saying anything in the car against attending this party.

You’re currently standing alone, both Steph and Babs have completely disappeared into crowd, as Dick had shown up and quickly whisked her away as soon as you all entered the apartment, whereas Steph has promised to get you a drink about twenty minutes ago but never came back and as you try to block out the reverberating EDM music blasting through the room, you make your way towards the kitchen to re-fill your cup (the one that you went and got yourself), before something catches your attention in the peripheral vision.

It’s a wispy haired girl, her eyes smudged with mascara, backed against the wall of the kitchen – away from the main crowd, you could pick from her body language a sense of uncomfortability as she was drunkenly shaking her head at a man who towered in front of her, making you stop in your tracks to watch the scene unfold right in front of you, before quickly changing your course towards their direction, already knowing the identity of the man in front of the girl, without seeing his face.

“Hey, Cyrus, get the fuck away from her!”

As soon as you reach them, and the words leave your mouth, another raucous voice speaks at the same time as you.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Cyrus and the girl in front of him stop at their hushed conversation, to look away from each other and face you both while you also look at Jason – with a shocked expression – standing next to you and before you can say anything, Cyrus lets go of his hold on the girl before turning to glare at you.

“I don’t see how any of this is any of your business?”

You restrain yourself from physically hurling at him and fist your hands at your sides before looking at him with an unimpressed look.

“I don’t see how any of this is your business either, Beck? Thought daddy said that he’ll pull you out of school if he had to deal with your stupid behaviour again, or did you forget about it?”

“I swear to god – “

He tries to step closer to you but Jason steps in front of you before he can do anything else, and mutters,

“How about you fucking walk away before something worse happens?”

Beck shrugs of Jason’s hold on him before walking away and pointing a finger at you.

“You’re such a fucking bitch, you know that?”

“Should’ve said that to your daddy when he said I was best fucking person he’s ever met.”

He looks at you wildly and is about to retort before one of his friends pulls his attention to a game of beer-pong happening in another corner of the party and the whole scene stops for a second. You watch with a held breath as within a fraction of a second, a cocky smile overtakes his face and his shoulders relax as he runs his hands through his dark hair, leaving with his friend and you quickly turn around to see the girl, still standing there, her arms wrapped around her body and a shocked expression on her face.

It takes you a second, but you manage to gently coax her to the hallway outside the apartment and Jason (unbeknownst to you) follows in your footsteps.

“Do you want me to call you a cab, or can I drop you off?”

She shakes her head and is about to say something before Jason interjects,

“I can take her home.”

Both you and the girl turn around and stare at him and you quickly shake your head, diverting your gaze away from him,

“It’s fine Todd, I’ve got this.”

He sighs.

“Will you just let me help her?”

“Well, I’ve already told you that I’ve got this under control, so I don’t see why you’re being so – “

“Oh - uh, you don’t have to worry about me, I can uh – go home myself.”

“No. I – uh mean, let us take you home just to make sure that everything will be okay.”

A meek smile overtakes her face as you squeeze her hand lightly and you offer a half-smile in return.

“Us?” Jason’s voice perks up and you turn around,

“Well, I don’t have a car. If you want, I can come with you and drop her off at her place but – “

“Yeah, sure. Come on.”

His voice is clipped as he moves past you both, turning around the end of the hallway, leading you both to quickly follow him as well.

“Wait. I never asked you for your name.” You gently rest place your hand on her shoulder, making her stop and quietly giving her name,

“It’s Anna.”

...

By the time you’ve left Anna’s apartment complex, the small talk in the car dwindles down as you both sit, unnerved in the dimmed light of the car, the silence suffocatingly awkward. It doesn’t change until he pulls up to the curb, facing the entrance to your apartment building.

“Thanks.”

It’s quiet enough that you didn’t expect that he’d actually hear you. Let alone, grab your wrist before you leave, an incredulous expression on his shadowy face.

“Thanks? That’s it. You’re not going to say anything about what’s just happened?”

“Well, what the fuck do you want me to say.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well neither do I. Look. Thanks for dropping me off and Anna. That’s it. I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

He doesn’t say anything and let’s go of his hold on your wrist before you quickly slip out of the car, not realising the force at which you push, slams the door shut, making you internally wince. But in your peripheral vision, you can see he doesn’t look at you, with his face staring forward and grip tight on the wheel.

His car’s gone further and turned the corner before you’ve even made it to the entrance doors, and you breath in the cold October air, letting the wind whip across your bare skin, goosebumps rising while standing in a pathetically insulating satin dress, your thoughts pummeling through your mind without fully understanding them and you sigh again.

“What did you say to him after that?”

“Babs, I’m already – “

You stop midway through your hushed conversation with Barbara to see a disheveled Jason noisily weave his way through the shelves, towards the table at the back of the library you had occupied with Barbara.

“Sorry, I – “

“If you weren’t really going to care about this assignment, you should’ve said something before showing up thirty minutes late.” You deadpan, voice steely and brows furrowed.

“Will you fucking listen to me?” he breathlessly cuts you off from saying anything else as he drops his books on the table.

“I’ll head out now.” Barbara mutters to you, squeezing your arm and slinging her bag over her shoulder before quietly slipping out of sight. You rested your chin in your propped arm, waiting for Jason to continue,

“Well, what’s your excuse?”

“I don’t have an excuse. I was caught up in call with my father, it ended up being longer than I expected.”

You stare at him for a moment, his eyebrows also furrowed and hair sticking in all directions as he breathes heavily.

“Whatever, just complete the outline of notes I made for you.” You replied, pushing pieces of sticky notes and highlighted papers, that you had been picking at for the past half hour, towards his direction.

In about fifteen minutes, you’re both working in relative silence apart from the occasional remarks on the thesis and clarification on handwritings. There’s also been the perpetual looks on Jason’s part, and regardless of how much you try to block them, it itches at you to confront him about his irritating tendency.

“What Jason? What do you want now?”

His expression is firstly, taken aback, and then he coughs before asking,

“Did you ever talk to the girl after the party?”

You nod slowly, eyes still trained on the table, curving letters on colour-coded sticky notes before replying,

“Yeah, Stephanie’s their R.A, so I went and checked up on them the day after the party, she’s doing fine.”

You think that’s the end of his curiosity, but the pit of anxiety in your stomach and his next question, makes you internally want to bang your head against the alder wood table.

“And, uh, what about Beck?

Now, you stop writing with your pen and look up at him instead, resting your chin on your propped hand again, with a bored expression splayed on your face to try and detract from the internal anxiety, for both yourself and him.

“What about him?”

He doesn’t say anything at first and for a moment you think he might snap like he did in the car a few nights ago, but he only closes his eyes in frustration as you cock your head to one side.

“If you’re wondering if he’s going to face consequences for what he does – then no.”

There’s no verbal response except for a quizzical expression and you almost roll your eyes at him.

“I swear to God Jason, do you live under a fucking rock?”

“I just – look if you’re gonna be a bitch about it, then fucking leave it.”

“Maybe if you’d like to stop yelling in the goddamn library, I can fucking say something.” You almost hiss at him, voice seething as you both glare at each other.

“Anyways, you probably know that Beck’s the son of the headmaster, yeah, yeah, anyways, he’s always been a fucking creep around parties, but he’s never like you know, ever gotten that far.”

Jason raises an eyebrow at your hushed whispers.

“Like, he just trails around parties looking to either fight someone or just annoy them the fuck out but usually someone stops him before he can do something worse. But, still doesn’t mean that he isn’t a fucking asshole anyways – and his dad and him have like the worst fucking relationship ever, he’s threatened to pull him out a bunch of times of school because he’s so shit.”

You lower your voice even further at the last past, that you’re not sure if he can even hear you.

“How do you know all this?”

You shake your head and trail your eyes back to the unfinished notes in front of you.

“That’s unimportant. He’s a whiny trust-fund brat and I don’t know why someone hasn’t punched him yet.”

That silences Jason for a moment. And the moment doesn’t last long before your phone’s alarm blares through the silence of the library and you quickly move to silence it and Jason eyes question you but you don’t respond, instead move to disorderly throw all the pens and highlighters into your bag and grab as many papers you could in one go before quickly whispering,

“I’ve gotta go.”

“Wait – “

“Look. I promised I’d help a friend out with something. I’ll let you know when I’m free again.”

Jason doesn’t have a chance to say anything else before you’ve flitted through the haze of bookshelves out of view.

“What happened to the guy your dad set you up with?”

“Darian?”

Babs doesn’t look up from her place on the vanity table as she touches up her makeup while you’re sat on the table with a plastic fork prodding the edges of one of the Halloween themed chocolate cakes Babs attempted to bake for the party.

“Yeah, the one with the hair, right?”

“The hair?”

She casts a pointed look at you through the mirror, but you only take in another forkful of chocolate icing before answering,

“Yeah, he had like the most voluminous hair I’ve ever fucking seen.”

“Really? Well he had the most boring personality that I’ve ever fucking seen.”

She barely contains a smile at your comment while her own snarky comment elicits a snort from you but before you can say anything else, the frantic clicking of Stephanie’s (beloved) d’orsay heels against the linoleum floor followed by her quickly making her way into the dimly lit bedroom causes the room to fall into silence.

“You’re not ready yet?”

Her voice holds an accusatory tone and Babs quickly scoffs,

“I’m trying. But somebody keeps distracting me by asking unimportant questions.”

“Excuse me. I’m trying to be a good friend and keep up with my friend’s life.”

“Please. It sounds more like you want to know more about Darian.”

Before you can retort to her statement, Steph’s voice cuts in,

“Darian? Who’s that?”

“A guy I went on a date with a while ago.” Babs replies with a roll of her eyes, pulling out a scarlet lipstick tube from her make-up bag.

“ – That your dad set you up with.” You finish for her and Stephanie laughs.

“Since when is Professor Gordon a dating guru?”

“Since fucking never,” Babs replies, this time, twisting the cap of her lipstick. “It was just some guy in the forensic unit that he probably felt bad for being single and alone, but he shouldn’t have, ‘cause he didn’t have a fucking personality even if he tried.”

“Well that sucks. Anyways, are you both ready?” She pulls out her phone out of the bag she’d brought and starts typing.

“Or, you know, at least tried to be ready?” This time, she eyes you pointedly and you let out a noise of protest while stuffing another forkful of chocolate cake in your mouth.

“I’m sorry not all of us have devoted our whole fucking lives curating every Halloween costume known to man!”

This was something you’d noticed since you’d come back to Gotham and had been forced to attend Halloween parties – nearly everyone you’d encountered was practically obsessed with the celebration – and one of those people was Barbara. So much so, that every year she held a Halloween party and planned it more profusely than you’ve ever seen her do anything else. Her love also came with a heightened scrutiny for your enthusiasm – or lack thereof – for the holiday.

Which was why you were currently sat, dressed in a black boat neck dress with a flimsy witch hat resting on your head as you decimated one of Babs’ rejected Halloween cakes – yet the worst part was that it was currently early December (midterms being pushed back made it impossible to have it in October) and the last thing you’d wanted was to attend this party but Babs had personally threatened to drag you there to complete her and Steph’s wish of doing a group costume.

“It’s only you, you know.” Steph retorts, head cocking to one side and blonde curls hanging over her shoulder, “Now, let’s go, let’s go!”

About three hours later, you’ve found yourself nursing a cup of cheap bar (the number, you’re pretty sure that you’ve lost count of), eyeing a clique of literature students, who are currently in the midst of an argument while you stand in the corner of the room, trying to avoid them recognizing you out of their peripheral vision.

“What’re you doing?”

“What the – “ You quickly turn around to see a tall figure dressed in black staring down at you quizzically, and then you realize that it’s Jason Todd.

“Todd, what the fuck do you want.” You hiss – not at all in the mindset to have a conversation with him at the moment – while trying to remain quiet enough so that you don’t attract any unwanted attention.

“I should be asking you,” He taunts back. “You’re the one sulking around the party and hiding in places.”

You don’t try to reply to his response but offer another front of argument that throws all sensibility of your previous claim of not wanting to fight Jason out of the window.

“I don’t fucking understand, why can’t you just leave me alone?”  

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just trying to talk to you and you’re blocking everyone’s way.”

“Well, I’m not moving. So, they can find another way.”

“Are you fucking serious,” His voice raises. “You’re actually acting like a – “

“Shut up. Will you.” You hiss, pushing both of you further into the corner, so the bi-fold doors hide you better from the view of the group.

“What are you – “

“Morgan and his stupid friends keep trying to argue with me about some shit literature and won’t leave me alone.”

“Why?” There’s an edge to his voice which you pretend not to hear by avoiding his eyes.

“Beats me.”

He falters at the hostility of the comment – or lack thereof and you don’t say anything else but instead move to carefully peer pass the maple doors to scan for the group you’ve been avoiding amongst the mass of people in the room and as soon as you can’t see them you quickly move past Jason, to the to the cantilever staircase, without registering Jason’s footsteps trailing behind yours until you’ve reached the top and the overwhelming music and yelling from the party subdues a little and you let out a breath of relief before you see Jason also reaching the top of the stairs.

“Are you fucking following me?”

“No. Barbara and Stephanie were looking around for you and I was helping them.”

That lessens your anger a little and then confusion settles.

“Why?”

“I wanted to apologise to you.”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in and find yourself a little speechless.

“I – I meant why were they were looking for me but go on.”

“Oh,” You think you see his cheeks tint pink a little but with the dim lighting dancing shadows on his face, you’re not sure. “Well, I wanted to say sorry about the last class we had with Gordon.”

He takes a pause to slightly mess with his hair by running a hand through it.

“You were right about Bukowski – I – I don’t know why I said all of that shit.”

Looking back at this moment, you think it’s not your brightest because somehow his rather heartfelt confession falls almost deaf on your ears and somehow the narrative in your mind shifts to something else entirely.

“Is this some sort of joke, Todd?”

“What?”

“Did Morgan put you up to this shit? I know you and I don’t get along but siding with him is real fucking low, you know?”

“I – “

“I can’t fucking believe that you’re listening to all their bullshit and agreeing with them. It’s so – “

“No. What the fuck is wrong with you?” He cuts you off and his voice raises considerably. “I’m trying to fucking apologize to you and all your doing is being a bitch again.”

That silences you, but he continues.

“You know, I’ve tried. I’ve tried everything to understand what I did to fuck up with you, I’ve asked Barbara and Stephanie and – just, fuck, why did I listen to Dick?”

He mutters the last part, but you catch it anyway but still no response forms in your head at all, instead new questions pop-up as Jason runs another frantic hand through his ruined hair before quickly thundering down the stairs, leaving you…

You’re not quite sure what you’re feeling but cold is one of them as you pull the pathetic lace sleeves down your arm to try and warm yourself but nothing happens and maybe you feel your eyes too heavy to keep open as tears brim at the corners.

“Hey – are you okay?”

Babs’ voice causes your head to snap upwards as you watch her quickly scaling the stairs, eyebrows furrowed together, and you offer no response until she reaches the top and extends her arms to pull you into a hug.

“You were right. Halloween really isn’t your holiday.”

“Could you please stay behind for a moment?”

Gordon asks of you as you’re heading out of the hall, and the pit of anxiety resting in your stomach throughout the class, blooms further as you wait on the side until all the hall empties and its just you and Gordon.

He doesn’t say anything for a while, until he finally sighs and looks at you with a hard expression – one you’re all too familiar with from when you were little –

“Concerning Jason,”

You nod. Since your argument two days ago, you haven’t seen him, and the guilt seeped in farther when his spot well behind you remained empty the entire lesson.

“He’s pulled from your partnership.”

“W-what?”

“He came to talk to me, saying that he can’t continue to work with you anymore on any further projects, and the last one I paired you up on should definitively be the last.”

“Sir, I – “

“Look, I don’t like to meddle in the private lives of my students, but this situation is too tiring for me not to say that whatever problem you and Jason have; fix it. I always find both your work fascinating and that goes for the assignment you both submitted before and I simply cannot allow your own vanities to cloud judgment over the fact that you and Jason are paragons at literature and in my books, are too quick-witted to allow this talent to be lost amongst petty arguments.”

“I know, I – “

“So, I hope you’ll resolve this issue before next week’s lesson?”

“I – yes. Yes, I will.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

“Can I come in?”

The situation that you’re currently in rolls over you in waves of guilt and anxiety as you stand in front of Jason, in a beige coloured hallway as he idly stands with the apartment door halfway open, hesitant at your words or more so at how you’re standing in front of his apartment with worn boots and a heaving chest. You’d finally taken heed of the advice offered from Gordon, Steph and Babs and even consulted Dick and mulled it over with your own guilt before trekking all the way to his apartment.

“Sure,” His voice sounds removed – apathetic enough that you have to refrain from wincing, as he opens the door further to let you in. “Are you okay?”

You don’t hear him as your boots echo against the hardwood floor as you enter the apartment building and the sudden realization that this is the first time you’ve seen his apartment settles in as you eye the dimly lit space, with books scattered on the coffee – most of them are torn, something you’ve always found a little endearing, though you won’t admit it. The room is an oddly home-y mixture of warm beige's and deep browns that you would’ve kept staring at if he hadn’t called out your name again.

“What?”

“I asked, are you okay? You’re red in the face and panting.”

“Oh, oh, yeah, I walked all the way here and the elevator was out of service, so I used the stairs.”

“Why did you walk, nearly twenty blocks?” He furrows his brows and you let out of a puff of annoyance.

“I – listen, I don’t want to argue with you,” You take a step closer and calm yourself before starting. “You – you were right, I was being a complete and total bitch to you without reason at that party and before that. It’s just – “

You stop, and release a chuckle before awkwardly asking, “I’m gonna need a drink to get through this, do you have any?”

Nearly fifteen minutes later, not as drunk as you need to be, but enough that it gives you courage to finally stop beating around the bush and talk to him so you move to see him also standing facing the open windows to the evening sky, the sun setting against the horizon as dusk settles and you motion for him to sit on the floor as you are and he slowly complies.

“Look, I know I’ve been hostile towards you since – “

“Why?” He interrupts, not looking at you and you sputter a little. “Why have you been so hostile to me.”

“Well, you should know, none of it was your fault – well, not directly.” You sigh.

“College was my chance to start over. You don’t need to know all of the other shit, but I just thought that this whole experience would make everything okay and I wouldn’t need to fight for every single thing in my life just to end up being sub-par. And, it was going great.” You slightly chuckle to try not to choke on your words.

“That was, until you came along with your prodigal capabilities in literature and it felt like everything was falling apart again. Because somehow, suddenly, I wasn’t Gordon’s favourite anymore and I wasn’t at the top of the class – and somehow, I wasn’t enough.” Your voice is a little more choked now as you kept looking forward, even though Jason had started watching you now.

“It just was like my entire belief system just got turned upside down.” You release a breath and let the silence settle after your words.

“Fuck, I just unloaded a crap-ton of shit onto you, and you probably don’t understand any of it. I mean, I’m drunk so I don’t understand either.” You laugh and try not to cry, even though you’re pretty sure you will.

“No, I think I understand sort of, too,” He replies, voice softer than you expected and you’re more surprised to see a small smile gracing his lips. “You’re not completely wrong about the whole belief system thing there, you know, Gordon’s classes meant the same thing to me too and I just wanted to enjoy something without having to fight my way for it but boy, did you make that hard.”

A breathy chuckle escapes you as he stops talking and you both sit in the silence until he pipes up again,

“If we’re trying to mend this whole thing then maybe you should want this back too,” His voice is cryptic as you furrow your brows in confusion and stare at him with a lost expression as he stands up to walk away and disappear into the hallway, out of your sight before quickly returning with something clasped in his hand while you raise an eyebrow at him.

“You dropped this in my car when we were heading back from the party with that whole thing with Anna. Dick found it the next morning and had a whole field day about it.”

In his palm, rests a single earring piece shaped like an olive branch which you thought you’d lost in the chaos of the party and you almost laugh.

“You know, I’m gonna pretend this isn’t too creepy and thank you for giving it back.”

“I was trying to give it back to you but you never wanted to have a single conversation with me so,” You roll your eyes before picking up the earring and hooking it back through your ear even though you didn’t have the other one on.

“Right, I get it, I suck.”

That causes him to laugh as he settles back down again next to you and he doesn’t look at you before saying,

“No, you’re not as annoying as I originally thought.”

You echo a ‘hey’ and lightly punch him and the silence envelopes you both – softly, and there’s a moment of peace you think you’ve both settled in and it feels nice.

le fin

(pt.2 will come)

[mrpenguinpants]

Andrius, Venti, and Dvalin: General HCs [+ unhinged Venti]

Oh no, not strange at all! I love seeing the art people have done on human Dvalin and Andrius. I’m not entirely sure if you wanted a Venti x Dvalin x Andrius pairing but I’m going to assume so. But just in case, I added a few points of all 4 of your hanging out. How my desk is positioned with my window, the sun is shining directly into my eyes so I have to type in this weird position unless I want my eyeballs to melt.

Also, if any of this is wrong just look away. This took forever because holy crap there is so much lore on these 3. Not sure what exactly you had in mind so I made some general/friendship HCs

Alright, today’s appreciations post is for maagdalen​​. Super lovely person with some lovely emotes. Oh and your english is really good btw^^ and ty for chatting with me 💕💕💕

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[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first. 

@hanniejji​​  @mikeysbike​​ @unionwitch​ @musekala​ @twistedsunnshiii​ @stanzastic​ @akaasea​ @xoneaboveallx​ @adoring-ghost​ @asheseiler​ @childelover​ @dilucsz​

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Andrius, Venti, and Dvalin: General HCs

Andrius

Andrius, also known as Lupus Boreas, was tasked with protecting the nation of Mondstadt under the request of Barbatos. He had a noble soul and mainly stays in the area of Wolvendom. He was strict, to the point, and never really partakes in whatever “foolish” activities Venti or Dvain get themselves into. But it’s all just a front because as soon as one of them get’s hurt or is in danger, his fangs and teeth are out. Even if it’s a cute hydro slime. Then he’ll take them by the scruff of their neck back to Wolvendom to get their wounds checked. On Venti it works, but with Dvalin’s dragon form. It’s amusing to see a pouting dragon getting dragged off by a wolf that wasn’t even double his size.

Not many Mondstadt citizen’s know but Andrius isn’t actually a wolf. He chooses to take the form of a wolf and should any of the wolves in Wolvendom be threaten, that’s the form he will appear in. But in truth, it was because Venti suggested it. If he was going to stay in Wolvendom and protect wolves then it made sense that his form would be the big bad wolf. Really Andrius just believes that Venti has a secret vendetta against cats and Andrius wouldn’t talk to Venti if he suggested that he take the form a dog.

There is a bit of discourse between Andrius and Venti due to Venti’s human-like appearance since Andrius views human society as a disappointment. Only accepting abandoned infants that have no where to go. But he does respect Barbatos and helped in his efforts to rebuild Mondstadt and protect it as one of the Four Winds.

While he doesn’t completely enjoy Venti’s extravagant personality he’s glad that Barbatos adopted the name and is living his life in freedom. Despite being the anemo archon, he chooses to live as Venti. Having fun in taverns and doing what he loves.

Venti

Venti always brings stories and sings for the two whenever he decides that it’s been too long since he’s seen his friends. He usually brings a bottle of wine even if he’s the only one that ever drinks - which is probably why he brings wine - which leads to Andrius scolding Venti to try and act civilized when he gets drunk and saying “No Dvalin, you cannot have some. The last time we let you drink you cried so much that Springvale still has a waterfall.”

It’s amusing to hear that after the war, the biggest problem Venti has right now is getting constantly ID checked. Dvalin takes this quite literally, since he still isn’t fully aware of taverns rules and regulations, that it takes both Venti and Andrius to hold him down before another Stormterror incident happens.

Venti has always been bold, never afraid to say anything, which was a trait that Dvalin and Andrius liked about the anemo archon. It was what made him the archon of freedom but sometimes Venti is a bit too bold and pretends to play fetch with Andrius wolf form. He is not amused. When he tries it with Dvalin, Dvalin will participate but he get’s confused and ends up just sitting beside Venti when the archon throws the stick. Which causes Venti to make a walk of shame to get the stick back.

When Venti acts as the Wind Archon it’s always a bit of whiplash when he talks in his philosophical state that it reminds Dvalin and Andrius that despite his childlike appearance and attitude, he was still the anemo archon. But it get quickly covered up when he says it’s time to switch back to Venti time.

It’s hard for them all to meet up in the present day. Dvalin stays in his domain while Andrius stays in Wolvendorm, all alone in their own domain. Venti prefers lively places than those quiet and solitude areas so he’s either in the City of Freedom or under the Windrise tree. But on occasions where he feels lonely he’ll swing by Dvalin’s lair and use the winds to carry their conversation to Andrius. Just so he isn’t left out.

If anyone asks where the ballads that Venti sings that are about a strict wolf and a nervous dragon, he’ll just say it was a passing tune he made up.

Dvalin

Dvalin, same as Andrius, lost his faith in humanity and the city of Mondstadt. He was released as his role as one of the four winds but continued to remain in Mondstadt. Similarly to Andrius he is distrustful around humans after being betrayed by them, chose to avoids human contact but he tries to adopt a more friendly side when Venti visits him.

Dvalin cares about Venti more and isn’t as standoffish in showing that he appreciates Venti compared to Andrius. Venti explained to him and showed him what freedom truly was he felt connected with someone for the first time. He did want to be understood and loved by the humans for who he was and what he wanted to protect. But that’s still a long road ahead.

He’s a curious but clumsy dragon. He’s pure of heart and steadfast in his goals which Venti is full-heartily cheering him on while Andrius disagrees but allows Dvalin to continue on this own path. Even if Andrius is on the other side of Mondstadt, he still tries to keep an eye out for Dvalin should the Abyss Order ever try and take his friend under their control.

However, due to how almost naïve the dragon is, he get’s into rather...interesting situations. While Andrius groans and Venti loses his absolute shit when Dvalin, still in his dragon form, lands and tries to observe the wolves. He only hides behind a thin tree that barely covers even 2% of his entire body and ends up scaring the wolves who run back to Andrius for safety. It takes a lot of consoling from Venti that the wolves didn’t like him, they were just scared and perhaps he should adopt a smaller form?

He’s still a bit sick from the aftermath of the Abyss Order and the poison of Durin so he can’t travel as far as he would like so Venti keeps him company. Telling him what the citizens of Mondstadt have been up to and playing music with his lyre.

---

I love writing Venti, he’s so much fun. :) I say this but I live for Venti who hides behind this happy persona but is actually unhinged or deluded. I have many thoughts on this but I didn’t want to break the pace of the fic (plus this is getting pretty long anyways). So feel free to skip the rest of this if that makes you uncomfortable. I’m just spit balling right now.

But nervous and shy dragon Dvalin plus mother hen Andrius is canon. You cannot convince me otherwise.

This week has just turned into “what will we awaken today?” In other news, Lisa and Diluc. But it might be a bit late since this took some time to finish. In extra news, solo leveling just updated. Oh and jjk is (hopefully) getting a new episode tmr^^

---

Barbatos

Andrius and Dvalin trust Venti to fulfill his archon duties should anything ever happen to Mondstadt. The same way Venti trusts the Four Winds will protect Mondstadt should anything dangerous arise. With the carefree nature of Venti making a sudden appearance after Barbatos’s year long nap, they both got a bit too comfortable with this happy-go-lucky version of their archon.

That is until Venti brings a fourth person into their trio. Someone who knew how to play the lyre and wished to fly and see the birds. Andrius and Dvalin share a quick look of anxious tension and it’s confirmed when Venti makes a small slip of the tongue and calls you by a certain boy’s name. They aren’t sure what to do or if Venti was starting to regress back into Barbatos and what that could mean for this innocent traveler.

“Barbatos defeated the previous ruler and left the city to rest because he didn’t want to become the same tyrant. But an archon is still an archon with responsibilities. Those responsibilities can be warped to the point that they believe they are helping and guiding their followers, but are actually trapping them in their cage. He is an archon that believes in freedom so his cage is just a bit bigger. Big enough that you can’t see the walls. Be careful traveler.”

Venti goes to greet you the next day you see him but his words seem to fade away when he approach's you. He asks if you’ve been talking to Andrius lately. You nod and ask how he knows. He says that you just spell like wolfhooks and that you shouldn’t worry about anything. 

The next day Andrius apologizes to you about his words and that he was mistaken. There was nothing to worry about and to trust Venti. You can see Dvalin a bit off to the side looking away nervously and a bit guilty.

Venti always makes sure that Andrius and Dvalin keep an eye on you, especially Dvalin when you’re in stormterror land. It was a pretty dangerous landscape to trek through. As for Andrius, he doesn’t want you to get hurt during your weekly practice fights. It wouldn’t do you any good if you got hurt and couldn’t explore this vast world with him.

[linksthoughtbrambles]

Your fantasies stay in your head, Link.

(Link's Thought Brambles part 12)

“I’ll speak with my daughter, first. Knights, await us here.”

First?

He wants to speak to her FIRST?

Holy Hylia, he’s going to talk to me, too. About what?

“Please sit, Zelda.”

“Yes, father.”

What is it what is it what is it what is it what is it what is it? What could it possibly be?

“My daughter.”

“Yes?”

“You disappeared this morning.”

Is it the praying thing? Was I not supposed to pray with her?

“Father, I-“

“Let me finish.”

Maybe he didn’t know yet last night in the dining hall but

“Your maid found your rooms empty and guards gone. No note.”

maybe he knows now and he’s going to tell me it was inappropriate

“Your appointed knight was obviously searching the castle grounds for you.”

and I’m not to do it again. If that’s all it is, it’s not so bad.

“Upon investigation, you had dismissed your night guards and headed for the kitchens, at which point you then proceeded, quite irregularly”

But what if it’s NOT that?

“to insist on entering the transport passageway down to the docks unaccompanied.”

“I-“

“Let me finish, Zelda! You are not a child anymore. If you were, the inhabitants of this castle could see such an excursion as a whimsical adventure. Some of them might indulge you. Others might gossip about your lack of focus. But it is far, far worse for you to behave this way now, as an adult.”

I wish I could hear them. I almost can. Just voices, no words.

“Your silence suggests you know what I mean. You do, don’t you?”

At least no angry shouting? Not yet anyway.

“You think I was dallying.”

“Ha. I know better than to think you were with a man.”

He doesn’t shout, really. It’s more of a growl.

“Wh- then why-“

“Because everyone ELSE will think it, Zelda!”

Oh. That was a little bit like shouting.

“Skies above! Half the talk in this castle is about who has relations with who. It’s Hylian nature. In that way, the Gorons and Zora are both far more civilized, and the Gerudo lax. They, fortunately, will not care if they hear such things, but Hylians and Rito will. Frankly, the poor excuse you seem to have devised about searching for your knight would have made it worse had he not been visibly searching for you this morning. Zelda… you cannot afford any more stains on your reputation.”

Wish these two would stop giving me the side-eye.

“I cannot help the ones that exist already.”

Maybe I should just ask them what it’s for.

“Oh ho. Yes, you can. And before you disagree, think well on your dedication to training. On the sincerity of your prayers.”

“How can you think I am insincere?”

Oh. Oh no. That’s her humiliated voice.

“I didn’t say that. I said YOU should think on it. And you should think well on your treatment of your appointed knight.”

I know it so well now, I can tell through the door.

“Using him as an excuse to venture off unattended. Leaving your apartment with no indication of where you had gone – the boy was beside himself.”

How bad would it be if I burst in there and told him off?

“Anyone could see it in his fervor to make a circuit of the entire castle in record time. I saw some of it from the Sanctum’s top floor. Did you know he could scale these walls barehanded?”

Locked-up-with-stalnox-bones bad?

“I did not.”

“He can and did.”

Probably.

“Father?”

“Yes?”

“If I am not a child, Sir Link is not a boy.”

Virn would probably stab me. Well, try to.

“It’s easy to forget. His face and stature suggest a younger age than his.”

“Yet you did not forget mine.”

And of course I can’t stab him back. So I’d have to disarm him.

“Your countenance carries… carries a burden of years which you have not lived. You do not appear even as young as you are.”

And then Kertiss, too.

“Sir Link, on the other hand still has, shall I say, an innocence about him which belies his age. His father warned me of this, and yet the sword chose him.”

It would be pretty fun to kick their asses in front of the Princess.

“I will put my trust in the artefact of the Goddess and choose to believe his personality is exactly as it should be.”

Actually, it would be fun to kick their asses anyway. But especially in front of her. She’s never seen me kick ass. Not really. It’s been pretty dull traveling around central Hyrule, which of course I should be grateful for. It’s not like I want her to be in danger.

“Father. Before you appointed Sir Link, I was free to move about this castle as I wished.”

But it would be really nice

“Indeed.”

to see her look at me

“But you had never behaved as you have today.”

with something other than dislike on her face.

“No note. No indication where you had gone but a few vague words to the kitchen staff, of all people. Disappearing into the castle depths alone. No. Before today, you would have sought solitude in the library or your personal study. So, I am forced to wonder what has changed. The answer to me, appears simple. You wished to escape Sir Link.”

Who am I kidding? If I did any serious fighting in her presence, it would probably disgust her.

“You have nothing to say, Zelda?”

It wouldn’t go the way it goes in my fantasies. Where I save that version of her who smiled at me in the training yard, and she pulls me into a recess in the curtain wall and wraps her legs around my hips.

“Hm. It has not escaped my notice how seriously he has taken his duty. He behaves as my royal guard do.”

Or where I fight off a bunch of Moblins who attack us on the road in the dark, and she kisses me so hard it hurts, and whispers, ‘You’re the night guard tonight, hero. Hope you’re up for it.’

“You are not accustomed to it when in these halls… but to say you are no longer free to move about as you wish is an exaggeration. Unless he has attempted to dictate your destination?”

“He has not.”

Or that really embarrassing one where she shoves me onto her own bed and calls me her divine beast. Sooooo much shame.

“Good. It would be inappropriate for him to do so. Now to the next issue at hand. What WERE you doing down below? … I suspect I know the answer. But I would prefer to hear it from you.”

No, she’d be disgusted for sure. My stupid fantasies are very stupid, and very not realistic.

“No? Very well then. I think you went to study the excavations.”

No showing off. And no bursting in there to tell off the king.

“I...”

You can’t let it be about you, Link.

”…I went to the northeast dig site.”

“Did you learn anything of note?”

No matter how much you might want it to be.

“Not yet.”

Because she needs you.

“Hmph. I’ll not forbid you from going at all. But go sparingly and take your knight with you next time. Avoid making a scene and fueling the gossip.”

Because she needs an ally.

“Father… they talk about him as well.”

Someone who puts her first.

“Yes, I know. It is, unfortunately, unavoidable when one is in the public eye. I ask you to believe me when I say it is better for him to be with you than not.”

Not her sealing power. And not her reputation.

“Think on what I’ve said, daughter. Please send sir Link in after you, and do not disappear on him this time.”

And not someone who manipulates her to get what they want.

”Yes, father.”

Your fantasies stay in your head, Link.

Thank the Goddess she fixed the slate.

_____

Read Next: [Link struggles with innuendo.]

Read this fic from the beginning (it makes more sense that way).

Follow this link to the post list for this fic.

[literallymechanical]

Well, are you going to fill us in on "why we are morally obligated as a species to some day blow up the Earth"? Sounds like a supervillain backstory

(This was originally inspired by qntm’s fantastic satirical essay, “To Destroy The Earth,” but I disagree with him on a few key points. I highly recommend checking out qntm’s fiction, particularly Ra, Fine Structure, and There Is No Antimemetics Division. Disclaimer: this is a thought experiment, I’m not actually going to destroy the Earth.)

Let us begin with this: you want to destroy the Earth.

That’s not a question or an instruction, that’s an axiom. A fundamental truth from which a logical system is built. It’s your Statement Zero, the singular concept from which the rest of these instructions are built: you want to destroy the Earth. You might not know why, and you certainly don’t know how. Trust me, you really don’t know how. Take all of your cultural knowledge of Death Stars and hyperspace construction crews and throw it out the window, because it’s not worth a clipped penny.

That being said, here are a few reasons to somebody might want to destroy the Earth:

You want to wipe out humanity

You want to wipe out some other species

General misanthropy

It’s obstructing your view of the Moon.

You want us to colonize Mars or Venus, and you figure this is the best way to get everybody on board.

These are bad reasons to destroy the Earth. If any of these sentiments resonate with you, please stop reading this essay. This isn’t for you.

Anyway, let's put a pin in the “why” for now. We'll get to it later. Let's tackle the "how" first.

To destroy the Earth, you need a Plan, with a capital P.

The shape of the Plan is extremely simple to define, much simpler than the relatively detailed (and, in my opinion, fragile) instructions others have outlined. It has just two parts.

Figure out how to destroy the Earth. This is defined as the Earth not being there when you're done—any chump with nuclear weapons can scour the Earth, you're trying to make the entire thing go away.

Destroy the Earth.

However, a lot of shapes are simple to define, but hard to draw. The Mandelbrot set can be defined by a single equation and a couple of instructions, but the result is a fractal. This Plan will be fractally intricate as well. We certainly can’t draw up the full Plan right now. We can barely even begin to draw the outline. Let’s take a quick stab at it anyway.

First of all, I don’t know how to destroy the Earth. We can speculate a bit, but we certainly can’t choose a method yet—you'll likely need multiple redundant strategies anyway. “Blow it up” is one idea, but the gravitational binding energy of the Earth is about 2*10^32 joules, and there is no conceivable technology that can handle that sort of power right now. “Launch bits of it into space one by one until there’s nothing left” sounds promising, though it will take a while. “Mess with its orbit until it’s close enough to the Sun’s Roche limit to get ripped to shreds” is a fun idea. Or maybe in the next million years, you'll come up with a better way.

The most important part of that statement is “the next million years.” It will take a very long time to figure this one out. A million years is a pretty good estimate, though if you'll proactive it might take as little as a couple hundred thousand.

That brings us to the hardest part of the Plan: making sure the Plan survives a million years.

Right now, you're in a precarious position. Climate change probably won’t entirely wipe us out, but it will likely disrupt civilization enough that the Plan will be lost. Nuclear war might actually cause us to go extinct. A killer asteroid certainly would. Therefore, the first thing the Plan needs to do is save the world. Reverse climate change, or at least halt it. Nuclear disarmament. Peace, or as close as we can get to it. Medicine, spaceflight, art, prosperity, happiness, survival—all part of the Plan.

Colonizing other planets, and eventually other solar systems, is also in the Plan. Not just for a backup in case of killer meteor, but also because when you do destroy the Earth, you’ll need somewhere to stand. Remember, you're not trying to wipe out humanity here! Just destroy a planet. This will be tricky. It’s very likely that there’s no such thing as faster-than-light travel, so it will take a while to spread across the galaxy. This might take up the bulk of the million-year timeline.

(Quick note: you may be tempted to conquer the Earth, or set yourself up as some sort of galaxy-spanning God-Ruler. In my personal opinion, this is a bad idea. Right now, empires typically last a couple hundred years before falling. Do you think it would be easier to hold on to multiple planets than just a bit of land around the Mediterranean? I believe that it’s best to have your Plan set up a system where people can survive and thrive without needing you.)

But as tricky as interstellar colonization may be, it’s still the easy part. The hard part is that the entire Plan has to reconstruct itself from scratch if everything goes wrong.

The Plan has to be the most massively redundant, self-repairing, and robust project humanity has ever undertaken, or will ever undertake. The Plan needs to be able to resurrect our entire species on its own, without human intervention, in case something goes wrong (e.g. nuclear war) and we all get wiped out. Here’s one idea: computerize the Humanity Reboot Protocol, stamp the code onto platinum bricks, launch a million copies into deep space and onto every rocky body in the solar system, and have it check back in every once in a while. You can have that one for free.

The Plan also needs to have a way to re-motivate humanity to destroy the Earth. Maybe that’s as simple as posting it to tumblr and having a lot of people read it, but it will probably be a bit more complicated. Crucially, the Plan does not have to be visible. Nobody actually needs to know that the Plan exists, if you’re clever enough. You might be tempted to turn it into a religion, but religions change and die. Remember: the Plan has to eventually pop off, no matter what we do to ourselves.

The Plan is now its own entity, both distinct from and deeply intertwined with humanity.

(As a side note, this begs the question: What if the Plan is already in effect? If it’s a good Plan, we wouldn’t be able to tell. What if some sufficiently motivated creature set things into motion ten thousand or a hundred thousand or a million years ago? Food for thought.)

Alright. So, enough time has passed, and you’ve figured out how to destroy the Earth. I use “you” loosely at this point. Maybe, against all odds, you’ve figured out immortality, or mind-uploading, cloning, whatever. More likely, you’ve been dust for a million years. That’s not important. Regardless, “you” are standing on Mars or wherever and your metaphorical finger is hovering a metaphorical big red button marked “DESTROY THE EARTH.” Step 2 of the Plan.

Let’s pause here and go back to that pin from before: Why? Why are you destroying the Earth?

Well, a lot of reasons. If I were doing this, my Plan would include abandoning the Earth for other star systems and setting it up as some sort of museum. I'd take all the biosphere with me, of course, and make better Earths elsewhere. Imagine a hundred Earths, each of which are perfect nature preserves, or more! Imagine finding a good silica-heavy planet, turning it into molten glass, and sculpting it into something beautiful. Imagine spelling your name in an Oort cloud. Imagine an ocean planet full of whales.

Imagine coming back to a deserted G-type solar system with a few dusty rocks, an asteroid belt, and a handful of gas giants. Imagine breaking them down to make raw materials for a Dyson sphere.

Bam! Earth destroyed! You did it!

Maybe a paleontologist somewhere will figure out that this might be the planet where we first evolved, and it would be nice to put it somewhere safe. Hey, does that count as destroying the Earth? Where the Earth once was, there is now empty space. No more Earth! That sounds pretty destroyed to me. Bam! Earth destroyed! You did it!

Maybe your Plan is different, and the Earth is still inhabited. For what it’s worth, I hope you’ve made it a paradise, one of a thousand Edens across the galaxy. It would be a shame to blow it up… but if Sol-3 is just one paradise among many, what makes it significant? “Earth” is our homeworld, but now there are a thousand homeworlds, so what is “Earth?” What makes this one rock special? Nothing! You’ve successfully destroyed the entire concept of “Earth.” That might be harder than blowing up a planet! Well done! You did it!

In conclusion, here is why I say it’s a moral imperative to destroy the Earth:

Eventually, a baby bird has to leave the nest. Somebody needs to be the mom bird who lures her chicks off the edge, and it might as well be me.

[confessionsofa-roleplayer]

There is a very fine line between what happens on COAR and what happens beyond it.  The mods know this and our followers hopefully realize it, too.  The mods of this blog are not mediators for the RPC.  We do our best to keep things civil here in this space.  What happens beyond that space, for obvious reasons, is very much beyond our control.  When you comment on something here or reblog it to your own blog, your words become public consumption - for our followers, for Tumblr users, for people doing a random search on Google.  That is a risk you choose to take.  We hope you understand that the mods of COAR cannot control the behavior of people outside of our blog.

This blog is obviously a place of multiple opinions and viewpoints.  None of us are going to agree 100% of the time.  That’s okay; it’s how stuff like this works.  However, sometimes there will be people who you ALWAYS disagree with, or people who make your COAR experience more stressful than it needs to be, or people who just give you a funny feeling for whatever reason.  We are taking this opportunity to remind everyone of something that our confessors often remind all of us - the block button is your friend.  We encourage you to cultivate your own experience - especially here.  

In addition, while critical discussion is encouraged in the comments section, taking a conversation into someone's own space with the intention to harass them or circumvent our rules about politeness is a misuse of our blog's resources. While we will not block anyone for this, we do not approve of it.  This is our final stance on the matter, and any rules which touch on this topic will be adjusted accordingly.  If you receive harassment and/or hate in your personal space after commenting here, block every last message. Also, if you’re being actively and continually harassed off of anon, then please report those blogs.  I know Tumblr’s reporting system feels like a joke on the best of days, but it’s got to be better than doing nothing.

Alright, that’s everything.  For those of you using COAR the way it’s meant to be used, thank you.  Thank you for treating this blog, the mods, and your fellow followers with respect - even when you don’t agree with them.  It means the world to us.

~ Mod MJ ~

Addendum:  (I was reminded this was supposed to be included with the original post, and I forgot to add it.  My apologies!)  We will never block any users based on hearsay. If there is a problem on our blog with a user’s tags, reblogs, or comments, please send us a link to the post so we can look into the situation.  Thank you.

[lovewillthaw-j]

Frozen II/RBTI discussion (2/2)

Part 2 will discuss the differences, especially about the way the separation was dealt with.

I acknowledge that the subject of Elsa and Anna’s separation at the end of F2 is terribly divisive to our fandom and for those who know me, I walk the middle line and have dear friends on both sides of the divide and I respect everyone’s opinions. I wanna say up front that I LOVE F2 to bits, I came into this fandom after F2, I’m not an F2 hater, I also love F1 too, I love Elsa and Anna.  

The differences

There are fundamental personality differences which should be stated up front - Vanellope: Extrovert; Ralph: Introvert. Elsa: Introvert; Anna: Extrovert. It’s interesting that in RBTI, the extrovert leaves but in F2, the introvert leaves. Thanks @super-mam-te-moc for pointing this out.

Obviously, these are two different movies. At its core, RBTI is a movie about friendship, and learning to accept that friendships can change and that it’s not a bad thing for friends to pursue different dreams. Frozen 2 is about Elsa’s destiny and source of her powers, the sins of her ancestors and righting a wrong. I’m going to court controversy here by saying that the separation in F2 is “by the way” and unexpected. 

The handling of separation in RBTI

In RBTI, separation is hinted early on and the audience is gradually “prepared” for it. First and foremost, as I mentioned at the beginning, Vanellope is an extrovert and it is not unexpected that she would enjoy a place like Slaughter Race. She makes an early mention of this: “that feeling, that not-knowing-what's-coming-next feeling. That's the stuff. That feels like life to me.”

Vanellope hints at the separation when she says: “It’s true [that Ralph and her cannot exist without each other] In fact, it's so true that we will be fine if we're apart for a minute.” Also, in the song In This Place Called Slaughter Race, it is plainly obvious that V dreams of being in Slaughter Race and “her heart is in flight there” and also that “home is so slow”. The audience is also told by Shank that “There is no law saying best friends have to have the same dreams. You know?” and “All friendships change... but the good ones...they get stronger because of it”.

Vanellope is also shown to have moments of meaningful bonding with Shank and the crew. Her conversation with Shank during the “betrayal” scene is deep and she is shown to be taking advice from Shank. Also, there’s the scene where V plays basketball with the crew.

The actual moment of separation is well paced in RBTI. Just before they finally part, Ralph and Vanellope sit on a bench and have one last heart-to-heart chat. This is a direct parallel to the beginning of RBTI, where they are also sitting on a bench talking. The final hug between R and V has Vanellope (the one leaving) tearing up, showing that it’s hurting her too, to leave. And she tells Ralph that she loves him.

And after the separation, we see evidence that they’re all right and that the separation did not cause any detriment. Ralph has joined a book club and started a new thing where they all go hang out in someone’s game every Friday night. And, we see R and V talking via Buzzzface (convenient plot device again) and updating each other on their lives and talking about what they’re going to do when they meet again (eg V requests R to bring burgers for her)

The handling of separation in F2

Again, I know I’m courting controversy here. In my opinion, F2′s separation just doesn’t feel “earned”. 

Firstly let me start with what we know from F1: Elsa is an introvert (please hear me out, I’m NOT saying introverts never want to leave), in Elsa’s situation it seems to me weird for her to be the one to leave. If I had to choose between the 2 sisters, I would say Anna is more likely to leave (NOT that I want her to!!) Secondly, she’s the queen and as others have pointed out, in 1800s European monarchs don’t just leave the throne. 

Thirdly, they are sisters and not just friends. Sisters have a closer bond than friends. (hear me out, I’m not saying siblings must stay together forever, I’m stating this as a difference between F2 and RBTI, please please please read on) Fourthly, the time period is different, Elsa and Anna are not 21st century modern women. Royal siblings do not separate unless one marries into another country’s royal family. 

Fifthly, they are NO ordinary sisters. They have gone through great tragedies - 13 years of isolation, one concealing her guilt and hiding away, out of love; the other completely bewildered why she is left alone, the parents’ death, the coronation tragedy, and Anna DIED for Elsa out of love - she willingly sacrificed herself to be hurt/killed by Hans, AND, Elsa accidentally killed Anna (but fate brought her back) - their stories are so intertwined with love for each other!

Continuing on to what we see in F2: there is little hint at the separation throughout the movie. Where did it come from? To me, after Anna broke the dam and Elsa revived, they should have all gone home...and recuperate (Anna spent a night wet and cold in a cave, Elsa died and came back, and fell into water back first, ouch) and figure out what to do with the Northuldra, the revelation of Runeard’s deed, check that all the Arendellians are okay etc...

In my opinion, Elsa is not shown to be having enough interaction with the Northuldra/Honeymaren to justify her staying there. (EM shippers, I respect your ship and I’m not anti to your ship) and what does she do in the forest??? As I have said in other posts - she’s been brought up in civilization her whole life; the Northuldra know the forest and the spirits better than her; what is there for her to do there??? that she can’t do from Arendelle? Why can’t Anna be the ambassador to Northuldra?

At the actual moment of separation in F2, everything is a blur. This is how I remembered my first watching: Elsa says something cryptic about “an oath to do what’s best for Arendelle” and “luckily I know just what that is”---they hug---Anna is Queen???!!!! What???---Elsa’s not there??---Elsa’s in the forest---Elsa’s galloping on Nokk towards Ahtohallan---BOOM the movie has ended. We do not see the sisters discussing about the separation. We do not see a teary hug and exchange of “I love you’s”. Yes there is a hug, but it takes place so fast (5 seconds, I counted).

After the separation, the scenes again are so rushed, we do not see much of what Elsa does in Ahtohallan/forest and in my opinion, the letter that Anna sends to Elsa is barely enough to explain how they are keeping in touch. I acknowledge that many have said that Nokk can travel at a supernaturally fast speed so Elsa can be back in Arendelle quickly. But, as others have also said, that also means Elsa could do whatever she has to do in the forest while staying as Queen of Arendelle, since Nokk can transport her there stat.

I think I might accept the separation a little better if it had been better dealt with like the way it was presented in RBTI, ie, preparing the audience for it, having a viable reason for the separation, having Elsa really integrating into the Northuldra/more screentime with HM (if Disney would support EM), having the sisters discuss and agree on the separation, devoting more screen time to the emotions regarding the separation to show the importance and gravity of their sisterly bond that they have, that is now undergoing a huge change, tears at the point of separation etc... Of course, the whole point of RBTI is separation, whereas the whole point of F2 is Elsa’s destiny and undoing what the ancestors did...why have separation at all in F2? Don’t we have enough to chew on already? 

I want to conclude by reiterating that I’m not an F2 hater, I really really really love F2 (look at my blog!) and I’m NOT saying RBTI is a better movie than F2. (ironically, I actually don’t like RBTI very much despite the amount of detail I’ve gone into in these 2 posts, but I do love Ralph 1 a LOT) I am also respectful towards all and towards the directors Jenn and Chris. 

If you disliked what you read in this post, I’m sorry, and I hope we can agree to disagree, as Vanellope told Ralph.

[goyurim]

I was tagged by @its-chelisey-stuff @koreandragon @leedongsik @gimme-a-chocolate @what-breaks-my-heart and @wullu woah woah wooahh slow down there people i get i’m famous but one at a time please 🤚🏽

1. Why did you choose your url?

do i need to go off on a rant about how much i’m obsessed with this lil sunflower, the literal sun, i revolve around him everyday, he gives me light, the brightest star in my universe, or are y’all sick and tired of me already

2. Any sideblogs?

nope

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

wow uh... i don’t remember... 2013 maybe? i made this blog last year in august though

4. Do you have a queue tag?

i don’t have a tag, in fact i don’t tag most of my stuff bc i’m lazy, but my blog almost always runs on queue. once in a blue moon i obsessively post about my hyperfixations but i try not to torture my followers too much

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

i made it to talk to people about flower of evil and intended to delete it afterwards but then i decided to explore photoshop and practice my editing skills too so... i’m still here

6. Why did you choose your avatar?

tak dong kyung is the cutest liddol bean i love that girlie so much. my avatars are just my favourite characters of shows i’m currently watching/not over yet

7. Why did you choose your header?

Because I love Beyond Evil and that scene is everything. - that’s mel’s answer and i’m stealing it bc both our headers are from the same scene and she’s right

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

*sighs* yaa’s. boat. post. it’s gonna haunt me forever isn’t it. no i’m not linking it he already did in his post and that’s enough

9. How many mutuals do you have?

you can check that?? how???

10. How many followers do you have?

491

11. How many blogs do you follow?

144

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

yeah. mostly whenever i’m ranting about my personal life that no one probably cares or wants to know about

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

once? i’m online almost every day unless i have exams or assignments due then i take a couple weeks off. my blog still runs on queue while i’m gone so y’all can feel my presence on your dashes uwu 💞

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

lmao i’m too cowardly to fight people. i do disagree with people on drama opinions mostly but the conversations are always civil

15. How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

they’re guilt-trippy and make me feel bad about myself so i scroll past them real fast usually. no need to make this site a bad experience for me that’s not what this place is for

16. Do you like tag games?

always! they’re so much fun i love doing them and i love getting tagged my response is always ‘oh! this moot remembers me?! thank you for acknowledging my existence! i love you so much!!’ the reason i’m so slow at doing them is bc i need to be in the right headspace i don’t wanna just skim over them and i’m always scared of tagging ppl bc i feel like i’m bothering them lmao

17. Do you like ask games?

yes!! tag games, ask games, i love them all!!! getting attention feels great!!!!

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

Idk they are all famous to me 😘 - stealing mel’s answer again bc yes. you’re all famous in my heart 🥰

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

i am a little bit in love with all of my mutuals. we have this strange unyielding bond that ascends beyond time and space and i hope i have made all of my mutuals feel it in one way or another at some point during my time here. any love i made you feel is yours to keep 💓

20. Tags?

i feel like everyone’s done this already so anyone who feels like doing it can say i tagged you!! <3

[angelsndragons]

Okay, since I see a lot of people either straight up panicking or saying that Caduceus’ playlist is straight up depressing (neither reaction I get)....I’m gonna offer a different reading of the songs here, how does that sound?

Death Bed Salesman - This is straight up about Caduceus’ family and his upbringing. His father even says some of the lyrics almost word for word in ep 96. Growing up surrounded by death and all the rituals created for the living left behind made Caduceus into the person he is. ‘This is how it has to end/So love somebody while you can’ like talk about a thesis statement for Caduceus’ outlook.

How are You Doing - Wow this song is pulling double duty. Caduceus is not a character who likes burdening other people with his own problems, preferring to keep a calm, polite distance between others and his feelings. The style of this song harkens over to Jester, it’s very bubbly and sweet sounding. Of course, this is also one of Jester’s primary issues (someone please tell the clerics they can be people with problems too). Now, if you do what I did and go watch the music video for this song, two things will stick out. One is the increasing ridiculous scenarios the singers find themselves in while going about their day to day lives juxtaposed against their ‘nothing’s wrong, everything’s fine’ lyrics. Two is the fact that these singers come out at the end of the song together, they have triumphed over the madness and nothing stopped them from doing what they wanted and needed to do. This song encapsulates early Caduceus, while he was getting a feel for the Nein and being drowned every other second, ultimately his contributions to the Pirate Arc were fundamental to the group’s success. 

Vegetables - Honestly, this song just reminds me of that early conversation with Fjord in the Sour Nest. Caduceus is cooking omelets and just casually asks Fjord if he could look for veggies down in the torture chamber since it would ‘make a good root cellar.’ Fjord is so caught off guard by this request, and understandably so, he just repeats ‘Roots?’ Caduceus then just lists off root vegetables like Fjord’s an idiot. Oh, Cad. XD Honestly I like that the beat line is being made by vegetable chomping, it just feeds into the ‘Caduceus is a giant magical cow man’ vibes and I love it.

When the World is at Rest - Xhorhaus! In the middle of that street! Xhorhaus! In all seriousness, this song pulls double duty as well. ‘I miss the sun but the moons will do in a pinch’ anyone? The first and most obvious thing this song reminds me of is when the group is given the house and Caduceus asks, ‘are we putting down roots here?’ With the single act of planting that tree on the tower, Caduceus turned the house into the Mighty Nein’s home. Can’t get your deposit back after that, after all XD. I think of how this home in the dark has sheltered and protected the Nein so many times. I think of them befriending Essek and how that wasn’t part of the plan (you know, like Caduceus himself). I think of how their plans to end the war were hatched in darkness, how violated they all felt when one of their own was taken and when another was assassinated under cover of night, because the darkness had come to feel safe to them. I think of how much the Nein has blossomed since this house became their home, since they all had a place to go back to that was theirs. I think of how the Nein has given the world a breather, a chance to rest, all because they returned a beacon and befriended a traitor. 

Wildflowers - So, there are a couple of interpretations of this song. One is setting a lover or loved one free from your own feelings and letting them go. Another is that the singer is trying to find a place to bury a loved one (’that home by and by’ around where I live and grew up is a roundabout reference to heaven). Honestly, both interpretations are apt for Caduceus. He does his best to not burden others with his worries and feelings, he was the one who stayed home, which granted his siblings the freedom they needed to leave, etc. The second interpretation fits Caduceus as well because we know one of his secret hopes is that the Nein will let him tend their bodies and graves when the time comes. And now I’m gonna put on my TeaHaw hat for a goddamn minute bc holy heck, this is such a good song for both of them, Caduceus reminding Fjord that he deserves freedom and his beloved sea again, Fjord teaching Caduceus to follow his heart and embrace new experiences. ‘I have seen no other/Who compares with you’ really fits their complimentary and praise styles with each other. Thank you, Tal.

Never did No Wandering - Don’t have much to add to what Taliesin said about the song. For once. I think of Caduceus’ loneliness in the Grove and his regret that he didn’t leave sooner. I think of how he could only leave in the context of duty, of just how much his duty as a grave cleric to Melora has defined and shaped his understanding of himself. I think of how long it took for him to voice his own desires and wants. I think of how he insists he isn’t wandering, that he is following a pre-ordained path. I think of how much work he still has to do when it comes to knowing what he wants and making peace with getting it just for his own sake. Also, hello more sailors.

When You Get to Ashville - Oof, so this song works both ways for Caduceus, both as the singer and the subject of the song. I think of him, home alone for ten years, wondering what was going on with his family, if they were safe (he knew they weren’t, he knew what it took to keep them from him), how he didn’t actually want to know unless he could help. As the subject, I see his family, having only been away for what was maybe two years for them, looking at the changes in him in awe and confusion. Nothing’s changed for them but boy howdy has Caduceus changed. The homebody has left the nest and saved them all and he very obviously doesn’t want to go home yet if at all. Caduceus has waited so long to get them back and to be a family again yet when the time comes, he can’t bring himself to return, as the singer implies about the subject. He knows his family will be there to catch him if he needs it but I think this episode is where it really hit him that he’d been trying to recreate a past that never could be again because he could never go back to being who he was. 

Fuck it I’m a Flower - Another Caduceus anthem. Upbeat with a few melancholy lyrics. You can take it as the singer divorcing themself from humanity or you can take it as the singer using flowers as a metaphor for their growth into someone who becomes more involved (the singer goes from not marching to taking on other people’s pain from their place of safety to fully embracing the movement to change things while they can). I don’t have any context for this song but it really freaking reminds me of those protest photos where a protester offers a flower to the riot police (fuck the police). Caduceus is blossoming into a man who genuinely cares about the wider world and the people within it. Not just abstractly, which I would argue he did back in the Grove. But being up close to the ordinary folks in the Dynasty, in the Empire, the Coast, has given him a new perspective on not just his place but where he wants to stand. I think of Jester’s conversation with him back in Oh Captain Who’s Captain, the world is much bigger and messier than Caduceus could have ever dreamed. I think of Caduceus befriending and being kind to their crew and Avantika’s. I think of ‘Nott, you went to find help, we’re here to help.’ I think of ‘one day someone will pray for a miracle and that prayer will be answered because you showed up, that’s what this is all about.’ From rescuing Yeza to saving Giants to shattering the chains binding two of his friends to bringing peace to two warring nations to separating justice from vengeance, just look at where he is now: no longer passive or uncertain of how they can contribute to the world, Caduceus and the Nein have brought so much good into it. Caduceus knows where he stands now. Some people say that he’s the Nein’s moral compass and I disagree with that entirely, he’s become the courage to act on their moral compasses. 

Oh Bury Me Not - Okay, so I know this is where some listeners start to get antsy with all the death talk in this song and the ones after it so breathe, it’s fine. Caduceus is a Grave Cleric, y’all. Tal says that this song is an expression of Caduceus’s religious beliefs, which, uh, yeah. There is no stained glass in the Blooming Grove temple, they do all their work outside the traditional structures of religion and civilization and do it gladly, etc. The ending Bury Me Not, okay, guys, Caduceus is the singer here, not the kid being sung about. It really drives home the Wildmother’s philosophy on death: when you’re dead, you’re dead and you have no say over what happens to the corpse left behind. I think of the corpse of the Great Hero and the founding of the Blooming Grove, the Menagerie, and the Kiln. I think of Caduceus’ onscreen death and how through it, he finds his path to the Kiln. I think of him reviving Fjord. I think of him and this island and how much of a perversion it is of the ‘natural order’. Also, just given how much Fjord has impacted has impacted Caduceus’ ideas of faith and signs and stuff, it’s so fitting that this piece is here. I also think cowboys and how Tal said he’d planned on using the Ocean Burial before he came across this, I see you, Tal. 

September Song - So that build up, huh? I think of Caduceus and the Nein readying themselves for a battle to the death to save Yasha and stop Obann. I think of all the close-calls and near misses. I think of how every day, these people choose over and over and over to stay together, in spite of the coming winter, in spite of the obvious danger, in spite how much safer they would all be if they went their separate ways and planted their heads in the sand. I think of how that, their time, is the most precious gift any of them could give the others. This is not a sad thing, by the way. All these people, who have been so badly wounded by others, who are so skittish and so distrustful and so guarded, choose to stay together over and over again. No matter the hardship. They choose to spend their lives together, they choose to be better together and for each other.

22 (Over Soon) - Guys, this is 100% an Episode 95-96 song. 100%, no question in my book. I think of what Caduceus doesn’t say to his family. I think of what he does say. I think of how overwhelmed he is when the Nein saves them, I think of how he can only muster ‘It’s been a long time.’ (All these years) I think of him trying so hard to be given permission to stay with the Nein without explicitly asking for it, the subtext of ‘would you forgive me if I don’t come home yet’ threaded through his every interaction with his family. I think of how Caduceus hands the seeds over to his sister and tells her to be the hero the Grove and their family needs. I think of how easily and willingly he gave up what he’s called his destiny and charge since the beginning in order to stay with the Nein. This is Caduceus saying good-bye once and for all to the dreams of things going back to the way they were. I think Caduceus had been hoping that his family had changed just as much as he had. I think if they had, he might have gone back with them. But they haven’t changed and he has. So he can’t go home. Not yet. He cloaks his desire to stay with the Nein once more in duty but make no mistake, it’s desire that’s keeping him with them, people who may not understand him but who try and who are there and who accept the new person he has become. The build-up Tal was talking about? This is it. The moment where Caduceus first puts himself and his desires above what he thinks is his duty. The moment that Caduceus fully realizes how much he has changed and what an earth-shattering revelation it is.

We’ll Meet Again - Meetings and Partings have always had a special place in Caduceus’ arc, especially metatextually. He was the character who replaced another, who was rescued from his static seclusion by three of the Nein and who in turn rescued the three captive members. I think of how this song is a promise that, come what may, the singer will do their damnedest to return and make that promise a reality. I think of all the weird and wonderful people Caduceus has met in his short time outside the Grove. I think of all the shop keeps who just love this pink fuzzball and how many times they tell him to come back. I think about the Dusts, the meeting and parting and sanctuary they gave him. I think about Reani and Nila and how his kindness to them has come back threefold (Reani escorting his family home, Nila protecting the Grove). I think about Essek. I think about how driven Caduceus became to reforge the sword after Yasha was taken, to bring her home. I think of Caduceus prodding the Gentleman into reconciling with Jester. I think of his delight in the coincidences that keep lining up between him and Fjord. I think about Caduceus and Beau and how proud he is of her growth. I think of his declaration in the dome that ‘We aren’t done until we’ve saved each other.’ 

Enjoy It - And we wrap up our playlist with another Caduceus thesis statement: don’t worry about the things you can’t change, find the goodness and light in all of your experiences. If it’s meant to be easy, it will be and if it’s meant to be hard, it will be hard. You’re the green bean and you can choose to become jaded at the storms or enjoy the water flooding your roots. This song also fits the lightness we’ve seen from Caduceus since sending his family home. His big quest, his reason for leaving home, has been fulfilled (so he thinks, pretty sure Molaesmyr will be calling in the Nein’s near future) so now he can just sit back, relax, and fully enjoy the ride.

TL;DR - Growing up and moving on is hard and painful but it is also triumphant and necessary. Learning to be who you are and to place yourself on your list of priorities is a journey full of quiet work that few rarely glimpse. Caduceus’ whole arc has been about who he is and what he’s going to do with the strong moral compass he’s got - Is he going to continue to live in the world, even with all the pain, struggle, joy, and goodness that comes with it, or is he going to retreat from it, go back to his little patch of green and forget about it? All signs point to the former, not the latter. In tarot, Death means transformation and sweeping change even more than it does literal death. Caduceus’ playlist is all about the transformation of his self even as he remains true to his core beliefs.