#and it also ironic for his character because he keeps talking about being king but he literally sells trash lolz
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Chin Up, Princess (2k words)
Max Verstappen x Reader
Genre: Ghoulverse Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Jos oversteps and causes a whole lot of hurt for Max and his mate, he takes things into his own hands and ends up resorting to extreme measures in order to save his lover. (Background Landoscar, Charlos, and Sewis)
Warnings: Mind control, talks of eating people and mentions of gore but nothing explicit, ghoul on ghoul violence, burning of a character, major character death (not a good guy tho), ED but like... also not an ED, soulbonds
Notes: Ironically the most tame ghoulverse fic I've done thus far. Thank you to🏍️for the amazing idea!!
Side Note: Feed my praise kink please?
Masterlist // Request Form // My Website // buy me a Ko-Fi
It’s raining again. The kind of rain Monaco doesn’t see often. The torrential downpour that keeps everyone hidden away inside to keep warm.
She watches the water droplets race down the window, wondering which one will hit the edge first. It’s not productive, but she needs something to distract her from the ache in her bones. The hunger pains have gotten progressively worse over the last three weeks. Still, she’s finding ways to cope. She has to manage; the pain is what’s keeping her sane.
It’s nice being home and hidden behind the water covered window. It means she’s free to drop the human look. All horns and tail, long tongue and sharp teeth, dark eyes and pointed ears. It’s natural - or it used to be.
It doesn’t quite feel like her anymore. Like somehow everything that had once been a part of her is now irritating. Her horns are heavy and her tail refuses to be anywhere but the ground. All because his words sit in her head and bounce around the cavity in her chest.
He changed her.
~~~♡~~~
A month ago, she ran into Jos in the paddock. Even though she doesn’t like the guy, he’s still technically her king - and Max’s dad - so her father in law in a way. Max had mated with her (a heavenly feeling) but had done so without the consent of his father.
Jos doesn’t like her one bit. Which she doesn’t care about. If Max is the prince of the demons and set to take up leadership at some point, that makes her a princess. They both dislike each other but in the essence of keeping things civil, she makes it work.
“I didn’t expect to see you here today!” She nodded her head to show respect. Opting for that instead of bowing to this man in broad daylight.
“I wish I hadn’t seen you at all!” Well - fuck you too - she supposes. She’d fallen into step beside him as they made their way to the Redbull garage.
She nearly crashes into him when he stops abruptly. He grabs hold of her bicep and drags her down some alleyway between buildings. She goes with compliance, hell only knows what this man can and will do to her.
Her back hits the wall with a disorienting force. “You’re not enough for us.”
“I think you mean for you.”
Jos hisses close enough to her face that she can feel his saliva hitting her. “The council decided you’re not one of us-'' He grabs her chin and she watches as his eyes fade to that deep dark color that usually means something bad is about to happen.
“You will not eat. You are not one of us. Am I clear?”
She snaps at him. Her attempt at fighting his hold is futile. Not when the damn demon king is trying to hypnotize her. “No!”
He clamps a hand over her mouth and pulls a lighter out of his pocket. The open flame hovers just above the healed over scar on her clavicle. She shakes, desperate to get away from the heat. “You will not eat. You are not a ghoul. You are not one of us.”
It’s a hypnotic tone that seeps through her ears and floods her veins. The heat of the flame no longer her one weakness as her mind submits itself to the will of her king.
~~~♡~~~
Her jaw snapped shut. Her vocal chords refused to work. Her throat constricts around liquids. Her teeth become glued to each other each time she tries to bite down into something of nutrients.
A month of this torture and she can feel herself getting progressively more ravenous. Slowly they’ve exhausted all of their options. No matter how desperately she tries, she can’t get any substance into her.
Max’s reflection appears in the window. A frown etched upon lips. It doesn’t suit him; Max was made to smile. She likes being the one to cause it. These days it feels like all he’s doing is trying to ease her slow and painful death.
He sits opposite of her and heaves out a gust of warm air on the window. His pointer finger paints a simple picture of a stick figure. It’s - objectively - a terrible drawing, but it serves its purpose and makes her laugh.
“I’m scared, Max.”
“I know, schat.”
They continue to stare out the window. The bond doing the talking for them, passing their emotions back and forth. He can feel her pain and she can feel his inner rage.
Humans don’t understand. Maybe they never will. They fear those who are different. Think this way and do this thing or you're a monster. Certainly not all of them. Lando and Charles are prime examples of this. Still - surviving amongst them gets harder each day.
“I know what you want to do.” She turns towards him. Unbidden in the comfort of their own home. His tail flicks in uncertainty. A habit he picked up from Sebastian. “I don’t want you to regret it.”
“It’s inevitable. Just earlier than planned.” He won’t meet her gaze. “I can’t watch you suffer when I can stop it.”
“You have always been the chivalrous type.”
Max slides closer to her. His thumb comes to the underside of her chin and pushes it upward. Her eyes have nowhere else to go, forced to get lost in his. A never-ending sea of endless dark that she’d willingly drown in.
“Chin up, love. There is going to be a crown on your head soon. I’d hate to see it hit the ground.”
~~~♡~~~
She hates not being able to go inside. She understands why she can’t though. She already has the weight of one hypnosis spell weighing her down; she’s more susceptible to another.
Still, waiting is nerve wracking. The sound of familiar roars fill her ears. Occasionally wincing when she feels Max’s pain. Mild compared to what it is for him.
Lando and Charles are sitting on the ground with her. Their mates are inside with Max, along with Lewis and Sebastian. She attempts to hold close to the bonds of their tribe. They’ve been planning this for the last couple of weeks. Every hole is plastered with flexi tape.
“Relax, chéri. They are fine.”
She won’t open her mouth to mutter a thanks. Not when she’s already salivating and can smell exactly where their pulse points are. Not when she can hear the steady rhythm of their hearts.
No, she can’t eat, but she’d also rather not risk it.
“Do we have to bow to you after this whole ordeal is over?” Lando looks at her with a curious expression. “Cause like - Oscar doesn’t bend like that.”
Both her and Charles gape and the odd statement. Lando looks like he’s just stated the weather on an average Monday morning.
“Lando, are you sure it’s not you who doesn’t bend like that?”
“I think I know how I can bend mate! How do you think we broke the table-“
Charles grimaces, his nose scrunching up and cheeks turning red. “Bleh! I don’t need to know how Oscar bends you.”
“You asked!”
“And now I regret it…”
Another roar bellows into the night sky. It’s loud and painful. She looks to the boys beside her for confirmation that it’s not Oscar or Carlos. They nod at her, leaving only three options.
She bolts inside.
The roars turn to whines. The fire rages over the body of Jos Verstappen. Max has sunk to his knees, the sunset hues of the flames reflect in his eyes and illuminate the tear tracks on his cheeks.
She falls beside him. Panicked hands search for any possible wounds; any burns in need of immediate attention. Max is crying as she does so, but he’s smiling at the same time. There are a million emotions running through the room. The large flames a mercy to the now deceased king.
A fallen king lay before them. His body burned to ashes. They watch as he is devoured by the fire. The silence is deafening. The only noise being the roar of the flames. An irony that doesn’t go unnoticed. To feel serene with the one thing that would surely kill her if the starvation doesn’t first.
Max is the first to approach the pile of ashes on the ground. He creeps up to it like they might reanimate. Like they might take back what they once had and reestablish their hold on her mind with no chance at her escape.
Sebastian meets Max in the middle. He scoops handfuls of the ash and decorates Max’s skin. The Dutch looks miserable when Sebastian dumps a handful into Max’s own cupped hands.
“Do I have too?”
“Do you want your fathers powers?”
He groans, but doesn’t wait any longer. He tries to be serious, but there is an element of humor here despite the situation.
“Does this mean Max is a cannibal now?!” She supposes Lando is trying to whisper, but the building they are in echoes. He chokes when he hears it.
“Lando! I am trying to eat my father!”
“So you are a cannibal!”
Oscar slaps a hand over his mate's mouth. Briefly, a look of disgust flashes across his face. “If you really think licking me will work, you are mistaken.” Muffled sounds from underneath Oscar’s hand escape, but nobody understands.
Max is finally able to choke down the ashes of his father. Certainly not the most conventional of coronations, but she can’t picture it any other way.
“Never thought I’d see the day where we were dropping to our knees for this guy.” Carlos chuckles from somewhere beside her as they close in on the new king.
Not a prince anymore - a king.
It suits him more, she thinks. Standing tall in front of his tribe, still laughing at Lando and Oscar and their odd positioning. At Carlos and his playful pride as he kneels. He exchanges a smile with Charles after years of rivalry now comes a shared respect. He turns endearingly to Sebastian and Lewis looking at him like proud parents.
Then to her. She’s on the ground, her knees bruised already. Max pulls her up into his arms. He brings his hands to her jaw and once again she drifts into the calm of his endless eyes.
Soft fingers massage her jaw. The one that aches with a desperate need for something she hasn’t had in so long. He’s gentle with her, like an antique porcelain doll that might break if he applies too much pressure.
“You are worthy of every good thing. You are one of us, just as you always have been and you are deserving of your life.”
The cement that had been fire in her veins vanishes as he speaks. Max keeps talking, but she’s too lost in the relief from these heavy feelings - the euphoria of knowing she belongs again. The cavern of her chest is beating with words of comfort.
Her horns don’t feel like extra weights and her tail finds Max’s with immediate ease. They intertwine like they had before.
“You are here and loved. You have a place with us.” He tilts her chin upward like he’s done since they mated. “Chin up, your highness, you’re a queen now.”
~~~♡~~~
Sated.
Her body aches from a full belly instead of the hunger pains. As does the rest of their tribe, she presumes.
Max keeps getting phone calls… and he keeps ignoring them. Instead opting to keep his attention focussed on his tribe. His love for them - for her - is radiating through his every move.
“I think King Max sounds good on you.” She flashes her teeth at him. The others are either chatting, or if you’re Oscar then you’re using Lando as a blanket and sleeping. They are paying no attention to them.
“You think? I’d always resented it.”
“You’re going to change things, Max. That’s not something to resent.” They hook tails again, a comfort she’d missed dearly. “Plus, you’re stuck with me now since you saved my life. I’m going to be the most demanding queen.” She waves her hand around for dramatic flair.
“Oh yeah? How so?”
“First I’m going to demand that you cuddle me - and I’ll figure out the rest later!”
“As you wish, your highness.”
#maxverstappen.ghoulverse#ghoulverse#max verstappen x reader#max verstappen#max verstappen x you#formula 1#max verstappen imagine#max verstappen x y/n#mv1 x you#mv1#mv1 x reader#mv1 imagine#mv1 fic#mv33#mv33 imagine#mv33 fic#mv33 x you#mv33 x reader#max verstappen f1#max verstappen fanfic#redbull max#redbull racing#redbull#oscar piastri x lando norris#charles leclerc x carlos sainz#oscar piastri#lando norris#charles leclerc#carlos sainz f1#sebastian vettel
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sooooo I had the idea of nightmare being a merchant and I have a lot to say about it hihi (see tags)
(comic under cut cuz it was getting too long)
#okay so I thought about how would nightmare interact with the main cast of heros and I thought him selling stuff made the most sense!#idk but the silly merchant that has been selling u trash for the entire game actually being the big bad of the story is funny to me#and it also gives him something to do instead of staying in his castle. torturing people.... or whatever....#and it also ironic for his character because he keeps talking about being king but he literally sells trash lolz#He does sell food but he mainly sells very dangerous weapons to humans so they could do no mercy runs#and all he has to do is sit back and enjoy as the human is doing the job for him!#he also doesn't risk ending up like flowey who gets killed ever after helping the human. cuz he's a shopkeeper!#and humans can't harm shopkeepers!#also he does this in many different aus. and when the no mercy run is done in that timeline (or not) he moves on to the next#nightmare sans#sans au#frisk undertale#utmv#art#myart
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i just finished my first watch-through of dimension 20 fantasy high, and man—all i want to talk about is riz gukgak and his bloody hands.
riz and his bloody hands. his white-knuckle grip on control. little freakazoid insomniac wound too tight. “i’m a harsh guy,” he says, but he’s got so much of a heart in him that he leaps into hell to save his father and charges blindly off into the nightmare king’s forest to save the world. he’s a harsh guy, but his greatest fear in the world is being left behind by his friends.
i love watching brennan and murph. because brennan is truly an extraordinary dm, and murph is THE plot-hound player. his characters move forward, ever forward, only ever onward. riz cannot sit still, he cannot lay fallow. the three days they’re aboard a ship in the open ocean, he wigs out and spends it spiraling below deck. he cannot relax. not even for a second, not even to sleep. because if he does--what? what will happen to him? what will happen to the teenage goblin kid with no father?
riz and his bloody hands.
and brennan knows murph well enough that he knows how to turn that into a character beat. he pits riz’s drive for knowledge against him. you love the truth. you seek it so much that you cut your hands upon the insides of crystals. what a metal and underrated line. because riz would destroy himself for the truth. he can’t handle anything less. he’s like one of those dogs that chews its own paws to shreds if it doesn’t have a job to do. it’s always the next mission and the next job and the next adventure. no time for slowing down because the world is perpetually ending and there’s only so much one little goblin can do on his own--even if he never sleeps. there’s no time for slowing down because if he has a moment - even a moment! - to breathe, to rest, what would he do with it? what does riz have, if it isn’t the mission? what does he offer the world, if it isn’t his brain and his bullets and his bloody hands?
at the end of the day, riz gukgak is just an empty little kid in a room full of empty mirrors. he’s just the kid who sleeps clutching his sword. that’s why kalina preys on him the way that she does. she’s the queen of masks and reflections. she sees right through to the fear inside of riz--that he isn’t good enough, that he is nothing more than some kid playing detective who gets his friends hurt. she toys with him, but i imagine she also sees some of herself inside of him. they are both in their own ways, empty shells.
and of course, the ironic truth is that riz is far from empty. truth-seeker, paranoid, whip-smart and frantic, riz tries so hard. he tries so hard that he dies for it. he’s the reason for their little team you know, he’s the instigator. he went after penny, and he went after the nightmare king, and he will keep going and going and going, tearing his hands open again and again and again until he gives out. the ironic truth is that riz has one hell of a heart on him, and it beats him bloody. it drives him forward, ever and onward. it will not let him rest, and so he will never feel how big it is. how much space it takes up inside him. how un-empty he truly is.
all he has are his hands, and they do not stop bleeding.
#sorry but i fucking love him so much#i wanted him to take a level in paladin after meeting his father soooo badly#but that would mean admitting he's got more inside of him than empty mirrors and cracked palimpsests#riz gukgak#dimension 20#fantasy high#the bad kids#dimension 20 meta#riz gukgak meta
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USM characters dating an Avengers daughter
- you knew his about his not-so-subtle crush on your dad when you first met, and decided not to tell him
- you adore him but whose to say he won't just use you as an excuse to hang out with your philanthropist billionaire playboy dad?
- but you'd been dating awhile, and had met Aunt May (who adored you), so why were you avoiding the subject of your dad?
- that was until you were fixing your suit and Peter walked in, gave you a kiss and offered to help. You forgot the little engraving your dad left you on your suit, "be careful and kick ass, love dad"
- "aw, that's sweet," he smiled, "when can I meet him?"
- "you. . .already have," you said, trying to gage his reaction, "he made me my first suit. . .and yours"
- it took him a few seconds but then it all clicked. His super amazing genius girlfriend whose dad bought her a Porsche at fifteen was Tony Stark
- his idol
- "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but you idolize him and I was scared and-"
- he understood - completely shocked but understood
- he does ask if that means he can drive the Porsche now tho
- you and your mom? Best friends
- danny and your mom? Not so much
- being the daughter of Black Widow herself came with a lot of trust, and many secrets so you never intended on dating because of it
- but then this handsome motherfucker gentleman comes along and you're on cloud nine
- you told him you have a complicated past and he respected that, waiting until you were ready
- but he's Iron Fist, King of K'un L'un and an Agent of SHIELD so he took notice when you'd disappear from team sessions
- he admits he got curious and followed one day, and there you were: training with Black Widow herself, and doing it flawlessly
- and at the end of it, his suspicions were confirmed once you hugged and said, "thanks, mom"
- "So are you gonna introduce us or does he always do that?" She made DIRECT eye contact with him and it honestly sent a shiver down his spine
- he introduced himself, remaining calm and collected, which impressed her but she also knows that people can hide how they rlly feel
- she GRILLED HIM
- "where'd you grow up?" "K'un L'un" "who are your parents?" "Heather and Wendell Rand" "if you're a billionaire, why do you wear five dollar flip flops?"
- you knew she approved of him, but she liked to keep him on his toes
- "beloved, I love you, but your mother scares me"
- oh how does one BEGIN to explain to their bullet proof boyfriend that their dad is Thor?
- he knew you had to be other worldly, and not just because he thinks you're a Goddess you accidentally struck him with lightning one time
- you wanted to keep it a secret for a bit before the Almighty Thor comes in and demands to know Luke's intentions
- "babe, why is Thor asking me when I'm proposing?"
- being a God came with perks, so Thor knew not long after you guys started dating that something was amiss with his daughter
- (you stopped remembering to being him poptarts and he got upset)
- "how do I know if he is worthy of your hand?"
- "He makes me laugh :) and he's bulletproof so. . ."
- they get along great
- his first trip to Asgard was a bit intimidating but seeing as you're half human, your mom reminded him that love between you guys was possible
- "I recommend a traditional Asgardian ceremony-"
- "dad we're sixteen"
- o h b o i
- talk about overprotective father
- you're a minute late, who were you with? What were you doing? I want their names, addresses, social security-
- if you guessed Winter Soldier a.k.a Bucky then you guessed right
- he knew something was up the moment you two lingered for a bit after training, and watching from the top deck this man SPOTTED your hands brush and asked Fury for Novas' personal file
- but knowing your dad, you were actually able to keep your relationship a secret for two months before he put the pieces together himself
- you both were out on a picnic date, Sam having made a cute cake, and a very threatening man with a metal arm came up sat down, smiled at him, held his hand out and said, "Samuel Alexander, sixteen, last Nova, grew up in Carefree, and 5'8, correct?"
- you were LIVID
- meanwhile Sam was like "omg he knows my name :0!!"
- you had told Sam long before dating that your dad was extremely overprotective, but Sam being Sam was just excited that his badass girlfriend has a badass dad!!
- and Buckys like "wtf this kid isn't even remotely terrified"
- Sam asks question after question, and it even turns into a third wheel - as in they're bonding and you're just there
- Bucky likes him but still tries to be somewhat intimidating, being the infamous Winter Soldier and all
- "Babe. . .baabe. . .when's your dad gonna be back? I wanna ask him if he likes my new helmet look"
- so like where do I even start
- you and Ava had been dating for a couple of months before she started to realize that she hadn't met your family
- you told her that they were just really intense and you didn't wanna scare her
- but who could scare White Tiger? So she insisted and you said "your funeral"
- also how does one explain to their partner that they technically shouldn't exist because your dad is a robot and your mom is a witch?
- your brothers LOVE her
- Billy and Tommy immediately recognized Ava, seeing as they'd work with the team from time to time and said "ooh our sisters dating the smart one"
- and Ava like, "babe I think I kicked one of their asses in training"
- Wanda adores Ava, she thinks she's good for you and might as well have someone mentally stable in your life
- Meanwhile in Avas' mind, "omg omg her mom is Scarlet Witch, her dad is Vision - wait is that why she's so smart? Is my girlfriend a robot?"
- no you're not a robot
- Vision likes her, and he knew about you two before you two even started dating. Why? You rambled about White Tiger during dinner once and Vision CLOCKED that look in your eyes
- needless to say, Sunday dinners with your family are now mandatory with Ava
#ultimate spiderman#ultimate spiderman x reader#ultimate spiderman imagine#peter parker x reader#sam alexander#sam alexander x reader#nova marvel#iron fist x reader#luke cage#white tiger#usm x reader
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Ngl I'm a sucker for postive characters development. So here's technically a bonus hcs for this ask: Jamil picks up skills that make it impossible for him to overwork.
During his 3rd year, he became the housewarden and FINALLY learned to delegate tasks. Because he's a paranoid king he still prefers do things himself, but now he can identify capable people and put them to work in accordance to their skills. He'll die before admitting, but its something he picked up from Azul.
With Vil he learned how to keep up appearences without letting his boundaries get stomped all over. No, he won't let show how much he despises someone but at least now he can at least properly maintain his own demands without officially offending anyone.
With Riddle he learned the noble art of letting someone know exactly what you think of them with just a look and certain way of sipping tea.
During his travels post-grad and post-freedem, he stops by Briar Valley. Malleus, always happy for the chance to play host, invites him to stay at the castle. While in Malleus' court, he learns how to properly organize all responsibilities within a reasonable time frame of 9 to 6 with a 1 hour lunch break. Any overtime is reserved strictly for emergencies (based on this).
At the end of his travels, Jamil gets convinced to join Leona on his campaign to reform the slums. Because Leona is still one lazy son of a bitch he somehow manages to develop a work/organization system that is so effective that all Leona has to do is occasionally wake up for paperwork and meetings. Said system also includes enough personnel for every type of situation, benefits + good pay for everybody, a 24-hour work schedule with constant rotations to prevent exhaustion, etc. Jamil is in the background taking notes on every little detail of this system.
Skip ahead, Jamil is now working as Kalim's vizier after grueling negotiations of his work contract so that he isn't treated like corporate slave (Kalim is fine with it, its the rest of the nobles who need shutting up).
Jamil proceeds to reorganize the staff according to a modified version of Leona's system and productivity goes up. Helps that he modified their employment contracts so that the staff are treated like staff and not slaves. He also bans child labor and any poison testers are experienced in identification, treatment, and have practiced mithridism. Jamil's absolute refusal to do overtime unless absolutely necessary along with being the only one to bluntly keep Kalim from doing whatever he wants pisses off a lot of higher ups but they can't argue because he's by far the best vizier they could ask for.
Cut to Kalim, who the nobles believe will punish Jamil for daring to "act above his station". Instead Kalim adopts the 9 to 6 schedule himself and orders a mass reorganization of work policies. Why? Because Kalim loves his bestie, wants to help people, and also likes having time to spend with his family. Previous Asim heads would just pass on their extra work to advisors and viziers which caused them to be constantly stressed andoverworked. Kalim is determined to break this cycle.
Ironically, this causes an unintentional employment rights movement all over the country. Staff are demanding contract modifications, better employment benefits, legal reforms to protect their workers rights & their children, etc. Workers unions are popping up all over and the nobles are getting their asses kicked. There are so many protests that the government has no choice but to accept in order to prevent a full-on revolution. Again this was all unintentional, but that doesn't stop Kalim from jumping in as a major supporter with a fondly exhasperated Jamil following behind.
A quibble at first: now I'm far from a Leona expert, but I'm inclined to believe the folks who talk about his supposed laziness as being more of a defense mechanism or a depression symptom. Because why put in the effort it doesn't pay off, anyway?
On the other hand, I love it how I pretty much knew which post you were gonna link for Malleus before even clicking it.
This makes me wonder tho. Jamil is indeed the sort to pay attention to others and what they do. I do wonder if we’ve seen any in-game examples of him picking up “tips” or habits from others in a manner similar to this. 🤔 Can’t think of anything off the top of my head, at least, but it doesn't seem like it would be out of the question.
“He'll die before admitting, but it's something he picked up from Azul.” Yeah definitely. What, the shady man who ruined his plans in book 4 might actually have the right idea for once, to the extent that Jamil would adopt it? Yeah definitely not something he’s gonna broadcast, at the very least.
I mean Azul and Jamil can be such a well-oiled machine when they want to be, and Jamil’s practical enough to recognize that when their plans align (as we’ve seen in events I believe), but… yeah.
Considering this rant of mine, tho… Yes, I'm all in for the workers’ revolution.
(Tho now I'm also thinking of Jamil going all “chaos is a ladder” about it. Definitely not as a public face or anything, but attempting to capitalize on the situation nonetheless.)
#twisted wonderland#jamil viper#kalim al-asim#azul ashengrotto#vil schoenheit#malleus draconia#leona kingscholar#riddle rosehearts#ner talks#chatting with folks#lex752
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This may be a stupid question, but is the "folk bandit who steals from the rich and gives to the poor" trope ever realistic? Isn't the gig up as soon as the people in power start putting the screws to the people you're helping, until enough of them crack and decide they're better off turning you in?
The short answer is, “maybe?”
One of the staples of a Robin Hood style character is the idea that they're fighting back against an oppressive regime. This that detail is critical to keeping the whole thing ticking along. When you take that away the situation you're describing becomes far more likely. So, if your bandit king is harassing the local lord, but the lord is a fairly reasonable individual, then the resulting security clamp down, and even temporary abuse of the peasantry, will be viewed in the context of a response to this bandit.
Central to the Robin Hood myth is the idea that Prince John is already crushing the peasantry, and Robin Hood wanders in to oppose that tyranny. John ramping up his abuse of the people isn't perceived by them as collective punishment for Robin's rebellion, it's viewed as him continuing to abuse his authority.
The irony is, these kinds of characters are far more vulnerable to villains who offer incentives for cooperation. A Robin Hood style rebel is unlikely to be sold out by peasants who view him (or her) as their defender. However, an oppressed peasant who is plied with, “enticing,” incentives, might flip. This may even be effective to flipping members of the bandit's own team, or even friends. How many offers of amnesty, titles, and treasure would it take to convince a member of the Merry Men to sell Robin out?
To a certain extent, you could can view this situation as a kind of social, “path of least resistance.” If someone is hitting you and the other is feeding you, are you really going to bite the hand that feeds you, in pursuit of pleasing your abuser? Now, in the real world, that answer is sometimes, “yes.” And this is a threat to this kind of a character. As much public support as they may enjoy, there's likely to be some who would still turn them over to their oppressor on the hope that it will alleviate things, (even if this hope is entirely unrealistic.)
Even in the specific case of Robin Hood, putting a price on his head is more dangerous to him than ramping up the oppression and hoping it erodes his support; because it won't.
Similar to the point above about how oppression is a critical component, if the local leader is viewed as a basically reasonable individual, if they start talking about needing to employ extreme measures to deal with a bandit preying upon the kingdom, they're going to have a lot more room to build public support against the bandit. They'll even have a lot of room to frame this as attacks against the peasantry, as they're part of the kingdom.
So, why doesn't this happen with Robin Hood? This hits some details of British history that I'm a little fuzzy on, but the very short version is that when the story was originally being told, it's possible that the nobles didn't even speak the same language as the peasants. Go back far enough and Britain was less ethnically homogeneous. Robin Hood, in it's “modern” narrative context, is about an ethnically distinct king (a Norman) abusing the people (Anglo-Saxons), with Robin as (or at least passing for) an Anglo-Saxon. (Note: This is an element that becomes a lot harder pick up on when you're looking at a version of the Robin Hood story that recasts him as a disgraced noble. Outside of historical context, it seems like a good way to give him some motivation, and could work if you push the story back a couple hundred years so he's dealing with William the Conqueror who was the great-grandfather of our villain, but, with King John it actually moves Robin over to being a Norman, thus also an ethnic outsider, and more prone to being betrayed by the peasants.)
Ironically, we can still see some remnants of England's diverse ethnic history in the language we speak today. In particular, there are a lot of animals where the animal itself uses an Anglo-Saxon derived word, while the word for the meat is derived from French. (For example, “deer” and “venison.”) In very general terms, the Anglo-Saxon speaking peasants interacted with the animal, while the French speaking nobles were the ones consuming the meat. (I'm scratching the surface of a very deep rabbit hole with regards to the development of modern English as a language. This is far more complicated than this example would suggest. Also, there were a lot of other languages getting put in this particular blender.)
If you specifically keep an eye on the ethnic groups involved, and view Robin Hood through the lens of an invading ethnic minority ruling and abusing the, “native,” people, (I'm putting native in scare quotes because the Anglo-Saxons were not, strictly native to England either, they emerged from a mix of native Britons and migrating Germanic settlers from mainland Europe sometime in the fifth century) then the idea that the peasantry would be more loyal to this bandit king than their actual lord starts to make a lot of sense.
It's also important to remember the most realistic element of Robin Hood, the, “modern version,” of the story, (that is to say, the version that has survived), was written as a political hit piece on King John. King Richard spent most of his reign happily away crusading. As a result, he wasn't around to collect taxes from his nobles. In contrast, when King John took the throne, he was suddenly close enough to start looking at his nobles, and asking them where his money was. They were, less than amused by the prospect of having to actually pay their taxes. So, while the story is about a tyrannical ruler oppressing his peasants, the reality was it was written by some landed nobility whining about having to pay rent for the first time in a decade.
Now, the actual folk story of Robin Hood predates this version by a fairly significant margin and we're not sure when because no one ever wrote the original stories down. There's all kinds of versions of the story out there, including some where the early version of Maid Marian duels Robin Hood in the forest. Maid Marian being an action hero is, actually, canonical. Most early versions of the Robin Hood myth involve Robin Hood being a prankster/trickster who mocks the nobility and steals their stuff, and usually, eventually, gets caught. He then escapes through his wits, going on to mock and steal again. Or, he's brutally murdered. It's a toss up. It really depends on who is telling the story. The “giving to the poor” part is more recent, as is the “being a noble” part. A lot of the early versions of Robin Hood is just him performing the medieval equivalent of pantsing... rich merchants? The sheriff is also a later addition to the story.
Robin Hood is like King Arthur. People just kept adding new stuff as they went along. The English probably also stole them both from the Welsh. So, you know, feel free to follow suit.
-Starke & Michi
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So, I made this playlist for Cedric on Spotify and I came here to talk about it. And believe me- I have A LOT to say. No one asked, but I can't keep this to myself.
I'm autistic, so I think that explains for itself (i'm hyperfocused). I made this playlist 100% based on the character trying to keep it very close to canon, I tried to capture the Disney feeling, the vibes, his personality, through the lyrics and instrumentals of the songs.
Rewatching Sofia The First, I felt a lot of nostalgia of childhood and old Disney princess movies, so I really wanted to capture that feeling, because otherwise the playlist wouldn't make sense, it wouldn't be Cedric. Furthermore, Cedric is a sorcerer and visually speaking I see that he fits slightly into the whimsigoth aesthetic, which would be themes related to the moon and stars, magic, witchcraft. That alone suits him, but added to that, I feel like he has this similar vibe to Merlin from Sword In The Stone, for example. So I think with Cedric, the stars and magic aesthetic suits him well, but not in a 90s girls way like whimsical/whimsigoth does. In this case, it would be something more magical, more nostalgic, like a wizard character straight out of a book, which directly goes back to Disney.
For the Disney villain vibe (something that would be a middle ground between Gargamel (I know he's not from Disney) and Merlin), I have his songs like Cedric The Great and My Evil Dreams, but also Poor Unfortunate Souls (Ursula's theme), Higitus Figitus (Merlin's theme), How Could I Refuse (Preminger's theme). I also have some instrumental songs, such as Let Me Tell You A Story from Russell Shaw and La Valse De Renard, which capture the feeling of that clumsy and nervous sorcerer, who's always moody and busy with everything at once, planning. You know what I'm talking about, do not pretend you don't.
And not just as a villain, but as a Disney character on his own- I feel like Sofia The First does a great job of paying homage to the old films and capturing that same feeling, so I see STF as not just a cartoon 'produced' by Disney (like The Owl House for example) but like one of those princess movies, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty. So I added stuff that could give me this feeling and still stay in character for him, like Disney songs, for example:
You know, not all the songs in that list are exactly from Disney, but that doesn't means they don't give the same feeling. And not only that- they feel nostalgic (and emotional, if I may say)
But I don't want to divide these songs in boxes, saying stuff like "this one is for the disney theme" "this one has lyrics that match his character" "this one fits his aesthetic"- some songs are there for more than just one reason, and I like to see it as a set, after all they are all on the same playlist. These songs fit the Disney Character vibes, but some also fit the magic aesthetic stuff, so it's all mixed. I prefer to see it that way
For this magical vibe, I have one of my favorite singers, Aurora Aksnes. She has an album called The Gods We Can Touch and just half of it has this vibe, not just in the looks of the album but also in the instrumentals, melodies and lyrics, so I couldn't help but include some of her songs. And I find it ironic that most of her songs that I chose have lyrics that suit him.
Like the case of the song "Potion For Love", which narrates a situation of romantic frustration, and both the lyrics and the title remind me of Cedric's situation with Sascha in the episode Enchanted Feast, and what I understand from that title is that there is no solution to love, there is no magic potion that can solve this problem. I love being a nerd
Other songs of hers that also suit him a lot are the case of Midas Touch, which I already mentioned here on Tumblr, where she narrates the situation of a reckless king in love (King Midas) who is desperate for Aurora's love, as if he depended on it, but she can't love him back because he "turns everything he touches to stone", and she can't accept this role, even though he's begging her to do so (it reminds us a lot of a situation, doesn't it?) (it could be either a y/n x Cedric situation or the events in The Day Of The Sorcerers, but in that case I prefer to ignore the romantic phrases in the song and turn it into something platonic, otherwise it will be really weird).
You Keep Me Crawling has lyrics open to interpretation, as it can talk about both religion and an abusive relationship, but it also fits the case of a wicked dictator, which the narrator still has hopes of them having mercy and deep down still being a good person, just like the case of Cedric and Sofia in The Day Of The Sorcerers.
Conflict Of The Mind talks about family issues/family fights, that despite everything, they still love eachother. Aurora wrote this song for her sister and it reminds me of Cedric and Cordelia.
A Dangerous Thing talks about a two sided person, but that Aurora knew from the first moment that this person was dangerous, and it's just getting worse and worse, to the point she reminds herself that there is no love in the world anyway, her good heart always forgets this. WHO SHOUTED SOFIA AFTER READING THIS?
To Be Loved, just read some of the lyrics: "I tell myself I have to build defenses / 'Cause once you are in love, you are defenseless / Everything was easy when it meant less [...] / Nobody knows me, nobody knows me / I'm never lonely / Until someone holds me / And let's go, just to show me / How it's like to be loved [...] / Cause nobody shows me / Nobody shows me / How is like to be loved"
The Innocent, I won't explain myself, I'll just put a part of the lyrics here: "Danger in the boy that would lose control / When everyone thought he had a heart of gold / I remember how he used to play / He'd let me win if I let him stay / He left without a single trace / I don't know why he said goodbye... to love / You would never let me in to your heart"
Exist For Love is for... fanfic purposes. And because it's the opposite song of Potion For Love. And in the MV she gets out of a shell like a mermaid/Aphrodite. Cedric x Mermaid reader, why not if he was a sea monster once (and this song is about being all lovey dovey with someone, it fits him when he was in love with Sascha, poor thing). And this album has those magical vibes, I already spoke about it before
The other Aurora's songs are there just because of the vibes. BECASE I WANT THEM TO BE *jk*
There's also Million Dollar Man by Lana Del Rey where she's in love by that villain guy and she sings "I don't know how you convince them, and get them, babe / I don't know what you do, it's unbelievable / And I don't know how you get over, get over / Someone as dangerous, tainted and flawed as you" and you know. It's a Lana Del Rey song. He is one of the man written by LDR I just know that he is. Salvatore is there too 👀
AND QUEEN OF DISASTED BECAUSE SHE SINGS "you're the king and baby i'm the queen of disaster"
Some directions so you can understand and use the playlist a little better:
The songs that suit him because of the lyrics are the ones at the top (a large part of the playlist), even though there are still a few that were chosen just for the vibes mixed in there. From "What Is A Youth" onwards, there are the songs that I listen to when writing and drawing things related to him, these are the instrumental songs and Disney songs, and further down are the podcasts that are uploaded by users in the app, because the owners of these songs didn't wanted to publish them on the platform.
If you want songs that match the situations he experienced, listen to the top of the playlist. If you want to daydream and feel like you're in Enchancia, or better said, in a Cedric x Y/N fanfic, I mean, in a Disney movie, listen to "What Is a Youth" and below. Of course, you don't need to listen to everything in order, and you can mix it up, like I usually do. A Disney vibes song, a magical vibes song, a song that suits him, just like a cake recipe. Chef's kiss
I put a lot of effort into it and it's too good to be kept hidden. I listen to it almost everyday lmao (if not everyday)
And now of you excuse me I'm going to retreat to my workshop to cry
thank you
#sofia the first#cedric the sorcerer#cedric the great#sofia the fandom#cedric the sensational#playlist
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Quick question – why do the TCF fans keep portraying Bud Illis as an idiot?
It kind of bothers me, because in canon, Bud is not stupid.
Yes, he is a at times reckless (like that time he got captured by Jopis). And yes, he plays the "drunk idiot" role very well, to the point he completely fooled Raon when Cale and Bud met for the first time.
The problem is, for some reason, TCF fans remember that interaction between Cale & Bud in the inn and take it as his actual characterization, and not an act. Which it is.
Because Bud acts like a drunk blabbermouth idiot on purpose, there! Cale himself notices it almost instantly!!
Bud is an interesting character. He's someone who relies on his drunk act – which he does mostly to gather intel, just like OG Cale relied on his act to ruin his reputation – in order to be underestimated. And it works, because everyone is surprised just how much Bud knows, despite being from a different contient than Cale.
However, being drunk and supposedly recklessly talkative (even though I can tell he chose the information he told Cale in that first meeting very carefully, figuring Cale out at the same time), Bud also shows signs of very quick wit and spontaneous planning, just like Cale.
He figures out quickly that Cale and the others are no joke. He's willing to enter an alliance, and show Cale the Directory, and also makes the immediate decision to burn the Directory down, once he realizes that the White Star uses it for nefarious purposes.
We see his competence in the 1,001 mercenary squad rescue, how he's willing to do anything for his men, and isn't too stubborn to ask Cale for help, when he needs it. He's also compassionate and responsible enough to regret putting Cale in danger as he rushes in to save them.
Of course, I understand why the "idiot" part is what the fans actually remember of this character. He got captured by Jopis' "innocent" puppies. That.... wasn't his fault. He has an Ancient Power which should have warned him of potential danger, and yet, the puppies turned out one of the few immune exceptions to his senses. Bud's true mistake was going in alone, and doing so because the wanted to impress Cale. Which is why he gets no sympathy from Cale when they show up to "rescue" him and make a deal with Jopis.
Sorry, Bud, as much as I'm on your side, that was a hilariously stupid mistake on your part.
One incident shouldn't make fans believe that Bud is an idiot, though. The reason it does, however, is because of Glenn. Glenn Poeff's reaction to Bud getting stupidly captured shows us that this was not the first time when Bud was stupidly reckless. But it does fit his overall characterization. Bud is not stupid, but he's not as cautious as Cale, despite his justified paranoia about the White Star aiming to kill him.
Bud's attitude towards Cale's crazy shenanigans also reminds the audience of two specific characters: Toonka, and Archie. Both of which are, at the same time, the "violent thugs" of their society, who contrast Cale in being shocked by his "mad viciousness" and become ironically "the only sane man on board". But just because Bud is also one of the characters who react to Cale as "dude, are you crazy?? Wait, nevermind..." doesn't mean that Bud is at the same intelligence level as Toonka and Archie. In fact, Bud is much, much more intelligent than those two. So it's not really fair to put him together with them in that department.
Bud is also a Sword Master, and a Mercenary King. We can probably conclude two things about his personality from that: one, he loves adventure and swordmanship. Two, he is brave enough to lead and make risks in order to achieve his ambitions. Bud is intelligent and a good actor, but he does love alcohol – he just pretends he's a lightweight (again, just like OG Cale). Bud is a good strategist and fighter, but he does make reckless mistakes from time to time, much to Glenn's exasperation.
So here it is. My reasons why "Bud Illis isn't as stupid as fans portray him in the fandom". Just because he's funny, doesn't mean he's a complete idiot. He's a competent leader, who managed to defend the Mercenaries against Arm in the Eastern Contient for a significant amount of time. He was one of the last lines of resistance towards the White Star there. That says things about him.
Give Bud some love, guys, he deserves it.
#tcf#trash of the count's family#lcf#lout of the count’s family#bud illis#character analysis#tcf meta
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*rubs my grubby little hands together* alright here we go~ stick with me for a minute, this Does come around to murtagh and eragon's relationship i promise
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I find it ironic that the circumstances of Murtagh’s life that went so awry- his capture by the Empire, his and Thorn’s enslavement using their true names, and them being forced to fight against the Varden- can paint him in a particularly selfish light. Eragon’s perspective reveals some of this, like the way he calls Murtagh’s oaths to Galbatorix a betrayal, one that favors his own wellbeing over Eragon and the Varden, or how he feels like Murtagh takes satisfaction in his new power and in lashing out at the world. And the fact that these things can be seen as self-serving specifically is ironic because it directly contradicts the actual quality of his character. Every time we see Murtagh acting of his own volition, over and over it proves that, more than anything, he is deeply devoted to the people he cares about- to a self sacrificing extent- and that he has an innate desire to help others.
Repeatedly, Murtagh puts protecting his loved ones above his own safety, and that’s true even in the act Eragon calls a betrayal. When they talk in Uru’baen, Murtagh admits to Nasuada that he willingly chose to swear loyalty to Galbatorix, but also reveals that he only did so after Thorn hatched. Murtagh himself had already suffered savage torture without relenting, yet solely for the sake of Thorn, to keep his hatchling partner from suffering as well, only then does Murtagh swear loyalty. And this is a self sacrifice. This undermines what he tried to make of his life before being recaptured- striking back against the Empire, aiding Eragon and Saphira, and proving his good will to the Varden. He had to give up all these things about himself and submit to slavery under a man he loathes, but Murtagh was willing to do that to protect Thorn.
And yet, while still trapped so hopelessly under Galbatorix’s thumb, Murtagh also goes out of his way to help Nasuada too. He convinces the king to capture her in the first place, instead of simply killing her, and whether or not this was his place, it demonstrates how he genuinely doesn’t want her to be harmed. He goes out of his way to help Nasuada by healing her pain, warning her about illusions, and promising to help her escape. And he makes good on that. From what he tells Eragon in their last duel, he had a plan to free her the next day. Murtagh goes to great lengths that put him at great risk. Galbatorix could have just as well discovered his interference and then nothing would have saved him from violent punishment. Freeing her would have guaranteed that. There’s nothing for him to gain, yet he still does these things for Nasuada time and time again.
The care Murtagh gives to Thorn and Nasuada proves that his selfless protectiveness toward his loved ones is a persistent part of his nature, but it’s never more clear than it is in his relationship with Eragon in the first book.
In Inheritance, Murtagh tells Nasuada that his initial motivation for going out to track the Ra’zac was to hurt the Empire and to prove himself as more than his father’s son. Nevertheless, from the time that he saved Eragon from the Ra’zac onwards, he demonstrates a desire to help that goes beyond a personal gain. On the contrary, I feel like his constant willingness to help while he personally strives to be recognized as his own person indicates that his helpfulness is a genuine part of his nature that shapes his desires and actions. And that nature shows itself repeatedly. Murtagh rescues Eragon a second time when he’s captured in Gil’ead, planning with Saphira and sneaking his way in to free him. When Eragon later thanks him for it, his response is, “‘I’m just glad I could help. It...’ Murtagh faltered and rubbed his face.”
After going to great lengths and knowingly risking his life to free Eragon from Gil’ead, Murtagh's instinctual response to his gratitude is that he simply wanted to help his friend. And this comes up again. When they fight in the Hadarac Desert, Eragon tells Murtagh he never had to travel with him or rescue him. “‘I haven’t forced you to do anything.’” Murtagh’s response is always funny to me because he’s irritable, afraid, and angry and so he’s deliberately trying to be mean and act like he doesn’t care about Eragon, and yet his reply is, “‘Oh, not openly, no. What else could I do but help you with the Ra’zac? And then later, at Gil’ead, how could I have left with a clear conscience? The problem with you...is that you’re so totally helpless that you force everyone to take care of you!’”
It does nothing except prove how much he cares about Eragon and wants to help him! “‘What else could I do but help you with the Ra’zac?’” is especially funny because the glaringly obvious answer is to just. not help. But then that makes it clear that Murtagh so genuinely and inherently believes he should help that he doesn’t see not helping as a real option. And even though he phrases it insultingly in his frustration, what he ultimately says about Gil’ead is that he couldn’t have made himself abandon Eragon when he couldn’t defend himself. He would have felt too guilty because he considers saving him the right thing to do.
I feel like a large part of this springs from Murtagh’s core morality and desire to do good, but there is also an element rooted in his relationship with Eragon specifically. They get along; Murtagh likes him and he trusts him and that matters when the help he gives him puts him at such risk. Murtagh is self sacrificing in the way he protects and looks after Eragon. Sneaking in to Gil’ead to rescue him could have cost him his life- Eragon himself acknowledges that when he thanks him for it. And the risks he takes for him aren’t just overblown or inconsequential. When Murtagh enters Gil’ead beforehand, in Eragon’s stead, to find out the Varden’s location, he’s recognized and has to flee. When he stays with Eragon as they run from the Urgal army, it forces him to the Varden where he’s imprisoned.
And yet those repercussions don’t undermine Murtagh’s devotion to Eragon. Even when they reach the Varden, the one place Murtagh did not want to go and will rob him of his freedom, his heartfelt care for Eragon doesn’t falter. After Eragon’s mind is searched by one of the Twins who then tries to do the same to Murtagh, they have this exchange:
“‘Eragon has been declared trustworthy, so you cannot threaten to kill him to influence me. Since you can’t do that, nothing you say or do will convince me to open my mind.’
Sneering, the bald man cocked what would have been an eyebrow, if he had any. ‘What of your own life? I can still threaten that.’
‘It won’t do any good,’ said Murtagh stonily and with such conviction that it was impossible to doubt his word.”
Murtagh’s statement is striking to me because the blatant, undeniable meaning behind it is that, if they’d tried to test Murtagh first and threatened to kill Eragon if he didn’t comply, he would have done it. Murtagh would have let the Twin examine his mind to save Eragon’s life. And the privacy and sanctity of his mind is of paramount importance to him. He says as much to Ajihad when he also tries to convince him to be examined. He declares as much right here! Murtagh explicitly states that protecting Eragon’s life is the singular thing that could make him yield. He would give up his own life before exposing his mind. This has even more gravity for Murtagh specifically. He’s self sacrificing, but not reckless in the same way several of the other main characters are. He’s not one to toss his life aside; he fights hard to survive. So his willingness to die to guard his mind hammers home how important that is to him.
Because of that, even though such a situation never came to pass, Murtagh’s admission that he would give that up to protect Eragon’s life is the most salient proof of his devotion to me. And that’s considering he also fights the Ra’zac and infiltrates Gil’ead for him! I honestly don’t have another word for it- Murtagh holds a truly profound devotion to Eragon that is built upon his desire to help others and to fervently protect the people he cares for. These aspects are so integral to him that they determine his most significant choices.
#eragon#inheritance cycle#murtagh#eragon shadeslayer#nasuada#ic thorn#ic analysis#i was gonna tie this into the 'eragon wouldnt have buried murtagh' idea bc its kinda connected but i ran out of steam. maybe later#he messes up but murtagh is still such an earnestly good person#and theres a sad irony that his luckless life made him seem like the exact opposite#and eragon just means So Much to him...#that dialogue from murtagh about if they could have threatened eragon always KILLS me holy shit#ive always been tempted to write a fic where they Do test murtagh first and threaten eragon and murtagh relents to save him...
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Okay, commentary based on rough translations for servamp chapter 139 under the cut
Mahiru gets to use his uncles weapon to make the night sky as bright as midday (aka what mahiru's name means). That's so cool!!! I'm a bit suprised that he can use the weapon though because he's has no magic abilities according to tooru and I thought the weapons could only be used by magic users? Maybe being an eve helps? Or maybe it has something to do with whatever is special about mahiru. Anyway, the ritual requires a moon to work so I guess turning night into day might help to stop that.
On another note, tooru is still badly injured and starts to bleed again, please don't die on us uncle tooru.
Kuro finding the strength to stand up again as he sees mahiru's light was sweet to see. I believe the sloth demon says something about always going to remember mahiru's name when he sees dazzling light and kuro tells tsubaki that midday is no time for vampires.
I think misono is telling lily that he doesn't believe lily that it was all a farce, that he does have expectations of others and that he does want to repent for his sin, calling back to misono's talk with the lust demon at the end of the lust arc. Don't trust my translation on these things though. Anyway, misono says that you can't end a game of chess without the kings on the board by a checkmate, but you can end the game in other ways like a stalemate in which no moves are possible anymore, which is the situation misono goaded lily into, ending the game and freeing misono from the spell. Ironically the only pieces remaining on the board are pawns (aka characters/chess pieces lily seems to see little value in). Back in the garden lily turns into butterflies and vanishes while misono is confused because it should be night, but it's as bright as midday.
We also return to sakuya and mikuni. Mikuni attacks sakuya, but sakuya reveals that he used his powers and the spot he attacked was the sakuya from five seconds ago (?). Then sakuya attacks mikuni, but it's not the real mikuni either? I didn't really get it, but there seem to be multiple mikunis (I think 13 or 12 now that sakuya killed one) in different locations and tsubaki's subclass are facing them trying to stop tsubaki from destroying himself (whatever power tsubaki is using right now seems to harm him and he can only keep going because of mikuni's help. If mikuni would stop helping tsubaki might be forced to stop the ritual/would not be able to complete it. Or maybe it's about some barrier spell mikuni used? I'm not sure what exactly mikuni is doing to help tsubaki).
Higan is facing one mikuni and something prompts him to talk about the time he lived with a woman who for a short time made him feel like an artist and not like an abnormal being.
All in all it seems as if things seem to turn around this chapter! Mahiru got to use a powerful attack that seems to have filled the other heroes with hope, even though we don't know yet what exactly it managed to do (is pandora finally destroyed so the eves and servamps can finally split up into smaller battles again?), but since the moon seems to be a big part of the ritual it might help in that regard.
I still have no idea why the hell mikuni is doing any of this (his main attack, granted he developed it when he was 16, was about judging those who kill humans. So why is he okay with killing millions to gain power? Has envy's curse turned him insane too?) and I guess lily returned to his side after misono freed himself?
It's great to see that misono is now free and able to share what he learned from lily once he runs into the other characters again.
With tsubaki's subclass now also trying to stop mikuni and lily's plans (and tsubaki from destroying himself) the protagonists should be able to convince them to fight together with them right? Now that they have the same goal.
Really liked this chapter, servamp has their protagonists on the losing end a lot more often and longer than I'm used from other stories so it's nice to see the protagonists get some wins.
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thoughts on Tekken8 so far ?
Not too many, I have mostly mixed feelings on Tekken stuff but:
Okay this rules, this is a killer fucking idea for a fighting game story mode. I was actually just thinking the other day about how a lot of modern fighting games with big story modes can't really integrate the tournament structure into the story, so it's either not there or it becomes a schrodinger's tournament. But here there's no mistaking it, there is a King of Iron Fist tournament being held and fighters the world over are invited to join with their lives and with the lives of their ENTIRE COUNTRIES riding on the line. This rules, this fucking rules, I'm pissed Street Fighter didn't do this first because this is the most M.Bison idea that is also a way better plot than anything M.Bison ever did, fuck yeah.
I've heard this described as Tekken doing the Cell Games and having never watched Dragon Ball I'll have to take their word for it.
Don't care about Jin, never have really, but I am at least marginally curious as to how they'll square "Jin you are the light and hope of this world you are the hero of everything you must save us all" and "you totally fucking killed millions of people for no reason with that WW3 stunt dude". Love that Kazuya throws this in his face like, you weak little shit, you think you're putting me down? You think YOU have some kind of body count? Well it's just gonna keep growing watch this *BWOOOOOM
Tekken has spent a loooot of games running in a loooot of circles around the Mishima bloodline drama so this game promising to blow things out of proportion, with Heihachi dead (so far) and Kazuya cutting loose and the entire world seriously on the line, well okay that has my interest.
Gotta be honest folks, up until now I actually hated Azucena. Decent design, Peruvian representation is extremely rare and I was super on board for that, really liked for a beat how her fighting style's meant to abuse Tekken's 3D space with a lot of dodging and swaying... but then the character started talking and, oh great, she only talks about food, she's a gimmick character that only talks about her gimmick, here comes the next annoying latin-american stereotype that the gringos just find sooo charming and sexy and funny, here comes the next El Fuerte/Laura/Zarina, and all my interest died.
And then the latest story trailer revealed that she's happily teaming up with the G Corporation (and by extension Kazuya, you know, the guy currently raining fire and murder on the entire planet) because they make for "better brand optics for my coffee" and, huh. Well. Turns out she's a total piece of shit! The "beloved for her innocent personality" thing was a dead giveaway looking at it now. Turns out she's a business major cracking winks and poses while tanks and soldiers steamroll the land and people around her. You hear a lot of stories growing up here about plantation owners being cutthroat ghouls and I must admit, it's pretty great seeing that as the twist on a typically obnoxious Disney inclusivity cartoon person, feels very topical. Maybe it is just a rehash of Lucky Chloe's twist but Lucky Chloe wasn't that inspired to begin with where as this feels a bit more thought out. I expect to be ultimately dissappointed but it sure got me almost kinda liking her a bit.
Big year for evil women in fighting games.
Feels like Tekken was just bound to have a Nick Fury at some point with other fighting games elevating characters to that position, but it is pretty weird that this a thing, right? I guess when they're going more into world-threatening stakes and characters teaming up being treated like an Avengers gathering you kinda need a Nick Fury or several to glue that nonsense together. Anyway, Victor's pretty cool. Kinda shocked that he's the first French character in Tekken apparently.
It's not easy to make me like espionage-themed characters in fighting games but he's got enough style to him that I appreciate. He's just Vincent Cassel if he was a John Wick guy with a weird Final Fantasy sword but that's not like a bad combo by any means, really just seems like Harada really wanted to put a guy he likes from da movies in there. It's the Kojima impulse but hey, if it works and the voice acting isn't terrible (like a certain other studio, seriously how do you manage to get such lackluster material out of J.K Simmons doing Omni-Man), I'm cool with it.
I'm not too sure what to think of Reina? I feel like that's gonna be entirely dependant on her role in the game, because the other two are fairly throwaway characters where as her they seem to be putting a lot of stock in. I kinda like her design although I appreciate it better in fan art that lets her actually emote and look mean, the in-game face is just way too dull for what she's doing. I like the ego she's got and that she can back it up, that she's this new mystery newcomer with potential arriving to shake up the scene. I think a lot about her would be very generic and forgettable if it wasn't backed up by her mean punk personality and power, which I really appreciate. She kinda feels like if Asuka wasn't a joke. I'm just curious as to what her actual role is gonna be, and while I don't think she's gonna be a full blown villain the way Kazuya is, I'm gonna be pretty dissappointed if she just immediately slides into being a hanger-on hero. So I'm just waiting for more on her with cautious optimism.
I hope Heihachi never comes back because A: it's just wrong to have him without Unsho Ishizuka to voice him, and B: I hope they never ruin the humor of "Yeah he's dead dead but he has at least 20 bastard children all over the world and at least one of them is gunning for the throne so if you thought he was done causing problems or that the Mishima Bloodline would end with Jin, lmao"
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Jaehaera has a disability for narrative purposes, because GRRM needs to quickly explain away why the greens somehow stop demanding that Andal inheritance law be respected. Aegon III had to be king, so he's making his way backwards to fit his ending.
This gets even weirder when you realize that there's ANOTHER case of a young Targaryen girl getting passed over for the iron throne because of a disability - Vaella, who needed to get passed over because Aegon V was the one who is supposed to be King. Her claim is "immediately" dismissed despite the fact that she's the only child of the King's eldest son, presumably because of both her gender and her disability.
In fact, there's a... Weirdly significant number of Targaryen girls who are described as "simple-minded," or otherwise appear to be coded as intellectually disabled: Gael, Jaehaera, Vaella, and potentially Daella as well. Daella dies of childbirth at 18, Gael drowns herself at 19 after being "seduced and abandoned by a traveling singer," and giving birth to a stillborn baby, Jaehaera dies at 10, either by suicide or murder, and while we don't know what happens to Vaella, the fact that she's never mentioned at all after that event means either she lived an unremarkable ignored life and then died before present times, or that she died young. That's a weird amount of "simple-minded" Targaryen girls who die young. Idk if this pattern means anything, but I've noticed it before and it sticks out to me.
(while I do want Jaehaera in the show to have a character and not just be portrayed as an "simple-minded" little girl, I do hope they keep her as autistic. I think there's plenty of room to give her a ton of depth without simply erasing her neurodivergence and I really want the showrunners to realize that potential.)
Anonymous asked: not talked enough about how Jaehaera witnessed her twin's death. y'know the brother who grew up healthy and fit unlike herself. the brother who had a little too much of everything: toes, fingers. now he's down a whole head! I also believe Alicent was already planning their marriage when they were still kids lol. bedside reading time with granny Ali and she pulls out the tales of Jaehaerys and Alyssane again 🙄🙄 we get it grandma!
tbh not so sure about the detailed timeline, but I thought it interesting that Jaehaera died shortly after ser Willis Fell (her larys-assigned KG) died from fever. like that was her guy! whom she had all for herself and now he's gone away commanding the KG, and now he's gone away for good.
I'm probably one of the few who loves all 3 of Aegon III's little girl wives (tho Daenaera ranks lowest). I really felt for Myrielle and thought the whole doll-bit so needlessly cruel from Aegon III? his random af decision to marry Daenaera? he said fuck it we ball.
Anonymous asked: This fandom is so disgustingly ableist and no surprise here when many team green members have disabilities. And the show's treatment of disabilities is questionable to say the least. I have questions for GRRM too........
I received these additional asks about Jaehaera and was meaning to answer them, but I got distracted.
I want to clarify the fact that IMO the problem isn't if Jaehaera had a disability or was autistic/neurodivergent, the problem is that the author chose to incapacitate her so much that she is/would be incapable of taking care of herself. She is described as having some kind of mental setback ("she is eight going on four"), weeps inconsolably when she is corrected, wets her bed every night, doesn't laugh, has to be drugged to sit still at her own wedding. I cannot imagine how she could consent to a marriage or to marital relations in the future, with the whole trouble of child-birthing and rearing.
And what is the point of all this, I have to ask? Because this is very much not Jaehaera's story. It's not about how Westeros is so ill-equipped to handle mentally impaired individuals. In fact, the narrative doesn't know how to get rid of her quicker. After fighting a bloody civil war over Andal Law, the greens conveniently decide to disregard all that and don't push for her claim (that's how disabled she is). Everyone who could conceivably be on her side is quickly killed - her father, her grandmother, Ser Willis Fell. The new 15-year-old Lord Lyonel Hightower suddenly can't raise another army for the greens because he is too busy fucking Lady Sam. (?!) Jaehaera dies a horrible, graphic death, lingering in tremendous pain for half an hour. Couldn't she have received at least the mercy of a quick death?
This is why I see her being incapacitated for narrative purpose. All of this happens in favour of Daemon's freaking children - it's like they all had to band together to help erase Jaehaera from the annals (three of them at least). There is no reason for all of them to survive, considering how FB has no issue with inventing random events just to get rid of characters. Yet they do. Of course Aegon III becomes king at Jaehaera's expense, of course his brother Viserys II also gets to become king at some point, because why not? Daemon should get to have two kingly sons, not one, as a treat. Baela and Rhaena get this stupid gotcha moment at the Maiden's Day Ball when they bring their six-year-old cousin Daenaera to replace Jaehaera as Queen, as if that's some sort of triumph and not inappropriate AF.
This is why I dislike the introduction of characters like Daenaera and Myrielle - because they're been intentionally placed there to replace a traumatized and damaged little girl with a trauma-free, suitable, lovable consort. Don't get me wrong, these two girls don't get a chance at their own story either, they exist only to replace Jaehaera and to please Aegon III.
I also deeply dislike and do not understand why there are so many "simple-minded" Targaryen princesses - Daella and Gael have particularly awful stories. Vaella's story is just a repeat of Jaehaera's, but with less awfulness and violence. What's the point? Get some interviewer grill these questions into GRRM ASAP.
So, I do hope that they change this in the show somehow to make it less awful. I would not want Jaehaera reduced to an invalid, her claim passed over, and I would not want her to die. Of course, if she lives, then I would have to contend with her being the mother of Aegon III's senseless children, so, honestly, I don't know which is worse.
#ask#anon#jaehaera targaryen#the daeron i - aegon iv pipeline is such a shitshow that i am loath for jaehaera to be responsible for that
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Year of the Bat - Number 13
Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January.
TODAY’S EPISODE QUOTE: “Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”
Number 13 is…The Man Who Killed Batman.
In contrast to our previous pick, “Appointment in Crime Alley,” this is one of the most comedic and quirky episodes of the entire series. It almost feels like a dark comedy you’d see in the 80s, more than anything else, and that’s part of what makes it so great! The plot revolves around a wannabe gangster called “Sid the Squid,” voiced by the marvelous Matt Frewer, of all people. The story begins with Sid going to his employer, crime boss Rupert Thorne, seeking help. When Thorne asks to know what’s going on, Sid begins to elaborate on his story, and most of the remaining episode plays out in flashback.
It's revealed that Sid was suckered into helping some of Thorne’s thugs with a scheme, the idea being the shrimpy little buffoon would distract Batman while the other goons got away. However, this plan works too well, and Batman is seemingly accidentally killed while trying to capture Sid. The runt of the underworld suddenly becomes hailed as a king of crime, but he soon finds his new reputation is more of a curse than a blessing. Things escalate to the point where the Joker himself seeks Sid out, hoping to find out if it’s true that the little weasel has destroyed the Dark Knight.
This is where things get interesting, and it’s why the episode is so greatly remembered: when the Joker finds out Batman might be dead, he first tries to prove that he isn’t by staging a robbery…and when he starts to realize Batman may truly be gone…he’s DEPRESSED. The Joker becomes crestfallen, unable to finish the job, genuinely saddened and hurt by the realization that not only has his nemesis apparently kicked the bucket, but that he wasn’t the one who did it! He throws a mock funeral for the Caped Crusader – accompanied by probably the greatest eulogy in fiction, and Harley Quinn playing “Amazing Grace” on a kazoo…no comment – and then tries to kill Sid by dropping him in a coffin into a vat of acidic chemicals, which may or may not be the same ones that turned the Clown Prince into what he is today. (That part is ambiguous.) All this stuff with the Joker is classic, and everyone talks about it; it’s equal parts dark, funny, and surprisingly sorrowful, making for one of the Harlequin of Hate’s greatest scenes in the entire franchise. Indeed, Mark Hamill – the voice of the Joker – has gone on record more than once saying this was one of his favorite episodes, and that Joker’s most famous quote from the story (our episode quote of the day) has always been his favorite line.
As great as the stuff with the Joker is, it’s far from all that makes this episode good! I won’t go into detail on how Sid escapes the Joker, and how the story ends, but suffice it to say, obviously, Batman isn’t ACTUALLY dead. In fact, he reveals he’s been trailing Sid basically all this time, hoping and waiting for the opportune moment to strike at Thorne in the process. (Which honestly makes the stuff with the Joker even funnier, when you realize Bruce was literally trolling the Ace of Knaves behind the scenes. Glorious.) Sid, himself, is actually a big part of what makes the story so much fun: he reminds me a lot of characters like Smee from “Peter Pan” or Kronk from “The Emperor’s New Groove.” In terms of comics, he also reminds me a lot of my preferred versions of Killer Moth: Sid is basically a fanboy of criminals, who wants the prestige and power famous crooks get. However, he’s way too dumb, way too clumsy, and way too softhearted to be any real threat or make a name for himself. This makes the way things end ironic and surprisingly heartwarming, and it keeps him from being an unlikeable or annoying character, because we realize he’s in WAY over his head, and it only gets worse and worse as the story goes on. We don’t exactly want Sid to win, but we don’t want him to suffer, either. He’s another case of an unusual protagonist, and one of the best examples the show ever gave us. Whether you love the story for him, the Joker, or even other reasons, there’s plenty that makes this episode a true classic.
Tomorrow we move on to Number 12!
Hint: “Life used to be so placid! Won’t you PLEASE put down that acid?! And Say That We’re Sweethearts Again!”
#list#countdown#best#favorites#new year's special#year of the bat#top 31 btas episodes#btas#batman: the animated series#dcau#dc#batman#animation#tv#number 13#the man who killed batman#sid the squid#joker#harley quinn#rupert thorne#harleen quinzel
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The Royal Sea Family (From your nonnie's SpongeBob Movie headcanon).
King Neptune - Ruler of the sea, whose crown is his prize possession and holds his symbol of authority over all his undersea kingdom. Even though he's king, he's more concerned for his crown and bald spot than his own people. He tends to freak out and overreact over the slightest wrongdoings and considers himself Judge, Jury, and Executioner; he refuses to believe Mr. Krabs when he maintains his innocence and is eager to fry him on the spot. Despite his iron-fisted rule over the sea, horrible temper, and obsession of harsh punishments by executing people or sentencing them to the dungeon, he manages to learn his lesson at the end, finally listening to Mindy and accepting her advice at being a more compassionate ruler.
Amy/Amphitrite - The former wife of Neptune and Leon, Mindy, and Lisa's mom. She's sweet, intelligent and loyal. She disproved of her ex husband's method of ruling with an iron fist. After a huge argument with Neptune, they had a divorce and she returned to her hometown (with Leon) where she rekindled a relationship with her old girlfriend (Aquamarine). She had another daughter, Lisa, with Aquamarine. And they lived happily together ever since.
Leon - Leon is smart, athletic and compassionate like his mother. When he was still Triton, his dad wouldn't spend time with him, mostly because of his executions and concern of his almost baldness. When they did spend time together, he'd teach him that a sea creature with a worthy appearance is worthy, and to always bully the sea creatures who don't have a worthy appearance. Triton was having none of it. (It was also obvious that Neptune was jealous of his bond with Amy). After their parents divorce, and Neptune disowning him as his son. He changed his name to Leon, helped his moms in the vet, being a good brother to Mindy and Lisa. Upon getting married with his Kenneth, he was very happy and has been a good father and husband to Kenneth and Kara ever since.
Mindy - Neptune and Amy's daughter, Aqua's step daughter, Kara's aunt, & Leon and Lisa's sister. Like her mother (Amy) she's smart, sweet and caring. She doesn't approve of her father's method "a person with a grand physical appearance is worthy''. She's the opposite of her father she doesn't bully sea creatures for their appearance and doesn't force them to the dungeon or being their servant. She's a kind aunt and big sister to Lisa and Kara. She likes to read, help the sea creatures (when her father bullies or belittles them) and she hates being laughed at.
Lisa - Amy and Aqua's daughter, and the youngest sister of Leon and Mindy, also Kara's aunt. She's hyper, curious and full of joy. She's very close to Mindy and Leon, but she keeps her distance when Neptune is in her house. She acts like a big sister to Kara (mostly because they're both children).
Kara - Leon's daughter, Mindy and Lisa's niece. She is 3 years old, doesn't understand what her family is talking about most of the time. She's really close to Lisa and Mindy, but when Neptune is around she also keeps her distance because he's a stranger to her. She's kind, energetic and is curious like her Aunt Lisa.
Based on this.
THESE ARE SO GOOD! 👀 👀 👀
I love these little characters introductions to all the characters. 💖
Good job, anon. 💟
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ok so Talky Tuesday huh!
Someone asked about like, what it's like in the first few days after waling up, and I drafted this, then got unhappy that it's not as first-few-days specific as I want it to be. But it sure is a ramble about the Survivors dealing with their stuff! So here it is, and maybe I'll have a better answer for that other person later. Uuuuuh yeah!
In general, just waking up from a sci-fi induced coma-nap is probably very disorienting, nevermind waking up into your slightly grown-out adult body that feels very uncannily familiar.
It sort of looks like they all woke up at the same time, with their world collapsing and whatnot, so it's probably just a matter of who reacts first. Souda, Hajime and Akane all make sense as characters that are quick (and loud) to react to things.
Akane has trouble even sitting up, being very malnourished and generally stiff from laying there- you know that nasty blackout dizziness you get when you're iron deficient as hell and get up too quick? It's so different from the Her that was talking about fighting just a minute ago, she might even panic (very unusual for her) when she realizes she's gonna need help getting out if she doesn't wanna tumble and fall.
I've said before that I like the idea of Souda having a muzzle (just because). Maybe it's locked somehow, and he needs help getting it off? Physically, he's fine- buffer than before, even- but it's quiet for the first few seconds and it freaks him out. He's the first to get out of his pod, just to make sure he's not alone.
Sonia is also physically fine, but her hair is all over the place- no time to put it up all fancy before getting into the digital world, I guess. She's a little hesitant to sound off or get out, since she was pretty scared when leaving the digital world, but reacts quickly to hearing Akane and Souda. She's the most unscathed, physically, which maker her feel really guilty for having been sitting in her ivory tower while commanding people.
Fuyuhiko had time to get used to his lack of an eye, so being half-blind doesn't really freak him out (until he looks at his blind eye in the mirror). He's just a slightly more calculating guy, so he waits to make sure everyone's 'in their right mind' so to speak, before getting up and out. The oddest thing is the tattoos he doesn't remember getting, and the worst part is he stayed short king while everyone else seems to have gained at least a couple inches.
Hajime is a combination of groggy and disoriented, what with being sort of newly-present in his own head, but also hyper aware of everything. He can hear everyone as they wake up, he feels tubes in his veins and he knows what they're for, he remembers being a human lab rat, he's taller, he hears Souda calling him, there is hair all up in his face, he's way buff now, his head hurts, his eye hurts, he sees people looking down at him, a part of his brain is freaking out about being podded again and another part is telling him to calm down. He doesn't really snap back into focus until he's taken all the tubes out and ensured there's no one else in the building.
That's the wakey wakey eggs 'n' bakey part. Then there's the days after.
Akane is pretty upset about her Whole Situation. The last stuff she talked about before the GameWorld collapsed was how she was confident in fighting back, and now she has trouble keeping up with everyone on a simple walk. She's definitely not used to being the Weakest, and it doesn't help that the boys seem to have buffed out, too. Thankfully Hajime has Nekomaru's talents, so he can get her on a meal plan and physical therapy plan right away. It still sucks so much, and she doesn't like to think about it, and isn't a fan of looking in the mirror, and she especially hates the knowledge that anyone could overpower her in her new state and she'd be defenseless. BUT, because she sure is Akane, she channels the agonies of losing the pride and joy she sculpted into regaining it bigger and better than before. It's a little weird and uncomfortable for everyone else at first, how she's very deliberately not thinking about it and not talking about how she feels, but she comes around the healthier she gets, and eventually she can talk about it on light notes ("if I weren't a bag of bones right now I'd kick your ass", "you guys get to have BACON but i have to eat this SMOOTHIE CRAP sorry hajime thanks for the smoothie hajime"). Thankfully- unfortunately- she's used to having the world yanked from under her and landing on her feet. And she has some solid friends that she can say is confident won't leave her in the lurch or take advantage of any kind, and will stay strong for her until she's back to being The Strongest aside from Hajime and eventually Nekomaru. Honestly the whole experience is a bit of an exercise in learning that being weak for a little while won't kill her (this time) and that she has a purpose besides being strong. Nekomaru talked about putting more of an emphasis on her self-control and spirituality, and I think he'd be real proud of her progress when he wakes up.
I might've mentioned before that I think Souda has like... the closest thing to an improvement? A lot of the things he considers important are in place; he has his friends, and they remember him, and they won't (can't) leave, and he is kind of super important now considering they're roughing it on an abandoned island and he's The Machine Guy. Doesn't mean he's not freaked out about it all, though. For one, there is a room with sleeping (dead??) terrorists with his friends' faces, and he isn't sure if they'll wake up, or when, or if they'll still be his friends. He does have his four closest friends with him, but they're also all he has, and the pressure of Not Fucking Up is heavier now than ever. Also is his dad still alive or what?? He doesn't remember, and has a couple of guesses how that might've ended, but no answers. Not great for his anxiety! He throws himself into being useful a little bit, making a wheelchair for Akane in case her legs give out at a bad time, sews a new eyepatch for Fuyuhiko (yeah apparently he can sew! Handy boy), sets off just trying to Fix What's Broke on the island. It's a coping mechanism, maybe not the best one but definitely not the worst. The first couple of days, he gets these really bad headaches, realizes fairly quickly (when it's nighttime and no one's awake and he needs to get his mind off stuff but doesn't wanna bother anyone but wow he's more of a nightowl than he remembered) that he needs caffeine a lot more than he used to. Kicking that habit is still a work in progress. Going out on the ship and doing daring deeds of good is his own personal challenge to be braver.
Sonia is physically stellar. Maybe even better than she used to be, almost; her skin is extra silky smooth, the clothes she had with her are all gorgeous, her hair and nails are perfectly trimmed and clean (save for whatever Pod grime might exist). It feels bad though, because a good princess wouldn't be pristine while the entire world is in chaos and war. She doesn't exactly have internet access, but she asks Hajime to ask Makoto what's going on in her country, and the non-answer was a very telling "you don't want to hear this right now". She demands to because she isn't one to shy away from the brutal stuff, but yeah, it does not do wonders for her mental state. One of the first things she does to try and make peace with her new self is cutting her hair and throwing the fancy ballgowns into some backroom storage (who knows, maybe Mahiru or Hiyoko will want to try them on). She doesn't have a kingdom anymore and she wouldn't want to call herself a princess even if she did, but she does have the island- later, the ship- and the new world. And it's. Something? Not something to rule, but something to care for and respect. It sucks that she'll never get to have the "normal" experiences she wanted, like walking to school with a certain someone or having a picnic in a public park or doing The Karaoke, since normal innocent things like that no longer exists without substantial pretending. Her Despair self really screwed her over by making sure she'd never get to pretend to be an average girl, and she keeps feeling the effects for years to come.
Fuyuhiko has been great at compartmentalizing for a long time now (so is Akane, but Fuyuhiko hasn't lost The Most Important Thing to him- that happened in the game, and hes already gotten used to Filing It Away). Even when they gradually get their memories back, he has the easiest time handling it because unlike them, he's already aware of his own capacity for lethal violence. Like Sonia, he struggles with his identity being meaningless now, but while her title was one of a huge scale, his was always a bit more contained, and he can project it onto the handful of friends he has left. It's not yakuza, but it's not so different either; he's back to being feared and mistrusted, and taking responsibility for bad things while trying to sneak in some good here and there. He's not commanding anyone, but he is a bit of a strategist, and he doesn't have underlings, but he has friends, and he's just as serious about them being under his protection as he would be about fellow yakuza. It's fine and he can handle it, but he also feels really useless. Kazuichi is a weapons and bomb expert, Akane is more of a martial fighter than he'll ever be, and Hajime is just The Best At Everything obviously. Sonia is basically Fuyuhiko's talent times a hundred (minus the prim and proper princess part). All Fuyuhiko can do is plan, delegate, shoot a gun, and do his best to keep everyone going (even Hajime, who otherwise takes that last job upon himself). It turns out he's actually great at corralling people into taking care. He'll end up being a bit too good at compartmentalizing and doesn't allot himself much time to grieve and come to terms, which isn't great for someone with a chronic guilt problem (I've mentioned this before, but everyone has an unspoken agreement to make sure he doesn't do anything rash in the heat of battle or the aftermath). His dedication to being a better person stays strong. Also he smokes now?? Which he hates but also he figured it would happen at some point.
Hajime is the most difficult: he has his own inferiority complex, but he's objectively hyper competent. He's a little bit the most normal of them, but he's a superhuman talent machine. He barely knows who he is, but he remembers everything. He has a very, very hard time, but he's so goddamn good at pushing it aside and focusing on everyone else, until he isn't, and just kind of falls apart. I've already talked about Hajime post-game several times, I dont wanna repeat myself too much, so I'll talk about the distant future; but he's both a shamble of a human being and also the best leader possible for this group. He's got issues but, and I have to underline this, he is so appreciated and favoured and loved that he almost can't help evolving into his best self. It takes time and effort and trials and error but god damn he ends up happy despite everything.
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Leigh plays Tellius prt 9
It's time to get the knight ring from Naesala!
I love Ike's attitude here. That being said, I did make the decision to have Janaff talk to Naesala, because there's no way that I'm going to fight Naesala. I like to imagine that Janaff did it of his own volition.
This map took me waaaay too many tries, because I was determined not to kill any crows. The crows did not make this easy for me. Additionally, drawing Naesala out without him destroying any of my units proved to be... a bit of a challenge. Finally, I just used Tanith's recruitment skill to summon some nameless NPC's to do that job for me. Sorry, random pegasus knight! Your sacrifice will never be forgotten.
A man with a killer axe attempted to attack Nephenee, but I gave her vantage, and she decided to one-shot him with a crit of her own. Oh, Nephenee, you absolute bloodthirsty menace you.
Time for the big reveal! I forgot this happened so soon.
Gosh, such a powerful visual. Poor Elena and Greil. They both deserved so much better.
Some people typecast Titania as the team mom, and I have no objections against it, but I think her sass is terribly underappreciated. I love how often she beefs with Soren, who at this point in the story looks like a literal child.
Two points here:
First, I (ironically) love how Mist's medallion is stolen the morning following Ike and Volke's conversation. If only Nasir had stolen it a little earlier, Ike would have had a very different reaction. Like, yes, family heirloom, it sucks that it's gone, but it's not the end of the world.
Second, I (sincerely) love how Ike is allowed to be a bit of an asshole sometimes. Like, when he gets stressed out, he lashes out at people. He gets cranky and irritable, like in that conversation with Jeorge about battle tactics. And it makes sense. He has a lot to shoulder during PoR, and he never asked to be put into any position of leadership in the first place. He's allowed to be angry and bitter about it.
I always forget that, on top of their prejudice against laguz, Daein is also anti-immigrant. Really, the toxic patriotism of Daein feels so painfully familiar at times. I feel like someone could write an entire essay on this subject. Additionally, I wonder if Jill has experienced anything like this, or is it different because she was born in Daein?
Man, I both do and don't feel for Shiharam. Like, okay, he's a good man. But he's also a man who allowed his daughter to participate in laguz hunts. I know it was all for the purpose of gaining the king's trust, but still. He kind of made this bed for himself. I don't know. It's such a complicated matter, and I like that he's a complicated character. My feelings about him just keep flip-flopping all over the place.
Gotta love Soren's pragmatism! I love how he deeply understands how society functions, while also being critical of the systems in place. I feel like you usually see this sort of pragmatism from characters who are rich and full of themselves, blaming the underclass for their own misfortune. Soren knows why things are the way that they are, knows that, because the people rely on nobility for protection, there is a huge power imbalance between nobility and the common folk. As he says earlier in Begnion: "From the moment of our birth to our final dying gasp, we commoners know we are not allowed to defy the upper classes."
So while Soren's lecture here is extremely brutal, I don't think it comes from a place of bad intentions. In his eyes, Elincia is naive and inexperienced, and has thus far been ignorant of the true horrors that the average Crimean has had to endure. He is angry because he cares. He is angry because he's worried about the future of Crimea.
I'm just... I love Soren. As Ike says, deep down he's a big softie.
And I finally got Mist to second tier! With this, I have officially gotten all of my main units to class up.
The Talrega map was a walk in the park compared to the previous one. I basically had a small group (which included Jill, Ilyana, Rolf, and Astrid) squat by the houses in the upper left section of the map, and their only job was to destroy as many wyvern riders as possible.
Everybody else just rushed towards the boss at top speed.
Next time: time to lay siege to Daein Keep!
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