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piebingo · 1 year

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There’s an important detail that gets mixed up sometimes about the decision to put August next in line after Wilhelm and I think it’s a very important detail to get right: Kristina was not the one to put August next in line, it was the royal court.

She tells August about the crown’s decision and he says thank you, to which she replies something along the lines of "it’s not my idea" (in the English translation she says "Well, you should know it wasn’t my idea" and in the French translation she says with as much sass as she can, "It wasn’t my idea. Obviously." She then tells him she will stand by her son first and foremost but it is what it is.)

Why is that distinction important? Obviously, it does show that the Queen doesn’t agree with what August did (now, whether it is mostly because of the negative impact on the crown or on her son’s life is questionable, I think it’s a mix of both). Whether she actually stands by her son isn’t the point I want to focus on tho.

No, what’s important is that the Queen wasn’t the one to make that decision. We don’t know how it went, maybe she could have fought harder against the idea, but she does not have that much power to take the decision. And why is that important? Because it is exactly the type of thing Wille will have to deal with as a King. This detail of Kristina telling August —and thus us the public— that she didn’t want to put him in line for the throne but that what she wants doesn’t matter is there to show us that her hands are tied. I am sure she does have some decisional power on certain things, but still. This is an important decision that favours a criminal, and what other things like that have the court done during her reign? And before her? And if what the Queen wants doesn’t matter, which in this case is very reasonable —don’t put a criminal in line for the throne— then what Wille wants does not matter either. Because the royal court does not care.

This is the path that Wille is being led on right now. He will be in Kristina’s place once he is King. Was Kristina always so focused on the crown first family second? Was she once just like Wille, a bit rebellious and wanting what’s right, only for the royal court to mold her into what the Queen they wanted? Because if this is the case, if this is how it went for Kristina… what’s stopping anyone from trying to do this to Wille? And sure, he will have Simon by his side (they are endgame okay, thank you) but realistically, it’s important to note that Wille isn’t immune to this, and that Simon does not want that either. He loves Wilhelm but the royal court already fucked him over many times and it’s been what, 5 months? It could happen to Wille, because the royal court seems to have a lot of power. They already started with Wille.

So this detail is really important yes to show that Kristina stands by her son (although she does loads of questionable things, I have never doubted she loves her son but I have doubted that she stands by Wille first and foremost. we will see next season whether that’s true but it is interesting that she says it when Wille isn’t there to hear it. it makes me think she will try (succeeding is another thing entirely) to stand by him). But most importantly, this detail is there to show us the inner workings of the royal court, of the role and power the Queen/King holds, and show us how it will be for Wille. Of course, Jan-Olof is at the head of the royal court and putting someone with more humanity in that role would probably make the royal court more human, thus changing the monarchy, but yeah. I think it’s interesting and important! Kristina says word for word that it wasn’t her decision and it bugs me when people forget that because it’s important in so many ways that the decision comes from the court.

#bit of a ramble sorry #young royals #wilhelm young royals #kristina young royals #august young royals

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scientistservant · 4 days

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I'm sorry for sending in another ask 🙈 But I need to know your opinion, as I haven't had a chance to read it. Sooooooo, why is Long Live The Pumpkin Queen, bad? Did they fuck up the doc and Sally that badly? Like are we talking about Love Never Dies level of shitty? (musical sequel to Phantom of the opera that most of us fans loathe.)

Oh boy, okay

This is gonna be long, please bare with me 😭

So the book completely changes/“fixes” Sally’s origins. She wasn’t a creation, or never even FROM Halloween Town.

She’s a special princess of dolls from “Dream Town” and has parents who are also dolls. She was kidnapped from her bedroom when she was like 12 by Finkelstein.

This is fucking bullshit.

How she even physically ages or how dolls can even conceive is never brought up or explained. Nor is how Fink even kidnapped her in the first place. The book and author just expects you to accept this new canon, which conveniently comes out like three decades after the source material.

Because the book is in first person and in Sally’s point of view we NEVER hear any perspective or proper explanation from Fink or any other character about anything.

Fink is just reduced to a one-dimensional villain who kidnapped Sally all because he apparently can’t create life or bring things back to life via science. You know… HIS FUCKING JOB.

He despises that Jack and Sally get married, despite that Fink would be ecstatic at this (Sally’s his creation and Jack one of his very old friends.)

Sally is also reduced to a one-dimensional protagonist who never questions anything and every third word from her mouth/brain is either “sad”, “ragdoll”, or “stitches/seams”.

She just believes these two doll people who she’s never met before, and doesn’t bother to leave “Dream Town” to ask the elderly scientist she’s known for her entire existence about this (not to mention everyone in the entire world including the holiday realms are dead asleep at this point at this part in the book anyway…)

Oh yeah, the book has a main villain too, surprisingly. It’s not Fink, even though the book certainly treats him like it.

It’s the fake ruler of “Dream Town”, Sandman, who’s actually kind of cool and creepy. But his reasoning for his villainy is bullshit, just like everything else in this damn book.

He’s just tired.

Yeah.

The Sandman is tired because he can’t sleep and his sand doesn’t work on him so he can’t get to sleep. You’d think a being as powerful and seemingly dangerous as this guy wouldn’t need sleep, but apparently he does. He’s cranky and needs a nap with his blanky, boo-fucking-hoo.

The ONLY thing I actually sort of enjoyed in the book was the bit where Sandman was stalking Halloween Town, putting everyone to sleep, and Sally was hiding from him. That was actually kind of suspenseful and I wish Sandman was that threatening throughout.

And does Sandman get any punishment for taking over “Dream Town” and putting everyone in an eternal sleep?

Nope. But FINK gets punished! Firstly, Jack completely believes these two random doll creatures he has never met before and that say they’re Sally’s parents. He yells at Fink, without asking his dear old friend if any of this is even true. And then Fink gets 100 years of prison and community service, which is stupid because why the fuck would Holiday realm laws, much less HALLOWEEN TOWN laws, function the same as the real world’s?

Speaking of which, apparently Halloween Town’s an actual monarchy, and the Pumpkin King isn’t just a cool title for the face/mascot/figurehead of the realm. The book even lampshades this, but doesn’t take this anywhere further aside from Sally complaining she has to wear a crown and Jack doesn’t.

This whole book is stupid and I will never accept it as canon, ever.

What sucks about this is that I fucking PREORDERED the book! I thought it was gonna be a story about how and why Sally was created, and get some backstory/lore for Fink, as well as explanation of why his relationship with his creation got so bad. Maybe a little extra plot of how Sally and Jack met.

But it didn’t. I fucking cried. This book made me cry my fucking eyes out, out of anger and betrayal because my favourite character and his creation/daughter was butchered.

After reading the whole thing I threw the book in a little library and never looked back.

I’m still working on a complete and total rewrite/fix-it-fic, it’s just gotten put on the back-burner because of other projects I’m currently working/fixated on. Apologies for that. But I promise it won’t be forgotten!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and the Holiday rulers have a meeting about climate change. Because Holidays have super importance with the weather or some shit. I’m not fucking kidding.

EDIT 2: The author is also a New York Times best-seller which is already pretty suspicious since that is basically a huge scam. The book has hundreds of 4-5 star reviews that don't even really get into the specifics of WHY it's good. They're all either extreme Jack x Sally fans (the book starts off with them getting married and Sally's main dilemma is worrying about being "a good enough queen") that like anything tnbc/Jally related OR a bunch of people were paid to give this book glowing reviews.

#the nightmare before christmas #tnbc #long live the pumpkin queen #sally finkelstein #sally skellington #dr. finkelstein

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esther-dot · 6 months

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IMO, I don’t think A stans who attack Sansa for her classism truly cares about it. I mean, they want A to be queen/lady (and there’s nothing wrong with wanting that) but such an ending would only be reinforcing the structure they’re critising.

And it’s great and important that A plays with lowborn children and tried to defend Mycah but that doesn’t make her a marxist revolutionary lol, it doesn’t erase her own classism. All nobles are classist, a few of them bother to treat peasants relatively well (the Starks, Edmure, etc) but that unfair system still exists. You can’t have nobility without inequality.

And I'll paste this one in too:

Unpopular opinion but if Arya’s stans genuinely believed in her as someone who isn’t classist, they would imagine her leading a social revolution that topples and destroy feudalism. Not someone who serves the conception of hereditary monarchy, serfdom (despite treating them with humanity), hierarchical social categories, etc. Arya as QITN would be a reformist, not a revolutionnary.

(These are so old, I can’t remember which post prompted them, apologies!)

So, I never thought more than being a good leader within the system was a possibility? During GoT they played up this idea that Dany was gonna change the system, "break the wheel," but that was mainly to hide the fact that going to war for a crown was a selfish thing to do, that she wasn't a hero for choosing that path. Considering how Martin has written about the tragedy of the Starks losing Winterfell, the little boys being chased from their home, I never imagined that his ending would involve a king or queen turning around and doing that to another noble child? IMO, there was never going to be any seizing and divvying up wealth.

In ASOIAF, it seems like the focus is much more on having a leader who will be capable of maintaining peace and delivering justice and taking care of some practical concerns. It never even occurred to me to expect an end to feudalism? So, yeah, I would agree that the most anyone could be was a reformist, but I didn't even think that was the idea (in the way fans would mean it) that Martin was tracking. It didn't seem to me that he was gonna do away with nobles, only that he was saying a good noble won't allow his smallfolk to be mistreated and wouldn't ruin their lives for the sake of a crown. I thought that's where the Robb criticism comes in. Robb should have chosen peace, not more fighting.

I also thought the good noble was being presented with Ned. Protect the vulnerable, be horrified by the death of the innocent, adhere to these personal values even when they are in defiance of what your world demands, even when it means betrayal of a "brother" or treason against your king. Obviously, Ned fell short of the ideal, but that's why his children will rise to power, because they have the same core values that Martin wants us to look at as good.

Personally, I think Arya being rebellious and kicking against the rules that annoy her is fun? My little sister was a tomboy, and I have sympathy for Sansa, but I'm amused by Arya. However, I do not attribute as much, uh, let's say, virtue to her behavior as others do. Nor do I attach the same amount of condemnation to Sansa (who recognizes class distinctions) that others do. To me, Martin used the Trident incident to illustrate how the class differences worked because it's a grievance of his that writers ignore them:

And that’s another of my pet peeves about fantasies. The bad authors adopt the class structures of the Middle Ages; where you had the royalty and then you had the nobility and you had the merchant class and then you have the peasants and so forth. But they don’t’ seem to realize what it actually meant. They have scenes where the spunky peasant girl tells off the pretty prince. The pretty prince would have raped the spunky peasant girl. He would have put her in the stocks and then had garbage thrown at her. You know. I mean, the class structures in places like this had teeth. They had consequences. And people were brought up from their childhood to know their place and to know that duties of their class and the privileges of their class. It was always a source of friction when someone got outside of that thing. And I tried to reflect that. (link)

With that in mind, I thought Martin wanted to impress upon the reader the severity of what the hierarchy meant, the prince can do whatever the hell he wants, the noble kid is in danger of being punished (Arya might have lost a hand, Sansa loses Lady), Mycah is killed. We were meant to understand, this world isn't ours. Arya in an important way, didn't understand how the world worked, not really, which is a tool the author was using, her grief and horror, to guide us through learning about station in ASOIAF. We needed to see and feel the disparity.

Obviously, Martin doesn't think that's a good system, but the author slapping us in the face with, “this is horrible but this is the way it is” doesn’t mean we’re to expect a total transformation of Westeros as a whole in the last few chapters of the final book. Martin wants to have some verisimilitude to (his perception of) medieval times, so imo, the idea was never turning Westeros on its head, but for people who cared to end up in control and be better. Not like a modern anarchist, but be good within the confines of that world.

Anyway, because of how many Arya fans hate Sansa/Sansa fans, I never did much with that side of the fandom, but I never had the impression they truly thought anyone would be revolutionizing things. It seemed to me that they believed her ending up QitN was revolutionary not in the sense that she would upend the system, but to them, having a girl who rejected societal norms come out on top felt like an important rejection of a traditional princess “winning.” I assume that's why so much of their focus is on Sansa and how she ruined Arya's life even though she and Arya have been separated for books. It isn't so much what the particular character will do as a leader, which theme is upheld by them ending up in a position of leadership, the "revolutionary" bit is determined by defiance of (what they believe are) genre norms, not societal overhaul on the page.

Now, if we accept that a total societal revolution is off the table in ASOIAF, and knowing that Martin opposes violence pretty vehemently, isn't in favor of imposing your will through violent means, how can someone who rejects society encourage gradual improvement? Wouldn't the "realism" Martin wants be found in a person, who say, can function really, really well within the structure of society but cares enough to try to make things better for others? Someone who can change it all from within because their societal position confers a certain amount of power, but also, they have a notable ability to win admiration, even when it is begrudgingly given? Someone whose compassion, even for enemies, is highlighted? Isn’t that someone who would be able to gradually bring about the kind of realistic change Martin would permit in his world?

#dot chat

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no-white-dress · 6 months

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If you were to rewrite Winx, how would you write it?

Oh this is gonna be long.

Ok let's start from the premise that I actually like winx the way it is for a big chunk. Yes up to freaking s8. Although s7 deserves hell and nothing more.

So with that in mind:

Season 1-2

I would actually insert foreshadowing to the trix's backstory since the beginning. Some moment of banter between Darcy and Stormy and Icy not having the context for it to make it clear right off the bat that no, they have not known each other their whole lives.

I'd flesh out the magic system more, in a way that it is clear that yes, Alfea and Cloudtower have historical rivalry but mostly because it is convenient for both schools (beefing with the other school's students offers more opportunities to gain charmix/gloomix, plus there's the institutional events like the Magic Tournament where the winning school gets funding -I've been telling y'all the comics have good stuff-).

Season 3

Also Tecna is a princess but not in the way Stella or Aisha are because Zenith is an elective monarchy so she's only princess until the next elections.

Stella learns to live with the fact her parents are divorced and with the fact that Luna has a new boyfriend and she doesn't hate him. As per comic canon.

The only thing I'd change would be whatever is up with the timeline. It needs more clarity regarding when Domino fell, how old are Valtor, the Company of Light and the Ancestral Witches, and their connection with Darkar. The fact people seem to not know much about what happened with Domino is perfectly fine and realistic though (if you think otherwise, tell me what you were taught in history class about stuff that happened the decade you were born. Yeah, not much, right?).

Also that finale needs to be more climatic or have an explaination for Valtor's sudden weakness cough cough read my fanfic cough cough.

Still, I would add some comic plotlines like Musa helping an old musician elaborate the loss of his wife by allowing him to meet her ghost (with Daphne's help), giving closure to her own grief as well (extra points if it happens after the Water Stars trial because she would know it's what he needs because hearing her mom say she was proud of her did so much for her). You know, stuff that gives space to the neglected girls.

The whole royal family of underwater Andros is present, but it is a queendom. The king consort and the princes were away on some diplomatic trip when Valtor attacked, but they are shown in later episodes (Tecna enchantix episode).

Season 4

Sotlk and Magical Adventure go back to back after season 3. Nobody is whitewashed. That isn’t about writing but idc.

Oh boy...

1) Less relationship drama. Nobody needed that. Nobody liked that. Kill it with fire. Yes to questioning the status quo though. Rivusa break up? Maybe. Sky and Bloom learning to confide in each other instead of not communicating and causing arguments as a consequence? PLEASE.

2) No winx teachers. Unpopular opinion, but the ladies should have some other excuse to be in Alfea to start the action. Some higher level course, an apprenticeship of sorts, anyting but teaching. I don't want 18 year olds who were barely ever in class the previous year to teach.

3) Clarity about the Roxy being Morgana's daughter situation. Morgana has time travel powers and ran to the future, had Roxy, then went back to the past and got captured. Also clarity about why there's no witches or wizards on Earth either.

4) There would be episodes where the girls have some business to attend to in Magix with, again, some comic plots. This could work splitting the episode between the Earth plot and the Magix subplot. Examples include but aren't limited to: the Shaab stone comics (yes moved from s2 to s4 because s2 is already packed), the Andros pirates+alien lizard problem comics, the Zenith's inhabited satellite is about to be hit by a comet comic, the Stella gets kidnapped by shadow creatures from another universe comic.

5) Nabu sacrifices himself and it is clearer that he's in a coma and not dead.

Season 5

6) Ah, Bloom didn't forget her aura reading powers that are super useful to search for a magical person among thousands of non-magical people, she just really hates using them because they're a privacy breach and she only does it in dangerous situations or when they have a strong lead.

1) The trix are in Andros, and it is stated they have been there since the Havram/movie 2 events. They are clearly traumatized by the possession and nobody gave them a therapist. This time Roccaluce would've been the right place for them but alas...

2) Icy's trauma manifests in latching onto this idiot prince in the cell next to theirs because he reminds her of Valtor. They meet the same way, he does a similar monster thing, but he doesn't slam her against a wall when she breathes wrong, which is nice.

3) Roxy goes to Alfea! Yay! But Roxy feels so out of place because the winx are miles ahead of her in magic and life in general alike, while Roxy is a newbie to that world and has very confused ideas about her future. Cue to an extensive arc about Roxy learning that it is ok to do things at her own pace and that she can have more than one friend group (the winx and her classmates) because she has things in common with different groups of people.

4) Harmonix doesn't exist because the girls can swim and use magic underwater in base form/charmix AND enchantix, as per canon.

5) The sirenix curse, that hot mess. Ok so Daphne is dead dead. She did not have sirenix. Politea did. Cue to more lore about the fall of Domino and how part of the plan to prevent it failed badly with Politea getting cursed and disappearing.

6) The season is centered about the struggles of Aisha and Roxy. Bloom, Stella and Tecna are also closely involved with the plot due to their role as princesses, but have struggles that don't compete with having half your family turned into a monster army while your boyfriend is in a coma or adapting to a whole new world. For example, Bloom proves herself politically competent to both her and Sky's parents, Tecna talks her planet out of isolationism, Stella helps both.

7) The Sirenix wishes change. Less manipulating people into changing their behavior and more actual action. Obviously Nabu is healed with a wish (maybe not Aisha's? Maybe by the wish of one of her friends because they want their friend to be well again? Just saying. Everybody cried for Nabu, Aisha is not the only one who would care about him!). I have no ideas for the others but it's the kind of thing that only comes up if I sit down and write the whole thing for me and I sure as hell won't do that.

8) Tritannus gets high on Throne power and tries to kill Icy as per canon, but the Trix don't flee. They are captured and after the battle the winx see how absolutely shattered Icy is and decide to hold out a hand to them (some of them are reluctant cuz it bit them in the ass with the Black Circle). Yes same as my fanfic but one season earlier: the winx talk Roccaluce into giving the trix a proper trial.

Season 6

1) Picking up from the trial, there's a few episodes focused on that as well as some arguments between the winx because as I said they weren't all 100% on board with that. Everyone is shocked when Icy says whatever the official lie about her origins was and the magic lie detector goes ham. Icy gives in and says she's a survivor of Dyamond. Cue to the mystery of this second Domino that the Magic Dimension doesn't talk about cuz it's even more embarrassing than what happened in Domino after all planets went on with slogans like "never again will we see something like on Domino now that the Ancestral Witches and Valtor are vanquished".

I put too much thought and time into this for something I'll never do so have a quick list of things this season would deal with:

- If you know me you know I am a sucker for redemption arcs and the trix will have one in this universe too.

- This season's theme would be change and adapting to change. Most obvious with the winx and the trix having to interact with each other in a new way, but also for Earth, where magic is spreading (again, comic plots of people discovering their powers and messing up big time in more than one way)

- Selina would be the main villain, but she'd be from either Linphea or Melody for the sake of linearity. Not sure what her goals may be but there could be a situation where she tries to recruit people from Earth who developed powers, thus crossing the winx's path

- There'd be more of the adulting we were supposed to get after season 4, with the winx taking steps towards what they want their life to be. Musa would focus on her musical career, Flora would decide she wants to focus on her role of guardian fairy, Tecna would have a series of technomagic projects rejected by companies and she'd decide to start her own company (with Timmy), Bloom would take on a more active role as a princess and help with Domino's reconstruction, Stella would officially start her fashion line and use her platform to bring attention to the problems she's entangled in (e.g. oh this awesome linen that can only be imported from Earth? Such a pity that Roccaluce won't recognize Earth as part of the Magic Dimension thus actively making commerce impossible), Aisha would focus on her role as guardian fairy as well as just enjoying her second chance with Nabu (she deserves it ok?)

- Roxy gets enchantix at some point

This took me way more than it should have lol I hope you enjoy the read!!

#willing to elaborate further on specific points #i made up half of this as I typed #thank you for the ask!#ask me anything #winx club #winx meta

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dani-ya-dig · 5 months

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Okay I’m finally gonna do it.

I’m watching all three of the summit audios and posting just an absolute clusterfuck of my thoughts about it

So thought’s beneath the cut I guess

The Monarchial Summit

No but I’m actually with Milo on this one who the fuck only owns one belt?? I don’t even go to formal things but I still own multiple belts

Also Ash accusing Aggro of stealing his shoes… like the cat of MILO GREER would touch anything Asher would wear anyways. The fucking audacity of that statement.

Makayla existing might be one of the juiciest princes of information my brain soaked up from this anthology. I need to know more about this woman. I don’t even know why

Yeah… welcome to monarchy lovely… it’s great I swear

SAMMMMM!!!

Also like if y’all have idea for things that Sam wore to the summit share them with me bc I genuinely can not imagine anyone being able to get that man into anything more than a black and white tux

Sam and Darling better have got that fucking ice cream, I don’t give two FUCKS who died for them to get it. They deserve it. I love them in case you couldn’t tell. I’m pretty lowkey abt it.

GOD Porter is such a fucking asshole I love him so bad

Also this is probably gonna be something I bring up multiple times throughout this post but I love seeing the dynamic that the Solaire kiddos have going on. Like they interact pretty similarly to me and my siblings (except… you know… way more toxic) and I think it’s a fun dynamic that I genuinely want to see more of. I know the clan probably doesn’t hang out as a unit as often as like the Shaw Pack does but I really wanna see more of them together.

God I know the Shaw Solstice parties must be so fun

Also do you guys actually think anyone is like dancing at the Summit? Because I genuinely can’t imagine it. I would love to imagine vampires waltzing but it feels like it’s more of a socialization stand around and talk to people event… which is far less fun

“It’s a party not a funeral” it is actually so silly that you would say that you old fuck

SHUT THE YOUR UGLY ASS UP CHRISTOPHER!! I KNOW VINCENT IS SLAYING AT THIS FUCKING PARTY

Also what does “there’s mud in your eye” mean? Is that what Christopher says? I’ve never heard that expression in my life.

OHHH ITS ALEXIS!! I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ANT THIS PART!!!

Also GOD props to Alexis’s voice actor because every single line was delivered so fucking perfectly that it actually makes me wanna scream. ITS SO GOOD

I know her saying “mates” condescendingly must have already had Darlin wanting to whoop her

SHE SAID THE THING!!! SHE SAID THE THING THAT NO ONE HS BROUGHT UP UNTIL THIS POINT!!!

Seriously I hope that’s a topic we get to touch on more in later audios, is whether Darlin wants to be turned or not, because there is so much potential there and I LIVE FOR IT!!! And then like a Sam comfort audio where Darlin is all anxious that he isn’t gonna like them if they age even if they know that’s not the case in their heart GOD I FLDNSKDNDJDNHDJDHDZHJDHDHD

Sorry I got too excited

UGH OLDER DARLIN!! MWAH MWAH MWAH!

I may consistently talk abt how much I love Sam but Darlin is the character I actually have a crush on guys

Alexis does make a point though. I don’t remember exactly how old she is but I seriously doubt that Darlin would stand a chance against her in a fight based on her age alone.

“Pettiness isn’t childish at all. It’s what we GROWNUPS use to express our distaste when we grow up from our adolescent power fantasies and learn how the real world works” So we are just lying now? Also, okay meemaw sorry didn’t mean to disrespect my elders. Old ass.

The fact that she knew if Sam came over when she was talking to Darlin that it would start a fight

Also this part is something I saw a few Alexis fans complaining about. Saying stuff like “oh so Alexis is just a villain and doesn’t actually get any dimension as character great 🙄” but like??? Are you guys not seeing what I’m seeing about this?? One, Alexis is talking out of her ass, she is saying anything she can to make Darlin angry or feel like shit. That doesn’t mean anything she is saying holds any merit. She could 100% be lying, and there could have been good intentions behind her turning him, even if it was a stupid decision. Like Porter said Alexis is a delightful blend of self assured and insecure. Do you really think if she held regret for what she did she would let other people see that?? Sam actively says that the shit she has gone through has made her hardened but there is still a person underneath all of it.

I’m not even an Alexis fan but it baffles me that you guys don’t still see the possibility for her to have depth, even just within headcanon if it’s never talked about again.

DARLIN TAP ME IN PLS I COULD TAKE HER IN A VERBAL SPAR PLS PLS PLS PLS PLS

Porter to the rescue!

DRAG HER ASS PORTER!! SICK EM!!

Also Porter is strangely kind to Darlin?? Like in this audio sure he says he only helped them so he didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of a fight between them and Alexis, but also in the audio with him and Vincent the first thing he does when he meets them I compliment them. Potential for begrudging besties?? Or Porter trails Darlin around and they can’t shake him no matter how hard they try??

DARLINS FOOTSTEPS AS THEY RUN AFTER SAM <33

“You should >:(“ actually who the fuck do you think you are???

QUINN FORESHADOWING??? PLS PLS PLS??? I genuinely don’t see any reason to have this interaction if it isn’t foreshadowing to something happening with Quinn

“I needn’t mention Porter” PLS WHAT HAS PORTER DONE THAT IS SO AWFUL THAT PPL OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE KNOW IT???

“Invocation’s from maker to progeny, not the other way around Sam 🙄” SHE IS SO SASSY I CANT! EVERY LINE SHE HAS I SWEAR

“But playing is what I do best <3” STAY AWAY FROM MY MAN HOMEWRECKERRRRRR /ref

SEE GUYS THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABT!! IM NOT A FAN OF ALEXIS BY ANY MEANS BUT JUST BECAUSE SHE SAID SHE TURNED SAM FOR SELFISH REASONS DOESNT MEAN YOU CANT STILL VIEW HER AS A MULTI-FACETED CHARACTER

NOT THE NIGHT OLD CUP OF NOODLES

Porter quoting Sam. I love to imagine that this is something that Vampire have to explain often so they just all end up explaining the same way eventually.

“What’s it to you” MILO BEING PROTECTIVE OVER SWEETHEART!! IM FOAMING AT THE MOUTH.

Wait how did Porter know that Sweetheart was investigating Closeknit?? Does that actually matter? Am I thinking too much?

“I don’t expect you to get it” as if every piece of media with a masquerade or large ball type event doesn’t have some kind of murder mystery undertones Porter. This truly shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

Super sleuth sweetheart <33

ASHER YOU DONT NEED TO TURN TO EVERYONE ELSE FOR THE ANSWERS ALL THE TIME!! U R SMART!! YOU CAN MAKE DECISIONS!!

Like even when it wasn’t him saying that he needed to go to David he still turned to Babe as if asking them what to do

Darlin is stronger than I. this shit would have made me cry so hard so fast I would have lost it

I love that even with all of the chaos happening inside Sam and Darlin still just get to have their sweet little moment alone

ANGEL SITTING IN ON THE MEETING WITH DAVID!!!

Food for thought, during the meeting David was holding Angel’s hand under the table and messing with their engagement ring???

“Ash… look at me” WHY SO YOU TWO CAN KISS??? STOP BEING SO IN LOVE WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND DAVID THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS

I genuinely thought they were gonna kiss goodbye at the end of that

Closeknit’s mission?? To what?? enable Blake’s obsession with his best friend??? To kidnap people and hold the hostage???

“Ow Porter what the hell! 😢”

“We are all sick of being your babysitter” (babysitter Sam enters stage right ready to drag both of them away by their ears)

THE MUSIC PICKING UP AT THE END IS SO KCNDKSBDJXHDBDBD I LUB IT

Vampire Justice

Alexis’s little “yeeeesss” is so silly of her. Someone has literally been murdered and she is just in a goofster mood

VINCENT’S LITTLE “lex :(“ AND THEN SHE FINALLY STOPS TEASING HIM!!! THEY ARE SIBLINGS UR HONOR!!!

ANGRY PROTECTIVE ASHER!!! GOD I CANT EVEN!!!

Also damn does sass just run in the family Alexis and Porter are so sassy

FAMILY!! HE SAID THE THING!!! THE WORD THAT MAKES ME CRY!!

hehehehe Mr. Shaw

Everyone is all shocked by the fact that they hold their own hearing instead of going to the department as if that’s the craziest thing about their legal system and not the fact that they literally are going to hold a public execution for Quinn

Also Sam seems just as much in the dark on a lot of this as the Shaw Pack does and I think that’s so funny. He has been a vampire for 15 years but just never have enough of a fuck to want to learn about vampiric court.

Monarch Baz really does not give a singular fuck.

“A pile of bones obviously” I could hear the eye roll in her voice

A LONG WALK IN THE SUN HAHAHAHAHAA

I know that he is innocent… but I really don’t like Christopher anyways

“I forgot to turn of the oven four years ago” PORTER!!

Dr. Samuel Collins knowing more about demon blood and its effects on vamps while being clueless about vampiric law

PLS CLOSEKNIT HAD TO MAKE A NOTES APP APOLOGY SAYING THAT THEY DONT KIDNAP DEMONS!! AND THEY WERE LYING TOO!! AND EVERYONE FUCKING KNOWS IT???

BITE HIS ASS MILO!!! SICK EM!!

Again I know he is innocent but Christopher was a little too comfortable saying “my former king” so quickly…

WITHOUT A FUCKING SECOND OF HESITATION JUST DROP DEAD IMMEDIATELY

THE CRUNCH

ICKY

Also I know the entire Shaw Pack jumped back

STONE COLD DAVID LOVE TO SEE IT

Monarch Baz is so unimpressed I love her

The Game

AYEEE RIOT ACT!! HE SAID THE REDACTED AUDIO THING!!

Yeah that was grimy of William. Not that the king and prince of the Bennett house didn’t deserve it mind you. But taking their assets was kind of adding salt to the injury. (I gotta respect it tho! Gotta respect it!)

Also it raises the question does the house of Bennett still exist if both of their leaders are dead? Do they have someone who falls next in the line of succession?

Also I get that Vincent is like going through his world kind of crumbling down a little bit… but also… like I expected he would be a little more angry learning about the hand the house of Bennett had in helping Closeknit and basically sponsoring the Inversion?? Like that’s the event that killed your partner and gave you no choices other than turn them into a vampire forever and strip them of their powers or let them die. I thought we would see a little more relief that they are dead.

Also Vincent being all like “it was different with Adam” IN WHAT WAY BRO??? IN WHAT WAY??? Adam tortured your partner and I must restate the Bennetts pretty much sponsored the death of A THOUSANDS PEOPLE!! ONE OF WHICH WAS YOUR PARTNER!!! ITS THE SAME???

Wait… Porter was turned by a year old vamp? I HAVE EVEN MORE QUESTIONS ABUT WHY HE IS SO POWERFUL WITH MAGIC THEN!! WHAT IS THIS DUDES SECRET??

I hope that after hearing each other’s perspectives that this can bring Porter and Vincent closer together. Or at least make them hate each other less. I’m pretty sure it will, and I’m excited to see it.

Okay I genuinely don’t have too much to say about this video but one thing I will say is that it hits very close to home, in a very odd way. I could just be projecting and taking this the wrong way. However, I was the youngest child in my family, and I was too young to understand some of the stuff that happened around me or people tried to shelter me from it. Then when I was outright told the truth it kind of broke the way I viewed my life and the people in it, in a way that can’t really be fixed. So I feel that a lot through Vincent’s situation. Obviously not the same thing because my family isn’t centuries old vampires who have killed before and will kill again lmao. But that feeling of not knowing what to trust anymore, or what was real or what you just made up to make things fit the narrative that you were told. It hits pretty fucking deep.

(Am I over sharing on the internet? Possibly. But also it’s my blog so I can do whatever I want!)

Overall my thoughts areeee… While the summit wasn’t what I was expecting it was going to be I enjoyed it! It was refreshing to get some… possible moves on other storylines, some foreshadowing for ones that are going, and new information on characters!

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted monarchal summit

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shadowdashinyumbreon · 9 months

Text

Remember how I was talking about a ybc sitcom. Well I did a thing

Yuri: we should abandon the current US government ranking system in warrior cats don’t question me.

Fujisaki: just saying that Obamastar is way cooler than trumpstar. Also what the hell are kits then?

yuri: babies, duh.

toono: are you telling me kids are going to be apprentices for like 12 fucking years,,,,, that’s 24 times as long….

yuri: yes. 12 years. 1st grade to 12th grade, American education system. I’ve thought this through.

Shikatani: and what the heck is a medicine cat?

yuri: you guys really aren’t thinking this through huh it’s a fucking doctor you degenerate

Toono: wait, what are cats then????

yuri: ….they’re still cats what the fuck are you on.

kashima: do we actually hunt for food or do we go grocery shopping and call it hunting?

yuri: I said ranking not their lifestyle guys I’m going to fucking lose it.

Akemi: the fuck is a warrior cat????

yuri: somebody is going to die today and it’s sure as fuck is not going to be me!

Itome: would the time zones become clans or is it just randomly assigned?

Yuri: it’s the ranking system. The leader is the president. It’s one clan. We’re one clan cant you fucking hear I’m this close to bursting into tears.

Shikatani: ok but what about other countries? Would there be Americaclan and canadaclan and stuff?

Yuri: i Said US government system. You heard that, right? You listened to me say it? The US? Just America??

akemi: wait does that mean the president rules until someone else comes along and wrecks their shit?

yuri: I mean, yeah. Until that motherfucker dies he’s leader. That’s how wc works. Kill your leader, start a riot and shut the fuck up im so stressed.

kashima: I, for one, do not think trump should get nine lives.

yuri: well neither should tigerstar, but here we are

Fujisaki: isn’t this just a monarchy? Or dictatorship?

yuri: it’s the warrior cats ranking system thats what it is.

Toono, muttering: what are deputy’s then.

yuri: don’t try and hide that stupid fucking question from me! What do you think vice presidents are??

Itome: what would twolegs be considered?

yuri: this is just like the what would cats be question. We wouldn’t fucking use that term.

Shikatani: probably a dumb question but what would rouges and loners be.

yuri: rouges aren’t even part of the clan ranking system I don’t think I can take this much longer.

kashima: what about other government officials? Would they be warriors? Or would they just not exist l?

yuri: THEYRE WARRIORS. THEY DONT EXIST. I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE

Itome: wait, why the fuck is yuri talking about warrior cats?

Yuri:

yuri: I-

akemi: you managed to drive a prostitute insane! Congratulations!

yuri: did you just call me a fucking prostitute?

Tamura: of course yuri wants our society to be a furry tyrant. Are you fucking kidding me yuri? Ya let's have our leaders fight to get on top, that would create so much chaos and distrust because you never know who wants to rise up; you would never get anything done because you're constantly watching your back. Not even to mention of course the strongest cats would always win, that's like saying the politician with the most money should be able to buy themselves the position. Your I suggestion is stupid op not only because you brought up warrior cats but also you thought a fucking YA novel is a good baseis for gouvernement.

yuri: this is the funniest thing anyone could have added. I’ve never been more amused in my life…. Do you know how warrior cats works? Do you really just think they’re fighting for leadership? Your so angry about this silly little thought I had.

Yaguchi, walking into the room: okay what the FUCK is going on???

#Yarichin bitch-mates #<— current name for this au #oh year they’re all adults I forgot to mention #yarichin bitch club #Everything but Tamura rant is hand typed so sorry if it’s different from the original post by firefox official #Some things I changed on purpose though #mainly the stuff about tweeting and tumblr.com

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adelaidebeorna · 4 days

Note

!!! You've got an Emperor's New Groove OC too?? Will you tell me about them? :D (/not forced, but this movie's been taking over my brain the past two weeks and like making friends!!)

Holy shit. Hell yeah I will!

It’s a tad bit confusing, but originally she’s just a girl from our world that wakes up in the show, and while trying to explain how she got there (through a lot of lying and bending the truth, she accidentally writes herself into the show) ((don’t ask me how, fanfic magic or something))

So Addie=girl from human world

Adelaide=girl from the show

But they’re both the same person, if that makes sense. (And she’s totally not me, that would be silly 🤭)

Adelaide’s lore is still under construction in my mind, but the bits I’ve come up with are:

-She comes from an island off the cost of the Uk, called Bayti.

-Her family are the royal family for said island, following an ancient civil war between the two clans that inhabited the island (The Beorna clan and The Shocklach clan)

-Her family consists of:

•King Byron

•Queen Minerva

•Prince Stuart (oldest, but not allowed to be king)

•Prince Alden (also not allowed to be king)

•Prince Joseph (Low-key doesn’t want to be king, bro cba)

•Princess Adelaide (Technically next in line, but is unaware of that)

•Princess Rihannon (Girlie pop has no idea what’s going on half the time, but it’s okay cus she’s cute 🫶) ((Totally not based on my sister))

-The head family of the Shocklach’s wanted to become a part of the British empire, but literally everyone else was like “no wtf” and so civil war.

-Beorna clan won, specifically Adelaide’s ancestors, and they were appointed as leader, which eventually developed into a monarchy.

-After the civil war, the Beorna clan were civil enough to allow the Shocklach’s to stay on the island, and after a couple of centuries it was assumed no one really cared anymore.

-But some decedents of the “we wanna be colonised” Shocklach’s were still a bit miffed about how things had gone. They weren’t happy with the fact that the Beorna’s had let them stay, or that they had no qualms against the Shocklach people being aristocrats that regularly mingled with the royal family… One family in particular wanted to replaced the current royal family.

-Mallory, a lady in waiting of Adelaide’s, and a girl who Adelaide considered a friend, was one of said Shocklach people who wanted to replace the royals.

-Mallory concocts a plan to get rid of the royals one by one, starting with Adelaide because Adelaide actually trusts her. So Mallory gets Adelaide shipped off to South America, which is how she ends up in Peru 🫶

-Mallory’s plan doesn’t work tho, and by the end of the events of the show, Adelaide’s mum and her fav brother Joseph show up at Kuzco’s palace like “Yo, heard you got my kid, can I have her back?”

I haven’t thought about what to do after that, but yeah.

BUT. In the last episode of season one, she is in effected by Kuzco’s wish, mainly because she isn’t from that universe, but also for plot purposes. And so, Kuzco finds out that she isn’t from his world. So when Minerva and Joseph show up at the end of season 2, they’re both as equally confused.

That’s all I can recall from the top of my head rn, I’m currently on a bus lmao, but seeing as people are actually interested, I’ll leave my wattpad username at the end, and I’ll quickly go publish the few chapters I have finished. (I wasn’t joking about the 101 drafts, I have a problem)

So anyway, wattpad user name: Actuallyabiscuit0602

(Don’t judge me for using wattpad pls, it’s all I know)

#kuzco #the emperors new groove #the emperors new school #fanfic #original character

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dujour13 · 1 year

Text

Owlcatober 2022 - 16. Royalty

“Everyone acts like it’s my fault. I couldn’t control Aivu even if I wanted to.”

The view from the roof of the Insula was actually pretty good. There were too many lanterns and torches around the Citadel to see the stars properly. Down here in the shabby part of Drezen, darkness was a boon. You could sneak around and get up to whatever you liked, or just sit on the rooftop and talk. Freedom.

“I don’t see why Lady Konomi took it so bad.”

“You should have seen her reaction. It was embarrassing.”

“What did she do?” Woljif’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“It was like a reflex. The moment Aivu yelled ‘Squirrel!’ she went into a stalking crouch in front of everybody. The Isgerans were laughing up their sleeves all afternoon. She’s furious with me again. Like the thing with the chicken was not my fault either. And more seriously, she’s mad because I’m not letting the Royal Council drag me into bed with Cheliax.”

“Yeah, you’re not into that bondage stuff.”

“Exactly.”

“I tell you what, though, chief. I been thinkin’. You’re stuck with Mendev anyway, might as well make a bid for the jackpot. Put the bardic magnetism to work on old Galfrey, pop her the question.”

“What? Why would you even suggest that?” Siavash shook his head and laughed.

“Hear me out. It would be perfect, the Knight-Commander and the Queen, everybody’d eat that stuff up. And then you’d be set for life. There’s no topper dog than King.”

“That’s not how it works and anyway—”

“You can make me your Grand Vizier. I’m good with sneakin’ around, we could meet up in secret.”

“There’s so much wrong with that I don’t even know where to start,” Siavash sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Commanding a Crusade is bad enough. I don’t want that responsibility.”

“Ah, come on, when you’re King you just point your finger and somebody else takes care of everything. I hear you don’t even have to dress yourself, you got people for that. All you have to do is eat banquets and take hot baths and stuff.”

“And I don’t fancy women, and I’d be tied down in Nerosyan, and you know I disapprove of monarchy,” Siavash enumerated.

“Pff, people and their principles. Principles are only good for gettin’ yourself in a fix, I say. Nothin’ wrong with royalty, as long as you’re it.”

“All right, fine, I have principles. Call me an Andoren zealot, but I simply don’t think anyone should be above anyone else.”

“Nah chief. The way I see it, hierarchy is a ladder. You got any smarts at all, you figure out how to climb.”

“Or you figure out how to topple it.”

“You sound like my Gran. I mean, not in any other way. But she was a big one for bringin’ ‘em down. If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em, that’s her philosophy. Me, I’d rather join ‘em.”

Siavash laughed softly. “No stomach for violence.”

“Nope. I got a stomach for fine cuisine.”

“You know, there’s something to be said for moderation. If fine cuisine is all you eat, it loses its flavor. After having Mendevian porridge for weeks I can tell you, an orange tastes like Heaven.”

Now it was Woljif’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, so you torture yourself just so it feels good when you stop? I thought you weren’t into that.”

“Ugh, I can’t argue with you!” Siavash flopped back on the roof tiles.

“I know, ‘cause I got it all figured out.” Woljif lay back alongside him, hands behind his head.

“The view from the top isn’t that great, trust me. It’s headaches all the way down.”

“Spoken like somebody who doesn’t know what it feels like to be at the bottom.”

Siavash propped himself on one elbow to look at Woljif in the moonlight, overcome with affection at how his cunning yellow eyes could look so sweet and hopeful. “Don’t you see that’s the point? It’s not really about bringing down the top. It’s about there not being people at the bottom in the first place. Bringing everyone up.”

“Your problem is you care about people,” Woljif said. “I don’t.”

A slow smile spread across Siavash’s face. “No, of course you don’t.”

“Right. I’m too smart for that stuff.”

Their eyes met and Woljif felt his face grow warm. “Cut it out. I can’t argue with you either.”

#pathfinder wrath of the righteous #owlcatober 2022 #fanfic #pure fluff

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frogmanfae · 1 year

Text

This but post season 2

Simon POV

I suppose I noticed it for the first time when we were watching a movie together. Wille had stopped his absentminded stroking of my arm as we were cuddled up together. It was about two months after we had gone public about our relationship, which isn't exactly enough time for the monarchy to fully recover but they tend to adapt to things quickly out of necessity to keep up appearances, so things had mostly calmed down. Despite this, Wille had seemingly gotten more and more distant the longer time went on.

"Wille?" I asked. "Is something wrong?" No response. "Wille? "

"Hm?" He lifted his head to look at me. It was as if I had woken him from a long rest.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" I had pushed some hair away from his eyes.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine." He smiled. It was so obviously fake. He yawned and said something about a test he had the next day.

Since then, he got progressively distant. It started with cancelling plans, then making excuses to not make plans at all. Eventually it escalated to him avoiding me. Now, I hardly ever see him, but he looks okay when I do. Rather, he would look okay to anyone else. But me? I know him too well to be fooled by the concealer he wears to cover his growing eye bags.

*************

I bite the strings of my hoodie as I flip through the channels on the TV, Rosh sitting on the couch next to me and Ayub on the floor between us.

"I can't believe he'd pull this shit." Rosh exclaims. "He's been nothing but a dick to you this entire-"

"Shh!" I wave my hand in her direction. My eyes are glued to the screen, the news channel showing a heartbreaking story. "Oh my god... This is it. This is the reason Wilhelm has been so distant. Erik's birthday is this week..."

"Simon-"

"How could I be so oblivious? It's not that I messed things up, he's hurting!" I run my hands over my face. "Oh my god..."

"Hey, how were you supposed to know? Neither of us knew! I mean, what average citizen knows all the birthdays of important people?" Ayub attempts to reassure.

"Yeah! Besides he didn't tell you how he was feeling, so isn't it kind of his fault?" Rosh offers.

"The fuck? No! Of course it's not his fault!" I snap. "Wilhelm has been forced to conceal his emotions his entire life from everyone! It doesn't come easy for him to talk to people! Not even me! I have to be willing to really listen and we haven't done anything that would give him the right opportunity."

"I'm just saying that he should talk to you instead of pushing you away!"

"Rosh, it's not that easy for him. It took me a long time to realize that myself. He wants to talk to me, I could see it in his eyes. He just feels like he can't." I sigh, taking out my phone to message him.

ᴡɪʟʟᴇ, ɪ ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴀᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇᴡs. ɪ'ᴍ sᴏ sᴏʀʀʏ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ɴᴏ ɪᴅᴇᴀ. ʜᴏᴡ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ?

I wait a long time. At some point, Rosh and Ayub leave. Wille never opens my message. I never fall asleep.

*************

When I get to school, he isn't there. Nowhere in sight. It worries me to know he's upset and I can't find him.

"Ah! Felice!" I run over to her. She and I have gotten closer in the last several months, but she's still more Wille's friend than mine. "Felice! Have you seen Wille anywhere?"

"Uhh... No. No he went back to the palace yesterday." She shuffles on her feet. "You know, to uh..." She frowns. "Prepare for the ceremony tomorrow."

I run my hands through my hair. "God, I feel like such an idiot. I had no idea!"

"I'm surprised the choir isn't doing a tribute, honestly. I thought we would have started working on it a month ago."

"Well a lot was going on with the Royal Family a month ago." I sigh. "We'll probably sing the traditional Hillerska song, we work on that every day."

She nods. "Yeah, that would make sense. How's Wille doing? He's refused to talk to me."

"I have no idea! He's been avoiding me for weeks. You know how he gets, he feels like he has to be alone when he's hurting. I didn't realize that this was coming up so fast..." I rub my eyes.

"Simon, it's not your fault. You-"

She's interrupted by the sound of chairs against the floor. I quickly find my place, holding forced posture behind an empty chair as we greet the teacher. She allows us to be seated and begins class, but my mind is on other things.

*************

I try to call Wille again (several times, actually) but he never answers. He still hasn't opened my message from last night.

If only he were a normal teenager. I could go to his house to check on him myself. But he's not a normal teenager. He's the Crown Prince of Sweden. I can't exactly just show up to the Royal Palace unannounced. Especially not now. Not when they're mourning their eldest son and brother.

Wille POV

I see that Simon messaged me. Several times. I want to message back, but I honestly don't have the energy. I know that I've been distant lately, but it isn't a matter of not wanting to be around him. I desperately want to be around him. I've simply been too exhausted, mentally, anyway, to do anything with anyone. Even Simon. All I want to do is wrap myself in a blanket and cry.

I didn't even notice myself pulling away until maybe a week ago. It's a bad habit, I suppose. Erik always told me I have a lot of those.

Since I've gotten to the palace, I haven't done much of anything. I've spent all my time in Erik's room, wrapped up in his blanket. His scent has all but faded away from it.

Sometimes I think back on our last conversation and wonder if he knew. He realized I had met someone I really liked, but not once did he assume it was a girl. Not outwardly anyway. Maybe I had said something when we got drunk together some night. Maybe he saw the way I looked at his body guard (who happened to be quite attractive, though much too old for me) as opposed to how I looked at the girls he brought over.

Maybe he knew but didn't say anything so I would be able to tell him on my own terms.

Or maybe he had no idea and I'm reading into things too much.

God I hate this. I hate not being able to talk to him. I hate being left to wonder. All of these what if questions that will never be answered. They're suffocating.

Why did this happen to me?

Simon POV

We have the day off of class to mourn the late Crown Prince. I spend all of it on my phone trying to reach Wille, but I know it's no use. On every TV channel, there's a tribute to Erik. I shut it off because I don't feel like I should have the right. Why are we not only able, but encouraged to watch this? This should be private time for the Royal Family to grieve. The fact that they have to keep appearances for the camera is sickening. There was a close up on Wille. He looked normal enough, but I noticed streaks if dark gray beneath his eyes. It didn't take much for me to realize the makeup wasn't tear resistant.

*************

Wille didn't come back to school until three days after the ceremony. He sent me a message yesterday.

ɪ'ᴍ sᴏʀʀʏ, sɪᴍᴍᴇ.

What the hell was he apologizing for? Did he not want to talk to me ever again? Did I not do enough? Are we over?

"Simon." I look up from my paper to see Felice. "Uh... Wille is back. He's in his room if you want to see hi-"

I collect my things and just go. I practically run to his room. By the time I knock on his door, I'm out of breath.

"Wille? Are you in there?"

There's a long pause. "Simon? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me." I place my palm flat against the door. "I'm here."

"... The door is unlocked."

I take that as permission to enter. I gently shut the door behind me. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have even noticed Wille was there. He was completely engulfed in his bedding. The only part of him I could see was some hair and a sliver of his eyes. They were wet and red and puffy and yet showed no emotion.

I gingerly sat on the edge of the bed by his chest. We stay silent for a while, not sure of what to say or how to say it. That is until-

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm so sorry, Simon."

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry abou-"

"I totally cut you out of my life for weeks with no explanation. I didn't even realize I was doing it. I'm so sorry. It's not that I didn't want to be around you, because I did. I do. I love being around you I just... I don't know. I didn't feel like I could be around anyone." He got quieter. "All I wanted was to be with Erik..."

"Oh, Wille..." I brush the hair away from his eyes. "Wille you have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't realize that his birthday was approaching so soon. I should have been there for yo-"

"Simon, why would you have known. I honestly don't even think you know my birthday." I make a mental note to google that later. "Why would you know his? Honestly, I think I'd be jealous if you did." He chuckles.

I smile. "I suppose. I still feel bad, though. How about I cook for you? Not tonight, but when you feel up for it again. It won't make up for it, but... I think we could both use some time to just talk, yeah?"

He nods. We fall silent again. We remain like this for a while. Just together.

"I bought his gift." He abruptly breaks the silence.

"What?" I pushed his hair away from his eyes again.

"Erik's gift. I already bought it. In the summer." He shifts the blanket away from his face a little bit more. "I like buying people's gifts well ahead of time." He smiles. "He knew I did and he wouldn't shut up about it. He spent months-" he drops his smile. "He spent... the rest of his life... trying to get me to tell him what it was. I never did. It was a surprise. He never found out..."

"Wille-"

"They were a new set of hubcaps." He shut his eyes. "They were silver, he always preferred it to gold. They we're engraved too. They had his name and mine and said once a brother always a brother. He would always say that to me when I got into some situation and thought he was upset with me. It was some stupid recycled slogan, but it did reassure me that no matter how mad he was he always loved me." He smiled again, but it wasn't a happy smile. "He loved that car too. That damn car. How ironic is it that I got him a gift for the thing that ultimately killed him with a statement that isn't even true."

"What do you mean it isn't true?"

"Simon, I used to be a brother. Now I'm not. Once a brother but not forever would be more fitting."

"Wille..." He shakes his head. "Wille you're still his brother just-" he shakes his head harder, squeezing his eyes shut so tightly I could see every wrinkle his face was capable of making. I stop trying to reassure him, it'll only cause him more pain. It isn't what he needs right now. Luckily, I think I know what he does need. "... Would you like me to hold you?"

In the most broken, pleading voice I've ever heard, Wille barely musters to ask, "please?"

I pull him into the tightest hug I possibly can and he cries into my chest. And we just stay like that. I know he should have talked to me, but I also should have asked. We both need to work on communication. It's okay though, we've been through enough to know we can make it through a rough patch.

Right now, I just have to be here for Wille. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just be here with him.

And I wouldn't rather anything else.

#young royals #hurt/comfort #erik's birthday #wille #Simon #crown prince wilhelm #lgbtq #lgbt #queer #gay #mlm #hillerska #sweden #wilmon #please someone just let them be happy for once

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championofnyx · 8 months

Note

Since you're doing a prompting weekend, how about Brion reuniting with his siblings after the events in Markovia?

So… Life kind of went to hell like, three hours after I posted by Prompt night post and I haven’t had time or mental capacity to circle back around. I’m so sorry that this took over a month to catch up on, accepting some sibling bickering as an apology.

It’s been a few months since they had seen each other, the brothers, whose faces had been plastered on tabloids and drama mongering news outlets the whole time; as if everything that had happened was Shakespeare or a Greek tragedy rather than real people’s lives with real consequences. “I’ll give you two some time to talk,” Perdita walked into the adjacent room, leaving the door open between them but offering some privacy. Neither boy had asked for this meeting, nor did either quite know where to start.

The older moved a fell into one of the two elaborate couches that were framed by even more energetically decorated rooms within the embassy. It took a minute before the younger, still standing, spoke up. “Can we talk?” Brion asked, looking down at his brother.

“What are you gonna do if I say no? Murder someone in broad daylight again?” Gregor pipped back, “Didn’t have your fill the first time.”

“I understand the expression, but it was at night. So, if you are going to make a snide comment, make it accurate.”

“Whoo, fancy words, from a fancy boy.”

“Come on.”

“So fancy, with your uniform and crown, not over the top at all.”

“You wore the same thing, ok? So don’t act like you didn't. “Yeah, but I could pull them off. Hell, it’s almost like I was born for it.”

“Archaitic model that isn’t applicable.”

“Well then, might as well throw out the whole monarchy. That’s a little archaic too, don’t you think?”

The two paused after that last outburst, and looked at eachother. The upheaval of both of their lives over the past months, the past years, had changed those two boys and it took them a minute to recognize the other.

“When the hell did you start acting like this?” Brion finally spoke up, breaking the tension.

“What?” Gregor asked, pulled into the maelstrom of new, unpleasant thoughts. “Oh, you mean like everything I was raised to be, the very purpose for my existence if you listened to our parents, was taken away from me by the person I shared a womb with while I watched thousands of kilometers away in a hotel room? Am I acting like I have no one looking at me anymore? No purpose, nothing going for me?”

The two stared at one another for a moment, “You have a sister.” Brion tried to remind him.

“Yeah, thank you for leaving her to me.”

“Well, that was my job for months, so I thought we could share a little.” “Oh, are you planning on sharing that title too?” The older brother said, standing up. “Everyother weekend and Wednesday? Little shared parenting model.”

“So,” The younger spat out, “we’re finding out exiles aren't fun. Could have told you.”

“This is why mom never loved you.”

“Jesus fucking christ” Perdita pocked her heat through the door both forgot was open still, looking more than a little concerned as she realized this was a mistake. “Could you two like, I don’t know, take it down a peg?”

There is the possibility of a slightly kinder version of this in a fic I'm working on so I wanted to save any sappy dialogue I had thought of for that and instead allow some of my favorite little shits to be unhinged bastard children for a moment, I think they've both deserved it.

#young justice #brion markov #gregor markov

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sasha-whos-askin-racket · 1 year

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I am absolutely obsessed with the Catesby and Percys dynamic, in regard to their awareness of the outcome of the plot and the way that they all approach it?? Like, in The Cold Hard Ground, Catesby literally says “it’s too late to save me.” He knows that. Right off the bat, he knows how this’ll end for him, even though the mere idea of the gunpowder plot is just a speck in the distance at this point, assuming this is narratively one of the earlier songs. He also - as is the point of the entire song really - doesn’t give a shit and is fully prepared to face his death, in whatever form it comes and whenever it comes. At this point in the musical, he isn’t talking about dying in a valiant attempt to take out James, he’s talking about his outlook on death in general, and this ends up sticking throughout the rest of the musical.

How much Thomas is aware of this, I’m really not sure? Personally, I don’t think he is. The way he talks about Catesby, especially in Blind Faith, (which I’m assuming takes place after they’ve realised James is a monumental fuck-up and not while Elizabeth is still reigning), he has way too much fucking faith in the guy. Like, again, right out of the bat, we know that Catesby is basically willingly marching to his death knowing that it’ll end in his death, he’s just so busy mourning his wife and being bitter about the monarchy and religious divides that he really doesn’t care whether he lives or dies (remember, historically Catesby didn’t become devoutly Catholic until after his wife died.) But Thomas talks about him like he thinks they’re genuinely going to emerge victorious? When he talks about Catesby cleansing his sins, and even directly stating that “I know he has my trust.” Pretty sure Thomas thinks Catesby’s going to get them all through it in one piece, while Catesby has no intention of coming out the other side alive.

But you know who does realise this? Martha. She knows. That’s what The Inevitable is all about. It’s her realising that Thomas is so enamoured with Catesby that he’s going to just, blindly follow him to his death, and that there’s nothing she can say or do to get him to change his mind. Thomas is so wrapped up in the plot, so wrapped up in his admiration and love for Catesby that he just. Doesn’t see he’s being led right into his death. Catesby knows it. Martha knows it. Some of the other plotters have probably worked it out as well. Has Thomas? Nope. Because that “blind faith” that he was talking about having earlier in the musical? It’s overpowered everything, including his own fucking wife. And again, Martha is aware of that, she’s aware of it and she blames herself for letting Thomas get wrapped up in it.

I am just thinking so hard about the fact that everyone apart from Thomas can see that he’s being led to his death. And Martha at least is aware of the fact that Thomas probably has no idea that’s how it’s going to end. I could argue both for and against Catesby assuming Thomas is following him to his death willingly, but I don’t think it matters either way. It doesn’t change what happens to either of them, nor would it change the opinions they have of each other. I’m super interested in seeing what kind of song we get for Thomas and Catesby’s death, since I’m assuming it’ll be depicted and we know that historically Thomas was one of the few supporters who stuck by Catesby until the end, with the two of them dying together. I’m intrigued to see if it ever clicks for him or if that blind faith follows him all the way to the end.

Anyway yeah. Thomas Percy. Goddamn I love this musical so much already.

(I’m also super interested in the way Thomas is portrayed in the musical vs how he was historically, as well as the incredibly unequal nature of Thomas and Catesby’s dynamic but that’s a post for another day.)

#treason the musical #im back yelling about this musical again #i love it so much #anyway yeah please talk to me about this musical #even though all of my knowledge is taken only from the songs on spotify and im probably getting most of it wrong #i want to infodump so badly about thomas percy #queue's asking?

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haroldtea · 3 years

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fic where wu takes a diplomatic visit to the fire nation and takes his former bodyguard mako w him (“is anyone else wondering why mako still goes everywhere with wu even though he’s not his bodyguard anymore? no? just me?” says bolin) and they meet with the stoic but surprisingly wry fire lord izumi.

it’s established before the fic begins that wu and mako have pretty much acknowledged their mutual feelings for each other that took full root after the events of book 4. wu is all in but mako’s refusing to entertain the idea bc wu is royalty and they live on other sides of the world, it doesn’t matter how they feel, it doesn’t matter that they both know there’ll never be anyone else, wu is in the middle of dismantling a monarchy and mako is still trying to figure himself out and his place in everything and them being together is just...something that doesn’t make sense, it can’t possibly work. so they’re not talking about it, and they’re just living in this weird limbo between together and not together that’s driving them both crazy and they’re bickering more than ever before.

so they have their meeting w izumi where wu and izumi are bonding over growing up royalty, and discussing how both nations can benefit the other as the earth kingdom regime changes, when mako notices that izumi’s sleeves kind of look like those ones korra wears and he asks about it. izumi’s face lights up cuz she sort of forgot she was wearing them and tells them about how her new tailor was able to make these sleeves for her that were water tribe in design but fire nation in execution (i.e. a bit more breathable in the morbid heat, what have you) and wu and mako are both kind of like .....why? and izumi is like ??? you guys didn’t know i’m half water tribe?? and they’re like HUH??? cuz izumi is a whole *fire bender* and she’s like um yeah, councilman sokka was my dad. and they’re like HUH???? isn’t lord zuko ur dad??? and she’s like.....yes. he is also my dad. (are our brains working today, boys?) and they’re both like ..........ohhhhhh and she’s like lol yeah oh.

so there’s a curiosity in both wu and mako, cuz they never knew this and apparently it wasn’t made super duper public. two people from different nations, one struggling w their duty to a broken monarchy, one struggling to leave a changing world better than they found it. izumi, catching on, tells them about how their union specifically was a symbol of healing in their post-war world, how things like distance and differences in background paled in comparison to the strength they found in each other. “they were partners in everything,” izumi tells them. “i doubt the fire nation would be what it is today if my dads didn’t have each other.” she shows them their family portrait, sokka and zuko holding baby izumi with young druk curled around them (that one fanart you know the one), and pulls down her collar and shows them the betrothal necklace zuko let her start wearing after sokka died, and in not so many words is basically like “hint hint wink wink” cuz cmon, she’d like to thinks she’s pretty observant for a fire lord and let’s face it, wu and mako are being kind of obvious. she throws in a “also, they had seen enough death in their teen years that the last thing they wanted to do was waste a single day not being with each other. like, what if zuko was assassinated suddenly and sokka never told him how he felt? that’s tragic.” because she’s having fun and we should let her.

so. you can kind of guess that that night wu and mako have a very long and important conversation full of “i don’t want to be with anyone else but you” and “knowing you’re on my side makes everything easier” and “we’ll never know if we don’t just try” and in the morning at breakfast after they head back to ba sing se, izumi finds a thank you note from mako and it makes her giggle, and zuko looks up from his food and is like “don’t tell me you played matchmaker with those two.” and shes like “what? they were being idiots!” “you can’t be meddling in other people’s business all the time!” “why not? they’re together now and much happier for it.” “you always make it sound like we moved mountains and cured famines. i swear you’re a bigger drama queen than your father was.” and izumi just pats him on the arm, cuz she misses sokka too, and goes back to eating with a smile on her face.

#idk how to put a read more on mobile sorry!!#is this anything #wuko #zukka #atla #tlok #izumi

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astaroth1357 · 3 years

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Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here.

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield…

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over.

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes...

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up…

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory.

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!!

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night…

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully…

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

#you say athena mc is smart #i say athena mc is spy #because where better to use your smarts #in war #obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me demigods

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giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 3 years

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the world of Avatar recently and it’s occurring to me now just how controversial the concept of the Avatar would really be. It’s easy to think that the Avatar can only do good for the world (as seen with Aang saving the world from the Fire Nation) but really think about how a real-life Avatar would be.

What really got me thinking about all of this is the fact that the Avatar cannot be in the wrong. I know that sounds silly, like, oh the main hero has to be a good guy? Wow, what a concept! But that’s not as clear-cut as it sounds. The Avatar can never be in the wrong because they’re the ones ensuring balance. If they’re in the wrong, then that means their authority can be challenged, thus leading to people losing faith in the Avatar. So, what does that really mean then? Like, isn’t it a good thing that the Avatar is always right?

Well, when it comes to situations like with Aang and the Fire Nation, then that’s fine. The Fire Nation was clearly in the wrong since they were committing genocide and disrupting the spirit world. But now let’s introduce something a little more grey. What if the Earth Kingdom was going through a civil war? One side is upholding the monarchy, the other side is a resistance group trying to change the regime. How would the Avatar come down on this?

This is where the problems with the Avatar concept comes in. In these situations where the disputes are a little more grey, the Avatar is basically being forced to choose which side do they agree with politically. And regardless which side they choose, they’re making a political statement even if they don’t say anything:

1) Avatar sides with the monarchy = “Avatar is saying we should uphold tradition and reject the immoral terrorists”

2) Avatar sides with the resistance movement = “Avatar is saying the government is corrupt and that the freedom fighters need to win”

(By the way, yes, the word choice was deliberate to make this point)

In addition, and I hate to say this...the Avatar has some fascist overtones. Think about it; the Avatar is this regular person given god-like powers and has the authority to step into world affairs to “bring balance”. Imagine if the Avatar was a little more proactive? If they didn’t like what was going on in one nation, they could just go in and disrupt things all in the name of “balance”. State sovereignty literally doesn’t exist because they have to abide by the Avatar’s judgment.

Essentially, the Avatar only works as a character if they were to intervene during situations where there is an obvious correct answer. The Avatar can’t be a morally grey anti-hero because if there’s even the slightest doubt of their actions, their whole reputation and authority is damaged. They just become another piece in the game of world politics.

And before anyone starts, yes, I’m factoring Legend of Korra into this post. And yes, I hate Legend of Korra because they fell into the problems I listed above. Now I’m not trying to say that Amon, Unalaq, Zaheer, and Kuvira were saints. But you have to admit that the Avatar getting involved in their squabbles exposed the limitations of the Avatar character.

Let’s use Amon as an example. As we all know, Amon was the leader of the Equalists, a movement of non-benders fighting for equal rights in a world dominated by benders. As I wrote before, the Avatar can’t be wrong, so if Amon is the villain, he has to be bad enough that no one will question Korra’s authority. But here’s the thing; no one wants to root for a fascist. And it’d be a HORRIBLE look on the main character if they’re essentially fighting what appears to be a resistance movement that just wants equal rights.

So what does Legend of Korra do? They make Amon as blatantly evil and corrupt as possible. Also, turns out he was a fraud this whole time! Yeah, all that stuff he said about equal rights can now be ignored because Korra was never in the wrong and you don’t have to feel bad about rooting against Amon.

(EDIT: Something else about Amon I just realized. If you have a character like Amon who is fighting against perceived injustices in the world, you’re basically saying that the current world order IS corrupt and that the Avatar is fighting to uphold it. So yet again, the show has to go out of its way to make sure Amon is wrong and Korra is right, even if it means invalidating Amon’s whole argument. Amon can’t have a point because if he does, that means Korra may have been in the wrong. It’s a really shallow way of handling difficult topics like this)

I know I’m just dissing Legend of Korra now, but that’s why I couldn’t get into the show. The Avatar can’t be wrong, so they have to suck all the nuance and sympathy out of their villains in order to make sure no one roots against Korra. And I don’t even blame them for doing so because they were working with a limited character like the Avatar.

TLDR: Zaheer may have been right about everything

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serpenteve · 3 years

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I'm having the horrible realization that Aleksander never actually did any serious wooing of Alina in the books. It's all just Alina her self being horny attracted to him. But this is supposedly???? His grand scheme???? Of manipulation???? Implications! It seems like the girls in these books wasn't the only one slut shamed. I'm- ☠

Leigh wrote a man sexy and captivating and said "it's his fault, actually, that Alina got a crush on him. He shouldn't of.... uh.." Flips through papers. "Ah, had such pretty eyes."

Okay! 👀Yes, we are finally doing this!

I'm flipping through my copy of Shadow & Bone and noting down all the interactions between the Darkling and Alina which I've put in chronological order beneath the cut.

First of all, the Darkling and Alina are only alone together in about a handful of scenes. Most of the time, the are surrounded by other Grisha or Baghra or are in a public place. A lot of the Darkling's actions and words are clouded by Alina's own insecurities. She constantly voices how she feels like she's not good enough, not pretty enough, not strong enough and he takes it in stride and gently encourages and placates her. There are a few lies he does tell her (that the Black Heretic was his ancestor, that he wants to destroy the Fold, and he doesn't know what Baghra's power is, etc) but if we extrapolate the trajectory of her ill-fated romance arc, I think even book!Darkling would have told Alina about his real plans if she seemed like she'd accept them.

A lot of speculation has been made about the Darkling's seduction of Alina and honestly???? Aleksander literally just exists and Alina is thirsting for him because she's desperately looking for validation and re-assurance. I initially head-canoned his first kiss by the lake as being pure calculation and the kiss at the Winter Fete being 100% accidental (because Dark Lord Sasha played himself lmao) but on this re-read, I don't even know anymore. He already came close to almost kissing her after they have a tender moment, catches himself and then immediately leaves before he can catch feelings. Then when they share another tender moment at the lake, he kisses her and then is surprised by it and before he can really process it, Ivan comes by to cockblock.

Like, even Leigh (as much as she has shit on this ship) said at one point that the Darkling has strong feelings for Alina, even if he may not necessarily quantify them as love. So looking back, I don't read anything the Darkling did as manipulative seduction. He obviously lied about some stuff and wasn't transparent about his real plans for the Fold, but as a military commander who sees Alina as an opportunity for a coup, it makes sense that he'd play that a little close to the chest---especially when Alina has proved to be wary of his powers and has a very black-and-white sense of morality. If anything, this is less "the Darkling seduced Alina to manipulate her into being used!!11" and more "local dark lord tried to encourage his protege and accidentally caught feelings and it was a mASSIVE FUCKING INCONVENIENCE TO HIS EVIL PLANS"

But you know who does slut-shame Alina a lot? Baghra. Seriously, Baghra makes Alina feel like shit for her crush on the Darkling numerous times. She has all these lines:

"You want to be [his pet]...Don’t bother lying to me. You’re like all the rest. I saw the way you looked at him."

"Dreaming of dancing with your dark prince?"

"Foolish girl." (After Alina shamefully admits the Darkling might come to her that night)

At one point Baghra creeps on Alina and the Darkling's interactions and even though literally nothing happens between them and when the Darkling leaves, Alina catches Baghra giving her a snooty look. ("For no reason at all, I blushed")

She is determined to shame Alina for her feelings and make her feel like a lovesick idiot for daring to crush on him and this is in addition to all the slut-shaming Mal does. The narrative revealing the Darkling is the bad guy all along while leaving Alina no compelling arc to discover this on her own feels very much like Leigh hitting us all with Baghra's stick, like "Foolish girls! You thought he cared about Alina just because he has a sexy jawline??? HAHA HE LIED YOU SLUTS"

Scenes with Alina and the Darkling in Book 1

Their first scene together is in the Grisha tent. Based on Alina's description of him, she already thinks he's hot as barely any other character in this godforsaken series gets so many descriptions of their grey/smoke/slate/quartz eyes as Aleksander does 😏

The next time they're together he saves her life. Alina is traumatized from seeing a man sliced in half and the Darkling instructs her to keep her eyes on him instead. She is disturbed that he killed the person about to murder her and this aversion seems incredibly contrived and arbitrary on behalf of the author. It's almost like she wants Alina to be vindicated and shamed for not trusting her initial bigotry against him or something 🤔The Darkling admits even he can make mistakes and then he touches the back of Alina's neck (with some secret Heartrender/Healer abilities?) and she falls asleep riding on his horse.

They spend the next few days traveling. Alina notes that the Darkling hasn't spoken to her (probably because he's focused on getting her to the Little Palace without any more assassination attempts) but Alina is a paranoid she's offended him somehow. Again, this is just Alina's insecurity painting a narrative that simply doesn't exist based on what actually happened so far.

They exchange a few words by the stream and Alina fishes for pity points by saying she's ugly and can't possibly be Grisha. Aleksander appears 100% done with her stupidity and says she doesn't understand but he's not in the mood to explain at the moment and walks off ☠️

Alina joins the Darkling and his men for a meal. She notes that the grouse they've killed is meager shared meal but that the Darkling doesn't want to put his men in danger by sending them out to hunt in the forest at night 😌He also sits on the floor to eat like they do and he doesn't take more than the regular portion than they do 😌. Sorry, how is this man the most ~evil~ wizard on the planet? He is obviously a good and fair commander and beloved by the Grisha.

Alina has been checking Aleksander out the entire time so when he catches her, he walks over to talk. He fishes around for information on what Alina has heard about him. He seems sad when Alina mentions she has heard that Darklings are born without souls, though not surprised. He then spins the story about the Black Heretic being his ancestor and how the Fold was a mistake and how every Darkling since then has tried to undo it and how Alina is "the first glimmer of hope" he's had in a long time.

Because Alina is still on that "Grisha are unnatural monsters" agenda, she asks him about the Cut and he explains it but she's still distrubed. He asks her if it would have been better if he used a sword and she replies: "I don't know". The Darkling gets offended and leaves. Alina tries to convince herself she can't have possibly hurt his feelings (because Darklings don't have souls or feelings?) and then feels paranoid that she's failed some secret test. Yeah, the test you failed is called "empathy", Alina 🙄

Two days later, they arrive at Os Alta. Aleksander roasts the Grand Palace as the ugliest effing building he's ever seen. He leaves immediately after dumping Alina at the Little Palace and Alina actually seethes that he isn't paying more attention to her? I understand that it's overwhelming to go to a brand new place, but Alina expecting him to constantly hold her hand and explain everything to her after she basically insulted him is a bit strange.

The next time Alina sees the Darkling, they are scheduled to appear before the King and Queen. The demonstration is a surprise for Alina and Aleksander's lack of transparency of what's expected of her means she's forced to rely on him and trust his instincts. This might be his underhanded way of getting Alina to see that she can trust him; that he will not make her look like a failure or humiliate her; that they are in this together and it will only work if she trusts him.

After the demonstration, Genya and the Darkling trash the monarchy for a bit (Alina is horrified) and then the Darkling orders Genya to get a black kefta for Alina, to which Alina infamously wants a blue one. The Darkling doesn't really put up much of a fight, merely wanting to know why. Alina decides he doesn't approve of her choosing blue and wonders to Genya if he's angry.

After Alina's first day, the Darkling calls her to his quarters to ask her how her day was. Alina is surprised that this is all he wanted to know because she was paranoid he was going to torture her??? She says: "Why shouldn't I be afraid of you?...You can cut people in half. I think it's fair to be a little intimidated." If the Darkling is offended or angry about this, he doesn't show it and merely indulges her. He notes that she has a habit of running her hand across a scar on her palm and asks her about it, tracing the scar himself. Alina gets distracted by his touch but manages to answer his questions: she got the scar at Keramzin, Mal is also an orphan, he is good at tracking. He shows her a secret passage back to her rooms to avoid the main hall.

Alina starts her training and at one point laments that the Darkling is rarely at the Little Palace and when he is, he never speaks to her or barely looks her way and she is convinced it's because she's a failure and can't summon light on her own. It could also be because, you know, he's the commander of the Second Army and is usually seen in talks with other military advisors and the fact that Alina kinda lowkey insulted him with her wariness about his powers???

The next time they are together, Alina interrupts him and Baghra arguing. He politely asks her how she is. Baghra antagonizes her. The Darkling defends her. They talk about amplifiers and because Baghra is being a snarky little shit about it, they take their conversation outside.

Aleksander complains about how annoying his mom is and then asks Alina what stories she's heard about Morozova's herd. At one point he laughs for the first time and Alina practically creams her pants at the sound. Alina expresses her concerns that she can't summon any light and the Darkling says he's not worried and it will happen when it happens and worse case scenario, it will happen once she has the stag. They have a quiet intimate moment, gazing softly into each other's eyes and then suddenly Aleksander realizes he's catching feelings and steps back suddenly like "GoodLuckWithYourLessonsOKayBYE". Baghra watches this interaction from her hut and gives Alina a slut-shaming look.

Alina eventually does learn to summon light on her own. Baghra gives her grief about how it's not enough. The Darkling shows up during one of these lessons and says as much. Alina says she's useless. The Darkling corrects her (“I don't think you're useless, Alina....No Grisha is powerful enough to face the Fold. Not even me”) and then he apologizes for letting her down ("I've asked you to trust me and I haven't delivered"). He wonders if his mother is right and he's crazy to hunt the stag. They have a nice bonding moment, Aleksander lies about Baghra's power, and then he asks if Alina would think him crazy for still wanting to find the stag. She asks why he cares what she thinks, he seems genuinely surprised himself that he cares. Then he kisses her. He seems not to have meant to kiss her because then Ivan shows up for his 5 o'clock shift of cockblocking and the Darkling immediately pretends like nothing happened and walks away with him. Like dude is acting like a fucking dork who's allergic to feelings at this point. I should note here that Alina practically has an orgasm from how giddy she is about this moment. She can barely think of anything else.

The next time they're together, it's at the Winter Fete. They do their demonstration and Alina accidentally reveals her insecurities about how he had kissed her and then disappeared. He responds, "Did you really think I was done with you?" and then they enjoy some steamy kisses and thigh grabbing in an empty room before a random round of Grisha show up for their 6 o'clock shift of cockblocking. Aleksander is annoyed at his own attraction to Alina. He asks if he can come to her that night but Alina doesn't get a chance to respond.

and then the Darklina romance arc falls off a giant cliff and dies a terrible death 😭😭😭

#viv answers #god this ended up being so long WOW #i had a lot of feelings i guess #cw: purity culture #sab meta #grisha discourse #darklina #viv metas

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