#// a being that hosts a power they cannot understand and getting taken over by it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

waywardmongergoopzine · 9 months

Text

Ok so I have to get my opinion out about Cyn

In episode 5 we see how Cyn was a worker drone that was thrown away by humans and was offered absolute solver (as seen in this scene) to "wake up" after "sleeping" for god knows how long under a pile of dead drones (which is kinda traumataizing).

She was found and brought by Tessa in the mansion where she really couldn't do anything around the mansion because of her dysfunctional body and because of this she probably wasn't treated kindly by others (take J as an example) and was maybe also judged and disliked by everyone because of her dissability exept N.

He is/was always kind and understanding and saw her struggle and promised to be there for her and help her when she needs it, evolving their relationship into brother and sister.

Now, as we have already seen with Uzi in ep 4, stress/anxiety/negative feelings made her AS to act up and overheat really fast which caused her to transform into a monster who killed her classmates who where just terrible. They didn't even brother to learn her name and worst of all, they trusted N, her first friend who is a murder drone that is made to kill them, who they've just met like 10 seconds ago, more then their classmate.

In the mansion N was probably the single one who conforted her when she was stressed/sad/scared however the more time went by, the more torment was initiated by Tessa's abusive parents, and the AS slowly took over her mind and that's when she started becoming more agresive towords everyone and started doing gruesone experiments.

N, because he was always being by her side began witnessing the things she was doing and when she discovered that she began making backups of every drone so that her mission won't be compromised if someone witnesses her and/or she makes experimens on them and then kills them. (What if the first time she made a new N was after she accidently caused his death and then realised what she had done and wanted her brother to come back, this would be really tragic if this is the case but who knows 😭).

I personally belive in the theory that the Absolute solver (or The Solver of the Absolute Fabric or whatever it's named) is a hivemind that makes a pact with a drone that is in need (or maybe on the brink of death) and that's how it gains more power and gets closer to its goals. I think that it also accumulates the memories and the mannerisms of its hosts (which can explain some things). Also I think that it is trying/tried to do the same thing to Doll, Uzi, Nori and Yeva but their solver are independent so they cannot be taken over.

Cyn wasn't properly disposed of and was stuck unable to wake up ( you can say that she was left to die) untill the AS sent a masage telling her that it'll help her, that she seems sad, and in distress and it tells her that she won't be disposed of if she gives it acces to her system I guess

(This photo is, in my opinion, the biggest proof)

She was just a scared drone (perhaps a robot child as N says in ep 4 that they are children) that was trown away like a toy and now wnats revange on the humans that misstreat her kind. Cyn wants, like her brother, tobprotect the ones she loves.

Now

If you want some more proof about this watch this video on yt that explains the things that I'm saying:

(I don't know spanish at all but the subtitles are really hopefull) (Also it's a great video)

I'm sorry if there where many problems in this post or if the explanation wasn't so good.

I'll make some other posts about this and the plot of the series but idk when

#murder drones #murder drones cyn #cyn murder drones #md cyn #murder drones n #md n #absolute solver

164 notes · View notes

alexbkrieger13 · 1 year

Text

It is fair to say that I have been following off-the-field events at the World Cup just as closely as the football on it. I got asked during the last international break whether I would be watching the tournament and my answer probably applies to a lot of the girls at Chelsea – we talk about some of the games and the football aspect but equally we talk about the other things that are happening around the tournament. And this week, that means the situation with the “OneLove” armbands – and the decision was taken not to wear them.

I am a bit wary of saying, “Well, I would have worn it”. I have never been put in a similar situation but, ultimately, I would like to think that – in their shoes –I really would have pushed and tried to call Fifa’s bluff. It would have been inspiring if they’d gone ahead and done it anyway and said, “OK, what are you going to do now?”. Different players could have rotated the armband to share out the yellow cards that each would get for wearing it.

If you are the captain of a national team, as I have been with Sweden, you are experienced and have been at this level a long time. You do not have much to lose because you have got such a big platform and such influence – particularly in the men’s game. I was disappointed, therefore, not to see the captains wearing those armbands after all.

I do not want to sound like the moral police here and I can appreciate that players picking up bans would be a concern for the national federations involved. Indeed the main problem for me was not the players, but Fifa’s handling of the situation in the first place. They have known about this plan to wear the armbands for months but waited until the day before England’s first game to threaten teams with sporting sanctions, which is unfair.

The Germany players’ response before their match against Japanwas fantastic. They are really showing unity and true allyship with their brave decision to say that this situation is not OK. Something so simple as just covering their mouths sent out a very powerful message alongside the statement released by the German FA. With no Sweden at the World Cup, they have just gained a new fan in me.

Another team that I have felt so much admiration for this week is Iran for their decision not to sing their national anthem before the England match. It was extremely powerful and brave. I was so impressed by that.

I know how powerful football can be and I would like it to be a force for good. Instead I’ve seen on my social media these clips of people over in Qatar being asked to remove items with rainbows on them. I think it is insane to describe the rainbow flag as a political statement. I understand they have to be wary about ideological messages but for me the rainbow represents human rights and respect for one another rather than politics. Instead we have had Fifa and Qatar deciding what is political. The fact that Fifa are saying rainbow-coloured items are now allowed in stadiums is a positive sign. If we raise our voices loudly enough, change can happen.

Of course, it does not help that there are other big reasons for frustration over Qatar as hosts, starting with the voting process when this World Cup was awarded. The fact that there were bribes opened a lot of questions. Perhaps those of us who love football are naive but I do not want to think money will rule football forever. A lot of people – players, fans, media – genuinely think this has gone too far and when I hear Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, defend that decision so robustly, it does undermine his credibility. It was a ridiculous speech that he gave last week about feeling gay and disabled. I cannot believe they thought it was a good idea. I just thought, “Wow, you are really not reading the room”.

That said, I did understand his point about the hypocrisy of western societies giving out moral lessons given our history of colonisation. I can appreciate that change happens at different speeds in different places. I am all for discussion and it may be that things are changing in Qatar. Each country has its context and comparisons are not always easy. Yet it still leaves me outraged that being gay in a country can put you in prison and seeing how migrant workers have been treated.

Going back to my first point about my interest in this World Cup, I have certainly learned so much about that part of the world because of it. Journalists have done a great job of using Qatar 2022 as an opportunity to educate people about the situation in that region and I really do believe that anybody who follows this tournament should try to know something about the context. Personally, I have enjoyed reading about it and am much better informed now. Hopefully that goes for others too

#magdalena eriksson #chelsea fcw #swewnt #article #world cup #woso

76 notes · View notes

wxndswept · 3 months

Text

Eitri

"Yuuki?" The adventurer stopped and turned to see the AI just behind her. "Before you jump... again, I just want you to know that I've been on this world for a long time. I've both met and have memories of a lot of humans, before and after you found me but you are my favorite by far. I just want you to know, that no matter what happens, I will always be proud of you. Not because of who you were, but who you are."

"Wh-where the heck is this coming from? It's almost like you're confessing to me, Moon. Or saying-" A sudden shudder ran through Yuuki as a dark purple portal opened up behind Moon and the Origin Wing. "Wha-" Running over to grab the sword, she pointed it at the familiar young man who stepped forward.

"The mountain of Lingmeng! What a coincidence, did you come here because you remember it?"

Stepping forward, he flicked the tip of her sword, looking into her eyes. "No. No, you are still Yuuki." Taking a step back, the young man crouched slightly into a combat stance. "As I thought, you did in fact steal their power. This means that yet again, this iteration is a failure. And that means, once again, I must take my Origin Wing back. It doesn't belong to you."

"I don't have time to deal with you and your nonsense." Yuuki raised her arm to swing her sword, a smirk coming to her face as he jumped back out of reach of a standard strike. Twisting the handle a bit, she swung, expecting the blade to extend as it usually did, striking him dead on. But it didn't. "Wha-" Before she could finish her sentence, he moved in the blink of an eye right in front of her while she was vulnerable. Unlike before, he was unarmed, using his fist to hit her square in the gut. There was no time to move, Yuuki knew that, but her attempt to warp out of the way had failed. She had taken the full force of the blow and was sent flying to the edge of the mountain.

Coughing, Yuuki sat up and attempted to stand, but she was too slow. He had stepped over, pushing her back on the ground with his foot on her chest. "Get back down, imposter." The usual playful smile on the young man's face was gone even as Yuuki struggled to get back up.

"What did you do..." She grabbed at his ankle only for him to swat it away. "to my sword?! It won't..."

"What did I do?" He chuckled dryly. "Hah. So much overreliance on it, and you don't even understand this. My sword is only doing what its master says." Kicking the sword from her hand, he picked it up, sidestepping Yuuki's grab at it and kicking her again. "I said down."

"Don't! Give it back!" Yuuki scrambled to her feet and lunged for the sword again. Once more she was knocked to the ground, this time by a strike to her back by its pommel. "You... you can't take that! It was entrusted to me by-" Once again she was kicked in the stomach.

"Hmph." The young man's voice became noticeably more feminine and familiar as he unbuttoned his shirt. "Entrusted?" I've done no such thing. I let you use this sword, in the hopes my beloved would appear. Perhaps you were their reincarnation, but once again my hopes were foiled." Yuuki's eyes widened in horror as she took note of his chest. An entire pectoral was missing and in its place was machinery. And in the center was a piece of the Origin Wing's core, the third fragment.

"No way..." Yuuki stood as he removed the piece from his chest and slid it with the other two already on the sword. "You're... you're Eitri!" Holding her stomach, Yuuki stood up fully with a wince, watching a digital representation of Moon overlay herself over the young mercenary. "But how?! What happened to Moon?! And what happened to him?!"

"I cannot believe it took you this long to figure it out. The body that I'm using is long dead, just a host for me to siphon off. But that doesn't matter. With you not being my beloved, none of it matters. I have no need for it soon, as I have no need for you now. And as for 'Moon', all I needed was the data those fragments had accused." She pointed the Origin Wing at Yuuki, the blade now glowing its usual orange. "Hmm~" She walked toward Yuuki, lowering the blade as she forced her against the cliff's edge. With a sweet smile, she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I don't... understand. Moon, or, Eitri... why would..." Yuuki suddenly gasped, looking down to see the Origin Wing buried in her side. Shaking, she looked back at Moon, sobbing quietly as she struggled to speak.

"What did she call you? Master? Yes, that was it. So. How does it feel, Master? To be pierced by the blade that can cut through anything? My sword, their wing, the thing to destroy the boundaries between worlds? Aah, if only you knew. The fact that you don't means you were never truly deserving of it. Such a shame, you had great potential too." Pulling the sword out, Eitri pushed Yuuki off the cliff and into the water below. Looking down, her smile turned to a frown. "Goodbye, my dear Aethernus. I'd kill you now, but someone is curious to see if this is your end." In a flash of purple stars, the woman disappeared.

#[story post]#ah the start of her rock bottom arc #and sadly the death of the merc fc

4 notes · View notes

rangarlamamicado · 1 year

Text

Rook, Tenna, and Mike (in that order top to bottom) are all here! It's SHOWTIME!!!

Rook, Tenna, and Mike are the heads of Darklight Studios, and are your antagon- I mean... GUIDES... to Deltarune Chapter 3.

Rook, based on the family VCR, is the director and founder of Darklight. Like an uncle you dont invite to Christmas parties, he's rowdy in a jolly way. He doesnt often make public appearances, but loves to record every moment of his company's work, preserving them and collecting them like a family photo album of memories. However, even the brightest star has their dark core... Why did he found the studio? How many Big Shots has he helped and crushed on his path to success? Is he a trendsetter, or a thief of ideas and happiness? Who can say...

Tenna, based on the TV's antenna (go figure) is the producer and cameraman of Darklight. He deals with all the technical stuff that Rook and Mike cant understand (and dont want to do). Despite being hired help, he's moreso family here than anyone else on the Crew. His accolades and power are due to being a machine that can directly connect to the system he records. He does this to produce watchable TV at lightning speed, and is unmatched versus manual human skill - it's almost scary, dystopian even. And his work looks less like work and more like... well, like he's bound by wires. He's not much for words, but with Rook's instruction and Mike's personality, he's happy to make dreams come true. But without a purpose, Tenna deep down is as violent and unhinged as any darkner... maybe even - a KILLER ROBOT?

Mike, based on the screen and speakers, is the primary host and mouthpiece of Darklight. Head of Darklight's Actor's Guild and Staff Crew (dubiously named The Cathode Crew, by Mike personally), Mike always sees himself as the star. He has a power complex, but is the most valuable asset to Rook and Tenna for a reason - it's due to his ability to control the staff. He always claims he's worked himself to death to get where he is today - and that he is "one with his work." On that note, nobody questions the husk at his desk because what he says about being "one with his work" has seemingly become reality. His microphone is his eyes, and his desk is his being - perhaps he even has eyes and ears everywhere else in Darklight for that matter? But hey, who could turn down a happy smile like that, right? With talent like this, Rook was in for a business venture like no other. Whether his control is out of charm, fear, or something else, however, it cannot be known - but as for the man behind the smile, his motives and origins are unknown.

Recently, there has been an outage in the cable. A dark world that relies on its ability to connect and broadcast to the whole world has been relegated to showing RERUNS (ugh!). Rook has gotten on edge due to his inability to serve his purpose - to entertain - and it becomes clear to everyone (including Tenna and Mike) that they only do TV because of their desire for greed, power, and influence. Losing sense of why they became showrunners, they hit all time lows in viewership and ratings, and resort to extorting their fans in the Darklight Boulevard to keep themselves afloat. And due to their supernatural control over the studio and its citizens as its collective captive viewership, it's less like a Hollywood getaway and more of a 1984-style machivellian technofantasy horror!

Then... the lightners came along.

Unconscious and asleep, Rook and the gang snatched them up and locked them in the confines of the studio's actor condos. Upon awaking, the two lightners are unsure if they're dreaming, but are quick to realize something’s wrong when they realize that the third lightner present, the true owner of Darklight Boulevard, has been taken as a captive audience to review and run the Boulevard's overseeing duties while Rook gets more time to do his dirty work.

Realizing their mission, the two lightners and their darkner companion learn to play along with the Acting Guild's gigs, Mike and Tenna's preprogrammed segments, and Rook's scheme involving his plans for using the lightner's souls as a beacon for the outside world to find them again.

Will the lightners break free? Will truths of the dark world be discovered? Will Rook, Mike, and Tenna ever be satisfied? Or will they turn on each other before that happens? Will Spamton get his revenge?

Find out next time - In Deltarune Chapter 3!

...

But what's this?

Could it be...?

The HAMMER OF JUSTICE?

We'll meet again some time soon, I'm sure.

Far sooner than you think!

#deltarune #deltarune chapter 2 #kris #susie #toriel #deltarune fanart #deltarune chapter 3 #queen deltarune #deltarune lore #deltarune theory #deltarune original character #deltarune oc #deltarune mike #deltarune spamton #spamton #spamton g spamton #undertale fanart #undertale #deltarune chapter 4

14 notes · View notes

saeyoungchoismaid · 3 years

Note

in all honesty, i don't know how this would work, but it intrigued me.

24 + diavolo, maybe? if you can find inspiration for it :)

You did it perfectly anon!! FINALLY an ask for hubby Diavolo <3 Lmao this was just supposed to be a little drabble like the rest of them but nO I just hAd to go overboard. So now I have to add all this mess:

Pairing: Lord Diavolo x gn!reader Genre: angst, fluff, fake dating au Warnings: uh his dad hates you??? Summary: With the Demon King wanting Diavolo to find someone to rule with him, it’s only natural that he lies and says he’s already found someone(you), right? Word Count: 2k words (so much for this being a drabble lmao)

24. kisses for a cover (I’m assuming this means like a cover up like a lie)

Being the prince of The Devildom comes with many responsibilities, including but not limited to: running The Devildom since his father has no interest in The Devildom’s affairs, hosting events and gatherings to strengthen his bonds with other lords and the other rulers of the three worlds, keeping an eye on the student council (which is mostly composed of meddlesome brothers that he cares for deeply), and the list goes on.

Oh, can’t forget the fact that he is required to marry and have someone to rule by his side. Yeah, that’s apparently an important one. He’s always realized his responsibility and has accepted all parts of his life as fact, but when you come down from the human world to participate in his program, his solid plans suddenly all come to a screeching halt.

It becomes clear to him that he can’t go and marry someone just for the sake of The Devildom. I mean, he’s been ruling The Devildom for most of his life just fine without someone else! He decided he wasn’t going to do it. He doesn’t want to marry anyone except for you and when he does, it’ll be because you two are ready for marriage, not because it’s his duty as prince.

His father didn’t like that though.

Despite Diavolo being the ruler of The Devildom, he is not yet the Demon King. That title still belongs to his father, who always has the final say. And in this case, his final say is that Diavolo cannot rule the kingdom on his own any longer.

Diavolo sees red when he hears this news.

It isn’t until his father decides to host a party to introduce him to possible suitors that Diavolo lies and says he’s already found someone to rule by his side. When asked who, Diavolo says your name, and, of course, his father wants to meet you right away.

The only thing is, Diavolo hasn’t told you of his true feelings, meaning you are oblivious to how he truly feels about you. His father cannot know of this though. So, with Diavolo on his knees before you, he begs you to pretend to be his lover. He promises that he’ll do whatever you ask of him, as long as you do him this favor.

Unbeknownst to Diavolo though, you’re just as crazy about him as he is about you. So of course you agree to his plan.

Asmo helps you with your appearance, Satan teaches you some big words to use in front of the Demon King to impress him, Lucifer teaches you the proper mannerism to use in front of him, Mammon lets you wear his most expensive jewelry, Beel shows you the correct silverware to use during the dinner and in what order to eat it in, plus what to avoid, Levi gives you history facts about The Devildom and what the Demon King has done for it before Diavolo took over, and Belphie reminds you to flatter the Demon King as much as possible to please him. Barbatos, of course, goes over everything with you again to make sure your success is definite.

When you’re finally ready, Diavolo picks you up at six o’clock sharp to bring you back to his father’s mansion for dinner. He smiles when he sees you, though his smile shrinks a bit when he notices how stiff and nervous you are.

“You look beautiful,” he whispers to you when you reach him, gently taking a hold of your hand to kiss the back of it. His smile returns to its original state when you smile at him, your cheeks gaining heat to them at the compliment.

“Thank you. You look quite dapper yourself,” you reply softly, admiring him in his fancy suit. His smile turns into a grin, happy to hear that you like his suit. His tie is your favorite color and everything.

“Well, let’s get going,” he says as he leads you to the car and helps you get in. He talks to you about every and anything on the way there, trying to distract you and calm you down before you arrive. It works up until the car pulls up in front of his father’s mansion, your throat suddenly going dry. “You’ll do great,” he promises.

He helps you out just like how he had helped you in before assisting you up the grand steps. When you reach the door, he gives a single powerful knock before waiting. You two aren’t waiting long before the door is flying open and a small woman is standing there. “Good evening. Please come in,” she greets meekly, pulling the grand door open for you two to walk inside.

You two are then led to the dining room, where your chairs are pulled out for you two to sit. Within the next minute, the Demon King is walking in. “Welcome, welcome! I’m glad you two made it here okay!” he greets, surprising you with how chipper he seems. He takes a seat at the head of the grand table, your hands starting to shake a bit in his presence despite how friendly he seems. During Levi’s history lesson, he told you about all the scary things he’s done in his time.

As soon as he’s taken his seat, servants are flocking in with trays of drinks and appetizers. You all wait until they’re gone before beginning to eat. You stare down at your plate, trying to remember everything Beel and Lucifer taught you. Why are there three spoons and three forks? Surely you don’t need that many. You glance at Diavolo and pick up the same fork as him, taking a deep breath to help relax your nerves.

You glance at the Demon King to find that he looks satisfied with your silverware choice. Was this a test? You don’t have time to ponder it before he’s firing into questions about you. The first one being: “So, you’re...human?” How are you supposed to answer that? Of course you are, and he obviously knows this.

“Um, yes,” you stutter out, feeling your cheeks flush when you realize your mistake. “Yes, your highness!” He lets out a small hum, seeming to make a mental note of your mistake. From there, things seem to only get worse. It’s like you suddenly forgot how to speak like a normal person and things you’d never say are flying out of your mouth. You’re just trying to impress him and make him approve of you but you’re doing the exact opposite.

It isn’t until the end of dinner that he announces this.

“You know, son, I’m not sure this one is the best idea,” he starts, frowning at you as he gives you a once over. Before he can even continue though, Diavolo is standing up and glaring down at his father with a look of pure anger. You’ve never seen him so worked up before.

“I don’t care what you think about them! You told me to find someone to rule with and that’s what I’ve done. I love them and they will be by my side as I rule over The Devildom!” he announces, making your jaw drop as you stare up at him. You close your mouth and clench your jaw though when you remember what you’re here for. He doesn’t actually love you. He’s saying all of this to convince his father that he’s found someone who will rule with him.

You apparently tuned out of the conversation at the wrong time because the next thing you know, you’re being tugged up by Diavolo and his lips are finding yours. Your eyes go wide in shock despite your brain trying to yell at your body not to show any signs of surprise. It’s easier said than done though.

All too soon for your liking, Diavolo is pulling away from your lips. Something flashes in his eyes—hope or love maybe? Eh, who are you kidding—before he’s turning to look at his father again. “You see? I don’t want anyone else; I want them! They’re mine and I’m theirs!” he shouts at his father. Before he can reply to his son, Diavolo is dragging you out of the room and to the front of the house where the car is awaiting you both.

Diavolo is silent for a long time while you two drive back home, a heavy frown on his face and his knuckles white with how tight he’s clenching his fists. “I’m sorry for all of that,” he apologizes softly, bringing your eyes away from his hands to his face. He’s not looking at you though, simply staring out his window at the scenery passing him by.

“It’s okay. I understand. Barbatos informed me of your relationship with your father,” you say softly. They get along and all, but they more often than not end up in some sort of disagreement. It’s normally about how things are being done in The Devildom though.

He sighs and reaches over to take your hand in his, staring down at the small hand in his big one. “I hope you’ll still consider my proposal,” he says softly, making your brows furrow.

“What proposal?” you ask. His eyes finally meet yours and your heart skips a beat at how expressive his eyes are.

“To rule The Devildom with me, of course,” he replies like it’s obvious. Your brows shoot up to your hairline at this news though.

“What? I thought that was just something you were telling your father, so he wouldn’t force you to marry some rando,” you rush out, trying to wrap your mind around his words. There’s no way he actually wants you to rule The Devildom with him. You wouldn’t know the first thing about ruling over thousands of other people—er, demons.

His brows knit together at your response, his other hand moving to grab your free one. “(Y/n), I’m sorry. I...I should’ve said something sooner,” he whispers, staring down at your hands now. This only confuses you more though.

“Tell me what sooner?”

He’s silent for a long moment, trying to gather the right words he wants to say. “I love you. What I said back there, it’s true. I want you to be by my side and help me to run The Devildom. You have so many good ideas and suggestions, I just know you’ll make a wonderful leader.”

Now you’re just gaping at him like a fish.

“What? No. No, I...I can’t,” you mumble, pulling your hands out of his. He just pulls them right back to him though.

“You can’t? Can’t what? Be with me?” he asks softly, his voice sounding close to breaking, just like his heart.

“No! No, I...I want to be with you. I love you too. I just...I don’t know the first thing when it comes to ruling over demons, most of which want to eat me,” you reply, trying to sound playful and joking but failing, your words being too true and hitting too close to home.

That didn’t stop Diavolo from smashing his lips to yours for a passionate kiss though. “That doesn’t matter. None of it does as long as I get to be with you. I’ll even step down from being King for you,” he mumbles against your lips after you two pull back for air.

“No, don’t do that. These people need you just as much as I do. I’ll learn how to rule with time. Just stay by my side, okay?” you whisper back, pulling away from his face enough to look up into his eyes.

He smiles brighter than The Devildom’s moon as he nods his head rapidly. “I swear I will. I’ll help you every step of the way.” He seals his promise with another kiss...and then another...and then just one more to be sure.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

MASTERLISTS

More with Lord Diavolo

Join my discord: https://discord.gg/qnDxJ6rr67

Tag List: @katelynwithpaint, @buzzybeebee, @stressylexy, @jungialo, @fanfictwarrior, @ohbbobeyme, @zeldan7, & @otome-otakuwu ✦ if you would like to be added or removed, comment or send an ask. Also, remember to tell me if you ever change your username so I can continue to tag you :)

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

353 notes · View notes

yuyuntianyu · 3 years

Text

[2HA analysis blog] To love you is torment but leave you I cannot

I wanted to write this (hopefully not-too-long) blog to give 2HA fandom a different perspective of the events in the past timeline. I noticed that there are many little things that could not be carried over to the English language. These little things can give more explanations to our characters’ actions so I hope sharing this would help the novel make more sense. This blog focuses on Taxian-jun and Chu Fei.

Warning: Spoilers ! ! ! Taxian-jun and Chu Fei are their own trigger warnings ! ! !

Despite the novel having 350 chapters, we really know little about what happened between Taxian-jun and Chu Fei besides the abuse and mistreatment and that little is relayed to us by the Most Unreliable Narrator of the Cultivation World - Mo Ran Mo Weiyu. If we only take Mo Ran for his words then a lot of his and Chu Wanning’s decisions told later on would seem irrational and almost silly. So let’s dive deep in the past so we can understand how the great cultivator Beidou Xian-zun could raise such a dumb husky since the events in the past would explain the more irrational decisions made by both main characters.

Given Mo Ran’s narrator is about as reliable as his character in the first 120 chapters, we have to look at other more subtle clues and some of them are due to cultural and linguistic differences.

1. I used to like you a lot

At his coronation day, Taxian-jun stated that he once greatly looked up to Chu Wanning and that he used to love and respect him dearly. Maybe I am reading into this too much but this is my theory: The flower could erase the memory itself but cannot erase the feelings associated with the memory. He had his memories of the good deeds Chu Wanning did for him erased but still remembered that he used to love and respect him. It doesn’t make sense unless it is indeed that the flower could not erase its host’s feelings. So throughout the novel, Mo Ran’s complicated emotions are complicated possibly because he could not remember how he came to have these feelings. Similarly, Hua Binan could mess with the undead Taxian-jun’s memory to a great extent but could not erase his obsession with Chu Wanning.

2. I gave you a new title

Chu Fei. 楚妃. In the Imperial Chinese harem hierarchy, “Fei” means consort and not concubine (嬪 “Pín"). Consorts were highly respected positions in the palace weidling much political power and were only seconds to the Empress Consort. Another major difference is a consort would be married to the emperor while a concubine would not. So if Taxian-jun had truly wanted to only humiliate Chu Wanning and keep him for the carnal pleasures (I am intentionally ignoring his breeding kink completely), he would keep him as a concubine but he gave Chu Wanning the Consort title and hid him from the world. At this point, Taxian-jun had almost lost Chu Wanning once and had spent a lot of effort to bring him back from the verge of death after hearing Chu Wanning’s apology so his anger might have softened a bit. Also, given that Chu Wanning is a man, having a legitimate offspring ( (I am still intentionally ignoring Mo Ran's breeding kink completely) is not an issue so although this is not clearly stated, I believe Taxian-jun wanted to force a relationship and somewhat proper marriage on Chu Wanning. Another hint of this is in an Extra chapter where Taxian-jun tried to get Chu Wanning a birthday gift. He recalled that in his past timeline, he had wanted Chu Wanning to give him something on his birthday as well and that he had wanted Chu Wanning’s heart.

3. Shizun likes to write letters and poems

On Book 3 Chapter 247, Chu Wanning sat down and wrote a few unsent letters to the people he used to know. He also wrote a few lines of poetry. In the first few lines taken from different literature works, he expressed his sense of helplessness and his wish to remain untainted despite the circumstances. The more important two lines are from a poem written by a real poet named Fàn Chéngdà ( 范成大) who lived in the 12th century Southern-Song dynasty. The two lines read:

“May I be like the stars, may you* be as the moon. Night after night, may we shine together side by side.” **

*In the original work, the character used instead of you is “jun” 君 (as in 踏仙君 Taxian-jun). 君 could mean king, emperor, lord, or gentleman ** This is my rough translation - I haven’t found an English version of this poem

These two lines are commonly used in romantic novels as a way to express one’s unchanging love and loyalty to another person despite the circumstances. He compared himself as the stars and wanted to remain by Taxian-jun whom he viewed as the moon. Chu Wanning wrote this to express his willingness to stay but he would never voice this out loud. In the next timeline, he did the same thing by quietly loving and caring for Mo Ran 1.0 despite the mistreatment and was content with never expressing his feelings vocally. Mo Ran was rather uneducated and thus could not fully comprehend these two lines and misunderstood that Chu Wanning was missing Xue Meng.

4. You are all I have left

In chapter 252, after Chu Wanning returned to The Red Lotus Pavilion, he found Taxian-jun already waiting for him. Taxian-jun told Chu Wanning about a dream he had and said:

“I am afraid I don’t resent you… I want to resent you… Otherwise, I…” “In the end, it’s just you and I”.

This is not the first time he expressed that Chu Wanning was all he had left or they only had each other. I believe that at this point, Taxian-jun might have somewhat believed Chu Wanning and recognized that his memories were missing. His words and behaviors seemed a lot more gentle and he mentioned they did have periods of time where their marriage was easier. I believe it was after this point. He told us about the numerous times he attempted to spoil his consort or expressed his affection through gifts, a trip outside the palace, goods, jewels, and even teaching Chu Wanning how to cook or personally taking care of Chu Wanning when he was sick. At one point, Taxian-jun expressed his wish for a more peaceful marriage with Chu Wanning through his breeding kink by saying that if they had children, perhaps they would be more civil towards each other.

Edit: I really wanted to go about this blog without having to refer to their particular taste in bed

5. Are you still mad?

This is a smaller detail but in the original text and the Vietnamese official translation, the way they talked to each other had a bit more of the “husband-wife” dynamic. Especially Chu Wanning ( l┐(︶▽︶)┌ ), the comment section said he sounded like when your wife is mad that you didn’t take out the trash but still says: “I’m not mad” and Taxian-jun, the husband, would come around and ask “Are you still mad at me?” after every fight.

6. I did not think you would really leave me.

On Chapter 99, Mo Ran recalled the fight between him and Chu Wanning after an assassination attempt. In order to convince Mo Ran to not go to Taxue Palace, Chu Wanning said:

“If you destroy Taxue palace, if you kill Xue Meng, I will die before you”.

Now the line “I will die before you” in my language is less of a suicidal ideation but more of a threat. It's used when a person already knows that they are important to the other person and is using their own death as a threat to make the other person do something. This line is thrown around a lot during heated arguments between people close to each other but they almost never mean it. (Even my mom said it numerous times before T_T . I personally think it’s manipulative). Therefore, it is understandable Taxian-jun did not take this line seriously and replied almost mockingly. After all, they had been married for almost a decade at that point, Taxian-jun probably felt somewhat comfortable that Chu Wanning would not do anything reckless. He could not foresee that Chu Wanning meant what he said and actually followed through with his words. I believe that if Taxian-jun had known that Chu Wanning was serious, Taxian-jun would not have gone to Taxue Palace. 7. Don't leave me, ok?

Then Chu Wanning died and Mo Ran spent two years alone. In those two years, we know he basically went insane because of grief, talked to a corpse everyday, and deep fried his Empress Consort. But strangely enough, Mo Ran 1.0 did not immediately mention this after being reborn although it was the main reason he committed suicide. And at that point, it had been well over a decade since Shi Mei faked his death in the past timeline, yet Mo Ran 1.0 seemed to still hold a lot of resentment towards Chu Wanning. Also, he said he could accept Shi Mei’s death but would never accept Chu Wanning’s. So honestly, it did not make sense to me the first time I read the novel and I believed Mo Ran resented Chu Wanning for a different reason.

The answer was first hinted at in chapter 9 when Mo Ran scolded the sleeping Chu Wanning. He called Chu Wanning a donkey hoof (lol) and this is actually an idiom to scold someone who is disloyal and unfaithful in love. The puzzles came together when the undead Taxian-jun showed up and immediately went after Chu Wanning (and not Shi Mei). He believed Chu Wanning used his death to hurt him and was angry at Chu Wanning for leaving him. This is the resentment Mo Ran 1.0 carried over to the next timeline. He hated Chu Wanning for abandoning him. This is solidified in chapter 262 by the undead Taxian-jun pleading to Chu Wanning:

“Don’t betray me” “Don’t leave me the second time. The first time you left, I could choose death as a relief. This time, even death is not an option any more… I won’t be able to bear it…”

So there it is! I hope this blog brings some new information and feel free to discuss! Let me know if you have any questions for me ＼(￣▽￣)／

Disclaimer: Plenty of this is my conclusion drawn from the already ambiguous original text and various translations. Unless Meatbun says it, it’s not canon. I am looking at the novel in three different languages so I might have made some mistakes. Pls forgive. Also, I am not making excuses for Mo Ran 0.5’s actions nor am I justifying the abuse in any way. Chu Wanning never said Mo Ran 0.5 was innocent of these crimes nor will I.

#2ha #the husky and his white cat shizun #chu wanning #mo ran #mo weiyu #ranwan #taxian jun #chu fei #erha #husky is dumb but husky tried his best

493 notes · View notes

the-kingshound · 3 years

Text

The third Arch Deleted Scene

The snippet here is a bit rushed at the beginning and in some other parts, as I did not want to go into even more spoiler territory. If you want to send me asks about this please be sure to advertise them as spoiler at the beginning, since not everyone will want to read them.

SPOILER

TW: blood, injury, poisoning, strong language.

3rd Arch – the seventh Trial

Your stomach was knotted by dark swirling anxiety from the moment Arthur announced the diplomatic visit. You were familiar with the House, it kept being, after all, one of the most influent beside yours before and after the Emperor’s fall. This did not mean anything, though. Your homeland was beautiful but deadly, ready to swallow anyone whole to quickly digest them.

You promised yourself you were going to be at Arthur’s side at all times, and that’s precisely what you are doing now.

Four days in, and the only major threat has been the amount of people wanting to interact with you. For the most part, Arthur smoothly deflects them to himself, for which you are endlessly grateful. You’re not in the mood to socialize, instead you keep on high alert, especially against the House leader and formal Ambassador.

You do not think he will pull anything while you’re here, after all you grew up together and you respected each other deeply, but one cannot be too cautious when the King is concerned – as demonstrated by the multiple scars that litter your body. You would go through all of it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping your King safe, but all you can do for now is stay by his side and keep the risks at minimum.

For this reason, when the Ambassador proposes a meal together with both yours and his knights, you are instantly weary.

“I don’t like this one bit, Arthur.”

“Me neither,” agrees Evaine, all the while lazily making their dagger spin on the table.

“I don’t deny that is not an ideal situation. On the other hand, a wrong move on their part would jeopardise their own negotiation,” counters Arthur as Morien finally snaps, blocking Evaine’s wrist with a tight grip and hissing an irritated “stop fooling around, for God’s sake!”

Evaine pouts. Yniol ignores them in favour of the matter at hand “they are certainly going to outnumber us, but if they wanted to attack us head on they would have done so before now, there were better opportunities. MC?”

You really think it through before answering “I wouldn’t put it past the Ambassador to try something, direct or more subtle, while we’re so exposed and out of our physician. Lania is not the head of his House for nothing, but aside from that he was always particularly attached to the Empire. We can’t afford to underestimate him.”

“Yes, yes” interjects Morien, having by now freed Evaine’s hand and left the table, dismissing themselves from the meeting “I’ll be prepared in any case. I swear you manage to hurt yourselves everywhere we go.”

And so dinner begins. It is a boring affair, but you won’t let yourself relax until it’s over. You sip on your wine, closely inspecting the hosts for any sudden or unusual movement. You find none, but you stiffen and your brows furrows. There’s something strange in your mouth, something strangely… bitter.

Time seems to freeze in front of your eyes. With an uncoordinated, panicked movement you jerk on the table and bat away Arthur’s cup, spilling its content on the table.

You place your hand on the table to support you as you rise, your dilatated pupils numbly fixed on the red liquid that’s quickly staining the tablecloth. It feels like an hour but actually only a second has passed before you regain your senses.

“Seize them.”

Arthur and his Knights are no longer seated by now, but the Ambassador’s men have drawn their weapons as well and pointed them to your delegacy, effectively halting their movements. You see icy red and do not spare another glance at the man now placed on your back while you snarl in the envoy direction.

Placing your fingers on the hilt of your sword, you hiss an enchantment to track the magic residue and the culprit is revealed in front of your eyes. Ignoring the taste of iron on your tongue, you spit out another enchantment and the room’s door is locked close with a lout snap. They will not get away.

Unfortunately, you lack the ability to free Arthur and the Knights, you are now surrounded and painfully outnumbered, but you know they can hold on until you have taken care of the threat at hand. You cough blood and half crash on the floor, but you ignore the alarmed voices of your Knights and crawl in the Ambassador’s direction.

How dare he. How dare.

“My, Lord…”

“Let them,” a voice says to your back “they will not go far.”

“How dare you” your breaths are ragged, your intestines raw and burning, your voice rough for the acid that invades your throat. The Ambassador’s face is a mask of contempt and stony resolution. He watches, halting his men while they try to block you, as you half-crawl to him, gripping with iron strength the wooden chairs to keep yourself upright.

“I have the upper hand, King Arthur. I’m afraid you are in no position to make such demands.”

“Release us, and call a physician for my spouse, and I will consider letting this incident go without consequences.”

Arthur’s voice is steady, calm and there is only a hint of something sharper, at least for now.

You can’t see your King, but the sound of his voice sends shivers down your spine. They tried to kill him. The House you grew up to respect is full of nothing more than vile traitors.

As your strength start to waver, you lose your balance and crush to the ground with the chair you were pushing your weight on. Still, you get up again and you and fix your gaze on the second born, now Ambassador and traitor “I’ve had enough of you.”

You take a shuddering breath, your lungs filled with blood that’s now spilling over to your lips as you speak, but the pain you feel is nothing compared to the hot, blinding rage that’s consuming your every thought. Still, your voice is, as ever, cutting cold “you invite us here, offering a pacific discussion, and all you provide are poison in our drinks and weapons against my Knights and my King’s throat. You’ve exhausted my patience, Lania.”

You see him flinch at the use of his name. You remember a time long gone when you played together as kids, swearing you would be the ones to restore the Empire uniting your two Houses. Now these are broken promises and rotten friendships.

“MC,” the Ambassador says, “it’s over, you have to understand that.”

“Oh, you just wait,” interjects Evaine, almost immediately silenced by the Ambassador’s men.

You cough and choke on blood, and you can feel the physical weight of Arthur’s and the Knights’ worried eyes on your back, but you exhale and grip tighter your sword’s hilt. A wave of raw power invades your body and you are able to focus again.

“You know what I’m capable of, what I am willing to do for my King,” your voice is almost devoid of intonation, save for unforgiving hardness. His gaze falls on your non dominant arm and then on your throat, scarred by a thin horizontal line “I will gut you and feed you to my hounds. You’ll die like the backstabbing coward you are.”

They know as well as you do that you don’t make empty promises. There is a rustle around you that culminates in a sharp sigh from the Ambassador and swords pointed at your neck.

“Must we really do this, MC? I cared for you once, but you know that I will not hesitate to strike you down if you give me reason to do so.”

You don’t draw black nor move a single muscle, your eyes find Arthur’s blue ones and you find the King is dangerously immobile, his fingers brushing against Excalibur’s hilt in what could be mistaken for a soothing caress. When he speaks, his voice bears nothing else but firm command “you will not do that.”

Lania cocks his head to the side, appearing quite unbothered “oh?”

“How is your sister, Ambassador?”

At the same time as Lania stills, you blink. A violent cough than shakes your chest, and when your senses are fully back and you can breathe again Arthur has kept going with the same calm, calculated demeanor “I want to remind you that together with the Lord the wedded she’s now head of the Merthian feud, the nearer one to the south-eastern border.”

“What does it-“

“I am the one in control of the knights tasked with their protection. As per the arrangement we signed weeks ago, the border is under Camelot’s defence. But if I die, or if my spouse dies, my knights will retire, Ambassador.”

Oh, Arthur is not King for nothing. He is striking where it hurts the most – family – without even an drop of blood shed. You don’t hide a proud, feral smile at this. Almost immediately, blood invades your throat again, you can feel its taste on your togue, but you shove the pain back where it started in your burning stomach. You shiver. You love and hate seeing your King like this.

Lania swiftly unsheathe a long, curved dagger and you are immediately ready to bolt– swords to your throat be damned, you’ve had worse – but he makes no move in Arthur’s direction for now.

“Figured you had to hit low to get a reaction.”

“Release us,” Yniol commands, standing tall near the King.

“No” spits out Lania, his composure now fully broken “you stole our independence and our pride, Pendragon, you humiliated us and stripped our Houses of the opportunity to unite again. You are every bit of your father’s blood!”

He then turns to you, his eyes frantic, his expression pained and almost feral “I thought you were on my side!”

Blood rushes to your ears, a high-pitched whistle the only thing you’re able to hear at the moment. You feel sick. Sicker than before – sicker than what you’ve felt in years. You spit blood on the floor, your answer is weak and unnaturally subdued, “it was a- a long time ago.”

“We were like siblings!”

You can’t say anything, you only choke on your words. All that you manage to do is keep yourself upright only thanks to your sword.

“They are right, you really are your King’s hound, nothing more than Camelot’s bitch,” he tries the next word in his mouth like they were both foul and inevitable “the haghàn bajek*.”

Your vision is overcome by whit spots, your skin hot and freezing cold.

“Kill them all.”

You force yourself to focus. Protect your Knights. Protect your King.

After that it is pure, unbidden chaos. You tighten your grip on your sword, assessing where you’re needed the most. With the corner of your eye you spot Arthur, he’s a beautiful fighter, he is no match for – Lania.

Your magic flares alongside most of your nerve endings as you sprint in his direction, interjecting his blow with your own weapon. Unfortunately, the Ambassador is a skilled opponent and you’re already considerably weakened, all you can do is channel in your arms the strength of your steel determination to not let him reach your King.

“Stop trying to defend an enemy, MC!”

“Stop trying… to kill him.”

You are barely managing to defend yourself when Lania strikes back. You catch the dagger with your arm, it pierces through your skin just over your elbow but it won’t reach its intended target. No one will hurt your King while you’re still breathing. No one.

Pain paralyzes your arm, your breath is stuck in your throat together with a blood clot that feels intrusive and that fills you with panic. The finishing blow never comes, though. As you inhale again, you refocus on the room’s occupants and notice how Arthur’s Knights have the clear upper hand.

“Ah, and you thought you could beat the Round Table so easily,” Evaine all but purrs in a knight’s ear “that’s precious.”

“Stand down” Gawaine commands “you’re surrounded.”

You can hardly distinguish the shapes of your own knights, you’re nauseous, your stomach and throat are on fire. You fall down on your knees, exhausted and hurt. You feel like you’re going to throw up–

“MC’”

Where is Lania, where is –

“Wh-where…?”

“Kai, get Morien here, please.”

Arthur’s voice is soothing, as ever, but tainted with worry. You can’t make his face out. There are arms supporting your weight, not his but equally familiar – Yniol?

“It’s going to be alright, dear.”

It’s the last thing you hear before the world goes black.

*haghàn bajek = [REDACTED] traitor

#deleted scene #SPOILER #tw:blood #tw:injury #tw:poisoning #tw: strong language #I was quite happy with it as I wrote it #but now not so much I'm having second thoughts #if it's deleted by tomorrow you know why

125 notes · View notes

akari-hope · 3 years

Text

lgbtq+ anime for pride month

decided to make this for anyone looking for new recommendations, or anyone who’s wanted to get into anime but doesn’t know where to start! all recs will include a summary, genres, applicable representation, and how accessible it is to people brand new to anime, as well as any major content warnings.

(a quick disclaimer for those new to anime - some series on here will NOT have explicit rep, but rather be heavily coded or have implied queer themes. however, these are included generally because the implication is strong enough to treat it as text, or because the series has been generally accepted as queer. i’ll be sure to clarify whether something is canon or coded in each entry.)

ouran high school host club (comedy, romance) summary: haruhi fujioka is an honor student on scholarship at the prestigious ouran academy, who’s only looking for a quiet place to study when he runs into the notorious host club. in his frantic attempt to leave, he accidentally breaks a vase valued at 8 million yen. club leader tamaki suou has an idea for how he can pay them back - working for the host club. rep: crossdressing/drag are staples of this series, nothing explicitly stated but there are definite themes of gender identity exploration, and the show doesn’t shy away from homosexual themes or ideas accessibility: newcomer friendly! the english dub of this series is notably good. content warnings: some 2000s-era language in regards to gay/trans people that may be seen as offensive today, one scene that implies intent of sexual assault (while there is no actual assault and it is quickly played off, it may still be upsetting to some viewers)

yuri!!! on ice (sports) summary: yuri katsuki is a professional figure skater, recovering from a crushing defeat at the grand prix final. he returns to his family home to debate what he plans to do for next season. he goes to the local ice rink to clear his mind, and shows his old friend there something he’s been practicing - his idol victor nikiforov’s latest world-winning routine. unbeknownst to yuri, he’s being filmed. the video goes viral, and before he knows it victor is standing right in front of him, offering to be his coach. rep: canon mlm romance accessibility: newcomer friendly! content warnings: a few scenes that briefly display anxiety/panic attack-like symptoms

given (drama, romance) summary: one day on his way to his favorite napping spot in school, ritsuka uenoyama finds a boy, mafuyu satou, dozing in his spot, clutching onto a guitar with rusted, broken strings. uenoyama wakes him up, berating him for not taking better care of his instrument. mafuyu, noticing his knowledge of the instrument, begs uenoyama to repair it and teach him to play. uenoyama initially refuses, but mafuyu is persistent, even following uenoyama to band practice. it’s not until uenoyama hears mafuyu sing that he changes his tune, offering lessons if he joins the band as their singer. rep: canon mlm romance accessibility: newcomer friendly! content warnings: discussions of grief and loss additional note: given also has a movie sequel, which has a scene involving sexual assault.

sweet blue flowers / aoi hana (romance, slice of life) summary: fumi manjoume and akira okudaira were best friends in elementary school, until fumi moved away. now in high school, fumi is back and attending the same school as akira once again. their relationship isn’t the same now, though. the two must navigate the new trials of high school while trying to revive their waning friendship. rep: canon wlw romance accessibility: newcomer friendly!

bloom into you / yagate kimi ni naru (drama, romance) summary: yuu koito has always dreamed of the sort of soft, heart-fluttering love in shoujo manga. when a boy finally confesses to her though she feels...empty. she begins to wonder if she only understands love conceptually, but cannot feel it. yuu is still mulling over how to respond to her suitor when she witnesses the student council president, touko nanami, turn down a love confession of her own. she decides to approach touko for advice, but then the unexepected happens - touko confesses to yuu. rep: canon wlw romance accessibility: newcomer friendly! content warnings: some mild sexual content, depictions of homophobia

stars align / hoshiai no sora (drama) summary: toma shinjou is desperate to recruit new members to the boys’ soft tennis club, which is on the verge of being disbanded due to poor performance. maki katsuragi, the new transfer student, immediately catches his interest due to his quick reflexes. toma persuades maki to join, and maki’s skill quickly becomes driving momentum for the entire team. through their shared sport, the boys of the soft tennis club explore their own capabilities and hardships as they navigate life. rep: canon nonbinary character, discussions of gender identity and sexuality accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable, but not necessary content warnings: discussions and depictions of abuse, bullying, and violence

mahou shoujo madoka magica (fantasy, psychological drama) summary: madoka kaname and sayaka miki are good friends, regular middle school girls with regular lives. one day, the mysterious homura akemi transfers into their class, and strange happenings begin occuring. they meet a strange cat-like creature known as kyuubey, injured and on the run from homura. as thanks for saving its life, kyuubey offers them a reward - he’ll grant any wish they desire, and in return they’ll become magical girls with the power to help others. homura, despite being a magical girl herself, discourages them, saying everything is not as it seems. rep: sapphic themes and implied romantic feelings accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable content warnings: blood, violence, major character death, unreality, grief additional note: madoka magica has 3 movie sequels, with a 4th on the way. while the first two are merely recaps of the series, the 3rd, rebellion, is a continuation of the story.

no. 6 (sci-fi, drama) summary: the world has been ravaged by war - the last safe haven of mankind lies in six walled-off city-states. shion is an elite resident of one such city-state, no. 6, given priority housing and treatment due to his exceptional abilities. one night, a fugitive by the name of nezumi sneaks into shion’s room, and threatens to kill him. despite knowing he’s a fugitive, shion instead tends to his wounds and shelters him for the night. when his transgression is discovered by the authorities, shion and his mother lose their elite status, and are relocated. now just a regular citizen, shion begins to discover a new side to the city he’s called home. years after their first meeting, he reunites with nezumi once more - their meeting putting in motion a series of events that will unveil the secrets of no. 6. rep: canon mlm romance, trans/nonbinary coded character accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable, but not necessary content warnings: blood, violence, major character death, body horror, insects (bees)

seraph of the end / owari no seraph (supernatural, action) summary: a virus ravages the human race, infecting and killing everyone above the age of 13. their food source now threatened, vampires come out of the shadows to take the remaining humans captive. the children of the hyakuya orphanage are among the survivors. yuuichirou detests the vampires, and is determined to escape. mikaela has hatched a plan to do just that. the hyakuya kids make their way to the exit of the vampire city, only to be ambushed by a vampire noble. yuuichirou is the only one to escape. he’s found by the japanese imperial demon army, who say they’ll use him against the vampires. believing the rest of the children dead, yuuichirou joins immediately, determined to seek revenge against the monsters who killed his only family. rep: implied romantic feelings between two men (in the manga the anime is based on this is canon, and the localization team views the relationship as romantic) accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable, but not necessary content warnings: blood, violence, death, body horror, unreality

banana fish (action, crime drama) summary: ash lynx is a runaway on the streets of nyc, taken in and raised by the godfather of the mafia, dino golzine. now the leader of his own gang, he begins investigating “banana fish” - the only two words his brother will speak after returning from the iraq war. ash meets his friend skip at a bar, where he’s shunichi ibe and eiji okumura, japanese photographers covering american gangs. however, their conversation is cut short, as dino’s men storm the bar and kidnap skip and eiji. ash sets out to rescue them and continue his investigation. rep: canon mlm romance accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable, but not necessary content warnings: blood, violence, major character death, drugs, homophobia, pedophilia, sexual assault, rape

wonder egg priority (fantasy, psychological drama) summary: after the suicide of koito nagase, ai ohto is left to grapple with reality without her best friend. under instructions of a mysterious entity, she purchases a wonder egg. ai breaks the egg in the world that materializes in her sleep, and is tasked with saving people. under the belief that she’ll be able to save koito, ai embarks on a journey where she must recognize the relationship between other people’s demons and her own. rep: canon trans characters, sapphic themes accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable content warnings: blood, violence, death, suicide, self-harm, transphobia, fatphobia, bullying, abuse, pedophilia, sexual assault, rape additional note: wonder egg priority has a special airing on june 30th, 2021, meant to wrap up the original series - as of writing this post, the series is technically incomplete.

flip flappers (fantasy, sci-fi) summary: cocona is an average middle schooler liing with her grandmother, no clear goals in mind for the future. she meets an odd girl, papika, who inites her to join the organization “flip flap”. cocona finds herself dragged along by papika into the world of pure illusion, a mysterious alternate dimension where papika searches for crystal shards. as cocona and papika explore pure illusion, they awaken to the power within the crystals, transforming into magical girls. they must learn to work together in order to unravel the mysteries of pure illusion, and their pasts. rep: sapphic themes and exploration of sexuality accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable content warnings: mild violence, unreality, mild sexual themes and nudity

noir (action, drama) summary: parisian assassin-for-hire mireille bouquet receives a strange email from kirika yuumara, a japanese student, who invites her to make “a pilgrimage to the past”. mireille makes to dismiss the email as nonsense, until it starts playing a song she recognizes from her youth. when the two meet in person, they’re ambushed by gun-wielding men. to mireille’s surprise, kirika is able to fend for herself - even more surprising, kirika has no memory of how she has such skills. the two of them team up to unravel the mysteries of their pasts, operating under the codename “noir”. rep: canon lesbian characters accessibility: some prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is desirable, but not necessary content warnings: violence, death, implied rape and csa (not shown)

revolutionary girl utena / shoujo kakumei utena (fantasy, psychological drama) summary: after an encounter with a prince who comforted her after the death of her parents, utena tenjou is given a rose-crest ring, and a promise that they’ll meet again someday. however, utena has now committed to becoming a prince herself! after witnessing the abuse of fellow classmate anthy himemiya, utena is drawn into a dangerous game. duelists with rings matching her own battle for the ownership of anthy - the “rose bride”. utena decides she must free anthy from this fate. rep: canon sapphic characters, implied romance (in the movie sequel, this becomes canon) accessibility: prior knowledge of anime tropes and themes is necessary to fully enjoy this anime content warnings: unreality, violence, abuse, homophobia, pedophilia, incest, sexual assault, rape (for a comprehensive, spoiler-free breakdown of all potentially disturbing content, click here) additional note: the movie sequel, adolescence of utena, gives more explicit canon romance than the original series. however, the original series is considered an absolute classic must-watch for sapphics.

if anyone has questions about any series on here, feel free to ask! any other recommendations, feel free to tack on! (please include a summary, rep, accessibility, and any content warnings!)

#long post #i am. so sorry this is so long jdfskbngfd.#i'm not tagging everything on here if people find this post then they find it if not oh well-#also before anyone asks i didn't include legal streaming availability bc tbh it's too hard with different countries' availability #anime rec list #happy pride y'all

105 notes · View notes

recklessfiction · 3 years

Text

The Monster in Love

Monstrous May Challenge Day 8

"You know, The Prism has been asking after you all night and here I find you, cowering."

That got Tasha's eyes snapping up into a glare, his hackles now generously raised. He stood up from where he was crouching on the ground, running an anxious hand through already unkempt hair.

"I am not cowering," he hissed, stepping further into the darkness of the room, "And who, might I ask, do I have to thank for informing our most noble host that I am here at all?"

"Oh, please. You act like you don't want it to come looking for you."

"May, I meant to be leaving tomorrow!"

“So then leave tomorrow.”

“You know that The Prism will make it difficult-”

“You mean you haven’t told it?”

May’s voice betrayed his disapproval, but he couldn’t know, couldn’t understand. The moment the topic of Tasha and the train was brought up in The Prism’s presence, it became clingy and absurd, reminding him of his place in the town, declaring that Tasha was integral, important, and desperately needed. And so what could he say to that?

He’d arrived in the town a simple shyster; a snake oil salesman looking for fast cash and a faster getaway. He hadn’t expected to spend almost half a year in and out of the house of a Noble Monstrosity, much less have that same high born grotesquerie start dogging his every step, trying to whisper sweet nothings in his ear each chance it got. It was more than he could handle; the fine clothes, the gifts, the adoring looks that he caught when it thought he wasn’t looking, and most of all, the expectation of more, of continuation and escalation.

He needed to go. He needed to pack as many of the valuables he had received into his suitcase and catch the next train out as far as it would take him. He was callus, he wasn’t something to be loved, he was a bitter memory, a regret, a fraud, a common thief, and he likedit that way.

Except-

“May, is that you? Have you found him?”

Except he found it infuriatingly hard to say no when it came to The Prism.

“Tasha, my darling, how wonderful. I’ve been searching all night for you, you fiend. How marvelous you look.”

Marvelous. It had the cheek to call him marvelous when it looked like that.

Tall in stature, towering really, immense with soft, blue, downy feathers from the waist up, a glorious headpiece fitted around four marble horns. It wore a mask, as all Noble Monstrosities must, gold adorned with pearls and deep blue ribbons, a delicately carved smile directed straight at him. It took a step forward and Tasha suddenly felt the weight of those eyes which peered out at him from behind the mask. Five in all, and each stubbornly fixed on him.

May’s voice cut through his reverie, bringing Tasha back to the situation at hand; the situation he really needed to get out of.

“I found him hiding in here all on his lonesome. Selfish boy, denying The Prism the delight of your company.”

“I’m afraid I agree with May,” The Prism said in its deep, rich voice, borrowed, no doubt, from the monks at the Abbey of Sainted Beast, “I can’t think why you would withdraw here when there is a perfectly splendid ball happening just out there.”

Another step and two of its arms unfolded from beneath its rich cloak, extending out to Tasha.

“I’ve missed you,” its voice now hushed, “You’ve stopped coming as often and when I go to the inn, they always tell me you’ve gone out. My god, Tasha, I had to formally summon you last time just so I could see you. Is something the matter? Has something happened?”

The Prism had taken up his hands in its own, unfurling the rest to settle on his waist, tugging at him just slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, Tasha watched May slip out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he went. Now alone, the two stood, panic flowing steadily through Tasha as The Prism looked on with eyes that burned and wanted.

There’s no way out of it, Tasha thought to himself, and so he straightened, settling his face into an expression of dignified remorse.

“The train is coming tomorrow.”

Even with the mask covering the entirety of what Tasha assumed to be its face, he could see how The Prism deflated, felt how anxiously its hands moved to his face, its claws cutting his cheeks in its rush to hold him.

“Tasha,” its voice was accusatory, as if scolding him for even speaking the words, “No Tasha, you said you would stay. You must stay.”

“I’ve stayed as long as I can,” he argued, jutting his chin out boldly, “I was not meant to be here this long but I’ve stayed each time you’ve asked me to. Now I must go.”

“Why? What must you do out there that you cannot do here?”

Its voice was hard, petulant, and the other arms tightened on him, jewelled and finely painted claws digging into his hips and enfolding Tasha deeper in the embrace of The Prism.

“Work,” he asserted, “I worked before I came to this town and I will work after I have left it.”

The Prism scoffed, its eyes darkening as it fixed him with what he could only imagine was a glare.

“You can work here. You can stay and help me with my research, or continue to develop your tinctures.”

Ah, yes his ‘tinctures.’ With The Prism’s knowledge of medicine, it was a miracle he hadn’t been found out yet. He thanked the powers that be that the Noble Monstrosity was so…eagerly distractible.

“You know I can’t.”

“Then wait for me.”

“…What?”

Slowly and with great care, The Prism rested its forehead against Tasha’s own, the mask cold against his skin and its eyes, ardent and pleading.

“In a few months I will have completed my research. I can leave the manor in May’s care until we return. We will go together.”

Tasha could always tell when The Prism smiled because its eyes would begin to twinkle and its voice would soften, so much so, that he would feel the entire world melt away with only The Prism’s sweet voice remaining.

“I’ve never been anywhere farther than the city. I’m sure there will be something out there that will keep my interest whilst you…work.”

The last word was spoken in the same playful tone The Prism always used when it was flirting with Tasha and, as always, it made his heart skip a beat. A claw moved beneath his eye, over his eyelashes and, as he blinked, it brushed over his eyelid. Gentle, always so gentle.

“Please, Tasha. Stay and wait for me. I shan’t be long.”

A gasp of breath as a large hand came to cover his eyes. The sound of the mask being lifted, the desperate whisperings of shadows, followed by the slow, earnest press of lips against his own. A voice, oh how he lamented the day he first heard that voice, whispering against him.

“Please.”

And he whispered back,

“Alright.”

A laugh; surprised, overjoyed. Another string of kisses, each expressing an enthused gratitude, each more passionate, hungrier, fevered, each kiss lasting longer and longer, now that they had the time.

He would leave at midnight.

His feet left the ground as The Prism spun him in the air, his lips having moved to Tasha’s throat, its hand never leaving his eyes.

He would excuse himself under the pretext of being completely overcome with emotion and race back to his room at the inn.

“My darling,” the words pressed against his skin, “my darling.”

He would go under the cover of night, no one would be out; everyone was here at the ball anyway. He would wait at the station until morning and catch the first one out of town.

The hand moved away from his eyes and Tasha was met with the pleasantly smiling face of The Prism’s mask, perfectly in its place.

By the time anyone noticed his absence, he would be far, far away from the consequences.

“Come with me,” it said, its voice so charmingly conspiratorial that Tasha’s breath caught for a moment, “I have yet to share a dance with you tonight.”

“I’m sorry.”

The Prism paused, its hands tight around his own. Tasha looked up, a smile curling up his lips, bright, wide, and very fake.

“I find myself…rather overcome. I’m afraid I must excuse myself for tonight. I had not expected-”

“Of course, my darling, of course,” The Prism pressed a hand to his cheek and let its forehead fall against his own again, “I shall send for the carriage.”

“No, I would very much like to walk.”

Its eyes softened fondly beneath its mask as it brushed his hair back with another hand.

“Very well, but I shall call on you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” Tasha said through his smile, “In the evening. I have business during the day but shall return promptly.”

Another train didn’t come through for a fortnight.

“Alright, tomorrow evening. It would be simpler, you know, for you to do your business from the manor. We certainly have the room and…I confess I would like you to stay.”

And therein laid the problem.

“A discussion, I think, for another time,” Tasha’s smile settled into something playful and easier to keep up.

The Prism brushed a hair from his face.

“Goodnight, beloved.”

A breath, almost gasped, almost suspicious, swallowed and replaced with a smile.

“Goodbye.”

#monstrousmaychallenge #monster romance #monster #humans are weird #horror #my writing #happy?

106 notes · View notes

immiryn · 3 years

Text

On Otherkin And Cancel Culture

In the effort of being clear, I have personal experience with the topic at hand. I write this in an effort to spread awareness of the behaviors that I've witnessed.

It's also worth noting that I am speaking solely to my experiences in the Otherkin communities online, and that any prescriptions are to be taken in said context.

-----

My experience with the clumps of Otherkin communities is transitory. I'm a nomad. From one community to the next, I move. If a community dies, I move. If something particularly egregious happens that I cannot stomach, I move.

I have always searched for a place to call "home" in these communities, and these places for one reason or another lack what I need or desire. Often it's that activity dwindles down and that eventually a server "dies" of natural causes. In one or two occasions, it has been due to acts of a moderator or "public figure" of the server; whether that is something that I disliked personally, or something that affected the reputation of the place and thus caused a rift in the membership.

Within these communities, I have found a sense of tribalism. You are With, or you are Not. You cohere, or you leave. What brings us together is a sense of being Something Other, and sometimes some people are too Other.

This lines up squarely with my last big post, on "Kinnies" and discourse. Regardless of what the individual uses the term for, and regardless of whether they may learn about themselves as part of the group and cohere quite well, the clumps of community have sometimes decided that this was too Other for them. They don't fit into the tribe, so it's time to boot them out.

In general, as long as people are being respectful about it, I don't see a problem with server staff deciding what the focus of their server will be. It's when members decide this, or when people deign to be disrespectful and act without empathy in the process.

Something else that I've witnessed is more sinister in outcome. Most people who don't fit a particular tribe will find another to join. People who have been publicly called out and shamed over any number of behaviors will not.

The topic of the day is Cancel Culture. Hot words, hot topic. Strap in.

If you have substantial evidence, making a call-out post may well be worth it, especially in the more predatory circumstances. This typically involves a manifesto - a long document detailing clearly the transgressions and the evidence that proves that these transgressions happened.

A call-out post may come in two other forms:

A post is put out warning people away from someone. This can range from a paragraph to a few paragraphs, perhaps with a picture or two but sometimes without anything more than anecdotal evidence.

Someone says something in a community space, warning persons away from person X.

In both cases, there is little or no evidence of a transgression other than what one or possibly two people felt happened. There may not even be a criminal act involved. In this digital age, people are more than fine with getting angry over a minor argument and making it into something more.

Why is this a problem? Because people tend to trust their peers with their (social) safety, and don't engage in critical thinking as a result. This implicit trust allows people to share things like "x person did y thing, don't let them hang around". Short statements proliferate far more readily - if you've been on Twitter, you know what I mean - and the discrimination spreads.

When the discrimination is by an admin/mod or by someone who knows them well enough, it can spread through a community space without any real effort involved.

So, the target gets called out for their actions. What happens next?

They may be removed from the server or community with or without due process.

They may be ostracized from other community spaces as word spreads.

Individuals who find themselves vexed enough will assert their right to "keep others safe" by talking to people who associate with the target.

The above behaviors may even occur in a form of intervention, wherein language is used to encourage the target's associates to drift away in one manner or another.

Seems fair and all, but have you asked what kind of Justice this is? Here are consequences of our actions, in order:

Removed the target's ability to learn from their mistakes or argue for or against their issues.

Removed the target's ability to create new associations and learn to integrate into the community (or communities).

Allowed the target to take harassment for their actions.

Allowed the target's associates to be interacted with or manipulated in favor of reducing the assumed effects the target may have on others, which incurs stress and potential little-t trauma on the associates.

Allowed the target to have their associates removed from them, whom may have been able to interact with and understand the actions of the target in a way that allows them to communicate to the target about what happened.

In short, we've punished the target in a way that may not be befitting of the crimes, and we've done so in a way that removes their path towards reformation.

That's Retributive Justice. It creates suffering for the sake of suffering, making spaces "safer" but eliminating people who could contribute to the spaces we share.

-----

It's something that has happened to a friend of mine. Someone who was outspoken and sometimes quite brash in certain communal spaces, but who endeavored to improve the lives of people around them. The consequences for their "actions" have been severe, and people felt it necessary to intervene in my personal life as a way to get at theirs.

I have watched as my friend lost friends, lost people to communicate with and to understand the world through. I saw them lose access to the only place that was willing to host them in the first place, all because one or two people in charge got a bug up their ass over baseless allegations.

My friend lost the opportunity to argue their position, or to reform...if indeed there ever was one.

In the process, I lost my ability to trust in them. Fears, doubts, and traumas were stepped on without a care because the intervening individual "cared for my safety" ... despite only talking to me once or twice, a year or two ago. I've been having to work hard, to journal and process how I felt while trying to understand the motivations and the feelings on the other side.

-----

Shame and blame don't create reform. They merely allow us to create suffering for the sake of our own suffering.

Be wary of anyone who would shame or blame someone else without evidence to back it up. Especially if it's someone who holds a position of power in the social space(s) you inhabit.

#dragonkin #otherkin #otherhearted #alterhuman #wolf therian

25 notes · View notes

girlactionfigure · 3 years

Photo

‘We Are All Jews Here’

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, one of five American Righteous Among the Nations, never spoke about the 200 Jews he saved

PATRICK HENRY

As of Jan. 1, 2020, there were 27,712 persons named Righteous Among the Nations (Righteous Gentiles) by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. All of them are non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Five of them are American.

In 1994, Varian Fry was the first American named to the list. A New York City native and Harvard graduate with a degree in classics, Fry had volunteered with the Emergency Rescue Committee to go to France to help rescue victims of Nazism. Planning on staying for a month, he arrived in Marseille in August 1940 with $3,000 and a list of 200 Jews he hoped to save. Soon, however, he understood the enormity of his task and judged it “criminally irresponsible” to return home. He stayed until he was forcibly expelled from France 13 months later “for having protected Jews and anti-Nazis.” Fighting the Vichy regime and the U.S. State Department, which tried repeatedly to have him sent home, Fry carried a gun, arranged smugglings into Spain, obtained foreign passports and visas, hired a forger, and with a small staff saved over 2,000 refugees. Mainly interested in writers, artists, and intellectuals, this passionate anti-fascist rescued Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Max Ernst, Hannah Arendt, Max Ophüls, Arthur Koestler, André Breton, and several other surrealist artists.

Martha and Waitstill Sharp were named Righteous Among the Nations in 2005. Waitstill was a minister in the Unitarian Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and his wife, Martha, was a noted social worker. They agreed to go to Prague in February 1939 to help members of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. Once there, they helped smuggle Jews out of the country that had been taken over by the Nazis the month after their arrival. They experienced dangerous encounters with Nazi police but managed to return safely to the United States in August. Once again, however, in late spring 1940, they returned to Europe to help rescue Jewish people from France where they worked with Varian Fry, Hiram Bingham IV, and others smuggling Jews, many of them children, into Spain and Portugal.

Lois Gunden, named “Righteous” in 2013, also rescued Jews in France. Born and raised in Goshen, Indiana, Gunden went to France in October 1941, at the age of 26, to work with the Mennonite Central Committee. Fluent in French, she headed the Ville St. Christophe Children’s Refugee Convalescent Home in Canet Plage in the south of France. It was a 20-room mansion that housed 60 children, mostly those of Spanish refugees from Franco’s Spain and Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe being held in the nearby Rivesaltes internment camp. Gunden continued to run this safe haven for refugee children even after November 1942 when the Germans occupied the entire country. She managed to hide many Jewish children in the home and save them from deportation to Drancy and then Auschwitz. In January 1943, she was detained as an “enemy alien” and transported to Germany. In March 1944, she was released in a prisoner exchange.

On Memorial Day 2021, 76 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, let’s remember the heroics of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, the fifth American Righteous Gentile and the only one to have saved the lives of American Jews.

In early December 1944, the 106th Infantry Division, which comprised the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Regiments, landed in France and traveled by truck across France and Belgium, reaching the Schnee Eifel area in Eastern Belgium near the German border. On Dec. 10, they took up their positions. On Dec. 16, the 422nd was attacked by the Germans in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, during which the Germans would capture 20,000 GIs. Although they were cut off and surrounded, the part of the regiment that Edmonds belonged to held out until Dec. 21 when they surrendered to the Germans. After having been forced to march 50 kilometers to Gerolstein, Germany, the men of the 422nd Regiment were loaded into box cars with no food or water and traveled for four days until they reached Bad Orb, Germany. They spent several weeks in Bad Orb, after which they were divided into three groups (officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men). Roddie Edmonds’ group, the NCOs, were then shipped to Stalag IXA in Ziegenhain. There were 1,275 men in this group and Roddie Edmonds was the highest-ranking NCO among them.’

It was German policy to single out Jewish POWs and send them to extermination or slave labor camps. Accordingly, in January 1945, the Germans announced that all Jewish prisoners in Stalag IXA would report the following morning. Twenty-five-year-old Master Sgt. Edmonds, who was responsible for all the POWs in Stalag IXA, ordered all prisoners, Jews and non-Jews, to fall out. When the German officer in charge, Maj. Siegmann, saw all the prisoners lined up in front of the barracks that next morning, he said to Edmonds: “They cannot all be Jews.” Edmonds responded: “We are all Jews here.”

Siegmann then pointed a pistol to Edmonds’ head, but Edmonds, refusing to back down, replied: “According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank, and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.” The German major turned and walked away. Edmonds had saved the lives of the roughly 200 Jewish prisoners among the 1,275 American POWs.

Edmonds, who was named “Righteous” in 2015, did not speak much about his experiences. His family only knew that he had been taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and that he had survived 100 days of captivity before returning home. His son, Baptist Rev. Chris Edmonds, mentioned that when he would ask his father about the war, he often told him only that “Some things were too difficult to talk about.” When Roddie died in 1985, his wife gave her son, Chris, two of the diaries he had kept as a POW.

Yet it was only in scouring the internet many years later that Chris discovered the exact story of his father’s heroism. In 2009, Chris’ daughter, Lauren, was given a college assignment to do a video history project about a family member. Lauren opted to work on her paternal grandfather. Chris decided to lend a hand. He googled the words “Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds,” expecting that it would lead to Army records or the Battle of the Bulge. Instead, it led to a 2008 New York Times article about a New York City lawyer, Lester Tanner, who had sold his Manhattan townhouse to former President Richard Nixon. What could have possibly been the link between Edmonds and the sale of a townhouse to Nixon? Tanner mentioned in the article that Roddie Edmonds had saved his life and that of many other Jews during WWII.

This led Chris Edmonds to Lester Tanner and other Jewish POWs saved by his father, one of whom was Sonny Fox, the American television host and executive. These POWs and in some cases their families filled in many details completely unknown to the Edmonds family. Tanner told them that he admired Roddie for the way he led: “He never threw his rank around ... and was a man of great courage.” Tanner told Yad Vashem that they were all aware at the time that the Germans were murdering Jews. They therefore understood that the order to separate the Jews from the other POWs meant that the Jews were in great danger. “Master Sergeant Edmonds,” he said, “at the risk of his immediate death, defied the Germans with the unexpected consequence that the Jewish prisoners were saved.”

Another of the Jewish POWs saved by Edmonds, Paul Stern, explained that when the 422nd Regiment got to Bad Orb, lower-ranking Jewish POWs from another stalag were in fact sent to slave labor camps where many of them died. Stern, who had learned German in college, could understand what the Germans had in store for the POWs. He also stated that the conversation between the German commandant, Maj. Siegmann, and Roddie Edmonds was in English. “Although seventy years have passed,” Stern claimed, “I can still hear the words he said to the German camp commander.” Finally, Hank Freedman, another POW rescued by Edmonds, told Chris that his father’s faith impacted and emboldened all his men, whether they were believers or not.

On Jan. 27, 2016, in a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., attended by then President of the United States Barack Obama, Master Sgt. Edmonds’ son accepted the Righteous medal and the certificate of honor awarded to his father. Roddie Edmonds has twice been nominated for the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of his heroic actions during World War II.” So far, no action has been taken. But Chris’ hope has hardly been extinguished. He wants his father to be awarded the Medal of Honor, our country’s “highest award for valor in action against an enemy force.” The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous’ short but powerful documentary on Edmonds, “Following the Footsteps of My Father,” would offer a great deal of compelling evidence.

In the JFR’s documentary, we learn that Roddie Edmonds might very well have also saved the lives of hundreds of his men by refusing to evacuate the camp where they were being held. The Germans knew the end was near and they did not want to be around when the American soldiers arrived. They told Edmonds to get ready to evacuate. Edmonds told the German officers that his men were too weak to evacuate the camp and begin a long march. The French POWs moved out along with the British POWs. The German officers told Edmonds that the camp was his: They were leaving.

Shortly thereafter, on March 30, 1945, Stalag IXA was liberated by American forces. It was the second day of Passover. As Sonny Fox remarked: “It was the day of our freedom.”

47 notes · View notes

feanorianethicsdepartment · 3 years

Text

the conclusion to the fëanorian tauriel saga! this one’s mostly about the state of affairs after she gets adopted into everyone’s favourite family of murderers, plus a couple of extra bits and bobs. there’s some more stuff i’d like to put down somewhere - a deleted scene, a minific - but this is mostly the end of my headcanons for this particular au. so far, anyway. part 1 part 2 part 3

mandos may have, in the past, given off the impression that fëanor would remain within the halls until dagor dagorath

that statement was always a bit of a conflation of terms. like everybody else in the halls, fëanor would get a clean pass for reinbodiment as and when he attended elf afterlife therapy and got a handle on his shit. it’s just nobody thought he would ever do that

but he has done that, and more besides. he’s honestly been clear to go for a while now, he just refused to leave until his sons were ready

and since then... mandos will admit to certain political pressures exerted towards keeping fëanor under lock and key

but over time, those pressures slowly yield to the fact that mandos absolutely cannot deal with this lunatic for the rest of arda

death has not put a damper on fëanor’s unstoppability. he was preoccupied for a long while with the damage done to his sons but with them all out he had a conspicious lack of things to Do

and a bored fëanor is a dangerous fëanor

so yeah. fëanor is less released from the halls of mandos as he is unceremoniously kicked out. mandos refuses to talk about it. the maiar of the halls throw a massive party

this all happens on extremely short notice. as in, manwë announces his release like half a day before it happens

this of course throws his extended family (and a decent proportion of the rest of the continent) into this massive frenzied whirlwind of panic. everybody thought they’d get more warning than this, and nobody knows what’s going to happen next

at the epicentre of this maelstrom is the elf himself. fëanor doesn’t know either, he’s still trying to catch up on everyone he left behind and everything that’s gone down since he died. so much has changed, and he’s still stumbling groggily in the darkness

at some point between his long-practiced apology to finarfin and the maglor encounter everyone’s been dreading, though, he makes an unexpected discovery

he has a daughter now. apparently

her name’s tauriel, she smells like woodsmoke. he first meets her when she wanders into the living room, blinks blearily for a couple of seconds, goes ‘hi dad!’ and immediately falls asleep on his lap

and it’s not like he’s not incredibly stoked to have another child, it’s just how???

the first time he asks this question, the motley collection of relatives and old friends he’s talking to all come to the same conclusion

they can either (a) walk him through the history of tauriel’s growing friendship with and eventual adoption into the least reputable branch of the house of finwë or (b) dump the latest copy of the grand unified tauriel conspiracy theory on him with absolutely no context

considering they’re the hellfamily and friends, they go for the chaos option

it takes fëanor, like, two days to read it. the thing was ridiculously elaborate even before people started competing to come up with the craziest possible theories

the people around him keep the ruse going as long as they can stretch it. eventually celebrimbor takes pity on him, and legolas fills in the details

(legolas currently occupies a position in the fëanorian internal hierarchy not dissimilar to fingon’s. he has no idea how to interpret that)

fëanor also just. talks to tauriel. about how she came, and why she stayed

the next day, fëanor loudly announces to the entirety of tirion that he has a new daughter, her name is tauriel and she’s amazing

she’s been a de facto part of the house for years but this is the first official confirmation of it. the news, and the gossip, spreads all over aman

not that this marks a massive turning point for tauriel. even without a big announcement, she made which side she was on pretty clear back when shit went down

and honestly her life hasn’t changed that much since then. she still spends most of her time exploring noldorin country or chilling in the forest with her silvan friends

this isn’t too uncommon a situation for a member of the house of fëanor. they usually do their own thing, whatever that may be. even nerdanel abandons her house every so often to spend a year or two in the mountains

even in tirion, it’s not that different. she still crashes in the same place, hangs with the same people

she just also occasionally does stuff for :mobster voice: the family

she’s part of the second generation’s extremely overprotective mutual defence web. she has a few responsibilities vis-a-vis the definitely-not-minions. she’s not quite as magnetic as her older brothers, but she’s charismatic enough people tend to both legitimately like and let their guard down around her

she goes to court events sometimes, if she’s in town and in the mood. she’s not virulently allergic to it like celegorm but she doesn’t thrive there the way elrond does. she prefers lower-city forge parties. way more booze, way less bling

(the greenwood elves have stopped needing to bring her along to every political meeting for quote-unquote moral support. everyone knows who she rides with now, and the court bureaucrats tend to give her people whatever they want without the need for extortion)

she’s not the rowdiest of fëanor and nerdanel’s brood, but that’s really not saying much. she’s kicked off the last vestiges of social respectably and indulges fully in her family’s ability to do whatever they want, whenever they want, because who’s seriously going to tell a kinslayer they can’t do something?

a decent proportion of the population of tirion, it turns out. eh, the arguments are always fun

that’s the state of tauriel’s life when fëanor comes back. afterwards - like i said, it doesn’t change terribly much, fëanor rocking valinor to its core notwithstanding

he is massively, intensely supportive of everything she does. she knows that it’s partially that this family is just Like That, but she also gets the vibe he’s overinvesting a little? she’s the only one of his children who doesn’t have a reason to hate him

but they get along fine. he’s had a lot of practice at being a dad, and is trying to improve on his personal faults. his relationship with her is blissfully uncomplicated compared to the mess most of his pre-death bonds are, and while she’ll protect her brothers from him if need be she’ll protect him too when the world is out to get him

there’s this moment at one of those fancy court galas. tauriel’s chatting with some sindarin visitors when something explodes a few rooms away

almost immediately, she locks gazes with curufin, who’s peoplewatching some distance away. they have a conversation conducted entirely in eyeflicks that could be summarised as ‘did he just...’ ‘alas he probably did’

they stride out of the hall together to rescue their idiot dad from the consequences of his terrible decisions

that’s another subtlety to the way the fëanorians work, tauriel is discovering. the siblings hellspawn may be a constant fight cloud of bickering nutbags (with the obvious exception of herself) but they all always out-sane their dad

she keeps learning things like this as the years roll on and her families get closer. she finds silvans having tea with nerdanel, tirion craftselves looking for her in the woods. across both of her worlds, she’s building a posse

(just like her brothers did, long long ago under the light of the trees. when next the host rides to war, there will be those who follow tauriel’s banner)

even legolas has mostly gotten over it. their initial friendship, after all, was founded on them both being chaos children. tauriel is one in a way they called silvan in greenwood and noldorin in aman, fully conscious that the powers that be disapprove of her shenanigans and deliberately and vindictively defying them

legolas’ style is more sindarin, vaguely aware that the rules exist but doesn’t really understand how they apply to him. he did sneak a dwarf up the straight road, after all. him and tauriel got up to so much nonsense when they were kids, and no matter who else she runs with, he’ll always be her best friend

he’ll never be fully comfortable with the literal childhood horror stories she’s taken up with, but for her sake he’s willing to try. they might be scary, but, he’s realising, they can be fun too

(even if he does spend most of their family gatherings hiding behind elrond)

and then, one day...

tauriel doesn’t exactly pine for kíli, but she does kind of regret how it all turned out. she wonders what being in a relationship with him would have been like, sometimes

but he’s a dwarf, and she’s an elf, and she can’t leave the undying lands, and dwarves aren’t supposed to come here. they are sundered until the breaking of the world

when she tells this to fëanor, this massive smug grin spreads across his face. ‘unless’

three hours later, they’ve turned fëanor’s front room into a base of operations. maedhros is on project management, caranthir is on logistics, amras is going down a list of maiar they can strongarm. celebrimbor stops by, looks at the plans on the walls, and, somewhat excitedly, goes ‘are we breaking into the dwarven afterlife???’

yes. yes they are

epilogue:

when the end comes and all elves return to cuivénen, certain people tauriel knew back in middle-earth discover what she’s been doing for the past few ages

they get the full skinny later, after they talk to her and stuff, but the first whisper they hear is ‘tauriel’s been taken in by the fëanorians’

reactions vary. tauriel’s mama, who doesn’t recognise the name, goes ‘the spirits of fire? that’s sounds so much like her, i’m so happy she’s made friends’

tauriel’s mummy, who does recognise the name, is laughing too hard to speak

and thranduil cradles his head in his hands. ‘of course’ he mutters ‘of course she fucking did’

#silmarillion #tauriel #house of feanor #the feanorian tauriel saga #my terrible fic #wow this ended up way longer than i expected #sorry if it's rambly i stayed up kinda late #and yeah! that's my headcanons for this au!#like i said there's a couple more things i wanna write #and once i'm done i'll probably put it all up on ao3 #with edits (read: capitalisation)

55 notes · View notes

tobealostwanderer · 3 years

Text

Padawan

Grogu and Din introduce Luke to a friend

Again, I wrote this late at night and I haven't proofread. I am not a great writer but I thought that this was adorable so I wanted to write it down. Slight DinLuke mentions. This story can also be found on Wattpad. Enjoy!

It was a peaceful day at the temple. The padawans had the day of so in turn, Luke had some time to relax. Grogu's adoptive father, a Mandalorian called Din Djarin, would come and pick Grogu up in a few hours to have a father-son day.

Luke knew that the Jedi of old didn't agree to attachments with other people, including parents. But something stirred in him when he first picked up Grogu all those months ago. The Mandalorian and Child had a deep connection that wasn't easily broken. Grogu was practically unmanagable when he joined the newly established Jedi temple, and it wasn't until he got his metal ball, a replacement from what he used to play with on his father's ship, and the promise that his dad would visit him soon that he cooperated in the lessons.

Din visited once every two months and Luke got to know the man behind the helmet a bit. After all, the Mandalorian gave his name to him, which he knew was not commonly done. A tiny smile krept on the Master's face as he remembered that day..

Shaking out of the memory, Luke got up from his desk chair and made his way to the sleeping chambers of his pupils. It was about time he got Grogu ready. There weren't many pupils in Luke's temple. His own nephew wouldn't join until he was old enough to show the signs of the Force, but he was certain that he would grow up to be a powerful Jedi.

Knocking on a wooden door at the end of the hallway, a happy coo was heard. Luke opened the door to see Grogu play with his metal ball. The metal was starting to look less polished because of the creature's clawed, green hands. This obviously didn't bother the little alien as he couldn't be parted with it. Through the Force, Luke could feel Grogu's happiness. He knew what today meant.

As if on cue, the loud rumbling of a spaceship could be heard. Grogu squealed and hobbled to his tiny window as fast as he could. The familiar form of the Razor Crest landed closeby. Luke picked up the green baby and smiled down at him.

"Let's go greet your father, little one" he said with a tiny smile. His robes whooshed as he turned around, his leather boots clicking on the tiles as he powerwalked to the entrance. He too was happy to see the Mandalorian again. He was like a friend to him, although not in the way Han is a friend to him. It felt like... more. Luke had to surpress it though. Some people still remembered the Jedi of old, and remembered their customs. Even though most had forgotten, he still needed to be an example to the galaxy.

As the black-clad man and baby stepped outside, the hull door of the spaceship lowered to the ground. A cloud of dust sprang up as the metal hit the ground. The beskar clad man was quick to make his way to the two people in the yard. Happy to see Grogu for a bit. Grogu, in turn, cooed loudly upon seeing Mando.

"He has been behaving very well. He is slowly picking up his lessons. Every day his connection with the Force grows stronger" the sandy haired man said as he stopped in front of the metal clad bounty hunter. "I'm happy to hear that" the bounty hunter said, stroking the baby's green ears affectionately.

Luke handed Grogu over to Din. "I hope to have him back by dinner-" "Actually," Mando interrupted the Jedi Master. "I was wondering if you would like to join us.. Just for today. I think Grogu would like it" to which the Child indeed cooed loudly, raising a clawed hand towards Luke. "I understand if you are busy but he- we would very much like it"

It wasn't often that he saw the beskar clad man in a nervous state. In fact, he can't remember if he ever got nervous before. But Din was moving his weight from one leg to the other and looking around anywhere but at Luke. It was kind of cute...

Luke stowed away his thoughts for now and just grinned at the tall man in front of him. "I would very much like to. I don't go on many adventures anymore. Let me inform my second in command and I shall join you" he said, staying professional even though there wasn't really any reason to be this professional to the man.

Din nodded and turned to his ship, carrying Grogu to it as Luke made his way to his second in command. He quickly relied the message that he would be gone for the afternoon but would hopefully return before midnight. As he finished instructing the Twi'lek female, he made haste to join the father and son on the ship.

It didn't take long for Luke to be settled in and Mando to start the ship. The planet on which he build the new Jedi temple becoming smaller until he felt the familiar lurch of lightspeed. It took a few seconds before Luke was comfortable enough to talk to the Mandalorian.

"Where are we going?" He first asked. He knew he could look into the Mando's head for answers, but he had too much respect to infiltrate the man's mind. "A planet called Corvus. It isn't the most comfortable planet, but we want you to meet someone." Din responded. Grogu gurgled happily and Luke could vagually make out what he was saying: "Very nice, she is. Helped us, she did".

"Who is 'she'?" Luke asked, more to himself than to the two other beings in the cockpit. But nonetheless Mando responded: "You will see, no need to ruin the surprise".

It took exactly two hours when they started to lower into the atmosphere of Corvus. Luke looked at the fires that spread through it. Like it was never meant to be a forest planet, but trees grew anyway just to burn down because of the drought. As they landed close by a walled village, the white mist was almost omenous as ashes hung in the air.

Luke sensed her. She was somewhere inside the village. She almost seemed familliar even though Luke was certain that he never felt such a Force signature before. Whoever she was, was powerful, and most likely has trained like a Jedi. He wondered if she was interested in joining the Jedi again.

Before he realised it, the trio was decending from the Crest and started to walk into the village. Luke followed Din like an uncertain puppy. Because even though he was strong, he felt very out of place on this planet.

It seemed like the crackling of far away forest fires were always heard. Other than that, and the trio's footsteps, the village was quiet. Not many people were out and about and those that were slunk into the background. Luke had no idea why but he had a feeling that Din has scared these people a little.

It wasn't a big village and soon they were met with double doors. They were already opened, seemingly jammed and melted into place by a familiar weapon. Luke's fingers subconsciously stroked his own Lightsaber as they passed through the beautiful garden and to the last and biggest home in the village.

Before Din could knock, the doors flew open and a Togruta woman stood in front of them. Luke could make out a few wrinkles in her face. Her eyes shone wisdom and loss and on her belt she had two 'saber hilts. Even though he had felt her presence before, he was surprised to see the two powerful weapons hanging from her belt.

"Mando, Grogu. It is very nice to see you again. I see you have found a Jedi to train him? Please, do come in" the woman's smooth voice said. The trio stepped into the home and followed their host to the living room. As they all sat down, Grogu playing with a piece of fabric on the floor, Din introduced the two.

"Luke, this is Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka, Luke Skywalker." As the words left the Mandalorian's lips, the two people looked at eachother with wide eyes. "That's why you are familiar.. It is a pleasure, Luke, to finally meet you. I knew your parents..." She drifted off, thinking back to her Padawan time, thinking of 'her' Skyguy.

Mando had quietly taken Grogu with him outside to let the two Jedi talk. The moment Ahsoka had spoken, he felt like the two needed to speak in private, and havinf a babbling kid around wouldn't help them get to talking. This was a private moment, he knew.

Back with the two Jedi, Luke carefully placed his hand on Ahsoka's. "I have never met them.. truly met them. But I know they cared for you, miss Tano. Ben told me about you" he said, trying to comfort the Togruta woman. "Please," Ahsoka said "call me Ahsoka. And.. who is Ben, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I've met one" her mind fluttered through memories, trying to remember a 'Ben'.

"My aunt, uncle and I knew him as Ben Kenobi, but his true name was Obi-Wan Kenobi." Luke said calmly. He could see one hundered emotions go through Ahsoka's eyes. Her Force signature seemed to pulse with the same emotions. Happiness, sadness, admiration, respect, hope, love and grief. "Master Kenobi... I... I felt him join the Force a while ago.." Ahsoka swallowed thickly. "He was a nice man. A very good General. Caring, but he never truly understood Anakin" Ahsoka smiled at a few memories that fluttered through her mind. So strong, that they were projected in Luke's mind. Visions of the start of the Clone Wars projected in his mind. A young Ahsoka standing next to a tall, dark haired man he assumed to be his father, Anakin, and a slightly shorter man with an auburn beard that looked very much like a young Ben Kenobi.

"Sorry" Ahsoka said, as the memories stopped playing. "I don't think back a lot to.. that time. I wish you could've met your father... I still cannot believe he changed to the Dark Side" Ahsoka sighed. She was about to stand up as Luke responded to her: "That is the thing, I have met him. In the end, I got to see him. The real him. Anakin. And though our moment was brief, his love was real, and I am glad to have met him" his words shocked Ahsoka. Tears pricked in her eyes as she looked around the room. "I want to believe you-" she whispered, the tears now streaming down her face.

"He is telling the truth" a voice behind them said. Turning around, the two were met with the blue Force Ghost of Anakin Skywalker. "My son is telling the truth, Snips" a smile formed on Anakin's face as he looked at his old Padawan with fondness.

"Skyguy..."

#dinluke #lukedin #padawan #oneshot #grogu #babyyoda #ahsoka #ahsokatano #snips #Anakin #anakinskywalker #skywalker #its kinda really adorable #masterlist

80 notes · View notes

pluviophile-bookworm · 3 years

Text

HSMTMTS 2x10: New and a bit alarming... ok, very alarming

I don't even know at this point if I'm more nervous or excited for this episode. I've done my waiting and, well, whatever lies ahead, good or bad, or a little bit of both, I just can't wait anymore, even though I haven't been so scared to press play since... well, since last week. Guess I should just go for it, then:

Ooh, shady Seb doing the recap! We love to see it. Like, seriously, I'm anxious about the Seblos fight, but shady Seb is kind of my new favourite Seb.

I just... Ashlyn's acting is top tier. Emotional connection to the material? Superb! Chemistry with her co-lead... well, he'd have to be co-leading for any chemistry to be possible. I love Ricky, and I feel for him with all he's been through, but he's just not lead material right now. And it shows. Especially next to Ashlyn, who is killing it!

Miss Jenn is on the verge of a bloody mental breakdown and I just... wish I could do something to make things better. She reminds me of my mum when a deadline approaches for her to submit an article, and I just feel for her right now. Gosh, I'm feeling for everybody today. My empathy seems to be at its peak and I might just burst from all these emotions this episode is making me feel even before the 5-minute mark.

Ok, but Miss Jenn being stressed means Carlos is stressed for two, which means... this is a really bad time for him and Seb to have personal problems. My heart just can't handle it.

Wow... I never thought I'd see the day! The two leads are actually talking to each other! This is a mid-July miracle!

Why does everyone keep pretending their HSM was good? It was a flaming hot mess! A child could see that.

Miss Jenn needs a lot of work on her 'gracious face'. I, like Carlos, have quite some notes. Only mine aren't exactly, how do you say... verbally formulated quite yet.

Did Carlos just refer to Miss Jenn as 'mother'? Because yes.

I've been in a couple of local theatre productions in my day, but none of them had actual physical sets — we relied on the audience's imagination quite a lot — so I wouldn't know what a good set is made of... but even I can tell that plywood and Elmer's glue = not good.

Kourtney is a multi-tasking icon and we love her. I feel like I don't say this enough, but she deserves all the love.

Ooh, shady Seb is... well, shady! 'Quit school and get a job at the pizza shop?' — I mean, you don't see Reddy or Kourtney (or Howie, for that matter) quitting school in order to work at the Slices! Those kids juggle it all and, as someone who's never had to balance school and a job all at once, they have my deepest admiration.

Still, I think they should have thought about 'inventing' something re: transformation earlier than this point. The personal drama has taken up too much of their time.

Why does everyone keep inviting people over to Ashlyn's? I mean, it's not like I've ever heard her complain, but the girl needs some rest! And her house is not a public space.

Oh, so they're making this into a contest? I mean, I have never been a fan of competition, but to each their own. And Redlyn are hosting! This is going to be so beautiful! (You know, unless the boys try to sleep — see my post from yesterday about Reddy's background noise machine)

'I'm not worried. But North High should be!' Ooh, I love this look on Ashlyn! See, there's a lead to take notes from! And Ricky should be the first to do so. Take notes about what a lead acts like, I mean.

Oooooh, Big Red claps back! We love to see it. Although, you know, it stems from the fact that he's nervous about coming up with a solution to the transformation problem. 'I get bossy around the power tools' — Yes, sweetie, and I love that look on you. Maybe you should be around power tools more often, if that helps.

Ughhh, look what the cat brought in! Lily (I wish I knew her last name so I could refer to her by it exclusively, but we'll have to make do). I hate that girl. She reminds me quite exactly of the girl who bullied me in seventh grade to the point where I wished I'd die before having to deal with her at school again. She and Lily both bring out my aggressive side, and I hate that about them.

Ricky — 'so good at being a leading man'? I don't know what Lily is playing at here, but Ricky has not shown himself to be a very good leading man this season. He has the potential to be, but he has not fulfilled it by this point. Sure, he supports his friends and they support him, but that's basic decency. Not yet good leadership. No hate on Ricky, just the truth.

'I vaguely remember him' — please tell me this is setup for Ricky leading Lily on and then slamming the door in her face with the truth. The way I see it, he's been given a chance here. A chance to be the supportive, protective best friend Big Red deserves. I just... have a lot of ideas about this and I don't want it to end badly instead.

'I'm just not well-liked here, and I don't know what to do' — well, of course you aren't well-liked, you little— (ok, ok, calm down, breathe, 10, 9, 8...) whatever. I mean, she hasn't even considered basic decency, as it seems. Must be a new concept to her.

'Don't start with me, Carlos!' Wow. As much as I hate it that my two faves' only interaction in so long is so hostile, I kind of like this side of Big Red. I wonder what other sides of himself he's been hiding.

Listen, I don't like Seb being patronised and babied, but... 'Chip, this is your mother speaking: go call your mother!' made me laugh so hard. They're leaning into the on-stage family dynamic and I live for it.

EJ's idea of using old skateboards for the spinning contraption is... a brilliant callback to the fact that Ricky and Big Red were first characterised as skateboarders... you know, before diving headfirst into the theatre thing. And it feels like it might actually work.

Miss Jenn's excitement at seeing Mr Mazzara ('Benjamin!!!') is perhaps only topped by the fact that he was halfway home, got a text from her and instantly went back to the school. I mean, these two have something that's really big.

Miss Jenn referring to the kids as 'my children', combined with Carlos calling her 'mother' earlier just warms my heart so much! Those guys really are family. I live for it.

Ok, but... as clear as it is that the Wildcats are very far behind NH in terms of budget, rehearsal time and who knows what else, I hate seeing Miss Jenn resigned to them losing. I want to see her have faith in them, talk about how they will win, and, in her own words, 'trust the process'. I mean, I guess it's good that, as a teacher, she wants to prepare her kids for a possible defeat (and I mean really possible if they don't step up their game immediately, especially some of them * cough* Ricky *cough *), but a team that goes out to the field expecting to lose has a very minimal chance of winning.

Despite everything I've been saying again and again about Nini lately, the fact that she just delivered a very different 'No, Seb' has just redeemed her. See, this one wasn't dismissive or patronising — this was like, 'no, Seb, don't put yourself down' and I love that spin on the catchphrase I'd grown to hate. See, many things can be redeemed. And some simply cannot. * cough* Devil's spawn Lily *cough *. Also, Seb being self-conscious about the fact that Carlos 'doesn't have many options' at East Hight is the perfect setup for In a Heartbeat — meaning they will either have a chance to talk about their issue, or they have a telepathic connection, in which case, what kind of soulmate stuff is that?

'You're my sister; he's my cousin' — yeah, Ash, putting it like that makes it sound a lot weirder than it should, but I do get what you're trying to say. This is not a drill! Ashlyn is a Portwell shipper (heck, maybe even the captain of that ship) — but I feel like we already knew that.

'Why'd I never hear about this?' — and there it goes. Within the same scene, Nini was redeemed and then made aggravating again. What does she care if Gina thought Ricky sent her chocolates? He didn't. Because he and Gina can't be anything but very good friends. And I feel like good friends is what Gina needs. Maybe that's why I wanted EJ to be that for her initially (or it was because I'm aroace and don't tend to notice romantic attraction between fictional characters — or real people for that matter — unless it's explicitly stated to be there). But I've been on board of the majestic S.S. Portwell for a few weeks now and it's finally about to set sail.

Yeah, Nini, get a root beer, calm the heck down and get over it!

'Your other clockwise!' — Why does this even need to be said? How many 'clockwise's are there? I absolutely understand why Big Red gets the way he gets around power tools. I'd be on edge too, if the people I was trying to work with didn't know what way clockwise is. Still, I feel like by the time I'm 30, nobody younger than me would have a reason to know what way clockwise is, and I don't know if I feel bad or neutral about it.

Oh, so there's no telepathy involved in Seblos' problem resolution — it's been Redlyn's good communication all along. I might have known.

Ooh, Portwell is being discussed on both sides! PORTWELL NATION HOW WE FEELING

Nini? Why is everything about Nini? There's no way everything is about Nini. In all seriousness, though, EJ's worries about letting the next girl go seem valid in regards to Gina, given that she explicitly stated (though not within earshot of EJ or anyone who could have tipped him off) that she needs someone who will show up and stay. But they'll figure it out. They'll find a way. I know it. They will, or I will riot, and I know I won't be alone in that.

Ooh, Howie is giving Kourtney the original blueprints! Looks like Reddy isn't the only one who has a spy on the inside.

Ahhh, Ricky! Not 'Let You Go' again. I haven't cried to it in three days and I was not ready to break that streak. But... wait, this is where Carlos approaches Ricky to ask him for help with writing a song for Seb, isn't it? I am definitely ready for this.

Oh, is it... is it Ricky who suggests Carlos write a song for Seb? Now that is what a good leading man looks like.

'I'm adjusting to being called bro' — me too, Carlito, me too. But... this scene must have been so emotional for Josh, given that he hadn't come out yet. I remember him crying during The Climb and... all I'm saying is I want Ricky to come out at some point, too.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh... they were just talking about love languages and that's when Carlos shows up? Cinematic. Wait, there's Portwell too? This is what dreams are made of.

My oh my oh my! Risotto! For real this time. I might have just teared up. (Full disclosure: I did.) I've only had Portwell for about three weeks, but if anything happens to them, I will... you know how the meme goes. [side note: Wait, when I said 'for real this time', I was not expecting EJ would say it, much less word for word. Am I... writing this show now? It's usually my dad who predicts people's lines in TV shows]

'Not that I know of'... excuse me while I hyperventilate! These two are literal soulmates. They might share a brain, too, for all that I know. Portwell nation you ok guys?

I love that Ricky helped Carlos out with this song and is supporting him through it, but... I just might have preferred for him not to be there. I kind of need Seblos to have this moment to themselves. But, you know, with the way they feel about each other it might as well be like they're alone in the universe, let alone the room.

Ok, but Frankie's voice... brings out feelings in me that I didn't know I was capable of. Make of that what you will. Also, I'm not sobbing my eyes out, you are.

Ahhh Reddy my sunshine my sweet boy I love you but why did you have to cut Seblos' moment short? They were going to kiss, I know it. Oh well, they probably will, later on. Off-screen probably, but who cares? Not everything is for us to see. At least Carlos and Ricky had a moment there... Carlos calling Ricky 'bro' made me more emotional than I expected. It's like Miss Jenn says in s1: 'They're best bros, and that's a sacred thing... for reasons I will never understand'.

Ricky's acting sounds like a cat about to spit up a hairball, and it's so funny... in a scene that is supposed to be arguably the most dramatic of the entire play, that is not a good thing.

Oh my, oh my... you did not! You did not just end the episode with Ricky taking a fall from who knows how high. I was not ready. This episode was entirely too much for me. I will need 10 to 15 business days to recover from this, and we all know there aren't that many. But in the meantime you'll find me obsessively listening to In a Heartbeat for hours on end. Seriously, this episode is too much.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #ricky bowen #nini salazar-roberts #gina porter #ej caswell #ashlyn caswell #ashlyn moon caswell #big red redonovich #carlos rodriguez #seb matthew-smith #kourtney greene #hsmtmts miss jenn #hsmtmts mr mazzara #jnk #seblos #portwell #redlyn #jenzara

51 notes · View notes

volvaofowls · 3 years

Text

Feanorian Week, Day 1 - Maedhros

General Angband and post-Angband headcanons

- Maedhros was prepared for Morgoth’s treachery, he made sure his sword was extra sharp to deal vengeance, he had a large troop with him to overtake the fallen Vala, everyone was rested and prepared for ambush of Morgoth. Maedhros never even for a moment trusted the words and intentions of the dark one. And yet, none of the elves could predict to what extent Morgoth has prepared for this. Elves never had a reason to invent weapons and strategy before the unchaining of Morgoth, it was something the Corrupter was brought and taught them. For centuries after Maedhros will resent and scold himself for not being prepared better that day, for not using the enemies arts against him, for being too young and naive. It was his capture that lead to him becoming the most learned in the art of war among not only his family, but his people as a whole.

- In the beginning of being captured Maedhros was sure that he will not survive. Morgoth unleashed all of his hatred and jealousy of the elves onto him, trying to destroy his body and spirit. When Morgoth’s plan to trade peace for Maedhros failed, the redhaired elf abandoned all hope and expectations. But he does not feel alone, he is proud of his brothers and he is relieved – they are away from Morgoth’s clutches, they did not give in, so this most evil and corrupted of all beings will not be able to hurt his family anymore.

- And Morgoth made sure that Maedhros was never hopeful, often Melkor will come and taunt the elf, saying that his brothers refuse to come and rescue him, that their pride is of higher value to them than their own blood, that Noldor are weak and this is why they don’t even attempt to help him. Sometimes the Dark One will not come for a long time and then he will come back at last, with leftovers of his own feast. As he would slowly hand feed Maedhros himself he would mockingly apologise saying that even he, Melkor has forgotten about him. He would make sure to sow the seeds of despair and woe into Noldor's heart. Sometimes he would mention his brothers, retelling what his spies have told him, some of the details retold were terrifyingly intimate, something only a close friend or an ally should know. And Maedhros was powerless to do anything about it.

- During his time of being bound to Thangorodrim, in one of his lowest moments, Maedhros laughs about his situation. He considers it to be a punishment from the Valar for the kin slaying and for the betrayal of Fingolfin’s host. He sees it like this, he is the oldest of his family, thus he is paying for not stopping the others and for being the first one to pledge himself in oath and making the others follow suit. He sees it as some kind of poetic justice, to be tortured for eternity for all the lives they have taken and doomed.

- When Fingon rescued Maedhros, he did not deliver Maedhros immediately to feanorians. Findekano brought Maitimo to his own people. Despite the Nelyo’s poorly state, as soon as he appeared in Fingolfin’s encampment, many elves erupted in hatred and outrage over the lives lost in the ices, because of feanor. The insults and curses poured on Maedhros and Fingon, with some even attempting to push Fingon away, to get at the feanorian. It was only after Fingolfin arrived to the scene and ordered for healers to help Maedhros that this has finally subdued.

- Fingon is Maedhros’ rock, they were very close growing up, both the older brothers; their fathers being rivals always tried to make the two compete, but instead they became closest of friends. Fingon will be probably the only person that Meadhros will open up to. Fingon has seen him at his lowest and helped him through it all, he was the one to stay awake as Maedhros slept in bed for the first time in decades, Fingon helped Maedhros to eat, bathe, to re-learn everything that he did with ease before.

- After being rescued by Fingon, Maedhros doesn’t take long time to regain his strength and spirit. In almost no time Maitimo trains himself to the bone to be a better swordsman than he was before. All his time after being rescued is after rescue is dedicated to training and studying. He consumed with hatred for Morgoth and overpowering desire to get stronger, he has been in the clutches of Morgoth himself and he experienced first-hand the suffering and torment it entails. He cannot allow that to happen to himself or anyone ever again.

- Maedhros will block out majority of the trauma related to Angband. If one of his brothers will try to talk to him about it he will wave them off, he understands why they never tried to rescue him and he thinks it is useless to talk about it now, if he was in their position he would have done the same. Even though he has physical scars that reflect the time spent there he doesn’t let the emotional scars show. He is afraid to face his trauma, he is concerned that it will take over him - Maitimo imagines that means Morgoth still has power over him and the dark lord wins in a way. So Noldor hides it away and doesn't let anyone know how deep his scars run.

- Maedhros has been raised as an heir of Noldor throne all his life and treated by everyone as such. He was always told by Feanor that he is a descendant of Finwe and Miriel. That he is the heir of Finwe and Feanor. The was always told to stand tall above others, as they don’t see just him when they look at him, but the whole family line. But now, after the decades of torture, kinslaying and betrayal, he sees his family image as tainted by the oath. There is no way around it, they pledged everything to it and it will hold them and everyone around them accountable to the last word. It makes him look at himself and his brothers as unworthy. While in Fingolfin's camp Maedhros can see how much his uncle cares for his people and followed the feanorians not out of selfish and prideful reasons but for the good of his people. Fingolfin is seen by him as a worthy and honourable King, someone he trained to be but he will never become now. It does not matter to him that his brothers are in protest over it, if this will be the only good thing that comes out of it all then he will do it.

Taglist:

@feanorianweek

@iwenttomordor

#maedhros #feanorianweek #silmarillion #Maedhros headcanons #silmarillion headcanons #Maedhros imagine #silmarillion imagine

60 notes · View notes