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esoteric-oracle · 10 months

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On Life debts in MDZS

Recently finished watching Anle Zhuan, and holy crap, it really just sets even more into perspective how important life debts were in Chinese culture, especially in the days of dynasties. Long story short, the FL has a filial obligation to clear her family's name and exact vengeance on the ML's family - but you know what throws a wrench in her plans? The fact that the ML keeps saving her. Of course, this is a moral dilemma more easily offset by how she keeps saving him as well, but the fact that this is even worth mentioning and considered a serious quandary by the main character and her allies at one point really says something. And it got me thinking deeper about the implications of such life debts in MDZS.

In MDZS, life debts are immeasurably important. And how you honour that life debt is a measure of your character. When you owe someone a life debt, you owe them something immeasurably precious. In MDZS, MXTX knows that and shows it. She uses life debts to tie characters together and to drive the plot.

Life debts are the reason Wei Wuxian feels so duty-bound to the Jiang Sect and the Jiang family. They're the reason he's willing to lose an arm if it means no damage comes to his sect. They're the reason he tolerates being punished with methods beyond what's ever acceptable for a Head Disciple of a Sect. Because Jiang Fengmian saved him from living a life on the streets all those years ago, never mind that JFM himself owed Wei Wuxian's mother a life debt.

Life debts are the reason Wen Zhuliu is so blindly loyal to Wen Ruohan, committing countless atrocities in the name of the man who saved his life.

Life debts (and perhaps also genuine love), are why Jin Guangyao is so loyal to Lan Xichen. Because despite every other moral he eschews in his pursuit of power, he will always remember the sincere kindness Lan Xichen showed him when every other cultivator judged him for his heritage. And in the same way, we see Lan Xichen protecting him from Nie Mingjue under the excuse that Lan Xichen owes his life to Jin Guangyao.

Now let's talk about when life debts come into conflict with "filial duty".

It always irks me when people bring up family and filial duty to criticize WWX's "betrayal" of his sect, or try to undermine his judgement and actions when he protected the Wen Remnants. To me, it just shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the novel and the context around the text. When people call Wei Wuxian a "troublemaker" for leaving the Jiang Sect, they're falling prey to the very prejudices and classism MXTX condemned in the novel. Yes, the Wens burned down Lotus Pier. Yes, the remaining Jiang Sect would've had an obligation to go to war and exterminate the Wens. But you know what brings this duty to avenge your sect to question - in almost every way you look at it? When someone who never even participated in the bloodshed saves your life.

So, if we want to talk about filial duty and reciprocation - Jiang Cheng - and by extension, his sect, owes Wen Qing and Wen Ning a massive life debt (and that's not even considering the GC transfer). Even if we ignore the cultural context regarding debts, that's huge. Let's take a step back and look at what Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng owe the Wens.

The initial life debt. Wen Ning saves Jiang Cheng directly from probable execution (like his parents), as well as hides Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng from the Wen soldiers in his own room. In doing this, Wen Ning has already crossed the line of treason towards his own sect. Keep in mind - Wen Ruohan is his uncle. And here he is, risking his life to save two boys - only one of whom he's actually had any meaningful interaction with.

The days after. Both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are heavily wounded, the former from his whipping via Zidian + wounds sustained during the battle, the latter from Wen Chao's torture. In the days following, Wen Qing nurses both Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian - enemies of her clan - back to health.

The debt Jiang Cheng owes further. People need a proper send-off in order to ensure their passage to Diyu, or the Underworld - and that could only be done for JFM and YZY because WN risked his life even further to bring back the personal items (and in some adaptations, their bodies) of Jiang Cheng's parents. In simple terms, Jiang Cheng wouldn't even have Zidian if not for Wen Ning.

The golden core transfer. There are two separate components to this. The first is limited - from Jiang Cheng's perspective.

Here's what JC knows: 1. He has no core, but there is a chance he can have his core restored by Baoshan Sanren. 2. The only way Baoshan Sanren would ever agree to this is if he impersonated Wei Wuxian, the son of her beloved disciple. 3. Jiang Cheng is a sect heir; he grew up wealthy, in relative comfort. He's at the top of the food chain. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, is an orphan. He grew up being demeaned for his heritage. In truth, he inherited nothing from his parents. But what Jiang Cheng knows is that Wei Wuxian did have an inheritance: one precious thing, the location of an immortal. And then he gives that favour-his entire inheritance-to Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian, at this moment, essentially hands over everything he has left of his dead parents (who Madam Yu has slandered for his entire life) to Jiang Cheng.

From Wei Wuxian's perspective, the debt is this: his close friend and heir to the Jiang Clan has no core. He believes that Jiang Cheng needs his core - as he's been displaying suicidal tendencies after losing his. However, Wen Qing has a theoretical thesis on golden core transfers. This surgery has a 50% chance of success. To the knowledge of everyone involved, Jiang Cheng consented to getting his core back by whatever means necessary. He explicitly never questioned how Baoshan Sanren would restore his golden core. Anonymous organ donors are known to be a thing, even by modern medical standards. And WWX stays awake for two nights and a day without any anesthesia as Wen Qing cuts into his body and takes something he has spent over half of his lifetime cultivating, to give to Jiang Cheng.

"He had to be awake. He had to watch the golden core connected to his spiritual pathways be peeled from his body. He had to feel the gradual suppression, sedation, settlement of his originally surging spiritual powers, all until they became a pool of dead water, unable to rise ever again."

There's definitely also a case to make about Jiang Cheng essentially sacrificing himself to lead the guards away from Wei Wuxian, but you could also argue that Wei Wuxian saved his life just a chapter earlier by dragging him away from Lotus Pier when he returned. Also, it's got nothing to do with the Wen Sibs, towards whom they both owe debts.

By this time, Wen Qing and Wen Ning have already gone above and beyond to help the Jiangs and WWX. Saving the life of the sect heir is one thing, but to perform a never-before-done borderline heretical act of surgery to restore the heir's golden core? Another thing entirely.

The moral obligation of the Jiangs and Wei Wuxian to avenge their sect by killing the Wens does come into conflict with the debts they owe the Wen siblings. But compared to slaughtering Wen Chao, and the Wen soldiers during the Sun, how far does honouring filial duty by exacting vengeance on the Wen Sect go? Wen Qing herself declares she and her brother separate from Wen Ruohan. They're healers. They don't take lives.

From every depiction in Chinese media and culture, life debts are not to be taken lightly. A life debt is meant to be honoured and repaid. It's not something any half-decent person would mention maybe briefly in a Discussion Conference and then immediately shut up about and never mention again when someone louder (*cough*NMJ) speaks up. By turning his back on Wen Qing and Wen Ning, Jiang Cheng had demonstrated a significant moral failure as well as a misunderstanding of his own sect's motto. Along with his personal reasons, Wei Wuxian has every reason to protect the Wen Remnants.

So why, people ask, is Wei Wuxian so hellbent on protecting Wen Ning, Wen Qing, and the rest of the Wen Remnants? The easiest answer: he's a good person. He's compassionate, kind-hearted, empathetic to a fault; he isn't the type of person to stand by and watch if innocents and the helpless starve or suffer. He saw and recognized that what the Jins were doing to the prisoners of war was wrong, and chose to interfere. The other answer? He owes them a debt. He owes Wen Qing and Wen Ning a debt the rest of the Jiangs don't even know about. You want to discuss it in simple terms? Wen Ning is the only reason the Jiang Sect still stands. Wen Qing is the only reason the Jiang Sect has a cultivator for a leader by the end of MDZS. She committed the equivalence of cultivation heresy to save Jiang Cheng because Wei Wuxian begged her. WWX defending her family in return is…. Really the least he could do.

I've seen people calling the Wen Remnants war criminals, even equating them to the mafia, and I can't help but think - what book were those people even reading? if you're not willing to consider the culture and values or just use basic critical thinking when consuming a piece of media - don't try to slander the actions of its characters. Anyone who read the novel and understood the intended themes would not, in good faith, condemn Wei Wuxian's decision to protect the Wen Remnants.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #life debt #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #golden core transfer #wen qing #wen ning #anle zhuan

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lastminutestarwarsfan · 4 months

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Its honestly so painful to me, the sheer amount of turmoil that Anakin has experienced in his life. If you really sit down and think about what he's been through, he truly is one of the most tragic characters in fiction.

Born a slave to a single mother on a backwater, forgotten, barren world with no opportunities (Sidenote as much as we laugh at the "I don't like sand" meme, it actually is a meaningful line. He hates that world, that life, wants to put it behind him. Can't help but think of the mother he abandoned there)

Forced to choose between freedom and leaving his mother to her fate. A ridiculous amount of pressure to put on a 9 year old

Loses the only father figure he's had, and ultimately the only person to truly show faith in him, almost immediately after finding him

Becomes a burden and disappointment to a reluctant, inexperienced master (Before you come at me, I ADORE Obi-Wans and Anakins relationship. I love their banter, and I truly think they loved one another ridiculously and my heart breaks at what they became. But I do think that Anakin felt like a burden and disappointment sometimes. Especially at the beginning, Obi-Wan only really takes him on out of duty to Qui-Gon, it wouldn't have been his own choice. He didn't believe in him the way Qui-Gon did. And because Obi himself was grieving and young and inexperienced, he didn't have the confidence to guide Anakin the way he should have. He falls back on the rules too much, after bending them to take him on in the first place. He's too strict with him, too harsh. He doesn't tell him how much he loved him until it's too late, which just adds to the angst)

Is constantly told that he needs to let go of his attachment to his mother whilst being plagued my dreams of her death.

Watches his mother die in his arms with the knowledge if only he could have done something sooner he could have saved her (and this is the moment I think, pivotally, that his capacity for the dark side becomes real. Not the moment when he kills the Tuscans in anger just after. But in this quiet moment of death. The moment that voice in his head starts burrowing like a worm "Not enough, more, better, faster, stronger". If he could just burn hotter, brighter, push harder, then no one else would die.)

Is thrust into a war at 19

Is entrusted with a 14 year old apprentice at 20. Loves her like family only to watch the order he gave up everything for, the order that let his mother die, the order that is the reason he cannot have a normal life with his wife, drive his little sister away from him.

Plagued to madness by visions of his wife dying. Goes insane to try to save her only to be her own downfall. Is cut into pieces and left to burn alive by his brother. Suffers excruciating pain being pieced back together. Is forced to live with the knowledge that he led to the love of his life's death, where every breath is a reminder of the monster he has become.

Becomes increasingly aware that his new master, the only person he has left, the person he betrayed everyone for, the person he trusted in his times of need and thought understood him, would toss him away without a second thought and replace him with Luke.

That smile when he takes off the mask and looks at Luke in Return of the Jedi means so much. It's so pure, and light and carefree for those few seconds. The first time we've ever seen him truly at peace. He is finally free from the pain.

#I would gnaw off my own arm to see more of force ghost Anakin just chilling and being happy #Can we get a light-hearted spin off of force ghost Anakin please #He's just tinkering around with ghostly spare parts and building things look I don't know how this works but he deserves that afterlife #human disaster anakin #star wars #star wars prequels #return of the jedi #original trilogy #anakin skywalker #darth vader #anakin angst #right in the feels

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nicksalchemy1 · 2 months

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Mientras Respiro, Espero - Part 1

Pairing: Firefighter AU Dean Winchester x Nurse!Plus-Size!Mexican!Reader

Summary: Dean Winchester, a firefighter with a reputation for casual flings, finds himself longing for something more meaningful in his life. Meanwhile, you, a stubborn surgical intern, are trying to escape your past in California. When Dean loses a bet and is tasked with cleaning the trucks, your paths cross unexpectedly. Little do both of you know meeting each other would cause some problems.

A/N: “Mientras Respiro, Espero”: Spanish for “while I breathe, I wait.”

Here’s the first part of my little story. I really like writing in this universe and if part goes well, then I’ll continue posting. (I’m gonna post it anyways 🧐) Credits for inspiration again go to @zepskies !!

🚒 Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2,167

Warnings: Toxic parental situation, mentions of fat-shaming, childhood trauma, and a quick old-fashioned meet cute.

Part 1 - Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?

Avalon, California, was a gilded cage with ocean views, where the houses were as polished as the facades people wore. It was in one such manicured home where your story paused.

“Mija, you’re wasting your life with these... these dreams of yours! ¡No seas tan estúpida!” Your mother’s voice was a razor wrapped in velvet, cutting into you as you packed the last of your belongings into an old, battered suitcase.

The room was a mausoleum of your former life, with its pristine walls adorned with academic accolades and a full-length mirror that once reflected a girl desperate to please. Now, it only mirrored your resolve.

“I’m saving it, not wasting it,” you shot back, the words tumbling from your lips like brave soldiers in battle. You tucked a framed photo of your childhood self – the one with the broadest, most hopeful eyes – into the suitcase's side.

Your mother’s silhouette filled the doorway, her arms crossed in the silent indictment. “And what about the family reputation? Our standing in the community?”

You zipped up the suitcase, and the sound of a definitive line drawn. “What about my happiness, Mamí? What about living a life that’s actually mine? With someone who won’t pick on me like I’m still a child?”

She scoffed dismissively, a sound that stung like salt in an open wound. “Esos gringos no saben nada. Happiness is a luxury for those who can afford to be foolish.”

You locked eyes with her in the mirror, your own gaze hardened like forged steel. “Then consider me a fool.”

The house seemed to hold its breath as you shouldered past her, suitcase in hand. Your father stood in the hallway, a silent sentinel. His eyes, a mirror of your own, flickered with something that might have been pride or sorrow – or both.

“Daddy,” you whispered, pausing for a moment.

He cleared his throat, a rumble from deep within. “You always were the stubborn one,” he murmured, his voice barely above a soft-spoken whisper. “Be careful. Call me anytime you need me.”

A nod was all you could muster before you descended the staircase, each step a drumbeat to your newfound freedom. The door closed behind you with a finality that echoed through your bones. The California sun dipped low, as if bowing to your courage.

The suitcase wheels rumbled against the cobblestone path, a small but sure declaration of your departure. Behind you, the house – a beautiful prison of expectation and familial duty – faded into just another part of the landscape.

You didn't look back.

Considering it was your first time flying in an airplane, first class at that, you were anxious. Not about actually being in the plane around people or the way the lady in the seat across from your aisle coffee smelled like someone took a fancy shit, but because you were moving in with a couple that you trusted yet, hardly knew.

Mary and John Winchester were rough around the edges, but they meant well. They knew what happened in your household, how toxic it was, and invited you to stay with them in Lawerence. Plus, you would be able to keep your job. Mary was head of Neurosurgery and earned you a spot as a surgical intern. Working hard or hardly working, am I right? You thought to yourself, smiling to yourself.

And boy, were these ‘gringos’ rich. Not only did they offer you that extra guest room in their house, but they also bought you your first-class seat, in which your butt was in right now.

You knew John was a respected detective, and with his income mixed with Mary’s, they made bank.

You also knew they had two sons. John and Mary mentioned their names, but you knew the youngest worked for the ADA, and the oldest worked as a firefighter.

Cool. Wonder what that's like, you tilt your head in thought.

A stable work life, home life, and family. But not all ‘picture-perfect’ families meant they were truly picture perfect.

And that was for you to figure out.

The airplane descended through the cotton candy clouds, and the world below began to take shape—a patchwork of fields and roads that would soon become your new reality. Your heart danced a nervous tango with the seatbelt across your lap, anticipation tightening with every drop in altitude.

The captain's voice crackled through the cabin, announcing the imminent landing in Lawrence. You straightened up, smoothing the fabric of your jeans as if to iron out the last creases of your past life.

When the wheels kissed the tarmac, you felt a jolt, not unlike the one that had propelled you out of your family’s house. You collected your single suitcase from the overhead bin—a symbol of your fresh start—and made your way through the aisle with a resolve that echoed the click-clack of your boots on the aircraft's floor.

The airport was small but buzzing with life, a hive of reunions and farewells. You stood for a moment at the arrival gate, scanning the crowd until you saw them.

Mary's presence was undeniable. She stood with a grace that spoke of her surgical precision, her eyes warm and welcoming. John, equally imposing in his own right, had the stance of a man who had weathered storms and could chart a course through any adversity.

They spotted you almost immediately, and Mary’s smile widened as she opened her arms. “There she is! Welcome to Kansas!”

You stepped into her embrace, the scent of antiseptic mingling with a soft perfume—a stark contrast to the oppressive aroma of your mother's overwhelming floral scents. “Thank you, Mary,” you smiled, grateful for the genuine warmth.

John extended his hand, which you shook firmly, finding in his grip the silent support of a seasoned detective. “Good to have you here. We’ve got the guest room all set up for you,” he said, his voice a deep timbre of reassurance.

You nodded, your eyes meeting his. “I can’t thank you both enough for this opportunity.”

As you walked through the airport, with Mary’s hand lightly on your back and John carrying your suitcase, you felt the weight of your old life lifting. The conversation was light, peppered with Mary’s questions about your flight and John’s quips about Kansas being the true heart of America.

Once in the car, the grilling starts. “So, how are you doing, hun?” Mary asks curiously, mainly because she’s concerned and trying to make sure you’re comfortable.

“Oh, you know, as good as you can be while moving state from state.” You remark as politely as possible, trying not to seep tension into the car ride.

“I hope you feel better. When we get to the house, you’re welcome to rest. I don’t cook very well,” She clears her throat, shrugging, “But I can give you some money to order something in?”

“I couldn’t do that, but thank you. It’s late, anyways. I’ll wait till tommorow morning.”

“Okay. Just as along as you’re comfortable.” Mary winks, a soft, motherly smile on her face.

You nod, meeting her smile with the same.

John pulls the Volkswagen van into the driveway and puts it in park, shutting the engine off. “Home sweet home.”

You sigh and step out of the car, staring at the home. The house is a two-story structure with a prominent green exterior. It features white trim around the windows and roof edges, contrasting nicely with the green. The front door is wooden with a rich, warm tone. There are two windows on the upper floor and one window on either side of the front door on the ground floor. A chimney extends from the left side of the roof, indicating a fireplace inside.

A well-maintained lawn adorned with various small plants and flowers. A concrete pathway leads to three steps up to a small porch area before reaching the wooden front door.

Mary leads you up to where your room is at and it seemed to be one of her boy’s old nurseries, but now the wall was decorated with two old band posters, The Beatles and a Zeppelin poster. Huh. The bed had a floral blanket and a navy sheet under it. There were two pillows in a white silk covers and a lamp on the beside table.

“John and I are gonna hit the hay, so, goodnight, love.” Mary waves from the doorframe, giving you one last glance before heading off.

“Goodnight,” You reply, setting your suitcase down beside your bed and lay back on your bed.

In the locker room, you changed into your scrubs, the fabric feeling foreign yet exciting against your skin. You tucked your hair under a surgical cap and checked yourself in the mirror. Ready.

The hospital corridors were a maze of activity, doctors and nurses moving with a sense of urgency that was almost palpable. You found your way to the intern's lounge, where a group of young doctors was gathered, pouring over patient charts and sipping on coffee as if it were a lifeline.

That's when you met her — Charlie Bradbury. With her vibrant red hair and a stack of comic books under her arm, she was a splash of color in the sterile environment. She noticed you immediately, her green eyes lighting up with an impish sparkle.

"Hey, you must be the new kid! I'm Charlie, your friendly neighborhood genius slash intern. Welcome to the chaos!" she greeted you with an outstretched hand, adorned with quirky rings.

"Thanks, I'm..." you began.

"Don't tell me," she interrupted playfully, "You're the one who just flew in from Cali, right? Mary's been raving about you."

You chuckled, feeling a sense of relief wash over you. "Guilty as charged."

Charlie showed you around, her chatter filling the spaces between the bustle of the hospital. She introduced you to the other interns, the nurses, and even the grumpy guy who ran the coffee cart. Throughout the day, you shadowed her as she confidently navigated patient care, inserting IV lines with precision and calming anxious patients with her quirky humor.

Despite the exhaustion that came with the endless rounds and the mountain of new information, you felt a sense of accomplishment. You were doing this, really doing it — and you were not alone.

In the afternoon, Mary tasked you with delivering first aid kits to the local fire department as part of a community outreach program. You welcomed the break from the hospital walls and made your way to the fire station with a box of supplies in tow.

As you approached, you noticed a firefighter washing a large, red truck — his sleeves rolled up, revealing muscular arms, and his focus never wavering from the task at hand. You hesitated for a moment before approaching.

"Excuse me," you called out, "I have a delivery from Lawrence General?"

He turned around, and you were met with striking green eyes and a smudge of soap on his cheek. He was ruggedly handsome, with a stubble that spoke of long hours and a jaw set with determination.

"Oh, hey," he replied, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Thanks for the-"

Before he could finish, another firefighter called out to him, "Dean, we need you!"

"Sorry, duty calls," he said with a charming, apologetic grin. "Just leave the kits by the door, and thanks again."

"No problem," you replied, feeling a pang of disappointment as the moment ended too quickly. You placed the box down and watched as he jogged back to his colleagues, ready to respond to the next emergency.

The rest of your shift passed in a blur, and before you knew it, Mary was driving you back to the Winchester home. As the car hummed along the road, she glanced at you with a knowing smile.

"I hope your first day wasn't too overwhelming. You did great," she said encouragingly.

"It was definitely a day to remember," you admitted with a tired smile.

Mary's expression turned warm and excited as she announced, "Well, get ready for a family dinner tonight. John and I want you to meet our sons properly. They're excited to have you."

The thought of the evening ahead sparked a mix of nerves and curiosity within you.

"Oh, uh, okay." you replied slightly indifferent by the unexpected dinner, but the prospect of a meal with a family that wouldn’t make measure how many calories your plate has won’t be bad just because you had to meet your “landlord’s” sons. “Sounds nice.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

And there’s that! Next time. 😉

Character Introduction For This Series

Dean Winchester Masterlist

#dean winchester x reader #dean winchester #latina!reader #plus size!reader #firefighter!Dean Winchester x reader #spn #firefighter au #supernatural #fanfic #reader insert #mexican!reader #spotify

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let-us-cultivate-our-garden · 1 year

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The Owl House Series Finale Thoughts, part 1

So, now that I’ve had time to vent and gather my thoughts I can say that The Owl House series finale, was a letdown.

There were strong elements: the animation, the voice acting, the music, all incredible. I do deeply appreciate the hard work and talent the crew brought in making this show and how many people have felt represented and seen by the show’s inclusivity and themes. I feel that this show will be beloved and remembered for a long time.

However, I feel like the show made critical errors that actually undermined what it set out to do. Before I get into my thoughts, let me explain how I got into this show:

I happened to stumble upon the show because it looked neat and heard that the show creator also worked on Gravity Falls, another show I enjoyed. The first season was fun; bright, clever, and you could tell it wanted to tell a larger story with deep and meaningful themes. Season 2A was also fun and it had begun to depict a darker, more mature world. I didn’t think too much of the show, it was just fun, a typical kids’ cartoon show with good storytelling and memorable characters. Nothing really grabbed me about the show.

Until Hollow Mind.

Long-term fans will remember people being disappointed by the episode because they became attached to Fanon Philip that had appeared during the hiatus and we got something completely different in canon. How did this seemingly sweet young man turn into Emperor Belos? Turns out, he’s just a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex.

I wasn’t there for Fanon Philip but what drew me to Belos was that in HM, his apparent backstory was in the literal background of the episode and it sparked my imagination. I joined the fandom because, like many, I wanted to know what Belos’ deal was. Many talented and creative people came up with long and compelling theories about the Wittebane brothers, speculation that was further fueled by the grimwalker reveal and Caleb appearing in Belos’ memories in King’s Tide. That speculation grew and people wrote whole fan fics and drew art depicting the trials and troubles of the Wittebanes.

I became invested in the Wittebanes because their story was so tragic: two orphan boys who grew up in a cult, essentially forced to participate in witch hunts in an adapt-or-be-hanged situation, only for the elder to actually see the error of his ways and leave his younger brother behind, making him think he had been bewitched and that it was his duty to save him.

We got more scraps of information in Thanks to Them, the most important being how the brothers only had each other and became witch-hunters to fit in. In For the Future, Caleb’s apparition appears--whether a ghost or hallucination is unknown---above his specter is a bloody knife, Caleb stares accusingly at the wretched, shambling remains of his younger brother. Philip lashes out angrily accusing him that it was his fault and that he “tried to save his soul.” This is a highly interpretive scene, and many thought it implied Belos’ deeply buried guilt and how he always lies to himself to justify his actions. All the while, deep down knowing the truth.

With all that in mind, what did we learn in Watching and Dreaming? What made this young man who ventured out to what he thought was literal hell to rescue his brother? His only family? Only to kill him in a fit of madness and spend literal centuries trying to recreate the brother of his childhood, to erase his original sin, all the while descending into madness and depravity?

Turns out he’s a dick. A huge, murderous dick with a hero complex.

“You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place,” the Titan tells Luz. And seemingly the audience because fans wanted to see this story, this foundation to all of the horror and trauma. To understand how a man becomes evil.

Well, according to the show, he’s just like that. Luz attempts to reconcile Belos’ goal of saving humanity with her own and wonders if their morality is really so different. Silly human, the Titan says. Your goals and motives are genuine, he’s just delusional and evil. So you can take comfort in the fact that your enemies’ goals are just self-serving, but yours are the real deal.

Sorry but this is lazy.

You can’t say people are complicated and then turn around and say actually, no some people are just delusional and power-hungry and we’ll leave it at that. It seems that, in the universe of The Owl House, only good people are complicated; Lilith cursed Eda because she was desperate to get into the Emperor’s Coven but then she spends the rest of the time trying to cure her sister. Amity bullied Willow, but only because her parents forced them to no longer be friends, Hunter was the emperor’s right hand man, but only because he’s an abused teenager. Meanwhile, the villains of the show don’t have their motives given such depth, they just act in selfish and petty ways because they just are.

I wouldn’t be bothered by Philip’s flat characterization if the show did not waste so much time giving us hints and clues that there’s actually more to him. What a twist! The villain you thought had greater complexity is just a Standard Villain, how genius! Such clever writing!

If he’s going to be simply a metaphor and not a real character then don’t tease us with a story that suggests otherwise. Keep your story clean and concise. Don’t dangle a potentially amazing storyline that aligns perfectly with the protagonist’s only to yank it away.

This is a waste of the audience’s time and squashes what could have been a wonderfully twisted and dynamic villain. But the show wasn’t interested. It's much easier and more comforting to just say bad people are just bad and never explore why. You could never become the villain because you’re good; don’t bother worrying that you and the villain have the same goals because his aren’t genuine!

Remember kids, people are complicated. Unless you’re a villain.

#the owl house #toh critical #toh criticism #emperor belos #philip wittebane #luz noceda #long post #the owl house spoilers #watching and dreaming spoilers

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violentvaleska · 11 months

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𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆

ᴏɴᴇsʜᴏᴛ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ʏᴀɴ!ʟᴇᴠɪ x ғᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʟ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴠɪ ᴀᴛ ғɪʀsᴛ, ʙᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀs ʜɪs ᴅᴇᴠᴏᴛᴇᴅ sᴜʙᴏʀᴅɪɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏsɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀ ʙɪᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴅᴇsɪʀᴀʙʟᴇ ғᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ.

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ-ɪɴᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇ, ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ-ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄs, sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ, ᴍɪsᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ, ᴀʙᴜsɪᴠᴇ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ, ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ, sᴍᴜᴛ, ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ, ᴅᴜʙᴄᴏɴ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ʙᴀʙʏ ᴛʀᴀᴘᴘɪɴɢ

Levi doesn't really know what has drawn him to you. Perhaps your eagerness to please or your fearful and awe driven gaze directed him. Maybe it was your cute smile or the elegant way you held yourself. It certainly wasn't the fact that you were born in the safety of Mitras and your weak excuse of combat wasn't it either. While you appear to be smart and talented with the ODM gear, you certainly wouldn't do fighting titans. It's that simple. Your purpose as a soldier would probably be death, giving your life for humanity. Levi hates that fact; he despises the idea of you dying. You were subordinated to him after you joined the Survey Corps a year ago and if it wasn't for him, you would have been eaten and ripped apart on more occasions than he would like to admit.

He expected you to be just that, a rich brat. Probably narcissistic and an egomaniac, having only your own desires in best interest. Most likely arrogant and always bragging about your accomplishments, like Oluo. To his surprise you were nothing like that. Your star struck eyes would always look up to him, a mixture of hope and awe in them. You would follow his every comment, much like Petra, but unlike her you were still in need of extra training.

The Captain always held you close. He would make you stay longer in training, so you could get better and stronger. After he would tell you to shower and meet him in his office to help him with paperwork, something that definitely wasn't in your range of duty. He abused his power over you, using your eagerness to help for his own advantage. Levi thrived, still does, in your attention and obedient behavior. He quite often thinks about you, wondering why a brat of Mitras would join the military. You had no reason to; a rich family, fulfilled life. And while he doesn't enjoy the thought of you with another man, you would have probably married someone of your class and bore him children. These thoughts made him realize that it might be the reason why you left. You did not want to be treated like a baby machine, did not want to marry a stranger twice your age. The Scouts made you free, or so you thought. Truth is you'd never be free, not as long as your Captain was around. It made him wonder what your life was like in Mitras. You were a late bloomer; joined when you turned eighteen, he knew that much. You probably waited to legally decide your fate on your own, without having to worry about your parents intervening. He remembers that day he looked over all of the reports of his new Cadets. You caught his interest.

"Fucking Mitras brat." He spat.

And then Eren came around. Levi was aware of his importance and upcoming changes that would occur with the moment he stepped foot into the Corps. Levi sat in Erwin's office drinking tea while he rolled his eyes at Hange’s rambling, their loud voice caused him a headache.

"We need you to pick a new squad, Levi. Your Cadets will be handed over to Miche, so you have time to prepare your soldiers for the special operation. " Erwin explained and gave them a meaningful glance. He felt sour at the thought, but eventually decided to dare his luck a little.

"Sure. Am I allowed to hand-pick my new squad?" The blonde, tall man rolled his eyes, giving him a cold facade.

"Yes. I trust you on your decisions. Do you have anyone specific in mind?" In his head, Levi screamed your name in desperation.

"Eld is a fine soldier. Petra Ral and Oluo Bozado would be suited too." He halted, glaring at him as he waited for Erwin to agree. He did so gladly.

"There is someone else." Levi noted and cleared his throat. The Commander gave him a sad look, feeling regret twirling in his gut.

"You want to drag her into this?" Erwin wondered, hoping to motivate his friend to change his mind.

"You said you would trust my decisions." Erwin stopped arguing and Levi knew he had Smith wrapped around his finger. He would give him almost anything if it meant that the Captain was happy. Confused Hange scratched their head. "Who are you talking about?" They asked directed at Erwin, they didn't expect an answer from Levi anyways.

"A Cadet from Levi's current squad." It didn't take more to form Hange’s lips into an 'O' shape as awkward silence hit them. Rumors had already spread in the upper ranks of the squad about Levi being madly in love with his subordinate. The Captain would never dare to call it love though. No, he just gets off on the idea of having control over the Mitras brat.

"Why did you choose me?" You asked him when the two of you cleaned the hall of your new headquarters, an abandoned castle. It's dirty and if there was something Levi hated more than stains on his clothes it certainly was an unclean environment.

"Are you questioning my decisions brat?" He felt good, turning the words in your mouth so you would feel sorry.

"I would never dare to, Captain!" You raised your voice in fear, looking at him with hurt.

"It's just-" You started shuddering at his cold stare, knowing you had to choose your next words wisely.

"There are so many others who are better than me." He nodded his head and agreed with you, your polite smile falling. He felt almost bad, but the thin line of feeling bad and boiling lust was conflicted within him.

"But I have my reasons. You have other useful qualities." He encouraged her.

"Like what?" Levi sighted and gritted his teeth, fletching them at her.

"Oi, shut up now. The floors don't clean themselves." Shrinking under him you held your breath and whispered a small 'sorry Sir' continuing your cleaning duties.

You didn't have dinner tonight, not enough time to eat. You relaxed in the showers and thought about your mistakes for too long. You shouldn't have lost your temper, shouldn't have raised your voice, after all Captain Levi is your superior, you don't know what has gotten into you. Petra tried to offer you comfort. "He's just stressed." She assured you, as she held your crying body in her arms. "I'm sure he only wants to talk things out with you! You mean a lot to him, I can tell." Her words were smoothing and the two of you made their way into the showers, relaxing under the warm stream of water.

In his mind the two of you got closer over the past three weeks you were at the castle. With every passing day he got more and more desperate, bombing you with training. Learning about the true purpose of the 57th expedition, he had to make sure that you were safe. The hard work made you feel exhausted and after you had to repeat the same exercise for what felt like the hundredth time you simply snapped.

"I can't do this anymore!" You screamed, while you lost your calm demeanor. Throwing a tantrum around Levi, criticizing him at the same time, wasn't the best idea, you'll admit. The Captain angrily shut you up and squeezed your arm under his tight grip. He felt pissed, angry way beyond your pathetic imagination.

"If you don't get better you will die. I can’t always be there to save your sorry ass Cadet." He was aggressive and shook your body.

"Then don't! I'm a soldier, it would be an honor to die for your cause." It was the first time he had violently touched you; the back of his hand smacking against your skin. His squad held their breaths in shock and didn't know how to react to his outburst. It wasn't unusual for Levi to get physical with people that misbehaved, but with you it was something else. Never did he lay his hands on you, except in training of course. You were quiet, other than the quiet whimpers that left your lips. It urged him to do worse.

"Are you dense? You stupid brat don't even know what it means to die in honor. You should have stayed in Mitras with that attitude. I'm in no need of suicidal soldiers." You started crying at this point, shaking under his hands. He felt adrenaline shot into his abdomen, a nice tingle made his member slightly twitch at the sight of you.

"Then why did you choose me?" He was close to hitting you again, his hand bawling into a fist; knuckles shining white.

"Meet me in an hour in my office. Clean yourself up, you smell." With that he let you go and walked past his squat, eyebrows furrowing as Petra ran to your side, offering comfort. You didn't deserve that; he thought and shook his head in anger. The two of you were too soft.

After that you dressed in your fresh formal-uniform and brushed your wet hair behind your ears, trying to appear as neat and dolled up as always, a habit that stuck with you ever since you were a little girl. Your parents made sure that your appearance would match your status as a wealthy Mitras girl. You hated it there, felt trapped and lonely. Some things that were taught to you stayed with you though, like taking good care of your body, always keeping your stuff clean or being polite. Of course, you learned to obey others, especially men, too. They prepared you to be a good wife. It scared you, made you feel sick; the thought of marrying a stranger gave you anxiety. It's why you decided to leave and enlisted in the Training Corps, making your parents disappointed. You felt guilty, as much as you do now. You displeased your Captain, the one you looked up to, the one that makes you eager to submit. You would do anything and perhaps, tonight you will.

Those thoughts cross your mind as you stand in front of his office and private quarters. The upper ranks really have nice privileges. Your heart pounds against your chest, as you softly knock on the wood. Footsteps emerge as you fitch with the hem of your dress shirt. The door creaks open, revealing your Captain to you. He takes a step to the side, offering you access to his office with a spread arm. You don't look at him when you enter, head hanging low, and eyes fixed on the ground. Your punishment might be a severe one, probably physical discipline. He did punish you twice, made you run around the headquarters for three hours or leave out all the meals once. But this time is going to be much worse, and you know it's the way he looks at you that makes you question his sanity. You should feel ashamed of that.

"You know Cadet, I could tell that you were on edge as of lately." He starts and takes a seat, making you stand opposite of his desk.

"And I get it, we all are." He places his slender hands on the wooden surface, the same hands that caused you pain an hour ago.

"But raising your voice against your Captain? Arguing with him, with me-“ he scoffs leaning forward.

"Now that's disrespectful on a new level. What happened? Did I finally break my favorite toy?" Levi mocks, a sinister expression on his usual stoic face. The last sentence got to you, eyes widening, a little displeased groan escapes you, eyebrows furrowing at the insult. Though, instead of sharing your discomfort with him, you simply answer: "Sorry Captain. It won't happen again." At that he rolls his eyes, shaking his head disappointed.

"That did not answer my question. Did I break you yet, Cadet?" You wonder if the thought of emotionally dragging you down would please him. It would make sense, he always did show sadistic tendencies around you, bombing you with dehumanizing duties. You agreed to do them with a smile, hoping it would please him and it did. Now you wonder if it just egged him on to be much harsher with you.

"I was close." You confess and fold your hands in your front, blankly returning his gaze.

"Good. I hope you know why I'm pushing you harder than the others." His tongue slightly brushes over his dry lips, as he locks his steel-colored eyes on your form. You take a moment to think and hesitantly speak up after a few seconds.

"I believe it's because I'm not as good as the others." A small smile spreads over his lips as he stands up again. You never saw him smile; it slightly starts to weird you out.

"Correct. You would die out there, I can't have that." Levi walks up to you in a slow pace, his relaxed state dominating the room. You swallow, taking a step back as he closes in.

"Captain? May I ask why you can't have me dying?" A sight leaves him, as he places a hard on your shoulder, stopping you from moving.

"Aren't you a nosey girl?" Your Captain states and places his other hand on your other shoulder as well. A bit of panic rises in your gut at the touch. The Captain was never one to show affection and this strange touch simply can't mean anything good.

"Why did you order me here?" The question lingers in the air like a heavy prayer, making Levi's hands grip your delicate shoulders tighter.

"Tch. Want me to show you?" He's seconds away from doing something stupid and both of you know it.

"Yes, please." You murmur and break the contact of your stare, allowing him full authority. With excitement his hands glide from your shoulders to your waist, pulling you closer. He leans to the level of your ear, warm breath and the sudden closeness making you stiffen.

"What I'm going to show you is either a reward-" you feel his hands softly roam your curves, making you start shaking at the feeling it provides you. Not sure if it is desperation or despair, you let quiet whines out, encouraging him to grip your bum.

"-or a punishment." You yelp as the same hand that caressed you moments ago gave your behind a harsh slap. Biting down onto your lip, you try to push him away from you to no use. He doesn't even buckle under your weak attempts.

"It's going to be up to you, silly Cadet." He whispers and slowly starts to move his head down your neck, placing tingling kisses at your vulnerable areas. Denying that his hands and lips feel pleasurable on your body would be a lie. It feels good, adrenaline rises in your gut as you think about how wrong this is. Superior ranks to yours shouldn't use you the way he does, after all you could report him for his inappropriate behaviors. Though it probably won't be to any good use, because Commander Erwin closed his eyes to the strange relationship of yours months ago. You know that most of the upper ranks suspect something between the two of you and yet nobody came to your help so far, because they don't want to anger Captain Levi.

At some point you are a mess; cheeks flushed, heart beating rapidly, and your flesh is painted in bite marks. His hands hold you up and keep you from falling into his erratic body.

"Captain-" you wince and grip him weakly against your heated form, allowing even more contact between the two of you.

"Hm?" He hums and lets his hand wander between your legs, making your posture stiffen.

"This is wrong Captain, please-" you finish your sentence with a moan as his fingers dance circles around your clit, a wonderful sensation erecting in your abdomen.

"Shut up, it is not." He insists and slowly takes a few steps forward, making you stumble back at the unexpected movement. The both of you crash against his table and with a swift motion it's empty, papers and pens landing on the floor. He quickly makes use of your shocked self and pushes you down onto it, hour back connecting with the hardwood. A sound of pain rings through the room and it takes you a while to register what's happening. Levi presses your body down with his, his heavy breathing catches your attention and the next thing you notice is something hard against your thigh. At first you thought it was his hip bone, but after he starts rubbing it against you realization hits you. Feeling yourself blushing furiously, heat spreads through your stomach like a wildfire. You try to push him away, brushing his hand from you, which only causes him to grind harder against you.

"No," you whine as he bites your earlobe. "Levi stop!" Your voice sounds muffled, a few tears run down your hot cheeks. He stills for a moment before resuming. Your hips arch upwards, pushing into his hardened length. He groans, mouth wide open while his eyes are squeezed shut. Moving his head from your shoulder to rest his face right below your ear, he whispers:

"You are to call me Captain, Cadet." His breath is warm against your neck, the rough sound of his deep voice sends shivers down your spine, and you let out a whimper that sounds like a plea. He smirks slightly, enclosing his hand around your throat.

"And I'm calling you mine." He decides and opens your dress shirt, exposing your bodice and skin underneath. In a matter of a minute, you wrinkle completely naked underneath him; plank panic written on your face. He on the other hand is completely dressed, only making the effort to loosen the first two buttons of his shirt. His cravat is placed in your mouth to make you shut up and he observes you with dark eyes, while he pushes his sleeves up to his elbows.

"You look so beautiful." He whispers and brushes over your cheek, wetting his thumb with your salty tears. His pupils are blown as he slowly fitches with his pants, pulling out his member to the cool air.

"Please-" you cry out, not sure if you want him to continue or to stop. He looks good that way; black hair falling into his pale face and his posture hovering over your vulnerable form.

"No, I deserve you this way." He breathes out and leans down.

"You are my subordinate, my soldier. Mine." He groans and starts to slowly rub circles between your already wet folds.

"Ever since you joined the Scouts you have been nothing but submissive-" He trails off and enters you with his finger, making you whimper.

Levi thrusts even harder and throws his head back until a deep growl rings through your ears and you feel him twitch. For a moment he thought about coming inside of you, impregnating you so you wouldn't have to attend the expeditions anymore. Eventually he decides against it, the risks of getting into serious trouble are too high. He watches as hot strings of his semen trip onto your lower bell, his face twisting in disgust. He grabs for a napkin in his pant pockets and cleans himself and your skin, making sure that not one single drop is left. He ever so slightly looks at you, trying to read your reaction. Are you scared? Pleased? He can't tell.

"But I guess people can change, hugh?" He pulls out and leads his finger to his lips, greedily tasting you. Closing your eyes in shame, you bit down on the cloth between your lips, feeling the dip of something hot press against your entrance. You can't hold back your cry when he slides it inside you, stretching you open to take all you are willing to give. His pace increases slightly after he waited for a minute so you could adjust. His hands run through your hair, tugging at any loose strands. Your heart races and your hands ball into fists as you try your best to ignore the burning pain you are in. Levi doesn't stop once. With an angry grunt he slams himself inside and you moan loudly, wrapping your legs around his waist, digging your nails into his broad shoulders. The cloth in your mouths loosens and you take the opportunity, spitting it out.

"Captain. Please-" You cry as you feel your nails digging into his flesh, breaking his pure skin easily. The harsh movements of his hips slowly start to feel enjoyable, the slapping sound of skin ringing in your ears.

"I knew I liked you better when you were quiet." He breathes as he thrusts in and out of you, faster than before. When you thought about your first time it certainly didn’t cross your mind that it would be like this; rough and full hatred. Not understanding why, you would feel pleasure with the way he treats you, you close your eyes and let the sensation wash over you. Your body shakes with each stroke of his cock and your hands start to tremble. A sudden orgasm washes over you and you scream his name, letting it flow free through your clenched teeth. He growls low in his throat when he watches how your hips jerk up towards him.

You breathe flatly, your back hurting from the hard surface underneath you. Your classy eyes watch the dancing flames of the chandelier above you with interest. You feel exhausted and lightheaded, the feeling of being empty again is weird. The sensation of your climax still lingering in your abdomen.

"Sit up Cadet." Your Captain demands and helps you into an upright position.

"Dress. Then help me with those reports." He gestures at the floor, while fixing his shirt, trying to appear not too casual.

"Yes Captain." You obey his comment, collecting your uniform and undergarments that has been spread around his table. You notice his eyes on your naked body, making you feel uncomfortable.

"Cadet." He catches your attention as your eyes meet.

"You don't tell anyone about this. And don't even get the idea of spreading your legs for anyone but me." Levi demands in a grumpy manner. You glance at him, shocked and offended. Never would you dare to do this with any other person.

"Oi! Do you understand that brat?" ‘

"Yes Captain Levi."

#levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi ackerman #aot #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #oneshot #warnings in description #yandere levi ackerman #yandere levi x reader #yandere levi ackerman x reader

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dragonseeds · 7 months

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what are your thoughts on rhaegar and lyanna?

oh i love them! there’s all this talk of them haunting the narrative and they do, but i’d take it further and say they are the black hole at the center of the story. the choices that they made, starting with lyanna’s decision to defend howland reed and what that meant to both him and rhaegar, who was very likely at his lowest point at harrenhal after the ruination of his careful plans, touched or changed the lives of every character and plot line in the series. the story itself is such a fun mashup of tristan and iseult, lancelot and guinevere, helen and paris, the fall of camelot and all of arthuriana really, the classic trope of the princess in the tower and the dragon and the knight: all of that in one couple and we don’t get to experience any of it with them. we can guess and speculate, but we can never truly know them. we experience their story only through the memories the people who survived the war they ostensibly kicked off, and those memories are all heavily colored by trauma, guilt, nostalgia—alternately faded and sharpened by time. it’s this incredibly fun and brilliant reconstruction of some of the most enduring tragedies in folklore and mythology and i adore it.

hate beyond articulation the way asoiaf.tumblr.edu approaches their relationship and the individual characterizations of both of them, though. just absolutely some of the most insufferably sanctimonious disingenuous decontextualized analysis i’ve ever experienced—much of that coming from people viewing this through a historical lense instead of a thematic one. like, imagine approaching the battle of the trident as “rhaegar is a bad person for fighting for his father who was evil! he lost the moral high ground with that one” as opposed to “rhaegar as a character exists to fail and die; he was the last dragon, carrying the unbearable weight of his family’s legacy and the burden of the prophecy for which they conquered westeros: the end of his life is the end of the targaryen dynasty. he must fail and he must die, so that dany and jon can grow up free of that weight and that power. daenerys gets to redefine what it means to be targaryen on her own terms. she and jon separately and unknowingly do the things that he thought he had to do—the things he was conceived and born to do—but never knew how: they do it because of their circumstances, because of the people that they have grown into, because they believe it is their duty, because they have the power to do it.” also, like, re: interpretations of battle of the trident, is there maybe another battle that occurs later in the series that is exactly the same thematically and contextually? where perhaps a character who was missing for a while shows up on the eve of battle, knowing that the opposition is right and their cause is just but that his family will die if he doesn’t fight with them? anything that adds an extra layer of meaning to what happens, aside from dany’s own connection—which is not as thematically similar but is still incredibly meaningful. like i certainly don’t think there’s any one interpretation of a character or story, but the worst ones are consistently applied to rhaegar.

and then with lyanna in particular, it’s like people cannot stomach her or find her sympathetic as a character unless they’re wallowing in her eternal victimhood. the constant dismissal of the importance of lyanna’s actions and what they meant to rhaegar is pure misogyny, by the way. her choices and her agency, the inherent meaningfulness of the struggle for both of those things in a system that seeks to reduce her to her body and the use men can make of it—all of that is important. the person she was and what that meant to people was important, but from the way i most often see her discussed, it’s like her gendered death is the only thing that matters. it’s okay to lament her because she got crushed by the wheel. if she hadn’t, if she wasn’t a victim to write flagellatory meta about, she would be a hypocrite, someone who needed to learn a lesson—as difficult for some of these people to relate to as dany or rhaenyra apparently are.

like, it’s just wild to me because her kindness to howland reed and her choice to defend him, to disguise herself as the knight of the laughing tree and risk her life and reputation to fight for him—is the answer to and the embodiment of one of the most thematically significant questions in the series. we see it most prominently in dany’s chapters because she asks it directly: why do the gods make kings and queens if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves? that’s what lyanna did, when no one else was doing it: she had more honor than any knight at that tourney or any man sitting on the small council, and it meant something to rhaegar. like what about this is hard to understand? i think he must have idealized her immediately: she must have seemed like something out of a song or a story to him, and rhaegar was a singer, a songwriter, a bard: he knows how stories are supposed to go—how to finish a song, or at least he thought he did.

bran, who also loves stories, says it himself: “and the mystery knight should win the tourney, defeating every challenger, and name the wolf maid the queen of love and beauty.” like obviously bran has some critiques i cut out, but he has the ending right—only the wolf maid was the knight, and she couldn’t have won. in the feudal gender prison, women are rewarded for being beautiful and their worth is derived from that and from what their bodies provide. she should’ve won the whole thing, but the system doesn’t allow that, so rhaegar—in a fit of single-minded capital r romantic hero idiocy—dedicates himself to winning the tourney to honor her in the only way he can: the only way the system allows him to recognize her. it was the worst possible move he could make at that time because of the romantic connotations, but i love him for doing it, as stupid as it was and even though there is no way it didn’t hurt and humiliate elia, or make him look terrible when he desperately needed to make a good impression on the lords of the realm—it’s just such a Moment. being reminded that there’s good in the world—feeling hope in the face of endless abject overwhelming despair—how do you express gratitude for that? the idea that he could only doing it by hurting someone who didn’t deserve it and making himself look like an ass is fucking awesome. i’m genuinely so sorry for people are incapable of enjoying that. could not be me!

but that’s just my interpretation of what happened at harrenhal. like i said, part of why i like them so much is that we truly don’t know. while i love darker relationships in general, the idea that he crowned her at harrenhal because he wanted to impregnate her then does not work for me. it’s a popular theory, but it renders some of the very few contextual clues we are given about what happened meaningless. for one, he didn’t know that elia wouldn’t be able to have more children at that time. this was discovered after she gave birth to aegon, and that is the point at which the question of the third child appears to have become a motivating factor for him. i personally think he left for the riverlands to consult with the ghost of high heart—the one whose prophecy is the reason he was born, the reason is parents were forced to marry, the reason his family burned alive the night he came into the world—and ran into lyanna somewhere near harrenhal. it’s possible he had been in contact with her prior to this (how? without her family knowing? what are the logistics of that?) but i think it’s just as likely it was pure chance. i really like the idea that his crowning her queen of love and beauty caused lyanna’s father to set a date for her wedding to robert or talk of moving it up, maybe even suggest a double wedding at riverrun, which would have almost certainly caused her to balk. either way, high heart is located between harrenhal and riverrun. arya also stops there while she’s kidnapped by the brotherhood without banners on the way to ransom her to her family at riverrun, and they trade songs to the ghost for her dreams and prophecies. i think it’s worth noting because arya’s journey in the riverlands mirrors lyanna’s right down to her “death” as arya stark when she leaves for braavos, paying the ferryman’s fee with the coin jaqen h’ghar gave her—just as jon’s journey at the wall mirrors rhaegar’s in many ways right up until his own death.

i also don’t think rhaegar and lyanna eloped because they were in love—this is implied by lyanna’s famous quote—but that they did come to love each other deeply, which is suggested by the way they died: her roses and him saying her name. notably, rhaegar did not leave the tower of his own volition—someone had to come and get him with news of war, which is hilarious because i think the tower of joy is right in the middle of like three major battles of the rebellion? like quite frankly, if he didn’t love her or care for anything beyond the prophecy and if she didn’t love him despite how badly things went wrong, then where in their story is the heart in conflict with itself?

i do want to clarify that i love the tower entrapment and the power imbalance aspects of their relationship as much as i love (what i interpret as) the genuine respect for each other that grew into love: it’s really the tension of those disparate elements that interests me. a dragon can love the maiden, but he’s only ever a dragon—still liable to hoard her like treasure or burn her up and rip her open trying to be gentle, to protect. that FUCKS, sorry! love is sweet and hopeful, but it’s also at exactly the same time horror, consumption, destruction.

idk it’s myopic to act like the beginning or the ending of their relationship—of their lives—is the summation of it. i think people want their story to be easy when it’s not: a clear case of a villain and his victims where everyone knows who to root for and no one has to think too much about things that are difficult or uncomfortable, questions where there probably isn’t an answer that doesn’t hurt someone. what a sad, tedious way to approach any text, but specifically this one. i’ve sometimes seen it suggested that if their story is romantic then it’s an endorsement or justification of all the “bad” things that happened because of it, and that’s also stupid. grrm as an author is never going to be someone who tells us how to feel about anything: he presents these characters and situations, often as a means of exploring certain facets of the human condition, and each of us has to come up with our own answers and find our own meaning. i don’t think he always knows what he means, or what those answers are, you know? but for me rhaegar and lyanna are one of the most fascinating parts of story, and whatever the truth is—if we ever find out—i can’t imagine a scenario where i don’t love them or find them really interesting and wonderfully sad.

#lyanna stark #rhaegar targaryen #rhaelya #i’d apologize for this being so long but u have got to all be used to me by now #like i couldn’t be succinct at gunpoint #or coherent apparently #and especially not about this like i’m not normal about either of them #also just to clarify because this kind of turned into a rant: none of this applies to people i follow #but like. i sincerely think that 90% of the meta about them (individually + their relationship) is bad lol #and part of that is bc so much of it is based on fanon instead of what is actually in the books #and that frustration really comes through in this post and i regret that but it’s out there now lol #asoiaf

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thaliajoy-blog · 6 months

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Blue Eye Samurai characters and the four elements - some thoughts I've had since there are four core character in the story.

Ringo seems like Earth - he's sturdy, solid, as much physically (despite his disability) as mentally. He is very much grounded in his beliefs and rather is the one who changes others, like Mizu. He is the character in the story whose character & goals don't change immensely, he remains steady - he wants to be great and useful, and despite differences with Mizu he near constantly stands by her and goes back to her. Also he's a cook & a healer , giving him a nurturing aspect.

Taigen : That's were it gets interesting ! Taigen at first seems like fire. Relative to Mizu he's presented as a violent bully, vicious & destructive, and later a proud man, quick to anger and single-minded. But we do see that he has evolved positive qualities too ; he has a sweet relationship with Akemi & truly cares about her. He develops respect for Mizu. Which to me means he's swapped element ; how he complements Akemi matters in this. But his own desire to cut his way "out of the net" of his poor upbringing and seemingly predetermined future makes him close to the element of air, as in like Akemi, he seeks a form of freedom. Him embracing the kind of lif were Akemi & him run away from her family & his duties/honor together, confirms it to me.

Akemi : originally the one I'd associate to air. She's the most constrained out of the three protagonists,and the one yearning the most for freedom. She's associated directly to a bird in a cage, which she sets free and emulates when he flies away. But like Taigen, she shifts ; they actually swap, as Taigen renounces ambition while she embraces it in from of a burning bulding. What element better associated to power than fire, after all ? She literally is compared to a sun goddess in the series (and that is related to her sexuality and the way she wields it to take control).

Mizu : this seems like the most forward given her name, since it means water ; and to first explore that there are some two similar quotes from both Blue Eye Samurai & Memoirs of a Geisha that convey the vibe pretty well : "being on your own, you could be like water. Impossible to catch" (The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride) // "[My mother] she told me I was like water. Water can carve its way even through stone, and when trapped, water makes a new path..." (Memoirs of a Geisha). Especially that bit about being trapped & carving your way out of that situation. Mizu really feels like she's capable of anything with her blade. She can be anything, like water can take any shape ; like water Can find its way anywere, so does she. They are both flexible, obstinate and resilient. But then, there is the burning in Mizu's heart. How Mizu's inner conflict and désire for revenge is likened both to her most naturel element (a storm in the soul, a typhoon, a breaze at sea swallowed by darkness...) And to fire (the fire in you rages beyond control). She is water but she is raised in a forge, she knows fire & how to use it intimately ; her relationship to fire is not just negative and destructive, there is actually a meaningful aspect of creation & art through fire in her story (the 2d and 7th episode show that well) but of course, she is the reason why the city of Edo burns at the end. She is mixed, made of two clashing elements that rage in her, like her japanese side clashes with her white side.

#blue eye samurai #ringo #taigen #akemi #mizu #some thoughts #elements

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bonefall · 8 months

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so was ashfur just like sitting up in starclan plotting his really good dishonor titles while he watched people live their lives or is he just. lowkey a really excellent namer. actually how taboo would it be for a leader to have a friend of theirs come up with names bc the friend is better at it. that would be so funny

It's actually not taboo at all for someone else to come up with the name, as long as the leader makes it official! In fact, every leader probably has a couple of cats of high status (deputy, patrol head) that they run names by.

If the leader has fully outsourced it may be a bit insulting, like, "oh so you don't want to do your sacred duty??" But kept quiet or done respectfully, that's totally allowed. The leader simply has the holy authority to set the names.

(I like keeping name "rules" loose because I try to stress that names are very personal and dependant on the leader. A Star who knows they are uncreative and has someone they can trust to do this with them? That's a wonderful way to show something meaningful about the character and the way they rule!)

I can see Blackstar doing this with Russetfur.

Anyway... yeah, Ashfur is lowkey just a really creative person. His skill with his absolutely SCATHING Dishonor Titles is that he is FILLED with spite. He looks for something that will HURT his victim and crafts a name around it.

And he doesn't need a ton of "prep time." He came up with Clearface on the spot. She started calling him out on wanting punishments for people who had already paid for their crimes or done nothing wrong, and his gaze was clear and almost considerate, as if he was thinking about her words.

In truth, her little speech was all the time he needed to come up with something that would emotionally obliterate her on the spot.

Not that it was hard to find it for Blossomfall. She oozes insecurity, in his mind. The way she leans on her family. How she does nothing alone. Betrayed her Clan twice, ay? Ha. That isn't the action of someone truly self-assured.

Twigbranch was also easy. She's always apologizing. Eager to please, suggestible. Ashfur has heard she can stand up for herself, yes, so simply plant a seed in her mind. Make her think she's stupid, tell her to pay attention to her claws, and she will make them fumble all on her own.

And that was important for breaking some of the coalition between her and Alderheart. All the cats who are close with the Cleric's den are troublesome. So it's important-- construct a Blasphemy problem. Or, bring attention to it, really.

BB!Ashfur DOES believe in what he's doing. This isn't JUST incel entitlement like canon! Incel entitlement is part of it, but secondary. He really believes that the Clans have strayed from the righteous path.

Openly challenging a leader, defying the will of StarClan, all this inability to prove their honor in battle... he'll fix it. And he means it. These cats are becoming unruly heathens and he will snap them back into line.

Squilf is a bonus, really. The minute it's between her and his wider goals, his goals will win out.

#BB!TBC #Better bones au #BB!Ashfur is pretty Frollo-esque lmao #The parts of him that people tend to forget in favor of how he goes after Esmerelda #How he's been like. Killing minorities for decades and smashed a mother's head on steps and tried to drown a baby #Anyway go watch Hunchback again. One of the best disney movies actually

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witchthewriter · 2 months

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𝑳𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒌

ISFP

Gryffindor

Neutral Good

Aquarius Sun, Gemini Moon, Cancer Rising

𝑭𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚

Born into the House of Stark, she was the third child and only daughter of Lord Rickard Stark, head of House Stark and daughter to Lyarra Stark. Lyanna had three brothers, Brandon, Eddard, and Benjen. Her father arranged a betrothal between her and Robert Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands.

Their father Rickard and brother Brandon, lost their heads to the Mad King Aerys. This changed the dynamic of House Stark quite considerably, with Eddard now the heir.

In a way, Lyanna represents what House Stark is.

𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚

As an ISFP, they are known to desire freedom and the freedom to pursue their own course in life, set their own schedule, and live according to their personal values. These types crave freedom for themselves and want others to enjoy freedom as well. They are typically sensitive, kind, and gentle and crave a life that is meaningful and personally rewarding. They balance this with a realistic, practical, and factual outlook on life.

Her personal character can be attributed to what her father and brother, Eddard. Her brother once said, "she has a touch of wildness to her." Which was described as "the wolf blood" by her father, Rickard Stark.

What really stood out about Lyanna's personality is her uncommon kindness to those of a lower birth. This is shown prominently by her friendly treatment of Wylis, a mere stableboy in contrast to her being a great lady from a powerful family.

Lyanna is noted to have been a skilled rider who loved to ride. According to Harwin of Winterfell, Lyanna rode "like a northman", while Barbrey Dustin describes her as a centaur, and Roose Bolton states that Lyanna was "half a horse herself".

Another big part of her character is that Lyanna had been fond of flowers. She loved the scent of Winter Roses.

𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝒏𝒅

Another woman forced unto death for birthing a child. The cruel nature of women's bodies. They give life but they can take it as well. No in her family knew where she was, until Ned came and listened to he promise. He kept it.

𝑳𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒏

Even though it has been revealed that Jon is Lyanna and Rhaegar's son, I see her spirit living through Arya. They even look the same - but it's mostly their personalities. Arya seems to be Lyanna reincarnated.

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔/𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔:

Lyanna's character was changed from a multidimensional woman to a 2D cartoon by the men around her. Especially Robert Baratheon, with his unrequited love. From a wolf-woman, to a damsel in distress; Lyanna was done dirty.

If she had lived, she would definitely have evaded Robert, even though he would invite her to King's Landing nonstop. To the point where she would go into hiding? And then once he died, she come out of hiding.

(I think Rhaegar would have died no matter what.)

She would definitely have a lot of enemies; especially those from House Martell. However, she isn't one to avoid confrontation.

Therefore, she would have apologised and shown her true self, so there was no more animosity.

Without a doubt, she would love Arya with all her heart. Seeing her as her own daughter. Doting upon her, teaching her whatever she could. Sansa of course would be very bitter.

Yet, Lyanna isn't the type of person to leave anyone out, or make them feel alientated. So of course she would invite Sansa along, or suffer the more 'lady duties' like sewing.

information: here, here, here, here,

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pynkhues · 1 year

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What do you think about it is about Kendall that’s it’s like, of course he’s the only one with a real friend?

It's lowkey one of my favourite choices on the show, anon, just because I think it's so revealing in more ways than one. Like, it makes sense, not just because of who Kendall is, but also who his siblings are, and the different ways they navigate their way through the world.

Interestingly, I think Connor and Shiv actually have the clearest boundary (or hurdle, depending on how you look at it) when it comes to fostering friendships, and while I think those things are different, I think they're both steeped in these factors of them as characters that shape their experiences of adulthood.

I think Connor's stems from an extremely disrupted childhood between his mother's mental health, her institutionalisation, his father's absence and reappearance, and then his being pushed into a parentified role to the golden trio at a formative age (canon explicitly tells us that too! Camping trips, fishing trips, fulfilling the father duties at Shiv's wedding before Logan decides to show up!) when he should've been away at college building his own relationships, in order to feel he had any sort of place in his family.

Similarly, I think Shiv has been soaked in hatred for her own gender since she's been born. Her relationship with her mother is strained and seems to have been weaponised by her father, she likely went to an all girls school (Spence, I imagine, which is basically the all girls equivalent of Buckley, the all boys school we know Kendall went to) and her own misogyny hampered any genuine friendship attempts. I think Shiv probably had frenemies, but nothing deeply meaningful, because vulnerability and emotional honesty is something she can't allow herself if she wants to survive in a male-dominated household festering in a male-dominated industry. I think male friendships were off the table in that sense too because Shiv seems to have always sought power in whatever way she could, and the two things she has to exert power are her name and her sexuality and at least her sexuality is hers.

I think Roman's a little harder to put a pin in in that sense, because I think he's a little bit of both of them, and a whole lot his own thing. I think he's experienced a part of Connor's disrupted childhood by having been shipped away to school and for his physical abuse, and I think he's experienced a part of Shiv's self-loathing for a part of his identity he can't face up to, but I also think Roman on paper should have friends. Roman's funny and insightful and (most of the time) the right sort of mean, and he's no more self-defensive than the rest of them, but I think the reason comes down to the biggest difference between him and Kendall:

Roman can be honest without being vulnerable, whereas Kendall can be vulnerable without being honest.

Roman as a character isn't actually particularly duplicitous. He can absolutely be an asshole, but he doesn't play to what people want in the way that both Kendall and Shiv (and even to an extent, Connor) do. His moments of vulnerability though are rare, often private, often, still, fleeting and guarded, while his moments of honesty are more frequent, yet often just ugly and naked and there. He fronts to it, and takes it, and usually tells the other person to take it too, which is what he did with Gerri and Tabitha and even Lawrence way back at the start of the series.

Kendall's not an honest person, but he is someone who's inherently vulnerable, and I think it pulls people to him, despite themselves. We've seen it in real time with Naomi and even Greg, and retrospectively with Rava, Stewy and Frank. He can break, he can curl in a lap or bury a head in a shoulder while still telling half truths or nothing at all. God, probably one of the best examples is in 2.04 when he pulls Shiv into a hug while talking around what she actually wants to hear.

Kendall lets people mop up the blood while he either tries to hide, ignore or justify the wound, and I think that vulnerability lets people feel a degree of intimacy with him and protectiveness of him that becomes muddied as they discover that Kendall is inherently a dishonest person and an addict, as it seems most characters in this show have learnt the hard way. After all, discovering that he's not told you a whole truth doesn't erase the memory of the weight of his head against your shoulder.

#i kind of had two responses to this one anon #but i thought this was maybe the more interesting one?#because i do think their circumstances and personality types have been really formative in their ability to form relationships #i do also think a lot about birth order with the four of them though and how that shapes the way they engage with others #a part of that too is the fact that i think stewy and kendall met when they were little kids #(they met at buckley! it's kindy to ninth grade!)#(in theory they would've been six!)#and i like the idea of their friendship starting over something pretty innocuous #because you have no idea right?#and then at some point they just clearly became ride or die #kendall roy #roman roy #shiv roy #connor roy #hbo succession #succession meta

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wheretheharekissesthefox · 6 months

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A pretty distraction

When Gale transforms into a woman during a mission, Tav and Astarion can’t keep their dirty thoughts at bay. Poor Karlach and Wyll get caught in the cross fire.

(Trigger warning (18+): graphic description of sex, smut, threesome, body worship, cowgirl, fellatio, fingering, polymorph spell)

Notes:

Karlach’s and Wyll’s faith is based on this fic.

"The Staff of Authority. What's that thing again?"

"It's the sceptre that the Council of Four passes onto their successors during the ceremony," Wyll explained a second time, slightly irritated. "It's a meaningful and important artefact of the Baldur's Gate nobles."

"How boring," Astarion retorted. "They have no imagination. They should have come up with something more fun. Like a butt plug. That would be more enjoyable than the stick those nobles have up their asses."

Wyll almost frothed at the mouth.

"Have you no respect? These noble families play an extremely important roles to keep Baldur's Gate the flourishing city it is!"

"It still can't hold a candle to the City of Splendors," Gale chimed in, smirking smugly.

"Stop encouraging Astarion's bad manners!" the warlock hissed.

"Calm down, sunshine. Gale's clearly teasing," Karlach chuckled and wrapped an arm around her lover.

Wyll grumbled unintelligible, but was glad for the grounding touch.

"But the Staff of Authority got stolen and your father tasked us with getting it back," Tav finished the conversation.

The vampire spawn wrinkled his nose.

"I never liked playing the hero."

"Stop complaining, love. We all know, deep down, you're a softie," the bard teased him lightly, kissing his cheek.

The addressed pursed his lips and tried to look more pissed than he actually was – and failed.

"At least, we know where the item is," Gale sighed. "I'm glad we're done drinking our way through every seedy tavern of the city. The watered-down beer was repelling. Downright vile."

"Oh, shut up, darling. We all know you prefer the finer things in life. Something full-bodied and red."

"Like me!" grinned Karlach and winked.

Tav burst out into laughter and the tiefling was pleased with herself.

"Anyway, we must hurry to get the Staff of Authority back because it'll be auctioned off via the black market tonight," Gale brought the conversation back to the original topic. "So, here's the plan; Tav will wear her best red dress, heading towards the building. The security guard will be distracted by her beauty and, with a weaponized smile and wink, she'll get pass them. After walking down the hallway, she'll enter the buffet room and open a window, complaining about the stuffy air inside. While everyone will move to the auction hall, Astarion will squeeze through the window, cloaked in an invisibility spell, make his way backstage to the storage room, and boom; we'll get the Staff of Authority back."

"You know that won't work, right?" remarked Astarion, eyeing the wizard judgingly. "Nobody would let Tav in, not to mention that she doesn't own a single dress in the first place."

"Well, we could make it work," replied the wizard, miffed.

"Let me do it then. I look smashing in red," beamed Karlach, already planning her sneak attacks.

Tsking, the vampire spawn rolled his eyes, annoyed of all the bullshit.

"I hate to be the one to say it, but Astarion's right," chimed Tav in. "Neither you nor I are what men typically desire in a woman."

Karlach pouted, fussing with her braids.

"We could really use Shadowheart right now," said Wyll.

"Mhm, but she can't neglect her duties as a high priestess of Selûne. They're really busy at the temple at the moment because the Moon Festival's near," Tav replied, looking wistful.

"Hm... I have an idea," Gale announced.

He waved about his arms elegantly, reciting a magic spell, and right before his friends' eyes, he turned into a beautiful, shapely woman.

"Gods, you're gorgeous!" Astarion blurted out.

Immediately, Gale turned crimson.

"You think so?" he muttered with a warm, singsong-y, sultry voice.

"Fuck," Tav breathed, enraptured.

"Indeed, darling. 'Fuck'," the vampire spawn snickered, licking his lips.

"Can you two stop eying your lover like a dish on the dinner table?" Wyll asked, uncomfortable.

"Oh, we'll eat him right up, don't you worry," Astarion purred and Gale hid his heated face behind his hands in embarrassment.

Wyll was thankful that his skin colour concealed the blush which would have been visible all across his face and neck otherwise. Karlach laughed and pulled him against her chest.

"Gale does look hot though," she smirked.

"Hold that thought," Tav told Astarion who grinned, "but first we must complete our task."

Instead of squeezing through a window, they used an invisibility spell to sneak into the building. Gale didn't even have to enchant the guards, all he needed was a sultry blink of his big, brown eyes, a coy smile, and the plunging neckline of his deep blue dress. Stealing back the Staff of Authority was easy – especially when being accompanied by someone who had nimble fingers like Astarion. Within five minutes, they were in and out of the building, and when the black market merchants realised that the item was gone and chaos broke out, Tav and her friends were already halfway across the city.

"That was easier than expected," grinned the bard. " Ulder Ravengard will be pleased."

Wyll's father was delighted about their successful deed, thanking them profoundly in the name of the Baldur's Gate population. Tav wished they would have received coin instead of praise, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Thank you for helping to keep a decades-old tradition alive," Ulder beamed. "It would have been an absolute devastation to lose such an important and meaningful historical artefact."

"No problem. It's our job to help people in need," Tav lilted, hoping to remind the Grand Duke to finally pay them with actual money. "And it's wonderful to see Wyll and Karlach again. We hadn't found the time to meet up since they'd left Waterdeep two months ago. I'm dying to find out what they'd been up to."

"About that... There's something Karlach and I want to tell you," replied Wyll, clearing his throat. "Well... we've decided to extend the hunting lodge in the nearby forest that belongs to the Ravengard family. There, we want to raise our future children. Of course, guests are always welcome. And I'll take on the offered position as General of the City Guard."

Tav raised an eyebrow and asked: "You'll be a part of the Flaming Fists? The guys who made our lives harder when we fought the Absolute?"

"No, no," Wyll explained hastily. "The City Guard is a new faction. It was founded after we destroyed Gortash's Steel Watch. They're a separate group and have nothing to do with the Flaming Fists."

"Unfortunately, the latter aren't what they once were," sighed Ulder. "Back when I was a marshal, the Flaming Fists were in their prime."

Tav bit her tongue to keep herself from giving a cheeky reply. One look at Astarion revealed that he was doing the same.

"Finally!" the vampire spawn exclaimed, slamming the door of their rented room shut. "I thought Ravengard would never shut up! He didn't even pay us, that cutthroat!"

"Yeah, it's a bit disappointing," Tav agreed.

"An understatement. But... we can finally devour our wonderful wizard."

Astarion locked eyes with Gale, licking his lips hungrily, and the latter shuddered in anticipation. The wizard hadn't dropped his magic disguise yet, still presenting himself as a busty woman. Astarion stalked closer to him, truly looking like the predator he was.

"I want to devour you, darling," he purred, stroking Gale's cheek. "Take your dress off."

The addressed blushed, but snapped his fingers and was stark naked in an instant.

"You're beautiful this way, but I would miss that lovely cock of yours if you'd stay like this forever," the vampire spawn revealed.

The wizard cleared his throat, flustered.

"Well... I can change my uhm… 'appearance'. Down there."

"Hmm, Gods, yes." Astarion bit his lip and felt arousal shoot through him like lightning.

With a heated face, Gale mumbled a spell and his genitalia changed back to its original form. Both the vampire spawn and the human bard stared at him hungrily.

"Gods, darling, let me. Please," Astarion begged, almost whined, and before he got an answer, he was on his knees and swallowed Gale's member down. The latter gasped, one hand immediately flying to his lover's head and stroking his pointed ear. Astarion moaned around him and the wizard shuddered.

"You look so beautiful together," Tav remarked.

She moved closer, petting Astarion's hair with one hand while pulling Gale in with the other. They kissed tenderly, a sensual slide of their tongues. The wizard moaned lowly into her mouth.

"Astarion," he warned. The addressed hummed, rolling his balls in one hand. "Stop, please. I - I don't want it to end yet."

The vampire spawn drew back, panting and with his pupils blown wide. Gale gasped for air and desperately tried to gain control. Tav kissed his cheek and asked: "Everything alright?"

The wizard nodded, still slightly out of breath. A bit unsteady on his legs, Astarion got up. Tav reached for him and kissed him hungrily. When she finally let go of him, Gale gave him a peck too. They moved over to the bed, laying the wizard out like a feast. Tav started to kiss his collarbones, then, his breasts. Astarion nibbled on his neck. Gale trembled with pleasure, panting erratically. The few, low noises he made sounded foreign to his own ears. He wasn't used to the female voice that left his mouth.

The wizard still struggled to accept being at the receiving end of pleasure instead of giving it. Tav had realised his reluctance, how it had been hammered into him by Mystra to be the worshiper, and, since then, the bard showed him over and over again what it means to be worshiped for once. Gale was still slightly uncomfortable with it, but got better at enjoying it each time, no longer feeling so terribly guilty for taking instead of giving.

Now, it wasn't any different, and Gale let the pleasure wash over him guilt-free, panting and trembling under the gentle affection provided by Astarion and Tav.

"Beautiful," the vampire spawn whispered, petting the wizard's long, sweaty mane.

"Can I ride you?" the bard asked, looking desperate.

"Please do," whispered Gale and almost choked on a moan when his lover sunk down on him.

Tav was always so soft, wet, and hot around him. She felt amazing and wasn't afraid or ashamed to voice her desires. He loved it.

Astarion fondled Gale's big breasts, sucking on his nipples, and the wizard's hips bucked up with a gasp.

"That's it, darling. Show us how good you feel," the vampire spawn purred and kissed him sloppily.

Gale's breath hitched when he climaxed, trembling all over. Tav moaned loudly and shamelessly, grinding her hips down. It was too much and the wizard whimpered.

"Apologies, love," the bard panted and got off of him.

As always, she'd interpreted his body language correctly. Gale sighed a breath of relief. Tav crawled closer and started to blow Astarion who moaned against the wizard's lips.

"Slow down, darling."

The vampire spawn's plea fell on deaf ears and he mewled when Tav slipped a finger into his hole. Astarion's head fell back as he panted open-mouthed, exposing the long line of his neck. He lifted his right leg up over Tav's shoulder to give her better access. Gale littered the vampire spawn's neck with kisses, making him pant even harder. Suddenly, Astarion whined, digging his nails into Gale's shoulders.

"Yes! Right there, darling, right there! Aah!"

Tav hummed pleased and kept sucking him off while stroking his prostate. Astarion almost screamed when he came, covering Gale's soft stomach with his seeds. A bit roughly, he grabbed onto Tav and hauled her up to smash their mouths together.

"Gods..." Astarion felt dizzy.

Smiling at him, the bard caressed his cheek.

"Alright?" she asked.

The vampire spawn nodded, sighing contently when Tav kissed his forehead and Gale his temple. The latter finally dropped his polymorph spell, feeling incredibly drained and tired.

"I need sleep," mumbled Gale into Astarion's shoulder.

He curled up against the vampire spawn while Tav scooted closer to Astarion's other side. The latter smiled contently and sated.

"We must do this again," he remarked and his lovers hummed agreeingly.

Snuggled close together, they fell asleep.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #fanfic #astarion #astarion ancunin #gale #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #karlach #karlach cliffgate #wyll #wyll ravengard #astarion x gale x tav #smut #mind the trigger warning

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momentinparadise · 1 year

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Ted Lasso / Julie Andrews

I have so much to say about the episode #3 of Ted Lasso, but I really want to focus on the scene where they discuss their favorite Julie Andrews characters because Julie Andrews is my FIRST LOVE and it all seemed so significant.

So please, come along on this crazy ride with me:

Roy / Maria (Sound of Music): Something that is very symbolic to me is that both Roy and Maria had to take on responsibility and independence at a very young age. Roy playing football away from home and Maria at the convent - both had to grow up quickly, which gave them a strong sense of duty and responsibility. Additionally, both characters have a strong desire for family and connection.

Despite Roy's attempts to appear stoic, he has an extremely loving side to him, and I think he identifies a lot with Captain von Trapp too. Like Roy, Captain von Trapp is also initially depicted as a stern and unyielding character. However, as the story unfolds, we see his softer side emerge as he connects with Maria and his children in new and meaningful ways. This mirrors Roy's journey throughout the show, where we see him gradually open up and become more vulnerable with those around him.

Coach Beard / Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady): A character that is clearly rooted in the lower-class, marginalised portion of British society speaks volumes about Coach Beard's own underground personality. Eliza is a character who defies the expectations placed upon her by society, using her wit and resourcefulness to transcend her lower-class origins and gain acceptance in high society. This resilience and determination are qualities that Coach Beard likely admires, as he himself is known for his unconventional and creative approach to coaching. Additionally, Eliza's story highlights the importance of education and personal growth, as she transforms from a rough and unpolished street vendor to a refined and sophisticated lady. This is something we see every episode with Beard: he is always engrossed in a book, always improving his knowledge.

Trent Crimm / Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Princess Diaries): Fits him so well! The character's level of sophistication and elegance aligns well with Trent's own refined ways. And both Queen Clarisse and Trent show a willingness to make sacrifices for their beliefs: Queen Clarisse is willing to renounce her position as queen if it means allowing her granddaughter to marry for love, while Trent is willing to sacrifice his job and reputation to stand up for what he believes in. When he is fired from The Independent for revealing his source (Trent admits that he was the one who ratted himself out) it reflects the same values of breaking with tradition and challenging the status quo that are embodied by the Queen.

Ted / Higgins / Mary Poppins: For Higgins the character of Mary Poppins may represent a loving, nurturing figure who helps guide and care for the children in her charge. This may reflect Higgins' own values as a family man, and the ability to provide a sense of warmth and security to those around him.

But for Ted, the choice of Mary Poppins may have a more personal and emotional significance.

As a coach, Ted is often in a position of leadership and guidance, and he may see himself as a paternal figure to his team. The character of Mary Poppins may represent a sort of idealized father figure to Ted, one who is wise, compassionate, and always there to provide guidance and support.

BUT

I tell you, my friends, there is not the case.

Because Mary Poppins is not about the nanny.

IS ABOUT THE FATHER.

When Mary Poppins arrives at the Banks family's home, she finds a gap between the children and their father. He is always at work and worries too much, while the children crave attention, love, and a sense of family. Although the mother is present and is loving towards the children, she is often silenced by the father, despite being a suffragist 😂 .

So, the real transformation really occurs with George Banks. His character serves as a commentary on the pressures of societal expectations. However, through the magical intervention of Mary Poppins, he is able to find a new balance between his work and his family, ultimately leading to a happier and more fulfilling life.

I wonder if this is not something Ted wishes had happened with him, in some level.

And let's not forget that P. L. Travers wrote Mary Poppins based on her own father. In the 2013 biographical film "Saving Mr. Banks", several scenes depict Travers' difficult childhood. Travers idolized her loving and imaginative father, Travers Robert Goff, but his chronic alcoholism resulted in his repeated dismissals, strained her parents' marriage, and caused her distressed mother to attempt suicide. Travers' father died of tuberculosis when she was seven years old.

I mean.

#ted lasso #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso season 3 #jason sudeikis #mary poppins #julie andrews #eliza doolittle #my fair lady #clarisse renaldi #queen clarisse renaldi #princess diaries #higgins #trent crimm #coach beard #the sound of music #maria von trapp #captain von trapp #roy kent #george banks

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zylphiacrowley · 2 months

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X'VAHL TIA

✧ ✦ ✧ Basics ✧ ✦ ✧

Nickname: Vahl is technically not a nickname since it's his actual given name but he only lets a handful of people call him by it. Age: 32 Nameday: 15th Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon (June 14th... it's my birthday because I didn't want to have to remember it). Race: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te Gender: Male Orientation: Bisexual. No clear preference Profession: Officially registered as a bard.

✧ ✦ ✧ PHYSICAL ASPECTS ✧ ✦ ✧

Hair: Strawberry blonde, typically worn swept back and held in place with pomade. Eyes: Odd eyes; Right: teal green, Left: purple. Skin: Varying degrees of tan depending on how much sun he's gotten. Tattoos/Scars: Trademark miqo'te markings around his eyes and on his cheeks. No tattoos. Slightly noticeable scar on the left side of his chin and a sizeable gash on the back of his upper left thigh from getting caught by Zenos' blade in Rhalgr's Reach.

✧ ✦ ✧ FAMILY ✧ ✦ ✧

Parents: Mother (deceased): X'rennia Reht. A frail woman in life who was unable to provide in any meaningful way to the tribe which was cause for her and her son to be heavily ostracized by many other members of the tribe. Any friends X'vahl made as a child he lost just as quickly when they learned who his mother was. She would lightly chide him whenever he came home covered in bruises and blood after getting into another fight with one of the other children for defending her. "They're not your battles to fight my dear." She would tell him while wiping the blood from his forehead and petting his ears to calm his anger. Father (deceased): X'laenn Nunh. Deeply in love with X'rennia but unable to stay with her due to his duty to the tribe. Instead he chose to do what he could to be a good parent to X'vahl when he could and spent much of his free time teaching him survival skills; such as how to make camp as well as how to hunt and fish and to prepare his catch. X'laenn also had a strong proclivity for music which he shared with his son and even gifted him a handmade instrument for his 12th nameday. Siblings: Elder brother (deceased): X'nez Tia. He only knew X'nez by name and from stories since he passed away before X'vahl was born, having drown while playing in a river one day while X'rennia had glanced away. Stricken with grief from the loss of her first child, X'rennia instilled a deep-seated fear of water and drowning in her second son. Grandparents: Unknown. Others: Children (alive): Twins; a daughter, M'vahren and a son, M'raiel, 13 summers old. Their mother was an M tribe scout and hunter named M'likki Trais who he thought he had fallen in love with at the time. He has not seen them since they were infants and is not allowed to see them for everyone's safety as M'likki hails from a satellite tribe to the main M tribe and the satellite tribe's Nunh was not known for his benevolence to others who would encroach on his tribe's territory or members. Pets: A young fawn who was given the name Flag before he came to care for her. He has yet to decide if he wants to change her name.

✧ ✦ ✧ SKILLS ✧ ✦ ✧

Abilities: Archery, Combat dancing, Gunblade combat, Astromancy. Hobbies: Music (both singing and playing), fishing (despite the fear of water), hunting, cooking.

✧ ✦ ✧ TRAITS ✧ ✦ ✧

Most positive trait: Tries his best to be a calming presence, which has gotten increasingly harder to maintain since becoming the Warrior of Light (the reputation of a godslayer and savior of the star doesn't typically paint one as "calm, warm, and inviting"). His peers however, see him as a lighthearted and sincere person who wears his heart on his sleeve. Most negative trait: Has trouble telling people no when they ask for his help. Also has a tendency to mask his own negative feelings in favor of maintaining his calm veneer for others much to his own detriment. This habit has only become worse since gaining the title of Warrior of Light and becoming publicly recognized almost everywhere he goes.

✧ ✦ ✧ LIKES ✧ ✦ ✧

Colours: Deep greens and browns. Smells: Soil after a heavy rainfall, pine, a campfire after it's just been put out. Textures: Wood grain, the feeling when you run your fingers over the flat side of a feather. Drinks: warm drinks like chai and matcha, sometimes ciders.

✧ ✦ ✧ OTHER DETAILS ✧ ✦ ✧

Smokes: Never Drinks: Rarely, only socially. Drugs: Never Mount Issuance: Not so much issued, as requested himself; a white chocobo. Her name is Lumi. He found her as a chick and brought her to a farm since he wouldn't be able to care for her at the time as he was set to board a vessel in Limsa headed to Thavnair and he didn't know if or when he'd be back. When he did eventually find himself back in the area, he sought out the farm to check on her. She seemed to remember him and he asked if he could take her back, to which the farm allowed under the condition that she be officially registered with a Grand Company. Been arrested: Arrested once for piracy (by association), detained once in Radz-at-Han during his first visit in his 20s for disturbing the peace.

Relationships || X'vahl x Erenville ||

Tagged by: @gatheredfates Thank you so much! I've been wanting to do a bio for him for a while but haven't been able to find a format I was happy with. Tagging (if you want to do it and/or if you haven't done it already): @ambalambs @uldahstreetrat @airis-ray @shamelessdisplay @lilvulpix-alex and @ishgard

#Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIV #Final Fantasy 14 #FF14 #X'vahl Tia #miqo'te #male miqo'te #makes for a handy pinned post...#Sorry if it's a little wordy lol #I am known for not being able to keep a short story short even...

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whateverisbeautiful · 4 months

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♥️ Ranking Richonne

#21: Rules Keep Changing (S5E11)

This scene right here - so beautiful and also very telling. I love this heart-to-heart that shows how much they can reach each other. Scenes like this remind me that we really watched two characters so wholly fall in love with everything the other is. And not only fall in deep love, but deep respect, appreciation, and trust. They really saw each other, understood each other, and changed the game for each other. And of all their bonds in the show, Rick and Michonne were always the most emotionally vulnerable with each other too. The way they became each other’s best friend plays an important part in the way they became each other’s other half...

I love the staging of this scene with Grimes 2.0 staying by their car from a distance while team family fix the RV. Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Judith are so clearly a four-person family right here and now. Like Michonne is Rick’s best friend at this time, but she's his future wife too, make no mistake. And I just appreciate that when their group got bigger upon reuniting with the rest of tf in s5, Rick and Michonne still kept super close to each other.

I love that Michonne shares some wisdom with Rick. She tells him the fight is over, and it’s so vital that Rick has someone in his life like Michonne who sees him so clearly and can breathe life into him and remind him that while the fight keeps you warm and fed it can turn on you if you don’t learn to let it go.

Rick needed to hear that because, as we see, he still was in that Terminus train car mindset which was making him go a bit mad. It’s precious the way Michonne softly says she knows it’s hard cuz Rick needs someone to be this gentle, compassionate, and understanding with him.

And the way that Rick, even in this PTSD state, really tries to hear her out. The best. Rick and Michonne always communicate from a place of vulnerability, leveling with each other and sharing their own experience to resonate and relate with the other. It’s a beautiful thing.

Michonne looks at him so sweetly in this scene. And when she says the fight turns on you - Rick will learn how true that is because not releasing the fight in ASZ leads to some messy situations.

Rick tells Michonne that the concept of letting go is similar to what Bob was trying to tell him back at the church. "What to risk. When it’s safe." Rick will always pull my heartstrings because, at the end of the day, he’s a family man who just wants to keep his family safe at all costs, and that can lead him to be on high alert, which is stressful.

You can just feel how much he carries the weight of the world in this scene. But having Michonne here to offer a refreshing reminder that it’s okay to let go, shows he does not have to carry the weight alone. Rick and Michonne now have a true partner and someone they can be fully human with.

And then y’all, it gets quite interesting when Rick says, “When to let someone in.” I’ve always liked that he says "someone" and not "people." It’s like Rick's been pondering a more intimate level of letting someone in. Even the way he pauses, it’s like he deep down knows that “let someone in” means something more personal than just letting strangers like Aaron into the group. And right now, he’s confiding this to someone he has let in and wants to let in even more.

And again, Rick is the type of guy who seems to really value a soul-level connection, and he seems to be the type who wouldn’t act thoughtlessly when letting someone into his heart (unless suffering from extreme PTSD). Letting someone in would need to have a deeper meaningfulness for him, and I know that at this point, Rick is slowly but surely coming around to the fact that it’s the woman right here on this car with him that he most needs to let in.

Then Rick says, "The rules keep changing." And it made me think about how I've always felt that because Rick is such a dutiful guy, it seemed to be such a stirring rule change for him when he was so captivated by Michonne in their early days of meeting each other. I really think that was a part of Rick's s3 hostility with Michonne at times because he was shaken that he had this draw and attraction to her so soon after losing Lori when the "rules" would suggest he should just be grieving.

All that to say, rule changes aren’t always easy for him, but it’s sweet how he acknowledges they’re changing and is coming around to being more open to it.

And then Michonne just puts the ultimate cherry on top of the scene by saying, “It did for me.”

Now, y’all, watching this back rn um…I’m surprised Richonne didn't become official the very next episode. Like what? I’m sorry, but there was nothing platonic about this exchange...

The way she says that and smiles at him. The way he stays looking directly at her after and then stays quiet and looks away cuz you know he had some thoughts that weren't platonic. This was giving 'I’m in love with you' energy from both of them. Can’t tell me any different. 😌

I just need to take a moment to unpack what this could mean. R: The rules keep changing. M: It did for me. Like wow. I guess if I had to be completely un-Richonne-minded (which admittedly ain't easy) then Michonne could just mean, 'I never thought I’d learn to let go and let people in but the rules changed and I’ve took the risk to let all of you in and embrace team family as her family.'

Sure. But like come on, I feel it’s not pushing it too far to say that there’s an element of this being about the two of them specifically. Rick changed the rules for her and opened her heart up in a way she didn’t think would happen again, and Michonne absolutely did the same for Rick. There's an intentional reason this exchange is between the two of them and not anyone else from the group.

Plus, while I'm always unsure of exactly how much time has passed during any given season in TWD, I'd venture to say that this moment occurs less than two months before Richonne becomes canon so it feels like this scene does want to start setting up that these two are coming closer to fully realizing their feelings for each other.

This really felt like one of the closest Rick and Michonne ever came pre-canon to acknowledging the love they’ve developed for each other. It was a beautiful scene, and to this day when I hear their moment interrupted by that RV starting to work I’m just looking over at the RV like...

Lol just cuz I wanted Rick and Michonne to get to stay in this very telling private moment a little longer and elaborate. But I understand their precious slow burn had to continue its steadily rising flicker before the wildfire could truly ignite in season 6. So this scene instead concludes with Rick excusing himself. He says he needs a moment as Michonne watches him with this loving compassionate expression.

Rick then goes to hide weapons before they take the leap that Michonne motivated and go to ASZ. Rick hiding the weapons shows that he clearly still doesn't know if this Alexandria stuff is legit, but even still they pull up to those ASZ gates (oh we're gonna talk about it 😋) And why do they still pull up? Because Rick trusts Michonne. Even over his own hesitancies. Love it.

And I adore the lingering shot of Michonne watching Rick as he goes. It’s so evident that he means so much to her, and I love that she is the one who most gets to see Rick the human being. And Michonne is so equipped to love and support him in all his humanness, just as Rick is with her.

This scene is just gold and genuinely meaningful to Richonne and their soulmate connection if you ask me. Rick and Michonne changed each others' rules and each other's lives. Oh, and changed mine too. 😌👌🏽

#richonne #top 30 #number 21 #rick x michonne #reveling in richonne #twd 5.11 #twd towl #the ones who live

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