#no plot relevance at all but they stole my heart

[breadwithoutcheesefan1009]

Guess who made their mom watch The Glass Onion at 3pm and pester her with details and predictions (most of which were correct, btw)

#glass onion #benoit blanc #daniel craig #dave bautista #it is an amazing film btw #it’s so fucking good #it’s so great #and it looks like the actors had a lot of fun as well #which just makes it better #Craig’s accent is still horrible #but it adds to the charm #also Phillip is fuckin amazing #absolutely stole the show #along with what’s his name #Harold or smth #no plot relevance at all but they stole my heart #<3 #great movie #the glass onion

[wanderinginksplot]

Gar Cyare Chapter Eleven

The plot thickens in this chapter of my Alpha-17 x fem!reader fic!

Word Count: 5,100 words

Warnings: mentions of setups, minor (and decreasing) cosmic horror vibes, mentions of an amorphous external threat, bureaucratic rudeness.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Aruetii (Traitor)

“I need your help.”

You wanted to scoff at Pender, wanted to curse and threaten him until he left you alone. Visions of your last time around him danced through your mind - pushed up against a wall, propositioned and ultimately punched in the face. Alpha had dealt with Pender swiftly and decisively enough that he hadn’t bothered you since, but it didn’t mean that you were going to eagerly leap to help him.

Still, something about the desperation on his face… it was unsettling, especially compared to the cocky, self-assured way he habitually carried himself. His eyes were pleading, looking for all the world like a child scared of the dark.

Alpha teased and admired your soft heart in turns, but you were cursing yourself for it as you sighed, returning to your seat. “What do you want, Pender?”

Pender straightened slightly, hope apparently bringing life back to him. He seemed too keyed up to take the other seat, though. Instead, he paced fitfully around the small room, only pausing to glance at you every few moments while you waited impatiently for him to give an explanation. 

“Commander Colt will be on his way back here soon,” you warned, pitching your voice low to keep from startling him out of a confessional sort of mood. 

Pender’s face tightened, but he shook his head. “I don’t- really know- I don’t know where to start.”

“Start with the most relevant information,” you suggested. “If I have questions, we can backtrack.”

He nodded, pulling a datapad from his pocket. With a few swipes of his finger, he located what he was looking for and passed the datapad to you. It appeared to be a credit transfer into his account. The transfer was for a large amount.

You glanced up at Pender. “What exactly am I looking at?”

“It’s my bank account,” he answered and you nodded instead of snarking at him - something you should have been awarded a medal for, honestly. “That’s not my salary. I haven’t done any outside jobs lately, either. Whoever requested that credit transfer, it wasn’t supposed to be for me.”

With a slow nod, you set the datapad down on the table. “And you don’t know who could have sent it?”

“My bank says the transfer was anonymous,” Pender told you, pacing more quickly. “When I pushed them, they said the details were so muddled and privacy protected that they couldn’t begin to decipher a starting account.”

You stared at the datapad screen for another moment. It really was a large amount of credits, but nothing in Pender’s explanation sounded sinister or threatening. And it certainly didn’t sound threatening enough to explain Pender’s near-panic about it. 

“It’s odd,” you conceded slowly, “but not the worst thing. I don’t see what you need my help with.”

“I know you’re investigating the bounty hunters with Shaak Ti and Colt,” Pender said. “And I have reason to believe you’re searching for someone who stole information.”

“Why do you think that?” you asked, nerves roiling in the pit of your stomach. Everyone in the investigation had been trained to keep secrets from a very young age… except you. Had you somehow destroyed the secrecy of the investigation?

Pender gave you an unimpressed look - the most natural expression he had worn since first approaching you. “I knew the General and Commander were looking for information about something, and my credits are on a security leak. It didn’t take much to realize that you haven’t been working on your report lately. When I did some digging, I found out that you’re on special assignment. The pieces fell into place.”

You lifted your chin. “If that were true, I wouldn’t be able to confirm any of it.”

“I don’t need you to confirm anything,” he snapped, the sharp tone in his voice making you flinch even as your hands automatically clenched into fists. “Just… just look.”

Pender’s voice broke on the last word and he slid the datapad back toward you. He had pulled up a screen that displayed details of the mysterious transaction. It was for the same amount, still without a name displayed in the ‘Sender’ section. In fact, the only new detail was visible in the small ‘Note’ section. Displayed in small, electronically produced letters, you could see the words, “In thanks for the useful advice.”

You tore your gaze away from the screen to stare at Pender, who looked distraught. “The useful advice? What useful advice?”

“I don’t know!” he said, running shaking fingers through his hair. “I was telling you the truth - I haven’t taken on any jobs outside of Kamino lately. No hunts, no consulting, nothing. I don’t know who sent these credits or why, but I know this is going to end up putting me in the middle of your investigation, and I need your help!”

“I-” You paused, sighing. “I’ll do my best, Pender. But I have to tell General Ti and Commander Colt about this.”

Pender’s eyes went wide. “No. Please don’t. Please.”

“If you want my help, you have to let me tell them,” you said, making your voice and face as firm as you could possibly manage. When he still seemed hesitant, you reminded him, “I’ve already been accused of being at fault for one planet-wide catastrophe. I have no interest in doing it a second time. Your choice.”

The door opened before he could say anything, admitting General Ti and Commander Colt. They both looked surprised, though the general covered it better. “Doni Pender, hello. What brings you here?”

As she spoke with Pender, Commander Colt took a seat beside you and rested a cup of caf on the table for you. As he did, he leaned in too close for Pender to overhear. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, touched that they had remembered your discomfort around Pender and had made sure to check with you before they did anything else. 

Pender, having finished with his conversation with Shaak Ti, glanced at you and sighed. “I agree. You can tell them.”

The curiosity on the general and commander’s faces soon turned to surprise and suspicion before changing to a professionalism that firmly masked anything else they may have been feeling. 

“It’s suspicious,” Commander Colt said, cutting Pender off with a sharp gesture before he could say more than two words in his own defense. “It’s suspicious that payment would have come through now with that kind of note attached. Seems too easy.”

“I agree,” General Ti said. “But we are honor-bound to report any findings to the Kaminoan authorities. We can argue your case-”

“Please, no,” Pender begged for the second time. “You don’t understand. They don’t like me. They would take any opportunity to get rid of me, but they’ll arrest me for this. I’m not- I’ve done some things wrong in my life, but I don’t deserve to spend the rest of it rotting in a Republic prison!”

“If we’re all wary of this transfer and what it means, maybe it would make sense to put off reporting the findings,” you suggested.

General Ti shook her head regretfully. “I must make my report every day. I can wait until the end of the day, but no later.”

“Then it’s settled,” Commander Colt summarized, looking at you. “You’ll look into Pender’s case while the General and I keep investigating. The Kaminoans won’t ask questions since the investigation is ongoing and if you need any additional information, we can help you get it.”

“Do you have enough access to get started?” General Ti asked.

You nodded. “I still have full security clearance. I should be able to get all the information I need.”

“And me?” Pender asked. “What can I do? I’ll help her with the background information…” 

Commander Colt cut in before you could say anything. “Pender, you need to do whatever it is that you’re scheduled to do today. If you deviate from your schedule, it’ll only create questions or make you look more guilty. Keep an ear out for your comlink in case she has questions for you.”

Pender nodded, repeating the motion too many times for it to look natural. “Of course, of course... Let me give you all my private comlink frequency- I don’t want to risk anyone accessing our conversations.”

After he had done exactly that, Pender rushed out of the room. Commander Colt gave you an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. Figured you wouldn’t want him following you around all day.”

You shrugged and General Ti said kindly, “It is for the best that he is elsewhere. You have much to do and a short span of time in which to complete it.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough time. Not nearly. In fact, you were unpleasantly reminded of your early days on Kamino, always working desperately with no chance of success. 

Not that you weren’t making strides. No, by an hour after your (skipped) lunch, you had checked the records of every entry into Pender’s quarters for as long as the information had been leaked, as well as a month before. You had read reports from the other trainers, analyzing how they felt about Pender. Almost none of them cared for him, but you couldn’t find anything that tied them to direct action against him. 

You had accessed his datapad to double-check that it hadn’t been breached or that he hadn’t used it to leak information. If he had leaked the information, there was very little chance he would have started this whole side investigation, but you were determined to check everything you could. 

It was only an hour before General Ti’s deadline that you tossed aside your own datapad, heaving a sigh and thinking just how far outside your job description you currently were.

By all rights, you should let the general and commander tell the Kaminoans about Pender. He had been unpleasant to you until the exact moment that he had needed you to help him. It wouldn’t make your life any more difficult or worse to see him sent to prison for apparent treason against the Republic. In fact, it may make your life a little easier.

But you couldn’t do it. 

There was just something too… neat about the whole thing. It was too simple, too clean. Pender was widely disliked, even by the Kaminoans, as he had admitted. Who would make a better scapegoat than someone who had no friends to ask questions when they were accused of doing something terrible? 

No, you had to keep fighting for Pender. Not because you liked or even cared about the man himself, but because no one had reason to believe your innocence after the Separatist had invaded Kamino. You would have been the most convenient scapegoat, but Alpha had been staunchly in your corner. 

Alpha had been your champion. You had to be the same for someone else if you could.

---

Alpha was inside an asteroid.

There was no doubt about it now: the panel on the bottom floor of the mysterious abandoned ship led directly into the asteroid itself. It clearly wasn’t an asteroid at all, though. Alpha couldn’t claim to be an expert, but he was under the impression that most asteroids didn’t have countless levels of durasteel catwalks and blinking wall panels.

There had been a short debate about whether to use the ladder in the decompression chamber. Half of Omega Squad had argued that there was no way of knowing for certain if the ladder was safe or had been sabotaged somehow. The other half maintained that this section of the ship clearly hadn’t been meant to be seen, and the ladder wouldn’t have been sabotaged by someone who may need to use it again.

Alpha had ended the argument by dropping the ladder through the access hatch. When it stood, apparently not preparing to collapse, he climbed down it. The beam from the light mounted on the side of his helmet shone through the darkness. It wasn’t enough light, not even close, but it didn’t matter. As soon as he had gotten halfway down the ladder, automatic lights had switched on. 

Omega Squad had descended quietly behind him, but Alpha’s attention was fixed on studying his surroundings. He was on the uppermost durasteel catwalk, and when he peered over the side, more levels stretched down beneath him. There was a clear end, however. About five levels down, the catwalks ended, and a ladder stretched the rest of the way down to the floor… or, more accurately, to a durasteel sheet covering the entirety of the ‘floor’. 

Even from his place far above the floor, Alpha could see that there were access panels on it. Whatever was behind this barrier that divided the false asteroid nearly in half, it had been designed to be checked or maintained.

The access hatch had passed through a thick layer of durasteel. Clearly, the ‘asteroid’ was hollow, though clearly, someone had designed it to withstand observation and pass as something natural. The surface of the asteroid had been rocky when he crossed from Omega Squad’s ship to the abandoned one, though something had to have hit the scanner as metallic. 

Whether the thickness of the outer shell was part of the disguise or a way of protecting whatever was behind that barrier, Alpha couldn’t be sure. Either way, they soon discovered that it blocked every transmission except the ones in their inter-HUD comm channel.

“Spread out,” Alpha ordered. “Check everything. Until we know what’s behind that barrier, helmets stay on, breathable atmosphere or not. And stay on high alert. We don’t know whether someone knows we’re here. We didn’t exactly perform a stealth entrance.”

The group fanned out to study every level of the structure. The highest one, level five, held information about the asteroid and its structural integrity. The next down seemed to monitor patterns of nearby planetary bodies. The readings paid special attention to solar flares, meteor showers, and asteroids. 

Level three was the one that finally put an end to any light-heartedness Omega Squad had been showing. It was dedicated entirely to monitoring Republic and GAR transmissions… even on channels that were restricted or heavily encoded. 

Level two was fully unlabeled, which somehow managed to be even more sinister than everything else they had found up to that point. Niner was issuing orders before Alpha had the chance: “Atin, start slicing these panels, Figure out what this level is for. Fi, cover him. Darman, you’re with the captain and I. We’re going to check out the last level.”

Niner turned, glancing at Alpha as if to check whether he had additional orders. The sergeant seemed to have covered everything, so Alpha just gave a slight nod and went to level one. There was nothing at all on that level, just a blank wall stretching the length of the catwalk. 

“Nothing to report on this level,” he transmitted over the comm channel. “We’re headed to level zero. We’ll let you know if we need coverage.”

“Yes, sir,” Fi replied, suddenly all business since his skills as a sniper and medic may be needed before they returned to the ship. “I’m on alert.”

“Any progress on slicing into the panel?” Niner asked as he followed Alpha to the last ladder that stretched down to the floor.

“Nothing yet,” Atin reported. “The panel is loaded with security. I haven’t tripped anything yet, but it’s slow going.”

“Keep at it,” Alpha told him darkly. “We need to report back soon and the more intel we have, the better.”

“Sir,” Atin agreed. Alpha didn’t bother saying anything else. The fewer distractions he had, the faster Atin could slice the panel and the sooner Alpha could get back to the people who mattered.

 His boots hit the durasteel floor with a hollow-sounding boom! The same thing happened when Niner, then Darman reached the bottom of the ladder. Alpha waited for them to glance around, then went for the nearest gap in the barrier. He had noticed a while before that, along with several access hatches, there were a few narrow rectangles of thick transparisteel set into the barrier. 

When he peered through, however, he was greeted with a mass of wires and electronics. Niner had followed him, glancing through the pane as well. “Any idea what it is, captain?”

“No,” Alpha said flatly. Electronics were tricky. They could be programmed to do any number of things. He could take a guess at their purpose based on the way things were laid out and interconnected, but the GAR would want more than a guess, especially with something so strange and suspicious… and so close to Kamino.

“It’s a transmission station,” Darman contributed. When they both turned to look at him, he shrugged, indicating a warning sign set into the barrier. “There’s a lopretrium warning. Lopretrium is used to increase the range of transmissions. It’s a natural amplifier for frequencies.”

Alpha frowned. He remembered every bit of information he had ever come across, but that was new to him. 

Judging from his voice, Niner seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “Where did you learn that one, Darman?”

Darman seemed almost embarrassed when he replied, “Mereel.”

Alpha bit back a sigh. He didn’t mind the null ARCs - though they were some of the few ARC troopers he hadn’t personally trained - but there was something about running into the Skirata clan that made every trooper walk away with stars in his eyes. It was infuriating. More importantly, it could make a man lose focus on what was important.

“Okay, so it’s a transmission station,” Alpha agreed sharply. “Why don’t we know about it? The Republic monitors all transmissions that pass through this sector.”

“If transmissions are sporadic, they would be more difficult to track,” Niner theorized. “Or maybe they’re transmitting on a frequency that the Republic doesn’t watch as closely.”

“I’m getting more curious about who ‘they’ are,” Alpha said. “But okay, say they miss the transmission. Ships pass through this sector constantly - on patrol, on the way to Kamino, or just passing through. How did no one notice a single asteroid with a ship crash-landed on it before now? This is showing signs of having been here for a while.”

“I think it was originally part of an asteroid field.” Darman held up his datapad. “Remember that field nearby? I guessed that it was part of that, so I did some research. Turns out the field was closer, and this station would have been in the middle of it. The field didn’t shift until a few weeks ago, so it’s possible that no one noticed. This didn’t move with the rest of the asteroids, though. It’s a fixed location.”

“No one would have had a reason to scan an asteroid field,” Niner added. “No one would have noticed that this is actually metallic.”

“Not only that,” Darman said. “The hull of this station was covered in something rocky when we came over to the crash site. I think it was originally covered in a duracrete mixture that hid the metal. My guess is that constant collisions with other asteroids and the stress of being in open space chipped away at the duracrete until the metal showed through. It wouldn’t have taken much exposure for our scanner to be able to pick up a metallic surface.”

“Can we get inside?” Alpha asked.

“I wouldn’t,” Atin contributed through the comms channel. “I’m seeing signs that every access panel to the transmitter itself is heavily alarmed. It would take hours to slice through those security protocols.”

“Don’t bother,” Alpha told him, starting for the ladder. “I’m going to make contact with the Republic, then with Kamino. Whoever put this here, the kaminii need to know.” 

He had made it up to the fifth floor and the bottom of the ladder to the original access hatch when Atin spoke again. “Captain, I got into the system. These are the panels where the information to be transmitted is entered either manually or through a remote application.”

Alpha paused. “Were you able to retrieve any past messages?”

“Even better,” Atin replied, satisfaction thick in his tone. “I’ve got a call log. The station has recently received several calls from a comm frequency based on Kamino. I’m sending the frequency to your HUD now.”

A single flick of Alpha’s eyes was enough to pull up the comm frequency. After a split second to process, a violent smile stretched over his face.

---

“You didn’t find anything?” Pender demanded. You weren’t thrilled about the sharp reprimand in his voice, but you couldn’t exactly blame him. Pender’s eyes were wide and his breathing was fast. He was panicking, and with good reason. 

“No,” you admitted. “I looked at every record I could find, but no one else seems like a likely candidate for transmitting information, especially not on your behalf.”

“Listen, I know I’m a popular guy,” Pender started, pacing back and forth, “but surely you found someone who doesn’t like me. You know how these bounty hunters are. If they take the slightest dislike to you, they do crazy things to get revenge. You should have seen the way this one Weequay started treating me…”

You tuned Pender out as he launched into a story, still walking frantically around the room. His pacing turned out to be a good thing, since it meant he entirely missed the way you made uncomfortable eye contact with General Ti and Commander Colt. They knew as well as you did that Pender was among the least-liked people on Kamino. 

“I can at least give the Kaminoans my recommendation that they refrain from acting until we can launch a deeper investigation into this matter,” General Ti said kindly. 

Pender was unconvinced. “General, please don’t. I’ll do anything you want, but I can’t- Please, don’t tell the Kaminoans about this.”

The General tried to gently persuade Pender that she would do everything she could to help, but she had to make her full report. You had never been so grateful for your comm to ring than you were in that moment, and you happily stepped to the furthest corner of the room to accept the call.

You could have gone outside for greater privacy, but there was a chance that General Ti would pull some kind of Jedi trick on Pender, and you weren’t willing to risk missing that.

The frequency was unfamiliar, but you accepted it anyway, answering with a wary, “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Alpha said, his voice familiar and utterly comforting even through the small speakers of the comlink. “Pender’s a traitor.”

The unprompted statement was so timely for the situation that it took you a moment to process. “What?”

“Pender’s a traitor,” Alpha repeated with relish. “He’s been giving information to the Seppies through a disguised transmission station outside of Kamino.”

“Are you sure?” you murmured, trying to pitch your voice only barely loud enough to be heard over the chaos in the background. “How do you know?”

“We tracked the communications back to Kamino,” he told you. “They originated from his Republic-issued comlink frequency.”

“Pender,” you called, repeating it more loudly when he didn’t respond the first time. “Pender! I need your comlink. The one the Republic gave you.”

“Pender? Why are you with Pender?” Alpha demanded, but you ignored him.

“I don’t have it,” Pender admitted, shrinking under the harsh stares of the general and commander. “I lost it months ago.”

Your voice was sharp with exasperation and irritation. “And you didn’t think to mention this when you asked me for help?”

“It was GAR-issued,” Pender explained, sounding confused about why you were so upset. “I didn’t want to get fined for losing government equipment. You already told the general about the credit transfer when I asked you not to. I knew you would do the same thing with the comlink.”

“I believe it is clear that Pender is not the source of our information leak,” General Ti summarized, cutting through the rest of the chatter and accusations you, Pender, and Alpha were throwing around. “Pender, you are dismissed.”

Pender rushed out of the room as quickly as possible. When the door had closed behind him, the general continued, “That does leave the question of who the leak is. Administrator, do you have any theories?”

You shook your head. “Sorry, General Ti. I didn’t go far back enough in the security cam footage to catch who might have stolen Pender’s comlink. Now that I have a timeline, I should be able to narrow the list of suspects down.”

“General,” Colt said, voice urgent. “We’ve just had an unauthorized departure from the planet.”

“That must have been our traitor,” General Ti concluded. “We must go to the Kaminoans with what we’ve learned.”

“I’ll report what we’ve found to the Republic and the GAR,” Alpha informed them all through your comlink. “I’m sure you’ll be in contact with them, and it’ll help if they already know what’s going on.”

“Very good, Captain,” the Jedi said, inclining her head despite the fact that Alpha couldn’t see her. “And hurry back. I have a feeling we will need you here.”

“I will, General,” Alpha agreed, and you could hear the grim determination in his voice. “Omega Squad and I will have to stay long enough to catalogue what we find and report back to everyone, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Stay safe, Alpha,” you pleaded softly, as the general and commander turned away tactfully and started their own conversation. 

“I will, but I need you to do the same,” he countered. “I’ll see you soon...”

There was an odd, heavy pause before the call disconnected. It was probably because he didn’t call you neverd’ika since you had an audience… but you couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else he didn’t say.

You couldn’t dwell on it for too long. General Ti had called ahead to get an emergency meeting with Lama Su. Kamino’s prime minister hadn’t been happy at being summoned, but he agreed to spare the Jedi a few minutes. You didn’t need Jedi senses to catch the subtext: if it had been anyone else, the meeting request would have been denied.

It didn’t matter, though. All that mattered was that General Ti got the meeting and brought you and Commander Colt along with her. Given your particular history with the Kaminoans, you made a point of staying quiet while General Ti finished giving him a general explanation of what had happened.

By the time she had finished, more information had come to light. Colt stepped forward, already displaying the screen of his datapad. “Security has traced the unauthorized departure to a ship owned by Lenjam Banti, one of the bounty hunter instructors. They haven’t been able to reach him on the comms.”

“Do you believe Banti was the leak?” Lama Su asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

“Kamino security forces ran a sample of his skin cells through an outside database,” General Ti told him. “It revealed that he lied about his identity. Banti is actually a bounty hunter known only by the name Dengar.”

With that information and the new timeline Pender had inadvertently provided, you focused your attention on your own datapad, pulling up the security footage you had been looking through. Now that you had a suspect, it would be far easier to track down evidence.

“Impossible,” Lama Su decreed. “We perform an extensive background check on all instructor candidates. If he were lying about his identity, we would have discovered it.”

“Not necessarily,” General Ti told him kindly. “Your databases are extensive, but self-contained. It would have been simple for someone with the right skills to alter the information of the genetic information you have on file. The Kaminoan databases do say that the material belongs to Banti, but several outside databases confirm that the man is indeed Dengar. Your archives were sliced and altered.”

Kaminoan expressions weren’t easy to read, but even you could tell that Lama Su looked displeased. “And what evidence do you have that this Dengar was the one to collect and distribute information?”

Fortunately, you had found what you needed by that point. You showed him your datapad, with Dengar’s face clearly showing on the footage. He was frozen in time, leaving Pender’s quarters. “This is from several months ago. We hadn’t thought to look back that far.”

Lama Su’s look of displeasure began turning to one of derision and you braced for him to say something condescending, but General Ti interrupted before he could begin. “Prime Minister, you must act quickly. We do not yet know what information Dengar has or where he took it.”

“And why should I not take Doni Pender into custody?” the Kaminoan asked. “Why would Dengar have left so abruptly if he set up the perfect person to take the fall? It seems to me that the two could have been working together and had a disagreement. Or perhaps Dengar discovered Pender’s deception and fled for his own safety.”

“Prime Minister, Pender is the only reason we found out about all of this,” you chimed in. “He has made some missteps, but we wouldn’t have made this much progress if he hadn’t told us about the way he was being set up.”

“Sir,” Commander Colt said quickly, before Lama Su could reply. “The administrator was skeptical about Pender’s guilt despite the supposed evidence. She was looking into the situation. With her investigation and Captain Alpha-17 finding the transmission station with Omega Squad, Dengar probably felt it was too dangerous to risk staying here.”

Lama Su leaned forward, an intent look in his dark eyes. “How did you know about the commando team’s progress? Their mission is highly classified. They were not to discuss it with anyone.”

“I’m Captain Alpha-17’s commanding officer, sir. The GAR’s processes are that he should report to General Ti and I even on assignments outside of our command,” Commander Colt explained smoothly. 

It was an outright lie, but the commander’s sincerity and matter-of-fact nature made it far more convincing.

Lama Su didn’t seem like he entirely believed that, but General Ti spoke again. “We must act now or we risk unforeseen complications from the situation, Prime Minister.”

The Kaminoan steepled his long fingers and heaved a heavy sigh. There was a moment of charged silence, but he reached for the comlink on his desk. After keying in a frequency, he said reluctantly, “Until we can do a full audit of our information, Kamino is under lockdown. No one may enter or leave without approval.”

He glanced from General Ti, to Commander Colt, and finally to you. With his eerie eyes fixed on you, he said, “Perform all necessary activities to prepare for a potential invasion.”

---

Author's Note - Oh, here we go again... Thanks, as always, for reading!

Now for the unwelcome part of this note: I try to take a break about halfway through these stories to get the next part planned out and start writing. I'm not prepared to say that this is the halfway point (e.g. I legitimately thought this was chapter ten the whole time I was writing it), but I will be taking a small hiatus. You can expect the next chapter to be posted in the first week of March!

That being said, I do have some stuff planned for the time between now and posting Chapter Twelve. Feel free to send in asks for more information or background questions. As long as you aren't asking for spoilers, I'd love to answer your questions!

Thank you for reading and I'll see you in a few weeks!

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#Gar Cyare #gar cyare #star wars #star wars legends #star wars prequels #star wars the clone wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars fic #captain alpha 17 #alpha 17 #alpha 17 x reader #alpha 17 x you #ink's fics #general shaak ti #shaak ti #commander colt #colt #omega squad #niner skirata #fi skirata #atin skirata #darman skirata #clone troopers deserve better #more to come

[isobelleposts]

'My Mister' and Incorporating Life’s Painful Truths

by Isobelle Cruz [April 29, 2022]

Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun as Dong-hoon and Ji-an in tvN's 'My Mister'

There are several gems in Korean Dramas that depict the realities of life and growth, and ‘My Mister’ written by Park Hae-young is definitely one of them. Instead of pursuing the plot of another typical love story and corporate lifestyle, 'My Mister' tells the story of a man and woman, with over a twenty-year age gap, finding in each other their shared need for growth and healing in the frightful environment that society has become.

Without much skinship and hardly any heart-fluttering words of love and need, the show was able to intrigue its watchers and have them feel heartbroken and compassinate for the characters nonetheless.

Lee Ji-an portrayed by actress Lee Ji-eun

REALISM

Park Dong-hoon, a man in his 40s, is wrongfully accused of accepting a hefty bribe at work. Lee Ji-an, a temporary employee and subordinate in the same department, helps Dong-hoon with the case and asks for dinners in exchange for her deed. In the midst of external conflicts and other similar misfortunes which both Dong-hoon and Ji-an face, the two form an odd relationship that gives each other the ability to grow.

Feign ignorance. Keeping one informed may be a sign of friendship among kids your age, but adults don’t work that way. Feigning ignorance is a loyal and polite thing to do.

Park Dong-Hoon, episode 6 of 'My Mister'

Hae-young incorporates a lot of lessons garnered from the sensitive topics and conflicts of the world, which is what I’d consider scarcely found in K-Dramas, especially the ones centered around romance. Unlike what we usually encounter on TV, ‘My Ahjussi’ clearly depicts the troubles of poverty and failure without glossing over its truths.

It's easy for people who have money to become good people.

Lee Ji-an, episode 5 of 'My Mister'

Episode 7 of 'My Mister'

ACQUAINTANCES OR LOVERS

The show did not make me wish so much that Park Dong-hoon would reciprocate Ji-an’s likeness for him, but it doesn’t mean I was completely against the thought. I simply found the status of their relationship to be realistic and not lacking in any way that it needed to be more than what it already was.

Then why are you crying? – Because I’m happy. I’m happy that I’m close to someone like him. I’m happy.

A conversation between Ji-an and her grandmother

The happiness Ji-an feels alone to have had Dong-hoon in her life was enough for me. And was implied, enough for her as well. Ji-an’s feelings were inevitable, especially for someone of her age and someone who had experienced so little of the care she receives from Dong-hoon before.

I really lived my life for the first time ever because of you, Mister.

Lee Ji-an, episode 7 of 'My Mister'

Only in her early 20s, Ji-an is already the breadwinner of her small family and struggles with a drowning amount of debt and abuse. Yet despite her "damaged" background, Dong-hoon remains in her life. They both remain in each other's lives until they were both filled with the will to completely live.

The Park family on episode 8 of 'My Mister'

THE PARK BROTHERS

Screenwriter Park Hae-young was able to make every character that appeared on screen to be relevant and either admirable or loathsome. The Park brothers, Sang-hoon in particular, stole my heart and received all of my admiration and tears. Although neither are generally considered “successful” in the working field, Sang-hoon and Ki-hoon are able to make their misfortunes seem easy to tolerate--always finding a way to have a laugh at the right times and help whenever they could.

My life is already in ruins, so what's the point of crying?

Park Sang-hoon, eldest of the Park brothers

Resilience is often seen as idealistic or a display of maturity, but I usually view it as a pitiful thing to obtain. Because the chances that the most resilient people we know may carry the heaviest burdens are high. To witness such unfortunate people smile ear to ear is a painful but understandable encounter.

Rather than letting you escape from the living world and into a completely fictional one, ‘My Mister’ allows you to understand and prepare for life even further. If you’re seeking to go through sixteen episodes of a slow-burn type of love for the biggest tear-jerker on the final episode, then 'My Mister' is just the right choice for you.

(Click HERE for Writing Commissions)

#IU #Lee ji eun #lee ji-an #my mister #my ahjussi #park hae young #park dong hoon #tvN #tvn my mister #tvn drama #tvn show #kdram #kdrama review #lee sun kyun #netflix kdrama #나의 아저씨

[gaeasun]

Ok I have watched both episodes of Ahsoka so gonna make a list of pros and cons. will be much more serious cons than serious pros. Not spoiler free!

pros first:

there is a very cute loth-cat. adorable. stole my heart. best live action tooka creature so far.

All or most of the human casting and portrayal was very spot on. Ryder was great and so nice to hear a familiar voice, Sabine was good, also chopper was spot on in everything.

actually all of the droids carried the humor for the episodes. very funny.

the lightsabers look and sound cool.

the non-lightsaber fight was good (and by that i mean sabine kicking around those droids)

SABINE DOES NOT HAVE THE FORCE THANK GOODNESS WAS REALLY WORRIED THERE

sabines art skills are relevant. love it.

yeah thats it i think. sry if you were here as an optimist.

Cons:

NO REX WHERE IS HE

they've got to stop stabbing people with lightsabers without killing them. star wars medicine was already inconsistent, this is pushing it.

where is jacen syndulla. If ahsoka is going to take an apprentice why not him? WHY SABINE THAT MAKES SO LITTLE SENSE.

yeah going on that again. she was training to be a jedi without force. BUT WHY. Sabine has always been a Mandalorian, shes been so proud and happy to be a Mandalorian. she literally threw that away to be a jedi. she hid her armor and grew out her hair and there was no mention of her Mandalorian family? the one she reconciled with?

the casting for hera and ahsoka is not good, the makeup and prosthetics are worse than that, but worst of all they do not actually sound like the characters at all! going into those in detail:

ahsoka and hera just do not have the face shape of their counterparts. i do get that it can be difficult since no one has anime eyes that big. but the face shapes look wrong and every time i look at them it doesnt look or feel like im watching beloved characters brought to life

the prosthetics and the makeup on hera and ahsoka look like either that department got a pittance or they just didnt care that much. even simple details that wouldn't effect stuntwork. like the circle patterns on Hera's lekku, or like how Hera's lips are much too dark and Ahsoka's are much too light. Ahsoka and heras head-tails are way to short as well. if you want to explain it with stunt reasons, than why are heras so short as well? also somehow there is zero texture on hera's lekku, but Ahsoka's look like an old rubber hose that shriveled up? and her montrals are so short and point backwards. if the people making this show are going to take such beloved characters and put them in irrevocable media, these details should have been figured out! if it wasnt feasible than they should never have made it live action in the first place.

the actors for ahsoka and hera do not sound like them. i dont mean their voices sound the exact same, but i mean the inflection and the wordings sound nothing like the animation. a good actor should try to mimic that but it wasnt done. ahsoka especially had such emphatic and varying tone in clone wars and rebels, while live action ahsoka sounds like shes trying to win the stoic master of the year award.

ahsoka apparently learned an entire new lightsaber style! because she only held her lightsabers in reverse grip one. time. and also when she was a kid she was flipping circles and cartwheeling and handspringing and theres none of that here. if yoda can do it in 2008 they can figure out a way for her to do it too

listen. ahsoka has gone through way too much character development to be constantly looking like she doesnt know what shes doing. shes struggling too much in fights, and she doesnt seem to understand sabine at all. she has been a very strong character in the past, and this is because she has gone through many experiences that gave her incredible development.

the plot does not make sense. how on earth does an ancient device know where thrawn went? why is this connected to the dathomirians? are they going to bother explaining this? probably not.

#honestly at this point im disappointed #if you're looking for good things theres not much here yet. #ill hold onto hope tho #because that is what star wars is about #g gives a thought #ahsoka spoilers #ahsoka show #ahsoka show spoilers #if you have more pros by all means let me know ill edit them in

[total-drama-brainrot]

YOU GET IT!!! GENRE SAVVINESS IS WHY I LOVE THE SUPERFANS SO MUCH (in different ways) though gen 2/3's world tour (because that's always fun) will be considerably more light-hearted and focused on interpersonal relationships and friendships so i don't think i'll touch on the editing that much

buuuuut i'll talk about less of that and more about lyler sabotage pre-niagara brawls

jamaica: chris says that lindsay might be able to join a team if she performs well enough. at this point, alejandro is a bit conflicted on if he should keep her around to manipulate as well or get her kicked off to ensure tyler's loyalty and as such doesn't actively sabotage her. due to her weight, she comes first and team chris comes second. cody begs the others to vote him off because if they vote sierra she might sneak back onto the plane for him and he doesn't want her as mad as she was in paris. heather and gwen eventually comply.

in london, lindsay strips down the guard no problem but ends up not being able to figure out the clue. she decides to follow team chris since she knows noah is smart but she ends up only arriving after tyler is captured. noah reluctantly lets lindsay go with them although he does not get a chance to properly communicate his warning to her, and she ends up locked in the bus booth. (a little contrived but i wanted to minimize the amount of pre-merge aletyler contact she gets) chris is about to eliminate her for having "the entire team" captured when duncan jumps off in frustration. chris says he'll count that as the elimination instead.

since lindsay is the only member of victory she has to compete in every challenge. gwen and noah go for the first challenge and gwen still wins. sierra courtney tyler and owen all volunteer for the second one, tyler gets out immediately, and owen still knocks both of the amazons out. as the last two standing chris gives owen and lindsay medals automatically. heather still beats alejandro in hurdles. the tiebreaker is between noah and lindsay to see which team isn't in last (alejandro forbids tyler from going because he's worried being so close to lindsay will undo his work–i mean distract tyler), lindsay loses, and chris goes "i'm very sorry to say that team victory is being dissolved…because lindsay will be joining team amazon!"

in area 51 the pod absorbs a bit of cody's dna from sierra's clothes, makes alien cody, and after so long separated sierra absolutely loses it. she refuses to leave the pod room and the amazons lose the challenge. the others all vote her off. (sorry for robbing you. and making you go insane in all stars as well. at least that time you snap out of it?)

australia is a reward where nothing significant happens, lindsay builds the not-actually-a-boat in sweden (i'd say it's a pony but that would be a terrible boat. beth's face?), amazons win, alejandro and tyler vote for noah, noah votes for alejandro, and i'm not sure if i should have a tiebreaker or have owen talked into voting out someone else. owen is upset and noah gives the "beware of eels" warning. - lindsanon

Please indulge me and my love of genre savvy characters. It's one of my favourite tropes, especially when they break the fourth wall (occasionally. Nothing as heavy-handed as Deadpool). Topher and Sierra both make for pretty good candidates for being Genre Aware because of their Superfan status, and I think we as a fandom need to utilize that more!

As for the Lyler Sabotage AU!

I'm here for all of it! I like the timeline- it's a little more convoluted than canon's, but still pretty followable. My only suggestions would be changing Lindsay's boat to something more plot-relevant (maybe she tries to build Tyler's face, but isn't very good at craftsmanship, so it ends up looking nothing like him?), and make the alien Cody plotline a little more coherent by having the pod extract Cody's DNA from something that was actually his, like for instance one of the many toothbrushes Sierra stole (maybe she took to carrying around Cody's belongings after his elimination as sort of comfort items? It'd be easy for her to accidentally drop a toothbrush and have it land on a pod).

But those are just ideas from the top of my head. Again, it's your AU, your rules!

#total drama #lyler sabotage au #lindsanon #replies

[anteroom-of-death]

Put Me in a Movie...

Synopsis: The Master comes to terms...sort of. Set after the Doctor abandoned him in Nazi France.

Warnings: grooming, white supremacy, harsh language, introspection...

(Proof I write on occasion...)(also for reference listen to Put Me in a Movie by Lana del Rey if ur not familiar...)

Lights, camera, act-ì-on…

The Master stood at attention for these mere humans. The Doctor left him in the hands of humans that, without his special little perception filter, wouldn’t even listen to his charms or even basic hypnosis. Obviously, this body, no matter how svelte or pleasant to look at wouldn’t go over well as say….his body previously to his female form last go…or a few of his bodies especially the smirking, tall, one. The blue-eyed alabaster dandy wouldn’t even go over well…

Especially considering the environment: Paris, at the height of Nazi occupation.

If (s)he likes me, takes me home…

She left him there, knowing Earth history probably better than everyone else of their species. Knowingly abandoning him here, with these people. Well, why wouldn’t she? She’s always been deeply selfish, especially in regards to him and his needs. He had realized that thousands of years ago. When she first abandoned him for that wife of hers and living a charmed life. Before she got bored, stole that sub-par TARDIS, and ran off.

Selfish fucking bastard. Every body. Always.

So much for a childhood friend and blood pacts sworn in dark nights when you’d protect each other and be there for each other until the literal end of time…

And who’s there for poor Koschei?

No one, not ever.

He didn’t know he’d have this much fun…

No one, that much was clear since he looked deep into the void of all time and all space, and received the Drums.

The fate of all the species rested in a tiny eight-year old boy…and guided in such a way all throughout training and well into adulthood. Groomed into perfection to be the only one mad enough to try little tricks to break the reality of time and space at the most crucial time of war during a personal mental breakdown.

The Master broke his reverie as the lead SS officer trafficked him into a medical bay. Obviously he was master of deception- how’d he pretend and fool, quite literally their entire upper echelon into thinking he was the literal übermensch to get the ability to use their networks to find the Doctor.

The vivisection and tests were enough to bring him to regeneration’s door. It took him all the strength he held to not. He needed to keep that secret held to his chest. That knowledge could let these people win and erase much of his own past. He couldn’t risk it. No, not at all.

Come on you know you like girls (boys)…

He escaped as the Allies closed in and his captors fled their posts. Cowards, more so than the Bitch who abandoned him there, more so than the President who stayed comfy in his office as a war raged on, instead making a small child in the past the ultimate weapon. More so than his parents that ignored his many messages home that the drumming noises in his head were ravaging his mental health and causing him to make himself sick and wracking his body raw.

He was free, just had to deal with the consequences of this all. Just wait it out until the time-lines coincided with the main event.

Listlessness filled his hearts.

He wouldn’t dare do therapy. For obvious reasons: the cost of being remotely near anything medical mentally again would far outweigh the possible benefits of maybe a prescription for any lithium or barbiturate or diet meth the industry would churn out in the relevant coming future.

You know I can’t make it on my own…

Still he persisted on, focused on just waiting to actually enact the actual plot of this little scheme. A loss, but one he had to cope with. And for the assistance of his co-conspirators…

Decades passed the slowest that he’s ever seen them. Considering he knew most of the latter-half of the century from being on-planet on and off during it. The Master didn’t have it in him to hypnotize or engineer any tech. Too conspicuous, too much effort. He’d bled out all his will to do much anymore except endure.

He ended up in the early 2000s getting a job. A low-level executive in a marketing firm in New York City. Basic stuff, bossing around interns and speculating which members of ensemble shows filmed locally had bulimia and which ones had anorexia. Sarah Jessica Parker? Definitely anorexic. Mariska Hagarity? Probably bulimic.

He lived in Brooklyn, because well, the Doctor and her little friends had claimed Manhattan accidentally. Two of her little pets past, Amalie? Aurora? and Rorschach? Remy? The Lakes? The Ponds?. Those two. They lived in Chelsea and had a daughter he respected. They were soon to die and both were deep into mental decline, but didn’t want to risk exposing himself to little River visiting Mum and Dad on their death beds. No need to cross those paths…

It was a crisp early-April day. The first really good day of Spring. Perfect day for a stroll to McCarren Park to enjoy roach coach coffee and a questionable, semi-stale blueberry muffin. A little dive bar had advertised the singers performing that night. A pause and a sip: why not? A human life had it’s perks. The human race always excels at entertainment. He frequently looked to them to frame up fun little songs to blare when scheming or celebrating.

After the park and a trip home for a shower and a beard trim, he went to the bar and ordered a stout from a brewery that opened up in-boro. Brooklyn was changing. Especially Williamsburg. Gentrification. He worried that interstellar forces would bother him there and the Doctor would follow. Aliens, himself included, do love always targeting the hottest spots on the planet. He scoffed into the foam of his drink.

The first singer came and went, followed by a tiny girl with a well-loved guitar and a man on keyboard. She introduced herself as “Lizzy Grant, a.k.a. Lana del Rey. “ Hunching forward and a small, almost sickly sweet, little smile she started singing about being the self-proclaimed Queen of the Gas Station. She was decent. Nothing to sneeze at. Maybe one day she’d come out of her shell and perform at Glastonbury or some such large festival with thousands of enthralled fans if she was lucky enough. But for now, she was giggling nervously and strumming simply on her guitar.

The Master, a.k.a. Roger Estram, more or less tuned her out and focused with eyes semi-closed on the chatter. It soothed the Drums. He rolled his neck and shook out his hands lightly. He was relaxed. Nothing, not even the pain of thousands of years of agony would stop his night out. It was his night and he hadn’t been properly out since his firm made a liaison party between that delusional Jennifer woman and her teams and a low-level loud luxury brand.

Then he heard it. A song that hit him like a gunshot through the center of his respiratory bypass.

A fairly dark song, not what she had been performing. Definitely not the peppy, funny, tongue-in-cheek Americana. One that spoke of the casting couch and a bigger, presumably much-older man taking advantage of the tiny little girl crooning before him.

Suddenly all of his life came and smacked him between the eyes.

He knew he was groomed. He wasn’t a fool. The most uneducated Dalek could accurately determine this. But he was a Time Lord. Obviously he rose above it. Evolved past it. Especially leaving it all in the past as he passed from the body of the Prime Minister to the body of the Queen of Evil. He was all better now. The Time Lords (except for one) were all long gone. Toast. No one’s little plaything anymore. Ever.

That was all past, right? Long since ancient history.

Then why did it hurt so much? Not just now, certainly now, as this song crawled into his center and clawed open the wounds fresh. Why did something that happened as a child and presumably ended for him hundreds of years ago hurt?

Something about this song and the way she earnestly issued into the mic, “You can be my Daddy!” As if she had a role in her own victimization. The man who likes little girls could do whatever he wanted to her, just “Put me in a movie!” had him shaking and wanting to make streamers from his own entrails.

Each little harmonica blast she had her guest keyboardist make shot through his core. He was alone and sad and scared. The same little boy, who stared into the basis of reality to be chosen against his will. The same kid, frequently pushed to the outside, just waiting for everyone to take advantage of him. Accenting that it really just was him out in the universe and no matter what he did, he was used and abused and now couldn’t even manage to control a façade for longer than a few years before everything blew back onto him and he was left more alone and out of control than ever.

She finally finished her song and he paid his tab, shoving a big wad of cash in the little “For Singers” cup up at the stage before he stormed out into the night, glad that it was only a decade or so before he could do a grand reveal and rejoin the main plot of his life…not this strange little side quest his life had taken him on. No more little Earth girls that sang a song seemingly written for him, no more having to cope with being carved up. Back to his old, powerful self.

In the meantime, he sat down at his laptop in his apartment and googled “therapist Brooklyn childhood trauma”. He supposed it couldn’t hurt, right?

..You’re my little sparkle jump-rope queen, you’re my little sparkle…

#personal #dhawan!master #the master #doctor who #doctor who fanfiction #dont like dont read #i wrote this #Dhawan!master fanfic #sacha dhawan #ohoo were mentally ill #meta fiction

[acourtofthought]

I'm scared that Sjm will turn Elain into a warrior. Ships aside- Sjm LOVES female warriors and although she had written non female warriors like Yrene, Lysandra and Elide.. her preferences change and she leans more to the warrior girls.

Nesta may have something dark in her, but I had expected to see more of her powers. The title is literally called "Silver flames" and yet all we really know is that it's "death".

Which is why I fear that Sarah will have Rhys come out of nowhere again, wiggling his fingers at Elain, sing "your power is life" and fly out of the window (Not literally but yk what I mean haha)

Elucien have so much potential, but so had Nessian and Sjm... wasted that completely. I didn't see much love between them and the plot... what plot exactly?

The whole book was just Nesta hating herself, working in the library, training, do some political stuff here and there, useless drama and sex, sex, sex.... I was so excited to read Nessian's story, just for Sjm to bonk my head with that book.

So yeah, I fear that we won't see much of Elain's powers and she'll turn Lucien into a giant dick like Cassian. Idk about you but I loved Cassian until he became real a**hole in acosf. I didn't like how he acted and Rhys annoyed me there too.

Theories are fun, but to be real- Sjm isn't capable to put potential into good use like she used to.

Also.. when Gwynriel and Elucien happen and Sjm wastes their potentials to which el/riels respond with "See! El/riel would've been better" just know that Infact Sjm would've absolutely destroyed El/riel's potential too.

So that's why I'm not all in for the ship confirmation. If elucien won't happen I'll be sad but also glad because Sjm wouldn't have the chance to destroy them... but if Elucien does happen, I'll be happy but scared that Elucien's book will turn out like acosf.

Though I could see Lucien training Elain in basic self defense (which really makes sense for anyone), her making Yrene a main character with a POV gives me hope. In TOD, Yrene says, "I may not be a warrior waving a sword about, may not be worthy of your glorious tales, but at least I save lives - not end them." And in ACOWAR, Nesta says Amren told her this, "There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives." We know that Nesta took the path of wielding a blade and ending lives which means that line has to turn out relevant for someone else. In ACOWAR, Elain is worried about the number of soldiers that will die. She also makes Feyre swear not to harm Graysen, she doesn't want to take credit for killing the King and in SF Cassian mentions that cruelty bothers her. It's not like SJM couldn't write her as a warrior but to do so means she's has to completely change who Elain is, change the things that are important to her as an individual. And no, Nesta wasn't into training or exercise before her book (we never knew she danced until SF) and yes she did become a warrior but the characters note how Nesta has always been a warrior at heart. Elain will be valuable in her own way in her book but it really wouldn't be cohesive if she suddenly became this blood-thirsty individual who was enjoyed slaughtering their enemies. Not to mention her own Mate has no real interest in continuing that path whereas Nesta's Mate is the General of the NC armies. I do think SJM may be hinting that Elain may have healing powers which would keep her journey more in line with what we saw from Yrene's:

You're right, Nesta had a lot of buildup for her story and it fell a bit flat but I guess there's another way of looking at that. To start, Nesta never wanted those powers to begin with (she stole them so it's not like she was necessarily meant to have them) and it was something she almost feared which would have always prevented her (and others) from ever being truly comfortable around her (same as Aelin felt with her powers). Nesta always felt like she didn't belong so walking through her life having people side eye her because being around her makes them nervous would have caused a further distancing between Nesta and the world. Also, from a young age, Nesta's mother drilled into her head how she would be a conqueror of sorts and having the powers she did would have made that a reality. By Nesta giving up those powers, choosing to marry someone who technically didn't have an official station, and becoming a warrior, she broke free from those expectations and defied her mothers wishes. She chose a life for herself and not one that was chosen for her. With Elain, it's opposite. Their mother (and even the sisters to an extent) had the idea that Elain wasn't really good for much of anything apart from her looks. She wasn't going to marry for station but for love. So for her to defy her mother and take a path that proves her wrong, I can see her doing something that demonstrates her value beyond her looks. The narrative for Elain seems to be "beauty with no brains" so her doing something related to her inner strength and intelligence (and not physical strength) would make the most sense. And if Lucien (her Mate) who is already a bit of a politically influential character becomes even more so, then it will be Elain (not Nesta) who ended up marrying (not only for love) but for power (by default, it's not like she would be seeking to marry for power but if Lucien is to be a High Lord than it's not something she had influence over). I do agree that SJM could have done so much more for Cassian though. At least with Nesta, it makes some sense to me that things turned out the way they did but I did expect more from Cassian than being an accessory to Nesta's journey. I hope that's not the case with Lucien because he has so many unresolved storylines which makes his journey already as exciting as the one Elain will go on.

#elucien #elain archeron #pro elain archeron #lucien vanserra #acotar theory

[notmuchtoconceal]

\\./

@notmuchtoconceal

Glad you'd prompted me once more to consider the metaphysical aspects of Majora's Mask, bro. Was actually just reading about the Scythian religion. A gentleman by the name of Jorgani points out that Prometheus, as we understand him in the Greek context, is a melding of Enki, the Babylonian Wisdom God Who Was Father of Mankind and a figure from Thrace/Scythia. I was considering the Enochian figure of Azazel, who was a War and Blacksmith God, and of how in some tellings it's Prometheus who performs the Cesarean Upon Zeus Which Births Athena, and in some Hephaestus. How it's said that Prometheus stole the fire from Hephaestus's forge. He is a god of Metallurgy, or Chainlink, once again connections to DNA, to metal, to liquid states, to Mercury. This also ties into my Unverified Personal Gnosis about Ares as A God of Bondage. In many myths, he is trussed up, humiliated publicly, ensnared, laughed at, abandoned, thrown into a jar. The similarities with Goetic lore are self-evident. Part of it, the bondage element -- is tied to discipline, some of it to force of will. In my heart, the thrill of bondage is not in succumbing to the inescapable, but in overcoming it, in escaping. This is quintessential in the art of the stage magician, escape artist, strongman, circus ringleader -- you can see, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Dionysos, there is plenty of overlap in the function of the brothers. Bodybuilding and bondage. An absolutely winning combination. Fight clubs and bondage displays. Sheaths slick as hotrods. Show off those bodies, boys.

In the Scythian religion, there is a belief in seven primary Gods, a pattern in line with the Hermetic division of the personality in correspondence with the Seven Classical Planets. The first three Gods are Considered to be as follows: An Absolute, An Earth Mother and A Sky Father, and they are understood to be largely impersonal. The next four are associated with the physical world as we know it and are more immediate and relevant to day to day life. Of these, is the Scythian Ares, as well as what are believed to be correspondences to Dionysos and Apollo and a Fertility Goddess Perhaps Not Dissimilar From Aphrodite, or maybe Artemis.

I was thinking of the Hylian Religion, it's own Big Three, then the Four Lesser Divinities of Termina -- boundary markers, perhaps demons of the compass points, cardinal directions, Guardians of the Four Corners.

It's not simply nostalgia, though I do appreciate the low-res look. Rather, I do believe the moment in time, exploring a pioneering new technology and all the possibilities it offered, provided the atmosphere to tap into some uniqe creative potential, which latter software updates and corporate franchise-making was not as privy to nurture.

OoT is the Narrative Equivalent of Induction Into A Gnostic Mystery Cult. Down to the Plot Twist Which is the Reveal of the True Nature of the Triforce -- a Metaphysical Bond where One Unity Is Severed and Binds Three Souls -- the player ascends into Virtual Godhood. In Majora's Mask, Link is himself the Protean Figure of Mercurius/Hermes changing Shape and Identity at Will, Mastering Time and Space, Land and Sea, Underworld and Spheres Beyond the Spheres, Becoming a Radiant Purifying Force Which Shatters All Illusions, Even the Illusory World of the Dreamscape Itself as the Evil Hands You Your True Face as A Righteous Devil and Deems You Fit To Slaughter It.

There is a sense of transition, of completion, and a sense of accepting death, but I do think Link's literal death is thinking too small, too narrowly, though we do know he dies with regrets, his spirit living on to bestow knowledge upon his descendent. The Death angle is touching on something real, but it's also letting itself off too easy. As Style comes from practice, Specificity in Analysis Comes From Keen Observance.

\\./

//.\

@flyoverkushtaka

Well, this is certainly a lot to take in. I'll probably have to respond piecemeal over a few days, having to go back and reread these things to really grasp what you're getting at. I had said nothing yet about Majora's Mask and Buddhism because the right words had yet to come; I needed to refresh my understanding but could not find the time to.

It's a complex subject that I've never seen breached satisfactorily. The three-day cycle is symbolic of samsara. Link is the bodhisattva who liberates the inhabitants of Termina from their suffering. The completion of this task rewards him with apotheosis into the Fierce Deity, perhaps puzzling to Westerners but an obviously reference to the Wrathful Deities of Buddhism, who harness their wisdom and compassion into passionate fury to achieve their goals: They attack, harangue, aggress. They confront you with your own sins and shortcomings, not to make you feel shame, but to strip away your ego and show you how to overcome moral and existential hurdles. . . . Oh! Yes then!

Majora is the culmination of the primal scene of Skull Kid's abandonment, and Link as the Fierce Deity is literally stripping the delusion and suffering away from him so Skull Kid can reconcile with the trauma of losing his friends. Termina is an an inverted Bardo!

It's all coming together now! I can see it oh so clearly, Mister Jacek!

Majora's Mask's thematic core is Buddhist myth and philosophy turned on its head, like a wasteland tower flipped into the sky!

It's Buddhism in Wonderland, Vajrayana Mabinogion! On the surface, Termina is a Bardo for Link, wandering through endlessly, confronted with demons to assail and demoralize him as well as eerily familiar faces to evoke comfort and unease. But if Link makes the effort to act as a true bodhisattva and heal the suffering of the land, you realize that Termina is *everyone else's* Bardo, a shared Bardo, and Link is rewarded with (brief) ascension to Buddhahood as the Fierce Deity.

Oh! But also the Fierce Deity is the completion of the logic of heroic violence! Link is the crusading knight on a mission from the gods, the sort of warrior-figure so intricately woven into so many cultures that it loses some of its teeth in this representation, the little fairy-boy with his little sword who slays monsters that vanish in a puff of smoke when vanquished. Cartoon violence. The Fierce Deity is not a superhero but the expression of violence in its realer, more horrific form.

Violence is the imposition of will to remove agency from another sentient being. Its use requires the harnessing of dark forces inside all of us. Its aftermath is every bone that doesn't heal neatly, every friendship permanently soured, every empty seat at the dinnertable.

Link is a tool of violence wielded by divine forces for their arcane cosmic purposes, and it's cute when he's a little boy fighting monsters and standing up to evil, but you don't come back easy from being a child soldier, from every talking tree and glowing stone telling you your destiny is to kill, over and over again. And so Link incarnates as a violent god to permanently break the cycle. OoT is a clash between good and evil; MM meditates on the question of using violence to stop greater harm. Great Hindu epics have been written about this moral puzzle. Yes.

//.\

#stoked meditations #so proud #simple shit #it's all coming together #hey lil bro

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Star Wars: Andor

For the longest time, the quality of the Star Wars franchise has been lackluster. In animation it has had no equal, but in live action there has been a dramatic decline in storytelling and growth. The Mandalorian was that wake up call that breathed new life into the galaxy, The Book of Boba Fett made the air a little foul and most recently Obi-Wan Kenobi made it go stale. The hope for great stories in the franchise that challenged you the viewer and its characters was fleeting. This new series was the last beacon of light that could either reinvigrate the galaxy or just plunge it even deeper into despair. Well I am so happy to say that this series did the former and brought Star Wars into the realm of more adult storytelling that I've wished to see since Rogue One opened the door. The first 4 episodes alone let you know exactly what this show is all about and the exact tone it is promising throughout. The angle of espionage and relevant themes of political games, oppression, fascism and terrorism has always been apart of Star Wars, but now we get the chance to see the players and the people those decisions effect. The level of duality between the birth of the Rebellion vs the overbearing oppressive and order driven Imperials is brilliantly explored as you get to witness both perspectives of each factions. I have been waiting for something like this to happen and my goodness did this show deliver. There are so many emotional moments within this show that creep up and the moments of absolute brutality whether it be pure violence or torture, are expertly crafted to show how each character is effected and/or corrupted.

Diego Luna returns as Cassian Andor as we follow the character about 10 or so years before the events of Rogue One. We get to see the origin of the character with a number of retcons, but they were not necessarily too bad. I liked that he started off as basically a scoundrel that’s constantly down on his luck, but he has a heart of gold. He was way more relatable and unrefined and I loved that he wouldn't hesitate to take a life. He is in a desperate and sometimes dark place, but he is constantly learning how to survive and adapt to every predicament he finds himself. Fiona Shaw was so amazing and motivating as his adoptive mother Maarva Andor. She brought the gravitas to every word of wisdom and caution spoken to Cassian. There is a fight that never dies within her and she let it be known. Her chemistry with Andor was one of the guiding lights of morality throughout. Dave Chapman voices her personal droid B2EMO and he stole my heart by the end of the series and broke it in so many ways with his dry and yet emotional responses to Andor, Maarva and others. Adria Arjona as Bix Caleen was absolutely brilliant. She gets put through the ringer in this show and I can't stress enough how amazing her performance is in the latter half of the season. Her bond with Andor is strong, but not the typical focus. Faye Marsay as Vel Sartha was awesome and I loved that she was loyal to the cause. She was steadfast, but she was ready to ask questions as she acted as the moral compass of the Rebellion. Varada Sethu as Cinta Kaz was awesome and badass as her companion. When there was bloodshed needed, she didn't hesitate and was always ready. Stellan Skarsgård was nothing short of fascinating as Luthen Rael. He is the most elusive, cunning and plotting character of the series and I loved his complexities. Behind every action he makes is a sort of sorrow, but he is emboldened by his successes as he knows he is fighting for a greater good. He carries so much on his shoulders and you see it in an iconic scene that sums up his resolve. I loved his relationship with Andor, Vel and especially his personal agent Kleya Marki played wonderfully by Elizabeth Dulau. The two of them are deticated and she also keeps Luthen on mission. Genevieve O'Reilly reprises her role as Mon Mothma and my god was she outstanding. Through her we get the pleasure of seeing the political ramifications of fighting the Empire from within while trying to stay hidden. Genevieve adds so much depth, emotion and backstory to the beloved character. There are some amazingly tense moments with her navigating the waters of whom she could trust within and some emotionally gut wrenching scenes involving her past and family.

As I said before, this series explores both sides the Star WARS and it was very refreshing. Kyle Soller was unnerving and an interesting character study as Syril Karn. He starts off as the A typical perfectionist and he wants everyone to be their best at all times even when it wasn't that serious. He was basically a glorified small town deputy in a place where the worst crime someone could commit is public intoxication. The transformation this character goes through is something that is born of trauma once he gets a real taste of the beginning of a bigger threat. His obsession with capturing Cassian is almost stalker like with the look in his eyes. Anton Lesser was great as the head of the Imperial Security Bureau Major Partagaz. He was quick witted and no nonsense and I loved that he was open to strong suggestions to ending the growing rebellion. He truly represented the head of what one would call the gestapo of Imperial forces. It was scary how efficient and unrelenting he was. Speaking of unrelenting, Denise Gough was outstanding as Dedra Meero a supervisor in the ISB. Her whole arc in the show went from you routing for her as she fights her way to being a recognized and respected voice in the ISB council to completely hating what she becomes. Her work ethic was exceptional, but as we all know, true power corrupts in the wrong hands. She quickly becomes the very definition of a fascist leader for the modern age. George Lucas fashioned the Empire as oppressive and fascist regime and she embodies his vision as the series progresses.

The score was absolutely insane and I loved every second of it. Nicholas Britell has given new life to the titular characters' existence and he has brought so much dramatic power to the galaxy. His orchestration is truly unique as there is a growing tension in every note and emotional turmoil to every crescendo. I loved that he experiments with different variations of the great Andor theme. It sets the mood of the each episode and rebuilds back to its classic form by the end. Its been a long time since I've loved a television score and this is definitely on the list of one of my favorites. Visually the show is stunning and breathtaking as it is shot on location and it has so many design influences from other famous films like Blade Runner and George Lucas own THX 1138. It looks consistently in line with Rogue One and I can't wait to see it all eventually lead up to the film. I can't truly gush enough about how this show truly surprised and enthralled me from beginning to end. I haven't been so emotional involved in live action Star Wars since season 2 of The Mandalorian. This finally takes Star Wars away from the fun and sometimes overly nostalgic realm and brings it down to the more gritty and real world stakes of the people living in the galaxy. This was everything I've always wanted to see and I can't wait for Season 2! Do stick around for an EPIC plot point payoff at end of the season finale credits. Let me know what you thought of show or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

#star wars andor #diego luna #stellan skarsgard #adria arjona #genevieve o'reilly #kyle soller #fiona shaw #dave chapman #denise gough #faye marsay #Varada Sethu #forest whitaker #star wars

[cfmanymuses]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: Sarah (my actual name) or Phantom, I’ll answer to both. PRONOUNS: She/Her. PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Tumblr IM or Discord. Feel free to ask for that, btw.  NAME OF MUSE(S): Oh boy. Let’s see... Cindiri Arethan, Verena Austus, Astra Alcyone, Alessa Rivers (she’s not finished), Namira Alinor, Horatia Mortalitas, Ace Heart (he’s not finished), Gwen Forrest, Loren Walker, Phoenix Silent-Steps, Mary Decker, Cody Rivers, Moana Ngata, Daynasa Lavellan, Lotus Ninox, Tala Nashor, Jessamine Lillista, Zunemira Padmini, Antonia Rivers, and Vadania Yaeldrin. I also have a handful of NPCs, just people who are relevant to a few muses stories.    RP EXPERIENCE / HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): I’ve been doing this for about fifteen years? Maybe sixteen? I started when I was in high school, and I’m thirty now. Dammit, now I feel old.  PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: Tumblr, Discord, Skype (very rarely, didn’t like it), deviantArt’s chatrooms (where I started!), email once or twice. BEST EXPERIENCE: It’s really hard to say, I’ve enjoyed a lot of threads and stories over the years. RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: I’ve said it a few times, but excessive purple prose makes my brain switch off. I’m not hating on people who write like that, I just can’t deal with it. Godmodding annoys the hell out of me, too. FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: Fluff and angst, yes please! *grabby hands* I can’t make myself write smut, though.  PLOTS OR MEMES: Memes, definitely. There are so many good ones! Am I saying this because I suck at plotting? Yeah, maybe. Still, memes are fun. LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Both, I don’t care. I have a tendency to get really wordy, never feel pressured to match me 💜 BEST TIME TO WRITE: Afternoon/evening on a work day, if I’m not playing games with friends. Probably the same on my weekends, too, I have to have time to be a responsible adult, ugh.  ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): In some ways, yes. They all have little bits of my personality, which is probably not a good thing haha.

tagged by: No one, I stole this off @roguishexile ^^ tagging: You! Steal it and have fun!

#Dash Games; #(Sneaky edit because I totally forgot one of my muses oops!)

[ersaputriii]

Comprehensive Analysis of Denny JA’s Selected Work to 47: The wind that infiltrated the heart

In the world of Indonesian literature, the name Denny JA has become a widely known icon. As a writer, activist, and academics, his work has won many awards and stole the attention of many readers. One of Denny JA's chosen works that deserves to be analyzed comprehensively is the "wind that infiltrates the heart". Through this article, we will explore the beauty, strength, and messages contained in this work. "The wind that infiltrated the heart" is an essay poem that tells the story of the life journey of a man named Andika. This story illustrates Andika's struggle in finding identity and diving life with all my likalik. In this essay poem, Denny JA succeeded in presenting a strong, complex, and arouse the emotions of readers. One interesting aspect of "wind that infiltrates the heart" is the use of beautiful and flowing language. Denny JA has the ability to describe the atmosphere and feelings with the thrilling words of the soul. The reader will feel how strong the wind infiltrated the heart of the character in this story. Each sentence was felt deep, so that it took us as if he was there, witnessed their life journey firsthand. In addition, a well -structured storyline is also one of the attractions of this work. Denny Ja smartly builds a relationship between one scene and the next scene. Each event has a deep meaning and consequence for the development of the character and the plot of the story as a whole. This makes the reader continue to be bound and curious about what will happen next. Tematema raised in the "wind that infiltrates the heart" is also very relevant to the social and emotional reality faced by our society. Denny Ja describes the struggle for life, love, and loss so deeply. This essay poem also invites us to reflect on the meaning of life and meaning behind every event we experience. Moral and philosophical messages conveyed through this story will make us inspired and think deeper about life. In this comprehensive analysis, we also should not forget other components that make the "wind that infiltrate the heart" into an extraordinary work. Detailed background depiction, sharp dialogue, and deep character development all complement each other to create an unforgettable story. The 47th chosen work of Denny JA also won the hearts of literary readers and critics. Many call it Denny Ja's best work of all time. The award he received was also proof that "the wind that infiltrated the heart" has a very high quality and is able to bring a deep reading experience. In the conclusion, "the wind that infiltrated the heart" is the 47th elected work of Denny JA who deserves comprehensive analysis. Through a beautiful language, a well structured storyline, relevant tempatema, and other strong components, Denny JA succeeded in creating a work that is vibrating and inspiring. This essay poem shows Denny JA's expertise as a writer who is able to present an unforgettable story. For readers who are looking for in -depth reading experience, "The wind that infiltrates the heart" is the right choice.

Complete check: Comprehensive Analysis of Denny JA's Selected Work to 47: The wind that infiltrates the heart "

[kaleidoscopic-quiddity]

things i really loved about episode 10

(in no specific order because i can’t choose a single favourite thing) 

the fact that homophobia is still nowhere to be found in bad buddy! i was worried it was gonna become a thing in the plot now that the parents have found out about pat and pran but i was happily surprised. i know stories about homphobia and the real lived experiences of mlm are both important and relevant, and absolutely deserve to get told, but its just nice to see a queer story that’s still engagingly  dramatic without needing to use bigotry to create said drama 

ink and pa getting together!!! congratulations lesbians i am so proud. i was kinda worried that inkpa would remain as just a teased relationship that would never actually come to anything but im so happy that bad buddy took the plunge and had them explicitly state their feelings for each other, and in the cutest and sweetest fuckin way possible 

pa’s coming out scene with pat. i love that a big deal wasn’t made of her sexuality, no ‘have you always liked girls?’, no ‘ but i thought you were straight?’, just pat being a supportive big bro and telling her ‘you like anyone you want’ 

bad buddy once again subverting old and tired BL tropes by having the whole ‘unsupportive parents find out about their sons’ relationship’ bring pat and pran closer together, not split them apart in a dumb last minuet breakup for extra drama

speaking of the parents: chai was the underrated king of this episode, whilst i do thing he couldve done more to support pran and stand up to dissaya, i love that he was aware of pat and pran’s relationship and was chill and supportive about that, especially since in the BLs its usually the father’s who are the most vitriolically homophobic 

korn blatantly fucking flirting with wai, i was laughing my way through that entire scene and im so happy pat and pran’s friends are finally getting along 

pat declaring his love for pran in front of the entire architecture faculty, we stan a lovestruck himbo 

all the fucking allusions to marriage/engagement this episode??? like i see you  👀 you aint subtle  👀

bad buddy clowning on dumb BL tropes yet again by directly making fun of the ‘they’re in love but are actually secretly brothers thing’, i just love how clear the production and actors are about how they find stuff like that just as stupid as we do

pat and pran’s visit to the high school being interspersed with ‘aw babe you had a crush on me? thats so embarrassing’ ‘we’re dating’ ‘still’ vibes, i completely love how even tho theyre together now pat and pran still love teasing each other and competing over sily things like who fell first 

god i know it was a heart breaking scene but pran breaking down in pat’s arms really speaks to his character development, the fact that he no longer feels like he has to hide his pain and that he willing lets himself be supported by someone who loves him, i was also totally crying

also!!! pat’s silent tears? the way he was clinging to pran just as tightly as pran was cling to him?? the head/neck caressing? the ‘lets get away from here?’, my heart hurt so much i was literally clutching my chest 

the fact that wai finding out pa already liked someone (and that that someone was a girl) wasnt used to create another jealously plotline or to make wai into a sexist/lesbophobic/incel antagonist but was instead a comedy beat was so relieving for me

pran standing up to his mum had me cheering out loud, hes literally come so far in these 10 eps

and the fact that what she’s done to him, plus the fact that she hit him, wasnt played off as just ‘oh thats how asian/strict parents are’ or ‘well it wasnt even that hard of a slap’ but was instead clearly shown as something serious and genuinely detrimental to pran 

he was only there for one scene but korn stole this episode for me, literally every moment hes on screen is hilarious and drake brings such a fun energy to his character 

pran’s love song!!!! nanon’s singing voice is so beautiful and im betting now a complete version of the song is going to be used during a big romantic moment (perhaps a proposal???) 

its little thing but the way that ink, a taller and older upperclassman giving gifts to pa and flirting with her is very clearly shown as cute and flirtatious and well received by pa, not as a creepy or predatory behaviour, bad buddy rlly said ‘we’re gonna have our sapphics be just as dorky and sweet as our main boys’ 

the fact that dissaya and ming’s dispute wasnt over a bad break up, or being cheated on, or some other lowkey sexist reason (crazy ex gf trope anyone?) but instead was about a very real issue that effected dissaya’s future 

and, the fact that all of that is not used to excuse how she treats pran or to try and suddenly make her ‘sympathetic’ or ‘understandable’ in her awful parenting

this one’s technically episode 11 but pat asking ‘can i kiss you?’ is genuinely so important to me. itd be so easy to have a big dramatic scene where pat pulls pran into a surprise kiss and the music swells and blah blah blah but instead its shown that even in well established relationships consent is not only still important, but can be very sweet and romantic too 

#bad buddy #patpran #pat napat #pran parakul #bad buddy spoilers #bad buddy the series #bad buddy ep 10 #og post //

[the-bat-collector]

SUPERBAT Rec List!! AU NO POWERS ish PART 2

No Powers or No Capes (There are some minor exceptions but I think this still applies)

Soo it’s become harder to find these fics and I kept postponing making this list just in case I found moreeeee. After some time convincing myself I decided that If I find more I’ll just make a part 3.

Here is the link to Part 1 Post

So without further ado. Here you go!

Storge by ichikonohakko @ichikonohakko

G - 3,310

Storge (storgē, Greek: στοργή) is liking someone through the fondness of familiarity, family members or people who relate in familiar ways that have otherwise found themselves bonded by chance. An example is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child.

Or the story of how Clark Kent meets the Wayne family children.

So this was in my mark for later and I read it as I was making this list and it’s very cute and adorable and highly recommend it! 

don't you know an apparition is a cheap date by knoxoursavior  @clqrkkent

E - 39,385

Clark has been able to see ghosts since he was eight, just a few days before his Pa died in his sleep. Years later, after having moved to the city with Martha to pursue writing, Clark meets Bruce Wayne, who takes an interest in his work and Clark in particular. Not long after they meet, Bruce asks Clark to marry him and Clark moves into a mansion that has more ghosts than it has people.

So I couldn’t find more AUs for this list, I was about to quit looking and yesterday I ran into this one and it gave me so much hope that there might be more out there (part 3?maybe?) I think of this as Ghost Whisperer Clark 

Stories for the Loved and Lost by MatchaMochi @renaimori 

M - 9,681

The first chapter leads Clark to another, and another. He turns the pages, eating the words up hungrily and feeling them, pored over the story as if he was reading someone’s personal diary. And the thing was, he knows it, he knows this story. He remembers flashes of memory that aren’t his, thrown in yesterday’s weird dream or last night’s nightmare.

or in which Bruce is an author and Clark is his fanboy.

I WILL read every single SOULMATE AU FIC I CAN FIND CAUSE I’D DIE FOR THIS TROPE. This is beautifully written <3 <3

Ghastly Murders in the East End by dippkip @dippkip

T - 38,227

London, 1888. A vicious killer known as Jack the Ripper has begun haunting the district of Whitechapel. In light of Scotland Yard’s inability to solve the case, intrepid reporter Clark Kent has made it his mission to track down this fiend and bring them to justice, though he may find himself more deeply involved in the affair than he bargained for.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne, a seemingly irresponsible and eccentric duke, remains largely unconcerned about these atrocities. The Batman, however, has taken special interest, and spends his nights relentlessly hunting the new murderer at large. The paths of these men will converge as the body count begins to rise, and their investigations and growing affections will cement their bond, intertwining their fates with that of the most notorious murderer in all of England.

OKaaaay this is one of the exceptions, Bruce is Batman but it’s a different century and Clark is powerless, I think it compensates. Usually I prefer when they’re both “capeless” but this was such a fun read. 

As You Grow by dnawhite76 & Prubbs @prubbs​ 

M - 59,946

After the death of his wife and children, Clark returns to the United States after spending years abroad to reconnect with his friends and their families. And while trying to gather what little remains of his old life and possibly move forward in his grief, he ends up falling into old habits with his first love and best friend, Bruce Wayne.

A story about grief and acceptance.

So I want to point out how good this fic is. I hate sad and this story has a lot of grief and I felt it was very grounded on its depictions of feelings. I tend to avoid this type of fics buuuuut this was so good. I couldn’t stop reading even if the grief got to me. It’s very wholesome and does have a satisfying ending. 

A good start by BlueAlmond @discretocincel​

G - 1,253  

Clark loves being an elementary school teacher, but it breaks his heart to see any of his students hurting. So, when he notices Jason waiting over forty minutes every day for someone to pick him up, he decides to have a word with his father.

Absolutely love Professor Trope!!! Sooo you could argue this is ficlet but doesn't feel like one to me so I’m not putting it in the ficlet section. 

Engraved In Our Souls by Nixie_DeAngel @nixie-deangel​

T - 9,004

It started with pain, with warm blood and bold, black letters. How was he to know it'd lead to a pair of gorgeous eyes, shimmering with the promise of life long happiness and love?

Or, after years of waiting, Bruce finds his soulmate in the least likely of places.

Little cute soulmate AU<3  AS I SAID I WILL READ EVERY SINGLE SOULMATE AU OUT THERE CAUSE I LOVE THEM

Ghosts by ren_makoto 

T -3,067

Wayne Manor is haunted. Clark doesn't mind.

Here is another of the exceptions, this is neither No Powers/No Capes, but they’re not relevant to the plot or we don’t see them using them (I don’t think they are mentioned but its implied). The Fic’s whole focus is on the ghosts! and absolutely loved it I LOVE REN MAKOTO FICS

There is Little Danger by ren_makoto

T - 5,327

"It's tradition," he said, one inch from Clark's mouth. "Yes," Clark said. "Tradition."

Or, where Bruce and Clark are trapped in an elevator

another Ren Makoto cause I can’t help myself

Semi-Permanent Couplings by ren_makoto

E - 10,463

"So, Bruce, how do you feel about one-night stands?"

Ren Makoto <3 <3 <3 This fic contains Adultery soo Read the Author’s Notes

Hubris by ren_makoto

M - 20,197

"This is turning into a routine," Bruce said breathlessly. "What can I do for you, Clark?" "Please," Clark said hoarsely. "I just want to get some sleep."

I really like the writing on this fic, this is a 100% NO CAPES, Clark does have powers and he’s starting to process them. Ren Makoto stole my heart with this one.

Not so Perfect Afterall by tekowrites

E - 6,966

AU: High school, Senior year. Clark thinks his life is nearly, if not already perfect. Then he overhears a conversation that changes absolutely everything. Bruce is there to pick up the pieces.

Red, White and Blue by melmel_79

E - 3,639

He works for the Secret Service, and it's best that no one knows he is in a relationship with the president. At least he hoped no one would know...

He grips the envelope tighter and knocks on the door to the Oval Office.

This was a mistake.

Late Night Feelings by the_butler @the-butler-fanstuff

M - 9,283

It was a little past one in the morning, the phone the only light in his room. He glared at it, then threw it to his side on the bed, not caring to see where it landed. A few seconds after, he patted all along the side to find it and looked at it again. He pulled up the messaging app, scrolled down, and then sighed. He exited the app and threw the phone on the bed again. He repeated this several times until some minutes later the phone chimed and he hurriedly sat up and felt for it on his bed. He opened the messaging app again and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he read the reply he’d been waiting for the whole night.

“Be there in 30 mins.”

I LOVE CLARK HERE, GOOD FOR YOU. He’s such a good adult looking out for himself! self-loving and self-respecting Clark here everybody.

it took me by surprise (I know you felt it, too) by jessequicksters @jessequicksters​

G - 1,124​

In which Clark and Bruce fall in love in between study sessions, track races, grocery shopping at Whole Foods and romantic student dinner dates, burnt lasagna and all.  

FLUFF, could argue this is a ficlet buuuuut dont care, it goes here.

Towards You by tekowrites

E - 22,607

AU where Clark is a new transfer student at an elite high school, and he encounters Bruce Wayne. Clark doesn't fit in, not anywhere it seems, and his crush on the star of the football team? Only serves to shows how much. Jealous girlfriends, misunderstandings, hormones and lurking trouble are just some of the challenges he's going to face.

I LOVE THIS , basically this fic made want to make a PART 2, just had to find 15+ other fics to add to the list. 

Read the tags, this does contain some heavy topics towards the end

The Game (of Love) by KaizokuHime @kaizokunohime

E -12,288

In WayneTech VR Augmented Gaming, a guild of superheroes has arisen who volunteer to help police that reality. One of these superheroes, Superman, has had a crush on his fellow member, Batman, for many years, but thus far has had little success on asking him out, even as fellow guildmembers. How will their relationship progress? And how intimate can they truly become without knowing the other's identity offline?

A Game You Can't Win gave me hunger for gaming fics, then I found this one and I WANT MORE GAMING FICS

Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang by ShowMeAHero @andillwriteyouatragedy

E - 8,354

Clark Kent is a professor at the same university as Bruce Wayne. Not that it matters, because Bruce doesn't really speak with his co-workers - they're there to work with, not befriend. That is, until Clark and Bruce are assigned to teach a class together in the fall, and start spending more and more time together, and Bruce starts to realize, maybe, he just might need a friend - and maybe, he just might need something else, something Clark-specific.

YES YES PROFESSOR TROPE. They are the best together!

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SORTA KINDA MAYBE FITS THE CATEGORY

The Gift by tmelange

E - 5,564

University student Clark Kent is on a field trip to Gotham City where he meets a creature of the night.

VAMPIRE AU, soooo Clark has powers but he is not superman so NO CAPES on his part. Bruce is a Vampire and I’m not really sure if he’s Batman but he’s some sort of vigilante. This felt very AU and sorta? fit the category, so I decided to add it anyways but it’s worth to mention this is an outlier on this list.

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SPECIAL MENTION CAUSE I HAVENT READ THIS ONE BUT IT WAS RECOMMEND TO ME by @just-add-butter​

Spoils of War by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

“If I go with you as a spoil of this pointless war, will you leave?” Bruce stands his ground, terrified and shaking, but he keeps eye contact with the warlord.

“Excuse me?” Kal must be hearing things.

“If I go with you, if I serve you, will you let my people live? Will you let my brother live?”

This is not finished buuuut it’s a Medieval AU. I just need to get myself in the right mindset to read an unfinished fic but will get to it! love what llittlechinesedoll writes.

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FICLETS 

This section was accidental. I like my fics long and rarely read ficlets but here are a few that came across my way when I forgot to set word count filters.

Snapping the Chats by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

G - 2,278

Clark tries to use the Snapchat filters on Bruce.

General Check-up by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

T - 906

One where Brucie is getting a check-up from Thomas Elliot and he touches Bruce more cause Clark is obviously jealous

Subway Providence by the butler @the-butler-fanstuff

G - 400

A short drabble about art I did of Clark and Bruce waiting for the train on a subway platform.

So my first list was me coming across and realizing I love this kind of AUs and this second list is me carefully looking for them! Even tho my 1st list has some of my favorites, I hold this one closer to my heart. Hope you Enjoy it. 

Also if you know of any that I haven’t included on these lists, please I beg you send them my way <3 

#superbat #rec list #rec #batman #superman #clark kent #bruce wayne #recs list #kal el #superbat rec list #fanfiction #fanfic #worlds finest #world's finest #ao3 #archive of our own #dc #dc rec list #fics #batfam #superbat fic rec #DC comics #au #alternate universe #superbat au #superbat alternate universe #no powers au #no capes #no powers #superbat no powers

[fae-fucker]

Review: Stolen Goblin Bride by Emma Hamm

When a mortal girl steals a necklace from a Goblin, there will be a price to pay... Esther knows the rules. Don't talk to the goblins. Don't look at the goblins. Above all else, don't buy or trade with the goblins. Then, one day before market, she sees a young rat faced boy selling a necklace that looks eerily like her mother's, what's a young girl to do? Of course she tries to buy it, but he won't sell it to her. So she steals it because it's her mother's necklace. Lux knows the rules. He's a jeweler and he can sell his wares to those who want to faithfully buy them. Something doesn't feel right about selling this particular piece to the beautiful young woman who immediately steals his heart. So he doesn't. But when he realizes the mortal girl stole from him, he's forced to enact magic that can't be unwritten. Stealing from a goblin always has a price.

So this is what we’ve come to, huh?

Just straight up lying in the blurb? I should’ve known I’d be in for a bad time when the inciting incident is literally the opposite of what’s advertised.

God, this book was one of the worst things I’ve ever read, and this review will reflect that because I simply cannot, I am shitting and pissing incomprehensibly, everything about this book is wrong and I don’t know where to start. I apologize in advance for the length. Let’s get into it.

First of all, the cover is a lie. Lux is “rat-faced” in that he has the face of a boy/man BUT the nose and ears of a rat? And he’s got a rat tail. He’s not conventionally attractive and Esther even says he’s not. So whomst the fucketh is the grey bitch on the cover? Hell if I know.

I don’t know how old either of them is supposed to be. Esther refers to Lux as her “goblin boy” even though he both owns a house and lives alone in it. She also soon picks up on him being treated as a boy and wanting to be seen as a man (another thing that muddles their ages) but still calls him a boy constantly even after that so like? She just doesn’t give a fuck about anyone else, I guess, which is consistent with her character.

Esther is also, like, monumentally stupid, and seems to view her sister as an adult and an authority figure, but we never figure out either of their ages?

Second: yeah, the blurb is straight up lying. Esther doesn’t steal the necklace, Lux gives it to her for free and even after other goblins tell her that paying for the necklace is what will curse her, she still leaves money behind as payment for the necklace, which prompts Lux to “kidnap” her to be his bride.

And no, we never find out why it works this way. The goblins talk about trading with human nobles, but it’s never elaborated upon exactly how the trading works if the goblins refuse to be paid or what payment they take from the nobles, and, crucially, the goblins show up in Esther’s poor village and seem to frequent it enough that she knows of them? Like, they set up their cart in this village why? Do they like to just give shit away to poor humans? I assume this is expanded upon in the book series that this novella is a prequel to, but this book is supposed to be the first in an independent series, so it should still stand on its own to some degree.

I should also point out that the necklace is never relevant again, and Esther’s feelings on her mother and family in general are constantly negative and disapproving, which makes one wonder why in the world she’d get so attached to a random necklace that only looks like her mother’s but isn’t really? It’s a flimsy as fuck excuse to get the plot going and it shows.

So the blurb and the cover is a lie, then. What do we have instead of what’s advertised?

NOTHING.

There’s literally. No. Conflict. Here’s what happens. Here’s my official Stolen Goblin Bride recap:

Esther: This kind of reminds me of my mother’s necklace. I thought my mother sucked and so did everything she stood for but man the plot compels me to get it and interact more with this rat boy so I guess I gotta.

Ester: *steals forcibly buys a necklace, which I would say is the opposite of stealing but go off*

Lux: I’m a widdle rat boy, I have to steal you now, sowwy uwu.

Esther: Actually I’m a furry and I like your rat face, and my sister is a bumfuck bitchcunt anyway and I hate her and I’m not like other girls, so I’m ok with you stealing me.

Lux: Wow you’re not like other girls! I’m so impressed with how cool and brave you are, unlike all the other human women who scream in horror and cry when we kidnap them! Those stupid bitches amirite! It’s so sexy and unique and kind of you to accept my people not as monsters but as fun furries instead!

Esther: I know right? I’m such a free spirit who loves the fae despite my dumfuck bitchass shitcunt family who told me to stay away from you guys. I’ll go talk to this kelpie now because I believe in the goodness of all fae and I’m quirky.

Kelpie: Hi yes I eat people. I attack you now because you are food.

Esther: Well that wasn’t very nice. This sucks. Maybe my sister was right?

Lux: Actually here’s a different kelpie who’s not evil, trust me. Look at her giving birth. Anyway you’re so sexy for not listening to your dumbfuck parents telling you to be wary of faeries. Please hold onto your childish naivete because it’s a sign of having a good heart and a kind soul and NOT a symptom of a fully missing frontal lobe, apparently.

Esther: I’m in love with you now because you’re a rat boy and that appeals to my monsterfucker sensibilities and because you enable the worst parts of my personality. Also you gave out food to poor people at your king’s request and you did it while smiling, which means you’re a good person and not just a chump working for a monarchy that should do more than just hand out one meal per person once to combat widespread famine and poverty. Now turn me into a goblin as well so you can think I’m hot and so I can roll around in the mud naked or whatever it is I apparently couldn’t do as a human.

Lux: Are you sure? We’ve only known each other for a month tops lol

Esther: No I’m sure. Fuck my sister actually. That bitch only ever worried for my safety and wanted to protect me. I hate her guts for not letting me eat glass as a child because what’s life without a little adventure?

Esther: *turns into a goblin* Ok now I’m finally happy and my true self. I have left humanity and my whorebitchfuck sister behind so I can fuck my rat husband and have a monkey son. This is the good ending. I have learned nothing and will continue to learn nothing and will be rewarded for my stupidity and ungratefulness by a celestial, all-knowing magical being who will say that I’m kind and good-hearted.

The End

This is it. I’ve summarized the main plot beats and their outcomes and none of this is made up.

Lux is whatever. He’s bland and boring and I think he’s supposed to be cute in a literal rat way, but his enabling of Esther’s worst qualities and how he constantly not-like-other-girls her is obnoxious as fuck.

But not as obnoxious as Esther herself. Good god, I wanted her dead by chapter 4.

You know those little annoying and overly naive characters that writers put in their stories to say something about how kindness is a fool’s decision in a cruel world, and how those characters are always exaggeratedly dumb to make a bad point? That’s Esther, except the narrative seems convinced that she’s somehow correct. Like, it teases the reader with her maybe learning something, maybe realizing something about how her worldview is flawed and that maybe her family had a point, but then, no, actually. Esther is always right. Esther is a wonderful, open-minded free spirit who just wants to run through meadows and kiss rat boys and chat with kelpies who want to bite her face off, and she’s good and righteous. There’s no conflict in terms of plot, and there’s no conflict in terms of character development, because Esther is coddled by the narrative to the point where you’re waiting eagerly for the other shoe to drop but it NEVER DOES.

And you might say, “But Eff! This is a fluffy feel-good book! It’s ok that Esther is a dumb idiot who coasts through life not learning a thing!” And you’d be wrong. Sit down.

1) It makes for a boring character. She’s a static protagonist, and she’s definitely not supposed to be. There’s supposed to be conflict, but Esther is never actually challenged, and never actually changes. She’s always right, she’s always good and perfect and “kind” (we never actually see her doing anything kind, she just follows Lux around while he works, but go off).

2) It’s literally, narratively, WRONG. Esther ISN’T kind and good, and she IS stupid and naive. She leaves her sister, Freya, who she acknowledges loves and cares for her without a word, without hesitation, and doesn’t miss her once. The only time Esther thinks of her sister after ditching her is how wrong Freya was and how Freya was bad for not expressing sisterly love in a way that Esther found pleasing. A few times she begins to feel bad, only to go “no actually, I’m happy here, she wouldn’t understand and that makes my decision to not even explain myself justified.” And keep in mind, Esther’s family are not explicitly abusive. Their mistake was being wary of faeries and teaching Esther to do the same. That’s IT. And this is how Esther treats them and their memory and thinks of them. Not an ounce of love spared for them because they just didn’t GET her.

Esther is also stupid. There’s a difference between not thinking every goblin and/or fae is evil, and literally assuming a kelpie that’s making references about eating you and currently advancing towards you to eat you is simply being friendly and chatting. And you would assume, being a normal person, that a near-death experience would be formative or affect her in some way? Well, fuck you. Lux thinks it’s sexy of her to be this dumb and reinforces her bad actions by telling her how good she is and wow, look! Not all kelpies are evil! Some of them give birth!

3) The fact that Esther thinks of her family as a bunch of killjoys and prudes who just Don’t Get Her and doesn’t learn from her mistakes massively undercuts the idea that all of her stupidity and all her #freespirited choices are her own conscious ones. She comes off as a tweenager doing shit because she thinks her family will disapprove and this is her little rebellion. And at some point, yes, she does indeed want to turn into a goblin and it comes off as a hormonal reaction to Lux saying she’s beautiful “despite” being human.

Right during the transformation the narration goes “she’s doing this for herself, it’s a purely selfish decision,” but it reads like the writer remembered how this might look to most readers and ass-pulled a girlboss spin on a decidedly un-feminist move of a girl changing her entire race, her entire existence, for the sake of a man she’s known for a month. There’s no real reason given for her wanting to turn goblin, and she never thinks of this before Lux gives his “despite being human” comment. I think we’re supposed to assume she’ll be more “free” by becoming a goblin, but it doesn’t seem that her behavior or life changes at all? Like, nothing’s stopping her from frolicking in the forest as a human, since that’s what she does in the very opening of the book and her dreams of freedom don’t extend beyond that anyway? At best it comes off as her doing it because her family are humans and humans suck and she wants to be special. At worst she’s doing it so her literal rat of a husband can think she’s fully fuckable instead of just 50% fuckable. At best she’s a selfish, unthinking brat not realizing the consequences of her actions, at worst she’s reacting hormonally to a comment made by a boy she met a month ago. Is this a good heroine to you?

And before you ask, no, the romance isn’t good either. Since we don’t know their ages and they’re written as both children and adults at the same time, any sexy stuff would be uncomfortable to read anyway, and the chaste kissing we do get is just bland. The relationship develops over the course of a confusing a mount of time, a little over a month I think? And they don’t have any sort of personal conflicts to work out or any character development to do, but neither do they have any chemistry or squee-worthy qualities. They just sort of are in awe of how good and pure and quirky the other is and then they’re in love. I’ve unironically seen Barbie movies with better chemistry between Barbie and Ken.

The main “plot,” if one can call it that, is that Lux is ordered by the Goblin King (the hero in the book series this is a prequel to, I believe) to go out into the kingdom and hand out food and provisions to impoverished goblins, and Esther gets to tag along. Esther watches Lux do this shit he’s been ordered to do and he’s just sooo kind and precious and pure, and she falls in love with him a little more each time! If Esther saw YouTubers giving burgers to homeless people, she’d try to give them the Nobel Peace Prize, methinks.

Oh but sometimes she helps him give out food! Sometimes SHE gets to hand out stuff to poor people! How sweet! And this one time a little boy gives her a flower and she thanks him! Wow! These two are truly the paragons of goodness!

(And no, I don’t know how the king expects a one-time donation of food solve systemic poverty, but go off, literal king. I get the distinct impression the writer wasn’t big on the thinking part while working on this, because I don’t think the king is supposed to be evil or stupid.)

I should also mention that the writing is extremely poor, on a technical and structural level. Descriptions are repetitive, there are so many instances of “goblin boy” even though “Lux” would’ve sufficed, and the pacing is so weird, making it hard to discern how much time passes between events. Remembering it now, reading it felt like a fever dream.

To conclude, I truly don’t know who this book is for. The characters read like children, but the book isn’t interesting or adventurous enough to be for kids. The characters could be young adults or teens, but there’s no hook or interesting concept or counterculture edge to appeal to teenagers. And it’s clearly too fucking insipid and immature to appeal to any adult with decent taste.

The only saving grace is that the story is short. Unless you count the years reading it will take off your lifespan, that is.

Do not touch this book unless you want to suffer. Remember my sacrifice.

#eff reads: stolen brides of the fae #book review

[proxyedgy]

Today is April 6th!

To celebrate this wonderful occasion, here are 33 Hakumen fun facts:

1. Hakumen’s mask can come off, but nobody knows what his face looks like. Indeed, this may very well had been retconned after the first game and we’re none the wiser

2. Hakumen’s sword, Ookami, is over 2 metres long, being actually taller than Hakumen himself. You know what they say about samurai with long swords...

They can do some badass poses

3. Hakumen has 16 eyes. Not a single one of them is on his face

4. Hakumen is Toshimichi Mori’s favourite character, making him the worst Blazblue character by default

5. Hakumen approaches every situation with almost mechanical detachment, as he has perfected the art of being a dick

6. Despite everything, Hakumen still cares for the other Six Heroes. Yes, including Terumi. Especially Terumi. Don’t believe anyone that tells you otherwise

7. Hakumen's hobbies are unknown, as he doesn’t like anything, but some say he bakes sweets in his spare time

8. Hakumen is the only character in Continuum Shift not to have an alternate gag ending, since he’s boring af

9. In every game of the franchise, Hakumen’s plot relevance changes. By the time CentralFiction comes around, his only contribution is to die so Terumi can become the cishets’ favourite main

10. Before the 2.0 update to Cross Tag, Hakumen would speak Japanese in his special interaction with the Six Heroes, despite whatever vocal settings the game had for him. He could do that because he’s Hakumen, and he doesn’t give a fuck about your voice settings

11. My friend has asked me at least three times what the hell this hole in Hakumen’s armour is for

I still don’t have a good answer to that

12. In the main series, Hakumen only has three files for in-game portraits, because emoting is for the weak

13. The only thing Hakumen players know is to press D. Yes, they’re winging everything else, the goddamn menaces

14. In CentralFiction there is no Unlimited Hakumen

but he got this new move instead which is arguably worse

15. Hakumen’s sword can cut through projectiles. Because fuck you that’s why

16. The Hakumen at the end of Terumi’s arcade in ChronoPhantasma is not real but the pain and suffering he caused me when I first started playing are

17. I only defeated this bitch with the “deny Astral Heats” ability and I’m still salty about it

what the hell was I supposed to do, grab the bastard?

18. HAKUMEN is sometimes written as HAKU-MEN or HAKU=MEN in the games. Nobody knows why

19. Hakumen shares his voice actor (David Vincent in English, Kakihara Tetsuya in Japanese) with Jin Kisaragi, much to the surprise of the 7 people that bought Cross Tag without knowing Blazblue

20. Hakumen’s name can be translated as “white mask", but you can also read it as “white noodles” if you want, no one’s gonna stop you

21. Technically Hakumen and Jin Kisaragi should not be able to exist at the same time, but since Hakumen is really cool he gets a pass (Jin is on thin fucking ice though)

22. Although some think the insides of Hakumen’s armour are silent, the little horns on the sides of his helmet are, in fact, antennas, so he’s always tuned into the radio. He can’t turn it off

23. Some of Hakumen’s sprites have his hair as a separate object

The first time I saw this one in particular I almost had a heart attack

24. At the time of the Dark War, the OLN wanted to capture the Six Heroes, but never went through it because Hakumen scared them (no, really)

25. Hakumen has a technique called Time Killer, which “strips a target of all their remaining time in the world and instantly kills them”. Anybody could achieve the same result by stabbing their opponent, but Hakumen trademarked the term, so he’s technically the only one who knows it

26. After losing to Hakumen many, many times in my first playthrough of Calamity Trigger, every single time I see this portrait without fail I will say:

“stick that damn sword up your ass” 

27. Hakumen is currently only at 20% of his usual jerkassery, and he better stay that way if he knows what’s good for him

28. When Taokaka steals food from Hakumen, he drops a tiny Pakumen-shaped foodstuff, though it’s anybody’s guess as to where exactly it comes from

29. When electrocuted, Hakumen’s sprite has no body inside the Unit, so the “white void” part of his speech is probably not metaphorical

30. Hakumen’s speech also has a funny quirk in that every time he says it I can feel my soul leaving this earthly vessel, just for it to be drawn back through sheer force of anger

31. In gameplay, Hakumen’s techniques are named after nature, seasons and Buddhism, as he denounced his Catholic upbringing after donning the Unit

32. Hakumen is canonically British, as if we needed any more reasons to hate him already

33. Finally, for the last fun fact, I would like to remind everyone that Terumi is very much jealous of Hakumen’s enormous, beautiful, honking great knockers

and that’s why he stole the Unit back.

#rambly #hakumen #blazblue #long post #hakumen is very cool and i love him very much and i also hate him very much #the better jin kisaragi

[three-moving]

spoilers for genshin 2.0! you have been warned!

i have a theory.

vision bearers are not a threat to the raiden shogun. the real threat to her eternity is the other archons.

first things first: way before inazuma’s release, back in liyue when we were all waiting for the smallest sliver of news on the next nation, we were told that inazuma’s archon is pursuing eternity. we know from venti and zhongli that archons are mostly immortal - her pursuit is not of an eternal life, but of an eternal reign. keep this in mind, it’s important.

second: the archons are not especially unified. they each have different ways of doing things. venti and zhongli have been around the longest (as far as we know) so the others may see them as outdated or irrelevant, as some existing characters in-game like keqing or rosaria seem to do. zhongli relies heavily on contracts. venti aspires to have a nation of freedom. using these points, even the archons can be manipulated in the way that both venti and zhongli already have been. don’t get what i’m talking about? venti’s nation of freedom led to him being the weakest of the archons. signora stole his gnosis with ease. the tsaritsa and zhongli made a contract that led to him handing over his gnosis. the things they believe in and the way they rule allows them to be used by others.

third: the tsaritsa wishes to branch off from celestia. i’m not going to get into the whole difference between celestia and the archons because quite frankly i don’t understand it, there’s a lot going on there and i’m not doing that much research into it just for a dumb post on the shogun. what i do know is a) she is described as the god of love with no love left for her people. from what little we know of her, we can assume she holds little love for anyone else either, including the other archons. b) to branch off from celestia she needs power, which she’s collecting in the form of gnoses. c) the stronger a gods rule over their people, the stronger their power (see: venti being the weakest god as mondstadt is a free nation).

what’s my point here?

the raiden shogun does not fear being replaced by a human. vision bearers are of little consequence. they are not the issue. she fears being replaced by another deity.

so far, we’ve only seen her collect visions that are not electro. she went for thoma- he’s got a pyro vision. he went for kazuha’s friend - another pyro. i cant remember whether she was after kazuha for fleeing the nation or for his vision but either way - anemo vision. the people she seems to trust the most are electro vision bearers, kujou sara and yae miko. at least, she trusts them enough to let them keep their visions.

there was a theory i heard a while back (i promise this is relevant just hang on a second) about the characters in the initial genshin trailer being the ones who will become the next archons. when i speak of the initial trailer, i mean the one where dainsleif’s disembodied voice talked us through the basic plot of the game and each god’s motivations. i’ll link it here. i think that theory was onto something, but i do have some amendments to make. because in that trailer, diluc was the character representing mondstadt, and ayaka represented inazuma. they were/are certainly note-worthy plot-wise, but i don’t think either of them would want to run a nation. (ningguang, however, would definitely be up to it. no complaints there.)

if the archons were to be choosing their replacements, zhongli might choose ningguang, venti may well choose jean, and baal...

sara.

if anyone were to replace her in the end, it would be someone she trusts. someone who believes in her and in her will. someone who will execute things as she desires, someone worthy of respect and power in her eyes. and sara checks the boxes. ayaka, though, gifted power by the tsaritsa, who wishes to overthrow celestia and end baal’s perfect eternity... not so much of a candidate.

so, knowing what we know about the tsaritsa using the other archons’ ideals against them to gain their power, you can start to see how baal may fear losing her picture perfect eternity to this rebellious god who seems to fear nothing and no one. who would stoop to any level to get what she wants. and so, the visions are taken away, and now the other archons’ power in her nation has been reduced. their limited hold has been loosened, and the threats to her eternity removed.

however. in case something were to happen, there is a backup plan. a girl who holds the shogun’s ideals close to heart, who wholeheartedly believes in baal’s reign and her eternity. if something is to happen to the shogun, kujou sara can take her place. the eternal reign will continue. threats will be removed.

but that’s just a theory... A GAME THEORY! thanks for reading :)

if this is incredibly ramble-y and makes no sense i wrote it at 12:30 am when i could barely think straight and i refuse to read it over so i apologize

#raiden shogun #baal #genshin impact #genshin 2.0 #does this even make sense lmao #yes i do realize there was an electro vision inlaid on the statue however for the sake of this i choose to ignore it #three o clock speaks