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#not that he wouldn't overthrow you
hilarioushilarity · 1 month
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the funniest thing is when you realise that probably the only thing stopping Simon Eriksson from launching an actual coup was the fact that he'd be overthrowing Wille, and now that it's August -
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maegalkarven · 7 months
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The "You have ruined me" Durgetash but with a twist.
Gortash ruined Durge for Bhaal, making them desire something over than death and destruction, making them want something (someone) for themselves. Making them lower their defences around him and inevitably providing Orin an opening to strike (I'm a firm believer Orin shifted into Gortash to get close to Durge).
And Durge ruined Gortash for Bane, making him...dare I say a little bit soft, making him wish to SHARE power and not hoard it all in his steely grasp. Making Gotrash seek an alliance, wanting an equal. Wanting the things for himself, things what contradict what Bane tells him he should seek or want.
In the end they both are worse by that, but in the unexpected way.
Neither Gortash nor Durge are what their gods want them to be. They're traitors, if merely in thoughts, of their goals, their paths, what they were meant to be.
In the end The Absolute plot falls because mortals do what they always do: act by their own will, compromising carefully constructed plan of the gods.
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i realize this is something of an obvious sentiment to express in a certain light but the more times one rewatches the show the more it becomes glaringly clear that there are very few individuals who actually ever express a philosophical commitment to flint's war to overthrow england. charles does. billy does, although he has his own motivations as well. madi does. jack and anne don't though! not ever! blackbeard doesn't! max, certainly not. and silver? even before he decides to betray flint he never ever says anything even a little bit committed to any sort of animosity towards england. you hit that 3x10 battle and you realize just how few people are actually in it for the same reasons as flint. and you realize that just like flint, just like the crew, just like madi, john silver has also fooled YOU into believing that everyone is on the same page.
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When all of your pirate mutuals succumb to the Gaimen angels derangement and you can't join in the fun because you just do not give a fuck about them 😔
#dont read the tags im being a hater if you like good omens keep scrolling im not trying to yuck your yum or whatever im just venting#its not just the christianity thing either they're literally so not compelling to me#like this is why i get offended when people compare them to Ed and Stede Ed and Stede aren't boring like that#Azeriphael and Crowley need to loosen up and commit murder or something#anyway Pepper was my favorite character in the first season i think she should be allowed to commit arson#if season 2 had been about her going to college and being annoying in sociology class and coming up with a plan to overthrow the government#i would have already watched season 2#but its about that angel and that demon who queerbaited yall for 2 and a half decades? yawn#its like oh boo hoo you're on different sides you dont want to break the rules#theyre fuckin rules sickos Crowley way less so than Azeriphael but still#but i also like Crowley more than Azeriphael#I think Crowley would be a mediocre blorbo with a good aesthetic if his whole arc didn't revolve around an angel with religious trauma#Like the characters I enjoyed were Anathema and Pepper and Madame Tracy and Shadwell were funny if not necessarily compelling#Crowley was fine if he wasn't attached to Azeriphale but Azeriphale fell incredibly flat#he has no fucking teeth#no shade to the actor#like I wouldn't mind Azeriphale as a character if the narritive didn't constantly keep trying to get me to care about his internal conflict#because the internal conflict of not wanting to dissapoint sky daddy is not a vibe#all of that on top of my distaste for chritian aesthetics and it's just....#it's not the show for me#anyway incredibly unsurprising to me that Zira asked Crowley to become an angel again he would be like that#yassss king try to change your boyfriend into what you want him to be. jfc I can't with his heavenly ass#I just can't care about that kind of a rules sicko the way I can't care about Izzy unless he's a problem to be overcome
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semisolidmind · 2 months
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May I please ask for some CatNap and Y/N content? (if CatNap is alive and redeemed ofc) thank you for your content, you are feeding us well.
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i think that if y/n managed to stop the prototype from killing catnap, just before the killing blow, then perhaps catnap could have a change of heart. he'd probably just... give y/n one long look (he's stunned that they saved him after all he put them through), then slink away into the shadows. y/n would then see him around occasionally, not really helping the survivors, but not attacking them or reporting them to the prototype either.
it seems the disciple is finally questioning the god he was betrayed by, and is beginning to consider following an angel instead.
then, after all is said and done (and maybe having a small role in overthrowing the prototype), catnap just kinda...shows up, to leave the factory alongside the rest of the survivors. the other toys aren't happy about it, dogday especially, but y/n feels too sorry for catnap to leave him there.
as for how catnap would live alongside the survivors; stalking the woods during the night and sleeping during the day, catnap stays out of everyone's way. maybe there's an old barn on the property, and he's made a nest for himself up in the hayloft. he knows the others don't trust him. however, his nocturnal schedule wouldn't stop him from trying to steal some of y/n's attention for himself (much to dogday's anger).
catnap just wants to be near his savior. y/n tries to be empathetic, but .... they're still a bit jumpy around the quiet feline.
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radiance1 · 7 months
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Bruce has been chasing after Damian for years now, the once child now a young adult. He's missed 5 years of his son's life, due to a conversation where they both said the wrong words which resulted in Damian running away and somehow managing to evade all of them for so long.
He has to get to his son, before Talia sucks him right back up into the league.
They managed to track his location down to a nightclub, apparently, he was participating in a regularly held event that's been going on ever since 6 years ago.
So they went to the city the nightclub was in, disguised themselves in the crowd and was told to let each other know if they've found Damian.
He didn't expect to meet Talia and the same nightclub, but it made sense. If he was able to find Damian, then it makes sense for Talia to be able to do so as well, even after years hiding from the both of them.
He was keeping an eye on Talia, and she was keeping an eye on him as well, when the event started. The most popular-and only- DJ appeared and played music that had the civilians going wild, and then an entire stage sprang from the ground, multicolored lights coming to life.
This was an event in which multiple dancers had to compete against each other, for what was previously the chance to battle Wraith, the champion who also acted as the DJ, but that changed when Demon came around, overthrowing Wraith and yet, the two seemed to be evenly matched, taking the champion title from each other over the period of 5 years.
Now, who ever got far enough had the option to pick between the two, the Wraith or the Demon.
===
Danny, or otherwise known as Wraith, managed to find a place for himself after losing everything to the Nasty Burger explosion, with the help of Vlad to get him back on his feet, he managed to find a place for himself in a nightclub in another city.
It was in that same city, that he didn't expect to see his twin, Damian Al Ghul, by himself. He explained that he left his father, and was on the run from their mother, Damian didn't know what to do with himself anymore.
Which-as much as he wasn't on a cordial relationship with Damian- reminded him of himself after the explosion of Nasty Burger. So, he took him in at his pretty decent size apartment, fully prepared to do what was needed for his older brother until he got back on his feet.
Then Damian followed him to the nightclub one day, and then the next demanded that Danny teach him so that he could earn his keep.
And Danny did.
He didn't expect for Damian to progress so fast that he was able to dethrone him, though. But he gave credit where credit was due, and if Damian was hellbent on doing this for a living, then he had to wear a mask to hide his identity, from you know, some types of fans and the League as well.
He asked Vlad for another neon mask- he had one himself- and Vlad gave him one surprisingly easy, and then he gave that mask to Damian.
And that, was how Wraith and Demon became regular champions that dethroned each other, until the manager told them to stop because no one else would be able to display their skills and instead made them both champions.
Either pick one or get two.
Their lives fell into an endless motion of DJing, dancing to earn money, and then going back home to a messy apartment, eating and then passing out.
It was a perfect routine that neither of them whished to disturb.
Then Danny saw Talia, and Damian saw Bruce, and suddenly that peace was threatened. Neither of them wanted to go back now, not after establishing this little thing for themselves that they carved out with their own two hands.
But it would be okay, as long as their masks stay on they would go unnoticed, after all.
They wouldn't even think that their children were dancers, would they?
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serpentandlily · 4 months
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Untouchable VIII - Azriel x Reader
Untouchable - Azriel x Rhysand'sSister!Reader
Summary: For as long as you can remember, you have always had feelings for Azriel, your court’s spymaster. But after centuries of watching him pine after your own cousin, hoping he’d eventually move on, your wish came true. He moved on—with Elain, your brother’s mate’s sister. Unable to watch him fall in love with someone else again, you flee from Velaris, from him. But things are a lot more complicated than that—more complicated than you ever imagined.
Warnings: angst angst angst
a/n: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update this story. I got major writer's block for it :(( This chapter is short but I wanted to get something out to you guys. We're almost at the end though! One more part after this and then an epilogue <3 Thank you guys for all the kind words/support! I don't have a lot of free time so I'm shit at replying to your comments/asks but I promise I read them all and they make me so happy! Hope you enjoy!
➻❥ Part I ➻❥ Part II ➻❥ Part III ➻❥ Part IV ➻❥ Part V
➻❥ Part VI ➻❥ Part VII ➻❥ Part VIII ➻❥ Part IX ➻❥ Part X
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
Part VIII
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
You stumbled backwards, away from the evil sorcerer who was hovering above the lake. You frantically looked at Cedric. “Please, Cedric, what is this?”
He didn’t even look your way. You kept stumbling back until you knocked into the hard chest of one of the guards. He grabbed you by the upper arms, locking you in place despite your attempts to wiggle free.
“I brought you the girl,” Cedric said to Koschei. “Now it’s time to uphold your part of the deal.”
You twisted to look up at the guard. “Deal? What deal is he talking about?”
But the guard ignored you too. 
Koschei waved a dismissive hand at Cedric, his eyes still lingering on you as if you were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. "Yes, yes. You will have my support to overthrow your father."
"I need more than just your word," Cedric grumbled. "I'm not handing over the girl until you make a bargain with me." 
Koschei laughed under his breath. "You wish to make a bargain with me?" 
While the sorcerer's attention was elsewhere, you realized this might be your one and only chance to break free. 
You threw your cuffed arms up around the head of the guard holding you in place and bucked forward as hard as you could, effectively tossing him over you and onto the muddy ground. A move Azriel had taught you once. 
You ignored the shouts and yells as you darted off towards the wooded area that surrounded the lake. You couldn't winnow away, not while the faebane handcuffs were still on you. But maybe you could run and hide, buying yourself some time to think of an actual plan to escape. 
You darted into the trees, forcing yourself to run as fast as you could. The air was cold, making it hard to breathe but you pushed yourself forward. You could hear the pounding of feet running behind you. You chanced a glance over your shoulder to see the three guards chasing you but no Cedric or Koschei. 
One of the guards winnowed into the clearing in front of you, causing you to scream as you ran straight into him, knocking both of you on the ground. You rolled off him before he could grab you and winnow you away, pushing yourself to your feet. The guard snarled, getting off the ground faster than you considering his hands were free. 
"Don't you run," he growled at you. 
You took a step back. Another.
Rhysand! Help!
You screamed and screamed for your brother in your head, even though you knew he wouldn't be able to hear you from this distance. You were fucked. 
"My brother will come for you if you don't let me go," you hissed at the guards, keeping out of their reach. They were circling you like they were predators who had just found dinner. 
One of the guards scoffed. "With Koschei on our side, your brother won't be able to do anything to us."
"Koschei is offering his support to Cedric to kill the King," you shouted back. "Not to help Vallahan fight against the Night Court and its allies once my brother has realized what you've done!" 
That seemed to make the guards pause for a second, the three of them exchanging glances as if now just realizing how stupid the Prince's plan was. Mor knew you were going to visit Cedric. That's where they'd look for you first once they didn't hear from you. And you knew your brother would rain hellfire down on the Prince's territory to get you back. 
Suddenly a loud noise cracked in the air like two boulders smashing against each other, causing the ground to rumble. You fell, your legs collapsing, as three people winnowed into the clearing. You let out a cry of relief. Your brother stood in his fighting leathers, looking ready to murder with Cassian by his side. But it was Azriel who made you falter.
You had never seen him look as angry as he did now—it almost spiked fear in you despite knowing none of it was directed in your way. He looked feral, unhinged. 
The three guards around you were misted by your brother before you could even blink. Their blood rained down on you, still slightly warm. You gagged, rolling over and trying to push yourself to your feet.
“Y/N!”
You heard your brother shout but his warning came too late. 
You felt someone grab you by your hair, lifting you off the floor. You let out a cry of pain, your cuffed hands rising to grab the attacker by their wrist to get some of the pressure off your scalp. You were turned forward to face your brother and the two Illyrians just as the cold metal of a dagger was placed against your throat.
“Don’t move,” Cedric ordered and you realized it was him who had you in his grasp. 
“Get your hands off of her,” Azriel growled. It was dark and full of primal rage. You knew Cedric felt it by the way his body shuddered in response but he held his ground. 
“I don’t think so, shadowsinger,” Cedric hissed.
Azriel’s shadows poised around him like venomous snakes ready to attack. Your heart was pounding in your chest, your nerves on fire. But still, the pain of seeing Azriel fought its way through despite the dire circumstances. The image of him and Elain together was enough to almost fold you into Cedric’s embrace. 
Perhaps death would be a mercy compared to the anguish building in your chest. 
You focused on your brother instead. His violet eyes were hardened with rage, his entire body tense. “Let my sister go, you bastard, and I’ll consider making your death swift and painless.”
Cedric chuckled, his hand in your hair tightening causing you to whimper at the sharp pain. Azriel took a step forward at the noise but came to a halt, his eyes drifting to the area above your head. 
You felt it then, that dark presence. The foreboding. You knew Koshcei was in the clearing now. Could feel his horrid magic in the air. This was a powerful death god sorcerer and despite your brother being the most powerful High Lord, he was no match with a God. None of them would be. 
“Kill them,” Cedric demanded as he too realized Koschei was here.
But the death god did no such thing. Instead, you felt his darkness wrap around you, encompassing you into its hold. You let out a cry of fear, calling out for your brother. 
“The girl belongs to me now,” Koschei said. “Leave and never return or I will do more than just keep her as a little pet.”
“Why do you want her?” Rhysand switched into his diplomatic role, realizing a fight would not be won here today. “Whatever you need her for, I’m certain I can do it all the same. Better, even.” 
He was…He was offering himself over to the sorcerer in place of you?
“No, Rhys,” you cried out. “Just go!”
But you were ignored. 
“Unfortunately,” Koschei drawled. “I do not have a taste for males otherwise I would take you up on your offer. But your sister will do just fine. There is nothing you can give me for her. I don’t think you even realized what a prize she was—what sort of power she holds.” 
“Anything,” Rhys begged. “Please, I will give you anything. You want my armies, you can have them. You want my court, take it! Just give her back. Please.”  
You couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth. Rhys would never give up his power, would never give away his court and his people. But here he was, offering up all he had for you. You had caused this. You had made the mistake of running away to Cedric. This was all your fault.
“Get him out of here!” you shouted to Cassian and Azriel. 
All you could think about was your brother’s lovesick bargain with Feyre, of his death leading to hers, of Nyx left with no parents. No…Rhys needed to get out of here before things got worse. You tried to convey your thoughts to the other two Illyrians with a single look. Cassian gave you a dip of the head in understanding, evidently having the same thoughts.
Azriel wouldn’t look at you, his rage filled eyes focused on the sorcerer that held you. 
“Anything,” Rhys pleaded again, surging forward. But Cassian gripped him by the shoulders, holding him back. “I’ll give you anything.”
Your eyes darted between the three of them. At Cassian’s look of despair and uncertainty, Rhy’s pleading face and Azriel….Azriel who was shrouded in his shadows, who circled him in a frenzy—his eyes darkened, his lips twisted in a snarl. He took another step forward. 
“Let her go,” he growled. You swore the birds in the clearing took off fluttering, as if they knew the sort of darkness that was coming. But Koschei let out a small noise of understanding before he chuckled—an awful noise. 
“What an interesting turn of events,” Koschei purred, his grip on you tightening. 
“Kill them,” Cedric hissed, slight panic in his eyes. If Koschei left him behind, you knew your brother would tear him to pieces. 
Koschei chuckled again, as if realizing the same thing. In the end, he would get what he wanted without having to follow through on his half of the bargain, not if Cedric was dead. 
“Say goodbye to your brother,” Koschei laughed in your ear. “And your lover and friend. You’ll never see them again.” 
“I’m sorry, Rhys,” you cried. “I’m so, so sorry.” 
Rhys fell to his knees, Cassian still holding him back with his lips pressed in a thin line. You felt Koschei’s shadows wrapping you up, spreading up your legs. Time was running out. Azriel stepped closer with another growl.
“I will kill you for this,” he promised, his eyes shifting from Cedric to the sorcerer. “Let her go!”
Your voice caught in your throat. All the words you wished to say to him with it. You loved him, still, even after knowing these past few months had all been a lie. Your heart was broken, stomped on, discarded by the only one you had ever given it to—but you loved him. You always would. 
He finally looked at you, his hazel eyes so full of rage but you saw it then, the fear. 
“Take me,” Azriel shouted. “Take me instead!”
Koschei laughed again. “Oh, but it is much more fun this way, shadowsinger.” 
His shadows spread over your torso, up your neck, nearly choking you. Tears ran down your face; you were gasping for air. You took one more look at Azriel. One more look at the male you loved with all your heart. One last look because you knew you’d never see him again.
Azriel met your gaze—fear and anguish written all over his face. And just as the shadows began to darken your vision, something snapped into place. Something gold and bright. A thread that extended from your chest and speared right into the shadowsinger. A mating bond. 
Azriel’s grip his chest, his eyes wide, as he stumbled back a step. You watched him realize it at the same time as you. Something burned on your hip and you realized you were feeling Azriel’s bargain tattoo dissipating. He screamed your name as Koschei laughed one more time, swallowing you in his shadows.
Azriel’s pained roar shook the trees of the forest around them and echoed all the way to the small cabin on the lake, where you were thrown to the hard flooring, still shackled and trembling. 
Koschei stood over you, his face a painted picture of glee and lust. He tsked, circling around your weeping form. Your thoughts were filled with Azriel. With your mate. You could feel his horror, his rage, his anguish, all through the bond. 
“Did you know,” Koschei purred, “that Cedric and his family are quite exceptional at illusions? The magic runs in their family.”
You were crying, panting—barely able to hear his words. 
“No, I suppose you didn’t,” Koschei laughed. “Those images of you walking in on your mate with that little fawn were never real, my dear. You fell for Cedric’s tricks and now you’re here. You’ll never see your mate again.”
Those images of you walking in on your mate with that little fawn were never real, my dear.
You hunched over, falling limp against the floor as sobs racked your body. You had lost everything, everything, tricked by that stupid Prince. You couldn’t breath, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything except the crushing weight of your despair.
 And all you could hear were those final words. 
Over and over and over again.
You’ll never see your mate again.
You’ll never see your mate again.
You’ll never see your mate again.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
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anantaru · 20 days
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⊹ ‧₊˚ ᰔ cw. finger sucking & bondage & thigh riding, fem! reader // ꒰ᐢ⸝⸝⸝⸝ᐢ꒱ ♡
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ever since starting a relationship with you, neuvillette was fond of the idea of experimenting through different kind of kinks with you.
as to see what the both of you were into— until your sweaty bodies were messily sticking to each other and the heavy scent of sex and musk overthrowing your clouded minds.
what about fingersucking? hm, the idea of your hot mouth being sealed around his digits frankly, set his loins on fire, in fact, he needs to try it and feel it for himself.
slowly, neuvillethe drags two digits over your wet tongue and groans at the way you're licking around them, suckling and keeping them inside— although teasingly, as if you're very well aware of the fact that he loves when you're a good girl for him, he loves when you send him spiralling over himself until he's imagining his filthy cock replacing those two fingers of his.
to make things more interesting, before anything, he used a piece of cloth to tie your hands behind your back while you're ever so sweetly straddling his muscular thigh, leaving him so needy, showing him your glassy eyes while you're pressing your soft folds against the rough material of his pants.
he returns and stuffs your pathetic, little mouth with two digits before adding another, your sounds being reduced by shushed whimpers and slurping. in the eyes of the iudex, you were just so perfect, the love of his life which he wouldn't be able to ever take his hands off. considering his reserved nature, he felt his mouth being flodded by saliva at your torturous drags and ever so slight brushes against his thickened bulge, watching how your pussy turned into a wet, lewd mess.
neuville groans when you gurgle around his fingers and begin to lick between them— before bobbing your head back and forth and imagining it being his dripping dick instead.
he's stunned, soaking his boxers and hissing at how your tits were moving in tune with your rough grinds and your wet folds messing up his pants. you rub and rub yourself harder into his leg and shudder from head to toe when you managed to find the right rhythm, so you'll be able to stimulate your clit as well.
as if the iudex cares when you ruin his pants, or him, right? of course he doesn't.
he even quickens your pace by using his free arm to pull you back and forth himself, hungrily moving you with his immense strength and hoping you'll mess him up a little further.
until he's allowed to sink his hefty cock into your warm hole.
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©2024 anantaru do not repost, copy, translate, modify
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utterlyotterlyx · 18 days
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The Fox and The Fawn
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High Lord Eris x Rhys!Sister!Reader x Azriel
Part One
Summary - As the ways of the world shift, you find yourself torn between those who have always cared for you and the life you feel like you were made to live.
Warnings - none right now really, some angst, harmless flirting, tension, slight fluff, mention of wing loss
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Hauntingly beautiful was one of the few ways to describe the High Lord Eris Vanserra.
There was a rake-ish look about him, like he belonged in one of Nesta's regency era romance novels that had her eyes widened and bottom lip caught between her teeth. It was rather infuriating.
Tension continued to linger, one of doubtful trust. Rhys wanted to trust Eris, he wanted to trust that the new High Lord of Autumn knew what he was doing, but something was stopping your brother from investing into the change fully and you weren't quite sure what.
Eris sat opposite you in the meeting chamber, eyes trailing down your figure approvingly, a crown of golden leaves dipping to his brow and accentuating those russet eyes that always sought to burn you with their intense glare. It had been strictly forbidden for you to leave Velaris on your own after what had happened to your elder sister at the hands of Tamlin, you understood it of course, Rhys wouldn't survive if he lost you too, his youngest sibling but by far the fiercest creature in all of Prythian's history.
War was scoured into your bones, hellfire raged in your soul, and you were very well known for your tactical prowess and outspoken nature, from your quick wit to your dry humour. Some said that you were the reason that Prythian still stood, you had worked very hard to undermine Amarantha right under her nose, feigning innocence and naivety that she drank from like a fountain of youth, you had been instrumental in the war against Hybern too, and Eris had watched in stoic awe as you wielded your sword like it was an extension of yourself, gracefully cutting down your victims and using your power to decimate hoards of males into ash.
Eris wouldn't admit it, certainly not in front of Rhysand and Cassian who made it his mission to keep Eris as far away from you as possible, but he thought that you were the most incredible thing he had ever witnessed. And as you sat before him, draped in a sheer black dress adorned with white crystals that allowed him to relish at the picture of your full breasts, it was taking him a lot of will power to not fling you on that table and take you right there and then, even if your brother was watching, he didn't care.
The meeting was simple, Rhys wanted to know how the politics between the courts were to improve with Eris now at the helm and steering the Autumn Court ship. Feyre sat to the left of your brother, dressed in her usual ethereal pale blue, another garment made by your mother, but less impressive than the items you owned. You sat to his right with Azriel to your side, Mor, Cassian and Nesta occupied the seats to Feyre's left in that order, and Lucien lingered somewhere between, still on the side of the Night Court, put just an arms length away from his brother.
Eris was stoic and cruel, power radiated from him, but you seemed the be the only one who saw what lingered beneath that façade. The occasional split second glance he would direct to Lucien when he thought no one was watching, one full of regret and sadness. It seemed that there were many more layers to Eris Vanserra than any of you realised.
"How do we know that you won't rule like your father did?" Rhys had craned forward in his seat, his jet black crown glistening in the darkening sunlight that poured down through the domed windows.
Eris' jaw ticked, a clearly sensitive subject for him, your chin dipped in examination and for a moment, he glanced to you, fire in his eyes that mirrored the very faint sphere of orange that curled around pupils, "Would I have bothered to overthrow him to only rule like him?" Eris replied with his own question and you felt Mor scoff from where you sat, your older cousin not enjoying the sentiment one bit.
"Who knows what you males strive for," Mor bit, more like growled, at him, you face remained distant and cold, you didn't remove your gaze from him, everyone knew that they couldn't hide from you, you were too observant.
Guilt had swirled in your gut at the sight of him, under examination by a group of people he longed to be somewhat friendly with, to work with to better the lives of his people, and Velaris was rich in knowledge and power, it was a court that you would want on your side if you walked a second in his shoes.
It wasn't often, if at all, that you would speak at meetings, it was an unspoken rule for you to be seen and not heard, your presence was powerful enough, and you did have the knack for making things worse with your jabbing words, "Raise your hand if your father is a piece of shit," the room fell silent, and Azriel had his head dipped low to conceal his smirk, his knee nudging yours gently in warning.
Slowly you raised your hand and looked to Rhys who rolled his eyes, but didn't raise his own, he didn't want to indulge you. In turn, Cassian raised his hand, Azriel lifted a finger as did Mor, Lucien's hand raised with his elbow still firmly plastered on the arm of his chair, and Eris didn't dare partake, but you all knew his answer already. Counting under your breath at the souls that had answered your call, you relaxed into your seat, "I don't know about you Rhys but I don't think you're anything like our dear old dad. Mor is nothing like hers, nor is Cassian or Azriel or Lucien. If we were all held accountable for the actions of our fathers then we surely would live in the most tyrannical world possible, no?"
Rhys raked down the iron clad walls of your mind and you gave him a pointed look, refusing him entry and smirking at the twitch that pulled at the corner of his lip, "There is no evidence that Eris will be like Beron, and refusing him alliance only makes such possibilities more likely," you picked at an invisible thread of your sheer black garment and feathered your fingers down the bargain tattoo that curled around your upper arm, one that matched the mark Azriel bore in the same place from a stupid bargain you had made what felt like eons ago.
"In simple terms, brother," you fluttered your eyelashes at him, ignoring his clear fury, "Get over yourself and give it a chance. Prythian can't be a land of harmony when males with big egos can't see the opportunity before them."
Feyre had confined herself to looking at the wall, shifting uncomfortably at the colliding forces of power between you and her mate. It was never something she had the courage to stand between, she'd perish if she even tried. Nesta was smirking at you, the only one who would hold Rhys accountable and live to see another day, relishing in the fury of the High Lord.
Another nudge prodded into your thigh and you snapped your gaze to Azriel, "Will you stop nudging me?" You swatted at his thigh, "This world has been through enough already, Amarantha, Hybern, Koschei... It's time that we made a world to be proud of and we can only do that if we work together."
"Who knew that the fawn had a voice?" Eris spoke and you sent him a satisfied grin, Rhys looked to the High Lord and snarled at the name he had dared to direct to you, but quickly composed himself with a warning glace to you that meant he would deal with you later.
Matching is tone, you teased, "Thank you. My campaign for High Lady is imminent," Cassian let out an audible low chuckle, his shoulders shaking next to Nesta who was doing her best to contain the amused smile that fought its way onto her lips.
Typical y/n.
Looking to Rhys, you smiled and waiting expectantly, he seethed out his answer, "Fine," he moved his attention to Eris who was still smirking at you, eyes blazing with curiosity, "We will work with you, Eris. Let's call this the start of a long lasting alliance between our courts," Rhys rose to his feet, "Please feel free to stay the evening and join us for dinner. I will have a room prepared for you."
An olive branch, one that made you avert your gaze to Eris to see him nod in shocked agreement.
Rhys lowered himself so that his head lingered by your ear, his fingers curled around the back of your chair, and he growled, "My office. Now."
A chill slithered down your spine and you smiled thinly at no one in particular before rising from your seat and following Rhys from the room. The pair of you didn't utter a single word as he led you through the halls of the House of Wind, walls that seemed to shrink away from your pulsating energies as he led you to his office and shut the door behind your entrance.
"What in the name of the Mother do you think you're doing?" Rhys seethed as he rounded your smaller figure, towering over you to the point that he shrouded you in the shadow of his figure and flexing wings.
With a raised brow, you spoke calmly, "I highly suggest you take a step back and stop trying to intimidate me," his gaze softened slightly and he obeyed you, stuttering back a couple of feet and tucking his wings out of sight.
"Eris is not someone that we should have an alliance with," he leaned against his desk and watched as you turned around, lifting the heavy glass lid to his whisky decanter and pouring two glasses of the amber liquid before extending one out to him which he took without question.
You waited until he had taken a sip before talking, "Regardless of what you think, you know I'm right," you took the seat opposite the desk and nestled into the deep brown cushions, leaving him standing before you, "Rhys, you wear a mask to the rest of the world, in everywhere other than Velaris. Cauldron, you even make us follow suit. Has it ever entered your limited mind that Eris may do the same, that he too is hiding behind the mask he has created for himself?"
Rhys frowned, "Did you just call me stupid?"
Scoffing, you sipped the amber liquid and enjoyed the delicious burn that sank down your throat, "All you're doing is proving my point."
Rhys threw his head back and inhaled deeply, clenching his eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose, "You know that I love you," he lowered his gaze to wash over you, but you didn't falter, you had never faltered under Rhys' glare, you were perhaps the only one who wasn't impacted by it, "You have to understand that I will always do what is right to protect our home, to protect you."
"And you have to understand that I will always do what is right to better the continent, not just our people."
The relationship between you and Rhys was a complicated one. There was a lot of love and respect between you, but his fear of losing you often clouded his mind. His word was law, but your word was the final judgement. The reckoning. There was nothing even he could do to change that.
Many males had attempted to get close to you, but none were good enough to appease the expectations of the High Lord of the Night Court. It wasn't as if you cared. You required an equal, someone who wouldn't diminish your power, and males had the tendency to attempt to control you.
Rhys had even refused your hand to Helion, much to your disappointment, and before the acts that led to the demise of your sister, he had refused to extend a thought to Tamlin who had clearly been besotted with you. Thank the cauldron for that at least.
"You have a strong will, y/n," a backhanded compliment if you had ever heard one, you rose from your seat and placed your empty glass on the bare surface to his left, "It will get you in trouble."
"Good. I can't wait."
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Leaving Rhys alone in his office had filled you with far too much smugness and serenity.
The golden tainted pink hue from the sunset poured through the large windows, trickling up the walls and coating your skin in its soft shimmer as you paced before them.
Black fabric chased after your steps from your dress sweeping in the breeze you had created in your movements, you could feel the comfort of your chambers, you could almost taste it as you rounded the corner and entered the room without a second thought.
The familiar skitter of cool kisses swirled around your ankles and you didn't need to look up to see who was splayed across your cream comforter, "I know what you're going to say," you disappeared behind the thin clouded dressing screen and peeled your dress from your body, rifling through the railing full of ornate pieces whilst Azriel examined your silhouette from his place on your bed.
"Then I don't need to tell you how stupid you are," you looked over your shoulder at his words, like he could see your expression which was one of confusion and annoyance, "I swear you get more defiant each day."
Peeking your head around the corner of the screen, displaying your face and shoulder to him, you spoke, "It's the only exciting thing I have to do around here."
Azriel quirked a brow to you, his shadows dancing around his shoulders at the sound of your voice, "That's not true," you scoffed at his words and disappeared back behind the screen, continuing on your quest to find a dress for dinner, "There are plenty of things to keep you entertained in Velaris."
"Azriel," you deadpanned, not stopping your movements in plucking dressed from the railing and holding them up to your body, "Rhys doesn't let me do anything other than train and sit and look pretty and intimidating. I'm Velaris' glorified trophy."
A particular garment caught your eye and you smirked, taking it from its hanger and pulling it up your form. It was a stunning piece, one you rarely wore. An ornate solid gold bodice of blooming roses and ivy that connected to a red wine skirt that possessed a high slit, cream lace poked from the highest point of the slit and kissed your thigh.
"That's not true. He let you fight against Hybern," Azriel told you pointedly, seemingly becoming lost for words when you stepped from the screen and soothed down the skirt of the dress before bending down to secure golden heeled sandals to your feet.
"I fought against Hybern because there was no choice to do anything but that," you hadn't spared the Shadowsinger a glance but smiled softly at the shadows that curled lovingly around your ankles, you held two sets of earrings up to your ears and tilted your head in the mirror, "I'm sure if there was an option to stay home then Rhys would have gladly assigned the position to me."
Azriel rose from the bed, moving behind you and resting his hands on your hips, his hazel eyes boring into your reflection, "He worries about losing you. He couldn't stop what happened to your mother and sister, I think he just wants to be able to stop anything from happening to you," Azriel smiled at you and your orange ringed violet eyes softened at him, "Wear the red ones, they match the skirt."
"Thanks, Az," he hummed in response and took a step back, the place where his hands once lay turning cold and begging for more, "Shall we go to dinner then? What an exciting evening we have ahead of us," Azriel chuckled and offered his arm to you which you gladly took, allowing him to pull you from the room.
There was an unspoken attachment between you and Azriel, like it could be something more if you were both willing to risk your already perfect relationship on the notion of it. You both knew that feelings lingered, but if Rhys ever found out it would surely cause a civil war within your family, and you'd hate to think where everyone would stand in that battle.
The dining room had been beautifully dressed, a black tablecloth and tall golden candles, gold plates and coated silverware, ornate but expensive goblets and an array of blood red and orange flowers, no doubt a nod from Feyre of respect toward Eris.
Azriel left you at your usual seat with a subtle squeeze of the hand before rounding the table and taking his spot opposite you, scuffing the chair against the stone and sitting in it as you did in yours. Family members trailed in one by one, Nesta took her seat beside you and Cassian sat to her left, Mor took the spot beside Azriel and Elain took the other, then Amren entered, then Rhys and Feyre, the former of which nestled into his spot at the head of the table.
Then Lucien and Eris entered, and the High Lord eyed the last two remaining spaces, the one at the head of the table opposite Rhys or the one next to you, and Eris strode beyond his brother to steal that option. He teetered at the edge of it and peered down on you questioningly, "May I?"
Feeling Rhys' eye on you that you didn't dare to acknowledge, you nodded gently, "Of course," he took your answer in the palm of his hand and used it to pull the chair out, his scent of mulled wine, candied orange and pine filling your lungs as he sat.
Eris was dressed well, a red waistcoat adorned with golden swirls, a cream shirt that was tucked into the waistband of his black pants, like he knew to match your own attire, something that not only you noticed.
Idly, decanters of wine floated about the space, pouring themselves into the empty goblets placed at every seat, and food began to appear, dish by dish, on the long table. Platters of roasted vegetables, silver dishes piled with meats, bowls of fresh salads, boats of sauces, and most importantly, towers of desserts that made your eyes glisten, wanting to skip the main course entirely and help yourself to a slice of cake.
Clearing his throat, Rhys raised his goblet, tearing you from your salivating thoughts, "A toast," he smiled thinly at Feyre whose gaze shifted to you and then to the male at your side, "To new alliances."
The room repeated the sentiment before digging in, doing their best to ignore the swirling tension caused by Eris choosing to spend the evening sat beside you. Though, that soon vanished when Cassian started telling his many tales of his escapades throughout the years with the intermittent corrections from Rhys and Azriel.
"I should thank you," a low voice spoke from your right and you craned your head toward Eris, his hypnotising russet orbs were fixated on you, dark and full of wonder as they raked over your face, "For what you said at the meeting. I hope you weren't scolded for helping my cause."
Eris' voice was low, only loud enough for you to hear and you alone, his eyes were soft and stare void of that stoic cold that usually possessed it. He looked like a completely different person, there was actually kindness bubbling within him, genuine sincerity in his words.
"Rhys can scold me all he wants, it'll never change anything," you replied in the same tone, the orange ring in your eyes burning like wildfire, "Anyhow, it's a cause worth supporting."
From the corner of your eye, you caught Lucien watching you with intrigue, his fingers encased with Elain's atop the table with a knowing glitter lingering in his expression, he grinned as his brother spoke and leaned toward Elain to whisper something beyond your realm of hearing, "I can't remember the last time I saw you before Hybern."
Smirking, you asked, "Have you been thinking about me, High Lord?"
"It's not hard to," he replied honestly, watching the faint blush creep up your cheeks, "When was the last time?"
Humming, you thought about it, it wasn't often you actually left the confinements of Velaris thanks to your brother's protective antics, your eyes glazed over slightly, "It was Under The Mountain, at the beginning, after she," you rolled you shoulders, coiling them in the memory of that night.
That's right, the last time he had seen you before the war had been the night after Amarantha had stripped your wings from your body, carving them off with her talons to punish Rhys' reluctance. It had taken everything within Eris to not set her alight on the spot, if he could have, after he had seen your shaking pale form wandering the halls like a ghost.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up."
"It's fine," you insisted, sighing deeply, "It's a fading memory now, I've adjusted well."
"I'm glad to hear it," the genuine tone to him was confusing, but you always knew there more to him than what met the eye, and part of you was proud to have been correct about it.
Eris had grown up listening to the stories about you and Rhys, two formidable winged warriors that exuded darkness and power, who held the capacity in their fingers to shatter kingdoms if they so wished it.
It didn't scare him. You had never scared him actually.
"Make the most of this alliance, Eris. It's very rare that I speak up on such matters," you told him, sipping from the wine in your cup and placing it back onto the tabletop under Rhys' watchful gaze.
There was an elegance about you, Eris noticed, the poised shoulders and perfectly slender pointed ears, the violet eyes with the speckles of Autumn orange, the grace laced in your words. It was a spectacular thing to witness up close.
"Then why did you?"
There was a moment of contemplation and you furrowed your brow in thought, "I can't sit by and be part of the reason why people suffer," very unlike Rhys, "Other than that," you trailed off, looking deep into his eyes like your violet pools were drowning in his soul, "I'm not quite sure."
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Author's Note
Part one to the series I've been planning for awhile.
Prepare yourselves for a pining, needy slow burn with a hint of forbidden love x
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i keep laughing when i read the dnd campaign with the beast pirates-
now i need to see how it would go with shanks and his crew
Imagine DND game night with the Red Hair pirates
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Yassop: *the reluctant DM* All alright, so you've all fallen through a sinkhole and landed in the goblin King's throne room. Benn's paladin lands directly on the heir to the goblin throne, dealing *rolls dice* 17 points crush damage, and you killed him.
Benn: oh come on, I didn't even do anything.
Yassop: the goblin king, with his too-tight pants, ruffly white shirt, and long blond hair, launches himself to his feet. And in a booming voice, he yelled out, "These outsiders have murdered my son! Throw them in the dungeon!"
You: but it was Benn's fat ass that did it! Why do I have to go to the dungeon?
Yassop: The goblin king pauses, clearly thinking it over, after a moment he says, "Fine, that one's excused," before yelling, "but the rest go to the dungeon!"
Lime Juice: fuck me.
Shanks: what the fuck, we just broke out of jail less than three in-game hours ago!
Yassop: *definitely not punishing them for murdering an important NPC, and is trying to buy himself time to figure out what to do* Huh, I hadn't noticed...
Lucky Roux: For the love of god!
Yassop: Anyway, the entire party, minus (y/n) Dragon born, is taken to the dungeon. The goblin king turns to your dragon-born and looks you over, "Now, what shall we do with you?"
You: I'd like to roll a perception check, I'd like to know the vibe of the goblin king's court, from the nobles to the servants. *Rolls a D20* Fifteen with my plus eight modifiers, so twenty-three.
Yassop: Both groups, nobles, and serfs, are terrified of their king. You can see that a servant in the far corner has bandages under his shirt. It appears that he's been flogged recently. You notice, the nobles' eyes darting nervously as they mutter to one another.
You: I'd like to offer my services to his majesty, as a bard.
Yassop: The king scoffs, "I have plenty of bards, I have no use for another, you shall tend to the hearths of my castle. Go, start with the kitchens." You are taken to the kitchens and see it's dark, humid, hot, and crowded. The servants are wary of you, you see many of them are injured, and gaunt. The châtelaine approaches you and hands you a large rusty ring of keys and a map. She tells you your responsibilities are to make sure all the fires in the castle are lit.
You: and how much am I paid?
Yassop: she scoffs, "Your pay is food in your belly, a roof over your head, and clothes on your back. Now get started." And she leaves in a huff.
You: I'd like to persuade the servants to work together to overthrow the Goblin King because they deserve fair wages and safe working conditions.
Lime Juice: *chortling,* of course, unionizing them is your first move.
Yassop: *frustrated,* roll a d20.
You: *rolls* nat twenty, let's fucking go!!
Yassop: you inspire a popular servant to take the lead, and they overthrow the goblin King. The servants beat him to death. *Rubbing his temples in irritation*
You: I free the group from the dungeon while the servants deal with the king, using the keys and map the châtelaine gave me.
Shanks: Before we leave, can we look for treasure?
You: .... let's only take a reasonable amount, we wouldn't want to make them our enemies.
Benn: very wise.
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thisonehere · 4 months
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Could you do headcanons for Reiko, Rain, Havik and Bi-Han with a siren reader?
You got it!
Mk Men x Siren!reader
A/n: Hey you, nice to see you again. I love this idea so much. It reminds me of a series I did on this blog a while back...we don't talk about that... Tags: Mk1, MK AU, Siren!reader C/w: Yandere tropes, (in captain america voice) language! , allusions to s3x
Reiko
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He hadn't even met you yet and already he was interested. There is no doubt about it, he is a madman.
He'd come to you no doubt to get your aid in General Shao's ongoing campaign against the royal family. Shao had just gave a brief description of you and Reiko was almost instantly obsessed.
He would jump off the ship and swim to you before you even knew of their presence and could start singing. So the sight of him was confusing as much as it was beguiling.
He almost didn't want to bring you back to Shao. He wanted to keep you all to himself. Finally he would relent and brig back to his leader. To his luck, Shao assigned the both of you to work together.
He'd steal as many moments away as with you as he could. He refused to share you with anyone. He'd be in a fury whenever he heard a single soul showing any interest. Perhaps they wouldn't even show up the next day.
If a single soul said a single bad thing about you he'd beat the ever loving shit out of them. Hell, he'd beat them to death if no one stopped him.
He tells you how much he loves you every day. If given the chance, he'd show his love by sending gifts, odd things he knew you loved, or even dismembered limbs for you to feed off of. He would also show his love for you in... other ways, if he had enough time.
You are the only reason he even would show Liu Kang any bit of praise. He begrudgingly thankful to him for creating you.
The realms shudder at your joining hands with him. Your union is one of the deadliest ones in the realms. Both Shao and Liu Kang would worry about you two and how much of a threat you were slowly becoming.
Rain
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While one the run from Empress Mileena, Rain came across you as he traveled the seas. Or you came across him to be precise. At the sound of your call, Rain came to you unable to control himself. Much to your surprise, when Rain finally came to you he wasn't terrified at all, instead he was in awe. You were the most magnificent thing he had ever seen in his life.
So you let him live, you went with him, you have not parted with each other since.
Rain did everything he could to impress you, your perception of him seemed to matter to him most of all. He'd do every trick he knew of to amuse you. Your smile, your laugh was intoxicating to him.
To others, you were a horrid monster, to him, you were a beautiful mermaid, his muse. You inspired him in so many ways he'd be here for countless hours to name them all.
But as much as his interest in this relationship was about you, it was him. He loves you, but he also sees you as the perfect person to help him expand his skills and mastery. He'd want you to teach him everything you knew. His hunger for power sometimes eclipsed his interest in you.
But even then, he'd never want to betray you. The idea of not only betraying but leaving you is something so painful that he'd refuse yo imagine it. He already betrayed his Kingdom, he has lost everything. He can't lose you.
Havik
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You two had met when he was working with Rain to overthrow Seido, you were trying to lure him to his death, the usual. But this time was different, he wasn't going to because he was under your influence, he was doing this under his own fruition. You amaze him, a creature who is both beauty and beast. He had to have you.
The sight and realization that his chaotic nature subsides your control, as well as the fake that he's crazy enough to willingly approach you, it amuses you.
You both had a chaotic nature within you both, so you have an instant connection. His love for you is so great, he can't get enough of you.
Like Reiko, he sends you gift after gift. Keep in mind that these would be no normal gifts. They include but not limited to oddities, cursed artifacts, dismembered limbs (if he was feeling frisky, he'd send certain ones over others).
The things you'd do together are as insane as you'd imagine. You would lure people into your trap and he would torture them in whatever sadistic way you'd like.
Other times you'd do the most disturbing things to each other just for fun. Things so vile that it would make Shinnok sick. But you don't care you love doing these things together. You love being together, and all the realms shudder at the very thought of your union.
Bi-Han
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The very concept of you fascinates him. Everything about you amazes him, your beauty, your voice, your willingness to kill. Though he won't admit it, he's been obsessed with you ever since he first met you.
But how did you first meet? Ah yes, when you tried to lure him and some of his Lin Kuei to their deaths while they were at sea. He wasn't affected though, his iron-will protected him from your lull. But he couldn't get you off his mind from that point on, he had to get you by his side no matter the cost.
You were intrigued by him also, the way he resisted you. It brought you to him, ironically.
You two have been inseparable ever since. Together you formed an alliance so deadly that all the realms shuddered at your union.
Whenever you went away or weren't by his side, he felt alone and miserable. He couldn't live without you, he refuses to admit it but he does.
When you were together he'd insist that it was just you and him, no one was allowed to be present unless necessary. He wanted you all to himself.
Even though you were with Bi-Han, that didn't stop from continuing your habits. You'd still lure men to their deaths or worse, even if those men were Lin Kuei. But this didn't anger Bi-Han for you could do no wrong in his eyes. In fact, this makes him jealous. Is he not enough to satisfy you? What is so good about them that you prefer over him? Is what he thinks to himself.
He will never say to you, but he adores you and he'd never leave you alone, no matter what you do.
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mellowwillowy · 6 months
Note
HEAR ME OUT!! Please please please!!
Yandere!prince who fell in love with the lady in waiting of the princess he is supposed to marry
A forbidden love that he is ready to do WHATEVER it take to make it happend
Why would he marry a princess when there this being who can but the queen of fae to shame with theire beauty ?
I'M LISTENING NONNIE!!
Yan! Prince x (neutral-f/m) Lady-in-waiting reader
I've actually written fics similar to this concept! This one is about a princess and a crown prince, the crown prince was supposed to marry another noble of higher status but the crown prince and priest found a way to make you the wife instead! (fem! reader)
This one is about reader being the former Empress' lady-in-waiting with the crown prince snatching reader from his brother's grasp! You were supposed to marry his brother (a knight) but he broke his legs and gave him the illusion of choice by becoming a priest instead. (gn intersex reader)
And as for this concept...
mmh... I can see the Yan! Prince going feral over you... you are the most beautiful woman (right?) he has ever laid his eyes on, even more than the garden of flowers he fancies so much! What do you like? What do you dislike? He wants to know everything about you this instant. He needs to.
I don't have much to say but yeah, Yan! Prince is capable of doing anything, even going as far as convincing everyone with the stage he prepares for you. Oh, you are a guy? Just keep up with the farce and no one will know though he would wonder why the princess had a guy dressed as her lady-in-waiting... were you her fucktoy or what? That irritates him and you are not spared with his gentle ass.
I'll use Erickson again for this idea (hehehe crown prince...). Erickson, falling in love with you? The crown prince? Say goodbye to your kneecaps or ankles once he gets his hands on you.
So how does he annul this whole wedding? With the help of his twin brother, they'll both dig or make scandals that will trample the princess family's reputation. It's nothing hard for two people of status and power after all.
Now that her reputation is tarnished, the prince's family will annul the wedding and he'll convince his mother to take you in as one of her ladies-in-waiting. He'll praise you and coax her mother into taking you in, anything, as long as you get to stay under the same roof as him. You bet your life would be a living hell the moment you upset or piss him off even just for the slightest.
Next would be having your hand in marriage. This will be tough, considering his status as the crown prince. Should he convince the former Empress to make his brother the next Emperor instead? He doubts she'll allow it as the prophet's dice had chosen him to be the eldest despite being born second.
If he can't do that, then all he has to do is make a stage for you, a fake family of reputation that was at the edge of a downfall, convincing rumors of you circulating around the citizens and a load of lessons about the royalties' history.
Now that you are completely perfect, suitable to be his suitor, this nation's Empress, another problem spurts out. Noel, his brother, has also taken a liking to you.
Seriously, of all the affections he had received, he wishes to have you as well? He sure is a gutsy bastard, perhaps he should strip him from his status as a knight to teach him a lesson?
The same turn of events happened again, Noel's legs were broken, he was sent to the church and you were wed to Erickson, everything was smooth perfect.
Depending on Noel's love for you, if it was high, it'll reach the same conclusion, with him coming back to overthrow Erickson in the name of the church and God. The only difference was that you did not share that much fondness for the two of them, alas the ending had you died without any last words to them.
If his brother didn't love you that much, he wouldn't return and you are forever stuck with him until he dies. (yup, you don't get to die first, magic is not as hard as it seemed.)
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thelov3lybookworm · 4 months
Text
You Think I Wanted This?
Summary: The king does not care for anyone's opinion but his own, and he is being entirely serious.
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A/n: first fic for fourth wing 🥳 as y'all know, all that goes through my mind is forced marriage trope, so...😏
Enjoy my babies! ❣️
(づ ̄3 ̄)づ╭❤️~
•○🌑○•
The day was gloomy, and thunder had been cracking until an hour ago.
Y/n was grateful it had stopped, as she could continue studying without flinching every few moments. She had an important test coming up, and being King Tauri's only daughter, she had the pressure of getting good grades on her shoulders.
If only to show the people not everyone a failure in the royal family.
Y/n sighed, setting her pen down and rubbing her eyes with cramping fingers.
It was getting dark, and soon she would leave for having dinner with her family.
A knock drew Y/n from screwing her eyes out, and she called out to let them in.
Her older brother, Halden, stepped in, smiling. "How are you today sister?"
"Tired. You?"
"I'm good. You have been summoned. Father wants to meet you in his private office."
Y/n's brows furrowed. What could he want from me?
It was almost never that her father summoned his kids, and when he did, it was rarely in his private office. Those were for important matters, and he deemed his children... not important.
Y/n stood, closing her book and turning to her brother, stretching slightly. "Do you know why he has summoned me?"
He shook his head. "No idea."
"It can't be good." She mumbled, glancing into the full length mirror that took up half of the wall opposite her bed to make sure she was in an attire considered appropriate for court meetings or formal business, then followed her brother out of her room.
He was the second oldest of all the kids the king had, with Y/n being the third and Cam being the fourth, who was away in the rider's quadrant.
Y/n envied him.
"If it helps, I saw a few authorities and riders entering the office when he told me to retrieve you."
Y/n frowned, falling in step next to Halden. "That did not help."
He gave her a helpless smile. "My apologies then, princess."
She rolled her eyes, though a smile made its way onto her face. She wrapped a hand around his arm, hoping whatever the matter was, it was nothing grave.
•○🌑○•
Y/n paused outside her father's office, tugging her brother to a stop, who turned to her with furrowed brows.
"What is it?"
She placed a finger against her lips, nodding towards the two people standing nearby, whispering to each other furiously, obviously locked in a heated discussion.
Halden's eyes narrowed. He nodded to the empty spaces next to the door, which was suspicious too, considering there should have been two guards on duty manning the door.
Y/n turned away, staring at the ornately carved door to her father's office. She decided it was worth the risk, and slowly pressed her ear to the wood.
The voices were faint, but she could make out the words.
"So you want to... what? Separate Riorson and your daughter?" That was definitely her father.
"Yes, your majesty."
"And why is that?"
"Because bonded to two of the most powerful dragons, they have the power to overthrow you. And I still don't trust the Riorson boy." It was the voice of a female, and Y/n felt like she knew who it was, but she couldn't place the voice.
"But wouldn't acting on your plan put him closer to me, and indirectly give him access to more resources to take over?" His voice was sceptical, and Y/n wondered who this woman was.
"No, your majesty. Away from my daughter, he would be weaker than if with her, and you yourself know how dangerous they can be together."
Y/n heard her father sigh, but before she could hear his response, someone touched her back, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
She whipped around, holding back a yelp, and glared at a grinning Halden.
"What?" She snapped.
"Did I scare you, Y/n?"
She slapped his arm, huffing, annoyed that he found her amusing.
His smile faded, though, as he glanced towards the two people nearby.
That was when Y/n noticed that they were staring at her and Halden, having walked closer while Y/n had been eavesdropping.
Y/n's eyes snagged on the man, his muscular arms wrapped across his chest. He was gorgeous, and Y/n wondered if he was even real. Because, surely, someone could not be this handsome, right?
Or maybe the gods simply deemed him their favourite.
Y/n blinked when someone moved in her periphery, realising she was staring, and swiftly looked away, heat rising to her cheeks.
A moment later, Y/n decided to glance at the two people again, noting that the other one was a female.
Her brows furrowed as she eyed the braid hanging over the girl's shoulder, and somewhere in the back of her mind, Y/n knew that she had met this girl.
Y/n cocked her head at the possessiveness in her eyes.
"I feel like we've met before. Have we?" Y/n questioned.
"On a couple of occasions, yes, we've met. I'm Violet."
It took Y/n a moment to place the name.
"Violet... Violet Sorrengail?"
Violet nodded, her hand coming to rest on the man's bicep. "And this is Xaden Riorson."
"Fen Riorson's son." Halden murmured.
A weird feeling spread through Y/n. "You are the Riorson boy they are talking about?"
His eyebrows- one scarred- rose, and Y/n realised she was the only one who heard the conversation going on on the other side of the door.
She swallowed, glancing at her brother before addressing Violet. "Is your mother in there?"
"Yes." Violet's eyes were filled with confusion.
"And are you and Riorson involved... in any way?"
"I- Yes?" Violet whispered, her eyes wide. "How did you know?"
Y/n sighed, horrified. "Did you tell your mother about it?"
"No. But what are you getting at?"
"Obviously, you saw me trying to listen in. Your mother was talking about separating you two."
Everyone's jaw dropped open, and this time Riorson spoke up. "They- no one knows though, and those who do would never betray us."
His voice did something to Y/n, but she reminded herself that he was unavailable. And he was also not the type of man she would go for anyways.
"Well, they know. Surely something might have happened, and she made that connection. Whatever it is, they are planning to-"
Halden's fingers wrapped around Y/n's arm suddenly, and he pulled her closer and turned her to face the door a moment before the door actually opened.
There, stood General Sorrengail, Violet's mother, and she simply ignored her daughter and Riorson, meeting the eyes of Y/n and Halden, bowing her head in deference, as was necessary.
"Prince, princess. Your father awaits your presence."
She held open the door as Halden and Y/n shuffled in, then beckoned the other two inside.
The office was massive, though sparsely furnished.
"Father." Halden bowed at the waist, and Y/n curtsied.
"I am assuming you have met Riorson here. I have summoned you here today because I have news for you."
Everyone stayed silent, anticipation building in the air.
"As we all know Riorson has dedicated his life to our kingdom and has promised he has only our best interests at heart, has proved time and time that he is willing to do anything for our kingdom."
Y/n held her breath, her gut telling her this was not going to be good.
"So in reward, I will marry my daughter to you, Xaden Riorson."
Y/n's heart stopped beating for a moment, before starting up again at a speed she failed to count, and Y/n wondered if it would gallop out of her chest entirely.
"You can't be fucking serious." Violet blurt out, then her wide eyes stare swung to her mother, who smiled sligtly.
"We are entirely serious, rider." The king said, his expression saying all about how displeased he was about her outburst.
He then turned to Y/n and Halden, his brows rising.
"You better start preparing. The wedding will be in two days' time."
And they were dismissed.
Y/n didn't miss the disbelieving look thrown her way by both Violet and Xaden, but she was not going to argue with her father.
They didn't know what would happen if she did, and she was in no mood to speak out when she could not form a single coherent thought that was not I hate him.
•○🌑○•
@bubybubsters @artists-ally here it is, the fic i was telling you about 😏
(Not tagging others in case they havent read fourth wing and dont wanna be tagged 😉)
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For 40 years, Big Meat has openly colluded to rig prices
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On October 7–8, I'm in Milan to keynote Wired Nextfest.
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Noted socialist agitator Adam Smith once wrote, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the publick, or in some contrivance to raise prices."
Smith was articulating a basic truth: when an industry grows concentrated, it grows cozy. Cultural differences between dominant firms are homogenized as top executives move from company to company, cross-pollinating attitudes and approaches. Ambituous, firm-hopping workaholic top brass make all their friends at the office, and so their former colleagues from one or two jobs back remain in their social circles.
Once an industry consists of half a dozen firms, the people running those companies constitute an incestuous financial polycule. They are executors of one anothers' estates, best men and maids of honor at one anothers' weddings, godparents to each others' kids. They play on the same softball teams and take family vacations together.
It would be heartwarming if it wasn't so costly to the rest of us. Remember Smith's maxim: "the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the publick, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Class solidarity among corporate executives forms a united front to screw us in every conceivable way, from corrupting our politicians to maiming and cheating workers to gouging buyers.
That's the basis of American antitrust law. When Robert Sherman was stumping for the passage of the Sherman Act, America's first major antitrust law, he thundered "If we will not endure a King as a political power we should not endure a King over the production, transportation, and sale of the necessaries of life. If we would not submit to an emperor we should not submit to an autocrat of trade with power to prevent competition and to fix the price of any commodity":
https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/20/we-should-not-endure-a-king/
Or rather, that was the basis of American antitrust law – until the Reagan era, when the fringe theories of the Nixonite criminal Robert Bork were elevated to a new orthodoxy. Under Bork's conception of antitrust, monopolies were evidence of excellence. If a company puts all its competitors out of business, that must mean that it is "efficient."
In Bork's fantasy world, the only way a company could attain dominance is by being so beloved by its customers that every competitor withers away. Governments that bust monopolies aren't protecting the public from "autocrats of trade"; they're overthrowing the winners of an election where you "vote with your wallet" to pick the best company.
But Bork and his co-fantasists couldn't quite manage all that with a straight face. They grudgingly admitted that a certain kind of bad monopolist could hypothetically exist, one that used its "market power" to raise prices or lower quality. Only when these offenses against our "consumer welfare" occurred should the state step in to protect its people.
This may sound good in theory, but in practice, it was a dead letter. The consumer welfare test isn't as simple as "If prices go up after a merger, punish the company." Instead, the government had to prove that the price raises came from "market power," and not from an increase in energy or labor costs, or some other "exogenous factor," like Mercury being in retrograde:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/10/you-had-one-job/#thats-just-the-as
And wouldn't you know it, it turns out that the mathematical models prescribed to distinguish greed from unavoidable circumstance inevitably "prove" that the monopolist wasn't at fault. Surely, it's just just a coincidence that the priesthood that understood how to make and interpret these models were Chicago School Economists who sold model-making as a service to companies that wanted to raise prices.
Pro-monopoly economists insist that this isn't true, and that their theory still has room to prosecute bad monopolies and cartels where they occur – more, they say this is already happening. In particular, they insist that "greedflation" can't be real, because it would require the kind of conspiracy that Smith warned of, and that their sickly antitrust enforcement is sufficient to prevent:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/11/price-over-volume/#pepsi-pricing-power
This strains credulity. After all, the CEOs of giant companies in concentrated industries openly boast to their shareholders about how they've used the covid and Ukraine invasion shocks to hike prices to increase their profit margins – not just cover their additional costs:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/23/cant-make-an-omelet/#keep-calm-and-crack-on
While excuseflation is new, open, naked price-fixing by industry cartels is not. Take the meat-packing industry, dominated by a tiny handful of giant corporations whose executives literally ran a betting pool on how many of their workers would get covid each week while working in their cramped, unventilated factories:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55009228
These companies have seen their margins soar – up 300% over the lockdown – while their payments to ranchers and growers cratered:
https://www.reuters.com/business/meat-packers-profit-margins-jumped-300-during-pandemic-white-house-economics-2021-12-10/
All this might leave one wondering whether there isn't something a little, you know, "conspiracy against the publick"-y going on in Big Meat?
Let me tell you about Agri Stats. Agri Stats has been around since 1985. Every large meat packer pays to be a "member" of Agri Stats, and they each submit weekly, detailed statistics about every aspect of their business: all their costs, all their margins, broken out by category. Agri Stats compiles this into phone-book-thick books that each member gets every week, telling them everything about how all of their competitors are running their businesses:
https://www.agristats.com/history
The companies whose data appears in this book are anonymized, but it's trivial to re-identify each supplier. Tyson execs hold regular "naming process" meetings where they go through new books and de-anonymize the data. A Butterball exec confirmed that he "can pick the companies for rankings with 100% certainty."
As David Dayen writes in The American Prospect, these books are incredibly detailed: "bird weights, freezer inventory, and 'head killed per operating hour.'" Within the cozy meat cartels, Agri Stats acts as a clearinghouse that allows every business in the industry to act in concert, running the entire meat-packing sector as a single company:
https://prospect.org/power/2023-10-03-lawsuit-highlights-why-meat-overpriced/
As interesting as the list of Agri Stats members is, the groups that don't get to see Agri Stats' "books" is just as important: "farmers, workers, or retailers." Agri Stats also offers consulting services to its members. As an exec at pork processor Smithfield put it, Agri Stats advice boils down to four words "Just raise your price."
Agri Stats ranks its members based on how high their prices are – they literally publish a league table with the highest prices at the top. Meat packers pay bonuses to their execs based on how high the company's rank is on that table. Agri Stats meets with its members throughout the year to discuss "price opportunities" and to advise them to "exercise restraint" by restricting supply to keep prices up. When one Agri Stats member considered leaving the cartel, Agri Stats wooed them back by telling them how to make an additional $100k by raising bacon prices.
The reason Dayen is writing about Agri Stats now is that the DoJ Antitrust Division has brought an antitrust suit against them. This is part of a wave of antitrust actions brought by Biden's DoJ and FTC, who, along with his NLRB, are shaping up to be the most pugnacious, public-interest force against corporate power since the Reagan administration:
https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/29124-doj-sues-agri-stats-for-complicity-in-meat-market-manipulation
All this enforcement isn't a coincidence. It comes from an explicit rejection of neoliberalism's core tenets: inequality reflects merit, monopolies are efficient, and government can't do anything. In Biden's DoJ, FTC and NLRB, they're partying like it's 1979:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/party-its-1979-og-antitrust-back-baby
What's amazing about the Agri Stats conspiracy to raise prices is that it's been going since the Reagan administration. It's a smoking gun proof that "consumer welfare" never cared about price-fixing and robbing the public (can a gun still smoke after 40 years?). There was never a time when consumer welfare antitrust cared about consumer welfare. It was always and forever a front for "a conspiracy against the publick," a "contrivance to raise prices."
Big Meat has been robbing America for two generations. Some of those stolen funds were used to corrupt our political process. The meat sector gets $50 billion in public subsidies and still gouges us on prices and rips off its suppliers:
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/02/usda-livestock-subsidies-near-50-billion-ewg-analysis-finds
Which means that it's possible that we're simultaneously being ripped off with meat prices and that meat prices are artificially low. Try and wrap your head around that one!
The do-nothing, pro-monopoly neoliberal antitrust is a virus that spread around the world. The EU's antitrust laws were reshaped to mirror American laws after the war through the Marshall Plan, but since the late 1970s, European lawmakers and enforcers have ignored their own laws (just like their American counterparts) and encouraged monopolies as "efficient."
This Made-in-Europe oligopoly, combined with energy and grain shocks from Russian invasion of Ukraine, created the perfect storm for European greedflation. As food prices spiked across the EU, Austrian hacktivist Mario Zechner set out to investigate Austrian grocers' pricing. Using the grocers' own APIs, he was able to compile and analyze a dataset of prices at Austrian grocers:
https://www.wired.com/story/heisse-preise-food-prices/
When Zechner open-sourced his project, collaborators showed up to expand the project across other EU countries, and an anonymous party donated a huge database of prices stretching back to 2017. The data reveals clear collusion among the grocers, who raise prices in near-lockstep, and use gimmicks like cyclic price drops to hide their collusion:
https://github.com/badlogic/heissepreise
Not every grocer has an API, and even the ones that do have APIs could easily block Zechner and co from accessing their data. When that happens, they could – and should – turn to scraping to continue their project. They should also scrape grocers elsewhere, including in Canada, where grocers rigged the price of bread:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/25/deep-scrape/#steering-with-the-windshield-wipers
Because Big Meat's "conspiracy against the publick" isn't unique to meat. It's in all our food, it's in all our goods, it's in all our services. The fact that the meat industry was able to rob American buyers, ranchers and farmers for two generations under a 200' tall neon sign that blinked "AGRI STATS AGRI STATS AGRI STATS" night and day is frankly astonishing.
But there's never just one ant. If the meatheads running Big Meat were able to do this in broad daylight since the NES years, imagine what all the other industries were able to get up to in the shadows.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/04/dont-let-your-meat-loaf/#meaty-beaty-big-and-bouncy
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My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!
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The Guru
Happy 2024 everyone and welcome to the first time I managed to type 2024 without first typing 2023! Oh and also a write up of The Guru. That too.
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Me too Iroh. Me too.
So Zuko is riding high on that post-crisis 'time to get my life together' buzz that, similar to 3 am life plans, should absolutely not be listened to. Wonder how long before he crashes and burns? There's literally 2 episodes left, so I'm guessing one and a half?
Poor Sokka. My boy's got anxiety.
I don't know if it's a monk thing, an airbender thing, an Avatar thing, or an Aang thing, but I envy his complete lack of nerves.
How is Appa ok with them splitting up for a week after JUST getting them back?
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I paused in a funny place. Have bonk-eyed Appa.
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I love them comparing heights. What do you want to bet that that guy on the right was one of the youngest allowed to go fight, and Sokka made a big deal about how they're almost the same age and surely that means he can go too, right?
A lot of these Southern Water Tribe people have dreads or braids. That's neat.
Bato's arm is still messed up. That's some good continuity.
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I've found the source of Katara's cheek bones. I guess Sokka takes after his mum.
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Ok I know this is a really emotional moment (and it is! Sokka's spent two seasons earning this!) but my brain fixated on the furs and briefly thought they were sky bison pelts.
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"It's been a difficult week for me." This guy thinks the Kyoshi Warriors are there to provide him therapy. Someone please just crown the bear instead.
He just gave away literally every relevant plot point AND outlined how to make sure all these plot points don't succeed. Crown. The. Bear.
Maybe if these generals spent less time playing with their giant model Earth Kingdom and more time general-ing, the war wouldn't suck so much?
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Pretty.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the designs, the colour palette, the music, the sound design of this air temple. I love everything about it. If I had the chance to live anywhere in the Avatar universe, it would be here. Even in its ruined state it's such a refreshing contrast to the claustrophobia of Ba Sing Se. I can feel the freshness of the breeze through the screen.
"A spiritual brother of your people" an adult perspective on a near extinct culture! What a resource!
"and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso" an old as balls perspective. He's got to be at least 130.
Anthropology cul de sac time: this guy is so valuable as a resource on the Air Nomads. There's probably parts of Air Nomad culture that Aang can't ever accurately talk about, because he was a kid when he left, and there was almost certainly stuff that the adults kept to themselves, or only shared with the older Air Nomads. This Guru doesn't seem to be an Air Nomad himself, but there's a good chance that there is knowledge that he has, that Aang doesn't. Aang should be nerding out more about this. I'll do the nerding out for him.
Aang just breezes right by that Gyatso name drop like it's nothing. Huh.
Oh hey Toph. I'd forgotten she was in a box. Tweedle dum and Tweedle dumber really are quite the pair. What's their plan for keeping her fed and watered? Actually, these guys apparently don't know that maps exist, so it's probably never occurred to them that humans need sustenance. They'll rock up to the Bei Fong estate with corpse Toph and wonder why they aren't getting the reward money.
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Mai gets called out in-universe for shopping at Hot Topic.
Ty Lee's buttering up of Azula is getting less and less subtle as the season progresses. It's a testament to Azula's lack of awareness that she's hasn't noticed that, and that Ty Lee can get away with it.
Azula's right that it's an extraordinary opportunity. The King gave them quite literally every piece of info required to overthrow his kingdom in a 25 second conversation. I can't blame her for taking advantage of such an easy win.
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That's a very effective unimpressed face. And a very impressive beard.
It's funny to see a spiritual concept from the real world pop up in a show that includes things like bending and giant fish possession. The mention of Chakras kind of sticks out. They couldn't invent a Avatar universe version?
"Once you begin this process, you cannot stop until all seven are open." Well that doesn't feel like foreshadowing at all.
This episode should be called "Aang's self-care Journey." It's about time the kid had a me day that wasn't avoidance-based.
Fear: Losing Katara - makes sense. Losing control of his powers via fish possession - makes sense. The Fire Lord - makes sense. But the Blue Spirit? He helped. Doesn't make sense.
Guilt: Running away - makes sense, although I thought he'd worked through that with Katara in the storm. Nuking that idiot General's base - makes sense, but boy did he quite literally ask for it.
This guru is saying some wonderfully accurate, and realistic, things. I love that he's not taking the Katara route of denying anything is wrong. He's going for the acknowledge, then heal route. And yes, it's unfair of me to compare the emotional maturity of Katara to a century+ old spiritual expert.
I'm going to ruin the immersion here and point out that Sokka's dad's voice actor voiced a bunch of characters in season 1. He's doing an excellent job, but couldn't they get a unique voice for a character that's so important (albeit offscreen) to Sokka?
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That's an incredibly roundabout way of avoiding pointing out that the Southern Water Tribe are active participants in a bloody war. Sure, we can show multiple characters with visible scarring from horrific burns, but heaven forbid we imply that the Southern Water Tribe sinks ships. The parameters for what is and isn't appropriate on this show sometimes make no sense.
"Aren't you listening? I said the rest of you men get ready for battle." He hasn't seen his boy in two years, but fifteen minutes in his company and he knows exactly what needs to be said and how. That's some top tier parenting. Dad of the year. Dad of the century. Only decent Dad in this show that isn't technically an uncle.
"Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you." Great advice for your eight year old audience. Also a great way to end up unemployed.
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Positive Sokka creeped me out a few episodes ago. Now positive Zuko is freaking me out too.
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Pretty.
Back to Chakras! Shame: Burning Katara - makes sense. But that's it? To have the inner peace of mind of a twelve year old who's somehow only ever done one thing that he's ashamed of.
Is there anyone in the earth kingdom who isn't stupid? Once again wondering at the network's standards. Visible burn injuries are fine, but Mai can't say 'Shut up." It's got to be Shush up. Although I do seem to recall of brief time in the early 2000s when Shut Up was treated as a curse on par with Shit or Fuck. Maybe that was just at my school.
Chakras again! Even for a show that often has an A, B, and C plot, this narrative is ping ponging around a bit much.
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Grief: nothing major, just a whole nation. Makes a horrific amount of sense. but I don't buy that he can get over grieving the whole world as he knew it by thinking about his crush. That's way too high a pedestal for Katara to be placed on.
Lies: Not accepting he's the Avatar. Interesting that not accepting that he's the Avatar and not accepting that he's a firebender are two different problems.
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I see you reusing the opening credits footage. Your blue filters can't fool me.
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PRETTY
Illusion: So we're relearning what we learned in The Swamp. Aang's probably the person currently alive least likely to believe in the rigid separation of the nations anyway. This doesn't feel like an illusion he's subject to?
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The way this episode dances between its narrative threads is so great. It's all woven in so beautifully. And this makes perfect sense! Toph's spent her life secretly doing things excellently that everyone says are completely beyond her capabilities. Life has taught her that the statement "you are not able to" doesn't apply. Of course immutable laws of bending physics are treated with the same respect as an adult telling the champion of the Earth Rumble that she's can't earthbend beyond breathing exercises. If you told her that humans can't fly, she'd figure out how within the week.
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Plot collision incoming.
Interesting that Katara initially recognises Zuko by his voice rather than his scar.
I'm pretty sure that Zuko and Iroh don't know about the whole brainwashing thing, but wouldn't it be hilarious if Zuko introduced himself to Katara as Joo Dee, and his uncle Joo Dee, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon, can I take your order? That would throw Katara into one hell of a moral quandary.
Katara being framed as the solution for Chakra number four comes back to bite Aang, as she's the problem in Chakra number seven. I knew that pedestal was too high.
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I've changed my mind. This episode should actually be called "Half a dozen reasons why everyone should just learn to keep their goddamn mouths shut already."
So is anyone going to let Zuko and Iroh know that they're now in immediate danger and need to leave, like, yesterday?
I think the Guru is going for the whole 'if you love them, let them go, and they'll come back to you' thing. Don't cling, in other words. But for the sake of the plot he's suddenly lost his ability to explain Chakras in a way that makes them seem like the logical thing to do. The only clunky bit of this episode so far.
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May I introduce you to our Lord and Saviour Toph?
"I am the greatest earthbender in the world." Yes. Yep. Yeah. That's now a quantifiable fact, and it's correct. Look on ye mighty and despair. She's even got Bumi beat.
Earth Tongue Running is a bit wonky looking but it covers a crazy amount of distance.
What's the range on Toph's earth sense? Can she sense what direction Ba Sing Se is?
I hope those two idiots' horse bird is ok.
"You don't know how much this means to me dad." He does. Very much so.
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Every word out of this guy's mouth is precision engineered to make Sokka feel like a million bucks and I for one think it's about time someone built him up. Also, seeing this makes me realise how few good parents there are in this show. It's a trope of kids' adventure shows that the parents fundamentally can't be there, but I also think it's a commentary on yet another thing that this war has messed up.
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Hey look! Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and right now that's in Ba Sing Se, protecting your sister! I love narratives that tie their themes up with a pretty bow on top.
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This is Azula laying a trap, right? Which means that Katara squealed to someone about the exact location of Iroh and Zuko's tea shop. Don't like the implications of that.
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Photos taken seconds before disaster.
Final Thoughts
This episode was a lot! I mean that in a good way! But I felt a bit like the Maxell Blown Away Guy, the way I kept getting assaulted by yet another plot thread. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a criticism. I think the switching between plot threads and the amount of info in this episode worked 99% of the time. But I'm kind of in awe at the balancing act the writers pulled off and I'm sort of sitting here blinking a bit trying to fit all this stuff in my head. I'm probably going to forget half the stuff I wanted to talk about in this write up, so here goes nothing.
Given the Azula reveal in at the end of last episode, I thought that this would be the episode where the shit hits the fan. I was wrong. I'm glad I was wrong. An episode of set up is required and is nice breathing room, even an episode as busy as this. And I got to leave Ba Sing Se! But this does mean that next episode is going to be calamity after calamity.
Aang and his Chakras: I'm fascinated by this guru. I hope he comes back. That brings the total number of people who were alive before the war started up to three: Aang, Bumi, Guru Patik.
I'm impressed that the run through of the Chakras rarely felt like an info dump. The onion and banana juice thing didn't work for me, but I'm sure it worked for people in the target age bracket. Kids love burp jokes.
So many shows sprinkle in tragic backstories for flavour and then never have them influence the character in the present. It was a nice contrast to see a show take a whole episode to tell Aang "yeah all that sucked. It's ok to feel down about it. Here's how you move forward."
Sokka and his dad: Love it. Love it so much. I love seeing Sokka built up, and he definitely deserves it, but I wonder if this is the reward for a character arc well done, or the set up for a character arc that's about to start? Is his dad's praise his prize for crossing the finish line, or is it so he's built up with farther to fall?
I loved seeing more of the Southern Water Tribe. I loved the fashion. There's a lot of variety in accessories and variations on a few basic elements like those knee guard things. I loved their hairstyles. I loved how cozy and communal that command tent felt. I loved their ships. I wonder how often these guys work out, that they can make loading ramps that are presumably deployed and stashed out of the way frequently, out of whole logs rather than planks. I have a bone to pick with the child-friendly sea mine. But it provides a good set up for a dad joke, so I'll let it slide.
Zuko and Iroh: Of course the one time Zuko is allowed to be in a good place, it's so that he and Iroh both have farther to fall when the inevitable happens. Poor guy just can't catch a break. I'd be mad at Azula for the party crashing that I'm assuming she'll do next episode, but it's been established that Zuko has all nice things taken away from him as soon as he gets them, and I can't blame Azula for being a tool of the universe.
Azula & Long Feng: Azula's acting in Long Feng's prison cell was miles ahead of what Long Feng was doing in front of the Earth King, so I'm wondering if Long Feng has bitten off more than he can chew. Also: conspiring with the enemy to bring down your own city just so you can reinstall yourself as the power behind the throne that will presumably cease to exist as soon as the Fire Nation takes control? That is both treasonous beyond description and an incredible case of shooting yourself in the foot. What's Long Feng's plan here?
Toph and the Dunderheads: it says something about the consistency of Toph's characterisation from her introduction onwards that she breaks the universe this episode and my reaction was "that's neat." It's obviously a huge moment, but of course Toph can do that. Toph can do anything. More importantly, Toph knows that Toph can do anything, so Toph routinely does do anything, especially things she shouldn't be able to do. If you had asked me a few episodes back which character would be most likely to fundamentally redefine bending, I would have said Toph, since she's already fundamentally redefined bending with her earth sense sonar vision.
Also Toph just breaks stuff. Things that come into contact with her cease to function as intended and instead function as Toph requires. Look at the two idiots: both successful business owners, one also a successful hoodwinker of the richest family around. But they come into contact with Toph and their brains take an extended vacation.
Katara & the Generals: this plot was more like an extension of Azula's plot than its own standalone thing. You can't blame her for spilling the news about Zuko and Iroh to someone she honestly thought was Suki. Not much else to say about it, although it's cute that she asks for a table for two at the tea shop. Momo gets a chair!
I like that there's a theme this episode of things going wrong despite the best intentions. No one's acting maliciously here apart from the Antagonists. The Earth King is having an honest chat with people he thought were friends. Sokka vouched for people he honestly thought were the Kyoshi Warriors. Katara shares information about a presumed threat with people she honestly thought were her allies. You can quibble with the wisdom of some of these decisions, but there were all done with good intentions. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry and all that. It brings to mind that Star Trek quote about how you can do everything right and still lose. And this set up is going to hit harder when whatever goes wrong next episode happens. And something will go wrong. A few months ago I figured that the Season 2 finale would be a triumph, but all signs are pointing towards a tragedy instead.
This episode was visually stunning, the soundtrack in the Air Temple sections especially was very evocative, and I applaud the minds that could juggle that many plot threads at once without dropping any. This one is definitely going on my rewatch list.
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kimbap-r0ll · 6 months
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Dorm Leaders Meet Villain Counterparts
If my childhood self saw Twst, I feel like she would combust because it's literally two parts of my childhood put together (anime and Disney). But here's something I thought of for Halloween or for some writing in general, hope you enjoy!
Riddle
I feel like he would kind of fangirl, like omg this is literally a Great Seven just standing in front of him!
Is extremely polite, the queen probably likes him because he remembers every rule, every little thing that will get him on his good side.
The two of them probably get along to some extent, though I feel like even if she is kinda bonkers, she would feel a little bad for how he basically had no childhood. Like yeah Riddle's the role-model student and dorm leader, but this kid hasn't had much fun in his life. Might actually be a little more chill with him haha
Overall the two of them are definitely immediate friends and will be a nightmare to Ace and Deuce. I can see these two enjoying tea together while Ace and Deuce have to paint flowers lmaooo
Leona
How does this work? Like a lion meeting a beastman? I feel like Scar would be more confused than Leona like "what is going on this guy's like half me?"
I feel like they wouldn't really have a fangirling moment like Riddle did, but they are definitely chill together. Like Leona might be like "Imma sleep here" and Scar's like "👍" and they don't bother each other. Do I think Scar will try to eat Leona? No. But will he try to eat other students? Maybe
The two totally understand the whole "my-brother-got-all-the-attention" feeling and might bond a bit with that. Not sure what that would look like, but they might complain about how Mufasa/Farena feel too pompous. Oh, and they don't like kids, find them annoying haha
I really have no idea how this would look like since it would look like a lion just standing around in a dorm lobby with a prince just like "yo whattup bro" but I would love to see it!
Azul
Definitely fangirls a little bit, might scare Ursula a tad because he seems to know everything about her? I mean, great at least she's regarding as a "benevolent" person
The two are totally going to plot for someone's demise together and make a fail-proof plan to take over the school. Crowley stops the two from going too far but they have the plan, it might happen any day lol. They definitely talk about their favorite spells and potions for sure
I feel like Ursula would feel kinda bad for Azul too, sort of like Riddle's case. Will remind him to not worry about others since she thinks he's much better than all of the other students. Azul might tear up a bit (the two share a small wholesome moment before going back to business-related stuff)
I feel like it would be kinda fun to see how they would act together. I think they would at first notice each others' scams and then be like "omg great minds think alike" lmaoo
Kalim (feat. Jamil)
Kalim thinks Jafar looks scary, but nonetheless is super hyped to meet him. Will throw a big party and it might cause the sorcerer to be low-key stunned by all of the attention. If Iago's there, he definitely got a biscuit/cracker from Kalim by force
I feel like Jafar will talk more to Jamil than Kalim while he's busy trying to chase Iago down by carpet (please a carpet chase please) mainly because Jafar kinda feels bad for Jamil. Like this guy's had almost the same life as he did, but Jamil is like "nope don't worry I have a plan 😈"
Jamil probably likes Iago because he's always wanted a parrot as a pet, will likely not force a cracker/biscuit which helps Iago warm up to him faster than Kalim.
I think all of these characters could hit it off well, but it's honestly kinda awkward when Jafar's like "I was going to overthrow the sultan" and then Kalim's like "...that lowkey feels familiar but imma let that slide 💀"
Vil
The two are immediately like "you're beautiful queen" "thank you bae" 😭
I literally feel like they would bash their respective rivals while doing skin care together. Like they'll be like "xyz is so annoying" whlie lying down on a couch and the other one is like "fr." Iconic, and definitely all the students can tell the Evil Queen has a regal air about her. Vil doesn't fangirl as much as the others, but he definitely says that he respects her a lot
I think the Evil Queen, as evil as she is, will still feel bad for Vil since she can see how much effort and work he puts into his work. He's a model, an influencer, a dorm leader, all at once and it feels like not a lot of people respect him as much as they should. Definitely tells him that he's doing well
The two of them need to do a collaboration of some kind, and if she happens to help him out on dorm duties one day all of the students are like "oh no it's like 2 Vils at once" lol
Idia
I actually really want to see this, probably will be the funniest interaction because they're almost like polar opposites. Hades is all like "Hades, Lord of the Underworld how'rya doin?" and Idia's like "...eep"
While Hades is around Twisted Wonderland he'll definitely try to raise idia's confidence. Will take him all around campus to get him to talk to people and also to show off his own skills lol. But Hades probably loved watching Idia play video games, like damn why's he so good at rhythm games 💀
Will find Ortho super adorable, but definitely felt really bad about Ortho and Idia's backstory. He may be evil in the Disney version of Greek mythology, but I feel like Hades would still have a bit of a heart to feel bad for Idia, like he's gone through so much in so little time. Probs gave him a hug too
The two of them have definitely tried playing some games together, and whenever the two of them got angry at a boss it was like the room lit up red because of their hair lol. Idia probably thought it was super cool that Hades had similar hair to him, maybe fangirled a little bit about that
Malleus
I feel like the two would have the chillest conversations out of all of them because they just feel like the cool-headed ones. Malleus definitely is respectful towards her, and she is too. Definitely praised him for his magic abilities
The two have bonded over their lack of party invitations, but Malleus is like "oh I've been getting invited to a house tho!" and then boom Yuu has to meet one of the greatest Disney villains of all time while in their pajamas lol
I feel like for sure Maleficent thinks Malleus is a super cool person, might want to meet his mother too just because it might be an interesting interaction. Nonetheless the two of them are super chill. Sebek will want to talk to her too just because she's just so popular
Will Malleus geek out about grotesques and gargoyles to her? Yes. Is it fun for her? Surprisingly so! I feel like even if she's known as the Mistress of Evil, she might like smaller more mundane things like medieval architecture, and it's always fun to hear from Malleus so why not? She has definitely asked Yuu about their life and experiences which might've scared the shit out of them but still haha
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