#also as for other moments. honourable mentions goes to ones like the fight scene between anakin and obi-wan

[starsinboots]

@lem0nicle SORRY I LOST YOUR ASK I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED IT TO THE WRONG ACCOUNT LOL ANYWAYS

i have MANY favourite star wars moments BUT my all-time favourite has to be the scene in the Solo movie where Han goes "this is a thermal detonator (makes clicking noise with his mouth) that i JUST ARMED." peak comedy. i quote it all the time. i giggled out loud when i first saw the movie.

also here's your thrawn :-)

[sofoulandfairaday]

The ultimate How I Met Your Mother Finale rant

I know this has been done before, and I know I'm several years late to the party, but I don't care, so IN THIS ESSAY I WILL tell you about why this finale takes the spot as the second-worst finale in TV show history (because Game of Thrones is still, to this day, unbeatable, and it will probably stay like that forever). 

But first, a little context: I've just finished binge-watching HIMYM. This binge has been going on for three days straight (my final exam of the semester is in a week and I should be studying, so the fact that the last few days were a partial waste of time makes me so mad). Second thing: I already knew how it would end, and yes, kids, it does ruin the show for you. It ruins the show so much it makes your blood boil when you rewatch certain scenes, but I will get to that. 

You might want to make yourself a drink because this is a complete list of all the reasons why HIMYM's finale sucks - I'm warning you, it's gonna be looong.

It completely invalidates the entirety of season 9

This is one of the complaints people most often have with this series, and I have to agree. It would have been so much better if the last two episodes never existed, and they just showed Barney and Robin dancing at the reception after walking out of the chapel, Ted noticing Tracy and then the platform scene. "And that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother". Cut scene. Honestly, I don't get the hate people give to season 9, barring the last 2/3 episodes, especially since season 8 was so much worse (except for a few honourable mentions, like The Robin). S8 was slower, less funny, and less deep, and while the authors took a risk by making s9 happen in the span of a weekend it paid off: they took their time introducing the character of the Mother to the gang and fleshing her out. They make sure to highlight all the little ways in which Ted and Tracy are perfect for each other, and even tie up loose ends, like with the Slapsgiving episode, that was a filler but it wasn't boring to watch (although it may be problematic for different reasons, I'm not Chinese, so I can't say for sure if it's cultural appropriation or just the authors making fun of a particular movie genre). 

Some episodes were arguably great: "Daisy" was amazing, and that whole fight between Marshall and Lily was so realistic and well thought out, "Sunrise" was extremely important for Ted's character development, same goes for Tracy and "How Your Mother Met Me", "Bedtime stories" was impressive, "Rally" was incredibly funny and proved once again what a beautiful character Barney Stinson is, so much so that even Robin never has doubts that he (the guy with the biggest commitment issues on the planet) will bail on her before the wedding, and says to Ted that "he always comes back". Daphne's character is super funny and the right amount of annoying, the shenanigans of the gang are well thought out and all of the characters (not just Barney) complete their arc in this season. The last two/three episodes butcher that.

Marshall and Lily

Marshall and Lily, arguably the world's most solid couple, are the only thing this God-awful finale gets right, especially Marshall, who is my second-favourite character, that finally gets everything he deserves. But what about Lily? They never mention her career after Italy, and I refuse to believe she goes back to being a kindergarten teacher as if her year in Rome meant nothing. I also refuse to think she becomes nothing but a political wife, the equivalent of Zoey, but without saving the world. We know she has three kids, but her postpartum depression is never really talked about much and they definitely had the screentime to delve into it. 

Barney

 Where do I even begin? Barney Stinson is, without a doubt, the best character in this series, the glue of the whole gang. I think the message they were trying to give is that, since his trauma stemmed from the absence of a father figure in his life, he could only truly heal by becoming a father as well. People also say that n°31 had to stay just a number, because who could match up with Barney Stinson? First of all, I call BULSHIT on that last point, because Robin wasn't the only girl Barney could have ended up marrying. I used to think that too, but it's just not true: that is the equivalent of saying that Barney was incapable to truly love a woman and commit to her, even after all the development he got, and that he only got one shot at love in life, and that's it. This goes against the point the showrunners try to make by having Ted and Robin end up together AND by having Tracy get with Ted in the first place: "it's never too late, you always have another chance at love, etc." And, let's face it, Barney and Robin are legendary, but Barney and Nora (hell, even Barney and Quinn!) were pretty good together too. 

Second of all, if they wanted to give Barney a kid, they could have easily done that, before Barney married Robin. Barney's "redemption" starts when he gets with Robin the first time, hell maybe even when we meet James for the first time: Nora, Quinn, finding out who his father is, the episode dedicated to the lies his mum told him/finding James' father, him getting to know his own dad, etc... those are all steps along the way. The s9 episode where Barney accepts the relationship between Loretta and the reverend proves how far he's come. So why not give him a daughter BEFORE he proposes to Robin? Have him cheat on Nora/Quinn with n°31, giving him a relapse, and having him get closer to Robin while struggling to be a dad to Ellie. That would have been great. 

Or, you know, don't give him children. What's the point of burning the Playbook if you're going to have him write the second edition? What's the point of having him do a complete 180 in the last few scenes and acting like having a kid is the only thing that makes him change? What's the point of doing that when the show spends entire episodes berating Marshall and Lily for "changing too much" when they have a kid?

Also, Barney is the "challenge accepted" guy. He loves his wife so much, he spent years wanting her, and then he gives up because there is no WiFi in his hotel. How does that make any sense at all? This is Barney Stinson, the "I will fly out to San Francisco and buy Lily a plane ticket", the "I will steal every girl from my best friend just to save him for Lily", the guy that wrote the Playbook (it takes effort to pull those plays off), the guy that planned for weeks his proposal, the guy that waited years to get back at the man who stole his first girlfriend, the guy that makes every night legendary... are you telling me that that guy becomes the equivalent of a bored housewife instead of living his best life while travelling the world? Come on. They don't even try to make it believable.

Ted

While watching seasons 7 and 8, I felt that Ted was becoming the worst character on the show: he was boring, depressed, basically had no good storylines, the whole thing with Victoria was pointless and inconclusive (and the whole "stop being in love with Robin" was completely out of character for her), but whatever, we could have accepted that because it passed the message that two people could be good together, without being soulmates - which, by the way, renders the TedxRobin ship pointless, because they were right for each other, but Ted and Tracy were soulmates. Him being hung up on Robin in the latter seasons is almost pathetic, and the thing he does with the locket is insane, not romantic - BUT I will say this: it can be seen in two ways, depending on who's watching. I personally like the two as friends, so I see the whole thing as a "Dahmer" situation, but I get the people who see it as a "Dobler" one and see what he did as a grand romantic gesture. 

The problem, though, is that the whole TedxRobin ship gets pretty old, pretty fast: it's an annoying on-and-off thing, that should have ended with the locket. Because, yes, Ted was in a dark moment, yes, he was probably depressed, yes, he thought Robin was his only shot at happiness, but he changes during season nine! He spends entire episodes letting go of Robin, including the one where she transforms into a balloon and flies away. Ted is the good guy, ultimately. He is the guy that is genuinely happy for his best friends. In one of the deleted scenes from the finale, he meets Robin years later and says that he's so happy with Tracy he never thought about Robin in that way anymore. All of that gets thrown in the trash. Why do that? To use a Harry Potter metaphor, Ted is Severus Snape, while Barney is James Potter: the former loved the girl of his dreams with all his heart, even to the point of creepiness, but they weren't meant to be together. 

Robin

This, along with the next point, is the worst of all: Robin is the worst character of the entire finale. Her relationship with Ted in season 2 is wonderful, and I say that as a full-on Barney/Robin shipper. There was never a problem in their relationship, apparently, but they then break up because they have an "expiration date" and ultimately want different things in life. Except that Ted is not her soulmate. The only times when Robin wants Ted are the times where (1) she can't have him because he's either trying to move on or (2) the times where it's convenient, for example when they become roommates again and they solve their disputes again. Around that time, we see perfectly that Ted had moved on and that the person getting hurt was Barney. It's one thing to see Ted and Robin in the finale as two people picking up where they had left off after they dated. But this is not the case. 

In season 7, we have the exchange that should have put an end to any and all TedxRobin drama, and that completely invalidates whatever the writers wrote after that about the two of them: Ted declares his love - "I think you know how you feel about me now. I don't think time's gonna change that. Just tell me: do you love me?" To which she answers "No". And Ted also says later to Marshall, that he's "happy because he can finally move on". 

What a load of crap. 

Getting over someone is hard, believe me, I would know. And, oftentimes, it doesn't happen until we find someone else to love (and from the moment he meets Tracy, there is no one else for Ted). But by giving Ted feelings for Robin after this moment, it takes away from the beauty of it- because it's one of the most heartbreaking feelings in the world when you declare your love to someone and they don't love you back. Ted and Robin were both honest at that moment, and it was the last genuinely good exchange between them. After that, during season 8 they try to show us Ted trying to get over her (and failing) and in season 9 Ted getting over her completely. This is also weirdly paced because at the beginning of s8 both are in happy relationships with other people and there's no jealousy (which is good, because at least they weren't toxic) and they seem just friends (when Robin leaves Nick to go see him in the middle of the night, she implies that she would do it for any of her friends), but after Ted breaks up with Veronica because of Robin everything is weirdly coated in this sort of tension between the two: first Ted loves her, but she doesn't, so when he helps her by taking her to Barney's proposal ("which means my best bro in the world has given me his blessing"). 

And, by the way, every time they try to paint Ted as the guy that comes through for Robin after this moment, they dumb down Barney's character. And still fail to make Ted a better guy than him (see: the carousel in Central Park). 

Yes, Robin and Ted have some chemistry, but it is nothing compared to what Robin and Barney have. Every time Robin is jealous of Barney, it doesn't seem like a stupid whim, just because some other child is playing with her toys (except, perhaps, during The Robin). Robin and Barney's relationship would need a whole other post, and the next time I rewatch the series I will write down all the things that make them perfect for each other, but, to me, the biggest difference between the two relationships is this: in season 6, when she's not dating either one of them, Ted accuses Robin of never making him feel needed while they were together, whereas Barney praises her for it. Those are elective affinities: that's what Barney and Robin have, and what Tracy and Ted have. 

Barney and Robin have more or less the same arc: they both get over their fear of commitment and they do that with each other. Time and time again, we are told that if they're ever going to settle down, it would only be with the other. The first time they break up is honestly so stupid, and even when they are broken up, they are the best of friends, which also makes Robin's behaviour in the finale look so stupid. The way the two of them fit together is unparalleled, both in a romantic and a platonic way. 

Think about it: Robin makes Barney a better man, while she makes Ted a worse one. 

Also, the whole point that there are different seasons in life for everything gets thrown out the window: apparently, Ted and Robin (that were a couple that ultimately worked in their young twenties) are the same people in their forties.

But that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that the two final episodes butcher Robin's arc as well: episode 23 starts with Lily saying "I want this girl to be in our lives" and we know Robin never made other friends outside of the gang, because she didn't need to, and now she walks away from everything because of fucking Ted?? This is saying "hey, Robin was only in the group for Ted, who brought her in, and now she leaves because he's not her puppy anymore". Robin was the one that was eternally indecisive between Ted and Barney and you're telling me that three years and many many life experiences later, she's still not sure? 

The point of her story is learning how to get over her fear of commitment, learning how to be there for her friends (there's an entire episode dedicated to that, and it's the one where Lily's pregnant and we meet Robin's ex-best friend in Canada), and how to balance her job and her life. Also, the way her character is treated is un-feminist and un-progressive: she becomes Ted's consolation prize. She is passive throughout s9. She cannot, ultimately, win the modern-day struggle most women have and balance out career and love life, so her true life, her "happy chapter" begins after she has already accomplished everything she wanted to and she's free for Ted. She doesn't even go back to him, she just the prize the main character wanted for all his life and only got in the end because his wife died (ONE SCENE, people, ONE SCENE!). Also, this makes Tracy the "broodmare" that gives him the kids he wanted, and his "happy family" experience before he goes to be with his one true love. 

The mother

This. This makes me so mad. One whole season spent on building up Tracy's character, just for it to go to waste. It would have been so easy to screw her up, but she is hands down the best thing about s9. She's the perfect woman for Ted and the episode shot through her perspective is the sweetest. By the end, I liked her more than Robin and Lily. She was the perfect addition to their group, she fit together with them in a perfect way, and they show us the biggest moment of her and Ted's life... for what? To have her die in a few sentences? And I don't care if they shot a funeral scene, I don't care if the finale was supposed to be 40 minutes long, because, in the end, it wasn't. The scene where Ted meets her is the second most beautiful one (after Barney's proposal to Robin) and the climax of the whole show, but they ruin her... and for what? The chemistry Ted has with her, he has with no one. The joy she brings him, the way she understands him, is unlike any other. I am sure that one of the reasons they killed her off was the shock value and I hate it. 

I cannot stress this enough: Tracy makes Ted a better person. When he's with Robin, Ted is "the nice guy" in the most selfish and narcissistic version of the trope. When he's with Tracy, love comes easy to Ted. Also, the scenes between the two of them are arguably the best Ted scenes of the show.

The kids' reactions (ugh)

It's not really what they say- it's the way they say it. The end of HIMYM was not supposed to be funny, even though the show is a sitcom. It was supposed to be bittersweet and beautiful, because it's the end of an era, and the writers must have known that. So, Ted finishes telling his story, reveals to the audience that their now-beloved Tracy is dead, and the reaction is: "No, ahah, you totally have the hots for Aunt Robin" (their words, not mine). Like, what the actual fuck? I cringed when Penny said that. It's tasteless and not fun at all. Even if it has been six years... It's still your fucking mum, show a little bit of sadness at the thought of her. 

The reason the show ended this way

What makes me especially mad is that I know for a fact that the reason they went with this ending is that it was the original one, always intended for the show, from season 2 onwards. And, if you watch it right after s2, it makes sense. But if you consider the eight years that passed and the massive character development, then no, it's not the best possible one. So many things hadn't been decided yet back in s2, especially about Barney, Ted, and Robin, and I hate that they didn't dare to scrap their work. This ending probably had sentimental meaning to the writers, but authors have to do what's best for their characters, not themselves. It's like with GoT, in a way: I think that the authors were all too aware of the impact of HIMYM and didn't believe that their finale would live up to the expectations... which compelled them to make the worst decision possible?? Every single character is OOC during the episode. Oh, and Marshall and Lily moving in the last episode is a ripoff from Friends (or maybe a tribute? Idk). Anyway, I believe that the authors were too attached to their sentimental version of "what should have been" and didn't give the characters the endings they truly deserved.

"Life works this way" // "Life only moves forward"

Some people say that the show is realistic because that's how life works. But I call super-BS on that. That might be true, and yes, people do get sick and die (Max, Marshall's dad...) and life does go on. But then, you don't frame it the way they did. It's just bad storytelling if you do it like that. And the problem is not the structure of season 9, because the characters develop in that season. The problem isn't even the mother's death. The problem is Ted ending up with Robin because that's not life moving forward for him, that's him, doing the same thing he did in 2005, 25 (twenty-fucking-five) years before! 

In conclusion, this finale is incoherent and inconclusive, and not satisfying at all. The only character that gets a good ending is Marshall: why is that? What makes his ending great? It's the fact that his character arc is respected and he finally gets what he's been working towards for more than ten years.

[vivacissimx]

lyanna stark, a drop of the wolf-blood, & the pragmatism underneath

the youngest we see lyanna (in my estimation), is this vision from bran

Now two children danced across the godswood, hooting at one another as they dueled with broken branches. The girl was the older and taller of the two. Arya! Bran thought eagerly, as he watched her leap up onto a rock and cut at the boy. But that couldn't be right. If the girl was Arya, the boy was Bran himself, and he had never worn his hair so long. And Arya never beat me playing swords, the way that girl is beating him. She slashed the boy across his thigh, so hard that his leg went out from under him and he fell into the pool and began to splash and shout. "You be quiet, stupid," the girl said, tossing her own branch aside. "It's just water. Do you want Old Nan to hear and run tell Father?" She knelt and pulled her brother from the pool

- Bran III, ADWD

but four books earlier, we see this quote from ned:

Lyanna might have carried a sword, if my lord father had allowed it

- Arya II, AGOT

so we know that that ned was close enough to lyanna to know that she enjoyed swordplay, close enough to know her desires and to know that rickard would never accept this (for whatever reason).

...but not close enough to be the one she practiced sworldplay with in secret. the picture this paints is telling. lyanna was explicitly banned from something, and chose to pursue it in a secret and harmless way, with someone she trusted.

but ned isn't privy to that information. whether because he wasn't around, or because lyanna thought he would disapprove, or because he just thought it was childish - either way, we see that lyanna is picky about who she trusts, bred out of having to be sneaky in achieving her goals under her strict father's nose. she even identifies old nan as a snitch (et tu brute?). clever kid.

lyanna has other hobbies, too. she loves flowers. she loves riding horses.

"You ride like a northman, milady," Harwin said when he'd drawn them to a halt. "Your aunt was the same. Lady Lyanna. But my father was master of horse, remember."

- Arya III, ASOS

[Brandon] loved to ride. His little sister took after him in that. A pair of centaurs, those two.

- The Turncloak, ADWD

Horses … [Domeric] was mad for horses, Lady Dustin will tell you. Not even Lord Rickard's daughter could outrace him, and that one was half a horse herself.

- Reek III, ADWD

worth mentioning, imo, that even though lyanna was an excellent rider, she couldn't beat domeric. this is paralelled with arya, who is great on horseback, but not faster than harwin the son of winterfell's master of horse. this isn't a case of 'not like other girls' syndrome, of mary sues who are magically the best there ever was. conversely, adversity doesn't scare either of them off - lyanna was clearly competitive, with domeric and likely with brandon before him, and it all added up to her being remembered as a fantastic horserider despite effectively leaving the north at 14.

so lyanna is determined. she's willful, to hear ned say it.

then, of course, we have this

"Robert will never keep to one bed," Lyanna had told him at Winterfell, on the night long ago when their father had promised her hand to the young Lord of Storm's End. "I hear he has gotten a child on some girl in the Vale." Ned had held the babe in his arms; he could scarcely deny her, nor would he lie to his sister, but he had assured her that what Robert did before their betrothal was of no matter, that he was a good man and true who would love her with all his heart.

Lyanna had only smiled. "Love is sweet, dearest Ned, but it cannot change a man's nature."

- Eddard IX, AGOT

this seems fairly clear cut, but let's break down this conversation:

lyanna (told the news by the authoritative father; being approached by ned, the sibling who is best friends with the guy in question; thirteen years old): he will never keep to one bed. he has a bastard already, on a common girl he cannot marry which speaks to his character

ned: it isn't robert's actions that matter, it's his feelings. *crickets on lyanna's feelings*

now lyanna is thirteen. but she already recognizes that this is a losing battle. why? because she can't change robert?

no. because she cannot change the minds of rickard, or of ned.

there is no doubt in my mind that both these men loved her. but do they listen to her? clearly not.

lyanna doesn't bother to fight this fight she cannot win. she just smiles, realizing that rickard/ned are not going to hear her out on this, and gets the last word with "love does not change a man's nature."

this isn't the divide between lyanna and robert - this is the moment of divide between lyanna and ned. they're siblings who love each other, and love is sweet, but none of that changes that ned is on rickard and robert's side. it's a rough moment for a teenage girl. she was right earlier, she must realize - benjen is the brother she can trust.

so lyanna is determined, but she is pragmatic.

the next time we see lyanna, she's kicking ass at harrenhal.

[...]they heard a roar. “That’s my father’s man you’re kicking!” howled the she-wolf…

The she-wolf laid into the squires with a tourney sword, scattering them all. The crannogman was bruised and bloodied, so she took him back to her lair to clean his cuts and bind them up with linen.

- Bran II, ASOS

here is where lyanna really shines.

she has a moral code all her own, we already know this from her assessment of robert's child that differed from how catelyn views bastards disconnected from the home.

she dislikes bullies, which is fairly common (jaime hated bullies growing up, for example) but for some reason at this very moment, she also has a tourney sword in hand - why? well, because lyanna stark takes her opportunities when she has them. barred from swordplay? that's fine, dad, but when you're not looking is another story.

she doesn't go rushing in, nor does she ignore the scene. she watches long enough to see if howland can fight them off (he can't), giving her time to identify him as a crannogman - possibly even as a highborn crannogman. and then what does she do? she weighs her options, decides that she can probably beat the bullies, and does so. then she takes care of howland reed, picking him up like she picked benjen out of the water in bran's vision.

[T]here was to be a feast in Harrenhal, to mark the opening of the tourney, and the she-wolf insisted that the lad attend. He was of high birth, with as much right to a place on the bench as any other man.

- Bran II, ASOS

she claims his rights as a highborn lord to attend. he doesn't have clothes, nor does howland insist that he can go, but lyanna makes a reasoned argument that howland has every right to attend and that surely benjen can find him some clothes!

so lyanna is determined, pragmatic, and a problem-solver.

[T]he Knight of the Laughing Tree spoke in a booming voice through his helm, saying “Teach your squires honour, and that shall be ransom enough.” Once the defeated knights chastised their squires sharply, their horses and armour were returned.

- Bran II, ASOS

here, lyanna displays a trait that sets her apart. howland memorizes the face of his bullies. he wants to "revenge" himself on them. but lyanna does not go directly for the bullies, she challenges the lords to whom the bullies squire, and commands them to chastise their squires.

lyanna understands the chivalric system she lives in, and that she will not be listened to (how? her own father and brother don't listen to her!), so she figures out another way to get justice that plays on the very ideas of might & honor that exclude the weak. she is confident in her abilities (being experienced riding at rings), gathers up all the material she needs, and takes a calculated risk.

she manipulates the system, plainly. she plays the players at their own game and wins.

and she does it for a guy she met a few days ago.

lyanna is determined, pragmatic, a problem-solver, and ascribes to a moral code that is all her own, one that rejects societal hypocrisy.

You have a wildness in you, child. 'The wolf blood,' my father used to call it. Lyanna had a touch of it, and my brother Brandon more than a touch.

- Arya II, AGOT

so how do we square this away? lyanna was wolf-blooded. she was wild. she was untameable.

or was she?

any girl/woman with half a personality gets described as "spirited" or "willful" or "stubborn" in asoiaf. it's a polite of saying "hard to control." we see several times that lyanna takes a measured approach to matters. she is brave, yes, but she is also thoughtful and chooses her battles with the information she has. when she is denied something for no reason beyond her gender and status, she finds a way to pursue her interests regardless.

but robert is something lyanna can't avoid. and that had to rankle her, the betrothal she is determined to avoid, but pragmatically cannot due to her family's insistence. the marriage that goes against her moral code (i'm sure lyanna noted that robert gladly volunteered to capture the KOTLT, regardless of what punishment might be given down by a deranged aerys).

[i'm going to skip over her relationship with rhaegar, because there isn't enough/any text to analyze that explicitly deals with their dynamic post-harrenhal. speculation isn't the point of this post. suffice to say she saw in him something she did not in her family or robert.]

then aerys burns her father and brother.

could rhaegar have stopped aerys once he made up his mind? we as readers know the answer is no. grrm says so much himself, that it was aerys who kicked off the war in this interview:

The Mad King was mad. He was paranoid and violent and he was abusing his power... [Robert's Rebellion] was triggered by[...]the execution of Ned’s father and brother, it was the thing that radicalized, as we would have said in the 60s, Ned and it put him in opposition to it. Robert was just rolling for a fight and it might affect that he’d lost his girlfriend.

the absolute power of kings is continuously critiqued in the series.

so how did lyanna react? of course she grieved deeply. even if she knew that she would likely not see her family again for several years at least, for them to die in such a terrible manner is horrifying.

but lyanna has been forged into pragmatism. she looked at the squires beating up howland and saw that the issue was not the bullies, but the corrupt, lazy lords they squired for.

why would she not be able to see that aerys's abuse of power was what had killed her own family? she's realistic and she's a moral actor and she understands the social system around her. whatever her opinion on feudal lordship before, abuse of power has now killed two people she loved. only extrapolation can say how she would react, but given that we see her in similar situations - it is safe to say that the she understands the removal of aerys from power is a necessity, and that a king who is ruled by his urges is unfit.

[lyanna doesn't have the highest opinion of robert, does she? would she think him fit to be a king? doubtful.]

however, she also wants her family to be safe - a family which is now going to include her unborn baby.

[Ned] could hear her still at times. Promise me, she had cried, in a room that smelled of blood and roses. Promise me, Ned. The fever had taken her strength and her voice had been faint as a whisper, but when he gave her his word, the fear had gone out of his sister's eyes. Ned remembered the way she had smiled then, how tightly her fingers had clutched his as she gave up her hold on life, the rose petals spilling from her palm, dead and black

- Eddard I, AGOT

the promise she solicited from ned is to care for baby jon, presumably.

more importantly, in this final conversation, lyanna is putting all her trust in ned.

this moment is a tragic one, but it is also a cathartic one. whatever has happened, and there is plenty of difficulty between ned and lya at this point, they are putting that to the side and affirming what matters most: their love and loyalty to one another, not in service to house stark, or to any king or cause, but to each other as lyanna and ned.

ned didn't listen before, but he promises her now. lyanna didn't confide in him before, but she does now. yes she's on her deathbed, but this is powerful anyway. it's a healing moment for them both, one lyanna held on for even though by all means she could have trusted the kingsguard to whisk baby jon away earlier and succumbed to the pain.

lyanna doesn't spend her last moments begging for forgiveness or explaining herself. she spends her last moments trying to solve the problem of jon's safety, of her son's life. even at the end, she is determined that he will live.

she dies fearless. she smiles, maybe the same way she smiled in winterfell when ned told her robert would be a good husband and she saw the love in ned's words but not the respect. a bittersweet smile, because jon will survive but she won't see it.

"She should be on a hill somewhere, under a fruit tree, with the sun and clouds above her and the rain to wash her clean."

"I was with her when she died," Ned reminded the king. "She wanted to come home, to rest beside Brandon and Father."

- Eddard I, AGOT

this is our actual introduction to lyanna, when robert and ned initially visit her in the crypts. given everything we know, it's so fitting - robert is displeased with her gravesite. he never got what he wanted (his manic pixie dream girl </3), and even in death he doesn't like her grave.

lyanna was never the person robert projected her to be. in her crypt, she's still defiant against him/what he symbolizes. her determination, her wishes, her home, they all shine through.

But there were others with faces he had never known in life, faces he had seen only in stone. The slim, sad girl who wore a crown of pale blue roses and a white gown spattered with gore could only be Lyanna. Her brother Brandon stood beside her, and their father Lord Rickard just behind.

- Theon V, ACOK

in the end, lyanna's close to her family (even by their side in theon's dreams). she's close to brandon, rickard, ned, old nan, everyone she ever knew growing up, and most importantly: to jon. it's a romantic ending for a minor character, a character grrm clearly cherished when he wrote.

the point of this post is that i want to leave behind the idea of lyanna stark as this harbinger of tragedy. the woman who ruined every man who looked into her eyes (robert, ned, rhaegar) and is now turned to stone. lyanna stark isn't written as a cautionary tale, as a romanticized medusa - instead, her memory lives on in a son who doesn't know her but still loves her, in how the people she knew remember her for what she actually loved, and even in lyanna mormont (a fitting namesake). there's defiance and meaning in that.

i could never say it better, so have hélène cixous's banger to round out my thoughts on lyanna:

You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she’s not deadly. She’s beautiful and she’s laughing.

[amarienne]

Long and tired 15x20 rumblings. Beware of spoilers and the F word.

It’s been 10 hours since I watched the episode and I still can’t believe that was real and not a prank episode.

Let’s leave aside the destiel of it all, alright? We all knew getting a huge and proper destiel scene was not gonna happen, no matter how much we clowned the last few days.

But that was a shit show of writing and plot. Fair enough, they felt like a MOTW episode was very fitting to be the last and you know what, I agree. That first 10 minutes of a simple life jogging, making breakfast and petting the dog? I am all for it. Pie Fair? Perfect, who doesn’t like pie? And Dean surely deserved to eat to his heart’s content with no worry in the world.

But at the same time you are trying to tell me that Dean didn’t even blink while Sam mentioned Cas being dead? And that we didn’t even see Sam at least texting with Eileen who just one episode ago vanished in thin air and Sam, had to perform some pretty heavy self control and restraint so he didn’t break because of the loss? How am I, the audience, supposed to believe that??

Still, I was happily going along with it all still keeping hope (lol, what a fool) until they entered the barn. I saw that freaking rod while they were fighting. Don’t believe it if you don’t want to, but I saw the freaking metal rod and I saw Dean being attacked and I was like fuck no he’s gonna end up on it. And surely enough a second later he was. And being the naive person I am I thought ‘huh, interesting. maybe that’s how we see Jack in this episode, or we see Dean in the hospital fighting for his life because he realises he doesn’t want to keep doing this.’

Buuut nooo, ofc not. We get 10 minutes of Dean hanging from a nail making an otherwise lovely speech and Sam standing there listening to it. We get a *w*nc*est* aura with the hand holding and forehead touching? REALLY? I couldn’t fucking believe it. And then Dean dies.

Dean, who just last episode did not take vengeance on Chuck because ‘that’s not who I am’. A fact I am betting my life on comes of course, of course, from Castiel’s confession. So we finally get to see Dean accepting the fact he is not just a killer, but actually he is made of love and for love and he deserves to be happy. Guys, you can see it in his face, he starts to believe it. And he chooses to walk away with his brother and Jack and to simply leave Chuck behind to have the thing he is more scared of- the thing Dean craved more than anything: a normal life.

Enter a sad excuse of a funeral, a pathetic montage of Sam in the bunker and then a call for another hunt. And Sam leaving (forever? who the fuck knows) the bunker. And just as I feared we get to Heaven. And Dean is welcomed by Bobby. That scene was actually fine. At least we get to fucking know Cas is no longer in the Empty- that presumably Jack saved him and they are now together or were together to build Heaven. And the fact they all share a heaven is sweet, okay? Baby is there, Dean goes for a drive, Kansas is playing. Cheesy but lovely.

Montage of Sam living a normal life? A toddler with ‘Dean’ stitched on his clothes? Enter me losing my fucking mind on the turn of events. So Sam named the kid he had with a *faceless* woman Dean in honour of the brother that died like 3 days after saving the world. Huh?? Really? I mean really? What the fuck happenned to Eileen?? She was too precious for this episode and this fucking story.

At this point I am like, I wish I had not pressed play on this mess. But the God awful montage continues. We see Dean Jr (*retching from disgust on the cliche*) telling Sam it’s okay, mirroring the first death. Also what’s with the tatoo? Is he a hunter too? Did Sam continue hunting and pulled his son into it as well? Or was it just a general precaution/tradition. Fuck knows of course. Heart monitor goes beep (the fucking cliches will be the death of me) and we see a bunch of pictures. The faceless wife remains faceless because *who cares* let’s just show the parallells between the two brothers’ deaths.

Oh I forgot all this is to the sound of a pop cover of Carry on my Wayward Son. They didn’t even have the decency to keep the original playing.

And here I am thinking, wishing, being ready to make a crossroads deal that all this is not actually real. It’s a dream, or a nightmare, or an alternate reality or - my biggest hope- Gabriel’s playing a prank somehow.

But as we all now know, dear strangers, that was not it. Nope. Dean stops in a lovely bridge (after apparently a couple hours of driving) and Sam appears. They hug it out. And they watch the sun set over the fucking mountain top.   

Oh and then we have the god awful goodbye message. The final blow so we stay on the ground.

Un-fucking-believable. That was like the worst fanfiction, wrapped in a last minute essay you’re writing that is due in six hours, dipped in a diary entry from when you were 9 and dusted with a touch of *who gives a fuck let’s just finish this*. Also let’s blame *COVID*.

All the beautiful scenes and moments of the past 15 seasons. All the character progression we thought we were witnessing. All the symbolism we thought we were seeing. All the secondary characters we got to love to just not see if they actually made it back after 15x18. All the blood, sweat and tears our four boys went through in the last few episodes. All yeeted out the fucking window. It was all for fucking nothing? For an ending my four year old niece could come up with on the spot?

They all die and live happily ever after in Heaven?

Betrayed does not begin to cover how I feel. I was not a hardcore fan of SPN by a long shot. But I know stories. This is not how a good story ends. And SPN was a good story. It deserved better. We deserved better. Our boys deserved better.

I am standing and slow clapping for the actors though. They were truly brilliant, they worked with this shit writing and managed to get to the other side of it. I would sell my left kidney to find out what they actually thought of that ending and to also ask the showrunner what kind of drunk dream made the basis of this finale. Oh, and also ask the folks at CW who green lighted this shitstorm how they’re feeling? The 1 star ratings at IMBD are raining like the fallen angels, bitch.

God. This was long and awful but even if noone read it, it made me feel better.

I can’t even begin to form coherent thoughts regardging the lack of Cas and destiel. Maybe on another post.

[theonceandfutureking6481]

BBC's Merlin Season 1 Episode 4: The Poisoned Chalice Analysis

This is one of my favourite episodes, in this season, mainly for Merlin and Arthur. They are wonderful in this episode, and this is the first episode where you really see them starting to truly care about each other. This is a show fundamentally about love and the relationships between every character, and Merlin and Arthur are at the core of the show. Everyone in this episode though is so brave, and I admire them all so much. I talk a lot about a lot of different elements of Merlin on here but what I really love about this show is how much the characters inspire me, how much I admire them because I'm not sure I could ever be as brave as these characters, but I'd like to be.

Merlin's courage

There's not much in detail I can say about this but Merlin is so brave at the start of this episode. To burst into the king's hall and publicly accuse another king of attempting to poison Arthur. It's funny but one of the parts of Merlin's courage I most admire isn't his bravery to die for Arthur, it's his willingness to speak out when somethings wrong, his willingness to publicly embarrass himself, his willingness to be brave even when he could be wrong. It's a reachable form of courage, I don't think any of us frequently (or ever) have the opportunity to die for others, but in many ways the fact that we could all be as brave as Merlin in this way, that's what makes it feel so much more unattainable and thus more admirable.

The bigger courage though really is when Merlin drinks from the goblet, honestly even though Uther made him, Arthur probably would have drunk it but Merlin didn't let him. Merlin knew he would die if he drunk from that goblet, because he believed Nimueh to be telling the truth (which she was), but (as Arthur says) "he did it anyway." To meet death so willingly, it's not like jumping in front of someone in the moment in a battle, he had to make the choice to drink that poison because he is willing to sacrifice his life for Arthur's. And it hasn't got anything to do with destiny yet, he cares about Arthur, Arthur's his friend and Merlin's a good person. It's just a very noble moment for Merlin, Uther was making him but at the same time you could see Merlin choosing to drink from it, that's a choice and that was incredibly noble.

Arthur and Uther

There is tension between Arthur and Uther in this episode, between their views on the world and honour. It is, I think essentially summed up in.

Arthur: Because his life's worthless?

Uther: No, because its worth less than yours.

It's funny, you can see Uther's perspective here. He is right about one thing, Arthur is the future king, even if he's not inherently worth more than Merlin the stability of the kingdom rests on a secure succession and Arthur is Uther's only heir, there is more at stake here.

But Arthur's also right, a world in which any single person's life is protected more than others because of their social position is not a good place. It is not something Arthur believes in, but in Uther's world its just a given, it's not even a question that people ask.

Uther: This boy wont be the last to die on your behalf

Arthur: I can't accept that

Arthur never accepts this inevitability, he always seeks to risk his life first before any one else's and people follow him because of that, people (even his enemies) see the nobility in him because of that. His refusal to accept what to Uther appears to be an inevitability of kingship (Not a welcome one granted but one nonetheless) is what's going to make him a better king than Uther. As Morgana emphasises when she's persuading Arthur to go.

Morgana: And what sort of king would Camelot want? One that would risk his life to save that of a lowly servant, or one that does what his father tells him to?

Isn't this really just the point, Arthur will be a better king than his father because for him his right to rule is in some way always premised on his fulfilment of what he sees as right. Arthur is always trying to prove himself, especially in the early seasons. In Season 2 Episode 2: The Once and Future Queen when Arthur is fighting in a tournament under an alias so people don't know its him (and they will hopefully not let him win), you really see this.

Gwen: You have nothing to prove, least of all to me.

Arthur: I have everything to prove, to myself.

This is the fundamental point, Arthur is always trying to prove himself often to his father or others but always primarily to himself. Because he needs to prove to himself that he can rule Camelot, that he is deserving of it, so for the fact that he's going to be king to hold any weight he needs to do what he thinks is right, because if he doesn't then what sort of king would he be anyway?

This ties I think into what I mentioned in the last episode about Merlin and the greater good. The idea that Merlin never really makes the choice to kill Morgana or Mordred, except for in a moment where it was Morgana or Arthur, where it was a certain in the moment choice. Yes, he reaches a point where he tries to let them die but this is different to outright murder, and I think perhaps a Merlin who would have killed them is not a the Merlin we know, it is not a Merlin that could have formed Camelot. Arthur and Merlin's goodness comes from always trying to do the right thing, whatever the sacrifice to themselves, and if they hadn't been those sort of people then there is no way they could have been people who made a better kingdom.

Gaius: Arthur may give you a hard time, but at heart he's a man of honour. Not many people would have risked what he did for a servant

Uther

Uther's interesting in this episode, he has one of his worst moments in the show, not the worst thing he's ever done but certainly one of the worst things we witness. He purposefully lets Merlin die, we could understand it when he wasn't letting Arthur go after him, but to try to destroy Merlin's only hope for a cure to teach his son a lesson, that is cruel and so wrong. This takes valuing Arthur's life more than Merlin's to a whole other level, he values Arthur's obeying of him more than he values Merlin's life.

This goes to another feature of Uther's character I was just thinking about. He constantly mistakes control for love. He seeks to control both his children, he wants them to obey him, and if they openly defy him or disagree with him he punishes them. But he does love them, probably more than he loves anything else. When Morgana stages a coup against him and tells him how much she hates him he is broken, and he literally never recovers he does love them that cannot be denied but he spends so much of his life mistaking his controlling them for an expression of his love. It is an expression of his fear, he is scared of being out of control as he was when his wife died. Magic can be dangerous but mostly it caused him great suffering (although really it was him), so he seeks to control it absolutely, there is no nuance there and this is how he behaves towards his children. Hate and fear are terrible things to be motivated by, and Uther shows that. His hate comes from his fear, and his cruelty comes from there as well.

One thing, Uther does accept his fault at the end of this episode. It's not really adequate but its better than nothing and in its own way shows that Uther is capable of character development, and the fact that he will fail to do it in the most important ways is sad. His moment when he says to Arthur that Nimueh "is evil", it is so clear he is talking more to himself than anyone else. Isn't that a sign of trying to persuade yourself, he has to tell himself that Nimueh's evil cause ultimately she was just doing what he asked, and if he doesn't villainise her absolutely than its his fault too.

The one moment that really does redeem Uther a little in this episode is when he tells Arthur that "You did the right thing... I'm proud of you Arthur, never forget that." The last comment is telling, Uther knows he's not the best father, he knows that Arthur probably doesn't realise that Uther is proud of him. So the 'never forget that' is a reminder, I think, for when Uther inevitably forgets that himself. It is a reminder, for us, in its own way that Uther is trying to be a good father, and at least in this realm Uther realises that he very often fails.

Morgana

One interesting thing I noticed in this episode was how frustrated Morgana is with her life. I've never really noticed it before, but its in everything she says and does, even in the episodes before this. Even before she turns against Arthur and Uther and Camelot she is angry, not just at them, she's angry at her life. You can tell she feels like she doesn't have the power to do anything, like she's being controlled and perhaps like she isn't able to anything good or right because of Uther and her position, she feels pity for all the magic users but she is a part of the body that persecutes them. How do you reconcile that?

Morgana: Sometimes you have to do what you think is right and damn the consequences

There is so much frustration in that, and everything she says in this scene. I don't know exactly what this says about Morgana's character or her eventual place in the story but its interesting to note. Perhaps its to say her hatred of Uther and eventually Arthur isn't only because of her sympathy for magic users and eventually her own fear and feelings of being unloved but perhaps has its roots in her anger at this time, in Uther's control and her own powerlessness.

Merlin and Arthur

This is Merlin and Arthur's episode, so its kind of funny it took me so long to get to them, but there's really not that much to analyse in the wider scheme regarding them. They just are, and they are wonderful.

This is the episode where you see they do truly care about each other and they are truly good friends They risk their lives for each other with barely a second thought, and yes that is partially their own honour and decency but it is also fundamentally their care for each other that motivates them. You can tell when Merlin's thinking about destiny when he saves Arthur, it becomes such a huge part of his characterisation later on even though he loves Arthur more by that point he also admires him more so Arthur's destiny seems more important. Merlin doesn't really admire Arthur that much yet, he respects him and cares about him but the sheer admiration he will have for him comes later, and it is that admiration that makes him care even more about Arthur's destiny, because he believes in it far more. Right now though it is just their goodness and their friendship that motivates them.

The final moment between them though is beautiful. The moment when Arthur goes to Gaius' chambers just to check that Merlin's all right, even though he's obviously been told he is. He brushes it aside as usual, brushes how much he does actually care about what happens to Merlin (I mean Arthur did just go on a perilous quest that could have led to his death for him so I think Merlin gets it). But the moment at the end of that scene is lovely. There is just such mutual respect and recognition of each other and what they've done for each other, and the way they look at each other is just so wonderful.

Merlin: Thank you

Arthur: You too

Nimueh

One quick note about her. We will find out eventually what her motivations really are, that she's obviously not just evil. That she is angry at Uther and understandably so. And I wonder if in her there is a parallel for Uther I hadn't considered before. Both of them were involved in Igraine's death and Arthur's birth. And it was as a result of this action that Uther outlawed sorcery and began the great purge. She out of everyone knows best how hypocritical Uther really is. And in her own way, though it is obviously not her fault, it is her actions that set off the great purge. Uther made the choice to blame her and all magic but nonetheless it was a spell she cast that was the trigger, and I wonder if in her own way she feels guilty (just as Uther feels guilty about his wife's death) but like Uther she takes it out in anger rather than guilt. I'm not saying she should feel guilty, perhaps over Igraine's death but certainly not the great purge. However, she most probably does, and like Uther I think she's refusing to feel that guilt, and to avoid that guilt she chooses hatred and anger instead.

Bravery

Everyone in this episode though, is so brave. Gwen, Merlin, Arthur and Gaius all do risky, brave things that could get them killed, though maybe not killed in Gwen's case but certainly in huge trouble. Gwen sneaks into the dungeons and Gaius does magic. We will learn more about Gaius' character later but he is in many ways not a brave person, he is the sort who witnesses injustice and stays quiet, he's not brave. But he's brave here, he does magic, for Merlin, because he loves Merlin like a son. All the courage and bravery in this show comes from the love people have for others, and that's an important message, that the people we love and our own ability to love others can inspire us to be better people and to be brave.

Their immediate response to Merlin's apparent death moreover is guilty, they have nothing to feel guilty about, it's Uther's fault, but they blame themselves anyway. There is in that a contrast to Uther, who refuses to blame himself. They don't take their pain out in anger, they accept it and even though they have nothing to be guilty for the fact that their immediate response is guilt does say they are better people, braver people than Uther.

Other things

Morgana holding that butter knife ready to fight Bayard's men is the funniest thing ever. Like its an impressive butter knife, but it is still so clearly a butter knife.

Also so many bad guys plans in this show rely on Arthur or Merlin being fundamentally good people, like when your plan involves using people's goodness against them you need to re-evaluate your choices in life. I suppose its part of the point though- that they are willing to harm the innocent or take advantage of goodness in their anger. Uther punishes goodness in this episode.

My new motivational quote—> Gaius: "As the Old proverb says: Hard work breeds..........a harder soul." Merlin: "There is no way that's a proverb. You just made that up."

[nikosheba]

The Mystery of the Vanishing Elf

First of all, this is not my meta; I’m posting this on behalf of Azh, who wrote it and wanted it on tumblr. (They did say I could take credit for bothering them to write it, and for helping kick around ideas, so I will :D)

Link to the meta on AO3

[all page numbers from the 2007 HarperCollins edition of The Children of Húrin, ISBN 978 0 00 724622 9]

Thanks to starlightwalking for beta-ing!

So I just finished reading the Children of Húrin—which, let’s be honest, I was mostly reading to get the expanded version of the Túrin and Beleg content.  So at first when I started reading the second half — after Beleg’s death — I figured the reason I was less drawn to the text was because, well, Beleg was dead and therefore was less present in the narrative.  After I’d finished the book and put it down, though, I realized it was a little more than that.  Beleg wasn’t just less present. He was completely absent. This is no exaggeration: between the last mention of Beleg’s name in Chapter IX (“The Death of Beleg”) and Túrin’s death, when Gurthang asks to forget the “blood of Beleg my master” there is a single mention of his name, and it’s only a passing description of Gurthang itself as “the Black Sword of Beleg” (pg. 237).

Túrin never says his name again.

What’s going on here?  This is, quite frankly, bizarre. The entire first half of the narrative pivots around the relationship between Túrin and Beleg.  Beleg is the one who finds Túrin when he’s just a child his mother is sending to Thingol in Doriath. Beleg is his friend when’s growing up on Doriath — one of two really mentioned, the other being Nellas — and when Túrin is grown and goes off to be with the marchwardens, “Beleg and Túrin were companions in every peril” (pg 86).  When Thingol and Mablung and everyone else are ready to assume the worst of Túrin, it’s Beleg who shows up with Nellas to tell them what really happened, and it’s notable that this means Beleg didn’t see what happened; he just implicitly trusted Túrin and was the only one to do so.  They care about each other a lot. There is a brief portion of time while Túrin is with the outlaws that they aren’t together (that’s a whole nother post in itself) but Beleg returns to Túrin on Amon Rudh, “in this way, Beleg came back to Túrin, yielding to his love against his wisdom.  Túrin was glad indeed, for he had often regretted his stubbornness; and now the desire of his heart was granted…it seemed to [the outlaws] there had been a tryst between Beleg and their caption.” (pg 139).  These boys are in love. It’s textual.  There’s only one other character Túrin is described as loving in a similar way, and it’s Níniel (Niënor), whom he marries.

In fact, it’s staggering that Níniel is the only other one (pg 218 “Turambar restrained himself no longer, but asked her in marriage”), because there is a very big elephant in the room, and it’s the person whom Níniel is occasionally compared to, Finduilas.  Finduilas is mentioned three times in the text after her death, including twice by Túrin himself in direct quotations:

- “Then Turambar who led the men started back and covered his eyes, and trembled; for it seemed that he saw the wraith of a slain maiden that lay on the grave of Finduilas.” (pg. 214, when Túrin first finds Níniel)

- "But even as he spoke, he wondered, and mused in his mind: 'Or can it be that one so evil and fell shuns the Crossings, even as the Orcs? Haudh-en-Elleth! Does Finduilas lie still between me and my doom?’” (pg. 229, when Túrin is preparing to fight Glaurung for the last time),

- “Therefore he arose and went to the Crossings of Teiglin, and as he passed by Haudh-en-Elleth he cried: 'Bitterly have I paid, O Finduilas! that ever I gave heed to the Dragon. Send me now counsel!’” (pg. 253, after he’s killed Brandir and is desperately trying to deny that Níniel was Niënor, his sister)

This is huge. And it’s huge, because Túrin is not in love with Finduilas. This, again, is explicit, and textual, "In truth Finduilas was torn in mind. For she honoured Gwindor and pitied him, and wished not to add one tear to his suffering; but against her will her love for Turin grew day by day, and she thought of Beren and Luthien. But Turin was not like Beren! He did not scorn her, and was glad in her company; yet she knew that he had no love of the kind she wished. His mind and heart were elsewhere, by rivers in springs long past.” (pg 166, ”Túrin in Nargothrond”). So.  Túrin never falls in love with Finduilas, and, in fact, the reason he doesn’t fall in love with her is that his “mind and heart are elsewhere”.  Hmmmm. I wonder where his heart is?

Okay, so then why is it that Túrin repeatedly refers to Finduilas but not to Beleg?  It’s really obvious based on the quotes I’ve given so far that he was in love with Beleg (and for god’s sake, the man doesn’t talk for a YEAR after Beleg’s death), that he was not in love with Finduilas, and that he was (or thought he was, at least) in love with Níniel, enough to ask her to marry him.  So where the hell is Beleg in his thoughts for all this time when he’s falling for Níniel and thinking back to Finduilas?

For the answer to this, we need to consider the dual nature of Níniel’s relationship to Túrin, and what its source is.

Yes, Túrin loves Níniel, as his wife, but we know he also loved his sister Niënor, as a sister, and part of the reason he kills himself is that he can’t handle that he’s driven his sister to her death via incest (albeit accidental incest).  It’s notable that Túrin loves Finduilas as a sister,

“Then Turin spoke freely to [Finduilas] concerning these things, though he did not name the land of his birth, nor any of his kindred; and on a time he said to her: 'I had a sister, Lalaith, or so I named her; and of her you put me in mind. But Lalaith was a child, a yellow flower in the green grass of spring; and had she lived she would now, maybe, have become dimmed with grief. But you are queenly, and as a golden tree; I would I had a sister so fair.’” (pg. 164, “Túrin in Nargothrond”.)

So these references to Finduilas make a narrative kind of sense — in addition to it mostly happening as Túrin is passing her grave, it’s a textual reminder of a hidden truth: Níniel is not just Túrin’s lover, but also his sister.  He even finds her upon the grave of someone he loved as a sister.  But there’s another truth hidden in the text as well, and it’s related to Níniel’s nature as Túrin’s lover.  Because let’s be real, if he found her on the grave of someone he loved very firmly in a non-romantic way, why does he become romantically interested in her?  She’s his sister—obviously he doesn’t know that, but the narrative is saying it very, very clearly.  Well…there’s a confounding factor.

Here’s how Túrin finds Níniel (pg. 214): “Now it chanced that some of the woodmen of Brethil came by in that hour from a foray against Orcs, hastening over the Crossings of Teiglin to a shelter that was near; and there came a great flash of lightning, so that the Haudh-en-Elleth was lit as with a white flame.”

And here is how Túrin discovers that he has killed Beleg (pg. 155): “But as he stood, finding himself free, and ready to sell his life dearly against imagined foes, there came a great flash of lightning above them, and in its light he looked down on Beleg's face.”

The narrative does draw a parallel between Níniel and Beleg, an extremely strong (if subtle) one.  It uses literally the same phrase to set up the scene: “there came a great flash of lightning”.  So there’s a pretty clear answer as to why Túrin might associate Níniel with romantic love—he doesn’t just find her on his as-it-were sister’s grave, he finds her in a way that hearkens strongly back to the last time he ever saw his lover’s face.

So why doesn’t he think of Beleg now?

Why is the thought of his lover—whose loss cut him so deeply he didn’t speak for a year—so far out of his mind at this moment that his name isn’t even mentioned, even when narratively there’s no way he shouldn’t think of him?

Okay, I’ve drawn this out enough, so let’s cut to the chase: Glaurung. Glaurung, who is responsible for the first hidden truth that I mentioned, the more textually explicit one, that Níniel is Niënor, Túrin’s sister.  He bespells Niënor upon Amon Ethir, “Then he drew her eyes into his, and her will swooned. And it seemed to her that the sun sickened and all became dim about her; and slowly a great darkness drew down on her and in that darkness there was emptiness; she knew nothing, and heard nothing, and remembered nothing,” (pg 209, “The Journey of Morwen and Niënor”) causing her to lose her memories and with her memories her name and therefore any way for Túrin to know who she is.  Glaurung earlier bespells Túrin as well, “Without fear Turin looked in those eyes as he raised up his sword; and straightway he fell under the dreadful spell of the dragon, and was as one turned to stone.” (pg. 178, “the Fall of Nargothrond”)  The first, obvious result of Glaurung’s spell (and the only explicit one) is that he leaves Finduilas and rushes off to try and find Morwen and Niënor.  Now, we’re meant to believe that this is all that the spell does, since in “The Return of Túrin to Dor-Lómin”, pg. 166, the text notes, “And suddenly a black wrath shook him; for his eyes were opened, and the spell of Glaurung loosed its last threads, and he knew the lies with which he had been cheated.”

But I don’t think this makes sense.  I think Tolkien is being poetical here and the “last threads” he’s talking about are specifically the lies about Finduilas.  A number of Túrin’s conversations with Níniel point towards the fact that he’s forgotten something really important and that in that regard the dragon’s spell is still intact.  For example, when Túrin tells Níniel what to call him (pgs 217-218, “Niënor in Brethil”):

“Then she paused as if listening for some echo; but she said: 'And what does that say, or is it just the name for you alone?'

“’It means,' said he, 'Master of the Dark Shadow. For I also, Niniel, had my darkness, in which dear things were lost; but now I have overcome it, I deem.’”

“My darkness” is eerily similar to the repeated motif of Níniel’s darkness, which explicitly refers to the spell cast on her by Glaurung.  

“Behind her lay only an empty darkness” (pg 213, “Niënor in Brethil”); “it seem to her that the darkness that lay behind her was overtaking her again” (pg 214, “Niënor in Brethil”); “it seemed to her that she had found at last something that she had sought in the darkness” (pg. 215, “Niënor in Brethil”); and the two most relevant quotations, “And at that name she looked up, and she shook her head, but said: 'Níniel.' And that was the first word that she spoke after her darkness, and it was her name among the woodmen ever after” (pg 216, ”Niënor in Brethil”); and “when at length she had learned enough to speak with her friends she would say: 'What is the name of this thing? For in my darkness I lost it.’” (pg. 217, “Niënor in Brethil”)

So here it is: Túrin has lost “dear things” in “his darkness” (Glaurung’s spell) and he thinks that Níniel is what he has lost, but she isn’t—or she isn’t the only thing that’s missing. Glaurung has ripped out of Túrin’s mind the memory of the only person he’s ever had romantic feelings for—Beleg—and because he’s confused and trying to find something to fill that gap, Níniel gets cast in a dual role—not just sister (with her ties to Finduilas) but also lover (with her subtler ties to poor, missing Beleg).  

This theory also has significant implications for Túrin’s death, since that’s the only time that Beleg is mentioned again, apart from a tangential sidenote.  When Mablung finally confirms to Túrin what he’s already beginning to fear is the truth, that Níniel was his sister Niënor, he runs up to the Cabed-en-Aras, from which Níniel has thrown herself, and he asks his sword to kill him. His sword is Gurthang, which was Anglachel, made by Eöl, the sword that Thingol gave to Beleg and that Túrin used to accidentally kill him, and the response is somewhat unexpected, since up till now we haven’t had any indication that it’s a talking sword,

“‘And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer: 'Yes, I will drink your blood, that I may forget the blood of Beleg my master…I will slay you swiftly.’” (pg. 256, “The Death of Túrin”)

Interestingly, this is after the sword has been reforged, and there’s no particular reason it should refer to Beleg as its master — after all, Túrin has been wielding it for years, and it was made by someone else entirely.  So then, why?  And why does it ask to forget his blood in particular?

Because Túrin has remembered, finally.  Whether the sword is picking up on the mood, whether it’s a narrative device, or whether it isn’t even really talking and it’s just Túrin’s mind playing tricks on him in his last extremis, I don’t know—though I favor the latter interpretation, particularly because Túrin himself is referred to as “the Black Sword” on numerous occasions.  But the important point here is Túrin has remembered, because Glaurung is dead, and his memory spells die with him, “Then Nienor sat as one stunned, but Glaurung died; and with his death the veil of his malice fell from her, and all her memory grew clearer before her, from day unto day, neither did she forget any of those things that had befallen her since she lay on Haudh-en-Elleth.” (pg. 243, “The Death of Glaurung”)

So Túrin knows by now exactly what he’s done—not only inadvertently marrying his sister but betraying the one great romantic love of his life.  The one he has probably just remembered accidentally killing in great detail.  It’s probably quite present in his mind when, rather than throw himself over the waterfall as Níniel did, he flings himself onto the very same sword that killed the only person he was ever in love with, whose name he has finally, finally been able to bring to mind…

In sum, Glaurung erases Beleg’s memory so thoroughly from Túrin’s mind that only tiny, hidden glimpses remain, even in the text.  This is the solution to the mystery of the vanishing Elf; it explains why Beleg vanishes right up until the very end, and it ties together the sense I had when I was reading the second half of something missing, something hidden, something incomplete.  It is, I imagine, the same way Túrin must have felt after he awoke—as he thought, completely—from the spell that Glaurung laid upon him the first time they fought.

[A/N: I also wrote a fic based on this premise: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28980519 ]

[wangxiandecoded]

Episode 9

Previous Episode | Next Episode

(Spoilers for the whole show ahead!)

Lan Zhan remembers what Wei Ying had mentioned about the puppets the first night at Cloud Recesses showing he remembers quite a lot about him, he just doesn’t let on.

NHS is a big mood in this scene, an absolutely useless gay depending on two warrior gays to save his life. But he’s hindering their flawless team work so Lan Zhan uses the silencing spell on him.

This dialogue is so uncalled for and delivered in a way that makes you think Wei Ying just wants to see Lan Zhan have an outburst, kick back and admire how hot that is.

Wei Ying’s “you can go ahead and blame me for everything that is wrong with this world but my man has done nothing wrong in his life ever” smile.

You didn’t have to expose him like that but thank you, Jiang Cheng.

Wei Ying’s “sorry I accidentally did a hetero thing, let us please not remember this for the sake of my clean conscience” smile.

Yet Another Plot Device To Show Off Wangxian’s Chemistry

The Dire Owl subplot is one of the dreamiest scenes on the show and a fight sequence that proves Wangxian own the patent for words like soulmates, symmetry, equilibrium, balance, yin and yang, mirrors and their derivatives.

Here’s something that’s bothered me : Wei Ying calls for Lan Zhan twice and he doesn’t answer him the first time even though he looks searchingly in his direction. It is only when they knock into each other the second time that he explains the fog is a hallucination caused by the Dire Owl. (But of course Lan Zhan doesn’t need to answer him, the red string of fate will inevitably help them find the other.) 

Clear-headed as he is, did he for a second believe that the Dire Owl was making him hallucinate Wei Ying’s voice the first time, and is that why he ignored him? Because Lan Zhan’s mind could be the spotless sea of tranquillity it is, but Wei Ying has now become the shrillest thought that breaks through and demands his attention. He doesn’t respond though, so he must have been sure Wei Ying is safe.

For Lan Zhan, Wei Ying will do even the impossible. He’ll try his best to seal off all his senses and mute his head that’s forever brimming with thoughts. 

Ok, pause. I cried when I watched this for the first time and let me tell you why. The implications of this fight scene are astounding. We all know Wangxian are soulmates who can confront anything together but did we know that they could feel and find their way to each other even when their senses are completely shut? I mean, how attuned to someone’s existence do you have to be to achieve that? They are hyper focusing on nothing but the Dire Owl and yet moving perfectly with eyes closed in an outrageously impressive synchrony. They can feel the other’s presence and have utmost trust in each other to shield their direction. They move as if they’ve spent infinite lifetimes by the other’s side mastering this skill; they leap, spin and swerve like they think with the same mind. The way they fit together is to die for, nearly impossible and the legendary stuff from stories that we all wish we could have with someone in this existence. If I was whatever that stood in Wangxian’s way, I’d be terrified and call it a day. They are not just soulmates, they are The Original Formidable Soulmates™. 

Wangxian Are Here To Kick Queerbaiters In The Ass

This fantastic display of battle prowess by the two heroes fighting back-to-back is one of the many things that convinced me The Untamed is not like the other stories out there. Simply because every stop of their journey is too romantic and the others don’t come close enough. It is an injustice to compare or group their relationship with the ‘dude bro, no homo’ chemistry that bromances usually sell. Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are two people who are so passionately devoted to and absolutely belong with each other, they are soulmates not just in the minds of the audience or because the creators were afraid to make them something more, but soulmates by their own admission. There are other factors that strengthen their already supergay case like the absence of a female love interest in their lives and their flirty interactions being genuinely adorable as heck, as opposed to just isolated instances of b(romance). And it really, really, helps our case that the novel is canonically gay but it is also remarkable that a show that’s teeming with gay subtext can exist at all and go on to become one that is widely embraced by everyone, casual watchers and shippers alike. 

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying's chemistry gives all the Western superheroes a run for their money. We no longer have to wonder what it looks like when two queer heroes who are in love get to kick ass together. See, this is what happens when you have the guts to invest in a gay romance. This show looked censorship in the eye and said gay rights anyway. (I’m going to digress from this show for a sec and just plainly weep for all the queer pairings on mainstream media that we shipped but couldn’t see the light of day because of the homophobic people behind them. It is great that the truth still lives in our hearts and the millions of words on ao3. But life feels a lot sweeter to know with certainty that our heroes are in love this time and celebrate the fact that the people who made this show knew and honoured that very well, that they honoured the audience. In my eyes, CQL is the unparalleled forefather of gay romance from now on. Because reading these epic queer stories is one thing but watching Wangxian’s story unfold along with the entire world means believing in the power of gay love. And seeing our favorite heroes in action makes the characters we look up to so much more real.)

Lan Zhan comes flying like the Prince Charming he is to break the shackles of heteronormativity trying to kill his soulmate! Hell yeah, king! Save us from that straight trope that’s been choking us since time immemorial.

We did not just see Wei Ying pretend to be dead so he can outsmart the bird and simultaneously get Lan Zhan to save him just because he likes that sort of thing. Nope, totally didn’t happen. 

Oh, hello Ah Yuan! Details like this prove the show is well worth multiple rewatches.

There is nothing more uniquely Wangxian than the million thoughts they share with each other through mere glances, the frequency of which steadily increases. Who knew you could speak with zero articulation? Not having a soulmate sure sucks for the rest of us mortals. I doubt the audience can truly grasp the depth of their communication but I’m pretty sure it goes like this most of the time. 

Wei Ying teasing Lan Zhan that the Goddess Statue tried to kill him because she had a crush on him is all kinds of hilarious. Lan Zhan looks somewhere in between “Wei Ying, we’re talking about the fate of the universe, stop being gay for 2 seconds please,” and "STFU, just because I can find my way to you blind doesn't mean I will hesitate to Silence you again."

Wei Ying Is Crumbling All Of Lan Zhan’s Walls

Most people maintain their distance from Hanguang-Jun, the Noblest Of Them All, he whose robes command respect and inspire fear. There is hence something very sweetly domestic about Wei Ying latching on to his silk tassel while subtext-whining, "Where are you going Lan Zhan, I refuse to live without you", and "Ugh Lan Zhan, you're so lost without me, ok fine, I'll help you.” It’s like he granted himself the lifetime entitlement of being Lan Zhan’s nuisance-companion the night they met, and thank goodness for that because Lan Zhan wasn’t going to let anyone into his life. Wei Ying is the exception who managed to charm his way into his heart and dissolve his barriers.

Notice Wei Ying even turns down free alcohol for Lan Zhan. And the sheer undisguised panic on his face that Lan Zhan is going to leave him alone after all the bonding activities he made sure they went through is endearing comedy at its peak. 

We see Lan Zhan no longer believes resolutely in His Ways and lets Wei Ying persuade him to believe there is a better one. This is a great 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 for them because they’re communicating.

Lan Zhan doesn’t fight him anymore, period. 

The Yin Iron starts acting up and Wei Ying is immediately there for Lan Zhan, gently grounding him. He can feel the horror and pain Lan Zhan has seen in the vision because of course he can. But does Lan Zhan see how much Wei Ying loves him and hurts for him? He has to. In moments like this, Wei Ying’s presence shows how wrong Lan Zhan is in wanting to do everything alone. We all need a friend in life. And it was destiny that led them to each other because their lives would’ve evidently been a lot lonelier without the other in it. 

Episode 9 shows Lan Zhan warming up to Wei Ying some more : he has stopped being antagonistic altogether, lets Wei Ying pull him around, freely accepts his help, shares many glances with him and is ready to blast anything that lays a finger on Wei Ying sky high. (Of course we see that Wei Ying exaggerates needing his help most of the time. He plays the “I’m a frail man desperately in need of Hanguang-Jun’s protection” card because swooning into the arms of his lover is one of his favorite things. And not even Lan Zhan calls him out for it. They’re just so whipped for each other.)

[secretive3amramenmaker]

More Fire Force Opinions That Literally Nobody Asked For (pt.2)

Guess who finished the manga~ Guess who finished the manga~ This gal~ I’m surprised that my Fire Force rant/essay meta was so well received by the fandom, thank you guys so much!!! Anyways, today I’ll be discussing some a lot of my ideas, opinions, thoughts, future predictions, and commentary on moments from the Fire Force manga.

Warnings: Spoilers for future Fire Force Season Two arcs, and for the Fire Force manga. Read at your own discretion! Now that the warnings are over, onwards! ヽ(ヅ)ノ

(I’m actually trying to order my opinions via arcs, but I feel that this is really important, so I’m putting it first.) 

1. There are no iPhones in the Fire Force. 

This is so sad? My favourite characters don’t know the joy that is staying up late, scrolling through social media, watching YOUTUBE, having MEMES, KNOWING👏THE👏GREATNESS👏THAT👏IS👏VINES!!!

I’m slightly disappointed that Vulcan, who is literally named after the god of forging himself, who can make frickin’ HOLOGRAMS, didn’t bring back any of the pre-Catalysm technology to recreate, improve, or experiment with. As an expert engineer (I say this 0.2% seriously, with the two years of high school engineering course experience under my belt), I would’ve been interested to see what kind of gadgets Vulcan could whip up. *insert ‘Inspector Gadget theme song*

Please have this very sad Jigglypuff to show how sad this is.

2. Sister Iris and Religion in the Fire Force Storyline

In the beginning of the Fire Force series, I’ve accepted the fact that Iris' role as noncombatant, meant to act as the religious and public face of the Eighth Company. I think it is a fascinating role, because it allows the story to explore the idea of religion and belief in depth, which I was really looking forward to. I was excited how the author would handle Iris’ character, but I’m somewhat disappointed that it took so long for us to see Iris and other side characters like Maki and Tamaki become more fleshed out (I’m not counting Iris’ and Hibana’s backstory in Season 1. I felt that was more backstory to flesh out Hibana’s character rather than Iris’).

Throughout Fire Force’s story, some of the things I looked forward to the most were the religious elements, motifs, themes, and questions that are sprinkled throughout the story, one of my favourites being the portrayal of the dichotomy of religion. In Joker’s backstory, we see the darkness of the Holy Sol faith, and what happens when any religious belief is taken TOO far, without any regard for human life or rights. This idea of viewing humans as a collective, no regard for the individuality and feelings of a single person in the pursuit of faith is embodied by the captain of the Shadow of the Holy Sun, Joker’s former captain and abuser. However, we also get to see the goodness religion and belief can achieve in Iris’ mini arc, which focuses on Iris’ internal struggle as she struggles with her faith after being informed of the Evangelist’s part in the founding of the Holy Sol’s religion. Shinra and Huo Yan Li, the bucket hat 1st Brigade lieutenant (Seriously, which is the correct way to pronounce this guy’s name? Huo Yan Li?? Foien Li???) interaction in the Iris arc really summed up the arc and Iris’ character beautifully. Religion and belief gives people closure, hope, and strength to keep on moving forward. Seeing the anime adaption was an amazing experience. Fire Force’s animation was the reason I decided to watch it in the first place (before staying for the intriguing plot and religious side plot), but this particular episode?? Pure art. The colouring, ambience, storytelling? So good＼\ ٩( ᐛ )و /／

Like, the little detail of the burning nun in Iris’ eyes? (lmao sorry for the extra trauma, sweet child) *chef’s kiss*

The importance of belief is also hinted in the Asakusa arc, where all the district’s inhabitants believe in Benimaru, and expanded upon in later manga chapters, when we learn that Adolla is linked to humanity’s perception and beliefs about the world around them.

I would’ve liked Iris a lot more if we got to further explore her character and the affects of religion on others more deeply, perhaps see Iris visiting the Infernals’ families and loved ones, trying to help give closure through the nation’s (mostly) shared faith in Sol. They mentioned offhandedly in both anime and manga that Iris visits the deceased’s families, and I felt it would’ve given the deaths more significance and depth if we get screentime of how families are affected by the death of their loved ones. It would have also given the Holy Sol’s religion more depth and meaning if we saw believers of Sol’s actions due to their religion, (also giving more impact when we learn surprise surprise! The Holy Sol temple is founded by the Evangelist!) since belief without actions is just lip-service.

I would have also liked to see how Iris’ prayers affect others in the Eighth company. We do get to see this, 140+ CHAPTERS LATER in the mini Iris arc does Shinra (finally) mentions how Iris’ prayers helps him not lose sight of why he serves as a firefighter and kills Infernal. I’m glad that we got this scene, because better later than never, especially since Iris’ and Shinra’s discussion and overall the entire Iris mini arcs shows the power of prayer, but I would’ve like to have this topic discussed sooner.

2. Obi’s Sole Flaw

I think that Obi was an okay character, but they kind of pushed the boundary of his “normalcy” when we saw him topple pillars and rip railways out of the ground with “brute strength”. There are limits to the human body, it is fragile, and it doesn’t matter how much conditioning or “going beyond your limits” you do. People do experience boost of adrenaline, which is probably what the very anime-like titled “Pressure of Death” is based on, since life or death situations can heighten your performance and strength. However, I do understand that this IS shonen, and it isn’t meant to be realistic.

What made Obi’s sole flaw (and a physical flaw, at that!) was his “normalcy” while surrounded by more powerful individuals then he, and having to make up for something he can’t help by working twice as hard as everybody else. Now, although I was disappointed that Obi didn’t have any character/moral flaws, what made Obi’s character mediocre to me wasn’t the choice of Obi’s sole flaw. In fact, I could see how this could be an interesting character narrative IF WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OBI’S BACKSTORY, THEREFORE EXPLORING HIS CHARACTER MORE!!! (We only know Obi was a regular firefighter, being decorated twice, and then having his titles revoked for prioritizing the lives of citizens before becoming the captain of the Eighth.) No, what I didn’t like about Obi’s character is that we never see him STRUGGLE with his flaw, how others were born “superior” to him thanks to there invulnerability to flames, how he lives knowing one day he could just burst into flames. There’s SO many interesting things about Obi’s character, that could explained further, making him so much more interesting!!!

On the other hand, Obi’s character is a great role model for what a “normal” person can do (while jacked up on adrenaline, and when they manage to overcome flight reaction in fight or flight). He works hard, training to the best of his ability, doing what he CAN do, pushing his limits so that he can go above and beyond, overcoming the “Pressure of Death”, and staying true to his ideals, something very hard to do in a world where you might burst into flames at any given moment. I know that if I were to wake in a world where I could die any second (I mean, I could die tomorrow in Real Life™, but what are the chances of that?), I would definitely find myself struggling with my faith, and staying true to the morals I admire and was taught by my parents, especially if I was putting myself in danger despite of this weakness.

3. Asakusa Showdown Arc and Shinmon Hibachi

The Asakusa Showdown arc. Yes. Just yes. I-

It was amazing, periodt. The art, the overall aesthetic, the storytelling. *Cue violent fangirling* I took SOOOO many screenshots of the fight between Benimaru and Hibachi, I’m pretty sure my camera roll is 95% manga caps now. I love how the author actually gave a (fairly) valid reason for the cool Japanese aesthetic of this arc, in that Adolla is slowly gradually colliding with the Fire Force universe, causing people’s perception of the fight to seep into the universe. Overall? It. Was. Amazing. Albeit not my favourite arc, (that honour goes to the mini-Iris arc) I think that the Asakusa Showdown arc is easily in my Top 5 Fire Force arcs.

The Asakusa Showdown Arc mirroring and showing the ideals taught in the Mini Iris Arc was quite clever, though I’m not sure if this was purposefully done Okubo, or if I’m just scrabbling at crumbs.

In the Mini Iris arc, we see how religion and belief gives closure; a stark contrast to Asakusa with its proto-nationalist/atheist values. In THIS arc, centering around Asakusa and it’s proto-nationalist inhabitants, we see what happens when there isn’t enough effort to emphasize or give closure in what happened to Hibachi, and his subsequent death. 

Shinmon Hibachi, as the leader of the neighbourhood fire watch, understood the significance of killing Infernals; of taking somebody’s life. But because of the unwillingness to let others (i.e. the inhabitants of Asakusa, that one kid who stabs him) understand the weight of killing Infernals and gain closure through understanding the reasons behind his harsh actions, Hibachi shoulders the consequences of both his and the actions of his predecessors’ ALONE, therefore leading to his demise. 

The kid who stabbed Hibachi was still a CHILD, and children don’t always have a comprehensive understanding of death and the consequences of responsibility (no matter how much that kid believes he was ready to be an adult and support his mother).

3.5 Extra Worldbuilding Questions About Asakusa

I also have so many questions about Asakusa in general! How is Asakusa powered without being supported by Amaterasu, which is the country’s (and isn’t that mind boggling, that a whole country is supported by one power source with no backup source or other forms of energy/electricity, because of patriotic pride in a machine that might one day shut down, cough manga readers where u at?) I’m assuming that Asakusa mainly use coal, candles, and lamps for energy and lighting, since we did see one example of lighting in Asakusa (an ancient oil lamp), but I’m not sure if that would be sufficient to support a whole district of people. People were able to do that in the olden days, but back then there was a smaller concentration of people, and power necessary to support them.

Is Asakusa a district that is mostly atheist or polytheist? Do the inhabitants believe in no gods, not just the Sun god brought by the White Clads and Raffles I, including the Shinto or Buddhist gods from before the Catalysm, or do they believe in multiple gods/ancestor worship and they just don’t want to worship the Sun God like the rest of the Tokyo Empire because they’re unwilling to accept the new culture, immigrants and religion caused by Amaterasu, wanting to keep up the old Japanese traditions?

4. Arthur Deserves Better Parents 2k20 (Hint of Arthur’s Secret Ability?)

When Team Vulcan + Arthur found Arthur’s parents in the sewers Nether... Honestly, I don’t want to touch on them much, since I want to be (fairly) logical in my opinions on them, not letting my personal feelings twist my hypotheses for what may happen in the future of the Fire Force storyline.

Putting aside Arthur’s parents obvious neglect and bad parenting, I’m curious if Arthur's dad is actually a prophet or did he just get lucky with his delusions. Is this related to how Arthur can notice the difference between dopplegangers and real people? Perhaps because Arthur’s delusions of knighthood are so different from how he truly is (an abandoned child who deluded himself as a knight), therefore allowing him to notice the difference between dopplegangers and Adolla, as they are created by people’s perception of a subject.

5. Let Sho Be a Normal Kid at the End of the Show 2k20

Please let the small child be happy at the end of the manga. I mean, being raised by a cult underground isn’t exactly a Hallmarks childhood. For example, in the beginning of chapter 231, look at how Sho looks longingly at those kids on scooters and was so happy when he got a balloon from the firefighter mascots! (bruh, same balloons bring me so much joy)

I hope that in the end of the manga Okubo lets Sho, Shinra, and Eighth have some quality time. In one of the early arcs (with the first speaking demon, Minamoto?) Shinra saw some kids going to school wearing school uniforms, mentioning that if Sho was still alive, he’d be old enough to go to school. I’d be so sweet if at the end of the manga, Sho would have the chance to go to school, maybe the Fire Force academy (if it’s still running if by the end of the manga they’ve discovered the reason behind Human Combustion), makes friends and beat up anybody who badmouths the Eighth.

6. Cool Combat Medics!

I’d love to see more of the cool combat medics from the Sixth! We only saw the captain, Kayoko Huang, in action with her Asclepius staff pyrokinesis, which, might I add is a fascinating and terrifying ability. Think about it, she’s controlling CELLULAR DIVISION!!! She could start creating tumors in the bodies of her enemies! Could disintegrate people cellularly and no one would know, because fire snake, so no fingerprints!

Anyways, that is all I have right now. Thank you for reading my opinions about “Fire Force”, and for the nice response I got when I published my first opinion piece! Bruh, it took so long for me to edit this... 😔 I’m thinking of doing another meta going more in depth with my theory on Arthur and how he’s able to distinguish the difference between people and their dopplegangers, but that’s for another day. Feel free to discuss about your own ideas or thoughts in the chat, or tell me what you think! I promise I don’t bite. Have a wonderful day!

[slashingdisneypasta]

Hewitts / Pleasant Valley x Fem!Reader || Oneshot

Title: The Multiverse Theory and the Horror Fandom 

Notes: 

I don't really know what it is, but I enjoyed creating it, so I’m posting it! If I get an idea as to what might happen next, I’ll probably add a part two. 

Its crack

Plot: 

Okay, you are from this universe and you are your Slasher fucker self. But you’re transported from your home, to the universe that the Slashers live in, specifically 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They capture you of course and decide to keep you.

Now the Hewitt’s have decided to go on a roadtrip and are of course taking you, their hostage, with them.

They end up staying in Pleasant Valley, despite your warnings not to. 

Warnings: Mention of real life people, breaking of the 3rd wall, if you look then there is some hints towards sexual assault cursing. Its comedy though mostly, so its pretty okay

~~~

“We’re lost.”

“No, mama, we not lost. We’re just taking the scenic route… “Hoyt transparently bullshits, looking around completely lost at the surroundings that we pass at a 100 km/h. Nothing but wheat fields and cows as far as the eye can see. Georgia is even more boring then Texas had been.

Luda Mae rolls her eyes, not taking any his shit after 6 hours in the car with him just today. God, I’m on her side. Can we stop somewhere just for a little bit? I mean, I don’t have to pee anymore since I held it for so long that the urge went away, but I’d still like to try because now I feel like I’m going to explode at any time. “So, we’re lost.” She announces, leaving no room for argument.

“Definitely lost… “Monty, in the seat beside me in the back seat of Hoyt’s tiny sheriff car, agrees with his sister, also watching the fields go by moodily. Why didn’t we take the goddamn truck, anyway? I would rather be tied to top of that, then squished back here between Thomas and Monty. I mean, there’s not even any doorhandles in the back here! Why did I have to be in the middle? Its not like I’m going to throw myself out the window! Sometimes I think Hoyt’s paranoid. And I hate him. And his ego’s too big.

Of course, Hoyt snaps back at Monty even though what he said was so mellow. It certainly didn’t have the amount of pent up frustration that Luda Mae’s had behind it. “We ain’t lost, goddamn it- Look! There’s a town. We’ll stop there and ask for directions if you really want. Just to make sure we’re going the right way, which I’m sure we are.” I look up from my hands, bruises all over the wrists from Hoyt and the ropes, and cuts all over the fingers from cooking with Luda Mae… and jagged fingernails from before I gave up. When I was still scratching at the walls and floor and Thomas, wanting to escape this mad family.

My fighting spirit isn’t completely crushed, now… but it has been a while since I screamed for help. I’m waiting for the moment, the right moment to try and escape. Of course, I don’t know if that moment will every come… but I still hope. And that’s something.

Now, looking up out the front window to see the town Hoyt’s talking about, I wonder if this will be the place that I’ll escape in.

Then we rush past the sign and I do a double take.

What did that say?!

I glance at Thomas, my designated warden to see what he’s doing now since he had been sleeping for most of today’s trip- yesterday he had stayed awake and alert, but today it seems that he decided I wasn’t about to crawl over anyone and creep through the window so it was cool to nap,- to see he’s alert, and when I look at him he turns to look at me back. I flash him a fake smile and turn to Monty, because he speaks. And he’s on the right side of the car, so he would have seen the sign.

“Hey, what did that sign say?”

“Why are they talking again?” Hoyt pipes up in the front as we get nearer to the town and I start to feel sick in my stomach. I raise my eyebrows at Monty instead of answering Hoyt’s goad.

Monty shrugs, leaning his back on his hand and looking out the window again. “Uh, Pleasant Valley.”

Oh my god.

It cannot be possible that more then one Horror movie exists in this world… right? I’ve been through enough trauma; I do not need to endure Robert Englund’s trademark craziness- oH, or Bill Mosely’s either. Oh god, - and his band of confederate lunatics. Do not do this to me, universe.

My heart’s beating faster then a bullet train as I wait, still as a statue and straight backed, for any more hints that I am where I think I am.

Thomas watches me with a hard stare, alert and suspicious about my odd change in posture and body language. I try to ignore him, which is of course hard, but I make do.

Then we start to pass people in this town, and they’re men in overalls and women in the most era-incorrect costumes I have ever seen. And they’re smiling and waving at us.

And I feel sick, and sink back into my seat so nobody outside can see me through Monty or Thomas, hopefully.

“Hoyt,” I call, quietly for the ‘sheriff’s’ attention. My voice doesn’t lift even to a normal volume, I’m so scared so he either ignores me or really doesn’t hear me. I try to be louder. “Hoyt!”

“Yes, hostage?”  

“I think we’re going the right way as well; I saw sign on the road a few miles back that said so. We should just keep going.”

“What?!” Luda Mae turns in her seat to look at me furrow her eyebrows- she doesn’t believe me one bit. “What are you doing, slouching in the back like that? Sit up!”

“Are we stopping?”

“Uhh… “She turns to look at Hoyt, and he nods. “Looks like it. About time, too. I need to stretch my legs, and we obviously need those damn directions.”

“We do not need the- “Hoyt sighs, exasperated, then furrows his eyebrows as he focuses on something in front of the car. “What the fuck are these wackos all doing out there in the middle of the road? Get outta my way… “

Mow them over, Hoyt! MOW THEM OVER.

Of course, he slows to a crawl and then a stop, and I thank god that the back windows don’t open, lest I feel any more in danger. If they were open, I definitely would have feared scary ghost cannibals would stick in their hands. As it is, cross my arms and let Hoyt do the talking. Of course, I mean. What else could I do?

I can see full frontal the mess that we’re getting into, which once upon a time in a different world -my world. Oh, how I wish I was there right now, - would have been a good sign. Seeing Kane Hodder, Robert Englund and Lin Shaye and the ‘Guts and Glory Jubilee’ banner would be a sign I’m about to have a good night full of horror movie enjoyment and probably fanfiction as well. But now I see it and I wish to never watch that movie again, much like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.

Hoyt puts his hand on the car door handle next to him. “No, no, no, don’t get outta the car!” I exclaim, quietly and reaching to grab him back but he looks over at me, gives me a ‘I do what I want’ kind of look and then gets out of the car.

“Good afternoon, sheriff! Welcome to our Guts and Glory Jubilee! You’re our honoured guests!”

Oh, dear god.

Hoyt slams his car door shut and Luda and I wince at the sudden noise. “What the hell are you people doing out here in the middle of the road??! Me and my family are tryna get through here.”

“Aw, my bad sheriff! We’re just so tickled to have you with us this fine day!” Buckman doesn’t seem stirred that Hoyt’s clearly southern, and therefore ‘confederate’, like him, as far as he’s concerned which is what I was hoping for, so I decide to blow this whole situation out of water- I have no choice.

And what, in hell’s name, could I possibly lose at this point?

I lean forward in the car, keeping an eye on the scene, to talk to Luda Mae. “Hey, so this may be a bad time to mention this but, uh.” How do I break this news? “Well, I’m from a different universe. That multiverse noise? That’s real. Anyway, more importantly, I’m from a world in which you and your sons, and Monty, are just movie characters. Your movie is called ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, Thomas is the Texan Chainsaw guy and he is called Leatherface.” Luda’s slowly turning her head to look at me like have 7 eyeballs. I keep talking through, quickly ad feverishly, desperate. “I know it sounds crazy, and you can ask me any question about ya’ll’s passed if you want as proof but just get your son back in this car please. This place also has its own movie, and its even less pretty then what goes on in your house.” I look pleadingly at her, hoping to God, by some miracle she believes me.

“Sit back down!! I’ve been in a car with 3 sweatin’, stinky men for 6 hours now today and I am in no mood for your stories.” She turns back in her seat. “God.”  

“Oh Jesus, you said it… “ I whine, plopping back down in my seat, looking at Hoyt and Buckman who have now met in front of the car and aren’t yelling at each other across the road and immediately assume the fucking confederate mayor is successfully feeding the fucking fraudulent sheriff’s ego, and drop my face into my hands. A few minutes pass, and I stay like this, occasionally making frustrated crying sounds without really crying, and getting annoyed groans and ‘shut up’s from Monty beside me, until a hit to the car jolts me up. “What! What? What’s happening- are they attacking!?”

Everyone who heard, ignores me and I see it’s just Hoyt coming around the car opening Thomas’ side. Oh god, breeze has neve felt so terrifying. “Come on out, family. We’re stayin’ the night! I can’t tolerate settin’ in this car with you people anymore.” On no. No, no, no. STAYING?

Thomas gets out and Luda Mae follows, opening Monty’s door for him and letting him out onto his wheelchair that Thomas gets out of the trunk for him and unfolds. I cross my arms and stay inside. When Hoyt realises this, he leans down to peer inside the car at me and thrusts a thumb to point behind him. Slowly, menacingly he drawls. “Get out of this car.”

Oh, what is he going to do? What could he possibly do that he hasn’t already done to me.

I stubbornly look away. “You said family, I’m not family. I’m not leaving this car, no way. You can’t make me.”

“You wanna bet, sugar?”

He reaches in, wraps a calloused hand around one of my arms and starts pulling me until I topple out of the car, into the dirt. He lets go of me and immediately slams the car door closed again so I don’t slither back in.

“Fuck.” I mutter, glaring up at him from the floor. He locks the car in front of my eyes.

“Now, when you’re feeling more like an adult and not a child, you can come on to our room- that building over there. “ I feel like running after him when he walks off to the building, but before I can get myself out of the dusty, beige dirt, a hand enters my vision and I follow it up and scream on the inside. Mayor George Fucking Buckman.

He smiles so charmingly… you could nearly believe he isn’t depraved. Then I see the eyepatch and I’m reminded. “Would you let me help you up outta the dirt, little miss?”

Mmmm, I guess.

Best to stay on his good side, I think as I take his hand and he hauls me up. I don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of those glares that the whole town like to take part in with him. Noooo thank you. Not for me.

“Thank you.” I say quickly, looking to get out of there and find the Hewitt’s. They’ve all disappeared into the building Hoyt went towards a moment ago now. I brush the dirt off my pants and then clap my hands off of each other to get rid of the dirt that’s on them now, and any remnants of feeling Buckman’s hand, then flash a tight smile in Buckman’s general direction and escape towards the building.

They have to listen to me!

I burst into the place and see Thomas trailing behind the rest of that devil family down a hallway and run down there. “Thomas!” I pant, because that was a long hallway. Where are we now?! The Overlook hotel!?! “Thomas, what kind of warden are you? Please, don’t you ever leave me alone with that man ever again!” Thomas narrows his eyes suspiciously at me above his normal, leather mask -Luda and Hoyt had decided before we left their murder mansion that the human flesh mask would probably not fly in normal society, so he swapped it in for the old one,- then nods in front of him for me to walk there where can watch, and I gladly go there.

___TIME SKIP: A couple hours later___

All day, I have been trying to persuade the Hewitt’s that I’m not from here. I described Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in explicit detail, including of course the Sheriff Hoyt thing, the Eric/Dean confusion, Bailey, Monty’s legs being chainsawed off… I even recruited some comic book information about Hoyt’s time in the Prisoner of War Camp and Sargent Chow, but they just think I’m a stalker now.

I mean, why the fuck not? Why wouldn’t I stalk these freaks? Truly, being around them has been a joy filled time.

I don’t throw back at my face that I watched their movies religiously, readers. That’s was when I thought they were fictional! (Yeah, I know you’re there reading this. This sure feels like a fanfiction to me, and as a fangirl, I’m an expert.)

So, I’ve decided I have one more option. One more chance to survive.

Hopefully this doesn’t go worse then plan A did.

Through pretending like the rope around my wrists was too tight when Hoyt tied me up by the hands to his bed frame, when really in truth it was a bit loose, I manage to make him think I’m stuck for the night. So, when he falls asleep – I know he’s asleep because he snores like a feral racoon… that also has rabies… (He drools) – I carefully, quietly, I struggle out of the ropes and carefully put them on the floor. Then turn to the window.

We’re on the second level of this building, but the possibility of a broken bone or two will not deter me from getting out of this mess. Especially since Thomas is waiting in the hallway outside this room for any sign of me trying to escape and getting hurt from falling out of a window is much preferred to meeting the business end of his chainsaw.

Not that I’ll be out of danger when I get out… as I’ll still be in Pleasant Valley… but I will have completed Level 1 at least.

Opening the window, I wince and look back at Hoyt to make sure the gentle rubbing sound the window makes against the frame doesn’t wake him, then turn back and immediately get to crawling out. Once I have succeeded in getting onto the ledge I hold on to the gutter - hoping beyond hope that it’s sturdy, - and reclose the blinds and push the window closed as well again. Covering my tracks.

Then I start the perilous journey down the building, which somehow, I succeed in! When I finally drop down on the dirt again and turn around though, I nearly out loud this time. “Miss Shaye! -“I stop myself, making an ‘Oop’ sound. You would think I would stop making these mistakes- I have been tortured and keep prisoner by the Hewitt family. Certainly not the late R. Lee. Ermey or Andrew Bryniarski either. The Hewitt’s. - But alas, I am still making this mistake apparently. “Sorry, you remind me of someone else!” I smile at Granny Boone, who must have been standing there watching the whole time I conquered the hotel building, stands with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow purposely halfway up her forward. She’s waiting for an explanation. “I didn’t want to wake up my family, and its time for the midnight stroll. Couldn’t sleep!”

My heartbeat races in my chest, because I have every confidence that this woman could kill me with her bare hands if she doesn’t like my answer. For a few moments, she makes me wait as she does looks at me suspiciously like Thomas. Oh god, are you going to eat me or not, ghost lady!?

“Oh, well that’s very considerate of you! Could I join you on your walk? I’m in the same boat.”

Oh, for fudges sake.

I smile politely though, and we start walking side by side down the middle of town. Silence hangs between us, but as we walk, I start to think this could work. I was planning on finding Buckman and telling him my story to see if he would believe me and do something because this whole town is supernatural and hard to believe, but I actually think this may have worked out in my favour! Maybe. He’s a sexist, chauvinistic bigot. But at the very least Boone’s a woman like me, with less of a boner for authority so hopefully she’ll at least listen. So… maybe…?

“So… “I start, sounding loud since it’s so quiet out here. “Can we talk? Woman to woman? I don’t know, you just seem trustworthy!” Oh, puke. What am I saying? “Sorry if I’m out of line, but… something crazy’s going on in my life.”

“Oh, trust me. I know crazy.” I side eye her as she smirks ‘mysteriously’. Oh, I know you know crazy, lady. I know. I know it all. You know crazy intimately. “Uh but go on. Sure thing. What kind of good Christian lady would I be if I didn’t bend an ear to our esteemed special guests?”

… Uhuh.

Well, okay! Works for me. “Thank you.” I clap my hands together. “Well. It started a month ago now, I guess… Haven’t really been able to keep up with time. First, I should probably explain the multiverse theory…”

[radramblog]

on Megalovania

This wasn’t what I originally planned to write today, but things change when cool news comes in. Besides, I’m in a pissy mood, and I want to write about something fun to try to change that.

To coincide with the 6th year anniversary of Undertale’s release, Toby Fox has announced the upcoming release of the second chapter of its…sequel?, Deltarune. And in honour of that very sudden and very sick announcement, I thought I’d do a piece on what many would describe as Toby’s iconic song, Megalovania. It’s had a fair few iterations at this point, so there’s plenty of meat to go through.

This may or may not be just an excuse to talk about Homestuck again. But there will be other things! I promise! Mostly those, actually.

Megalovania first appeared as the final boss theme for Toby’s Earthbound Romhack (back when he still went by Radiation), The Halloween Hack. Considering the works that would follow, THH has kind of been buried in history, and in some ways, that’s for the best. It’s very 2000s edgy, if you catch my drift.

Toby has stated that the original intent was for the final boss music to be Megalomania, from the soundtrack to another SNES JRPG, Live a Live (not to be confused with Kill la Kill), but he couldn’t get it to work for whatever reason. In a way, that’s kind of a shame, because Megalomania is an absolute bop, but I’m not going to act like what we got wasn’t also very good.

The original version of Megalovania from THH probably sounds kind of basic to those more used to the modern iterations. Do keep in mind that this was designed to be played by a now 26-year-old game on an even older console, and its not like SNES romhacking was easy at the time. Earthbound (and by extension, the Halloween Hack) are in this weird place where the soundtrack definitely still sounds really limited or bitcrushed at times, but some tracks (such as Pokey Means Business!) manage to sound excellent.

Megalovania is somewhere in between, I think. The guitar riff that drives the whole track sounds absolutely gorgeous, which is good, because I think that’s really the key element of the whole thing. The melodies present from other instruments throughout the whole thing vary in quality, both in the subjective sense and the fidelity sense, but without that riff, the song would be nothing. It’s the one truly consistent thing through every single version of Megalovania, it’s the heart of the track, and it’s surprisingly simple for something that sounds so driving and intense.

The context surrounding Megalovania iteration number one is somewhat more awkward to talk about. Like I said, The Halloween Hack is edgy, and I fucking mean it. The story is (after some preamble) a descent into the mind of Dr. Andonuts from the original game, having been driven mad on account of being in a timeline where Ness and friends don’t come back alive from the confrontation with Giygas. After a long metaphysical journey, the main character (who is Varik from Brandish for some reason) confronts Andonuts’s psyche itself as the final boss, who begs for mercy before flipping his lid with, well. I’ll just quote it. Keep in mind this is what you’re reading as Megalovania starts to play:

               “I HAVE FUCKING HAD IT WITH YOUR SHIT. you little fuckers are going to have your bodies ripped in half. I’ll shove your asses so far down your throats that when you crap you’ll sing fucking beethoven”

“tl;dr: eat shit, [slur redacted]”

 Which if you ask me is a little much. As spooky as the whole romhack is, Andonuts’s dialogue is so utterly over-the-top that it’s hard to take seriously. It’s such a pristine combination of the humour both of the time and of Toby’s likely age at the time. It’s still a fairly impressive piece of work as a whole, but considering where we’re up to, one could call this humble beginnings for Megalovania.

The track’s next big outing was as part of the Homestuck soundtrack. I’d argue that this is really where Toby got his name out there, seeing as much of his early notoriety came from his huge contributions to the webcomic’s lengthy list of albums, and also the fact that apparently Undertale was in part coded in Hussie’s basement. I don’t remember where I heard that first, but I’ve heard it from multiple sources, so.

This version of the song, styled as MeGaLoVania, starts off with a bit of a statement, with the opening notes being very much on a real shreddy-ass electric guitar, but the body of the song is actually largely the same (if cleaned up and with some different instruments) as THH’s version. Of course, this version does have more going on, as evidenced by a few of the guitar lines carrying on new melodies, as well as continuing in the background behind sections from the original piece. Owing a lot to the increased instrumentation and fidelity, this version of Megalovania is easily the rockiest, especially as the final minute of the track brings in Vriska’s banger of a theme (also composed by Fox) and the drums pick up in intensity.

While Homestuck’s soundtrack is incredibly vast, relatively little of it actually ended up being used in the webcomic itself. MeGaLoVania, of course was used, and it was right during what I’d argue was the comic’s peak in Act 5 Act 2. The animation featuring the song, [S] Wake, is such an incredible pair of oh holy FUCK moments, what with the revival of Aradia and her actually being able to (temporarily (heh)) halt the story’s main threat, and also Vriska just fucking murdering Tavros, no biggie. Looking back at it now, the whole thing feels kind of quaint, the animation style in particular (it was just Like That), but it was such a big deal at the time. It doesn’t hurt that this is easily my favourite version of Megalovania, because I’m a sucker for guitar noodling, and also a sucker for Vriska’s theme.

Homestuck (and MeGaLoVania) was pretty big in the early ‘10s, but at the end of the day, the comic and track were still very niche. And then 2015 rolled around, and Undertale came out, and suddenly it was everywhere.

As someone who’s known the song since before the game came out, it is somewhat disappointing to have it so strongly associated with Sans. Especially since A. He already has a much more fitting theme, and B. it’s so clearly the theme of that specific fight, and even moreso that of the Genocide player themselves, but fine, whatever. MEGALOVANIA, as it is styled, is very much a more bombastic version of the theme, one with more experience under the belt, and more control behind the context. After all, in this case, Toby didn’t have to wrangle with the limitations of SNES Romhacking or of featuring the track in someone else’s work. The track still has the base elements of a chiptune and chugging guitars, but the different soundfont used helps a lot to elevate the whole track’s intensity. In particular, I think the verses (do they count as verses? I know very little actual music theory, sorry) sound miles better in this iteration than any of the previous, and the snappy percussion is subtle but also great.

There are a lot of things that make the Sans fight so memorable, and MEGALOVANIA is obviously one of them. I imagine many would cite the sheer difficulty as another, but more important than that is the way it plays with expectations. In the Genocide run, you are the most attuned to the game’s combat system, and you’ve spent enough time wailing on Undyne to have expectations about how fighting Sans is going to be. And then he attacks first with an insane hard-to-dodge combo, he gets to dodge attacks, and he gets to force you onto a time limit. It breaks the rules of the game in such a shocking way that it’s hard not to find it memorable. This is not even mentioning the wild lore implications behind the fight’s dialogue, or that such a silly character goes so fuckin hard during a scrap.

Silly is something Sans is, which people seem to forget considering how much of his associated fan material is based around this one fight. Man spends half the game napping and selling hot dogs and telling awful puns. It does bug me a little, but I completely understand the impact of the scene. Despite most players never seeing it, it has to be one of the most iconic facets of the whole thing.

While hundreds if not thousands of remixes and covers of Megalovania exist at this point, most of them aren’t worth bringing up, because I don’t have infinite time on my hands, and because they’re not official. I do want to quickly bring up Megalo Strike Back, a track Toby made for an Earthbound fan album, because it slaps like hell. It’s clearly got a few of the elements of Megalovania, but the melody is so much more mysterious and eerie, and yet also kinda jaunty. I’m a big fan, and considering how many fan animations and games I’ve heard it in, so are a lot of folks.

The other version I’d like to bring up is, of course, the version that appeared in Smash Ultimate. Considering Nintendo’s typical policy surrounding fan media, having a track that originates from a SNES Romhack in fucking Smash is both incredible and hilarious.

Musically, however, it’s not that notable. The first minute or so, in fact is basically just the Undertale version with a slightly different mix (as it’s styled MEGALOVANIA, that’s the version being referenced here), though I think some of the later parts are in a slightly different key that sounds pretty interesting. I’m not sure how I feel about the piano section- on the one hand, I’m not really a fan of that instrumentation, on the other, it is very Smash, and the violins that come in are great. And then there’s guitar noodling on the back half! I just noticed that! It’s different from the Homestuck version, though.

And that’s all I have to say about Megalovania, I think. It’s a song with a surprisingly storied history, and one that is unlikely to be forgotten as long as people still remember Undertale, Homestuck, or even the Halloween Hack. And considering at the very least the popularity of the former, that’s going to be a long time away.

…okay two more things, one I think battle against a true hero is better than MEGALOVANIA and two James Roach aka probably the biggest lategame Homestuck composer remixed Megalovania for Pesterquest but it’s reaaaaaally subtle until like 3 minutes in and he called it “yeah, it is” and that’s fucking hilarious okay bye

[raat-jaaga-paakhi]

(D)Evolution of Rukmini-Harana

This I wrote while brainstorming in the beginning of this month to centre my brain on what we know of Rukmini, so I could write her with (dis)regard to the texts. And what I found out in my Ruk-foray, was simultaneously intriguing and repelling. Tagging my Mahabharata people, if you want to go on Rukmini’s journey through the scriptures and the later kavyas (ancient fanfiction, guys) and don’t mind my snarky commentary in between as I try to be as analytical as possible (Warning: Strong Opinions and Wtf Moments!) – @avani008 @parlegee @incurablescribbler @shaonharryandpannisim @ambitiousandcunning​ @glyphenthusiast​ @mayavanavihariniharini @allegoriesinmediasres @walburgablack​ @jigyask​ @heyifinallyhaveablog @1nsaankahanhai-bkr from the top of my head. Under the cut, for this is detailed. 

Mahabharata

Rukmini-Haran legend is outlined in several places: that Sabha scene we all seem to love unanimously, Krishna-Draupadi in exile, Arjuna describing Krishna’s feats, and in Udyoga parva when Rukmi comes to help in the war. Other times, she is mentioned as mother of Pradyumna (in fact, Pradyumna’s name is mostly replaced by “son of Rukmini”). Only details being: Rukmini was meant to be Shishupala’s, Krishna came, abducted her, fought off Rukmi who had taken an oath to not return without killing him, Rukmi builds Bhojakata due to his defeat. Rukmi is mentioned a few times to have learned battlecraft from a kimpurusha Druma (whose name is often written as Drona, eliciting confusion between Dronacharya of Hastinapur), from whom he gets Indra’s bow which is said to be equal to Gandiva and Sharnga.

- BORI CE Mbh, Translated by B. Debroy.

He comes with an akshauini to Pandavas’ camp where he is welcomed warmly enough, until he opens his big mouth and says, “Dudes, if you all are afraid of the Kauravas, I can help!” Insert big, smug smile. Krishna is present, but silent. Arjuna speaks, reminding Rukmi that he sought no help from anyone at multiple times (he goes harcore here *grins*), and wouldn’t need the same now, esp. from one like him. Disappointed Rukmi goes to Duryodhana’s camp where he’s rejected for, er, being the Pandavas’ reject and for his big mouth. Yeah. He, like Balarama, remains neutral. (Interesting that it’s Balarama who kills him, later.)

- BORI CE Mbh, Trans. By B. Debroy

There is no letter, no mention of a swayamvara, no love, nothing, sticking to Mahabharata’s rather dry style, which if stripped of its mystical elements would be a cold, clean historical narrative.

Apology: I am not giving any more screenshots (except for Bhaagavat, because it has some rather nice parts), for this would become…far too long to handle for even me. I promise you can take my word for it. 

Harivamsa

Considered an “appendix” (khila) to Mahabharata, it contains the legend of Rukmini in the greatest of details. @parlegee​ would love to hear that her fic kalyanakirti, where Rukmini and Krishna have an early meeting before the letter and all, does have some solid basis. The legend in narrated in two separate parts: swayamvara and harana. Sadly, the first part doesn’t get into the BORI CE Harivamsa, but that is made understandable by Dr. Bibek Debroy, who comments the Harivamsa editing is indiscriminate and lacking in quality w.r.t. cutting down events, as compared to the precise and thoughtful editing of Mahabharata proper, at the very beginning of his translation. Thus, the omission, I guess. I am giving a rundown for this is what we will refer back to as we compare the later versions. (For reference, go to Mahabharata Resources online.) 

Swayamvara part – 

Rukmi arranges for Rukmini’s swayamvara, calling his boys and excluding Krishna (ofc), of which Krishna gets wind and arrives in class with Garuda. He is welcomed—notedly not by the king, as opposed to rules of hospitality—by his relative/father Kaisika, outside of the capital of Vidarbh in Kaisika’s own city.

Quite strangely, Kaisika and his brother Kratha offer Krishna their city; there is even some messenger fanfare with Indra.

Comment: This seems like something of an interpolation to me (it’s politically and intellectually stupid okay – why would krishna need to abduct rukmini with such pains if a part of vidarbha was already his. he could have been more politically subtle and all. it’s just horrible statesmanship­), and part of the avatar-vaad or “make Krishna a god so that we can cloak his philosophies and ideas with the veil of god’s incomprehensible lilas so that no one can hope to emulate him and his decidedly non-brahmanical approach, and so they wait for his next appearance while the world burns” propaganda. Shut up, Medha, you’re going to be killed for this. Nah, brain, I will speak my truth.

Meanwhile, Jarasandha and his cronies come to know of Krishna’s arrival, get “afraid” and there is this huge-ass, strange, contradictory conversation. Jarasandha and Sunitha (read: shishupala. yeah, boi had this other, nicer name) are primarily of the view that Krishna is gonna fight them, while Dantavakra (hm, isn’t he another of krishna’s cousins?) opposes that. Shalva and the others also expressed their ideas. The exact point of this conversation is highly inscrutable because, (not) strangely, the conversation is shrouded by them praising and glorifying their arch-enemy as the “lord of the universe” and what-not. (wut? why do you all constantly fight him if you know “who he truly is” and so on? are you masochists, guys – i am seriously concerned. your opponent is apparently vishnu yet you go on fighting him knowing you’re gonna be defeated. what’s the point? medha, stfu) I mean, a professional, grudging admiration for a fellow warrior is fine, good even, but what’s this BS?

The next part is even more laughable, which I didn’t think was possible. They hear of Krishna’s “coronation” and except Rukmi, everyone attends it, even Jarasandha. Huh? Jarasandha who laughed in Krishna’s face in Mbh, called him a coward cowherd (love alliteration) outright so many times in both Mbh and HV . . . I don’t understand any of this. Is it fear for the one person you cannot seem to properly defeat? Are you trying to keep peace, because that’s ridiculous when you have gone on offence so many times. Is it that you are “honoured” to be part of such an important moment in your arch-enemy, who also happens to be “Vishnu’s poorna avatar”?

Then comes a truly interesting part – Bhishmaka and Krishna have a talk. Bhishmaka thinks it’s better to offer Rukmini to Krishna outright and that swayamvara is a stupid thing – whether it is this particular one Rukmi has arranged, or swayamvaras in general, is kinda unclear. For the sake of Bhishmaka, I will go with the first. He apologises to Krishna for not inviting him to the swaymvara for he is helpless against his ignorant son (I guess the ignorance relates to “the true form of Lord Krishna” here) and…hm, this is both exciting and…controversial? Krishna rebukes Bhishmaka quite strongly about letting Rukmi treat him as a doormat and what-not and I would be heart-eyes for he’s technically defending Rukmini in some weird, chauvinistic manner, but . . . is he? His tone is rather peculiar, if you read it. He ends his little tirade with saying that Rukmini is Lakshmi reborn and as such, meant only for him, and technically demands to dismiss the swayamvara. And then, he just…leaves with Garuda. Form your headcanons, guys. This is just too weird.

Bhishmaka is sweet-and-obedient little devotee now and does as he is told. Interestingly, this is before the formation of Dwaraka, for it is here, after the Rukmini’s swayamvara is postponed that Jarasandh and his cronies hatch the plot to use the foreigner Kalyavana to kill Krishna. (just now you attended the boy’s coronation ceremony, usually attended by allies and friends, and praised him as lord of all…make up your minds, guys)

Also, it is here that Rukmini makes up her mind to marry Krishna. Hm, a little meeting, particularly the one you wrote, Maya Di, is extremely likely!

Harana part –

After Kalyavana’s death, Jarasandha’s failure and Dwaraka’s formation, Jarasandha decides to have Rukmini married to Shishupala, just like that. Here is also said that Rukmi had gained celestial weaponry and the Brahmastra (woah!) from Druma and Parasurama respectively. Hm, looks like he was quite the excellent warrior. It isn’t specified if Parashurama only gave him the celestial weapons or taught him as well like he did with Karna – both are different things. But hey, why do people keep going to Parasurama specifically for Brahmastra? I feel bad for the big guy. [Also, here comes this strange issue, Parasurama is, by Karna’s words as well as popular perception, supposed to not hold any sort of guru-ness towards Kshatriyas, which is why the latter had to lie in order to learn from him, considering Suta is an inferior division of the main Kshatriya varna. But that’s topic for another day, Medha.]

Okay, so it is mentioned that Rukmini and Krishna both longed for Krishna, and though there’s no dialogue, it appears that Rukmi knew of this, for the text goes on to say why Rukmi won’t accept this marriage – his enmity with Krishna due to the latter killing his friend Kamsa who also happened to be son-in-law of beloved Jarasandha etc. The text says that with Jarasandha and Shishupala, also came the allied kings Dantavakra, Paundraka, and the kings of Anga and Vanga. [This…is markedly curious. Surely by this time in the epic, Karna was crowned Angaraja? For it not to be so, Krishna would have to be much, much older than the Pandavas, chronologically speaking, which is the headcanon of a popular modern writer Ashok K. Banker. But Yudhisthir and Bhima are considered Krishna’s elders many times in Mbh. There is also this strange friend/frenemy-ship between Karna and Jarasandha as they have a kind of stalemate in a fight and Jarasandha, pleased, offers Karna a city in Anga, Malinipuri, if I remember right. Does it mean that not all of Anga was under Hastinapur’s influence? Again, Medha, to dissect another day.]

Now, “to please their aunt” (Shishupala’s mother Shrutashrava), Krishna comes with Balarama and other Vrishni heroes, all welcomed by Kaisika and Kratha. Upon seeing Rukmini in her journey to pay obeisances to Goddess Indrani, Krishna, er, cannot control himself and decides to abduct her, in consultation with Balarama and others. To note that (i) even though the text expresses both their desires to be with each other, it seems like an impromptu decision to abduct Rukmini, almost as if in lust (at least, that’s what the text makes it sound like); (ii) there’s none of that “coming alone in a hurry after getting her letter” event, as per Harivamsa. He comes quite prepared, and even consults with the other Kshatriyas before going for it.

You know the drill now: Krishna abducts Rukmini as she finishes her prayers and Balarama defeats all the guards. Krishna then puts the responsibility of the war on Yadava heroes like Balarama, Satyaki, Kritavarma, Gada, Prasena (is this that same Prasena of Syamantaka incident?) etc. and sets out for Dwaraka with Rukmini. At all this, Jarasandha and his cronies Shishupala, Dantavaktra, Paundraka, kings of Anga (again!), Vanga, Kalinga and others decide to kill Krishna in a joint attack. There are small descriptions of these following duels – Satyaki vs Jarasandha, Akrura vs Dantavakra, Viprthu vs Shishupala. Shishupala, after being attacked by Atidanta, Gavesana and Brhaddurga (who are these people, gosh) kills Virpthu’s horses and beheads Brhaddurga. Balarama kills the king of Vanga and then attacks Jarasandha. All this results in the defeat of Jarasandha and his cronies.

Hearing this, Rukmi vows before Bhishmaka and if he can’t kill Krishna and bring Rukmini back, he won’t return to the capital Kundina. Note that the next part of his vow, bringing Rukmini back, isn’t mentioned in Mbh proper. He leaves, accompanied by Kratha (that devoted guy?), Amsuman, Srutarva, Venudari and Bhishmaka’s other unnamed sons.

Rukmi sees Krishna-Rukmini standing on the banks of Narmada (aw, what are these two love-birds doing on a riverbank, that’s so romantic… Medha, stop). [Also, as I argued with someone on Quora, had it been a forcible abduction, without Rukmini’s consent in any way whatsoever, considering the letter is not in HV, they wouldn’t be standing there on a riverbank, resting and doing hell-knows-what. It’s a logical fallacy, sorry.]  

Seeing them together, he gets even more pissed and wants to kill Krishna in a dwairatha (dual chariot) fight. Cool stuff. Both archers fight. Krishna kills his charioteer and cuts off his chariot-banner. [What’s the thing with this? Why even bother? If you are making a statement then stop, we know who’s gonna win. Even if you didn’t win the fight, the texts would still claim you the winner. Medha, stop, you are supposed to love the man. Yes, the man, not the god men have created as a horrible substitute for the real thing. Why am I saying this now? This is a very normal archery feat if we see Mahabharata’s war parvas.] He defeats all the Vidarbhan warriors and kills many. Rukmi is not a doormat. He retaliates, cutting off Krishna’s banner as well (the garuda one! wow, boi), hurts both Krishna and his charioteer with his arrows. [Aw, and people say Arjuna only won his duels because of Krishna being his charioteer. Dude, look at this. I mean, these people straight out claim him to be God Incarnate and yet, they can’t completely smoothly modify a fight scene to suit their purposes – how sweet. Stfu, Medha.] Krishna then cuts Rukmi’s bow. [The Vijaya one? Surely Rukmi is not fighting such a serious fight without it. If so, wow. You just cut Indra’s prized bow – you really have a strong issue with the guy, don’t ya? Yeah, I feel you.]

Rukmi picks up another (here’s to perseverance), which Krishna again cuts off and crushes Rukmi’s chariot. Now Rukmi rushes at Krishna with a sword (gotta give, guy’s relentless) which Krishna cuts off and uses a sharp weapon called naracha on him which hurts him enough to render him senseless. The remaining soldiers run away. Rukmini’s pity aroused, she pleads for Krishna to spare her brother. Krishna lifts her up and reasures her (awww *waves shipping flag, completely ignoring the falling at his feet part*), then assures poor Rukmi of his safety (who seems to have woken up from his swoon by now, poor boy must have been so tired…why am I feeling so bad for Rukmi? I hate the guy! Btw, I can so imagine Krishna being cheeky here). He returns to Dwaraka with Rukmini, accompanied by Balarama and other Yadavas and his wedding his celebrated there.

There are no later versions of the legend in other texts that tally with the first part (swayamvara) seen in Harivamsa. There’s no love letter, no shaving hair-and-moustache. Let me tell you guys here only, for I don’t want to repeat this, there is no Madhavpur Ghed in the texts I have encountered (and they’re quite a bunch, as you’ll see).

Note: The evolution or composition of Mahabharata and Harivamsa are considered by old and modern scholars alike to have gone parallely, so the insertions of Rukmi’s details, his guru Druma, his bow Vijaya, etc. which seem to exactly match Harivamsa, may have been addded after that part of Harivamsa was written.

Vishnu Purana (about 300 BC-450 CE)

Rukmini-harana is narrated very shortly here, whereas in Harivamsa, it takes up a few chapters, being one of the most prominent parts of the text, as compared to Krishna’s marriage to his other wives. The entire swayamvara part, from Krishna’s “coronation” to the postponement of the swayamvara is missing here. From the harana part as well, Rukmi and his celestial weaponry, worship of Indrani, consultation with Balarama and other Yadavas before abduction, seeing Rukmini-Krishna along Narmada, details of the fights, aren’t present. Again, no love letter (though, even this extremely short version of a few mere verses speaks of Krishna and Rukmini’s mutual love), no shaving. However, it doesn’t deviate from the “original” in Harivamsa as well; it only clips away the details as if deeming them unnecesary in the larger context.

Matsya Purana (about 200-500 CE) mentions her among the Ashtabharya, here listed as – Rukmini, Satyabhama, Satya, Nagnajiti, Gandhari, Subhima, Shaivya, Lakshmana. [argh, we’ll talk about this later. just know for one that this is clearly not a very…right list, and not only in popular perception. jambavati isn’t mentioned; satya, nagnajiti, gandhari and lakshmana are having an identity crisis amongst themselves. basically, the text(s) is (are) only sure about rukmini and satyabhama. pardonable, for they happen to be krishna’s most famous wives. i feel so bad.]

Bhaagavat Purana (about 500-1000 CE)

Oh, yeah, this one is interesting. Unlike Vishnu Purana, Bhaagavat is all about the details. (reminds me of amitabh sir in badla every time i say this word.) There are omissions as well, for Rukmi and his celestial weaponry, Bhishmaka’s lineage, etc. are not mentioned. Let me go by points of difference only, since the main story has been explained in Harivamsa.

We get to hear the names of Rukmi’s younger brothers, only mentioned in HV – Rukmaratha, Rukmavahu, Rukmakesa, Rukmamali. We come to know Rukmini heard of Krishna from bards and decided he would be her perfect match. (Despite Bhaagavat’s devotional fervour that distracts from the main events, I love its version so much better in so many places.) Similarly, hearing of Rukmini’s knowledge and beauty, our boy pines for her. The relatives shipped Rukmini/Krishna as well, but only Rukmi seems to be against it, who arranges her marriage to Shishu. Learning of this, Rukmini sends a faithful old brahmin to Dwaraka with her message, who is received respectfully by Krishna. In her message, she…well, makes me fangirl. Interspersed between what seems to be fanatically devotional love for her “lord”, Rukmini calmly devises a straight and firm plan for him to follow, from the going to the temple of Girija (not Indrani, here) and the Rakshasa vivaha, telling him “not to worry” and all, and also adds a little…threat, in the end, that if he doesn’t do so, she will give up her life by fasting. Neat.

- Srimad Bhaagavat Purana

Krishna, “in love and excitement”, says that he too has been spending sleepless nights pining for Rukmini. Aw.

- Srimad Bhaagavat Purana

Added this to say, here’s the implicit metaphor of Jarasandha and his cronies being the kindling and Rukmini the diew generated by churning them. (Why am I thinking of Samudra-manthan?)

Here, Krishna doesn’t bring Balarama or any other Yadava hero with him, straight going to Kundina on his chariot with his charioteer Daruka and the brahmin, and apparently reaches within one night (which is realistically impossible, except if he had something like Pushpaka, which is not so here). There’s lot of description of pre-wedding things, where the only thing striking me is the phrase “Rukmini with fine teeth”. (I can just imagine her baring her teeth at Rukmi’s back, uff.) As Shishu sets out from Chedi with Jarasandha and his cronies who have developed a “stratagem” to kill Krishna, Balarama comes to know of the plot and sets out after Krishna with the Yadava heroes, moved by his affection for his bro. Exasperated elder brother, here he is.

A despairing Rukmini is informed by the brahmin of Krishna’s arrival in Kundina, she thanks him. Bhishmaka comes to know of Krishna and Balarama’s arrival, whereas in Harivamsa, it was Kaisika who welcomed them. There’s also this huge gathering of Vidarbhans to see Krishna and they decide that only he is fit for their princess. That’s so sweet. After worshipping Goddes Ambika/Girija, asking for Krishna to be her husband, Rukmini returns very slowly from the temple, her beauty so bewitching that a few kings “fall down from their horses, elephants, chariots”. Omfg! Lol. Krishna abducts her in presence of all those kings, who rebuke themselves and shower arrows upon Krishna, seeing which Rukmini laments in fear. Krishna consoles her, the Yadavas march against the kings; Jarasandha, Shishu and their friends have to flee to save their lives. No details are given, as compared to HV. Here, is a very interesting segment, where Shishu laments about having “lost” Rukmini and Jarasandha consoles him in a strangely fatalistic manner:

- Srimad Bhaagavat Purana

Comment: Jara actually doesn’t sound insane or just fatalistic here, imo. He sounds...manipulative af. Don’t think that was the intent of the writers (more likely it was just to forwards the idea of fate and futility as opposed to true action), but that’s what it sounds like to me. Worthy opponent for Krishna, if you ask me.

Now, there’s that drill with Rukmi and his vow, except here, he’s said to have taken an akshauhini of men. When he sees Krishna-Rukmini (no Narmada river here), he verbally insults Krishna unlike prev. versions and then attacks him.

- Srimad Bhaagavat Purana

(Even the abuse here is mild, compared to Mahabharata. I mean, think of the dice game, the Shishupala-vadha parva and so on! But still, Bhaagavat retains class, even as it propounds avatar-vaad, fatalism and fervent devotion.)

The description of battle here is more intense and long-drawn (compared to the main Yadava battle fought against Jarasandha and his cronies), with Krishna cutting down Rukmi’s banner, and then breaking three of his bows. Rukmi uses various kinds of weapons on Krishna – Parigha, Pattisa, Tomara, Camra, Shula, Asi, Shakti, etc. but Krishna remains steadfast in his defence. Rukmi then picks up a sword and rushes at Krishna; there’s no mention of Krishna having killed his charioteer and crushed his chariot. Krishna descends to thebsword-fight and brandishing his own, breaks Rukmi’s sword too. Now you know the drill, falling at his feet and all, our Rukmini. (Don’t roll your eyes, Medha.) Now...it’s in Bhaagavat we see the disfiguring first, Krishna deciding to give him some sort of light punishment, shaving off his moustache, beard and hair unevenly.

There’s another alteration here, that Balarama comes to see this and rebukes Krishna for humiliating a relative. Rukmini is apparently inconsolable and he offers Rukmini a patronising (if sensible philosophically in many places) discourse, starting with a more political note of “the conduct of Kshatriyas is hard and merciless where brother kills brother” and continuing with a lengthy philosophical lecture of the body and the soul, as in in tune with Mahabharata’s Gita, to a marginal extent. Rukmini attempts to calm down, and they return to Dwaraka. The marriage is well-described, with the addition of kings with intimate relations invited – from Kuru, Srinjaya, Kekeya, Kunti races and Vidarbh as well! Hm. Interesting. As is the inconsolable Rukmini, described earlier, which finds no mention in earlier (or a few later versions). Is it so hard to imagine a “difficult woman”, in Nikita Gill’s terms? Does she have to be a wilting flower, even though it breaks off from her prev. characterisation? I mean, she can sure be miffed at it, but for her to be so disconsolate that Balarama out of all people has to offer a huge-ass philosophical advice. Sigh. Basically, Bhaagavat more or less presents it attractively by way of supplying more materials to the story (the greatest and most landmark being Rukmini’s letter), even while it ignores some other details (like Narmada).

Brahmanda Purana (about 400-600 CE) doesn’t delineate the main legend, but Rukmini, the princess of Vidarbha, is mentioned as Krishna’s principal wife, along with the names of their sons and daughter.

Padma Purana (about 400-1600 CE)

Points of difference:

Brothers’ names apart from Rukmi not mentioned.

To fulfil her desire to marry her “lord”, Rukmini worships the gods from childhood itself and keeps sacred vows. Hm, yeah, go ahead.

Here, her brahmin is called the son of a purohita who is received by both Krishna and Balarama. Rukmini’s words in her message are not there anymore (a format which will be followed by every later version except the kavyas) as opposed to the beautiful plan in Bhaagavat and, they both set out for Kundina. No army of Yadava heroes accompany them.

Rukmini goes to the temple by her chariot rather than by foot, at evening, none of which is mentioned in prev. versions. After the abduction, it is Balarama who singlehandedly routs all the kings headed by Jarasandha, using his plough (Langala) and Musala (…the same weapon they use in the fratricidal war of Mausala parva, incidently; so it has some other source than that “curse” where Samva delivers this “new weapon” called musala).

There’s no mention of Rukmi’s vow.

When Rukmi attacks Krishna, he laughs and defends himself with his bow Saranga, a bow presented by Indra. Keeping with both HV and Bhaagavat, dear Krishna obligingly cuts of Rukmi’s bow, his banner, his charioteer’s head and crushes the chariot. There’s Rukmi with his sword, and Krishna with a sharp knife.

Interestingly, there’s no objection or plea or falling at his feet from Rukmini, but Krishna still doesn’t kill him, letting him go by his own free will. That doesn’t stop him from laughing and shaving the hair on his head, though. The beard and moustache are forgiven.

Despite not having taken the vow, apparently the humiliation is enough for Rukmi to built Bhojkata in Vidarbh outside of Kundina, keeping with all prev. versions.

No Madhavpur again. What’s interesting here, is that Nanda and Yashoda and other cowherds are present in the wedding in Dwaraka, unlike popular perception which says Krishna never met his adoptive parents after having left Vrindavana.

Skanda Purana (about 600-1200 CE)

It is narrated to Yudhisthir by Markandeya about the significance of some Rukmini teertha. Points of difference:

Rukmini’s mother is mentioned to be “Mahadevi”. This could also be a title, since queens were also addressed thus. Rukmini is said to be her second child, younger to Rukmi and elder to the other brothers, whose names aren’t mentioned.

At her birth, there is this prophecy about her marriage to this four-armed divine person by a bodiless voice, kinda like Kamsa’s akashvani. Sure, go on. Marry her to Krishna right as she’s born, why don’t you? It’s destiny after all. Can I add that the previous love affair between Rukmini and Krishna is also not mentioned. 

Damaghosha, king of Chedi and Shishupala’s father goes to Bhishmaka with a marriage proposal, more in accordance with a marriage as we see it now as compared to the prev. versions (where Jarasandha and Rukmi are instrumental), as also the prevalent nature of marriage of those days w.r.t. Mahabharata.

These two develop attraction to each other just prior to the abduction, in the vein of Harivamsa, but Harivamsa does speak of mutual pining long before the abduction. 

The brahmin messenger, the role or even the name of Jarasandha, Rukmi’s fierce vow – nothing finds mention.

Unlike prev. versions, Krishna and Balarama are invited by Bhishmaka to Rukmini’s marriage. No other Yadava hero is mentioned to have accompanied, similar to Padma Purana.

It brings back the river Narmada, where Rukmini and Krishna were resting and Rukmi stumbled upon them, which is only found farther back in Harivamsa.

Now, the battle with Rukmi gets interesting here. There is no archery or even swordfight; rather, Krishna takes his chakra to battle. Fearful, Rukmini asks Krishna to bless her brother with the “divine eye”. Krishna obeys, “pleased” by Rukmini. Rukmi’s ignorance taken away, he offers auspicious prayers to Krishna, who, pleased at the brother this time, blesses him and speaks “blissful words”. Rukmi happily goes back to Kundina. No Bhojkata, no insult, no killing or fighting.

Even the marriage isn’t celebrated in Dwaraka, but on the very banks of Narmada, in the presence of pious sages and other brahmins.

A long explanation of the significance of Rukmini tirtha is given in details, which we don’t find in prev. versions and which I have no energy to go over, for it isn’t significant to either the topic, or even Rukmini in general.

In a nutshell, Skanda Purana takes a decided and marked departure from the martial, the political and the more realistic, to the more mystical realms that have surrounded Krishna and his actions. Do we see a pattern here?

Brahmavaivarta Purana (about 700-1500 CE)

God, I hate this one so much. In a nutshell, guys, it goes several steps ahead of Skanda Purana and goes for a classic social marriage, as is prevalent nowadays. There’s no abduction, no Shishupala, no love, no resistance from Rukmi, no agency from either the bride or the groom. Nothing.

[Instead of Rukmini-harana, or even Rukmini-swayamvara, the headings become “Rukmini Udvaah Prastaav varnan” (description of proposal of Rukmini’s marriage) and then, “Rukmini Vivaahe Yuddham” (fight in Rukmini’s marriage). Credit where credit’s due, I learnt from an online friend about the Sanskrit titles.]

No message is sent by Rukmini, but a brahmin messenger does go with a proposal of marriage. He is sent by Bhishmaka instead of Rukmini. What’s more, the letter was addressed to Ugrasena, and it’s not Krishna, or even Balarama, who receives the proposal. It is Ugrasena, stepping into the limelight where before he had no role to play except that of a figurehead and a tortured father as per the texts.

In Kundina (described in detail for the first time, with the classic mahajanapada-style ditch around it), Krishna and Rukmini have a nice social marriage, presided over by all the elders and kings, with Bhishma, Drona, Duryodhana etc. and the Pandavas in attendance. Again, no mention of Jarasandha, but there’s a fight between Balarama and Shishupala, Dantavakra, Rukmi and Shalva, ending in a sorta mysterious, inconclusive defeat.

How interesting is it, that Brahmavaivarta is a text dedicated to, er, Radha-Krishna, an idea that didn’t exist until the Bhakti movement. So they just decide that no, such a daredevil mariage between lovers won’t do. It has to be society forcing these two together (rather than apart, as we see in Mahabharata et al), because it is Radha and Krishna whose relationship is against society, the rebellion of rebellions in the name of true love nd devotion, blah-blah. Forgive my tone, please, but I am pissed off, ‘kay?

The concerted effort to make everything in Krishna’s life, except Radha (oh, because they are the Supreme in Goloka, which is even above Kailasa and Vaikuntha, and nothing can separate them and all), socially acceptable because he’s their “God” who can do no wrong except if in “true love for Radha” (when the dude clearly rebelled against society any chance he got) is ridiculous. Esp. this! Damn, don’t make my girl into this insignificant little thing. Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana were silent about Rukmini’s letter too, but at least both mentioned clear attraction and interest between Krishna-Rukmini.

Digressing: Also, why is Krishna such a sap here, suddenly? Or why does the Radha-Krishna pairing (which originally symbolises the Jeevatma-Paramatma or devotee-god relationship,) need Krishna to chase her ceaselessly and for all his actions to lead up to her, despite him advocating being a man of action in the real world? I am sorry for being so vocal; it’s probably just my pent-up frustration from that horrible Radha-Krishna serial where this Krishna (gosh, I can’t even call him that!) finds a reason to cry every single time. I would have forgiven it had they cut off the Vishnu’s avatar perspective and kept only the lover boy part, but they keep it and they still make him a crybaby. What’s worse…at the times he should actually feel bad, he’s “calm” af, looking as if he has transcended every human emotion, and just patronises people. Such hypocrisy. Look, I have nothing against men who cry; in fact, it’s heartening to have men strong enough to embrace their emotions, esp. publicly; similarly, there is nothing wrong with suppressing them (apart from the mental health issues it generates, but we are no one to judge). But people, when you are making an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient character…keep the BS consistent at least?! (Sorry, civility.) 

Agni Purana (about 800-1100 CE) only mentions Rukmini as one of the eight principal wives.

[Devi-Bhaagavata Purana gives a brief outline sticking to what’s known. It says that in Rukmini’s swayamvara, Shishupala is specifically invited (this is the popular notion, and what I personally believed too, and still find myself going for). Krishna, with Ugrasena’s permission (not mentioned in prev. versions; as opposed to consulting with his fellow warriors in HV), takes Rukmini in Rakshasa vivaha. It also mentions that he later married Jambavati, Satya, Mitravinda, Kalindi, Nagnajiti, Bhadra, Lakshmana. (Satyabhama is not present. She seems to have been confused with Satya, whose other name is Nagnajiti, princess of Kosala.)

Kalki Purana goes for this elaborate Rukmini vrata which grants desired husband to a lady as a fruit of the vrata, where Rukmini is accorded deity status alongside Krishna, seemingly for the first time (not considering the temples dedicated to both). A woman named Sharmistha (strangely similar to Sharmistha of Yayati, Puru’s mother, who too hankered after Yayati) offers oblations to Rukmini-Krishna, saying a prayer: “O Lord, offerer of boons, accept the camphor, molasses and sandalwood with your beloved Rukmini, princess of Vidarbha. O lotus-eyed one, possesor of pitambara and four arms, supreme of gods. Please be satisfied with me and protect me with Rukmini.” It’s far longer, but this is the gist. Is this still Krishna we are speaking of? Huh, all these rituals and Krishna don’t sit well.]

I have only been able to catch hold of so many texts, and of the others, Markandeya Purana (about 250-700 CE) and Shiva Purana (about 1000-1400 CE) do not even mention Rukmini. Mudgala Purana only says Lord Krishna had 16,008 beautiful wives and washes its hands off. 

Note: Mathematician and Vedic shastra writer Baudhayana cites Rukmini/Krishna as an example of Rakshasa vivaha.

Sanskrit Literature

So after the Puranas kinda close off the (d)evolution with turning such interesting stuff to the dry social marriage w.r.t. to the parallel evolution of Radha-Krishna, where the concept of Krishna shifted completely from a socio-political persona with mild godlike touch to become a complete love god (as also the lord of the universe)… Rukmini rises again in later literature, of what, by modern standards, would be ancient fanfiction. Lol. There are loads of poetic descriptions (think Kalidasa) that embellishes the narrative – for example, the beauty of sunrise described for paragraphs onto paragraphs. (Yeah, I skimmed those. I was too interested in some Rukmini action. Will appreciate the poetry later.)

References are made to the Rukmini-haran incident in Shishupala-vadham by Magha in around 600 CE, in the 2nd canto, where Balarama, Krishna and Uddhava are in conversation, planning to kill Shishupala. (I hate this.) The entire canto is full of controversial speeches. Balarama refers to Krishna abducting Rukmini from her swayamvara and defeating Shishupala as being the latter’s prime reason for animosity, saying things like “women are the root of all enmity”.

It is referred to in Bhavabhuti’s Malati-Madhav as well, a love story between Malati and Madhav (son of a Vidarbhan minister), where in a convo between friends, a lady says something like “Purushottama Krishna accepted Rukmini, the mother of Kandarpa (Pradyumna being considered Kama’s rebirth), at her self-choice (swayamvara) ceremony”.

There is Bhagavata-Champu (don’t laugh) by Ananta Bhatta before 1500 AD and Sri-Gopala-Champu by Jiva Goswami. Both show their retellings to be derived from Bhaagavata purana (I’m so glad). In fact, in some places, like Rukmini’s letter and Balarama’s consolatory speech after Rukmi’s humiliation, the lines (as per the translated hardcopy in my home) seem to have been picked up directly from Bhaagavata. So it must be that the original Sanskrit lines were as well. The only thing that differs in Sri-Gopala-Champu is the premise of the story. Two messengers from Krishna tell the story to Nanda, Rukmini’s attributes coming up in the conversation. Radha and her fellow Gopis are mentioned as being present and eulogised. (Can no one let my girl have a moment?) But I love these few lines from the convo. The listeners speak thus (not the exact translation, but I don’t have the book rn):

“Although a girl, she is very intelligent and brave.”

“Is she a girl?” (Omfg, I laughed so much at this)

“No, never. She is a tense female elephant.” (The comparison is aimed to be praising of the confident, slow gait of an elephant in Sanskrit poetry, not in the modern way a woman might be called en elephant. Warriors and great women hav often been compared to elephants. There also seems to be an oxymoron as she is described as being tense or edgy, perhaps an allusion to being cautious…Hm, the spy headcanon, @avani008​ and @allegoriesinmediasres​? *grins excitedly* Oh, we’ll take anything, won’t we?)

“She is fearless, because she is a princess.”

Intelligent, brave, fearless, cautious…oh yeah, all my personal headcanons too.

Other Sanskrit works are as follows, to the best of my knowledge, some gathered from my grandparents and some from friends. I don’t know if their online versions are available, will have to see.

Bhaismi-Parinaya-Champu by prolific poet Ratnakheta Srinivasa Dikshita (South India) around late 16th century. also based on the Bhaagavata version. His son, renowned scholar Rajachuramani Dikshita wrote the Rukmini-Kalyana-Mahakavya (flourished in late 16th and early 17th centuries), possibly one of the most important Sanskrit works on the incident. This one, I unfortunately haven’t read, but have heard about from my late eldest grandfather. Two whole cantos take up Krishna’s mental affliction and pining in a pleasure garden of Dwaraka at the thought of his beloved Rukmini. Aw. Basically, Sanskrit poetry used to be all about elaborate descriptions and comparisons which would veer far, far away from the context, which in these times would be considered redundant and unnecessary. I agree, sort of. I would rather read about political machinations, rather than devotional poetry that distracts us from the issue at hand, thank you very much. Stfu, Medha.

We have Parvati-Rukminiya by astrologer poet Vidya Madhav in late 17th century, which narrates two marriages at a time – Shiva/Parvati and Krishna/Rukmini. Rukmini-Parinaya was written by Ram Varman of Trivancore in the middle 18th century.

Rukmini-Haranam-Mahakavyam, by Kashinatha Sharma Dvivedi, was published first in 1966 AD. (This one, my eldest grandmother straight up read to me, Bengal-ising it while she read. It was arduous, but I was old enough to bear the long hours.) Here, we find a few deviations from Bhaagavat – We find a long description of Rukmini straight up from birth to youth (yikes, that’s what I was attempting to do in my Yugantaram fic). It’s not a lot of characterisation, though – mainly dramatisation, if I remember correctly. (Unfortunately, I don’t know if we have that book any more.) The second canto has a description of Narada, who comes to Bhishmaka’s court bearing Krishna’s tales, which we don’t find in prev. versions, and who appears in the first canto of Magha’s Shishupala-vadham as well. In the third canto, Rukmini, hearing all this, falls in love and is treated by the royal physicians and offered consolation by her friends. (Here’s to one of my best-beloved lines of Hema’s Meerabai, ‘Is love an affliction, that you can cure?’) The next four cantos dramatise and stretch this love-struck Rukmini – with lovely descriptions of the moon, the seasons, the royal garden, etc. The next three cantos describe Rukmini’s marriage being fixed to Shishu by Rukmi, her sending the brahmin messenger to Krishna, a vivid description of Krishna’s beauty (as a young gal, I fell in love with that, yeah, I know, sorry) and an equally beautiful description of the dawn (which may be compared to the description of dawn in Shishupala-vadham by Magha… people are really fond of poeticising political and social issues to hide their significance behind glamour. Medha, stop). In the next canto, Krishna begins his journey to Vidarbha with obeisance to Lord Shiva, which isn’t present anywhere else. It is worth mentioning that the poet also starts his epic poem with salutations to Shiva as well, and states that he composed the entire poem with the grace of Lord Shiva. There’s a lot more descriptions, along with the deviation of Rukmini being guarded on orders of Shishupala rather than those of Rukmi, but the skeleton is all Bhaagavat. Sharma Dvivedi has been inspired heavily by Magha. It stands that his Rukmini-Haranam-Mahakavyam is the most successful rendering of the legend.

It has come to my knowledge that there are other Sanskrit literary works on these two as well but…I just don’t have the energy, sorry. There is a time and place for poetry and devotional fervour. Let me just say, with absolute relish on my side, that it is the Bhaagavat version that is preferred by our predecessors unanimously and all the Sanskrit literature is based on that. Personally, my go-to is Harivamsa and Bhaagavat as well, especially since they have the oldest layers of puranic text. I mean, just imagine, if all later retellings had been based on Brahmavaivarta rather than Bhaagavat. There would be no Rukmini-lovers at all! I mean, the first love does start from the most popular version, after all. It never fails to intrigue me, how legends undergo these modifications, and none of it is a coincidence.

Much love,

Medha

[kendrixtermina]

Further reactions to "The book of lost tales":

I appreciate that Idril canonically wears armor and does swordfighting.

I feel like I can actually imagine adult!Idril much better now like in armor and with open hair, distraught but ready to fight while babby Earendil does not yet realize the danger...

My first thought is that Earendil was probably cute in that baby chainmail. My second thought is OUCH, Idril and Tuor always made sure their growing baby had fitting chainmail cause they felt the apocalypse might get them at any moment. Imagine that, imagine them having the baby armor fitted every year or so :(

Its fun how much of the basic structure already exists but most of what you'd consider the main characters doesn't exist or is scattered across various minor roles The only Prince anywhere in sight is Turgon - Except for Team Doriath, theyre all accounted for. I suppose Maeglin is kinda there in name only with vaguely the same role & motivation, but looks personality and background all did a 180 since. Luthien is still pretty much "princesd classic" at this point, not quite the fearless go-getter from the final version - markedly this version tells Beren that she doesnt want to wander in the wilderness with him whereas the final one says she doesnt care and its Beren still wants to get the shiny so as not to ask this of her and also for his honor.

I mean in the finished version Id consider the 3rd and 4th gen royals to be the main characters (well, alobgside Team Doriath and the varioud human heroes) and theyre hardly here. Imagine the silm with no Finrod!

Feanor had no affiliation with the royal family whatsoever, and is also generally less super. He's just the guy who won the jewelsmithing competition, not the inventor of the whole discipline. Still seems to have been envisionad as a respected member of the community who gets called to the palace for crisis meetings and is listened to when he stsrts giving speeches. From the first he already has the backstory of going off the deep end (or at least growing disillusioned with Valinor) after a family member is killed by Melkor and theyre still the first to die, but its just some other rando unrelated to the royals

The situation regarding the humans is different - instead of Melkor leaking their existence, its Manwe who explains that the other continents were supposed to be for them eventually. So Feanor goes off on a tirade about weak puny mortals comes off as a more of a jerk unlike in the final version where Melkor barely knew about the humans and described them to the Noldor as a threat. On the other hand in this one, also very much unlike in the finished product, Melkor dupes even Manwe into being unfair to the elves as a whole. In this the final version is a definite improvement, both Feanor and the Valar come off as a lot more sympathetic and though still deceived he's partially right in some things at least, so you have more of a genuine tragedy rather than a simple feud

There is something to the idea of Commoner!Feanor tho. I guess some of this survived in his nomadic explorer lifestyle and how both his wife and mother (who arent mentioned here) eventually were the ones to get that background of being not especially pretty ladies who are not from the nobility but got renown, respect and acclaim for their unique talent and contribution to society, with each having invented things and Nerdanel also being renowed for her wisdom. Hes sort of an odysseus-like Figure in that sense. I suppose later developements necesitated that Maedhros & co. have an army not just a band of thieves, which means they needed to be nobles/lords. That said this being a society where artisans are very respected and half the lords have scholarly/artistic pursuits going, the gap was probably not as big to begin with as it might have been in say, medieval England. Esoecially since Nerdanel's father had been given special honor by one of the local deities and that the social order might have been a very recent thing in Miriel's time. One might speculate that the first generation of Lords started out as warriors during the great journey, or perhaps just Finwe's friend group.

Also found that bit intetesting where the Valar have to deal with the remaining political tensions and effects of Melkor's lies on the remaining population in Valinor... - i guess with the change of framing device it was less likely for news of something like this to reach Beleriand. That, or the existence of Finarfin and his repentance made this go smoother this over in later cannon

Turgon's go-down-with-the-ship moment reaaly got to me. Im half tempted to write a fic where his wife, siblings and dad glomp him on arrival in Mandos. I dont care that none of them exists yet in this continuity i want Turgon to get hugs

I love all the additional Detail that got compressed out in the shift from fairytale-ish to pseudohistoric style especially all the various Valinor magic insofofar as it is compatible with the final version - particularly love the idea of the connection between the lamps and the trees that is now integrated into my headcanon forever

Its actually explained what the doors of night are

If I had not already read unfinished tales or volumes X to XII where this is also apparent, this is where I would say: Ah so the Valar were supposed to be flawed characters. Manwe has an actual arc; by the time he sends Gandalf he finally "got" it. I think in the published silm the little arcs of Ulmo and Manwe are mostly just lost in compression/ less apparent when only some of the relevant scenes got in but not all

It occurred to me way too late that the "BG" chars are the most consistent because theyre at the start and most stories are written from beginning to end. Finwe doesnt get a dedicated paragraph of explicit description until HoME X but my takeaway was that he's described pretty much like I always imagined him anyways/ same vibe I always got from him... charismatic, thoughtful, enthusiastic, sanguine temperament, brave in a pinch but at times lets his judgement be clouded by personal sentiment (though that last bit is more apparent/salient as a character flaw once he became the father of a certain Problem Child) ...i guess this would be a result of jrrt having had a consistent idea of him in his head for a long time.

This means Finwe's still alive at the time of the exodus which is just fun to see/interesting to know... Interestingly he sort of gets what later would be Finarfin's part of ineffectually telling everxone to please chill and think it over first while Feanor simply shouts louder (which is consistent with his actions before the sword incident in later canon where he initially spoke out against the suspiciozs regarding the Valar) - but its not exactly the same, he's more active than Finarfin later in that when "chillax" availed nothing he said that then at least they should talk with the other Kings and Manwe to leave with their blessing and get help leaving (This seems like it would have been the clusterfuck preventing million dollar suggestion in the universe where Feanor is related to him and values him) but when even that falls on death ears he decides that he "would not be parted from his people" and went to run the preparations. I find it interesting that the motivation is sentiment/attachment (even phrased as "he would not be parted from [his people]" same words/ expression as is later used for the formenos situation), not explicitly obligation as it later is for Fingolfin (who had promised to follow Feanor and didnt want to leave his subjects at the mercy of Feanor's recklessness )

Speaking of problem children. It seems the sons of Feanor were the Kaworu Nagisa of the Silmarillion in that originally all they do is show up at some point and kill Dior as an episodic villain-of-the-week. And then, it seems their role got bigger in each continuity/rewrite... probably has something to do with the Silmarils ending up in the title later making it in the sense their story that ends and begins with them. They have zero characterization beyond "fierce and wild" at this point, though in what teetsy bits there is we already have the idea that Maedhros is the leader and Curufin is the smart one/shemer/sweet-talker, though not the bit where Maedhros (or Maglor, or anyone really) is "the nice one". Which I guess explains why "Maglor" sounds like such a stereotypical villain name.

"The Ruin of Doriath" was purportedly the patchworkiest bit of the finished product, but I never noticed and it actually left quite an impression of me upon first reading, the visual of Melian sitting there with Thingol's corpse in her arms contemplating everything thinking back to how they met... she had the knowledge to warn him not to doom himself but couldnt get him to understand it because he doesnt see the world as she does.... After reading this though I wish there was a 'dynamic' rendition that combined all the best bits like, youd have to adapt it to the later canon's rendition of the dwarves, have Nargothrond exist etc. But i mean that just makes Finrod another dead/doomed relative of Thingol's whom bling cannot truly replace, like Luthien and Turin. In the Silmarillion you could easily read it as just an "honoured guest treatment" but here and in unfinished tales I get the impression that Thingol actually did see Turin as a son.

Already you see the idea of trying to make the stories all interconnected but there is less than there will be (the human heroes aren't related yet and there is basically no Nargothrond, which is later a common thread for many of the stories - a prototype shows up in the 'Tale of Turambar' tho complete with half baked prototypes of Orodreth and Finduillas

O boi im not even through yet

[latent-thoughts]

Hey so, I don't know if you've heard about it, but some people said some time ago that Loki threatened to r*pe Jane in Thor 1 during that final battle moment ("perhaps I should pay her a visit myself"). I literally had a panic attack first time I read it and was calmed down by my friend who isn't even a Loki fan, just to point it out, and said that he was sure Loki would never do that. Can you give your opinion on the topic just to idk, make some weird people realise he's nothing like that.

Hey dear Anon,

Yes, I’ve seen that scene, and I’ve read the interpretations of it. 

So here goes my own observation on it-

That scene occurs when Thor is trying to stop Loki from destroying Jotunheim. Loki is, to state it plainly, not in a state of mental balance here. His whole life, his world, his self-identity, everything is shattered and lying in tatters after the revelation of his true parentage. He wants to destroy Jotunheim because he wants his family to see him as an Asgardian, and not as a monster. He wants Odin to be proud of him.

Trouble is, he already sees himself as a monster, and that’s directly due to how he has been raised to view Jotuns as monsters. All thanks to Odin.

That bit aside, Thor here is refusing to fight Loki. He has no freaking idea about what went down with Loki. To Thor, all this looks like a tantrum. He doesn’t know what Loki is going through because all this time he was on Earth. Once again, let us thank Odin for this mess.

Loki wants to fight him. He expressly states so. 

Also, this happens:

So, Loki basically goes for the low blows.

(Attacking Thor’s sense of self as a strong warrior. Thor is strong and hardy, not SOFT!)

(Thor falters here and remains silent, giving the impression that indeed, it was that woman who changed him. And Loki latches on to it.)

And herein comes the infamous line… 

So, if one ignores context and just focuses on above stated the lines, then yes, Loki’s intent seems to be to go find Jane and assault her.

However, if one pays close attention to Loki’s face in this scene, one can see that he is falling apart and saying whatever that needs to be said to get Thor to fight him. He’s crying, he looks angry as hell. Generally speaking, he’s a mess.

He says the nastiest shit possible to get Thor’s attention, to have Thor attack him so that he can finally fight him and let out all his rage on him. Thor is the focus of his anger here because all his life he has tried to be Thor’s equal in everyone’s (especially Odin’s) eyes and failed. He now realizes that the competition with Thor was rigged from the beginning, that he was never to be loved by his parents (as Thor was) because he wasn’t their child, because he was a monster’s get.

This is Loki hitting a spiral of self-loathing and having a psychotic break. This is Loki wanting a fight because he doesn’t know how to deal with all this pain. He doesn’t know what else to do.

So he just goes ahead and provokes Thor. He uses that ugly line and he tries to make Thor believe that he will find Jane and he will hurt her in the worst ways.

Thor takes it at face value and a fight happens, just as Loki wanted. Thor is predictable in that way.

However, I do not, in any way or form, believe that Loki would have carried out his threat here. Yes, he used the cheapest of blows to provoke Thor, and that’s it. He is not interested in hurting Jane. Not even in the Avengers (2012), when he very well could have gone after Jane. He doesn’t even mention her there.

And then in Thor: The Dark World, we see Loki’s true intent towards Jane. Specifically, during the battle of Svartalfheim. 

He protects Jane. He literally shields Jane by putting his own body between her and the danger. Every time.

Loki didn’t have to do any of this. He was there to avenge his mother and to defeat the Dark Elves. Yet, he paid close attention to Jane’s safety. He was her bodyguard during this time. He did it for fraternal love, and he did it for basic human? jotun? asgardian? decency.

Loki may use the power of words to get the better of others. He may use his words as weapons to find chinks in others’ armour, to make them lose their balance, so to say (he did that with Natasha Romanoff as well). But you can damn well be sure that Loki is not evil and that he doesn’t harm others for merely shits and giggles, especially if someone doesn’t harm him first.

I myself see Loki as a person whose default mode is to protect. Frigga had (despite all of her parental imbalances) raised him to be an honourable prince, after all.

That’s my dissertation take on it. Hope that helped. 

~Latent-Thoughts

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Ramblings and crazy theory time about GK chap 234 “Steamboat”

And now we dig on a chapter in which there’s something predominant.

Yeah, in this chapter there’s a lot of “Murphy’s law” at work or, if you prefer, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong".

But let’s start digging in the chapter which has a colour cover which is… nothing special really.

Mind you, it’s not a bad colour cover, it just doesn’t tell us much.

It’s just Asirpa and Sugimoto’s face, Asirpa smiling and Sugi looking very aware, his scarf fluttering in the air like when he’s ready to start a fight. Asirpa is in front of Sugimoto and, in a way, the cover seems to play on their contrasting colours, white fur Asirpa, black hat Sugi, purple bluish bandana Asirpa, red and yellow scarf Sugi, big, bright blue eyes Asirpa (typical of how mangaka draw children) versus normal sized brownish (I think they’re again a mix of red and yellow but at a distance the result is brown which is Sugi’s eye colour) Sugimoto, Asirpa smiling, Sugimoto not in the slightest, Asirpa relaxed, Sugi apparently ready to battle.

You can see them like the opposite sides of the same coin if you want, or just as the two main characters, poor Shiraishi again forgotten.

Honestly I understand how Shiraishi originally wasn’t meant to be part of the main cast and everything, but now he’s a team member and it’s a bit sad to see despite all the time he’s with us, how he has changed and the things he has done, he’s not considered that much. Whatever, maybe it’s just me.

In fact the chapter start with Shiraishi coming up with a course of action, going by boat down the Ishikari river so as to avoid the muddy ground and save time and energy.

Shiraishi also gives us some info from which we can figure that the convicts were again used as hard labor men to make the river usable.

Golden Kamuy has mentioned often how the convicts were used and also abused for the convenience of others. Shiraishi here doesn’t mention anything bad happening to the convicts who worked cleaning the wood but we heard convicts used in other jobs weren’t equally lucky… and maybe it’s just Shiraishi who’s not planning to make ‘mistreating of the convicts’ awareness. We’ll see.

Anyway, considering the boys are planning to reach Ebetsu I’ll say they’re pointing at Sapporo, which is pretty close by.

I fear they could end up in a happy reunion with both Hijikata’s group and Tsurumi’s forces. Really, I’m not sure it’s a wise move considering Asirpa is stilla target.

The scene moves on the boat, a paddle streamer, Shiraishi giving us info about it while Asirpa claims it’s her first time on one.

Shiraishi claims they’ll get to Ebetsu before noon.

Evidently at the time “Murphy’s Law” wasn’t known yet, probably due to Murphy not having been born yet. We’re readers though. We can easily see this is a giant red flag… even if we’re giving still some time before it’ll strike.

Meanwhile we can see Vasily isn’t on the boat with them but on the last of the three small boats attached to the paddle streamer, Asirpa being the only one who worry about him. Shiraishi comments he seems to be fine with staying with the horses… and I get why Shiraishi isn’t fond of Vasily as the guy targeted him twice, once hitting him in the leg but still, I’m not sure this sort of behavior is going to help in the long run. They’re travelling together, they should make an effort to get along. Though maybe Shiraishi would prefer if they were to lose him somewhere.

Sugimoto points out Vasily is keeping at a distance deliberately to wait for Ogata to come… then comments, as if surprised that Vasily thinks of Asirpa as a bait.

Honestly yes, this is the right explanation but I’m not really fond of how Sugimoto put things.

First of all he makes it sounds as if he realized only now they would be bait, for Vasily when it was clear right from the start Vasily was using them as such and Sugimoto was aware of it. Then he comments it’s just Asirpa who’s bait.

Vasily has no idea which is the relationship between Sugimoto, Shiraishi, Asirpa and Ogata. He saw Shiraishi and Asirpa with Ogata and Sugimoto kindly informed him he also knew Ogata (it’s hard to say what else Vasily understood from Sugimoto’s ‘spider artwork’). For Vasily the three of them could very well be baits, not just Asirpa.

There’s no reason for Sugimoto to assume he and Shiraishi aren’t bait as well for Vasily.

Mentioning just Asirpa he put pressure on her, albeit I realize he might not be aware of this as he’s so focused on Asirpa he might think Vasily is the same even though Vasily has no idea why Ogata would target specifically Asirpa.

Besides he shouldn’t really blame Vasily much because, aside from Asirpa, they had done no effort to make friends with him and has used him (to escape, to shoot people) so really, if Vasily was okay with using his companion border guards as baits, why should he hesitate in using them?

The story goes on.

Asirpa falls asleep, either due to the rocking of the boat or the stress of the past days...

...and two small boats approaches the paddle streamer.

“Murphy’s law“… pardon, Boutarou and his men are on them.

Boutarou points out he’s broke because he gave a lot of money to the Ainu village.

Honestly I like this guy. He paid for the information he wanted from the Ainu, he didn’t just went there threatening them or pretended to pay and then took his goods away. He paid a high sum for his information.

I wonder what his backstory is because it’s also clear, considering his crimes, he’s not a pure, little lamb. Did he have a reason to become a criminal? What’s his honour code beyond paying for the info he gets?

Anyway Boutarou thinks to attack the paddle streamer. The sailors on the paddle streamer realize they’re tailed and that they could be criminals targeting them because they’re carrying customers with valuables and also the money that’s being sent by registered mail.

The captain wants to set a resistance and abruptly turns the boat, managing to cause the criminal on one of the two boat to fall in the water.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi realize something is up and go to check. Boutarou deliberately tosses himself n the water. The sailors thinks they can kill him by hitting him with a hammer the second he pops his head up. Everything is under control, right?

Wrong.

“Murphy’s law”… sorry, I mean Boutarou, swims below the ship, moves to the opposite side and… well he JUMP out of the water the way a dolphin or a merman like him would do.

So in a second he’s on the opposite side of the boat, take a moment to blow the water out of his gun and then, from that position, he can comfortably threaten the boat captain, ordering him to stop the ship.

Sorry, Shiraishi, I don’t think you all will be to Ebetsu by noon.

Sugimoto and Shiraishi who wanted to check on the situation appear just right then and meet “Murphy’s Law”… no, it’s Boutarou again, who, when Sugimoto attepts to grab his rifle (probably to use it like a wand knowing his aim),

recognizes Shiraishi, looking delighted to see him.

The sailors, seeing Boutarou knows them, thinks Sugimoto and Shiraishi are Boutarou’s accomplices so instead than attacking Boutarou, attack them.

Well, maybe they’re aware they can’t win against “Murphy’s Law”… sorry, sorry, Boutarou, so they try attacking his corollaries, pardon, the ones they think are his associates despite Shiraishi protesting they’ve got nothing to do with Boutarou.

Does it comes as a surprise if no one listen to him and the sailors try to grab Sugimoto’s rifle?

Because among all the people you should attack, picking Sugimoto is, of course the worst choice possible.

‘If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the FIRST to go wrong.’

So Boutarou turn to aim at the sailors, either to stop them from getting the rifle or to protect ‘Shiraishi’s underling’ since he seems fond of Shiraishi, we don’t know but Sugimoto, thinking Boutarou will fire at the sailors, tosses them both off the boat one after the other… dropping his rifle in the process.

I bet this will have relevance in the next chapter.

Really, why Sugi carries around a rifle is a mystery for me. He doesn’t know how to use it well, he can’t remember to use it to draw attention when he gets lost, loses it 9 times out of 10 and, at most, he uses it to hit people as if it were a wand. It’s time he accepts he’s just not a rifle person and that his strength lies elsewhere.

Boutarou is impressed by Sugi’s work, praising Shiraishi for the ‘dependable underling’ he got for himself. Really, Boutarou seems rather friendly with Shiraishi. Honestly I wonder about the relation between the two.

Is Boutarou a fan of the Escape King?

Just joking but it would be interesting.

Meanwhile Boutarou’s men manage to climb on the boat but, at that point, another paddle streamer is moving toward them and is one filled with soldiers.

I bet the ship could be named “Gumperson’s Law”...

“The probability of anything happening is in inverse ratio to its desirability.”

No one probably wanted that ship of soldiers to meet with a paddle streamer with aboard Boutarou and Sugimoto, probably not even the soldiers on the boat and if the passengers think differently they might end up reconsidering.

The meeting could very well the presude to two boats sinking.

Is there any iceberg around by the way? ^_-

Just joking, of course.

Anyway the chap ends here.

Overall, although not much is happening, I’ll say this chapter is meant to set up the situation. Asirpa’s group and Boutarou’s group are meeting and from this the story can take many possible developments as Boutarou likely isn’t going to escape like the CandyMan did, he got from the Ainu precious info and, considering he seems to have some sense of fairness and a sympathy for Shiraishi, it’s even possible an allegiance might have birth out of this meeting.

I wonder if the situation will develop in such a way though that the guys will continue together for Sapporo, or just Sugi’s group will go there, or the meeting will have them radically change course.

This depends a lot on what Boutarou discovered and if they’ll manage to strike an allegiance. Honestly Sugimoto’s group needs allies, it’s beyond naïve to think just the three of them can deal with Tsurumi and Hijikata’s groups.

So, even if I’m not impressed by the chap in itself, really I think it might set up interesting developments. We’ll see.

[dcubang]

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Title: Fly With Me Word Count: About 14k Genre: Fantasy-Adventure Fandom/Universe: Green Lantern, Flash (comics) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Hal Jordan/Guy Gardner/John Stewart/Alan Scott Warnings: Mild/implied body dysphoria Rating: PG-ish Summary: When Watchman Barry Allen arrives to a grisly murder scene, the last thing he expects is the enigmatic dragonlords of the realm to arrive and ask for him specifically. They are handsome and charming, but the existence of enormous fire-breathing flying lizards that seem to exert some kind of... Strange emotional aura is more than a little terrifying. He is introduced to the prince of these dragonlords, Hal, and steps up to be taken back to the towering natural fortress of Oa, a massive hollowed out mountain that sits on the edge of the continent. Called the 'weyr', Oa is home to the dragons and their riders, and Barry soon finds himself welcomed inside with all the honours that a prince might receive. In the morning after a restless night's sleep he is bathed and anointed, and taken down deep beneath the mountain to a holy underground sea, where he must confront the mysterious Lord of Oa and receive the prize for which he had been chosen: A dragon egg, rare and precious. The last third of the story will be hatching the dragon, and a montage of sorts with Barry further bonding with the dragon riders and forming a... Tentative proto-romantic relationship with them. He trains in arms with Guy, learns the histories and concepts of the weyr with John, is taught about the running and logistics of Oa from Alan, and finally Hal tutors him on bonding with his dragon, and eventually flying with it. The broad aesthetic of the fic is very much generic medieval fantasy, set mostly in the mountainous fortress/castle of Oa. Characters vary a little bit from canon appearances, mostly in regards to hairstyles and the like, but a few characters are trans, which is mostly going to be a background detail. There are no warnings except for a crime scene early on (which will be edited down) and brief discussions of trans characters being trans, so there's a bit of mild dysphoria but no explicit details or transphobia/homophobia. There is implied polyamory and age difference, but everyone is consenting adults and nothing is properly established in this fic. 

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2 Title: The Case of the Missing Son Word Count: 6,031 of 10k-ish Genre: Mystery, Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman (comics) Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson, Talia al Ghul, Damian Wayne Warnings: Minor violence Rating: NC-17 Summary: Bruce Wayne has come to PI Dick Grayson with a problem. His ex-wife, Talia al Ghul, has been sending him letters claiming they have a son. Bruce wants Dick to find the boy and bring him home. Dick gathers information from various sources before running into Talia herself, which only results in him getting beat up. He goes back to Bruce to convince him to confront Talia. Eventually, the son goes to Bruce, and Bruce and Dick get some private time together. The story takes place solely in Gotham, from Dick's office, to Wayne Manor, with one trip down into the caves of Gotham for the showdown.

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3 Title: Forth My Mimic Comes Word Count: 19k Genre: Mystery, Supernatural Fandom/Universe: Batman (mostly comics) Characters/Pairings: Gen; Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake Warnings: past canon character death, non-consensual bodyswap, thoughts that could be construed as non-specific suicidal tendencies (i.e., "I was already dead, if I die again it's no big deal," etc.) Rating: PG/T Summary: Robin saves a boy from being hit by a car, only to discover that the victim is none other than a very alive (if comatose) Jason Todd. An already unusual situation turns even more bizarre when an unfortunate turn of phrase and an errant bit of magic cause Jason and the current Robin to end up in each other's bodies. Knowing it's only a matter of time before Bruce learns of the switch and locks him up in a fit of paranoia, Jason must seek the help of the enigmatic (and familiar) Oracle to fix the problem, all the while learning far more than he ever wanted to know about the boy who replaced him. Takes place immediately following Jason's resurrection in a slightly canon-divergent timeline, primary locations being the clock tower, manor, and cave (and all of Gotham, because patrol).

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4 Title: Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? Word Count: 4,579 of 5k Genre: Mystery Fandom/Universe: Batman (comics) Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle, Tommy Elliot Warnings: Nonconsensual body modification, some torture Rating: PG-13 Summary: Selina Kyle is missing. Bruce finds mannequins and dummies of her around Gotham, each with a modified nursery rhyme about cats. Bruce follows these clues all across Gotham, growing more desperate to find her. Finally, he confronts the villains of Gotham and finds Selina, only to find Hush there as well. They battle and Bruce rescues Selina and takes her back to the Batcave. This takes place solely in Gotham, from the streets and graveyards of Gotham, to beneath Arkham Asylum, to the Batcave.

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5 Title: Daily Gab Word Count: 5776 Genre: Coming Out Fic Fandom/Universe: Batfam Characters/Pairings: Jon/Damian, Damian & Dick Warnings: Bullying Rating: PG-ish Summary: Damian finds a tabloid taped to his locker at school. The headline? "Wayne Kid... Gay?" He endures a day at school listening to the gossip from all the other kids. Dick does the brotherly thing and helps Damian sort through all he's feeling. Damian admits to Jon what the tabloid said and why he's been running scared all day, they talk about the reality of what they want together and Bruce manages to be a real father for once. Summary I'm posting when I post the fic: Damian swallowed against the bile in his throat and carefully took in his next breath, walking himself through the steps of emotional calm. Pretend this was only torture. Pretend it was only a gunshot wound. Pretend it was only his body in pain and not his heart and his mind. Remove himself from the situation and take a few steps backwards from the reality of it.

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6 Title: Stay My Tragedy Word Count: 16k Genre: Drama, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman, Deathstroke, Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Slade/Jason Warnings: explicit sex, angst, descriptions of violence, references to self harm, slight dubcon, problematic relationship Rating: NC-17 Summary:

Soul marks can appear at anytime in one’s life -- a mark of karmic destiny that most people take to mean they’ve met the person they’re meant to fall in love with. Jason knows that’s not true. He knows because his soul mark appeared in the very last moments before he died -- marking his destiny to be murdered by the hands of a madman.

It is a world in which fate is unbelievably cruel, when Jason’s soul mark is of none other than the man who murdered him. Slade has other ideas however, and he might just be the one man who can change Jason's tragic fate into something else.

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7 Title: New Horizons Word Count: 6091 Genre: Action/Adventure Fandom/Universe: Canon Divergence/AU Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake Warnings: Major Character Death, Abusive Parents, Child Trafficking Ring, Drugs Rating: PG Summary: Jason, Tim, and Stephanie meet while Jason still holds the Robin mantle. They band together to take down a child trafficking ring, all while each one is fighting their own personal battles. Stephanie's dad is a small-time crook who is major-times ruining her chances at a better life. Tim's parents are never home--he doubts they could pick him out of a lineup. Jason is suddenly thrust into life with a billionaire (and vigilante), but not everyone might want him there. Story is mostly set in Gotham and Wayne Manor, with a few scenes in Titans Tower. The Major Character Death is Jason, but it happens off screen and in the epilogue. The Abusive Parents is Tim's parents neglecting him. Drugs are a passing mention. The Child Trafficking Ring is a major plot point.

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8 Title: You’re saving Blüdhaven but who saves you? Word Count: 3457 Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Humor Fandom/Universe: Batman/Nightwing comics, Under the Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd/JayDick – Jason Todd/Dick Grayson Warnings: child’s death, mentions of rape, canon typical violence, non consensual drug use, incest (pseudo-incest? Jason and Dick were adopted), self esteem issues Rating: T/Teen And Up Audiences /PG14+ Summary: After a kid got killed Dick, already in a bad place, decides that his only option to make a difference is to fight crime in a different way. He decides to partner up with a carefully chosen criminal and Red Hood caught his attention even if some of their morals are on the opposite sides of the scale. This somehow leads to Dick having an elusive roommate he developed an attraction to. It’s a shame no one told him Red Hood is in fact Jason. This story is canon divergence or alternate universe and takes place after the events with Blockbuster and Tarantula in Nightwing comics and intertwines with some happenings from Under the Red Hood. The action is placed mainly in Blüdhaven, but there are trips to Gotham and Wayne Manor. The story has a romantic relationship between adopted brothers. The rape is mentioned several times and one of the character is forcibly drugged. It also contains description of child’s death and violence.

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9 Title: A Bit(e) Wild Word Count: 5-6k total, 4k written Genre: mostly Angst/Fluff but some Action/Adventure Fandom/Universe: Losers/Batfamily, no particular series Characters/Pairings: established Jensen/Cougar, will be Jensen/Cougar/Jason Todd later in series. Background canonical Pooch/Jolene, mention of Clay/Aisha. Warnings: Graphic violence, swearing, maybe sex in the flashback Rating: Explicit. Even if no sex happens yet, it will later, and there's also the violence to consider. Summary: The Losers have just barely taken down Max and cleared their names; Jensen's still cleaning up post-mission but they're all back home. Jason Todd's preparing to move back to Gotham and butt heads with Batman when a bit of pest control ends with him bitten by a wolf shifter. He didn't think the Pit's aftereffects would allow him to be changed, or that he'd call the Losers for backup again, but of all the people Talia had him learning from, Cougar's the only shifter he knows he can trust if this IS the dreaded change coming on. Cue frantic phone call. The Losers load up and head out immediately, but Pooch brings his family just in case, Clay rides up with Roque, and Jensen and Cougar lead the charge because they've already got the shifter genes and being bitten again isn't going to do anything to them (Jake is a recent change; Cougar was born a shifter). By the time the others arrive, they've got Jason settled and all three are in their animal forms. Jensen is a wolf, Cougs is a cougar, Jason is a snow leopard. After the first few lessons, Jason gets impatient--maybe the Pit, maybe new instincts, partly the knowledge that the Losers aren't going to just let him leave until he's got enough control over his shifter side to satisfy Cougar. He tries to slip out in the night, half hoping they won't follow him, subconsciously aware this will be much easier with trusted backup. Every Loser was expecting this, though, and when Jason slinks off to Gotham, they're still mostly packed and ready to head out. It doesn't take them long to follow.

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10 Title: where monsters lie (in dead men's dreams) Word Count: ~75k total, 47.7k written (including unfinished draft) Genre: Drama, Horror, Angst Fandom/Universe: Batman Arkham Games, and a lot of creative liberty taken with comic canon and the traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega AU Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd/Dick Grayson, Jason Todd/Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson Warnings: Non-con, Dub-con, Drugging, Non-traditional ABO Dynamics, Bondage, Descriptions of Torture, Pseudo Incest, Kinky/Rough Sex, Intersexed Characters, Background Polyamory, Angst, Murder Rating: R Summary: Oracle enlists Red Hood's reluctant help to find Batman and Nightwing, who have disappeared during an arms bust deal orchestrated by the Penguin. They've been captured and dosed with a perverted form of the Scarecrow's latest toxin, and the effects of the toxin force the three of them to face their feelings for each other. All Jason wants to do is run away, except Dick won't let him leave. Things grow more complicated when the Penguin re-emerges with a threat none of them had expected, and Jason takes it upon himself to teach the Penguin a permanent lesson. Meanwhile, Dick has been experiencing random bouts of mania and murderous intent, ever since getting dosed with the toxin. By the time he confronts Jason about the Penguin's vicious murder, Jason sees more of the Joker in Dick than he does in his nightmares. Fortunately for them both, there's no mystery in Gotham that Batman can't solve in time. The story is set in Gotham City, 1.5-2 years post the game Batman: Arkham Knight, but also features several flashbacks of bastardized canon scenes from the comics. If you're a stickler for canon, this will probably kill you dead so please bear that in mind. Besides that, there is a single instance of non-con and another instance of molestation. There are also two implied sex scenes which can be considered dub-con. There is pseudo-incest between Jason, Dick and Bruce. The Penguin gets tortured to death but the torture occurs off-screen and only the results are described in graphic detail. The polyamory is mentioned throughout but does not occur on-screen.

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11 Title: The Sacredness of Tears Word Count: 13k Genre: Romance, character study, elements of fantasy and drama/angst Fandom/Universe: Batman comics, set in the future and using events from New Earth and the current continuity Characters/Pairings: Tim Drake/Jason Todd, Tim Drake-centric Warnings: temporary character death, pseudo-incest, canon-typical violence, discussions of mental illness, parental abuse through neglect, swearing Rating: PG-13 (maybe R for swearing?) Summary: Tim Drake Wayne isn’t weak. He can’t be. And now that he can travel through time, he has the perfect tool to make sure he’ll never be vulnerable again. Gradually, Tim’s family, friends, and his slowly blossoming relationship to Jason teach him otherwise. The story is set in Gotham with scenes in Tim’s apartment, the Batcave, a diner and various rooftops. There are scenes with multiple members of the batfamily and Tim’s team. The romantic scenes are focused on cuddling and size difference. The plot spans several years. Tim is eighteen at its beginning and twenty-five at its end. There is one detailed description of a meltdown or anxiety/panic attack. There are discussions of mental illness; some symptoms of depression are shown, especially withdrawing from the world and diminished self-worth, but nothing too bad and absolutely no hint of self-harm or suicide. Jason dies in one scene (not the canonical temporary death), but that is quickly reversed. There are descriptions of injuries. The parental abuse refers to Tim’s and Jason’s canonical backstories, not Bruce (who tries to be a good parent in this).

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12 Title: The Nightingale Word Count: ~14k total, 8.5k written Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe, Drama, Healing Fic (kinda) Fandom/Universe: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: No Warnings Apply Rating: NC-17 Summary: Crushed by the guilt of Jason's death, Dick quits the vigilante life, gives up Nightwing, begs Bruce for a clean slate, and runs away to New York City. He takes shelter at the Nightingale, a nightclub where Dick works as an exotic dancer, a stripper named Richie. Dick uses the blinding stage lights, Bloody Marys, and a mysterious man named Jay to hide his past. However, Dick's rather painful former life is slowly uncovered by Jay through a series of one night stands. Meanwhile, Dick also has some unconventional run-ins with the Red Hood, a supposed antihero working in the tri-state area and associated with the family Dick has not had any relations with for over five years. Old wounds reappear, and Dick's new life slowly falls apart around him as the truth comes to light. Set primarily in NYC, in the Nightingale nightclub and at the different hotel rooms Jay books. Towards the end, Dick and Jason will eventually move back into Gotham City and Wayne Manor. Story takes place five years after Jason's death. Dick's "new" life is an emotional roller coaster of hurt/comfort, a path of healing, a life built on lies, and identity porn woven all throughout it, until it is all untangled in the end.

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13 Title: Between Flight Word Count: ~15k, 10.8k written Genre: Romance, Drama, Humor, Alternate Universe Fandom/Universe: Batman - All Media Types Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: No Warnings Apply Rating: PG-13 Summary: Jason is a 15-year-old orphan, living at a crappy orphanage, going to school because it is the only fun in life, and dreaming of the day he becomes eighteen. After a little altercation with a pickpocket, Jason meets Robin, and from that night on, Jason could not get rid of the Boy Wonder. Coincidentally, Dick Grayson starts at Jason's school as well, and decides to befriend him of all people. Jason finds himself being tugged in two directions - towards a charming and talkative circus boy with a past similar to his, and towards Gotham's own hero in scaly panties. Over the course of a couple weeks, Jason is dumped at a school dance, kissed on rooftops, taken on dates a couple times a week, and even glared at by the Batman himself. Needless to say, Jason finds that his life is a lot more interesting after he met both Dick and Robin. But of course things smell fishy to Jason. Especially when Robin knows tricks that only Mr. Circus Boy can do. Or when Dick uses the same girly shampoo as the teen hero. Or when their identical disarming smiles send bursts of happiness straight through Jason's heart. Batman might be the World's Greatest Detective, but Jason Todd is not so shabby either. Set primarily at Jason and Dick's high school, the orphanage, the rooftops of Gotham City, the luxurious halls of Wayne Manor, with special appearances of "date" locations around the city. Jason is 15, while Dick is 17.

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14 Title: Moon Dust On Your Lips Word Count: ~6100 Genre: Romance, First Time, Mutual Pining Fandom/Universe: Batman and Green Lantern, no specific canon Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan Warnings: Mild sub/Dom, explicit sex, biting and bruising, praise kink Rating: NC-17 Summary: The Justice League is trying to expand their potential pool of allies in the known universe, and with the help of their Green Lanterns, they set off to personally negotiate with as many people as they can. Everyone is involved, but it mostly falls to Bruce/Batman and Hal Jordan. The longer Bruce and Hal work together, the more Bruce let's Hal see under the cowl, and the more Hal starts to like what he sees. Bruce even accepts advice from Hal on an issue dealing with his children. Then Hal, returning exhausted from a mission to Oa, loses his temper at the tail end of a League meeting. He says something stupid within Batman's hearing, and then goes off to get decidedly drunk with Barry. Hal confesses that he has a crush on Bruce, but there isn't anyway that he can see it ever happening, so he decides to just ignore it and move on with his life. Bruce doesn't exactly get the memo right away, but as soon as Hal starts physically distancing himself from Bruce as much as possible, their tentative friendship falls to the wayside. Soon, Bruce and Hal are back to being uneasy coworkers. It culminates with Bruce and Hal on the return trip of another successful negotiation, when their escorts decide to up and leave them in the Middle of Nowhere, Spaceville in a small, cramped, one man space pod. There's an argument, confessions, and then sex, before being rescued. The story takes place in a variety of locations, including Wayne Manor, the Watchtower, Barry's apartment, and the space pod. The sex will include Bruce manhandling a very willing Hal, with some rougher edges (biting and bruising, praise kink).

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15 Title: Happy Middles Word Count: ~4600 Genre: PWP Fandom/Universe: Batman and Green Lantern, no specific canon Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Hal Jordan Warnings: Somnophilia, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Noise Kink Rating: NC-17 Summary: Basically a slice of life PWP about the time Hal and Bruce make for each other, specifically how Bruce's ends his nights and how Hal starts his days. Bruce comes home early from a shortened patrol and joins Hal in bed a few hours before Hal has to go to work. Hal falls back asleep, and then wakes Bruce up when he starts exhibiting signs of a wet dream. Bruce pleasures Hal until he wakes up, and then gets Hal off. Hal turns the tide on Bruce, teasing him until Hal decides he's ready to ride Bruce to their mutual completion. This takes place solely in Bruce's and Hal's bedroom in the Manor, described as having a darker color scheme with blues, blacks, and grays. All kinks are negotiated prior to the story, as this is a well established, husbands!fic. No noncon here.

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16 Title: Hold Me Tight (or Don't) Word Count: 6055 Genre: Mystery, Angst, possible supernatural elements Fandom/Universe: Batman, no specific universe Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul, Conner Kent, Jason Todd Warnings: Medical experiments, but non-graphic Rating: Teen Summary: Sometimes, a Family is you, your Beloved's dead kid in a coma, and your Beloved's best friend's "clone" who's other gene donor is sort-of kind-of your boss off to play at politics Or There’s been a rash of robberies in Gotham, leaving Batman puzzled as to what the villains are up to, all the while seeing Jason appear to him, even though he’s been dead for a few weeks. Meanwhile. Talia takes care of a comatose Jason, while discovering Lex’s secret project taking a form no one expected. On the other side of bay/river, Clark is investigating a mysterious Cadmus fire, under a building Lex Luthor (who is now the president) owns. Not to mention the mysterious new villain who may be more connected to the robberies in Gotham that it seems.

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17 Title: untitled as of yet! Word Count: 3039 Genre: 5+1 things, fluff, probably eventual smut Fandom/Universe: dc extended universe, films 2013-present Characters/Pairings: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Warnings: none Rating: T at the moment, will likely slide into M/E Summary: After a few months of working together side-by-side as a team while not actively trying to kill each other (even in their spare time), Clark realizes he’s developed Feelings for Bruce. He knows Bruce is stubborn and self-isolating, so he decides the best plan is to figure out a way to make things a little (incidentally) romantic without scaring off Bruce: little notes on rooftops, a dubiously agreed upon makeover by Lois, advice from Barry and Victor and Diana—even Alfred ends up in on the game. Unfortunately for Clark, Bruce is even more slippery (or oblivious) than he ever imagined. Maybe what Clark really needs is a little help from a Higher Authority… or, the five times Clark Kent tried (and failed) to seduce Bruce Wayne, and the one time Bruce Wayne allowed himself to be epically seduced.

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18 Title: the weight of eventuality Word Count: 24,000 Genre: Romance, /Action, Drama Fandom/Universe: CWTV Flash (2014) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart, Team Flash Warnings: canon typical violence, graphic sex Rating: NC-17 Summary: Life was pretty great for Barry Allen, honestly. Team Flash successfully pulled him out of the Speed Force, he still had his job, and all of his friends and family where there to support him. Eddie and Iris were expecting their first child, and even with everything that happened between Caitlin and Julian, the team worked as well as ever together. Barry didn't want to tell them that he was still slipping backward and forward in time, or that every night the Speed Force made him witness the death of Leonard Snart. Rescuing Leonard was easy. Falling in love with him? not really part of the plan. With Captain Cold back in Central City, it was hard to remember that there were other people out there who wanted to do more than flirt and steal pretty jewelry. It was just a matter of time until they made their move. This story takes place mostly in Central City, with a detour into the Speed Force. There isn't really anything to warn for, I think. There's an explicit consensual sex scene near the end of the story, and canon typical violence and injury. There's some mention of minor medical procedures. There's technically some torture, but that happens off screen and Barry is in the speed force of the entirety of it, so there's no graphic detail.

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19 Title: your continental divides Word Count: 9k Genre: Hurt/Comfort Fandom/Universe: DCU. not set in a specific universe, borrows from several continuities. Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson centric, Batfam and company, Gen Warnings: non-con Rating: PG-13 Summary: After Catalina Flores, Dick is dealing the way Bruce taught him: push it down and carry on. It's not working out very well, and people are starting to catch on. The story is set mostly in Gotham, and guests a few characters besides the batfam (mostly Wally and Roy). It's essentially just an exercise in letting Dick be comforted by the people who love him. This focuses on dealing with the sexual assault from Nightwing #93. The assault is not graphically depicted but is referenced and discussed, in addition to self-destructive behaviors and a variety of coping mechanisms.

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20 Title: Broken Wings and Notched Arrows. Word Count: Around 6-6.5k total. 4,280 written Genre: Action, Romance, Drama. Fandom/Universe: Young Justice, Batman. Characters/Pairings: Will Harper (Roy Harper's clone)/ Jason Todd Warnings: Temporary Character death, mild language, mild violence, small age gape, Rating: NC-17 Summary: The only thing Will Harper wanted to be doing that fine winter morning was to play dress up with his beautiful daughter Lian. What he got however was a surprise visit from the legendary Bruce "Batman" Wayne. And if that wasn't a big enough shock being hired by said legend was icing on the cake. So now instead of spending Christmas with Lian Will is kind of, maybe being held against his will on Infinity Island. Bright side he did find Jason Todd like he was hired to. This story takes place in multiple locations. The main set is in the Caribbeans, mostly Infinity Island and the League of Assassins HQ. It also show cases Will's home in Star City and a major fight screen in Gotham. There is no major warnings. Temporary Character death as Jason Todd doesn't stay dead for long. Some violence but nothing more then a few short details of fight scenes. No gore just a little blood.

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21 Title: Masks Word Count: 7,783 Genre: Action/Adventure and Romance Fandom/Universe: Batman Comics, post-Infinite Crisis Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Alfred Pennyworth Warnings: Incest, canon typical violence, explicit sex Rating: NC-17 Summary: Continuation of pre-new 52 canon. Jason's back in Gotham. All he wants to do is figure out how he can successfully help fix his city, without falling foul of the rest of the Bats and the GCPD again. He's even hung up his red hood in an attempt to stay under the radar. When he discovers that Alfred is in danger from the gang he's investigating, he infiltrates a costume ball at Wayne Manor in disguise as a supervillain. He ends up flirting with Dick to stop him interfering with the rescue plan. Dick doesn't realise who he is and flirts back until they end up making out furiously in a closet. Afterwards neither of them can get the encounter out of their heads, and they start to get to know each other again. Featuring conversations with Alfred, Dick attending a party in a Superman costume, Jason spray painting his red hood grey, everyone rescuing each other and lots and lots of pining. Warning for pseudo-incest between the adopted brothers, Dick and Jason when they reach adulthood.

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22 Title: Sleeping Beauty Syndrome Word Count: 9k written. Genre: Romance, Angst, Fairytale Rewrite Fandom/Universe: Nightwing, Red Hood and the Outlaws Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd Warnings: Horror, gore Rating: PG-13 Summary: Dick Grayson and Jason Todd have been living the perfect life. Happily married for more than five years with two perfect sons, they have everything they could possibly need. Unfortunately, good things don't last forever. Struck by a spell during a mission, Jason's mind has been scattered, putting him into a deep sleep and the only way to wake him up is for Dick to put his pieces back together. The task won't be as easy because each part of Jason has been hidden within a fairy tale, a world tempting Dick to make one wrong move and doom his husband and himself forever. The story will take place over multiple locations, including rewrites of fairy tales like Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, The Princess and the Pauper, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.

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23 Title: we just now got the feeling that we're meeting (for the first time) Word Count: Around 36K (34K written) Genre: Drama, Romance, Fluff, Angst Fandom/Universe: Superman and Batman, DCEU canon/movie canon Characters/Pairings: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne; Lex Luthor, Diana Prince, Barry Allen, Arthur Curry, Victor Stone Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Rating: Teen Summary: While fighting Lex Luthor for his latest weapon, a time weapon, Bruce Wayne gets hit and sent back twenty years into the past. Meeting Clark Kent on some snowy mountain side in Alaska was not exactly what Bruce thought would happen, but he’s here now and there’s nothing for him to do except wait for his team to pull him back to the future. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite know when that will be, so sticking with Clark is his best option. Of course, it would be much easier if Bruce wasn’t already pining for Clark in the future. How long until Bruce is pulled back into the future, and will he be able to stop himself from falling in love with Clark Kent in the past and potentially creating a time paradox? This story is set in a couple of locations. Most of it is set in the past in Alaska during the beginning of Clark’s pilgrimage, specifically in the Denali National Park. Other locations include the Wayne-Turned-League Manor, Bruce’s Lake-House in Gotham city, and the lake itself! Primarily it involves young versions of Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, although the very beginning section and at the last few parts of the end is focused on the present/older versions of them. There are no Archive Warnings that apply to this story. It is mainly an excuse to just write cute scenes of Bruce and Clark falling in love in the snow with the added bit of dealing with time travel, with a lot of focus on Bruce Wayne's character! The most rated this story goes is the occasional swear word.

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24 Title: Scarlet Tears Word Count: 12,914 Genre: Action Fandom/Universe: AU Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart Warnings: mention mpreg Rating: M+ Summary: Leonard and Mick take a mini vacation from the Legends and head back to Central City. It is there they find out things aren't as them left it. A certain speedster has the attention of Captain Cold when an accident happen will he be able to resist staying away from this particular speedster?

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25 Title: Absent Shadows Word Count: 3487 Genre: Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort Fandom/Universe: Justice League Animated/Teen Titans Characters/Pairings: Robstar & Superbat Warnings: None Rating: NC-17 Summary: Starfire can’t believe her eyes when Robin sends her his resignation from the team, in fact she doesn’t believe it all. As she investigates Robin’s disappearance, she considers his similarities with his father and in the chaos, she meets a fellow traveller to this strange planet she calls home. Whilst they learn about each other, she seeks his experience when falling in love with both Earth and more specifically men from a certain family.

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26 Title: Make an Ass of U and Me Word Count: probably 10k-12k (6k written) Genre: Romance, Comedy Fandom/Universe: DCEU Characters/Pairings: Clark/Bruce, Dick&Bruce Warnings: sort of assumed incest, but no actual incest Rating: Teen Summary: Bruce neglects to tell the newly formed Justice League that he has a son, because he and Dick aren't talking to each other . Until they suddenly are. Unfortunately, he doesn't clarify who exactly Dick is to him, so Clark gets the wrong impression. Or: Five times Clark thought Dick was Bruce's boyfriend, and the one time he found out the truth. Contains lots of unfounded jealousy, misunderstandings, Dick being delightful, and Clark being a mess. Lots of domestic settings, mostly around the lake house and the batcave, with the exception of one battle scene.

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27 Title: Honey Trap Word Count: 7.7k Genre: Porn-with-plot, crime/modern AU Fandom/Universe: DCU (Comics) Characters/Pairings: Slade Wilson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson Warnings: Consent issues (consent is there on both sides, but dubious on one side due to situation), manipulation, some BDSM-style kink Rating: NC17 Summary: Slade's used to dealing with informants. Most get caught in the screening process before they ever get a hold of anything useful, but this one, 'Jason Todd,' gets as far as working in the lower ranks of his organization before Billy drops the file on his desk. Another attempt at an undercover CI from Detective Grayson, this time just some random arrested civilian, instead of a fellow officer. Billy would prefer that he throw him out now, but Todd's not bad looking, and Slade likes the idea of ruining this plant just like he ruined the last one. Modern AU, no-capes. Aside from sex scenes, one character is primarily in part/all of a suit throughout scenes. As Slade is aware from the start that Jason's a plant, the sex has some consent issues. Jason is doing it partly to ingratiate himself, and Slade absolutely manipulates him into it. However, Jason enjoys/consents to everything that happens, it's only the situation that's sketchy.

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28 Title: Don't Let Your Yearnings Get Ahead of Your Earnings Word Count: 7.2k Genre: Western, technically Romance Fandom/Universe: DCU (Comics) Characters/Pairings: Slade Wilson/Jason Todd Warnings: Some non-consensual touching, non-sexual Rating: PG-13 Summary: Slade Wilson is a bounty hunter, one of the best in the business. The contracts that specify 'alive and unharmed' are rarer, but usually worth the extra bonus that comes with. This one is definitely not. Jason Todd was supposed to be just another young outlaw with more balls than brains, not a slippery sharpshooter who Slade would have to chase halfway to the next town. And just to add to everything, he still has to get the damned boy all the way back. That's going to be fun. Western AU with bounty-hunter Slade and an outlaw-ish Jason. Most of the story is traveling, but there will be an inside-mansion scene near the end with Roman Sionis. No real warnings for this. There's some brief non-consensual touching of intimate bits, but it's entirely non-sexual.

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29 Title: [insert song lyric here] Word Count: 8084 Genre: It's a slowburn at its core, with action and drama mixed in Fandom/Universe: DCAU's Justice League/Unlimited Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Wally West, Shayera Hol, J'onn J'onzz, John Stewart, Diana, Clark Kent Warnings: human trafficking, threat of dub/non-con, language, sexual themes Rating: R Summary: Ever since their run in with the Justice Lords, Flash and Batman reached a new stage in their teammates-but-not-quite-friendship. The only problem is Flash is the only one who seems to think that, so he decides to see how far he can push at Batman's annoyance level before the Bat snaps at him. Unfortunately for Flash, their job keeps getting in the way, including but not limited to stumbling upon a human trafficking ring and a worldwide invasion. When the dust settles, Flash finds himself wanting more from the man under the cowl, and the harder Batman pulls away, the harder Flash is drawn to the man and his elusiveness. The Fastest Man Alive needs to rely on his patience if he wants to get anywhere in his quest. This story takes place throughout the entirety of DCAU's Justice League as well as the first two seasons of Justice League Unlimited, with the main locations being the Watchtower and Wayne Manor. The human trafficking and threat of dub/non-con are contained to two scenes in which a main character falls into trouble, but nothing too graphic occurs. Still, the subject matter isn't everyone's cup of tea. The R rating is just to be extra safe.

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30 Title: Anachronistic Crises Crossover Word Count: 8k Genre: Gen, Crossover, Fluff Fandom/Universe: Red Robin, Batman- All Media Types, DC Comics Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd (Post Crisis),Tim Drake, Jason "Jay" Todd (Pre-Crisis)/Rena(Pre- crisis), Jason "Jay" Todd (Pre-Crisis), Rena(Pre- crisis) Warnings: Period Typical homophobia, possible inclusions of bad mental health care later Rating: T (just to be safe) Summary: Coming off of the Search for Ray Palmer, Jason Todd reconciled with his family. Just in time for Batman's apparent death. After an international adventure that led them to finding the batman, said batman in his Hyper-Adapter crazed state seemingly vaporized them with Omega Energy. Jason and Tim wake up to find themselves stranded in Gotham, New Jersey where its somehow the April of 1986. Tim takes the lead and stalks a young person also named Jason Todd- who is very unlike the one he knows. The Alfred Pennyworth with him seems similar enough though. In there efforts to observe this world's Bat-family Tim ends up having to go to high school again- where the shear amount of brightly colored clothes that are either skin tight or falling off makes him want to claw his eyes out. Jason is comparatively having a much better time as a librarian in the Gotham Public Library to fund their tiny studio apartment with money that doesn't look fake for the time period. 

Night work continues as well, with Red Hood and the vigilante named by the media as "Shrike". Their quick and calculated moves on the Gotham drug trade lead them to colliding first with this world's Robin. Jason alone is confronted by the Batman, and nearly has a panic attack though Tim will never be privy to that information. 

Gotham is a not as insane back drop of retro-not-so-chic. Jason enjoys the small pleasures of being legally alive and having a job. Tim doesn't cope well without all his compact gadgetry and hates school- but likes the closeted lesbian couple he meets. A budding bat-detective trying to figure out who these new and weird people are, and who these new sci-fi like vigilantes are. Will the people back home in Tim and Jason's Gotham ever succeed in getting them home?

The entire fic takes place in either version of Gotham, with the exception of the Watchtower being there for like 5 minutes. Post-Crisis Gotham features locations like Oracle's clock-tower Jason is wearing his Under the Red Hood costume, Tim cosplays as knock off Midnighter (red robin), Bruce has blue accents and trunks, and Robin-Jay makes Jason re-live cold nights in hot-pants and pixie boots.

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31 Title: Batsons Be Crazy Word Count: 11,169 words Genre: Fluff With Plot Fandom/Universe: Batfam + Shazam basically DCU leaning towards the comics Characters/Pairings: Damian Wayne/Billy Batson Warnings: None Apply Rating: Teen Summary: The story takes place over a year, a year of Billy and Damian teaming up, falling in love, and meeting family. Damian has never liked anyone before, while Billy sees the best in everyone and will fall in love at the drop of a hat. Their romance isn't a crazy one, it's one built off of trust, comfort, and most importantly, a love of animals. Their romance brings them to many places, including Canada, Dick Grayson's apartment, and the dinner table in the manor. No warning apply except maybe underage because Damian is 17 when he begins to peruse Billy as a romantic interest, but doesn't start seeing him until he's 18.

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32 Title: The Past Still Ties You Down Word Count: 7k Genre: Angst, Romance Fandom/Universe: The Flash (TV) Characters/Pairings: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart Warnings: implied/referenced violence and abuse, alcohol abuse Rating: NC-17 Summary: On another earth, Barry falls in love with the most hated man in Central City - mob boss Leonard Snart. Only, Central doesn’t know Len like he does. They didn’t grow up with him like Barry did, sleeping in the bed above him, patching up his wounds and crawling under the covers with him when his bullies had been especially cruel. Even as the years go by - where Len is no longer a teenage boy forced into a life he didn't choose and Barry is no longer the child still grieving his mother while hating the father who killed her - they can't seem to let go of each other. Set in multiple locations in Central City, including a foster home, hospital, and the West house. The violence and abuse are not actually shown, but the aftermath is (ie. patching up wounds, some blood, some discussion of specific actions after the fact).

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33 Title: Unfortunate Souls Word Count: around 8-9k total, 4958 written Genre: Dark Fairy Tale Fandom/Universe: Batman, Batfamily Characters/Pairings: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Jason Todd/Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd/Slade Wilson Warnings: dub con (may have a bad ending that pushes it into non con) Rating: Explicit, NC-17 Summary: Based off of The Little Mermaid (Disney film mixed with aspects of the original fairy tale) as well as fandom-type Mer AU’s. With red-headed Jason taking the part of Ariel, Dick as Prince Eric, and Slade as Ursula. Jason, adopted prince of King Bruce’s underwater kingdom, is fascinated by all things human. One night, while stargazing on the surface, he decides to follow a ship out of curiosity. On the ship is a handsome human prince who steals his heart. After an accident, Jason risks his life to save the human, which puts him at odds with Bruce. After inadvertently challenging Bruce during an argument about his ‘hobby’, Jason flees the realm and accepts the offer of octo-mer Deathstroke, a one-time rival of Bruce’s, to turn him human. But Slade’s intentions are murky and hidden. He wants Bruce’s throne, his son, and if he gets a human pet out of the deal, that’s just one more trophy to show that he is the stronger Mer. The story is set in the underwater mer kingdom ruled by Bruce; Slade’s underwater lair; and the idyllic land kingdom of Bludhaven, ruled by Price Richard. I haven’t decided whether I want a happy ending, like the film, where Jason and Dick ride off into the sunset or a bad ending where Slade gets everything he wants. If happy, there will be some dub con between Jason and Slade when they make the agreement and later when Slade is using magic to enthrall Dick. If I go with the bad ending, there will likely be some non con.

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34 Title: You Will See Me Word Count: 6,146 Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Character Analysis, Canon-divergent Fandom/Universe: Young Justice Characters/Pairings: Arsenal (Roy Harper), Artemis Crock, Roy Harper (Will Harper), Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance, Lian Harper || Oliver/Dinah, Arsenal & Artemis Warnings: Trauma, PTSD, Realistic depictions of injury, Physical Disability, Recovery Rating: PG-13 Note: Arsenal, and thus Roy, are trans men in this fic. Summary: After being rescued from the clutches of Lexcorp, a cryochamber, and no future, Arsenal struggles to find his grip on life. Between the vast amounts of anger, fear, and loss, he fights to cling to autonomy. A mentor he feels betrayed him, a clone he isn't sure how to relate to, and a couple of badass women who may not have known him, but are here for him, Arsenal is just learning to live again. A heavy introspection fic on the nature of the trauma Arsenal has been through, and his road to healing. Exploring the relationships he has with Oliver, Dinah, Roy, and Artemis especially, but others as well. The two weeks between his rescue, and his first mission with the team are rife with trouble and struggle, but he has a fire and a determination in him that will get him through. The hell of the War World and the true recovery afterwards. Learning to forgive Oliver, learning to accept Roy for himself, a separate entity than himself, getting to know Artemis and the real and true bond they form. Forgiveness, healing, and his fair share of slips and bumps, Arsenal finds closure, acceptance, and comfort in his life.

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35 Title: Build Me A Place (we'll call it home) Word Count: 6,800 story (+outline of ending) Genre: Fluff, Minor Angst Fandom/Universe: Batman, Superman, Justice League Characters/Pairings: Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Louis Lane, Kara Danvers Warnings: None Rating: PG-13 Summary: Kryptonians are not human. It’s easy to forget, even for Clark. That being an alien means more than his powers. There are traits rooted into the DNA, coming out in the subconscious, until not even Clark notices. Kryptonians, among other things, build Bowers for their mates, beautiful homes to settle into. It’s more than a tradition, it’s a way of life. When Clark begins to redecorate, he doesn't know why it matters so much to him. And why it hurts so badly when Bruce doesn’t even care.

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36 Title: Little Scab Word Count: 6,246 words Genre: gen, family, found family, community Fandom/Universe: DCU, Batfam, Red Hood Characters/Pairings: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, OFC, Bruce Wayne, Batfam Warnings: violence, descriptions of abuse, non-graphic allusions to sex acts Rating: M for violence, adult themes Summary: Red Hood is not a hero to most. Outlaw, yes. Killer... yes. He and his estranged family all serve some role as self-described protectors, but only Jason Todd delivers his justice in blood. However, following one good deed and the start of a fledgling friendship, Jason finds the Red Hood tasked with leading a self defense class for some of Gotham's most vulnerable—homeless, prostitutes, and runaways. When the Batfamily members start catching on, will they approve? First appears Robin. Then Black Bat. Who next? What will Batman ultimately do about his wayward ward stirring up Crime Alley? Can Jason be trusted to keep Gotham safe? The story is set in Gotham, featuring set pieces like Crime Alley, warehouses, tall buildings, the Bat cave, and more. It features many Batfam characters as well as several OCs all taking part in self defense instruction, with a few action scenes thrown in. The story does contain graphic violence, including allusions to or descriptions of past physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse. It deals with mature themes but is ultimately about forging friendships, building community, and becoming better stewards of Gotham.

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Claiming Form NOW OPEN!!!

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRR Book 3 Chapter 19

• It's our WEDDING DAY. But it looks like Anton wants to make it our Deathday first.

• For the kind of wait most of the stans have been keeping since this book has begun, seeing our MCs finally married to our favourite LIs is quite...satisfying. Well. For most of us at least.

• Title: You Are Cordially Invited. To see me get married or to see me die?

• Mara goes outside, vowing that to get through to us they'd have to get through to her first.

• Madeleine and Bertrand barricade the door with a couch and Bertrand warns everyone to have something in hand (Olivia is one step ahead, obviously, with her sharp-as-fuck stilettos).

• That girl is ready and prepared to commit maritricide, y'all! XD

• Hana picks a vase, Madeleine keeps her clipboard, Penelope is panicking at the back with Merlin and Morgana (this was the shit I was trying to avoid with court, Mom! I can almost hear her thinking), but if you really want to see a legend minus the legend points...I should point you all to Kiara:

I repeat. A legend I stan.

This is someone having a trigger attack, and steeling herself despite the trauma of two previous experiences before plunging herself into a possible third one. That takes serious guts.

• Madeleine isn't exactly prepared to fight (clearly being Queen never seemed to involve fighting assassins before for her, strangely enough), but Olivia sure is. She says "do you want to keep bleating like a defenseless lamb or do you want to get ready to fight?"

• Honestly though Olivia delivers some of my favourite lines this chapter.

• Ana is staying out if this - (in public) because she "does not have the equipment for this" and (in private) because she wants to capture the scoop of the century!

• THANK YOU MAXWELL for gifting me that sword!

•

(All the screenshots, except for the Maxwell one from the HIMEME channel, are mine)

I have better bodyguards inside this boutique than I do outside. Look at all of these people. Picking up clipboards, stilletoes, vases, mannequins, scissors, THEIR OWN BARE HANDS, and defeating these dudes. Like...like...they may have been incredibly sheltered and protected by their families but all of them know how to make the best of a situation where their lives are under threat. And mind you, at least two of those women openly struggle with issues related to their mental health and still manage to emerge from this doing what they can.

• I loved the sword scene! It was a nice look back at TCaTF (esp Book 3) and a nice way to celebrate the Choices anniversary. In TCaTF books 1 and 2, you had different point systems for Kenna and Dom: prestige for her and power for him, to show the rise of Kenna as a formidable leader and the gaining of Dom's fire powers. Because he possesses enough power to transform into a dragon by the end of Book 2, the focus then shifts to them gearing up for their biggest battle yet - the one with Empress Azura of Ducitora (though part of this book is spent with Dom trapped inside an airship fighting a particularly frightening form of mind control from Hex). The implication is that Kenna becoming a legend consolidates her position as the uniter of the Five Kingdoms, which is what she becomes by the end of the story. It's therefore fitting that the legend points feature here, just before the MC's wedding - for like Kenna, she has just returned from reuniting the nobility (or not) into supporting Liam's right to the throne through her wedding, and like Kenna she needs to fight a Nevrakis, while possibly having the support of other Nevrakises...well, just one in the case of TRR.

• If you're marrying Hana, she features nowhere in this scene, and Olivia stabs the assassin who attacks Madeleine with knives. If you're not, she is part of your entourage, and particularly is shown taking action when Madeleine's life is under threat. If they hadn't already been hinting at Madeleine's "feelings" for Hana, and the latter's convenient amnesia regarding the events of the engagement tour...I wouldn't have minded. But I do. Very much.

• Maxwell only features in this scene if you choose him as a bridesmaid, but I would highly recommend choosing him as one at least once (if he's not your LI that is) because he and Bertrand do so amazing fighting together here.

• Ana's motto will be "my life may leave me but never my desire to catch proof of a burning-hot scoop".

• Gee, Bastien, you took a while to get here. Like...8 chapters or something.

• Mara comes back with an injury and an attempt to say our code name, which...sure thanks Mara but you still suck at your job. If guarding us is really your job at all.

• Bastien and whoever is with him have managed to capture the remaining assassins but Anton managed to escape. If that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass later...

• Why is Madeleine so involved when it comes to MY dress? Her hand is literally trembling. Please don't tell me this design was intended for her wedding. That'll be a waste of 25 whole diamonds.

• Or perhaps she's just shook coz THERE IS FYDELIA LACE INVOLVED YOU PEASANTS.

• "I need to have security remove any guests wearing white," says the press sec who tried to sneak in a white dress to wear for my wedding.

(Yes. I plead guilty. I just needed an excuse to cram in a Brian May gif there. I can't help that this man is the Meme King of Queen).

• OF COURSE I'M WEARING DRAKE'S POCKET WATCH AND HANA'S SHOES.

• We've finally reached the cathedral! After threatening to either drive the carriage through the premises, cry or sue Cordonia if we don't get there soon enough.

• I see the Applewood people! You get loads of options to greet the crowd. And of course I was going to try getting Esther to say " 'sup" once lol. I think depending on how you wave to them, the press will either see you as graceful or playful.

•

(Screenshots: Hana's is mine, Maxwell's from the HIMEME YouTube channel, Penelope's from @sgt-peppers-coffee-club , Olivia's from @i-dream-so-i-write , and Kiara's from @callmetippytumbles )

Here's all our Maids (plus one Man) of Honour! All of them speak about this day being a long time coming, but also reflect with the MC on what it took for them all to get to this point. I think Olivia (by virtue of being the Fighter of the lot) and Kiara (because of what she's faced at least thrice now) get some particularly meaty lines for their MOH scene.

• You get to choose whether Bertrand should accompany you down the aisle, since it's tradition to be done so by a member of your House, and the Beaumonts have been her sponsor from the beginning. Cue an emotional moment with Bertrand, who regards you as family now and is immensely proud of you. The Maxwell stans got a similar conversation in the vows diamond scene, but in more detail because it's his kid brother you're marrying, but now we get it as an honorary Beaumont as well. He gets super super emotional if you ask him to walk you down the aisle.

• Oooh pretty! And so many stained glass windows! Why was Leo complaining so much about this cathedral in RoE Book 3? I would have given an arm and a leg to get married there.

• NEW MUSIC!!! Lots of lovely flowery piano notes and trumpets. Very regal and very much a wedding march tune.

• So technically I'm guessing this is where we get to see the results of our tour, because in my playthrough everyone is here.

• If you're marrying Drake, you get to see his mother Bianca, and she speaks to you after the ceremony. I can kiiinda see where Savannah gets her "I only met you ten seconds ago but OMG WE'RE GOING TO BE BFFS" vibe comes from.

• WTF none of these people changed clothes it seems 😂 Everyone's else is wearing what they usually wear. Guys, this wedding is going to be freaking TELEVISED and these nobles are wearing their usual dusty outfits 😂😂

• The Best Men/Women, are depicted positively - whether they have feelings for the MC or not. Drake is said to be showing a "rare, unabashed grin", and Liam is "smiling proudly". Kiara is "smiling excitedly".

• So as you all know, you can choose between Liam (if you're marrying Hana or Maxwell), Leo or Regina for officiating your wedding. The speech is largely the same - they all mention the seed and apple tree analogy, the traditions of Cordonia and how important love is - but the opening lines vary.

(Regina's is from mine, Leo's is from the Bizzy's Choices channel, and Liam's is from @kennaxval )

Regina's is distant and formal, which suits her and suits the scale of the occasion. Leo's is humorous, and Liam's is flowery and poetic. This suits both of the men as we know them. Leo is known to not take himself very seriously, and Liam's language is very ornate by default.

• The vows (I'm talking about the LIs' ones here, since the MC's is customizable) are all beautiful. Every single one delves into their history with her and how their relationship with her grew from strength to strength. You can see why they decided to go off-script for their vows. Their story with her has always been personal and these vows are about acknowledging the long, hard journey that got them to this altar.

•

Liam's is about how the MC taught him to believe in possibility, to believe that he needn't be stuck in the rut of royal stoicism to be the king his people need. Hana's is about the freedom the MC gave her from a future carefully charted out for her, into a better, brighter one. Maxwell's is about how he has found a woman whose very presence represents adventure for him, someone who will raise him up rather than tie him down. Drake's is about embracing change, accepting the love the MC has for him and the love he tried to deny having for the MC. I love them all.

• In my mind this is the improved version of the wedding scene in TCaTF, as is the RoE wedding. I recall, way back when Kenna got married, fans (rightly) pointed out that while her LIs' vows sounded heartfelt and acknowledged their relationship with her, the few options given for Kenna's vows made her sound impersonal and not very involved in comparison (for instance, even though Diavolos appeared only by Book 3, Kenna still was made to sound like the relationship had been there for longer). In RoE, they attempted to correct that, by giving us the diamond option to personalize our vows (still using their choices, but we got more options here and went into more detail). In TRR they've gone a step further and have US type what we want with our wishes, because even when you have the same LI - no two people can view one character the same. There's space for shitposting haha, but it's also to ensure that we have enough say in the vows we want our MCs to repeat.

• If you don't choose either your corgi or Bartie, the Cordonian children become your ringbearers. In this case, they are Valerie and Marco, the little ones from Lythikos, which I think is a very interesting choice. Because it does show us that though the Nevrakis clan seem to want to destroy Liam and his line, Lythikos itself - represented by Olivia - is in support of him. If Liam doesn't marry you, it makes even more sense that the children meant to represent Cordonia come from Olivia's estate.

• Lol everyone got the same ring. At least it isn't the cheapass one Madeleine had us pick up for her in Book 2.

• Vows exchanged, tears shed, and we can be as thirsty as we want in public without anyone saying a thing (wink at the LI, tell them you wish you both were alone instead of at a cathedral, give them a steamy kiss after your vows are exchanged).

AAAAAAAND WE'RE MARRIED!!!!

(Screenshots: for Drake and Maxwell it's was @sgt-peppers-coffee-club and for Hana it was @kennaxval 😄)

Ngl I was super super emotional when I saw the wedding portrait it took us so LONG and it was so BEAUTIFUL 😭

• Esther wants to call the monarchy the "DuPont dynasty" right now haha. I think there are some playthroughs (for instance Maxwell's I think) where Hana speaks of creating the Lee dynasty which...well...is odd if you're not marrying her, yes. This chapter had a whole bunch of goof ups going on.

•

YES DONNIE KEEP SAYING IT. I'M QUEEN NOW. FINALLY.

• From rats in a dumpster to this...what a journey.

• We now have a reception to go to! There is a teaser about whether this reception will be the one we hoped for (which is shorthand either for "gear up for drama folks" or for "you didn't spend enough diamonds for this, sucks to be you" 😒).

General Thoughts:

• How many of you folks have seen Cold November Rain? That music video from Guns n Roses? In that one, there's a wedding and Slash, the band guitarist (cum best man who seems to be in love with the bride) drops the ring in the bridegroom's hands and then steps out into a...desert for this:

Would have been epic if either Drake or Liam left the ceremony midway to perform an epic guitar solo to the bustling crowd in Cordonia 😂 (you know the writers have friendzoned Hana and Maxwell hard enough that that will never happen for them).

• For the most part this chapter definitely did live up to the hype. This wedding was the culmination of everything we've been through since the book began so of course it was going to be big - and it was. I may have lost a lot of love I used to have for this book, but damn did I feel emotional when I read those vows, saw that wedding screenshot, heard the wedding music, fought alongside my girls.

• I think there may be two chapters left. Next chapter will be dedicated to the reception, and we'll see the following choices we made play out, most of which are certainly diamond-options:

1. The nobles (free, but it largely depends on whether you won them over or not)

2. The main course (from the food festival in Castelserraillian). Liam also showed us a chocolate souffle from there which he was suggesting for the wedding but IDK if that one will feature.

3. The wedding cake (Capitol cake scene) and the surprise dessert for the LI (baklava, cheetah cake, s'mores, hot chocolate).

4. The chocolates/macarons for guests

5. The gifts for the LIs (all of which open up a special scene).

6. The presence of Drake's mother (if you are marrying Drake).

That's a whole lot of stuff to code so get ready for a few goof-ups here and there, fam. As long as it's not as bad as the one they did at Hana's wedding that would be fairly okay.

• Now I know the "husband and wife" thing was a goof-up with the code, as is Liam not wearing the white uniform if you chose it for him and Hana's comment on the Lee dynasty with the MC (which somehow never showed up on my Liam playthrough). And technically, not many would actually be this angry about it if it weren't for the fact that Hana has been treated like crap by her writers before this, and on a smaller scale so has Maxwell. It's bad enough that she is the only option out there. It's even worse that while Drake gets extra development and extra scenes and extra characters (they worked hard enough to do the artwork for his mother for just that one playthrough), Hana is stuck with lazy writing and the person shown having a crush on her was her bully in the previous book. Having Liam announce that Hana and the MC are "husband and wife" even after different options had been given or chosen, would feel like a slap in the face.

Thankfully, PB has recognized how badly this could alienate fans, especially fans of characters like Hana and Maxwell who don't get the attention they deserve, and not only apologized but recognized how hurtful it was and tried to compensate.

I mean, how would you feel if the LI you liked was constantly being treated like they didn't matter? Wouldn't it frustrate you? Wouldn't a "glitch" like this one be the rotten cherry on a huge crapcake?

I'm saying this because I have seen at least a few say "this is a glitch lmao why are you guys complaining so much". This is why. It goes beyond just the glitch. It goes into why "husband" has to be the default here. It goes into chapters and chapters of shitty writing given only for certain LIs. That frustration is bound to boil over at some point.

• We'll also definitely be sneaking out and doing some post-matrimonial banging at some point. And if I don't get lingerie before that happens Ima be very very angry 😡

• I think it would be better to spread this out into two chapters.

• Is there a chance Anton might actually try something at the reception? Possibly.

• Will it be enough to warrant another full-length book? I don't know. I hope not.

• Alright, it's time for Chapter 20 now!