#it’s why I reject the idea that a plot about divinity has to follow any script—cultural conceptions of divinity don’t!

[soath]

Of Contracts Between Gods and Men

On the Aeorian Kinsey-Deicide scale I’m a solid 5 (near exclusively god-preserving) which may seem surprising to my many dear associates who want those fundamental truths of existence wrecked. Without digging in any further, let’s do some quick religious history review on the question: Do you owe anything to the gods and do they owe anything to you?

The answer is not as universal as many raised in the nigh inescapable miasma of Christian theology may think! Reciprocal (or even unilateral) responsibility in religion comes and goes across history and geography. The Norse Aesir, for example, created humans but don’t owe them nada and only rarely bothered messing with them. The Greek pantheon are significantly more touchy on the subject of their pride but a person could manage offering no prayers or sacrifices as long as they didn’t promise any prayers or sacrifices. Probably. Compare this to Mayan theology, wherein both gods and humans have significant co-responsibility in maintaining balance; with ritual and sacrifice key to the continued safety of the polity. Divine-mortal relationships can be classified as nondirectional, unidirectional, or bidirectional with various advantages and disadvantages to each model. Gods come in lots of shapes and the demands they make aren’t universal!

A phrase that will often come up in any divinity studies is “covenant”. Originally a translation of the Hebrew berith or Greek diatheke, and also present in Islam, the Bahai’i faith, and possibly historical Phoenician religious practices, covenant theology has metastasized in Christian scholarship to the point it was genuinely hard to research this piece while dodging blogs by guys named Richard. But, broadly, it’s the idea of making an explicit deal with power(s) greater than yourself where you both have sides of the bargain to uphold.

Contract law is not the solution to every problem on earth or in fiction, but when the issue is a large disparity in power and mutual fears of future adverse behavior…. to quote Kate Bush “I’d make a deal with (the) god(s).”

Vitally, compared to other bidirectional pacts in world religion, Exandria has some advantages. For one thing, they have a godeater they’re right now helping to suppress. As long as the gods remain behind the divine gate they need mortal champions to effect their will—but that only holds true as long as the Divine Gate stays up. And unfortunately the problem with a fence someone else has erected is that you don’t know if they’ve kept a key.

If I was mortality’s lawyer? I’d ask for a second layer to that divine hamsterball I’d ask for anything left of the godkilling spark to be kept by the temples of Vasselheim—if they can’t be trusted with it no one can. And I’d promise cooperation from people of a certain degree of civic responsibility, not coerced or threatened out, whole hearted. But terms and conditions may vary.

Anyway, I guess the thesis is that it’s a terrible sin to destroy something you can’t comprehend with no idea of what the outcome will be (and a lot of you don’t seem to get the inconceivable joy of having/knowing/being a god, even just in fiction) but you can bring any monstrosity to the negotiating table. Don’t kill your gods, unionize against them.

[garthofshayeris]

"you're always so negative, what kind of Aquaman story would you NOT complain about?" so glad you asked. I have some thoughts, DC, on how to make things fun again. You can reboot everything at any time and I will only be a lil mad if you don't let me write it.

To begin, the info below would cover multiple arcs: I think too many Aquaman comics just start out putting him in Atlantis, but not this one. The journey to Atlantis will take some time, giving the reader the opportunity to know Arthur before he's a king and get the lay of the land (extra joke) underwater.

Let's start with Arthur. We're doing a little combo action here: Arthur is fully Atlantean, abandoned by a baby but found by a pod of dolphins. Since he's a telepath, and for Divine Plot Reasons, the animals know he is someone of great importance. However, he very quickly becomes too much for them to handle. They're just dolphins, after all. The dolphins, led by the iconic Porm, bring him to a lighthouse when he's around 5ish. There, he is discovered by Thomas Curry.

Tom Curry is no dummy. He knows this kid Is Not Human, but he also knows that revealing him as a non-human will just get the kid sent to some unknown lab to be experimented on. So he raises the kid as if he's a human and tries to keep him out of the water at all times.

Obviously, this doesn't work. Arthur is drawn to the ocean, and the dolphins who keep visiting him. There’s no hope in keeping him from the water. Tom doesn't reveal that Arthur is non-human, but he does coach him on never revealing any of his powers to people. Arthur becomes a local hero, mostly because he's often out swimming or on the fishing boat and ends up saving people.

Tom gets sick and, fearing he will die and leave Arthur unprepared for the world (he's in his 20s but just chills at home) he explains Arthur's origins and how Arthur is not his biological son, but a creature from the oceans.

Arthur always assumed he was a meta human; he knows now that he's not human at all. Arthur wants to learn about his people and Tom is like "we have no idea if they're dangerous, we have no idea why you were left here" and Arthur is like "how bad can they be?"

Arthur leaves home and tries to find Atlantis. This is no easy feat, considering he has no idea where to start. The dolphin pod is able to give him general directions to where they think they found him, but he still doesn't end up anywhere near a sunken city. Eventually, he finds the ruins of some kind of settlement, a cave...and a kid.

The kid is speaking a language that Arthur doesn't understand, but they quickly realize they are both telepaths! Slowly they learn to communicate; the kid will say something out loud and then convey the same message telepathically, and Arthur will do the same while responding in English. They slowly figure out how to speak each other's language, but the kid has a very limited vocabulary of his native tongue. However, he manages to explain some things:

The cave they are in used to be full of people, rejects from Atlantis for some reason or another; criminals, "mutants", etc. Atlanteans have a tendency to abandon their kids to die of exposure but people can be kicked out for any reason. This kid was the last baby they found, and were raising him as a group until Something Happened. They were attacked and all the adults died; he only survived by being hidden and has been alone in the years that followed the attack.

Here's the thing: the kid thinks his name is Baby, because that's what he was referred to as (aka "the baby") before everyone was killed. Arthur is convinced that the kid must have parents who are grieving him in Atlantis, and that they have a name for him. So he doesn't want to assign a name that's wrong, but he can't just call him Baby. So he starts using similar names, Baby Shark, Minnow, Tadpole, etc. as nicknames.

So! Arthur is convinced that he needs to find Atlantis and figure out who he is. The kid is like I was always told to avoid going there also they killed everyone, but I like your energy. Also you are my dad now. The kid doesn't know where Atlantis is, but he has seen some people like them nearby. So they start venturing off to find other Atlanteans.

Eventually, they discover an Atlantean man out in the wild, doing some kind of research. Arthur swims right up to him to introduce himself. The man is absolutely shocked to see Arthur (and the kid, who followed behind) and introduces himself as Vulko. Vulko works for the king as a scientist and advisor, but honestly hates that guy. The king is a real dick and only king because of marriage, not royal lineage. He believes the ocean is dying and they need to reveal themselves to the surface to save their home. Arthur is like omg no way, I'm FROM there can you introduce me to the king I can defend your case! :3 I'm somewhat of a folk hero on land, you know...

Vulko says no, and that Arthur and the kid are "throw backs" or undesirables in Atlantis. The people of Atlantis will not take kindly to someone like Arthur, but also implies that Arthur SHOULD try to win their affection because he likes his style. They decide to do that by "saving the ocean" they start taking on bigger, badder threats. Vulko provides them with some outdated Atlantean armor that he steals from the palace (orange for Arthur, red for the kid) and they begin to take on pirates, monsters, etc. They are not only gaining notoriety on land, but in the sea as well. Scouts from Atlantis are reporting back about a duo of mysterious Atlanteans taking out threats the king had been too cowardly to take on. They take on celebrity status.

Along the way they find Mera. She has fled her home dimension (unrelated to Atlantis at all, she's literally not from their world) who needs a place to crash. Arthur and Garth invite her to stay with them, in that destroyed settlement turned bachelor pad, and explain their plan to get into Atlantis. Mera, a princess, has the tact and manners that the others lack and joins the team.

Meanwhile, Vulko is stoking the rumor mill, trying to put in a good word for Aquaman and Aqualad, and he starts digging around for records of them. Vulko finds no record of Arthur's birth, and can only find ONE instance of a boy being born within the approximate age of the kid; the boy was named Garth and abandoned as an infant. There is no official record of him, or his parents (which is customary) and it appears this was done intentionally, and that information was destroyed. He only learns about this from talking to people who used to work in the palace. Vulko starts to suspect there is more to the story and also tries to dig into any of info on about Arthur…

And eventually he finds it; everyone knows the late queen had a son named Orm, but what they DON’T know is that she had a son before him with an unknown father. The people believe this child died during childbirth but Vulko finds a single woman who was around for his birth (the others involved have “mysteriously died”) who can confirm that the child was born, and born with blonde hair. While the queen rested, the king took the child out of Atlantis to leave him to die. The queen was told her child died shortly after childbirth but she never truly believed this. The queen bore a second son, Orm, and took her own life when Orm was a child.

So, why is the king so adamant about killing off the outsiders? Although he believed the baby had died, an oracle told him that the boy lives and would dethrone him (he’s VERY superstitious). He has been sending out soldiers to kill anyone harboring throwbacks and he has been training his son, Orm, to be a great fighter so he can defend his father and anyone who might claim the throne. He’s paranoid that the child he tried to dispose of will return and dethrone him.

So anyway. Arthur returns to Atlantis to try and convince the king to let him on as an advisor to the surface world. The king recognizes the blonde hair immediately but cannot react and give himself away. He tries to remove the squad by virtue of them being throwbacks but the people LOVE Aquaman and Aqualad, they are so excited about their visit that to avoid an uprising they are allowed to stay as guests.

They meet prince Orm during their stay. He's a little standoffish and not at all happy to see throw backs trying to get into the palace; his father had assured him that they were all dead, that throwbacks cannot survive into adulthood.

In an attempt to kill them off/make them leave and lose favor with Atlantis, the king starts making up increasingly dangerous tasks they must complete (like the trials of Hercules tbh) but of course Arthur is absolutely killing it! He’s having a great time and thinks this is very normal, but Mera, who is unfamiliar with Atlantis but very familiar with royal schemes, decides that something fishy (extra joke) is going on. She and Vulko investigate the events surrounding the queen’s suicide.

One of the “challenges” is for Arthur to fight Orm in a public arena. Orm gets his ass beat but Arthur, who had taken a liking to Orm, let’s him get a few punches in so he’s not embarrassed. Even after the fight he’s acting really buddy-buddy with him. Orm is confused and angry at being public ally defeated, but cannot help but think that Arthur is a really nice dude.

Once again, I’m imagining this taking a long time. It’s part monster fighting, part investigation, part hijinks in a new location, etc. They leave Atlantis occasionally to take on land-threats and visit Arthur's father. FINALLY, though, Mera figured it out; the queen didn’t kill herself. This is already long so I'm just going to say that she confronted her husband and he killed her to secure Orm's place on the throne.

The king has another very public venue in which to try to embarrass Aquaman. For example, having him fight some giant monster. But Arthur doesn’t like to kill innocent animals and he uses his telepathy to calm the beast down. Telepathy is not a common ability (and until now nobody had seen Arthur use it) but it’s also a mythical sign of the divine right of royalty in Atlantis. Only kings of yore have shown the ability, and even the late queen couldn’t manifest it. So ofc the king accuses Arthur of being some kind of freak or faking it. That’s when Mera, Garth, and Vulko come on the scene with their receipts: they’ve pieced together the king’s attempted murder of the baby, that Arthur is rightful heir to the throne, and that the king murdered the queen. The king initially claims they’re lying, but then they pull out the receipts and display them to the entire crowd. Enraged, he tries to kill Arthur and another fight ensues. Arthur manages to get the king pinned but refuses to kill him. The king takes this opportunity to break out from under the trident and flees the city. although soldiers pursue him it seems that he has completely disappeared. There is a bounty out for him, leaving the possibility of him returning as a major threat still in the air (extra joke).

Arthur is named king, as the oldest heir to the throne, to his absolute bewilderment. Orm is absolutely furious, as he thinks Arthur only came there to steal the throne from him, just like his father said he would. Arthur tries to explain that it wasn’t his intention, but Orm storms off and hides away in a wing of the castle. The squad lets him stay, but there’s animosity for sure.

Now that he is no longer in celebrity status, the people begin to poke holes in their love of the group; they did not have the full story (of them being throw backs) and now they're a bit suspicious about Garth and Mera, specifically (they don't realize she's not Atlantean, though you would think the flipper feet would give it away...) and there are some who loved the old king and want him back on the throne (conspiracy theorists essentially) Now that they aren't essentially there on vacation, they begin to notice how isolating it is in Altantis...and then we begin the more introspective plot lines, talking about feeling like an outsider and what it means to fit in!

Now Arthur has a new job, a reputation as a hero, and no idea what to do next!

Character's main traits/inspiration

Arthur: did NOT anticipate finding out he was a long lost king, he just wanted to learn about Atlantis! He's trying to balance being a hero, which he likes, being an adventurer, which he loves, and being a king which is...fine, I guess. This version will lean more into his Silver Age personality, which is my favorite, where he seems a little confused but excited about everything. Rather than try to sweep all the "uncool" things under the rug like some versions of Aquaman do, he's so genuine about his life that it's difficult to make fun of him. He is not actually that great at being a king, so luckily he has a lot of friends to help him.

Garth: he follows Arthur around like a lost puppy and is SO happy to be living in a place with real walls and a real bed. However, he still wants to know more about his parents and why records of him were destroyed... We are going back to the classic sidekick genre with him, something DC seems afraid to do. If DC also wanted to have the Titans, or the rest of the fab five be older, I could see him being significantly younger than the others but still part of the "first wave" of sidekicks so they're lumped together anyway. Like the Silver/Bronze age, he could visibly age during the run of the comic and be in his teenage years for any Titans-related plots DC wanted to run. I would be keeping his lost prince backstory, but that wouldn't come up for a very long time. I like the idea of having him age throughout the series, I think that's a very fun aspect of comics that has been lost. He would keep his post-crisis origins, but not learn about them for quite some time.

Mera: She never told Arthur the real reason she was exiled, and to be fair he didn't ask. She's excited to be in the political world of Atlantis and make changes for the better, something she couldn't do back home... I like the idea of Mera being from another world altogether, I think it adds to the overall theme of them being outsiders. She will be a combination of her very domestic original version and the feisty modern Mera. Since Mera doesn't have much of a personality usually (sorry girl) I'm going to make her very studious and politically minded. She LOVES politics and is passionate about making changes to help the everyday Atlanteans. She’s also worried about being sent back to her home dimension, so she tries to keep everyone pleased with her.

Vulko: the only one of the group who understands Atlantean customs. He is always so, so tired of shenanigans... Vulko is going to be a bit like Merlin, an advisor and advocate for Arthur taking the throne. and yes he WILL be old and he WILL be fat.

Orm: royally (extra joke) pissed about losing the throne, but conflicted about his father being Very Evil and hiding the existence of his brother/killing his mom. He mostly sulks and keeps to himself, making it unclear if he is friend or foe... I LOVE his Silver Age jealousy, but DC wants them to be related by their mother and I don't want to fight them on that. I actually prefer when Orm is at least partially human, but I don’t think I can have my cake and eat it too with the origins here, so he’s the biggest compromise tbh. I think Orm could be a shifty character, not outright evil but clearly angry about how things are going so he causes problems on purpose. But there's still the chance that he might sway to either side...

Manta: Honestly, he's the hardest one to introduce into the fray because he only recently started getting actual reasons to have beef with Arthur. Which I respect. Since Tom is going to be alive (for now) I think having Manta slowly develop a beef with Arthur that all comes to head by killing Arthur's father could be interesting. Or maybe Tom gets to live, and Manta does something equally terrible. It's unclear in my mind tbh. So! Manta is trying to develop his empire of piracy and Arthur, trying to win over the people of land and sea, starts really going after him. He sinks every single one of Manta's subs, thwarts every single plan, and is ruining Manta's reputation. He HATES Aquaman, and unfortunately Aquaman doesn't really know who he is or realize he's made an enemy... he would show up as a big threat in later comics, after Arthur has established himself in Atlantis

The former king: this could be Orvax, who was introduced in N52, but honestly if the writer wanted to make a new OC I wouldn’t mind. Orvax doesn’t have much in ways of background of personality because he only exists in flashbacks, but I know how sucky it is to just use the same name for a totally different character (looking at you, rebirth Garth!) so I’m just going to call him King for now. It would be interesting if he was corrupted like Orm in previous volumes into making a deal with an entity in exchange for power…perhaps even serving as a patron for Orm if he shifts to the dark side.

So. That's a quick rendition of my ideal Aquaman reboot. I think it s a fun combo of all the elements I've liked over the years without simply be a rehashing of the stories. Thoughts, opinions. etc?

[crossdressingdeath]

Volo: Perhaps you would hazard a guess as to why the mob turned on me? Kyvir: Did you speak out against the cult of the Absolute? They have eyes everywhere. Volo: It is not the eyes that I fear, it is the intelligence behind them. The Absolute is merely the outward form of something far more insidious. Volo: The Lord of Murder has returned. Volo: As he did a hundred years ago, Bhaal has set his accursed sights on Baldur's Gate, and his temple runs red with the blood of the innocent. Volo: And just as then, he has more than one Chosen to manifest his gruesome plot. He has Orin. Volo: And he has you. Kyvir: Bhaal does not have me - I reject his influence. Volo: I see that. You have at least a measure of self-control, but Bhaal's inheritance is not shrugged off so easily. Volo: The heart of a Bhaalspawn is a flipped coin that lands on its edge. Volo: Yours is a family set upon self-slaughter. Volo: When there are two or more, they will destroy one another until a single heir to the throne of blood remains. Volo: In times gone by, there was an errant-hearted Bhaalspawn who stood against his foul father, and brother Sarevok. Volo: Optimist that I am, I hope you are of similar heroic vintage. Kyvir: I hope so too - I think I can be the hero the city needs. Volo: I believe you will be.

"Bhaal doesn't have me," Kyvir says, lying, like a liar. He's going to make the right choice in the end but oh boy is it up in the air for him right now.

At first I thought that Volo thought that Bhaal being involved would be a huge shock to the party, but then he knows about Durge being Bhaalspawn so I guess he was just being dramatic about it. He is in general not sharing any new information here, maybe he's more helpful in a non-Durge run where you don't have (mostly forgotten) firsthand knowledge of all this. I especially like the bit where Bhaalspawn destroying each other until one remains is treated like a Big Thing when a) Jaheira discussed the importance of killing Orin to consolidate all of Bhaal's power in someone who is hopefully reasonably non-evil with you the same night you remembered being Bhaalspawn and b) Orin's already extended an invitation to fight to the death for daddy dearest's favour. Thank you Volo, we knew about this already. Evil is one big happy family that repeatedly stabs each other in the back for personal gain! In general while Volo is aware that Durge is Bhaalspawn (side note, how does he know that) I don't think he's aware of the whole "former Chosen of Bhaal and head of his temple, crafted from his divine essence in the name of bringing the world to a bloody end" thing. ...Actually I don't think anyone's aware of that at this point other than Durge themselves, it hasn't come up with the party.

Assuming Volo's talking about Gorion's Ward here (which I assume he is, whenever people mention heroic Bhaalspawn it's usually them) I think this is the only time they're referred to with gendered pronouns, although given how consistently they're referred to with they/them elsewhere I assume it's a mistake. But once again people are pointing Durge at Gorion's Ward and telling them "Be like them. Don't be Bhaal's obedient Chosen, be like them." Which is kind of interesting since based on the official canon on the wiki they were both active in the city at the same time (canonically Gorion's Ward was a guy named Abdel Adrian who died in 1482 DR, ten years prior to the events of BG3, and to make the timeline fit even if you don't make Gorion's Ward that particular guy they'd probably follow the same timeline) so it's entirely possible that the two of them knew each other and even if they didn't Durge was probably aware of their older sibling's presence. They probably spent most of their life pre-tadpole being told not to be like them! ...Also I suspect I'm gonna start getting plot ideas when I eventually do play the first two games and start developing a character for them because the idea of the heroic Bhaalspawn who saved the city meeting their much younger half-sibling who's now become the deadly favourite of the father they (Gorion's Ward) fought against and choosing not to tell anyone about them is very good.

Also, I love how while Volo does have concerns about Durge he's still confident that they can be a hero who saves the city. At least part of that is because just like Jaheira and Minsc he was around when Gorion's Ward was doing their thing and so he knows Bhaalspawn can do a lot of good, but I think he also does have at least some genuine confidence in the person he spent a good amount of time travelling with. I love it when characters have faith in Durge to be good despite their parentage!

[amphibifish]

idk if someone already gave you it but consider it done gimmie your heimdall maloki thoughts for the send a character thing

~Pen

HI PEN thank u 4 sending heimdall maloki ^_^

first impression: he was instantly my fave because in the anime his lines were just so so stereotypically edgy i could not take him seriously it was so funny to me. it was also a little jarring because he acts so so different from my impression of myth heimdallr

current impression: he's silly and he gets a lot of shit from the narrative which i don't really think he deserves considering everything that's happened to him. anime heimdall does find peace at least but he quite literally had to go to hel and back. manga heimdall im not sure exactly how he is at the very end of the series but he's way more fucked up and never really backs down on his ambitions. either way he gets fucked up real bad

fave moment: it's hard to discern a very favorite moment cause there's a lot i find silly or interesting. but one from anime and manga each are (major spoilers in small text)

-> (anime) rejecting lokis hand when the bridge breaks beneath him. it shows how he prefers lokis betrayal over odin's (odin is his father in the mythos so i'm gonna say it applies here too) and how it's less about him losing the eye and more about who did it. that factor changes in the manga because it's def more about who took away what his life was there but yeah. that whole scene honestly just makes me so sad because he goes on about how seeking revenge on loki is the only reason he exists and idk. love that guy.

-> him beating the shit out of loki to figure out if it's actually loki. i just think it's funny how he knows loki well from how he reacts to getting in a physical fight with him

story idea: idk tbh. never had any overarching plots for fics but id like to write something concerning him and narugami's (thor) relationship sometime from the manga since naru clearly still cares about his brother despite a lot of the things he's done. that scene where he calls heimdall "heim(u)" and loki questions naru about nicknaming the guy trying to kill him (as in loki) is funny to me lmao

unpopular opinion: heimdall was a little justified in his whole thing. like in context they are gods and loki basically ripped away and uprooted heimdalls whole life, even if he was simply following orders, so revenge in death makes sense for divine wrath. is his anger a little misdirected ? yeah but like can you really blame the guy he can't blame **** out of past emotional connection and trust. also he was just following orders too it's his job !!!!! the only one he has left since he got fired after loki ripped his eye out !!!!!

fave relationship: hard choice between freyr and loki. loki and heim's relationship is very complicated because loki obviously cares about heim and sees how his anger is eating away at him and heim you know. hates loki with all his being. i think that moment when heim gets possessed by baldr and is drifting in and out of being possessed going on about how he's supposed to be the one to kill loki while loki tells mayura that heimdall is a friend and that helping him is something that only he can do shows that well. freyr and heim is classic odd couple duo that's silly so that's why i love them but also because freyr really is heimdalls only friend that actively cares for him. he searches for him when he goes missing twice in the manga and also is the only one that mourns him. so i just think they're neat.

fave headcanon: heimdall got his talons from shapeshifting. i got it from a fic and it's neat to me so yeah ^_^ it also makes his relationship with loki angstier if you imagine that loki was his shapeshifting buddy. while i don't think they were really good friends or lovers as i've seen others suggest before loki betrayed him i do think their rivalry was much more friendly and out of respect for one another's talents before evolving into an arch-nemesis relationship.

[somewhatsentientspellbook]

The Ruby Vanguard: an Allegory for the Far-Right

The Apogee Solstice is in full swing, ladies and gentlemen – and in honour of Bells Hells being split, I thought I’d lay out some of the fundamental reasons why I despise Ludinus Da’Leth and his posse I affectionately refer to as the genocidal moon cult. From pretty much the start, Ludinus Da’Leth has made himself an interesting figure in Wildemount history. His age, magical ability, and political power gives him an advantage over not only the average citizen but also his colleagues in the Cerberus Assembly. As the Archmage of Domestic Protections, his role is militaristic in nature, and that was the first thing that tipped me off. Ludinus Da’Leth and the Ruby Vanguard are a wonderful allegory for far-right politics. Let’s take a look at the 14 general properties of UR-F@cism, as established by Umberto Eco!

“Cult of Tradition”

The idea is that once tradition has been established, it cannot be defied (even when the traditions contradict themselves). We can see this most clearly with the Ruby Vanguard’s most basic tenant: “mortals are under the thumbs of the gods.” Ludinus maintains this as fact despite the gods being largely incapable of manifesting power in a large manner outside their home planes. Ludinus supposedly grew up in a time when the gods would have had more power than they do now, but he has failed to adjust his ideologies in the centuries since then.

2. “Rejection of modernism”

This is a little harder to argue, but hear me out on this. Rejecting modernism when put simply is the idea that new ways of thinking are depraved compared to the old. Ludinus Da’Leth idolises the Age of Arcanum, he sees the accomplishments mortals made pre-Calamity as the height of civilisation. It’s not difficult to assume that this would lead the Ruby Vanguard to turn their noses at the current state of Exandria.

3. “The cult of action for action’s sake”

Action for action’s sake demands that one not think too hard about what they are doing and why – simply doing it is enough. We see this in the Ruby Vanguard’s willingness to attack innocents for the sake of a larger scheme. The best example of this is the deaths of Will and Derrig, who posed no threat to the Vanguard and were simply sacrificed for a greater cause.

4. “Disagreement is treason”

Intellectual discourse and any critical thought will inevitably reveal contradictions in ideology. We see people like Tuldus and Ludinus recite the same phrases. Mortals as “the god’s toys”, “they’ve feared us”, and “their cattle/food/power”. The fact that a powerful figure says these things, and an impressionable man repeated these things under interrogation to show his loyalty to Ludinus. It’s concerning.

5. “Fear of difference”

This is the classic use of the “other group.” Ludinus and the Vanguard have established multiple “others” to be the enemy of their cause. The gods (who are unworthy of their status), their divine followers (whose powers are derived from those unworthy of status), and the Grim Verity (who are not ‘enemies’ in the classic sense, must still be hunted to protect the cause).

6. “Appeal to a frustrated middle class”

This one is difficult to argue as the Vanguard doesn’t seem to hold any economic beliefs. The closest I can get is to say that those who dislike theocracies like Vasselheim or the Dynasty function as the frustrated middle class. They seek to disrupt the governing bodies that dictate religious doctrine.

7. “Obsession with a plot”

Ah yes, the idea that the enemy/other has a nefarious plot that must be foiled. And oh BOY, do Ludinus and the Ruby Vanguard believe that mortals are glorified sustenance for the gods. They seem to have taken the opinion of mortals being essentially batteries to power the pantheon – and to put an end to this scheme, the Vanguard has no choice but to release a god-eater.

8. “Too weak but too strong”

THIS WAS THE ONE I NOTICED FIRST. Ludinus argues that the gods are strong and deserve to be made the enemy of the people for it. However, he also contradicts this by saying that the gods are weak enough to be thoroughly dismantled by mortals. He appeals to the rebels who hate hierarchy by telling them those at the top are too strong for their own good, and he appeals to those who love hierarchy by telling them that those at the top are too weak to lead/control the rest.

9. “Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy because life is permanent warfare”

We can’t know for certain whether this property exists in its entirety within the Vanguard as it requires them ‘winning’ the war and then desperately need to find a new enemy to fight. However, this can still be fulfilled with how they treat those who don’t care for the gods but also don’t care for the Vanguard. People like Keyleth and the Verity are not theistic, but because they are not actively against the pantheon, they have made themselves enemies by association.

10. “Contempt for the weak”

The idea is that the members of the in-group must exist in a hierarchy of weak to strong (but all members of the in-group are still stronger than those outside the group). This is evident in how the Exaltants are clearly favoured by Ludinus and the rest of his movement. Despite not being Exaltants, members of the Vanguard and Paragon’s Call are still considered strong (but lower in the hierarchy). Ludinus himself has placed himself at the top even though he does not fulfil his own requirements for what constitutes as strength.

11. “Everybody is educated to become a hero”

I’m not going to lie, this one doesn’t have a whole lot of physical evidence, but the contextual evidence is there. The ideals of the Vanguard and Ludinus must be ones their followers are willing to die for. Should that happen, they are martyrs and sacrifices to a noble cause, rather than tragic losses. This encouragement to seek out death leads to a lot more unnecessary death.

12. “Machismo”

This is one of the only ones that I have no evidence for at all. It refers to the preoccupation with warfare and violence, that power is extended to romantic/sexual matters. This usually leads to a stark increase in sexism and homophobia.

13. “Selective populism”

In which the self-appointed leader declares themselves the interpreter of the will of the masses. This is a role built on the idea that individual thought does not exist, and instead, the only thought that matters is the ‘collective majority’ (even though the viewpoints of the leader are 100% NOT the views of the majority). We see this as Ludinus seems to believe he’s speaking not only for all of current Exandria but also historical Exandria.

14. “Newspeak”

Newspeak is essentially vocabulary that has been simplified and used to impede critical thinking. This aspect also doesn’t have a great deal of evidence to support it – as Ludinus prides himself on his (and his group’s) superior intelligence. However, I will still draw attention back to the repeated phrases and mantras that almost act as self-assurance that the pantheon are the bad guys, and the actions of the Ruby Vanguard are justified.

So, there you have it! The properties of UR-F@cism as applied to Ludinus Da’Leth and the Ruby Vanguard. I hope you enjoyed this needless essay detailing why the ideologies they support are a sea of red flags built on propaganda and a lack of individualism. Thank you for making it all the way through, and happy Critical Role Day!

[cryingoverafictionalcharacter]

Fist Fights and Hickeys

Prompt: Enemies to lovers smut with the teeniest bit of plot. Literally this is just pure filth. Please don’t read if you’re a minor, seriously this is not for you.

Warnings: SMUT! Swearing, Female reader, oral (female receiving),unprotected sex (I don’t have a fun rhyme explaining why that's a bad idea, just use fucking protection! dear lord, this is wizard shit im sure they have magic birth control but we aren't getting into that rn) also reader punches someone early on so violence, fluff and funny stuff at the end.

You walked down the hall as quickly as you could, just wanting the day to be over. It seems like no matter what you did today, everything went wrong. In herbology you dropped and broke a potted plant. In potions, your mixture exploded, coating you and your partner in blue sludge, which was still in your hair, and in divination, your tea leaves literally showed you an omen of death. At this point, you didn’t know how else this day could get worse.

“Hello Y/N” Fred Weasley said, sauntering up to your side. Welp, it just had to go and get worse.

“Leave me alone Fred” You said, irritation clearly present in your voice. You and Fred had a bit of a rivalry, whether it was at quidditch, or in your classes, or with pranks, the two of you were always trying to one up each other, which through the years, has created a bit of a love hate friendship.

“Somebody’s cranky” Fred joked, continuing to walk beside you.

“Somebody needs to shut the fuck up” You responded. Fred was about to reply, but before he could, someone interrupted him.

“Well well well, look what we have here! What happened Y/N, trying to go for a new look” Ethan Hawthorn said, pointing out your hair, which was still blue.

You didn’t answer, you just kept walking, Fred giving you a confused look. Ethan hawthorn was a Slytherin who you had a class with last year. The professor had asked a question, which he answered incorrectly, and when you corrected him in front of everyone, he deemed it appropriate to treat you like you had personally humiliated him in front of the whole school. He basically made it his life purpose to make your life difficult.

“Aw come on Y/N, don’t be like that, it’s nice! It distracts from your face!” He continued, him and a few of his friends now following you and laughing. Upon hearing what he said, Fred went to turn and confront him but you grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“Oh is your boyfriend trying to save you? You probably hired him to be around you, god knows he needs the money” Ethan said.

Next thing you knew, you had whipped around and punched Ethan in the face. It was a bit of a surprise to everyone, including yourself seeing you wouldn’t really consider yourself a violent person. Before you could think about anything else though, you and Fred were sprinting down the hallway towards the Gryffindor common room, Ethan screaming profanities from behind you.

You sprinted to the entrance of the common room, quickly saying the password and running inside, relieved to find it empty. After running for your lives, you and Fred were pretty tired out, both of you walking over to one of the couches and falling onto it, trying to catch your breath.

“You know he’s going to try and kill you right?” Fred asked, turning his head to look at you.

“Worth it” You said, causing the both of you to laugh a bit, before you noticed the pain radiating from your hand. You sat up a bit and examined your knuckles, which were now bleeding a bit. Fred noticed and sat up as well, before gently taking your hand in both of his, looking at the irritated skin.

“You ok?” He asked, skill looking at your hands, which you were thankful for since it made it so he couldn’t see the blush forming on your face.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” You replied. Trying not to focus on his long fingers gently brushing over the bones in your hand.

“You’re hands are so small” Fred laughed, breaking you out of your slightly flustered trance.

“These small hands can still slap the shit out of you” You replied, taking your hand back and laughing. 

“Here I think I have something upstairs that can help with the pain” Fred said standing, you following his actions and making your way up the stairs to the boys dormitory, walking inside to once again find it was empty.

You walked over and took a seat on his bed, Fred quickly fumbling through a drawer before coming to sit next to you, a roll of gauze in his hand. He sat across from you and gently took your hand again, carefully wrapping the cloth around your knuckles a few times before tearing  off the excess and securing it in place.

“Thank you” You said holding up your hand and examining his work, only to look over and see Fred staring at you, a bit of a frown on his face. “What?”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with that guy” Fred said, the atmosphere in the room changing a bit.

“Fred its fine” You said, trying to change the subject.

“No its not Y/N! That dickhead is insulting you constantly, and for what? You don’t deserve to be treated like that” Fred said, standing and starting to pace around the room.

“You’re taking this way to seriously” You said, starting to get annoyed with his attitude. It wasn’t like you and Fred were super close. Hell most of the time you were at each others throat about whos better at what, and when you weren't doing that you were either annoying each other, or on a rare occasion, actually having a civil conversation.

 “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough!” Fred continued, still pacing back and forward.

“Why do you care so much!?” you shouted.

“Because I fucking love you!” Fred shouted back, stopping in his tracks to face you.

“What?” You asked, not quite believing what you just heard.

“I love you ok? I love the way you make everyone around you smile, and that you’re absolutely hilarious, and that you’re competitive. I love the sound of your laugh, and the way your eyes light up when you smile, and even when you’re being a complete pain in the ass you still-” Fred rambled on, only stopping when you cut interrupted him.

“Fred!” you said sternly, grabbing his attention.

“What?” He asked loudly, breathing heavily from his rant.

“Would you just shut the fuck up and kiss me already?” You asked. That was all Fred needed to hear, crossing the room in one swift motion and closing the space between you, leaning down to roughly push his lips against yours.

Your hands instantly went to his hair pulling him even closer, while his went to the back of your thighs, picking you up and walking you over to the bed, letting you fall back onto the mattress before quickly re connecting his mouth to your neck, biting the flesh there before soothing over it with his tongue.

You moved your hands to his shoulders, sliding them down his chest before landing at the hem of his shirt, pushing it upwards. Fred got the message and pulled away, making quick work of removing his shirt, before his mouth was back on yours, sucking on your bottom lip before his tongue met yours, swirling around in a fight for dominance.

His hands moved upwards, slipping under your shirt to roughly grab your breast, causing you to moan into his mouth. Your hands found their way to his waist, quickly working on undoing his belt. You had almost gotten it unfastened when Fred suddenly pulled away, looking down at you.

“Are you sure?” Fred asked, searching your face for any sign of rejection.

“I have literally never wanted to fuck someone more in my whole life, yes I’m one hundred percent sure” You replied

Fred didn’t waste any more time, quickly working on removing his shoes and pants, while you worked on removing your shirt and leggings, your skirt following soon after leaving you in only your bra and panties, while Fred stood in front of you, his eyes raking up and down your body, you started to feel a bit self conscious with his eyes on you, but before you could move to cover up a bit, his lips were back on yours, pushing you back onto the bed.

His lips started to move downwards, moving from your neck, to your collarbone, trailing wet in between your breasts and down your stomach before finally settling between your legs, looking up ay you before kissing down your inner thigh, deliberately not going near where you needed him most.

“Fred, please” You whined, trying to find some relief.

“Please what?” Fred asked, playing with the waistband of your panties.

“Please do anything just stop teasing- Oh fuck!” You cried, Fred moving your panties to the side and slipping two of his long fingers into you, making your back arch.

“Already so wet for me” He chuckled, pumping his fingers faster. “If you don’t like me teasing then why are you moaning”

You didn’t get the change to reply before Fred's mouth was suddenly on your core, licking a long stripe between your fold before swirling his tongue around your clit, making your head fly back and your hands grip the sheets, desperate for something to hold onto. You could feel the knot in your stomach tightening, threatening to push you over the edge, but just as you were about to come undone, Fred pulled away, removing his fingers and making you groan at the loss of contact.

“What the fuck Fred?!” You cried, frustrated for being denied your release. Meanwhile Fred was crawling his way back up your body, letting out a low chuckle.

“Don’t worry babe, I’m going to take care of you. But when you cum I want it to be around my cock” Fred almost growled, causing a chill to run up your spine before he reached behind you, unclasping your bra and throwing it to the other side of the room, your panties and his boxers following soon after.

Fred propped on of his arms next to his head, helping to keep his weight off you while his other hand moved to his cock, slipping it between your fold a few times, looking at you for permission, which you gave with a nod, before finally pushing his length into you.

“Please move” You practically begged, Fred waiting to make sure you had adjusted before doing anything.

“As you wish” He teased, a smirk on his face, before he slowly started moving, pulling out half way before thrusting back into you.

You were just about to ask him to go faster, when he was suddenly ramming into you, his head moving to the crook of your neck, sucking on the flesh there, while your hands moved to his back, pulling him closer and creating long red trails as your fingernails desperately tried to find something to hold onto.

You bit your lip, trying to contain your moans, knowing anyone could walk in at any moment.

“I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that.” Fred said, sucking behind your ear, making your head spin.

“Someone could walk in” You said back, trying to come up with an excuse. In reality, you knew most of the other students were in class so you didn’t have much to worry about.

 “I really don’t care. You look so fucking hot writhing under me and I’m going fuck you senseless right now.” He rasped out, moving his free arm under your knee to hike your leg up higher, the new angle making you gasp, allowing him hit your G-spot perfectly each time. 

“Oh fuck, Fred- I’m gonna-!” You cried out, no longer in control of the pornographic sounds leaving your mouth.

“Cum for me, beautiful” Fred murmured into your ear, bringing his hand down to rub circles around your clit, finally pushing you over the edge, the knot in your stomach snapping and flooding your body with pleasure.

Fred continued to thrust into you, helping you ride out your high before coming undone himself, resting his head on your shoulder as he came down from his high, slowing his movements before stopping completely, gently pulling out of you and flopping onto his back beside you, both of you staring at the ceiling, trying to catch your breath.

“That was...wow” You started, still to blissed out to think of the right words.

“Yeah... why didn’t we do this earlier?” Fred asked, causing the both of you to laugh, finally catching your breath and sitting in a comfortable silence.

“I love you too” You said, breaking the silence and making Fred look over at you.

“Really?” He asked teasingly, but he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

“Yeah, ever since you hugged me when we won that quidditch tournament last year, I knew I had feeling for you.”

“I knew when you made frogs come out of Snape's pockets for a week” Fred replied, causing you both to fall into another fit of laughter.

“Wow, so romantic” You teased, Fred moving to wrap his arm around you as you scooched closer into his chest, both of you moving under the covers.

“I know, its a gift” Fred replied, making you giggle. 

“Well, I should maybe get going” You said, moving to get up, knowing classes would be ending soon.

“You thought we were done?” Fred asked, stopping you in your tracks.

“We’re not?” You asked, a confused look on your face.

“Not even close” Fred replied, leaning in and connecting your lips again, to which you enthusiastically responded, before quickly pulling away, grabbing your wand and casting a locking and silencing spell on the door.

Needless to say, while you may have had a bad streak during your classes, you most definitely got lucky that night.

The next day you had to get up early for quidditch practice. You had suck out of Fred's room a few hours later without too much suspicion, but needless to say, you were sore. You walked to practice with your roommate Angelina, who was currently talking about something to do with McGonigal's hat, but you honestly weren’t paying much attention, too distracted by last night events playing over in your head.

“But I think she might be hiding something in it you know? Like... hold up. Is that a fucking hickey?” Angelina asked once you finally got to the bleachers, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“What?! No!” You quickly defended, trying to move the collar of your shirt up, only for Angelina to slap your hand away, pulling your collar further down, exposing the dozens of marks that littered your neck and chest, which you didn’t realize you had this morning.

“Oh my GOD! Did you get beat up? Who’s the guy?” Angelina asked with a teasing tone.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” You replied, trying to keep your cool, digging through your bag to find your water bottle.

You stood back up, looking over to see Fred and George walking your direction. You gave them both a wave, your eyes lingering on Fred for a few seconds longer than usual. They dropped their stuff off a bit always from you, and started getting changed, both of them coming in sweaters.

“Besides” You continued, turning away from the twins, trying to keep your cool. “You have no right to talk, I know you and George are getting pretty comfortable in the room of requirement” You said, taking a sip of your water.

“That’s totally different and- Oh my god?!” Angelina said, looking past you, causing you to turn and spit out your water, the sight before you making you choke on the liquid.

Fred had taken off his shirt to change into his Jersey, and his back was covered in bright pink scratch marks. He heard the commotion, turning to see you covering your mouth trying to stop choking, not sure whether to be horrified or laugh.

“Jesus Fred, did you piss off a hippogriff and not tell me about it?” George asked, Fred suddenly realizing that of course, you would have most definitely left marks. Not that he was completely innocent either.

“Oh that, yeah I fell out of a..... tree” Fred said, making you smack your palm to your face. Sure, he may have been the best prankster in the school, but damn was Fred a bad liar.

Angelina took in your reaction, adding it to Fred's back and your hickeys, finally putting the pieces together.

“You two!?” Angelina said, pointing at the two of you. “Last night when you got back to the dorm late! You were fucking fucking!” 

“Shhhh!” I shushed loudly, making Angelina and George laugh.

“Fred and Y/N, sitting in a tree” George started

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G” Angelina finished, the two laughing and heading off to start practice, leaving you and Fred slightly embarrassed at the blatant teasing.

“Well, we’re never going to hear the end of this” You said, admitting defeat.

“Yeah, but at least now they know. But speaking of  K-I-S-S-I-N-G, you wanna...” Fred asked, moving his head towards the back of the bleachers.

“As fun as that sounds, It’ll have to wait. First I need to beat your ass at quidditch” You said, collecting your gear, looking up to see a gobsmacked Fred looking back at you.

“You are literally my dream girl, how did I get so lucky?” Fred asked, grabbing his things and walking with you to the center of the field.

“I know, I’m pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to you” You said in a serious tone.

“This dicks the best thing that's ever happened to you” 

“FRED!”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed!!!! I didn’t read through this before posting so if theres any grammar mistakes I’m sorry, I literally wrote this at 3 in the morning because who needs sleep when you have Fred Weasley porn. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, feel free to leave any feedback/recs!

[elriel-oblivion]

Okay here's the thing.. I respect everyone's opinions and they can ship whoever they want but like... For Elucien and Gwynriel... I literally cannot even see how. I would gladly ship them if someone gave me a valid reason. Elain avoids talking or even being in the same room as Lucien, and Azriel had one polite conversation with Gwyn. Az is just nice to her. As nice as he would be to any female. Elriel has foreshadowing & chemistry- The roses painted on her drawer and the rose necklace...👀

Strongly agree with all of this!! My main problem with anything that's not elriel is that a lot of anti-elriel shippers completely ignore or erase Elain. With these ships, it's always what benefits Elain does or doesn't bring. It's so misogynistic, people just ignore everything she's mentioned about her own heart and how she doesn't want a mate or the bond, she doesn't care for it, but oh Lucien's had such a hard life, he deserves his mate!!!!!

😒😒😒

Surely he deserves someone who wants him as much as he wants them, no?

Non-elriel-endgame with the canon we currently have would mean Elain's choices are stripped once again since she'd have to give up/lose the love she actually wants in favour of one she doesn't want that's attached to some cultural concept that means zilch to her and her human heart. I mean, sure sjm could spin it so Elain catches feelings for Lucien and they end up happily mated. But then what is the point of having Elain constantly avoid him for three books? That's not even setting up for a good relationship bc every time they interact/meet, the communication just gets worse.

While I can honestly see the potential of gwynriel bc platonic interactions can later become romantic, I still don't ship it bc it doesn't feel right the way elriel does to me. I can def see gwynriel becoming a strong healthy friendship, but if it's endgame then Elain ends up with Lucien, whom she visibly shrinks from and has been avoiding since acowar. She doesn't feel seen by him at all - as much as I love Lucien and truly do want him to have his own HEA, we can't deny that he's really just pursuing (I use pursuing in the loosest way since he's very respectful about it 😅) Elain bc of the bond. If we take that away, there's nothing between them imo and he probably wouldn't give Elain more than a passing glance for her beauty and that's it bc she's not the type of girl he's into.

But people don't wanna think about how that makes Elain feel. This girl who previously felt seen by only one person - who then rejected her bc of that bond itself - and craves someone to see who she truly is, is being courted by someone who doesn't actually like her for her, but just the idea of what a relationship with her would entail. He's only trying bc of some divine belief she doesn't share. That must suck like hell. It's almost objectfying, the bond. And again, I don't blame Lucien at all, not even for trying bc it is something that's important to him and his culture, but it's not a mutual thing. If it were important to Elain too and she just wasn't cooperating bc of some stupid shallow reason, then I'd be angry at her. But that's not the case at all.

But with Azriel, the first person to see her since Graysen, there's so much potential for growth - for both of them. They make each other feel seen. And for all that antis say neither has grown in the time they've known each other, how did Az pluck up the courage to almost kiss Elain after having not done anything with Mor for five centuries? How did Elain initiate that kiss - ie have the courage to follow her heart again after having it torn and shredded by Graysen? And anyway, weve never seen into Elain's head so we don't know what she feels has changed within her; we can only detect subtle changes from other povs, but there might be some huge changes in her learnt from Azriel, maybe about her outlook on life/strength, that she's just keeping hidden for the time (or that no one has bothered to see bc Elain is invisible 😭). Same with Azriel. One little chapter isn't gonna tell us everything he's been thinking the past two years.

But either way, we know now that they both have feelings for each other. Why is a mutual healthy relationship shut down so quickly, one where both partners' choices are taken heed of? If Elain had said no in that moment, Azriel would've stepped back instantly, no questions asked. He probably would've have some huge internal conflict about his own self worth but he wouldn't have gone further without Elain's consent. He's already shown he respects her, he said they've been sharing looks and touches, and these are things fandom eat up, so I don't understand why it's suddenly wrong or unwanted just bc Elain makes up half the ship.

And there's so much foreshadowing/symbolism that antis seem oblivious to, which, fair enough, interpret the text how you want. But even if somebody doesn't see the spark or blooming feelings between the pair throughout the books (how do they explain away all the stiffness whenever one of them is mentioned or is in the same room or something though? Genuinely curious here), there's a lot of plot foreshadowing. The Blood Duel has now been mentioned twice, as has the idea of breaking the bond, maybe more. There's the issue with Koschei and Elain not being able to see things related to him past mist and shadow. There's all this potential conflict that could arise between the Courts if elriel pursue their love, and conflict is the driving force of any novel.

If gwynriel were an IRL couple, I wouldn't care if there were never any conflict, but if I'm reading their story, I want more than just them falling in love and having internal conflict about whether they should kiss the other or not. Especially if the backdrop is a fantasy world on the brink of war with many players. I saw a gwynriel post mentioning Merrill once and while I do think she has the potential to be a running antagonist, I don't see her as anything but a subplot/crony for/associate with another stronger villain. I don't think she could carry a whole novel at the moment. So Gwyn is tied to nothing in the overarching plot. Same with Az. Not to mention all the theories about the Koschei/Swan Lake/firebird folklore that is potentially inspiring this new series in the acotar world. Of course, this could all change as we get more info about the next book/s and all, but compared to elriel certainly, I don't think there's as much conflict with gwynriel.

Ultimately, I don't claim knowledge of the next books' content, so I don't really care what people ship, but the main thing I take issue with is how they treat Elain in the midst. A lot of gwynriel arguments I've seen portray certain acts in a romantic/positive light for Gwyn but either completely ignore or erase any semblance of romance for Elain or tear her down. Like, we shouldn't push the narrative that Gwyn as an SA survivor can't have healthy meaningful sex in the future (yeah, of course I agree), yet some of the same people who say that are also people who judge and make fun of Elain and call her too vanilla for Az without having a clue what her bedroom habits/preferences are 🤯 This is just one of many. There are so many double standards I've seen for gwynriel against elriel and I'm just tired of it. And even if they're not doing any of that, they simply hate Elain and don't want her to be with Az and so ship gwynriel as the next best alternative. Like, can they not push down Elain in favour of Gwyn, please? That's so misogynistic 🤮

For all that this fandom flaunts the series being feminist with strong female characters, they sure do a good job in tearing down females who don't fit their definition of strong, despite even Feyre stating and acknowledging multiple times that Elain has a different kind of strength 😒

Gahhhhhhh. *exhales deeeeeeeeply* Sorry this is so damn LONG!! 😅😅😅😅😅 I did not expect to write a whole bloody essay lol but I hope it was fun/comforting to read at least 😅😆 I know I fall back on elriel posts when the ship war gets too intense bc I actually enjoy shipping elriel. They've become my otp, and I absolutely adore both characters of the ship; I think most of us elriels do. I haven't really seen any elriel stans who dislike/don't care for Elain and her welfare so it's nice being in this corner of the fandom where we can appreciate both Az and Elain equally. And of course, the other characters with their due respect. I truly do want Lucien to finally get his good life, but I don't think that's with Elain 😕

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Kismet {7}

Henry Cavill x Famous OFC Aliya Taylor

Warning: Plot, Slow Burn, Mild Cursing

Words: 5.1k

Summary: Aliya is a singer turned model turned actress. Since she was fifteen, she’s been creating her empire in the entertainment world. As the daughter of a famous fashion model/designer and Hollywood director, you’d think life is easy for her, but her past has been anything but easy. Due to past trauma, she’s forever changed and no longer trusts any man that is not in her family and a select few in her team. She’s sworn off love and serious relationships and has planned never to fall again, but love isn’t something that can be planned. It just happens when it’s meant to. Can Aliya outrun a love that seems hellbent on holding tight to her, a love that is Kismet?

If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!! 😘  

As always, thank you so much for reading. ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 

-Henry-

 He tossed from his right.

 “This has been fun. You seem like a really good person on top of being uber-talented. I wish you nothing but continued success in your career and life, but for anything here, I don’t think it’s going to happen,”

 He turned to his left.

 “I don’t do drama or messy, and your situation screams drama and mess.”

 He rolled from his back.

“The bottom line is I’ve broken three rules already when it comes to you, and I will not break this one.”

 He flipped to his stomach.

 “Goodbye, Henry.”

 That was always when he leaped up, sweating, panting, and wide awake. It was always the same time. Two in the morning and he always had the same feelings. Regret. Resentment. Emptiness. He hated those words when put together. Every night for the last two days, it was the same thing. He’d go about his business, work, fulfill his obligations, meet family and friends to catch up, all the while thinking he saw you at the most inopportune times. He remembered the first time he thought he saw you. He was having lunch with his brothers, their wives, girlfriends, and nephews. In the middle of his conversation, from clear across the restaurant, he thought he saw you. The woman didn’t even look a lot like you. The only thing you shared in resemblance was the complexion of your skin and your hair color. He knew then he’d lost his mind and was acting out of character.

 Usually, if he were in this situation, he would have already moved on. He never dwelled on situations that didn’t serve a purpose for him. He was straightforward and preferred those he spent his time with to be the same. If a woman didn’t seem interested and went as far as to tell him goodbye at every chance she got, he would fade away. That is what he should do; instead, he continuously thought about you.

 He went back and forth in his head about where you were getting your assumptions and why were you so quick to think the worst of him. It was apparent to deduce that you probably had a bad past experience with someone to have become so standoffish. There was no way someone would give off such conflicting vibes if they hadn’t been burned before.

 If he didn’t imagine you throughout his day, he was dreaming of you coming up with words he should have or could have said when you were in front of him. When he thought to call you, he always turned against it. What was the point? You’d made your decision and come up with your assumptions on who he was. He wasn’t in the practice of pleading with women to give him a second chance or even a true first one.

 By day three, he found himself ignoring his wounded pride and ego. By no means was it easy to do. In truth, it had been years since he’d ever felt this way—rejected. It was humbling. Since the years when his star had officially risen so far in the Hollywood stratosphere, every woman he’d ever either approached or been approached by never rejected him. In no way was he cocky enough to think women couldn’t reject him. He just thought he felt something and that something was mutual.

 “Another beer?”

 “Uh—no, a glass of water, please.”

 “Tap, sparkling, flavored sparkling?”

 Scoffing, he shrugged then said the first that that came to mind. “Sparkling lemon is fine. Thank you.”

 The waitress nodded and walked back the way she came with his empty beer glass in hand. Today was necessary. It was long overdue. Glancing at his watch, he noted it was ten minutes past when he suggested the meetup. He also noted that he was annoyed with this lateness but not with yours. Groaning, he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to rub out the tension that rested there.

 “Hey, honey.”

 Snapping his eyes open, he saw Abby’s cheerfully smiling face. Her blonde hair was styled with bouncy curls that framed her blue-eyed face. She leaned closer as if she intended to kiss him, tilting his face to the side, her lips landed on his cheek.

 “Oh,” Abby said, voice filled with disappointment.

 “Sit, join me,” he said, hoping to distract from the slight he’d just shown her.

 Abby sat on the stool across from him after placing her purse to hand on the side of it. When she leaned forward, his eyes dropped to her top's cleavage before they instantly came right back up to her face.

 “How are you, babe?”

 “Good.

 “I missed you so much. You have no idea. There were so many things I wanted to tell you,” Abby began before he could start the conversation.

 He listened and nodded along as she went on and on about the things that were going on in her life. She talked for so long that he was able to drink the entire glass of water the waitress brought over. When the waitress came back to take their orders, he had to step in.

 “Uh, can you give us a few moments?”

 “Sure.”

 Abby’s eyebrows knitted, showing her confusion.

 “I wanted to talk, Abby.”

 “About what, Henners?”

 Taking a deep breath, he slowly released it. “A while ago, we talked, and I thought it was clear where my head was when I said we need space and to distance ourselves from each other. I thought we both understood what that meant, but—I can see I wasn’t clear.”

 He could see the worry in her eyes, and he hated to do this, but it had to be done. “I think you should move on…we both should. I didn’t mean to give the impression that there was hope for reconciliation or even that this would turn into a fling of some sort. I’m sorry for not being clear. However, I think I have to be crystal now. You have to stop calling and texting and allow yourself to move on.”

 She didn’t speak for a full two minutes.

 “Really?”

 “Yes, I’m sorry. I just--.”

 “—No, no, I get it. I really do. I--,” Abby stuttered without making any eye contact. She stood, reached for her purse, and schlepped it onto her shoulder.

 “Abby, I’m--,” He began begore she cut him off.

 “Don’t worry about it. You were clear before I just thought—guess I hoped if I showed you I was serious and willing to try that you’d come back.”

 He felt like a world-class wanker. As he opened his mouth to say something, Abby held her hand up, smirked, and turned to walk out of the restaurant. Sighing, he made eye contact with the waitress and raised his hand for the check. One down, one more to go. By the time dinner rolled around, his FaceTime call with Francesca went a lot better. Though he could tell her defiance and reluctance to accept his wishes, she eventually did, eventually being the operative word. It took nearly twenty minutes.

 As he sat with his glass of red wine and his pasta dinner with Kal at his feet with his bowl filled with his gourmet feast and a new bone for dessert, he noted everything was quiet. His home was silent, and his thoughts were even more so. It dawned on him then. This was the first time in three years he was absolutely free with no attachments to anyone. It was something that made him pause. His life was a busy one, and he’d seen the inside of a movie trailer more than he’d seen the inside of his own home. With him traveling so much, dating was hard and more a nuisance.

 That was how Abby and Francesca came into the picture. He’d dated Francesca on and off for years before she ended things believing he didn’t want anything stable only to come back into the picture. Abby was a one-night thing that kept happening whenever he was home. Both required so little besides some attention here or there. It was probably what he gravitated to. It was low stress and a low chance of any emotional entanglement that he didn’t want--until he met you.

 After dinner and a quick walk for Kal, he found himself in for the night with one thing on his mind. You.

 “Bollocks! Just call her. Call her. It’s no big deal,” he said, trying to hype himself up.

 Feeling brave, he quickly grabbed his phone and tapped your number in his contacts. By the time the first ring began, he’d changed his mind and promptly ended the call.

 “You’re an idiot, mate!”

 He knew he was in for another sleepless night.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

-Aliya-

 <Missed Call Henry>

 Chewing your bottom lip, you stared at his name on your phone. It could have been seen as a little bit of divine intervention. For the last week, you’d gone back and forth, up and down, and around your decision to walk away from him and end things. Part of you knew it was the right thing to do. He was clearly tangled up in some sort of drama, some sort of playboy lifestyle that you didn’t want any part of. There were even times you felt like a hypocrite. You were dating two men at once. Yes, they both knew about each other, but still, it was technically the same thing. Your life was drama free because you worked hard to keep it that way, and that included exchanges between Jesse and Liam.

 In the beginning, six months ago, you’d made it crystal clear to both of them that you didn’t want any serious commitments. You told them that your career, businesses, and workload kept you plenty busy and gave you enough headaches, and you expected none from them. You set out the rules; they followed them and kept the drama to themselves. Did they like each other? Maybe not. Did they like the idea of sharing you? Maybe not. Did you care? Eh, not really. You mainly entertained them when you had some free time and wanted to de-stress. As said before, you liked drama free.

 “Why’re you staring so hard at your phone?”

 Jumping, you tried to hide it, but you weren’t quick enough. Amaya was the one to grab it from you to see Henry’s name. The sound she made said she disapproved.

 “Still can’t believe you did that man like that.”

 Kissing your teeth, you snatched your device back and sat on one of the stools around the kitchen island.

 “What else was I supposed to do?  Join the equation and become part of a square?

 “The only fun shapes are triangles because they equal threesomes,” Amaya began, making you and Alicia stare at her as if she’d lost her mind. “However, squares can be fun.”

 “You’ve lost your mind. In no situation is three women duking it out for one man fun. A quick departure was the only move,” you defended.

 “Honestly if, and I say if with hella contingencies, if, if, if he were actually sleeping with two other women, then yes, you did the right thing. There is no sharing unless it’s with another man for my attention,” Amaya announced.

 “The problem is, though, we don’t know if he was sleeping with these women. You made an assumption, didn’t really allow him to explain,” Alicia countered.

 “What! He had the entire discussion on the corner.”

 “After you’d accused him of being a cheat and fuckboi? After you’d probably offended him by taking strikes on his character? There are plenty of things that are different between Americans and Brits. What was you asserting your position could be disrespect to them,” Alicia, the voice of reason, theorized.

 You knew she was right on some level. You’d spent enough time in England to know the etiquette and social differences. From his cold demeanor, before you walked away, you knew you’d either injured his pride or pissed him off. Hell, both were very possible.

 “Look, I’m not saying don’t stand up for yourself with letting someone know what you will or won’t accept. I’m saying maybe there was a better way. Maybe one that didn’t leave you second-guessing yourself and thinking about him.”

 You hated when she saw right through you, hated when she was right, and hated even more when she called you out rather than letting you rock. Groaning, you shut your phone off and placed it face down, deciding to do what you did best—ignore everything.

 You’d thought about him a lot over the last week, and within the last week, you’d come across more Henry Cavill content than you had in the entire year. There were InStyle interviews, promos, magazine articles, Instagram posts that were now on your feed because of one time you tapped on a picture to get a closer look. There were even YouTube videos of him reading thirsty tweets. Lord have mercy. He was everywhere, and the more you saw of him, the more you thought of him.

 One thing you didn’t see regarding him were any tabloid pictures of him out and out with any woman. He was always pictured with family, his dog, friends, or by himself. That tidbit had you wondering if you’d been wrong about things. You hated second-guessing; it always left you in this weird hyper anxious state. You usually got a lot done when you were like this, but it left you exhausted.

 “Have you thought of your two boyfriends as much as you’ve thought about this never was one?”

 Why was she like this? She’d always been this way. She held nothing back, but where Alicia was the same, they differed in that Alicia had a way of being blunt but also being gentle. Amaya didn’t give a shit. She said what she meant with no care if the recipient felt offended.

 “I’m gonna take your silence as a no. when was the last time you’ve actually spent any time with them? Bored?”

 “I’m hungry, let’s eat,” you said, walking out of the kitchen making your way to the home cinema room. You knew how to flip a subject if you no longer wanted to talk about it.

 The two of them followed behind you, then dropped into one of the large relaxing couches. Knowing you didn’t want to talk about it anymore, the two focused on figuring out a movie for tonight’s movie cinema. It had been weeks since the three of you had been able to do this, and it was long overdue.

 Once you’d found something, the rest of the night was spent laughing, gossiping, being extra, eating and drinking while watching movie after movie. Thankfully the conversation remained off of you and on the two of them. Alicia spoke about her recent date while Amaya let you in on the status of her latest situationship. While the focus didn’t return to you and yours, your mind was sure focused on one thing. Henry.

 Two days later, while you were locked in your office trying to make something of the mess of work before you, you got a notification from Instagram. Deciding you needed a break, you opened up the app and scrolled through your feed. After a minute or so, you came across a post on some gossip site. It was a picture of Henry’s smiling face with a caption that read, “Happy Birthday to Henry Cavill. This hunk of a man is celebrating a birthday today across the pond, and many women wish they could ring it in with him. From your fans on this side of the pond, Happy birthday!”

 Your jaw dropped. It was Henry’s birthday.

 “Is it really?”

 That began a dive into the internet, which led you to the first site, IMDB. Sure enough, according to his fans, it was his birthday, May fifth.

 “Wow.” Jumping back to Instagram, you typed his name in for a tag search and scrolled through the plethora of birthday wishes and fan page tributes. It was plain as day to see that his fans sure loved them some Henry Cavill. It was cute. After almost twenty minutes of scrolling, you began to debate if you should send him a birthday message. You wondered if it was appropriate.

 “Is it appropriate to send a birthday wish to a man that wasn’t really yours to begin with but knew what your mouth tasted like?”

 Closing your eyes for a few moments, you decided it wasn’t.

 “Not appropriate, especially considering you were the one to end things. However, there was really nothing to end. We were never a we.”

 Sitting in silence for another few minutes, you rolled your eyes.

 “It is rude, though, if I don’t send something,” you finalized, admonishing the British etiquette coursing through your blood.

 You dropped your head to the desk and groaned. This was ridiculous, you thought. It shouldn’t be this complicated.

 “You’re making it complicated, dummy. Just send the message.”

 Taking a few moments to gather your thoughts, you sat up again as if nothing had happened for the last fifteen minutes of indecisiveness and began your text. You typed a few beginnings and deleted them. You didn’t know how to begin. Did you just jump in and ignore the massive elephant in the room? Did you address the elephant but get right to the birthday wish? Your etiquette training said to address the elephant but in a ladylike manner then proceed to the birthday wish. That’s what you should have done. Your real-world girl living said to ignore that elephant and get right to it, then bury your head and see how he takes it.

 MSG: It’s your birthday, well, according to IMDB and all your Cavillry fans. Did you know your fans call themselves the Cavillry? That’s pretty insane and hilarious. Anyway, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. I know you never told me when it was but the wonders of the internet. Yes, I might have googled you. Anyway, I hope your birthday is filled with laughter, fun, happiness, and wonder because you just might deserve all three. Be safe and live like it’s your last.

 Yeah, you ignored the fuck out of that elephant and took it to a whole other level. Full-on avoidance. As you looked over the message, you chewed your bottom lip, a nervous tick you never got rid of. When three or four minutes passed by with no response, your anxiousness picked up. That was when you slid it away and got back to work, determined not to obsesses over it.

  ~~~~~~~

-Henry-

 Shocked could have summed up what he felt when he saw your message. Shocked and stunned silent. It happened at the weirdest time too. He was in the middle of a get together with his family for his birthday. With his Guinness in hand, he just happened to glance at his phone as he was going to snap a picture of something funny Simon was doing.

 “What’s the matter with you?”

 Shaking his head, he spun around to face Piers on his right. “Nothing. I’m good,” he lied.

 “No, you’re not,” Simon said, coming up on his left to sit at the table. “Which one is it, Francesca or Abby?”

 He rolled his eyes at Simon, not finding any humor in his words. His brothers laughed at him because they all knew the story there.

 “You have the worst taste in women,” Nik began slapping him hard on his shoulder. “You either choose the ones who have ulterior motives hence Abby, or the ones who want different things than you, Francesca,” he finished.

 “At least the women I get are beautiful,” he compensated quite pathetically. It was a horrible comeback, but it was all he had. He hated not having some sort of comeback when his brothers ganged up on him. It took him back to being a child.

 “Francesca was beautiful, Abby—was adorable a little immature though,” Piers added with a shrug to the end.

 He couldn’t deny that. “She was,” he said with a nod. “Very jealous too.”

 “So, who was the message from?”

 “No one.”

 It was a blatant lie.

 “Oh, it’s someone all right,” Piers called out.

 He groaned, knowing they wouldn't let it go until he’d told them. Sighing, he gulped his beer before he began.

 “Remember the woman I told you about?”

 The three of them looked confused as if he'd never mentioned you before.

 “The one who had your phone?”

 “Yes. Turns out, she saw the messages for and from Abby and Francesca.”

 They all looked confused again. “So what?”

 Simon shook his head before he spoke. “He’s interested in her.”

 “Who is this woman, anyway?”

 “Don’t worry about it,” he replied to Nik’s curiosity. He wanted to keep some privacy, especially now that you’d decided he was some male gigolo.

 “We went out on three dates. The second date goes well--.”

 “—How well?”

 He couldn’t help but smile at Simon’s inquiry. His memory was still fresh from what he was classifying as the best second date he’d ever had. When his chuckle broke through, his brothers’ interest piqued.

 “Really well, I see,” Nik professed.

 “Not like that. It was just a kiss, or three kisses, three incredible kisses. Anyway, she ignores me for a few days; then I see her in New York about a week ago. We had dinner with her friends, then breakfast the next day. Everything seemed fine, after she tells me that nothing is going to happen between us.”

 “Just like that?”

 “Just like that. She said she saw the messages, and she doesn’t do drama or messy, and she thinks I’m juggling two women, and she has rules she’s broken and won’t break the drama rule,” he informed. As he said the words, his annoyance rose again.

 “Woah. A lot going on there,” Simon began before he gulped his beer.

 “What rules?”

 “I don’t know. She said she wished me success in the future, but we were done,” he finished.

 “To be fair, you are juggling two women. You and Francesca have this weird relationship where she wants more from you, but you’re not willing to give it to her, so she tries to see if it’s enough, and it’s not. That’s the back and forth,” Piers summed up. He finished his beer then continued. “With Abby, I don’t know your problem. You know you need to end it, but maybe the shag is too good.”

 “Hey!”

 Their laughter rang out again.

 “Honestly, my world gets lonely, and it’s nice to have someone that wants you around instead of being all work,” he divulged.

 “Even if you don’t feel anything for that someone?”

Simon hit the nail right on the head. Sighing, he shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I cut ties with them both.”

 “Whatever,” Nik scoffed.

 “I’m serious. It was last week. It was like breaking up with them all over again.” He shuddered, thinking back to the experience.

 “So, they’re gone?”

 “Gone and done,” he confirmed.

 “And things with this woman?”

 “I don’t know what to do. She doesn’t seem that interested. It seems as if she’s being friendly, but that’s it.”

 “Did she kiss you back?”

 Nodding to Piers, he replied. “She did.”

 “Does she give you eye contact, or do you catch her watching you sometimes?”

 It was an odd question, but he briefly thought it over before he answered Simon's inquiry.

 “Yes.”

 “She’s into you,” Piers, Simon, and Nik said in unison.

 “Then why brush me off? She just seems—unattainable.”

 “Be careful with those types of women,” Nik warned.

 “I’ve heard nothing for a little over a week, and now she sends me this message.”

 “Read it.”

 Opening the message back up, he read your text to his curious brothers. As he read, he glanced at each of their faces trying to gauge what they were thinking. They each looked to be thinking different things, though. Once he finished, he looked at all of them.

 “That was nice of her,” Simon expressed.

 “Sounds like she’s being friendly,” Piers added.

 “That’s good and well. What do I say?”

 “Nothing.”

 “No. Thanks,” Piers suggested conflicting with Nik’s advice.

 “Thanks? That’s it?”

 “That’s it. Guarantee it’ll drive her crazy.”

 He looked between them again, and seeing them nodding together; he decided what the hell.

 MSG Henry: Thanks.

 “Good. Now forget her, and let’s get out of here to enjoy your birthday!”

 Five minutes later, they were on their way to one of the city's exclusive gentlemen's clubs. While this establishment wasn’t a traditional strip club, there were women in cages and frames throughout the club. It was a popular location among Londoners and one he’d been to once or twice already.

Once they walked into the club through the VIP entrance, they were led to one of the private sections for celebrities. After almost ten minutes inside, he noticed the eyes on him, but he did his best to ignore it. It was his birthday, after all, and he intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

 Fifteen minutes later, he’d had two more beers and was now surrounded by a few women who eagerly tried to gain his favor. They each talked about something different, making it difficult to focus on anyone. When one of the women pulled him up to dance, the other sandwiched him making him the prime meat between them all. When his brothers glanced over, they all released an uproar of cheers. It was absolute lunacy, and the longer he remained there, the crazier things became. Though he partied and enjoyed the night, you weren’t far from his mind.

 By the time they staggered out of the club, the paps were there to catch the women's desperateness as they exited the club. Though they tried, he got into the taxi with only his brothers as his company. He wasn’t the kind of man to have a string of one night affairs. It was too reckless for him.

 ~~~~~~~~~

-Aliya-

 Thanks. That’s what he chose to reply with thirty minutes from when I sent the message. Thanks. Not thank you, but thanks. Not I appreciate you taking the time. Thanks. Not you’re so sweet to think of me. Just thanks. It boiled your blood. You were confused by, annoyed with, and dissatisfied with the message. Couldn’t he have mustered up another reply? Anything. You tried to have work be enough, but you gave up an hour after receiving the message. Instead, you relieved your annoyance in the kitchen. When you were angry, you always had to chop things. You had no intention of cooking. You just wanted to chop.

 Thanks to the near hour of your obsessing, you had Ziploc bags of diced onions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, and carrots. You doubted you’d be able to go through it within the week, but that wasn’t the point. By the time one in the morning rolled around, you were still anxious and annoyed. You couldn’t believe this. You hadn’t had a reaction like this to someone in a long time—if ever.

 That was when your phone rang. Grabbing it off of the nightstand, you saw Henry’s name illuminate the screen. Your nerves shot up like a rocket, and no matter how many deep breaths you took, they remained sky-high. After a few rings, you answered.

 “Hello?”

 A sigh echoed on the other end before Henry spoke. “I honestly didn’t think you were going to answer. I was hoping to leave a message.”

 “Well, I answered. What message were you going to leave?”

 The deepness of his voice sounded deeper from what you remembered, and it had goosebumps prickling your skin.

 “One so you’d realize what you’re missing,” Henry replied. Your eyes bugged.

 Did he really just say that? Your mouth gaped open as you wondered incredulously while sitting up in your bed to rest against the cushioned headboard.

 “It’s dawned on me that you must think you’re not missing anything when it comes to me. So let me assure you you’re missing out on plenty.”

 Pinching your lips, you tried to stifle your snicker. “Oh, really?”

 “Really,” Henry confidently confirmed. The way he said it had your back straightening and any amusement quickly fading. The tone of his voice spoke to you, making your belly flutter.

 “Like what?” It was barely above a whisper.

 “You’re missing out on my kindness, my sensitivity. You’re missing out on flowers just because, surprise handwritten notes just to show I care. You’re missing out on romance women only dream about. You’re missing out on all the captivating intellectual conversations we could have about the stars, Rome, Greece, Egypt, and why we’re all descendants of black kings and queens. You’re missing out on someone being there for you unconditionally because they want to be because fate has led them to you. You’re missing out on lazy days of playing video games, eating pizza and drinking beer, missing out on a man who doesn’t care if you’re in sweatpants and messy hair, or all dolled up in makeup and heels. You’re missing out on me, my passion, my strength, my heart. You’re missing out on the chance never to cry again, missing out on the chance to feel more complete than you have ever felt in your life. You’re missing out on being able to stare in my eyes whenever you want, missing out on these hands to hold you, these lips to kiss you—missing out on us.”

 If a gentle breeze somehow blew through your house right now, you’d be knocked off your bed. You were hanging on that little. You were so rattled you were speechless and actually physically shaking. The conviction and raw emotion in his voice was something that shook you to your core and left you raw, wanting, and on the verge of tears. The pounding of your heart was so loud that it was all you could here for a few moments. Trying to use your breathing to slow it you realized it was impossible.

 “Are you—drunk?”

 “I’ve had a lot to drink, yes, but I’ve never been more clear-headed in my life. You're not only missing out, but you’re also making me miss out on all of that as well. Goodbye, Aliya.”

 Your phone beeped, signaling the end of the call. You sat there speechless, motionless, rattled to the bone, and completely wrecked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[smallestclowninthecircus]

Season 4 notes

Ep 121: mmmm tape recorder turning on without them knowing goes brrr. AAAhjhdsjfhjdf "do you mind if i call you jon" its like "can i call you elias?" is this the dream guy with the tendrils? who wants to bet the boat is captained by peter lukas? big man if it killed yall how are you still here. oh boy the tape is doin that thing. who do we think it is? did he wake up? hmm. ep 122: lol jon. 6 months!?!? bruh quit movin big man. he just Knows things sometimes you know how it is. nah b/c i can relate to feeling like other ppl/ things arent real, thats the biggest mood BUT i think it is kinda pretentious to entertain the idea that youre the only Real person. If you dont see a body dont believe it. i'll hold out hope for a bit. theres not a new archivist is there? surely i wouldve heard about that. oh god peter what changes did you make. ep 123: web development. hope its about spiders. she blames him. bruh why. if they hadnt done anything the world would've ended piss off melanie. why are ppl acting like he chose to be in a coma for 6 months. we know this they just appear. no longer "head archivist of the magnus institute, london" now he's just "the archivist" covered in spiders? cuz ik the spider has to do with controlling what youre doing and all this stuff but i cant think of how this connects to that. ep 124: ugh vertigo. is michael crew an old man? oooh. fairchild. how did he know it was martin? hmm. GRR I LOST MY NOTES AGAIN. FROM EPISODE 125 - part of 131. ep 131: bruh he's so hard to understand big man ur voice is so low. Jared Hotworth. the boneturner. "the ones i helped find their proper bodies" name a better top surgeon? our favorite trans ally? ep 132: woo field trip into the coffin! static lol. he says "chill out im just poppin in for a quick recall mission" is the rib thing actually gonna work? bruh it feels so odd and contrived but he's an odd man with some odd powers so idk. rip that archivist ayyy statement time. voices? recordings? are those tape recorders? was it the tape recorders? did they pull him back? i hope so b/c if the rib thing actually worked im gonna be so disappointed. ep 133: predicting the lonely? tundra. like the lukases. hmm. sanikova! like sanikov land. so its the hunt? i suppose? yeah. so daisy's clearly rejecting the hunt, which makes sense cuz she doesnt seem to like the entities that much. wait so are we just not gonna talk abt all the tapes playing on the ground?? no? ep 134: not an archival assistant anymore? Adelard Decker (or however you spell it) i recognize that name. 15th power. i was right there are 15. the extinction? im trying to remember what ive heard. oooh spooky. no i gotta be real i dont understand this fear but i'll believe you that its a thing. ew lukas is so squealy. lukas can turn invisible? oh boy. oooh martin put the tape recorders there. lol lukas is worried he's gonna be an avatar of the eye. ep 135: yoo its the third Daedalus statement! maxwell rayner (reiner? reigner?) i dont know who that is but ik its somebody. is he the cult leader guy? church of the divine host? 4 people?? what? did they kidnap somebody and keep them up there?? oh dear jon are you dying? did he try to See or Know or whatever? why does everyone call basira detective lol. ep 136: he was the one from the spider movie that ate ppl right? the special effects artist? is it annabelle cane? "its a joke jon" lol. hmm they wanted to record the therapy session with melanie? i wonder who that is. i almost wanna guess annabelle cane but im not sure. ep 137: this is the one! he went to the other place and read the war statement but it wasnt the one she took. not the music again. sounds like the slaughter. who the heck is eric lol. "the watcher's crown" like the crown of eyes we saw in the piccrew ep 138: oh boy Robert Smirk time. is that elias? as unhelpful as usual. if new powers can be "born" can others die out? did jonah magnus wear the watchers crown? maybe they were born from our fear or maybe our fears were born from them. ceaseless watcher does ceaselessly watch so. idk what you want

big man. yeah jonah for sure did something. ep 139: agnes!! lol that one dude threw off all their plans thats so funny. BUT this does tell us something. the tree in the backyard of the hilltop house? not made by her. it going down didnt kill agnes. im guessing gertrude tied agnes to the house using the tree? u good jon? cuz every time you try to Know smth intentionally it seems like it causes you great pain. how come he can do it accidentally with no problem but the second he wants to know smth of plot relevance he gets a headache or whatever ep 140: lol pagan exultation. classic. "oh thats my rib" lmaoo. ppl are always so mad at jon and his Eye powers except when it benefits them. they're like "oh you shouldnt do that its not right" and then all of a sudden they want to know something and its all "oh cmon jon its the only way" ep 142: oh god jon what did you do. its interesting she's giving her statement in the way that they do when jon Asks. did he see her in the Coffin? and so he's following her? ok cmon jon you're supposed to let them come to you. lmao ikr martin. "start to hear the blood" "suure." lmao ep 143: lol that awkward moment when gertrude is already dead. big J if you die im gonna kill you. bruh. ayo helen? i guess it worked? ep 144: lol this reminds me of that one edgar allan poe story where he kills the old dude with the weird eye. spooky music stuff. lol thats my favorite symptom of a heart attack its hilarious. so its smth abt the location probably? bro i feel like you should write down the numbers idk. 162830165049 564846474827. seems like the distortion? like the kinda thing that causes you to go crazy because of the numbers. oh boy is it the extinction again. bro what?? im?? his dad just died and he's like eh. martin dont be mean. he's being all lonely again. big man ur pushing ppl away. oh god its fucking squealy boy. ep 145: that almost sounds like breekon/hope... Arthur? agnes. aah was he from the lightless flame cult. a tree. lol he's just ranting rn. hehehe fuck landlords amirite. yay someone tells jon outright to go to therapy. now do it big man. ep 146: oh great! the distortion! i'm making a spiral themed building in mc right now! jon maybe accept you did a bad? nah this goes back to what i said before. they're fine with him compelling ppl when its convenient for them but otherwise its "no jon you cant, youre a monster jon" the tapes didnt turn on. i spose that means its not important? i agree with daisy, this seems unecessarily dangerous. ep 147: is that a tape? the first tape? well that went better than i expected tbh. BAHAKJASHDJKF she did the "can i call you jon" like nikola says "elias, can i call you elias?" damn annabelle is such a girlboss. oh! the one thing from the picrew. its been a while since ive connected smth to that. lol all the other avatars always talk abt their patron so lovingly and the jon just. absolutely hates the eye. ep 148: lol thats the most elias thing. "i just like the way it sounds" ep 149: did he disappear? bruhh. ur lonely powers are popping off i guess. oops i accidentally deleted my notes for 150 - 152 ep 153: thats the cult right? yeah. it doesnt sound like the church of the divine host? idk. if it is the church of the divine host then they worship the dark right? so is the eleventh the dark star or wtvr? it almost sounds like the corruption b/c of the oil or grease or whatever. oh dear what happened. oh its the hunters. theyre so annyoing. not an "it" he has a name. he's a person. is this a page from the skin book? ep 154: oh shit this is gerry's dad! oh shit he quit! oh dear god. jon don't you do it. haha martin. yeahhhh... is he gonna tell the others? cuz you know theyre gonna get mad if he doesnt. oh also picrew connection! the bandages over the eyes? yeah thats this im guessing. ep 155: oh good he told them. oh my god what did you do. lol i have no mouth and i must scream. nah you get none of my sympathy you're straight up murdering ppl. its like the desolation, destroying lives to sustain your own. ok but taking their statements doesnt

kill them. oh... bye melanie. ep 156: lmao imagine if the tape recorder spoke back. oh boy decker! i swear we got a statement from him already. oh god mirrors scary. They're gonna eat the body arent they. Yup... sounds like the flesh or the slaughter, but I'm not sure. Could be the extinction for sure. Smth at the center! Like Helen mentioned. God Peter you dick. Ep 157: peter's just so :/ another decker statement i see. a statement about the corruption? hmm. maybe its not abt the corruption. the extinction. lol pandemics. topical. John Amherst. helen? lol i can hear admiral purring in the background. oh cmon helen dont be like that. im trying real hard to like you but you make it so difficult. ep 158: did they fucking free the stranger? im gonna lose it. you absolute dumbass. im sorry who is that? jonah magnus? my guy. peter. you absolute dickhead. that's elias. (im p sure i had this spoiled for me that elias is jonah) oh dear this is her death. god peter you prick. i hope this is a pop off martin moment and not a "martin you idiot" moment. i hope the hunters kill the stranger entity. or she kills them. furry daisy pop off! yeah fuck you peter martin can make his own decisions. you know that clip from Twisted where jafar says "ok what the fuck was that" martin D: ok like i know its gonna work but still D: D: ep 159: peter you bitchboy. because if im alone i cant hurt anyone else. imnotgonnacryimnotgonnacryimnotgonnacry do it do it do it do it. pop off jon. ok its a pretty good idea for a ritual i gotta be honest. she didnt even have to blow it up lol. oh dear that was certainly a noise. "he gets you" did he not have jon already? he's back! our boy is back! awwww thats so cute. ep 160: oh right this is the thing in the safe house. i love him. "obviously im going to tell you if i see any good cows" martin my beloved <3 :)) oh boy who is this. fuckin. people. jonah you dick. gahh. you can tell he's trying to resist so hard lol. ohh. hehe keep an *eye* on him. altho if the extinction is a real thing he needs to be marked by that right? lol he sounds so intense im sorry- i want martin to just burst in and be like "look at this cow i saw!" its so dramatic and for why.

[megaminds-destiny]

You know that moment in a movie, where the hero has tried to defeat the villain, they have failed and now they’re all upset, feeling like they can’t do it, and later on somebody comes up and talks to them and tells them they actually are good enough, and if they try again they will get it right, ect, ect.

This is not one of those moments.

Not by a long shot... in a way it sort of looks like one, and chances are that is what DreamWorks intended it to be, but if we just get straight down to things, Megamind had absolutely every right to say what he said in this scene.

I know that here, he definitely has doubt that he could ever defeat Titan. It would be foolish to even consider that he could beat him to be honest. After knowing closely, and blowing up Metro Man unsuccessfully especially, but that is actually entirely besides the point. In reality, it’s not even about whether he could defeat Titan or not, it’s whether Roxanne even has the right to actually ask him that in the first place.

Megamind was assigned to the role of villain at birth. He did everything that he could to tear himself away from that position, and aimed to become the exact opposite. This resulted continuously in abuse and punishment. Verbally, physically, implicative, you name the method, and that’s how the message was conveyed. Now... as a child, he thought to himself that what he wanted, what he was interested in doing, becoming, was important, and he wanted to prove that he could be good. But the world beat it into him that he was not. Is was actually in fact his Destiny, that he become a villain. It was actually HIS fault that all this abuse was inflicted upon him, his fault for trying to be something that he was not meant to be. Destiny, they hit a keyword there. ‘Destined for’ had a special place in his heart, as the last words his father had ever spoken to him, and without the need for that to be communicated out loud, it was picked up on by those around him, and used to get him to do as he was told, and accept whatever happened to him, while conveniently taking away his right to speak up or defend himself about it. So as well as that, at this point it’s become a spiritual thing, where people are actually using a Divine Entity as a logic system to convince Megamind that he actually has no say in the matter. In fact, if he tried to change who he was Destined to be, it would affect the balance of the universe- there can’t be any ‘Yang with no Yin,’ and this is the way the world stays ‘Perfect and Rosy’. If he were to fight this, it would not only destroy the balance, possibly the world, and hurt other people if he succeeded, but also there was no chance that he could succeed because Destiny ultimately had the control- not Megamind. And he would suffer continuous punishment for as long as he disobeyed. This is mental manipulation, and the way you convince someone to believe things that are absurd or untrue. (Similar to a cult, or abusive parent/child relationship)

So where’s the relevance in this? It IS relevant, because this is the mindset and logic system that Megamind has been following for his entire life. Believing with all his heart that his suffering in the past was the result of his own disobedience to the universe itself, and the only way to not be punished, the only right thing to do was to be a villain, as shown. And so? He stayed a villain all his life, and did the absolute best job of it that he could. Made a life out of it. Plotted and scemed, carried out his evil plans, got caught, sent to prison, escaped and repeated the process over and over. It worked. But of course, it came with it’s fair share of cons. Isolation. He never got to have a real family, it’s up to our imagination how the prison inmates treated him as a child, but even so they aren’t there with him anymore. Rejection. A lot of it. It was just a part of being a villain. He was accepted in a way, as a brilliant bad guy, but nothing more than that. He was never given the space to actually hope that one day he could have a friend other than Minion, he could have a relationship with somebody kind to him, or a family of his own in any regard. Purposeless. In the fact that while he does have a ‘purpose’, it’s not actually up to him whether that was what he wanted to do or not. And while we already know he makes the best of it all that he possibly can (as a result of acceptance and the sheer positivity and optimism of his character) it hurts him in the way that he will never feel what freedom is like, and he will never be granted the right to choice. He’s stripped of his right to go after his dreams of being a hero.

It would be hard enough if... if say somebody actually took the time and went to the effort to explain to him the truth... it would be extremely difficult to accept that the reason he was living this way all his life against his genuine will, was because a bunch of people wanted to be assholes and push him around for no valid reason. That’s how school kids are, but nobody seems to have ever stepped in. He wasn’t doing anyone any favours, and he should have been allowed to - in fact it should have been his right as a sentient being to get the choice in how he wanted to think, behave and live his life (without hurting anybody else or taking away someone else’s freedom). The prison actually had no right to keep him hostage as a baby/child, and somebody should have been there to protect him when he was being bullied. He needed and he deserved to have somebody step in in his defence, and tell him the truth about his situation. Long ago. Not now. And not like this- as a demand, without explanation, incompatible to the logic system, without acknowledging his current pattern of thinking (where it came from and how it came about) it can’t be disregarded, because this is what he does to survive. To not be tortured, punished, or suffer consequences. To do the right thing, follow the rules, keep the city, keep Destiny happy. He is in no position where he can just drop these rules and this logic system that he follows! His hands are metaphorically tied. Roxanne has offered him no alternative thinking pattern whatsoever, the idea is not compatible. She might as well have suggested he go and throw himself off a cliff, but even that wouldn’t have held the consequence of failing the Destiny he was assigned at birth, and throwing the universe out of whack. It already felt like he had messed with the balance enough as it was.

But wait there’s more! This discussion they had just had with Metro Man, was not encouraging as the former super hero had seemed to have intended. In fact, it was about as far from encouraging as he could have possibly got. Metro Man, in Megamind’s mind had basically told them that he didn’t feel obligated to his role as the ‘Yang’. He admitted that he didn’t really care, in fact he thought that the entire thing about fighting each other was just silliness. They were just messing around. There was no Divine Power, he never felt obligated to fill his assigned role. If the universe went out of whack because he decided he’d rather mess around with a guitar instead of mess around playing hero, then somebody else should do something about it. If the Universe really needed someone to fill this empty ‘Yang’ position, then why can’t Megamind just do it. Heck, maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that somebody else became a villain and pushed Megamind out of his role. Things were at an imbalance now, but all Megamind had to do was become a hero and he done with it. Problem hecking solved. No more Metro Man needed. But wait a second just hold up there Mr Jackass sir... why was it then, that when Megamind attempted to escape his role as ‘Yin’, he got so severely punished? How actually was it, that Metro Man managed to get off Scott free? As if in Metro Man’s own words- everyone in the whole city had a choice. Except the actual person being forced into things was actually Megamind. All his life, he is not only forced into this position he never chose, but also forced to accept it, forced to believe it’s actually a good thing, told directly that what he wants doesn’t matter, and that he is not allowed to question/rebel/change his mind/quit- ever. With consequences in place, waiting for him to slip up. And along comes Metro Man who’s been given the position Megamind sees as a GIFT, where he doesn’t miss out on connection, conversation, relationships, acceptance, love, affection, validation, just people actually liking him and caring about him and the only thing he really misses out on is... a choice apparently? For Metro Man to be preaching to Megamind how unfair it was that he didn’t have a choice in being a hero, when he was the one who actually initiated the whole thing in the first place, made up all these rules and pretended that all of this stuff was fact. But the worst part is... he still didn’t tell him that. Metro Man still, didn’t tell Megamind that he ought to have a choice in the matter too.

Roxanne is a smart woman, and she’s a reporter too. I don’t think there’s any way that she doesn’t know about Megamind’s background, therefore why he thinks the way he does. (And if not she never stopped to ask him why he thinks this way) I don’t think she had the right to ask this of him, to try to defeat Titan, as a hero, when just the night before she had actively participated in being one of those people who forced him into his role by not only rejecting him, but also saying to him that he would never get the chance to change his mind about who he wants to be. Because of what he’s done, and who his is- he can never change. She is the one who told him that, and for her to have the nerve to then turn around and suggest that it is up to him to change his Destiny, when Destiny has always been the one controlling/disciplining him... it’s just not a fair thing to ask at all. Especially after everything that while they were inside, Metro Man had just told him. That had already been just a massive slap in the face, and what Roxanne said to him afterwards was ultimately just another one. He has the right to be in grief. She was surprised at him, but genuinely there was no other reactions in the bank to be had.

[billion-heartbeats]

We are Hindus, Muslims, Christians! When are we becoming Indians? When all citizens follow the rule of law in letter and spirit the unity is right there. The Indian state and the constitution mandates everyone to follow the rule of law and not the laws of the caste and community they belong to. Indian first, Indian next and a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian or whoever, last! I thought we are a rainbow nation. A rainbow is beautiful not because it has different colours. It is beautiful because these different colours shine together. There is harmony. There is amalgamation- one blends into the other. They don’t go away from each other. They don’t boast of their supremacy. They don’t try to overwhelm each other. They complement each other to create beauty through the gloomy sky. That’s the power and magic of unity in diversity! And that’s what used to make India so special. That is precisely what appears to be missing these days. Hinduism! Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of common values and an emotional attachment to a particular idea of India- says the supreme court! The term “Hindu”, even today, stands for Indians in general. In foreign countries all Indians are sometimes described as “Hindus”. Acceptance of Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means to salvation are diverse. The number of gods to be worshiped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of Hindu religion. This definition brings out succinctly the broad distinctive features of Hindu religion. The Supreme Court has effectively erased the otherwise celebrated heterogeneity within the Hindu religion. Ram has found his place in Ajodhya. Now its time to usher in Rama Rajya. It was in post-colonial India, when Mahatma Gandhi first projected Ram Rajya, as the ideal state. By Ram Rajya, he meant a divine state where values of justice and equality prevail, where every citizen is treated respectably. It’s one of Righteousness and integrity! When we examine the history of elections fought since 1951, we observe a very prominent slogan—used almost customarily—till the early or mid-1970s. This slogan was the promise by aspiring candidates to usher in Rama Rajya in contemporary India. After seventy years, no party in our political class have managed to usher in Ram Rajya. Now the slogan of Ram Rajya has disappeared from the electoral politics! Ram has been confined to the temples. Muslims: Muslims have a trust problem. The Indian state and the constitution expect the minority community to follow the rule of law in letter and spirit and not the laws of their community! Muslims in America obey all the rules, regulations and American laws. Muslims in UK and Australia follow National laws of UK and Australia. They follow the laws of the nation of domicile elsewhere. But in India they want to follow the laws of Saudi Arabia and oppose anything Indian. Their refusal to accept Vandemathram is glaring and adds to suspicion in the minds of fellow citizens. This does not speak well for their commitment to unity of the Indian nation.   A Muslim is one who Surrenders to the will of Allah! Islam means to achieve peace – peace with God, peace within oneself, and peace with the creations of God – through wholly submitting oneself to God and accepting His guidance. Partition has dealt a deadly blow to the harmony of India. Creation of Pakistan has instilled a perpetual doubt in the majority about the commitment of the minority community to the cause of India. There are 180 million Muslims in India. The Indian Muslims must rewrite their victim mindset to be indispensable in India’s rise. The refusal of the minority community to accept and practice Family planning sowed the seeds of the community’s expansionism in the minds of majority community. There was an existential concern in the major community. They feared that one day they would be reduced to a minority in their own country. That has changed Contemporary India fundamentally. what’s the reason for their frustration:  a short answer is they are not so powerful as they were in the mythical past? All the political parties were playing into the theory of vote bank politics for their political harvest. It took almost three decades for the consolidation of majority community. The entire electoral logic of minority consolidation propelled a majoritarian consolidation, as reflected in the 2014 and 2019 national elections. Muslims today have the least political representation at the national level than at any point in Indian history. Muslims should think twice before going whole hog with vote bank politics. It may be counterproductive! The Pandemic was a wrong issue to register their opposition. Tablighi Jamaat is a hard-line Islamist organisation headquartered in Delhi. Muslims have been accused of waging “corona jihad” or sometimes “corona terrorism”. Even as the government was firefighting, ordering social distancing and wearing masks, banning mass gatherings, TJ hosted a congregation of more than 3,000 people at its headquarters in Delhi. Hundreds of participants, many of them foreign nationals, then travelled to different nooks and corners of India. This event has emerged as one of the biggest vectors responsible for the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Indian Union. corona infection went out of gear and there was a palpable surge in the corona numbers as corona positive TJ members moved into all nooks and corners of India without the mask and not maintaining the distance. This heralded the community transmission of the virus with disastrous consequences. In many cases, the doctors and front-line workers who reached them were met with hostility, even violence. Videos emerged of the group’s leader Maulana Saad, telling his followers that the virus was azaab — divine punishment — and they should ignore calls for social distancing and reject ban on mosque visits. The misinformation was that they have been prevented to go mosques to break them. First and foremost, it requires strict law enforcement. People should never feel emboldened to take the law into their own hands, whether it is those assaulting Muslims or Muslim groups assaulting health workers. Well the brighter side is that, now the Indian Muslims are better off than ever before.   They haven’t lost anything, neither has Islam. However, vote bank advantage has been neutralised. May be this is the reason for frustration! Indian Muslims wove a false narrative, and immured themselves into it. There could be another. The one of India’s rise. They would be indispensable to the plot if they could rewrite victim mindset and be a part of the success story of the nation. Muslims in India must embrace modern education and an Indian identity based on humanism. Triple Talaq and talaq-e-bidat - “void and illegal The Act passed by the parliament and upheld by supreme court, declares the talaq-e-bidat to be “void and illegal” and also makes the offence punishable with imprisonment. The Triple Talaq Bill, was met with vehement opposition from some leaders of the opposition parties and Muslim leaders. The Supreme Court, in 2017, had dubbed the process of triple talaq unconstitutional. This is a historic bill that gives justice to the Muslim women. Citizenship Amendment Bill Citizenship Amendment Bill- applies to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. CAA grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim illegal immigrants. The Muslims of this country don't have to worry about anything. Why Should Muslims from Bangladesh and Afghanistan and the rest of the world be given citizenship? The country cannot run like this. The citizenship will be given only to persecuted religious minorities only from these three countries. The Uniform Civil Code: A case for Equality and non-discrimination This will be a historic event in the modern history of India to join the civilised world! The pandemic has delayed the process. Part IV of the Indian Constitution lists out the Directive Principles of State Policy, under which, in Article 44, the UCC is mentioned. The Article states: "The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a UCC throughout the territory of India." In essence, the UCC would replace personal laws which are enforced in India, based on scriptures and customs of major religious communities, with a common set of laws applying to every citizen equally. These laws would deal with issues pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and maintenance. Abrogation of Article 370. Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, which was administered by India as a state from 1954 to 31 October 2019. Kashmiri Hindus were thrown out of Kashmir lock stock and barrel, overnight. They were subjected to inhuman treatment. Article 35A of the Indian constitution, which gave some special privileges to the people of the state, has been scrapped. The government has revoked Article 370, which 35A is part of and which has been the basis of Kashmir's complex relationship with India for some 70 years. Kashmir will no longer have a separate constitution and will have to abide by the Indian constitution much like any other state. All Indian laws will be automatically applicable to Kashmiris, and people from outside the state will be able to buy property there. The government says this will bring development to the region. The political problems that the Prime Minister has yet to deal with are every bit as serious as the economic problems. The consecration of the temple in Ajodhya happened by coincidence on the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. While the community needed to address the elephant in the room and could not be absolved of its responsibility for wrongful acts by the Tablighi Jamaat — the polarised discourse that was unleashed in mainstream media impacted the psyche of the general population. The Muslim community has to find good leadership and integrate itself into the mainstream of Indian society, rather than reverting to separatist tendencies, demagogy, and conspiracy theories. Most importantly, inter-faith dialogue and communal cooperation at every level of society needs to be facilitated. Governments can do a lot but it is up to the ordinary people to work at peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding, by building trust and confidence and knowledge of each other. Without this, nations cannot progress. Unfortunately, in the past many Muslim kings have not left us with pleasant memories. Christianity in India Demographically, Christian believers comprise only a tiny portion – about 2.3 percent of India's enormous population of 1.3 billion. Christianity is India's third-largest religion after Hinduism and Islam, with approximately 28 million followers. Critics should perhaps listen to the sociologists who say the educational and social success of a community could lead to a fall in its population. The fact is, the story of Christianity in India is not a success story. Even though the overseas missionaries are gone, the image and culture of Indian Christianity retain strong elements of foreignness. Most Christians are in line with the Indian mainstream. When the iconic Catholic figure Mother Teresa died in 1997, she was awarded a full state funeral. The gun carriage that bore her body was the same as that used to carry India’s founding father, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, to their cremations. It’s difficult to imagine many other overwhelmingly Christian societies in which a Christian would be accorded that kind of treatment. Are we just diverse with no unity? India, the land that gave birth to four religions and enshrined both secularism and free speech in its constitution, has been having a curious debate these past few weeks about secularism and free speech. The pseudo secularism is making headlines! we must realise we have the power to say “no” to thoughts of resentment, jealousy, anger and greed. We must choose thoughts of love and accommodation and amalgamation instead. A responsible citizen abides by all the law and order of the country. Is there unity with diversity in India? We are just diverse. Where is unity? Even in COVID times we just proved that we are not united. Many of us were ready to infect others and risk their lives by our fraudulent behavior. We attacked the medical and para medical warriors who were trying their best to treat you, test you and prevent you from infection risking their own lives. India believes in” live and let live concept”. Every single person is guaranteed of his constitutional rights. The very idea of India is revolving around ‘unity in diversity’ and ‘diversity in unity’. It guarantees equality, liberty and freedom to every citizen of the country. India has emerged as a major player in the global arena. Besides being a major economic power, India is globally acknowledged as a soft superpower. Its Diaspora is the most successful ethnic group across the globe. Way Forward. Education will bring Muslims to the mainstream. Disrupt Radical Networks Foster Madrassa and Mosque Reforms Expand Economic Opportunities Support “Civil Islam” Engage Muslim Diasporas One nation. One India Law of justice for all! A country can flourish when its citizens are responsible enough to build a strong and powerful nation. We are all responsible for the protection and development of our country. Let us be Indians first, Indians next and Indians last! Dr N Prabhudev Former Director Sri Jayadeva institute of Cardiology Former VC of Bangalore university Former Chairman Karnataka state Health Commission nprabhudev@gmail.com

[baronvontribble]

okay. alright. i’m doing it. here’s a list of AUs that i have toyed with for the robot and marshmallow, none of which have solid titles (and i will answer questions about any of them):

the big story: the one for publishing, so far. both the most finished and the oldest original story. Adam is a runaway police robot who comes to a group of sympathetic humans to find a new body and a new life as a free man. Ted is part of that group and ends up helping him. goes HARD into the AI minutiae and modern concepts about robotics in a five-minutes-into-the-future setting. tackles mental illness, disability, and is generally super soft and low-key.

team winions: workshopped but not written. still nailing certain things down. basically Ted’s the main support on an esports team and Adam is his newly traded-in DPS/lane partner/AD carry. over the course of a season they do the cute bonding thing, and they and the rest of their misfit team eventually secure a finals win for an NA region that’s pretty much never won anything before that. oh, and this one has art! i mean it’s an old art from when i was first thinking of having Adam be on another team instead of a new trade to the one Ted’s on, but STILL AN ART.

(the one who gets traded away is Owen; Rani swaps to top lane, and Angie and Malak stay in the same positions.)

post-apocalyptica: this was an idea for a platformer. basically, the world has ended. Ted wakes up from complete stasis in a hospital after a few hundred years - healed of whatever it was that got him into stasis in the first place - to find that no one’s left but robots (not androids, though) and a voice on a headset. the voice guides him through the ruins of the city to find meds and possibly other survivors (a thing the voice doesn’t recommend). but when he finds those survivors, he finds out that they were woken up too. by the same voice. every single one of them rejected it once they found out what it’d done, and now they’re fighting the robots to ‘take back the city’.

the voice expects Ted to join them at that point, but he doesn’t. instead he asks where the voice is broadcasting from. then he goes all the way to the top of a ruined skyscraper, and on the very top floor he finds Adam hooked up to a bank of servers. this is the last android, trapped by the limitations of his own memory-bloat, kept functional by a mess of wires that connect him to his own massive server room of a brain. upon seeing this, Ted sits down, unpacks his lunch and his meds, and settles in to try and make the guy a little less lonely.

space, idea 1: one of two different ideas that i’ve considered the two goobers for in the same universe; at this point i’ve decided that if Ted gets one, then someone else will have to get the other, because I want to reuse my goddamn space universe. barring that, i could use another idea for a framing device, but i’ll talk about that later. for now, we will say Ted is in training to become a human partner for a ship pilot AI. or was. he’s being threatened with getting kicked out.

why? who knows. it’s Ted. that is not the point. the point is that he is given an opportunity to redeem himself by joining an experimental program that will give him telekinetic powers via alien spores, but to harness them he has to have nanotech and an AI implanted into his nervous system to monitor and regulate the bits of his brain that will spontaneously burst into irreparable cancer the moment he starts the treatment. the cancer is the flipside of a radical regenerative ability that the spores also cause.

Adam is the AI, one of many. he doesn’t want to be there. none of them do. it’s a last resort assignment given to AIs that are about to be sent to run remote He3 scoops out in the sticks. Ted is also one of many humans and most of them are pseudo-dropouts for one reason or another just like he is. very few of them are well-adjusted, and the usual anime training school shenanigans ensue.

but then a dark thing happens. a test subject who was thought dead seemingly comes back and starts killing the AIs, which can potentially kill the people who really need them in their brains. panic ensues; the leader of the program tries for as long as he can to cover it up because it’s a skeleton in his closet, specifically, but eventually it comes back to bite him and everyone else on the station. so it’s up to Ted and Adam and their friend-group to save the day and get everyone who’s still alive off the station in one piece.

space, idea 2: Adam is a freshly minted AI who has a problem: he goes through partners like other people go through shoes. technically he has the right to refuse anyone for any reason, but his handlers think it’s getting a little ridiculous that he’s refused so many. it’s also expensive to keep trying to match him up with people again and again, and no algorithm can really predict the personality profiles that’ll end up being compatible with him since so many have proven not to be.

then Ted stumbles into his airlock, and he gets An Idea: the human can’t act in ways that are incompatible if his good word is the only thing keeping them from getting arrested. so, he takes advantage of the opportunity and says he wants this one as his partner. this one that’s an actual criminal.

his handlers give up, and this is how the story begins. i don’t know where it will go from there. maybe i’ll use my conspiracy plot where Zach’s trying to start a galactic civil war and they uncover his machinations together. or maybe i’ll use the Fermi paradox plot where they’re scouting and they find a Pioneer-level probe out in space only to find its planet of origin completely dead except for a lone caretaker AI overseeing the stored memories and personalities of a million long-forgotten souls. it’s the kind of setup that can go anywhere.

the framing device: but then there’s this. this thing i thought of to tie them all together. if i start with the last and write the rest, then this would be the thing that let me keep writing AUs with abandon: the VR idea. set in my space universe, it would be a procedurally generated full-immersion VR experience compatible with both humans and AIs that allowed them to live fully fleshed-out alternate stories for themselves, either alone or with others. the stories would follow narratives, have plots, have stakes; the promise is that you can spend your time in the sim being the storybook version of yourself.

now, there are settings. when you go in you can tweak the realism, set up what tags and genres you feel like going for, how much drama you want, how much violence you’re feeling up to seeing or experiencing. and all of it is safe, controlled, and probably really expensive. but it’s supposedly the best vacation your credits can buy you without having to go offworld, so it’s an immediate sensation in-universe.

this would be how i’d tie it all together. and i could use it for multiple character pairings. i could even reuse characters if i said it stored imprints of previous users or had stock characters. but for Ted and Adam? they’d use it as a way to meet and fall in love and be with each other in a thousand timelines across a thousand different worlds, and they’d never get tired of it.

anyway, yeah. those are just the ORIGINAL ones. i’d write them in WoW or Shadowrun or Divinity: Original Sin or Dragon Age or Mass Effect or Stardew Valley or Slime Rancher or Cyberpunk or DnD or Fallout or Starcraft or Overwatch or ANY universe if i thought i could get away with it. these boys will always jump into any AU i dip my toes into, and be the first to volunteer themselves for any plot i come up with. if i bring one, the other is coming too in one form or another. that’s just how they are.

now you all know why i never get anything done that doesn’t have them in it.

[tshepiso-reads-books]

Prepare For a Rant | Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Started: February 10th, 2020

Finished: February 14th, 2020

I have a lot of thoughts about Lair of Dreams [Goodreads] and most of them are negative. It took me what felt like several lightyears to finish this book and the reading experience sapped the joy of reading out of me for a while. This is going to be a long one folks, so buckle in. Before we jump into things I’d like to warn that this is going to be a spoilerific review so heed my warning before you jump in.

Lair of Dreams takes place shortly after the events of the first book in this series The Diviners. The city is on the cusp of an all-out outbreak as more and more cases of Sleeping Sickness, a mysterious illness that causes the afflicted to fall asleep and never wake up again, are cropping up in Chinatown. While the gang goes on wildly different adventures in this book they all ultimately come together to solve the mystery of the sleeping sickness.

On Character

My biggest problem with this book is the characters. They’re selfish, self-centered, naïve and don’t understand that actions hurt others. This is most evident in Evie, but every character in the book has moments of this scattered throughout the novel. However,  I feel uncomfortable throwing this fact as a criticism of the book because all of these characteristics are fundamental character traits of teenagers and I find it obtuse to criticize a young adult novel for accurately writing teenaged protagonists. But I can’t divorce this understanding from how absolutely infuriating I found so many moments in this book.

I will say just because our protagonists, and especially Evie, were annoying doesn’t mean they didn’t have depth. Libba Bray is a good writer and fully fleshed out every character in this book mellowing some of my frustrations with them. The perfect example of this is Sam Lloyd. The bad boy character archetype has been done to death in YA, but Sam stands apart from the crowd of tousled haired edge-lords by having a tragic backstory with legitimate weight to it. His search for his mother never felt like an afterthought or quirk. I genuinely felt his deep desire to find the truth and it made him well rounded. The same could be said about all the other characters in the story.

Evie was the only character I truly hated while reading this book. I understand the reason why Evie is the way she is and how her past influenced her bad behavior. But understanding that her PTSD and trauma are the cause of her actions was never enough to get me to sympathize with her. Every single character in this book has been through just as much if not more than she has and they never went as far as to abandon and betray their friends as consistently as Evie did. I could never get behind Evie, her selfishness went above and beyond teenaged immaturity and her inability to own up to her mistakes and change angered me.

Now on to Jericho Jones, my second least favorite character in this book. I genuinely liked Jericho in The Diviners, but his behavior in this book was appalling. I will admit he had the misfortune of falling into one of my least favorite tropes out there: “The Monster Inside Me“ [TV Tropes]. However, his particular brand of self-loathing went further than that. At the end of The Diviners Jericho was rejected by Evie causing a cycle of self-pity that verged on incel behavior. His constant monologuing about how “girls just don’t like guys him” was eye-roll inducing and his hurry to lash out at others because a girl he liked rejected him was gross. His actions depict a man who sees Evie as a prize rather than a human being.

Another problem I had with this book is how central protagonists from The Diviners were sidelined in the novel. It’s almost impossible in a reasonably sized book to follow eight different characters and give them all their due. The characters I feel most negatively effected by Bray’s shift in focus to new POVs were Memphis, Theta and Mabel. It would take over 500 more words to deep dive into my specific thoughts on each of their character arcs so in summation: these three were barely given anything to do and their character arcs didn’t move forward in any significant way. Mabel was given the harshest treatment of all because she had literally nothing to do in this book but pine after a guy who didn’t like her. No other character conflict she had from the previous book in this series was even mentioned or explored.

On Romance

Possibly my least favorite element in this book was its romantic subplot. So much page time was dedicated to it that it could reasonably be dubbed the main plot So here’s the rundown:

Mabel likes Jericho, but Jericho likes Evie.

Evie thinks she likes Jericho but doesn’t want to date him because of girl code.

Evie fake dates Sam and they both start catching feelings.

Jericho goes out with Mabel even though he knows that Mabel likes him and he still has feelings for Evie.

This is the kind of conflict I hate in books. This love triangle was so convoluted and contrived. It did nothing but make me hate Evie and Jericho, and I found none of the romantic tension exciting because the dynamics explored were built on a foundation of miscommunication and lies of omission.

On Representation

While I was pleasantly surprised by the anti-racism in The Diviners I was uncomfortable by the way some of the themes of diversity were explored in this book. In Lair of Dreams, we are introduced to Ling Chang a half Chinese girl with a recent case of infantile paralysis causing her to wear leg braces. She has a lot of self-hatred in regard to her disability. This trope while cliche wasn’t my problem, my problem was how this internal conflict is resolved. Another one of our protagonists, Henry, finds out about her disability and all her self loathing is resolved by him telling her she should love herself. This interaction is that it places Ling’s self-worth in the hands of an able-bodied person rather than focusing this her arc on self-acceptance. As an able-bodied person, I don’t want to cry ableism without shouting out actual disabled people’s voices on the matter so I would highly encourage you to seek out these voices. I’ve yet to encounter an ownvoices reviewer’s thought on Ling’s arc (believe me I looked) and this observation should in no way take away anything from disabled people who appreciated Bray’s writing.

There is so much that Bray does right when it comes to diversity and representation. I find her honest depictions of America’s ugly history timely and relevant and I admire her willingness to starkly show anti-semitism, homophobia, xenophobia, police brutality of the time. She clearly parallels America’s history with America’s present reminding you not so subtly that these toxic ideas still exist. I will warn readers that Bray graphically depicts racist imagery and I found the descriptive scenes of lynch mobs and the like very upsetting so be prepared for that.

One aspect of Bray’s depiction of American society I really liked was her pointed observation of the link between Evangelical Christianity and racism and xenophobia. I also liked how she depicted the ways people use American Exceptionalism (the idea that Americans are inherently superior to all others and that their position as a dominant world power is a God-given right rather than luck and historic subjugation) as a justification for bigotry and all detractors of this ideology is consistently labeled as anti-American by the people who benefit from bigotry.

On Everything Else

I will say Lair of Dreams was fairly well-plotted. Though the mystery element of this book very much felt like a subplot with the character conflicts taking center stage. While I didn’t find the sleeping sickness as outright terrifying as Naughty John in the first book Bray is good at building tension and suspense and the final climactic scene did get my heart racing. Bray’s ability to capture a creepy gothic atmosphere shines in this book and I loved her interlude chapters that showed brief snippets of our characters and the city itself.

Stars 🌟🌟🌟

I don’t know where I stand with this series. I found so much of the reading experience frustrating, but I am still invested in so many of the characters in the series and I would like to see how the final mystery unfolds. We’ll see if I continue on with the series because right now I don’t know.

[themyskira]

One of the things that’s so irritating to me about G. Willow Wilson’s run is that she’s actually taking the story in directions I really want it to go, picking up on plot threads ignored since the end of Rucka’s run, bringing back the mythology and resolving (finally!) Diana’s inability to return home with a development that enables the Amazons and Themyscira to be a recurring part of Wondy’s ongoing story again… and yet somehow she’s doing it in the blandest, most uninteresting way imaginable.

A lot of it isn’t technically bad. She’s not pulling any James Robinsons here. But there’s no emotional punch, no surprise, no heart to it. At the end of the day, she’s just moving pieces around a board.

As an example of this, let’s talk about her writing of Veronica Cale.

Veronica sees love as a weakness. When you open your heart to others, you give them power over you, hanging only to trust and blind hope that they won’t use that power to hurt you, to betray you, to destroy you. When you allow yourself to love, you make yourself vulnerable. You cultivate avenues by which your enemies can attack and manipulate you.

Veronica: Wonder Woman’s been here all of six months and she’s lecturing us about how we need to love one another. That through love we respect each other. That we will appreciate one another and this beautiful, precious world of ours. Adrianna: So it’s naive, maybe, but-- Veronica: It’s not naive, it’s a lie. Love has never solved a problem, Adrianna... all it does is create them.

And this was her mindset before the only two people in the world she’d let into her heart were stolen from her by a pair of sadistic gods seeking to use her to get to Wonder Woman.

Years of tucking an empty-faced, inanimate child into bed each night while her daughter’s soul screamed from the prison of the fear-gods’ gemstone. Years of being forced to scurry at Phobos and Deimos’ bidding as they held Izzy’s life in their hands. It sends her down a very dark road, one that leads ultimately to her ruin and that of everyone around her.

Veronica will not be controlled again, and so she works systematically to control everyone and everything around her. Every person and every resource is a potential tool in her cause, and she’s willing to hurt, kill, torture, manipulate, exploit, curse or destroy anybody if it gets her a single step closer to rescuing her daughter. 

All of this comes to a head at the end of Rucka’s run.  Due in part to Veronica’s own actions, her daughter is lost to her forever. Safe but unable to leave Themyscira, Izzy must remain with the Amazons -- to be raised by the people of the woman Veronica loathes most in the world.

Sick with grief and self-loathing, she lashes out at the only other person who cares - Adrianna, the AI patterned after her lost friend. She rejects that friendship, denies Adrianna’s personhood and dismisses her as a tool, seeding the beginnings of a rift.

She’s attacked by a murderous Cheetah, symbolic in that moment of everything she’s burned and broken and corrupted in her fruitless quest, only to be rescued at the last by none other than Diana.

Which leads to this heartbreaking exchange:

Veronica: We’re never going to be friends. You understand that. Diana: I understand we could have been. I understand that you see weakness in the places where I find strength. And I understand something more. Veronica: Do you? Diana: That you will always be alone, Doctor Cale.

And that’s where we leave her, alone amid the rubble of her life.

As significant as she is to Diana’s Rebirth story, it’s no surprise that the writers who followed Rucka (James Robinson, G. Willow Wilson) wanted to return to her. Unfortunately, neither of them seem to have known quite what to do with her beyond ‘Veronica is rich and powerful and hates Wondy’.

To be fair to them, this would be a challenge for any writer. Rucka created this version of Veronica with a very defined character arc, from the kidnapping of her daughter that begins her descent into villainy, to her tragic ruin which sees her daughter put forever beyond her reach. For ten years her sole motivation has been saving Izzy no matter what the cost, and now that’s gone. What is there left for her? Where does she go from here?

And the easiest answer is, well, she still hates Wonder Woman and blames her for what was done to Izzy, so I guess she’ll just make it her new mission to fuck with Diana by creating new metahuman villains to run rampant or launching a campaign to destroy Wondy’s reputation.

Robinson goes the former route, in the process reducing Veronica to a sadistic mad scientist, throwing monsters at Diana and conducting experiments on her foes simply because she likes hurting them.

“She tried to kill me, did you know that? Came close, too. I swore then that she’d be my property again, if I ever got the chance. So yes. Thank you, Adrianna... let the hunt begin.”

Wilson opts for the latter, and on its face this route has more promise. The celebratory news coverage of Wonder Woman and her (infantile, lecturing, false) mission rankled Veronica even before she became ensnared in Diana’s orbit. Being surrounded by it now, all this fawning over the woman Veronica believes ruined her life? That must burn her. It’s not hard to imagine her launching a covert campaign to show the public the ‘true’ face of Wonder Woman.

The problem here is that such a story has been done, and done very effectively, in Rucka’s first run on Wonder Woman, where he first introduced Veronica Cale. If you want to avoid simply retreading old ground, you’re going to need something more, a new angle.

Wilson has one, but it’s not good.

For context, Wilson’s run begins in Ares’ Themysciran prison, now also home to Grail. In amongst the other weapons littering their cell, Grail idly picks out a sword named Godkiller. Ares (who, apropos of nothing, has decided to stage prison break so that he can live a reformed life as a Noble and Just god of mass slaughter, wtf Willow) demands that Grail use it to kill him.

For reasons that, nearly twenty issues later, still have yet to be satisfactorily explained, Ares dies and is immediately resurrected, resulting in a “cosmic paradox” (?!) that tears Themyscira, Olympus and all their connected realms asunder (?!?!), spitting confused divinities and mythical beings out into the mundane world.

Veronica, observing the appearance of these gods, immediately begins investigating and comes to the bewildering conclusion that Themyscira is gone and therefore Izzy is dead.

This immediately makes no sense. Veronica spent ten years doing everything she could to get Izzy back, in the face of impossible odds. The scientific analysis may be pointing to Themyscira’s collapse, but that’s purely theoretical — and all around her, as gods and monsters materialise from nowhere, Veronica is being presented with evidence that she’s closer to Izzy than ever before. You can’t tell me that this woman, with her single-minded purpose, would give her daughter up for dead before she’d seen a body.

But okay. She thinks Izzy is dead. She’s hurting and she wants Diana to hurt, too. So she decides she’s going to tear apart Diana’s reputation.

By sending the goddess Nemesis to blow up a city street, waiting for Diana to show up and fight her, then storm in with cameras declaring loudly that “Wonder Woman attacked my employee in the course of her job protecting Cale Enterprises from superhuman threats” and then proceeding to file a massive lawsuit against her.

“Let the record show that Wonder Woman attacked my employee in the course of her job protecting Cale Enterprises from superhuman threats. If superheroes want to work, they must do business like everyone else. Register. Pay taxes. Otherwise, it stands to reason that they risk running afoul of the law.”

This is… so far from Veronica’s MO it’s not funny. She’s a meticulous planner, operating from the shadows, never showing her hand before she’s well and ready. Diana was clashing with Veronica’s people for years before she had the slightest idea who they were working for or what they were trying to get from her. She wouldn’t needlessly expose herself to media scrutiny with a stunt like this — not when she could far more effectively demolish Diana’s reputation from a distance with a team of PR operatives, some high-level media and political connections, and an AI ally capable of getting in almost anywhere.

But it turns out Veronica is kind of being controlled by Nemesis, who’s stoking her grudge against Diana (because, in an outrageous bit of mythology fail we don’t even have time to get into, Wilson thinks Nemesis is the goddess of… nemeses), so maybe we can explain away her brash incompetence as her not being in her right mind.

That doesn’t explain why, upon Diana’s breaking the spell, Veronica immediately bursts into tears and starts babbling, “I just want her to be safe— I can’t stop thinking about it— about her being alone and scared and not understanding what was happening—” And sobbing into Diana’s shoulder, she agrees to drop the lawsuit if Diana will search for Izzy.

“I--” [sobbing] “--I just want her to be safe-- I can’t stop thinking about it-- about her being alone and scared and not understanding what was happening--”

Remember, two of the very first things we learned about Veronica: she believes love is a weakness that her enemies will exploit, and she does not fucking trust Wonder Woman. She’s spent a long time cultivating a stony facade to hide her vulnerabilities. She’s not going to let that drop for Diana, not easily. She’s certainly not going to trust to Wonder Woman, the person she blames for Izzy’s loss, the task of recovering her daughter.

But that’s exactly what she does.

So then we get to WW #76. Diana has found Themyscira again, but before she can get caught up with her family, Diana wants to get Izzy back to her own family.

So naturally she LEAVES IZZY ON THE ISLAND and flies off on her own to pick up Veronica and bring her back.

“A reunion that is within my power to grant… yet it means bringing my enemy to the shores of my homeland.”

NO IT DOESN’T YOU ARE MAKING THIS NEEDLESSLY COMPLICATED FOR THE SAKE OF MELODRAMA

So Diana drops into Veronica’s house all, ‘hey, I found your daughter, she’s in the place you hate most in the world, so I thought I’d bring you to her rather than make this easy on you’.

And Veronica, rather than saying, ‘if you found her, why didn’t you bring her with you?’ or ‘why should I trust you?’ or ‘what’s the catch?’… drops her gun and dissolves into a weepy emotional puddle. VERONICA.

Veronica: [wiping away tears] You’re s-still my enemy when all this is over. Diana: You’re still my enemy now. Come. No more tears. There’s a young woman anxious to see you.

Where Robinson erased Veronica’s love and desperation to rescue her daughter in favour of a simplistic villainous portrayal, we see Wilson doing the exact reverse -- erasing Veronica’s viciousness in favour of a simplistic portrayal of a forlorn mother who thinks only of her baby.

And again, NONE OF THIS IS NECESSARY, YOU COULD HAVE JUST BROUGHT IZZY HERE.

Bad characterisation and hacky dramatic devices aside, what makes this story thread particularly bad is that it effects a significant change both in Veronica’s individual arc and in Diana’s relationship with Veronica without actually adding anything to either. There’s no conflict, no complication, no trade-off, no character growth. It’s a half-arsed quick fix, removing an obstacle without any effort or repercussions, which is flat-out bad writing.

And what sucks is it didn’t have to be this way.

Consider this: What if, instead of instantly giving up her daughter for dead, Veronica immediately gets to work hunting for a stable path through the cracks in the worlds? And what if this time, rather than her efforts being a threat to Themyscira and the mortal world, they’re the key to Diana finding her way home and saving Themyscira?

In this scenario, Themyscira is not under attack from within (i.e. the civil war resulting from Grail’s overthrow of Hippolyta), but from without. Evil spirits and mythical monsters have been spilling out of the Underworld through the cracks in reality and the Amazons are engaged in a desperate fight to subdue them and stabilise their world before it becomes subsumed into Hades’ realm. (You could do some cool stuff with the topography of the Underworld beginning to bleed into Themyscira - the flaming river Phlegethon slicing through the landscape, the city strangled by poppies and asphodel.)

The path that Veronica locates leads through the Underworld, so instead of a wacky journey through the ~wild world of Hippolyta’s imagination~ we get an awesome katabasis story! One way or another, Diana and Veronica’s paths converge in the Underworld and they end up unwilling allies, relying on one another to fight their way through.

This unlikely team-up also gives us the opportunity to examine the characters’ conflicting worldviews and unresolved issues with each other. Greek mythology is full of daimones, personified concepts (e.g. grief, rage, nightmares), which provides some great opportunities to bring personal insecurities to the surface and make literal characters’ battles with their fears.

So they make it out of the Underworld and into Themyscira. They find their way to the Amazons’ stronghold, where Veronica is finally able to embrace Izzy. It’s an emotional reunion, but one fraught with uncomfortable edges. Veronica’s spent ten years on a very dark road. She’s committed monstrous acts, ruined lives, doomed souls in her quest to get her daughter back. If Izzy knew the woman her mother had become, it would terrify her.

And as the Underworld encroaches, threatening to swallow whole these women who welcomed Izzy in as family, Veronica’s faced with a choice: save herself and her daughter, while breaking Izzy’s heart — or be the hero Izzy still believes her to be and stand with her enemies to save Themyscira.

With Veronica’s help, they triumph. But the new status quo brings new challenges - maybe Themyscira is pulled into the earthly realm. Maybe the walls between dimensions, while stabilised, remain porous, riddled with cracks through which gods and monsters can escape and wreak havoc. And of course, Ares is now loose in the world, unchained, along with Phobos and Deimos, whose actions brought so much misery on Veronica and her loved ones — and who, now that they’re free, have some scores to settle.

And so, while Veronica is able to bring closure to one awful chapter, returning home with her daughter, she emerges with a new resolve: to monitor, control and — if need be — destroy these gods that now lurk in the world. Because she’ll let the worlds burn before she lets them touch a single hair on Izzy’s head ever again.

Godwatch is back online.

But nah, what we get instead is a trite little reunion that ties everything up in a neat bow for Veronica, with no sacrifices required on her part and no consequences for her terrible actions, because it’s easier to portray her simplistically as a bereft mother than to remember that, HEY SHE’S ALSO MURDERED A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE.

[questionsonislam]

Does the Lord of the Quran make plans (set traps)? How can we answer those who make these claims by using some verses as excuses?

The origin of the word translated as "trap, trick, plan" is the Arabic word "MKR". The concept "divine makr" is well known. While explaining the issue, we will use the terminology of the Quran in order to avoid wrong expressions. Lexically MAKR means to divert somebody from his target through a trick.

The word "MKR" has two reflections: The first one is the MAKR that is praiseworthy and the second one is the MAKR that is that is unworthy.

The nice "makr" is the makr that aims to reach a nice outcome. Allah, who informed His Messenger about the trap/plan of the unbelievers who decided to kill him in Makkah and enabled him to migrate from Makkah the same night, explains the incident as follows:

"Remember how the unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out, (of thy home). They plot and plan and Allah too plans but the best of planners is Allah." (al-Anfal, 8/30)

The MaKR of Allah mentioned in the verse is a nice example of praiseworthy MAKR. (R. Isfahani, Mufradat, MKR item)

We can give the following verse as an example of bad MAKR:

"They swore their strongest oaths by Allah that if a warner came to them, they would follow his guidance better than any (other) of the Peoples: but when a warner came to them, it has only increased their flight (from righteousness)―On account of their arrogance in the land and their plotting of Evil. But the plotting of Evil will hem in only the authors thereof. Now are they but looking for the way the ancients were dealt with? But no change wilt thou find in Allah's way (of dealing): no turning off wilt thou find in Allah's way (of dealing)." (Fatir, 35/42-43)

The trap set by the tribe of Thamud in order to kill their prophet, Salih, is a bad trap but the trap set by Allah in order to save His Messenger is a nice trap. (ibid) Both kinds of makrs (traps) are mentioned in the following verse:

"They said: "Swear a mutual oath by Allah that we shall make a secret night attack on him and his people, and that we shall then say to his heir (when he seeks vengeance): `We were not present at the slaughter of his people and we are positively telling the truth.' They plotted and planned, but We too planned, even while they perceived it not." (an-Naml, 27/49, 50)

It is understood from the explanations above that Allah's MAKR/trap is always a nice tactic in a sense. It means to eliminate the bad traps of the oppressors.

This is the true meaning of the "traps set by Allah" about which people make a great fuss.

We should not forget that Allah, who has endless knowledge and power, does not need to set traps - in the sense that we know - nor does He condescend to do so. However, the Quran addresses people; therefore, it has to use the language that people will understand. One of the phrases that are widely used not only then but also today is "to set a trap, to trick" and words that connote the same meaning. The reason why the Quran, which will be valid up to the Day of Judgment, uses these words in its universal message is a strategic style to influence the people it addresses.

After this short explanation, we can have a look at the verses regarding the issue one by one. First, we will quote the translations of the verses that are used in the objections; then, we will explain them briefly.

1. " By it He (Allah) causes many to stray …" (al-Baqara, 2/26)

Its explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: “Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means Allah by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray and many He leads into the right path but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path).” (al-Baqara, 2/26)

As it is clearly expressed in the verse, some ignorant deniers regarded it very simple for the Quran to give a "mosquito" as an example and regarded it as unfit for Allah. The main reason behind this criticism is the fact that those who criticize the Quran do not believe in it. Thus, Allah answers those unbelievers through those verses. He draws attention to the following points in the answer:

Firstly: It is underlined that mentioning a mosquito is by no means wrong as they think. In fact, no state disdains some of its citizens by ignoring them; similarly, Allah does not regard the mosquito, which is a disdained being, out of the guardianship of His divine state. Besides, there is something else that those ignorant people do not know: the mosquito is a wonderful work of art of Allah. It is not less sophisticated than an elephant in terms of art.

Secondly: Whether a mosquito is worth mentioning depends on the viewpoints of people. Unbelievers can disdain animals because of their negative viewpoints. However, believers think that every living being is a wonderful work of art of Allah and that a mosquito is also a divine work of art worthy of being mentioned in the book of Allah.

Thirdly: Man was created so that he would be tested; therefore, his free will cannot be removed from him because he needs to prefer one side. Therefore, a door is opened for the mind but man cannot be forced to prefer a certain direction. Some people use their minds and believe; others prefer unbelief using their minds. The following phrase in the verse underlines this fact: “He causes many to stray and many He leads into the right path”.

Fourthly: That Allah causes some people to stray is not something random and without a reason. Contrarily, it is based on the acts of the sinners who rebel against Allah and go astray. The following phrase in the verse indicates this fact: “but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path)”. As it is seen, there is no trap or groundless confusing here.

2. "And the best of planners is Allah." (Aal-i Imran, 3/54)

Its Explanation:

“When Jesus found unbelief on their part, he said: "Who will be my helpers to (the work of) Allah?" Said the Disciples: 'We are Allah's helpers we believe in Allah and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims. Our Lord! we believe in what thou hast revealed, and we follow the Messenger; then write us down among those who bear witness.' And (then unbelievers) plotted and planned, and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah.” (Aal-i Imran, 3/52-54)

In the verses above, the state of the disciples of Jesus and those who made plans to kill him is indicated. The word plot/plan mentioned in the following sentence describes this bad plot of those who wanted to kill him:“And (then unbelievers) plotted and planned, and Allah too planned, and the best of planners is Allah.” The meaning of "Allah's planning" is His ascending of Jesus to the sky and ruining their plan. That is, He caused the soldiers to think that the person who showed them his place was Jesus by making him resemble Jesus; thus, He ruined their plan. (According to some narrations, the person that showed the soldiers the place of Jesus was a disciple.)

3. "If some evil befalls them …Say: 'All things are from Allah'.” (an-Nisa, 4/78-79)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verses is as follows: "Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!" If some good befalls them they say "This is from Allah"; but if evil, they say "This is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from Allah. But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact? Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee is from thyself And We have sent thee, as a Messenger to (instruct) mankind: And enough is Allah for a witness." (an-Nisa, 4/78-79)

In the verses above, attention is drawn to two points:

Firstly: It is the answer given to hypocrites (munafiqs). In the previous verse, it is stated that they are afraid of fighting in the war; in the verses above, they say the booties obtained in the war were granted to them by Allah (in order to eliminate the idea that they were obtained thanks to Hz. Muhammad (pbuh)) and that the sorrowful incidents like death, wounds, etc took place because of the Prophet. Allah answers their ignorant claims by drawing attention to the issue of creating: “Say: 'All things are from Allah'.” That is, Allah creates both the good and the evil.

Secondly: The issue is analyzed from the viewpoint of causes not creating and the following is stated: “Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee is from thyself.” That is, all of the good deeds coming to man from Allah is a grace of Allah because the creator of all of the bounties is Allah only. All of the good deeds of man are a result of the bounties given to him beforehand; they are not preliminary to or a means of the good deeds to come. On the other hand, the cause of a bad deed that comes to man is man himself; he gives fatwa to qadar for the bad deeds to come because of the bad deeds he commits.

As it is seen, we are face to face with an issue whose philosophical dimension is very big. It is really a big boldness for those who cannot make their simple minds understand these profound issues to try to regard Allah as responsible.

4. "Allah hath set the seal on their hearts." (an-Nisa, 4/155)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows:“(They have incurred divine displeasure): in that they broke their Covenant: that they rejected the Signs of Allah; that they slew the Messengers in defiance of right; that they said "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's Word; we need no more)"; nay Allah hath set the seal on their hearts for their blasphemy, and little is it they believe.” (an-Nisa, 4/155)

As it is seen, the verse above, which describes the situation of Jews, is very clear. They deny Allah’s signs (verses) and kill Allah’s messengers unjustly; while doing so, they say, “our hearts are the wrappings; they cannot understand these issues" by making fun of the message of Allah. For, the stronger the relationship between crime and punishment is, the stronger justice will be manifest.

It is understood from what is stated by the verse above that Allah did not set the seal on people's hearts at random. On the contrary, He set the seal on the hearts some fanatical irreligious people who committed many major crimes, killed their prophets, closed their hearts to the truths with their free will and sealed them, and then boasted about them.

5. “From those, too, who call themselves Christians …We estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the Day of Judgment." (al-Maida, 5/14)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows:“From those, too, who call themselves Christians, We did take a Covenant, but they forgot a good part of the Message that was sent them: so We estranged them, with enmity and hatred between the one and the other, to the Day of Judgment. And soon will Allah show them what it is they have done." (al-Maida, 5/14)

The people mentioned in the verse above are Christians. Allah obtained from Jesus the same promise that he received from the previous prophets: to advise his ummah to believe in and to help Hz. Muhammad, the last prophet that would come at the end of time. Jesus gave some advice to Christians to fulfill the requirements of this vow. This issue is mentioned in some Gospels. (Ibn Ashur, the interpretation of the relevant verse) However, they ignored this vow and forgot about it in the course of time. Finally, when Hz. Muhammad came as a prophet, they opposed him instead of helping him. Allah caused disagreements among them to show them that they were not consistent.

It should not be forgotten that the disagreements that occurred among Christian sects like Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestants were caused by Christians themselves. For, these disagreements originate from the different views of those sects. What leads them to those different views is various feelings like interest, love of leadership, posts and ranks, originating from their own souls. That is, the real cause of these disagreements is themselves. However, in the verse, attention is drawn to the point of divine punishment, not to the cause, acting upon "the creation of the deed" in order to state that a punishment was given to them. It is underlined that their negative attitude toward Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) had a great role in this sociological incident and the punishment given to them.

6. "For such it is not Allah's will to purify their hearts." (al-Maida, 5/41)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: “O Messenger! let not those grieve thee who race each other into Unbelief: (whether it be) among those who say: "We believe" with their lips but whose hearts have no faith; or it be among the Jews,― men who will listen to any lie,― will listen even to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their (right) times and places; they say "If ye are given this, take it, but if not, beware:" If anyone's trial is intended by Allah, thou hast no authority in the least for him against Allah. For such it is not Allah's will to purify their hearts. For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter a heavy punishment." (al-Maida, 5/41)

In the verse, the free will of man is compared to Allah's universal will as a necessity of testing. "Belief is defined as light put into the heart of man by Allah after he takes the necessary steps by using his free will.”

Accordingly, first man needs to make efforts in order to believe in the messages of Allah sent by Him as revelation by using his mind and free will; then, Allah will activate His universal will, open his heart to the truths and give him the ability to understand. Those who tread on this principle because of their sensual desires will bear the consequences.

This is the situation mentioned in the verse. Hypocrites and fanatic Jews betray Hz. Muhammad. They do not believe in him heartily but they say they believe in him. In order to express their enmity toward Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) and the religion of Islam, they keep saying to the people around, “If Muhammad gives you a fatwa like this, accept it; if it is not given, do not accept it.” That is, they assume an anarchic attitude like accepting or not accepting the laws of the state based on their own desires and try to shake the authority of the state.

We can understand the truths expressed by Allah in order to console His Messenger, who became very worried because of the betrayal of the mischief-makers, as follows: “O Messenger! Do not worry about what they do. Their hearts are spoiled; they cannot understand the truths. If I wished, I would clean and purify their hearts. It is not beyond my power. However, they blackened their hearts deliberately through their persistent unbelief and hypocrisy; so, they will continue to remain like that. They will definitely suffer the consequences.”

7. " The Jews … Amongst them We have placed enmity and hatred." (al-Maida, 5/64)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows:“The Jews say: "Allah's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter. Nay both His hands are widely outstretched: He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth. But the revelation that cometh to thee from Allah increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. Amongst them We have placed enmity and hatred till the Day of Judgment. Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah doth extinguish it; but they (ever) strive to do mischief on earth. And Allah loveth not those who do mischief.” (al-Maida, 5/64)

The explanations about Christians are also valid for Jews, whose situation is described here.

The real cause of the enmity among them is pursuing their sensual desires by abandoning the orders of Allah.

However, the penal aspect of the issue is put at forefront because the divine justice would be overshadowed if they went unpunished. Their crimes are listed and attention is drawn to the punishment they deserve - without giving any details about their deeds that have to occur sociologically.

Their crimes: To accuse Allah of stinginess by saying, “Allah's hand is tied up.” To act in an unruly way toward the revelation of Allah sent to Hz. Muhammad (pbuh). To try to pick a war all the time by eliminating world peace. To try to cause mischief on the earth.

Thus, Allah punished them with their own traps they prepared for the humanity; He allowed them to fight one another as a punishment for trying to make people enemies of one another. He left them fighting one another.

8. "The best of planners is Allah." (al-Anfal, 8/30)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: “Remember how the unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out, (of thy home). They plot and plan and Allah too plans but the best of planners is Allah.” (al-Anfal, 8/30)

As it was stated in the introduction, the phrases meaning “Allah’s setting traps” in the Quran means His eliminating those traps. All of the tafsir scholar understood it like that. To set secret traps and make secret plans in the sense that we understand means to try to do something in an unnoticed way because of fearing from the other party. Does Allah, who has enough power to destroy the whole universe at once, need to set secret traps? Then, this expression is an emphasized style of speech that can be understood by people. Nobody who knows Allah and is aware of the style of the Quran has difficulty in understanding this style. To set a trap is a bad deed but to eliminate a trap is a good deed.

In the Quranic terminology, a good makr/trap is the makr that is made in order to reach a nice result. Allah, who informed His Messenger about the trap set by the unbelievers who wanted to kill Hz. Prophet (pbuh) and enabled him to migrate from Makkah, describes that incident as follows in the Quran: “Remember how the unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out, (of thy home). They plot and plan and Allah too plans but the best of planners is Allah.”(al-Anfal, 8/30). Allah’s MAKR/trap mentioned here is a very nice trap.

9. " I will fill Hell with jinn and men all together!" (Hud, 11/119)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verses are as follows: “If thy Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one People: but they will not cease to dispute Except those on whom He hath bestowed His Mercy: and for this did He create them: and the Word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled: "I will fill Hell with jinn and men all together.” (Hud, 11/118-119)

The issue mentioned in the verses above is a topic of qadar. Qadar is a part of Allah's knowledge. The attribute of knowledge is a property that has no power of sanction. This means as follows: Allah knows everything in detail and how they will take place. Endless knowledge means knowledge that surrounds everything. Ignorance cannot penetrate into the knowledge that surrounds everything.

In the verse above, it is stated that Allah knows with His endless knowledge which way people will follow - through their free will - and whether they will go to Paradise or Hell at the end of the way they choose. There is no compulsion here. The biggest evidence that there is nothing like sending some people to Paradise and others to Hell without any legal and ethical criterion as if drawing lots is the fact that God created all of the beings in the universe in a wonderful system considering all of the necessary balances, that He teaches justice in the heavenly books He sent, that He says He never likes oppressors and that He does not need to do any injustice as a being who has endless power.

10. "Allah… He leaves straying whom He pleases and …"(an-Nahl, 16/93)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows:“If Allah so willed, He could make you all one people: but He leaves straying whom He pleases and He guides whom He pleases: but ye shall certainly be called to account for all your actions.” (an-Nahl, 16/93)

The meaning of the verse above is as follows: If Allah wished, he would force all people to accept Islam and unite them as one ummah. However, this compulsion would be contrary to the mystery of testing; so, He did not do it. Contrarily, He would lead some people astray and others to guidance acting upon their performances based on their free will. For, to prefer guidance and aberration depends on a person's will but to create them belongs to Allah. The expression of this fact aims to make people turn toward Allah, beg and pray Him.

Accordingly, no matter how much a person worships, he thinks that he may go astray any time because of the suggestions of Satan and his soul and that Allah may leave him in aberration; therefore, he always feels that he has to take refuge in Allah and takes refuge in Him. Similarly, no matter how much a person sins, a sinner thinks that he can make himself forgiven by Allah by going to the door of Allah, who holds guidance in His hand by creating; thus, he gets rid of the problem of hopelessness.

The last sentence of the verse, “…but ye shall certainly be called to account for all your actions” indicates that everything will develop based on man's free will and in the way that divine justice foresees. For, if there were compulsion and force, questioning would not be fair. Anybody who believes in Allah believes that Allah is away from oppression and understands the expression of the verse as we have mentioned.

11. " I will fill Hell with Jinn and men all together!" (as-Sajda, 32/13)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verses are as follows:“If only thou couldst see when the guilty ones will bend low their heads before their Lord, (saying:) "Our Lord! We have seen and we have heard: now then send us back (to the world): we will work righteousness: for we do indeed (now) believe." If We had so willed, We could certainly have brought every soul its true guidance: but the Word from Me will come true. "I will fill Hell with Jinn and men all together.” (as-Sajda, 32/12-13)

As it is seen in the verses above, the answer given to those who feel remorse on the Day of Judgment and want to be sent to the world again is in question. People are warned seriously lest they should encounter that terrifying scene on the Day of Judgment, which subdues the oppressors. It is indicated that Paradise and Hell exist and that people will go to either of these places after death. This issue was determined in Allah’s pre-eternal knowledge. Therefore, Allah promises that He will not send people to Paradise without testing them, that He will test them in order to differentiate between the good and the bad, the oppressors and the oppressed and in order to give the people what they deserve and that He will send those who pass the test to Paradise and those who fail to Hell.

12. "If it be His wish to give you Punishment … Nor will they find for themselves, besides Allah any protector?" (al-Ahzab, 33:17)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: “Say: "Who is it that can screen you from Allah if it be His wish to give you Punishment or to give you Mercy?" Nor will they find for themselves, besides Allah any protector or helper.” (al-Ahzab, 33/17)

In the verse above, it is clearly emphasized that Allah holds the reins of everything, that His power penetrates everything, that all beings obey Him and that it is Allah who creates everything good or bad. Through those expressions, it is indicated that there is no god but Allah, that there is no sultanate except His in the universe and that Allah is the only owner of the property hence it is necessary not to worship anybody but Allah.

Instead of being a sincere slave of Allah by taking lessons from these clear truths, following a way that will cause a person a lot of troubles and to make superficial objections instead of understanding seem strange.

13. "If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one."(az-Zukhruf, 43/36)

Its Explanation:

The translation of the relevant verse is as follows: “If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of Most Gracious, We appoint for him an evil one to be an intimate companion to him.” (az-Zukhruf, 43/36)

It is stated in the verse above that an evil being is appointed as a friend for those who do not see and recognize Allah, who has endless mercy, Hz. Muhammad (pbuh), whom Allah sent as mercy to the realms, and virtually pretend to be blind. In return for their pretending to be blind by ignoring the truth, they become slaves of Satan, which makes them blind and unable to see by blinding the eyes of their hearts. For, an angel protects those who are believers. When a person abandons belief, the angel no longer protects him. The person who is unprotected is surrounded by devils. This is a very important lesson and warning.

In fact, an unbeliever always ignores the Quran and is deceived by Satan all the time; similarly, some believers sometimes ignore the Quran and are deceived by Satan. It can even be said that the root of all evil and sins is the time when the Quran is ignored. It is necessary to understand from the following hadith the sign how the devil that approaches man drives him away from belief even if it is for a second:“A person who steals is not a real believer at the moment he steals; a person who drinks alcohol is not a believer at the moment he drinks.”

We are in need of the hearts that can see the truth without any prejudice not without any knowledge.

[mielleuccello]

Another TED Talk About My Undying Support for Daenerys Targaryen

One of the only things I do enjoy about Daenerys’s arc on Game of Thrones is the conversation it has generated regarding governance, leadership, and morality. I’ve been reading and reading trying to wrap my head around this ending in a way that doesn’t feel so *ick*, and I’ve seen about a 50/50 split between camps of people who believe Dany represented war and violence in a story about how war and violence is very bad, and then people who think Dany represented revolutionary processes in a story about how central politics and nepotism will always reject sincere change. I think the conversation alone is profound enough for me to find some solace and closure in the finale.

Option 1 (War/Violence Dany) is *at least* satisfying in that it teaches us about the pointlessness of trying to bring positive change through violence. Even where we--the viewer--have had a full scope on Dany’s intent, background, and thought processes for almost her whole life, we know that there was a pointlessness to killing the entirety of King’s Landing (and potentially all of Westeros). We knew Dany could’ve just settled for taking the throne and engaging in revolution the hard way like she did in Slaver’s Bay, and we were all shocked and disappointed that she chose not to in the end--but narratively it can’t have been too surprising, because she absolutely hated the political process in Meereen.

We saw first-hand her hardship in trying the slow-burn method in Essos--a situation in which she was considered morally good because she was only trying to free slaves and create equality between classes. We saw how resistant the existing, remaining government was to change. We understood how messy making that type of change happen was for all involved (what with economic struggle, plagues, riots, coups, etc.), so there may have been a level of logic to trying her second revolution in Westeros a more ruthless way.

It was also made immediately clear to Dany that Westeros was not as interested in revolution as Slaver’s Bay was, since the poorest classes were technically free and independent and have consistently cared very little for their central government no matter what--this is a point made throughout the series and it was directly mentioned to Dany by Jorah Mormont.

"The common people pray for rain, health, and a summer that never ends. They don't care what games the high lords play."

In Essos, the poorest class was very emotionally invested in Daenerys’s success, which helped her launch her initial revolution. Add this into the fact that the smallfolk are much more invested in their nobility and local government, and that same local government consistently rejects any type of a central government to rule over them (Robert is killed by high lords plotting, Joffrey is killed by high lords plotting, Myrcella and Tommen are killed in the middle of high lords plotting, Robb Stark, Jon Snow, Margaery Tyrell and her family)....and well....Dany’s campaign would be a cocktail for failure if she tried to install herself as queen in a peaceful way. So instead, Daenerys asserting a forceful rule backed by a powerful, unstoppable weapon is definitely a way to bring the lords of Westeros to heel.  You can’t plot against a mothaf**kin’ dragon! What she fails to realize is that doing so alone and unsupported and misunderstood is what makes her tyrannical--the people she’s trying to “save” are not in on the plan, and inevitably reject her and remove her too, because they think she’s just trying to come to power for power’s sake. She’s given them no reason or evidence to think otherwise yet. The nobility would also never want her revolution if it means the destruction of the status quo, and the people don’t care what happens either way if it doesn’t affect them.

Option 2 (Revolutionary/Che Guevara Dany) is interesting because it leaves Dany in the role of a tragic, misunderstood hero even more so than Option 1. In this vein of thought, Dany offered Cersei the chance to surrender, and Cersei instead tried to display herself as a threat. She tried to use innocents and weapons-manufacturing to deter Daenerys, and Dany made an example of her--she sent a clear message to Westeros that nothing would save them if they did not fall in line. There would be no plotting against her, and there would be absolutely no mercy if they engaged in their old games. The wheel would be broken whether the existing lords liked it or not. Perhaps this is cruel and forceful, but it would prevent the high lords from using their smallfolk again (”a mercy to the future generations”)--and would help the smallfolk see the invalidity of their existing government (a government that uses its people as an ineffective meat shield against a dragon queen.) The lords may not ever love her, but they wouldn’t be using their smallfolk to maintain their own power ever again. That is what’s important. The Starks showed us that love and loyalty does not a leader make. Ned Stark, Robb Stark, and Jon Snow all inevitably failed their people and directly caused them long-term suffering via war and unrest (right before the Great War wiped out an already-weakened north, no less!) Even our “just and good” northern lords have not helped the conditions of the smallfolk at all. They are inept.

The stellar thing here is that all of these points are corroborated by the most stable and just king Westeros has had in generations--Robert Baratheon!

He knows how the incompetent lords of Westeros would react to a Targaryen invasion.

From the smallfolk wiki page:

When Cersei Lannister asks Robert why he is so worried about the prospect of a Targaryen-aligned Dothraki army, he explains that should the Dothraki cross the Narrow Sea, the nobles can retreat to their castles, but then a great many of the smallfolk would be slaughtered and those that are left will turn on their absentee king and possibly decide to join Viserys. 

He also knows how to keep them abiding by his rule:

"Honor? I've got Seven Kingdoms to rule! One king, Seven Kingdoms! Do you think honor keeps them in line? Do you think it's honor that's keeping the peace? It's fear! Fear and blood!"

Let it be fear!

I like this the most because it solidifies The Battle of King’s Landing as more-Hiroshima less-slaughterhouse--it immediately ended a long, horrifying war and prevented the escalation of worse types of warfare purely out of fear for an overwhelming weapon. This also implies that had Dany lived, she wouldn’t necessarily have to continue burning up cities, because the lords would already know what was coming for them. The central character perspectives in the finale made us believe Dany intended to burn other people, but that’s a relatively baseless assumption. (For example, she only crucified the masters when they crucified children to deter her campaign. She did not crucify masters when they revolted against her. She did execute one of them as a statement but could have slaughtered all of them to negate all opposition against her, if she were truly a mad, power-hungry queen. We also can’t even compare the two situations, since Daenerys was considerably less powerful at the time--having no Dothraki army, no extra allies or naval fleet, and no fully-grown, trained dragons yet. Her power at the end of GOT is enough to bring the lords in line on its own, without political statements and maneuvering.)

Furthermore, her disdain for the existing smallfolk of Westeros is explained when in comparison to those of Slaver’s Bay. These people really don’t give a s**t about making the world better, whereas the people of Slaver’s Bay follow Dany’s dream to the very end (and beyond).

The citizens of King’s Landing are completely indifferent towards supporting a disgusting human being like Cersei, whereas the people of Slaver’s Bay displayed passion and morality similar to what Dany is feeling. All these things together explain why Dany decides that “they don’t get to choose [what’s good.]” Because they just don’t care about good or bad for everyone else. They are the ones who let people like Joffrey, Cersei, and the Boltons take power with apathy. So only the people who do care get to decide what’s good for the world.

And FINALLY, for some additional thoughts, I like either of these points of conclusion for Dany’s arc and motivations because it helps create an idea of cosmic destiny. She was on the trajectory towards something massive and world-changing--the birth of her dragons, her visions, and epic journey full of magic and supernatural guidance all were pointing her towards some type of world change. It is the existing status quo--the darker, political side of humanity....the game--that kills her for it, despite her intentions and abilities.

(Perhaps there’s some divine intervention about to happen a la resurrection anyways!)