#manipulation 101 is in his blood

[crashcitycentral]

Bart: I’m trying to convince Tim that I’m just a figment of his imagination.

Tim, sleep deprived and emotional: STOOOPP!

Bart: What’s wrong, Timber?

Tim, crying on the ground: BECAUSE ITS PROBABLY TRUE!

Bart: Is it because I represent your inner child that was denied a childhood so you focus that energy on creating someone to bring out the carefree and positive disposition in your life?

Tim, aggressively sobbing:

[robinmage]

personally i think a super important part of jinshi and maoamos relationship (esp at the beginning of the series, though still true) is how they both have had really negative experiences regarding sexually/romantically-natured exchanges. maomao grew up in a brothel, shes seen probably every situation possible under the sun of women being abused, manipulated, lied to, and used for a mans personal benefit. and as such, the typical "sweep her off her feet with honeyed words and false promises" approach doesnt work on her at all, because shes already seen 101 different ways that can go wrong. subconsciously or not, she just instinctively knows that those 'fake'-like people cant be trusted.

jinshi, due to his characteristically beautiful face, has had no shortage of admirers during his time at the rear palace. women that invite him to their room in the evening, give him food with blood or hair or whatever in it, gifts him literal aphrodisiacs. hes willing to use his beauty to get what he wants (never unreasonably, though) but it becomes evident later that he certainly has some kind of complex about it. hes only 19(?) at the beginning of the series, and hes already been working in the rear palace for long enough to garner a strong reputation. the only people hes close to is gaoshun and MAYBE gyokuyou. to him, it probably seems like everyone else only cares about how pretty he is, and ignoring anything beyond that.

and so he meets maomao, who reacts to his advances not just coldly, but with obvious disdain. she sees RIGHT through his false flirty demeanour, and seems to be one of the only few people to do so. he doesnt expect that, and that interests him. not being attracted to his face is, in jinshis eyes, a key trait to have in order to work with him. he seeks maomaos counsel time and time again (bc he likes his new toy but also) because he trusts her to work WITH him, not FOR him; actually using her head to figure out what the best conclusion is, instead of just blindly following him and giving him whatever she thinks would make him happy with her.

after it becomes obvious to him that absolutely none of his advances will work on maomao, he really tones it down and they enter what i call their "bonding stage", which is mostly just dealing with situations around the inner and outer court together. thats where the foundation of their relationship really starts to grow; jinshi values maomao for her intellect and straightforward attitude, and maomao values jinshi for being a genuinely kind and hardworking person. they start to hold each other in higher esteem because they actually see each others real selves, and likewise appreciate that finally someone can see them beyond that metaphorical impersonal veil.

[astromaxi]

[Popular Boy Geto!]

A/N: this is so poorly put together but this man has been on my mind 24/7

>:0

Warning: Underage drinking, mention of Geto using other people, mention of Geto manipulate people, talk of mental breakdown, slight mention of depression, yandere(?), mention of obsession, Geto and Gojo lowkey having a thing, Geto okay with sharing you, Geto getting drunk by just seeing you

(I might miss some warning, lmk if that happens) (Not proofread like usual, didn't edit it, and probably some spelling and grammar mistakes)

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Popular Boy Geto, who is more emotionally available than his best friend, makes it easier to get with the girls at their school.

Popular Boy Geto, who is also praised for the contracting appearance he shares with Gojo, his board structure with dark long hair and mysterious purple eyes. That only seems to soften when he stares at a certain person in his English 101 class.  

Popular Boy Geto, comes from a well of family, not well off like Gojos. Still good enough to get into this school without needing to fill out an application form. He is still stupidly well educated using it to his advantage when he smooths talks Gojo and his professor to cancel class on Friday so they can throw another party. 

Popular Boy Geto, who even if he is more emotionally intelligent, still feels hollow and cold inside. Not being able to care about anyone besides this person he is attached to by the hip. Gojo Satoru. 

Popular Boy Geto, who can't hold back the gut-wrenching feeling when he has to comfort his best friend, the guilt that flows through him like a waterfall as he promises Gojo that he will make it all better, that everything will be okay, that they only need each other. He holds Gojo in the quiet hours of the night, well after Gojo calms down as they make silent promises to each other.

Popular Boy Geto, who sees you with your friends at Gojo’s homecoming party, and a sense of ecstasy rushes into his veins that gets him more drunk the the liquid in his hands. 

Popular Boy Geto, feels his blood run cold when he sees Gojo make his way towards you, thoughts swimming in his head as he questions his best friend’s intentions.

Popular Boy Geto, who swears to the higher beings that Gojo better not try to get with you for a quick hook-up 

Popular Boy Geto, who also makes his way to you and your friends, slides next to Gojo like two puzzle pieces being placed together. He looks around the group you chose to be with as a bitter taste falls onto his tongue without even taking a drink of the sour liquid in the red cup. 

Popular Boy Geto, who looks into Gojo's cerulean blue eyes as he takes a beaten breath of relief when he sees the same obsession that Geto has been plagued with. He slings his arm around Gojo's shoulders, as Geto falls naturally into the conversion that is currently going on. 

Popular Boy Geto, once the party is done Gojo and him are lying down in the snowy boy’s bed. Getos arms are tensing and relaxing around the boy’s waist. Thoughts pass by his head. One after the other, as he tries to decipher the situation. But, if he and Gojo can share anything. Then let them share the same obsession. 

[sarasade]

The Dragon Prince & Queer Subtext - Fandom and Media Analysis of Sort

Lately I’ve been pondering about the ins and outs of Viren and Aaravos’s relationship and why they give off such a queer vibe. So I ended up writing this 2 and half Word document pages long little breakdown because why not.

I think what’s going on here is about the underlying elements of the story- subtext and how their relationship could be perceived through a queer lens. Note: my brain has marinated in queer subtext juices my whole life and I have no intent trying to prove my reading is the only right one.

That Sweet Sweet Gay Shit- A Fandom Perspective

There is a lot of queer subtext between them. Homoerotic subtext even. Their scenes together definitely activated the search function in my brain’s queer coded villain trope lexicon. 

You know- mutual penetration with a phallic object (knife), sharing some kind of mysterious bond through blood magic, so, you know, bodily fluids are indeed involved, the classic slash fiction trope “we are close but we cannot touch” -gay pining because the mirror separates them. When Aaravos is shown for the first time in the mirror the camera does this Laura Mulvey Male Gaze 101 up-down pan shot of him from Viren’s POV. Something that’s usually reserved for female characters when male characters “check them out” in a movie. And then my personal favourite: Something that comes out of Aaravos enters Viren, comes out and then transforms into a creature with a toddler level intelligence- they made a freaky little metaphor baby together! Awwww!

And let's not even talk about the possession and Aaravos slowly taking over Viren’s body. The aesthetics of a toxic queer romance are all over their interactions.

No, Viren! Don’t express vulnerability as an intimidating male figure! Tumblr will babygirlify you!

Storytelling

So what about their interactions makes me perceive them in a queer way? By “queer“ I mean the broader concept of queer here; does the way the characters are depicted come across non-heteronormative and disruptive to gender norms.

I’m mostly talking about the season 2 here since they share their most intimate scenes together in that season.

1 Story Function

Aaravos and Viren’s interactions are supposed to have multiple purposes in the story: They move the plot forward, characterise both Viren and Aaravos, create emotional conflict and intrigue in the viewer etc. Viren observing Aaravos through the mirror is supposed to create mystery and spark the audience’s curiosity. Viren is a device through which Aaravos’s allure gets demonstrated to the viewer so of course their interactions come across pretty, hm, charged. Anyway there are layers of meaning here the audience can interpret in multiple ways both intuitively and through an analytic lens. The meaning naturally changes the more context we get. There are still three more seasons to come.

2 Gendered Tropes

There is a certain element of seduction present: Viren gives Aaravos more access to himself and his body little by little in exchange for Aaravos fulfilling his desires (for power). This could be read as having sexual undertones. Some of Aaravos’s first words to Viren are clearly something Viren wants to hear “How may I serve you?” Weaponising manipulation and seduction, where a character poses as submissive while having alternative motives, is something female characters traditionally do in stories. I don’t know about you but Aaravos’s character has a bit of a femme fatale thing going on if you ask me (haha!) There is something about him that defies gender roles that’s not just about his androgynous looks.

A traditional Femme fatale is often a tragic figure trapped in unfortunate circumstances. They are shrouded in mystery which prevents the audience from empathising with them or understanding their motives. The character often uses coercion to make their victim do what they want. And yes there definitely is an element of coercion and even a threat of violence present in Aaravos and Viren’s relationship. Their goals are aligned for now but what happens if/ when Viren decides to defy Aaravos? TDP makes me wonder (with horror) what it is that Viren has really agreed to.

3 How the Show’s “Camera” Portrays Aaravos

Even the camera emphasises him as an object of desire. Something he is from the story point of view as well. Viren desires access to Aaravos’s power after all. When the camera puts Aaravos on display in an objectified manner in the beginning of the season 2 it’s supposed to, in my opinion, heighten the feeling of Aaravos seeming harmless at the first glance. And by “objectified” I mean he’s portrayed without agency.

I joked earlier about male gaze and Laura Mulvey but I do actually think there is some truth to that. One of the biggest reasons behind me thinking Aaravos was a pretty pretty lady at first was how he was introduced in such a feminised way. And I wasn’t the only one. Just look at the comments under his TDP Wiki article. (Lots of het men being confused about their sexuality. Also shout-out to that one lesbian). This makes him appear less threatening so the story can build suspense around his true motives. It’s not evident that Aaravos is a completely sinister figure at first, at least compared to Viren who seems more like the main villain of the story prior to the seasons 3-4. Little did we know back then that Aaravos was the true alpha male of this whole sordid affair.

Aaravos in the mirror from Viren’s point of view, season 2, episode 3.

Why I’m not mentioning anything about Viren’s gender performance is because his story conflict is all about struggling with traditionally masculine gender expectations. Understanding how his character relates to hegemonic/ toxic masculinity/ emotional struggles men face in real life is a core part of understanding his character as a whole. That’s a broad topic and this post is long enough as it is so I’m going to leave it at that. (Maybe someone else has written about that already?)

4 The Audience Is Also at Aaravos’s Mercy

Aaravos’s submissive façade is supposed to fool both Viren AND the audience. The show plays rather cleverly with the audience’s expectations here. Slowly the roles are starting to flip until it’s clear that Aaravos is the one in control. Given Aaravos narrates the opening of the first story arc it raises even more questions: Is his control over Viren supposed to parallel his control over the whole world of the show? This circles back to the show’s themes of freedom vs destiny. It feels almost meta in a way how the story’s villain tries to gain control over the whole narrative.

5 Horror and Fantasy

The powerplay between the characters naturally creates a plenty of tension and it’s not unusual that this translates into something sexually charged in the audience’s minds. While this is the perspective I’m the most interested in, there are other layers to Aaravos and Viren’s scenes together.

For example this kind of breaking of bodily boundaries is common in horror as well. Aaravos is beautiful and mysterious but is also associated with repulsive things like larvae and blood and there is something very eerie about him in general. These kinds of emotional reactions of repulsion and attraction are essential to horror. The audience sees that everything isn’t definitely quite right about him but it’s also understandable that the audience (and Viren) find him fascinating. I think the key word for these scenes in the season 2 is “ambiguity“. Even if you aren’t invested in these characters this show would be much less fun without all the nuance their interactions have.

In a good story everything isn’t just literal. Especially since TDP is a fantasy story- A genre that’s traditionally been all about symbolism and intertextual references. I could go on and on about the genre traditions with similar flavour to what Aaravos and Viren have. Michael Moorcock’s classic sword and sorcery antihero Elric of Melniboné and his pact with the demon Arioch comes to mind.

Something Something Fandom

Viravos as a ship lives in the subtext but the subtext isn’t always black and white. Fiction uses metaphor and other storytelling methods to create meaning- To give a narrative experience. The queer subtext in TDP feels very elaborate to me and while I’m dissecting these scenes more analytically here my emotional reactions are the original source of that interest. No matter how much time passes I’m still a morbid teenage goth at heart and that part of me loves the dark fairytale aesthetics akin to TDP season 2.

I didn’t even touch on the element of Viren giving into a “forbidden desire” (literally his desire for power but- you know- multiple readings etc.) when making a deal with Aaravos. Something very typical to the horror genre as well. It’s a “deal with the devil” -sort of situation and those stories often paint the agreement as something corruptive and sinful and therefore transgressive. This post by Tiredsunrisesmeta got you covered on that. Also queer coded villains something something- Anyway, read Tiredsunrisesmeta’s blog for more.

Pictured: Yours truly

Last and Least

I remember when I saw a post here saying that “Viravos couldn’t be canon because it’d be too sexy.” and that’s just the funniest way to put it in my opinion. Their relationship feels a bit too, I dunno, mature? for this show. But what does “canon” even mean? Is a gay ship canon when two characters of the same gender kiss and declare their love? Get married? Have kids? Personally, I don’t want to see LGBT+ characters’ stories just copy straight romance tropes beat by beat all the time. I want something that feels authentic and what’s more authentic than Viren being a cringefail bisexual getting rejected by men and women and then getting his life ruined by the sexy femboy elf satan? Kinda iconic honestly.

[blast-offbluetanica]

MHA DR RAMBLES

Let’s talk abt my quirk cus like I need to know if I’m powerful enough to not get my ASS BEAT 😨✋🏾 off topic Kirishima looks so good in this art.

Okay so my quirk is called ‘Haemopsychokinesis’ which basically means blood bending/manipulation BUT it’s mixed with a hint of psychic energy/powers.

- I can make weapons and objects out of blood (I normally use a blood scythe yk cus it looks cool), and can even make weapons from random body parts; a visual representation of this is how migi from parasyte makes weapons from any random part of its host body, but instead of it being like a limb, it’s just my blood.

- I can make my enemies blood clot, causing them to die

- I can make puppets out of blood, I can also use my opponents blood to make them a puppet.

- I can also increase or decrease stamina, regeneration, strength and speed of anything or themselves because of blood flow and nutrients.

- I can clone myself, create portals, and drown people all with blood.

- A drawback I have is I may start having a small nose bleed, but it’s only minor. Nothing to bad. It’s the only drawback and it comes with nothing severe.

- I can break skin to make more blood to control if there’s none around me.

- my blood is made to be indestructible, making my own body indestructible and untouchable against quirks like example; shigaraki’s

- Healing; Can heal using my quirk, but can only heal myself, not others.

- Ability booster/enhancer; I can use my own blood to increase my strength n stamina, my speed, and my limits and abilities.

- I can make blood tendrils or tentacles, they work like how Spider-Man would use his powers or Choso from jjk and also Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul

- I can regenerate (venom who?)

I’m probably forgetting some stuff tbh my script is on my laptop and I’m using my phone, so like time for the psychic part of my quirk.

- When my quirk is at its most powerful it’s called overdrive, then that’s when the psychic part of my quirk shows more; (I unlock this part of my quirk permanently after the whole USJ incident with the lov.> what I scripted) Like; Shigeo from mob psycho 101

Telekinesis; possesses immeasurably potent telekinesis. I can move objects up to extremely heavy weights (buildings, trucks, etc), i could pin crowds of hundreds to ceilings, create impenetrable force fields using blood, use the objects I wield out of blood to propel me in the air, disassemble and reconstruct blood on a molecular level. So I can disassemble a human being since they have blood in them, if I add my own blood to an object without blood, I can now use my abilities on them.

Psychic Energy Absorption; I have the capabilities of absorbing/draining energy from other living things, I can absorb energy based attacks aimed at me and even absorb energy from my surroundings to power my blood manipulation.

Spiritual Awareness; Can sense the energy of others, up to 20 kilometres, I can sense the presence of other people and pinpoint their whereabouts.

This is all about my quirk^^ any thoughts? I know blood manipulation and being a psychic has little to know correlation but I thought it was a cool idea so 🤷🏾‍♀️ FUN FACT!! I saw someone do a quirk that’s inspired by Danny Phantom’s powers and omds it was so cool 🗣️🗣️

[morally-grey-girlbosses]

Propaganda under the cut.

Claudia:

she’s so fucked up. turned into a vampire as a child, mentally matures to a woman while being stuck in a girl’s body, commits a LOT of murder. plotted with her fatherbrother to kill his husband/her brotherfather. has a little notebook where she writes down the final words of her victims, and in the case of said brotherfather, STICKS HER PEN IN HIS SLIT THROAT TO WRITE HIS FINAL WORDS IN HIS OWN BLOOD. Literally she is the peak of girlbossery and also my dotter my little 🐞 🤏 eensy. Dotter.

Essun/Syenite/Damaya:

She is an orogene meaning she has the ability to manipulate and redirect kinetic energy and can use it to stop or create earthquakes (among other things). In order to test her control over this power the guy who was taking her to the Fulcrum (orogene institute) broke her hand to see if she would lash out when in pain (if she had been unable to control her reaction he would have killed her). She later did the same to her daughter (not under threat of death). She accidentally destroyed a port town when she escaped from Fulcrum agents. She killed her first son rather than let Fulcrum agents capture him as she suspected they would subject him to a fate worse than death. Her ex started the apocalypse and charged her with catching the moon (that has been flung away from earth) when it comes back to save the world.

[renamusing]

chaddy manipulation 101 is going as brilliantly as expected... i will laugh my ass OFF if aaron actually manages to fake apologize and act like he is on good terms with them just so he gets to see eve. i dont think the writers will let him act like an adult, but it's what those two deserve. i mean, it just makes my blood boil that chas, CHAS, who knows exactly why aaron hates her so much right now, is going to cut his access to eve when she was (indirectly) responsible for what happened to liv and then actively chose NOT to be there for aaron when liv died, so much so that she convinced aaron to leave for italy when aaron had made up his mind to stay despite everything.

i know it's so easy to hate aaron rn because he has been vile and horrible to everyone, but if i put myself in his shoes i wouldnt even be in that village. so they better bring his husband back because no one truly gives a fuck about him and it breaks my heart.

[horizon-verizon]

Do you think, Aegon ii and Daemon blackfyre share alot of similarities? Weren't they both not interested in ruling until they've been manipulated by those around them so they can use these two as political tools? All of their children died in the war ?

Aegon II actually very much wanted to rule: Post #1, #2 and his switch up from THIS to THIS. Basically, I do not think Aegon II totally a victim of Criston’s persuasions. He wasn't much manipulated, he definitely wanted that throne as well, so that’s a bit grey there...if we believe Septon Eustace, who Gyldayn says “insists” this to be true. My own doubts may be biased, but why the “insists”? No Septon Eustace is likely lying or making heavy embellishments. He proves himself a green supporter.

And here is the entry in AWoIaF for how/why Daemon Blackfyre may have rebelled against Daeron II:

Yet too many men looked upon Baelor's dark hair and eyes and muttered that he was more Martell than Targaryen, even though he proved a man who could win respect with ease and was as open-handed and just as his father. Knights and lords of the Dornish Marches came to mistrust Daeron, and Baelor as well, and began to look more and more to the old days, when Dornishmen were the enemy to fight, not rivals for the king's attention or largesse. And then they would look at Daemon Blackfyre—grown tall and powerful, half a god among mortal men, and with the Conqueror's sword in his possession—and wonder.

The seeds of rebellion had been planted, but it took years for them to bear fruit. There was no final insult, no great wrong, that led Daemon Blackfyre to turn against King Daeron. If it was truly all for the love of Daenerys, how is it that eight years passed before the rebellion bloomed? That was a long time to harbor thwarted love, especially when Rohanne had already given him seven sons and daughters besides, and Daenerys had also borne Prince Maron several heirs.

In truth, the seeds found fertile ground because of Aegon the Unworthy. Aegon had hated the Dornish and warred against them, and those lords who desired the return of those days—despite all the associated misrule—would never be happy with this peaceable king. Many famed warriors who looked with dismay on the peace in the realm and the Dornish in the king's court began to seek Daemon out.

Perhaps at first, Daemon Blackfyre merely indulged such talk for the sake of his vanity. After all, years had passed between the first men approaching Daemon and the actual rebellion. What, then, tipped Daemon over into proclaiming for the throne? It seems likely it was another of the Great Bastards: Ser Aegor Rivers, called Bittersteel. Perhaps it was his Bracken blood that made Aegor so choleric and so quick to take offense. Perhaps it was the ignominious fall of the Brackens in King Aegon's esteem, leading to his exile from Aegon's court. Or perhaps it was only his rivalry with his half brother and fellow bastard Brynden Rivers, who had been able to maintain his close relations at court—for Bloodraven's mother had been well loved during her life, and was fondly remembered, so the Blackwoods did not suffer as the Brackens did when the king cast off his respective mistresses.

Whatever the case may be, Aegor Rivers soon began to press Daemon Blackfyre to proclaim for the throne, and all the more so after Daemon agreed to wed his eldest daughter, Calla, to Aegor. Bitter his steel may have been, but worse was his tongue. He spilled poison in Daemon's ear, and with him came the clamoring of other knights and lords with grievances.

In the end, years of such talk bore their fruit, and Daemon Blackfyre made his decision. Yet it was a decision he made rashly, for word soon reached King Daeron that Blackfyre meant to declare himself king within the turn of the moon.

("The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II”; pg 101-102)

He somehow "made his decision" before King Daeron II sent people after him.

And this is Daemon’s history/background:

However, one of those natural children came from a woman not accounted his mistress: Princess Daena, the Defiant.

Daemon was the name Daena gave to this child, for Prince Daemon had been the wonder and the terror of his age, and in later days that was seen as a warning of what the boy would become. Daemon Waters was his full name when he was born in 170 AC. At that time, Daena refused to name the father, but even then Aegon's involvement was suspected. Raised at the Red Keep, this handsome youth was given the instruction of the wisest maesters and the best masters-at-arms at court, including Ser Quentyn Ball, the fiery knight called Fireball. He loved nothing better than deeds of arms and excelled at them, and many saw in him a warrior who would one day be another Dragonknight. King Aegon knighted Daemon in his twelfth year when he won a squires' tourney (thereby making him the youngest knight ever made in the time of the Targaryens, surpassing Maegor I) and shocked his court, kin, and council by bestowing upon him the sword of Aegon the Conqueror, Blackfyre, as well as lands and other honors. Daemon took the name Blackfyre thereafter.

("The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV”; pg 95-96)

AND

Although he [Daeron II] could not—and would not—rescind his father's last wishes, he did what he could to keep the Great Bastards close, treating them honorably and continuing the incomes that the king had bestowed on them. He paid the dowry that Aegon had promised to the Archon of Tyrosh, thereby seeing his half brother Daemon Blackfyre wed to Rohanne of Tyrosh as Aegon had desired, for all that Ser Daemon was only four-and-ten. On their wedding day, he granted Daemon a tract of land near the Blackwater, with the right to raise a castle. Some said he did such things to assert his rule and legitimacy over the Great Bastards, and others because he was kind and just. But whatever the truth, such efforts sadly proved in vain.

("The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II”; pg 100)

I don’t know if Daemon Blackfyre was so vulnerable either to Aegor Rivers’s persuasions so much as he accepted the offerings and fell into the temptations of power, wanting to accomplish a full coming into power that his upbringing, his father’s favor, and his name “promised” him.

[katarinas-redemption]

The Alchemist (No. 101). 👏👏👏 Episode highlights.

Season 1, Episode 12 "THE ALCHEMIST"

LET'S REMINISCE!

Red notifies the team that a man known as the Alchemist has been hired to protect a mob informant and his wife;

Official synopsis: As Red (James Spader) enlists activist whistleblowers in his search for the mole, Liz (Megan Boone) pursues a deranged scientist who's helped dozens of criminals escape by engineering and killing their genetic doubles.

Eric Trettel aka The Alchemist. - Meera: His name’s Eric Trettel. Flunked out of med school. Falsified a degree from Harvard and used it to land a job in the Human Genome Project. He spun that into a career as an expert witness specializing in DNA evidence. Ressler: He testified in a case on behalf of Carlos Trena, a soldier in the D’Angelo crime family facing three counts of murder one. Meera: Trettel was hired to present exculpatory DNA evidence. Problem is, that evidence was falsified. Trettel was outed as a fraud and disgraced. Two weeks later, he disappeared. It was believed either the D’Angelo family had him killed or he fled to avoid indictment.

Liz: He’s, um – a scientist, an expert in DNA.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

Red: – There’s someone I think you should find.

He’s a man who protects the guilty by preying on the innocent. He’s killed women, children, infants if need be– whatever the particular job calls for.

Red: I bring this to your attention because I’ve learned that he’s been contracted to protect Pytor Madrczyk and his wife.

Liz: You were wrong about Madrczyk. You said the Alchemist was hired to protect him. Now he’s dead.

Liz: How does he do it?

Red: I don’t know even half of it. I’ve heard rumors– removing the white blood cells from the victim and replacing them with the red blood cells of his client, leaving clone DNA at crime scenes to mislead the police, even incorporating synthetic DNA into genuine human tissue.

Liz: So this isn’t just evidence tampering. This is genetic manipulation.

Red: Yes. It’s a trade in death. The guilty give their blood and genetic identity.mThe innocent give their life for the guilty to live. If you find the Alchemist, you have a chance to resurrect the dead, to bring to justice some of the most vile creatures who ever lived.

Red: If you find the Alchemist, you have a chance to resurrect the dead, to bring to justice some of the most vile creatures who ever lived.

Aram: The female victim on the plane was named Sarah Jenkins.

Liz: How did you identify her?

Aram: The Alchemist knew that, based on a forensic procedure, we wouldn’t run tests necessary to distinguish between synthesized and natural DNA. Now that we know what we’re looking for, we pulled the bone–marrow sample, ran it against our database.

Mrs Madrczyk: I got a call. Are you Trettel?

Trettel: We have a situation.

Mrs Madrczyk: Yeah, we have a situation. You crashed our jet, murdered five people. We’re supposed to be gone. You assured us. I was on my way to Budapest when my husband was taken into FBI custody.

Trettel: Who did you tell?

Mrs Madrczyk: We paid you to make us disappear.

Liz: Sarah Jenkins was using an online–dating site. That’s how we think the Alchemist found her. Gave him everything he needed to know to double her as Catherine Madrczyk.

Liz: He knows we’re onto him.

Ressler: That’s why he took the risk of coming into the field office. Got Madrczyk, his wife– The guy’s killing everybody that might lead us to him.

Liz: Oh, my God. His family.

Ressler: [ On phone ] Malik, we’re too late. Molly and Annie Trettel are dead.

Mrs Trettel: You’re not gonna get away with this.

[isamajor]

Whumpblrful’s 100 Drabble Challenge - Whump Edition (prompt 26 to 30)

More of of @whumpblrful‘s 100 Drabble Challenge with Skyrim Custom-voiced Followers.

26 – Flinch

He hated caves. The stale air that stagnated there. The feeling of suffocation and the possibility of being swallowed up under tons of earth and stone. Telmiltarion had followed the Dragonborn and the others, with his teeth clenched, his stomach knotted, and his ears straining for the slightest suspicious noise. The sudden echo of rolling pebbles made him flinch nervously. He suppressed a small cry, his sweaty hands clutching the hilt of his sword to keep them from shaking. With each noise a little too sharp, a little too close, the Altmer could not suppress the reflex flinches of his body. (101)

•

27 – Forgiven

"You will never be forgiven, I never can. You were a Thalmor bastard.", Kaidan threw at Taliesin, with a dark look. The Mer sighed, lowering his eyes. The barb hurt. He had a lot of blood on his hands. All for the ego of his father and the Aldmeri society, which were not afraid to break a young soul to fit the mold. But that, Kaidan probably couldn't hear. It certainly didn't erase his guilt. And besides, was that forgivable ? The bottom of his soul wasn't bad, Taliesin just hoped his time in the Thalmor hadn't tainted it too much. (104)

•

28 – Abuse

Lucien was shaking. The guards had accused him of theft he had not committed. He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and seemed like the perfect culprit to them. Barbs and insults rained down first, and when Lucien found a bit of courage to oppose them with his right, the beatings followed. The guards pushed Lucien against the cold stone wall.

"Pathetic Imperial scum. No one will believe you. We are the law."

In the dimness of the cell, they abused the scholar, until his spirit broke and he agreed to confess this theft he had never committed. (102)

•

29 – Brainwashing

His father relentlessly molded him to be shaped into the perfect Thalmor. Day after day, he was subjected to mental conditioning, his own thoughts twisted to align with Thalmor ideals. Taliesin was the first born son, he couldn't disappoint his father.

"You must rid yourself of weakness", his father would say, his voice like ice. "Embrace the rightfulness of our cause."

The brainwashing took its toll, leaving Taliesin questioning his own identity, hating is own body. The line between truth and manipulation blurred, and he found himself torn between loyalty to his homeland and the doubt in his heart. (100)

•

30 – Illness

His body was burning with fever and shivering. The Rattles. The others assumed he held on as long as he could so he wouldn't have to show his pain. And now, Nebarra was unable to get up, his body weak and crippled with aches.

"You need to rest.", Xelzaz sighed, pressing a cloth soaked in cold water to the mercenary's forehead.

"I don't need your pity, lizard.", he growled in a hoarse, weak voice before looking away.

Xelzaz didn't bother to retort. Seeing Nebarra so weak and sick affected him more than he imagined. (98)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Ive been following the smkakaohybe drama since you wrote your post abt it and its so crazy like a real lief drama 😭😭 i dont work in corporate so i didnt know that shit could get like this lmao is it always this dramatic??? like the sm ceo dude really released a two part video now like youtubers do when they want to “tell their truth” lmaolmao i feel like sm ceo dude really is scrambling bec this is so unprofessional??? like lsm the dude who started all this mess is doing better than him just releasing written statements lmao are the videos supposed to help with the shareholders or its just for public pr??? the ceo threatening bang to release a record lf their phone call??? in Public??? as an outsider the whole thing is lookin more and more like a petty family squabble on thanksgiving bw the two sm parties and kakao and hybe are the unsuspecting partners dragged into it unknowingly or smth lmao

but fr tho i feel like hybe bit more than they can chew bec this has gotten a lot messier than people could possibly have thought last week lol i feel bad for the employees and artists tho bec whether its hybe or kakao things are gonna change and maybe therell be firings too

***

Ask 2: the pink blood shit is wild tho like it sounds like a cult lmao i know armys joke abt being purple blooded but the pink blood is wild to me bec imagine stanning lsm and sm as a company stan 😭 what the hell is happening over there there might be smth in the water???

**

Ask 3: That video was interesting for so many reasons. But the most surprising thing was the breakdown in ticket pricing between sm groups and hybe. Was that supposed to be a drag for hybe?

***

Hi Anon(s),

I really have nothing else to add beyond what I've said already, except to use what Anon in Ask 3 says as a good example.

(Screengrab from SM video seen on my Twitter)

The whole video made me laugh, but this slide alone shows how much of a joke that company under Chris Lee's management is, because this slide is a class in manipulation 101.

I'm not sure if I have to spell this out, but pricing is a function of demand and supply. And if the disaster that was KAMP LA 2022 (k-pop's Fyre Festival scandal) didn't show the vast disparity in perceived and actual demand for mostly SM groups, if the brouhaha over Hybe's merch pricing didn't do that either, then the fact most analysts comp HYBE against Tencent, Warner Brothers and UMG, rather than SM or YG, should have settled this debate months ago. And this is aside from the fact that in this slide, SM quotes HYBE's VIP pricing against SM's regular ticket prices...

Like, y'all, how can you blame me for laughing?

This whole thing is pure entertainment so I suggest you just nod, smile, and wave.

[buckttommy]

2022 writing review

tagged by: @rosesau. honestly? i'm pretty sure other people have tagged me but i wanted to wait until the very last day of december to do this because i knew i still had one more fic (101 Ways) in me so! i am sorry if you tagged me in this towards the middle/beginning of december, i forgot but i still ly

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 14

2. Word count posted for the year: 90,600

3. Fandoms I wrote for: 9-1-1

4. Pairings: buck/eddie

5. Story with the most: 

kudos: hear me now (1733) bookmarks: also hear me now (506) comment threads: aaaand here me now again (83)

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): bite your tongue to watch it bleed was just a stream of conscious thought turned into fic. I put Eddie on Frank's couch but it was mostly therapy for me.

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): CATWS au because it was the most disingenuous thing i have ever written lol

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: I've returned to Charlie (@safeashousespdf)'s comments on the bullet in my gun several times and think about them often

SHUT UPPPPP SHUT UP OKAY THIS IS SO GOOD. The use of flashbacks, the way there are all these different bits and bobs and styles all gnarled together and how it reflects all the chaos of Eddie's thoughts and his conversation with Frank and then it all just-- Freezes. Like I physically felt time slow down. Idk how you did it but that whole long flashback about Alex and high school and all of that stuff, I could literally feel it taking place between seconds. And the DIALOGUE of Eddie and Frank just having a go at each other like this?? Oh what a serve. I love when it's busy at the therapy appointment and the closeted gay men get mean <3 ALSO** RAMON AS A LONG HAUL TRUCKER WORKS SO WELL AND IS SOMETHING I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED..... ALSO SIDE NOTE: "Careful with that body, boy. People will see everything you don't want them two." I'M SO FUCKING OBSESSED WITH THIS LINE. I love when author's address characters directly for a brief moment because it's like, who is speaking?? Is Eddie saying this to himself? Is his father? Is it someone else? Are we breaking the fourth wall by acknowledging Eddie as a character, trapped within a narrative that doesn't want him to be happy??? IS IT ALL OF THE ABOVE??? And the way you refer to his body as a secondary object: something he owns rather than something he is. Something that he can commodify, he can sell it to the military or to his father or manipulate it so that nobody can see who he really is. That also fucked me up. Anyway this was incredible, Jack.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: Buddie Big Bang was one the worst writing experiences of my life. Will I probably do it again? Sure. But I hated it in the moment.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: Writing smut in CATWS AU and Bittersweet and Cruel. I've never wanted to write smut, and still don't want to. Hated every second of it, never doing that again.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: Honestly? I have quite a few lines that had me shook, like, purely just cannot believe they came from my brain. But the first two bits that came to mind are

across our great divide:

El Paso has a way of drawing blood, all hometowns do. That's how your roots grow, after all, right through the soil upon which you bled and then back up under your skin, forever tying you to the land that birthed you.

speak in the silence:

[...] As if love is a currency, a bartered exchange between two distant parties. Hell, maybe in his family, that is all it will ever be. But that is not is not love. Love is a garden that leaves blossoms on your tongue and teeth, planting seeds every time you kiss the cheek of someone you adore and cradle. Love is soot under your nails and smoke in your skin, because love always leaves the ninety-nine to save the one. Love is the giggle of your son pressed against the cotton of your shirt, and a rosepetal birthmark above a strong brow set in a kind face, and a home-cooked meal spread out on a long wooden table. Love, Eddie knows now, is an action verb; it is not just an inkstain in Merriam-Webster's; it lives and breathes and weaves and anchors. It exists, even if it runs dry within the walls of his parents' home.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I finally became more settled into my identity as a writer; I know what I like. I know what I don't. I know what ways I still want to challenge myself, what things aren't for me. I took risks with enormous payoff and I took risks that I maybe shouldn't have, but I did them and that's what matters most at the end of it, since the past cannot be rewritten.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: Not sure! I guess I'll figure it out as the opportunities come along.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc): @kitkatpancakestack @malinaa and @rosesau, you guys challenge and inspire my writing all the time so thank you <3

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: *gestures wildly at bite your tongue*

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: You will never, ever, ever write like anyone/everyone else. Even your favorite authors, so please stop trying. Embrace who you are as a writer and, if you don't know who that is, explore it. You are the only one who can/will ever write like you so don't hide behind trying to write like others; it won't work and it'll only make you miserable.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: Most of my projects are for IRL writing, but! My goals are to: finish the second draft of my {REDACTED NOVEL}, explore the bounds of an idea I have for a short story collection in the same universe, and publish a few fun fic things along the way :) :) :)

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read. @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels @extasiswings @sabitchhh @kitkatpancakestack @kirkaut @rewritetheending @raisesomehale @malinaa <333

[lansplaining]

While we’re putting these characters in theoretical situation jars and gently shaking them:

What if another cultivator who wasn’t that hot on the clans and their power jockeying say one who wanders with a husband and a donkey and eventually their own kid meets Meng Shi either while she’s pregnant or while JGY is very small, and convinces her to try the Baoshan Sanren route for her son instead or waiting for the impossible aka waiting for Jin Guangshan to not be The Absolute Worst ™?

If/when Meng Yao decides to come down off the mountain like his now sect brother XXC - raised under different creeds/expectations - we now have an actual connection between him and Mr. Protagonist himself WWX via Cangse Sanren/Baoshan Sanren, can skip the Unclean Realm awfulness RIP Nie Huaisang you have no one to help you get out of saber practice now, etc etc.

Real danger is the young Lan sect leader considering running off and being a wandering cultivator after meeting Meng Yao when he flees Cloud Recesses after the Wens rock up, tho 😉

sorry i got distracted watching my faves walk around in their jar together. meng yao tried to gently teach xiao xingchen to be better at telling stories and it didn't work at all :')

i think if meng shi had the personality to do something like that, her and JGY's lives would have gone very differently, frankly. for whatever sad and (from the outside) kinda crazy reason, her belief in jin guangshan was sincere. it has to have been. she's smart, she's literate, and most importantly she is a professional sex worker, she knows how this usually goes. if she'd let herself get pregnant to manipulate jin guangshan like anxin suggests, then she would have played that scenario totally differently than in canon. meng shi is as incapable of letting go of her belief in jin guangshan and her son's birthright as jin guangyao himself ultimately is, and i don't think even he really knows why.

but yeah, let's say that meng shi and meng yao have to run away from yunping for some reason, or meng shi knows that she is dying and has some reason to be afraid that meng yao won't be able to make it to lanling-- maybe he's much younger than in canon, as you say.

i just.......... can't help but feel like yao sanren would be waiting until he could go down the mountain to find his father.

but okay, he's like an actual baby and he never gets to know meng shi and never knows who his father is or what she wants from him-- he's raised completely in baoshan sanren's principles. bloodlines are bullshit, stay on the mountain or otherwise do good in the world.

...i'm really struggling, because I don't know who meng yao is if he doesn't want the things he wants. it's very writing 101 but if a character is their desires then... he's just a different person. he's a maybe slightly more grounded xiao xingchen, someone who wants to help people but this time has been raised in the belief that it's possible. all signs show that if JGY had been properly trained he'd be very talented, so he's probably a formidable cultivator. he doesn't have to be afraid. who is he then?

and of course, we can't forget the other aspect of being a disciple of baoshan sanren.

maybe the tragedy that befalls him is that he does learn who his father is. he learns that, no matter how respected and mystical his master, his mother is still seen as filthy-- but his father is a golden god in a tower. that's where good flows from in this world. he's a xiao xingchen who starts to understand why his mother thought she had to run away from the world. he's one who begins to learn to compromise, and then compromise more, and then compromise again, and most damningly of all to want to be part of the world-- not just by leaving the mountain, but by climbing the tower, to be accepted there, for his blood, which isn't supposed to matter.

[detectivejigsawpines]

The Ultimate Disney Villain Showdown-Part 3

I think that covers the animals. Now on to part 2 of Round 1-Mundane Villains!

Hans (Frozen)

Manipulator

Heartstomper

Yet another guy who just can't wait to be king

Strengths: Manipulation, charm, cunning, charisma, singing voice, horse, nice sideburns, sword

Weaknesses: Being punched in the face, sisterly love

VERSUS

Sheriff of Nottingham (Robin Hood)

The original Wolf of Wall Street

Tax collector

Big-bellied bully

Strengths: Intelligence, strength, sword, capable of throwing his weight around, light on his feet for his size, pettiness

Weaknesses: Incompetent vulture sidekicks, unnecessary cruelty, occasional inability to see through disguises, being chased by tents, catchy songs, having a twangy southern accent in medieval England

****

Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)

Sadistic puppy killer

Fur fashion fiend

I don't care what the new movie tries to tell you, she is not a good or sympathetic person

Strengths: Ruthlessness, determination, intelligence, being a rich white female with a bobbed haircut, intimidation, drives like a maniac, terrifyingly awesome mansion

Weaknesses: Temper, impatience, incompetent henchmen, future lung cancer victim, greed, vindictiveness, able to be outsmarted by dogs

VERSUS

Madam Medusa (The Rescuers)

Child labor supporter

Cruella expy

Yet another example of a Karen

Strengths: Shotgun, pet crocodiles, intimidation, boat driving skills, manipulation, determination

Weaknesses: Impatience, temper, fear of mice, hotheadedness, bad boss, vanity, able to be outsmarted by mice

****

Shan Yu (Mulan)

Leader of the Hun Army

Howling wind

Possibly genetic experiment crossbreeding him with a hawk or something-check out those eyes

Strengths: Intelligence, sword, pet hawk, strength, freaky yellow eyes, giant freaking army, ruthlessness, determination

Weaknesses: Avalanches, fireworks

VERSUS

Mr. Scroop (Treasure Planet)

Technically an alien, but just go with it

Spider psycho

Israel Hands expy

Strengths: Giant pincers, ability to crawl on ceiling, vindictiveness, cunning, manipulation, eavesdropping, being part of a criminally underrated awesome movie

Weaknesses: Temper, impatience, the cold void of space

****

Percival C. McLeach (The Rescuers Down Under)

Poacher

Walking Australian stereotype

Surprisingly frightening by virtue of how willing he is to murder a child in cold blood, and because of the face he makes in that one scene

Strengths: Manipulation, being voiced by George C. Scott, strength, multiple weapons, Joanna (lizard sidekick), cool hat, determination, ruthlessness, intimidation

Weaknesses: Bad boss, beer gut, temper, gets outsmarted by mice

VERSUS

Lyle Tiberius Rourke (Atlantis)

Mercenary

Graverobber

Double-parker (allegedly)

Strengths: Manipulation, combat skills, ruthlessness, weapons, intimidation, pettiness

Weaknesses: Lack of conscience, ultimately a sellout, can't handle being cut by magic blue glass

****

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

Hunter

Stalker

Self-entitled bas...ketcase

Strengths: Charisma, cunning, manipulation, weapons, determination, slyness, popularity, good looks, deep singing voice, combat and hunting skills, high alcohol consumption

Weaknesses: Overblown sense of entitlement, illiterate-ness, vanity, selfishness, inability to accept rejection

VERSUS

Clayton (Tarzan)

Hunter

Poacher

Boss level after defeating Sabor

Strengths: Shotgun, machete, stealth, cunning, determination, manipulation, hunting skills, voiced by BRIAN BLESSED, absolutely massive chin

Weaknesses: Temper, impatience, berserker rage, susceptible to vines (not the Internet kind)

****

Bradford Buzzard (DuckTales)

Accountant

Leader of secret organization

Massive killjoy

Strengths: Manipulation, secret-keeping, espionage, bookkeeping, cunning, caution, practicality

Weaknesses: Control freakishness, fear of potentially dangerous situations, unresolved childhood trauma, inability to accept own villainy

VERSUS

Dawn Bellwether (Zootopia)

Born leader (it's literally in her last name)

Fearmonger

Political terrorist

Strengths: Hench-rams, manipulation, determination, deceptively cute appearance, ruthlessness

Weaknesses: Not physically strong, cute fluffy sheep, hatred of predator animals

****

Bill Sykes (Oliver & Company)

Gangster

Loan shark

Kidnapper

Strengths: Dobermans, intimidation, realistically horrifying, determination, willingness to kidnap a little girl

Weaknesses: Underestimating weaker parties, future lung cancer patient, trains

VERSUS

Governor Ratcliffe (Pocahontas)

Gold-digger (literally)

Designated villain on account of name

Historically inaccurate

Strengths: Charisma, opportunistic, authority, musket, nice hat, gets two villain songs in the same movie

Weaknesses: Greed, recklessness, racism, uncompromising

****

Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)

Evil Stepmother

Amateur slavedriver/domestic abuser

Social climber

Strengths: Manipulation, authority, expressing disappointment, cunning, using casual cruelty to ensure cooperation, looking absolutely terrifying in the above scene, being voiced by the same woman who voices Maleficent

Weaknesses: Jealousy, greed, helplessness against true love or whatever 🙄

VERSUS

Mother Gothel (Tangled)

Wannabe flower child

She and Frollo would be a match made...somewhere

Terrible babysitter

Strengths: Emotional abuse, semi-immortality, cunning, manipulation, ruthlessness, deception, not afraid to get her hands dirty

Weaknesses: Vanity, selfishness, unused to defiance, unwilling to age gracefully

****

Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

Pirate

Neverland inhabitant

Wannabe child murderer

Strengths: Hook (well, duh), swordsmanship, cunning, crew, cannons, loophole abuse, wrath, very snazzy dresser

Weaknesses: Cowardly, whiny, crippling fear of crocodile, obsession, overconfidence, semi-competent crew, constantly beaten by a child

VERSUS

Judge Claude Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Religious leader

Hypocrite

Abusive parent

Strengths: Authority, religious mania, being voiced by Tony Jay, awesome villain song, even more awesome hat, manipulation, deception, ability to destroy self-esteem, determination

Weaknesses: Obsession, decades of suppressed libido, xenophobia, tendency to talk/sing to the fireplace, hallucinations, lava

****

Toffee (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)

Former general

Bipedal lizard

Nice dresser

Strengths: Regeneration, manipulation, intelligence, practicality, strength, possession, nice suit, patience

Weaknesses: Boring, dresses like a lawyer, sadly underutilized by his own show which had a TOTAL COPOUT ENDING THAT WAS SO STUPID I CAN'T EVEN-

*Deep breath, deep breath*

...You saw nothing. Just move along, nothing to see here.

VERSUS

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb)

Evil scientist (NOT a pharmacist)

Either a genius or an idiot, it's hard to tell

Most wholesome villain ever

Strengths: Titanium arms, ability to build -inators in a day or less, ability to break or at least lean on fourth wall, combat skills (at least when up against platypus), ability to burst into random song and dance numbers at the drop of a hat, ability to break cycle of abuse and do his best to be a good father to his daughter, virtually indestructible

Weaknesses: Easily distracted (possibly ADHD), almond brittle, unresolved childhood trauma, pettiness, loneliness, social awkwardness, doesn't seem to understand the concept of NOT including self-destruct buttons on -inators, fears bats and vending machines

[iturbide]

Oh I don't doubt edelgard believes her cause is just. The thing with her is it doesnt stop with her reforms and her toppling of the church. Thats how we know her goal is conquest.

In 3 hopes she had her reforms made WHILE rhea was in power. And Even with Rhea dead and the central church dissolved she doesnt stop her war. At this point it is no longer about removing the church to make way for reforms. Because she accomplished both of those things and she's still not done.

Why isn't she done? Because thats not her ultimate goal. She wants all of fodlan under her control. Funnily enough, Claude says it too. His reason for killing rhea was because he foolishly believed that would remove edelgards reason for war. ( it doesn't).

He also said that if she doesn't stop her war, then that means her war is just blatant aggression. In their supports he calls it Conquest and edelgard doesn't deny it, she knows what this is ( shes much more honest about it in 3 hopes) and she actually tells him she wants the kingdom gone, not just the church.

villains don't need to be like "tee hee mass murder , war , conquest! Yay!" realistic villains are those who truly believe in their cause and theyll say this is for the good of all. what makes them a villain is how they will do absolutely anything to achieve their aims no matter how much blood is spilled and how much suffering it causes. No "sacrifice" is too great for Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg.

this is how they justify conquest irl no? Western imperalism 101. We say It's for a just cause. We say Its for their own good. We say our way is the superior way and they will see that (or die) . Truth is we can make up any reason for it , the end is the same and they still hate us for it. And i can't say I blame them for feeling that way lol

I was never trying to refute that Edelgard is an imperialist. She's absolutely an imperialist. There's really no getting around that. But I'm pretty alarmed by this take, because it discounts a lot of things about her and her character in favor of a read that her goals are motivated solely by selfishness.

And this is coming from someone who has an entire tag devoted to Edelgard criticism.

It bears repeating out the gate: I haven't played Three Hopes yet. I don't imagine I will for a while yet, and news on Edelgard's route has been sparse coming to my inbox, so I'm not able to speak on Scarlet Blaze in any real capacity (not that I take it as any sort of canon, myself, though that's neither here nor there). But I can speak on Three Houses, since I have played through three of the four routes in their entirety, including Edelgard's -- Verdant Wind, Silver Snow, and Crimson Flower are complete; I've stalled halfway through Azure Moon. And in the case of Three Houses, while Edelgard is definitely chasing an image of the past now lost in the form of a Fodlan united under the Imperial banner, I don't think it's fair to say that she's only after that.

The fact is, she's not wrong that the Crest System is bad and needs to be reformed. She lays the blame on the wrong target, through a combination of misinformation and only partial understanding of the larger situation (likely for a number of reasons, including the unavoidable evolution of House Hresvelg's "true" history of Fodlan passed to its heirs, potentially influence from the Agarthans in manipulating information for their own purposes), but she's not wrong about the fact that the system is toxic and something needs to be done. And that system doesn't exist only in the Empire: its influence extends throughout all of Fodlan. So she sets her sights on tearing it out wherever it's taken root.

From a character and narrative standpoint, it does actually make sense that she'd target the Church of Seiros: the faith of the land gave rise to the System, even if Seiros herself had no hand in it, and so the only way to change the system is to raze the faith of the land and bring about something new. And because the Church has footholds in the Kingdom and Leicester -- both of which also suffer from a system that overvalues Crests -- she takes her campaign across those borders. Yes, she also believes that the Church was responsible for breaking up the Empire into the Kingdom and later the Alliance, thinking that it was a means of creating artificial divisions between people to keep them in conflict and unable to turn on the Church and its inhuman arbiters -- but ultimately her goal was to free all of Fodlan from the Crest System, rather than only Adrestia.

I don't say any of this to discount that she does horrible things. Because she does. There's a reason I will never play Crimson Flower again. But to flatly vilify her rather than acknowledging her as a complex character with justifiable goals is something I can't accept. Making the situation out to be a black-and-white, good-and-evil dichotomy flattens what makes Edelgard interesting and compelling as a character in favor of presenting her as Lady Walhart but with enough sense to not broadcast her intentions. And that's not fair to her, because there's a lot more to her, her situation, and her character overall than what your message implies.

[sskk-ao3feed]

Bloodsoaked Threads of Small Town Hearts

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/JUuKzEv by anonymousimagination Every small town holds its secrets, each person in it, their own. On the rainy night of a book signing at Dazai's bookstore, a body is discovered, a man murdered in cold blood. Everyone in the town is accounted for, everyone except one. When Nakahara Chuuya becomes the main suspect in the murder, Dazai is torn between believing the facts in front of him and trusting his feelings for his friend, feelings that run deeper than he cares to admit. And in the shadows, a stranger is weaving a deadly tale of their fate. Their story wasn't supposed to end like this...right? Words: 389, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Ryuunosuke (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Gin, Izumi Kyouka (Bungou Stray Dogs), Edogawa Ranpo (Bungou Stray Dogs), Edgar Allan Poe (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Bungou Stray Dogs), Kunikida Doppo (Bungou Stray Dogs), Miyazawa Kenji (Bungou Stray Dogs), Yosano Akiko (Bungou Stray Dogs), Mori Ougai (Bungou Stray Dogs), Hirotsu Ryuurou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Tanizaki Junichirou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Tanizaki Naomi, Tachihara Michizou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Sigma (Bungou Stray Dogs), Nikolai Gogol (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fukuzawa Yukichi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Lucy Maud Montgomery (Bungou Stray Dogs), Fukuchi Ouchi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Jouno Saigiku (Bungou Stray Dogs), Suehiro Tecchou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Ookura Teruko (Bungou Stray Dogs), Higuchi Ichiyou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Ozaki Kouyou (Bungou Stray Dogs), Sakaguchi Ango (Bungou Stray Dogs) Relationships: Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Akutagawa Ryuunosuke/Nakajima Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Edogawa Ranpo/Edgar Allan Poe (Bungou Stray Dogs) Additional Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Feels, Murder Mystery, Heartache, Alternate Universe - Small Town, Self-Worth Issues, Dazai Osamu is Bad at Feelings (Bungou Stray Dogs), Caring Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs), Dazai Osamu is a Mess (Bungou Stray Dogs), Romantic Fluff, Flirting, Love Confessions, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Trust Issues, Falling In Love, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Betrayal, Nakahara Chuuya Uses Corruption (Bungou Stray Dogs), Man-Eating Grimoires, Nakahara Chuuya is a drunken mess, Denial of Feelings, Flirting 101 with Dazai Osamu, Soukoku | Double Black (Bungou Stray Dogs), Meant To Be, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, High Stakes, Matter of Life and Death, Fate Worse Than Death, Deity Arahabaki (Bungou Stray Dogs), Slow Dancing, dancing in the dark, Strangers to Love, Made For Each Other read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/JUuKzEv