#one of them literally said that what she has planned can be done individually

[zukkaoru]

refreshing my canvas inbox every 3 minutes like please cancel class you know you want to no one wants to go out in this weather please please please you're nothing

[arkhammaid]

— ˚₊‧⁺˖THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | THE PRE-SEASON TESTING

fandom. formula one & mcu

about. it's pre-season testing time!

content warnings. smau & written parts, written in 3rd person & lowercase, not edited & proofread

word count. 1.1k

notes. we're dipping into the season, slowly but surely... this took me some time to finish, i literally didn't know what to write for testing ://

"we are here in bahrain, pre-season testing for all teams in 2025, welcome everyone!" croft greets the whole world, as live footage is shown across the devices. the camera spans over the whole track, to each individual paddock until stopping at the final one, in blinding white.

"the season is starting with a bang, for the first time in formula one, we will see a stark owned team on the track! in white and chrome they are, an iconic design and everyone is eager to see what the stark manufactured cars can do!"

"how right you are, david! welcome, i'm will buxton and i have someone of interest with me here. right here, in front of the stark racing garage- y/n stark, number 95, one of the drivers for stark racing. so, y/n, tell me, how are you feeling? are you ready for the first time in the car?"

"hello will, thank you for having me. well, it's not quite the first time in the car, we had a testing back in miami at the end of january, but it's something different to be officially here now. but i'm feeling confident- we have our data, the predicted numbers and we think we'll be able to achieve them."

"so, no major upgrades or changes planned?" y/n shakes her head with a grin.

"do you really think i'm going to answer that question? ask me again, when we're done." will laughs at that, nodding his head in understanding.

"understandable, but i will hold you onto that! gonna knock on the garage doors three days later." y/n laughs again, head thrown back. "but, y/n, how does it feel to be on the paddock? have you met the rest of the drivers yet? made any new friendships?"

"well..."

"can you turn that off?", carlos gruffly asks his teammate, who just waves his hand at him as answer. with a groan, he stares at the tv, showing the first driver interview of the day, y/n stark. her voice washes over him, empty answers of being excited to properly meet everyone and maybe even bond with a few drivers.

"i don't know why you're so obsessed, perceval." charles immediatly splutters, waving his hands to deny the accusation.

"i'm not! but it's so interesting! tony stark is literally here, aren't you at least a bit excited? arthur said that y/n is like him!"

"what, arrogant? self-centered?"

"carlos! stop being so negative! i meant like- a genius! someone who raced with her back in f3 is friends with arthur, i forgot his name, but apparently y/n constantly does calculations while she drives. that's why she's so good overtaking." carlos just sighs and leaves charles to whatever he's doing right now. he has no interest in this circus.

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊˚—

kevin watches the interviews from the sideline, completely satisfied with how everyone is hounding y/n and leaving him in peace. of course he had his fair amount of questions and interviews, but much less than his teammate.

it has been a whirlwind, ever since he joined the team. strange, for a while, everything seeming so futuristic, but now his glasses feel like a another part of his race suit he's putting on every day.

the team has been welcoming, open to his input, but it's very clear to him that y/n is their star driver and he's the support. and he's alright with it. of course, winning a championship would mean everything, but he knows he's not going to continue this forever. especially not when he has a kid, he's missing so much... something he dislikes, because family means everything to him.

this is why his contract is only for two years. if he wishes to continue and his results at the end of the season are steady, tony promised him a seat as long he wishes for. he is incredibly thankful for this offer, fully knowing that this kind of support doesn't exist in formula one.

"ready to go?", he asks, after y/n's press officer ushers her out of the mob called journalists.

"so ready to go", she grins. but they're not alone, the netflix camera's immediately surround them and capture their walk to the garage. people part from them, staring openly at the drivers. one of the most iconic footage later shown in the drive to survive documentary.

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊˚—

"so, here he goes, kevin magnussen for stark racing, leaving his side of the garage. the car is looking incredible, i really like the color!", comments crofty and the other men immediately begin to chatter as well. throwing in rumors and hearsay about the team, they expertly fill the silence of kevin doing his first lap on the track.

"last to leave the garage and on the track, all eyes are on stark racing- oh and there he goes, picking up the speed!"

"his tyres seem to have warmed up- woah! look at the smoothness! kevin seems to be home in his car, his struggles from the last season are nowhere to be seen", adds jenson, while the cameras continue to follow the white car with the number 20.

"and there he goes! on medium tyres, setting the third fastest lap already, this looks definitely promising." will shares his own thoughts, reminding the viewers that there is definitely a possibility of stark racing going at least one or two seconds faster.

"by the looks of it, the stark racing team seems to be satisfied- honestly can't tell much, the glasses are hiding too much", jokes another man and all of them laugh. "bloody starks, am i right?"

— ˚₊‧⁺˖ 🏎️ ˖⁺‧₊˚—

the testing days are filled with endless laps and data, followed by long hours of debrief. they've already proven that they're fast, slotting themselves on the upper half of the grid, sticking close to the more experienced teams.

speculations are thrown around, is stark racing sandbagging? of course they must be, while others think that this is the best they can do. neither of the drivers or the team principal lose a word on it, instead they repeat always the same statements.

"we delivered what we predicted."

"we tested our theories, confirmed or debunked them, so the past three days have been very productive."

"we're exactly there where we want to be and we know our next steps."

empty words and yet the journalists pounce on them as if they're the next headlines. the whole world watches with eagerness as stark racing finishes up their debut in formula one and they impatiently await the first race of the season.

taglist. @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @aimixx , @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @akiraquote , @kiiyoooo , @nichmeddar , @nothingfuninthislife , @minkyungseokie , @fionaschicken , @lyrasconstellation , @spideybv28 , @keii134 , @starssfall , @tpwkstiles, @fangirl-dot-com , @nichmeddar , @lady-laura-speaks , @nikfigueiredo , @hinamesgigantica , @brakingboundaries , @almostjollypizza , @yoremins , @raizelchrysanderoctavius , @celesteblack08 , @watermelon-sugars-things , @lighttsoutlewis , @radiantdanvers , @vellicora, @sterredem , @hiireadstuff , @jolixtreesunn , @mypage-myfandoms , @nelly187 @greeneyesandsunshine , @fulla02 , @welovediaaxx , @whyamireadingthis , @67-angelofthelordme-67 , @blueberry64857959 , @winchesterwife27 , @six-call , @skywalker1dream , @mellowarcadefun , @cherry-piee , @peterholland04 , @motorsportloverf1 , @renarots , @msbyjackal , @woozarts , @leclucklerc , @yl90

crossed off tags mean i can't tag you!

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

[amelias-zelda-calamity-quintet]

Would love a director's commentary of any/all your fics 🙏

AH! I wasn't expecting an answer so fast! And they're so massive where do I even start? Like my biggest thoughts right now are all MoaH, which I have some things queued over the next few days, but everything else I'd wanna say...it's all spoilers. I'm not trying to avoid the ask, it's just a very big question with all of them. I guess I'll throw out a bunch of factoids and feel free to ask me more specifics.

To condense the star ask as well since this is gonna be a random chapter grab, and since the first chapter of the final battle is out tomorrow for GoS, I've had this arc planned since basically 2012. There was one major change on which individual would be the target of a particular stage of the fight, but other than that, it's been this fight since 2012. And the whole thing can get played to the 25th anniversary medley. I have a note somewhere where I wrote down the chapter time stamps to it for the AMV in my head (which maybe I'll put out after GoS is all done). It was the same song that is the reason Endeavor plays violin as well.

I have never been huge about idol groups, but the Earth Sages in GoS are my absolute favorite. I knew I wanted the dungeon to be musically themed and so the boy band idea was an early decision with that. I wanted their names to be musically themed too, so all of the Earth Sages actually have names based off Japanese music scales, which fit with the Keaton. Do Re Mi names might have been too obvious. Following that, Dominus is probably my favorite Sage.

Same dungeon had a prime opportunity for a triple inspired boss name. The Earth Temple's boss, Dungeon Master, has three inspirations. One, it follows franchise convention on most powerful versions of enemies, so Wallmaster/Floormaster -> Dungeon Master. Two, it's a nod to the TTRPG role, as this boss occupies the literal fourth wall of a theater, which is fitting to compare to a DM. And three, this fight was the first time Ganondorf made an appearance in the story, and I was trying to invoke a bit of Mr. Mercer's performance for a lack of ability to convey an actual voice via some pop culture osmosis.

Princess has a Muppets reference after the dungeon once she drops the idea of marrying Link, Zeal mentions it. It may help to circle back on Princess being a pig moblin leaning Blin who is also a diva.

Admittedly a lot of GoS before that is a bit fuzzy cause of the whole nap in the Temple of Time I did on it. From starting up edits, I can say that Bruce's horse, The Wind, is a personal reference. Any time I'd convince my dad to play a Zelda game, he's always name himself A.Stud and in the case of TP, he named Epona The Wind. When I started writing, that was a recent in joke for me.

One of the reasons the Dark Portal gets mentioned so early was because Minecraft was just getting big when I started writing GoS and I had the unrealistic idea that I'd build GoS's Hyrule in it. The Dark Portal would have been a Nether portal. I never went anywhere with that idea, but it's the reason the GoS map sketch I have is divided on a grid. That was theoretically gonna be chunks (highly ambitious plan there, no what it would have fit).

I have actually no idea how much time takes place between the start and end of GoS. Loosely, it's from the beginning of summer to the end of autumn. Whatever time skips make that work are canon in my head. And it's one of the reasons I have been so serious about keeping track of time in MoaH. The rapid pace of GoS though does fit. GoS Link really did get woken up in a dream by some stranger and then harassed by a bird until he did it what they said, so. No rest.

My favorite Sage dragon design is the Forest Sage's, all though the Soul Sage's dragon is pretty good too. That's an easy second. I'm a plants person, what can I say? Though the Earth Sage and Fire Sage dragons have good chonky boi personalities that I love too.

And there's absolutely so much to say about MoaH and like. I can say basically none of it because y'all only have the current 23 chapters and I'm writing the 65th? chapter now. MoaH's first book will be written before its updates are out, that's for sure. It'll likely hit about 250k words, compared to GoS's current 410k. So. There's a lot to say about MoaH. I guess the few that I've got for MoaH, uh...

Rephi x Rudoe is my favorite couple, hands down, those two are amazing NPCs and criminally under used. I need to find an excuse to go back to Deku's Shelf to write them again. I picture Rudoe's voice now like the Luma in the Mario movie.

I know all of my Links talk in my fics, largely for the purpose of medium. Writing a mute Link I think is a lot harder in fic over comics, and it's a little outside my wheelhouse with my limited skill in sign. That said, of all my Links, MoaH Link is the one I think most fits being a talking Link. And I even have some in text response to that later on in the story.

I know a lot of people don't like Zelda presently in MoaH (kinda the point), but I absolutely adore her and Link's dynamic. It really starts coming out in the Nayru's Temple act of book 1, but this man has a massive blind spot for this woman and I love writing it even though the secondhand embarrassment causes me like actual physical pain.

In general, I adore writing MoaH Link. The balance between exceptionally competent fighter and likeable male protagonist is a difficult but very fun line to walk. I think because of the mercenary comment, a lot of people expected a Geralt or a John Wick or some other machismo personality for Link when I originally started MoaH and that has never been franchise characterization of Link and it's not true about MoaH Link. He is a lovable idiot. GoS Link has this very humble, almost bashful personality to me (mostly cause of then teen angst) while MoaH Link gets to be this absolute dork and it is a joy to write. And also seeing how different they are as incarnations of the same character is a lot of fun, particularly for spoiler reasons. But man, that contrast between awkward, fumbling, kinda impulsive guy into combat where he gets to be efficient. Mmmmm, that's some good shit.

I cannot wait for y'all to get more time with Floan. I love her and Link's relationship. It is a bit of a polished sibling relationship, I'll admit that, mostly because I don't know how to handle an age gap as big as theirs (MoaH Link being 27 at the start of the fic and Floan being 10, which not impossible for siblings, but a wide gap) as accurately as my two year age gap with my younger sister, but they are the best. I have a chapter coming up that's just them getting loads of interaction time and it's so goddamn cute.

And I'm getting into spoiler territory, not to mention an essay, so I'll cap it there for now. Please let me know if there's anything else, I have a lot of thoughts on all of this.

[joanvisitsrome]

tombs and trolls : scene 1

HEYYYY YOU GUYS!!!! quick disclaimer before you start reading. this is a LONGGGG project, so please don't expect quick updates. I have like three scenes done, and it usually takes a few weeks to grind these out. I'll be happy to take requests for these (although, smut will not be accepted) and see any fan content on this. I can also post picrews/backstories to all the characters if you'd like.

comment to be added to the taglist! all support is appreciated.

also, credit to @beep-boop-01, my best friend, to working on this with me. this wouldn't have been possible without him so like thanks pookie <3

NARRATOR: (walks on stage) Ladies, Gentlemen, and the random bee that will torment the audience for the majority of this show, welcome to my universe. (the lights will focus on each character as they’re mentioned) Today, we follow the literal face of chaos (JAMES looks up and waves, not a single thought behind his eyes), a troubled princess (MARION does a small but humble curtsy), the “heartthrob” (QUINN winks and points finger guns at the audience)(beat) Okay, don’t ask me, I was given ten dollars to say that. Next we have your average cottagecore girlie (MYLAH twirls around, smiling), a chaotic fighter (CARRAN starts to walk forward but trips and stays where they are) , and a clueless victorian child.

OLLIE: (offended, putting her hands on her hips) Huh?

NARRATOR: Did I stutter? Now don't interrupt me, I’m in the middle of the best monologue you’ll ever hear. Anyway, before THIS one interrupted me, I was going to say… wait, what WAS I going to say?

QUINN: You were going to talk about how EVERYONE in this group thinks I’m the HOTTEST one here.

NARRATOR: I will NOT be falling for that again. Anyway, these few, uhm, very, INTERESTING individuals, are on a mission to find the coveted enchanted necklace of spotify.

MARION: I’m telling all of you peasants, THIS is the way to go!

OLLIE: (While the conversation continues, OLLIE exits the line of adventurers and starts picking flowers behind the group to make a bouquet)

CARRAN: (shaking their hands mockingly) OHHHH, of COURSE little miss princess always knows best!

MARION: YOU think you know better?

JAMES: (Raising his finder nerdily)  Um, actually 🤓

EVERYONE (excluding JAMES and NARRATOR): SHUT UP JAMES!

NARRATOR: Wow, it’s like I'm not even here. (they walk around the stage in between the people as they continue arguing [as the next lines are being said]. The narrator exits the stage after they walk around each person)

OLLIE: (completely clueless) You guys, look what I made! (she happily shows her creation)

QUINN: Oh, for me? Thanks, sugar 😉

MYLAH: (grabs the flowers) let me see those. (she examines the flowers and gasps) Ollie, this is a very rare spider lily! Not a lot of these grow! You can’t just pick them!

OLLIE: I'm sorry 👉🏼👈🏼

MYLAH: (sighs) I forgive you. I understand that not everyone has the same knowledge as me when it comes to flowers. (she gives the bouquet back to OLLIE)

NARRATOR: (off stage) What if that flower was poisonous?

OLLIE: (screams and drops the flowers)

NARRATOR: (chuckles) Wow, you guys will really fall for anything.

OLLIE: (comically furious) You’re actually so annoying. I hope you fall in a ditch somewhere in the middle of night and accidentally EAT a poisonous flower-

JAMES: Okay, okay, why don’t we calm down a wee bit? (he pulls Ollie in for a hug and pats her on the head)

MARION: (annoyed and disgusted) Okay, while you two... LOVEBIRDS do your thing, we have something much more important on our hands. We NEED to have a plan on how we’re going to look for the enchanted necklace of spotify.

CARRAN: Marion, you’re always SO desperate to get things done. Why can’t you sit back, and just… enjoy the environment around you?

MYLAH: I second that.

QUINN: (looking around) I do suppose it’s very pretty here. But not as pretty as you. (they turn around and wink at MYLAH)

MYLAH: (Trying to hide her flustration) Oh, won’t you stop. (She swats her hand playfully)

MARION: Can everybody stop flirting with each other for one minute!?

CARRAN: (Proudly) I wasn’t flirting.

MARION: We all know why, Carran. You’re not confident enough to flirt.

CARRAN: (registers the insult, but doesn’t respond verbally)

JAMES: (Now out of the hug with Ollie) Do any you have a map? Ollie and I want to know how close we are to a flower shop.

MARION: I do!

MYLAH: Can I see it?

(MARION unrolls the map and holds it out. CARRAN jumps in and cuts the map into two with their sword.)

MARION: What was that for?

CARRAN: Do we REALLY need a map? Why can’t the adventure guide us instead?

MARION: You are insufferable.

OLLIE: How are we going to navigate this without a map? What if we get lost? Or get eaten? Or poisoned? Or lost? Wait, I already said lost. (she puts her head in her hands, continuing to fret)

MAROIN: (rolling her eyes) See what you did? (she quickly pulls out her wand and the map is fixed immediately)

CARRAN: Well, you fixed it.

MYLAH: How about we try to be safer, Carran?

CARRAN: (after taking a bit to think about it) Perchance.

MARION: (rolls her eyes) Alright, here’s the map. What path are we thinking?

JAMES: (pointing to a spot on the map) We should take this one because there’s a flower shop along it.

OLLIE: YES! LET’S DO THAT ONE!

MARION: No, we can’t take that route! That’s the long way! We don’t have enough time to take it! We need to take THIS one!

CARRAN: And cross right through that troll patch? No thank you!

MARION: So what do you propose we do? Take the long way and find that someone has already taken the necklace? If people know that we’re out looking for it, they’ll start looking for it too.

CARRAN: We could just… not mention the necklace to anybody other than ourselves?

MARION: (facepalms) Carran, how STUPID can you be to think that we’re the only people that actually know about the necklace? Also, what kind of fighter are you that you’re afraid of trolls?

CARRAN: What kind of sorcerer are YOU that you don’t cast a spell on all of us to just do whatever you say?

MARION: My magic teachers didn’t exactly teach me how to do that.

MYLAH: Okay, may I interject this? Why don’t we break up into teams of two? We could cover more ground that way. I’ll go with Quinn.

OLLIE: And I’ll go with James!

JAMES: Yeah!

CARRAN: I am NOT pairing up with Marion!

MARION: And there’s NO WAY I’m pairing with Carran!

MYLAH: Well that’s just too bad. Everybody else is paired with. You’ll have to deal with it 😗

MARION: Ugh!

CARRAN: (mumbling) I can’t believe I’m teamed with Marion, out of all people 🙄

QUINN: Well, I’M just SO flattered that Mylah chose me. No offense to you guys. You guys just don’t get me the way Mylah does.

MYLAH: All I did was compliment your hair and you then haven’t left my side.

QUINN: Well, I’m not seeing you complaining. (They put their arm around MYLAH’S shoulder.)

MARION: So now that all of you guys are just GUSHING about how much you love your partners while I’m left with this one, (she points at CARRAN, who mouths “bite me” to MARION,) can we PLEASE figure out which way we’re all going to go?

OLLIE: (Raising her hand immediately and jumping) I want to go the flower way!

JAMES: (Looks at her and smiles, nodding along with her.)

QUINN: Mylah, what are your thoughts on going down the path with the river? 

MYLAH: (surprised) How did you know that rivers are my favorite type of nature to walk by?

QUINN: (looking at MYLAH straight in the eyes) Just a hunch.

MYLAH: Are you always like this?

QUINN: I can be HOWEVER you want me to be 😉

Mylah: (Squirms out of flustration)

MARION: Well, it looks like we’re left with the forest.

CARRAN: Can’t we just go to the tomb?

MARION: And how are we going to get to the tomb? Magic?

CARRAN: You’re a horrible sorceress.

MARION: Are you going to keep complaining or are you going to listen and follow my plan?

CARRAN: Well, will you shut up if I do what you say?

MARION: Fine!

CARRAN: Fine!

(Both exit the stage annoyedly)

QUINN: (Their arm still around MYLAH’s shoulder) Why don’t we go to the rivers now?

MYLAH: Sure!

(QUINN and MYLAH exit the stage)

JAMES: To the flower shop?

OLLIE: To the flower shop!

(They hold hands and skip, exiting the stage. The curtain closes)

hey! you're still reading!

did you like it?

and out of curiosity, who was your favorite character? favorite part so far?

[boboteam89]

HSR Senti ramblings

Hello this is literally my first post and it's me rambling about my idea of how Senti could exist in the Honkai Star Rail universe, do beware that it may be really silly and lore innacurate nonsense, you have been warned!!! It also might have a little involvement of SentiHua so... So I have thought of this for a long time and this is what I came up with, let me explain, starting off with important information : Marshal Hua. My theory is that she is a Vidyadhara who resembles the legend of Phoenix and is Phoenix herself, however Phoenix exists as "another entity" ( aka almost like how Fenghuang's Down sentience works ) There is this one quest called "Poetic Genius Ingenium", in short it tells us a story about a man named Cong and a woman named Jingzhai. All the information we need from this quest is that he is a Vidyadhara that seems to remember Jingzhai no matter how much he went through hatching rebirth. All of this information leads me to thinking : what if it's possible for a Vidyadhara to leave a body behind? Listen, this does sound absurd as the Vidyadharas revolve around continuous cellular transdifferentiation, which means they techncially just transofrm. But we have numerous different cases of disorders that the Vidyadhara can be affected by, for example Jinyu that undergoes the cicle of hatching rebirth every few months. So this could technically exist as a disease and tie with the idea of Hua having so much personalities and even versions of "self" in the Honkai lore. That leads us to the part of the lore bs I have thought of. Basically Senti is "a body" that remained after Fu Hua went through hatching rebirth once (probably when she was already a marshal and ig most of her memories still remained aftet that). She has all the memories that Hua had, and when she first was "born" into this world. She thought she was Hua for a long time, but their viewpoints are very different and unalike, so who is she? Is she truly an individual being? How can she break that mirror and see her true self? She had a plan in her mind. - Surely, I can at least bring them some fun. The biggest difference for sure being - she had grown fond of the Elation. After observing the usual life of the citizens of Xianzhou, she thought it lacked some fun. The people here were just too much focused on their duties. Sure, they might have very deep connections, but do all of them really not lack that sense of connection? Sometimes, work even made them cut it off completely. She decided to carry on Hua's duty as a marshal with some...Changes. During that time, "Hua" was really kind to all of the members of the Cloud Knights - she spent a lot of time with the Cloud Knights, cut them some slack, gave them random gifts and treated them very well, even was laidback about the work sometimes. In comparision - Hua was pretty closed off and more strict, she was somewhat cold most of the time and didn't find a place for herself with the Cloud Knights, despite still doing a great job in helping and caring for them. However Senti was no strategist unlike Hua, and soon after spiked up a little problem - unfinished assignments, very clunky reports, and the amount of chaotic events, which turned out to be a complete hit for the duty of the Cloud Knights. It didn't take long for Hua to realise that she had been "replaced". That is when she noticed the culprit behind all of that in her office. - Ah, so you've noticed! - said Senti, cheerfully, but not surprised, almost as if she was awaiting this. - You see, you're not me, and I'm not you, but I was hoping to bring some more joy and happiness into your lives! Don't you get a little lonely like this? Maybe you're giving a tad too much work for yourself and too less of time that you can enjoy. Now you can at least look back at this and say "Aha!" . It is, alas, the time for us to part... Hua stood there shocked. She was not offended by this, nor did she really mind all that this person had done. She was probably the first one to ever care for Hua so greatly, so... — Wait! Could you...Stay?

[sawtastic-sideblog]

As of right now I've only read/listened through chapter 31 of Mist and Fury and have had time at work to dissociate and think about it. Here's some thoughts on the some characters.

Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and I would love to hear others' thoughts on the characters as well as long as we don't spoil anything past what I've read.

Anyway here we go:

Feyre: she's complex and simple at the same time. I like how she's more trusting of Rhysand and how well she's fitting in with the Inner Circle. I'm excited to see what powers she posses and how well she can master them.

Rhysand: I have loved him since day one. We love a bad boy. The way he helped Feyre during the trials, the way he was so quick to send Mor to yoink her from the spring court when Tamlin locked her in and she literally encased herself in darkness. I love that he is so kind and selfless when it comes to his people. His sacrifices during Amarantha's reign of terror were made for his people. He loves them all and he cares deeply for them. And he cares for his Inner Circle even more. The bonds he has with each of them. The fact that he buys jewelry for Amren just because. I can see him and Azriel and Cassian being in a boy band. I'd pay the $3 I have to my name to see that. But it's the way he cares for Feyre that makes me lowkey swoon. He's kind, he's patient, he gives her the choice of what she wants to do, he treats her as an individual and not as a prisoner or as property. He wants feyre to succeed, to be able to protect herself, he wants her to be who she is unapologetically. She doesn't have to dress up or plan things. She just has to be herself and that's enough for Rhys. He treats her as if shes his equal. As of right now I fully believe that the mating bond clicked into place for Rhys but not for Feyre just yet. This man truly has me in a chokehold. Also the boy bands front man/ guitarists.

Cassian: where to begin with him? I love this man so much. He's funny. From what I can tell he has/had a thing for Mor. I joked about him Mor and Azzy being in a throuple. I do think he has a thing for Nesta. He's obviously a great fighter and I like the way he's training Feyre so far. I hope to see more of him in the future. Also he's the drummer with chaotic energy who always ends up wearing at least 3 bras that had been flung up to the stage by the bra wearing fae.

Azriel: sweet boy. A baby. He's quiet and shy and obviously likes Mor which just adorable. I want to hear more of his story. I just hope he's happy. He's the boy bands quiet bassist but has the voice of an angel.

Mor: lowkey gives me Alice Cullen vibes and we love her. I think she's a great friend to Feyre and the friendship they have will last forever. She's smart and apparently very powerful and just like to have fun. We love her and her goofy little attitude.

Amren: I'm a little weary of her but I think she's a badass. "Vampire fae" as I called her to my friend. She knows what to do to get the job done like giving Feyre the necklace to get through the Prison. Plus she is kind to the locals which is a bug plus. Her story is super interesting and I can't wait to hear more of it.

Tamlin: I loved Tam in the first book and I get that he's gone through trauma with Feyre Under the Mountain but that does NOT give him the right to treat Feyre the way he did. In a recent post I called him something along the lines of a fucking asshole which is true because he is. He never listened to Feyre's needs or wants. I get that he loves her and doesn't want to lose her but the way he treated her, pushed her away while trying to hold her close, is what broke her and made her leave. That being said I still love this character but he has fucked up so bad in my eyes that I don't think I can go back to loving him like I did. I'm so mad at him. Like all that respect is gone. Like Tamlin, baby, you're a little be delulu. I truly hope he can redeem himself.

Lucien: I will die for this man. He was my absolute favorite in the first book and I get that his loyalties lie with Tamlin but he did try to stand up for Feyre. That has redeemed him a small amount. That being said. He is still my sweet baby angel.

Bonus:

Alis: a servant who isn't afraid to speak her mind and won't put up with anyone's bullshit. She took in her nephews. A queen. No notes. I love this woman with my whole heart.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously

Me after reading the leaks about Gabriel’s ending:

Bible and leak spoilers below, so fair warning

Let me see if I’m reading this correctly...the man who -

Constantly torments Parisians with magical butterflies that will turn them into supervillains if they so much as stub a toe and get big mad about it

Spent the better part of a year fighting and harassing a pair of teenagers for their magical jewelry

Threatened his nephew

Obsesses over his wife and waxes philosophic over her magical coffin

Has magically transformed his son into an Akuma twice to force him to help get aforementioned magic jewelry (and both times used the reveal of the fate of his mother to facilitate this)

Uses magic to brainwash his son on the regular, and often gaslights him if he dares try and have any sort of individuality or doesn’t perfectly obey him

Had planned to use the girl his son was in love with specifically to harm the superheroes he’s fighting (granted, he didn’t know they were the same people, but still!)

Teamed up with a woman who also had a magically made baby and planned to force the two of them together despite their feelings

Mistreats the magical creatures that give him his superpowers

Destroyed the magical jewelry that hosted them to turn them into tacky rings

Has twice pretended to have a meltdown in front of his son, and specifically pinned the blame on said fake meltdown on him so he can hide his villain identity while guilt-triping him, with zero hesitation or guilt.

Purposely antagonized his son’s friends so he can akumatize them (also done with no guilt)

Had someone’s adoptive father murdered so he could try and steal a different set of magical jewelry

Almost caused a nuclear war

Literally threw away the chance to cure his assistant of her ailment (that she got helping him with his villainy) and prevent his wife’s coma so he could throw hands with a teenage girl.

Threw away the magical jewelry containing the creature he had been forcing to help him this whole time, specifically so the girl couldn’t get it back and to spite her

Not only gets to peace out with his son “fondly remembering him” (thanks to, again, using magic to brainwash his son into only having good memories of his dad and none of the ones that involved the constant restriction and emotional abuse) while the girl who’s life he’s made a living nightmare an entire year for gets cajoled into keeping his secret alongside the assistant and nephew (Because it would “break his son’s heart” to see that the man who’s been terrorizing the city and put his girlfriend’s life at risk multiple times get made to face consequences for his actions), but also gets a damn statue made in his honor after his death - and all after getting what he wanted and reviving his dead wife!

THIS is the person who I’m suppose to think is “just a man who loves his family” and is less evil than the two teenage bully girls!

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

i. hate this. so. much.

like. what a way to say Claude isn't actually intelligent. can't make his own plans and/or execute them without someone's help. this guy survived most of his life avoiding being assassinated. literally, starting from childhood.

there is absolutely no way his schemes/plans/etc are "nothing" or "just words" without Byleth. Byleth was only in his life for a single fucking year at this point, then out of his life for five straight years.

it's one thing to have a friendship that's made him open up more for the first time ever, etc etc. but his intellect? everything he pours into his plans? Byleth gets all the credit for that?

I don't hate Byleth, but I do hate that Byleth completely wipes all sense of agency from Claude. I do hate that Claude considers his plans and such to be worthless without Byleth. I do hate that Byleth's existence in Claude's life makes him reliant on Byleth - something he absolutely is not in any other route.

I'm mixed on VW specifically because of this. it feels like he gets more done in the other routes by his own hand. he's shown to never need Byleth to get things done. he managed to keep the Alliance steady and neutral for five whole years without Byleth's influence. suddenly Byleth is back, and Claude insists he couldn't have convinced the Alliance lords to go with his plans without Byleth representing the Church.

wouldn't Seteth do more in that regard? he's a known and active member of the Church who has been there for years. he's known to be Rhea's second in command. wouldn't the Alliance lords respond better to the well known and respected Seteth, who is fighting alongside them in war, than to a complete stranger that they're seeing for the very first time? than a complete stranger just walking in claiming to be there to represent Rhea/the Church? why would they even believe that to be true if they didn't trust Claude?

but yet, they trusted Claude enough for the Alliance not to collapse into complete chaos during wartime. but all of a sudden Byleth's existence is the only reason why Claude can do... literally anything?

Byleth, as an individual, is a good character. Byleth, as the player's proxy, is an absolutely terrible character in two, arguably three routes.

in VW, this stuff

in CF, Edelgard apparently can't fight her war properly and has been sad for five years without Byleth... but in the other routes she's perceived to be in love with Byleth there too, and she can wage her war just fine without being unable to do what she set out to do because Byleth isn't there

in SS, the Church just follows Byleth without question and without raising an eyebrow. "Rhea said so" is pretty much the only reason. granted, Seteth openly didn't trust Byleth at first, but he's the only one. I do understand that Rhea wanted Byleth to take over after her and all that, but you could also still argue that the player proxy just walked in and took over the Church; hence, I can see it both ways for SS

I'd argue it's the worst in VW, because at least the Empire is still winning in CF (which if it's the player chosen route, then the player chosen route always wins), and it's winning the war in all routes at the start of the timeskip. Edelgard doesn't attribute the Empire's victories to Byleth in any way (that I can recall) while Byleth isn't present. In VW, as soon as Byleth is back, after the Alliance has been on rocky ground for five years, suddenly everything is different now and they can totally definitely absolutely win. no thanks to Claude, of course, because Byleth is here now!

like, it just makes all of the victories go to Byleth's hands and never Claude's. I hate how VW treats Claude. it's his own route, but he's made to look significantly more competent in all the other routes.

the thing is, I love Claude, and this just ain't it. Claude's victories should go to Claude. Claude's credit should go to Claude. Claude's intellect and ability to plan, maneuver and scheme should go to Claude. Byleth didn't do any of it. Byleth fought in the actual battles and... apparently leads their army (instead of Claude???)??? Byleth didn't come up with anything, only fighting in the actual battles.

and tbh, how is Claude going to inspire trust and loyalty with the other lords if... he can't even lead and has to rely on the current leader of the Church? if his victories aren't attributed to him, why should the other lords have faith in him? if Claude himself is going to demean his intelligence in favor of Byleth's prowess on the battlefield, why should the other lords trust him as their leader?

if Claude is only capable of inspiring neutrality and not victory, he's not a good leader... and that's a problem with the writing, because he is a good leader. he's shown to be a great leader in AM/CF. if they felt on the verge on disastrous infighting with Claude leading them but all settled down for Byleth, what good is Claude compared to Byleth?

and I absolutelyyyyy fucking hate that. VW is Claude's route, and yet it shoves him down for Byleth at all possible opportunities - even unnecessary ones!

Byleth is obviously the player proxy and thus has a strong effect on all routes, but it feels so much more notorious to me on VW. it's the only route that straight up degrades its lord in favor of the player proxy - and in fact has the lord basically outright state themselves as useless without said player proxy.

Claude deserves so much better than this.

I know people say like "Dimitri fans just prefer AM Claude because of Dimitri" and shit, but like... no, I just hate that VW!Claude is treated like an afterthought to Byleth. He's treated so much better by the narrative in the other routes. He can be who he always was, and especially who he was at the beginning of the game (just with growth later on). no Byleth is better for him in the sense that the writing doesn't push him under Byleth's boot.

Byleth isn't better than him in every goddamn regard in the other routes, and he even declines joining the Kingdom army because he has other things to do. He doesn't bow down to Byleth and say it's all thanks to our dear Teach that the Alliance survived. He credits Dimitri and the Kingdom for the help, and he specifically requested Dimitri's help and not Byleth's.

There's no player proxy obsession from Claude in AM. The closest we get is Claude saying if Byleth had chosen him over Dimitri, which is a brief thought he cuts off and otherwise attributes the rescue to the Kingdom army and Dimitri's quick decision to take action and go help them.

At least for me, that's why I prefer AM Claude (and even CF Claude is better than VW Claude's behavior about Byleth). He's not second to Byleth. He's not second to anyone. He defends his country and will even stay to the death to protect them. He's their leader and he acts the part. VW treats him like a figurehead who is second to Byleth, basically making Claude second to the Church.

They're not even treated as equals. Claude is straight up degraded, even by himself, in favor of Byleth.

Buddy. I. Hate. That.

[nyantodamax145]

Okokok hear me out.

Honkai Star Rail's Penacony Story was the story and message that Disney's Wish never managed to properly represent.

I'm not fantastic at themes and media literacy but I'm trying my best so please feel free to correct me on any mistakes you think I might have made or any different interpretations of each story you might have.

Massive Spoilers for Honkai Star Rail 2.0 and onwards as well as Disney's Wish ahead!

Both Penacony and Rosas are portrayed to the general public as a place where dreams come true; Penacony because it is literally a land that exists in a dream, and Rosas because their King has the power to literally grant wishes.

We quickly come to see how this isn't quite true; people sell everything they have to come to Penacony to try and strike it rich but end up being unable to fulfill their dreams due to one circumstance or another.

In Rosas, King Magnifico takes away your wish and keeps it safe under the condition that it will be fulfilled one day, but there's never a deadline on fulfilling it, so some wishes just don't get fulfilled.

Now Sunday attempts to use the power of the Order make it so that everyone is happy by trapping everyone in an unending sweet dream, ensuring that they are satisfied with their current situation. However, it is all a dream.

I personally think Sunday ended up this way because of the manipulative way the Dreammaster Mr. Gopher Wood raised him; Sunday was corrupted by his upbringing, eventually leading him down this path.

Magnifico gets corrupted too, but in a much faster way just by opening that forbidden book. We can kind of connect that forbidden book to the power of the Order, and how both Sunday and Magnifico used it to seize control. While Sunday used the sacrifice of the members of the Oak Family, Magnifico used the Wishes themselves to gain power.

Now let's connect the Nameless to Asha. There's a whole lot to be said about the character growth of our Trailblazer and how they come to answer the question "Why does life slumber?". But for now, we're focusing on the fact that they believe that the only way for life to live is in reality, not trapped in a cage where their every action is dictated by those above them (again paraphrasing here feel free to correct me)

Asha, after her interview with King Magnifico, comes to believe that those with wishes should have the chance to chase them of their own volition, not locked up for some greater power to determine whether or not to grant them. This is very similar to what the Nameless believe, in that they don't believe that life/wishes should be trapped in a dream/tower, that they deserve freedom/to chase their wish themselves even if they must fight for it.

Oh and there's parallels between Robin and Queen Amaya too! Both women very close to the person who ends up imprisoning their lands who, through their own wills, help the protagonist to defeat Sunday/King Magnifico by guiding them or assisting them in some way, having to come to terms with the fact that the person they knew in the past has become corrupted and they must stop them for the greater good.

Although I will note that Robin helps stop Sunday's plan because she genuinely loves her brother and believes that a lonely fate like his is too cruel for him, while Queen Amaya realizes that King Magnifico can no longer be saved and abandons him in the end (GOD I WISH SHE WERE BETTER WRITTEN! DISNEY!!! YOU COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH MORE WITH HER CHARACTER! HOW DID YOU FALL SO LOW?!)

In the end of the Penacony Story, it takes the strong will of many different individuals to make a crack in the dream and break it. This is very similar to the ending of Wish, where the "star" or "wish" that exists within each and every individual is used in the end to defeat Magnifico.

So both stories have:

A place portrayed to be a place where dreams come true, but that turns out not to be the case for many

Someone in power attempting to create their version of what can be considered an ideal world by controlling their people.

A strong willed protagonist who believes that it should be the right of the people to be "free" in whatever sense that may be

A supporting character close to the person in power who assists to protagonist in achieving their goal for the greater good of the people and their loved one

Themes such as the meaning of freedom and the strength of many VS an overwhelming force, dreams/wishes and how you should chase your dreams yourself rather than just wishing for them to come true

Come to think of it, there's a line in "Almost There" in The Princess and the Frog in which Tiana says that her father told her that just dreaming won't do anything, you have to take steps to make it happen yourself.

I think Penacony succeeded where Wish failed because Asha and King Magnifico and Queen Amaya had... NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!

Penacony worked because we saw a slow buildup of everything that happened and how the Trailblazer came to realize what was happening in Penacony and how at the beginning, they were unsure about what might happen and were afraid about the path ahead (the first part of the quest during the dream sequence when we met Acheron), but eventually they were willing to fight for the freedom of everyone in Penacony to give them the right to wake up and live in reality instead of in a dream, because they have solidified their belief that humans should not be kept in a cage and living in a dream, and that although the dream is sweet, life must eventually awaken.

But all we saw of Asha was the idea that she didn't like how Magnifico was handling things and that's the philosophy she she stayed with throughout the entire movie! Nothing changed or developed! Maybe she could have heard Magnifico's reasoning and agreed but then saw the effects of taking away someone's wish and realized what it meant that Magnifico was depriving people of what basically drove them and then decided that his way of doing things was wrong!!!

We never saw the past that Magnifico alluded to! We could have seen what drove him to think this way and eventually cross the tipping point! We could have seen more about how Queen Amaya felt, watching the man she loved fall into this mindset and desperately try to pull him out only to fail, and then have a character arc about letting go and moving on, and stopping someone who she once loved with her own hands and all the emotional turmoil that brings!

But did we see that?! No!

Penacony worked because the characters that drove the story forward had CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!!!

The elements that make up their stories are more similar than you think, but the biggest difference is that Disney gave their characters no time to think and develop beyond their basic "Want" and never delved into their "Need".

And that's why Penacony's story succeeds and Disney's Wish fails.

[justadeadreaper]

This is another part to part to me adding to the God COD AU which I was inspired to write as @frogchiro said that my idea for Makarov is “literally the same thing I planned for Makarov, I wanted him to be the god of death, illness, disease and Winter, bringing pain and suffering wherever he appears so please do go ahead with your idea since it's literally the same” and since she gave me the go ahead to write it and she’s probably busy with all of her asks and other things planned I decided to write for Makarov to give his fans (cough cough me cough cough) some content. This will be very long as it is longer than my ideas for God König as I have thought of a few more things and could be even more confusing as my brain is absolutely fried at the moment so please hear me out as this is 7440 words of explanation. TW: they are mentions of death and a brief mention of suicide in the backstory so be warned and mentions of what happened with Modern Warfare III.

My idea for God Makarov could be him being one of the most hated and feared Gods to exist in the AU but due to the fear he inhibits into every mortal in existence he is one of the most heavily worshipped Gods as people believe that if they do not give him any sacrifices or worship him that they receive his wrath. Surprisingly there is not many cults worshipping him, but instead his worship is nearly exclusively done privately in homes of individuals, although, recently a certain big cult has been growing him that are situated in the undergrounds of the North who see themselves as superior due to believing they are part of Makarov’s bloodline due to coming from the North where he first formed. Now the reason as to why they are underground is due to how they worship Makarov with the sacrifices they make; this includes torturing people, experimenting on people to make new diseases, brainwashing people to create new followers, and so much more. Due to the cult’s practices this has caused a new wave of fear surrounding Makarov so this has begun a spike in the worship he receives privately as they are begging him to save them when he is revealing in their fear. Like how I did with the last one of these, I will be breaking down each aspect, why he has them, how powerful each aspect is due to the size of the cult, and what parts of the world would worship which aspect. Winter- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of due to how he is as cold and destructive as Winter itself. This aspect is mainly worshipped in the North because that is the region where it is most affected by Winter due to how it is an already snowy and rugged region that has horribly low temperatures and snowstorms more times than it sees the Sun which would only be made ten times worse when it is actually Winter as we all know that Makarov will not be easy on people so I see them as worshipping Makarov for his Winters to try and make him more merciful and have him move the brunt of his Winter to other places that do not experiences as horrid Winters so they for once can experience some peace. The powers Makarov gets from this are the abilities to control snow, ice, bring Winter, a tiny bit of control over Winter animals, and resistance to the cold and he can grant to his followers resistance from Winter for this aspect so they can more easily survive the harsh Winter compared to others.

Plagues/Diseases- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of due to how he is a literal plague upon the world with all the horrifying acts which mimic how horrifying and gruesome plagues can be, and because of the fact that we romanticise him and act like he is good for us which people have been doing to plagues for years as there was the whole romanticism of tuberculosis. This aspect is mainly worshipped in no region but instead the slums of the most major cities in the world where disease is rampant due to the poorest of citizens having to live there and them not being able to access the medicines that are needed compared to others. The powers Makarov gets from this are the ability to control and inflict diseases or unleash plagues on any person or settlement he sees fit and he can grant to his followers a certain immunity to different diseases for this aspect so they do not suffer from it as badly as compared to others.

Death- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Death due to how he causes so much death but compared to König who is the overall God of Death Makarov is instead the God of specific torturous and meaningless Death that have no reason for occurring except for the matter of fact that the person who wanted them dead did it. This aspect is mainly worshipped in the dungeons of the major cities where many murderers are or it is being worshipped by similar cults that worship König or the big cult that is growing around him. The powers Makarov gets from this are the ability to cause an agonising death upon any mortal he wants and he can grant to his followers a type of luck that means they are less likely to die that type of death for this aspect.

Obsession- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Obsession due to how obsessive he is with completing his goals. This aspect is mainly worshipped by stalkers, royalty, and the armies of the world as they need the obsession to drive them forward in what they are doing and they hope that Makarov will make the obsession come to fruition. The powers Makarov gets from this are the ability to easily obsess over something until it comes to the point of it coming true and he can grant the fruition of the obsession to his followers for this aspect.

Strategy- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Strategy due to my idea of Price also being worshipped as the God of Strategy. Makarov and Price are seen as equals and enemies so I wanted them to have a common factor that links them but also sets them about in their own ways by them being worshipped for the different kinds of strategy. We know from Modern Warfare III that Price does not think ahead as much as we like to think he does as we see that he tends to make a strategy for the moment and not further ahead in time otherwise he would have killed Makarov when he easily had the chance as he knew how risky that man was but we know Makarov is the opposite of that where he will plan everything out ahead of time with meticulous detail so everything goes according to his plan so I envision Makarov being worshipped as the God of Long Term Strategy compared to Price who is the God of Short Term Strategy. This aspect is mainly worshipped by generals and royals as if they plan out everything ahead it means they can stay in power or win battles depending on what is needed at the moment. The powers Makarov gets from this is the ability to easily make convoluted plans that are extremely long but always seem to work out and he can grant the exact same thing to his followers for this aspect.

Horses- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Horses due to a story I used to be told as some of my family is dodgy and my uncle was friends with this Russian man (do not ask because that man was friends with many dodgy people that he had no right knowing) who used to babysit me and a few of my other cousins a lot and he would tell me a lot of stories as it kept me from playing up; this story in particular is Vasilisa the beautiful as I was obsessed with Cinderella and it was the most similar one he could think of. It is distinctly this story I remember because he had actually brought some figurines that me and my cousins got to decorate to go along with the story and three of these figurines were men riding horses. A man in white armour on a white horse followed by daybreak, a man in red armour on a red horse followed by the rising sun, and a man in black armour on a black horse followed by the cloak of the night sky, all horseman distinctly linked to time and Baba Yaga who is such a feared figure that even I was terrified of as a child as I he also threatened me with her if I misbehaved. These men also remind me of the “Four” Horsemen of the Apocalypse as there are technically seven depending on which ones you believe in as you have Chaos, War, Conquest, Pollution, Pestilence, Famine, and Death which can very much depend on what you grew up with but these are the seven I know of. These horsemen are linked to horrible things such as death and plague which are linked to my version of Makarov and due to the story inspired me to make Makarov the God of Horses as a reference to these two groups of horsemen. This aspect is mainly worshipped in the North and West because in the North horses are needed for transport due to the long ranges and harsh conditions and for work while horses are more common in the West due to the large plains of wildlands next to forests where these horses can live freely. The powers Makarov gets from this is the ability to talk to horses but to also control them and see through their eyes to an extent and he can grant lineages of strong horses to his followers for this aspect.

Mothers- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Mothers as the protectors of mothers due to his backstory that I have made for this AU and how we know from the somewhat joke trailer for Modern Warfare III that they have a close bond. This aspect is mainly worshipped by nowhere as it is absolutely everyone who worships it, especially the cult members as there are rumours that Makarov will smite anyone who hurts their mother. There are no real powers Makarov gets from this ability and he can not grant anything to his followers for this aspect but he is known to have a temple that is a safe haven for mothers to flee to if they are in danger and need somewhere safe to go.

Philosophy- I see Makarov being worshipped as the God of Philosophy due to how inside Makarov's bedroom in the safehouse, there was a book titled ‘Philosophy, Politics, and Poetry’ and because I headcanon that each God has a more wholesome aspect that you would not expect them to have as that did happen with real Gods as they would have an aspect you would not expect from them and so for Makarov I picked Philosophy. This aspect is mainly worshipped in the major cities where most of the philosophers are. The powers Makarov gets from this is the very useful ability for him that allows him to get into the minds of others and make them question many things that philosophers normally debate but he always makes sure it will land in his favour and he can grant the knowledge to know and understand the answers to his followers for this aspect or if they are a particular favourite follower of his he will allow them to win the philosophy debate.

Like with König, I could honestly spend hours explaining each aspect and the backstory of how he got it and how it would be worshipped and explain the influences more clearly, but that is the basics for each one, and if people ask I may go into them more and explain them more.

Strength of the aspects from strongest to weakest: -Winter -Plagues/Diseases -Death -Mothers -Strategy -Obsession -Philosophy -Horses

My inspiration for God Makarov was not actually from an already existing God but instead from a surprising source. I do not know if most people who will see this are the ones who have heard of her as we are quite unholy people but my inspiration was Saint Olga of Kiev. This will seem extremely strange at first but I will give some context as to why I picked her and how she relates to this.

Unlike how unholy I act as I simp over these men online and write analyse of them to make the smut I write later make sense, I was born and raised as a Catholic, I grew up going to Church and a Catholic school and read about the bible and about Saints a lot to satisfy a special interest which had been born from how my older cousin had read these stories to me mixed with undiagnosed autism at the time. Surprisingly, for my confirmation I was allowed to pick Olga as my Saint but I think they just allowed me to get me to shut up with the two hour rants I was yapping on about when talking about her. Now it may sound strange but please watch the video Puppet History did about her because it may not as thorough as other videos but is honestly extremely fun and has an amazing song at the end or the video by Biographics which is more thorough and pact to the brim with facts; they both explain her history which is the main reason why I picked her but if you do not want to watch it I will be giving a summary that you can skip if you have watched it.

Saint Olga of Kiev who was also known as Olga of Rus or Russia was a very big figure in the early history of Russia (and technically going into some surrounding areas as Rus also covered some of Ukraine and Finland) and a key player in the Christianization of the Kievan Rus. Olga was born in Pskov around 890AD and belonged to a noble family. She married Igor I, the ruler of the Kievan Rus, around 903AD. Her husband Igor's died in 945AD as he was killed by the Drevlians, which were a tribe that refused to pay so Igor went there to get the tributes but they tied him to two birch trees to rip him apart. Their son, Sviatoslav, was too young to rule so until he came of age Olga served as the regent for him. With the power she had she enacted her revenge for her husband. The first step was by killing around twenty people in the Drevlian leadership after they came to offer her a marriage to their Prince Mal after he had killed her husband; her people carried the men in their boat to a trench before dropping them in and having them buried alive under rocks. The next act of vengeance was to have Mal send more of his most powerful delegations to her and he did just that, but Olga had those men go to the bath house because by the time they got to her they were filthy. While those men were in they she had people lock the door before commanding it to be burnt to the ground including the men inside. Now to avoid Mal getting suspicious about all of his men disappearing and to enact the next step, Olga finally went to the Prince but she had requested that while she was travelling there that they prepare food and mead so she could have a funeral feast for her late husband. For some unknown reason Mal agreed and Olga had ordered her men to not drink but to keep pouring out drinks for the Drevlians and when the Drevlians were drunk enough she ordered her men to slaughter them all which ended up in around five thousand deaths. The surviving members of the Drevlians bordered themselves up in Iskorosten and after a year Olga was fed up. Olga decided to enact her last bit of revenge upon them. She requested a tribute of three pigeons and three sparrows from each house which seemed like a reasonable request so the Drevlians did but this sealed their fate. Olga turned the birds into weapons by making her guards tie a piece of burning sulphur and cloth to each birds’ talons; she then released them and the birds flew home to their nests and spread the fires causing the city to burn down and when people fled the city they were killed or kept as slaves. Her revenge may have been over but later in life when she wanted to get out of a marriage to Constantine the seventh who had asked for a hand in marriage. At first she said she could not as a Pagan could not marry a Christian but once she was baptised as an Orthodox Christian she had him be her godfather and so she technically counted as his daughter meaning they weren't allowed to marry.

It may seem odd and you may be thinking about how this relates to Makarov but it will make more sense when you have heard his backstory as Olga reminds me a lot of Makarov with how strategic they both are and the acts of violence they commit for their cause.

Like I mentioned earlier I have a backstory for Makarov, which would be considered very thought out compared to the backstory I have for God König but it will be a lot longer as it has a lot more context to it compared to König's mainly as it revolves around some history I have thought of for this AU.

We will start this backstory by talking about some of the history which will provide the needed context. I see Makarov being one of the oldest of the Gods alongside Nikolai, König, Graves, Shepherd, and Price although I think that Makarov may be the oldest as it would make the most sense for the history I have thought of. Makarov, like the others, was born in the Dark Age of the AU he was in fact the first modern God to be born as most were born after the Great War that ended the Dark Age. What I envision the Dark Age to be was a point in history where there was not Gods as we have now currently in the AU where they are well known across multiple regions for their aspects but instead there were much smaller Gods that would be worshipped by a small village or town in a specific territory for what they did for the place that was their own. This led to multiple Gods being worshipped for the same aspect but it made them extremely weak due to how small and localised their worship was which in turn led to the much smaller Gods having their followers plunder other villages and take the people from there as prisoners and slaves who would worship the God that sent the attack. Now that we have that context I will explain how it relates to Makarov.

Makarov was originally a Demigod. I envision that his mother was a small Goddess of Ice and Snow in the village that Makarov grew up in while his father was one of the leaders of the village due to marrying and having a child with a Goddess. Due to his unique DNA Makarov could not be a normal child as he was forbidden with playing with normal children as he was seen above them while he was worshipped by the other villagers, this in turn caused Makarov to have an extremely close bond to his mother as she was one of the only few people who understand him. As I am mixing both the original and reboot Makarov together for the God Makarov I have given him the extremely close bond with his mother as in the trailer for the reboot as even if it is a joke we see that they are close and Makarov’s mother has influenced him as he made a promise to her relating to what he is doing. Since I have made this version of Makarov close to his mother I can not make him a psychopath even if in the original games he has most of the traits so instead I have made him high functioning autistic with psychopathic traits meaning that he can form emotional bonds but they are unique but he has no empathy to most but even with the people he has bonded with he has low empathy. I envision that he inherited it off his mother as it is just in their nature as Gods of Ice and Snow to be more psychopathic due to having a cold heart, and so she encouraged his violent and manipulative tendencies as a way to stay in power but also because she only saw it as natural which did make them closer as it drove home the idea of only her understanding him. Then one day his village was attacked. Makarov watched as the world he knew crumbled around him as he watched with his very own eyes, taking his father and nearly his mother alongside it. A young Makarov woke up one morning to find the villagers that had worshipped his mother running and screaming for their lives as everything burnt around them, and just a few feet away from him was his father's hanging body. His father had killed himself instead of fighting to save their village as he had seen it as the easy way out instead of dying in battle or being humiliated and made a slave. Meanwhile Makarov’s mother had been tied to the sacred birch tree she had planted when the village had just started out and Makarov had to watch as the villagers from a village that was located in the West tried to burn her alive as their God was pissed that she dared reject his marriage proposal. Makarov had to watch as his mother burnt alive in front of him as fire is a God of Ice and Snow’s only weakness. Although Makarov was lucky enough to be able to save her as in an adrenaline rage he unleashed his powers as he may have been a Demigod but a Demigod filled with rage is as powerful as any other God. He unleashed a fury of snow upon everyone, even his mother in a bid to save her life. Makarov then carried her away to a nearby mountain where he had to defend for himself and his mother as he slowly healed her back to full health but she never fully recovered, making her weaker then she already was at full power. As Makarov spent years healing his mother he came to despise his father and hated how humans could be so weak willed especially a man who had promised to take care of them both, not to mention the utter volatile rage that he felt to people of other regions as no one in the North would have dared to attack his village but those villagers from the West had ruined everything. He also hated how the other leaders of the village had failed which had brought about the loss of everything, his home, his father, his life, his everything. He had made a promise to his mother that he would not make the same mistakes as those humans and so began his lifelong obsession that was driven by a will to keep himself and his mother safe.

It may have started off small but his plan was never small to begin with. Once his mother was strong enough to be able to stay by herself and not worry about predators, Makarov went to the West. His plan was to kill off villages all over the world and cause fights between the different Gods until there was none left but only him. For places that weren’t used to harsh Winters like what would appear in the North, the snow storms Makarov brought with him were fatal. They killed thousands of people and it caused Gods to turn their backs on each other thinking that their once allies were the ones who did it. This started the Great War between the Gods and where Makarov got his moniker of the Winter King as all the Gods knew of a God much powerful than them who brought Winter and death with him wherever he stepped, who only grew more powerful as more people feared him. And Makarov turned up his antics. Makarov started carrying rats along with him as they were able to survive his Winter but also for their ability to spread plagues, only killing more as he would release them to go back to the villages he found them at after they were fully infected so as to infect the rest of the villages. Of course the Great War had to end as most Gods had been killed but it also left a power vacuum which the leftover Gods and Gods that had newly formed due to the bloodshed took.

I imagine Makarov to look like his original design mixed in with the reboot design and the Winter King from Adventure Time as he seems the closest to what the Snow Queen would look like and that is what I imagine Makarov’s mother to look like. He is stocky like in the games but with longer legs and arms that give him an unnerving edge as the proportions are not fully like a human and make his body stand out compared to humans but he has been affected by the plague and Winter he carries along with him. His forearms, hands, feet, and calves are frozen and have been blackened by the plagues and frost, which if anyone touches will immediately freeze whatever part of them touched it as their body is overcome with the plague. Like in the original game he has heterochromia, with his left eye being blue and his right eye being green but surprisingly his green eyes is actually from his mother and is like it was made from the finest of emeralds as it glows slightly in the dark while his blue eye is from his father, a fading blue and a constant reminder of how he is technically still only half a God genetically even if he is considered a full God by everyone else. He has pale skin which makes him look like he is a snow sculpture that has come to life. His hair is short and spiky like in the original but is a mixture of dark brown and black as in the reboot his hair is black while in the original his hair was a dark brown but as a God his hair has slighted frosted tips on each hair follicle from him always being in the snow. His body has multiple scars, but some noticeable ones would be the one on his right shoulder and the ones covering his face but you can find other scars lining the rest of his body with a few burn scars from when his village was burnt down. Makarov has tattoos similar to ones in the games that are mostly based on his ones from the reboot with them covering his arms and torso and I feel like his tattoos would mostly be references like his godly symbol or what he has been nicknamed as in his centuries haunting the Earth. A breakdown of all his tattoos are his god symbol that is above the mountain range where his village once was on his back with the Northern Star on his right shoulder blade and a snowflake on his left shoulder blade, a ice themed Grim Reaper on his right pec as a reference to how his plagues caused so many deaths, ruins of protection from his mother on his stomach, a two headed bird on his left pec that looks like a mixture between a raven and an eagle with one head being more eagle like with the other more raven like, a skull on his right arm that has blood trickling down its sockets into a river of blood that gets bigger as there are impaled bodies oozing blood surrounding it, and his left arm is decorated in a flurry of snowflakes that blanket a forest in a snowstorm as one glowing green eye looks out from the darkness. He has more tattoos but I can not decide on what so anyone can add to that. For his clothing, I imagine him being a lot more clean or sophisticated compared to the other Gods as he dresses like the royalty of the North that have grown in wealth and power due to deposits of crystals in the area. https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/07/16/romanov-costume-ball-1903/ , I want people to look at this and find Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich as I imagine Makarov wearing something similar in appearance to it but with Winter inspired patterns or it being a lot more simpler and sleek which gives it that luxurious but still cold and menacing vibe to it.

I would say his sacred animal would be a rat as when someone is a traitor they are normally called a rat and we know that Makarov would betray anyone with no remorse if he saw that it was for his greater good and help him progress in his goals. But also because rats are typically associated with bad things like disease, pestilence, and dirt which fits with how Makarov is the God of Plagues and he is just purely known for terrible things as he is considered scum of the Earth and it fits as those creatures helped him out with spreading his plagues as they were loyal to him so it would make sense to honour them in such a way by making them his sacred animal for helping out in such a significant way. Another point to add could be how rats when not being associated with disease are actually associated with cunning, resourcefulness, and survival in certain cultures which fits Makarov well as he would do anything to see himself and his ideas survive, he is extremely cunning and resourceful as he is portrayed to be extremely smart and an amazing strategist. Plus rats are extremely smart like Makarov, I have three pet rats and they can easily solve the puzzles I make them and they can do some basic tricks that I have taught them, also in lab settings when scientists test on rats they are known to pick up on skills easily and pass through experiments that show they have a high cognitive ability. So overall I think rats fit him a lot.

Although another option could be the main birds in the corvid family that you think of when you hear the words corvid. Most people know how smart birds such as magpies, ravens, and crows are as they can mimic humans and will use cars and wolves to their benefit (if you do not know crows will drop nuts and seeds into the road so cars can run over them and break them open so the crows can eat what is inside while ravens form relationship with wolf pups and basically adopt them even if that wolf is kicked out of the pack when they are older so they can eat the scraps that the wolves leave behind or to take the wolves to carcasses so the wolves can eat). This reminds me about how Makarov will make bonds and use others to get to goal and to his own benefit to keep himself alive. Also magpies are known to be some of the most revengeful, petty, and obsessive birds. If you do not know Australian magpies are known to hate particular humans that piss them off and they teach that to the rest of the group of magpies and even future generations of magpies just so if that human comes near them again the whole pack will attack them. I just thought it was funny but also matched how Makarov will attack anyone who he has deemed as betraying him and can be obsessive in his goals that he will build an entire army to get revenge.

Now I am adding in something that I did not do in the original idea for God König but will be doing when I do his part two. This is a God symbol, a sacred tree, a sacred crystal, and a sacred flower as I want to flesh out the characters more and I noticed how Gods tend to have sacred things such as those.

I would say that his sacred tree would be a birch tree due to it being significant to his mother as I purposely made the tree his mother plant be a reference to the influence of Saint Olga that I had when making Makarov’s backstory and making him a powerhouse. The reason why I gave his mother the birch tree as well was due to its symbolism of being a tree of new beginnings and purification which made sense for when his mother planted it as it was supposed to represent how she was beginning a new start by having her own village that would not be tainted by the influence of other Gods who could take over her power over her own village. Plus, birch trees reminded me of trees in Winter that are covered in snow due to the tree’s colours and pattern.

However, if we take out his mother’s influence his sacred tree could instead be the strychnine tree. It may seem a weird choice at first but it makes sense once you hear about the fruit the strychnine tree has as these fruits contain a unique type of toxin called strychnine that if consumed can have some fatal effects such as muscle spasms that lead to a fever and surprisingly fevers can be very deadly as I can attest to as it can cook your brain alive if you are not careful enough. Also, the inside of the fruit and the powdered version are both white and crystalline just like snow and ice which is a very good reference to Makarov as it kills people while still having a reference to his snow theme, and the tree blooms in Winter, not to forget how fevers make you feel cold when you are actually boiling alive. The part about it causing a fever is also interesting as there is a phenomenon called paradox undressing related to hypothermia where people are close to death due to hypothermia and are overwhelmed by an excruciating feeling of warmth that they have to take off their clothes which is the opposite of what can happen with the overwhelming feeling of cold you can get from a fever and I believe that Makarov when on his killing sprees have given both of these to people. I hope people can see my vision with this tree but if anyone has better suggestions I wholeheartedly welcome them.

I would say that his sacred flower would be an Autumn Crocus as purple colours such as violet are traditionally colours of royalty, nobility, spirituality, mystery, and magic so the purple crocus and consequently the autumn crocus stands for all these qualities with it is also being a symbol of success, pride, dignity, merriment, hope, and youthfulness. I thought it would be a good fit for Makarov as merriment, hope, and youthfulness are the exact opposite of what you would think of when thinking of Makarov but actually makes sense if you put yourselves in the shoes of the people who worship him as they may think that by associating him with such things would actually help them in the long run as they think they would be dulling him down a bit which would make him safer as those traits go against his actual traits and could be used to cancel each other out making him less dangerous overall. But the other traits such as success, pride, and mystery fit him as he is very successful in his plans especially in the original games and we know he is very proud of himself and his heritage even if we do not know much about his life before joining the military in both games except for the reboot where we know his father died by suicide. Also, I think nobility fits him due to how infamous he has made himself that he is on the level of royalty with how well known he is but also how he is virtually the Winter King in this AU due to being the God of Winter.

I would say that his sacred crystal would be topaz, specifically blue topaz. This was an easy pick as it is a reference to his backstory as topaz is not seen as a more precious stone in my experience compared to other stones such as emeralds or diamonds which reflects how he would have not originally be seen as much of a God compared to full Gods such as Ghost or Price due to being born as a Demigod and one of the biggest topaz deposits in Russia are found in the Ural Mountains which I fits Makarov nicely as he was a gem that came forth from the mountain region compared to the other Gods of the time which were like stone in comparison in worth and power. Not to mention blue topaz is normally associated with clarity which you need when strategising to make sure everything goes perfectly.

Makarov’s God symbol is very similar to the Konni symbol but I would change what type of skull it is to a raven skull that instead has a frozen branch going through the middle of it which I think is so simple but at the same time horrifying and I really wish I could draw so I could show it (if I can I will try to get someone I know to draw it). Why I picked a raven is because ravens are associated with death, my favourite use is in Macbeth when Lady Macbeth talks about how when the raven croaks the call of Duncan’s death, and it could possibly be one of his sacred animals but it is also a fun reference to how he is going to kill Price one day as ravens are less popular symbols of Wisdom and @stariepie headcanons Price as the God of Knowledge/Wisdom so it would be funny if Makarov’s symbol is a somewhat threat to Price. I also decided on a frozen branch instead of a dagger as he can easily make branches weapons by making them stronger and more solid by freezing them and it is a reference to one of my favourite birds the Great Grey Shrike which impale their prey on spiked branches which is normally through the head.

If König’s relationship with the other Gods are messy then Makarov’s relationships with the other Gods is an unholy dumpster fire mixed with nuclear waste that should not be touched by anyone who wants to stay alive: Of course due to the games Makarov is going to hate all the members of Task Force 141 but I will specifically say why for each one.

Price- Like how in the games Price and Makarov are the absolute biggest enemies but the reason for it in this world is because of the Great War that Makarov caused as Price was alive to see it. Price and Makarov actually fought against each other in the War as at the time Price was a minor God compared to the God he is now and led his own group of Gods to fight in the War but due to his strategies being small scale in the grand scheme of things led to his whole group being killed slowly one by one where he had to watch them all die and be the only survivor and of course Makarov was the one who killed them all. This rightfully made Price hate Makarov and Makarov hates Price in return as Price keeps trying to find ways to kill Makarov or at least stop him but somehow Makarov seems to escape by an inch at the last minute every time due to Price not thinking of one little detail and Makarov always sends Price teasing gifts to taunt Price about how he is still alive and still oh so powerful.

Ghost- Ghost hates Makarov for a few reasons while Makarov just hates Ghost because he is in an alliance with Price. First reason Ghost hates Makarov is because he tried killing Soap and Roach who I headcanon as being his best friends which is an obvious reason as to why he would hate Makarov. The second reason is more petty but Makarov had purposely killed off all of the gladiators at Ghost's favourite colosseum which obviously infuriated Ghost. The third reason is that Ghost hates how Makarov reaps some of the benefits when Ghost kills people in torturous and horrendous ways. And the fourth reason is just because it is Makarov and he has tried to kill Ghost multiple times.

Soap- Based on what happened in Modern Warfare III I imagine that one time Makarov tried killing Soap after Soap had tried to stop Makarov from inflicting a plague upon Soap’s favourite city due to it having one of Soap’s main temples there but it went horribly wrong as the plague was still released. Makarov had laid a trap by purposely keeping Winter in a certain area instead of letting Soap’s Spring take over and Soap of course went to see what was going on but Makarov was waiting there with an icicle blast forming in his hand that he then launch at Soap and it pierced through Soap’s skull as if an icicle is strong enough and is going fast enough it can actually penetrate and kill someone. Luckily Soap did not die due to hitting his frontal lobe which he could easily heal from due to being a God but ever since then the two have hated each other and try everything to kill each other when they have the chance.

Gaz- Makarov only really hates Gaz due to him having an alliance and being close to Price as I see Gaz as the golden boy of the Gods who is the most behaved and can not really do any wrong and has barely caused any wrongs.

Roach- Makarov hates Roach for the same reasons as Gaz but also because he somehow always survives all of Makarov’s plagues and has survived being attacked by Shepherd which was annoying as Makarov now has to find a new way to get rid of him.

Shepherd- Makarov and Shepherd have a weird relationship. Yes they hate each other as Shepherd wants Makarov dead but Makarov also has some respect for Shepherd as I see Shepherd and Price as enemies due to both games and just because I hate Shepherd in both games. But, Makarov purposely uses Shepherd’s pride against him to drive Shepherd insane so one day Shepherd will break and go on a killing spree like Shepherd has tried to do before so Makarov sees Shepherd as a toy that he hates but has to keep in his box for the future so his plan can happen with the least amount of casualties for him.

Yuri- Before the Great War and during some of it Makarov and Yuri used to be friends and had an alliance after Makarov saved Yuri from being killed by some other Gods back when the two were much younger but once Makarov got a bit too crazy Yuri cut off all his ties to Makarov to join Price and his groups of Gods. Makarov hates Yuri for this as he was betrayed by one of his only friends and he nearly successfully killed Yuri but Yuri luckily survived as being a God makes it extremely hard for you to be killed but he now has to live in hiding because Makarov hates him but wants him dead.

König- Like I mentioned when talking about God König these two are rivals with respect for each other and a sort of alliance between the two of them. They have things they want from each other and know that there is no reason to kill each other yet as it will be better for them in the long run if both stay around for longer as more Gods will die and they both have less work to do.

One little fun fact: a headcanon I have for God Makarov is he is actually the God who is the best at mimicking accents to the point he can make people believe he is from another place entirely he is that good which is inspired by how he mimics an American accent then a Scottish accent when speaking to Soap and then a British accent when he spoke to Price in the newest Modern Warfare game when they were flying away once they had captured Makarov. It is not well known at all so sadly he is not the God of it.

Credits: @frogchiro for the AU.

-This is Ozzie signing out, and I am extremely sorry for not posting for a while and going on a few tangents in this, also sorry for any mistakes as I have finished writing this at 2AM and I honestly do not have the brain cells to reread this and check for any mistakes so please tell me if there are any and I am so fucking sorry if there are any formatting issues Tumblr is being a total fucking nightmare and a bitch which I will try to fix when I have time. I also caught some unbeknownst sickness that had been taking out all of my professors and it just left me dead in my bed for a while and then I had to catch up on all the work I missed but hopefully now I can post every few days and I will finally post the summaries for my AUs. My next post will most likely either be for the Slashers, a part to for God König, or one of the summaries.

[kitcat992]

Author Update

So after blinking a few times and realizing we're nearing the end of January — damn, time flies — I've been able to catch up on a few things, slowly but surely, and one of which has been my Tumblr account. Instead of individually addressing questions Imma just be lazy and do it all in one post 😛

For those unaware, I had some gnarly surgery in the beginning of December right after I concluded Identity Crisis. While the surgery went fine, I've unfortunately been dealing with some nasty post-op complications. It put a wrench in literally all my plans, schedules, arrangements — you name it. My naive dumbass thought I'd be a spring chicken back at things within a few weeks andddddd that's not what happened. At all 😅

As I'm (very slowly) getting my health back on track, I'm still working to respond to everyone's AMAZING, kind, loving, so supportive feedback on the last two chapters of the story. Every single comment means the world to me and there were so many times I read them, over and over again, right after surgery because I was at my lowest and everything said and mentioned just touched my heart in all the best ways. I consumed your comments like medicine; each one helped me heal in all the right ways. I love every one of you and I want you all to know that. 💙❤️💙 When I say your feedback has kept me going, I meant that in SO many ways.

To everyone asking when Identity Within will start, I'm aiming for spring. I won't set a date at this very moment because, since this surgery, life has decided that every time I set a date for sometime it laughs and ridicules me and stomps all over that plan like a bully. 🙃 I'm currently in the midst of getting iron infusions, one of the many things to get myself back to par after said surgery tanked my levels so hard I nearly wound up with a blood transfusion as well. For those who've never had severe anemia, it makes 2+2 downright impossible. It makes everything impossible. You can barely think let alone keep your eyes open. Problem for this bitch is she's anemic on a good day, so the amount of blood I lost via surgery didn't bode well. Unexpected, but whacha gunna do. Take it one day at a time.

In the interim, I'm filling in the final plot holes of my outline and once that's done and every chapter is arranged, I plan to start the Prologue. Here's to hoping spring looks a hella lot better than winter has turned out to be 🤞

In the hiatus that follows, now's a great time for anyone who is interested to do a read-up on the series. As we enter the final installment and conclude the saga, you'll be amazed at all the strings that tie together all the way back to the first book 😉

I send my love and can't wait to see ya'll there 💙❤️💙

[raayllum]

Opinion about the first episode of season 4?

My first watch it did feel a little clunky, but I think that's also bc 1) as a super fan I'd seen all the clips released already and 2) had read the SDCC twitter thread, so nothing about the episode was a surprise in terms of like, scene by scene stuff. 4x01 in particular hinges on two mis-directs where what we think may be conflict (Sunfire ambush, 'plot against the king'") only for them to both be happier things. Which is why I think Callum's plotline ending badly (aka sadly) is important because otherwise it's too much of a positive note.

AKA I've watched the episode 3 times since and it 100% worked for me (which is also how it worked for S3 feeling a little fast the first time I saw it, but I was also hyped up on so much adrenaline and very little sleep and - shockingly - that makes a difference, I know). I've seen people complain about the tone but I think people tend to have nostalgia perfection goggles on for things they love and compared TDP to (largely ATLA, which had "Zuko angrily visiting Iroh in prison" and "Aang throwing a secret dance party" intercut immediately with one another) and it's like - TDP has always done a very good job at balancing its tone, same as ATLA, but it does feel hypocritical to watch fans of both not realize what they're "excusing" just cause they're used to it vs being hard on TDP.

This goes for TDP too since besides 1x01, this is probably the most packed premiere episode we've had. 2x01 was very exposition heavy when it came to magic and not much else actually happened in it, and like... 3 things happen in 3x01 and the most important stuff is all near the end of the episode, basically? So while 4x01 is absolutely doing the heavy work of catching us up and doing set up for the season, I think it does that difficult job as well as it reasonably can, tbh. Again: I don't mind people complaining, but the complaints gotta be grounded in merit, y'know? (That said: soft blocking people with negativity in the tags because I'm not about that with this show and never will be).

I have also been tickled pink by all the more casual reviewers / watchers who was surprised at Callum's behaviour with Soren and his lack of patience for bullshit now, since not only is it exactly how I thought he'd be post-timeskip and TTM, I thought it was exactly how he'd behave post-a speculative timeskip back in January 2020 with excerpts like this from "If Time Is Money" - so fucking satisfying, man:

She could perfectly picture the haughty look on Runaan’s face as he said, in a rather bored voice, as though whatever conversation that was about to be had was pointless. Runaan wasn’t necessarily a proud individual, but he had little patience for what he deemed illusions of youth or other perceived wastes of time. “Listen, boy—” “No, you listen,” Callum said, fair more sternly. Sterner than Tiadrin would have thought possible, given the softness he generally carried. “We’re never going to like each other, for obvious reasons. I think I have a far better one, as yours is based in prejudice, and mine is based on the fact you literally murdered my father, but that’s not the point. The point is that while I don’t care what you say about me, as I’ve heard far worse from other elves like you, Rayla does and you are still her father and she deserves to have you in her life and to have a good relationship with you. So when she’s not around, you can say whatever you want, even to my face. I don’t care and I don’t plan on rising to it anyway. But when she is around, you keep that shit to yourself, because it’s only going to upset her, and she’s been through more than enough.” Runaan’s face was stiff and barely readable, when Tiadrin stole a look. It was only because she knew him so well that she could tell he was at least a little gobsmacked, and so, quite frankly, was she.  The prince’s tone left no room for debate, as she carefully watched Runaan try and scrounge up anything to say at all. 

Adored all the Viren and Callum parallels since I've also thought since S2 that S4 would ramp it up majorly and it's super gratifying / interesting / exciting to watch that come to fruition. I also loved the Janaya proposal and thought it was super sweet. I gotta adjust to some of the small animation changes (I think possibly character / face silhouette line work and being even more fluid than before) but I love the flexing, updated character designs, and all the little microexpressions.

I'm so pumped for the rest of the season, it's going to be unreal (and just like, 2.5 days away now)!

[casspurrjoybell-23]

The Raven - Chapter 24

*Warning Adult Content*

"What news have you for me today, Delilah?" the king asks, tiredly rubbing his palm over his face.

The stress of the recent happenings has been wearing excessively on him; if only he could finally eliminate everything standing within his path to success, then life would surely be easier.

Perhaps his duties would be more manageable, more effortless.

At least for a while, until everything inevitably and quite literally falls apart, leaving him shattered beyond repair.

Alas, that is not the thought he should be concentrating on right now, he can only take things one step at a time, or else failure will be imminent and wholly unforgiving.

"The raven has been acquiring courage, Your Majesty," she replies, her thoughts racing with possible scenarios about how this new information may or may not work to her advantage.

The success of her plan relies fully on the raven's ability to be compelled into supporting her, she absolutely cannot risk having him become too brave in his actions.

Perhaps she should not have tricked the king into this idea in the first place, there is still a significant chance that the raven's growing confidence and boldness could obliterate her scheme entirely.

"Yesterday, he left the tower for the first time and spent the morning in the garden with His Highness in his raven form. Unfortunately, Princess Elaina's arrival in early afternoon promptly ended their visit," she dutifully reports, a faux pleased expression gracing her face and masking her genuine feelings of contempt for the possibility of failure.

The king hums in response, thinking over the witch's words thoroughly.

If these details are accurate, then it appears everything is well.

For now.

However, the anger he harbors for his wife's incompetence and inability to simply stay out of his affairs irks him greatly.

"I am not sure yet whether or not that princess will be useful to our cause," he says, his fingers scratching at the stubble on his chin as he wonders. "My wife seems to think that forcing Henry to marry this... Princess Elaina will somehow prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled but I believe it will only hinder or progress. We need Henry and the raven to be completely in love with each other if we wish this to work," His Majesty explains, his mind desperately attempting to conjure a solution for the queen's incessant meddling.

"I agree, Your Majesty. There is a slim possibility that the raven may succumb to feelings of jealousy toward Princess Elaina as she spends more time mingling with His Highness over the course of her stay in the palace. However, I am hopeful that I have raised him to be too kind-hearted and compassionate to surrender to such ill feelings. I think that if his focus should remain on his love for His Highness rather than envy, the plan is more likely to be successful. Perhaps seeing the disinterest that the prince so openly expresses for the princess will be comforting to the raven," Delilah says, although her words do not match her thoughts.

Unbeknownst to the king, the witch knows that it would not necessarily be detrimental to her own plotting if the raven should develop a feeling of jealousy toward the princess, in fact, it would likely only further her scheme, making the creature much more susceptible to her compelling ways.

The king takes several moments to process the witch's words and the situation as a whole, silently sorting through each individual circumstance as it has been presented to him.

With everything happening so quickly, there is no room for deviation from the plan if he wants to be successful at preventing the fulfillment of the prophecy and that is what the king wishes for above all else.

They absolutely cannot allow any divergence, especially not now, so late in the game.

If everyone has done their jobs correctly, then there is little chance the raven will fail them now.

His Majesty wonders whether the same can be said for his son.

Has Henry been adequately conditioned to complete the role expected of him?

And what about the unnecessary and entirely inconvenient presence of Princess Elaina?

She is an unexpected obstacle, an unpredictable wrench thrown into their path.

The queen has more than likely brainwashed her into thinking she will be the one to marry Prince Henry, she had evidently become highly attached to that outlandish delusion.

"I suppose that all we can do is observe at this point," the king says, his words immediately followed by a frustrated sigh.

If only the fate of his entire kingdom were not riding squarely upon his shoulders, if only this single event were not required to prevail in order to save them all from the most wicked and undeserved destiny that awaits them should this plan fail.

"We must watch them closely and absolutely not interfere unless things take a drastic turn for the worse. And as for that Princess..."

His Majesty trails off briefly, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he contemplates his response, he honestly has no idea how to solve the dilemma with the foreign princess.

"I really wish my wife would stop trying to take matters into her own hands, it is only causing delay to our progression."

"Would you like me to stop her, Your Majesty?" Delilah asks, a secret thrill dancing down her spine at the mere idea, she has been longing for the chance to rid herself of the vile woman for nearly two decades now. "I could compel her with my magic if you wish."

"No, thank you, Delilah. I do not think that will be necessary," he answers, carding a hand through his thick, graying hair.

Then, with a seductive tone, he curls one side of his lips into a smirk and says..."

Now, enough of this. Come, serve your king in the way only you can."

Pleased with the invitation and beyond eager to fulfill His Majesty's request, the witch wastes no time crossing the room.

Once immediately before her king, she drops to her knees and hurriedly removes his pants.

As her hungry mouth descends on him, he lets out a throaty growl of appreciation, his hand winding in her hair.

"This... hmm, this is why I have kept you around all these years," he tells her, his voice strained with the pleasure coursing through him. "Your loyalty and magical powers are simply an added bonus."

Unable to speak with her mouth full, Delilah opens her eyes and peers up at the king, only to find him already staring back at her.

Keeping his right hand firmly entwined in her hair and holding her in place, he lifts his left to gently stroke her cheek.

"Good girl," he whispers.

[six-costume-refs]

In a situation where two roles are out, but the two swings cover both roles, how do they decide who does which one? i.e. on Feb. 5th, Leah was on as Seymour and Rachel as Parr, so how did they decide who did which role?

Depends a lot on the production. I’ll go into more detail but the very short version is just about what makes the most sense logistically and who is most comfortable in each role!

(Before I go into more detail, note that “who is most comfortable in each role” doesn’t mean the individual actor is literally the one to choose based off of their own comfort. It’s going to be a mix of yes maybe what they’re most comfortable in, but also what they’re most prepared for that day, what they may have done a rehearsal as most recently, what roles the team prefers them in, etc.)

West End/UK Tour: If the roles are covered by 1st cover/swing…If coverage for one role is needed for an extended period of time, they usually try to keep the coverage consistent. For instance, this week Natalie Pilkington is on for a week for Parr and they needed a Seymour cover for just one show, so they’re having Harriet Caplan-Dean just do the Seymour so Natalie can keep consistently doing Parr all week (same thing usually applies even for two show days as well). If it’s just normal one-off single shows off and both of an alts’ first covers need coverage, it seems like it usually depends on which role the swing is more comfortable in.

If it’s going to be a first cover and second cover on…they usually stay away from having second covers debut new roles unless it’s scheduled and pre-planned. Right now if they need a Boleyn cover and a Howard cover between Monique Ashe-Palmer and Danielle Rose they’ll go for Monique Boleyn and Danielle Howard, because Monique has had her planned Boleyn debut but not yet debuted Howard (assuming they’re keeping the standardized system of Monique being 2nd B/H anyway, but there’s no guarantee of that yet). So after that debut, it’ll switch back to the same system as swing/first cover: keeping tracks consistent if extended coverage is needed and/or going for whatever the second cover/swing is more comfortable with.

Two exceptions: two swings with cover order and universals. West End’s current system of two swings with three priority covers each throws a little bit of a loophole into things. Usually if both of an alts’ covers are out, they’ll follow the same procedure as I said above with just one swing and just send whichever alt is priority cover for the other (so Leah already on for S for an extended period would mean they’d typically send Esme Rothero on for P). But in this instance Esme is out of the show on holiday and Rachel is first priority S and second P. In that scenario it seems to get a little more complicated - if Rachel was really uncomfortable with Parr they might switch things up and have Leah do Parr and just do a two queens day so Rachel could do Seymour. Or in those types of situation where there’s a strong preference, they might have had Rachel (or whoever it is) do Seymour both shows and Leah (or whoever it is) do Parr for whichever one she needs to, and then have Leah go back to covering Seymour for the rest of the week the next day. (Rachel Seymour/Leah Parr are just the examples there for the sake of consistency)

And then universal swings throw things out of sorts too. All of the universal swings have had some sort of priority order, official or not, and because they’re only meant to be used in more emergency scenarios that would be so convoluted and individualized to explain that I can’t even begin to try! But the very short answer would likely just be that the universal swing would be in the role they’re most comfortable with and then everyone else would be slotted in accordingly.

Aragon Tour: Kelly Denice Taylor/Kelsee Kimmel both cover Aragon/Seymour and Erin Ramirez/Cassie Silva both cover Boleyn/Howard. In theory if both principals for either duo is out, Kelly is priority Aragon/Kelsee is priority Seymour + Erin is priority Boleyn/Cassie is priority Howard, but that changes around and both duos have done shows swapped around

Boleyn Tour: Cecilia Snow/Jana Larell Glover both cover Aragon/Cleves + Taylor Pearlstein/Aryn Bohannon both cover Boleyn/Howard. If both principals are out for either it’s meant to be Cecilia Aragon/Jana Cleves + Taylor Boleyn/Aryn Howard. That’s always held true so far but could change in the future.

Australia Tour: Officially they all cover roles equally, but they definitely have an unofficial cover order. Karis Oka primarily does B/C/H/P, Chiara Assetta A/C and sometimes H, Madeline Fansler A/S/P, Cristina D’Agostino P, and Shannen Alyce Quan primarily does B/S/P but also slots in just about everywhere fairly evenly. But there’s really not much consistency to who goes on for what if two roles need coverage (and there’s been a fair number of injuries/illness/personal reasons that have caused some of the alts to be in and out as well)

[getmemymicroscope]

There was a moment a bit back, I don't remember exactly which movie I was watching when I had this thought, where it seemed like Abhishek Bachchan had finally found his own footing. For the longest time, and probably quite honestly forever, he'll always be in the shadow of his father. But while earlier it seemed like he got roles that people thought his father would have done well in back in his heyday, Abhishek has shown a willingness to break away and do unconventional sorts of roles. I mean, he's no Ayushmann Khurrana or anything, but he is definitely someone that has become much more enjoyable to watch in his roles.

The Big Bull, Bob Biswas, Dhoom (of course), Dostana, Housefull 3, Bol Bachchan - and now, without doubt, this one. This movie is a lot of fun almost immediately, and definitely once he gets in jail and once Yami Gautam shows up. And as things progress, you find yourself having a lot of fun with it. It sort of takes on the education system, maybe as Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots did, but without the emotional tugs of the former or the slightly overly-exaggerated delivery scene of the latter, and keeps things entertaining even as it sort of tells 2 simultaneous stories - his in the prison, his wife's as the CM.

I mean, obviously he also benefits from a very individualized study focus and plan - all his "teachers' gear their teachings to things he understands, which obviously cannot happen in an actual school setting where you have tons of students who all have different interests and different things that would make sense to them.

However, with that said - there's a lot to be said for the power of education, and that initial emphasis on 'history repeats itself' is brilliant. And while it won't do anything cuz politicians are asshats, it is nice to see the story. Maybe one day someone in power will actually give a damn.

It's also sad how this thing that has been so common their, especially in movies but even in real life, about corrupt politicians literally being treated like celebrities (the riots, the fanfare, etc.) is becoming a thing here too. Backwards.

'Absolute power corrupts absolutely' is such a brilliant statement to sum up his wife's transition in this movie - and while it is sad to see to corruption and power-hungry craze set in, it is nice to see how they portray it happening and, when threatened with the loss of this power, how she reacts. That is the problem with power, of course. And that is why there needs to be some limits on the power, and some requirements for whom can be in power - something about humanity and what-not. Because otherwise you end up in a backwards-moving condition.

All 3 of our leads in this movie are absolutely brilliant, and the interactions between all 3 of them are genuinely great (and, frequently, funny). The dialogues we get between Abhishek and Yami are a ton of fun - and his progression throughout the movie, even if he doesn't want to admit it, is very well portrayed.

There was a major misfire a bit back with Sanam Re, but between her roles in Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga and this movie, Yami Gautam is definitely doing a great job at picking her roles lately (even A Thursday, which I haven't seen, is supposed to be pretty dang good).

The song Macha Macha Re is a lot of fun, and will definitely be playing on repeat at work tomorrow.

Yeah, this is an excellent movie.

[avelera]

Asking because you seem to Have Great Thoughts On Fun Media but do we ever see Ed and Izzy actually enjoying each other's company? Is your reading of their relationship a mutually beneficial teamwork thing, or are they actually friends on some level?

Oof, Anon this one is tough for me. I find Izzy fascinating as an antagonist, as a mover of the plot, and as a voice of reason. From a shipping angle (somewhat unrelated, I know) I only see Izzy/Ed as a bellwether of something having gone deeply wrong, as I think a relationship between them, at least as we see them in the show (as opposed to a flashback to the early days which would theoretically contain a dynamic we haven't seen), would be deeply toxic. For example, I would see a Izzy/Kraken!Ed sex scene in S2 as Ed hitting his lowest point, absolute rock bottom of despair and toxicity, in the same way that I would see Stede making a sincere attempt to be Mary's lover and fit into his old life--had she been more receptive to also trying to "make it work" when it would kill them both spiritually to do so (ie, I would be screaming at the screen "No! God no! Oh god please no! No, no, nooo!" ala Steve Carrell in The Office).

I don't feel I've actually formed a coherent opinion about whether or not Ed and Izzy are friends though. As a character functioning within the plot, I think Izzy sees himself as what would be a modern agent to a rockstar for Ed. Basically, doing all the day-to-day stuff so this creative genius can be free to do their thing. But when that creative genius won't do the very basics of making sure the sweet deal they've got going continues (like say, showing up for an autograph session on time, or failing to make a plan so they survive an encounter with the Spanish) then that relationship becomes strained. As I've noted elsewhere, like a rockstar agent, Izzy feels possessive of the "brand" of "Blackbeard" much like a successful agent of an individual star who is also a brand (like Elvis, Elton John, Mick Jagger, etc) would but it would be a thorny sense of possessiveness because "Blackbeard" is kind of a band name for Ed but it's also actually his identity that Izzy feels possessive about. It gets muddled with Izzy doing the work to support this brand, with Ed working to support this brand, but also with Ed being this brand. So Izzy is kind of right to feel protective of that brand but also very invasive for doing so.

Now, have Ed and Izzy ever been friends? Have they ever enjoyed each other's company? Izzy clearly enjoys a degree of familiarity with Ed, he calls him Edward and Ed (something Calico Jack said Ed would literally murder others for doing) which IMO means he's clearly in Ed's close confidence. But, I don't think Ed sees them as equals.

Ed treats Izzy as an employee, to my eyes. A very useful employee. One he literally can't do without and that he trusts with his most important jobs. But still an employee. Think back to him sending Izzy against the man's protests to go fetch Stede himself, Ed ignored Izzy's protests because he wanted the job done right.

Later, Ed sarcastically mocks Izzy for complaining that his job has been hard (something an employer might do, but not a friend). In the same breath, Ed indicates he feels disdain for pirates in general, even those on his own crew, as he seems to see pirates as people who have chosen a life where if they die they knew what they signed up for and don't deserve to be mourned. Possibly as terrible people who have chosen this life, so he has even less sympathy, if my read of his emotion being disdain in that scene is correct.

By the time we see Ed, I get the distinct impression that he finds other pirates repulsive unless they're "doing something original" like Stede. And, without much evidence other than reading between the lines, I'd hazard that Ed's view of pirates might go back all the way to when he first became one (or before). Becoming the best at something doesn't mean you respect your peers. If anything, his own success as a pirate, the close view it gave him of how other pirates behave, may have only deepened his disdain for pirates. After all, Ed doesn't kill and he relies more on fuckery than on brutality (except for maiming) so to his eyes, other pirates might seem a brutish, violent lot not worthy of his time let alone his sympathy or interest.

And Izzy is a pirate. A smarter pirate than the average and able to help Ed's enterprise function, but one who also lacks originality and creativity. Izzy IMO is not spared from being in the group that contains Ed's low view of "[no one] doing anything original out here." Even when asked to do basic creative interpretation like describe the shape of clouds, Izzy is too mission-focused and pragmatic to do anything but bore Ed. And before we say that Izzy is right and Ed is wrong at that moment to be so mission-focused, Izzy didn't do fuck-all to save them from the Spanish that night. It was Stede and Ed's (and Stede's crew's) combined creativity and skill that saved them with the lighthouse fuckery. Izzy appears to have vanished. At the very least, he didn't contribute to the actual saving of the ship that he kept giving Ed so much shit about.

Tragically, I do think Izzy thinks he and Ed are close. I think being the top employee of a creative rockstar like Ed has given him the false impression that he's Ed's friend, rather than that he's friendly with Ed as an employee. (Remember, kids, your company doesn't give a shit about you and will fire you whenever convenient to them, no matter how loyal you are. In this instance, Izzy is the employee and Ed is the company that creates "Blackbeard".)

Ed has let Izzy into his confidence, but as an underling. Izzy thinks he's earned more than that, that he is more than that to Ed. I don't think Ed agrees. Izzy thinks they're partners and Stede is stealing Ed away. Ed sees Izzy as a useful assistant.

Izzy's ability to force "Ed" back into being Blackbeard, or rather the Kraken version of Blackbeard that might be more than Izzy bargained for, is not a result of Ed respecting Izzy. I vehemently disagree with interpretations where Ed's reversion to the Kraken is as a result of Ed being afraid of Izzy. He's never shown any fear of Izzy. Rather, I think Izzy is the annoying alarm clock. He's the harried assistant who has been calling the rockstar every day while he's on vacation and finally shows up to the beach with a clipboard to say time's up, you've got to come back to the real world now. Ed resents Izzy. He resents Izzy's presumed familiarity that he could threaten Ed or assert any kind of power over him and therefore Ed maims Izzy to reestablish the hierarchy.

Were they ever friends? At most, I think they were friendly. I think Ed had a point where he was pleased to discover a fellow pirate who could get shit done, who could function, and worked well with him anticipating his needs and taking care of the grubby parts of the job (including managing the pirates that Ed disdains) so Ed doesn't have to. I could see him being warm to Izzy, charming as he often is, in those early days. I can see that warmth and charm coupled with Blackbeard's terrifying competence, become that heady combination that can only be described as charisma making Izzy feel fortunate that he's allowed so close to the star of the show. I can see that excitement fading into the humdrum of everyday life where he's less awed by Ed and more frustrated when Izzy is called upon again and again to be the voice of reason, to do the grubby job.

I can see Izzy not understanding that no matter how hard he works, he will never be seen as Ed's equal because the way he functions is as a subordinate. He would have to break out of his old habits and become a rockstar in his own way to win any respect or interest from Ed.

Ed respects fellow rockstars: Calico Jack, the Gentleman Pirate, Jim - all self-assured people with their own brand who don't care what the world thinks. Izzy doesn't function that way. Izzy is an assistant, an enforcer, an employee that Ed would desperately like to have some fucking creativity and personality of his own but because he doesn't, he will never rise to be more in Ed's eyes.

And that's my long-winded two-cents ;P