#or yeah the more harrowing implication

[mostly-imagines]

At Least I’m Not Alone at the Wake

jason todd x fem!reader

aka how jason feels safe even when he feels like he’s dying

warnings: angst w comfort throughout

It took less than thirty seconds for the silence of the night to drift into sounds of shrieks echoing off the buildings along the street. The sharp contrast had you and Jason bolting upright on the couch, ears on alert. It only took a few seconds more of listening for you to realize you’re not hearing shouting—it’s laughter. Maniacal, uncontrolled laughter. 

There’s a beat as you both freeze upon the implication, the unsettling realization dropping in on you. You barely have a moment to process it before Jason’s pushing up from the couch and heading towards the bathroom.

“Close the window,” he grumbles.

You blink as you register his words before jumping up to do as told, quickly sliding the frame shut and locking it. He returns soon with an armful of towels in hand, and you stand back as he stuffs a couple along the window sill with rough movements. He goes throughout the apartment, doing the same to the other windows. He rounds back to the living room window, looking down at the street with a heavy look on his face. 

You trust that the towels will do their job in preventing the laughing gas from getting in the apartment, but they’re unable to block out the bellows of hysteria.

He backs away from the window, letting the living room wall hold his weight. You both listen to the harrowing echoes with still bodies. 

You watch him, waiting for a reaction. You don’t mean to, but you know you’re looking at him like he’s a loaded spring. You try not to, you know how much he hates how his family does that to him, but fuck, it’s hard not to worry about him.

When Joker incidents have come up, they’ve usually been something you’re able to ignore or even get ahead of and drive out of the city. But this is raucous and chaotic, clearly enough to shut down the city from the inside. Besides, Jason would be booking it out of here if he thought there was any chance of a clean getaway in this.

But you know he’s got no interest in inserting himself in anything Joker related, especially something so destabilizing.

While you know Jason’s family cares about him, of course they do, but you’ve noticed they sometimes put Gotham’s needs first and his second. So the severity of this attack is concerning for you for two reasons.

“Will they…” you shuffle, “Will they need you?”

He’s quick to answer, voice firm. “No.” A long moment passes before he adds on, quieter, “They won’t want me out there.”

You nod to yourself, trying to relax your body. You being on edge isn’t going to help him.

You watch as his head thumps against the wall, eyes squeezed shut. He’s tough—you know he’s tough. He can withstand a hell of a lot more than you’ll probably ever even know. But even for Gotham, this is a lot. And even for someone who hasn’t been through what Jason has, the ringing repetitions of laughter are maddening. You wonder if this is what the Joker hears in his head. You wonder if this is what Jason heard.

The intensity of the laughing increases, more people likely becoming exposed to the gas. You think you can hear it in one of your neighbor’s apartments too.

He thumps his head against the drywall again, hands clenching at his sides. It takes one more forceful thud for you to move over to him, cradling your hand to the side of his head, holding him still. He lets you, though he still doesn’t open his eyes.

“Jay,” you say softly, stroking his hair. “Let’s take a shower, yeah?” Normally you’d try for a bath to calm him instead but you hope the waterfall from the shower might be enough to drown out the noise.

He takes a second to respond, letting your hand bear the weight of his head. “Yeah.”

His voice is splintered though, and his shoulders droop as he stands up fully. He waits to move until you start to lead him, flinching at every spike of laughter. You reach back and take his hand, giving it two squeezes. He squeezes your hand back but doesn’t loosen his grip.

As you enter the bathroom he wastes no time getting straight to the shower nozzle and turning it on. You press the door shut behind you, sealing out a decent portion of the chaos. You decide against turning the overhead light on, opting instead to let the small pink-shaded lamp provide a warm glow that you can easily maneuver throughout the shadows in. You figure he needs a more tranquil atmosphere than the harsh white light the bathroom ceiling can provide.

You turn to him in time to catch him pulling his shirt up harshly, movements jerked and impatient.

You place a gentle hand on his forearm, “Hey.”

He pauses his actions, eyes on the floor.

You don’t say anything else, but he understands your objection regardless. You remove your touch and he peels his shirt off slower, kinder to himself. 

You wait to make sure he continues this method with the rest of his clothes before you start to remove yours.

The downpour of water on the tiles does it’s intended job in creating your own little sanctum away from the noise. You climb into the shower after him, standing in the stray mist sprays that made their way past him. The bits of water that do manage their way to you are hot—not scalding, but hot enough that you know his chest is going to start getting numb very soon standing in front of the stream like this. 

You trace lines over the muscles of his back, outlining them and every little indent of a scar. When you run out of canvas on his back you move onto his arms, right then left.

It’s not until you trace down his wrist that you realize his head is angled down. You don’t need to be standing in front of him to know that his focus is zeroed in on his scar and you’re not sure how long it's been that way. Too long, in any case.

“Jay,” you say so softly that the water nearly drowns you out. “Will you look at me, please?”

He does turn to you, slowly, but he doesn’t look up.

You hold his face in your hands, nudging him to look up at you. He looks tired, drained. 

You know he has to hear that laughter in a different way than you do. It’s uncomfortable and frightening for you, but for him, it’s layers upon layers of the sound he heard while he was being beaten to death. And even beyond that horrible trauma, the reminder of it brings forth every memory of what happened afterwards, not to mention the heavy baggage you know he feels over being here at all. And you can see it all mulling behind his eyes.

“You know I love you,” you tell him with sincerity. His gaze stays heavy and you can tell it’s a struggle for him to hold the eye contact.

You lean up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth, catching his bottom lip slightly. Your next kiss meets his lips fully. You have to push up on your toes a little bit but he does the work of meeting you halfway. It’s a slow, intimate exchange, as fluid and serene as breathing.

“I love all of you,” you murmur against his lips. You let your hands fall to his chest, resting as gently as they can over his pecs. “Everything about you.”

You kiss the top of his Y scar, trailing down soft pecks to where it forks off. You feel his shoulders sag a bit, tension forcing its way out of him. You lean down to continue your kisses down the vertical line marking his abdomen, your hands lightly following in your wake.

He says your name painfully, like he’s begging you to stop. You’ll give him partial reprieve, taking his hands in yours and kissing his scarred knuckles. It’s his instinct to push affection away, you know that, but you also know that he needs it. That’s why he doesn’t stop you now—he knows he needs it—it’s just a lot for him all at once, emotionally. Which is why he gives no warning before he picks you up by your thighs and pulls you close. 

He’s got you a full head higher than him and he uses the difference to hide his face in your neck. Sometimes he feels like that’s the only place he can go. He maneuvers you around so your back is pressed up against the wall as you hold each other tight.

You stay in there like that until the water runs cold, and then some. You have to nudge him a bit into setting you back down then, but he does, letting you collect and wrap the both of you in towels. The second the water turns off you can hear the cackling through the walls. 

As you return to the bedroom, he only bothers to pull on a pair of boxers before collapsing his weight onto the mattress. The lack of layers won’t help him any, but you know why he did it.

He can’t always look after himself the way he should—he disregards his own needs and has trouble even thinking of what could help him. You’ve developed a mind for it though—for him—and you know that being exposed and vulnerable like this isn’t going to help him calm down. He prefers being covered up when he’s stressed, it gives him more security, you think.

You open up the dresser and dig through for his most comfortable hoodie and sweatpants. He takes them from you, but he looks remiss at the thought of exerting anymore energy right now, so you help him tug on the clothes, successfully blocking out the now icy air from the AC. 

Once he’s fully clothed he pulls you forward to sit on his lap. You stumble a bit on the way but he compensates by holding you very tight, not giving your body any option to fall. His grip on you tells you that he’s not concerned with you getting dressed too, which you’re perfectly willing to oblige.

You have to force him to let you break away a little bit so you can reach over to the nightstand and grab your phone and earbuds.

“Movie or music?”

He doesn’t say anything, only nods his head once at the end of your sentence. You take that to mean music and open up your playlist on your phone, handing him the headphones.

There’s a harsh spike in the hysterics outside, mixed with what sounds like screams, and it has Jason flinching hard. You think you can see tears welled in his eyes as he fumbles to get the headphones in his ears. He takes the phone from you and picks the first song he sees and turns the volume up, up, up.

You shift yourself around so that you’re laying back against the pillows, giving him room to lay down over your legs, wrapping his arms around your waist with a firm grip. You pull the hood up over his head, but keep your hands woven underneath, threading through his hair. 

His cheek mushes against your bare stomach, and with the way he’s laying, you’re sure the earbuds are digging uncomfortably into his ear. He makes no effort to move in any case. You can hear the song playing word for word, and while the noise exposure concerns you, if there was ever a time to let it go, it would be now.

You’re both wrapped up nicely in the blankets and you can only see the tip of his nose and a few strands of ivory hair strewn past his forehead. Despite all the snug layers, he shakes a bit under your touch.

He falls asleep before the problem outside gets wrapped up, and you turn down the music. Not all the way, just enough that he can rest in peace. 

After a while the giggles die down and aside from a few first responder sirens, things get quiet again. About twenty minutes later, Nightwing ducks in through your window and scares the hell out of you. The interaction does not, however, wake Jason up, which is how you know tonight took a very heavy toll on him.

Even though the lights aren’t on in your bedroom you slide down from the pillows a bit more and let the blanket and Jason drown your chest out from visibility.

Nightwing gives you a silent, if not awkward, wave and scans over Jason. Even in the dark can see the worry in his eyes. He looks back up at you and throws up a questioning thumbs up with a tilt of his head.

You nod and he nods back slowly as he takes one more look at his brother before hopping out the window.

You peer down at Jason and brush his curls back gently. His hold on you tightens just a bit as he turns in his sleep.

reblog things or get out seriously

[direquail]

I think what bothers me most about how John is talked about in the fandom is the implication that a different (implied: better) person would've done things differently and somehow more right than he did.

When the text goes to lengths to explore how suddenly coming into an incredible amount of power in a fatally constrained situation cannot lead to a good outcome.

If you're putting John in dialogue with the concept of the "magical girl", which Muir has said he is (a little tongue in cheek, but)--these are young, often profoundly unready people, who often get taken advantage of by the people who give them their powers. And like, yes, John is not a teenager, but I think that's part of the point, is that at no point is a person really prepared to become as powerful as he did--even before he merged with Alecto. Even when he was fully in control of his powers, even when they were given with honest intent and trust, even when he used them with the best of intentions and tried to do the right thing, there was no way for him to be prepared, especially given the situation he was in.

And it's funny to talk about how bad John must be in bed, but also, this isn't a scenario where John is some self-deluding Elon Musk-like villain or loser. He is genuinely trying to do the right thing, in terms of rescuing the Earth's population, rescuing the Earth Herself, and doing it ethically (see: M--'s insistence that they perfect the cryo containers until they could transport pregnant women).

I really do think this is something people are blocking out, because it is one of the uncomfortable parts of Muir's message with the series. But ESPECIALLY because the people "critiquing" him as an embodiment of patriarchy and empire are failing to see that part of Muir's critique is of human vulnerability to power: That is, that power corrupts.

And this even has echoes with Gideon & Harrow's story! Harrow begins the series in a deeply unequal dynamic with Gideon! And she does horrible things, not just because she is traumatized, but because she is traumatized and has the power to act her desires out on Gideon. She might have the motive (trauma), but that's not enough without the means (power).

And, yeah, I do have a semi-salty angle on this because people are frequently loath to think critically not just about axes of oppression but individual relationships of power when it applies to them and to people they like. ESPECIALLY when there is a very vocal segment of the fandom that is enthusiastically pro-harassment. It's very convenient to villainize John and actively dis-identify with him, because otherwise, you'd have to face the question of whether you'd do any better in his place. But the thing is, the mission of revenge he embarks on is a lot closer to many peoples' hearts than they'd like to consider.

That's the whole point.

[disassembly-required]

So I know it's common for folks to headcanon Khan was always obsessed with doors, and that obsession was more or less an arbitrary passion he had... but I can't help but feel there's a really important detail that, when considered, suggests otherwise?

In episode 4, when Khan is showing the contents of "Nori's kooky insane ramblings" closet, one of the things he quotes Nori said was "build doors against the coming sky demons"

I feel this implies

a) building doors to protect from the murder drones (that she apparently had an intuition about) was Nori's idea

b) Khan, on some level, believed this was a "kooky insane rambling" and not something he took seriously

(important to remember Nori had some level of memory loss/disorganized cognition when she was recovered from the lab; Khan didn't know the significance of her history there, and Nori wouldn't have been able tell him everything, only these ominous bits and pieces that didn't entirely make sense.)

Therefore, c) Khan likely didn't even start building any doors before the murder drones came, since in the exposition intro, the workers were otherwise just living casually, not hiding away in the outpost.

So I'm led to believe perhaps... when the "sky demons" were real and they killed Nori, Khan felt responsible for her death because he didn't listen to her. He didn't build the doors.

And perhaps that's where his obsession stems from, that fatal mistake he never wanted to make again. And we can say it's pretty maladaptive, since he became so preoccupied with doors, he was more emotionally invested in them than Uzi. But in his mind, he must have thought his life's work WAS all for her, to keep her safe, where he failed Nori. Khan also became way too comfortable in his maladaptive coping, feeling SO sure behind his doors, he would never have to actually face a murder drone ever again.

All that said, it also puts his actions in the pilot into a bit of a different light, when he abandoned Uzi. I don't think Khan was simply frightened seeing a murder drone and acting cowardly. I think he was having a flashback and a panic response. I mean, Uzi's appearance takes after her mother, yeah? It must've reminded him of Nori being attacked, which is.. even more harrowing with the heavy implication N was the specific murder drone who killed Nori. Even if Khan didn't actively know it or recognize him, looking at N's face filled him panic. He was being brought back to Nori's death.

I think there's a few different reasons he may have chosen to close the door. I don't think it was done in a sound mind "this is clearly for the greater good, only losing one drone instead of the whole colony" thought process. I'm sure that was part of what he was weighing the best he could possibly process. But I think another reason may have been the fact that he already felt like he already failed Uzi, and by extent Nori once again, and he ....didn't want to see it happen again. Whether he didn't believe Uzi's gun was strong enough, or believed he wouldn't be able to aim, or believed wouldn't even have a shot at all before N attacked him too, ultimately he must've felt like the scene would play out the same (we are left to wonder if Khan tried to fight back when it was Nori...) and he didn't want to see Nori (through Uzi) die again.

Which sounds awful of course, but PTSD will do that to you. You'll make terrible, impulsive decisions because your mind is trying to protect itself from further damage. Had Uzi actually died, I think the regret would have hit him like a truck and destroyed him. I don't think he would have stood by a decision he made during a panic attack.

Anyway I got a little sidetracked re: Khan's trauma, but my main thesis here was: doors was Nori's idea. Khan didn't listen until it was too late. Then his entire world became doors.

[raayllum]

The Point of The Dragon Prince: The Phoenix Motif

Intro

I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that The Dragon Prince is about cycles.

It's in the dialogue and the visuals, with the series itself being an exploration about the Cycle of Violence and how to break it / the Chains of History. Framing and spells and character choices continually repeat over and over again, as @kati-corn beautifully points out with their parallel compilations, sometimes drawing from 4+ seasons at once, such as in TDP's repeated trial scenarios (3x02, 4x06, 6x09, 7x02, 7x09).

The cycle I'm going to talk about, though, is a little different. Cycle 2.0, if you will, otherwise known as the Phoenix Motif, is decidedly different from The Cycle the series has always drawn explicit verbal attention to. Specifically, rather than The Cycle of Violence that is inherently 1) destructive, 2) negative, and 3) needs to be broken, the Phoenix Motif presents something that is more positive to neutral leaning. Not all cycles are bad, after all — take the cycle of the seasons for example — and this is something that TDP itself even addresses, loosely, within the Moon Arcanum in Through the Moon:

LUJANNE: There is a cycle in the world. Life and death. It is at the core of all things. The moon embodies this cycle. Bit by bit it will fade away; then bit by bit it will brighten. [...] Death is frightening. Birth can be as well, yet there are the two things that connect us all. Kings and commoners, rich and poor, elf and human — each is equally vulnerable in the beginning and the end. Let that fact be humbling. Let it bind us together. Remember that as life inevitably leads to death, so also does life comes from death. This is a cycle, not an ending. A phoenix dies, yet from its death it lives again. A phoenix is uniquely tethered in the both life and death, and yet it is like the rest of us: a part of the cycle.

3x06 specifically confirms this as well, with Ezran stating of Phoe-Phoe:

However, this sentiment of death and rebirth — perhaps even perpetual, eternal death and rebirth — should already probably be pinging something in your head.

Now, in retrospect, this isn't exactly surprising. TDP loves to be really fucking literal, taking what would otherwise be abstract concepts and making facets of their world literally embody it. I remember after S2 or S4 thinking about how, if the thematic antagonist of the show is History, having a super old super ancient being — the embodiment of that history — as its endgame villain was really smart, honestly. Aaravos — and the Cosmic Council, thematically if nothing else — operating as antagonists and being literally cyclical, subsequently immortal beings? Yeah, it checks out like painfully well.

However, the more I though about this cycle — destruction as well as rebirth, death as well as life — I thought about how much it's been shoved in our faces consistently without even realizing, and with increasingly interesting implications. To the degree that, as it stands now, I'm willing to make a bet on Arc 3's culmination and wager what, indeed, The Thematic Point has been all this time — not only for the main trio and Aaravos, as this meta initially set out to focus on — but for the Dragon Prince as a series in its entirety.

With that out of the way, let's get into it.

When The Time is Right

It's sort of an accepted fact, especially in literature, that near-death experiences can radically change a person's outlook on their life. Death, additionally, often represents the abyss or a pivotal transformation point that leaves the old self dead, with a new self surviving (or thriving) that has been fundamentally altered. Death can be the end, or it can be a transformation, provided you get a second chance.

HARROW: I may not have long, so I am forced to ask myself... (2x06)

RUNAAN: I have a family I love. I have so much to lose, the very things I took from you. (7x09)

For Viren and Runaan, at least, this has fully come to fruition. Both engaged in dark work that led to their demise. Both were saved by their daughters, and both were fundamentally changed by their 'deaths', resolving to stop treating others, or themselves, like they were already dead ("They're gone, Amaya! Captured by a Moonshadow elf! If [the princes] aren't already dead, they will be soon enough!").

Both ultimately resolved to stop chasing revenge (or in Viren's case, power) in favour of trying to prioritize their families; both returned to Katolis, fell to their knees before Ezran, and swore they had changed. That they could make amends and would, if given the chance.

Viren dies and then is reborn, fundamentally different, and then dies again with his heart literally on fire and surrounded by flames. Runaan, meanwhile, requires for the fire in Ezran's eyes to be doused, and is brought out of water, not fire, but the point still stands. Their destruction was pivotal, if not narratively crucial, to being recreated as better versions of themselves.

Staring down limited time, much as Harrow had before him, caused Viren to ultimately realize his old friend was right: "I am a servant." Runaan's second lease on life caused him to realize he'd put his family through strife and perpetuated an awful cycle for well-intentioned but twisted reasons, and that he had to stop. He had to change.

HARROW: These moments of greatest strength look like weakness to those who don't know better. For a long time, I didn't know better.

I will not make the same mistake again. I will not watch another daughter die.

This three very similar — servants to their causes, devoted to things greater than themselves, lost in violence of the cycle they're perpetuated, granting their children immense and burdensome responsibilities — and very different men also tie into Lujanne's statement. Viren and Runaan were both, seemingly, born commoners, while Harrow was born a king; he was given everything, whereas Viren strove not to be and Runaan trained himself to be, alternatively, "nothing". Yet the cycle of life and death, and ultimately the hope their children could be different from themselves (expressed particularly blatantly for Harrow and Viren) equalized them all. As I've said before, the Cycle of Violence creates similarity — with the Phoenix Cycle/Motif doing so in a more full circle, potentially positive manner.

It remains to be seen whether Harrow will indeed be released from the bird (a quasi-literal phoenix, if you will, if we're speaking about on-the-nose symbolism); I could personally see it going a number of ways. It's also not clear how much he will have changed upon release—Viren changed somewhat quickly and gradually following his ressurection, whereas Runaan did much more of 180. Unlike Viren or Runaan, Harrow didn't have to die or be trapped to reach his epiphanies; he reached them on his own before the actual acts had happened. Staring down the barrel of a metaphorical gun was enough for him, so it stands to reason there's not too much internal change to be had besides "Holy shit has the world changed" and an adjustment period.

[Sidenote: This is, I think, another aspect that Karim differs in. On a textual level, Karim is irredeemable, because as discussed in more detail elsewhere, due to him seeing his loved ones as JUST his enemy and no longer as his loved one in addition to being his enemy. His sister becomes just his enemy and a false queen, not those things and his sister; child is just his heir, not his child and his heir.

Karim wishes to set the world on fire, but doesn't understand that he'd be transformed alongside it; his complete aversion to change even when everyone else (Janai, Miyana) can and does adapt to it keeps him stuck.

Karim is the only "father who fucked up by disavowing his child's life" (hi Runaan, hi Viren) who doesn't come back from it, too. On a subtextual/symbolic level, I think it's interesting therefore that he's the only one of the 4 that doesn't have a death. Like Harrow or Runaan, he's imprisoned, but he's never believed to be dead by himself or anyone else; the closest he gets on a literal level is in 4x09 where, like Runaan, he's on his knees as he says "Finish this," but is spared and (eventually) imprisoned instead. However, Karim is offered a symbolic death of sorts — to relinquish his name, whatever that precisely means, in 7x03 — one that he readily dismisses. He never has to grow because he never really conceptualizes, on a certain level, his own mortality: either he's not thinking about it (and the subsequent possibility for failure it would entail) or never muses over it. We're going to circle back to this, but for now...]

That said, I think these Harrow-Viren-Runaan are probably the most obvious example of this death-rebirth motif in the show, next to Aaravos or actual Phoe-Phoe. They were, at the very least, what immediately came to mind when I thought about what I wanted to be in this meta.

The next section, I think, is a little more interesting.

For a Thousand Years

Archdragons live for a long time. Like, a really long time—3,000 years basically minimum, potentially 7,000 years maximum, but who knows. We know that Sky Archdragons only lay an egg every thousand years flat out (1x05) which does not bode well for not living an ungodly long amount of time in general.

One of the things that set me on this meta path, I think — and something this meta has helped me consolidate that I kinda knew I was dancing around but not quite able to hit upon or fully bring together — is a previous meta I wrote looking at immortality in TDP. Simply put, TDP doesn't have a very positive view on immortality (more on that later) as most of the characters who are immortal or at least have enduring lifespans don't seem to like being alive for that long very much.

Sol Regem is deeply depressed and bitter; Rex Igneous laments that objects all turn decrepit over time and seemingly has no companions he actually cares for. The Draconic Royal family seems to fare uniquely better precisely because they have each other.

Likewise, all three also fall under the Phoenix Motif.

Zym is believed to be dead from within the egg (very bird like) but is brought back to life (1x02, 1x09) from his discovery and his hatching. He is also fundamentally changed as a result of being rescued and bonding with elves and humans (particularly Ezran) as opposed to just bonding with Xadians. (More on Zym and his ultimate potential narrative purpose here and how being stolen/saved might've saved him and the world in other ways, too).

Avizandum dies (3x06) but his spirit is resurrected/brought back by Ziard and Aaravos under dark magic necromancy. He ultimately dies again protecting his son (7x09) but successfully this time. He also ties into the Fathers' Rebirth Theme of in the past prioritizing conquest and/or power (he loves to destroy human armies, "it makes him feel big and powerful") after his son came into his life ("this is a special day of life, do not force me to make it a day of death" / "that's why Thunder was willing to spare us. He had to get back to that egg"), which parallels Harrow-Viren a bit more than Runaan, but bear with me.

Zubeia is effectively dead when the trio shows up in 3x08, given that we've known she's actively dying of a broken heart since 3x04. (She has a similar terrible slumber in 5x09 that she just manages to recover from thanks to Mukho, but that is treated less like death and doesn't fit the motif quite as well because she doesn't have a big personality/life change afterwards. She does, however, post-3x09, abandoning the cycle of revenge (1x01) to actively pursue peace and breaking the cycle instead (S4 onwards) to the point she dies for Zym, yes, but also to save people whose lives were upended by her choices: Callum (thematic dark mage still deserving of salvation in this instance), Ezran (a former target), and Rayla (assassins sent to die) + others as add ons of similar ideas (Runaan, etc).

But again, this is all... kind of background stuff. At the very least, it's a consistent pattern bordering on theme (particularly for the group of fathers), but it's not really in the foreground in any meaningful way for the centralized main characters (and trio and co). Not even quite subtextually yet, either.

And then it Is.

All of Us May Be Reborn From Darkness

Season seven is when all of this started clicking for me. I don't know if it's because things finally moved into subtext territory, or because S6 had primed me to expect something like an obsession arc from Callum (a la the fathers' group) in future seasons or what, or even if it's just because the show ramps up the Phoenix Motif to much more obvious levels with the trio and Aaravos, but it was very exciting and beautiful to behold, I think.

Let's break it down piece by piece, starting with Ezran, as he's the most straightforward / blatant. I've talked about Ezran's interplay wth the Phoenix Motif in greater detail here, but I will go over the key points:

In 7x01, Ezran's kingdom and identity as king ("and as a king, I choose love over strength") is burnt to ashes. This is directly verbalized: "King of what? King of ashes?" + "He's not himself right now" (7x02).

Ezran experiences a significant loss (the remainder of his True Heart) which literally alters him

Ezran continues to change, pursuing weapons for most of the season (7x03—7x09)

Aaravos' death "set(s) the world on fire" + the fire reflecting in Ezran's eyes in 7x09 much the way the fire filled Aaravos' eyes when talking about his plans ("I want them to suffer. I want them to hurt")

Ezran chooses, therefore, to not be a king of ashes in forgiving/sparing Runaan. He also works on building Evrkynd (and Katolis), literally rebuilding the world from ashes.

Wat's presented above are the broad strokes / overt symbolism of Ezran's arc from a structural / plot standpoint, and we see the rest of the trio be reflected in this. Rayla probably gets the second most overt one during her trial in the Silvergrove, hence the title of this section:

Like the moon itself, all of us may be reborn from the darkness. To achieve that rebirth, you must prove yourself worthy of absolution and forgiveness.

This is stacked on top of a few different things, of course. For starters, Rayla as an assassin carries the implicit "I am already dead" framing that Runaan carries explicitly through dialogue. This thread of hers isn't necessarily resolved by the end of the season even if Runaan's is, but I expect hers to bleed over into arc 2. There's also the idea of rebirth, which is spelled out more explicitly in 4x01 being titled "Re-Birthday" in reference to Viren.

The third layer, if you will, is the more direct one: her status as a Ghost (dead) seeking to be reborn into her community. And, by the end of her trial, this is precisely what happens.

Rayla's rebirth from darkness (the new moon, and perhaps a symbolic state of total uncertainty in comparison to half-truths) also sets up Callum's. Not only does the dialogue in her trial scene echo the poem from his father in 6x03 ("And newborn sparks born of the dark"), but it also aligns with his choice of whether or not to use dark magic again. Granted, in some ways, his rebirth and resumption of status happened in 6x06—that maps on better to Rayla's trial in terms of outcome and symbolism. You were once exiled/corrupted, this meant that you were already dead (a Ghost, Callum's "kill me" request), and upon facing your truth and/or remembering who you are ("Rayla of the Silvergrove" / "Find the one deep truth") you are brought out of that darkness and into light as a reforged form of yourself. Rayla can now be seen, Callum though blindfolded saw her, and reintegration happens: Rayla is let back into her village, she and Callum fully resume their relationship on mutual terms.

She's brought home in a physical and emotional sense, reconnecting with her community and with her changed self. In her time away, she's learned a lot of lessons about justice ("A life for a life? Is that justice?" / "No one should have to spill their blood for justice. No one"), sacrifice/suffering ("No amount of suffering, yours or mine, will ever bring him back"), and asking for help / depending on her family (5x04, 7x04). Arguably, 6x06 offers Callum something similar if you view Rayla as his home: finding her as his one truth restores his body/soul (physical) and provides emotional clarity (emotional) to bring him back to himself and her (as a fundamental part of himself) as a reunified Home ("my home now is wherever you are").

But I said trio in S7, not Ezran&Rayla in S7 + Callum in S6. So, what's going on with him in S7?

Callum's thread with the phoenix motif is one that is both very much evolved forwards in S7, yet also left hanging more so than any of his counterparts. While you can look at S7 Ezran (7x01—7x09) and S7 Rayla (7x01-7x04) and go swiftly from point A (destruction) to point B (rebirth) across the season, Callum's is less straight forward in some ways because his destruction-salvation is both created and 'resolved' within 7x09. There is a very quick turn around from "I'm going to destroy myself with dark magic" to "I don't have to die actually" and even then, Callum arguably leaves the season in the worst place out of the trio, given that he's still corrupted.

This is also, in some ways, where the trio's phoenix motif starts unravelling, however, because as much as S7 began that motif for them with a neat little bow... Arc 3 looms on the horizon and honey, they've got a Big storm coming. This is for a few reasons.

The first is that Ezran is the only one with an explicitly ideological rebirth within the season. As mentioned before, he has the most explicit and complete journey within the phoenix motif model. He's destroyed (7x01), fundamentally physically altered (7x02), and then experiences a complete rebirth wherein he walks out changed and still changed for the better (second half of 7x09). Whereas before Ezran chose to believe people could be good because he believed they fundamentally were, 7x09 Ezran now chooses to believe people can be good even now that he knows fundamentally they are not or may not even want to be, or at least not always. (A mood, bud.) Being good is an active, continuous choice, for everyone now—including himself: "I'm going to forgive you" is a choice, not necessarily one that reflects your current feelings.

Conversely, Callum and Rayla are far more the same person at the end of season seven as they were at the beginning. This is lampshaded directly through their dialogue, with Dark!Callum’s argument boiling down to Callum’s lack of confidence in a non-dark magic route (“If you’re so sure, why did you save it? [...] You know you might need me after all”) for something that already happened post-purification and in 6x09 in keeping the coin. Rayla, too, harkens back to concepts from many previous seasons, most notably her assassin vow all the way from 1x01: “My heart for Xadia!”

Where Ezran is pulled and pulls himself explicitly back from the brink when given another chance to remake or unmake his choice about Runaan, Rayla and Callum (and Zym) thus far have not been offered a do-over of their choices in 7x09, whether literally or symbolically. That may be in Arc 3, though it’d make sense: if Ezran got an ideological rebirth, them having new ones would fit both the Phoenix Motif pattern and trajectory. Callum, in particular, is primed to completely revolutionize but one thing is for sure: all of the trio is going to be haunted by Aaravos’ inevitable return and the beginning of his (life) cycle anew.

And with Ezran having had one complete ideological destruction and rebirth cycle... what about Callum, Rayla, and Aaravos?

Your Deaths Mean Nothing (Aaravos)

Here’s a question: what makes a sacrifice meaningful? Must a sacrifice be made by an entirely willing, self-aware participant? (“A child will die.” “Yes.”) Must a sacrifice be fulfilled / permanent to have poignancy?

If you cannot ever die in a meaningful way, can you ever live or sacrifice in a meaningful way?

This emphasis on morality as a prerequisite for meaning was something that was kicking around in my head after S6 since we'd learned that Startouch elves both could (Leola) and couldn't (everyone else) permanently die, or at least that killing them permanently was exceedingly difficult... as well as the contemplation on mortality based morality from other shows like The Good Place. This wasn't, at the time however, something I thought we'd really dig into. After all, there were lots of good, other reasons to have Aaravos and Startouch elves function this way: it made Leola's death more tragic, it upped the ante of how to kill Aaravos immensely, and it helped Aaravos embody the themes of History and the Cycle even further by having him be an ancient walking piece of history whose lifespan was literally a cycle, as mentioned previously.

Season seven, then, shifted things.

For starters, it confirmed that Aaravos seemingly isn't concerned with keeping his actions secret from the Cosmic Council ("Are you watching?") / other Startouch elves, which doesn't exactly make sense with what we currently know. After all, we know that the Startouch elves could kill Leola permanently, and Aaravos was more powerful back then than he, seemingly, is now. Shouldn't he be concerned? Couldn't they kill him the same way they did Leola if they wanted to?

Well, hm... what if they can't? What if through dark magic or other means he's preemptively removed his own immortality? (More on this theory here.) Alternatively: if the Cosmic Council can still kill him, and Aaravos wants to kill them, we still kinda end off on the same place.

Either Aaravos has made himself immortal in a way they are not, dooming himself to being unable to ever die by proxy of removing his own minimal mortality that Leola had, or he will kill anyone who could kill him, and be doomed to exist forever or die by his own suicidal hand. 

“This world is an instrument of pain, of torment. To exist in this world is to suffer. Even death is no reprieve.” 

Aaravos’ views on the world and sacrifice, however, are immediately juxtaposed by Ezran’s and the Archdragons, set up all the way back in 4x08.

N’THAN: ... give [Rex Igneous] your gift of sacrifice and hope for the best.

EZRAN: We offered gifts that meant a lot to us, but the truth is, they don’t mean anything to you. (4x08)

AARAVOS: And what will your sacrifices buy? Mere moments of peace before I return to a world without you? Your deaths mean nothing.

EZRAN: They have given us a great gift: a chance to keep on living, keep trying to be better. (7x09)

Avizandum and — particularly — Zubeia are able/allowed by the narrative to lay down their lives for their son, a choice the Cosmic Council robbed from Aaravos. Their deaths are permanent, and their gift, as Ezran identifies, is a sacrifice that should not be wasted: “life is precious, life is valuable” / “I have a family I love. I have so much to lose”. While Aaravos says that their deaths mean nothing because of the impermanence of staving off his return — because to die or resist is futile, to live is to suffer — Ezran asserts the opposite: that their deaths and the victory it afforded his family, temporary as it may be, alternatively means everything to him (and within the broader narrative) precisely because life is worth living... and if you believe that life is worth living, giving it up is indeed a sacrifice.

So now onto Aaravos’ death in 7x09. He chooses to send Claudia away rather than risk her dying alongside him, but he doesn’t die or allow himself to be taken down in order to save her, or arguably chooses to die consciously at all. His explosive end is not, perhaps, exactly what he had in mind when coming to corrupt the sun, but it’s also an immense setback. If anything, it’s the opposite, given that it allows him to get rid of the Archdragons, weaken Xadia, and leave his human foes (Callum and Ezran in particular) wonderfully paranoid about his return. (More on Aaravos’ master plan here, for anyone interested.)

Aaravos, after all, doesn’t care about anything so much as he cares about getting his revenge. As Terry identified, his love has been twisted largely beyond recognition, enabling him to destroy the world and creatures/people his daughter once loved so much. He’s willing to endanger and manipulate Claudia and anyone else around him in order to achieve it. He’s an immortal being beset with grief, and therefore exists outside the cycle of life and death precisely because he’s not bound to it.

At least, that would be the easier way of looking at it... because while that was my initial line of thought as of season 6, Lujanne’s description of the Moon Phoenix (our thematic microcosm for the Startouch elves) sits in direct opposition to it: 

A phoenix dies, yet from its death it lives again. A phoenix is uniquely tethered in both life and death, and yet it is like the rest of us: a part of the cycle.

Aaravos and the Startouch elves — regardless of if he’s removed his ability to die, regardless of if they can kill each other — do not sit outside the cycle, separated from everyone else by their immortality. Instead, they are as interwoven as everyone else. And as noted, many of the show’s characters have had emotional or plot related Phoenix Motifs: Aaravos dies in a fiery explosion, only to return — like Phoe-Phoe — when the time is right.

This is also, of course, connected to what we’ve already discussed regarding fathers. Runaan and Viren are both saved by their daughters, brought out of death and into life, and are fundamentally changed as people because of their experiences. Their death and ‘resurrection’, as noted, allows them to change, as does Harrow staring death in the eye make him deeply rethink his life choices. Alternatively, Karim — who does not care for his future child(ren), does not come back from this brink, and who rejects the symbolic death offered to him (relinquishing his name) — does not change and meets a grisly end.

What I am saying, then, is that while having Aaravos get out and then be given a soft reset so we can have another timeskip works perfectly fine as is from a plot standpoint... I wonder about how meaningful it’d be if they don’t Do Something with it for him from an emotional standpoint, too, the same way Viren, Runaan, and Harrow underwent (though Harrow could still, admittedly, have further stages to go through). After all, TDP is very good at having what looks like 1-3 things be actually 6-9 things when seen retrospectively (re: Aaravos’ master plan meta) so I can’t imagine that Aaravos’ death and return won’t be that, too. And there is, to some capacity, no real reason to have Aaravos care about Claudia somewhat genuinely in season 7 if we’re not going to do something with that; he didn’t need to in order for Claudia to form a deep attachment and alignment with him. We could’ve had little smirks as he continues to use Leola’s memory to manipulate her (the way he does in 6x09, minus the smirking) and while we get spades of that (“I am her father now and she is my daughter”) and should see everything he says to her as a double edged sword... There is truth to “I will not watch another daughter die” that will likely stick with him and continue to grow.

Remember how I said Callum, Rayla, and Aaravos have lived through the plot version of the Phoenix Motif, but not fully the ideological/emotional one as of 7x09?

Arc 3 would be the perfect time, then, for the three of them to get an ideological rebirth journey (similar to Ezran in season 7, or Viren in arc 2, or even Soren in arc 1) to reflect the way Xadia as a whole will be. 

So let’s talk about it.

We’ve All Made Mistakes. We We Don’t Have To Keep Making Them (or The Point of TDP)

Again, I don’t think what I’m saying — characters in TDP must break the cycles of violence, destruction, and death, and choose creation/life/love over it — or that it’s a repeated pattern is new information. As demonstrated above, we’ve seen this pattern over and over again in the show because it’s kind of what it’s all about. 

Characters in TDP rarely become something entirely brand new, instead moving forwards in order to move backwards at the same time, and become truer, better versions of what they wanted to be all along. For an oversimplification, Soren goes from (bad) crownguard to enemy to (good) crownguard in arc 1 (“I am a crownguard, and he is the true king!”; Viren goes from a good father / high mage (1x01-1x03, flashbacks) to bad ones (1x04-5x09), and then back again (6x01-6x08). Sometimes this follows a linear enough progression, but sometimes it doesn’t. 

If we view character journeys through the lens of the Big Lessons the characters have to learn (i.e. Rayla learning she doesn’t always have to sacrifice), arc 1 and arc 2 demonstrate immense growth and regression for her simultaneously. She’s moving forward — she’s letting people in, letting them help her, shedding her assassin identity, coming back to Callum — and moving backwards — keeping secrets, being more jaded, “My heart for Xadia,” continuing to be an assassin by sacrificing herself (3x09) and particularly others (5x01, 7x09) — at the same time. By the end of the series/S10, I expect she’ll finally be the protector she’s always wanted to be without needing to sacrifice herself or others. After all: 

TERRY: Maybe he saw there was another way forward. One with less darkness and sacrifice. It’s never too late to change. 

The Archdragons’ sacrifice is beautiful and meaningful, but Aaravos isn’t entirely wrong: it’s a band-aid on a bullet-hole situation that is just a temporary fix, and from a narrative perspective, it’s still a sacrifice, the thing we are trying to avoid. While the Archdragons sacrificing themselves to save everyone else — or Viren sacrificing himself through dark magic in 6x08 — was the right thing to do, it was still a tragedy. Aaravos’ death in 7x09 isn’t to anyone but Claudia because Aaravos doesn’t care about his life: his life has no meaning other than revenge, and therefore his death has no meaning other than revenge, the same way Karim’s death by Aaravos’ hands is utterly meaningless (if also a loss to his family). 

If your life is devoid of love and meaning, then you have nothing meaningful to sacrifice and die for.

So what would be the biggest change for Aaravos — one who, as far as we know, cannot die and therefore cannot live nor sacrifice meaningfully — to have? For his life to take on new meaning. 

AARAVOS: To go on without her would mean an eternity of pain. But in that moment I chose to live, and my life took on new purpose.

To have love; to have things you don’t want to lose. That you don’t want to sacrifice. To want to live. To want to move forward, truly forward, rather than constantly looking back at the past and making the same mistakes (darkness, death, sacrifice) over and over again.

EZRAN: You say that I should believe you because you are great and ancient, that I’m too young to see clearly, but I think it’s the other way around. You’ve spent so long seeing the world through a lens of hate that you can see any other way to get what you want. But I can. 

If Arc 1 and Arc 2 are both ultimately growth and regression for the characters involved, then it would stand to reason that Arc 3 has to have a final closing note of emotional growth and zero regression. But is that really possible? As stated, things in TDP don’t become totally new: Soren becomes a true crownguard, Viren becomes a true father and high mage, Rayla or Runaan become true protectors of the collective good, etc. Even Xadia as a continent will not be something radically different from what it was before: elves, humans, and dragons used to all live together, and humans had primal magic. What we’re working towards in present day canon is, on the surface, the same as what the world had before... and it didn’t work, leading to thousands of years of violent fallout. 

A better way to phrase it, then, might be focusing on TDP’s plot and character structure moving forward into Arc 3 not as growth paired with a lack of regression for once, but as a total restoration arc. Of getting back to the good places characters or societies had left — integration, reconciliation, primal magic — but as a fully completed whole: no hierarchy, no dark magic, no darkness or sacrifice. 

To see another way — “I see a different path!” — and to walk it in its entirety as an entire narrative. To fix what was actually broken in Xadia, to realize condemning the full Cosmic Council or Aaravos to death over a world they never cared for is not the path forward, but to create caring and opportunity, to enact verdicts with “mercy and compassion” (4x06) and void of cruelty (6x09). 

For characters, like others in the narrative and Xadia itself, to become a truer version of what they always wanted to or said they would be. For Aaravos, that would mean being an actual ally to humanity; for Callum, that would mean being an entirely primal mage; for Rayla, a true protector without sacrifice, etc. We don’t know what the Cosmic Order’s aims were beyond well, Order over chaos, but we can assume peace and tranquility. The peace and tranquility they tried to enforce was really indifference or neglect at best and outright hostile hierarchy and oppression at worst.

I don’t think we can just one-hit-perma-kill all the Cosmic Council members (though perhaps one), but ultimately the majority will likely stick around or change in some manner. To become what they were supposed to be, as Aaravos and everyone else does the same. An ideological rebirth from the bottom up and the top down to the point that we’ve gone from 1 to 100 and back again to square one, but Good, this time. 

AARAVOS: [Leola] loved this world, and all its flaws. 

EZRAN: There is no such thing as utopia. But with patience and persistence, we can build a better place.

Because Xadia is flawed and is broken, and has been all this time—and it is still worth fighting for and saving.

She’ll Be Reborn: A Conclusion

I made a lot of fancy promises early on, so as we wrap up the Phoenix Motif Meta, here’s a list of general predictions I think we can hedge our bets on if the show continues to follow this model:

Aaravos will return from his 7 year death and change pretty shortly after reuniting with Claudia and seeing how he’s changed. While he once dismissed or increased why Viren was concerned about Claudia’s path, Aaravos will now come to fear it in a similar manner (S9, S10). Insert the “you are destroyed by what you create, and grow to emulate what you destroyed” pattern here, the same way Viren initially disagreed with Kpp’Ar and Harrow, destroyed them through entrapment, and then realized both of them were right (big asterisk in Kpp’Ar’s case, but you know what I’m saying).

Ezran will uncover more about the Orphan Queen and why she didn’t kill Aaravos with the Nova Blade, going a step further to realize they shouldn’t try to imprison Aaravos again either.

Aaravos, Callum, and Rayla will undergo ideological rebirths, as will some of the Cosmic Council (thereby enabling Aaravos’ as well), as will Claudia (who’s been steadily associated more and more with fire as the series has gone along).

Fun bonus Harrow being literally reborn from a bird and/or Kpp’Ar getting out of his shiny coin

Leola herself will not be reborn, but what she represents will be taken up as a mantle narratively by the main group

A final restoration of an integrated Xadia (i.e. both halves of the continent, but also the Cosmic Council with mortal Xadia, too) and more easily accessible primal magic

And I don’t know: a world reborn from the ashes, for good in manner and in finality this time? I think it’d be fun to see.

[thekingofwinterblog]

The Elven Gods Weren't Good At Magic

ok so i have seen some chuckleheads try to defend this Epler, but holy shit...

Im very much NOT the guy who tends to jump on Bioware's take on the dalish/elvhenan(and to a lesser extent the Qunari) as Racist or unfortunate... but MAN this is just flat out... no not unfortunate implications, this is basically the argument the people who have been complaining that the elves were portrayed as a "Weak" people who's defeat to the tevinter imperium was innevitable due to inherint weakness on the part of their culture, and rather than showcasing the reality was a bit more nuanced and complicated than that, they instead said:

"Yeah that's about right. The Elven Gods, the cream of the crop of Elven kind, their god-kings who knew more than anyone about magic, the very nature their society ran on, the thing they used to reach such heights, knew absolutely nothing impressive about magic at all."

Like... this is so bad. because it says that no, the elves WEREN'T good at magic they DIDNT have any more innate understanding of magic than Tevinter. They were actually shit, and the only reason they were able to make anything impressive at all, is because they lived in the age before the veil, and they were able to mooch of the power of the titans.

The Elves who led their people to victory over the titans were not good magic users, or at least they didn't actually understand magic at all.

Now im not saying the titan's powers werent THE driving force of the Elven Empire greatest heights, but what Epler says here is that the elven rulers, after using magic for millennia, had no greater understanding of it whatsoever, which would put them beneath the most lowly circle apprentice who beat his harrowing.

It is, in fact, saying that the Archons who conquered the Arlathan remnants WERE superior mages to the greatest heights the elves could ever hope to reach, and yet another showcase of bioware shitting on the Dalish for daring to try to believe that their ancestors actually was great.

No Merill, the Elves were never great, they just had an inexaustible battery, Epler said so.

[captainobviois]

Ok so I had a long flight and read a bunch more on it! So here’s my thoughts on ch 19-25! And I’ve numbered which chapter I was on while making the notes

Fascinated by the room they unlocked and the story that’s being told by what was left behind. I love this kind of environmental storytelling in video games and it’s nicely conveyed through Gideons eyes in this chapter.

“ONE FLESH, ONE END G&P” might drive me crazy

#19

WOW! Ok so someone else is named Gideon. Or there’s time travel shenanigans, which I honestly don’t believe is out of the realm of possibility. But this could also be a clue about Gideon’s family and namesake.

#19

I’m interested to know more about the lore of the houses. I only kinda get 2 and 6, the rest all give titles that really don’t mean anything to me. The skull symbols don’t really clarify much either

#20

These bitches sure do bleed a lot. I think the biggest hole in the world building here for me is that they should all be very dead like 100 times over from lack of nutrients that blood carries. I do not believe these priests are feeding them high iron content food.

#20

Oooo Dulcinea asked Sextus first. Ouch. I 100% agree that was the better choice. I’m so intrigued by what he would refuse to do.

Yeah I’m obsessed with Dulcinea and her brutal honesty.

The more I learn about Colum and his dynamic with the mayonnaise adept (as Gideon calls him), the less I understand about you l, Nat

Of course there is going to be a trial that has to do will soul siphoning. It’s very likely that every trial will test some form of necromancy to the extreme. These characters are incredibly stupid if they haven’t concluded that.

The fascinating implication here is that you can become the Lyctor without completing all the trials/experiments if you just convince someone to give you the key. So how is that accounted for? Does just knowing how to do something in theory equate to skill? Can you just be rewarded with godhood by being a popular freeloader. Very interesting implications in all of this.

Although, perhaps the spirits resent this behavior. Abigail and Magnus died after asking one of the other adepts to borrow a key instead of retrieving one themselves. So maybe that’s the way that it’s handled. So if Dulcinea dies or an attempt is made on her life then that could potentially prove this theory

#20

So there’s plenty of mentions of the Cohort and second house necromancers fighting “enemies.” I really want to know who these vague enemies are. Are there other planets with human civilizations on them? Are the nine houses and emperor a conquering force? Or are they defending? I’d guess conquering. Or is it aliens and not other human interstellar empires. Much to think about

#20

Wow it says a lot about Gideon and her history that all it takes is Harrow asking before using her. What a fascinating position to be in where you “hate” someone but would give them everything that keeps you alive just cause they asked. Can’t tell if this says more about her being an indentured servant without choices or a lesbian

#20

I REALLY like Dulcinea

Hmm ok wow. Ha. Im so gay

#20

Wow okay. It took way too long for these people to realize that they can steal and kill each other to get ahead. I cannot believe it took until chapter 21. I didn���t realize either that there was only one of every key, but I guess it makes sense. The smart thing would be to pool knowledge, but among seven different teams with different morals that will absolutely never work.

#21

I like how lawful Palamedes is. He’s got a code and he’s sticking to it.

I also love that he’s caught onto Gideons fat crush on Dulcinea.

#21

*squints eyes* I know what you are, Muir

#22

We really are just going to gloss over that someone is dead and cremated because two guys are gunna duel? Ok sure

Know who it can’t be, I guess my prediction is it’s either the second or eighth necro. It wouldn’t be the seventh or sixth het surely because they just seem to important to kill yet

Well never mind. Looks like the guy named after the other guy famous for dying first has died third and been incinerated. Cringe. I also wanted to see the duel.

#22

Ok plot twist it’s not him that was incinerated. But I’m guessing he is still probably dead. My money is on the eighth killing him before the duel because they didn’t think colum would win.

NAAAAH these guys are so guilty. The absolute gall to take Dulcinea’s keys. horrid disrespect.

#23

I hate the second. The whole bullying military, “I’m in charge of everyone here” schtick is so stupid. Everyone should gang up on them and just like put them in time out somewhere.

YEAH CAMILLA! KICK HER ASS!

Again, I really like the sixth house pair. They’re smart and hugely underestimated.

I really like the Sextus sticks to his guns when it comes to giving equal opportunity to access the trials but refusal to give up things he’s worked for.

#23

Ok, immediately another duel.

I know that Corona is probably evil, but standing next to Ianthe, she really does not seem evil at all. Plus Ianthe’s reason is stupid as hell, but pretty smart to challenge when the opponent is already injured.

I love the Gideon wants to volunteer to fight this twat.

I love that the teenagers also want a piece of them.

I hate the eighth house <3

#24

A lot of alliance building and theorizing dumped in two pages. I like the fourth x sixth x ninth alliance happening here. I hope they kill the eighth bitches

I do t think the division of the team is a good idea here. Two teenagers and Gideon (so technically three teenagers) go down into the murder basement. Doesn’t seem smart but ok.

#24

YOUR HONOR SHES THE FUNNIEST PERSON ON THIS HAUNTED SPACE STATION

#24

gay

#24

I like Isaac seems to have some kind of sixth sense ability. I feel like all of the necromancers have something like this, but this kid specifically it feels like he’s sniffing out the worst of the bad vibes

Wow some ghosts want to kill children. Pretty cringe.

I really like the descriptions of the constructs. Again, has Muir been to the Capuchin Church?

Oh wow, poor Isaac. I’m not surprised he died honestly, but also that’s pretty sad. I hope Jeanne gets revenge for him and for Magnus and Abigail

Although this is really seeming like the murders are related to the spirits haunting the Canaan house. I’m not convinced of my earlier theory anymore, but that still seems to be the thread that connects the fifth and fourth.

#25

Right, so there’s an emotional moment going on here and I’m learning a lot about the fourth house. But more importantly, I’m getting some more crumbs of info about the rest of the world

“Post-colony planets” interesting

Then the next page there’s a mention of “hold planet” and insurgents. So they are an evil empire?

#25

Oh shit okay. “Sweet Dreams” is such a horribly ominous and sinister thing for ghosts to write about killing this poor girl. I’m very sad about the teens deaths, they were growing on me.

And maybe the theory is right - they didn’t have permission to enter the laboratory basement or the red key room?

#25

[halfbaked00q]

in the vein of i-can-make-him-worse-ism. and in the vein of "Bond is a gr8 actor & spy but specifically as a method actor (somewhat buried in this post but this is the one I remember talking abt this recently lmao. I feel like I must have said. something else abt it elsewhere? or maybe I did not do it here lmao) such that he gets in character by reshaping his subjective reality - something which surely could have no negative implications on his psyche!"

I think he SHOULD come back from missions slightly (more) bizarre and offputting!! We already kind of do that with the "after missions he compulsorily goes on benders for hard drink & easy women before he can even being to try to refit the James Bond™ skin back on & come back the way he's Expected To Be" - I think we can go further! in a 00q context esp where Bond is no longer casting about a wide net for avenues for his destructive coping mechanism & etc. I think a couple fics do do this, but in a context of like. Q has to contend with Bond if he wants James back. - but lowkey this is not what I'm talking about.

what I'm REALLY Getting at here is, Bond should come back Changed From the Journey such that home (or himself) is no longer recognizable to him. but Evil!

He SHOULD come back as "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike James Bond." put that chameleonic nature to its full adverse detrimental advantage! okay two things here--

(a) Q has to contend with like. a sort of almost... manic or DID-y like energy, maybe? As Bond is like. octopus-oscillating-trying-to-adapt-to-weird-scientist-test-backgrounds to (re)find the old skin, slash testing out shells like a coconut octopus to try to (re)find his way back into a comfortable home, except the other way around bc instead of finding a shell that fits HIM, he's like, changing/testing his shape to fit his HOME. Which one must imagine must be rather harrowing to be the party on the outside (Q) trying to be both an anchor and also like a storm surge barrier, dually anchoring Bond & also battening down the hatches to keep home Safe (keep it safe from the storm surge and also preserve its Safety as a place to Return To).

(b) he comes back strange & offputting and ALSO has a period of like. malleability? as he's trying to re-fit himself back into the shape of NOT the James Bond the mission called for but the James Bond™ "they" Expect? (or after 00q, the James Bond that belongs to Q :'3). Which just like the coconut octopus or like a hermit crab. is a period of great vulnerability, when they have shed their old shell and are without their new one. And Bond gets away with it cuz his coping mechanisms may be self-destructive but they're tried & true and he has "safe" people he goes to for that - but also it COULD potentially go very bad! if bad actors get ahold of him during this time! (here's how That More Tacit Approval (mood of 'Better us than the likes of Blunden') stays winning!!) (and ALSO!! here's also how susceptible to cults / in danger of cult indoctrination Bond can still win!!!)

so yeah. I think! we should do this!!!!!! and by which I mean, someone other than me!!!! should write this!!!!! many times, even! yet another one of those give me like five of these little blond bitches concepts. for ME if no one else! (but also pls just come talk to me about this. I want to talk about this. can we talk about this. pleasee)

[fandom-susceptible]

TDP Rewatch S1 E7: The Dagger and the Wolf

Claudia has her first intro voice.

Yk it hits that when Viren mentions his children in the "previously on" section, the scenes the show chooses to use to identify them are of the moment Soren genuinely plays along with Callum, and the moment Claudia forcibly burns Harrow's body, violating his funeral.

Honestly though, it would have been legit safer to take Ezran's wet clothes off and wrap him up in whatever spare fabric they could find once they had the fire going. Staying wet is just going to make it harder to recover. That said, they're teenagers and a child, two of whom are relatively sheltered and the third of whom lives in a dense temperate forest that likely doesn't get a lot of icy water. They probably just legit don't know.

Also . . . Callum was so young when they lost their mom. Does Ezran even remember her, personally? He recognizes Callum's drawings of her immediately, and seems to understand why Callum's drawing her, too. Or does he know her from Callum's drawings?

A small pouch of moonberries is enough to sustain all three of these kids for a full day. This is the TDP lembas. Also, are the bogey berries really an ancient Xadian cure . . . or an old Xadian prank? Because Rayla has such a gremlin little grin when she tells Ezran to stick them up his nose. They're so cute.

Just once I wish a show or movie set in medieval or pseudo-medieval times would have like, wolfhounds in it. Brave did it right, but why does Soren have a trio of herding dogs with him? These are shepherds and heelers. Like, very clearly color based on a German shepherd, border collie, and blue heeler, all with the general shepherd body plan. What he needs are wolfhounds and terriers for tracking dogs. It's not even a case of "oh they might just use different animals for this in this fantasy world". These are dogs. Humans bred dogs to do specific jobs. This dog body plan is what happens when dogs are bred to herd things. The body plan he needs is something like these:

(credit to AKC website for the photo, I had to screenshot it to show it here)

or this, the ancestors of modern bloodhounds, called limers.

Or greyhounds, which largely haven't changed their body plan and were also sighthounds and hunters on par with the wolfhound. The wolfhounds and greyhounds would actually stand taller than these little herders, too.

Don't get me wrong, I love herding dogs, but this just doesn't make sense for what he's using them for.

Okay I'm focusing back on the show now.

I love Human Rayla. "Fellow humans, human fellas!" "Like money, and startin' wars!" and Ezran just being like "yeah that's pretty good". This boy is so aware of his people. I also like the implication that Moonshadow elves don't really use money. Makes Runaan's confrontation with Viren later about the coins, and all our "the fate worse than death . . . CAPITALISM" jokes funnier, lmao

Rayla's fake human accent is great, too, it resembles nobody else in the show.

"subcentury life expectancy" so yeah Moonshadow elves tend to live more than a century.

I also love how Rayla's just counting on nobody noticing her facial tattoos under her hood.

The whole scene where they introduce the Sunforge blade is more interesting now that Allen's been given a whole name and personality. He was clearly introduced with the intention of just being a big oaf in the background but he and Lujanne are actually real damn cute later on. The guy he fights is . . . just like. TDP Coran, from Voltron, and I was in both of those fandoms when I first watched it, so it had me amused. (VLD disappointed me with the end of Lotor's arc and the fandom turned real damn toxic so I dont really engage with it online anymore).

How is a body part less gross to you than underwear, Claudia?

Ouch. I didn't really remember that bit of Soren's anxiety rant here - "If I fail, I don't know what Dad'll do to me". He's rapidly descending into panic mode in this moment, at the very idea of Viren punishing him, and that . . . that has real bad implications. Especially when paired with how Viren casually used dark magic on Callum back in Episode 3, and how we know Viren got violent with Lissa and that's why she left. And Viren striking Gren when he was angry with Amaya. Just . . . they really tell us without telling us that Viren was physically abusive of Soren, don't they.

It is interesting that they use medieval style signage to indicate what different establishments are in this world. They have symbols and art on them indicating what the place does. In actual medieval times this was because of a low rate of literacy, but that doesn't seem to be an issue in Katolis, at least not that we've seen. Is it a remnant, is it just a choice? It leaves Callum and Ezran guessing at what a specific sign means because the symbols are different than they're used to, but they can still figure out what it is because it's simple and pretty direct.

Ezran with the horse was so damn cute.

I really like how the guy with the Sunforge blade realizes he's being followed and instantly bolts. It's an appropriate reaction from a guy who's essentially just swindled a lot of people in a small town, which he even references.

Callum is a TERRIBLE liar but Ezran is a fantastic liar and I love them trying to tell this story together.

This poor vet, can you imagine being this guy? Two random kids you've never met show up, soaking wet and filthy, carrying some packs, being super cagey about asking for your help. You get some hot liquid into them, warm them up in the barn, they're visibly so nervous about telling you what's going on with their ANIMAL problem, but you're probably more worried about what the hell they're doing here all alone.

And then they show you a goddamn dragon egg.

He's having the absolute weirdest day.

Even the guy Rayla went after was just asked for help and then waylaid for the dagger he's clearly been attacked over before.

Soren, I'm pretty sure your heavy plate armor is a bit more of a problem than your muscles moving into this crack.

I forgot that sweetie wolf Ava was only two years old in this season. She's so baby. Just barely grown up wolf, could bulk out even more in the next few years, especially carrying around a whole human child on her back.

Ellis' dad telling her they have too many mouths to feed already is a story note I think we forget, huh. Ellis probably has several siblings, and possibly other animals like mounts, working dogs, or livestock in the home.

"Oh, can you SEE better if I'm QUIET?" Soren absolutely understands sarcasm.

The cave they get the glowy bugs from makes me wonder if that's more where Moonshadow elves used to live, is in caves around the mountains. Their civilization revolved around the Moon Nexus 10k years ago, and there's not a lot of forests there. Maybe it was mountainsides by day, caves near the Nexus' water flow at night?

Rayla, dropping your hood was a very teenagery but also very stupid thing to do in the middle of the town square. I do love the Scooby Doo chase sequence of getting out of town though.

I remember seeing Lujanne's name in the credits sequence of this and going nuts for days trying to figure out who on earth that could be, because I didn't have the chance to watch the next episode until later, lol.

[aevyk-ing]

Mystery of Aaravos finale

Yeah, I didn't write as I was watching the episodes this time. I'm just exhausted about all that has happened in the last few months of the year and decided to just watch it and think about it.

Okay, that wasn't bad, but not great either. I noticed the pacing was weird, like if this is the grand finale, there's just stuff happening until they get some ideas and attack Aaravos. I didn't like at all to find out there was yet another comic I had to read to understand what was going on (The Puzzle House). At least, this comic was way better than Through the Moon.

As soon as Aaravos said it'd take him 7 years to come back, I knew there are plans for yet another arc. Even though the story has been stretched out too much by now, I think seven years is enough time to make things different enough to be interesting. However...

I'm still more invested in the arcs of Claudia and the people around her (Aaravos, Soren, Corvus and Terry). They're the best characters and she can do so much more. It's intriguing how she still thinks of herself as a good person and how Aaravos sees her as a daughter now. His human disguise was so weird, but since I can't take him seriously anymore after the writers' attempt to make us pity him, I found myself digging it. But oh, boy, it was so stupid when he was captured and just straight-told Ezran how to kill him. His death was also anticlimatic and all the talk about the Eternal Night was making me think of Trollhunters, so... but thanks for an epic dragon fight, I guess.

I don't care about Rayllum anymore. Which is sad. But, anytime they're on-screen, I get so bored. I don't care if their kids are going to have horns or not, if they eat cake together or not, I want to skip to the good parts of the episode. I love characters fighting their dark sides, so Callum's arc was nice (I'd have loved to see even more). What I didn't like was the forced antagonism between him and Ezran. Ezran says he's just a kid but then didn't shed a single tear when his house is gone. It would have been the perfect opportunity to show how he tries to be a fair king but still has a lot to learn. Make him break down in the ruins, make the citizens go to the castle for help, make the cliché little girl ask: "What do we do now?". Ezran doesn't know. Then, Runaan appears. That's something Ezran can do to feel he's doing the right thing. But no, they had to make the brothers fight (and Runaan escaped just when they were talking about freeing him, come on) as a parallel of the sibling situation of Janai and Karim.

I literally said "Thank you" to the screen when Aaravos squashed Karim. He was so unlikable, it's good to have characters you can just hate and then see them get what they deserve. Once again, that only happened so Janai didn't have to kill him. You see, the problem is that sometimes there are hard decisions to make. And you have to let your characters do bad things, even if they're the good ones (I still struggle with this, so I can speak from the experience). However, now even the King isn't dead, like, hello? Yeah, I know the scene where Viren proposes Harrow to switch bodies was given a lot of importance, but I'm not sure about the implications of that. Where is he? What has he been doing since then? I hope there's a good explanation. Also, also, if Runaans' promise was to kill the King, why doesn't he have the string the assasin elves have? Because Rayla's string was getting tighter and tighter because she promised to kill Ezran but she didn't.

Overall, it's getting tiring. Yes, I know what is like to have a world so big and detailed, you just want to keep writing about it. But there are too many characters now and I think they should focus on the ones with unfinished storylines.

PS: Yeah, I've been waiting for ages for Zym to talk. And now he's Zuko. I still don't know how to feel about that.

[kaiserouo]

pop up pirate anon here: no i did not consider the nsfw implications, i was just thinking about it after i saw your other kullervo art and was more thinking along the lines of the right dagger causes a storm of ukko or spawns a plush

aww. also yeah i don't really expect you to mean that, but it was an instinctive reaction to me when i read that. anyways that part was on me not on you, call me dirty or something whatever

also on an unrelated note, the reason why harrow prime said that in the comic is because he want kullervo to cast his 2 and then hug him before the daggers come back, because, like, you know what kullervo 2 would do when the daggers didn't find enemies to stab, and harrow prime is a masochist in my au. so actually that comic was not as wholesome as my other comics since the very beginning

[sjsmith56]

Complicated - Day 2

Summary: A cat and mouse game between Bucky and the mafia as he tries to keep Rita safe.

Length: 3.25K

Characters: Bucky, Rita, Sam, Gudonov (Russian mobster), Markov (Russian mobster), Nick Fury.

Warnings: Violence (both used and implicated), graphic description of physical violence causing injury, Bucky having flashbacks of time as Winter Soldier, and previous Avenger mission. If you are of Russian heritage, I’m sorry for making them the villains.

Author’s note: This just keeps getting darker, and more complicated. What seemed to be Bucky going to Delacroix for a relaxing week in Day 1, is actually him looking for some calm after a harrowing mission went wrong. Hint of feelings developing between Bucky and Rita.

<<Day 1

🏍️ 🏨 🛣️

Bucky briefly left Rita on her own at the motel while he withdrew cash from his bank account at the local branch and picked up some fast food for them to eat in the room, knocking on the motel room door with a specific sequence so she knew it was him when he returned. She had showered while he was gone and was already in her night clothes. As they ate, he decided to text Sam and let him know they were at the motel, receiving an acknowledgement from him but no further word on anything else.

“Do you mind if we leave the TV on?” she asked. “I can’t stop thinking about everything and maybe the background noise will help me fall asleep.”

“Go ahead,” he said. “I’m going to take a shower and will probably go to sleep as well.”

When he came out it was after midnight and Rita seemed to be asleep. He pulled the pillow and a blanket off of his bed, then took an extra blanket from the closet to lay on the floor closer to the door. Following some grounding exercises, he fell asleep relatively quickly for him.

The sound of people talking outside roused him several hours later as he could swear he heard Russian being spoken. Slowly making a small opening in the curtains he noticed several men gathered near his motorcycle. Listening carefully, he managed to hear them talk about the woman being seen getting on a motorcycle just like his. One of them was on his cell phone and he could hear them asking whoever was on the other end to check the registration. Quickly, he picked up his cell phone and texted Sam, muting the sound on it so he wouldn’t give up his position.

Bucky: Three Russians outside the motel room door, checking out my motorcycle. One is on his cell phone. I think he has someone checking my registration.

It took a moment for Sam to respond but he seemed to be on top of it.

Sam: Standby. Alerting IT to check cell phone usage near your twenty.

Stepping towards the bed where the sleeping woman was, he placed a hand on her shoulder while gently whispering.

“Rita, wake up.” She stirred then looked groggily at him before sitting up. “We have visitors. I need you to get dressed quietly, in the dark if you can.”

Without hesitating she got out of the bed and pulled her shorts off, putting the jeans on that she wore the day before. Digging into the backpack she pulled out another T-shirt and some clean socks. Turning her back to him she pulled her sleep shirt off and put the T-shirt on then the socks, followed by her shoes. He was already dressing as well, taking care not to make any excessive noise. Then he took the blankets and pillow from the floor, tossing them on his bed. He heard his cell phone vibrate and picked it up, reading Sam’s message.

Sam: We’ve changed your motorcycle registration to be registered to your alias. IT has also managed to hack into the guy’s phone. It’s registered to a Vladimir Gudonov. They’re checking priors right now.

Bucky returned to the window, watching the three men and listening to their conversation.

“You can hear that?” asked Rita in a low voice.

“Yeah, sensitive hearing,” he replied. “They’re Russian and they’re interested in my motorcycle. Right now, they’re finding out it’s registered to a retired police officer and wondering if they want to make a move on the owner.”

“If they do?”

He looked at her worried face and smiled. “No problem. If they do, I want you to stay out of the way. Lock yourself in the bathroom. I’ll tell you when it’s safe to come out and we’ll leave immediately.”

“What if they hurt you?”

“I’ve had to fight multiple people at one time more than once,” he explained, resisting the urge to place his palm on her face. “I won’t let them get to you.”

He heard something and looked out the window again, seeing and hearing the man with the phone order the other men to find out which room the police officer was in.

“Get in the bathroom and lock the door,” ordered Bucky. “Don’t come out until I tell you.”

He took the helmets and her backpack, placing them in the bathroom. Then he opened his saddlebags that he brought in the night before and pulled out a wrapped package. Placing the saddlebags in the bathroom he gestured to her to lock it. Once he heard the lock engage, he unrolled the package on the bed, revealing a set of several knifes, two handguns, some mags and a bundle of long zip ties. He didn’t want to wake anyone if he could help it, so he left the guns in the package but pulled two knives out, placing one in each boot, then taking the remaining two and flipping them in the dark, catching them expertly before putting them in his jacket pocket. He also took several zip ties. Resuming his post at the window he calmed himself, waiting for the moment when the men approached the door.

The two who went to the motel office came back and he heard them tell the third man the room number that he and Rita were in. Waiting for them to approach the door he heard one of them lift his foot to kick the door in and opened it just before his foot connected, making the man fall face first into the doorway. Picking him up by the shoulders of his jacket he threw him at the other two men knocking them over. Grabbing the guns of the two men he hit them both in the head with the butt, knocking them out then held one of the guns to the third man’s head. That man put his hands up in surrender then tried to grab the gun. With his free hand Bucky slipped a knife out of his boot, then stabbed the man in the hand, making him swear and hesitate in his actions. Pulling the knife out he held it to the man’s throat.

“I’m much faster than you and can hurt you in many different ways,” said Bucky, in Russian.

“You don’t know who you’re up against,” replied the man, through gritted teeth.

“I was going to say the same to you,” smiled Bucky, in a way that he hoped made him look a little unhinged. “Into the room.”

Pulling the chair over from the desk, Bucky put the man into it then pulled out a couple of zip ties as he placed the knife back in his pocket.

“Don’t move,” he warned him. “I won’t hesitate to slit your throat.”

After fastening each wrist separately to the chair behind the man’s back, then doing the same to his ankles, Bucky then dragged the other two men inside and placed them on their bellies, tying their wrists together behind their backs. Pulling their belts off he tightened them around their knees then zip tied their ankles together. Only then, did he turn on the light. Bucky took his phone out and took the man’s picture, then raised the heads of the other two, taking their pictures as well, texting them to Sam.

“You speak English?” he asked.

“Yes,” was the answer, given sullenly.

“You’re Vladimir Gudonov?” asked Bucky. The man looked surprised at being identified. “I’ll take that as a yes. Why are you here?”

The man smirked. “Why are any of us here?”

Bucky slapped him, drawing blood from the man’s lip. “Start talking or I start hurting.”

Gudonov gave out an angry breath then looked to his left. “Looking for someone who stole something from us.”

Bucky slapped him again, with his left hand this time, which hurt more as Gudonov swore in Russian.

“You’re lying. Try again.”

“Looking for a woman,” he spat. “She belongs to us.”

Placing the tip of the knife at the man’s knee Bucky dragged it up Gudonov’s thigh, cutting the fabric but not cutting the skin. It came very close to the man’s crotch, and he visibly tensed.

“People are not property,” stated Bucky, in an eerily calm voice. “Why would you believe that you own her?”

“She was payment for a debt,” said Gudonov. “Her boyfriend wasn’t as good a poker player as he thought.”

“But you killed him. That wipes out the debt, doesn’t it?”

The man said nothing, and Bucky placed the knife against his crotch. “When I was an assassin, I was ordered to bring a man in to my handler. Normally, I would have just killed him but my handler wanted to make an example of him, so I tracked him down and took him back. They stripped him naked and strung him up by his hands from a hook in the ceiling. Then my handler asked if anyone knew how to do a castration.”

“He was killed because she escaped,” said Gudonov quickly. “She was to marry the Pakhan’s son so that he could stay in America legally as the husband of an American citizen. The son was very angry when she escaped and lost his temper with her boyfriend, shooting him in the back of the head.”

“What’s his name?” asked Bucky, in a voice so soft that, for a moment, Gudonov thought he misheard.

He didn’t answer and the knife started to press into the man’s crotch.

“Markov!” screamed Gudonov, “Alexei Markov. Please stop! I’ll tell you anything.”

Pulling the knife away Bucky texted Sam with the name of the son, identifying him as the killer of Jason Tierney. Then he added that Gudonov had agreed to talk. He looked sternly at the frightened man.

“If you tell the authorities everything, I won’t come looking for you,” said Bucky. “But if you go back on your word, I will find you and do the castration myself. Now that I’ve done it once I’m sure I’ll be better at it the second time around.”

Bucky’s phone vibrated and he read the text.

Sam: some trusted associates are coming to take the three men into custody. ETA 15 minutes

Bucky: I may have threatened Gudonov to get a confession.

Sam: Is he still alive? Can he walk?

Bucky: Absolutely.

Sam: No problem. I assume you’re going to head back out so give me the room number.

Bucky: #27. They may have hurt the desk clerk to find our room. Have our associates check on him. I gave him $100 not to give us up.

Sam: Will do. See you at the safe house.

Bucky stood up and placed his knives, except for the one that he always kept in his boot, back in the leather wrapping, along with the other zip ties. Then he knocked on the bathroom door.

“It’s alright, you can come out now. We’re leaving.”

The door unlocked and all he saw were Rita’s frightened eyes. Smiling at her, he picked up his saddle bags and put the leather package back inside, at the bottom of one of them. Then he picked up his helmet while Rita put her backpack on and picked up hers.

“Put it on,” he said calmly. “I don’t want him to see your face. You don’t have to hurt your eyes looking at his ugly face either.”

She did as she was told, putting the darkened visor down, and waited for him as he stood in front of Gudonov.

“Some people are coming to pick you and your two friends up,” he said. “They’re going to be asking you a lot of questions. I suggest you be truthful when you answer them. You don’t want me coming back.” He stood up, nodding at Rita, then looked at the man again and spoke in Russian. “Everything I told you is true as I was the Fist of HYDRA for many years. I was never given a choice when I was given an order. These days, I don’t kill but I have no problem maiming you if you look for this woman again. I will cut them both off and stuff them in your mouth until you choke on them. Remember that.”

Gudonov nodded his head briefly and Bucky escorted Rita out. After fastening his saddle bags onto his motorcycle, he mounted it, waiting for her to get on behind him. Before he turned it, she spoke.

“Is what you told him true?” she asked. “I was listening through the door.”

He breathed out audibly and bowed his head for a moment. “Yes, it’s true,” he replied. “I did many terrible things for HYDRA but never by choice.” He placed his right hand on hers. “I told him that if he ever comes looking for you, I will hurt him, severely. You’re safe with me, Rita. Believe that.”

“Thank you,” she said immediately. “I feel safe with you, Bucky.”

She hugged him from behind and he patted her hands with his right hand. Turning the key, he started the motorcycle and backed up, then pulled out of the parking lot. About a mile down the road several dark SUVs raced by them, going in the other direction, and Bucky smiled, recognizing them as the associates. As they travelled through Jackson towards the highway to Memphis, he noticed that the eastern sky was starting to lighten. It would be dawn soon and the chances of being spotted by a corrupt sheriff or possibly even a bounty hunter were going to be higher. It would take about 3 ½ hours to get to the safe house and they weren’t out of the woods yet. He smirked, noticing the trees on either side of the road they were on. It reminded him that he would have to be vigilant as anyone could be hiding and waiting for them.

An hour later, just before the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, they entered a stretch of highway that was fairly isolated. Most of the traffic they had encountered was of the commercial truck kind, moving goods from one location to another. Bucky contemplated stopping for a quick meal break, concerned about Rita handling the ride. Just as he noticed a sign for food services in a nearby town, he became aware of a semi-truck driving a little too closely behind them. Increasing his speed a little, he watched as it kept pace. He increased his speed a little more and it matched him. As they drew closer to truck traffic ahead of them, he noticed another semi coming up on the left side. A semi ahead of them matched their speed and he found the motorcycle boxed in on three sides by semis, with a concrete barrier on the right. With a sigh he made a voice call to Sam.

“They found us,” he said. “We’re boxed in by semis on the I55, north of the 404 turnoff. You better send help. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

“Bucky, be careful,” said Sam. “That Gudonov guy said they have a lot of firepower.”

The super soldier was quiet for a moment. “I’m not going to back down, Sam. After that last mission, I’m done holding back.”

For a moment he had a vision of their last mission when he was ordered not to go in without backup. By the time the others arrived the terrorists had killed most of the hostages. It was why he was on his way to Delacroix, needing time to deal with what he saw as his failure to protect the hostages, needing the support of the fishing community that treated him as one of their own.

It was Sam’s turn to be quiet. When he spoke, it was with resignation. “We’ll get there as soon as we can. Do what you must to keep you both alive.”

“Understood,” replied Bucky. “Sam? Thanks.”

“We’ll find you, Buck, I promise.”

He ended the call and decided to test the skill of the truck drivers, trying to zip through the narrow gap on the right side but they closed the gap skillfully and slowed down, leaving him no choice but to slow with them. As he stopped the bike beside the concrete barrier, he pulled his helmet off and turned to Rita, as several men with machine guns came from the back of the truck in front of them.

“When I engage them, you go over the barrier and run,” he said. “As fast and far as you can.”

She took her helmet off and put her hand on his arm. “I’m not leaving you,” she replied, her eyes going glassy. “They’ll come after me.”

“Rita, please.”

She didn’t get a chance to answer as another man came towards them from behind the armed men. Bucky watched the man smirk at Rita, then put himself between them when the man went to pull her towards him, desperate to keep Rita safe but afraid of her getting hurt.

“Leave her alone,” he said, his voice icy but calm.

“She belongs to me, Soldat,” said the man. “Now, you belong to me as well.”

He glanced at another man, nodding slightly at him. The man pulled out a taser and activated it, hitting Bucky in the neck. Even though he fought the charge for as long as he could a third man hit him with another charge sending Bucky to his knees. The last thing he saw before he passed out was Rita being led away to a limousine.

🚁 🤵🏻‍♂️

Twenty minutes later a helicopter landed in the middle of the highway behind the barrier of two black SUVs which blocked traffic from coming near the motorcycle that was parked next to the concrete barrier. Smashed on the ground next to the motorcycle was Bucky’s cell phone. Two helmets lay beside it. A man in a dark suit approached Sam and Fury who had exited the helicopter.

“Taser leads,” said the man. “Four leads, two Taser weapons.”

“Send units to all the places identified with Markov,” ordered Fury. “Bring in special forces assistance if you have to. I want them hit hard.”

“What if he’s taken them out of the country?” asked Sam. “Bucky’s a big prize to a Russian mobster.”

“I’ve already got someone monitoring the airfields,” said Fury, looking at his cell phone. “A private jet just took off from one twenty miles away. They seem to be headed for New York. I’m guessing Alexei Markov is going after some big fish and thinks the Winter Soldier is just the weapon he needs to make his father proud.”

“Send me their position,” said Sam. “I can monitor them from the air.”

Fury texted the information to Sam who brought it up on his suit. With a grimace he lifted off into the air. Fury made a call on his cell phone.

“Activate everyone,” he said. “Barnes and a material witness have been taken hostage. Details to come.” He looked at the man in the suit. “Make sure Barnes’ motorcycle gets to the compound in one piece. Bring the helmets and issue him a new phone.”

As he headed towards the helicopter, he felt rather optimistic. After what Vladimir Gudonov told them of Barnes’ interrogation of him, Alexei Markov really didn’t understand the man he was hoping to use. The mobster thought it would be simple to force the former Winter Soldier into working for him, but Barnes wasn’t simple. He was much more complicated than most people realized, and Fury was counting on that.

Short Fiction Masterlist

Day 3>>

Please like, comment and reblog if you liked this.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Blood Sisters"

Enemies To Friends Speedrun: The Episode.

Fond of that detailing on the overhang there, look at it.

I think Sabine already knew the mission was meant for her, she seems a little bit flustered and agitated that Ezra's trying to insert himself into it.

And of course doesn't pass up an opportunity to give him a playful elbow jab.

Hera gives the two the mission, telling Ezra that Sabine's in charge, which he's perfectly okay with. Continuing with the previous episode it's obvious Ezra has sorted out his growing pains teenage angst and has returned to normal.

Normal being "adorable eager puppy", especially around Sabine lol.

I do wonder... from how she acts in the beginning here and some of the later dialogue it sounds kind of like Sabine is going through a bit of a midteen crisis too. Could be either triggered like Ezra's by the events of "Always Two There Are" or could just be her having One Of Those Moods.

Ezra's rambling suggests it's more the latter, that Sabine just sometimes gets All Up In Her Feelings and starts self-isolating and wanting space and pushing people away.

I do like the implication that Ezra's sought her out when she's gotten in these Moods to see if she's okay (and had to be told to go away because Sabine's in, "I don't have any problems, leave me alone." denial lol).

Him checking up on her in concern when he can sense she's out of sorts is a cute thought. :)

Sabine spies some of Ketsu's graffiti but doesn't bring it up and the two proceed to the mission, or as I like to call it, an exercise in secondhand embarrassment.

Someone help these poor children.

Still cannot get over how tiny Ezra was in the early seasons.

Kestu makes her appearance with a flurry of exotic-sounding percussion in the score. This new theme (linked because it's hard to hear under the dialogue) is full of drums and clappers and synth strings and a wild flute and sounds appropriately tense and dangerous for Ketsu.

Ezra nervous little glances between the girls aww.

A little bit of classic Western Gunfight with the shot choices here.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: Ketsu's reflection in Sabine's visor. (Reflections be a bitch to animate.)

Ezra's resigned look when the Stormtroopers stumble across them lololol.

Okay I GUESS the friendly way Ketsu and Sabine can banter in the middle of a firefight and how they wound up shooting from behind the same stack of crates with no issue despite being at odds literal moments ago was supposed to be a sign that they're still friends deep down but--*grumbles, mutters something about rushed writing*

"Bet you're glad you brought backup!" "Yeah, it's working out great! Exactly as planned!"

Ah nice to know the two don't change when it comes to stealing Imperial ships together. :)

She told you to hang on, Ezra.

I do have to laugh at this one poor trooper's veeeeeeeery close call ha ha.

Ketsu's flutes trill out again for this little chase. Which is decently staged, the blown airlock sequence does feel nicely harrowing.

Sabine looks very pretty this episode.

Chopper being a menace, per usual, lol.

Right so whose idea was it to have Chopper cover his eyes because that was a pretty good idea, definitely makes us believe he's scared.

Sabine calling Chopper her friend, aww.

Surprise! She's actually hella cute in a fierce way. I do dig that she has legitimately violet eyes, just a nice little touch reminding us we're not quite in our galaxy.

Sabine's speech here recalls some of Ezra's, about how she used to be out for herself.

"I forgive you." Ssssshhfjhhhhh okay. Okay Sabine. Sure. Seems a bit quick and this is definitely at odds and doesn't quite fit with what we know about her tragic backstory later but... sure. Whatever. We'll just... go with it.

Probably a good thing they established two episodes ago that there's an Imperial checkpoint out here in general Garel airspace, at least this interruption doesn't come completely out of nowhere.

Aaaaaaaand just like that they are suddenly friends again. Okay.

Well now that they've completely dropped all animosity they hash out a predictably explosive plan. One they kind of overexplain a bit.

"Contain the problem immediately!" Oh right, like it's their fault their reactor core's going to explode.

I mean it is their fault in this case but still.

This poor droid pilot though. He was just doing his job, man.

There is an awful lot of Telling instead of Showing this episode, it's kind of irritating me.

Dunno where this is but it's pretty.

Lol Artoo and Chopper's grumpy acknowledgement of each other.

I really can't praise the environments on this show enough.

"Last time I saw these two, they were gonna shoot each other." "If I recall correctly when we first met you, you were stealing from us." Yeah that's not even remotely the same thing, Hera.

Ezra still immediately attempting to befriend Sabine's friend, who's like, "Oh yeah Sabine told me aaaaall about you."

Help me he's so cute. <3

*grumbles in frustration at this conversation* Nothing about this is merited, there is no character throughline here hkfjhdkjhnn.

A very soft and gentle variation of Ketsu's theme here to close us out.

I... don't really rewatch this episode a lot, as you can probably tell. I always thought Sabine just blindly and unconditionally forgiving Ketsu didn't make sense. Not necessarily on her end, because Sabine obviously thinks meeting her new family in the Spectres is the best thing that could have happened to her and she's had a Jedi around probably teaching her a few things about letting go of grudges, but I never understood why it would make Ketsu turn and just... drop her apparently lucrative and desirable bounty hunter career. And it just seems even more weird with what we learn about Sabine's backstory later, that she'd already had her trust broken deeply by her family and then again some time down the line by her supposed best friend who escaped the Academy with her.

Ketsu really doesn't get enough actual characterization for her turn to be believable either.

Beyond those issues the episode is just... kind of dull? Sabine and Ketsu's interactions aren't really that engaging for me so as soon as we leave Garel my brain kind of checks out.

We do get a little bit of backstory stuff that informs and adds layers to Sabine and some other cute bits here and there. But it's not exactly one of my favorites.

Back to form next episode, though, for character arc completions and some "Zero Hour" relevant foreshadowing.

[pokemon-ash-aus]

Idk if someone asked this before but the dad in the false twins universe, why does Delia call him Damien and the kids call him Richie/Richard? I get he has two names but why do different people call him different things? And how does he introduce himself?

So yeah, his name is Richard Damien Rocketto but he's expressed to Delia that- hey, i prefer if you call me Damien, that's what all my friends call me :)

The reality of it being that having other adults calling him Richard is a bit more harrowing than he would like to admit, its itchy.

But when his kids call him that, its... Its a freeing feeling that he never realized. A good way for the kids to call him something that wasn't *dad* even though at this point that's exactly what he is.

Having his kiddos call for Richie, they dont understand the implications of the name, they dont know the pain it's wrought.

He's just their dad, Richie.

And that's okay.

[paradoxcase]

@korla-the-kenku:

As yet unsent is the short story that takes place in the middle of the book

Oh, is this going to explain what Camilla and Corona and Judith were doing on that random planet?

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

So it’s implied I think that Pyrrha always made sure her eyes were not seen when she took over Gideon’s body. For example, when she was dallying with Wake-in-Cytherea, she never turned around to face Harrow…

Sure, but Harrow spoke face-to-face with both of them during and after the incinerator incident, and she would have noticed if their eyes had changed, wouldn't she?

@eye-lantern:

I think the packet Pyrrah mention is the one with the cigarets. There is a theory about Gideon not smoking, and that every time he does, it's Pyrrah. It would explain his nod after the diner where he got exploded.

That would make sense based on the fact that Pyrrha was the one who smoked, but I don't think there's enough information right now to say that Pyrrha would have done that little nod but Gideon wouldn't have. Like, I don't know. Gideon was only around for this one book, and for the most part we don't know for sure which things they did were him and which were Pyrrha, and for most of the book they were acting under orders from John anyway, and they both seem like they'd kind of be don't-rock-the-boat kind of people. I'm assuming Pyrrha gets more development in the next book, but do we ever get a good sense of what kind of person Gideon was? And if that was Pyrrha, then I think the other Lyctors would definitely have noticed the eye color change if there was one

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

The passage about the fight between little Gideon and little Harrow reminds me how, despite how unlikeable Harrow is in Gideon, how miserable her life has to be to contemplate suicide at ten years old. :-(

Yeah. And the way Gideon is talking about it there, it sounds like maybe she is feeling guilty that she might have made Harrow feel that way because of what she said

I THINK the bit at the end with Harrow in the tomb is intended to imply she is putting herself in the same place where Gideon spent time in her mind. And she knows the magazine isn’t real because she knew the mags Gideon got. She talked at one point about them being really bad. Methinks she protests too much :-p

Why would the Tomb feature in this fantasy, then? Or is it just sort of the implication that Gideon hanging out in her head for the whole book added some stuff to Harrow's mental space, or something like that?

@racefortheironthrone:

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess Regarding the magazines, I've seen a couple different theories, all involving Harrow secretly perusing them under the guise of some official function: one theory is that Gideon was getting the mags via tampering with requisition letters and that Harrow was aware of it and signed off of the titles anyway, another theory is that Harrow regularly searched Gideon's cell and would just "confiscate" the stuff under her mattress, etc.

A+ theories, I love it

@wandering-minx:

Re John's eye color in the 21st century. It actually has an explanation in Nona. Re: Harrow's knowledge on dirty magazines there is a theory about how she could have this knowledge but it deals with spoilers from "The Unwanted Guest" short story to be read after Nona.

Ok, cool, I'll be interested to get to that

@eye-lantern:

Also yeah the dramatis personae from Nona is the key change that while it is still the same song, you are going to see a lot of new things

I can't wait for this, either. I know I've seen a few different names that looked BOE-like, but the only specific one I can remember right now is Hot Sauce

[local-lesbrarian]

Finished my reread of Gideon the Ninth, part 1 of Preparing for the release of Alecto. 17 pages of handwritten notes just for book 1. (And I'm not a notetaking reader typically. Gosh, there's so much happening.)

All the below is spoiler-free and probably irritatingly cryptic for people who haven't read books 1-3. But a small sample of my takeaways:

Good news for people who hate John - it's even worse when you reread with all the info from NtN. I wanna throw him down the longest flight of stairs in Canaan House. I used to chuckle at his stupid millennial meme jokes but now I think I'll simply punch him every time. He's not actually trying his best. Or if he is, his best really sucks.

Also pretty sure I know why Harrow's the best but gets so weak in HtN. Also why the body doesn't rot. Also why Gideon didn't die with the rest of the Ninth kiddos. Also why she couldn't do what she was put there to do. (These are all connected, in theory.)

Camilla is all but confirmed a trans woman, in this essay etc.

Aiglamene and Crux: more interesting than you might think.

Turns out I'm bad at recognizing an unreliable narrator on first pass, but good god Gideon please learn that not everyone hates you. Please learn you have value as a person, not just in your actions. She refuses to siphon you because it hurts you, not because of pride, you dingus. She woke you up from horrific nightmares, you bat. She brought you breakfast and painted your face, you loon. She asks for your help even when she doesn't need it, you bonehead. Granted, Harrow's default state is hiding.

Probably gonna do a whole post on Harrow/Gideon because I'm not normal about them and I Get It.

Lots of implications about the River. And the weird guys at the end of Nona. And quite likely the Second House.

Palamedes is working on the improved version of Lyctorhood before anyone else even knows the old one.

Saltwater is Earth's burial shroud.

An observation: Gideon gets quippy to hide her emotional vulnerability. And she gets nauseatingly quippy in Act 5. Cause. Yeah.

More foreshadowing than you can imagine, I wish I could write this tightly.

[writeforfandoms]

IM GOING TO CRYYY I'M LOOSING MY MIND YOU'RE SO RIGHT HOLY FUCKKK OH NY GOD THINKING ABOUT HER CHAINED UP AND BLINDED IN CAPTIVITY, HELPLESS AND AT HER ENEMY'S MERCY WHAT IF I LOST MY SHIT YOU'RE SO INSANE FOR THIS WHATTHEFUCKKK HOW DO YOU EVEN COME UP WITH THIS MY GOD CAN YOU IMAGINE THE BOYS GOING BERSERK I read a book once (so take this with a grain of salt im like 90% sure its not accurate but SET ASIDE YOUR DISBELIEF LISTEN) where to like, train(/tame? i am not educated enough for this) a bird of prey you have to keep them in the dark, all day every day and even when you take the hood off they need to be in total darkness so they can't see cuz then it tricks them into thinking its night time. their sole provider and companionship in the endless darkness is their handler. implications,,, take what you will from these thoughts heheh

I am going so absolutely crazy over this holy shit

Also gonna put this under a cut because this gets a bit dark

Okay so I do not know enough about falconry or wild eagle behavior to say for certain. But. Even if that's not how you tame them or get them to not kill you on sight, you know what that would count as?

That is 100% a torture tactic. No interaction, constantly in the dark, and trapped? Yeah. That's torture. And then the clipped primaries on top of everything else? Yuuuuuup.

Now, as to how effective this would be, I think it depends on how long she was in enemy hold. I doubt Price would let it be long enough for her to really go insane, but it would be harrowing for sure. More about this on the next ask