#the fact that the leadership is so incredibly out of touch with the reality of this place | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

incorrectshantaequotes · 3 years

Text

Shantae Headcanons - The Seven Sirens

So! I've been in a creative mood - time for some more headcanons. While I've talked a bit about my headcanons for the Sirens as a species before (primarily here; I recommend you look at their section in it since I'm going to be referring back to it), this will be about the titular Sirens we were introduced to in the latest Shantae game, with more emphasis on the five that didn't really get a chance to shine.

As is to be expected, this will be a long post, so I'll put it under a read more

The Seven Sirens as a Group

Before they were trapped underground, the Sirens were part of a royal court, with each having a specific role: Empress Siren was, obviously, the ruler, Water Lily Siren was initially there as a representative for another colony of Sirens that ended up getting wiped out while she was negotiating, Coral Siren was the Royal Technician, Tubeworm Siren was the general of the Siren's armies, Anglerfish Siren was the Royal Magician, Octo Siren was Empress Siren's personal assistant, and Lobster Siren...well, that'll be explained a bit later.

When the airship crashed, with no signs of the Sirens themselves during the following week of the Half-Genie Festival, they were presumed dead - much to the relief of the half-genies themselves, but to the slight sorrow of Lobster Siren, who didn't wish to be the last of her kind - and, besides that, she did somewhat enjoy their company.

However, a month after Shantae and some other half-genies left, and the native half-genies - Zapple and Vera - as well as Lobster Siren were in the middle of an effort to fix the damage the rising airship had caused to the island, this presumption was proven wrong when Water Lily, Coral, Tubeworm, Angler, and Octo Siren pulled up on shore, looking rather peeved.

As it turns out, they did survive the airship crashing! It just so happened that, between Shantae's own beating and the ship, you know, exploding, they had to take a while to lick their wounds and recover. But when they regrouped, the Empress wasn't among them. A bit of covert spying from Angler led to them learning exactly what happened between Empress Siren and Shantae, and, seeing as she wasn't with them...they could only assume she'd been slain in battle. Enraged, Tubeworm Siren had rallied up the Sirens and led them to the surface to get vengeance for their fallen queen.

However, before there could be any fighting, Lobster Siren stepped in and desperately pleaded for the others to change their ways - though it was a bit hard to tell for Zapple and Vera, since their various brands of half-genie magic didn't lend itself that well to understanding Siren. And to Lobster Siren's credit, it did work...for Water Lily. The rest had to take some more convincing, with there being several battles between the local half-genies and the remaining Sirens. But, in the end, they did all end up getting redeemed...which lead to a new problem.

What about their names? Lobster Siren already had a more proper nickname than "lobster girl" (more on that later), but the rest were...a bit more lacking, and weren't really forthcoming on what their actual names were. So, for lack of better options, they called in Shantae with some teleportation magic to help translate Lobster Siren so she could explain, and she proceeded to inform them that...their names were effectively the name of the species they were crossed with. Just with fancy intonations that didn't really carry over to English. And so, more nicknames had to be given. The exact nicknames will be explained in each Siren's appropriate section.

Lobster Siren

Ever wonder why Lobster Siren and Empress Siren have such incredibly similar animal halves? The answer is simple: Lobster Siren and Empress Siren are related. To be more specific, Lobster Siren is Empress Siren's niece, who she took in after her mother died in battle.

...but that was less out of genuine kindness and moreso to look good in front of her subjects. In reality, Empress Siren couldn't really care less about Lobster Siren, usually giving her about as much thought she would to a random soldier or servant. Needless to say, Lobster Siren developed better relationships with the other Sirens than she did the Empress.

Around two weeks into the effort to fix up Siren Island, Zapple suddenly declared that Lobster Siren needed a name, as calling her "lobster girl" all the time was driving her crazy. She ended up settling on Tacea - as in, crus-tacea-n. Vera argued that that was a terrible pun, and so did everyone Zapple brought in for a "second opinion," but Lobster Siren liked it, so Tacea stuck.

Her teleportation magic is rather useful for facilitating visits to and from Siren Island, whether that be for Shantae, the other half-genies, or herself. It's a useful way to keep in touch...even if teleporting from that long of a distance typically means a few hours crashing on a nearby couch.

Empress Siren

Contrary to what was initially believed by the other sirens, the Empress survived the battle with Shantae and the airship crashing. In fact, thanks to some lingering power from her battle, she actually recovered faster than the other Sirens did. She simply didn't bother to check if the others were alive. No, no...her priority was getting revenge on that accursed half-genie and the double-crossing pirate!

A week before the other sirens made themselves known, the Empress burst out of the water near Scuttle Town, interrupting a battle between Shantae and Risky Boots that was going down at the time, and wasted no time sending bolts of electricity, raging waters, and an army of sea creatures their way. Although briefly caught off-guard, the half-genie hero and pirate agreed to call a truce to drive off the mad Siren, and successfully beat her once again.

Since then, Empress Siren has added herself to Shantae's rogue's gallery alongside the Barons and Risky Boots, although she does terrorize the latter as well...sort of. Recently, it would seem her anger toward Risky has cooled down and started to become a begrudging respect for managing to pull one over her. Her anger towards Shantae doesn't seem to be cooling down anytime soon, though.

Still goes by Empress Siren, and refuses to be called anything else.

That being said, her "Empress" title was never actually official - the Sirens don't have a combined leadership. The official title for the ruler of a colony is Queen. On paper, the title was just a sign of arrogance and ego. In practice...she had one of the largest colonies of Sirens under her command, coupled with more firepower than the combined efforts of three colonies. It was very easy for her to bully and push the other colonies around, and that "Empress" title suddenly didn't seem that farfetched.

Water Lily Siren

When one looks at Water Lily Siren, their initial assumption might be "lazy." And it is true that she likes to relax and sunbathe quite a bit - beyond just liking it as a Siren who's partially plant-based, she works hard and enjoys any time she gets to lay back and soak in the sun - this is downplaying her surprisingly gentle and kind personality. There's a reason she was chosen as a diplomat.

Speaking of! Water Lily Siren was an ambassador for a colony of plant-based Sirens to try and negotiate with the Empress. As said before, Empress Siren may not have been an actual empress, but she had a lot of resources. At the time Water Lily was sent, the Empress was blocking off supplies out of a perceived slight from their Queen, so she was sent to reason with her.

Unfortunately, as that was happening, some humans happened across the Siren colony that Water Lily came from...and the forces that Empress had sent to block off supplies. Panicking upon recognizing the latter from the Empress' attacks on passing ships, the humans assumed the colony was working with the tyrannical Siren, and promptly used their resources to blow the place to kingdom come.

Water Lily was distraught when the news came, locking herself in the room Empress Siren had provided her and proving completely inconsolable for several months...and then, when she finally started letting herself see visitors and try to move on from the loss, Empress Siren casually pulled her aside and told her that the official story she'd be telling anyone who asked is that she joined the Empress' court willingly due to seeing how superior she was to her own Queen, that she was glad her colony was all dead, and if she ever even hinted that her colony was destroyed due to Empress' proximity, she'd have to try her luck in the abyss. Fearing for her life, Water Lily Siren agreed, and was accepted into Empress Siren's court.

Despite her position, Water Lily never did much in terms of bureaucracy, so she did her best to try and fill that gap with some other things. Sunbathing, growing some plants...and caring for Lobster Siren. Yeah - for a lack of a proper mother figure, with her own missing and Empress Siren's cruelty, and for a lack of anyone to call her own, Lobster Siren and Water Lily Siren ended up growing a mother-daughter relationship, ending up incredibly close.

Ironically, this relationship with Lobster Siren is the main reason Water Lily never broke rank before or during Seven Sirens - before, it was just a worry of what might happen to Lobster Siren if she were to disappear, and during the plan set up by Empress Siren and Risky Boots, she was afraid that if she didn't do her part, Lobster Siren might have to step in, and, well...she already knew what humans could do to Sirens. She already knew what genies could do to Sirens. She wasn't going to take her chances with a half-genie.

Thankfully, with the threat of Empress Siren gone and Lobster Siren having broken rank herself, she took very little convincing to join up with the good guys. Although she didn't wish to fight the other sirens, having no quarrel with them, she did take a part in the following battles - her control over plantlife combined with Vera's refresh magic proved very effective.

Ended up settling on Lily when the surface-dwellers decided they wanted to go a bit further than "plant girl." It was a nickname she already had with the other Sirens, and it sounded like a surface name, so it was a fairly easy transition.

Does have a bit of a mischievous side to her, mostly brought out by Lobster Siren but can be brought out by others as well. The native half-genies to Siren Island have gotten especially good at it.

Coral Siren

The Royal Technician, Coral Siren was primarily responsible for the airship the Empress used to spread her reign across the sea, and all kinds of firepower and weaponry for the Sirens as well.

Her personality, in a single word, is gremlin. She likes shiny things, she likes tech she hasn't seen before, and if it's some combination of both she is instantly going to see what it is without regard for whatever she was doing before. Combine that with a seemingly limitless energy, and she's a terror in any lab that isn't her own. Key words being "isn't her own," because ironically enough, her lab is perfectly pristine.

The sea slug that serves as her cycloptic helmet is her pet, which she's affectionately dubbed "Spiny," and she loves it as much as she loves her own inventions, which is really saying something. Like many of the sea creatures native to Siren Island, it has unique biological properties thanks to the ambient magic in the area, with Spiny's being the cycloptic "eye" visor that other creatures can see through. When they look through the "eye," they can see beyond their normal sight, similar to Plink's own Seer Magic. This is especially useful for Coral Siren, as Spiny's magic readings can often be more effective and useful than her own equipment.

Lobster Siren was most often the one who helped her out whenever Spiny got lost or was missing, so they ended up forming a nice little friendship. They weren't that close, but it was nice for Coral to have a listening ear once in a while, and if Empress happened to come around looking for Lobster, well...what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

The third of the Sirens to break rank when they made their return. The reason? Well...she ended up spotting a hot air balloon during a battle in Armor Town and immediately dropped everything to try and see how it worked. Tubeworm Siren barked orders at her, trying to get her back on track, and Zapple...simply offered to let her look at all the tech she wanted if she came over to their side. She agreed in a heartbeat. And then had to be pulled out of the way of Tubeworm Siren's wrath. From there, she pulled from her own technical expertise to give the growing resistance tools to counter the remaining two sirens.

When she learned that she'd been dubbed "Coral Siren" as a result of no one really seeing her lower half, she first angrily corrected them, offended that she wasn't referred to by her proper title of Seahorse Siren...and then took on "Coral" as a nickname, because it sounded nice even if it wasn't the correct terminology for what she was, and it did sound like a surface name.

Tubeworm Siren

High and mighty, Tubeworm Siren was the latest in a long line of generals serving her colony's crown, and by god was she smug about it. Her legacy was one of the most important things to her, and she often boasted about the deeds the past generals did and her own strength that followed. In present day, her legacy is still important to her, and she does still hold pride in her combat prowess...but she no longer holds it over everyone else's heads since she's no longer loyal to the Empress. More on that later.

As one would expect of a general, she was fanatically loyal to her Empress, rarely questioning her decisions and simply following orders. Her loyalty was valued very much by the Empress, and she did her best to ensure its cultivation, making sure that Tubeworm Siren was completely and utterly obedient to her...

One of the few things Tubeworm Siren ever did question about her Empress was her treatment towards Lobster Siren. She never brought it up to Empress' face, but it always rubbed her the wrong way how easily she was dismissed and ignored. So, Tubeworm Siren decided that she wanted to help...which, unfortunately, translated to "make Lobster Siren stronger." After all, she was strong, and she was well-respected! Surely, a little training was all the little lobster needed! But her idea of "training" involved...a lot of things. Like lasers. Lots and lots of lasers. And needless to say, Lobster Siren didn't like any of it. Although she understood that Tubeworm Siren meant well, she tried to avoid her if she could help it.

The last of the Sirens to break rank from the Empress - she stayed loyal even as Sirens left one after the other, calling them cowards and traitors to the crown. In the end, she refused to listen to reason, so there had to be a joint effort to restrain her and then imprison her. Lobster Siren often visited to try and get her to join them and be free, but no luck. Her turning point only came when Shantae came around to visit Siren Island, and she just so happened to overhear a conversation about the Empress' latest exploits as Shantae and Zapple passed by her prison. Upon hearing that Empress Siren was alive, and that she'd been attacking some random half-genie rather than helping her people...Tubeworm Siren connected the dots of why she didn't show up. She didn't take it very well.

Which is to say, she promptly broke out of her prison and started going on a rampage to take out her rage and sorrow. The other Sirens and the half-genies teamed up to stop her once again, but this time they were barely able to slow her down, even with Shantae's help. But just when it seemed like they would have to take drastic measures...Tubeworm Siren just. Broke down. It was quite the unexpected sight for all involved. Eventually, Tubeworm Siren ordered that the others go away - save for the half-genies and Lobster Siren. Once they were alone, she quietly explained her own conclusions about the Empress' actions, and then pledged her loyalty to their side - it was clear to her now that her Empress...no, the Queen, did not deserve her loyalty, and perhaps never did.

At first, she just patrolled the shore, constantly on the lookout for that traitorous Queen should she ever come back, but with a bit of coaxing from Lobster Siren and some sporting brawls offered by the half-genies, eventually she was helping out with the rebuilding effort and being social once more, finally back to her normal self after weeks of misery.

Tubeworm Siren took on the name Scylla after a monstrous beast in Siren Island's folklore - the tales of which she properly identified as the exploits of her great grandmother, the first of the colony's generals.

Anglerfish Siren

The Royal Magician, Angler served as the eyes for Empress Siren, using her magic eye constructs to spy on the surface and either take notes on ships with good loot...or to take notes on other siren colonies and any slights they might have committed against the Empress. She didn't like the latter part too much, but, eh, orders are orders, right?

Saw potential in Lobster Siren's teleportation magic, and privately taught her how to hone it and use it to its fullest. Angler couldn't help as much as she would've liked, due to her own magic differing a good deal from Lobster Siren's own (even if it was supposedly in the same category), but the progress she and Lobster Siren did make her pleased her significantly...one of the few times she smiled was when Lobster Siren managed her first long-ranged teleport.

Empress Siren ended up putting a stop to it as soon as she found out, much to Angler's displeasure and Lobster's protests. But Angler knew how powerful the Empress was. She was in no position to fight back, even with her impressive magical power. And so she accepted it, though not without giving Empress Siren the stink eye every time they passed in the halls of the airship.

This apprenticeship with Lobster Siren was why she was the second to break rank. Because, as she was spying on the surface to learn what had happened to their Empress...she saw how Lobster Siren was genuinely happy. How much fun she was having with her friends on the surface, how much she smiled...and how much that contrasted with her fearful behavior when she was under the Empress' command. She tried to hold onto her loyalty to Empress Siren, but in the end, she couldn't fight against her own apprentice. Not when she was so happy up here. After the first fight, she left in the shadows and arrived at the alliance's temporary base in the dead of night. Needless to say, she gave them quite a scare.

That being said, "willing to help" did not equal "friendly." For Lobster Siren, sure, and Water Lily she could treat as a passing acquaintance, but for the half-genies she was anti-social and rather moody. She stayed that way even as more of her Siren brethren joined with them. However, an unexpected visit from Rottytops led to the zombie discovering and ultimately befriending the Siren, thanks to her own experience with magic and the occult...maybe a bit too well, if the ensuing prank spree is anything to go by. It did get Angler out of her shell, though. Still moody, but she's willing to talk with people outside the Sirens.

Ended up going with "Lure," by Rottytops' suggestion. Besides just being appropriate for someone who's part anglerfish, it also happens to be wordplay - "Think about it. Ang-LURE. Eh? Eh?" To Rottytops' credit, Zapple laughed.

Octo Siren

Octo Siren had a similar issue to Tubeworm Siren's problem, but in a very different direction. Whereas Tubeworm Siren boasted about her legacy and her physical prowess, what Octo Siren had was a personal line to the Empress, as the one who helped her with matters like paperwork and court. As a result, Octo Siren grew haughty and saw her assistance to the queen as the only thing that mattered, leaving more trivial matters to the octopi she could command with her magic.

She did have a surprising amount of respect for Lobster Siren though, thanks to her connection to Empress Siren - moreso than Empress Siren herself, ironically enough. As long as it didn't interfere with Empress Siren's own desires, Octo Siren was more than willing to lend her some octopi for some minor things...key words being "Empress Siren's own desires." In the end, Octo Siren always defaulted to Empress Siren above all else, so she and Lobster weren't very close.

The fourth to break rank. At first, she stayed by Tubeworm Siren's side, because in spite of her past respect of Lobster Siren, well...it was as Tubeworm Siren said, she betrayed the crown. Any respect she had for her was now gone. And with Tubeworm Siren being the next best thing, she stuck to her. Then she started to get worried as they lost more and more of the more combat-ready Sirens. She actually quite likes her little octopi servants, and as the others left, she was forced to draw upon more and more to make up for the deficit. And the problem is, to put it simply, her servants aren't that capable of combat, especially compared to the sheer monstrous might of Tubeworm Siren. Octo Siren really, really didn't want to keep throwing octopi at the problem and losing them, so in private, she discussed the idea of a truce. Even Empress Siren knew when to back down, right...? Although she couldn't remember even one time.

The answer she got was, unsurprisingly, a resounding no, and that was enough for Octo Siren to push away from Tubeworm Siren and join up with the rest. She never helped that much in combat, to no one's shock - being a secretary doesn't prepare you for combat and all - but her servants are very handy for reconstruction, and she is very good at paperwork and legal terms. So, the half-genies and other sirens are willing to put up with the occasional haughtiness as long as she gets things done.

Octo Siren was the last to choose a surface name, though not for lack of trying. She just couldn't find one she liked, and no matter what that electric half-genie or zombie would suggest, she was not going with a stupid pun. However, after thinking it over, she settled on...Molly. You could really hear the crickets when she announced that one. "...what? Did you just assume that because you all chose aquatic names or those horrid puns that I'd pick one too? Please, I'm hardly that cliché. Au contraire, I am a trendsetter, and I happen to think my surface name is quite fetching, wouldn't you agree?" "I still think you should've gone with Ceph." "You shut your mouth!"

#shantae #not a quote #headcanons #lobster siren #empress siren #water lily siren #coral siren #tubeworm siren #anglerfish siren #octo siren

25 notes · View notes

maxwell-grant · 3 years

Note

You are your top 5 Shadow agents

I don’t talk about the Agents as much as I should, even though I constantly try to stress their importance, because I’m working on essays for them individually. To be honest, I think about the Agents practically every day to the point I have a hard time separating my headcanons from the actual canon material, but I have to stay true to it, and the lack of material regarding them means that the only way I can truly talk about their characterization is by diving deep into the novels and taking notes, which I don’t have much time to do, and then finding the right books or moments to talk about, which is even more difficult.

This by no means constitutes my big thinkpiece on them, but it’s a start, and ultimately narrowing it down was a lot harder than I expected. This order is by no means final, if you asked me this question next week or next month I’d probably have a different answer, but it’s the 5 that I find myself thinking on the most.

Honorable mentions: Jericho Druke and Myra Reldon, who are incredibly awesome characters conceptually and who have great moments each, and whom I definitely think deserve big turns on the spotlight if the Agents ever get put on the spotlight again, but are held back by issues with their presentation and lack of prominence. Margo Lane, whom only just narrowly missed the cut because, as much as I like her and think she gets an underseved bad rep and definitely has great things going for her, I sadly have to concede isn’t as consistently great or well-written as she should be. Clyde Burke, whom I definitely like a lot based on what I’ve read and consider an integral part of the line-up, but haven’t read enough of the novels he’s in to really solidify him as one of my favorites just yet. And Slade Farrow, who is a bit too complicated to talk about superficially.

Allright, so here they are

Number 5: Burbank

As the center of all communications within The Shadow’s network and the only character in the series who is even more mysterious and elusive than The Shadow himself, Burbank is fascinating and the kind of character who simultaneously seems to be both begging for an in-depth exploration and yet who also should be dead last on the list of mysteries about the series we want spoiled, because nobody wants the mystery ruined. He’s a bit of cipher personality-wise compared to the other agents, but he kind of has to be, and I think it helps to illustrate the many forms the agents of The Shadow can and should take, that one of them is this total mystery whom we know nothing about and yet is so vital to the whole thing. And it’s interesting also because, for all the many variations we’ve had on The Shadow’s life and thoughts and feelings and etc over the years, Burbank has stayed more or less the same. Whatever variations he’s had in design aside, Burbank just is.

The pulps did often have moments where we would get to see moments that told us a little more about Burbank, gestures he did, capabilities he had and didn’t have, little details Gibson would sprinkle in to keep people fascinated. Several scenes with Burbank are almost presented like you’re watching a movie, in the way Gibson keeps describing his face being mysteriously blocked from view by objects or lighting, like not even in your mind you are supposed to know what he is. And it’s all the more fascinating because, unlike The Shadow, as far as we know, Burbank is just some guy who’s good with tech, who was only recruited in the 2nd story but apparently knows The Shadow from before it, and whom The Shadow entrusted with virtually every secret necessary to keep his operations running.

It’s kind of a sign as to how utterly neglected the agents are that, to this day, few writers who’ve ever touched The Shadow has ever come close to giving us any sort of explanation or backstory or anything on Burbank, and I refuse to believe these people had that much self-control. Of course I have my own ideas for Burbank, but even I would hesitate to put them on a story, because Burbank epitomizes that double-edged sword that comes with a solid narrative mystery. Burbank just is, and hopefully he will stay that way.

Number 4: Dr Roy Tam

Mention of Dr. Tam meant much to Sayre. He was acquainted with Roy Tam, the Chinese physician. He knew that Tam was a power in Chinatown; one who worked for good

Unrolling a map, Tam showed the entire Manhattan area, studded with tiny dots in districts quite remote from Chinatown.

"These represent my outposts," he said soberly. "They are places, owned by Chinese - restaurants, laundries, curio shops, other places of business. In each of these places, I have a friend."

The Shadow understood. Dr. Tam was the motivating factor among the Chinese who adapted themselves to American ways. His mission was to create good will among races, to put an end to prejudice and superstition.

A newer and more sober spirit had replaced the old and dangerous festivities. Feuds in Chinatown were a thing of the forgotten past. Dr. Tam and his associates had done much to bring about the present sentiment; but there were persons - even among that group - who felt regret at the passing of old traditions.

Dr Tam is a remarkably layered character for one that only appears in about ten stories, and he’s one of the agents I’m most eager to discuss in-depth. He’s another one of those agents that Gibson introduced by tricking you into seeing him as a villain, as a Yellow Peril cliche, until he is revealed to be in fact a good man. Not just good, Roy Tam is presented as a powerful, influential and cunning Chinese man with a lot of assistants secretly working for him, and who is consistently presented as a progressive, pacifistic, benevolent civic leader and ally, even friend, of The Shadow.

Tam is very much westernized and the stories paint that mostly as a good thing, and this is one of the areas that I think could very much result in an interesting story that looks at the ramifications of his role, because of course not everyone is going to agree with his viewpoints, of course him being an advocate against superstition and tradition isn’t necessarily a good thing (and it’s not how Yat Soon, The Shadow’s other major Chinese ally, works, which puts the two at odds), and of course it’s a complicated situation, but the fact that Tam invites this kind of debate at all I think is something very interesting

Largely because of the movie, Dr Tam is one of the few agents of The Shadow who’s managed to sustain appearences in modern stories, and none of them have ever really went with his original angle as a powerful civic leader. Instead he’s been largely painted as either a scientist, like in the movie, a general practitioner, and a psychiatrist, and his age has been all over the board.

I prefer him in his original form but I also very much like the idea of Roy Tam being, like the Chinese supervillains he was created to be a subversion of, an incredible genius who’s got skills in all fields that can fit under the “Dr” part of his job and is also an incredibly capable leader able to unify splintered communities under a cause of unity and cooperation, someone who absolutely could be the adventuring genius so many other pulp heroes are, except he dedicates himself wholesale to his community and the fight against prejudice and the betterment of lives, even if he’s misguided or wrong at some of the causes he takes up. I really think this character could partake in really great stories if ever brought back.

Number 3: Cliff Marsland

(Fan-art by @cryptixcreations)

Cliff may have actually been the first agent I really fell in love with based on concept alone, even before I read the stories he was a part of and started loving all of the others. He’s one of the few agents who has prior history with The Shadow and we get ever so tantalizing hints at his background that we ultimately never get to learn about in full. He’s the resident tough guy and underworld contact of The Shadow, which in any other series might have made him the biggest badass and a loner action hero who’s too cool for things like thinking and relying on others for help. But here, trying to be that only gets Cliff into trouble, and circumstances gradually morph him into the series equivalent of a Team Dad.

He was one of the agents who we got to see develop as a character. As he appears more frequently past his introduction, he grows from a headstrong, careless jackass, mostly interested in the action parts of the job, who “resigned himself to an adventurous career with violent death as its inevitable termination”, into one of the most reliable and capable agents, taking the lead during action scenes but otherwise fully defering leadership to Harry, and being the agent most likely to partake in gunfights and rescue The Shadow out of trouble, joining in missions like infiltrating circuses or high-society clubs and forming very strong friendships with Harry, Clyde & Hawkeye, who almost kills a man with his bare hands when he thinks Harry’s been killed. He’s the hardass, square-jawed ex-con who plays the reputation of a brutal killer, and is in reality a great friend, ally and husband (Arline has sadly only been mentioned in three stories), on top of being an invaluable fighter and secret agent.

Cliff could have easily been the protagonist of a long-running series all his own and that’s one of my favorite aspects of The Shadow’s agents. They are people with agency, goals and dreams and relationships and lives beyond the roles they play, they all have strengths and weaknesses and faults and positives that bring them much closer to us than The Shadow could ever be, with no end to the variety of roles they can take, and Cliff in particular is a character I’m very attached to.

I do hope that he eventually found peace in a quiet life with Arline once his business with The Shadow was over.

Number 2: Harry Vincent

The Shadow as a franchise has been vastly worse off as a result of Harry Vincent being completely sidelined and mischaracterized in virtually every adaptation since, and the sheer love that Shadow fans hold for Harry purely may be the closest thing to a true universal opinion in the fandom.

Harry is a lot of things: the audience surrogate, the protagonist of much of the early stories, the leader of the agents in field duty, the dude in distress who gets kidnapped far more than even Margo, a hopeless romantic, an action hero, the one who gets sent to recruit agents because all The Shadow has to do is send Harry on an assignment and wait for him to come back with a new friend. He is a competent, resourceful, strong, extremely kind ball of sunshine who's got the potential for greatness, even if he can't see it.

And for this post I’m going to highlight this: Harry is, on top of all that, the ultimate embodiment of what The Shadow strives to protect, help and uplift. He is the living proof that The Shadow's mission has a good, positive effect in the world, long after criminals are brought to justice and plots are failed and victims are rescued, purely by the fact that he’s alive and helping others who were once like him. Someone who, despite having so much to offer, could have easily been swept away by the world’s callousness and cruelty, if The Shadow wasn’t there to rescue him and uplift him.

I liked The Shadow pretty much at first sight after seeing the character’s design and listening to episodes of the radio show, and my appreciation for the character grew after reading The Shadow’s Shadow, but it wasn’t until I encountered @oldschoolcrimefighters and her brilliantly informative writings on The Shadow and Harry that I not only fell in love with the series, but decided to do everything in my power to try and get other people to love it too and see the potential it has. I think a lot more people should at least be aware of why Harry matters.

Number 1: Moe Shrevnitz

I was honestly a bit surprised when I rounded up all of the agents to make this list and Shrevy here ended up in Number One, but in hindsight, it may have been obvious all along.

My reasonings as to why Shrevy is my favorite agent do get a bit too personal, especially because of something that happened to me as I was writing this post, so I’m putting it on a separate post here.

#the shadow #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #replies tag #harry vincent #moe shrevnitz #roy tam #cliff marsland #burbank

19 notes · View notes

hajimes-erect-ahoge · 3 years

Text

lovely. - Chapter one

Forget-Me-Nots. A symbol of true love and fidelity. Its blue petals are soft to touch, yet sting and scratch as they claw their way out of one's throat.

Falling in love during a killing game was less than ideal, but there was little to be done about it. All that Ouma could do was hack up delicate little flower petals and shove them under his bed, and inevitably elsewhere when they became too numerous, knowing that no one cared enough about him to visit him and spot the damning evidence.

After all, all is fair in love and war.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hanahaki disease is a fictional disease where, as a result of unrequited love, flowers grow in the victim's lungs. This makes it difficult to breathe, the victim coughing up flower petals until their inevitable demise. Of course, there is an alternative to this: There is a surgery in which the flowers are removed, as well as the feelings of love that the victim felt. If the unrequited love turns out to be requited the flowers will also cease growing, although this is rare.

ao3

Kokichi Ouma was many things: bright, intelligent, and mischievous. He had grown up without any substantial parental figures in his life, living on the streets with his group of pranksters that served as his found family. Dubbing himself the leader of this group of children, he proudly led them wherever the wind took them as they committed petty crimes, never doing anything that could actually be harmful to another human being. They may have been pranksters, but they weren’t animals.

And neither was Ouma. Murder was strictly forbidden amongst his group, as Ouma had decreed himself. Kokichi Ouma was a petty theft and vandalizer, not a murderer, nor would he ever be one.

So when Ouma found himself standing in front of a monochromatic bear telling him and fifteen other strangers to kill each other he was, to say the least, disturbed.

Ouma was also an incredibly selfless person. When they were out on the streets, Ouma did anything he could to bear the brunt of their adversity, even if it meant putting his life at stake. Even if he barely knew these people and had no attachment to them whatsoever, his strong disdain for killing compelled him to sacrifice himself for the sake of the group.

Now, sacrificing himself does not explicitly mean giving his life. Not yet, at least. Not when there were far too many other things he had to sacrifice first: his own safety and physical well-being, his happiness, and, above all, his sanity.

But, of course, he couldn’t tell anyone about his plans to do so. His innate distrust of others getting the better of him, he remained silent, waiting until he could be alone and develop his plan further.

For now, he accompanied the others in the underground tunnel they had found, seeking an escape route. He knew it was pointless from the start; There’s no way their captors would leave any means of escape for them, let alone one handed to them on a silver platter. But he tried anyway, if only to prove to the others that it was useless when they failed to believe him.

Akamatsu had quickly emerged as the leader of the group, encouraging all of them to step into the dark and mysterious tunnel presented before them. When they failed, she would give an inspirational speech that filled them with enough optimism to try again. This occurred again and again, the fact that this escape route was a dead end becoming more and more apparent.

Everyone was both physically and mentally tired, especially Ouma. Yet Akamatsu kept insisting that they try again, much to the dismay of the others. She must’ve been desperate to escape this place, and Ouma couldn’t blame her. However, her overly optimistic attitude of trying to hold hands and be friends with everyone was destined to fail, as would her plans of attempting to halt the killing game.

Ouma was a realist; He knew that the killing game would take place regardless, and he would have to incorporate that into his plan. If they didn’t cooperate and kill each other, their captors would find a way to coerce them into doing so. His only option was to try and stay alive long enough to flip the script on whoever was running this damned game, even if that meant committing some atrocious acts along the way.

Solidifying the implications of this in his mind, he turned back to Akamatsu. She was about to give another spiel about teamwork and cooperation and how they should try to escape through the tunnel again when Ouma cut her off, telling her to knock it off already.

Akamatsu seemed taken aback, completely unaware of what she was putting the others through. He had to admit, her blind optimism and compelling leadership wasn’t boring, at least. But he could only sit back and take this brutal torture for so long, being forced to cater to her desperate hopefulness.

When he explained that to her she recoiled, prompting him to continue, stating that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. While the others corroborated his statement, Akamatsu appeared to be on the verge of tears. He couldn’t show any compassion for her, as he quickly slipped into the role of the villain and vaguely suggested that they just go through with the killing game instead.

The horrified reactions of the others were abruptly cut off by the nighttime announcement, the Monokubz bantering with one another in an obnoxious manner. After the announcement, Ouma himself proposed meeting in the dining hall the next morning to discuss their current situation, to which the others agreed. While the rest of the group complained about having to sleep in the rooms given to them, Ouma chuckled internally. He knew he would be sleeping very little, if at all, as he was too focused on his plan to overthrow the killing game.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ouma paced in his room, trying not to freak out too much as the reality of being trapped in a killing game settled in his mind. He was being proactive about it, already forming a plan to ruin this horrid game, so at least he had that to comfort himself.

While the others had yet to acknowledge it, there was a great possibility that there was a spy amongst them, reporting back to Monokuma and aiding in the facilitation of the killing game. Because of this, Ouma had even more of a reason to trust no one, as anyone could be a potential traitor.

Blaming Akamatsu was the first step in a very intricate plan. This would create a divide in the group, caused solely by him. Being the source of that divide, he would emerge as an opposing force to Akamatsu, their leader. His plan was, essentially, to gradually solidify himself in the role of the villain, thwarting the plans of the others to work together while secretly forming his own plan to save everyone.

Acting as the villain served two main purposes: One, to isolate himself from the others and ensure that they would not be aware of his plan (including the mastermind), and two, to have the group unite against a common enemy, strengthening their bonds. All of Ouma’s actions would culminate in him revealing himself as the dreaded mastermind that hid amongst the group, allowing him to fill the others with enough despair to bring the killing game to a hard stop.

An additional factor aiding in his plan to pose as the villain was his facetious personality and astounding ability to lie. He would present himself to the group as a trickster, lying left and right in an attempt to throw them off from what he was truly scheming, with the added bonus of hiding his true feelings behind a fake smile. No one would need to know how much he was suffering or how much he truly hated killing, instead believing his grand lie that he loved killing and found this killing game entertaining. In the end, his true feelings were irrelevant as long as he could save as many of the others as possible.

Now that he had the general scheme of his plan figured out, he would have to get into the specifics of how exactly to make the group believe he was evil enough to be the mastermind. If they didn’t think he was evil, they would never believe his declaration that he was the mastermind, so he would have to commit as many horrible acts as possible in order to get his plan to work.

Deciding that his plan was getting rather complicated, he figured it would help to have some sort of place to keep track of things. It was the middle of the night by now, so he travelled to the warehouse of the academy to obtain some supplies in secret.

A few trips back and forth to the warehouse allowed Ouma to collect a whiteboard, dry erase markers, a handful of notebooks, pencils, pens, regular markers, and many other supplies. He also took the time to obtain printed out pictures of each of the other students, using magnets to attach them to the whiteboard. There, he would keep track of who killed who as well as his thoughts about the other students, though he left it blank for now aside from the pictures.

Deciding that it was too risky to detail his plan on paper, he settled for doodling dozens of childlike drawings to serve as distractions for when he started putting things down on paper for real. Eventually he got tired and fell asleep on the floor, refusing to sleep in a bed that was given to him by the same people that kidnapped and trapped him here.

~~~~~~~~~~

When the group met in the dining hall the next morning, Ouma was sure to bring up the fact that Akamatsu had gotten upset at them for giving up yesterday, blatantly ignoring how he was the first one to blame her. A few of the others rallied against him, pointing out exactly that, but Ouma just responded with theatrical crocodile tears, satisfied that his plan to unite the others against him was beginning to surface.

Appearing out of thin air, Monokuma came to announce the first motive: The First Blood Perk. This had the other students realizing that Monokuma was trying to tank Akamatsu’s plan to stop the murders, just as Ouma had expected. Regardless of that realization, a murder was bound to happen anyway; All that Ouma could do was distance himself from the others until he could execute his plan in full.

As Monokuma continued to spew his typical bullshit, the Monobukz also appeared, just as suddenly as Monokuma had. One thing led to another and the situation escalated, causing the Exisals to be taken out. Monokuma was promptly crushed by an Exisal, Ouma taking the opportunity to state that the killing game was obviously over now, but of course he knew that was false. If what the Monokubz said was true and there really was a machine that could create more Monokumas, that would only confirm Ouma’s suspicions that there was a traitor among them as someone would have to activate that machine. Now completely confident in his plan to thwart the killing game, Ouma exited the dining hall with the others, heading back to his room to ruminate on his plan.

~~~~~~~~~~

Monokuma reappeared the next morning in the dining hall, just as Ouma had expected. But what he announced to them next was something that not even Ouma could predict: the time limit motive. If no murders occurred within two days' time, Monokuma would supposedly eliminate all of the students forced to participate in the killing game. As panic surged through the group Ouma excused himself, paying no mind to the suspicious looks he garnered. In fact, he preferred those suspicious looks as opposed to any other, as they paved him the perfect path for his eventual mastermind reveal.

Being as intelligent and observant as he is, Ouma didn’t miss the specific word choice used by Monokuma when announcing the motive. Saying that he would eliminate all the students forced to participate in this killing game implied that there was someone amongst them who wasn’t forced to participate but rather had willingly joined, hence their role as the mastermind. This cemented the fact that there was a traitor in Ouma’s mind, causing him to be even less distrustful of the group.

Arriving at his room, Ouma wasted no time in locking the door behind him and heading to his whiteboard. He spent ample time staring at each picture and debating whether or not said individual had a possibility of being the mastermind, eventually landing on Akamatsu’s picture. There was a very low probability of her being the mastermind, though it was still a possibility, he supposed.

Ouma wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Akamatsu. Her blind faith in others and trust in them to work together was pretty annoying, but it was admirable as well. He wondered how far she would be willing to go in order to protect the others…

There was also that boring detective who was practically glued to Akamatsu’s side, clinging to her for support. The boy’s ultimate talent had caught his interest at first, but Saihara had turned out to be quite boring in reality. He could barely get two words out while looking someone in the eye, relying on that stupid hat of his to block his vision. The chances of him being the mastermind were low as well, Saihara being way too awkward and dependent on others for something like that.

The next few hours were spent by Ouma in his room, drafting out some inventions on pieces of scrap paper that he could potentially bring to Iruma. If she accepted his requests, he could have a remote controlling the Exisals that would help to back up his later statement that he was the mastermind, as well as some other helpful tools. He spent a good amount of time thinking of potential inventions, as well as fake ones to throw off anyone who happened to get inside his room.

Once he was done with that, he set about exploring the academy and searching for more clues. This was by no means a simple endeavor, as the campus was quite large. But over the course of the next two days until the time limit expired, he found some interesting things around the academy. The most notable of these being what seemed to be the code to a safe, the location of which was unknown to him at the time. Although he didn’t know what the codes were for, he had a feeling that they were a vital clue to the secret of this academy.

He searched all over, spending all of his free time investigating every nook and cranny of the academy. But it was no use; He was unable to find a place to input the codes he had found. Unsure of what to do with the mysterious codes for now, he placed them in the back of his mind, promising to himself to come back to them later.

The day that the time limit was supposed to expire started out particularly not boring, as there had been a scuffle in the dining hall. Hoshi was going on and on about sacrificing himself so that his killer could claim the First Blood Perk and go get help for the others, much to the horror of his classmates. Ouma remained unperturbed, however, heading out to the courtyard when things got particularly heated. If Hoshi had a plan to help everyone survive, who was Ouma to try and stop him? With the time limit just around the corner, he had other matters to busy himself with, such as trying to find a quicker plan to put an end to this killing game.

~~~~~~~~~~

For someone who bragged about how fun this killing game was, Ouma was truly bored out of his mind. Spending all of his free time alone investigating and spending his time with the others lying through his teeth about how he felt… None of it was the slightest bit entertaining. It was sick, twisted and cruel, just like this killing game they were forcefully thrust into.

When Ouma heard the body discovery announcement he was, unsurprisingly, in his room sifting through all of the blueprints he had drawn up. According to the announcement, the body was in the library, so Ouma put down whatever he was doing and headed there as quickly as possible. A nervous rush washed over him at the thought of someone actually being dead, but he couldn’t help but admit that he was curious as to who had bit the bullet.

Rushing into the library along with the others, Ouma saw nothing at first except for a group of the other students gathered in the back. He approached and saw Amami’s body, causing his blood to run cold. There was a copious amount of blood pooling around his head, his body lying limp on the ground. Ouma was no stranger to violence, his past having exposed him to enough of that, but he still experienced immense distaste at the thought of one of his classmates being dead. But despite his internal disgust, he plastered a bright smile onto his face, acting as if he were having the time of his life in this high-stakes killing game.

Soon enough, Monokuma appeared and handed out what he called “Monokuma Files” to aid their investigation, leaving as quickly as he showed up. Ouma quickly read it over, heading back into the main area of the school. Akamatsu was saying something about how everyone had to investigate with at least one other person, but Ouma ignored this. They couldn’t force him to stick with someone else, so he felt free to investigate as he pleased.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Ouma turned around to see Akamatsu heading in his direction with Saihara trailing behind. He gave them a cheeky smile, the mask he wore around the others prevailing as usual.

Akamatsu berated him for investigating without a partner, blatantly disobeying what the group had agreed on. Ouma laughed at this, acting as if he were having the time of his life being reprimanded by her. Next, Saihara came forward and asked Ouma what he was doing at the time of the murder. This caught his attention, as Saihara, as far as he knew, was never one to take the initiative when talking to others. Being with Akamatsu must have empowered him, giving him a temporary sense of confidence as he looked Ouma straight in the eye. Maybe Saihara wasn’t as boring as he thought.

After he refused to answer any of their questions truthfully, the duo gave up and went in search of more clues. Ouma watched them scurry away, feeling a bit jealous of their closeness before shoving these thoughts out of his mind. A killing game was no place for friendships or romance, he thought. Ignoring the crippling loneliness he felt, he headed off to investigate on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~

The class trial came quicker than expected, and Ouma could feel his heart pounding in his chest as they rode the elevator down to the trial grounds. With just one small mistake the lives of everyone still standing would be endangered, a frightening thought. They would have to be absolutely flawless in their deductions if they wanted to survive, though the murderer themself would still be executed. It was a lose-lose situation; Either way, this trial would end with less people than it started with.

When they arrived at the trial grounds, Monokuma directed them all to their assigned podiums. The attention was immediately drawn to Ouma as a result of his “suspicious talent” as well as his penchant for lying, but it was quickly brushed off. Suspicion bounced around from one student to another, Akamatsu defending each and every one of them in the pursuit for the truth. The revelation of the fact that the cameras had thirty second intervals before they could take another picture immediately directed the suspicion towards Saihara, who did little to defend himself. Fortunately for him, Akamatsu stepped in once more to defend him more fervently than she had defended the others, even lying on his behalf.

Ouma himself was pretty convinced that Saihara was the culprit and that Akamatsu was just in denial, lying to protect his innocence out of disbelief that he was the culprit. But when the shy and timid Saihara brazenly stated that Akamatsu was the culprit even Ouma was in disbelief. It was like a new side of the detective had come out, and although it had pained him to say it, he sounded more confident than ever when he said those words.

As the trial went on, Saihara proved without fault that Akamatsu was the culprit, along with many tears from the both of them. When voting time was upon them, Ouma reluctantly voted for Akamatsu. Not only were they losing another student, but they were losing their ever so optimistic leader who fiercely united them against Monokuma. She had entrusted her wish to Saihara, but would he be able to replace the void that she left?

Akamatsu’s attempts to kill the mastermind were noteworthy enough that Ouma deemed her as being “not boring” before she was executed, a high compliment coming from him. But although she was determined to expose the mastermind, the decision to kill that crossed her mind had essentially made her lose the game and play exactly into Monokuma’s hands. Ouma would be different; Instead, he would win this killing game and defy Monokuma’s wishes outright.

As Akamatsu discussed her motive for killing, Ouma openly chastised himself for being useless, to which Saihara immediately pointed out that he was simply pretending and to drop the act. Something about the detective’s mannerisms had changed, leaving him a new person, and Ouma was, to say the least, very fond of that change. He was intelligent, quickly catching on to Ouma’s lying charade and exposing his act in front of the others, and did so without remorse.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to his habit of lying, Ouma was secretly wishing that someone would come along that was able to see through his lies and realize his true nature. This, of course, would put a serious dent in his plans to overthrow the killing game, so Ouma reminded himself not to get too close to the boy. While he could admire him from afar, pursuing any sort of relationship was absolutely out of the question. Not that he was interested in someone like Ouma anyway, as he obviously was enraptured by Akamatsu.

Speaking of Akamatsu, she was about to be executed, which was sure to be another unnecessarily gruesome sight. Ouma’s final words to Akamatsu were that she hadn’t been boring, which he truly meant. After everyone gave their final words to Akamatsu she entrusted her wish to all of them, a wish that even Ouma took to heart, regardless of how he acted on the outside.

The execution itself was only a few minutes long, but they were the most excruciating minutes of Ouma’s life. Being forced to watch Akamatsu meet her demise in such a gory way was difficult, but he managed to get through it with minimal cracks in his facade.

Ouma stood there silently along with the remaining classmates, still in utter disbelief of what they had just witnessed. But regardless of how in shock they were, there was no ignoring the fact that Akamatsu was dead and they had to move on. Suppressing the swirl of unpleasant emotions he felt, Ouma smiled cheerfully as if nothing was wrong. He acted as a bystander as Momota punched Saihara for not dealing with Akamatsu’s death like a man, simply allowing the others to grieve as they needed to in their own, strange ways.

As for how Ouma would grieve, the answer was simple: he wouldn’t. He had no time to grieve as he busied himself with his mastermind plan, at least, not in front of the others. Shedding a few tears while he was by himself in his room wasn’t completely off the table, but Ouma had other, much more important things to do in the meantime.

Once he was sure that no one else was around, Ouma snuck off into the courtyard with a marker in hand. He quickly scribbled the code “horse a” on a stone in the courtyard in a perfectly diagonal formation, leaving space for the other letters he so intricately planned on adding later. After that, he headed to the boiler room and found a spot obscured by some plants, scribbling the code “twins b” on the wall. He then hurried back to his room, having successfully carried out this part of his plan.

Now back in his room, Ouma jotted down the words “This is not a will” on the back of an envelope, putting the important information regarding the codes in the envelope. He left it somewhere where it was sure to be found if someone investigated his room, not wanting his efforts to go without results. The probability that he would live was low, so it was essential to leave these clues for the others to aid them in their quest to defeat the mastermind.

Collapsing onto the bed, Ouma shut his eyes, but only for a few seconds. He couldn’t allow himself to sleep, as he had much more important things to be doing regarding his plan, but a few moments of rest did feel a bit relaxing.

So much had happened in one day, and Ouma was having a hard time processing all of it. Amami and Akamatsu were dead, and there was no bringing them back, no matter what. They had lost the mysterious boy who couldn’t even remember his own talent and seemed to know more than he let on, as well as the girl who united everyone against a common threat. Now that she was gone, Saihara would have to fill her shoes, however hard that may be for him.

After giving himself a moment of silence to mourn Amami and Akamatsu properly, Ouma got back to work, finalizing his invention designs. The night would be long, boring and lonely, but when was it not? He couldn’t afford to get close to any of the other students here, as that would only intensify the pain he felt upon losing them. But most importantly, he didn’t want them suffering if he inevitably lost his life to this game, pushing them away as much as possible so that they would shed no tears upon his demise. For now, his demise was only a possibility, but his plan could change at any moment depending on what information he was given.

Repressing all of his current thoughts, Ouma prepared himself to get back to work on his plan. He had no time to waste, so he busied himself once more, ignoring the faint itch at the back of his throat that persisted in bothering him. Paying no mind to it, he set about making another few dozen fake invention blueprints, completely ignorant to what the universe had in store for him.

#yay its here!#hehe #lovely #my writing #danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #kokichi ouma #kokichi oma #shuichi saihara #kaede akamatsu #kaito momota #maki harukawa #saimatsu #saiouma #oumasai

15 notes · View notes

nikkoliferous · 3 years

Link

Confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory and his looming inauguration as the next President of the United States has elicited a joyful response from large swathes of the press and across social media. Yet for those people who are aware of Biden’s politics and record, beyond the spurious ‘nice guy’ image projected by the media, and therefore understand what the implications of his victory are likely to be, witnessing the mainstream reaction to it has been a profoundly alienating experience. This feeling of isolation has been exacerbated by the fact that legitimate criticism of Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, has frequently been met with personal invective, as though it is an attack on the very being of those who are currently celebrating their win.

As Devyn Springer has explained, ‘the gutting of political education and virality of capitalist miseducation means that people offering valid criticism, analysis, and reproval are likened to “hating” and “not letting people enjoy things” in the stunted Amerikan [sic] political imaginary.’ Lamentably, the absence of critical thinking and political imagination in the US is also a feature of political discourse in the UK. Contrary to the idea that feeling no joy regarding the prospect of a Biden-Harris administration is driven by a mean-spirited desire to spoil the happiness of others, it is in fact a sentiment that springs ultimately from love and solidarity – a crucial distinction that Steven Salaita recently expressed with characteristic eloquence. The inability to feel any joy at Biden winning, even if simultaneously relieved to see Trump lose, is borne out of compassion for all the past (and future) victims of both Biden’s personal actions, and of the neo-liberal and imperialist politics that he so perfectly embodies.

It should be plainly stated that by any meaningful and honest measure, Biden is a monster who has caused an incalculable amount of suffering over his many decades as a senior official of the US empire. Given the length of Biden’s career, a comprehensive rap sheet requires a book-length study, but his ‘highlights’ include his central role in drafting a number of deeply racist pieces of legislation (including the infamous 1994 Crime Bill) that both exacerbated and consolidated the mass incarceration of Black Americans, and legislation that went on to be passed largely unchanged as the Patriot Act of 2001 that gutted civil liberties in the US; his prominent role in lobbying the Senate and the American public for the war on Iraq as Chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee; and his ‘unconditional, career-long commitment to Israel’ that has seen him develop close friendships with a number of fellow war criminals including Benjamin Netanyahu and the late Ariel Sharon, at whose funeral he delivered a eulogy. In short, Biden is a racist authoritarian at home and an enthusiastic and unapologetic imperialist abroad. On environmental issues, in spite of the hopes that liberals are already investing in him, Biden is little better. During the campaign he repeatedly announced that he will not ban fracking and his adviser on energy issues, who served as Energy Secretary under Obama, is a notorious lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry. It is alarming to note too that Ezekiel Emanuel, a member of Biden’s recently announced Coronavirus taskforce, has argued that life is not worth living beyond the age of 75.

In addition to the long list of sexual assault allegations he has faced, something that is rarely publicised or discussed outside of pro-Trump media, is the deeply disturbing fact that even when the cameras are rolling, Biden appears to be incapable of not smelling, kissing, groping and otherwise acting wildly inappropriately with women and girls with whom he comes into contact. Such is the incredible power of the media to continually re-invent and sanitise public reputations, that virtually all of this lamentable record is simply cast aside and intentionally obscured. Instead, Biden is regularly portrayed in a highly favourable light as a ‘decent, empathic man’ who supposedly stands in stark contrast to Trump. The truth, as articulated plainly in a recent interview by Evo Morales – the former President of Bolivia deposed in a US coup in November 2019 – there is really little difference between the two men and the parties they represent, except for that Trump’s racism and fascism is more explicit. All this does not even address the other elephant in the room: namely that Biden is evidently undergoing some form of cognitive decline, which, on multiple occasions throughout the campaign period, has left him unable to form coherent sentences and repeatedly slurred basic words and phrases.

It is telling, if not surprising, that many of those who have thus far publicly celebrated the election results with the most glee are those liberals who in their own words, cannot wait to stop caring about politics again. It was Trump’s overt racism, crude style and unpredictable theatrics on Twitter and elsewhere – the cause of such embarrassment to them and the US liberal establishment as a whole – that they opposed, not the actual content and results of his policies, so many of which were in fact a direct continuation of policies inherited from the Obama-Biden Administration, including the caging of migrant children and the much-derided ‘Muslim ban’. In fact, Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, one of his most criticised decisions internationally, was only legally possible as a result of earlier legislation that Biden himself voted for and was later supported by Obama. It is evident that for many of those who formed the so-called ‘resistance’ to Trump, their opposition to his presidency was not driven by the harm that it inflicted, but rather by the damage it caused to America’s reputation globally and the subsequent embarrassment and discomfort they felt.

A widespread concern among elements of the US establishment, especially early on in Trump’s Presidency, was that he would make good on some of the anti-war rhetoric he had occasionally deployed during his campaign and not be sufficiently imperialist in outlook. It is for this reason that Trump received perhaps the most unanimously positive coverage in the media on the day on which he authorised air strikes on Syria. No such fears exist with Biden, who, as though such reassurance was required, has repeatedly gone out of his way during the campaign to demonstrate his hawkish credentials on a host of foreign policy issues including his stance on China, Syria and Iran. Accordingly, The Guardian has already called on Biden to ‘reassert America’s role as the global problem-solver’ because under Trump ‘the “indispensable nation” disappeared when it was needed most.’ A sentiment that is a perfect illustration of John Pilger’s maxim that ‘the task of liberal realists is to ensure that western imperialism is interpreted as crisis management, rather than the cause of the crisis and its escalation.’

In essence, liberals are fawning over Biden solely by virtue of him not being as obscenely and openly racist as Trump. To do so in spite of his disastrous record and in the absence of him running on any meaningful policy platform or alternative vision brings to mind C. Wright Mills’ scathing assessment of liberalism from his work The Marxists (1962), which is relevant enough to quote at length:

“As a set of theories – or better, of assumptions about man, society, history – liberalism today is at a dead end. The optative mood has so thoroughly taken over that liberals often appear out of touch with the going realities. That is one reason it is so difficult to sort out distinctively liberal theories as such. Often failing to recognize facts that cry out to be recognized, liberalism is irrelevant to much that is happening in much of the world. Liberal ways of looking at these facts too often become mannerisms by which liberals avoid considering the structural conditions of social life and the need to change them. In fact, liberals have no convincing view of the structure of society as a whole – other than the now vague notion of it as some kind of a big balance. They have no firm sense of the history of our times and of their nation’s.”

Under Trump’s leadership, most notably at the height of the vicious repression of the Black Lives Matters protests in May and June of this year, the superficial mask of American liberalism dropped entirely, exposing the ugly fascism at its core. Biden’s win is undoubtedly the start of a concerted effort to lift that mask back up, restore America’s image and get back to the business of imperialism disguised as ‘global problem-solving’. Trump’s overt racism will be replaced with the more refined, tacit variety at which the Democratic Party excels, and his candid admissions regarding the true motivations behind US military action substituted with statesman-like messaging about humanitarian intervention and the international community’s ‘responsibility to protect’. That Biden’s Vice-President will be Kamala Harris, a half Black, half South Asian-origin woman – regardless of the fact her politics are as reactionary as his – will also be used to project an ostensibly progressive image of the incoming administration. All those who are committed to opposing all forms of racism and imperialism, of the refined variety or otherwise, must resist these dishonest attempts to portray a Biden win as anything more than an administrative reshuffle within the bi-partisan management of a genocidal empire that, whoever is President, represents a grave danger to its own people and the future of everyone else on this planet.

#us politics #joe biden #us imperialism

5 notes · View notes

border-spam · 4 years

Text

Troy HC dump

These span all eras and are valid for the Troy I write , some are 18+ so read more at your discretion:

Hugely into any puzzle / collection echo games (think puzzle and dragons), and uses them to relax very often in private. Finds puzzle games really destress him and help him sleep. Has spent an insane amount of money in them.

Keeps his own personal coffers and the amount he spends wouldn’t even be noticeable against his almost infinite wealth , but he’d be intensely embarrassed if anyone found out how much God King Calypso spends on gatchas.

Hair is naturally very thick, his iconic hairstyle was originally born out of frustration after going for a bandit mohawk, realising how much work that was going to be every day, then swiping it all forwards and hoping for the best.

Has v little torso hair but does pluck the patchy little bits he grows for the aesthetic, bitch.

Incredibly hygienic for a Pandoran, but more so with his oral hygiene than anything else. Had to keep a rigorous cleansing routine for the first few months after his jaw mod and just kept it up from then on.

Understands a huge amount of different languages, but not fluently. Leda taught him the basics of a lot of language cores and he can understand and read a lot relatively well. Cant speak or write them though, and keeps this skill close to his chest.

He’s intensely clever and realised early how useful it was to understand what sponsors were saying to each other in “private” by using another language during meetings with the twins. He’s turned having his intelligence underestimated so often into a weapon he wields with great skill.

His hand writing is atrocious. He can read it fine, but not even Tyreen can half the time. Almost proud of having his own shitty shorthand code he can use for notes.

Can count the amount of times he’s worn underwear by choice on his one hand since adulthood. Didn’t have any on Nekrotafeyo, and fuck it. Freedoms comfortable and let’s you have very low slung pants.

Very low slung pants are very good at distracting possible competitors/business partners enough during interactions to either cause them to slip up, or underestimate his cunning again. Either works fine for him, he gets attention, and the upper hand. Win win.

Snores really bad from a combo of mods and compromised respiratory system. Modded tongue tends to slowly extend the deeper his sleep gets, and he’s woken up with it over his eyes before. Will completely deny he snores, only Tyreen has heard it and she’s clearly lying, right?

Did most of his own piercings and barely flinched. Full on SOBBED after he pierced his nips. Sat on his bathroom floor for an hour waiting for the pain to pass while strongly second guessing his life decisions.

Gets extremely emotionally invested in classical music / soundtracks and falls asleep listening to his fave playlists often. Has nicer dreams when he does than if he doesn’t, and also feels like it helps boost his creativity while working. Doesn’t know why.

A combo of keeping his neck covered under the collar, and the scarring on his throat, has left it hyper sensitive when uncovered. A caress will instantly have him snapping viciously or melting into a gasping mess of goosebumps and shivers depending on who’s hand it was.

Super comfortable with nudity, his self esteem issues are focused on his body’s layout and the self perceived damage/disfunction of it, nudity doesn’t come into play at all.

That is, as long as his bracer is on. What’s under the bracer is the one part of his body he would be terrified of showing to someone he valued in a vulnerable situation. Any COV worshipper stupid enough to think just because they can touch him naked means they could try and touch under the bracer is going to really miss their hand afterwards ( if they are still alive to miss it ).

Would love to be able to play a musical instrument well but he’s struggled with any he tried before as only his existing hand is dextrous enough for one. Would really appreciate and treasure someone with the patience and kindness to teach him, but knows that would mean dropping the God King persona, and can’t justify damaging their reputation just for something that would make him happy.

Gets recognised instantly regardless of how he dresses or looks, which he loathes. There is no way to hide his height or build, let alone the markings on his face. Really misses being able to just wander and explore like he could in the COV’s early days.

Really, really, really loves food, but his ill health means he can’t eat the way he’d like and often has to avoid foods he wished he could eat more. God King Calypso is known for being exceptionally choosy about the food he eats. In reality, Troy just can’t trust a lot of the overly rich food he’s served.

Massively enjoys cooking in his Sanctum when alone, and would treasure doing so for anyone he sees as a friend. Has, very rarely in the past, and loved seeing how surprised they were that he’s not useless at it.

Solely drinks alcohol to get drunk, can’t really taste beer very well and doesn’t enjoy most spirits. He’s a functional alcoholic but would deny he relies on it or other drugs (he absolutely does) and blows off concern from medics as it being something he chooses to do, not needs.

Wishes he could smoke Pandoran weed but wouldn’t risk the damage to his weak lungs, tends to make tea with what he grows in his ship, shares it with Tyreen a lot. She can’t touch plants, so he has no problem doing the green thumb work and sharing with her when she needs to relax.

Unless their dad had thought it to them or they saw it in an echo show, then the twins had no grasp of basic social do’s and don'ts when they reached Pandora.

Troy would have no problem sitting in a merger meeting picking his nose while Tyreen scratched her ass in front of board members. They learned a lot of their social skills the hard way, having been asked to please, please stop by priests and saints.

Has never won a burping competition against Tyreen in his life. Is genuinely irritated by this.

Can’t dance. Can strut and pose, has a great sense of rhythm, just cannot for the life of him do anything dance wise. Please don’t ask him to it will end in tears (his).

Savant with numbers, sees them as patterns like his dad did. Thought everyone could till he met people on Pandora. Gets aggressively frustrated with anyone who he needs to explain his process for reaching a mathematical conclusion to, because they never get it.

Complete idiot tier for animals. Likes them a lot, just doesn’t know what any of them are and no one is in a position to correct him without risking embarrassing the God King publicly and having their neck snapped.

Calls everything he sees a Skag. Rakks? Flying Skags. Bullymongs? Arm Skags. Skags? “Those bitchin lil’ mouth dudes.”

Really enjoys art and has a beautiful defined style with spray paint. Dumbs it down for propaganda, but his Sanctum is filled with canvases that are experimental colour and line pieces. Very much likes working with holy iconography but tends to only illustrate Tyreen this way in his own time..

Spends a lot of hours in the Mechanicum and knows a lot of the Tinks in higher leadership position by name. Likes to talk engineering with them and feels comfortable enough to drop a lot of the God King persona and actually enjoy the conversation.

A Troy who’s excited and interested in a discussion is all twinkling eyes and gentle, eager smile. He often has to remind himself to shift back into persona mid conversation, and it can be quite.. sad.. to see him go from so clearly happy, back to an icy, scathing asshole.

Incredible at lying but cannot bluff for shit. Play any card game with him and he has instant facial tells (squints and sticks his tongue slightly out the side of his mouth when looking at his cards). Doesn’t understand why he could never win against his dad or Tyreen, probably never will.

Would never wear his reading glasses publicly, thinks they completely destroy his overall aesthetic and lines of his face mods. Won’t accept his’s wrong about this from anyone, though he personally likes how much more like himself he looks when wearing them in private.

Tyreen was so sick of seeing his ass crack, she was the one who suggested the overly tight belt that became part of his outfit. All his pants that are the right length are far too wide in the waist for his narrow hips. He could just get fitted ones now, but the low slung waist line + belt combo is part of his look at this point.

Incredibly high pain tolerance for almost everything, says he barely felt the tattoos and genuinely means it. The constant pain from the bracer and damaged shoulder joint has let him numb to most other relatively low levels of pain.

Is an amazing kisser as long as what you enjoy is the threat of being consumed alive. Troy’s mouth is a self designed weapon, verbally and physically, and he’s never been in a position to learn to use it tenderly. Doesn’t let worshippers choose to kiss him when bedding them, and is aggressive with it if he chooses to kiss them.

Would love to learn how to be tender from someone who cared for him and he felt safe enough with to allow his persona to slip and be vulnerable with, but as the years go on and the God King becomes more in control, Troy has become resigned to the fact that it’s something he will never have.

Very self conscious about his hygiene and showers usually twice daily if he can. Everything on Pandora is covered in sweat and filth, and he can’t risk getting infections considering the amount of open ports along his body. Really enjoys scents and has a surprisingly large collection.

Gets highly irritated with public displays of affection. Intensely, soul crushingly envious.

This gets dangerous late God King era as he becomes more and more violent. People have learned to be extremely careful to not show affection to each other in viewing distance of him at all, or risk losing a limb. Or worse.

Sex drive only gets higher as time goes on. For the first few years he much preferred pleasuring himself rather than interacting with the squalid heaving masses of followers throwing their bodies at him, but by the time of the God King era in later COV years, he can’t stand touching himself anymore. He doesn’t want to touch his body, and the God King is more than happy to let others praise it nightly instead.

Sleeps with huge cushions he brushes off as being for comfort, but deep down he knows its because their weight and pressure helps him not feel so alone.

Squints a lot and is known for scowling, but it’s mostly due to terrible headaches, not eye sight issues or his mood. The dark eye makeup helps with the glare a little but he’s noticeably paler than his sister due to the bright sun causing them more often than not and him preferring to stay in the shade of indoors.

Has kept every single thing given to him out of kindness. Will keep sugar packets if someone brings him a coffee with one out of concern for him looking tired. If he feels it was done because they like him and not out of respect for his title, he will keep anything he’s been given.

Most of the people who gave him these tiny things he’s kept.. well.. they aren’t around anymore (no one he’s gotten to know well chooses to stay very long ).. but he still likes to look through them sometimes when he needs to be reminded he’s possible to like.

The collection looks like a little box of trash to anyone else, but bar his old jacket his father made for him out of one of his own that he still keeps hidden away, it’s probably his most treasured possession.

#troy calypso #calypso twins #borderlands #borderlands 3 #bl3 #my writing #my hcs

150 notes · View notes

linkspooky · 5 years

Note

Fitzgerald, Dostoyevsky, and Agatha Christie were introduced to us as three antagonists in the same chapter. (Obviously Christie hasn't played a role yet but I think it's safe to assume she will.) But as far as Fitzgerald and Dostoyevsky go, do they foil each other? Where do you think their arcs will take them?

As antagonists and the leaders of their respective factions, both Fitz and Dos are foils in the sense that they’re a study in contrasts. Even the actions they take as they are introduced are complete opposites. Fitzgerald values money above everything else, and his first instinct was to simply buy the agency. Fitzgerald is like a general who leads from the front lines, whereas Dos is a rat who hides in the shadows and leads while scurrying around.

1. The Businessman and the Thief

His desires are pretty simple, money and influence should give him the power to change the world in a way he sees fit, if he acquires enough money nothing should be impossible for him even bringing back the dead. If he has enough money, there is nothing he cannot control, there is no tragedy that he cannot endure. In Gatsby fashion, he sees money as a means to an end to acquiring people the same way one would purchase an object that belongs to them.

Fitzgerald loves money, but he almost never hoards it. He spends it very easily and with little compunction. In fact his entire ability revolves around spending money as quickly as possible and basically wasting it to increase his own physical strength, because it’s not about the accumulation of money itself that he wants so much money for but rather the power it gives him.

Dos’s first instinct is to burn away all the money and jewels in Ace’s vault like they were nothing. Fitz is a businessman but Dos is a thief and that already puts them on opposite ends. The guild had an incredible reputation and was a powerhouse of information, and had manpower and resources. The rats are few, and they crawl around in the dark and steal and sabotage to survive rather than face others in open warfare the way Fitzgerald did.

If what Fitzgerald values the most is money and therefore that’s what he seeks to have power over, or to use to gain power, then what Dos values is “life.” What he wants is the concept of a pure life, free from sin and free from the world’s troubles.

So the same way that Fitzgerald’s ability wastes money, Dos’s ability is one that kills with a touch. It gives him power over life and death. Hence why Dos has a tendency to act as judge, jury, and executioner on the people he fights.

I would also argue that while Gatsby’s goal is entirely self motivated. He wants to get his family back, and the rest of the world can burn for all he cares. Gatsby may occasionally look kind, he may save people, but everything he does will only ever benefit himself in the end. Gatsby is like a businessman he acts to maximize profit and minimize loss, and he also considers those around him his own personal assets, possessions that are worth more to them than random strangers which is why he’s willing to raze an entire city for the sake of a few people. However, Gatsby’s self motivated ambitions are not something that makes him better or worse that Dos, simply opposite.

Everything Dos does is for the sake of the world around him. He commits crimes that he does no personally want to do, if he believes it will lead the people around him without a better world. If he creates the “world without the sin of ability users” it is likely that Dos will disappear too along with the rest of the ability users. Fitz carries the burdens of everyone around him, the guild, his wife, his dead daughter and acts as their caretaker which makes him cold to the rest of the world. Whereas, Dos takes on the entire world and the burden of it and that prevents him from getting close to anyone.

They also both contradict themselves and their own desires. What Fitz wants is to minimize the casualties the guild has to endure, (which is also what sets him apart from Mori who does not care if one of his executives dies because he can always find another one, and will even dangle them on a rope and threaten to let them fall if they fail him like with Akutagawa). However, because he cannot see the people underneath him fully as people, the guild falls apart under Fitz’s leadership and when that happens Fitzgerald simply runs away from all of that for a long while. Long enough for things to fall even further apart.

Whereas while Dos values life so much that he wants to create a world where ability users never endanger people’s lives, he at the same time recklessly mistreats life. He wants to create a world for children, but at the same time he expresses that desire he actively manipulates a child into killing herself in front of another person. Dos deeply cares about the world, but he also tends to choose ideals and the world he longs for, rather than the world right in front of him. He’s not trying to improve or even accept the world he sees right now, he’s trying to find a magic book to rewrite all of it.

They’re also opposites in their approaches. Fitzgerald fights people head on, and always leaves the most important jobs to himself.

Whereas Dos is somebody who acts from the shadows in all times, and leaves the most important jobs into the underlings he raises to be complete sycophants and worshippers of him. Unlike Fitzgerald who always acts personally, Dos always acts impersonally.

But the core of this behavior is the same. Dos and Fitz both want to be in control of everything, it’s just their methods of control that differ. Dos believes that he can plan out everything from afar and if he perfectly controls the subordinates underneath him, to the point of brainwashing them even or modifying them in some way, he will be in total control and his plans will go off perfectly. Whereas Ftiz believes if he uses his own personal money, and does the most important jobs himself then everything will be under his control.

Both of these behaviors stem from an inability to trust others. The people working under Fitz are not comrades, they are things he feels possessive and protective over. Whereas, Dostoevsky barely sees the people working under him as individuals considering how much he modifies them to be completely dependent on him. Fitz could have picked less of a risky strategy and instead let the members of the guild he had remaining fight by his side, instead of attempting a terrorist act and he might have won that way but he did not even consider that possibility because control would be out of his hands.

2. Seeing Others as Things

The greatest similarity is how as leaders they both treat the people underneath them as things which belong to them, rather than their comrades, friends of allies.

They are both in a way the same type of leader, because they are both charismatic individuals who are the center of their organizations, and who attract outcasts who end up rallying around them and devoting themselves entirely to them. The type of person they attract is ironically, the kind of person who wants to devote the entirety of themselves to some other person, or some other cause because they have no confidence in themselves at all. They latch onto Dos’ and Fitz’s self confidence. Their selfishness, and self driven motivations are exactly what attracts followers. They are both larger than life figures with their entire organizations centered around them and their impossible ambitions.

People find the ambitions and dreams of Fitz and Dos strangely compelling and want to see them make it a reality, even if they are as impossible as reviving the dead or purging every ability user from the world.

People want to feel useful to them, they want to be around Fitz and Dos because they believe they will make the best use of them, better than they can do themselves. They are both strong leaders who attract lost, directionless people who want to be led.

And the people underneath their thumbs tend to devote all of themselves to them. To the point where the world is centered around them. Louisa is timid, and generally good natured she even helped Lucy out of a bad situation with her orphanage, but she was also the one to suggest the city destruction plan to Fitz.

It’s because of this tendency that their weakness as leaders is how much they control the people underneath them. Even if they wanted to care about them and treat them right, ultimately they are only seen as possessions. Fitzgerald uses money to completely control the people underneath him.

Despite his best intentions, Fitzgerald ends up using people in the end. He ends up making decisions that he thinks are in their best interest. He treats them as assets and possessions because that is really the only way he can see people, after suffering the uncontrollable loss of his daughter he wishes to control others.

Fitz is geninely thoughtful of other people, and also tries to live up to them and be the best leader he can be mainly for the sake of the people around him. The deal between Louisa and himself he made is less Louisa selling herself to him and more of a promise between them, Louisa promised to be his subordinate, and Fitz promised to lead her. However, at the same time Fitzgerald can never let himself do anything truly altruistic he must always act in a way that benefits him personally. He’s not on the side of the weak, he’s not in a charitable mood, in the end he’ll always side with the strong and use power to control everything.

Which is why Steinbeck believes he has not truly changed, and wants to crush him. Because, the way Fitzgerald sees it it’s still necessary for him to stand above others, and until he lets go of the idea that the people around him exist for his benefit he will never truly have a friend.

Ironically, the ambition that both drives him and attracts other people to him in the first place are also the same ambitions that drives him away fro others. Louisa is close to an equal, but she still can only define herself as a servant to him, even if she’s a servant he treats especially well. The only one trying to become his friend also feels like he has to knock Fitz down a peg first before he can even become friends.

The main difference in both Dos and Fitz’s manipulative attitudes is that Fitz is in the process of learning to see others as equals, and make friends with his subordinates. He has people like Louisa who actually want him around as a person and want to work with him, and he treats them with respect in kind even while utilizing her for all she is worth.

The people who are closest to being his equals come from his total opposites. Steinbeck is a poor boy from the country doing things for his family, Louisa is a timid girl with no self confidnece or ambitions of her own to speak of, and yet because they both see Fitzgerald as a person they are capable of being his friends despite being so different from him.

Not only do Dos’s subordinates literally not comprehend his actions, nor do they need to they only need to follow his orders and he will just modify their brains if they don’t. Not only that, but Dos does not believe himself capable of even holding a conversation with someone unless they are of equal intellect to him.

Dos is one step beyond even Fitz because he does not work with someone unless he can completely control their lives in some way. Life and death, everything, absolutely everything has to be in the palm of his hands.

He doesn’t just control the people under him, he physically alaters them to the point where they are no longer themselves. They’re no longer human. Whereas Fitzgerald is at least aware of the personal hopes and dreams of his subordinates, Dos does not even allow them to dream, nor are they really privvy to his dreams.

For Dos nobody exists as his equal in his need to have absolute control, which is why so many of those associated with him in the decay of angels end up dead. He predicts their actions and reads them on the surface, but he forgets they are separate people from him with rich internal words. He reads them like they are characters in a play reading off a script, and he assumes they will have to act perfectly along the lines of the script he wrote.

Those in the decay of angels end up dead, and they are not killed by the enemy both Sigma and Goggol choose suicide. They willingly throw their lives away to Dos, because they did not want their lives to belong to themselves in the first place.

You can look at his failure with “Sigma”. He says his goal was to create Sigma a normal person, who would have the determination of a normal person desperate to live, but Dos literally never lets Sigma have a life on his own in the first place. He is mistreated his whole two years of life, he has no happy memories at all, he went from a slaver, and the person who saved him treated him as a possession to be used in the exact capcaity the slaver did. He owes everything to Dos because he has since birth been in the palm of Dos’s hands, and not a single thing about that is normal. The only thing that makes sigma normal is he does not have a special ability, Sigma could be a normal person but Dos did not let him live a normal life in any capacity or a life that belonged to himself. So of course he failed, because Sigma was trying to desperately protect a life that was pretty worthless to him in the first place. And he chooses suicide because he believes that life does not even belong to him.

Dos literally just cannot comprehend normal people having normal lives completely separate from his own, he cannot see them as individuals.

As long as he continues acting this way, Dos will not find the equal that he desires. There is no one who can become his equal, because one he sets the standard they have to be as intelligent as him and therefore if he can read and predict them he does not even bother engaging them or talking to them like normal people, and two those like Goggol who are close to being his equals end up always choosing to kill themselves in the end before they could get close.

Fitzgerald wants to value his subordinates, but to do that he ends up putting a price tag on them and only thinking of them in terms fo money. Dostoevsky wants to value human life, but to do that he ends up completely controlling everything in their lives, until the angels that surround him can do nothing but decay and fall.

#bsd meta #bungou stray dogs #bungou stray dogs meta #f scott fitzgerald #f scott key fitzgerald #fyodor dostoevsky #the guild #decay of angels #Anonymous #meta #metasks

119 notes · View notes

nessie-rp · 4 years

Photo

PHOENIX.

The phoenix, in its many forms and with its many names, is a spirit creature of which very little is known to the common person, even in supernatural spheres. Conflicting stories of their origins abound — that they are born when a falling star passes over the birth of only the purest of souls, that they existed before the earth was separated from the sea and will exist long after one reclaims the other, that the dragons breathed life into ash and from those ashes rose the first phoenix, and so on. None but the oldest phoenixes themselves know the truth of their origins, and even then it is rare that a phoenix will experience the memories of their first lives — rarer still for them to share such an intimate reminiscence.

Mythological touch points include: the Greek phoenix, Egyptian benu, East Asian fenghuang/hō-ō, Chinese Vermilion bird, Slavic firebird, Iranian huma and simurgh, Turkic konrul, Arabian anqa, the figure/iconography of Garuda in South/Southeast Asia, Chilean alicanto, Mayan Vucub-Caquix

HISTORY.

Mentions of a winged spiritual being with some mastery over life and death stretch back to 3000 BCE (see: Herodotus’ writings on Heliopolis, the then-capital of prehistoric Egypt). The ancient Egyptians even believed that the gods Atum and Re would occasionally take the form of a benu, a type of phoenix-creature.

This was not the last time a phoenix may have been worshipped as a god. Taking on an aspect of divinity allows for more influence over the moral leadership of a society, which is a phoenix’s ultimate goal.

It is said that phoenixes show themselves to mankind at important moments in history, but their reclusiveness in recent centuries has made such sightings scarce.

IN LYONESSE.

The phoenixes have no official position on the Hallowed Council, preferring to keep to themselves and work outside of politics. Their presence has been felt in Lyonesse for at least five hundred years, though it's likely they've been in and out of the city since shortly after its founding.

FACTS.

A common symbol of life, death, and rebirth, phoenixes are linked inextricably to this cycle. only under strict and often fatal conditions do they break it. They are among the most powerful, ancient, and secretive species of the supernatural world.

All phoenixes typically find a moral purpose to serve in their early lives, some kind of mission, and attempt to serve that purpose in all their subsequent lives. It is unknown whether phoenixes are compelled to choose a cause due to their nature or if their attempts to shepherd the mortal world come from a dictate of the first community of phoenixes. Many simply continue the cycle both because it has been so as long as the world can remember and as a way of coping with endless resurrection.

General characteristics of phoenixes include:

Reincarnation and pseudo-immortality.

While they are essentially the same being in each of their lives, the "mortal" lives that phoenixes live before awakenings affect their personalities, interpretations of the world, memories, and sense of purpose so they remain highly mutable beings. Phoenixes may not always take the same form in each of their incarnations. It’s common to find a phoenix that strongly resembles or evokes one of their past forms, but much more difficult for them to preserve their physical appearance exactly from life to life.

Phoenix births are extremely rare, as they can only be born from the union of two phoenixes.

Phoenixes age at a normal rate in each of their lives until the point at which their past lives reassert themselves, at which time aging slows or stops completely. They then then experience extended lifetimes of between 90 and 200 years, but remain mortal.

When phoenixes "die," their last breath is one of fire. Their mortal shells are consumed and their immortal soul, the firebird, seeks a suitable host to birth their next incarnation through a process of metempsychosis.

Absolutely adore sunlight.

Skeptical of reptilian creatures, including dragons.

Quite fond of greenery, very good at caring for plant life.

AWAKENING & AVIAN FORM.

Phoenixes reach a point in each life where their memories of their past lives resurface violently — this is the point at which phoenixes are the most vulnerable, as they experience breaks between reality and their memoryscapes and their other powers slowly reawaken. After their awakening, they have access to their avian form. These feathered creatures seem to be made of flame and plasma, though they are solid and interact as a normal living being would with the world. The fire of this form will only burn if that is the intention of the phoenix. Seeing a phoenix in their avian form can sometimes be interpreted as an omen of death.

When in this form, a phoenix leaves its human, corporeal, and mortal body behind, leaving itself vulnerable to attack as the absence of the spirit in the body would prevent them from acting to defend themselves. The bird rises from the body and can move without a tether; should the body die the avian form will not also be extinguished. This form is incredibly fast and strong, and has some control over natural energies, including heat, magic, and electricity.

ABILITIES.

ENERGY MANIPULATION. Even in their human forms, phoenixes have the power to control energy in various states, mainly through pyrokinesis, thermokinesis, and electrokinesis. Though phoenixes are not prone to using these abilities offensively, they can prove extremely powerful in a confrontation and are not to be underestimated. This ability is innate, but does not manifest until after the awakening in each life.

HEALING. Their tears have immense healing properties and are extremely sought after by magical healers. They also have innate touch-healing magicks, but the most potent healing ability comes from their tears. These healing abilities do not apply to their own injuries/ailments.

MEMORIES. Occasionally, when a phoenix encounters the same situations in different lifetimes, they'll get a very strong deja vu type feeling that may trigger flashes of that situation happening in the past and, occasionally, in the future. It is the only known instance of phoenix clairvoyance.

IMMUNITIES. Phoenixes are completely fireproof and impervious to mind-reading and glamours. They are also much more resistant to human diseases.

WEAKNESSES.

MORTALITY. A phoenix can be brought to a true death by another phoenix or if they die while submerged in water. The killing of a phoenix marks the murderer for the rest of their lives and beyond. Other deaths can come about by any means, but they will always trigger the rebirth as long as the fatal injury/sickness/etc. is persistent enough to overcome their healing abilities. Magical practitioners have tried to interfere with the life cycles of the phoenix before to catastrophic consequence.

MAGIC. They are highly susceptible to witchcraft in their humanoid forms. Phoenixes who are cursed in one life may carry the curse to their next life, depending on the strength and conditions of the curse (i.e. if the witch was trying to kill the phoenix, the curse would not continue past that first death). They have no way of knowing that they are cursed until their memories reassert themselves with the awakening.

CONTAINMENT. Their avian forms can be caged or held prisoner if confined within/with metal forged in either phoenix or dragon fire. The latter is much more common than the former, though still uncommon. If the avian form is kept away from the mortal body for too long, the mortal body will die but the creature will continue to exist, in a limbo of sorts within their reincarnation cycle until they are freed from the cage and able to seek out a new host.

DARK PHOENIXES.

Those phoenixes who fail to find a purpose, who do not make a positive change in the world, or who are more self-centered than selfless are said to have gone “dark.” Committing an act of true evil will also sully a phoenix, i.e. killing another phoenix, sexual assault, murder of an innocent, etc.

SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Burning contaminated firewood will result in atypical flame colors; similarly, the impurities in a dark phoenix's soul will be displayed in their avian forms as their coats will be striped with uncommon colors such as green, blue, and white.

Dark phoenixes undergo much harsher awakenings than their purer counterparts. Their memories are often much more intense and violent, therefore much more difficult to manage reliving. They are considerably weakened by their first few transitions into the avian form and may even be unable to access this form for a considerable amount of time after regaining their memories.

Dark phoenixes are volatile and very powerful, burning hotter than their counterparts in their avian forms. However, this means that they tend to have shorter lifespans because they “burn themselves out,” so to speak.

ORGANIZATION & SOCIETY.

Phoenixes do not tend to congregate or have any kind of species-wide organization. Due to their rarity, natural secrecy, and the unpredictable nature of their awakening, they are usually solitary.

Though they do not have a typical family structure but, on occasion, they can be mated to a member of another species and absorbed into their own group structure. If this is the case, they tend to gain more sociability and become less guarded because they have the added protection of a mate.

They strictly forbid writing down direct accounts of their lives, though there is no organization charged with enforcing this. Many suspect certain phoenixes have made this their moral duty, so as to preserve the balance, but no records of such a person/group exist, perhaps because they do their work efficiently.

INTERSPECIES RELATIONS.

Many phoenixes keep their identities secret from the world, masquerading as humans or witches. Reclusive by nature, the only species they generally mistrust are dragonkind.

Their feathers retain magical energies if removed, but it is considered bad luck to trade in phoenix feathers, no matter how powerful they can be for witches. Some groups consider them sacred. Phoenixes shed feathers naturally when in their avian form for long stretches.

To vampires, their blood tastes like ash and they smell faintly of burning carbon. However, it is a little-known fact that drinking the blood of a phoenix allows vampires to walk in the sun for a short period of time without facing any of its ill-effects.

MYTHS.

These things do not apply:

They have only an avian form. Through magic, they can access this bestial form, but they are born with human forms and the magical ability to flit between forms.

They rise from ashes. Would be cool.

Bathing in the blood of a phoenix can reverse the aging process. As yet uncomfired but likely untrue.

#phoenixes #species #nessierp #buzz #lore

1 note · View note

lovehaswonangelnumbers · 4 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/astrology-forecast-july/

ASTROLOGY FORECAST JULY

By Michael Lennox

July is a complex month. Not quite as intense as June, but almost. We move into July with Mercury retrograde, and Venus retracing her retrograde steps. We are still in the eclipse wormhole, and the New Moon this month is also a lunar eclipse. Mercury will go direct in the middle of the month, and toward the end of July, Venus and Mercury will wrap their retrograde cycles up on the exact same day. The outside world is being transformed mightily this year, but so is the internal experience of every person on the planet, and that discombobulating experience absolutely continues in the month ahead.

We start July in Cancer season, where self-care, and coming home to the Self with a capital S is the name of the game. This season is ruled by the Moon; moody, changeable, cyclic in nature, and deeply emotional. Cancer is the first water sign, so it is where we get introduced to our feeling mechanism, and where we get in touch with what our emotions have to tell us about who we are, and where we are in our journey through consciousness. This is where we rest, reset, and prepare to take on the world, but later on down the line, after the restoration is complete.

Right as the month gets going, we have the Capricorn Full Moon on July 5th. This is the third and final eclipse of what was one of the most intense eclipse wormholes we have ever moved through. As a Full Moon, it is designed for great release. Cancer is where we find restoration and preparation, and through Capricorn, we take our personal resources and offer them to the world. Capricorn energy is about climbing to the highest vantage point that our conscious awareness will allow; that is the true purpose driving the goat up to the top of the mountain. Consider how much you may have discovered while Venus was retrograde ways that you inhibit your ability to give and receive love. Let the power of this Full Moon help you release absolutely anything and everything that inhibits your ability to open up to more love.

Mercury went retrograde last month, and on July 12th, he will turn around and move forward once again. That means the first part of July finds us in this discombobulating cycle where the mind that helps us navigate through life is focused on the inner landscape. The third act of this cycle is where communication issues and other stuff brought up in his backward movement gets wrapped up. From the 12th through the 27th, we will be revisiting things that we may have bumped into while Mercury was moving backward in late June and early July.

Saturn will retrograde back into Capricorn after spending a few months in Aquarius. It’s as if the Great Teacher thought we were ready to move in the direction of a more caring world (Aquarius), but realized there were more structures (Capricorn) that need to be destroyed. On July 1st, he heads back into Capricorn, where he will join up with Pluto and Jupiter again, which happens in November; more change coming. On the 16th, he passes through a second Inconjunct with the North Node, which is the fork in the road the entire planet has been using to move away from the old world and into the new. In this way, July is one of the months where you can expect some more deconstruction of life as we used to know it.

The first lunation in a while that is not an eclipse is the New Moon in Cancer that takes place on the 20th. Setting intentions in the Cancer mansion are all about the needs of the Self. There is a tremendous amount of background energy in this New Moon, including an exact Opposition with Saturn, making this a moment to take radical responsibility for all that you are creating in your life, including anything and everything you wish weren’t happening. Mars and Chiron will Square Mercury as part of this New Moon, so we are informed by the wounds we are healing, and there may be some very challenging conversation to move through as we seek to mend a very troubled past, while simultaneously having to create a new future on the fly.

On the 22nd, we move into the Leo mansion, and self-care gives way to leadership. In the Leo mansion, we are in consideration of our personal sovereignty, and the power of creative expression. The force of the Sun itself (Leo is ruled by the Sun) is what we begin to work with in this mansion, and we each get to step into where that sense of leadership lives within each of us. The relationship between Leo and Capricorn, the sign where all the change and transformation is taking place, is the 150-degree angle that is sometimes called the Great Eliminator. As we move through this mansion, we are all being asked to lift our sense of Self up, while allowing outdated and outmode structures to fall away for good. Yes, more of that, I’m afraid.

In a very difficult year, there is one triple transit that is one of the saving graces for us all, especially those who are walking a spiritual path. Jupiter is all about expansion and abundance, but his ruling sign of Sagittarius includes the trek of the spiritual seeker. Neptune is the Great Spirit archetype itself. Put these together in the productive and creative 60-degree geometry of the Sextile, and we have a thread of energy that, if we pick it up and work with it, can deepen our spiritual connection in a huge way. In a year of so much chaos and change, the only real comfort we can generate will be through practicing radical acceptance of all that is occurring. And of course, practicing radical acceptance is easy and graceful, but only when we put our spiritual connection above all else.

The Sextile described above takes place on the 27th. Turns out, that is a key date for a number of reasons. Venus started her retrograde process in May, Mercury followed suit in June. And though they have very different cyclical timing, both of their cycles wrap up on the exact same date; July 27th. That is just wildly synchronistic, and ultimately, quite auspicious; heart and mind really being transformed in us at the individual level. Now throw in the fact that the only real helpful transit of the year (Neptune/Jupiter described above) hits on the same date, and we’re really cooking with gas. Now add one more little synchronicity. Mars will be going retrograde in Aries later this year (September). But his retrograde shadow, the first part of every retrograde cycle where the planet is moving forward over territory it will retrace three times in total, starts this month. And what is the date that that Mars shadow cycle begins? July 27th. More about that in next months’ forecast. But I will leave you with one of my favorite tropes: You simply can’t make this shit up.

*******

LoveHasWon.org is a Non-Profit Charity, Heartfully Associated with the “World Blessing Church Trust” for the Benefit of Mother Earth

Share Our Messages with Love and Gratitude

VISIT OUR LOVEHASWON DIRECTORY… ALL OUR PLATFORMS ACCESIBLE IN ONE PLACE ~ https://linktr.ee/lovehaswon777

Visit Our Online Store for Higher Consciousness Alternative Medicine, Products and Tools: Gaia’s Whole Healing Essentials

Visit Our NEW Sister Site: LoveHasWon Angel Numbers

https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/

Commentary from The First Contact Ground Crew 5dSpiritual Healing Team:

Feel Blocked, Drained, Fatigued, Restless, Nausea, Achy, Ready to Give Up? We Can Help! We are preparing everyone for a Full Planetary Ascension, and provide you with the tools and techniques to assist you Home Into The Light. The First Contact Ground Crew Team, Will Help to Get You Ready For Ascension which is Underway. New Spiritual Sessions have now been created for an Entire Family, including the Crystal Children; Group Family Healing & Therapy. We have just began these and they are incredible. Highly recommend for any families struggling together in these times of intense changes. Email: [email protected] for more information or to schedule an emergency spiritual session. We can Assist You into Awakening into 5d Reality, where your experience is one of Constant Joy, Wholeness of Being, Whole Health, Balanced, Happy and Abundant. Lets DO THIS! Schedule Your Etheric Surgery With Mother God Below, Including TWO sessions with a recommended donation of $88.88

⭐ Etheric Surgery with Mother & Father of ALL Creation ~ It’s Miracle Time! ~

https://www.lovehaswon.org/sessions/etheric-surgery/

⭐Crystal Schools for Rainbow Children:

https://www.lovehaswon.org/crystal-schools-for-rainbow-children/

⭐Schedule an Amazing Holistic Healing Session:

https://www.lovehaswon.org/holistic-healing-session/

⭐Call to Action Ascension Session:

https://www.lovehaswon.org/call-to-action-ascension-session/

⭐ LoveHasWon Clothing Line:

https://www.lovehaswon.org/t-shirts-apparel/

🌈 If you wish to participate, collaborate or coordinate with us on projects or services that are similar to the mission of Ascension for Mother Earth & Humanity, contact us. It is an Honor to connect with those of the Heart, in Unity Consciousness.

Love Always,

Mother & Father of all Creation & The First Contact Ground Crew Team.

Twin Flame Spiritual Intuitive Ascension Session: https://lovehaswon.org/lovehaswon-twin-flame-spiritual-intuitive-ascension-session/

Request an Astonishing Astrology Session: https://lovehaswon.org/lovehaswon-astrology/

Connect with MotherGod~Mother of All Creation on Skype @ mothergoddess8

Receive THE TRUE STORY OF CREATION, The Tree Of Life Book ~ https://gaiaswholehealingessentials.org/collections/higher-consciousness-transmutations/products/lovehaswon-tree-of-life-book

Receive The LoveHasWon Ascension Guide: https://gaiaswholehealingessentials.org/collections/higher-consciousness-transmutations/products/lovehaswon-ascension-guide

**If you do not have a Paypal account, click on the button below:

If you wish to donate and receive a Tax Receipt, click the button below:

https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/3676799

Use Cash App with Our code and we’ll each get $5! FKMPGLH

Cash App Tag: $lovehaswon1111

https://cash.me/app/FKMPGLH

Donate with Venmo

https://venmo.com/lovehaswon1111

Thank you so much for Supporting Our Gaia’s Whole Healing Gofundme Campaign

https://www.gofundme.com/f/gaias-whole-healing-essentials

We also accept Western Union and Moneygram. You may send an email to [email protected] for more information.

***If you wish to send Donations by mail or other methods, email us at [email protected] or [email protected]***

**** We Do Not Refund Donations****

MeWe ~ Youtube ~ Facebook ~ Apple News ~ Linkedin ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr ~ GAB ~ Minds ~ Google+ ~ Medium ~ Mix ~ Reddit ~ BlogLovin ~ Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Snapchat

#5D Astrology #Astrology Updates

2 notes · View notes

masterstrange-closed · 4 years

Photo

𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

These come from a mix of both Marvel wikis as well as some headcanons of mine. All descriptions that come from the wikis will be noted with a star symbol (*)

*𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑 / He possesses a vast mastery of the mystic arts; his primary magical patrons are a group of entities known as "the Vishanti." The Vishanti are a trinity of godly beings comprised of Agamotto, Hoggoth, and Oshtur. Although he has, on rare occasions, called upon the power of demons. At full power, he could kill a mortal with the mere twitch of a finger.

*𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐘 / His lifespan has been extended and his fear of dying subsided in a manner similar to that of his mentor the Ancient One, due to a successful contest against Death. Though he can still be killed and even physically wounded he cannot succumb to any medical diseases, nor does he age. However, he still requires food, water, oxygen, and sleep, same as a normal human. Strange passed a test by the Ancient One and defeated Death, or more accurately, accepted Death. As a result, from that moment forward, Doc stopped aging. "Death may come only from without, in battle-- and not from within." The Ancient One had once passed the same test himself and lived 600 years. From that moment forward, a glowing ankh appears on Doc's forehead when he is in a situation of great danger and his death is imminent, "when Strange most needs a reaffirmation of life."

*𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / Stephen can release his astral form from his body, instantaneously and at will. In this form he does not need to breathe, eat, drink or sleep, is unrestricted by physical laws, is invisible (though can be seen by any if he wished it so), intangible, and incapable of being harmed by all but the most powerful and rigorous of mystic means. As physical laws are meaningless on the astral plane, Strange is able to use it to traverse at virtually any speed desirable.

*𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 / At full power, Doctor Strange can fly using magical energy but has since abandoned it. (Presumably choosing to rely on the Cape of Levitation instead.)

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / He has the ability to conjure things out of thin air, places, beings, things. Their permanence varies on the intent.

*𝐃𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋 / The process of leaving the space of our universe and entering that of another one, accomplished by physical, psychic, psionic, or magical means.

*𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓 / The power to manipulate how other people perceive reality. This can apparently fool all five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Telepaths are also able to cast similar illusions.

*𝐃𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 / By performing mediation Dr. Strange has sensed anomalies in time and space allowing him to protect against time travelers, extra-dimensional invaders, space aliens, etc

*𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / He has the ability to mentally alter time. With this ability, one could travel through time, control the speed of subjects' movement, slow down foes, and speed oneself up. One with this power could even accelerate or reverse the aging process on any subject one desires. This ability may also include the manipulation of space as well in accordance with the time-space continuum.

*𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐒 / Stephen can channel the extra-dimensional energy of mystical and non-mystical beings in multiple dimensions (known as Principalities) to empower his spells. This can take the form of standard spells or just state what he wants to occur and channeling some being to make it happen. It is unknown at this time what debt, if any, he incurs by invoking the powers that be. There is no strict quid pro quo (as the simple acknowledgment and invoking of the entity increases the entity's own powers, inexplicably), though some entities will feel he is obliged to heed their call when they need help in their conflicts as did the Vishanti. This ability to be a conduit to multiversal power sources has given rise to the phrase "Dr. Strange is as powerful as the god he invokes." Doctor Strange's powers typically come from one of three divine sources: The Vishanti , the Octessence and other beings who owe him a debt. However, certain abilities of his stem from more obscure sources, such as the Faltine, the Seraphim, Cinnibus, Sheol, Ikthalon, Denak, Cyndriarr, Munnopor, Morpheus, Dyzakk, the Olympian deities (such as Poseidon and Hades) and others

*𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 / an expert in the Black Priests' ability to use language to distort reality, becoming even more capable than the Black Priests themselves in a short amount of time. Each "word” is a symbol which means "something." The addition of another symbol can change the meaning of that "something." Doctor Strange stated this method to be akin to replacement cipher. This way, he can distort the reality in different ways, depending how many symbols are said and in which order. Some of the features achieved by the use of Words include: Energy Blasts, Pyrokinesis, Cryokinesis,Organic Disintegration, Paralysis.

*𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐈𝐓 / By sheer force of will "take" the power of another entity. This does not require the use of a spell. He used this ability against Arioch and Shuma-Gorath. The fact that Stephen can do this is a testament to his incredible willpower and strength of mind. This is considered black magic and as such he rarely employs this. Also when taking the powers of celestial entities he absorbs the mind and assumes their duties and roles in the dimension in which they exist. If his will falters, he can lose all sense of self.

*𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍 / Strange was one of the world's most renowned neurosurgeons. His genius surgical skill allowed him to flawlessly perform extremely complicated surgeries with little to no mechanical assistance. However, the nerve damage he suffered in his car crash severely compromised the manual dexterity in his hands, preventing him from performing surgery except when temporarily supplemented by magic.

*𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 / Even without magic, Strange retains his medical knowledge. He has shown himself capable of providing reasonable guidance and is still capable of serving as a consultant.

*𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓 / During his studies which continued until recently Dr. Strange has gain expert awareness on cults and the extra-dimensional entities they worship, this knowledge as of yet far exceeds any on Earth.

*𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓 / Though Stephen seems to suffer from an impulsive nature, instinctively jumping into situations of life-or-death, it's apparent that he works best this way possessing considerable strategic skills, which has been employed in leadership structures, and spontaneous situations, all of which is a necessity in the random environment of Mysticism

*𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓 / He is a skilled athlete and was trained in the martial arts used by Tibetan monks in Kamar Taj, proving sufficiently talented to pass down such training to others. These talents have assisted him from time-to-time when incapable of using his sorcery. Strange is a formidable opponent to any skilled attacker and continues to train regularly with Wong.

*𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓 / Stephen achieved his MD and Ph.D. simultaneously at medical school, going on to become one of the world's most renowned neurosurgeons, and later proving himself equally prodigious in the study of mystic arts.

*𝐄𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐘 / Strange's photographic memory and perfect recall had originally greatly aided him in medical school, helping him to earn both his MD and Ph.D. simultaneously. It later has served him in becoming a quick learner in regards to texts held by the sorcerers.

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐌 / Although his native language is English, Stephen has become proficent in other languages to varying degrees over the years. These include: Sanskrit, Mandarin, French, Spanish and Nepalese

*𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘 / Stephen displayed considerable skill in swordsmanship, as he has chosen to craft a sword with Eldritch Magic to use as a melee weapon in battle.

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐒 / Stephen has studied piano since he was a child, and before he chose medicine, he wanted to study music. Encouraged by his mother, he played up until his hands would not let him anymore. He can tinker sometimes on occasion, but it’s not easy. He also self-taught himself guitar in Middle School and used to play it until the accident. Even having a small guitar collection for a time.

*𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐘 / Stephen can psychically communicate and read minds These abilities can be amplified by mystic energy and/or the Eye of Agamotto to afford Stephen incredibly powerful psychic abilities

*𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒 / He the psionic ability to move, manipulate and control a multitude of people and objects with the mind without physically touching them, especially over long distances. Depending on the user's skill and power, they may be able to levitate themselves and other objects (including heavy objects), and form powerful pushes/blasts and protective shields.

*𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 / The ability of Invisibility or Near-Invisibility and Phasing through solid material.

*𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐌 / A form of mind control that overrides the willpower of sentient beings, making them highly suggestible to commands. Victims often fall into a zombie-like entranced state while carrying out the hypnotists' direct commands. However, post-hypnotic suggestions can be placed in the subconscious mind of a victim, affecting their behavior even after they awaken from the trance state.

*𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / He can manipulate and control the elemental forces.

*𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / The movement of objects or elementary particles from one place to another, more or less instantaneously, without traveling through space. This also includes the portals Stephen and the wizards conjure to travel about.

*𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃𝐒 / He can shield himself or his allies. Doctor Strange is so powerful that his energy shields can even protect him from the full power of a supernova.

*𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 / The ability to change one thing to another.

*𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 / Stephen has banished many types of creatures and humans to other dimensions but the extent of this is only possible as long as the 'Banish-ers' magic is greater than that of the 'Banish-ees' magic during the banishment

*𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐒 / Energy blasts are various forms of energy that are expelled from the body. These can be of varying types- Either a beam of force, which has the effect of a blunt object in affecting its target, a beam of heat, or a magical beam which can have different effects depending on its user's wishes.

#𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 / headcanons.#𝐈 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐀 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 / about.#/ do not reblog.#/ personals don't interact.

2 notes · View notes

ariadnediggle · 5 years

Photo

re-uploaded ! thanks tumblr !

❝ Deceit is so natural; but a wolf in sheep’s clothing is more than a warning . ❞ KIM JI WOO? No, that’s actually ARIADNE DIGGLE. A SIXTH YEAR student, this RAVENCLAW student is sided with THE DOUBLE AGENTS ( DE.) . SHE identifies as CIS-FEMALE and is a PUREBLOOD who is known to be DECEPTIVE, HEARTLESS, and VENGEFUL but also WITTY, MOTIVATED, and CHEERY.

STATS.

NAME: Ariadne Persis Diggle NICKNAME: ari, baby. AGE: 17 years old. BIRTHDAY: September 27th. SEXUAL ORIENTATION: pansexual. GENDER: cis gender NATIONALITY: great british. POB: Oxford. BLOOD STATUS: pureblood HOUSE: ravenclaw WAND: cedar / dragon heartstring / 11” / surprisingly swishy. PATRONUS: unable to produce one but claims that it’s a penguin.

please read 2 the end 4 some connection ideas and spicy memes !!

IS A MONSTER CREATED OR BORN / THE CHILDHOOD.

The diggles on the whole, are a slightly out there family that never really made any sense.

the kind of pure blood family that people looked at, and wholly wondered whether those blood lines were … really okay. smiley, happy, carefree, but maybe a few gobstones short.

Dedalus Diggle, his son Dion Diggle, daughter -in -law, Cybil Diggle, all held such similar personalities to them. It didn’t mean that they were anything less than incredible wizards, but their personalities often overshadowed any individual merit they held.

They worked just outside of London in Oxford, but travelled to Wizarding London on most days for their day jobs, all three of whom worked in a selection of odd jobs from the doing something or other at the ministry, to being a wizard tailor. but all three ( mostly just following dedalus ) were heavily involved in the Order at some point.

Another thing everyone in the family shared was the eccentric names, so it was no surprise when Cybil and Dion christened their first and only born, Ariadne Persis Diggle.

unforutanetly, their naming habits wasn’t the limit of their eccentric behaviour.

To Ariadne’s parents it was so easy to misplace time, like the mad hatter, plans were lost or all together forgotten, they never got to anywhere punctually — - cybil would even go on record stating that Dion was late for their wedding ; their child birth. meme for reference

not that they would ever forget their daughter ; but they did. they left her places all the time; dragon alley, the super market, the forest. she got used to spending time by herself, ariadne learning to look after herself from a young age because she simply just couldn’t trust her parents to look after her. a

terrifying concept that a child would have to fend for themselves, cook for themselves; not because their parents didn’t love them, but that they just forget to show it.

part of this was because they were all truly different. ariadne wasn’t scatterbrained, she wasn’t forgetful, or flippant. she was dedicated & serious & incredibly intelligent. what other child by age 4 could cook for themselves? dress themselves? take themselves to school?

ariadne was a child genius ; a fact that their pre-school had to tell Dion & Cybil several times before they finally got the message; Ariadne desperately needed a tutor.

In fact, it wasn’t even the seventeen messages, letters home, meetings with the head ( all of which went dutifully ignored ) it was the fact that at the age of 5 — one powerful sneeze almost completely blew up one wing of the small school. and it wasn’t a request, it was a, “politely let go & no longer wanted at their ‘fine’ institution. “

it was at this point, dion and cybil began to see their own flesh & blood as being a bit of a pain / annoyed with how much upkeep it required to take care of someone so inquisitive. they tried not to convey this to ariadne. but ariadne was smart, and gifted

ventually, ariadne grew very against her family and what they stood for, but as such a young child at the age of 7, she had no idea how to express this burning inside her heart, so she hid her aggression behind a loving smile, and took out pent up aggression on bugs she found in the garden. tearing them apart, and looking up what she saw in her families dusty, never used library.

eventually, the diggle’s gave out and hired a tutor, and hired the first person they could find with little regard for screening the applicants to find the best fit. and so, they let a death eater and all the ideologies they carry with them into the diggle household. see,

after the whole kindergarten incident, word of the young diggle girl had spread through newspapers, and the inside talk of the other pureblood families, it had been noted with interest, so when the job opportunity opened up XYZ I GUESS THIS MIGHT BE A WC were more than happy to step in to act as the guiding compass in young ariadne’s life.

for the concept of a child genius, a young witch showing very strong potential in a wide array of magicks, was an interesting concept – and with such a gullible, malleable, manipulatable family? well, [ it’s free real estate meme !]

from the ages of 5-11, ariadne was tutored & trained in a wide variety of disciplinaries. along with this, a distinct hatred of muggles, a disbelief in absolutely everything her parents stood for, how her parents ignorance for her was how all order aligned people were. that they were ineffective; and useless, and whilst not necessarily the scum of the earth ( that was just mud bloods ) they had little to no use. but whilst they didn’t offer much, they were easy tools to be used.

she had tutoring to what was already 5th year material before she even started her 1st year, plus rudimentary training in extremely difficult types of magic such as apparition and legilimency.

it wasn’t tutoring; it was indoctrination, pure and simple. but they were kind, they were nice, they indulged Ariadne’s interest in learning and inquisitive mind, all the whilst feeding it the less than wholesome ideals that the death eaters had founded themselves on.

They also mentioned the fact that some people she would meet in life, those horrible, horrible people, were awfully bigoted against these blood purity ideas - the superior ideas - that they held.

They told her, when dealing with these “acceptance for all / muggle lovers” people, to keep quiet, keep what was said in lessons between the two of them, because in their words “ there’s no reason for you to go through the trauma we had.” but that wasn’t their reason, no, that was never their reason. They knew full well to get such a death eater loyalist inside the “other sides” ranks would be a feet that required years of predisposition and nudging into a perfect personality.

Even after Ariadne turned 11 and no longer needed to be homeschooled, she continued the lessons throughout her holidays, constantly having them topped up with the most recent ideology, constantly nudged like a pawn on a chess board into the perfect position.

And for all Ariadne’s brains, she was trusting, and easily controlled, for she was near-sighted and once her trust was earned, it was almost impossible for it to be destroyed.

She was sorted into Ravenclaw, inspired by her desire for knowledge, her inquisitive mind that seemed far larger than the rest of her tiny frame ( standing at a whole, 4’9).

But she was never really the best student, because she already could do everything that was taught, she lacked the challenge she was so desperately searching for.

But she couldn’t really find it ever at hogwarts, so she just often choose to not go to class in favour of going to the library to learn things she didn’t know. And whilst she did often do well on exams, the teachers would always end up docking her for her … less than sportsmanlike behaviour throughout the year. A plague to anyone who ever vaguely cared about house points.

But other than annoying other teachers, she wholly seemed to be a popular girl. She could never be found without her trademark smile, lopsided grin, infectious giggles.

She had such a sunny demeanour that contrasted so greatly with her rotten insides. She was friendly to everyone, somehow, only interacting with the muggle borns through an unseen gritted teeth, and glares every time no one was looking.

It also made Ariadne an obvious choice to join the M.A, said everyone with a resounding cheer. It made perfect sense!

She was from a family that had long been associated with the Order of the Phoenix, she was incredibly smart and great in a duel, and seemed to get along with everyone !

Ariadne didn’t know what to say, but agree to sign up, secretly writing an owl to her tutor under the cover of dark. They got her in touch with the heads of the D.E’s at Hogwarts and they came to an agreement, an arrangement. With her tutor to vouch for her loyalty, Adriane signed up for the Death eaters, a heavily guarded secret known by only a select few.

Ariadne personally loved the freedom that the flip-flop nature of her identity, the secrecy, the manipulation.

All in all, the war feels something of a game to her.

Much like how she is a pawn in somebody else's game, she feels a certain sense of control from being vested in both sides, that she has some sort of ability to manipulate everything as she sees fit, that perhaps she is playing the protagonist like in one of the stories she read growing up.

But in reality, she is still just someone else’s pawn, who will end up branded as a traitor, a wolf in sheep's clothing, no matter who ends up becoming victorious.

to people in the MA, ariadne is a very well respected, dedicated (and unfortunately trusted) members. to the DE she is ALSO just a member of the MA unless they’re in the higher leadership !

hi ! thanks 4 reading to the end, do i have any wc? you ask ! not really ! but here’s some concepts i’d love 4 ariadne !

- she can have so many friends ! just so many friends ! give her friends you cowards! - i feel like she’s been in a few relationships / all were quite innocent and ended on seemingly okay terms but maybe there’s an unspoken bad blood ! she’s cute and a pureblood, great for everybody ! - people who lowkey don’t like her or find her annoying / not that they doubt her alliance, but maybe some (lower rank) DE who think she’s a blood traitor or overly nice? or just anyone who thinks her smiliness is annoying. - .... . prankster partner ...... lowkey demon thinks it’s one of the easiest way to take her aggression out on people she doesn’t like .. .. - the ONE person who once really saw ariadne snap for whatever reason / very fun plotting possibilities !!!

#iidyintro #reuploading bc tumblr merced my old blog rip #feel free 2 ignore this there's nothing new just the same old memes !#negligence tw #abuse tw

7 notes · View notes

theresnoturningback · 5 years

Text

Dirty Little Secret [Marody]

Summary: Three weeks after the twins are taken, Violet and Brody get in a fight. (It’s super short so I won’t tell any more details, just read it)

A/N: I’d like to make a mea culpa. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about this ship and as conflicting as it is, I like it. Mostly because writing marody is a safe way to project my frustrations derived from some personal incidents. It’s weird to say it, but I’ve been feeling better after writing these two fics, I should probably talk about this with my shrink and not in the author’s notes... psh anyway, if you enjoy, please share.

Word Count: 1803

Morale was still low three weeks after the twins left Ericson, but after Marlon got the school hunting and fishing system running back again, there was nothing to do but keep surviving under his leadership.

The kids were slowly getting used to their new routine. There were gloomy days in which nobody would say a thing, but overall they were making a great collective effort to get back to their old state of mind.

Tenn was out of his room and eating again, under Ruby’s advice. Violet would often sit down at his table and watch him color. They enjoyed each other’s company. It reminded them there were still things worth living for. After a while, Violet started seeing him as the younger brother she never had and everytime she smiled at him, Tenn would think it was nice to have someone who reminded him so much of his sisters characteristic joyful personality.

They made it a habit to rely on each other like that.

Brody would watch every person’s dynamic from afar and in silence. After the events of the previous nights, she didn’t feel comfortable enough around her friends, and especially around Marlon.

Two weeks after their first kiss, she had been avoiding him as much as possible. Sadly for her, they had to interact a lot more since he came up with his plan to avoid the raiders. At times, he’d look at her with different eyes that brought immediate memories of their short time alone.She wasn’t really sure why she kissed him. She was mad she liked being like that with him and she hated the fact that she would kiss him again, if the chance ever presented itself.

One night, Tenn saw her sitting at the stairway that led to the benches. She was looking at her bowl of food with a conflicted look. The boy noticed a familiar loneliness in her eyes.

‘Hey Brody, do you want to sit with us?’

The girl looked up at him, surprised he was talking to her.

‘It’s alright, Tenn’ She faked a smile ‘I don’t think Violet would like that very much’

‘But you’re alone…’ He frowned ‘And we are feeling just like you, even when Vi doesn’t want to admit it, so…’

Tenn took her hand and pulled her so she would stand up.

Brody felt compelled to join him. She craved the social interaction anyway, and maybe it was a good opportunity to mend some bonds.

She was sitting at a table again, having dinner like she used to do.

Tenn’s natural kind-hearted soul made her anxiety vanish for a moment. It was as if nothing had happened.

Until she remember her reality.

She felt like apologizing to him. He needed to know the truth but she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone. And even if she could, the truth would only break his heart, and Tenn didn’t deserve any more pain.

‘’Hey...Tenn?’ She mumbled, unable to look at his eyes ‘About your sisters…’

‘Brody, no…’ He answered quietly. She glanced at him and his expression broke her heart.

‘I-I’m so sorry we couldn’t save them...’

‘You think an apology will bring them back to life?’ Violet’s voice behind Brody made her sit up straight, startled

The blonde sat next to her, waiting for an answer.

‘Of course not, but-’

‘You can’t just sit here and bullshit about how you couldn’t do anything while walkers ripped them both apart. You could have saved them. You and Marlon could have brought them back, if you weren’t such cowards, especially you’’

Brody’s chest started pounding again, all trace of peace gone in a second.

‘I know you’re hurt, but-’

Violet slammed her fist on the table making Brody and Tenn jump, and calling the attention of the nearby tables.

‘Fuck you, Brody, you don’t know shit. Don’t even think about sitting here again. Tenn doesn’t need any more pain’

The redhead grew silent as her quickened breathing blurred her thoughts. She glanced at the boy. His eyes went from her to Violet’s enraged features.

‘Violet, it was Tenn who wanted me to sit here’ She tried to explain, touching her shoulder.

A mistake she would soon regret.

‘I’m sorry. Are you deaf or just incredibly stupid?’ Violet pushed her off the bench ‘I said don’t come here again, we don’t need you here. You are not welcome here’

‘Do you really have to be such a bitch?’ Brody muttered just as loud for Violet to hear.

In a second, she found herself struggling against the blonde, digging her nails into her skin as an attempt to keep her hands from her face as they wrestled on the dirt.

Violet managed to grab her hair and pushed her head against the ground, making Brody see stars. She couldn’t get her off of her no matter how hard she tried.

‘Violet, stop it!’ Tenn cried.

Brody screamed out of pain and frustration. With a newfound strength, she pushed Violet off with one hand on her face and the other on her neck.

Their screaming alerted the kids who ran to help.

Marlon and Louis were the closest and were the first ones to get there. The two boys shared a look and quickly broke up the fight.

Violet struggled to get off of Louis’ hold as she kept yelling at Brody, who was still on the ground, with hardly any strength to stand up or yell back.

Brody’s nose was bleeding and she had pain all over her head and arms.

‘Take her inside’ Louis said to his best friend as he tried to contain a still enraged Violet.

Marlon nodded, kneeling down next to her and helping her up.

‘Can you walk?’ He asked, with genuine concern.

‘I’m fine’ She let go of his hands and glanced back at Violet before heading back to her room.

Marlon walked behind her to make sure she got there safely.

But she didn’t.

Five steps away from her door, she stumbled and held her head in pain.

He ran to catch her, but he was too far behind to do it on time.

She hit the floor, unconscious.

Marlon carried her insider her room and laid her down on the bed. He sat down next to her, waiting anxiously for her to wake up.

He tried cleaning up her bleeding nose with a small rag he found nearby

A knock at the door startled him. Louis peeked in.

‘Hey Brody…’ He couldn’t finish his sentence when he saw the passed out girl. He turned to his best friend, panicking ‘What happened?’

‘She fainted’ Marlon answered ‘Can you go get Ruby?’

After hearing the request, Louis was gone as fast as he appeared.

Seconds after, Brody woke up. The first thing he saw was the top bunk above her. Then she looked to her left and found Marlon, still holding the old piece of cloth in his hand,

‘Where am I?’ she asked, half conscious. She tried to sit up but she had no arm strength left.

‘No, don’t move too much...you’re in your room’ Marlon explained, helping her get in a more comfortable position ‘Violet kicked your ass out there, remember?’

A throbbing pain ran from the back of her head to her temples, making her wince.

‘Yeah-yeah, I remember now’

‘You really need to be more careful around Violet. You know she’s hurt and still you go over where she sits everyday and pick up fights with her’

‘I didn’t mean to fight, Tenn saw me and he wanted me to sit at their table’

‘And that’s another thing...You keep isolating yourself, from now on you’re going to sit with Louis and I’

‘I’d rather not’ Brody muttered, blushing slightly.

‘Why not?’

‘Because…’ She shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

Marlon frowned, trying to find some answer to her unusual attitude.

‘Is this because we kissed that one time? We haven’t talked since, at least...not like now’ He said after some minutes.

‘Can we please not talk about this now?’ She sighed ‘I’m tired and bruised all over’

‘Alright, but...If I have to be completely honest, I don’t understand what is happening, but...I think I’ve missed talking to you’ His last sentence left his mouth in the form of a whisper only she could hear.

She missed their conversations as well, and if she had to be completely honest, she missed him, too.

The way he worded his feelings didn’t help much, either.

She shut her eyes closed and breathed deeply, trying to gather some inner peace.

Her darting blue eyes met his and he felt his heart racing for a second.

During the past weeks, after the last time they were alone, he’d been having similar sensations every time he looked at her.

It was so much worse now that he discovered she was actively avoiding him.

‘Marlon’ She finally said ‘You can’t really think you like me...like that’

‘But I do’ He confessed without thinking it twice. He looked down at his hands when he realized what he had said ‘I can’t stop thinking about you...and us being, you know...a thing’

He looked up at her again and found her lost in thought.

‘I have been thinking about this a lot...and , I think I like you too’ Marlon smiled, relieved by her answer ‘But if this keeps escalating, you need to promise me nobody will know’

‘Agreed’ He leaned in closer to her, examining the bruises and scratches in her shoulders and neck. He brushed one of her small wounds with his thumb, giving her small goosebumps as softly pressed his lips against her shoulder and slowly made his way to her mouth. She tilted her head, waiting for him to close the distance between them. It was astounding how right it felt.

So right it felt, that their kiss soon led to a second one.

Then a third.

A fourth.

She opened her eyes for a moment when she felt his fingers tangling in her hair, tickling the back of her neck. She smiled against his mouth, welcoming the new,obscure sensation while tracing the angle of his jaw with one finger.

A ragged sigh escaped her mouth as she felt his body weight against her.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-’ He pulled back, afraid he might be hurting her.

She shook her head, pulling him closer at his shirt.

‘It’s fine-’ She encircled her arms around his neck ‘It’s fine, I-’ She paused to reflect on what she was going to say next ‘I want this’

Right as Marlon went on to kiss her once more, they heard a gasp and another voice in the room.

‘We can come back later’ Louis commented, jokingly covering Ruby’s eyes.

#twdg marlon #twdg brody #twdg marody #look ma im writing #twdg fanfiction

31 notes · View notes

sassyandclassy94 · 5 years

Text

“Secrets, Lies, and Blessings” (A SwanFire FanFic) Chapter 7

Chapter VII

~Eighteen months ago~

It had been roughly six months since Emma and Baelfire had met at Ava’s birthday celebration and ever since then they had been sneaking out to see each other as much was possible. They would meet in the forest at night and would talk and walk together.

They found one another to be good company; they could easily talk to each other and be themselves. When it was the two of them they were just “Emma” and “Baelfire” rather than “The Crown Princess” and “The Dark One’s Son” and they found it incredibly refreshing and were growing more and more attached to one another.

On one particular night, Emma headed out as soon as she had finished her supper. She had convinced her parents that she was exhausted after a long day and wanted to go to bed early. They readily believed her and excused her, much to Emma’s relief. With that, she had rushed to her bedchamber and quickly changed into her commoner’s clothes. She briefly told her lady-in-waiting where she was going, gave her an estimate as to when she’d be back, and again made her swear never to tell anyone about this. Eleanor hesitantly looked the other way and Emma was gone.

When she reached their usual meeting point she stopped and listened for a moment. It looked like he wasn’t there. “Bae?” she quietly called. She turned around when she heard a sound behind her.

“I’m right here,” he said, a little out of breath. “I’m sorry I’m a little late. I kinda got held up for a minute.”

“You’re fine,” Emma said with a smile. “You didn’t have to run. I could’ve waited five minutes.”

Baelfire held out his arm to her and she eagerly looped her arm around his elbow. They began to walk. “I’m pretty sure it's considered improper to keep a young lady waiting.”

Emma looked up at him and smiled. “Well, this young lady would’ve understood.” she replied as she gave his arm a light, affectionate squeeze.

They walked further into the forest before they came to a fallen tree next to a pond. They sat down on it and were just silent for a few moments before Emma started to speak. She uttered a small sigh. “You have it lucky, do you know that?” she said, breaking the silence.

Baelfire looked at her, puzzled. “How do you mean?”

“Well, for starters, you’re not a royal. You can do whatever you feel like. You don’t have to study foreign languages or know the entire history of all the realms and the entire surrounding kingdoms. You don’t have to memorize the order of the Royal Guard, let alone remember ALL their names. And you never have to be under constant supervision.” she let out a sigh. “What I hate most of all are the social outings and duties and attending the stupid councils with my parents. I have to be constantly on for everybody. I’m always expected to act a certain way at all times. I can’t be myself in any way at all and I hate it.” she inhaled deeply and looked down at the ground before looking back at Baelfire. “I’m going to tell you something that I’ve NEVER told anyone else - ever. Not even my lady-in-waiting, Eleanor…” she swallowed before continuing. “I’m the crown princess, the heir to the throne. What if I became queen tomorrow? I’m afraid that I don’t have what it takes to be queen and that I’ll end up greatly disappointing my parents…I didn’t ask to be born into this...” she looked at Baelfire. He was looking at her thoughtfully, taking in what she had just told him. Emma didn’t really know where all that had come from. She just found him so easy to talk to. Then she wondered if she should’ve in fact kept quiet.

“Well, for one thing,” Baelfire started. “You becoming queen is a LONG way off, so get that out of your head - even if - heaven forbid - something did happen tomorrow, you wouldn’t be queen until you’re 21 anyway, correct? And unless you became a terrible ruthless tyrant that executes without question, there’s no way you could possibly disappoint the king and queen.” Emma giggled at the point he had made. “I know you think otherwise, but they love you,” he went on. “And you have the same gumption and leadership skills as the king himself and that -”

“That may be so but I don’t have my mother’s kind spirit and soft spokenness.” she interrupted.

Baelfire turned so that he was directly facing her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “That is nonsense.” he firmly replied. “You were kind to me, weren’t you?”

Emma was taken back a little by his touch. It felt rather … pleasant, actually. She quickly snapped herself back to reality. “Everyone’s kind to you,” she answered.

“No. No, they’re not.” he said as he removed his hands from her shoulders.

“What? But you’re the kindest person I know!! How could anyone not be kind to you?” She asked incredulously.

Baelfire inhaled slowly and shook his head. “Not everyone is even half as kind as you, Emma. People may not know my face, but once I introduce myself, they immediately know who I am and try to get away as fast as they can. They want nothing to do with me if they can help it.” He was quiet for a moment before continuing. “It’s been like that for a long time. I’d try to join in with the other children and they’d run away. Now I try to start a conversation, or even try to help anyone, they push me away. I mean, I really can’t blame them. My papa has a reputation, he’s done terrible things to people, thinking that he’s protecting me. I understand that they’re only scared, but it just gets …”

“Lonely …” Emma finished for him and he nodded. She suddenly felt a twinge of guilt for complaining about her life to him. Yes, she had her problems too of course, but at least she had a family that loved her and a lady-in-waiting whom she considered more of a close friend than a glorified servant. He didn’t have any of that.

“Yeah, that too, but also frustrating.” he looked at Emma. “No one ever wants to take the time to get to know me. They think that just because I’m the Dark One’s son I’m automatically just as bad and as dangerous as he is. You’re actually the first person since then who didn’t run after I told you my name.”

“Well, why would I have run? It's never right to judge a person by the actions of their parent.” Emma said angrily. “Anyone who would actually take ten seconds to talk to you would see right away what a kind and noble person you are and that you are NOTHING like him.” Anger flashed her eyes. “Don’t pay those idiots any mind. They’re ignorant is what they are and are too blind and stupid to notice that something great is right in front of them.” She squared her shoulders and noticed Baelfire was staring at her. He was greatly touched by her words and how she had delivered them. He was also surprised. No one had ever stood up for him like she had just done.

Emma went on. “They don’t know what they’re missing,” she said shyly as she cautiously placed her hand on his leg.

“What?” he was slightly surprised by her sudden touch.

“Talking with you. Just knowing you” she answered, still looking at him. “These people have no idea what they’re missing out on. I know I’ve only known you for six short months, but …” she trailed off. Baelfire continued to look at Emma, asking with his eyes for her to go on. “See, as the princess, I’ve met a lot of people, many of whom I wish I could UNmeet…” she giggled and then went on. “But you? You’re like no one else I’ve ever met. You’re sweet, you’re kind, caring, considerate, and from what I’ve gathered in this short time, you’re also selfless.” she said as she looked into his teardrop-shaped hazel eyes. She continued to look him in his eyes and noticed that Baelfire too was also looking in her eyes. She suddenly developed jitters in her stomach. She nervously cleared her throat and looked away. “Anyway … I think what I’m trying to say is that …” she trailed off. How do you tell someone that you’re falling in love with them? And even if she did, what if he didn’t feel the same way? What if he only saw her as a friend and nothing more? Should she just tell him? Or wait? She inhaled deeply as she looked down at her lap. As she did so her hair behind her ear came untucked, causing it to fall in front of her face. She instinctively tucked it back behind her ear again.

“Trying to say what?” Baelfire cocked his head as he encouraged her to go on. He kept looking at Emma. She looked absolutely stunning under the light of their lanterns. He continued to look at her as he waited for her go on and finish her thought.

“Well … I guess what I’m trying to say is that I …” she paused nervously before continuing. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. Always have been and I’ve kinda prided myself upon that … and … well … you … you seem very noble. More noble than any so-called prince I’ve ever met.” she looked back at Baelfire. She badly wanted to tell him how she felt. Bae was like no one she’d ever met before, she was sure of that. She felt a connection to him, she had felt that ever since their first meeting during Ava’s birthday celebration. He made her laugh, he understood her, he always listened to her, he treated her like a normal girl, and he was respectful. Very respectful. When she was around him, she didn’t feel like the Crown Princess of the Enchanted Forest. Instead, she felt like so much more. She felt like a complete person, her own person. Being around him made her feel happy. Genuinely happy instead of irritable and moody. Instead of feeling trapped, she felt free. With him she felt like she could take on the world if she needed to.

Baelfire actually felt the same way. He felt different around Emma too. It was almost as if... his life finally made sense. Like he now had a purpose. Not that he didn’t feel his life had a purpose before, he always knew everything happens for a reason, but being with Emma made him actually believe in his heart what he already knew in his head. Being with her made him forget about how crappy his home life was. Around her he didn’t feel depressed anymore. He wondered if she was feeling the same way he was. He watched her as she studied the water in the pond in front of them. She looked so pretty. He suddenly developed an urge to kiss her, but something was holding him back. Was it because of who she was? Or was it because he was afraid she might not return the feelings. He didn’t want to ruin what they already had. Besides, what if she’s actually engaged to marry someone already? He thought to himself. Emma had never mentioned anything about a betrothal, but she WAS sixteen and of marriageable age, and being a Royal, it was all still a possibility. Many princesses were married off to other princes as to create or to keep an alliance between kingdoms. He didn’t really know too much about royals, but he at least knew that much. He wondered if he should just come out and ask her, but he didn’t want to offend her in any way. Just then Emma broke the silence:

“On a happier, lighter note… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried to play matchmaker?” she asked with a giggle.

Baelfire snapped back to reality. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Emma good-naturedly rolled her eyes and shook her head before repeating her question. “I said… have I ever told you about the time my mother tried her hand at playing matchmaker?’ she asked again.

“No.” he answered. He couldn’t help but wonder where Emma was going with this.

“Oh you have to hear this!” she exclaimed with an eye-roll and a giggle. “So, for my sixteenth birthday, my parents thought it a great idea to host a ball - which I never really want but I understand why they do it - anyway, they invited pretty much every neighboring and surrounding kingdom,” she rolled her eyes to emphasize the word ‘every’. She went on, “Well… there was this so-called prince - I don’t even remember what his name was - something posh sounding like William - anyway his name isn’t important. For some reason my mother thought it would be a good idea to introduce him to me. Somehow she thought he was ‘nice’, I don’t know why. I think she thought us to be a potential couple, but anyway, I took one look at him, and I knew he was NOT the man for me! No no! Ugh!” she shivered as she said ‘Ugh’. “I shot him down in SUCH a hurry, let me tell you! My mother couldn’t believe it! She said I was rude. The boy didn’t care about me at all, he was only looking to be the son-in-law to the Charmings and to hopefully create a lasting alliance with his kingdom. NO. WAY! I saw right through him in half a heartbeat and so did my father! Luckily he explained it to her and she immediately understood, but then she gave me this long lecture on how I, being sixteen, should really start thinking about marriage,” she rolled her eyes. “She thinks I don’t care about such things, but I do. Just … not like she does - or, did, I guess.”

“So … you’re not then?”

Emma looked puzzledly at Bae. “Not what?” Was he just not listening? She quickly thought and mentally rolled her eyes. Men!

Baelfire swallowed nervously before answering. “Not … engaged to be married?”

“Goodness, NO!” she exclaimed wide-eyed. She started to laugh. “Whatever gave you the idea of THAT?”

“I don’t know … I just thought that, your mother playing matchmaker, being sixteen and a Royal, that you -”

“Oh, NO!! No. no, no! Nothing like that! I was just sharing that with you because, looking back, I thought it was funny! See, my mother is a hopeless romantic, always trying to help someone find their true love and not caring if she makes a fool out of herself and -” she turned her head to look back at Baelfire and noticed that he was staring at her. Her eyes scanned from side to side. “Is - is everything alright?” she asked. This was a little awkward. Why was he staring at her all of a sudden. How long had he been staring at her? “Bae…? Are you okay?” she asked slowly as she stared back at him. She looked at his eyes and saw how the light from their lanterns reflected like little candles burning in his pupils. He has the roundest eyes, she thought happily. She had never seen such perfectly round eyes like his before.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered. “You just look so …” he trailed off nervously.

Emma’s heart began to beat a little faster. “So, what?” she prodded.

“Uh,” he looked from side to side and cleared his throat nervously before answering. “So … pretty,” he quickly spit out. “You just look really pretty tonight.”

Emma blushed and awkwardly looked down at her lap. “Stop that,” she said, embarrassed. Her heart continued to beat at a quickened pace. She tried to settle it down without Baelfire noticing.

“Why?” he asked as he cautiously and gently placed his hand on hers.

Emma’s heart jumped into her throat at his gentle touch. “Why? Because … because it’s …” she uttered an embarrassed giggle. “You do realize you’re talking to Princess Emma, right? And not Ava? Ava’s the pretty one, and I’m just -”

“Stop,” he interrupted her. “Just - stop. I’m - I’m telling the truth. You - you look - I mean, you ARE really pretty and …” he took a deep breath. The heck with it already! He was just going to come out and tell her how he felt. “Emma?”

“Yes…?”

“I’m gonna tell you something, and, well, if you don’t feel the same way then, just… just forget I said anything, okay?”

“Okay…” she answered slowly. She studied Bae’s face. She noticed that he was starting to sweat and that he was acting extremely nervous. What’s going on with him? She asked herself.

“I… well… you see… we’ve … been friends for what? Six months now? Well,” he swallowed and paused nervously. Just get it together, Baelfire. Be brave and tell her. He told himself. Why was it so hard to tell her how he felt? He trusted her so what was the big deal? He inhaled before going on. “Well … you … you’re really kind. And smart, and funny. You treat me as if I’m, well, anyone but the Dark One’s son. You don’t have to, but you do, and …” he trailed off and took his eyes off Emma, instead he looked at the ground.

Emma cocked her head and inched closer to Bae. She raised her arm and placed her hand on the back of shoulder. He looked back at Emma and saw that she was smiling at him. Something about her smile gave him the courage to go on, or was it her friendly gentle gesture? He wasn’t sure but he went on: “I - what I’m trying to say is… I’m … I’m growing quite fond of you, Emma.” He quickly finished the last part of his sentence. He meant what he told her, he only hoped he sounded genuine. He was just so nervous.

Hearing his last few words made Emma’s heart beat so fast she thought she might faint. So he DOES feel the same as me! She thought happily. She looked at him in his eyes. Oh those round, gorgeous, expressive eyes. Oh how she loved them.

The way she was just staring at him made Bae nervous. Maybe she didn’t return his feelings? Great! He probably just ruined their friendship. He sighed. “You don’t feel the same way, do you? I’m so sorry! Just forget that I even -“

“No!” Emma finally found her own courage. “No. What you said… I feel the same way. You are a special, and kind young man who does not deserve the hurt you’ve been through. You’re like no one I’ve ever met before and quite frankly, well… I’m growing incredibly fond of you too.” She continued to look at his eyes. Her eyes made their way down to his lips. She suddenly noticed how perfect his lips were. Not too thin and not too full. The way his bottom lip stuck out slightly more than his top lip. Why was she just noticing them now? They were the most perfect lips she had ever seen. They seemed rather … kissable and she suddenly badly wanted to kiss his kissable lips. She wished he’d kiss her so she could kiss him back. Suddenly she noticed Baelfire slowly leaning his head in toward her. Her heart caught in her throat. He’s gonna do it! She thought excitedly. This is it! Then she closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers. So sweet, so soft, and SO gentle, as if she might break if he kissed her too hard. The experience was absolute magic! She didn’t want this moment to end. She kissed him back and they pulled away. She opened her eyes again and drew in a deep breath as to keep from passing out. A lock of her hair came untucked from behind her ear again and Bae affectionately tucked it back for her. Emma shyly lowered her head and looked up at Baelfire. He was still looking at her, with admiration lighting up his hazel eyes. Emma continued to look at him too. It was weird. She suddenly felt her heart was going to burst. Not from fear, or a heart attack, but from something else. She’d never felt that sensation before and didn’t really know what it meant. Could it be love? Could a girl of only sixteen years feel love like this? Is this how her mother felt when she fell in love with her father? She just didn’t know. She smiled at Bae once more and opened her mouth to speak: “I … I love you.” She didn’t know where those words came from but she was pretty sure she meant them. Actually, it was almost as if her heart had spoken those words instead of her mouth.

Bae stared at her wide-eyed. Did Emma really just tell him that she loved him? She did! And she MEANT it! Why was he hesitating? He loved her back. Just say it back! He saw Emma biting her bottom lip and pleading with her eyes for him to answer her. “I … love you too.” He finally answered. He breathed out. That wasn’t so bad. He didn’t know why he even hesitated. He felt kinda like a jerk for making her wait so long for his reply.

With his reply Emma’s face lit up with the biggest smile ever. She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing if affectionately. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, returning her hug.

Emma didn’t want this moment to end but she knew it would have to. She hesitantly pulled away. “I really should head back home now though,” she said sadly.

“Yeah, me too,” Baelfire replied. “I’ll walk you home.” He stood up from the log and held out his hand to Emma, helping her up like the gentleman he was.

“Thank you.” She smiled up at him and eagerly took his hand and stood up. She looped her arm through his elbow and they walked back to the edge of the forest outside the Charming castle.

When they got close enough to the castle, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. As always, Baelfire watched to make sure that Emma made it safely through the castle gate before he headed back home. As Emma made her way back to her room she recalled what had happened that night. She couldn’t believe it! She just had her first kiss and she had shared it with Baelfire! It was SUCH a magical experience! She also kept wondering what that feeling in her heart was. Could it be what she thought it was? Could it be her heart telling her that he was the the one? She hoped it was. She wouldn’t mind giving her heart to Bae and spending the rest of her life with him. Why was she thinking like this? She never thought such sappy thoughts before. A year ago, she would’ve been content never to have a man in her life. But now? She kept thinking these thoughts as she walked quietly to her room. She opened the door to her bedchamber and to her surprise, there was Eleanor, sitting on her bed waiting for her.

“What are you doing in my bedchamber? And sitting on my bed?” She asked her lady-in-waiting.

“Just waiting for you to get home and making sure that you got home safely.” She said as she rose from the bed.

“Actually, I’m glad you’re in my room. Guess what happened tonight??” She excitedly asked as she began to undress and get ready for bed.

“Uhh… I don’t know! Tell me.”

“Bae kissed me!!!” She exclaimed excitedly.

“He WHAT???” Eleanor asked. Her brown eyes wide with disbelief as she helped Emma out of her clothes.

“And I kissed him back!” Emma’s voice was muffled as she slipped her nightgown on over her smock. “Oh, Eleanor, it was the most beautiful and magical moment of my life!” She added dreamily as she let herself dramatically fall backward on her bed. She sighed happily.

Eleanor wasn’t really sharing in Emma’s excitement. “Magical, huh?” She asked. “You do know what they say about magic, don’t you?” She put her hands on her hips.

Emma sat up and looked at her. “That it’s magical?”

“No!! That it always comes with a price.”

“Pfft!” Emma laughed at her comment. “Yeah! Real, ACTUAL magic. Not a KISS! Kisses aren’t actual magic. There’s no price to pay, you silly foolish girl!”

Eleanor rolled her eyes. “Just be careful, Emma,” she cautioned.

“Be careful?” Emma repeated puzzledly. “Of a KISS???”

“Yes. It may seem like no big deal now, but an innocent kiss can lead to not so innocent other things.”

Emma still looked puzzled. She wasn’t getting it. “Like…?” She prodded.

“Well…” Eleanor was starting to blush. “You know … stuff.” She used her eyebrows to emphasize the word ‘stuff’.

Emma finally understood what she was getting at and looked horrified at the realization. “Oh my goodness, EW!!!” She exclaimed. “No!! Oh, NO!! It was just a kiss! Neither one of us is ready for THAT yet!”

“You think that now, Emma, and I’m glad you do, but what happens if or when you two fall deeper in love? What then? You always need to remember and keep in mind that you two are NOT married. Therefore you have NO business getting intimate with each other. In fact, being that you two kissed, you should really tell your parents. Or at least the queen. You two can properly court and you won’t be tempted to do anything immoral.”

Emma still looked horrified. “No.” She said defiantly. “I am NOT telling my parents about Bae. They’ll just tell me I can’t see him anymore and I don’t want that.”

Eleanor looked at her annoyedly. Emma just didn’t understand. She sighed. So naive. She thought to herself. I hope Bae is who and what you think he is.

Emma looked down at her lap and then back at her lady-in-waiting. “I - I promise we won’t do anything like that, okay?” She sounded hurt and Eleanor suddenly felt bad. Emma had just had a wonderful night and she pretty much ruined the whole experience for her. Emma sighed before going on. “You know? I think … I think that I love Baelfire.” She said slowly. “He makes me happy and he’s really kind. I - told him that I love him tonight.”

“You did?”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head. “And he said he loved me too. It took him a minute but I think he was just scared. He’s really shy, you know.”

“Yeah, isolation will do that to you.” Eleanor pointed out. “You think he meant it?” She wondered if she maybe shouldn’t have asked that.

“Oh yes.” Emma answered quickly. “I could tell he meant it. I can tell when people lie or tell the truth, remember? Plus, he … ya know, I could tell he was really nervous when he told me how he felt - right before we kissed, that is - and he still told me. He was really brave. I found it really, really admirable. And he kissed me SO gently, Eleanor! He kissed me as if he was afraid I was going to break. I mean, this was my first kiss so for all I know, all men could kiss like that, but I don’t know! He - he seemed to kiss me like Daddy kisses Mother. Sweet and gentle.” She sighed. “I know I’ve always said that my parents are gross but … but I lied all those years. I’ve always wanted a man who would treat me like Daddy treats Mother. And … and I think Bae would treat me like that.”

Eleanor was quiet as she took in what the crown princess was telling her. Emma seemed excited about all this but she wasn’t so sure. She wanted to be, for Emma’s sake, but she just wasn’t sure about the whole “liking Baelfire” thing. Emma was sure and convinced that he was a good person who was as light as his father is dark, but was she right? Yes, Emma was always a good judge of character, but for the princess’ sake, she hoped that it was true and that her heart wasn’t blinding her judgement. She guessed that time would tell.

“Well,” Emma’s voice brought Eleanor back to reality. “I’m suddenly exhausted. I’d love to sit here and talk to you about my magical experience all night but I need some sleep!” She yawned as she finished her sentence and Eleanor stood up from the bed.

“You need anything before you go to sleep, Crown Princess?” She asked before heading out the door.

Emma shook her head as she snuggled in under her blankets. “No. I’m good for the night, but thank you anyway.”

“Okay then,” Eleanor replied. “I’ll see you in the morning when it’s time to help you dress.” She added as she stepped outside of Emma’s bedchamber and quietly closed the door behind her.

Emma watched her exit her room before stretching to blow out her lantern. She nestled back into her bed under her covers and closed her eyes. As she tried to fall asleep she again recalled the events of tonight. She thought of Baelfire and what he might be thinking at this moment. Was he thinking the same thing she was? That he had possibly found his match? His possible soulmate? She smiled as she thought of Bae. There was just something about him that made her happy. As she laid in bed falling asleep, she couldn’t help but wonder what the future would hold for the two of them.

Next chapter

Thank you so much for reading!!! And can I just say that I LOVE BAE & EMMA SO STINKIN’ MUCH??? Agh! #CoupleGoals

#SwanFire #EmmaSwan #Baelfire #PrincessEmma #Secrets Lies and Blessings A SwanFire Fanfic #CharmingFamily #EnchantedForest #Once Upon a Time #OUAT

9 notes · View notes