#unassailable

[faultfalha]

The blind Justice in the Lone Star State had the final say. It was clear that her ruling was unassailable and that even the luminous night of stars had stopped twinkling in anticipation of the immutable truth. The screaming night air, heated by the passions of a thousand wrangling voices, evaporated in a single moment--the voice of the law could not be denied. The distant thunder of a million dreams was silenced, and a few whispered words in the courtroom floated like a conviction on a still evening.

[clockworkreapers]

It was no lie... 3 billion alternians dead. And who's to blame? (first set here)

[backjustforberena]

Princess Rhaenys + the positions of power that were never hers and yet...

[ominouspuff]

boomshakalaka

[anghraine]

[For context, I'm an agnostic lesbian raised Mormon with some scattered Catholic influences from summers with my bio dad and his family. I have buckets of religious trauma and associations as a very predictable result, though not everything was terrible.]

So I was waiting for my best friend and his girlfriend to get home from dinner with my BFF's mother—this is the first time his girlfriend, who was a close friend of mine before meeting him, had met his family. Ash had gone downstairs to change and wipe off her make-up when someone knocked insistently at our door.

The doorknob is a bit persnickety so I rushed to let in my BFF, only to find myself facing down an unexpected but very familiar sight: young male Mormon missionaries.

me: Oh ... hi. missionaries: Good evening, ma'am. Would you like to hear news about Jesus? me: Um, I'm not—I'm a member, actually. I was raised in the Church. missionaries: Really? me: Yes :) I was the pianist for the primary in our old ward for years :) missionaries: Oh, what ward was that? me: St Helens. I didn't really go when I was in grad school and I just graduated. missionaries: Ahh, I see. Well, if you want to go back, [directions to the local church]. me: Thank you. missionaries, after a very awkward pause: Do you need any help with anything? me: Oh, we're... [*resists the urge to point out that the other household members who just happened to be absent are a Jewish atheist socialist, a devoutly Muslim bisexual post-colonial scholar, and an Exvangelical trans woman still processing her rage, and none of them would have the slightest desire to get help from Mormons*] We're good, really. My parents are the ones who would need help from the Church, I think, and they live over in [town], so their closest ward is actually the one in [other town] and they can reach out to them. Thanks, though :) missionaries: We could just leave our number with you in case you ever needed anything. me [very conscious of the temptation to call on the Church when a crisis strikes and I desperately need help, and how trapped and shitty I feel afterwards]: That's really nice, but I think we're fine. There are several of us here. I hope you have a good night, though! :)

[booasaur]

We love supporting Palestine...a state that would behead someone on no other grounds that they are gay!

It's true that violence against LGBT people occurs everywhere, but at least it's not state-sanctioned. Everyone who supports Palestine is a traitor to the community.

So this is your reasoning?

[swordofazrael1992]

i’m gonna be honest the notion that jean paul/azrael are bad at detective work/skills annoys me. they're not BAD at it. they're not PATIENT enough for it and find it boring. because of this they seem bad at it, but actually being bad at it and not having patience for it have COMPLETELY different characterization implications, imo.

from batman: sword of azrael (1992) #3

(see above) from one of their very first appearances jean paul is shown to be very adept at problem solving and logical reasoning, both skills important in detective work. and this is with practically no experience, beyond what was implanted in the system.

i do understand where people get the idea that they're "bad" at detective work from--it is stated constantly throughout the knightfall saga that jp/az, and i do see most of these as azrael character moments, are bored by/don't like detective work. but i think it's very important to remember the context of those issues. they're in the middle of severe emotional and psychological dysregulation, and have less capacity for things like slowing down and doing detective work. but that doesn't mean they aren't able to, especially when they're not in active crisis. and this is proven throughout azrael: agent of the bat. jp and azrael are not absolute expert detectives, obviously, and they're still impatient and immature in a lot of their casework, and rush into situations before knowing all the details. but they still display a natural aptitude and skill in detective work, something that bruce wayne comments on in his own narration about jean paul/azrael!

also! according to the azrael secret file below, they were barely twenty-one during the events of SoA 1992! of course jp/azzy are impatient and immature sometimes!

azrael secret file from batman: no man's land secret files #1

i just think it's too easy to say that jean paul and azrael are bad detectives when, in my opinion, the majority of that evidence is taken out of context (knightfall saga and the fact that they were in the middle of a mental health crisis) and also doesn't acknowledge the fact that they are early to mid twenties AT THE MOST, with VERY little actual training in detective work. or in anything outside of being a brute force assassin only used to kill and send threats.

am i saying they're good at utilizing these skills and actually doing the detective work? no. but i think that just saying "they're bad at it" is an oversimplification that can lead to the development of mischaracterization, or at least unfaithful characterization, of jean paul and azrael

[vegaseatsass]

Hello! I was contemplating this for myself, and grew curious about how it pans out for the rest of DFF fandom. (You can take "support" to mean whatever you want, this poll is really about vibes.)

[brotherbandarchive]

Jesper takes a deep breath. “The treasure room was completely unguarded, all right? I mean- all right, maybe there were a few men at the entrance, but they weren’t paying any attention to me. I found this old thing half-squashed under a pile of bird cages or something, thought I could sell the stones for a few kroner- actually, I thought they were glass at first-”

Thorn raises an eyebrow.

“I’m getting to the point, Thorn, don’t rush me. Anyway, long story short, one of the guards woke up, he caught me with the thing, he started screaming, the other guards woke up, and it turns out this old piece of scrap metal is a priceless coronet that got lost during the reign of their first king. They had this whole prophecy about it, you know? So I fix it up for them, polish it and everything, easy- and next thing I know, I'm-"

Edvin nods. "His Most Ineffable and Sublime Excellency Jesper the Magnificent, Grand Herald and Sovereign Arbiter of the Exalted Beryl Coronet, Illuminator of the Kingdom's Resplendent Virtues, Pinnacle of Majesty, Beacon of Nobility, and Lord Paramount of the Realm, whose Unassailable Honor and Incomparable Grace transcend the bounds of mortal comprehension."

Stig lets out a low whistle of amazement. No one is sure if it's because of Jesper's story or Edvin's memory.

“Well, diplomatic sallies should be a breeze now,” Hal says slowly. “We’ve got the Royal Beacon of Sublime Paramount or whatever you’re called on our side already.”

Thorn crosses his arms. “There won’t be any diplomatic sallies until His Most Inadvertently Regal Eminence finishes the dishwashing back at camp.”

Jesper sighs deeply. 

[indelicateink]

.

[leafened]

feel like a lot of child-adults (pathologically terrible roommates, people who solicit donations on less and less credible grounds, etc) aren't spoiled but are rather people whose sense of guilt was activated so often so early on that guilt became noise. they're terrible and they know it but the guilt levels have been the same their whole life and they can't imagine life without it

[tswwwit]

Hiya! I'm a bit of a newbie to writing billdip and I struggle the most with dialogue and generally Bills character. I really admire your writing and was wondering if you have any pieces of advice for writing Bill.

I am highly unqualified to give advice on this subject! But here's a few things that come to mind when I think of how I write Bill!

Bill kinda has three main settings: Disinterested, Excited, and Angry. Think of them like levels on a sound mixer, while also being very Impulsive and having an Easily Shifting Mood.

Bored but willing to keep up a conversation because it *could* get interesting. Engaged in the talk he's having, but annoyed enough to insult the person he's talking to at any chance. Furious and excited enough to start making really creative threats!

Dialogue-wise, he's either dismissive, upbeat, or pissed off. He loves mocking people, displaying his superiority, and implication and wordplay. If there's a way to slide in a jab he'll often take it! Puns are not off the table, especially if they'll get a disgusted look or groan. And if he's making a metaphor or comparison he'll often reach for something obscure or downright bizarre.

He's also very manipulative, and convincing. He's got charm to him and can use it - but he also tends to throw in double-talk while he's doing it. (think the 'All I want is a puppet!' scene from the show)

Another point: Talking directly about himself (unless it's to brag) is basically Not A Thing. He might drop hints, but you need a heavy-duty crowbar to drag out anything even slightly beyond surface level.

And that guy's never going to admit when he's having a negative emotion that isn't anger! The best you can manage - if you know him well - is to realize when he's projecting like a motherfucker.

I have also violated all of these vague rules multiple times and will again! So take my suggestions with several grains of salt.

[clockworkreapers]

the idea of sburb happening Aleph Null and then it goes up the chain of command to be like: "Um so... one of our inner empire planet colonies has just been destroyed in a matter of hours and we have no explanation as to why"

"What."

[weidli]

would be very funny to me to introduce a bunch of americans who are used to the constitution being treated as a gift from god that's very hard to change and is holy Because it's almost never changed and has been in operation in nearly the same form since 1789 to the way the swiss constitution (last total revision in 1999, there have been several hundred direct democratic votes on possible changes to it since 1848, all you need to suggest a change is hundred thousand people with voting power who'll sign the suggestion) works

[carolinanadeau]

[sukimas]

whenever i think in too elaborate detail about something in fiction the angel of ZUN appears in my head and says "always keep em guessing"