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lullabyes22-blog · 6 months

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Meta-Analysis-Rambles - Forward, but Never Forget/XOXO

My beta was going over the phone conversation snippet between Mel and Silco, and pointed out the different levels of manipulation, mind games and mendacity at play here. To quote: "He's taking every page from her mother's playbook, and she knows it, but she's still succumbing, and her failure is a strategic move on his part. But she can't stop it and the end of this is going to suck so much."

Which: yeah.

(I'm sorry?)

This is my way of breaking down the thought process behind this scene. As always, debate, critiques and comments are welcome<3

Tw: Narcissistic abuse, unhealthy power dynamics, dysfunctional relationships

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Confidential: State Files – Piltover & Zaun.

Memorandum of Encrypted Telephone Conversation

Subjects: Councilor Mel Medarda & First Chancellor Silco

Declassified and De-encrypted Under Authority of the Intra-agency Security Panel

E.O. 12596 Section 5. B(y)

Councilor Medarda: Chancellor?

Chancellor Silco: Councilor. To what do I owe this pleasure?

Councilor Medarda: I am told Viktor has returned to Zaun.

Chancellor Silco: Yes. Two days ago.

Councilor Medarda: I am also told he has taken up residence at Emberflit Alley. With a secondary base of operations at your headquarters. Is that correct?

Chancellor Silco: I suppose. Then again, my intelligence network is not quite as nosy as yours.

(She's already upset and he knows that full well. He's banking on it. And the first layer of mindfuckery begins. It's a subtle threat: We both know each other's secrets, so let's play nice.)

Councilor Medarda: Don't be disingenuous.

Chancellor Silco: Disingenuous? What I am is monumentally busy. You know. With all the work that comes from having a city that isn't under someone's boot.

(Now he's taking performative pot shots. Preemptively attacking to keep her off balance. But Mel's a savvy politician. She's used to this game. She's got this.)

Councilor Medarda: Yes, it must be tiring indeed. So tiring that you neglected to mention the Hexcore is now in your pocket?

(She dispenses with their usual dance. Straight to the point.)

Chancellor Silco: Is that what that Rubiks cube is called?

Councilor Medarda: Do not try my patience! It's no accident you kept the Council out of the loop. What does Viktor plan to do with it?

Chancellor Silco: From what I can gather? Improve the lives of Zaunites.

Councilor Medarda: And you expect me to believe that?

Chancellor Silco: Forgive me? Are you questioning my integrity—or his?

(It's a double-layered question: If you trust my integrity so little, why work with me? But if you trust Viktor as little, why the hell are you allying with him? She's fired off warning shots. Now he's putting a gun to her head.)

Councilor Medarda: Do not misunderstand. I hold great esteem for Viktor. But if the Hexcore is perceived to be under Zaun's control, it will rattle Piltover's investors. Already, they are expressing concern that Zaun's chem-tech will surpass theirs.

Chancellor Silco: The Hexcore is not patented by your city. Nor is Viktor's work tied to your jurisdiction. His liminal status as Fissure-native saw to that. He has always been at liberty to take his inventions anywhere. Why not home?

Councilor Medarda: Existential arguments will not matter once stockholders turn tail. We are a nation of ideas. Hex-tech is our lifeblood. Now you've taken one of our pioneers. The question is, why? Is this the beginning of a hostile takeover? Or are you inviting economic sanctions?

Chancellor Silco: Neither. It is an overture of friendship.

Councilor Medarda: Friendship?

Chancellor Silco: If your investors are afraid that Zaun's profits will outperform theirs, perhaps they should consider giving our businesses a whack. Better yet, start a little friendly competition.

Councilor Medarda: Do not make a mockery of this!

Chancellor Silco: Mockery? I am deadly serious. As Chancellor of Zaun, I welcome all trade.

Councilor Medarda: Then you admit it? You lured Viktor away for economic benefit?

Chancellor Silco: Lure? Viktor is not a rabbit. He is a grown man. He has dedicated years of service to the Council, and to Piltover. Surely, he has the right to choose where he spends the rest of his time.

Councilor Medarda: You mean the last of his days. His health is in decline. Such circumstances drive men to dire straits.

(Mel's got him dead to rights. She's calling out the true reason why he's enticed Viktor back to Zaun. And yet her disinterest in masking the language, as is her habit, is telling. She's rattled. Her personal life is intruding on her professionalism, due to how Viktor's departure has affected Jayce. She's also coming down off the high of hers and Silco's recent détente, and now has to reckon with the fact that she's put her trust in someone she shouldn't have.)

(She's angry and vulnerable. Which is exactly what Silco wants.)

Chancellor Silco: And that's where we must differ.

Councilor Medarda: What do you mean?

Chancellor Silco: Only that his mind is sharp. And the rest of him, still young. One may yet salvage the other.

Councilor Medarda: Do you realize the furor this has caused? Already, the Council are up in arms! The move will cut holes in our coffers. Coffers that, since Zaun's separation, are already hemorrhaging gold!

Chancellor Silco: I have made it no secret that Piltover must loosen its chokehold on the markets. What you decry as hemorrhage, I see as a balancing of scales.

Councilor Medarda: I have worked tirelessly to ensure that Piltover is a source of economic stability in Runeterra. A place where foreign traders can find new beginnings. You would risk decades of my effort with the stroke of your pen?

Chancellor Silco: If your stability came at our expense? Then: yes.

(And here's the crux of the conversation. And indeed, the crux of FnF. Revolution is about equity. About redistributing the wealth, the power, the resources. About dismantling the systems that maintain the status quo, and making the system itself more equitable. Silco, for all his villain-coded awfulness, has only ever wanted this. But his means are ruthless and leave bodies in their wake. And Mel, for all her hero-coded goodness, has always resisted it. Her means are to finesse deals and arrive at compromises where the big guys stay happy but the little guy drowns. They both want the same thing, but the only way to make it happen is if someone's hand is forced. They keep pushing each other’s buttons, trying to make the other give.)

(Thus far, Mel has held the cards. She's cleverer at this game: blessed with an education and resources. Her connections have given her every advantage, and she's not above using them against Silco, who has grown up quick but hugely underprivileged. Now Silco has begun to understand the core of her neurosis: her self-worth. He's got a daughter who suffers similarly. So he weaponizes the knowledge, bypassing Mel's cleverness by striking at the heart of her vulnerabilities.)

(And it works.)

("Power, real power, doesn't come to those who are born strongest, or fastest, or smartest. No: it comes to those who will do anything to achieve it.")

Councilor Medarda: Our partnership is mutually beneficial. To throw it away for petty conceit—

Chancellor Silco: But who benefits more? A war-gutted backwater finding its feet? Or a nation that sits upon the pinnacle of progress?

Councilor Medarda: It was my belief that you wanted Zaun to succeed. That you were working toward the same ends as I.

Chancellor Silco: I am.

Councilor Medarda: And yet you have taken advantage of Viktor's deteriorating health! He would never have returned had you not swayed him!

Chancellor Silco: The way you talk, it's like you think I slithered up from the depths, and hypnotized him with a bag of candy in my hand. With such paternalism, is it any wonder he left? Or did you pay him with head-pats and gold stars during his tenure as Hex-tech cofounder?

(The irony of this narcissistic asshattery is twofold. They both deploy charm offensives to turn people into instruments of gratification. But their methods are different. Silco uses a combination of fear and coercion, while Mel's is softer and sweeter. Both are selfish. Neither of them respects Viktor's agency as a human being. He is on the platter as a morsel, and they're both bickering over who has the right to eat him.)

(But now there's a difference.)

(Silco's consumption is rooted in nationalistic fervor and self-righteous indignation. Mel's is a result of her need to smooth troubled waters and keep her city financially afloat. In this case, she has no ulterior motives. Silco has nothing but. And he's killing two birds with one stone: reminding her that she's not infallible, while also reminding her that her city's success is contingent on the Undercity's resources, and the resourcefulness of its people.)

(That's her Achilles heel, and he's going for the tendons.)

Councilor Medarda: If this snideness is a demonstration of your sincerity, then I will bid you goodnight.

Chancellor Silco: You may bid me whatever you wish. The fact remains that Viktor is free to move as he chooses. We spoke during the gala. I told him—plainly—that the doors of his hometown would remain open. And that, if he contributed to Zaun's development, he would have a seat at the table. He made his own choice. If his convictions are at odds with Piltover, it is because your agenda had no interest in including him.

(And comes the knife in the gut. He's turned the tables. Now he's reminding her that her city has its own blind spots, its own biases, and its own hubris. In point of fact, Piltover has not treated Viktor well. He's been the silent, self-effacing force behind their prosperity. A silent partner, and silently suffering as his health deteriorates.)

(Silco's using that for his own ends. He's also laying out the groundwork for his final salvo: his Four Horsemen. He wants Piltover close as close, with their finances inextricably linked, so he can watch them suffer once he tears it all down.)

Councilor Medarda: I am at pains to point out that an open door proves the most successful enticement of all. You lay your choicest cards on the table, and wait for the opponent to make the gamble.

(He's the enemy. She's reminding herself of that. Her language has become that of warfare, rather than the language of diplomacy. And yet, in standing her ground, she's slipping. Her political intelligence is being clouded by her emotional wounds.)

(This is his doing. She's fighting his war now, not her own.)

Chancellor Silco: I am also, as you take pains to note, a zealot. I believe in Zaun. I believe in the Fissurefolk. Viktor is the greatest living example of our potential. He has contributed immeasurably to Piltover's success. Now, he has returned where he's needed. If Piltover is as great as you claim, it can bloody well manage without him.

Councilor Medarda: The Hexcore is integral to our projects! It was created in Piltover!

Chancellor Silco: Now Zaun will repurpose it.

Councilor Medarda: So you admit it? Your goal is to destabilize our markets?

(Mel's trying to wrest the gun away and point it at his head. But her aim's not good enough. It's too close. Too messy. It doesn't pin him down the way she wants it to.)

(Worse, he's laughing on the inside. This is a game he knows how to win.)

Chancellor Silco: There you go again. If my city gets one-fifth of the pie, do you starve for the lack of the other four-fifths? If we have one brilliant engineer, and you have one hundred, is our innovation an impediment to your success? For a woman of such wealth, you are fixated on a fistful of coins.

Councilor Medarda: Coin is how you build a foundation. Without it, you have nothing.

Chancellor Silco: You have your mind. You hands. You will. Coin is the means, not the end.

Councilor Medarda: And yet you risk the Treaty between our cities, in a bid for more!

Chancellor Silco: By what standard do you measure a Treaty? You've sanctioned fair trade between our cities. Our markets are now a two-way street. But yours has been the tight-fisted hoarder. Ours? The beggar with his hand out. Your Hex-Gates have kept our industries stagnant. Your decrees have kept us locked in. Your monopolies have kept our brightest from ever seeing the light of day. Now we are crawling our way out. But first, we must recover from the old scars.

Councilor Medarda: I have done my utmost to keep your city afloat! Referrals, subsidies, contracts. I've coaxed the Council to look past their prejudices. Cajoled the chariest stakeholders into lending coin to your industries. My efforts have been beyond reproach. And what do you do? Swipe my silver like a thief in the night!

(In my headcanon, she very nearly fumbles as she uses this metaphor. Her first choice was 'rapist.' Also, broadly speaking, from dynamics of social class, we're now transitioning toward gender, and the intrinsic link between the two, as well as how it translates into power.)

(But Mel's not ready to go there yet, so she's keeping the conversation firmly on the financial. Socially, Silco remains her 'inferior' due to his identity as a working-class man. Politically, his nation's balance hinges on her goodwill. Or rather, her noblesse oblige. He's not a threat; just a fuck-up in need of a helping hand. But his audacity has thrown her for a loop, and the only way she knows how to regain control is to remind him of his debt to her. A stance he now rejects, because they've become intimate.)

(Which brings up the secondary layer of their mindfuckery. As we will soon see.)

Chancellor Silco: If Piltover sees the loss of one man as theft, then perhaps your faith in your city is unfounded. Zaunites are not thieves. We only take what we are owed. Now we will use it as we see fit.

Councilor Medarda: And how, pray tell, will you use the Hexcore? Sell its secrets to the highest bidder? Or hoard them, like a miser, to build an arsenal that reduces both our cities to rubble? If conquest was your aim—

Chancellor Silco: Conquest?

(A telling choice of words, and another laugh in her ear.)

(In her mind, he's become the monster under the bed. He's her greatest fear: an unruly hellpit beneath her golden city. A wild animal that wants to be free. And her mind's conjuring up images of the Siege, and her city a smoking ruin. More to the point, she's regressing. She's becoming the girl at the mercy of her warlord mother's harsh lessons. She's a child, helpless, and the adult has come to teach her the consequences of weakness.)

(And yet, she's also grown up, and she's the mistress of her own house. She's been through the Siege, and survived, and come out stronger for it. She's a warrior in her own right, and she's going to act like one.)

Councilor Medarda: You speak in absolutes. Winners and losers. Beggars and choosers. March forward—and damn the consequences!

Chancellor Silco: You are the one speaking in absolutes. I see a simple solution to all of this. Let Zaun keep the Hexcore. Because that's the only way we can achieve parity. Our economy has finally freed itself from your city's shackles. My Cabinet is undertaking reforms to stem excess liquidity. We're encouraging worker co-operatives by establishing a national credit union. We're offering incentives for independent start-ups. All of this is but a fraction of what's necessary to strengthen our markets. But we are trying. We are fighting every step. We are not asking for handouts. Only the right to succeed. On our own terms. With our own people.

Councilor Medarda: I have heard enough.

(She's doing what her mother would do. Shutting down the conversation, before her vulnerability and fear make her lose face. She's made her case. There's nothing left for him to say.)

(And so, he does the worst thing she can imagine. He ignores her.)

Chancellor Silco: Have you? Or are you afraid what I say makes sense?

Councilor Medarda: I expected, after everything, that we'd share a modicum of trust.

Chancellor Silco: Trust—or intimacy?

Councilor Medarda: ...

Chancellor Silco: Apologies. Was our encounter in the obelisk to go unstated?

(He's dropped the mic.)

(He's also got her - as he literally did in the obelisk - by the short hairs. Their intimacy is now a liability, and his leverage. They've crossed a line they can't uncross, and it's now a tool for his own ends.)

(Thus begins the secondary mindfuckery: their affair. )

(Thus far, Mel's used her sex appeal to stir his passions, and keep him wanting more. Now he's weaponizing his experience, and his ease with sexuality, in a bid to undermine her confidence. In business, she's the coy seductress. In pleasure, she's honest, and honesty makes her vulnerable. Unlike her, Silco sees pleasure as nothing but an excuse to bare the ugliness beneath the veneer. Because, like most things in the Fissures, it's been deformed into a force of consumption rather than creation.)

(Pleasure - true pleasure - is deep on the inside. And it's a long, slow path to reach it. A man like Silco has little reason to bother. The simulacrum can be wielded with a much sharper edge. Which is precisely why he's chosen to use it.)

(Because he wants her to feel the way he did as a young man: exposed, and at the mercy of his desires.)

Councilor Medarda: My feelings on the matter are not the issue.

Chancellor Silco: I think, by your silence, they are. What did you believe? A few kisses, and suddenly, I'd be yours for the taking?

Councilor Medarda: We did more than kiss!

Chancellor Silco: I didn't say we didn't. I asked what you believed? Did you imagine I would turn into a puddle, and fall at your feet? You, who have lacked for nothing and never been denied, thought a moment's affection would turn me into your lapdog?

(Make 'em cry, then make 'em come. Later chapters will boil this down as his ethos re: sex.)

(It's also rooted in his foundational trauma in FnF with Vander and Nandi. Each time, he'd made love with someone he was close to. Then Nandi was murdered. And Vander betrayed him. He'd been left with nothing but grief, and rage. By the end, he's learned that sex is a means to an end, and the end is power. He's using that knowledge now.)

(Mel's a proud woman, and a clever one. But she's also deeply wounded. This is not the first time she's been physically vulnerable with a man, only for him to withdraw. Her first lover manipulated her feelings for his own gain. The second, Jayce, abandoned her in the dead of the night to go be with Viktor. And her mother, of course, jettisoned her to save her own neck.)

(Now she's been used again. Worse, it's by a Trencher who is reminding her of his relative lack of need for her. He's telling her that, despite growing up with nothing, he has more self-respect than she does. And her ego's taken a serious hit. Now her mind is scrambling, trying to salvage the situation. Because she's just had a reminder of how badly her own instincts have failed her. Silco is not the threat. He's a symptom of a larger problem, and that problem is the blindspot in her own psyche: her inability to recognize that her needs and the needs of a strong ruler are incompatible.)

(Which is exactly what her mother spent a lifetime trying to train out of her, and which is what ultimately got her banished.)

Councilor Medarda: My affections were genuine! Unlike your reciprocation! You took advantage of my state of mind! My honesty, my trust—

Chancellor Silco: I did nothing of the sort. In fact, I gave you every opportunity to walk away. You chose to stay. I neither invited you, nor held expectations beyond the moment. You're the one who seems to think desire is a debt, and intimacy a contract.

Councilor Medarda: Intimacy? If the word were a dagger, you'd be holding it!

Chancellor Silco: It appears, then, that you've stabbed yourself.

(Flashbacks ahoy! Trauma-o-rama!)

(His words have just sliced her open, and she's bleeding all over the floor. She's not angry. She's terrified. She's realizing, belatedly, that her feelings for him have gone past the professional—and that he's not just her nemesis, but a threat to her nation. His city is a powder keg beneath her feet, and he's ready to light the fuse.)

(And yet, he's right. She's the one who stayed. And she's the one who kissed him first.)

(Because he's the one who grew up with nothing - but she's the needy one. Because her mother's voice is always ringing in her ears. Her mother, who loved her, but had a terrible way of showing it. Her mother, who's always judged her, and taught her that she must be perfect, because to be less than perfect is to warrant expulsion. She's grown up having everything, and yet been left wanting.)

(It's a paradoxical existence: rich, yet starved. And that's the core of Mel's character.)

(And Silco, her seeming antithesis, knows this. Because he's also suffered this contradiction. He's had nothing and has now gotten everything. But it's come at a cost: his daughter traumatized, his city burning, his relationships dust.)

(But unlike Mel, he's not afraid to look the byproduct of ugliness in the eye. Because his understanding is the key to unlocking her deepest, darkest fears.)

Councilor Medarda: Why are you doing this?

Chancellor Silco: Doing what?

Councilor Medarda: Turning on me.

Chancellor Silco: I've done no such thing. I warned you from the outset that my first priority was my city. The welfare of my child. I will compromise neither.

(In my headcanon, she says it in the same tone as when she'd confronted Ambessa. "Why? Why did you do it?" i.e. "What did I do wrong? How was it my fault? Why was I not worthy?")

(And Silco, having driven her here, now becomes her solacer. Worse, he unbalances her by showing his cards. By saying he's a father. By revealing, obliquely, that his daughter is also a victim, and has suffered. Because that's the other core of his character: his devotion to his child, and his drive to give her a better life. Which is a goal Mel herself understands, and sympathizes with. The fact that he's the seeming villain of the piece, and she's the ostensible heroine, has not stopped them from forming an understanding.)

(Fundamentally, they're both former wunderkinds whose childhood traumas have, in different ways, led them to the same conclusions: the world is unfair, and only the strong can change it.)

Councilor Medarda: But you'll make a bedfellow of Viktor.

Chancellor Silco: Bedfellow? Is that what this is about? You believe my attention is suspect.

Councilor Medarda: Do you deny it?

Chancellor Silco: My dear, the boy is in poor health. I'm not sure what peculiarities you shared with Talis—

Councilor Medarda: Leave Jayce out of this!

Chancellor Silco: —But the fact is, I am not interested in seducing a man in his last days. In fact, the prospect is downright ghoulish. Unless, in Noxus, this is the done thing?

Councilor Medarda: Watch how you speak to me.

Chancellor Silco: You've accused me of taking advantage of a sick man. Seducing him, no less. What is this, if not a bid at easing your own guilt?

Councilor Medarda: Guilt? You dare talk to me about guilt? Do you realize how distraught Jayce has been, since learning of Viktor's defection? He's refusing to work. He's refusing to speak. He's a wreck!

Chancellor Silco: Nothing cuts deeper than a brother's loss.

Councilor Medarda: We made a bargain for Jayce's safety!

Chancellor Silco: And I am honoring it. Unless you believe Viktor is the latest in a line of hidden threats?

Councilor Medarda: I do not know what to believe.

Chancellor Silco: This is not about belief. It's about trust. You're fine sharing a bed with Talis. You've no qualms stringing a dozen men on a leash. But the moment you encounter a rival—a real one, not the puppets you call lovers—suddenly it's a conspiracy. That is not how fair trade is done, Councilor. You cannot play my equal one moment, and then clutch your virtue like a jilted little girl the next.

(Silco's not wrong. She's been playing a very dangerous game. She's been using the same tricks her mother uses, but her aim has not been conquest. At least, not entirely. There's a part of her that's genuinely fascinated by him. Who's drawn to his confidence, his ruthlessness, and his ability to get things done. She's not sure she can find anyone else like him. He's a threat to her city, and a threat to her ego. And yet he's the only person who can match her wit. So she took the risk, and chose to keep him close, in hopes that she'd eventually subdue him into compliance.)

(It was a terrible gamble. Now she's lost.)

(Worse, she's lost her footing, and he's on the high ground. But he's offering her a chance to come back from the brink. A chance to re-balance their relationship, and maintain the status quo. Which is, fundamentally, the only thing Mel truly wants. She doesn't want to destroy him, or even see him hurt. She just wants the world to continue turning as it always has.)

(In this case, the Treaty and her relationship with Silco are the two pillars that keep her city strong.)

(Her greatest fear isn't him. It is him being right.)

Councilor Medarda: Then return Viktor to Piltover! The Council will overlook the theft of the Hexcore. We will negotiate a fair compensation for its exchange. Two million. Three, if you like.

Chancellor Silco: You take away our own, then attempt to pay us up front like at a fishmonger's?

Councilor Medarda: Four million. Five-and-a half. Any price—within reason. Viktor is integral to our city. His and Jayce's Hexcore is a prime investment. If they split ways, our shareholders—

(And there it is: her innate flaw. Her need to fix, to smooth, to negotiate. Her desire for the world to remain a pleasant place, and her willingness to make deals with the devil to achieve it. She's begging him to accept the offer, and she's also begging him not to reject her, and to prove her wrong.)

(Except the devil's done playing ball. Now, having laid the groundwork, he's going in for the kill.)

Chancellor Silco: Listen to yourself. Price. Investment. Shareholder. This is the not the vocabulary of partnership. It is the language of acquisition. Viktor is not yours to buy back. Nor is he mine to sell. He is a Zaunite. He is free to work wherever he chooses. And if the Council is threatened by that, it's their business. They can clutch their pearls and wring their hands. Or—

Councilor Medarda: Or, what?

Chancellor Silco: They can have their cake and eat it too.

Councilor Medarda: Meaning?

Chancellor Silco: Meaning they are invited to dip their fingers in the Zaunite pie. The chem-tech. The sextech. The Shimmer. Our market is open.

Councilor Medarda: You'll pardon me, if I have difficulty taking you at your word.

Chancellor Silco: Then permit me a gesture of good faith.

Councilor Medarda: What?

Chancellor Silco: You'll get to pop the cherry.

Councilor Medarda: ...

(From a politician, he's now transitioning into what he truly is: a thug. A kingpin who has brought a city to its knees with his wits, the fire in his belly, and a handful of Shimmer. And she, despite her best efforts, is no longer in a position of power. Which is why she's struggling to grasp his meaning. To her, it's not just a change of pace. It's the crude vocabulary of a brothel. The language of men who commoditize and consume innocence as if it were a resource. And he, having made his way up the ladder, has a foot in both worlds.)

(Now he's inviting her to partake, and he's telling her that she will like it. He's also reminding her, by invoking a sex metaphor, that she can place herself once again in the driver's seat. And that her desire is a power of its own. That she, and only she, has the power to choose a better way.)

(Mel is an expert at the game of seduction. But seduction is not sex. The former comes with an elaborate framework of rules. The latter is a raw, unbridled force. And Silco is fluent in both. In a way, he's doing what Ambessa did when she taught Mel how to be a fox and a wolf. He's teaching her the reality of the trenches, and he's inviting her to join him in it.)

(This invitation is her first step into his wolf's den, where he will, later, tear her throat out.)

Chancellor Silco: Apologies. Is that vulgarism not permitted Topside? Should I say, You get to cut the ribbon? They are tantamount to the same.

Councilor Medarda: Namely?

Chancellor Silco: House Medarda will be the first beneficiary of our new tax policy. You'll have leverage over controlling shares in Zaun's biggest chem-cultivation companies. Medicinal, agricultural, cosmetic. No tax audits for the first five years. Free access to our ports. Unlimited export. Your name holds great clout with investors. Use it. Viktor's departure may well rattle the markets. But this way, Piltover will have a fallback. Your shareholders will rally. Your Council will be intrigued. You will have an unprecedented chance to share in Zaun's spoils.

Councilor Medarda: What of the Hexcore?

Chancellor Silco: Whatever Viktor does with his intellectual property is his choice, and his alone.

Councilor Medarda: If Zaun were to manufacture Hex-weaponry—

Chancellor Silco: We already possess an arsenal. The same we used to liberate our city. Since then, we've not fired a single shot against you. We've no interest in war. Our priority is progress. Shared progress. That's what the Treaty was for, after all.

Councilor Medarda: The Treaty was meant to foster trust between our cities.

Chancellor Silco: As equals. Now's your chance to prove it. Show the world that the Council isn't afraid of Zaun's independence. Demonstrate that you believe in your own philosophy. Allow Viktor to pursue his goals in Zaun. He'll still benefit both our cities, in ways we have yet to quantify.

(The phrase "ways we have yet to quantify" is not a metaphor. It is literally a reference to the unforeseen consequences of magic. Silco's making the same arguments that Jayce did when he first presented his proposal for Hextech to the Council.)

(It's an echo of the past, and how Hex-tech catapulted Piltover to the top, as Mel had always aspired.)

(Thus far, Mel's been in survival mode - a holdover of the Siege. She's focused on keeping matters stable in the present. Silco, having grown up in the Fissures, has no such compunctions. His focus is on the future, and the possibilities inherent in their collaboration. In other words, the promise of progress.)

(Best of all, his offer is designed to appeal to Mel's desire for success.)

Councilor Medarda: The Council will require surety. You cannot expect me to win your points by fiat. I am not a miracle-worker.

Chancellor Silco: All the more reason to take the leap.

Councilor Medarda: What if Viktor proves unable?

Chancellor Silco: As in: dead? Or disinclined?

Councilor Medarda: The latter is a scenario. The former—a sad outcome.

Chancellor Silco: Then you'll have your Hexcore back. And a pile of coins to boot. I fail to see the downside.

Councilor Medarda: You have a diabolical habit of speaking in circles.

(And she's caught in its center. All her objections have gone from moral to practical. Because the morality has long since ceased to matter. What matters is the reality: two cities whose fates are inextricably bound. And, if their leaders must maintain peace, they will have to find a way to accommodate the other's needs.)

(Which is exactly the conclusion they'll arrive at by the end of this tale. But not before their respective hang-ups drive them to the edge.)

Chancellor Silco: Because the solution is obvious. Viktor will succeed. His work is the key to his longevity. And the breakthroughs he makes will be integral to our shared success.

Councilor Medarda: I'll expect to be kept apprised of developments.

Chanellor Silco: Naturally.

Councilor Medarda: I'll also expect a private tour of your chem-cultivations once they've ripened.

Chancellor Silco: With luck, they'll taste as sweet as you.

Councilor Medarda: That's quite enough.

Chancellor Silco: Deal or no deal, Councilor?

Councilor Medarda: I still haven't forgiven you.

Chancellor Silco: For neglecting to mention Viktor?

Councilor Medarda: It wasn't neglect. It was payback. I checkmated you with the Peacekeeper Exchange Initiative, and Violet. You did the same with Viktor.

(Her defenses are finally down. She's coming clean. She's not angry. She's hurt. And her hurt has driven her to an honest confession, which she delivers as a counter-accusation. 'We're both political beasts. We both use people. We both want the same things, but so far, I've had the better hand. Now you've come back with an ace, and you're showing it to me. So I'm laying my cards on the table.')

(This is not a declaration of defeat, but rather one of truce.)

Chancellor Silco: That's the nature of politics. But—if you'll forgive the crudeness—vis a vis myself and Viktor...

Councilor Medarda: Yes?

Chancellor Silco: Fuck, no.

Councilor Medarda: ...

Chancellor Silco: Your jealousy is flattering. But unfounded.

Councilor Medarda: It is not jealousy.

Chancellor Silco: What then?

Councilor Medarda: A woman in my position must defend it. And if she must do so with ferocity, so be it. It's the same way one defends a city. There is a saying in Noxus. 'A man who is not ready to die for his nation, is not ready to live in it.'

Chancellor Silco: Is that why you left? Was Noxus not worth the price?

Councilor Medarda: I did not leave. I was cast out. There is a difference. Noxus is my homeland. But Piltover is my home. I will not let her fall. Even if a little jealousy is what it takes to defend her interests.

Chancellor Silco: And Talis too, I'd wager.

Councilor Medarda: This is not about my relationship with Jayce.

Chancellor Silco: Isn't it? Everything you've said so far, can be traced back to it. You were his lover for nearly a year. His closeness with Viktor was common knowledge. I imagine you were sometimes put in an awkward spot. The unwitting Delilah. You are an intelligent woman. I don't doubt your political acumen. But you're not unbreakable. Whereas the bond forged between two brothers in the crucible...

Councilor Medarda: What are you implying?

Chancellor Silco: I'm implying nothing. I'm asking, plain. Do you fear the dynamic will replicate itself? That my interest in Viktor forebodes something deeper?

(Perceptive bastard is perceptive. He's been in a similar dynamic w/ the entire Vander/Lika/Silco mess. He knows all too well the pain of a triangulated love. He's been on the receiving end. And he's also, despite his best intentions, going to inflict the same pain again, with the Mel/Sevika/Silco mess. Which, in his mind, will be an entirely different thing, because he's spinning a circle dance in his head, and trying to justify his actions accordingly.)

(But right now, he's not thinking about his own culpability. Right now, he's got a target in his sights.)

Councilor Medarda: Don't jest.

Chancellor Silco: It is a bit gallows, isn't it? Livewire urges and dying men…

Councilor Medarda: Gods, you are intractable.

Chancellor Silco: Then allow me to be frank. Your suspicions stem from hurt pride. You've been exiled from your homeland. You've struggled to achieve every inch of prestige. But belonging? That is the true challenge. With Talis, you had it. But his closeness with Viktor...

Councilor Medarda: ...

Chancellor Silco: Shall I drop the subject?

Councilor Medarda: No. You—

Chancellor Silco: Speak freely.

Councilor Medarda: You aren't wrong. Jayce and Viktor—

Chancellor Silco: Had a connection.

Councilor Medarda: Yes. Sometimes, Jayce would stay late at his lab. I was accustomed to finding him and Viktor together. I thought nothing of it. I had no reason to. They were as close as family. Like brothers. But sometimes...

Chancellor Silco: Hm?

Councilor Medarda: That closeness was extraordinary. They never touched. Not the way Jayce and I did. But their intimacy was more than skin deep. Deeper even than the heart.

Chancellor Silco: The soul?

Councilor Medarda: Perhaps.

Chancellor Silco: Did it trouble you?

Councilor Medarda: I envied it. It's easy, when one has prestige, to be desired. It's not so simple to be loved. Not that way. Between Jayce and Viktor, it was effortless. A fusion that went beyond flesh. And that... frightened me.

Chancellor Silco: Because your place with Talis was threatened?

Councilor Medarda: Because it felt like mine wasn't the love he needed.

(Echoes of Silco and Vander. And Silco and Jinx. ("Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.")

(It's a beautiful verse. In FnF, it's also a dangerous lie. Because anything can become corrupted: magic, family, faith. Even love.)

Chancellor Silco: And you fear history is repeating itself.

Councilor Medarda: I—

Chancellor Silco: For a woman with everything, your estimation of yourself is low indeed.

Councilor Medarda: It's not estimation. Merely—

Chancellor Silco: Past experience. You've mentioned.

Councilor Medarda: You must find this a very peculiar conversation.

Chancellor Silco: It's not every day you're accused of seducing a dying man.

Councilor Medarda: I apologize.

Chancellor Silco: For what, precisely?

Councilor Medarda: My past entanglements have been—complicated. I'm afraid the wounds are rather fresh, and I—

Chancellor Silco: —Have the right to feel whatever you feel. You do not owe me explanations, Mel. But, if a listening ear helps to settle your thoughts, I am here.

(It begins.)

(He's verbally and emotionally thrashed her until she bled. Now he becomes the salve. It's a classic tactic: make them cry, then hold their hand. Abusers love the process of breaking, and the power it gives them. But they also enjoy the process of fixing, and the sense of control it offers. It's how they justify themselves: "I hurt you, but only I can put you back together.")

(Silco is no exception. But his motives are also dubious. He genuinely likes Mel. He finds her intriguing. He's attracted to her. And in a tiny way, she reminds him of Nandi's best qualities, same way Sevika embodies all of Nandi's sultriest physical attributes.)

(Fundamentally, he's looking for neither a surrogate nor a proxy: he's looking for a partner. Someone who can stand toe-to-toe with him. But his mind, being what it is, has warped that desire into the language of dominance and submission. He speaks it in varying ways with both Mel and Sevika, and with the rest of his inner circle, to varying degrees.)

(The only one who bypasses it is Jinx.)

(And by the end, she'll have her old man chugging that respect-the-woman juice until it's coming out of his nose.)

Councilor Medarda: That's the first time you've called me by my name.

Chancellor Silco: Is it? I beg your pardon.

Councilor Medarda: Don't. I—I like it.

Chancellor Silco: So do I. Short for Melika, isn't it?

Councilor Medarda: Yes.

Chancellor Silco: Targonian for Honey.

Councilor Medarda: That's right. My father, in his wisdom, named me after his forefathers' bee farms. My mother, in her temper, would say: 'A Medarda needs no honey. Only an army of a thousand stingers.'

Chancellor Silco: And thus: Mel.

Councilor Medarda: Mmm.

Chancellor Silco: Honey hiding a thousand stings. How very apt.

(Fun fact. Mel is the Latin root for Mellis, or sweetness. Literally, it means Honey. It's also used in words like Mellisonant and Mellifluous. Meanwhile, the Old English Melvin means 'Council Protector.' Our girl is all that, and a bag of chips.)

(By invoking her first name, Silco is establishing a rapport grounded in past memory. Her response is to reciprocate, which she does by sharing the childhood anecdote. She's inviting him to continue their game of honesty, because she's enjoying it. Because the only people who've truly understood her have either betrayed her, or have left her.)

(Now, she has him.)

(And isn't it just a sad metaphor for vampirism: you cannot be harmed unless you invite them past the threshold.)

Councilor Medarda: And you? What's your name short for? It's not a line I've heard of before.

Chancellor Silco: Zaun puts no stock in lineage. Our names are what we are born with. And, if we're lucky, what we die with. Mine is no different.

Councilor Medarda: Your mother never gave you a moniker? A pet name?

Chancellor Silco: None worth repeating.

Councilor Medarda: Surely you exaggerate.

Chancellor Silco: Would you prefer: "Bastard", "Motherfucker", or "Dirty Little Thing"? Take your pick.

Councilor Medarda: ...

Chancellor Silco: That'll teach you to pry.

(He's not exaggerating in the slightest. If anything, he's owning the pain, and making a weapon of it. He has no shame or guilt over his past. What he does have is the scars. And he's showing her that they're as much a part of him as his monstrosity. He is his trauma, and his trauma has made him stronger.)

(And yet it's nearly a goad. "Feel bad for me. I'm so broken, and only you can fix me.")

(Mel, effortlessly empathetic, does not disappoint.)

Councilor Medarda: This isn't prying. This is conversation. Between equals. From a place of trust. Or is it easier to keep people at arm's length? To pretend you have no past at all?

Chancellor Silco: I've never made a secret of my past. Some aspects are simply best forgotten.

Councilor Medarda: Like a difficult mother. I can commiserate.

Chancellor Silco: Better a madwoman's son than a warlord's daughter.

Councilor Medarda: A warlord's leavings. House Medarda does not take its bloodline lightly. We cast out the unfit, lest they tarnish the family name. So, in a way, I put no stock in lineage, either. We are what we make of ourselves. That is the choice Piltover offers. It's why I love this city. Why I would fight to protect it.

Chancellor Silco: Something we've in common.

Councilor Medarda: Did we not always? From the moment of our parley, we've locked horns. But our ends are the same. A bright future. For Zaun, and Piltover.

(She's finally coming around to his point of view, and admitting her own bias. She's not doing it to manipulate him; she's doing it because he's earned it. By speaking honestly, and openly, and sharing her own vulnerability, she's opened a new vein in their relationship.)

(A vein Silco will slowly infuse with his poison.)

Chancellor Silco: One where sons are not condemned to the fate of their fathers.

Councilor Medarda: Nor daughters, their mothers.

Chancellor Silco: Then we are in accord. The Hexcore, and Viktor, remain in Zaun.

Councilor Medarda: On certain conditions. First, we will establish a formal framework for collaboration between our scientific institutions. Second, all Zaun-based import and export of Hex-tech will be subject to inspection by a joint oversight committee. Third, there will be no development of Hex-tech weaponry without the prior approval of the joint oversight committee.

Chancellor Silco: Is this meant as a slap on the wrist?

Councilor Medarda: It is a gesture of trust. Repay it in kind.

Chancellor Silco: You mean: Welcome the Peacekeeper Exchange Initiative.

Councilor Medarda: Accept the officers as they are. A declaration of togetherness. And Violet—

Chancellor Silco: Ward of your state. Fruit of mine.

Councilor Medarda: Let her become the bridge between us. Let her reconcile with her sister.

Chancellor Silco: Violet is not a child. She is a grown woman. If she wishes to see her sister, she is free to do so.

Councilor Medarda: Does that apply to Jinx, too?

Chancellor Silco: I've never barred Jinx from anything. Only the dangers at the door.

Councilor Medarda: Then let's make sure they're gone. For good.

Chancellor Silco: You have my word.

(By golly, does she ever. In his mind, the danger is Vi. As such, he's just promised to make Vi disappear.)

Councilor Medarda: When you say it in that tone, I'd almost believe you mean it.

Chancellor Silco: You make it hard not to.

Councilor Medarda: And is it so hard?

Chancellor Silco: As the night.

Councilor Medarda: You are shameless, Chancellor.

Chancellor Silco: Silco. Let's dispense with the titles. Makes it easier to keep things straightforward.

Councilor Medarda: Or harder to forget.

Chancellor Silco: I'm from Zaun, Mel. Secrets born here have teeth.

Councilor Medarda: I am trying not to hold that against you.

Chancellor Silco: Try to understand. My city is still raw. So is my child. Both need a close eye. Until the dust settles, any distraction would be a disservice. To them. To myself. To the future.

Councilor Medarda: Distraction?

Chancellor Silco: I mean no insult. But you are that. A maddening, delightful, and altogether impossible distraction.

(More of the mean-sweet cycle. He's nearly threatened to tear her city apart. Now he's the smitten gentleman. He's the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He's the schoolboy tugging her pigtails. And the dichotomy is a big part of his appeal. Because trauma shapes our psychological landscape, and Mel's is, like Silco's, a house of contradictions. She yearns to feel in control. Yet she's spent her girlhood left off-balance by her mother, who made her walk a tightrope of expectations. And Silco, whose entire life has been defined by the conflict between powerlessness and agency, plays it like a pro.)

(Which is why, despite the warning bells, Mel keeps succumbing.)

(She's no fool in love. But, for the first time, she's found someone who can meet her on her level. Silco's not intimidated by her family. He's not dazzled by her looks. He's not blinded by her wealth. He sees her. And that is her weakness. The same weakness that draws Caitlyn to Vi. That draws Jinx to Ekko.)

(It's the allure of the unattainable.)

Councilor Medarda: You flatter me.

Chancellor Silco: The truth flatters itself.

Councilor Medarda: I can't decide any longer if it's devilry or sainthood that drives you.

Chancellor Silco: Sainthood? Please. If I were, you wouldn't be half as interested.

Councilor Medarda: I'd be intrigued. But not compelled. Not—

Chancellor Silco: Go on.

Councilor Medarda: I did not grow up shielded with goosedown pillows. I've had my share of admirers. Most have been eager. Some, desperate. All have been... less.

Chancellor Silco: I'd wager that has more to do with the quality of the suitors, than any imperfections on your part.

Councilor Medarda: My point is that it's not easy for me to open myself. To give in to impulse. And yet, you inspire it. Effortlessly.

Chancellor Silco: I hope you know you're in safe hands.

Councilor Medarda: Skillful? Yes. Safe? Never.

(She knows. Subconsciously, she knows. But she's not ready to accept it. Her desires are guiding her. The same desires that led her to kiss him, now lead her to continue. She's Persephone, and he's Hades. She's Eve, and he's the Serpent. He's the darkness, and she the thrillseeker. She wants to feel alive, without having to pay the price.)

(And he is more than willing to oblige. But not without warning her:)

Chancellor Silco: Best take care then.

Councilor Medarda: Am I in danger?

Chancellor Silco: Of succumbing? Time will tell.

Councilor Medarda: And trust?

Chancellor Silco: That, you must give willingly.

Councilor Medarda: Willingly, but with my eyes open.

Chancellor Silco: Always.

Councilor Medarda: Mine are presently growing heavy. I must retire.

Chancellor Silco: Schlaf gut.

Councilor Medarda: Not sweet dreams?

Chancellor Silco: Depends on where your imagination takes you.

Councilor Medarda: I'm starting to suspect you're a monster after all.

Chancellor Silco: Zaun has a surplus.

Councilor Medarda: And do they banish the darkness, or walk with it?

Chancellor Silco: That's not a question to ask in the dark, Mel.

Councilor Medarda: Am I forewarned?

Chancellor Silco: I'll let the darkness answer.

Councilor Medarda: Träum schön, First Chancellor.

Chancellor Silco: Pass gut auf dich auf, Councilor Medarda.

("Take good care." - i.e. "Look out for yourself.")

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reigningmax · 1 year

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Unprompted but I have a theory about Christian and his boys, I feel like he’s such a fatherly figure to his drivers and he loves taking them under his wing and protecting them. I think it’s super important for him that the drivers feel like Redbull is their home. And i also think that’s why he loves Max and Daniel so much. They bought into that and they really let Christian be that for them. (Can’t get over Daniel driving him and Geri to their wedding) Max is self explanatory. They’re his boys and that’s also why I think he never let his relationship with Daniel sour. Now if you look at Pierre, Alex and Checo, there’s not really that same connection. There’s not a sense of ’that’s my boy’ from christian in the same regards. Anyways idk why I came here rambling but it makes total sense kn my head😭

no no please come ramble away!!! and also you are correct!!! Max, Christian essentially raised him to become a man. he's watched him grow and turn into a champion in front of him. So, of course, he took him under his wing when he was a toddler when he came into his life so!!! And with Daniel, he was also quite young coming into the RBR umbrella, and I think he just clicked with Christian? I'm sure Daniel girlies (gn) have evidence and quotes and stuff about this, but Christian has always, always loved Daniel both as his driver and as someone who's part of the family!!! Was part of it driven by their performance? Maybe. But I really do think it's way beyond that with those two!! I think Alex also got a better overall welcome than Checo and Pierre. But all 3 of them are definitely more of a business/team boss vibes than anything family. And I mean, fair enough tbh!! And fair enough that they were let go if they weren't performing!!

#asks #chit chat #Anonymous

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soleminisanction · 1 year

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How did Steph become Robin and how did she become fired? I know it was her starting a gang war but how exactly?

I had this whole thing typed up last night with citations and everything and then the post editor glitched and I lost the whole thing. :/ So, take 2:

Around Robin issues #124-125, Tim's father Jack discovered that he was Robin and went to Wayne Manor with a gun to threaten Bruce over the whole thing. To keep the peace, Tim volunteered to step down as Robin and promised his dad that he'd give that life up forever.

Shortly thereafter (Issue 126), Steph was stalking Tim at his school because if she doesn't see him every day she immediately assumes that he's cheating on her. She arrived at just the wrong moment to witness his classmate Darla plant a kiss on him, took that as proof that he was cheating, and ran away without bothering to wait the ten seconds it would've taken to see Tim push Darla away and tell her, again, that he has a girlfriend, sending her off in tears.

Steph went straight home, made herself a Robin costume, then went to the Bat-cave and told Bruce she would be the new Robin now. And Bruce agreed to let her try.

It's never actually defined what Stephanie's motivation for this is, BTW. We're left to pick it up from context clues -- like the fact that she was perfectly happy being Spoiler and had zero thoughts or plans in this direction until she saw Tim "cheating," and the fact that she then immediately ghosted Tim for what's implied to be weeks, potentially months, with no explanation.

It is, however, implied that Bruce might be going along with it all as a -- quoting Alfred -- "scheme to lure Tim back." Which, yeah, is not great.

So Bruce sets Steph up with a non-homemade Robin costume and a stupid new haircut (it only looks passable when Damion Scott draws it, everyone else needs to stop trying) and gives her this ultimatum.

Remember this for a later post, this one got too long. This arrangement of theirs lasts for a grand total of two full issues.

Seriously. Steph is hired as Robin at the end of issue #126, and she's fired at the end of #128. She appears in, I think, one or two issues of Cass's Batgirl, maybe the same months' corresponding Detective Comics and Batman issues (I don't really care to look them up to double-check), and a single B-plot appearance in an issue of the contemporary Teen Titans mostly dedicated to Superboy calling her a backstabbing wannabe poser and telling her she'll never be welcome at the Tower because she's not the real Robin.

That is the only time those two have ever spoken, BTW. Which is why a lot of people have been annoyed that they're suddenly being written as buddy-buds in the recent continuity for no reason.

Anyway, the point is, Steph's Robin career lasted a grand total of 3 months out-of-universe and forty-nine days in-universe, which we know because she started calling her diary-based narration her "War Journal" and counting the days there. This was recently re-confirmed in 2021's Robins miniseries.

Which brings us to how it ended, which is where I need to correct you slightly, anon. The gang war wasn't the cause of Steph's firing, it was the result.

The cause was an encounter with a powered-armor-wearing assassin called Scarab, who'd been hired by an old enemy of Tim's to kill black-haired, blue-eyed boys in Gotham in the hopes that she would eventually kill Robin. Encountering Steph with Bruce convinced Scarab that she must've killed her target ("resulting in the need for a replacement") and she was preparing to leave Gotham when Bruce & Steph tracked her down.

Bruce suited up in some power armor of his own and went down to fight Scarab, giving Steph strict orders to stay in the Bat-plane and not touch anything. Over the course of the resulting fight -- in which Bruce does seem to struggle a bit but never loses his cool and never seems to be in more danger than he would be in other fights -- he repeats these orders to Stephanie no less than five times.

Stephanie does not listen.

Stephanie rushes into the building, continues to disobey orders once she's there, and immediately gets herself taken hostage. Her life is threatened by the bad guy and Bruce lets Scarab go to save her.

That incident is what gets Stephanie fired.

Interestingly, despite what Bruce said about this being "the precise moment [Stephanie's] out," he actually waits until his injuries from the fight have recovered to drop the bomb, and it's implied that he stretches that out longer than he usually would -- out to a full three weeks -- to give her time to stew. Which I find very interesting, I'll talk about it more in the later post.

The gang war comes in because he gives her some privacy in the Batcave to collect her personal belongings before she goes, including her personal files off the Bat-computer. While doing this, she decides it's a great idea to steal one of Bruce's, quote, "contingency plans" to "wipe out all crime in Gotham... if worst came to worst." This particular plan involved bringing all of the Gotham crime families under Batman's control, and Steph figured that if she could "set that in motion, show she could help him" then he might "take her back."

Unfortunately, one of the "Big Secrets" that she wasn't privy to as a result of being on probation was the fact that Matches Malone, the guy on whom the entire plan hinged, was actually one of Batman's secret identities, so when he didn't show up to the meeting she arranged... boom. A bunch of mafia heads ended up dead, and that led to retaliation from their subordinates. Cue War Games.

#stephanie brown #bruce wayne #robin #batman #meta #dc comics meta #dc comics asks #kinda critical I guess?#mostly because I'm not going to pretend that Steph isn't responsible for getting herself fired #or causing the gang war #it's not like bruce doesn't share in the blame #he loaded the gun sure but steph's the one who pulled the trigger #after she broke into the gun vault to steal it from him #and she's not some innocent widdle kid who couldn't know any better she's 17 #18 if people kept better track of her age relative to tim

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celebratory-bananas · 10 months

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just some taskmaster quotes out of context...

When life gives you lemons, squirt lemon juice onto the crotch of your safari suit and have a breakdown!

There is pineapple in my ass, correct.

I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE SHOVED IT UP MY ASS!

Thank you very much for your nice message of welcome. Please excuse me while I grind fox faeces into this salutation.

I WILL BREATHE DOWN A PHONE TODAY!

You were mystified by your own balls!

I'm not sure that the anti-capitalist stance was brought home by the toast- titted woman.

It was like someone choreographing a ballet and then coming onto the stage afterwards and having a shit!

IT'S NOT FARTY!

Marco bit your balls, though!

YAHOO! I'M GOING TO THE SHED!

But how am I supposed to kill you with your own shoes?

I'LL HIT YOU LATER WHEN YOU'RE MAKING A CUP OF TEA!!

#taskmaster #taskmaster uk #i have a whole list of these

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hearthem00n · 8 months

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The Researcher Archetype (145) - Part1

It's been a long time since I've been studying the Enneagram and its tritypes. But I find few references about the variations of certain tritypes, particularly the "The Researcher" type. Some of the references I find are on the Personality Database Wiki and Personality Cafe, as well as Katherine Fauvre's official website. I'll break it down into parts to make it more accessible. If you can share your experience through this post or by tagging me, I would be delighted.

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"Tritype® 145, 154, 415, 451, 514, 541-The Researcher If you are a 145, you are diligent, intuitive, and knowledgeable. You want to be ethical, original, and wise. Highly intellectual, you are focused on what you perceive is correct and above reproach. Motivated to be informed, you are research-oriented. You seek and quote the opinions of experts to avoid being uncertain and seen as ignorant. You like to learn and will deeply study whatever captures your interest."

-Katerine Fauvre

________

[Personality Database Wiki]:

1+4: The Humanist

Double frustration.

Enhances the natural line of connection to ONE and FOUR.

Pairing that is the most focused on refining their ideals, pursuing higher standards.

Whatever the instinctual stacking or the head type, there is a strong push toward what is considered tasteful, decent and grotesque, vulgar.

Want to bring its intuition and imagination front and center but with certain standards and guidelines.

This is a very persnickety and particular pairing that needs to do things a certain way, even when it isn’t practical.

Subtle (or not so subtle) disdain for what is considered subpar, plain, normal or mediocre.

They are often hard to truly please and are even very critical of themselves.

Conflictual relationship with their emotions: refrain from feeling, then let go.

Wants to experience life in all its depth and glory, but the ONE fix wants to keep that within certain rules and boundaries of decency.

May cultivate spiritual and/or religious outlook on life.

Can bring out new standards of excellence, unparalleled visions of beauty.

Can be attached to certain aspects of art and/or culture.

Often quite philosophical and adamant about setting certain standards.

In very low levels of health may run the risk of emotional and mental exhaustion by restricting themselves from continuously harsh standards.

May unintendedly castrate their own emotional experience by repeated superego blockage.

Invertedly, may also sabotage their ability to think critically and rationally with their emotional tidal waves.

The 4 fix helps the core 1 to experience life through a more intuitive and spiritual way so to search for meaning.

The 1 fix helps the core 4 to bring structure and order in its emotional musings and bring out its internal desires to fruition.

1+5: The Rational

Double competency.

Pairing that is the most focused on accuracy and scientific methods of reasoning.

Most cerebral combination.

Usually display tastes for intellectual pursuits and a deep hunger for knowledge.

Not easily satisfied with the superficial answers; knows what and how to search for them.

Usually very focused mind that can home in on what to extract from books and sources of information.

Can give extremely detailed and structured information about a subject that they have studied.

Probably one of the most aloof and emotionally distant pairing there is. A TWO wing or fix can help alleviate that tendency.

Very curious mind. They want to know everything that something or someone has to offer.

There is always an effort to be exhaustive and precise in their speech while avoiding rambling if possible.

Pairing that is the most uncomfortable with superficial chat and can be awkward in social situations.

It’s hard for them to let go of the formalities and be more open-minded for one.

They can be stuck with their way of thinking and not welcome new situations because of this.

Can be frustrated by the lack of standards and in-depth knowledge that others cannot display.

Can be easily seen by others as know-it-alls, since they like to correct people on having accurate information.

This pairing can suffer from mental exhaustion because of the level of accuracy and methodical search that they abide by on a daily basis.

The 5 fix helps the core 1 to withhold judgment before complete exhaustivity and having a more objective outlook on a subject.

The 1 fix helps the core 5 weighing which information is worthful or not and become more structured in its analysis.

4+5: The Introspective

Double withdrawn.

Paring that is the most introspective and focused on its inner life.

Enhances the natural wings of FOUR and FIVE.

This is the deep divers of their own personal abyss.

People with this pairing are deep thinkers and feelers.

Often feel like a drop in the ocean, like they could be easily swallowed by the outside world.

Feel tired very quickly when interacting with people, especially in new environment.

Genuinely feel different and separate from the crowd.

Generally, prefer written communication over spoken one.

Seek depth in everything and often cannot tolerate daily conversations because of this.

Often engrossed in interests far more than other pairings.

They have a hard time communicating their feelings if they are caught up in them.

Often have a capacity for forming mental maps in which they can intuitively navigate.

Seek beauty and authenticity in the pursuit of knowledge.

Often have odd or unusual interests.

Can be shut ins and live in their own fantasy realm.

Can be emotionally moved and not overtly showing it at all.

Often have a hidden self that very few people are aware of.

Want to be known for their artistic complexity and ingenuity.

It can take them enormous amount of time to produce something because they always prioritize quality over quantity.

Feelings can be a source of anxiety, but they still want to experience them.

Often amass vast amount of knowledge and are often wise beyond their years.

The 5 fix helps the core 4 seek out logical causes to their feelings of inferiority and pursue intellectual hobbies.

The 4 fix helps the core 5 break out of the cerebral mindset and allow intuitive and emotional depth to seep into the self.

________

[Personality Cafe]

Harmonic triads: Single reactive Double competency No positive outlook Hornevian triads: Single compliant Double withdraw No assertive Object relation: Double Frustration No attachment No rejection That said: (1)45 - the withdrawn 1 1(4)5 - the competency 4 14(5) - the idealistic 5

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ghost-ories · 1 year

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everyone shut up, i noticed smth about welcome home that i haven't noticed anyone else mention yet

i know we've all noticed that julie, eddie, and wally are not mentioned as puppets in their bios.

BUT. there's something else in the bios, that only one character is missing.

all of them have their origin mentioned in some way, besides (guess who), wally.

quoted from the website directly:

julie: ". . . julie was a rainbow monster, . . . she lived with her family in a cave. . ."

sally: ". . . sally had once been the brightest star in the sky, . . . and fell from above as a shooting star. . ."

poppy: ". . . poppy had lived with her family in a nest, . . . she would move into an empty barn in home. . ."

eddie: ". . . moved into home from a distant town, . . . eddie never stated the correct name of where he came from. . ."

howdy: ". . . howdy was said to have originated from an apple core in a tree, . . ."

barnaby: ". . . left his life on the farm to move to home, . . . he was an abandoned orphaned puppy that was adopted, . . ."

frank: "frank does not have any information regarding his origins prior to moving into home. . ."

meanwhile, what does wally have?

nothing.

it talks about his love of his, his friendship with barnaby, and home. but it says nothing about his origins. in fact, it really doesn't give us too much information on wally himself at all.

what could this mean??

my only thought on this is that somehow, wally made home, and either possibly made all of them and gave them their backstories and etc. (as some have suggested), or that he somehow led them all there?

either way, he would essentially be the leading force behind home (the neighborhood).

i also feel it's worth mentioning that some people believe something might be up with frank? like he's also gained sentience (but not letting wally know), or something along those lines. so with that in mind, i find it interesting that it's stated that he (as of right now?) doesn't really have any origins.

#welcome home #welcome home arg #my brain is rotting bc of this website #i'm so hyperfixated on it #i haven't stopped thinking about it for days #and i got so excited when i went through the website again earlier and realized this #someone probably has seen it but i got excited shfjsks #ghost.int

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armthearmour · 2 years

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Book Review: Medieval Arms and Armour: A Sourcebook

In writing Medieval Arms and Armour:A Sourcebook, Ralph Moffatt aims to provide a reference guide suitable to all scholars and enthusiasts of arms and armor, regardless of their level of experience. This work begins with a series of prefaces which provide a complete list of the illustrations and primary documents used throughout the work. Here the author also discusses his motivations for putting together this sourcebook together, as well as providing sections which teach the reader how to use a sourcebook and the correct English pronunciations for a number of the more complex technical terms used throughout the work.

The main body of the text is divided into three sections. The first section is an “Introduction to the Source-Types.” The author discusses separately both textual and material sources, discussing his processes for translation and transcription, and providing an overview of the types of documents he uses for the study of armor. The material sources Moffatt further subdivides into extant archaeological material and artistic material, briefly articulating the benefits and shortcomings of each source type.

The second section contains the documents. 151 documents are included, and each document is numbered. Moffatt includes a full library reference for the work being taken from, as well as any known author and date. The relevant quotation is then provided, transcribed in its original language, before finally a translation is presented. The quotes vary in length from just a few words briefly describing an item (for example, document 151, simply “my son Philip a hauberk of Milan [make]) to several paragraphs which occupy several pages.

The sources included in this work are varied, and draw upon documents produced by all manner of people. A large number of legal documents are present, including wills, inventories, house payments, craft statutes, etc. as well as prose sources such as biographical and chronicler accounts, and religious works.

One unfortunate restriction it seems the author placed upon himself, however, is the nationality of the documents. Every document included in Moffatt’s work is either British or French. Though some correspondences include an individual who is from outside France or the British Isles, one of the correspondents is British or French. This restriction is understandable for the sake of space, however, it does render the title somewhat misleading, as those looking for fourteenth century sources from the rest of medieval Europe will not be served by this book.

The third and final section of Medieval Arms and Armour: A Sourcebook is an illustrated glossary. This section includes a large number of artistic and archaeological sources which provide the reader with a visual representation of the elements of arms and armor which are discussed by the book. Accompanied by short definitions of the words in question, this section will be extremely valuable to those who are new to the study of arms and armor.

Finally, Moffatt includes a bibliography and index. The bibliography contains not only the scholarly sources Moffatt consulted for this work, but also a full list of primary sources. While a majority of the scholarly sources Moffatt consulted are English or French, here he did not neglect German scholarship.

Despite its few shortcomings, this book should find a welcome home on the shelf of every arms and armor enthusiast in the world. The wealth of sources of all types is immense, and the footnotes included by the author make finding references a simple task. For that reason, even the professional scholar will find this book of use, but the contextualizing information the author provides in the prefixes, as well as the discussion on sources and the illustrated glossary make this a truly invaluable source for those who are new to the discipline.

#book review #review #arms and armour #medieval arms and armour a sourcebook #art #history #medieval #middle ages #europe #european

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whump-n-comfort · 9 months

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🔪 this is a sideblog! if you see interactions from a blog called @halorocks1214 in your notifications, that's me :)

🩹 on that note, I go by Halo! I use she/her and he/him pronouns and am proudly aroace 💚💜

🔪 I'm one of those guys that has always been into whump as a kid—I REALLY enjoyed the kidnapping episodes in animated shows lol—but didn't have a name for that enjoyment until I got onto Tumblr and immediately felt at home with all y'all cool people 😎

🩹 as you may have seen by this blog's title and description, most of this blog's motif is sharing hurt/comfort content! I will be upfront and say that I project a loooot onto my faves, which is why I like to see them comforted so much (touch starvation is a bitch 😔) and in general prefer "soft whump" most of the time or explicit happy endings for the harder tropes i'm into

🔪 however, I still also enjoy whump because of its core foundation: being able to beat the shit out of your favorite character. sometimes, I will find something that does not have comfort in it that I want to share because it's simply too good not to! if all you're here for is that sweet sweet comfort, feel free to blacklist the tag #no comfort to avoid those sparse posts :)

🩹 outside of that, I tag art as #art and gifs as #gif as well as gifsets as #gifset when applicable; #whump trope for the posts that get more descriptive and #whump prompt for the posts that are more quotes/"fill in your characters here"-type interactions; #whump meme is self-explanatory and #whump community is for sharing love to all you lovely people out here browsing this corner of Tumblr; I occasionally tag #fave whumpee on characters that have stuck with me through the years (characters in the tag liable to change as time goes on); and of course, #~my stuff~ are the posts where I'm OP; #before whump was here is a cheeky tag I use for specific moments I remember feeling strong whumperflies for growing up but still had yet to learn about the term "whump" lmao

🔪 everything else is up in the air as tagging goes. I try my best to catch as many descriptors in a post as I can, but I'll admit some stuff could slip through. let me know if you think a post is missing something and I'll be sure to add proper tags 👍

🩹 my squicks are mainly things like pet whump, mind break, forced full-nudity, betrayal/broken trust between close characters (if it's because of a "twist villain" then that's fine), and heavy NSFW, so, for the most part, you won't see those on this blog, but my philosophy has always been that if it has comfort, I'm willing to give it a shot, so even if it's really rare, it could happen. remember to just let me know if I'm missing a tag!

🔪 my inbox is always open under the "💌 insert rambles here 💌" button if you ever wanna submit whumpy thoughts. I try to post everything I get, so feel free to hit me up! all answered asks regardless of what they contain will be tagged with #ramble tag

🩹 I will occasionally take requests in the form of "[A] replied to [B]" scenarios, sentence starters, or if you are feeling particularly nice, requests about my OCS! (questions and inquiries about them are always welcome regardless of request status) be sure to watch the "REQUEST:" blip in the description to see whenever they are open as I will switch "CLOSED" to "OPEN" to signify they are, and if they are open because of something like an ask game, I will convert the status into a link that will take you to the original game so you don't have to scroll through a bajillion things to get to it

🔪 as mentioned, this is 99% a SFW "soft" whump blog, but I still support my more NSFW and otherwise "dark" whumpers! I am a firm believer in that there is no "correct" way to enjoy whump. whatever your reason is that makes you enjoy it is valid and as long as you are properly tagging your content then keep on doing stuff that brings you joy :) we may not interact with each other all that often because of squicks or personal preferences, but just know that I will have your back and defend your right to write whatever you want ❤️‍🔥

🩹 I do believe those are all the topics I wanted to cover, so if you managed to make it this far, thanks for checking out my blog, and most importantly, the whump community in general! If you decide to stay, well, then hope you enjoy it to your fullest capabilities :D

#about me #GOD i wanted to make a shorter info post and just ended up making one twice as long how do i ACHIEVE these things-#regardless i got an influx of new followers (hello!!) and figured it was time for me to update a few things #esp since ive been attempting to interact with my blogs in a new way #also next post is my 800th post and thought it would be funny if this was it lmao

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jabithacentral · 2 years

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Hello fellow Jabitha shippers! We’re pleased to announce we’re back with Jabitha Week 2022! This event is set to take place from August 1 to August 7. All participating content will be reblogged to Jabitha Central.

Any questions are welcome – send us a message/ask.

Get creative and have fun!

SCHEDULE

Day 1 (1 August)—Favorite Episode | Timeless | Starting Over

Day 2 (2 August)—Favorite Scene | Between dreams and reality | Between Heaven and Earth

Day 3 (3 August)—Favorite Physical Touch | Divine | Mythical

Day 4 (4 August)—Favorite Quote | Death Sentence | Tick Tock

Day 5 (5 August)— Favorite Outfits/Clothing | Home | Food

Day 6 (6 August)—Why You Ship Them | Mind Reading | Memories

Day 7 (7 August)—Free Space

RULES

All forms of content are welcome! Fanart, fanfic, gifset, moodboard, edit, meta, anything at all!

Tag your submission with #jabithaweek2022 or us by @ so we can reblog it.

NSFW submissions are allowed, but they must be tagged.

No hate, ship bashing, racism, transphobia, or homophobia. Any form of inappropriate behavior towards others will not be tolerated.

NOTES

If we do not see or simply missed viewing your work, please let us know, we’ll be happy to reblog it!

If you need to post your submission late (but during the week), just be sure to tag or note in the post somewhere which day/prompt it’s for, so we can include it in the correct masterlist post for that day.

Update: I failed to include this before, but posts with ot3 content and mentions will not be reblogged, as this week is dedicated to just jabitha.

#Riverdale #riverdalecentral #ttsource #jugheadcentral #riverdaleevents #Riverdale events #jabitha #jughead x tabitha #tabitha x jughead #Jughead Jones #Tabitha Tate #announcements #events #jabithaweek2022 #Jabitha Week 2022

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anchorandrope · 2 years

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BABYGATE IN PICTURES - MASTERPOST PART 6. - THE BUMP THAT CHANGED SIZE, DIMENSIONS AND DISAPPEARED.

This masterpost belongs to tellmethisisnotlove (@tellmethisisnottumblisnextfuckup) who authorized me to post it. All credits go to her.

The rest of the Masterposts

Masterposts in Docs

Hello and welcome back to the masterpost series! We have covered approximately 30% of babygate, it is a tremendous topic, so if you made it this far, congratulations! :)

In the previous parts (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) we have covered Louis and co’s and the media actions. Now it’s time to see what’s going on with this *random impregnated girl*.

The pregnancy news broke on the 14th of July and the first time we *see* Briana on

JULY 17: approx 11 weeks along

credit: Splash News.

AUG 7. approx: 14 weeks along.

Take a look at this *burgeoning* belly. From other angles:

And we are going to stop our bump watch for a minute for context. The storyline is that this is a shy girl who does not want fame, who did not even know who Louis was and who never went to a One Direction concert.

After the pregnancy was reported One Direction has been coincidentally touring North America and here are the dates (source wikipedia):

This is 22 concerts since the announcement. Twenty two.

The headlines as you remember tried to suggest that Louis in the same place as Briana and when they did that, Louis’ representative spoke up suggesting that of course he is in the US because his band is on tour there. (for the exact quote go to Part 4). Her family gives interviews left right and center, no one is speaking up from Louis’ camp apart from Liam’s Magic Radio interview and that memorable Good Morning America interview where Michael Strahan congratulated Louis in a live show. We are watching and waiting to see how they will SHOW that this woman is indeed pregnant. I don’t think it’s needed to say but the BURGEONING bump did not convince anyone that she was pregnant.

Fan reactions:

credit: proudoflou

WAIT A MINUTE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY HIDING HER BELLY? Well, here is a montage of all of her pictures before her belly debut on Aug 7:

The pictures were also more than.. interesting: (credit: jaw-drops):

credit: vansandburberry:

(credit: yealourry, diggingandfluff)

Conveniently she is visiting a passport office here.

Here is more fan opinions about the passport:

Note: the international travel was Briana in the Bahamas. credit: diggingandfluff

This next one is from a certified US Passport Acceptance Agent:

elyssaallen:

I wanna talk about the passport office photos for a minute because a) I’ve seen a whole lot of antis trying to justify why she was there, especially since she did just travel to the Bahamas (from what I have seen/heard - I have paid little attention to this particular circus so forgive me if I’m wrong on that one) and b) I have seen a lot of speculation that she will be at the BiM Cinderella Ball or at least in the UK by Monday.

[For the record, I am a certified United State Passport Acceptance Agent. I am on the front line of the passport process, so I know my shit.]

“Maybe she was picking up the forms to mail.” “Maybe she needs to get more pages.” “Maybe she needs to correct information.”

Pap photos show Briana leaving a passport office WITH a DS-11 (not a DS-4085 or DS-5504) in her hand. You cannot mail a DS-11 yourself. You must appear in front of a passport agent. Part of the form is filled out by an acceptance agent. We collect identification, proof of citizenship, fees, and take your photo, etc.

“Maybe she was getting a new photo.”

That’s not a thing. You don’t replace your photo. That’d be replacing the whole passport. Plus, girlie was wearing a white t-shirt. I would have had to tell her to put on a sweater or go home and change. Whenever people call to inquire about passports and/or passport photos, I am required to tell the person that they cannot wear white and cannot wear anything with writing or a logo.

“Maybe she’s renewing.”

Nah. You need the DS-82 to renew a passport and you mail that yourself (+ check/money order and new passport photo).

Again, she had a DS-11, which is the form one is required to fill out to apply for a first time passport (book and/or card - you can do both at once) or to apply for a new passport if one’s previously issued passport expired more than 15 years ago. (You can access this form online so you don’t have to actually pick it up somewhere.)

Passports are only valid for 10 years if the applicant is 16 or older. (A child’s passport is valid for 5 years and cannot be renewed).

“Maybe she has a passport card and needs a passport book.”

This is a plausible scenario.

A passport book allows a person to travel internationally by air, land, and sea. A passport card allows only for land and sea travel. Basically, you can drive to Canada or Mexico. Some cruises will allow you to use a passport card when stopping at international ports, but if you really want to explore, you need the book and many cruise lines (from my experience) now advise you to have the book. It’s more expensive, but it’s better and usually worth it in the end considering a number of people come back to get the book within that 10 years anyway.

So maybe the Bahamas trip was a cruise and that Briana has a passport card and that’s why she is applying for a passport again. (Like I said, I don’t know shit about her trip or how she got there and back. I’m sure one of y’all more attentive Larries know.)

HOWEVER

Standard processing time for a U.S. passport is 4 to 6 weeks (it is busy season and with over 1 million apps in process right now, NPC is dealing with some delays, pushing it to 5 to 7 weeks maybe 8 weeks in some cases). With expedite services processing takes 2 to 3 weeks. Expedited at a Department of State Passport Agency will, at its soonest, take 8business days (9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday - Friday) and there are a number of restrictions because this type of service is usually reserved for urgent matters (not PR stunts).

There are only 28 DoS agencies in the United States, California has 3 of them in LA, San Diego, and San Francisco respectively. Banana was not at one of these agencies. That office looked like it was on a used car lot.

She was leaving with the DS-11. So she didn’t do anything right then other than be seen at the passport office with a passport application.

Though it goes without saying, this was an intentional papping to a) have something to write articles about because, to echo drunkhermione, PREGNANT AMERICAN BRIANA + BRITISH LOUIS + BABY = INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL. b) cause speculation amongst fans aboutwhen she’ll be in the UK. c) Whatever other crazy dumb Modest! logic is going on.

Now back to bump watch!

Remember how One Direction had 22 concerts while in North America?

Can you guess how many concerts Briana attended? NONE. So she is photographed just leaving a passport office. Can you guess when she shows up? She bloody traveled to the UK to attend SIX shows of One Direction and instead of a short domestic flight while the band is mere hours away and she is not that along in her pregnancy she flew international.

SEP 24: approx 22 weeks along. One Direction’s first show after they ended the North America leg about 2 weeks ago.

Briana’s cousin Ashley Jessica who very actively served as the spokesperson for Briana on twitter tweeted this:

Then she went private. (as always)

Get ready for WHAT?

Oh well we will soon know.

So here we have the entire O2 arena full of fans, and a rumor that Briana would travel to the concert. IF the passport pictures were not cluing you in, then this next one definitely is because one lucky fan was able to get a picture of Briana.

This was the tweet, she deleted her tweet since.

What do I mean by lucky?

credit: bethaboolou

(credit: zenlikejen)

Remember this name? Simon Cowell? The only one from the 1D camp ever speaking up about the baby? Yeah him. Wait, there’s more:

credit: genuinelybelieve

screenshot taken: 2nd May, 2016. WHAT A LUCKY FAN, AGAIN!!

Now, here is another picture:

If on July 14 (according to the sun) she was 11 weeks pregnant then on Sept 24 he should be around 21-22 weeks pregnant here. Her legs are apart and it looks like she is ready to give birth here in the stands.

Looks pregnant, right? it is actually the game of the angles. See:

Yet another black outfit and hand on belly. Source: a submitter to zenlikejen

credit: diggingandfluff

So the pictures can be all taken apart. She is wearing black, her bump is always covered by either her hands, a cordon or the angle the picture was taken from.

SEP 28:

No one can find her. The entire arena is on bump watch but no one can take a pic.

We got this:

But that is not her.

No one can even identify the girl because she looks different every time she is pictured. This is Ashley’s mom, Tracy. Briana’s aunt.

Context:

SEP 29:

credit: lapelosa

Even tweeted about it:

Interesting timing, huh?

Here are the HQ’s from Sep 29:

The dress on this second pic looks a bit tricky but the puffy part is still not the belly. The first pic shows it much better. And of course her bump is covered by a cordon.

This bump is too low. It is normally this low when you are ready to pop.

SEP 30:

lightened out version:

Fan report from a blogger:

credit: buscandoelparaiso

How Jay (Louis’ mom, mom of seven) did it when she was pregnant:

credit: anonymous

And this girl is not getting a call out or congrats from the band at all. Attends 6 shows in a row and GETS NOTHING.

credit: happy1days

credit: lesbianslovelouis

So let’s check that bump:

OCT 31: Halloween

She looks pregnant, right?

Let’s get a closer look.

Oopsie. She’s not pregnant. She literally just pushed her belly in a way that it looked like she was pregnant. She is supposed to be 26 weeks pregnant.

NOV 2: papped

This was her a few days ago. WHERE IS THAT BUMP?

There’s literally no way that she looked like that on Oct 31 and looking heavily pregnant on NOV 2.

Here is the OCT 31 pic lightened:

THERE’S LITERALLY NO BUMP. (credit: stylinsobss)

Back to Oct 31 a little bit:

Daily Mail article snippet:

credit: conscious–ramblings

Now she will disappear for weeks.

DEC 26: Briana posts this: (approx 35 weeks along from the 40 weeks)

and posted a video about their family Christmas in 2015.

And this pic leaked or was posted (not clear yet) from the same day Dec 26:

This is Briana.

Now you might ask yourself a question here:

She is supposed to be 34-35 weeks along, where the hell is the bump??

The video is not available anymore but here are a few screenshots proving it was taken the same time as the picture where Briana conveniently is not wearing her fake bump.

A day ago she had this huge bump. WHERE IS IT??? The picture on the right side is from this same video, you can see the same people on the left, everyone is dressed the same. And THAT is Briana. No bump. It’s not the black dress. It’s not the angle. SHE HAS NO BUMP. And she also deleted the video from her instagram on Apr 17 in 2016.

JAN 16:

Briana’s mom posted this:

BUT:

credit: actuallyredorchid (EDIT: we’re not sure if Amber is a cousin or not, but she’s a Clark.)

They went above and beyond to show she is pregnant on social media, but they never showed the actual face with the entire bump. It was aleways cropped.

Here’s more proof that they tried to use pics from someone else: on the right side you can see Ashley sending that cropped picture to one of the Briana accounts and asking them to post it.

And surprise surprise that is again: amberfillerup.The picture can be easily found on Pinterest.

Even her @ is there:

When they were called out that the headless picture is old they posted this picture on the right to prove it is not old.

Fan reaction: credit: hearteyeslikeafooligan

OK I just love analyzing visual clues, so I couldn’t resist!

The photo on the left was quite obviously taken at a VERY different time, long before the date the person posting it wanted it to be assumed.

They were obviously presenting that photo as “proof” of how B’s belly looks currently, when they posted it two days ago. They presented it as if it was B posing for that photo two days ago, to show how her pregnant belly looked right then.

The photo on the right was posted to show the same spot as it looks right now.

That view out the door proves to me that the photo on the left was taken a very long time ago, and was therefore not taken of anyone who is currently pregnant.

1. The photo on the left shows leaves on the ground, and I can’t imagine there being any leaves still on the ground now in such a well-groomed courtyard.

2. There is shrubbery directly to the left of the door the girl and cat are standing near, and that shrubbery had been recently sheered close and neat in the photo on the left. In the photo on the right that same shrubbery is overgrown and way past due for being sheered. You can see the shape of the leaves growing out of it which is absolutely impossible if it looked sheered to a straight edge two days prior. Maybe they shoved a different tree against that shrub and it’s leaning there waiting to be moved or something, or maybe they pulled out that shrub and put something bigger in the line of sight past it sometime in the last two days.

3. The shrubbery in front of the neighbor’s house across the street has experienced much growth between photo sessions. Far more than two day’s worth. More like months at least. The two shrubs under their window that can be seen in both photos are kept in the same shape by the gardener but you can still see differences in the sheering that wouldn’t be present after only two days. The inside of the shrubs are far more filled in which represents growth that would take months. Look how bare they are near their roots in the photo on the left, and how lush they are almost all the way down their roots in the photo on the right. They’ve grown to a different shape in the months between photos.

4. That red planter inside the neighbor’s window, visible above those shrubs? Check out the PLANT inside it!!!!! Maybe they changed plants inside that pot sometime in the last two days. Otherwise, that plant grew a ton. Again, months worth of growth.

This was random but again, they could not come up with a bump + head picture.

Another cropped out picture:

Headless:

And another pic where the head is cropped out:

JAN 16: 37 weeks from the 40 weeks.

This picture was posted by Briana, again only a bit of blonde hair is visible and a bump.

This was another attempt at getting people post bump plus blonde hair pictures:

This picture was posted by Ashley:

And this is a pic from Amber: source: Instagram: @amberfillerup

SAME PERSON. You can see the IV, the nails, and the angle on the first one is to hide the ring.

This is Amber after giving birth:

This was the last social media picture of *her* bump.

She gets papped one week before giving birth.

The article was posted on Jan 23:

Pap picture: on the left, her bump picture on the right:

Fan reactions (credit: proudoflou)

credit: bananastagram:

The next pictures will come after giving *birth*.

See a sneak and peek:

UPDATE: she shared this pic as a throwback for being 3 months along:

‘How time just goes’: Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Briana Jungwirth shared a throwback snap to when she was three months pregnant with her baby boy, Freddie Reign (Daily Mail)

But you can see that the face is her new face, the nose is her new nose. FAIL.

Thank you for reading this!

This was Part 6 of the babygate masterpost.

#babygate #tellmethisisnotlove masterposts

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temilyrights · 2 years

Note

katie!! hii congrats on both completing your second year of uni and 1.4k! hope you're taking a break and resting from all the work right now (:

could i request 🍒 (first impression), 🎸 (song), and 🌸 cyma as aesthetics please (:

hope you have a lovely day bestie <3 (and me running to give you a hug rn)

thank you so much!! i’m so sorry this took so long - went to pack up my uni house, then got very drunk with my best friend, and just got back from staying with my grandad so i’ve been super busy🥲 i hope you’re good! sending all my love and returning your big hug💜

🌸cyma - cast your mutuals as: aesthetics

you as dark academia. late night study sessions. neat handwriting but disorganised journals. a worn leather armchair that welcomes your body perfectly. the smell of old books - full of knowledge and secrets. the safety and warmth of a scarf on a cold winters night. hot coffee. well dressed. warm jumpers. clear night skies with a bright moon. feeling safe. overgrown plants that even if they cause damage you will never cut down. beauty.

@themoontaxi as cottagecore. fresh berries. ice cold lemonade on a hot summers day. lying in the grass and finding figures in the clouds. feeling truly content. running through long grass and feeling free. knowing the mud stains and scrapped knees are worth it as you might have finally found happiness. plants that grew because of love and care. hard work. orange and pink sunsets that fill the sky. so much to do but always stopping to admire. tranquility.

@hotch-girl as y2k. butterflies and jewels. baby pink that you pretend not to love but secretly do. nostalgia but for all the correct reasons. sleepovers with your friends. the feeling of a fresh, thick duvet. candy jewellery. sweet and exciting. friendship that is real. messy room but knowing exactly where every thing is. cats lying in the sun. constantly growing and finding a new version of yourself. mood boards of your future goals. they feel obtainable. confidence.

@ellcsgreenaway as grunge. empty fields with your friends. confessing the secrets you’ve always kept hidden. loud music that vibrates through your body. feeling free for the first time. trusted well worn shoes. ignoring the weights of the world. asking the big questions. city lights. so many possibilities. hidden knowledge. night skies full of stars. fading anger. no promises but there’s a light. hope you work hard to keep. defiance.

@sweetprentiss as soft girl. dreaming about the future. pastel highlighters. loving yourself. a safe space you worked hard to keep. words of affirmation. gentle touches. refusing to lose any femininity. a sunny day after so many cold ones. studying in the grass. watching the sunrise. sinking your feet into warm sand. strawberry lollipops. twinkling fairy lights that welcome you home. personalised journals. coming up for air. optimism.

🍒 i’ll tell you my first impression of you:

i believe i started following you near the beginning of my decent back into the cm fandom, but that could be wrong? idk i just know that i feel like we’ve been moots the entire time🥲 i remember your blog being pretty colours (as it always is), i remember your username made me chuckle. i don’t think i’ve ever told you this but i love it so much! <3

you seemed really nice and interesting! your incorrect quotes were funny and so i had to follow you. i don’t remember being intimidated by you, which is impressive because i’m intimidated by everyone. you were always so friendly and welcoming :) you’re a 10/10 <3

🎸 I'll give you a song I associate with you based purely off vibes:

#sorry if you don’t agree with your aesthetic! <3 #raven🦉#temilyrights’ summer celebration #kt answers

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burdswritersblock · 2 years

Text

An Imperfectly Remembered Life, Ch. 2

Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)魔道祖师 / 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

Ship: Lan Zhan / Wei Ying (as Mo Xuanyu at first)

Tags: Modern AU, Plenty of OOC Moments, Memory Loss, Grief, (Mentions of) Alcoholism, Some Physical Violence (eventually), The Lies We Tell Ourselves, Hidden Identity, Found Family, Fake Marriage, Story Told Partially Through Flashback

Summary: Mo Xuanyu didn't know when he took the internship at one of the largest companies in the city that he'd be running into a face he'd thought (hoped) he'd never see again. Filled with regret and guilt over the accident, and a dark secret about his life before the Jiang family took him in, Wei Wuxian can only hope that Lan Wangji doesn't recognize him and that he can survive the internship unscathed.

This Mo Xuanyu sparks traces of memory in Lan Wangji the day he shows up to start his internship. He can't place the too-familiar face and it bothers him, though he tries to deny the familiarity. But the more it eats at him, the harder it is to ignore the dark haired man with the easy smile that keeps reminding him of something... something important... something that's been missing...

Title from this quote: “An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty brain, shedding bits of color, a sentence or a fragrance, something that changes and then disappears. It drops like a stone to the bottom of the cave.” ― Barbara Kingsolver, The Lacuna

Chapter 2 below the cut.

2... The days passed slowly. Mo Xuanyu kept his head down, did his work, and did his utmost not to draw the attention of those around him. He spent his days comparing physical files to digital ones. Leave it to him to show up right as the company was trying to move from the paper age to the computer one, but at least it kept him busy. The more he stayed in one place, the less likely he was to run into people he didn't want to face. In his third week, he started to relax and took a few more chances to get up and visit the break room. They usually had good coffee and pastries in there, he'd found. It was a Thursday and Mo Xuanyu was feeling particularly tired, but with a crying toddler at home, it was expected. He was stirring some sugar and creamer into his cup, yawning as he turned to go back to his desk when he was stopped short by a figure in the doorway. Nearly dropping his cup, Mo Xuanyu took a step back and nodded politely, greeting his manager softly. His eyes darted around for an exit, but Lan Wangji was standing squarely in the door frame, his sharp eyes boring into him. "Good afternoon, sir," he said, licking his lips nervously. "Coffee's fresh if that's what you're here for."

Lan Wangji didn't move, simply continuing to star at him as he fought to keep from fidgeting.

"Sir...?"

"You're Mo, correct? Mo Xuanyu?" Lan Wangji's voice seemed deeper than it had seven years before and Mo Xuanyu swallowed hard.

"Yes, I am. Is there something I can...?"

"You're rather diligent in your work."

"I do what I'm told, Mr. Lan. That's all."

Lan Wangji studied him for a few more moments before stepping fully into the breakroom. Mo Xuanyu suddenly realized no one else was in the room with them and he gripped his coffee cup harder in his hands.

"You'll be joining the other interns for the welcome dinner tomorrow night, correct?"

Lan Wangji was still moving into the room and Mo Xuanyu was running out of space to retreat. When the other finally stopped, he realized that Lan Wangji must have hit another growth spurt in high school because there were at least two more inches of height between them. The next thing he noticed was the way Lan Wangji's button down shirt lay across his shoulders and chest, his lack of suit jacket making his fit stature more than obvious. It made Mo Xuanyu a little self-conscious in his own clothes. He took care of himself, but not to the same extent, apparently.

"I, uh... I haven't decided yet, sir." He cleared his throat, trying to get his vocal cords to calm down. "I'd have to check with... well, I haven't decided. I might, though."

"You should." Stepping around him, Lan Wangji picked up and cup and selected a teabag from a box. "We managers go to great lengths for this dinner."

"Yes, sir. I understand." Mo Xuanyu smiled brightly, nodding his head a few times. "Like I said, I might. It will depend. If you'll excuse me, I'll get back to work."

He made his way across the room, trying not to look like he was running away. He was almost to the door when Lan Wangji's voice stopped him again, halting his steps immediately. Mo Xuanyu turned enough to look over his shoulder at his manager.

"Mo Xuanyu." Lan Wangji still had his own back turned toward him, his neat braid hanging neatly against the middle of his shirt. "I expect to see you there. Despite whatever excuses you might make."

Mo Xuanyu made some sort of noise in response, remembering well how that tone always had him doing whatever Lan Wangji told him to do in high school. Though mostly he used it to force him to study properly for exams. Clearing his throat, he gave a light affirmative and continued his escape back to his desk.

When he arrived home that night, Mo Xuanyu sat in his car for a few minutes. He was tired, but he knew relaxing was not in the cards for him. Letting out a breath, he got out and headed into the little house, a bright smile already on his face.

"Uncle 'Anu!"

Mo Xuanyu barely had time to drop his bag on the floor before his arms were filled with squirming three year old boy. Sticky kisses were planted on his cheeks and he laughed, feeling much of his days stress melting as he carried the child into the living room.

"A'Yuan, what is all over your cheeks?" he asked, shifting him to one arm so he could poke at the mess on the boy’s face.

"He just finished a popsicle." Wen Ning stepped out of the kitchen, a wet cloth in his hand. "I was trying to clean him up when he heard you coming in. Sorry."

Mo Xuanyu smiled, shaking his head as he held A'Yuan still so Wen Ning could wipe his hands and face. A'Yuan fussed and wiggled, but in the end the two of them were able to get most of the mess off of him.

"Popsicle before dinner?" Mo Xuanyu eyed Wen Ning with a teasing smile. "I'm guessing your sister isn't home yet?"

Wen Ning's cheeks colored and he fidgeted, his hands gesturing helplessly.

"He's been a good boy today," he said, his voice stuttering a little. "Took his nap like a champ and ate all of his lunch. I didn't think it would hurt. Please, don't tell my sister."

Mo Xuanyu laughed, reaching out his free hand to grip Wen Ning's shoulder, giving him a soft shake.

"It's alright. I won't. It will be just between us, as long as A'Yuan doesn't tell." He gave another shake to get a little smile out of his brother-in-law.

"Let me get changed and I'll watch him while you get dinner started. Alright?"

Wen Ning nodded and took A'Yuan, hushing his fussing as Mo Xuanyu went back to the front hall to collect his bag and went upstairs to his bedroom to change out of his suit. There was a large sticky handprint on the shoulder now, so he put it aside to go to the cleaners.

Settling onto the edge of his bed, he tugged the elastic band from his hair, letting it fall around his neck and shoulders. Sighing, he ran a hand through it, giving it a shake before bringing his hand to his lap. Lan Wangji's voice had stirred so many memories, so many moments in time that he had forced himself to not think about in the last years. Memories he didn't deserve.

***

Wei Wuxian was the last person to step into the classroom, the fingers of his right hand twirling a pen deftly between long fingers. Dark eyes skimmed the room, ignoring the curious looks he was being given. He was no stranger to being the new kid in class, spending much of his childhood moving from place to place with his parents. He'd long since gotten used to it.

His eyes lit up as he found an open seat near the back and he headed for it. Dropping into the hard plastic chair, he set his books down and looked to his left and right. On one side, a girl was immersed in her phone, ignoring the world. To the other, a guy with long black hair sat ramrod straight, already reading the chapter of their textbook. Wei Wuxian snorted and shifted, turning toward him and forgetting the girl.

"Hey. I'm Wei Wuxian." He held his hand out across the aisle. "It's my first day. What do they call you?"

There was a brief moment where the other guy didn't move, his eyes continuing to skim the lines printed on the page. Wei Wuxian's smile began to fade and he was just about to withdraw his hand when he moved. Closing the book, the long haired boy turned enough to reach out and grasp Wei Wuxian's hand, the grip surprisingly firm as their eyes met.

"Lan Wangji."

Wei Wuxian was caught off guard by the voice, more-so than he was by the strength of the handshake. His smile brightened and he gave a squeeze before releasing the hand in his own.

"Lan Wangji. Nice to meet you. Do you always just read the textbook?"

Lan Wangji's eyebrow twitched minutely and he turned back to the book.

"I like to be prepared."

“On the first day? Wait, don’t tell me you read them during the breaks. Do you?”

There was a twitch in Lan Wangji's eyebrow again and he made a sound that Wei Wuxian took as an affirmative.

"But... why?"

Lan Wangji glanced at him, a tiny frown pulling the corners of his lips down for a moment. Instead of answering, he turned his attention back to the book, carefully turning the page. Wei Wuxian laughed and sat straight in his seat again, fingers twirling the pen once more.

"Suit yourself."

He barely paid attention when the class started, following along only enough to look the part, but he spent more time doodling on his notebook paper and casting glances at Lan Wangji to his right. He was intrigued by the guy, in the way he kept up, the way he never slouched, and although he looked smart as hell and probably knew the material, he never raised his hand to answer a question. Shifting, he looked over at the notes Lan Wangji was taking and was not surprised in the slightest by the immaculate handwriting.

When the bell rang, Lan Wangji was packed and out the door quickly, leaving Wei Wuxian laughing in his wake. As he made his way into the hall to his next class, Wei Wuxian realized he really wanted to be friends with Lan Wangji.

***

Mo Xuanyu shook himself from his thoughts and began unbuttoning his shirt. He was just hanging it on the closet door when there was a knock at the door and Wen Qing let herself in. He gave her a smile and a nod, continuing his efforts to change his clothes by tugging off the white T-shirt he wore beneath the dress shirt.

"Welcome home," he said, tugging his belt free from his pants. "How was your day?"

Wen Qing sat on the bed with a shrug. She was still wearing her scrubs, but she'd unpinned part of her hair.

"Same as ever. Too many people coming to the emergency room lacking emergencies." She shrugged again, reaching to pull more pins from her head. "It was quiet, at least. Yours?"

Wei Wuxian finished changing, pulling on sweatpants and a dark T-shirt before he responded.

"I need to ask you a huge favor," he said, turning to face her. "Mo Xuanyu needs his wife tomorrow night. Do you think you can free yourself up for a few hours?"

Wen Qing smiled and raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly.

"What happened?"

Mo Xuanyu went to the other side of the bed and flopped down onto it, groaning as he rubbed his face.

"I've been told I have to attend the dinner tomorrow night. The one I told you about last week. Lan Wangji cornered me and basically told me I have to show up." He turned his head as Wen Qing laid back beside him, giving her his best pout. "I can bring a plus one. Will you please try to come with me?"

She looked back at him and considered it quietly.

"I know you work the night shift tomorrow and it would cut into your sleep," he went on quickly. "And you know I'll make it up to you, but I just really need you to be there. Mo Xuanyu needs his wife."

"You're really shaken by this, aren't you?" she asked softly after a few more moments of letting him squirm.

"Shaken... maybe." Mo Xuanyu sighed, turning his eyes to the ceiling. "But if he remembers... I just need a reason to not speak to him. Or anyone, really. And you're better at the social thing than I am. I tend to make an idiot of myself. I need you there to keep me from being stupid."

Wen Qing laughed, reaching over to pat his arm before sitting up. "Fine. I'll go with you for a few hours, but I have to leave by eight thirty to make my nine o'clock shift. And you owe me big." Rising from the bed, she turned to face him, hands propped on her hips. "I'll figure out your payment later. Right now, I'm going to take a shower before dinner. Go play with A'Yuan so he lets go of A'Ning's leg."

She left the room, but Mo Xuanyu stayed put on the bed for a little longer. He was beyond grateful for Wen Qing and all that she'd done for him in the last few years. She knew some of his past, but only enough to understand his current situation. But she was loyal and solid, and he really could have done worse. Far worse. It took him another minute or two before he got up and went back downstairs, greeting A'Yuan's delighted greeting with a laugh and a smile.

***

Mo Xuanyu was back on full alert in the office the following day. He kept his head moving any time he was away from his desk, trying hard not to get snuck up on again. It was stressful, but he was enjoying his work and he really didn't want to leave it. Not yet, anyway. This city was a far cry from his family and that part of his life he was trying to avoid, much less think about. He took his lunch in the breakroom, facing the door. He had a book on the table to make himself look distracted if he needed to, but he mostly picked at the container of leftovers from dinner the night before.

Just as he was giving up on eating and putting the lid back on, a familiar figure appeared in the door. Mo Xuanyu couldn't reach for the book without dropping the food container, so he froze as Lan Wangji crossed the room to make his cup of tea. God, the man had not changed the tiniest bit in almost eight years. It was almost infuriating, but he had no right or reason to be angry.

He was still sitting there staring when Lan Wangji turned and spotted him. There was that subtle twitch in his eyebrow before he approached the table and took a seat, setting his cup down quietly.

"Did you decide?" he asked, his voice as flat as ever, though his gaze was sharp.

"Huh?" Mo Xuanyu twitched and blinked. "Oh... right. I did." He busied himself packing his lunch away, refusing to look up as he did so. "I'll be there tonight. I'm bringing a guest, since we were told we could."

"Oh? Who, if I may ask?"

"Um... my w-wife." He glanced up with a smile. "She said she'd like to meet the people I work with, so she's going to join me before she goes to work tonight."

"Wife?" Lan Wangji's expression shifted subtly for a moment and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, it will be nice to meet her."

"I'll be sure to introduce you. Excuse me, please."

Mo Xuanyu grabbed up his things and hurried away, leaving Lan Wangji at the table with his steeping cup of tea and his thoughts.

Mo Xuanyu's file didn't mention that he was married. That portion was left blank. Probably an oversight on the man's part. For some reason, the thought that Mo Xuanyu was married irked something in his mind. He turned his head, catching a last glimpse of dark hair as the man exited the breakroom. Letting out a soft breath, Lan Wangji did his best to push the feelings away. There was no reason to feel that way, he had no idea why he was even bothered. Taking his tea, he returned to his office to prepare for his afternoon meeting.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mxtx #mxtx fanfic #mo xiang tong xiu #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei ying #wei wuxian #mo xuanyu #wen qing #wen ning #a'yuan #wen yuan

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