#barak

[team-celestial-storms]

“Pleeeeeaaasee! One more time, then I’ll sleep! Promise!”

“Who even told you that story? It’s far too violent for school…”

“Mamaaaaa…”

“Alright, alright! Get comfy. Ahem…Long ago, the Almighty Arceus created the world in which we reside…”

————

“Barak!!!” A soft yet rough voice broke through the once peaceful silence. There was but a brief moment of silence once more before the same voice let out another call. “Barak! I’ve done your stupid challenge, show your face!!!”

The call reverberated throughout the cave, bouncing off every surface and calling back to the source: a small Pichu that stood in front of a stone statue. It was a statue that haunted her in a way. It wasn’t anything frightening in appearance; in fact, it was rather welcoming to those who sought it. Carved smoothly out of stone was the form of a scraggly Mew. Its jagged tail curled around the pillar in which it rested. In its paws was an orb, the electrical essence that sparked within lighting the cave and causing shadows to dance sporadically in its glow. Many had visited this place and looked upon the same statue with reverence, leaving offerings and such as thanks for what the god it depicted had given them. Yet today, it received no such respect.

The Pichu that stood in front of the statue was rather beaten up, scrapes and bruises littered her small form, yet she stood defiantly. The returned silence was almost deafening as she looked upon the statue, her determined face quickly twisting into one of anger. With a growl, she picked up a nearby rock and prepared to throw it, before she was immediately stopped by a feathered wing extending in front of her.

“S-Sara, hey! I know you’re frustrated, but how about we don’t go pissing off one of the gods? That’d surely bring you all kinds of bad luck…” The interruption came from her serpentine companion, a Dragonair named Odysseus. His emerald eyes glanced nervously at the statue before falling back onto the Pichu. His wing shifted from blocking her vision to gently leading her away, the tip of his tail working the stone from her little hands and tossing it back onto the ground. “Listen… This was your fifth attempt in two days. I know you’re anxious about the exam, but maybe take a break from this? Just for a few days? Honestly, it’s impressive you can keep doing this with how beat up you are…” He finished before picking the Pichu up by the scruff and placing her on his back as he slithered his way towards the exit. “Barak’s always gonna be here, y'know. Maybe he’ll appear for you next time.”

The only response he received from the disheveled Pichu was a huff as she was lifted and then set down. She glanced back at the statue as the distance between the two grew greater with each passing second, its light fading as they exited the cave into its connecting tunnel. “Yeah, well…You said that last time. And the time before that, and the time before that…” She could’ve kept going on and on, but decided he needed no further elaboration. Instead, she allowed herself to relax against the Dragonair’s smooth scales, his motions calming her aching body.

As the two exited the cave, the peaceful silence once again returned. The dancing shadow of the statue shifted, no longer following in step with the light. Its eyes narrowed as it watched the two leave before once again fading into the shadows and returning to its dance.

————

Characters Unlocked:

Sara (Available for Asks)

Odysseus (Available for Asks)

Barak (Unavailable for Asks)

[twitterexile]

[artandthebible]

Jael, Deborah and Barak

Artist: Salomon de Bray (Dutch, 1597-1664)

Date: c. 1630

Medium: Oil on panel

Collection: Museo de Arte de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico

Description

Jael appears in the biblical Book of Judges. Deborah (with hands clasped in prayer) prophesied that the enemy would be defeated thanks to a woman, rather than by general Barak (in the background, looking diffident in spite of his helmet and armor). When the enemy’s commander Sisera was resting, Jael killed him instantly by driving a tent peg through his temple – the artist captures her grimace of fierce resolution, hammer still in hand. Jael was an ambiguous heroine, as she was often presented as a warning to men: with her exotic garments and low neckline, her attractiveness makes her dangerous.

[turkicculture]

Barak Turkmen

[treefey]

So, not that I want an adaptation of the Belgariad (I feel like it would not be done well at all), but I keep thinking about some small tweaks to the Merel x Barak storyline that showcase what I love about their story and to not do spousal rape.

I love this story arc because it's bitterness eventually giving way to reconciliation and love. And it showcases angsty Garion's emotional intelligence, not as much as his unwavering faith in Pol x Durnik, but he can still tell his friend is hurting and wants better for him.

BUT the narrative always states that Merel is the problem. Silk says she is a shallow woman. Polgara kind of gloats when she knows Merel is pregnant with a son and says "you had to grow up" when Merel says she didn't realize how sweet Barak is. Of course, the "not even a locked door could keep you out" (paraphrased) line. Yikes yikes yikes on spikes. The implication that Barak cheated on Merel with a lady friend in Val Alorn is also dumb.

So, the fix is actually in the scaffolding of the story. It's obvious to me that Merel was treated as a bargaining chip by her family. Her obsession with duty is because it's how she was raised as a noblewoman. She didn't have a choice in her marriage, it was a duty. Sleeping with her husband is what she is supposed to do. Barak is so in love with her, and once he realizes their marriage is nothing more than a responsibility to her, he is deeply hurt. And maybe she tried and got bitter through his bitterness, or maybe she could never hide how angry and hurt she was that her parents basically sold her off once Barak had political power.

But the thing is, I think she does kinda like him. As soon as Garion comes to Barak with information about the plot in Val Alorn, her coldness drops. What we see is a woman with a great political mind, a quick thinker who urges Barak to stop wallowing in self pity and is 100% behind him when they talk to the king. And sure, she falls back on duty almost immediately, but I think that's to cope with the fact that deep down, she likes Barak and they've been so mean to each other for so long that neither of them can admit that they actually have feelings for each other. I don't think duty alone accounts for the way she backs him, the way she immediately stops being bitter.

Also Barak explicitly trusts her with managing their estate, something that is a big deal in a v sexist Cherek, and that's not lost on Merel.

So, on to the actual fixes. If Silk still says Merel is shallow, Garion should realize that she's a deeply hurt woman used as a political pawn by her family. Sendars don't do arranged marriages that we see, so Garion says something about how lonely she must have felt, and he sees that she relies on responsibility as armor because that's all she knows, her own feelings and desires are so deeply buried. She and Barak are both deeply wounded, and whenever one of them tries to thaw a little, the other is still all hard edges so they never make any progress. I'd advise just talking out the random probably hooker in Val Alorn, but if you wanna keep her, have Barak say he's married now, turn her down flat.

And instead of the locked door line, Merel should say something like "you didn't mind when I took my martial duties seriously your first night here. In fact, you were quite enthusiastic."

It's a very small change, but huge in the implications. One, Barak is not breaking in to have sex with his wife against her will. Two, while it's not the enthusiastic consent we are used to, it's willing consent. So maybe not great by most modern standards, but it's great in the world that's been built. It also kinda implies she initiated. Three, I think it could imply that Barak still loves her and she has some affection for him. That maybe they can get along long enough to have some fun, but then reality comes crashing down and their walls come back up.

Polgara is still amused by Merel's pregnancy, but isn't as smug about it. Then in Riva instead of saying Merel needed time to grow up, she says that the birth of a son tore down the walls they built.

The other thing I'd like to be addressed subtly is why their two daughters didn't thaw their attitude towards each other. The text states that Barak loves his daughters. So their births could have theoretically been a turning point. He's taken by wonder at both of their births, no matter the societal expectation that he needs a son. But Merel feels like she's failed in her duty, and she's afraid they'll be political pawns like her one day. (Barak would never let his daughters be married off unless they wanted it. But since they never truly talk, Merel doesn't realize this.) Merel recognizes Barak's gentleness with their daughters, and thinks kindly of him for it, but it's not enough to tear down those walls. So they are still stuck in this cycle of being standoffish to one another.

When their son is born, she feels like she's finally fulfilled her martial duties. When she asks Barak if she did well, he finally reassures her that yes, she did great, he's not defensive and can't hold back all the years of tenderness and love towards his wife. And that tenderness is so obviously genuine that she believes him. And they finally repair their relationship.

(There's already enough characters in this series, but I feel like Barak chewing out his in-laws would be fun, like if they were there when he first saw Unrak and made a comment about how he must be happy Merel finally fulfilled her duty to give him a son and he flips out on them)

[raurquiz]

#remembering #marklenard #actor #sarek #romulan #klingon #barak #startrek #themotionpicture #thesearchforspock #thevoyagehome #theundiscoveredcountry #thenextgeneration #missionimpossible #theplanetofapes #buckrogers #TheRadicals #Otherworld #IntheHeatoftheNight #startrek58

[glasses-rex]

I’ve just finished reading the Belgariad for the first time and loved it, so here’s some messy doodles of what I think Garion, Silk, Barak and Ce’Nedra look like. I didn’t realise that Garion was meant to have sandy hair until like Book 4, so here’s freckly brown-haired Garion instead.

Also first post, woo!

[c-0-nn-0-r-d03]

Vi a este bicho en una alucinación en mi momento más esquizo y pues lo dibuje AKZVAKDBAKSBA

No hay muchos datos, solo q puede hacer aparecer maíz donde estornude.

Y el @creation-art1 lo adoptó por lo que es su apa también gracias