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mrlarkstin · 4 months

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Eramus lore rambles about end of 6.0 leading into 7.0 below the cut!

CW: Mentions of pregnancy

Because I've been farming Zadnor and Dalriada today like an insane person trying to get enough coins to build a tank DT glam for Eramus- it got me thinking about his life end of 6.0 going into 7.0, and just how much its changed.

Eramus was struck down in Ultima Thule in his conflict with Zenos, but because of Azem (Erebus) he managed to hang on long enough to make it home, see the Star was safe and get back to Old Sharlayan. But he was dying and there wasn't much anyone could do for him. His injuries were to great. But, there was one idea.

Eramus is, erm was, Ishgardian. His mother was from a high house, he carries her cursed blood so in their panic- Vrtra offered his blood to save his beloved. No one expected that happened to actually happen. Eramus woke with a scream and promptly transformed into a Great Wyrm like dragon and took off into the sky where in a confused frenzy he wreaked havoc. It took both Estinien and Vrtra to subdue him and bring him back under control. They knocked him out of the sky and the force caused him to return to his mortal form.

After that, his unconscious body was taken to Thavnair where he stayed asleep for quite some time, it was weeks before he woke. By this point his body had under gone quite a significant change, one his partners weren't sure how to break to him so they had kept his body wrapped in bandages and covered in clothing.

Naturally he was confused why he was covered so much in such a warm climate. He knew something was wrong because no one would speak up and when they did they told him not to panic.

Scales had appeared and grown across his body, with the biggest concentration of them being around his hips and thighs. His pupils were slit, he had claws and his teeth were sharp.

Naturally he didn't take this well as he had just come to terms with the changes to his body from the Light Poisoning, now he had to go through that all over again. Though, it oddly didn't take very long, as these changes were from love.

It took some time, and some time for him being away from everyone, but it wasn't long until he accepted his fate and returned to his partners embraces. He was a dragon now, like his partners Vrtra and Estinien. No longer mortal and life now just a blink of his eye.

He wasn't used to his body naturally, and during a night of intense passion and Aether mixing he found himself well, with an egg. His daughter Altan who was erm, laid and hatched, right before 6.1 happened. Still not entirely used to his body, and unsure how to erm, stop these things from happening constantly, he wound up pregnant with an egg (or eggs since I haven't decided) again in 6.5 and will be for 7.0.

In my canon Vrtra never gave up his eye for Azdaja, instead with the power of Eramus, Estinien and Vrtra they managed to restore her and take her home. Now with Eramus' current condition, though they sense no fighting ahead (yet, tee hee), Vrtra is sending Varshahn with Eramus into 7.0 to be with them and protect him. If it's needed, but he knows even pregnant Eramus can handle himself.

Which makes the choice of glam I've chosen for Eramus for 7.0 extremely funny but also makes sense LMAO

Man

#eras lore #eras thoughts

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scotianostra · 1 year

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13th February 862 Kenneth MacAlpin who united the Picts and Scots in one kingdom, died at Forteviot.

His reign is given in the Pictish Chronicle as twenty eight years, considering the violent uncertain times I think it was a lengthy, successful reign.

When posting about history this far back it is difficult as there was nothing written down about it back then, well not much of it, in the sense of a written contemporary record of the foundation of the country that we now call Scotland, and there is certainly no Scottish record of any kind dating from the court of the early kings in the ninth century. The chroniclers that I like to quote tio fill up posts with contemporary information did not start till much later. So with posts like this I am sometimes scrambling between many sources, which in truth really don’t know the facts, so if you disagree with the story I am just going to shrug my shoulders and say- okay then.

If we ask the question who was the first king of Scotland, most folk with a bit of knowledge might say Kenneth MacAlpin, and in the oft-reproduced regnal list of Scottish kings he is named as Kenneth I. Except that his name was not Kenneth but Cinaed mac Ailpin – which is why I scored out the name, anyway we will call him Kenneth to avoid confusion – and there is no contemporary Scottish written account of his kingship.

That may be due to several reasons, for example written records were not kept because of the oral history tradition of the peoples who occupied what is now Scotland in the eighth, ninth and 10th centuries. Various predators such as the Vikings and the English invaders of later times – notably Edward I, as we know Longshanks ordered the destruction of Scottish records – plus the loss of church documents over the centuries and especially at the Reformation mean that we have precious few writings about the facts of the foundation of the Kingdom of Scotland, and most of those are by English or Irish chroniclers or Scots writing unreliably some centuries after the events of ‘facts’ which in many cases are just legends.

Wikipedia says that Kenneth “was a king of the Picts who, according to national myth, was the first king of Scots.” Wiki is as ever unreliable, because it mentions a “national myth” when we do know that there was almost certainly a king later identified as Kenneth and that he apparently did unite the kingdoms of Dalriada and Fortriu into a kingdom.

Quhen Alpyne this kyng was dede, He left a sowne wes cal’d Kyned, Dowchty man he wes and stout, All the Peychtis he put out. Gret bataylis than dyd he, To pwt in freedom his cuntre!

The short verse above is taken from Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland by the 15th-century author Andrew of Wyntoun, it is one of the earliest accounts of Kenneth’s noble deeds. Most of what is known today has been pieced together by historians.

Kenneth was born sometime between 800 and 810 AD. His father was King Alpin II of Dalriada (Dál Riata), a Gaelic kingdom founded in 500 AD by Irish invaders led by Fergus Mor. At the time of Kenneth’s birth, the Gaels were dominated by the powerful Pictish Kingdom. Kenneth’s mother was, according to legend, a Pictish Princess of extraordinary beauty. Alpin II was ultimately beheaded by the Gaels for fighting on the behalf of a Pictish King, the second most hated enemy of the Gaels (after the Vikings). Little is known about Kenneth’s parents but there is reason to suspect that Alpin abandoned his comrades for love of the unnamed Pictish Princess, an act that cost him his life.

Around the same time that Alpin was killed in the battles between the Picts and the Gaels, the Viking raids became increasingly frequent and ferocious, perhaps because they knew many of the land’s men were otherwise engaged. By 839 AD the Pictish kingship was almost entirely wiped out by Viking warriors. It is here that Kenneth enters the story. Many fighters sought to fill the vacuum of power and become the next king. Kenneth sought to claim the Gaelic and the Pictish throne, both of which he had some right to. However, according to legend, he was challenged by the seven royal houses of the Picts, especially the Pict Drust X.

Caught between the Gaels and the Vikings, the Picts knew that they needed a strong leader so a great meeting was called at Scone at which all of the claimants to the Crown were to attend, including Kenneth. The story goes that “the alcohol flowed freely at the meeting. Then, in what has since been referred to as Mac Alpin's treason, Drust and the Pictish nobles were all killed by the Scots: allegedly (and improbably) by having their booby-trapped benches collapsed so Kenneth's rivals plunged into pits in the floor and impaled themselves on spikes set there for the purpose” (Undiscovered Scotland, 2016).

This probably did not happen – the engineering feats alone seem hard to believe – but Kenneth most likely did kill, one way or another, all of his rivals to the throne. “What is fairly clear is that at some point between 839 and 848 AD Kenneth (with blood claims to both thrones) claims the kingdoms of the Picts and the Gaels”

Kenneth became the first king of the House of Alpin, named after his father. His lands included the Pictish Fortrio region and the Gaelic Dál Riata kingdom. Kenneth dubbed his new kingdom Scotia (in Gaelic, Alba). Yet, just because he was now the undisputed king did not mean peace was anywhere near in sight. Young Scotia was surrounded by hostile enemies: to the north were the highlanders, called the Men of Moray; to the west were the Irish, lying in wait to reclaim Fergus Mor’s conquest; to the south was the Anglo-Saxon realm of North Umbria; and at all times in all places, especially on the coasts and the islands, there was the threat of a Viking invasion.

It was this last threat that was most worrisome for King Kenneth MacAlpin. Legend has it that a huge fleet of 140 Viking ships was headed toward Dál Riata, intend on destroying the Gaels once and for all. With surprising speed and foresight, Kenneth order to Gaels to collect all of their religious relics (including the treasured remains of St. Columba) and move them to the safety of the interior Pict lands, once enemy territory but now unified. Scotia’s ecclesiastical capital was thus transferred from the coastal Iona to the interior Dunkeld. At this time, “Dál Riata vanishes from the chronicles and we only hear of Pictland from this point”

The Gaels took a risk in trusting the Pictish king and Kenneth made certain to reward them for their faith in him. He distributed among his Gaelic supporters’ lands that had been taken from his defeated rivals. The Pictish commoners may have resented their new Gaelic landlords but Kenneth did not give anyone the chance to rekindle old ethnic rivalries. What was needed now was unity, “something the Picts and Gaels had in common, to define them as a single people, and, as is so often the case throughout history, this came in the form of a common enemy” (BBC, 2014). Fortunately for nascent Scotland, Kenneth had this in spades. He rallied his people to fend off the Viking attacks and even launched raid or two of his own across Hadrian’s Wall into Anglican North Umbria.

Kenneth died in 858 A.D. of natural causes (most likely a tumorous cancer). He was buried on the island of Iona and succeeded by his brother, Donald I. The Kingdom of Alba lasted until 1296 when the English invaded.

The historians say Kenneth was the 34th great-grandfather of the current King “Charles III”

My friend Colin asked about sources I used, I don’t normally post them all, usually one is suffice, but I will post a few this time

BBC. "Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed Mac Ailpín)." Scotland's History. BBC, 2014. Web. http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/kenneth_macalpin/

Patin, James Fred. "Kenneth I Mac Alpine, King of the Picts." Mac Alpine. Geni Family Tree, 18 Nov. 2016. Web. https://www.geni.com/people/Kenneth-I-mac-Alpine-King-of-the-Picts/6000000001041559796

Royal Family History. "King Kenneth MacAlpin." King Kenneth MacAlpin. Royal Family History, 2016. Web. 30 Nov. 2016. http://www.britroyals.com/scots.asp?id=kenneth1

Undiscovered Scotland. "King Kenneth I: Biography on Undiscovered Scotland." Undiscovered Scotland. Undiscovered Scotland, 2016. Web. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/monarchs/kennethi.html

Then there is a great article here on Kenneth from The National.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/17234224.scotlands-first-king-unified-country-troubling-times/

#Scotland #scottish #royalty #Monarchy.#Alba #pictland #picts?#dalriada #history #i

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roegadynroost · 10 months

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So, my Endwalker goal is to get all battle jobs 90 (80 from BLU) on 4 characters, and I'm almost done, I just have MNK (70) SAM (76) NIN (50) BRD (51) MCH (50) and BLU (70) on the last character, as well as two others that I need to do the last 10 levels of BLU on... But I decided to take a break to go back and finish up some stuff in Bozja that I never did. I'm so surprised at how active it still is! Finally got my Lyon II notes from Dalriada, and I just need to go back to the Southern front to get the Lyon notes and the Sartauvoir notes. Maybe one day I'll go back and to the duels too. I love Bozja.

#FFXIV #FF14 #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv #Bozja #Dalriada

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4th-make-quail · 2 years

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For FFXIV, who's your glup shitto?

Oh anon, this is my favourite question! Do you want the one who's mentioned only in text and who dies 30 years before the content he's in? Or perhaps the man who we see in a few fights in bozja who then dies?

The first being Basch van Gabranth! Father of Noah van Gabranth of the IVth Legion, died as an old man of a sudden deadly illness 30 years before the Save the Queen storyline. Much beloved by his people, he was a Knight from Landis who be t the knee to conquering Garlemald, then moved ahead with plans to make his country equal again, working within the wheels of Empire to bring this dream to fruition. His son Noah succeeds in this, long after his death! He'd be so proud!!

The other glub shitto is, of course, Sartauvoir quo Soranus, resident sadistic Pyromancer of the IVth whose favourite canonical pastime is burning people alive! He's 61 and appears to very much have been in love with Basch. You fight him in the Dalriada, and he mentions Basch three+ times in that single fight - his final words before death being "Basch, I have failed you...". "If this is where I must die, I will not do so alone! Basch! I pray you are watching!" UGH I JUST LOVE HIM!!! He makes stupid time and fire puns and he ran away from his home when Garlemald invaded, posed as a scholar in literally the next town over, resists all efforts to be recruited by the IVth until Basch finally turns up, alone, completely unarmed, and somehow manages to sway him completely to his cause, Sartauvoir swears Basch his undying loyalty, just from that one meeting! And thirty years later he's still talking about him so much when none of the other members of the IVth mention him in more than passing?! Yeah. Yeah.

Also LOOK AT HIM!!! (second pic is mine ofc ehehe)

#ffxiv #Sartauvoir quo Soranus #Basch van Gabranth #sartbasch #God I love them #Thank u for giving me this opportunity to FLAIL anon!!#That cheered me up a lot #Anyway if anyone is interested in these two old fucks #May I steer you towards my 50k words of fic!!#Mostly single handedly populating the tag as usual lol

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magitekhearted · 2 years

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Are you happy with how your favorite canon muse was portrayed in canon?

Not-Munday Questions

Hmm. I think, overall, yes.

Right now my favorite canon muse is definitely Menenius, and I very much enjoyed his parts in the Save The Queen storyline. He was calculating and manipulative, and he knew it too. There was a very good reason why he was the one that Noah would consult in the war room, as well as a very good reason why he was the one in charge of recruiting and overseeing the spy network. But there were also little details or hints in the things he said or gestures he made that made it seem like he wasn’t entirely a terrible person, if that makes sense?

In no way do I excuse the things he did. But there’s more to him than just a defecting war criminal, and that’s what I love about him. All of the characters, on both sides, in the Bozja storyline are complex, and he's no exception. For example off the top of my head, in his backup plan for the Dalriada’s fate, he cared enough about his troops to evacuate them before blowing the flagship up -- and himself and the Diablo Armament with it. Not to mention his chemistry with Lyon was phenomenal, and I love that Lyon was able to verbally disarm him on multiple occasions(while also calling him out on his bullshit).

There's also the fact that he was willing to become a traitor to his own homeland in the name of supporting Noah's cause, because he also believed in the Gabranth family's dream of a new nation, where everyone was equal regardless of circumstances. He wouldn't be there, fighting against the Bozjan resistance to hold the line in Bozja and Zadnor, if he didn't believe in it, nor would he be willing to die for the cause.

I do have one gripe, though, in retrospect. It’s that a lot of information that demonstrates his personality, thoughts, feelings, etc. are found in his Field Notes, rather than in the storyline itself. To me, it’s incredibly important to his character that the reason he’s willing to do such cruel and unspeakable things is because of his unwavering loyalty to the Gabranths -- but you won’t know this information if you don’t read his field notes, which is a fucking shame.

#Memes #Out of the Field #omnirush #This is my emotional support war criminal

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dcviated · 1 year

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Rules, tag 10 followers you want to get to know better!

Tagged by: @sansloii (thanks mang) Tagging: steal it!

Name: bear, will

Star Sign: aquarius? idk I feel like these all changed at some point but whatever

Height: 6'-2" im tol

Middle name: Brady, after my grandma

Put your itunes/spotify/youtube on shuffle. What are the first 6 songs that popped up?

children of the city - mili

napisten hava - dalriada

call my name - the unlikely candidates

drivin' me bananas - brian tyler

eyes on the king - benn

chances - backstreet boys

Ever had a poem or song written about you: no, but, there was that time way back in mid/high school when I went to summer camp and the one girl who had a one sided crush on me got upset when I ditched the dance, so she sang a breakup song for the talent show!

When was the last time you played air guitar: the better question is when is the last time I picked up my bass and ahahhah... ha... my hobbies are crippled (I sing a lot, though- dont really do air guitar)

Who is your celebrity crush?: n/a, I dont follow that kind of thing

What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?: a sound I hate is grinding metal, especially when its coupled with the image of grating it across your teeth or something like aghaghssdlgh no thanks. a sound I love though? windchimes, gentle breezes ahhh

Do you believe in ghosts?: no lmao

How about aliens: seems more likely to be real than it is NOT given probability and how fuckhueg this universe is. if, we're considering any kind of outside life as 'aliens'... do I think some have been here? seems insanely improbable given the ramifications of contact

Do you drive?: soooooo much. a lot less now with my current work but my old job had me driving hundreds of miles a week so I'd say I'm pretty versed in it.

if so have you ever crashed: I've had some... really close calls on really bad stuff happening, but no. Just a couple fender bumps.

What was the last book you read?: The Stranger, so I could learn more about Meursault. That was a trip.

Do you like the smell of gasoline: Yes. I am guilty of taking a larger breath than necessary in equipment sheds.

What was the last movie you saw?: The mario movie! Watched it again last night in a gc. The music choice really does kill a lot of the charm. And they had original music I dont...guh.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?: Hmm... I've mostly avoided most physical catastrophes, but I've been subject to a couple nasty things. First was accidentally stabbing myself with a pocket knife while cutting a cardboard box. Fun! Then there was the time I was walking in a drained farm pond without proper footwear and a piece of glass sliced open the side of my ankle. Both very painful. Oh, and then a couple dog bites. x:

Do you have any obsessions right now?: Idk I feel like the only thing that really gets me hyped up lately is writing and getting in shape haha, wouldnt call either an obsession tho. I'm not a gym bro, just work out from home but the feeling of improvement has been intense as of late. Lots of positive vibes at my self-image. And yeah. Writing. Keeps me from doing most of my other attempted hobbies :V

#dash :: games ooc

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snakeofgarlemald · 1 year

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🌟 + lyon :3

Send a 🌟 + a name and my muse will talk about their bond to that character!

"Lyon hmmm?" Taking a sip of his drink, the elezen smiles thinking about his hyur husband and tries to organize his thoughts. "There's so much that I can say about Lyon since I've been with him for half my life honestly. I suppose for starters, he's one hell of a fighter and honestly one of the biggest strengths we had while in Bozja, even Basch relied on him back in the day. And he still has that strength now but there are times when I know he's worried that it'll fail him one day trying to protect me again and that's why I'm trying to get my own strength back to where it was since it'll be my turn to defend him."

Thinking a bit more, Menenius spoke up. "There's so much..... while yes he is brash, crude, frustrating to a point and way more.... he has more good that outweighs the bad. Smart, kind, caring especially towards his animals more so Dawon..... he knows when to correct me on something that I messed up on and when to pull me away from my work." The elezen sighs as he smiles softly still as he takes another sip of water. "Part of me wishes I had listened to him and we both got out of there with Sartauvoir the moment that the Dalriada was brought down. Just destroying the entire thing with the Allagan weapon, since consequences be damned, I wouldn't have almost died to that blasted thing. I saved Lyon of my own volition and how much I loved him, not thinking I would survive." Breathing out a bit more, Menenius spoke up a bit more.

"But whats done is done and now we're both simply happy being with each other once more. Even getting married or rather eloping, but I love Lyon and who he is no matter what."

#heirbane

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phyripo · 6 years

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29 + 34 with belarus/hungary!

29. “I’m laughing because you’re angry, I swear I didn’t do it!”34. “What are you, five?”

Thanks so much! This took a while, but I started writing something else for this prompt first that went in the wrong direction :0 (So if you want More HunBela, you can read that one here hA) But yes! I hope you like it! I’m experimenting with a new human name for Bela and I like it so Erzsébet is Hungary, Nadzeya is Belarus, Manon is Belgium and Kveta is Czechia :D

“Erzsébet, I’m going to be honest with you, ifyou write one more song about fucking paprika, I will fire you.”

Erzsébet looks up at Nadzeya, who is loomingover her, still intimidating even without makeup and with messy hair. Orwould-be intimidating, if Erzsébet didn’t know her so well.

“You are in luck!” she tells her brightly. “I’mwriting one a—”

“Orgoulash, I swear to fucking god,” Nadzeya interrupts. “You’re Hungarian, we getit.”

Somewhere among the mess that has alreadyaccumulated in the band’s dressing room, Manon comments, “You liked my wafflesong.”

Nadzeya rolls her eyes. “Keep telling yourselfthat.”

“Will do,” the bass guitarist says brightly.Then, as she walks by the two of them on the way out to the grassy, muddyfestival grounds, “Either of you want coffee? I’ll see if I can find Kvetawhile I’m out there, too.”

Erzsébet and Nadzeya both decline the offer forcoffee, but Nadzeya does remind Manon it’s only twenty minutes until they’resupposed to start their set; the band occupying the stage before them havestarted wrapping up theirs. Manon hums and walks outside. Is it still raining?It seems quiet on that front.

“It’s about goulash, isn’t it?” Nadzeya istrying to read her scrawled handwriting over Erzsébet’s shoulder, fingertipsresting just on her neck. Erzsébet just winks at her, turning her notepad away.

“You’ll see.”

“I’d really rather not,” she replies drily, andgoes to do her dark makeup for when they go on-stage.

Erzsébet watches her for a moment, watches hertransform from just Nadzeya to Nadzeya Alyakhnovich, frontwoman of the mostsuccessful all-female power metal band. She isn’t actually different onstage – that’s why Erzsébet, Manon and Kveta do most of the talking duringshows, lest they alienate everyone with the singer’s indefinable sense of humor– but it’s still a bit of a charade they all put on. It’s fun, actually.

When Manon and Kveta, the drummer, blunder intothe trailer that serves as dressing room for the entire band, complaining aboutthe coffee and tracking mud but not wet themselves, Erzsébet puts her notepadaway and does her own makeup, then inspects Manon’s for her as if it’s everanything less than immaculate, sharp winged eyeliner and red lipstick.

They’ve all finished that part of the pre-showroutine by the time someone from the festival comes by to tell them the stageis ready now, and the audience is still shuffling, so if they wanted to have abit of a soundcheck, now’s the time. Erzsébet gives the man a thumbs up, andNadzeya and Manon gather their instruments.

It’s indeed dry, which is good, and the cloudsseem to be parting to let the sun through, which is even better. The four of thementer the stage. It’s the main stage of this festival for the first time, andErzsébet couldn’t be prouder of her little group. Well, her group – it’s true that she and Kveta are the founding members,but they couldn’t have gotten here without Manon and Nadzeya, of course.

They’ve played here before; in fact, this metalfestival was the first major performance for them, a few years ago when theywere just starting out and were overjoyed to be allowed to play anywhere.

Kveta paces back and forth along the stage,waving at the audience and yelling at some people up front, while Manon andNadzeya tune their guitars and Erzsébet inspects her keyboard, because she’svery attached to it and wants it in perfect condition. It’s a thing left overfrom her classical background, she reckons, along with the band’s style. Oneday, she swears, she’s going to contact her old friend from piano class and askif he’d be willing to arrange orchestral versions for one of their albums.

The field in front of the stage is filled withpeople taking off jackets or putting on sunscreen, because as the real start oftheir set rolls around, the clouds are all but gone and it’s heating up. Nadzeyastrikes a chord on her guitar, and it doesn’t become quiet – of course not – but the attention noticeably focuses on thestage. Their name flashes on the screens, and Erzsébet feels the familiar rushof adrenaline rolling through her body.

“Good afternoon everyone, and welcome!” she shoutsinto her microphone, and the audience cheers uproariously. “We are Ulex, and we’rehonored to be back here; this is where it all started for us, after all!”

Nadzeya rolls her eyes, and Erzsébet grins. Shedoesn’t like overstatements, and it really started at the police station,really, but she’ll tell that story another time. Maybe when she can do sowithout admitting to the world that Manon’s way of getting the other three out oftheir holding cell wasn’t entirelylegal. Or without mortifying Nadzeya with an overly detailed description of thesexy witch costume she’d been wearing. Anyway.

“Are you all ready to run?” she continues, and can practically hear Kveta scoff; thedrummer hates her punny song introductions. “Run to the Light!”

Nevertheless, Kveta does count down amid theroaring from the crowd, and they’re off.

Erzsébet loves writing songs, loves hearingthem come to life in Nadzeya’s beautiful, raw voice for the first time, butnothing will ever top the feeling of just playingwith the band. This is what they do it for, for the times when they get to seetheir fans, when Erzsébet gets to see her fellow band members light up.Especially Nadzeya, who is never quite comfortable around people, comes aliveon stage, light hair shining in the bright lights and dark makeup framing herpale face like some old master’s painting.

There have been more songs written aboutNadzeya than anyone besides Erzsébet is aware of. Most of them never make itout of her head; they’re not a band that records love songs, generallyspeaking, and that’s definitely what they are. Erzsébet has long since given updenying that.

Nadzeya walks up close to her and smiles frombehind a curtain of hair when Erzsébet plays her favorite solo, nearing the endof their set. She smiles back, fingers flying over the keys.

She often gets the feeling they’re on the brinkof something, the two of them. That they’ve been there for a while now, andthat they could tip over the edge any moment now. She just isn’t sure how that will happen.

“Erzsébet Héderváry!” Nadzeya announces at theend of that song, and Erzsébet grins and makes an expansive gesture in thesinger’s direction.

“Nadzeya Alyakhnovich!”

Of course, Kveta shouts, “Manon Leclercq!”

“Kveta Horáková!” Manon finishes.

“Yes, thankyou,” says Nadzeya, but she smiles at Erzsébet again, before turning backto the audience and announcing their last song, the title track from theirlatest album. Even without the instrumentals that are usually part of it –because they can’t very well take an orchestra to a festival and Erzsébet hatesusing recordings of them – it lasts well over ten minutes, and they receive adeafening applause after Nadzeya’s last long, high note.

After a plethora of goodbyes and thank yous andwhatnot, they practically fall off the stage, and into a scheduled interviewwith a rock magazine, or at least Nadzeya and Erzsébet do that last one, andwhen they’re finally done with that as well, everything is bathed orange in thelight of the setting sun. Nadzeya’s sharp features are more pronounced thanusual by the shadows it casts on her face, and Erzsébet thinks she could writea song about that.

But then Nadzeya would be singing aboutherself, which, while kind of funny, would be awkward. It can be another songthat stays in her head.

Finally, they get back to the dressing roomtrailer, where they find a note from Manon and Kveta saying that they have goneto look around the festival grounds and listen to some other acts. Nadzeya justhuffs and walks to her suitcase. Erzsébet kicks her shoes off, then jumps whenthere’s a bang from Nadzeya’sdirection.

“Nadz—”

“Jesusfucking Christ,” the woman yells, and appears from behind the partitionthey’ve put up, covered in confetti. Erzsébetstares, then snorts and bursts out laughing.

“What the fuckis this, Erzsébet?” Nadzeya says, shaking confetti out of her hair. Some specksare sticking to her face. “What are you, five?”

“No, I – oh my god.” She hiccups. “I’m onlylaughing because you’re so angry, I swear I didn’t do it!”

“It’s not funny,” Nadzeya insists, but shesounds less vehement than a moment ago. “It’s always the ones you don’t expectit from.”

Erzsébet laughs more at that, because she wouldabsolutely expect a prank from Manon and Kveta. Especially Kveta, whom she met along time ago, when they were both in detention back at school and whom she’dhad a fierce rivalry with for years before it eventually turned intofriendship. Nevertheless, they usually don’t pick Nadzeya. That’s more herthing.

Well, maybe it was time they did.

“Stop laughing,” Nadzeya says, ratherpetulantly, and Erzsébet smothers her giggles into her hand. “There’s confettiin my hair.”

“Hmh, there sure is.” She takes a step forwardand plucks a purple piece of paper from her fringe. “Don’t worry, you stilllook great.”

Nadzeya looks down at her with those dark blueeyes. “I’m sweaty and I’m pretty sure there’s mascara everywhere.”

“Not so much,” Erzsébet assures her, gentlyreaching up again and swiping her thumb across the soft skin underneath her eye.“Besides, I always think you look great.”

Maybe this is it, she thinks. Maybe this is thetime they finally put words to that thing,that feeling between them. Maybe Manon and Kveta are not gone by accident –because they know, they definitely know that there’s something there.

“Thank you,” Nadzeya says, and then opens andcloses her mouth a few times as if she’s unsure of what to say.

Without speaking, Erzsébet takes more pieces ofconfetti from her hair and her face, and the singer stays still while herfingers brush through her hair and over her skin, only blinking.

“You know,” she eventually says, voice low,when Erzsébet has run out of confetti and is just aimlessly running her fingersthrough her hair, “I always figured we’d have some explosive moment.”

“Explosive moment?” Erzsébet asks. Sheunderstands, or thinks she does. Nadzeya is aware of that thing too, she has tobe, and although she is a quiet person in many ways that Erzsébet isn’t, shealso has a weakness for dramatics that’s on par with hers. An explosive moment would have been suitedto that. Maybe something on stage, as during one of Erzsébet’s many fantasies.

“Something you could write a song about.”

“I can write songs about lots of things,Nadzeya.”

She huffs. “Yeah, I’m aware.”

“Including food, I’ll admit,” Erzsébet laughinglysays. “It’s easy writing about things I like. Very inspiring.”

Nadzeya nods. She looks rather lost for words. Erzsébetwants to tell her about the songs written about her, but isn’t sure how. Herfingers are a little shaky, and she didn’t give them permission for that.

“Erzsébet?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like – god, this is the cheesiestline I’m ever going to use, so you better fucking appreciate it – would youlike to go out for more inspiration with me?”

“Is…” Erzsébet looks up at her, and finds asurprising amount of anxiety in the familiar blue eyes, the set of the thineyebrows. She keeps her tone as serious as possible. “Are you asking me todinner?”

“I am.” Nadzeya swallows. “I hope I’m not wrongabout this, that’d be really fucking emba—”

“Nadzeya,” Erzsébet interrupts, and the womanquiets. “Yes, I’d love to.”

She exhales in a big rush of air. “Oh, thankfuck.”

Erzsébet stands on her tiptoes, wraps her armsaround her neck, and grins into her hair when Nadzeya embraces her as well,clinging tight as if relieved. She feels the same, heart feeling like it’sslamming against her ribcage.

“Wanna hear a cheesy line in return?” she asks,trying to keep her voice steady and not quite succeeding.

“No,” Nadzeya replies, “but go ahead.”

With a huff, she says, “I don’t need to go anywherefor inspiration, I’ve got everything I need here.”

Nadzeya groans, and Erzsébet grins.

“You’re terrible, Erzsébet.”

“I know.”

“Besides,” Nadzeya continues, drawing back butkeeping her hands on her waist, “we do actually need to eat.”

“I don’t need to go anywhere to eat—”

“I swear to god, we haven’t even been on onedate.”

She laughs, feeling giddy. “Were you reallyexpecting otherwise?”

At that, Nadzeya shakes her head fondly,dislodging some stray confetti from the back of her hair. She shoots thespeckles of color on the floor of the trailer a flat look and announces she’llfucking get Manon and Kveta back for that.

“But I’m going to wash up first,” she says. “I’llbe right back.”

She bites her lip, then leans forward andpresses the barest of kisses to the corner of Erzsébet’s mouth before shedisappears behind the partition again, trailing confetti. Erzsébet touches herlips as if she’s fifteen again and being kissed for the first time, unable towipe the grin off her face.

They’re going to go out to dinner, and hopefullyproperly kiss, and then they’re going to get Manon and Kveta back, but shemight also just leave them a thank you note. Maybe even a song.

After that, they’ll make their own explosive momentson stage. Erzsébet is sure of it.

#aphbela #hunbela #Hetalia #aph yuri #aph belarus #aph hungary #Phyripo writes things #quaestiones #I recommend listening to dalriada because that's what I did #not that I think bela sounds like that obviously actually that's my hungary voiceclaim #but #I just love dalriada #ok bye

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dragons-bones · 2 years

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iMeet Alkonost

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dandymeowth · 3 years

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Some of this is a bit eye-rolling (like, yes folk metal exists, no it’s not impossible for indigenous folk metal to exist, and uh actually indigenous bands that play music of the era have been a thing) but still... I really love folk metal and I really love seeing bands besides scandinavic/european bands getting attention!

(Don’t get me wrong though Ensiferum kicks ass and Dalriada is one of my favourite bands, but folk metal of a eurocentric or viking type perspective are just... very common, and more often heard.)

#folk metal #indigenous #indigenous rights #capitalism #brazil #language #native rights #south america #music #metal

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cerastes · 3 years

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My thoughts on Save The Queen as a whole are:

Bozja Southern Front is wack. It’s okay in a group but I didn’t enjoy doing it solo. A large part of it is because of, in my opinion, how badly designed the enemy placement is. If you want to go anywhere, “anywhere” being Skirmishes, because let’s be honest, you are not there for anything else that doesn’t involve Skirmishes in one way or another, you have to go through enemies tightly packed together and risk getting a Bloodborne-tier aggro distance found only in here (or, at least, not anywhere in the normal overworld of FFXIV) of 1 to 3 enemies on your tail while you just want to get to Skirmishes before they get vaporized, OR you can make a looong safe turn that wastes time and is objectively Not Fucking Fun because of how much you’ll have to do it (and even during Skirmishes, you have to stick to the ‘center’ because if you stray a little too far, BOOM, aggroed enemies from outside the Skirmish). It took me a lot of thinking to figure out why I just didn’t like Southern Front at all, and among the other, lesser, subjective reasons, I think this one is pretty objective: The enemy placement sucks, and having to do big, wide, time-wasting circles just to not aggro some Rank 3 or 4 enemies that’ll just fuck you the hell up if you have no Essences on and will pester you while you just try to do Skirmishes every single time is just bad game design. It feels like almost all direct ways from one Skirmish to the next just have these, deliberately or otherwise, but still, it’s really a big damper when you Want To Play The Damn Game and you have to instead make sure to pray a strong mob doesn’t just turn around while walking past it and aggroing you, or else, waste time taking the scenic route.

Castrum Licorice Lithuania or whatever the name is, is pretty ok. It’s deliberately got a lot of old school MMO raid design but otherwise it’s nothing to write home about. The final boss drags on for too long, though, especially during the Lyon phase. It’s cool in concept but the execution is kind of annoying, with a trillion adds and their respective aoes that they are wired to launch at the same time.

Delubrum Regina is deadass one of my top favorite if not my top favorite raid in the game. VERY fun. I LOVE the Twice Come Ruin mechanic (if you get hit by two mechanics in the space of 2 minutes, you die, period, no ifs and buts, even if you survive the HP damage), the bosses and midbosses are really fun, Trinity Avowed and The Queen are legitimately my favorite bosses in the game, and I think the whole experience is just packed, condensed high impact Fun. It doesn’t fuck around, it needs you to be awake, and punishes your mistakes while rewarding your successes. I think it’s the best designed challenge overall in the game.

Zadnor is a huge step up from Southern Front and I enjoyed it a lot. I was dreading it being Southern Front 2, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The one weakness it has is that it is too damn big of a map, and that’s it. Everything else feels like a step up: More varied Skirmishes (Southern Front Skirmishes were, for the most part, pretty boring, generic tank and spanks with a few exceptions), not necessarily easier but better designed Critical Encounters (much easier to break into learning the CEs without making them easier! That’s good game design!), and THANKFULLY, much better enemy placement. There’s a bigger “outer ring” where the non-Skirmish mobs hang around the Skirmish area, meaning you can move more without fear of instantly aggroing 2-3 mobs, and it also means they are less densely packed together, meaning it’s MUCH easier to go from Skirmish to Skirmish without needing to waste time looking for a safe way through. Every Skirmish is also surrounded by Magitek enemies this time, which are the ones the majority of people will want to be killing between Skirmishes in order to trigger CEs. It’s such a huge quality of life improvement I don’t think is appreciated enough, and I think the devs deserve credit for it: You’re done with a Skirmish and there’s no other active Skirmish in your zone? No problem, just kill the conveniently place Magitek enemies to accelerate CE spawn rate and farm Bozja Clusters in the meantime, then, when one pops up, just mount and go to it! It’s seriously good and it immediately tells me the devs must have noticed just how incredibly annoying it was just to move around Southern Front. I did a bit of it in a group but I mostly did Zadnor solo and it was VERY fun.

The Dalriada is strictly good, not incredible, not average, just good. Not much to say about it because it’s a properly conceived finale for the Save The Queen saga with a comprehensive game flow, a pretty good final boss, and a really, really fun second to last boss. It gets the job done and deserves a nice tip when it’s time to ask for the check.

Overall, I feel like Save The Queen is backloaded in terms of quality, there’s clear growing pains with a start I personally feel kinda eh that transitions into a midgame and finale that I can confidently say are very fun, well designed, and good. It’s worth noting that my initial thoughts on Southern Front weren’t as negative, just painfully average, but upon seeing what they did with Zadnor, which effectively rectifies everything I didn’t know I hated about Southern Front to the point it made me aware of these flaws, it really makes me see not how lacking Southern Front is, but rather, how willing the devs are to look at their product, say “ok this isn’t too good, huh” and then do better and address these things in the next release, which I think is incredible not only as a fan of the game, but as someone who had very much lost all faith in Square after every game that came out after Final Fantasy X was just a huge stinker in my opinion, in particular because of how stubborn and proud Square has been throughout the years.

It might be a YoshiP thing more than a Square thing, to be honest, but the praise still stands.

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hikari-ni-naritai · 2 years

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Ah! I beat Bozja! But uhm. while the gameplay turned out decently fun, I gotta say. The story left me cold as ice... SPOILERS but the way they handled Misija aucked ass. Youre supposed to feel she just chose different beliefs to fight for but uh. The mindcontrol chimerazation of the Blades of Gunnhildr is just. ignored? Its so weird to me. Why push her to be sympathetic when shes such a cruel monster, maybe moreso than any of the others in the 4th legion??? Really liked their motley crew though, wish they didnt all die... What do you think!!! I hae no one to talk to about this so maybe im hella wrong! (also delubrum with 7 people with barely any last actions sucks!!!)

First things first, nobody in the 4th legion died. You go to zadnor and you're still fighting against lyon, menenius, that lil freak who controls monsters and keeps trying to recruit you, basically the whole cast is still alive. A lot of them you end up fighting in dalriada, the big critical engagement at the end of the zone (akin to castrum lacus litore of bozja). So don't worry! They're alive!

As far as misija goes, this is a really weird take for me to hear bc like. One I'm a lesbian. These big catboy furries mean nothing to me. But for two, ffxiv has (at least since stormblood) had a lot of plotlines about people betraying their homelands to fight for garlemald. In Fordola's case (and hikari's!) she fought because she believed it would protect her loved ones. Yotsuyu fought because she'd been abused and was full of hatred. Misija , in a similar vein, wanted to punish the people who had oppressed and betrayed her family and her people. And for her, that wasn't garlemald! That was the ruling class of bozja before it was conquered, the furry catboys. Specifically she has a grudge against gunnhildr's blades, many of whom iirc are Actually The Leaders Of The Current Bozjan Force, because they betrayed and killed her (grand?)mother (it's been a while my memory is fuzzy on the details). She's not "choosing different beliefs to fight for," she's rebelling against her oppressors and those who literally murdered her relatives. It's not a black and white morality situation, like nobody will say that misija did the right thing. But you can't say that the bozjan people were blameless or that misija's rage was unfounded. Tempering is fucked up, but like. I would consider it for someone who killed one of my loved ones.

SO sorry you had to do delubrum with 7 people and hardly any lost actions tho that's ASS. reminds me of my first run of dalriada which was me on pld and 7 other people, most of us new. There's a part that requires you to split into 3 groups and my God. It was bad. Constant damage bc we didn't have enough people in the middle group to shut off the electric floors (requires 4). We fuckin did it tho!! Good luck when you go into zadnor!

#ffxiv

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verecunda · 3 years

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🐬 Sutcliff Ask Meme 🐬

Because it’s my meme, and I’ll answer it if I want to. :P Under a cut for long-windedness.

Rules: answer the questions, tag anyone who you think might want to play along, and - if you like - add a question of your own.

1. Your favourite work by Sutcliff.

This is such a tough choice, but I think in the end I have to go with The Eagle of the Ninth. It’s been a part of my life for so long, and it’s one of those books I know I can always return to and get lost in.

2. Your favourite bearer of the dolphin ring.

ALL OF THEM. It’s a tie between Marcus and Alexios. They are my Boys. <3

3. A supporting or background character you love.

Again, a tough one, but I think I’ll go with one I’ve never seen anyone else talk about: Helen, the madam turned thrall turned rebel leader at Eburacum in Sword at Sunset. She’s the one who plans with Jason the smith to keep watch for Artos and his Companions pursuing the Saxons to the city walls, so they and their fellow thralls can fall on the defenders from the rear and keep the gates open to let the Companions in. When Jason tells Artos about it, I was like goodforher.jpg. :) I’d love to know more about what happened to her!

4. Your favourite animal companion.

Cub, surely. Though I also have a great soft spot for Shan the wildcat from Mark of the Horse Lord. :D

5. Is there any setting you find especially memorable?

So many! The farm on the Downs, of course, since we follow its whole life, from the first dream of it at the end of Eot9, to the cosy, welcoming sanctuary it is in The Silver Branch, then its death in The Lantern Bearers.

But I love ruins, like the spooky chapter in Trimontium in Eagle, and I’m still captivated by the last scene of Dawn Wind, with the Wild gently taking over the abandoned city of Viroconium.

6. Wild geese flighting and striped native rugs: is there a classic Sutcliff motif that never fails to warm your heart when it appears?

The green plover calling. I don’t know why, but it’s one of the details that always makes me go, “ah yes, here we are.”

7. The natural world is a vivid presence in all her work. Is there any particular nature description that sticks in your mind?

So many! Especially sunsets. I adore the way she describes sunsets. But I’ll put this one from The Silver Branch, since to me it encapsulates the general theme of Sutcliff’s work so well:

But the night itself was very still, behind the sounds of the camp. A wonderful night, up here above the mist; the bracken of the hillside frozen into silver stillness below the dark fleece of thorn-scrub that covered the higher slopes on either side, the moon still low in a glimmering sky that seemed brushed over with a kind of moth-wing dust of gold. Somewhere far down the widening valley a vixen called to her mate, and somehow the sound left the silence empty.

Justin thought, ‘If we are killed tomorrow, the vixen will still call across the valley to her mate. Maybe she has cubs somewhere among the root-tangle of the woods. Life goes on.’ And the thought was somehow comforting.

8. Biggest tearjerker. (Happy or sad tears!)

The end of The Lantern Bearers, for sure. The perfect ending to such a long, hard journey! I read it last December, and I’m still not over it.

9. How did you first discover Sutcliff?

Through loving Roman Britain. I grew up near the line of the Antonine Wall (on the north side - beyond the frontier!), so I’ve always been pretty fascinated by the idea of Romans being just down the road omg, and I remember my dad telling me the story of the lost legion once while we were out walking. It was only a matter of time before I found out about Sutcliff, really! Though, oddly, although I was aware of the book for a long time, I only ended up reading it in my teens, after I’d rekindled my love for Roman history.

10. What is it about her work that appeals to you the most?

So much! She’s absolutely one of my favourite writers. The atmospheric flair of her prose, her endearing characters; her deft skill at incorporating mythological symbolism into her stories in a way that’s rich but not at all intrusive; her consummate ability to wrench the heartstrings, always tempered by the humour and compassion and nuances she brings to her characters and narrative...

Ultimately, however, she’s the writer who speaks to that part of me that goes about aware (consciously or unconsciously) of that lost ancient world just on my doorstep, and brings it to life for me.

11. A book that deserves more love.

The Silver Branch. Outside fandom, it seems to get passed over as being a bit more of a straightforward “boy’s own” type of adventure, while I suspect that from a fannish POV, it doesn’t have the shippy appeal that, say, Eot9 or Frontier Wolf have.

But while I’d agree it’s not perhaps not as rich as other entries in the series, it’s much more than a simple adventure story. The characters are wonderfully drawn - it was more than ten years between my first and second readings, but I still had very vivid memories of how lovable Justin and Flavius were, and how awesome Aunt Honoria was! Even more than that, the world of TSB is very much a forerunner to the world of The Lantern Bearers. Overgrown altars stand alone in the wild, and monuments to Rome’s past glories are broken up to shore up defences against the incoming Saxons, while Carausius looks ahead to the time that the lights go out. It’s a very melancholy book beneath the battles and skulduggery.

12. A book you haven’t read yet, but want to.

Sun Horse, Moon Horse. It’s never been one that was high on my Gotta Read list, but after Sword at Sunset - where the White Horse is the scene for Artos’ crowning - I’d like to read it to get a fuller sense of its history and significance in the Sutcliffverse.

13. Which book(s) would you love to get a film or TV adaptation?

Frontier Wolf!!! I also think Outcast in particular would make a great CBBC serial - you know, the ones that are officially for kids but the adults sit glued to as well.

14. Is there any historical period, incident, or figure you wish she’d written about?

Too many to list! But after reading Sword Song, with its gorgeous little description of the sea around Iona, and Dawn Wind, featuring the coming of St Augustine, I’m rather sad she never wrote anything featuring St Columba. His story has lots of elements that I think would appeal to her - conflict and alliances between Dalriada and the Picts, old religions and new (and the places where they’re not very different after all), the whole idea of creating something new and great out of the ashes of exile and disgrace. And I’d love to see her take on some of the set-pieces in Adomnán, like the conflict with Broichan, the Pictish druid. I think she would have had a really interesting take on my favourite bellicose Irish saint!

15. Rec a Sutcliff-themed fanwork (fic, art, vid, etc.) to share with fellow fans.

There is so much that’s brilliant in Sutcliff fandom omg. But for the purposes of this meme, I’m going to rec one of my gifts from last year’s Yuletide, The Sun Rises, as being perfect for the time of year. FW, Alexios/Hilarion. It’s a lovely introspective piece, with a very nice sense of setting, Mithraic references and light symbolism, and the bond drawn between Alexios and Hilarion is understated and perfect. The intimacy of the moment where their wolfskins brush together makes me go !!!! every time. <3

And lastly, just out of interest… how far is it from Venta to the mountains?

All of two hundred miles, but you didn’t hear that from me......

And I’ve previously tagged some folks, but again, if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged!

#meme #Rosemary Sutcliff

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