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elementroar · 2 months

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Analysis of Paracelsus' initial bloodlust and its longlasting effects on A.B.A (Part 2)

Analysis behind the backstory and personal story arcs of A.B.A. and Paracelsus (part 1)

So this actually started out more of a 'funny' post, but I realized that it really is a very important insight into how A.B.A. and Paracelsus function and interact, especially for his earlier days in XX/Accent Core +R

And I wasn't joking about the vore. It's not in the erotic sense...but it certainly is in the 'literally eating parts of your partner ' sense...

Also apologies for the long word dumps, it got wordier and longer than I expected.

Paracelsus (used to) REALLY love blood

It goes without saying, Paracelsus really loves blood. Well he used to anyway.

By STRIVE, he says he felt he lost his sanity whenever he gets hyped on blood in the past. To the point, he has sworn off blood (and violence) as if it was an addiction. Basically, he has managed to go clean sometime between their last appearance and STRIVE.

To not go too far into his backstory again (which you can read here), Paracelsus is a magical axe that fed on blood and increased his own power with blood; and would use warriors as hosts to cause more bloodshed and thus gain more blood and power for himself. Paracelsus doesn't need to 'eat' blood to survive (he was left host-less for about 20 years, and now abstains in STRIVE and is just fine), making the addiction metaphor seem to be accurate.

Back in XX/ACCENT CORE, he needed to drink fresh blood to transform into his superpowered Moroha mode (this is mechanically replaced by Jealous Rage mode now). Similar to his current gameplay, he could get blood and transform by A.B.A. piercing someone with his bladed end; or if A.B.A. fed him one of three blood packs she'd have on her.

He reacts pretty much like a dog getting a treat, anticipating it when she reaches into her pockets for a pack too. And he truly didn't care where the blood comes from, even if it's from A.B.A. herself.

A.B.A. coughs up blood and all Paracelsus wants to do is have a taste. Note that he barely actually reacts to her or himself getting hit or fighting in the old games. It's kind of a stark contrast to his many reactions and concern for her wellbeing now.

Make no mistake, despite being "kinder and gentler" than how he treated his previous hosts - by not completely mind controlling her into a frenzy and caring enough that he doesn't want her to die - Paracelsus was truly obsessed with drinking blood still, and all the fighting skills and power he imparted on A.B.A. was to make her strong enough to defeat opponents and gather blood for him too. Hence the 'manipulation' he felt guilty of in STRIVE.

And he gets even more bloodthirsty in Moroha mode aka what Paracelsus is without his 'sanity'.

You're the worse you when on blood

Prior to STRIVE and Paracelsus' current sludgy form, his powered-up form gave him a goat's head and his persona changes into that of his old berserker self.

This increase in aggression and bloodlust also affected A.B.A. through their empathetic bond, making her also take joy in violence and also clearly hyperventilating and tweaking out in some animations, like she's high.

Not to mention that to fight in this mode, every time Paracelsus makes a successful attack, A.B.A. also gets damaged (hence 'Moroha' mode as it means 'double-edged'). In-universe, this could mean that Paracelsus is sapping both the blood of an opponent and A.B.A. at the same time, indiscriminately as he says.

And he seems somewhat crueler in this form, as he has an even more violent and vicious state above Moroha mode called Goku Moroha mode. He enters it by consuming another blood pack, but he also seems to bite down on A.B.A.'s hand without a care and holds onto it while he transforms.

The impact of all this on A.B.A

Picking up Paracelsus was truly a double-edged sword/axe for A.B.A. On one hand, he was older and savvier about the outside world (even though he spent like 20 years just rusting away on the ground somewhere) and having him as her emotional support key and literal weapon led her to actually daring to explore the outside world, and he provided and (attempted to) advised her on things she didn't know about.

On the other hand, Paracelsus' satiating his bloodthirst was still his main objective, and it was also hurting A.B.A. Although Paracelsus was making some effort to not outright get her killed, A.B.A's additional resilience as a homunculus probably also helped her survive take being Paracelsus' host as long as she did.

Paracelsus was the original toxic element in their relationship, and it's likely over the years he's come to realize and regrets the harm he was doing to A.B.A. constantly, and why he has completely sworn off blood and violence entirely by STRIVE.

However, his bloodlust fueled and amplified the worse tendencies of A.B.A. from early on, and this seems to have stuck with her till the present in STRIVE. Her current extremely violent reaction when feeling jealousy or anxiety is likely how she's been conditioned to do so by Paracelsus, even when he himself is no longer the source of that bloodlust.

The difference now is that A.B.A.'s new powered-up state of Jealous Rage is mainly fueled by her wrath and fear instead of Paracelsus' bloodlust. Paracelsus becomes sludge now, affected by the toxicity of her unstable emotions going haywire and her will becoming decidedly dominant over his. The one who is toxic has become inverted.

What's more, it seems that the skills Paracelsus imparted on her before also carried over and stuck with her, allowing her to fight independently since Paracelsus isn't trying to encourage her to violence this time. She's become so dominant that she now can even force a new form/transformation onto Paracelsus when she does her Overdrive The Law is Key, Key is King while in Jealous Rage.

In the game files, this red form is called the "Hyoui" form, meaning 'possession'. It being red is interesting because it seems to be a callback to Paracelsus' moniker of being the Sanguine Gale. The concept art also shows the pretty disturbing way he's being morphed into it by A.B.A. when she does the Overdrive.

When in her Jealous Rage mode, the bottom half Paracelsus' where his axe blade is, somehow becomes more axe-like than it ever has been in the games. In the earlier games, his blade half didn't change, only his head does into the goat-head. What's more disturbing is that eyes already started appearing on the axe half even while Paracelsus tries to maintain his original face as much as possible.

When executing the Overdrive, A.B.A. swings with the axe half as the sludge pulls from Paracelsus' face to form this new toothed red axe head. Is it a new persona? Is Paracelsus still conscious in his face half or in the axe half at all? Does 'possession' have double meaning where A.B.A. is possessed by her own wrath, but also Paracelsus is now the one being possessed by A.B.A.'s will into forming the red axe form?

The interesting thing too is that A.B.A. executes the Overdrive with precise strikes, liked a skilled warrior. IMO, at this moment A.B.A. ironically became the exact kind of warrior that berserker Paracelsus would have wanted and caused him to even revert back into that primal early form of his that was barely sentient. They gained perfect synergy for the attack, but both are literally out of their minds.

What started this post

Just a funny thing but the reason why I even thought of, and then looked into all this, was because of A.B.A.'s biting of Paracelsus at the top of the post. I was wondering why Paracelsus doesn't say a word of protest when she does this to him, then remembered that he used to kinda drink her blood (and turns out he too has bitten her before), and I think he's prolly thinking "I deserve this".

#guilty gear strive #a.b.a guilty gear #paracelsus guilty gear #long post is long #my analysis #paraba #arc system works #aba guilty gear

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odusseus-xvi · 10 months

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Hello helloooo friend! Hi! I just wanted to say that I'll be going around and asking people about QSMP characters to avoid mischaracterization of said characters (in analysis, fics, and just overall fan interpretations). So if you're cool with it, can I ask you about the French streamers?

Like, can you tell me the mischaracterization you often see regarding their characters and how they actually are? I mean, ANY facts about them would be very very cool to know! I love all of them and I would really like to know more about them since I can't really watch everyone, ya kno?

Yes I would love to :D ! But also, keep in mind, I'm not immune to a bit of mischaracterization (that's how you write that right ?), sometimes I probably do a little bit, though I try my best not to. I have to admit, I don't see a lot, or just little things, and mostly from the english side of the community, cause over here with the french we are a really small part of the overall fandom, so I don't have a lot of interactions, AND it's our first (ever) smp like that (semi rp etc...), we never had that over here in France, it's a new thing both for us and the ccs, so we are getting our footing. But here we go I do have some things I can say : (wrote a fricking novel holy)

q!Baghera Jones : I see a lot of people characterize her as this hyper competent investigator that knows everything etc... In a way she is, she is a good investigator, and is always eager to solve the mysteries of the island ; What people miss most of the time is that she is also (it's not mutually exclusive) a Goofball : She sings randomly, she walks on mines and jumps off buildings willingly for the lols, some people say she witholds information, most of the time she actually just Forgor. Something that people do get most of the time is that she genuinely is really empathetic : She loves Walter Bob, two days ago she talked about how Cucurucho may be manipulated, she is worried about Quackity, about Cellbit, Foolish, Jaiden etc... And outside of petty rivalry (mostly with Forever, BBH, Etoiles, and a bit Cellbit) she is not a vengeful person at all. She is very understanding. Oh and almost forgot : She is surprisingly insightful ; She guessed what was happening to Cellbit as one of the firsts, she immediatly figured Gegg out the first day she met Slime, ElQuackity is VERY obviously another person than Quackity at first glance etc...

q!Etoiles : There was for some time a bit of mischaracterization in the way people saw him as a bloodthirsty killing machine, though it is fading steadily as we speak ; He is a really nice person that lifts up others, gift them things whenever he can, cares about the eggs, and is always reactive when it comes to saving or helping others. Also, he is a badass in the eyes of everyone (ccs and fandom) but people have a way to write that in fics that doesn't really match him : They write a badass and dark character that is mostly silent and cool ; Etoiles is NOT that (he is badass yes but not much the rest), he SAYS he is that, that he is "dark, and broody, and mysterious", but the guy is always cracking jokes, about others, about himself, he is very self-aware of his problems (social and health related) and likes to joke about it because "it puts smiles on the faces of people" (his way of cheering people up most of the time : "You are not useless, you put smiles on my and the people's faces, and that wonderful"). The moments that CAN be a bit dark is when he is asking for a fight ; most of the time it's goofy, but then there is moments like the dinner party when the codes revealed themselves, where he will be saying while everyone panics "Yeah... Yeah.. FINALLY ! FINALLY !!" and you realise he is not to be trifled with. He aslo tends to blame himself when something wrong happens ; to him, HE is the one that misplayed, that made a mistake.

q!Aypierre : Some people could see him as a relatively chill dude ; he talks calmly, never screams and very rarely raises his voice, but he is NOT chill : He is the most gremlin of the french, his favorite past-time in all the smps he's been in is pranking and breaking the servers : Two days ago in his 24 hour stream, he broke in the federation base three times, exploded a bunch of stuff in there, tortured Foolish alongside BBH, summoned lightning to make Foosh and BBH believe Gegg is still alive in front of his infinite Gegg generator, rickrolled Cucurucho etc... He is a every ingenuous guy with ways to build factories of everything. Most people, out of the french, would fear Etoiles because he is always begging for a fight, and fought and won against the code several times, but he is a nice guy, who they probably SHOULD fear, is Aypierre, this guy can be EVIL at times ; He loves contracts and deals, and using those against the others. He is not all evil though. He does care about Pomme, the french, and is willing to help others when they need him, though he likes to make exchanges.

q!Antoine Daniel : Antoine is probably the hardest to write or get when you are not used to him. He has such a way of speaking and a weird twisted humor that to someone not french, and not watching his streams regularly, it's REAL hard to get him right. He is an apreciator of dark humor and cynicism ; Joking about Bobby in front of Pomme is an example, though he is starting to be more compassionate about the eggs than he was at the beginning of his journey on the smp. Probably because of one of my posts and some others, a lot of people see him as incredibly paranoïd, and for a time he was, though he said himself (both in and out of character) that it was starting to get better because people came talked to him about it, there IS still remains though. What's interesting is that he can be both paranoïd, AND incredibly insightful : His takes are either the rambling of a madman, or scarily on point. Though he is rarely willing to help others (both because of his next to level 0 skills in minecraft and general air of "I don't care"), he is always on alarm and willing to help when it comes to the eggs, multiple times he ironically is one of the most reactive ones when it comes to realise there is danger or a problem for the eggs ; Though he is relatively self-centered, he is very compassionate and attentive of the eggs, with Pomme potentially being the person he trusts most. (everytime he acts aloof and cynical on his stream, to then immediatly worry about Pomme's well-being warms my heart.)

q!Kamet0 : AHAHAHAHAH ahAHaHhah, ahahah... ahah.. ah. oh. (he left for cigarretes)

(HOLY SHIT I WROTE A NOVEL. Sorry, didn't excpect to have that much to say. But here you go, hope that helps.)

#qsmp #qsmp baghera jones #qsmp antoine daniel #qsmp aypierre #qsmp etoiles #qsmp antoine #qsmp baghera #qsmp france #qsmp french

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myboyherodotus · 3 months

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BSD Chapter 113 Historical Analysis

Basically, I can put my History and Religious Studies Degree and put that shit to use and do some good for society

Essentially, I think chapter 113 left us clues for hinting at the bigger themes of Bungo Stray Dogs and possibly some insight into Fyodor's motivation for being caught by Bram. This might get long so buckle up bitch.

OH AND I THINK I FIGURED OUT THE EXACT YEAR THE DUNGEON MEMORY TAKES PLACE

Okay, so the first thing to understand is the contemporary events mentioned in Chapter 113. The guards and Bram mention King Matthias, the Sultan, and the Holy Crusaders.

The Crusades, for those of you who don't know, are a series of so-called Holy Wars whose main objective was the "reclamation" of the Holy Land. However, not all crusades had this objective. There were several crusades within Europe itself. These wars, like the Cathar Crusade, were aimed at driving out paganism or "heretical” sects of Christianity. While the main Crusades happened centuries before the Dungeon scene took place (the first official Crusade happening in 1095) there existed later Crusades that often sought to limit the authority and scope of the Ottoman Empire. Which is also mentioned in the chapter with "Sultan"

Now the Sultan mentioned is Mehemed II, often referred to as the Father of Conquest. He was in power when King Matthias (Matthias was the King of Hungary and Croatia) ruled and often fought to expand Ottoman territory into the lands Matthias ruled.

Now, you know who else was a contemporary ruler? Our boy Vlad Dracul, the inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Now, Vlad Dracul was the ruler of Wallachia, which is basically Romania today. Now it is my belief that Bram Stoker. like a lot of characters in BSD, is inspired by the tale of Dracula and not the actual Bram Stoker. But, I think instead of using the character of Dracula, Asagiri is using Vlad Dracul (also known as Vlad Tepes) as Bram's inspiration. This is for two reasons. 1. The castle depicted in the manga is the same castle Vlad ruled from 2. Bram states that he wants Fyodor skewed like a little shrimpy on the grill. Vlad Dracul got his bloodthirsty reputation by impaling his enemies and leaving their heads on pikes outside his castle for several months at a time. In fact, I forget the exact quote, but a visitor of the castle during Vlad's reign said you could smell the decaying rotten flesh for miles before arriving at the castle. This is why Bram Stoker wrote Dracula based on Vlad Dracul.

Now as for the specific year the memory takes place, I personally believe it takes place in the year 1462, either summer or early fall. Once again this is based on the textual evidence given in the manga... The guards are clearly nervous about the sultan, who we have established is Mehemed II. This guy is responsible for the downfall of the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman Empire) and founded the Ottoman Empire. He also has beef with Vlad since Vlad brutally killed Ottoman envoys sent to Wallachia in an attempt to make Wallachia a vassal state for the Ottomans. Moreover, 1462 was the year that Vlad was imprisoned by King Matthias till his release in 1475. During this time Wallachia was essentially conquered. Vlad died between 1476 and 1477 (the sources don't have a specific date).

Now historically speaking there is reason as to why King Matthias imprisoned Vlad. A letter, which a lot of scholars think was made up, allegedly claimed Vlad pledged his allegiance to the Ottomans to help them conquer Hungary and Croatia. Now, strictly speaking for the events of the manga, having Bram imprisoned and/or taken out of power sounds like something Fyodor would do. So it makes sense that in the manga he would have something to do with Bram being imprisoned. If Bram is imprisoned that is to say since we still don't have clear motives for that.

It should also be noted that Fyodor warns Bram that the "Gods of Warfare come from the West”. historically speaking it was the Ottoman Empire that caused Wallachia problems and not the Holy Roman Empire aka the Romans mentioned in the chapter. The only reason I can think of the guards and Bram suspecting "holy crusaders" and "Romans" is because of their differing religious beliefs. Now Wallachia followed Orthodox Christianity while Romans obviously followed Roman Catholic traditions. Protestantism wasn't a thing yet, but these two groups were already tense and there have been several major conflicts (like the Crusades I mentioned earlier) and schisms within the church.

So, this is the only thing I could think of, but I'm not sure of what Fyodor's play is at here. Maybe he's an immortal being wanting to rid the world of abilities and having Bram Stoker in chaos would help in advance that goal. Maybe he can take people's life forces away like I've seen a lot of people suggest. I don't know. And the whole "come from the West" quote is the one thing throwing me off. Overall, I would love to know if Asagiri used any sources from the period to influence this memory scene, and if so...I wanna know which one's bestie!!

Please let me know what you think! If I just rambled or if my sleep-deprived thoughts and research make any semblance of sense. I would also love to know any fun theories and/or facts you have about this chapter or BSD in general. Also, would pictures be helpful?

#bsd #bsd manga #bsd spoilers #bungo stray dogs #bsd chapter 113 #bsd bram #bsd fyodor #bsd sigma #History Analysis #I hope to god this made sense #bsd analysis

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yuesya · 3 months

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I feel like a lot of people have suspicions about Shiki's 'issues' with feeling overly responsible for the lives of others just because she's stronger, but only Satoru would have been around long enough and have the insight to realize that the roots of it are from the chauffeur Suzurigi Hideo choosing to die so that she could live. It was something like her very own Riko, even if she couldn't identify her emotions about it or even realizes how badly those issues have a hold of her between Hideo, Jihei, and almost Utahime.

Satoru obviously suffers similarly from the Hidden Inventory arc even if he's extremely and forcefully dismissive and flippant about it, with the way he trained himself to be able to use Infinity 24/7 and constantly fry and unfry his brain just so no one can touch him, just so no one can get past him ever again.

The two of them are consistently mirrors and anchors for each other. For all Satoru acts childish, no one *ever* forgets or thinks of him as something other than The Strongest, The Honored One. For all Shiki is genuine and well-meaning, she is always the Blessed Child, the one that can kill with just a touch, the eery and bloodthirsty killer. But, when they're together, everyone else sees their humanity a lot clearer because that affection is from the heart. And that is something beautiful.

Yes! Signs definitely point to yes on this front. :D

Suzurigi Hideo is the beginning of this particular set of issues for Shiki. It's not something that Shiki consciously picks up on herself, which is why it's never explicitly stated in the text from her POV. But I'm glad it comes across well enough between the lines!

In many ways, Shiki and Satoru contrast and complement each other, even beyond their physical appearances and their abilities. I'm glad you're also having fun with that in the story anon!

#QA #zenith of stars

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laughing-with-god · 3 months

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How would victor jungkook be ?

in terms of what? like yandere or his story?

well, my original plan was that Victor's revenge would be the sequel to Quarter Quell once JK won it and he'd join the other victors. However, I used Taehyung in QQ so it wouldn't make sense if he was also in VR lol. Ofc, i can prob do a rewrite and just replace taehyung in QQ, but idk.

either way, here are some random headcanons for how I picture jk as a Victor

thinks some of the other victors only won on a technicality and doesn't mind making passive-aggressive comments about it

does NOT like being associated with Jin or Jimin's weak asses, thinks they're sneaky little shits who had to rely on tricks bc they would lose in a physical fight

he's very popular as a victor. tbh i think he's the only one who rivals jimin's popularity. the capitol love how bloodthirsty he is. while jimin mainly has female fans, jungkook has a good mix of both since men want to be like JK, and obvi women find him hot

I think he'd do a lot of tv shows and interviews. he knows people value his input for games so I can see him offering his insight on current tributes. remember the scoring system for how tributes would get rated? i can see him being asked to be on the team that assess those.

as a mentor, I think he'd be the type to pick a favorite and only really focus on that kid. he doesn't care if it's heartless, he's not wasting his time on a lost cause just to make them feel better.

I can see him looking at the other kid like "you might as well live it up while you can, you probably aren't gonna make it past the bloodbath."

if by some miracle that kid did survive and win, JK would be like ".....damn, guess I owe you a drink. my bad. welcome to victor's row tho :)"

as a mentor, he will tell his kids to just stick to the career alliance. if for some reason a kid from 2 wanted to align themselves with someone whose not a career, JK would just be like "ur on your own w that" bc ain't no way he's gonna attempt to talk to non career victors who prob hate him

I think he's another victor who splits his time pretty evenly between the capitol and his home district.

does not have to sell his body or anything because he is a capitol fav, but I do think he'll make shitty comments towards jimin

"Hi whore- I mean, Jimin"

yeah those two hate each other lol^^

doesn't really have any triggers or trauma from his games.

if anything he looks back at it with fond memories, which kinda freak the rest of the victors out

I don't think he has any victor friends

thinks jin and jimin are weak, namjoon is too clever for his own good, yoongi is annoying, hoseok is ungrateful and tae is just there...

I think yoongi is the only one who outright tried fighting jk once in a drugged up rage

jk prob made a comment about a tribute from 6.

"I bet if we put morphling in the cornucopia she would've actually survived the bloodbath. all kids from six are just addicts."

yeah yoongi tried punching him for that and Jk wiped the floor with him, namjoon had to get involved

I don't know how he'd spend his winnings tbh. I don't see him being really into anything other than weapons.

As a yandere, i think he'd try really hard to market you guys as the ideal victor couple

he'd def talk anout marrying you and having other victor babies in interviews n shit

"when it comes time for Yn and I to train our kids for the games-"

it's an open secret that the capitol just let JK have you lol

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fallenclan · 5 months

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new outsiders!!!

we've gotten a few new outsiders in the last 20 or so moons, so here'a little post about them :)

First up is Flashstorm. He's a loner, ambitious, a helpful climber & has good insight. Going by his name, he was probably a clan cat at one point. He's 98 moons old.

this is Hop! She's a loner, righteous, fast as the wind, and a great climber. She's 73 moons old.

This is Ember. I'm crossing my fingers that he joins the clan because he looks cool as hell, and also his Thoughts have said before that his twolegs are not good to him. He's a kittypet, lonesome, a great hunter, and a den builder. He's 57 moons old.

This is Levi! He's a kittypet, bloodthirsty, and has helpful insight. He's 35 moons old.

#fallenlore #fallensprites

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missglaskin · 2 years

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Wait, so based on the convo between alicent, otto, and us, it kind of sounds like alicent had already promised us to aemond, considering she mentioned that there were better suitors "closer to home" and that aemond was waiting for us. I kind of thought that was why she couldn't look at us. Either that or aemond's feelings turned romantic when he grew up. I mean, at least we can take comfort in the fact that it wasn't aegon instead? 😅

Note: I really love hearing all these insights and all the interpretation, but I will try to explain it as best as I can

Before we begin, it should be noted that Alicent always acts with the assumption that she is acting in the reader's best interest. She desires genuine happiness for the reader. And for a while, she thought her sons could give that to you. You had such a compassionate and gentle soul; you'd make a great wife and mother. She saw you as her own child and marrying her son only solidifies that. At the same time, Alicent wasn't hellbent. She knew from her own experiences that the reader should feel as if it’s their own choice.

Her focus was on Aemond. Surprisingly, Otto was the one who opposed your possible marriage to Aegon as he saw what a drunk and arrogant man he was growing to be. Alicent thought Aemond was the better choice, as she and Otto shared the belief that you deserve the best (which reflects their opinions of Aegon).

She planted the idea of your possible marriage into Aemond’s head. All while sowing the seeds of suspicion regarding Rhaenyra and her children. Criston also planted certain thoughts as he constantly praised your goodness and purity. However, Aemond already felt a connection to you, even without his mother and Criston. All they did was feed his tendencies.

Alicent gradually began to question whether choosing to marry Aemond would be the best decision for you. Aemond wasn’t a drunk nor a pervert, but he was violent and bloodthirsty. Whenever he asked when he would wed you, she would tell him to wait, hence his toast to you, saying he 'wasted' his time.

Unknown to the reader, it is Alicent and Otto who prevent Aemond from giving in to his desires. As Aemond would suggest using force with Aegon backing him up, Alicent would’ve to assure him you will stand by their side and that you will be his wife one day. It just needs time.

#yandere concept #yandere x reader #yandere hotd #yandere house of the dragon #alicent hightower x reader #aemond targaryen x reader

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comradekatara · 1 year

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i feel like it's worth noting that even though combustion man had every intention of killing the gaang, and therefore, sokka's actions are like, justifiable—there's no way he could've known a boomerang to the head would cause an internal explosion and kill the assassin. or that it would do anything besides knock the guy out so they can escape. like??? people do be wilding out here

also, i'm rewatching the show rn and i was wondering if you had any thoughts on the significance (if any) of zuko not having his scar in his dream after he frees appa?

I mean he didn’t know it would kill him, but I’m sure it’s the most desirable outcome for him, seeing as killing him means ending his pursuit (to quote katara) permanently. sokka has no problem with killing people if they’ve tried to kill him first. he wanted to let zuko die in the north pole. he sliced open melonlord’s head all “there. that’s how it’s done.” granted, he did spare azula on the gondola, but there were a lot of factors at play there. for the most part sokka has no qualms with killing enemy combatants, although he also does seem to want to minimize casualties as much as possible. he can be cold, calculating, and even ruthless, but he is not aggressive or bloodthirsty in the slightest. in that sense I think he and azula are similar, whereas zuko and katara are far more aggressive and out for blood due to their inner rage rather than any innate understanding of the necessary cost of war. they can talk a big game, but ultimately, sokka and azula will do what needs to be done, while katara and zuko talk about getting revenge but are too sensitive to actually take a life when faced with the prospect (and to be clear, I don’t think either approach is wrong or right, it’s simply how they are as people). acknowledging that sokka has a kill count isn’t a bad thing, but treating that fact as if it makes him immoral is also incorrect. he does not kill for the sake of killing. he knows he is in a war, and he kills out of necessity.

and yeah! there’s been a lot of great analysis of that dream sequence, as it’s obviously very symbolic and however you read it, it provides a lot of insight into his character arc. one thing to note is that besides this dream sequence, I don’t think zuko ever looks into a mirror. (and note that when azula does look into a mirror, she breaks it.) I don’t think zuko can stand to look at his own reflection. keep in mind that zuko’s entire dream sequence is a product of his body being unable to process the trauma of performing an act in which he disobeys ozai’s conditioning. iroh forces him to challenge what he thinks he should do versus his deeper instincts, and since he’s spent the past three years ignoring those instincts, burning them away and then snuffing them out with ozai’s lessons taking their place, his body doesn’t know how to process the action of him going against the dogma that has fueled him for years. his body is punishing itself in place of the punishment he feels he must receive after disobeying ozai’s orders. he’s recovering from a wound, only this time, it’s psychological (internal) rather than physical (external). (sidenote: this is why I hate seeing people joke that “zuko did one good thing and then promptly fell ill” like yeah it’s his body’s response to the severe trauma of his abuse haha hilarious!) so this is the context for zuko’s feverish reevalation. he’s undergoing the realization that in ba sing se, ozai cannot actually reach him, and therefore he is safe to be who he wants to be. of course, this isn’t entirely true either. he’s not actually being who he wants to be once he recovers from his fever, he’s being who iroh wants him to be. he’s replacing one father with another. he’s still scared of the consequences of disappointing his patriarch, so he plays the perfect son and pretends to be happy. of course this facade cannot last either, which is foreshadowed by the two dragons in zuko’s dream, iroh and azula. both of them have an agenda for zuko, and here he sits, scarless, at a crossroads.

#sincerelyjordan #asks #analysis #I’ve seen good analysis of this dream sequence recently maybe I’ll link it if I can find it #since this is obv barely scratching the surface #edit: added it! please read it it’s very good #but I think the point about zuko trading ozai for iroh is really important #maybe I’ll expand on this at some point #sokka #zuko #iroh&zuko #ozai&zuko

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agoddamn · 2 years

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Absolutely wilding that Tobirama's take on ending war is "people should just stop having feelings." I mean, it is a very nine-year-old take but it's pretty clear he holds that stance close for the rest of his life (may not be great at following it, but holds the idea). I like the interpretations that have him semi-parenting his other siblings; we can see that he's already got the "just shut your mouth and do what needs to be done because nobody else is going to" philosophy of parentified kids down.

I mostly don't like the interpretations that stretch sensor types to basically empaths because I feel like it loses some of what makes the idea unique to Naruto (the active choice to sense, the limited nature of the ability). For Tobirama, though...it feels fitting to me that he'd have a hypersensitivity to aggression. Not reading feelings as a whole, but just aggression/violence.

It helps paper over a few inconsistencies regarding how good sensing is supposed to be, and for a kid that ended up playing promoted-parent, that's exactly the skillset you end up with--hypersensitivity to when things are about to go bad, because it's going to be your job to head that off at the pass. That trained hypersensitivity can also set you to jumping at shadows or making people think that you're looking for a fight, because, well...you are, in a sense. You never trust, you're always looking for how a situation is going to go bad and how you're going to get out in one piece.

Notice I didn't say win, I said get out. In the scene with Kawarama's grave, Tobirama lies to and appeases Butsuma even though his personal feelings are the opposite. His goal was not to prove the rightness of his philosophy, but to get Hashirama (and Itama) out of the funeral without further violence. Even for a shonen manga with bloodthirsty nine-year-olds, that's thinking a lot of steps ahead with a lot of subterfuge--and it's not even a canon-typical level of child insight, because Itama and Hashirama standing right there fail to defuse the scene.

In spite of running jokes about how dumb he is working up a lot of steam, Hashirama is not incapable of subterfuge or thinking ahead! He suspects Madara's identity from the first five minutes they meet, identifying Madara's stone-skipping as identical to shuriken-throwing. He recognizes this, recognizes that there would be negative consequences if he let on the truth about what he was seeing, and played dumb. And it worked. Hashirama absolutely had the skillset necessary to talk Butsuma down in the funeral scene and had already demonstrated skill with it.

Hashirama wanted to win against Butsuma; Tobirama wanted to survive.

And I think this behavior tracks neatly with his lifelong paranoia about Madara; even when it's sabotaging himself, he cannot stop fixating on how things can go wrong and how he can contain the damage.

#senju tobirama #naruto #founders era #bootsmeta

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writing-whump · 5 months

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Bleeding silver

This is a Christmas present for my lovely friend and RP partner @clickerflight. Great writer and artist, your work lights up my day.💙 Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Flashback fic, when Isaiah was 17, an executioner in his family pack. Insight into his secrets about his father, brothers and the deal with Reuben. Angst, captivity, torture, mentions of war, mentions of death, mentions of abuse.

Father’s office was big, dark with lots of massive wood a fireplace and two smaller rooms for waiting and parallel meetings, but very few wolves knew about its greatest advantage - that it had a stairway leading to another office downstairs.

The basement office had no windows. It was that far in the ground and the walls were of thick cement. No sounds came out of there.

Isaiah made sure no one was at the meeting room, before he went down, closing the secret door behind him.

Reuben was in the same position as Isaiah saw him in the morning. Hands in silver chains leading back to the wall behind him. He could sit upright, but he could not move up from there. Silver cuffs on his feet served no other purpose than to cause more burning pain. He was bleeding where silver touched him, the skin rough and blistered.

“I brought you food,” Isaiah said, putting the plate next to his limp feet before stepping away to lean against the cluttered table behind him.

Reuben tilted his head slowly, eyes glassy and feverish as they focused on him. His brown curls were greasy from sweat and matted with old blood and he was shivering without his shadow. He still managed a sarcastic: “How very kind of you.”

It was a bowl of soup. Isaiah figured Reuben’s last bouts of sickness could be traced back to the ongoing strain from the silver burns and that maybe something easier on the stomach could help. He could not simply give him whatever they had at dinner so he made the plainest chichen broth he could.

“It’s such a shame,” Reuben rasped, leaning his head back, “you go through all that trouble to keep me alive, but I’ll have to say no.”

“I don’t care if you are alive,” Isaiah said on reflex.

“Yes, you do. You know what will happen, when my dad finds out about this, right? Can you Wolfsons afford another war? I hear you are preparing for one right now.”

“You couldn’t have heard that,” Isaiah said, folding his hands on his chest. No way someone would reveal such sensitive information…

“Your daddy dearest sounded pretty sure,” Reuben said, a small smirk playing on his chapped lips at Isaiah’s discomfort. “He talks a lot like I won’t survive to tell the tale. I guess he’s right.”

Isaiah’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. His shadow rose angrily though, slashing down on the ground. He didn’t like to be left out of decisions of that magnitude. Neither did he agree with Reuben getting killed. The guy was 17, the same as Isaiah and the oldest son of the Jäger pack’s leader. It made no sense to kill him. Isaiah knew he could have easily been the one on the floor in his father’s office.

“You should really decide already,” Reuben rasped. “You are in conflict, that’s clear as day. You bring me food, you come watch me when you father all but forgets, you worry about my survival although you shouldn’t. You want to release me, but you also want to do what daddy says. You don’t understand the logic behind his plan to torture me. If he killed me, it would be a quicker way to start a war. And your father obviously wants to start one.”

“That’s not true,” Isaiah said sharply. “Father only does what’s best for the pack.”

“So why did he kidnap me? Why this whole ordeal?” Reuben lifted himself up, hands automatically tugging before he winced at the movement and sagged back again.

“There is surely an explanation I’m still not worthy or smart enough to understand.”

“Ha! You still believe that? There is no way your father does things for the greater good of anyone but his bloodthirsty shadow. I told you. This is not how a leader acts.” Reuben coughed then, his whole torse shaking with the cough until it blew into a whole coughing fit, wracking his frame.

“I’m going to escape from here,” Reuben continued, voice breathy and ragged. “One way or another.” He looked at the bowl of soup in disgust, head lolling to the other side.

Isaiah snorted. “How? By starving yourself? That’s the big plan?”

“Why not? I can’t keep doing this forever.” He squeezed his eyes shut, sweat running down the side of his face although he was shivering. “I want out.”

Isaiah was silent for a long time, shaken by the sheer despair in Reuben’s otherwise talkative arrogant voice. It’s been two weeks. He was running thin, constantly in pain from the silver, the beatings and rolled down shadow that came in irregular intervals not helping.

“It’s just because you are not used to the silver,” he said quietly.

Reuben’s eyes closed in exhaustion. “No one is supposed to be used to silver. It freaking hurts. It’s poison to us.”

“See? That’s why father training me with silver is such a good move. Silver with shadow, without the shadow, seeing how quickly you recover. Look at this.” Isaiah crouched down and rolled down the right sleeve on his coat to show the ugly red welts on his arm.

Reuben opened his eyes to slits to look, eyebrows furrowing together.

“Silver knife with a rolled down shadow. But my shadow is already back up. I have grown stronger since he did it to me last time. Every time I get used to the pain more. I know what to expect. And I can call my shadow to come back to me sooner instead of being paralyzed by the pain.”

“Why do you sound so bloody happy?!” Reuben said, face contorting into an angry grimace. “That’s not normal, Isaiah! That’s not something a father does to his son, or a wolf does to his pup. That’s not something a parent’s shadow is supposed to be capable of doing to its child!”

Isaiah recoiled, covering the slashes with his good hand. “You don’t understand. He doesn’t like to do it. It’s a necessary sacrifice for him, but he does it for my sake.”

“For your sake!” Reuben exclaimed, lifting himself up in the chains again only to break into another coughing fit. Isaiah felt the unexplainable impulse to steady him, to touch him.

“That’s such nonsense, Isaiah. This is not part of the training of a successor. Or an executioner. It’s just plain sadistic torture.”

Isaiah bowed his head, staring at the carpet. It was dusty, covered with patches of dried blood.

“And you know it. Deep down you know it. Why else would you prevent your father from training your younger brother?”

Isaiah flinched at that, looking back at Reuben. “One executioner is enough. This kind of training is for me. I’m the strongest in the pack. It’s a burden and a blessing. And mainly, it’s my duty.” For the greater good. For the good of the pack. They need someone like me, who can bear the pain, inflict the pain, understand it and protect them from it.

“If you truly believed this was a strength, you would have trained your brother yourself. Instead, you made a deal. Your father told me. Gloated to me, really. That you think you can do everything on your own, so much your brother won’t be needed for the job at all. That you made a deal that you would not protest any mission if Hector were excluded from the training. And that Hector himself hates you for it. Stupid bastard, not knowing what he is missing.”

Isaiah’s eyes widened. He had no idea father told Reuben such intimate family affairs.

“You won’t protect him forever. He complied to motivate you, but he is sure your qualms will disappear. The more you do it, the more your shadow tastes the blood, the more it will crave it. Until you become like him. And then he will train Hector too. Make him into another you. And you will enjoy it, just like your father enjoys it right now.”

Isaiah stood up abruptly. His heart was beating fast in his chest, his shadow swelling beside him, reacting to his fear, to his pain. It wanted to claw into Reuben for saying that, it wanted to tear him to shreds, taste his blood, bite deep into him just like father would into Isaiah, to calm down, to feel in control…

Reuben smiled, blood in the corner of his lips, eyes glittering with fever and irony. “See? You are on your best way to get there. To the shadow madness.”

Isaiah stepped closer to Reuben, towering over him. He was so weak and pitiful. Isaiah could break his ribs with one kick, smash his teeth together to make him shut up, he could strangle him with his shadow…

Reuben said nothing else, staring invitingly in the way of a wolf making a challenge. Isaiah realized then Reuben was truly serious.

He wanted to die. And he wanted to provoke Isaiah into doing it.

Isaiah walked away.

After he closed and locked the basement office door, he all but ran up the stairs, into the office, through the side exit into the courtyard.

Isaiah braced his hands against his thighs, gulping in the taste of fresh, cold air. He needed to clear his head. He needed his shadow back under control.

Isaiah sat in the smaller of the adjoined offices, doing paperwork, when Marek walked in.

Although Isaiah was younger, Marek waited patiently until Isaiah acknowledged his presence. That’s how it was these days. Marek was a Wolkenstein, he had a powerful shadow and great skill. But no wolf could measure up to Isaiah’s shadow or his control or his skill with it. None of the older wolves, not even those leading their own fractions, their own little allied groups. Not even Isaiah’s uncle. No one but father could do it.

Isaiah lifted his gaze. His shadow was up, covering the ground around the table and climbing the walls. He liked to keep it in the open when he didn’t want to be disturbed. He felt safer with it.

Marek bowed his head, eyes glued to the ground, head tipping to the side to show his throat. It was more of a symbolic gesture, but an important one, showing his submission and acceptance of Isaiah’s power over him.

Isaiah’s shadow wiggled in satisfaction, sizzling like water dripping on burning coals.

“You may speak,” Isaiah said, voice carefully neutral and devoid of emotion.

“The leader said you are in charge of picking wolves for the battle,” Marek said, lifting his gaze tentatively, though looking somewhere over Isaiah’s shoulder. “With the Specter pack. They send us their challenge already, right? You have the date?”

“The date and place have been decided,” Isaiah allowed. He didn’t like where this was going. He had been put in charge of picking the pack members for the battle and he decided not to pick anyone. He would go there alone or with father at most and handle it.

“Then…who is coming?”

Isaiah gave him a measured stare. It usually scared wolves enough not to ask questions and leave him alone. Especially with his shadow up like that.

Marek gulped a little under the pressure, but continued: “You mean…no one? Do you seriously want to go alone?”

“That is my decision to make,” Isaiah said coldly. His shadow hissed like a snake, not liking the disagreement in Marek’s voice.

“Of course, it’s your decision,” Marek said quickly, shoulders hunching. “But Isaiah, come on. Wars are about numbers. Specters are coming after us with at least 10 of their strongest members. We should do the same. We have manpower to choose from, wolves eager for battle and we are strong, Isaiah. If you said a word…”

Isaiah said nothing, just glaring.

Marek looked up before quickly bowing his gaze again. “Isaiah, please. If you don’t want to pick, I’ll ask. Only volunteers, what do you think?”

They both knew there would be plenty of those. Isaiah disliked it. This was a great opportunity to let go of some anger and accumulated aggression, but wolves would always be eager to fight. It wasn’t civilized and it brought nothing good to fight between packs. Isaiah wanted to do it alone, so no one else would bear the risk.

“There is no point in having a pack, if you don’t let it fight for you when it counts,” Marek said, voice low and soothing.

Isaiah didn’t answer, but he let his eyes go to the side, conceding the point.

Marek straightened up at that, voice relieved. “Thank you. Nothing bad will happen, Isaiah. Don’t worry.”

Isaiah narrowed his eyes. Suggesting he was worried was not acceptable, even if Marek had been his friend and had seen him train long before he became the executioner.

Marek winced, backing away. “I’ll be going then.”

But executioners didn’t have friends. Marek understood that, yet still felt like he needed to look out for him. Isaiah didn’t manage to scare him away as well as he intended.

Maybe it was the Wolkenstein ability to tell lies and truth. And Marek was well-tuned to Isaiah’s masks, somehow able to read between the neutral expressions, threatening looks and cold tones.

Isaiah didn’t like it. It was as if Marek could see through his defenses, all the way to the little boy he used to be, when they first became friends with each other.

Marek went to the door, only turning at the last second, eyes briefly meeting his. “It’s okay, Zaya.”

I know you are in there somewhere. You won’t fool me. I know this is a kindness from you. It’s okay. You don’t have to do it alone.

Isaiah said nothing as Marek disappeared out the door, staring at the spot for a long time.

***

Isaiah walked briskly through the halls, shadow slashing behind him. Wolves and humans and witches quickly cleared the way at his approach.

He walked as quickly as he could without outright running.

“It was a necessary loss,” his father said. Isaiah could still see his ruthlessly calm green eyes staring holes into his head. “People die in wars, it is to be expected. It was an acceptable sacrifice. We only lost two people, Isaiah. This is a victory to be celebrated.”

Isaiah fumed. He said nothing, only getting out the door, shadow lashing. He needed to get home, he needed to get out of the public eye. Away from celebrating wolves, from victory yells and champagne.

The victory wasn’t worth Marek’s life.

Isaiah was coming to think no victory could have been worthy of it.

It was an unnecessary war. For territory, for not forgiving a slight offense. It was entirely father’s fault. And it was Isaiah’s, because he let Marek talk him into taking more wolves.

Isaiah let Marek come. To die.

Isaiah burst into the apartment he shared with his brothers, shadow trailing behind him, long and angry.

Hector and Arnie were both in the living room, eating. They had the meet and mashed potatoes Isaiah cooked in the morning. He always cooked for them, finding it the most and if not only enjoyable time of his day. Doing something with his hands that created instead of destroyed, something enjoyable that could be shared.

Hector stood up from the table. “Ah, there he is. Father didn’t even want me at the celebration, because I wasn’t part of the war in any way. You all happy about that, huh? Keeping him and all the good techniques to yourself, you selfish prick.”

Isaiah ignored him, getting out of his coat and removing his shoes.

“You can’t keep me out of every interesting fight! I know this is your fault, that you keep me away from father on purpose - but I’ll get strong anyway. Stronger than you and then you’ll regret-”

Isaiah turned. There was blood on his suit, Marek’s blood, as he kneeled beside him as he bled out from a silver bullet. His shadow rose around him, spilling over the living room, swelling with anger.

Hector stopped abruptly, taking an involuntary step back.

Arnie hunched into himself at the table. He was just 11 years old, used to his brothers, their shadows and their fighting. To the good kind of fighting, the playful one. When they weren’t trying to hurt each other.

Nowadays Hector tried to hurt Isaiah whenever he saw him. Lashing out in anger, not understanding what was wrong, why he was being left out. He was 15 years old, a very sensitive age for a shadow wolf. They needed guidance and direction, a clear example and goals to follow, so they could discipline their shadows into submission. Shadows that reacted to every hormonal emotion with a vengeance and aggression.

This was a sensitive age. And Isaiah nor father could be there for him. Isaiah made sure of that.

“Shut up,” Isaiah said, fighting the urge to just roll his little brother's shadow down and take the peace and quiet he craved. “Shut up for once. No one is interested in your whining.”

Hector went pale, bowing his head in submission and fear.

Isaiah’s shadow wiggled in excitement at the gesture. Isaiah felt sick.

Arnie stood up then, a little hesitant before stepping closer to Isaiah. His green eyes were wide in his childish face, blond hair messy and shining under the kitchen lamp.

“Was it bad? Are you hurt?” Arnie said quietly, reaching for his arm. He knew he had to be careful with wolves, although he was never afraid of the two of them. At least that was ingrained into Isaiah and Hector both by their mother, when she was still alive. Isaiah never worried about Hector doing anything to Arnie and until now the trust turned justified.

Isaiah fought every instinct in his body not to recoil or shove him off, when Arnie gently touched his forearm. All his muscles clenched inside him. Arnie was all softness, round and vulnerable and kind, looking at him with those trusting big eyes…

Isaiah tolerated the touch for a few seconds, revulsion and disgust swirling inside him. His shadow steadied though, pulling back and down.

The oldest wolf stepped away from the human boy and then hurried into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Fortunately, they had two bathrooms and this one Isaiah liked to reserve for himself.

He locked the door behind him, then opened the faucet to full blast and let the shower run. His hands were shaking so badly that he barely managed to unbutton his shirt and strip down from his bloody clothes.

That was all he managed before the tears came.

The grief and pain flooded him like a tsunami, crashing the air out of his lungs. He slid down the door, curling into himself, hoping the running water would disguise the sounds.

He held onto his composure during the battle. He held onto it when Marek got shot, and when his mother bled out next to him, trying to save her oldest son. There were still two kids she left behind. Marek’s little brother and sister.

Isaiah’s insides shook and twisted. He buried his face into his knees, wailing quietly, while his shadow clawed at the bathroom tiles. But he wasn’t worried it would do anything anymore. This was a way to let out a strong emotions, and he would rather let it out through tears than through someone’s blood.

At least this time around.

***

Isaiah went down the stairs. It was deep into the night, the sounds of celebration still loud.

He went down the steps with newfound determination. The conflict in him was gone, his shadow calm at his side as he opened the door. He didn’t switch the light on.

Reuben was sleeping fitfully in the chains, but was quick to wake at the sound of his approach. The bowl of soup was untouched.

Isaiah had no time to be hesitant. He went down to one knee beside him, taking out the keys and unlocking his cuffs.

Reuben’s eyes widened, but he pulled his bleeding hands away, pressing them against his chest. “What's going on?”

“We’ll wait till your shadow comes back and heals you. I’ll replace the chain with a steel one, so the silver doesn’t burn you. And when the time is right, I’ll help you escape,” Isaiah said, voice hard and clipped.

Reuben’s face lightened up. “Isaiah, this is the right choice. You won’t regret-”

“In exchange,” Isaiah interrupted harshly, “you won’t tell your father what happened to you or that the Wolfsons had anything to do with it. Tell him you were on a trip or spent the time passed out drunk. I don’t care. But there will be no other war, you understand?”

Reuben frowned, lowering his voice. “That bad today?”

Isaiah stood up, leaning back against the table like he did before. Reuben slid away from his usual place by the wall, as if wanting to exercise some of his new freedom, though he was weak and didn’t get further than a step.

“I won’t let another war happen. No one else has to get hurt in this. You know what my father is. You know the only ones suffering are you and me. And you said it yourself, it’s not my fault. We don’t have to make it a pack business.”

“Am I just supposed to forgive you? Just like that? What about my suffering, huh?”

Isaiah rubbed at his face tiredly. “Can’t you just be happy you won’t end up dead?”

“What about the consequences? What about the silver scars, what about the pain to my shadow, Isaiah? What am I supposed to do if there turns out to be damage I can’t manage on my own? It wants revenge and-”

“If we go to war, I’ll go and kill your father.”

Reuben froze, mouth open.

“I don’t want another war. But if you won’t help me, there will be one and more Wolfson wolves are going to die. Jäger wolves are going to die. But I’ll make sure to kill your father, so your pack is hit the most, losing its leader. So no other pack ever tries to fight us again. You want to go that road?”

Reuben snarled at him. If he went to his father and started the war, he would not be strong enough to fight in it. And he couldn’t defeat Isaiah the first time anyway, though they were very closely matched.

“Fine. I won’t tell anyone what happened was your and the Wolfson pack leader’s doing. But I can’t let your shadow mad father run free, Isaiah, you have to under-”

“Give me a year,” Isaiah said. “Give me one year and I’ll deal with him myself. Just don’t tell anyone.”

Reuben would always have the knowledge that could destroy his pack. Once he was free, the bargaining advantage would be in his hands.

Reuben raised an eyebrow at him, features hard. “Fine. In exchange?”

Isaiah sighed. “Anything you want.”

@bellysoupset

#whump #angst #werewolves #captured #werewolf wip #my writing #and we all know what Reuben ended up wanting...#Reuben #Isaiah

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wonderlandleighleigh · 8 months

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I know you are very puzzled about what’s the right thing to do given the circumstances, but I wanted to ask as an ally if you are willing to give some insight on how we should best show our support? I personally have noticed a lot of celebrities post “Pray for Peace” on the social medias and I as a Black woman can’t help but think to myself that that’s as unhelpful as posting Black squares in the wake of George Floyd. But I realize others have jumped the gun and have taken a stance while being uneducated on the matter and spreading biased misinformation. I’ve been looking out for posts that come from Palestinian and Jewish voices that give a nuance take on the matter, and if not from them directly then from creators that actually cite their sources. Or posts like reading lists on how to educate yourself on the matter. Sorry if I’m rambling on I don’t mean to virtue signal but I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m still learning so is it worth amplifying Jewish & Palestinian voices at the risk of jumping the gun?

I wish I had a definitive answer on this.

I would say support and amplify compassionate voices.

Voices that don't treat Jewish or Palestinian bodies as expendable.

The links to aid I posted before. There's also T'ruah, who are an NYC based charity that works to support rabbis and cantors who fight for the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.

I would avoid anyone who is bloodthirsty. Anyone who thinks Hamas has any interest in freeing Palestine. Anyone who blindly supports the Israeli government without thinking harder.

I would remember that there are 2000 years of history behind this conflict, and both Jews and Palestinians belong in that region. We are all originally from there. I keep hearing cries of "colonizer" but bitch, where do you think jews came from?? 🤣 I know there's more nuance there but uh...hi. yes.

Remember that all of us are scared, and a lot of this is coming out of fear.

Thank you for this question. I don't know if this helps, but it's what I got. ❤️

#stuff and things #gonna barf soon probably

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livlepretre · 3 days

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DESPERATE for insight on that ending!!! Klaus and Elena have this tender moment (“Are you very unhappy?”) and then he gives back Stefan his humanity as he hits absolute rock bottom. Is it cruelty? That he’s making Stefan now deal with all that he’s done in these 4 years? Or is it an act of compassion towards Elena? Giving her back the Stefan she loves? Or am I totally wrong and there’s a secret third reason?

Okay so the answer is a secret third reason, which might be a little bonkers.

Ummm...

SO. Kol really got under Klaus's skin with the whole "isn't the best thing about Elena the fact that she is so beautifully human?"

Because this instantly set up a contrast in Klaus's mind. Human Elena who smiles and laughs and cares, versus vampiric Stefan who is grim and bloodthirsty and a slave to his appetites and cares for nothing.

It's not like what he values in her most is her humanity, per se. He values her for lots of reasons that are much more specific to Elena herself, and he would still value her as a vampire, I think. It's just that Kol has suddenly painted for him a very strong contrast between what he wants and what he actually has. And as the night goes on and he stews on this he grows increasingly unhappy with where he is at.

He watches Elena that night with the other humans and concludes that Kol had been correct. He sees her through the lens Kol paints for him during their argument and it makes everything worse. In his mind, episodes like sitting through that comedy show next to her, which were torture for him, now have a new context because he's understanding what it is about Elena in those instances that undoes him.

When Elena observes he is jealous, it's not actually anything to do with the camaraderie between Kol and Stefan-- it's actually that he's jealous of the attention she is giving everyone else, of even the meaningless flirtations with those boys at the pool table. He's in a sulk over her and she can't see it, although Stefan understands it well enough.

When Klaus turns the question to Stefan about whether he cares about his own brother, he's returning to something he had brought up earlier-- when he brought up Damon with Stefan and Elena a few chapters ago, he wasn't quite sure what he wanted out of the conversation, how he wanted either of them to react-- just that he was dissatisfied with the results. Here, he knows what he wants: he wants Stefan to respond the way Elena had, with a measure of care for his brother, the way Elena has for hers. He's watching the way Elena responds so emotively and passionately and trying to see if there is anything that can bring that out in Stefan.

He realizes over the course of the night that there isn't-- that Stefan is too far gone. And he keeps an eye on Elena while also watching Stefan spiral, and growing increasingly unhappy with him.

And it's when Elena confronts him with so much empathy and regard, and he feels so utterly stripped before her, that he spots Stefan-- and it saves him from opening up to her, because although he wants her, he does not want to want her, has sworn her off, cannot allow it for himself-- and he gets an idea.

He cannot have exactly what he wants.

But perhaps there is a way to make Stefan into what he wants.

To make Stefan a little bit more like Elena.

So he chooses that moment to return to him his humanity. It is an act of exquisite cruelty-- the timing couldn't be worse-- but in a way, Klaus is perfectly content with the timing because at least Stefan is guaranteed a strong reaction. A human reaction. He will take human horror over nothing at all.

And although this is extraordinarily cruel of Klaus-- he did not do it for cruelty's sake, but because he is selfish, and he is searching for the thing that will make him want Elena less, and he is determined to fill that void inside of himself that she left when she daggered him in any way that he can.

#asks #fairytale ending

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mooseclan · 3 months

Text

mooseclan

Overall

There were four Clans in the old territory; MooseClan, SunClan, RainClan and MapleClan. When a forest fire wrecked and ruined MooseClan’s territory, they were forced to flee.

They fled to the docks where they met a cat named Goose, who explained his home on the ship. He led them aboard.

It took 6 moons for them to travel from their old home to their new one, and then they had to trek to find a place to live.

During the travels, cats died and cats joined

When they arrived at their new territory, a vision from StarClan informed that they needed to split into four separate Clans; MooseClan, TulipClan, CicadaClan and FinchClan.

Moonstar

53 moons

Tom

Confident and formidable fighter

He’s always trying his best for his Clan and would die for them. He’s also super confident so if he ever needs to defend his clanmates, he will gladly do so.

He was taught by Tornstar.

Born to Sunheart and Firefern who died when he was 23 moons old. He had two siblings.

After Willowlark’s death, Tornstar placed Moontuft in charge.

Moonstar led his Clanmates from the docks in Canada into Yukon territory.

Sneezeleaf

116 moons

She-cat

Shameless and formidable fighter

She was originally a loner back in the old territory but joined when she was 8 moons old and started training as a warrior.

Sneezeleaf is a clever kind of cat, and very wise.

She’s protective of her Clanmates and always makes sure they are all ok.

Sneezeleaf evacuated most of the cats from the fire when the deputy at the time - Willowlark - was killed.

Ghostice

55 moons

Tom

Childish, natural intuition and ghost intuition

Ghostice was a loner in Canada and met the Clan cats when they arrived. Ghostice is a very skilled Medicine Cat.

He often plays pranks on various cats and is a very silly guy.

He’s also quite positive.

Ghostice often sees glimmers of cats’ ghosts and in his dreams he often sees the ghosts of passed cats.

He received a vision when they arrived that the cats were destined to split into four, and had to tell everyone about it.

Pineskip

85 moons

She-cat

Compassionate, unnatural senses and valuable insight

Pineskip was a kittypet aboard the ship they caught, named Pine. She was a very peaceful cat, and loved the Clan dearly, so she left with them.

Pineskip is a very skilled mediator because she is so kind and has good insight, and even before joining the Clan she was known as a mediating cat.

She occasionally misses her Twoleg, but is glad she joined MooseClan. He never put a collar on her or gave her kibble, but let her sleep in his cabin at night.

Lynxtuft

78 moons

Tom

Righteous, good story-teller and great kitsitter

Lynxtuft was a friend of Goose’s and a sailor cat who caught rats and mice on the ship, originally named Lynx. Lynx wasn’t born on the ship though, and is a very wild-like cat.

Lynxtuft misses Goose when they leave but is still glad he joined MooseClan. He loves to entertain the kits with stories; both real and made-up.

Lynxtuft quickly learnt everything about the Clans and was very persistent on joining, even though he knew he would have to leave his beloved-ship.

Fireroar

57 moons

Tom

Nervous and lore master

Fireroar was a warrior when the forest fire occurred, but he wasn’t born into MooseClan. Although he was raised as one, Fireroar was found as a newborn kit by his mother’s dead body in their territory.

Fireroar has always been a bit of a nervous cat, especially since a fox got him when he was a newly made apprentice. It left a large scar on his back, near his tail.

He would prefer not to take charge in any situation, but enjoys helping.

Wolfpaw

9 moons

She-cat

Bloodthirsty, mossball hunter and oddly observant

Wolfpaw lived in a small town by the docks in Canada, and was found by Lynxtuft when they arrived. She happily joined them.

Wolfpaw is closest with Lynxtuft as they have quite a lot in common.

She’s a very fast learner and enjoys training a lot.

She can hear, see and smell anything before anyone else and is very loyal to her Clanmates.

Echokit

5 moons

Tom-kit

Attention-seeker and quick-witted

Echokit was the kit of Bluewhisper and Willowlark and stuck close to the remaining members of the Clan. He had one sibling; Cloudkit.

Bluewhisper died whilst kitting and Cloudkit was still-born, and Willowlark was killed during the forest fire.

Echokit stuck close to Moonstar after his family died and admires him a lot.

He loves attention, but only because he missed out on a lot of it as a kit - what with the Clan travelling.

Yewkit

4 moons

She-kit

Impulsive and mossball hunter

Yewkit was discovered by Moonstar when they were travelling to their territory and was abandoned.

Yewkit was abandoned only a quarter moon before Moonstar found her and has distinct memories of what her family looked like, but nothing else. She believes she got lost from them in a storm and that’s why she was alone.

Yewkit originally thought that if her family came back and found her, she’d leave with them, but now she considers MooseClan her new family.

Leafkit

1 moon

She-kit

Sweet and mossball hunter

Leafkit was the kit of Rippleheart and Cloverleaf, and a single kit.

Leafkit’s parents were both killed upon arrival is Canada by a loose dog in the town.

Since then she stuck close to Yewkit and has a very tiny kitten crush on her, just because Yewkit always plays moss-ball with her and takes care of her.

Leafkit is a very sweet kit and always offers to help where she can, but because she’s so young, she really can’t be that helpful. But, she tries.

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spacebarbarianweird · 4 months

Text

WIP game

I was tagged by @vixstarria Tagging @not-so-lost-after-all and @brabblesblog

So this is the extract from the longfic about dhampirs - taking place 45 years post-game, it is about adventures of Alethaine Ancunin and other half-vampires she meets on her journey. This is an insight on the lives of 7000 vampire spawns in the Undedark. Alethaine (high elf/necromancer), Mierni (human/wizard, Gale's adoptive sone), Ulsha (Paladin of Lathander/Half-Orc, born in the Underdark), Theris (Tiefling/Bard, non-binary and horny)

The little wizard grasps his staff tighter as Theris slaps his shoulder. "Mierni I have a question. Were you adopted or kidnapped? I mean, let's say guests would come to the renowned Gale of Waterdeep. Would he say "This is Mierni, my son and heir" or he would lock you in the basement? "He…would tell me to go to my room. And sit there quietly." "It's not the answer to my question. And it also doesn't explain why he so easily let you go with us" Theris raises his voice to attract the women's attention. "Oh no, Theris, don't you see?" Alethaine grins. "He just saw how trustful we are." "Trustful?! I do drugs, and your a necromancer. The only moral person here is Ulsha, and she looks like Groomsh's youngest wife! Let alone the fact she is from the Underdark!" Theris pats Mierni's head. "I am sure Gale wanted you dead!" "No, he didn't! He wanted me to see the world!" "And die in the process!" Ulsha doesn't comment on it anyhow. Alethaine comes closer. "How bad was it in the Underdark?" "You really wanna know?" "I do." The Half-Orc chuckles. "It was bad. When the spawns were released from the dungeons, they rushed to the Underdark, murdering, raping, and feeding. It was a bloodthirsty horde worse than then the abyssal demons. Some of them dissapeared to return to their homes, to their past lives, mostly dwarves and drows. But I am afraid many returned to the surface to be vampires, the hunters on the innocent. Among those who remained underground only 1000 were still sane. The others… They are more like animals, than sentient beings. They live in small colonies, like stray cats, and constantly travel looking for prey. As for the sane ones, the "sane" 1000…" Ulsha makes a pause, collecting the thoughts. "Dalyria, one of the "leaders" tried be to their queen or chieftain, whatever. She called it Coven. But soon 1000 divided into 10-15 clans in a neverending war with each other. It's a feud. A fight for food, resources, territory. All the clans were more of less equal until … dhampirs started growing older. Dhampirs became the ultimate weapon - we can sense the presense of vampires, we can stalk them in the running water, in the sunlight, we can starve them… "My clan never pretended they "got" me for any other purpose than to make me their champion, to fight their wars. Dalyria was in rage when she learned and she called upon her sons, the twins, who lived on the surface. They massacred each vampire at me home. It was a bloodshed I had seen before and I wish to never witness again. I thought they would kill me but they showed me the way up to the surface and told me to never come back. The Underdark is no place for dhampirs, it will be our demise should we return there."

#dhampirs of the sword's coast #meet the dhampirs #alethaine ancunin #dadstarion #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion bg3 #my fanfic

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yuesya · 10 months

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in cursed twin AU, how does Satoru react towards Yuta, since he has a cursed spirit of his own? albeit Shiki is a bit of a different situation and is well-behaved compared to Rika, and has more clarity than Rika

it could also be argued that - putting aside that no one except Suguru has lived to tell the secret - Satoru is comparatively more fucked up than Yuta in this regard because he’s willingly housing Shiki for an unforeseen future inside his body, and that’s considered messed up in the head, kind of? because imagine you have the option of putting Shiki to rest somehow, letting her die in peace, but no — for one, Shiki is well behaved and there’s no problems so far in their situation, so there’s no reason for Satoru to just up and do that. shiki isn’t suffering, isn’t too insane, and by possessing him she can eat and see and experience things for her own (even though shes a bloodthirsty little thing)

so gg Satoru be the first one to delete people who denies his sister this second chance (and he already did lmao)

for two, why should Shiki be the one to die? when it was the fault of fucking Gojo Clan and their father that she ended up like this? it’s not fair, his sister died because of some fucktards deciding she wasn’t worth anything and she has to be the one to pay the price, to give up in this lifetime, to die in order her to be in peace? Shiki deserves to live and have a chance to look at and experience this world, and Satoru is making sure of it even if it has to be through using him

In a way, Gojo Satoru really does love Shiki, and I want to see how a Satoru who has someone he loves to the point of, well, housing them inside his body for almost all his life like in Cursed Twins AU, reacts to seeing Yuta and Rika.

Footsteps sound clearly upon the cold stone ground, growing closer and closer, but Yuta can't find the strength to raise his head. Instead, he curls inwards, shrinking into himself where he's sitting on the uncomfortable wooden chair in his prison.

And, there's no doubt that this is a prison; ofuda seals cover the entirety of the enclosed chamber, and the only source of light is from the flicker of yellow lanterns scattered across the ground, arranged in a strange pattern. Yuta does not recognize any of it, as strange and scary as everything is, but instinct tells him that this is a trap, a cage.

... Good. He deserves it. He deserves to be locked up like this forever, because he-

"All of this is a bit overkill for just a kid, isn't it?"

"This was the best I could argue for, while you were still out of the country. It was either this, or immediate execution." Oh. Oh, Yuta recognizes this voice. "Hello, Okkotsu-kun. Have you been well?"

It's only polite to look at the person who's speaking to you. Yuta doggedly manages to summon up the strength to raise his head.

"... Hello, Geto-san," he whispers. The man who'd subdued Rika-chan and brought him in without any further bloodshed offers him a reassuring smile, then gestures towards his companion.

"Okkotsu-kun, this is my friend, Gojo Satoru. He's the one I mentioned before, who I think might be able to offer a unique insight into your situation. Satoru, this is-"

The white-haired man makes a clearly disgusted sound. Yuta automatically flinches, because there's no doubt that it's directed towards him.

"A master-servant bond, really?" he says, obviously disapproving. Yuta has no idea what the man is talking about.

"Okkotsu-kun is not a sorcerer," Geto-san says sharply. "He's lived a civilian life all this time, Satoru. Remember what I told you? He and Orimoto-chan are childhood sweethearts who accidentally cursed each other; neither had any idea of what they were doing-"

"No, the boy's the one who did all the cursing here, Suguru." There's a strange flicker in the white-haired man's striking blue eyes, crystalline blue shifting to abyssal darkness and back again. But it must be a trick of the light. Human eyes don't work that way. "But for something that was unintentional... hmm..."

Geto-san sighs tiredly. "Your recommendation, then?"

"... You're asking for my opinion? I think... ultimately, it depends on what the two of them want out of their relationship," Gojo-san shrugs. "Although that might be a little difficult to hammer out on the girl's side, given her current state."

Geto-san frowns lightly, a hand coming up to rest on his chin in thought. "Is there a way to make her lucid again?"

"Well, it's not like there's a documented process for this or anything, but with the circumstances being what they are, I think we might have a few ideas," Gojo-san gives him a sharp grin. Then, he turns towards Yuta. "Hey, so. If it turns out that there's no helping your Rika-chan anyways and we can't actually improve her state any, then what are you going to do?"

"What am I...?" Yuta blinks, confused. It's precisely because he doesn't know what to do, because he doesn't want Rika-chan to hurt anyone anymore, that he's sitting here in this prison cell unresistingly. That he's accepted the fact that he's going to be executed, because otherwise... otherwise...

The white-haired man shoots him a distinctly unimpressed look. "It's not that complicated a question, kid."

"I..." Yuta swallows roughly. "I don't... I don't want Rika-chan to hurt anyone."

"Cute, but that's not what I asked," Gojo-san says. "Are you just going to try and kill yourself again?"

"Satoru, that's not-!"

"Let him answer the question, Suguru."

The scary man's eyes flick downwards briefly towards where a deformed hand-knife is hidden behind Yuta's chair. A knife that Rika-chan had destroyed when Yuta had attempted to... wait, how does he even know that?

But the question he'd asked... Yuta doesn't...

...

Yuta doesn't want to hurt anyone. And, he doesn't want Rika-chan to hurt anyone, either. The guilt of living like this, causing nothing but death and destruction wherever he goes, accomplishing nothing but bringing pain to other people's lives... that's not okay, and it makes bile rise in the back of his throat just thinking about it.

"You're the one who cursed her, even if it was accidental," Gojo-san tells him mercilessly. "So what is it that you want to do?"

Let's get married when we're older, Yuta.

We'll be together forever and ever!

That's a promise.

...

"I... I want to help Rika-chan."

"And if you can't?"

Yuta's hands clench into fists. "You said... you said that you might have a way. And, if it's my fault that Rika-chan is like this, then I... I have to do something about it."

"Because it's your responsibility?"

"Because I care about Rika-chan!"

The heavy imposing pressure in the air suddenly lifts; Yuta falls forward, gasping. He hadn't even noticed it creeping up on him-

Geto-san clicks his tongue. "You went a little overboard here, Satoru."

"Yeah, we'll take him on," the white-haired man ignores the comment and grins. "Help me draw up the papers? I know that Maki and the others will be just thrilled to have a new student joining them."

"... Draw them up yourself, I'm not your secretary."

"Aww, don't be like that, Suguru-"

#QA #Writing #zenith of stars au #twins au #excellent analysis anon #gojo is very much unimpressed by the gojo clan deciding that shiki deserves to die #simply because she had the audacity to be /born/#he is in the unique position to take care of his sister and give her a chance at the life that was taken away from her #and she's not hurting anyone #usually #so as far as gojo is concerned #anyone who gets in their way can go burn in hell

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