#i've been thinking to reread heir to the empire | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

partyanimal167 · 3 months

Text

Run in with Royalty- Miguel x F!Reader

I'm gonna crank out as many fics before I start work again 😤 I've binged and reread some of my favorite mafia au fics recently (especially by @tarjapearce and @guilty-pleasures21), and it's honestly been one of my favorite tropes since high school. I wanted to shoot my shot at it, so we'll see where this goes

CW: mentions of violence, language, mdni, fem reader, smoking, author knows some Spanish

Miguel had goals and ambitions. He knew nearly everything and everyone, so when he had the opportunity for more, he had the resources to take it. Nothing could surprise him. He was on top. Or so he thought....

You sat on the marble balcony bored out of your mind--gazing at the forest scenery and getting too much fresh air in your lungs. You weren't sure how long it had been since your husband had died, but things should be calming down after all.

Wars between families were very unsightly and violent which is why they rarely occurred. It was better to hold grudges and make aggressive business moves rather than fill useful workers with lead. Most people understood that. But then again, businesses and territory does not grow without risk, and you have to be prepared for some loss. Just hopefully not your life.

There were many lessons that leaders were taught whether from others or their own experiences. You had those. So did your husband. However, your family was a bit traditional with certain things, so while you would have thrived on your own, a partner seemed like a good idea--could produce an heir too. Shame that didn't happen.

So you and your husband worked together to maintain and plan for growth. And things seemed to be going well. Until, they weren't.

For success, it's important to know when to continue and when to walk away. And that was a sense your husband never truly grasped. If he wanted something, he'd go after it no matter the loss. And that's not good business.

Things threatened to fall apart when he started going after arms dealers and connections in the east coast. He did not have the man power to deal with such a powerhouse.

And it cost him.

~~~

Miguel knew that there were only a few more knots to finish tying before he was done dealing with that dumbass that wanted to take over his business. He was still establishing himself as a qualified heir, but he assumed his next threat would come from a rival family--not a no-name from who knows where.

His men had tracked down the goons easily, and after some quick and messy interrogations, he had come to the scum's house to finish him off personally. It wasn't necessarily Miguel's style. He was trying to be more peaceful as a leader, but well...an example also needed to be made. People couldn't just come from across the country and attempt to steal what was his. He kept a tight grip on his empire.

The house seemed barely lived in. It was like a glorified mansion in the woods. There was nice furniture and sleek appliances. Nothing was toss around or disorganized as if the man was trying to flee.

That made Miguel's jaw twitch.

If this cabron actually thinks he hid himself from me- Miguel went up the stairs cautiously. His pointed leather shoes moved quietly on the marble floors, and his navy dress shirt clung onto him as he moved through the house alert and ready for anything.

The door to the master bedroom was cracked open. The light smell of floral smoke drifted to his nose, but there was a sickly undertone too. Miguel reached for his gun as he pushed the door opened. He pointed it out ready to confront his adversary.

He wasn't ready to be greeted with surprised sparkling eyes. A gorgeous woman sat on the balcony that looked over the lake. She was dressed in a lovely cream dress that popped against her skin. She sat up straight at a white garden table with a cup of tea in front of her and a book. She was definitely not expecting Miguel to be at the door. It would have looked like an awkward accidental encounter to anyone.

If not for the body that laid shot in between the two.

Miguel's eyes raced from the body back to the woman who was way too calm in this circumstance.

She met Miguel's gaze, and that's when a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

She placed a hand over her heart. "It seems you were looking for my husband. My apologies, but I think I beat you to the chase."

~~~

You licked your lips as you took in Mr. Miguel O'Hara. He definitely looked good in his working suit--deep blues and reds with webbing details and gold accents. You certainly appreciated the style. You took an inhale of your smoke before resting your head in your palm and grinned.

"Mrs. Giordano, I presume?"

You shrugged and giggled. "You can technically call me that." Miguel stepped further into room--gaze going between you and the corpse that laid was flat on its back. It seemed as if he had been taken by surprise. Miguel didn't put his gun away as he got closer. "You don't need that, Mr. O'Hara."

Miguel tightened up hearing his name. The gun didn't move. "You know who I am?"

You chuckled at that. "Of course I do! I don't go running around in other's playgrounds without knowing whose land I'm on." you turned at the body and sighed. "If only Lucci did the same."

Miguel couldn't care less about the man now. He was dead. That was taken care of. But you were proving to be an unexpected, unpredictable threat. "I didn't know Giordano had a wife." he slowly put his gun away.

You shrugged again. "That's fine. It pays to be in the shadows. You get to watch everyone else play. Take notes." you beamed as the man got closer. He was quite the looker. You could imagine him tearing through your husband's men with barely any effort. You wondered if his eyes glow in both lust and anger.

He stopped a few feet away. "Shame to hide a beautiful woman though. Were you missing your freedom?" It would do well for him to understand the moments leading to your husband's final moments. Was it simply a quarrel that got out of hand? Or something more serious?

You took a final pull before pressing your cigarette out. "Flirting with a recent widow?" you leaned back with a grin. "Have some manners."

Miguel eyed you more and noted the fire in yours. There was little remorse and lots of confidence. You were not just some housewife. Miguel could tell for sure. You were accustomed to this life some way or another, so you were definitely a threat to Miguel. "My apologies, I'm just a bit surprised, reina. I wasn't expect this...or you." he gently took your hand and pressed a kiss on it. "Please call me Miguel."

"How charming," you chuckled, "well I wasn't expecting it either, but things happen when someone rages in and demands things from you." you went on and glanced back inside the room, "And well if you make threats, then its only appropriate to defend yourself."

Miguel nodded. "What kind of things?"

You shook your head as you raised your tea to your painted lips. "It's important to know people, guapo. You need to know who you're dealing with."

A notification rung, and Miguel glanced at his phone. "Well maybe we can get to know each other soon. I have a car, and my men are outside waiting."

"I'll pass."

Miguel scoffed. "It wasn't necessarily a suggestion, muñeca."

You laughed as you stood and wrapped your khaki coat around you. You reached inside and pulled out a card. "I know, but again, you do not know who you're dealing with. In the future, do not put myself in the same category as my late husband." you handed the card and took a step back.

"What the- Hey!" Miguel lurched forward a second after you flipped over the rail and down into the water. He didn't hear a splash and turned to see a motorboat starting up. Suits surrounded you as the boat began to speed away. "Fuck!" he groaned as he slammed his hands on the fence. You blew a kiss at the man and waved. Just who the hell is she?

~~~

"Remember Miguel: be a strong leader, don't let anyone walk over you ever. You will lead this family to greatness.

Never make enemies with the _____ Family."

The man grunted as he stared at the invitation in his hand. The paper was excellent quality with shiny gold lettering and black accents. He tapped it against his hand before pocketing it in his suit coat when his name was called.

"Thank you for coming. She will see you now."

Miguel grunted in response as he stood and entered the office.

This side of the country was a lot warmer this time of year. The clear windows allowed sunlight to pour in. The backdrop with desert mountains and bright blue skies reminded Miguel that he was not in the comfort of his city.

You looked up at the man with a soft smile before standing. You held out your hand to shake, but Miguel took it to place a chaste kiss.

"Still a charmer, I see." Miguel grinned and noted the ring on your finger before gently letting go. "Thank you for coming."

Miguel unbuttoned his coat as he took a seat. "I'd be a fool not to."

You tilted your head a little curiously. "Oh? Why is that?"

Don't play with me. "I was taught from early age not to make enemies with the Leaena Family." he checked you out as you sat comfortable across. "I never expected to meet them the way I did though."

You flashed your teeth with a grin--definitely prideful of your lineage and legacy. "Smart man. And yes, that was rather unfortunate. I was hoping to have made a calmer visit to the East, but well, you know how that went. Which is why you're here. I want to make amends. I've taken on a more active leadership role with my husband's passing. May God rest his soul."

Miguel grunted. "If he had threatened your life, I don't think he deserves the pleasantries. He was a fool to lose such a treasure."

"Jeez, I might just keep you here. I don't mind hearing those words from you." You hummed as yours eyes greedily took him in. "But back to business. We could benefit from working together. I'm sure you have your apprehensions, but I sincerely say that the actions of my dearly departed do not reflect the values of my family and operations."

Miguel huffed a laugh. "I don't really care about that anymore. You handled it privately. I'm more confused as to why you haven't been running the show since the beginning."

"The family tends to be a bit traditional--wanted male leaders and an heir. But after recent events, I'm sure you understand their change of heart." You smiled sweetly. You had more than proven yourself, and there weren't any immediate solutions to an empty head spot.

It drew Miguel in--a pretty, sweet face. You were strong too but more importantly a threat. There was not a lick of remorse or shock in your eyes when you looked at your husband's corpse even if there was an odd fondness voice when you talked about him. It was as if you shrugged his death to be just another incident--something unfortunate yet just a part of this lifestyle. If you could easily dispose of your husband for your own gain, then how would you treat your partners?

You reached into your desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder. You slid it towards Miguel as you prepared your floral smokes. You took in a breath before continuing. "I know that there have been some issues securing some arms to Nueva York. It isn't necessarily my area of expertise, but I have some connections with shipping that is looking to get into the east coast market."

"That sounds more like a favor than partnership. I can patch the holes up fine, carino."

You kept your smile. "I'm sure you can, but considering it is Kingpin making those holes, I think you would like the support."

A twitch of the eye. Miguel had his suspicions, but he hadn't quite confirmed anything. How did you know this? Your information network couldn't have been that extensive.

"Mr. O'Hara, I'm going to let you in on a little secret." You tapped the ash tray before leaning forward almost bent over the desk. You rested your bosom on your folded arms, and it took a little too much effort for Miguel not to peek. You lowered your voice. "The only reason why my family and I haven't gone to the east to expand is simply because we don't like the winter." you chuckled.

Miguel's gaze shot up. "No soy idiota! No me vengas con tonterias "

You held up your hands before leaning back. "Just a little preference. I'm not threatening you. Please, I wouldn't be able to work in those snow storms, really." you pressed a button on your desk. "I'm very serious though. We would be able to support your operations, and if the time comes, I hope you will be there to help. Keep that folder and look it over." A man came in with black matte gift bag. Just from the sound of it against the desk, Miguel knew it was heavy. "Thank you for your time, again. I look forward to hearing your answer soon."

...

Miguel glared at the bag as it sat on the table in his hotel room. A bottle of his favorite liquor and a box of his celebratory cigars were in front.

Who the hell is this woman? Miguel knew his answer before he even got out the building, but he had to come up with a plan. He didn't quite trust you. You knew your stuff, of course! That wasn't the question. But he had to make sure he kept his assets and operations. This wasn't an up and coming boss. No, you were established. You were a mafia princess with the knowledge and resources to play the field and achieve nearly whatever you desired on a whim.

Miguel chuckled to himself before he reached for a crystal glass and poured himself a glass. He raised it a little with a smirk. Let the games begin, leona.

~~~

Aaahhh~ I wanted this to get spicy, but gosh I love worldbuilding so much. I hope you liked it. I'm not sure where else I want to go with this yet, but please maybe you'll enjoy my other fics in the meantime

Ciao~

#atsv #spiderman #miguel o'hara #mafia au #fem reader #black fem reader #miguel x you #spiderman 2099 #mine #partyanimal167

27 notes · View notes

liesmyth · 11 months

Note

General ask:

Have we found plotholes or contradictions you've found the Locked Tomb series? Any that are like, "why didn't this character just do X since they had this power?" or "how could this character have known this information?" or anything of the sort?

I can't find any, but these books are so dense and other people are better at close reading. I've been so impressed with the way things roll out, the fact that rereads are so satisfying because you suddenly know why a character did/said something that seemed odd or just innocuous at the time. for THREE BOOKS and counting (dear jod I wish I was an outliner). It seems impossible there haven't been any contradictions.

OK. I thought about it Long and Hard and could only think of a couple. Well, one for sure, and a couple more that could be plot holes / worldbuilding issues, or could turn out to be planned all along in AtN.

Lyctoral privacy and Cytherea

This is the big one. Lyctors are “black boxes” to thanergy unless they are being touched by other Lyctors, and this is something that should have alerted the gang in GtN to Cytherea’s true nature, much like Ianthe and Harrow figured out Pro was dead all along.

Regular necromancers aren’t able to “perceive” the organisms of the people around them to the degree Lyctors do, but some of the Heirs at Canaan House are powerful enough that they SHOULD be able to sense in some way those around them, and figure out that “Dulcinea” was sus. Especially since Cytherea-as-Dulcie had a couple of moments of fainting dramatically and becoming increasingly sicker (one of the reasons why I think Cytherea had a lot of control over her cancer cells) and several necromancers used aptitude on her to check her health, including Palamedes. They shouldn’t have been able to. Assuming that “touching Lyctors allows you to interfere with their bodies” extends also to non-Lyctors, they should STILL have noticed something was off.

The fact that Palamedes was able to manipulate the cancer cells inside Cytherea’s body to turn it into a bomb is very unlikely, even assuming he was touching her the whole time (I can buy it if he distracted her with sex like in this fic). And the fact that Lyctor Harrow in Act 5 is able to visualise Cytherea’s body and “see” the cancerous mass goes against the canon established in HtN because they weren’t touching at the time.

The smaller ones!

Ninth House demographics: If anyone younger than Ortus died when Harrow was conceived, and Ortus was around 17/18 at the time, this would still leave plenty of young adults of reproductive age. There should be SOME children on the Ninth, even assuming that people were scared to have children for some times after, even assuming that some people moved away (the Houses aren’t aware that the Ninth is dying out so it can’t have been a mass exodus). I can excuse this as Gideon’s melodramatic narration saying that there are no other young people on the Ninth, because she’s 18 and a few dozen kids of ages 14 and under probably wouldn’t register to her, just because to all intents and purposes, she was raised completely alone with Harrow. But look. There should be some kids.

Who are the Cohort fighting? I talked about it a bit here; the population of the known universe just doesn’t seem big enough to sustain a continued war of aggression by the Houses (the implications in GtN/HtN) because what we see of the Empire in NtN seems to be a colonial power who are firmly established in most of their “sheperedered planets” and only have to contend with insurgence movements, not an enemy army. BUT the Cohort seem to constantly be fighting and dying. I'm very curious to find out if we'll discover more.

(There are a couple more things that will leave me ???? if they aren't cleared up in AtN, but they're even more minor)

#chekhovs-tantrum #ask #tlt meta #tlt thoughts #tlt

66 notes · View notes

sullustangin · 3 months

Note

So the rule is that every time a new work in a series comes out you have to reread the entire series. (What? Them's the rules I don't make them.) Doing this sparked 2 questions: 1. What does Eva say to Marcus on Katalla? 2. Who is the grand admiral? (I feel like there's legends lore I'm missing on that one)

Yes, it's totally a rule, because I've been doing the same thing the last couple of weeks :D (partially to reacquire a feel of them back together again, which is happening today..!).

The Grand Admiral is an OC, but I did link him up to Great Galactic War events.

So, spoilers for those who haven't read the Cosmic Deck, The Grand Reveal, or The Planter of Trees.

What does Eva say to Marcus on Katalla?

Definitely something he did not expect her to know. I've left that open to interpretation. I don't think Trant was content with just Theron lurking at the edges of Voidfleet. Maybe there was an agent he wanted to get in...and just couldn't, and now he knows why. Alternatively, Eva is still acting as an information broker. What she has on Trant -- it might be enough to make him think twice about messing with her, even after she comes back from the dead later on. I tend to subscribe to the latter theory myself. Neither Eva nor Trant have deigned to inform me of the truth (yet).

2. Who is the Grand Admiral?

That is an OC. We first see evidence of him in Rishi, when Theron discovers Eva has a problem; she's using an Imperial key coffer as a snuffbox. Marr notices how old her maps are on Yavin 4 and actively wonders how she got what should have been Imperial family heirlooms.

Unless they were.

The Grand Admiral is revealed in Chapters 35, 36, and 37 of The Planter of Trees. He was among the youngest of the Imperial Grand Admirals, and one of their finest pilots. He'd been from the Outer Rim, and he had joined because of the Republic's systemic corruption and neglect. He was the best of his kind. The reconstituted Sith Empire had existed long before the Republic knew of it, so he did have a career prior to 3681 BBY, when the Great Galactic War kicked off.

The Grand Admiral died during the last war at the Second Battle of the Seswanna. Previously, at the outbreak of the war in 3681 BBY, the Imperials set up a blockade at Rimma. The Pubs tried to break it twice, succeeding on the second attempt, but at a massive cost in 3680. The Grand Admiral didn't let them have it without sacrificing his life and his ship. He is a Hero of the Empire, his name written on their walls of memory, with others worthy of the honor.

He was also Athene Corolastor's father. He knew of her. He did not meet her.... though I am having a fluffy February thought of him learning of her existence. We'll see how that formulates. But basically, Eva has his key coffer and his map set because he gave them to his lover and mother of his child, Dyominia Corolastor, Eva's grandmother. In my mind, Athene knew who her father was, and she knew he died at Rimma. Not too long after, Dyo died as well; like Eva, Athene was a young captain. Athene told Eva stories of the Grand Admiral and his daring acts of bravery and heroism...until Eva was old enough to understand that the Empire stood for slavery and oppression in the name of law and order....and the Grand Admiral was willing to tolerate that.

No more Grand Admiral bedtime stories after that.

As it affects Eva, she is technically the scion of his illustrious line. In Planter of Trees, Theron, in a misguided effort to guarantee her from being burned by the Republic, informed Darth Marr of this. Marr served under the Grand Admiral and still had a loyalty to his memory and his service. He was also impressed by the Voidhound herself. So he offered to have her recognized as the Grand Admiral's heir. Technically, this would remove Eva from the firing line of both the Pub and the Imps: she could retire to some estate as heir of a Hero of the Empire with the full protection of Marr, because he'd rather her off the playing board of the war than on it as an agent of the Republic. It would give the Empire a public relations win, but Voidfleet could continue to operate as long as it remained neutral. (And Theron doesn't think she'd be opposed to helping him out in the future.) There's a more nuanced conversation in the fic about this, but that's the broad strokes. Eva turned the offer down, because the one principle she always adhered her -- the one her mom always adhered to -- was no slavery. The Grand Admiral was wrong, and always had been.

Eva inherited the piloting skills, leadership abilities, and some elements of the Voidhound from the Grand Admiral.

Hope that clears it all up!

#swtor fan fiction #the grand admiral #askbox #thanks for asking!#marcus trant #oc: eva corolastor

5 notes · View notes

kuwdora · 1 year

Text

🙃 please wish me luck for tomorrow, I have Yet Another Interview...I've been averaging about 2 a week for the last few weeks and I'm still only 60-75% done with this process. Not even counting all the outreach to set up other interviews in the meantime if these don't pan out. To say I am losing my mind is an understatement. I'm so tired. Trying to be kind to myself during all of this, since this is rather exciting and overwhelming and exhausting but waaughhhh, I'm ready to hibernate for a full week (if my brain would actually let me rest which remains a large problem...) My short term memory continues to be shitty. Forgetting to lock doors, turn off stove burners, I keep forgetting things folks have told me the previous day/week that I really should have remembered (lists are my friends but I keep forgetting to add things to my list). All very ADHD but really it's just... a lot of my anxiety about all this interview stuff. Wake up and it's the first thing on my mind. Last thing on my mind before I go to bed. It's taking up so much brainRAM. I have the myNoise app on my phone to help soothe ye old brainmeats in the evenings, at least. Anyway, amongst the fannish chittering in my brain that is not witcher-related: I remember reading about someone spinning Ted Lasso character's into the Star Wars universe and I could not track down the post. I can't even remember if I read it by someone on twitter, tumblr, or dreamwidth at this point. Or if I had imagined it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? hmm. Next my brain started thinking about Yellowjackets characters in the Star Wars universe and have determined that Misty Quigley would be an amazing secret pirate hunter who occasionally moonlights as a pirate. Next up: I'm almost done with the Disney era Thrawn trilogy reread (it's only taken me like two and a half months wtf) (next will be Heir to the Empire, wheeee). I'm pretty caught up with Grand Admiral Thrawn strategically instilling praise kink and loyalty in the people under his command. I also recently revisited A Black Lady Sketch Show's sketch: The Basic Ball in which I tried casting Ted Lasso characters mental illness/neuroses looks and then my brain melted out of my ears because of previously stated tired. But also my favorite Yellowjackets meow meows showing off their PTSD looks? Love. It.

I would like more brain to finish editing my Witcher wips, to start a few more wips--they're dancing in my periphery. And I'd love to have brain to paint again. To have energy for seeing friends. I'm quite sad I couldn't corral enough focus to finish my VidUKon vid in time for the deadline, but I can just try to finish it later.

Maybe soon I can reclaim some more brainRAM. Free it up from this interviewing stuff. Fingers crossed. 🤞

#kuwdora ruminates #on crossovers #mental health #my posts #textpost

11 notes · View notes

adjit · 5 months

Note

3 6 12 :3

3. What were your top five books of the year?

MMMMM picking a top 5 is hard. To be clear, I only keep track of the new novels I read, not rereads or any other forms of fiction (comics, manga, webnovels, webcomics) and I'm not a super prolific reader, so I'm only coming in with about 30 books read this year. So I'm kinda gonna fudge this one.

That being said I did actually read the Murderbot Diaries this year (in January) so I could just list those. I won't but I could.

Anyway. I barely read new books so none of these are even new this year but they're NEW TO ME.

So, dubious if this is a top 5 of the year, but 5 books that I read and enjoyed this year, in no particular order:

Network Effect by Martha Wells (I can list one Murderbot, as a treat), A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.

This year I've been working my way through queer scifi/fantasy, getting recommendations based on those, and then recommendations based off of those, so almost all of my reads have been along the same lines. I want to try to change it up more next year but it is what it is I'm having fun.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

I never really plan that far ahead tbqh. I have a lot on my tbr pile but it's all kinda "sometimes in the future...". There are 3 books I'm still finishing, but...hopefully will finish before the year's end (Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat, These Are Not The Trinity Papers by Vale Zalecki, and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers).

And I'm waiting for my holds to come in on The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson, A Power Unbound by Freya Marske, and The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. Actually that last one you recommended to me 2 years ago and I'm still working on it. So I think that's the real answer here. I'M WORKING ON IT this time in audiobook form.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow hands down. It was...fine, I didn't dnf or anything, I just deeply deeply disliked the main character that the narrative hinged on being universally beloved, so it kept pissing me off. That doesn't mean that the book wasn't good but it was super hyped up before I started it, so expectations were high and it felt like a letdown.

#ask game #rainelinde

1 note · View note

lightdancer1 · 2 years

Text

Part II of III of a scene from the ATLA/Sailor Moon crossover

"I will note before I start that my view of Ursa is not entirely...." Iroh said and then paused for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. "I understand that to others Azulon the Conqueror was a monster with bloody hands. I've had a few......sharp....and I do mean that literally and not metaphorically, conversations with Katara and Sokka on just how bloody those hands were. But he is still my father, and however just her reasons in the end may have been, I have every reason in the world to believe Ursa killed him. And then made a version of my own mistake in leaving both of her children in the hands of someone who truly is a monster."

He shook his head.

"So whatever I say on her will reflect that bias, and I have grown enough as a man to know that what it is that I see is not automatically truthful because I see it." For a moment he had the savage smile of the Dragon of the West. "Something about being knocked from the pedestal of heir to a great empire and mastery of the greatest armies in the world, full of deference rather does teach that lesson."

Hotaru shrugged.

"For the longest time of my life insofar as I knew Azula at all, it was from the letters of Ozai and Ursa. Ozai took great pride in that girl's achievements, or so I let myself see. In truth, in rereading them, I saw Ozai taking pride in turning a child into a blade, something no child has ever deserved or could ever deserve from a parent."

He shook his head.

"Where Ozai spoke well of her, Ursa spoke poorly. She spoke of her with great frequency as a monster and there's a letter I've never let Zuko see, even after we knew that Azula might have survived after all."

His nose twitched. "In it Ursa spoke of her son as the only good thing she had in the Palace. Her daughter was four, and had survived that fall from the pagoda at that age unharmed, and I am ashamed to admit that I passed over that line at first and in later readings. To be frank I passed over most of what she said, it was not unpleasant to receive letters from home but I was leading an army of one and a half million men in a world war with the largest kingdom by land area in the world. I didn't have nearly the time or focus for family that I should. Sometimes I think it's at least a part of what went wrong with Ozai that I did not."

He shook his head again.

"I don't know what possessed Ursa to write of her own child in that manner, or what it was that she saw that led her to do so. I admit that if I had seen a child fall five stories and rise without any visible injuries I would have also been terrified. We do not have experience, prior to Galaxia and the Animates, with beings with skin of iron that can withstand the kind of destructive force Azula did, or bones that match."

His nose twitched.

"The only time I actually truly met my niece in the flesh was when she was three. She'd burned a turtleduckling to crispness in the pond and was sitting with a thousand yard stare. Father was angry, and it was one of the few times he'd summoned Ozai and I together, as he showed me that he did go after Ozai for trying to infect his child with his madness."

Iroh shook his head.

"Even knowing the full context of that, it's not easy to forget that kind of story, nor to have it overshadowing the rest."

He shook his head again as a haunted expression crossed his face.

"So when Ozai told us that she'd been swallowed by a portal of light, I thought that he'd gone from burning his children's faces to murdering them, and then I knew that Azula's death was largely my own fault. I left her there and made no effort to protect her."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head with memories of an old grief.

"Zuko and I spent a year in the deepest rift we've ever had from that. He didn't trust me, because in his view I left his sister to die, and it led him to wonder if I'd brought him to that Council with the same lack of concern for where it might go. And I couldn't argue he was right, at least partially. I had no expectation that General Bujing would take such offense at Zuko's well-intentioned brains of a rock commentary on tactics, or that Ozai would do to Zuko what he did to him for making that kind of comment."

Iroh grimaced.

"It was a foolish comment, the kind made by a child and yet the adults acted more childishly than the children."

He sighed.

"Ursa hurt Azula by leaving her and by her words. Ozai did worse to her."

The Outers nodded.

Setsuna's eyes were those of a being ancient of days and it chilled him to see this.

"We know." Her tone was cold.

"And we intend to settle accounts with Ozai ourselves. Not just us, our Princess has been wanting to do this for a long time. Usagi is a forgiving soul but even without meeting him Ozai long burned through her forgiveness."

Iroh grimaced and nodded at that.

--------

"Wait," Zuko raised his hand. "You mean to tell me these super-empires-"

"NATO and the Warsaw Pact, yes," Azula nodded.

"Whatever they're called," Zuko shrugged.

"They built massive armies with weaponry capable of ending the human race on a scale of multiple times infinity."

Azula nodded.

"And they built this expecting never to actually use it in a shooting war."

Azula nodded again.

"Huh. You're right," Zuko said as he sat back.

"There are weirder things than King Bumi and our own history."

Azula nodded.

"Yeah." Her laugh was a strange one.

"I've spent two years in that world, Zuzu. Learned a bunch of different languages."

Zuko nodded. "You have an accent now."

Azula's laugh was rueful. "I did there, too. There I was ultimately tall, dark, and beautiful with my mysterious foreign accent that couldn't quite be placed. And here...."

Zuko put his hand on her shoulder.

"Here you're a miracle who's returned to us when we never expected you ever could."

Her eyes still showed wonder at hearing that and he felt a spike of regret, among other things, at what their past had done to them that his sister would react this way to hearing genuine concern and love in his tone.

Mai leaned forward a bit.

"So Earth is noisy and avoided blowing itself apart in that exercise of idiocy you were talking about?"

Azula nodded.

"Did....." Mai took a deep breath, willing herself to let herself experience some vulnerability here. It was Zuko, Ty Lee, and Azula. None of them would begrudge it, they'd see it as the gesture of trust it was. Her voice cracked slightly when she asked and she braced herself for a disappointing answer. Her parents did not love her, or want her, and Ty Lee's hadn't either. Now...she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know the answer but it didn't stop her speaking the words regardless.

"Did you replace us?"

Ty Lee stiffened with surprise that Mai had asked a question that she'd worried about at the sight of the way Azula had looked at the two girls, the one with pink hair who was currently cooing over Momo with the one with the long blonde hair, the damn lemur eating it up, while the other Senshi were exploring parts of the Air Temple listening to Aang and his excitement.

Azula stared with simple bemusement at the question, at first, taking a moment to gather her thoughts to be sure to answer it correctly.

#atla aus #atla/sailor moon crossover

7 notes · View notes

cabbyanne · 7 years

Text

I know I’ve said this before but I really want to know more about Fenrys and Connall….

#fenrys #connall #throne of glass #heir of fire #empire of storms #aelinscourt #cadre #rereading heir of fire #they aren't in it but that's all I've been thinking about

9 notes · View notes

arianaderalte · 2 years

Note

Hello, I love your work "How a Romance Novel Saved the Galaxy" and I was wondering how you know so much about mandalore? Like through Star wars movies, etc.

Glad you're enjoying it:)

It's a bit of a combo of sources. I've of course seen the films, but I got my background years ago reading all the mainstays of legends SWs canon like Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy (Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry still remains one of the best SWs books imo), and the Jedi Apprentice series which I use as the basis of Qui-gon's characterization along with the Bandomeer plot.

Like many fic authors, I use wookiepedia a lot, and I really appreciate that it separates out legends and disney canon since I pull from both. Since I started writing about Mandalorians, I tracked down the Jango Fett comic, Open Seasons, which has a lot of what we know about Mandalorians during the pre-prequel era, though of course, parts of it have been retconned or changed (which can be a good thing - I personally think the first meeting between Dooku and Jango which happened in the video game (SW: Bounty Hunter) makes more sense than the comic). I also reread the first few Jedi Apprentice novels and discovered they really did portray Qui-gon as awfully as I remembered lol

My brother, who has played most SWs video games (whereas I have only played podracer), hunted down all the Mandalorian cut scenes for me in KOTOR and associated media, and is my fact checker for the plot of the romance novel in my fic.

Once I realized I needed to write the New Mandalorians, I went to Clone Wars and watched every ep that features them (which was a slog since those are not the best eps), and I have watched bits and pieces of other arcs when I needed to. I'm still watching my way through Rebels atm, but I did skip ahead to see some of the Mandalorian stuff. And of course I've seen The Mandalorian.

I also read whichever comic issue it was featuring Mace Windu as a padawan and parts of the Shatterpoint novel (though I don't really like how Mace is written in it). I also read most of Dooku Jedi Lost which is not very well written, but was necessary for research.

So I've been pulling from pretty much everywhere. I try to see if there is something in canon that fits what I need before I make up a whole planet or people whenever possible, and I stick to what I saw in canon for Mandalorians unless we just don't know or canon is contradictory (then I pick the most logical version or explanation I can or if there is none, I pick the one that works for my story (case in point, we have no canonical age for Fay, just that she is several centuries old, so I picked making her over 1000 so she could tease Yoda lol)).

#star wars #my fic #writing process #trying to reconcile legends with disney canon can be frustrating #but so can reconciling disney canon with disney canon #hence why I have ended up writing a ridiculously long fix it fic lol #how a romance novel saved the galaxy

4 notes · View notes