#that dude has nothing on his mind but being the best swordsman | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

keerysfreckles · 3 months

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Okay hi I don’t know if I’m doing this right and this is how you rqs something, I saw your cry for help for a luke Castellan fic,

could I pls request something like a daughter of Poseidon reader and her and Luke have been friends for years but haven’t never really seen each other as more than that until some guy starts to hit on her and Luke gets jealous asf and then the Luke starts a fight with him because he said something nasty about reader, and rewarded gets pissed off that Luke’s fighting and it’s super angsty and jealous and they fight and make up and realise their feelings and maybe a kiss?????

Hope that wasn’t too long xx

someone gets hurt — luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x poseideon fem!reader

warnings: use of y/n and she/her pronouns, a couple swear words, character sexualizing reader

a/n: GETTING THE HOO BOOKS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

masterlist !

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

"again!"

the sound of swords clanging against each other echoed in the empty field and through the forest.

"luke, how many more times do we have to do this?" y/n was out of breath. her right hand was red from gripping her sword too hard for the past hour, her hair has been tied back by now, and sweat coated her cheeks and arms.

"no offence, but your dad is into water, not swords," luke responds.

"what? you're saying i'm not the best swordsman in camp?"

luke chuckles, "obviously, because i'm here."

y/n only laughs at his response.

"swordswoman."

"what?" y/n's more than confused.

"you wouldn't be the best sowrdsman at camp. swordswoman would be the correct term."

instead of responding y/n shoves her sword inbetween luke's wrist and hip, skillfully pushing her own sword to make his fall to the ground.

"yeah, yeah, miss one time champ. go get some water," luke laughs.

"you know, after being your friend for so many years," y/n starts, but takes another sip of water as luke walks over to the bench she's sitting on. she continues, "you would think i'd learn your fighting patterns, and actually beat you for once."

"that's the thing y/n. my fighting strategies always change. once you find them out, they'll just change again," luke replies.

"you ready to go again?" luke asks for a few minutes, letting the girl have time to rest.

y/n nods, and gratefully takes luke's hand to help her up off the bench. she walks over to the dirt area with a slight limp. luke had cut her leg earlier, on accident of course, and y/n insisted she was fine. after pouring half her water bottle on it, there was nothing more than a light scar. however it still hurt.

"wow! with a limp like that, you'd think i was with her all night!"

corey andrews stepped into the clearing of the woods, with his ares brothers right beside him. ever since he got to camp a year ago he'd been harassing y/n. he always found a way to call her out in front of others. and it made y/n's blood boil.

she was about to walk over to the idiotic camper and punch him, but luke grabbed her wrist.

"leave it," his voice was soft, yet firm.

y/n gives in, and goes back to sword fighting with luke. the pair ignore corey and his friends.

corey on the other hand dislikes the silence. he walks over to y/n's side, and pokes her in the sides. it causes her to let out a small shriek and drop her sword.

"what the hell is wrong with you?" she turns and scolds corey, punching him in the shoulder.

"dude, you never mess with someone while they have a sword in their hands," luke picks up y/n's sword for her.

"oh that was nothing. we're just playing, right babe?"

y/n's stomach drops at the name coming out of corey's mouth.

"what's your problem andrews?" luke gently pushes y/n behind him. a motion the girl would soon be thankful for.

"my problem is that absolute babe, with that kinda body isn't in my bed right now," corey gestures to y/n. she's fully behind luke, holding onto his arm. was it out of comfort? or in order to keep luke from lashing out? y/n didn't know, but luke didn't mind her touch.

"she's busy," luke answers for her, feeling her grip tighten, "we're busy. so if you could leave, that'd be great."

luke needed corey to get out of his sight before he punched him. he couldn't stand what the ares boy was saying about his best friend.

"not before i get a piece of her," corey snickers and lunges to try and get to y/n from behind luke.

"corey!" luke scolds, throwing his arms out to block corey.

"don't touch me!" y/n yells in fear, now holding luke's shirt tighter than ever.

finally one of corey's friends speaks up, "corey, come on, they both asked you to leave her alone."

the other friend can't help but agree.

"y/n, go find chiron and tell him about corey," luke whispers. with a nod, y/n's running in the direction of the big house. anything to get away from corey.

before the harasser can get a gain on y/n, luke's grabbing him by the shirt. he lets go, but only to punch him square in the face.

blood instantly seeps out of his nose, and luke swore he saw fire gleaming in corey's eyes.

"why are you so protective of her? what? you sleeping with her or something?"

luke's expression doesn't change.

"if you say one more thing about her, i swear i'll punch you into the ground."

no words were spoken, making luke release his grip on corey's shirt. corey however takes the opportunity to shove his head into luke's knocking him back a few steps.

corey gets a few punches in before luke regains his balance. a few more punches land on luke's arms, before he shoves corey back, and punches him one last time before the asshole is laying on the ground.

luke's breathing heavily and corey's catching his breath on the groun as chiron speaks up.

he walks fully out of the woods now, with y/n climbing off his back. as soon as she told him what happened, he directed her to get in his back as he ran towards the arena.

y/n ran to luke as chiron started scolding corey and his two brothers, mostly corey though.

y/n holds luke's face in her hands, running her thumbs over the fresh red patches on his cheeks.

"are you okay?" there's nothing but concern filling her voice.

luke dryly chuckles, "you should see the other guy."

y/n leans up and wraps her arms around luke's neck to fully pull him into a hug. in seconds his own arms wrap around her waist.

as they pull away, luke watches chiron walk off with the three ares brothers.

"are you okay?" luke finally asks y/n.

she nods, "yeah, it's uh, nothing he hasn't said before. he's just never lunged at me before."

luke leans over to kiss y/n's forehead, before talking back to their swords. he was going to put them away, with the other dull fighting swords, but y/n's voice stops his movements.

"thank you," luke turns to the girl, "you've saved me a lot from corey, and i've never really told you thank you."

"what are friends for?"

luke's words hurt y/n, not on purpose. y/n can't help but see luke differently recently. she wasn't sure if he grew into his looks, or maybe it was just her hormones messing with her, but she started falling for luke castellan.

"you okay?" luke walks back over to the girl.

she only nods, "yeah, yes i'm okay."

luke notices the shake in her voice and her emotions changing from one to another.

"are you sure?" luke's hands rubs up and down her shoulders.

y/n only nods again, but after a moment her eyes drift down to his lips subconsciously.

luke noticed.

the boy smirks slightly, making y/n confused.

"you look like you want to kiss me."

y/n's cheeks change to the brightest shade of red, and she immediately starts shaking her head.

"no! no, no that's ridiculous," she denies

"what if i said i want to kiss you too?"

y/n's breath catches in her throat. she must've heard luke wrong.

her thought was disproved when luke leaned in slightly. he stopped, wanting to make sure y/n wanted this just as much as he did. the girl simply pulls luke to her by his neck. a small groan emits his lips once they connect with hers.

the kiss was full of force, and pent up emotions. they could both tell, and they knew how long they needed this kiss to happen.

"you guys done sucking face?"

luke and y/n break apart at clarisse's voice.

"we need the arena to practice," she states, motioning to a few of the ares sisters behind her.

"yeah uh," luke coughs, "we'll go."

and with that, he pulls a very giddy y/n out of the arena and toward the direction of his cabin.

#shelbi writes #keerysfreckles #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan x y/n #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x fem reader #luke castellan x fem!reader #luke castellan x poseidon!reader #luke castellan x poseidon reader #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #pjo tv show #pjo show #pjo tv #pjo series

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deathc-re · 2 years

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how they view sex...

characters : luffy, zoro, law, cyborg franky x gn!reader

warnings : this is all over the place, idk if it even follow the prompt, mentions of jacking off, over stimulation and sex ofc

an : just some hcs of my most fav characters

luffy

i'm among those who think luffy is ace but i also think, seeing as he is one really intuned with his instincts and such, he wouldn't wanna ignore the urges when they come.

maybe even demisexual

he wouldn't be embarrassed by it or anything, he'd see it as another natural thing (which it is)

if he has a partner then he'd make use of them, going at it until he's satisfied. if not, he'd make like any other dude without an outlet and use his hand 🤷🏾

and like i said before, even though he doesn't really have an innate desire or want for sex (a sex drive if you will) i think he'd notice when his partner is feeling needy and make it his own personal mission to satisfying them. over satisfying them even. seeing you happy, that after sex glow only adding to the beauty of your tired lazy smile, will definitely have him over the moon.

zoro

as much as i love sex god zoro i think he'd see it as a waste of time. or just something he wouldn't go out of his way to do, therefore making him really inexperienced

he has one goal and that's really all that takes up his mind

that and when he can peacefully enjoy some booze again

seeing as he's inexperienced he'd be really shy about it. of course, it would hurt his pride to admit that so you won't be able to tell until your just about to cross the line.

when nature takes its course, of course he'd relieve himself but he'd be embarrassed about it after.

trying to justify his actions (to himself) by going on and on in his head about how a healthy body is necessary to becoming the best swordsman.

if he has a partner though it'd be a whole other story. i think any little thing about them will make him wanna fuck. to put it bluntly.

so with that in mind, he'd think of it as a perfect way to let off some steam and admire everything about his partner

law

i think he would also think of it as a waste of time when single. a nuisance even

everything from finding someone he likes or even just finds attractive and going through the whole process of flirting etc etc

he is also definitely inexperienced but not bad at it. with him being observant he'd figure it out as he goes.

it's just annoying, even more so if he likes them romantically. then the process becomes even complicated.

if he has a partner then of course, his view on it will change. though he won't admit it.

he'd find it less of a nuisance and more of bonding time kind of. i think when the both of you have the time he'd wanna make love instead of fuck.

he's a closeted romantic if you will

with that in mind, he'd view sex as something to express the deep emotions he has for his partner when he can't find the words.

franky

franky literally calls himself a pervert but he gets no bitches. no maidens. no lads. no nothing

he isn't a virgin but also he isn't well versed in the realm of sex

he views it as something you do with someone you really care about. he isn't one for hook up culture.

i think he's pretty good at concealing when hes aroused or anything like that, other wise it's extremely noticeable (the speedo)

but when he is, it's very uncomfortable for him. metal hands don't really make for the best jack off tool lmao

when he has a partner hes definitely vocal about what he wants, when he wants it and expects his partner to be the same

his views on sex stays the same, and he's glad he's found that someone to let loose with ( it's super)

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demoiselettes · 1 year

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I think im disturbing you but i just had something in mind that i just had to request.

Okay kaigaku, tanjiro, and obanai with a crush on reader but they try to "undo" their feelings and declining the fact they're deeply in love and just doesn't believe that reader also has a deep love for them! Oh i forgot to mention its a headcanon!

Seemingly unrequited

Pairing(s): Kaigaku x reader, Tanjiro x reader, Obanai x reader

Category: fluff, angst

Warning(s)/note(s): gn! Reader, manga spoilers

A/n: you’ll never disturb! Thank you for requesting<3

Kaigaku Inadama

•I can see him denying his own feelings for you, not because he thinks you don’t love him, but rather because he sees it as an act of weakness to fall in love

•He’d think that being in love and subsequently in a relationship would distract him from his training as a demon slayer and he’d run the risk of falling behind, which he absolutely cannot tolerate

•So, it doesn’t matter how much you try to show him how much you love him, he will push you away, rather harshly too

•He does feel an ache in his chest whenever he shoulders past you or pushes you on the ground, but he tells himself it’s for his own good

•He’d still keep loving you, but his obsession with becoming the best swordsman would probably cause him to forget the feelings he harbors

•Or maybe not forget, they’d be covered in a blanket

•Fast forward to his meeting with Kokushibo and him turning into a demon, those same feelings would come back to him

•He’d remember now, that he loved and still loves someone, but he hadn’t seen them in so long and he’s forfeited his humanity

•He wonders if you’re still alive, if you hadn’t died on a mission

•He gets the answer the day he fights Zenitsu and you in the Infinity Castle

•It’s painful, he doesn’t even care that he’s facing Zenitsu again, or that the boy was able to come up with his own form of Thunder Breathing

•What’s really painful is the way you’re looking at him with such hurt and betrayal in your eyes, the same eyes that once upon a time looked at him with love

•Despite the his fervent desire to live, he’d probably not try to fight you because even as Upper Moon 6 he can’t bear the thought of hurting his long forgotten love

•Which would be the cause if his defeat

•But that’s okay, he doesn’t mind dying as long as it is by your hands and he wishes that if he is ever given the chance to reincarnate, maybe he can become a bater version of himself and finally accept your love

Tanjiro Kamado

•I don’t see him as the type to do that

•Tanjiro is all about accepting your feelings and embracing them, but he might try to deny his love for you if he thinks you’re already courting someone else

•Before he comes to such a conclusion, he’d be so mellow with you, and i mean more than usual, always gifting you flowers and sweets

•Then he comes across you talking to someone else, and the two of you seem so.. in love? That he’d feel his entire world shatter

•All these feelings, for nothing

•He wouldn’t be angry at you, since he knows you can’t control who you love this fool

•So he’d distance himself from you, attempting to stay away from you and your ‘partner’s’ relationship to not ruin it

•His previously warm and comforting hugs would stop, he’d speak only formally with you

•But then he begins to smell the scent of sadness coming from you and there’s also the lingering smell of..love?

•But you’re already in love, aren’t you?

•Come to think of it, you’ve never talked about your relationship before

•That might just be you wanting to keep everything secret but..

•So one day he goes up to you, and kindly says something along the lines of ‘Oh, you and [——] make a good couple! ‘

•And you turn to him like????

•And you admit that you aren’t dating anyone

•Oh, he’s gonna feel so stumped this dude

•He’ll turn red out of embarrassment and proceed to apologize like a million times at least

•Then something clicks in his mind: ‘That means you’re single and ready to mingl-‘

•From then on the affection makes a comeback and he slowly but surely gets to courting you

Iguro Obanai

•DEFINITELY, he’d definitely try to avoid falling in love

•Once again, it probably won’t be because he thinks you don’t love him(although that can be a reason) but it’d probably be because he doesn’t want to ‘taint’ you since he believes his blood is impure

•He wouldn’t be colder, or harsher with you

•He’d sooner die than hurt you in any way, but he will simply keep his distance

•No talks, no jokes, no love letters

•And you’d probably see him hanging around Mitsuri more often

•He isn’t in love with her, she’s just trying to her best to make her favorite otp a reality by convincing him to ask you out

•But you take it the wrong way since it seems so obvious they’re in love, and you mimic his actions of distancing yourself from him

•And that is the beginning of the end

•Neither of you make a move until the battle with Muzan arrives and you die in his arms while he’s also taking his last breaths

•But don’t worry, in your next life, he does make a move on you :)

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #nanako’s blues #obanai x reader #obanai angst #tanjiro x reader fluff #kaigaku x reader angst

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agent-cakeshroom · 2 years

Text

As a Good Big Brother Should

So this wouldn’t leave my brain. We’ll see if this actually comes out well written or just one really long run on lmao

Bennett is clearly bothered by the way Itto is treated by the people of Inazuma, so the oni tries his best to reassure the young swordsman. Razor is there for moral support.

It doesn’t take long to get a small fire lit. As soon as it’s going strong, Bennett turns to his companions with one hand nervously squeezing the opposite arm. “Hey, um, you guys mind if I step away for a moment? J-just a minute to, uh, gather my thoughts!” He tried to sound as upbeat as usual, but fell a bit short which quickly caught Itto’s attention. The oni glanced up from the tent he was working on with Razor, and focused on his other new traveling buddy. Bennett’s smile was crooked and stiff, and if Itto wasn’t already worried he was now.

“Sure, little bro! But don’t go too far, yeah?” The geo user shoots back a much more confident grin with nothing but warmth aimed at the young man. It worked as intended, his smile softening into something more genuine.

“I promise to stick close, and I’ll be back before too long. Call for me if you need me!” He shot over his shoulder as he walked off. Itto watched as Bennett, keeping to his word, settled down on a cluster of rocks within shouting distance. For a moment the oni stood there, lost in thought.

What’s got the little dude down? We were havin’ a pretty great day! Or, at least, I thought we were. Is it my fault?

“Razor is worried.” A soft, husky voice snapped Itto back to reality. The taller claymore wielder glanced down at Razor with a thoughtful hum, trying to get him to elaborate. “Bennett... Upset. Bennett heart is soft. Village people are,” Razor let out a frustrated huff as he struggled to find the right words. Talking was so much harder than simply going and giving Bennett a good cuddle. “People mean, to Itto.” He left it at that, and looked up at Itto with furrowed brows and a frown.

Itto himself simply stared back, turning Razor’s words over in his head. He understood what the young man was saying, but now he needed a game plan on how to fix it. He’d mostly come to terms with the way people treated him. He has no control over being an oni, and if people couldn’t accept him as he was it was their problem. Itto would simply continue living as he liked, and cherish the friends he gained along the way. He’d like more folks to see that oni were people too, but it wasn’t something likely to happen right away.

His thoughts started coming together, and with one of his signature toothy grins Itto nodded towards Bennett, signaling Razor to follow him over. The two claymore users made sure the tent would remain standing before making their way towards their last companion. While Razor’s steps were natural quiet, Itto could be heard easily, so as they approached Bennett glanced up over his shoulder.

“Oh, hey guys. Is something wrong?” The swordsman started to push himself up, but Itto clapped him gently on the shoulder and laughed.

“Nah, nothing’s wrong! Just wanted to talk to ya about somethin’.” The larger man dropped down beside Bennett while Razor tucked himself behind his best friend, sitting with his back braced against Bennett’s. It was the only way he could think to give comfort, a literal show of support that Bennett couldn’t help but smile at.

“Ok, well... I’m all ears!”

“Right! Uh... Oh man, ok. I don’t really know how to start other than just jumpin’ in so. I’m an oni, yeah?” Itto scratched anxiously at his jaw, staring out at the Inazuman waters lapping at the shore. He chanced a glance over at Bennett, and got an encouraging nod in return. “Yeah... And people here, in Inazuma, don’t really like oni. Which you of course noticed. Kinda hard to miss when travelling with one, haha!”

With another glance over at his smaller companions, Itto felt his stomach knot at the frown on Bennett’s face. Even worse, the teary shine to his eyes that hit Itto right in the chest. Razor was right, Bennett’s heart was soft. The kid was loving and compassionate, and Itto didn’t know what he’d done to deserve such a friend. His hand found its way into the pyro user’s hair, giving it a good brotherly ruffle.

“Don’t look so sad, little bro. I promise, I’m okay. Yeah, it’s not ideal, and I’d be freakin’ over the moon if people treated me nicer. But I can’t control how they feel. I’d rather focus on the friends I have! Great people like you, Razor, and my gang! Plus I’ve got other pals too, all over the place! I can’t help being an oni, and sooner or later the folks around here will see I’m a person like them. Until then, I’m happy with just... Having my important people around me.”

Itto let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping. Long, serious, and emotional rants were not his thing. Giving Bennett’s hair one last ruffle, the oni dropped his hand in his lap and turned his full attention on his young friend. This part was going to be even harder in his opinion. “Ya know, I bet people treat you pretty badly because of your luck, right?”

Bennett’s head jerked up in surprise, and his gaze shot over to meet Itto’s. “Um, I mean, what does that have to do with anything? And, well, my luck can get really bad, as you know! So it makes sense that people wouldn’t be... real happy with me.” He started out strong, but as he went on Bennett’s voice got softer and more resigned. Itto could almost hear his own heart breaking for his little bro. At the same time, an old familiar rage churned in his gut.

“You can’t control that though!” Itto burst out, unintentionally startling both his companions. “You can control your luck about as much as I can control being an oni! Even if they don’t want to, I don’t know, work with you or whatever it doesn’t mean they get to be awful to you! You’re always nothin’ but kind and helpful Bennett, and it wouldn’t hurt the people back home to show a bit of compassion. You’ve got so much yourself, you deserve a little aimed your way!”

A frustrated huff finished off the angry rant, and Itto turned to stare out at the water again as he tried to calm himself. He didn’t want to upset his little pals even more, but it was so frustrating! His nose scrunched up in a scowl, until he felt the press of two smaller bodies. Razor had scooted over to lean back against him, while Bennett had pressed his face and shoulder against Itto’s arm. He couldn’t see it, but the oni was sure he could feel Bennett’s smile against his bicep, and a swell of affection for the two boys clogged his throat.

“Thanks, big bro.” The short swordsman mumbled, with an agreeing hum from Razor. The three of them stayed together for a few more moments, but as the night began to cool Itto casually tossed a boy over each shoulder. Their protests devolved into laughter as the large man jostled them about while heading back to their small camp. The oni made a silent vow to always look after them, like a good big brother should.

#genshin impact #genshin bennett #genshin razor #arataki itto #big bro itto #wrote this up in 2 hours #barely any edits #also haven't written anything solid in like #over 2 years???#HOPE ITS GOOD

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wellfine · 4 years

Text

Hey so I rambled for like a million words on Sanji’s and Zoro’s and a little bit of Luffy’s characterisation re: living for the sake of other people vs. yourself inspired by @eastdemons recent very good character analysis so I tucked it behind a read-more to spare you all

(WCI spoilers)

realised/remembered that Sanji as a child went seamlessly from being born to exist for the sake of others (his biological family), to wanting desperately to exist for the sake of others but being rejected and treated as though his very existence were a nuisance no matter how hard he tried, to finally finding a sort of unspoken crude acceptance with the Baratie and Zeff which was conditional (in his own mind) on him existing for their sake instead, that he finally had a target to project his rejected desire to be useful onto, to finally have a reason to exist and a tangible benefit he could point to - “if I weren’t here, then the Baratie wouldn’t run as smoothly, cook so nicely, defend itself so strongly”

and sure, tethering himself to that one floating restaurant meant he could never actually go out and achieve his own dreams but he was used to that, he had already accepted from childhood that his life never belonged to him, that he existed for the sake of others and self-sacrifice was naturally a part of that to the point he didn’t even consider it “sacrifice” any more but rather just the natural order of his birth. Like how you know to queue at the supermarket because that’s what your parents taught you. I don’t know if he ever even would’ve registered on a conscious level that that’s how he thought of himself? You could argue that a lot of the Straw Hats (maybe even all of them, in their own way) believe that sacrificing yourself is "natural” to do when your convictions are on the line, like Luffy’s acceptance of his fate at Loguetown, but Sanji’s is different. The Straw Hats might say, “it’s only natural to risk yourself for what you believe in,” but Sanji believes “it’s only natural that I would sacrifice myself for others.” The others all may have a sort of “put your money where your mouth is” attitude towards self-preservation (even Usopp and Nami), but moreso than any others I think Sanji says “no, the rest of you, sit down. None of you get to sacrifice yourselves, that’s foolish. Only I may die for the drama of it all”

So even at age 19 it’s not until Sanji meets the Straw Hats that he even considers the choice of living his life for himself, based on what he wants, and not what others want or need from him. Like obviously he cared about Zeff and the Baratie and he did genuinely want to see it succeed, but it wasn’t his life’s goal. He was trying to make it his life’s goal but you could see the look on his face when he talked about All Blue and traveling for his own sake. And then a bunch of smelly weird pirates crash into their restaurant and confront him with the idea that “hey, you know, your life belongs to you, and you actually have, you know, CHOICES you can make, and it’s okay for you to prioritise your own goals and live your life the way YOU want to”

You could argue that this is a recurring theme with all the Straw Hats - “personal freedom” is probably one of, if not the most prominent theme in One Piece - where most of the crew has felt like they’ve been held back from living the life they want to lead before joining the Straw Hats. Some were held back by external influences (Nami with the Arlong Pirates and Marines, Robin with the Marines again, Brook by Hogback), some by personal obstacles (Usopp’s struggles with his own cowardice, and fear of leaving the comfort of his seemingly safe village for the risk but allure of the sea). There were other members who were held back by a sense of social obligation, too - Chopper to Dr. Kureha and his memories of Hiluluk, Franky to Galley-La in general, the Franky Family, and his memories of Puffing Tom - but those were also slightly different. Chopper, who was still just a kid, all things considered, needed “permission” from his parental figure to leave home, and Franky, conversely, needed to be sure that his adoptive family-figures would be fine on their own. Sanji and Zeff obviously have a father-son relationship but Sanji didn’t need Zeff’s specific permission or approval, nor did he need reassurance that the Baratie would be okay without him - because he already KNEW he had both those things. Zeff is implied to have been trying to get Sanji to leave for a long time. What Sanji really needed was someone to tell him that he would be okay. That he could exist outside of the construct by which he defined his existence (his usefulness to Zeff and the Baratie). That this was a thing he was allowed to do. That God wouldn’t smite him where he stood if he dared to get out of bed in the morning for his own sake, and not someone else’s. And that came from meeting the Straw Hats - all of them, but Zoro a little bit more, and Luffy most of all.

Of course he still struggles with that even after joining the Straw Hats LMAO and the poor dude has a self-sacrificial streak longer than his legs. But now I’m gonna pivot into talking about how Zoro and Sanji contrast against each other in this exact regard

Of all the Straw Hats, Zoro (and I’m still not 100% up to date with the current Wano happenings so maybe we have more insight into why Zoro is the way he is but I still don’t think it could totally disrupt anything I’m about to say) is the person who is least able to identify with where Sanji is coming from but also somehow, the most?? Because Zoro is a paradox of both living fully and wholly for himself in the moment but also being someone who has dedicated his entire life to living out someone else’s dream. Like, yeah, it’s his dream, too, but it’s been made clear throughout the series that the force behind his terrifying drive is his oath to Kuina, not just his own desire to be the strongest swordsman.

But I’m not sure Zoro sees a distinction there? And I’m not sure it’s even relevant to make the distinction in the first place? Kuina has passed away, so Zoro’s own interpretation of what her dream would’ve been, how to fulfil it, and what their promise to each other means is, essentially, his own free will. Often times in fiction when you see a character living in another character’s memory they basically model themselves around what they think the other person would’ve done, but not Zoro. He doesn’t model his fighting style after Kuina’s (quite the opposite). He doesn’t train how he thinks she would’ve trained. He even went ahead and defined the parameters of their “dream” all on his own - defeating Mihawk (is that how Kuina would’ve defined “becoming the strongest swords[wo]man”?). He is, undeniably, living life however it naturally occurs to him and pursuing whatever he wants to pursue.

But Kuina is still also undeniably a fixture in his life. He still wields her sword (fingers crossed for Wano). He still thinks of her and is still driven by the bond and oath they shared when they were younger, and he still considers her father to be his mentor. He would say that he wants to become the strongest swordsman because it is his dream and also because he’s doing it for Kuina, and they would both be independently true.

And so all of this culminates into Zoro not understanding Sanji’s perspective one tiny little bit, lmao. You’d think he would because on the surface they both live for another person’s sake but when you get deeper into it they’re opposites, as is usually the way with those two. Sanji is someone who presents himself as a “lone wolf”, sort of - the strong, cool, independent “Mr. Prince” who is often separated from the other characters, working on his own. But he’s not. He defines his entire existence by his utility to others and the capacity for his sacrifice to them. That’s why he keeps TRYING to sacrifice himself for others even when it’s pretty unnecessary lmao. And Zoro is someone who readily claims to be living his life for the sake of another person, but then doesn’t give a second thought to how that person might have lived their life. He can live his own life while also living FOR someone else. That’s not a contradiction at all in his mind. Zoro has made it no secret that he would leave the Straw Hats if he had to in order to pursue his own dreams and I genuinely still think he would, as loyal as he is to Luffy (which, btw, Luffy would unequivocably support).

And so it’s why Sanji can’t understand why Zoro would fight against Mihawk knowing that he would lose, because in that moment Zoro was living blisteringly for his own sake and nothing else, because throwing yourself into a fight you KNOW you will lose simply because it’s what you WANT is the culmination of “living your own life”. To Sanji, that makes no sense, because Zoro could still live and be useful to others. Sanji completely understands dying to protect others and so thinks dying because of your own resolutions would be a “waste”. And it’s why Sanji left so easily in WCI, and why Zoro couldn’t/can’t understand that, because to Sanji it made sense in what he still believed to be true in his mind - that he ultimately only existed to be useful to others, and that his brief sojourn with the Straw Hats had been fun, but that leaving them would be inevitable, because it was too “selfish” on his part to dare to live life for himself and that the universe would correct itself eventually. He still thought that it was wrong of him to live his own life. He still, on some level, thought that his life belonged to someone else. And at least, like this, he could save the people he actually cared about (the Straw Hats) along the way, making the best of a foregone conclusion, in his mind. I genuinely think even after everything the SHs went through together it wasn’t until he saw Luffy still waiting for him that it finally clicked in Sanji’s mind that he was the sole owner of his own life and that he had a choice in what he dedicated it to.

Speaking of Luffy, I think he 100% lives his own life for himself only, even more than Zoro - he sacrifices himself for others, but only because he wants to because he personally likes those people, not because he thinks it’s the “right” thing to do - but I also think he deeply understands and appreciates Sanji’s mentality in a way that Zoro doesn’t/can’t. I think Luffy learned from Shanks that the way you act/the things you do have a broader impact on the world around you, and so living life “for yourself” is something you have to do mindfully and consciously of how that will affect other people. And I think he learned about the idea of being expected to live for the purpose of others from Sabo and Ace, and the subsequent rejection of that idea. So he fully embraces the notion of living your life for yourself only, but he does so being aware of the implications that has for the other people in your life.

I don’t know if this makes any sense or if it’s still coherent at this point I have written (checks) almost 2000 words about one piece and I’m a litte embarrassed but you know what I'm just gonna hit ‘publish’ without proof reading thanks for coming to my TED Talk i’m sorry if any of these paragraphs just stopped mid-sentence as I hopped to finish off some other sentence

#one piece #long post

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soldrawss · 4 years

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Ares kids giving percy shit and then they just see... luke... standing in the background... staring at them... and they suddenly decide to leave percy alone, because they 'just FEEL LIKE IT, oKAY???' jhgfgdhfdhggfjghg

Despite what everyone else thinks, Luke is always angry. He just also happens to be really good at hiding it. He probably had his dad to thank for that, being able to redirect and reassure others with a flash of a smile and a wave of his hand to disarm anyone who’d think otherwise. He hardly ever lets his temper get the best of him anymore. He’s too old for that. Too tired to let the little things get under his skin and leave bruises that the world could see. He can’t afford to wear his anger out like tattooed sleeves, the same way Silena Beauregard wore compassion on hers.

And it would be too easy. Too easy to just let his anger for the world and for the gods fuel and feed the hurt bleeding into his rationality and blaming all his problems on everything other than himself. It would be way too fucking easy to go about his days in a blinding rage that left nothing but empty holes in the places that should have held love and forgiveness and all the good he tries so desperately to instill in the younger campers. It wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t help the hurt and it wouldn’t end the suffering. Luke knew this. Luke knew the world didn’t need one more angry, unwanted kid adding that kind of gasoline into the fire. Kronos was wrong, even if his tempted whispers late at night tried so hard to convince him otherwise.

So he hides his anger. Buries it under daily counselor chores and making sure the Stoll brothers don’t get too rowdy during their free time and just keeps busy enough to ignore the pounding tremor in the back of his chest. It works for the most part. It’s easier to smile nowadays, he barely even has to force it anymore, and when he laughs along to campfire stories and songs, it’s something lighthearted and genuine.

But his anger is always right there, like it’s something second hand and lingering. There without him having to reach for it.

And when he notices Percy get dragged behind the armory by the scruff of his neck by some older kids, he lets that all too familiar anger consume him in seconds. He pushes away from the handful of campers he was monitoring by the amphitheater, ‘Activity’s over. You have free break until lunch’, he calls over his shoulder, and doesn’t wait for a response as he marches his way in the direction of the armory with a speed Hermes would probably be proud of if he ever cared enough to check-in.

Luke doesn’t have special skills or powers like other Demigods. He can’t build things like Beckendorf and he can’t charm speak like Silena and he certainly can’t summon lightning from the heavens like Thalia could. But he was respected and feared in equal measure all the same, and no one could deny that he worked hard to earn the title of the best swordsman in camp.

His was still a presence that demanded attention and authority. Even if he lets the seven-year-old from the Haphestus cabin ride on his shoulders after breakfast most mornings, or moves over on his already tiny bunk in the dead of night so that little unclaimed Lily Anderson can sleep with him after a bad nightmare.

He was a self-designated older brother to pretty much anyone who needed one, and Luke took a quiet sort of pride to that so many people liked and needed him.

But he was still a threat when he wanted to be.So when he saw Percy on the ground, with a nose bleed that stained the front of his shirt an awful rusty color, all Luke had to do was growl a low, ‘walk away. Now’, and the three boys took off at a sprint. He only vaguely recognized two of them from the Ares cabin and one from Aphrodite, but he didn’t care enough to do more with the information at the moment because Percy was staring up at him with green eyes electric and burning.

And Luke recognizes those kinds of eyes. They’re the same as his. There's a light like dying stars in them. Angry and terrified and burning with something terrible and so full of single-minded devotion that it has to hurt. And it leaves something aching and red hot in Luke’s stomach when he takes a step forward only for Percy to flinch away out of reflex.

“I’m fine,” Percy said like a knee jerk reaction before Luke could even ask, barking it in a mean and biting way that Luke didn’t take any offense to because he remembers what if felt like to be twelve and have your pride hurt. So Luke doesn’t question it, because Percy is scrappier and stronger than anyone probably ever gave him credit for, and offers a silent hand and the gentlest smile he can muster. Luke does his best to ignore the thumping jolt of anger that vibrates through him when Percy takes it almost immediately and so desperately, like it’s his only lifeline in the world, and wonders what kind of people were in Percy’s life before camp that made him so hungry for a positive human connection.

Percy apologizes a second later with a horrified expression, jumping out of reach when he notices he got blood on Luke’s hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Let's just get you to the Apollo cabin. Lee keeps a first aid kit and a jar of ambrosia superglued to him at all times after Cecil Markowitz’s third greek fire burn.” The comment was supposed to lighten the mood somewhat, but Percy’s face darkens as he takes a step back from Luke.

“Um, no thanks,” Percy says in almost a pained whisper, hugging his middle and trying to wipe the continuous flow of blood from running down his chin by holding his head back. “It smells too much like the infirmary in there. And I hate the way ambrosia burns down my throat. I’m good, Luke, really.”

And that should have tipped Luke off to some bigger problem, but he can’t concentrate on it because he’s already closing the distance between them faster than Percy could object, and softly pushing the back of Percy’s head down towards the ground. “Pinch here, just above your nostrils, and lean forward unless you want the blood to go down your throat.” He instructs, guiding Percy’s bloodied hand to his nose.

Luke can’t rightly blame Percy for his hesitance. The kid’s first moments of conscious grief since his new life as a half-blood began was spent in the camp infirmary, nursing the pain of losing his mom while also nursing actual physical wounds with acidic nectar and ambrosia that even Luke can attest to growing disgust for after the first few battle wounds of his own. Anyone would have some kind of underlying trauma from that, and Percy didn’t have to outwardly admit how uncomfortable he was at the idea for Luke to understand.

Being a 12-year-old without a mom was hard enough. The problems of a half-blood added on top of that was almost a cruel joke that Luke bitterly couldn’t believe was a reality for most the kids at camp.

“Annabeth used to get into a lot of fights too, I’ve gotten pretty used to fixing noses the old fashioned way. Come on, I have a spare medkit in the combat arena,” Luke says, pressing a hand to Percy’s back, not giving him a chance to escape because dammit, someone had to care for this kid. And Percy doesn’t smile, but something in those sharp green eyes turn leaf like and muted as he lets himself get led from out from behind the armory.

No one really bats an eye towards Percy as they walked, and Luke could only assume it’s because he looks like he’s about to kill anyone that tried with a stone-cold glare that could rival Medusa’s.

No one was is in the arena when they get there, and Luke instructs Percy to keep the cold washcloth Luke had snagged for him on his nose for about ten minutes, keeping upright to help stop the bleeding. They don’t say anything after that, they just sit on the arena steps and watch the campers from the Demeter cabin try to flip the canoes of some Aphrodite kids with little success, while they wait.

Luke doesn’t ask any questions on what happened or why, he feels like the answer wouldn’t matter anyway, but Percy eventually softens in the silence between them. Luke pretends he doesn’t notice Percy’s eyes get red and wet as he rubs at them angrily with the palm of his hand.

After about fifteen minutes, and a fresh camp shirt that Luke had given him to replace Percy’s stained one, Percy looked no worse for wear, at least.

“Thanks,” he says softly, like he was thanking Luke for a million things at once, and Luke was all too aware of the crack in his voice and the angry hunch of his shoulders that made him look whole years to young to be angry at the world.

“Don’t thank me just yet, I need your help with something,” Luke decides as he stands up and walks back into arena, not looking back to see if Percy is following him because he knows he is.

“Alright,” he says once they make it to the middle of the dusty pit, holding his hands out in front of his chest and adjusting his stance as Percy looks at him with a doe-eyed curiosity and confusion. “Come at me with all you got.”

Percy frowns, and sniffs once before rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. “What? Dude I already got my butt handed to me, I don’t need another nose bleed on top of a few broken bones.”

Luke can’t help but smile at that. “Come on, humor me. I have a few unchecked microaggressions I need to work out and you owe me. I promise I won’t aim for your nose.”

Percy frown deepens, but he sighs like the whole world is weighted on in and gets into a fighting stance of his own, keeping his fists close to his chest.

Now it was Luke’s turn to frown. “Aww dude, you’re breaking my heart here.”

He relaxes his stance and walks over to where Percy stood, dodging the lame attempt of a punch and catching Percy’s fist in the palm of his hand, readjusting Percy’s fingers. “Thumb goes here unless you want to break it. And you wanna keep your fists closer to bottom of your chin.”

Luke uses his own foot to shift Percy’s into a more stable stance. “Feet this far apart and bend your knees, or you’re gonna get knocked down no matter what happens. Try to punch me again.”

Frowning more out of concentration then confusion, Percy took another swing that Luke caught easily and without letting go, pulled it back towards Percy’s shoulder and used his other hand to straighten Percy’s back. “Use these muscles here and punch straight out. You keep swinging too wide and putting all your force behind it, leaving you open.”

He guided Percy’s hand with his own, twisting it slowly in the form of a punch. “You’re gonna feel the bones in your arm want to move this way. Let them and you’ll get more force out of it.”

Percy hummed something like acknowledgment, so Luke let go and retook his stance in front of Percy, mimicking his same posture from before. “Try it again.”

Luke still caught Percy’s fist in his own, but a smile broke his face in two when he, not unkindly, pushed Percy back aways. “A couple more hits like that, and my hand may actually start to hurt, Jackson.”

And the grin that crept upon the twelve-year-olds face was something bright and delighted and outshining the stars as easy as breathing, and Luke soaked in every inch as they continued for the better half of the morning sparing till the lunch horn sounded.

Percy was so much like a younger Luke that is actually scared him, but moments like this, where he knew practical methods of defense would help Percy better than any reassurance that bullies would eventually leave him alone ever could. And Luke knew that Percy wouldn’t be ok with anyone fighting his battles for him, even if it would have been so easy for Luke to channel some of that unchecked rage into beating the ever-living snot out of anyone who looked sideways at Percy again. Just like he knew that Percy wouldn’t ask for help if it wasn’t already freely giving, or that trust was a hard thing to earn when your whole life was built around people burning that bridge before you could ever extend it.

But Luke was prepared for the challenge, and with Percy chatting happily away from underneath where Luke rested his arm across his shoulders as they made their way to the dining Pavillion, Luke could feel the edges of his anger slowly quiet into something barely there. And it’s a feeling that carries him throughout the rest of the day. A feeling that he wants to bottle up and keep on a shelf whenever he wants to forget what hating the world feels like.

Because if it feels like it’s worth it just to keep kids like Percy smiling for the rest of forever, well then, Luke could handle forgiving some of his anger, and letting his heart rest on his sleeves just a little bit more.

#oh no he's 12 au #thats the name of this big brother luke au i'm creating #oh man i didn't mean to go on a big tangent but here we are folks #pjo #percy jackson #luke castellan #riordan #i have so many feelings on these two please ask me about them #thanks alex for getting me too hyped up now my home will know no rest

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coinofstone · 4 years

Text

5x12 The Diamond of the Day pt 1

Final two episodes! Big finale! Why am I making myself cry in the middle of the afternoon! Both eps in this post.

I do love that they made Arthur a sore loser

Enter treacherous white woman #2. Srsly it was lazy writing when they did it for Mordred, it's worse now with Gwaine.

I do love the actual Round Table war room discussion but a) why isn't Merlin seated at the round table and b) why does Leon have so much goddamn faith in Camelot's walls? Like??? You literally said the same thing last year and yet Camelot *did* fall when Agravaine brought an army through the tunnels!

Poor Aithusa. Kid's had a rough life.

I do love Arthur responding to Merlin presenting him with all his supplies ready - which he prepared without his magic mind you - with suspicion 😂

But then he calls Merlin a coward and it's sad

Katie has such a great voice. That entire thing in the cave from her taunting to her laughter to the spell, it just just beautifully played.

Whole ass battle to prepare for and Arthur is just walking around moping cuz Merlin isn't there

So, Merlin's father-vision telling him he's magic itself and he just needs to believe in himself to get his magic going again, does this mean he *didn't* need to go to the cave to get it back? Cuz it seems like he needed to recharge in the cave itself, his injuries were healed when he woke up. That seems like magic cave stuff to me.

Also that "always have been and always will be" - I'm taking to mean 'always have been' in the sense that since he's 'magic itself' even before he was born, his magic existed in other, intangible forms, like we are all stardust etc. But now that he is, he will always be, aka he will not die.

Arthur waking up with his wife in his arms and Merlin's name on his lips, jumping out of bed to act on dream-info.

Balinor telling Merlin to trust in what will be.... like bitch that is literally not how this ends.

5x13 The Diamond of the day pt 2

You know that gif of the cat knocking everything off the table? That's literally Merlin shooting lightning at everyone from his perch on the ridge.

I have a lot of snarky things to say about Merlin coming out of the cave in full Dragoon gear and riding a horse instead of teleporting like the other witches but I'ma keep that to myself.

Mordred is a bitch and Aithusa has terrible aim. At least Aithusa's loyalty to Morgana makes sense.

Arthur said oh shit I'm magic - oh wait no it's that old man again

He also straight up "No! Bad dragon!"-ed Aithusa

Y'know, for all I've watched this episode and screamed about Arthur's death, I don't think I've ever focused on the exact moment he gets stabbed before.

Mordred catches him from behind and he meets it, no fault there. But as soon as he realizes his assailant is the knight who turned on him and joined Morgana, what does he do? HE LOWERS HIS FUCKING SWORD

He leaves himself wide fucking open and vulnerable and Mordred seizes the opportunity. I understand wanting the moment of recognition for Arthur, but on what planet is a trained warrior going to drop his sword mid-attack because he recognizes his attacker as a dude who only just recently decided to forsake him? It's soooooo dumb

There was a whole sequence a few episodes back where Mordred and Arthur are sparring, the point of it was to show that Mordred has become a skilled swordsman. So what exactly was the point in having Mordred run Arthur through as soon as Arthur idiotically lets his guard down? This should've been a meticulously choreographed sword fight, with Mordred getting the upper hand and sticking Arthur properly. Not this nonsense. Look at Arthur's FACE! Oh, Mordred... 👉👈 do you maybe wanna be friends again- STAB ... guess not

Uther's been rolling in his grave but he's taking an extra tumble watching Arthur forget all his skills and training in that moment.

I do appreciate Arthur getting Mordred back though. Like that moment of merciless anger followed by the hurt and regret playing on Arthur's face, warring with surety and responsibility. It was good.

I've rewatched the big confession scene about 16 times just now.

I don't quite understand why Merlin took Arthur to the woods to begin with. Instead of bringing him to the med tent in the battlefield or back to Camelot. What was the reason?

Merlin saying it feels strange (to use magic freely in front of Arthur) and him just going 'yeah' completely deadpan makes me laugh every time.

I really feel like Arthur's head should be elevated at a further incline if he's going to be fed.

Gaius refusing to outright expose Merlin as the sorcerer but nonetheless letting Gwen figure it out on her own warms my heart.

My God Arthur is sitting there dying, feeling betrayed about his best friend 'lying' to him, and still he can't stop himself from looking at Merlin's mouth.

Percival summoned MUSCLE POWER

Hey um random but why does Gwaine even know where Merlin and Arthur are headed? Why would Gaius tell him?

Arthur looks at Merlin so lovingly after he's killed Morgana 😭😭

And now he's literally grabbing at the man's hand 😭 "just hold me, please"

That's gotta be the gayest death scene in television history. If you can watch that without thinking Arthur puts his hand on the back of Merlin's head because some part of him wants to bring him down for a kiss, or that "just hold me, please" is in any way shape or form a 'bros' thing, and certainly not at all an intentional mirror/callback to Isolde dying in Tristan's arms, then I'm afraid you are what we professionals refer to as a dumb-as-nails fucknugget, more commonly phrased as 'willfully ignorant'.

"All that you have dreamt of building has come to pass" yeah except for the whole, y'know, magic still being illegal thing.

I've said this before, but, while I'm sure there was a determined intention to have Arthur die in his armor, probably in some kind of attempt to make sure the audience knows he's died a warrior's death, I *really* think it was kinda stupid that Merlin never removed it, despite Arthur being weak, despite the fact that there was something like five days between him getting stabbed and him actually dying, despite that for the duration of that time they were traveling or hiding out. Merlin managed to produce a cloak to put on Arthur, why did he need the full armor on that whole time? Like even if they left the chainmail on, those plates on his shoulder were just getting in the way, and it looked quite uncomfortable.

Also not for nothing but Lancelot got like, every flower in the forest surrounding lush verdant greens in his death boat, Arthur gets a bunch of sticks.

It suddenly occurs to me, watching this now, that the reason Leon/Percival is such a common side pairing in Merthur fics, is because these two motherfuckers are the only original Knights of the Round Table to survive the series. 🤦‍♀️ I dunno how I failed to notice that before now. My stupidity amazes me.

I'm *really* glad they decided to do this scene with Gwen wearing the Pendragon red dress instead of the black mourning dress. Yes she looks fabulous in it but it's more the symbolism than the 'reality' - with Gwen wearing her house's colors it represents a continuation rather than a finality. Camelot will go on, Gwen will undoubtedly end the war on magic and with Morgana dead (and frankly, I think by now she already brought about the death of all the angry incel type rulers in Albion) there stands to reason her reign will begin with a period of peace, possibly longer than Arthur's. We kind of have to assume that the 'time the poets speak of' is, inevitably, Gwen's reign - which only came about through Arthur's death. It's a little bit toooo subtle in my opinion, but at the same time, I understand the need for the focus on Merlin and Arthur - after all, this show was their journey - not leaving much time to focus on Gwen and Camelot in the aftermath of Arthur's death.

I will just say, the first time I watched this that fucking truck scared the ever living shit out of me. I also just immediately, viscerally hated that scene and declared it invalid - but I think it was because the truck made me jump out of my skin. It has since grown on me, particularly once I started reading 'Arthur Returns' fic.

Everything beyond this point is post-series spec and headcanon, so if that's not your jam you can exit safe in the knowledge that as usual, if there's anything worth commenting on in the S5 extras, I will create a separate post!

For those interested, my go-to post-series fic is We Begin Again by katherynefromphilly I fully headcanon this series as the continuation of the series.

I have a lot of thoughts about Gwen and Merlin post-Camlann.

For one, poor fucking Gwen. She's lost her father, her brother, and her husband, all by what, age 30? That's rough. And who knows what happened to her mom, that was pre-series and I don't think it was ever mentioned.

Merlin, dear god poor Merlin. First of all, I just wanna say straight off that my instinctive headcanon about Merlin was that he never returned to Camelot. I couldn't really say why exactly. I just don't think he could stand being there after Arthur's death. But practically speaking, Merlin's still got Aithusa to deal with, that dragon needs some godsdamned house training asap. He's still the last Dragonlord, it's reasonable to assume he'd immediately take that on considering Aithusa is partially responsible for Arthur's death (the sword Mordred killed Arthur with, only succeeded in killing Arthur because it had been forged in Aithusa's fire-breath) so he's either going to attempt to train the bad behaviors out of Aithusa, or...well...

The only thing is, I do not believe Merlin would abandon Gwen, or Gaius. So my hc is inherently flawed. I do think Merlin probably spend a couple months with his mum, and I do think he ultimately settled near lake Avalon waiting for Arthur's return.

But I do wonder, what must their relationship have been like? Gwen, surely, would've sought his guidance in establishing laws governing the use of magic. And surely, peace cannot last indefinitely, so Merlin absolutely would've defended Camelot and protected Gwen. There's just no way he could've completely turned his back on them, but I doubt he could bear living in Camelot. And Gwen is both strong and practical enough to get on without him there 24/7, even though I'm sure she'd miss him.

I also think she would've found love again. Whether with Leon, as many people hc, or someone else not in the series.

ANYWAY.

Thanks to everyone who came on this journey with me. I will post comments on the extras if I have anything worth saying - and I think I'll do a master post linking all these episode posts after I clean them up once I get time to sit at a computer and do so. Until then! 💙💚

(Gif source) (h/t @shut-up-merlin)

#bbc merlin #bbc merlin spoilers #merlin #merlin spoilers #merthur #onceandfuturerewatch #5x12 #5x13 #5x12 the diamond of the day pt 1 #5x13 the diamond of the day pt 2 #bbc merlin 5x12 #bbc merlin 5x13 #merlin 5x12 #merlin 5x13 #the diamond of the day #the diamond of the day pt1 #the diamond of the day pt2 #for the love of Camelot

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theeeveetamer · 5 years

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YOU WANTED MORE ANGST?? Just imagine Felix's reaction to finding out he's pregnant? After just how careful they've been all these years and just when he thought he was starting to get too old for it? (like 38) Oh boy. He'd immediately try to find the best way to get an abortion, except their world's medical standards just aren't great. His best option would be another herbal mixture, but that one has a significant chance of just poisoning him or causing internal bleeding so heavy (1/?)

(2/?) even a healer might not be able to save him. Felix is still pretty set on trying this anyway, except Sylvain looks at him with those puppy eyes of this to convince him not to. He just really doesn’t want to lose his mate and he’s fully prepares to help him through all this, but just… aggh. So Felix reluctantly decides to keep the child, except the pregnancy turns out to be dangerous and taxing for him anyway. He ends up confined to bed for the last two months, unable to do much.

(¾) The actual birth is quite harrowing for both him and the baby. It’s quite a miracle that they make it through. Between that and the post-partum depression, it takes Felix nearly half a year to fully recover. It’s definitely part of what first alienates Felix from his baby and he often thinks he should have taken the risk of abortion after all during that time. Meanehile Sylvain feels so guilty amd frustrated that there wasn’t a safe option for his mate. It really puts the sheer anger at

(4/4) the nobles for wanting them to have even more kids into perspective. Especially since the healers were very clear that having another child would definitely kill Felix.

Man sometimes I think I’m mean but all y’all anons go hard.

There’s probably a moment where Felix is, like, up to the point of drinking the abortion tea. He’s got it brewed and literally sitting in a cup, and Sylvain hasn’t said anything because he want’s this to be Felix’s choice… But last second he’ can’t just not say anything.

I wouldn’t say he begs Felix not to take it, but he reminds him that this could literally kill you and if Felix dies then he’ll be alone in the world, and he just can’t imagine not having his mate by his side. So Felix (reluctantly) dumps the tea out.

Not being able to do anything is genuinely the worst kind of hell for Felix. No one will let him near anything pointy or sharp (so, like, he’s not allowed to do anything fun!) and his diet is probably pretty strict (doctor’s orders) and he’s just generally miserable.

And then he gives birth and he’s, like, literally brought back from the brink. The baby is weak and sickly. He can’t even get out of bed. It’s just. A nightmare. The healers put the baby in his arms and he just feels nothing but resentment. Either way this child almost killed him. He holds him for about five seconds before he shoves the baby at Sylvain and demands to be left alone so he can sleep. They try to get him to nurse but he doesn’t want to. They try to get him to hold him but Felix doesn’t care. They probably keep the baby in their room with them, in like a bassinet for awhile, but that stops when Sylvain wakes up to the baby crying, and Felix is in bed with his hands over his ears, and he’s crying too and begging it to just be quiet because he’s exhausted and he hasn’t gotten a full night of uninterrupted sleep in a month because of all the crying. He’s this close to shaking the baby, and probably would have if he were strong enough to get out of bed on his own.

Sylvain moves himself and the kid into another room after that, but now Felix is even more depressed because his mate won’t sleep in the same bed as him. They have to hire a nanny for overnight after that.

Not to mention all the horrible physical things that happen to him. That’s probably a big part of his depression, all of the things he prided himself on he is no longer able to do. Sword training? He’s so weak he can’t even lift a sword. He gained weight, he can barely walk ten steps without getting winded, his entire body aches, he’s tender and sore, his hair is falling out, he can’t do anything for himself (Sylvain even has to walk him to the bathroom for the first couple of weeks because he’s just that weak. Sylvain doesn’t mind but Felix finds this utterly humiliating), his emotions are somehow even more out of whack than they were the previous nine months they were out of wack. It’s just. Horrible.

And then after about six months he’s finally cleared to start doing normal-ish things again (with some restrictions) and from that point until the baby is about two he spends as much of his waking time training as possible. Just to get back to where he was pre-baby. And it’s frustrating because he feels like he’s starting all over again from scratch. He used to be the best damn swordsman in all of Fodlan and now when he duels the guards to practice he’s routinely losing. Sylvain assures him that he just needs to build up his strength and stamina again, but Felix never stops wondering what if the baby ruined him? What if he’s never as good as he used to be?

And the nobility… God, the fucking nobility. Constantly whispering in his ear that he should just give up already and focus on being a mother. A fucking mother. Like that’s somehow all his inherent worth boils down to: Popping out fucking kids.

Sylvain still tries to get him to bond with their son but he’s just… Having such a hard time with it. I think he only really starts bonding when the kid is ~a year and a half old, because Felix has finally been able to grasp some sense of normalcy again. He’s not back to 100%, but he’s much better than he was right after the baby was born. It’s much easier for him to look at the kid and not resent them at that point. But by the time he gets there he’s already missed his first words, his first steps, the first time he sat up and rolled over and started to crawl, all of these important milestones. So while he starts to like the little dude, he also feels very disconnected from him.

Which, honestly, I don’t think really gets fixed until their kid starts learning to fight. Because Felix is his teacher, and it’s basically the only thing he knows, the only way he knows how to communicate. That’s when he really starts to fiercely bond.

#sylvix #felix hugo fraldarius #sylvain jose gautier #omegaverse #abo #tw PPD #tw depressing #angsty #mpreg #you asked for it Anon #Anonymous #3h omegaverse #unwilling parents au #sylvix baby

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miraimisu · 5 years

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GUESS WHO’S DONE WITH THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THIS BEHEMOTH

/spins chair dramatically: MOI

So like the thing is I AM done with the fic on theoretical terms because all the buddy building and world building and THE WHOLE HOUSE IS BUILT BUT IT NEEDS A CEILING AND FLOWERS and all that nice stuff so I WILL BE WORKING ON THAT. After the fic is done completely, I will have to beta it, fill in a few gaps and probably correct some parts that need some revamping to fit the tone of the story and all that jazz

yadda yadda yadda

SO for [spoiler] reasons I cannot show a snippit for this arc as much as I would love to because it has SO MUCH OF THAT GOOD BUDDY STUFF /chef kiss, so instead what I’ll show is the VERY VERY VERY beginning of this fic-- this is the beginning of the VERY first chapter!

This will probably be due to corrections and stuff but this is how it looks, from back when I wrote it in July! Please enjoy! <3

Chapter 1 | Ludwig Town

If there is one thing Gladion is good at, it should be sneaking around and not being noticed by unwarranted enemies. He has lived his whole life hiding from any offenses and leading a modest life in the small campsite of Ludwig Town, where everything is soil, golden wheat and modest merchants ambling about.

But sometimes, his patience is worn thin and not everything is merchants and wheat, but criminals and people clad in costumes that look stolen from a sunken pirate ship.

Two bodies collapse on the group simultaneously as Gladion cleans the blade of his silver sword with the hem of his dark shirt, the metal catching the dim sunlight of the sinking sun. “I told you I didn’t want to hurt you, but I really don’t enjoy being chased around for a pair of pennies, especially when this town is this poor. Have some decency and stop harassing me.”

The two bandits scramble away from the man, panic dripping from the way they tremble and look up at him with wide, round eyes. The two like fairly similar, wearing red and black and orange and a very suspicious cloth over their mouths, which muffles their words as they try to fight him verbally. “Dude, who the hell are you? We just wanted to talk! No need to try and beat us to a pulp, it was so unnecessary!”

“Right, and that’s why I assume you have been chasing kids in this town for their bread money; just to talk, am I right?” Sword sheathed, he puts his hands on his hips. “Also, nice of you to admit that you did get beaten. But I couldn’t care less about what you wanted to do.”

Gladion had been running from these two guys for around half an hour before he had gotten tired and handled things on his own way. Aggressivity is not in his DNA, nor is being so confrontational, but he really is pissed at these people. He has seen them around town harassing little kids for their pocket money and in his passiveness, Gladion had refused to do anything, no matter how guilty he felt after the fact.

But they had poked him in the wrong places when they asked for money. If anything, they should have been glad he chose to run away instead of taking out his sword. Daggers and swords don’t mix well, if their wounds and precisely cut bruises are any proof of that.

They had proven themselves to be pretty clumsy. Useless criminals without jobs wanting some money. What a waste of space.

In due time, the criminals pick themselves up and stand on their feet. Gladion’s hand is slanted on the handle of his trusty sword -- Silvally, he had named it -- in a silent warning, green eyes sparkling with threat. The bandits don’t look like they are about to ask for his money again, though.

“Dude, you definitely got the guts,” says one of them, moving their hands around as they speak in a manner Gladion can only classify as obnoxious. Walking migraines is what they are. “You could join us. Y’know, get on boats and pillage some losers. We go on sick adventures all over the Kandrus Dominion. Our boss is a really rich guy!”

Their misconception that wealth equals power really amuses him. Judging by the disarrayed state of their clothes and how their daggers are rusty at the edges, Gladion can confidently say that they don’t look rich or powerful. They look like some grunts taken out from some history book, those with mossy edges and dusty pages.

“I don’t really care about how much you make out of other people’s misery, or how nice and rich your boss is. I'm going on a big journey tomorrow and I need my coins.” They hadn’t asked for his life story but Gladion hopes they will understand he really can’t be bothered today. “I was in a good mood until you two came by. You could have spared yourself the battle and left me alone.”

A trembling whimper comes from one of them. “Can someone like you even be in a good mood? What even is a good mood for you?”

“Clearly the opposite of what I’m feeling right now, so scram already or I’ll chop you into tiny bite pieces.” Hand curled around the leather handle of his sword, he takes out the blade just a little. “We can spar if you want. I’ll count down to ten.”

The bandits take a step back, hands shaking with eyes wide as saucers. “Dude, what’s wrong with you? Threatening people like us, belonging to the fearsome company of the Bla--”

“One, two…”

When they realize Gladion is being serious, they make the smart decision of running for their lives and leaving him in peace, which prompts him to keep his sword in and sigh, rolling his shoulders until a small crack rings through the soreness. It has been a long day, running errands all over the town to grab some extra coins and have his gear in check. He deserves some rest, to sleep the jitters and excitement for tomorrow off.

He realizes that he is pretty close to his house and parts in that direction, stretching his arms letting his legs loosen up after the long chase.

Ludwig Town is fairly small in comparison to other towns -- or, at least, the many maps he has read say that, because he has never been out of his small town ever since he was a kid. It’s all houses, farms, windmills and a lake to the right. Everything is close together and the people are amicable. It’s just right for his needs.

He has always lived here for as long as he could remember, yet he knows he used to have a family. He lives with his godfather, a scientist from a faraway city that had run away at the wake of war, but he used to have a mother and a sister, that much he knows.

He isn’t sure where they could be, but as years had gone by, he had begun to find Ludwig Town too small, too familiar. The lack of a real family had fed his previously mild nostalgia until it became real longing to search for them, if they are alive. Someone has to know something.

Nobody in this town knows anything, but someone for sure must know where they are; out there, somewhere.

Gladion enters his home. “Good evening.” Nobody answers, but he doesn’t mind the absence of his godfather; the latter is rarely in the house himself. He is usually busy looking after his clients in homes as a doctor or working with pharmacies for a quick coin. This evening is no exception.

The house is quaint, small and packed with everything he needs, A small sofa, a bookcase, potted plants everywhere he can see and a little kitchenette. His room is to the right and his godfather’s is to the left, a bathroom at the end of the hallway. The chimney is on, indicating the house had had company shortly before.

Gladion walks to a narrow coffee table between bookshelves, where not only a potted plant stands, but also a small medallion with green, black and golden on the edges. He’s not sure what it is meant to signify, but his godfather had found it in his old clothes one day and told him to keep it.

It’s a very odd piece of jewelry. It has a golden chain attached to it, so shiny it must be worth several bags of coins, but he has always refused to let go of it. It has a little hole on the right side where a wire or maybe a little key could fit, but nothing he has tried ever opens it.

Under the medallion is a photograph he would be taking to his adventure. The image is washed in sepia and blurs of white, very likely caused by time and aging. The faces of the two women by his side are blurred and unrecognizable, along with their clothes and their hands.

Gladion’s face is barely recognizable. The only thing that lets him know it’s him in the photograph is the trademark spring of his uneven fringe, which he keeps around to this day.

The tall woman’s hair is long and possibly blonde, and the little girl by his and her side has also long hair and flowers on her head. The image radiates certain raw energy he can’t quite explain.

The door clicks open as his godfather makes his way in, throwing shadows over the entire home. “Ah, Gladion. Glad to see you made it here safe and sound. I heard from Miss Delabrié that you were cornered by some criminals earlier.”

Gladion turns around. Faba, his godfather, still wears the same green and white lab coat and turtleneck under it. He knows the clothes are very expensive, so much so he does not look like a Ludwig citizen. The round glasses sit on his nose without a speck of dust to cloud them.

The other nods curtly. “I took care of them already. They have been causing a lot of trouble lately.”

Faba looks at him in earnest curiosity, head tilted slightly. Despite his known position as a man of science and utmost precision, he is mostly clueless about Gladion’s dedication to his sword mastery. “I assume you did not get hurt in that endeavor, did you?”

“I’m the best swordsman in this village. Of course I didn’t.” He is evidently confident in his abilities, and Faba is just as pleased by this claim. His nod radiates satisfaction and posedness, very much to be expected from a man just as proud of his own abilities. “I didn’t want them to take my coins. Tomorrow is the big day, after all.”

—

and that’s all I can show without spoiling anything but just know that in this household we agree that Faba is an absolute [redacted] and we are gonna keep it that way

#lonashipping #also all of the world build is gonna be this detailed because I have this world VERY internalized SO #also Moon comes up a little after so it's okay don't despair #in this fic we go from -30 to 100000 and that's the shit I'm about #but I wanted to give some info about his background (just a little)#so take my little appetizer jhgbjfslpa #ANYWAY BYE

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dlamp-dictator · 5 years

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Allen Rambles about Assassins Pride

Originally, I was going to talk about Assassins Pride along with High School Prodigies have it Easy Even in Another World as a sort of update/mini-essay post. However... the Assassins Pride portion got a lot bigger than I expected, I was over 500 words into it, and by that point, like so many other of my Ramblings, I just threw up and hands and decided to go all in. So, here we are... talking about an anime with only 2 episodes out and yet I’ve still managed to write over 1,300 words about in the rough draft of this “mini” essay.

But first, a quick synopsis by Wikipedia, who does a much better job of summarizing this show than my first two drafts did:

Humanity has been brought to the edge of extinction and now exists solely in the last remaining city state of Flandore, where individual city blocks are housed in separate glass domes. Travel between the domes is possible only via train lines running through glass tunnels. The world outside the domes has become one of eternal darkness and is completely infested with savage lycanthropes.

Within the domes humanity is divided into the nobility and the commoner classes. Through their blood members of noble families are able to manifest mana which grants them powerful superhuman abilities enabling them to fight and kill lycanthropes. Melida Angel was born to a noble father and a commoner mother but has never manifested mana and attends an elite academy to hone her skills with mana.

On orders from Melida's noble grandfather, Lord Mordrew, the assassin Kufa Vampir is ordered to become Melida's tutor and discover if Melida is a true member of the noble Angel family. If Kufa discovers Melida is the product of her mothers affair with another commoner and not blood related to Lord Mordrew he is ordered to assassinate her. Kufa confirms Melida is likely not a noble but decides he cannot ignore her strong spirit and offers her a way to manifest her mana.

With Melida able to use mana for the first time Kufa must keep his actions a secret from Melida's family and from his guild, White Knight, or both he and Melida will be executed.

So here we have a Combat School anime mixed in with political intrigue and assassins. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Though my interest in this anime didn’t come from the mere announcement. Rather, it came from the manga that I read online almost a year ago that has slowly (extremely slowly) been updating.

And as of me posting this essay, this anime is gone through 10 chapters of that manga in 2 episodes.

That’s... insanely fast pacing, and skipping quite a lot of important context. However, despite this I think the anime’s team might be in the right to do this, or at least I can see a bit of their logic behind this choice.

But... before I go into that, I want to talk a bit about that manga in question and the things that made me gravitate toward. Mostly so I can have a Rambling this is more about the positives than the negative, as my last few have been... less than kind toward any series I talk about.

Ah, but I’ve rambled a little too long, let’s get to the first part this manga that I like, which is...

The Intrigue

If there’s one thing I enjoy about the manga it’s the way it shows how the nobility is. Like the synopsis said, the noble class usually inherits the ability to use mana, and specifically families can even inherit unique and powerful classes like Paladin, Dragon Knight, and Magic Knight. These are people raised to be warriors to fight demons, as well as represent their families and schools in tournaments and competition. So being in the noble class creates quite a lot of pressure to achieve and perform at a level that’s acceptable, if not extraordinary. The pressure is on these kids to do their best and live up to their family names, and the fact that Melida can’t even use mana leaves her ostracized and bullied. And the manga makes sure you know this. She’s taunted and mocked by her classmates at every turn. You see the impossible gap that a normal human without mana is would have to cross. You Melida get knocked down both physically and emotionally by those around her save for her maids. And you see just how little her father cares for her because of it. Not through his direct action, but the fact that Melida’s maids are the youngest, least experienced attendants throughout the family. That Melida herself is forced to live alone in the family’s spare manor instead of directly with her father. And boy did chapter 10 show just how much of a jackass her father is with only a few words and cold glare. This is a nobleman alright.

And seeing all this just makes me want Kufa to succeed in making Melida into a great noble and fighter. Even if he has to cheat and break from his original mission to do it, just seeing Melida throw all that bile back into the faces of those who spat on her will be well worth it. To quote the man himself:

“That right there is the warrior you all called useless!”

Ah, but speaking of her teacher...

Kufa

This might be a little weird to mention now, but Kufa reminds me a lot of Zeabolos from Trillion: God of Destruction. I talk a little about that game here when discussing Idea Factory games last year, saying that Zeabolos was a good main character for having an actual personality and goals that didn’t just reveal around the main cast. Kufa is very similar in that regard. Both are older males past 20 with relations and interactions around a namely young female cast. Both have those relations played more realistically than pandering. In Zeabolos’s case, his female cast consisted of his nieces, cousins, sisters, and close friends. People he treated as family and not like awkward crushes, making those interactions heartfelt and fun to see, even the more pandering things, as Zeabolos rightfully doesn’t blush and get flustered around his own family save for Ashmedia who purposefully always tries to throw him off his game.

In the same vein, Kufa treats Melida as his student first and foremost.He trains her in combat, scolds her when she falters too far, praises her when she succeeds, and basically acts as a better father figure than Melida’s real father could ever be. It’s a cute relationship, and it doesn’t end their. He teases and mocks fellow tutor Rosetti, not only keep her and her student at arm’s length but also because she’s enough of a ditz to fall for his taunts. He treats those that bullied and teased Melida... rather... harshly for understandable reasons. Point being, the author understood that Kufa was a person first, and character second, something a lot of other writers in the medium usually fail at.

Plus, the dude actually has some pretty wicked fight scenes. He’s about as over-powered as most male protags in this kind of story, but since the story made sure to show the audience he’s an instructor and assassin by trade, we expect him to be strong from the get-go and can safely continue the story knowing the tension comes less from a powerful enemy, but rather the power system of government and oppression that a kamehameha can’t just blast away.

Ah, but I’ve spoken a bit too long about the teacher and failed to mention much about the student. So let’s talk about the girl herself.

Melida

Boy… it’s no wonder Kufa would rather risk his life than kill this girl for someone’s political gain. Like I said when discussing the intrigue, she’s constantly put down for her lack of mana despite her hardworking nature. Even though she can use mana she’s still an accomplished swordsman and exemplary student. She trains her body everyday, she studies as hard as she can, and for all her effort... she just gets kicked down by everyone else. Her friends, her family, and up until Kufa came into her life and helped her gain mana all she had were her inexperienced maids.Until Kufa showed up she had to take every bit of venom thrown at her with a smile and laugh. She suffers a lot in those first few chapters, and you really want someone to save, to help her accomplish her dream of being a great noble and fighter. No only for herself, but to honor her late mother who everyone claimed was a part of an affair and that Melida herself isn’t even a true woman of the Angel.

And Kufa does, at the risk of both his own and her life.

And after that, we truly get to see Melida shine as the brave soul she is, now that she has the power and is slowly gain the skill to back up that bravery. It’s a nice foil to her cousin Elisa, a fellow student who does possess Angel blood, has gain the esteemed and rare class of Paladin, is rather powerful in her own right... but is an expressionless, cowardly girl that’s almost too frightened to face the demons. I’d go on to discuss Elise and her tutor Rosetti, but... this Rambling is getting long enough, so... more on.

Other Small Things Allen Likes

Just going to put this in list form for the sake of my sanity as well as the sake of moving on to my final point quickly. That said, here are some other small things I enjoy about the Assassins Pride manga:

The world-building is surprisingly engaging to me. A world trapped in perpetual night with warriors of light being the only thing keeping away further darkness, along with the last bastion of humanity being a literal chandelier city in case you missed the symbolism is... surprisingly effective.

There have been some good fight scenes throughout the manga so far. Not many within the 20 chapters mind you, but all of which had some good build-up to them and rewarding conclusions.

Kufa not only succeeds as a serious character, but is the source of a lot of the comedy as well. The manga takes good advantage of throwing this cold, serious assassin off his game enough to be funny at times.

The expressions in this manga are done very well. Half the reason Kufa is so effective are the moments with the artist finally decided to give him a really dark or comedic expression.

Okay... now that I’ve gotten everything off my chest about the manga, it’s about time I finally discussed...

The Anime

Since only two episodes of the anime have came out as of the time of this essay I’ll try keep this short, but… no promises.

Now, in two episodes we’re already at chapter 11 of the manga. That’s… very quick. And chapters 1-11 did a lot of that build-up I was talking about in the last few sections of this essay. To skip all of that really does give this anime a mediocre feel to it, like it just wants to get to the big action shots and give more of a “best scenes” montage than a story.

That said, this isn’t a bad thing. As another anime did something similar...

Yes folks, Allen X is going to compare the action-drama combat school Assassins Pride to the bombastic sports parody Keijo!!!!!!!!

If that disturbs you’re free to leave now, I’m going to continue.

Now, if you’ll mind the comparison, Keijo!!!!!!!! skipped its entire first arc in its anime adaption, over 20 chapters of manga, and the end result was honestly better for it. When you understood the context and plot of "Butt Battle Anime” you didn’t need much else. At that point, you can jump straight into the second arc that focused on developing techniques and had diverse battles for each main character. The exposition and characterization could be explain later, or even skipped if your suspension of disbelief could accept Keijo for what it was, an action-packed sports parody.

At the same time, for all the good build-up the manga does, I can also admit that if you understand that context and plot of “Combat School with Assassin Teacher and Aristocratic Intrigue” you can probably follow the rest of the series just fine. You don’t need to know how classes work to the letter if you can see them in action in the tournaments and battles. You don’t need to know all the trauma and suffer Melida has been through if you got the point after episode one, as it’d be needless suffer-porn. You don’t need to know how deep in trouble Kufa is for going against his guild’s orders if... well, spoiler events happen in the next few episodes that will very much show how determined Kufa’s guild is to get rid of Melida. I’d also like to add that even with online fan-translations the manga only has 20 chapters available.

And twenty chapters of manga isn’t enough to cover a 12-episode anime.

I’m willing to be something that happens around the 30s will be conclusive enough, but the anime has to skip a lot to get to the meat of the plot. Actually, I know this is the case. Here is a link to the Assassins Pride anime’s english website. If you go to the character selection it’ll give you a list of the main cast. This cast consists of Kufa and Melida, the main character. Elise and Rosetti, the main characters’ foils. Nerva, the antagonist of these first 2 episodes. And... 3 characters we aren’t familiar with yet. These 3 in particular are revealed and explained in the latest arc, but as they just got revealed in chapters 19 and 20 and the manga has once again slowed down its updates as fan translations tend to do... we can only speculate what their purpose is. This tells me the latest arc will be not only meaty, but also intense with a main cast this small.

I’ve got hopes for this anime despite my nervous feelings. And I hope the show exceeds my expectations.

youtube

At the very least, Share the Light is a stellar song for an OP, and the OP itself is done well too. If this song is the only good part about this adaption… then I think at least something good came out of it.

...

Usually, this would be the part where I once again lament the lost of the line break feature on Tumblr and awkwardly move on to my conclusion. However... there’s some things I have to get off my chest. Nothing related to Assassins Pride, but to the manga community in general that tends to scream and moan about the book being better than the movie one too many times for liking. So...

Allen’s Grievance

Again, this has nothing to do with Assassins Pride, so feel free to move on to the conclusion if your done reading my mad ramblings. However, there are a few things I have to get off my chest when it comes to comparing manga panels to animation frames:

First, let me say this: Anyone saying the manga is source material to the anime just became irrelevant. Assassins Pride was originally a light novel published in 2016 with 11 novels out as of this essay. To mention the manga as the main source is not only ignorance, but also arrogance, which is an almost unforgivable sin in my book toward anyone acting as a critic.

As someone who’s trying to write his own story I’ll also say there’s a huge difference between serialized writing and writing for a show. I’m not in the animation or show-writing business, so I can’t speak on that end, but in terms of serialization the focus is more on quantity than quality. It’s not just about writing a good story, it’s about writing a continuous story with frequent/timely updates at a consistent rate of quality. I can’t speak for the writer of Assassins Pride, but most places I’ve went to for advice in this regard focus on consistency of writing more than quality of writing. This type of environment creates a lot of downsides, but having this understanding also means that Assassins Pride, being a serialized story, likely has a focus on a long story to keep selling rather than focusing on overall quality.

To that point, by the way the manga explains it, this story is suppose to cover at least 3 years of Melida’s life. Now timeskips will likely happen, but that’s a huge amount of content if they pace it right, and impossible for a 12-episode show to adapt well without cutting some corners in its own pacing, hence the reason they’re skipping this first arc’s details to get into the meat of the second arc.

And need I remind everyone that read the manga that you are likely pirating it for free. I’ve yet to hear of any overseas translation or sells of the light novel yet, so most people complaining about this point likely didn’t read this manga legally. I’ll fully admit I didn’t either, but I also believe most people should put their money where their mouth is. Literally. The main reason the manga translations are so slow is likely because the fan translators aren’t doing this as an actual job, but either for fun or for patreon money. And translators... you can honestly get better money translating hentai. Believe you me, there’s a big market for it and you’d be surprised how many people want context for their Japanese/Korean/Chinese porn.

As I mentioned before, you can understand a lot of details by simply seeing them in motion rather than having them explained to you. The Samurai class is speedy, the Gladiator class is a good attack, the Paladin class is an advance combat/support class, the Maiden/Dancer class is good a mid-range. These things can be shown through the animations and fight scenes rather than having a character explain it. The anime can easily show more than tell, and people need to realize a lot of manga, comics, and novels are guilty of overdoing exposition.

I could go on with my annoyance, I really could, but I’m going to stop their before this thing gets to over 4,000 words.

So...

Conclusion

In short, I’m cautious, but I’m not disappoint… yet.

I’ll keep an eye on this anime. If anything, it definitely looks pretty, the fight scenes have been down well so far, and seeing Melida be cute in full color is great. If I just get a decent action series out of this anime, I’ll be happy. And hey, maybe the light novel and manga will be translated and sent to the west too. Here’s hoping.

Anyway, that’ll do for me. I’m gonna’ try and post something weekly again. Not so much a weekly update, but just essays in general.

#your dictator is speaking #assassins pride

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beersfromthebleachers · 5 years

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The Avengers vs. Game of Thrones; an All-Star Game

We are going to let the dust settle in the over packed weekend between the release of Marvel’s End Game and HBO’s Game of Thrones. The worst thing that you can look up on the internet is any spoilers your horrible friends or coworkers can have already bragged about seeing both this weekend. Instead of making another post of, “This is what you missed this weekend...” I am going to do something a little more fun...at least from my point of view.

Since both storylines are ending, I feel like there needs to be a championed crowned in which franchise is better. Now every nerd that I know (including me being one of them) would simply pin them against each other in combat to see who would win in battle. The only unfortunate circumstance that entails is having fantasy realm versus the over whelming edge of anyone who has superpowers. Instead of giving out heroes a humbling death, I’d rather have them square off against each other in a “fantasy baseball” game to see which team is considered more worthy of being the best.

***Note to reader: I do not own any of the following characters in the writing of this blog. All characters belong to the property of Marvel Comics, the Home Broadcasting Network, and George R.R. Martin. Everything in this post is written completely in parody for entertaining purposes and all rights are reserved. The following lineups are the position players of each of the following teams:

Team Avengers:

C- Captain America: The leader of the Avengers will take the best position where he can call all the shots, behind home plate. Playing the backstop will make sure no one would run on the First Avenger as he feeds a laser to any one of his teammates if they are stealing. Cap has mentioned before that he was a fan of the New York Yankees; consider him a more lethal Yogi Berra, but with the true American spirit of the other “Captain,” Jason Varitek.

1B- Hulk: The strongest Avenger will deliver a great deal of power being the first baseman for the Avengers. A towering command of strength will be a guaranteed home run at the plate...as long as he not going ballistic in rage if ends up striking out instead. Consider this dude putting the Big Hurt on you, Frank Thomas style.

2B- Black Panther: the King of Wakanda will be one of the quickest infielders whether he is playing the shift or conducting a double play to any of the Avenger-basemen. The highly skilled king will also be a playmaker every time he goes to bat for the team, a guaranteed hit to make sure he gets on base. Let us not forget, for all you movie nerds that the actor who played T’Challa also played Jackie Robinson in a stand-alone biopic.

3B- Thor: The other ruler on this ball diamond who will deliver some great power behind the plate using Mjoliner. The first to third connection to Hulk is the only other Avenger who is capable of catching a fast throw from the God of Thunder. If you ever imagined what Chipper Jones would look like with long hair and a beard, he definitely would be the best representation of the Asgardian.

SS- Ant Man: I could not help myself putting a hero who can shrink down to a position that is a good play on words. As funny as that sounds, that superpower would come in handy being able to grow to a giant in order to snag a line drive that would not end up reaching the gap to the outfield. As crafty as Scott Lang would be, he also developed some “magic tricks” while not wearing the infamous suit; did you know that Javier Baez’s nickname for his tricks is “El Mago”?

LF- Dr. Strange: The legitimate Sorcerer Supreme will be the real magician on the field displaying his talents in left field. The biggest piece of this defense will make plays from anywhere and everywhere on the field. Nothing will leave the yard and Dr. Strange will make sure almost every time that no base runner from the opposite team will advance, even if it is to home plate. Consider Dr. Strange the best left fielder in the game, right there next to the legend himself: Ted Williams.

CF- Iron Man: The man who is in line exactly with Captain America with guarding the diameter of the ballpark; Iron Man. Tony Stark will be orchestrating all the patterns in the outfield and making sure not a single ball will leave the field. With the entire arsenal in his suit, Iron Man can put the ball anywhere into play from on base single to a grand slam home run. There is only one true “Iron Man” playing center field on the field right now, and his name is Mike Trout.

RF- Spider-Man: Who would have ever thought that nerdy Peter Parker would be stuck in right field for the Avengers? The final asset to the outfield for this team makes them close enough to flawless on defense; there is no excuse for anything to go over the web-slinger’s head operating the right field foul post. The Queens native will do everything possible to demonstrate his best attempt at being a New York Met, perhaps channeling the athleticism of the greatest Met to play right field; Ron Swoboda.

Starting Pitcher- Hawkeye: You give Clint Barton, who has the best accuracy of all his teammates, the ball as the starting pitcher for the Avengers and he is nailing the ball in the strike zone every pitch of the game. Hawkeye has heat, skill, and durability in order to paint the corners of the batter’s box as his own personal target. As much versatility this mighty hero has, Hawkeye will gather as many strikeouts as Nolan Ryan trying to pitch a winning game for the Avengers.

Team Game of Thrones:

C- Sandor “The Hound” Clegane: Had Hodor still be alive this far into the series, he most likely would make as good as a back stop, but Clegane has more brute force and a better defensive mind set. Clegane is an aggressive fighter known all over Westeros, he will carry the same reputation while at the plate tearing up pitchers. As good as any swordsman, his power can drive in any runner on base to get the quick RBI. Give Clegane the best comparison to Mike Piazza; for being well known but never winning anything of true honor.

1B- Jamie Lannister: The “Kingslayer” will look to add new target to the two crowns he faces on the opposing end. Lannister also has an altered handicapped having an iron hand for his right hand, making him left-handed batter that could deliver power with some iron behind it. From the Young Lion to Iron Lion, Lannister will be a definite Silver Slugger with what he delivers offensively. Scrapping with some of the best adversaries, Lannister is a mighty competitor with the resume proving he is mighty fighter; close enough to the royalty on what Lou Gehrig shared in the game as a champion.

2B- Grey Worm: the Unsullied leader will make a fine slugger at second base for the team that represents the seven kingdoms. With his attacking style, his batting profile will have him as a threat every time he goes to bat for the Throne. His offense will reflect well with his defense, collecting as many double plays as the adversaries he will be facing. Seeking no mercy, Grey Worm’s lethal style will be the same as Craig Biggio.

3B- Tormund: The mighty Wildling will display some impressive hacking skill at the plate, trying to outperform not only his teammates, but also the ones he will face. Tormund will display an aggressive playing style on defense, being the last stand on the diamond preventing anyone that will attempt to score against the Throne. The wild personality of “Giant’s Bane” makes him a fan favorite to anyone watching him from the stands. Before he became an internet sensation, I had heavy beliefs that Justin Turner was a distant relative as a Wildling for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

SS- Tyrion Lannister: I thought I had my fill at the “short” jokes with the position assignment; however, I could not resist assigning this one to “the Imp” of House Lannister. The skillful Tyrion may not have anything to add on offense, but he will be even a bigger asset on defense in the infield. With his genius intellect, he will execute simple plays that demonstrate preventing runs from advancing on the bases. To fool his opponents, he will have the size of Jose Altuve, the mechanics like Ozzie Smith, and the drinking capability of Wade Boggs.

LF- Daario Naharis: A crafty warrior representing the fighters of House Targaryen, Naharis will display amazing acrobatics in left field for the Throne. With Tormund being the entertainment of the roster, Naharis will be the heartthrob for the ladies in the stands. As much skill as he has as a fighter, he will deliver on base hits that will guarantee him to be a threat on the bags; this also includes the probability of stealing a great deal of bases being a stealth fighter as well. Daario Naharis has not shown his presence as of lately on the show, perhaps his skills are a legend as are the tales of Shoeless Joe Jackson.

CF- Gendry: As a bastard son of the last Baratheon King that sat on the Iron Throne, Gendry is a skilled swordsman that carries his own for the team for the Throne. A worthy batter, he has been trained and skilled in many houses in order to become one of the best threats at the plate. His skills are kept as a secret, in order to be known as a quiet threat at the plate. Gendry is a big team player and contributes to a great deal of assists on the field; you can compare him to a young Dexter Fowler.

RF- Euron Greyjoy: the raging pirate and king of House Greyjoy has a great deal pf power and strength to display at the plate. Euron is a force to reckon with being an offensive asset that is lethal and dangerous to be facing. With his brute force, he also holds a great defensive mind set holding down right field and a threat to anyone who tags on the bases. As a pirate, you can expect him to “loot” the bases as a quick threat, despite his brute stature. Euron Greyjoy may have the capability to play like Reggie Jackson.

Starting Pitcher- Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen: The Lord Commander of the North will demonstrate all of his best mechanics at the mound. After being trained by House Stark and the Night’s Watch, he has the entire arsenal to deliver the best variety of pitches on the mound. After discovering that he is the true air to the Iron Throne being a Targaryen, it gave him that little extra special push to have some of the best heat to deliver to the strike zone. Torching pitches with lethal command makes Jon Snow comparable to Greg Maddux

Both rosters have talented line ups on both end of the field, however I feel like I’m going to get some criticism for the lack of variety from other key characters in the series. It is also important to understand that in baseball, you cannot win championships without spectacular pitching. The following key characters of both team are your all-star studded cast for their bullpens, respectfully:

Team Avengers Bullpen:

Relief Pitcher- Black Widow: The first call to the bullpen will be Hawkeye’s first partner in crime: Natasha Romanoff. Carrying on to what Barton has with accuracy, Black Widow is not too far off from what they share in target practice. Romanoff will do “whatever it takes” to get the job done and carry on the game to the next inning. Expect Black Widow’s relief style to be swift, like Aroldis Chapman.

Relief Pitcher- Scarlett Witch: The set up woman for the Avengers would be perfect putting the ball in Scarlett Witch’s hands. Her control of the ball is what is going to be essential in those dramatic moments when the game is at its highest peak. Scarlett Witch will be casting all types of spells delivered to the strike zone, leaving hitters in a daze and possibly confused. With the amount of pitches she will deliver, you can compare Scarlett Witch to Josh Hader.

Closer- Captain Marvel: In the period where the game will be at its climax, if the Avengers are in trouble or ahead, they will look to Carol Danvers for the save. Captain Marvel delivers the best presence on the mound for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as she will be dialed in ninth inning. With her supernova strength, all of her pitches will be close to untouchable, it will be close to near impossible to get a single hit off of her. With the filthiest stuff in the bullpen, Captain Marvel models her pitching style as Trevor Hoffman did in most closing scenarios.

Team Game of Thrones Bullpen:

Relief Pitcher- Brienne of Tarth: Brienne is fantastic substitute player than can play anywhere in the outfield as well as be a legitimate contact hitter for the Throne. What is even more special in characteristics of her mechanics is how well she stays on target. Brienne has the capability of being a relief pitcher in order to deliver success if the team is in need of aid. With her tall frame and power, she has the ability to command and pound the strike zone. Brienne may look like Billy Wagner on the mound if she gets the chance to relieve Snow in the game.

Relief Pitcher- Daenerys Targaryen: Enter the “Mother of Dragons” herself; Daenerys is the perfect set up woman if the Throne baseball team has a commanding lead. With the power influence of a dragon, she can torch the strike zone without fail and delivers her signature strikeout of each batter: DraKarys! Dany has the pitching mechanics like Craig Kimbrel and could possibly give him a run for his money as a better relief pitcher.

Closer- Arya Stark: Enter the secret assassin who has many faces. Arya Stark has proven to be one of the most dangerous assets (and in this case, teammates) on the side of the Iron Throne. With last night’s reveal, it should be known that she is not a force to reckon with in the deadly Game of Thrones. With her killer instinct on knowing how to dismantle players, she will have lights out stuff to throw from the mound. You can compare Arya to the likes of Mariano Rivera, because you will never see her coming and will not be fortunate to be left alive…in the batter’s box.

With this All Star cast facing each other in something that you would probably pay a great deal of money to see at Comic Con, who do you think would win this amazing baseball match up? I leave the result to be held in the world of imagination, but if this carries on as a thread, I would love to see how baseball fans would have this adaptation of fantasy baseball. We are more than fortunate for both of these franchises being a part of our lives over the past decade. With the influence of baseball, both of these team would be a great mash up to see play each other in a match for the ages.

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bthump · 6 years

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what would you like to change in berserk? actually im asking how the story would work without using rape as a plot device but also in general (characterization, plot etc.)

Ooh this is an interesting question, ty!

I wouldn’t change either Guts or Griffith’s backstories tbh, I think they’re actually pretty well done, and important to their characters and narratives without being the be all end all. Well, I’d like to make Gennon less of an evil gay stereotype and Donovan less of a scary black man stereotype but yk, other than those details the existence of rape in their backstories isn’t something I’d change.

With Casca… tough call. Her story is all about gendered violence to the point where if you got rid of the rape attempts you’d have to come up with a whole new story for her. But it’s still a shallower and less well-rounded depiction of abuse than either guts or griffith’s backstories, bc it’s so emphatically gendered, like, rather than informing her personality or her choices it’s just framed as being a woman.

So actually I guess for Casca what I’d change is (actually pretty obviously lol) her motivations. She’s not in love with Griffith, she idealizes his dream because she knows he wants to dismantle those power structures that fuck her over and create a place where those w/ power can’t easily abuse their power over others. She hates Guts not because she’s jealous of him (tho she could still be jealous of his emotional closeness with Griffith, like she’d still admire Griffith here even if she’s not in love with him and I like that rival dynamic), but because she recognizes that he could end up destroying Griffith’s dream.

Also I think we can still cut out most of the rape threats she gets while still showing that she has something to fight against. Maybe keep Adon being a gross dick (in all fairness he kind of mirrors Gennon towards Griffith which kind of shows how they’re fighting for the same dream - ie a world where those kinds of dudes are shut down) but have Casca just fighting for her life rather than against rape attempts as she runs from the 100 man fight.

So nothing really changes much until Guts comes back from his vacation. And now Casca is genuinely, genuinely angry and hateful towards him, because he did exactly what she’s been afraid he was going to do - destroyed Griffith’s dream, and her hope for a better future.

Which means they don’t have sex lol, Casca was never into Guts, they began a friendship towards the end of the war but nothing more. And now that Guts has come back Casca is actively hostile to him, though after Guts lets her stab him she probably forgives him a bit bc it’s not like he intended to destroy absolutely everything, and he’s clearly fucked up about it.

Also no suicide attempt.

So their dynamic during the rescue mission is resentful allies, like a throwback to their first three years knowing each other.

Wyald still happens but no attempted rape w/ Casca obviously.

Now when it comes to the Eclipse, I want it to be all about Guts, and I want it to hit the audience over the head with parallels to his childhood. It’s the Eclipse, it doesn’t need to be subtle. Rather than looking wistful when Griffith sacrifices everyone, I want Guts to look betrayed, I want him to look just as sad and horrified as he did when he was 11 and Gambino told him he sold him to Donovan.

Agh I’d hate to lose the creepy silent monster vibe from Femto, but something like a cold, “you’re still alive?” would be v fitting w/ the “you should have died” parallels. Tho idk I’m torn on that.

And ok I said I want it to be all about Guts but I can’t just kill off Casca. But if she’s gonna live the Eclipse needs some serious personal meaning for her too. So maybe her reaction to being sacrificed, knowing it’s for the dream she’s dedicated her life to and in theory she should be willing to give her life for it, and trying to reconcile that with the horrificness of the situation and her desperate desire to survive anyway. So she survives long enough for Femto to show up, because she’s not the third best fighter in the Hawks for nothing, and then…

torture? Femto has monsters hold Guts down and tortures Casca in a way reminiscent of a kid pulling the wings off a fly. She loses an arm, Guts keeps his because he’s too busy being utterly terrified and possibly flashbacking to hack his own arm off in a rage.

Like, one thing about the Eclipse rape, is that if Miura had to have it as a way of emotionally affecting Guts, how the fuck did he manage to draw like two chapters of awful awful shit with Guts being held down by monsters that he’d just watched rape Casca, and completely fail to allude to Guts’ own rape trauma? How. Hooooow it’s mind boggling. It’s absurd.

But you don’t even need the graphic rape for that, like hell, Miura has absolutely adequately set up the correlation between giant monsters Guts is compelled to fight and his own childhood trauma imo to justify Guts having a very emotional traumatic reaction to just being held down and made helpless by monsters after being essentially given to them.

There’s Black Swordsman Guts in a nutshell, and this is exactly what was implied to have caused him to go full traumatized amoral asshole. Before g*tsca was a gleam in Miura’s eye all he had were those parallels to Guts’ childhood trauma - Guts being given away to monsters by someone he trusted - and that’s all he needed.

So anyway, because Casca lives, she has her own reaction to being casually tortured by Femto before being rescued, which is also a replay of her childhood trauma but without the agency of killing her attacker herself with a sword. So her reaction could very well be similar to Guts’ - a desire to kill monsters and get revenge. Maybe she’s lost her idealism wrt the dream, and she’s more cynical now - a better world is impossible, best you can do is survive this one.

She and Guts go their separate ways because they’re barely friends, let alone lovers, and remember 2 brands = big ghost problems.

After this the narrative splits 3 ways between NGriff, Guts, and Casca.

I’m reaching the limits of my creativity lol. So I’m just gonna suggest that Guts gets the behelit, Casca gets the armour and the rpg group, Casca gets the moving on arc and hooks up with Farnese while maybe finding a happy medium between changing the world and lashing out against the world, and Guts succumbs to his inner darkness and gets a highly emotional confrontation with Griffith. Since he has the behelit maybe he uses it upon realizing that Griffith’s heart is still beating for him, bc the emotional conflict is just too much, and sacrifices Griffith to become a Zodd-esque apostle wandering battlefields and fighting for no reason, basically returned to his pre-Griffith state.

It’s probably shorter than 355 chapters too lbr. I’d say NGriff creates Falconia right before the confrontation with Guts, so yk he achieves his dream b4 ironically getting sacrificed. Otherwise his story doesn’t change much. Maybe stronger suggestions that he’s not as unemotional as he looks, to build up to a guts confrontation better.

Like… I’m not a very creative or good writer lol but I feel this general outline could be written in a very good and satisfying way by someone with talent, like Miura.

#ask #a #b #long post #ty for asking plz feel free to contribute with your own suggestions and ideas #Anonymous #character: guts #character: casca #headcanons #theme: trauma #theme: critique #theme: misogyny #scene: eclipse

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janiedean · 7 years

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on jaime lannister’s mental health and what it means to you

tldr: in between this season’s beginning where I’ve seen a fair amount of ‘has jaime lost his balls with his hand’ in the jaime tag (....) and the finale after which I’ve seen a fair amount of ‘oh finally jaime grew some balls it was time’, I would like to list you a few friendly reminders in bullet list form of why jaime lannister has always had some of the strongest metaphorical and not balls in these series and why he’s always had a spine and he didn’t need to grow anyfuckingthing never mind that he didn’t lose anyfuckingthing with the hand.

in order:

jaime grew up spending all of his time with cersei until tyrion was born and it’s not like he stopped after. without going into how it might have started or not, he’s honestly convinced he’s the same person as cersei (he even said it in canon, if I was a woman I’d be cersei). growing together with someone in such a close environment would lend itself to actually be like them if they have a dominating personality (which she has). he thinks he’s her.

except that while cersei abused tyrion from the moment he was born and it’s pretty much strongly implied that she killed that friend of hers she went to talk to maggy to because she dared ask maggy if she’d marry jaime (i.e., she had basically assumed she could have him when cersei thought he was hers or no one’s), he… was… the only person in the family who actually loved tyrion (I don’t mean didn’t abuse him, I mean actually loved him) and was having daydreams of going around westeros being a knight, which is not exactly what cersei has as a life target.

then he got into the kingsguard half because he wanted to be like arthur dayne and half because cersei was like ‘if you do we can be together always’ which basically merged the two things he wanted, at fifteen

then it turned out aerys was what he was and since he was fifteen until he was seventeen he got through so much trauma (witnessing aerys raping his wife and being unable to do nothing, getting all the vows he believed in materially questioned, watching two people get burned alive) that he actually started dissociating to cope with it. dissociation is a fairly common effect of ptsd. this guy developed ptsd before he turned seventeen, and even with that he went, did the smart thing and killed aerys to save everyone, basically doing everything knightly oaths tell you not to do and count that we’re talking about a seventeen year old who dreamed of being arthur dayne hmmmmmmmmmm

then he could have actually become king, which is something cersei would have done at once, and he didn’t, even if if I was a woman I’d be cersei, which suggests me that someone in here managed to develop a distinct and definite personality who’s not cersei’s… without even realizing that he did it, or at least rationally, which should say volumes about the level of fucked up this guy is when talking mental health

then everyone got pissed at him for aerys without even bothering to ask him why which makes him reject everything he loved when it comes to knighthood and turn into the cynical bastard he was at the beginning -

ah, but let’s add that not even that long later tywin aka his father basically forced him to lie about tysha to tyrion with all the baggage we know, so his father forced him to hurt his brother whom jaime actually loves very much, to the point that later when jaime freed him (in book canon at least) he told him also because he was being eaten by guilt and I’m sure that must have been totally healthy for someone who dissociated at seventeen

and should I mention that he fathered three children and cersei never let him be in their lives, which is probably not as bad for a man as it’d be for a woman but wow, that totally doesn’t add up to the trauma

and then we’re surprised that a guy who didn’t treat any of his mental trauma for at least fourteen years if not more and who from that point on only gave a fuck about his family/his relationship with cersei which as seen above is kind of really toxic in the best of cases arrives to the point of shoving a kid out of a window to save his and her hide (ps: I’m not justifying it and even jaime knows it was shitty - the things I do for love, he said with loathing - but if we’re surprised that this is how he reacts… lol)

anyway, after that he ends up prisoner for one year, gets freed, runs into a bunch of bandits and OH WAIT THEY CUT OFF HIS RIGHT HAND WHICH IS INCIDENTALLY NECESSARY IF YOU’RE RIGHT-HANDED AND THE BEST SWORDSMAN IN THE REALM which turns into another fairly horrid trauma because hey, try losing that important a limb, having to ride it out and only having a total stranger who hated your guts until three days before helping you out and giving you a modicum of dignity during that time! because it’s totally fun to not being able to change your clothes and being given horse piss to drink, riding with your hand around your neck and so on, because that’s totally not traumatic at all, and then he goes on out of a) spite, b) brienne giving him her a+ pep talks, c) wanting to see cersei again

now, given all that, he… went back for brienne when he could have just left for KL and jumped into a bear pit for her after coming out of the above situation, having just healed, missing a hand and without even a weapon, which is totally something that someone without balls or a spine would do, wouldn’t they, same as someone without balls would have let people kick him in a healing stump to save brienne from being raped (because, addendum, he advised her to *go away inside* i.e. dissociate and she told him they could forget it)

and that’s just the first, but okay, so that sends him thinking, makes him realize he either has to be more than his sword hand or what’s the point, and the fact that he ran into a true knight TM made him realize that maybe some existed and that he kind of wanted to be like that still -

ah, yeah, and when he gets back to KL - in the book - cersei calls him a useless cripple and throws plates/cutlery at him never mind gets fairly handsy the moment he disagrees with her/doesn’t agree with her anymore, and then she tells him to get riverrun even if he doesn’t want to since he swore cat to never raise arms against the tullys

now, never mind that he managed to actually take riverrun without fighting and so on, but other than the above, since jaime lannister went through even more extensive trauma, in the books he: gave brienne oathkeeper and sent her off to save sansa therefore going against cersei’s wishes, saved tyrion when cersei wanted jaime to actually kill him, saves a serving girl no one gave a fuck about and with a reputation for being a **whore** from being raped for the umpteenth time and takes her in his service (I totally can see cersei doing that or even caring hmmm /sarcasm), tries to be as decent as he can manage, he’s one of the few povs who’s fairly open about hating what he does and about how dumb he thinks the war is being, realizes he doesn’t even want to go back to king’s landing because it’s not what he wanted, obviously gives more than a fuck about his honor and he’s fairly open about it, he incidentally defended brienne’s honor because he’s gallant like that, wanted to vomit when he was told the dude who cut off his hand ended up cannibalized (totally a dude who cares for revenge…) and when cersei asked him for help he burned the letter, which should somehow suggest he realized he’s really not her -

ah, I should probably mention that he’s also trying to relearn to fight with his left all over again instead of just giving up like a lot of people might have done -

ah, among all of this he went around advising tommen that he should go away inside aka dissociating to stand having to stand vigil next to his grandfather’s dead body when cersei’s advice was basically stop being a weakling and handle it (because an eight-year old totally would enjoy that), and cersei of course stopped his fathering there because of course what a travesty, but given that after he left cersei forced tommen to whip a servant we can absolutely see how much they’re the same person or how jaime has not, like, a personality of his own

now, jaime has also done a fair amount of reprehensible things in that time and I’m not wanting to say he’s a saint or something, because he’s not and he knows he’s done reprehensible things - he tells that to himself and everyone all the time.

also, I know that’s book canon and people in this case were discussing show canon, but point in case, while I think that the show made his development a serious disservice and didn’t lead up to him dumping cersei, they did more or less show that he’s not the same person as she is, and now we go to the crux of it. as in, but I’m honestly tired of hearing that he ‘grew balls’ on one side for leaving cersei now in the show same as I was fairly horrified when I went into his tag after the premiere and saw people going like ‘omg he lost his balls with his hand’ which is what cersei told him in the book I mean seriously, because -

this dude comes from a lifetime of emotional manipulation at best and abuse at worst, and anyway when cersei was twelve she considered him her property enough that she threw someone down a well because the poor girl dared ask maggy if she might marry him so I don’t really think it could have been healthy even in the best of cases, which was then topped by years of trauma that gave him ptsd symptoms at an age in which in my country he couldn’t drink, vote or drive a car and which caused him to kill people including his king and destroy most of his dreams and eventually topped by his father forcing him to hurt his brother who is the one relative with whom he has an actual healthy-ish relationship. and that’s not counting the huge-ass amount of trauma that came later with losing a limb that was pretty much his life/the most important for his line of work and so on, and even with all of this this guy managed to grow a fucking personality wholly different from his sister’s out of I don’t know what kind of emotional strength honestly without even realizing he wasn’t like her at all, he found it in himself to turn his life around as much as he could, he realized he didn’t want the same things as everyone else thinks he did and he’s trying to be a more decent person even if no one thinks he can be and everyone has pre-judged him already, and he’s done plenty more than decent things pre and post traumas of whichever kind.

and in the middle of all this I’d like to remind everyone again that he fathered three kids that he was never let near. I mean, if it had been a woman having three children and then being forced to never interact with them would it be chill? nah.

back to the show: so it took him a hell of a long time to leave KL. I also think it wasn’t very well paced. but for fuck’s sake, taking it at face value, this guy spent his entire life being either manipulated or subtly/not so subtly emotionally amused or going through heavy trauma, and people are surprised that it took him a hell of a long time to say fuck it and leave? (especially when cersei was also using the ‘I’m pregnant’ card but never mind, which is totally not an abusive/manipulating tactic at all - I mean, she told him the moment she suspected he was being fed up with her nonsense/craziness post-sept burning and incidentally gave him everything he wanted i.e. their relationship in the open and told him she’d have let him father the kid. aha. when she didn’t let him father the three before. totally not emotional manipulation. hmmm.) fuck’s sake, this guy has guts of steel for having even been himself i.e. someone his sister is not all along, for bad or good.

I’m not even going to go over people assuming that the moment he didn’t want to go along with cersei’s crap in the premiere/he had doubts after then he didn’t have balls anymore - so now realizing that cersei was being bonkers and having an opinion and some development he already had in spades in the book is not having balls? - but this idea that he’s only growing a spine now that he left her or that he never had it before losing the hand is just… it takes a hell of a long time to get over that kind of trauma/abuse/manipulation. he has fifteen years’ worth of untreated ptsd/trauma going on, he’s had maybe three healthy relationships just talking about the show (in the book there might be more but honest it’s not like addam marbrand or ilyn payne are significant in the way tyrion and brienne are, and in the book he’s obviously not in a good place with tyrion right now so..), where on top of that they made him watch his daughter die in front of him for who knows what ill-informed artistic decision, just after she recognized him as her father, which absolutely wouldn’t add to the trauma, wouldn’t it?

and even with all of that he… is around, functioning, doing his thing, taking his decisions, trying to be a better person as uneven as it’s being (which is normal), wanting to be a better person and wanting to follow his old dreams and like, having a personality, again. and he’s always managed to be his own person all along.

if that is not having a spine or having balls or having enormous emotional strength whether he realizes it or not I don’t know what it’s called, but… like, he hasn’t grown any balls or anything, nor lost them. he’s always had them. and even if it’s not plainly obvious because for some reason if it’s guys being abuse victims most of the signs aren’t plain or aren’t seen as such, but it doesn’t make that any less true and it’d be really nice if more people noticed that this guy has mental health issues which did and do affect his behavior and his choices instead of assuming he’s an asshole/exactly like his sister and then got his eyes opened when he lost his hand.

like. one would think that we wouldn’t call getting out of abusive/toxic relationships *growing some balls*, but what do I know. I have a feeling no one would say the equivalent if jaime had been a woman and cersei had been a man (I mean, when any woman does away with their abusers in this show no one says that they finally grew some balls…) but even with that, can we just acknowledge that this guy never actually was some kind of doormat that everyone stepped on and at some point just decided to wake up and grow a personality out of nowhere into his adulthood? thank you very much.

/out

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ganymedesclock · 7 years

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I mean, I kind of get why? Chunks of the fandom have this very strong perception of the galra as Hostile And Dangerous and they project that onto that side of Keith’s heritage. You see it in a lot of really body-horrific “transformation” concepts of like. Keith being slowly physically converted, often under torture, or the process itself is torture- or the idea of “instincts” that are invasive and mind-hijacking. That Keith’s own heritage is an invasion from within or a malicious, harmful influence he has to fight off. (That’s not behind all of it, but it’s a sometimes-unintended impression it gives: that Keith’s heritage is here to hurt him.)

Which in the actual context of the show, just looks ridiculous, because, yes, the galra are very big cat-esque but big cats are not murder machines. Even if they are apex predators, you would not expect a room full of human accountants to behave like a baboon troop as soon as the right stimulus is presented so I’m not sure why we’re expecting a people who have, if anything, had way more history than ours separating them from their early ancestors, to be that way. Big cats are predators? Dude, have you ever looked at a gorilla? Our end of the family tree is not exactly packed with ruminants.

It willfully ignores how Varkon and Sal show us there are ordinary civilians doing a nine to five job and they are no more threatening to the paladins than any of the other civilians they’re dealing with, unless you’re insinuating Hunk would sit down Emperor Zarkon and teach him the joys of cooking.

It willfully ignores the Blade who are at worst cagey and closed-off as befitting an espionage organization whose survival strategy is “if your enemies know you exist that is an immediate problem” and Kolivan who, bluster aside, basically adopted the team as soon as he had a reason to suspect that was his business.

It even ignores that the rank-and-file foot soldiers are literally also just people doing their job. If Zarkon’s high command is stocked with bullies, it’s because we watch him putting them there, setting them up. It’s because he’s artificially built an environment where being nasty and eager to subjugate gets you pushed up the ranks and being thoughtful, conservative, or empathetic gets you dragged off by robots.

We have multiple onscreen shots of Zarkon trying to cultivate the galra into generic space orcs and endless, endless piles of evidence that despite lavishly rewarding the jerks and punishing the kind, the latter party is still there after ten thousand years of Zarkon’s rule.

There is nothing inherently ominous or malicious about the galra. There is absolutely nothing barring that Keith, legitimately, as the show has overwhelmingly pointed us towards, had a loving mother who was worried about him and left her blade with him so he could find his way home- back to the Blade, back to her people. The same people who, as soon as that weapon awakens, immediately start trying to look after Keith and take care of him.

A lot of times in the fandom there is this image of the galra as inherently vicious, which... is ridiculous to me because that’s the exact garbage Zarkon’s insisting on (the guy we’re not supposed to agree with?) and we also see him blatantly enforcing it, which, if this is the inherent nature of the galra, he shouldn’t have to. If this is the inherent nature of the galra, Varkon and Sal shouldn’t exist. The Blade shouldn’t exist. Kolivan shouldn’t be accusing Zarkon of being an awful corrupting influence.

This image of the galra as basically Space Orcs contrasts the fact that as little as we have of Mom Kogane suggests that she really did love her baby. That if anything, in practice, the galra tend toward getting massively emotionally attached. That even the unpleasant high-ranking bully characters we encounter do things like cultivate companion animals (The warden and Laika), have genuine romantic relationships (heavily implied between Zarkon and Haggar, considering Lotor), or are deeply, personally moved by actually being able to bring happiness to people (Sal would not consider Hunk a genius if people enjoying their food didn’t leave an impression on him)

Canon supports the idea that Mom Kogane was a real person, and totally capable of falling in love, and having a child, and wanting the best for that child that she could provide given her situation. It’s only that odd thread of fanon of the remorseless, heartless galra- unsupported by even the antagonistic galra in the empire- that can’t get behind that.

The galra are not “the evil” and Keith’s story is not about relying on his morally upright human lineage to fight off The Evil.

I mean, Keith says so himself: “I didn’t turn galra.” This is a presence that’s been here from day one. Keith did not have any more trouble signing up to try and save the universe than anyone else. The knife was with him in the very first episode. He’s always had purple eyes- unusual for a human, and a color associated with the galra. In fact, comparing Keith to most of the Blade, they fight the same way- high-speed forward rush with a bladed weapon. Keith’s bayard takes the form of a katar, which is sometimes used specifically as an off-handed weapon for a swordsman who fights with a ‘proper’ more conventional sword in his other hand. As in: his bayard took its shape, from the start, to accompany the marmora blade.

The trial literally framed that Keith had to say no to both the image of his father and the image of Shiro. That giving up either his heritage or his role as a paladin was the wrong answer.

If anything, I think that the show is building towards the fact that Keith, much like Pidge, needs to find his family, beyond just the paladins. Because as close as they are, and as much as they mean to each other... more or less all the other paladins have things waiting for them back home.

What Keith had on Earth was pretty much nothing. He’d been expelled from the Garrison and it’s unclear if he’d really want to go back. He doesn’t really talk about it as something that meant that much to him, and when everyone else discusses their plans, he offers a lackluster “I guess I could look for [my family],”. The guy had a shack in the middle of nowhere and yeah, the peace and quiet was nice but that’s an awfully bleak thing to make your entire life out of.

Earth and humanity are not a valiant strong shackle holding Keith back from inherent evil. This isn’t a werewolf movie where Keith is at war with some “inner beast”.

The Red Lion’s thing is instinct. If anything, that suggests that Keith trying to hold back, resist, and distrust himself is bad for him- it’s running upstream against his established virtue which requires letting go and trusting- trusting that if he drives his hoverbike off a cliff he will be able to catch himself before he hits the bottom. Identifying what he needs to do and doing it- hitting fast and with conviction.

Physiologically these are things that it looks, a lot, like the galra as a species, and the Blade’s fighting style as a philosophy, specialize in. These things align directly with Keith’s fighting style, aptitudes, and virtues as a paladin.

It’s a big neon sign that actually, exploring his heritage further is the right thing to do. This is the good thing that’s going to help Keith. Are there going to be growing pains involved? Absolutely. But so far, the nastiest shakeup- Keith isolating himself from the team and being rejected by Allura- is tying to an issue Keith brought to the table, not in his blood, but in his mind.

It ties back to how hard it’s been for Keith to find ‘his place’. To feel connected and belonging. It ties back to isolation and the fear of rejection and being a bad person. Which has very little to do with being a galra, except- once again, looking at most of the other galra in the cast, who tend to get really attached to things and people? Keith’s heritage is lining up with the rest of his character.

The sorta TL;DR here is- there’s a basically baseless-in-canon lens on the galra as inherently Dangerous, Malicious, and Predatory. This gets projected onto Keith, and it gets projected onto Mom Kogane, as the source of his galra heritage.

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Keith #Mom Kogane #galra #readmore #galra ain't b-movie werewolves my dudes

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1stunseeliefaelass · 5 years

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Darksiders: Arthurian Tales

Chapter 1 Part 2

The two horsemen got dressed in the finest clothing they felt was needed. Death was ultimately embarrassed, and glad to have his mask on right now. He was wearing a royal purple highwayman's outfit. With bone white furs for the trim, designs on the fabric, and the feathers of his hat. A massive thing to hide his face in shadow better. He figured he could probably keep the mask this way, but Strife felt otherwise.

"Dude, the mask has got to go. It's too recognizable these days. Nobody knows your face anymore anyway. Aside from me and the others."

"Exactly, and I'd rather it stayed that way. No one needs to see my face. Or yours for that matter." Death says.

"Well I look way less conspicuous than you do. You went and picked an outfit worn by thieves. I'm going in something simpler, but still pretty fancy." Strife says donning his Steampunk-ish attire.

"You look ridiculous if anything." Death says simply.

"Like you don't Mr. Big Top? Seriously though take the mask off."

"Hell will freeze over and the heavens will be set ablaze before I take this mask off." Death says in a serious tone.

Strife finally drops it, muttering under his breath how it would be 'his funeral'. Death paid him no heed, and simply walked outside. The ash filled winds of his dead homeworld were not so strong today, in fact is was a simple breeze for once. Death then had Despair come up to him, and stroked his snout gently. Dust landed on his shoulder as Strife came outside as well, his own horse Mayhem trotted to his side instantly. With little words left for each other, the two brothers hurried off to travel across realms and into the Fae Realm.

The Fae Realm itself was a curious place really. Technically it was a mirror realm to Earth, where mankind was residing. Or rather Earth was the mirror realm to the Fae Realm. It was a massive debate between the many races of Creation. Mirror realms are essentially realms attached to the same place as another realm, but on a separate plane of existence. Due to the plane these realms reside in, they can often be far more advanced than any other races throughout Creation. The Fae Realm for instance, was known for housing some of the most powerful mages in history. As well as many of the strangest races, with much diversity and life. It was a place Death enjoyed studying quite a bit. Course his musings were interrupted by Strife yelling at him to hurry up. Death then urged Despair on after his younger brother. Within time, the horses stopped just at the edge of the realm. It was a visible blotch of colors mixed in a daze-inducing swirling.

"What's the hold up?" Strife asked Mayhem who snorted once in reply.

"Ah that's right. The Fae Realm is protected by a veil of sorts. Ancient powerful magic, and in all my studying I've not found any names to such a deed." Death says geeking out a bit.

"Yeah yeah that's great man, but how do we get in?" Strife says amused, but annoyed.

"Leave it to me, and be patient." Death says before using his own magic, a pair of large ghostly hands, to force the veil to open for them.

Death goes through first after kicking Despair lightly to move him forward. He then shouts to Strife,

"Now you hurry up! I can't hold it open for long!"

Strife hurries inside and Death releases his grip against the veil. He doesn't need more than a second or two to catch his breath before the two keep going. On the way there, the two hear a commotion. After a bit more time on the roads, they see a fancy carriage being attacked by a group of bandits.

"Hey there's an opportunity for us right there? These folks have gotta be nobles on the way to the party." Strife says eagerly.

"And?" Death asks him not convinced.

"I'm sayin' we can help these folks here and ask for a 'formal invite' to the party? That way we won't get thrown out for simply sneaking in." Strife says.

"That's if we get caught. Which shouldn't be easy for anyone to do, despite your big mouth." Death says in his ever present sarcasm.

"Hey I'm not that loud. Look let's just try at least ok? If we can't get an invite, then maybe some gilt for bribery will work." Strife says a bit deflated.

"Alright alright, but we'd better hurry up then. They've already tipped the carriage over." Death says pointing towards the now crashed carriage.

Death and Strife spur their horses on, with Death casting a fast glamour spell on Despair and Mayhem to make sure the thieves only see 'normal horses'. Strife took the first kill with a swift shot to one thief's head, while Death sent one of Harvester's blades after a second thief. It spins as it's scythe self for a time before suddenly becoming a naginata-like blade that slices the man in half. The last bandit, this one larger, gives off a loud battle cry before charging. Death goes to summon his thrown scythe back to him, but a thin blade suddenly runs the big man through. He collapses to his knees as the blade is pulled out with some effort. Strife then rides over and quickly shoots the man in the head. Strife is the first to see the swordsman jump at the sound of his gun. Or rather, swordswoman. Death then approaches in curiosity, and hears a female voice whimpering from inside the carriage. He sighs before going to the door and knocking on it gently,

"Is everyone alright?"

"H-huh? Uh y-y-yes....why?" The female voice asked in a Scottish accent.

"Just being sure. The bandits are dead so you can come out now." Death says simply before backing up as the door opens.

A short maid with red hair and freckles comes out from the carriage. Bruised in spots but otherwise fine. She then rushes over the other woman,

"Oh mistress are ye alright?!"

"Yes Mina I am fine. These two came to our aid as I was stepping out it seems." The woman says simply with a slight accent of her own.

Death also notes her eyes of amethyst purple, and how they've changed from the bright red color they were moments ago. Her slightly pointed ears only confirmed she was Fae to Death. Strife however was paying more attention to other key areas. The woman's wavy white hair, her slender and very blessed figure. Strife however was quick to stop staring when her gaze suddenly snapped to him,

"Is there a reason for the staring?" The woman asks him like a Mother scolding her child, her eyes flashing back to red briefly in her anger.

"Forgive my brother ladies, he's always been shall we say....dense." Death says.

"Honestly I'd say that he's more than just dense." The woman says annoyed but a bit calmer.

"Well I am his older brother so I kinda have to be nice to him in front of strangers." Death says in more sarcasm.

"Yeah fuck you too bro." Strife says a bit grumpy now at being called dense when her knew Death would say something far more harsh in different circumstances.

"Well I trust you two are unharmed then?" Death asks simply.

"Yes we are fine thank you. Though I'm assuming you want a reward of some kind?" She inquired, eyeing Death and Strife with equal curiosity and caution.

"Ya know, we heard about the party the King was having tonight. You fine ladies wouldn't happen to be going there would you?" Strife asked trying to be suave.

"Well you're in luck, as I am.....'family'....to the host. So I have no choice but to participate anyway. But our carriage won't be going anywhere anytime soon. So tell you what, if you want into the ball King Uther is hosting, then perhaps you might offer us a ride to the palace? We'll be sure to put in our best word, won't we Mina?" The woman says with a slyness to her tone.

Death made a mental note to pay close attention to this woman. Course he did find how she said the word, family, to be odd at best. It sounded as though she'd rather bite her tongue off than say such a word. A curious detail, but a puzzle for another time. Death offered his hand to the woman, who after putting sword away in it's sheath, took it. Her maid Mina rode with Strife, and Death could feel the jealousy in the air. Smirking a bit behind his mask, but he knew better than to act on any thoughts that passed his mind in regards to women. He could almost see Fury's scrutinizing gaze watching him now.

His quarry however, was no fool. She could see through the glamour spell's illusion. Despair and Mayhem's true appearances. However, she felt no fear of the beasts. Even patting Despair gently on his rump, only for him to whinny in annoyance.

"He's not fond of being touched there. He prefers his head or neck instead."

She took the words to heart, placing her hands around the Horsemen's waist. She felt him jolt very subtly before settling without a word. Clearly he wasn't fond of being touched much either. Eventually after some direction giving, the group arrived within the city the palace resided in. Death and Strife both felt the scrutiny in the air, but both paid no heed to anyone that stared their way. The palace itself was big and glorious, like many that came before it.

"Think he may be compensating for something eh?" Strife asks to lighten the mood up.

Death nearly told him to shut up, but heard the lady behind him giggle to herself. So he tolerated it for the time being. As they stopped their horses, attendants quickly hurried over. Gathering around the white haired woman as she slid from Despair's saddle.

"Milady are you hurt?"

"Oh what did these ruffians do to you?"

"You're safe right?"

Death groaned under his breath at the questions being asked as if he weren't there. Strife was even more offended than his elder brother, but did his best to hold his tongue. Mina meanwhile ushered the others back as the her mistress spoke up,

"I'm fine, these men did nothing but aid me. They are no threat I assure you. In fact I want to see my Stepfather. To ensure a proper reward is given to them."

The crowd dispersed at last before Death and Strife dismounted. Despair and Mayhem refused to be moved by the attendants in the meantime. The two brothers followed the white haired woman throughout the palace, seeing it's halls as they were being prepared for the night to come. Suddenly a proud, booming voice surprised the group.

"Ah there you are my dear! Run into some trouble again Morgana?"

The man was dressed in some of the most luxurious clothing the two Horsemen had seen in a long, long time. Upon his head, lay a massive fancy crown fit for his status.

"My King Uther, Mina and I were beset by common bandits. These two men here stepped in and aided us. They went above and beyond, even bringing us back as you can see. The carriage could not be salvaged, at least not in time for the ball tonight." The woman says with a smile.

"Did they now? Well you have my utmost gratitude. Tell me how can I repay you gentlemen?" The King asks them with a sort of mocking bow.

"King Uther, we've heard word of your ball to come. It sounded like things would be quite lively. So, my brother and I would like to know if perhaps we might attend as your guests for rescuing your loved one." Death says in a gracious tone, bowing in a similar fashion to Uther.

Uther then stood and began to pace thoughtfully. After a few minutes he spoke again,

"Very well, I shall accept this request. As odd as it may be. You two may attend and enjoy the ball. I must ask only one thing of you gentlemen, if either of you cause a problem, I will not hesitate to punish you."

"Sounds reasonable enough, we 'humbly' thank you for granting the request my liege." Death says in that same tone.

Meanwhile the woman was summoned away to her chambers. Within the room, waited a gold dress with a slim skirt. It was sleeveless and had a cut that revealed a bit too much cleavage for her liking.

"This is what I am to wear tonight?" she asks the maids around her.

"Uther insisted upon it, but he did get a shawl for the dress at least." One maid says showing the white fur shawl off.

"Don't worry Lady Morgen, you'll look truly stunning once we're done. Now please sit so that we can work with your hair." Another girl says.

Morgen finally took her seat, sighing heavily as she could only hope the night wouldn't be a total loss like these balls often were.

Death and Strife meanwhile were sent to a guestroom to wait for the ball to start. Strife was pacing back and forth in boredom as Death read through a small book. Not the most stimulating read, but it was still better than watching his brother be bored.

#Darksiders #Darksiders Fandom #Darksiders Fanfic #Darksiders Arthurian Tales #Death #Strife

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