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jungkookschin · 2 months

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demigod trials: achilles’ heel | four

synopsis: you’re a roman, he’s a greek. his father is poseidon, your mom is minerva.

taehyung rules the waters, is friends with sea nymphs, hippocampi, and mermaids- but you? you're deathly afraid of water; consider it your achilles' heel.

he’s annoying, disrespectful, and rude but you need his help especially when the oracle sends you on a quest to the sea

word count: 9.5k

pairings: son of poseidon!taehyung x daugher of minerva!reader

genre: ENEMIES TO LOVERSS, slowburn, bantering, SMUT (non explicit bc idk)

warnings: death, sacrifices, swordfighting, smut (non explicit), broken friendships, obvious use of ai to rewrite entences LOL

author's note: i dont think this could be read as a stand alone. maybe it could, but u would probably need to read the other chapters for context. also yes this is a whole new OC, and this one is kinda spicy. not crazy explicit, but it's spicy. the more i elaborate on it the spicier itll get idk. thank

demigod trials masterlist

When you were five years old, your mother, the Roman goddess Minerva, bestowed you with a dream you are still unable to interpret.

In the dream, you were on the Santa Monica beach, frantically chasing after an owl, your little feet clumsily trekking across the sand.

The blue sky stretches endlessly, a serene canvas painted with the vibrant hues of tranquility.

Silhouetted against the brilliant blue sky, the owl gracefully soars, its wings outstretched, as the sun casts a warm glow through its feathers.

As the owl glides above the ocean, you ineptly run into the ocean, unaware of your impending plunge into the waves, frustration permeating your system as the majestic bird leads you farther into the water.

Panic grips you as the weight of realization sinks in—unable to catch the elusive owl, you find yourself engulfed by the ocean's depths, struggling against the water.

Desperation takes hold as you thrash against the water, limbs flailing in a frantic attempt to resurface.

Overwhelmed by the relentless embrace of the ocean, you succumb to its depths, your desperate gasps for air silenced by the water's cold grip.

From the unseen shadows, a boy with blue hair dives into the water, pulling you from the drowning abyss.

The boy with blue hair swims elegantly to the shore, his little arms exerting strength to conquer the ocean’s unforgiving waves before he lays you on the shore and dives back into the sea.

Minerva, the Roman goddess and counterpart of Athena, embodies the essence of wisdom, strategic prowess, and artistic patronage, symbolized by the owl and the tools of war and craftsmanship.

Minerva, as a virgin goddess, signifies a commitment to celibacy and purity; she didn't undergo a conventional pregnancy.

Instead, she formed a connection with a man, your father, valuing his intellect, and she bestowed you as a unique gift, birthing you from her mind.

Yup, you were literally birthed from her mind and your little fetus self physically emerged from her forehead.

You don’t know what it looks like- to birth someone from a forehead- and quite frankly you don’t want to visualize that image.

Embracing your heritage as a daughter of Minerva, the Roman counterpart to Athena, you took on the position of Tribunus Laticlavius.

In your role as Tribunus Laticlavius of the Roman Legion, you hold the position of second-in-command to the Praetors, Mina and Mingyu.

You embodied the wisdom and strategic prowess associated with your mother, guiding the legion with a keen intellect and maintaining discipline among the ranks.

You, Mina, and Mingyu share a strong bond that originated from your upbringing in New Rome.

New Rome is a hidden city founded by demigods (children of gods and mortals) who sought a safe haven from monsters and the challenges faced by demigods in the mortal world.

Modeled after ancient Rome, it serves as a sanctuary for those with divine heritage.

Playing hopscotch besides the Panthenon, indulging in the Roman-esque public baths, and leaving sacrifices in your parents’ respective temples, your connections have endured over time and have played a significant role in shaping your leadership roles within the Roman Legion.

It’s all thanks to your mother. The intellect and wisdom inherited from your mother is what has garnered you success- but right now, you’re not sure what to do because these days, you’re starting to question Mina’s sanity.

You can tell by the way she angrily paces around the room, and you can’t do anything but exchange concerned glances with Mingyu.

Mina, the daughter of Venus, and one of your best friends has often struggled with how she is perceived as Praetor of the Roman Legion.

Praetors, as the highest-ranking members of the Legion, command fearlessly and are to be taken seriously.

Being the first female Praetor, Mina has had a tough time getting soldiers- especially men- to take her seriously. Her authority is often challenged- and people often question if she is strong-minded enough to assume the role.

Furthermore, Mina is also the first child of Venus, the Roman counterpart of Aphrodite, to assume the role of Praetor.

Love, beauty, sex?

Everything associated with Venus directly contradicts the traits of a Praetor. And some assholes within the legion even coined the nickname the Gilded Dove- directly insinuating she is as weak as a dove and as superficial as gilding.

“Mina, there could have been another way,” Mingyu urges, leaning against the wall of Mina’s office in the Praetorium.

The Praetorium is the official residence or headquarters of a Praetor, including living quarters and spaces for administrative and official duties.

You nod your head in concurrence with Mingyu. “When the son of Ares and the daughter of Hephaestus return tonight, we can reconvene and plan for something else. We need to collaborate with the Greeks to defeat Tartarus,” you urge, desperation clouding your eyes as you stare into the soul of your best friend.

Mina shakes her head, landing in her office chair, elbows planted to the desk as she shoves her face into her palms. “Are you not making these suggestions because they’re our friends?” she asks between gritted teeth.

“Think about the people in danger,” she continues, “If Tartarus ascends through Camp Jupiter, we’ll all die. Kids will die. Elderly will die. Innocent people will be dead. The very foundations of our camp will be over- done.”

Mingyu sighs, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter that they’re our friends. It matters because they’re people,” he steps forward. “Think about the message it sends: the Praetors willingly sacrificing innocent people to an evil god means that the Romans are tyrants-”

Mina slams her first on the table. “I don’t care what people think of us. I care that people are safe! The sacrifice of two is worth the lives of millions!”

Now, you’re sure you and Mina can really get into the moral and philosophical implications of sacrificing two innocent demigods in exchange for the safety of New Rome, but you keep silent.

In the silence that follows, Mingyu groans and flicks his head against the wall, creating a thud.

Mina inhales, “Proceeding the sacrificial ceremony, we will reconvene with the high ranking officers to devise a plan to defeat Tartarus. Hopefully the sacrifice will appease him for the time being. We don’t need Camp Half-Blood’s assistance.”

“Mina,” you reason, voice becoming soft to placate the tense atmosphere, “We need the Greeks to defeat him. The Greeks will refuse to collaborate with us if we even attempt to sacrifice their best demigods.”

Mina rubs her temples, features morphing into frustration. “As long as my people, the Romans, are safe, that is fine.”

She swivels her office chair around, gazing at the landscape of New Rome. You know Mina. You’re sure she’s becoming emotional gazing at the architectural intricacies of New Rome: the temples, the public baths, the Colloseum, the Senate House- all of it embodies Rome.

All of it embodies home.

Neither you nor Mingyu say a word.

“You are now dismissed,” Mina simmers, pure exhaustion imbued in her words.

You exhale, acquiescing as you and Mingyu exit the office.

If Mingyu were still the highest ranking Praetor, this entire situation could have been avoided.

A year ago, he royally fucked up when he used the chariot (reserved solely for wars) for pizza deliveries, paving the way for Mina to take his place.

The thought is so idiotic that you have to stop yourself from strangling him.

It's becoming clearer to you why some criticize Mina. Perhaps she isn’t strong minded enough to the Praetor, especially considering her inclination towards the most drastic decision.

But as frustrated with her as you are, you know you can’t disobey the highest ranking Praetor. You have no right to challenge her.

You and Mingyu stride across the hallways until he enters his office.

You almost flinch when Mingyu slams his head against the wall. “Gods, everything is going to shit!” he seethes, leaning his forearms against the wall.

You bite your lip. “It’ll be okay.”

Your voice is calm, and all you can do is offer him a sweet, comforting smile. “Mina does have one point,” you reason, “We need to keep everybody here safe. If anyone leaves the camp, the monsters will most likely get to them.”

And it’s true. Romans reside in Camp Jupiter for a reason- for its magical borders shielding demigods and descendants of demigods from monsters.

You step forward, placing a reassuring hand on Mingyu's shoulder.

Mingyu turns his head to look at you, and his eyes soften. “You’re right Y/N,” He sighs, flopping onto the plush loveseat in his office. He puts a hand on his chin, gathering his thoughts before he expresses what’s on his mind.

“It’s just- the son of Ares and the daughter of Hephaestus- they’re my best friends. I mean- you remember Jungkook, right?” He asks, eyebrows creasing as he nervously plucks at the threads of the loveseat.

Of course you remember Jungkook. Having spent an entire year at Camp Jupiter as Assistant Commander to the Roman Legion, he left an impression with his cold, hardworking, and rigidly serious demeanor—so much so that one might mistake him for a Roman instead of a soft Graecus.

Once, a harpy attacked the camp grounds, and Jungkook swiftly eliminated the threat with a single, decisive slice.

You did not want to make an enemy out of him.

But here you are, willingly sacrificing him to Tartarus.

The daughter of Hephaestus wasn’t someone you were familiar with. All you knew about her was that she fell into Tartarus with Jungkook, and that she died before coming back to life with the Physician’s Cure.

“The daughter of Hephaestus and the son of Ares,” you begin… trailing off slightly, “Mingyu, I think they’ll survive. They’ve been in Tartarus once; they can certainly do it again.”

Mingyu’s eyes turn serious as he nods. “I hope so. They’re tough. Jungkook is…” Mingyu pauses to collect his thoughts, “Jungkook is probably the strongest demigod alive right now.”

At that, you scoff amusedly. “So you’re willingly admitting he’s stronger than you?”

A smile graces his lips and he shrugs. “Just don’t tell anyone I said that.”

You laugh, plopping down on the loveseat and leaning your head against his shoulder. “I’m just happy you’re still the same you. I’m worried about Mina,” you express to which Mingyu nods and throws an arm around you.

“I know,” he agrees, “But it’s our job to follow her and protect her. If she isn’t going to budge on this then we must ensure everything else proceeds smoothly.”

You meet his eyes, trying to read between the lines. You narrow your eyes before you verbally express what you think he may be thinking.

“There’s nothing stopping us from helping them survive Tartarus… right? Maybe we can gift them resources.”

A smile grows on his lips and Mingyu snaps his fingers. “Bingo. Let’s head to the Limenarium.”

The Limenarium is the designated underground storage for all the top secret weapons and supplies of Camp Jupiter.

Access to the Limenarium is restricted to high-ranking officers, and the only way to get there is by taking a secret elevator beneath the ground, whirling through an underground tunnel.

After thirty minutes of travel, you arrive at the entrance of the Limenarium, coming across a very exhausted Yoongi.

Yoongi, the son of Pluto, the Roman counterpart of Hades, yawns while holding a golden staff. He stands guard in front of the Limenarium.

There’s really nothing to stand guard for because the Limenarium is hidden for the public, but it’s within protocol to assign a guard in front of the warehouse at all times.

He nods in acknowledgement when he sees you two approach. “Sup, guys. Where’s Mina?”

You and Mingyu are great at concealing any signs of trouble.

Even if you find her decisions perplexing, maintaining a façade of unwavering respect and honor for Mina in public is essential for the sake of the Roman Legion.

Mingyu shrugs, “She’s in a meeting with the Centurion- sent us down here to test some prototypes out.”

Yoongi shrugs. He doesn’t have a reason to question the Praetor so he doesn’t, pressing in a code to grant you and Mingyu entrance.

On one side, weapons are systematically arranged, ranging from traditional Roman weaponry like gladii and pila to more advanced armaments. Each item is cataloged and labeled for easy retrieval.

Adjacent to the weapons, designated zones contain carefully stacked supplies—armor, shields, medical provisions, and other essentials.

At the heart of the Limenarium is a central command area, featuring a console with intricate displays monitoring the inventory. High-ranking officers like you and Mingyu can access detailed information about the stored assets from this central hub.

You and Mingyu survey the interior of the command area until Mingyu finally pulls out what he’s looking for.

“Here it is,” Mingyu announces, pulling out the emblem of the golden eagle.

The emblem of the golden eagle represents the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, a powerful Roman demigod military unit in New Rome. This legion is closely associated with Jupiter, the Roman counterpart of Zeus, and Mingyu’s father.

The golden eagle serves as a symbol of divine protection and the legion’s connection to the gods.

The emblem embodies the strength, authority, and divine favor that the legion believes it possesses.

If wielded properly, tendrils of lightning will surge from the eagle’s beak and electrocute the wielder’s enemies to death in a single instance.

“You’re giving it to Jungkook?” you question, to which Mingyu nods.

“Anything to salvage our relationship,” he shrugs.

You stand in front of the podium, fully armored and steadily observing the Greeks who walk into the Senate House. They stroll along the golden carpet, flanked by Roman Legion soldiers securing its every edge.

You quickly notice Rose, a childhood friend, and lately, it seems she identifies more with the Greeks at Camp Half-Blood than with the Romans, often spending more time there than with you.

You see Taehyung son of Poseidon, Namjoon son of Athena, and the sacrifices for Tartarus: Jungkook son of Ares and (OC) daughter of Hephaestus.

The tension becomes palpable, the air charged with electricity, as you instinctively glance around to see if Mingyu is subtly demonstrating his son of Jupiter abilities.

The Greeks are a direct juxtaposition to the Romans. The Legion is equipped with full body armor while the Greeks are comfortably dressed in Camp Half-Blood T-Shirts.

Your eyes narrow in on Taehyung, a son of Poseidon who is adorned in an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, sweatshorts, and sandals.

Had you not been sacrificing his friends you would have reprimanded him wearing such sleazy attire.

The Greeks leisurely traverse the expanse of the golden carpet, their steps echoing in the grand hall, until they finally arrive at the imposing podium.

Positioned steadfastly by the podium, you assume your post, with the Praetors standing in a composed formation behind you, forming a united front to address the impending proceedings.

Taehyung approaches, shielding his friends, and his face becomes dangerously close to yours. His face exudes cockiness, a smug smirk gracing his lips as he tilts his head, rummaging in his pockets for a pen.

He holds it up, almost taunting you as he arrogantly bites his lips.

Riptide or Anaklusmos- the name of his sword.

You are fully cognizant of the pen's true nature. By pressing its base, the pen undergoes a transformation, morphing into a Celestial Bronze sword.

You narrow your eyes at him. “Put the weapon away.”

Taehyung amusedly scoffs. “So you guys are allowed to be dressed up in full body armor, but we can’t pull up with weapons for self defense?” he mocks, “And you guys are the ones sacrificing our people too. The Romans are heartless,” he muses, placing a faux hand over his heart.

You sigh.

“Troops! Fall back!” you yell, acquiescing to Taehyung’s very valid point.

He tilts his head provocatively, pressing on the end of the pen to unveil his blade. “You know what they say, when in Rome…” His eyes glaze over his blade, admiring its beauty before he redirects his gaze towards your face.

It looks bad- a Greek unsheathing his sword directly in front of the Tribunus Laticlavius was a clear sign of a threat. The soldiers around you assume offensive stances and you put your hand up, ordering them to fall back.

“Taehyung- we don’t want to do this. If you don’t put the weapon away, we’re going to have to kick you out,” you reason, pulling off your helmet. Perhaps showing him your face would allow him to sense your humanity- your sincerity.

You know that Taehyung has every right to be upset, and you’re trying to show him the right amount of respect without offending the Roman Legion.

Your hair falls back against your armor, and you attempt to offer him a tight-lipped smile to build some sort of camaraderie during this extremely difficult situation.

Taehyung narrows his eyes at you before tapping on the sword to turn it back into a pen. He turns back to his friends. “Nothing to worry about here! It’s just a kid of Minerva!” he announces- loudly, before returning to his friends.

Your eye twitches, but you refuse to fall in your composure.

Typical of a son of Poseidon, you sneer in your mind.

Your mother’s Greek counterpart Athena and Poseidon were known to have hated each other for centuries. Athena and Poseidon's rivalry stems from a competition over patronage of the city of Athens, with Athena's practical and beneficial gift of the olive tree winning over Poseidon's more destructive and less useful gift of a salty spring.

Poseidon was a sore loser. He was salty that his niece beat him in a competition over the patronage of Athens and has held a grudge since. Since then, family reunions have been painfully awkward- with passive aggressive comments and strained silences filling the air.

Men. They’re the worst. Talk about a sleazy uncle! Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree! Nonetheless, you digress.

Taehyung walks up the stairs of the Senate House to directly address the Praetors Mina and Mingyu.

“We’re giving you guys one last chance to reconsider- and look- we’ll sacrifice (OC) and Jungkook to prevent war with Camp Jupiter but afterwards we request that you leave us alone. Camp Half-Blood wants nothing to do with Camp Jupiter.”

You remain rigid, staring at the wall in front of you instead of directly looking at Taehyung.

Mingyu sighs, “Dude, don’t do this. You know we’re just trying to protect the camp,” he reasons.

Taehyung creases his brows, “You’re killing innocent people. Jungkook and (OC) did nothing wrong, and you know that,” he seethes. “I mean- what happened to us? I thought we were friends? Mina’s not gonna fuck you if you follow her every order like a dog.”

Scandalous gasps echo throughout the room before a looming silence lulls over the Senate House. The silence is so oppressive that you could hear a pin drop.

You wince, anticipating Mina’s response before Mingyu cuts her off.

“Alright, fair,” Mingyu relents, “You can talk your shit so long as you comply with the Legion’s orders.”

A smirk decorates Taehyung’s lips. “Oh I will talk my shit. The Romans are pathetic. You guys are scared shitless of Tartarus but us Greeks are gladly willing to plummet straight into his domain.”

Mina clears her throat, “And we applaud you for your courage. This sacrifice will not be undermined by the Roman Legion. We will do anything to keep our sacred city safe. If you wish to cut ties with Camp Jupiter, so be it.”

Her words are decisive and you can’t fathom Taehyung coming up with another snarky response - but he does.

His eyes become rigidly serious, and with a commanding gesture, he manipulates his palms. Silence falls over the onlookers as Taehyung effortlessly conures tendrils of water into the Senate House, the liquid dancing within Taehyung’s predetermined boundaries.

The water coils around Mingyu’s neck and torso, ensnaring him like ethereal ropes. You realize that the water is from the Little Tiber, a river miles away from the Senate HOuse.

You can’t even imagine the extent to which Taehyung can manipulate water.

“Let it be known,” Taehyung seethes, tightening his fists to further suffocate Mingyu within his tendrils of water, “that the Greeks are doing this out of their own free will,” he declares.

“You did not force us to do anything, and we are doing this for the sake of peace. Understand?”

Mingyu’s face turns an ungodly shade of red and Taehyung narrows his eyes at his former friend, tightening his fist even further.

Nobody is intervening, and you reckon that you ought to stop Taehyung from suffocating Mingyu so you momentarily consider stepping in- until Rose places a hand on his bicep.

He lets go of his fist, and the tendrils of water splash onto the ground of the Senate House.

Mingyu remains stoic, inhaling heavily. Despite near suffocation, he remains his composure, standing mightily like a Roman statue.

You shift uncomfortably, and Mina makes an announcement. “The Legion is dismissed! Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter will reconvene in the Praetorium in thirty minutes!”

With a swish of her cape, she marches away, with Mingyu following in her stead.

You remain in class, saluting the Praetors whilst you wait for the Senate House to clear out.

Once the Legion has cleared from the Senate House, you clear your throat and immediately shed yourself of your armor.

You approach the Greeks. “I need you guys to follow me,” you implore.

Camp Half-Blood (and Rose) slowly turn their heads towards you.

Taehyung blinks. “Why would we do that?”

You sigh, though you already anticipated pushback, and redirect your attention to Rose. “Look. Mingyu and I tried to talk Mina out of it but you know we can’t do anything against the highest ranking Praetor.”

Rose’s expression softens, “Gods Mina has lost her shit! You can’t just sacrifice innocent people to Tartarus!”

You nod in concurrence- politically savvy enough not to explicitly express any opinion.

“I get why you’re mad,” you continue, “the very least I can do is offer help,” you whisper, to which everybody’s expressions become enveloped in curiosity.

You clear your throat. “Mingyu wants to give you the Golden Eagle of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata,” you explain, to which Rose’s eyes widen.

“Seriously? That was gifted to the Legion by Jupiter himself,” she elicits.

You nod. “I know what Camp Jupiter is doing is awful- but at the very least I can tell you that I personally am not your enemy.”

You redirect your attention to Jungkook and (OC). “You guys survived Tartarus once, and you can do it again,” you encourage, “I’ll be doing everything above ground to eliminate the threat and ensure that you remain safe.”

Taehyung snaps his fingers in your face. “Hey, no addressing the sacrifices directly. You gotta talk to me. I’m the spokesperson here.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. “Okay,” you comply. “So do you want the eagle or not?”

Namjoon and Taehyung exchange glances.

“Yea, we’re in.”

You take Camp Half-Blood directly to the Limenarium- moving underground to stay out of sight to the other Roman citizens.

Skirting underground, Taehyung addresses you. “Don’t you think your military system is impractical?” he questions, probably with genuine intent but his tone is condescending, “If you can’t stop Mina from doing stupid shit then you might as well consider Rome a tyranny.”

“Yes,” you respond, somewhat irritated, “But Mina has the backing of the emperor. If the emperor is in on it, then there’s nothing we can do. They had to conspire to murder Caesar for a reason.”

Taehyung’s features envelop in distaste. “Don’t you feel belittled? You’re a high ranking officer but you have no freedom.”

You don’t give him a response.

A teasing smile graces his lips, “Did I hit a nerve, princess?”

You blink at him irritatedly.

You’d happily oblige to discuss the impracticalities of the Roman military system, but Taehyung is simply insufferable.

You decide that it’d be wise to keep quiet.

As you skirt through the underground tunnels of the Limenarium, you’re suddenly stopped by a ginormous basin of water. It’s so deep that when you peer over the ledge, you aren’t able to perceive the bottom.

All eyes flicker towards you.

“Since when did Camp Jupiter have an underground pool?” Rose asks.

You shrug. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.”

Namjoon shrugs. “Taehyung can carry us over on a wave or we can swim.”

At that, you tense, and you meet eyes with Rose. Rose, another one of your childhood friends, is ineptly aware of your biggest and only fear: water.

Taehyung nonchalantly shrugs, effortlessly lifting his shirt with a casual demeanor - after all, why would he be phased? As a son of Poseidon, water poses no threat. "Meh. I don't feel like exerting any energy right now."

A sudden confession escapes your lips, breaking the silence of the tunnels. "Wait- I can't swim."

The stillness that follows feels almost tangible, and you can't help but blush, baring your own vulnerability.

Taehyung blinks, his gaze fixed on you. "Wait, you're the head of the Roman Legion, but you can't swim?"

Namjoon elbows Taehyung, prompting him to clear his throat. "No, it's not a bad thing. I was a little taken aback," he explains. "I can carry you over if you're comfortable with that."

Your cheeks flush deeper as you rub your biceps nervously. "Y-yeah. If that's alright."

With a confident yet gentle motion, Taehyung lifts you effortlessly, and you instinctively wrap your legs around his waist. Your eyes meet his, and you awkwardly clear your throat before looking away.

He does the same, gaze uncomfortably flickering around the underground tunnel.

A subtle but undeniable tension lingers in the air. The closeness and the rhythmic beating of your heart mix with the soft echoes of the underground tunnels.

“Hold on tight, wise girl,” Taehyung instructs.

“I know-”

A sudden wave rushes forward, freezing in place as if offering Taehyung a seat on his throne.

He leisurely steps onto the wave and allows it to gently carry you towards the other side. He doesn’t appear to be smug as he usually is- walking on water is a normal thing for this son of Poseidon.

As the wave approaches the other side of the basin, a rumble echoes through the tavern.

“What the-”

The wave crashes, and with a splash, you and Taehyung tumble into the water below. The serene water basin transforms into tumultuous currents, hurling you against its surface as you cry for air.

Panicked, you thrash about in the water, desperately trying to stay afloat.

You hate water. If you were Greek, you'd have no doubt that water would be your Achilles' heel. Arguably, you were good at everything else- having a keen sense of strategy, arguably great sword fighting skills- but water is just something you could never conquer.

Physically, your lungs burn as they strain for oxygen. Your limbs are heavy and sluggish as you struggle against the water’s resistance and every movement becomes a battle against the suffocating pressure.

“Taehyung!” you scream, thrashing against the water as you strain for air.

"It's okay, I've got you," he reassures, his voice calm yet firm above the sound of rushing water. "Just hold onto me."

He appears beside you and you cling onto him as he uses his mind to calm the currents, gently treading to the other side. You hyperventilate intensely, squeezing your eyes shut while you hold onto him- convincing yourself that everything would be okay.

He makes it to the other side of the basin, willing the water to lift you onto the ground before he jumps on the surface.

You sit on the gravel- clothes wet, body trembling as you catch your breath and attempt to calm yourself from drowning.

Rose sits beside you and places a comforting hand on your shoulder, before she full on embraces you. “Gods Y/N, are you alright?” She turns towards Taehyung, “Tae- what the fuck was that? Did you do that on purpose?”

You look up, and Taehyung’s expression looks rigidly serious. “That hasn’t happened to me in like ten years,” he mumbles. He looks around the tunnel apprehensively, “I have no clue.”

Another thing you note is that Taehyung is completely dry. After being submerged under waves and currents, he appears like he’s ready to go for a leisure stroll in the park.

Namjoon finishes his swim from the other side and climbs onto the ground. “Maybe you got nervous,” he shrugs, ringing the water from his socks.

“Nervous from what?” Taehyung retorts, “Nervous because of the Tribunal Prostate-us?,” he mocks, pointing at you with his thumb, “Yea, definitely not.”

“Taehyung!” Rose scolds.

You gawk- there was no absolute no way he just referred to you as a prostate. “I’m the Tribunus Laticlavus,” you clarify through gritted teeth.

“Well, princess- that doesn’t sound any cooler,” Taehyung retorts. “A thank you for saving your life would suffice. Thank you very much.”

You’re fuming from your ears. “Your father is the literal god of the Sea and you couldn’t control a ten foot wave across still waters. It would have been your fault if anything happened to me!”

“I said I don’t know what happened! You Romans probably did something to manipulate the water!”

“I didn’t even know that we had a random swimming pool in here! How would I do that?” you reason.

“Then don’t expect me to know everything either,” Taehyung responds with a roll of his eyes, “Now lead the way princess. We need that eagle.” And with that he dramatically marches past- he might as well have flipped his hair in your face.

Rose gives you an empathetic look, mouthing Sorry Y/N.

After supplying the Greeks with weapons necessary to survive a plummet in Tartarus, you reconvene with Mina and Mingyu at the Praetorium.

Mina scans her finger before the ten of you enter the elevator, and the elevator descends swiftly to a secret underground location that you’ve only frequented once before.

Mina guides your group to a secret underground pit- a pit that leads straight to Tartarus.

Jungkook and (OC) stand at the edge of the pit, their expressions resolute despite the gravity of the situation. The darkness of Tartarus yawns below them, an abyss that seems to swallow all light and hope.

(OC) takes a deep breath, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She casts a fleeting glance at Jungkook, her eyes filled with determination. "We can do this," she murmurs, her voice steady despite the tremor in her heart

Jungkook nods in agreement, his jaw set with determination. "Together," he affirms, his voice carrying a note of reassurance.

With a shared nod, they step forward, their bodies silhouetted against the inky darkness below. For a moment, they stand on the precipice, their resolve steeling them against the fear that threatens to consume them.

And then, without hesitation, they leap into the void, their figures disappearing into the blackness of Tartarus.

You exhale shakily- and you can’t help but wonder if you just played a part in sending two innocent people to their doom.

As they vanish from sight, a heavy silence descends upon the onlookers, the weight of their sacrifice hanging in the air like a shroud.

For a long moment, no one speaks, each lost in their own thoughts and emotions.

Then, Mingyu breaks the silence, his voice low but firm. "They've made their sacrifice," he says, his words echoing in the stillness of the underground chamber. "Now it's up to us to honor it."

With a solemn nod, Mina steps forward, her gaze unwavering. "Agreed," she says, her voice carrying the weight of command. "Let us return to Camp Jupiter and prepare for what lies ahead. Tartarus may have claimed its toll, but we will not falter in our duty to protect our home."

Taehyung fights the urge to roll his eyes, “How heroic,” he unemotionally states, gesticulating mockingly. “You just banished your two friends to Tartarus- how does that make you feel?” he challenges, glaring spathas into Mina and Mingyu.

“Bro,” Mingyu starts, switching his Praetor off and his Mingyu mode on.

“Don’t bro me,” Taehyung retorts, before redirecting his attention towards Mina.

“When you went to Korea three years ago,” he begins, “Who took you out to Michelin meals? Who rented out a place for you to stay? Jungkook did. And (OC)- (OC) is your friend. I still don’t get how you could just sacrifice them in good faith.”

Mina shifts uncomfortably. “Look. The decision wasn’t easy to make. If you care so much, why don’t you jump in after them?”

The silence that follows is oppressive.

“You bitch!” Rose seethes, tackling Mina towards the edge of the cliff before she holds up her spatha in Mina’s face.

Mina doesn’t resist, her features morphing into insanity, as if imploring Rose to do it.

Rose pushes Mina’s body closer to the edge of the pit, to the point where Mina’s head hangs above the pit. “Do it! Push me in! See where it gets Camp Half-Blood!” she growls.

You almost fall to your knees. You deplore Mina’s words. Rose holds her spatha closer to Mina’s cheek, almost drawing blood from her face.

The structure of the underground room begins to crumble, and debris of gravel begins to rain down on you.

As your eyes fall upon Mina, a wave of unease washes over you. The woman standing before you bears little resemblance to the Mina you once knew. Her features are now twisted with a manic intensity that sends a shiver down your spine.

The light in her eyes, once a steady foundation of Roman principles, burns with an unsettling hue, almost as if they are fueled by a fire of madness.

It's as if a shadow has fallen over her soul, casting her in a dark and unfamiliar light. The Mina you know would never be so cruel, so callous in her actions. She was always fair, always just, guided by the principles of honor and duty that define the Roman Legion.

But now, her words cut like knives, her actions driven by a ruthless determination that borders on fanaticism. She seems blind to reason, deaf to the voices of those who would counsel restraint and compassion. This isn't the direction the Roman Legion should take, you realize. This isn't what the gods want for Rome.

You glance an apologetic look towards Mingyu before you run to Rose and tug on her arm, urging her to stand. You intertwine your fingers and run to Namjoon and Taehyung.

“Mom!” you scream into the atmosphere, “Mom, if you hear me, take us to Camp Half-Blood! Mom! Please! I never ask for anything! Please!”

The room begins to tremble even further, like an earthquake shaking the foundation of the rooms. The Romanesque pillars begin to tremble and you hear Mina scream “Y/N! If you leave, I will revoke your position in the Roman Legion!”

You look around at yours and the Greek’s arms, and realize that you’re all turning translucent.

Your mom heard your wish.

"I resign!" you exclaim, and with a sudden burst of energy, you, Rose, Namjoon, and Taehyung are transported into the heart of Camp Half-Blood.

As you glance around, you find yourself amidst the cluster of cabins, with a warm hearth the only light illuminating the pitch black sky. The cabins of Athena, Apollo, Ares, and Hephaestus stand tall around you, each emanating a unique aura.

You fall to your knees.

“Holy shit,” Taehyung begins, “What just happened?

The Big House in Camp Half-Blood, with its grand columns and welcoming interior, serves as the central hub for meetings and discussions among the camp's staff and campers, and that is exactly where you meet with Taehyung, Namjoon, Rose, and Chiron the Camp Activities Director.

Chiron is a centaur, meaning that he’s a horse from the waist down and a human from the waist up.

After explaining the situation at hand, Chiron’s expression becomes clouded with empathy.

“That was a very brave thing you did, Y/N,” he expresses. He redirects his attention towards Taehyung, Rose, and Namjoon.

“Kids,” he begins, though the lot can hardly be considered children, “I think Y/N deserves to know. Why don’t you tell her?”

You sharply turn your gaze towards the trio, only to find them whistling nonchalantly as if feigning ignorance. Rose idly twirls a strand of her hair, while Taehyung casually tucks his hands into his pockets.

Namjoon sighs. “That wasn’t Jungkook or (OC) who jumped into Tartarus. It was other demigods that Rose disguised with the Mist.”

“What?” you express shakily.

“The Mist, Y/N,” Rose explains, “Remember how we snuck into the Emperor’s chambers by disguising ourselves as servants with magic? The Greeks call it the Mist, so I disguised Jungkook and (OC’s) little siblings as the Mist to evade capture.”

Taehyung frowns. “Wait, why’d you guys sneak into the Emperor’s chambers-”

You sigh. You aren’t even surprised. The Greeks would never willingly sacrifice their strongest demigods so easily. “So is that why they weren’t saying anything… why you were the ‘spokesperson’?” you ask Taehyung to which he flashes you with a wink.

His mood seems as unpredictable as the shifting waves of the ocean.

But it doesn’t make sense.

“The other demigods you disguised,” you begin, “Wouldn’t they be in equal danger? Jungkook and (OC) have the best chances of surviving Tartarus, so didn’t you just send the others to their doom?”

Namjoon tsks, “Don’t underestimate the Greeks. The kids we sent are just as capable.”

“Kids?” you repeat, before shoving your face into your hands.

What have you done? You should have challenged Mina more aggressively. You might have just condemned two innocent kids to their doom.

“Mina,” you begin, “I think- I think she’s possessed,” you finally elicit, backtracking from the original topic because you can’t fathom what you just witnessed.

“Possessed?” Chiron asks, brows furrowing in pure concern.

“Possessed,” you confirm, “The way she was acting- it just wasn’t her. I have no idea who was in that room with us but it wasn’t her.”

Rose’s expression morphs into one of empathy. “Y/N,” she begins, “Mina isn’t the same girl we grew up with. She’s changed. She’s not possessed, she’s just grown into a bitch. A bitch who somehow has the power of the entire Roman Legion at her fingertips.”

Taehyung bites his lip in contemplation. “She did look a little… insane,” he acknowledges.

“That’s because she is insane!” Rose retorts, “Ever since (OC) came back to life with the Physician’s Cure, she’s turned into a power-hungry, batshit psycho!”

Namjoon exhales, “Look, we can definitely consider that as a possibility, but for now let’s get some rest.”He shoots you an empathetic look, “I’m sure Y/N is tired. We can all reconvene tomorrow morning with Jungkook and (OC).”

You shake your head, though it’s apparent you’re fighting back a yawn. “It’s fine. We have a lot of things we need to figure out. I can still go at it if you guys can.”

“Oh don’t act all tough. You did have a long day, Ex Tribunal Prostate-us,” Taehyung starts.

You shoot him a deadly glare.

“You can stay in the Poseidon cabin with me. There’s no one in there besides me so we have plenty of space,” Taehyung offers, shrugging. “We’ve got a huge pool on the roof. I can even teach you how to swim, y’know, help you overcome your fear of water.”

“Wait,” Namjoon intervenes, “Why would she stay in the Poseidon cabin?”

“Why not?” Taehyung responds, eliciting a suspicious glance from Rose.

“Y/N is technically my sister,” Namjoon reasons, furrowing his brows at Taehyung, “She should stay with me.”

“Oh,” is all Taehyung can conjure.

And Namjoon has a point. Why in Mount Olympus would you ever stay in the Poseidon cabin? You never really considered Namjoon a blood relative, but he is the son of your mother’s Greek form Athena, so technically he is your brother.

“Though it would be most appropriate for Y/N to stay in the Athena cabin,” Chiron instructs, “She is an adult and can decide to stay where she pleases.”

“You could stay with me too,” Rose offers, “But I’m not about to gladiator-fight for a chance to spend the night with you like this one is,” she teases, tilting her head at Taehyung.

Taehyung seems very offended at that, expression morphing into disgust as he crosses his arms in indignation. He scoffs. “Gods forbid I show hospitality to a guest,”

A teasing smile graces Namjoon’s lips. “Why’re you getting so offended? You were just at her throat hours ago,” Namjoon points out to which Rose nods. “Yea, you were being an ass, Taehyung.”

Taehyung’s jaw clenches, and he directs his attention towards you. “Do you want to stay with me or not?”

You blink at him before meeting eyes with Rose.

“Yea, why not?”

On your way to the Poseidon cabin, Rose runs towards you and squeals, almost knocking you over. “Y/N, are you going to fuck him?”

What is it with this girl and assuming her friends are going to fuck everyone?

“What is wrong with you?” you retort, nudging her with your shoulder,

Rose rolls her eyes, “Yea, sure. Don’t think I can’t sense the sexual tension between you two,” she elicits.

“What in Minerva’s name are you on about?” you counter.

“Y/N, he literally wants you so bad! I’ve never seen anybody act like this before- why else would he insist for you to spend the night with him?”

“Maybe because he pities me so much that he feels the need to interject himself into my life to teach me how to swim?”

Rose's eyes narrow, disbelief evident in her expression as she listens to your response. She lets out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head in frustration.

"Y/N, come on," she urges, her voice tinged with incredulity. "You really think it's just about swimming? Taehyung is practically throwing himself at you."

You scoff, feeling a flush of irritation rising within you. "Oh please, Rose. That's absurd. We're just… acquaintances. Besides, Taehyung is..." You pause, searching for the right words. "Well, he's Taehyung."

Rose raises an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "Exactly. He's Taehyung. And trust me, I know the signs. The way he looks at you, the things he says, it's all there."

You shake your head, “Even if those are his intentions- they’re not mine. I think Taehyung was sent by my mother- as a way to help me overcome my fear of water,” you explain, “I’ve never told anyone but when I was younger I had a dream. I had a dream where I was drowning and some boy saved me. I never understood why my mom sent me that dream but I think he’s the key- the key to helping me overcome my Achilles’ Heel.”

Rose pauses, toying with her lip in contemplation. “Look, I was gonna say something funny like you’re just trying to sleep with him, but I’m happy for you. If you really feel like your mom is calling you to do this, then you should do it.”

With that, she embraces you, and you soften in her embrace. “Maybe also because he’s cute.”

A scandalous gasp leaves her lips, “Y/N!”

On cue, Taehyung appears from behind. “Poseidon cabin’s the opposite direction from the Apollo cabin,” he explains, tilting his head in the direction of his cabin. “Follow me this way.”

Without even asking, he takes the guest backpack Chiron gifted you, containing toiletries and clothing, before he strides up the hill, leaving you to follow in his stead.

You give Rose one last fleeting look who mouths Use Protection!1!

The Poseidon cabin stands as a marvel of innovation (courtesy to the Hephaestus cabin) and aquatic wonder within Camp Half-Blood.

The door frame is fashioned entirely from polished seashells arranged in intricate patterns. Stepping through the doorway, you are greeted by a spacious interior that echoes the vastness of the ocean itself.

In the living room of the Poseidon cabin, a large flat-screen TV stands against one wall, surrounded by plush seating and adorned with nautical-themed decor. There’s a stuffed hippocampus on the blue couch and the walls are painted in soothing shades of blue and green.

“We have lots of rooms. You can choose one out of the ten,” Taehyung shoots you a hospitable smile and you can’t help but laugh.

The hallway in the Poseidon cabin is calm and decorated with ocean themes and soft lights shine on the polished wooden floors.

Pictures of the sea and mythical creatures decorate the walls. There’s a selfie of a few hippocampi with Taehyung’s face in the corner throwing up a peace sign. THere’s another with Taehyung sitting on a rock with like ten mermaids laid around him, and there’s another with Taehyung in swim shorts with who you assume to be a Nereid or Sea Nymph in a bikini.

Each door is marked with a unique symbol representing the occupant's connection to the sea, whether it be a trident, a seashell, or a cresting wave. Perhaps the symbols are chosen randomly, as Taehyung is the only resident in the cabin.

But Taehyung’s symbol- his symbol scares you somewhat. The symbol on his door is a roaring kraken. Krakens are legendary sea monsters, often described as a giant cephalopod resembling a giant octopus or squid.

He throws open all the doors, allowing you to peek around to choose your room of residence for the night.

He grins at you, “You think this is nice? You should see the Hephaestus cabin. There’s like ten stories in there.”

“I like it here,” you offer sweetly, “I’ll take the seashell room.”

“All yours,” Taehyung shrugs, “I’ll take you to the pool in like ten minutes once you’ve gotten settled in.” With that, he sends you one last smile before sauntering off to your room.

You exhale deeply as you take a seat on the bed. With your palms on your thighs, you rewind everything that happened today like a broken record.

All your years of working your way up the ranks of the Roman Legion- it was all for nothing. With Mina’s control over the Legion, you’re sure you’ll be trespassed if you ever decided to step back into Camp Jupiter.

You shake your head at the thought, opening the guest bag Chiron gave you.

There’s three fresh Camp Half-Blood T-shirts, a fresh pack of underwear, three pairs of jeans, and a bag of toiletries.

No bra.

“Taehyung, do you guys have a washing machine?” you call out, and when he appears in the doorway with a toothbrush in his mouth, all he does is shake his head.

“But I can wash whatever you want for you,” he offers with a froth of toothpaste around his mouth.

“Okay give me a second,” you say.

He nods and closes the door, allowing you to do your thing. You step out of your clothes and throw on the Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt, underwear, and shorts. All are a little oversized on you, but it works.

You walk to the door and open it, handing Taehyung a pile of clothes. He looks fresh. No more toothbrush in his mouth and his face is freshly washed. He walks over to the bathroom and places your clothes in the sink. “Watch this.”

With precision, he manipulates the water into a swirling vortex, effectively creating a makeshift washing machine.

“Put your clothes in there,” he directs. You tiptoe around him, plucking up your clothes and throwing it into the vortex, careful to not directly touch the water.

“Okay now pour some detergent in here,” he says, “It’s in the cabinet under the sink.”

You crouch under the vortex, opening the cabinet doors. “Okay, don’t get me wet.”

“I’ll try,” he responds.

Suddenly, Rose’s patronizing face appears in your mind, and you pause, stifling back a laugh.

“Hurry up, princess. We don’t have all day.”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes and pour the detergent into the swirling vortex.

With a deft flick of his wrist, Taehyung adjusts the flow of water within the vortex, ensuring the detergent mixes thoroughly with the clothes.

Once satisfied with the washing process, Taehyung gradually slows the vortex, allowing the soapy water to drain away while leaving the clothes damp but not dripping wet.

With another subtle gesture, he manipulates the surrounding air currents, generating a gentle breeze that wafts through the room, aiding in the drying process.

As the clothes hang suspended in mid-air, supported by invisible currents, Taehyung watches attentively, adjusting the airflow as needed to ensure even drying.

With a satisfied nod, Taehyung releases his hold on the air currents, allowing the clothes to settle onto a nearby drying rack. He turns to you with a grin, his aquamarine eyes sparkling with amusement.

"There you go, all done," he declares, gesturing towards the freshly washed and dried clothes. "See, who needs a washing machine when you've got a son of Poseidon?"

You smile with tight lips. “Thank you, Tae.”

He shrugs. “No problem. Wanna go for a swim now? You look cute in that shirt.”

You don’t know how an innocent swim lesson turned into a hot makeout session in the rooftop pool, but somehow it did.

Your legs are wrapped around his waist, and he whispers into your lips, “Hmmm.. didn’t know a high ranking officer of the Roman Legion could loosen up like this.”

You playfully roll your eyes and draw your lips back to his like a magnetic pull. His tongue explores your mouth, groaning into your lips as his hands sneakily move down to your ass, shamelessly grabbing a handful of your butt past the oversized Camp Half-Blood T-shirt.

He flutters his eyes open, watching your every expression as you moan and grind against his abs.

Gods, are you so undeniably gorgeous. Taehyung never thought he would become so enamored with a daughter of Minerva, and a Roman at that, but he so obsessively asked you to stay at his under the guise of teaching you how to swim.

Yea, right.

You clearly didn’t give a fuck about swimming and who cares if he’ll be there to save you from drowning anyways?

Your orange T-shirt is sopping wet, and Taehyung lifts its bottom hem, meeting eyes with you for permission.

You remove your arms from around his neck, ensuring that your fingertips trace over his abs in the process, and he lifts the wet shirt off your body and throws it onto the gravel poolside.

He gulps with your body fully exposed to him. Your bare chest perks up against the cold atmosphere, and Taehyung has to restrain himself from taking you fully right then and there. Your hair is wet, falling against your back, and his eyes look at you with such clarity.

He thinks it’s particularly special that he has you in his own domain: water. Energy surges through his veins, and he feels especially strong and eager with the water splashing against his body.

You look so beautiful under the moonlight, like a celestial goddess descended from the heavens above. Every shimmering reflection in the water only adds to your ethereal glow, and in this moment, he can't help but feel like the luckiest person alive to have you here with him.

Gods, he thought you were such a pretentious princess when he first met you. A pretty, pretentious, princess- at that. But it only took a matter of hours for him to realize that you’re so much more. You're not just a princess; you're a warrior, a survivor, and a force to be reckoned with.

Before you know it, your lips meet in a heated kiss, fueled by a potent mixture of desire and longing. The rush of adrenaline courses through your veins as you lose yourself in the intoxicating sensation of Taehyung's lips moving against yours, each touch igniting a fiery passion within you.

You pull back. “‘m cold,” you cutely mumble against his neck as you suck a kiss against his skin.

You’re cold? Taehyung thinks he would burn the whole world just to warm you up.

“Sorry about that,” Taehyung grins, carrying you to the poolside before allowing you to sit on the ledge.

You shiver uncontrollably as the cool night air kisses your bare skin, sending goosebumps cascading down your arms and spine.

Sensing your discomfort, Taehyung leaps gracefully from the pool, his movements fluid and agile, and swiftly retrieves a plush towel to cocoon you in its warmth.

Leaning close, he offers you a reassuring smile, his eyes filled with genuine concern as he guides you out of the pool area and down the stairs, each step feeling like a small victory against the biting cold.

Once you reach the hallways, the towel drops, and you end the night in the room with the emblem of a kraken on its door.

The next morning, you wake up and are met with a sleepy Taehyung dozing off beside you.

You inhale, immediately running into the seashell room before you quickly change into an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and jeans.

You sneak out of the Poseidon cabin and run to the Big House, where you’re met with Rose and Namjoon who are ready to discuss plans.

Rose hands you an orange and you accept it willingly, starting to peel it with your fingertips.

“Where’s Taehyung?” Namjoon asks, to which you just shrug.

“No clue. We went our separate ways after showing me to my room,” you respond, eyes flickering towards Rose who scrutinizes you with an intense look of suspicion. She approaches you and leans over your shoulder. “You should hide the hickey, girl.”

You whip around, feigning ignorance. “What hickey? Huh?”

Rose facepalms. “Just- just- nothing.”

On cue Taehyung walks into the Big House, taking a seat by you and wrapping his arms around your waist as he leans into your shoulder. “Hey, why didn’t you wake me up?” he whispers into your neck, to which you dramatically jerk away.

Taehyung eyes you with a confused look before inching closer.

You look at Rose and Namjoon, who are looking at you weirdly and you can’t help but shoot up, dragging him outside.

“What are you doing?” you whisper yell at him.

“What?” Taehyung releases, “I just thought, y’know, after last night that we…” He rubs the nape of his neck sheepishly.

“No,” you immediately clarify, your voice as stern as ever. “No. That was a one time thing- a stress reliever, a one night stand- whatever you want to call it. We have more important things to worry about now- like how Tartarus wants to kill us all, so get your shit together!”

With that, you leave a dumbfounded Taehyung outside and stomp back into the Big House.

Rose and Namjoon don’t need to ask anything- they might have even heard your conversation from inside but nothing needs to be said.

You hooked up with him, and that was nice, But now, as you come back to your senses, you realize that it was just that - a moment.

It was nice, perhaps even enjoyable, but it doesn't change the reality of your situation. You're not looking for anything serious- there are bigger things to worry about.

Taehyung walks back in, extremely irritable as he takes the seat farthest away from you.

“Oh gods,” Namjoon mumbles.

In a sudden and unexpected moment, the atmosphere shifts, and before you can fully comprehend what's happening, the air crackles with energy. Like a bolt of lightning illuminating the darkness, the oracle materializes before you, its presence both awe-inspiring and chilling.

With eyes glowing an intense shade of green, the oracle's ethereal form seems to pulse with otherworldly power. You feel a sense of unease creeping over you as its voice resonates through the air, echoing with a mystical resonance that sends shivers down your spine.

“In the tumult of tides, destinies entwine,

One born of sea, one of the wise divine.

Amidst the depths where fears reside,

Unity sought, their fears defied.

In the clash of Greeks and Romans, a call resounds,

Together they stand, where unity abounds.

Through waters deep, their fears they'll tame,

In shared resolve, they'll forge their claim”

Oh gods.

#taehyung scenarios #taehyung fanfic #taehyung x reader #demigod!taehyung #demigod!bts #demigod!jungkook

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gold-rhine · 5 months

Text

Inazuma Rewrite Act 3

Please start reading from part one before reading this. It will make no sense otherwise.

Act 3 pays off for Acts 1 and 2, and I made some major changes in them, such as change to reasons of vision hunt\Raiden motivations, Ayaka arc, entire resistance storyline, Transience setup, Yoimiya arc setup, so without reading them first, this part will not make sense.

In this installment:

Transcience pay off

Yoimiya arc

Kazuha conflict

Raiden confrontation

Kujou Sara arc

and more

All disclaimers from part one also apply, I’m not gonna copy paste them.

Yae Miko \ Raiden Preparation Training

ok, let’s start with the fact that current “raiden fight training” sucks. Like I get what they’re going for, and training episode idea is very anime, but like. Running in circles around a trashcan that hits you with boss moves is not fun. it is, in fact, super annoying.

i want to keep the training angle, but make it more... spiritual. and thematic.

so, yae miko is like blah blah, you need to prepare to face Raiden, and I will train you, as the person who knows her the best.

Paimon is like wow, you’re gonna teach us to fight??

Yae Miko is like haha you’re so stupid, no, of course not. Your goal is to change raiden’s mind. For that, you need to know and understand her and where she’s coming from.

We will know you’re ready, when you can pass the Sacred Sakura trial

she leads traveler to the sacred sakura. there are like stone plates with symbols at the base, you know, the puzzle ones.

Yae goes like, do you know what Transience means? Transience is the dream of the nation of thunder. We find the greatest joys in mortal life in fleeting dreams, for is life itself not like the shadow of the thunder? Pursue your dreams into the clouds if you wish, and enjoy the unexpected silence of the dim lamp-lit nights.

traveler and paimon is like yeah wait, we saw smth like that in inazuma shrines and ruins

yae is like great, then show me the symbol of Transience. traveler looks at the puzzle stones, but there weren’t really anything like this in the prev locations which mentioned transience

player can fiddle with puzzle stones, but whatever combination they try, it doesn’t work

after a couple of tries, yae is like okay, it seems you still have much to learn! lets go, i’ll teach you

you go through the inazuma city with her, but seemingly only do bullshit. like, eating ramen, shopping, doing some light novels bs, and like traveler is paying for everything. not too long, like just few minutes, with a couple phrases per activity and fading to black, kinda montage of more and more exasperated and confused traveler and paimon until they’re like wait what the fuck is this. how is supposed to teach us anything??

yae does her signature bullshit smirks like hehe you’re too close-minded, you clearly haven’t understood ~Transience~, so buy me more stuff

paimon does her Angry Stomp, you know the one, like ugh! you’re just fucking with us to get us to pay for stuff, we’re done!

yae narrows her eyes menacingly with a smile like haha is this how u wanna talk to me you little flying shit, paimon hides behind traveler like oops sorry i didn’t say that, but then like, resistance messenger runs up to the traveler and traveler and paimon use this us an excuse to fuck off

Kazuha conflict\ Reveal of the true reasons for Raiden Gokaden fall

turns out messenger is from Kazuha. we meet up with him. he’s in the city despite being fugitive bc he’s heard some maniac is killing ppl, searching for the last scion of the Isshin school bloodline

listen, i love kazuha and i overall like his story quest, but it ends up being more character development for the cursed sword, not kazuha. and like i get it, it’s hard to write conflict for Kazuha bc he’s already escaped samsara, he’s the sole receiver of all therapy in genshin, he rolls 20 on every Wisdom roll, etc etc.

but that doesn’t mean we can’t explore his character more in depth and give him a conflict, even if his beliefs do not change as the result, but just better articulated.

We’re keeping the quest mostly same, as I said, I like it fine, it’s still about kazuha going on a therapy tour with the cursed sword, but with like. actual stakes

because in canon, when the sword says like oh, together we will have power to defeat raiden, its obviously not really a temptation for kazuha. bc like. the war is already over! kazuha has already won! AND he personally blocked legendary ublockable move that his friend dreamed of doing. why would he go back and fight raiden again?? it makes no sense

so it ends up being just like. kazuha psychoanalyzing cursed sword the entire time. which cool and all, but i want to play quest about kazuha and not the sword??

but, if it happens DURING the war, it’s much more impactful. this is not just revenge, there are lives on the line and no way to fight raiden. so when the sword is like I will give you power to stand up to raiden, then its not only in memory of his friend, but to protect the resistance. It is now a believable choice that can give Kazuha a pause, because situation is dire and they need every advantage they can get

this is also to rhyme with the Delusions motif, the “my own strength is not enough, so I must turn to the corrupted source of power for which i know i will pay”

of course, in the end kazuha decides to not give in to the cursed sword, bc he sees through its facade that the sword is actually weakening and falling apart, but also because he is narrative foil to both scara (scara believes in doing anything to gain power to pursue his obsession, even at great pain to himself, this is why he’s tied with delusions, and then in sumeru quest gets into dotorre’s torture mecha) AND raiden, which i think fandom largely misses.

both Kazuha and Ei had friends and loving, supporting family, but were kinda sheltered and isolated from people. Ei because she was Makoto’s shadow and didn’t really interact with public, and Kazuha because he was an heir of a falling noble house and he was feeling trapped and focused on trying to live up to his own expectations and anxieties (this btw was beautifully dramatized in his domain in prev summer’s golden archipelago)

both of them were quiet and kinda introverted, Ei allowing her sister take a central stage and Kazuha admitting that ppl with grand aspirations always captivated him, which obv references his friend. then, they lost everything in one fell swoop.

Ei lost her friends in the cataclysm and then, her sister. Kazuha’s family died, and later he had to flee his estate, becoming fugitive and then his friend was killed in a duel with Raiden. they both had their small-ish isolated worlds and lost them violently

and Raiden tried to catch the shards of her falling world and keep them in place, cover them in stasis, as if it could restore what was broken. She saw eternity as the lack of change and decided to never change herself. She closed off from the world, literally destroyed her physical body and isolated her mind in a little locked world, focused solely on “preserving” herself.

in contrast, Kazuha opened up to the world. He didn’t try to stop the winds of change, he followed them. One of this themes is being a part of the world, “One with wind and clouds”, “One with the nature”, “Life has just begun and maybe, the whole world can be my home,” this is why his kit heavily features element absorption and his character stories emphasize how he’s sharp, notices little details in surroundings, even has sharp sense of smell.

He reached out to people instead of isolating himself, and so he found new friends, he saw the endless beauty in the bigger world even after his own cozy snowglobe was shattered.

His theme is not only about being open to the world, but also bringing different elements together, and he’s the one who brings people in inazuma arc together. He brings traveler to Thoma, then through him Gorou reaches Beidou and the mercs, etc. this is why he is the one who blocks raiden.

he is her foil precisely because he can let go and doesn’t let his grief blind him, he will fight her because she needs to be stopped, but not because he wants to take revenge or fore her to suffer. He is the breaker of cycles of pain, not perpetuator

so kazuha refuses, like in original, sword deteriorates more and more, and in the end, becomes weak, but regains memories about his creator in exile in snezhnaya.

but, with the added twist to the scene where kazuha sees memories of the sword. In our version, Shogun instituted vision hunt decree because vision holding blade smith collaborated with fatui and led to the fall of Raiden Gokaden, 5 sword art schools.

But now we learn that Kazuha’s ancestor who made this cursed sword, was this very vision-holding blade smith, and he never betrayed Inazuma, instead, he was slandered by Fatui and it was all Scara’s plan on his misguided revenge against Raiden Gokaden.

as in canon, Kazuha reforges the sword with the last shreds of its power. It does not hold its previous cursed strength anymore, but it is a last sword made in lost technique of Kazuha’s family tradition and he swears to restore it, just as he does in canon

Vision Loss exploration\ Yoimiya was always relevant

after this, paimon and traveler are like ugh, we don’t want to go back to yae, we don’t know the answer to symbol of transience puzzle and she will just mock us more. Lets go see how Yoimiya is doing instead!

ok so, I want to address what I see as a problem in how genshin handled vision loss. like obviously, vision loss stands for trauma. and “wow after their vision was taken, they turned into a completely different person” works as initial impression, bc often when someone you know changes drastically, it can feel this way

where this narrative fails is that it never explores further, bc all characters we meet with vision loss are random NPCs we see for 15 minutes, so it ends up being shallow “this guy was very kind and selfless before, but after losing vision he completely ignores ppl he helped with “new number who dis” response”, which like???

framing ppl who are already going through inner turmoil and struggle as like, complete strangers who are not themselves anymore and also completely lose positive qualities tied to their visions, is so tactless and wrong. It’s still the same person, no matter how drastically changed, and they need support, not demonization like “inherently incapable of caring about people after losing vision”.

this is why i think its better to focus on one character players know and care about instead of several NPCs no one gives a fuck about

so we go visit Yoi and meet her with her dad during discussion. it’s festival time and their family always made fireworks for it, they have several orders now too. But, due to Yoi being caught as part of resistance, her family was blacklisted and they can’t get necessary supplies to create fireworks, specifically like special chemical powder.

so now, Yoi needs to go to all the clients and tell them there will be no fireworks for them for this festival.

Yoi’s dad is very supportive and doesn’t blame Yoi, but she still feels its her fault. She’s not a firecracker she was before, now quieter and harsher, and it does feel like she’s someone new, who traveler and paimon do not know.

we go to the clients to inform them with Yoi, and while doing so learn what fireworks meant for each of them. for some, it was friendship, how now matter how different their lives were, they would get together and celebrate with fireworks. for old couple, its ritual to celebrate their marriage and so on.

they are all sad, but understanding, and supportive and concerned about Yoi. she puts on brave face, but its obvious for the traveler that its hard for her to pretend to be fine.

on the way back, they have a convo about how its tacking a toll on Yoi, and how she feels bad, but also hopeless, and it also feels like something as joyous and frivolous as fireworks is meaningless in the middle of the war and vision hunt

we get back and find Yoi’s dad talking to customers. Its a refugee family, they explain that they live on another island, but once in a few years would visit Narukami for the festival and buy fireworks. They were forced to go to Narukami right now bc of the war, but since they are here already, they want at least something good to come out of it. And they have a cute little girl who is too young and never before saw fireworks and she’s sooooo excited, and the whole time they were running from their home they were consoling her by saying they go to Narukami to see the festival and the fireworks

Yoi’s dad starts defeatedly explaining that unfortunately they cannot make fireworks right now, but Yoi interrupts him, and for a moment she’s her old self, bright and joyful, she reassures the little girl that its okay, they will have fireworks for sure, and these will be the prettiest fireworks ever!

family leaves, excited, and Yoi drops the facade. she wasn’t “cured” in a moment, but she is determined

traveler and paimon are like - oh but how will we get fireworks??

Yoi is like “tenryo commission has this confiscated powder in their warehouse and we are raiding it, bc this little girl is getting her family fireworks if its the last fucking thing i do”

bc she realized, viscerally, that actually, fireworks will be more meaningful now BECAUSE of the dark and uncertain times, not despite of them, and whether its someone childhood OR last years of life, time is fleeting and impossible to get back, so giving people joy and hope is more important than ever

she’s not “healed”, she’s not back to her old self yet, but we see that there’s still spark in her and hope for recovery, even if she struggles, and deep down she is still same kind and caring Yoi we’ve met at the start

we do the warehouse domain, fight, do puzzles, get powder, Yoi and her dad make fireworks, we watch basically same cutscene as of the end of Yoi’s first quest now, with ppl looking up at the sky and seeing fireworks and Yoi and traveler watching from the hill.

at which point i want to mention that like, despite some part of fandom calling canon Yoi irrelevant, she always supported inazuma themes, which i will illustrate by using the dialogue from the quest verbatim and showing how i don’t even need to rewrite it to make it fit

Yoimiya: It was by chance that I happened to be born into the Naganohara family, so it was by chance that I ended up learning this craft from my pops.

Yoimiya: It's also by chance that I've met so many people, learned so many things, and discovered that people associate watching fireworks with the things that are most precious to them.

Yoimiya: Fireworks that disappear in a flash of light are probably the furthest thing away from the eternity that our Shogun desires.

Yoimiya: But people's feelings don't just disappear, and it's those feelings that give fireworks their purpose. If nobody wanted to watch fireworks, then they wouldn't exist.

Traveler: That's another kind of eternity.

boom! Yoimiya was always a representation of transience philosophy, hoyo just didn’t dramatize it properly and without transience explored during main quest, she felt like she doesn’t belong, while she was an actual Inazuma spiritual end game goal all along.

Makoto Reveal

anyway. traveler, pauses, repeats themselves. “Another kind of eternity... Eternity in fleeting things, because people’s dreams give them meaning...”

they get up and run to yae, looking determined, confused paimon following behind

“i know the answer,“ traveler tells to yae and she smirks, leads them to the puzzle stones near Sakura

“So, show me the symbol of transience“

but instead of fiddling with the stones, traveler gestures at the sakura petals, gliding on the wind and people watching theim

“This is the eternity in transience“

yae chuckles in delight “oh, finally, i thought you’ll never get it. How could be fleeting dreams be captured in stone puzzles?”

paimon is like ooooh is this why you led us around eating ramen and shopping? you were not just fucking around on our money, you wanted to make us think about enjoying momentary fleeting things?

yae gives her signature facetious response like oh of course how could you think i was scamming, how ungrateful of you etc etc, but its clear that she both actually was trying to give a hint AND enjoyed scamming them for free stuff

then she gets quieter, says pensively “but it seems the company of your friends was better help with figuring it out... She always did say that we immortals cannot understand beauty of transience the way humans do...”

paimon and traveler are like “She???”

thats when the cutscene revealing that there were two shoguns and that raiden’s sister died at the cataclysm plays. nothing much to add here, i think the existing cutscene works well, but because in canon it’s played AFTER raiden’s defeated, it feels a bit weird, like post-factum excuse.

like raiden goes oh well ok, i’ll get rid of vision hunt decree, by the way i had a twin sister who died, like?? i think pacing-wise its better to learn why raiden is Like That before “punch her until she changes her mind” fight than after she had already changed her mind

so, paimon is like ooooh, so this is why it seemed that raiden changed so much! she didn’t change, we just saw the ideas of the first shogun

yae is like yes, ei’s grief for her sister and differences in their views is important for you to understand for when you will try to change her mind in her hikikomori mind palace

Storming the palace\ Signora interlude

then yae does the ok lets get Kojou Sara quests, which I don’t really feel like changing, bc like. it does its job fine enough. we need to establish that tenryou commission was corrupted and working with fatui AND that kujou sara will go against her only family for justice

the ayato infiltrating like 5 rebellion guys with gorou and kazuha to take the palace is kinda dumb logistically, but tbh this is not game of thrones. genshin works mostly on anime logic where things happen bc its cool and fitting for the character\narrative beats. making actually realistic attack plan i feel like would be too long, complex and derail from the storyline, so i’d say lets keep it roughly same

What I’m gonna change is Signora cameo. And by change I mean remove it completely. I spent a lot of time trying to make her death work, but it just doesn’t. She has nothing to do with Inazuma story or themes, shows up for 2 seconds and dies immediately. This is a shitshow, like, we’d need to derail whole archon quest to insert her and it still wouldn’t be good.

if Signora has to be dead for like, the strategic plot reasons, here is my version of how it should go down

ok but we need an opportunity for raiden to do her one hit boob kill move, and how are we gonna do this if we remove Signora?

easy, sara confronts her tenryuo adoptive dad in front of raiden. like, rn she runs to him, he has a speech about how he basically doesn’t care about raiden herself, but really only worships the Boob Nuke. he gets defeated and then sara runs off to raiden and gets knocked out off-screen, like??? this is so awkward. what the fuck is the point

instead, sara is like right now is the time when Tenryuo chief is reporting to raiden, we need to tell her he’s lying to her!

we follow sara to the palace and confront tenryuo dude in front of raiden. he’s like you have no proof u insolent girl and this is after everything i’ve done for u!

sara challenges him to a duel before the throne and raiden agrees.

we fight the dude and defeat him. he launches into basically same unhinged speech, but now raiden is here to hear it.

She realizes that even those who she considered the most loyal of her servants worship not her, but her power, because she removed herself from inazuma and all people know of her is to fear the Boob Nuke. this is a important step in her development that we will explore a bit later

then she annihilates him which i think is much more thematically relevant bc he died from the same blade he worshipped

then, raiden is like well, i’ve dealt with a traitor, but don’t think that it gets YOU off the hook, a criminal is a criminal and I’ll destroy you

then we duel, bc like. her using boob sword at the start of battle is thematically wrong. its a finisher, a kill move. in the first duel she used it at the end. she needs to charge her burst first, you know

so, we go to the plane of euthemiya and fight. it basically goes the same, first traveler has elements disabled, then wishes of inazuma people awaken and empower them.

raiden is shaken, but not convinced. bc this is the Gives a Fuck raiden, it’s not that she didn’t know her people had ambitions, tho she could underestimate them, its that she thought these ambitions can only lead them to ruin and she, as an arbiter of eternity who sacrificed her body to lock her mind in a sword and evade “corruption“, is the one who knows best.

she rallies up and counter-attacks. similar scene as in the first duel happens, she throws traveler to the real world and follows, readying the kill move

and thats when kazuha blocks her

i think in canon this isn’t given appropriate weight for raiden. bc like. that was her legendary UNBLOCKABLE strike. she one-shot gods and monsters with it. this was her personal proof of perfection, she knows she might not be a philosopher and leader like her sister, but she is The best warrior. like if you want to change her mind, you have to fight her in a duel, her mastery of sword is how she justifies that she’s right to herself

and now a mortal blocked her most perfect move

and not just any mortal! She recognizes the style of the blade he wields. Isshin blade, even though Isshin art died as Raiden Gokaden schools fell

she asks him how did he get this blade and he tells her the truth he learned from the cursed sword

her people never betrayed her. instead, she was mislead by the fatui and pushed her own subjects into running away to the enemies because they didn’t believe she would listen and be merciful to them

the worst thing is that she knows they were right. she would not have been merciful.

and now she watches the bitter irony of how her eternity crumbles.

tenryuo commission, who she thought of her most loyal and closest servants, upholding laws and traditions, in truth were corrupted from the inside, tradition nothing but a hollow form, a fake shape kept just to appease her, with no true soul or meaning, lusting only after power

but the last scion of the clan she though betrayed her, an exile and criminal, a vagabond and pirate, is the one who embodied isshin art she thought lost wholeheartedly, the one who preserved the last true blade of his school. the one who blocked her strike that she thought of as the truest.

and with the vision of a man she had once already defeated in a duel

with all of that, with countless visions rallying up to support an outlander against their own god, with the proof that even killing rebels would be useless because ambitions of the dead will be picked up and reignited again by the living, with proof of the corruption rotting in her government, she cannot see herself in the right anymore

this is why she lifts the vision hunt decree

Raiden’s First Story Quest

I think there’s general agreement in fandom, even among raiden fans, that her first story quest is one of the worst in game. its so boring and pointless. you go on a date with raiden and then she fights some nerd in a duel. who gives a fuck.

it also takes for granted that all players even WANT to hang out with raiden, which like, at this point she was only a giant dick to everyone around and not everyone is a boob worshipper. for people who already disliked her, being forced to babysit her around and take her photos only feels more annoying and antagonizing

Again, our main change in characterization for raiden is that she actually gives a fuck. like, in canon her country is on the brink of complete collapse after civil war and fatui schemes, 2 out of 3 commissions are barely functional, her robot-sona is malfunctioning the storm, and she not only does not give a fuck, but traveler has to jump through hoops to get to her. and she just goes on a date, trying sweets and light novels. like. guuuuurl. come on, get a grip for 5 fucking minutes and do your damn job. we had to randomly stumble into tenryuo nerd being bullied for her to take ANY part in inazuma’s politics

so, logical thing to do for Raiden Who Gives a Fuck is to go out and try to sort out mess she’s now learnt her country was turned into.

like, she summons traveler and goes hey, i know we’re not exactly on bestest terms, but I need to root out corruption and fatui’s shit specifically, and i don’t trust my government officials right now, so i need your help in being a guide bc i haven’t left the room in 500 years.

kujou sara is also there since raiden deemed her trustworthy bc sara was the one who exposed tenryuo corruption to her

i got an ask about how canonically Kanjou commission was in a vulnerable state due to commerce falling with sakoku decree, and so they could be an easy first foothold for fatui to get themselves into the country, and i think raiden quest would be a good place to explore it, while she’s investigation corruption.

i’m not gonna write the whole plot, it doesn’t really matter, the main points is that raiden sees isolation actually doesn’t protect her ppl, but harms them, that when ppl are not allowed to do smth that they want, they will turn to illegal and much more harmful ways instead, for which delusions are an allegory.

raiden can still do fluffy stuff like trying mango milkshakes or whatever, but while going from one commission to another instead of just wandering around on a date

tenruyo nerd can also be there if hoyo wants to include him for some reason. they can even have same useless duel with raiden at the end that makes her appoint him head of commission

Kujou Sara

as I said, Sara is also there, going with raiden on investigation, showing her competence, until its clear that she’s the sole hinge on which entire tenryuo commission depends.

raiden praises her for her loyalty, and Sara, incredibly earnest and grateful, explains her backstory, how she was a kid falling to her death from a mountain while enemies were storming it, and how she received vision during the fall and thus survived, so she now not only owes her life to raiden, but can’t imagine better cause to serve, as clearly, raiden is omnipotent and all knowing and caring enough to save an insignificant tengu child like her

raiden frowns. she does not grant visions herself, in fact, she is not even aware when electro visions are granted - this is canon btw, it’s from raiden’s own voicelines.

tenryuo nerd sees that raiden is about to speak up, and even though he obv doesn’t know vision secrets, he realizes from her expression alone that she’s about to contradict sara’s story

he interrupts her, apologizes profusely, but takes her aside and begs her to not say to sara anything that can shake her loyalty, because again, this commission is going to crumble without her. These are temoulteous times and they need sara the most, raiden can tell her whatever she wants after inazuma is stabilized

but the thing is that being truly honorable is supposed to be raiden’s redeeming grace. she might be stubborn and inflexible, ruthless and inept, but she is straightforward and honorable, she cannot accept loyalty given on false premises, and we need to show that in action

raiden tells sara bluntly that she did not give her a vision, that she was not aware that sara was in risk of death at all

sara is shaken. her world crumbles before her. this is not just bc of her own vision and life that she thought she owed, but in fact, did not. no, much more it’s about vision hunt decree. its about all the people she was sent after, talked to them and their crying families for hours, telling them that this is for their own good, that shogun knows better, sara herself is an example, is a proof. it’s about all the people she didn’t convince and had to take their visions by force, comforting herself in the knowledge that she personally might not understand shogun’s plan, but what she knows is that is infallible.

and now it turns out it’s not true at all.

this, she cannot take. she asks raiden to free her from service. and bc again, raiden is honorable, even knowing the damage it will do, she lets sara go.

after that, she shows up in events and side quests, showing her on a journey to find herself.

we see her in yae miko’s story quest, protecting ppl from the guy who was possessed by the oni spirit, and later, watching yokai spirits dance in the skies and yearning

we see her in an event with a ghost umbrella, being strict and cross with yokai kids for causing so much ruckus, but secretly fond and protective of them, and playing off her funny rivalry with itto

we see her in itto’s quest, in a part where traveler asks ppl about itto’s character, and she’s being fair, says that he might be an idiot and hooligan, but he would never harm or kidnap innocent ppl

we see her in irodori festival, organizing the community, bc she knows how to do it and she’s good at it and *someone* has to (and bc she cares about ppl without any order telling her to)

then, she’s in kokomi quest, bc kokomi asks her to be present at negotiations, bc she’s the only one from tenryuo in whose honor kokomi can really trust. sara tells her that she has no official standing anymore, but kokomi asks her to be there anyway. later, when dishonesty from tenryuo side is revealed and sara helps to stop the ppl who are trying to sabotage negotiations, kokomi asks sara to vouch for what happened in report to raiden, so that this is not blamed on watatsumi and fair deal can be cut

sara says again that raiden has no reason to listen to her and take the worse deal just on her word. and yet, after a couple of days, report comes back. raiden listens to sara’s word and does not force watatsumi to accept the bad conditions. we can see this affecting sara, her being conflicted

sara\kokomi shippers, ur welcome btw

then, raiden’s second story quest. it starts as of now. we accept commission to deal with abyss wolves spawning, go to the mountain of sacred sakura. but instead of just meeting raiden, we first see kujou sara.

she’s there to protect people because this is who she is, this is the ambition that summoned her vision to begin with, and no lies and manipulations can change that.

like at the beginning of her story, she’s on the mountain, protecting her home from the enemies

like at the beginning, she falls and survives the fall, but she’s too injured and about to be killed by the wolves

but this time, inazuma’s archon has not locked herself in a room.

raiden appears, destroying the wolves and saving sara. this time, she is not just an idea based on false belief of a child. she is there in flesh to finally take action that sara believed she was doing so many years ago.

as in canon, raiden says that she will fight the monsters alone, bc its her duty to protect inazuma.

and this is when sara pledges her allegiance to raiden again.

raiden tells her that her saving sara’s life does not mean that sara now owes that life to her, as raiden’s duty is to protect all of her people

but this is not why sara wants to follow her now. finally, she sees real raiden and not childish illusion of an omnipotent goddess who always knows better. but real raiden is honest, honorable, and despite being strongheaded and often misguided, someone who cares deeply for her ppl and is driven by the same goal to protect as sara

sara tells this to her, asserting that she will not serve her out of obligation or with blind loyalty like before, that she will now think critically and question and tell raiden if she believes she;s wrong, but she will believe in her nonetheless as long as raiden cares about inazuma over herself

raiden says that then they will share an eternity in service of inazuma people, as they should

as sara is injured, raiden sends her to organize evacuation instead of fighting, and quest goes on as in canon

sara\raiden shippers, ur welcome btw

Ancient Sakura Blooms Again

I don’t want to change much else about raiden’s second quest, bc its already pretty fucking good and manages to speedrun raiden’s character development in 45 minutes.

instead, all of my rewrite is meant to be a setup to establish both raiden’s conflict and makoto’s personality and philosophy beforehand, instead of getting infodump from old man ghost in 1.5 scenes

this way, raiden coming to accept the eternity as transience is natural progression instead of speedrun and makoto’s appearance has bigger impact, since she was haunting the narrative from the start and we came to know about her gradually

also, irodori festival can go pretty much the same. scara being behind raiden gokaden fall is now more significant, bc for our version it was inazuma’s inciting incident, and now just like. random lore bit.

also, both raiden and yae miko show up in comedic cameos during festival, but after they learn it was scara, there is a brief serious scene as raiden realizes that while she was blaming fatui for corrupting inazuma, it was only possible bc she neglected her own creation, which is a metaphor for inazuma’s isolation as a whole. she doesn’t explain that ofc, just looks striken

“i thought i’m giving him peace...“

“i’ve told you we should’ve destroyed that puppet“, yae miko spits out (she did canonically wanted to off scara after raiden decided he’s not fit for gnosis bc he cried)

ofc, we won’t give proper backstory before sumeru, but it would be a nice tease that will get deeper meaning once we do know, and also illustrate that both raiden’s solipsistic abandonment and yae miko burning bridges instead of dealing with ppl is not great governing strategies

also, irodori has additional ayaka storyline about how she got involved in all this investigation stuff as a distraction to get away from the house bc ayato asked her to wear family jewels for the festival finale and she sold them in act 2, but she’s too afraid to tell it to ayato

finally, after learning of kazuha’s family keeping secrets from each other that hurt them in the long run, she finally gets brave enough to tell ayato what she did

he stops her mid-sentence and tells her to go check the chests

she’s confused, but obeys. she runs back holding the jewelry, being like oh my god what?? how is that back?? did u buy it back??? did u know the entire time???

of course he knew the entire time. he’s proud of her. he only wished she trusted him enough to ask for his help directly.

you didn’t use the commission funds for this, right? ayaka hesitates for a second and ayato laugh.

of course not. why would he need to steal from commission when there are so many fatui assassins to loot

oh, i always knew you wouldn’t. wait what....

ayato’s quest i’d rewrite completely. he’s still manipulate mansplain manslut, but in better political machinations then sabotaging a wedding of npcs and giving hannibal lector speeches to random goons

we’ve scorched out inazuma’s corruption in raiden first quest, now is the time to restructure and modernize commissions which were gutted by said corruption, for which raiden assembles yae, sara, traveler and ayato, who is the head of only commission that did not sell out to fatui

ayato and yae miko are incredibly petty cunts to each other in a very smiley passive aggressive manner, but they team up to come up with devious machinations for the greater good

sara is there not only for military expert role, but also to speak up for the common ppl which she is finally closer to, and to ground the schemers

raiden sometimes thoughtfully says “why don’t we duel them to death?“ as solution to many problems, and when everyone yells no, shrugs

overall, its kinda rough going and obvious that there are a lot of problems ahead, but also clear that inazuma did change and grew, raiden is no longer a solipsistic tyrant and she has a diverse council she listens to and actively engages with her country’s problems

btw, in ayato vs yae miko schemes off he gets to win and be smug bc its his birthday story quest

Yoimiya’s second story quest

Yoi’s second quest is already v good and obv has a lot of soul in it, i wouldn’t change too much, except for the premise

bc this quest is the reason i decided to make vision loss plotline at all. bc this quest is already perfectly written to be culmination of that plot line, and frankly, gets a lot of ??? without it

like, it starts bc yoi just randomly decides to go on vacation to wish on falling stars. like ok i guess. and she’s like i didnt really care but the whole village really got into it and want me to see it, so i’m doing it for them. like?? why would they be invested in random vacation like that?? mb ok they just love yoi

but then traveler goes to nahida and she’s like sorry, meteor showers happen like once in 200 years. but traveler and paimon are very insistent that they have have to do it for you, they can’t disappoint her. when like. its a random vacation! and yoi is not a type of person to be like ugh i didn’t get to see falling stars, my trip is RUINED

but no, they beg nahida to help like its big deal, and nahida agrees to involve aranara, despite no adult being able to see aranara is a big deal in lore. and then they have a whole conversation about is it ethical to trick yoi into believing this meteor shower is real if it’s just a dream, even if she’ll learn truth later, when like.... it’s a vacation????? she’s just there to have fun???? why are you all so serious

basically, beginning of this quest makes little sense, bc it has no actual stakes until girl in a wheelchair shows up, but narrative treats it very seriously when like “yoi has fun on vacation“ is the only stated goal for the start

BUT, if taken as part of vision loss story, everything snaps into place.

after vision hunt ended, visions were returned to their owners. but not all of them reignited on the spot, and Yoimiya is one of the people whose vision did not activate

and is it any surprise? after all she’s seen in a war, all she’s been through, how could she go back to believing that the world is a good and happy place, in the inherent wonder and joy of it?

her vision stayed grey and silent in her hands. she feels bad and guilty that she can’t be happy go lucky as before, when her father and all of the villagers care so much about her

they nudge her to go on a trip to see the falling stars, inspiration for fireworks, in hopes it will remind her of why she loved them so much before

this is the stakes, this is why inazuma ppl care, why traveler cares enough to ask nahida and why nahida would be moved to break tradition and let yoi interact with aranara, why they have this long convo about if it’s right to trick yoi. bc f it’s about reigniting her belief in world’s miracles, then yeah, it makes a lot more sense to worry about truth of it

not only this, but the disabled girl turns from just random npc to a mirror parallel to yoi. both of them were harshly and suddenly hurt by the world, both lost will to live. and the kicker is that yoi is going along bc she feels bad and bc her family and friends are worrying about her, but she only *really* get into this when she meets this girl

because this is what she was always about, not just happy go lucky girl, but a gold koi, a light of happiness and luck talisman for other people, especially for kids. for this girl, she will believe is the wishing stars

of course, her vision reignites when in aranara dreamland she takes girl’s hand and jumps onto the falling stars to fly across the sky. because it’s not about how the world is cruel. its about how good we can be to each other. what if it’s just a shared dream? We find the greatest joys in mortal life in fleeting dreams, for is life itself not like the shadow of the thunder? Pursue your dreams into the clouds if you wish

#genshin impact #genshin #rhine talks #kujou sara #raiden shogun #inazuma #inazuma rants

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no-white-dress · 6 months

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If you were to rewrite Winx, how would you write it?

Oh this is gonna be long.

Ok let's start from the premise that I actually like winx the way it is for a big chunk. Yes up to freaking s8. Although s7 deserves hell and nothing more.

So with that in mind:

Season 1-2

I would actually insert foreshadowing to the trix's backstory since the beginning. Some moment of banter between Darcy and Stormy and Icy not having the context for it to make it clear right off the bat that no, they have not known each other their whole lives.

I'd flesh out the magic system more, in a way that it is clear that yes, Alfea and Cloudtower have historical rivalry but mostly because it is convenient for both schools (beefing with the other school's students offers more opportunities to gain charmix/gloomix, plus there's the institutional events like the Magic Tournament where the winning school gets funding -I've been telling y'all the comics have good stuff-).

Season 3

Also Tecna is a princess but not in the way Stella or Aisha are because Zenith is an elective monarchy so she's only princess until the next elections.

Stella learns to live with the fact her parents are divorced and with the fact that Luna has a new boyfriend and she doesn't hate him. As per comic canon.

The only thing I'd change would be whatever is up with the timeline. It needs more clarity regarding when Domino fell, how old are Valtor, the Company of Light and the Ancestral Witches, and their connection with Darkar. The fact people seem to not know much about what happened with Domino is perfectly fine and realistic though (if you think otherwise, tell me what you were taught in history class about stuff that happened the decade you were born. Yeah, not much, right?).

Also that finale needs to be more climatic or have an explaination for Valtor's sudden weakness cough cough read my fanfic cough cough.

Still, I would add some comic plotlines like Musa helping an old musician elaborate the loss of his wife by allowing him to meet her ghost (with Daphne's help), giving closure to her own grief as well (extra points if it happens after the Water Stars trial because she would know it's what he needs because hearing her mom say she was proud of her did so much for her). You know, stuff that gives space to the neglected girls.

The whole royal family of underwater Andros is present, but it is a queendom. The king consort and the princes were away on some diplomatic trip when Valtor attacked, but they are shown in later episodes (Tecna enchantix episode).

Season 4

Sotlk and Magical Adventure go back to back after season 3. Nobody is whitewashed. That isn’t about writing but idc.

Oh boy...

1) Less relationship drama. Nobody needed that. Nobody liked that. Kill it with fire. Yes to questioning the status quo though. Rivusa break up? Maybe. Sky and Bloom learning to confide in each other instead of not communicating and causing arguments as a consequence? PLEASE.

2) No winx teachers. Unpopular opinion, but the ladies should have some other excuse to be in Alfea to start the action. Some higher level course, an apprenticeship of sorts, anyting but teaching. I don't want 18 year olds who were barely ever in class the previous year to teach.

3) Clarity about the Roxy being Morgana's daughter situation. Morgana has time travel powers and ran to the future, had Roxy, then went back to the past and got captured. Also clarity about why there's no witches or wizards on Earth either.

4) There would be episodes where the girls have some business to attend to in Magix with, again, some comic plots. This could work splitting the episode between the Earth plot and the Magix subplot. Examples include but aren't limited to: the Shaab stone comics (yes moved from s2 to s4 because s2 is already packed), the Andros pirates+alien lizard problem comics, the Zenith's inhabited satellite is about to be hit by a comet comic, the Stella gets kidnapped by shadow creatures from another universe comic.

5) Nabu sacrifices himself and it is clearer that he's in a coma and not dead.

Season 5

6) Ah, Bloom didn't forget her aura reading powers that are super useful to search for a magical person among thousands of non-magical people, she just really hates using them because they're a privacy breach and she only does it in dangerous situations or when they have a strong lead.

1) The trix are in Andros, and it is stated they have been there since the Havram/movie 2 events. They are clearly traumatized by the possession and nobody gave them a therapist. This time Roccaluce would've been the right place for them but alas...

2) Icy's trauma manifests in latching onto this idiot prince in the cell next to theirs because he reminds her of Valtor. They meet the same way, he does a similar monster thing, but he doesn't slam her against a wall when she breathes wrong, which is nice.

3) Roxy goes to Alfea! Yay! But Roxy feels so out of place because the winx are miles ahead of her in magic and life in general alike, while Roxy is a newbie to that world and has very confused ideas about her future. Cue to an extensive arc about Roxy learning that it is ok to do things at her own pace and that she can have more than one friend group (the winx and her classmates) because she has things in common with different groups of people.

4) Harmonix doesn't exist because the girls can swim and use magic underwater in base form/charmix AND enchantix, as per canon.

5) The sirenix curse, that hot mess. Ok so Daphne is dead dead. She did not have sirenix. Politea did. Cue to more lore about the fall of Domino and how part of the plan to prevent it failed badly with Politea getting cursed and disappearing.

6) The season is centered about the struggles of Aisha and Roxy. Bloom, Stella and Tecna are also closely involved with the plot due to their role as princesses, but have struggles that don't compete with having half your family turned into a monster army while your boyfriend is in a coma or adapting to a whole new world. For example, Bloom proves herself politically competent to both her and Sky's parents, Tecna talks her planet out of isolationism, Stella helps both.

7) The Sirenix wishes change. Less manipulating people into changing their behavior and more actual action. Obviously Nabu is healed with a wish (maybe not Aisha's? Maybe by the wish of one of her friends because they want their friend to be well again? Just saying. Everybody cried for Nabu, Aisha is not the only one who would care about him!). I have no ideas for the others but it's the kind of thing that only comes up if I sit down and write the whole thing for me and I sure as hell won't do that.

8) Tritannus gets high on Throne power and tries to kill Icy as per canon, but the Trix don't flee. They are captured and after the battle the winx see how absolutely shattered Icy is and decide to hold out a hand to them (some of them are reluctant cuz it bit them in the ass with the Black Circle). Yes same as my fanfic but one season earlier: the winx talk Roccaluce into giving the trix a proper trial.

Season 6

1) Picking up from the trial, there's a few episodes focused on that as well as some arguments between the winx because as I said they weren't all 100% on board with that. Everyone is shocked when Icy says whatever the official lie about her origins was and the magic lie detector goes ham. Icy gives in and says she's a survivor of Dyamond. Cue to the mystery of this second Domino that the Magic Dimension doesn't talk about cuz it's even more embarrassing than what happened in Domino after all planets went on with slogans like "never again will we see something like on Domino now that the Ancestral Witches and Valtor are vanquished".

I put too much thought and time into this for something I'll never do so have a quick list of things this season would deal with:

- If you know me you know I am a sucker for redemption arcs and the trix will have one in this universe too.

- This season's theme would be change and adapting to change. Most obvious with the winx and the trix having to interact with each other in a new way, but also for Earth, where magic is spreading (again, comic plots of people discovering their powers and messing up big time in more than one way)

- Selina would be the main villain, but she'd be from either Linphea or Melody for the sake of linearity. Not sure what her goals may be but there could be a situation where she tries to recruit people from Earth who developed powers, thus crossing the winx's path

- There'd be more of the adulting we were supposed to get after season 4, with the winx taking steps towards what they want their life to be. Musa would focus on her musical career, Flora would decide she wants to focus on her role of guardian fairy, Tecna would have a series of technomagic projects rejected by companies and she'd decide to start her own company (with Timmy), Bloom would take on a more active role as a princess and help with Domino's reconstruction, Stella would officially start her fashion line and use her platform to bring attention to the problems she's entangled in (e.g. oh this awesome linen that can only be imported from Earth? Such a pity that Roccaluce won't recognize Earth as part of the Magic Dimension thus actively making commerce impossible), Aisha would focus on her role as guardian fairy as well as just enjoying her second chance with Nabu (she deserves it ok?)

- Roxy gets enchantix at some point

This took me way more than it should have lol I hope you enjoy the read!!

#willing to elaborate further on specific points #i made up half of this as I typed #thank you for the ask!#ask me anything #winx club #winx meta

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sithqueenkat · 11 months

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Intertwined Paths: Cal Kestis x female reader

Summary: After traveling beside you for so long, Cal decides he can’t keep his feelings for you a secret any longer.

Disclaimer: minor fluff but that’s it

Word count: 422

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As Cal Kestis ventured through the galaxies, battling the remnants of the dark side, he couldn't help but be captivated by her presence. She was his guiding light amidst the shadows, a beacon of hope that ignited a fire within his heart. Her name was [Y/N], a fellow Jedi who shared his passion for justice and the restoration of peace.

On a secluded planet, bathed in the soft glow of a distant star, Cal found solace in [Y/N]'s company. They often sought refuge amidst the ancient ruins, their conversations a dance of shared dreams and whispered secrets. In those stolen moments, their connection deepened, sparking a flame that neither could deny.

One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting hues of gold and pink across the landscape, Cal found himself unable to contain the feelings that surged within him. He searched for the right words, hoping to convey the emotions that swirled through his soul.

"[Y/N]," Cal began, his voice gentle yet filled with determination, "since the moment we crossed paths, my heart has been entwined with yours. You are the light that pierces through the darkness, the warmth that envelops me when the galaxy feels cold. I find myself drawn to you, not just as a comrade but as something more."

[Y/N]'s gaze met his, her eyes reflecting a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "Cal," she whispered, her voice carrying a vulnerability that mirrored his own, "I've felt the same way. In your presence, I discover a strength I never knew I possessed. The way you fight, the way you care, it ignites something within me."

Taking a step closer, Cal reached out, his hand gently caressing [Y/N] cheek. "Let us embrace the force that binds us, [Y/N]. Together, we can face whatever darkness lies ahead. In unity, our love will become a weapon against the shadows."

As their lips finally met in a tender kiss, the universe seemed to align, rejoicing in the union of two souls intertwined by destiny. In that moment, Cal and [Y/N] knew that their love would guide them through the trials yet to come, forging a bond that would withstand the darkest of times.

Amidst the vast expanse of the Star Wars galaxy, Cal Kestis and [Y/N] would not only conquer the forces of evil but also discover the true power of love—a force stronger than any lightsaber, capable of transcending space and time. Together, they would rewrite their destinies, intertwined forever in a love story that would echo throughout the ages.

#cal kestis #star wars #jedi #jedi survivor #jedi fallen order #cal kestis x reader

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peony-pearl · 11 months

Note

"someone PLEASE dare me to talk about the writing of Ursa's story from the comics"

This is your sign, child. Tell me all you've got

BLESS YOU!!!!!!!!

A bit of a foreword to anyone reading: I am going to be speaking about the writing of Ursa's trials from the comics in a critical light in the ways that her story was chosen to be written this way. If you find any kind of comfort or catharsis in her story, this post may not be for you. I am not here to be an anti, I am here to look at changes made to a character that I think could have been a lot more interesting if she had been allowed to keep her original backstory.

That being said:

Ursa's story of being plucked out of a happy home to marry 'the bad guy' could be interesting!

My problem with it is the inconsistencies it creates in it's own narrative... and the fact that it's such painful woobification of a woman who was willing to commit a high crime to save her son in the way that her circumstances create an issue where she is nothing but a martyr. It also continues the whole 'good lineage vs bad lineage' idea that completely undermines the power of Zuko's arc.

Ursa, in the comics, is presented to us as this bright eyed hopeful actress, in love with a man named Ikem when Azulon rolls up with Ozai, unlike some earlier lore where she was born into royalty and was the perfect match for Ozai. Now she's subjected to a wretched life which I can only imagine they put her through to make her completely sympathetic, because otherwise she would have been just like the rest of the royal family - EVIL.

Which I really hate that train of thought, but this is a family friendly show and as good as atla does with it's good vs evil nuances, I often remember I have to cut it some slack... but then I get a bit more frustrated because of the whole 'just because it's family friendly means they can simplify things' which I also don't care for but again... eh. I can't be too picky at times. (I was also raised on Gargoyles which did a great job on showing villains in sympathetic moments and heroes having big major flaws so I'm already a little biased)

Regardless; completely rewriting Ursa's backstory to the point that we no longer see her view of the war (or Ikem's! So they're good people!! We promise!) just comes off as almost manipulative and middle-school fanfiction-y. Ursa is a good person to sympathize with because she's being forced into these situations :C

And as such, she's a good person because of Roku!! And so Zuko is a good person because his mom loved him so much!!

And such, they don't have to show any changes on Ursa's part. No moral failings, no her and Zuko butting heads once they reunite to show how much he's grown... his morals come from her and Roku, because Avatar lineage = good.

And that grinds my gears so hard because then just like Ursa, that's robbing Zuko of his autonomy to make bad choices.

When Iroh tells Zuko in The Avatar and the Fire Lord that his legacy is the good and evil within him, it sucks because Zuko's legacy should solely be his own choices (I have my own issues with Zuko's view of the crown). Not the bloodline within him that he can't control. THAT'S A MAJOR POINT OF THE SHOW. People aren't born evil.

and yet Ursa is GOOD because she is Roku's GRANDDAUGHTER. That's really it. Yes, I can understand that she was raised in the moral compass left behind by him. But Ozai is only really good/charming to Ursa right up until their wedding when suddenly he's just EVIL and he's like 'you're MINE now hehehehe' like there's no in between, you just have to show Ursa in this miserable predicament which then also doesn't allow for any interesting development in our Ozai, aka previous big bad which could have been him following his father's orders to marry some woman and maybe he legitimately TRIED to make things work because NO ONE IS BORN EVIL. Ozai is such a shadow of Zuko that he would try to appease his father, and he might take this marriage on in the hopes that it would start building a bridge between them.

And we're not even getting into the fact that we don't learn that Ursa is the Avatar's granddaughter until the final season, JUST IN TIME for Zuko to learn this while he's locked in his self loathing and is utterly directionless. Again, this takes away the importance of his own choices. The boy who started the series completely devoted to returning home, willing to put himself and others through constant danger and misery just to appease his father is given a free ride card of 'oh you're actually good on the inside! Just do the good thing!'

Because he's Ursa's son, the woman who didn't want to marry Ozai because he was so so awful that his bloodline is OBVIOUSLY why Azula is the way she is (ugh).

Like this could work in more fairytale/simpler story settings but atla has gone so far out of it's way to continue to say 'no one is born evil' and 'people can change'; but when it comes down to it, they're really restricting the moral compass.

In the end, Ursa is good and suffered. Ozai is BAD because VILLAIN. (which yes he is but... ugh).

I don't know if I've made sense. I had a more cohesive idea when I wrote those tags but this is more or less my views of Comic!Ursa.

I don't hate her. But I hate that they just kind of shoved her on the misery train and kind of went 'wow that sucks right? This makes you want to see Zuko find her right?'

And then he does and all is well. Because Ursa is a GOOD WOMAN unlike that EVIL OZAI.

#atla #atla meta

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randomishnickname · 1 year

Text

The main deck as a stage - thoughts on S101

Rewatching S101 for the first time in years and I have some thoughts on the ending. Mainly, the reason why Billy, when handed a blank page, goes along with Flint’s wishes and pretends it’s the stolen one.

Thing is, it makes no sense that after what happened on Harbor Island and with Richard Guthrie, Billy'd be very convinced of Flint's Urca de Lima plans. He's seen Flint at his most unhinged and manipulative just a few hours ago! He hasn't had time to think the entire endeavor over! I don't think that, when handed the page, he makes the split decision that

Flint's pursuit of the Urca is worth lying to his brother-in-arms,

he shares Flint's worries about soon-to-be English colonization attempts or

Singleton's death on false pretenses was a necessary evil

The face of a man thoroughly convinced of Flint's leadership

Instead, I think Billy was being typecasted by Flint and reacted accordingly.

Flint sets up a scene: an initiating event (Singleton steals from his crew!), a conflict (trial by combat!), a climax (Flint kills Singleton as punishment for the theft), a clear resolution (Flint returns the stolen page to his crew!). As soon as Flint wins the fight the page being the stolen one becomes the logical conclusion, the satisfying outcome. The righteous man killed the duplicitous man, justice has been served. It's what the audience, waiting with bated breath, very clearly expects. It ties everything together.

And Billy, when he accepts the page from Flint's hand, is handed a role exactly as clear: deliver that bit of information to the audience.

Enter scene: confused boatswain

Except the page is blank.

"Flint? What's my line?

Blindsided by this, everyone's eyes on him, unable to come up with a replacement script from the get-go, Billy goes the path of least resistance and acts out the play according to everyone's expectations. He's carried by the momentum of the story. He's just a hapless stage prop. Yet.

It's the first of many, many times we see the ship's main deck turned into a center stage with Flint (and later Silver) as the showmaster, pushing narratives to enforce his agenda, a game at which he excels.

do Hamlet next babe, you wouldn't even need a new shirt

That man, in a mere minutes after deducting the thief must still be around, devised this exact scene set up and gambled that its dramatic impact would be strong enough to sway Billy. And he was right!! Flint is phenomenal at this game from the get-go, that's his real gift, even more than his fighting prowesses or strategic cunning. A lesser show would let us (the real audience) savor his victory, reflect upon its cleverness and await what comes next.

But then ... after the theatralics, histrionics, the fights and blood and epic grandiloquence acted out in full sunlight ...

We cut to backstage. The brothel, Jack, Anne and Max, hidden in the shadows behind the curtains, ready to rewrite the narrative.

Enter scene - the new playwright

The curtains are fucking red y'all!!!

@urcadelimabean

#this fucking show. they set those themes from EP 1 AAAAAH #black sails #billy bones #meta #black sails meta #bs meta #black sails s101 #captain flint #flint #bs max #jack rackham #anne bonny #my posts #also i need more AUs where Flint's an actor or smthg similar. That's his big gift

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theink-stainedfolk · 6 days

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Rewrite Tag

Thank you for the tag @drchenquill. This might not be really good but I'll do my best.

The line: Evening was slowly falling and the moon had gone into hiding behind the thick clouds. I smiled faintly. The moon. It would be the witness to my death, just as it had witnessed my abandonment. He hung there, watching the world fall apart beneath him, how humans took advantage of each other, while his creatures held humans like slaves. Why was he still shining down on us? Perhaps his tender light meant to show us the path we had taken, without telling us whether it was the right one.

My line: As twilight descended, the moon retreated behind a tapestry of clouds, casting a faint glow upon the world below. In its elusive absence, I found myself contemplating its enduring presence. Was it a guiding light, illuminating the path we tread, or a silent spectator to humanity's trials and tribulations? Lost in the quiet of the evening, I sought solace in the moon's tender gaze, finding within its radiant beams a beacon of hope amidst the darkness.

Your line will be:

Beneath the canopy of ancient oaks, their gnarled branches reaching toward the heavens like outstretched fingers, a forgotten garden lay hidden from the world. Here, amidst the tangled ivy and fragrant blossoms, time moved at its own leisurely pace, casting a spell of serenity over the landscape. Sunlight filtered through the verdant canopy, dappling the earth in a mosaic of light and shadow, while the distant melody of birdsong danced upon the breeze. In this tranquil sanctuary, secrets whispered in the rustle of leaves, and dreams took flight on the wings of butterflies. Here, amidst the quiet symphony of nature, the beauty of the world unfolded like a delicate flower, its petals unfurling to reveal the mysteries that lay hidden within.

I'll tag @cssnder, @hatetolove-lovetohate, @francieiswriting and whoever wants to participate.

#writeblr #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #writing #my writing #writers #writblr #writers of tumblr

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armageddon-generation · 2 months

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Fixing Netflix's Avatar: the Last Airbender

(Live action ATLA is a fundamentally bad idea because it disrespects the medium of animation and the original is near-perfect. But the wasted potential of this show annoys me, so there.)

This rewrite has 12 x 60 minute episodes, because squashing this story into 8 is insane. Maintaining its per-episode budget, this would still only make Netflix’s Avatar (NATLA) a little more expensive as their One Piece, which it's performing better than.

Each episode of the original show is 22 minutes, so even adapting two eps shot-for-shot per live action ep leaves each an extra 16 mins of runtime. For this new material I'm drawing on a lot of the comics and expanded canon.

If a NATLA change or addition isn’t mentioned (Azula and Ozai, the Cave of Two Lovers, the Mother of Faces, Kurruk’s dumbass knife) assume it’s gone because it’s Bad.

(Also, I recognise that my examples of dialogue are cringier than NATLA. But I’m not a paid for this, so you’ll have to forgive me.)

1. The Boy in the Iceberg

A pretty straight adaptation of the first 3 episodes of the original show smoothed together, removing the Zhao/Zuko subplot from 1x3 The Southern Air Temple

Extra scene- when Katara yells at Gran Gran for supporting Aang being banished, she narrates a version of the flashback sequence from 3x8 The Puppetmaster, showing the slow depletion of the South’s waterbenders, and how the ship Katara and Aang explored got there. This big extra action beat contextualizes how prosperous the South used to be, and Gran Gran’s anxiety over Katara’s bending

Extra flashback of Aang’s tattoo ceremony in the Yangchen chamber from NATLA– his whole class is there, cheering for him- Aang will find their skeletons with Gyatso’s, who died protecting them

2. The Shadow of Kyoshi

Combines 1x4 The Warriors of Kyoshi with 2x5 Avatar Day, where a village prosecutes Aang for Avatar Kyoshi killing their leader, Chen the Conqueror, long ago

Aang rides the Elephant Koi and provokes the Unagi right into a conflict between mainland and Kyoshi fishermen. Contrast how the two sides perceive Aang– Kyoshi as a big celebrity, the mainland as a criminal. He gets hit with the full breadth of the Avatar experience all at once, and naturally gravitates towards those who treat him better

They organize a ‘trial date’ where the mainlanders will return to demand justice, and Aang will defend Kyoshi’s honor This is how word spreads to Zuko.

Sokka’s subplot with Suki is unchanged from the original. THE SEXISM STAYS. The new NATLA stuff with them bonding over their parental issues and being non-benders can go after he’s been humbled

NATLA hyping up Kyoshi at the expense of Roku was bizarre fandom-pandering, especially as canonically Aang basically hates her. Here, Aang is initially convinced Kyoshi couldn’t have killed Chen because an Avatar never would.

This leads naturally into him and Katara reading up on Kyoshi’s past in her shrine as they do in NATLA, but Aang keeps getting distracted by the islanders' celebrity-worship. Eventually Katara leaves him to fend for himself in a huff.

Instead of trying to ride the Unagi, Aang goes to the trial alone and overconfident, but Kyoshi possesses Aang to confess she did kill Chen. Chen dying because he refused to retreat directly foreshadows Zhao dying because he refuses to take Zuko’s hand in the finale– wannabe conquerors crippled by their pride

Kyoshi possessing Aang is not pleasant. While he’s under she rags on him for abandoning his duty and not taking things seriously

Meanwhile, Zuko attacks the island. Sensing this, Kyoshi blasts off and lands in the middle of the village like in NATLA, brutalizing the Fire Nation soldiers.

When Kyoshi sees Zuko she tries to kill him- directly paralleling the flashback of her killing Chen, a moment of genuine fear for Zuko. Aang snaps out of it at the last second, refusing to kill him. Zuko recovers enough to strike, but Katara arrives just in time to knock him back again.

This moment foreshadows Aang’s conflict over killing Oazi– when Zuko says he should do it, Aang reminds him if he’d had that mentality in this moment Zuko would’ve never been able to redeem himself

The Gaang run, and Katara argues against what Kyoshi said– that killing is the only answer, that Aang deserves to be punished for abandoning his duty. This is a key difference to NATLA, which seemed to revel in tearing Aang down at every opportunity

Aang then puts the fires out with Unagi as in the original

3. The Price of Freedom

Combines 1x5 Imprisoned with 1x10 Jet, with a little 1x9 The Waterbending Scroll sprinkled in

Begin with Katara showing Aang her waterbending moves after Kyoshi told him to take things more seriously, and Aang totally outshining her, only for them to bump into Haru doing the same with his Earthbending. This is an initiation into Jet’s gang, using his bending to fight Fire Nation after his dad’s imprisonment drove him here. Unlike the rest of the outlaws, Haru has a mother to go home to

NATLA Jet helping Katara tap into her trauma to power her bending is interesting, but the execution was bad. Here he’s doing the same for Haru, too.

If we emphasize this aspect—Katara letting her rage drive her—her dynamic with Jet foreshadows her conflict in The Southern Raiders.

Playing both Katara’s Book 1 ‘love interests’ off each other contrasts them in an interesting way

Use the extra runtime to build Aang’s relationship with Jet—a Lost Boy looking up to Peter Pan. Jet is the kind of leader Aang wants to be as the Avatar, with his found family and ‘fun’ approach.

Jet’s target isn’t to destroy the dam, but to ‘get onto’ the Fire Nation prison, which doubles as a shipyard.

I liked NATLA’s slimier, more conniving version of Zhao. His introduction would fit perfectly here, replacing Imprisoned’s warden.

When Haru is arrested, Jet and Sokka clash in whether to help Katara go after him

Jet helps Katara because he wants her to see how broken and hopeless the prisoners are for herself.

Bato is also a prisoner here. He and Katara have an emotional reunion, which leads into her failed attempt to rally the other prisoners

Zhao summons Katara to his study after to taunt her and lay down the law. This Zhao is a wannabe scholar, obsessed with learning about and stealing from the other nations. Classic colonial mentality, and hidden in the background is the map he stole from Wong Shi Tong’s library, hinting at his plan in the finale. Katara also spies the waterbending scroll in the study, tying into her inadequacies in the opening scene

The Freedom fighters plot to hijack the Gaang’s escape plan and blow up the prison’s furnaces, killing everyone aboard. Sokka realizes and is captured.

When the truth is revealed, Katara fights Jet– another signature Katara RageTM moment where she summons a huge wave– and draws the guards’ attention. But it’s too late, and Jet triggers their plan.

It’s revealed Sokka escaped the Freedom fighters and neutralized Jet’s plan. Aang arrives with the coal, but the Earthbenders are still unwilling to fight.

Zhao uses the Freedom Fighters to taunt the prisoners- even their own people have given up on them. Then Haru starts the riot.

Zhao is tougher than the original Warden– Aang teams up with the earthbenders to knock him overboard

This shifts the conflict in several ways- Jet’s target is no longer innocent civilians but a shipyard with military, strategic value. At the same time, his willingness to sacrifice new recruit Haru is more callous than the original.

4. The Warrior and the Waterbender

Combining 1x9 The Waterbending Scroll with 1x15 Bato and the Water Tribe, and a dash of 2x4 The Swamp

Picks up where last episode left off; reinforcement Fire Navy ships are closing in on the prison as the prisoners evacuate, but Katara recklessly doubles back to grab the Waterbending Scroll in Zhao’s office. Aang follows.

The Fire Navy opens fire on the prison, triggering Jet’s bomb. The prison is crippled. Katara grabs the scroll and flees with Aang.

Katara’s necklace is lost in the chaos.

Thus we’ve cut the pirates but kept Katara endangering the group to get the scroll. Losing her necklace is now also a consequence of this

Aapa and Momo are separated from the group by the Fire Navy attack. Bato grabs a boat and directs the Gaang into a rapid river to escape the bigger ships- a precursor to Sokka’s Ice Dodging later.

Bato reminisces about similar times with their father and suggests Sokka and Katara join their Southern fleet. He’s headed to Omashu, the biggest Earth Kingdom stronghold in this region, where it’ll be far easier to find them

Aang hiding the map to Hakoda in Bato of the Water Tribe is often seen as his most unlikeable, childish moment, and the ‘Liar Revealed’ conflict is unusually contrived for ATLA. I’m cutting the that element but still exploring Aang’s separation anxiety through Bato

Aang and Katara reflect on last episode. Aang reiterates that violence wasn’t the answer, and her kindness and compassion is her greatest strength. It’s already saved him. He can’t describe how lucky he was to wake up in her arms, of all people.

He gifts her his handmade necklace from The Fortuneteller

This is a crucial way I'd like to shift shift Katara and Aang: In the original Katara does the vast majority of their emotional labor, and though it’s beyond doubt she loves Aang, there’s not *much* to set up her romantic interest, and so it comes off a little one-sided wish-fulfill-y. To improve this without pushing romance early, emphasize what Aang has to offer Katara. Here he’s her emotional support over their mutual betrayal by Jet

It also reiterates how dependent Aang has quickly become on Sokka and Katara, justifying his separation anxiety as their potential departure looms. He focuses on the waterbending scroll to strengthen that connection they have – ‘after Jet, let’s do this the right way’. But his talent only heightens her frustration

At the same time, Katara realizes her necklace is gone– losing a connection to her heritage VS Sokka growing closer to his through Bato.

Appa and Momo get a comedy subplot like in 2x4 The Swamp, because if I get to Book 2, that’s one of the episodes I’d cut

Meanwhile, Zuko investigates the wrecked prison and finds Katara’s necklace. He trails the reinforcement ships, who rescued Zhao and whisked him to a Fire Nation Colony port. They clash, but Zhao has no interest in an Agni Kai

Zhao has hired June to track down his escaped prisoners. Zuko offers her a more lucrative job finding the Avatar

Meanwhile Katara’s conflict from The Waterbending Scroll plays out. June captures her when she’s isolated herself to practice, and they pounce on the others. Sokka manages to get them free by turning June against Zuko over Aang’s reward like he does the pirates. Aang fights Zuko for Katara’s necklace while she uses her waterbending to get Bato’s boat back into the water while Bato and Sokka fight June and the Shirshu– playing on Bato’s stories of him and their dad wrangling wild beasts

They all escape on Bato’s boat– Sokka finally gets his turn at the coming-of-age Ice Dodging, using Katara and Aang’s improved waterbending to pull of an impossible escape

Aang steals the animal whistle that finally attracts Appa from June- mirroring Katara stealing the scroll

5. Omashu

Combines 1x4 The King of Omashu with 1x12 The Storm

Aang is anxious because Omashu was where he was going when he abandoned the Southern Air Temple- to find refuge with Bumi, who never fit in and made his own rules

The Gaang and Bato arrive in Omashu. Desperate to postpone Sokka and Katara leaving, while Bato requests an audience with the King, Aang drags them off to do the mail chutes– a desperate ‘look how fun I am! Please don’t leave!’ and his last chance to relive the high of his friendship with Bumi

Bato’s audience with Bumi is interrupted by news of the chaos the Gaang have caused. He’s cripplingly embarrassed when they’re matched in– ‘you really are your father’s kids’

Aang realizes who Bumi is quickly. He’s overjoyed– but Bumi is aloof, and demands to know why his friend abandoned him. A more personal version of the old fisherman from The Storm

Aang runs off and Katara follows. Sokka defends Aang to Bumi- he didn’t believe in Aang at first either, but the kid quickly changed his mind. Bumi ‘imprisons’ Sokka and Bato

Meanwhile, Katara finds Aang in his and Bumi’s old hangout spot, and he tells her how he learned he was the Avatar and ran away- his half of the flashbacks from The Storm. He understands if Katara wants to leave him and go with Bato now she knows

A royal messenger arrives– Bumi wants to bargain for Sokka and Bato’s freedom

Because Aang already knows who Bumi is, his challenges all link to key memories from their friendship. One was a meetup with Kuzon, Aang’s Fire Nation friend. Even before he was the Avatar Aang brought the nations together

After Bumi is satisfied with their final fight, he reveals he decided to forgive Aang before the challenges even started. They weren’t meant to torment him with the past but help bring lessons from it into the future.

This way we get to explore Bumi having a more critical reaction to Aang like in NATLA without sacrificing the core of Bumi’s character, or the fundamental goodness of their friendship

Bato parts ways with Sokka and Katara at the end

6. The Winter Solstice

A pretty straight adaptation of 1x7 The Spirit World and 1x8 Avatar Roku

On the Fire Nation side, I liked the NATLA addition of one of Iroh’s captors being a victim of his siege on Ba Sing Se. Unlike NATLA, this should be the first time Iroh is ever truly serious in the show.

When Aang sees the burnt-down forest, he flashes back to when he was a small child, and the monks taught him (with the same kids from his tattoo ceremony) how to care for scared natural spaces through Yangchen’s Festival (as featured in post-canon graphic novel The Rift). This more explicitly intwines Hei Bai losing his forest with Aang losing his culture

We follow Sokka when he’s held captive by Hei Bai. Building on his coming of age with Bato, Sokka has visions of returning home a warrior only to see it lain to waste– everyone he was charged with protecting dead. This foreshadows the loss of Yue.

Speaking of Yue, I’m keeping NATLA having her visit Sokka while he’s trapped in the Spirit World, guiding him out of his vision, but when we meet Yue the context of this will be very different

Sokka re-emerges from the Spirit World worried about home, but learning about the comet reaffirms his commitment to Aang

When Aang gets stuck in the Spirit World, he gets properly lost in the shifting, alien landscape we only saw in the original’s Book 1 finale

This sequence is inspired by the scene in The Legend of Korra Book 2 (hear me out) where Korra turns back into a toddler. Here, Aang’s panic turns him back into the age he was in the Yangchen Festival flashback

This story shouldn’t feature Koh, who totally overshadows Hei Bai in NATLA, but as Aang runs through the Spirit World, confused and alone, discontented spirits shout and jeer about the Avatar’s failures– specifically referencing Kurruk’s war with the spirits

Roku’s dragon swoops in to save Aang from himself. When he takes Aang to Roku’s Temple, the Fire Sages sense him and ward him off, to create more continuity between the story’s two halves

Similarly, when meeting the corrupt Fire Sages in person we call back to and contrast with how the Air Nomads upheld their holy sites

When the good Fire Sage is chained up alongside Zuko, he asks if he’s the son of Lady Ursa, and obliquely hints at Zuko’s familial connection to Roku

After his disastrous encounter with Kyoshi, Aang is cautious around Roku, but Roku is apologetic (‘this war is my fault’) and supportive. Unlike when Aang was taken over by Kyoshi, Roku inhabits Aang with permission and after agreeing not to kill anyone

(side-note but I’m not keeping the Gyatso scene because it’s contrived and dulls the personal impact of the genocide)

7. Masks

Combines 1x13 The Blue Spirit with the Zuko portion of 1x12 The Storm

Appa is injured fleeing the blockade and Aang is angry. He draws Zhao away from Sokka and Katara, and gets captured and transported to another of his prisons.

NATLA’s additions work best here. Lu Ten’s funeral, Zuko’s crew being the 41st legion. Lu Ten’s funeral should be the second time Iroh is serious and melancholy all season.

DO NOT have Zuko fight back in the Agni Kai. Stupidest decision in the show

Once Aang has saved Zuko from the prison, add a flashback from his perspective, which I’m adapting from the (honestly pretty good) M. Night movie prequel comic Zuko’s Story:

Immediately following the Angi Kai, Azula visits Zuko to mock him.

Later, she finds him sleeping on the docks after failing to gather a crew, and gets him his crappy ship and ‘crew of failures’, which ties nicely into them being the 41st division. Azula presents it as a mercy, but she’s just sweeping all the trash under the same rug.

This introduces Azula in Book 1 without being OOC or ruining her armor of perfection too soon

8. The Northern Air Temple

Adapts 1x17 The Northern Air Temple with an extra subplot: Conflicted about what to do with the settlers, Aang meditates and consults Avatar Yangchen, the Air Nomad Avatar before him, and they debate Aang’s responsibility to preserve their culture

If you must show the genocide, show it here– in brief, traumatising flashes as Aang explores the Temple. NATLA’s take on the genocide was pathetic. The Airbenders put way too much of a fight– they should be overwhelmed by huge columns of fire, dragons etc- think this fan-comic showing two Airbender boys trying to escape the attack on the North

The Mechanist’s son Teo studies Air Nomad culture. This gives his character more meat and explores the appropriation conflict presented through the Avatar Aang Fan Club in The Promise comic; ‘My culture is not a game’

Katara asks Aang to teach her to glide to pull him out of a dark spiral. Again, building that Aang/Katara dynamic, this should be a fun parallel to Penguin Sledding in episode 1– Aang unlocking Katara’s inner child, giving her a freedom she never had before him. It should really emphasize their trust. Let Aang be confident and encouraging!

The Mechanist is making weapons for Zhao (just like his shipyard), and it’s revealed Zhao deliberately spread stories about Air Nomad survivors to lure Aang into a trap, which is a tactic Fire Lord Sozin used to mop up the Nomads who survived his genocide. This idea is from The Lost Adventures comic Relics, fits with NATLA wanting to be ‘darker’, and ties into the genocide flashbacks

Zhao arrives with a battalion, ready to spring his trap and take the Temple

Now the battle for the Temple directly mirrors the genocide sequence- Aang explicitly defending his home like he never had the chance to before

9. The Old Masters

Combines 1x18 The Waterbending Master with 1x16 The Deserter

Jeong Jeong surrendered himself to the North when he fled the Fire Nation. The conditions here naturally suppress his firebending, as seen in Book 3 of The Legend of Korra

Sokka learns about Jeong Jeong during warrior training. Aang’s frustration with Pakku’s teachings pushes him towards Jeong Jeong to learn firebending too

Contrast the two elements, how Aang struggles more with firebending after getting water so quickly

Aang burning Katara and her discovering she’s a healer intersects perfectly with the North funneling women into the healing huts– is this really what she was destined for?

I appreciate NATLA trying to make Princess Yue a more active character because she’s not given much in the original and Sokka’s love at first sight crush on her is pretty shallow. However, making Yue too active undermines the point of her character in the original; that she lets herself be a passive vessel for duty right up until her final choice to help the Moon spirit

To that end, keep Yue being a waterbending healer– she is the personification of the system Katara is rebelling against. When Yue was young, she had dreams of defending the North with her father that were quickly squashed by her duties. Katara does what Yue wishes she could have

Sokka connecting with Yue because she comforted him when he was alone in the Spirit World is good, but here instead of being a revered spiritual leader, Yue’s trips into the Spirit World are secret, rebellious things, straying outside her strict duties and endangering herself. In this way Sokka is the face of Yue’s own private rebellion. She is both terrified and thrilled by the chance to meet him in person

Her fiance Haan is still a douche

Keep Gran Gran’s betrothal necklace pushing Pakku into self-reflection. People rag on him only letting Katara train with him because of nepotism, but that’s how it be sometimes when pushing societal reform. Personal change first. I did like how NATLA emphasized Katara inspiring other women to fight, so that can continue into next episode, showing how Pakku’s personal reflection led to widespread change

Katara being ‘her own master’ felt like forced girlbossery, especially as her level-up in the original show is already very quick, but I like the idea of her drawing from other bending styles to fight

Instead of the cut pirates, it’s the Yu Yang Arches who assassinate Zuko for Zhao

10. The Siege of the North

A pretty straight adaptation of 1x19 and 1x20

Katara and Aang spar in the opening and she trounces him- a nice progress marker from the stuff with the Waterbending Scroll. The footwork/moves here foreshadow the energy of their dance in 3x2 The Headband

Yue arrives looking for Sokka, having snuck away from Royal duties. Katara asks about her intentions with her brother– wasn’t it just announced that she’s engaged? Yue insists it’s platonic.

Yue: Have you ever looked at someone and just seen… freedom? [Aang’s laughter in the background] Katara: ...Just don’t break his heart

Sokka arrives to pull Yue away. Her brief trips into the Spirit World give her a wider perspective of the war’s impact than the North’s isolated leaders. Sokka taking her up on Appa sets up the possibility of her leaving with the Gaang to become an envoy to the South or a Spiritual Leader, making her sacrifice hit harder

They bond through their mutual anxieties over leadership

Sokka: You’d be a great diplomat. You’re charming, kind, clever but never condescending, even to a Southern peasant like me. And you’re so strong, to put up with everything you do. Yue: What I put up with is hardly comparable to the dangers that Southern peasant has fought through. Sokka: You have so many responsibilities. So many people to protect, so many relying on you– I know how hard that can be. At least a little.

They discuss why Yue’s parents are so protective and controlling, explaining her Moon backstory earlier on. Framing her father’s protectiveness this way emphasizes Yue’s sacrifice as a final act of agency and embracing her true destiny

Instead of Roku, Kurruk leads Aang to Koh because he’s familiar with him, letting him better pace narrating his backstory with the spirits than monologuing straight to camera

Kurruk warns Aang against letting personal attachments cloud his duty, and letting those he loves be hurt- we transition from the face of Kurruk’s dead beloved to Katara frantically searching for him.

Sokka/Katara discussing protecting Aang vs protecting Yue

Show the female waterbenders from Katara's healing class supporting the warriors in the battle, and fighting alongside Pakku

As Zhao marches through the North he finds his old master Jeong Jeong in his cell, and they talk before Jeong Jeong escapes. Follow this with an extra scene of Jeong Jeong crossing paths with Iroh

Now we get the full Zuko vs Zhao Agni Kai, played as a direct parallel to the staging of Ozai’s. Zuko spares Zhao, only for Koizilla to snatch him as he walks away. Zhao still refuses Zuko’s hand.

In NATLA, Katara called out to Koizilla and Aang turned as if hearing her, but it was still seeing the restored moon that stopped his rampage. I’m adjusting things so Katara’s words wake Anatlaang from the Avatar state- proving Kurruk wrong about attachments- and Aang communicates with the Ocean Spirit like he communicated with Hei Bai, pointing out the restored moon. Then the Ocean releases him

We linger on the destruction like in NATLAatla la s, setting up Aang’s fear of the Avatar state in Book 2– ‘Kyoshi would be proud’

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