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reunionatdawn · 4 months

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My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 6: Ferdinand/Dorothea)

(Normal): Thanks but no thanks, Mr. Noble. I already have my heart set on someone else. (Ferdinand & Dorothea support level B reached): I suppose I can settle for you just this once, Ferdie.

The writers obviously put a lot of love into this ship, as it's one of the rare times that the main story dialogue changes depending on Support level between two characters. Plus, since he asks her out on a date outside of their Support chain, it shows that Ferdinand is canonically interested in Dorothea. And this is true in Hopes as well. He fears his mind will "wander to other things" while training with her.

Dorothea: Song and dance live on in our memories, but there's no real record of them. Even memories fade over time. Will anyone remember me when I'm gone?

Dorothea is a Libra, an air sign. Air signs are masculine, but not as much as the fire signs. Libras are extroverted, cozy, and friendly people. Libras, like the Scales that symbolize the sign, are often concerned with attaining balance, harmony, peace, and justice in the world. Dorothea had the motivation to join Edelgard's cause to dismantle the corrupt nobility. But she was also compassionate and hated the idea of fighting people she knew.

Ferdinand: I will do what I'm called to do, even if no mark of me remains in the history books.

Ferdinand bears the Crest of Cichol, which is associated with the Justice Arcana. Justice is a signifier of legal matters being resolved in a fair and balanced manner. It represents the power to distinguish between what is fair and what is unfair, in an impartial way. Ferdinand's dream was to lead the Empire to an age of enlightenment and hold his father accountable for his crimes. The downside to his ambitions was that his life revolved around being recognized for his achievements.

Ferdinand: That is true nobility! Acting in accordance with the people's needs and wishes. As war drags on, those living near the front lines inevitably get the worst of it. Still…Edelgard will not give in. She will push to complete her mission, no matter how many people die. Not everyone with noble blood has noble ideals.

His character arc was about exemplifying true nobility, defined as, "having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals." Not just being noble, defined as, "belonging to a hereditary class with high social or political status." And I would argue that opposing Edelgard was vital to his character arc.

Dorothea: Oh, Ferdie. You opposed Edie for so long… I had real hopes for you, you know? Now you're following her. Is that your duty as a noble? Follow your master when they say to heel? Ferdinand: I will not try to explain my duty or hers. You would not understand. I wish you could.

Dorothea is one of the few non-lord characters that will actually react to another non-lord character's death. If you don't recruit Ferdinand, he will die at the Great Bridge of Myrddin so that his name goes down in history as "the legendary Ferdinand of Adrestia".

If Ferdinand does not complete his arc, Dorothea will be the one who is most disappointed. She will say she had high hopes for him, a reference to their B-Support where he made her treats, and she reconsidered him as husband material. His memory will not live on in the history books, but it does live on in her heart. It was hard not to think of this pairing as "canon" after I saw this dialogue.

Dorothea: Though we only knew each other briefly back at the academy, you were still my friend—but now our paths have diverged forever.

There's even a Hopes version of this dialogue available in Record Keeper. Similar to Edelgard and Byleth in Silver Snow, if Ferdinand and Dorothea's paths diverge, it is treated as a great tragedy of fate. It shows how much the writers favored this particular ship.

(Normal): Yes… I have met someone quite charming recently. I'm hoping we can spend more time together soon. (Dorothea has reached Support Rank A with a male): I am. There is someone whose company I have come to enjoy.

While Dorothea is bisexual, she did seem to have a preference for men. The dialogue in her B-Support with Edelgard only changes if Dorothea has attained A-Support with a male character.

Linhardt: You've probably overcome a lot of tough times, haven't you? I think that's incredible, really, but why not just let go of the suffering and run away from the memories that cause you pain? I suspect you'll find it a better way of living. I know I do. Dorothea: That's not living, Lin. It's running away. If I leave my hardships behind, then all of that means nothing.

She only got into the academy by buttering up some noble, which suggests that she may have had to perform sexual favors. She had a poor self-image, despite her physical beauty. And that is why I think she pursued men so adamantly, even when she was not truly attracted to them. She was running away from her past.

Dorothea: What's important isn't how someone looks, it's their true nature. I don't pretend to know your true nature. I don't even have a very good understanding of my own. But I suppose you see mine just fine, don't you? Just a silly girl with no thoughts in her head except for marrying a noble, yes? Good-bye, Felix.

Dorothea had to hone her masculine energy while living on the streets and performing in the opera. She despised the goddess (although she has a hidden talent for faith). Her paralogue with Ingrid showed how the two had contrasting views on marriage. Dorothea wanted to play the traditionally feminine role of housewife, with a noble husband fulfilling the traditional masculine role of provider and protector.

Dorothea: But if you and I were devoted to one another… maybe we could strive for the future you believe in. Maybe I'd finally understand your path and be able to think about more than just myself. Hubert: Seems it's my turn to not understand. Did you just propose marriage as a way to get to know me?

She was always looking for a wealthy husband to take care of her into her old age, and often came across as nothing but a shallow gold-digger. Because she was afraid of living in poverty, she would settle for a nobleman regardless of whether or not she knew him very well or was actually in love with him.

Sylvain: You know, even when I was a kid, I never had trouble with girls. …But thinking about it now, I wonder what they liked about me back then. They didn't know everything about me… It's just confusing. Dorothea: Oh, where did that come from? No one can know everything about you.

She was at first dismissive of the idea that people need to know each other fully to get married. But she did commiserate with Sylvain about how people wanted to marry her without even knowing anything about her. However, she flirtatiously makes plans to grow old with him immediately afterwards. Even though they still barely knew each other.

Dorothea: I never had much to begin with in life, and I worry that one day, I'll be that way again… That's why I keep searching for someone who will love me. Someone unaware of the songstress, who can love a girl that used to be scared and alone on the streets of the capital… I wonder if such a strange person can even exist.

But what she really wanted was to spend her life with someone who did know her true self. Several of her endings depict her giving up on her goal of finding a rich husband. She is able to find love with Petra and Manuela and those are happy endings for her. But I still think the happiest ending for her is to find her dream man. A rich provider and protector who would know and love her as the scared orphan girl.

Dorothea: Oh, really? You're something different? That's not how I remember things… It was the very day that I was discovered…

I think Ferdinand offered the best closure to her character arc. There was a palpable sexual tension between them in both games, with Dorothea pushing him away yet secretly desiring to be closer. I'd argue she has more far chemistry with him than any of her other potential partners. At the academy, Dorothea did not flirt or make advances on Ferdie, despite him being the exact type of wealthy noble she was after. But in the end, she was more open, honest, and emotionally vulnerable with him than she was with anyone else.

Dorothea: Maybe I can believe you. I've wanted to ever since the day you made me those treats… I thought then that maybe you weren't like the others, but… There's a lot I have to let go of, Ferdie.

The tagline for the game was, "Sweet memories twisted by time's cruel hand". By getting closure with Ferdinand, Dorothea could reclaim a sweet memory and let go of some pain from her past. Ferdie considered Edelgard his rival and prided himself on being better than her. But with Dorothea, he said he wouldn't mind a life of being a simple drone, circling a queen. So, they both find a new way to live with each other. This pairing is a more wholesome alternative for Ferdie than Ferdibert. But Ferdie still is kind of a sub.

Ferdinand & Dorothea Ferdinand reclaimed the position of Duke Aegir and initiated reforms within his domain. Through his political methods, which closely aligned with the needs of the common people, the Aegir Duchy swiftly underwent reconstruction. Behind this success story was the significant contribution of Dorothea, the former songstress who became the Duchess, who dedicated herself to serving the commoners. Ferdinand, recognized for his achievements, was entrusted with governance across all of Fódlan. Despite being busy with his duties, he prioritized spending time with his family. He and Dorothea raised their children together, and their home was always filled with the sound of cheerful singing.

This feels like the picture-perfect ending for both of them. Dorothea achieves her life plan of marrying a rich provider and protector, overcoming her prejudice towards nobles. Her children carry on her legacy, and her memory will live on in their hearts.

And thanks to her experiences as an orphan, Ferdinand's policies benefit the commonfolk. He actually renounced his nobility and lived as a wanderer for five years because he did not believe in Edelgard's ideals, and he wanted to make up for his father's wrongdoings in his own way. He was prepared to leave no mark on history, but he is recognized for his achievements in the end.

#fe3h #fe3h meta #ferdithea #ferdinand von aegir #dorothea arnault

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tubborucho · 4 months

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Something I think people are missing when they talk about the whole Day 12 thing with Tubbo and Bad is that Tubbo is just like that sometimes, especially with people he’s close to. Depending on how you look at it that's not necessarily better or worse, but I think it’s an important factor because so much of the recent BBH Purgatory discussion is about how he’s singled out and that’s something Tubbo would do to anyone. He’ll get a minor irritation stuck in his head just as hard as a major problem and then refuse to let it go. The amount of ranting he does isn’t always an accurate measure of how important it is to him and “I’m still on this” (or any variation) is practically his catchphrase. I’m not trying to downplay in-character analysis, it’s a trait of both streamer and character, but it’s something you might not realize if you don’t watch Tubbo very often.

Yeah, this is also a part of it. Tubbo is very passionate about things, and sometimes those things are minor grudges that he gets stuck on for no good reason just because it’s fun for him to get annoyed at them and rant. But this is more of a cc! part of things than in character one (tho all of Tubbo’s characters also have this trait more or less).

For me, I really think it’s because Tubbo is very frustrated with the Day 12 itself, and out of everything that went wrong Bad dying is the only concrete moment he can single out. Because Quackity dying doesn’t really count in lore because he wasn’t there really (which is such bullshit btw, this is my Day 12 Roman Empire, Quackity’s death SHOULDN’T have influenced the percentage) and anyone else wasn’t there either to do the quests, for objective irl reason, so q!Tubbo also can’t really be mad at them and also who would he be mad with out of everyone on the team absent? All of them? Choose a specific person?

Meanwhile Bad was there and he died after doing something Tubbo told him not to (note: this is neutral, I am not discussing right now the moment itself and how justified Bad going in was). So it’s a concrete thing that he can blame on the percentage loss without it being meta or ‘why are you mad at me and not the others who did the same’. And it was really hard emotionally day for him, the combination of cc!Tubbo (well, q!Tubbo too but for the sake of the point we will count it as more of a cc! trait) being very competitive and q!Tubbo genuinely believing that Soulfire is cursed and that they absolutely must win this day to tie (I am pretty sure he believed it was the last day that counts? But I might be wrong) or (later) to win the Purgatory and save all the Eggs (which was his one and only goal truly, he was really clear about not straying from it even when it felt that a lot of characters forgot what it’s all for). So he singled Bad out and concentrated on it as the sole reason they lost Day 12, seething.

Now, for cc!Tubbo it’s mostly a bit, even if he acts genuinely ’not over this’, he is just having fun. And q!Tubbo may still have this grudge, but overall it does not outweigh his newfound comradery with Bad and respect for him. But q!Tubbo is also very much a Negative Nancy, he LOVES to just rant about stuff that ‘annoys’ him and get on his friends nerves. Like he find a thing and just keeps pushing it (ex: Bagi’s ‘incest’ tendencies, everything concerning Fitpac, Phil’s age and a lot of other stuff, Foolish and ‘you made it awkward now’, etc) and Day 12 is his thing for Bad along with cursing/inappropriate jokes.

Do I think it’s fair to q!Bad? When /srs – no; when /lh – yes, because it’s funny. Do I think it can count as an example of how people keep blaming Bad for everything about Purgatory? Yes. Do I think it’s actually the same as with other characters? Not at all.

All the other prominent negative after-Purgatory characterizations of Bad are concentrated on him being a bloodthirsty monster that terrorized everyone (only partially true and definitely not unique to his character). Meanwhile Tubbo never really talked about Bad being a ‘monster’ in Purgatory (afterwards) in any negative light as far as I remember, it was always very neutral. Or at least not blaming him for it. His grudge is a completely my teammate did a dumb thing so I will forever remind him it. Which tho still unfair is not hypocritical when what other characters do.

Obviously this is just my take on the situation, everyone can perceive it a bit differently, especially because I am writing this as a Tubbo main, so my view on things is skewed towards him.

#liss writes posts #qsmp #liss answers asks #qsmp badboyhalo #qsmp tubbo #soul sacrificers

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piglinmyfeet · 4 months

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YES please pretty please talk about your historical life series au

So, the setting is roughly late 1900s to early 1910s. Pre-war era England. London to be specific, though I am looking for a specific year to set this in (partly for the sake of character design)

The au contains all members of the life series, but some don't have set roles yet and I'm open to input on those, as well as ideas for characters who already have roles

The central characters are Joel and Scar (and to an extent, Grian), though the story is more from Joel's perspective overall.

Joel is an artist, as a reference to his empires s1. He was raised by his aunt and uncle in Yorkshire, along with his cousin but moved to London at a young age to pursue his career in art.

Scar is an American nouveau riche car manufacturer (a reference to hermitcraft S8) who recently moved to England and is a new patron of Joel's art.

Ren is Scar's old money neighbour who has a suspiciously familiar manservant. Spoiler but Ren is also the legitimate brother of Joel.

Martyn was the second son of an Earl and highly respected officer in the British army, however he died recently. Another spoiler, he faked his death and is disguised as Ren's manservant.

Grian is another neighbour of Scar's, though his family's wealth goes back much less far. Grian grew up with Martyn and Ren but has a deep hatred for the two of them and is determined to find something to ruin their reputation, such as an illegitimate sibling or the truth about a suspicious death.

Gem is an officer in the British army who replaced Martyn after his death. She has been disguised as a man since joining the army and is widely disrespected due to her age, despite how strict she is with the troops, rivalling many other officers.

Etho is an older army officer and the only person who knows Gem's status as he was the one who helped her make her way into the army.

Cleo is Martyns so called widow, making her a dowager. Don't ask why there was so much alcohol at her husbands funeral, a woman may cope however she pleases.

Scott is Cleo's new fiancé after the death of Martyn. He is a bankrupt noble due to a series of bad investments at the hand of his older brother and has agreed to marrying a wealthy dowager (Cleo)

Lizzie is Joel's ex-fiance who went missing a few years ago. Yet another spoiler, she got heavily involved in the suffragette movement (theyre the violent ones, the suffragists were the more peaceful ones) and is on the run from the law and under Cleos protection.

The two with less fleshed out roles at the moment are Jimmy, Joel's cousin he was raised with in Yorkshire, and Mumbo, a mechanic who works for Scar, so they need to be further developed

Then there's Pearl, Impulse, Bdubs, Skizz, BigB are Tango who I honestly have no clue where to fit them in here so please give me ideas 🥺👉👈 i literally love using that sequence of emojis its so silly

Places I took inspiration from for this are: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Musical), The Unexpected Heiress (Visual Novel) and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Book Series)

The last one is set in a completely different time period (1700s), however I took inspiration from it's mystery aspects (this also only applies to the first two books in the series) (it also has no relation to GGLAM, ignore their similar names, and the fact both have main characters who go by Monty)

(By the way, don't expect perfect historical accuracy, this is not the time period I've studied the most extensively. The one I have studied is not really suitable for Minecraft fanfiction, however I am still a history lover.)

#my very own post #traffic historical au #smallishbeans #goodtimeswithscar #rendog #inthelittlewood #grian #geminitay #ethoslab #zombiecleo #smajor1995 #ldshadowlady #asks #ggttaob

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minecraftbookshelf · 10 months

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Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Mad King of Mezalea

Joel actually has three major looks through the course of the AU; Prince of Mezalea, Trophy Husband, and King Joel, with the subcategories of "armor" for each.

They all have the same base design of "human", differing by (apparent) age and general sense of style.

Some Joel Skins to start us off and provide the base we're working off of, and also the Mezalean banner because color pallet

And also, because it is actually relevant, (bear with me here) some samples of Mezalean architecture.

The Matral Palace and the Villager area.

Based off of Joel's final skin, the vibe is kind of "Victorian military dress uniform" however there is something very, very important to take into consideration from a worldbuilding perspective.

The Mesa is a warm weather biome. Its a colorful desert. Which means high temperatures during the day and cold at night. So tight-fitting, thick fabrics in a Victorian style would be incredibly impractical.

So we turn to the second possible source for fashion inspiration: The architecture, which gives mostly Byzantine vibes.

So what would Byzantine clothing look like, especially for nobility?

First off, taking into account that the Byzantine Empire lasted for approximately a thousand years and, naturally, underwent some dramatic changes in clothing style during that time, we'll pick a specific vibe out of the options. I settled on a bit of a mix between Early Byzantine (think the Theodora Mosaic shown below) and Middle Byzantine (see the mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX below)

And here are just some screenshots from my pintrest board for Mezalea and Mezalean!Joel, because if I put all these on here separately I'll hit the image limit too soon.

(General disclaimer: yes, Pintrest has an art theft problem, yes Pintrest is much harder to effectively use now due to the pervasiveness of ads on everything, no I don't use it for like, formal things. It remains one of the best ways to collect visual references and figuring out The Vibes)

(Yes, we get to go full Material Gworl vibes for the Mezalean King, as is only right and proper.)

General characteristics I'm adopting here for Mezalean clothing:

Brocade (and bejeweled) kaftan/kaftan-esque outer layer. This is a formal wear thing, and is absolutely a "showing off the wealth" power move.

Lots of Big Chunky Colorful Jewelry

I don't know what it's actual name is, but that general style of having jeweled tassel-like things hanging from the front sides of the crown/headdress.

Light-weight and loose fitting under-layers.

And of course, bright colors.

Prince Joel: Before he became part of the main cast in an epic fantasy adventure spanning several hundreds of years and an entire continent (and the adjacent ocean) Joel was the youngest of three princes with two older brothers who were both married and had kids.

Which is to say, it did not look like he would ever be the king.

His role in the kingdom was very much that of an ambassador to and direct connection to their people. He spent a lot of time working on fishing boats and in the mines and quarries. While he did receive a standard royal education on things like diplomacy and combat, international interactions were not his focus at all, much more involved in the day to day operations of his own home. (And yes, that is a very vital aspect of the idea of "royalty" in general, supposedly, and that being a particular point of Joel's upbringing will make more sense when I get around to writing and posting the post about how royalty functions in the Empires. tldr; its related to the whole thing where Pixlriffs accidentally redefined "war")

Basically, Prince Joel = the first skin, the simple green one. He's wearing more lightweight, practical clothes that allow him to engage in physically demanding dirty work without costing a fortune every day. He still dresses up for formal events, but he doesn't even attend all of those and he is far from a daily sight in court.

Trophy Husband: For a couple hundred years, Joel didn't live in Mezalea. Instead, he was one half of the chronological first arranged marriage in the "au in which all the marriages are arranged" situation. And this one was the one that most resembles the set-up of a generic "period" bodice-ripper novel (though that is not how it played out ultimately, for the parties involved, despite the romance that does happen.)

Basically, this is his War Prize Era. In which Lizzie won a husband in combat and then didn't really know what to do with him.

During this time period, Joel mostly wore ocean styled clothing, though during formal occasions he would wear a notable amount of Mezalean accessories, that were part and parcel of the treaty with him. (I'm trying so hard not to derail this into just a breakdown of the events of the Joel & Lizzie arc of the au im trying so hard)

He did tend to mix Oceanic and Mezalean clothing, due in part to Oceanic clothing being primarily designed for underwater wear, while he lived above the surface, finding the balance of practicality and appearances demanded by the political nature of his existence at the time. (Also a personal comfort thing as Mezalean clothing tended to afford more skin coverage and also had shoes) Once he and Lizzie were more comfortable both in the world and with each other he had more opportunities for personalization and tended towards Mezalean styles in oceanic colors. He did develop a significant appreciation for the Oceanic idea of skin-tight under-layers for water travel.

King Joel: He did end up back in Mezalea as king, which is when we hit the style closest to the second skin, which mostly for this is really an indicator of color scheme. Formally, he is now wearing the full Kaftan and Jewelry look, day to day its more of "colorful, simple, and lightweight" because he still is very active in the day to day commerce of his empire. He does usually wear significantly more jewelry than he did as a prince, he grew a taste for it during his trophy husband era XD. The details of his day-to-day wear are also fancier. finer fabrics, more embroidery, brocade hems, etc.

Most of his earrings are gifts from Lizzie, some in Oceanic colors, some in Mezalean, but all with little chips of prismarine to remind him of her even when she can't be there.

Armor: Joel's armor preferences are simple netherite plate. He also does have a ceremonial trident, as a member of the Oceanic royal family. His is gold-plated.

art

Lizzie || Jimmy ||

AU Masterpost

#empires smp #empires s1 #smallishbeans #the mad king of mezalea #rain rambles #marriage of state au #mos: worldbuilding #mos: joel

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uneednotknow · 4 months

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Vaughn Morozov

Headcannon with fem!OC.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vaughn or any other characters mentioned in this hc, besides the fem!OC, they all belong to the rightful author Rina Kent. I wrote this just for fun, since Vaughn isn't getting his own book and I'm intrigued by him, I'm putting my own thoughts on this.

There could be inaccuracies of how I write the characters but bear with it,please. Crazy, but I haven't read any of RKs works (besides GoP) and so it could be a disaster.

I am aware of his unnamed girlfriend but like I have mentioned, this work is a figment of my imagination and I'm writing this purely for entertainment purposes, so don't take offense to any of this.

Enjoy your read.

Vaughn was presumably mentioned to be17/18 in GoF.

So I'll be writing in and around that timeline.

Vaughn Morozov, Kirill and Sasha's son, heir to the New York Bratva, the future Pakhan, the Pakhan's heir, and so on could be used when it comes to giving a small idea about him.

Being the sole heir and born to loving parents, Vaughn was raised in a family of love, despite the harsh reality of the mafia world.

From a young age, he knew of his future, the legacy he had to continue, the empire he had to lead. Yet, his parents didn't pressurize him about such responsibilities wanting him to live a "normal teenage life" for as long as he could.

But Vaughn, was, well one could say, a thoughtful kid who is mature for his age. He displayed leadership skills from a young age, even when he was with Jeremy or Nikolai and was younger than them, he did not lack behind anywhere. Especially when it came to academic and being a smartass.

Hazel eyes like his mother with dark brown/black hair like his father, Vaughn was blessed with good looks, not Greek God sculpture like but definitely one that would be preserved in a museum just because there was no one else like him. At this growing stage he was tall, maybe not always the tallest amongst The Heathens but his growth spurts were definitely not done growing. Standing a good 6'2 already at the age of 17.

If it was anyone else, one might use the advantage of what he had, after all he has almost everything, the money, the power, the looks, the charm and the brain. But this man is just so uninterested and aloof when it came to dating life or just having a crush in general.

Seeing his mom and dad be in love, Vaughn too desired for it, wondering how it feels to be in love and be taken care by that one special person. And so he thought he was defected for never once experiencing having such romantic feelings for anyone.

Don't get it wrong, yes he is still young but while he has heard here and there from his friends about their crushes when they were little boys. Little Vaughn was curious and frustrated for never being able to experience such fluttery feelings.

So once he got older and got to learn more academic knowledge and just what life had to offer to a 15 year old, Vaughn started expecting less.

"It's just not for everyone." He thought. And with that he just got more aloof on those expectations. He didn't care anymore.

Or so he thought.

What happens when an Earthquake occurs? One's first instinct is to get to safety, maybe an open space or maybe duck and stay underneath a sturdy table. But what can Vaughn do when the 'earthquake' shook his entire world and he had no place to hide. No table too strong to avoid the devoid galaxy of ice cold feelings to finally start thawing.

Okay maybe that was exaggerated. He was just 'intrigued' to know more about a certain someone. Yeah, that's it. Just curious about a particular female, who had bagged a prestigious scholarship to study in the expensive, elite,private school Vaughn goes to.

Why her in particular? There were other scholarship kids in the school too, but it was just her whom he wanted to know about.Well, he don't have the answer to that yet.

Jane Kim. Asian. Black hair. Brown eyes and average 5'4 in height. A bright student, academically thriving and even street smart. She is a hard worker and an achiever. But that didn't mean she overestimated herself or belittled others.

Whatever it maybe, she was grateful to be able to study here. Coming from a working middle class family, with parents working, she wasn't underprivileged but they weren't rich either. So she decided to take the advantage of the scholarship and study and earn a good certificate to support her education even for college.

Being a foreigner and all alone in a big country and even a big state like New York was overwhelming, especially for an introvert like her. Had it been those teen dramas, she might have been a victim of bullying. And with her parents away, living in another country, it might just be worse.

But luckily none of the bullying happened, she had safely passed her freshman year and is now a sophomore in high school. For credits and pocket money, she took up part time jobs in the library near their school and has recently started tutoring the new freshmen batch.To keep her scholarship, she had to work, work and keep on working to maintain her grades.

She was 2 years younger than him and was a class below him. Her being a sophomore and him a junior. And besides that all he did was observe her from afar.

He would never admit it but he would watch over her anywhere she would be in the school premises, like sitting on the floor above her, watching her as she taught the group of freshmen. He was jealous. But poor boy, just don't know it. He just felt a tug in his heart everytime he saw her talk to others, except him.

For her whole freshman year, Vaughn just watched over her, admired her from afar.

The first time they actually had an encounter was during her sophomore year, Vaughn (in his junior year) was playing for the school's ice hockey team.

He saw Jane interact with the rival school's captain, giving him a faint smile and probably wishing him luck.(He dont know that Jane and the other guy goes to the same church and are good friends, their friendship was mostly like a brother-sisterly relationship.)

Oh boy, did that snap something in Vaughn. Frustrated and annoyed to the core, he was a beast on the field that evening. Beating the rival team by a huge gap, and almost caused a physical fight.

And when he saw Jane counseling her friend, it only added fuel to the fire.

He didn't know why he was acting like the way he was, suddenly he was dragging Jane out of the arena, holding his bags and hers all on one of his arm.

Confused and startled Jane stops him, she knew who he was Vaughn Morozov, a rumoured mafia heir, she didn't know whether to buy that rumour or not, being the skeptic she was.

"What the heck? Can you let me go?" She yanks her hand from his grip and snatches her bag from his hand.

Do you know Vaughn is no longer an intelligent person whenever Jane is near him? Yeah, he discovered it just recently too.

"Don't you think it's ironic how you were more concern about the rival team than your own home team?" He says, tone filled with sarcasm and almost like fury bubbling under it.

Jane stared at him in disbelief, annoyance soon filled her face. She wasn't going to answer this stuck up snob, she thinks to herself. Only glaring at him, she push passes him to make her way back to her students apartment.

He messed up. This was no way to make a first good impression, but his pride didn't allow him to correct himself. He didn't say or do anything only watching her as she walked away from him and gosh did she look good even in their royal blue school uniform. He was malfunctioning surely.

So that's how their strange rendezvous started. No, this isn't the 'guy bullying the girl' case. Rather, from that day onwards, Vaughn only made his presence known to her.

He was almost everywhere she was at this point.(as though he wasn't doing that already)

Don't blame Jane for not liking his presence though, that was no way one should behave especially to someone they barely knew.

At first no one really paid attention to the duo.

But after some weeks, the whole school started to notice that wherever Jane was, Vaughn would be there with a minimum of 10 metre radius near her.

Lunch breaks? Yeah, he is either tailing her or just casually sitting in her table. Her friends excited for whatever was to unfold, always teasing Jane.

Whenever she had to tutor the freshmen? He would be on the same floor above her, just watching her whilst doing his school works.

When she goes to her part time job? Yeah, he is busy studying in the same library she worked at. Sometimes he even did her chemistry homework for her. He started doing this when he discovered Jane did not like the subject at all.

Though she did confront him not to snoop around her homework. She preferred to do it herself she said, but he didn't stop.

His parents started to notice that he would be late from school most of the days and he simply told them he prefers studying in the library and finishing his homework there.

"You must be really bored to be doing this." She tells him, noticing that he is always there watching over her. She was uncomfortable at first, the fact that someone was monitoring her always. But she got used to it slowly as he won't do anything other than quietly doing his own work and occasionally having a break time by staring at her.

He will always be there for her, whether she like it or not. All she had to do was call him. His number on speed dial, that he set up himself. Earning a smack on his arm when he did so. Taking advantage of his height as he saved his number on her phone.

Somedays he even helped her stack the books in the library, the upper shelves which she couldn't reach unless she use the ladder. Somedays he held the ladder for her. And he did it without a word. It was weird but Jane got used to his silence.

Some days her buys her coffee or different flavours of milkshakes.

"Eat up, Darling." Is the only thing he would say. And she would glare at him. That was something new. Well, at least verbally because in his head, thats what he always calls her whenever he sees her. She appreciated his actions but that didn't decrease any of the annoyance he brought to her.

He knew she was tolerating his presence not exactly despising it but also not exactly welcoming. So he made sure that as much as he showed his actions, many others were hidden.

Like how he would follow her from a good distance,making sure she made it back to her apartment safely. It's New York, as bright as the place maybe, it could be as nasty too sometimes.

He wasn't taking the chance, he would make sure she is safe from anything and anyone. Lord save anyone who crossed Jane. Because if you cross Jane, you crossed Vaughn.

She is independent and stood for herself, not letting anyone walk over her, so she would tell people off either passive or aggressive or both.

But Vaughn? Yeah, no one is getting off the hook easily if he catches those people who got on his bad side. Not before a good warning.

One thug tried to rob Jane, one evening as she made her way back home, but luckily before he could get to her Vaughn caught the man.

A good punch knocked him out leaving the unconscious man on the alleyway, then he made sure she reached home safe without knowing what could have happened to her.

After that he went back to take the man. Waiting for him to regain his consciousness before 'confronting' him.Let's just say Vaughn had mercy on that man by leaving him alive. One broken rib, two dislocated clavicle, a dislocated jaw and a broken nose and a few bleeding later, the man's battered and bruised body was later found by pedestrians who took him to the hospital.

All is well for Vaughn, if Jane was safe and sound. It didn't matter if he bruised his knuckles or suffered a few punches from that man. Or from anyone in that matter.

Good thing, it's a Friday evening. He thinks as he gets home, not having to explain the bruises to his peers or his teachers. But he had to answer his parents. Who looked at him with wide eyes.

Do I look that bad?

Yes. Yes you do. His tie askew, his shirt wrinkled, his knuckles red, hair disheveled and a cut on his left cheekbone.

Now this is worrisome. Why? Vaughn never got in trouble at school. Sure, he wasn't a golden student but he strayed away from unnecessary issues. He was a gentleman,compared to most men, he knew when not to be gentle. Maybe that's why he stood out a lot, among the mafia men especially.

The next week, Jane breathe a sigh of relief when she realised Vaughn hasn't appeared infront of her the whole day.

That's when she noticed the tall guy, in his Jersey and black sweat pants, hair tousled because of having put on a helmet for practice, most probably.

He was sitting in the library she works at, his bags dropped to the floor as he simply sat and watched her. Leaning against the chair, legs spread, one arm on the table the other relaxed on his thigh, Those Hazel eyes of his framed behind his glasses, following everything she did.

"Let me take you on a date" he blurted out, voice gruff. He notices Jane pause a little as her out stretched hand stopped midway from placing a book to its place, as if like processing what he just said.

That's how he got rejected for the first time. She simply stared at him, eyes cold and shaking her head. She wasn't planning in dating or going out with anyone anytime soon, especially not when she had no romantic feelings for anyone.

Persistent and determined, Vaughn didn't let that rejection stop him. He would occasionally propose his offer time and time again, I.e after every week.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea, Morozov. Go bother someone else." She glared at him through her glasses, turning and walking away from him, ignoring him.

It was like a broken record, playing the same scene again and again at this point.

But Vaughn didn't want just any fish. He wanted an orca. Silly as it may seem. He wanted Jane by his side.

He just know, he couldn't see anyone else but her. She was the only worthy opponent for him, the one who silently challenges him to be better, work harder and smarter each time.

She was the only worthy person to him, someone who would put him in his place without hesitation.

In his eyes, together they would be unstoppable. Together, they would be on top of any and every food chain.

So what they were just high schoolers? He knew, that she was his ultimate conquest,no matter what challenges would come to him.

So what if she never gives him the attention he wants? So what if he has to chase her even when she pushed him harder each time? He didn't mind it at all. He prefers his examinations to be hard, to test if he is truly ready for the storm.

But maybe destiny have another plan for them.

Maybe high school, was the only time they had.

Soon, he would graduate and leave for UK to study in King's University, like all his other friends in his mafia family.

He could have force himself into her life, he could have kept being persistent.

But no he didn't. Though, that didn't mean he would stop chasing after her.

And no matter what, he wouldn't stop protecting her from any harm, from any danger. And he will do it without her knowing. Making sure she is safe and not even a hair is touched.

She was his girl after all. He wasn't going to upset her by being an idiot who didn't know boundaries. He wanted her to know he respected her.

She was his lady after all. No matter how many glares she sent towards his direction, it would never fail to make his heart skip a beat. No matter how short and how bland her answers were to his failed attempts to make a conversation with her.

She was his Darling after all. He is going to lay himself bare, show all his cards to her if needed. He is ready to do anything and everything for her. And no one would dare even look at her the wrong way, not infront of him. As long as he is alive, he is going to make sure he provides her safety and just be there at her disposal.

She was his woman after all. And however life turns out to be, he is ready to bend and break every bridge just to make sure they walk on the same path.

She was his Jane. His lady. His Darling.

P.S: She started to notice after some weeks of their first meet, that Mr. Vaughn couldn't help but have the faintest smile or the slightest smirk on his face whenever she glared at him or be rude to him. And this only causes her to either glare harder or shove past him and walk away in annoyance.

I do think that he will only get more ruthless and unhinged once he starts college. Not that he isn't, but right now he is more tame. And moreover he seem to like those men who is quiet but deadly charming and gets shit done. You should never underestimate him kind of person

Thanks for reading. It was long and dreary. Longer than I imagined. And it was silly. And bad, it honestly framed better in my imagination. Again, I'm no writer and this was terrible but I needed to pen down this thoughts that was distracting me ever since I got to know about White Mask.

Do share your opinions. I just want to talk about Vaughn and your version of him.

Take care. Stay safe.

#rina kent #vaughn morozov #legacy of gods #monster trilogy #jeremy volkov #killian carson #gareth carson #nikolai sokolov #Kirill morozov

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acourtofthought · 7 months

Text

Counter to all those Elain's book arguments

Contains TOG Spoilers

"Elain's book can't be next because she was barely in SF"

Throne of Glass - Chaol 492 mentions

Crown of Midnight - Chaol 604 Mentions

Heir of Fire - Chaol 400 Mentions

Queen of Shadows - Chaol 480 Mentions

Empire of Stroms - Chaol 12

Tower of Dawn - Chaols Book

The book before Chaol got his own he wasn't even on page. His name was only mentioned through other characters. Though he had previously had his own POV in other books, SJM chose to completely eliminate his POV in Queen of Shadows in favor of waiting until his own book.

"Elain's book can't be next because she isn't connected to the plot"

In Empire of Storms Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Lysandra rearrange a meeting with the surviving lords of Terrasen but they reject her as a ruler due to her age.

Witch armies fly to Rifthold so Aelin send Rowan to rescue Dorian while she leaves for the coast to gather allies.

Elide is hunted by Ilken.

Aelin wants an alliance with the pirate king.

There is a battle scene and Aelin is taken by Maeve.

If Elain can't have the next book because she's not connected to the plot then how was it possible for Chaol to have his own book when he had nothing to do with the plots of EoS?

Not to mention Elain is connected to some of the major plots of ACOWAR / FAS / ACOSF:

ACOWAR - She went on before I could answer. "I do not have much time left - before I must return to the lake. To him."

ACOFAS - But Vassa's freedom would end. Lucien had said as much months ago, and still visited her often enough that I knew nothing in that regard had improved.

ACOSF - He should have asked someone before coming here how much time remained before Vassa would be forced to return to the continent.

Koschei said, "Tell my Vassa I'm waiting"

Elain had always wanted to visit the continent to study the tulips and other famed flowers.

Elain is the only one who had visions of Koschei, the girls along with Vassa who are trapped at the lake, as well as visions of the onyx box that's important to him. Elain is connected to Lucien who is living with Vassa who is a captive of Kochei and who is the driving force of a lot of the unrest in their world, whispering on the winds to stir up trouble. Beron now wants to ally with him and that also involves Lucien and Eris as his sons. Az may have always hated Eris but he's Lucien's brother and SJM started building the idea that they'll be reconnecting back in ACOWAR and continuing through SF while SF basically had the NC using Eris as a pawn.

ACOSF - With a new war possible and Briallyn up to her bullshit with Koschei, we need a strong ally. We need the Spring Court's forces.

"No. But we need to summon Lucien." "We need to tell him the news and permanently station him at the Spring Court to contain any damage and be our eyes and ears."

Nesta's throat constricted, and she surveyed the swaying cerry blossoms overhead. Elain would love this place. / But Elain...The Spring Court had been made for someone like her. / Too bad her sister refused to see her. Nesta would have told Elain to visit this place.

So yes, Elain is connected to some of the most pressing concerns in the ACOTAR world. Not to mention with the peace treaty remaining unsigned, that's definitely more of an Elucien story than an Azriel one.

"Cassian and Chaol had Bonus Chapters and got the next book so Az will get the next book since he got a Bonus"

Cassian's Bonus hinted at his mating bond but it wasn't accepted until 2 books and almost 2 years later on the timeline. He didn't actually get the next book after his bonus because Feyre got the next book (ACOWAR).

Azriels Bonus did hint at his mating bond but just as Cassian and Lucien's bonds were introduced / hinted at but not accepted for years, it's possible Az's bond won't be accepted for years.

Neither Lucien or Elain needed a bonus to hint at their mating bond because their mating bond was introduced into the actual series.

Also, the Chaol bonus chapter had nothing to do with hinting at his endgame love interest and is different from either Cassian or Az's bonus because on the timeline his story picked up immediately after his bonus while neither Cassian or Azriel's did.

"Elain hasn't hit rock bottom"

Throughout SF, Elain faced pushback from Nesta. They had the worst fight they'd ever had in all their years, Nesta tried blaming Elain for their fathers death, she faced opposition from Nesta on choices Elain made for herself, and she dealt with rejection from Azriel, ending his bonus with hurt and confusion.

In comparison, Azriel began his bonus with feeling put out at his lack of a mating bond, jealousy toward Lucien, then mad at Rhys and himself. But by the end of his bonus he left feeling more hopeful and at peace. And in the actual book there was nothing to indicate that Az was at rock bottom.

I'm not sure either is truly at rock bottom (Elain already reached hers in ACOWAR and I don't think she's ever going back to that) but Az is definitely not worse off than her. Especially when his issues were a sum total of "why don't I get someone to love" while Elain's dealt with people calling her entire character into question.

"Elain isn't ready for a book, she hasn't had enough development."

Elain cocked her head. Didn't dissolve into the crying mess she usually became when Graysen came up.

Elain, surprisingly held her ground.

Challenge filled each word. Challenge - from Elain, of all people.

"Using me."

"You do not decide what I can and cannot do, Nesta."

"I am not a child to be fought over."

Feyre said to her, gratingly gentle, "It wasn't an easy choice for me to ask Elain to endanger herself like this."

"You think Elain is boring?" "I think she's kind, and I'll take kindess over nastiness any day. But I also think we haven't yet seen all she has to offer."

"Let's focus on helping one sister before we start on the other."

"Including Elain, who is more than capable of defending herself against the darkness of the Trove, if she chooses to. Don't underestimate her."

When Feyre had offered to let her remain home, Elain had squared her shoulders and declared that she was a part of this court - and would do whatever was needed.

Wasn't the entire point of the first half of the Feysand bonus chapter telling us all about Elain? How she surprised them? How she's probably capable of more than they had given her credit for? How Feyre didn't mention anything to her but thought how if Elain had accepted Lucien's gift (metaphor for Lucien himself), no harm would have come to her? How after they help Nesta they'll focus on helping Elain? Didn't SF also demonstrate the same?

People keep saying Elain needs to be more involved in the ICs business to have a book but Nesta began her journey refusing everything to do with the IC. And if Elain is not staying in the NC, why would she be majorly involved in what they're doing?

Elain herself said she's ready for more. Rhys and Amren confirm it as well. All that now needs to happen is her putting that into action in her own book.

"Elain isn't connected to the crossover"

First off, Az isn't connected to the crossover in the ACOTAR series, there were no hints that Truth Teller was part of prophecy in SF. I imagine SJM will eventually merge the two storylines but we don't know if that's going to happen in the next ACOTAR book. As it stands, these series are still marketed on Bloomsbury and SJMs websites as standalone series and SJMs website still says you can read them in any order you want.

If you look back over SJMs interviews she once said she knew who the first two books of the spin-offs were going to be about but was leaving the third open (and was considering a book set in the past). She had already done research for Elain's book at that time which to me logically means the Koschei storyline was never going to extend past book 2 and she wasn't sure whether Az would have a spin-off book.

In another interview she said her initial pitch for the spin-offs hadn't changed and that SF simply expanded the world. You can interpret that a few ways but one of those interpretations is that Elain's book is still second as she originally intended and now that the world expanded she knows who the third book will be about (and any books beyond that). And that does mean Koschei could still be dealt with in the second spin-off, paving the way for possible crossover storylines to be introduced in the third (and later dealt with in any future ACOTAR books she may have signed on for). Remember, the point of SF was to try to stop another war in their world from happening, they are trying to prevent a repeat of ACOWAR.

Everything above is based on facts though my own interpretation.

This part is a complete personal opinion and not based on any fact but, I truly don't think Az deserves his HEA right now. He called Elain a mistake yet he gets to end up with his mate in the next book? That would be a little like Tamlin finding his HEA before Feyre after what went down in book 2. Az barely blinked at the thought of killing Lucien and is insanely jealous of him yet Lucien deserves to continue suffering for another book while Az gets rewarded?

I don't think Az is deserving of anyone until he realizes that Lucien is a good male and that he's happy for Elucien.

Cassian was jealous of what Rhys and Feyre had but he was still happy for them, still felt no one deserved it more. When it comes to Lucien, Az is resentful through and through and until he can see Elain happy with Lucien and not feel bitter, I don't think he's in a position to end up with his own mate.

Also, the series started with Feysand and I know some feel the series should end with an Archeron sister but that makes less sense to me. The series started with Feysand and the Night Court. The series should end with the Night Court.

Chaol's journey took us away from Aelin and Rowan to a part of the continent only he had reason to travel to then SJM brought all the characters back together in the final book in the main lands. It doesn't make sense to me to have an Elucien book that would end the spin off series in Spring, Day and the continent as I don't think much of their storyline will take place in the Night Court. To me it makes the most sense to step away from the NC in the next book then eventually bring it back to where Feysands story started. Az is part of the IC and I imagine his book will deal with Feyre and Rhys a bit more than Elain and Lucien's will.

Then if there is going to be a more major crossover storyline down the road, the current spin-offs will have ended with Feyre and Rhys in the mix of things (they represent the "Dumbledore" or "Gandalf" of the series, nothing new happens without their involvement).

I think either an Elucien or Gwynriel book is still a possibility but I don't agree with the arguments as to why Elain's can't be next. And I really hate the arguments claiming that anyone who thinks Elain could be the next book is delusional.

And it's not just about Elain. Lucien's story has been coming since book 1 and when the author talked about getting into the groove of writing ACOTAR 5, where she's got that feeling of having a crush, a possible Elucien book that would most likely feature Lucien (with fire in his blood), Helion (who she's weirdly obsessed with), Eris, Elain (who shares her own real life energy), Jurian and Vassa could absolutely be a reason for her to feel smitten. That is a book filled with a whole lot of sass, snark, and side characters who she'd finally have a chance to explore in greater detail.

#elucien #pro elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #pro elain archeron #elucien book #acotar 5 #acotar series #elain x lucien #lucien and elain #elain and lucien #helion acotar #vassa acotar #jurian acotar #eris acotar

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hikari-drkspc · 1 year

Text

❅ “In The Name Of Love” ❅

character: yandere! shishio tsukasa [dr. stone]

warning: yandere, implication of m0rder, c0nfin3m3nt, poss3ssiv3 tendencies ; MINOR/AGELESS BLOGS DNI, PUT YOUR AGE IN BIO/PINNED POST TO INTERACT

words: 1.2k

a/n: this is a repost from my main blog (@/hikari-writes) so yes this writing is old + bad, i just moved them here w/o editing bc im lazy and wants to keep reminding myself how bad my writing used to be <3 also this was a request from my main blog!!

“Tsukasa, remember what I told you before?”

You ask in a monotone voice, looking up at your boyfriend who was hugging you from behind.

“I remember every word you say, love, but you have to specify for me to know which one you’re referring to.”

He holds you closer to him and you could feel his warmth seeping in through you. If this were you from 3000 years ago, you would’ve enjoyed his warmth and think of how lucky you were to have someone like him as your lover.

But now, it all just seems so…suffocating.

Ever since he’s been revived back by Senku and joining the Kingdom of Science, he has become more protective and possessive of you.

No, that’s not it.

He’s already shown that kind of behaviour long ago. Maybe you didn’t realize it 3000 years ago because you two just started going out but even before when Tsukasa still was in charge of his own empire, you could’ve at least noticed the red flags he was giving.

He constantly asked you to stay with him and won’t let go of you almost until the end of the day. Even when you were about to try to do something else, he would grab you and force you to sit on his laps.

His grip on you was gentle, but it was enough to make you stay and not move around too much.

You haven’t told this to anyone yet, not even Mirai, but you were actually…dreading the time when Senku will petrify him and revive him back.

All those times when Tsukasa was still in his cryogenic state, everyone kept encouraging you to stay strong and reassuring you that Senku will revive him back soon.

And you would always just reply to them with a wry smile and a “I’m fine,” so as to not worry them.

You originally had thought you were going to feel depressed about this whole ordeal too. But you never did.

In fact, you felt so…free. Almost as if a big burden had just been lifted from your shoulders. You were happy with that.

You actually even wished Senku never found the Petrification Weapon. You truly enjoyed the freedom that you felt. You wished it would stay.

But in the end, nothing ever stays.

Tsukasa was revived and you are back in his grip once again.

You hated every moment of it.

“About being too protective of me! I was just going to help Gen with some of his work. I know you’re protective of me because you’re worried, but can you please just let me do something to help others?”

You finally break free from his hug and turn to him. Your eyebrows are crossed, showing how displeased you are with the whole situation.

“But if I let go of you, you’ll definitely run away from me.”

Your eyes widened at what he said. You didn’t expect him to feel that way. All this time, you had thought that the reason Tsukasa was so overprotective of you might’ve been because he was worried…or maybe even because he wanted to have control of you.

You went quiet for a moment. In a sense, he’s not wrong. But to actually know he felt that way…it’s actually making you feel guilty.

“Tsukasa….I won’t run away from you, so don’t worry, alright?”

You wrap your arms around his large frame, successfully convincing him that you won’t do something like that. He returns the hug and pulls you closer.

“…Y/N, if you truly mean what you said, will you forgive me for what I’m about to do?”

You pull away and look up at him, confused.

“Sure?”

Not even a second after that, you felt your consciousness slowly slipping away from you. You could hear the loud throbbing from your neck after Tsukasa just striked it.

“W-wh…”

You mustered up what little strength you have left to let out a “What?” but even that has proven to be difficult. All you managed to hear was Tsukasa’s last words before you completely lost your consciousness.

“Do forgive me for doing this, love. You’re too pure to be tainted by this dirty world.”

~~**~~

You slowly open your eyes to see the darkness greeting you. You tried to get up but your whole body felt so weak and your limbs refused to work for you. You cursed under your breath and tried to adjust your eyes to the darkness. The place sure seemed familiar.

Then it hit you.

It’s the prison.

You tried to scream out loud but your voice only echoed throughout the prison without anyone responding. You could feel your heart beating rapidly like never before as soon as you heard a series of footsteps nearing you.

It’s not as if you recognized the footsteps or anything, but the way the pace is so calm and unrushed even after your scream of help convinced you that the owner of the footsteps knew you’re trapped in there. And they’re not willing to let you out anytime soon.

And who else would want to do such things other than your former beloved,

“Tsukasa…”

You hissed out his name while glaring at his broad figure towering over you over the cell wooden bars.

“I’m sorry you had to go in here, my love. Trust me, I don’t want you to be placed here either, but I have no choice.”

He tried to cup your cheeks in his hands but you quickly moved your face away from him.

“Tsukasa, whatever this madness is, STOP it. Do you think the others won’t know what you’re doing? Soon enough, you will—”

“They won’t. After all, you are considered dead in their hearts.”

He cut you off with those words and your eyes widened in horror at him. Your lips tremble and you try to hide your unease by glaring at him.

Before you could ask him what he meant, he spoke up as if he had just read your mind.

“I told them that you died. An animal attack, precisely. It’s completed with evidence and all. I did also get some helping hand from some people though. Couldn’t have done it without them.”

He stops for a moment to look at you who were frozen in your place and finally cups both your cheeks to bring it closer to him.

“This cell was built especially for you, back when I still ruled over my own empire. It’s located very deep into this cave, and no one would dare to come here.”

“You mean to say you’ve been planning to put me in confinement for a long time now?! What— I-”

Tsukasa looks at you, his eyes turning soft and he looks so melancholic. You almost snapped at him when you saw that expression. If anyone here is supposed to cry, it’s YOU, not him.

“I didn’t think it was necessary…until recently. When other people started looking at you as if you’re some kind of walking meat that they’re about to devour. It disgusts me so much, and I couldn’t handle it anymore…so I made the decision to keep you safe here….and wipe those people out.”

Your blood runs cold at that statement.

Wipe those people out?

He couldn’t have meant that literally….right?

“W-why–”

You didn’t even realize your tears were running down your cheeks until you felt Tsukasa gently wiped them away. He gives you his soft smile that you used to know so very well, yet it felt so foreign now.

“Because I love you, Y/N. I always have and will continue to forever be in love with you.”

#dr stone #dr stone shishio tsukasa #dr stone tsukasa #shishio tsukasa #tsukasa x reader #dr stone x reader #dr stone tsukasa x reader #tw: yandere #tw: confinement #yandere dr stone #yandere dr stone x reader

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daisychainsandbowties · 8 months

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Idk, I just don't see Shin being 30 years old??? Ivanna Sakhno is 25, & Shin gives off even younger vibes. If she's in her early or mid 20s, she still would've been a kid during the height of the Empire & a teen when it collapsed, so there's plenty of angsty backstory to mine. Though as far as how an age gap plays out with Wolfwren... well, older women are sexy, yes? ;)

see this is the thing about characters who don’t get to have a childhood. i’m obsessed with the idea that shin hati is in her twenties, somewhere, but she behaves like a much younger person. part of it is the darkside, how it drives you and you end up lacking the composure of most jedi. how the spitting bright anger makes shin so violently luminous, untethered and lost and therefore childish.

because, in the same vein i think that sabine doesn’t feel settled into her life. there she stands, at the end of a war that really wasn’t supposed to end before she did. rebels all little self-sacrificial lambs who don’t know how to exist when they’re not clawing for every breath of air.

everything sabine cared, fought for, for has shattered around her. she won and lost it all.

her best friend is gone, things with ketsu are too complicated, always too many sharp edges for her to hold. and she’s just… stuck. watches her family die on mandalore and then loses her one chance at being something - a jedi, because she is no longer a rebel. not a traitor to her people but still not truly mandilorian. sabine with her boxes of keepsakes, her mother’s hairpin, the pain of death clutched to her chest and that promise she made to ezra to find him again. rotting inside her.

and i picture shin having been made a padawan around the same age as anakin skywalker. both of them too old too broken for it but. nowhere else to go. chosen to be better, stronger. beaten into the shape of destiny, ambition, want want want want

shin rescued, made important, but it was already too late for her not to be scarred by her life and yeah. for sure it can’t have been good, or soft, or safe. you don’t hand a kyber crystal to a child and watch her turn it red unless she’s seen and experienced terrible things.

but i also imagine that she was isolated in those years with baylan - it’s why she’s so taken with sabine!! because here is an equal to her, finally. it’s why she’s at first so smug and then so angry about winning. this blunt creature is the padawan of ahsoka tano?? how dare she be? so like, why not have her be late twenties and just messy messy messy? same as sabine who just… never was a child. first a soldier a weaponsmith and then at FOURTEEN she was a traitor, she watched her weapon kill her own people and she ran, became a bounty hunter. sabine who is young because when you lose your childhood you claw it back in later days. you never escape from the wreckage.

it really speaks to me, actually; they’re the same sort of thing that always washes up in the wake of a war. children who only know rubble and blood and hunger and death. they’re reflections of each other and also so different. shin who just wants to belong to something and sabine who knows that belonging doesn’t save you.

#idk it’s like… don’t underestimate what childhood trauma can do #sabine wren #shin hati #ahsoka series #ahsoka show spoilers #wolfwren #anon

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pureamericanism · 22 days

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It's an almost banal truism that classic science fiction was largely a projection of the Frontier Experience - and, more broadly, the whole world-shaking events of the European Age of Discovery - onto an imagined outer space. Less frequently remarked is that the reverse is also true.

I grew up devouring Golden Age science fiction novels, and was a fervent believer in Mankind's Destiny Among The Stars. Well, the Space Age - like all the great dreams of thr 20th century - has turned out to be something of a damp squib, but I still want stories of fantastic voyages of exploration, adventure, science, discovery, and intrigue in a vast new world of far-flung outposts separated by titanic distances. So to scratch that itch, why not just...go back to the source?

If you want something like a story about an isolated asteroid mining colony, you can just read the memoirs of a surgeon at a Hudson Bay Company outpost! Why bother with Heinlein when you can just read the diaries of pioneer women, the tales of Yankee filibusters in Latin America, the authentic exploits of desert-island buccaneers, or the early adventures of the Portugese in the Indian Ocean? Do you want fraught tales of inteigue and war and high politics that extend to the farthest reaches of known space? A good book on any of the big 18th century wars for empire will satisfy. And can Star Trek remotely compare in imagination and excitement to the voyages of Cook and La Pérouse? "Strange new worlds, new life, and new civilizations?" Boy howdy, we got 'em! If you look at these things with fresh eyes, with the eyes of a science fiction fan rather than those of someone with access to an infinitide of pictures of them online, nothing could be more surprising than a dugong, a platypus, a redwood, a southern continent of solid ice.

All of this is really just an overly long preamble to my main point, though. Which is that I believe the story of Hernán Cortés, Montezuma, and the Conquest of Mexico to be possibly the greatest one ever told. The themes...bro, the themes! There is here a richness, a complexity and depth surpassing almost anything I can think of in legend or literature.

It is, of course, a science fictional First Contact story, in which two shockingly different civilizations who know nothing of each other suddenly find themselves facing each other down. And indeed, like any good First Contact story, one of the principal characters, La Malinche, is an interpreter! See how the resulting clash of civilizations eludes simple stereotyping - sure, it's easy to see the Spaniards as brash young interlopers into the sophisticated and urbane world of the Aztecs, whose capital was perhaps as much as an order of magnitude more populous than any city in Spain. But equally it is possible to see the Aztecs as provincials, isolated from a wider, older world that suddenly irrupts into their narrow one. Consider that Cortés supposedly got practical advice on political machinations and military strategy by - studying Caesar! Access to ancient wisdom penned by dead hands in far-off lands provides material aid to him.

Then there are the religious themes. It can be seen as a story about the triumph of Christianity, of the Church Triumphant, but what does it mean for a religion founded by a suffering martyr to become militarily triumphant? And what does it mean for thr religion of a suffering martyr to become triumphant over a religion of human sacrifice to the gods? This is a complex and multi-layered irony that spares no one. And consider the strange foreshadowing of the legend of Quetzelcoatl returning from over the sea. Shades of Frank Herbert, here, even (especially?) if the tale is a post-conquest invrntion.

And the role of technology in the tale. Yes, the steel and shot, the horses and hounds, the ships and sails were all powerful allies for the Spaniards, but these would not have sufficed without the smallpox virus - a reversal of Wells that still underlines the power of biology and of the very small even in the face of all our mastery over the brute world. But the conquest also would not have been possible without the alliance with the Tlaxcala and other local rivals and adversaries of the Aztecs. There are very pointed lessons in the social, political, and diplomatic sciences being demonstrated here. Some are obvious, and others very subtle - look at the ways these differing civilizations reacted under the extreme stress of this brutal war to see what I mean about the subtle ones.

I could go on, I could mention the strange aesthetic touches, such as the similarity in climates between the Valley of Mexico and inland Spain, and the parallels between Spain's role to Rome and Mexico's to Spain; or I could talk about the fascinatingly ambiguous characters of all the major players in this story, and the surprising arcs they go through; but not only am I already going on rather long, but I fear I may be making too light of what were, after all, real events, real events that resulted in piles of corpses, and whose tremendous human consequences are still felt deeply by tens of millions of people.

But I stand by my statement that it is one of the richest, profoundest stories I know of. The gods may be cruel, monstrously cruel, but they are artists, too.

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corellianhounds · 3 months

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Analyzing The Mandalorian’s Motivations — “The Heiress” Criticism

Part I / Part II

Word Count: 2k

I have several issues with how Mando is characterized in Season 2 of the show, and some of the most concise examples come from actions in “The Heiress” and “The Rescue,” which have parallels in their ending fights and character takeaways. In Season 2 it often felt like the end result the writers wanted dictated how certain plot points had to be accomplished without taking into consideration what the characters logically should have done in the situations that came up based on their prior scenes and established characterization. It didn’t feel like Mando’s reasoning, choices, or personal motivations were explored or exemplified, so his agency as a character was put to the side in favor of meeting certain plot beats (though he wasn’t the only one).

The biggest conflict of this show is the fact that being a Mandalorian makes Din susceptible to danger at every turn, which he feels is no life for a kid to be a part of, and the longer the things he holds dear are in proximity to each other (him being a devout Mandalorian vs. keeping a mostly helpless Force-sensitive child), the more he’s in danger of losing one for the sake of the other. Both are at the core of Mando’s internal conflict, which sets up the biggest question of the series: “If forced to choose, which will be more important to the Mandalorian in the end?”

That gives us an overall objective of Mando needing to give the child to somebody else so the kid will be safe and he can continue to be the kind of Mandalorian he aspires to, even if it means he and the kid will be separated as a result. That internal struggle should dictate each of his smaller choices within the individual episodes because at this point in their story he doesn’t see any other way for him to have both.

For some reason, Season 2 felt like the writers missed the obvious reason Grogu needs a Jedi teacher. Mando needs to find a Jedi to train the boy so that not only will Grogu be safe (and presumably happy) with a person who better understands him as a Force-sensitive child, but so Grogu will be able to defend himself when he is alone. It’s important to remember that the Jedi code wasn’t just a belief system and way of life, it was also a martial art.

Even if Din were to keep the child and protect him to the best of his ability, he knows his own past as a hunter and his reputation as a Mandalorian make the child a target by association (to say nothing of the Empire and whoever they send after them, though he won’t know those are still a threat until later). The child does not age at the same rate humans do, and Mando knows there’s no guarantee he’ll always be around to save him. Even if he survives to old age with the child by his side, he doesn’t know if the child will be mature or capable enough of even caring for himself, especially if he doesn’t grow to be much bigger than he is now. Grogu needs to learn self defense and strengthen his skills if he is to ever have a chance at surviving those he outlives. Din has to reckon with the fact being the best Mandalorian he could be isn’t enough to keep the child safe on his own (which is another inner conflict we don’t get to hear about from him).

We never hear Din’s perspective on his quest outside of “This is what I was told to do,” which makes him a character the story is happening to instead of him driving his own narrative. The external goal is good because it means we get to see him struggling to keep the child at arm’s length, knowing he’ll have to give him up and not wanting either of them to be hurt by that separation, but Mando needed to have that internal motivation because it ties directly back to his main objective. Yes, the Armorer tasked him with returning the child to his own kind, but it was not only because she understood the importance of him being raised with his own culture, it was because the child is virtually helpless if his strength and control over the Force is inconsistent like Din has seen.

Without that internal motivation, Mando ends up not having much choice in where the story goes, making his character in the second season weaker as a result.

So now we’ve clarified his overarching goal and given him a more driven role and perspective in the story. Everything that follows should be a result of his active ambition in achieving it, which brings me back to his choices in “The Heiress.”

This episode introduces the idea of different Mandalorians having different customs/placing importance on different aspects of the code, but has Din choose to set those thoughts regarding ritual aside in order for him to receive information now that he realizes he’s so close to getting it (showing us him prioritizing the child over himself). What we didn’t get and what we should have gotten to see was Mando more visually desperate to achieve the episode’s tasks in exchange for the connection Bo-Katan has directly to a Jedi. The internal conflict of the episode now comes down to “What is Mando willing to compromise on to achieve his goals, and how far is he willing to deviate from his own code to get it?”

The main external conflict the writers/show-runners initiate but don’t resolve is Mando’s problem with Bo-Katan not sticking to the terms of their contract. Bo-Katan changes the terms of the deal midway through the heist, having kept her real motive from him the whole time. His character has no reason in these circumstances to honor the deal that she broke first, and I think his willingness to continue with the heist in order to get the information deviates too far from another seldom-explored, nuanced character trait of Mando’s: while he does give everybody at least one chance, if they prove to be a continued threat or refuse to back down, he reacts with swift, decisive justice.

This should have been the point in the episode where her actions were the last straw; she put him in a much more dangerous position and proved by her deception that she was using him. This should have been the point he said “No.”

I made a post before talking about Gor Koresh that puts Mando’s actions into perspective, but there are plenty of examples in every episode to back up the fact Mando has a tipping point. That’s a good thing. Yes, it’s admirable how much Mando shows restraint, but there has to come a point where your characters refuse to do something because otherwise they’re just a pushover and a doormat. Characters shouldn’t have to say yes to everything, and they should be able to make decisions that result in the story becoming more difficult for them. His choice here, outside of saving his own skin so he can guarantee being able to get back to the kid he is responsible for, should be to let Bo-Katan experience the consequences of her actions. He should have refused to let her be rewarded for her deception. He doesn’t have to shoot her to prove a point, but he certainly doesn’t have to help her.

If he’s willing to let their dishonorable actions slide, what else would he be willing to let others do at the expense of himself without holding them accountable or without them receiving the consequences they deserve? What aspects of himself will he compromise? I’m not even talking about compromise in the choice to take the helmet off in “The Believer,” I’m talking about who he is as a person.

Bo-Katan changing the terms of the deal reveals to the audience that she knew he wouldn’t have agreed to do the job in the first place because otherwise she would have told him at the beginning. Hijacking the entire Empire ship is intensely riskier and poses a danger to himself and by extension the kid if he doesn’t make it back. She gets him onto the ship and only reveals her intentions midway through, thinking she’ll be able to coerce him because they’re both Mandalorians.

That should have been the moment Mando decided the cost of this job outweighed the reward because if she was willing to deceive him about this, what reason does he have to trust her at all? She could have simply lied about having any information about a Jedi to begin with, or could withhold the information once the job’s done. Season 2 has several episodes with the theme of honoring one’s word being what marks somebody as a good Mandalorian, or at least as an ally Din can trust. Cobb Vanth, the Tuskens, the Frog Lady, later Boba and Fennec all have story elements that relate to the idea of honoring one’s word.

What Mando should have logically done based on what we’ve seen of him up to this point was tell Bo-Katan “No deal. I’m done. I’ll find the information I need elsewhere.” And then we see him jump off ship.

This has two major consequences to the show’s story moving forward.

• One: Mando doesn’t receive information about the Jedi and will have to find it somewhere else, a cost he is willing to take because staying with Bo-Katan would have meant putting himself at undue risk, with the possibility of her having lied about ever having the information at all. As it stands in canon, he’s forced to allow somebody he thinks SHOULD be honorable to reap the benefits of their dishonor, and what does that say about his character’s sense of justice in the end?

• And two: Bo-Katan’s heist fails, losing her the shipment (and potentially, in her eyes, the information about Moff Gideon she could have gotten if Mando had continued to the cockpit with them to interrogate the Imperials), meaning Bo-Katan’s already established antagonism would have pushed her into open animosity, pitting her against Mando as an enemy. That makes for a much more interesting and compelling narrative conflict Mando has to overcome in the finale when he has to convince her to join him, which would heighten interpersonal tensions and have the audience truly not know whether or not Mando is going to succeed in the end.

It also sets up a stronger villain for Mando after Moff Gideon is defeated. The show already presented Bo-Katan as an antagonist, and it would have made more sense to lean into that especially with the conflict over the Darksaber coming up at the end.

When Mando goes to her in the finale to recruit her for the ambush, Bo-Katan initially refuses anyway. I don’t have reason to think she entirely cares about Mando’s kid because her actions in the heist put him at risk. He is the sole caretaker and provider for the kid, and being willing to risk his life as collateral shows she only cares about Mando insofar as he’s willing to do what she says. With that change to “The Heiress,” each of them becomes a more strongly written character and he now has to make a more compelling argument to get her in the finale. It’s still the fact he knows exactly where Moff Gideon is that wins her over.

Their interpersonal conflict comes to its Act III at the end of the finale when it’s revealed Mando won the Darksaber in combat, and to add insult to injury Mando offers it up in forfeit in front of witnesses, so now she can’t even challenge him to a duel; people will know he never wanted it in the first place, meaning they’ll assume he’d throw any fight the two of them have. It’s the perfect setup for Mando’s next primary antagonist.

#The Mandalorian #Din Djarin #Bo-Katan Kryze #The Nite Owls #my writing #the mandalorian meta #character analysis #hounds speaks #the mandalorian critical

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atonalginger · 4 months

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I didn’t know you wrote for da! so I want messy meeting please!?

Oh yes Dragon age is the only other fandom I've shared a work in, but never posted it on ao3. I think it's tucked away somewhere maybe I'll dig it up sometime (that's off topic it's not the AU sorry)... so some world building for the AU before sharing a snippet of Messy meeting: This is an AU where the elven empire was torn down but the elven people did not fall the way canon sets up. They still control major chunks of Southern Thedas. Some are more reclusive while others exist as proud nations. The biggest elven "Gods" are killed but others are alive and simply living in seclusion, obscured and mostly forgotten.

One such nation is The Dales, which on the map looks like the whole southern chunk of what is Orlais in the game and the forest that extends beyond where we can go.

One of the main characters in this AU is an arcane warrior form the Dales: Ser Tavish Virfalenal. He is the oldest child and scion to the most powerful family in the Dales and also a good friend of Alistair. Mamie Holloway is a historian/research from the College of Ostwick. Also has experience as a Bard. This scene is set in Ozammar. They are there to get help with fighting off the coming Blight. okay under the cut to save everyone's dashboards are the snip(s)

Pt. 1 “I’m going to warn you now, they won’t listen to you.” Warden Commander Matildis said as she adjusted her sword belt. “They will tell you no decision can be made until a new King is named. And at this rate the Thaig will be overrun before that happens.”

“They have to honor the treaties,” Tavish sounded devoid of any emotion. He detested politics and negotiations. He did not want to be here but it was not safe for Velavera and so he was here instead.”

“We tried that,” Agustin said with a hoarse laugh, “the young one agrees emphatically and the old one yells about traditions and the other six nod and shake their heads in line with their chosen nug.”

“The situation is currently messier than The Game and more volatile than a barrel of Gatlok on fire,” Matildis sighed, “I left Val Royaux because of shit like this. I was assured I’d get away from it in the Deep Roads. No time for politics when you’re clearing mindless infected from the roads.”

“And it usually isn’t,” Zali said. She was leaning against her massive hammer, looking up at the humans and elves in her company,

“usually everything is as predictable as the day’s bell. But then someone went and offed Trian and broke the King’s heart. Literally.” “Yeah about that,” Mamie glanced over to Tavish before leaning in toward Zali, “we’ve been hearing a lot of wild stories about that. What’s going on?”

“Depends on who you ask,” Agustin answered before Zali could speak, “those siding with Lord Harrowmont say Bhelen killed Trian and framed his sister to get his competition out of the way and didn’t anticipate the heartbreak his father would suffer. Those siding with the Prince stand by his story that he found Sereda standing over Trian with a bloody dagger in hand and would have killed him as well had others not shown up.”

“What he said,” Zali nodded her chin up at the tan warden. Mamie’s shoulders slumped, “okay, and what do you believe? You’re from Orzammar, you know more about this situation than the wardens do.”

Zali smiled as she bit the corner of her lower lip, “That I do, I also left my home to get away from politics. What do I think? I think Bhelen’s a liar and also the best shot this place has at surviving this mess. Ol’ Endrin may have given lip service to House Theiren and and the Elven Great Houses of the Dales but they weren’t friends. He was using the surface nations while talking big about how the Great Thaig didn’t need the surface’s farms and hunters. How we could manage on our own. He listened to isolationists like Harrowmont and had begun withdrawing from surface politics. Don’t ask me why or where buffoons like Harrowmont got these ideas, I just know what I saw and heard. Trian and Sereda both looked to the Lord as a mentor and held onto his every word. Trian would speak openly about stricter enforcement of castes and Sereda called for the audits of the shaperate records to ‘fix’ errors. Meanwhile Bhelen would try in vain to get his father to see reason; The Thaig will starve without trade from the surface. What would we honestly do with all our ore and smithing? To not destroy generations of goodwill with our surface allies. I also think Bhelen has his eye on some lass in the commons and knows his family would disown him for it. and pt 2

“We cannot break such an agreement,” Bhelen argued, “to do so would be catastrophic. My father would never have turned his back on allies!”

“He wouldn’t have but you killed him!” the Dwarf shouted back. The room erupted into shouting and the clattering of chairs being knocked back. Harrowmont stood smug on his side of the chamber, watching as Bhelen looked on in growing panic.

The group watched the chaos. The wardens and Zali were resigned while Tavish and Mamie looked on in disbelief. Tavish opened his mouth on occasion to try and reclaim the room but each time decided against it and sighed. Once the shock wore off, Mamie set about digging in her side satchel. Tavish and Zali turned to watch as she dug around, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Then her expression flashed and she pulled a small wooden flute from her bag. She smiled impishly at Tavish and brought the flute to her lips. Zali slapped at the wardens and motioned to plug their ears just in time as Mamie unleashed a shrill, ear piercing note from her flute. The shouting turned to anguished cries and the dwarves in the chamber all plugged their ears. Satisfied, Mamie lowered the flute to her chin and said, “The Blight is a threat to us all right now. Warden Commander Bouthillier’s scouts have reported Emissary sightings on several routes and darkspawn numbers are growing exponentially. If These Emissaries were to link up with the Alpha Emissary leading the Blighted Host it would spell the end of not just Ferelden but Orzammar as well. We sympathize with your current strife but must ask for you to put aside your differences to protect your people. Many, many lives are at stake.”

“Do not lecture us on duty, girl!” one of the council members shouted. Another shouted across the room to chide them. Mamie simply raised her flute, “I’ll do it again. I’ll do it every time you interrupt needlessly or attempt to derail the discussion.” “I’ll send for a member of the Shaperate to bring the treaty documentation as well as representatives of the various Castes to begin negotiations.” Bhelen motioned for someone near the door to go.

Harrowmont shouted, “oh what authority boy?”

Mamie let out a short burst from her flute while staring at Harrowmont.

Tavish looked between Lord Harrowmont and the Prince, “I suppose I’m confused as to what exactly is the hang up here? My understanding is that this Great Thaig is ruled by House Aeducan. Which would mean the Prince, being the sole surviving member, would be King.”

“He was never named heir, which means it is up to the council to determine whether he or another is crowned,” Lord Harrowmont said with a calculated smile.

“And is there anyone else being considered?” Tavish asked.

“Lord Harrowmont was King Endrin’s second and close personal friend. He knew the King better than most and has experience in assisting with Thaig management and leadership.” One of Harrowmont’s council members said proudly. Bhelen sighed and frowned at Tavish, “we’ve held votes but each ends in a stalemate. After the last one there were…attempts on various councilmembers and we’ve called off future votes until that can be hashed out.”

“Andraste’s smallclothes,” Mamie exclaimed.

Tavish glanced at his companion before addressing Lord Harrowmont directly, “If a resolution cannot be found and treaty negotiations cannot be continued I will be forced to recall the Wardens from the Deep Roads, on Warden Commander Duncan’s behalf. Without Orzammar’s aid, those Warden’s will be needed on the surface to hold the Alpha Emissary from continuing North. I would also be forced to notify King Maric and The Keepers of the Dales of Orzammar’s inability to honor their word and treaties.”

A tense mumur rippled through the chamber. Lord Harrowmont’s smug expression dropped, “You can’t do that.”

“I can and I will,” Tavish said without emotion.

Mamie added, “Ferelden and the Dales have generously aided Orzmmar in lean times without hesitation. They have famously asked for nothing in return. All that is being asked now is for old treaties to be honored.”

“Negotiations cannot be held until a King is crowned.” The council member insisted.

Tavish shugged and looked to Matildis, “then I will recall the Wardens and we will depart in as soon as we are able.”

“Wait, there has to be something?” Bhelen pleaded.

“There is someone who could serve as the tie breaker, though she currently not in the Thaig.” Harrowmont conceded.

“You’d trust the vote to her? She’s batshit insane!” Zali shouted.

A flurry of ‘how dare you’ and ‘silence, deadwoman’ filled the chamber. Mamie took a breath but before she could blow the chamber went silent again.

“Paragon Branka could break the tie,” Harrowmont continued, “she took her House to a lost minor thaig said to contain ancient dwarven technology. She believes it could aid our continuous fight against the darkspawn.”

“And how do you propose we get her vote?” Agustin asked.

“Find her and you will get your aid. Refuse and leave and all is lost,” Harrowmont turned Mamie’s words against them, “Many, many lives are at stake.”

“Do you know where exactly she went?” Tavish asked, “I will not wander blindly into a blight infested cave.”

“There is information and maps in the Shaperate,” a scribe piped up from her desk, “I know Scribe Beomar worked with members of House Branka before they all left.”

“We could look into the Paragon’s whereabouts,” Matildis conceded, “but understand if the roads are overrun we will not push forward.”

“If we cannot locate the Paragon you will either need to come to an agreement or the Commander will march her Wardens to the surface.” Tavish said plainly.

“I have faith you will find her alive and well,” Harrowmont said, “before you leave I ask you pay my office a visit. We can discuss support for the expedition.”

“My doors are always open for you, Sir Virfalenal. I have not forgotten our families long standing alliance and will provide any aid you need.” Bhelen added.

Matildis looked to Tavish and mouthed the word ‘boom.’

#dragon age au #this is an older wip #I had an altered map at one point I don't know where it is

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mcytblraufest · 2 months

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I have 4 questions that hopefully haven't been answered already(sorry if they have ben answered already):

1. Are AUs that are like mixes of different fandoms allowed? Something like an AU that uses the outline/concept/plot of a TV show(that obviously comes from that TV show) but uses the characters from the SMP and their personalities to change the story. Basically, the SMP members would kinda take the place of the characters of the show, but their differences from the original characters influence the plot.

2. If I'm doing traditional art, what is the expected quality? Because my work can be messy sometimes like a lot of lines that couldn't be erased all the way and stuff like that. I don't think it would end up being messy enough to be confusing, but I still want to know.

3. For the expected information artists need to include, where would we put the information?

4. If someone I plan on collaborating with can't join the Discord or something like that, can we still be a team?

Let's go through this in order!

Yes! We allow AUs that are Crossovers "characters from fandom A meet characters from fandom B", like a "lmanberg meets the avengers" au; and we allow aus that are setting swaps, like a "empires crew in 3rd life" au;, and we allow aus that are plot swaps, like a "lifesteal people follow the events of owl house" au, and we allow ones that blur the lines between those, like the hunger games aus that circulate in lots of fandoms. As long as you can still honestly stick a MCYT fandom tag on the work, it qualifies.

We're not holding anyone to a formal quality standard, as that's inherently subjective and doesn't really make space for artists who are at the beginning of their career versus some of the established professionals in this fandom space. This event is all-ages, and we don't want to be telling teenagers that their art is unacceptable. What we're asking for is just that each artist brings something forward that they think is finished, that they think is good work they're proud of, that they think someone would find inspiring and good to work with. Whatever that means to you! As long as you can honestly present the work and say that it's something you think is finished and complete and good, we'll take it.

We are going to release a google form that will collect all the information from the artists, and then we will gather all that information and put it into a form that is easy to read, probably both a google doc and a google sheet, like last year.

For modding purposes, we'd like everyone to join the discord, so they agree to the event rules, and we can get in contact with them if absolutely necessary. You don't have to be active in the discord, but we'd like you to be present.

#nekole-doodles #faq

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thrawns-backrest · 5 months

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Howdy! For the character ask game:

Thrawn with 3., 14. & 20.

and Crosshair with 5., 9. & 25.

Have fun 👋

thank you for the ask mon ami!! starting with Thrawn

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

His live action portrayal, sorry not sorry. If we're talking about Zahn's canon, I guess it will always pain me that Thrawn died for the Empire and not for the Ascendancy.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Easy. Minimalist formal, ie some kind of shirt or turtleneck plus slacks and dress shoes. I know people usually peg him as artistic but to me he's the type who can analyze and discuss art but doesn't have a single artistic bone in his body (if you ask him to draw you something he'll scribble you a stick man). He's military first and foremost, streamlines any process that isn't work related so his wardrobe is as simple and efficient as it gets. Bonus points if the clothes remind him of the all too familiar uniform.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

I know I also ship them romantically but I don't think it gets better than Lani. They share a career slash passion, they've known each other for ages and every time they communicate in the books it feels natural and comfortable. Trust and cooperation are also a big thing for Thrawn (similar to acceptance) and knowing how long they've been partners in crime back in the Ascendancy just cements it for me.

now on to Crosshair!

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Trinity titoli and For a Few Dollars More Main Theme

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Technically yes but my anxiety will be on full crank because I need constant reassurance that people like me. My man's not that generous lol

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I'll be honest I wasn't the biggest fan of the bad batch episodes in tcw, I had to fall in love with the solo series to start loving those too. That said Crosshair was still the highlight for me even then (I have a type okay). Nowadays I've clocked so many hours rotating him in my mind that he's practically immortalized in the blorbo hall of fame

(questions from this ask game)

and of course my questions for you: 4, 7 and 25 for Thrawn and 6, 10 and 22 for Tech ;))

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autisticsupervillain · 3 months

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FTF: Isekai Invasion

The show where we take a character and drop them into a different franchise at a random location to see if they can conquer the world.

This Episode...

Xefros Tritoh invades Empire City!

Conditions:

Takes place in the Evil Karma Timeline of inFAMOUS 1

Scenario:

After finding the device that sent Joey to Alternia, Xefros inadvertently gets himself to to Empire City, landing smack dab in the middle of its gang war conflict.

Invader: Xefros

Return Readers are no doubt familiar with the hellish planet of Alternia. The bleeding heart of the cruel, colonizing Alternian Empire and the factor in which trollkind's children are raised to be killers. It is a brutal, uncaring world where enemy and friend mean the same thing and the corpses outnumber the houses on the streets.

How does an ordinary child survive on such a planet? How does an average person look like in Hell? Well, they don't get much more average than Xefros Tritoh.

Xefros is flat at the bottom of Alternia's hierarchy. As a rust blood with a timid demeanor and no immediately obvious combat ability, Xefros fears for his life on a nightly basis. Anyone or anything could have him killed at any time and no one would care. When the world acknowledged him at all, it was only to remind him that his life didn't matter. Even to a rebellion supposedly fighting in his interests, Xefros didn't matter. His own moirail, er, basically alien queerplatonic life partner those not in the know, doesn't treat him with the slightest respect, doubling down on squashing his self esteem at seemingly every opportunity for reasons we still don't understand. It was a miserable existence.... until he made an actual friend.

Joey Claire was a human far from home with Xefros as her only guide on this hostile alien world. With no understanding of any kind of hemospectrum or an preconceived notions of Xefros's self worth, Joey could see Xefros for who he actually was. Not as a disposable pawn or a worthless servant, but as a scared, traumatized boy who desperately needed a friend. And, now that he has one, Xefros will do anything he can to protect her.

Xefros is an entirely ordinary example of his species, yes, but he's standard for a race of galactic conquers. His strength and speed are clearly superhuman by Earth standards, such as when he survived his hive getting reduced to rubble on top of him with nothing but light bleeding. He also seems resistant to energy draining abilities, with Folykl, someone who drains the psionic and life energy of anyone she touches to keep herself alive, describing trying to drain him as like "sucking on a brick". As a rust blood, Xefros possesses weak basic telekinesis, allowing him to move small objects with great exertion, and can see and talk to ghosts. Most impressively, however, he's capable of holding his own against gold bloods.

Gold bloods are used as batteries for the Empire's fleet ships when they come of age, having their incredible psionic abilities harnessed to power the Empire's warcrafts. When reduced to this state, gold bloods are capable of supplying enough power to these sheeps to push them at near light speeds, generating an awe inspiring kinetic energy of nearly 95 Petatons of TNT. That's enough to obliterate continents, almost enough to completely raze the Earth's surface!

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The gold bloods Xefros fought should be capable of this level of power. Kuprum has been actively training himself and his abilities for the sake of being as good a Helmsman as possible, while Azdaja is even stronger than him. Folykl, someone who easily feeds on Kuprum, can't even tough Azdaja because of his sheer raw power. Azdaja is powerful enough to carve up canyons, and is a dreaded assassin with hundreds of kills to his name.

Xefros could stand up to Azdaja, but ultimately couldn't win... at first. But when Joey was threatened, Xefros's latent Rage powers activated and allowed him to completely stomp Azdaja into the ground.

Rage is one of the twelve Aspects, primordial concepts that govern Homestuck's reality. As a Rage Bound, Xefros can naturally harness negative emotions to bolster himself. His abilities here remain undeveloped, as he simply doesn't have the privilege to be allowed to get angry at anything without being killed. But, seeing as Xefros has already shown to beat Goldbloods and even Purple Bloods with this power, his full potential is likely awe inspiring.

That's sorta the running theme with Xefros. His potential as a person is hampered by a society that's presumed him to be worthless. But, now that he has someone he can fight for, someone who values Xefros for Xefros, the full well of his potential as been opened. Xef just has a lot of self confrontation and soul searching to do before he gets there.

Invaded: Empire City

Empire City. One of the biggest, richest, and most populated cities in the United States. As the inFAMOUS universe's equivalent to New York, this meant it was only a matter of time until everything went wrong.

A mysterious terrorist organization called the First Sons created a device called the Ray Sphere, an explosive device that wiped out much of the city's population, unleashed a horrid plague upon the people, and, worse, gave a select few with a certain gene elemental superpowers. These "Conduits" as they came to be known took their power to the streets and took over the now quarantined city, plunging it into a gang war.

The City and its districts were split by three factions. The Reapers, former drug dealers led by a former First Sons mad scientist named Sasha. The Dust Men, a group of homeless people who turned into a cult who worshipped their leader, Alden Tate, after his fortune was stolen and he was reduced to living in the slums, and the First Sons themselves, lead by an enigmatic man named Kessler.

Sasha's gang is the weakest of the three, as its made mostly of mind controlled innocent civilians brought to heel under Sasha's mind controlling tar. Anyone doused in the substance will be brought under Sasha's command, with repeated ingestions even transforming the victims body's. Ordinary Reapers are strong enough to threaten Zeke Dunbar, who himself is strong enough to tackle open gates, survive a fall into the Hudson River from the bridge, and is fast enough to dodge automatic fire. While Reaper Conduits fully transformed by the tar are granted superhuman stature, being strong enough to survive a gas station explosion and fast enough to dodge Cole's lightning attacks briefly. Sasha's tar is potent enough to potentially control all of Empire City and can induce hallucinations in those strong enough to resist it.

The Dust Men are even more powerful, amplified by Alden's ability to turn scrap and rusty trash into giant mechanical golems to bolster his army's forces. These golems are powerful enough to blast helicopters out of the sky and strudy enough to survive a helicopters engine exploding in their face. While Alden himself may he physically frail and require a cane, he can create a giant trash behemoth capable of putting up a fight against Cole MacGrath.

And finally, the First Sons. A secret society do advanced that people abducted by them have assumed they've been kidnapped by aliens. They created and perfected the Ray Sphere device, a machine that upon detonation sucks the bio-electricity out of none Conduits and pours it into all the Conduits in range, activating their powers and amplifying their existing ones. Every gang leader in inFAMOUS 1 is, at the bare minimum, strong enough to survive the Ray Sphere explosion, which vaporized six city blocks, requiring them to tank an energy equivalent to 5.7 megatons of TNT.

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Kessler spent decades planning his take over of Empire City, getting connections in Washington to keep the quarantine going while he took over. His Conduits possess the power to turn into giants and he's built flying drones that can turn invisible and shoot grenades from afar. Kessler himself possesses all of Cole MacGrath's powers from the first game, with a few additional abilities. He can punch the ground hard enough to make Earthquakes, create giant clones of himself that mind control anyone they touch, including Cole himself if he gets hit, and can teleport in invisible drones to assist him in combat.

But then there's the man himself. The Demon of Empire City. Evil Cole MacGrath. Unjustly framed for the nuking of Empire City, Cole MacGrath in this timeline became a bitter, power hungry tyrant, interest in little else than dominating Empire City like his own kingdom. His vast electrokinetic arsenal allows him to glide, control electricity as it moves at 90% light speed through wires, create forcefields that convert matter into energy, and create thunderstorms that cover all of Empire City, generating an energy equivalent to 34 megatons of TNT.

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In the end, Empire City is reduced to Hell On Earth, dominated under the iron fist of Cole MacGrath, the inFAMOUS terror of Empire City.

Throwdown Breakdown:

I did this matchup because I thought it was funny how much of a stomp it was... in Xefros's favor. Let me explain.

Cole MacGrath, as the strongest guy in Empire City at this point, clocks in at around 34 megatons give or take with near light speed.

Xefros's calc scales him to 95,000,000,000 megatons and near light speed.

Xefros is literally billions of times stronger. Around 2,794,117,650x to be exact.

I've spent most of this show's lifespan hyping inFAMOUS up, so I can knock it down from time to time.

Now, Xefros doesn't solo all of inFAMOUS. He can't do a damn thing to the Beast, be that John White or Cole MacGrath, due to not having any way to kill someone who can come back from a single atom. The Second Son cast are also likely fast enough to, say, turn him into Neon particles before he can do anything.

As far as the first game goes? Xefros is resistant to energy drain, so Cole and Kessler's Bio-leech abilities are out. This just leaves Kessler and Sasha's mind control powers as the only viable win condition, as Xefros has no resistance to it. This is... circumstantial. If this takes place at the end of the game, then Kessler is dead and Sasha is being tortured by the government. If this takes place at the beginning.... Hmm.

Both characters should be roughly equal in speed and I don't see either Sasha or Kessler doing anything to activate Xefros's rage booster and getting instantly mulched. Sasha is generally smart enough to stay inside her lair, which is filled ceiling to floor with her mind controlling tar, so its not like Xefros can confront her there. That said, he's definitely strong enough to just... smash the ground the cave the whole place in on top of her. Which I could see him honestly doing. Xefros has survived by virtue of keeping his head down and out of dangerous situations, so if he can get by without actually having to fight Sasha, well.... he will.

Kessler meanwhile, is a cunning schemer. He'll take a look at the alien tanking literally everything his forces can throw at him and go "nope, not fighting that", then try to recruit the kid against The Beast. Which Xefros... would likely genuinely agree to. O mean, his friend Joey is human, so he'd definitely want to help prevent humanity from going extinct. That's kinda a win for everyone, as Kessler would certainly begin working on backup plans to take out the Beast if Xef can't manage it and keep working on Cole as a backup. Win-win? Kessler would see antagonizing Xefros by attempting to control him as an unnecessary risk, as he has no viable fallbacks if that doesn't work, so he'd try to talk him into it first.

There's this thing in Power Scaling that I just made up a name for called Writers Didn't Do The Math. It's when you take a mathematical look at a character to find that they are hilariously stronger than the narrative of the story actually treats them. See "Batman can tank a nuke" or "Fire Emblem characters can move at escape velocity". Joey Claire is supposed to be an ordinary human girl, yet she inarguably power scales to the same feat Xefros does and is, consequently, billions of times stronger than a nuke. It's a consequence of writers not understanding power scaling as a story telling device or realizing the context it creates, I suppose.

This is likely what turns people off from the community, on top of the general toxicity it produces in people who take these things to seriously, and that's entirely fair. Me personally, I view this as a feature, not a bug. When I tell you Xefros Tritoh can solo a superhero universe because he's billions of times stronger than a nuke, well... just understand that I find it really damn funny.

Tune in next time to see Greg Universe crush Senator Armstrong, I suppose.

....Actually, that's not a bad idea, someone write that down.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Xefros Tritoh!

#fictional throwdown fridays #stats equalized #homestuck #hiveswap #xefros tritoh #infamous #cole macgrath

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