#:: The Wardens; We make our own monsters ::

[galaxofmuses]

"Wowie! Looks like this is our blog now! Look at that Rose go! OoooH she looks stunning in blood! <3"

"......Neb-no...Astra...run."

#:: Watching the Dashboard :: #:: The Wardens; We make our own monsters :: #:: The Wardens; Tail | Mari :: #:: The Wardens; knuX | Scott :: #:: Crack always included :: #:: Event; The whole gd Sonic rpc vs Rosy :: #blood cw

[gold-rhine]

(can answer privately if u want)

how did you manage to write enjou stirring shit up. i need to know for Reasons

(Reasons being: i wanna write him doing that as well so i need to know how you figured that specific brand of Manipulation out)

oh, i love talking about Enjou, he's so fun to write.

Okay, Enjou's main rule is that he doesn't *technically* lie. If you've ever written fae with no-lie rules it should be similar. Everything he says should be true, even if he's seemingly joking - like when he tells traveler you never know what can happen in magic rituals, I could turn into a flame-throwing monster haha! He only lies by omission or by using leading questions. He often answers direct questions with his own questions, which lets him evade, or by what he makes look like a joke.

Like in Enka when traveler arrived and asked him who he is, he asked question in return, like Didn't they tell you there's gonna be a priest who will guide you? Traveler went yeah, they did. Enjou was like Great! You can't be expected to learn new language haha! i'm here to help translate.

He didn't say "I'm the priest who Kokomi said will help you," he asked a leading question to make traveler think about the priest with connection traveler trusted, then he didn't directly confirm he IS the priest and instead re-directed to his function "I'll help to translate", which is true!

Enjou's second rule is that he's a little shit and also a corny nerd. Like there's often a boring stereotype of manipulators being cool and sleek and charismatic, but Enjou is not that. He's a jokerified librarian. He consciously acts lame and corny to make the other person underestimate him and roll their eyes. He loves repeating how he's just a weak bookworm. He will go on info-dumping tangents to bury the lead of manipulation.

He also loves playing with his food, burying little inside jokes which only make sense in hindsight, like "I could turn into a flame-throwing monster". He likes doing the weak nerd routine, he enjoys watching the other person feel superior to him, while knowing he's in control of a situation, and he says corny shit on purpose to make it more pronounced. He should sound corny and just a bit unhinged. He says shit like "Exactomundo". I had to physically restrain myself, bc Enjou absolutely would say Exactomundo while watching a man's world crumbling before him, but I didn't want to ruin the tone for the reader.

So, to write Enjou's brand of manipulation you need to first formulate his end-goal, like what is the purpose of this manipulation? I assume you read my fic since you reference me writing enjou stirring shit up, so i'll use it as example of my thought process. One of the examples in my fic, he wants to convince rizzley that Neuvi gave him the title to buy his loyalty. What are the true facts here? Neuvi did fight hard to give rizzley the title, he says it in his own voice lines. What do we need to add? Malicious intent.

Enjou can't say "Your title was a bribe", bc that's a lie. Instead, he starts with "you know what I would do if *I* was the Hydro Sovereign with an ability to take human form? <...>I’d make sure I have people loyal to me in some key positions. Such as Royal Duelist… and the Warden of the Fortress.” It's not a lie, bc if Enjou was a sovereign, he'd probably really do that. On paper, he's talking about himself, but in context of overall conversation it will be obviously extrapolated to Neuvi. This is a form of switching the goal posts from Enjou to Neuvi without outright saying so.

Then, he says true facts:

“He didn’t make me the Warden,” Wriothesley gritted out. 

“No, but he did make you the Duke, didn’t he?” Enjou smirked with a wink. “Our sources say the Court was not thrilled to give the highest noble title to you. And if the Iudex did not throw his own weight behind it, it would have never come to pass. How generous of him.”

It's true, it was actually generous, he doesn't lie. But in context of previous implied accusation, it will be read as sarcastic, as saying it was done with selfish reasons.

And then he reinforces with “Ah, you’re starting to get it, don’t you?”, which is a leading question that again, doesn't say anything false outright.

he should also offer the person hes manipulating to beat him up repeatedly, bc hes a freak.

#rhine talks #enjou #hope this helps! #for the readers at home you can have fun narrowing down what was the main sleight of hand that enjou used #to implicate that neuvi forced focalors to die and give him power back

[mayzi33]

***SPOILERS FOR THE WARDEN AND THE WOLF KING***

I think this might be kind of an unpopular opinion on The Wingfeather Saga, but...

I think Rudric should've lived.

Like, I know it makes sense for him to have died since he was the one leading the hollowsfolk in the war and all, and he was always the one to jump headfirst into danger especially to protect others. And I absolutely adored his last moments with Nia when he apologized once again for literally killing her husband and all she said was "All is forgiven, my love."

But honestly I think it would have been way more fitting for the story if Rudric had survived. Just hear me out, okay?

I know that in stories like that with themes of war and slaughter is obviously common for many characters to die, whatever they're in the main cast or not, whatever the audience loves them or not. But listen, Nia already lost her husband and her father. Janner, Kalmar and Leeli already lost their father and grandfather. They deserved to have at least ONE fatherly figure left for them. Even if it's one they had a rocky relationship with.

Imagine if Rudric had survived, and as a way to prove to Nia AND the kids his love for them, he joins them in the journey to get to the First Well and hopefully save Janner. Imagine if the First Well water works, Janner is healed, and sees that no one other than the man who had mistakely killed his father has been one of the people who desperatly went on this journey to take the chance of bringing him back.

It was stated in The Warden And The Wolf King that all three kids still felt a bit tense around Rudric, hurt even, angry. But in other moments, it is also shown how they're willing to forgive him and give him a second chance. When Janner was blindplopped, Rudric was one of the few last people he saw before passing out, and he could tell the man was tense about entering their home. So even though Janner was scared, weak and had no idea of what was happening, he tried to give him a reassuring smile to show him that it's okay. Later on, when Janner finds himself in the woods, he finds that Rudric's sword had been packed along with his other things. Rudric, the Keeper of Green Hollows, gave his *own sword* to this kid.

We know that out of the three kids Janner was the one who had the hardest time accepting Rudric's and Nia's marriage, as it's shown in The Monster In The Hollows. So just imagine how beautiful it would've been to see them rebuilding their relantioship.

Rudric and Nia had planned to marry soon, but with war and the death of Esben, obviously it had been left aside. But it was clear that Nia fully forgives him, and still loves him the same way she did before. So imagine seeing them slowly start courting again, healing and learning to trust again.

Like Kal said, Rudric was like medicine for Nia. He's the one who brought back the woman she was before loosing her husband and her kingdom, the true queen of Anniera. He got her laughing and playing and looking younger again.

And the kids, the kids who lost their father so early and then lost their grandfather. I think Rudric would be like a medicine to them too. Especially after all they've been through, having sacrificed, lost, fought and experienced way more than any kids their age should. Especially since now, they don't only have to rule a kingdom but *restore* a kingdom. Especially with all the weight they have on their shoulders, all while dealing with so much grief and trauma. I think it would've been good for them to slowly start trusting Rudric again. To see him as a step-father. The man who had unintentionally hurt them, could be the same man who heals them.

I think it would do our dear jewels some good to have a new fatherly figure to lie on. Of course, he would never be able to replace Esben or Podo, but I think they would need him just as much as Nia does. He could be there to give them advice, to strenghten them, to help them keep going, all the while also being someone they can show weakness around and actually get to be kids again for once. Rudric could get them to laugh, play and actually seem their age, just like he does to Nia.

Plus, I've always been a sucker for the child + step parent bonding trope. I think it would've fit The Wingfeather Saga themes about family, love and healing, all the while also potraying the hurt, grief and tragedy the war has caused.

Soooooooo does anyone here agree with me?

#the wingfeather saga #janner wingfeather #kalmar wingfeather #leeli wingfeather #nia wingfeather #rudric ban yorna #podo helmer #esben wingfeather

[ladymelisande]

"Our warden in this prison of a life" that is why I will never understand or feel sympathy for Claudia in the show and her almost adult look. You can leave Claudia, you already did! Lestat never was your warden!! Given how he seems to dislike her in the show, I would even say that he would have been happy to see her fuck off forever. With Claudia it is always about herself, how she always comes second but she still stays and complains. On top of being cruel (which is okay she always was in the book) she becomes annoying.

That's why I'm just gonna stare when this shit happens.

Like, I'm sorry, but the writers completely failed on giving these two a relationship and now they are doing the most lazy parallels possible to claim that 'she is totally his daughter'. Oh, please, shut up. She is not even his niece twice removed.

They were so busy on making Lestat a monster so Louis and Claudia could be righteous during his murder that they forgot giving them a relationship at all. People have been saying that 'oh, he is gonna watch his daughter burn'. He is not her father, she is not his daughter. And honestly if he wants her dead then good riddance because the whole series apart from two miserable scenes they were completely antagonistic to each other. These writers tell tell tell but I don't see them showing anything.

Exactly, Claudia can pass as an adult with properly fitted clothes and makeup. Her only problem is that she goes around trusting complete strangers out of nowhere. Honestly, the only reason she came back in the show was 1) because she wanted Louis as her bodyguard and 2) because deep down she wanted revenge on Lestat over the Charlie stuff. Because the struggle that Book Claudia had? Please, if you want me to believe it the get actors that are not adults.

She left, she could have stayed gone and Lestat wouldn't have given a shit if it wasn't for Louis making their lives hell with his blaming and whining (which he did instead of searching for her himself).

Like,... This show is trying so hard to make the audience pity her that she just comes off as annoying. Some of my nonnies have been saying that Lestat is only coming for revenge but at this point they have ruined him so much as a character that... I don't care. If he wants her dead, then whatever. An eye for eye. She didn't show any mercy to him, why should he do the opposite?

It kills me because Book Claudia was such an interesting character and honestly they could have done better by giving this one another name and stop pretending they are actually adapting anything. If there is something I actively hate y from TV writing on adaptions is this 'in name only' characters. If you are so utterly incapable of adapting a character then just change the name, don't plaster the name and pat your own back saying 'we are so faithful to the books!'

#may answers

[inksandpensblog]

What Makes "Purple's Last Stand" and "Realizations" Work: another episode 30 essay

I want to talk about these scenes, too. I tend to group them together as one scene, in my head, and honestly the first blends into the second so well that they could be taken as just one scene.

“Realizations” has gotten some flak, with people citing the episode’s pacing problems as being especially egregious within this scene. It’s been said that Mango’s sudden change in attitude isn’t believable, given his behavior up until that point. But while I do agree that the pacing of "Realizations" (and the elements of "Purple's Last Stand" that lead into it) are very rapid-fire and can be easy to miss, I myself believe that these combined scenes do address everything they need to in order to set up Mango’s change of heart in a believable way.

Before getting into that, though, I need to talk about “Purple’s Last Stand," and how it succeeds at the element that “Dreams and Reconciliations” (the hug scene) failed in: getting into Purple’s head.

-- Like, I'm not even joking about how much better this scene is at giving us a peek into Purple's headspace, despite lacking the literal, visual peek into Purple's headspace that “Dreams and Reconciliations” attempts to offer. And ironically, I think the element that makes this scene is the same element that breaks the moment in the hug scene: it's the music.

This season was the season for leitmotifs. The warden, the monster school students, and the fighting villagers/titan ravagers all got their own leitmotifs. It's more subtle, but Mango got his own leitmotif as well: several times in episodes after Ultimate Weapon, the opening run of Pigstep is used in scenes involving him. (It's most noticeable in The Warden, between when he emerges from the bastion and when Orange and the warden land in front of him, in The King, when he turns and starts choking the teal-colored stick, and again in The King, right before he tears the page about the Minecraft game icon out of the book.)

Note Block Universe seemed to go a different direction with musical cues for Green and Purple, associating them with specific instruments rather than specific melodies. But then episode 30 pulls a double-jump and does both.

This scene begins with Green reaching out as Purple steps forward to face Mango, and though no notes appear above his head we can very clearly hear his clarinet, in the same cadence he used when calling to Purple across the badlands river. This immediately tells us that whatever’s about to happen next is going to relate to Purple’s arc from the previous episode, even though Green is the one who just got a musical cue.

Unlike in Note Block Battle, Purple momentarily pauses when he hears Green trying to reach out to him. But Green isn’t trying to get him to stop fleeing, this time. This time, Green is trying to stop him from putting himself in danger. To tell him that he doesn’t have to do what he’s about to do.

But Purple turns, and continues on to face Mango anyway. Because he’s not doing this because someone else made him think he has to, he’s not doing this because anyone else wants him to, he’s not doing this because someone else told him it’s right. He’s doing it because he thinks it’s right, and because he wants to. And he’s doing it with faith that Green will accept him, whether he proceeds or not, whether he succeeds or not.

And then he’s caught in the blast, struggling to reach his goal alone, and we hear the beautiful violin melody of his solo reprised. He’s once again fighting so hard against impossibly stacked odds, but it’s no longer in pursuit of becoming what others want him to be, no longer in effort to deliver what others want from him. It’s, finally, his own fight.

This simple choice in the composition of the soundtrack situates us to perfectly grasp Purple’s headspace, during this moment, and maintains our grasp on it even as the visuals of Mango’s flashback begin to pull the focus of the scene back into his perspective. It links their respective character journeys together perfectly, without having either overshadow the other.

--

Now, before getting into “Realizations,” I need to talk about the areas in which these two scenes blend together.

Okay, so when the color gang is down, Purple steps up to face Mango on their behalf. He's already spent the episode up to this point fighting alongside our heroes, rather than against them like last time, but this is the moment when that starts to feel earned. Why?

Because in the context of Purple's character arc, this moment is basically the culmination of his journey from the previous episode.

This is him having faith in Green's notion that he should cast aside the idea that he needs to earn anyone's approval and instead act for himself and what he thinks is right. He was taught the lesson last episode, and now in this episode he's building on that lesson learned, actually putting it into practice through his actions and by his own choice, without influence from anyone else. He's trying out the new mindset, and acting on this new worldview.

And he's doing it when everyone else has been knocked down, and he knows they won't be able to catch him if he falls. That's how we know he's not just doing it because he wants the approval of the color gang.

But it's not enough to stop Mango. He fails.

...or does he?

He isn't able to reach Mango, true. The onslaught is too much for him to withstand, no matter how hard he tries. He gets blasted into particles for his efforts.

But then. Then Mango stops anyway.

Now, Mango's reasons for stopping have nothing to do with the intense character trial that Purple was just put through. Mango's reasons for stopping are entirely contained within his own character arc, just as Purple's reasons for persisting are entirely contained within his.

But let’s stop looking at the characters, for a moment, and look at the narrative instead.

The point of the last episode was to make Purple into someone we want to root for. The point of this episode was to make Mango into someone we want to root for. But we can't root for both of them, if they're against each other. If we want both of them to win, someone must change sides.

And for Purple, the fact that he's even doing this at all is a win, for him. Yes, he's on the side of our heroes now, but that's only half the reason; the other half is because him doing this is proof that he's growing, as a character. We want that win to be rewarded. We want his character growth to be rewarded.

In order for both characters to get what they need (not what they want, what they need), Mango has to be the one to change.

And then he does.

The narrative does reward Purple for his character growth. It rewards him with Mango's change of heart.

And thus, the audience is rewarded, too. We can root for both characters, now, because Purple persisted and he may not have defeated Mango but Mango is stopped nonetheless.

--

And now that we’ve seen both scenes from Purple’s side of things, lets return to Mango’s perspective.

So. Mango's flashback doesn't actually start with him seeing Apricot in Purple. In fact, it doesn't even start with Purple reminding him of Apricot.

It starts with a visual and auditory hallucination, in the form of the red warning light and the alarm sound.

The first thing he actually remembers is himself, trying to break down the door and get to Apricot. What he was doing, in that situation. Not what was happening to Apricot, though they are related.

He catches himself in the memory, and tries to shake it off. But now his concentration has been broken, and now he starts to actually see the similarities.

This is when he starts seeing Apricot in Purple.

But before that moment where his concentration breaks, it wasn't Purple that reminded him.

Because before anything else, before he's reminded of how Apricot strained against the pull, before he's reminded of Apricot glitching, his body corrupting and collapsing, before he's reminded of any of that...

Mango remembers what he was FEELING while it happened.

The alarm. The frantic need to act. The panic. The terror. The horror. The desperation. The helplessness. The agony.

Last time he felt those things, there was a lot of bright light, a lot of loud noise, a lot of red, and a smaller figure was struggling to reach him.

In short, Mango legitimately triggered his own post-traumatic flashback. The environment and circumstances had enough similarities that the memories of those old feelings resurfaced, just long enough to break his concentration.

It's only after he tries to shake the flashback off, and bring his mind back to the present, that he starts seeing Apricot in Purple. Even then, it starts with the most traumatic memory of Apricot, the memory that the current situation is most reminiscent of. Then, as Mango becomes more aware of what he's seeing, he starts expanding that connection across time, to the effect of realizing that those similarities had always been there and he's only just now seeing them.

And of course...if some part of you recognizes the situation you're in, then of course that part of you is going to do whatever it can to prevent what went wrong last time from going wrong again. Whatever it takes to protect you from having to suffer that loss and grief again. Because experience has taught you that that's what comes next, if you don't get to the smaller figure in time.

Mango was acting entirely on instinct and reflex, here. His body acting to protect his mind from having to undergo all that again.

It's as he runs, as he's taking the action that he couldn't last time, that his mind catches up, and begins asking all the same questions that we've been asking:

Is it enough, after how you've treated him? You never would've treated Apricot this way. What's become of you?

Because this isn't Apricot. This is the person he lied to, and lorded over, and abandoned.

But still. He knows he won't be able to handle the suffering, the loss, the grief, if it happens again.

I deeply appreciate that Apricot was never superimposed over Purple at all during “Purple’s Last Stand” or during “Realizations,” and that they just flipped back and forth between the past scene and the present one instead. The flipping back and forth makes it clear that Mango isn’t imagining this, it's not a trick his mind is playing on him (like the warning light/sound). He's actually recognizing the similarity consciously.

Mango didn’t start to see Apricot in Purple because of any one thing that Purple did. Mango started to see Apricot in Purple, because the situation he put Purple in bore enough resemblance to the situation he failed to get Apricot out of that Mango’s own trauma and unresolved grief drew the parallels for him.

And the reason I can believe his change of heart to be genuine, is that despite this stemming from a self-preservational desire to avoid reliving the same traumatic event, regardless of who the other person involved is…he does recognize the other person involved. He recognizes who he’s running after, and he keeps running anyway.

#animation vs minecraft #avm shorts #avm episode 30 #analysis #my thoughts

[deusexlachina]

Antisocial DAO Finale: Branka oversells her product while Morrigan sleeps with an old man who tried to kill her because he is less repellent than me

Alistair is outraged that I made Loghain submit to the taint, because submitting yourself to the taint is an honour, and making it a punishment cheapens it. He tells me that Duncan would be rolling in his grave, which is probably true if his closest apprentice is saying we shouldn't make more Grey Wardens because it does matter where they come from and being a Grey Warden is an awesome privilege, pretty much the opposite of Duncan's party line.

But why should he complain? He's the king, and has a beautiful fiance who can help him rule but also doesn't have the power to overrule him, and he has the kind of authority to do incredibly childish stunts like refuse to help save the world because now the Grey Warden club isn't cool. I nod along, not realizing this is sarcasm.

By the way, Thedas is a world where people are routinely enslaved, massacred, poisoned, lobotomized, eaten, or turned into one of several flavours hideous monster. I myself, Warden Mahariel, have lost my ancestral home and even my makeshift camp was forcibly displaced by human riots, shortly before I was inducted into the Grey Wardens because the artifacts of my people have been neglected so long they are now poisonous and gave me a terminal illness. This was why my Keeper agreed to let me be inducted into the Wardens, but Duncan himself stressed that he inducted me solely because I am a good fighter, the sole criterion for induction. Just. Putting all that out there, your Highness.

With All My Armies in Denerim, we confidently march to Redcliffe castle to prepare for open war with the darkspawn instead of doing the same thing in Denerim, which has been our base of operations for a while now. As we arrive in Redcliffe, we find that it is being massacred because All Our Armies are in Denerim and Redcliffe basically exists to be attacked.

I save Redcliffe from being destroyed for the second time this month (I think? Time isn't clearly tracked in this game) and then gather All My Armies in Redcliffe instead of Denerim, where, literal hours later, Warden Riordan says the darkspawn are attacking Denerim instead of Redcliffe.

Could we not have...split the army? At any point? I have five divisions. And, really, Branka's giving me a Tide of Steel Men. Surely that would be more than a match for Every Darkspawn That Ever There Was.

But Riordan has even worse news. The Archdemon is here, which means one of us...will die! He seems to think it's a shocking twist, really, that a soldier going into a pitched battle could die. A single Warden needing to die is apparently a trade secret even after hundreds of them died. People must not know!

This is especially ironic because he's telling Loghain nobody would sign up to become a Grey Warden if they knew they would have to sacrifice themselves, whereas Loghain signed up to become a Grey Warden for exactly that reason. Unfortunately for him, I'm not going to let him.

Morrigan reveals her own dark secret: all this time, she wanted to get nasty with a Grey Warden. Honestly, she could've just asked, at any point before this. She didn't even need to mention it would save your life. Has she seen how horny Alistair is? The man took literally no convincing to marry Anora. Unfortunately, he's too busy sulking that I made Loghain submit to the taint, and I'm a woman, so Morrigan's only choice is Loghain.

Pitying Morrigan for the prospect of a night with Loghain - I mean, her face says it all - I let her know, hey, actually, I'm trans, so if you don't want to see what Loghain does in the bedroom I can spare you. But Morrigan insists, plugging her nostrils, that There Is No Other Option but Loghain. She sends me out of her room immediately to go recruit him. I try to Persuade Loghain that this is a good idea but fail.

Given the choice between sleeping with a libertarian and the certainty of an agonizing death, he prefers the latter. I tell him his crimes are too great for him not to spend the rest of his life atoning. And also, Morrigan said she'd leave my party if she didn't get the demonbaby, and frankly, my social ineptitude and poor life choices have cost me enough party members, including two of my best. Morrigan is the only other mage, and the only dedicated healer, since all my mana is locked up in Every Single Buff. Do you really want to do the Battle of Denerim without a healer?

After seeing how few health poultices I have left, Loghain Does The Deed with Morrigan. Instead of sacrificing his life (and, without Morrigan, all of ours), he is sacrificing his dignity. That's what he told me, anyway. I'm starting to think he just didn't want to seem too eager to hump Morrigan, the least smelly remaining woman. Look at this slut of a man.

His Signature Scowl is replaced by a look of intrigue. This is the warmest face this man can muster. Really. Look at those eyebrows. Normally, they're pointed down in fury, but they're really pointing up. Rawr.

Morrigan stretches her neck to blow out a candle, and I mean stretches.

With The Deed Done, we march for Denerim. I put Sten in command of guarding the city gates to cut off reinforcements, partly because he has formal experience as a commander but also because, with my remaining party, it was him, Oghren, or the dog.

Branka finally figured out how to actually make robots, which she didn't know when she sent hundreds of people to die claiming the Anvil. Unfortunately, after advertising a Tide Of Steel Men, she only had time to make four. I guess a Quartet of Steel Men is less imposing, and could be mistaken for a band.

Nonetheless, four is quite a few, as they are every bit as broken as they were in Caridin's boss fight, shrugging off massive amounts of damage, ignoring most crowd control, and stunlocking darkspawn left and right. Honestly, seeing these things in action makes Branka look more sensible, which is pretty impressive since the very first thing she did when claiming the Anvil was let out a long, diabolical laugh.

With my Tide of (4) Steel Men, we quickly reach the Archdemon without a scratch in any of my other armies. Unfortunately, I die horribly in the fight. This is easy to deal with if you have a Spirit Healer, which I don't because Morrigan used her other specialization to be an Arcane Warrior and I left Wynne to clean up the Circle because she'd have left anyway because I defiled her holiest prophetess' ashes a little bit. There's a lesson here about consequences that I'm too dead to learn. Being the only Grey Warden still alive and not having a temper tantrum, Loghain jumps on the Archdemon's head, stabbing it through the brain.

For some reason, that wasn't the killing blow. I realize I'm not actually dead and then charge at the Archdemon, eager to steal this moment of glory from Loghain, the fucker. (I don't know what First Enchanter Irving is looking at).

Having saved Ferelden, I ask Queen Anora to give the Dalish our land back. She magnanimously agrees, possibly because she personally witnessed me slaughtering Ser Cauthrien and all her guards. So she grants me nobody's favourite land in Dragon Age: The Hinterlands. Ostagar, too, which is crawling with darkspawn. You are no friend of mine, human lord.

I then receive a congratulation from the other monarch, Alistair, who has fought by my side until the single most important battle and has gotten to know me deeply. He greets me as warmly as anyone else does.

I Killed The Archdemon. Well Done.

#antisocial dao

[kitcam-the-great]

A Humbling Origin Story

(Fantastic cover art by @WillowzzA on Twitter! Please go check out her art as it is fantastic!!)

⬇️Ao3 Link ⬇️

Author’s Note: I wanted to cause The Sheriff (aka Jimmy) some pain, so therefore decided to add meaningless significance to his encounter with the Warden.

Now anyone would be afraid of the creature. One sound and you’re done for, but what makes Jimmy’s encounter so special. Why is he, the law, so afraid of this blind creature?

What if I told you that his encounter with Gem wasn’t his first?

•-•{🌟}•-•

Tumble Town.

A bustling little community smack down in the center of the desolate mesa. And though it serves as the hotspot for gunpowder farming and trading, it is home to one of the lands largest, and deepest, coal and gold mines.

Jimmy, the honorable Sheriff of the busy little town, remembers the day they opened up the mines. He remembers all the adults placing bets on how much they’d be able to bring back, the ridiculous fortunes they’d make. He remembers kids, just a little older than he was, telling stories about all the monsters one would find in those caves. How easily they could take any of them down if they had the right tools. Hell, they didn’t need tools. They were brave and big and strong. Something that poor little Jimmy was not.

You see Jimmy throughout his childhood was always used as a scapegoat, a test dummy. Constantly picked on for his size and easily tricked into getting into trouble with the locals. He felt worse than little. He felt small.

When stories of the deep dark made its way round the town, the older kids all turned to that pathetic little kid they loved to beat up, and Jimmy was having none of it.

“Get a load of this guy! Y’all really think he’s gonna come out of those caves alive?”

“Yeah right! Lil’ twerp wouldn’t last a day in there?”

Three boys began to circle Jimmy like vultures, eager to grab him and toss him around.

“Leave me alone!”

Was all he could muster up in that time.

“Y’know I’m willing to bet he wouldn’t even last a whole dang minute in that there mine!”

Jimmy spoke up again

“I so could!!”

Two boys then began pushing him back and forth toward each other, with each tug rougher than the last. They laughed at the way he began to tear up.

“Lookie here, brother! He thinks he can take on all them monsters, but here he is cryin’ his lil’ eyes out!”

“Aww what’s the matter lil’ baby? Can’t handle a lil’ tustle? Go on! Cry some more pipsqueak!”

“Maybe the monsters will feel bad and leave ya alone!”

They gave him one final shove into the ground, practically howling at how hard he hit his head in the rough terracotta.

Jimmy just cried. He knew he wasn’t as strong as they were, nor as cruel. What made him so sure he could say he would last at all in the mines? God why was he so stupid? So so stupid.

“Alrighty fellas, simmer down a bit. Cause I got an idea.”

Out of the blue, the older of the lot spoke up.

“Now lil’ bitty Jim here thinks he can waltz on into those mines no problemo! I say we give him a shot.”

The other two boys’ faces began to contort in confusion.

Jimmy’s eyes grew wide with fear.

“Yeah. Y’all know what? How ‘bout tonight we all head up to the mines, go down the deepest cave and give the lil’ fella a good ol’ fashioned send off?”

Now the boys’ confused expressions slowly turned into crooked smiles.

“B-But I can’t- I’m not g-gonna-“

Jimmy stammered out, but he was interrupted by the older boy sloppily hoisting him off the ground.

“Oh sure ya can pal! You been out here sayin’ you’d be able to last in there! Now’s your time to shine! Innit boys?”

Despite the contrasting emotions, through sheer reading of each other's expressions, the four boys could all come together on one thing: this would be one hell of a night.

•-•-•-•-•

Midnight was a risky time to be out in the lonely lands of the mesa. Plenty of space for mobs to crawl out of the depths of the dark and roam the flat and dusty surface.

Regardless, the path to the mines, and down it for that matter, were relatively well lit. It helped even more that the oldest brought a bright burning torch of his own with him. It was just them and the sounds of the depths below.

For the record, none of these boys had ever set foot in the mines. Jimmy hadn’t ever gotten a chance to even see the entrance of it first hand. So for this to be his first adventure was certainly a step up somewhere..

Despite it all the first few moments of the expedition were rather peaceful, apart from the occasional jump scare from one of the older kids. The cave was nice and cool and was brilliantly lit up with torches and the occasional glowberry vines.

The sounds of rushing water eased his fears, especially after seeing two playful axolotls splashing about their little pools. If it weren’t for the circumstances earlier, this would be exciting, relaxing even.

The best part of it all, there were no encounters with mobs. Granted the occasional growl of a zombie or the hiss of a creeper were heard, but only at a great distance. The travel party hadn’t had a face to face encounter.

Now to Jimmy this was fantastic, but the other boys were getting bored. They wanted to scare the kid, not take him on a joy ride. That’s the whole reason they made up those stories. About the darkness and the ancient cities. It’s what those archeologists were talking about when the mines opened up.

Then they hit a snag. The light of the torches dwindled down to almost nothing.

The stone they walked on faded into deep slate then into something they hadn’t seen before. It was soft, like grass, but it was deep blue in color with little flickers of white and cyan.

The walls around them soon enough we’re coated with the stuff. There were pretty soon no more torches. Only blue lanterns.

The only familiar light they had was that of their one torch.

“The hell are we..?”

“Beats me..”

They continued to walk around aimlessly, oddly careful not to make too much noise. Not like anything was watching, or listening..

All the boys jumped at the sound of a bat squealing and flapping its wings, flying overhead and landing on a different part of the cave roof. And then they heard something else.

A deep, gurgling sound..

Taking their eyes away from the bat and lowering them down to a strange looking warped plant. It matches whatever they were walking on, though seemingly lighter in color, and had wavy stems.

The boys inched closer, quietly.

“What is that..?”

“Heck if I know. Some kinda weird plant thing-“

Their whispers were interrupted by the bat again, who decided it was bored of its new spot and looked for its old one. The squealing and flapping caught the attention of this fauna, and lit it up instantly. It made that same grumbling noise.

All of a sudden the fear of the two brothers in the group turned into curiosity.

“Aw cool! It senses sound. Wonder if it’ll pick up Jimmy screaming later!”

The two of them snickered.

Jimmy was unamused, and seemingly the oldest was as well. He kept looking around up, torch high up in the air.

“You think it’ll hear this?”

One of them said, jumping as high as they could and landing with a loud thud. And sure enough the sensor did. Lighting up instantly upon contact with the vibrations.

“Oh oh! What about this!”

The other one also jumped, this time repeatedly. The sensor lit up again, grumbling in sync with each thud.

The boys were having fun, and Jimmy was apprehensive. He slowly creeped towards them.

“Hey you guys, knock it off! Something could hear us!”

And now their fun was spoiled.

“Like what? A zombie?”

One said in a mocking tone.

“What about a skeleton?”

“You think a creeper could light up this thing?”

“I mean- if a bat could..”

They were so distracted by their curiosity that they didn’t notice the sensor lighting up with their voices. Now Jimmy was beginning to panic, and spoke up again, careful about not being too loud.

“Come on you guys, stop it! It can hear you!”

“Woah! Just by us talking? Neat!”

“What about IF I YELLED!!”

The sensor grumbled long and deep. Keeping it’s light up for the longest it’s been. And the brothers looked at each other, and cackled. Back and forth they started to let out the biggest yells and hollers they could. Followed by the sensor’s gurgling sounds after.

Jimmy backed away, covering his ears and shutting his eyes tight. He began to tear up, afraid of what was going to happen next. The oldest boy spoke up soon enough. Curiously also looking frightened.

“Y’all stop that! We ain’t alone here!”

All the brothers did was laugh at the stupid sounds the sensor made after them. They kept screaming.

“Y’all I’m not kiddin’ around anymore! Cut it out!”

But they didn’t. They continued to scream and shout. The sensor gurgled long and hard and soon after came another scream.

But it wasn’t their own.

“Shit..”

The group turned, with the light of the torch, eying what it was that shrieked. Another plant looking thing, only a lot less plant, and a lot more structured. There were pillars at each corner, and dead center where swirling lights, with faces..

Then, everything went dark. The light of the torch completely burnt out. What followed was the rumbling sounds of the depths below. The ground began to shake. The rumbles became louder, the walls started to shake. Rocks and lanterns fell from the cave walls and ceiling. Then the most horrifying sound they’d heard all night.

The ground was broken, and from it emerged the most horrific thing they boys could hardly see.

“Is that..?”

“Oh hell!”

“RUN FOR IT!”

The three bullies booked it to the opening they came from, their screams of terror only attracting the beast towards them. Jimmy tried to run for it too, but with just his luck he dropped over a fallen rock. The thud of the ground altered the sensor which then alerted yes the shrieker, which finally alerted.. that..

That thing..

Jimmy looked up ever so slightly. He just wanted to really see what he was dealing with.

This beast was massive. Tall and wide, it’s head with nothing but a gaping void in the middle. It looked like it had horns or antlers, decorated in whatever the stuff they were walking on was.

The body was the word part. Its arms were long, thick, like tree stumps with sharp claws, same with its legs. Its ribs were exposed, another endless void with swirling lights with faces inside, similar to the ones of the shrieker.

Perhaps they weren’t lights at all..

It marched closer towards where Jimmy was lying. Stalking its arms across the floor, sniffing the air.

Jimmy didn’t dare move. He didn’t dare speak, hell he didn’t dare breathe. He shut his eyes tight as the creature finally stopped, inches away from him..

It lowered its head towards the small quivering boy, and sniffed. He could feel its breath on him. He couldn’t stop shaking. He was scared. He wanted to go home, he wanted to scream and cry and run far far away. But he couldn’t.

If he made one sound, he was sure to be condemned to die.

Once the creature had finished, it seemingly decided there was nothing there. It groaned in frustration, as if its prey had run away from it. Then it let out a loud and long gut wrenching roar into the cave.

Jimmy quickly curled up and covered his ears. Opening his eyes slightly he noticed it wasn’t hovering over him anymore, so he decided to make a break for the exit.

He didn’t care to notice the sensor or the shrieker. He didn’t care to notice that whatever that thing was was chasing him from behind. He wanted to get the hell out of there.

With every ounce of whatever strength he had left, Jimmy climbed up the mushy surface and eventually reached the cobbled deep slate. The beast was clawing at the walls right underneath him.

He was just catching his breath, thinking he’d made it out scott free, but then a low groan was heard from it. Jimmy backed away slightly. The creature roared in anger, building up all the force it had.

Whatever was inside its ribs lit up. Whatever, it was just angry, Jimmy thought of it in hurry. He began to run when he was suddenly hit by a booming force. It knocked him into the cave wall, which was just beginning to be filled with torches again.

Jimmy yelped in pain, ears ringing. He struggled to his feet, arm against the wall. His whole body ached, his legs were shaky, hands were covered in blisters and cuts. He tried to make his way again, when again, another forceful shockwave hit. It was far too much pain to bear.

The last thing Jimmy heard before knocking out cold, was the roar of the warden. This time, sounding like one of victory.

-•-•-•-•-

The following morning was a trying one for Tumble Town. The boys went home crying to their families about what they’d done and what they saw. Locals were speechless and upon hearing that four went in and only three made it out drew the concern of many.

Miners and a few archeologists were sent in to investigate. One excavator was venturing past the lush cave into the deep slate, when he heard a coughing noise. He looked around, lantern in hand then noticed a small, curled up Jimmy. Battered and bruised head to toe.

He quickly called for assistance, and soon enough Jimmy was pulled out of the caves and out of the mines.

He returned to Tumble Town, the kid who was said to be killed by the beast of the deep dark. He was bombarded with questions from several other kids, bullies included.

“How’d you make it outta there?”

“Were you scared?”

“Did ya fight 'em off?”

“Dang you gotta have some serious balls to take on that thing!”

And one right after the other the comments and questions wouldn’t stop. The boy who survived the warden. The bravest of the bunch. Who would’ve thought it to be lil Jimmy Solidarity.

He, however, tuned it all out. He was still far too stunned. Jimmy simply limped back to his small hut by the ranch.

His parents would be proud, he heard some folks say. He was a real trooper, he heard from others. He didn’t care to hear it at the time. He weakly waddled into his crooked bed, wrapped himself in his old yet soft blankets and started sobbing.

The next few days were normal, well as normal as they could be. Jimmy was not treated like some sort of prodigy rather than that scrawny kid people loved to pick on.

Amongst it all he began to realize something. People were treating him differently. Better than before, because of the horrifying thing he faced. They practically called him a hero.

If he could grow up to be that someone that everyone respected, that everyone feared, then he’d be on top of the world.

So thanks to that humbling experience, Jimmy, now being raised by the local saloon keepers, learned two valuable things.

One. No one was ever going see that they got to him anymore. All they’re going to see is just how badly they’d messed up.

Two. Never underestimate the importance of carrying a revolver with you.

•-•-•-•-•

Tumble Town continues to thrive, and as it stands is an incredibly charming and welcoming little city. There would always be a reason for the locals to be celebrating and playing loud music late into the warm evenings.

The saloon keepers, a sweet couple they are, continue to feed and look after everyone they could. Including Jimmy. They were never able to have any children of their own, so after seeing Jimmy in absolute tatters after his adventure they couldn’t risk him being out there alone again.

And boy howdy were they ever so grateful. And so goddang proud of just how strong and brave he’s become.

Guess all The Sheriff needed was a sonic boom in the right direction.

#empires smp #empires season 2 #empires jimmy #jimmy solidarity #solidaritygaming #mcyt #mcyt fanart #mcyt fanfiction #headcanon backstory #I’m genuinely real proud of this #and go follow Willow on Twitter rn #do it cowards

[dreblr-fic-recs]

Smiling masks and golden crowns

Writer's Summary

Being the warden watching over single prisoner can be lonely. If it weren´t for his records Sam wouldn´t remember the last time someone other than Quackity visited. It didn´t matter anyway, they weren´t there for him. They all just passed him on their way to see a monster Pandora holds. A monster Sam has to keep locked up and alive. Certain duck hybrid making the later rather difficult some days. Sam is trapped in the prison of his own creation just as much as Dream is, it´s just different things holding them in. While Dream is held in by obsidian walls, Sam is unable to leave because of his duties as warden.

In the heart of prison, in his blood covered cell sole prisoner is lonely too.

Maybe they could be lonely together?

Or: I suck at summaries but I had this idea of Sam and Dream becoming closer in the prison when they´re pretty much the only people there and my brain wouldn´t shut up about it and now we´re here (it´ll take few chapters to get to them getting close so please be patient with me)

~

Word Count: 60k

Status: Incomplete

Rating: Not Rated

Content Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

#rec.dream & rec.sam #rec.quackity & rec.sam #rec.sam #rec.dream #rec.quackity #words.50k

[bee-barnes-author]

Seven Snippets, Seven People

Tagged by @tabswrites!

Tagging: @vivrune @violeaes @amandacanwrite @following-the-drum @pheita @milkhoney531 @jezifster

ONE (An Anomaly of Faith)

My hands were shaking as I brought my joint to my lips once more. Some primal part of me must have recognized what I had stumbled across and was trying to warn my stupid, modernized brain about the dangers ahead. I didn’t listen. Maybe I was too stoned to realize what my body was trying to tell me, or maybe I heard every blaring alarm and recklessly tossed them aside. I don’t think that matters so much, considering I followed the path of liquid gold that stained the too-tall grass in a horrifying mimicry of the Yellow Brick Road.

TWO (An Anomaly of Faith)

I didn’t believe in monsters sober, but I guess when I was stoned I did. It was that same primal feeling deep in my gut. Keep the cherry lit, that feeling whispered to me. Not in words, but in feelings. Sensations. The way kids would slam off the basement light switch and bolt up the stairs, knowing deep in their gut that darkness meant danger, and that it was nipping at their heels. An instinct that modern day buildings with modern day electricity had tricked us into thinking was a childish behavior and not a lifesaving understanding that had been cultivated over millennia for the propagation of our species.

THREE (An Anomaly of Faith)

I did my best not to focus on the fact that there was no burgundy mess staining the wood, no red on the grass, not even a drop of scarlet poured from the attempted gutting. No, what came out of that sucking wound was nothing but the most vibrant gold I had ever seen. The same as the smear that had led me here. The only red was the cherry burning at the edge of my joint, which had fallen from my fingers and onto the dewy grass, lit end facing towards the sky like a stick of smoldering incense.

FOUR (Dying on the First Date)

His lips make a wet squelching noise when he breaks the seal his mouth made against my neck. He’s breathless, and I feel him panting on my cheek. I want to gag at the stinking copper moisture of his mouth.

FIVE (Dying on the First Date)

We sway out of sync with the music. Just the two of us lovers caught up in our own little world. He spins me and a laugh like crystal echoes in my head. He’s killing me. My handsome date works his jaw to bite deeper into my flesh. My left arm twitches violently and I knock over a wine glass. It crashes to the floor. Shatters into a puddle of shards and red wine. My date tangles his fingers in my hair possessively, and my skin crawls with disgust.

SIX (Warden of the Damned)

There was another part of her, though. The part that was more of a savage animal than a human. That part sent her into a frenzy. The moment one of those awful prickly, hairy legs came within reach, Elida lashed out. She had never even thrown a punch before, but she felt the centuries of warrior kings in her blood. She was feral as she clawed and kicked. The daemon surrounding her screeched, and one leg pierced her thigh to pin her in place. Elida wailed in pain. Her mind quickly felt stuffed full of cotton. When she looked down at her wound, she saw the spider leg was worming its way inside her and breaking down into smaller tendrils to spread further.

SEVEN (Warden of the Damned)

Before the organs could go cold in her palm, she shoved as much into her mouth as she could fit. She barely had to chew the soft meat. She could just swallow the chunks whole and they would slide down her throat like butter. At first she thought the gurgling noise was her stomach protesting the quantity she was imbibing. It turned out to be the daemon below her dying, “Filthy…” It wheezed, “Rotting, human…” Elida paid it no mind. She bent over and placed her mouth around the wound she had made and sucked. The cravings had not left her and she was loath to abandon her source. She groaned happily at the stream of blood that flooded her maw. The daemon under her thrashed a final time and rattled out its last breath

#warden of the damned #the beast in the glass house #dying on the first date #an anomaly of faith #tag game #seven snippets seven people #writeblr #writeblr tag #writing #writing community

[galaxofmuses]

careful ... careful.

using the tip of his wing to slice Xen's shoulder before busting into where Gilly was. Grabs them and flies off.

... he's not risking it. no thank you.

A small flinch from the slice and growls with annoyance that dearheart always has a knack of making irritating friends. As a small stitched up mobian appears with a smile.

"......Hunt them down. Bring them back."

"With pleasure! -` ♡ ´- "

The tailess fox disappears into data as if she has done so many times before. The hunt is always her favorite game to play.

#:: Ver; Main; Sonic.EXE AU; World Turned :: #:: OC; Gilly :: #:: OC; Nebula | Gilly :: #:: Silver; For every soul there is a guardian watching it. :: #:: Ver; Sonic.EXE AU; Xen; I’ll Find You :: #:: The Wardens; We make our own monsters :: #:: The Wardens; Tail | Mari :: #foretoldwings #// yeah get fucked Xen #// also please run

[octoxen]

Finally came up with an explanation regarding the latest episodes where the Colored Stickfigures go through different portals and there has to be something in that world which is relating to their own skills

[Some might not make anysense]

••••••

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR:

AVM EPISODE 26,27,28,29

**

THE WARDEN:

Basically- this was Second Coming's video of where he went to, it shows at the beginning that he falls to the undergrou- (insert undertale music/j), Then tries everything to climb up but anyways he fails since he doesnt have the minecraft cube, theeen there our lil orange stickman go mad and apparently he hits a block that makes noises and it attracted/made the Warden very angry aaaaand there we go, with Second Coming's great cooperating, calm and leadership skills, he made friends with the Warden just by searching for a solution (which is the candle flute).

THE RAID:

-----------

Yellow and Blue's episode where they help a village escape from the Ravaging Pillagers. Basically- The Two communicated with the villagers, Built a plan, trained them all- Yellow uses his ability to manipulate a command block, and Blue on the other hand helped the Villagers fight the Pillagers using their Archery skills.

-----------

MONSTER SCHOOL:

RED'S EPISODE! My favorite because it was all about cooperation and friendship! It starts with the Monsters bullying our lil red stick guy, there goes a race which Red got teamed up with the worst team but it ends with them helping each other out. I remembered that when it comes to communicating or spawning mobs, Red is the expert. so the Monster School that the portal teleported Red into, is connected to Red's ability to fully cooperate, and fight alongside mobs.

---------

Lastly,

NOTE BLOCK UNIVERSE:

One of my favorite episodes too! because i love music very much too as Green does, The Title and the Thumbnail already made me think that the Universe IS connected to Green's ability and skills. Green firstly uses noteblocks to communicate with different creatures then on halfway the episode, he sings to communicate with different creatures. Not to mention the episode kinda depicted that Music can truly tell one's feelings or mood in just by the tune or lyrics (im talking abt Purple's lore and the music in it).

-----

Our Legend Alan Becker is just very. Awesome- no-hes much more than that.

(end of the rambling)

Thank you for reading this dumb theory :)

#Alan Becker #avm shorts #Rambling

[hrodvitnon]

And now for some new 'Abraxas' Qs from me! :) (1) What thoughts, if any, did Tejada and Travis have during KotM when Jonah decided to do nothing about Ghidorah? Did they have any thoughts of their own on the matter, or did they just go along with whatever their commander wanted and dismissed Emma's "we hit the BLACK button instead of the green button" ravings about Monster Zero? (2) [FEEL FREE TO SKIP THIS Q IF YOU'RE STILL PLANNING ON MAKING THAT OLD FIC IDEA OF GHIDORAH'S P.O.V. DURING THE MASS AWAKENING:] How do you imagine Ichi and Boston!San felt about getting separated from Vivienne after San was decapitated with her still inside the old head? (3) How much, if at all, would you say each of Ghidorah's heads fear dying each time it happens to Ghidorah?

Woohoo!

I wanna say that during the Mass Awakening, Travis and Tejada just went along with Jonah's decision; they were totally loyal to him and didn't have any reason to give Emma the time of day. They might've figured that Emma's resolve was crumbling considering how hesitant she was to awaken Rodan, and Madison's attitude wasn't helping matters, plus Emma was a textbook case of hubris biting her in the ass and she wasn't any use to them anymore. Travis and Tejada could've talked over cards and decided, "Welp, we opened Pandora's Box, nothing to do but ride out the apocalypse. We'll live like Mad Max warlords once the dust settles."

Hmmm... why not take a peek under the cut, eh? :)

Ichi probably feared death the least of all three heads, being so confident in Ghidorah's inherent superiority over all things and not so much believing but knowing that no matter what curve balls the universe throws at them (like Earth in general), Ghidorah will come out on top in the end. I wanna say Ni isn't so much afraid of death compared to his brothers, but is something of an adrenaline junkie on top of his Blood Knight tendencies; combat is like a drug, and with Ichi acting as the head of reason he's not as much at risk of losing himself in the high of a good fight as a certain shed skin of his will. The thrill of it rushes through their shared system and drives him to greater heights of glory, and the prospect of death (or at least the possibility of losing a fight) makes it all the more exciting to Ni.

The Deep One is laid low and the lowly Earthborn Titans are rising, enthralled by Ghidorah's dominance. Youngest Brother finds himself glancing now and then towards the ocean, yearning for the little human they snatched up who is now stuck in a shed skin sinking to the sea floor. She is his responsibility! It ought to be him tending to her, not some discarded lump of scales and horns! His distraction forces Eldest Brother to latch teeth around a horn and wrench him back to the present.

YOU FORGET YOURSELF FOCUS but our little one our bone singer YOUR SHED SKINS HAVE THEIR USES IT WILL ENSURE HER SURVIVAL yes it will of course THEN QUIT YOUR WORRYING AND FOCUS THE WORLD WON'T STOP TURNING JUST BECAUSE YOU LOST YOUR TOY

Elder Brother snorts derisively. He itches for combat. The Deep One had been dominating them in the waters! That'd been why Ghidorah had avoided battle in the ocean, having been built for aerial conquest, but the thrill of their nemesis coming so close to victory, only for the conclusion to be ripped away by the Green Glow... unfair! That lumbering beast better not be dead -- the Green Glow is not allowed to be how the Deep One dies! And the Third's constant whinging about something as pathetic as their warden only exacerbates his irritation.

PATHETIC TO FRET OVER A SPECK OF DUST she is not dust SHE IS A COWARD AND NOT WORTH THE ATTENTION

The Second is startled by teeth digging into his scales, the First snarling thunder into his flesh.

SO NOW YOU HAVE RESERVATIONS ABOUT MY DECISION I'VE HAD RESERVATIONS FROM THE START YOUR COMPLAINTS ARE MORE USELESS THAN THE THIRD indeed EVERYTHING HAS GONE INTO MOTION IT IS POINTLESS TO WHINE ABOUT IT SO WILL YOU FISH YOUR TOY FROM THE SEA LIKE SOME LOWLY BOTTOM FEEDER we cannot leave her behind LITTLE WONDER YOU WOULD BE SO FIXATED ON SUCH A THING

The Third is surprised; the implication is not directed at him, as would be expected, but at Eldest Brother. Lightning cracks around them, the middle head's glare meeting the right's bared teeth.

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY LITTLE BROTHER YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU OBSESS OVER HER JUST LIKE YOUNGEST BROTHER SHE CONTAINED US LIKE THE MAKERS DID MORE THAN THAT SHE IS NO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU ONCE WERE AND WHAT WAS I SMALL AND WEAK AND FEARFUL AND OH SO CONCERNED WITH OTHERS THINKING HERSELF A PROTECTOR WHEN SHE COULDN'T EVEN DEFEND HERSELF AND WAS LEFT BEHIND TO DIE YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME ONCE

Eldest Brother's eyes narrow. He is silent for a moment, but then his lips curl back into a knowing grin; Elder Brother's raised hackles lower a bit, having anticipated a more vitriolic reaction. The First spares the ocean they left the Deep One in with the slightest of glances, licks his chops.

THEN YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE WHAT WE'LL DO TO HER

#zerm1v0hg #fic: abraxas #abraxasverse #king ghidorah

[reginrokkr]

→ Study 𝐗𝐈𝐗: Timeline of befallen events in Sumeru —Schwanenritter and Knight Marshal Anfortas—.

It is known through non-collectable documents left in the interior of Ruin Golems scattered across various areas of Sumeru that in this country existed a group of Khaenri'ahn knights by the name of Schwanenritter led by Knight Marshal Anfortas who fought during the Cataclysm against the tide of the abyssal monsters to protect Sumeru using these Mechanical Wardens. However, this protection didn't come without its own struggles within the Schwanenritter such as the contraction of an unknown illness of one of its members (possibly Eleazar, the Curse of Immortality or both at the same time), the disappearance of Ynghildr amidst the combat and return to her post in the Ruin Golem as a transcendent one in the form of an abyssal Black Serpent Knight and Hadura's "betrayal" and death at the hand of Knight Marshal Anfortas.

Nevertheless, new information sheds light onto two matters: 1) the Schwanenritter were in Sumeru for more than just to fight abyssal monsters [Dev] and 2) they have fought another wave of Dev before the coming of the Cataclysm called Onslaught of Dark Beasts.

In Girdle of the Sands, there exists a Forge of the Abandoned Foundry that was used to manufacture Azosite energy blocks and Mechanical Wardens, and to also use as a battleground to test their efficacy before using them in the wilderness of Sumeru. However, while there is knowledge that Khaenri'ah used the abyssal energy to operate them, this forge in specific was using the power of elements crystallized in Azosite. The change from using pure elements to the Void thereafter suggests that Khaenri'ah didn't use always the latter and that its usage is a relatively recent thing in the story of Khaenri'ah [there is an event that took place in Tsurumi Island in which an "Anomalous" Model Ruin Grader kept sustaining itself with nearby Ley Lines. Furthermore, it is not so strange that the Khaenri'ahns would resort to change one energy for another, as it is known that they were looking after a perpetual energy which they achieved in the Abyss (if we're to recall the Caribert AQ, this would also give them a higher sense of power over the Abyss, as they believed that if they managed to control the Abyss, the gods would be no threat to them).

...Based on our projections, the Azosite concentration will exceed 60% after this round of smelting... ...Though it still fares poorly when compared with that newly-discovered so-called "perpetual" energy source, after these energy alloys form a matrix, they should suffice to break through the technical bottleneck in energy efficiency requirements imposed by the large-scale "Mechanical Wardens"... ...Not relying on some dogma from beyond the heavens, but only upon the wondrous achievements brought about by human intelligence. If we continue to explore this path, perhaps we shall one day be able to create a true perpetual machine...

                                                                   —Ancient Engineering Notes.

Something important to note is that Nasejuna —a man in the know of these things partly because of a man who became a transcendent one in the past, Klingsor— also mentions that Khaenri'ahns were able to use the power of impurity to master monsters, said monsters being none others than rifthounds created by Gold, alluded to having been created as if by mistake like one who makes absentminded sketches to be thrown away. Given the presence of rifthounds in this facility it's presumed that they might've been used in the proving grounds:

...We were attacked... The sudden rampage of the defense mechanisms from the previous set of ruins had already caused massive losses to our investigative team... Abyssal monsters that never should have been here appeared for some unknown reason... So many members of the team have vanished while trying to evacuate... Ever since the monsters appeared, we have lost track of Klingsor's whereabouts. [...]

                                        —Akademiya Investigation Team's Logs (IV).

Now, where does the discrepancy of whether the Schwanenritter fall in all of this? This falls in one place, arguably two:

The first one is that it is said that the Order of Skeptics have as per ancestors Khaenri'ahn knights that fought in Sumeru, said to be in the Cataclysm. But we know as per the Caribert AQ that children between pure Khaenri'ahn and any other of different nations are to become Hilichurls, yet this is not the case. This may be due to the fact that the progeny came before these Khaenri'ahn were cursed.

As for the second one, it's the fact that Knight Marshal Anfortas proclaimed that he will become a temporary Regent:

...In view of King Irmin's present indisposed state and the current unknown threats facing the Kingdom... ...Knight Marshal Anfortas has proclaimed that he will temporarily take up the post of Regent and lead the Regnum Concilium Ultimum until the Kingdom returns to a state of normalcy... All citizens... wait... will...

                                                                   —Barely-Legible Bulletin.

The discrepancy that occurs here is that there was once when the Schwanenritter fought Dev in Sumeru and they succeeded in defeating them to the last one as Knight Marshal Anfortas himself proclaims in an encrypted message that can only be accessed to its content by interacting with multiple Ruin Guards scattered in Sumeru. In view that timeline-wise this happened even before an Alberich member stepped in to become the Regent and it seems that King Irmin was still alive at the time, this paints the story as happening before the Cataclysm. But what happened in order for the Onslaught of Dark Beasts to take place in Sumeru? It seems like what the Khaenri'ahns were doing in this forge wasn't without its problems and detractors as a few documents suggest:

...Eminent Marshal... Of course, I am keenly aware that the four pillars of our kingdom have achieved the prosperity they have today precisely thanks to us spying upon secrets from beyond the skies, and thus have our mechanisms been able to throw off the shackles imposed by this world's laws... But that technology... It cannot be said to be perfect... The gods are untrustworthy and the demons, ineffable. If there is one thing that can pry open the corners of this hollow world, then it can only be human will... To this end, if you can petition the King to allow some machinery manufactured according to the old standards to be preserved under your ministry's purview, perhaps it may light a spark under the latent wills of countless future generations to devote themselves to exploring technology...

                                                                   —Someone's Abandoned Letter.

…It's beyond doubt that the elders of the Order of Skeptics are hiding something… Only while accompanying the investigation team from the rainforest was I finally able to resolve the doubts I have held for many years… the realm does not just belong to those of the blood of Khaenri'ah, but it is the homeland of all human beings… Holding fast to this maxim, my ancestor Hadura couldn't bear to see our people meet such a tragic end, and yet their dedication was rewarded with an unjust punishment, their reputation impugned and legacy stigmatized. I now understand the meaning of all this…

                                                                   —Records of Unknown Attribution (I).

...As the workshops and related areas are unsuited for large-scale combat operations as carried out by the Mechanical Wardens, I order you to activate the self-defense systems and then quickly evacuate the survivors to the surface before continuing to resist.. Schwanenritter Garrison Commander Hadura…

                                                                   —Soiled Orders.

These documents let on to the fact that 1) the Schwanenritter presence in Sumeru had an ulterior motive besides the aforementioned which is that of spying and in turn benefitting Khaenri'ah with what they learned and 2) Hadura couldn't agree with what was being done and against Knight Marshal Anfortas' will, they ordered the evacuation of the knights and to close the Mechanical Wardens (one of which broke as a result of this) and Anfortas, who didn't seem someone who cared about the negatives of what they were doing even at the cost of his knights' safety claimed this to be a "betrayal" and killed Hadura, losing his left eye in the strife.

What can be deduced by all this compiled information and deeds that the Schwanenritter committed in Sumeru is that there was an initial wave of Dev (Onslaught of Dark Beasts) that must've been inconsequential enough to not draw too much attention and that these knights took care of to completion (more like they were cleaning their own mess) and later on the Cataclysm happened, where the Schwanenritter also partook in to defeat these abyssal monsters and are treated as heroes whose history was erased for reasons unknown (although it calls for speculation that there was a valid reason behind this that I might address in another post if I remember). While in a way they were stationed in Sumeru for nefarious reasons to benefit Khaenri'ah, there were some of them with a noble heart that took the short end of the stick for going against what was being done or merely were collateral damage to what has befallen.

#◟༺✦༻◞ analysis within the ley lines ichor ┊study.┊ #ngl I'm proud of this #because it made me confused as hecky #as I remembered clearly that it was stated #time and time again #that the Schwanenritter fought in the /Cataclysm/ #which they did #but it felt like they fought in the Cataclysm exclusively #when some documents of 3.6 alongside past ones #fought in different Ruin Golems #suggested otherwise #so it's a really good feeling #to make some sense of this

[sylvarbullet]

Curaichd wandered, seemingly blindly, through the trees of the Heart of Maguuma. He had heard it whispering in the back of his mind. His chest felt tight and he just kept walking, as if he knew where to go. 

Come to me, child. 

He didn’t know who the voice was. He didn’t know why he could hear it. But it made him feel- Cura wasn’t really sure what it made him feel. It was complex. He was scared. There was a voice talking in his head, a voice that wasn’t his, and he seemingly had no control over his body as he walked. But he felt comfort as well, as if this voice would take him home, to where he truly belonged.

 He didn't know where he was being drawn to, but he was so high up in the jungle. He crossed over crumbling stone bridges that were covered in moss. He climbed skillfully up thorn-covered vines. He sneaked past large monsters and creatures he had never seen before. 

They won’t hurt you, child. Come to me. 

Cura took in a shaky breath and kept walking. A rising fear in his chest as he neared the monsters. He jumped suddenly when another sylvari leapt from the bushes to his right. He looked crazed, his golden eyes wide. 

“Do you hear it?” The stranger shouted, his voice raised in panic. 

“I hear it.” Cura replied gently. 

“Don’t listen to it!” The stranger grasped onto the front of Cura’s coat with both hands. “By the Mother, don’t listen!”

Cura was shocked. He blinked at the stranger and tried to escape his grasp. Those golden eyes searched Cura’s own white ones. He saw tears gathering in the stranger’s eyes. Cura stopped trying to pull away from him. “What’s wrong? It’s calling. Shouldn’t we go?”

“No!” The stranger gasped, shaking his head wildly. “No, it wants to use us. It wants to take us and use us.”

“What is it..?” Cura asked softly, he was reeling; confusion and bubbling fear rising in his chest. 

“Mordremoth!” 

“Mordremoth..?”

“The jungle dragon!”

“Why…” Cura’s voice was so quiet he wasn’t sure he could be heard. “Why can I hear it?”

“It wants to use us.” The stranger said desperately. “It wants to make us its slaves, it wants to make us fight, take over our minds. Turns us into Mordrem. Its minions.”

“How do you know all this?”

Tears welled up in the stranger’s eyes. He dropped to his knees. “My squad is gone. I was here- I was a warden, sent here with others. They heard the call louder than me. They…” His voice cracked and he went silent. 

Cura opened his mouth to respond but the loud snarling voice made both Sylvari tense up. 

Come. Come to me. Obey. I am your master. I am your reason to thrive. Obey!

The stranger clasped his hands over his ears and let out a wail. “No!”

A wave of panic and cold surged through Cura’s body, he felt weakened and he dropped to the ground as his legs gave out. He gasped for air, his hand clutching at his chest as it tightened. His vision fogged and he screamed. “I won’t!”

#cura #hello im still addicted to Mordy and Sylvari storylines #my characters #guild wars 2 #sylvari

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 87

The warden glowed brighter, as if it heard their challenge—almost as if it liked what it heard. Nyota forced down the whisper of insight. It wasn’t relevant. She could not afford distraction.

Aroneus, the whisper told her before it fell silent. This was once Aroneus.

What does that mean? Nyota focused and tried to force more answers out of it. Nothing. She told herself it wasn’t important. The looming statue in front of her was.

“Heads up, Nyota!” Arjun grabbed her arm as a bird statuette lunged for her.

Nyota snarled and smacked it hard with the haft of her spear and sent it crashing into the far wall.

Arjun blinked in surprise, then shrugged his approval. “Or you could do that. Not a bad arm at all.” He shifted his grip on his wrench as the statue started moving again. “Didn’t seem to hurt it much, though. I don’t see any cracks on it.”

“It’s just testing the waters,” Nyota told him, eyes on the warden—on Aroneus. “Seeing just how much effort we’ll take.”

“Well that’s comforting,” Arjun muttered. “Maybe we can make them break each other—like this!” He hit the other bird away as it made pass at them. The first bird jittered aside as its twin smashed into the wall beside it.

Nyota frowned as something tugged her attention. The stony defenses seemed impervious, but the birds dodged each other. Basic programming, or was Arjun onto something?

Her earpiece crackled, as did the air around her. Nyota dove to the side as Aroneus fixed its blank stare on her, moisture flash-freezing and clattering to the ground where she’d stood just a moment before.

“Captain, hope this ain’t a bad time—”

Nyota tapped the earpiece to activate the mic. “It is, but speak quickly.”

Lumen hissed and swore softly, something Nyota had heard from him only twice before. “The ships are movin’ in. They ain’t fighters, lil’ scout-craft. Probably got armed folks on board.”

“Understood.” Nyota turned the mic off. She’d heard all she’d needed. She pulled her Matter Manipulator from her belt. No guarantee they’d find their way back here again—and the door is unsealed, she remembered, half-memory and half bright, dread certainty. Just one answer, then.

“Understood,” she murmured again, and shoved the device into Arjun’s hands.

He saw the relay light on and looked up at her, stunned and confused as he realized what she was doing and the logical side of his mind tried to fight the reality back down.

“I will keep my crew safe.” Nyota smiled and saluted him. “Go protect them until Namina gets there. I’ll be fine.”

She caught his understanding and fierce, firm nod right before the teleportation light swallowed him.

*

Sonny felt the hum of the portal change, felt something wrong. “Arrow, get down!”

Arrowmail didn’t ask why, and it saved his life. The portal surged as something outside tried to force it open, sending lances of blue energy searing across the stones. The bricks behind him blackened and melted as a bolt struck where his head had been. He grabbed Sonny’s arm and pulled her away. She whistled softly and held tight, seething pale with fear.

“Hey Lumen, what’s goin’ on out there?”

Lumen’s voice was low and grim, distorted by the portal as it began to ripple with gathering power again. “Find cover. Now. It’s damn Occasus outside, and they’re tryin’ to get in. Looks like they can’t get there easy without the key our Captain had, but that ain’t stoppin’ them from tryin’ it anyhow.”

Sonny hissed and paled. “Oh shoot, oh shoot. Arrow c’mon, we gotta hide.”

“Despairing. Hide where?” Arrowmail asked, taking her hand. “In the snowy chamber with the monsters, or the dead-end runes room?”

Sonny’s light flickered and dimmed as she realized he was quite right. They didn’t have anywhere to go, not on their own. She was dead weight in a real scuffle, and Arrowmail tried, but he was still new… And if they went in too far, Arjun and Nyota wouldn’t be able to get out. She reached up with her free hand to touch the relay in her shirt pocket.

Arrowmail felt her fear and squeezed her hand gently, then drew his sword. “Supportive. Stay close to me, and we might manage the snow room at least.” He didn’t feel confident, not to Sonny’s sensitive touch, but he did his best to look brave anyways, to put on a show just for her, and it made her glow warm and brighten again.

“Ya ain’t on yer own,” Lumen told them. His voice was tense and anxious, but somehow firm and almost commanding at the same time. He sounded a little like Nyota. “I’m sendin’ Namina, and we’re gonna try to deal with the gang out here so they can’t get ya. But get to safety anyhow, in case some get through. We’ll slow them down.”

“Yessir,” Sonny said, and followed Arrowmail into the snows.

Sonny could feel the fear as soon as she set foot in the room. The creatures were hiding, desperate to avoid notice, but not from her and Arrowmail. Something real big and nasty, she realized, and shivered. Not here yet, but they’re waitin’.

The relay got hot and Sonny yanked it free before it could make her shirt smolder. “What in tarnation—”

It flashed bright and she dropped it. A moment later, Arjun scooped it up, knocked some snow off his shoulder, and rocked back on his heels to catch Sonny as she all but tackled him.

“Hey, I missed you too, but we can do this later,” the old man said. He hefted the Matter Manipulator that Nyota had given him. “Captain’s got her hands full, so you’re stuck with me for now. So let’s see what kind of tricks she left in this thing.”

#i hadn't consciously realized when i first wrote this but the sheer growth in nyota's willingness to part with that manipulator #to protect her crew #i gave myself feels #arc two #repost

[kootiepatra]

#FFxivWrite2022 - Day 19 Prompt: "Turn a Blind Eye"

I'm not sure this is my strongest entry, but I have to imagine that Keimwyda and Ardbert had some chats that did not make it into cutscenes. This would be one of them.

--------------------------

“You don’t have to let them use you like this, you know,” Ardbert said.

Keimwyda jumped. While she was no longer frightened by his presence, she was far from being able to anticipate when he would suddenly make himself known.

“I’m sorry?” she asked.

“Which is not to say I’m not grateful,” he continued. “I have to admit I find myself hoping that you actually pull this off. It would be of some comfort to see that this world doesn’t entirely perish for our mistakes. But… you do know you don’t have to take up this cause, right?”

A sad smile crossed her lips. “I fear that is not fully an option I am free to take. My own world hangs in the balance as well—as I believe you know.”

The phantom’s face fell, a fresh wave of shame hitting him for his attempted part in the Ardor.

“But even without that…” she continued, “...I think I would go through with it all the same.”

“I don’t think it’s fair to you,” he objected.

“It is not.”

He was startled to hear her say it so frankly. “You see it too, then. I was beginning to wonder.”

“I am not a fool,” she answered quietly. “Well. At least not on this count.”

The two stood in silence for a moment; she, leaning on the dresser where she had paused to gather her breath after a bout of soul-shattering pain, and he standing intangibly by the door, not at all sure what to do with himself.

“You have told me some about the toll this is taking on you, and I can see it for myself in how you cried out a moment ago. It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”

Keimwyda nodded.

“I mislike this,” he said. “It isn’t fair. And you still intend to go and deliver Kholousia?” 

“I do.”

Ardbert scowled. “You are quite sure you must deal with all of the wardens in order to stave off the Rejoining?”

She laughed despite herself. “I do not know that, no, but those more learned than me seem to believe it to be true. Besides,” she said, “you have seen the havoc and death those things sow in their wake. You have seen the way they gather strength and spread their influence. If we do not strike now when they are already on the run, we may never have a chance to do it again.”

“But Eulmore, of all places. Those cankers would happily fling you from the nearest balcony should they think you a threat to their comfortable retirement. Surely you cannot believe that they would endure even half as much pain for you.”

She lowered her eyes, blinking away the white at the edges of her vision. “As I said, I am no fool.”

He folded his arms and regarded her seriously. “One would not guess it to look at what you are choosing to do.”

“Good.”

Ardbert took to pacing about the room. He had been in her shoes, more or less. He knew how it had ended for him. He wanted it to end better for her. “So tell me then,” he ordered. A deep wound in his heart wanted to hear it for himself, but he suspected she might need to hear it again, too. “What could possibly justify what you’re doing? Why is it reasonable for you to be brought over from another world against your wishes, thrust into chaos that you are not responsible for, to then risk your very existence for people who live only for themselves? You said there were reasons beyond saving your own world. I want to hear them.”

She was silent for a long moment. “Reasonableness does not come into it,” she said at last. “But… I must do what I can. It is true that full many people in this world think of naught but themselves. As is also true in mine. But… I have seen what these creatures can do. I witnessed the transformation firsthand—and of a good woman, at that. The agony on her face—the monster she was made to become—the others who would now suffer at her unwilling existence—no one deserves that.

“If I can do anything to prevent it, I must. As a dear friend once put it: ‘For those we have lost. For those we can yet save’. How could I live with myself if I had a chance to put a stop to this, and simply chose to look the other way?

“So instead I will look the other way at the slights and the failures of the people I fight for. Gods know I have enough failures of my own. Let the wheels of justice turn for such people in their own time. That part is neither my purview nor my strength. I can but strive to extend the mercy that they would live another day, long enough to perhaps make things right. All I can do is choose to believe there may yet be hope for them all.”

Ardbert took her words in silently. They reverberated with him. They reminded him of things he had once held dear, but had begun to lose sight of by the end.

He had heard what he needed, and what he hoped she needed. “Of course you must. And you will. Go crush that accursed lightwarden like only a Warrior of Darkness can.”

She smiled weakly. “I shall try, my friend. I shall try.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “Would that I were not so frightened.”

“But you are resolved. This will not be your first tangle with fear, I imagine.”

“Oh, most certainly not.”

“Then you shall do it again.” He smiled for the first time this evening. “It is what heroes do.”

#FFxivWrite2022 #FFxivWrite #ffxiv #shadowbringers spoilers #my writing #Ardbert