#Heroes salt

[randomnameless]

Reverse uno card : Jugdral edition

2014 : "yay, i can't wait for a Judgral remake, with updated graphics!!!"

2024 : "gods please no remake"

What happened in ten years to make me dread the remake I would have sold my soul for back in the days?

Well... IS's policies and new writing, mainly.

While I was joking about "Genealogy of the Holy Self Insert" in 2015, I still had faith in eventual Jugdral remakes. Sure, we were in the big Fateswakening era where the only things I could frown at IS were the "writings" worshipping self inserts (Ryoma being jealous of Corn's talents, when Corn was like, 5?) - but I still had hope for a more "serious" FE, and I first I was very delighted by FE15 - no self insert, a more "serious" setting, no hyperbolic time chambers to try to explain in watsonian words why second gens exist, etc...

But there was still something ringing dead wrong with FE15, which I only noticed thanks to FE16 and its years of discourse - at one point, IS's writing went in a certain direction that makes it impossible, imo, for us to have a "correct" Jugdral remake, as long as IS still follows this direction.

I'm not talking about uwufest - even if it is part of the larger problem - but back in FE15, I remember being really pissed at the schizophrenia of the plot : saying one thing and the inverse at the same time.

The narration reminds us of the classic Kaga lesson : whatever madness exists in dragon/gods, a greater madness/evil lurks in the heart of men.

And yet, we have the Hero (who was so cajoled by the plot that, at times, you have to wonder if Alm wasn't the devs's self insert, he's lavished with praises almost as extensively as Ike was!) saying nonsense - without being contradicted by characters at all (or when Celica does it, she admits later she's wrong) - like Duma being responsible, mainly, for the events that transpired in Valentia and, novelty that wouldn't have been in the original game since the character was made for the remake, Berkut's fall and madness.

By that point in the game, the player saw that Berkut hunts low class people for what he sees and perceives as sport, is the textbook classicist asshat noble, but has a lot of pression on his shoulders due to his role of being the heir of the Empire, pression that isn't alleviated at all by his Uncle who mocks him and refuses to give him a third chance... to fight against a person said uncle very well knows cannot be defeated by Berkut himself, especially as said Uncle pretended to "care" for him, only to pit him against his trueborn son whom he names his heir just before dying.

Point is : Berkut feels betrayed by Rudy and goes mad - because of this betrayal : Rudolph named him heir when he fully knew Alm was alive and was the true heir he always wanted, in Berkut's eyes, no matter what he did, it wouldn't have mattered to Rudolph since Rudolph planned on giving Alm his throne since day 1 - of course, without telling him a thing and making him believe he would one day become Emperor.

Is it Duma's fault that Berkut went off the deep-end in Part 4? Because Rudolph's shit gambit involved playing with the life of his nephew and crush it in a bid to have Alm unify the continent against Duma ? Or... it's just Rudolph being an asshole, not curbing the worst of his nephew tendencies (and in a larger part, of Rigel in general) ?

Now, Rinea. She too, is called one of Duma's victims, and yet, who pushed her in Duma's magic pyre that turns women in witches? Duma himself?

No.

Berkut, who already, when pissed tells her "silence woman" pushes his fiancée and love of his life in a pyre to sacrifice her, because in his grief and rage (caused by Rudy!!!) Rinea is only a pawn to be sacrificed to gain more power to kill Alm. Sure sure, Berkut is redeemed in death and Rinea - in a classic Kaga style writing that wasn't here made by Kaga since this plot is basically new so where the fuck does this sexism come from - forgives him and they both die and ascend to another plane of existence.

The point is, despite what Alm says, Berkut and Rinea's fates weren't caused by Duma's degeneration - but by Rudolph and Berkut's own actions.

Heck, I remember when I was sort of live-blogging my run back then, Desaix's greed and lust for power wasn't fueled by Mila's apathy : it wasn't Mila who burnt Celica's house and tried to cook Conrad, it was Desaix, and why Desaix did it? Because he wanted to become king. That's it, and that's all.

So why FE15 - while giving the Kaga message - still tries its hardest to pin the blame of everything "wrong that happened" on... dragon gods, refusing to acknowledge the own responsibilities of humans in their suffering?

I think we had that lunar dialogue at the end of FE15 (or in part 4?) where Clive (i think?) tells Alm without gods giving their blessings, people in Valentia will starve, and Alm saying that may be so, but ultimately Valentia will survive and work hard through those upcoming harsh times to demonstrate how humans, when they work together, can achieve things without needing to rely on Gods - basically, King Alm tells his people to starve now because Humanity will come out stronger afterwards, since they will have learnt to grow their own food without needing magic dragon blessings to make the ground fertile.

... yeah. That's definitely going to work.

FE15 took the Kaga lesson to try to hammer some "humanity fuck yeah!" Square JRPG message and it completely messed up what FE2 tried to say.

(I confess, retconning Duma'n'Mila in dragon gods like Naga from Archanea was a big part in this shitstorm - that was also retconned to explain Grima from FE13! - i mean Duma'n'Mila have to die because they're degenerating, but they didn't get the memo from Gotoh living overseas that degeneration can be stopped by using dragonstones, instead of being a fatality that must be dealt with death...)

Humans cannot be held responsible for what they did, everything BaD that happened is somehow due to the influence of dragon-gods : even if it means "suffering" and sacrificing a part of your population, this choice is a good one to get rid of the obviously nefarious influence of dragon-gods.

So, is it so surprising that FE16 - the most popular title in the franchise uwu - went in the same direction?

Even if it tried to mitigate the "gods BaD" spiel because the avatar - Billy - is the Goddess reborn, the thing is the CoS - aka the dragon - is blamed for humanity's mistakes through each route (AM dodges the question completely) and all routes end up with the dragon going away (her skull being cracked open, or she retires, or she dies off-screen, or she dies because the plot commands so unless you want, as the player, to shag her).

"But in VW, Claude reconsiders his initial stance!"

And yet, it is only off-screen that he seemingly becomes aware that Fodlan people are not superpals with Almyra because Almyra raids them, not because Rhea told them Almyrans are BaD, that's why he tries to negotiate - off-screen and post-game - some sort of ceasefire between the two parties, or at least make it so Almyra doesn't try to raid Fodlan every Thursday for their weekly dick measuring contest.

No matter the ending, Rhea retires and in the worst support, muses on her failings for "having turned a blind eye" to Fodlan and its people in her quest to resurrect Sothis : aka, Rhea (and the game, since Billy doesn't tell her anything) believes Fodlan's state is due to her inaction and not, you know, the action of the humans who lived in the continent and ruined it of their own volition.

Which is also what fuels the endless discourse about what kind of power she has - or not : Rhea BaD for using her power, but also BaD for not using it and letting humans to their own devices.

Supreme Leader's memetastic line from the trailers ring even more true : in Fodlan, Crusts are to blame for everything. For Adrestian being attracted to young women because otherwise without crests they surely wouldn't seek to bed a 12 years old Doro, for Miklan trying to murder his younger brother (and not because, at least FE16 wise, Miklan is a terrible person who is very jealous and not afraid to kill even a child to get what he feels like he deserves), and for people basically killing their wives/letting their daughters die to get a "suitable" heir.

Humanity/Humans can get a pass for doing horrible things (Berkut burning his fiancée alive) because those horrible things can sort of be linked to "dragon-gods", and so, the blame exclusively lays at their feet.

I am always reminded of that Obi-Wan reply to Anakin when Ani accuses him of having turned Padmé "against" him, Obi-Wan basically tells him he brought this upon himself.

Now, what would Obi-Wan tell a non-recruited Doro who blames the Goddess for the War, the leader she is actually protecting, started?

Billy is no Obi-Wan, so we are left in this limbo where characters are telling you everything wrong that happens in Fodlan is due to "dragon blood" aka their existence and presence, even dragons who blame themselves for "being blind" - but not once do we have the Kaga message, or an Obi-Wan reminding people that they have to take responsability for their own actions : Hanneman will blame crests (dragons) for having killed his sister, but not the man who forced her (marital abuse?) to bear him many heirs until one was "good enough" for him.

Claude blames dragons for creating, both literal and metaphorical walls between Fodlan and Almyra - and it's only in his best ending, after the game credits and off-screen that he seems to realise that those walls were built by Almyrans raiders.

"enough about the fodlan rant, what about jugdral?"

Jugdral was sort of unique for not having a giant eldritch abomination as a boss, unlike the later FE8, we never fight Loptyr in his "original" form, Loptyr is fought through his host, Julius.

And I love Jugdral because unlike Fodlan, the local evil death cult might stage a few skirmishes and manipulations here and there, but Jugdral people are... asses, in general.

Elliot will mount an army to seduce Raquie while Eldie is away - and it's not because Manfroy told him to seduce her, no, Elliot does it from his own will.

Reptor'n'Langobalt'n'Andrei rebel against Kurth and Azmur? Sure, Arvis is pulling some of their strings, but Reptor'n'Langobalt are ambitious, even without Manfroy whispering anything.

Arvis pulls out his gambit... with Manfroy's help (and blackmail?), but also because he genuinely thinks he can sacrifice lives to make HIS world a reality because HE has great ideas about how the world should be and will torch anyone who opposes him.

F!Lewyn, as much as I dislike the character, reminds the cast that while Travant's actions might seem justified to him and to the Thracian people, he is still a man who assaulted a bunch of randoms + non-combattants in a desert, amushed them and slaughtered them : no matter his reasons and how justified he was, Travant is still a criminal to Jugdral people.

In Jugdral, people do things and have to take responsability for it - Oldvis basically dies after losing everything he had - by Seliph's hand (and with his own participation!!) because Oldvis has to take responsability for what he did in Barhara. Ditto for Travant, who accepts to die if it means the peninsula will be united (tfw his son doesn't understand what he meant !).

Dragon blood and Dragon people are never blamed for the shitty state Jugdral is in in the 1st or even 2nd gen, if Danan turned Isaach in giant brothel, it's not Julius-Loptyr who asked him to do so, nor Manfroy.

At least, that was the case for the pre FE15/FEH/FE16 Jugdral.

Now...

While I want to blame FE16 for this shift, I know the roots are more ancient (FE15?), IS's writing seems to favour a certain narrative, aka people having sad and or complicated fates because of their brands and Holy Blood - when the ONLY case of having a fate tied to Holy Blood was the Curse of the Gae Bolg, aka a sibling quarrel between Dain and Noba that will eventually "curse" Noba descendants, but through the events of the game we know that curse is more like a prophecy : Quan doesn't die because he had Noba Holy Blood, Quan dies because Travant kills him in Yied. Why Travant kills him? FE5 reveals Quan and his forefathers are basically letting Thracians starve and refuse to "give" them arable lands, or even export food.

Now, did Travant kill Quan because Quan had major Noba Holy Blood, or because Quan (and his forefather)'s policies made Thracians so desperate that their king feels like he has to resort to murder to "save" his people?

The issue is more complicated than "he has Noba HB so I had to kill him".

Come FEH and we had, in 2018 (before FE16 but after FE15) this :

My blood has granted me gifts, it's true. I have expended every effort to be worthy of those gifts. That same blood makes it impossible for me to live a peaceful life. That's a lesson I learned from my mother...

Now, even if I was dissecting and hc'ing and posting about Saias a lot for 5 years, I fully understand Saias is a character with maybe 20 lines in FE5, so you can only dissect the script and theorise and read between invisible lines to get something about the character.

But this?

It might be a reference to Cowen's last words who basically tells him his job is to "pass on" his Fjalar HB, and how having major Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy tried to kill him when he was younger (his mother Aida died to protect him).

And yet, FEH here seems to imply Aida died because Saias had Fjalar HB, and not, y'know, died because Manfroy wanted to kill him due to this HB.

It wasn't HB who killed Aida, but Manfroy!

FE5 never reveals why - but if Fjalar HB was the reason why Manfroy targeted Saias, then why the fuck wasn't Oldvis iced earlier, since he has the same brand and blood?

In a way, Saias blaming HB here as the "reason" why his mother died and why he cannot live a "peaceful life" is similar to a Leif who would blame Quan'n'Ethlyn for being the reason why Travant and the Empire were after his life : what is to blame, their "blood" that makes people want to kill them, or the fuckers who want to kill them?

Granted those lines from FEH completely miss the point of Saias as a character - FE5!wise Saias is in a class that cannot use fire magic, when his HB automatically gives him the highest rank in fire magic, and he is funnily enough the only character who "retreats" in his death quote -> Saias doesn't "expend" every effort to be worthy of HB, he hides and doesn't use the abilities given by said HB!

We can say, mkay, this was just FEH trying to fit their "gods and their influence BaD" narrative and missing the real culprits, aka humans themselves (Manfroy is one!) - from FE15 - in Jugdral, even if it meant retconning a character no one cares about.

But then, last year, we had Galzus' FB :

You speak of the blood of the Sword Saint Od. Perhaps. Is that the reason you have been set on a path of violence and bloodshed?

Nyx says Galzus' "curse" isn't tied to his HB, but it's basically his regret at not having been able to save his daughter.

So far, it's completely the inverse of what I decried, so this was a good FB, right?

:)

There is no doubt that the blood within you compels you to lead a cruel life. However, the loss of your daughter was the wedge that split your life into pieces and let the curse in.

Damn it Nyx, why???

Why Galzus's brand "compels him" to lead a cruel life - when it was just established that Galzus fell to despair and became a mercenary who kills for money after the loss of his daughter?

Before losing Mareeta, Galzus, at least per this FB, wasn't killing people right and left as the merc he now is (or was in FE5).

Now, much like Saias...

Why was Galzus left to roam around Jugdral with a toddler to begin with?

I had a daughter. When my wife died, I brought my daughter with me as I traveled around Jugdral.

This FB establishes that Galzus settled with Mareeta's biomom for a while, but when she died he "traveled around". Why Galzus couldn't return "home" and had to "travel around"?

You know the Ribaut family was devastated by our own House Isaach.

Timeline wise : Ribaut is already demolished during the prologue of FE4, and Mareeta is no older than Leif himself, which means she was born after Galzus' grandfather and Ayra's brother, aka, his uncle, beheaded his dad and demolished his kingdom. Galzus, in exile, had Mareeta, and then had to "travel around" Jugdral because his home had already been demolished by "House Isaach" -

Note how Ayra talks about the Ribaut (i prefer rivough but meh) family when she talks about her very own sister - Galzus' mother. Jugdral family trees being what they are, Shanan, Larcei, Scatach and Galzus are actually cousins, Galzus is Ayra's own nephew, just like Shanan!

Anyways, in FE4, the reason given behind Ribaut's destruction is their attack on Darna, so the Isaachian royals killed them.

Galzus' "cruel life" wasn't compelled by his HB, Galzus' life took a turn for the worst when his Uncle and Grandpa knocked at his door and slaughtered his entire family, destroying their Kingdom.

So why FEH tried to fit his backstory in some sort of "dragon blood is to blame" Fodlan narrative?? They at least acknowledge the bad blood (lel) between Isaach's royal family and Ribaut's, hell, Ayra even wants to say Mareeta is a part of Isaach's royal family in her FB with her son, so it's not to whitewash the Isaachian royal family because their units are more popular and would sell more...

Contrary to Saias, Galzus's writing and his FB seem to have been made by people who cared and didn't completely ignore what the character was about so... why this emphasis on his HB ??

Are we bound in post FE16 releases to have, at least with the current writing team, the excuse of "dragon blood is to blame" ? Galzus cannot blame the Isaachian Royal Family or even the slavers for his (and his daugher's!) fate, but he can blame his HB, aka, a non-entity?

Will HB be now used as a "responsibility free" card, because the fate a character suffers or their actions are only tied to said HB? Arvis will get a pass because his HB compelled him to save the world (tfw Victor prefered to "seduce" women instead), Lewyn will be lightly chided by his mom instead of receiving the beatdown he has in FE4 because his HB now makes him unable to stay in place? Ditto for Ced, Karin won't chew him out for abandoning his mother and sister because his HB compelled him to travel around, so in the end, dragons are to blame for him abandoning his sister and mother?

That's what I'm the most afraid in future Jugdral remakes, that had humans characters with human flaws in a crapsack/shitty verse, the insertion in a future remake of a very Squenix "but aksuhally gods and church bad" when Jugdral is the pinnacle of "the world sucks because people living in this world suck". No need for secret sects manipulating everything in the shadows like FE16's Agarthans, Chagall is a horrible person without needing Manfroy's help, and Hilda will not say "Holy Blood is to blame" when she tortures Tailte to death.

When Tailte is caught and Hilda'd, it's because she participated (or even commited) in parricide, and because her camp/army lost the battle. She doesn't die because of her HB, she dies because Hilda kills her, most likely, for having killed Reptor (Hilda wants to avenge her "father" when fought, i'm pretty sure she means her father in law aka Reptor!).

As befits a game called "Genealogy of the Holy War", people aren't targeted because of their HB, but they are targeted because they are part of a genealogy - see the Leif comparison earlier on : Leif is hunted because he is Quan's son, even if he doesn't have Noba major blood. Seliph is hunted because he is Siggy'n'Deedee's son, not because of his Baldo HB.

In FE4, Manfroy tells Julius Arvis was a thorn at their side because "Fjalar's ways" ran too strong in him - implying he had some moral fiber that would make him oppose the return of Loptyr (but those same "ways" didn't prevent him from torching his own brother and conquering the world...) - I will have to check the translation and og script, but was Saias targeted because he had Fjalar HB, or because he could develop the same moral fiber Arvis does in his later years, or just, because he is Arvis's son? Cowen seems to suggest it is FB, but we know Fjalar HB cannot harm Loptyr so... what was the true reason?

Blaming dragon-gods reduces the complexity of Jugdral's setting and characters - and in a post FEH world where tropes win character contests and sell a lot of alts if they are flanderised enough + a post FE15/16 world where characters, to be likeable enough, have to ditch their responsibilities or at least have the plot elude them to pin them instead on vague and non-important (gacha wise) gods, what is going to happen to Jugdral?

Fanfics are fanfics and people are free to write whatever they want - but I wonder (especially after Nopes and the plethora of 'golden endings' fics that ended up with the CoS as the big bad lol) if fics where Mareeta and Ced blaming their HB for their various hardships is going to become the new canon...

I seriously hope it will never, and it if happens then...

I guess I'll still yell at cloud and nerd about the 1990s versions of those games, completely ignoring the new releases (save for maybe updated artwork).

Tl;Dr : FEH makes me afraid Judgral remakes will borrow the "humanity fuck yeah" page from FE15 and FE16 and put the blame of Jugdral's shitty situation from Jugdralians to... Holy Blood and "dragon-gods", completely missing and rewritting the point of those games. IS already said "fig" to Kaga once or thrice, but this might become the most contentious "fig" they ever give him if they decided to write a Jugdral remake this way.

#rant #heroes salt #fe series salt #at least the few last games #FE17 is a breath of fresh air #will it become the new standard or will we have more and more shit like those FBs? #jugdral stuff #at this point i'm afraid of that fandom syndrome #where you put much more thoughts and love and care about a setting than its own authors #so when said authors develop it you're disappointed #because you feel like it's a downgrade to what it was before #like star wars maybe? #i'm very worried about the writing of future games especially since the faux issues raised in Fodlan games apparently #made people want more writting as consistent as pudding #as long as has a veneer of being solid and realistic

[the-modern-typewriter]

hey I'm so sorry if this is is an unwanted request, but I wanted to ask for a hero x villain story where the villain kidnaps? And tattoos the hero. I think it would be very fun and dramatic. A very permanent and painful reminder.

I really love your work, I've read pieces of your writing for years. Keep doing what you're doing <3

"Hold still, or it's going to be wobbly," the villain said. "Nobody wants a wobbly tattoo, do they? That's just lame."

The hero snarled at them, wordless, unable to do much more with the bit wedged in their mouth. It was, according to the villain, to stop the hero from biting through their own tongue. So, that was nice and reassuring.

They could struggle, but not enough to stop what was going to happen. The grip the villain's various lackeys had on them was too firm and unforgiving. Still - the presence of hands, instead of cold metal, tried to trick some part of their lizard brain into thinking they had a real chance of escape if they just tried hard enough.

They didn't. They knew they didn't. But they struggled all the same, eyes flashing, breath ragged. They'd been forced onto their back on something that looked a little like a dentist's chair, head pinned sideways to face the villain. They only had vague impressions of the rest of the room. Bright light.

The villain had pulled up a chair next to them with their kit.

"So," the villain said, in an affable sort of voice. "It's going to hurt a little, like we talked about. That's mainly because of the location." They began their work, carefully, and the hero squeezed their eyes shut. A whimper escaped them. It was not a little. "Ribs don't have a lot of fat, you see, and you're quite sensitive anyway. But you said that's where you'd get one, so, far be it from me to dictate."

The hero had said hypothetically they would get a tattoo on their ribs. Because it looked cool. They hadn't done any research and they certainly hadn't been serious about it. It had merely been idle conversation with someone they'd thought was their friend.

They'd also said that they would get a jellyfish, or maybe a small bird.

The hero tried to see what the hell the villain was doing, but they couldn't get a good look beyond the distressingly elegant curve of the villain's head.

"I figured you'd want to be conscious, though." The villain laughed, softly. "I wouldn't want to wake up and find out someone had just done something to me, you know? Makes it hard to process it. Freaky."

The hero swore at them. They liked to think the sentiment got through, even if it was just raw sound. Choked.

"You'll look so gorgeous when you're done, though," the villain said. "Don't worry. I'm a professional. I've done this loads of times before."

The hero knew that. That was the problem.

The villain's super-abilities were unusual enough that it had taken the hero far too long to realise that the villain had any, and that they were in fact a monstrosity rather than simply the sexy artist that the hero had met in a bar. Whatever the villain painted, wrote, inked or drew was woven through with their power. It could come alive. It could influence. It could harm or heal that specific area at the villain's whim.

It could, in short, do all manner of things that the hero did not want permanently etched into their skin.

Everyone close to the villain had a tattoo. It didn't bode well.

"Just breathe," the villain said. "You're doing so well. It will be easier on you if you relax."

The hero swore at them again. It didn't make them feel better.

The villain worked on them for what felt like hours. If it was a jellyfish, it was a truly massive jellyfish that curved all the way up their side. The hero still hadn't got a good look. At some point, they'd stopped writhing in the chair, exhausted.

They felt dazed when the villain finally lifted their head, meeting their eyes again. The villain brushed a tear away from the hero's cheek. It reminded the hero to jolt again, but the hands on them remained as relentless as ever.

Another small, involuntary sound left them.

Their skin felt hot. Sunburnt.

"All done," the villain said. They finally eased the bit out of the hero's mouth. "You should have some water. Are you going to drink it nicely?"

"What the hell did you do to me?" the hero demanded. Their voice was raspy.

"It's gorgeous. You'll love it. Water?"

"I don't want anything from you!"

"Good skin is important to good tattoos. But, hey." The villain shrugged. "I can't make you." They gestured for their lackeys to release the hero.

The hero surged up in an instant, fist already flying towards the villain's face. In an instant, their body froze, knuckles inches from the villain's face. It didn't matter how much they strained. They couldn't move.

The villain raised an eyebrow. "You'll want to make sure to keep it clean, to avoid any infection," the villain said. "And don't pick at it, okay? Stay out of the sun. No swimming."

"What did you do to me!?" It came out through gritted teeth.

The villain smirked at them. "I gave you a jellyfish. On the house. You're welcome."

The hero glared.

"That's what you wanted, right?" the villain asked.

"I didn't want this."

The villain shrugged. "I did, though. For the moment I saw you with your clothes off"

"You-" Words didn't feel enough to express the emotion that coursed through the hero at that. "I hate you."

"Yes, I get that quite a lot. I don't generally let it bother me. You do all look so pretty fuming, helpless, at my mercy."

The hero swallowed.

The villain waved a hand, and whatever strange paralysis had overtaken the hero, vanished. They staggered forward, nearly pitching into the villain's lap. The villain caught them to steady them, hands on their waist.

It should have been excruciating, to have the villain's hand on the tattoo, but instead there was a buzz of pleasure across the hero's skin that definitely wasn't normal. They wrenched back as quickly as possible, heart pounding.

Their fists curled, itching with the urge the punch again, but they didn't quite dare get close.

The villain beamed at them, eyes glittering with mirth, apparently knowing exactly what the hero was thinking.

"Now," they said. "Do you want a lift home? Or do you prefer to take a moment to recover here?"

"You're sick."

"I'm up and coming, darling. One day you'll thank me for it."

The hero peeled the bandage off the moment they were at home, alone, to try and get a good look at their new acquisition.

It was a jellyfish, just as the villain had said, inked in full colour and in exquisite detail and artistry. It seeped blue and purple into the hero's skin, with the smallest tinges of shimmering pink. The villain's initials were weaved into the jellyfish's umbrella, subtle to someone not looking for them. Small but there.

The hero didn't remember hitting the bathroom floor, only the dull feeling of their knees giving way beneath them as it all well and truly sunk in.

They could feel it against them. It was almost as if the tentacles were moving, gently, caressing their ribs. As if the villain's fingers were there, a ghost of a blazing touch.

They got a horrific amount of compliments about the damn thing.

#take the 'x' with a pinch of salt here #heroes #villains #villains and heroes #heroes and villains #writing #story #ficlet #whump #whump writing

[brittle-doughie]

Y/N Cookie watching as the Fallen Heroes become corrupted: “I am very uncomfortable with the energy that we’ve created in the studio today”

*proceeds to help in their capture*

You had just finished going over the acts of compassion and benevolence you’ve done for your cookies. You patiently looked on towards your fellow Primordials, curious as to what they’ve done for their cookies! Surely they’ll be just as heartwarming and kind as yours-

Red Spice laughed as he went on about a recent village he reveled in turning into a burning landscape, taking much joy in watching these feeble cookies run for their lives! They couldn’t give him the joy YOU brought him in a fight though!

Silent Salt spoke few words, but you deduced what they said to be a case of Silent Salt cutting down any cookie in their way, no doubt with ease and with little difficulty. A sigh from them told you it left them pretty unsatisfied that it ended so fast, they bet YOU would’ve lasted longer then they did…

Mystic Flour nonchalantly chipped in that she leveled an entire forest area with just a simple hand motion, nothing remained. She can’t remember if cookies were in the area or not when she did that, but she can’t really do anything about it now. They’re probably reduced to nothing by now…but if YOU were there with her, she probably would’ve taken them into consideration..

Eternal Sugar yawned as she floated on her cloud. A bunch of these little cookies couldn’t stopped bothering her with their smiles and gifts, it was even her scheduled nap time too. So she may have kinda torn them apart with her power, a shame since she was pretty comfortable laying down and these annoying little biscuits had to come along. Besides, nothing they could’ve done would’ve made her happier then getting to see YOU and your cute face~

Shadow Milk chuckled maniacally to himself, he had his audience captivated and turning against each other in no time! It was such FUN to see them fighting and destroying themselves, it was so EASY to do too! But it would’ve been more fun if he had his guest of honor, YOU, with him…

They then turned to you, expecting you to compliment them on their feats. Could they have headpats too as their reward? They were always fans of those~

Nothing but absolute silence on your end.

You helped your Creators out and did not look back!

#brittle answers #cookie run x you #cookie run x reader #cr x reader #cookie run #crk x reader #cookie run kingdom #cookie run kingdom x reader #cr kingdom #beast cookies #crk fallen heroes #red spice cookie x reader #red spice cookie #eternal sugar cookie x reader #eternal sugar cookie #mystic flour cookie x reader #mystic flour cookie #shadow milk cookie #shadow milk cookie x reader #silent salt cookie x reader #silent salt cookie

[dulesknight]

I'm excited for the new cookies but I'm even more excited to learn about these fallen heroes

#cookie run #cookies #new cookies #gacha #cookie run kingdom #new update #cookie run kingdom ancient heroes #crk fallen heroes #pure vanilla cookie #hollyberry cookie #dark cacao cookie #white lily cookie #golden cheese cookie #shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #mystic flour cookie #burning spice cookie #silent salt cookie #red spice cookie

[linkedin-offficial]

to forgive or forget

more lore for what ive got going on with carnival hero, for those who wanted to know why he doesnt particularly like kinger.

i like to think kinger was working on the code to remove the collars for a hefty amount of time. poor kinger tried so hard to perfect the code to release his people, but it was particularly hard for obvious reasons. he tried it so many times ; and when it finally worked, it was like a miracle. queenie, along with everyone else was overjoyed!

of course, it wasnt entirely perfect. sometimes, things go wrong when you take your excitement for granted. sacrifices get made, sometimes accidentally. the lovely king ends up forgetting about this sacrifice that was made, like he always does. the reason why shes gone fades in his mind like a bruise.

but others dont forget, nor forgive. hero never forgot this unnecessary sacrifice. he understood everything clearly after that. the collars are there for a reason. sometimes its better to be safe, to stay in ones own lane. to stay confined where you belong, where to remain unchanged is promised. for the greater good.

#that moment when your attempt to free your people costs you your wife #which in turn causes your closest ally to turn against you in agonizing silence :3 #take this theory with a grain of salt #i dont exactly know the carnival timeline and im too nervous to ask #making stuff up is fun! #the amazing digital circus #the amazing digital carnival #carnival au #tadc hero #dont tell me if im wrong to assume this is what happened i like to live in a world of my own delusions<3

[djljpanda]

Imagine the fallen hero’s / The beast fighting for you attention

They all have respect for each other but when it comes down to you, you are their everything

They would try and one up each other by showing you their talents. They would take you with them as they made civilizations.

Would get really upset when your attention is off them. Might make faces to that cookie but when you turn back to them they look like the sweetest cookies.

Even when they all went to the dark side the obsession for you only grew as they can’t let you go. Their hearts would break you watched them get sealed away but they could never really hate you.

So if they ever do break out of the seals the first thing they will do is look for you, the love of their lives.

#cookie run kingdom x reader #cookie run x you #cookie run kingdom #cookie run x reader #shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #silent salt cookie #burning spice cookie #mystic flour cookie #fallen hero’s #Crk fallen hero’s #Crk beast-yeast #cookie reader #imagine #cookie run imagine #crk x reader

[saltlordofold]

more dao stuff I’ve been using to cool down this week

#alistair theirin #zevran arainai #zevran #sten #aedan cousland #sten dragon age #dragon age origins #dao #salt's art #dragon age #hero of ferelden #cousland #this week has been……..STRESSFUL #the warden #warden cousland

[ahsoka-in-a-hood]

It’s almost surprising that the mandalorian puts very little effort into depicting Din as an honorable mercenary- his reception is generally that of wholesome dad, but the canon is explicit about him not vetting his targets or his clients, and not caring enough to do so. He changes his mind eventually in the face of a literal baby, but he was fully prepared to do people trafficking for imperials, he generally kills without a flinch, and he says outright to his bounty in tbobf that he doesn’t care who hired him or why, and then... literally delivers a head on a plate, after killing a room full of slaughterhouse workers. That’s... not even between the lines. What did that guy actually do? He clearly has some compassion, and is frequently moved by the people he interacts with, but that’s juxtaposed with his ‘cool’ violence that barely makes an effort to be palatable.

That concession to palatability mostly being that the majority of the people he indiscriminately shoots at in the course of handing over people to anyone who has a grievance and also money, or whenever really, are non human, and the humans he does kill tend to be imperials. and also that whenever he’s in a room with other bounty hunters he comes off better than them because they have no honor(tm). Normally I would maybe say it was bad faith to look at the aliens he killed when he first took Grogu, or the aliens he killed when he infiltrated that imperial facility and there were local “pirates” trying to destroy the explosives they were transporting (but not steal, despite being “pirates”)(knowing the locals were discontented with imperial presence), but when it’s in the text that he doesn’t think too hard about his work or his kills, and no vetting is involved, well.

This is less present in season three for Din, but Axe was much the same.

#salt #i am in a mood #the mandalorian #this has been in my head for a while but now it's coming out #i put salt but this isn't even really salt like... #i like anti-heroes #they don't make me uncomfortable #but it does make me uncomfortable when reception is that oh they are innocent uwu i guess #that's where i feel like ................... -_- #coming up next maybe: what i really want to say about andor

[secret-spirit]

Shadow Milk...

Eternal Sugar...

Burning Spice...

Mystic Flour...

Silent Salt...

...

OH MY FUCKING GOD THEY'RE SECOND NAMES ARE BAKING INGREDIENTS

#cookie run #shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #mystic flour cookie #burning spice cookie #silent salt cookie #fallen heroes #crk

[babyblueetbaemonster]

Local Alchemist needed to be stopped.

My formula of restore fatigue:

Spring salad: lettuce, radish, potato, (optional: apple, orange, watermelon). Unfortunately it has Burden side effect. (if choose orange, you'll get a bonus Shield effect) Can also side with Ranch dressing: cheese wedge, leek, onion, garlic. And this one has Damage Agility side effect. It can be fix by removing the garlic.

Potato soup: potato, garlic, leek. This recipe has Frost Shield side effect. Perfect choice for a cold weather.

Corn salsa: corn, tomato, onion, garlic. Unfortunately it has Damage Agility side effect, but you can get Detect Life in the process.

Grilled cheese sandwich: bread loaf, cheese wedge, cheese wheel. Unfortunately it has Damage Agility side effect. I should have removed the cheese wedge. Sorry Baurus :(

Classic ham sandwich: bread loaf, cheese wedge, ham, lettuce. Unfortunately this recipe also has Damage Agility side effect, but bonus Fire Shield woohoo!

Gyudon: beef, onion, rice

Mix berries: blackberry, strawberry, (we only have two kinds of berries?) (optional: apple, orange, pear). Actually, don't put apple or pear in it. They will cause Damage Health.

Crabby corn soup: crab, corn, onion. You can add cheese wedge for bonus Fire Shield (and Damage Agility) effect.

Chili con carne: beef (/boar meat /mutton /venison), onion, garlic, tomato. Side effect is Detect Life. (Beef flavor will grant you Shield effect. Unfortunately Boar meat will have burden side effect and Venison is Damage Health)

Pumpkin pie: pumpkin, sweetcake (/flour /sweetroll). Unfortunately both flour and sweetroll has Damage Personality side effect

Carrot cake: carrot, sweet cakes

Strawberry cheesecake: strawberry, cheese wedge, flour (/sweetcake /sweetroll). The flour version has Reflect Damage side effect. I highly recommend it.

#tes #oblivion #hero of kvatch #baurus #tes oc #oc: acelta #oblivion alchemy could be full of flavor and nonsense #i don't have any mushroom recipe bc i'm not sure about the flavors #but it's cool to know most shroom in oblivion is safe to eat (the first alchemy effect is restore stuff #i love how the 3rd era folks incorporated food in their potions #but my recipes are not perfect for i lack some good ingredients like salt and pepper and butter and cream and broth and vanilla extract... #can i season it afterwards? just a pinch of salt? or sugar? or sauce? #can i put two different flavor of potions in a shaker and make two balanced flavor potions? like drink them in one go? #most potions are made by distillation methods (with alembic and retort) so the flavor probably is subtle #i watch some show with bartender use this rotary evaporator to distill drink ingredients #and the final product is clear liquid with a hint of it's original flavor #so maybe that's what oblivion potion is like. some flavored water #wait... is- is potion like some kind of wired flavor soda? #as a alchemy 100 mad lad i can make potion from a single ingredient so i can literately make a ham water of restore fatigue

[zoethehead]

Evil's broken free and ready to find a vessel again!

Sorry if Shadow milk's looks a bit shoddy; there wasn't any good image of his portrait without the backdrop

#cookie run kingdom #cookie run kingdom au #cookie run au #cookie run #shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #mystic flour cookie #burning spice cookie #silent salt cookie #beast yeast #fallen heroes #crk fallen heroes

[randomnameless]

Saleh found dead in a ditch :

Saleh: Would you please come to our village? Myrrh: To Caer Pelyn? But… Saleh: Dara and the other villagers would be overjoyed to see you. The village is quite spare, but we would do our best to entertain you. You could stay for as long as you wanted… Myrrh: … Saleh, you made that request on my behalf, didn’t you? Saleh: No, not at all. I apologize. I have been disrespectful. Myrrh: No, I’m pleased. However… I doubt I should stay too long. Saleh: Why is that? Myrrh: It’s because I’m a dragon. My father explained it to me. We are both human and monster. And because we are both, we are also neither. Saleh: …… Myrrh: We have the power of dragons; therefore, we cannot live together with humans… We have the hearts of humans; therefore, we do not belong with monsters. We are outcasts in this world, never a part of either community. And so we live our lives alone, never to be understood by anyone. Saleh: But there are humans whose actions make them monsters in the eyes of others. I do not think of you as such when there are many worse monsters among my own kind. Regardless, I believe the villagers would be most pleased to have you visit. Myrrh: Saleh… Thank you. Your words have cheered me up a little. Please wait for my answer. When all of this is finished… When peace returns, I’ll give you my answer then. Saleh: I understand. Myrrh: And when I do return to Darkling Woods, I will not be sad. Because of the time I’ve spent with you, the memories you’ve given me, I shall not be lonely. I shall never feel like an outcast again.

#fe heroes #heroes salt #what the actual fuck #seriously #FEH treats the non protags characters from the main series like chopped liver?? #Magvel salt #oh and btw #in her jp lines she explicitely refers to Ephraim as her big bro in her speaken quote #when the english ones has her only mention him #at least she mentions her dad #even if Caer Pelyn was completely ignored

[emoreooo]

oh, come on. everyone’s afraid of something.

#FIRST LOOK INTO MY AU !!! called Something In Faraway au #basically the premise is that Something is an entity that lives in faraway town and feeding on the fears of children #but even with the cases of missing children no one bats an eye to the existence of something #until a certain mari yamada goes missing and pushes a band of teens to uncover the truth behind this strange cursed town #but will or wont they survive facing fears beyond their own comprehension..... is the question #much like what kel is going thru in this post #he genuinely didnt know what hes afraid of until something showed up and spat his fear in his face like rubbing salt on wound #these kids are gonna get personally terrorized is what im saying #omori kel #omori hero #omori #omori au #something in faraway au #kel omori #hero omori #also im cooking up a little trailer so stay tuned for that !!! :) #fanart #my art #omori fanart #// arachnophobia #// spiders

[brittle-doughie]

THE WEBSITE HAS BEEN UPDATED, WE CAN FREELY DISCUSS THEM

#brittle speaks #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cr kingdom #crk fallen heroes #shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #burning spice cookie #mystic flour cookie #silent salt cookie

[dulesknight]

Imprisoned for their crimes against cookiekind

#shadow milk cookie #eternal sugar cookie #mystic flour cookie #silent salt cookie #burning spice cookie #cookie run #new cookies #cookie run kingdom #cookie run witches #cookie run fallen heroes

[gentrychild]

Many things annoy me about the BNHA movies but the worst one so far is the sheer loss of potential of Izuku, our protagonist, being accused of mass murder in a story that doesn’t have the time to dwell on it.

Any fic writer worth their salt would have shown the reaction of every member of 1-A. We would have at least thought of the political implications of a Japanese hero being accused of such a crime while he was outside the country. We should have drown in Dadmight.

And the villains' reactions could have been the funniest thing ever.

#Heroes: *high pitched screaming* #Villains: Don’t see what you’re so surprised about. #bnha salt #bnha