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#and I do have her survive but I also don't have her still have powers bc it wouldn't make sense
netmors · 2 days
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STAR WARS: Eleventh Fleet AU
Hey-hey, I worked, caught a cold, got sick and that’s enough… …so, concept art for the Eleventh Fleet.
Ar'alani and Vah'nya's designs are fairly simple, but the problem with them in particular, and the Chiss in general, is their clothing and style. There are many official references, including those from Legends, but each artist still has his own vision regarding, for example, the shape of the fleet. Somewhere there is a strong homage to the design from the old canon, somewhere it was modernized, and in the latter they added the same “honor's chains”, which look a little strange on the laconic form. It seems to be in the Chiss style, but very impractical.
As a result, I am reworking the design of the expansion and defense fleet uniform, but more on that another time. Let's return to Ar'alani and Vah'nya.
At the beginning of the events of the "Eleventh Fleet", Senior General Ar'alani on his flagship "Vigilant" is increasingly confronted with the Grysks. A year will pass since her last meeting with Thrawn, when the invaders of the Ascendency space will openly attack the Chiss ships.
Such cat and mouse would continue for another year until the disappearance of another Night Dragon class war cruiser, subsequently leading to disaster in the heart of the Chiss Ascendancy. The Senior General will be one of the few superiors who, along with Ba'kif, can survive. Much of this will be down to Vanto and Ronan - unaccounted for variables in the Grysk's plans. The trust placed in Thrawn's "alien protégés" paid off in full.
The Senior General was often accompanied by Senior Navigator Vah'nya. "Vigilant" almost always accepted missions to search for missing navigators. Vah'nya not only guided the ship through the stars and darkness of outer space, but she was much better at rehabilitating rescued navigators, as well as leading the other navigators on the ship. Friendship with Eli played an important role in this.
Because of her "anomaly" as a Navigator who hasn't lost her powers into adulthood, many of the regulations and rules simply don't work for Vah'nya the way they do for other girls. And to be an “anomaly” for Sindikure is a very subtle walking on the edge of a charrik. And yet, to the dissatisfaction of some aristocrats and syndics, the girl manages to balance on it for quite a long time.
+ bonus Ba'kif timeline concept art.
Because I’m not entirely sure that I’m right, but I really wanted to think about what this gorgeous grandpa would have looked like during the Thrawn. Ascendency Trilogy. And I also reworked his “chains” and other form elements quite a bit. And yes, I’m more than sure that Thrawn adopted Ba'kif’s “style” in his time.
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zanathan-aisling · 5 months
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today's jjk ep
#jujutsu kaisen spoilers#jujutsu kaisen anime and manga spoilers#i didn't even flinch tbh#and i skipped some of the flashback so i was legit like 'oh the episodes already gonna end HERE???'#i'm not getting emotional about that crap until an episode comes out confirming she's dead!!!!#i say sitting on my ass forever because gege is a little wierdo who just never fucking bothered to do that#(at this point the Her situation in jjk is unsalvageable. the only thing the author COULD do thats at all narratively built-up-at-all would#be to have her get taken over by kenjacku. but like. that'd fucking SUCK STILL so like whatever#should've just said she was dead insteada introducing a whole new character that would then never show back up with a power specifically#designed only to leave her in a relative state of limbo)#(well that and keep yuji from dying worse. but like. honestly that wasn't very necessary we could believe yuji survived getting his ass#handed to him by mahito anyway we did it before)#literally each new chapter her coming back gets less and less likely at this point. its over. who gives a shit.#akutami came up with a fucking GOLDEN character and just kinda dropped her down a toilet. didn't even flush it correctly just let us wait.#narratively i don't HATE the idea of her dying even! but good GOD it should've been two-thirds through the story rather than roughly halfwa#also just#i fuckin hate megumi#sorry hes just kinda boring! todo was right!!#theres good things IN his character but god it feels like he only exists to be a wet blanket#a wet blanket that WORKED GREAT WITH THE MORE BALANCED CORE CAST!#BUT ONCE THEY'RE FUCKING GONE ITS. NOTHING.#i LOVE yuji he's great but without other characters to foil him he's just... not enough#and none of the post-shibuya cast has really been able to carry that for him.#especially since we only briefly ever saw him and choso like.. be around each other???#yuji is lovely he's great he's my scrimbly but without other characters to bond with he's just not nutritious enough!!!!!#its like an incomplete protein!!! you gotta pair him with something else!!!!#coughnotmegumieither#and GOD the shit with Hana and the kinda-just-bullshit-when-you-haven't-even-confirmed-shes-dead 'scared she'd replace nobara' crap#'wow this is a character i could probably actually like if she wasn't buried under an introductory heaping of wierd pseudo-misogyny'#ALSO WHERE THE FUCK IS *TODO*
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mypralaya · 11 months
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dagnabit loads of disjointed thought snippets about Haven and the Adversary but no ability to make them cohesive + leaving soon anyway
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chantlight · 1 year
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Honestly it makes sense to me — firstly that Seekers are trained to be adaptable. They work alone or in small groups; they travel to remote areas; they are armed specialists and investigators rather than soldiers; they never know what they are going to come up against or what resources will be available to them. Versatility is key. While I wouldn’t say they’re trained in every weapon, I would say they’re trained in both ranged + melee and are given a solid foundation in unarmed combat. They’re training people who can survive despite a disadvantage, who are incredibly aware of their surroundings, and who can assess a situation at a glance.
I feel like . . . their training actually favors one-handed sword + dagger. Inconspicuous, easy to carry, won’t raise too many eyebrows. Gives them a balance of distance and close quarters. If a Seeker is moved to draw their blade, it will not return to the sheath unbloodied. The emphasis is on fast, fatal blows combined with their abilities to weaken / incapacitate. Their opponent will be dead quickly. Sword and shield is rarer and mostly used when they’re working in conjunction with templars.
Cassandra’s foundation in dragon-hunting is fairly compatible with Seeker training. Nevarran hunters do work in groups (they have guilds and everything), but the emphasis is still on finishing it quickly. I do think there are sub-types of dragon-hunters depending on what role you play in the hunt. Matthias and Anthony specialized in a very rare, very risky form. Essentially, they used a khopesh to get in close, hook the scales, rip them back, and stab at vital areas beneath. This can be done with only the khopesh, but there’s typically a short spear involved for that fatal stab.
So Cassandra’s fast, she gets in close, and she finishes it quickly. Tbh I’m not entirely on board with the dual swords she has in DoS, but I do enjoy her being paired with Byron who favors the sword and shield. The reality is she was way too aggressive then. Having her learn something new with the shield and then the nature of sword + shield itself forces her to slow down a bit. She has to play defense more rather than being all hacking and slashing. She still throws herself in head first, but it’s not as bad as it was.
She's also paired with templars far more frequently than other Seekers. She is in a unique position as the Right Hand of the Divine. While she does still trend toward solo missions, only taking a small number of companions when necessary, she is nevertheless responsible for commanding the Knights-Divine. Being templars and specifically templars assigned to guard the Divine + Grand Cathedral, they by and far favor sword and shield. She does keep her own distinct style, but it behooves her to have an understanding of their style, and she's certainly picked up elements of it.
This is all makes khopesh great for her, honestly. Khopesh are short, but they have a versatility to them: they can hack, thrust, and hook. They can also be used solo, paired with a shield, or paired with something like a short spear. It gives her the adaptability necessary for her work, including when she works in concert with the Knights-Divine. It also supports her fast, aggressive style.
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satorugu · 6 months
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In Every Era Part 2 (Sukuna x f!reader)
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She is the reincarnation of his love, and he plans to be with her in every era.
PART 1 HERE
Warnings: Blood, violence, fighting, angst, lots of fluff
Note: The readers technique relates to ice and being able to lower the temperatures around her enough to create it. If the text is italicized it is one of the dreams she had. All take place during the Heian era, both Heian era and the version of Sukuna in Itadori's body is included. Takes place during the Shibuya Incident, and quotes the episode's sub at times.
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The dreams hadn't stopped.
First, it was that night, the night she fell asleep in his arms.
Then she had another one following it.
Then a third.
It was always a memory from her point of view, so vivid she felt she could still feel his touch when she woke up. They were small, but they got her through the night, always sleeping straight through it.
That kiss was imbued with cursed energy. She didn't know how, but she knew that had something to do with it.
She couldn't take her mind off of it.
Every single night.
"Curses and mutations are mindless, you don't need to harness much cursed energy to exorcise them, although it is made out to be that way," Sukuna said. "If you make a hit on them before they can attack you, you have a better chance at survival."
She was sitting on his lap, up upon his throne. His body heat radiated onto her shoulders, his strong abdomen pressed against her back.
"Is there a reason you're sharing this with me?" (Y/N) asked curiously.
"So you will utilize this information when the time may come my dear," he told her. "Aim for the head."
"I don't think it will ever come," she laughed.
"You are correct to assume that," Sukuna said, putting a hand on her waist and pulling her closer to him. "I won't allow for anyone to harm you."
This was a trick.
The King of Curses wouldn't and couldn't possess emotions like these. He murdered hundreds of thousands, known to be the most powerful sorcerer in history. He needed something from her, to get her to trust him so he could use her and kill her afterward.
These memories were false, she was sure of it.
So she began avoiding Itadori, training after hours and for longer durations to be able to both strengthen herself and not be confronted by the eyes below his. In the end she would return to her dorm exhausted, forgetting that when she fell asleep she would be greeted by what she fled most.
Then a week had turned into a month.
"Master Sukuna had a gift delivered to your dressing room," the maid said almost timidly to (Y/N), as she bowed her head.
She made an emphasis on the fact it was in her dressing room rather than her bedroom. Being that her quarters were Sukuna's, the only part of the palace that was officially hers was her dressing room, which translated to a massive closet. It was filled to the brim with the nicest jewelry available in the lands, along with dresses he had especially picked out for her. It was also a known fact that the garden belonged to (Y/N), although it wasn't claimed by her. She fell in love with the area, so he made it off limits to others.
Unfortunately for her, he was away, handling a nearby village.
Two more servants gathered at the large double doors that led to the dressing room, opening them for her.
Inside was a large bouquet of flowers, white at the tips that slowly faded into a reddish-purple. It was as if they were glowing, vibrant and perky underneath the lighting. The vase was a piece within itself, like clear vines that curled around the stems of the flowers and bunched them all together.
Next to it sat a scroll, bound together by a cursed energy imbued seal. She was quick to unravel it, reading the hand-written, inked message.
'Although I am far away, I will remind you of my love.'
'These flowers are eternal, they will forever stay by your side, just as I will.'
'Sincerely, Ryo.'
She didn't think much of the dream, assuming it was some way of trying to make her think he actually loved her. Instead, she lingered around the campus after hours, honing a new ability with her ice technique. Once she grew sleepy, she returned to her dorm, entering the dark room to see something glowing on her desk.
It was a vibrant and perky flower, with white at the tips that slowly faded into a reddish-purple. While it didn't sit in a vase, it was unnaturally filled with life, acting as a light in pitch black atmosphere.
She thought she was hallucinating, reaching out a hand to pick it up, hoping it would dissolve as soon as she touched it.
The flower sat in her room for a week after that, as she continued to deny the significance behind it.
(Y/N) thought she could get out of having to see Itadori, but it seemed otherwise when another crisis hit.
A large curtain was cast around Shibuya, along with one at Meiji-Jingumae Station. Reports that mutated humans were attacking civillians inside were quick to spread, and both (Y/N) and Itadori were sent to handle it.
"I'll deal with the mutated ones, you search through the station for anymore hostages," she told him quickly, hoping they wouldn't have to interact much.
As soon as the two had met up inside the city, the eyes underneath his own appeared. They felt familiar now, a burning reminder of the dream she had the previous night.
They were in his bedroom, if it even could be called that.
It was larger than the average, with a desk that sat by an extravagant stained glass window, and a large table towards the center. The bed for the two of them sat against the wall, both of them already out of it, yet choosing to stay in one another's company.
Sukuna stood around the table, eyeing a set of scrolls as his wife sat at his desk. The chair was far too big for someone of her size, which he grew to love.
“I want to perform a binding vow between you and I,” he started.
“A binding vow?” (Y/N) asked, having yet to take her eyes off what she was reading.
“A pact bound through Jujutsu, except this one has specific terms accounted with it.”
As the words left his mouth he slipped his hand around her jaw, taking her by surprised as she looked up at him.
"I want to be with you in every era, as you pass, and once you are reincarnated. We will be bound together, it will be destined for you to wed me."
"And it's consequences?" she wondered.
"There are none, this vow is unable to be broken, it will see through that we are meant to be," Sukuna said. "And that you will remain mine."
She wasn't that knowledgeable on binding vows like the one he described, except for the fact it was supposed to leave a mark on your wrist. (Y/N) didn't have one though, so she assumed it was false.
A mutated curse barreled towards her, shards if ice being driven through it's skull as her pink haired friend ran down the hall. She flipped over it's corpse as it fell to the ground, attacking the others before they could make a move on her, and aiming for their heads.
The efficiency behind it was impressive, as she scolded herself internally for doing as the King of Curses had once advised.
And yet she continued for what felt like an hour, going through the motions up until the lights flickered off and she could hear fighting in the lower levels of the station.
Something was off.
(Y/N) jumped down the set of escalators and began running through the station that was almost unrecognizable. She could tell Itadori had fought here, as the remains of his strength imprinted different surfaces.
She was following her gut at that moment, turning down a set of halls until she saw a light bloom at the end of one. She could feel the heat as she got closer, as it formed an orange and yellow blur.
Screams came after the flames.
Two girls who had somehow survived being burnt alive, each coughing and holding onto one another.
As she turned the corner she saw him, Itadori, laying against the wall unconscious. He was littered in cuts, specifically his shoulder which was bleeding out. A special grade curse, Jogo, stood over him, a finger in his hand as he slipped it down the pink haired boy's throat and tilted his head back. She recognized him from the time he fought Gojo, as her eyes lingered over Itadori's figure.
(Y/N) could see the markings on his face.
She thought she might throw up.
"Don't waste my time," the special grade squinted is eyes at the three of them.
He went to lift up his arm and attack, only for it to begin bleeding out in front of him.
"I'll give you one second."
It felt like everything had frozen in place.
Silence in the dark hallway.
"Move."
The special grade fearfully jumped back, now a line of four.
(Y/N) felt her hands tremble, as sweat formed across her forehead and her heartbeat picked up in her ears. They were all that way, as the figure slowly stood up and brushed himself off.
Strength of a different kind than Satoru Gojo.
Overwhelmingly evil.
Fear that even the slightest move could lead to death.
He began to come towards them, as the wounds across his body healed themselves.
As his footsteps grew louder, she felt as if she might pass out.
Then they stopped, and he brushed his hair back in orderly fashion.
"You hold your heads quite high."
That voice.
It felt like there were invisible hands that wrapped around her back, guiding her down to a bowing position without control over her own body. She ended up in the same formation as the other two girls, as a wave brushed over top of the four that would have killed them.
"Did you believe taking one knee was enough?" Sukuna questioned.
The top of Jogo's head was cut off, considering he only kneeled. It was similar to a volcano, purple blood spewing out the top as he bled out.
"The greatest men bow the lowest, or so it goes. I see you value your heads quite lightly."
She could feel him looking down at her, as she stared at the cold floor and begged that whatever this was wasn't real.
She was terrified.
"You brats, I'll start with you," he said. "You wished to speak to me, yes?"
The girl nodded, tears staining the concrete surface below her.
"I'll grant you a fingers worth of audience. Now speak."
"Below us there's a man in monk's robes with a suture across his forehead," the dirty blonde began to say. "Please kill him, please free Geto-sama."
(Y/N) recognized that name, although she thought the man who had it was dead.
"We know the location of one more finger," the girl added. "If you'll kill that man for us, we'll tell you where it is."
"Raise your heads."
(Y/N) still kept hers down, although she could see the two girls raise theirs through her peripheral. It was a moment of relief, as he seemed to have agreed to their terms.
Red.
The head of the brown haired one next to her burst into nothingness, blood coating the other girls face as her corpse fell backward.
(Y/N) felt it splatter onto her uniform, shock pulsating through her veins as terror overrided her senses.
"MIMIKO!" the blonde screamed, shaking the lifeless body next to her.
"Did you think a measly one or two fingers would grant you the right to order me around?" Sukuna asked with amusement in his voice.
It seemed the girl couldn't care less, continuing to scream out her friends name.
"How offensive."
"SUKUNA!" she cried out in anger, slipping out her phone. "DIE!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, it sounded like a blade had cut through something. Similar to the one she heard months ago, when he had saved her.
Then, it sounded like several cuts going at someone at once.
One corpse turned into two, except the blonde had no remains. He killed the both of them without lifting a finger, a copious amount of blood being the only proof.
"You all are desperate," Sukuna turned to Jogo almost knowingly.
(Y/N) felt the invisible hands that once held onto her gently guide her to sit up again, looking at the King of Curses.
"This is the reward for the cursed fingers, come at her," he said, making eye contact with her. "If you manage to land even a single blow on her, I'll work under you all."
"What?" (Y/N) said under her breath, she felt like she couldn't breath.
Jogo slowly looked at her, as if he was making up his mind.
There was no way he was considering this.
"You're true to your word, yes?" he asked Sukuna.
No.
(Y/N) stepped back, like her legs were going to come out from under her at any second.
This was suicide, she couldn't fight him.
"Yes."
Jogos demeaner changed, as Sukuna's hands remained on his pockets and the curse went to face her. He held out his hand, a ball of fire forming within it, as (Y/N) tried to conjure ice in her own.
Again she was airborne.
Too quick for her to react as it all happened at once.
A familiar pair of arms held her bridal style, as she felt herself rest on his chest. It was cold, the fall wind curling around the two as they had fled the building.
He casually dodged them vast amount of fire-charged bullets being sent at him, as he looked down at her.
"Your avoidance has been quite amusing, I see you don't understand yet," Sukuna said, his tone changing into a softer one.
"What have you been doing to me?" she spoke boldly, like a wife would to her husband.
It made him smile, as he leaned on the edge of a building that Jogo shot more bullets at. Soon enough they were inside of it, Sukuna casually walking through a corridor as fire burned around them.
"That's my thank you for ensuring you sleep well?" he spoke teasingly. "I've been restoring your memories, although I knew you would doubt them to the best of your ability."
"They're not real," she mumbled, forgetting what he was capable of.
"And yet how relaxed you are in my hold says otherwise, little one," he said. "Your body reacts naturally to my touch."
(Y/N) opened her mouth to reply but the words never came out, as he jumped through the window of the building and met Jogo's fist. Sukuna was currently holding her securely with one arm, taking up the curse in hand to hand combat. He was quick, catching every single one of Jogo's attempts before holding onto his hand and slicing through his arms with his cleave technique.
The Special Grade was sent flying back, as he shot another beam of fire energy out of his head and (Y/N) watched it blow a whole through a building.
She had never seen a fight like this before.
Sukuna caught up with Jogo, taking his free hand that wasn't carrying her and wrapping it around his cape, throwing him down towards the streets. Smoke emitted from the area that he hit, as he continued to bounce off of it from the force before Sukuna came at him again. This time, he bashed his head into the ground, taking them below the level of the city floor.
She felt the King of Curses abdomen tighten against her side, as he laughed to himself. (Y/N) wasn't looking at him though, as her eyes were on the curse that hadn't landed even a single speck of dust on her.
His free hand slipped underneath her jaw, turning her head to face him.
"Impressed are we?"
Suddenly everything around the two seemed to burst into flames, as the blue skinned curse screamed out and flooded the street with Lava.
This was hell.
Sukuna didn't even react, as a wave of it blanketed over them, yet never touching their skin. He jumped up onto a building that was soon crumbling underneath the hot liquid as well, continuing to dodge without question.
The entire city was on fire, as hands made out of lava held onto two office buildings and lifted them up out of the ground. They surrounded the both of them, Jogo standing on a rooftop in front.
(Y/N) thought she was dead.
Out of pure instinct she took her arm around Sukuna's neck, burying her head into his chest and squinting her eyes closed.
It was only when she heard the sound of the buildings being bashed together, that she realized what she had done. Instead of feeling the impact of her skull being crushed, she felt a delicate kiss be pressed to the top of her head. A large hand then held her hair in a comforting manner, keeping her against him.
"Do you trust me, little one?" he asked her softly, low enough that Jogo couldn't hear.
"Yes."
(Y/N) felt weightless, like she was on one of those amusement park rides that threw you up into the air. Except for the fact that there was no harness, and nothing holding her anymore. Sukuna had thrown her up so far she felt she might touch the clouds, watching his figure dart towards the curse and throw him into a sky scraper.
She could see Jogo come out the other end of it, soaring through the air as Sukuna stood above him. The King of Curses drove his hand into the Special Grades head, sending the two through a roof of another office structure.
Meanwhile (Y/N) began to descend, screaming out and watching as the windows on each level shattered with each level Sukuna shoved him through. She grew anxious as time passed and nothing happened, until the bottom of the building burst out into flames and traveled upwards. She could make out the smaller details of the city now, as she picked up speed in falling and felt the wind course through her clothes. Her best bet was trying to use her ice to impact the fall, although she became distracted by what happened before her.
The building that Jogo had blown up began to form into a ball of fire, and Sukuna was nowhere to be seen.
Or so she thought.
She was trying to conjure up enough cold air around her to form the ice needed to brace her, but knocked into something else, throwing her off guard.
She wasn't surprised when she felt his heartbeat against her side again, but he moved at unregistrable speeds.
Suddenly they were on the ground, in the middle of the street, underneath the meteor Jogo was creating. All of the people around Sukuna froze in place, fear evident in their eyes.
Everyone knew who he was.
"I hereby forbid every person in a 100-meter radius from moving until I say 'now," he started. "And of course, I'll kill anyone who violates that rule."
The silence was horrifying, no one daring to take a step.
"Not yet," he teased.
(Y/N) could feel his hands underneath her weight doing something, as if he was now controlling the ball of fire above them.
"Still not yet."
The ground began to tremble, as it came closer.
"Now."
The sound was overwhelming, as Sukuna brought himself up above it as it crushed everything beneath. He sat down on the meteor, adjusting (Y/N) so she was sitting in his lap, his hands around her waist. Jogo was in front of the two, having yet to turn his back around.
The atmosphere around them was a swirl of orange smoke and broken glass that looked like stars. It floated gently in the air, as more debris from the architecture around them crumbled.
"I've grown tired of this, so I will fight you with your own specialty," he said, allowing for (Y/N) to get up as he stood and faced the Special Grade.
She stepped back, quick to cool the temperatures underneath her feet so she wouldn't burn.
Fire began to emit from his fist, beginning to curl around his figure.
"Arm yourself."
Jogo formed a small sphere of fire in his hand, as Sukuna stretched his own out to form an arrow.
The Special Grade burnt to ashes within a moments notice, while the King of Curses turned around to face the woman behind him.
"Your denial is in vain," he said. "There is nothing I am not capable of, and your death would have already occurred if i wished for it. In your moments of fear you trusted me by instinct, the vow formed between us guiding you to me."
"I don't understand."
"Because you don't want to," he corrected, coming closer to her. "Allow me to show you."
The king lifted her jaw up, taking his hand around the side of her face and kissing her lips.
It felt unworldly, as she slowly returned it and could feel him smiling. Her wrist suddenly tingled, making her to break away to see what caused the sensation.
It was a mark on her wrist, the same one that was on Sukuna's forehead.
"I will love you in every era," he said, taking a step back.
The markings on his face faded, his hair returning to hanging down.
"What happened?" Itadori asked.
She looked into the eyes underneath the original pair, not knowing what to say.
But she understood now.
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A/N: I have a part 3 in mind. If you're interested let me know!
Tag List: @daydreamshenanigans @witchmoon10 @@spiderlilytengu @sircatchungus @sunshine7queen @yandere-consumer @emryb @96jnie @frogzxch @toshirolovebot @rottinginvelvet @rorel1a @cax-per @butteredwalnut @sweetcoorpse @mynewblackdress @serafina-nyx @karmazwrld @gambighoul @honestlysublimecherryblossom @sy557 @mag-chan
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signedkoko · 3 months
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OK since requests are open I thought I might as well do another ask with once again Lucifer and Lilith soooo
I ask for Lucifer x Lilith x a human reader, and uhm, maybe when Lucifer and Lilith are out for some reason. Reader gets attacked at the castle? Smthn like that but im mainly asking for maybe some type of one-shot or hcs idk with a human reader that gets hurt badly when lucifer and lilith aren't there and their reaction to such ig.
Otherwise, if you wish to not write this please tell me
And yes, Luci icon twins^^
- 𝐋.𝐁 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Lucifer X Reader X Lilith [Romantic]
In which they aren't there to protect you from bountyhunters, and you end up greatly injured. Reader is genderneutral.
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Not many attacks are made on their residence for a reason
You need to be crazy powerful to survive Lucifer, let alone Lilith and the many well-trained servants in the estate
Whoever tried either died gruesomely or was never seen again, huge powerhouses of hell wiped out in an instant
Or two, if Lilith felt like teasing them
Today was not like any other because it was baby Charlie's tenth birthday!
A decade of life was worth a large celebration, and Charlie wanted many of the servants she grew up around to be there
Of course, you were going too! Charlie had always accepted you like a parent, which you were beyond grateful for, and you'd even gotten her something special
Only halfway out the door did you realize you'd forgotten it upstairs, so you excused yourself and told Lilith to go ahead
" I don't want anyone to see! Besides, I'll bring the cool car, and Charlie can ride back in it with me! "
You also enjoyed the idea of letting the birthday girl be with her birth parents for a bit
Only, as you grabbed the present and made your way back downstairs, you heard something shatter
There were still a few guards around the palace, but still, this was nothing good if they knew to attack while the Morningstars were out
Before you could call Lucifer, a shot rang out, your phone falling to the floor as you stared at your bleeding palm
Fuck, fuck, fuck that hurt-
Clutching the present, your attempt to duck was futile as another shot rang, hitting your opposite shoulder and sending you to the floor
The pain was severe, and you knew why—this was no normal gun; it had to have been an angel weapon
" It's just a stupid servant; stop wastin' bullets. "
" But look! They're holding somethin' real nice; it looks like a crown! "
Upon hearing them talk about the gift you got for Charlie, you began crawling away
Bang!
Another shot in the knee; your vision was starting to blur with tears
Before you could get away any further, you felt a kick to your side, which sent you into the wall
" Just grab it and go. Stupid royals are probably on their way already. "
One more kick, straight to your head, and you were out
...
...
. . .
" ...ke up! Wake up! "
Your head felt fucking terrible, and when you cracked open your eyes even a bit, the light was blinding
As you adjusted, you could hear Lucifer cheering and clapping, and you could make out Lilith on the side of the bed, hushing him with one hand over yours
You could tell you were in their bed, judging by the familiar scent and room, but you had no recollection of what was happening
" Before you ask, the bountyhunters have been dealt with, dear. They hurt you. "
Lilith's voice was calming as always, and she held up your hand to caress it between both of hers, hoping to soothe you
" Bountyhunters...? "
" Thats right, I sure showed them! I wasn't sure which one did it, so Lily and I gave them all special treatment! "
Lucifer seemed proud as he held up his arms as if flexing, but his grin was a little wobbly, and you could tell he was putting up a front
Things started to puzzle together, and that was when you lifted yourself up, holding your head
" Fuck. Poor Charlie, it was her birthday! "
" I'm sure she understands. We didn't want her to worry, so we let her stay at the party while we handled things. She's most worried about you. "
Lilith reached back and propped up the pillows so you could stay seated, making sure you were most comfortable while Lucifer paced
Looking down at the hand she caressed, you noticed it was entirely wrapped in bandages
" They weren't normal guns. "
" Yes, I'm afraid it won't heal very well. But we will make certain you get the best care. "
Standing up, Lilith grabbed Lucifer by the arm and pulled him towards the door
They wanted to make sure you could rest, and a servant entered quickly with a tray of food and a warm beverage
" Oh yes! I can't wait to finish them off. "
" Wait, they're alive? "
" Not for much longer, dear. Lucifer thought we should save the rest for after you woke up. "
" Well, make it extra rough for me. "
You won't have to worry about those who hurt you ever, ever again
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Author's Note - I feel so iconic having the lucifer icon pre-episode release, we are a power duo!
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thelargefrye · 6 months
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GODS … mature one - shot | pt. one
pairing : emperor!san x princess!f!reader
genre : slight historical fiction, mature, dark, arranged marriage, second chance, slow burn, eventually smut
word count : 3.5k
warnings : language, blood / body gore, death / murder, hints of dismemberment, san is evil, name calling (stupid girl)
special birthday suffering tag : @sanjoongie please accept this as an early birthday present from your braincell
note : inspired by san's performance video that literally wrecked all of us. none of are safe from his power and this proved it. also this was getting a little too long so i decided to split it up into at least two parts
after your life is unrightfully taken from you, you take this second chance as a way to finally survive and make a difference for yourself. you were tired of being a prisoner and feeling unwanted.
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the dining hall was empty except for you and a few guards and servants. not another soul sitting at the long dining table despite it being able to sit twenty people easily, if not more.
it bothered you that you ate alone. every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner was by yourself. honestly, a lot of things bother you, but you were never allowed to say what was on your mind. it bothers you that you eat alone, that you have no one to talk to, that your family willingly gave you up to some demon emperor. what bothered you the most is that your "husband" never even gave you the time of day and that you were forced to listen to the maids whisper and gossip about you.
you saw the look of pity in their eyes.
you don't want their pity. you've never wanted anything but freedom for the last three years you've been trapped in this palace.
you were supposed to marry someone who loved you. have a big ceremony and live happily ever after. instead... instead you were taken away from your family by emperor san and forced to marry him. you were a pawn to him in order to gain control over your kingdom.
a prisoner forced to spend the rest of her life trapped in a loveless marriage and life.
you do your best to push down the negative thoughts as you eat. not wanting to get choked up on tears and cry. you didn't want anyone to see you cry.
especially not these gossiping maids.
"i heard the emperor went to the brothel last night."
"again! does him and the princess not spend nights together?"
"of course not. his highness isn't interested in the princess. their quarters are on completely different sides of the palace. i'm surprised he hasn't killed her, yet."
"i am too."
you try your best to ignore them.
when you've finished eating, you get up from the lonely dining table and exit the room. the maids have their eyes casted downward as you walk past them, acting as if they hadn't just been talking about you. your personal guard, mingi, follows you down the hall.
you remember when you first arrived at the palace, san introduced you to mingi and explained how he will be your personal guard.
"don't try anything stupid, mingi has orders to kill you on sight if you do," san's words still haunt you. mingi wasn't here to protect you, but to watch over you and make sure you never tried anything stupid.
when you return to your quarters, you take your usual seat by your window. the window that overlooks most of palace's entrance and the palace wall that keeps you trapped. too high to climb and too far to even try to attempt to make a run for it. like san purposely chose this room for you as a way to mock you. to let you know that you will always be a prisoner.
still, you can't help but wonder if one day you'll be able to be free and live happily.
however, that will only remain a dream until san crushes it as well like he done to all your other dreams.
"ow," you hiss out, finger immediately coming to your lips to try and stop the small prick of blood. you guess that's what you get for getting lost in your thoughts while attempting to work on your embroider.
you look down at the small cloth with the flower design slowly being sewn into it. embroidering was the only thing that kept you sane in this prison. you're waiting for the day san takes this away from you as well.
"princess, are you alright?" a voice snaps you out of your thoughts and you look up to see one of the other guards, yeosang, coming into your room.
"i'm fine. just pricked my finger," you say and he nodded his head.
"the emperor is here to see you," he says before stepping aside to let your husband enter your room. he walks in exuding so much power and authority and you hate it. you hate him for how much control he has. you're forbidden from entering the west wing – his quarters – of the palace, yet he's allowed to come in the east wing and even your room without having to ask. you hate it.
"girl," he begins, never has he addressed you by your name. always just 'girl' or 'stupid girl' when it comes to you, like you weren't of your name let alone your title. "pack your bag, i'm sending you back to your home kingdom for a week. you'll be leaving tomorrow morning."
his words take you by surprise. you'll be... returning home? after three years of being away from your family, you'll finally get to see them?
"r-really?" you ask, standing up and completely forgetting about your pricked finger.
"what are you deaf, girl. i'm not going to repeat myself," he says with an annoyed huff and turns to leave.
"wait!" he stops in his tracks at your voice, but he doesn't turn around to look at you. "why am i going? is everything alright?"
"when did you ask so many fucking questions? be grateful i'm sending you there in the first place," he doesn't say anything else before he takes his leave. the door to your bedroom slamming shut behind him and you immediately flinch at the sound.
"are you ready, princess?" yeosang's voice catches you off guard as you look up at the palace you had been trapped inside for three years. being in the front courtyard gives you a completely different set of emotions knowing that you will be away from this place. even if it is for a week.
you asked yeosang if san was going to come, but the guard completely avoided your question. you're not surprised he's not showing up, but it still hurts nonetheless.
then something else hits you.
"where's mingi?"
"he's had some last minute orders from the emperor," yeosang says, keeping his answer vague like always. "come, princess, we have a long trip ahead of us."
you don't say anything but instead silently climb into the carriage. once you're settled inside, the carriage begins to move and you can't help but look out the window watching as you leave the palace.
you couldn't help the smile that painted your lips knowing that you were finally getting to return to your family. you knew nothing could ruin this moment, not even your ruthless husband.
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yeosang let out an exhausted breath as he ran towards the palace. the guards standing at their post immediately recognized their fellow soldier, even with his beaten and bruised body.
"yeosang!" the handsome guard recognizes the deep voice from anywhere and he immediately falls into mingi's arms. collapsing from his injuries, no longer able to stand. then mingi realized something as he and some other guards helped his friend. "where's the princess?"
yeosang looked at mingi with tearful eyes before he shook his head and mingi felt something in stomach twist.
"where's the princess, yeosang?"
"i couldn't... i couldn't– bandits ambushed us... i tried, mingi, i really did, but they–
yeosang couldn't finish his words due to how choked up he was getting, but mingi understood what his friend was trying to say.
"where is she?"
"she's in the forest," yeosang answered and mingi immediately set out on his horse with his best friend and fellow guard, yunho. the two were deep into the forest before they finally came across the carriage you had left in.
the entire carriage was destroyed, the wheels broken off and the main part crashed into a large oak tree. bodies of the driver and some others were laying, scattered around and blood was everywhere.
"mingi..." yunho is attempting to be strong as he watches his friend make his way towards the carriage door. it too had been broken and destroyed and the two guards noted how all of your luggage was gone. "those bandits took everything."
mingi ignored his friend in favor of opening the carriage door. however, instead of being met with an empty carriage, he was greeted with something worse.
"fuck!" mingi has to pull himself away from the carriage. tripping over the tree roots as he bends over and vomits. the sight in the carriage burned into his eyes even as he blinks. yunho watches his friend with concern before he's watching him breakdown and sob. tears running down his cheeks and snot running down his nose and over his chin from how hard his was sobbing. mingi's throat burned from when he threw up.
yunho looked between mingi and the carriage before taking several steps towards the carriage. mingi's voice repeating "oh god, oh god, i'm so sorry. please forgive me" is like a broken record in the background. and then yunho reaches over and opens the door and the sight within makes his whole being shake in terror.
when they arrived back to the palace, mingi carried a bag with him as they reached the throne room. san was sitting on his throne with his usually bored expression; however, mingi and yunho entering caught his attention.
"what's wrong with you two?"
"your highness," yunho begins, voice shaking as he starts to talk. however, yunho doesn't know what to say. he's at a loss for words.
"well? what the fuck is wrong you both?" san asks again, standing up and walking towards the two guards. mingi doesn't say anything except hand the bag over to him. "what is this?"
"your highness, the princess's carriage was attacked by bandits. yeosang managed to make it back, but..." yunho says, finally finding his words. he continues after a moment and at the same time san opens the bag. "the princess did not make it. we brought back... what was left of her."
the image of your body laying in the carriage burns in yunho's mind. he had never seen something as horrific before during his time as a soldier and especially done to an innocent woman like you. you did nothing wrong, just someone trapped in a situation you had no control over.
san says nothing as he looks inside the bag, letting the contents settle into his mind before he's carelessly dropping the bag onto the ground in front of his feet.
"oh well."
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you can't help the scream that rips through your throat as you thrash around your bed. your covers flying everywhere before settling either back onto your bed or in the floor. your heart is beating rapidly in your ears and your eyes scan the room around you.
you couldn't help but let out another scream as your door is thrown open and in comes mingi with a concerned look.
"what's wrong, princess?" in any other moment you would have found his voice a comfort. but in this moment, you couldn't even find the proper words. the only thing leaving your lips were sobs as tears ran down your face.
it had felt so real, you thought as you curled yourself into a ball. you felt like you had actually died. alone in that forest as those bandits... no. you don't really want to think about it anymore.
"princess y/n?" mingi speaks again earning your attention as you look at him with tear-stained cheeks and glassy eyes.
"i... i had a nightmare," you said as you wiped away your tears. you hated yourself for crying in front of someone, mingi especially. "sorry."
"ah, its alright, princess. just gave me a scare is all," he says before he's bowing his head towards you and leaving.
when the door closed behind him, you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. your hands instinctively come up to your neck, feeling a slight ache course through your body. you try to push back the feeling as your stood you and made your way to your ensuite bathroom to get ready.
you remember when you first arrived how you had at least three handmaids to help you get ready, only helping you because they were afraid of san. however, once they realized san didn't care about you, they stopped doing their duty and showing up. only one continued to be loyal to you, yeri.
but then three months ago you found out that yeri only remained by your side because she wanted to try and get close to san. she knew she was a pretty woman and san went after any pretty woman. after she got what she wanted she too–
"princess y/n, what are you doing running your own bath?" the familiar feminine voice snaps you out of your thoughts. standing up from the the edge of the tub, you're surprised to see yeri standing at you bathroom door.
"what are you doing here?" you asked, a little surprised to suddenly see her in your room.
"hm? what are you talking about princess? i'm your handmaiden, i'm suppose to be here," she answers and something feels unease as seeing her settles in your stomach. something wasn't right.
you vividly remember the night you found san pinning her to the wall and her words that were meant to bring you down. "wouldn't you rather someone who could properly please you, your highness? someone much prettier than your ugly and boring wife?" you remember who she tilted her head to the side in a flirting manner, even twirling her hair as the word left her mouth a stabbed your heart.
you remember how san only smirked at her before continuing to have his way with her. right there in hallway and in the east wing – "your" wing.
you had thought she was a friend, but when you heard those words you immediately knew she wasn't. you trusted her and she betrayed that trust. she didn't care. she was like everyone else.
"here, princess, let me finish–
"stop talking," you cut her off, voice as cold as you could make it. you couldn't stand looking at her. "is this some sick and twisted joke to you?" you ask, glaring at her. yeri's face is immediately covered in confusion and she opens her mouth to say something. "get out. i don't need you to do anything for me."
"but princes–
"i said get out!" you've never raised your voice, but the longer you looked at her the more you realized that she was able to easily get what you could never have. san's attention.
you could have sworn you seen yeri's fake persona fall for a split second from your new attitude before she's turning on her feet and rushing out of the room.
you let your anger subdue before you're turning back to the tub and quickly turning off the water before it begins to overflow into the floor. because honestly that was the last thing you need right now after just waking up.
you allow the warm water engulf you and you let out a sigh as you sink into the water. your hair placed carefully on top of your head as a way to keep it dry, knowing it was going to be a pain to do if you got it wet. the ache and soreness in your body was still there all around you. your neck, wrist, arms, stomach, and legs all had a type of ache to them that you never experienced before.
maybe you should visit the palace doctor later, you think before you let your eyes close. however, once you close your eyes you are immediately brought back to your nightmare. the screams of the driver and other servants ringing in your ears, the carriage door ripping open and those bandits standing there and their swords shining despite the darkness of the night.
you suddenly open your eyes again in order to make sure you were still in your bathroom. eyes darting around the room as if those bandits would also be here. its only after several minutes does your heart rate calm down before you can even will yourself to get out the tub.
the water had grown cold.
"princess, are you alright? do you need to see the doctor?" one the maids ask when she notice you keep repeatedly rubbing your wrists and neck.
"i... i think i just slept wrong," you say in an attempt to brush her concern off.
"alright, princess, but if it gets worse please let someone know," she says and you nod and thank her before she's going back to her place with the other maids in the dining room.
"i heard she dismissed yeri this morning, yelled at her and told her to get out," one of the maid's said in a hushed whisper.
"really? that's surprising considering how much the princess liked her."
"i say yeri deserved it because of how she has been trying to sleep with the emperor."
trying? as if she hadn't done it yet? how is that possible when she did sleep with san three months ago?
the unsettling feeling reappears as you continue to think about yeri and the nightmare. something just wasn't clicking.
"excuse me," you say and one of the maids immediately come over to you.
"yes, your highness? what's wrong?"
"what... what month is it?"
"august, your highness."
"a-august?" your shocked by her answer. it was august? that was three months ago. how is this possible?
"p-princess are you alright? you look ill," her voice sounds far away as you begin to lose focus on the things around you. everything becomes blurry and you're quick to stand up. chair scraping along the floor before tipping over and falling to the floor.
you begin to walk away, ignoring the maids calling after you and even some of the guards, but you ignore them all. this was just some sick joke from all of them. from yeri, to mingi, to the maids, to san. you were supposed to be in october and spending a week with your family. not in fucking august with people who hated you.
you don't have time to comprehend anything else before your falling to your knees and passing out in the middle of the hallway.
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after you had passed out, you had woke up in your bedroom with mingi, yeosang, and the palace doctor surrounding your bed along with a young maid.
the maid was the first to notice you awake and she immediately collapsed at your bedside with tears welling up in her eyes.
"oh, princess, i'm so glad that you're awake! we were all worried sick about you!" she said and your eyes moved from between her to the two guards and then the doctor.
"how do you feel, your highness?" the doctor asked and it took you a moment before you actually answered him.
"i'm fine," you answer despite how your body still aches, you force yourself to sit up. the young maid is quick to adjust your pillows for you as you do.
"you all can leave," you add on looking at the guards and doctor. mingi and yeosang as hesitant to follow your orders, but the doctor does so before giving you instructions to take it easy for the rest of the day. he also said that he would make sure your meals are delivered to your room and that he'll come back later.
when the three males leave, you are left alone with the maid. her doe eyes looking at you with concern as she keeps a watchful eye on you. that's when her name finally comes to you.
"yunjin..." you say trailing off as you remember that she was with you in the carriage. you remember watching as the bandits grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the carriage because she tried to protect you.
"yes, ma'am? do you need anything?" she asks, voice hopeful and waiting to help you. you remember she began working for you when hongjoong – san's advisor, had found out that you had no one helping you. you know he only assigned yunjin because he took pity on you like everyone else here.
however, yunjin followed you around and listened to every order you gave her. at first you were worried that she would be like yeri, only using you to see the emperor. as if you see him on the daily. but then you learned that yunjin was a devoted servant to you.
"is it... really august?" you asked her, still not able to wrap your head around everything.
"yes, princess."
what if... oh god, what if you did actually die that night? does this mean you are given a second chance? a second chance to survive and to make sure that you and yunjin and the other servants don't die.
but how were you going to do this?
and then you hear loud cheers and noises coming from outside and you have to force your body to crawl out of bed and over to the window. then you see him.
san walking through the gates and into the courtyard, a small army of followers around him. following him around like he was some god. then it clicked inside your brain.
if you were going to survive then you would have to gain his favor. deep down you know san was probably the one behind the "bandit" attack. so getting on his good side would get him to call off the bandit attack.
you were going to win over your ruthless husband.
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mllemaenad · 8 months
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Listening to Wyll's backstory in context of all the details we're acquiring on devil's contracts and soul selling is fascinating.
See - I listened to Lann Tarv's three tales to get my soul coins. I felt bad for making Karlach listen to that, obviously, but to be honest I didn't even want the coins that much. I actually wanted the stories. I wanted a better understanding of how this works.
And what I'm learning is - for the gods (and godlike beings) of this world, cruelty seems to be the point. I mean - it's possible there's a god in this world I wouldn't want to stab to death with a rusty fork, but if so I have not met them yet.
These beings have the power to save people and places, to change lives, to do anything. And when someone asks them to - they demand a terrible price. But they don't just demand a price. They subvert the original request in such a way that they utterly fail to deliver on the original promise.
An abused woman wishes to be loved - and her true love appears, but dies instantly. A man wishes to save his children from starvation, and ends up personally growing masses of meat on his own body - not only painful for him, but forcing his children into survival cannibalism, which they were trying to avoid.
Auntie Ethel works the same way. Every one of her customers is left in a tortured state, while Ethel still takes her payment.
The idea is that the person must come to regret their wish long before the payment comes due. Every cry for help must be met with a boot to the face. Or else the mortals will get uppity? Or something.
What is interesting is how consciously Wyll defies that. And how much Mizora is dancing around, trying to force him into that state of miserable regret.
Wyll was manipulated into selling his soul. He was a kid, and he was summoned into a terrible situation - and in that moment, he could see no other way to save the city. Mizora did need to save Baldur's Gate to serve her boss's purposes, so she couldn't take that victory from him - but she did everything she could to take the joy of it.
He didn't get respect, or admiration, or his father's pride for saving the city. He lost his home and his family. He was assumed to have done something monstrous because he was denied an opportunity to defend himself.
That was supposed to fill him with bitterness and regret - but he got to work building his own life instead. By the time you run into him, the Blade of Frontiers is a hero of some renown. He's remade himself, and found a way to enjoy what his powers can do, however he came by them.
So that didn't work.
Then Mizora sent him after Karlach, and that was a mission tailored to break him. Karlach is kind and heroic herself, and that the start she has been sold into slavery, mutilated and forced to fight in a war against her will. If Wyll killed her, and then found out who she really was, then he betrayed everything the Blade of Frontiers is supposed to stand for - and he would lose the life he made for himself.
But he didn't, and that didn't work either. He's got a friend, now, who at least knows part of what he's dealing with.
So Mizora gave him demonic features. That would destroy the life he's made for himself, because no one would trust him to help them.
Except now Wyll basically goes nowhere on his own, and a small army of people can attest that he got those horns and eyes as punishment for being a good man. Mizora might be able to shut his mouth, but she can't silence his friends - and the group absolutely have shouting sessions about everything. Wyll's horns become a battle scar, like his missing eye, and nothing more.
And beyond that, if you are playing as a heroic character, a significant throughline in the game's story is the journey of the tiefling refugees. The story makes it clear that these people experience a constant barrage of racism, due to their appearance and "demonic" heritage. It also makes it abundantly clear that this prejudice is entirely undeserved - they're just people, with virtues and flaws like everyone else, and what is happening to them is terrible. So Wyll turns up to assist a bunch of people whom he now at least somewhat resembles - and with Karlach along, you have two people in the group who technically count as "infernal", but haven't got an evil bone in either of their bodies.
Mizora created solidarity. Oops.
Wyll is deeply suspicious of gods and higher powers. He doesn't want to make more deals with devils. When Elminster arrives to tell Gale what Mystra demands of him, he explicitly says he does not do religion. When you get Mizora to agree to let his contract expire in six months, he starts by casually invoking the gods - but switches to thanking the player character instead, because he knows who helped, and who did not.
But he utterly refuses to regret the pact he made. That can be a struggle. He clearly misses his dad, and would like that relationship repaired. The fact that he was transformed very much against his will is clearly a source of distress from him.
But if he regrets, then Mizora wins. That's it. Game over. She gets what she wanted all along. So he doesn't.
The main companion characters all have this kind of problem, and naturally have different ways of dealing with it. You have characters like Shadowheart and Lae'zel, who were indoctrinated as children, or Gale, who was literally seduced by one of these nightmare deities - and with them you have to start out by convincing them they they were the wronged party in the first place.
But Wyll knows exactly what game he's playing, and he's been screaming defiance the whole time. It's just that, in his case, the "defiance" is grinning and carrying on every time Mizora inflicts some more bullshit on him.
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hezuart · 9 months
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LN Channel Change AU Sequel: “Seven” {1} {2} {3} {here/final}
And they lived happily ever after. Or did they? We've established our main characters Mono (TV/space-time) and Six (Soul Sucking) have strange supernatural powers. I wanted Seven to have one too. (Hydrokinesis aka water bending)
Notes for how I came up with Seven's powers and the deeper meaning behind his interaction with Mono:
1. Each child has nightmare prophecies (something to do with Mono's time loop?)  at the beginning of their stories. Six's is the Lady, Mono's is the door that leads to the Thin Man, and Seven's is being pulled underwater. Six and Mono's nightmare visions are fulfilled at the end of their stories; revealing that the thing they dreamed about, they essentially become or usurp.  Seven's differs. His dream resolves in act 1 and he kills the Granny, the creature assumed to be the one pulling him underwater in his nightmare. But what if Seven's dream prophecy was still valid... even post-Granny? Being dragged underwater... for a different fate?
2. Seven is the only main cast character shown with the ability to swim. 3. "Seven Seas" anyone? Water is a symbol of purification & life, hence, Seven gains his new powers after he survived and Mono broke the timeline loop to start fresh. "Washing it away" so to say. 4. Water is a liquid; passive in nature, but powerful in circumstance. Seven is kind and sneaky but kills the Granny when continuously attacked and threatened by her. He does the same to the Octopus monster.
5. Water molecules have adhesion and cohesion, meaning water likes to stick to itself, and stick to other things. Seven has an attachment to Nomes. He is always drawn to other people and other creatures, wanting to help them. His belief is that survival chances are higher amidst a group. Water is also known for containing life, no matter how strange or deep, such as ocean fish that often travel in schools/packs often to confuse or fight off predators, thus, another reference to Seven's new life, and his teamwork with Nomes and Mono.
6. Seven is often in fandom depicted by a circle. A water droplet. 7. Seven collects flotsam; typically boat debris, but in this case, bottled messages that come from the sea. Yet another connection to water.
All this indicates heavy implication and well-fitting power to bestow hydrokinesis onto Seven. I was inspired by the INSIDE game's drowning chapter and Stanley and Stanford's secret boat hide-out on the beach from Gravity Falls. Which is why I have selected Mono, Seven, and all their future friends to a lovely and sunny (future) beach house, far away from everything they've suffered. And living near the largest body of water on the planet with a kid with hydrokinesis? ...Certainly has its perks!
But Seven gaining powers is important to not only their survival but also him. He was still nervous about Mono. He knew Mono was very powerful and mysterious. In more ways than one. Mono is stronger than him and can also use telekinesis on objects on the beach. He's a better food hunter and seems more like a leader. Seven also likes to lead, but he felt outshined by Mono. (I don't portray that well in my comic) Seven is weaker and defenseless. His only shining quality in comparison is his ability to swim, but even that can only get him so far. He risks his life for his Nome friends and loses his life doing so. Or so he thought. By a miracle, his powers over water awaken. He drains the monster of its water, beaching it. He walks to Mono in a new light. It's a new him. He holds up his hands as if to say "See? I'm like you now." He's leveled the playing field. (It also helps that he now has jurisdiction over power Mono cannot interact with) Now they are truly equal. Two kings; one of land, one of sea, both ruling the island in equal standing. Seven will never again feel like a burden left behind. (Seven's powers activating also has something to do with the fact he bit the Octopus creature to save the Nome. Mono and Six both consume their powerful prophesized enemies to gain some of their power, if they didn't already have some before. Seven biting into the Octopus's flesh and unknowingly consuming some of it may have jumpstarted his power deep within him, on top of him encountering Mono; supernatural kid extraordinaire that brought him through a tower wormhole to escape the city)
~~~
A threequel is planned, and maybe the last addition to this series, but the next one is not fully fleshed out yet so it may be another year until I can really touch upon it yet. Otherwise, hope you guys enjoyed!
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Whenever I remember that Tenya almost went full vigilante mode for Tensei I want to scream so bad like it's not even funny.
Bnha somersaults its way into saying "maybe heroes are just good citizens with the power to do good things" and "maybe heroism is not in the big notorious acts but in being kind and fair in the day to day details" AND THAT'S ALL TENSEI.
AND THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATES TENYA TO GO FULL BLOODHOUND ON STAIN.
I'm not denying that the world needs the big ass heroism acts like defeating AFO or saving a city or all those flashy notorious feats. All Might is very needed, because there are threats that are too old and developed and have accumulated too much hatred and damage over the years. You cannot always prevent those things from happening and to believe so would be naive, right?
What I'm saying is that those big events are the lowest percentage. They are the consequences of a systematic failure.
Take two of the biggest evil plots in the manga: AFO planning to still OFA and Overhaul with his quirk-erasure bullets. Both plans depended on an abused child being used as objects, Eri because her quirk was the base of the bullet working and Tomura because he was just meant to be AFO's new body in the future. In both cases, AFO and Overhaul were cornered after losing the child they were using for their plots. In fact it was the kids resisting the abuse that contributed the most to their failure: Eri prevented Overhaul from hurting Deku and Tomura prevented AFO from escaping his decaying body.
In that sense, the little unknown pro-heroes taking care of their neighborhood's children do a lot to prevent cases like Tomura or Eri from happening. Hell, AFO and Overhaul were also kids who went the violent route to survive.
Ingenium's silent heroism is probably the best example of what a hero looks like. They don't seek fame or glory. They regard heroism as their duty, their responsibility. No matter how little the act is, it's still important to do it.
At this point, we must admit the Tenya's crisis over what happened to Tensei is not only about their bond as brothers. Yeah, that was Tenya's big bro, but it is no less than when Deku and Bakugo saw All Might fighting AFO for the last time— the last moments of their role models.
The Iida brothers' crisis was deep rooted in the main issues of the story, so I'm still baffled at how people just tend to ignore it.
Before Stain, the "League of Villains" was just a minor threat. Dabi was a nobody with no real crimes to his name. Toga was just a lost little girl trying to survive the streets. Spinner didn't even think about being a villain. Before Stain, things were bad, but no one really thought they could change the status quo, you know?
The USJ incident was not the big deal because 1) how was attacking kids the answer? and 2) going for All Might was expected, since he was almost invincible and the biggest hero in the world and blah blah blah.
When Stain started attacking minor pro-heroes...
Stain was the opposite of Tomura. He admired All Might and saved those kids, but went after the pro-heroes with less powerful quirks. He gave the population a sense of control. It's like he said "hey, you don't have to go after All Might to change the system and why would you? The real problem are the ones on the lowest part of the pro-hero chain".
Suddenly, they could go against pro-heroes and win. Divide and conquer. Suddenly, there was a ladder to climb. Suddenly, you could target not the institutions responsible for the rotten ideology of your society, but the people who enforced the ideology with their daily work.
Stain defended his posture by saying that those people didn't want to be real heroes. They just wanted the money, the fame, they were not really committed to their duty.
And then attacked Tensei, of all people.
If big crimes are built from little crimes that are accumulated over time, what would happen if you decided to eliminate the people taking care of the little crimes?
The crisis of belief in pro-heroes was triggered by Stain. When Stain pointed out at Ingenium (the one in the suit was Tensei) and accused him of false heroism, it's when shit started to go south. He created the idea that pro-heroes should be punished if they don't perform correctly and that they deserve to die if they don't have pure ideas of their job— or whatever.
Tensei being the victim is supposed to show how hypocritical Stain is. Tensei is probably one of the only pro-heroes that never did anything wrong in the manga and one of the best family men to be presented. A man who was loved by everyone for being good in every sense of the word.
Stain projected his own fantasies on Tensei in order to accomplish his witch hunt, not truly caring to figure out who the person was. He just attacked for the sake of attacking, which explains why he was so popular: anyone could do the same and project their issues on him, fighting different battles disguised as just one cause.
When Tenya went after him, it could only make sense. The little of the Iidas is too righteous and noble, quick to judge and act, prone to making mistakes and getting carried away by the looks of it all. So easily his justice turns into revenge and he falls into the trap Stain set. Who knows what a hero student killing Stain would have caused...
At this point it's obvious I'm just ranting for the sake of ranting but 😭😭😭 give the Iidas the respect they deserve please.
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thydungeongal · 4 days
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Reminded of this ask and specifically the phrasing "narrative cruft."
Folks, I'm something of a fan of RPGs. I think RPGs are a pretty neat marriage of narrative and gameplay. I think the two are pretty neatly intertwined. If the fiction and mechanics of an RPG are in tune, I would hesitate to call the fiction "narrative cruft." It would do a huge disservice to the game.
So what is being called "narrative cruft" here? I can't say for sure but I believe the source of this ask was the recently resurfaced really smart post by yours truly where I talk about how trying to reframe the action of D&D (killing creatures and taking their stuff either as amoral tomb robbers or basically a posse of vigilantes under the blessing of those in power) as somehow aspirational may be a lost cause and how people would do a lot better to just accept the gameplay of D&D for what it is because the game itself will suffer for attempts to turn it into something it very much isn't.
Here's the thing though: D&D is very much a game about dungeons and also dragons. And I feel a lot of modern D&D players already reject that premise. Simply looking at what D&D, by its rules, says:
All characters will have to take part in some degree of resource management. At the very least they will have to track hit points throughout the day. Depending on edition and class they will have to take part in managing class-based resources. Even equipment is often consumable.
When it comes to resource management during the gameplay these games are the most opinionated about (combat and exploration) depletion of resources is very much the name of the game. You can, throughout the day, recover some resources, but often at the cost of another. Characters will generally not be gaining more resources throughout the day.
Looking at the types of creatures that are represented as adversaries in the game, most of them occupy the fictional space of "the dungeons," a type of nebulous mishmash of underground complexes, often implying some kind of underworld, or the wilderness.
I won't go further than that but these three things are actually pretty harmonious with the traditional gameplay of Town -> Wilderness -> Dungeon that is pretty much part of the game's DNA. Even D&D 5e is at its core still a dungeon game. It is very opinionated about things like "the adventuring day."
This is no coincidence. D&D is very much a resource management game, a "trying to survive in a hostile space while your resources get depleted" game. The interplay of having to make meaningful decisions between when to move out of the dungeon and back into civilization to rest and recuperate is an important part of the game. The game itself tells you this by asking the GM to take the shape of the adventuring day as a whole into account as a consideration in adventure design.
And there's a lot to criticize there: some people don't want to engage with that gameplay loop. Thankfully there are games other than D&D out there! Some people may see the gameplay loop as problematic. True, and I do think that the division of the world into effectively conflict zones and "civilization" is deeply ideological, but it's as txttletale said in that post of hers that my post was a reaction to: you can either take the media at its own word ("for the duration of Return of the King we are monarchists") or twist yourself into a pretzel shape trying to argue that the things that the text itself says about the world and game it is trying to get across aren't actually meaningful and no no the core gameplay of D&D is clearly about a plucky little found family just doing goodness.
Anyway, the way I personally reconcile is by not bringing moralism into it. At least in my opinion, "Amoral tomb robbers" and "sell-swords working for the highest bidder" are infinitely preferable to any of the ways that try to frame the action of D&D as somehow heroic, because now that there is no attempt to sell it as somehow aspirational we can actually have a discussion, during gameplay, about how the way of things in the fictional setting of the game are actually kinda fucked up.
Also if I wanted a queer take on dungeon fantasy I would play a game built with that as part of the text from the ground up, like Dungeon Bitches, and even Dungeon Bitches doesn't try to frame its dungeon-crawling disaster lesbians as somehow aspirational: they are fucked up women in a fucked up situation forced into a lifestyle that is violent and dangerous because they have chosen it over the comforts of a civilization that often doesn't treat women and especially queer women well.
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hastyprovocateur · 2 months
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Mizu, Akemi and Gender as a weapon
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Mizu's masculinity isn't something she dislikes or is seeking to be rid of. Even at her most feminine, Mizu is still androgynous. Not limited by gender performances, stereotypes and beliefs. It's all part of her. The doting lover, the skilled samurai, the knifemaker, the patron of arts. It just creates internal conflict when she's unable to connect to her femininity in a gendered society, knowing that her femininity will be seen as weakness. On the flipside, we know Mizu suppressed masculine parts of herself in her marriage with the expectation that they'll become a deal-breaker which also wasn't healthy. Mizu doesn't need the go-ahead to be traditionally feminine, she just needs space or a person/people who will allow her be herself without nitpicking parts of her. In that vein, I also wanna address how Akemi is also masculine in her own ways.
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Just because she doesn't wield a sword or has an androgynous bodytype, doesn't mean that Akemi isn't masculine (the social understanding of it). She is very much so in her own right. Seki, her tutor, keeps aligning her with her father claiming that they have the same conviction in their beliefs in which their roots are unshakeable. This lays out how traits of power seeking, ambition, stark independence and intelligence that her father prides himself on are discouraged in Akemi as she's a woman. She is politically informed, highly educated and sexually dominant. She is calculative, express in her expertise at Go, something she's been better than grown men at since she was 12. Seki tells her that beyond just surviving in her marital home, she is equipped to succeed, expand her territory, find people's vulnerabilities, capture and win. That she can learn to do anything she wants and be whoever she wants, even if the goal is to become the ruler of Japan. In that same episode, Mizu is parallel to Akemi where she seeks wisdom from Master Eiji to exact an artful revenge where he proceeds to tell her that he didn't train her to be a demon or a human but he showed her how to be an artist. That revenge, swords, pots, noodles are all the same to an artist. The goal is to learn to be good at something. Anything. Mizu's pursuit of revenge is as masculine as Akemi's pursuit of power. They are both capable of learning. Of being successful. They are both elements of their own destiny. Water. Fire.
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It doesn't matter what the means used are if the objective is one and the same. Akemi learnt this throughout season 1. That to evolve oneself guarantees success over only changing the scenario by running. Like Mizu, Akemi works with what she has. She is feminine presenting, enhanced through the princess finery, she can't fight but she uses her beauty, charm and wit to execute her plans and bend men to her will. Mizu attempted to maneuvere this same tactic after Mikio called her a monster, dolling up like on her wedding day to appease to his masculinity but it only pushed her towards the one thing she does best- wielding a sword to survive. Mizu knows how to fight, that is her agency, not a definitive of her gender. To fight and evolve is human, not select for a particular gender. Akemi also knows how to fight. She's trained in koto playing, singing, dancing, literature, poetry and the sutras. Her modus operandi is to weaken a man through his own hubris of thinking that she presents no threat. Which, as a personal opinion, I find a requires a tad more skill than cutting through flesh and bone. With Mizu, men brace for a fight, with Akemi, they don't even realise there was one in the first place. I posit that fighting is seen as more glorious than manipulation because it's a traditionally masculine way of dealing with things. Meanwhile, artful manipulation if rife with character bashing because femininity, according to some, should not not exist to take advantage only be taken advantage of, which again. Trash take. Needless to say, both Mizu and Akemi easily outclass the men who stand in their way.
Finit
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