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burninbriight · 10 months

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after reading the sun and the star my semi-dormant pjo obsession has risen and is infesting my brain side by side with bsd. so.

bsd percy jackson au: a series of self indulgent hcs

skk is the percabeth of the situation. iconic duo. unstoppable. EVERYBODY has heard about them. literal legends among the demigods baby

dazai is a child of athena, chuuya a child of ares

dazai's team beat chuuya's during capture the flag once and chuuya went aight bet. and kicked dazai's ass during the next capture the flag. his team still lost but at least he got an excuse to fight that annoying know-it-all bandaged and beautiful son of athena

the rest is history

the akutagawa sibilings are children of hades. goth mfs

now imagine them having the same storyline as the di angelo sibilings... now in this au you can see why akutagawa talks like he belongs to another age

gin would consider joining the hunters of artemis, but in the end they end up refusing to not leave their brother alone. plus, being immortal would mean seeing him and all of their loved ones die, and gin has had enough of her loved ones dying

if skk is percabeth, shinskk is solangelo

does atsushi fit the standards for a child of apollo? idk but i can't think of another godly parent for him so be it!

unlike will solace, healing is not atsushi's strongest task but he still spends a lot of time helping in the infirmary

and that's where he meets ryūnosuke

unlike solangelo the initial hostility is NOT one sided. ryū behaves like a bitch? atsushi gets bitchy right back.

cue to atsushi looking extremely pissed while bandaging ryū's arm and them muttering insults at each other

ryūnosuke swears he hates that fucking failed doctor and atsushi would almost believe him if it wasn't for the amount of times ryūnosuke has tried sacrificing himself to save him during their quests

also in this au rashomon is a hellhound like mrs. o'learly. she's a sweet doggo that devours space and souls

or she's one of ryū's cocoa puffs? (does this count as a tsats spoiler taken out of context?)

you know that one scene in tsats where nico kisses the back of will's neck and says "i'm proud of you"? now picture that as atsushi to ryūnosuke. yeah.

also atsushi has plague powers bc i say so

yosano is the real will here: overworked healers who feel extremely guilty for every patient that died under their watch to the point of considering themselves murderers

she runs that infirmary like it's the navy

she's also a hell of a fighter, both with bows and arrows and with her own fists

bff with ranpo, who's the oracle!

they gossip abt apollo (boyfail) and complain abt their respective fundamental but hella hard roles at chb

also besties w/ chuuya

also hear me out on kousano in this au... yosano falls helplessly in love with hunter of artemis!kouyou. kouyou tries to convince herself that she's not falling for that bossy and selfless and brave doctor because she has an oath to keep and she couldn't let love knock at her door again. so everytime the hunters come to chb kouyou keeps yosano company and it's all longing looks and painful yearning. yosano wishes she could convince the redhead to break the oath and stay.

but she won't. i <3 kousano angst

moving onto happier lesbians. gin loves wandering by themselves in the forest or by the lake. people know them as the demigod who just fucks off to take a stroll in the woods and disappear there for an indefinite amount of time

and that's how she meets an awkward, stubborn but lovely dryad: you guessed it, it's higuchi!

gin was having a bad day and kicked a tree because they were just so angry— anger turned to guilt when the tree fucking yelped

gin immediately apologized and higuchi asked them what was bothering them. gin never loved to talk, so they were very surprised by themselves when they started rambling about their problems to a dryad they just accidentally hurt

from that day gin began spending even more time in the forest

sometimes they bring higuchi to camp

it isn't unusual for dryads to wander around camp, but higuchi usually kept on her own before meeting gin

higuchi helps gin to open up about their emotions and lower their walls, gin helps higuchi to make friends and to value and love herself

chuuya's fatal flaw is loyalty, dazai's is pride, ryūnosuke's is holding grudges, atushi's is holding too tight onto the past, gin's is also loyalty, yosano's is guilt

tachihara is a child of hermes. parallels between two regretful traitors el oh el

except that luke fucking sucks while tachihara has my heart

OKAY NOW OPEN YOUR EARS. STORMBRINGER ENJOYERS RISE. RIMLAINE AS SILENA AND CLARISSE..... CAN YOU SEE WHAT IS SEE........

lucy is deffff a child of aphrodite but she's so lovely she doesn't even need to use charmspeak to get what she wants. whatever you say beloved princess

idk why but i can picture her throwing an hairbrush at an ancient titant like rachel... her and rachel are acc pretty similiar imo but i will not elaborate

poe is an athena kid! the biggest loser in cabin 6!

lucy and yosano tease him on his crush on ranpo

ranpo is there like damn. is this guy gonna confess or do i have to tell him we are going to date via prophecy

poe is a surprisingly good archer, the apollo kids are almost jealous

nikolai is an hecate kid. a little trickster. a silly magician. he will steal your nose but like in the literal sense and he might not give it back

his best friend is sigma from the aphrodite cabin. sigma cannot fucking stand him

nikolai is actually the reason why sigma has split colored hair. it used to be fully white but one day nikolai went heyyy girlie look at this new hair trick my sibiling taught me :] and sigma ended up actually loving the look? so they kept it

the dryads love sigma and he spends a lot of time with them. they braid flowers in each other's hair and chill

nikolai on the other hand somehow befriended the arpies

fyodor is a child of nemesis. edgelord

jouno is a child of hermes, the eldest in the cabin

half of the camp wants him, the other half wants him gone

teruko is a child of hebe, the goddess of youth!!!!

she's ones of the oldest campers along with jouno, but she prefers to keep her child form for unknown reasons

also i can see her joining the hunters tbh

that's it for now folks i hope someone appreciates my brainrot xoxo

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kiwinatorwaffles · 4 months

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I found This is About a Stuffed Bird bc of you and its one of my favorite fics ever. Do you by chance have more suggestions?

hermitcraft/mcyt fic recs? :0 let's go!!

i get a lot of my fic recs from other friends since i don't really go out and search on my own all too much for this fandom. but there are lots of great works out here! i will be listing out some of my favorites :3 mostly hc but a couple general mcyt ones that i think are an excellent read no matter what. all of the fics i'm listing will be genfic without ships!

also i just realized a lot of my bookmarks are grian-centric which is funny i guess because i am admittedly quite picky about content of my other favorites and grian just tends to have the most content in the fanbase. hope that'll be alright

(i hope some of my friends and mutuals don't mind me tagging them for their works)

hermitcraft longfics:

the last days of the free angel of carrows by @theminecraftbee - loved stuffed bird? here's another great longfic by second! this one is about joe and cleo in an urban fantasy mystery setting. again, second writes our beloved hermits into an captivating au!

leaping and hopping on a moonshadow by @lunarblazes - a fantasy au by luna my beloved! pearl suddenly gains magical powers and goes on a quest to find her long-lost friend grian who might know what's happening to her. she meets a lot of familiar faces along the way!

Recall by @redwinterroses - hey, i was the artist for this one! :D mumbo goes missing, so grian and scar search for him. they find that grumbot has been up to some... things along the way. the fic isn't finished but i think the chapters red put out is worth a read if you don't mind leaving off on a cliffhanger because it really is super interesting

dramaturgy by wormcity - a universe where gem and pearl join in a season 7 that was never finished. mumbo became the mayor, but the turf war went so very wrong afterwards. admittedly i have not finished reading this yet because ummm short on time xD but it's super interesting with a lot of layers of drama(turgy hahaha)!

hermitcraft short fics/oneshots:

for trying. by @autistic-evil-xisuma - a stuffed bird universe oneshot of x and xisuma during their lab days. great if you want to be sad over the doomed brothers again :D

the wheels on the bus by sparxwrites - a hilarious post-s8 oneshot about grian being a little shit towards the watchers. one of the first fics i've read from this fandom and i still love it

a body is an object by ruffboi - grian is a mimic, and pearl's arrival in s8 shakes him up. she hasn't seen him in a while and is quite upset to learn that the grian she knew died a long time ago. a great read for familial connections and conflict of friendships!

Goatman and the Rift by TheDepressedCanary - doc's eldritch powers start acting up when the rift appears. what shenanigans will ensue?

other mcyt fics/crossovers:

late at night, when the stars don't look quite right by @lunarblazes - an excellent empires s1 and hermitcraft crossover longfic, where grian lands into the server and is discovered by pearl! very great worldbuilding and relationships, i especially love the dynamic between gri and pearl and pearl and gem :D

every new discovery is just a reminder by amaranthinecanicular - grian begins pulling alternate versions of the hermits from the life series into the server. he does save a lot of them, but at what cost? it does end on a cliffhanger but this is genuinely one of the most captivating oneshots i've ever read... argghhh

The Fair and the Brave and the Good by @slashmagpie - an afterlife smp longfic centered around the shelby, scott, and sausage. i have never watched afterlife smp before in my LIFE and this is still one of my favorite pieces of literature ever. the characters and worldbuilding is impeccable and perfect if you like something dark with themes of hope and renewal.

Two Can Keep a Secret (If One of Them is Red) by anonymous secretmcblog - a 3L oneshot! ren suspects grian has stockholm syndrome with his pact to stay with scar, but his expectations are wrong. a truly excellent read and one of them first fics i've read! i still go back to reread it from time to time

dog at the door by fluffy_papaya & iamsolarflare - a longfic where doc and ren take a trip on a van on their way to s8. ren, however, is not quite himself, and doc has to learn to befriend the red king.

devil town is colder in the summertime by @bananasofthorns - a oneshot from a 100hsmp/life series d&d au! team BEST ventures into a cursed evil fucked up forest. uh oh.

Interview with the Aftermath by @ranchersrevenge (wanderlasts) - the last life contestants are invited for an interview. the responses vary greatly.

stars, smoke, and stolen car keys by wormcity - a 100hsmp modern au oneshot where grian, scar, and joel go on a hike. it doesn't go quite as they expected.

the beehive state by amaranthinecanicular - a dsmp oneshot after wilbur moves to utah. tommy visits him, and the two reconnect. i have to say i stopped following dsmp a long time ago but this fic made me BAWL. i don't even think you need to know any of the characters that well to really enjoy just how amazing the writing itself is

Can't Go Back (This Time) by @duckmumbo (musicaltvbooks) - soup group goes end raiding and accientally finds themselves in afterlife smp. nothing goes wrong, surely! also admittedly i havent finished reading this either but roy i swear i will. this is a great read nevertheless and the soup group dynamic is impeccable!

TommyInnit's unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death by eneliii - on the train of dsmp fics, this is the superhero au longfic that inspired my own hc superhero au, vdhau. it's a lot of funny shenanigans with tommy and his friends. the fic does take a dark turn at the end, but that can be skipped entirely (as said by eneli herself) if you just want the wholesome aspects.

if you don't mind a little self promo, here are some of my fics!

it takes two to play (the game of mutual secrecy) - the aforementioned hermitcraft hero au. this installment is centered around xisuma and evil x as brothers resolving their issues through hero work and solving the mystery of welsknight's disappearance :D there are other works that are set in the same universe if you're interested for more!

how to form the ultimate besties dynamic: an unreliable tutorial by hypnotizd - a oneshot! hypno is a warlock who goes treasure hunting under the sea. he meets a guardian who later becomes his unlikely friend.

smoke and mirrors, the hunt perseveres - grian's arrival in empires s2 unwittingly brings the watchers' suspicions with him. cue jimmy freaking out and a lot of shenanigans.

ballad of etho’s lab - my newest installment! a oneshot about etho's storied life as the redstone god.

i'm also currently working on the sequel to the game of mutual secrecy and a new (well not exactly new since i made concept art for it) au called private detective gem tasey! these will likely be released sometime late january or february. have fun with these fic recs! i haven't been reading as much lately but i hope ill be able to find more if anyone else asks in the future. cheers!

edit: the fics are out! here they are!

hiding in plain sight (the meaning of trust) - sequel to the hermitcraft hero au! it follows an escaped lab rat trying to acquaint themselves with human society while avoiding suspicion and making friends with familiar faces from tgms ;D

private detective gem tasey: a rotten mystery in london - a hermitcraft detective au where gem gets hired for a case that spirals completely into drama and politics!

#birdhouse inquiries #why am i hereagain tag #writing #hermitcraft #mcyt

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the-falcon-of-the-fall · 1 year

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So I was going back to my first playthrough where my Harry is primarily communist, and I was talking with Acele again where she brings up rich people in the east. Thinking it was communist, I chose, “"Let me guess, these rich people are not from around here..." and then I realized afterwards that was meant to be the fascist option and then died a bit on the inside.

But besides the shame of that, it made me realize in DE, they show how communism has similarities with fascism and also moralism. While I haven’t played primarily moralist or fascist Harry, but I was on the moralist political vision quest and have not played communist vision quest, I did read quite about fascism route and some parts of communism vision quest.

Communism and fascism are both on the far ends of the political spectrum that recognize there’s something wrong with the system, and blame a certain group of people for the problems of society, and sometimes, they both agree it’s the elites. They both have oppressive governments that purged the “undesirables” and believers who can also hold that view that there are people beneath them that should be oppressed (Measurehead and racist lorry driver for fascism and the deserter for communism). They both have a link with nostalgia, fascism in a violent way, best seen with some of the fascist dialogue options are ones aggressively degrading “the other”, and communism in a sad way for a lost chance of a greater humanity, best seen with the Deserter.

However, fascism has nothing of substance to it. It doesn’t solve any systemic problems, t’s just a jumble of anger, hatred for oneself and others, and nostalgia that paralyzes one to stop moving on. Harry gets no straight answer of the ideology from all the fascists he talks with, with the most unifying answer he gets is that he can’t go back to the past and dislike for modernity and/or “the other”. This hatred for “the other” is what unifies fascists in real life. Meanwhile for communism, there are solid, unifying tenets to it, the most unifying one is power for the working-class, but because it’s uncertain on how that would work, they have many different interpretations to it that it leads to inter-fighting. Having many different voices to work together to figure that out is what communism needs to succeed, and Harry can do that by encouraging the students to open up their club to more people.

While Harry can’t instantly build communism in the game, the game still shows there is hope for him to lay the the bricks of it. He can do that by helping the student club and engaging with them. It’s like moralism’s claim that incremental progress will eventually bring democracy to Revachol, however, their changes will amount to almost nothing because moralism is controlled by the interests of businesses and elites. While it is crushing for Harry to realize this, he still is laying a path for the working-class now and in the future, and the game shows that hope by letting the students’ house of cards still stand if he says at least 30 communist things. Communism may not be here now, but if people can talk about it and take small actions such as gathering together, it can one day be brought to fruition.

#disco elysium #harry du bois #spoilers #the deserter

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reginrokkr · 4 months

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𝐂𝐗𝐕𝐋. Following with the post series of breaking down a bit every AQ in which Dain appears, here is the first part of AQ: We Will Be Reunited. Given its length and more density in what I find interesting to comment, I'll be splitting this in two or three posts.

✦ For all the centuries Dain has been thwarting the Abyss Order's plans, he claims that he has never seen an inverted Statue of the Seven holding Abyssal power in its hands before, although he did have his suspicions on the matter.

✧ ◜There are no coincidence in the world. Everything is the fruit of seeds planted long ago. [...] Time is just waiting for those seeds to sprout. [...] The connection between the Abyss Mages and the Ruin Guards is by no means incidental. Rather, they are both branches that have grown out and up from the same roots below.◞

I think that these quotes are the first time he ever teases his connection to Irminsul as a Bough Keeper. But putting this aside, and as I discussed briefly in the previous post about AQ: Dainsleif, this cements even further that it is possible to know if something is preordained through Irminsul and make educated guesses of what may happen in the future, just as Fontaine's prophecy was actually carved in Irminsul a very long time ago. This, alongside the established power that Irminsul may or may not provide of foreseeing events to happen in the future solidifies even more that Dain's appearances aren't coincidental either and are product of either estimations of his own or direct clues of a time and place where something will happen.

✦ ◜Khaenri'ah was a nation without a god— not because it had a god that died or abandoned them, but because it never had a god to begin with. It was a powerful nation built purely by humans, an unprecedented flourishing and glorious civilization— it was the pride of humankind. [...] 500 years ago, the gods descended upon the world and brought desolation to Khaenri'ah. The "pride of humankind" was uprooted and crushed, like a weed removed from the garden of the gods...◞

It's interesting to revisit this explanation about Khaenri'ah after a significant amount of time without doing so. Mainly because I have read in the past countless of times people saying that Dain is biased in regards of Khaenri'ah and, while he, himself, admits to have his own opinions and is not above falling into subjectivity, this description is strangely objective. As someone who advocates for everyone being masters of their own fate and praises the heights people and creatures alike can reach without the aid of the gods and in view of the way humans were treated and "babied", what those who built Khaenri'ah did was praiseworthy. So much that it attracted even the gods' attention to mimic some of the things they did for themselves (Guizhong is a clear example of this, and so is Ei who created Kabukimono and later Raiden Shogun via the Art of Khemia confirmed in one of Wanderer's stories as a point of interest for Dottore to replicate himself). There isn't any moment that alludes to him pitying the Abyss Order too as I've read in many instances people saying. Overall, he says two things here that are entirely accurate:

Khaenri'ah's magnificence could be considered the peak of humankind for doing it themselves without gods and the gods destroyed the nation.

✧ ◜After the destruction of Khaenri'ah, these masterless "Field Tillers" went completely out of control. They wandered aimlessly over the centuries, gradually spreading to every corner of Teyvat. Perhaps resonating with the sorrow of other civilizations lost to time, they found their way to various ruins across the land, where they lie dormant.◞

It's interesting the thought that these automatons, as they began to be built with Abyssal energy as their sustenance, have some manner of sentience because of just that of echoes of the past that still surround these ancient civilizations. This wouldn't be far-fetched at all as Kazuha's quest shed light on the possibility that even a sword can gain some sentience and be possessed by the Abyssal darkness, but still have its own divided part untouched by its negativity.

◜Once you understand more, those details won't mean much. But no matter their past, all that remains of them now is the danger they pose... so destroy them all.◞

This quote here in conjunction with the moment of empathy Dain showed for these Ruin Guards is worth mentioning as well as it can be easily extrapolated to Abyss Order creatures (I'll touch more on this when I reach to AQ: Requiem of the Echoing Depths) and it feels like he had a hard time to come to terms with this, despite how much he can feel for the automatons and most likely Abyss Order creatures that were once humans, that he has to do what must be done nevertheless and that a tragic background doesn't erase the current situation of both automatons and Abyss Order members.

#◟༺✦༻◞ Events to be remembered in blue veins ┊Addendum.┊#it's also getting late #and I should go to sleep soon #tomorrow I have an exam #so I'll need to revise it before it's time #but I have no regrets of revisiting this scene by scene #and see everything he has to say #while putting it into context given the additional lore #we've been getting in later patches #I found a new pet peeve of mine #in regards of part of the fandom's take on Dain can you tell #specially regarding on their so-called “bias” towards Khaenri'ah #and extrapolating that to the Abyss Order #or whatever shenanigans that seem to be popular #like he serving the Abyss Twin or K.aeya #if he were to choose Khaenri'ah over Mondstadt #it should be an understatement by now but #we close our eyes in this house at those takes #they don't exist

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waddlebouncefloof · 2 years

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Leviathantale Mermay 2022 Day 18 & 19: Pearl, Trident

Summary: Blank’s proposal to Percy gets interrupted by a surprise adventure that reveals that there is a prophecy connected to the selkie mage.

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong in this trip has gone wrong.

Blank had no plans for their vacation with Percy to turn into an adventure. Now, Blank usually is down for an adventure that led to lost vessels, forgotten lore, and beautiful artifacts, but this year is different.

This year, Blank plans to propose to their datemate.

Blank always knew that Percy is the one for them. While they know that their overprotective Papa would’ve wanted them to wait until they turned fifty to officially tie the knot, they aren’t as patient. They wanted to reserve this year’s travels to focus solely on showering their perfect datemate with the most romantic gestures before popping the question. The location they’ve chosen for this venture is Greece.

It was supposed to be peaceful. They were supposed to swim with the dolphins and eat delicious food and take romantic walks down the beach as the sun set.

So why is Blank tangled in another adventure that involves long-dead Mages?!

Somehow, while they were out scuba-diving with Percy - which was hilarious because neither needed the equipment but wore them anyways for the experience - they came upon an underwater structure that immediately sucked them inside and separated them from their beloved, spitting them out into a labyrinth. Later, Blank finds out that the ancient structure was a trap intended to catch and keep Mages until they died a natural death.

Three other mer were sucked in with them during the chaos. Why? Blank guesses that they’re just collateral because there is no way that they are secret Mages.

Outer, Color, and Epic end up being cooperative and friendly despite their distressing circumstances. Blank is grateful for their help as they all traversed the seemingly magical traps and puzzles as they try to find a way out.

“Why would a Mage create something intended to hurt their own?!” Blank screams in frustration as they manage to translate the writing on the walls. “Core never mentioned anything about this!”

“Maybe your friend didn’t know?” Outer suggests. While gigantic in size, the Whale Shark mer is the gentlest of them all. His tail is a gorgeous collection of constellations amongst shades of blues and purples. “Not everyone knows everything, after all.”

“But Core is literally scattered across time and space!” Blank insists. “They’re the one who keeps sending me on quests that end up being connected to Ancient Mages!”

“Well, if they knew of this place, they would’ve been trapped here too,” Color points out logically. And….Blank has no argument to counter that. “Hey, I get that you’re stressed and having not-so-nice revelations about your predecessors, but I think it’ll do all of us some good if we just focused on finding a way to get out.”

When Blank looks at the colorful seafoam leaking from the Leopard Shark mer’s skull, their soul aches, reminded of Geno. The last time they saw him, he had been blissfully tending to Blank’s younger siblings. Blank wonders if they will never see him again.

Their mood only dips lower and lower when they swim deeper into the maze and learn more about Mages.

“A prophecy,” they translate, causing Color to scoff.

“Prophecies,” he repeats with some ruefulness. “They’re always so vague and self-fulfilling. Why go through all this work for something that might be misunderstood or would never come?”

Blank isn’t as doubtful. With a frown they continue to read aloud what their predecessor had feared. The Mage, a prophet with a Perseverance soul, wrote the reason why the structure was created and apologized to any future Mages who followed them for what they had to do.

“Including me, there will be seven of us,” the prophet wrote, “and the final one will have a power that could flood the entire world. They will be able to command all natural calamities and topple kingdoms. I shudder to even write any of this. It is safer, and even kinder, to make sure such a being is trapped and unable to do harm to the world.”

Blank knows how to count. They’ve seen mentions of other Mages. All of them plus Core and Blank makes seven, which makes Blank the youngest and the latest. The prophet makes them out to be some powerful being. Blank doesn’t feel powerful enough to bring storms or topple kingdoms. They can barely manage to wrangle their rowdy cousins on a good day.

“Oh hey brah, you dropped your weird oyster,” Epic suddenly speaks up, interrupting their musing. Blank freezes when they see a box in the goofy, Tiger Shark mer’s hands. It’s open, revealing a pearl ring nestled inside. Blank takes it back.

“Thank you,” they say gratefully, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost my courting gift to my datemate along with everything else that’s happening right now.”

“Oh.” Understanding fills everyone’s faces before it settles on sympathy. “A courting gift, huh? Gotta get back to ‘em then.”

Eventually, they do escape and Blank does propose to a crying Percy right when they’re reunited. Outer, Color, and Epic follow Blank and Percy home where they meet Blank’s family and are quickly snapped up to join Nightmare and Dream’s shiver…but that’s another story.

The most important part is what happened before all of that. After reading the prophecy, Blank and their companions came across a mural left behind by the prophet. The long-dead mage claimed that it was the vision that struck them and filled them with fear.

Upon seeing it, Blank laughed.

For in the mural were all of the Leviathans in their frightening, gigantic forms. There is Reaper, hooded and deadly. Ink and Error flank his sides, all ink and glitches and teeth. Dream shines brilliantly and curls around his twin, who wields his trident menacingly despite being the smallest of all of them. The rest of the mural was broken, but Blank could see edges of Blue and Golden from beings bigger than all of them.

They’re all reaching for something and only Nightmare manages to cradle whatever it was with the hand that was free of his weapon. It was a small, white seal.

“Command all natural calamities and topple kingdoms” indeed. Blank thinks that the younger them on the mural had higher priorities than making that come true. Like collecting shiny things and stealing chocolates for their beloved older brother.

——————————————————-

Prophet Mage: Oh my god a single being commanding the Leviathans. What power. What would they demand? What would they desire from these great beings?

Blank: Nyoomies! :D

#leviathantale #little selkie #mermay 2022 #blank #Percy #epic #color #outer

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justarandomnobody · 4 months

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NPC randomness in Curse of the Crimson Throne

[Some spoilers about the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path ahead]

The barbarian NPC that we befriended on a tavern when the goblin won a drinking contest against him at the start of the adventure and was our companion from time to time (read, when the quests were too hard for a party of three), Krauss, met Cinnabar, a Red Mantis assassin that was tasked with killing us, who we forgave (mainly because of my character's influence, who tried to make her stand for her own and claim her life as her own, instead of expecting her boss to come and kill her for failing to kill us).

After a drinking night, apparently they started dating (a weird flex on the argument, but since she thought her life was going to end and Krauss was still trying to adjust to his new body, because he died and we could only get somebody to cast reincarnate on him and was reborn as a half-elf, it was nice for them to have something in common and a renewed will to live ---for Cinnabar).

However, one of the things we found out was that her boss was in town and was going to try to kill her, so one of the goals we had when attacking the castle, besides bringing the queen to justice, was to stop the Red Mantis and free Cinnabar from them. But the Red Mantis, their boss Kayltanya among them, skipped town between our assaults (there were several, since we couldn't clear the castle in just one trip, which was to be expected). We thought that was enough. since it seemed they would leave Cinnabar alone for the time being.

The issue at hand was that we got access to a harrow deck which had some powerful effects on either us or some of our allies (it destroyed the marriage of the warrior, and killed me, for instance, but I was brought back thanks to the goblin attachment issues). And one of the effects was that a former enemy would came to me as an ally (to me, since I picked the card).

And this enemy was Kayltanya.

She had a change of heart, a complete change of heart, and wanted to help us defeat the queen, after she was contracted by her as her assassin. But since this change was genuine (magically produced, but genuine nevertheless), we accepted her and brought her to our lair, where she could explain herself to Cinnabar and assure her that she won't be in any danger from her again. And then, she met Krauss. And she liked the strong and well-built barbarian. And decided that she wanted a part in their relationship.

And they agreed.

So the barbarian is in a polycule with two former enemies of us... and they... seem to be happy about it right now, so they have that going for them, which is nice, I guess.

The point is, in a conversation that involved this meme:

(Krauss, will you teach us to make love?, we're Spanish speakers playing in Spanish)

I said to the group, "I don't know how we got to this :'v", and the rest went something like this: the GM, my wife: "me neither". The goblin: "That's my little Krauss, I raised him well". Me, to the GM: "how can you not know, if the whole thing was your idea?" GM: "Well, I rolled some dice", said picking a die and showing it to me, "and said, 'if it rolls under 30, they'll be in a polycule', and I rolled a 16". Me, thinking: "That makes sense, I guess". Me, realizing she picked the d20: "Wait a minute >:v"

And that's how the NPC got two evil girls as his girlfriends, while the goblin is in love with Vencarlo Orsini (who probably won't ever love her back :'v), the fighter lost his wife and child, because an Ifrit came to ask him to marry her and he said yes (it was that or to offend a court in the Fire Elemental Plane, and the Ifrit seemed to really want to marry him), and the (aroace) swashbuckler (me) has been parrying every pretender, while trying to remain sane.

#pathfinder #rpg #ttrpg #curse of the crimson throne #pathfinder adventure path #npc #oc

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malarki · 3 years

Text

Harry Potter FanFiction I greatly enjoy (it’s just tomarry and sevitus)

Fair warning, I’m not good at describing stuff, and most of these are not complete (yet) but if you have similar tastes as I do then you’ll definitely like these stories.

Meddling of a Mischief Maker - by Athy

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380535/chapters/12427268

I enjoy this fic because it shows a more human Voldemort with him still being an asshole as per usual. They do a good job of having Voldemort believably change into a not crazy murderous bastard haha. It also has Sirius interacting with Voldemort and for some reason I find those scenes hilarious in any fic I read.

“Harry's being a horcrux is a bit reworked here in this AU Story set during the summer after 5th year. A Mischief Maker intervenes in the Ministry during Voldemort and Dumbledore's duel, changing the course history. MorallyGrey!Dumbledore, Sirius, Restored Souls, HP/TR”

Draw Me After You (Let Us Run) - by ToAStranger @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327684/chapters/53334382

This story is a delight, it’s tone is very good and they do a great job of writing in the characters ‘voices’ for their pov’s. I especially like the posh way Voldemort talks and acts. This story is also hilarious on top of just being a very good slowburn, AND it has Sirius, which as you might have guessed, I love dearly. They also don’t bash any of the characters, and instead make them well rounded but flawed individuals, which I really appreciate.

“Harry Potter,” comes the soft, sibilant hiss of a voice he has heard in his dreams, in his nightmares, in his waking hours for years.

Slowly, carefully, Harry twists over and pushes up onto his hands and knees. He stays there, short breath fogging in front of his face, and his pursuer lets him. Harry has no doubt of that; he’s being allowed this respite. This small moment to catch his bearings, heart pounding in his ears, blood singing.

“It seems I have finally caught you.”

Consuming Shadows - by Child_OTKW @childotkw

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7040089/chapters/16011331

I’ve read two of childOTKW’s fics and both of them are fantastically written and attention grabbing stories. This one was the first one I read, and it has a very interesting take on lily Potter (one which I really enjoy) and the plot can leave you on the edge of your seat at times. The characterization is great, and the process of Harry and Tom getting to know each other is done very well.

“His attention skipped passed the students and moved to the politicians’ pavilion. His gaze locked with crimson, and he nearly faltered under the sheer hunger in those eyes.

It unnerved him how fixated the man was on his dirtied, exhausted figure.

But what troubled him more was the slight smirk he could make out on the man’s lips. It was almost pleased.

On the night of the attack, Lily managed to escape with her infant son, but at the cost of her husband’s life. Distraught and distrusting of her friends, she fled to France with Harry, to raise him away from the corruption in Britain and the rising influence of the Dark Lord. She trains him to the best of her abilities, shaping him into a dangerous, intelligent and powerful wizard.

But when Britain re-establishes the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry is forced to return to his once-home, he finds himself questioning whether he really wants to kill the Dark Lord. Voldemort finds an unexpected challenge in the child, and as his intrigue and amusement grows, so too does the desire to possess the spark in those defiant green eyes.”

A story that is kind of similar but not really: The Train to Nowhere

You Belong To Me (I Belong To You) - by child_OTKW

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11270490/chapters/25203408

This is a story inspired by the manwha ‘At The End Of The Road’ by Haribo. A comic I read before reading this, which is very good I recommend it. They do not take the exact plot from the comic though, obviously changing significant details for it to work properly as a Tomarry Fic, but one main thing stays the same, which is that this is a body swap. Honestly I really enjoy childOTKW’s works, and this is no exception. The characterization is wonderful as always, and Harry is Fantastic. Plus I’ve always been a fan of time travel fics. (Fair warning this is another slow burn and Harry centric)

“What I find absolutely fascinating,” Riddle said, stalking closer, “is you.” He marched forward, backing Harry up until he was pinned to the cool wall of the common room. “Do you know why?”

“No. And I’ll be honest here, Riddle, I don’t particularly care.”

The taller boy grinned at him, small yet infinitely pleased. “That. Right there.” One hand rose and brushed some of Harry’s fringe from his face. “Nathan Ciro was a spineless little boy too afraid of his own shadow to dare even glance in my direction. But you…”

He leaned closer, “You look at me like you want to stab me.”

“After an accident, Auror Harry Potter wakes up in the body of fourteen year old Nathan Ciro, a tormented Slytherin who recently tried to end his own life. Seeking answers to his strange predicament, Harry returns to Hogwarts, and causes quite the stir through staff and students - especially when they come to realise he is not the same boy as before.

He tries to avoid suspicion, but as his quest for the truth draws more and more attention to him, Harry begins to think that he might not like what he will discover.”

Some Bonus AU tomarry

A Thousand Paths Among The Stars - by Haplessshippo @haplesshippo

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12015060/chapters/27191238

This is a star trek au and it’s honestly my favorite tomarry au fic. Granted, I am a huge sci-fi fan. There’s also a bit of a twist at the end, or at least it surprised me, due to the way we usually expect tomarry plots to go.

“Harry Potter, newly appointed Captain of the Marauder and son of the famous Captain James Potter, was falling apart at the seams. His crew didn’t respect him, he was lost in the empty expanse of space, nightmares plagued his sleep, and his Commander deserved the Captain position more than he did. Good thing multiple attempts on his life and a vicious warlord after his head was all it took to turn it all around.

Alternatively, that space fic in which Harry Potter almost dies too many times, Tom Riddle slowly becomes the most smitten fool on the ship, and the rest of the crew are all just a bunch of assholes with popcorn watching the show. And exploding ships, don't forget the exploding ships.”

The Matchmaker - by TanninTele

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16507676/chapters/38664089

I am ALSO a huge true crime fan, and this story has a criminal that kinda reminds me of one that might appear in Hannibal (but with less murder). I enjoy the characterization, though tom is pretty tame in this compared to more cannon fics, considering he’s not the criminal and instead an investigator. Harry is also different from how people usually portray him, but I still like it.

“'The Matchmaker' is a serial abductor whose modus operandi consists of pairing two same-sex individuals together in a coffin, six feet underground - buried alive. He isn't a killer. He's a kidnapper with morals, and Detective Chief Inspector Tom Riddle finds himself obsessed with solving the case.

Unfortunately for Tom, the Matchmaker is just as intent on knowing him.”

And on to the Sevitus Stories

Far Beyond A Promise Kept - by oliversnape

https://archiveofourown.org/works/547431/chapters/974693

A classic, Harry stays with snape and unintentionally proves all his assumptions wrong and makes snape care about him. Both the stories have this aspect, but this one has snape a bit nicer from the get go. Probably because it takes place during the third book, so they’ve only known each other two years. It’s quite wholesome though, and I rather enjoy the progression of their relationship.

“Snape never wanted anyone to know of his promise to Dumbledore, but has realised that he can protect Potter much better by taking a less passive role in the boy's training. Actually liking Harry Potter has never been part of his plan. mentor/guardian.”

Crime And Punishment - by melolcatsi

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24102232/chapters/58018174

Snape and Harry have way more of a rocky start in this one, and Snape having to pick Harry up from the police station Really Doesn’t Help Snape’s opinion of him. This story very realistically shows the progression of their relationship, going from enemies to family, and near the ‘end’ (it’s not finished) it becomes very wholesome with Snape trying to help Harry with his mental and physical health after years of abuse/ neglect.

“Harry is accused of burglary. The Dursleys leave him to rot. Dumbledore sends Snape to remedy the situation. Harry finds himself in the care of an irate Snape. Not slash, gen-fic w/ focus on Sevitus relationship. Angst galore. Warnings: coarse and suggestive language, mentions of abuse/neglect. Un-betaed and un-Britpicked.”

#tomarry #tom riddle #harry potter #sevitus #severus snape #fanfic #fanfic reccomendation #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #archive of our own #tom riddle x harry potter

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labarch · 3 years

Text

Attempt at a Witch Hat Atelier timeline

We are still missing a lot of backstory for our main cast, but I thought I’d try and write a timeline based on what we know so far, and explore where their storylines might intersect.

I am pulling these numbers out of my hat for convenience sake, but here are some approximate ages for the characters: at the start of the manga, let’s say Coco, Tetia and Agott are all 12, Riche is 11, and Qifrey and Olruggio are 28.

20-23 years ago: Olruggio leaves his birth town Godley and moves to the Great Hall, maybe as young as 5 years old.

While many witches are born in the Great Hall, Olruggio comes from a town called Godley in the North. Yet he doesn’t remember Utowin, who came from the same place. We know that young witches usually start their training between the age of 7 and 10, but since witch society is awfully elitist, Olruggio would have been sent there as soon as his talent for magic became apparent.

Being ripped from his home at an extremely young age could explain his fear of being unwanted and left behind: he overworks himself as a way to feel useful and validated, is defensive about his own feelings, and he gets agitated and sometimes aggressive whenever Qifrey hides things from him.

20 years ago: arrival of Qifrey at the Great Hall at age 8. Olruggio befriends him soon afterwards. The both of them start sneaking out at night to chase Brimhats.

8 year old Qifrey was one fierce little thing, you have to give him that. His abuse at the hands of the Brimhats was brutal enough to break a grown man, but he picks himself up and goes right after them like “Alright jerks, you’ve got some explaining to do and I want my eyeball back!”.

Also it cracks me up that Olruggio was carrying this massive book in their flashback. Gotta love that his reaction to Qifrey’s “Let’s go chase some terrorists!” was “Sure, let me just pack my homework =>”.

Finally, there might be a slightly more selfish motivation for Olruggio’s fast friendship and devotion to Qifrey. Olruggio’s self-esteem lies in his ability to help people, so he would naturally be drawn to someone helpless. It’s unclear how much of Qifrey’s memory was missing: apparently he didn’t know about birthdays. How many other basic concepts was he missing? Did he know how to read? Between that, his lack of knowledge about magic and his injury, he was probably completely dependent on Olruggio at the beginning. Given Olruggio’s wish that they go back to “the good old times” when they were always together, I am wondering whether some hidden part of him misses being essential to someone. It’s well-intentioned, but not entirely healthy, especially if he is using Qifrey as a coping mechanism for his own insecurities.

14 years ago: Olruggio and Qifrey make a pledge of (betrothal) friendship, exchange tassels and attempt the Librarian test at age 14. It is their last adventure together, but Qifrey will continue his investigations on his own, to Olruggio’s disappointment and betrayal. Qifrey starts wearing his half-tinted glasses.

In the pledge flashback, they are wearing their old tassels, but they have swapped them by the time they undertake the third test. Also, when he remembers that pledge, Olruggio says that Qifrey’s investigation “should have ended at the Tower of Books”. The tower is the last likely place where Qifrey could have found answers about his past and a non-forbidden way of getting his eye back. Olruggio probably made him promise that he would stop his search afterwards.

Beldaruit says that he thought Qifrey had given up on his search after the third test, but Olruggio tells a slightly different story. Apparently he thought Qifrey “finally stopped causing trouble” after taking in apprentices, which means he was still behaving suspiciously right up until he became a teacher. Alaira also comments on Qifrey’s interest in the Brimhats in the first volume, so clearly his investigations were common knowledge among his friends, even as an adult.

Olruggio’s anger whenever the Brimhats are mentioned would then be caused not just by his own fear of forbidden magic, but by the reminder that Qifrey broke his promise to him, and refused to leave his past behind. Naturally, Olruggio doesn’t know about Qifrey’s change in circumstances: he is no longer looking to retrieve what he lost, but trying to stop an impending threat.

Qifrey’s discoveries in the Tower of Books also seem to have renewed his disgust towards his own scar: he starts wearing glasses shortly afterwards, even though his eyesight hasn’t yet started deteriorating.

14-5 years ago: in that interval, Coco’s father dies of illness. Olruggio becomes more and more famous for his magical items, and is given the title “Shining Torch” / “Master of Lights”. His glowstone paths become widely popular, and are installed around the castle near Coco’s mom. Both Qifrey and Olruggio pass the fourth test and complete their training.

At this stage, I really doubt that Qifrey intended to become a teacher. Whatever information he found at the Tower of Books convinced him he had to stop the Brimhats’ plan. He was probably planning to complete his training and then go straight on to his quest, not really expecting to return alive.

There are also hints that this was a strained period for Qifrey and Olruggio: Olruggio mentions that he would like them to confide in each other “just like old times”, which implies that they grew more distant after the Librarian test. I’m suspecting that Qifrey was trying to slowly remove himself from Olruggio’s life, hoping Olruggio would be so famous and beloved by the time they graduated that he would forget about Qifrey and barely notice his disappearance. Qifrey’s self-esteem isn’t the best y’all.

5 years ago: Coco receives the magic picture book from Iguin at age 7 at the Silver Night Festival. The Brimhats stop showing signs of activity. Qifrey takes on his first apprentice (probably Tetia, age 7). He interrupts his investigation of the Brimhats and creates the atelier. Olruggio becomes his Watchful Eye.

We don’t know exactly how old Coco was when she got her book, but her tiny chubby face makes me think she was 6-7. Alaira also tells us in the first volume that the incident with Coco’s mother is the first sign of Brimhat activity in five years. I am thinking that after Iguin gave away the book, he instructed the other Brimhats to keep a low profile until his scheme could hatch.

I also wonder whether Coco getting her book might coincide with Qifrey becoming a teacher and creating his atelier. Given that Qifrey is probably tied to Iguin’s schemes, how coincidental is it that Qifrey wandered into Coco’s village and set her fate in motion? Perhaps Iguin contrived for them to live in the same area so that they would meet eventually. Either he somehow influenced Qifrey’s choice of location for his atelier, or he selected Coco as his “child of hope” because of her relative proximity as well as her love for magic.

7 years old is when we could expect Tetia to have passed the first test. For now we know little about her backstory, but we can guess a few things: she is enthusiastic and ambitious, but gets easily side-tracked by pet projects and struggles to stick to the curriculum. She craves positive feedback and is worried her spells and interests will be condemned as frivolous. It makes me think that she passed her first test early, but was then mistreated by her first teachers for being too childish.

We’ve seen that Qifrey has a compulsive tendency to adopt children in distress. It would fit his character if he became a teacher on impulse. Maybe he had to pass the fifth test in a rush to be allowed to keep Tetia by his side. This also brought Olruggio back into his life, as he was the only one willing to follow him away from the atelier as Watchful Eye.

The complicity between Tetia and Qifrey, and Tetia taking on the role of a big sister for both Riche and Coco, also make me think she was Qifrey’s first apprentice. Tetia is often shown teasing Qifrey, quoting both Qifrey and Olruggio, and imitating Qifrey’s teaching style: I can totally see them as a little family of three at some point in the past.

4 years ago: Riche starts training under her brother’s master, a creepy asshole, at age 7.

We actually have a clear timestamp for that one in chapter 25, woohoo! Riche’s old teacher can eat a brick.

3-2 years ago: Qifrey and Olruggio learn about Riche’s mistreatment in her old atelier and promptly adopt her. Beldaruit takes on Ririfin as an apprentice. Qifrey’s eyesight starts deteriorating. He adds the light protection glyph to his glasses.

Before that time, Qifrey might have intended to put his quest on hold until after Tetia’s graduation, but now his impending blindness puts him on a time limit. He can’t do a lot about it however, since the Brimhats have been keeping a low profile for years and are not leaving him any clue.

It’s unclear how long Riche stayed at her old atelier, and whether she joined Qifrey before or after Agott. I’m hoping she made it out as soon as possible.

2 years ago: Agott passes the first test at age 10. She gets accused of stealing someone else’s spell, is rejected from her prestigious family’s apprenticeship, and joins Qifrey’s atelier.

Agott has been treated harshly by her family for not being enough of a genius. She mentions passing the first test at 10, the upper end of the normal age range. She was probably given a hard time for starting her apprenticeship so “late”, which explains why she is now adamant about passing the other tests as quickly as possible.

I wonder whether she felt ambivalent about joining Qifrey’s atelier at first. On the one hand, Qifrey was taught by the Sage of Education himself and is clearly very powerful. On the other hand, he has only a couple students and lives in a weird little school in the middle of nowhere, a big fall from grace compared to her prestigious upbringing. I wonder whether Qifrey went to find her after he heard she was the object of nasty rumours (he knows a thing or two about those), and Agott didn’t feel like she had other options.

0 year ago: Coco and Qifrey meet. Iguin goes “F***ing finally, I thought I’d have to watch that humdrum one-eyed twink bake potatoes for another five years. It’s dragon-slaying time now baby!!!”

#witch hat atelier #witch hat meta #qifrey #olruggio #tbna #coco #riche #agott #everyone has a horrible time at the Great Hall: a wha timeline #Olruggio the wonder child arriving at the Great Hall at age 5 wrapped in an anxiety blanket and clinging to a plush toy #protect him #no mention of treefrey this time what are the odds

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sniper-childe · 3 years

Text

Hello! I’d like to share some of my notes if I were to Beta-read the most recent Archon Quest. I will be going through what worked, what could be taken out, and what could’ve been better. Note that I’m looking at this through an editor’s lens so I’m going to try NOT to change the plot we were given no matter what my opinions are about it BUT some of the said opinions may slip out.

Also, a bit of a disclaimer: I know that Genshin isn’t an actual literary work but miHoYo is known for its writers’ great storytelling and I’ve always loved their work so it really came as a surprise as to what happened to the mess that is Inazuma Act 3. So yeah.

Contains:

1. What was foreshadowed about the characters and why the payoff of their portrayals felt cheap.

a. About Kokomi and the rebellion.

b. About the Fatui, the James Bond villain wannabe.

c. About Ei and the Raiden Shogun.

2. How Chapter 2, Act 3 could have been the turning point that would have us, as the Traveler, cement our perceptions of the Archons and Gods of Celestia OR what I think the death of Signora was supposed to be but was undermined by this one tidbit.

BONUS: I wrote this before Kokomi’s story quest was released but decided to wait for it before posting. And guess what? I think Kokomi’s Story Quest works better as an Archon Quest. At least, some parts of it.

miHoYo teased us this intelligent leader of the resistance that is well-versed in the Art of War. The end of Ch2: Act 2 showed us a powerful Kokomi. So why was she sidelined all throughout the act?

I actually like the idea of the resistance asking the Fatui for aid. But miHoYo chickened out and made it so that they did it unknowingly. To which I say: how? If Kokomi was so smart she should’ve known better. I figured it was the Fatui within a single sentence, so why didn’t Kokomi?

They should’ve stuck with the concept of the underdogs – or in Kokomi’s words, the little fish – of war in an act of desperation. They could’ve shown a calculated Kokomi “making a deal with the devil” and will do anything to win the fight against the Shogunate.

In her Character Teaser, she was willing to burn the enemies’ supplies – to starve the enemy. She can be ruthless, that’s why Kokomi actively giving Delusions to her foot soldiers would have made much more sense to cause the Fatui to be involved rather than the whole “the Fatui orchestrated everything” schtick.

Which brings me to my next point: when did the Fatui turn into a James Bond villain? I hate that trope so much. It’s like the Deus Ex Machina of villainy. It’s lazy. And it doesn’t even fit the Fatui’s modus operandi.

In the prologue, the Abyss Order corrupted Dvalin and the Fatui was just there waiting to steal Barbatos’ gnosis while the Knights are distracted. Morax decided to retire one day so the Fatui swept right in and offered a test of Liyue in exchange for his gnosis.

The last two locations had their own story to tell while the Fatui was just in the background like the opportunistic antagonist that they are.

It also would have been a stronger plotline to have the already set lore – like the tenuous relationship between Watatsumi and Narukami – be the driving force of the Inazuman Civil War.

The prologue and chapter 1 also delivered what we are told we’re going to get in the Story Preview. That’s why they are satisfying. However, with chapter 2, the way it ended turned out to be more about the Fatui rather than “what do mortals see of the eternity chased after by their god.”

Sure, we got the consequences of the war in the World Quests and some of it in the second act. But making the Fatui the Big Bad in the end takes value away from the actions of the characters that are supposed to be the main feature of this chapter.

How much of the Eternity the Raiden Shogun is pursuing is directly from Ei? How much of it is its own understanding of eternity, coupled with Ei’s memories, and its own response? How much of it is the Fatui’s influence?

I have to say though, I’m fine with the puppet actually. Believe it or not. I have had kinda figured that out with the weird shifting of emotions in and out of the puppet. And the dead glowing eyes. So kudos to the design and animation team for that foreshadowing.

It was also said that the current Electro Archon lost someone dear to her and, while I didn’t think it was a twin, I did figure that the current Electro Archon wasn’t the real Electro Archon. So the whole Baal and Beelzebul backstory didn’t really surprise me. So I guess that was foreshadowed too? But my friends didn’t feel the same way so I don’t know. I’m not touching that.

But I do agree that all of the new lore got info-dumped to us by Yae rather than have us find out about them. To be honest, I would have wanted the backstory of Ei to be in her story quest rather than it be in the Archon Quest. A World Quest could work too.

I just feel like the 2.1 Archon Quest ended up cramming so many themes and subplots when it should’ve been focusing on what was promised: the darkness that is brought by their god.

They already had set up the Visions are people’s motivations/ambitions and that taking them away also takes away their agency.

Then they could’ve played with the idea of the people of Watatsumi looking up to Kokomi as their pseudo-god in-place of Orobashi and so with her actively giving Delusions could fit well in the said theme.

They could’ve made Ei and Kokomi character foils of each other and have the final showdown be about them.

And then it’ll all, of course, end up with the people of Inazuma learning how to work without their “gods” or something like that, which is the overarching theme of the whole series if you think about it.

But as I said, my opinions about the plot shouldn’t matter and I’m only here to make what was already written better.

So let’s talk about something that the puppet has done which didn’t make any sense on the surface level but could’ve been clever if it was done right. Killing La Signora.

Okay. So there is a pivotal moment at the end of the first arc of a three-act story where the main character experiences something that will leave them no choice but to move forward. This usually is a physical thing like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. But it can also be a mental or emotional situation.

Over at Honkai, the first arc ended with the death of a beloved mentor and a shattered world (both external and internal). The characters had no choice but to step up and “to stay alive, bravely” (yes, I won’t stop using this line ever). It was so very well done and even after so many years it still hurt no matter how many times you reread/rewatch the scene.

This reread value is what shows how much a twist is well written.

And that is what miHoYo is known for. So I had high expectations with the plot twist (technically this pivotal moment is called a plot twist because it twists the feel and/or pace of the story). Chapter 2 is the perfect spot to end the first act of a seven-chaptered story. So I’m really preparing myself for the inevitable twist.

But then we ended up with Signora’s death.

Okay. So. They could have used that to show us, as the traveler, how Archons and Celestial beings are unfeeling and not to be trusted. We were told this repeatedly by Dainsleiff and by the Abyss Twin. But it is only textbook writing 101 to show NOT tell.

And Signora’s death could have been this portrayal. Although, to be honest, it would have been more impactful if the one who died is a friend of the Traveler.

Them seeing someone die at the hands of an Archon could have their idea of gods shift. Because there is no turning back once you see the proof right in front of your eyes.

But instead, the puppet did it. So what was the point of Signora’s death if not just a power demonstration? We already knew that the Raiden Shogun is powerful. So why did Signora have to die?

Sure, one can argue that the puppet was enacting the Ei’s will so maybe there was a point. But! In Ei’s story quest, we were told that the puppet would have no hesitation when it comes to killing whereas Ei can show mercy.

Which begs, again, the question: how much of the Raiden Shogun’s actions is a reflection of Ei’s will, and how much of it is a logic response of an artificial intelligence from Ei’s memories?

Honestly? I don’t like that they killed off Signora. It doesn’t feel right. I would’ve taken Beidou’s death over Signora’s no matter how much I love Beidou. There was just no build-up to it and it feels weak. I… didn’t feel anything besides confusion. The anger only came later because of the wasted potential.

But overall, I do think they could’ve made it work if it were actually Ei doing the killing.

So I just did Kokomi’s Story Quest and man. The soldiers wanting to continue the war is what they really should have made the motivations of the actual war rather than have it as a post-war response and then have Kokomi fix their mess.

Seriously. While it was really interesting to see the usual trauma response of soldiers who had only known war their whole life, they wasted this idea, man.

Before doing the Archon Quest I had thought that the Watatsumi had a hand on the Vision Hunt Decree. Because if I were a tactician, I would have made something to anger the people of my enemies and have them have their internal issues. And while the Shogunate is weak, that’s when I will strike and claim Inazuma for my people and my god.

Then Orobashi will rise once more.

Yep.

Obviously, I really wanted Kokomi to be a more active character in the Archon Quest.

Anyways. If you reached the end, thank you for reading this ~1.5k words of musings. Tell me what you think. Or don’t. You do you.

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attllhak · 3 years

Text

Flora’s Musings

So, here’s the WingAU fic I mentioned. It’s the first one I wrote and features the fun trope of “The Unreliable Narrator That Is History”, which I had a lot of fun with.

I, don’t have a tag list for this AU at this point. So, this part is just my preamble I guess. So, preamble over, here’s the fic.

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

Zelda ran her fingertips between her shoulder blades. She tried not to think about what wasn’t there.

Her wings would come in, she hoped, no she knew they would. They had to. As the princess fated to stop Calamity Ganon it was her duty to unlock her sealing powers, face him, and earn her wings.

It was why she was down here now, in the hidden and secret library they’d excavated. No one cared about this area of the castle, but Zelda loved it there. It was so full of knowledge, and there were records about the Queens and Princesses of the past, ones who had wings themselves.

It was certainly a good excuse to hide down there and do research.

There weren’t many documents on the founders of Hyrule, but she’d translated a few of the ancient texts and had learned much. Apparently her powers came from the fact she was descended from Hylia herself! There were exactly three paintings of her down there, and all of them were old and weathered. Two, one of her alone and one next to her husband, the first King of Hyrule, who was holding the Master Sword, his own wings giving him away as the first of Link’s incarnations, were so old almost all of the colour was gone. The last one, however, had been tucked into a book and, protected from the elements, retained some of its colour.

The goddess reborn had gold wings, bright and shining and as beautiful as everyone expected them to be. Her Hero, however, had red wings, a bright crimson with soft gold flight feathers. What was more, this painting seemed to depict them in their downtime, the goddess still dressed up and all, but leaning over the edge of her throne. Her Hero sat on the dias and leaned against the throne, and was messing with something in his hands that the goddess seemed to be watching, though age obscured what it was. It was entirely unprofessional and sweet, and it made Zelda happy. It made them seem less like untouchable figures of pure good and more like real people. She liked that they were people too.

There was only one picture of the next Queen, and it was so old and weathered that Zelda was scared to touch it lest it crumble into dust. This queen had smaller wings, though Zelda couldn’t tell what colour they were supposed to be. Her Hero was there too, and he had four wings, and Zelda couldn’t be sure but it almost seemed like each wing was a different colour. She couldn’t find any other record of these two, and so she’d taken a picture of the image on the Sheikah Slate to preserve it. This painting was important.

One of the Queens came from the point in history called the Split, a strange period of several thousand years where very different events happened at the same time. They had, through the records in the castle libraries and the temples across Hyrule, figured out this Queen had lived three different recorded lives. Regardless, she always looked the same, or similar at least, in all of her lives. She was a warrior, and her wings, indigo and white and flecked with gold, were always held in a way that showed pride.

Her Hero wasn’t always with her, in two of her lifetimes she ruled alone. In one of them, her Hero had died trying to fight Ganon, and was buried with wings wrapped about him, as was traditional for Heroes and their Queens. The Queen had been Princess then, the books say, and was only 17. I made Zelda uneasy, Link had turned 17 just a few months ago, and her 17th birthday was fast approaching. To think the Hero of Time could die at 17 made her worried for her own Hero. The next of the two he just, wasn’t there. There was no record of the Hero after he defeated Ganon, he just vanished without a trace. Zelda still wanted to know why. The last life gave the most information on the Hero, but he wasn’t listed as a Hero at all. There was no fight in this life, just peace and a failed arrest. As far as historians could tell, this was the most accurate life of hers, but Zelda wasn’t so sure. After all, she and the head of her Royal Guard both had wings. Something had to have happened. These were the only records of the Hero of Time where his wings were visible. A beautiful metallic copper, with darker bronze flight feathers. He seemed to keep them close to his body, like he didn’t want anyone to pay attention to him or them. He apparently married a farm girl in this life.

There were different heirs in each of these lives. For the first life the Queen was a fighter, one with all kinds of magic at her fingertips. Her wings were pink and red, and when she spread them a little bit of gold could be seen at the base of them. This was a Queen who never shied away from the many, many issues her people faced. And many issues there were, records argued whether the number of quests her Hero went on was five or six or twelve. He seemed grumpy in every painting, but after seven-ish quests Zelda would be too. His wings were pink, a million different shades at once. He also seemed to prefer long tunics or dresses to pants. Apparently he didn’t like pants.

After them came a pair of Queens. Zelda initially thought they were cousins, but apparently one was the other’s ancestor, as bizarre as that was. Only one of the two had wings, a soft amber or honey colour, a safe, warm brown. The Princess didn’t have wings, but was no less important if the records and paintings were to be believed. Their Hero didn’t look like much, but his wings, a deep, dark green with earthy brown flight feathers, told of his heroics enough that his looks didn’t have to. Records said he married the Princess, but they never had children, instead helping the Queen raise her bastard twins as a group. Zelda wondered if perhaps the three had all been together, so to speak, and the twins were actually his.

In the second life, there was only one heir, a woman who was named ‘Tetra’ and not Zelda. Her wings were blue, with red separating the blue from gold flight feathers. It was a beautiful colour. Her Hero was usually pictured at her side, his silver tipped sea foam green feathers shining next to her. Those two were always painted outside, and usually on a boat of some kind.

Following the timeline that was decided to be ‘true’, the Queen following the Queen of Three Lives was her great-granddaughter. Her wings, sleek and graceful, were solid black save for the lowest layer of feathers, which was a soft golden-orange colour. Her Hero was hardly ever at her side, history said he spent most of his time in his home village or on assignments for the Queen. Zelda didn’t know if they didn’t get along, or if he hated the city and castle, or why it was that he was never around his Queen, but there was only one painting of him next to her. His wings were big, wide and strong, a range of soft oranges with a rare black feather scattered across them. He also wore a strange charm on a rope around his neck, but no one seemed to know what it was.

The only other Queen, save for the one from 10 000 years ago, was one with a story so outlandish that historians debated on whether or not she was real. She always held a sword or bow in hand, and her wings were either spread for flight or held in close for combat. They were gold, with white flight feathers that seemed to go indigo at the base of each feather. Black flecked the gold, making it obvious she was a fighter. Her Hero was always with her, his wings out behind him, flared up in a show of pride or confidence, a rallying cry for his troops. They fought in a war, so the records claimed. His wings were gold, shiny silver spots scattered over his wings, not dissimilar to the stars in the sky, that made his wings look like they glittered. He was beautiful, as was his Queen, and it was clear that the two were very close.

There weren’t any records on the wings of the Queen 10 000 years ago, nor her Hero, and Zelda didn’t know why that was. Perhaps those records were lost when the Sheikah split. It was unlikely she would ever know.

Zelda didn’t know when her wings would come in, and some days she feared they never would. It was a comfort at least that Link’s wings hadn’t come in yet either.

He found her a few hours later, bringing her a blanket and some food. He sat with her and politely signed a request for her to read to him. They read all through the night, and Impa found them the next morning, Zelda leaned over the desk with her head on her arms and Link leaning on the side of her desk, head tilted back and drooling. She left them there.

When the Calamity hit and she didn’t get her wings she felt like such a failure, especially since Link’s wings had just broken skin a few moments ago, greyish brown wings that were still all fluff coming through the slits in his tunic designed to accommodate them.

She sat next to him in the Shrine of Resurrection, just before they sealed it. His wings were still small, they had never had the chance to come in fully before he fell. She reached over and brushed hair from his face, watching his relaxed features and ignoring the burns on the rest of his body.

“Don’t worry, Link,” she whispered. “I’ll make sure they’re all safe until you wake up,”

She marched on the castle then, staring down the Calamity and ready to give everything she had to keep him at bay.

She reached forward, holding her hand out to the monster and ready to fight. She could feel the triforce on her hand burn in response, her body spilling a radiant golden light. The monster dove for her, and she held her ground, eyes open and ready to stand and fight.

A push on her shoulders, then the pressure bursting and wings spread out behind her.

Blue and white feathers sat on the ground where she was moments before.

(---)

Link stepped into the castle, tiny wings fluffed up in anxiety and nerves making them quiver. He paused as he moved towards the heart, lifting one foot.

Under his boot, was a pair of blue and white feathers, perfectly preserved from when they fell there 100 years before.

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rikalovesrice · 3 years

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My Thoughts on Trollhunters : Rise of the Titans

WARNING : ALL THE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW

Mmmmm. Okay. So I just finished the movie. I’m fatigued as always so this’ll be a bit of a mess lol. Gotta spew the thoughts while they’re still fresh, y’all know how it is.

Right out the gate, I definitely want to talk about the things I loved.

The animation was, of course, phenomenal and gorgeous!

Voice acting was incredible as always

MUSIC SLAPPED

Douxie. I just loved seeing Douxie again and honestly kept my eyes trained on him for most the of movie lol

OK DOUXIE AND NARI SWITCHING?? BODIES??? Definitely didn’t see that coming and I legit started screaming lol

Nari in Douxie’s body is the most precious, chaotic, and wholesome thing like holy cow that was so adorable LOOKIT DOUXIE CROUCHING AND CRAWLING AROUND ON ALL FOURS WITH THOSE NOODLE LIMBS OF HIS I CAN’T --

We called Nari’s mind control and Douxie trying to reason with her!

In the very few scenes they were together, Douxie’s love and affection for Nari really came through. You could really feel how much he cared about her. ALSO THAT TENDER HUG AND NARI’S LITTLE HAPPY SQUEAK MY HEART NO--

Loved Barbara. Always love Barbara.

Walter and Barbara getting engaged

Nomura back in action

Claire being the powerful sorceress she’s become

Loved seeing Aja, Krel, and Varvatos all together again.

NARI VS SKRAEL WAS ALL SORTS OF EPIC AND CRUSHING EMOTIONS.

The way Douxie yelled Nari’s name and ran to her after she died and the remnants of her magic falling all around him, like she was saying goodbye, just *UGLY CRYING*

It was so cool to see Charlie out of his den and flying about like the mighty dragon he is

Loved the Guardians of Arcadia pulling Excaliber out together.

All the gang all going after Bellroc together

YES JIM MY BOOOOOOY

BLINKY DIDN’T DIE

Aarrgh I love you so much

Stuart, what a bro!

We saw a hint of mercy in Bellroc towards the end.

Toby’s death... That was a huge curveball. Jim might as well have cut my heart out with Excaliber as he sobbed over his best friend.

Uh.....um....and.....Er...what else........ .___.

..........Alright so.......It’s about to get a bit brutal from here on out as I talk about the things I didn’t like at all. And the really sad thing is, at least to me, the cons far outweigh the pros in this movie. Because I’m actually having difficulty picking out things I enjoyed, they were so few and far between...which really sucks.

So here we go.

Gosh, where to begin... I guess I’ll go ahead and say this : I’m really disappointed.

Like as I’m here typing this, I’m just thinking, “...That was it? That was the movie?? The big finale???”

So much of this movie just felt....unnecessary. I hate to say almost like filler. The entire intro re-caping the series really wasn’t needed. And then Toby went and restated it all again when he was being interrogated. The pacing, oh my gosh...Guys, the pacing in this movie was not good. The action started and it never seemed to stop. There wasn’t a single moment of rest, of levity, of our characters just being themselves, getting to know each other, being friends outside of the battle. No Reckless Club Segment. No fun, just... I mean Claire and Aja didn’t speak to each other at all. Douxie and Toby hardly interacted. Steve was turned into a gross male pregnancy joke. Jim and Krel barely spoke. Douxie and Aja had nothing to say to each other. Even Aja and Krel didn’t have any moments together. The list goes on. The whole movie was just go, go, go. And it’s so frustrating because there was time for it but it was poorly executed.

Like was the whole break-in to the Chinese Trollmarket really necessary?? Guys, I really found myself not caring. I didn’t care to see this random side quest involving an insignificant new troll character and a Trollmarket that had little to no bearing on the plot. Did I love seeing Charlie, Archie, Blinky, and Claire? Of course! But these scenes were so pointless. So needless. They could’ve written other ways for all our heroes to go after the chronosphere (Maybe we could’ve had Zoe for crying out loud). But instead this vital artifact was the hands of a character we don’t know and don’t care about in a place that turned out to have basically nothing to do with anything.

Deaths. The deaths in this movie. Because of the pacing in this movie, there wasn’t nearly enough time for the emotional impacts to sink in. Nomura? Gone and the only ones mourning her are Aaarrgh and Douxie, who barely knew her. Walter’s death was handled better since we got to see Jim and Barbara actually having a moment to mourn him. The weight of Nari’s death was singlehandedly carried by Douxie, but even that was over before it started. The immense gravity of Toby’s death, which really got to me, was also short-lived to make way for an ending that...I don’t know.

ALSO DOUXIE JUST??? BEING OKAY WITH HIS FAMILIAR, THE ONE WHO RAISED HIM AND WENT THROUGH SO MUCH WITH HIM FOR CENTURIES, LEAVING HIM FOREVER TO BE TRAPPED IN THAT DUMB TROLLMARKET WITH CHARLIE LIKE???

“I hope he’s happy.”

WHAT. THE. EVERLASTING. FRICK.

Douxie’s reaction objectively doesn’t make a shred of sense. Geez, it’s almost like Douxie was expecting Archie to up and leave him someday to be with Charlegmane. Just...what???

What also frustrates me so much is how this movie undid so much characterization and development that happened in Wizards. Or more like all that development didn’t even matter.

What was the point of Steve’s arc in Wizards if he was just going to be reduced to...this?

I was so excited to see Douxie really being a Master Wizard. To see him lead the Guardians of Arcadia alongside Jim. To see him in action as Successor to Merlin and Protector of this Realm.

But no.

Douxie, who had such an incredible arc in Wizards and a character who’s come to mean so much to me in my life, was nerfed and sidelined.

And then time restarts and I can’t help but wonder why any of this mattered at all. What the heck was the freaking point of the suffering, the loss, the pain, the growth, enduring and overcoming so much, the friendships and family spanning across three shows... All gone. Starting all over. Undoing everything, except what Jim went through. As much as I love Jim, I didn’t think he’d be the only character I’d be getting closure for at the grand finale of this entire franchise. But that’s what happened and I really hate it.

Just...all in all, this movie wasn’t satisfying. Not to me. It had its good moments. But not nearly enough. The comedy was misplaced and fell flat. The climax was sorely anticlimactic and didn’t hold a candle to Eternal Knight. The writing, the direction, characterization...For some reason it was all lost and confused and none of it felt right and so much didn’t make sense.

I’m not at all upset with the writers, though, because they still pulled through and did what they could. When the movie did something right, it was beautiful. The things I loved about it I truly adored. No, I’m not upset in the least bit with any of the creative team.

I’m upset with Netflix. I’m upset that Wizards was robbed of the seasons it should’ve had. I’m upset with big cooperations stifling creators. I’m upset that this’ll be it. This is the ending we got and nothing can be done about it.

Aaron did say there’s every possibility for the franchise to continue in some capacity, and I’m hoping for that someday. Because so much, too much, has been left unanswered. So much left to be explored that couldn’t. But until then....I guess this is it. This is what we get.

Now, I want to remind everyone that this is my own personal experience with the movie. These are all my opinions. If you enjoyed every second the movie, that’s wonderful! And who knows how my thoughts will change upon another viewing. But in the meantime, Rise of the Titans really missed the mark for me. I wanted found family badassery and fluff. But nope. Just fighting and heaviness and no payoff. It’s such a letdown...a real shame.

But yeah...Thanks to any and everyone who read to the end of this haha

I still love Tales of Arcadia. It’s a series that has blessed and inspired me so much as an artist, writer, and as a person in general. I do want to keep making ToA content for a while. Cause this movie isn’t the end. Not my ending, at least.

I’ll continue to hope for more Tales of Arcadia in the future (a Douxie spin-off series please Lord pleaaase). We shall see. Until then, fics and fanart fixing this mess galore haha

Until next time everyone! God bless!

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lesbiansforboromir · 3 years

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(I didn’t finish my sentence lmfaoo. I meant I don’t hate the movies portrayal of D B and F’s relationship but I might’ve preferred it in the books ahaha sry my bad lol) yeah that’s kind of an issue with create movies of book, ppl just assume it’s the same cause it’s an adaptation. The books are a Lot too, so ppl might not even wanna bother cause they’re not easy to read vs watching an Adaption of them, so they’ll never know the og characters.

I only rewatch lotr recently after years of growing up with it and tbh I completely forgot that Gondor was a Thing, it rly is just kinda forgettable in the movies.

This is rly making me want to tackle the books lol. The differences are gonna be something to adjust to.

Apart from the Gondor dudes who would you say gets the biggest change? Or worse in your opinion

Oh no I do hate the dynamic of the steward family in the films jdahkjasd Honestly I think this portrayal of abusive parents being just ugly and easily identifiable as villains is somewhat regressive but No worries no worries.

ANd yeah... Gondor really is so forgettable in the films I-

BUT YEAH UM... I guess I can’t say everyone can I um, lets start talking and see how many we get through.

Merry and Pippin got an absolutely tragic reduction in the films. In the books they’re frodo’s friends long before the film, Merry is Frodo’s best friend, he loves Frodo so much he helps him move house and deals with his obnoxious family. Merry actually organises the whole trip, he figures out Frodo intends to leave on his own and secretly organises to go with him JUST because he’s his best friend. He’s like yo, you’ve got something scary you’ve got to do Frodo? Don’t know why you thought we’d let you do it on your own. Merry saves the whole quest by doing this! Frodo would have died before he even got out of the Shire if not for Merry.

Gimli’s portrayal, also a tragedy. Peter Jackson saw dwarf and immediately decided ‘comic relief’, despite the fact that Gimli is more polite than Aragorn or Legolas, is a poet and has one of the longest monologues about art and culture in the whole book. It guts me thinking about it.

Eowyn has a severe reduction in her feelings and character, her monologue is sanitised away from a much more bitter and angry condemnation of her people’s culture around women. We got a more patronising image of her relationship with Merry too.

FRODO, oh god Frodo I’m so sorry, Frodo was clever and masterful and adult and!! He was funny! And sarcastic, he was philosophical and cunning. Films tell you that Merry and Pippin were like thieves, NO Merry and Pippin were very upstanding young gentlemen and Farmer Maggot thought very highly of them both. FRODO is the criminal in this group who stole his mushrooms! Frodo asked questions and made plans and tried to figure things out by himself, he wasn’t this strange melancholic ring box to be ushered places. Frodo saved the world by TAKING the ring’s power on mount doom after planning how to do that and cursing gollum to essentially drop the ring into the mountain of fire LIKE. Frodo had agency! SAM TOO fsfdgsdfgs I skip frodo and sam’s scenes in the films but i love them in the books.

Aragorn and Gandalf are vastly different characters in the films in that they’re likable. And this is... better for Aragorn I think. Although I miss him being a little more snarky and self important and sharp, but it’s better than Aragorn’s likable which he thoroughly isn’t in the books in my opinion. I MEAN... he’s- he’s very complex in the books and there are likable moments amongst him snapping at people and talking about himself. But for Gandalf I think it was a thorough detriment. Which hurts, love Ian Mckellen, that’s my grandad, but Gandalf was like genuinely manipulative in the books and literally could not stand being wrong despite being wrong quite a lot. Constantly Gandalf will angrily and rudely snap at people who rightly critisise his choices (Boromir for one) and this is good because you don’t want an infallible morally irreproachable dad for this whole adventure. It’s much more interesting this way.

Eomer, miss him being a little more young and fiery and a little out of his depth but proud and confident even so. Like I know Karl Urban was exactly 27 in the films but he felt very world weary and kind of ‘I’ve had it’ when he’d only just become Third Marshall like barely a year ago. AND OF COURSE, this is compounded by the way Theodred’s death is portrayed like... askjdas like oops! Our 18 year old prince just died in this lil stream in this small lil battle huh weird- NO!! Theodred was 41!! And had died in a MASSIVE battle against Isengard! He was assassinated in fact, the whole point of the battle was to assassinate Theodred because he’d been so influential to maintaining Rohan’s stability despite all Grima and Saruman’s efforts. Eomer was a man who’d just lost a mentor, an adopted elder brother! Anyway...

Um... honourable mention for Hama... our dear doorward... miss you being relevant and telling Aragorn to fuck off babe. Farmer Maggot, miss you being relevant and like the literal best. Haldir, miss you NOT being relevant dwarfist bastard but I love to watch you die. Galadriel and Celeborn, not enough she pegs him energy, not enough of her being scary and unknowable, not enough of her laughing. Bilbo! I’m sorry they didn’t let you go back to the Lonely Mountain that’s miserable my guy.... Gollum’s alright... I think that’s everyone who exists in the films and books both.

So this still ended up as everyone :)

#chats #when I say I could complain about every scene in the films I could not be more serious #Anonymous #asks

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starbornsoulrider · 3 years

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OH GOD OK OK OK I HAD A SAD IDEA FOR THE FINAL BATTLE W/ GARNOK LISTEN HEAR ME OUT

So. There’s a theory that our starter is going to die at some point right? Bc our starter has files called “horsedeath” or something. I think about this theory a LOT bc it haunts me so here’s my idea for how this could possibly play out

After Garnok is finally defeated, MC and their starter horse get transported to this weird empty void space (think like the place in Latios’s death scene from Pokémon Heroes). MC asks where the Soul Riders are and what happened after they landed the finishing blow on Garnok, and starter horse reassures them that the Soul Riders are fine and Garnok is gone, then proceeds explain what’s going on.

Basically, starter says that the essence that flows throughout the island left behind by Aideen was completely snuffed out during the final battle. The magic that brought Jorvik to life and connects riders and their horses is gone, and soon everything will die out with it. The magic, the special bond jorveigans share with their horses, even the island itself until it returns to the dead rock it Aideen found it as.

MC panics over this for a second, until starter tells them that there is a way to save it. MC has Aideen’s light within them, and the only way to revive Jorvik’s magic is if MC sacrifices themself just like Aideen did eons ago. That’s what Aideen had planned, like idk maybe she knew that Garnok would succeed in destroying Jorvik’s magic so planned to come back in a new body and sacrifice herself again to bring it back after Garnok was gone. (Or I guess just send a rider with her powers if Catherine is right and we aren’t actually Aideen herself.)

Before MC can completely process this and accept their fate, starter continues. He explains that he is Nimbus (supposedly our starter’s true name), the horse that Aideen once rode to Jorvik on. After Aideen died, she left Nimbus behind and tasked him and the other guardians with the responsibility of protecting and assisting the next generations of Soul Riders. (I guess Nimbus isn’t reborn as many times as the other guardians bc supposedly there isn’t always a fifth soul rider, maybe a fifth rider only appears when a chance to get rid of Garnok arrises and that’s when Nimbus is reborn.)

Every time there has been a fifth soul rider though, they ended up failing and dying in some way. Nimbus has lost his rider countless times, Aideen, Catherine (idk if starter is actually Nemo or not but he must have formed a bond w/ her at some point in her life), and every other fifth Soul Rider before MC. No matter how hard he tried, even if he learned from the mistakes in his previous lives, he could never save them. Then, right before being reborn into this life where he met MC, he realized something. He knew that if this rider managed to survive all the way to the end, they would have to sacrifice themself to keep Jorvik’s magic alive. Whether or not he managed to get his rider to the end, he’d lose them anyway. However, he realized being Aideen’s soul steed, her light is just as strong in him as it is in MC. Maybe, just maybe, he could sacrifice himself in MC’s place. It should work, he carries Aideen’s power as well, right? If it means finally keeping his rider alive, he’ll do it.

So, he made a plan. Before being reborn into the life where he meets MC, he decides that if they really can stop Garnok this time, he would sacrifice his soul instead of his rider’s. Of course, he doesn’t remember this plan until later, either some point after meeting the druids and learning of MC’s destiny or he just remembers after defeating Garnok.

His plan ends up working. The island accepts his soul instead of MC’s. He starts to fade away, and he says goodbye to MC, saying this was the best life he’s lived so far and that even though he didn’t want to leave he’s happy MC will get to live instead. MC returns without their soul horse, devastated and explains everything to the Soul Riders once they find them.

Of course, starter does end up coming back at some point. Maybe MC and starter’s longing to see each other again is powerful enough to bring the starter back, maybe MC and the soul riders find a way to bring him back and cue a quest line leading up to his return, etc. ANYWAYS I’m crying also I hoped ya’ll liked reading this theory/idea/whatever bc it physically hurt to write this

(might turn this idea into a fic... who knows...)

#IF THIS HAPPENS #OR IF SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF THIS HAPPENS #I WILL CRY MY EYES OUT #I love my starter so much I DON’T WANT HIM TO DIE #sso #star stable #star stable online #star stable theory #sso theory

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lightwdangelo · 3 years

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Thoughts On Grief By Nico Di Angelo

Hi guys! It’s me again with other fanfic, this time it’s me coping with our beloved Nico :)

Summary:

As Nico walked away, the God started to look at the paper, just a piece of normal notebook and at the top, it read Thoughts on grief By Nico Di Angelo in a really cursive a posh, looking old handwriting.

For one of their "therapy" sessions, Mr.D asks Nico to write about his grief

Tw: death/ Tw: grief

You can read it on ao3!

Nico appeared on the balcony of The Big House with a piece of paper. A crumpled piece of paper, Dionysus noticed.

“Here, what you wanted me to do,” He said leaving the paper on the table “I’m the furthest thing from a writer, so it’s just an infodump. It was the best I could do”

“It was supposed to be an info dump.” He read the first lines fast “So, after writing it do you still believe that is a, and I quote, ‘jack-ass bullshit that won’t help me on anything’ or…”

“Maybe,” The boy said looking up “Just maybe it felt better after”

“So, as usual, I was right” Mr.D sung the last bit “You can go now, kid”

Thoughts on grief: By Nico Di Angelo

I know grief. I’ve seen people grief, I’ve felt grief (More times than I’d find normal. But guess I’m not normal, none of us are). The point is, this is jack-ass bullshit that won’t help me on anything because I know grief. There’s no need for me to write it down. It’s basically studying for a test that you’re already an expert on. So, jack-ass bullshit. Also, I don’t want to revive these memories.

Mom: I was a kid; Seven I guess? I remember not understanding it at first. The lawyer said, “Maria Di Angelo had passed away yesterday afternoon”. I heard the words but they didn’t stick. Until Bianca looked at me in the eye, doing her best to not fall apart (Now, I realize it was it). She whispered in my ear with a trembling voice “Mamma è venuta a mancare” I mean, I didn’t get it. I never had any experiences with death. I heard about it on TV but it never felt real.

As the days passed, I felt weird and sad and lost. Bianca was there by my side but she also was hurt. She did her best to be with me, but of course, it wasn’t the same. She wasn’t the one that made my breakfast, the one that every morning and every night would give me a kiss on the top of my head. I missed her hug and her voice. When I had a nightmare, I wanted her by my side.

Sometimes I wonder if she would be proud of me, of who I am today, and often the answer is no. Often I picture what she would tell me, or what she would do but I don’t get an answer. I just wished I’d give her a last hug and, a last kiss on the cheek.

Bianca: All I could feel was anger. I know the first stage of grief is denial (As I said, I know that shit) but right there, all I had in mind was anger. I was angry with Percy for not saving her like he promised, as if it was his fault. I was angry at me for letting her go on that quest at all, mad at the world because she died. My sister, the only family I had left, died. It was too much, way too much. I was so angry, was feeling so much that I opened a crater on the ground to go to the underworld when I knew shit about my powers nor how to control them.

Then as time passed I obviously was still furious but I felt so much sadness. So much, I don’t even know how I passed through this. If I’m not mistaken it was around that time Minus found me and started his manipulation game. After days the constant pain became a sharp pain that came at random times of the day. Now that I actually thought about it, was every time I wasn’t necessarily distracted over anything else. This only grew the feeling of wanting her back, which led to me being more and more manipulated. I was weak fragile and vulnerable. I was hurt, young, and lost and didn’t know better.

After the war of Gaea, I asked my Father if we could make a “proper” funeral for mom and Bianca. It was, basically, putting their tombs in a cemetery in Venice. He even stayed with me for a while. More than I thought he would. It was weird and bad and felt like something settled in my chest. I never actually told this to anyone, the closest was mentioning to Will about a funeral.

Jason: I felt his death. Not that I didn’t feel my mom and sister. But back then I didn’t know what it meant. And with him, I knew. I knew he had died. I wished so hard was wrong. When I felt it, I was in the middle of a sword practice and I paralyzed. I stopped and couldn’t move. People said that I looked paler than normal (rude). As soon as I could move, again I rushed to my cabin to be alone. To know what the hell was going on, but I still couldn’t accept this.

When Apollo came to camp, he just confirmed what I knew and it hurt. Jason was the first person I actually considered as a friend besides people of my family, and one that I cared deeply about. I wanted revenge, I wanted to do something, anything. I guess I did, and I also guess it helped a little. But just a little, It didn’t matter what I did Jason wouldn’t be back. A lesson that I learned with time is that dead people stay dead, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Until this day I deal with these things, the grief of these people, and every day I remember them. Sometimes it hits bad, really bad, sometimes it’s lighter but it always eventually comes and I know by now that I’ll live with this for my entire life. And I can’t do anything about it.

Dionysus gave smiled a little at himself. He knew It would help. He liked what the boy wrote and was satisfied with the result. Nico was improving, improving a lot. It was a slow process, but that was expected. The God could even say he was proud of the son of Hades, not that he would tell anybody.

Obs: Mamma è venuta a mancare = Mum passed away

#nico di angelo #Mr.D #dionysus #maria di angelo #bianca di angelo #jason grace #solangelo #riordanverse #pjo #Percy Jackon and the Olympians #hoo #heroes of olympus #toa #trials of apollo #clara writes stuff

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blueoctobass · 3 years

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Cirrus and Nim are terrible rulers

Cirrus and Nim became prince and princess because they won the magic lottery and beat up people to climb the ranks. As far as we know, that’s the only thing that’s needed to become royalty in stratoverse. Leadership qualities ? Neither have them.

Nim is just doing her own thing and seemingly doesn’t have any interest in taking the throne. She may be a nice person but she’s not a good politician. She just wanna be an archeologist, and becoming princess was the only way to do that, or at least to leave the country while remaining a citizen. As a princess, she should have the power and ability to change that for others like her, no ? Yet the only thing she did, as far as we know, is get her title and Run Away. If she had done any changes, she could have just stepped down and let someone more interested take over. There’s always the risk that the new princess would undo what she did, but Nim is powerful, perhaps as powerful as Virga if not more. She could take the title again in that case.

Meanwhile, Cirrus lacks A LOT of diplomacy for punching the president of one country and insulting the shaman of another. I love that boy but he's a loner dumbass and probably not a great leader. He supposedly became the prince because he was raised by a magicless family. Yet, he’s become part of the problem and hasn’t made any changes. He just feels bad about what’s happening and complain about shoes.

(more under the cut)

Maybe he just doesn’t have enough power as a prince and needs to be the king to bring such a significant change to society. but.... The king is a nice grandpa, he could probably talk to the grandpa and make change as a prince with the help of the king but noooooo he's punching the president instead. Why did he became Prince if hes just going to wait and do nothing ? Virga said he didn’t want to kill the King, which is nice, but you know what she also said? That he was going to live another 80 years. If he doesn’t do anything now as a Prince, why did he become one ? Did he want to be king and then noped out because he can’t bring himself to potentially hurt or kill a nice old man while magicless teens are dying in the background ? He want change ? That’s good ! But he’s not doing anything to get change. Sure mentality doesn’t change overnight, and there’s probably going to be pushback against such a big change, but doing nothing will get you nothing.

It's true that they do have some good qualities and skills (well mostly Nim actually ? Cirrus is... a wildcard tbh), but leading a country is going to take a lot more than just that ! They need some (a lot) character development before we can say they would be good leaders (and again, Nim isn't really interested). It also seems that being the Prince and Princess doesn't come with a lot of responsabilities ? Nim went away, became an archeologist and probably doesn't come back very often, and Cirrus has the time to travel between Stratoverse and Gloomverse to come see her. Queen Virga is the only one who is seen having some sort of diplomatic role. If they want change, they probably need the Queen and King, or maybe Yellow, to do that. Which is why Cirrus needs to talk to the goddamn King or take the throne or nothing is going to change. He's not doing anything ! I think that Yellow has some role to play in the royalty, at the very least as an adviser, and if someone is too.... incompetent, she can do something about it (either by councelling them or.... getting rid of them. She's regarded as a goddess and ordered a murder. She could do that.) It is possible she’s the one preventing Cirrus from making such changes, after all she’s probably behind the current system.

After giving it thought, Cirrus' behaviour is very.... self centred. He cares about magicless people because his family is magicless, and presumably became Prince to change their living conditions for the better. That was his motivation, that was his goal. But it seems (to me at least) that he lost touch with that ? He cares, but only react to attacks, he's not proactive, he's not in Stratoverse trying to change mentalities, or on the mainland helping and protecting magicless people. He's in Steamverse, having a good time with his friend. Good for him, but what about his original goal ? He lost sight of it, and instead got shaped by the system into an ignorant nationalist dumbass. Maybe it's just a facade to fit in, but he never dropped it, not even in gloomverse or in the middle of the ocean. He says he's proud of his country, but he didn't even know about the shoes being imported ? He doesn't know how Stratoverse work. Which is concerning. Since the King has more powers than the Prince, he should try and become King to change things. But he also doesn't want to kill the current King because he's a sweet old man. His magicless family can wait 80 years for the current king to die of old age? Right? (no) He didn't try to negotiate a peaceful passover or a staged fight, or just talking to the guy and asking for help either. He's just... enjoying his freedom as Prince of Stratoverse I guess? His supposed motivation of helping magicless people has been lost.... My point is, Cirrus needs help. Let's be real, he's kind of a dumbass. He doesn't know how Stratoverse work, he lacks diplomacy and tact, he's not the most friendly type and Nim seems to be.... his only friend? And even she barely tolerate him. If he want to change anything and be a good leader, he has to make more effort? He's trying his best, I get that, but he's on his own. Change can't come from just one person. He needs to surround himself with competent people that he can trust, starting with Nim and Alto, and also reconnect with his family and other magicless people to actually help them. He’s so averse to shoes, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t come back to see his family since he went to live in the clouds. Maybe they died and he lost motivation ! But he’s talking about them in the present tense, not past, implying they’re still alive (unless he forgot to check on them for too long).

Finally, I think it's very likely they won't stay royalty for the whole comic. Why ? Virga is on a quest to kill Rylie, while she, Nim and Cirrus are bonding. I'm waiting for the moment of confrontation where choices will be made and sides will be chosen :) And something tells me that Nim would rather forfeit her Princess title than let Rylie die. ( I wrote a fic about it ) Being Queen never was her goal anyway, she just wanted to be able to leave the country.

TL;DR : Nim became a princess for selfish reasons before running away from her responsibilities and without addressing the problem that made her do this. Cirrus lost sight of his goal, isolated himself, and became complacent about the one thing he wanted to change. Nim needs to give up her title if she’s not going to use it and Cirrus needs to TALK TO PEOPLE AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING

Thanks for reading ! this is an altered version of a comment thread i wrote as a response to a comment saying “Nim and Cirrus seem like they would make perfect rulers” (i’m paraphrasing) and I had Some Objections to that notion. They’re terrible rulers. I dont think they even deserve to be called rulers right now since they’re just fooling around.

Also, feel free to reblog with your own thoughts ! You can defend them, or drag them more if you so wish.

#gloomverse #stratoverse #Prince Cirrus #nim #princess nim #queen virga #king alto #cirrus #alto #virga #gv #someone slap cirrus again #seriously #give him a goat to go #maybe that will do it

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