#kriss does like pretty things

[catgirlennui]

I've done it, I've solved the mystery. Mister Tobias Radioactive Vulpes, you may be a clever japester, but I've seen through your obfuscations.

I know who The Knight is.

Now everyone and their brother has such and such theories on the knight's identity. But they're all wrong. I've run the numbers, and I'm here to set it all straight. So let's go through the candidates.

Carol? Barely worth mentioning because it's so clearly not her. She's the culprit that Watson mentions offhand, and Holmes immediately discards for any number of reasons. She's an extremely obvious red herring clearly embroiled in the conspiracy, but certainly not the knight. It just doesn't fit from a narrative perspective, Toby is better than that.

Noelle? Maybe if she's got some kind of split personality? But I don't think Toby goes in on that, and it would kinda muddy her narrative threads as Noelle. It wouldn't make for particularly interesting reading.

Rudy? I actually really like this one. He's got motive, no alibi, and he's just under the radar enough to be a satisfying reveal. He's a lightner who can't do much in the light world, which fits with the Knight's whole deal. Also, this means we get the wonderful reveal of the knight removing his helmet as he cracks a rank ass dad joke. If I'm wrong, this is who I want it to be.

December? Yeah, she's the front runner, isn't she? Any theory on the knight's identity has to contend with why it's NOT Dess. Good thing it's definitely not her. You see, the villain who is the tragically deceased beloved family member trapped in a form that leaves them incapable of connecting with those whom they love and were loved by is just Flowey 2.0. Toby has DONE that, and he's done it well. It's a narrative he likes, but not one I think he wants to retread directly after Undertale.

But that's not the real reason the Knight isn't Dess.

See, Toby has a problem. He's hinted so much about Dess that people have a pretty strong idea about what Dess looks and acts like. There's a flood of Dess fanart, and people were already guessing her mode of dress even before it was revealed in act 4. When we finally DO get a reveal of what Dess really looks like, it's gonna be kinda untisfying if she just looks like random tumblr fanart #27. She needs some kind of significant feature that doesn't just come out of nowhere, but that people have missed the hints for. Something buried right under our noses.

Now, being a family, the Hollidays all share similar characteristics. They've all got antlers, a bit of a muzzle, and most noticabbly, they all have hooves. Really prominent hooves shaped in such a way they can't wear shoes. So none of them do. So why does Dess have an actually comical number of red sneakers? Well, because she's a human, of course. If it was just the pair of ice skates, it could be dismissed as a one-off bit, not meaning anything. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Holiday's wear rubber caps to prevent scratching up floors. Caps which would necessarily be replaced often due to having more weight to surface area pressure than shoes. Every time the parents make a run to restock on caps, we'll, they've just gotta let Dess feel included. Gotta get her a new pair of shoes too- what? No, I'm not projecting my childhood experiences of parents who bought me a shitty gift I didn't need to make me feel included with my little brother. Shut up, I'm monologuing.

Anyway, so Dess is definitely human, which disqualifies her from being the knight, who has hooves and antlers. But wait, she may not have hooves, but what about antlers? No reason she can't have antlers right?

Especially because Kriss has their horns~

[ambrossart]

If Bowers gang had no trauma and are well and healthy functioning beings (yes I’m talking to you Henry and Patrick), how would their relationship Evelyn go?

Ohhhhhhh! Oh, I love this one!

(But it also makes me kinda sad. You’ll see why.)

I’m sorry, I went a little overboard with this. If you don’t read it all, I honestly won’t blame you. 😅

Henry

First of all, can I just say how much I love the idea of an emotionally healthy and trauma-free Henry Bowers? It’s such a nice thing to think about, especially when he’s being extra horrible (which is, basically, all the time)

His mom never left. His dead isn’t an abusive piece of shit.

Butch is still a hard-ass, of course, but at least now it’s to a more reasonable level. Like, he would never raise a hand to his wife or son… or at least not very often. (We can’t expect perfection here, people. Butch Bowers is never gonna be winning any Father of the Year awards)

Anyway, despite all that, I do think Henry would still prefer to keep to himself or to a very small group of like-minded friends.

Are they outcasts? Definitely. Rebels? Absolutely. But are they troublemakers? Maybe, but they’re mostly harmless as long as you don’t try to pick a fight with them.

Henry’s not a bully by any means, and he’s rarely violent, but he’s still not the friendliest guy in the world, and he’s really not a morning person (seriously, don’t even try to talk to Henry before lunch; he’ll bite your head off).

But beneath that rough exterior, he’s actually a pretty nice guy. Not very talkative, a little grumpy, but he’s got a good heart buried deep in there. Most people just rarely get a chance to see it.

Hmmm, what else…? 🤔

He smokes. He drinks. He falls asleep during class.

He drives an old pickup to school and, yep, often sleeps in there too, especially before school and occasionally during lunch.

(The boy’s exhausted, okay? He needs to catch up on sleep whenever he can.)

Maybe he gets detention from time to time, but it’s mostly for skipping class or mouthing off to his teachers (once again, Henry is not a morning person).

Academically speaking, he’s not a fantastic student, but at least he’s not flunking every class.

To Henry, school is just another obstacle he has to overcome. He’ll graduate… but barely, and he relies heavily on shop classes to boost his GPA.

Does he date? Not really, but he’s probably had a few drunken hookups with girls from neighboring towns.

None of the girls in Derry are of any interest to him.

Except maybe Evelyn Tozier 🧐

Actually, no… no, not even her.

As much as I would love to think a well-functioning Henry Bowers would still be harboring a secret crush on Evelyn Tozier, that’s just highly unlikely.

Their relationship evolved from Henry’s trauma, after all. Without it, they don’t have a relationship.

Henry would be a junior, most likely, and Evelyn would be a sophomore. Unless they took the same classes (doubtful) they would probably only see each other in the hallway between classes.

To Henry, Evelyn would simply be that annoying student council chick who, for no apparent reason, goes out of her way to greet him every morning (kind of like she does with Kriss Andrews) and keeps ratting him out for smoking on school property.

Seriously, that girl needs to get a hobby.

Then Henry would probably act like a dick to get back at her. Go out of his way to tear down her anti-bullying posters. Maybe even rip one up and throw it away while she’s watching.

Okay, maybe he would still develop a crush on her. Maybe.

And maybe, someday, he might see her coming out of school with a lot of books and feel compelled to offer her a ride home.

Maybe? 🥺

Okay, fine, that probably won’t happen, but I can dream, can’t I? These two deserve a happy ending in at least one universe.

Realistically, though, these two probably won’t interact much… or at all.

But at least they’re both happy, right?

Sorry, Evelyn, it’s damaged Henry or no Henry at all.

Patrick

Okay, let’s be real, a healthy, well-adjusted Patrick Hockstetter would still be an obnoxious, self-absorbed, manipulative asshole.

Did you really expect him to be an angel?

This guy truly thinks he’s the smartest, most interesting person in Derry. Nobody else is on his level. It’s not even close.

But hey, he’s hot, so it’s okay.

Just kidding! Just kidding!

Believe it or not, Patrick does have his redeeming qualities. For example, he’s incredibly clever and creative, and he has a fascinatingly unique perspective on life.

The guy’s eccentric for sure, but now his behavior no longer carries that undeniably creepy undertone. Now he’s weird in a really fun and attractive way, and he’s exceptionally charming, too.

Because of this, people–men, women, everybody–naturally gravitate toward him, which Patrick gleefully uses to his advantage.

Yeah, sadly that part hasn’t changed very much. Patrick’s still a bit of a playboy. The only difference is that now it’s all 100% consensual, so at least he’s not committing random acts of sexual assault anymore. 🤷‍♀️

He still breaks a lot of hearts, though. A lot of them.

However, I don’t think this Patrick is intentionally trying to hurt people with his behavior. He’s just searching–no, hunting–for someone who sets off that special spark inside him. As soon as that flame goes out, he’ll cut the person off completely and go back on the hunt again. Patrick’s just restless like that, and he doesn’t like to waste his time on people who don’t interest him.

(Now if Patrick ever finds that special person, he’ll be a suprisngly devoted boyfriend. A little intense and controlling at times, sure, but hey some people are into that)

Anyway, like I said before, Patrick’s still a little cold and manipulative, but it’s more out of boredom than anything. It’s rarely personal and it’s not malicious. He just craves stimulation (mental, physical, emotional) and right now Derry’s not providing enough of it.

Guy’s gotta entertain himself somehow, right?

(This may or may not include heavy use of psychedelic drugs)

(It definitely does)

So maybe Patrick likes toying with people’s emotions a little bit, getting them all riled up just for the hell of it (Henry Bowers is a favorite target of his. That guy’s hilarious when he angry). Maybe he likes finding people’s weaknesses and subtly exploiting them. Maybe he likes building people up and then crushing them back down.

Does he feel guilty? Sometimes. Absolutely.

But he usually waves it off, thinking, “Who the fuck cares? In a couple months, I’m never gonna see any of these people again.”

At his core, Patrick’s dying to get out of Derry. He’s convinced that anywhere in the world is better than this boring-ass town.

If his parents weren’t so insistent on him graduating, he would have dropped out of school and left town a long time ago.

Besides, someone has to make sure his little brother gets to school in the morning…

Oh yeah, Avery? He’s alive, is the exact opposite of Patrick, and is the frequent target of bullying at school. Poor kid.

(I believe in Paper Men there’s about a seven-year difference between Patrick and Avery, so Avery would be in the fifth grade most likely, and Patrick would be a senior. They’re not super close.)

Now, does Patrick care that his brother gets picked on? Not in the slightest. The kid needs to toughen up and learn how to handle his own problems. He can’t count on his big brother to bail him out every time (or anytime, apparently)

That is, however, how he’s most likely to encounter Evelyn Tozier. Yeah, it’s definitely gonna involve bullying somehow.

Maybe he’ll see her standing up for his little brother.

(Or maybe she’ll be Avery’s tutor or something. I could see that happening, too)

Maybe he’ll see one of her posters around school, think of his brother, and feel motivated to seek her out.

Or maybe it’ll be that cringe-worthy anti-bullying video. Who knows?

Regardless, something Evelyn does will catch Patrick’s attention, and for a day, just one day, Evelyn Tozier will have his undivided attention.

He’ll flirt with her shamelessly, get rejected immediately, realize she’s boring as hell, and then never look at her again. 😂

Sorry to disappoint anyone, but I just don’t see these two connecting on a deep emotional level. At all.

If Patrick isn’t “Patrick,” he’s not gonna have any interest in Evelyn, and vice versa.

Besides, Evelyn’s heart already belongs to someone else.

⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Victor

Without a doubt, Victor Criss (along with Belch Huggins) comes out as the big winner in this scenario.

Victor’s trauma is all wrapped up in his best friend, Jimmy Duncan. If Jimmy was still in Derry, happy and healthy as ever, Victor would be living a much better life than he is currently.

Would his personality be any different? Not really because I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Victor’s personality. He’s neurodivergent (and I know some people even headcanon him as being on the spectrum, which I have no issue with) and that’s not something that needs to be changed or fixed. He’s perfect the way he is.

I do, however, think Vic’s gonna be a lot better at managing his symptoms. For his sake, I sure hope he is.

He's probably still a stoner, too.

He’s good friends with Scott Kellerman and Christie Gibson because all three of them love vibing and listening to music together.

I could see him still having a distant but friendly relationship with Belch, but they don’t hang out outside of school or anything (unless Belch is still dating Christie in this scenario, which is possible)

When he’s not with them, he’s usually doing his own thing because Victor loves being by himself. He needs to give his batteries a chance to recharge.

But at the end of the day, he always finds his way back to his oldest and closest friends, Evelyn and Jimmy, who are both very passionate about and busy with student council.

If Jimmy was still in Derry, he would be the sophomore student council president, and Evelyn would be his vice.

Victor, who doesn’t give a shit about student council, would give them their space to focus on that, but they would still eat lunch together and go home together every day. They’re those kinds of friends. They don’t need to be together 24/7.

Oh, and Evelyn and Victor are definitely dating by now, which should surprise no one.

Unlike with Henry, Evelyn and Victor’s relationship didn’t begin with trauma. It began with proximity. Victor moved in down the street; Evelyn met him, was instantly smitten, and that’s it. As long as Victor stays in her life, she’s never gonna look at anyone else, which is why I can’t imagine her even entertaining the thought of Henry or Patrick. Sorry, not happening. She only has eyes for one person.

Interestingly enough, though, most people don’t even know they’re dating. If you saw the two of them in the hallway, you would never think they’re together.

(In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Victor was standing next to Evelyn while Patrick was flirting with her. He was probably standing there with the most hilarious expression of annoyance and confusion. And Patrick, of course, never even acknowledged his existence.)

Vic’s not into public displays of affection (or hell, even private displays of affection because too much skin-to-skin contact tends to make him uncomfortable), so they’re very low-key as a couple.

They’re still cute as hell, though.

Outside of school, they spend a lot of time at each other’s houses, doing homework, studying, listening to music, etc.

They also spend a lot of time sleeping, just sleeping. Vic’s the king of naps and Evelyn desperately needs one. That girl works herself way too hard.

As we already know, Victor’s mother adores Evelyn.

His father tolerates her.

And Victor suffers through those boisterous Tozier family dinners. He has to step away frequently, though; otherwise, he gets a massive headache.

Maggie loves Victor (I mean, even in PM it’s clear that she prefers him out of any of her daughter’s other love interests *cough*Henry*cough*).

Went thinks Vic’s an oddball who dresses weird, but at least he treats his daughter well.

And Richie, well… I guess Richie thinks Vic’s okay, but he makes a lot of inappropriate jokes about their relationship. A lot. Usually at dinnertime. He thinks it’s hilarious when everyone at the table gets uncomfortable, especially his dad.

I could go on and on about Victor and Evelyn’s adorable love life, about how Victor constantly forces himself out of his comfort zone just to make her happy, but I don’t want to make my bias even more obvious than it already is.

To put it simply, Victor Criss is perfect and he and Evelyn are going to stay together forever. No rebuttals needed or accepted.

Thank you, now move along.

Belch Reggie

As I said already, Belch, who now strictly goes by Reggie, is another one who greatly benefits from this scenario.

If his dad never got sick, his family would have two breadwinners, which means Reggie would feel a lot less pressure to be the man of the house and financially support his mother. He would get to pursue his own interests a lot more freely.

And, if you’ve read the novel, you know that means he’s playing baseball.

This is a passion he shares with his dad, so you better believe Mr. Huggins is Reggie’s private coach and number one fan. If they’re not in the batting cage or tossing a ball around in the front yard, they’re watching baseball on TV and in the stands.

And Reggie’s really good! Maybe not good enough to play for the Yankees or anything, but certainly good enough to earn himself a nice little scholarship and play in the minor leagues, at the very least.

Position-wise, I see him being an outfielder rather than an infielder. I don’t know if he’s athletic enough to handle CF, but if he puts in the work, maybe.

Batting is definitely his strength. He currently holds six school records and two state records, including most homeruns in a single season.

His parents go to all his games, no matter how far they are. They would pack up the car and follow him around the country if they had to.

And they’re kinda obnoxious, his parents, to the point where they often have to be removed from the stands. They’re really good people, but yeah, they’re ‘those’ kinda baseball parents.

It’s very embarrassing for Reggie.

Baseball aside, he’s still a metalhead at heart, and he still has his precious Trans Am. That hasn’t changed.

Reggie’s not your typical high school jock. He’s got a really cool edge to him.

At school, he gets along with pretty much everyone, regardless of whatever clique they belong to, but he prefers the company of his teammates and those within his regular social circle.

He’s an average student and is well-liked by most of the staff.

He has a good relationship with Evelyn Tozier and the rest of the student council. She attends a lot of his games and, if she ever needs help from the baseball team, Reggie’s usually her main point of contact. All she has to do is smile and Reggie gives in to whatever she needs.

This usually involves a lot of grueling manual labor.

Yeah, Reggie’s a bit of a sucker. He’ll do anything if you ask him nicely. This applies double if you’re a cute girl.

(Does that mean Reggie thinks Evelyn’s cute? Yeah, but don’t read too much into it. She’s still not his type.)

Are he and Henry still friends? Possibly, but similar to him and Vic, it’s probably more of a casual friendship. They don’t hang out frequently, but if they see each other at school or at parties, they get along perfectly fine.

Like I mentioned before, he could still be dating Christie.

But honestly, I think Reggie is the kind of person who puts more energy into his friendships, into his team, and into his family. If he meets someone he clicks with, cool. If not, he’s happy staying single until the right girl comes along.

(You know, I was worried I wasn’t gonna have enough material for Reggie, but I think I actually did pretty well!)

In summary, this boy is THRIVING.

Congrats for making it to the end of my nonsensical rant. 🏅

[bitter-panacea]

Goultard's backstory, comparing the Dofus manga and the special episode Part 3 - The Horrors part 1

Part 1 Part 2

Aka the Katar incident aka everything's just gone to shit

One day, Goultard comes home to an empty house and finds a letter, with a plan, signed by Katar.

Goultard : Oh, dinner's not served... That's not normal.... / Dear Goultard, I've invited your family to a little shindig at my place... You're cordially invited to join us. Katar. P.S. : I've drawn a little map on the back of this letter.

(Look at him... so angry... fangs... so cute)

Here's the letter in the special episode :

Surprise! Tu ne me connais pas mais j'organise une petite sauterie en ta faveur. Comme tu n'étais pas là, nous nous sommes permis d'inviter ta famille. Suis la carte au dos et rejoins nous vite. P.S : N'oublie pas d'affuter ta lame. Katar.

Surprise! You do not know me but I'm hosting a little shindig in your favor. Since you weren't home, we took the liberty of inviting your family. Follow the map on the back and join us soon. P.S : don't forget to sharpen your blade. Katar

First off, this letter (the voice actor's performance of it) alone has more personality in 15 seconds than Katar does in the entirety of the dofus manga. Katar looks and acts very differently in the special episode and in the manga. And I won't lie, the latter is pretty boring, especially in this volume. In general, I don't particularly care about Katar and think very little about him. But I really like what they did with him in the special ep. And of course, how can I not mention Mathias Kozlowski? Who does such an AMAZING job as Katar... He's soooo good. He does many voices in this universe, he's also Kriss La Krass, Guy (in the Dofus movie), Grany Smisse, Ogrest (Giant) and additional voices. (Bruno Choël is also FANTASTIC as Goultard btw... The entire cast is gold actually but I'm not here to talk about french voice acting)

Both letters have Katar use "une petite sauterie". "Shindig" is the closest thing I could find but it's not exactly right. Une sauterie is a small intimate and informal gathering. It's a very old fashioned word and is now only used jokingly. It's a cute and silly word and adding the "petite" in front of it makes it sound even cuter and sillier.

"Surprise!" No comment, perfect. I love characters who act silly but in a very unnerving way....

"We took the liberty of inviting your family" already hinting that Katar isn't alone!! I love that.

And Goultard runs all the way to where Katar is keeping his family hostage.

Goultard : If anything happened to them, I would never forgive myself! (And it's true, he never does)

Goultard : Good grief! I'm finally here! The moutain of a thousand screams.... aka boob mountain... (fucking boob moutain man i dont know)

The dialogue between Katar and Goultard right before they start to fight is a little different too.

Goultard : What... What is this sensation? Every muscle in my body is tensing up and... I'm shaking...

Katar : Impressive! Your body reacts instinctively to my presence! A bit like a sixth sense... I was not wrong about you! / Goultard : Who are you and what have you done to my family?

Katar : My name is Katar and your family is fine for now! They're in the cave behind me! You only have to do one thing to see them again.. Beating me!

Goultard : Very well! Now, let me tell you one thing, Katar! I meet lunatics like you every day. It's my job. But you, You're gonna suffer! I'll be merciless... Because you see... No one messes with my family.

Goultard : Ready? / Katar : I was not asking for that much... A violent fight... Gratuitous, with no justification! Now that suits me wonderfully!

(Can they both just shut up??? Oh my god!!!)

In the episode it goes like this :

Katar : Welcome Goultard. I'm Katar. We were impatiently waiting for you. We've wanted to meet a hero of your caliber for so long.

Goultard : Where are they? I swear, If you did them even the slightest harm..

Katar : Settle down. Let's not get worked up. I assure you they want for nothing. If you wish to see them, grant me a dance.

(WHY IS HE SO PRETTY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH)

It's shorter, straight to the point. Goultard doesn't give a shit who this guy is or what's his problem. He wastes no time, refuses to indulge Katar's sick sense of humor and immediately asks about the only one thing that truly matters to him. You can clearly tell he's furious AND panicked. Terrified of what might have happened to his loved ones.

They have a very interesting dynamic... I think what works so well here is that, Katar dismisses and minimizes the brutality of the situation, not taking it seriously, like it's a joke or a game. Which is exactly the way Goultard behaves most of the time. But in this specific situation and with what's at stake, he can't not take it seriously. Very destabilizing for Goultard.

In the manga, Katar initiates. Goultard is taken aback. At first it looks like he doesn't stand a chance against Katar.

Goultard : Where is he? / Katar : Tired already? Impossible, I can't have been this wrong about you... Move... You can do better... Come on hero, fight! Or i'll kill you, your shitlings and your bitches...

But he manages to turn the tables.

Katar : Seems like you're getting caught up in the game! / Goultard : Believe me... This is everything but a game.

In the special episode, Goultard attacks first and immediately has the upper hand on Katar.

Katar is a sacrier, it makes sense for him to wait until he's injured before fighting back and taking control of the situation.

Get wrecked <3

There's a little moment i like in the manga that's not in the special ep, right before the reveal that Goultard's family is already dead. Interesting to know that at this point Gou holds the belief that hunting monsters is fine but killing humans isn't.

Goultard : I know terminating a human being is wrong.. But I sense an evil too great inside you! You have to disappear! / Katar : Tell me, Goultard... What makes you think I'm human? And above all, what makes you believe you can defeat me? You hit like an old lady, Goultard! It looks like you're holding back, like you're scared to let loose... I think I have the solution! Come over here... Go say hello to your dear family!

Kicking him in the balls, grabbing his hair and dragging him through the dirt. I like that. I really like that.

(baby baybay bayayy bayby baby byabbaby baabyy)

This is horrible.... AND BRUNO CHOEL MY GOD!!! I'm begging them to make Goultard go through the horrors in the next season because I need more of that. He's just so good at crying and begging and whimpering and and and. He did say in an interview that he's very passionate and usually cries for real when playing these kind of scenes so the emotions in his voice feel as honest as possible. Simply amazing.

Part 4

[mids-dumbbrain]

MK1 Nitara Rewritten

Maybe nsfw? Ah fuck it

I dislike MK1's Nitara, and if you're reading this, you probably do too. From her role in the story being kinda useless her design being boring as hell and Megan fucking Fox, she had big shoes to fill and her feet were just too small.

Please forget I ever said that

Point I'm trying to make is, Nitara in this game is probably the worst she's ever been in any MK media and I want to do her justice that Netherrealm Studios didn't.

Visual character design

When a character is shown on screen, the first thing people take notice of is their design. Nitara's original design was very edgy 2000s vampire lady vibes and I fuckin dig that. She was straight up a drag queen in Deadly Alliance to Armageddon

Nitara's design in MK1 is a complete and utter clusterfuck. What is this Purple dress with red accents? And don't get me started on the hair. She looks like a fucking onion or a dumpling, for crying out loud.

So instead of this complete dumpster fire, I propose a different take on her design, which could be more aligned with her original character, being a vampire and making a bit more sense with why she's working with Quan Chi.

This design I cooked up is not the greatest, and is heavenly inspired by the design that oni18064 made

The reason why I went with a pirate vampire (vampirate for short) aesthetic is because the second thing that caught my attention with Nitara in this game

Characterization

The way Nitara's written in this game is like she's a kid trying to act serious to a group of adults who try not to laugh. Her race of Vaeternian's (who may I add, deliberately made themselves into vampires) is dying out and she needs to kidnap inhabitants of other realms to breed with them. Not to eat them (maybe), but to have unconsentially fuck them to keep their race alive, and she wanted to start with Kung Lao of all people (woohoo, someone's otp mentioned!). She eventually encounters Quan Chi who does some black magic fuckery and makes her immune to sunlight and tricks her into working for him.

Other than the Quan Chi part being kinda cool, everything else a bit shit tho, innit?

How I would have done Nitara is similar to how they treated Ashrah in this game. Keeping elements of her original origin story while adding some extra elements. Nitara would have been sent to Outworld with her very own crew, provided by the vaeternus council to find a sacred jewel that could probably help Vaeternian's escape the shadows. She would sail off to Outworld, losing her crew one by one, each by worse and worse deaths. From being vaporized to eaten alive, she was the last of her crew to still live, and also found the jewel she was looking for. By the time she did find it though, her whole crew was dead. Some evaporated by the sun, some eaten alive by Tarkatans, and some just got stabbed and slashed to death by Ashrah and her kriss. It was later on a day where she met Quan Chi, who told her that he can help her escape the shadows and walk in the sun, only if she hands him the jewel. Nitara, with nothing left to lose, takes his hand and make her sunlight proof. Nitara and Quan Chi went from realm to realm to find the last few members of Quan Chi's ragtag jobbers from Ashrah's chapter and hilarity ensues.

Voice acting

We've all been there. We've all had our own rock bottom, and I think this game might be famous actress Megan Fox's rock bottom. I've seen a few movies Megan has been in, and she was pretty decent. What I interpret is either Megan didn't give a shit or NRS didn't give a shit and just told her to "read between the lines".

If I were to cast a voice for Nitara, it would either be Emma Thompson, who I personally know as captain Amelia from Treasure Planet

Or maybe even Erica Lindbeck, who was Cassie in MK11 and like a million other things

importance

Main story wise, Nitara will still be a side character, but she will be quite an important element in Ashrah's part of the story, seeing as these two had somewhat of an on-sight rivalry in the midway games. Nitara will still be helping Quan Chi and his jobber squad but she wouldn't instantly fight Ashrah... Once--

Okay but hear me out, Nitara would fight Ashrah once in the first fight (like vanilla MK1) and after that, she would use her blood magic to heal her wounds, she would fight instead of Quan Chi, who has escaped and Havik is now her kameo. As Ashrah's approaching Quan Chi to go in for the kill, she's kicked to the side by Nitara who says something like "I am not finished with you, you wannabe angel." After which they start fighting. Nitara gets a slight Power buff and gets beaten anyways. Later when she fights the linguine Lin Kuei along with the jobber squad. After that, she becomes completely useless to the plot of the main story AND Khaos Reigns.

Arcade mode ending

Nitara's ending would probably consist of her returning to Vaeternus empty-handed, making her employers furious, much like in her actual ending. But only the first half.

"That trip to Earthrealm was a complete disaster. My whole team is dead, I was bested three times and worst of all, I lost the gem I needed for my employers. Once I returned, they were pissed, to say the least. Not only throwing me in jail, but after that promoted me to death row. Not long after, when my day has come, I broke out, only to see hundreds of dead Vaeternians in the streets, and once I inspected the bodies and was shocked to see the same kind of slash marks I had when I fought... Her. That demoness is killing my kind for her own damned salvation. And what now? I do what I can to kill that Ashrah, even if it means playing both sides of the war."

I mean, if you're gonna make Ashrah the same she's been in every instalment she's been in but add new shit to make her less outdated, you might as well do the same for Nitara, her nemesis, her rival. Since every character in this game has a reason for what they're doing, like how Reiko and Shao tame Onaga because they're tired of jobbing to everyone or how Kuai Liang Scorpion started the Shirai Ryu because he has a crush on Harumi (now that I say it out loud it's kinda dumb but you can't have a good game without a little dumbassery).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Nitara is a character who has the base of something great but is wasted on this game's mid writing. Hope this helps any sad and desperate Nitara fans. Your welcome and have this as your free therapy session.

Tl;Dr: MK1 Nitara sucks, I am make her cool

[scr-ppup]

Day 2 of @radiomogai's event texts! This is late but I wanted to separate the second and third days into their own posts.

2. What are your experiences with names, pronouns, and other referential language? How does it relate or not relate to other aspects of your identity?

Two experiences with names.

Our experiences with names on media platforms are kind of nuanced, I mean we're a name hoarder that's pretty much it. Using Nominalfluid and -flux as terms at some point for that matter with a name hoard link attached to that. I used to go by Saku when I was younger on Instagram, it was a short name from Sakura (mind you I was like 9-10 years old at the time. Besides, Saku stuck longer around than the original name due to it being a masculine Finnish name and I was primarily in Finnish spaces at the moment roleplaying and such on Instagram, so people rarely even called us Sakura lol.) And then I switched to non-traditional names such as Hyena per username change, then it became Benne, and Krisse and back to Benne. As of now, collectively we go primarily go by Koiri on media platforms.

Our experience irl is more anticlimactic, we never liked our first deadname (a basic christian origin 9 letter name) as we always got called by a shortened nickname that was 4 letters long. We grew up with that, even like 80% of our family called me by the shortened nickname instead for like 60% of the time. More recently we took our chosen name (Krisse), which was closely related to our third name (we use our chosen name as a nickname currently (also as a compromise with our mother so she won't be mad at us lol she was genuinely pissed at first when speaking to her about name changes to something completely else than any of our given names.), bc people are more inclined to using it as such more often than our third name which is also another long 9 letter christian name. Originally we thought about taking the male version of our third name as our chosen name, but went against it in the end when we realized it was our brother's second given name lol.) So we kinda stuck with that.

Funnily enough we started to think about name change around when we were 17 years old! So name change wasn't really that important to us on an irl basis due to trying to fit into the premade mold our mum attempted to force us into lol. But we're happy.

On pronouns

Okay, so we went to the pipeline of she/her, she/they, they/she, he/they, he/him, it/it's, any pronouns, no pronouns to he/it over the years. That's not to talk about the neopronouns we used around 16-17 years old, we discovered them back on like at 14 years old and from that vamp/vamps stuck, other that stuck were sie/sien, che/Cher, rot/rots, and kit/kits I believe? Now we have a hoard and use he/it/xe as auxiliary pronouns with any specific theme neopronouns (this list is long collectively and individually. But for example any canine themed or war themed pronouns would be sufficient as an example.)

On referential language.

The usage of girl and boy is rather complex to us.

We never felt like a woman, barely even a girl even if we were brought up as one (we became conscious of this fact at like 9. Which was like, an interesting development for me personally.). This was around when we were for the first time like 9-10, back then we didn't even know what non cis or nonbinary meant either so we just identified as cis and a girl.

When we were 11 we started to question our gender and came to the conclusion that we were nonbinary, we identified as nonbinary and came out as one at 12 years old. We denied being a girl and a woman to the hilt until we were like 13-14 give or take bc the thought of it genuinely made us uncomfortable, which is when we started to question being transmasc (thus the thought of using boy and man to refer to ourself became a thing to explore.) At 13 we were hopping between genderfluid and nonbinary (relevant to questioning what referential terms we wanted to use) and At 15 we came to the conclusion that 1. We're a boy, and 2. We're a trans boy in specific but also still nonbinary? We didn't know what enby or enban as ref terms were at the time, and we never to this day identified with the term (related to feeling disconnected from the nonbinary term.).

At 16 I started to question using girl again, and then I found the genderqueer label and went that feels like me. Then I got comfortable being both a girl and a boy, nowadays a boygirl and a girlboy.

Also, note to this we are so much more comfortable being referred to as a girl in our language's slang. Tyttö or Nainen (meaning girl and woman respectively in Finnish) is kinda fine, yeah. Mimmi, mirkku, muija etc, Hell yeah, that's fine as long as it's not done with an offensive or negative intent lol.

Neogender related ref langs are more nuanced topic. If they stick to our personal liking then we will identify with them. in most cases the ref lang label needs to grow on us a little if it's not something we have made; for example lurkerian, Toxionatalismaen, subwaysurfian and such ref langs are something so personal for us that it skips the growing part bc logically we made those and we identify as them (this was not the case always, we did not identify as a lure for the better of like a year into making lurkerian until we remade that label). However, we can grow out of these labels (regarding our Neogender umbrella ref lang) and sometimes we stick with a ref lang label from them that we physically wouldn't fit as an adult anymore. The change from minor to adult ref lang terms is something we tend to struggle with even if we by sense shouldn't probably? It's the familiarity and all, and the fact that we constantly tend to even forget what labels we might use.

All of these experiences directly impacted our identity growing up. The ref lang thing prompted gender questioning which then slowly snowballed and nowadays If we find ourselves uncomfortable suddenly with a specific ref lang term or even pronouns for that matter then it most likely means our gender identity has shifted.

[ntaras]

It might sound silly but I was looking at Nitara in MK1, especially the skins that give her angel wings and I found myself wondering if it was supposed to add anything lore wise or have some sort of symbolism.

Nitara with this skin is supposed to ressemble an angel, the very thing Ashrah ultimately wants to be (at least in the Midway timeline since MK1!Ashrah would be content just being human). Yet, Ashrah finds herself willing to slay Nitara, willing to slay something which ressembles an angel, something Ashrah aims to be.

I just thought it was interesting but I don't know, you probably had it figured out a while ago ajdenek. It also ties to your "Ashrah killing unicorns, which are beings of light" headcanon.

first of all thank you for the comments on my drawing!!! and for calling my mind huge when it comes to the beloved trio of ashrah, datusha, and nitara <333

i love nitara’s gear a lot and have thought about it!!! i love the mechanical wings, the “fleshy” wings, and the feathered wings!!! (a personal fave of mine is her “hope of vaeternus” wings which look very grotesque in comparison to the non-grotesque word “hope”.)

the feathered wings look very pretty on nitara and they are an interesting contrast to what nitara is. i don’t think they suit her as like, her “canon” wings, but like you said: makes you wonder about possible lore and symbolism.

i have wondered about the expansion of the ashrah and nitara beef (obviously) and how it could end, and an idea that has come to me is that their rivalry ends with ashrah viewing nitara as her savior in some way. nitara knows how to destroy datusha, and as a result she also technically knows how to save ashrah from datusha. ashrah’s way of cleansing herself is not through the kriss, but instead through nitara saving her from the kriss. the bright lights that visited ashrah are not her angelic saviors, but instead a creature of dark is her savior.

like it’s a funny way of mocking ashrah: her, dressed in all white and following the words of a celestial voice, is worse than the winged woman born in darkness. nitara is absolutely no angel (she’s manipulative and doesn’t care for others unless they can aid her), but compared to what datusha did? nitara is the only being ashrah can truly call an angel.

nitara is trying to do something good for the sake of her home, and through nitara “freeing” ashrah from datusha (similar to a message from god like how datusha told ashrah her path is kill the vampires), ashrah attempts to seek a home and simply be good rather than the embodiment of purity.

also the unicorns hc… like it’s a very silly hc and it makes me chuckle but the idea that such a beautiful creature of light exists in the realm of darkness is so fascinating. on one hand i do think about ashrah killing ALL life on vaeternus like i tried to depict in my drawing, but i also think about her awe at seeing a unicorn and the immediate connection she’d have with them. it does also make me think about ashrah riding a unicorn into battle lol.

but on to a very quick lore headcanon i thought of: i think it’s be cute if during their wings sprouting out of them (another hc i have), younger moroi would also have feathers that eventually completely and permanently shed. also on a darker note, makes me wonder if ashrah killed children, and if she did the irony in her killing children whom are often regarded as “pure” but now also with the added hc of them having feathered (angel-like) wings.

so to sum this up: yeah, nitara in terms of comparison to ashrah’s attempt at becoming an angel, is much more of an angel than datusha.

also to bring up mk1(2) because i do think ashrah got the better end of characterization in the new era, i think if the story ever explored nitara and ashrah’s rivalry in depth (which they will not lol), it would be nice to see nitara openly mocking ashrah for having angel wings while attempting genocide on the vampires (which makes me wonder would ashrah want to abandon her wings while wanting to be human? becasue she appears to flaunt them on the occasion). of course ashrah would rebuke what nitara is saying cause she’s in full denial. besides, what’s the difference between a vampire’s wings and an angel’s wings? are they not the same? are they both not monsters of some kind?

[mjammies]

maxon come back plzzz (the elite)

ch21-24

Ch 21 

-not the king and maxon leaving to go to asia

-maxon must be 5’8 the way they be describing him

-”call ahead and tell them to go easy on us” maxon you gotta be kinding if you think this girl got ties like that

-oop kriss is taking itttttttt 

-i hate america i really do but this kinda behavior with kriss woulda had me tweaking tf out fr

-”you are such an idiot sometimes” gurl arent you tryna win him and you calling him a dummy

-”he noted the homemade bracelet I wore. He studied it, seeming confuse, then kissed my hand tenderly” america better pray that maxon dont know what the guards buttons look like. America really dumb af.

-not anne finding aspen in america room omgg can somebody jump him plzz, where the hell is this rod when you really need it.

-”he was in plain clothes, not his uniform” bro i think aspen was meant to be a 6 cause this level of ignorance is unmatched.

-”maxon is gone. This changes everything.” ummmmm no it does not, goofy 

Ch 22

-atp they shoulda put cameras in all the rooms cause im tired of them sneaking around

-i dont even wanna read this bitch ass chapter 

-”i dont like talking about him anyway” ofc you dont, only cause he tryna take your girl

-”and the injections, too” yall getting fed and bbls??

-my thing is if aspen really wanted to make change wouldnt he let america be a princess since she'll actually speak out about all the nonsense going on. Cause if you take her, maxon is gonna marry someone else and the exact same shit is going to continue to happen.

-”slowly, he lowered me to the mattress of pillows” i want them both to die

-”there was a newfound confidence there, something instilled in him through becoming a two” why not a one, imagine the confidence a one could have 

-”when this was all over, would i be a two or a one?” bro this wack ass caste system. The only reason cass set it up like this was to make it seem like there was a real competition here, but wth kinda comp is it between a prince and a guard, like sir you are THE HELP,

-america is just greedy asf, maybe she needs a poly relationship since she cant chose. 

Ch 23

-”but elise family says they never arrived” oop the prince and king is mia

-not the king saying they there but elise family wth is they at

-not kriss pulling her in the garden to chat about maxon, this finna get juicy

-”i think you and i might be neck and neck at this point” oooppp she saying yall is equally in the running omggg

-”anyway, he loved it. He said no one had given him a present yet”. Damnnnnnn america you really missed the ball on that opportunity

-omggg he done took kriss to his room and not even miss thing has been

-”anyway he started visiting me during pretty much every free moment he had” im gonna be sick

-he aint even try to kiss her yet, good

-”i dont know how you feel, but i love him” damn. Miss home of the brave couldnt even say that and here go kriss confusing easilyyy

-not the rebels demanding they end the selection, yall dont like a little drama lol

CH24

-broo imma need maxon to get back and soon

-”what if maxon was dead?” girl dont act like you care

-oop waitaminute the king and maxon are coming home tonighttttt, thank god

-”kriss left seconds later. Maybe she was making a welcome home card.” lol i sure hope so

-not the maids fightingggg

-are the maids not also a two? See this why this caste system doesnt work 

-oh wait nvm i guess not

-she back to reading gregory’s diary, im not reading all that tho yall be easy

-damn he wrote a lot

-not she tryna look decent for maxon, i know thats right

-awww not him gifting her a blue bracelett, i need someone who will think about me in a whole different country

-”i didnt find anything for anyone else” period

-broo this could all be hers, but she so slowww 

-”im just really confused about you rn.” GIRL hes the one whose been confused about YOU

-”if you ever want to know anything about me… all you need to do is ask.” now THAT is a man

-”i dont know if im ready to do that yet” whats the number to this palace, im calling in a bomb threat myself 

-maxon gone for days, yall thinking he died, he returns, and this is how yall communicate when he gets back palease.

[puissantveil]

Reacting to Kitana's intros, part 1: (MAJOR MK1 SPOILERS)

(if this sounds like ass I tried to do this earlier with a fresher memory, but somehow the draft got lost)

Hearing Kitana and Mileena conspire in their respective voices gives me life. Imagine your bff's hot older sister conspiring with a Power Rangers villain.

"An empress has many duties, Mileena." Oh, cut the crap and talk honestly with your sister. That's a non-answer.

"My kriss says there is no evil in you." This is the stupidest fucking thing I've heard in this entire game. Not even Kitana believes it. 1. She's got privilege up to her eyeballs, that's got to account for something. 2. She seems to care a lot more about the royal house than the masses. 3. She seems a little too good at not causing trouble. Conflict averse AF. And even if she's essentially a puppy in this game (which I don't entirely dislike), she's absolutely said some pretty shitty things to Mom and Big Sis throughout her life. Source: I have an older twin and I've certainly said my share of shitty things to her.

I thought she and Tanya were going to hate each other, Kitana being jealous of Tanya spending time with big sis. Instead there's a mutual respect, and they have a working relationship. A pleasant surprise, even if the former would've been funnier.

I was hoping for more teasing dialogue vs. Kenshi, but I suppose Kenshi already has a girlfriend in Johnny Cage.

Speaking of Cage, I was right about her humoring his advances because she thinks he's funny. She is obviously not interested in a relationship with him, but "you couldn't handle an Outworld woman" almost sounds like she's bragging to him about what a catch she is. I'm glad she stays single, though. I'm not sure I'd really pair her with any of the dudes besides Kuai, and he comes with the in-law.

She'd make a better let's play channel with Johnny, but she seems to genuinely respect Raiden, admiring his humility and skill. But considering Raiden and Kung Lao seem college age and Kitana seems to be in her mid-to-late 20s, the ship would be at least a little weird.

Sindel's death was a HUGE FUCKING DEAL to her. It's one of the few things to genuinely rile her up, and rightfully so. Rain is on her shit list for life.

I'm not sure I can see her as a Supreme Commander of Outworld's armies, but then again I haven't seen her in action.

She does a 180 with Shang Tsung, and it is glorious. Like Jesus fuck, she openly hates that dude, and it's a refreshing change.

I'll have to rewatch tomorrow, as well as watch the story mode.

[clockworkdragonffxiv]

[oceandiagonale]

The family tree of heroes and legendaries is really complicated. Vi doesn't really care about it that much. They are going to choose who they see as family, thank you very much. But that doesn't mean that he isn't going to try and befriend some heroes.

With Cream it would probably be easy. Like, who doesn't love Cream? They are just that lovable. The beloved.

I am really curious how Spare would react to Vi. They are a hero, but they don't really do hero stuff and they were created by Giratina who has a conflict with Arceus.

They are horrified by Gene's cooking. How can someone be so bad, they have no idea. He isn't the best but he can do something that tastes good from things he found in the wild and/or 'borrowed' using portals.

They also really admire everything Gene does as a hero. They don't have the experience of saving the world(yet), but they can imagine how much work and stress it is. Vi isn't the best with words, so they would instead try to cook something special as a thank you. It isn't a lot, but he doesn't know what else he can do.

YES EXACTLY YOU CHOOSE YOUR FAMILY!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

cream is literally so lovable, they should get to go out to lunch with everyone 😭😭😭

so the thing about arceus and giratina is that, in the modern era, they’re totally fine with one another!! their fight was relegated to their past, so while I can’t speak for @kriss-watches-stuff, I doubt that Spare would care so much about Vi being Giratina’s hero -- she’s much too busy disliking the fact that Vi’s a human KFJKHDS

OH...... gene would be so touched by that, he’s    pretty sure he keeps messing things up as a hero so that would mean so much to him -- especially the food since making food or eating together with friends is one of the things he loves most 😭😭😭

(more under the cut including Vi’s design!!!)

YES more teambuilding lore!! the alola teammates sound so cool, and I love the idea of an older magnemite 🥺🥺🥺

I feel like older steel-types have more wear and tear, but I wonder if more scuffs are a symbol of the number of battles that steel-types have been in? or if a more polished exterior indicates that there’s a strong community of magnemite that don’t get attacked individually?

so the full  team is, shiny zubat, feebas, snorunt, larvesat, magnemite, and ribombee!

OH that is so funny though, Gene’s Ribombee is named Sunshine!! they’re so cute and yellow it’s a perfect naming scheme!! 🥺🥺🥺

Sunshine is very responsible when it comes to Gene, but he could so totally be corrupted by Sunny if he proposed a really great prank on Vi’s teammates 😂😂😂

oh that’s so good for her!! new pronoun just dropped!!! 🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺

YES THE CROBAT HOODIE!!!!!!! VI MY BELOVED THANKS FOR SHARING THEIR DESIGN 😭😭😭😭😭

[morose-magnetrix]

Star Wars: the High Republic #10 by Cavan Scott (writer), Georges Jeanty (artist), Karl Story (inker), Victor Olazaba (inker), and Carlos Lopez (colorist) || variant cover by Georges Jeanty

WHAT’S IN THE BOX! WHAT’S IN THE BOX!

Let me rewind a second. 

This issue continues the new storyline, the Shadow of the Nihil, which takes place after the events of the Rising Storm novel. I only read the main title comics + the adult novels, so I am missing some context for some of the events here, but it’s still relatively easy to put together. The Jedi (mistakingly) believe that Lourna Dee is dead - and they thought (again mistakingly) that she had been the Eye of the Nihil. Avar Kriss comes up with the genius plan of sending Keeve and Terec undercover in the Nihil to figure out who is coming into power. The advertisements really sold it as this shocking betrayal by Keeve, as if she had actually abandoned the Jedi and gone dark, which honestly would’ve been heartbreaking but fascinating to see a Jedi amongst the Nihil (not that I want that for Keeve, I’d rather it happen to some other character. I don’t want the strong WoC Jedi to become a traitor 10 issues into this series, since it’d feel like a way for them to write her off or shelve her). 

Pretty quickly though, the Nihil realize that Keeve and Terec are Jedi, thanks to the Myarga giving them up quickly against her own self interest, although I think she probably was just being petty and not thinking things through. I was a bit surprised that this undercover assignment only lasted what, an issue and a few pages? I would’ve liked at least two issues with how hyped up this was, but we arrive at our inevitable conclusion - the Nihil find them out, they use their magic box from the inventor chick at Valo who’s name escapes me, and Lourna Dee shows up, very much not dead. 

It feels like this issue was largely to get pieces where they needed to go - to have our heroes directly encounter this weapon of the Nihil. They could’ve achieved this in other ways beyond an undercover op, but this does allow us to have the tension Ceret’s physical reaction to Terec being cut off from the Force, where it looks like he is turning to stone, much like what happened to Loden Greatstorm. 

Lourna Dee steals the show in this, with a spunky attitude (and seeing her depicted visually really adds to the overall story here, as it’s no longer just me imagining things). The art work is gorgeous and well done, especially as it applies to showing the negation of the Force. 

All in all, while it is an issue that I think is mostly just setting up the board, the story to come seems incredibly promising.

Verdict: Seven out of ten Nihil-who-are-definitely-not-Jedi-in-disguse

[ladybug023]

Ashrah x Raiden Headcanons Slightly Random

Disclaimer:

(So these are my HCs for Raiden and Ashrah. If you dislike this couple keep scrolling. I see a lot of potential for them though. If you want to see more context for my origin on Ashrah click this link.)

Ashrah’s origin link

It was a slow burn for these two. They despised each other at first. Why wouldn’t they? They were natural enemies.

He was Earthrealm’s protector, the God of Thunder and She was Shinnok’s servant and the Mistress of Demons.

They spent over millennia fighting on opposite sides.

Also Ashrah has a posh British accent in my AU so she’d always call him “Love” in a mocking way of course.

She was in charge of the warriors when NeatherRealm participated in the Mortal Kombat tournaments, she and Quan Chi would do whatever they could to sabotage Raiden and Fujin.

(Skipping in time to when she’s recovering from the Kriss, she’s living amongst the White Lotus.)

Raiden wasn’t happy about Ashrah joining the White Lotus. He wouldn’t even have allowed it if Fujin and Bo Rai Cho didn’t convince him to.

He was always suspicious of her. Not only was she a demon but one of Shinnok’s closest servants. He didn’t believe she wanted redemption. He also disliked her prideful behavior. She hated how he doubted her.

This caused them to quarrel more than a old married couple. Everyone can feel the sexual tension radiating off those two.

Raiden and Ashrah have an adorable height difference. He’s 7 feet tall and she’s 5,5.

Whenever she wanted to make a point to Raiden’s tall ass she’d simply reach up, grab the collar of his shirt, and pull him down to her eye level.

Ashrah: You listen here Thunder God! If you think for one moment that I will tolerate your criticisms, you are dead wrong!

Raiden: Ashrah-

Ashrah: Don’t you AsHRaH me Raiden!

Ashrah and Fujin on the other hand got along much better. They became close and this made Raiden jealous, although he wouldn’t admit it.

She also drinks with Bo Rai Cho sometimes but hates his terrible manners. Like his constant burping, farting, vomiting.

What makes Ashrah and Raiden good equals was that they were equally stubborn and are willing to do whatever it takes.

This is the reason that Ashrah always had respect for Raiden. Despite her seeing Earthrealm as weak, she respected his undying loyalty to it.

It even angered her when mortals question his authority.

Ashrah: All you mortals do is whine and complain. Your realm is the weakest and yet Raiden still defends you! He would sacrifice everything and everyone he holds dear just for your protection and yet you’re still ungrateful! You should feel blessed to have him!

As Ashrah spends more time with the White Lotus, she and Raiden start to get along better. He sees how hard she’s trying to be a better person.

Her disgust for mortals and humans start to soften too. She does grow to respect some mortals.

She also gets the habit of fussing over his health. She’d nag him to rest and would ask him if he’d eaten because she knows he forgets to eat sometimes.

Gods don’t need sleep or food to survive but it helps keep their energy and strength up.

Also Ashrah tends to unintentionally insult people when she tries to help them.

Ashrah: Raiden you look absolutely dreadful! Have you eaten today?!

Raiden: Well no, I haven’t had the time yet.

Ashrah: Here eat this, and rest should help with your complexion.

Raiden: Ashrah you do not need to-

Ashrah: I know I don’t need to, but it’s disgraceful for Earthrealm’s protector to look this way. You should be grateful.

Raiden: Thank you Ashrah, I appreciate your concern.

*Ashrah blushes*

Ashrah: Heh, don’t get used to it love.

Ashrah never liked children but she somehow became a maternal figure to the children of the Shao Lin this includes Kai and Kung Jin. (Ashrah supports her gay son Jin👏)

Raiden’s heart melted a bit when he saw her playing a Konghou Harp for the children. He never knew a demon could be so nurturing.

The two finally kissed one night while taking a walk through White Lotus gardens.

Ashrah is Raiden’s spitfire. She always been very feisty and that’s something he loves about her.

Her snarky comments also make him smile sometimes.

Lesser men wouldn’t be able to handle her temper and bossiness.

What Ashrah loves the most about him is he doesn’t back down to her. She also loves how heroic and good he is even if she teases him about it sometimes. She hopes one day she could be as morally just as him.

Ashrah is a demoness so naturally she’s a freak in the sheets. Kinky as hell. She’s also pretty dominant. (Ashrah gives off major dominatrix vibes) Which is fine for Raiden because he’s a switch. She shows him manyyyy different things, positions he didn’t even think were possible.

But that’s enough of that.

Ashrah secretly enjoys dancing as well and grew to love Earthrealm music not that trashy rock and roll but relaxing classical music.

Raiden catches Ashrah dancing by herself as she swayed around the room.

Raiden: Are you in need of a dance partner?

Ashrah: In Earthrealm is it not considered rude to barge into someone’s room without warning?!

Raiden: My apologies demoness, I didn’t take you for a dancer.

Ashrah: Tell anyone and I will-

Raiden: -Kill me? Claw out my eyes? Rip out my tongue?

*Raiden walks closer and wraps and arm around Ashrah’s waist. He then takes her hand and they both start swaying to the music*

Ashrah: ...Yes, but I would do it in reverse order.

*Raiden chuckles deeply and twirls her. He then pulls her back to and holds her close*

Raiden: I love you Ashrah.

*Ashrah’s face flushes and her pout turns into a soft smile. The two immortals share a kiss*

[hushedhands]

Challenge 74

Thanks for voting @winter-131! One easy thing you can do to encourage your friends to vote is just post that you voted on social media. It reminds people to vote, shows them that it can be fun, and makes them want to be one of the cool kids like you ❤️🤍💙 I hope you enjoy this Maxerica fight!  

America knew that she was Illéa’s darling. The nation, rocked by tragedy in the wake of the rebel massacre that stole their King and Queen from them, took almost feverish delight in the freshly-crowned King Maxon’s brand new marriage to a humble girl from Carolina. The tabloids made it look like a dream from the outside, but inside the Palace all America saw were threats. Advisers sneered at her naive policy ideas, etiquette lessons with Silvia took on a desperate tenor as it suddenly became America’s responsibility to gracefully represent Illéa to the world, and there were always more rebels lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Now that Maxon wasn’t dating dozens of other women at the same time that he was courting her, America’s relationship with her new husband was better than ever. Still, they didn’t see much of each other. Now on nights when he didn’t take her on dates, it wasn’t because he was making out with Kriss Ambers, it was because he was still at work. America loved him with her whole heart, which made it all the more frustrating that she still didn’t know him very well.

One of their first major galas as a husband and wife took place in the gardens, because the Great Room was still being repaired from the rebel attack. The celebration was full of politicians who wanted to talk to Maxon and look at America, but even though America was only expected to stay quiet and pretty, she used the evening as an opportunity to practice the skills Silvia had been teaching her.

America moved on her own from cluster to cluster of important people, welcoming them to the Palace and thanking them for all of their “hard work in this difficult time”. She was both bored by how easy her job was and convinced she was doing it completely wrong all at the same time.

It felt like she’d been at it for hours, moving around the gardens like a bland, bejeweled ghost repeating herself over and over as if her unfinished business in life had been thanking people for coming to her party. In reality, maybe 45 minutes had passed, and she only had to make it a little longer until dinner would be served and she could take a break. Then, out of the corner of her eye, America spotted a familiar face and made a beeline toward her.

“Georgia, I can’t believe you and August decided to come.” America smiled.

Georgia offered America a perfunctory little curtsy and then looked across the garden for her husband, standing and talking to a few interested-looking military-types. “And I can’t believe all the times we risked out lives for the chance to be able to live openly in society, and this is what we get.”

America laughed, “Not worth it at all.”

“Not even close.”

“Hey, maybe we should start a new underground rebellion.” America offered.

“People who hate parties?” Georgia smiled wryly.

“We just run away, hide somewhere pretty, and periodically release manifestos about how boring this is.” America giggled as she gestured to the scene around them.

“I’m in.” Georgia immediately agreed. “Except, uh-oh, that’s interesting…”

“What?”

Georgia stepped closer to America and tilted her chin up to point at something happening over America’s shoulder. “Emiliana Chrystie found Maxon.”

“Who… the actress?” America blinked, turning to look back at her husband slowly so that the people around them wouldn’t notice the new direction of her attention.

“She married her way into one of the most influential families in Illéan politics, a complete caste climber…”

America cast a sidewise glance at Georgia, “Is that supposed to be bad? What do you call me, then?”

“I call you the wife of the man Emiliana is flirting with right now.” Georgia replied casually.

America didn’t see it at first. Maxon wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, really. He was smiling, laughing at something Emiliana had said. She was playfully running a finger along the shoulder of his jacket, but just to show him something. They were probably talking about fashion. It was a little familiar, sure, but Maxon was just being friendly. And were they standing a little close together? Maybe. But standing around isn’t exactly a scandalous activity.

Then America saw it. Maxon placed a hand on Emiliana’s upper arm, leant in, and whispered something that made Emiliana blush and giggle. Not only did America feel embarrassed that her husband would flirt like that with another woman in front of so many people, but she felt stupid for not seeing it right away. She felt taken advantage of, because she’d made all of those excuses in her mind for Maxon about why his behavior was probably perfectly appropriate.

America was used to seeing him treat women that way because that’s how she’d seen him treat everyone in his Selection. Meaningless, shameless flirting from morning until night. Had the Selection groomed her to accept this kind of behavior from Maxon unquestioningly? Was that one of its darker, more sinister functions? She wouldn’t even have noticed what was happening if Georgia hadn’t pointed it out to her.

“Look America, I know that Maxon will be the first king in Illéan history not to take a mistress—“

“What? They all took mistresses?”

“All of them.” Georgia nodded grimly.

“Not Clarkson—“

“All of them.” she repeated emphatically. “I know Maxon’s different, but this is a party full of the old guard: important figures from Clarkson’s reign. They might not know Maxon’s different yet, which means the women are probably already jockeying for their position in a secret, second Selection to become the King’s lover.”

The look on America’s face must have been obviously pained, because Georgia was quick to reiterate, “Obviously Maxon would never do anything like that to you—“

But America wasn’t so sure. They’d never talked about anything like this before. She knew he loved her, but how could she stop him from taking on a mistress if that’s what he really wanted? He was the King and she was just his pretty little wife. She excused herself early from the party, claiming she had a terrible headache, and she let her maids pamper her when she returned to her bedroom.

America curled up in bed in her fluffiest robe and hugged a pillow to her chest, thinking hard about the last occupant of this bedroom, Amberly. The whole room had been remade after the royal wedding, but these were still the walls that had once contained her. Had she known that Clarkson had a mistress? Had Maxon known? Was this something very normal for the royals, like seven-course dinners and having a vault full of crowns? Had Silvia simply forgotten to put this in her etiquette lessons? Had she just not gotten around to teaching America about it yet?  

By the time Maxon made it to his bedroom next door, America had been alone for long enough that she’d moved from sadness to righteous indignation. She wasn’t here to be an ornament on Maxon’s arm, like a pair of cufflinks with a cute backstory behind them. She got dressed, put on her running shoes, and went next door to confront her spouse.

Maxon’d had just a little too much to drink that night, enough to make him giddy and make the hard edges on the world around him blur softly so that everything felt safe. Now he was in a pair of silky pajamas that felt especially inviting after the long day he’d had. He was tired in a pleasant way after a productive day with lots to show for his efforts. When America wasn’t waiting for him in his bed, he’d assumed it was because she’d wanted to sleep off her headache without being awoken by him when he returned upstairs. When she opened the door to his bedroom fully dressed and not at all sickly, it took him a sluggish moment to realize what was happening.

“My love? Are you alright?” Maxon asked.

“No.” America crossed her arms defensively. “We need to talk.”

“Oh dear.” Maxon sensed that she was unhappy, but his first thought was that someone at the party had said something rude to her. “I had thought, in light of the recent massacre, that the guests would comport themselves with appropriate sensitivity. What happened?”

America didn’t understand what he was talking about. She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion and replied, “You spent the whole night flirting with that actress.”

Maxon was taken aback. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. “Wha… the whole night? America, I most certainly did no such thing. I spent the evening currying favor with important dignitaries.”

“Emiliana Chrystie is an important dignitary now? So what does it take to win her favor?”

“America!” he was scandalized at the vulgar implication her tone carried. “This is entirely unbecoming behavior from you—“

“From me?! Maxon, you were flirting with another man’s wife right in front of me!”

“I was not!”

America cast him an incredulous look, which only made him more angry at the accusation, “America, I am not permitted to ignore the women at my parties. Yes, I spoke to Mrs. Chrystie, but I made absolutely no inappropriate advances toward her. How could you think I would do that to you?”

“Seriously? That’s all you ever did to me when we were dating!”

He frowned, “That’s entirely different.”

“Is it?”

“Yes, America! You weren’t the only one I was dating at the time. Now you’re my wife, in case you haven’t noticed, and our circumstances have changed.”

She didn’t appreciate his sass. “How would you feel if I started flirting with the men at our parties? What if I leaned in and whispered scandalous secrets in their ears, touching their arms, laughing while making eye contact? Should I try it?”

Maxon grew sullen, an acrid tone in his voice, “Didn’t you already do that with Aspen?”

America knew that was still a sore spot with him, even though he and Aspen had been good friends ever since the massacre. Still, the idea that Maxon deserved to flirt to his heart’s content because America had snuck off with Aspen a few times during his Selection was the height of arrogant hypocrisy, and America needed to nip it in the bud right now. “You chose between 35 women, I chose between 2 men, and you’re the one who gets to have affairs now?!”

“Affairs?! America, this is absolutely insane. I have to be allowed to talk to women without being accused of having an affair.”

“Maxon, you weren’t talking to her the way you talk to men. You embarrassed me, it was completely obvious that you found her attractive—“

“So now I’m allowed to talk to women as long as they look sufficiently plain?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, you’re twisting my words on purpose.” America accused.

“I have to twist your words to make any sense out of them.”

“Maxon!”

“I’m sorry that you feel embarrassed, America, but I didn’t do anything wrong.” he said in a tone that told her that the conversation was over.

America narrowed her eyes at Maxon and made the last move available to her, “I’m going to spend the weekend with my mother.”

“Good idea.” Maxon said, though it was the last thing he really wanted. He hated being alone in this enormous Palace. “Maybe she can make you see reason.”

America couldn’t stand that tone in his voice, the one he used to deliberately communicate that he didn’t care what she did as long as she stopped annoying him. She turned around, left his room, and closed the door behind her.

***

America awoke the following morning in her bedroom at her mother’s new estate. Though Maxon had gifted the place to Magda, and America had never truly lived here, Magda kept a bedroom specially for each of her children at her house, even Kota. Downstairs, America could just make out the sound of baby Astra loudly “talking” to her mom and grandma, the cutest delighted baby sounds in the world.

America only knew one thing for certain, she would not let Maxon have a mistress while he was married to her. She refused to be humiliated like that. She didn’t really know what options she had, because divorcing the King was illegal and Gregory Illéa had probably made the punishment something stupid like execution. But she could probably run away, either live here with her mother or take up residence in one of the monarchy’s many properties scattered all throughout Illéa. Or maybe she could flee to Italy and spend the rest of her days as a refugee with Princess Nicoletta. That didn’t sound horrible. There were amazing concert halls and museums containing the most gorgeous art in history in Italy. It was enough of a backup plan that America felt good enough to crawl out of bed and stumble downstairs for some breakfast.

When Astra spotted her from her place on Magda’s hip, she reached out her chubby baby hands and said, “Ayayayayayah!”

“That’s pretty close to America.” James smirked. He wore one of Magda’s flowery aprons, spatula in hand, standing near the stove where he was monitoring the progress of a fluffy, golden pancake.

“Our baby can talk!” Kenna cheered, smooching Astra on the cheek. “She’s a genius!”

“Ayayayayayayah…” Astra replied, now focused on the flowers in the vase in the middle of the table.

“Well, she’s working on it.” James allowed.

“Do you want to visit Aunt America?” Magda asked Astra, but really she was offering America a turn to snuggle with the wiggly toddler. America held out her arms gratefully and accepted her cute little offering.

“Ames, let’s go let her crawl around outside before breakfast.” Kenna encouraged. “She’ll be less squirmy while she eats if we do.”

America was happy to oblige. It was a gorgeous, misty summer morning out there. Gerad was already playing hard all the way across the enormous yard, but he paused to wave to America and Kenna when he saw them step out.

America lowered Astra to the soft grass and the baby took off.

“The groundskeepers do a good job of keeping ants and biting bugs away, so all I really do is follow behind and make sure she doesn’t try to eat any sticks or something.” Kenna rolled her eyes at her sweet, stick-eating baby.

Baby Astra was already off on her own adventure, wobbly, unsteadily creeping and crawling through the short, plush green grass.

“So… you showed up unannounced in the middle of the night…” Kenna said, trying to keep her tone casual.

“Mhmm.”

“Is it rebels?”

“No.”

“Would you tell me if it was?”

“Yes.”

“Okay…” Kenna didn’t press for more information. They just quietly strolled lazily behind Astra, watching her explore the world. America didn’t know how to tell her big sister that Maxon, who was beloved by their whole family, was also a shameless flirt who didn’t care that his actions hurt America. It was embarrassing, really. Why wasn’t she able to hold her brand new husband’s attention? It would only get harder the more he got used to having her around, right?

“No, baby—“ Kenna hurried forward and took a small rock from Astra’s hand, where it had been halfway to her mouth.

Astra made a noise of upset at being robbed like this.

“Dangerous.” Kenna told her daughter sternly, “No eating.”

Astra disagreed, clearly. She loudly vocalized her dissent until she caught sight of Gerad kicking around his soccer ball. Rock entirely forgotten, she changed course and started off on the long journey to the far side of the yard to play with her young uncle.

Kenna sighed, “It’s a miracle the human race survived this long.”

“Only because of moms like you.” America smiled at her big sister.

Kenna smiled back, proud of herself for joining a long, ancient heritage of women pulling rocks from babies mouths. Emboldened by her lineage, she encouraged America, “You can tell me anything, you know.”

“I know.”

“I’ll never ever judge you, I’m always on your side.”

America frowned, frustrated, “I just—“ she shook her head, wishing this didn’t feel like such a big deal. “I don’t know, it’s probably stupid! But also—“

Kenna shook her head, “If it’s got you this riled up, it might be a lot of things but it’s not stupid.”

America started from the beginning, telling Kenna all about how Maxon had flirted with that actress at the party, how Georgia had warned her that Kings always took lovers, how there was probably a shadow Selection happening right now, full of gorgeous women vying to become the King’s favorite. How Maxon completely brushed her off the night before. Said her concerns were crazy. Refused to apologize or promise to change his ways. And how she needed a backup plan in case he took on a mistress, because America refused to share him in that way ever again.

America was surprised that Kenna giggled when America was done.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re on my side, Kenna.” America accused.

Kenna put her hands up as if in surrender, “I just can’t imagine sweet, awkward Maxon taking on a lover.” she said the last word with all the scandal it deserved.

“Well, he’s not just sweet, awkward Maxon anymore. He’s the King now. Things are different.” America frowned.

“Ames, did you tell him that this is what you’re scared of? Does he know that his behavior gave you bad flashbacks to his Selection?”

“Yes! Well, no, not the first part. But he knows how it made me feel, he just doesn’t see any problem with flirting like crazy all the time.” America was exaggerating. It had only been one woman at one party, but it was the start of something that could spiral out of control really quickly.

Kenna thought it over for a moment and then said, “Huh. I wonder…”

“What?” America peeked over at her big sister curiously.

“I just wonder if maybe Maxon doesn’t know how to be around women… I mean, you told me that he hardly knew any girls before his Selection. That means by far, most of his interactions with women took place while he was dating them. Maybe he really doesn’t see anything wrong with being flirty, because that’s the only way he knows how to be around women.”

America scowled. So now, thanks to Maxon’s sheltered upbringing, she’d have to share him with a harem of women? Would there be a race to see who could provide him with a male heir fastest? What if America only had girls like Anne Boleyn? She’d read about her in the Palace library, and her story did not end well! Would Maxon execute her so he could marry one of his mistresses?

“Ames?” Kenna brought America back to the present. “Don’t spin this up into something that’s bigger than it is.”

“I’m not.” America lied.

“Maybe Maxon doesn’t even know about the whole… royal mistress thing.”

“How could he not know?”

“Well maybe he doesn’t think you know? You guys are changing a lot about the monarchy, maybe this was just something he wanted to quietly let go of…”

America sighed and tilted her head back. She already knew she was going to have to go back to the Palace after breakfast and talk this over with her husband, even though all she wanted was to hide here with her family and snuggle baby Astra all weekend. She loved Kenna, but sometimes talking over her problems with her big sister was too helpful.

***

America found Maxon looking glum on their bench in the gardens. It was a warm Saturday, and since summer was the slow season for the government, Maxon had the day off.

“Ames?” he was surprised she was back, and she didn’t miss how he seemed to perk up just from the sight of her.

America jumped straight to the chase, still totally prepared to turn around and head back to her mother’s house if this didn’t go well. “Did you know that kings are expected to have affairs?”

Maxon blinked, surprised, “I beg your pardon?”

“Georgia told me. Illéan kings are supposed to take mistresses after they marry.”

Maxon shook his head mutinously, “Northern rebels don’t know everything, Ames.”

“So it’s not true?” America challenged him.

Maxon paused a little too long.

“So it is true, and you know it.” America sank onto the bench next to him. “It’s pretty messed up that you made me feel crazy last night since you knew full well that all of those people expect you to take a mistress soon.”

Maxon looked stunned. Finally he confessed, “I didn’t… what I mean to say is, I had no idea it was some sort of rule. I knew… I knew my father…”

America turned to him, jaw dropped, realizing what he was saying. He’d caught his father having an affair, but he hadn’t realized that was expected for Illéan kings.

“Oh, Max.” America placed her hand over his and squeezed. “I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”

“Ames, I would never do that to you.”

America smiled, but she wasn’t entirely convinced, “Not even with a gorgeous young actress? I’m still eighteen, but what about when I’m old and wrinkly?”

He smiled wanly and pressed two featherlight kisses to the outside corners of her eyes, “I should be so lucky as to share a life with you that’s long and happy enough to lead to wrinkles…”

America’s stomach swooped at his honeyed words, but then she realized that that’s exactly how Emiliana had felt the night before.

“Maxon, you need to treat women the same way you treat men.”

“I’m sorry?”

“If a woman is a good friend of yours and you want to touch them, whisper to them, tell secret, risqué jokes with them—“

“I wasn’t—“

“Let me finish.” America insisted, and he fell silent. “I’m telling you that’s fine. But stop for just a second before you do it and make sure you’d do the same thing with a man. I think, maybe, you just don’t know how to socialize with women you’re not dating. You’ve never really had to do it before.”

Maxon let her words sink in, this time doing his best not to dismiss them out of hand. After all, the only woman outside of his family that he’d had much of a friendship with before his Selection was Daphne, and she’d walked away from him heartbroken because she’d thought he was in love with her. “America, you may be right.” he realized, appalled. “What do I do?”

America smiled at his lost little confused look, a startled princeling in a king’s crown. “Just like I said, try to treat them the exact same as men. It’ll take a lot of thought at first, but I’ll bet you’ll get used to it fast. Especially if you start adding women to your roster of advisers.”

Maxon looked down at his shoes, then squeezed her hand gently, “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Ames. I should have listened. I didn’t put it all together… the fact that those guests expect me to take a mistress, and the fact that I don’t behave the same way around women as men…”

“I know you won’t be perfect overnight, and I’m glad you haven’t secretly been planning to move your mistresses into the second floor—“

“God, no!”

“I didn’t know.” America blushed. “I just… after everything I’ve learned since your Selection started, I… I didn’t think you’d do it, but I just didn’t know…”

Maxon nodded grimly. He could understand how such a thing might just be believable to her. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Then trust me when I say that I will never, ever have an affair. You are my wife, and I am perfectly content with my choice. I’ll do my best to make that clear to everyone else, too.”

America smiled, truly feeling the sun on her shoulders for the first time all day.

[hel-phoenyx]

Kaizarz and Skuld (mentioned) belongs to @corneille-but-not-the-author, Oli to @thal-ent, Domhildr to @soupedepates and Meili (mentionned) to @azeler

Sometimes I miss the days when I was living alone. No one to police me on my sleep schedule, no people to wake up when i get up at night, no sad puppy eyes when I show up pale as a ghost with shadows under my eyes darker than my past.

Yet I stay here because they asked me to. And I won't lie, going back to my old house would wake up a shitload of coping mechanisms I thought I left behind me.

So, I grit my teeth, and open the door of my room the most silent way I can. I usually would get out by the roof, but Oli is probably flying outside and I don't want to risk them seeing me on top of the castle. Last time they spotted me they warned Kaizarz and I got an hour-long lecture about putting myself in danger.

Ha. Look who's talking, mister Tyrant-scourge.

Back to the matter at hand. I have to walk without my shoes, they're making too much noise on the stone flooring of the castle ; Still, I am not completely silent. The times I hate being 6'8''.

I needed to swim. I haven't gone to the ocean in a long time, I'm starting to miss it ; and I have a lot of things to think about. Skuld that warned me about a journey on boat sooner than I'd think ; Kaizarz's attitude since he went back from the assassination ; Everyone's attitude towards me, like they are happy I'm planning things with them.

I have to sort out my thoughts and for that nothing better than a swim in the moonlight, alone. But for the alone part, I need to escape the castle without being spotted. Kriss would do a ruckus just to spite me, or lecture me about waking junior up ; as for the others, I'm pretty sure they would tie me up to the bed until I sleep.

Really not my cup of tea, but well.

i'm almost at the end of the corridor in my room. The most terrifying obstacle, the stairs, are almost before me ; yet, once I pass this, I will be sure I won't get spotted by either my sister or my friends. I just need a few more steps-

"Well what do we have here."

Damn.

Busted.

And not by anyone I can bribe. No, the one standing on the stairs, arms crossed and pouting, is no one else than Kaizarz himself. Looking at me with disapproving eyes.

"Trying to run away on me again, Tyr ?"

"............ Nooooooooo ?"

He doesn't look that convinced. I mean, that was my worst lie in a long time. And I've lied to him a lot.

Worse is that he doesn't bulge. And there's no windows in sight. I am, definitely, stuck. Well played, Kai'. Sometimes I worry about how easy you can read me.

"... Alright, fine," I end up admitting after a few seconds of silence. "I was just going for a midnight bath."

"Without warning us ??"

Us ?- wait this was not Kaizarz. Don't tell me the others- Yeaah. Domhildr just got out of an arrow slit, an outraged look on her face. And, just perched on my shoulders, is Oli. So the whole gang predicted I was gonna get out this way. Skuld is not even among them.

Am I that predictable ?

I sigh.

"Really ? So everyone is piling up on me ?"

"Well I would, but you'd say no~"

"Domi, for the love of Ocean, not right now."

I didn't plan to give her an opening for that kind of joke, but that's on me. Luckily she stops before it gets too far. Don't wanna joke about that in front of Kaizarz, he already looks lost enough and I know it's not his thing.

She does wink at me, tho. Girl. Your relationship to sex is even more fucked up than mine, I won't give you an excuse for a coping mechanism, or to me for that matter.

My jaded looks earns me a worried stare from Kaizarz, and Oli holds a candy in front of me. I take it. Never was able to resist sweets. She knows how to control me.

"You good, Tyr ?"

No. But you don't need to know that, either of you.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just need to get on the shore."

"Nothing will convince you to get back to your bed, huh ?"

Well there is something, but I would never dare ask either of them.

So in place I just throw hum a sarcastic smile.

"Bullseye, you Majesty."

He pouts. Gods, how long since I saw that face ?

"Com'ooooon, sleep is good for you..."

"You're one to talk, mister I'm camping in the stairs just to get a chance to catch me in the act."

"Heir of Vanasul doesn't need sleep."

I stare at him. Longly. Incredulously.

Is he really saying that in front of me ?

"Kaizarz."

"Yeaaaaah ?"

"I am Heir of Vanasul too."

And I can't believe he forgot that since my legacy is precisely why our relationship is so strained.

He has an embarassed smile. Seemingly he forgot, but it doesn't take long before he lose the embarassment and winks at me.

"Well I guess that's another proof I'm stronger than you."

Motherfucker- he is right, but still, right in the ego. I don't know if his spell is indeed more efficient than mine, he always had more magic than I, and that's a feat considering that besides his, my powers are the most potent people in the Kraken Coast have seen in a while.

I still know he's talking shit about not needing sleep. Magic, even the most powerful ones, exhaust your body. The Immortal King still feels fatigue, or so I've heard.

But hey, need to keep his spirits up. So I just smile.

"Sure you are. So. Can I go now ?"

"You know what ? I have a plan. Why don't we all come with you to the beach ?"

I don't even have time to answer to Oli before Domhildr cuts in, a huge smile on her face.

"Oooooh, good idea ! Like that, no Tyr alone with the intrusive thoughts..."

Little shit- well, I guess I wil have to accept the compromise because Kaizarz's face just lighted up and I can't say no to that sunny smile. Gods I'm weak to that man. He can control me so easily.

I guess that's why he's the king, and I'm the fallen prince.

"Fiiiiiiine. Let's just go."

They all smile.

I do, too.

****

"Having a good time, Tyr ?"

I'm sat on the shore with Kaizarz, looking at Domhildr and Oli building a castle through sand, splinters and pebbles. They're soaked in saltwater, since they play-fought before that. Me, I am pristine. Didn't want to join the fight, this is one I'd win.

I just shrugs to Kaizarz's question.

"Yeah, somehow. It just feels..."

Hollow.

Like we're in a memory but something's missing.

That something could be Meili, still exiled. Or the carefreeness of our younger years, before the incident, before the deaths, before everything.

I don't need to finish my sentence. He understands. I can read it on his trembling lid.

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

Can't continue that conversation like this. I just smile, a bit teasingly.

"Well, adding to that I would rather be in the company of the deep-sea fish, but..."

"Whaaaaat ? You think we're worse company that fucking fishes ? You wound me, Tyr, really, you do !"

Yeah right, you're smiling, you big dumbass. And that smile is the thing I want the most to see, far, far in front of stupid sea creatures.

That I won't ever tell you.

I have no right to.

My smile widens.

"Fishes don't bother me so I get out of my cave, Kaizarz."

"Oh there is another thing fishes can't do~"

Oh I know that look. Immediatly, I get up, just in time to avoid one 8'2'' goliath lunging at me arms wide open. No pinning me in the sand, thank you very much. Or else I am really gonna drown you.

He lifs his head from the ground, smiles at me with all his teeth, and I feel a laugh burning in my chest. The kind only he can create in me.

I am not strong enough to get it out.

In place, I just blast his face with my favorite water spell.

He screams, attracting Oli and Domhildr's attention.

"Oh com'on ! I was just trying to hug you !"

"Yeah right, "hug". No pining me on the ground, Kaizarz, or you're gonna suffer worse than a little water stream !"

"Bring it on, I'm waiting~"

You will wait a long time, my friend, I fear. But I know you don't mind. That's what astonishes me the most in you.

[kyberled]

100 Random Character Development Questions

@theshaark​ asked:

027. What is their idea of perfect happiness? / 028. What makes them laugh out loud? / 029. What sort of sense of humor does your character have?

027. What is their idea of perfect happiness?

In a word, peace. That’s all he really wants. He wants the war to end. If it does, he has basically everything he could want. He loves life at the Temple.. He really does want for nothing there. It’s home and then some - he has all the food he could want, gardens, a lake, libraries, museums, a holotheater, training rooms... Plus his family. He’s loved there. He’s safe, he’s happy, again, he wants for nothing. His only major troubles, past the age of 13, come from the war. If the war ends, he’ll be happy.

He knows it will be a long time before the Galaxy will be back to a state of peace once the war is ended. There will be a lot of work, not just on the large scale, but the small details, as well. It will be a lot of work. It will be a lot of struggling. He knows that. He also knows it’s going to be so much easier to help people without worrying about enemy forces invading all of the time. He’s going to feel a lot more at ease without Sith lords trying to kill him and his all of the time. Things are just going to be better when the war ends. For him, and for everyone else.

That’s all he wants.

028. What makes them laugh out loud?

There are a few people who have a talent for that. This, of course, includes his best friends: Hano, Naweh, Booda, Lohata, Garak, and Shah-Ki. They’ve all known each other since they were kids; Braig met Hano when he was three, Naweh not long after, Boodah when he was four, Lohata when he was five, and the twins when he was seven. It wasn’t until their Gathering that they really became a set group, but ever since then, they’ve been best friends, nigh inseparable when they have off time for about a decade once Order 66 hits. As you can imagine, they’ve all got a good read on how to cheer each other up, and a good collection of in-jokes between them. These include, but are not limited to:

- Hano answering his comm as ‘the Separatist Army’. If it’s not a dire situation, he’ll pick up and call in with a “You’ve reached the Separatist army,” slide in some sort of answering-machine based joke, and finish with a “please leave your message after the ‘roger’”, at which point someone - usually Braig, or Shaky, one of Hano’s clone friends - will fill in the second ‘roger’. Some common ones are “You’ve reached the Separatist Army, where the only things clunkier than our droids are our communications networks. Please leave your message after the roger!” (’Roger!’); “You’ve reached the Separatist Army, where all of our soldiers are literally spineless. Please leave your message after the roger!” (’Roger!’), and “You’ve reached the Separatist Army. Unfortunately, Count Dooku cannot take your call at the moment, as he’s managed to get both his lightsabers shoved right up his--” ... He wasn’t allowed to finish that one. Master Eedai didn’t think it was as funny as Hano and the troops did.

- ‘Science’ being a catch-all explanation or answer. EG, ‘Where are we going?’ ‘Science.’ This one came from the twins. They’re brilliant slicers and engineers, but when they’re working, they fall into the ‘don’t talk to us, we’re busy’ category. So, if you ask them what they’re doing, they’ll answer, ‘science’. That’s spread to the rest of their group, to the point it’s used in completely nonsensical ways. Probably the most popular is ‘Where are we going?’ ‘Science.’ or ‘Where are the twins?’ ‘I don’t know, probably science.’, but they’ll use it whenever and wherever they feel, just because sometimes that’s easier than an actual explanation.

- The diner coupon. I’ve written about it before, but in summary: Naweh got her hands on a coupon to a top-level diner and bet it to Braig that he couldn’t read the entire Galactic Basic dictionary. It took him a few meditation sessions, but he did, and so he got the coupon. Unfortunately, by the time he was done, he’d been assigned to a mission, and realized he’d be away until after the coupon expired. So, he bet it to Garak, that he couldn’t fit a voice modulator into his saber without changing the casing. Garak accomplished this and got the coupon, and he bet it to his sister, she bet it to Naweh again, Naweh bet it to Lohata, and it’s long since been expired, but they still keep passing it between the members of their group as ‘bragging rights’. It’s pretty common for one of them to do something impressive or improbable, and whoever has the coupon will just hand it to whoever did the impressive/improbable thing. Depending on the situation, it can be wholly inappropriate, and that’s usually the funniest. Booda has it at the moment. She’s looking for a reason to hand it off before her next mission, just in case.

I could go on about other in-jokes they have, like ‘That’s how romance works’, ‘I’m still your favourite/____ is my favourite’, ‘What’s the Basic word for [word in Basic]’, ‘teamwork’, ‘blame it on Braig’, and so on and so forth. They’re a bunch of teenagers who've grown up together, they have  a lot of them. Long story short is his friends have known him long enough that they know how to lift his spirits. He adores them.

Another person with a talent for making Braig laugh is space dad. Again, Obi just knows him too well. Whether it’s sarcastic quips at potentially inappropriate times, ridiculous stories, or the bad impressions that should not be encouraged but are behind closed doors (Braig does a pretty decent Yoda, actually), Dad knows him. He always has.

Then there’s Wolffe and Cody, of course. What can I say? He loves his growly brother and Commander Dad. If you’ve been here long enough, you know the three of them rag on each other to no end, but it’s because they care. The two marshals have perfected this sort of deadpan, ‘Well-This-Might-As-Well-Happen’ sort of snark that kiddo is highly amused by.

After Tasish, a good ‘You have to cook it first, Kriss’ joke can usually get him, too. Prez is really good at it - weirdly enough, so is Cooper.

I mean, really, wifey. You know Braig. He tries to avoid being too serious (because if he focuses on how much things suck in the galaxy it might break him), so. It’s not too hard to get him to joke along with you.

029. What sort of sense of humor does your character have?

He’s a disaster. Being in the war gave him a pretty good sense of gallows’ humor, for one. You have to be able to laugh at the pain to make it tolerable. Much like his master before him, Braig’s been known to mouth off in rather unideal situations, perfecting the art of sass as he grows. It helps. He’s also big on puns and dad jokes and that one is entirely Obi-Wan’s fault. He’s raised the kiddo on things like ‘Two Jawas walk under a bar’. It rubbed off on him.

He also just has that like, weird sense of humor all teenagers do. The sort of neo-dadaoism that tends to crop up in psychologies during wartime. A love of the abstract and absurd. Sometimes reality just sucks, so you wanna think about things like this instead:

You know how kids are.

[buttered-ghost-toast]

OC background story//Secondary Characters

1: i’m aware they’re sorta boring in a sense (literally all 3/4 profile busts lol) but I couldn’t be bothered to get super detailed about them yet. I was trying to work out a look, and this is the quickest way lol. Lots of mistakes here, don’t focus on that. Just...jive with me.

2: idk that anyone is going to be interested, but i’m happy with my little babies! :) This kept me busy lol. 

Long post ahead!

Okay, so the band, Adria was formed sort of by accident. None of the members thought they were really going to get anywhere and were mostly just learning to play instruments and jamming to escape the pressures of adolescent life. 

Niri--her parents were very strict and proper. “Yes, sir. No, ma’am.” type people who do what they can to keep up appearances. Her father is a police detective and her mother was a homemaker after the birth of her children, but was once an attorney. They expected the same level of success from their children, having picked out career paths before the kids were even a speck in the womb. When Niri and her older brother showed excellence in academics, they moved to a new city, enrolling them in an academy that was known for churning out high level success stories--Politicians, Judges, CEO’s of major corporations...you get the drill. They were happy to practically go into debt forever if it meant their kids would be successful. 

Year 1...Enter KOU. 

Kou’s dad was always business first. He expected his son to be the same. So much so that the day after the birth, he went out and bought a whole building to keep for his son, the future doctor, to house his practice. Being from an old money family, there was never a shortage of opportunities to rub elbows and make a way for this kid to be a success no matter what. Through years of primary education, he was a quiet kid, but there was something under the surface that loved to go against the flow of where his life was forced to travel. His mother passed when he was very young, but she was the reason he was able to have few moments of peace and fun. He and Niri were school rivals, fighting for the top spot on the scholar’s board, but...they wound up giving up the struggle when they realized they had a lot in common and neither really cared to pursue their parents’ dreams. They stopped attending after school programs and chose to graffiti and vandalize the building Kou’s dad bought while it was still empty. When they weren’t tagging, they were listening to “inappropriate music” and that soon became them teaching themselves to play the songs on instruments they bought...with Kou’s dad’s credit card. They didn’t sound bad after a while! 

One day, the pair skipped school altogether to avoid an exam they had not studied for. On their way out of the academy, they were tailed by someone they never expected would keep their secret so well...

KRISS

Kriss and Kou are cousins. Their mothers were twins, so the two share a few features, but their personalities couldn’t be any more opposite. Where Kou is a grounded, sensible person, Kriss is carefree and...kind of an idiot. His mother raised him on her own and as a very open, artistic soul, she taught Kriss to always follow his heart and his dreams. He’s basically never been told “No” in his entire life. He was a very energetic kid, so his mother urged him to try out the drums (maybe it would tire him out enough for a nap) which he ended up falling in love with. It’s one of the few things he ever really kept an interest in despite being pretty flighty with his pursuits otherwise. Once he realized what his cousin was up to, he set up a drum kit within a few hours and was glued to their side ever since. 

Kriss’s mom is the only person who really believed in the band from the start. She would be a big help through their early years and to this day has a reserved spot to watch them play shows whenever she wants (usually stage right). 

Did I mention Kriss was part of the percussion section of the academy band? Well, it was more of an orchestra, but still. He felt there was something lacking in their sound during jam sessions so after a few weeks, he called up a few friends. 

Vash

Vash is a complete wildcard. He’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet, but it takes a while to realize that because his personality is quite...Sharp. He has no problem speaking his mind, never has, and he’s not afraid to call anyone on their BS. Does an expert job of providing entertainment with his outbursts. His first words when he dropped by the “clubhouse” were “so you expect me to play in this shit hole?” His mouth usually got him in trouble at school so he was somewhat happy to have something to occupy his mind so his mouth wouldn’t run so often. He’d been playing music for many many years, his parents both being famous musicians themselves, so he has mastered quite a few instruments and often provides backup vocals because “none of the rest of you dingbats can be trusted to stay on key.”

He is the glue that holds everything together and his honesty keeps everyone grounded. He expects everything to run smoothly and on time, so he was made leader of the band within the first hour. It’s effortless and he keeps his cool pretty well under pressure, but the one person who manages to make him snippy is Eri.  

ERI

Eri is a mess of a human being in the most endearing way. He’s a walking contradiction and he loves to push buttons. He and Vash have been neighbors and best friends since they were born. They’re the Yin to each other’s Yang and act like an old married couple, always  disagreeing on the most basic things. It has never been an issue and the others love to watch a match go down. Where Vash is hands-on and always on track, Eri is laid back and couldn’t care less if something goes wrong. That’s not to say he’s not passionate about their dream, he’s just more of a “Things will happen as they happen, just go with the flow” type. His easygoing nature lends him a very grounded and rhythmic personality...perfect for a bassist. His favorite thing is spending time with friends and being able to just do what his soul calls him to do. He does, however, absolutely hate attention. It makes him feel pressured to act a certain way or do a certain thing and it just clashes with his entire vibe. He broke out in a rash when they got their first major gig and had to do a meet and greet. He loves his fans, but...can they not want pictures all the time? “I look awkward when I smile.” He really does. The boy doesn’t smile, it’s always a grimace. 

Eri’s dad owns a very successful restaurant and often got the band small gigs like birthdays and weddings that he was hired to cater for. He doesn’t understand what they’re hoping to do, but hey, the kids play some mean covers of songs he grew up on. Besides, if his son is happy, that’s good enough for him. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the first few years, they snuck around and the others lied for Niri and Kou when their parents had questions. They couldn’t say they weren’t all hanging out together, so once things got real, they moved their practices to Vash’s house since his parents had all the equipment they needed and didn’t really care one way or another about what was going on, too busy with tours and things.

Once they graduated, it was harder to cover. Niri came clean to her father, her mother having found out shortly before but promising to keep it quiet if she just quit and focused on school. Her father was furious and demanded she cut ties with her “hooligan friends” immediately as she was set to go to college and become a lawyer like her mother. Niri refused and was kicked out of her home after being called a failure of a child. This only fueled her fire to pursue her dream. She called Vash, mostly to cry in frustration, but he met her at the front of her neighborhood saying “I just felt something was up with your dumb self so I came by to check. Good thing I did. Let’s go, you’re moving in with me til we figure all this out.” The two soon became three when they got an apartment with Eri two months later. 

Kou had a similar experience once he told his father he didn’t want to be a doctor and had no plans to attend his father’s alma mater (which he only got into after his father wrote a very generous check being Kou’s grades had slipped to an abysmal level) he was removed from the premises by security, cut off financially, and removed from the will within 2 hours. The only thing he managed to keep (for a while anyway) was his car, so he hopped in and drove over to his aunt’s house and lived there for a while with her and Kriss. 

During this time, they still had small shows coming left and right. One night after a few years of a rough grind with no money and shitty daytime jobs, while playing a local club (that didn’t even pay them by the end of the set), they met a small time producer who liked their sound and asked them to record a demo. The producer played the demo to a group of friends that called a separate group of friends and eventually their little song made it to the ears of a real band who had an unexpected opening in their roster for an upcoming festival tour. Adria got the call and had to scramble to get their set list ready. It wasn’t anything big, just a side stage gig, but the more stops they played, the bigger the crowds they drew. 

When they made it home after several stops, they were met by the producer who found them, asked to record a whole album and from there they filmed a very low budget MV and soon after their first single was playing on the radio. They were asked to appear on small time local talk shows. They spread like wildfire once their second single dropped, played on stations nationwide. More MVs and a headlining tour followed with a second album set to drop. Kriss and Niri were asked to be part of a 6 episode arc on a popular TV drama and a second tour.  It was a tough climb, but they’ve been at it for 15 years. Niri and Kou did go back home at one point and faced their parents, attempting to make amends and build a bridge. Kou and his dad are in a much better place now, the old building they used to play around in was transferred into Kou’s name and they now use it as their recording studio/ band headquarters. 

Niri’s family reunion was a little less of a happy ending, in fact, it’s still a work in progress. Her mother apologized and they cried a little over the years missed, but her dad is a very tough man to get through to. He acknowledged he was harsh in his actions but still feels justified in what he did. He says if it weren’t for his tough love, Niri wouldn’t have felt the need to work so hard to get to this place in her life. He did at least say thank you when Niri handed him a check to cover the hit her parents’ savings took when her brother went to medical school. She has weekly calls and video chats with her mom and her brother often makes it out to shows and sends her snaps when he sees her on TV or hears the band on the radio. Her dad sometimes texts her “Heard your new song. It’s loud.” That’s his way of saying he's giving it a chance and doesn’t exactly hate it.