#one of these chapters is going to involve [SPOILER] getting a dragon and insisting on making maps of pretty much everything

[leupagus]

A War of Seasons, Chapter 2: Daenerys

"Did you get lost again?" asked Tyrion a few days later, mild as sour milk. He and Missandei were sitting out on the great bench that ran along the Nursery's balcony; from the looks of things, they'd been there for some time, their pile of "to be read" books quite a bit shorter than either the "read and approve" or the "read and wish to burn" piles.

"Water," Dany croaked, half-falling from Drogon's back and staggering to the bench. Missandei, looking nearly as disapproving as Tyrion, stood and made her way down the stairs, calling for a refreshment tray to be brought.

[wildercrow]

yo did someone say whump? “You wouldn’t be in such a bad shape if you just knew when to quit” + I'm tempted to suggest Aveline but I'll leave the choice to you ;)

YES YES YES Aveline whump! Thank you for giving me an excuse to write my default DA2 team up to their usual shenanigans.

For @dadrunkwriting

~*~*~ Rating: Teen Characters: Aveline, Isabela, Merrill, Mo Hawke Relationships: Aveline & Isabela & Merrill & Hawke Genre: Hurt/Comfort Content Warnings: Blood magic, Descriptions of injuries and blood loss, Medical treatment, Strong language, Mild Dragon Age II spoilers AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34368964/chapters/86295967

~*~*~

“You know, you wouldn’t be in such bad shape if you just knew when to quit,” Isabela tells Aveline, who is slumped against an alley wall, bruised and bleeding from their latest battle. Her more visible injuries have been haphazardly bandaged to slow the bleeding, but she’s still lost a lot of blood, and she’s fairly certain her left ankle is broken.

“If I quit, Mo and Merrill would get themselves killed within an hour,” Aveline replies through clenched teeth. Her head is swimming and the wall is quite possibly the only thing keeping her upright, but she doesn’t need her companions to know that.

“Maybe you should sit down…” Merrill suggests.

“We do just fine when we go on missions without you,” Mo points out.

“That’s because Anders has healing magic that doesn’t involve borrowing his friends’ blood,” Aveline retorts, ignoring Merrill’s suggestion despite the fact that the edges of her vision are starting to blur.

“From the looks of things, you’re about due for a trip to see Anders yourself,” Isabela says. Aveline almost thinks she detects concern in the pirate’s smug look.

“I’m fine,” Aveline insists. She tries to demonstrate her point by pushing away from the wall to stand up, but pain shoots up through her ankle and suddenly her dizziness becomes unbearable and her vision goes black as she falls back against the wall and slides helplessly to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. She hopes her armor is enough the conceal her shaking from the others.

“Aveline!” Merrill yelps, kneeling down at the warrior’s side and inspecting her. “Oh dear, you are far more injured than you let on. You really should be more honest with us about your condition. Otherwise, how are supposed to know when it is or isn’t safe to use your blood?”

“Mo was barely conscious,” Aveline complains weakly. “What did you expect me to do?”

“This may come as a surprise to you,” Mo says, “but I am actually capable of taking care of myself. You’re constantly on our cases about how dangerous and irresponsible blood magic is, but you’re the one who offered me blood when you didn’t have enough to spare.”

“I’ve lost enough family already,” Aveline says, trying to keep her teeth from chattering, “I don’t need to lose any more.”

“Okay, this has been a nice chat and all, but maybe we should get Aveline to Anders while she’s still conscious?” Isabela interjects.

“Oh yes, we should definitely do that,” Merrill agrees. “Her ankle is hurt, I think, so I don’t imagine she can walk well on her own.”

“We can help with that, right kitten?” Isabela asks.

“What about me?” Mo says.

“You should take care of yourself,” Merrill says, giving Mo’s leg a gentle pat as she continues to crouch on the ground beside Aveline. “That last battle was rough on you, too. Perhaps you could carry her shield?”

“Okay, fine,” Mo grumbles and retrieves Aveline’s shield.

“Ready?” Isabela asks.

“Ready!” Merrill replies.

Everything from that point is a blur of pain and dizziness as Isabela and Merrill lift Aveline up by her armpits and guide her across Lowtown towards Anders’ clinic. She’s vaguely aware of the girls chatting around her as they walk, but the pain searing through her obscures their words.

Her senses return to her slightly once she’s horizontal in nothing but her smallclothes on one of the cots in Anders’ clinic. The world still seems to be swimming around her, but she’s vaguely aware of an argument about blood magic occurring around her. The cool, soothing sensation of healing magic washing over her ankle and a couple of her more severe cuts. The sting of ointment on the remaining cuts. Someone holding a glass of water to her lips and lifting her head with a hand so she can drink without choking. Two pills being dropped onto her tongue before she’s offered another sip of water. A drowsiness washes over her soon after, and before she knows it she’s asleep.

She wakes up to Isabela, of all people, hovering next to her makeshift bed at the clinic.

“How you feelin’, big girl?” the pirate greets.

“I would be feeling much better if literally anyone else was greeting me. Donnic? Mo? Varric?” Aveline retorts flatly.

“Well, nice to see you, too,” Isabela drawls.

Aveline sighs, “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I am grateful. Really. How long have you been here?”

“Oh, about… six hours? I was bored, so I stuck around,” Isabella replies. “You didn’t answer my question, though. How you feelin’?”

Aveline grunts, “I’ve been better. Why do you want to know, anyways?”

“What, I can’t inquire about my favorite frenemy’s health and wellbeing?” Isabela retorts, mock-offended.

Aveline snorts, “Well, I can report that I am feeling much better. Though I still feel a bit like I’ve been trampled by a herd of druffalo.”

“So, have you learned your lesson yet?” the pirate asks with a smirk.

“What lesson?”

Isabela laughs, “I’ll take that as a no.”

“What lesson?” Aveline asks again, staring Isabela down.

“Knowing when to quit,” Isabela states simply.

“Oh, I know when to quit,” Aveline replies, “when everyone is safe and not a moment before.”

Isabela shakes her head and claps her hand on the less-injured of Aveline’s shoulders, “It’s always nice to know that you’re as deeply fucked up as the rest of us.”

“I am not!” Aveline objects.

“Mmhm. Keep tellin’ yourself that, big girl.”

[airgetlamhh]

Thoughts on Lostbelt 2

Longpost ahead.

So.

Lostbelt 2. Finally played it after so long, and this will contain spoilers.

To make sure everyone knows what they’re getting into, I’ll give the thesis statement right here: Lostbelt 2 is bad. 

The entire time I played through the story, I kept waiting for it to pick up. I kept waiting for it to shrug off the poor pacing, the deus ex machinas, the random things just happening for the convenience of the plot. I kept waiting for it to shrug off the poor characterization, the constant telling instead of showing, the moral myopia. It never did. 

From nearly the very start to finish, Lostbelt 2 is bad. 

We start off fairly fine! A desperate ploy to sneak through the Lostbelt to meet up with the allies we’ve learned about, the Wandering Sea, interrupted by a Lostbelt Servant attacking us with the intent of stealing the Paper Moon that allows us to perform Zero Sails. All of that is a decent setup!

And then we’re told how strong this Saber is. How incredible they are. How their swordplay surpasses anything else they’ve ever seen, how they desperately wish that Musashi was there, how no no, he didn’t use his sword, he only parried! Things that Sherlock Holmes observes, not Mashu, not the one who’s actually been fighting for two years now, so Mashu seems borderline useless. Holmes figures out it’s Sigurd because...he uses a sword in a Scandinavian Lostbelt, and he figured out that Holmes used magic because Holmes fire magic lasers at him. From this, Holmes is able to pinpoint Sigurd’s identity, and that’s just the setup for the rest of the chapter, really. 

To be specific, what I mean is that we will constantly be told how incredible someone is with very little evidence, and the plot will bend and warp to make certain things happen. 

The scene does exactly one good thing, which is the foreshadowing of Surtr. Coming into it knowing that aspect allowed me to appreciate little bits like Surtr talking about Heroic Spirits like he wasn’t one, and Surtr not being able to kill Mashu because Sigurd resisted it. But that’s about all that was good in the scene, and all it really does is set up a consistent thing of Surtr being one of the only good parts - until he isn’t, of course.

I’m going to shift here from specifics to characters, because otherwise I’d be rehashing the entire story and I don’t have the time or effort required for that. That being said, it is difficult to decide where to start, so I’ll go right to the very building blocks of the story, the themes. 

Lostbelt 2 is, very obviously, attempting to have a theme of different kinds of love throughout the story. Part of this is because it’s very much set up like an otome game that the author Hikaru Sakurai would write, with Ophelia in the center, but it’s a more general theme too, with Skadi and the others all building up towards it. Now, love is an absolutely wonderful thing to build your themes around, exploring and examining it can be great for stories. Beasts themselves do that, examining different varieties of genuine, but toxic love that allow them to be well-meaning monsters.

The problem is that Lostbelt 2 does not engage with these themes on anything but a surface level. Skadi represents maternal love, so she constantly talks about how everyone is her children and how she’s their mother. No examination of the desire to see her children grow, the pain she feels when they fight, the struggle of forcing herself to cling so tightly knowing that it’s suffocating them and going to kill them before they reach 26. 

Napoleon represents passionate love, so he flirts with every woman he sees. No examination of why he’s so passionate or what drives him to burn so brightly, beyond a token mention that for some reason when he’s summoned he’s driven to seek out a lover, another aspect of things happening to serve the plot. 

Sigurd and Brynhildr represent true, romantic love, so they act mushy the entire chapter from the moment the real Sigurd appears. Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked their scenes a lot and I’m happy that they chose that portrayal instead of the one I was afraid of where it was yandere jokes day in day out. But there’s no engagement with the fundamentals of their love, nothing that tests it, even the existing complications with Brynhildr’s tragic summoning are swept away with a single line of “I can resist them better now maybe because my saint graph is broken”, so ultimately there’s no conflict whatsoever. And sure, that’s nice, but it’s not very good if you’re trying to build your story around a theme of love. 

Next, Surtr, who represents obsessive, dangerous love. I honestly actually think Surtr’s done well, even if the love he happens to represent is the least positive one. Surtr is capable of only one thing, destruction, and when he fell for Ophelia in that moment where she saw him and he saw her, he decided that if he ever had the chance, he would repay her the only way he knew how: allowing her to watch as he destroyed everything. When he’s summoned, he acts basically like the possessive one in an otome game, constantly talking about how Ophelia is his woman, getting angry when Napoleon flirts with her, spending most of his time pushing things between them as far as they can go etc. etc. I’m not particularly a fan of how his desire to repay Ophelia battling against his singular purpose transformed him into a typical possessive bastard boyfriend, but it’s at least engaged with on a deeper level.

Finally, Ophelia. She’s the otome game protagonist here, born into an controlling family and finally freed, hiding a secret special power, beloved by almost all the men involved in the chapter while she’s harboring feelings for someone else, even has the typical friendship route with Mashu going on. Her love is a love that she doesn’t acknowledge, but that’s all it is. It’s never engaged with beyond the fact that she clearly loves Kirschtaria but insists she doesn’t, and her final scene as she dies is Mashu telling her that yes, she did love Kirschtaria. That’s all. 

For a theme of love that’s supposedly woven into the Lostbelt, it’s barely examined at all. It’s not well written, and in comparison to Lostbelt 1′s theme of what it means to live in a world where the strong devour the weak and how deeply it examined and engaged with that, it’s a genuine disappointment.

Now, to move onto the plot, it’s...in the abstract, it’s fine. Chaldea is intercepted and forced to fight in the Lostbelt and ends up dragged into the overarching ploy by Surtr to release himself and burn everything. That’s a perfectly fine story, but the problem is that when you get to the moment-to-moment stuff, it falls apart completely. 

Skadi is constantly talked up as this incredibly powerful true goddess, not merely a Divine Spirit, and we know she can see and hear our every move because of her snow. How does the story work around this borderline omniscience within her Lostbelt? Skadi just decides not to do anything about Chaldea with zero rhyme or reason. We need to sneak into the palace and avoid alerting the guards, except Skadi already knows exactly where we are, except that doesn’t matter because we need to sneak in for some reason. We get captured with no plan to escape, and it just so happens that not only was Skadi keeping a Divine Spirit amalgamation locked in the dungeons too, but that she can piggyback on you making a contract with Napoleon (pure dumb luck you hadn’t done it before) and force a connection with you too, and then cast spells to hide you while you escape. Skadi knows we’re trying to free Brynhildr, who is the sole threat to Sigurd and Skadi’s own Valkyries in the entire Lostbelt? She just decides to do nothing at all. 

So much of the plot happens because either Skadi makes terrible decisions to do nothing, even though she knows Chaldea is there to destroy her entire world, or it happens because random shit goes on that couldn’t have been planned for like Sitonai. Shit like Surtr suddenly becoming Fafnir and being able to use the Evil Dragon Phenomenon to brainwash Ophelia somehow, like Ophelia’s Mystic Eye being able to do anything the plot demands, even when it explicitly goes against its existing capabilities like rewinding time on Sigurd’s wounds, like Bryn and Surtr somehow being able to resist the effects of her eye with no buildup or explanation. It’s poorly written in terms of the exact events that happen, and that all culminates in Skadi’s one cool moment, where she declares she’s going to kill the seven billion we fight for for the sake of her ten thousand...and then right after, it reveals that Skadi was going easy on us and refused to use her runes of instant death for no reason even though she was fighting for the survival of her entire world. The moment to moment plot is not good, and neither is what comes next, the worldbuilding.

In Skadi’s Lostbelt, half the world is covered in Surtr’s flames, while the other half is blanketed in Skadi’s snow. Where the two areas meet are the only places where life can grow, and so Skadi set up villages there. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough food for everyone, so she enforces strict population control: if you are not the mother or father of a child by 15, you are sent away to be killed by the giants. If you are the mother or father of a child, you are sent away to be killed at 25 instead. Through this tragic method, Skadi enforces a limit of 100 villages with 100 people, a total population of 10000. This is all fine. 

But take a closer look at what we actually see, and this falls apart. First, the giants. The giants are immortal and never need to eat. They do nothing but sleep all day and attack any human that comes close to them. Later, it’s revealed that they’ll attack any heat source including Valkyries, except we know that’s not true. Giants never attack each other, they never attack and destroy any of the plant life around them, they never attack the Lostbelt tree seeds, they even fight alongside mass-produced Valkyries before it’s revealed that Skadi and the three originals can mind-control them! They exist only to destroy, but Skadi can control them with her masks and indeed uses them as labour, keeping them chained up in her castle to be brought out and controlled as needed, or using them to guard Brynhildr’s castle. 

Worst of all, the first time we meet anyone in the chapter, it’s Gerda, who is sneaking out of her village to go to the massive liveable area close to Village 23. This area happens to be the only place she can go to get medicinal herbs that she needs or one of the people in her village will die in childbirth. This area is also full of giants, who have not destroyed it despite being fertile and full of life and heat, and who are allowed to take this place that could be used to grow more food for humans who need it, and simply stay there doing nothing. 

Now, this is where I thought the game would engage with things. How Skadi, in professing her love for all her children, is actually being cruel and unfair. They certainly set it up in the conversations she has, where she casually mentions how humans must die for her coexistence to continue. Skadi chooses to keep the giants alive despite the fact that they are all braindead and can do nothing but kill and destroy the moment their masks are removed. She chooses to keep them alive even though it comes at the expense of the humans who must die when the giants never make that same sacrifice. She chooses to allow them fertile land even though they cannot farm nor do they need food, and in doing so deprive the humans of potentially living longer, having more supplies to do so. She makes these strange choices and then later reveals she can control the giants to do her bidding, and it all seems to fall into place. 

What we see from how she’s characterized early on is that the system is unfair and Skadi is unwilling to change, because it benefits her tremendously. Gerda’s village didn’t have enough herbs to save the children forced to breed by 15, and despite Skadi’s omniscience letting her know that Gerda had snuck out and was trying to save a life, she did nothing. There was no system in place to beg a Valkyrie to get these herbs, and no indication whatsoever that Skadi would use her powers to control the giants to save Gerda’s life. The picture painted is someone who cares about humanity not out of true care, but simply out of obligation. Those who disobey her rules, even for good reasons, are left to die by the engines of destruction she keeps alive.

That’s not the story it tells later on, though. Skadi, portrayed from the start as this all-powerful goddess with complete control over everything, is revealed to be far weaker than we thought, and far less monstrous. Ignore all the times she did control the giants, she actually can’t do it all that well. Ignore all the times she declared she would not allow anyone she loved to be killed, but chose not to act to tell her Valkyries or her giants or anything else to save either Chaldea or Gerda. Ignore the evidence we see on screen that there’s more land that’s simply taken over by the giants, Skadi can only make those initial 100 villages and can’t make any more. Skadi is not bad. Skadi did the best she could. Skadi is morally right. 

Please love Skadi, there’s no complicated moral quandary here, she’s just Good.

Comparisons to Lostbelt 1 are impossible to avoid. Both have the same basic cause, a calamity that was impossible to predict and impossible to avert. The stagnation that dooms a Lostbelt created by the kings in question in their desperation to survive. Ivan turned humanity into the Yaga and created a world of strength, where progress is impossible because everyone in his new world was too busy devouring each other to work together. Skadi created a world of weakness, where progress is impossible because she limited the population to avoid everyone dying out. There is, however, one crucial difference between the two. Not in terms of story, not in terms of characters, not in terms of themes. 

“Your existence itself has already become a grave sin.”

That one line, spoken to Ivan, is the biggest difference between how the story engages things. In both Lostbelts, Ivan and Skadi did horrible things and made horrible choices because they had to, for the sake of survival. Ivan twisted humanity into monsters that lost capacity for mercy or empathy, while Skadi forced brutal population control and careless death on humanity because of her refusal to allow the giants to be destroyed. Both of them did horrible things, but only one is held to account by the story.

What Ivan did was evil, and the story recognises it. It doesn’t accept the excuse that it was all necessary for survival, because that’s irrelevant. It’s evil regardless. This same sentiment should have been expressed with Skadi, but it’s not. Ivan is condemned, but Skadi is absolved. She had no choice. She did the best she could. After building her up as all-powerful, the end of the story instead destroys her agency and power in its haste to prevent any kind of responsibility falling on Skadi’s head. Even to the very end, where she declares that she’ll kill all seven billion lives we fight for for the sake of her ten thousand, she holds back and allows us to win, despite how it butchers her character.

The biggest irony in all this is that Ivan’s world was worse than hers in ways. There was no way for the blizzards to stop, no meat besides for the demonic beasts. Crops couldn’t grow, and instead of living in peace, the Yaga were constantly tormented and killed by the Oprichniki. There were no liveable areas like there are in Lostbelt 2, no merciful ruler that sees all, and controls the greatest threats, no peaceful villages where food can be grown. There’s far more justification for Ivan to claim he had no choice and that he did all he did for survival, because it’s hard to see what his choices were. But Skadi? Skadi intentionally does not act and intentionally allows suffering and pain to come to her children, both actively by not saving Gerda, and passively by allowing the giants to take land they don’t need. Despite this, Skadi is absolved, because the story desperately wants her to be a tragic waifu that you love.

There’s lots more I could talk about. How Sitonai was pointless and existed only for a pathetic FSN reference. How Gerda was a cowardly and manipulative piece of writing compared to Patxi. How Ophelia’s story of always being told what to do is resolved not by her taking the step to freedom herself, but being told to free herself by someone else. The constant repetition that plagues the chapter, the weirdly prevalent sexism that everyone gets in on when it comes to Ophelia’s love life, the nonsense of the final battle itself, the absolute nonsense of Skadi being Scáthach-Skadi. I could even talk about how I’d fix the chapter, because boy howdy there’s a lot there. 

There’s lots more I could talk about, but this is already very long, and I think it speaks for itself. Obviously asks are available if anyone wants me to examine them in more detail, but for now, I’ll finish off with one last reminder.

Lostbelt 2 is bad.  

[danieyells]

Events(or even gachas I guess) I'd love to see:

The Seven Lucky Gods in one event(or even just the ones we have so far. . .the fact that Daikoku knows and associated with Benten and Ebisu at one point in their existence is completely worthy of acknowledging imo like pls. They're such different people. I wanna see them interact. Daikoku calls a temporary truce or spends the whole time trying to kill/subdue MC(who, as usual, is either uncomfortable, angry(which may or may not come in the form of flirtatious threats in a fight for dominance), or takes it so in stride even Daikoku couldn't keep up. . .he's never really met someone who wanted him to step on them before. . .oh and you want to lick his shoes? What a well behaved brat you are. . . .) and Benten just "could you knock it off with your creepy domeneering foot fetish until we get back to Tokyo please omg you're always like this." I don't know what they'd do together because I don't know them as well yet but just the fact that they have such different characters so far makes me want to see them all together.

Oops All Angels/Oops All Demons/The Sliding Scale Of Eden, which would be an angel/demon/Eden & Gehenna centric thing ofc. By which I mean GIVE US MORE MISSIONARIES I WANNA SEE THE MISSIONARIES-- I mean yeah biblical narrative and christian mythology is pretty well known but I like seeing how everyone feels about things and each other--like that Sitri saw Seth and thought he was Bael and when he realized he wasn't Bael he kinda started shittalking Bael kdbshdidj and how Lucifuge and Bathym both worked with Shaytan but Bathym was I guess closer because Lucifuge is afraid of fire--and where does Mephistopheles come in there? And I feel like we don't really know the angels' feelings towards one another and haven't seen them interact--Gabriel calls Azazel a snake(which is true, literally,) but she was also talking about wanting to touch the tails of Therians so I'm sure what she meant was "he let me touch his tail and did not hide the Consiquences of Touching A Therian's Sensitive Tail and I somehow didn't expect that and was Understandably Very Uncomfortable" so I don't know if that means she doesn't like him or if she was just being pouty over deciding she really shouldn't ask to touch his tail. At the same time I knoe this is probably VERY far off. Because MC already has the Ring of Solomon and we've had the 72 Pillars of Solomon mentioned and the demons' positions in the heirchy and [CHAPTER 11 SPOILERS:] MC is gonna have to reach/summon the Exception Solomon[/CHAPTER 11 SPOILERS] so. That's probably too close to Story Content for us to get too much of an event out of it yet. Plus there's Michael and I'm sure he'd be kicking and screaming as he's dragged through shenanigans in an event under the current circumstances, but could we really do an angel event without him now that he's there?

Literally anything with Bora Bora. And Babel. And. Just. Not that I dislike or am truly mad about it, but didn't the game introduce a world that's no longer in the Game and no longer connected to Tokyo before expanding on several of the worlds we already have? Babel only has Marduk, even. Ofc idk much about the mytholigies of Polynesia(you'd think I'd remember more, I read about them a bit back when Pokemon SuMo came out) or Babylon or Mesopotamia to say there's so much more to add but. There's never just one legend and one character and one story in a mythology. And Polynesian mythology is different in every area too isn't it? Even gods that they have in Hawaii are a bit different for the Maori, for example, I'm pretty sure--if only in name. There's so much that could be explored. I understand leaning on what's closest to you--hence why we have so many characters from mythology in Japan and nearby countries--but I'd also like to see others developed more lol

We've had an event centered around ogres/oni, an angel/demon event would probably have too many spoilers in it for the time being, we had the little bull-cebtric sort of mini New Years event, but I'd love to see more species-related ones like that too. Other 'characters with X in common' events could be fun too--dragons/lizards and the dragonkillers, for example. One Big Pile Of Kitties which is just feline Therians and friends all together. Maybe in Namjatown in Ikebukuro--which means Nomad gets dragged in as he kicks and screams that he is NOT a tiger!!! and Snow and Macan are like yeah sure we know but also this is Ikebukuro and Claude is paying you, to which Nomad just goes FUCK but I need the money so I'll deal. Maybe a mini extension of Year of the Guardian Dog where Agyo, since he insists he's a lion, wants to know more about how lions live in Tokyo, so MC once again runs around with him to introduce him to any lions they know(somehow this includes Oz shh don't ask questions) and Agyo's like "so many lions are big strong guardian lions too. . .I've gotta step up my game!" lol (Claude: oh so you have a guardian lion too? Shall we make them fight? Agyo: NO NO PLEASE NO NO THANK YOU I WOULD LITERALLY DIE?????)

Exiles' Lovers Valentine's Event where characters who were the lovers of/in love with/loved by the Exiles within MC squabble over them or something silly like that. Alternatively, put everyone who's expressed the strongest attractions to MC in one event. MC has to protect Shiro from them because he's probably the weakest link there--

Our World Is Gone So Let's Meet Up In Tokyo - Old Ones event(maybe there'd be a second one for other worlds that get destroyed like Yggdrasil. LET GARMR MEET HIS FRIENDS AGAIN.) Maybe a New Years event, but I'd love to see all the Old Ones we have so far in one place, assuming there isn't an in-game explanation that they can't be. Tsathoggua is convinced out on the basis of food more than out of a desire to see any of them(MAYBE to game with Tindalos and Azathoth in person. Canct play the classics online!). Snow and Claude tentatively let Cthugha out of his cell for a while(the event is implied to have had caused several repeats due to Cthugha explosions.) I haven't read Nightglows yet so idk where Nodens is at atm but he'd be there because I say so. Dagon obviously goes(he's probably the most social of the bunch aside from Nyarl--and Father Dagon is curious about his family too!). Shiro tentatively lends his body to Yog-Sothoth because "it's important to be with your family now and then if you have them!!!" much to Yog-Sothoth's eyerolling, and MC goes because either it was insisted on that they belonged there("You know I'm not. . .whoever you think I am, right? Okay. . . . .") or to make sure Shiro's body doesn't collapse under the strain or get involved in some sort of nonsense(he doesn't expect Yog-Sothoth to do anything crazy, he's been pretty unenthusiastic about everything so far, but you never know with these guys.) They keep calling MC this name they can't hear for some reason which isn't any better than when everyone calls them names they can hear really--in fact it feels a lot worse, like, Please Stop Saying Whatever You're Saying I've Started Taking Psychic Damage worse. MC makes a lot of comments about the sheer quantity of tentacles in the gathering my god(s) they are everywhere they've seen enough hentai and been around Dagon enough to know where this is going--

In the same vein, if we ever get more El Dorado characters, Xolotl wants to go to the Annual El Dorado Meetup or something similar but he's scared and brings Quetza--I mean MC with him as moral support. Understandably they get caught up in everyone going "omg gods", especially after Tezcatlipoca tackles MC to the ground at Mach 7 from 20 miles away when he heard they'd come along and accompanies them the rest of the event, assuming he doesn't pick them up and carry them away from Xolotl, who has to muster up the courage to follow after and get MC back since he brought them here to begin with. Only to find MC pacified Tezcatlipoca somehow and they ran into Itzamna and they're painting their feelings or something. Maybe the event also features a sacrificing and MC is like UH NO WE CAN'T HAVE YOU COMITTING MURDER IN TOKYO JUST BECAUSE IT'S OKAY BACK HOME PLEASE STOP lmao

. . .just silly thoughts. I've definitely had more ideas, but they're not coming to me rn.

[ryqoshay]

OTP Ask Meme (Impatient Edition) YohaRiko

Again, I know the point of these things is to wait for followers to Ask questions from the list, but reading though this one got me thinking too much. About all of my flagships. And I wanted to answer all of the questions. And not wait for a handful to maybe be asked.

Anyway, credit again goes to @lonelypond​ for this version coming across my dash. Reblog that version if you want to do this thing correctly.

Also, just because I’ve already answered these here, I’ve expanded on some for various reasons and left others short if I believe the reasons are obvious. So if you still want to do the whole interactive thing, you can still ask for clarification or whatever.

And finally, there will be spoilers ahead for Happy Life, and to a lesser degree the AU, both for scenes I’ve written and posted, as well as some that remain in my Notes and WIP Warehouse. I’ll try to remember to link to the chapters mentioned.

1. Who wakes up first?

Riko. Yohane is very much not a morning person, especially after a late night of streaming.

2. Who wants to stay in bed just a little longer?

Yohane. See above. However, if she doesn’t have time commitments for the day, Riko may occasionally want to stay in bed for some activities other than sleeping.

3. Who takes longer getting ready?

Either, though they are fond of getting ready together and helping one another, so in these cases, they’re done at the same time.

4. When they can’t sleep, what do they do?

Yohane has many rituals for inducing sleep involving all manner of meditation, incense, herbal tea, topical rubs, nightmare wards and more. Whether or not they work is up to debate, but Riko is comforted by the sentiment, as portrayed in Dream Warden. Yohane herself takes comfort from being near those she loves, particularly Riko, while she sleeps.

5. Who falls asleep while watching a movie?

Yohane, though it depends on the type of movie.

6. Who falls asleep last, watching the other with a small affectionate smile?

More often Riko, though Yohane does enjoy watching a sleeping Riko from time to time.

7. Who comes up with the cheesy pick-up lines?

Yohane. 100% Yohane. And she is well aware of how cheesy they are. And she knows how much Riko loves them.

8. Who gets extremely competitive playing Mario Kart?

Yohane gets competitive over games in general.

9. Who accidentally pushes a door instead of pulling?

Yohane is more likely to do so, though Riko can be absentminded on occasion.

10. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud and obnoxious behind their back?

Yohane.

11. Who rearranges the bookshelf/DVD shelf in alphabetical order?

Both have their reasons for their particularness in displaying their shelving; Riko likes to be able to quickly locate her favorite doujin while Yohane is considerate of the background for her ritual streams.

12. Who does the hands-over-the-eyes “Guess Who” thing?

Yohane. With as many different attempts at different voices and accents as she can.

13. Who points out a dog when they see one?

Early on, both, though for different reasons; Yohane out of excitement and Riko out of fear. Later, Yohane retains her excitement while Riko becomes more lax in her reactions.

14. Who’s prone to road rage?

Yohane.

15. Who’s prone to wearing socks indoor (or to sleep)?

Either

16. Who reminds the other to put on sunscreen before going to the beach (or pool)?

Yohane knows she burns easily and is pretty good at remembering, though Riko is mindful that her girlfriend can be careless at times.

17. Who carries all the important documents while traveling?

Riko.

18. Who gets the window seat?

Probably Yohane. Likely accompanied by some statement about missing being able to fly under her own power.

19. Who puts their cold hands/feet on the other?

Yohane.

20. What do they argue about the most?

Early after moving in together, Yohane had a bad habit of bringing home stray pets, despite it being against the policy of the apartment complex, as depicted in Hibagon. These arguments subsided once the policy was changed, as depicted in Phobetor.

21. Who’s clumsier?

Yohane, though Riko certainly has her moments.

22. Who texts more often?

Yohane.

23. Who is better with kids?

Yohane is better at keeping kids entertained with her antics while Riko is better at tending to their care, be it feeding them, calming them down when they’re upset or applying first aid; Yohane is pretty good with first aid as well, having had far too much practice on herself.

24. Who’s the better cook?

Debatable. As I mentioned in the Notes for A Roost for Weary Wings, Yohane is capable of producing higher quality results, but also fails more spectacularly. Riko may lack the skills and confidence to produce highly extravagant meals, but she is far more consistent in producing edible food.

25. Who mistakes salt for sugar?

Riko. Despite what one may assume from my prior answer. Yohane will still eat it, not only because she has a strange sense of taste, but also because her beloved Riri made it for her and she will be damned before letting it go to waste.

26. Who puts the fork in the microwave?

Possibly Yohane.

27. Who cooks at 2 in the morning?

Yohane.

28. Who lets the microwave play the loud beeping sound at 1 a.m.?

Definitely Yohane.

29. Who licks the spoon when they’re baking brownies?

Yohane. She’ll even bring her own spoon, as depicted in Valentine’s Taste Test.

30. Who likes doing the dishes?

Riko doesn’t mind it. Yohane dislikes it but is willing to balance the workload after Riko cooked.

31. Who has bigger cravings? What are they?

For food, especially exotic or exceptionally spicy food? Yohane. Although she does have a bit of a sweet tooth, as her favorites would imply. For enacting scenes from her favorite doujinshi with her girlfriend? Riko.

32. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Both, though for slightly different reasons. Riko believes it is romantic to know certain things about one’s partner. Yohane believes it is the duty of a fallen angel to know such things about their little demons… or fellow angels?

33. How do they eat ice cream? What’s their favorite flavors?

Yohane will often eat too fast and give herself a headache. Her favorite flavors are those of her favorite foods, chocolate and strawberry. Riko eats slower, more often out of a sundae dish than a cone, in part because a dish is better for eating at her pace, but also because it’s easier for Yohane to “steal” a bite or two. She enjoys Yohane’s favorites, but is also fond of mint and vanilla.

34. Do they go on dates? What are they like?

Absolutely. Riko prefers going to museums or orchestra performances, though she has dragged Yohane to several doujin stores over the years. Yohane prefers higher energy environments like amusement parks, though she has dragged Riko to several gothic Lolita clothing stores and occult shops over the years. Both girls look forward to events like Comiket.

35. What do they smell when they smell Amortentia?

Riko smells the slightly sulfuric scent of boiling eggs her parents made often while she was growing up, the clean, salty air of Uchiura, and a spicy, sweet and earthy scent to which she cannot match a specific memory. Yohane smells sweet black lilies, the lingering smoke from a myriad of incense that always permeates occult shops, and a spicy, sweet and earthy scent to which she cannot match a specific memory.

The last scent for both is an idea I had while Googling random stuff for this question. It’s basically how one website describe the smell of Dragon’s Blood resin when burned as incense. I want to bring it up in a scene or two in both HL and HL(AU), though there will be a difference between the kinds found here on Earth and up in Heaven, which may end up as a minor connecting plot point.

I realize this leaves Riko without something that she knows is directly related to Yohane, but I was trying to avoid using incense too much, as it already had three entries between them. Also, it technically is related to Yohane, she just doesn’t realize it right away. I’m hoping whatever I write someday will make that connection for her. Not that she’ll ever smell Amortentia in HL, but…

36. Which one is the secret snuggler?

It’s no secret that Yohane loves her snuggles. Riko is quieter about her desires, but can be quite insistent, nonetheless.

37. Which one offers their jacket to the other when they complain they feel cold?

Riko. Yohane is far more vocal about her discomfort, especially when it comes to temperature.

38. Who reaches for the other one’s hand while driving?

Riko is more likely to do so, though Yohane might as well. That said, I don’t believe I have them owning a vehicle in HL, so this probably won’t come into play anytime soon in my works.

39. Who leaves little notes in the other one’s lunch?

Riko, as the more consistent cook of the pair, she is more likely to make their lunch bentos for the day. (Bonus: What does it say?) Casual reminders of her love for her Yocchan.

40. Who is the most affectionate?

Both are quite affectionate, though Yohane is far more likely to initiate, especially in public though even in private.

41. Who is the big spoon/little spoon?

Riko is most often the big spoon. Though Yohane might try to have one believe elsewise.

42. What is their favorite feature of their partner?

Riko loves Yohane’s smile when she is passionate about something, be it her streams or games or whatever. Yohane loves the way Riko’s fingers dance across the keyboard.

43. What is the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Yohane becomes increasingly aware of Riko’s behavior and attitude toward Chika and has to make a conscious effort to avoid holding anything against the idol group’s leader; she likes Chika as a friend, after all, and is thankful that she brought her into the group in the first place. Riko starts to include Yohane in her fantasies.

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

Yocchan and Riri

45. Who worries the most? Over what?

Riko is constantly concerned that Yohane’s abysmal luck will eventually cause her actual harm, as in more than just catching a cold or getting a scrape or small cut. Yohane also fears that her abysmal luck will adversely affect Riko.

46. Who initiates kisses?

Yohane all the time, in public and in private. Riko, in private.

47. Who says I love you first? How did it happen?

Yohane said it first in Revelations.

48. Who tells their friends/family about their relationship first?

That’s actually a good question. I haven’t decided yet for this ship. I mean I have plans for revealing that the blonde Mari knows, but as for the couple actually telling people… hrm… Off the top of my head, I’d be more likely to say Yohane.

49. What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Both are quite capable of entertaining themselves without the other. Riko can play the piano and Yohane can play her games until their fingers cramp if they are not actively doing something together. And they have Phobetor and Prelude to pet and take on walks and play with. It’s not until bedtime that they become more aware of the other’s absence.

50. Who gets overwhelmed by small acts of kindness?

Depends. Yohane is more the emotional rollercoaster and could easily be overwhelmed by kindness from the girl for whom she held a one-sided crush for far too long. Riko is also likely to moved, though more through something that fits into some trope she loves in her doujin; good thing Yohane can be quite genre-savvy when she wants.

[littlethingwithfeathers]

Writing Update: 8-26-19

There will likely not be an update or a chapter published this coming Monday as I will be returning from DragonCon that day. But thankfully it comes at an opportune time in a way. “Intercalation,” my Chernobyl fic, will have time to sit and think about itself but I’ll still have plenty of editing time before I start publishing on Monday September 9.

And if you’re at Dragon Con, say hi! I’ll likely be in the High Fantasy or the Filk tracks if I’m not just bouncing around the con like a crazy person.

***

Publishing now!

Stolen Season (Friendship is Unnecessary): Complete! Steve/Natasha vignettes during Endgame’s five year jump. I thought I would do a set of scenes, some sexy some not, of how we get from Steve and Natasha working together at the end of IW, to them halfway living apart at the end of the five year jump. It also covers some of the hunt for Ronin!Clint, Steve taking up the mantle of group therapist, and Natasha stepping up as a sort of hybrid of Cap and Nick Fury. Definitely a trip to angsty-town, but I promise to fix it in the end.

Excerpt:

"Thought you weren't going to make me dinner." She said, pulling her tank top over her head.

"Pretty sure I can make a peanut butter sandwich without poisoning you. And besides. Your stomach was growling." He set the sandwich and mug of tea on the edge of the tub.

A contemplative frown cut across Natasha's face as she fumbled her way free of her leggings and socks. "You cut yours corner to corner too?"

Steve lifted one shoulder. "No, I just noticed you did it that way."

The smiled a little then, her thoughts clearly flying far afield. "Coulson taught me."

"Taught you what?" he asked with a perplexed look.

"Proper peanut butter sandwich technique."

***

Other “Friendship is Unnecessary” fics at various stages:

But Most of All Because They Offend Thee: Based off this post. In progress, currently just past the 2k mark. This is a short, upbeat, porny little one-shot of Nat being a shit and teasing Steve. Because honestly… this series needs some levity after what I’ve done in “Stolen Season.” Not sure of an ETA, but soon.

One of Those Things (Prologue): Since I’ve written this beast of a series completely out of order, and thus all my author notes are no doubt VERY confusing, I thought I’d put a short prologue on the front. Just a couple of short scenes to plant some seeds and give an actual starting place to this whole sprawling, intertwining mess, but also to give me a chance to address new readers so my forewords on the rest of the fics don’t seem weird. I’ve got a little more than a thousand words written on it which is probably about a third to half way.

Untitled Pre-War Steve/Bucky and Pre-Avengers Phil/Clint/Natasha: Partially a request from @crazyevildru that I’m toying with. Probably a flashback or a memory. This series really does need more Steve/Bucky, and I feel bad about it. I’m thinking of also adding a prequel/flashback of Clint/Phil/Natasha as well… maybe have the whole thing be a discussion over dinner post-Endgame.

Sweet and Honorable (Title pending):  Set post Civil War. Bucky insists on coming with Sam and Natasha to rescue Steve when he gets captured. This is starting to take shape in my head as a sort of work through for some of the issues that get raised in “Echo in my Soul.” Given what we know about the new Black Widow movie, I may hold off on this one for a bit. At least until I can figure out how I’m going to squirm around or ignore the added canon. (can’t wait for that movie BTW)

***

Other works coming soon!

Intercalation: A Ulana/Boris/Valery fix-it fic for HBO’s Chernobyl. 88k words and it is DONE! Ten full chapters and an epilogue. It’s been challenging since this fic has lots of moving parts. I have finished my first pass of edits, and will be letting this one simmer for a little while so my beta-readers can chew on it. It’s a continuation picking up just after the trial showing both the arcs of the characters moving forward as well as how they all grew close over their time in Chernobyl. There’s a lot of character exploration… and one or two honest to goodness physics lectures which I’ve been getting help from an actual physicist and story enthusiast, @cactusowl, to write. First chapter will be published Monday September 9!

Hymn of Acxiom: Scarlet/Vision. It would be post Endgame, with Wanda helping a newly reconstructed Vision who has no memories and no personality without the Mind Stone to network all the pieces and facets of his personality.  This is next on the docket after “Intercalation.” I’ve really only just gotten started. Sketching scenes and playing with theme. Don’t expect anything before November.

Untitled Sarge/Melinda May fic: I know. I KNOW! Don’t give me that look. You’re watching the same show I am and you’re seeing what I’m seeing. This shit writes itself. I’ve been sketching on a few things, and now that the season’s wrapped up I have an idea of what I want to do. I might crowbar in a few days just so that I can have some exploration time... sometime between (SPOILERS) May shooting Sarge and them heading for the Temple.

A Maelstrom Whirls Below: I’m toying with the possibility of a sequel to my Darcy/Eddie/Venom fic “A Room for Rent in the Fourth Estate.” A rough outline is in place, and I’m starting to sketch around on a few scenes. But right now it’s just some ideas and a few zippy one-liners. It’s starting to get some traction though! Likely won’t start work in earnest until after all this Chernobyl and Wanda/Vision stuff is done, but I’m definitely letting it percolate.

Hang By Every Word: The outline for my Stucky fic is still coming along but it will be awhile yet before I start writing on it in earnest. The basic theme (and I’m sure this has been done, but fuck it) is the undoing of Bucky’s conditioning one trigger word at a time. And each trigger word locked down a memory that HYDRA deemed integral to Bucky’s personality. And of course… they all involve Steve. So I have to write things from Steve’s point of view, and all ten memories have to be written from Bucky’s point of view, and they have to tie together into a cohesive narrative. The memories are out of order, but Steve’s timeline isn’t and… It’s a challenge. I’m still largely in the brainstorming phase… writing little snippets here and there. Nothing’s solidly taking form just yet. Again… just letting it percolate.

[rosalind-of-arden]

Sword and Pen Spoilers: Gleeful Squealing Edition

There is a lot to scream about in this book, so I am breaking it down by category. This is the post of happy things. Spoilers beyond the link: beware!

So, first and foremost, the scene in which Khalila becomes archivist is worth the cost of the book all on its own. It is in Wolfe POV, which automatically makes everything better as far as I am concerned. It includes the new Curia trying to give Wolfe the job first, to his great irritation. These are the same people who did nothing when he was taken to Rome and his work was erased, and he’s fully aware that part of the reason they’re in favor of him getting the job is that he’s not likely to survive long with the Library under attack. And he gets to call them on that shit. And when they insist? He fucking accepts, then turns around and announces his immediate retirement, nominating Khalila to take his place. “If you want to fight an old man who wants to drag the Great Library into the past, appoint a young woman who looks to the future.” Loads of affirmation for Khalila follows. And then we get to see her step into the role brilliantly. “That was not the voice of his student. It was the voice of his queen.”

Speaking of Khalila awesomeness, we also get some truly excellent Khalila/Dario moments. There is a very sweet bit of hurt/comfort after Dario returns from his spy mission, including cuddles, affirmation of feelings, and further marriage planning. And then, later, after Khalila becomes Archivist, we have Dario getting all overprotective, Khalila shutting that the fuck down, and the two of them negotiating how their public and private roles can interact. And then Dario gets to be a big damn hero.

Also a big damn hero? Thomas. Accomplishments include putting a giant fucking Ray of Apollo on the Lighthouse, raising a giant automaton Poseidon to defend the harbor, getting that second dragon up and running, getting past the tests in the Tomb of Heron to retrieve technology and an antidote that saves Jess, and convincing Khalila to open a printing division in the Library, complete with new Curia position. I am particularly happy that the last ones are peaceful, showing that he’ll be able to transition away from building weapons as things settle down.

But our first big promotion goes to Santi, who is appointed as Lord Commander of the High Garda, which surprises absolutely none of us, I’m sure. And he is awesome at it. He runs both a successful military defense campaign and a few covert operations. In connection with one of those covert operations, there is a bit of Santi-Dario interaction that I suspect Maz will mine for Santi/Dario potential, and that is going to be lovely. There is a Santi in case of death letter in this book, with the expected amount of Wolfe/Santi sweetness. Even more squeal-worthy, though, is his adoptive dad moment with Jess. Santi hugs Jess, calls him his son, and says he loves him, and I am never going to be over it.

Again, Santi fucking hugs Jess and calls him his son, people. Jess is very officially adopted by the dads. AND he gets a reconciliation with his mother, so lots of family for Jess now.

Wolfe gets good dad moments as well. From comforting Jess in the beginning, to protecting him while he’s sick, to handing Callum Brightwell his ass in the end, we see Wolfe fully embracing his dad role. He gets nice dad moments with the others as well: promoting Khalila, telling Glain how valuable she is, worrying about Thomas, mourning Morgan. That final confrontation with Callum is just amazing. Callum starts his abusive dad shit and first Jess, then Jess’s mother, then Wolfe all tell Callum to go fuck himself. And Wolfe then acknowledges how much it had to take for Celia to finally stand up to Callum.

On a much smaller scale, it is officially canon that Wolfe and Santi play chess on a regular basis. It’s mentioned immediately after sex and reading together in bed when Wolfe is thinking of things he misses doing with Santi in more peaceful times. I think you all know why I’m happy about that.

Also: Santi has gotten his protectiveness of Wolfe under control. At one point, he thinks of sending Wolfe a worried message and decides against it, knowing Wolfe won’t like it. At another point, Wolfe responds to Jess’s worry that Santi will be mad about him running off into danger by saying “he’s quite used to me doing as I please, thank you.” I get the feeling there has been an off-page conversation on this topic.

We also get confirmation that Wolfe has limited Obscurist-sense. He can tell when Morgan is trying to draw on his power. He can tell when Morgan is killing herself by overusing her power. And, in the end, Ascended Morgan informs him that he has a lot of power, but cannot use it because “something went slightly wrong in your body, but only just slightly.” She offers to fix this and give him access to his power. He doesn’t want that much more than he wants to be Archivist. Wolfe, in this book, has accepted himself as he is and not what he might have wanted to be in the past.

And then there is Dario. We get Dario POV, and that alone is amazing. Another chapter well worth the cost of the book all on its own. It is a glorious chapter of Dario showing that he really can be a successful schemer, and also a bucket of Dario angst. We get so many delicious little Dario details. He has excellent handwriting and knows a very obscure code. He likes his room in the Lighthouse. He has a spare Codex purchased just for sneaky-sneaky purposes. He somehow managed to read Wolfe and Santi’s journals during Ink and Bone, and found out interesting but unspecified things in the process. I really, really want to see that last point explored in fic.

Anyone who likes Jess whump will be pleased to learn that this is the big book of Jess whump. On top of the grief over Brendan, he spends most of the book poisoned and trying unsuccessfully to push through it. This gives us some very sweet moments of others taking care of him, especially Thomas, Anit, Wolfe, and Glain. Yes, that’s right, we get some excellent Jess-Glain bonding. And Jess and Anit declaring themselves siblings.

There is, in fact, just so much friendship and found family in this book. Everyone moved past the awkward “I don’t really like you” stage, and we see them all openly admitting to caring about each other. There are declarations of brotherhood/sisterhood/parenthood/friendship all over the place. There are hugs. There are non-romantic kisses. Glain is involved in both, and does not respond violently.

Speaking of Glain, guess who else gets a promotion? She’s up to lieutenant now, and as Wolfe points out to Jess, she’s on track to rise even higher. Her chapter this time is longer than last time, and showcases both her leadership and her combat skill. I am still squealing about how affectionate she and Jess are with each other, though. And it is in no way treated as a potential ship. It’s pure adopted sibling love.

And then there’s Morgan. This is not the post for crying over her death. This is the post for squealing over how fucking awesome she is before it. She develops her power to even greater heights. Eskander is trying to prepare her for the Obscurist Magnus job, and when he’s injured, she basically steps in to fill it, just without an official promotion. Even her death, sad as it is, is totally badass. She single-handedly prevents the Archives from burning. And she ascends to become something like a guardian spirit of the Library. After her death, she still looks out for the others. We see her communicate with Wolfe and offer to give him his Obscurist power, though he refuses.

This book also handles Jess’s grief very well. He is devastated by losing Brendan, and we see constant evidence of how it impacts him. There’s a lot going on, but he can’t forget his brother. It even leads to him breaking up with Morgan. He’s just not capable of managing feelings for her along with grief, and precious child that he is, he interprets this emotional confusion as evidence that they don’t really love each other and would never be able to work as a couple. That breakup hurts, but it fits where his character is at that moment, and because of her death, he never gets the chance to reconsider. And he grieves that loss as well.

That’s all I can think of for the moment. I’m sure there is more I will remember as I reread.

[ancient-trees]

So, tell me about your fictional children! I like hearing about people's characters! ^^

Thank you for asking! Putting this under a cut because it’s really long. Includes minor spoilers, especially for Tamuran, but nothing earth-shatteringly major unless you haven’t read the comic.

tl;dr:Varony: monster nerdEffire: snarky cobra nerdMath: grumpy old man nerdEmmie: +10 EPIC NERD also the best grandma

Versinthenet: dragon nerdRathe: swordie nerdPerrath: overly helpful nerd (w/ bonus cool doggo)Sukah: Gandalf is on strikeAleoth: the angstiest nerd

and Artreias: mostly an asshole (secretly a huge nerd on the inside, don’t tell anybody)

NERDS ALL NERDS.okay, read on:

I’ll start with Tamuran - I assume that’s what most people are following me for:

Varony you know if you read the comic - he’s the guy in my Tumblr icon. He belongs to a race of big arboreal predators that live deep in very dangerous forests, but for now he’s (sort of but not quite voluntarily) bound in the form of a big gangly human. For the most part he is okay with this arrangement (all except for the new “possibly permanent” aspect - see recent events in the comic). He’s endlessly curious, and he thinks humans are the weirdest, most bewilderingly fascinating things he’s ever encountered. He’s been human-shaped for (most of) about six years at this point - shortly after he was changed, he was found and taken in by a clan of traveling merchants, who taught him language and basically How To Human. They became a second family to him, as have the Ragtag Band of Adventurers he’s currently found his lot thrown in with, but sometimes he misses the trees.

Uh, stuff that I don’t think has been covered in the comic already: Back home, Varony (or Hhr'skhygh - approximation of his *growly-noises* real name) lived with his pack, which included his mother and three older siblings. His sister’s pretty cool, his brothers are jerks. He’s a good hunter, but his pack always saw him as something of a weirdo - asks too many pointless questions, wants to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING. When he was little he used to love listening to his grandfather tell his people’s folktales, and legends about the outside world. And yes, he’s officially ace/aro, species notwithstanding. Humans just complicate it even more - his people’s mating rituals are pretty straightforward, while humans’ involve all sorts of flirting and bizarre games that catch him off-guard (and have gotten him into a few ..uncomfortable situations in the past, if you want to know what the deal was with him freaking out on poor Jadsira in chapter 14).

Effire is a Morphus - one of the magical, long-lived Tu Naul race who was born with shapeshifting abilities. All Morphyx get bound into a single animal form and magically bonded to a “worthy” human (for the duration of the human partner’s life) as a sort of cultural exchange/community service. Effire was never too keen on that idea, especially after he found out his partner would be a Zharus Guardsman, and ESPECIALLY after his own bonded form turned out to be a cobra. But after getting used to one another, Effire found that his partner Morgen was a dreamer and idealist with a brain that never stopped - far from the meatheaded soldier-for-hire he was expecting. After their Zharus Academy training was complete, they were hired by the Patriarch of Tamuran to work palace intelligence and security and to keep an eye on the Patriarch’s elder sons as part of their personal guard (much to Prince Johlan’s irritation).

Effire tends to be cynical and sharp-tempered, but he means well. He would do anything for Morgen, whom he loves fiercely. He’s always liked exploring, especially poking around in places he’s not supposed to be. His favorite animals to turn into before he was bound were falcons, swallows, and other quick, agile birds - it was a pretty big blow to be stuck in a form that doesn’t even have limbs. Being part of a prince’s royal guard at least means he’s gotten to travel from time to time, and between Morgen and palace goings-on his life is seldom boring… though the way things have gone lately, he’s starting to really wish for boring…

Mathim hasn’t shown up in the comic yet - the Atriand-side plotline follows his story. He’s a former colonel in the Atriand army who was discharged early for an injury that never healed right, and at this point he’s retired to a town out in the wilderness, a cantankerous old bastard who spends his time drinking too much and cussing out the neighbor kids. His troublemaking teenaged grandson - the only living family he isn’t estranged from - disappeared about a year ago without a trace, though Math’s suspicions lean toward sorceric activity. When strangers pass through town bringing odd rumors, it might finally be the key Math needs to find the kidnappers. But Math has secrets - he was born with a forbidden form of magic, a dangerous, volatile power that has terrified him all his life. The same power that he passed on to his grandson, the power that made the boy a target of sorcerers in the first place. And now Math is going to need to unlock that power if he wants to have any hope of saving his boy…

Emianna was supposed to be a minor character, but she insisted on becoming a lot more important than we’d planned (and I’m glad she did). She’s Math’s wife, who died a few years before the comic story but still plays a big role in it. She was a huge nerd and avid naturalist, though poor health kept her working in libraries rather than pursuing science in the field. The daughter of a prominent Atriand military family, she used to pretend to be a bit daft at her family’s social functions, so that ambitious suitors would focus their attention on her sisters and leave her alone. At least until a shy young officer in search of a restroom literally stumbled over her reading in a closet during one of those parties… 

Emmie likes: books, books, and more books, SCIENCE, yaoi. And also being Gramma Emmie to her family - she’ll make you some amazing cookies, but you might have to pry her out of her lab to do it.

Novel characters: From several books, which are intended (if all goes well) to fit together like puzzle pieces and thus are sort-of in development at the same time (in other words, my notes are a mess).  Standard disclaimer that nothing is 100% canon till the books are finished.

Versinthenet is a dragon. In my setting, dragons are features of the landscape - half-physical, half-spirit beings that come into existence in places where intense magic pools and snags, and serve to tie Magic to the physical world. They can’t physically travel far from their magic “nodes,” but they can use the tides of Magic to communicate with other dragons and watch events as they unfold elsewhere in the world and also stupid cat videos.  Most dragons are located far from human settlements, but some of the ones who do live near humans use their influence over local magic to become patron protectors for their area, and in return the humans see to any physical-plane needs they may have. Verse (don’t call him that to his face) was one of these - fairly young as dragons go, he calmed the seas, quelled storms, and ensured good fishing for the people of his island. But centuries of watching human conflicts and atrocities, capped with events involving the death of his closest mentor, have started him questioning whether these people deserve his help after all. Then an idiot wizard shows up with the audacity to try to bind him and use his magic. The binding attempt goes horribly wrong - the wizard dies and Verse finds his consciousness pulled into the wizard’s body, while the rest of his Dragon self, mindless, flies off to wreak havoc, pulling frayed Magic into a hurricane around itself as it goes. Now Verse has to figure out how to set things right, while being blamed for the actions of the wizard who made this mess… before the dragon unleashes its wrath upon the whole island, or the islanders find a way to destroy the revered protector who has betrayed them. (Beyond all that, the consequences of such a tear in the network of magic may be farther-reaching than anyone is prepared for…)

So yeah, he’s not having a very good day.

Rathe is quick, athletic, great with a sword, and wants to be a hero like the ones in the storybooks. Unfortunately, she’s the daughter of a highly-respected family of scholars in a society that abhors all forms of violence and prizes learning and tradition above everything else. Events conspire to lead her away from home and into the life of adventure she’s always craved… but when her wizard traveling companion goes and does something really, really stupid, she’ll find out that heroing is a lot more complicated than she expected… especially when it involves facing personal secrets she thought were buried in the past.

Perrath has had a magical gift since he was a child - the ability to mend things that are broken - and a passion for helping people to go along with it. Unfortunately, one night a mysterious storm blew away all the magic in his village, including his innate talent, and he’s been searching for it ever since, with a sole still-functional(?) finding charm leading the way and his dog at his side (whom he talks to. A lot). He misses his magic, but he’s found that in the meantime he really enjoys a life of wandering - going wherever his finder points him, meeting new people and exploring places he’d never heard of, using his mundane skills to repair people’s things in order to get by. Until he finds himself in a sticky situation out in the uncharted wilds, and learns that promising to fix something for malevolent shadow-demons is maybe not a good idea…

Sukah is a semi-immortal guardian mage, bestowed with certain powers and nobly tasked with the protection of humanity. Only it’s hard to do your job when your partner has long since disappeared, halving your power, and nobody wants your help or even listens to your advice anymore. So he’s watched history unfold from the sidelines, telling himself that if people want to make a huge mess of things that’s their business.  A crisis involving two worlds and the fabric of magic itself, along with the reappearance of someone he’d thought long dead, might be enough to convince him to dust off his old magic and get back in the fight, but by then it might be too late…

Thanks to a valiant sacrifice-beyond-hope made by the parents she’s never known, Aleoth supposedly harbors within her the soul of a great evil… and no one has ever let her forget it. Stifled and stigmatized by those who were supposed to be her protectors, she runs away and takes up with a band of notorious brigands. But whatever she does, she can’t escape the unnerving creature that has haunted her dreams all her life, or the disasters that seem to follow her steps.  When [plot happens] and events begin to come crashing in around her, she’ll have to figure out who and what she is and what she really stands for.

{Bonus shoutout to my college D&D character Artreias, a sorcerer/planewalker from Sigil who got stuck in a shit-ton of trouble thanks to his sketchy mage father’s sketchy past and even more sketchy friends. Treias was a minor noble on his mom’s side, well-to-do and highly educated, but he acted like he was from the streets since all the nobles he ever met were twelve kinds of terrible. He’d do just about anything to protect his family, though (blood family and family-of-choice), especially his younger sister, and including Infuriating Sketchy Dad, whom he loved anyway. Unfortunately the rest of the party characters hated him, since (thanks to the mysterious circumstances that got him thrown into the campaign events) he had a “trust no one” attitude and could be kind of a jerk about it.}

[hisazuki]

Yona ch.145 spoilers

Akatsuki no Yona chapter 145 “What is right” summary

Please don’t repost/reuse my scans and translations without permission. Tumblr reblog is fine.

Shin-Ah collapses on Yona from the paralysis. His body feels heavy, but he’s fine. Yoon comes with Zeno and Kija. Kija is happy Yona is fine, but it’s Yona who worries for him instead: he’s all bloody. Yoon says they’ve been healing real slow, maybe it’s because they’re too far from Hiryuu Castle. Zeno, who was previously helping Kija walk, tries to carry/support Shin-Ah but his “old body” can’t take it. Jae-Ha says he should let Hak do it, then notices injured Hak on the ground. He calls for Yoon, who starts accusing him of carelessness while half-crying ^^;

In a dark alley, the assassins are discussing Shin-Ah’s powers. This man was definitely not human, it looked like a dragon. Could he be one of those monsters from Kouka? They’ve got to tell Gobi about it.

Back to Yona’s group. Kouren is injured from an arrow that grazed her arm. Yoon insists to treat her, and the princess asks why he would help his enemy. Yoon says it’s because he doesn’t want to lose to war and to violence. Healing isn’t about allies or enemies.

Kouren then comments about the 4 dragons’ god-like powers.

Kouren (to Yona): With that kind of power, have you ever thought about taking revenge on Soo-Won?

Yona: The 4 dragons aren’t instruments for settling my personal grudges.

Kouren: Do you have a personal grudge, then?

Yona: ...I... don’t know about that.

The reason she didn’t throw away Soo-Won’s hairpin was because she didn’t want to forget what happened on that fateful night. Or that’s what she told herself at first, but now she knows she was still trying to hold on a reason to trust him as well. And she’s gotten rid of that hairpin now. She tells Kouren she can’t easily forgive him for what happened, but she doesn’t want to live trapped in that moment either. 

Then they discuss the upcoming negotiations with Soo-Won: both Tao and Kouren must attend and there will be other conditions, but if they accept he guarantees there will be no bloodshed between Kouka and Shin. It may be difficult for them to agree to it, but Yona insists that if Soo-Won was like his father and intended to enslave their people, he wouldn’t have made such a promise from the start. Yona thinks he wouldn’t do anything so meaningless, and she still believes in that part of him.

Hak is listening to the conversation, staying silent all the time. He too believes Soo-Won wouldn’t do meaningless things. He doesn’t know why the princess decided to let go of the hairpin, but he understands she’s decided to face him head-on from now on, without fear or hatred. Would Hak be able to do that as well?

Kouren is still uneasy about facing Kouka’s king, that man’s son... She remembers what Neguro told her about how the heavens will favor their country if she leads it along with the 5 Stars’ help, when she was desperate and wanted to take revenge on Kouka. She promises him she won’t forget the despair and humiliation she felt back then.

The enemy stopped attacking. Before the group starts moving to safety, Kouren wishes to apologizes to them for using them as hostages. Tao comes and helps her walk. That way, the enemy won’t be able to shoot at Kouren so easily. Tao never thought Gobi would resort to killing Neguro when she decided to distance herself from him. She’s crying, afraid that she might come to hate him and lose her faith in humanity. That’s why he must be stopped at all costs.

Yoon asks if someone’s seen Mizari. He tells them he also ran away from his cell but was struck by an arrow, and we can see he’s worried for him. Jae-Ha adds they don’t fully grasp the situation yet (they were locked in a cell all this time): wasn’t the anti-war faction Tao’s ally? Voldo explains it’s a bit more complicated than that. Kouren prays Mizari and Yotaka will stay safe.

At the military camp, Yotaka can feel the anxiety in the air and wonders if it’s only caused by the upcoming war. He asks General Namsek (ナムセク) how the soldiers are doing. He says they’re fine and scolds him for showing his nervousness because it will affect the troops’ morale. A soldier comes and tells Yotaka Gobi is up to something. We see the priest answering the questions of worried citizens, telling them that yes, Kouren intends to use her people to shield her during the war and that divine princess Tao will bring peace. The citizens say she shouldn’t sell the country like that, given what Kouka did to them in the past. Gobi tells them it’ll be fine, the gods have spoken: if Soo-Won and Tao marry, both countries will prosper in harmony. Yotaka understands it would be the perfect chance for Gobi Jeanne D’Arc to seize power as a prime minister and smirks.

Author note: The other day I went to Fukuoka, and the shops around the station were all selling tasty-looking food, I couldn’t resist!

A woman says they still have the 5 Stars, but Gobi says they won’t protect them and they shall be punished by the heavens as criminals who brought upon war.

Just as Yotaka steps forward to argue with Gobi, he gets stabbed in the back from an anti-war faction soldier. The soldier says this is divine retribution for Mizari injuring his best friend who can no longer work and turned to the gods. The soldiers and citizens don’t want to die for this war, and Gobi said the war will be avoided if they bring him the 5 Stars’ heads.

Yotaka apologizes for not being able to stop Mizari. However, if the soldiers intend to take Kouren’s life, as a member of the 5 Stars, he will not hesitate.

Gobi comes and laughs at him, for what can he hope to achieve with no weapon and an injury? He tells him it’s futile to resist, for Yotaka is the only 5 Stars still alive. He adds Neguro met a fitting end as head of the 6 Stars. Yotaka gets angry and starts yelling, but the scene switches to the Wind tribe’s side of the camp.

Han-Dae tries to catch Tae-Woo’s attention by calling him various names until he reacts to “tiny small youngster”. He wants to know if the general has heard news from Hak and where he went. Tae-Woo says he doesn’t know and leaves, remembering what Hak told him earlier about leaving the Wind tribe in his care. He wonders if that means Hak won’t be coming back to the Wind tribe anymore, and doesn’t know what to do about the war: when the Sky tribe comes, will he have to lead the Wind tribe to the battlefield, even if it means they might have to fight against Hak?

Wandering around lost in his thoughts, he comes close to the Shin side of the camp and sees an angry injured Yotaka facing Gobi. He remembers Yotaka as the guy who was arguing with Hak’s friend (Voldo), and hears Gobi say dawn will break soon and for that new morning to be a peaceful one, Kouren and the 5 Stars have to die.

As Gobi’s assassins are about to strike him, Tae-Woo throws his spear in between them and asks the “bigwigs from Shin” to let him join their conversation.

Hisa’s thoughts on the chapter: 

Most of what was discussed in the chapter, we already knew, so I’ll focus on the parts that are probably going to matter in the next chapters.

Even after Yona’s talk of how she won’t let her resentment towards Soo-Won cloud her judgment and use the dragons for herself, Kouren is still trapped in the past and promises Neguro she will never forget about how they all felt when Kouka crushed them 17 years ago. I’m not sure what she really meant: is she promising Neguro she won’t forget even if she chooses to make peace with Kouka, or is it a plain rejection of the negotiations talks because they once agreed to give everything they had to get their revenge on Kouka? She’s the key to the negotiations, and given her personality, I’m afraid she might ditch the meeting if people are pressuring her to go too much.

Then we have Hak who finally gives us hindsight of what he thinks about Soo-Won. Kind of. As we could guess, he’s still angry with him and wonders if he’ll be able to remain calm during the meeting. It’s nice to know his opinion once in a while, as he tends to keep everything to himself.

Next there’s Gobi Jeanne D’Arc, who allegedly heard from the gods that everything will be alright if Tao marries Soo-Won. I’m pretty sure he’s using this excuse to manipulate Tao and the citizens, but it sounds very similar to Kouka’s situation with the priests when Joo-Nam was still king. Can Gobi really hear the gods? Will he try to manipulate Soo-Won using the gods too? (well good luck with that).

Finally we have Tae-Woo, still struggling with his new duties as general and finally accepting that no, Hak will not take back his former position. Now that he’s come to terms with being the true leader, he wants to do what is right for his tribe. And it looks like he’s chosen to get involved with the enemy’s business, risking to pass as a traitor if Soo-Won’s troops find him on the Shin side of the camp.