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quazartranslates · 3 years

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Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH58

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

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Chapter 58: Purgatory Reunion (X)

Mrs?

This familiar address reminded Qi Leren of someone—Mrs Kathleen. One of the powerful figures in the Village of Dusk’s Slaughter Secret Society branch, Qi Leren had used the identity of "Red" to go undercover there, and had infiltrated the Slaughter Secret Society through her. She and her subordinate, Ashley, had left a deep impression on him, especially after he learned that they had escaped pursuit of the Trials Court.

The Nightmare World was so big, Qi Leren hadn't expected to meet her in the Underground Ant City.

Not good, Qi Leren thought. Mrs Kathleen must have a grudge against his "betrayal" and "utilization" in those days. Now she had sent someone to invite him fair and square. She wasn’t surprised that he had come here.

If she was not strong enough, she could pretend that she hadn’t seen him. That she had invited him meant she needed him for something.

Qi Leren has a guilty conscience and couldn't help thinking about a strategic retreat...

His hand was gently shook, and Qi Leren jolted. It suddenly occurred to him that this time he wasn’t alone.

He still had Ning Zhou!

When a man fights for too long, he thinks of solving any problems by himself, because when in danger, he can't pin his hopes on others. The only person he can rely on is himself.

This was a kind of maturity, but it was not a kind of helplessness. If someone can be a little prince and a little princess in a castle all their life, who would want to face the ups and downs of the outside world alone? After all, the wind was cold enough to bite at one’s skin, and the rain was violent enough to break through their armor.

Qi Leren raised his head and looked at Ning Zhou. Ning Zhou's eyes behind the mask also looked at him. It was a firm and indomitable look. He suddenly felt at ease. Maybe he would encounter difficulties and dangers, but as long as Ning Zhou was by his side, he would have endless courage.

Relieved, Qi Leren turned back and smiled at the manager who had invited them: "What are you waiting for? Lead the way."

　　&&&

They went up the stairs through a hidden door in the underground casino. The decor on the second floor was no longer a decaying and old gambling house, but a clean and tidy reception room. The white marble floor was gleaming, but the sofa where someone should sit was empty.

The manager pulled open the curtain of the reception room. Behind the curtain, there was a translucent curtain of light that rippled like a water’s surface, making the figure behind the curtain blurred, but it was still faintly visible that it was a woman's appearance, which was the long-lost Mrs Kathleen.

"That group of desperate gamblers are all rotten to the core, aren't they?" The woman behind the scenes laughed and made no secret of her contempt for this group of gamblers.

"It's a perfect match for a fugitive with her head hidden," Qi Leren also laughed.

This was really mean. When Qi Leren switched to his "Red" persona, his speech was much more vicious than usual, and most of the time it can be called malicious provocation.

"...Long time no see, Mr. 'Red', you still have the same style, still so... sharp-toothed and clever-tongued."

"But you’ve become secretive." Qi Leren smiled mockingly, took Ning Zhou, and sat down on the sofa in an ostentatious manner. He looked at Mrs Kathleen behind the curtain with his fingers still writing in Ning Zhou’s palm behind his back: Barrier, with a question mark added.

He wanted to know whether Ning Zhou could break this barrier enchantment.

"Necessary caution can save people's lives at critical moments, such as when the Trials Court encircled the Slaughter Secret Society branch." Mrs Kathleen's tone was light, but she was careful, full of the malicious intent of wanting to kill someone quickly.

Ning Zhou's reply was simpler than Qi Leren's. He only drew a check mark in his hand.

The light touch made Qi Leren's hand shiver, and he almost lost control of his tone.

"So you hide yourself behind an 'absolutely safe' barrier, and then tell your poor men to prepare to catch both of us?" Qi Leren laid out her plan bluntly.

Mrs Kathleen chuckled and took a sip of black tea before slowly saying, "A safety barrier is very important. For example, this one in front of you is enough to stop all attacks below a half-field."

Mrs Kathleen was full of confidence in the security of this enchantment, and also full of confidence in beating these two people. It had only been a month or two since the Slaughter Secret Society’s Village of Dusk branch collapsed. At that time, she had witnessed "Red’s" strength and that of the exorcist who cooperated with him.

Absolutely less than half-field level, otherwise the Slaughter Secret Society branch would have been completely annihilated.

These days, Mrs Kathleen, who had been pampered for many years, was resentful. She used to live a secret but comfortable life in the Village of Dusk. Her subordinates flattered her, supported her, and pinned their hopes for survival on the seeds of slaughter she gave them, but all this was ruined by this person.

She had to flee with the only surviving subordinate, Ashley, to the strange Underground Ant City. If she hadn't happened to meet a past lover in the lower city, and the lover happened to have a certain degree of power, she would be in a worse situation now.

However, how could a cautious life be compared to the reckless life she had previously had? Ashley, her only subordinate, was still missing.

Mrs Kathleen frowned. She could sense her subordinate, and was sure that he was still alive. But another horrible and evil force had cut off her control over her subordinate. She could only vaguely feel that Ashley was still in the Underground Ant City, but she didn't know what had happened to him...

"I'm not interested in your enchantment. If you wanted to kill me you could have already tried, instead of hiding your head in a turtle shell. Tell me, what do you want with me?" Qi Leren asked lazily.

"What about you? What did you come here for?" Mrs Kathleen asked.

"I'm looking for someone." Qi Leren has no intention of hiding.

"Looking for a gambler? I don’t believe it." Mrs Kathleen chuckled. "I’m guessing you're looking for the Court’s missing informant, the guy who came here the other day to inquire about the gambler."

Sure enough! The Court’s informant who came to investigate the Illusionist’s disappearance fell into Mrs Kathleen’s hands.

"Oh, what about him?" Qi Leren asked.

"Don't worry, you can see him soon," Mrs Kathleen said softly, fiddling with the feather fan in her hand.

Qi Leren's heart sank. It was likely that the informant's situation wasn’t good. However, it was also possible that Mrs Kathleen was using him, the informant of the court, and she couldn’t kill him until she drained the information from him.

"But I'm curious, the Illusionist unexpectedly also came to the Underground Ant City, also came to the casino; what is he doing here? Are you still chasing me?" asked Mrs Kathleen.

Qi Leren narrowed his eyes. It seemed that the informant who came to find the gambler to verify the Illusionist’s whereabouts had confessed this matter, so Mrs. Kathleen was wary, and she had found a barrier enchantment from who knows where to protect her own safety. She also arranged manpower in the underground casino. As a result, there was no new information about why the Illusionist had gone missing after leaving for the Dragon Ant Queen’s palace. Instead, Ning Zhou and Qi Leren had just gotten tied up in Mrs Kathleen’s issues.

Alas, this was really a pitfall of miscommunication.

"Think of it as him going shopping," Qi Leren said lightly.

Mrs Kathleen choked a bit, then laughed angrily: "What about you, what are you doing in the Underground Ant City?"

Of course, Qi Leren couldn't speak about the facts, but he couldn’t casually say something that wouldn’t make sense...

Beside him, Ning Zhou suddenly moved. This move made Qi Leren's mind flash. He leaned over Ning Zhou's neck in confusion and smiled at Mrs. Kathleen behind the curtain: "We came for our honeymoon!"

Mrs Kathleen: "..."

Ning Zhou: "???"

Mrs. Kathleen, who felt teased and humiliated, finally couldn't sit still. She stood up from her chair and snapped, "Since you don't want to say anything, go to hell and say it!"

With her furious voice, the door of the sitting room was violently kicked open, and a group of thugs rushed in, most of whom were strong lower demons. They surrounded the two people on the sofa, but did not rush to start attacking.

"Actually, it won’t take so many people to deal with you two." Mrs Kathleen smiled haughtily and clapped her hands. The barrier between her and them changed its shape, and began to expand from a curtain of light. In just a few seconds, it turned into a sheet of light, trapping them inside.

"This enchantment can protect people, and of course it can trap people. This is a half-field item. Although I can't use cards like you foreigners, items are still useful. I have to say that there are some interesting things..."

Mrs Kathleen's arrogant words hadn't been finished yet before Ning Zhou, who was gaining speed, had already waved out his sword—

The low-key and restrained Sword of Judgment swept away the light curtain. Before it, the light curtain, which was strong enough to resist all attacks below a half-field, was just like ordinary glass, and instantly fell apart.

The broken pieces of the light curtain were falling, and Mrs Kathleen's stunned expression behind the barrier seemed to freeze at this moment. Her horror and disbelief twisted into a clown-like expression on her face.

"Do it, do it!" She suddenly came to her senses, screaming and shouting.

The lower demon around them howled and rushed forward, but before running even a few steps, they were frightened into kneeling on the ground by a terrible force—the powerful oppressive feeling was like an iron tower on the top of each demon's head, which was more dignified than terror and more horrible than majesty.

Every demon's mind couldn't help but see a similar image: an ancient dragon as big as a mountain, raising itself high and staring at the demons at its feet that were each smaller than one of its scales...

This was no longer a simple gap in ability, but a crushing hierarchy between different creatures.

Mrs Kathleen fell to her knees with a gasp, and supported herself against the ground with both hands awkwardly. The oppressive feeling that went straight to her soul made her unable to conceive thoughts of resistance. The cruel and bloody power divide between demons determined that a powerful devil wanted to kill a weak demon, and it would barely need to work to do it.

Unless the pressure was released, it would be enough for a lower demon to collapse and die.

Terrified sweat dripped down her forehead. At this moment, Mrs Kathleen's heart was desperate and fearful.

This was the full force of destruction, which is terrible to behold... She had experienced the cruel war more than 20 years ago, that is, at that time, she had betrayed her human identity and thrown herself into the Devil's camp, changing from a poor human girl in a border town to a Devil’s follower, and finally she herself became a demon.

She had even seen the Destroyer with her own eyes. Handsome and silent, he wore a uniform and walked through the cheering army of demons, as if everything he ruled over was nothing but trivial things in the world. He didn't deliberately release his force, but his whole body was full of destructive power, which made her unable to forget. Even though the appearance of the Lord of Destruction in her memory had already blurred, the sensation of his force still lingered.

In the more than 20 years since the fall of the Destroyer, she had never been amazed by any power. Even though she had joined the Slaughter Secret Society, she always maintained a calm and mocking attitude towards the crazy believers in the Secret Society. She despised the crazy believers, and from the bottom of her heart, she didn't think there was anything remarkable about these three new Devils.

However,ever since the fall of the old Devil King, the Underworld was leaderless. Although they had gained power, they were not truly "Devil Kings".

After all, none of them had started the ceremony.

Without this ceremony, whether it was Power, Fraud, or Slaughter, it was just a pseudo-Devil King with an empty title. In the past 20 years, there was only one Devil who was truly recognized as a Devil King in the demon world.

But the Destroyer had fallen. Who was this person who also used the force of destruction, and was infinitely close to the field level?

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megashadowdragon · 3 years

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Warning: this theory contains HEAVY SPOILERS! If you’re not fully caught up with the manga, read at your own risk.

Since English isn’t my first language, I apologize in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Also, this is my first time posting.

It’s practically obvious to everyone that we will get a Kaido flashback in this arc, whether he dies or not: of course, there will be a part about his time in the Rocks Pirates, but we will also get to know possibly one of the most important people for him: his wife.

Because, let’s face it, Oda hasn’t done much yet to give his personality some depth and not being just an arrogant, cruel, child-beating antagonist with a penchant for alcohol and an obsession for death, and a figure such a woman he loved could be a great opportunity for doing so.

Some might speculate that she’s actually dead and that’s why Kaido started drinking.

It could be true but, knowing Oda, he would never introduce a deceased character of that importance out of the blue, without some sort of foreshadowing: a well-kept grave located in a secret place where an important character stumbles upon in the Onigashima raid (on screen, obviously), a framed portrait on a desk or a wall, a name seemingly being thrown offhandedly in a conversation… but there is nothing in Wano which even remotely resembles one of those things.

Therefore, she must be alive.

(Also, there are already too much fundamental figures in various characters’ history who ended up dead in flashbacks, such as Bellemere, Rocinante, Russian and so on. Come on, Oda.)

Is she going to be someone new, at least?

Well, that’s a possibility, however in next arc(s) new characters will be introduced and One Piece has got more than a thousand of them already… quite a lot, aren’t they? Consequently, there is a very good chance for her to be someone who has been already introduced into the story.

Of course, there must have been some sort of foreshadowing when she had been introduced, too: she was the lover of a Yonko, after all. Has there been a woman with an unknown lover in the past arcs?

Yes, actually.

It was her:

And I believe that the mysterious man she fell in love with was none other than Kaido himself. But wait, there’s more: Gloriosa has also eaten a Devil Fruit. An extremely powerful one.

Don’t worry, I will explain everything on the way. Now, hold onto your seat, because this will be quite the long ride.

Kaido and Gloriosa comparison

Kaido of the Beasts, Governor General of the Beasts Pirates, one of the Four Emperors, the Strongest Being in the world and Gloriosa, a former Kuja ruler. These two may have little to nothing in common... or have they?

Probably the most striking difference between them is their respective height: while Kaido easily dwarfs normal humans, Gloriosa is shorter than Luffy; however, both of their heights are currently not canonically stated.

Unstated as both of their ages are, although it’s clear that both of them are past their younger days: in Gloriosa this is highlighted by her grey hair and wrinkled face, but it’s clear that Kaido is not that young any more, too, having crow’s feet under his eyes and forehead lines. It is likely that these two are quite close in age, actually.

A notably interesting fact is, canon heights and ages of the various characters, along with things such as their favourite food, are revealed in the SBS corner in manga volumes. And yet, not even one of these little pieces of information has been revealed for both Kaido and Gloriosa.

It’s very unlikely that nobody has ever sent these question to Oda, or that the latter forgot to answer them; given the importance of the two characters in the arc where they have appeared, there must be a very specific reason why Oda didn’t tell us a thing. More than that, when Gloriosa talked about her Love Sickness in chapter 522, there was no flashback; not even silhouettes.

With these things and questions on mind, let’s move on to their position. Kaido is now an Emperor of the Sea, and Gloriosa was an Empress of the Kuja. Also, while Gloriosa was an Empress Kaido held no particular position, except by maybe being a pirate captain; and now the tables have turned, Kaido being an Emperor and Gloriosa being a nobody. A neat little parallel, isn’t it?

Now, let’s get to their Haki usage and knowledge: Gloriosa seems to have some knowledge about how it works and the characteristics of the people who are able to use the various Colours: in fact, in chapter 521 she comments about Luffy’s Haki, surprised by how he willingly bowed his head to Hancock to help those who saved him instead of a boat to leave the island without a second thought. She is not a confirmed user of any form of Haki; however, in a place where pretty much every powerful warrior can use at least Observation and Armament, it is hinted she is a wielder of these two colours at least and, since she used to be an Empress, there is also a chance she can use Conqueror’s, too. Kaido is a confirmed Observation, Armament and Conqueror user, and also one of the very few people, as he himself stated in chapter 1010, who can make the latter colour flowing through their body and coat their weapon(s). In the very same chapter, he also recognized Zoro’s illusions while performing Ashura as a manifestation of Conqueror’s Haki, revealing his in-depth knowledge about the subject.

Last but certainly not least... their strength. Kaido one-shot Luffy in Gear Fourth despite the Emperor being so drunk he could not stand on his feet properly; also, he was able to clash against a fellow Yonko for days and tanked pretty much both all the Scabbard’s hits and the majority of the Supernova’s attacks on the rooftop. Moreover, how can his absolutely epic introduction not be taken into account? He fell from a Sky Island literally 10000 metres above the sea level and he ended up with... a strong headache. I’ll tell you what: Gloriosa fell from a great height, too! In addiction to it, she landed without suffering any serious consequences, as shown in chapter 517, where she landed on her feet seemingly undamaged after Hancock quite literally threw her out of the Kuja Castle. As Gloriosa herself said, she might have grown old, but she is still a Kuja warrior. Also, being a former ruler where strength is beauty, she undoubtedly was a force to be reckoned with in her prime.

That being said*... Maybe they’re not so different, after all, huh?*

Mythology references

One Piece has loads of references to Japanese myths and folklore, however Wano is especially loaded with these; and how could it not be? It is inspired by Japan, after all.

Moreover, since Kaido can transform into a dragon, there must be some kind of reference to Japanese myths and legends regarding these legendary creatures.

There’s one in particular, which might be the key to Kaido’s backstory: the story of the Enoshima Dragon.

According to this myth, in the mountains near the Koshigoe village lived a five-headed dragon, called Gozuryu, who terrorized the inhabitants over a period of some-thousand years by provoking countless natural disasters such as huge storms, floods and earthquakes, as well as eating their children. The villagers kept praying and praying, until something happened: in 31st May, 552 AD, during a bigger and more violent storm than the usual, the clouds split in two and a rock began to emerge from the sea. A beautiful woman descended from a ray of light where the clouds slit and sat foot on the island just created, making it her home. The dragon, who assisted to the whole thing, immediately fell in love with her and asked her to marry him.

The woman, who was perfectly aware of the dragon’s evil actions, was none other than the goddess Benzaiten herself.

Benzaiten on a white dragon

Now, there are two versions of how the story ends: in one, the goddess turned him down at first, and told the dragon she would have considered his proposal only if he helped the people he used to terrorise. Gozuryu accepted and the village prospered thanks to their dual protection; in the end, the goddess agreed to marry him and the couple lived happily until the dragon met his demise. In the other version, Benzaiten straight up refused Gozuryu’s proposal due to his evil actions; ashamed for his wrongdoings, the dragon promised the goddess he would have never disturbed the village again, and retired in the mountains where he died of guilt.

Anyway, regardless of how the story goes, when the dragon died he fused with the land of Kamakura, creating the Dragon’s Mouth hill (Japanese: Tatsu no kuchi yama) facing south, the direction of the island where his beloved lived. Needless to say, the island of the myth is Enoshima.

The comparison between Kaido and Gozuryu is immediate: both are extremely cruel towards children, with the former having no qualms beating them, even his own, and the latter eating them. Moreover, the Emperor, much like the five-headed dragon, terrorizes the inhabitants of the place near where he lives (Wano Country and Koshigoe Village respectively) turning the land into completely inhabitable wasteland in the process, and is capable of causing huge storms; his apparition in chapter 921 is also being accompanied by a thunderstorm. Note that, in Chapter 1003, Zoro states that fighting Kaido was like “facing a natural disaster”, much like the natural catastrophes Gozuryu caused.

Now, let’s talk about Benzaiten.

Goddess of water (especially rivers), eloquence, and good fortune, Benzaiten is considered one of the protector deities of Japan, where she’s one of the most beloved and revered gods: every major city has at least one place for her worship and countless temples and shrines dedicated to her cult are present in many other areas across the country, all located near water sources such as rivers, ponds, lakes or even in the sea. She is part of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods, and she’s the only woman among them.

Benzaiten, however, is not originally Japanese: she is in fact a syncretic deity derived from the Hindu goddess Saraswati whose cult was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks who arrived in the VII century from China.

Due to her extreme complexity, only the most relevant facts to this theory will be reported.

She wasn’t very popular until the XI century, when her cult was fused with Ugajin’s, an obscure Japanese Kami of water, agriculture and good fortune, often represented as an old man with a snake body. Once this happened, her popularity skyrocketed as a goddess of water and by assonance ‘of everything that flows’: rivers, eloquence, knowledge, music, art and Haki. Even nowadays, Uga Benzaiten, the goddess with Ugajin on her head, is one of the most common Benzaiten representations.

Both lived in an island inhabited only by women: Gloriosa in Amazon Lily, and Benzaiten in Enoshima, since she was the sole inhabitant of said island and also a woman;

Benzaiten originated from an Indian goddess and Gloriosas, the flowers which Gloriosa was named after, grow in India too! Gloriosa superba is even Tamil Nadu’s national flower.

Due to being goddess of water, Benzaiten was naturally associated with animals connected with said element: snakes, turtles… and dragons. Especially the white ones, since this colour is linked with water in Japanese culture.

Snakes are a big part of Amazon Lily’s culture: almost every warrior on the island has her own Snake Weapon which can be used as a bow, the island’s dome is sculpted with snake motifs, the Perfume Yuda, Kuja Pirates’ flagship, is carried by two Yuda snakes, even Kuja, the name of the tribe, means ‘Nine snakes’

White snakes were considered to be Benzaiten’s main messengers and avatars and Gloriosa in Share the World opening appeared with a blue top and*...* a white snake.

Also, the traditional representation of the Black Warrior is a turtle intertwined with a snake, much like Kujas with their Snake Weapon. Due to these facts, I believe that Gloriosa has eaten the Mythical Zoan Kame Kame no Mi model: Genbu.

Timeline and character analysis – a PERSONAL take on what could have happened and when (and why)

For this section, other than time markings scattered throughout the story, Momonosuke’s (biological 8 – actual 28), Yamato’s (28), and Hancock’s (31) ages will also be taken into account for comparison.

It is known that the Rocks Pirates were defeated and subsequently disbanded 38 years before the current time. Also, Kaido was captured, and presumably sentenced to jail, eighteen times; given his reputation and danger, it’s pretty safe to assume that at least one of those nine prison ships he sunk was directed to Impel Down.

Impel Down is actually not that far from Amazon Lily: the journey takes one sailing week with an average ship, while Marine ones can make it in just four days, about half the time, because of the reserved currents. In my opinion, it makes sense thinking that Kaido has sunk a prison ship in the Paradise and somehow ended up in Amazon Lily.

Now, everyone here knows the supreme rule of the Island of Women:

NO. MEN. ALLOWED.

For any reasons.

So, by the laws of the island, he was imprisoned and, just like Luffy, was sentenced to death. But, like the latter pirate did, Kaido defeated/broke/knocked unconscious all the animal/things commonly used for executions on the island, therefore the Empress finally decided to take the matter into her own hands.

I believe the Kuja Empress at the time was Gloriosa. Why?

Well, it was stated that 33 years ago the remnants of the Rocks Pirates sent off to found their own crews, and probably Kaido arrived in Amazon Lily even earlier, between 38 and 33 years ago. As Hancock stated, Gloriosa is actually the former-former-former empress of Amazon Lily: this means that there were two Empresses between her and Hancock; since the latter is stated to have become Empress at the age of 18, 13 years ago, and given that the other two unnamed Empresses died of Love Sickness which probably is more likely to strike the unlucky rulers at a fairly young age, 20-25 years are more than enough for two Empresses to have reigned.

To estimate her actual force at the time, let’s analyse her name a bit.

Like all Kujas, Gloriosa is named after a flower (or a genus of those): Gloriosa is a genus of 12 flower species, widely spread in areas of the world such as Africa, the Arabic Peninsula and tropical parts of Asia. It can reach 3 metres in height and they display showy, vibrant-colored flowers with distinctively shaped petals, earning them the nickname of fire lily.

So, the question arises spontaneously: why is this short, wrinkly old woman named after one of the most beautiful (and tallest) flowers in the world? Given Oda’s attention even for the tiniest details, I highly doubt he chose this name randomly; at least, not for her.

Either she’s a grotesque parody of her own name… or it could be a foreshadow.

Gloriosa is also the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan word meaning ‘glorious’, if the subject it’s related to is feminine and singular. A truly fitting name for a ruler and the wife of a Yonko, isn’t it? And Kaido want his death to be… glorious.

Maybe Gloriosa in her prime was actually even more beautiful and stronger than the current Hancock, to the point where nobody had ever beaten her in combat.

Anyway, you know how the saying goes: if it’s one on one, always bet on Kaido.

Therefore, Gloriosa was defeated for the first time. By a man.

Hancock’s case probably gives us how Empresses fall ill with Love Sickness: it happens when a man catches them off guard by behaving in a totally and positively unexpected way, defying all the previous experiences the rulers have. Hancock fell in love with Luffy because he showed her kindness and didn’t judge her when she told him about her past; Gloriosa got Love Sickness because she fell in love with Kaido for his strength.

Because love… is always like a Dragon Twister hurricane!

How about Kaido?

It is common knowledge that he respects physical strength, even in his enemies.

That’s probably why he joined the Rocks Pirates in the first place: out of respect for Rocks D. Xebec, because he was actually the first person ever to defeat him in combat.

Just like Zoro with Kuina, or Douglas Bullet with Gol D. Roger (in the Stampede movie).

Gloriosa may have not defeated him in combat, but she surely gave him a very good run for his money, maybe she almost won. And he respected her for that, to the point where he actually accepted to leave Amazon Lily, even if he won. He stayed there for a little more, while a ship for him to sail the sea was being prepared, and lived peacefully (meaning: extensively touched and examined) with the Kujas.; what are the chances that one of his favourite (or least) foods is actually penne with Gorgonzola and Sea King’s meat, the island’s culinary speciality?

When he sat sail, he probably found out that the Empress snuck aboard his ship when he was far away from the island already. He thought of bringing her back, but, after listening to her reasons, he decided to let her stay with him because, let’s face it, Kaido is not Luffy, he actually appreciates the company of women.

The most beautiful woman in the world fell in love with him and contracted a mysterious illness which would have killed her if she didn’t go with him and follow him anywhere?

Oh no! /s

I’ll tell you what, I don’t think that Kaido was actually in love with her at first that much. He surely enjoyed spending passionate nights with her, and was amused by her curiosity due to Gloriosa knowing little to nothing about the external world.

There was a specific moment when he actually fell in love with her.

Have you noticed that, despite being often shirtless, Kaido's back is never fully uncovered even in his dragon form? He always wears a coat, a shirt, or both.

That hints that Kaido has some kind of mark on his back he wants to hide from public view, just like the Gorgon Sisters. Something must have happened that made him show her said mark, maybe Gloriosa caught a glimpse and asked him to see it. Anyway, Kaido was reclutant at first, but she had the right to know, she was his wife after all.

So he showed it to her, in a way that, when it will be shown in the flashback, might be a callback to when Hancock showed Luffy the Celestial Dragon hoof.

That mark meant that for the world he had and would always have been something inhuman, a failed experiment, a monster; even Big Mom, who has the best spy network in the world, calls him a 'thing'. But Gloriosa didn’t judge him for said mark, nor she believed he was a monster. For Gloriosa, he was just Kaido, the man who she had fallen in love with.

That's when Kaido fell for her. And he fell hard, probably to the point of no return.

At some point, the two conceived a child, and that's when Kaido decided that it was time to move to Wano instead of travelling the world: the pirate life is dangerous for grown people let alone for a child, plus he was one of the most wanted men by the World Government, meaning the child was in danger simply by existing.

But how did Kaido know about Wano?

He probably heard something about the Continent Puller and the ‘country’ he formed about 600 years before but, since it was a closed nation, he probably didn’t know much more until he met someone who escaped from said island: Kurozumi Higurashi.

41 years ago, she told Orochi that she fled the country because of the persecutions against the Kurozumi clan, and because she knew nothing about the outside world, joining pirates was the easier choice. Also, in that way she could have found allies and power for the Kurozumi cause easier.

The Mane Mane no Mi allows the user to create a perfect copy of a person whose face has been touched. She transformed in a woman, who, judging by the color scheme in the anime, is heavily hinted to be Bakkin and a young Shiki, both known members of the Rocks Pirates, so Higurashi may have traveled with said crew for a while. There she met Kaido, who she sensed he could have been a great help for the Kurozumis: big, powerful, and stupid, easy to manipulate.

A closed off country not part of the World Government: a perfect nation for Kaido to reside to ensure the safety of his family (mainly his child, because Gloriosa was more than capable of defending herself) and to use as a base for his operations.

When Oden went with Whitebeard 29 years ago, there were no factories in Wano, but they were there when Toki arrived in Wano with Momonosuke, who was 3 at the time, and Hiyori; so Kaido must have arrived in Wano three years earlier at last.

Gloriosa may not have been the Kuja Empress anymore, but had everything a woman like her could ask for: she was one of the heads of a soon to be powerful army, plus a devoted, loving husband and a child.

Why did she leave it all behind?

I have already talked about the parallels between Gloriosa and turtles in the mythology section, but here’s another one: in Chinese culture, turtle (especially turtle egg) is a very serious insult regarding the morality of one’s mother; that’s why Genbu is called Black Warrior instead of Black Tortoise.

This also expands one of Wano’s most prominent themes: betrayal.

Gloriosa was forced to leave Wano and Yamato behind because she cheated on Kaido. But with who?

Well, the Beast Pirates follow a card games and decks naming theme, and currently there is none named Ace; also, when Oden faced Kaido, Jack was only 8, so my hypothesis is that the third Calamity before him was called Ace. He probably had a crush on Gloriosa and when she went to him for comfort while Kaido was away, probably out to recruit subordinates or captured, he couldn’t resist.

But Kaido caught the two in the act, and was absolutely furious.

He killed Ace, and his position remained vacant for quite some time, until Jack finally took his place in the Calamities; that's why, in Episode 972, there were only King and Queen along with the fodder.

However, Kaido couldn't bring himself to kill his wife personally, so he offered her a choice: be dispatched by the hands of King or Queen, or leave and never return.

Gloriosa chose the second option.

She packed her things and left, only to realize she had nowhere to go: Wano obviously was not an option, but she couldn't just go back to Amazon Lily, not after she betrayed Kujas by abandoning them while she was an Empress. Plus, as a pirate, she was wanted by the Marine. So she lived on the run, continuously assuming new identities and never staying in the same place for too long.

Also, Love Sickness certainly has played its role in weakening her, making her age faster and dramatically decreasing her height in the process.

Taking a look at Hancock’s bed, it’s decisiverly oversized for her: said bed could comfortably fit a laid Boa Hancock together with her Snake Weapon, which is way larger than the others, her sisters, the doctor and Gloriosa, and still have room left for someone else to stand on it.

It is very likely that this bed was the Empress’s for a long time, and, since that position is not inherited, it had to fit Kujas of all sizes. So Gloriosa could have been taller in her youth, maybe a little shorter than Kaido, but still enough to handle him.

Anyway, Gloriosa managed to survive through sheer willpower, the same that allows her to snap out of Hancock’s charm much faster than the others, until her feelings for Kaido eventually faded away, thus healing from said illness.

When she finally arrived to Sabaody Archipelago, at least fifteen years ago, she was unrecognisable. Coincidentally, Shakky's Rip-Off bar was searching for new waiters, and Gloriosa applied because she needed money. The former pirate immediately recognised her.

How is that possible? Feminine intuition!

In chapter 591, she correctly predicted that Hancock would became smitten with Luffy despite not seeing her for thirteen years and every evidence in Hancock's behaviour pointing out the contrary. (Also in the very same chapter Hancock asks Gloriosa how to have a proper marriage while surrounded by monkeys wearing Wano's typical hat. Let that sink in).

Shakky understood that Kaido had no interest in her anymore and let her stay with her and Rayleigh, until the Boa sisters arrived and Gloriosa could finally return to Amazon Lily with the excuse of bringing them back home.

On the other hand, Kaido was devastated, to say the least.

Can you blame him? His beloved wife was cheating on him with one of his most trusted subordinates. He needed to forget, to get rid of all those negative feelings overwhelming him: that's why he started drinking.

However, Kaido isn't stupid. Okay, he may not be as smart as Benn Beckman, the most intelligent person introduced in the East Blue arc, but he surely has some brains: you don't reach and mantain high positions within a crew without some smarts, let alone being an Emperor of the Sea. Kaido soon realised that he caught the two relatively easily. Too easily.

Almost if they wanted to get caught in the act.

While Kaido was drinking his sorrow away, someone else was toasting to a risky plan gone smoothly.

The Kurozumi clan.

Higurashi may have lured Kaido into Wano and the alliance with the Kurozumi, but she didn’t predict that he would have arrived with a wife and a child. Gloriosa probably had a great influence on Kaido, who was (and maybe is still) regarded as little more than a muscle head; and the Kurozumis were actually afraid that she may have been plotting something. This impression was confirmed by the Onibanshu who spied the two pirates: probably Gloriosa wasn't happy about the shogun and suggested her husband some ways to dethronate him.

She was a threat, and they needed to get rid of her as soon as possible.

They sensed that one of Kaido’s top subordinates had feelings for Gloriosa, and they decided to use this fact to their advantage. So Higurashi transformed using her Devil Fruit powers and seduced the crew’s Ace, in a time and a place where she was sure Kaido could see them, while someone else distracted Gloriosa. In the end, everything went according to plan.

However, when Kaido saw the old hag using her powers some time after, he understood everything. But he had no concrete proofs, and certainly wasn't in the position to kill someone so important to his pawn based only on simple suspects; so he waited, until the perfect moment arrived.

Meanwhile, Kaido kept drinking, to forget his actions and to numb his guilt. At first, a little quantity of alcohol did the trick, but eventually he needed more and more, slowly falling into addiction.

You know, Gloriosas’ beauty is only matched by their toxicity: as proud members of the Colchicaceae family, they contain colchicine, a powerful metabolic toxin; all parts of these plants can be fatal if eaten, even a simple touch can cause skin irritation. Due to this, Gloriosa superba has been used for centuries to commit suicide.

Just like colchicine corrodes the body, alcohol, together with shame, guilt and anger, slowly eroded Kaido’s soul, corrupting him from within.

While Kaido's original plan for Wano was simply to make the island his operational base, after all that happened he decided to destroy and utterly annihililate it, just like Orochi destroyed his happiness. The shogun was fine with his ally’s devastations and never suspected that Kaido knew. The latter made Orochi believe he wouldn’t touch the Flower Capital, just to completely erase it from the face of Earth once his army would have been powerful enough to fight an all-out war. Revenge is a dish best served cold and then smashed on the forehead.

The rest is history.

Surely Kaido will be defeated, but he will not be completely dealt with in this arc.

Yamato probably got their kind, selfless nature from Gloriosa. The latter would have never approved of the terms of Kaido’s promise to Oden, let alone all the hostages and atrocities done by her husband; since Oden began to dance naked in the streets 25 years ago, probably Gloriosa was already gone at that time.

Because of this, Yamato has little to no memories of their mother, so they will likely ask Kaido about her at the end of the battle. However, Kaido himself doesn’t know her whereabouts because he didn’t send spies after her; at first, because he didn’t care about her anymore. When he realised his mistake, he still didn’t search for her because otherwise it would have shown that she was still important to him. He is not naive, he knows there are spies in his ranks, even at high levels; therefore he wants to avoid attracting unwanted attentions to her.

Plus, Kaido doesn’t even want to know, because Gloriosa probably is dead or has found another person to be with; and he deep down knows that those news would definitely break him.

However, there’s one little detail: Gloriosa’s speech quirk-nyon. Even if her appearance has changed quite a bit, she surely did nyot change her way of talking. Luffy would probably understand Kaido is talking about her because of this, and will tell them that she’s alive and well in Amazon Lily.

It is a known fact that our protagonist either kills the villains’ dreams or changes them: Kaido will change his goal too. He wouldn’t want to die yet, he will probably want to meet Gloriosa again to apologize properly for what he had done to her.

Thus, he will survive the battle and somehow, after almost thirty years, Kaido and Gloriosa will meet again.

Will Gloriosa forgive him? Will she not?

Only Oda will tell.

Other references

Black Maria Many people actually believe she’s a Kuja, and I admit, they have pretty good reasons for thinking so. Let’s start by her name: other than being a card game, Black Maria is also a variety of bougainvillea, a clear reference to Kuja’s floral naming theme; there is also a flower named Spider Lily (Lycoris radiata) referencing her Devil Fruit powers and Amazon Lily alike. Black Maria has also flowers in her hair; the most prominent ones, colored in red, have also five petals, much like the one Gloriosa wears in her hair! She is also the owner of a brothel in Onigashima and, also due to her size, it’s heavily implied that she and Kaido have a… passionate relationship, as Oda would put it (However, Kaido probably views her as nothing more than a distraction). Of course, Kaido and his wife must have had their passionate moments, since they have a child. Moreover, Benzaiten is almost always represented playing a biwa, and, as shown in chapter 992, Black Maria can play it very well. She also has a remarkable singing voice, a feature which was one of the basic requisites to become a geisha. Geishas also were protected by Benzaiten. All in all, Black Maria is actually the biggest reference to Gloriosa... in a literal and figurative sense! Oh, one last thing: the men tied to her webs in Chapter 1005 can be a symbol for Kaido’s soul, unable to move on and perpetually being trapped in the memories and regrets of his relationship with Gloriosa together with his alcohol addiction.

Kaido’s flagship Currently, Kaido’s flagship is the only one among the four Emperors’ which has yet to be seen or named. Some speculate that it’s actually Onigashima, but, in my opinion, that’s not the case: why would he travel with his entire home, with the concrete risk of it being destroyed every time he faces an opponent? Also, Yamato is in there: they have explosive handcuffs which doesn’t allow them to leave the island, but what if someone with internal destruction haki actually removes them thus freeing Yamato and letting them escape? Also, what if Yamato actually gets severely wounded, or worse, killed by invaders? Kaido actually strikes me as an overprotective dad, thus he will never directly expose his child to external danger. The handcuffs will explode if and only if Yamato actually tries to leave Onigashima: if they stay there, nothing will happen. Plus, in chapter 997, when Kaido started lifting Onigashima someone said that the island had never trembled like that before. Kaido actually has his flagship, and the reason why it hasn’t been shown is its name. I’ve said before that Gloriosa means glorious in some languages, therefore there’s a big chance that the ship will have in its name also the Japanese word of the same meaning. Maybe it’s called ‘Glorious Dragon’ in Japanese, or something like that.

Yamato Now, this will touch one of the most controversial topics within the community right now, which is Yamato’s gender; I wish not to discuss about it under this post, because this isn’t the time nor the place (IMO it’s better to delay the discussion at the end of this arc, when Yamato will hopefully detach from the Kozuki Oden persona and find their own identity). Regardless of all this, Yamato was born as a female: and Kujas give birth to female babies only.

Kaido and Big Mom comparison: Although they were part of the same pirate crew for some time and both of them being now Emperors, there are a lot of things about their characters which mark these two as counterparts: first of all, Kaido is male and Big Mom is female. Big Mom belongs to the older generations of pirates, while Kaido belongs to the new one (together with Shanks). Kaido drinks a lot while Big Mom eats a lot. Big Mom has more than 80 children, while Kaido just one*. Lastly, Big Mom has had many unknown husbands, who she married and treated as equals only to discard them when their children are born, revealing she had zero feelings towards them. With the previous comparisons in mind, it would make perfect sense for Kaido to have had only one wife who has already appeared in the story and who he has loved dearly and maybe still does.

*In my opinion, Katakuri, Oven and Daifuku aren’t Kaido’s sons. Even if the physical resemblance is uncanny, there are two major arguments against this supposed paternity: first, the triplets don’t display any type of horns, which Yamato, the known child of Kaido, has. Secondly, the Yonko’s age: he is surely younger than 68, since this is Big Mom’s age and she considers him like a little brother; however, being heavily implied that Shakuyaku was part of the Rocks Pirates as well and she was considered a pirate, while Kaido was only an apprentice, it’s implicitly stated that he must be younger than her, too. She’s now 64, and this puts his maximum age at 63; given the triplet’s age, 48, Kaido may have had them when he was 15, which is an age when men usually have reached their sexual maturity, but he may be even younger than that, so draw your conclusion.

I admit, this turned out a lot longer than I actually expected. My sincerest kudos to you, dear reader, for reading all this time-consuming post – I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it.

Please, let me know your thoughts, they are more than welcome!

TL;DR: Gloriosa is Kaido’s wife and Yamato’s mother, she has eaten the mythical variant of the Kame Kame fruit, Katakuri is not Kaido’s son and Gin will become Pirate King.

comments on reddit :

kaido has been revealed to be 59

I really want to know who yamatos mother was and I am willing to accept any theory for now

#one piece #op theory #one piece theory #one piece theories #kaido of the beasts #kaido one piece #op kaido #one piece kaido

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fierypen37 · 3 years

Text

Victory is in Your Veins

Chapter 9

Day Two Hundred and Nine: The Dragon Queen

The bone-white spires of Vaes Drivi in the distance were a boon to her sore eyes. After her sons slew the riders in the Painted Hills, those that remained swore to follow Daenerys’ khalasar. Even thus bolstered by horses, travel was slow on the plains, waylaid by prowling shadowcats. Three horses had died from snakebites and the weak streams were not enough to water horse and man alike. Yet more time was eaten away by their Lhazareen guide departing to seek her own people. The shepherdess would tell her tale to the chieftain and tiger-eyed godswife who would travel to meet them at Vaes Drivi.

A headache throbbed at her temples. The sun was a hot yellow eye bearing down on them. She longed for water, for shade, for rest. Still, she had not survived two journeys through the Red Waste and learned nothing. Daenerys kept her spine straight and her grip on the reins easy. Khal Lanno had fallen before her sons, and the second best mount the khalasar had to offer was the dun she now rode. A strong, hard-mouthed stallion. It took a great deal of her concentration to maintain her seat. It was a tacit test on the part of the newest Dothraki. A khal must ride, after all. The dun too, was worn out from the long march with little water. His proud head drooped, ears lax and pointed outward.

“Khaleesi?” Kovarro said, offering his waterskin. Daenerys sipped. It tasted more like mud than water, but she was grateful for it all the same. A plume of dust rose. Daenerys rose in the stirrups and spied her own dragon banner gleaming in the harsh sunlight. Relief sluiced through her. Respite before they travel south through the Bone Mountains to Slavers’ Bay. There they would find soldiers. Soldiers to win back her true home.

Day Two Hundred and Nine: The White Wolf

Facing death as many times as he had, Jon’s sleep that night was deep and restful. There was no help in fretting. He would live or die. Gamemakers were notoriously cruel and unpredictable. She did not visit him, but Jon was grateful for that too. Dreams of her stirred longings he would rather keep buried.

“Valar morghulis,” Jon said under his breath. Not today. I have business to finish. Morrgys will die by my hand.

The routine was familiar. Jon woke to the screech of the key in the lock. A Twin fastened his chains, led him to baths. No costumes or varied weapons this time. Jon was given a tunic of unbleached linen, belted at the waist, leather sandals strapped up to the knee. Weapons too, would be easy to find and keen as pain. It was blood the crowd wanted. As an added spice to this elimination games, the slaves would be shackled in pairs. Morbo was chosen as Jon’s partner. The Twin snapped the manacle shut to Jon’s wrist with a thin grin. Their mutual dislike for one another was no secret. Jon eyed Morbo narrowly. He looked fit. Lean and strong. Lightning quick as most Dothraki were. Time would tell if he Dothraki would try to knife him rather than fight together.

Like everything else in Volantis, the arena was old and lavish—slaves labored day and night to maintain it. Towers of gleaming white marble, every thoroughfare line with painted statues of past champions, even the torch sconces were chased in gold. Fused black dragon road paved the horseracing track. Tiered seating towered over the white sand of the arena floor. The most lavish boxes overlooked the arena, closest to the action. Triarchs and princes often sat there cosseted by their slaves. To Morrgys’ disdain, Volentenes could even flood the arena to stage mock naval battles. In his master’s opinion, this was frivolous nonsense that mocked the true meaning of the fighting pits: to achieve eternal glory by conquering one’s opponent. Jon’s loathing for slavers did not negate his awe at the architecture. Westeros’s marvel the Wall would have dwarfed the building, but Jon couldn’t help but remember the sorry state of Castle Black. Even Bran the Builder would have marveled the grandeur.

From Morrgys’ telling, the arena seated ten thousand, the same as the famed Daznak’s Pit in Meereen. ‘The best games are in the world are seen in the three sister cities of Slaver’s Bay,’ the native Astapori said. Still, Jon could see the master was nervous. He paced as the slave cart waited for their turn down the avenue to the arena. Slave masters were said to draw lots to determine their arrival time, but Jon heard grumblings from the Twins that the lots were fixed and bribes were rife. Tycho’s master Azmeher zo Queknak was a third-generation slaver, and Meereenese. He also had three more of the most prestigious champions and thus, Morrgys loathed him.

Crowds were thick. All were quivering with the promise of entertainment. Hawkers threaded through the throngs with skewers of meat, loaves of bread, cold water or flagons on wine. The fame of experienced slave fighters lit a madness in some of the spectators. They painted banners, shouted chants, shrieked and tore at themselves when they fell. Tycho, as a prestigious champion, was some ways ahead. The din of the crowd shred at Jon’s ears. So many people. The people of the entire North could fit into this building. The stink and the noise . . . Jon lowered his gaze, seeking an inward calm. With each step, he was reminded of Morbo. The taller man took long, brisk strides, forcing Jon to speed his pace lest he be dragged.

From the upper tiers, wealthy children sprinkled flower petals down on the arriving fighters. Crushed petals released a faint waft of perfume as they walked. The chant for Tycho died down. Morrgys’ slaves began down the queue. There were a couple shouts for Morbo, or Drazhen, Morrgys’ Ghiscari spearman. Then a woman caught Jon’s eye. Free and Volantene by her dress.

“Zokla timpa! Zokla timpa!” The chant caught, echoing into the entrance of the cavernous arena. It sounded as if a thousand voices shouted the name Morrgys gave him.

White Wolf. White Wolf! WHITE WOLF!

From his palanquin, Morrgys grinned and laughed, as if the adulation was his own. Had it been for himself, Jon would have heaped abuse on their heads, cursed their mothers, spat at them. But the mob was often the deciding factor in a match. More than once, Morbo had been saved from a slit throat by the crowd chanting: Life! Life! Life! So Jon waved and grinned at the crowd, loathing himself with each step. As his eyes cast over the crowd, Jon noted the slaves. Some were cheering, some were silent. One, a girl in a leather collar standing closest to rope cordoning off the crowds, watched him with solemn black eyes. Jon watched and she held up one tiny fist and held it tight. Jon let the false smile fall and he gave her a grave nod. Missandei had held up her end of the bargain. Now Jon had to find a way to speak to the crowd. And also not die, he thought ruefully.

Horse races and other lesser matches filled the morning. Mostly criminals thrown in with animals. A couple matches with starving children. In the bowels of the arena, Morrgys’ four pairs of slaves were plied with food and water, guided through gentle exercise with trainers to loosen their muscles. Morbo kept the chain between them taut, hampering both of them. Jon cursed under his breath in frustration.

“Listen, rider,” Jon began in mangled Dothraki, “if we want to live, we--”

“Speak Common, krol. You sound like a simpleton in the horselord tongue,” Morbo said sharply. Jon lapsed gratefully into Common, allowing the dig to slide.

“Listen. I don’t know why we’re rivals. I don’t know and I don’t care. Do you want to live?” he said sharply, yanking the chain between them for emphasis. Morbo’s thick black brows snapped together.

“Yes.”

“So do I. We need to learn to work together. And fast.”

The threat of death was a potent motivator, Jon thought dryly. The next hour, Jon and Morbo tested the movements the chains allowed. While he could fight with either hand, Jon was thankful the manacle tethering him to Morbo was on his left wrist. Morbo would have to fight off-handed, but he was skilled with either. Jon nodded, anticipation drawing his belly taut. Soon. Soon.

“It would be easy to cut off your hand and slip free--” Morbo suggested, after their arms tangled trying to move.

“Cut off my hand? Why not your hand?” Jon asked. It might have been a trick of torchlight, but Jon could have sworn the rider was smiling. Jon snorted. Morbo shrugged.

“I have use of it,” he said.

“I have use of mine as well,” Jon shot back, “now just focus on using your godsdamned speed and we should make it out alive.”

Any trace of humor left Morbo’s expression.

“Elimination games are meant to keep slaves in line. Champion grows too popular; masters begin to sweat. Tycho has forty-one kills to his credit. Too many.”

Jon remained impassive. There was no way Morbo could know about what he and Missandei planned. A savage excitement kindled. Let the masters sweat. Sweat and begin to know the fear of who they beat and raped and abused for their comfort and enjoyment.

“Then I’ll kill him. Solve their problem for them,” Jon said bitterly. Morbo spit into the sticky yellow mud.

“Kill too many and you will be next, Ver.”

“Ilon vīlība se morghūljas syt aōha jaqiarzir, O Jaqiarzus Mēre!” {We fight and die for your glory, O Glorious One!} Jon uncrossed his free arm from his chest. He tried not to gawp at the sheer breadth of the arena. Yards and yards of perfect white sand, marred here and there by drying pools of blood. Wild beasts could be loosed from hatches in the flooring, he knew. The match before had been a pack of jackals against three women. The jackals won. And the noise. Gods, outside there had been some relief from the din, but hemmed in by arena walls, the cacophony of so many voices was like thunder, harsh in his ears. His heart thundered along with it, his palms slick with sweat. A glance darted left down the line of paired slaves. Where was Tycho?

The triarch of Volantis answered, though his voice was lost in the crowd’s enthusiasm. An orator scaled the stair near the triarch’s box, garbed in a ridiculous green tokar.

“Begin!” he boomed.

The slaves scattered. Looping the excess chain around his arm, Jon loped back alongside Morbo. Not many pairs had made the same accord as Jon and the Dothraki. By Jon’s estimation, half began fighting each other. Of Azmeher zo Queknak’s three pairs, one was arguing where to run. Another pair had one slave snapping his partner’s neck and yanking the chain off the corpse. The third ran in tandem—Jon couldn’t see the distinctive green flash of Tycho’s dyed hair. Where in the seven hells was he?

“Sword, Ver!” Morbo hissed in his ear. Jon followed Morbo’s gaze and saw the gamemakers had dropped pairs of swords at regular intervals.

“Go!” Jon shouted.

The two of them sprinted across the sand. Longswords in the Westerosi style, whetted to a keen edge. Yes! We have a fighting chance. Tycho was famed for his skill with a bravo’s blade, a water dancer. The heavier Westerosi sword would slow him. He and Morbo each took one and ran for a strategic position near the arena’s edge. Jon measured his breathing, his senses sharp. Jon tested the sword with a couple singing swings. It felt good in his hand.

“There! Go!” Jon said, pointing to a pair of slaves attacking another. It easy to knife them both through the back. He and Morbo struck as one. The crowd howled and jeered as the blows hit home. The ever-thirsty sand drank down the red blood. A grim pleasure kindled. He and Morbo had sparred more in the past seven months than Jon ever had with anyone else, save perhaps Robb. They knew each other’s fighting styles and spacing as well as their own. Of the attacked pair, one was on his knees, bleeding from a wound to the belly. A thickset slave slashed out at Jon. He parried. Once, twice. On the third swing, he was too slow. Jon opened his throat with an almost casual flick. Easy.

Something was off. A shift in shadow.

“Ver!” Morbo’s shout. Jon ducked and shifted right. The sword whistled through the air. Another pair of slaves. A burly one, Lyseni by the looks of his shorn silver hair. The other was Dothraki. From his knee, Jon parried a blow. The shock rattled up his arms, singing through him. Morbo moved to slash at his attacker. The chain dragged Jon left, mistiming his parry. The Lyseni’s sword caught him, a grazing slash along the ribs. Jon grunted, the pain sharpening his focus. He dodged a heavy overhand, then cut. Deep, along the groin. Jon finished the swing with an artful flourish. Gouts of black-red blood poured from the wound. The Lyeseni’s life measured in heartbeats. Jon left him to die and rounded on Morbo’s attacker, in time to see the Dothraki run him through. The cheers were deafening, hooting as blood gushed on the sand. The Dothraki bent and cut the other’s braid in victory.

A slight tremor moved through him. The thrill of a fight. Sweat stung in his eyes. Jon tugged the chain to get Morbo’s attention. Across the arena, several pairs were locked in battle. Where the fuck was Tycho? A flutter of movement distracted him. Above the arena in the stands, spectators waved banners. Several showed a green profile and crossed bravo’s blades for Tycho, a couple gold Dothraki horses, one with a manticore, and a couple white wolves.

“Come, Ver!” Morbo said, pointing with his bloodied sword to a knot of battling slaves. Jon pried the Lyseni’s sword from his dead hand. Another sword in his off hand would help his parries. He and Morbo struck in much the same manner, slaying another two pairs in rapid succession.

Another muscled slave, a minor champion from Pentos, was using the chain with the severed hand of his partner as a flail, killing one attacker. Several pairs danced around the periphery, unable to get close. One hacked at champion’s leg, opening a shallow cut. Jon checked the blow with his off hand sword. The chain wrapped around the sword, useless. The manacle thudded painfully against Jon’s wrist. He dropped the sword and followed Morbo as he traded blows with the champion. Morbo spilled his entrails on the sand, and Jon finished him with a blow through the throat.

By now, the two of them sucked in air greedily. Jon licked his dry lips, trying to ignore the sticky blood dampening his tunic, his burning legs and aching arms. Blood dripped down the blade of his sword to slick the hilt. He discarded the sword and took up a fresh one. Jon hefted the chain, an idea blooming.

“Let’s go!” Jon shouted. He and Morbo ran as another pair squared off against them. Stretching the chain taut, he ducked low. With a curse, both the slaves landed on their faces.

“Wai--!” one started to say, his blue eyes wide. Jon rolled the sword point down and thrust quick. It took strength the pierce the muscle and bone caging the heart, but strength Jon had. Morbo cursed. He swiveled, saw his partner clutching his sword arm. Blood wept between his fingers. Jon ducked an incoming blow. No time to pull the sword free. Jon caught the opponent’s sword arm in a loop of chain. He yanked up and out. The skinny Essosi’s arm snapped. A wet sort of snap. He shrieked and the crowd jeered. Jon smiled grimly. Gods, there was such relief in shedding blood, even if it wasn’t the masters. The slave fell to his knees. There was no fear in his face, only grim acceptance. He lifted his chin to accept Jon’s death blow. He was young, closer to Bran’s age than Jon’s.

“Find peace, brother,” Jon said in bastard Valyrian.

“Konīr āeksia morghon issi daor,” he said. {There are no masters in death.} Jon gave him the relief he wanted in a quick clean blow. The boy sank into a heap on the hot sand with a sigh. In another life, the boy would have been an artist, a potter. Then some master had beaten him into a killer and he died alone on the sand by Jon’s hand. Jon pulled the blade free, panting. Weariness lay heavy on him. A part of Jon longed for the peace of oblivion. But the red thing in his chest snarled. Rage and vengeance remained unquenched. Gods, had it been hours, years since that blustering fool shouted at them to fight? Somewhere in the seething sea of the spectators, master and slave alike watched. If they won, if he and Morbo were declared victors, what would he say to them?

Jon cast a glance around the arena. There were only a few pairs left. Not many left now.

“That scratch won’t slow you, hmm?” Jon said, nodding to the blood running in sluggish drops down Morbo’s left arm. He shrugged. The banter was pointed, but surprisingly light. Removed from the opposition of rivals in the training yard, Jon could see Morbo being something of friend.

“The bite of a fly.”

The monotony of it began to settle on him. Raising his arm to bring the sword down and through another enemy. The resistance of flesh and bone as he hacked. The heat. The sweat streaming down his face. His dry, sticky tongue. The ever-present head-rattling roar of the crowd.

“They pulled Tycho from the games,” Morbo shouted over the din of the crowd.

“Aye. They’ll save his death for another day,” Jon said.

“We sho--” Morbo began. A wet tearing sound. The red point of a blade emerging from Morbo’s lower chest. Jon’s cry of rage was lost in the cheers of the crowd. Jon lost himself in the red, hacking down the one who had knifed Morbo. He and his partner both fell. Jon decapitated one in a double handed blow, the other he sliced down the arm, the thigh and let the thirsty sand drink its fill. The savagery was unnecessary, wasted too much precious energy. But Morbo was dying.

“Ver,”Morbo wheezed, blood reddening his teeth and trickling in sticky threads from the corners of his mouth. The wound was a red hole, making a horrible wet sucking sound as he tried to breathe.

“Get up, Morbo. There’s more to do,” Jon said gruffly, taking the proffered hand. He cast a wild glance around. There were no more slaves near them. In fact, only two pairs remained from Jon’s count. Two more and they would win!

“My strength is gone,” Morbo coughed. His black eyes shone fiercely.

“Make them pay, Ver. Make them pay!” Be it the other slaves, the masters, or something else, Jon didn’t know, but he promised just the same.

“Look up. Look at the sky. The stars are waiting,” Jon whispered. The gate to the Nightlands and the god of his fathers. Morbo’s eyes looked up and he breathed his last. Despite his weariness, the diffuse ache of his muscles and his wounds, Jon stood.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sawing off Morbo’s hand to free himself. He coiled the chain and set off at a sprint, plucking up a fresh sword as he went. A hand-and-a-half sword, a bastard sword. Perfect for me. Jon and the red thing within were in perfect accord. Blood they would have. Buckets and oceans of it until they choked and drowned in it. He was intent incarnate. A savage wild thing. The crowd saw him, the noise tipping up to a fever-pitch as he slew one. And another. And the last with horrific ease.

“Zolka timpa! ZOK-LA TIMPA! ZOKLA TIMPA! ZOKLA TIMPA!”

The words beat in his head like the multitude voice of a god. He had won. He lived—but only after so much meaningless death. Jon’s eyes scanned the sea of humanity. Slave and master alike. He said only what they would understand.

“Death!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, raising his bloodied fist in the air

“Death! Deeeaaaathh!” The word was a harsh drawn-out scream from his dry throat. The cheering mellowed in confusion. Then somewhere in the throng, he heard it.

“To masters!” someone answered.

“Death!” Jon screamed again.

“TO MASTERS!”

The chant took on a life of its own, catching like a wildfire: “Death to masters! Death to masters!”

Fighting erupted in the stands. Foremen with crossbows ringed the lowest tier of the arena, aimed at Jon. He waited, standing stock-still, waiting for the blow that would kill him. It never came. Instead, Morrgys emerged from the shadows of the Gate of Life, with the Twins and a dozen bodyguards in tow. One Twin struck out, snagging Jon around the throat with his whip. Jon choked and clutched at the leather as red stars burst along the edges of his vision. Morrgys drew Longclaw. From the tremor in his wrist, he was unused to the weight. Weakling. His face was impassive, but Jon could see something cold grow in his piggish black eyes. Fear. Morrgys set the Valyrian steel edge of Longclaw beneath Jon’s chin and waited.

“Master, I didn’t—I---” air was precious. The black began to creep closer. All he heard as the black closed over him was Morrgys’ cold voice: “You’re lucky you won. All you’ve earned is The Pit. A month, if I feel charitable.”

#jonerys fanfiction #fp37fic #victory is in your veins #Queen!Daenerys #Gladiator!Jon #tw violence

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ravioxhilda · 3 years

Text

Here is my contribution to the Ferriswheelshipping one-shot stockpile, written by yours truly. I decided to do a slight canon divergence of N returning to Unova before Hilda leaves to go search for them so they actually see each other. I hope you enjoy!

The past year had been...harrowing, to say the least.

Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma, had been defeated and arrested by Alder and Cheren, as well as the remains of his team.

The Pokémon League had suffered a large blow by being defeated and taken over by the enemy, the Elite Four barely managing to escape before Team Plasma’s Castle had erupted from the ground.

Unova had since fallen into a sense of restless peace, celebrating the rise of its new Champion who had brought Ghetsis and the whole of Team Plasma to its knees, Hilda.

“A teenager defeated our greatest threat? How did she do it?”

“Are we sure she wasn’t apart of their team this entire time? She is awfully suspicious.”

“Yes, she was seen with the leader’s...what was he, son?”

“I believe so, they even were together at the Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City, one of the top romantic spots in Unova. That is a little strange.

Those were stories and rumors circulating around the region’s newest Champion, and she possibly had more articles written about her and the elusive “King of Team Plasma who had mysteriously disappeared” in the few weeks after she became Champion than Alder had his entire time as Champion.

How Hilda wished she could dispute the rumors, explain about what exactly had happened between her and N, but she couldn’t. In truth, she couldn’t even decide what exactly her relationship with him was either.

So she sat in silence, the new responsibilities as the representative of all Unovan Trainers keeping her mind occupied most of the time, though at night when she could finally gather her thoughts, her mind drifted towards N.

She hadn’t seen him since he had disappeared with Reshiram after the collapse of Team Plasma’s Castle, the castle he had summoned from the ground.

She had known who he was, she had known the dangers of associating with him, with being around him, and yet, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him unlike anyone else she had ever met before.

Now, he was nowhere to be seen, his father imprisoned, his loyal followers having gone into hiding all across the region. Everyone knew they were there and simply biding their time, but even after multiple rigorous searches carried out by the International Police, they had found nothing.

It was as if they had disappeared into thin air.

Hilda lay in her bed at her home in Nuvema Town, the moonlight streaking across the floor as she stared out the window towards the night sky, as if she would catch a glimpse of a white dragon streaking through the sky.

She sighed, turning away as she felt exhaustion beginning to creep into her body, allowing her to finally fall asleep.

At the entrance to the small town, where Pokémon were scattering about, a large white dragon had landed, a green long-haired Trainer sliding off its back and landed quietly on the grass.

“Looks like we’re finally home, Reshiram. I’ll go find out any information about where she might be, you go back up and hide in the sky.” The Trainer said, patting the Pokémon’s back before it flew off, leaving him alone.

He grasped the charm on the necklace he wore as he stepped nervously into the town, afraid of what awaited him within.

~~~

“Hilda? Sweetie, are you awake?”

Hilda blearily opened one eye, looking to see that the sun had already risen quite high into the sky, not a good sign to see when she was supposed to be working or training.

“Yeah, I’m up.” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as the door opened, her mother peeking her head through the doorframe.

“When you’re finished getting ready, could you come downstairs? Someone is here to see you.” She said, though Hilda could sense the unease in her mother’s eyes.

“Who is it? Is it that International Policeman again?” Hilda asked, and her mother shook her head.

“He wouldn’t tell me a name, only a letter. He has been waiting here for the past twenty minutes, though he insisted on helping tidying up while waiting for you to wake up.” She said, and Hilda froze, a million thoughts spinning through her mind as she immediately got out of bed.

“Hilda, is everything alright?” Her mother asked, eyeing her daughter with concern as Hilda looked frantically into her eyes.

“Mom, whatever happens, don’t let him leave. I’ll be down in a few minutes, don’t let him out of your sight.” She said, rushing over to close the door before her mother could utter another word.

“Is N really here? Why is he here? Doesn’t he understand that the International Police are on the hunt for him?” She thought as she ran around the room, desperately trying to get dressed as well as tidy up the room.

Hilda rushed downstairs into the kitchen to see her mother chatting amicably with another person.

He hadn’t changed one bit. Even his hair looked the same, and the warm smile on his face still served to make her heart beat slightly faster.

“N?”

He looked over to see Hilda, though if he hadn’t known it was her, he could have easily mistaken her for someone else.

Her clothing hadn’t changed much, except she had stopped wearing her hat, but the way she held herself was more...confident, though even he could sense the exhaustion weighing her down.

“Hello, Hilda.” He said, smiling softly as he walked closer towards her, though she looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

“But, how are you-“

“I’ll explain everything later, I promise.” He said, then turned to Hilda’s mother, bowing his head to her respectfully.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but I should be leaving. Do you mind if take your daughter out? She will be back early if that is an issue.” He said, and Hilda’s mother smiled and nodded.

“Of course I don’t mind! Feel free to be out as long as you want.”

N nodded as he held out his hand towards Hilda, who was still trying to process the situation, though that damned smile was making her face heat up.

“Will you come with me, then? We can go anywhere you’d like.” He asked, and Hilda slowly nodded as she took ahold of his hand, firmly grasping it to make sure he was really there.

“Come on, let’s go. Reshiram is waiting for us, and it can be pretty impatient at times.”

N then dragged Hilda out the door, leaving her mother very confused as she waved good-bye.

The two ran through the small town, the dirt kicking up underneath their feet as N pulled Hilda away from her home.

“N, where are you taking me?” She asked, though was cut short when he abruptly stopped, scanning the sky as if he was searching for something.

“I need to find...ha, there it is!”

Hilda squinted as she followed his gaze, though was only given a second to back up before Reshiram slammed into the ground, seeming a little annoyed as it glared at N.

“I’m sorry, it took a little longer than I thought it would to find her, but here she is. Hilda, I believe you remember Reshiram?” N asked, allowing Hilda to step closer to the Legendary, reaching out to touch its side.

“Hello, Reshiram. It’s been a while since I have seen you, though I suppose a year isn’t incredibly long for a Pokémon that’s lived as long as you.” She said softly, the Legendary Pokémon grunting in response.

“Do you know what N is planning on doing?” She asked, Reshiram shaking its head as it leaned down, allowing N to climb onto its back.

“It does not, but do you trust me enough to come with us?” He asked, holding out his hand once again to Hilda, the sight of it so very enticing. What would happen if she accepted his proposal? Where would they go?

She sighed, grabbing ahold of N’s hand, allowing him to pull her up behind him onto the Legendary, wrapping her arms around his torso, shocking him for a moment as he heard the words he’d been so afraid he’d never hear again.

“I trust you.”

N smiled, patting the side of the Legendary’s neck, signaling for it to take off from the ground.

It did so with no warning, causing Hilda to bite down on her lip to keep from screaming as she held tightly onto N, still confused by everything that was happening but knowing he was key to her not panicking and possibly falling off.

It was silent for a time, no words spoken, just the wind rushing around them as they soared through the sky, though N couldn’t help but think that having Hilda hold onto him so tightly was...nice.

He had longed to see her since leaving Unova, even with everything else on his mind, such as finding out his father using him or the International Police doing their utmost to track him down.

Now here he was, her holding onto him for dear life as they soared through the skies of their home, and now he was so unsure of what to say.

“Hilda? Are you ready to look at me now?”

Hilda slightly relaxed her grip as she moved her head away from his back to see him staring at once again with a smile, as if her presence was bringing him joy.

“Where are you taking me, N? You can’t just disappear for a year and then show up at my home with no explanation!” She demanded, though N could only laugh at her pouting expression. How he had missed this. How he had missed her.

“I have no particular destination in mind, but I needed to get away from your home as quickly as possible. I spotted some International Police agents in the woods surrounding it, and I am still a national fugitive.” He said, his expression suddenly serious.

“If you’re still wanted, then why did you return to Unova? Team Plasma is probably also trying to track you down.” She asked, and N seemed to hesitate, looking past her into the distance, as if a painful memory had come to mind.

“It’s...difficult to explain. Perhaps you and I can go somewhere to chat? Where would you like to go, we have all of Unova to explore.”

Hilda thought for a moment, a place coming to mind almost immediately, though for all the wrong reasons.

“Nimbasa City. I want to go to Nimbasa City.”

That shocked N. The very place he had betrayed her, had hurt her, why in the world would she want to go there?

“Hilda, are you sure? Do you not remember what happened before?” He asked, her nodding as she clenched her fists against her lap.

“I remember. It hurts for me to remember, but I want to have new memories of it with you so it is less...painful.”

N nodded, urging Reshiram onward as they returned to the uncomfortable silence, the memories of that night still in their minds as Hilda held onto him once again, afraid that if she looked away again, he would be gone.

The sun was already beginning its descent when the three had finally arrived at Nimbasa City, a shining city in Unova that housed many attractions, including the Gym Leader Elesa’s Electric Gym, as well as the Ferris Wheel.

The very sight of it dredged up many more painful memories for Hilda and N. It was as if they were reliving the past all over again.

“Hilda, are you absolutely certain you want to be here? We can go to another city if you’d like.” N asked, though Hilda glared at him a with a determined look in her eyes as she pointed towards the Ferris Wheel.

“I am. We should talk there, less chance of being spotted by the International Police.” She said simply, walking in the direction of the Ferris Wheel, leaving N to send off Reshiram before rushing after her.

After catching up with her, the two arrived at a small kiosk that lay at the foot of the attraction, an obviously bored engineer standing behind the counter collecting money from passengers.

“Welcome to the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel, where couples can board and enjoy the view to their heart’s content. Fee is ¥1,000, pay the money or stay away.” She said, looking between Hilda and N with a skeptical look on her face.

“Huh, never would have expected the Champion would be here with Unova’s most wanted criminal. I guess the rumors are true.”

Hilda looked at N with worry before taking out the money from her bag and handing it to the engineer.

“You won’t tell the International Police we’re here, will you?” She asked, and the engineer waved her off before opening the small gate.

“I’m not one to get in the way of a blossoming romance, go have a good time, just try and be discreet and we won’t have any problems.” She said finally, allowing Hilda and N to slip by the a silent nod of thanks before stepping into an gondola, the door closing behind them.

The area was small, two cushioned seats allowing enough room for two people each to sit, a small air conditioning whirring to keep the enclosed space cool.

Hilda and N sat down together on one seat, almost touching though trying so desperately not to.

“We’re alone now. Now tell me everything that has happened.” Hilda said softly, though N couldn’t even make eye contact with her, instead looking out towards the horizon of the evening sky.

“I know that I have done some...very bad things in the past, and there is no making up for it. Me running away and leaving you behind was another one of those bad things. But the truth was...I was scared.” He said, shocking Hilda as she looked up towards him, trying to catch his eye.

“You were scared of being caught by the International Police or by Ghetsis?” She asked, placing a hand on his arm as she felt him shudder at the sound of his adoptive father’s name.

“It wasn’t just that. I was scared, no I was terrified, of what would happen if I stayed here in Unova, with you. The thought of you getting hurt because of me was something I couldn’t bear, so I left before it could happen.”

He then turned towards her, his eyes full of such sadness that it caused Hilda to freeze, her tears in her eyes matching the ones forming in his own.

“I understand, N, I really do. But you being gone for so long hurt me more than anything anyone could do to me. I missed you so much, I came here every day just in the hope that I’d see you sitting right here, waiting for me.” She said, tentatively reaching out to cup her palm against his cheek.

“Hilda...” He started, though Hilda shook her head as she placed a finger to his lips.

“Please, let me finish. You had such noble intentions, and I thank you for that. But listen to me when I say this, please don’t leave me behind again, I don’t think I could handle it.” She pleaded, causing him to smile as he leaned his forehead against hers, taking ahold of both her hands.

“Nothing in this world can keep me away from you forever. You showed me the true value of this world after I had been led astray by the lies of my father my entire life. Hilda, you made me want to become a better person, someone who is worthy of you, of being with you.”

Hilda smiled, leaning closer towards N until the space between them had been closed, her lips touching his as she closed her eyes, feeling him let go of her hands to pull her closer to him, holding her tightly in his arms.

The feeling of being held so tenderly, brushing her hand through N’s hair so softly as he kissed her so softly made Hilda feel as if she was walking on air, the taste of his lips so sweet and warm.

To N, this was something he had never thought about, never even considered a possibility in his life. Loving someone had always been out of the question as he tried to free his friends from the confines of their Trainer’s every whim, but now, he couldn’t imagine anything else other than being with the girl in his arms.

Neither had ever thought it would feel so...right, so natural.

“N...” Hilda murmured, causing N to pull away to look her in the eyes, though he did not let go of her, which she was grateful for.

“Is everything alright?” He whispered, Hilda nodding quickly as she leaned towards him, laying her head against his shoulder as she pulled him into a closer embrace.

“I just...I never imagined that’s what that would be like. I feel so...safe with you here, I haven’t been at ease like this in so long.” She said, breaking into a fit of hysterics as N smiled, patting her back in a comforting manner.

“I’ve never felt calm as I am when I’m around you. You put put my mind and soul at peace, and I’d never want it any way.” He said, Hilda smiling as she looked up out the window, realizing they were almost back down to the ground.

“Looks like our time is almost up.”

N nodded sadly, reaching over to open the door as the gondola slowly slid by the platform, pulling Hilda out onto the flat steel area, the engineer staring at them as bored as ever.

“Looks like you two had fun. However, you may want to skip town, I’ve had two International Police agents come waltzing by while you were being all lovey-dovey.” She said nonchalantly, holding up her hand to stop any protests from either of them.

“I don’t care if you were kissing in the gondola, that’s the least of what I have to worry about people doing, just get out of here, and next time, don’t bring a fugitive.”

Hilda nodded, scanning the area to see two suspiciously dressed characters loitering around the Ferris Wheel entrance.

“Come on, Nimbasa City will be crawling with police if you’re spotted.” Hilda urged, now pulling N along as he waved his hands frantically in the air, attempting to capture Reshiram’s attention.

Thankfully, it worked as the Legendary Dragon soon landed in front of them, immediately kneeling to allow the two to hurriedly climb on before taking off again into the now dark sky before two police officers could catch up to them.

The wind whipped around them harshly, causing Hilda to shiver before deciding to lean backwards into N, his body heat seeping into her skin as she smiled with contentment.

“Are you taking me home?”

The question seemed to sit in the air for a moment, one that should have been so simple, and yet it brought both of them a sense of dread. They had known this day couldn’t last forever, and yet neither of them wanted it to end.

“Yes, I am. There’s nowhere safer for you right now.” He said simply, feeling a sort of sadness beginning to creep in as he held Hilda towards him once again, afraid that if he let go, she would no longer be there and it was all a dream.

Reshiram soon landed back at the outskirts of Nuvema Town, though thankfully there was no one wandering about the small town, allowing Hilda and N to land on the dragon unnoticed.

Hilda slid off its back, patting the Legendary’s head and whispering thanks to it before turning to look at N, a look of sadness in his eyes.

“Are you leaving?” She asked, and N hesitated for a moment before nodding, a look of utter sorrow in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Hilda. You remember what that woman said, I’m still a wanted fugitive, and even if you may be Champion, you can still be arrested for just being around me.” He said, and Hilda sighed, stepping closer before pulling him down towards her for another kiss, which he happily obliged.

“You better not be gone for an entire year this time. I don’t care how dangerous it is to be with you, I would go through anything just to have you close.” She whispered, N nodding as he kissed her once again, desperate to have as many from her as possible.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can, I promise. You still have things you need to do here in Unova, and you aren’t allowed to come with me. It’s too dangerous.” He said, Hilda sighing as she felt tears start to well up.

“I know, I have my duty as Champion to fulfill, but N?”

“Hm?”

Hilda wrapped her arms around him and held him as close as she could, squeezing him tightly as tears began to run freely down her cheeks.

“Please don’t forget about me.” She whispered, N smiling as he held her.

“There is nothing in this world that could make me forget you. Farewell, Hilda.”

#ferriswheelshipping #hilda pokemon #n pokemon #unova #pokemon black and white #black and white

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floggingink · 3 years

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OH HERE WE GO LADIES IT’S RIVERDALE, CHAPTER EIGHTY: “Purgatorio”

I’m tuning in to be VERY entertained on the grounds that I missed almost the entirety of S4 and will not understand anything

we open with an incredible analogue comparing the football team to the Army, as men do construct rituals: football players get blown into the sky, etc., in a heartrending mash-up of Archie’s innocence + the American ideal/expectations/pipeline of masculinity

Archie Company is decked out appropriately to storm Hürtgen Forest

that art direction trope where a character’s hearing goes EEEEEEEEEEEEEE after an explosion……...delightful

the Vixens and friends cheering him on from the sidelines as if Archie can only process his unprocessable present through the lens of his past………...hits the spot

distressingly wood-based rifles for our purposes

Archie > Dawson: I don’t mind telling you I felt emotion upon Archie hoisting his war buddy over his shoulders to that quadruple-toned “Chivalric Archie Using His Strength for Good” tune, like when he broke his whole hand busting Cheryl out of Sweetwater River

WHEN HE SAW HIRAM LODGE, I’M TELLING YOU!

Hiram’s dragon-scale gloves? absolutely savory; he would

“Yonkers” is one of those New York place names I don’t totally buy is real (Poughkeepsie is another)

the sepia-toned light in this hospital room rings true judging by all the Captain America fanfiction I’ve read; I also like the mint-colored hand towels draped on Archie’s bedframe bought, one assumes, using the Department of Defense’s Kohl’s Cash

Archie made Sergeant, which is the best ranking for a fictional character: important enough that they can be a leader, get into trouble; low-profile enough that you don’t have to write them in the room making terrible decisions; probably won’t die immediately, as a Captain or Private might be

Fifth period is AP English: Archie reads A Farewell to Arms to Corporal Jackson, a WWI novel by Hemingway that Jug definitely turned him onto

Christ, Archie looks good in that on-leave jacket thing

I like Jackson’s subtle graph paper-print hospital gown

Gay?!: was Jackson in love with Archie? is he gonna bus to Riverdale once he’s off his pain meds? RAS, is that you in there?

God you know I love that haunted-ass Exorcist wooden bench bus light lighting

how long has the WW been relocated under Pop’s??? I do NOT know what happened to La Bonne Nuit

Sexy, aesthetic Southside: Fangs’ hair? his Tony Stark glasses? the girls’ “I’m a Slave 4 U” Burmese pythons? Toni’s headdress and immaculate glossed lip?

Sixth period is Intro to Film: the only part of From Dusk till Dawn I’ve seen is Salma Hayek putting her toe in Quentin Tarantino’s mouth but judging from that I figure I’d like the rest

The female gaze: Jesus Sweet Pea still looks good

Toni’s stage is flanked by twin pillars of melting candles and I would like someone to track those down for my bathroom

if they lay one hand on Pop Tate…

Betty appears to be, on her own, running the FBI training course. Betty is such a freak

Betty’s FBI-appointed psychologist is “Dr. Starling,” wears a great yellow blouse; Betty eats what appears to be a mini-sized Milky Way

her blond FBI trainer-boyfriend (uh) Glen appears to be an unholy fusion of Jimmi Simpson and that one actor with brown hair and really sharp light eyes whose acting credits I can’t think of right now, you know who I’m talking about (not the guy from Vampire Diaries)

I quite like her patterned blouse and I hate his yellow (gold?!) and blue tie

Please protect Betty: obviously we stan the Silence of the Lambs shit even as it remains infuriating Bryan Fuller couldn’t get his hands in it

Betty’s cat’s crying was so disturbingly baby-like that I had to leave the room once I realized it was in fact a cat

I’ve watched the Elisa Lam tape too many times in recent hours to handle this hallway shot

REALLY GROSS LICKING NOISES

the Trash Bag Killer coming at her was scary :(

Betty’s lovely blue knit cardi with the puffed sleeves!

50 Shades of Betty: clearing her throat before the doctor quite finishes her sentence—Lili Reinhart continues to be great at conveying “slightly perturbing subterranean tension”

was Charles a serial killer too??? oh damn!

Betty has been successfully holding off giving Glen a key to her place until now, an era that must come to a close

fellas, “Do I at least get a kiss?” is a bad move

Veronica was rich: Veronica’s new digs: exposed brick, bougiely avant-garde chandelier; possibly an elevator door right there behind the dude?

Veronica has married Hiram, to no one’s surprise

Chadwick looks like Jimmi Simpson and brunet Evan Peters plus a jaw

Veronica’s single-puffled-sleeved gown…..madamn (she has absolutely been taking secret birth control pills)

Summer + Blair = Veronica: of course Veronica would be great at Howard Ratner’s job; I MUST know what “specialty showcase haute couture offense” Vinnie has committed

T-Dubbs’ green jacket

Veronica pretended she was working at like, a department store? but she MISSED the EDGE post-day-trading

their apartment is so expensive that their bedroom is totally exposed

oh my god, Hermione

Best costume bit: please get me these satiny green high-waisted slacks?! and ugh her blouse has shoulder tassels……..she’s flourishing

“That’s threatening to an alpha like Chad.”

yes, they have a private elevator. fine.

Glen and Chad get their ties from the same Men’s Warehouse

“When that helicopter went down on the way to Martha’s Vineyard…”

you know kissing is 4-real when one person cups their hand to the back of the other person’s neck all close

I don’t understand the drop of the Glamergé egg but I appreciate that there is one and that Veronica is like, get this the fuck out of my house

Veronica’s shiny cropped tweed two-piece, Yvonne’s weird feathery coat that matches her bf’s shirt (you know she’s supposed to be “too much” because she’s got big hoop earrings)

God, Jughead is next and I’m not gonna be able to handle it

OH GOD IT’S SO MUCH WORSE THAN I THOUGHT

Alphabet City?! the piano?? the fucking East Coast Beat typewriter shit—the day robe? I’m—READING CLUBMASTERS? FORSYTHE???

OH GOD HE’S DATING ANOTHER WRITER (she has nice pants)

Jughead eats: “that place you like” is a HOT DOG STAND in the middle of SOME GRASS

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: Jughead wears high-ankle light blue jeans, grey socks, and spectators that blend to create the illusion of wading boots. I’m going to commit a crime

Jughead doubts it: “So did Kerouac. And Hemingway. And Fitzgerald.”

fuck yes I love Floundering Jughead, and his Pushy Agent who pronounces “career” like “Korea,” and the continuing tradition of Jughead getting kicked out of his house

I like Literary Grifter’s sweater

the Brat Pack, and most of the Rat Pack for that matter, were actors, but I assume RAS couldn’t resist the rhyme

I was 100% afraid we were about to learn Cora was an uncomfortably-young undergrad

the musical cue as she reaches into her bag is absolutely as if she’s taking out a gun, and it might as well be! it’s the scariest thing in NYC: an unpublished manuscript

showrunners doing a classic I Love Lucy job partially concealing Vanessa Morgan’s pregnancy via medium close-ups, draping black clothes

Cheryl slowly turning to ask if doesn’t she look okay 10/10 icon

Cheryl’s pins: she has either a tiny spider or maybe a tick

Cheryl’s sheaths: the lacy red thing, amazing

why is Cheryl’s left hand gloved?

Cheryl’s a chaos angel from hell: Cheryl’s going to forge a Rembrandt, which unfortunately means she’s my favorite person on the planet (she does not look happy about doing this)

btw is Nana Rose an Immortal?

please tell me about Toni’s eyelashes

EXTREMELY HAUNTED DOLL?!

“Damn good coffee”: Archie’s earnest “Where are people gonna sit for the bus?” slayed me

fuck YEAH Ghoulies party house! terrible music but really good skull spray paint art

Jug looks LOW lol

Veronica’s blouse + buttons, impeccable

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: Tabitha/Squeaky

the hellscape semi’s red backlighting and its skeleton’s red eyes

I like Linette’s glossy bomber!

the trucker who’s about to kill her can’t also be the Trash Bag Killer….truckers have to stick to too much of a schedule….but he could be Betty’s meandering serial

I loved this episode

NEXT WEEK: Archie brings the FBI down on some people paying their rent :(

#riverdale #i say #commentary #tropes

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sword-dad-fukuzawa · 3 years

Text

yokohama fires, a promare/bungou stray dogs crossover

Summary: Wrote this because I had terrible Promare brainrot for a while. Lio got yeeted into Yokohama. No, he does not know what is going on.

Rating: G

Warnings: Canon-typical violence for BSD

Ships: mentioned Lio/Galo

“I’m looking for the Book,” says the young man, sliding into the seat across from Atsushi. He has eyes like his own, Atsushi realizes, purple and yellow in a curious swirl staring back at him like they always do in the mirror. But he’s taken aback by the stranger’s words.

“The what?” he asks, feigning ignorance the way he learned from watching Dazai.

The young man’s gaze narrows. “The Book,” he repeats, and leans slightly forward into Atsushi’s personal space. “You’re the weretiger, right? The key to finding it?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” says Atsushi carefully. In his pocket, he adjusts the mic sensitivity on his comm.

“Don’t play the fool,” he shoots back. The atmosphere had become uncomfortably warm, Atsushi realizes. His ability hums under his skin like a caged animal, waiting for him to unlock the door. It’s uncomfortable but familiar. The tiger has always been better at recognizing threats, after all.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” says Atsushi, his tone apologetic. “If you’re looking for a book, perhaps a bookstore? I work at a detective agency specializing in ability-related incidents, so I wouldn’t know anything about a book.” He leans back in his seat and desperately hopes the man buys it.

But, because Atsushi can count on one hand the number of times he’s been lucky in his entire life, the stranger calls his bluff. “Ability-related incidents, you say?” he murmurs, and there’s a dangerous gleam in his eyes that Atsushi doesn’t like.

And then the stranger bursts into flames, pink and violent and an eye-searing teal. Atsushi vaults backward, scrambling to retrieve his communicator. “He’s Gifted!” he yells into the comm.

“What type?” asks Dazai’s voice, urgent and stone-cold serious.

“Can’t tell. He’s…” and Atsushi trails off as the windows shatter, the man in front of him slowly weaving the flames into an enormous dragon. He’s spilling out of the cafe and into the street, the sheer heat of the flames making Atsushi sweat buckets.

“Dazai-san.”

“Yeah, I see it.” He sounds grim. “The president is calling the Special Ops. This is above our usual paygrade. Atsushi-kun, disengage. Your claws won’t be able to cut through that.”

“But—” Atsushi starts, eyeing the waitresses cowering behind the counter.

“The Special Ops have an ice-type Gifted. Evacuate civilians if you can, but retreat for now.”

“Understood,” says Atsushi, and pockets the comm.

—

“They call me Gifted,” Lio murmurs, knowing that the Promare, resonating with his soul more strongly than it ever had before, can hear him. “I don’t know if I like that more or less than ‘Burnish’.”

There’s a beat of silence before the Promare’s reply whispers along his skin, running through his blood and over his bones. It’s a general sense of disquiet, and Lio chuckles. “I don’t suppose it matters,” he admits quietly. “It’s all the same, in the end.”

Warmth spreads through him, comforting and insistent all at once. Of all the things about being a Burnish again, Lio thinks, the urge to set things on fire is probably his least favorite part. He doesn’t much care about property damage, but maintaining a low profile while on the hunt for a book was near impossible if he has to set a fire every few hours to calm the itch. He lets a ball of flame spring into being anyway, cupped in the palm of his hand. “I’ll get you back where you belong,” he swears. And himself back where he belongs, he adds silently. There is someone waiting for him, after all, and he can’t let him down.

It is then that the sound of footsteps echoes throughout the warehouse, and Lio stands. The fire goes out in his palm but he knows, if there is a threat, he can summon it too quickly for the draw to matter. He waits as the sound of dress shoes on concrete comes closer, a man coming into view through the warehouse side door.

“Lio Fotia, is that right?” asks the man, and Lio clenches his fist. He looks unassuming enough—thin, with a sickly tint to his skin, and wearing a dark coat. But it’s his eyes, and the way he standsm that rattles Lio’s nerves. He reminds him, inexplicably, of Kray Foresight. But he can’t put his finger on why. “Yeah,” says Lio warily.

The man smiles at him, unconcerned and completely, utterly harmless-looking. It grates on his danger sense, and the Promare is thrashing, wailing, demanding to erupt into a conflagration of heat and light. But Lio clamps down on it with an iron hand. He knows his body heat is fluctuating wildly and hopes, with the restoration of his powers, comes the increased durability and temperature resistance that he’d had before.

“So, you’re the Gifted that has the whole of Yokohama on high alert,” the man muses.

Lio is silent, battling the Promare and the ever-familiar urge to burn.

“I have an offer for you, Lio-kun,” says the man. He shifts his weight and straightens. “Have you heard of the Port Mafia?”

A sinking feeling replaces his dread, but Lio nods. “They control the majority of illegal activities in this city,” he says, parroting what he’d heard from gossiping dock workers. They were an organization entirely different in scope, methods, and goals than Mad Burnish, Lio knew. They dealt in blood, death, and profit. Not his type of organization in the least, even if they allegedly had good taste in outfits.

“How would you feel about becoming a member?” the man was asking, and there it was. Lio narrows his eyes.

“I’d ask what was in it for me,” he replies.

The man chuckles. “So straightforward,” he says, almost teasing, and Lio does his best not to bristle. He frowns harder instead, not answering.

“The Port Mafia is a large organization,” says the man, “with resources and manpower available to those at the top. We have the reach that a manhunt would need—or a bookhunt, in your case?”

Lio stiffens. This man knows entirely too much. Finally, he lets the flames roar to life, enveloping his arm in a riotous blaze of color.

The man frowns at him. “None of that, Lio-kun. This is a job offer, not a threat.”

“I don’t see the difference,” Lio grits out, and makes to lunge forward. But the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking freezes him in his tracks, and then he hears a strange noise—like electricity, but snapping like a whip. It’s coming from behind him, handout of the corner of his eye he sees a blonde woman step out of the shadows to his left. She has a pistol in her hands and focused, tight expression.

A man steps out of the shadows to his right. He looks frail and sickly, almost drowning in his dark coat. But hovering black ribbons stretch from his shoulders like grotesque appendages, crackling with red lightning. He coughs into a handkerchief. “Your orders, Boss?” he asks.

“Capture him alive if you can,” says the man idly. “He’ll be a good bargaining chip with the Special Ops. Otherwise, kill him. An unrestrained Gifted like him is a hazard and a nuisance.

Lio isn’t about to take that lying down.

#lio fotia #promare #promare fanfiction #bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd fanfiction #atsushi nakajima #osamu dazai #mori ougai #improper use of japanese #yokohama fires #promare au

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gale-gentlepenguin · 4 years

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Gale’s Pick: Miraculous Ranking (as of Season 3)

Rules:

1. The miraculous will be taken at their maximum potential. That means the user can use the special power as many times as they desire and what we know about those powers currently. (Example: I can't assume Chat noir will be able to throw his cataclysm like Chat Blanc, I only know he can destroy something he touches with it.

2. This list does not take into account the Kwami themselves. Their personality and abilities hold no bearing on the rankings.

3. The miraculous ranking will only be including its potential by itself. Not with fusions, power ups, just the bare essentials.

4. I will be ranking this based on Combat usage, practical usage, creative possibilities, and overall effectiveness

5. This is Opinion based and I would love to hear your logic on whether you think certain miraculous should be ranked higher or not.

_______________________________________________________________________

13. The Mouse

It is a super situational miraculous. Its ability “Multitude” is a good ability when paired with other miraculous, but by itself, it sort of lacks in everything except stealth. It does allow for you to be in multiple places at once, but it isn't helpful when you are smaller then an actual mouse. Its not gonna win any fights, In a fight, it isn't gonna help the user out as anything more then a distraction.

12. The Fox

Now I know a lot of people will be shocked to see this one so low. But really, while its a cool ability, Illusions are kind of useless outside of distraction and deception. If used right it can cause your opponents some trouble and I do think it has a lot of creative usage and practical usage. But the problems set in when the user actually is aware that they are illusions. Now a clever person might be able to use the fact that their opponent knows they are illusions to their advantage... but that is also situational. Also, the weapon is a flute. It is one of the lamer weapons to use, little range, and needed for the power use, so if someone knocks the flute away, the illusion power is useless.

11. The Monkey

So how did the monkey’s situational power up beat out the fox? Simple, its power is useful in besting other miraculous wielders and super powered individuals. Uproar is the power to mess up powers, your unique abilities become useless against this mad monkey. In terms of a fight, its like being an equalizer. Though the problem is, its kind of unpredictable. its effects change depending on who is hit and the power’s effect is only temporary, so if you use it, the user should act fast. Also, while the weapon is cool,, the miraculous is probably really easy to snatch off of his head.

10. The Butterfly.

Yes, I am putting the main villain’s miraculous down here. My reasoning, its highly conditional.

1. You need a consenting individual, usually one with negative emotions, or a willingness to do the user’s bidding.

2. The person with the akuma usually influences the power. Hawkmoth’s influence on their power set is confusing and its unknown. But it leans more towards the user’s mental state.

3. Hawkmoth can only control the akumatized victim somewhat. Again, this varies.

4. Only one akuma can be created at a time without power ups or boosts.

5. There is a range on how far the akuma is that Hawkmoth can't influence it.

6. If that akuma is out of range, it can't be called back and a new akuma can't be made.

Now the butterfly miraculous does have some cool bonus abilities. Such as feeling other’s emotions from a stupidly far distance. If the akuma isn't purified it can multiply. It can boost the powers of other miraculous, and even make an akuma that has the power to boost its own power but again... that varies.

The butterfly is sort of like the king of conditional powers. It can be useful but it also can be limiting.

9. The Bee

How did I put the bee Miraculous this high up? Simple, stunning an opponent is crazy OP and its pretty much a one hit KO on most foes. Sure the user has to touch them, but at max potential, the attempts are unlimited and all the user needs it one opening and it is over. It is definitely more reliable in a fight and honestly in general.

8. The Turtle

Some say the best defense is a good offense, I say the best defense is a f***ing force field. The applications of Shelter are phenomonial. The shield is able to take a good amount of damage, Fu’s shield was able to hold out a long time even with attacks from Hawkmoth, Mayura and a sentimonster. Its a great stalling tool and great for protecting others as well as yourself. Plus the shield means you can Captain America all deadbeat fathers. And if Rising of the Shield hero has taught me anything, a good shield can do wonders.

7.The Dragon

I was actually surprised by how low I had this on the list. A miraculous that allows the user 3 different elemental abilities. Control of Wind, Lighting, and Water. How can I put this so low? Well the truth is, even though this is totally awesome and versatile. The other miraculous on this list are also stupid overpowered. But despite that, this is likely the best ranged power that is used.

6. The Horse

Transport is an amazing ability. Its fun with portals. Late for school? Portal. Need to avoid an attack? Portal? Want to send a weapon somewhere far away? Portal? Throw your enemies into the sun? Portal. Transport is crazy over powered, The only drawback being that the user has to jump into the portal to actually utilize it. So if someone sees a portal, they know something can happen.

5. The Black Cat

The cat miraculous is the best Offensive Miraculous. It’s weapon, the ever extending staff has crazy range, has a tracker, and can split into two weapons for duel wielding make it great to have. And its power Cataclysm can destroy ANYTHING it touches. While at first glance this seems lacking, imagine unlimited destructive attacks, not only that, it acts as the user’s protection from having the miraculous snatched, and it works on anything. Except sentibeasts, it just makes those go haywire. If you want the best example of how powerful and dangerous this power is, look at plagg. A cataclysm can level a city if not controlled. Chat noir has brought down things as large as the Eiffel Tower. And with unlimited cataclysms, One touch and the opponent is done FOREVER. It doesn't matter their ability if their dead. Also on a lesser note, Night vision and the ability to purr.

4. The Peacock.

The power to create Sentimonsters. Beings that can demonstrate sentience if not controlled by someone. The peacock seems to have the ability to make amok for people if they are willing to accept it or even themselves. The peacock has every advantage the Butterfly has, and more. It even gives the Peacock user free reign on what the amok is, Nathalie was able to make an exact replica of Ladybug with her own version of lucky charm. Meaning a peacock can make an evil version of pretty much any hero to an extent, though the amount of concentration needed is up for debate, which could be limiting. But a bonus is that if the Sentimonster acts up, she can remove the amok. The only downside is that whoever has the item controls the sentimonster, and that can be turned against the user. But outside of that the weaknesses are pretty limited when it isn't corrupted.

3. The Ladybug

At first Glance it doesn't make much sense that Ladybug would be so much higher on the list, but the thing is, the Ladybug is crazy powerful, able to undo ALL damage done with miraculous healing. Able to summon an item that is guaranteed to help them in some compactly, and with unlimited summoning, can be used to handle ANY situation.

Plus, her weapon, the Yo-yo is also just as versatile as the Black cat staff.

The only downside is that the Lucky charm needs to be figured out, in a hypothetical situation, with enough time and preparation, the lucky charm can helpfully beat any foe. But the key word is Preparation. Also there are some shortcomings of the Lucky charm.

1. It randomly give charms that are useful in an situation father in advance. (like the key in season 3)

2. It is not prepared for unknown elements. Like in season 2 finale, it summoned a miracle box, likely to get Hawkmoth’s miraculous, but the Lucky charm wasn't expecting Mayura so the item was useless.

3. If the user is not creative enough to know how to use the lucky charm, its pretty much useless.

But outside of that, at its max potential it is one of the most overpowered Miraculous.

2. The Snake

Anyone that has played undertale can tell you how OP save points are. Second chance is insanely broken. The user can memorize what their opponent’s attack patterns and counter. They can do this as many times as they want within a 5 minute interval. Its a redo button and there is pretty much no limit to it at its max potential. Even with the limited 5 minutes before retransformation, it can be abused. In a one on one match, it is pretty much invincible. The only caveat is that the use nerds to slide the bracelet back to go back to the save point. So if the opponent wants to win, they have to incapacitate the snake user. Outside of that, Fu himself talks about how dangerous this miraculous is, and it is completely understandable.

1. The Bunny

Time travel in this universe is completely OP. Since the ML universe doesn't run on Multiverse theory, Time is delicate and can be changed easily. Bunnyx has the power to alter time in anyway she wants. Rabbit hole not only sends her to any time she thinks off, it takes her to the Burrow which allows her to view MULTIPLE periods of time and look at them like she is watching a movie, she can rewind and fast forward to find key events. Bunnyx could go back in time and simply take the miraculous away before the user even transforms. Heck, the bunny miraculous allows the user to do pretty much ANYTHING. Trap your opponents in the Dino age? Stop them from being born? Travel forward in time and find the cure for cancer? Bunnyx also has Pockets, she can HIDE HER MIRACULOUS!?

Seriously, The snake miraculous can have all the save points in the world, but it can't counter someone jumping through time.

Ladybug’s lucky charm won't work if isnt expecting a f***ing dinosaur to pop out of nowhere after its summoned.

The point is, Time travel is the best power and thus the bunny miraculous is dangerously OP and the best miraculous

#ml #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #bunnyx #chat noir #ryuuko #multimouse #king monkey #pegasus #queen bee #miraculous #Miraculous rankings

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toku-explained · 3 years

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The Wind Swordsman's Resolve

Trigger: New Generation Tiga. So this by all appearances is a new universe with familiar elements from Tiga (and some Dyna) reimagined in various ways. Carmeara escapes from being sealed in the depths of space, she is clearly designed after Camaerra. Manaka Kengo is tending to a plant he calls R'lyeh when Yuzare appears to him, and he sees a vision of a Giant of Darkness which attacks him before he wakes up. Yuzare again based on the Tiga character. His mother, Reina, will be showing President Shizuma ancient ruins...on Mars, where their city is a small colony. After the sudden appearance of Kaiju 6 years ago, Tatsumi Seiya announces the TPU has finished development of the Battleship Nursedessei and remote control fighter GUTS Falcon and formed the defense team GUTS Select. Kengo's efforts to have plants take root on Martian soil aren't going well, he hopes it'll be better near the ruins. He manages to head there behind his mother and President Shizuma's group, Reina found the ruins 20 years ago as part of the early development team, they've discovered the ruins form an inverted pyramid, and found a giant stone sword, which was tested and found to match composition of ruins Shizuma found on earth, an Ultra Ancient civilisation from 30 million years ago. The sword mysteriously glows, as does Kengo, right before, outside the dome, Golba appears. Golba is a fusion of Golza and Melba, the first 2 Tiga kaiju. As damage spreads a mysterious barrier protects Kengo from rubble. Golba breaks in, and is recognised as a fusion by Shizuma, who uses a GUTS Sparklence and Gomora Hyper Key to drive it off, however Carmeara is now in the dome, and has found Trigger. Kengo feels useless in the aftermath when Yuzare appears again to be cryptic, before Shizuma approaches him, asking about his goal. Kengo wants to be able to plant R'lyeh on Mars and make it bloom, spreading joy to everyone, the President, offering his a GUTS Sparklence, tells him to reach out for his dreams, remembering the example of Ultraman Tiga. As Golba resumes it's attack, Kengo takes the Sparklence and rushes into the ruins. The sword reacts to him again, opening a hole to the bottom the ruins where a stone giant is. Kengo is scared, as it appears to be the Giant of Darkness from his dreams, but calms down until Carmeara attacks, him inexplicably understanding her words. Carmeara is trying to destroy Trigger in revenge, but attacks Kengo too, Yuzare appears and defends him briefly. Kengo affirms his desire to protect, and light from Trigger's Colour Timer flows into his blank Hyper Key, forming the Trigger Multi Type Key. Seeing a vision of the ancient Trigger changing, hecuses the key in the Sparklence to merge with the statue as Ultraman Trigger, Shizuma cryptically noting Ultraman exists in this world too. Trigger battles Golba and Carmeara, and is on the ropes until he has a vision of Trigger using the sword, and calls Circle Arms to him, using the Zeperion key to bring Golba down, it then shields Carmeara from a Zeperion Beam. Shizuma asks Kengo to come to earth and joins GUTS Select. On earth in the Shizuma mansion, the president's daughter and a boy watch the news, the Girl excited to see Giants of Light do exist.

Galaxy Rescue Force: On their first day, Ribut and Sora introduce themselves to Gukura Shiisa, and thanks to notes Queen Izana gave Sora we learn there are few Gukura Shiisa left, as civilisations grow the nature they exist to protect falls away, this one was found by Izana and recruited to GRF. Ribut misunderstands how well Shiisa can understand him.

Saber: Desast struggles to heal, damaging his book further, unaware Ren has seen. Northern Base make plans, hoping to stop Storious by taking Viktor's book. Kento recalls that some of his visions of the end had the Swordsmen face Storious, they decide to cross reference landmarks from those visions with Sophia sensing another like herself to find him. Ren goes to Desast and challenges him. Rintaro finds Luna, while the Shindais meet Mei, thanking her for earlier, she tries to enlist Ryoga. Desast has Ren beat. Touma finds the secret entrance to Storious' base, the Shindais join him inside. Ren manages to get an edge by using Rintaro's technique, then loses, finds his will truly and after a long battle defeats Desast for good. In Storious' Base they find Storious' Sophia, Charybdis, and books containing human souls. Storious has Charybdis eat the souls and Sophia, Xross Saber, Durandal and Savela battle, eventually turning the tide. Storious attacks and then, to everyone's shock, has Charybdis eat him as well. Charybdis crumbles to reveal Storious, now holding a new book and purporting to know all. Luna senses, and Wonder Story adds a page showing, the end Storious intends to bring about.

Zenkaiger: Stacey sneakily uses Ijirude's computer, seeing images of figures who resemble Kaito's parents. Su-san is now bug catching like a boy in summer. This is naturally the work of Kabutomushi World, who soon has the Zenkaigers under his spell. Gege suggests the illusion can be used to control slaves when not working. Stacey says various things related to Kaito at the images, eventually giving up, however, they awaken afterwards. Secchan is suddenly hit by inspiration. The World Pirates make a plan to lure out Kabutomushi World. Zix uses Abaranger to use the Wing Pentact to draw a trap for Kabutomushi World, but Barashitara, who last met Zox during the raid on Tonitendo, joins the battle. In the illusion, Kaito remembers a time he caught bugs with his parents, this leads him to remember what's going on, but he can't wake the others, so goes to join the fight. Secchan and Flint arrive with their new creation, the Zenkaiju Gear, which Kaito uses to become the Dragon Caesar influenced Super Zenkaiser and defeat Kabutomushi World. Dai Kabutomushi World takes the stage as the others arrive as giants to form ZenkaiOh. Twokai-Oh Katana lends a hand. Afterwards, Secchan explains he suddenly found new data, and was able to have Flint create the Zenkaiju Gear, she took the chance to make another for Zox.

#toku explained #kamen rider saber #kikai sentai zenkaiger #ultraman trigger

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thesilkenlair · 4 years

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(Casey Here!)

As much D&D as I play, you'd imagine I would eventually get around to illustrating some of their most iconic monsters! Which is to say, the ones that I personally find the most iconic. Which is to say, the ones I memorized when I was reading my dad's monster manual at age nine. Purple worm - Sandworms never go out of style. I've seen a lot of rad designs for this bugger over the editions, but I favor the slightly less reptilian older takes for this particular critter. It's kinda basic, but sometimes that's what you want. It's like a shark or a crocodile: Just flat out unchanged across the ages. Hook horror - I've heard it rumored that Gygax used a small Gigan figure to represent this monster. I can't verify that, but it definitely sounds right. Hook horrors are one of the very first things you meet when you play around in the caves, and they kind of remind me of the Father Deep monsters of the Hork Bajir homeworld that way. Mind flayer - Mind flayers! Basically, take all of your Dracula conventions and dip them in a fresh coat of Lovecraft. There's that old "decadent aristocratic upper caste system who literally eats the poor, but still somehow comes across as less evil than the actual real life 1%" setup that will never stop being relevant. Though personally, I see mind flayers as the first alternative for folks who want to play that monster-who-feels-the-urge-to-eat-their-friends-but-refuses-to-do-it shtick but don't want to deal with vampire baggage. You know, the furry option! ... Slimy? Rubbery? Do we have a word for anthro-cephalopods? I'm only a casual furry. Gelatinous cube - I'm not apologizing for giving this one a slot. Froghemoth - So, back when I participated in my very first long-term campaign, I played a druid. You've met Talia before. Naturally, I was chomping at the bit for the day I finally got to turn her into a froghemoth, and celebrated the day my wish was finally granted and she was allowed to chug human-supremacist-cultists like popcorn. Yeah, okay, the froghemoth is one of the classic vore-monsters. But it's a charming design in its own right. Kind of a freaky Hanna Barbara critter, like you'd see Space Ghost fighting. No matter how many artists draw it, they can never shake that inherent goofiness that third edition tried so hard to purge. I would probably cram them somewhere onto Fronterra if I was sure they were public domain. As is, I'm 99% certain that this is what Visser Three turned into when he ate Elfangor. Tarrasque - D&D's original kaiju! Kind of just takes the name and nothing else when it comes to its mythological origins, but I don't mind. The Tarrasque is that endgame "let's test the players" final boss monster... Or at least it's supposed to be. My DM reskinned it for our final Pathfinder session, and one of the PCs still nearly killed it in a single turn. Also, he let Talia turn into one, so maybe Pathfinder is just bullshit? Regardless, the Tarrasque has one of those simple, iconic designs. I've heard rumors it was based on the concept art for Fallout's deathclaws, and like the Gigan-figure, I can't verify this in any way. With its reptilian features, twin horns, spiny carapace and grabby fingies, it has an undeniable lizardlike quality that I can't help but find charming. Kinda feels like a more refined version of Zilla? Though for an insatiable eating machine, I notice a lot of artists give it very little belly to work with. Come on, this guy eats entire cities! Give him somewhere to put it! Rust monster - An icon of icons, the rust monster! Drawing its origin from a bizarre Chinese "dinosaur" toy, later designs have made it more insectoid in appearance, but never feeling QUITE like anything Earthly. It's the four limbs. Between the four limbs and the tail, it's hard to tell if it's an arthropod mimicking a vertebrate or the other way around. I'm pretty sure this is part of what inspired my ossaderm creatures for Fronterra. Also, Ryla can turn into one in our campaign. I have no shortage of havoc to wreak when the opportunity comes. Behir - Dragons in D&D are kind of... extra. Godlike beings, paragons of whatever personality trait they represent. Whenever there's something uber powerful in D&D, it gets compared to dragons. It makes them kind of unapproachable. Behirs provide all the essentials of a dragon - Serpentine body, scaly skin, horns, sapience, breath weapon, taste for human flesh - wrapped up in a smaller, weirder, IMO cooler package. You know, your Lambton Worms. A lot easier to port in and out of adventures, a lot less of an event when they show up, but still a formidable force in their own right. I like the behir. The behir knows how to taunt me just the right amount. Bulette - Another Chinese "dinosaur" figure monster, the bulette is actually another one I associate with Talia. Whenever we faced a problem that didn't have a glaringly and immediately obvious solution, she would turn into a bulette, whether it was for beating up robots, digging through obstacles, trampling smurfs, navigating labyrinths, distracting slashers with cute dog tricks... it was kind of her signature form. But shenanigans aside, the bulette is just an excellent monster. While the "land shark" shtick may be common, there's a lot more going on with the bulette's design. It's rumored to be a mad wizard's creation, as he combined a snapping turtle with an armadillo and mixed in a helping of demon blood to taste. Personally, I always considered that to be a neat little rumor to flesh out the world, but never assumed it to be true. The bulette just feels too naturalistic for that. Like some kind of protomammal or crocodylomorph, or weird triassic monstrosity. Magic and demons and dragons and so on DO affect the ecosystem. I always figured the bulette was just something that evolved to compete in this new biosphere. Owlbear - This one, on the other hand, I fully believe the "mad wizard was bored" explanation. Another chinasaur critter, the owlbear is frequently made fun of. What makes it scarier than a regular bear? It can't fly, so why have owl parts at all? Why trade fangs for a beak in what is at best a latural move? Well, first of all, fuck you, owls are creepy motherfuckers, and that alone is enough to justify it. But secondly, that's part of its charm. Besides some improved vision, the owl DOESN'T make it more dangerous. What makes the owlbear dangerous is that it's an insane, Frankensteinian monstrosity roaming uncontrolled through the wilderness! It doesn't need weaponry, its sheer temperament is enough to make it a worthy opponent. Sure, the practical threat might not be hugely above that of a bear, but storytelling isn't about numbers. Any asshole can go outside and get eaten by a bear. The owlbear is part of this world. The owlbear is a reminder of what magic can do. Someone somewhere actually made this thing, for whatever reason, and now the world is irrevocably changed because of it. Owlbears go beyond practicality. They bring the lore! Also, bears don't have very good eyesight, so the big owl eyes probably make them better hunters. Flumph - Is that a Japanese-style martian? Do we just have aliens in D&D? Dear lord, I love them! Okay, the flumph has got a sizable hatedom. And that hatedom can eat my ass, because the flumph is precious and perfect just the way it is! Flumphs are designed as a sort of sidekick-type creature. They're not very good fighters, but they bring knowledge and lore to the table. Whether they're aliens from some far off star, seeking your aid to prevent catastrophe, or psionic natives of the Underdark eager to bask in your positivity and hopefully stick it to the tyrants they're forced to share real estate with. My group generally treats them as straight up aliens, benevolent but strange. Course, we're all pretty strange, so we get along just fine. Otyugh - Okay so, the aberration creature type implies that this is something from another world that doesn't belong. And yet otyughs, which are aberrations, are an essential part of this world's ecosystem? Okay, I can buy the idea that an alien organism adapted to our world and is now a key part of it. Fronterra's got a TON of that. It just feels like after a point, the otyugh would be considered a beast? Otyughs are great. Every ecosystem needs a decomposer, and every fantasy story needs at least one dive into the sewers. Otyughs provide both, and are intelligent enough to keep the plot moving if it hits a snag. There's always going to be garbage, refuse, carrion, decay, things that need to be broken down and processed. Carrion crawler - The carrion crawler is pretty similar to the otyugh in that it's technically not considered a beast, and therefor must have its origins elsewhere, but feels so integrated into the ecosystem that it just feels like it belongs. They usually can't talk, so they're not just reskinned otyughs, but I still consider them pretty essential. Otyughs find a singular spot where waste is dumped and shovel it down at their leisure, while carrion crawlers skulk through the tunnels, actively seeking their food. The crawler got one of the most radical redesigns on the transition from second to third edition, but I can't really choose a single favorite. The oldschool tentacle-faced cutworm looks like it could be a real animal, while the googly-eyed Halloween decoration feels like it could be from another world, merely having set up shop here. Could there name apply to two wholly different creatures? If so, then I'm not sure which one mine would be considered. I kinda mashed them together into something that doesn't quite feel like either. But I like it for what it is. Maybe I'll sneak it onto Fronterra. Aboleth - Tentacled, telepathic sea creatures who turn humans into slimy minions, who remember everything their race has ever seen, and who are always plotting something behind the scenes. Yeah, the aboleths really crank up the Lovecraft elements. Actually, between the mind flayers, the flumphs and the aboleths, even the most oldschool D&D covered quite a few essential Lovecraftian bases. The flayers are your corrupt yet still recognizable humanoids who can be considered truly evil, the flumphs are benevolent-yet-bizarre guardians who know more than you, and the aboleths are the truly unknowable, sinister intellects. The fact that they can barely function on land honestly only adds to that, IMO. They're inherently difficult for a party to reach, and they offer some nice underwater adventure seeds. Not enough adventures go underwater. There's this perception that the ocean is bad for storytelling because so many writers lack the creativity to make it work. I wanna run an underwater adventure now. Beholder - Icon of icons! THE D&D monster! The beholder! Paranoid, jumpy, always five steps ahead and twenty steps perpendicular! Beholds are fun in just about every way. Between their wacky, diverse designs, their elaborate lairs, their eccentric personalities, their bizarre powers, you're never gonna run out of fun with beholders. Remorhaz - It's always been a thing that bothered me with environment-based monsters. Why does the ice monster who lives in the cold use ice as a weapon? Aren't most of the things it encounters going to be resistant to the cold? Sure, a cone of cold will still kill a polar bear, but a lot of the monsters in the tundra are outright immune to cold. A while dragon's not going to get much use out of its breath weapon fighting frost worms and frost giants. That's one reason the remorhaz sticks out to be. We have an icy tundra beast whose insides are a scorching furnace, which it can intensify and weaponize as it sees fit. Which also conveniently explains why its design - a sort of cobra-esque centipede - invokes warm-weather creatures, despite its icy environment. It's a nice subversion of the usual tropes, plus it's just a memorable, cool looking critter to begin with. On a smaller note, the remorhaz feels like a good loophole for Ryla's "no cold weather morphs" rule. Turning into something elementally affiliated with ice is no good, but a non-magical monster that survives the cold by superheating its insides? That seems perfectly viable to me!

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duhragonball · 3 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (156/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[1 December Age 893, Earth.]

Throughout the night, Trunks had been exploring the simulated universe in the popular arcade game Super Dragon Ball Heroes. To the Earthlings of the 9th Century, it was just a video game about famous warriors and battles from history, but it was in fact a secret project backed by the Time Patrol. The game world in SDBH was a scale model of the actual universe, based upon the Scroll of Eternity itself. This provided a unique gaming experience for the unsuspecting civilians, but it also allowed Time Patrollers like Trunks to conduct research and interact with historical events without altering history. His main objective to was to learn more about his new partner, Luffa. So far, he had spoken to several Saiyans across time and space, and each answer he found seemed to raise a new question.

At the Hero Lab, where the SDBH game was programmed and maintained, Trunks pondered these questions over takeout food. Dr. Leggings had cleared off her desk for the plates and napkins. Her assistant, a girl named Anne, was fussing over the bags of food, determined to make sure everyone’s order was accounted for and properly distributed. No one asked her to do this, but she was the type who couldn’t relax otherwise. She still complained about it, but Trunks knew she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nearby, Beat and Note had rolled their own chairs to face one another, and they each propped their feet up on the edge of the other's seat. He had recruited them for help on a case when they were younger, and it was strange to see them as teenagers. He wondered if there was something more than friendship developing between them, or if they themselves were aware of it, but it seemed undignified to ask, so he let it go. There were more important things to consider anyway.

"The main job's been accomplished, at least," Trunks said after he swallowed a bite of eggroll. "I know where Camelia's key planets are located, and our historians can probably fill in a more complete map of the galaxy from that era. Then we can work with Luffa to figure out the correct date and location she came from."

"You don't sound very satisfied with that, Master," Note said as she fished out a piece of shrimp from her takeout box and fed it to Beat.

"I'm not," Trunks said. "We thought Luffa might be from a distant civilization, but one in the present day. Now, it's starting to look like she's from our galaxy, but eleven centuries in the past. Maybe twelve. The Rehval that I spoke with was the third Saiyan King with that name. The one Luffa mentioned may have been his father or grandfather."

"Why is that bad, Trunks?" Beat asked. He found a piece of pork in his box and passed it from his chopsticks to Note's chopsticks. "I mean, so what if she’s from twelve centuries in the past? You guys are the Time Patrol, after all. If anyone can send her home, you can."

"It's not that we can't send her back," Beat, " Trunks said. "The problem is that I'm not so sure we should. From the start, I just assumed Luffa was from the present time, or close to it. Without realizing it, I've shown Luffa things that will happen in her distant future. To us, it's the past, but if we send her back with that knowledge, she could change the course of history."

"Would she?" Note asked. "I mean, I'm sure she's an honorable person, or Shenron wouldn't have chosen her as your ally, Master. And now that she's seen the dangers involved with time anomalies, I'm sure she'd never tell anyone what she learned about our era."

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid," said Dr. Leggings. She was chewing on a bone from her order of spare ribs, and Trunks couldn't help but appreciate a very faint resemblance she had to his father. Leggings looked a lot more like his mother, particularly with the way she wore her green hair in a ponytail. She was no warrior, but there were definite hints of Saiyan to her. He liked this. In his own timeline, Trunks was an only child, and the last of his father's people. It was comforting to spend time in places like Hero Town and Toki Toki City, where he had an extended family of sorts, no matter how distant.

"What do you mean, doctor?" Note asked.

"We've seen how even minor changes in the past can cause major changes in the present," Leggings said. "The game world makes it easy to see, because we can jump from one time period to another very quickly, and we can reset those changes as easily as refreshing a computer. It's not just a matter of winning a battle you were supposed to lose, or telling secrets that you aren't supposed to know about. Luffa might change history without even realizing she's done it."

"She's right," Trunks said. "When I first went back to the past, I tried to be careful not to make any unwanted changes. I only wanted to warn Goku about the Cyborgs and give him the medicine for the heart virus. But somehow he got sick about six months later than I expected. I still have no idea why that happened. My guess is that he was training for the Cyborgs, so he must have been in a different place than he was in my timeline, so he wasn't infected under the same circumstances."

"You think Luffa might do something differently, now that she knows what's going to happen to the Saiyans?" Beat asked.

"She might," Trunks said. "Luffa hates King Rehval, and now that I've met the guy, I can't say I blame her. If I understand correctly, there's a direct throughline connecting Rehval's policies with the class system used by my grandfather on Planet Vegeta. So she might blame Rehval for the downfall of the Saiyan race, and try to take revenge. For that matter, she knows about the Dragon Balls on Namek. She might be tempted to use them in the past, to try to make wishes to prevent some of the terrible things she's seen in the future."

"That'd be good, wouldn't it?" Beat asked.

"Not for you, it wouldn't," Note said in a scolding tone. "Son Goku is your ancestor, isn't he? If the history of the Saiyans changes too much, then they might never send Goku to Earth, and you would never be born."

"Oh, right," Beat said. "Maybe Luffa should stay in Toki Toki City, then."

"And that could have consequences too," Trunks said. "Luffa might still play a role in history, however small. Shenron may have only brought her to us because he knew the Time Patrol would eventually put her back. But there's also the matter of her power level..."

"Power?" Anne asked. She had already finished her meal and was busily cleaning up the discarded cartons and wrappers. "Don't tell me that's a problem on top of everything else!"

"Yup, I'm afraid so, Anne," Trunks said. "Luffa's done well on her missions, but she's nowhere near as powerful as what I had expected. Now that I know what time period she's from, that makes more sense. King Rehval told me he was the strongest Saiyan of his era, and he's a lot stronger than Luffa, but he wouldn't stand a chance against the kinds of enemies I've had to fight. Luffa defeated the Ginyu Force, and Rehval might have handled them more easily but that's about all I could expect from either of them."

"That's nothing you can't fix, Master!" Note said. "I'm sure you can train Luffa just as well as you trained us!"

"I appreciate your confidence, Note," Trunks said, "but Luffa's not exactly what I'd call 'teachable'. Besides, she seems to have improved dramatically on her own. Even she doesn't understand how she's doing it, but she may catch up before too long. But if she returns to her own time with all that extra strength, then that could mess up history too. And if she has to remain with us, then I'm not sure she'll be any good on future missions."

"Why not?" Beat asked. "She's sure to get stronger."

"I thought so too, but maybe I've been taking that for granted," Trunks said. "I'm used to dealing with Saiyans descended from Son Goku, or from my own family. Goku and Vegeta were extraordinary fighters, even among Saiyans, but Luffa could be... Well, there's no gentle way to put this. She might not have the same potential."

"You're not going to just fire her, are you?" Note asked.

"Of course not," Trunks said. "If we can't send her home, I'm sure we can find a place for her in the Time Patrol. But we can't risk sending her on certain missions. Towa and Mira are dangerous, and if I'm right, their raids on history's warriors are only going to get bolder. Luffa could find herself in deep waters with no one to help her. Shenron may have granted my wish, and maybe she is the best person for the job, but that doesn't mean I can gamble with her life. I need more information before she goes back into the field."

"I'm sure whatever happens, it'll all work out, Trunks," Beat said.

"You always say stuff like that," Note groaned.

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?" Beat shrugged. "Well, most of the time, anyway."

"This has been fun, but I should probably get moving," Trunks said. "I need to report my findings to the Time Patrol, and maybe the Supreme Kai of Time has a fresh lead on Towa."

"You have to leave already?" Beat asked. "But it feels like you just got here!"

"Yeah, it was beginning to feel like the old days," Note said.

"I've missed you guys too," Trunks said. He stood up and brushed loose grains of rice from his pants. "You've grown up a lot while I've been away. You too, Anne."

"I guess it's kind of childish how I keep calling you, 'Master'," Note said. "Force of habit, I suppose."

"You're welcome to call me 'Trunks' if you want, Note. But to be honest, it reminds me of when I was a kid. I used to call Gohan 'Master', back when he trained me to fight the Cyborgs. He meant a lot to me. Hearing you say it... It's a good feeling."

"I'll keep the Hero Switches ready in case you come back," Leggings said. "You'll probably need to do some follow-up work to pin down an exact time for Luffa."

"Good call," Trunks said as he slung his sword over his shoulder. "I'll probably have to bring her with me. I'll see if I can get her to make some more of that lasagna she made for us the other day."

"Lasagna?" Beat asked. But Trunks vanished before he could get an answer.

*******

[4 March, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

Luffa felt ridiculous doing this, but she had no other ideas for how to handle the situation. She knew the way from her apartment to the Time Nest, and the Time Vault was unlocked and unguarded, but she had no idea what to do on her own. Trunks had always contacted her whenever she was needed, and he always had the Scroll ready to send her on her next mission. Without him, it seemed that the Time Vault was a useless building with a tree sticking out of the roof. And so, her only way forward was the Supreme Kai of Time, who lived in a modest capsule house in the Time Nest, next door to the Time Vault. Luffa felt awkward simply entering the house, and so she went back to her apartment and baked a cake. That wouldn't make things less awkward for her, but at least there would be something to eat during her visit.

"Luffa, Hi!" Chronoa said as she answered the knock on her door. "Ooh, what's that? It smells good."

"Uh, I got in a mood, so I made some cake," Luffa said, in a failed attempt to sound nonchalant. "And I thought I should check and see if you and Trunks had any update on the search."

"Afraid not," Chronoa said. "But perfect timing on the cake. I just put on a pot of tea. Come on in!"

The interior of Chronoa's house was littered with technological gizmos. There were entire jet engines laying around the Time Nest, and it seemed that this was because those larger objects were the only ones that wouldn't fit inside. Chronoa tossed several of them off one of the couch cushions and gestured for Luffa to take a seat.

"I'm glad you finally came over," Chronoa said. "I was worried that you might be having trouble fitting in with the Time Patrol."

"It's uh... it's not so bad," Luffa said. "My roommate is kind of weird, but we get along well enough. I've met a few people here."

"They're all a very special bunch of people," Chronoa said. "I haven't been able to get to know them all as well as I'd like to, but they've helped me out a lot. That goes for you too, Luffa."

"Listen, uh... I think I owe you an apology," Luffa said. "I was in a pretty bad place right before I ended up here, and... well, I might have taken out some of my frustrations on you and your staff."

"You've had to adjust to a lot of changes very quickly, Luffa," Chronoa said. "And we didn't exactly give you a choice about coming here. You're entitled to get frustrated with us."

"Thanks, but... I'm a mercenary," Luffa said. "Well, I used to be. My parents always taught me how important it was to maintain a professional discipline around the clients. I don't think I've lived up to my own standards."

"I don't think of the other Time Patrollers as mercenaries, Luffa," Chronoa said. "We're a team, and we're friends. At least, I'd like to think of you as a friend."

"Yeah, I guess so," Luffa said. "I... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"You're a god, aren't you? A god of time."

"That's right."

"Don't you already know how all of this turns out?"

Chronoa chuckled as she sipped her tea.

"Did I say something wrong?" Luffa asked.

"No, I get that a lot, actually," Chronoa said. "The short answer is: no, I don't know the future. Not in the way you're thinking of. I watch over time, and maintain the flow of time. When it's necessary, I correct problems in that flow. But I don't make time, or control it."

"It's just... I'm kind of anxious to get back on the trail of those demons," Luffa said. "And we've been waiting for them to make their next move, and it occurred to me that it doesn't make much sense that we have to wait. You could jump ahead to the moment when they've already made their play."

"Well, now that's something I could do," Chronoa said. I can travel to the future and find out when the next mission happens. I could even take you with me so you wouldn't have to wait."

"You can?" Luffa said.

"Oh yeah!" Chronoa said. "I can do a lot of things. But I shouldn't do it, so I won't."

"Oh."

"It's not an arbitrary rule, either," Chronoa said. "Most Supreme Kais are only permitted to travel forward through time, and only to observe future events. They can't interfere, so they have to limit their use of that power. With me, the problem is that if I skip around too much, I run the risk of upsetting the balance of my own timeline. Things have to proceed in order. That's what time is all about."

"I guess that makes sense," Luffa said. "Honestly, I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, or you would have already done it. But I had to ask."

"You’re right, it’s not that easy. In fact, it's part of the reason I established the Time Patrol," Chronoa said. "For millions of years, keeping watch over the flow of time was pretty simple. I just had to keep Tokitoki fed and watered, give him plenty of enrichment. But as the universe grows older, it becomes more complex. Once, there was no Supreme Kai of Time. We didn't even need one. But then we did, and now we've reached a point where I need a whole staff to help maintain things. If I could just jump back and forth in time any way I wanted, maybe I could do the whole thing alone. But it’s more satisfying this way, with all of you.”

"Why mortals? Why not get other Kais to do this work?" Luffa asked.

"Because there aren't enough of us, for one thing," Chronoa said. "We come from a place called the 'World Core'. There aren't many Core People, and few of us ever achieve the rank of Kai. Fewer still ascend to the status of Grand Kai, and even fewer make it to Supreme Kai. There used to be seven Supreme Kais in this universe, including me. These days, there's only three."

"Is three enough?" Luffa asked.

"For now, it'll have to be," Chronoa said. "Besides, I've found that mortals are very dedicated and resourceful. To say nothing of all the technology they produce..."

She reached for an end table and picked up a machine that looked vaguely like a can opener combined with an alarm clock. Luffa expected her to use the device, but instead Chronoa simply admired its surfaces.

"So what's all this stuff for, anyway?" Luffa asked, gesturing to the assortment of similar gadgets that lay in every direction.

"Nothing in particular," Chronoa said. "I just find their designs fascinating. The electronics, the cogwheels, the little blinking lights. It's helpful for contemplating the nature of time."

"If you say so," Luffa said.

"Without time, everything would happen all at once," Chronoa explained. "Birth, death, creation, destruction, none of that would mean anything without the passage of time to separate those moments. The oven you used to bake this cake. Without time, there would be no need for it. Cooking would be meaningless. You can't preheat an oven or leave a cake inside for seven hours, not when there's no hours."

"S-seven hours?" Luffa asked, but Chronoa paid no mind.

"Mixing the ingredients would be pointless, too. Even the pan you put it in, it would be unnecessary, because there could be no cause or effect. There could be no hunger, because there would be no time for you to become hungry."

"That's why you like these tools, then?" Luffa asked. "Their functions remind you of the flow of time?"

"Yes, that's one way of looking at it," Chronoa said. She picked up another object that had a handle connected to a transparent dome on wheels. Inside the dome were several colorful plastic balls, which bounced around inside as Chronoa pushed it along the floor.

"What does that thing do?" Luffa asked.

"Oh, this is just a child's toy," Chronoa said. "Same idea though."

"Okay..." Luffa decided this was as good a time as any to serve the cake. It was yellow with chocolate frosting, a recipe which suited her aesthetics, though she had no idea what flavor “yellow” was supposed to be. She wondered if “yellow” was a kind of fruit, like the oranges used to make the juice she had discovered while shopping.

"Very impressive," Chronoa said as she took a bite. "You must have turned the oven up to full power for this."

"Uh, not exactly," Luffa said nervously. She was beginning to get the impression that Chronoa had no idea how cooking worked. "Jayncho found a recipe, and they had everything I needed in the Industrial District. I've been using my downtime to get a handle on Earth cuisine."

"That's great! You know... when we figure out how to get you home, Luffa, you wouldn't have to stay there. You could come back for missions."

"Huh?"

"We have a lot of Patrollers who still live on Earth, in their own native eras. Mostly ranging from Age 850 to 1050, but there are a few exceptions, like Trunks."

"Well, that's nice and all," Luffa said, "but I don't know that it would work for me..."

"Do you have any family?"

Luffa hesitated before answering. "No," she said. "It's just me." To explain further would require her to reveal that she knew she was from the distant past, and she wasn't ready to divulge that just yet. She wasn't sure she ever would be. But somehow, sitting in Chronoa's home, sharing snacks with her while they watched the view outside her window, Luffa felt like she could trust her.

She just wouldn't trust her today. Not yet. Like Chronoa had said, these things had to happen in the proper order.

"Have you heard of ‘Providence,’ Chronoa?" Luffa asked.

"I know the term, if that's what you mean." she said with her mouth full.

"My... a friend of mine, she believed in a divine plan. I just wondered if you, or one of the other Kais, had any connection to that."

"Are you religious yourself, Luffa?"

"Not really. But I've known people who were. You wouldn't know a god with nine eyes, by any chance, would you?"

"No, I can't say that I do," Chronoa said.

"What about Beerus?"

"Oh, well that's different," Chronoa said. "You see-- Wait, what was that?"

She put her plate on the coffee table and stood up, as though looking for something beyond the walls of her house.

"What is it?" Luffa asked. Her own senses picked up nothing out of the ordinary.

"Something's wrong," Chronoa said. "We need to go to the Time Vault."

"Is it Towa and Mira?" Luffa asked.

"I'm not sure," Chronoa said, “but I think it could be."

Luffa punched her right hand with her left as she stood up from the sofa. At last, it seemed like her waiting was over.

*******

[24 December, Age 762. Planet Namek.]

The Namekian Dragon Balls were ordinary stones. Two wishes had been granted, but they petrified upon the death of their creator, Guru. When Frieza arrived to discover this predicament, he was furious. So furious, that he wasted no time in destroying the objects of his wrath. Within minutes, Krillin, Vegeta, and the Namekian child, Dende, were all dead. Piccolo, newly resurrected by the Dragon Balls, joined the battle, but far too later to do any good. Gohan was next, and then the only one left was Goku.

"Who... are you?" Frieza asked, as Goku cradled his dead son in his arms. "Never mind. I don't need to know."

Goku followed the others soon after.

*******

[4 March, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

"It has to be Towa," Chronoa said. She had the Scroll of Eternity unfurled on the great octagonal table in the Time Vault. Luffa watched over her shoulder, while Tokitoki flapped his wings and hooted overhead.

"This looks like the same day as the Ginyu Force battle I was just in," Luffa said.

"It is," Chronoa said. "This new temporal change takes place thirty-seven minutes after you left. Towa must have decided it was the last place we would expect her to strike. I didn't think she was prepared to try her energy stealing techniques on someone as powerful as Frieza."

Luffa had never actually seen Frieza before. Until now, she had only heard about him. During her previous mission, the Ginyu Force and Vegeta had spoken of him as being present on Namek, but occupied elsewhere. Before that, she had heard about Frieza's conquest and destruction of the Saiyan homeworld from the Toki Toki City historian, Dewar. Dewar had said that Frieza was a clansman of his own species, and now that Luffa could see Frieza in the mystical images generated by the Scroll, she could see the resemblance. Mostly, Frieza had purple colorations wherever Dewar had blue, and Frieza didn't bother wearing clothes. He was a white-skinned, muscular humanoid with no hair and three-toed feet. A long, thick tail waved behind him. The purple aura from Towa's magic seemed to suit his cruel, indifferent expression.

"Looks like it's the same story as before," Luffa said. "Frieza got a power boost and he overwhelmed these guys too quickly, so I'll have to step in and balance the scales."

"It's not that simple," Chronoa warned. "Frieza is far more powerful than anyone you've faced so far."

"He can't swap bodies like Captain Ginyu, can he?" Luffa asked.

"No, but--"

"Well then, this should be a lot more straightforward," Luffa said, She held up her hands and began cracking her knuckles.

"Wait," Chronoa said. "Luffa, I really think we should hold off on this until Trunks gets back."

"What for?" Luffa asked. "I'm the one who has to go on these missions, and I'm ready right now. With any luck, those miserable demons will still be there, and I can pick up where I left off."

"You don't know what you're dealing with, Luffa," Chronoa warned. "Every time you've come back from these missions, you've been badly hurt. Fighting Frieza is one thing. If he hurts you, you can be automatically recalled to the Time Nest before you die. But if Towa decides to step in, that might not work. She's already threatened you, and there's a lot we don't know about her temporal manipulation abilities."

"Then it's time we found out," Luffa insisted. "I don't know what kind of Saiyans you have working for you in the Time Patrol, but I'm the kind that doesn't back down from a challenge. I think your pet Dragon noticed that, and maybe that's why he brought me here to help you out."

"There's more at stake here than whatever chip you have on your shoulder, Luffa," Chronoa said. "I can tell you're out to prove something. I don't know what, but I won't risk your life like this."

"And what happens if they try to alter history somewhere else while we're waiting around?" Luffa asked. "We need to address this sooner rather than later. And no matter what we do, it's going to be me who ends up going. You know I'm right, Supreme Kai of Time. I wouldn't be here if I weren't."

Chronoa regarded her for a moment, then looked back at the Scroll. "All right, we'll try it your way," she said. "But I'll be watching, and at the first sign of trouble, I'm pulling you out of there."

"Thanks," Luffa said. "I was thinking about making a grab for the Scroll, but I didn’t want to upset you. I've never fought a god before, and I didn't want to make things awkward between us.”

"Uh... sure. Well, promise me that you’ll keep that in mind if I have to bring you back from the mission early," Chronoa said. "If you can't handle Frieza, then you definitely don't need to be picking fights with me."

Luffa smiled as she picked up the Scroll, and then she was gone.

NEXT: 「F」

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #luffa #trunks #chronoa #note #beat #anne #dr leggings #toki toki city #earth #namek

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tomorrowsdrama · 4 years

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Give me your romance drama recs / drama update

I’m in the mood for a romance drama but am kind of stumped on what I should watch, so PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR RECS! It can be kdrama, jdrama, cdrama (just maybe not contemporary cdrama since those really aren’t my bag), whatever. Or even a period English piece. I’m watching Do You Like Brahms? and really enjoying that so I wouldn’t mind something similar. Of course, I am also down for something more adult/steamy. Dysfunction is fine but it needs to have a happy ending. I guess I’m feeling kind of sappy. The key is that I want to swoon/feel those butterflies.

To kind of give you an idea of what I’ve watched/am watching:

Currently Watching

Do You Like Brahms? - LOVE LOVE LOVE. Slice of life and sweet romance done right. When Song Ah and Joon Young smile at each other, I smile along with them. Adorable and sweet without being twee. An undercurrent of melancholy without being morose/a kill joy.

My Beautiful Bride - I’m loving this and highly recommend it for anyone who likes thrills, action, and a HOT male lead single-mindedly devoted to his otp, who will go to the ends of the earth to be with her. He literally lives only to make his otp happy. While his love for her is what drives the plot of the story, this isn’t necessarily a romance drama. I mean, sure, I swoon and my heart flutters when I see him beat a group of gangsters to a bloody pulp with nothing but his fists and a key. And trust me when I say my hormones rage like crazy whenever he’s onscreen. But I’m looking for a more ordinary kind of love story to add to my roster of dramas. My Beautiful Bride is like two straight shots of the strongest whiskey in a shady dive bar - it’s intense, exciting, and totally gets me amped up. However, sometimes I need a break from the Johnnie Walker and slight sense of danger and want a nice, soothing, cup of warm tea instead.

Cruel City/Heartless City - So I know I just said I needed to mellow out my current watch list but I just LOVE this drama. It’s got a great otp but again, its main focus is not romance. Although, it does have one of the hottest kiss scenes in recent years. If you thought Jung Kyung Ho was nothing but a lanky, beta, weenie, this drama will totally change your mind. Plus, this is a re-watch so I don’t have to pay attention to everything.

Finished

Flower of Evil - I fully expected to not like this drama before it started because of the terribly misleading promos. The only reason I checked it out was because I liked Moon Chae Won and Lee Jun Ki. And boy am I glad I did! I love me a devoted otp who also stop to take the time to make out. The way Ji Won saved Hyun Su by just being herself and loving him and the way Hyun Su devotes his entire life to taking care of Ji Won and being a good husband to her - *chef’s kiss*. OH, also, Kim Ji Hoon’s glorious long hair.

My Unfamiliar Family - I don’t usually watch family dramas, but this was a nice little surprise. The romance was sweet. The healing family trauma aspect was heartwarming and done very well. Not overwrought at all. Some of the red herrings/misleading endings threw me a loop but overall, I enjoyed how they resolved the misunderstandings and conflict. The re-discovery of love between the parents was nice to watch. Really easy and enjoyable watch with a great slowburn friends to lovers pairing. I identified with the female lead a bit too much sometimes heh. Fun fact: The actor playing the dad also played the king in The King and the Clown who was obsessed with Lee Jun Ki’s character.

Dropped

When I Was the Most Beautiful / When I Was the Prettiest - This drama was so disappointing, it kind of upset me to be honest. The first two episodes started off so promising. My early 2000s dysfunctional jdrama with questionable teacher/student relationships loving ass thought I was finally getting a return to the good ol’ days (before anyone says anything, no, I do not condone teacher/student relationships in real life). I mean, they had Ji Soo, the king of playing high school students with impossible one-sided crushes who you want to root for, playing a high school student with a one-sided crush on his art student-teacher. We also had renowned hottie Ha Suk Jin playing his older brother and Im Soo Hyang playing the woman in between the two hot brothers. It had all the makings of a wonderful throwback to the old school dramas. But instead, we got stuck with whatever the hell this drama is. Anyway, disappointing!

The Merchant: Gaekju - I love Jang Hyuk. I love sageuks. I love Jang Hyuk in sageuks. But this story just wasn’t working for me and there was not enough shirtless Jang Hyuk to keep my attention.

Kinda Watching On/Off

Me Too, Flower! - An old drama that I randomly picked up because I wanted to watch something with Yoon Shi Yoon. I am only watching this because of the Yoon Shi Yoon-Lee Ji Ah pairing because frankly, the rest of the drama kinda bores me. Something I put on after work when I don’t want to be too involved/don’t need to concentrate too much.

Angry Mom - I started re-watching portions of this drama because of how pissed off I was about When I Was the Most Beautiful and the disappointment I felt when I foudn out Kim Hee Sun was playing Joo Won’s mom instead of lover in Alice (although from the looks of the posts in the tag, maybe she’s gonna be both? hahaha). This is Ji Soo’s break out role and for good reason. His crush on Kim Hee Sun’s undercover high school student mom is adorable and not creepy at all because (1) He doesn’t know she’s an ahjumma (a bit of suspension of disbelief is required for this drama because no matter how great KHS looks, high school student she is not); and (2) it’s completely one-sided and not reciprocated by KHS at all. Sigh, I just want to watch KHS in a hot noona romance and Ji Soo in a good romance where (1) he gets the girl and (2) the plot is not completely asinine.

Stopped Watching but Really Need to Return to

Ever Night S1 - Ok, I literally have less than 10 episodes left of this drama but for some reason I keep on putting it off. I have a real problem finishing dramas I love. Aside from the fact that I get easily distracted and hop from one drama to the next quite often, I think it’s also because I don’t want the drama to end. I know there’s a second season, but it just doesn’t seem the same. Anyway, I should just buck up and finish this drama already.

Novoland Eagle Flag - I took a break because the angst was just non-stop and I needed something a bit lighter.

Six Flying Dragons - I binged like 10 episodes one day and took a break to give my poor eyes and brain a rest. Then, in true me fashion, I got distracted by some other drama and now I can’t remember where I left off.

Mr. Sunshine - I love Lee Byung Hun as an actor and I am also a big fan of Byun Yo Han. This is also the hottest Yoo Yeon Suk has ever looked to me. But I kind of lost interest when it became apparent that all three male leads were going to be in love with the female lead. I like the female lead just fine but it’s kind of annoying how everybody is in love with her. I know this is a quality drama but honestly, I don’t think I will return to this unless I have nothing more interesting to watch.

#drama update #drama recs #do you like brahms?#my beautiful bride #cruel city #flower of evil #my unfamiliar family #when I was the most beautiful #the merchant gaekju #me too flower #angry mom #ever night #novoland eagle flag #six flying dragons #mr. sunshine #kdrama

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happyvoidharmony · 4 years

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Ashes

rating : M (smut) pairing : Miraxus (Laxus/Mirajane) found : AO3 FF

I don’t even know why I’m here

The air was still heavy. The pungent smell of the stirred ashes seemed frozen on the moment the dragon king collapsed in the center of the city. Mirajane took a deep breath, desperately trying to slow down her still beating heart. She grabbed the stack of papers laying on the new table and scrolled through them hoping to find the files Levy had filled out a few days earlier.

The recently reconstructed Hall was still infused with the scent of fresh paint and new wood. The white-haired woman finally took a file out, desiring to go back to the festivities that filled the guild and the city.

Suddenly, the door creaked, revealing a blond man with an imposing stature and a strange scar right through his right eye. The young woman froze as the lightning mage walked slowly into the room. He closed the door, leant against the wall and observed her without a word. She stayed still, not daring to move, as if frozen in stone by his arrival.

After what seemed like an eternity but was actually a few seconds, she finally shook her head, smiling in embarrassment, then turned abruptly to leave the place in the same spirit, but froze again when his eyes met the blonde’s sharp ones.

She wanted to utter a word, but the sounds stayed blocked inside her throat while drowning in his bright golden eyes.

“Hey.” She succeeded in a shaky voice.

She thought her heart was going to drop as she felt the blood rushing through her veins warming her cheeks and pounding inside her chest.

Suddenly, he took a big step towards her and grabbed her by the cheek before pressing his lips against hers as her back got pinned against the wall. She abandoned herself in this sudden embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck intertwining her fingers in his blond hair. He slid his hand over her waist and stroke her hip. The white-haired woman moaned slightly as she felt the mage's fingers touch the fabric that hid her burning skin from touching.

Feeling his hesitation, she tightened without thinking his embrace, pressing him a little more against her and moaned a little louder when he finally stroked lower before grabbing and lifting her to his height. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gently bit his lower lip, snatching a little frown from which she took advantage to deepen the kiss and softly tickle his tongue.

It didn’t take him any longer to stroke hers with a harshness difficult to control. A small playful smile outlined on the lips of the young woman who abandoned herself even more in his arms, kissing him with the same energy he showed to suddenly slow down and tease her lips.

Breathless, he pulled away from her as she fell to her feet and they stared at each other again, still confused by this abrupt contact. Shaking, Mirajane wanted to make a word but was cut off when Laxus leant over her ear and whispered:

“It’s been a while.”

Her eyes widened as she felt the hot breath of the dragon slayer on her neck and couldn't find the strength to utter a sound. He quickly grabbed her hand as she jumped from his touch and met his fiery gaze again without understanding his intentions. He released her immediately and strode out of the room, leaving the young woman alone and confused.

Still unsettled for a few minutes, she was called back by a funny feeling inside her fingers, where the lightning mage had grabbed her. She opened her hand and discovered a thin torn paper in which were eagerly scribbled a number and a street. The mage blushed when she understood the meaning. A few tears escaped her eyes when she slowly collapsed on the table and reread those letters without knowing if they should lead her steps.

***

The party went on for hours that night before Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna decided to return to their old house, which they had managed to get back despite their year of absence. Strangely, the city was calm again, the party having finally gathered inside the guild. Mirajane followed her siblings slowly, smiling widely at each joke these two made.

“You just wanted to see Ever again!” Lisanna exclaimed, playful.

The young man gulped, his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“That’s not true !”

The youngest burst out laughing when she saw her brother's reddening face and kept implying all kinds of relationships between him and the fairy mage under the amused eye of their elder sister.

She felt her heart racing up with each step that brought them closer to the home, unable to stop thinking of the blonde man and the memory of his lips onto hers. Suddenly she stopped walking, shaking, still struggling to make any choice. Lisanna turned to her with a worried face.

“Mira-nee, is everything all right ?”

The young woman strongly nodded and smiled gently at her younger sister.

“I just forgot something at the guild, I’ll be back !” "She finally blurted out, her heart pounding inside her chest. “Don't wait for me, I’ll be home soon !”

She seemed surprised.

“Can't you go for it tomorrow ?”

Mirajane bit her lip, quickly thinking of a way out.

“I forgot the keys to open the kitchens tomorrow and Kinana will surely lock them inside…”

Merely convinced, Lisanna wished her sister good night and went back to Elfman who was waiting for them a few steps ahead. The white-haired woman turned around, surprised by the ease with which the lies had come out of her mouth.

When they were out of sight, she turned sharply around the corner and went to the center of the town. After ten minutes of walking, she arrived in front of a large white building, went for the surprisingly unlocked door, and rushed up the stairs. She found the flat quite easily, her fingers found the iron handle and lowered it in a last breath.

The door was locked. Taken aback, she felt her heart miss a beat and tears climbed up to her eyes. She collapsed on the steps and restrained her sobs. What an idiot ! What was she hoping for ?

Suddenly, steps were heard down. She jumped and waited, frozen in fear while the instant came before her eyes. The blond man appeared, tall, with a nonchalant hand and bored look on his face. She stared at him as he laid eyes on her, curled up in the narrow staircase, eyes red and damp.

“I don't even know why I'm here…” She confessed, tears clutching to her throat.

He sighed and nodded, mostly resigned. He took out a bunch of keys and unlocked the door without saying a word or giving the young woman a single glance. He opened the door and nodded her to come in. She got up, tottering, and entered, afraid he might hear her heart trying to escape. He followed her and locked the door behind them while she inspected the new apartment.

It looked large and bright, visibly more spacious than his former one, but still empty. Mirajane hesitantly walked over to the large window that filled a wall. Before it laid heaped bags of all kinds and a spread out large white futon. The immaculate turned around and met the eyes of the blond who had been staring at her for a while now. The demonic mage, still undecided, watched the young man without a word, fearing to break the weird tension in which they seemed immersed.

She wanted to come closer, slide her fingers through his golden hair and caress his lips with hers. However her tears didn’t seem willing to stop as she considered it. He remained still, leaning against the opposite wall, as if deep in thought. The young woman felt her lower abdomen twist terribly and stress his her stomach.

He had changed slightly but surely. He seemed calmer, more peaceful. Did she really have the right to ruin it ? She had spent the past year trying to get over from whatever they had, did she really want to get it back ? Wasn’t it just a whim to suffer and make people suffer to save some pieces ? Tears started to roll down her cheeks. The blond sighed, looked away and uttered with disgust for his words:

“Mira, if you want to go, I won’t hold you back.”

She immediately looked up. Go ? It was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted to kiss him, hold him, feel his fingers slide over her shivering flesh, feel his weight on her breasts, his hands ignite every inch of her skin and grip her hair in a one last breath. She wanted to feel it entirely and get lost in his embrace until she forgot about the world, her fingertips and her own name.

“Mira ?” He called, a bit worried by her silence.

The young woman suddenly swallowed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck and suddenly pulled him to press her lips against his. He grabbed her and lifted her with ease. His tongue caressed hers as an almost inaudible moan or two escaped to the touch of his hands. He took less than three steps before laying her on the white sheet without detaching himself from her and slipped his left hand under the thick fabric of her dress to caress her boiling flesh, taking another sweet complaint from her. With the other one, he stealthily removed the band that held her bangs resting now on her forehead.

The white woman's hands left his hair to slip under the mage's shirt and outlined his chest with all the delicacy she was capable of. He deepened the kiss and tightened his grip even more, making her shiver in her excitement. She withdrew her hands and began to unbutton the cloth. She undid the first button and felt the young man's grip firm again on his skin.

She grabbed the second but was cut off by a moan that involuntarily escaped her mouth when he left her lips to attack the white skin of her neck. He went down, up and attacked the flesh, sucking it, biting and licking with a mixture of aggressiveness and sweetness. She finally beat the second button and defeated the third in stride. However, she jumped when she felt the blonde's fangs sinking slightly into her skin without piercing her.

She was quickly called to order when he slid a finger against this sensitive part of her still covered by the fine fabric of her underwear. She let out another complaint of pleasure and frustration and felt him appreciate the sound of her moans in a teasing smile as he stroked her slowly, enjoying her squirm and make every effort in the world to focus on the fourth button .

He suddenly stopped, withdrew his hand and without hesitation tugged off the ribbon of her black dress, easily untying the fabric which still remained in place. He kissed her deeply, and drew her to him at the same time as he straightened up and passed the garment over her shoulders before hurriedly tossing it aside. The woman took advantage of this short time to quickly unbutton the last buttons with dexterity before he pressed against her again.

She chuckled as he saw him swear and straighten up on his knees to get rid of the now open shirt and throw it across the room. He returned to her lips as she grabbed his forcefully. He gave her an amused half-smile and pressed himself a little more against her before attacking her neck again. She gave him a small growl of satisfaction and tensed as his lips slid over the outline of her breasts. He suddenly grabbed the flesh without leaving her lips or ending his treatment.

The mage quivered more and more under the burning and fierce lips of the blonde and let out many other sounds without being able to hold them back. She arched her back in a moan, allowing the mage's hand to squeeze under the tissue covering her chest and naturally loosen it. She tore it off and threw it behind her like a useless rag, then dominantly kissed him, engaging in a fierce battle between their tongues which stroked and intertwined in search of exquisite domination.

They pulled away, gasping, exchanging a burning look. The blonde rested a snarling kiss on the lips of the young woman and attacked her chest and her neck already reddened by the previous attacks. He sucked on the flesh and slid his teeth while continuing to squeeze her on the other side and playing with the hard pinkish nipple while he sucked on its twin. The mage wiggled involuntarily and her bright pink mouth let out a soft rattle in a breath of contentment.

She pressed her lower abdomen against the young man’s and felt his rising excitement against her, blushing and letting a smile at the sensation. Laxus finally looked up and kissed her again without losing the aggressiveness with which he covered her. The demonic mage suddenly regained possession of her hands and caressed his back ardently before sliding one in his black trousers and grabbing some of the flesh available. His excitement grew even more as she caressed him warmly. The blond smiled on her lips.

“Easy, Mira.” He whispered with a smirk, causing an explosion of butterflies in her lower stomach who then uttered a small plaintive uncontrollable cry.

She met his golden eyes as hers seemed to consume him with desire. She smiled cheekily and tightened her grip before grabbing his lips again, slipping her tongue playfully. The blonde abruptly raised his abdomen and let the woman open the silver belt with ease, he quickly got rid of the unwanted clothes and pressed again against her.

She had a long shudder as her intimacy rubbed against his swollen one and kissed him voraciously, feeling the distinctive tingling of his electric magic on every inch of her skin. He attacked her neck greedily again, then her breasts, already marked by his lips, and passed over her flat stomach covered with white skin.

He slid his hand under the last remaining white fabric and grabbed her curves once more before grasping it. He straightened up, the young woman tightened her legs and let him slide the underwear along them with controlled slowness and toss it alongside her dress. He looked at her again, fiery gaze, feeling his desire grow even more as he watched her.

A few words could describe the beauty he was facing now. The white-haired woman stared at him with her blue orbs which seemed to boil of liquid sensuality. The moonlight delicately brushed her light skin probably making it itself jealous. Her long, curly white hair was graciously spread out against the white sheets and her bangs, a few strands of which had remained stuck to her forehead, hid the top of her large eyes which shone above all with casualness and mischievousness to damn the saints.

She bit her lip, not knowing if she should be flattered or embarrassed by the feverish look of the blond on her. Suddenly, he grabbed her lips, devouring them. He replaced himself between her legs while stroking her with all the force he had. The young woman moaned loudly and responded to the embrace with the same energy, feeling her whole body burn up with his touch. He left her lips and began to kiss her right thigh, which he gradually climbed up, teething particularly the white mark that rested there.

He went up even more, enjoying lingering on the points he knew the most sensitive, feeling her tensing terribly as he caressed them with his tongue and holding back somehow the sounds that escaped from her lips. Hesitant to make her beg, the mage continued to kiss her skin and froze when he heard her moan his name softly, ending any ambition he might have had.

He leaned over her intimacy, already very damp, and kissed it with the same ferocity. He felt it suddenly tighten then immediately relax in small moans. She tangled her hand in his golden strands as he slid his tongue over her, snatching sighs of delight. He grabbed her thighs to keep her from overly moving and continued his treatment. She groaned more beautifully, trying hard to control the movements of her lower abdomen invaded by extreme heat.

He replaced his tongue with his thumb and continued to stimulate the white, hearing her sigh louder and louder and feeling her getting tensed as he went on. She let out a little cry when he caressed her again. She moaned, contracted, gripped his locks more and traced the movements of his tongue forbidding him to stop, desperate to have every single crumb of the pleasure that took her.

He tightened his grip on her cheeks in order to be not overwhelmed by her increasingly broad movements, while the mage wriggled elegantly, letting out exquisite complaints that he drank in long strokes. She straightened on one elbow to gaze at him at work. The heat was soft on her membranes but agitated the most sensitive part with amusement, tearing off increasingly long and uncontrolled sounds that she was trying to regulate by piercing her inner lip in an adorable guilty smile.

Sensing that her end was near, Laxus grabbed her and immobilized her. She cried out letting the pleasure go up to completely wrap her in a long wave that made her whole body shake. The heat suddenly invaded her and she dropped down, smiling and trembling.

Still crossed by sweet spasms, the white-haired woman moaned with satisfaction and kissed the lighting mage with hunger who returned to her level with a sigh of contentment. She smiled, cheeks red and still sweaty from her orgasm and kissed him more softly, enjoying the softness of his lips as he still stroke her with his thumb and made the most of her last jolts. She slid her hand back into his underwear again and grabbed a new part of him, getting mad at the fabric that was hopelessly blocking her way.

He moved away gently, visibly amused by the desire that shone in her eyes, and while madly kissing her, he removed his last cloth with her help and a calculated slowness before she sent him to join his colleagues while holding forcefully the blonde, enveloped in his warmth and the smell of stirring tobacco.

He returned it very generously with hot strokes, following her rhythm on his privacy and letting the barrier of his teeth pass through a few soft grunts of comfort. The white stopped when he let out her name, her full name, and looked at him, contemplating the envy in his eyed that echoed hers. She had almost forgotten the sensation of her name on her ears and the shivers that went with as it crossed his lips.

He leaned down again to kiss her, she replied fervently, getting lost in the warmth of his lips. Suddenly, to her surprise, she straightened up, looking panicked. He stared at his blue orbs where a sudden new concern was shining.

“Are you okay ?” He asked, but didn't let go of her.

She nodded quickly and looked down, letting out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Do you have anything ?” She inquired abruptly with a small blushing smile.

The lightning mage raised an eyebrow, his mind still clouded by the warmth of the young woman's hand on his flesh. Finally, he understood. He also straightened up at a brisk pace and quickly grabbed a bag laying a few steps away. He searched and pulled out some condoms. The young woman smiled, visibly reassured, and limped back on her back, welcoming him naturally as he slipped between his thighs.

She placed her lips gently on his and replied warmly as he kissed her again and hugged her furiously, his legs intertwined with hers. He went down again to her neck, then her breasts and lingered once more on the pink ends, she moaned delicately, begging and demanding at the same time. He kissed her ardently and enjoyed her sweet complaint as he progressed through her.

The white moaned louder under his slow assassin movements and the onslaught of pleasure he gave her, feeling stretched at capacity and begging him to continue with furious agitations. The young man grabbed her and leaned on his elbow to keep up with the pace she imposed on him, drinking each of her complaints like clear water. The heat and contractions of her privacy drove him crazy, as well as her hips, thighs, buttocks, waist, naked breasts and white skin.

Each intrusion of the blonde was a torture, slow, measured, sometimes more frantic, but above all intoxicating. Each caress he gave her was one more match thrown at the lava that had become her flesh. Each cry she pushed was a caress on his ears that she could no longer hear, gripping each piece of flesh she found to resist the gentle torture but only feeling the force more beautiful, who tormented her without remorse, through the recurrent contractions of the blonde’s muscles.

She tensed suddenly, feeling the heat violently invade her. Her moans became louder and louder and more irregular and feverish. She caressed his back she knew was streaked with almost invisible scars and hung on before twisting against the young man's warm chest, perfectly outlined, under his tumultuous assaults. She didn’t even have time to warn him before letting out a last beating lament in a final shock of pleasure that precipitated a long furious tremor along her limbs.

She fell back against the white mattress and smiled warmly before kissing the lips he offered her with fever. His breathing was strong, clocked, like his own. She met his gaze, still filled with fiery intentions and just waiting for her signal to implement them. She smiled again, looking more playful and waited for him to frown before flipping him to the side and getting over him.

He had a grumpy grunt and an offended look but was silent as soon as the young woman kissed him furiously to bring him back to her level. He grabbed her, taking a slight moan from her as she began to wave slowly over him. She slipped her fingers through his golden locks that she was careful not to grip too tightly, or at least not with the same force he grabbed her hips and breasts.

Her movements were fast and resounded with impetuosity in her flesh, along her insolent rolls. It didn't take long for the blonde to join the rhythm, caressing her back before grabbing a breast which he hungrily explored with his tongue, snatching a very audible sigh from the mage, no longer even trying to hold them back.

She went faster, quickly followed by the lightning mage who now grunted distinctly guilty sighs covered by the white woman's inopportune moans as the heat and pleasure rushed up in her. She could no longer hold back her messy movements and waved more beautifully as the blonde touched the perfect point of her wet intimacy.

She moaned, cried out, and sped up again, while trying to keep some sort of control over her body, which was shaking on all sides under the heat waves that were reaching it. The young man, his head buried in her white neck, kissing the flesh with fury, breathed loudly and felt the end coming. Just hoping it would come after hers.

Fortunately, the demonic mage let out a long groan, shaken by a new attack of hot spasms that numbed her mind, to the point that she barely heard her cries and the blonde's relief. Lost in his warmth, she held him, determined never to let go, while her body trembled and moaned against him. When she realized he was done too, she pulled away slightly, sweating visibly, and stared at him.

He plunged his golden eyes into her sapphires and bridged the distance between them to come and capture her lips between his. His tongue gently caressed her twin, leaving the mark of her soft warmth that made the white shiver. She deepened the kiss, eagerly loving his fever as he lied down against the thin mattress.

With one last breath, she tore herself away from his embrace to settle against his side, unable to take her eyes off his exhausted features. The young woman touched his tight skin, still lively and damp, and was cut by a faint grunt, accompanied by a squeaky smile and two piercing eyes.

“Easy demon...” he began with a playful grin, while releasing his arm which had enveloped her. “I'm not done with you yet...”

She giggled and felt her cheeks turn pink as she straightened up to let the blond some cigarettes from a close bag.

He laid down again with a sigh of relief before grabbing one and placing it between his lips, visibly reddened by the previous attacks. He lit it with a lighter picked up on the way and took the first puff with a second sigh of well-being. The white woman looked at him peacefully and stole the object before he could take a second to bring it to her lips, just as damaged. He gave her an offended look, a mocking smirk and a falsely exasperated sigh.

“You still hate the smell, huh ?” He asked sarcastically.

She smiled softly and looked at him, raising one of his eyebrows, letting the smoke escape her lips. She took another puff under the envious look of the blonde, visibly in a hurry to recover his property. Eyes closed, she brought her face to his jealous eyes and blew the cloud of tobacco into his half-open mouth.

“I'm getting used to it ...” she whispered in a warm breath.

With these words and reluctantly, she straightened, tearing herself completely away from the heat of him under his reproving look, who took the opportunity to appreciate her flattering profile without an ounce of shyness. She smiled playfully and took one last puff before returning the object to head for the bathroom.

When she came out, he was still in the same position, finishing his cigarette thoughtfully. She approached, the slow step while watching the young man with interest. His golden eyes piercing the ceiling, his chest, his safe and skillful hands that carried the object to his face with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor. Playing the indifferent. Like always. Some strands stuck to his forehead by the effort.

“You’re going to say here all night ?”

She jumped, abruptly wrenched from her thoughts and stared at the blond who was simply watching her with his eternal mocking grin. The young woman sighed and walked slowly towards him, feeling his gaze resting on her bare flesh and restless body, shaking slightly under his weight and apprehension. She fell heavily beside him, without him taking her eyes off or making a gesture in his direction. Her eyelids opened, revealing the mage's thinking pupils.

“You want to talk about it ?” She finally asked in a small voice.

He looked away and stood up to smash the burned cigarette.

“To say what ?” He replied, feigning indifference.

She smiled.

“Right.” She sighed, closing her eyes.

He turned around and looked at her again, thoughtful. Finally, he said :

“If you wanna talk about it…”

“Shut up.” She ordered softly, snuggling between the sheets. “Before I change my mind.”

He laughed softly. A light laugh under the half-open eye.

He finally laid down again, this time with his black headphones. The mage devoured him with her eyes, pretending to fall asleep in spite of the light and the thrills that twisted her lower abdomen. He glanced at her amusedly while exploring his soundpod, she blushed and grabbed the object with a skillful hand under the once again offended little grunt of the blonde.

“What are you listening to ?” She asked without paying attention to his complaints.

“If you let me choose, maybe I would know.” He growled.

She smirked softly without sketching a move in his direction and continued to scroll through the music with an interested eye. Always the same, huh ? Suddenly, a powerful hand grabbed her wrist and suddenly flipped her over, which gave a cry of surprise. Lying on her back, both hands held by one of his and overhung by the man who skillfully stole the object with a satisfied grin.

“It's rude to steal something, you know?” He added, mockingly.

She frowned.

“It’s rude to force someone's hand.” She retorted, desperately trying to free her arms, without success.

He smirked, quickly set the headphones aside without leaving her bubbling blue eyes, and raised his eyebrows with satisfaction as he felt the white woman struggling silently. Amused, he stood still, locking her wrists with one hand and her thighs with his knees. He watched her scramble under his weight to find a way out, admiring the grace with which her breasts bounced to the rhythm of her emulations.

“Let go of me.” She finally gave up.

“Already?” The blond flattered himself, touching the young woman's chest with his free hand. “I’m having fun though, aren't you?”

The white woman was crossed by a long shiver and hardly made the eyes of the lightning mage who seemed to enjoy her confusion.

“Let go of me.”

The request was almost pleading, sensual and tinged with guilty delight. The blond swallowed hard before the desiring eyes of the white-haired mage who stared at him without confusion. He slowly released the pressure on her wrists and wobbled a bit before her alabaster arms wrapped around his neck to draw him against her and her lips grasped his, indomitable.

***

When the white opened her eyes, the room was bathed in thick white light that enveloped the air of the empty room. The mage rubbed her eyes and snuggled up against the warm, empty sheets. She straightened up abruptly and noticed the blonde’s absence with panic. Suddenly, water started to flow away and the white fell heavily against the fabric with a relieved groan. The young man came out of the bathroom, simply dressed in black sweatpants.

“Awake?” He mumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

Growl. Smile.

“What time is it ?”

“One”. He replied.

“In the afternoon ?” She exclaimed, suddenly straightening up before his puzzled look.

He nodded. She hurriedly pulled herself out of the sheets and headed quickly for the bathroom. He sighed. She got out and began to collect her scattered clothes. She quickly found her underwear and quickly put them on before turning to him, who was watching her calmly. With a raised eyebrow, he pointed out a corner of the room where the centerpiece of her clothes was tossed. She grabbed it with a quick hand and put it on directly, covering her sticky, reddened skin on all sides, before tying the ribbons in a hurry.

“I have to go, or Elfman and Lisanna are going to go crazy.” She explained as she put her shoes on.

Growl.

She stared at him, hesitating on how to close this exchange. She wanted to kiss him. A lot. However, would she be able to detach herself afterwards? She stopped on her piercing but peaceful eyes, his hair messed up by the night and his dark tattoo that crossed his chest, far too tempting to be honest. He coughed, snatching her from her thoughs. She jumped and took a deep breath before grabbing her bag and heading for the door with an embarrassed smile.

“See you at the guild?” She said, not knowing what to think about this question.

“It’s going to be difficult to miss each other.” He snarled softly with a smirk that twisted the young woman's stomach.

She smiled and rushed into the corridor without answering, hating herself deeply.

The young woman hesitantly unlocked the door, hoping with all her heart that her siblings hadn't noticed her absence. She crossed the threshold softly attentive not to creak the old floor under her steps and walked gently to discover a silent house and visibly still asleep. Relieved, the immaculate put down her things and quickly went up the stairs.

Once showered and changed, she set out to prepare a light lunch when the youngest went downstairs, still sleepy.

“Mira-nee?” She exclaimed softly. “Are you already awake?”

The young woman smiled tenderly at her messy hair and sleepy pupils, and nodded happily.

“Not since long.”

Lisanna took her place at the table which almost filled the entire lean kitchen.

“What time did you get home last night?” She inquired softly.

The demonic mage bit her lip.

“Oh, late.” She replied. “I had a few things to settle.”

The youngest raised her eyebrows.

“Oh” she continued, vaguely suspicious. “did you do it ?”

The young woman chuckled softly and turned to with an almost angelic smile.

“No idea.” She finally said. “I don't think I will ever get there...”

#fairy tail #Laxus Dreyar #Mirajane Strauss #laxus x mirajane #miraxus #lisanna strauss #elfman strauss #smut #fairytail smut #angst

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aboveallarescuer · 4 years

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Daenerys Targaryen in A Storm of Swords vs Game of Thrones - Episode 3.4: And Now His Watch Is Ended

In this series of posts, I intend to analyze precisely how the show writers downplayed or erased several key aspects of Daenerys Targaryen’s characterization, even when they had the books to help them write her as the compelling, intelligent, compassionate, frugal, open-minded and self-critical character that GRRM created.

I want to make it clear that these posts are not primarily meant to offer a better alternative to what the show writers gave us. I understand that they had many constraints (e.g. other storylines to handle, a limited amount of time to write the scripts, budget, actors who may have asked for a certain number of lines, etc) working against them. However, considering how disrespectful the show’s ending was to Daenerys Targaryen and how the book material that they left out makes it even more ludicrous to think that she will also become a villain in A Song of Ice and Fire, I believe that these reviews are more than warranted. They are meant to dissect everything about Dany’s characterization that was lost in translation, with a lot of book evidence to corroborate my statements.

Since these reviews will dissect scene by scene, I recommend taking a look at this post because I will use its sequence to order Dany’s scenes.

This post is relevant in case you want to know which chapters were adapted in which GoT episodes (however, I didn’t make the list myself, all the information comes from the GoT Wiki, so I can’t guarantee that it’s 100% reliable).

In general, I will call the Dany from the books “Dany” and the Dany from the TV series “show!Dany”.

Scene 4

Summary: show!Dany enters Astapor and exchanges Drogon for the Unsullied. Then, she orders them to attack the masters and has Drogon burn Kraznys. At the end, she frees the Unsullied and leaves the city.

As I've explained many times in my reviews of episodes 3.1 and 3.3, the show writers have sidelined Dany's thoughts and feelings and overall motivations a lot in their adaptation of the books' events. The moment above is another example. Do we have any clue on how show!Dany is feeling in the screenshot above? Because we do in the books:

If I look back I am lost, Dany told herself the next morning as she entered Astapor through the harbor gates. She dared not remind herself how small and insignificant her following truly was, or she would lose all courage. (ASOS Daenerys III)

When it comes to this change, it's important to have in mind how the show writers (particularly Benioff) perceive Dany at this point:

Benioff: Dany is becoming more and more viable as a threat, you know, both, you know, in attaining an army and because she's the mother of these three dragons who are only gonna get more and more fearsome. (Inside the Episode, 3.4)

The darker moments can weigh on fans, though. The Red Wedding in particular is infamous for making many fans very upset with the books. One reader once claimed on the EW boards that there are no heroes in Martin’s novels, only victims.

Benioff: Well, that’s not true. It’s hard to think of Daenerys Targaryen as a victim.

Weiss: She started as a victim. But many heroes start as somebody who is powerless. (x)

Because show!Dany is "becoming more and more viable as a threat" in Benioff's eyes, she is no longer even acknowledged as a victim (as if one ever "stopped" being one) and her emotional expressions are flattened accordingly. In the show, expressing fear and anxiety and sorrow is restricted to either powerless victims or unhinged characters, not "badasses". In the books, on the other hand, Dany is allowed to feel a variety of emotions:

Dany fed her dragons as she always did, but found she had no appetite herself. She cried awhile, alone in her cabin, then dried her tears long enough for yet another argument with Groleo. “Magister Illyrio is not here,” she finally had to tell him, “and if he was, he could not sway me either. I need the Unsullied more than I need these ships, and I will hear no more about it.”

The anger burned the grief and fear from her, for a few hours at the least. Afterward she called her bloodriders to her cabin, with Ser Jorah. They were the only ones she truly trusted.

She meant to sleep afterward, to be well rested for the morrow, but an hour of restless tossing in the stuffy confines of the cabin soon convinced her that was hopeless. Outside her door she found Aggo fitting a new string to his bow by the light of a swinging oil lamp. Rakharo sat crosslegged on the deck beside him, sharpening his arakh with a whetstone. (ASOS Daenerys III)

On the night before she frees the Unsullied, Dany is restless. That's quite understandable - she is putting the lives of her entire retinue (which she describes as "small and insignificant" in numbers) and her child at risk to fight for the dignity of the slave soldiers. She even cries on her own, perhaps due to her guilt over the exchange of Drogon for the army. Then, she asks for the people whom she trusts to sleep in her cabin because she can't stand being alone during these hours in which there's nothing she can do but to wait and have doubts. This moment of calm before the storm is crucial because it perfectly illustrates Ned's lesson to Bran back in AGOT - by allowing us to see Dany's fear, her bravery becomes more apparent later. By allowing us to see Dany's vulnerability, we get a better sense of how difficult her narrative conflict is and her ultimate triumph feels even more hard-earned. Unfortunately, the show writers never understood any of this.

The calm before the storm is also important for this reason:

“Khaleesi. You ought to be asleep. Tomorrow will be hot and hard, I promise you. You’ll need your strength.” 

“Do you remember Eroeh?” she asked him.

“The Lhazareen girl?”

“They were raping her, but I stopped them and took her under my protection. Only when my sun-and-stars was dead Mago took her back, used her again, and killed her. Aggo said it was her fate.”

“I remember,” Ser Jorah said.

“I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn’t have done that. He wasn’t just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves?”

“Some kings make themselves. Robert did.” 

“He was no true king,” Dany said scornfully. “He did no justice. Justice ... that’s what kings are for.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

This is one of the key moments of the chapter, not only because it's one of the hints of Dany's eventual breaking of the deal, but also because it highlights Dany's character development: after being a slave and witnessing what others experienced as slaves, she comes to the conclusion that she is no true queen if she doesn't fight for and protect the oppressed. There are no feudal alliances or benefits to be found here, Dany is doing this just because it's the right thing to do.

Benioff may say that the surprise attack made sense in the books because of the hints scattered across the chapter, but neither he nor Weiss seem to have considered including any of the scenes above into the TV show. More than just signaling what will happen, they are pivotal to understanding Dany's character motivations. By understanding them, the resolution of the conflict becomes obvious in retrospect. Unfortunately, they don't care enough about them to make sure that they are conveyed onscreen. As a result, the show scene begins on a much weaker foundation.

Some key details are missing in the exchange scene of the show:

Aggo went before her with his great Dothraki bow. Strong Belwas walked to the right of her mare, the girl Missandei to her left. Ser Jorah Mormont was behind in mail and surcoat, glowering at anyone who came too near. Rakharo and Jhogo protected the litter. Dany had commanded that the top be removed, so her three dragons might be chained to the platform. Irri and Jhiqui rode with them, to try and keep them calm. Yet Viserion’s tail lashed back and forth, and smoke rose angry from his nostrils. Rhaegal could sense something wrong as well. Thrice he tried to take wing, only to be pulled down by the heavy chain in Jhiqui’s hand. Drogon coiled into a ball, wings and tail tucked tight. Only his eyes remained to tell that he was not asleep.

The rest of her people followed: Groleo and the other captains and their crews, and the eighty-three Dothraki who remained to her of the hundred thousand who had once ridden in Drogo’s khalasar. She put the oldest and weakest on the inside of the column, with the nursing women and those with child, and the little girls, and the boys too young to braid their hair. The rest—her warriors, such as they were—rode outside and moved their dismal herd along, the hundred-odd gaunt horses that had survived both red waste and black salt sea. (ASOS Daenerys III)

As we can see above, in the books, Dany brings her entire retinue and organizes them in a way that makes them look more imposing to the masters; it's a detail that showcases her political skills. In the show, she is only accompanied by Jorah, Barristan and Missandei (and Drogon). The Dothraki mentioned in episode 3.1 are nowhere to be seen here.

This part is also cut:

He looked at Missandei. “Tell her they are hers ... if she can pay.”

“She can,” the girl said.

Ser Jorah barked a command, and the trade goods were brought forward. Six bales of tiger skins, three hundred bolts of fine silk. Jars of saffron, jars of myrrh, jars of pepper and curry and cardamom, an onyx mask, twelve jade monkeys, casks of ink in red and black and green, a box of rare black amethysts, a box of pearls, a cask of pitted olives stuffed with maggots, a dozen casks of pickled cave fish, a great brass gong and a hammer to beat it with, seventeen ivory eyes, and a huge chest full of books written in tongues that Dany could not read. And more, and more, and more. Her people stacked it all before the slavers.

While the payment was being made, Kraznys mo Nakloz favored her with a few final words on the handling of her troops. “They are green as yet,” he said through Missandei. “Tell the whore of Westeros she would be wise to blood them early. There are many small cities between here and there, cities ripe for sacking. Whatever plunder she takes will be hers alone. Unsullied have no lust for gold or gems. And should she take captives, a few guards will suffice to march them back to Astapor. We’ll buy the healthy ones, and for a good price. And who knows? In ten years, some of the boys she sends us may be Unsullied in their turn. Thus all shall prosper.”

Finally there were no more trade goods to add to the pile. Her Dothraki mounted their horses once more, and Dany said, “This was all we could carry. The rest awaits you on the ships, a great quantity of amber and wine and black rice. And you have the ships themselves.[”] (ASOS Daenerys III)

We do get Kraznys's advice on what to do with the Unsullied, but we don't see the exchange of the trading goods happening in the TV show. Some might consider this a minor change, but it is, nonetheless, part of an overall pattern to reduce the extent of Dany's sacrifices to save the Unsullied.

Like in the books, show!Dany also asks Kraznys if the deal is done after she hands him the dragon and is given the whip. The way that show!Dany confirms that the Unsullied are now hers is different from the books, though:

She stood in her stirrups and raised the harpy’s fingers above her head for all the Unsullied to see. “IT IS DONE!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “YOU ARE MINE!” She gave the mare her heels and galloped along the first rank, holding the fingers high. “YOU ARE THE DRAGON’S NOW! YOU’RE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! IT IS DONE! IT IS DONE!” (ASOS Daenerys III)

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Forward march! Halt!

In a way, I actually like this change. That show!Dany makes a command (rather than just an announcement) that the Unsullied obey gives her (and the audience) even more assurance that they will remain faithful to her - she is being clever here.

My only quibbles are that:

In the books, Dany shouting that the deal is done and that the Unsullied are now hers is Dany making sure that they'll fight against their former masters when she offers them freedom. This ties back into her questions to Kraznys and Missandei about whether the Unsullied want (or even can) turn against their previous owners. In the show, as I said, making sure that they follow a command is a surer way to guarantee their allegiance, but it's not connected to any of the many hints that she'd eventually rebel like the moment from the books is.

In the books, we are supposed to be unsure about whether the Unsullied would take Dany's side or not (and it's important that we don't know until the very end), but I'll get to that in a second.

Another change is that, in the books, her advisors do not look surprised when they see her speaking to the Unsullied (we witness Missandei's surprise earlier in the chapter), only one of the masters do (while the others are too distracted to pay attention):

She glimpsed old Grazdan turn his grey head sharply. He hears me speak Valyrian. The other slavers were not listening. They crowded around Kraznys and the dragon, shouting advice. Though the Astapori yanked and tugged, Drogon would not budge off the litter. Smoke rose grey from his open jaws, and his long neck curled and straightened as he snapped at the slaver’s face. (ASOS Daenerys III)

While we're at it, remember how I mentioned in my reviews of 3.1 and 3.3 that the show writers tend to center on show!Jorah's perspective and make it the one we're supposed to relate to?

Like in episode 3.3, his reactions were conceived to mirror those of first-time viewers (and Benioff's):

“It’s a hallmark of a number of scenes in [A Storm of Swords] where, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming because George laid out all the pieces, he had given you all the clues,” Benioff said. “The best kind of surprises aren’t the ones that come out of nowhere. The best ones are where after you see it you’re asking yourself, ‘Why didn’t I see that was coming?’ I remember reading [Dany planning to give up Drogon to the slaver] and thinking, ‘Oh, this is kind of disappointing.’ When the real plan was revealed I think I even called [Weiss]. This was before we had met with George, when we were still trying to figure out if this show was possible. The culmination of that scene was one of those moments when we were like, ‘We got to make this f–king show.’ It was very gratifying seeing that wish fulfilled … I think it will be one of the most staggering things ever put on television.” (x)

It is, of course, problematic to prioritize the perspective of a male slaver over that of the female revolutionary who is the POV character in the books. It's also sad to see, even early on, that her male advisors were given priority over her. It just wasn't as noticeable because, despite everything, we were still supposed to be on her side rather than torn between her and her male advisors.

Like in the books, Drogon won't obey Kraznys, which leads Dany to tell him that "a dragon is no slave". Then, the sequence of events change.

In the books, Dany makes that statement, hits Kraznys in the face with the whip (as a payback for his whipping of the slaves and everything else he did in the previous chapter) and has Drogon breathe fire on him immediately after:

And Dany swept the lash down as hard as she could across the slaver’s face. Kraznys screamed and staggered back, the blood running red down his cheeks into his perfumed beard. The harpy’s fingers had torn his features half to pieces with one slash, but she did not pause to contemplate the ruin. “Drogon,” she sang out loudly, sweetly, all her fear forgotten. “Dracarys.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Chaos ensues in the Plaza. The masters shove one another as they attempt to escape, Viserion and Rhaegal are unchained (which doesn't happen in the show) and Dany's bloodriders and Belwas defeat the Astapori guards before they can do anything to help. Meanwhile, the Unsullied remain still. The master who heard Dany speaking Valyrian tries to order the Unsullied to attack her in vain:

“Unsullied! Defend us, stop them, defend your masters! Spears! Swords!”

When Rakharo put an arrow through his mouth, the slaves holding his sedan chair broke and ran, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground. The old man crawled to the first rank of eunuchs, his blood pooling on the bricks. The Unsullied did not so much as look down to watch him die. Rank on rank on rank, they stood.

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer. (ASOS Daenerys III)

This is why I said it was important that we didn't know that the Unsullied would be on Dany's side or not until the very end of the chapter. Not only that intensifies the tension, it also highlights that Dany's leap of faith ultimately paid off because the Unsullied were still willing to fight for their freedom. Kraznys might have said that they no longer had any desire of their own and weren't even worthy to be called men anymore, but the narrative ultimately proves him wrong: there is still enough strength of will in them to fight for their dignity. So, when the chapter closes on this note:

“Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air ... and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys!”

“Dracarys!” they shouted back, the sweetest word she’d ever heard. “Dracarys! Dracarys!” And all around them slavers ran and sobbed and begged and died, and the dusty air was filled with spears and fire. (ASOS Daenerys III)

It is all the more impactful because it reinforces that the Unsullied willingly took the opportunity that they were given to fight for their rights.

On HBO, after show!Dany says that "a dragon is not a slave", she doesn't attack Kraznys with the whip nor does she burn him via Drogon. Instead, this is what happens:

KRAZNYS: You speak Valyrian?

DAENERYS: I am Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria. Valyrian is my mother tongue.

As @mytly4 explains here, Dany's mother tongue in the books is not Valyrian in the books, but rather the Common Tongue of Westeros. My guess is that this mistake was made simply because they wanted to make it clear that show!Dany is sassy and completely outsmarted Kraznys. Don't get me wrong, I love to see Dany being a badass, but it was still a change made overlooking her characterization (which, sadly, is the pattern for the show writers).

Then, she orders the Unsullied to kill the masters and has Drogon burn Kraznys:

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who holds a whip, but harm no child. Strike the chains off every slave you see!

KRAZNYS: I am your master! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

DAENERYS: Dracarys.

The change in the order of events is a problem here. As I just explained, the books make this moment about the Unsullied: when they refused to obey and then responded to Dany's order, it meant that they decided to fight for themselves. On the other hand, in the show, Dany gives the Unsullied the order before their former master attempts to have them obey him once more, so their act of defiance from the books:

The Unsullied did not so much as look down to watch him die. Rank on rank on rank, they stood.

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer. (ASOS Daenerys III)

Is impossible to happen in the show. This change makes the show scene culminate in this point:

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who holds a whip, but harm no child. Strike the chains off every slave you see!

KRAZNYS: I am your master! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

DAENERYS: Dracarys.

When it should have culminated in this one:

“Unsullied! Defend us, stop them, defend your masters! Spears! Swords!”

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer.

To summarize what's happening above:

Books: Master Grazdan tries to get the Unsullied to his side, but they choose not to => Dany commands the Unsullied to attack the masters => Dany says dracarys and the Unsullied shout it back

Show: Show!Dany commands the Unsullied to attack the masters => Kraznys tries to get the Unsullied to his side => Show!Dany says dracarys

As I just said, it was important that Dany would give the Unsullied the order to attack the masters only after they decided to not remain on the masters' side - this reinforces that the scene is not only about Dany, but also about the Unsullied's newfound agency. On HBO, the scene where show!Dany gives them the order happens before Kraznys tries to have them to get them to his side, so it becomes less about them and simply serves as a buildup to Dany saying dracarys and burning him.

Speaking of dracarys, as one can see in the quote above, the word is associated with freedom in the books. This intertwines Dany's mhysa identity (the part of Dany that wants to protect the freedmen and give them freedom) with her mother of dragons identity (the part of Dany that birthed the dragons and said dracarys). That's only fitting since, as @yendany said to me in a conversation, Dany was acting as mhysa way before she was hailed as one. On HBO, dracarys will be remembered simply as the word that show!Dany used to burn Kraznys (which happens in the books, of course, but the most relevant part is cut). Changing the order of the events overfocuses on show!Dany's "capacity for cruelty" (as Weiss puts it) which was not the point in the books.

Also, as @yendany notes in this meta, many of Dany's servants were seen actively helping her during the slave revolt. In the show, their roles are transferred to the Unsullied while her entourage reacts to the events passively and seemingly with apprehension:

While partly triumphant, the song "Dracarys" also hits dark notes that signal show!Dany's so called "capacity for cruelty", which is not at all supposed to be the purpose of the scene in the books. There, the author cuts the action in the middle of it because the point is not to highlight the violence and how ~wrong~ it is, but rather the adrenaline one feels in the midst of a successful and rightful slave rebellion. These statements from Frederick Douglass that GRRM recently posted in Not A Blog only further strengthen this reading:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

On HBO, on the other hand, having show!Dany order the Unsullied to attack earlier leads to the audience witnessing the slaughter of more people than in the books (which cuts the action). Again, this deviates from the main thematic intent of the scene. That's not to say that Dany did things perfectly in Astapor - we'll see negative consequences on ASOS Daenerys VI, when we find out that her council was deposed for the sake of the Butcher King. Here, however, Dany is doing the right thing. One can still interpret the show scene as such, don't get me wrong, but it rubs me the wrong way that the show writers would rather talk about this scene as one that indicates show!Dany's "capacity for cruelty" or how she is "becoming more and more viable as a threat". Also, in light of the show's ending, the scene becomes even worse: because show!Dany is killing Ghiscari characters, the show asks us to root for her. When she eventually kills Westerosi characters, on the other hand, she (and the Unsullied and the Dothraki) will be the villains.

DAENERYS: You have been slaves all your life. Today you are free. Any man who wishes to leave may leave, and no one will harm him. I give you my word. Will you fight for me? As free men?

This part of the scene was an addition from the show writers. It's a good one on its own. To begin on a positive note, we see show!Dany explicitly freeing the Unsullied, promising that none of them is forced to stay with her and wanting them to fight for her because they want to fight for her. This erases any doubt that show!Dany didn't free show!Missandei in the previous episode (which didn't show Dany immediately freeing her like in the books).

That being said, there are still issues when you compare what happens in the final scene of the episode with what happens in canon. In the books, as I said, the Unsullied are seen willingly rebelling against their former masters when they ignore Grazdan's order. In the show, while this final scene still features the Unsullied making their own choices, it doesn't have the same impact because they weren't shown choosing a different path even when they had another one just as viable (similar to how the negotiation scene on HBO took away show!Dany's alternatives and undermined her altruism).

One could argue that there was another viable path in the show scene too: they could have left. However, considering that the option of staying with your master (which is the one the books presented) would be much easier and that the books deliberately complicate how much of a choice the former slaves really have even after being freed ... I would say that the scene does lose part of the impact. In other words:

Books: Do I stay with my former masters? VS Do I fight for my freedom?

Show: Do I stay as a freedman with Dany? VS Do I leave?

One dilemma is about their freedom, the other is about whether they join Dany or not. This change ties back into others I've addressed in previous episodes, namely how the show writers have overfocused on Dany's need to get an army.

Second, I don't like that it's implied that show!Dany leaves Astapor in the same day that she sacked it (she's still wearing the same clothes she wore during the sack of Astapor and it's evening). It gives weight to the superficial read (that ignores her entire characterization, of course) that she primarily wanted an army and freeing the slaves was convenient. In the books, I highly doubt that she left in the same day. Since we know that she left the city with a new government, she must have spent some time there choosing (or letting the freedmen choose) which freedmen she would support as the new leaders:

Dany had left Astapor in the hands of a council of former slaves led by a healer, a scholar, and a priest. Wise men all, she thought, and just. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

We'll find out in episode 4.5 that show!Dany did the same thing, sure, but, on its own, the scene makes it seem that she just sacked the city and left.

Third, we don't see the Astapori freedmen following her like in the books:

Yet even so, tens of thousands preferred to follow her to Yunkai, rather than remain behind in Astapor. I gave them the city, and most of them were too frightened to take it. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

For all the show writers will say that they cared about showing the viewpoint of the lowborn when they had show!Dany burn King's Landing, they sure as hell didn't care about it before.

Fourth, I've seen people argue that the timing of show!Dany's rejection of the whip means that she is doing what she's doing for self-interest. In their opinion, she should have discarded it before she had the Unsullied attack the masters and before she asked them to fight for her. That's another stupid misreading that would have been easily fixed if the show writers had had show!Dany use the whip against the master and thrown it away earlier like in the books.

Fifth, it's certainly gorgeous to see the dragons at the end of the scene, but it also makes me resentful considering that the show writers think Dany is overdependent on them and her advisors (so much so that they thought that she had to learn to be self-reliant in season two):

Weiss: This whole season is really the season where Dany learns the lesson of self-reliance, she's never, it's a very painful lesson for her to learn, I mean, she's lost all her people, she's lost her husband, she's lost her bloodriders. The temptation for her has always been to lean on someone else, a man of one kind or another. So, I think for her, what she's learning in this episode, especially, is that she can't trust in other people, ultimately, she ends up in a place where she needs to do things for herself and she needs to do things that nobody in the world could possibly do, except her.

Benioff: Dany is so defined by her dragons, they're so much a part at this point, they define her so much that when they're taken from her, it's almost like she reverts to the pre-dragon Daenerys, you know, everyone is a bit defined by who they were when they were an adolescent, you know, no matter how old you get, no matter how powerful you get, and Daenerys was a scared, timid, abused adolescent and I think when her dragons are taken for her, all those feelings, all those memories and emotions are triggered and come back and all the confidence that she's won over the last several months, it's as if that just evaporates and she's back to being a really frightened little girl. (Inside the Episode, 2.6)

None of this, of course, is true in the books, hence why I've been writing a series of metas to show how Dany's choices and actions are her own. Heck, even in this episode, the dragons barely play a role. Drogon was the bait, sure, but Dany's plan was all hers.

While one can appreciate the final scene simply for what it is, it's important to have in mind that it is informed by the misconception that Dany is "nothing without her dragons".

My comments on the Inside the Episode 3.4

Weiss: We never really got this, a sense of her capacity for cruelty. She's surrounded by people who are terrible people, but haven't done anything to her personally, and it's interesting to me that, as the sphere of her empathy widens, the sphere of her cruelty widens as well.

Benioff: I think she becomes harder to dismiss, you know, for a long time people have been saying, even if she was alive, you know, really, the only threat she poses is her name, she's a Targaryen, great, but she's a little girl in the edge of the world, so she's starting to knock on people's doors a little bit.

Weiss: All at once she becomes a major force to be reckoned with, she spent a lot of time kind of banging her fists on the doors and declaring that she was owed the Iron Throne by right, but now she's stepped in her own as a conqueror.

Weiss: I've already written on how the dichotomy of mhysa and mother of dragons doesn't actually exist in the way people like Weiss talk about. In fact as I said above, this scene in Astapor actually merges these two identities. Also, while I was complaining to @rainhadaenerys about what D&D were saying, she called attention to how stupid it is that he is saying that show!Dany is cruel for harming people who "haven't done anything to her personally". This informs the show's framing of the Starks taking Winterfell back or show!Sansa's killing of Ramsay or show!Arya's killing of the Freys as "righteous" while show!Dany's pursuit of the Iron Throne was seen as "bad".

Benioff: His observation about the episode showing how "Dany is becoming more and more viable as a threat" misses the point because, in the books, the scene is not framed negatively in a way that makes us focus on and/or question the violence. Instead, it is framed triumphantly as the Unsullied get to make their own choices and Dany's draconic force is associated with freedom. Also, it's infuriating that he thought that "the only threat she poses is her name, she's a Targaryen" until the sack of Astapor, for we already had lots of moments in which Dany displayed her intelligence and political skills before it happened.

Show!Dany’s clothes

This is what Dany wears in the exchange scene:

Today she rode her silver, clad in horsehair pants and painted leather vest, a bronze medallion belt about her waist and two more crossed between her breasts. Irri and Jhiqui had braided her hair and hung it with a tiny silver bell whose chime sang of the Undying of Qarth, burned in their Palace of Dust. (ASOS Daenerys III)

I appreciate how the single bell is mentioned to indicate Dany's confidence:

“Drogon,” she sang out loudly, sweetly, all her fear forgotten. “Dracarys.”

It will be mentioned again in the next chapter (where she will have one more bell after her victory in Astapor) when she is talking to the mercenaries and when she rides to meet her children:

“They will not hurt me,” she told him. “They are my children, Jorah.” She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

Not only the bells give Dany confidence (the way her Targaryen heritage does) in ASOS, they also come up in these moments in which she is embracing her mhysa identity by giving her people the agency they didn't have. This is very fitting; as this meta notes:

Khal Drogo is, admittedly, a surprising model for a lefty revolutionary to pattern herself on, but I think the important thing is less his example, and more that he and his khalasar provided her with a new set of rules to explore herself within. Knowing them gave her permission to live among her people, putting on the face she needed to guide them to safety, and to allow herself to be called upon through a criteria other than blood and birthright.

While it's true that the Dothraki culture is rooted in violence and misogyny, it's also true that it helped to shape Dany's sense of equality. That's why it's appropriate that the bells are ringing in these moments from ASOS and will ring once again in TWOW. As @yendany aptly said to me, Dany gave up on being both mhysa and mother of dragons when she allied herself with the slavers (even if she thought she was doing the right thing for the freedmen). On the other hand, by re-embracing her Dothraki roots and her identity as the mother of dragons, Dany will be able to truly protect her children and be their mhysa.

On HBO, show!Dany is still wearing the blue dress, this time with a cape:

I couldn't find any interview from Clapton or anyone else explaining why that cape was added. @rainhadaenerys's guess is that she wanted to have show!Dany look like a superhero, which is a good one, though it's questionable since she couldn't remember show!Dany having ever done anything that is not necessarily for personal gain until season seven.

What actually impressed (and delighted) me was to realize how show!Dany's and show!Missandei's outfits are made to resemble each other starting from this episode until the end of the series:

I'm not sure how these similarities were designed to tie into show!Dany's characterization since both the show writers and Clapton misunderstand the character she's based off. That being said, if you choose to not take their word into consideration (and that's more than possible, considering the vast amount of show canon evidence that there is to support show!Dany in the last season), I would say that they highlight how show!Dany, like her book counterpart, also desires equality for everyone.

#daenerys targaryen #asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #a storm of swords #missandei #asoiaf vs got #asos vs got #s3

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