#(also. HEARING DRAGON HECK YEAH)

[twstjam]

First Years Shenanigans at a Malleyuu Wedding

As much as I have Malleyuu Thoughts I'm also constantly thinking about First Years Gang so there's frequent overlap between the two, so have some Typical Wedding Goes Wrong Trope thoughts I had featuring the beloved First Years and many shenanigans.

Malleyuu wedding centered around the First Years making sure the wedding is going to go smoothly. So much shit is going wrong and they're trying desperately to fix them all without Malleus or Yuu finding out.

Sebek is freaking out the whole time, Ace and Deuce are mixing up each other's jobs, Jack is the only sane one, and Epel who is helping Yuu get ready is trying his best to focus on distracting them instead of running out there (he's still a tough farm boy through and through but a lot of things have gotta stuck after all those years at Pomefiore and under Vil's tutelage). Ortho is the only one who is even marginally helpful (as long as his gear somehow doesn't break that is)

I've got this image of Malleus summoning Sebek in the middle of all the chaos to have a bit of a heart-to-heart with him, thanking him for his years of service and friendship with Yuu, but meanwhile, Sebek is trying desperately to keep his composure because the entire time Malleus is speaking all kinds of nonsense and shenanigans is happening behind him.

I can also see Epel working with the other hairdressers, makeup artists, etc. (Maybe Crewel is there too because heck yeah father figure!Crewel helping Yuu get dressed for their wedding) on Yuu and Ace suddenly smacking into the window.

Yuu: Did you hear something? Epel: *making sure Yuu doesn't turn around and see Ortho trying to unstick Ace from the window* Prob'ly just the wind.

There's also a subplot going on that makes keeping everything a secret exponentially harder where Malleus keeps trying to run off to go see Yuu because his Dragon Clinginess is acting up and Lilia if he's still alive along with Silver and other servants are doing their best to keep him in his room and also make sure he gets ready in time for the wedding (and also bcs of the bad luck abt seeing each other before the wedding thing)

Sort of like the Tangled wedding short, by the time all the problems are solved Yuu and Malleus look at their friends and are shocked by their various disheveled states.

I also think it'd be funny if Maleficia is also there and she's completely Aware of all the nonsense going on and is mildly amused by it. Though she's not exactly working together with the boys she's calmly helping them fix certain things with a wave of her hand behind her back and also helping distract Malleus.

None of them knew she was in on it until the end of the actual wedding where she casually mentions to the newlyweds about the "issues" with the preparations and the two of them exchange confused looks while Yuu's friends freeze and break out into a sweat.

Ngl I kind of forgot about Grim agshdgdj. I imagine that he's getting ready WITH Yuu, getting his coat all groomed and stuff, but it takes less time and he walks in on the others and the messes they're trying to fix and he's like "MYAH!! If Yuu and Tusnotarou find out about this they're gonna FREAK!!" "We KNOW! Instead of standing there and complaining why don't you help us out instead?!" (-Ace, probably)

Helps distract Malleus and Yuu by clinging to them, making demands, lying about things like his outfit feeling uncomfortable or his coat needing a better brushing. I've got this image of Ace picking him up and rubbing him all over the betrotheds' wedding outfits to get cat hair all over them.

Grim: UNHAND ME!!! Sebek: TRAPPOLA?! Wh-What are you doing?! Ace: Trust me, this is gonna buy us tons of time!

In the end, the wedding goes smoothly. Sebek cries ofc, so does Deuce, Jack denies getting emotional, Epel too but less insistently, Ortho is being all sweet and soft and mushy about it, and Ace is making fun of them all but very lightheartedly :)

[scara-meow-che]

Dainsleif's dick being infused with abyss energy(?) like his arm-

Like yea Tartaglia's last form's dick, yeah Ito's oni dick, yeah zhongli's dragoon dick,but what of Dain???? That shit must be magical 😩

⦿ 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 ┃ eyes up here princess with dainsleif

CW. NSFW (MDNI), big dick! dain, fem! reader, use of words (princess), established relationship, teasing, first-time sex, implied oral, sex w/out penetration (thigh job and dick job? is that even a thing? idk, just read it to find out), dirty talk, magical dick (i am NOT sorry), mention of abyss princess lumine

AN. the new archon quest 🧍🏻‍♀️ it felt like a fever dream and it's a whole ass year again before we get to see this man so i am making it my mission to let him and his abyss-energy-fused dick live in my mind rent-free. also, if the anon that sent me this is still here to witness me posting this, hello :D this took me by surprise bcs i planned it to be short but here we are ig

it wasn't every day that you get dain's attention all to yourself.

you would often see him somewhere, busy, as always. sometimes, you would find yourself conversing with a few locals when dain tries to do things on his own as he would reason out that it's for your own safety. or you'd be up and about some part of the region searching for the abyss princess as to what he currently puts as his top priority.

these repeating turn of events would, most of the time, make you question whether you really matter to him seeing as he's always invested in things unrelated to you or what interests you. you don't ask too much from him but sometimes, a little attention would be nice, or have him answer all the questions that run inside your head.

yet, when dain would see that familiar expression painting your face as you make your bed for the night, he would put everything on hold and indulge more in what you'd request. he does make up for you, well, you have no complaints when he does because he'd always be there in a heartbeat for every beck and call.

hence why you're laid out on your bed, legs spread out with him toying with your already sore clit.

the idea of having sex had never once danced in between each conversation you'd have with dain. you'd rather spend the time to catch up on each other's day and sort out a route to where you both want to go next. it never fazed you when some people asked how your relationship with dain is going, not even bothered when some old women from liyue dramatically gasped as you've never been that intimate with your lover.

as the tension builds up throughout the months of overhearing people gossiping about their partners or be the victim of a drunk local telling you the tale of their sexual escapades, it draws out some images in your head. would dain be like the same as those oni's you've heard about? or have an impressive length similar to this one tale about a dragon lord? heck, would he have a dick that grows unrealistically big just like with the harbinger that you've heard about?

but who fucking cares anyway? you're about to get the real deal right now.

"what a curious mind you have there, princess." dain mindlessly mused as he press soft kisses along your thighs, leaving you breathless as he presses himself closer to your aching core. you can feel the heat from the big hard tent on his pants as he rubs himself to the dampness of your cunt. "i thought that eating you out could already satiate your pretty little head but you still want... what? what is it that you want from me again?"

he taunts, amused when he hears a cry from your disheveled form. "ah, didn't i say to tell me if you want something?"

"but it's embarrassing to say it!" you can't even fully reason out how humiliating it is for you to casually ask him that you want to see his dick as you let out another moan when he lightly thrusts his clothed cock on your core. he doesn't even let up, continuing his cruel pace in rubbing his aching dick on your already sensitive clit.

"p-please! i just, a-ah, want to see your d-dick!"

"say what again, princess?"

having enough of his teasing, you went to give your best in bending your body just to reach the big tent on his pants. "i want to see your dick dain and... i want you to fuck me, please."

you can feel a rush of heat all over your skin, your eyes quickly darting to the side to avoid dain's amused pair. a chuckle was all you heard before you felt his hands gently laying you down back to bed. in response to his pleased titter, you scoffed and gave him a quick glare.

"i'm sorry but you're just irresistible when you're so honest with me." he paused as he takes a sharp intake of air when he pulls out his leaking cock from the confines of his pants.

your eyes widen at the sight. no, it's not because he's as big as what you heard like the one of an oni or he has that delicious curve like that of the dragon cock but it's because the hue is unlike any other, the dark blue pulses as beads of white litters on the tip. fuck, when dain gave his dick a quick stroke, you can see how it grew a bit larger in his palm.

you drool just by imagining how it would feel inside of you.

"eyes up here, princess." he gave your thighs a light smack, pulling your attention back up before you felt the cockhead rubbing so gingerly on your little nub, smearing your cum on your lower lips.

"you're so eager for me, huh?" he can feel you trembling the more he pays attention to your aching core, gliding the head back and forth your lower lips, enough to push the head inside your hole but easy for him to just pull right back out. he's testing out the waters, waiting for more of your reactions and he could only see you enjoying yourself being please with the tip of his dick.

"just look at you, so wet and ready for me." and you are, feeling your arousal pool and spill right out of your needy hole while dain keeps making a mess out of it. your hips desperately buck right up, chasing for the head but he kept you pinned down on the soft mattress as he continues teasing you.

"dain, please, want to feel more of you." your hand went to grab his arms, giving it a light squeeze that you knew would get him to listen to you.

but it did the complete opposite.

"didn't you say that you want to see my dick?"

before you could argue back, dain had gently straightened both your legs upward, his strong arms locking you in place before pushing the dark blue cockhead in between your thighs. "been wanting to do this for so long," he uttered with a low groan, his body shivering when he thrusts his cock in the middle of your soft flesh, the rushed and hasty movements of the head prods at your clit. "you look so pretty like this, just letting me use you."

you gasped for air when he purposely prods at your puckering hole, angling his abyss-energy-fused cock to dive in and out of your thighs. your eyes caught a glimpse of how each streak of white glow, the nerves pulsing as he ruts himself so needily on you.

"so keep your pretty eyes on me and maybe, if you managed to do so, i might just give you what you want."

and you did, you desperately tried your best to keep looking at dain and just watching how he use your thighs to get off. it was a rare sight to see dain lose himself, tottering over the warmth and softness that covers his dick.

at first, he was scared that he might scare you off, thinking how unusual his cock looks. compared to what he thought you'd prefer to see in between your legs, about to rail the innocence out of you, his was far off the scales.

but when he saw your eyes almost sparkled when he pulled out his dick, hands so damn eager to touch him, and both your lips spilling out how much you want more of him just sends him over the edge. his pace quickened the more he stares at your needy form, enjoying the way your eyes fluttered close whenever he brushed against your hole before proceeding in sliding his cock back on your thighs.

"i'm so close, fuck, you feel so good 'round me like this, princess." and fuck, yes, you can feel more of his pre-cum ooze around the head and coats more of your already slick skin. it felt so dirty, so filthy to watch him fuck himself with your thighs and you felt dirtier when you were enjoying how his large dick, fused with the same abyss energy as his arm, slides back and forth your thighs.

"cum for me please," you whispered, urging your lover to release his load on your skin. within seconds, dain stopped his thrusts as he buried his cock between your legs, pressing it tighter as he shoots his load on your flesh, slowly having the thick globs of his cum drip down on your core.

while dain goes to steady his breathing, you went to open up your legs to see how much cum had covered your body, the scent of sex causing your head to fizzle out that you had nothing in your mind but the need to see his dick filling you up.

dainsleif was shocked when you went to reach out for his cock, the keenness in your eyes captivating as you focused on his dick.

"wanna see how it looks as you fuck me." your request came like a cry, a whimper of desperation. and you can feel the way dain's dick twitched on your hand.

you're going to be the death of him.

⠀⠀scara-meow-che © 2023 ┃ do not copy, modify, or repost ANY of my content

[celaenaeiln]

it’s a me a 12 am anon . my girlfriend and i had a discussion abt how odd it is that the fandom views and stereotypes the batfam like

dick is romanian and has more fem related traits and somehow it translates into him being a dumb womanizer or just an annoying mother hen?

jason grew up in the streets, i think its popular to hc him as hispanic? idk but jts odd how ppl do that and also think hes an angry heartless brute

cass gets that “badass asian dragon lady” archetype (tbh im not sure what it is but my gf is passionate abt it so like im confident she’s right)

tim?? somehow ive seen wasian hcs for him but the boy is autistic right? somehow a stereotype i see for him is like “weird and socially awkward but super smart” which . i dont think thats right .

steph is adhd right? i think? also falls into the dumb “waffles r my only personality trait” stereotype and uts just a tiny bit odd dyou see it?

damian (and by extension talia) gets done dirty a lot i think i dont .yeah

nyways sorry its been a while <3 would llve to hear ur thoughts n opinions

hey again!!

Batfam fanon is...not great. And it's things like this that remind me why I kinda avoided this fandom until I couldn't.

Dick

Dick is Romani and is canonically more feminized but the dumb womanizer thing is really getting on my nerves. First of all, he's one of the smartest characters, ever. The comforting thing about Dick is that he never loses.

The reason I love reading Dick Grayson runs is because I can read about his thought process, the way he analyzes, how he single-handedly solves crime like it's nothing.

Batman (1940) Issue #703

Secondly he's not a womanizer. He literally has a mental break down at the thought of dating or even kissing someone he isn't in love with. He's never, ever, ever going to sleep with someone he doesn't have atleast some level of romantic attraction to because he feels it's inherently wrong and canonically frowns upon that behavior when others do it.

The mother hen thing - I gotta admit is kinda accurate. He really loves his family and friends and takes care of them really well. He always makes time to sit and listen to all of them with all their problems and helps them solve it so that's fine.

Jason

The hispanic thing - what the actual heck. Literally why? Jason's "hispanic" fanon background along with Tim's "asian" background comes from a wider problem where society has become disillusioned by the same ethnicity for all characters and wants for diversity and representation in the media. I actually do believe in greater representation but not here. When people make Jason hispanic due to his street backstory, they're attempting to diversify canonically white characters but accidentally reinforcing and perpetrating damaging stereotypes about particular ethnicities. Because his background has drugs, poverty, and crime - you want Jason to be Latino? Can you possibly make things worse? And Jason being an angry heartless brute. Not even adding to the stereotype, Jason was not like that. Jason originally started off as troubled but excited kid. He was happy about fighting criminals and having a home and getting food. As he grew older, the more criminals he fought, he came to a realization that people weren't going to change which is when he started getting more violent and angry with them. He didn't do it because he was some sort of psychopath, it's because he cared a lot about the effects these criminals were having on innocent people. Because he can relate. His anger has nothing to do with his supposed "hispanic" background which is still - ?!?!? Why is this even a thing.

Cass

I don't really have anything to say about Cass being that archetype because tbh I kinda think of her like that too. She's exceptionally good at fighting, she's chinese, and she's the strong and silent type. I'd love to hear more about what your gf thinks about it though.

Tim

Again about Tim being Asian. No where near as damaging as Jason being classified Hispanic but also why? He's asian because he's smart? Because he's good at computers? C'mon the stereotype is boring. Isn't it exciting when you watch a movie or show and the Indian guy isn't an IT specialist? Or when the Chinese girl has neon highlights and loves partying? Or when the Japanese girl is rocking combat boots? The best way to appreciate diversity is actually letting ethnic characters have diverse personalities and talents. On a side note, there is not nearly enough celebration of already canonically diverse characters like Roy's navajo heritage or Jessica Cruz's latina one. Isn't it ironic how we're making racialized characters based on stereotypes because we believe there should be more diversity but ignoring canonically ethnic ones. Literally noone talks about Cass connecting to her Chinese side or the fact that she has dyslexia but we're readily jumping on the Asian Tim Drake train.

Autistic Tim Drake I can see where they're coming from because Tim sometimes has a hard time connecting to people. Like he sometimes misses social cues. And to be fair this theory actually has more credibility than some other ones because I don't know if I'd pass that off as awkwardness. But it also may be due to lack of human interaction. Tim's parents left him alone for long periods of time which he gleefully used to track robin and batman at night. I don't have a problem with this one because Tim may actually be inadvertently written as autistic at times so I guess it wouldn't be that far off canon.

Steph

People with ADHD are typically impulsive, don't focus on one thing for too long, and have a lot of energy which is very much like Steph.

Batgirl (2009) Issue #10

But mostly she just has a sense of humor. Which - like the case with Dick - because of course people can't be multifaceted, fandom generally takes for stupidity.

She's not dumb, she's just fun. I guess the waffle thing is because of human beings' pathological need to classify everything into categories and fanon likes to run with dumb blonde for Stephanie which really ticks me off. People can not be a gloomy avenger and still be smart. She solves her crimes and has a laugh while doing it and still pulling off the -

Batgirl (2009) Issue #12

Damian

Where do I start. What is even happening to him? Not in fandom necessarily but canon. What is DC doing???

[malleusarcanum]

⚠️: Piss her!

Ace: My arms are going to give up! *Holding 3 boxes*

Deuce: This is far heavier! *Holding 8 history books*

Mc: Hey! We could use a little help here!! *Dropped the small table* *Yelled to Leona who is sitting at the corner*

Leona: Zzzzzz

Mc: Don't dare make a false sleep!!!!

Sebek: Duties couldn't be accomplished if you use your megaphonic mouth, human.

Mc: Atleast this megaphone is more useful than that lazy slacker over there! *Pointed at silver who slept at the desk*

Lilia: He's tired. He's even charming to look while dozing off.

Ruggie: That's the chair I was looking for... Nah to heavy if someone adds his weight

Lilia:....

Mc: ......

Lilia: Let's get movi'n!

Vil: My beauty will be destroyed by those dusk--what the---achoo! *Jade rubbed his face with feather duster*

Rook: Roi de Poison!! How could you do that!

Jade: Oh! My mistake, I thought I saw a huge termite.

*Vil stared with murderous intent*

Floyd: ah?! *Box fell off including the things inside*

Jack: It's not that bad *complimented the painting that Floyd just stepped*

Mc: Moana Lisa?!!!!

Grim: Funyah? it has some rad shoe prints, cool glow-up.

Epel: After putting everything here, let's pack up. My gut says we'll be expelled.

*Cater clicked phone and flashed*

Cater: as our last photo *selfie again and posed*

Idia: This is too heavy, my bones are disappearing.

Ortho: Big bro, you only lift one empty vase. This is the reason why you need to cut off being absorbed on gadgets, you definitely need exercise.

Idia: thinking about it may kill me already

Kalim: I give up!!!! Jamil!! Lift me!! *Unable to reach high shelf to put the trophy*

Jamil: you know what's easier?

Kalim:?

Jamil: Bring it home.

Kalim: Great idea!

*Jamil grinned*

Trey: Don't even think about it.

*Heard the book shelf collapsed, everyone turned*

Riddle: Great now we destroyed public property, thanks to Malleus.

*Mc sighed*

Malleus: *Looked at everyone* I may have pushed the box aggressively. I didn't expect a destruction.

*Everyone startled*

Floyd: Awesome!! Let's get in Shrimpy!

*Dragged Mc*

*Behind the collapsed bookshelf is a tunnel with torches beside the walls as light source*

*Everyone went in*

*********

Azul: *arranged glasses, observed a rectangular technology, with sound source at the side and a pen with big black sphere*

Mc: Wow! A kareoke!

Everyone: *exchanged glances* Karwha?

Mc: its a singing machine. *Pushed the button and it turned on*

Idia: where is their electrical source?

Mc: Don't know but this will be fun! *Played a song*

Mc demonstrated but before the lyrics starts they snatched the microphone.

🎶Trey: First, think first

Mc: The heck?!

🎶Ace: He'll no! Say what are those inside your head

🎶Kalim: I'm fired up, not tired of ruining her day oh-oooh

Running her day oh-oooh*

Mc: guys the lyrics is already there!!!!

*Everyone shushed her*

🎶Jamil: Second, wait a sec!

🎶Floyd: Don't you dare me when I call you shrimpy!

🎶Grim: No! I'm the one, greater mage.

hench-man belongs to me oh-ooohh

Tuna, dinner for me oh-oooh

Mc covered ears

🎶Leona: You're also better as maid *winked*

🎶Ruggie: taking his orders every breaks

🎶Jade & Deuce: Writing my assignments, would be cool!

Hey, Don't glare at me, kill me, attacking me...

🎶Sebek: using your punching karate

🎶Epel: Take this message from me

🎶Riddle: Speaking profanity everyday

🎶Azul: Hearing those is a

🎶Jack: pain!

🎶Cater: it's really fun when your are mad. let's piss her, piss her!

*Mc curled fist*

🎶Sebek, Silver & Lilia: Lame!

🎶Malleus: I much prefer my Child of man to kiss her, kiss her *bit lip*

*Mc blushed*

(pain!

Oh let the bullet's fly.....) (Part)

🎶Ortho: Lame.....

🎶Idia: I'll cuddle you at night and those cold rains. *Pointed mc*

*mc's heart beats fast*

🎶Vil: Apple my love, my wife you drive me *air kiss*

*Mc almost melted*

🎶Rook & Epel: Insane!

🎶Ace & Kalim: Look at her, tomato red. Let's piss her, yeah piss her!

*After a while*

Mc: Let's wait your score

Everyone:?

Mc: your song will be graded from 0 to 100. But I doubt you'll reach perfect that fuc--

Crowley: How did you got in my secret place?!!!!!!

Everyone blinked

Ortho: this is yours?

Crowley: Never mind!!! Get out *pushed them out*

Kalim: The score!

Crowley: all of your scores will go below the belt if you don't get out. *Slammed the door closed of the stock room*

*Crowley went back to turn it off but before it*

Kareoke: 100 Wow! You are a great singer

Crowley: Holy moly?!!! H-how?!!!

[sarnai4]

Friend For All

This is something I've been thinking about for a while now. In my opinion, Dagur is the only character who could actually have an amazing time hanging out with every member of the Dragon Riders. I don't even think the Riders themselves can say that. Please, hear me out. I know they're friends, but they're a friend group. This is an important distinction because how often do you really see Fishlegs and the twins just having a ball together? (That "wedding" doesn't count because the poor Ingerman was not enjoying himself.) What about Snotlout and Astrid just genuinely having fun without anyone else there? You really don't get that. So, I'll try to explain why I think Dagur could do this. (Spoilers probably. I'll just use the warning to be safe.)

Dagur and the twins could have chaotic fun. It's probably unsafe for anyone around them, but no one else is matching their pure insanity. All three of them have this combination of sometimes just doing things to mess with people or just doing something that then causes problems by accident. Still, I think they'd have fun. They can try to out prank each other (think Loki Day). They also still know how to be serious when the time absolutely calls for it, so they could have less silly times too. Ultimately, I think their best times together would be when they're just causing heck for the world and laughing together about what they've done.

Dagur and Astrid could enjoy the more warrior/protector side of life. I think there would be a healthy competition. Astrid was in charge of keeping the Edge secure with defenses and Dagur snuck on several times. He might even end up being the tester for her new security systems. I could see her trying to make things to keep him out and him being fine seeing how close to death he comes while still trying to break in. Also, since Astrid's got that drill sergeant thing going on that we saw in "Team Astrid," I could see her being curious what types of training he has his soldiers do. They might even trade ideas back and forth to have the strongest fighters.

Dagur and Fishlegs is a friendship I have wanted to see more of ever since "Family on the Edge." They were so adorable geeking out together about Gronckles. They're such an odd buddy duo because they seem like complete opposites, but I think it could work. Fishlegs wanted a spa area and are we really going to say Dagur wouldn't love that? Mr. Meditation and Fruit Baths? Yeah, he'd happily tag along for a spa day. Then, they can geek out more about Gronckles or other things like this. A personal headcanon I have which adds to this is I believe Dagur is pretty well-read. There are little things like him knowing about the third eye, French, how to make the antidote for Nadder venom when he got shot (since they didn't have dragons on Berserker Island), etc. So, I feel like he and Fishlegs might have more things to nerd over than most assume. Dagur even was impressed by Fishlegs's thirst for knowledge. Maybe they could discuss the different topics they've read and studied. Study buddies! (Sorta)

Dagur and Snotlout are a duo I think would be amazing. Like with Fishlegs, there were episodes where I just knew I wanted more of them together. Seeing them fight off traitorous Berserkers, then start providing commentary to Hicctrid in "Mi Amore Armorwing" were some great moments to me. The reason I think they could work is that I feel like they'd be good influences on each other. (Actually, I already have a story out on AO3 that dives into this called "Means We're Friends.") Dagur is himself and always will be. Even in RTTE, there's a part of Snotlout who still wants to be who others...namely Spitelout...think he should be. Dagur could help him learn to just be whoever he really is and not care what anyone else says. Also, Snotlout is more sensitive than he'd ever admit, so I think he'd be able to help Dagur in those moments when the Berserker is just clearly not picking up on how to respond properly in situations to avoid weirding everyone out. They could also do a bunch of sparring together too and get into random things for fun like how Snotlout started narrating Tuffnut's search for Chicken. I definitely think Dagur would've joined in on that.

Dagur and Hiccup...well, of course. They're brothers and friends, so that's a given. These two are going on the wildest adventures because Hiccup will never really stay put and Dagur would get bored if he did. There's that fun protective side too. Anyone around them knows that if they mess with Hiccup, they're dying in the most horrific ways possible. Plus, we'd have to throw in some big brother advice moments from Dagur to help Hiccup out with becoming a chief in the future. We've seen the redhead offer advice to Hiccup before with not letting revenge consume him. We've also seen Hiccup offer some comfort with things like their search for Oswald. So, you'd get the more adventurous/fun side of the friendship along with the more serious moments.

On Monday, I'm going to publish a series of oneshots set both in and out of their universe to show how these relationships could work. Considering Monday is April Fool's, I just knew which group I had to start with...(It's out now and called "Just One of the Riders.")

[youuuimeanmee]

I read your post on Arnold & Aleister Crowley along with Covenia being the SxF equivalent of Romania. I looked up some Romanian folklore & found something called the Solomonari/Solomonars which are dragon-riding wizards said to control the weather. Not only that, but they're also stated to be red-headed. Aside from Handler, Anya is the only one we've seen with red (or in this case pink) hair.

Plus the name Covenia sounds pretty similar to "Coven" which is a group of witches & one of the names that people in Anya's past called her was a witch. Could Arnold be under the belief that Anya is a Solomonar (or in training) not just for her Classical Language skills but also for her hair color?

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

While I do think this is certainly a very interesting finding, I'm currently debating whether I should expand my "Covenia=irlRomania" theory or not. (maybe i shouldnt, cus im not a romanian)

Maybe because I just stumbled on florida.florian on Youtube — in which, he debunks plenty of Romanian misrepresentation in the media — that I realized, maybe this whole "Gypsies/Witchcraft's History in Romani" might be a sensitive topic afterall? Or not? Especially when we also know that Endo is using IRL cold war references for the cold war that happen in Spy x Family; combine the two topics together, and... yeah, it doesn't sit well with me.

I mean, The Solomonar idea itself is very interesting; I like how Anya being a solomonar would allign nicely with her red hair, her hair cones, and her classical language skill. (I know Anya's design is based off Endo's previous oneshot, but it's a story revolving around the age of witch hunt, so I guess it's not surprising he'd be knowledgable about witches?). I'm also very surprised with the word "Coven" (I've been wondering about it). But implying that Anya's heritage is the reason why she was taken to the facility to see if the folklore has scientific explanation to it so they can utilize it for cold war? It's not unheard of IRL, but it still doesn't sit right with me. Or maybe it's just me jumping into ideas where I shouldn't.

Any Romanian users out here? Maybe @liddlecreachur ? South-eastern Europe people? Heck, Historians? I'm not a Romani, so I'd love to hear your input on this :")

Great findings though, @monsoonceroom !

*Edit: Guys check out the additions from @liddlecreachur here and @monsoonceroom here! Super interesting stuffs about the lore!

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Do you wanna hear what I think is my most unpopular PJO opinion? (don't get me wrong, I have some that would get me on lists, but this one is likely the one that would get the least traction):

Generally, demigods like quests.

(Insert booing noises here.)

Let me make my arguments:

We've all taken Annabeth's statement that campers train for the opportunity to fight monsters like the Minotaur to be a sign of how naive and headstrong she is. And... it is, but where did we get the impression that she was also the only one who thought like that?

Luke

Ironically enough, Luke's the biggest proof there is for my theory. Let's see how Luke talks about his quest.

Let’s just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn’t allowed any more quests.

Two things jump out here. While it's possible that "Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests" refers to putting his foot down and not allowing the gods to demand any, given Annabeth's attitude (and the likelihood of that holding much water with the gods), it's even more likely that it's the campers who aren't allowed to go. Luke certainly believes that he ruined things for the others by causing the ban.

Then, at the forest with Percy:

I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, ‘Okay, ride’s over. Have a nice life.’ “The heck with laurel wreaths,” Luke said. “I’m not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic.”

Let me remind you that Luke is 19 here. There's no way Chiron and Mr. D could be holding him against his will at Camp the way they were, for example, with Annabeth and Percy at the beginning of the book. Annabeth also says that other counselors were in college, lending credence to the fact that, especially when they were older, they were free to come and go.

This is not Luke saying that he doesn't want to be stuck at camp. He's saying he doesn't want to end up on the shelf.

“You’re wrong. [Kronos] showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I’d done, that was the best he could think up.”

“Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn’t in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this”—he pointed angrily at his scar—“and when I came back, all I got was pity.

His complaint with the quest? It was not "my dad used me as a tool" or "he put me in danger" — it was "the one he chose showed that I'm an afterthought to him". It was "he gave me no glory or recognition".

Also, "After all the training I’d done, that was the best he could think up"? Sounds a lot like quests weren't so much errand runs as rewards or shows of recognition by the gods.

But that's not the only interesting thing to happen in that conversation!

Percy

After a while Luke said, “You miss being on a quest?” “With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?” Luke raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I miss it,” I admitted. “You?”

Mister "I never wanted to be a half-blood" himself! (Almost as if characters are meant to change throughout a story... huh.) And let's remember this is Luke he's talking to — the only person he revealed his prophecy to. He has a history of trusting him over anyone else. There's nothing in this scene that points to him being anything but honest.

Putting aside Percy's hero complex that will have him harassing the Oracle so it will give him a quest because he's unable to stand by the sideline as his friends are in danger, how other people have pointed out that Percy was the one to propose and sometimes even force himself into most of his quests — I never saw anyone mention his admission that he liked them, at least the first one. Now, of course, it's undeniable that he does eventually get tired of it, but... to what extent, really? In TLO, he says he's ready to kick back and enjoy himself, but that's in reference to the Great Prophecy. It doesn't have both capitalization and the word great in it for nothing.

Then in Staff of Hermes:

If he was delivering a message in person from the gods, it was bad news. If he wanted something from me, it was also bad news. But seeing as he’d just saved me from explaining myself to Annabeth, I was too relieved to care.

Sure, he doesn't want a quest, but it's still preferable to a difficult conversation with his girlfriend. It's only when they really start to pile up and interfere seriously with his normal life (by, say, making him miss most of a year) that he puts his foot down.

But his is ultimately an unusual case, because others aren't as affected by their own quests.

"Except for how they're risking their lives!" you say, but...

How dangerous are normal quests?

Because all signs point to Percy's being an outlier. For starters, as a powerful child of the Big Three, he attracts more monsters than your regular demigod, and that's without taking into account the gods who hate him for it.

Then there's the fact that Kronos's rise has stirred up monster activity

“I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy,” Luke said. “Didn’t you feel it — the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn’t you realize how useless it all is?"

As well as brought older, stronger monsters out of the woodwork.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years..."

Not to mention that most of Percy's quests that we've seen involved jumping straight into a scheme by an ancient, powerful titan by the moniker "the Crooked One".

Compare them to The Stolen Chariot. That was... fun, all in all. An afternoon visit to the zoo. Got him out of class early. What if that's the standard for a quest?

However, the biggest argument for quests being usually pretty simple is, once again, Luke. Let's go back to that first quote.

Let’s just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn’t allowed any more quests.

So, quests were more or less normal two years before TLT, before they were forbidden, like the chariot races, because it was judged unacceptably dangerous. So, it could be that Luke's was the last in a recent string of injuries (possible — he said himself that already the world was becoming "darker" by the time of his quest) and/or it was considered to be bad enough in itself to justify ending quests entirely. Whatever the explanation, for all the "yeah, we make a shroud whenever someone goes on a quest" rituals, Luke's injury had to have been grisly by their standards.

Like. Not to diminish it, but. It's a scar across the face. It doesn't even seem to have affected his eyesight.

Everything points to...

That your average camper, before Kronos, would have either volunteered or been selected by the gods (probably their parent) to go on quests as recognition of their skills and a chance to earn glory. OH, and don't forget a chance to be a hero. That's important. After all, you don't wanna end up in the Fields of Asphodel because your life was too boring, do you?

TL; DR: The attitude towards quests and even probably the experience surrounding them are much different than we treat them in fandom.

[roxannarambles]

Title: Wings of a Butterfly, Eye of the Tiger (Part 4)

Ship: Nemona x Juliana (Julinemo/Terajules)

Summary: Nemona and Juliana just can’t resist returning to Area Zero once more. They find new places to explore, new pokemon to discover, and a new things to learn … about pokemon battling, but also about each other. (Sequel to Picnic in Paradise)

Chapters: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Tags: Slowburn, Romance, Friendship, Crushes, Action/Adventure, Pokemon Battles, Fakemon

“What the heck kind of Tera type is that?!” Nemona yelled, eyes wide. 

“Umm, I have no idea!”

“So we’re seeing a brand-new type?! Holy crap! Jules, this– this is incredible!”

Nemona’s eyes were gleaming nearly as bright as the Terastallized pokemon. 

“Y-yeah, but–”

The dragon opened its mouth and expelled a cloud of flames. You yelped and backed away, grabbing Nemona’s hand and dragging her with you. You were able to escape the reach of the flames, although you could feel the wall of heat they put out. Hellcat snarled, agitated by the attack. Nemona said,

“Aw geez. I’m sorry Hellcat, this has been a real trial by fire for you, hasn’t it?”

Hellcat clearly wanted to fight back, but the Roaring Moon was still out of reach, floating above the pit of blackness.

“Jules, what secondary type did this thing have?”

“Dark! I think.”

“Ok. Hmm, if it’s gonna keep us at arm’s length like this, we’re gonna have to send something out to meet it!”

You looked at your assortment of pokeballs, exclaiming,

“But what? We have no idea what Tera type it is!”

“That’s true, but it’s okay, we’re just gonna have to improvise!” She selected one of her pokeballs and looked to you, asking,

“You ready?”

“I-I, um . . .” You struggled to make your selection, flustered over having to deal with so many unknowns.

From the sky, Roaring Moon began to fly in several looping circles, its body glowing in a purple light. Nemona’s confident expression slipped.

“Crap, it’s Dragon Dancing! Juliana, we gotta hurry!”

“Right, right, sorry, ready!”

You both tossed a ball, Nemona releasing her Flutter Mane, you sending out the new Screech Tails. 

“Moonblast!”

“Dazzling Gleam!”

The pair of fairies floated out to meet the dragon, one on either side of it. Roaring Moon shrieked, lunging forward and swinging one of its mighty forearms, its glittering talons shredding into Flutter Mane like it was tissue paper. It fainted instantly. 

“Dangit!”

Nemona’s pokemon may have been cut short before it could get an attack off, but your Screech Tails took advantage of the momentary distraction, firing off a Dazzling Gleam before Roaring Moon could do anything more. 

You could hear a loud crash like shattering glass, and the air was filled with shards of crystal spraying in all directions. You and Nemona watched in shock as Roaring Moon returned to its usual form, looking momentarily stunned as it drifted there in the air. You said,

“Already? Whoa, that didn’t last long.”

“Guess Roaring Moon doesn’t have much stamina. Try to lure it over here with the next attack so we can catch it!”

You nodded.

“Okay. Uh, I don’t think it can take another Dazzling Gleam, though, and Psychic won’t work. Uhmm . . . Screech Tails! This way, come back over here!”

You waved a berry at it, trying to draw it over. You’d literally just captured this pokemon, after all, and hadn’t had much time to train it yet. Fortunately, Screech Tails slowly drifted back towards you, drooling.

Unfortunately, Roaring Moon had finished shaking itself from its daze. Its yellow eyes narrowed, locked onto the puffy pink fairy.

“Uh-oh. Screech Tails, use . . . umm, something else!” 

You hadn’t actually had the chance to see its full moveset yet. Screech Tails’ eyes began to glow pink, its tails drifting upwards.

“No, no, not Psychic–”

The ferocious dragon swooped at your pokemon, roaring as it closed in, but its body phased clean through Screech Tails as if it wasn’t even there. The dragon slammed into the cave wall, the ground trembling with the force, causing you and Nemona to jump. Screech Tails unleashed its energy at its foe, but it was a futile effort.

“Try again Screech Tails, use something else, quick!”

Roaring Moon righted itself and turned about, apparently too bent on revenge to bother with anyone else for the moment. It slashed its long claws into Screech Tails, doing some heavy damage. In return, Screech Tails fearlessly bit down on the dragon’s arm, latching on with its fangs. This only seemed to tick the dragon off, though, and it bit and slashed at Screech Tails with its other arm, wrestling in the air above you and Nemona. Your friend called,

“Now’s probably our best chance, start throwing balls!”

Your Screech Tails fainted soon after she’d shouted it anyway; she chucked a pokeball and it drew the dragon inside. It released immediately and you started throwing balls as well. Eventually, one of your Dusk Balls captured it successfully. You picked up the ball, then turned to Nemona. With a little smile, you said,

“Well . . . looks like you got your Roaring Moon.”

Nemona grabbed you and answered gleefully,

“Not just a Roaring Moon, but a new Tera type too?! Let it out, we gotta see it in action!!”

You laughed,

“Okay, okay. I guess since we can’t explore further anyway, we might as well . . . um . . . uh . . . N-nemona?”

“What?”

You pointed wordlessly behind her. She turned to face the tunnel that had been previously blocked by the large, dense cluster of crystals. 

There was now no trace of the crystals.

“What??” She turned to you. “How–”

“I don’t know.”

She went to stand in the tunnel, looking around. 

“We’re not crazy, right? They were just here!”

You went to stand beside her.

“Yeah, they were. I dunno what to say.” 

It wasn’t like they had broken up during the course of the battle, either; there would have been shards all over if they had. It was like they’d just . . . vanished. You both scratched your heads a bit puzzling over it. Nemona guessed,

“Maybe it had to do with the Roaring Moon we fought? That’s the only thing I can think of. It did have that weird Tera type, so maybe it’s connected somehow?”

You shrugged.

“Honestly, in the absence of any other information, that seems as good an explanation as any. It’s the only thing that really changed since I last saw the crystals . . .”

Nemona hummed, nodding. Then she turned to you and said brightly,

“Well, let’s not look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth, we can keep going now!”

“You sure? I thought you wanted to check out our Roaring Moon.”

“I do! I’m so excited I could puke, but I also wanna keep exploring just as much. I mean, we don’t have endless time down here and we’re already this far in, right? It might be now or never.”

She had a good point; you weren’t even sure if you two could return again after today, if your transgressions were discovered somehow. 

You nodded.

“Ok. No getting side-tracked, let’s keep going until we no longer can.”

“All right! Let’s go, Hellcat.”

The tunnel took you down to another room that was more confined, with a much lower ceiling. The good news was there were several directions with additional tunnels in here. The bad news was they all seemed to be blocked by the same dense crystal formations. You and Nemona looked around for a while, frustrated to be met with more roadblocks so soon. There weren’t any wild pokemon lurking about, but you did eventually notice a small gap much higher up, towards the ceiling. 

“Hey what about up there?” you asked. Nemona looked to the corner you were pointing towards.

“Oh, hey, nice eye! Maybe there’s a way through.”

It took some climbing to scramble up there, but it was only the work of a few minutes. Well, for you and Nemona, anyway. Hellcat bounded up there in just a few clean leaps, taking mere seconds. You were jealous.

“Man, you ever wish you were a pokemon?” you asked, watching Hellcat venturing ahead of you. 

“Oh my god yes, like all the time!” Nemona answered immediately,

“Can you imagine battling as a pokemon?! That would be SO much fun.”

You chuckled. Of course that was the first thing she’d think of. The pair of you followed after Hellcat into the small gap, going deeper into the cave.

“What pokemon would you be if you could choose?” you asked her.

“I dunno, there’s too many to pick from! That’s like trying to decide my favorite type, I’ve never really been able to. Mmm, it’d be so cool to be a giant dragon with all that raw power, but what about something small and super agile that can shoot lightning? Or something that breathes fire? Or can punch a hole through a mountain! And that’s not even touching on all the cool abilities . . .”

“I think I’d wanna be something that can fly.”

“Flying, yeah!! Oh man, there’s just too many choices.”

The small tunnel you were following kept narrowing and snaking around. 

“Well maybe they’ll make a machine one day that lets us be a pokemon for a while.”

“Haha, if they do, I’ll be the first in line, I can promise you that!”

The tunnel finally fed into a room: as you entered, you found it was a cramped space with a low ceiling coated in a ton of tera crystal. The crystals occurred in big lumpy sections, covering the floors, walls and ceiling in seemingly random places. 

The most eye-catching thing about the room, however, was that the ground was absolutely covered in tera shards. 

Normally, whenever a Terastallized pokemon battles and their tera form is broken, it sheds a bunch of tiny pieces in the process. Usually those pieces are tiny and brittle, though, and people call those tera fragments. Tera shards, however, were the much rarer, higher-quality pieces that sometimes were dropped by pokemon. These pieces were of such high quality that if you collected enough of them, a Pokemon’s Tera typing could be changed with their power. That made them incredibly valuable. Finding them was very uncommon, though– normally it takes a lot of battling, although if you were lucky you’d occasionally just find them laying around.

This was most assuredly not a normal number of tera shards to just happen across, though. There had to be hundreds of pieces packed into the small space you were now standing in. What’s more, they were shards of almost every type; dragon, fire, psychic, bug, rock, poison, ice . . . the floor covered in an assortment of colors, shimmering like stardust.

“Uhhmmm . . .” you said, staring in disbelief at the cache. Hellcat was sniffing around curiously at the ground. Nemona’s eyes were as wide as saucers.

“Is this for real? Juliana, there’s . . . this . . . there’s hundreds of them . . .”

You reached down and picked up a handful of the precious gems as easy as grabbing a handful of sand. Something suddenly sprung into your memory from your classes from months back, when you’d first arrived. “Remember the rumors that there was treasure hidden in Area Zero?”

Nemona laughed. She still sounded in shock.

“I never imagined they were true. We could change the Tera type of any of our pokemon with all this! Multiple times over!”

That sounded pretty good to you; there were a few ideas you wanted to experiment with in terms of the tera typings on your team. You pulled the bag off your back and zipped it open.

“Guess we better start collecting, then!”

You both started to stuff tera shards into your backpacks like hungry Sableye grabbing fistfuls of treasure. Before long your bags were laden heavy with them.

“I’m actually starting to feel kinda bad about this. I don’t think we should take them all . . .” Nemona said, looking down into her backpack. Your backpack was much larger than hers, but even yours would soon reach its limit.

“I don’t think we can take it all, anyway. But I don’t see a reason to feel bad, I mean, it’ll just sit down here in the dark if we don’t take them, right? Might as well put them to use.”

“I guess . . .”

You headed over to another part of the small room that had an especially large pile of Steel shards and began to shovel them into your bag.

“I can’t help wondering if there’s a reason they’re here, though. It’s almost like they were put here on purpose? There’s so many of them,” Nemona said, still sounding reluctant. You answered,

“Maybe. But if somebody put them down here, it was probably a really long time ago. Area Zero’s been off-limits to most people for ages now.”

You were digging deep into the pile of steel shards, and were uncovering what looked like some shimmery rainbow shards beneath it. Ooh, you’d never seen shards like that before? From behind you, Nemona said,

“Yeah . . . but it’s also possible whoever put these here weren’t human . . .”

When you tried to grab the rainbow tera shards, you realized the shape didn’t feel right– and then they moved in a sudden jerk, and there were a pair of eyes staring back at you. You yelped, falling backwards as a brilliant flash filled the room. Nemona commanded,

“Hellcat, in front, quick!”

The large tiger leapt in front of you, snarling as the bright rays of light struck it in the chest, the air sparkling with tera energy from the attack. Nemona was at your side a second later, helping to pull you to your feet.

“Jules, are you okay?!”

You nodded quickly, looking back at what attacked you.

“What was that?”

Beneath the pile of tera shards, the glittering figure of a Terastallized pokemon appeared, pieces of shards falling aside as it stood on all fours and shook itself off. Its body was small and slender and very catlike: it seemed to be short-haired, but it had jagged, star-shaped tufts of fur on the tips of its large ears, by each of its paws, the tip of its tail, on its cheeks and at a small ruff of fur around its neck. Its almond-shaped eyes were bright like polished opal, and it had a small spiral horn at the center of its forehead. It was crowned with the same Tera Jewel as the Roaring Moon had been, decorated in a rainbow of colors.

Hellcat looked eager to attack, growling at the pokemon and bearing its long fangs, but Nemona held up a hand, saying,

“Just a second, Hellcat, let’s take a look at it first. Whoa . . .”

The wild pokemon blinked its eyes, a soft, ethereal light glowing gently around it. You didn’t recognize the move, but at least it seemed to be fairly passive. 

“Nemona, am I crazy or does this pokemon look like–”

“--an Eeveelution?” “Y-yeah!”

“Yeah, no, you’re not crazy, it looks exactly like one.”

“Oh my god.”

She nodded, grinning.

“My thoughts exactly. Okay, Hellcat–”

You touched her wrist, saying,

“Wait!”

“Hm? What?”

You looked back at the pokemon, which was simply standing there, its piercing gaze watching the three of you closely as its tail swished back and forth. 

“It seems pretty peaceful. I think I just startled it, when I thought its ear was a tera shard and I tried to grab it.”

Nemona turned to you and answered,

“Well yeah but you still wanna catch it, don’t you??”

You nodded,

“Yeah, of course, I just. I dunno, for some reason I feel kinda bad. We came into its home and robbed it, woke it up and now we’re gonna battle it?”

Nemona blinked at you for a few moments and you felt silly for even saying it until she answered,

“Well when you put it like that, I feel a little bad too . . .”

You looked at your backpack, slumped on the ground and spilling out treasure.

“I guess we could try to leave it be . . . give it back its tera shards?”

The thought clearly seemed to pain Nemona– mostly the idea of not catching the new pokemon, you imagined– but after a few moments she smiled a little and nodded.

“Okay.”

She turned and called out to the pokemon.

“Sorry for disturbing you. We, um, we didn’t know this was your home. We’ll go if you want us to . . .”

The pokemon stared at her, motionless. You went to cautiously pick up your bag, backing away.

“Yeah, and we’ll give you the shards back if you–”

The pokemon jerked, turning to you and giving a cry. It sounded very high-pitched and rhythmic, like glass wind-chimes, but it didn’t sound happy. You looked down at the bag in your hands and stammered,

“N-no, wait, I’m going to give them back, I was just–”

“Jules, look out!”

Colored little balls of light began to fill the air above the wild pokemon. They looked quite beautiful, actually, but you knew better than to be fooled. You scrambled to get out of the way as fast as possible. Nemona yelled,

“Hellcat, quick, Dire Claw!”

Hellcat sprung forward, raking its claws across the mysterious Eeveelution. The colored balls of light started to rain down on Hellcat in quick streaks, like shooting stars, each strike sparkling with tera energy as it landed. The accumulated damage was incredible, the tiger swaying weakly on its paws by the end of the onslaught. 

“Holy crap. This thing’s no joke!” Nemona said, eyes wide. 

The Eeveelution cried out again, a vengeful little melody. It looked at you and Nemona, its eyes shining like diamonds, power gathering around its body from all around in a big, glittering swirl. 

It looked like it was preparing to Tera Blast.

“Oh my god. Hellcat, I need you to Thorn Fang! Now!”

Hellcat was weary but still obeyed immediately, leaping forward and biting down. The wild pokemon screamed and staggered back and there was a loud crash, fragments of tera crystal exploding in the little room as its Terastallization was broken. It seemed the wild pokemon had been stunned, interrupting its attack. You breathed,

“Geez, that was close.”

“Great job, Hellcat!” Nemona quickly turned to you, asking,

“You still want to leave it be, or should we go ahead and catch it?”

You looked back to the pokemon briefly.  It looked very weak and vulnerable, and you could see poison seeping out from the wounds marring its shimmering rainbow fur. It was clear that at this point, it was much better to take it with you than to leave. 

“Catch it,” you answered. You didn’t need to tell Nemona twice; she whipped out her pokeballs and immediately started throwing. After around six attempts, the ball clicked shut, and the little room you were in fell eerily silent.

You both stared for a few beats. Then Nemona went and retrieved the ball before turning to you. She held a hand over her mouth and made a muffled, excited little squeal.

“Did that really just happen? This is getting so unreal, I swear.”

“Penny’s gonna be so jealous.”

“I know! Man, I’m glad we interrupted that Tera Blast though, that probably would have been very bad in this confined space.”

You choked on a laugh.

“Yeah, we might not have been around to enjoy this.”

Nemona carried on blithely,

“And that move it used, with the colorful lights! I had no idea what it was, but wow it packed a punch. Whatever pokemon this is, it’s tough.”

You looked down at the pokeball in her hands.

“What do you think it is? An ancient version of Espeon, maybe? Or maybe Sylveon . . .”

Nemona shook her head.

“I really don’t know, it’s hard to say since it was Terastallized into that mysterious type! And it’s not like the moves it used can help us to figure it out. I saw it use Swift, Cosmic Power, and that unknown move of course. And then Tera Blast! Which . . . honestly, I thought no wild pokemon could know. I thought Sada developed the move herself.”

You gave a thoughtful hum.

“That’s a good point . . . that is weird. But I guess maybe tera energy came from a long time ago, and so these ancient pokemon know how to wield its power? She might have developed the move from them.”

“True, that would make sense! Although it doesn’t help us narrow down what this Eeveelution is.”

“Mmm, yeah. Well, I guess it doesn’t have to be an ancient version of something we already know. It could be a brand-new evolution, too. Like a Rock-type Eeveelution, maybe!”

Nemona’s eyes widened as idea struck her and she said,

“Or, or! What if it’s an evolution of whatever this new mysterious type is?? So its actual type matches its tera typing. This new tera type is all rainbow colored and stuff, right? That matches this pokemon pretty well . . .”

Your eyes widened too.

“Oh my god, yeah, that might actually be it, Nemona!”

“Heheh, right? Wouldn’t that be cool?”

You gestured at the space around you, saying,

“Well let it back out, maybe we can figure out more–”

She held up a hand, interrupting.

“Ah-ah, Juliana! Remember what we said earlier?”

You blinked, thrown off for a moment before recalling.

“. . . oh, yeah. Um, no more getting side-tracked?”

“Yeah, c’mon Jules, you know you’re like 85% of my impulse control, you can’t tempt me like that–”

You laughed,

“Okay, okay. You’re right, we shouldn’t get distracted now or we’ll never get any further.”

Nemona nodded.

“Right, and things just keep getting cooler and cooler. I wanna see how deep this rabbit hole goes.”

You grinned.

“Let’s back out of this part of the cave, then. If our theories are right about those weird crystal roadblocks, maybe a new way’s opened up out there.”

“Okay! Hellcat–”

She turned and saw Hellcat was laying on the floor, looking completely exhausted. The tiger gave a pitiful little chirp when Nemona said its name. Nemona’s eyes widened and she held a hand to her mouth.

“Ohmygosh, I’m so sorry Hellcat! I completely forgot– ugh, here, let’s get you fixed up!”

She pulled a potion from her bag and went to tend to the tiger’s wounds. Hellcat clearly wasn’t a fan of being potioned since it apparently stung.

“Come on, now, I know it’s smarts, but if you hold still it won’t take me very long . . .”

She sprayed again and the tiger snarled, bearing its huge fangs at her in a threat.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, buster! Sit down. Now.”

Hellcat backed away and sat, making a miserable grumble. She continued to gently spritz potion on the pokemon.

“Easy now, okay. We’re almost done, I promise.”

When Nemona finished, she gave Hellcat plenty of berries and praised it.

“There you go, that’s such a good kitty! These are your favorite kind, right? You like the bitter ones. You did such a good job, thank you for all your help.”

After the treats and the praise– and the potion working its magic– Hellcat seemed much happier, perking right up. 

“Oh here, let’s get you a couple Leppa berries too, okay? Guess if we keep coming down here to battle and we’re keeping you a secret, we’ll be needing a lot more Leppa berries, hah. Here you go.”

Hellcat snapped the berries out of midair when Nemona tossed them. 

“Sorry again for forgetting you for a minute there. I, um, I kinda get distracted sometimes.”

You spoke up,

“To be fair, so did I. I think most people would be, this is some pretty exciting stuff.”

She glanced to you. 

“Mmm, still. . .”

Hellcat bumped its head against Nemona’s leg and rubbed against it, making a small rumble, before walking off and wandering back out into the connecting tunnel. Nemona stared wide-eyed after the tiger. 

“Did they just . . .”

You giggled.

“I think they forgive you.”

Nemona bounded up to you and cheered,

“They like me!! They actually like me!!”

 “Of course they like you, you’re amazing.”

She laughed, looking a bit shy at how readily you praised her. She glanced away and said,

“Um, let’s finish getting these tera shards, we might as well since we have the pokemon now!”

So the two of you finished filling your bags with tera shards, to the point where you had plenty but weren’t weighed down an excessive amount. Then you headed out of the secret little treasure cache room. Once you’d climbed back down to the main portion of cave where Hellcat awaited, you found that one of the paths was indeed now unblocked. 

“We were right! Yessss, let’s go!”

Nemona grabbed your hand and rushed ahead with you. You laughed, Hellcat chasing after you both. When you entered the new tunnel, you found it sloped gently downwards as you traveled. There was the sound of rushing water from somewhere, and the air felt noticeably damper.

Your voice echoing in the damp, cold space, you said,

“Oh, hey, I can hear water?”

You both slowed your steps so you wouldn’t trip on the slightly wet ground.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since we have. Guess all that water’s gotta go somewhere though, right?”

You nodded. After walking for a while, you commented,

“We really just keep going deeper, don’t we? All these tunnels have been going steadily downward.”

“Mmhmm. They keep getting more and more crystally, too, I noticed.”

You glanced around, noting just how much of the walls and ceiling were coated in tera crystal now. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Plus, I dunno if this is just my imagination, but I feel like even the air is . . . more shimmery down here?”

It was the same sort of gleam that the air on the surface of Area Zero had, but it seemed thicker here, like a dense cloud of dust motes suspended in a sunbeam. Nemona agreed,

“Yeah . . . I wonder where all this stuff comes from, anyway.”

You both fell quiet for a bit, pondering the mysterious origins of the tera crystals and energy. But before your idle thoughts could formulate into anything particularly solid, the tunnel had led you to a space that opened up again to a huge ceiling and a large drop. The path led into a continuous curve heading downwards, like a massive spiral staircase. From somewhere above you, water leaked out from the ceiling, forming a waterfall that dropped down the center of the room.

“Whoa,” you said, peeking over the edge of the path. You could see the waterfall crashing into a pool of water far below. The glow of all the tera crystals reflected in the water, bouncing and shimmering, casting all kinds of mesmerizing little rainbow flecks on the cave walls.

“Forget the Ten Sights of Paldea, they don’t even come close to this,” Nemona mused. 

You both began to descend the spiral path, but the floor was uneven and slippery from the damp air and so you had to be very careful. There was a portion where the stone had fallen away entirely, but a big chunk of tera crystal had fallen across the gap, acting as a precarious bridge. This was by far the most unnerving section, especially since it was too narrow to comfortably walk side-by-side holding hands. There was a pool of water below you, of course, but you couldn’t actually tell how deep it was, so there was no way knowing if it was safe to fall into. Hellcat took the bridge first, and then Nemona, and finally you, each step careful and measured on the slippery crystal. After that point, the path was comparatively easy, and you worked your way down until finally reaching the bottom.

From down here, you could see the waterfall was crashing into an elevated portion of ground, and the water was relatively shallow and rocky. In fact, you could walk along some parts of the ground until you were practically right beneath the waterfall. The elevated ground continued on for some ways like this, but you could see the water was running off into a deeper pool a bit further ahead. You both worked your way over to stand as close to the waterfall as possible, looking upwards into the room you just descended from. 

“Too bad we can’t dive from the top up there,” Nemona joked. You snorted.

“I’m okay with not jumping that.”

Nemona reached her hand out and through the waterfall.

“This is incredible, though, Jules, it’s like some kind of fairy tale down here or something.”

“I know. I wonder if Sada’s ever been down this far. Or anyone, for that matter.”

Hellcat was not as impressed with the splendor laid out before you. The tiger was sitting on the highest portion of the damp rocks, looking displeased with all of the water and licking its paw. It made a little ‘hrrumph’ sound.

Nemona shook her head.

“You’re gonna have to face your fears sooner or later, Hellcat.”

The tiger glanced at her briefly, then returned to licking its paw, ignoring her. Nemona shrugged.

“Have it your way. You can hang out here while Jules and I check ahead.”

The pair of you walked as far as you could on the raised ground, sometimes hopping over rocks as stepping stones where the water was deeper, until you came across another tunnel. It led into a portion of cave with a very low ceiling and tera crystal formations that were growing wildly out of control, incredibly thick layers built up on the walls and ceiling– way more than you’d seen anywhere else. At its center seemed to be another tunnel entrance, but it was blocked by another one of the crystal roadblocks.

“Wow. The crystals are getting a little intense here, aren’t they?” Nemona said, touching the walls covered in the dense layers of pearlescent sheen.

“I’ll say. I wish it wasn’t blocked off, though. I feel like it must look really cool in there.”

“Well, maybe we can find another one of those weird Terastallized pokemon! I bet there’s one around here somewhere.”

You chuckled,

“Your hunches have all turned out correct so far, so I have no reason to doubt it. Let’s keep looking.”

Nemona seemed to love the prospect of finding yet another new pokemon.

“All right, sounds like a plan! Ooh, plus we can learn more about this mysterious new type at the same time. Hm, we need to give it a name, we can’t just keep calling it ‘the weird type,’ huh?”

You suggested,

“Maybe ‘Rainbow Type?’”

She beamed,

“Oh yeah, I love that! Or maybe ‘Light’? Since rainbows are made of light. I mean, we have Dark types, it would be so cool if there were Light types too, maybe Light would be supereffective on Dark? Oh, but that reminds me–”

She stopped walking and turned to you, excited by her new train of thought.

“The Terastallized pokemon have been confusing me. That Roaring Moon used a move that used tera energy– you can always tell when a move does ‘cause you can see the air swirling with the tera energy, you know?–  I wasn’t sure what move it was though, so I thought it must be this new type, Light or Rainbow or whatever, right?”

You nodded. Nemona continued,

“But I swear when it used the move a second time, it wasn’t powered up anymore. And then that Eeveelution used Swift and it looked like the move used tera energy, too, which is like, what the heck?! Then it used that mysterious move of course, which also used tera energy. So now I don’t get it! Does it get something similar to Pixilate? Or maybe I was just seeing things, I dunno. Did it look to you like that Swift was powered up with tera energy?”

You scratched your neck and answered sheepishly.

“Well, uhm, I was kinda busy panicking at the time, so I’m not sure . . .”

“Oh, right. Pshh, sorry, of course you wouldn’t have noticed. Well it’s fine, I’m sure we’ll find out more soon. Honestly I’m so excited to face an unknown type, part of me doesn’t wanna figure it out too fast.” She laughed and added, “Is that weird?”

You thought about it and shook your head.

“Not at all. When I was exploring Paldea, every time I came across a new pokemon I loved trying to figure out what it was all about.”

You’d been ambling along the tunnel at a leisurely pace while chatting, not really in any hurry. Nemona clasped your shoulder and grinned, saying,

“Exactly, it’s like that! You don’t really want it to end, do you? I was thinking, before we battle later with our new pokemon, we should make sure to train far away from each other. That way we’ll know as little as possible about each other’s teams and there’s more surprises.”

“Sure. I like surprises.”

Her shoes splashing through the shallow water, Nemona enthused at you,

“Yeah, me too! I can’t wait to–”

A sudden, sharp cry caused the both of you to stop in your tracks and look up. Just ahead of you was a Terastallized pokemon, its colors and jewel immediately demarking it as the new Rainbow type. It stood on two legs and appeared to be some sort of raptorial dinosaur, although its slender body was covered in feathers, which included a feathery crest on its head, furls of feathers on its arms, and a long train of feathers on its tail. The pokemon stood quite tall, looking down at you and Nemona over a narrow snout with its pinched eyes and an expression that left you feeling as though it was regarding you with disdain.

You and Nemona exchanged a brief look.

“Speaking of surprises,” you said quietly. Nemona turned back to the pokemon and gushed,

“This is so cool, we’ve had the best luck with finding awesome stuff down here!”

The pokemon lowered its head a little, lips curling back to reveal sharp, needle-like teeth. A cry vibrated in its throat, rhythmic and strange-sounding, almost like a sound an exotic bird might make. Nemona was standing a little closer to the pokemon than you were, and you didn’t like the way it was looking at her at all. You muttered,

“Nemona, careful.”

“Of course. Hmm, what should I use . . . oh, I know–”

She reached to her belt to select a pokeball, but the raptor’s eyes followed the sudden movement and it reacted instantly by unfurling its massive tail.

The sight was breathtaking, dozens and dozens of long, elegant feathers creating a collective shape like a huge blooming flower or a setting sun, each feather tipped in round spots that shimmered with a brilliant, ever-shifting light; the effect was only heightened by its rainbow Terastallization. The pokemon’s tail shivered, causing the feathers to sway and bob in a very hypnotic way. In fact, the more you stared, the stranger you felt; your head grew heavy and you started to feel a sense of vertigo creeping in. 

Uh-oh.

“Nemona!”

Nemona was staring at the pokemon’s tail as well, transfixed, her hand still frozen in place from when she’d been reaching for her pokeballs. 

“Nemona, don’t look at it, I think it’s–”

“–too late, I, nghhh– I can’t– move,” she said through grit teeth, her body quivering with the effort, her fingers unable to even curl around her pokeball. You also tried to move and gasped, your limbs suddenly feeling as though they were as heavy as lead. 

“No, no! Fight it, Nemona, one of us has to send a pokemon out!”

She grunted,

“I’m trying!”

You were trying too, but the mere act of lifting your arm was overwhelmingly difficult. You could flex your fingers but that just wasn’t enough, because you had your pokeballs all in your pockets. You slid your hands up a few inches and couldn’t get any further– it was like your body just refused to listen. It was terrifying, and you wondered if this was how pokemon felt whenever they got paralyzed.

The raptor pokemon took a few slow steps forward, its tail swaying as it moved, its eyes locked on Nemona. Power began to gather around the pokemon’s body, its tail glowing with a warm pink light. From the color you guessed it was charging a Psychic move. 

“Stay away from her!” you screamed, your voice high-pitched in your panic. The pokemon didn’t listen, its tail glowing brighter and brighter, its power rapidly reaching its peak. Nemona was staring at the oncoming move with the expression of someone who realized they’d really screwed up.

You battled hopelessly against your numbed body, your head spinning as you cried,

“Nemona!”

Just as the air began to ripple with the strange energy of a psychic move, there was a shrill, furious scream and the advancing pokemon crumpled under the weight of the tiger from hell leaping onto its back. The pair crashed to the ground, Hellcat clinging to the raptor with its claws and trying to bite it, but ended up getting a mouthful of tail feathers instead. The two grappled desperately for a few moments and somehow the lithe dinosaur was able to slip away from Hellcat’s grasp, although bunches of feathers were left behind in the tiger’s claws. The raptor righted itself and turned to face its foe, flashing its mesmerizing tail feathers in Hellcat’s face.

Nemona shouted,

“Hellcat, be careful, don’t look!”

Hellcat was crouched, ready to leap and pounce, but its pupils widened and it snarled, struggling to move. 

“Damnit,” Nemona cursed quietly. The raptor opened its slender mouth and let loose an enormous blast of water right into Hellcat, the force of the hit pushing the tiger back and crashing it into the wall. The air whirled with mist and glittering tera energy in the wake of the move. Nemona yelled,

“Hellcat! What the heck, now Hydro Pump gets powered up too?! This makes no sense!”

In your efforts to better see the pair of battling pokemon, you realized you were starting to get movement back in your limbs– they prickled with a painful pins-and-needles sensation but you could actually drag them along slowly.

“Nemo, I think I can move again, sort of!”

Nemona answered quickly.

“Perfect! See if you can get into my bag, the side-pouch on the left side.”

You were confused why that was a priority but you trusted her, so you inched along the ground until you reached Nemona’s back. 

“Left side?”

“Yeah, there should be a yellow bottle!”

You lifted your arms slowly. A bit further ahead in the tunnel, you could see the raptor was skulking its way back up to Hellcat. Hellcat hissed. You grasped the zip of Nemona’s pack and dragged it open, fumbling about for a bit before pulling the bottle from her bag.

“That’s it, that’s it! It’s a Paralyze Heal, squirt it on yourself! Then you’ll be able to use some on me.”

“Right, okay!”

You pointed the nozzle at yourself and struggled with squeezing the handle, which they made way more difficult to use than they needed to. You could hear another blast of highly pressurized water and glanced up, seeing Hellcat snarling in pain.

“Hurry, Jules!” Finally, the dumb bottle released its contents, dribbling the medicine on your hands, which immediately made it easier to use. You were able to douse yourself quickly after that, and it felt like magic, the numbness and pins-and-needles melting away, your muscles loosening up again. 

“I got it, I’ll do you now!”

You came around and used the rest of the bottle to spray Nemona all over.

“Great, perfect! More on my legs, they’re still rubbery!” You heard a vicious cry and briefly turned to see Hellcat lashing out, raking the raptor across the face with its toxic claws– then you turned back to finish dousing Nemona with the potion.

“Okay, great job Jules! Let’s go help Hellcat!”

You both approached the pair of pokemon further down the tunnel. The raptor had recovered from Hellcat’s attack and was glowing hot-pink again, preparing another move. Nemona fished around in her bag and pulled out another Paralyze Heal.

“Crap, we’re kind of on the wrong side of the battlefield here,” she realized. The raptor’s back was turned to you both, Hellcat on the other side.

You reached for your pokeballs.

“We can double team this jerk,” you suggested. The raptor finally released a ball of energy, but instead of hitting Hellcat, the energy drifted upwards into the air before simply vanishing away. It was very odd, but you didn’t have time to ponder it, because the next thing you knew, Hellcat sprang forward, sinking its fangs into the dinosaur’s neck.

The Terastallization shattered, coating the ground in little rainbow fragments. The wild pokemon staggered backwards, groaning. 

“Or, um, nevermind, looks like Hellcat has it covered,” you laughed. 

“Great work, Hellcat! We’ll take it from here,” Nemona shouted, chucking a pokeball at the raptor. The ball missed, bouncing off a rock instead. Nemona’s eyes widened and she looked embarrassed.

“Uh, hm, whoops– I haven’t bungled a throw like that for a while . . .”

You looked at how she was holding her braced arm and said,

“I don’t think I potioned you enough, it might be the lingering effects of paralysis. Don’t worry, I’ll get this one.”

She nodded,

“Right, thanks Jules!”

A few Dusk Balls later, and the raptor was safely contained in your pocket. Nemona quickly went to Hellcat once the coast was clear. The tiger was limping from the paralysis and drenched from the Hydro Pumps, looking quite pathetic, but it still allowed Nemona to crouch down and douse it with a Paralyze Heal.

“There you go, this should help. You did so good, Hellcat! You really saved my skin, thank you so much!”

When she’d finished with the potion, Hellcat could move freely again. It shook water from its body vigorously, then butted its head affectionately against Nemona’s. The tiger wasn’t quite aware of its own strength and had bonked Nemona hard enough for her to land on her butt with an “oof,” but she didn’t seem to mind in the least; in fact, she seemed over the moon.

“You’re such a good kitty, you faced all that water and battled through the paralysis just for us,” she said, petting the oversized cat behind the ears. You could hear a deep rumble and at first you worried Hellcat was growling, but then you realized it was purring. 

“Jules, do you hear that?” Nemona whispered, eyes wide with wonder and joy. You nodded.

“I guess it took almost dying for them to realize they like you,” you teased. 

“Oh pssh, we didn’t almost die, it was just–”

She paused when there was a strange crackling noise. You both looked up to see a sphere of pink energy materializing out of nowhere in the air above your heads. Nemona’s eyes widened.

“Crap– Hellcat, MOVE!”

You didn’t know what was going on, but Nemona was sitting on the ground and there was clearly very little time, so you lurched forward and helped yank her to her feet and scramble out of the path of the oncoming orb of energy. Hellcat leapt aside as well, and the orb smashed into the ground, a wave of pink tera energy swirling and sizzling before dissipating, leaving behind a sizable impact crater.

You just stared at the crater for a few seconds, blinking. Nemona let out a sigh. At your confused look, she said,

“Future Sight. Forgot about that, haha . . .”

“Oh,” you said, once it had sunk in,

“Isn’t that a base 120 power move?”

Nemona nodded. You added,

“And uhm, it seemed powered up with tera energy . . .”

She laughed weakly.

“Apparently.”

You looked at Nemona again, your expression one of great dismay.

“Nemona, I think that maybe counts as almost dying!”

“Well it does now. Maybe she should, um, take a quick breather.”

You nodded.

“Yeah, good idea.”

The pair of you walked back to the chamber with the really intense crystal growth to check and see if the way was now clear for travel. However, oddly enough, the crystal roadblock had not budged. It didn’t make much sense, since you’d captured the Rainbow Tera pokemon in the area. You both took the opportunity to rest for a bit, though, sitting on a crystal and snacking on trail mix. You helped apply more Paralyze Heal to Nemona and Hellcat groomed itself so that its fur was all fixed up from its last encounter.

After your rest, you walked back to the section of cave with the big waterfall, searching for any more pokemon along the way. There were a few Carbink and Glimmora drifting around, but no other Rainbow Teras in sight. 

“I’m not sure where else to look. It’s so weird that the one we captured didn’t do it,” you mused, sitting by the waterfall and watching the Carbink floating around. Nemona peered further into the cave and suggested,

“Well, how about we explore this river? It looks like it goes for quite a ways back there, we might find something.”

You stood and came beside her, looking into the water.

“Worth a try. Looks like it goes pretty deep, I’ll get us some help.”

You pulled a pokeball from your pocket, sending Koraidon out. The big lizard looked excited to be let loose again, trilling happily and stomping through puddles, sniffing around. 

“Okay, Scarlet, you ready to go for a swim?”

He immediately turned and ran up to you, eager. You patted him and then hopped aboard, followed by Nemona, who settled onto Koraidon’s flat back right behind you. 

“I doubt Hellcat’s as excited for a swim as Scarlet is, so I think it’s time they rested in their ball for a bit,” Nemona said, pulling out a pokeball and recalling the tiger.

“Probably a good idea. You all set, then?” you asked.

“Yup!”

“Okay then, let’s go, Scarlet!”

Koraidon waded out into the still waters. The water got deeper very quickly, so the pokemon switched to a dog paddle. It was impossible to tell exactly how far the underground river continued on; when you gazed ahead through the narrow channel, the view was eventually obscured in the dimness of the cavern. You felt a little thrill over venturing into the unknown, despite the fact you’d been doing it for a while now; maybe it was the sort of thing that just never got old. As Scarlet carried you both onward through the waterlogged tunnel, the ceiling grew lower and lower, until it was barely higher than your heads. The number of crystals in the cave walls and ceiling also decreased, so there were far fewer gems to throw out their light– as a result, it became much darker. Most of the light came from the tera crystals growing under water, casting a soft, ethereal glow to the cave around you that was more diffused and mysterious than the usual glow from the rest of the cave. You told Koraidon to slow down, moving through the narrow, dark tunnel at a leisurely pace. For a while, there was only the sound of water dripping from the ceiling and the gentle, soothing paddle of Koraidon’s feet through the water. 

“It’s so pretty here,” you said softly, gazing around at how the water cast rippling shades of green and blue onto the walls. It reminded you a little of photographs you’d seen of the aurora borealis. Nemona agreed,

“I know. It feels so magical and secluded through this part, doesn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm, exactly.” 

You breathed the damp air deeply, just enjoying how peaceful it felt to drift through the tunnel. The slowly shifting colors of the water were almost hypnotic to watch. You relaxed in your seat, letting yourself lean back a little against Nemona. She didn’t seem to mind at all, wrapping her arms around you in response, in a way she sometimes did when you were both racing on Koriadon’s back together. You secretly reveled in the feeling whenever she did it, probably far more than she realized.

Nemona giggled,

“I just thought of what this reminds me of, it’s kinda like one of those Tunnel of Love rides, right? Like the ones at the fairs.”

You froze perfectly still, the heat rising to your cheeks. Why’d she say that at this exact moment?

“U-uh . . . y-yeah,” you said, trying to fake a laugh, but it came out sounding more like a squawk. Nemona seemed to sense your unease.

“Oh, sorry if that was weird, it just popped into my head . . .”

You forced your voice to sound more normal and quickly answered,

“N-no, it’s not weird, I-I mean you’re right, they are kinda similar!”

It came out a little more forcefully than normal. Damnit, over-compensated. Lucky for you, Nemona didn’t pick up on it. Instead she just said,

“Yeah! Although I’d say this place is way prettier. Feels more special, too.”

You cleared your throat and agreed,

“Definitely.”

Koraidon slowly followed the bend in the tunnel, curving around a large crystal growing out of the water that had managed to reach the surface and grow beyond it. There was something brighter you could see up ahead, and you both subconsciously leaned forward, curious. Koraidon carried you until the narrow tunnel fed you into a room that opened up wide, your view suddenly expanding to a dazzling underground lake filled with long, sloping tera crystals framing the cave walls. At the center of the lake was a small island, dominated by a single, lonely oak tree. 

The tree was completely encased in tera crystal, everything from its trunk to its branches to every one of its leaves– all of it translucent-blue, a rainbow of colors reflecting along all of its smooth surfaces. It looked frozen in time, a silent witness to bygone eras. 

“Oh my gosh,” Nemona murmured from behind you. Koraidon paddled slowly out to the center of the lake, affording you a great view of the entire area. It was almost impossible to tell which crystals were growing beneath the perfectly clear, still waters and which were reflected from the ones growing on the ceiling above. It was an incredible feeling, just being in this place and taking it all in, perhaps the first living creatures to be here in eons. Your skin prickled in goosebumps at the thought.

You felt Nemona’s arms squeeze gently around you, and her voice came in a gentle hush in your ears.

“I’m so glad we slowed down to enjoy this, tesoro.”

Your goosebumps spread further, but now for different reasons.

“Me too,” you answered her softly. Nemona’s chin came to rest against the top of your head, her body pressed entirely against your back, and as you floated together in that sparkling cavern, you thought perhaps this was the best moment you’ve had in life for a while now.

Neither of you saw the triangular dorsal fin sticking up out of the surface of the water, silently slicing through the smooth, still waters. Even Koraidon didn’t notice, not until it was too late.When the calm waters were torn asunder with an ear-splitting roar, you and Nemona tossed violently from Koraidon’s back, the only thing you could think was Are you kidding me, NOT AGAIN–!

[catt-nuevenor]

First off I was literally obsessed with your demo. It was actually the very first thing I ever read on dashington and I was basically inlove with all of the ROs.

That being said. As for the changes I've read through all the comments, asks and replies. And it's... different. Not necessarily bad just new I guess? Because it changes alot of the wonder I had experienced playing the demo. So it just feels weird I suppose?

No saying I won't read it, come on I love your writing. I practically word vomited my praises on tumblr as soon as I finished reading it the first time. And I get you said the old demo would still stay on but there's like.. no point if it's not gonna continue..? If that makes sense it's just then kind of incomplete?

I also for the most illogical reasons feel the same way as others when it comes to ROs being in relationships outside of MC. Like if they were already in a pre-existing relationship sure I get it! There are many stories like that if you don't choose to romance a character in the beginning they get back with an ex they broke up with or they are with someone else where you choose a route in like the very beginning. But again hear me out I'm completely stupid for this!!! But whenever I play a game where an RO then gets like with one of MCs friends on a different route it just fucks with my head for that LI. Like I then just see them with that other person. And have a fuck you attitude to that character aswell EVEN on a different route lmao it makes no sense! It's not logical! And it's dumb! But that's why I play fictional stories okay! So I don't hve to deal with shit like that. Don't judge me 😅🤣

Kay long tangent aside.. I guess what I'm saying is the new changes kinda scare me. But I'm keeping an open mind. I'd honestly read whatever you post because of how talented you are and yeah.. some of the ROs are probably gonna get a fuck you out of me for being in a different relationship and I'll probably not do that route because of how stupid my head is. So jesus I hope it isn't my fav LI 😭 but I'll still support you and I do wish you the best in the writing. I do love the story and I do like the addition of I guess more characters. Just the RO thing fucks with my head alil. I'm sorry if that's weird to some people.

I'm not making any sense just gonna go now... 🙈

Dear heck, I think this is the longest ask I've ever received. I didn't even know asks could be this long...

The changes will take a while for everyone to get used to, I think. But at least we'll all be in the same boat?

I do get the unsettling nature of seeing LIs romancing other characters while you're on alternate routes. The first one that springs to mind for me is Josephine in Dragon Age Inquisition. Seeing her fawn over Blackwall was weird. But, it made me realise how attached I was to her romance and hers alone, so it worked out in the long run.

Myrk Mire still isn't back on my working schedule yet, I'll let you all know when it is, and I'll try to keep you updated with WIP screenshots or planning doodles. Perhaps then I'll also give a bit more information on the dynamics of the LIs and the variables driving who makes eyes and who.

[shxllraizxr]

𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬

| 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧 ! 𝙍𝙖𝙥𝙝 × 𝙊𝘾 | 𝘽𝙖𝙮𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝘼𝙐 |

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing , Violence

• possibly a part 1 if it goes well. Also mysteryyyyy ~

𝟭𝟬 : 𝟰𝟱 𝗽𝗺...

𝟭𝟬 : 𝟰𝟱 𝗽𝗺 was the time she was suppose to be here.

“ I could have sworn she said she was gonna be here . . . ” Jackie sighed as his hands rested in his large heat insulated hoodie. New York had just started its snowy season and the streets couldn't be anymore busy. His teeth chatter and his eyes squint as the crunch of newly fallen snow is present while he walks down the small sidewalk of Times Square. He would periodically check his texts to see if the person he was talking to would ever show.

They planned to meet for some Christmas shopping and possible go out for a bite to eat. But from the text only being left on read, it told another story.

He got stood up.

𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣

“ for fucks sake.. again with this.. ” he grunts as he shoves his phone back into his pocket. His eyes glancing around the car driven roads as he makes his way down a few blocks towards a empty lot way. God he hated this. This feeling. Its the fact that he can't really be known to seeing he has been stood up until its kind of too late. April's warned him , heck even Casey knew about stuff like this happening on a dime. Jackie had that type of aura and energy to still try to make things work.

Though he wasn't sure how long he could keep that up. As well as with the Turtles. Yeah he liked them but how could he admit his feelings to them. Mainly to Raph.. He has always been like a big brother to Jackie but it kind of became more. It was the way the terrapin was. Underneath the mean and rough exterior. The was something more to him than people portrayed him to be..

Jackie thoughts wonder for a moment as he soon looks up seeing people standing around at something. Curious but cautious he follows towards the group of people crowding down an alleyway. His ears hearing the sounds of shouting and loud grunts bounce off the alleyway walls as he looks around through the thicket of people.

Only flashes and glimpses of 2 individuals duking fists and kicks wildly as a group of people banter and yell to both. Luckily Jackie managed to squeeze in between the few he could as he gets better view of the opponents. The smell of cigar smoke , spices , and rather.. questionable substances are puncturing Jackie's nose as he wines trying to get a better view. He could only make out the bare minimum of details.

A round heavy set man with black hair and clothes matching a description of a notorious gang back in the day. The purple dragons. They use to run the backstreets on new york whenever the foot was around. Luckily thier numbers began to dwindle as they were either taken out by the foot. Or by the Turtles. So it was still rare to see a person in the purple dragons during this time. But with all the crime spikes it wouldn't be put of the question.

But as for the other person , Jackie had never seen them before. At least not to his knowledge. Between the blurred movemnet and the darkness out the outside and snow.. he could barely make out the figure. They worre A large black tactical suit and a large helmet masking thier face. As well as a chain and mace like object strapped to his hips.

Jackie watched in slight awe at the fight. The banter echoes as people yell profanities and calls to both. “ 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩 ?! ” the hooded stranger called out as he throws a mean right hook to the guys jaw causing them to stumble back. A sea of winced faced and " oohs " can be heard before roars and cheers are met with the hooded figure standing victorious above his now concussed opponent. A group coming around drag the victim back as the crowd continued to cheer and make noise.

The figure joining in with occasional banter and sbowboating. Jackie looks them up and down trying to figure out and process who this person could be. Could it be a male? Maybe a girl! A girl with a vlice changer and body suit on . Though he shakes the thought and grabs his phone switching to record and video tape the hooded person through the group of people.

“ 𝙒𝙝𝙤'𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩! 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖 -

” silence falls from.there voice as thier helmet visor fixated on the crowd. Jackie looking at the phone slowly stepping back as he realizes they can directly see him. People began to disperse as he pockets the phone quickly turning back to appear like he didn't know nothing.

The figure doesn't move. Blocking his hands out to stop any people from making a move and to show he isn't of any harm. Jackie watching in caution and readiness just in case. The figure didn't speak now his movement slow as he tilts his head. The a siren. Flashing red and blue light lit up the alley exit as the sound of cops opening door and aiming ready to take down any criminals or people wanting to combat them.

The hooded figure crouches looking at Jackie a hand holding out to nonverbal tell him to stay still a blinking nod from Jackie as he hears the officers give orders. Shaky hands come up as the figure soon rolls something between the others legs.

A canister. It ticks. Tick. Tick. Tick.

“ 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 ! ”

He calls as the crowd of people began to flee and the canister explodes sending large clouds of gas everywhere. Jackie takes a second before dashing towards the backend of the alley and hops over a gated fence. He knew he had to get out of thier. He coughs covering his face as he walks out of the smoke and into an bustling streetway.

He looks back down the alleyway as the smoke still spreads out from the alley. The next send he turns he sees the figure. Sitting on a larger than average motocyle like vehicle. The ominous gaze from the black helmet hiding any emotion from them. Jackie getting one last glance before a bus drives between them obstructing his view.

And before he knew it..

They were gone.

He blinks before rubbing his head. This was strange. He hadn't ever seen anyone like this before. And they didn't seem to be a threat or villainous, at least from.that small encounter but still. Jackie takes a glance at his phone once more scrolling through the pictures. " who are you..." he ponders as he begins his walk. He has to figure this out. It was another mystery of the city to solve.

And lets just say. He loves mystery.

Kind of a weird place to stop but don't fret. This might end up a pt.1 if it is good enough 😅

Dividers belong to @animatedglittergraphics-n-more ♡

[s-creations]

maybe 💞 luigi and daisy? or prince peasley ill leave it up to you!! :D i hope youll have a good day, take care of yourself and remember to drink water!! :D 🫶

((Sorry for no Daisy. I shall offer to small stories instead. Also, I have pop! XD Hope that's a good substitute. ))

💞 Post-nightmare cuddles (Link to Post)

(Peasley's Nightmare.)

His skin crawled. 

He felt wrong.

Wrong body.

Wrong form.

This wasn’t him. 

What had happened? 

Everything hurts. 

Everything felt like it was on fire.

He was angry. 

It wasn’t his anger. 

He wasn’t sure where the painful burning was coming from.

He just need it OUT!

A movement caught his attention. 

He latched out. 

A bundle of green crumpled to his feet and-

Peasley let out a sharp gasp as he sat up. Eyes wide as his heart hammered in his chest. The dark room slowly comes into focus from the light gently pouring in from the open window. A gentle breeze washing over him, making Peasley realize how uncomfortably warm he was. Burning on the inside by freezing due to the dew resting on his skin.

Clarity came further feeling a hand on his shoulder before an arm was gently warped around him. Peasley looked over to find Luigi. Who was looking at the distraught prince in worry, even with how half awake the human looked. 

Oh, that’s right. Peasley forgot that Luigi had stayed in his room that night. 

He’d not expect this to happen. 

“I…I’m sorry,” Peasley whispered softly, “I didn’t mean to wake you…”

“Are you okay?” Luigi replied worriedly, inching closer. 

“...Kind of.”

“Do…you want to talk about it?”

Peasley let out a slow sigh and leaned against Luigi. Shoulder slumping as he attempted to get comfortable. “I just… Do you…remember when I was turned into that dragon-like creature?”

“When we first met? Yeah, it was definitely one memorable introduction.” Luigi attempted to lighten the mood. But all it got was a small smile out of the prince.

“I…keep having nightmares about that time. I was placed into a monstrous form that had no control over my emotions. I was so..angry, upset, filled with rage. I…” Peasley let out another sigh as he scrubbed his face. “I’m trapped like that once more, but there’s no relief. Instead I…I think…”

“You don’t have to keep going if it makes you unhappy.” Luigi said quickly. 

Peasley shook his head, “I-It’s fine, I need to get this out of me. It’s all a confusing blurr, but I…I think I kill you? I-I don’t know, I just know that there’s just a bundle of something unmoving and it’s green and I think it’s your shirt and-”

He didn’t argue back as Luigi pulled him closer, letting out shaky breaths as he’s cradled. Luigi gently whispering, “You’re okay, you’re okay, it’s just a dream…”

“I just…w-what if it actually ha-happened?” 

“But it didn’t. You were saved and led the way to defeating Cackletta.” Luigi placed a kiss on Peasley’s temple, rubbing his arms gently. “I’m okay, you’re okay.”

The prince let out a slow sigh and nodded, “Yeah…we’re okay…”

_____________________________________________________________

(Luigi's Nightmare.)

He was so cold. 

He couldn’t move.

He didn’t feel anything but he knew he was…scared…

What was happening? 

Where was he? 

Mario? 

Peach? 

Heck, he’d even take seeing Bowser at this point.

Why couldn’t he move? 

Why-

Why did it feel like his head was splitting in two? Make it stop! Please make it stop!

His whole body felt as if he was being torn apart! 

Why couldn’t he scream!?

He knew his mouth was open in pain but he couldn’t hear anything!

Why was this happening!?

“Fret not, Mr. L, you’re serving your purpose well…”

Luigi couldn’t tell if he screamed from waking from his dream or from falling out of his bed. He was scrambling up onto his fours in the next second. Wide eyes filled with fear darting around the room that he slowly realized that he was in his bedroom. The one in the home he and Mario shared on the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom. 

“Luigi?” 

The quiet voice pulled the human to the other person standing in his room. Peasley was dressed in an old t-shirt of Luigi’s and a pair of boxers. Something that would have set Luigi’s heart a flutter under normal circumstances. Now however, with how fearful Peasley looked and how he still felt about that dream, Luigi was more nervous that he was caught so low. 

“P..Peasley?” Luigi quietly choked out. He couldn’t help but flinch back when the prince slowly knelt before him. 

Peasley paused at the action, offering a small smile as he shifted to sit instead. Sitting cross legged and holding out his arms. A silent invitation for Luigi. Who took it immediately, crawling over and practically collapsing against Peasley. Saying nothing more as he allowed tears to silently fall down his face. 

On his part, Peasley didn’t ask for information. He knew not to pry, he knew Luigi would talk to him eventually. At the moment, however, he just needed to show that he was here to support, to comfort, and know rest would come later.

[lillotte17]

Okay so I watched the new trailer and I liked it but I was a little underwhelmed just because...they are being SO stingy about anything past "It has Solas in it!" and "We're in Tevinter now!"

But like...the more I thought about it, the weirder it seems? Like yeah it made sense at first because they had to scrap the whole game at least...2 times?? So, of course they didn't say anything THEN, but it's in alpha now and the story and characters have got to be pretty locked in, so it feels weird that they are being THIS secretive about stuff when they have a nearly ten year old fanbase that are living off breadcrumbs for sustenance. (I know there's other side stuff, but side stuff is appetizers at best and the game is the entree.)

But what if the whole point of just constantly saying "It has Solas in it! You're gonna face him! Your old pal, Fen'Harel! Remember when he ripped your arm off?? :D" Is just like....a big red herring??

I am feeling very:

And I know other people have made a similar point, but...

We had this mural in Trespasser, and there were theories all the way back then saying that the circles outside the "Veiled" area in the center could be the Evanuris, or possibly the old Tevinter gods.

And then we got this:

In the previous trailer, withe the 7 circles again. All dark save 2. And people were thinking they were more likely the old dragon gods because we've had 5 blights, so there's only 2 left...

And now we have:

THE SAME SEVEN CIRCLES but now with SYMBOLS. TWO of which are clearly:

THESE terrifying specters from the other trailer!!

WHICH MAKES ME FEEL PRETTY CERTAIN THAT SOMETHING IN THE NEXT GAME IS GOING TO INVOLVE FIST FIGHTING AN ANCIENT ELVEN GOD. (You know...another one. Who didn't dump you on your first real date and steal your hand)

I ALSO think that they are the old god dragons, OR that the dragons are the "locks" on their prison in the Fade, and that is why Solas was VERY unhappy with the Wardens wanting to find the last Archdemons and kill them off. Killing the dragon seems to temporarily stop the blight, but if they are actually the Evanuris, it might be setting them loose. I mean, Flemmeth/Mythal has been killed at least 3 times and it doesn't seem to have slowed her roll, so...

So, maybe they are being very loud about Solas so you don't think too hard about the absolute horrors standing right behind him. >_>;

Which...holy heck, that is going to be a HUGE amount of new stuff!! EXCITING!! But as a solasmancer, it does make me a little anxious that he really is only going to be a part of the main game for like 5 minutes before the Big Twist happens, and we never hear from him again. 🥺

[valeriefauxnom]

He Is the Messiah!

...Or prophet, whatever, but I found it funny the sheer amount of room intrusions Euden has to deal with that kick off events.

Like, there's Chronos, to which he's either too sleepy to care about or desperate or too used to random dragons of his invading that he isn't all that panicked after the initial 'who's there' at having a little dragon promising time travel to him in his room. You know, as one does.

In fact, he's rather quick to just kinda go 'okay, and?' at Chronos instantly pointing out all those deep regrets and how he keeps it separate from everyone, which might be kinda creepy in a 'how do you know that?' sort of way.

Fittingly, Rage of Chronos kicks off in a similar way, though Euden definitely seems to be a bit more shy to strange voices in his room spewing odd things at night, but still not quite the level of hostility I would expect.

Also, in retrospect, Grimnir was kinda speedrunning the main plot there in his opening monologue!

"Child borne of the rift 'twixt fates" could be a reference to his true true origins as a part of Xenos since Xenos likes floating about the rift between worlds and Euden was floating about there, too, since both Morsayati and Xenos were. "Inheritor of altered life"...yeah, that too, since he's a nice mixture of baby blood and still-living demon lord flesh plus whatever other things Finlorda might have decided to throw in the BuildaHeir pot.

"Blood-sworn yet bloodless", well, he's pactbound with the dragonblood he did inherit from baby!Nedrick, but has no true 'bloodline' as a standard human would. Lastly, "mutation in causality's design" might be a reference to the fact that this world's Euden is explicitly an anomaly how he's gotten so far for any number of reasons. Then, later, there's the 'transfigured prince', which either might just be Grimnir referencing his shapeshifting or the fact he's a hunk of demon flesh coaxed to look like Nedrick if he were a healthy normal human baby.

Darn, Grimnir, why couldn't you have spoke in plain English a bit sooner? Rage of Chronos came out in April 2021. At latest, that's the first part of chapter 19 that was out! I do not know if they were actually planning the entire monologue to be so relevant, since I think I recall the three writers for Dragalia largely worked separately on their own arcs, but that's uncanny. Very uncanny. All that in two sentences.

That aside, he's still a bit too nonchalant. Nothing like hearing that dramatic monologue and just rolling over and going back to sleep.

Neither of these times were the first, either.

Skyborne Spectacle, for example, starts with Euden having a dream vivid enough and concerning enough that he gets the gang to go to a presumably distant Peng Lai, likely more at the eastern shore of South Grastea since Taiwu is out east too and it's a former colony. Or as Notte puts it: "Heck, we actually came here in the first place because we were warned to do so in some spooky dream."

Imagine that conversation. "Hey guys, I had a dream that this one town on the other side of the continent is in trouble. Mind checking it out just to be sure? ...No, I don't think I'm paranoid. I know it sounds like I am, though."

Imagine the reputation all these kind of things spark, even just the one time, since goodness knows Notte was more than happy to parade around the fact that they were here because of a dream. Sure, sure, there may have been more 'mundane' magic at hand since Xu Fu was purposefully trying to reach him, but details tend to get caught up in the mix. All the average townsfolk probably hear is that this one band of New Alberians came to town because their leader 'had a dream of disaster' coincidentally around their New Year's celebrations and was right.

Perhaps there was some good old conspiracy theories popping up that the Prince was clairvoyant or a prophet like Verica or something and that's how New Alberia's been kicking against all odds for so long! Why settle with one prophet when you can have MORE?!

Honestly, I could almost see this bringing its own sort of trouble to Euden. He seems prone to nightmares, a tendency that even carried over to the comics (though they generally featured more...benign? nightmares of Celliera transforming Luca into TooBuff!Luca). What are the odds that this dream isn't indicative of a problem, provided that it isn't over something that was based in the past and already occurred? That's a fast track to needless anxiety and stress right there.

Even aside from that, having anyone honestly think you're able to predict the future is its own nuisance. The attention might be fawning at first or just desperate to hear more predictions, but it can just as easily turn to hatred for not 'sharing' the foresight he's obviously been having and thus letting x disaster occur.

So yeah. They probably should've invested more money into securing Euden's room from time-traveling dragons and strange men, even if it'd only likely weed out an assassin or two in reality since those two aren't...normal home invaders. Let Euden sleep in peace 2023

[starfirexuchiha]

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher) Album Book Volume 4 - English Translation

Did you know that there were 4 story books made for Fire Emblem Ciphers?

Volume 1 is about Ike and FE9 / FE10

Volume 2 is about Male Corrin and Fates

Volume 3 is about Female Corrin and Fates

and Volume 4 is about Roy and FE6 / FE7

Thank you so much ZoraTwilight for scanning the Volume 4 book for me! I was able to translate the story within it! (I was supposed to translate this years ago but I was buried in college homework/exams at the time and forgot I'm sorry💦)

My translation isn't perfect but I tried my best to make the English sentences not sound weird. Some phrases in Japanese cannot be easily translated to English. So here goes!

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Album Book Vol. 04

Shadows taking over, Light of Hope

-----A sinister shadow is about to overtake this continent…

The sandstorm is whirling like crazy. As if it’s something that refuses to be approached. As if it’s never going away.

“Hey… do you know about this rumor?”  The guy in front of a caravan said. While wrapping his turban with the scarf is covering his mouth, the man walking next to him spoke out: 

“I’m tired… talk about that gossip to someone else will ya?”

“Hey don’t say that, there are many legends about this Nabata desert.” 

The listener gave him a dull look, but the speaker continued to run his mouth. The speaker’s face is also tired, but he at least wanted to distract himself from the unbearable desert heat as well as the drifting dust in the sandstorm. 

“First of all… there are valuable treasures buried everywhere in this great desert.” 

“Yeah…”

“And I heard about a story where there’s a secret village hidden somewhere around here. It’s a village where the descendants of dragons live.”

“I see, I see…”

“And there’s a large temple brimming with cold water underground or something…”

“…..”

The story is hard to believe. There shouldn’t be hard ground in the sand as far as the eye can see. These two are traveling merchants. They do business while carrying loads of items. Walking in the desert is a normal thing for them. In this great desert, they usually shouldn’t be traveling through the dangerous sandstorm. But this time, they chose this route because there are buried packages from Bern soldiers that contain large amounts of money here. However… if the contents inside the packages hold just food and soldier equipment, then what the heck do they do now? No, they do not need to know about such things. In fact, it’s more risky to raise such a question. 

“There’s one more thing…”

The rumor-loving man still continued to tell the story. Even though the story sounds fake, what other pleasant things are there to talk about? 

“I also heard that a ghost of a beautiful woman tends to show up around here too.” 

Just as he said that, the ghost suddenly began to appear. Right before the merchant’s eyes, the sand whirling in the storm grew stronger. It’s so harsh that the sand begins to stick onto the merchants’ carts.

And then the men saw her. Amidst the raging sandstorm stood a shadow of a woman standing in the dunes. She is as beautiful as the rumors say, the figure of the divine woman appears to be more fascinating than frightening…

“Is that…. THE GHOST YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT JUST NOW?!”

“GRAAHHHHHHH!”

The frightening sound echoed. At first it seemed that the sound of the wind became stronger but that’s not it. A bigger shadow was looming just behind that woman. The strange looking monster figure closely resembled the ones seen in fairy tale picture books for young children.

“It’s… It’s a DRAGON!!!”

As they cried out, the caravan group ran away at once, leaving their horses and goods behind. 

There’s an area in the desert where one can hear the sound of gentle water flowing and leaves rustling from the trees. The sunlight filtering through the trees created small patches of light in a small area. One could hardly believe that it is the same area as the desert a while ago…

“Hey! Big sister Sophia!”

In the desert resides a village around one oasis. It is commonly known as Nabata Village, a Utopia where humans and dragons live together. Among the powerful territories in Elibe, such an isolated land like this one exists. 

“Huh? Say it in a little more detail please~”

Fae inflates her cheeks with a face of tantrum. Sophia laughs again, sounding a little worried. Since birth, Fae is not allowed to leave the village. It’s because her power is too strong and that there is a risk that she will be used under the wrong hands of unknown people. Therefore, she should not be allowed to talk about her interest regarding the outside world. Sophia knew that. 

��I really…. don’t have anything to say”

She was watching a caravan passing by. One cannot reach this village unless they know the restricted route to get there. Apparently it doesn’t seem that someone had found the way, but Sophia had a bad feeling about this. Sophia, who inherits the blood of the dragon, doesn’t have tremendous power like Fae does, but instead has magical powers that no ordinary person can possess.  Foreseeing the future is one of them. She felt it. She foresaw that an unknown shadow is going to cover all of Elibe. Something bad is going to happen… so she hugged Fae close and frowned. 

 “Big Sister…. what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Fae looked worried. Her innocent face expresses unhappiness knowing that she continues to be confined in this oasis. But Sophia has been wishing for Fae to be released from this eternal prison. Someday, to her heart’s content, she wants to play with her while she is free and happy. However, that desire is far away as if she can sense that it is hidden behind the dark clouds in the sky… 

The sounds of a horse’s hooves echo in the courtyard under the clear sky. As the horse is walking, a young man with gold shining hair and blue eyes is seen with a bit of dirt on his body, showing a bitter smile on his face.

“Checkmate” 

Said a female knight riding a horse. The young blonde man who had fallen on the ground, raised his defeated face and returned an invigorating smile. 

“You win…. Mage General”

The name of the female knight is Cecilia. She is the Mage General from Etruria’s 3 generals. The young man she defeated is Klein. Against this skilled bow user, Cecilia thought that it had been the first time in a long time that she had such a tough sparring match. The young man skillfully dodged her wind magic, and has great precision when he shoots his arrows many times. If Cecilia didn’t change the trajectory of her Aircaliber magic, she might have lost that match. Klein is a noble of the Reglay family and is currently engaged in military service in the Western Isles. He was with Cecilia when returning to Etruria for a report and decided to have a sparring match with her on the premises of a villa. And now…

“You and your younger sister have a considerable amount of skill. Perhaps the next Mage General of Etruria will be Clarine I wonder?”

“Haha… please don’t tell my sister that.” 

It all began in a dinner party when Klein’s younger sister Clarine started asking Cecilia to become their mage instructor.  The people of the dinner party were surprised at such an unfamiliar offer but Cecilia accepted it. The place was small but Cecilia was able to teach her a few magic tricks. 

-----It was wonderful! But… given that Clarine’s brother uses a bow, General Cecilia cannot teach him. Clarine insisted she do it, but Cecilia will not. However, Klein did mention when greeting Cecilia, that a sparring match would be a great opportunity. 

“Now then… if you’ll excuse me…”

Klein is about to leave while brushing off the dust on him.

“Klein, can you spare me a moment?”

“Huh? Um… of course…”

Cecilia was worried about the state of Klein’s mind during their match. She understands that Klein is an innocent young man during that match, so she also wanted to hear his story a little more. 

“Is General Arcard doing well?” 

“Yes. The General is trying day and night to suppress the rebellious group in the West Isles. I am trying hard to suppress the rebels too but…”

Klein stopped talking after saying that, and took his gaze away from Cecilia with an expression that looks as if he is thinking about the distant lands in the west. He hesitated to say anything because he was hesitant to reveal anything like a complaint about his military service or his superiors. He was afraid to say that there was something disturbing about this expedition. For Cecilia, just knowing about it is enough.

“I see, I understand” 

-----Let’s meet again. Future Archer General. As Cecilia said this, she smiled as she watched Klein leave.

The Western Isles is an expedition that is far away from the capital. General Arcard is currently ruling that place. I heard he was suppressing the rebel soldiers but… there are rumors that he is in some way in contact with the higher-ups, and I heard some not-so-good stories out of that.

I hope that they are not planning something by taking advantage of how difficult it is to see in the fog… and speaking of rumors, I heard that recently there has been an influx of smuggling illegal goods and mysterious cargo within Etruria. There are various nefarious schemes being planned without my knowledge. Should I briefly consult with the other war commanders in advance to confront those who pose a threat to the country?

Cecilia was pondering about this while looking at the sky, which was beginning to cloud over, when suddenly a messenger soldier came rushing in. 

“What happened?”

“A report! T-The Bern army has crossed the border and is marching into Lycia!” 

“What?!”

The Kingdom of Bern is a large nation located on the eastern side of the continent of Elibe, and although it clashed with Etruria in the past, in recent years, their relationship maintained stability. Bern’s relationship with Lycia shouldn’t be bad either. I also heard that Zephiel, who became the king at a young age, is a man of great character and is a spitting image of a king. Why on earth is he…

However for Cecilia, a general of Etruria, that is not the first thing she should think about. Although it’s not her country’s problem, they have a better relationship with Lycia than with Bern. First, she must immediately consider what countermeasures that her army should take. In some cases, she could send reinforcements over to Lycia. And so…

She ran. Roy… Lilina… She remembered the faces of her beloved disciples whom she taught how to fight, back when she was stationed in Lycia. Also Klein and Clarine of Etruria… She is feeling uneasy that promising young people in this continent are getting dragged into a war by a great unseeable force…

When I awoke, I found myself in a small room surrounded by humidity, darkness, and rocks----- It was a prison.

In his hazy consciousness, Hector, the Marquis of Ostia remembered why he was in this place.

It was a complete surprise for Lycia that the neighboring country of Bern, which they had maintained friendship up until now, is suddenly attacking them.

However, the initial confusion was short-lived, for an alliance of lords immediately gathered with their troops at Araphen, with Hector as their leader. They formed an allied army with all of their soldiers, and prepared to confront the Bern Kingdom’s army. Although they are outnumbered, the army alliance is known for their strong unity, and their spirit of not losing against a big army kept their morale high. 

Well, that’s how it should be, until Bern showed up leading an army of resurrected dragons…

Looking at it, Hector’s beloved heavy armor that had been with him for many years was cracked and brutally destroyed in many places. Also, the wounds he sustained when he faced a dragon on the front lines, covered his whole body.

Since my youth, I have been through many battles and fought alongside with many friends… But my body that I once considered to be very strong, is reaching its limit.

-----This life too, is also… 

Amidst the painful defeat, and the humiliation of being imprisoned in the dungeon of an ally’s castle, Hector sensed that his death was drawing near.

“Lilina…”

Hector couldn’t help but say his daughter’s name. His daughter got her good looks from her mother, and she also gained a lot of trust from her retainers. Plus, she has recently shown her talent as a mage. Since she’s his daughter, she’ll be strong enough to survive. He’s not worried about the future. However, not being able to witness her growth would be painful and unbearable. The heart of a fierce warrior who is at the brink of death, is filled with regret. Also there was another thing that he regretted.

----- If one of us is ever in danger, we will protect each other with our lives.

Those are the words that he swore to his best friend Eliwood during his younger days. Eliwood is also a Lycian lord, and the head of his family in Pherae. He is his closest friend like no other. As promised, they had saved each other in difficult situations many times. Eliwood is not just someone that he has a cooperative relationship with. He is a precious friend with a solid bond…

But recently, Eliwood has been suffering from illness, and is often laying in bed. Hector wanted to go to his sickbed and see his face. He wanted to cheer him up and throw away his illness.  However, it seems like his promise can no longer be fulfilled. 

No, but putting it that way would mean that Eliwood is also breaking his promise by not being able to save me from this current situation. We are in the same boat huh…

F… Farewell… my best friend…

Hector smiled weakly and quietly tried to close his eyes.

At that moment, he heard a noise from above. Several people were rushing down to this dungeon. Then, Hector saw a young man running towards him right before his eyes.

“Lord Hector! Are you okay?” 

That voice sounded a lot like the voice of a man whom Hector knew. The voice of the only man he could stand shoulder to shoulder with, the only man he can rely on in this life dedicated to battle…

(TN: Roy's voice sounds like Eliwood's)

“Roy…?”

Hector noticed it right away. Fiery red hair, eyes full of justice. The boy who looks a lot like Eliwood turns out to be Roy, the son of his best friend.

“Yes. I came to help!“

Behind Roy, there is chivalry that follows him. Reliable young warriors are gathered together. This reminded me of my past self with Eliwood and the others. The promise couldn’t be fulfilled, but instead will be inherited. I can… I can entrust everything to him, regarding Lilina’s safety, countering the threat of Bern, and Lycia’s future. 

Hector remembered a prophecy he heard from Archsage Athos during his younger days.

(TN: FE7 reference)

-----“An evil star will rise in Bern and all of Elibe will be consumed in war. But do not be afraid. Lycia will once again bring hope.”

At the end of his life, he found hope. It was like a passionate, bright, blazing hope-----

In the desert in the far west, in a hidden village where humans and dragons live together, the priestess Sophia looked up at the night sky. Fae, who was lying on her lap, perhaps tired from playing, looked up at her curiously. 

“Big sister Sophia, what are you looking at?”

Sophia saw it. She saw that within the dark shadows that began to cover Elibe, there is a small light that twinkles brightly like a star. She sensed that under this distant sky, the light is growing larger and larger, and is clothed in fire.

Sophia only stroked Fae’s hair in silence. She feels the breath of brightness that is budding in the distance, and it will not be defeated by the harsh fate that lies ahead.

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

That's the end of the translation! 😊

I really want to translate Volume 1 (Ike's story) too but I do not have the book nor do I have scans of the pages. 😭

[backjustforberena]

i feel like show is going with the whole “the targaryens caused their own downfall,” and the first example that they’re showing is that rhaenys SHOULD have been the queen. i know book lovers are upset because she’s different than her book counterpart (in the show, while she’s been on rhaenyra’s side, she’s seems to toe the line, while in the book she was actively planning and telling rhaenyra to use the dragons etc), but if the show is going to show that rhaenys should have been the queen then she can’t be advocating for using the dragons, knowing how much damage they’re going to cause

idk. i just think that rhaenys having some of the most pivotal quotes of s1 and in the trailer shows that the first moment the targaryens messed up us when they didn’t make her queen

I pretty much agree with you. I know that Rhaenys is not as book-readers had assumed. To me, when I read the book, there wasn't enough there to say either way - we BARELY hear anything of her, and certainly, she was not mentioned in Viserys's reign, which is what Season 01 covers, except to note that she and her husband were in deep mourning for their children.

And then with the first Black Council and Episode 10, events were changed around and timelines were changed around, that you couldn't adhere to the scene in the book (for Rhaenys or anybody else) - for starters, they split that scene into 3 different ones! But I'll not go into all of that.

Also (and this may be a hot take), I don't think Rhaenys, in the book, was ever advocating to use the dragons as a way to assault King's Landing straight off the bat. She does a dragon count. No more, no less. She includes all the small dragons, who would not be battle-ready. She doesn't suggest a plan. Celtigar is the one who suggests it. The Sea Snake disagrees and, considering that it would have been noted had a husband disagreed with his wife or vice versa (as it is noted that Daemon agrees with his wife not a paragraph later), I assume Rhaenys also agreed that they "want to rule the city, not burn it to the ground”.

The quote in the trailer, for me, sort of indicates as to WHY Rhaenys never pursued her own claim. A question not answered in the book - she was passed over twice and never fought for it. She only accepted the results. And with the Great Council, she definitely had an advantage over Viserys, if it had gone to war. Heck, she arguably had a chance if she'd wanted to fight against Jaehaerys picking Baelon. But if she'd wanted to take the Throne when the Old King died, she could have. However... "There is no war so hateful to the Gods as a war between kin. And no war so bloody as a war between dragons."

So yeah, Rhaenys should have been Queen. It's a message given from the start, and continually represented, even utterly bluntly by Alicent in Episode 09. The show is using that as a focus point to press the theme of women in power and the patriarchal society that presents that idea as unwanted.

The Targaryens did cause their own downfall, whether it was from that choice or something else. It was a war between Targaryens that destroyed the Targaryens.

[will-solace-aaaaa]

Chapter 3: Good Mornings

I woke up to the sound one can only identify as Sebastian singing in the shower. It was horrible.

He had to have a shower when I first got here because my blood got everywhere. And, he made me clean it up. He said if I didn't, he was gonna chop off my other leg.

Ow.

'Dad, if you don't shut up, I swear I'm gonna eat your food!' I hear Ariel yell from the other room. 'Fine! Just don't touch my food, I'll be out in a minute!' I hear him yell back before quietly going back to his shower. Ariel is now God.

'Ugh.' I groaned, opening my eyes and getting blinded from the light coming in from the window. I don't know if you can tell, but I don't want to get up. But I do when I realise Ariel said there was food. Yummy. I throw on some of Sebastian's clothes (damn, we really need to get me my own clothes) and make sure I look good. Who am I kidding, I always do.

I make my way downstairs, bumping into a few walls and tripping a few times because of my leg. 'Sup, Ariel!' I say awesomely.

Turns out that they had a spare room, and Sebastian said I could stay in there and to get comfortable since we have no idea when I'm gonna get back.

I still don't know what that weird object was or how it made that portal thing, or if I just imagined that, but I don't think I'm getting home anytime soon. The longer I stay, the weirder things get; I mean, powers? Magic? It all makes no sense.

Ariel turned to me as I entered the kitchen area. 'Hey, Eric,' She said, waving me over to the table that was now clean of all my blood, 'Hey! What ya got there?' I ask, gesturing to the food, 'breakfast, now eat it.' She says with a smile on her face, handing me my bowl.

Man, I love eating at things that I have recently lost a limb on.

I made Seb make some food for Ruby last night, and he was super startled when he found out she was now half dragon, but this morning she looked to have been given some dog food that I (with Ariel's money)  bought on our way back from the forests. Her paws were all bandaged up and luckily, no dog limbs were lost.

After eating, and once Sebastian had come downstairs, Ariel had said that she needed to go and see a friend. She asked if I wanted to come along, and I was desperate to get out of the house.

'We better do something about your clothes,' she said, gesturing towards Sebastian's pirate clothes that were like a billion sizes too big for me. 'Yeah, not exactly practical for... well, anything.' I agree.

Ariel took me to the nearest busy areas of Emaia where we got food, ate food, and bought me some new clothes.

I got changed into my new outfit, in which I looked fabulous, with my old blue jumper that I fell in with, a pair of jeans, some black coverse because they're amazing, and a cool plain black choker necklace becuase they make me somehow even hotter. My jumper was one of the only things reminding me of my home. I was starting to miss my friends and parents.

My mum must be so worried, I mean, I've been gone for ages. And my sister! They're all going to have no idea what's going on. They might think I've been kidnapped or something!

Before I could dive anymore into my spiralling, Ariel announced that we had arrived.

'Here we are!' She said, bouncing on her heels. What the heck. No way is this where her friend lives. She had brought us to the very middle of the kingdom, and on a piece of land slightly higher than the rest, was one of the hugest freaking castles that I've ever seen (also the only one but this castle was pretty much out of a fairy tale).

The castle wasn't too far from the house, but it was huge. How did I not notice it?

The actual castle was built like the one you see at the start of Disney movies, but there was a path around the side with people who looked really busy.

'Let's go around back,' Ariel said, walking away before I had time to respond. 'Okay.' I say before slowly jogging towards her. She didn't even wait for me!

When we got to the back of the castle, I saw a bunch of people shooting targets with arrows, fighting with each other, or just chatting and watching a girl with yellow-blonde hair failing at hitting the target with her arrows, by a lot.

'So, who's your friend?' I say, not taking my eyes off the girl with the bow. 'He's probably inside right now, I'll go look for him. Stay here. 'Okay- and she's gone again. Wow.' I say before going over to the girl who still hadn't managed to hit the target.

With the way the people were watching her and laughing to their friends, it seemed like this had happened a lot. 'Hey,' I say, startling her from trying to set the arrow into the bow properly. 'You're doing that wrong.' 'I know, dummy.' She says in the most sarcastic voice I had ever heard, and I've been living with Sebastian! That says a lot. I was starting to like her already.

She went back to trying to shoot the arrow and missed so bad it almost hit one of the guys watching from the side, missing his head by an inch. 'Sorry Gabe!' She shouted as both of their faces started to go red. 'It's okay!' He shouted back to her. Ooh, someone has a crush. 'So, what's your name? I asked because I had no idea. I totally ship her and Gabe, though; that was adorable.

She looked back to me, her eyes rolling. Meanie. 'I'm Eleanor. Who are you?' Eleanor said, cocking her head to the side and sassily putting her hand on her hip. 'I'm Eric!' I tell her with a big smile on my face, stretching out my hand for a handshake (and getting completely ignored). Okay... rude.

'So, do you know Ariel?' I ask her, just now realising that this girl with pigtails is taller than me. Jeez. 'Ariel? Do you mean the girl the prince always hangs around?' She says as I tried not to laugh, I mean, Ariel? Friends with a prince? What? 'No, I don't think she could be friends with a prince.' I go as my laughs slip a little bit. 'Yeah, she's the baker's daughter, right? Blonde hair and everything. She's really nice, actually.' Ariel is friends with a prince. Ariel wants to introduce me, yes I, to a prince. Half of my life is literally just illegal stuff.

There is no way she wants me to be introduced to the prince when my dog is pretty much illegal.

1188 words

Published 7 March 2024