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findingjoynweirdstuff · 3 years

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Dream SMP Recap (April 23/2021) - The Lessons

Those resisting the Egg meet on Cloud Prime to prepare for the Red Banquet, composing backup plans and wondering if the Eggpire really is trying to turn over a new leaf.

Ranboo experiences something strange while talking to Foolish about the mansion and goes searching for some answers, confronting Sam at the prison.

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VOD LINKS:

Foolish

Philza

Captain Puffy

Jack Manifold

Ranboo

Hannahxxrose

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- Foolish picks out an outfit for the Red Banquet.

- Phil continues to work on the massive basement build.

- Puffy needs a Banquet skin as well. She meets Foolish at the Holy Land.

- Foolish shows Puffy the Nether Portal entrance to his summer home that he’s been working on. He also still needs therapy from the catmaid incident.

- They meet with Sam and Hannah on Cloud Prime. Foolish hands them all Rolexes for the Banquet.

- They discuss the Banquet. Sam says Bad told them they wanted to “turn over a new leaf.” They notice Bad used the same phrases for all of them. Foolish and Puffy are both skeptical.

- Sam thinks they should have a backup plan. He pulls out diamond blocks, saying he can donate riches. The Eggpire doesn’t want them bringing items, but Sam thinks they should hide armor somewhere down near the Banquet area just in case.

- Hannah and Foolish leave.

- Antfrost comes over and Puffy and Sam briefly speak with him. They tell him they’re excited for the Banquet, for the hatchet that they’re going to bury and the leaf they’ll turn over.

- Right now, Antfrost is working on final preparations. Sam asks if there’s anything he can help with. Ant says they could bring shrimp for Puffy’s shrimp cocktails.

Puffy: “Well, I mean I was promised it was gonna be there -- that’s kinda the reason why I showed up, honestly, was -- was for the shrimp. And you know the leaf, of course, that we’re turning.”

Ant: “Of course, of course. It’ll be there, it’ll be there.”

...

Sam: “Is there anything specifically that we should look forward to?”

Ant: “I think just everybody getting along and you know, becoming one. Turning over a new leaf.”

- They say goodbye and Antfrost leaves.

- Sam and Puffy speak. Can they trust the other two, Hannah and Foolish?

Sam: “I know one of them’s your son--”

Puffy: “No, listen, listen. See, Foolish is innocent. He’s too good, too pure. But me and you, we’ve been here since the beginning. We’ve seen this unfold since the Egg showed up, and I don’t think they’ve seen all the bad.”

Sam: “I don’t think they quite grasp how much the Egg has changed those two.”

Puffy: “God no...”

- Sam has a plan: to set a trap to destroy the Egg if necessary. He’s hesitant, though, as he doesn’t want to destroy the Egg if they really are trying to turn over a new leaf. They can drop TNT down the tunnel right on top of the Egg. He’ll have to sneak in a lever somewhere.

- Sam wants to give them a chance to turn over a new leaf, but this is their last chance. It’s now or never to gain their trust back.

- They agree to not tell Hannah and Foolish a thing about this. The less they know, the less danger they’ll be in.

- Puffy says goodbye and Sam leaves to collect TNT. They’ll speak later.

- Puffy wanders off and thinks to herself.

“This has to be on me and Sam. There’s no -- I trust Foolish and I trust Hannah, but they haven’t been here since the beginning. They don’t know. They don’t know better.”

“I wanna trust Bad, I wanna trust Antfrost and Punz and I wanna trust that they’re being honest and they do want to make a difference, but...just too much has happened, they’ve changed too much, and I think there’s too much to risk, there’s too much on the line. It has to be like this. It has to be done."

- Puffy goes to prepare sets of armor.

- Jack gets some Netherite enchanted.

- After Tubbo chooses Ranboo over Jack on his stream with Tommy, Jack goes and leaves a sign in front of Bee ‘n’ Boo to get back at him:

Hope you have fun owning your hotel with Ranboo

- Jack </3

“It’s the worst kind of villainy, chat...making his feelings hurt.”

- He goes back to enchanting.

---

The Enderwalk Saga: Chapter One

The Lessons.

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- Ranboo is in Michael’s room. He draws the Axe of Ender for a few seconds before throwing Michael a golden apple.

- He has to go speak with Foolish to talk about the mansion about the payment. When he reaches the mansion, he finds Foolish in the library. Foolish has himself a cake.

- The mansion is nearly complete, and Ranboo is excited to move in.

- Foolish tours Ranboo around the mansion, showing him the various rooms, including a war room that Tubbo requested. Some he’s not sure about. Maybe he could get some books -- he asks if Ranboo’s much of a book-reader.

- There’s also a panic closet that Foolish has already tried out after a certain chandelier.

- Foolish tries to bring Ranboo back to the war room but loses his way. As they pass the bee on the lead, Ranboo draws his axe for a moment again. Foolish reaches it and shows Ranboo a secret back space.

- Foolish brings up the deal he made with Ranboo to thank him. Not the mansion, but the shulker box. Ranboo is confused -- what deal?

- Foolish’s voice fades away for a moment, replaced with Enderman noises.

Words appear on the screen.

Lesson 14:

If you have the opportunity to gain a favor, take it.

- Foolish tosses Ranboo a grass block to hold. Ranboo carries it as he continues talking to Foolish. He nervously tells him he’s just remembered he has things to attend to, and they can talk later.

- Foolish leaves, and Ranboo speaks to himself. He’s confused. What was that? What deal was Foolish talking about?

- He leaves the mansion and heads out from Snowchester back to the mainland. He says it must not have anything to do with the “experiments” he’s been doing. There wouldn’t be any side effects.

- Ranboo pauses in front of Bee ‘n’ Boo.

“I remember this...I have to finish this."

Lesson 27:

Do not reminisce on what you have lost for it will weigh you down.

- Ranboo is confused. Why is he only remembering this?

- The Prime Path is splattered in red.

“He’s still in prison...can’t have anything to do with him.”

- Ranboo walks past L’manhole, eating potatoes.

“It was all going so well...why now? Because of what?”

- He heads towards the Panic Room but passes it. He’s just going for a walk. He figures he needs to tell people what he’s done.

- Ranboo makes his way down the railway.

Lesson 53:

Never fully trust anyone.

- He just has to block them out. That’s what he’s been doing this entire time. The experiments were doing well, he figured out how to cause it. He knew there might be side effects, but he didn’t think that this is what it would be.

- He heads back the other way to Tommy’s summer home, stopping on the hill and looking towards the prison. He promised himself he wouldn’t go in there again.

Lesson 67:

Leave no evidence of what you have helped with.

- What did he do?

- It’s just because he hasn’t eaten. He eats more potatoes and starts heading home.

Lesson 94:

DO NOT LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.

The words flash on the pages of a book.

- Ranboo stops in front of the Nether Portal.

He has to go to the prison. He needs to find the fourth book.

- Ranboo runs back to the prison. The red splatters continue on the path leading there.

“For the greater good. It’s for the greater good. It’s all for the greater good.”

- Sam is standing outside the entrance, cleaning up the ground. Sam tells him no one is allowed to visit the prison, but Ranboo pleads with him to be let in. Sam insists that no one can go in, especially not Ranboo.

- Ranboo says he doesn’t want to visit Dream.

Ranboo: “I need to be put in the prison, Sam...”

- He can’t tell Sam why. Sam says he doesn’t need to be in the prison, he hasn’t done anything wrong.

Ranboo: “I CAN’T TELL YOU WHAT I HAVE!”

- Ranboo insists again. Just a couple years. He asks what he has to do. Sam says there’s nothing he can do that would make him put Ranboo in the prison.

- Ranboo tells him there are 93 reasons why, and there could be hundreds. Thousands.

- What if he paid Sam? Sam says no, that Ranboo’s a good person.

Ranboo: “I can’t tell you how wrong that is.”

Sam: “Ranboo I can’t put you in the prison, you wouldn’t be able to go see Michael anymore. What would Tubbo do? And Foolish is building you a house right now.”

Ranboo: “Exactly why I want to be put in there, Sam.”

- What if Ranboo put himself in the prison? Sam says he can’t. He wouldn’t lock Ranboo in there for things he only imagined he did.

- Sam draws his sword and tells Ranboo to go home.

Ranboo: “Are you gonna kill me?”

Sam: “I don’t want to. I don’t think I’ll have to. I think you should just go home.”

- Ranboo and Sam say some parting words.

Ranboo: “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

Sam: “Listen to me. You are a good person.”

Ranboo: “I am?”

Sam: “Yes, you are.”

Ranboo: “I don’t think so, Sam.”

Sam: “I do, even if you don’t.”

- Ranboo leaves.

“I know what I need to do. I’m not gonna get put in there...and I at least need answers. I need answers. I need answers right now. I need to go. I need answers, and I know who can give me answers. I know who can give me answers...”

“I have to go. I have to go to the one person I know who can give me answers in regards to this...okay. I know where to go, I know what to do. It’s dangerous, hard journey, but, I know what to do. I -- I shouldn’t have done anything. I shouldn’t have done anything! ‘Cause it was fine! But then my curiosity got the best of me and now -- now there are 93--94--90 -- there are so many reasons! That I don’t wanna know, I don’t wanna remember anymore!”

“But...I’ve opened up Pandora’s Box. I’ve opened up Pandora’s Box...and I don’t know what to do. ‘Cause instead of closing it...there’s no way to close it."

- Ranboo returns to the Arctic.

“The way that the Enderwalk works is something that I’ve been trying to figure out for a long time. But I know what can help me.”

- He enters his house and starts brewing splash water bottles.

“If I can’t get answers from anyone else...then I know the one thing that can give me answers.”

- Ranboo writes in his Memory Book: What am I?

“The one thing that can give me answers...is myself.”

- He throws down the water bottle and the screen goes black as the Enderman noises sound.

SEE YOU SOON.

- Hannah fixes up her house, making it pink again.

---

Upcoming Events:

- The Red Banquet (Sunday)

- Dream SMP one-year anniversary (Saturday)

- Tommy’s plan

- Quackity’s business opening

- Dream’s lore video

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts

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votederpycausemufins · 3 years

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Alright, another chapter for my fic with Jrum. Just so you know, we’ve got a hels hermit and uh... his personality is Horny(TM). nothing to get it out of a teen rating, but there is some non consensual touching at one point so i’m giving a warning.

Rustic House Club

Jrum was set down on a counter before NPG left again, saving there was something to grab. The younger bot waited there for a little bit before getting bored and jumping down from the counter to explore the place. Jrum was pretty sure this was NPG’s base. It seemed to be a giant rustic house or mansion or something. The wood and stone were unfamiliar, but that being said, the world outside was also strange, covered with mint green grass and dirt that was a grayish blue. The sky looked mostly normal, though it was littered with multicolored clouds.

Back inside, in the center of the room was a giant campfire surrounded by some reddish brown stone. There was also an enchanting table setup with bookshelves around it, but some of the shelves were made with a dull colored wood, and some were made with the stone like what made up the walls.

A sound just behind Jrum made him jump and whirl around, only to see what looked like a very fluffy bunny hopping around. It was a nice powder blue color, and whenever it jumped, what looked like a small puff of smoke was left behind before fading.

“H-Hi. You’re n-not a bad bunny, a-are you?” Jrum nervously asked the hopping creature. “B-Because my dad d-doesn’t like bad b-bunnies.” The bunny responded by hopping and landing on top of Jrum’s head and flopping down there to rest. “H-Hey! That tickles!”

Jrum carefully grabbed the animal to put it back on the ground. He smiled as he felt that it was indeed extremely fluff as well as feeling rather soft. Once the bunny was back on the ground, it went hopping about the room again, letting Jrum explore the house more. There were a number of shulker boxes strewn about which seemed to be filled with items, but for the most part the items weren’t ones that Jrum recognized. Like what was a moa? Or an ambrosium shard?

Jrum shook his head as he stopped looking in the boxes before turning his head to some armor stands nearby. One had an elytra resting on it, while the other didn’t have an elytra or chestplate. Other than that, the first stand had some sort of purple armor while the other was a pinkish color.

The last thing Jrum really noticed was a ladder going up to the next floor, but he didn’t get the chance to go upstairs before NPG returned, carrying what sort of resembled his charger. “I’m back!”

Jrum scrambled his way back to the counter and sat on it, hoping NPG hadn’t seen he wasn’t there. “Sorry for the wait. This thing is just hard to carry and Sense wouldn’t come here to build it because he thinks it’s crazy to live in a dangerous place like the aether.”

The bunny from before hopped over and onto NPG’s head. “Oh! Hi Rusty! Did you meet our guest? He’s my brother.”

“Your bunny’s name is Rusty?”

“Yup!” NPG set the charger down near where Jrum was sitting. “Hmm, I’m sure you’ll want somewhere to sleep, so I’ll have to make you a bed later. Because trying to get that thing up a ladder would be no fun.”

Jrum looked at the pinkish armor that NPG was wearing. “What��s that?”

“Hmm?” NPG looked where Jrum was pointing. “Oh! This is some aetherite armor. It’s like netherite, but for here!”

Jrum nodded, then just sat quietly, swinging his legs. NPG was also quiet, just sort of smiling and swinging his arms about before there was a buzz. The older robot reached for his pocket and pulled out what looked like a communicator, though it was a different style, and read a message on it.

“Oh good! Prof says we can meet with him!”

Jrum tilted his head. “Who’s that?”

“That’s right! I haven’t explained things yet!” NPG exclaimed before putting his comm away again. “Okay, so we’re in Helscraft! It’s like where you’re from, but opposite. Our overworld is more like the nether, but not entirely. More like… hmm… if instead of dirt, mycelium and nylium were normal, and then instead of normal trees we get those giant mushroom things that still can be used for wood. The aether is like an opposite nether in that it’s cold here and there’s no bedrock at either edge of the world. And then finally the end in our world is probably the closest to being normal, but there’s no ender dragon. Instead there’s this thing called the warden and it’s really dangerous.”

“Oh… but who’s Proff?”

“Oh right! So here instead of hermits there are helsmits! And just about everyone in Hermitcraft has a sort of… not really opposite, but at the very least alternative version of themselves down here! Prof is one of them. He’s our version of Doc.”

“Who was the person that looked like daddy?” Jrum asked. He knew NPG had said something, but he hadn’t fully been paying attention.

“Oh! That was Perfect Sense. Most people just call him Sense.”

“Who else is there?”

NPG’s eyes lit up, happy to explain for his brother. “Okay, so there’s Xannes who’s our admin. Most people don’t use his name though, which is rude. Instead they say stuff like Evil Xisuma, Evil X or just EX. There’s True Symmetry who’s the current emperor, or I guess empress, of the server. Her running mate was Waltzware, who everyone calls Whiskey. Fun story about that, I can tell you it another time. Uh, he’s in a rivalry with DelayVS and Phedaz. There’s BadtimeswithScar, or just Badtimes. He has a place on the overworld with a big magic crystal in it which is where I go to hang out with you. It’s a little hard to get to sometimes with Peanut guarding the place. Helsknight has been around the longest and-”

“Um, so are you the opposite of my dad?” Jrum asked, cutting his brother off.

“Nope! Not really! That’s Grifter. See, I showed up sort of near the end of season three and he appeared when we moved to season four. I’m pretty sure he was a Listener or something, but anyway he didn’t like me since he thought I was taking his place. When Prof made Base Iridium, it was so he could lock up Grifter because he was like... the worst person. And so he’s been stuck there ever since and I get to stay because they all like me better!”

Jrum nodded. “Okay, and then do Grum and I have copies here?”

NPG stopped smiling at the question. “Well… no. Glodhet made Sense run for emperor, but Since Glodhet was LaxSprite’s running mate, Sense didn’t have anyone as his running mate. I tried, but he said no. Because of that, we never built any versions of you.”

Jrum looked down at the floor sadly. Sure NPG was a great friend, but he and his brother were really the only kids on the server, so it was pretty lonely a lot of the time.

“Um, well, do you want to go and see Prof?”

Jrum nodded and NPG picked him up before going to the portal he had outside. Jrum shivered when they walked outside, the air extremely cold. That definitely was opposite to the nether. It also didn’t help that it seemed to be night out, which made it even colder. “Isn’t the neth- uh, aether faster?”

“Yeah, but with its day and night cycles, it’s really dangerous at night and you don’t really have any gear I don’t think. Besides, Prof isn’t that far away from the other side of my portal.”

“O-Okay.”

Grian and Mumbo spawned in Helscraft right next to each other. They spawned on a small island that was half made of mycelium, half on fire. Grian was a little worried about the fact that Xisuma didn’t seem to be with them, but that was probably fine? Maybe he had been there before and when spawning in, he appeared there instead.

There seemed to be some sort of water around the island, but it didn’t quite look right as it was a bright red color. Grian carefully plucked a wing and dipped it into the water. It didn’t get burnt or damaged or anything, so that was a good sign.

Mumbo looked in a chest on the island and found it filled with boats. The wood seemed to be slightly pink, like a slightly more colorful jungle boat. He placed it into the water and got in, Grian climbing in behind him. “Well, while everything looks different in color, that island seems to be like the spawn island back home, and that out there looks like the shopping district.”

Grian looked into the distance. “Yeah, though it doesn’t look quite as populated as the one on Hermitcraft. I-Is that a giant blackstone castle?”

Mumbo squinted his eyes, looking back towards the larger island. It was a little hard to tell because it was against a black sky with few stars in sight, but Mumbo could make out what seemed to be the outline of a castle. “I’m guessing they have the same sort of starting seed, but they build whatever they want and it doesn’t match what we do.”

Grian agreed, and then Mumbo paddled them to the island. When they reached the shore, Mumbo got out first and then held a hand out to help Grian.

“Since I can fly, I’ll look at this place from above. You check on foot. Does that sound good?” Grian asked, getting a nod from Mumbo. “Great, let’s go.”

True groaned as the sunlight was blocked for a moment. Even with her sunglasses on and her eyes closed, she could tell when the light didn’t reach her closed eyes for a moment. Her best guess was someone decided to try and annoy her again by building something to fly in just the right place to annoy her, something that had happened more than once before. She moved her glasses to her forehead and set down the glass of wine she had been sipping from before walking to the edge of her sunbathing balcony and looking below to see who exactly was messing with her.

She groaned when she was Sense walking in the paths below. Of course it would be the resident evil genius causing trouble. And then as the light was blocked again, she turned her gaze skyward to see what exactly he had made this time. True expected some sort of redstone machine to be moving around up there, Sense trying to control it from below and put it in the right place. What she didn’t expect was for the thing in the air to be a person, specifically one with wings, not elytra, on their back.

Immediately True was rushing back into the castle. This was not happening. “WHISKEY!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. “STOP WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU’RE DOING AND CALL PROF! SENSE FINALLY FUCKING DID IT!” She heard some sort of response but didn’t really pay attention as she grabbed the armor and weapons she left inside. As soon as it was all re-equipped, she went back onto the balcony and scoured the skies.

It was easy to spot the avian in the sky, having gotten closer if anything. True drew her bow and aimed at the moving target, trying to follow his path. Then when she was sure her aim was right, she fired the arrow, watching it sail in the air.

Mumbo had been looking in every building he had come across, which had been harder than it sounded since the land of the island was damaged beyond belief. Rubble was everywhere and creeper holes littered the terrain. He kept looking up at Grian, hoping he would find something so that he wouldn’t need to bother with the buildings.

The redstoner was just climbing out of another building through the mostly blocked up door when he looked up in the sky. Grian was still flying, but he watched as one moment an arrow hit the avian and the next he was covered in fire and falling to the ground. Immediately Mumbo started running in Grian’s direction.

A few minutes before, Grian had finished looking at yet another section of the island from overhead and turned around to view the next one. He was so focused on the ground below, he wasn’t paying attention to the airspace around him until suddenly an arrow struck his wing. Fire from the arrow spread to his wings and the rest of his body, making it feel even worse.

Grian tried to flap his wings and move towards the water. He wasn’t sure what that stuff was, but he hoped it would put him out. The problem was that the arrow had hit his wing in just the right place that even twitching it slightly felt like agony. And since he only had use of one of his wings, the avian started plummeting to the ground. He at the very least managed to twist his body so that way his wings were below him so that the feathers helped soften his fall.

“Don’t worry. I got you Gri.” Grian heard Mumbo say and a moment later he could hear a bucket of water get spilled out, dousing the fire that was covering his body.

“Th-Thanks. Ow that hurt.” Grian thanked Mumbo and stood up to brush himself off. “I didn’t even notice that- mmph!” Grian was cut off as suddenly Mumbo’s lips met his in a kiss. His eyes widened in shock, especially as Mumbo tried to deepen the kiss. At that point Grian pushed him away. “Wh-What?!”

“Sorry. Just been a while. And with that just happened…” Mumbo gave a half smile. Grian sort of knew where he was coming from, but this hardly seemed like something to warrant a kiss like that. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks for the water. Won’t be able to fly for a bit though. I got shot right in the wing and even potions are going to have trouble with that.”

“Well I can help you with that later. That arrow came from the castle, so we should be careful about any more from there.”

Grian nodded, but then paused. If anyone was going to be shooting at him, it might be because they didn’t want him getting to Jrum. And if that were the case, then Jrum was in the castle. “Well then we should be going to the castle, right?”

Mumbo smiled. “Of course. Lead the way.” Mumbo gestured towards the castle and Grian rushed off, not hearing the words that were added on at the end. “My dear.”

Mumbo followed along behind Grian, heading towards the castle. He didn’t bother picking up the water that had been placed down. Who would care about that? In fact, he even threw the bucket behind him, not watching where it landed.

The bucket sailed through the air before finally landing with a thunk. Mumbo rubbed his head, glad that the item had been empty. “Who would throw an empty bucket?” He asked no one in particular before finally getting to the top of the hill. Sitting there was a water source, likely from the bucket. This should have been where Grian landed, but the avian was nowhere in sight. “I didn’t realize he had a bucket of water on him.” He then realized it was red instead. “Wait, this is water from here… Who placed this?”

Mumbo continued to look at the surrounding terrain and noticed the water had made the surrounding mycelium a bit muddy. There seemed to be two sets of footprints, and in one print, a feather had been stepped on. Said feather was a bright red, which could only belong to one person. Mumbo’s eyes followed the prints, watching as they went towards the castle. If Grian was anywhere, he would be there, so he started walking in that direction.

Grian raised an eyebrow as Mumbo held his hand, but he supposed it made sense with what just happened and them going into a dangerous area. They carefully walked through the halls of the castle, checking every room. So far there was no sign of Jrum, but there weren’t even signs of anyone. But then they were turning down one hallway and ran into someone who looked like Tango, except his skin was a lavender color, his hair even darker than Mumbo’s and his eyes glowing purple rather than red.

“It was easier to find you two than I thought.” The not Tango spoke, pulling out an axe of some sort of pink colored metal. He ran towards Grian and Mumbo, ready to attack, but then Mumbo pulled out a piece of TNT. Immediately not Tango stopped in his tracks, and then Mumbo was pulling Grian another direction, placing the TNT down and causing not Tango to scream.

“How’d you know that would work?” Grian asked as they ran.

“Didn’t, just had a slight hunch.” Mumbo replied. “Let’s go up those stairs.” And Grian looked over where Mumbo pointed, the two of them then turning to go that way.

Behind them, the not Tango tried to find another path. He didn’t get far though before running into Mumbo. In an instant the axe was out in front of him, ready to attack. “Gah! Don’t take a step closer or-” Not Tango looked around, surprised to not see Grian. “Where’d the bird go?”

“You saw him? Which way did he go?”

“You two already got separated? That’s so unlike you.” Not Tango answered. Mumbo looked away from the helsmit, who took the opportunity to attack. The redstoner noticed just in time and was able to dodge the attack, running to dive behind the block of TNT nearby. It obviously wasn’t the safest place, but it was still cover. One that happened to repel the not Tango, who freaked out at the block.

When Grian reached the top of the stairs with Mumbo, the redstoner pulled the two of them into a nearby room. It was thankfully empty, and Grian watched as Mumbo locked the door behind them. “Well, they know we’re here now. It would probably be good to deal with your wing, hmm?”

Grian nodded. “Yeah, it would be good to do that so I’m not hindered at all. We’ll probably need all the help we can get with this.”

Mumbo came over to Grian as he was busy climbing onto the table in the room so that Mumbo had a better platform to treat him on. Just as he was settling down, ready to shift his wings back into existence, Mumbo grabbed him from behind, the redstoner’s mouth suddenly on his neck. Grian gasped, not sure how to react, and before he could do anything, Mumbo was off him again, leaving a purplish-red mark on Grian’s neck.

Grian turned to face Mumbo, only to be kissed again. Grian wanted to complain, but Mumbo’s hand found the sweet spot on his back, right between his shoulder blades, and Grian couldn’t help but melt into the redstoner’s arms.

Mumbo panted as he reached the top of the stairs, having been chased by someone that almost looked like Zedaph. He had been cornered and nearly killed, but then the not Tango showed up and the two of them started fighting each other instead. Mumbo used the opening to run, getting up to the next floor. At the top of the steps, he thought about just standing there a bit longer to catch his breath, but then he heard what sounded like Grian behind a nearby door.

It sounded like he might have been hurt, so the redstoner rushed to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked. Another noise from inside worried Mumbo, and he immediately had a pickaxe in his hand and broke down the metal door. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t this. In front of him was himself and Grian. The avian was sitting on a table as he kissed him, hands working on pulling the red sweater off. “What in the world?!”

Grian opened his eyes when Mumbo spoke, looking to see what the problem was. They then widened to the point they were practically bulging out of his skull as he saw Mumbo in the doorway as Mumbo was also currently kissing him.

Grian pushed Mumbo, the one kissing him, away so he could say something. “Mumbo?!”

The Mumbo who had been kissing Grian turned around to see the second version of him in the doorway before looking back at Grian. “Wait. You’re not Grifter.”

“Uh, no. I’m Grian? W-Which one of you is Mumbo?”

“I am!” Mumbo spoke up, attempting to go to Grian’s side, but his hels counterpart stopped him.

“And I’m Sense. Are you sure you’re Grian though? Because your body is just the same as I remember Grifter having~. The same soft lips and strong muscles. And I’m sure you have the same-”

Grian felt Sense’s hand start to move down his back as he spoke, so the avian shoved him away. “Nope! We are not doing this! Absolutely not!”

Sense pouted and gave a huff. “Fine, then what are you doing here?”

“We’re here looking for our son.” Mumbo replied. “I’m guessing since you didn’t realize this was Grian, you haven’t seen him.”

“What would that have to do with it?” Sense replied. “Though didn’t realize he was your son too. Anyway, of course I’ve seen him.” When Grian opened his mouth, Sense stopped him by continuing. “Oh, but I won’t be telling you anything just like that. I need something out of it.”

“Oh ew no!” Grian replied, moving behind Mumbo.

“Oh please, I wouldn’t want that. Okay maybe if you were offering… but no, if you can get here from your little Hermitcraft world, you might be able to get to the last season of Helscraft.”

“And why would you want that?” Mumbo asked.

“Grifter got left behind, and none of us can go back there ourselves. I mean, there are a few here who can, but no one who’s willing to actually free Grifter.”

“I’m afraid we can’t either. Xisuma’s the one who brought Grian and I here. And I doubt he would want to send us anywhere else.”

Sense scoffed in irritation. “Fine, then I have one other option, but you’ll need to help me out Grian.”

Grian winced, clinging tighter to Mumbo. “Wh-What do you want?”

“I’m really a fan at how True is running this place. I would have loved to be emperor, but without Grifter, I didn’t have a chance. However, if you’re with me, I can make a bluff for the throne.”

Grian hesitated, weighing his options. Finally, he sighed. “Okay. Fine.”

“Grian, you don’t have to say yes.”

“If it’ll help us find him, I’m going to do it.” Grian stopped hiding behind Mumbo. “I’m in. Just as long as any contact from you stays above the waist!”

Sense frowned at that. “Really? Because-”

“Touch anything below that, and you won’t have hands to try again with.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t!” Sense replied, actually smiling slightly. “In fact and attitude like that should help sell it. Now let’s go find True. I’d stay in here if I were you Mumbo. Wouldn’t want you ruining things and not be able to get that information.”

Mumbo wanted to argue, but Sense was already out of the room dragging Grian behind, leaving the hermit to find a place to sit and wait.

“There you go. Th-Those wings should work fine for you.” A pig hybrid spoke, putting down a clipboard.

NPG helped Jrum down from the examination table he had been sitting on. “Thanks Prof! Let’s go test them out Jrum!”

“O-Oh, by the way, you two should be careful out there.” Prof stopped the brothers before they could leave. “I g-got a message from True. A-Apparently she saw Grifter. I would th-think she mistook you for him again… e-except you’ve obviously here.”

“Oh! Then I suppose we will need to be very careful as we attempt to fly.” NPG replied, starting to leave again, but this time Jrum stopped him.

“Um, NPG? How long have I been here exactly?”

“Hmmm… Maybe half a day? Not too long.”

“But I was out for a while trying to get to that place in the nether… So I’ve been gone longer than that. Maybe that’s not the Grifter person, but maybe that’s my dad looking for me?”

“Oh! That’s probably it! Even more of a reason to try flying! So we can go over to the castle and see if that’s him!”

“Well i-if you’re going to do that, stay safe.” Prof smiled and waved goodbye to the two robots before going back to his other work. “Hmm… l-looks like Xannes is trying some new scheme. G-Guess I’ll have to go over there now to stop him.”

Xisuma woke up with a literal jolt as something shocked his arm. He tried to move to see what it was, only to find himself unable to move anything, being tied down to a chair. “Mind telling me why you brought Grifter here?” A deep voice spoke, one X was very familiar with.

“Evil X? Where am I?” Xisuma tried to turn his head around even a little to see where his brother was.

“You happen to be in my base. I coded in something so that you would be brought here if you ever came to Helscraft. I never expected it would actually be used. But right now I’m very grateful for it.” Now Evil X walked into Xisuma’s line of sight. He was surprised to see that his brother wasn’t wearing a helmet, then noticing that he himself wasn’t wearing one either. “Where’s my helmet?”

“Oh you don’t need that. I know it helps you access all your fun little admin powers like mine gives me my hacks. The air here is breathable so you don’t need to worry about that and we can have a nice little chat. Now. Why did you bring Grifter here?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Evil X smacked Xisuma with a shovel. “Wrong answer, try again.”

“No, I’m serious. I don’t know what you mean. I came here with two of my Hermits, that’s all!”

“You? Bringing hermits with you? Why?”

“Someone from here kidnapped one of their sons.”

Evil X cursed. “You brought Grian and Mumbo. That’s not going to end well. NPG’s got the kid so I have a clue of where he might be. The question is how fast we can find them.”

“Who’s NPG? And you still haven’t explained about ‘Grifter’.”

“NPG is the closest thing we have to Grian here. Technically, that title would go to Grifter, but none of us can deal with him. We locked him up and left him behind in our old world. Look me in the eyes brother.” Evil X stared at Xisuma, waiting until the hermit was looking back. “I want to destroy your server. I want it to burn to the ground. I wouldn’t mind if all your hermits died and couldn’t… well okay, maybe just had trouble respawning. We grief and steal and have actual wars here. But I would never, not in a million years, ever want you to deal with Grifter. That’s how bad he is. And right now, it seems like the others here think Grian is.”

Xisuma immediately tried to stand up, only finding himself struggling in his bindings. “Then we need to stop that.”

“No, we don’t need to do anything. This is my server, I’m dealing with it.” Evil X started to walk away, but Xisuma heard him stop walking for a moment. “Plus, I wouldn’t mind having you own me in the long run.”

#hermitcraft #jrumbot #npg #npc grian #helscraft #grian #avian!Grian #mumbo jumbo #Hels hermits #helsmits #hels!Mumbo #hels!False #hels!Tango #hels!Doc #evil xisuma #xisumavoid #My writing

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theloneliestshipper · 3 years

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I don't always do collaborations but when I do it's an utterly self-indulgent crossover of two Star Wars properties that have absolutely no reason to overlap and a potential audience of about five people. Also I do it with @nyelung.

AO3 Link

And never kick the ball! Rated T

“... Hutts don’t have feet!” The final words of Baroness Deathmark echo through the arena. Having heard the introduction a few dozen times or more in the last year alone, Boba could say it with her if he were in the mood. He’s not.

They’ve changed the arena up for the season. There’s only so many ways that the Nar Shaddaa Huttball arena can be changed but apparently they went all out this time and rearranged a significant portion of the walkways and traps. He can make out something that looks suspiciously like a series of trapdoors surrounding the mag-ball’s centre spot, undoubtedly hiding some nasty surprises. Well, since Fennec managed to draw Djarin in as the team captain he’s not too worried that one of their team will find out what’s beneath those trapdoors the hard way.

Two minutes into the game Boba is scowling inside his helmet - not an unusual occurrence if the Quesh Rotworms were to be asked. He came aboard as a coach last year, when there were children’s teams on Tatooine who could play better so they had seen it a lot.

“It’s nice that for once it’s not our players getting maimed,” Fennec comments. “It was getting hard to find new ones.

Huttball is one of the most brutal semi-legal sports in the galaxy and even though all players are fully armoured - part of the reason why the sport is so popular in the Mandalorian sector - and killing during the game has been forbidden since the Cold War, injuries or even crippledom aren’t uncommon because the players are also armed to the teeth. That’s what the Frogdog wearing the number seven just found out the hard way when Djarin and Aelto perfectly executed a manoeuvre to take the ball from him.

Baroness Deathmark on the other hand should avoid dark alleys tonight since the ban on killing did not apply to the way she verbally tore Frogdog Seven apart with her remarks. The handsigns he throws in the direction of the commentator box are basically a promise to hunt her down and kill her slowly and painfully. At least that’s what they mean in Mandalorian space and that’s what has Boba scowling. Why promise the commentator utterly brutal torture when it was Djarin and Aelto who maimed him?

It’s not his problem, Boba reminds himself and concentrates on giving Djarin reports on the Frogdog team’s movements. If Baroness Deathmark earns another deathmark to her name, it’s nothing he has to worry about.

In the end, Boba doesn’t have to feel too bad about the Rotworm’s performance even though they took quite the beating and lost by two points against the Frogdogs. Baroness Deathmark’s final comment is just as cutting as the spikes Tika fell on in the second half. They’re still stitching all the muscles and tendons back together in the med-area but Tika will probably never play again.

Still, just one player permanently out of commission and eight points scored versus ten lost is much better than the Rotworms have managed in decades. Overall Boba is quite content. “Do you think they serve Spotchka here?”

Fennec raises one brow. “Do you mean: Do they serve affordable Spotchka here that’s not actually engine grease? No idea, let’s find out.”

___

The commentator booth is quiet now. Leia takes a second to let her head fall back and to roll the stiffness out of her neck. When she turns her chair around, the event producer Lando Calrissian is standing in the doorway, his headset still on. “Nice work today,” he says, covering the mic with his hand. “You really live up to your name.”

“Let them try it,” Leia scoffs as she picks up her satchel and jacket. “If I had a credit for every huttballer who threatened to kill me I could retire yesterday. And anyway, I didn’t say anything that wasn’t blatantly obvious to every being in the stands.”

“Still, I’d watch your back while you’re on Nar Shaddaa. And listen, my buddy Han is in town this weekend. Why don’t you let me set you up?”

“I’m busy next weekend.”

“Sure you are. Where are you going now? Home to your tooka and the latest episode of Sith Mansions?”

“For your information I’m going to a cantina. To meet someone.”

The fact that she doesn’t yet know who she’s going to meet doesn’t seem important. She might be a farm girl from Anchorhead, but she’s never had any trouble getting someone to pay for her drinks. Maybe she’ll get really lucky and it’ll even be someone who isn’t a spicer, slicer, smuggler or assassin. That would be a nice change of pace.

The Slippery Slope cantina is crowded with fans. Some of the Frogdog and Rotworm players are there for their contract-mandated mingling. As usual the Mandalorian players keep their distinctive helmets on for the personal holos their fans will want and to protect their privacy.

She passes by a knot of fans in Frogdog colors, several different languages conversing in varying tones of outrage. She hears “the Baroness” and smiles to herself as she finds a seat at the bar. She doesn’t need a helmet to keep people from recognizing her face. It’s her voice they know...and sometimes despise.

There’s a man two seats down wearing Mandalorian armor, but it’s not painted with team colors. He’s a fan, maybe. His helmet is resting out of sight beneath the bar while he nurses a glass of Spotchka. Spotchka sounds pretty good, actually.

He glances in her direction, but there’s no shift in body language, no smile. Shame. He’s a good-looking man and probably has a very nice smile. Leia signals the bartender and nods in his direction. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”

That catches his attention, if briefly. He lifts his glass in a silent salute, one eyebrow slightly raised. Still no offer. Maybe he’s partnered. She lets her eyes drift down over his armor, applying what she’s learned from interviews with the Mandalorian huttball players. It looks like beskar to her.

The bartender delivers her Spotchka and her attention strays from the Mandalorian to any other likely candidates at the bar. Everyone is talking about the match.

“She’s dead,” a heated voice rises behind her, but not addressed to her. “Who does she think she is? That play was bullshit. You know it, I know it. There was nothing he could have done.”

Leia doesn’t have to turn around to know that the person speaking is wearing Frogdog yellow. They can whine about it all they want, but their player had at least two opportunities to pass before the Rotworms took him out.

Some players want all the glory. That’s not her fault.

“She had no right to tear into him like that. No wonder everyone hates her.”

“It’s her fucking job.” The unexpected defense comes from the Mandalorian sitting two seats down. He’s turned his chair to face the yellow-clad group, and there’s an unmistakable challenge in his low tone. “If your player did his, you wouldn’t have lost him two minutes in.”

The man who was speaking turned a startling shade of purple. Almost Rotworm purple. “Who asked you?”

“It’s a public place. If you want to have a private conversation I suggest you go home.” It’s not a suggestion. The Mandalorian makes that clear by standing up.

“You can go to hell! You and that fucking bitch-”

“Did someone say my name?” Suddenly there’s a woman standing between them, and Leia recognizes her instantly. Fennec Shand. Her iconic steely gaze is now fixed on the outraged fan. “You want to go home.”

In spite of the clamor around them there’s a silence and stillness that makes the threat implicit. The fan bares his teeth in a snarl before turning to go. Some of his friends leave with him and the rest drift away.

Fennec’s head tips toward the bartender. “Her drink is on me.” She winks at Leia before walking away. Maybe she’s more recognizable than she thought.

“Well. That was exciting,” she says, more to herself, but the Mandalorian nods as he reclaims his seat.

“You know Fennec?”

“Just by reputation.” She takes a quick sip of her paid-for drink. “That’s definitely the first time a huttball coach has bought me a drink.”

“Your lucky night.” The corner of his mouth curves up just enough to make Leia feel validated. A very nice smile indeed.

“And she’s a legend, obviously. It’s a shame she’s stuck holding up the Rotworms by herself.”

His smile hardens, just a little. “Is it?”

“There’s gotta be a dozen better teams who would be delighted to have her. And the Rotworms might be better than they were a year ago, but their offense is still half-awake at best and I heard her defense coach only got the job because his daddy rules Mandalore.”

“You believe everything you hear?”

“No, but I kind of have to keep my ear to the ground. Like you said, it’s my fucking job.”

“You’re Baroness Deathmark.” He says it with disbelief. “That’s why-” He directs a look of annoyance at the place where Fennec Shand vanished into the crowd.

“My friends call me ‘Leia.’” She leans forward, resting her chin on her hand. “I don’t think I got your name.”

For a moment the Mandalorian hesitates. Then there’s a shift in his posture, a slight relaxing of his shoulders and Leia’s willing to bet that that twitch in his face could become an actual playful smile. “Why don’t you tell me? Since it’s your job to know everything.”

It’s a challenge that makes her sit up. He’s someone connected, then. A promoter or a staff member. That explains how he knows Fennec. “Okay,” she says, intrigued. This could be fun. “Where did you grow up?”

“Kamino. What about you?”

She’s never heard of it. No help there. “Tatooine. My local team was the Anchorhead Womp Rats.”

“Did you play?”

“I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions,” she reminds him. “Did you play?”

“Yes. For the Skullhunters of Mandalore.”

“Fenn Shysa’s team?”

His head tilts to one side. “How do you know Fenn?”

“Everyone knows Fenn. Are you single?”

“You think that will help you figure it out?”

She raises her eyebrows. “Maybe I just want to know.”

“Yes. I’m single. You?”

“Yes.” She pauses to take a sip of Spotchka. “I wanted to play, but Uncle Owen wouldn’t let me. Too violent. I tried telling him that it wasn’t like the old days where entire teams could be massacred in a match, but for some reason he didn’t find that convincing.”

He nods in agreement. “It used to be a rite of passage in Mando culture. Now it’s just sports.”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic for someone hanging out with Fennec Shand.” For a short moment Leia entertains the question whether he resents the no-killing-part or Huttball itself.

He shrugs. “There’s better sports.”

She hates to admit it, but she’s stumped. He knows the game but doesn’t particularly seem to like it. He can handle himself in a confrontation but it’s not as if the legendary Fennec Shand needs a bodyguard. Is it possible that someone actually hired a Mandalorian to take out Baroness Deathmark? But no, his surprise about her identity had been genuine. “Okay, final question. Why are you here?”

“Don’t quote me on this… nah, forget it.”

Oh, so it’s a story. “Come on. Entertain a lady.”

It’s clear that he’s tempted, calculating loss of face versus the chance to win her over for wherever this flirtation is going. Leia’s got a few suggestions already lined up in her mind. With an inaudible sigh he comes to a decision. “Dad kept nagging me to make connections beyond bounty hunting and Huttball is a lucrative enough business. It could be worse.”

Now there’s a hint. “So your father is…?”

“Some might say he rules Mandalore.” He gives her a quick smirk before finishing off his drink.

It all adds up quickly in her head, his history as a player on Mandalore, his knowledge of the game and his connection to Fennec Shand. She sets her glass down hastily in case she needs to make a very quick exit.

“You asked for my name,” he says, drawing it out with the ruthlessness of a professional Huttball defensive coach. “It’s Boba Fett. And for the record, that’s not how I got the job.”

As he speaks he stands and removes his helmet from the shelf under the bar and Leia recognizes it immediately. For one thing, it has the Rotworm logo painted on the side. She couldn’t say a word now even if she tried, but when Boba Fett turns to face her, it’s with a smile.

“I’m sure you have more opinions on what my team did wrong. Maybe you’d like to tell them to me over dinner.”

“I do,” she manages. “Especially about your team’s inability to follow through.” Feeling a little bit daring, Leia leans in to make her intentions perfectly clear. “What about dinner at my place?”

#boba fett/princess leia #rebelbounty #star wars: the old republic #swtor #star wars fanfiction #the Huttball AU no one saw coming #with good reason #my fic

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duchessofferia · 4 years

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Isn’t she just delightful?

Catherine of Aragon has one of the more fascinating media legacies of anyone in the Tudor period, not in terms of how her image has fluctuated over the years, but because of how notably it hasn’t. Other hardcore Catholics of the Henrician court are inevitably vilified in stories from Protestant perspectives - Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey, Jane Seymour and above all else Mary I, to name a few. “Protestant perspectives” doesn’t just refer to reformation texts, it includes books from the perspective of Protestant figures; usually Anne Boleyn or Elizabeth I, and more recently Thomas Cromwell with Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall books. Despite her unwavering faith in both the Catholic Church and her own position, Catherine’s reputation has, up until the past twenty years or so, remained close to stellar; her marriage into the English monarchy at a young age did well to divorce her from her parent’s religious persecutions, and her death some fifteen years or so before her daughter took the throne kept her from being tarnished by association to Mary’s resurrection of medieval heresy laws.

As a Tudor queen, Catherine has largely gone down in history for her irreproachable conduct, even after that history began to tilt towards the side of a religion she opposed - she is known for her charity, her piety, and her belief in her husband’s good nature no matter how vile his behavior grew to be, even at the expense of her own self image. According to Chapuys (who in this case there is no reason to disbelieve) she went to her grave questioning wether Henry’s actions after their divorce was her fault, wondering wether, if she had given him what he wanted, he may not have felt the need to break from Rome, mistreat their daughter and execute two men - one a long term friend and one his own grandmother’s religious advisor. Catherine is a noble figure, she is a tragic figure, she is most of all a dignified figure, and in Tudor media she is always given at least a sympathetic nod if not a complex or three dimensional portrayal.

The key phrase there, though, is as a Tudor queen. Whatever else she was, Catherine was decidedly not a modern woman, just like all of her female peers living five hundred years ago were decidedly not modern women; her unflinching religious beliefs, her many attempts at producing a male heir and her devotion to her marriage are admirable traits of a female noble of the sixteenth century, less so of a twenty first century wife or businesswoman. She was a product of her time, and modernized or semi modernized Tudor media’s attempts to portray her - specifically the brand of modern Tudor media that sets out to depict Anne and Henry’s relationship as one of Sexy High Romance - always end up turning Catherine into a misogynistic caricature of herself, historical legacy be damned. The blog anneboleynnovels describes it best:

“Catherine’s greatest hurdle has been not Protestant novels, but modernized ones. These are the one subgenre in which her character at best is severely degraded and at worst is completely unrecognizable. It’s not surprising that it should be like this — finding modern corollaries to Anne and Henry, whether in an office, a Hollywood mansion, or a high school, is doable. As for most of the people who surrounded them, while some some people are harder to wrench into modern poses than others, it’s relatively easy to cut and alter those characters to make them work better in a modern setting. Catherine, however, is completely lost here. She needs to exist, or else the central conflict disappears — but she simply doesn’t have a real modern equivalent, at least not in the kinds of societies that modernizers write about; her determination that God had put her in her position and that she had to safeguard her daughter’s legitimacy, and thus her inheritance, is impossible to convey fully, especially since Henry’s historical behavior — taking a presumed inheritance from Mary, forcibly separating the two women, and confining them in residences of his choosing — can’t be precisely replicated in a modern novel without making him at best a creep and at worst a criminal. In neither case would that Henry be an appealing love object for a modern Anne, so his behavior is inevitably made more standard — he’s simply a wealthy man divorcing his wife of twenty years, and instead of taking her settlement and moving on, his wife just refuses to let go.”

As the post on Catherine’s fictionalized history points out, attempts to judge her through a modern lens, particularly in stories that center around that grand, not-at-all-murderous love affair of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn inevitably fail to produce a balanced assesment. Susan Bordo’s highly modernized study the Creation of Anne Boleyn treats her like a footnote at best and a self righteous fool at worst, while the Catherine of Suzannah Dunn’s The Queen of Subtleties is disgustingly nicknamed “Fat Cath” (stupid cow, how could she let herself go like that after six pregnancies?) and features its leading lady, another ahead-of-her-time portrayal of Anne Boleyn, going out of her way to condescendingly paint Catherine to the reader as vengeful and delusional. Anne of Hollywood and Anne and Henry present the worst portrayals, one a hideous, deliberately unsympathetic drug addict and the other a teenage psychotic forced on Henry by his father, leading her poor, brow beaten boyfriend by the hand.

That’s not to say it would be impossible to write a well rounded modern Catherine of Aragon, but most modernized Tudor novels simply don’t care to try and make her well rounded; she exists solely to be the convenient road block to Anne and a whitewashed Henry’s happiness, a flat example of the Hysterical Woman trope rather than a Queen, a mother, or a politician. It isn’t Anne Boleyn’s fault that this happens (she can’t exactly object) but this version of Catherine never fails to rear its ugly head in Tudor media that aims to portray Anne, literally or figuratively, as a “woman of the future.” Since that reading of Anne has gained momentum over the years, this Catherine inevitably does so too.

What makes the Spanish Princess so unbearable is how blatantly Emma Frost is trying, and egregiously failing, to flip the script on this. Whatever her personal dislike of Anne Boleyn, she is very obviously trying to take this fictitious version of Anne Boleyn that has sprung up over the past few decades - that of the rebellious, sexy, pseudo feminist Modern Woman™ - and apply it to Catherine of Aragon, who was neither rebellious, a feminist or, after six pregnancies, five infant deaths and a battle with heart cancer, all that sexy. The intimacy and very real affection she and Henry shared in the early years of their marriage is stilted and unemotional, replaced by an absurd number of sex scenes and a very out of place “warrior kween” nickname. It isn’t enough for Catherine to organize a massive military campaign and give a speech to an assembly of soldiers while heavily pregnant, real life accomplishments of hers which have gone largely unacknowledged - no, the Catherine of the Spanish Princess needs to literally fight in battle, pregnant belly armor and all, subtly implying that her many miscarriages were the result of her own behavior, never mind the fact that Henry’s later wives had miscarriages as well. The deeply devoted friends Catherine actually had, one of whom served her for decades and risked royal punishment to be with her on her deathbed, are either erased entirely or put into invented conflicts with her. Her relationship with the only one of her children that survived infancy is perverted into a cold, uncaring motherhood, marked by disappointment and a refusal to even hold her daughter, let alone personally teach her Latin, commission scholars to write books for her, and request those same scholars take charge of her education.

In place of all these details, the things that make the historically minded audience love Catherine in the first place, several sordid aspects of Anne Boleyn’s fictional representations are assigned to Frost’s Catherine of The Upside Down: the ~unnatural~ blowjobs and poorly designed French hoods, the general air of cattiness, the excessive nudity, the hatred of her daughter, the inability to sexually please her husband, and the weird sense of anger at all the women in her life all stand out as hallmarks of Anne Boleyn’s less flattering portrayals, but so too do the clear attempts to pander to a feminist audience and sell itself as new age and progressive.

The fouler examples of Catherine as a modern woman aren’t yet the prevalent perception of her; a gaggle of misguided twenty first century books isn’t enough to erase the near spotless reputation she’s maintained for half a millennium. But the Spanish Princess fails to depict a more positive modernization of Catherine because it’s lazy in the attempt - it sees the habit of trying to turn sixteenth century queens into anything but sixteenth century queens and tries to replicate it by taking a handful of theatrical trends and having their protagonist perform them. Those trends have been apart of Anne Boleyn’s portrayal in the media for so long it wouldn’t be that strange to see her acting that way on screen, no matter how historically inaccurate they may be, but to assign them to someone with such a vastly different public history as Catherine is just jarring. She wasn’t like that, nobody thinks she was like that, Tudor media has always known her as being not like that, and the result is something that’s confusing at best and outright offensive at worst. It’s not fun to watch, but it’s interesting to examine, broader context in mind.

(Also credit to @queenmarytudor for that image of Meg and Mary, and seriously, check out anneboleynnovels. They’re great.)

#the spanish princess #Catherine of Aragon #the Tudors #henry viii #also I should say that I am not in any way a historian and you should take what I say with a massive grain of salt #this is just what I think

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alpineglowx · 3 years

Text

I'll Do The Same {Din Djarin x OC} Chapter Eleven: Starlight

pairing: din djarin x female oc

warnings: none, except some fluff!

* * * *

“I was young. Eight, nine, I can’t remember exactly. My parents were killed in an explosion trying to hide me from the droids that invaded our village. I almost died that day; I would have if the Watch hadn’t shown up. I became a foundling that day. I was raised by the Watch, and I was happy to be in their care. They had saved me, after all.

“When I was older I joined the Tribe on Nevarro. It’s where I acquired my armor. Once I swore the Creed, it meant I could never take my helmet off again, or have it removed by another. If it was, I would never be allowed to put it back on again... I would cease to be a true Mandalorian. I was trained to be a warrior growing up, and once I was older I joined the Bounty Hunter’s Guild. It paid well, harnessed my training, and gave me something to do.”

Thell blinked slowly, processing his words.

“That was until I was assigned to kill the kid. I didn’t even know he was a child at the time. I knew as soon as I saw him that I couldn’t let him be taken... there are people out there who are risking everything trying to find him... for what, I’m not exactly sure. I just know that he’s more powerful than I understand... and he’s just a kid.

“I had always thought that all Mandalorians followed the Children of the Watch’s beliefs. I believed that all were taught to hide their faces, because our secrecy is our survival. But Bo-Katan took her’s off like it was nothing. They all did, and they told me they were true Mandalorians. I didn’t know until then that I had been raised by the Watch. Bo said it was a cult that broke off from traditional Mandalorian ways.”

“So... no one’s seen your face since you were a kid?”

He dipped his head. “Yes. When I joined the Tribe, I hid myself. My identity, my name... everything about me became a secret. It had to be that way.”

“For you to survive?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t it ever lonely?” Thell asked quietly. “The life of a bounty hunter doesn’t sound too glamorous.”

“It isn’t... and it is lonely. I don’t stop with the jobs. Once I finish one, I move on to the next. It’s always been like that. I don’t have time to sit and settle.”

“Hm... So that’s what you’ve been doing since you were young.”

“Yes. I stay primarily in the Outer Rim. Since the Empire fell, there hasn’t been a shortage of bounties.”

“... Don’t take this the wrong way... but if you know the Watch is a cult, and the other Mandalorians take their helmets off, why don’t you?”

“I was raised under the Watch. It’s the only thing I know.” He turned to face her, slowly. “This is the Way.”

“Well, for what’s worth,” Thell said. “You’re the nicest bounty hunter I’ve ever met.”

He chuckled, just the slightest lift of his shoulders that had Thell smiling back at him. She sat up, clasping her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her chest.

“Do you know a lot of Mando’a?” She asked.

“A bit... why?”

Thell shrugged, glancing back at the fire. “Well... I was wondering if you could teach me some.” When she sensed him looking at her, she glanced back over and tilted her head. “My dad was Mandalorian. I know that doesn’t necessarily make me Mandalorian either, but I want to know some of the language. I haven’t... I haven’t felt like I’ve had my own identity before. I guess I could start somewhere... I think we share that.”

The comment had been a risk, but after seeing how he had been over the past week, Thell didn’t expect him to get angry or storm off. In fact, it wasn’t even her first thought.

Because deep down, it was true. They were both orphans now, even the kid sleeping in his arms. They all had childhoods that were essentially stolen from them, raised in places that protected them, but under the surface, were also performing great harm. Din was a result of indoctrination, and Thell had been a slave to a cruel master. Now, as adults, they were free to choose their own paths.

He nodded anyway. “Alright. Ask away.”

Thell blinked. “Oh... um. What’s hello?”

“Su cuy'gar.”

“Say it again,” Thell asked, and he did. She tried her best at repeating it under her breath, but it only made her feel silly with Din watching her.

“Hey!” She laughed. “It’s not like I’ve ever spoken it fluently. Why don’t you give me an easier one?”

Din sighed and relaxed against the rock, the child still tucked peacefully in his arms. “Beskar'gam... can you guess what that is?”

Thell squinted, twisting her lip. “Something to do with Beskar, I’m assuming.”

“Armor,” Din told her.

And they stayed like that, talking quietly beside the fire under the canopy of stars and darkness. For a moment, it felt like they were the only people in the world, including the kid. Din taught her words, phrases, even a small bout of the history of the language, all that he knew. Their conversation slowly turned to ones of their own personal lives, sharing stories and experiences.

Thell kept finding herself smiling at him, even laughing at his dry humor. It was beginning to show itself more and more, and she had to admit that this was her favorite side of him. She had scooted closer, sitting criss crossed beside him while the kid was wrapped in a bundle of blankets just beside Din.

“And I stole it.”

“Really?” Din seemed appalled.

“Yeah,” Thell nodded, smiling proudly to herself. “Darand had a whole shipment of my favorite fruit come in, for himself of course, but I couldn’t deny sneaking myself a few when no one was looking.”

“I’ve never taken you for a thief.”

Thell rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t call myself one. It was probably just one of the most rebellious things I did back on Bespin.”

Her mind suddenly wandered back to her old home, to the neverending show of clouds and stars that was always overhead. Of nights crying herself to sleep after her mother died, of her fingers being rubbed raw from her chores as Darand’s servant.

He must have noticed that she went quiet because he spoke, just softly.

“Thell.”

She blinked, focusing back on his helmet. “Oh. Sorry...”

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He sounded genuinely interested, so Thell straightened. “I want to tell you something, something that happened to me while I lived on Bespin.”

His attention remained fully on her, and in the quiet of their haven on Naboo, Thell felt like he truly cared for her.

“My mom died when I was twelve. At that point, I basically fended for myself in Darand’s mansion. I had a lot of people try to take advantage of me, of my youth, of my immaturity. I was constantly being compared to my mother or being expected to be someone I knew I wasn’t... No one ever really saw me for me. When I was sixteen, I was walking back from the market when I saw a group of my friends. I had known them for a couple of years. We weren’t close or anything, but I was still glad to see them.”

Thell took a deep breath, glancing at the fire.

“Anyways, I went to go talk to them and everything seemed normal for the moment. But... I don’t know why it happened, but they attacked me. I didn’t even have anything on me. No credits, nothing.”

Thell could feel her hands trembling and clasped them together, hoping Din wouldn’t notice.

“They just left me there, in the dust of that alley. They called me names and told me I was useless and kicked me, and I didn’t do anything.... I just let it happen.”

“Why?” Din asked suddenly.

“Because somewhere deep down I felt like they were right,” Thell said, making eye contact with him again. “I felt like because everyone else had been saying those things to me, it must have been true. No one in Darand’s house liked me. No one saw me. I mean, hell, the one guy that I actually liked completely rejected me to my face and walked away like I was nothing!”

Thell leaned back, surprised and suddenly embarrassed by her disclosure. To her relief, Din didn’t seem bothered by it; he barely moved from his position. Taking it as a good sign, and inhaling deeply, Thell continued, lowering her voice.

“My only source of comfort in the world was gone and I didn’t have any else left. I was just a girl in a galaxy that looked at me like I was nothing. That’s why I was so adamant about going with you that night. Because I knew the consequences if I didn’t. I knew I had to speak up for myself. If I didn’t, I could’ve died out there, in the big world. But I always felt safe with you, even when you were standing in the middle of the hallway pointing a blaster at my face.”

To her relief, Din huffed out a laugh. “Not the best of scenarios to feel safe in.”

Thell smirked. “Maybe not. But I came along anyway.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Really?” Thell perked up.

He dipped his head once. “It’s... nice to have someone to talk to.”

Thell smiled, feeling tears burn at the back of her eyes. “Yeah. Me too.”

“We have that in common, you know.”

“... What?”

“The thing you said... about no one seeing you.”

Thell’s eyebrows twitched, and she scrunched her fingers into her pant leg. “Oh.”

He was still looking back at her, suddenly gently in the firelight. Thell’s heart was full from their conversations and laughter, to his opening up about his own past to chuckling together about old stories. She was immensely grateful, and something about the warmth of the fire and the peace of the field were causing her barriers to fall.

“Thank you for telling me about yourself,” she said quietly. “I know it’s not easy, especially when you don’t normally share it. But thank you anyway.”

He watched her for a long moment before dipping his head softly, and Thell blinked. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, she bent forward, clasping her hand gently around his that rested on his leg. She could feel him flinch under her palm, see how rigid he suddenly went under her touch. His hand was warm, large and secure under her hold.

Thell gulped, and her greatest fear came true when he slowly pulled away from her embrace, turning on his side to face the kid. Her hand dangling, Thell could only feel the need to smack herself, curse at how stupid and overly forward she had been. Why should she have expected it anyway, just because they were connecting over their sob stories and growing closer to reciprocate her feelings?

Frustrated with herself, Thell slowly rolled over on her side, dragging the blanket she had brought with her. She couldn’t face the Mandalorian tonight, not directly. So she let her gaze linger to the rocks casted in an orange glow, and to the darkness of the field beyond.

. . . .

“Wake up.”

Blinking steadily, Thell peered directly into the sun. She put up a hand to shield her eyes right as the Mandalorian moved in front of it, casting her in shadow. His hand was on his hip, one arm holding Grogu. He peered down at her curiously, cocking his head and looking back with dark, endearing eyes.

Thell suddenly remembered the night before, the awkward moment when he had pulled his hand out of her’s. If Din remembered too, he didn’t say anything.

Instead, he bent down, offering her a hand to help her stand.

“We’re going into town.”

Thell blinked, gathering her things from the ground. “Town? I thought we didn’t want to make ourselves known.”

“Not particularly,” Din said. “But we’re low on food. We’ll stay low profile.”

The village in Naboo that Din dragged her to was exquisite. Flowers and garlands of every color hung from pots or strung across archways. Ancient buildings soared above her view, the rounded green tops of settlements reflecting in the sun. Gardens with fountains and shining columns dotted the landscape, causing the air to have a sweet aroma. The corridors they walked through were not crowded, and the only inhabitants Thell saw were local humans called the Naboo. She couldn’t help but admire the elegant, flowing robes and dresses they wore, the ornate styles in which their hair was done.

But Din practically dragged her along, keeping her close as the kid hid in a satchel on his hip. Thell herself had worn a cloak, half covering her face. As for Din, there was only so much that could be done to hide the Mandalorian, so he stuck to sticking out in the crowd.

However, to her greatest relief, no one seemed to be bothered by them. In fact, they were more than friendly to the both of them, even the children offering them garlands of flowers as they entered the city.

But Din was meticulous, only wanting to spend as much time in the city as needed. Thell, on the other hand, wandered past vendors with crafts of things she had never seen, food she had never smelled or tasted.

And music.

The sound caught her ears immediately as Din was paying for a package of fruit. Thell turned, her ears perking up at the glorious sound. She had just taken a step forward when she felt Din’s hand on her elbow, holding her back.

“What is it?”

She looked over her shoulder, smiling widely at him. “Music. Don’t you hear it?”

“I do.”

She tugged at his arm. “Let’s go listen to it.”

“We need to go soon. It’s getting dark.”

Thell shrugged. “I know. But you were the one who said we needed a break. What’s a little pitstop?” When he didn’t move, Thell stuck out her bottom lip. “It’ll only be for a minute, and I promise I won’t drag you away again.”

When he finally nodded, Thell nearly shrieked in excitement as they followed the sound. She had heard music played on Bespin before, but only in moderation, and it had never sounded this beautiful.

They passed through corridors and dim hallways to an arched opening. It let them out onto a small balcony that overlooked a luxurious garden, surely owned by a wealthy family in the city. Thell could only tilt her head back and breath in the sweat air as she relaxed against the railing. The garden was speckled with wild flowers and trees of all varieties, twisting cobblestones paths between streams and pools that glittered like diamonds in the sunlight. Out in the distance, the sun was setting beyond the hills, casting the clouds in orange and pink glows. The railing was lined with vines that twisted around the architecture, spattering the balcony with purple flowers. Just beyond an archway in the garden Thell could spot the group of musicians playing, all holding different, beautiful instruments. A small crowd sat with their back to Thell and Din, and if Thell focused enough, it felt as if they were playing for just them.

She sensed Din moving closer, coming to rest his arms against the railing beside her. Grogu was at her feet, murmuring softly until she bent down to pick him up.

“See that, buddy?” She whispered, pointing in the direction of the musicians. “That’s a band. They’re playing music on instruments. Have you heard music before?”

He was babbling close to her ear, his eyes focused on the band. At a certain high note, his eyes widened and his ears pinned back, and Thell couldn’t help the giggle that rose in her throat. When the music settled again, Thell tucked Grogu into her arms, holding him as she began to slowly rock back and forth on her heels and hummed. Grogu seemed to enjoy it, eyes flickering to her when she pulled away from the railing, humming to the same tune as the musicians and spinning.

Grogu cooed happily, and Thell pressed her forehead to his before kissing his head. She giggled again, holding the baby in her arms and spinning while the music continued.

When she finally stopped spinning, and the music stopped, her hair was frayed and sticking to her face. But Din was looking at her, one arm resting casually against the railing and one leg kicked back. He was admiring her, not even bothering to look away when Thell paused, breathing heavily.

“Do you dance?” She asked, breathless.

She hadn’t known what came over her, except that Grogu was sliding down her arms as Din loomed over her, looking down at her through the helmet while starlight was beginning to glimmer on the Beskar.

“We have to get back. It’s late.”

Her heart sank, but she tried not to show it. “Okay.”

With one last glance at the garden, Thell turned and followed after the Mandalorian.

They returned to the ship a while later, but Thell opted to sleep outside again, under the canopy of starlight. Grogu stayed close by, choosing to sleep beside her as she settled her blanket on the ground. Din prowled the surrounding area, his blaster at his side, before coming up to Thell and Grogu. He peered down at the kid, cocking his head.

“Night, kid,” he said lowly, to which Grogu murmured softly.

Thell smiled down at the kid before glancing back at Din and asking, “How many days before we leave?”

“Two,” he said, and Thell nodded.

“It’s been nice.”

“It has.”

The silence turned to being rather uncomfortable, so Thell shifted, rocking on one knee.

“Well... I’m just going to get some water. Goodnight, Din.”

His voice was soft. “Goodnight.”

She had just returned to her makeshift bed on the ground beside Grogu, canteen in hand, when an object on her pillow caught her attention. Bending down, Thell gingerly picked up the item, rolling it over in her hand. It was one of the purple flowers from the balcony, the one that overlooked the musicians and where she had danced with Grogu. The one where she had desperately wanted to ask Din, too, as well.

“Din, did you-“

She went to look at the Mandalorian, but he was already sleeping on the other side of the fire, arms crossed over her chest. Thell let her eyes wander for a moment before settling down next to Grogu, letting her fingers brush over the petals as she drifted off.

#mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x oc #grogu #baby yoda #pedro pascal #fanfiction #star wars #angst #fluff #soft #comfort #friends to lovers #romance

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sinsbymanka · 4 years

Photo

Thank you so much @zuendwinkel for donating! I am SO GLAD to add this lovely Hawke x Fenris to the collection, writing them was a joy! I’m also SO EXCITED to share the artwork you created that goes along with it! Thank you so much for blessing us with something so soft, beautiful, and detailed!!

I’m not longer accepting RAINN Commissions but you can see the ones that are already finished in this series on AO3. Thank you to everyone who has supported me!

Title: A Flock of Trouble Pairing: Male Hawke x Fenris Rating: T Content Warnings: Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition, Post-Dragon Age II, Fluff and Angst, Reunions

Read on AO3

Broody,

Listen. We got into a bit of a situation in the Western Approach. Fell tits over ass right into the Fade. I wish I was shitting you. Do you remember those giant spiders outside Kirkwall? They’ve got nothing on fade demon spiders. I have had enough of the whole thing for the rest of my life. Hawke took off with the Wardens to tell Weisshaupt that their whole fighting force is at risk of being controlled like finger puppets by an ancient magister. I got the worse job of telling you where the fuck he was going (Remember, don’t murder the messenger. Who else would get you that wine you like from Tevinter?)

He said not to follow him. Doesn’t want your Broody arse that close to Tevinter, I expect. I’m fully aware you’ll be going anyway. Take the note attached to my solicitor and get some coin to tide you over. Don’t get captured by slavers. Try to lie low.

When you see Hawke - ask him what happened in the Fade. Somebody needs to kick some sense into his ass. You’re the best person for it.

Sincerely, Varric Tethras

P.S. I’m adding the money Hawke lost to me to your gambling debts. Wicked Grace soon?

Weisshaupt appeared as foreboding and desolate as Fenris had expected.

Sun-bleached stone soared into a clear, burning sky. Walls meant for defense rather than appeal ringed a fortress that looked as if it could withstand an archdemon itself. If Fenris remembered correctly, it had survived at least two. Perhaps three.

Of course, if Garrett Hawke were there currently, it may soon fall into the blighted land surrounding it. That did seem to be the man’s luck. And if Garrett Hawke wasn’t there, Fenris would hunt him down, if only to give the man the tongue lashing he richly deserved.

In truth, Fenris felt uneasy. The Tevinter border at his back reminded him of the last time he’d been so far north. He’d been running then, as fast as he could go, a desperate chase that led to Kirkwall, an empty box, an abandoned mansion and…

And Garrett Hawke.

Fenris remembered clearly everything that happened after he met Garrett. He had spent hours examining the path he took with a cynic’s wary gaze, looking for the moment it had all changed, the second he stopped running and made a choice.

A choice that led him here, to the edge of the world, chasing instead of being chased.

“What business do you have here?” A rough voice barked. It belonged to a woman, old for a Warden, her long brown hair braided neatly down her back. Her hand rested easily on the hilt of the sword on her hip with a warrior’s preparedness. But her stance was casual. Eyes alert and pleasant. There was no whiff of danger here, not for him at any rate. It did not quite reassure him, but there was no reason to reach for the blade on his back. Yet.

“I am here for the Champion of Kirkwall.” He informed the guard politely, wrapping the reins around his fist while he smoothly dismounted.

The woman rocked back on her heels, a started, humorless laugh slipping from her lips. “The Champion of Kirkwall?”

Fenris’s heart sunk, but he kept his face impassive. He could not help the way his gauntlets tightened on the leather bridle. “He is not here.”

“Oh no! The blighted fool is still here. Are you here to take him back to wherever he came from? Cause I’d be grateful, Serah. May even slip some coin in your pocket.”

Something broke inside him, a fever finally easing. Fenris had been traveling for longer than he wished to recount, and had not allowed himself to consider the end of the journey or who he wished to find there.

“Where may I find him?”

The woman opened her mouth to reply, but whatever response she meant to give was cut off by an unholy clatter and what sounded like a small explosion. Her expression darkened and she jerked her thumb to a thin trail of smoke rising above the walls.

“Wherever there’s trouble, typically.” She sighed.

Fenris knew Garrett far too well to disagree with that statement.

The smoke smelled of herbs Fenris recognized, elfroot chief among them, and it was billowing from within a stable of all things. Soldiers, Fenris assumed they were Grey Wardens, stood with various expressions of shock, dismay, and annoyance.

The nobles in Kirkwall wore the same looks the day Garrett knocked over six of the merchant’s stalls in Hightown. He’d been chasing a dog, who was chasing a street urchin, who was trying to catch a nug with a kitten in it’s mouth.

Maker only knew how Garrett had gotten roped into the whole thing.

Fenris simply remembered the chaos unspooling below him from his perch on the steps and that bubble of emotion that rose up in his chest while he chuckled ruefully and Isabela cheered. He hadn’t known what to call that feeling, not then, not watching Garrett retrieve the kitten and present it to the street urchin while the rich nobility stared in bewilderment.

But when he saw Garrett in the stable doors, waving his arms like a windmill to disperse the smoke, Fenris felt it again. This time he knew its name.

Joy.

Knots loosened in his chest. Only to be replaced by a sharp spike of annoyance more than a match for the cloud of irritation hovering around Garrett.

Except, of course, Garrett was impervious to the mood. He cast his dark eyes around the courtyard, flitting right over Fenris in his search for something. Then, a half second later, sliding back to where he stood.

“Fen!” Garrett shouted, a joyful grin splitting his face. “You’re here!”

Garrett bounded away from the smoking door, arms swinging. He wasn’t in armor, wasn’t armed, and a part of that struck a chord that made Fenris both wary and wistful. When was the last time Garrett had abandoned his armor around strangers?

Garrett stumbled to a stop in front of him, arms out, waiting while his eyes dragged themselves over every inch of Fenris’s lyrium lined face.

“You’re really here.” Garrett whispered.

Almost as if he thought he’d never see him again.

“Yes.” Fenris snapped instead, jerking his chin at the ancient fortress. “I have, once again, followed you to the edge of civilization.”

At least Garrett had the good grace to look contrite. “I mean. They do have that wine here you like.”

“It is more easily obtainable this close to Tevinter.”

Garrett winced. “I told Varric to tell you-”

“It was too much trouble to write to me with your own hand?”

That made his lover recoil. Garrett did not grab for him, although he lifted his arm, fingers outstretched in silent plea. “Fen that… that wasn’t it at all. There was an army of demons. Giant spider. Marching across the blighted desert. Griffon eggs…”

“Griffon eggs?” Fenris repeated, incredulous.

Garrett’s whole face brightened. “Griffon eggs! I swear on the Maker’s hairy asscheeks, Fen, you won’t believe-”

Fenris swallowed his anger and shook his head. In one movement, he turned on his heel and stomped away from the human with his beaming smile, warm eyes, and new wrinkles from sorrow on his forehead.

It was always safest to walk away when he did not know whether to slap Garrett or kiss him, after all.

Garrett found Fenris on the battlements while the sun was dipping below the western horizon. He stood, awkward and yet endearing, cradling a large white object gently in his arms. On second look, it was indeed the largest egg Fenris had ever seen.

“I should have written.” Garrett murmured. “I… wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Fenris did not pull his eyes from the pink and orange sky. “That is hardly unusual.”

Garrett chuckled to himself, shifting his weight from side to side. “Fair. But… it was bad, Fen.”

He knew it must have been. Varric would not have mentioned it otherwise. “Do you wish to tell me about it?”

“Yes.” Garrett sighed, placing the egg tenderly on top of a crate. He rested one large hand over it before casting a baleful look at Fenris. “But not tonight. Tonight I’m just… I’m just fucking thrilled to see you. Even if you’re fuming.”

“I am not fuming.” Fenris stated on instinct.

Garrett grinned. “Ah. Is this brooding then?”

Fenris’s lips twitched. “I do not brood.”

“Not even a little bit.” Garrett stepped closer, holding his arms out with a shy, uncertain tip of his lips. “I missed you.”

Fenris pushed himself away from the warm stone. For a breathless second, the two men looked at each other. Garrett’s eyes shimmered with emotion, an expression torn between longing and hope.

Fenris stepped into the man’s embrace and allowed himself to be tugged towards his broad chest. His sword rough fingers yanked on Hawke’s hair immediately, scowling into the grinning face.

“You are a fool, and I am a worse one for loving you.”

Garrett laughed, ducking down to press an eager kiss to Fenris’s lips. Fenris closed his eyes, drifting on the sparking heat between them, the way the world settled back into place. Garrett smelled of home, of warm hay, leather, salt and sun.

They broke the kiss, but clung to each other as Garrett pressed his forehead to Fenris’s.

“Griffon eggs?” Fenris finally asked.

Garrett smiled. “My newest adventure, Fenris. Much better than the last one, I assure you.”

Fenris simply sighed and melted into his lover’s embrace under the burning sun. As with most of Garrett’s adventures, it would be nothing but trouble.

Fenris found he did not mind much at all.

#manka's friend fiction #charity fundraiser #fenris #hawke/fenris #dragon age hawke #dragonage #dragon age #male hawke #fenhawke

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legacy-wip · 4 years

Text

Supplemental Worldbuilding: The City of Zorra

(Taken from A Guide to All Places of Importance by Dwarven writer Faldro Coalfield)

A Brief Description

Zorra, the capital and largest urban settlement in Ellonia, is without question the most significant city in the kingdom and perhaps even in all Valmora. Holding over one hundred thousand souls within its walls the city is as diverse as it is sizeable, and a better understanding of its features, districts, and layout will do any traveler good before visiting the city for the first time.

A good place to begin is the actual layout of the capital. Zorra is split into three primary sections, some of which are future divided into more specific districts. The smallest section, though undoubtedly the most impressive, is the Royal Quarter which contains the Palace of Dawn: the seat of power for the kingdom and the residence of Her Majesty Queen Leona. The Palace looms over the rest of the city from its elevated position on the northern most point of Zorra, and its layered walls offer a formidable defense before giving way to the beautifully designed golden and red stained glass that is synonymous with the throne. Dominating the skyline, the Royal Quarter is a sight that will leave a lasting impact on any soul that sees it.

The second major section of Zorra is only somewhat larger than the first and sits between the Royal Quarter and the rest of the city. It is known as the Iron Band, both because it wraps around the palace, offering another layer of protection, and because the vast majority of the citizens within this area are smiths or soldiers of some kind. The Iron Band is made to be held even if the outer city falls, and from its more secure position it can still continue to conduct necessary military actions as well as continue the production of weapons and armor. It is a dirty, noisy, and hot place, but it offers a great service to the protection of the Crown should Zorra ever find itself under siege.

The last section of the city is by far the largest and most populated of the three. The Commons, as they are regularly referred to, is where the majority of souls dwell within Zorra. They are protected by a single outer wall that runs the exceptionally large perimeter of the city, and within the Commons multiple districts are defined. There are over two dozen unique districts within the city walls, some formally defined, and others only used colloquially, but each has its own purpose and function. A full breakdown of every district within the Commons would be impossible here, but a traveler should be aware of a few of the more prominent ones.

The Harbor: Easy enough to remember, the harbor runs nearly the entire length of the Commons along the eastern coast. Zorra rests in a good location for trade so it is regularly a lively place. Good deals can regularly be found here, if you’ve got the desire to barter. Be careful though, the harbor is a busy place and many a sailor will not take kindly to someone getting in their way. Mind where you step.

The Exchange: Located in the heart of the Commons, the exchange is a massive market. Goods of nearly every variety can be found here if you learn to navigate it well enough. A visit to Zorra would be incomplete without at least visiting the exchange, if not for the goods themselves then for the experience of smelling a thousand aromas and hearing ten thousand mingling voices at once.

The Green: The largest park in the city, it is a thin but lengthy section that runs along the edge of the curtain wall between the Iron Band and the Commons. It is well maintained and offers a beautiful and calm respite from the crowded commotion of such a populated city. Young lovers or waxing romantics will enjoy the calm and quiet peace of the place, and the Oceanic Lookout on the eastern most edge of the park is a great place to watch the sun rise should a traveler be able to spare the time.

The South End or the “Sty”: Stay clear of this district near the southern wall, it is a hotbed for crime, unseemly actions, and unseemly souls. Many a disoriented traveler has gotten lost in the endlessly winding streets of Zorra and found themselves down in the Sty. The lucky ones come out broke. The unlucky ones don’t come out at all.

The Silver Quarter: If you need to be told what it is, you likely don’t belong there. The Silver Quarter is a fairly small but well maintained and protected section of the city that caters to the aristocracy and the otherwise excessively wealthy and elite. Fine dining, impressive mansions, and beautiful parks grace this section of Zorra. If you’re a count or a rather successful baron than you will find yourself quite at home here. Otherwise, mind your own business and leave this part of town alone, lest you anger some of the guard.

As mentioned previously, these are just a few of the districts one might find in Zorra, but they give you a good sense of the more major areas and functions of the city. A full explanation of this great settlement would require a ten-novel series, so this humble scribe suggests that one visit the city personally to fully experience all it has to offer.

That said, hopefully this brief explanation has provided you some small insight into the layout and workings of Ellonia’s capital. Zorra is without a doubt a city of unparalleled splendor and one surely worth a visit. What is more, the city also has an interesting history. For those interested in such things, I have provided a brief summary of what we know about its uncertain past below.

History

Zorra gets its name from the old tongue word meaning “New Dawn”. It is one of the, if not the, oldest permanent settlements on the continent of Valmora, and its early history is as muddled and confusing as any account from the Age of Monsters. That said, there are a few defining characteristics that historical scribes do agree on in relation to the founding and early development of the now great city.

The settlement was originally much smaller than its current size but much more heavily fortified. While modern Zorra may brag a series of two curtain walls before reaching the Palace of Dawn itself, early Zorra was even more formidable. Walls of heavy stone were cut from the nearby quarries at the base of Mt. Skybreaker and were set and fortified not only by skilled builders and laborers, but also augmented and strengthened by powerful users of the Arc. Constructed in a manner of layering and clever placement to force multiple pinch points and killing zones, these defenses were manned not only by a large number of archers and guards but also by defensive ballista and other similar heavy weapons. Some historians even claim that the walls were not only strengthen by the Arc, but themselves were imbued with it, allowing mages to syphon and use the Arc from the walls in case of a major siege. Such theories however still lack substantial evidence to be considered fact, but do show some signs of merit. (I should note that any attempt to take a piece of the ruined old wall is strictly forbidden and should NOT be attempted by any traveler.)

Regardless of the specificities of the early defenses of Zorra, the outcome is unequivocally true: it was a fortress without equal. Modern day wisdom holds Ralguard to be the most formidable fortification in Ellonia, but by comparison Ralguard stands meager next to what Zorra would have been at its height. It was because of this strength that the old city became such an important settlement to begin with. This conclusion however raises a few new questions: Why was Old Zorra so heavily fortified to begin with? How did the small ironclad fortress of Old Zorra transform into the sprawling metropolis we know today? And what happened to the impressive fortifications that existed in its earlier years?

All three of these questions are innately tied to the nature of the Age of Monsters itself. As a quick summary for those unaware, the Age of Monsters is the first period in which we find evidence of a written record and, as the name clearly suggests, it seems to have been an incredibly dangerous time in which the monsters that now infrequently roam Valmora; Giants, Dragonkin, Darkbeasts, Arc Monstrosities, etc. were much more prominent and aggressive. Therefore, it stands to reason that all settlements in this early age of civilization, including Zorra, would need to be heavily protected in order to keep the beasts of the realm at bay. (For more information on the Age of Monsters reference my work in “Threats of the Old Age”)

Once the Age of Monsters ended however and the Great Dragon Tyrants pushed out the old monsters and established their complete dominion over Valmora in the next era, the Age of Tyrants, things changed. The great defenses of Zorra and settlements like it were seen at best by the Tyrants as useless relics of a bygone time, or, at worst, as a symbol of defensive defiance against the strength of their dominion. It should come as no surprise then that the defenses of Old Zorra were quickly brought to ruin by the powerful heat of Tyrdol’s breath. The once might walls now no more than a melted ruin.

In the aftermath of their destruction, the foundation for the city that we are familiar with today began to take root. First rebuilding around the melted ruins of the old walls, Zorra began to expand outward. Under the rule of the Great Tyrants, while all civilized people lived in fear of their terrifying overlords, at the very least there was no less fear of outside attack and less need for such drastic fortifications. Because of this, the city was able to grow to previously unseen levels. Over time the city has continued to grow, and defensive walls have been constructed and expanded to meet the needs of that growth.

After the fall of the Great Tyrants and the death of the legendary hero and self-proclaimed King Gaius the Great, Princess Carolina declared she was to be crowned queen in Zorra’s keep. From that day forward the Palace of Dawn has served as the Crown’s residence and Zorra has served as the kingdom’s capital.

Much is still to be learned about the origin of our capital city, and hopefully time and additional research will yield fruitful results. In the meantime however, we must satisfy ourselves with the information we do know, and take pride in the endurance of a city that has its roots in adversity and perseverance, a city whose history is almost as splendid as the settlement itself.

#Legacy #Lore #Zorra

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khhcfi · 4 years

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KH: Melody of Memory [In-Depth Review]

Here’s the Tumblr version of my website post at Weebly, where I give an in-n-depth review of my thoughts and ideas for Melody of Memory.

You can also view this at my website:

https://dreamywrites.weebly.com/

Warning; very long post

News Update Review The past couple of days have been busy with updates on the new installments in the Kingdom Hearts series. We first have Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road confirmed to be released on June 22, 2020 as a mobile game. We will finally know what happened in the past to have Xehanort become a Keyblade Master of Darkness, not light. With five new characters confirmed to be present in the game in addition to Eqarues and Xehanort, we're super excited for the story.

The second news has everyone on the edge with Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, especially as it's confirmed to be a rhythm game. Before the confirmation on June 16, a lot of people and myself included were curious yet dreading if it was going to a rhythm game using the same or similar mechanics like in Atlantica (KH2) and/or the Melody Catcher Reality Shift in Symphony of Sorcery (KH: DDD). I looked on the brighter side of things and thought of how the game would work involving interacting with music. The use of Unreal Engines for the graphics, Yoko Shimomura compositions as either classics or varied renditions of the classics, including the Kingdom Hearts: Orchestra Concert music, and the story revolving (mostly) around Kairi on her journey to find Sora. The 2020 Trailer showcased what Melody of Memory will look like and how it will function, better - maybe beyond better- than I and other fans initially theorized.

[Source: Google Images]

When I first read the word "melody" in the title, I thought it had relations to music; thus a rhythm game. It reminds me the Fantasia (1940) world called "Symphony of Sorcery" in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. The concept of "Sound Idea" to "dispel the darkness" (Mickey, KH:DDD) from the tainted musical score inspired another idea that I will explain later in the post. [Idea 4]

The mechanics are vastly different than the previous games, which makes it more exciting! The story of the game remained unknown until the trailer released today. Fans theorized Kairi would finally get her own game where she traverses inside her Heart to find any clue on how and where to find Sora. That seems to be the case as she has more screen time in the trailer.

Flashbacks This brings up the next and most important news. After confirming Melody of Memory as a rhythm game, it transitions into a static disruption that leads to cinematic cutscenes of what to expect and flashbacks. Fans already guessed the flashbacks belong to Kairi because her memories of Radiant Garden in Birth by Sleep were hazy.

[Screenshot Source: YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

The following 4 screenshots are most talked about because it visualizes what both the Kingdom Hearts Light Novel and Ansem Report 11 talked about.

In the Light Novel, there's a few pages where Apprentice Xehanort (really Terranort) asked where "the girl" was. Aeleus, one of the Apprentices of Ansem the Wise and a Palace Guard, told him she's sleeping in the "pod".

Personal Note: I thought the "pod" was referred to the Memory Pods in The Old Mansion in Twilight Town. The same pods that Sora. Donald, and Goofy slept for a year for Namine to completely restore the damage she caused in their memories in Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. Sora's pod was bigger, resembling a white flower that when open, it's a blossomed flower. Since Terranort was examining her, I thought they used a pod like Sora's. Donald and Goofy pods are simpler and smaller. That would make sense for them to use since she was a child at the time of these experiments.

[Source: Google Images]

In the Report: “I have chosen one special girl. I do not know if she possesses a power like that of the Princesses. But, there is a chance, and this is an experiment. She may lead me to the place where the one holding the key is… I shall send her off to the ocean of other worlds.” [source: Kingdom Hearts Wiki - Ansem Reports] Kairi was a child, 4 years old in Birth by Sleep. One year later after Terranort was given refuge in Radiant Garden under the Answem the Wise's apprenticeship, Darkness took over the world. Kairi, 5 years old, was sent to Destiny Islands. There was a meteor shower happening and Kairi fell from the sky onto the shores, where she was discovered by Sora [depicted in Kingdom Hearts Manga]. When she awoke, she had amnesia. With only her name remember, she didn't know where she came from, how she arrived on the Islands, what happened to her home and family. Five years worth of memory were "gone". In the KH universe, the memories are hidden than forgotten. Kairi claims to not know about her past in the original Kingdom Hearts game, but later states those memories are hazy for her when Aqua brought up their meeting in the Radiant Garden. My personal thought is that Kairi did have amnesia for awhile with the exception of her name. It's likely that over time she has flashbacks or visions or dreams so muddled and hazy that she can't find the truth. Another personal thought revolves around the ability of her Nobody, Namine, aka "The Witch". She's a unique Nobody born from both Sora and Kairi's Hearts after the events of the original Kingdom Hearts game. She has the ability to alter, destroy, and restore memories of Sora and those around him. Considering her abilities, I suspect she could uncover hidden memories buried deep within one's Heart. In Re:Mind, Riku states she's currently with the Twilight Gang - Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion, Hayner, Pence, and Olette - looking for clues in Roxas's and Xion's memories. If given a chance, perhaps she can work with Kairi to fully unlock her hidden memories even though the latter is experiencing some flashbacks.

The Ark Speaking of flashbacks, the picture below is also the talk in the fandom

[Sceenshot taken from YouTube SQUARE ENIX] It's machine that has made its appearance before.

[Image found on Google Images] This is the machine Sora and gang finds in a room in Hollow Bastion. At the time, we couldn't interact with it. We just entered this room and see this machine, fight enemies that appeared, and get a chest.

[Image found on Google Images] Later in Kingdom Hearts Union X (KHUx), we see Malificent in a room where the machine is. The name of machine is called The Ark. Next, we see Lauriam, who is the original person of Marluxio (Nobody), enter and tells her to leave. When she refused, he summons his keyblade and proceeds to attack her. In a different cutscene, Lauriam wakes up in a now damaged room, including the machine. Injured, he proceeds to exit the room with a limp. Given The Ark was damaged and later made its appearance in Kingdom Hearts and in the Trailer, I wonder if they're exactly the same machine? If so, that means that Radiant Garden is a section of the once Daybreak Town. Scala ad Caelum was built on top of Daybreak Town, as seen when Sora and the gang fought Armored Xehanort underwater. Or were two machines made - 1 in Daybreak Town (KHUx) and 1 in Radiant Garden (KH, Trailer)? Could it have been the Master of Masters who built them? Who knows?

Stars and Ideas

[Screenshots taken from YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

The following photos bring up other ideas I have.

Here we see Kairi and Riku in The Final World.

Idea 1: What if this portion is at the start of Melody of Memory like in KH3 as the opening cinematic cutscenes?

Tetsuya Nomura told the public the Final World and Dive to the Heart takes place at the end of the game's plot. So what if these screenshot are actually scenes that happen at the end or towards the end of the game, but are brought to the start of the game as an opening?

Idea 2: What if Kairi and Riku go to The Final World in the middle of the game because it's the hardest place to reach? Chirithy explained in KH3 that in order for someone to reach this place, they would have to either enter a very deep sleep that's near Death or actually die. Since Kairi has been sleeping for a year an Riku has been having strange dreams, they both enter the world by going under a very deep slumber that it takes there. Sora has done it countless times before, but he didn't realize it until Chirithy explained it to him.

Idea 3: After the duo arrives, they're encountered by a group of Stars

I have two options for this idea:

Option 1: The Stars gathered because they were drawn towards Kairi, a Princess of Heart.

Option 2: The Stars were waiting for them because Sora told about them. In the Secret Ending, Sora defeated Yozora (Good Ending) and was brought back to The Final World with him looking up at the sky then walking away. A year has passed, which leads to the events in Re:Mind, so Sora has been there all that time. I'm sure the Stars were there to unintentionally give him company and a sense of comfort inspite of the situation. He'd tell them about himself, friends, and journey to pass the time as well as training. Maybe some of the Stars made a promise to keep an eye for his friends should they arrive. Sora went off somewhere in the World.

Idea 4: This supports my “Personal Note” from earlier. Remembering this is a confirmed rhythm game and I mentioned the concept of "Sound Idea" being used, what if the Stars are gathered as a guide to help the duo through Kairi's Heart Memories that resided in Sora's Heart during the events of the original Kingdom Hearts game?

Remembering the gameplay screenshots and action in the Trailer, we play as Sora. If this is a Kairi game, or a Kairi-focused game, why are we playing as Sora with his original appearance from KH? I suspect it's because when Kairi's Heart resided in Sora's during the first game, her Heart contains Memories that Sora endured in his original clothing.

If that's the case, then it makes why we're playing as Sora accompanied with other characters to assist him. I'm sure we'll play as Kairi and the other characters soon after, but it's an interesting observation.

Similar to how Riku basically contolled Data Sora to fight against Data Organization XIII in Re:Mind, I theorized it's similar for Kairi. The rhythm "game" could serve as a memory guidance for Kairi and the others. Bringing in the KHDDD Sound Idea from Symphony of Sorcery, what if they need to collect multiple Sound Ideas like from each world the rhythm has to offer to find Sora? If that's the case, then I wonder what song will be played if they harmonized all of the Sound Ideas together?

What if the clues she looking for is somewhere in the worlds Sora visited while she was inside his heart? I know Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are searching every world Sora's visited in reality but what if the clues are only something that can be seen or uncovered through the Heart...like through Princess of Heart?

@phoenixmiko: "The sound idea combined could form the Dearly Beloved for KHMoM or KH3's version."

A very good plausible! I can imagine Yoko Shimomura and her team playing a new rendition of the song!

Mentioned in:

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621112208886284288

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621112566752690176

Kairi's Heart Fragments

Mentioned in my earlier tumblr posts:

https://khhcfi.tumblr.com/post/621128405097775104/kairis-heart-fragments-in-kh3-remind-sora-had

[Screenshot Source: YouTube SQUARE ENIX]

One thing I’d like to add is that you can see Sora’s smile as he’s holding one of Kairi’s Pink Lights. I suppose he’s nostalgic of his brief quest to find all 7 Fragments and/or he’s comforted by the familiar presence.

Other Observations

Something struck me when I looked back at The Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts 3.

KH3 secret report 3:

Experiments of the Heart Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 1--

Subject was found in the central square shortly after dawn. Female, approximately fifteen years old. After seven days' observation, she spoke her first words, but could not provide a name. Subject exhibits signs of profound amnesia, and displays concern about which world this is. Her words suggest that she departed her home world with others, though she cannot recall the names of her erstwhile companions. All efforts to explore those memories have met with a rejection response.

After his initial experiments on me, Ansem the Wise ceased his research into the heart, his hand stayed by some fear I cannot fathom. Yet this new subject is like me: devoid of memories. She is the perfect sample upon which to continue my master's work. She, too, could benefit from it: by traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory. I myself have begun to reclaim my lost past thanks to these very experiments.

Who is she? Whence has she come? These are questions no scientist could ignore. And the words she muttered, "May your heart be your guiding key"...

—Xehanort

[Source: Kingdom Hearts Wiki - The Secret Reports (KH3)]

Yes, I'm very aware that Xehanort is referring to Subject X - Skuld.

However, the bold section of the report really struck me odd in an interesting way.

"devoid of memories" = Subject X had amnesia upon arriving this world. The same thing that happened to Terra- Xehanort hybrid (Terranort) after Aqua saved him from falling into the Realm of Darkness. The same thing happened to Kairi upon arriving to Destiny Islands.

I don't know what Xehanort meant by "my master's work" specifically, though it may have to do with studying the Hearts, Light and Darkness, and unlocking The Door (Radiant Garden's Door)

"traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory" = this is the most interesting aspect because we've seen this before. Recall the events of Re:CoM, Namine's first display of memory alteration to Sora and Riku by interfering with the chains in their Hearts. In KH2, Namine is restoring Sora's memories by correcting the chain links that greatly affect the others connected to him.

Xehanort reclaimed his "lost past thanks to these very experiments". As to which lost past he's referring to is most likely Master Xehanort's. Terra's memories may be (relatively) from his body-roommate after they merged.

Kairi is asleep for a year with Ansem the Wise and his Apprentices overseeing the process while using their knowledge about the Heart.

She believes her Heart holds clues to finding Sora. In doing so, it appears the memories hidden from her are resurfacing as flashbacks, bit-by-bit.

She's traversing her Heart to not only have a direct path to Sora, but also a path to her hidden memories.

She's traversing the memories stored in her Heart during her time spent in Sora's Heart.

Perhaps a reason why Terranort didn't recall much after waking up except for Xehanort's name is because the amount of memories the old master had was overwhelming Terra's mind. Paired with the strong powerful Darkness that amplified his own, it overpowered him to have amnesia for a while.

#melody of memory #kingdom hearts melody of memory #kairi #kairi's heart #kairi's past #radiant garden #xehanort #rhythm game #kh theories #kh speculation #kh

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404-potato · 5 years

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Accidental Time Travel fic idea brainstorm?

Putting it here so I can revisit later

A little divergant oneshot (although knowing me who the fuck knows this might end up in multi chap) of mission gone wrong and they get thrown into the past and meet younger Tony Stark ?

Ironstrange | past Stony

During a mission, rogues/old team + Rhodey + Peter end up being thrown to the past. After bit of discussion they come to a conclusion maybe it is best to contact SHIELD of this timeframe. They managed to find Peggy and finally meet Howard Stark- both were more than enthusiastic seeing Steve again and agree to help after short explanation.

Howard tells them they should all stay at Stark mansion since they will attract too much attention elsewhere. They lay low for a week or so while they devise a plan. Then younger Tony comes to visit... (He’s maybe ~19-20ish? Grad school?)

The team first joked about how the younger Tony will end up with a crush on Steve because of their past relationship / how their Tony used to act bending over backwards at everything Steve wants... BUT Tony at first gets extremely attached to Rhodey- because he’s like wait older version of my Rhodey cool. And in this timeline Rhodey really is his only friend. They all soon realize Tony had/has a childhood crush on Rhodey which got transferred over to Rhodey from future and they all laugh and think its sort of just cute and Rhodey is like “... wait seriously??” Because now he sees it-

The team soon gets first hand experience on some of the issues between Howard and Tony. They get into a fight at some point and Howard throws a bottle out of anger which when it shatters on the wall, a glass end up scratching Tony’s face. Rhodes remembers seeing that wound long time ago... one in which Tony brushed it off saying he accidentally screwed up an experiment.

The rest of the team gets a bit protective and even though they are having all sort of issues in the future, this Tony obviously does not know any of that and gets along with them really easily. He also is a lot less arrogant, a lot more honest, they see that he hasn’t fully developed his “mask” yet so it’s a lot easier to see his emotions and insecurities, etc. He’s definitely a lot less paranoid and defensive and its trippy since this is obviously Tony but not at the same time... or its just a side of Tony they forget too often. The whole situation makes Steve rethink about their arguments and his perception of Tony.

Younger Tony definitely gets along with Bruce, admires him even, has fun joking with Thor, even easily warms up to Steve. And though Peter gets so weirded out and a bit upset at first because this is his dad who doesn’t know him and now only couple years older than him, eventually feels better when Tony naturally looks after him and takes care of him like an older brother. Tony once mentions by passing how he doesn’t want kids ever since he’ll probably end up like Howard and won’t be a good father to anyone... and Peter can’t help to blurt out “no... I think you’ll be great.”

Eventually though Stephen ends up coming to find them... but they need to wait 4 more days for (future)Tony to open the rift in time a second time and get them all out.

Stephen definitely has a lot of mixed feelings about meeting the younger version of his boyfriend and it’s awkward because he constantly has to stop himself from acting too friendly. He is completely in love with how young and vibrant Tony is in this timeframe but he is also having an internal crisis because this Tony is basically half his age so it feels inappropriate.

At some point younger Tony mentions how he’s confused with life and he flip flops between so many personalities, looks, hobbies, likes and dislikes in general he wonders if there is anything real about himself. He gives the example of like he kissed this boy so does that make him gay? And though he is playing it off, Tony seems to be honestly scared and having some sort of existential crisis. Stephen tells him this whole speech about how he’s young, this is the time to explore, it’s completely normal to be trying one thing one day only to do completely the opposite the next. It doesn’t make anything less real and certainly doesn’t make it wrong. And you may feel something is “you” or “true” only to change or realize no it’s not someday and that’s okay too.

Everyone can see from miles away younger Tony is head over heels for Stephen at record time and whatever crush he was displaying for Rhodey and even Steve at some point is NOTHING in comparison. Tony was very flirty with Rhodey and Steve but with Stephen he just gets completely flustered that it’s sort of just ridiculous cute. He’ll like... try to make an attempt at something flirty like his usual self, Stephen jokingly does something back and younger Tony is like all red and ABORT MISSION. Rhodey keeps teasing Stephen about it.

Peter also eventually calls Stephen “doctor dad” which makes Tony confused. And Stephen explains by saying Peter is not his biological son but still his son by relations due to Peter’s father/ his boyfriend. Tony suddenly excuses himself and Rhodey just goes “I think you just broke his heart”

When future Tony finally opens the rift and comes to get them he is in full Iron Man armor. He doesn’t lift the helmet upon seeing his younger self. Peters runs to him and Stephen out of reflex comes greet him in a way that obviously indicates their relationship. Everyone can’t help but to notice younger Tony looks completely heartbroken since he does not realize this Iron Man technically is himself.

Just before they all leave, younger Tony, trying to play it off, makes a comment to this man in armor “take care of them, tin can man” because he got very attached to Peter and he’s sort of fell in love with Stephen at this point. And after a long pause Iron Man/ future Tony replies back simple “I will.”

Though its short and through the the suit mic, the younger Tony gets first shocked then smiles because... he knows...

#ironstrange #fanfic brainstorm #past stony #supremefamily #ironstrange fanfic #definitions of indefinable things fic #my fic stuff

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smthngsafootatthecirclek · 5 years

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Maiden in Leather

Loki Friggason

Requested? Still movin’ everything

Warnings? the beginnings of smut, but then they get interrupted ;), also my shitty writing.

A/N: This fic was based on the song “Emporer’s New Clothes” By P!ATD. I just really love that song lolol. Also, the phrase ‘attend me’ merely means to follow the person who said it, it’s weird

~~~

The new King of Asgard swiftly walked down the stairs of the throne room, his crimson cape dragging behind him. A smirk played across Loki's lips as maids curtsied, moving out of his path. The whole palace was in his presence, bowing, curtsying practically praising him. All of the palace except for one.

A maiden who had caught his eye. She often dressed in leather long coats, some very similar to ones he once wore.

The God of Mischief was painfully aware of her lack of presence. He approached one of the royal guards and made them aware of his displeasure. The guards volunteered to search down the maiden, but Loki swatted them away.

"She will learn." He spoke, "she will receive her punishment personally..."

As he pushed open the doors of the throne room, he saw the maiden stop in her tracks. She was dressed fully in leather. It hugged her body. It made him want her.

'Finders, keepers...' His mind told him, but the maiden turned the other way- a blue cape following her movements- and made for an escape.

She thought she would escape him? Oh was she in for a delight.

The Raven-haired king strode after his newly found infatuation.

Finally, Loki had cornered her and pushed her against the wall. Judging from her expressions, she was not the slightest bit scared of him. The way her eyes traveled down his armor-clad body-not to mention her scent-made tension build in his pants.

Lavish mansions and vintage wine.

She was royalty- but he was so much more. Green whisps of Seidr bound the maiden’s wrists together, also creating a choker and a chain in which Loki took to lead the maiden down the hall.

Yes, he would teach her a lesson. She would forever remember this night and he would make sure of it. They burst through the door to the royal chambers. With everyone in the throne room, no one would bother Loki. As Loki turned to close the door, he found his maiden studying him through her eyelashes and he smirked.

"A maiden such as yourself should be ashamed of yourself for showing up tardy to your King's celebration- much less showing up in such a whore-ish costume..." The Raven-haired King growled, pushing her up against the door, successfully closing it.

With a snap of his fingers, the clothing underneath the cloak was no more. A golden crown still was perched atop his ebony locks and the cloak still fell over his shoulders, covering majorities of the God's body.

"Tell me, my little whore, what is your name?" His purred, his fingers entwining with hers, pinning her to the door.

The maiden's lips parted slightly, "Aeya... M'lord..."

"What a ravishing name..." Loki growled, nipping at the woman's neck, "But by the end of this night, you will know no other name- not even your own- besides mine, Aeya.."

Her name was like honey on his tongue and he loved it. Aeya's face flushed as she learned what he had in store for her. It wasn't as if she hadn't intended in attracting the Prince's attention, but as her mind wandered, she found a heat growing between her legs.

She would be his and only his. Everyone would know that he claimed her.

'If it feels good and tastes good, it must be mine..." His mind practically screamed at the rest of his body, 'She will be mine!'

With another snap of his fingers, the maiden stood naked before Loki. Her body writhed against the feeling of his lush cloak and a moan escaped her delectable lips. He lusted for her but a knock at the door behind Aeya disrupted his attacks on her neck. Three knocks sounded again and Loki groaned with frustration. Green whisps of Seidr surrounded both of them and clothing appeared back on their bodies. Loki positioned his cloak so as his front would be covered and his strained arousal would be hidden. In one swift movement, the Raven-haired King opened the door to find his mother, Frigga, standing impatiently outside his quarters.

"Loki!! Why are you here! You should be in the throne room!!" The All-Mother cried before noticing the fair maiden standing behind Loki, "You... have company...?"

Loki rolled his eyes and pushed passed his mother, walking briskly down the hall back to the throne room, "Attend me, Aeya!"

The God called and the maiden sighed, following him. She caught up with his long strides soon before he entered the throne room and he wrapped an arm around her leather-covered waist, the heat between her legs boiling even further.

#Loki #I refuse to call him anything other than Friggason #He is Loki Friggason #Marvel #Loki x made up character #sooorry #yeet #smut #Loki smut #almost #but not quite

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starsrshiney · 5 years

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Starsnapped 6

Part 5 -_-_-_- Chronological Order

Yeesh, how long was it since chapter 5- nine months?! Not gonna lie, I was lost on how I was gonna continue the swapping between the two point of views every other chapter and just let this fall to the wayside. But finally an idea came for what happened during the carriage trip!

_________________________________________________________ Chax gave Anniey a considering look as the carriage ran over a bump. She wasn’t in her Shinering state anymore, which was good because the singing was really creepy. But she did look less than happy- which, fair, her brother was kidnapped by an old stalker.

And really, that just stung on a whole other layer. Not that Chax wanted a stalker, but he should have known that Stars had one waiting here in Emplien. Both as a recon agent and as a friend.

Chax had spent the time waiting for the carriages to get ready thinking about everything he knew about Stars’ past, only to come up with the bare basics. The only thing their leader really talked about was how big the family mansion was (castle or palace would probably be closer to the truth,) and the people of his high school archery team. Hell, Chax knows more about Stars’ one month in Teutrerias than his first 18 years in Emplien.

And he’s willing to bet that everyone else on the team would say the same, except for the other two Emplien natives. Looking at Anniey and Von on the two seats across from him, he decided this was going to change. Von had given them a very quick rundown, but they needed to know more. “So, Anniey.”

Anniey stopped glaring out the window. “Yeah?”

“Are you going to tell us what’s going on here?” Chax cut to the point.

“What else is there to say?” Anniey retorted. “Stars was kidnapped by Carmo and we’re getting him back.”

Chax could feel Mahn moving next to him. He probably wanted Chax to shut up, but that wasn’t going to happen. Chax already got a name instead of an initial out of her, after all.

“I mean, who is this Carmo person?” Chax pressed. “And why is she so obsessed with Stars to the point of stalking and kidnapping?”

Anniey took a quick breath in and turned back to looking out the window. “Not my place to say. Ask Stars when we get him back.”

Chax narrowed his eyes. “We’re past the point where we can worry about who’s place it is.”

“I agree with that.” The four teammates jumped at the new voice.

“Lachlan’s dust, Crystal.” Mahn grumbled. “Give us a bit more warning when you do that.”

“Sorry, I connected the carriages right when Chax was asking about the stalker. Not the best place to interrupt.”

“I’m in agreement with Chax and Crystal.” Sal’s voice cut in. “All of us will need to know what we can about this. . . Carmo. . . if she was able to abduct Stars from our headquarters.”

“I doubt she actually came herself.” Anniey grumbled. “She probably would have climbed in Stars’ bed rather than take him away.”

“Well, Stars has been grumbling about the beds being too big.” Takky tried to lighten the mood from his carriage.

“We’re supposed to have single person beds, but Mom pushed for the bigger ones since Stars and I were being employ-“

“We’re not letting you change the subject.” Sal cut Anniey off. “We don’t even know what element this Carmo Medeiros uses.”

“She’s a dual element, light and dark.” Anniey replied, both angrily and easily. “She’s not really offensive with them, but she’s skilled with disguising illusions. She’s also a good voice actor.”

“What I’m hearing is that we should have stocked up on illusion disrupting flashlights before we left.” Jimi seethed.

“Th-there’s a guard shack near the train station.” Von said. “We can ask for code C g-gear before we take the train.”

Mahn raised an eyebrow. “Code C gear?”

“Code C is the security protocol for when we suspect Carmo’s gotten onto the property.” Anniey explained. “Illusion disruptors are standard.”

Chax knew the first thing he was checking when the team came back from this.

“Why now though?” Rose questioned. “We’ve been on the Shiner property for half a year, why did she choose now to kidnap him?”

“We weren’t here for the good parts of last Pyrril or Tinnuviun.” Chax corrected. “We were out of the continent doing our new job.”

“And I doubt the Medeiros’ were on the mailing list for Stars’ return.” Anniey continued. “It probably took her some time to realize he was even back.”

“Mom lets me kn-know when Code C incidents happen.” Von volunteered.

Anniey whipped her head toward him. “What?!”

“Th-they were all f-false reports!” Von jumped. “One w-was a robber u-using Carmo tac-tactics but no s-signs of actual C-C-Carmo before now!”

“Crystal?” Aaron’s voice came over. “If both of our carriage windows are open, can you carry a newspaper over?”

“Easily.” The mage confirmed. “But why?”

“Today’s newspaper, has something Chax and Anniey should see. It’s the section that covers Spectette’s activities.”

“I don’t really see what Spectette has to do with anything right now.” Anniey snapped.

“I have a copy.” Mahn volunteered, pulling a newspaper from his trenchcoat. “I was going to read it when we were on the trai-”

Mahn’s pause grabbed Chax’s attention, so he leaned over and looked over at the section of news. “Spectette left an advance notice for the Medeiros family half a week ago. She’s stealing from them today.” He read with widening eyes.

Anniey dropped a few swears. “That’s what we don’t need.”

“So we’re assuming Carmo kidnapped Stars to have him deal with Spectette then?” Briar questioned.

“Th-that’d fit.” Von nodded. “Carmo has Stars on a kn-knight in shining armor type pedestal, after a-all.”

“He better have gotten himself partially out of trouble already.” Anniey grumbled. “Carmo’s a threat to his mental state, but Spectette is never less than fully prepared for anything, and he’s down his storage crystal and weapon.”

“We have to get him back quickly!” Jasmine almost screeched.

“What’s this?” Chax couldn’t help but troll. “Jasmine actually caring about Stars’ wellbeing?”

“Nothing of the sort!” Jasmine snorted. “But this is Stars with nothing but his wits. If we don’t get him back quickly, Spectette will become the fourteenth member of the team!”

Everyone paused for a few seconds at the audacity of the statement before realizing how truthful it was. Stars was armed with nothing but his element and his magnetic personality.

“We could use her wits for temple raids.” Chax shrugged.

“He is NOT going to recruit someone who can outshine me so easily!” Jasmine growled.

“That isn’t what you should be concerned about!”

“Its Jasmine, did you expect any more?”

Chax sighed as everyone started to fall into their everyday bickering. At least everyone’s feeling a bit less tense and they had more info to work off of, but it wasn’t what he was trying to get.

Maybe he’ll be able to extract more info on Stars and Carmo’s shared history on the train ride.

#writing #Starsnapped

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bells-of-black-sunday · 5 years

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The seraphic fold master post

Updtaed as of: 6/16/2020

So, the old master post isn’t good at all it’s mostly just Luci, Az, Gabriel, Michael, and Mary facts as opposed to how the fold works and functions, the caste system, social dynamics, etc. I will also be providing and updated list of all the angels that I write that live there along with the date it was updated.

Quick introduction to angels as a species and the fold itself, angels and demons are the same thing, no fall mechanic required. With how the seraphic fold and Burning planes are two neighboring realms that nearly completely overlap, the Seraphic fold is more like a gated community that rejects the idea of being as “low and grimy” as their “savage” cousins. They’re the living embodiment of “you can’t sit with us”.

The burning planes was created and is written by my friend so I will not be making a post on it ehrwh

I. The caste system and social dynamics

The caste system is simple, but the class divides are quite literal with huge guarded walls and gates separating each area. Angelic society is separated into spheres with a ruling class above everyone else. It goes as follows:

The council

First sphere

Second Sphere

Third sphere

The council are the ruling class of angelic society, but they don’t have one ruler. The seraphic fold is infinitely spreading making room for those that are born or reincarnated within’ it’s pristine walls. Each member of the council governs a small portion of the fold making general laws vary quite greatly aside from the constants that were decided when the fold was first manifested, but for the most part the fold is governed by strict social expectations.

1. Murder is prohibited unless you’re challenging the throne, failure to comply will result in execution

and

2. The murder and assault of death angels will result in either permanent exile or execution

The council make their own laws as they see fit for their society, but despite there been quite literally billions of council members only a handful are well known and govern the most populated areas of the fold. Azrael, Michael, Mary, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Sealtiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, Samuel, and formerly Lucifer. Lucifer was and still is the most prominent council member in the folds history, he conquered nearly half of the fold before being exiled shortly after the storming of heaven.

His section of the fold was broken up and given to the members of his council that didn’t take his side during the event, but rulers aren’t elected nor are they born into power. The thrones are constantly being fought over by those looking to get ahead in the first sphere, those that rule have proven themselves as both powerful in battle and worthy of respect.

The first sphere is home to wealthy politicians, the royal guard, merchants, soul collectors, high class chefs, gladiators and the like. It’s high class society is the strictest out of any of the spheres as everyone’s looking for a way to get rid of competition. Political assassins and body guards are a huge portion of the jobs offered in the back alleys, not to mention the dark underbelly of the “servant” trade where many angels are kidnapped from the third sphere to be “house keeps” and “servants” for the upper class. The first sphere is so full of pride and prejudice to the point where if you’re any bit sympathetic towards those below you or interact below you, you will face harsh scrutiny and possible assault.

But it’s not all bad, the first class has the highest quality of living out of any of the spheres with running water, lighting, an abundance of food, etc. Not to mention the access to various delicacy’s made by soul collectors. Soul collectors are angels that collect the souls of the dead and turn them into fine alcohols, candies, tapestries, silks, cigars, weapons, and jewelry. Just like you’ll see in other sphere’s, there’s a wealth gradient. The further you get to the second sphere the poorer and worse the sphere becomes.

The second sphere is middle to low class, it carries over traits from the first and third sphere, but this is generally where you’re “peasant” jobs are. A lot of them are farmers or handy workers, but there are tailors and cooks here. Food shortages and poverty gets worse and worse as you get back towards the third sphere. These are generally average people who don’t have any extreme magical ability and their ability to collect and see souls isn’t the greatest. They’re just average people trying to make ends meet, it is possible to pull out of this sphere and into the first, but it takes a lot of time and effort, but it’s even easier to fall into the third.

The third sphere is where all those that are exiled and rejected by society end up. There is little possibility of pulling yourself out of here and generally laws don’t apply to those that society has forgotten and/or rejected leaving this section to be guarded by militias. Life in the third sphere is a lot more relaxed and free spirited ruled by rebellion and rejecting social standards despite the huge starvation problem, life has thrived here. But as time passes social unrest grows within’ this sphere making the sign of Lucifer and the removal of wings a sign of rebelling the society they’re oppressed and forgotten by.

Death angels are a huge part of angelic society, they’re angels that carry out Death’s will and thus are considered the highest of angel society and specially protected under Angelic law and thus are always either a part of the council or living within’ the first sphere.

Fashion is a huge part of angelic society it reveals wealth, social status, and job position, thus I will give a quick run down of it.

The council: Long silks, armor, tight fitting clothing all are common place. The face is usually covered by a mask or hood, wings have been enlarged to give an imposing silhouette. Intimidation is key here as many council members face opponents rather regularly. Black and gold is extremely common place within’ fashion here. Many council members adorn their horns in jewelry. Generally fashions rules are much looser here than most of the other spheres. The lack of wings is an extreme taboo along with the lack of horns.

The first sphere: Extremely extravagant clothing that often takes appearance over functionality. Masks are common place here along with long feather’s and more than one pair of wings placement varies to being framing the head, middle of the back, shoulder blades, etc. A lot of teal and gold is used in clothing within’ this sphere, the usage of black is reserved strictly for mourning. Jewelry is a must here to flaunt your wealth, wealth is often displayed and flaunted by how much gold and jewels a person wears as they’re quite expensive. The lack of wings is an extreme taboo along with lack of jewelry, clothing, silks, and masks.

The third sphere: The third sphere is often categorized by rebellion and rejecting the social standards of the fold. The removal of wings, horns, hooves, etc. in an effort to look more human is extremely common place, but they never look fully human. Any angels that still have their wings are social outcasts within’ this sphere as they desperately try to fit in with their peers, but they’re also more likely to leave the sphere. Clothing in the third sphere is extremely varied, others might wear only white, other’s black, or vibrant colors, but one thing that’s generally not used is gold. Very rarely is gold used and it’s usually stolen. Wings, anything that would flaunt wealth is an extreme taboo within’ this sphere.

II. Housing and general aesthetic of the fold

The fold consists of whites, teals, blacks and golds to contrast the bright red veins angels get when angered. Angelic housing is basically like ancient Greek houses, but made out of smooth white marble and extravagant details galore, you get up into mansions as you get into the more wealthy sphere. A lot more gold and black marble or carpet is used in these palaces while common housing tends to either get white marble, wood flooring, or straw. Wealthy people tend to be able to live alone, while as you get further down it’s not uncommon to see multiple families sharing one home or one area of land. Housing isn’t hard to come by, but since the fold is a series of floating islands, it tends to be compact, reaching upward instead of outward.

III. Links + misc facts

Extra links to more info:

Dimensional clusters

Why don’t angels want to look human?

Angel diet kinda

Angels as parents

Angel gentialia (nsfw)

How angels change their body

Gender and pronouns usage

High priests and Apollyon

Nomadic ground dwelling angels

Angels don’t refer to who they’re married to as their spouse, they call them their mate and polyamory is not at all uncommon especially in wealthier sections of the fold where you might want to pool your money together. Divorce also isn’t seen as taboo or uncommon

Angels do reproduce sexually, yes, but since angels can shape aspects of their appearance however they want, gender isn’t seen as anything that’s worth talking about, everyone can have children if they choose to so even what’s in your pants doesn’t matter

Societal pressure tends to keep angels having the same appearance in everything but the third sphere, lack of facial features aside from the occasional shown eyes, horns, hooves, claws, and tails.

Every angel is born with one set of wings, but while angels can choose to grow more, once they’re torn from their sockets the tissues too scarred to grown another pair leaving them permanently grounded.

Angels reach sexual maturity at one hundred years of age, but they have been known to leave home earlier than that.

Angels are immortal in the sense that they don’t die from old age, but disease, famine, etc. can all kill them

People do reincarnate in the fold and it’s basically a toss of the dice where they’ll end up when they do

IIII. Angel master list

aka angels I write on this blog or if people make angels and want to be added to the list I’ll add them and link their blog/whatever

last updated 6/16/2020

Abaddon

Azrael

Lucifer

Mary

Michael

Rose

Apollyon

Lilith

#ooc #the seraphic fold #long post

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xanthicantag · 5 years

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alright bro im gonna do all the ask so. U Know You're Doin Em Too

Hot read more since there’s so maaaaaany

1. if you were to have Hanahaki disease, what flowers would you cough up?

I feel like this is entirely based on who i’m feeling the one sided love for? (I googled Hanahaki disease and i’m all about that shit no doubt there) But like, maybe daffodils?

2. if someone were to catch Hanahaki disease for you, what flowers would they cough up?

Uh Roses motherfucker, you’re welcome

3. if you were any historic trope, what would you be? (i.e., the knight, the town baker, the witch of the forest, etd.)

Ok so like on the one hand I love lances, so fucking much, so I’m like big into Knights for that and like protecting people (and/or a beautiful prince cause like, you know), but I also really love the idea of just being like, a traveling fighter of some kind, leading a troupe of loveable idiots or being in a troupe as a loveable idiot. I want to be Iron Bull is what I’m trying to say I guess????? or like, Krem? who knows

4. tell us about your ideal battle outfit.

Ok so I’m torn again. Cause protection and ease of movement are super important, so like a breastplate and some kind of back protection, maybe a shield? or maybe a sick gauntlet arm like Ike from Fire Emblem cause he knows what’s up, and then some minor leg armor to keep the front of my thighs and calves safe and like a shield since those fuck am I right?? On the other hand: If you look like a Thot, the enemy is distracted and an easy target. I’m talking chainmail crop top, plate armor booty shorts, stupid looking heel shoes(?) for maximum thot energy, and of course a whip, either that i use or just have for the thot energy.

5. what would you be a god/goddess of and what would people sacrifice to you?

I think like, a minor deity that helps people make small to mediumish choices (i.e. talk the left or right path, call or don’t call this person), and then like, a cute little charm that people just kinda crush or burn before asking about the choice feels good, feels organic.

6. name five iconic quotes that make you feel things.

Now, I don’t know a lot of quote to be honest, but here’s some paraphrased stuff:

“Now that larping exists dnd is like, not the least cool thing to do”- Travis McElroy

“Yeah I have a pickle allergy, what about it *Pickle eating sounds*” -Me, often

“I fucked your dad” -Me during a quiplash game? And often yeah I’ll admit this

I don’t remember what’s said, but the scene in the Count of Monte Cristo where he just shows off all his sick skills to be like “Yeah I’ll murder the fuck out of your homeboy if he tries to step up to me”.

“All Magicians are inherently inclined to kill” -That unraveled about Megaman robots who get sentience

7. scythe, battle axe, broad sword, spear or trident?

Ok so like, Scythe for formal occasions/when I want to just look good cause I think their a sexy as hell weapon, at me if you want to be I know I’m right. Battle Axes are cool and like, really useful during a siege since you can easily bust stuff down with it and it lets you cut spears in half so you look dope as hell, like, Hector of Ostia if you’re out there, yes you’re correct. Broad Swords are like, just in general really good, you can use it in a duel, a battle, a coronation, magic rituals if you’re really feeling fancy, the list is just endless, a real classic all purpose weapon. Spears are for fucking losers, fuck you if you use a spear sword fight me like a fucking real fighter or get out of here none of this reach bullshit. Tridents are like spears but just, inherently sexier? You know? Like 1 point is stupid and boring, but 3? that’s some good shit. But really fuck all these weapons whips are lances are where it’s at yes feel free to at me again.

8. what combination of natural scents would you use as perfume?

Now this i have like, actually no idea for, but like, just tons of flowers. I just take like a fistful of flowers and rub them on my face.

9. ancient scrolls or leather-bound books?

Oh you know I’m about that leather-bound book life! Fuck A scroll, that is just a piece of paper that is going to tear and be illegible in like 5 years. A nice bound book though? *Chefs kiss*

10. describe yourself as if you were a storm.

A summer rain. It comes in quickly and is gone by the turn of the hour. A brief respite during the dry season, and gone before it can become a disaster.

11. what type of flower (other than a rose) would you offer someone you were trying to court?

First of all op, get the fuck off my back Roses or nothing. Secondly a big sunflower.

12. honey in milk or cinnamon in tea?

Um, neither??????????????????

13. cabin in the woods, apartment in the city or mansion in the suburbs?

Honestly an apartment in the city would be nice but like, living in the woods is the prime chance to be a local mystery.

14. curtains of beads or lace?

Probably lace? Do beads block light?

15. vocal or instrumental music?

I am a big fan of instrumental

16. describe your ideal fantasy outfit

Step one, big cape, it doesn’t touch the ground while on my shoulders but goes about mid calf. Step two, leather armor, it’s light and easy to move in, and provides good protection. Step three, Mask, nothing like flashy, just a plain black mask, preferably a full mask if i’ve got some magic to see with not my eyes, other wise like a typical masquerade mask

17. of all the fantasy races to ever exist, which one would you be?

Fuck. This is so hard. I want to be, so many. No you know what, fuck it. I wanna be a Dragonborn Tiefling hybrid, I’m talking cool horns, I’m talking sweet tail, you already know I can spit literal fire out of my face. Fucking try and get at me I dare you.

18. hard candy, fruit preserves or spice cake?

I love hard candy to just suck on, but my teeth do not.

19. show us an a picture of your ideal crown.

if you don’t think this crown fucks, get out of my face

20. tying your hair up using ribbon, yay or nay?

I’ve had my hair long enough for that like once, and I don’t really like tying my hair up tbh

21. an evening in the forest with elves, a night in the caves with vampires or a morning in the garden with fae?

Um. Bold of you to say I’m not hitting up all these parties??? Like def vampires first since the elven party is advertised to go for like 5 hours, but we all know it goes on for like 4 months and I can’t party that long as a mortal you know. And like you hit the fae up last since you literally are gonna be stuck there the rest of your life after one (1) round of truth or dare

22. tell us, in detail, about a curse a witch would put on you.

Like, in all honesty the biggest thing a witch could do to me via curse would just be to make my right arm like full unusable. Not gone or broken. Just like, it’s slow, I can’t always get it to fully hold onto something so it drops everything, there’s always a small feeling of discomfort, not pain just a minor annoyance, in the knuckles of the hand.

23. talking with sylphs or singing with nymphs?

I get kicked out of the nymph singing area after four seconds of

24. mint, rosemary, basil or sage?

I fucking go wild for the smell of basil don’t even try me

25. favorite childhood story? (doesn’t have to be a fairy tale)

I remembered Inkheart recently and like, I honestly really liked that book

26. tell us about an experience you’ve had that seemed unreal or supernatural. (doesn’t have to be scary)

Sophomore year of college, I realized that all the people around me were people I actually enjoyed spending time with, and it just felt so weird to be there after all the just nonsense that had happened up till then

27. would you rather have poison or healing ointment in your traveling pack?

healing duh? You think I’d ever remember i have the poison one? nope not me!

28. tell us three sayings that you live by.

Try and be a little nicer, unless they really don’t deserve it. Walk away sometimes. Eat food and don’t think about it.

29. vials or mason jars?

Oh get me those vials baby!

30. describe your ideal masquerade ball outfit (mask included).

OH HELL YES. Get me that suit, it’s a sweet dark red with rose colored vest underneath, the jacket and pants have flower vines on them that 100% connect to a big ass rose on the back of the jacket. The mask is more or less this guy:

31. splashing around in a river with mermaids or flying through the sky with harpies?

I can literally swim any day so let’s fly

32. what would you end up in the dungeon for?

Ok i didn’t understand this one at first so I’m keeping my initial reply below and the real one is: You know I beat some like high ranking knight or minor noble in a duel to humiliate them and no i didn’t think it through so here i am lol.

3 things: A talking magic weapon (Probably a sword but i’m down for other options). A certain someone is going in and I’m not letting him go in without someone to keep him safe. There’s dragon eggs that work like the Eragon dragon eggs and I am already waist deep in dead enemies getting one of those babies.

33. if you were a fairy, what color would your wings be?

Take a wild fucking guess

34. if you could have any magical item, what would it be?

God this is so hard, but I think a magic flower that when you pluck one if its petals you can undo a recent event, up to like ten minutes or so.

35. what song would the bards sing about you when you passed by?

I’ll say the Death of Me by Meg Myers

36. would you rather be a pirate or a king/queen?

God that’s hard, Like yeah pirates are cool but i’d love to be royalty and just get to do good shit for the people and also not have scurvy.

37. would you spend more time in the field of flowers, the tavern, the docks or the marketplace?

Hmmm, I think the Tavern as like the number 1, and then a tie for docks and field, and the marketplace in last since i hate crowded areas i need to buy things in

38. would you have a painting of yourself?

Only if I ever ride a dragon and then have a painting to immortalize the moment, and only if the dragon helps me paint it

39. what skill are you famous for?

I mean, people know I sword fight, fight fight, and program, so like, those? and I guess my sick dnd skills

40. if you could live any fairy tale, which one would you?

Fuck if I can think of one!

41. stained glass windows or fairy lights?

Ok Stained glass windows literally slap so like, you already know

#romanarcadia

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wits-writing · 5 years

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Earth’s Mightiest Retrospective Ep 46: “Code Red”

(Directed by Roy Burdine, Written by Man of Action, Original Airdate: September 23, 2012)

The Avengers have a clash with government authority this episode. United States Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk begins the episode holding a press conference to fully denounce the Avengers as a defense organization. While Tony worries about how Rusk is looking for an excuse to bring their team down, Steve reassures him that politicians come and go but their actions live on. (“If I said something like that it’d sound corny but coming from you it’s so natural.” – Tony) That brief speech from Steve about the merits of the Avengers amidst the public pressures they face gives Tony the opportunity to segue into the next part of their conversation. He wants to officially declare Captain America the leader of the Avengers. Before Steve gets a chance to answer, the main dilemma of the episode begins as a strange red mist starts flooding Avengers Mansion.

Iron Man’s shielded from the mist thanks to his armor, but the rest of the team isn’t so lucky. We see its effects quickly as the other Avengers and civilians in immediate perimeter of the mansion get infected. It weakens people to the point of collapse while turning their skin a familiar shade of red. (“Not this. Not him!” – Steve) Tony and T’Challa get to work to synthesize a cure. Thor, the only one immune to the mist, is ordered to use his powers to disperse the mist into space so it doesn’t spread any further. In case things weren’t bad enough, the mist provides a perfect chance for Dell Rusk to take the Avengers out like he wanted. He pins them as the source of the mist, saying they must’ve kept dangerous bioweapons on the mansion’s premises. Tanks are sent in to surround the mansion from the outside followed by Rusk’s personal superhuman taskforce, Code Red; including Winter Soldier, Falcon, Doc Samson and Red Hulk.

We’ve already been given reason to be weary of these characters back in “Nightmare in Red”, when they framed the original Hulk by creating Red Hulk. There are already obvious ulterior motives in play, since the immediacy of Rusk’s response would beggar belief otherwise, especially with how closely it’s timed to the press conference he held about the danger the Avengers represent. The rest of the Avengers besides Iron Man face off against Code Red as the taskforce tries to subdue the heroes under the guise of quarantining them.

Our heroes all fight off against the government sanctioned superheroes while suffering from varying levels of the red mist’s infection. The one exception being Thor, though his fight against Red Hulk provides its own challenges separate from the illness. Hawkeye makes the biggest move towards the team understanding what’s going on with the mist during his fight with Falcon. After taking the Code Red agent down, Clint locates a device in the area Falcon was heading toward. He informs Tony that the device was a remote dispersal unit that can be sourced back to the Department of Defense, meaning Rusk was behind the gas attack. Captain America facing Winter Soldier for the first time is worth mentioning, as the infected Cap notes that the way his opponent fights seems familiar.

Once most of Code Red has been taken down and accounted for, Tony’s the last uninfected Avengers standing. He synthesizes a cure and starts administering it to the others, only to go to the room where Cap was and see that he’s been taken by the Winter Soldier. Steve’s taken before Dell Rusk in his office at the Pentagon. Rusk starts pushing against Captain America for being out of touch with what the country needs from its heroes, beating the infected hero while he’s down for good measure. He also boasts about the irony of how Winter Soldier is the one to bring him in without specifying why it’s ironic so there’s still some drama for next episode (yeah, this goes into a two-parter.)

While Cap’s locked in that desperate situation, Iron Man flies at top speed to get the cure for illness to his teammate. When he gets intercepted by fighter jets a hundred miles out from the Pentagon, he makes the desperate move to launch the cure from a distance. It ends up getting intercepted by the quick reflexes of the Winter Soldier. While Rusk’s does some more discussion of how he’s crafted a perfect soldier to serve him, Cap grabs as Rusk face and rips it off. Revealing the “shocking” truth that Dell Rusk has been Red Skull the entire time.

This feels like a weak reveal and not because of the cheap anagram alias Red Skull was using. Dell Rusk was already being positioned as a villain from the start of this episode and in his brief previous appearance, but he hasn’t been enough of a presence in the series overall up to this point as Rusk for this to be much as dramatic as it should. It also ends up gutting the concept of the government not trusting the Avengers this episode started with, but this show probably wouldn’t have time to dig into all the nuances of that concept anyway. Red Skull orders Winter Soldier to execute Captain America, but he gives Cap the cure for the infection instead. Cap’s able to fight back against Red Skull now that he’s back at full strength. He knocks the Hydra leader out the window of his office into the lawn of the Pentagon, where news cameras can see the truth about Rusk for themselves.

“Code Red” wraps up on a few final notes, Cap goes back into the Pentagon to see the Winter Soldier’s vanished without a trace and Red Skull get taken to prison at Hydro-Base. We get some brief lines accounting for the actions of the other heroes in Code Red, Samson and Falcon were under the influence of mind control and Red Hulk’s current whereabouts are unknown. While Hawkeye wonders how a Hydra agent and war criminal managed to get so high up in the government (good thing stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life… oh, I made myself sad with that one), Steve’s left to wonder about what was going on with the Winter Soldier.

This episode’s pretty good, the final quarter of EMH hasn’t had many weak spots and the grounded stakes of the gas attack with the Code Red assault on the mansion work well together. While the ultimate reveal of Red Skull feels underwhelming, Steve Blum does a fantastic job voicing both the villain’s identities. If the reveal wasn’t telegraphed by what the gas attack was doing to people, Blum’s Rusk voice could’ve been a decent misdirect for a normal, yet still sinister, government official ready to attack the Avengers. He’s a credible threat and able to make the shift back to supervillainy the second his mask gets pulled off before Captain America beats him down. This episode’s effective as a standalone, even before taking what comes next into account.

Next time, the Captain America tracks down the Winter Soldier while it’s revealed Red Skull’s plans are far from over.

If you like what you’ve read here, please like/reblog or share elsewhere online, follow me on Twitter (@WC_WIT), and consider throwing some support my way at either Ko-Fi.com or Patreon.com at the extension “/witswriting”

#Avengers #Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #Earth's Mightiest Retrospective #Wit's Writing #TV Review #Marvel Comics #Marvel #superhero tv #superhero animation #animation #comics

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