#Zakalwe

[commiemartyrshighschool]

[realbadatpoker]

Zakalwe's was a journey of redemption

[helenvader]

I need to share a quote from Instincts by @zakalwe-the-ninth.

It's a Vetvimes smut fic (a good one, too), and yet it contains a paragraph that sums up a most sensible approach to life, which I strive to achieve, and often fail miserably, especially at the guilt part:

"Regret, much like its ugly cousin guilt, is a pointless emotion. I avoid them both wherever possible. We reflect and learn from an experience, and if needed endeavour never to repeat it; there is no additional benefit to being miserable about it."

And it's very in character for Havelock Vetinari. I'm sure he doesn't have a problem to truly live this.

Also: if you're a Vetvimes fan, you should read all the stories by this author. *wise nod* :-)))

[zakalwe-the-ninth]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Discworld - Terry Pratchett Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Havelock Vetinari/Samuel Vimes Characters: Havelock Vetinari, Samuel Vimes Additional Tags: Dark, Angst, no happy ending, vetvimes, Character Death, Blood and Injury, Confessions, Future Fic, First Kiss 

Summary:

“Cede the city to us. Tell your people to stop fighting, and we will spare you.”

Vimes considers it. It would probably be the diplomatic thing to do.

But the blood has reached his knees now, and it is still warm, and he never was much of a diplomat.

“Go to hell.”

The city is under seige, and Vetinari and Vimes face the end of something that never really started.

I don't think I can emphasise enough to read the tags; this does not have a happy ending.

[battleangelaelita]

Because I’m back on my bullshit and apparently one major Azula-centric fic is not enough, I’ve drafted treatments for two more in between picking away at the next chapter of Cinder.

Shattered God

The first, more fleshed out of the two, I’ve given the working title Shattered God, and in vibes I’d say it’s got a healthy dose of John Le Carre spy fiction. It begins ten years after ATLA’s finale, with Azula living under an assumed name in the nascent Republic City. This is not a redemption arc fic; in the time since she escaped the asylum she was incarcerated, she’s tried very hard to just leave it all behind her.

Some days, she’s almost succeeded in forgetting about her old life. Here, as “Lazuli”, she’s made a life of her own, by her own sweat and blood. It’s something she can be proud of, an achievement that can never be taken away. She fell into the brickmaker’s trade when she arrived here, and now she’s a master of the craft. Every day she goes down to the docks with her earthbending apprentice and they buy clay, ash and chalk. They mix them in the right proportions with waterbenders working hand in hand, and they mold them into bricks. When they’ve dried, they kiln them, leaving behind something that will outlive any of them; bricks are used and re-used as structures rise and fall.

This daydream where she can forget she’s Azula ends one day when Toph arrives to arrest her. Azula decides to go quietly. This turns out to be Zuko’s rather heavy handed way of recruiting her for a special job; he’s known her whereabouts for several years and decided to let sleeping dragons lie.

There was an attempted assassination against Zuko and his wife, Fire Lady Katara. Though it failed, it was clear immediately that this plot had men on the inside. There’s a fifth column forming against the Fire Lord, and without knowing who to trust, in desperation Zuko has turned to the one person 1) canny enough to unravel the conspiracy 2) who could not possibly have been involved: Azula.

After a very tense meeting, Azula agrees with great reluctance. It’s only the knowledge that the plot also targeted the Fire Lord’s infant child that sways her, even with Zuko’s strongarming. There is no love lost, but Azula will sus out the traitors.

Act II will be Azula working clandestinely through the threads of evidence, and the many power players in the court. Faced with an overabundance of people with means and motive to be involved in a potential coup, she has to tread carefully. Azula’s not the prodigy she once was; she’s tried to leave that martial part of her life behind her, and her minimally treated PTSD poses a serious threat if she does get into a fight.

Cast-wise, Azula’s interactions, besides the unresolved conflict with Zuko and Ursa, will revolve around Aang and Mai--two people at the top of Zuko’s suspect list, but who nonetheless still are willing to help regardless of how they’ve been personally hurt by the Fire Lord and Fire Lady.

Untitled Irredeemable Azula fic

The second one is less fully fleshed out. It is at this point mostly a concept, and I am still working out how to make the plot and structure less obviously derivative. But the basic idea that has been haunting me is a burning need to create an ATLA story where Azula can play the role of the monster that some people think she is, and do so in a way that can really just pull the rug out from under the reader.

The concept has been heavily inspired by one of my favorite novels, Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. It’s one of the few works of fiction that deploys a devastating third act twist that totally turns the reader on their head about the entire story thus far, yet has already given you ever clue you need to know the twist.

The spoiler free version is that it’s a story about a man named Zakalwe whose been spending decades playing mercenary for the good guys, fighting their fights against impossible odds because he’s got a knack for that, while trying to live with and redeem a past that’s haunted him. It’s slowly fed to the reader that many years ago on his home planet, Zakalwe and his foster brother Elithiomel had a very fraught relationship being raised in an aristocratic military family, fighting for recognition for their achievements, the affection of their family, and their place in this rigidly militarist society (does this remind you of anybody).

This conflict culminates in the two of them being major leaders on opposing sides of their country’s civil war, and the man called Zakalwe has been living in the shadow of their final confrontation and how it tore their family apart.

The challenge, of course, is keeping the twist and it’s revelation without being too derivative. It may ultimately not be worth the trouble. I’m mostly throwing this into the void with the hopes of finding at least one other ATLA fan who has also read Use of Weapons and can maybe talk sense into me.

[sewer-swan]

im like if cheredenine zakalwe managed to transcend his nature somewhat

[metanetsoftware]

Happy Spring! This month, we have even more amazing levels for you to check out, courtesy of the incredible N++ community. Here’s what Nate has to say about these:

donfuy’s Monthly Mapping contest began on April 3rd, 2022, and it is still going strong. That’s one year of mapping excellence from our highly creative and dedicated community! As of now a total of 186 maps have been made throughout 12 months of themes. Special shout out to SuperVolcano who took over for donfuy and kept this wonderful contest running into a new year. The theme for MM03 was “EPIC FINALE.” The maps submitted for that month can be found by searching “MM03” in-game. The top three maps were determined by votes from N++ community members.

1st place- “Final Flight of the Phoenix MM03” by frankytrees 2nd place- “MM03 - Vault Runner” by zakalwe 3rd place- “MM03 // basement darkness” by abho

These contests are ongoing, so if you would like to create or vote for dMMc maps, check out #contests on the N++ community discord. Thank you to everyone who submitted maps and voted on their favorites!

https://monthlymapping.wordpress.com

discord.gg/nplusplus

Thank you for the submissions, Nate, and to everyone who contributed levels (NiceDay, sclews, abho, zakalwe (A.K.A. astheoceanblue, and frankytrees) and commentary (NateyPooPoo, and DarkStuff)! Also, thanks to donfuy for creating this Monthly Mapping Contest, it’s super cool :D

Here are the levels, from the top screenshot above, to bottom:

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Name: My Land Author: NiceDay

Here we answer the question: "What if a tesseract sneezes?" Not that it's a question anyone asked, or one that particularly needed answering. Yet here we are, or rather, there we are, no wait, over there, hold on... Where are we? -NateyPooPoo

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Name: weird trophy Author: sclews

In celebration of their excellence in level design... and for their affinity for rewarding linear experiences... and their fine-tuned drone patterns... and -- this list just keeps going doesn't it? -- their mastery of mine placement... and, uh, and their propensity for turning their regurgitated luncheons into ninja-killing contraptions... and -- is that appropriate to say here? I'm, yeah I'm going to skip that one. And their railing against Buddhism -- we give awards for that? Uh, yeah okay so this is for sclews. Uh, we give this trophy to! Sclews! Alright I'm done here, this thing is really awkward to hold, too. -DarkStuff

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Name: MM03 // basement darkness Author: abho

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Name: MM03 - Vault Runner Author: zakalwe (A.K.A. astheoceanblue)

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Name: Final Flight of the Phoenix MM03 Author: frankytrees

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Want to play these levels? Awesome! All levels can be played from all platforms. First, you’ll need N++:

Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/games/detail/n-plus-plus-switch Xbox One: https://www.microsoft.com/en-CA/store/p/N-/BT33CHSSB89V Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/230270 PS4: https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/n-plus-plus-(n)/cid=UP2108-CUSA00041_00-NPPGAMENPPGAMENP Kartridge: https://www.kartridge.com/games/MetanetSoftware/n-nplusplus

Then from the Main Menu, just go to Browse, and choose the “Featured” tab. So easy! Of course the levels probably aren’t ;)

Want to suggest levels to feature, to make your own levels, or to enter design contests? Join the excellent community on discord: http://discord.gg/nplusplus

[choccybug]

tragic, the Use of Weapons tag is filled with a bunch of stuff that is not sexy fanart of the man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe and fucked up chairs

[reallyintoscience]

tagged by @issylra, @hardly-an-escape and @mallory-x in the first line game that's going around!

Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Well, here's some Sandman and then my extremely eclectic exchange-based writing...

If Only Grant a Name (Sandman, Dreamling, WIP)

The problem starts because Dream arrives early for his appointment with Hob Gadling.

Sky is a Marvellous Garden Tonight (Sandman, Dreamling)

Meeting with Hob Gadling is at once restful and stimulating. Hob is always pleased to see him. Dream has tried to test this, because he finds it difficult to believe. And yet, no matter how often Dream comes to him, and no matter what he is occupied with at the time, Dream receives that same smile, that same welcome.

Rest at Your Hearth (Sandman, Dreamling)

Dream finds he cannot settle to his work, after everything. He has much to do and no shortage of time to do it in, and yet he. Cannot. Does not want the walls of his home around him, cannot hold his concentration long enough for the more intricate tasks required for the rebuilding of his realm. He feels stretched and thin and empty. Certainly, he has not the frame of mind necessary to create new dreams or nightmares. Creation demands of him his entire heart, a trust in himself and his own nature that has never before been in doubt. Now, he questions himself, he hesitates, he paces, he scratches at the dry wells of himself and he cannot be long in a single place. He has had enough of being still. So much of his role is in stillness. He cannot. Settle to it.

East Side Drowning (Cass Neary Series - Elizabeth Hand, gen)

The Lower East Side in the late 70s was its own thing. 

The waterfront was something else again. I found my way there as if it was another inevitability, on the edge of the Hudson and in the shadow of the old navy. It was a haunted place as only the maritime professions produce; the kind of hauntings that come with transience, identity forged in the running from the past. The twin taunts of camaraderie and isolation, where you can be known by the face and never by the soul. So it was a fitting place for New York's underground to be, the best possible home for the desperate spit-slick glimmer of the cruising scene in those days. 

The Bodyguard's Legacy (Hitman's Bodyguard movies, gen)

Michael lay on the yacht cabin roof, catching some sun and tunes. Two weeks of determined and unavoidable practice made it easy to ignore Sonia’s screaming and Kincaid’s yelling, but—due to an unfortunate incident with a jackhammer in his misspent younger years—the steady thumping vibrations were another matter. He gritted his teeth and bumped up the volume on Tina Turner. Still, when he was suddenly drenched in the spray of a jet ski arcing to a halt next to the yacht, the distraction was something of a relief.

Okay, Then (The Wicked + The Divine, Baph/Dio, pre-Cass/Laura)

If there was one thing you could say about prison, it was that it gave us a lot of time to relearn our miracles. Carefully, of course. The system isn't set up for people like us, and they're jumpy. No one really knows what we can still do. Especially us. 

Re-in-vent the Revent (The Culture series - Ian M. Banks, Zakalwe/GOU Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints)

"Listen, pal, I still don't think that strictly speaking this is a great idea, but your skin and all," the ship said. 

"It's a terrible idea," Zakalwe agreed, trying to get comfortable. The explosive wrap was restrictive, that was for sure. "Which is why we're doing it. You don't win wars by not being terrible."

marvellous time (folklore - Taylor Swift, Holiday House/F)

Jerry closed the door on the last of her old art school friends, waving them off from the window as they piled into Selina's old Cadillac and drove away. She'd pretended all weekend not to notice the concerned looks they'd exchanged between them, the way Cassie had offered to stay another week, just to 'keep her company', the whites of her eyes showing when she said it. Brave and lovely. The way they stayed clumped together at night.

Meeting of Minds (Transformers G1 vs Star Trek TOS, gen)

"Captain, I'm reading a debris field, one parsec to starboard. Sensors indicate a large metallic mass of unknown composition."

"Asteroid?"

"Unlikely, Captain. The largest object's angular shape is uncommon in asteroids. Further, there is an anomalous energy signature."

Jim sat forward in the command chair. "Put it on screen, direct all sensors toward the object."

"Our sensors are operating at the furthest range possible and visual detail is lacking, Captain. There is, however, a 92.3% probability that we are looking at a starship of a type unknown to Federation databases."

I'm Sorry If (The Magnus Archives, Jon/Michael)

The statement Jon wants is missing. When he first took it from the subject he thought it was a lot of paranoid nonsense, but now he thinks it could have been one of the Stranger's and he wants to read over it again. The misfiling is frustrating. The tickling between the shoulder blades is unsettling. 

It's watching him again. Jon is starting to be able to tell, his power growing in what might be a natural progression or might just be sheer mortal panic. Or. Scratch the 'mortal' part, Jon might be a lot of things but people who get to call themselves mortal probably don't spontaneously heal from their monstrous injuries. Their injuries from monsters. Something like that. 

Apologies for re-tagging if you're already done it, and no pressure either way but: @lu-inlondon, @beholdingthegaytimes, @gabessquishytum, @blueberrymffn, @dancinbutterfly, @lostelfwriting, @seiya-starsniper, @ginjones, @ghostboyjules, @sans--seraph

[summonee]

Zakalwe has two modes:

[ethicstownpod]

As promised: BOOKS!!! Under the cut. Also spoilers for said books

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz. It follows an American detective and a British inspector as they hunt for the spectral figure of Moriarty, following the events of Conan Doyle’s The Final Problem. Only it turns out (and I may be slightly off here, it has been almost a decade) than the American detective was killed and had his identity assumed by Moriarty before the story began, and we’d been reading from his POV all along.

Use of Weapons by Iain Banks. The book follows two timelines, a forward moving present tense one and a backwards moving past tense one. The first timeline follows Zakalwe as an organisation called The Culture re-enlists him for a high stakes job. The latter delves into his childhood, during which he and a boy he was raised with led rival armies. At one point the boy took one of Zakalwe’s sisters hostage and brutally mutilated and murdered her. When Zakalwe found out he committed suicide, and the boy from the opposing army stole his identity. We find out we’ve actually been following the other boy’s story all along.

[scififr]

Use of weapons, par Iain M. Banks (Orbit, septembre 1990)

Classique en VO.

La terrible histoire de celui qui se fait appeler Cheradenine Zakalwe, mercenaire à la solde de « The Culture » qui gagne ou perd des guerres au gré des besoins de son employeur. Avec cet ouvrage Banks élève le traditionnel récit de guerre de la SF au niveau des plus dramatiques tragédies classiques. L’opposition entre « The Culture » et le reste des mondes humains est encore plus douloureuse que dans les autres romans. Et « the little white chair » a probablement traumatisé plus d’un lecteur. Un roman qui vous hante longtemps.

[helenvader]

This is a beautiful, beautiful fic on Vetinari's death. Both sad and uplifting.

There's Vimes, and Drumknott, and Moist, and Adora Belle.

The parts with Vimes are OMG.

Go read!

[zakalwe-the-ninth]

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Discworld - Terry Pratchett Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Havelock Vetinari/Samuel Vimes Characters: Havelock Vetinari, Samuel Vimes, Sybil Ramkin Additional Tags: Random scenes, vetvimes, Vetinari is a flirt, Blood and Injury, Generally light but it wouldn't be one of my fics if someone didn't die somewhere, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Some Attempts at Humour, some fun, some feelings, Sam Vimes loves his wife, But Also Vetinari, Totally unrelated to anything canonical, One chapter verges on smut but we fade to black, Huddling For Warmth, First Time Summary:

A collection of some of the many and varied ways Vetinari and Vimes have saved each other over the years.

[nelc]

zakalwe in the big palace opening scene thing by Chesty McGee

[eljackinton]

I finally finished Iain M Bank’s Culture series and decided to cap it off by putting together a little tribute, with a few nods to some of the series iconic covers. I wanted to try and include as many characters as I could, but there just wasn’t enough room for them all, so I had to settle for characters from my four favourites. The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, Inversions, and Surface Detail.

The characters are primarily my own interpretations, and might deviate a little from how they are described, but hopefully I managed to capture their personality well enough.

Centre top:  Lededje Y'breq (Surface Detail)

Centre Foreground:  Cheradenine Zakalwe (Use of Weapons)

Foreground Left:  Diziet Sma (Use of Weapons/The State of the Art)

Foreground Right:  Jernau Morat Gurgeh (The Player of Games)

Centre Background:  Mawhrin-Skel (The Player of Games)

Background Left: DeWar (Inversions)

Background Right: Doctor Oelph (Inversions)