#also i am so determined to draw void in dresses I just need to find the perfect ones that it would love to wear 😩 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fandomn00blr · 4 years

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I tagged a bunch of folks in on my last WIP post, and I don’t want to harass anyone two days in a row, but seriously, and I know I say it every time, because I really do mean it...WHOEVER WANTS TO THROW SOMETHING TO THE VOID TODAY (or any day...) SHOULD DO SO AND TAG ME AND I WILL LAUGH AND/OR CRY AND/OR BLUSH IN EMBARRASSMENT WITH YOU!

Seeing all this excellent fenders content showing up on my dash recently (IDK what I did to make this happen, but well done, tumblrverse) put me in a MOOD to go back and find some glowey smut from the discard pile...which then apparently turned into fluffy angst (or angsty fluff?) and hand-holding (if you squint...it’s there at the end, I swear).

This one doesn’t really fit into any of my current WIP world states (I mean, I definitely straight up stole some of this from my earlier self for later fenhanders relationship dynamics), and it’s from back when I was clearly still getting to know these characters (still am, tbh), so we’ll go ahead and yeet it into the Void this week, where it belongs:

(Under a cut, cuz it’s 1900+ words long, a whole ficlet, I guess, and there are mentions of the amazing sex these two apparently just had...before Anders had to go and make it awkward...)

“You -- Fenris…” Anders gasps, when Fenris finally pulls away from the kiss long enough to give him a chance to breathe. “I haven’t had sex like that since…”

Fenris’ eyebrows furrow together and he abruptly lets go of him. The last thing he wants is to be compared to any of his past lovers.

“Well, since Hawke and Isabela paid for that night for me at the Blooming Rose for my birthday a few years ago!”

Judging by his frown, this is definitely not the kind of thing Fenris was looking to hear from him.

Anders remembers now, through the idiotic haze of his post-coital bliss, that Fenris had been extra broody then, apparently perturbed that he, or, more specifically, Justice, would want to go through with what the two women had arranged for him, and also probably a little bit annoyed that he wouldn’t shut up about it afterwards. Granted, this was back before he would have ever admitted he had any feelings for the mage. And there is a distinct possibility that Anders had been trying to make him jealous, to provoke him, something Justice seems to want to remind him of now...

“I...remind you of a prostitute?” Fenris doesn’t sound angry or offended. He just sounds sad, a bit disappointed.

“No!” Anders shakes his head, trying to catch his breath and take it back. Not that that should be a bad thing, he wants to say. Fenris knows about his past work in Denerim. Knows how he feels about sex work in general. But he also understands why this association might be a problem for Fenris, sees the hurt there, and has no idea why he decided to bring it up now. “Not at all!”

How does he always manage to mess everything up with him so quickly? He used to be quite good at making charming conversation after sex, priding himself on making sure that everyone had said their piece, that needs and expectations had all been met. And his bedside manner as a healer is highly-regarded by everyone here in Kirkwall.

But Fenris isn’t exactly a client or his patient at the moment. And he supposes he hasn’t had much practice at this sort of thing for a very long time.

“Because it’s you. And no one is being paid…and shit!” He feels Justice trying to take control to save him from his clumsy rambling, but what does the spirit know about pillow talk?

Fenris has somehow already gotten dressed and now he’s reaching for his sword, propped up carefully by the moth-eaten curtain Anders deemed adequate for granting them privacy in the little cubbyhole he calls his “bedroom” carved into the back of his clinic.

“And Justice approves!” Anders declares, growing desperate in his attempts to try and salvage this. “Of this. Of us. Of you!”

Fenris turns back and shoots him the darkest look he’s given him yet through this exchange. “Do not use the spirit’s feelings to try and spare mine.”

Anders is trying. He truly is. But this isn’t fair, because Fenris has just fucked him senseless, and all he really wants is to curl up next to him and fall asleep. It would be good sleep, too. The kind he hasn’t had in...he can’t really remember, doesn’t really want to. And anyway, it’s looking less and less like that’s going to happen now.

“What does that even mean?” he asks, waving his arms frantically in the air.

“Ask him.”

“You know I can’t! Unless you want me to let him take over?” Anders offers, half-seriously at first, but then he gets a curious look in his eyes. “Is that what you want? Because I totally can...” His eyes begin to glow a little, and light begins to shine through cracks in his skin.

Without even acknowledging this, Fenris ducks under the curtain, and begins making his way through the clinic toward the exit.

“Wait!” Anders calls after him, banishing Justice back to his subconscience for now.

But Fenris marches on, with Anders trailing behind him all the way through Darktown. It’s a wonder that he just can’t seem to catch up. He’s nearly a foot taller than the elf, after all, though Anders is perpetually out of shape due to his own self-neglect, and Fenris is...decidedly not that. But as far as he can tell, Fenris isn’t using any of his lyrium-enhanced abilities to completely lose him, though he certainly could if he really wanted to. Which is actually a little bit encouraging.

As they enter Lowtown, he slows down just enough that Anders is able to reach out to him. There was a time when he would’ve feared the consequences of grabbing the standoffish elf’s arm to try and get his attention. Part of him still does, he supposes, but not enough to risk losing him like this again tonight without at least trying to make things right.

As soon as he touches him, Fenris whips his head around and glares at him. “I am going home.”

“Fine. You can do that. I just…” He wheezes, leaning forward, trying to catch his breath. He truly is out of shape. “Can I apologize?”

“For what?”

“For being an idiot?” he huffs.

“You have never apologized for that before.”

Anders is so relieved to see the little smirk on his face that he could kiss him. But he doesn’t. Because he’s already pressing his luck with him further than he’s ever dared to before and he’s determined not to fuck it all the way up if he can help it.

“For...for...all the wrong things I said in my...compromised state back there.”

“Compromised?”

“Fenris, please just work with me here?”

His eyes narrow on him, but he is silent for what feels like an eternity to Anders. He takes a deep breath, opens his mouth, and mutters, “You have nothing to apologize for.” He looks down into the empty space between them. “I should not have assumed this was anything more than sex.”

Anders shakes his head. “No. You’re wrong. It is! And you know that.”

“But you…”

“You do know that, right?”

“I...”

“For three years I’d like to think that we’ve been building something more than just...well, whatever that was the first time this almost happened.”

He is pacing now, and Fenris is watching his hands as they move wildly back and forth with him, mesmerizing physical manifestations of the mage’s fretting over him and his feelings. His body language says more to Fenris than whatever words he is muttering as he frantically stumbles through another unnecessary apology.

“Fenris!” he snaps, drawing his attention sharply away from his hands. “Do you even remember that? You knew I wanted you back then. But not if you were going to regret it. If it was just about the sex…”

“I suppose you have proven yourself to be more than just a depraved abomination,” he drawls, with more than just a hint of that irresistible smirk. Justice seems even more pleased than Anders to see it this time. “But I am still going home tonight. To a real bed.”

Anders grabs his arm again as he turns to leave, and Fenris’ markings flare up bright and blinding this time, the sudden burst of activated lyrium burnishing itself into all six of Anders’ senses.

He knows he’s pushed him too far. But if Anders is going to die tonight, after what has just happened between them, well...he supposes it’s better than if he had died yesterday. And Justice seems to agree, because he doesn’t even try to take control in order to save him.

Instead of ripping his heart out through his chest as Anders braces himself for the inevitable, Fenris reaches up, gathering the mage’s collar in his hands, and yanks him down into a kiss.

Maybe Anders is dead. He certainly can’t breathe, but it doesn’t seem to be bothering him at the moment. Between the lyrium and the kiss and his body still humming from all the dopamine he’s been inundated with in the past couple of hours...

Fenris releases him with a quiet sigh and just stares at him as his markings recede. He’s expecting something. Words, perhaps? But Anders hasn’t been doing very well with those tonight.

He swallows hard, and tries anyway, because he can feel Justice growing impatient with his inaction. “You were…” he hesitates.

“Going home.” Fenris nods.

“To the mansion?”

“Yes.”

“Fine…” Anders rocks back onto his heels trying not to look completely dejected. “Yeah, fine…okay.”

Fenris rolls his eyes and inhales sharply through his nose. “Would you like to join me?” he offers on the exhale.

Anders looks stunned for a moment as he simply stares back at him. Then slowly, a dopey grin begins to spread across his face. “Are you sure?” Anders beams down at him. He honestly can’t help but show every emotion clear as day across his entire countenance and to Fenris, it’s one of the most embarrassing and endearing things about him.

“Hmmm…” Fenris starts to turn away from him again before his own smile can reveal itself. He certainly wouldn’t want to encourage this behavior.

“Okay!” Anders cries out, tightening the hand he’s forgotten is still wrapped around Fenris’ arm. When Fenris doesn’t even flinch, he thinks for sure he’s either dead or dreaming. “Okay...yes! Yes I would very much like to join you.”

Fenris shrugs him off without another word, and is already marching toward Hightown before the mage can say anything else to make him reconsider the invitation.

It’s not that he doesn’t trust him. Anders is terrible at hiding his intentions, his feelings, anything from him, really, and he supposes, after what he’s said to him tonight, that this is no accident. He trusts Fenris, as well, foolish as it seems for either of them.

But Fenris knows that once this happens, once Anders embeds himself into his home -- which, up to this point, hasn’t felt much like a home at all, and that has been on purpose, too -- more than all the tension between them the past three years, more than the half-drunken moments stolen from each other in dark corners of the Hanged Man, or in the alley behind it, or in the back of the clinic, where he could still tell himself it was just a phase or meaningless beyond the relief of pent-up frustration it afforded both of them, there can be no turning back. No more pretending he isn’t completely smitten with the ridiculous mage once he’s taken him into his own bed and let down his guard enough to actually just...sleep with him.

At some point, he reaches behind him with a small huff, a puff of gently glowing white in the unseasonal coolness of the night betraying his feelings. He grabs Anders’ hand, pulling him along with him, and Anders feels like he’s practically floating on that little cloud the rest of the way to Hightown.

#dragon age #throwaway thursday #anders #fenris #fenders #anders is love-drunk #not like in a magical love potion/sex pollen way #just in the 'this was better than I thought it could be and I've been thinking about it for a very long time' kinda way #anyway...#long post

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politicalmamaduck · 5 years

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The Last Shot

Today is the two year anniversary of when I started posting this fic! Happy Birthday, Bri/ @the-reylo-void!

A Smuggler Ben Solo/Dark Side Rey arranged marriage fic for @the-reylo-void. Many thanks to @rapturousaurora for betaing, @cosetteskywalker for the above moodboards, and @aionimica for her drawing of Rey in her wedding dress!

Read it on AO3 here, and listen to the playlist here!

The world in which Ben Solo woke up was bright, but artificially bright, unlike Tatooine’s binary suns causing the sands to shimmer. The unwary could easily believe they saw things in the desert, things living or dead. Whether or not those things were really there, one could not say.

It was also quiet, save for the hums and beeps of machinery. Was he on a ship? He was alive, that was the most important thing, and no one was shooting at him for the moment. His head ached, but not as badly as it had on Tatooine. His body was sluggish and his vision still slightly blurred. He blinked a few times and raised his hands to see that they were, in fact, not bound, and noted the healing bruises on his wrists.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes once more.

“The patient has awakened,” he heard a med droid say. He tried to open his mouth to respond, but the med droid was too quick, and injected him with something. He could feel himself slipping back into unconsciousness as he heard a female voice responding to the droid. His mother? His wife?

This time, he dreamed. He dreamed of a battle, with Rey by his side and at his back, their ‘sabers clashing against weapons in a red-tinged darkness. He dreamed of his mother, finally retired on Naboo, having Gatalentan tea with Aunt Amilyn and the Naberries. He dreamed of his uncle, training a new generation of Jedi. He dreamed of his father and Uncle Lando, laughing in the Falcon with Chewbacca.

He dreamed he was happy.

He could almost believe it, even though he knew it to be a dream. He felt as though he could swim on the tide of happiness, float in the healing waters as they pushed him to shore and into his loved ones’ outstretched arms.

The sun and the waves were soft, caressing him like a mother or a lover, bearing him along to safety.

The Light had always been there, calling him, just as the Dark, but he needed to find it within himself, to embrace it as his own choice, rather than what his family or the galaxy demanded of him.

And so did Rey.

Rey, he thought. He wondered where she was, if she could forgive him for not telling her the extent of his communications with the Resistance.

Rey, his beautiful, stubborn, fierce wife, who so badly wanted a family of her own and vengeance for the one she had lost. She was equal parts light and dark as he was, and she too in time would come to realize the balance required by the Force and forge her own path.

He hoped she would allow him to be there with her, by her side, as she figured it out for herself.

The water upon which he was floating was not water, he belatedly realized in the haze of his dreams and thoughts.

Ben opened his eyes again to find himself submerged in a bacta tank. The tank’s monitor started beeping loudly, and the medical droid hurried over to address it. If the droid were a human being, Ben was certain it would have sighed, for its patient seemed determined to awaken from sedation early.

Ben could feel himself being propelled upward as the tank’s top was removed, and prepared himself for the removal from submersion.

The medical droid helped him out of the tank and guided him to a nearby bed, and only then did he notice the woman sitting in a chair to the left of the bed, glaring at him.

Rey.

Ben situated himself in the bed, and the droid promised to come by with food.

They were alone together, and Ben found he did not know how to begin, but Rey saved him the trouble.

“You took a long time to recover.”

“I’m ten years older than you, remember?”

“That doesn’t make you old. You wasted your Force potential for too long.”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, looking down at his hands. “Where exactly are we, anyway?”

“Your mother’s Resistance base. They weren’t exactly happy about me being here, but I think the look on my face and your condition caused them to keep quiet for the time being, except for that golden protocol droid.”

Ben smiled at the thought of C-3PO’s incessant fretting. “Oh dear, oh dear,” he deadpanned to mimic the droid, looking at Rey, hoping she would at least smile.

She laughed, which turned quickly to another intense frown. “You should have told me about all this.”

“I know,” he repeated. “I am truly sorry, Rey.”

“You should be.” Her lower lip quivered. “I’m sorry too, Ben. I betrayed you, too.”

Ben was certainly not about to quibble with her word choice, not when she offered an apology after presumably saving his life.

“But you saved me. Thank you,” he said, gently reaching out to her in the Force. She didn’t respond, but she didn’t push him away, either.

She shook her head. “The Resistance got there first. I wanted to try to heal you myself, but they wouldn’t hear of it.”

“You know how to Force heal?” he asked, his eyebrows raised. It was said that the healing arts employed by dark side users came at a great price.

She shook her head. “I meant with the supplies the Knights and I have, until we could get you to our hideout. Fionnuala is the best at Force healing, but she wasn’t there with me; only Falisa and Keeva were.”

“You have a hideout?” he asked, his eyebrows raised once again. She sighed. “Of course we do. Hux’s troops and the Knights don’t always get along, and we’re not entitled to command troops or ships.”

He nodded. While he would admit to being curious, the idea of being ensconced with the powerful, malevolent Knights of Ren and who-knew-what-else dark side relics in a location of their choosing would probably make even Luke Skywalker nervous, even if he hadn’t faced down temptation numerous times.

Ben could still feel the nervous, chaotic, pernicious energy that had permeated the atmosphere on Jakku. It was something he was not inclined to repeat.

“Thank you, though. For your apology and for attempting to rescue me. And coming here,” he added. He wondered who among the Resistance dared antagonize Rey.

She shook her head again. “No, Ben. I’m the one who sent the bounty hunters after you.”

In that instant, Ben Solo’s carefully constructed world--and vials of medicine sitting on the nearby table--shattered.

#reylo #rffa writers #smuggler ben solo #dark side rey #reylo fanfiction anthology #rffa birthday gifts #rffa finish your fics #arranged marriage au #fan fiction #my writing #the-reylo-void #this thing of darkness i acknowledge mine

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lightsandlostbells · 6 years

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Skam France episode 9 (S1 finale) reaction

Thanks to everyone who reads these things! I’ve gotten a lot of nice messages and comments since I started blathering my thoughts on Skam remakes into the void, which I didn’t expect, and it makes my day. Even if you don’t agree with me on something, I appreciate hearing your thoughts. I love talking about sad teens and their drama and it has been a grand time talking about sad teens and their drama with others!

Also thank you to everyone who translates or helps increase accessibility to any of the Skam shows, I am truly amazed by the kindness and generosity of everyone who donates their free time to it.

Episode 9

Clip 1 - Daphne peed on the wrong stick

Nice job getting in that shot of the condoms and water bottle at the beginning as if to say “I fucking told you so.”

There were apparently several real time errors in this clip in that French students should not have been at school that day, and Daphne mentions having gum at 10 am when the clip dropped at 8 a.m.

This doctor does not quite have the same quality of being from another planet as Dr. Skrulle.

Alex screaming to the heavens about no baby is glorious, but on the other hand, GIRL, you might wanna lower the volume about your friend’s pregnancy scare as people are clearly hearing you.

I love Daphne and think she did a really great job here of being bitter and resigned. I think Vilde was also great in this moment, but I think she was approaching it more from an outwardly (phony) sense of self-assurance. You don’t know want what you’re talking about Noora, I do. And though Vilde is pretty stunned by the doctor’s visit (and tbh I think part of her wanted the baby to be real … but that’s another conversation) you can see her starting to laugh and smile with the other girls before Noora pulls her aside. Then it feels more like cheerful denial that there’s anything wrong with what she’s doing. Daphne seems straight up miserable and defeated.

Clip 2 - Charles creeping again

MY BELOVED THEATER KIDS RETURN. One day they will get their day in the sun. One day.

TBH Charles has more sleazy charm than William and I can’t determine whether that’ll end up being a good thing or a bad thing.

This clip is WAY better placed than the original, actually! It always seemed off that Noora would be taken in by William telling her she’s beautiful when she still thinks he’s knocked up Vilde. Now that they’ve determined this isn’t the case, it makes slightly more sense. At least that consideration is out of the way.

The only drawback about having the doctor clip before this clip is that it occurs to me that Noora’s conversation with Vilde is likely what prompts Noora tell William to apologize, since Vilde has internalized his words so much to the point of repeating them, and I find it harder to believe that Manon would give a single shit about Charles’ flattery after she’s heard how bad his words made it for Daphne.

Lmao at fucking Charles being like “What are you doing here?” and Manon being like “I go to school here, dipshit”*

* (100% accurate translation)

Wait, this is the same song for the Emma/Yann scene. Is this going to be a Skam France love theme? Will French Even sing it to Lucas?

My favorite thing Emma has done all season was the ensuing text conversation after this clip where she just replies to everything Manon says with “Fuck, you’re so beautiful.”

Clip 3- Emma and Lucas on the steps

The setup of this scene satisfies one of my burning questions, in that I always wondered what the vibe was between Eva and Isak as they walked over the the bench (awkward) and here Lucas joins Emma on the steps so I don’t have to wonder about their weird small talk or painful silence.

This is the first time where I bought Lucas’ acting. He’s still not exactly wowing me, but I thought he was fine here. Maybe he just needs that very large scarf to hide in to make him seem all vulnerable.

“You smoked at the cabin?” Emma, didn’t you literally see them smoking??

Wait, Tom was supposed to be Ingrid‘s brother? That’s what it sounds like, because why else would Yann contact Ingrid if he couldn’t get through to Tom, if Tom is just some unrelated dude who has weed? I thought her brother was some other guy because Elias was not Norwegian Ingrid‘s brother. Surely Emma would know Tom as a result of being Ingrid‘s best friend for years, but I don’t think either of them said anything about that, unless I missed it or can’t remember it. At the cabin I didn’t get the vibe they were anything more than acquaintances via Yann. And if Tom is Ingrid’s brother, then doesn’t it make more sense that Emma would hear Ingrid in the background on the phone, and it wouldn’t automatically be a cause for suspicion? It’s not weird for Yann to hang out with Tom.

I think Tom isn’t supposed to be Ingrid’s brother, but this line of dialogue is confusing, considering they changed it from Yann not being able to reach Ingrid’s brother to not being able to reach Tom. It doesn’t make sense to get Ingrid to get in touch with Tom; the chain should go Tom -> Ingrid’s brother (who also has weed) -> Ingrid.

They changed a bit from where Isak owned up to being shady when Eva asked him about hearing Ingrid‘s voice over the phone, he implied that he kind of suspected it wasn’t anything serious and figured it had to do with the drugs, and he acknowledges that he could’ve told Eva this, and he gave her bad advice to ask Ingrid about it. Lucas says he swears he didn’t know, which is kind of funny because IMO, Lucas seems way sneakier and more plotting in that scene than Isak did.

I do appreciate changes to the material but since they’re keeping most of it the same, I wish that they left in the line about karma being a bitch and Emma understanding how Ingrid would’ve felt, because I think that was a thematically relevant line.

Aw, it was sweet to see how Yann smiled and seemed so happy when Emma called. It’s a shame I like him so much more away from this relationship. He seems so pumped for their meeting. I think Yann is a little needier than Jonas and it affects their relationship positive and negative ways, like I think maybe he’s a little more attentive than Jonas, but he also seems to get more threatened by potential obstacles to their the relationship.

Clip 4 - The Emma/Yann breakup

Yann is so sweet and charming here, like I get why Emma fell for him.

So the final bit of this clip worked pretty well for me!

I said in another post that the three scenes they needed to nail were the skate park, Ingrid in the bathroom, and breakup scene, and while I didn’t think this was as powerful (mostly because the season-long buildup didn’t make it feel as earned) I still thought this was a strong scene, definitely the strongest of those three.

I loved the sweet moment of Yann holding Emma on the steps and them smiling sweetly at each other, and that was an aesthetically appealing, tastefully done semi-sex scene, especially the shot with their hands. Although I did find myself wondering if they sat on the steps and then smiled at each other like “let’s go have breakup sex” or if they banged it out, put their clothes back on, and cuddled outside. TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL in that regard.

More Seinabo Sey songs, love her.

Clip 5 - Ending party

The Emma/Yann hug is really sweet and makes me think the breakup is going to be less fraught, more amiable. which, IDK, it kinda feels like it should be more fraught considering these two are supposed to be very much in love? But it also makes me buy them airing season 2 so soon after S1’s finale, if Yann and Emma are going to be on more friendly terms.

Also the general atmosphere of the scene is more lighthearted. The music too, not as much of a serious tone.

Lucas was all right acting-wise in this scene, too.

INGRID AND EMMA NEED TO HOOK UP. I can’t say I shipped it in OG Skam but here … they should get together.

Ingrid, Sara and Imane dancing together is great.

Also Ingrid is there when Daphne tells Imane and Alex about Charles, awwww.

I love Daphne. I know I’ve said that a million times but she’s the MVP of Skam France.

The shot of Lucas with Yann definitely did not have that immediate SO THAT’S WHY HE DID IT effect. Yo, Skam France, remember how some of us were like “You’re telegraphing Lucas’ crush on Yann too hard?” Well if ever there was a time to project that shit from an IMAX, THIS WAS THE MOMENT.

Forreal, Lucas is paying about as much attention to Yann as to the other dude standing next to them. Where is that OTT longing gaze?

You’re holding a drink, dude, you could give us a dose of innuendo by slurping on that straw while you make eyes at your bro.

But then again, I guess no moment can be as OTT as when you have “Gay Bar” as your musical accompaniment.

There is a major continuity error in the scene because the other guy that is in the scene with Lucas and Yann can be seen behind Manon immediately in the next shot, so either he has a twin who dresses exactly the same or he teleported.

As much as I love Isak’s love of BUTT as the final moment, closing the season on Manon and Charles is a perfectly logical choice for leading into S2. Although lol, the lyrics being like “I’m just waiting for my day to come” are very creepy, Charles. “Cause something inside has changed” is better, though.

General comments:

They should’ve ended this season with the girl squad’s party, dude. Doesn’t that seem like a fitting finale? If the object is to gain popularity at school, shouldn’t they do it as soon as possible so they gain some capital before the popular senior guys leave?

One benefit about airing the next season right after S1 instead of taking a few months is that I can at least buy that they could have the party at the end of season 2. The longer they draw it out, the less it makes sense.

Lucas was definitely panicking and trying to be overly nice in that text to Emma post-Camille’s party. Emma was keeping it cool and Lucas was like I HOPE ALL IS WELL AHAHA WE’RE SO FRIENDLY :D :D :D oh god don’t tell Yann

Right now, I don’t have many thoughts about the season as a whole that I haven’t said before. Emma’s character arc is somewhat muddled, certain plot developments and characterization don’t make sense, the show overuses music, the girl squad dynamic is one of the show’s better qualities, marry me Daphne, marry me Ingrid, etc etc.

My main takeaway is that, out of the three remakes that have aired so far, Skam France definitely has less of a personal identity than Druck or Skam Italia. Even with those shows being early into their first seasons, I can already tell they’re more distinct adaptations with more done to fit their respective cultures. That’s not to say either of those versions are perfect or that Skam France doesn’t have its own strengths, but I would very much like to see Skam France develop more of a unique personality. Not sure if they can do that until S3 since they’ve already filmed S2 and can’t incorporate viewer feedback. It depends on how much it is going to reflect original Skam’s S2; judging by the trailer, it feels like the answer is A Lot.

#skamfr reactions

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kuriquinn · 6 years

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Telanadas [5/19]

Cover Page & Disclaimer

first chapter

Sasuke’s bowstring snaps before he even realises he has drawn his weapon. An arrow buries itself in the hapless shopkeeper’s throat with such force that the madman topples backward off Sakura.

Sakura stares down at the shopkeeper as he gives a last dying gurgle and gapes up at Sasuke. Her surprise is almost comical, given the rarity of catching her off-guard. The other two in their party do not seem to find the same amusement.

“What the hell was that?” Naruto demands, though he could be referring to either the shopkeeper’s sudden madness or Sasuke’s actions.

Kakashi is not so vague.

“Was that entirely necessary?” he asks Sasuke, tone wry with exasperated disapproval. “We might have interrogated him.”

“It would have been a waste of time,” Sasuke replies, unapologetic. “Considering how forthcoming the other villagers have been, it would likely take days that we do not have.”

He goes to the door he noticed before and shoves it open; it’s unlocked, surprising given the body dumped inside. The shopkeeper obviously was not expecting anyone to investigate—either because of lack of visitors or because murder is perhaps not so serious a crime in this strange place.

Likely both, Sasuke decides, staring down at the bloated corpse there. It is a day old, and signs of torture show on the skin beneath the tarnished armour and cloak.

His comrades shuffle in behind him.

“Those are Uzushiogakure colours,” Naruto breathes, pain and anger rising in his voice at the reminder of his childhood home. A rare darkness spread across the man’s face. “This is one of the knights Lady Biwako sent out looking for the Urn of Sacred Ashes.”

“This might explain why none of them returned,” Sakura adds softly.

Kakashi studies the corpse with a frown. “The question is, was he killed for being a stranger, or for looking for something they did not want him to find?”

“We will soon find out,” Sasuke determines, catching sight of something moving outside the shop window. “Since we fall into both categories.”

He brings up his bow again and nocks another arrow.

His comrades need no further explanation or prompting, hefting their own weapons. Using only hand signals and facial expressions, Sakura directs them into formation. With Sasuke covering from behind and Kakashi blowing the door open by magic, she and Naruto charge from the tiny shop.

Sasuke counts six enemies in their immediate vicinity, including the guard from earlier, and two archers just out of range. While Naruto charges forward, taking out three of the closest, Sakura clashes with the sentry and Kakashi turns the archers in the distance to statues of ice. The two remaining attackers are dispatched with arrows through their eye sockets.

“Is this whole village full of crazy people?” Naruto demands, gawking at the bodies surrounding them now. All of their adversaries are dressed like villagers, but their weapons are better quality than are normally crafted in a rural area.

“There’s something amiss here,” Sakura says. “In my experience, peasants don’t charge a party of well-armed strangers like this.”

“Not unless they are under the influence of magic,” Sasuke agrees.

“Blood magic, perhaps,” Kakashi corrects, shooting him a reproachful look. “Or it could just be they are determined to protect exactly what we have come to seek.”

“But that makes no sense,” Naruto says. “Kaguya was the Rabbit Goddess, a woman of peace. She stopped war throughout the land before the Maker took her as his bride. If these are her followers, they would be non-violent.”

“That is one version of the story,” Sasuke snorts. “Perhaps there is another we are not privy to.”

“Well, we won’t find out more just standing here,” Sakura points out. “Let’s go. I see a Chantry up ahead, and the guard told us we might find a cleric in there. I’m sure we can ask him.”

They trek out of the centre of the village and head up the incline of the mountain, only to be thrown backwards by the force of a giant, invisible fist.

“Mage,” Kakashi gasps belatedly.

“Really? I would never have guessed,” Sasuke sneers, clutching his ribs.

Bruised, probably, but not broken.

Over the crest of the hill, four men charge them; unlike the villagers, these are dressed in odd armour, with horned and fanged helmets protruding from them. And the swords they wield appear to be—

Another blast of magic explodes in the surrounding air, and the four of them duck out of the way. Rocks and tree branches fall all around them, and they scramble for cover.

Naruto struggles to his feet. “Split up?”

“Not with that mage up there protecting them,” Sakura replies, wiping a lip split by a stray rock. “We need to tempt them out his protective range.”

“And we do not know how many there are,” Sasuke adds.

“You two draw them down the mountain,” Kakashi says. “Sasuke can pick them off from here. I will deal with the mage.”

Without giving them a chance to argue, his form glows and shifts. He transforms into a hawk and takes to the sky.

“Right,” Sakura says. “Sasuke, get in position.”

“Hm.”

It is another odd quirk of hers that he has noticed, this willingness to hand over the reigns of command to any among their party. He has met no other leader that has so willing heeded the instincts of their underlings, but Sakura has a bewildering trust in her companions.

It has served her well so far, so who am I to question it?

Naruto and Sakura venture forward, preparing for the oncoming onslaught from the foot-soldiers. Even as they brandish their weapons, they are forced to dodge fireballs and projectiles of ice raining down on them from the sky. Sasuke, in turn, slips into the shade of the snow-laden trees, covering himself in shadow to keep the enemy from noticing him when he shoots. Just as he reaches for his first arrow, his ears twitch and the hair at the back of his neck stands on end.

Instantly, Sasuke ducks downward, hearing the swipe of a blade through the space once occupied by his head. His fingers fasten upon the dagger in his boot, and he twists, shoving it into the stomach of the unlucky rogue that attempted to sneak up on him.

“You breathe too loudly,” he growls, yanking the dagger out and rising to meet the blade of the second assassin waiting in the shadows.

Out in the open, Naruto and Sakura are faring about as well. The blond man catches an enemy blade on his shield and then charges forward with several swipes of his sword. Sakura, surrounded by three men, grunts with effort as she heaves her two-handed axe about, warning them away from her when they venture too close.

Fire continues to fall from the sky, narrowly missing Sasuke’s comrades. As soon as he dispatches his second attacker, he raises his bow again and fires a torrent of arrows into the sky, angling their trajectory to fall behind the enemy. Each volley forces the brigands around Sakura and Naruto to dart away, distracting them enough to give them both openings. Naruto bashes his shield up under the jaw of his assailant, while Sakura slices her axe in a broad arc, cleaving clean through the torso of her nearest opponent.

Before she can make a run at the third, a patch of icicles, sharp as knives, burst out of the snow around her. She is forced to throw herself to one side lest she be gored to death.

“Somebody needs to kill that void-damned—”

Until the magical onslaught suddenly stops.

Far up on the crest of the hill, a cage of lightning encircles the spellcaster. As he jerks and screeches, the electricity reducing him to a charred skeleton, Kakashi materialises beside him, waving them forward with his staff.

“—mage,” Sasuke finishes.

“Isn’t it funny how he can be on time when he wants to be?” Sakura asks cheerfully. She pushes herself up from where she landed and retrieves her axe.

She and Naruto hurry on up the hill, and Sasuke scowls.

“Show-off,” he mutters, picking up his pace.

The steep mountain path is ringed with trees and wooden arches, man-made and looking far too much like crucifixes for his liking. As soon as they round the bend, they are waylaid by yet another warrior, a taller and bulkier man than the others, also dressed in the gaudy, twisted armour.

He emits a roar of fury and winds his arms back, throwing a short-axe at them as they charge forward. The first almost hits its target, pinning Kakashi’s thick robe to a nearby cliff-face. While the mage busies himself with getting free, a second weapon is thrown at Sakura and Naruto, which they duck. It flies somewhere to Sasuke’s left as Naruto pushes forward with his shield.

The brute snarls, dodging to one side and roughly shoving Naruto away bodily. Sakura is waiting in the wings, swinging overhead with her two-handed blade—

Which he catches in between his hands.

For a moment shock rings through the snow-covered battlefield, because nothing has ever stopped Sakura’s axe before now.

The enemy warrior wrenches it away, taking advantage of the dwarf’s momentary loss of balance by grabbing her by the throat.

“Sakura!” Naruto cries, while Sasuke nocks an arrow.

One through the face and I can free her—!

There is a burning, stabbing pain in Sasuke’s hand, and an arrow that is not his punches through his palm. Both his bow and arrow drop, as Kakashi yells, “Archer!”; at the same time, Sakura is thrown backward by her assailant. She slams into the side of the cliff so hard that snow and rock rain down on her in a small avalanche.

“I will take care of this!” Kakashi declares, crackling electricity sprouting from the tip of his staff. Naruto is once more charging the indomitable warrior, and Sasuke’s eyes flit to the rubble beneath which Sakura is buried.

She could be—

He orders himself to focus and turns his attention to where the enemy has picked up Sakura’s axe and now seems to be trying to split Naruto in half.

Sasuke grasps for his bow, but his bleeding left hand is numb; likely a paralysing agent coating the arrow that hit him. Even if he were to power through it, any arrow he tries to shoot might hit Naruto instead.

With no other recourse, Sasuke ducks down and grabs enemy’s discarded small axe, hefting it with his uninjured right hand, and prepares. Just as the giant brute swings downward on Naruto, who has tumbled backward in the snow, Sasuke whips the axe forward.

It ploughs into the face of the man, sending him sprawling onto the snow several feet away.

In the distance, Kakashi finally deals with the archer.

“Nice shot!” Naruto tells Sasuke as he gets to his feet, but the elf ignores him, turning instead to the spot where Sakura fell earlier. A queer, hollow sensation trembles in his gut for a moment, until the snow and rock move. Sakura crawls out from beneath it, looking a little bruised but no worse for the wear.

“It’s a good thing dwarves have thick skulls,” she jokes, pulling off her spiked helmet and rubbing the back of her head. She glances over at the downed man, and whistles. “Nice shot, Naruto.”

“Nah, that was all Sasuke,” the blond man grins. “And here I didn’t think he could do anything without that pansy-ass bow of his.”

“Come here and I will show you how much I can do,” Sasuke growls, raising his hand to form a fist. He winces when he remembers there is a hole in it. The paralysing agent is wearing off, but that does nothing for the pain.

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura cries and is instantly by his side examining the wound. “Are you alright?”

“Hey, what about me, Sakura?” Naruto wants to know. “I’m the one who almost died…”

“You’re not bleeding out in the snow,” she retorts.

“I am not bleeding out,” Sasuke mutters, trying to tug his hand away from her, but Sakura keeps a tight hold on his wrist. “Kakashi will see to it when he gets here.”

He doesn’t like being cured by magic, but his hands are too valuable to his trade and too necessary to their survival to heal by natural methods.

“I can’t believe you threw an axe in someone’s face,” Sakura says, shaking her head but with eyes dancing.

“Is that not how your people solve disputes?” he challenges. “Perhaps I am acclimating.”

“Mm, a man after my own heart,” she teases. “If I weren’t buckled into my armour or, you know, half-frozen to death, I’d take you right here and now.”

Sasuke stares at her, his brain slowing to process what he just heard. A second later, his treacherous mind offers him a brief, lewd image of the Warden straddling him in the snow, wearing nothing but her smallclothes.

Below his belt, a certain part of his anatomy gives an interested twitch before he can control himself. Naruto’s roar of laughter brings him back to himself, just as Kakashi makes his appearance.

“Did I miss something?” the masked man wonders.

“Just Sasuke, stunned beyond all forms of belief,” Naruto sniggers.

Sakura protests. “Oh, stop it!”

“A pity…I would have liked to see that,” Kakashi observes.

“Shut up and fix my hand, mage,” Sasuke orders, thrusting his fingers into his face. Business-like, the mage reaches over and presses his fingertips to Sasuke’s ruined palm. Blue energy encompasses the limb, and with a short burst of cool energy, bone, muscle and skin knit together. Not even a scar remains. “Now is not the time for childish antics—or have none of you noticed the weapons our attackers have been wielding?”

Sakura wanders over to the dead man and yanks the axe out of his skull; after cleaning it off in the snow, her eyebrows rise almost into her hair.

“Human bone,” she gasps, confirming what Sasuke’s keen eyes saw earlier. “Every weapon here is carved from bone…”

“But then…how are they so strong?” Naruto asks. “I mean, I know a bone can be strong, but against silverite?”

“It’s magic,” Kakashi says darkly. “Runes carved into the bone while the victim yet lives, and blood magic to prolong the process and bind it.”

“That’s barbaric!”

Kakashi nods. “It is a practice outlawed for centuries. Even the Suna Empire no longer practices this.”

“How horrible,” Sakura shudders.

“That is not the worst thing,” Sasuke murmurs. Sakura looks at him askance, and he hesitates to speak this truth to her, but she needs to know. “That blade you hold was hewn from the pelvis bone of a child.”

A horrified silence falls over them.

The gravity of Sasuke’s words takes a moment to sink in, but when they do his comrades expressions shift noticeably. Even Sakura’s habitual bright demeanour vanishes, something smouldering and angry entering her eyes. It is the same look he saw the time a blood mage suggested the only way to save a village from rampaging corpses was to sacrifice a child’s life.

“It seems we have discovered why the people are living in such a remote outpost,” he continues coolly. “This type of crime…this is punishable only by being removed from the land of the living.”

“Which is exactly what we’re going to do,” Naruto growls. “These bastards have just read themselves out of the human race. Out of any race! There’s some stuff you’re just not allowed to do, and killing kids…they might as well be darkspawn!”

Sakura does not speak for once. Instead, she stalks over to retrieve her own axe, grips it expertly in both hands, and then heads in the direction of the Chantry. Sasuke watches her go, a minor note of alarm simmering beneath his usual calm.

“I do not disagree with any of that, but recall that this quest is not just about weeding out the undesirables. We still need information, and someone has to remain breathing if we intend to get it from them,” Kakashi remarks.

“I guess,” Naruto allows, though the words are reluctant. He rubs the back of his head nervously. “Som which one of you wants to be the one to stop her and tell her that?”

Kakashi clears his throat and fiddles with his mask, raising an eyebrow at Sasuke in question.

The elf rolls his eyes and marches off after Sakura.

Comments and concrit are much appreciated, and very motivating! For information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you’re welcome to check out my ko-fi tip jar, or my patreon page.

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#naruto fanfiction #fusion fic #dragon age #sasusaku #dwarf!sakura #elf!sasuke #mage!kakashi #human!naruto #romance #adventure #AU #slow build romance #drama #humour #warden!sakura #sfw for now

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themockingcrows · 6 years

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Actuality Flux Ch. 5: Layers Of Questions

From the Mixed Blessings Universe. This chapter is SFW AO3 mirror -[X]

With no sign of the missing Jane, Jake and Roxy are sent by Maryam to question Pyrope. Unbeknownst to them there is already myriad other questions that need asked by John, Dirk and Dave about some rather disturbingly similar issues. Obviously something is very wrong, something is happening or changing in a way none of the Gods or Goddesses can comprehend. Who better to ask than the elder seer?

Now is only that elder seer will divulge her secrets.

The city looked different than Jake had remembered it. He'd just been there, and yet it held a completely different feeling to him now that Jane was missing. Humans were drifting around, some chattering and trying to figure out what the bright light had been without getting too close to the broken bits of the street, while others were either ignorant of what had happened or trying to ignore it and carry on with their busy day. Those who remained looked even more startled when they took in Maryam and Leijon's appearances, as well as Jake's with his older fashioned clothes, while Roxy managed to not draw much in the way of attention by comparison. The one virtue of dressing fairly fashionably was it kept the staring away. It was a blessing when the humans eventually saw themselves away from the small group and the site entirely, willed into motion by enough mental pushing from the four of them trying so hard to blend in and be masked from casual view.

As described, the area seemed undisturbed for the most part, save for a small divot in the ground and traces of cracking as if by a huge impact. There were no obvious burn marks, no major destruction, no electricity in the air as if after a storm on this clear day. ..Nothing. Nothing but the vague, hollow sense that something was very wrong.

Roxy shivered a bit and rubbed her arms. “It's like feelin' a void that opened up, but it's not mine at all. Random voids and vortexes are wild'n totally unpredictable.”

“Are they like lightning when they appear?” Maryam asked. “I know we can appear places and travel quickly, even Jake can do his jumps, but none of those are like what you described before. ..It DOES feel strange, however, even I'm feeling something off.”

“The only one of us with things like lighting is the one who deals with storms,” Leijon said. “Maybe you're asking the wrong people,” she said as she came close and crouched down, touching the damaged site with her fingertips, trying to get a sensation she could track easier. It was dry, and after some more pressure, oddly crumbly. “..Whatever it was, there was a good deal of heat to it, but not a single burn.”

“Can you track it, then?” Jake asked.

“Track WHAT,” she said, leaning to give it a sniff anyway. “There's nothing here. There's no origin point in range for something this powerful, it had to come from up, or through a vortex probably.”

Jake's face fell and he suddenly looked wildly uncomfortable. “..So what do we do, then?”

“Nothing,” Leijon said as she straightened, immediately raising a hand to point at Maryam before he could interject. “It also means you'll be pulling double duty. Some miracles won't be happening, but if life is gone, birth and new beginnings will have to work twice as hard to pick up the slack. Try to give your best, healthiest births you can manage till Jane comes back.”

“But there's no way that's sustainable for very long,” Maryam said, worry creeping into her tone.

“It's not. Who knows, maybe you're going to inherit her ability,” Leijon shrugged.

Roxy shook her head instantly. “But she never transferred it, it'd take too long to forcibly adapt!”

“That's why I agreed it's not a sustainable thing, but what do you expect me to say Roxy?” she asked. “Be patient, wait for her to return, leave the world to fall to chaos? I need her to keep my animals healthy, and humans need her as well to ensure their broods come into the world hale and hearty as well as their food to survive right? Right. We can't just ask them casually to fucking stop and hold off on everything because one goddess disappeared.”

“She didn't go on purpose.” Jake said. “If we could just find out what took her, I-”

“Jake. You've been with me for years now. Many, many years. You might be governing hope but there's a time and a place for hopefulness and then there's a time and a place for action. This is a time for action, full stop, not for wringing our hands and looking for someone who might not be found. We'll search more as things appear, but for now I don't see the point or the appeal of it,” Leijon sighed. “Get more leads and follow them, give me an idea of what I'm hunting or why I should be hunting it instead of the transfer of power happening till she reappears on her own. But don't just stand there with a long face when we're talking about keeping important things running. Maryam,” she said suddenly, “are you going to come back with me right now, or are you going to stick around here?”

“Actually I was going to return to Rose, likely,” she said. “If I'm lucky, she may be up to seeing things again soon. We may be able to get a bit more information on what's happening.. and I should talk to Pyrope as well when I get the chance, should Jane not reappear soon.” The memory of what she'd seen in Rose's bowl, the visions of herself going to different places and speaking with different people flickered to her mind. She made herself drop the thought and the sudden worrying sense of impending doom it brought with it, not wanting to hold more worries than she already was or risk bringing those worries home with her. Rose had been through enough already without needing to deal with even more feelings of stress from everything around her.

She needed to be the rock right now, and stay strong herself till something gave one way or another for better or worse.

“I'm going home for now.. There's much to do, and much coming. Enough oddities and those foul visions of the future have given me even less desire than usual to be this close to humans,” she said, resting her hands on her hips and heading down the road. She raised one hand before she turned the nearest corner, seeking an alley to disappear from within more discretely. “Contact me if there are further major changes, or if there is more clues or directions about Jane. Otherwise? Keep out of my way and steep up to take her place best you can while she's gone, and get comfortable with the idea that you'd be handling it alone for the foreseeable future. If we need to raise up another god or goddess it could take time to even find them, let alone raise and train them up and let their immortality settle in,” Leijon said, then ducked out of view. Even Jake could feel the air shift when she disappeared, knowing her presence had faded from that place.

“...What am I to do now?” Jake asked, more to the open air than to either of the remaining women beside him. “I've a feeling I won't be of much use at the temple right now. I'm not so certain a God whose entire purpose is to enrich hopefulness would be so welcome right now around a Goddess who wants only action for now.”

“She'll warm up soon.. There's still no guarantee that what was seen will come to pass, we just need to wait,” promised Maryam, rubbing at her eyes for a moment, double checking her plan

“Yes, bu-”

“No buts. Find something else to busy yourself with for the time being,” Maryam offered. “Leijon is determined, and she is stubborn and full of pride.. but if she needs you, you'll know and we can take you back to her in a flash. Maybe you should speak with John. Ask if he's aware of any strange currents or storm activity. Perhaps seek an audience with Ampora as well?”

“Why Ampora..?”

“The ocean tends to see many things that never hit the land. The odd flashes may have been happening in the ocean before, or at least above it. Everything above affects below as well. He and John tussle and argue a good deal as well: if anything has him sour and he even thinks it may be John's doing, he'd be quick to tell you in full detail,” promised Maryam with a soft smirk, looking a little more at peace with herself when Jake looked less troubled.

He was a good replacement for the job, though the original would always be missed. A good heart was resting in his chest.

She walked closer to him while reaching out, hugging around his shoulders and patting his upper back. “Don't fret too hard. Run an errand for me first, if you're not quite sure what to do with yourself?”

Roxy drifted closer to them now that it seemed she was likely going to be escorting Jake elsewhere, glad for a bit more company while she had it. The urge to open a void and stay hidden inside of it was a strong one she was fighting to ignore.. but it wouldn't be helpful to anyone else right now. Not even herself, if she got right down to it. Running or sulking wasn't going to bring Jane back any faster.

“Need two sets of hands for that job? It seems I've got a lotta time on my hands,” she said, trying to keep as leisurely as she could now, wanting to keep up with the shifting mood. Last one to be deadly serious lost.

“By all means, the more the merrier. I was wondering if you could check in with Pyrope for me. I'm going to speak to her soon on my own, but this may yield some more interesting results,” admitted Maryam.

“Interesting results how?” Roxy asked. “What's the point of talking to someone you're already going to talk to about the same thing?”

“Because sometimes she says two different things. If two younger deities ask questions and get one answer, I can get my own then pressure her further with whatever it was she told you,”Maryam said, her grin growing when Roxy nodded in understanding and Jake looked scandalized.

“You want us to lie? To Pyrope of all people??” he asked, immediately shaking his head. “No, no I couldn't. I can't, not to her, she-!”

“Won't do anything to you, Jake, you're not at risk of being destroyed. You're not the baby any longer,”Maryam offered as she stroked the front of her own clothing down into place. “It will also give me some extra time with Rose. See if she feels better, up to taking another look around, look for Jane.. and when you're done you can also speak with John if he's not taken off too far.”

“If Dirk or Dave are around he won't be far,” Roxy rolled her eyes, planting her hands on her hips. “Jake, let's go. It'd do good to visit everyone more often anyway, right? I haven't seen Rosie in a while anyway.”

“Nothing's stopping you, you know,” Maryam pointed out. “She'd be delighted to have you visit more often, like you used to.”

Roxy shuffled in place slightly, suddenly a bit bashful about the entire subject. One moment she'd been prepared and wanting desperately to tuck herself away into her own void, safe and sound away from the awkward feelings that the missing space of Jane was making her feel and the next was a wave of feeling like a negligent parent that never was. She put on a smile that was a little too much teeth, trying to compensate. There was no way to explain the worry of being a potential third wheel when the second wheel of the bike was right in front of her and.. still feeling like the best fit for the space possible. At least by comparison to herself. Oh well, go big or go home, right?

“Well. That... would be great actually! I'll pop on in with him for Pyrope, stick around afterward and see Rose before she's settled back in with you. Maybe see if I can pants Dirk or John while I'm at it.”

“Is Dave excluded from the pantsing?” Jake asked, so seriously that Roxy's smile softened into something far more real while she laughed out a sound like birdsong.

“Yes! For now though. I can get his pants off any time if I time it right, but it's a tradition to pants those two. Especially John, the wriggly bastard..”

“John?” he asked, lifting a brow. Maryam quietly stepped away from the pair to give a few more glances over the site Jane had disappeared from, toeing at the ground to check the stability in case there were any more clues to be found. “Why John? I know Dirk's easy to talk into taking his clothes off, it's kind of his job, but. Half the times I've seen the fellow he's been bare or in the process of getting bare.”

“All the tricks with the wind he can pull are seriously cheating, but I can keep up to a good point with my voids. I've managed to yank them off a few times, others he's just let me do it. ..And Jake, no offense, but I think half the reason you saw John naked so often was because he wanted you to,” said Roxy. She reached a hand out to snag Jake by the wrist, fingers curling tight to keep him from darting away or dragging his feet. The sooner Roxy could get away from this place and not come back for a good long while, the better. If she could raze the space and salt the soil beneath it she would. “Shall we then?”

“I-? Oh. Er, yes. Please,” Jake said, glancing over his shoulder as the Goddess waved her arm and ripped open the void, its soothing emptiness a far better comfort than the air around him. “I'll see you later Maryam, and let you know what all I've found!”

“Of course, Jake,” Maryam said in a distracted way, stopping her poking about when a shiver ran down her spine. It wasn't the same sense of dread as before, but considering how things had been lately with sensations being a prelude or followup to big events, nothing sat well. Did some else disappear..? What had changed? No screams of rage and no sudden flights of birds, so it couldn't be Leijon.

Maybe it was just in her head, too much thought in spoiled air.

Jake gave a brief, gentlemanly bow before Roxy yanked him hard enough his shoulder twinged, tugging him into the void behind her and slamming it shut an instant later, leaving Maryam behind as if she'd never had company to begin with.

She rubbed her upper arms and pondered going home immediately. That sensation wa-.. no. No, she couldn't. Not this soon, not while Rose still needed to rest. Rushing back would be a comfort, but perhaps she could make it even sweeter. Maryam glanced around herself and picked a direction back towards a main road, drifting up beside a young couple and waiting till both of them noticed her.

“Pardon,” she said with a smile, trying to be as unassuming as she could, not wanting to need to calm some minds afterwards, “but I realized I'm a bit lost. Could either of you please tell me where the nearest confectionery is?”

- - - - - - -

John had caught up with Dave and Dirk already, though he didn't know what to make of Dave's excited rambling and Dirk's stern expression. On one hand it sounded like a great time and he was a little sour he hadn't tagged along for the duration. Who cared if it was sword practice? Not all enemies used a sword? Some well aimed breeze would do just as fine, teach him to avoid being disarmed by more magical creatures.

Or he could just skip the serious fighting training entirely, disarm the little God and overwhelm him on the ground while he squirmed and scrat-

“John, look, I don't know how to say it any clearer,” Dirk started, only to have Dave shake his head and stomp a foot down.

“I can. It was fucking weird,” Dave declared. “I've never seen myself quite like that, much less the two of us at the same time.”

“So they were doing everything you were both doing, in the same order,” John repeated. He shifted his position to float, laying flat on his back before allowing it to arch, fluidly sliding his position around like a serpent to observe both of their faces easier, chin on his folded arms and legs dangling near his line of sight thanks to his bent position. “Including sounds and.. they looked solid, right?”

“Yes, but the voices sounded just the slightest bit off,” Dave confirmed, leaning back against Dirk without even aiming, letting the larger God brace his upper back with one hand like a living leaning post, coaxing back enough to relax but not worry about falling.

“....Why not just keep going and try to finish up so you'd get a glimpse of the two of you fucking?” John asked, expression going wicked, brows lifting a few times with exaggerated lechery. Wasn't much of an exaggeration, really, but the feeling was still there.

“John, be serious!” Dirk asked, though he already knew what that was really asking.

“Don't 'John be serious' me, I'm being serious as a human's declaration of there being luck on their side! ..Okay, well, declaration of luck being on their side when I'm in a good mood,” he hummed, distracted for a moment before diving back into it. “Ah. But, no, seriously. You'd have finally gotten to enjoy seeing what I get to see when you two are paired off.”

“John,” Dave groaned.

“It's a good view,” John insisted, “you don't know what you're missing!”

“If I could see the world through your eyes, John, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but as it is.. no,” Dave said, reaching up to slap a hand over John's mouth to keep him from rebutting immediately, following his motions as he tried to glide backwards and slightly up. When he floated up out of range of Dave's hand, Dirk placed his hand there instead, righting Dave's posture so he could free his hand up to sling around the back of his shoulders instead, keeping him in place a little longer. “It felt different. It felt.. wrong. I was scared, even.”

John let out a muffled noise of a sentence, then glanced to Dirk with a smug lift of his brows, urging him to translate or guess what was being said since covering his mouth over had apparently been of such dire fucking importance.

“....You asking why he was scared?”

“Mmph.Mmh hmmng nn noophmh hr.”

Dirk frowned a bit. “..Why was he scared if I was there?”

John's eyes crinkled at the edges and he clapped in amusement, breezes stirring sharply around Dirk's shirt to try flaring the bottom edges upwards, tickling him while still letting the wind swirl sharp as a scratch right afterward for emphasis.

Ding ding ding, there was a winner!

Dave's eyes flashed briefly before he calmed again, walking to John's other side to keep up with his urge to be moving but not to stray far from the cluster. “I was still scared because I've.. never seen anything like that before. It wasn't just me, it was Dirk as well. It was an exact copy, doing as we were doing. Dopplegangers almost. Who was to say that they wouldn't suddenly start to do different things when they'd caught up enough?” he asked. “What if they caught up to what we were doing and then wanted to do more? What happens when shadows suddenly want to take their own steps for once?”

John reached up to struggle with Dirk's hand, uncovering his lips enough to huff out a sentence properly. “Awfully poetic, but I doubt it's anything that severe. Maybe it's like that dark spot Jade couldn't see around.”

“Or the red spot Rose saw,” Dave said.

His tone had gone so sullen that John couldn't help but reach his winds out and lift Dave up, stroking at his cheeks and hair, ruffling his clothes and drawing him closer to dangle upside down as well so he was in range for John to touch at his cuffed wrists.

“..Was all that really that scary, though? They were just blank spots. And the red spot.”

“And the great beasts dying,” Dirk reminded him. “And not being able to spot anyone AFTER the disappearance points.”

“Well. Rose isn't the only seer, Pyrope surely could see SOMETHING if she knew where to look specifically, right? Their powers are different but very linked, and she's got more practice,” John pointed out, shuffling Dave a few times till he was stuck in a gentle rocking motion that only broke when he flared a few agitated spurts of fire and struggled to get his feet back on the ground. He wasn't dropped immediately however, as both gods loved the strange swimming motions their small lover was performing, not able to grasp hold of anything more than whatever parts of John he could grab hold of, not capable of making himself sink to the floor.

“ John, put me down before I burn you, I can't stand waiting anymore now that the idea's in my head, I'm gonna go ask!”

“Ask Pyrope? To do what specifically?” Dirk asked. “Which point should you even ask her to focus on?”

“Ours probably,” Dave said, grateful when he was finally allowed to drop to his feet, staggering under his newly regained sense of gravity till he could right himself under his own power. “Maybe she'd know about Jade's issue as well? That one's probably linked to some of the things Rose saw.. though, maybe Jade should get an audience on her own at this point. You kind of stood her up for ages, ya dick.”

“Hey. HEY. I did not stand her up for ages, I merely completely forgot anything was meant to happen and then when I remembered we promptly met,” John defended, swooping up and then dropping down to a sudden halt right above Dirk's shoulder's, nuzzling the top of his hair idly. “There is a big difference there, don't make it out like I'm some cad doing people wrong on purpose. Besides, originally she wanted to talk to Megido.”

“..Huh. Actually that makes sense,” Dirk conceded, debating on if he should shove John off or not. In the end, he reached a hand up without thinking too hard on it, stroking at his dark hair affectionately as one would pet a cat. His lip quirked up briefly when John just pushed his head harder against his thick fingers, hoping the pressure would continue or grow in quality, ever greedy for more of a good thing. “Probably wanted to skip conferring with another seer when her own methods were coming up bust, and go straight to the cheat sheet option. See if there was an issue even with just a yes or a no.”

Dave turned, starting to walk once more along the marble floor that was by now as familiar as the back of his own hand and soothing against his bare feet. Dirk and John followed him, silent as wraiths down the hall, veering away from the more formal gathering space and edging towards Pyrope's room. “There's no chance of that, seems like. It's been a long time since I've actually seen her anywhere, aside from Rose's bowl.”

“Jade said as much too, she's not even answering those who call on her for guidance,” John added.

“Not even for offerings?” Dirk asked incredulously, halting the petting gesture as he walked, wanting his hands to hang loose and comfortable at his sides. “I've not seen her myself, but still. That's surprising.. Not even on her claimed day..?”

“No, nothing,” John said. “No miracles, no sightings that garnered gossip. ..Well. Okay, I guess we can assume there will always be gossip of one kind of another, they're humans. Someone who looks nothing like her could pull some kind of a scam a-”

“Luck wouldn't be on their side, it'd never work,” Dave interrupted.

“Who's to say it wouldn't be?” came John's best attempt at an innocent tone.

“John you wouldn't dare,” Dirk muttered, swatting him sharply on the thigh before he could drift out of range again, darting like a wisp of air all on his own.

“Wouldn't I? Dirk, you've seen fakes of yourself, they're hilarious and putting the fear of. ..Well, fear of you in their hearts is so great. It's like a race between if they'll suddenly drop the entire farce and shit themselves, or if they'll double down and try to call YOU the fake while quaking in their boots. I've yet to meet a true disbeliever who didn't scream when I lifted them off the ground.”

“You're why nobody takes wind as seriously as they should,” said a sour Dirk, turning round a sharp bend at Dave's pace. “Your antics are why people take their chance with storms.”

“Hey, storms are perfectly safe! Usually. It's the lightning that's a risk, and the debris.”

“Which you control!” Dave said, stopping to turn and stare at John briefly before he turned around and walked again, scrubbing at his hair with both hands, eyes glowing. Ugh, he loved John so but sometimes things just didn't quite translate in his head correctly it seemed.

“I don't control trees and rocks and buildings,” John pointed out. The wicked look had crawled back onto his face as he gusted ahead of Dave, floating on his back and casually paddling along as if doing a leisurely backstroke in front of him. “It's all up to luck if they dodge in time. I can't make everyone lucky and they know that. It's their gamble as much as me caring to pay off their rewards sometimes to keep things interesting. ..It's no fun if everyone can guess who wins and loses under which conditions. Gotta keep it random.”

“That's still terrible, I remember being terrified of being carried away by storms growing up, the way the wind would howl and flap,” Dave said, watching John slow near the end of the hallway and double back rather than try to enter Pyrope's quarters unannounced alone. Couldn't pay him to do that. Bribe, perhaps, pay no.

“If I didn't have competition and wasn't having to wait for you to hurry up and age correctly you would have been carried off in a heartbeat. You're not exactly big, Dave, it would be like an eagle carrying off a hamster..”

Dirk was the one who slowed next, reaching out to clasp Dave's shoulder, trying to make him re-focus on what was happening and where they were. “Are you sure about asking Pyrope right now? We can always wait till Rose is feeling better, maybe get some backup at least? Or wait till Maryam is back, she'd listen to a Goddess in excellent standi-”

“No, I'm asking Pyrope NOW,” Dave insisted, though he did halt when Dirk touched him.

“Asking Pyrope what now?” came Jake's voice, sliding out of a pocket of void behind them smoothly enough that even Dirk jumped and scrambled to turn around in alarm. “Because I've some things to ask her as well. What say we go in as chums, overwhelm her with numbers and questions in good faith?”

“Good faith. Cute,” Roxy chuckled, releasing her grip on his wrist so she could close up the void properly, adjusting her hair afterwards in a nervous habit to settle herself. This was a lot more activity than she'd planned, why was everyone already in one single spot? There was no time to disperse everything out and relax herself, plan her next mo-

“Ah, did you wish to try and make John and Dirk relinquish their pants before we visited Pyrope, or after?” Jake asked cheerfully. “We're a tad pressed for time and I'd much prefer seeing her with all of them present as well, but no sense in not giving it a good try afterwards if it were to be a challenge. Should be a rip-snorting good time either way I assume!”

“I'm sorry, relinquish my what?” Dirk asked. When Roxy laughed and glanced away, he took a few steps to follow. “Roxy, it's been a while since you came for those, what caused the sudden mood hmm?”

She laughed louder and surged forwards, yanking open the Pyrope's door by force, using her void to prop the gap wider. “WELL! Would you look at that, time to go ask questions now! Games later, everyone in or I close this on your ass, who knows what you'd lose if I did.”

“It's just a private door, it'd bounce of-” Dave started to say, but gave up when John gusted him forwards with the rest of them, closing the gap while they could.

Jake seemed to be in excellent spirits, though the obvious air of tension hung around him, nerves sinking down his shoulders edges and crumpling the self assured stance into something more anxious. Uncertain. “Well, there's no use tempting fate, right? ..Literally, actually, the things I've heard from Jane are quite extraordinary.. What questions did you need to ask though, chums, more of the same as we are?”

“Well, Dirk and I were training earlier an-” began Dave, only to find himself once more interrupted. This time not by a voice, but by a presence.

Pyropes rooms were unlike any of the others Dave had been in. Had he been here before? Yes, very briefly, and only in the section she had opened purposefully for them all to access ahead of time. This was an entirely different part of the open space, and it highlighted a good deal of her personality, from the colors down to the textures. Dave found himself wondering how much of that had to do with her losing her sight, and how much of it had been there beforehand just because she enjoyed it.

The air was perfumed with the smell of fruits, wines, fine foods. Roasted meat, an eternal favorite, added a smoky air from the tabletop set up as humans would set offerings on an altar instead of it being a group meal or even a solo setting, silver trays and highly decorative jugs and platters. It made sense.. she didn't require food or drink to survive, it was all for fun, why would she bother with proper place settings and all of that effort for something she was just going to pick and take from as she wanted at any time like a glorious buffet?

Each of the bright white walls were decorated with tapestries rich with all the colors of the rainbow, the fine weaving showing delicate scenes from both reality and dreams. Most were landscapes or different sceneries, while others were more focused on the abstract with her sign, aspects of her own appearance, sharp teeth and sharks, swirling clouds, balanced scales. There had been statues at some point, busts, taller figures both of herself and of different humans who had served her well enough for her to recall their names even now.. but all that remained in their place was rubble, uncleaned and un-repaired. Most had been smashed to pieces, torn in half, or just left to fall to ruin with time.

The further in they went, the more Dave realized along with Dirk that the ground had changed along with the walls. Gone was the cool marble and in its place was a soft, unnatural colored wood that gave off the same dreamy properties as the tapestries had. Whatever tree this was from, from the vines intertwining through and around the hung paintings and trappings of conquest to the leaves that cushioned them, to the soft silky texture of the grain beneath his toes, Dave had never seen its kind before. Things were less organized here, more hectic, more wild.

“..It's a little like Leijon's temple,” Jake said softly. “With the overgrowth.”

“If I didn't know better I'd say this wasn't boards but built in the heart of a tree itself somehow. ..Though, perhaps it is. There's no limits to personal spaces like this, and it's quite a handsome feat,” Dirk admitted. “Rose and Maryam seem to favor flowering growths as well, perhaps that's a link between them.”

“Roxy, does your room have a lot of live flowers?” Dave asked. “I've never seen it yet.”

“I'll show you later, but. No, it doesn't. There are many cats however, I've a fondness for them. And books, and soft things. It's more solid than the void, but I wanted it to be just as relaxing to be in,” she explained, trying to keep her voice down. It felt wrong to be in here without an invitation, like they were trespassing more than just seeking an audience.

..Perhaps they should have asked prior somehow? Oh this felt bad, this felt very, very bad suddenly.

The soft, silvery purple of the wood around the room was in disarray with the myriad of bright colors and wild textures present in the cloth they could see now. From the large four poster bed to a pile of soft things in the slightly sunken corner, everything was awash in rainbows that stung even John's eyes. Yet despite the wildness, the lack of order, there seemed to be a method.

How much of a reliable method there was was likely debatable. Dave wasn't certain if the Goddess had ever bothered to fix her vision for certain or not. She had to have.. right? Maybe this was just how it normally looked: wild and disordered and far more hectic than one would assume based on her outward appearance. Fitting, sort of. The polished, hard edged blade of justice and balance towards humans and anyone watching, then a cacophony of everything else into a few piles in spaces only she was usually in.

“Wonder if this is why she tends to take lovers elsewhere,” Dirk hummed before going still. He could make out a familiar shape half in the pile of soft things, still as if she were resting, knees bent and arms wrapped around herself in a tight hold. Roxy frowned and reached forward to hold Dave's shoulder instinctively, wanting to keep him back. For good measure she grabbed Jake's wrist again as well, coaxing them backwards from a potential blast zone.

“Pyrope?” John asked. Dirk kept his back, ready to assist as the God drifted closer bit by bit, stopping when he was a few feet above her. “...Pyrope?” he asked louder.

She bolted upright as if she'd been stung, red eyes wide and wet, shoulders rising and falling with heavy breaths as she gasped. Was she shivering? She was fully clothed, the comfortable loose garments finely stitched in gold and silver thread for details along the rich red fabric that hung around her, but there were wrinkles and rumples from the pressure of her weight. How long had she been laying in the same position.

“I-.... John?” she asked to confirm, lifting her chin and squinting her eyes out of habit as she focused her abilities to 'see' him properly. “Why are you in here? Wait, why are ANY of you in here? I didn't invite you in here!”

“Easy, we had some questions we needed to ask, it's very important,” Dirk said. Dave peered out from behind his left side with Roxy's face above his head as Jake peeped around the right side in a mirror image. “I believe Jake and Roxy had important business as well, so we decided to just all pile in at once. Why anger you twice?”

“Why indeed,” she huffed. Though the Goddess rose to her feet easily, stretching as nonchalantly as she could before wandering around the large bed to a low cushioned seat in front of a mirror backed table, taking a seat and reaching for a few of the small jars that decorated the back. Uncorking it let loose the sweet, spicy smell of a perfume she'd enjoyed the humans preparing for her hundreds of years ago when it was all the rage. She dabbed this at either side of her neck and her wrists, still as enamored as ever. The slight shake to her shoulders remained, as did the crease between her sharp, angular brows. Worry was not a look that Pyrope could hide as well as she assumed, but nobody broached the subject.

How could they, really, when they were already interrupting and trespassing? The fact she hadn't attacked them all was a blessing in and of itself already, why push their luck further?

“Well?” Pyrope pushed, glancing up towards the mirror and angling her chin just so before reaching for another pot, sniffing it gently before reaching for a few others, trying to find just the shade of red she was after. They all smelled slightly different thanks to the ingredients in them, making it easier to know what she wanted without needing to use her abilities to peek. “What is it that you decided to bother me over? Questions. Bring them up now or get out and wait for me to come for you to talk instead.”

Jake surged forward, pulling free of Roxy's hand to take advantage of his bravery while he could. It was important! It was for Jane!

“Pyrope, I-... Jane's gone missing. Leijon has no leads, we can't find any trace of her. She just. She just disappeared,” he blabbed, hands lifting for emphasis as if pleading. “Please, Rose isn't up to seeing things right now, we need leads. Clues. Hints. Anything. If she's okay, even, or reformed somewhere else entirely. We can't find her an-”

Pyrope lifted a red dabbed finger to shush him before applying the lipstick in a well practice smearing motion, mouth looking as if she'd dabbed her lips with fresh blood. “I'll answer you in a second. What about the other questions. They the same thing, or do you have a challenge?”

Though he looked disgruntled at being told to wait, Jake crossed his arms and tried to be patient. John touched down properly on the ground and leaned against the side of the Goddess' table with his palms, though his eyes were trained on Jake with alarm. Jane, missing? How?

“Jade came to me. For the last.. oh. Decade or so she's been having issues seeing past a certain point. Everything just goes dark, and she can't find any reason for it. Also Megido's refusing to answer to anyone who prays to her and lays out offerings, so she hasn't gotten any clue from her, and now Rose is kind of indisposed? I don't think it's an emergency but she's all kinds of upset and if other things are happening at the same time the-”

“Things ARE happening,” Dave interrupted, going to the other side of Pyrope's table and planting his hands down. “They were happening earlier while Dirk and I trained, and they happened with Rose! We were seeing a.. an after image of ourselves moving and fighting as we were, we could hear ourselves. And when we came to see what was happening, Rose's bowl kept going dark whenever she tried to view things but then it went red and we saw-”

“Enough,” Pyrope insisted, voice sharp as a scratch down a chalkboard. She rubbed her hands clean on a cloth, but made no move to stand up. Instead, her features tensed and twisted as she weighed out what to say, focusing her sight outward and inward at the same time, trying to feel out the links. Some she was aware of already, but the rest of these seemed to link together. “..I know about the blank spaces, but I don't know what to do about them yet. I know about the red as well. She wasn't the only one to see that,” she said simply. “..And as for Jane, I'm not sure. I don't feel her readily.”

“Can you try looking back towards when she disappeared?” Jake asked. “Maryam, Roxy, Leijon and I were all just there so the trail should be plenty fresh. It was like lightning struck and she was gone, but there's not a single damnable sign of anything out of the norm. Everything went completely silent before she went, though! I mean. If that helps at all,” Jake added, the burst of emotion depleting when the red eyes trained themselves on him directly, looking through him.

The faint flash of teal light dancing around her was all he needed to know, the sign her powers were at play, tracing back paths, branches, unfurling the roots of the tree from where he stood back the path he'd walked to get there. She grimaced at once and shook her head, looking weary suddenly. The shiver was back, the uncertainty that she didn't like. The same empty, worried feeling she'd taken with her while trying to will herself to rest away from her thoughts.

“Speak to Makara, and the holder of fate. If Jane's strand is gone, or being held for some reason, then we'll understand more for her. I don't feel her at all, and I don't see why lightning would make a Goddess disappear like that. If she's gone, then Maryam needs to take on the responsibilities till something else changes, she knows that. Right?”

“Yes, she knows. But. ...You really mean you don't know either?” Jake asked with a weak voice. “Is there any way perhaps you could find a shred of Megido anywhere, maybe she knows?”

“Megido hasn't been around for quite some time, no properly at least, though she's obviously still doing her job. We'd know if the book was damaged or abandoned, and none of us would be functioning without her being around. ..But I can feel her, and I know I can smell her too. I don't know what she's up to, but she's not gone. Not like Jane is. She'll come back when she feels like it, or when we need to see her most, don't question it too much. Focus on your own duties and picking the slack up from Jane.”

“And the black splotches in the future? The red?” Dave pressed, John nodding from the other side of the table in tandem, reaching for any kind of information he could pass to Jade.

A flicker of annoyance and sharp teeth were the most warning anyone got before Pyrope stood up and turned to look at Jake, Roxy and Dirk. “Later. Don't worry about it for now, it's different views for everyone. Something is interfering with sight but it's not like it's the end of the world or anything, it's merely a great frustration.”

“Even the red?” Dave interrupted, darting around to get in front of her, fiery and impatient. “The things in that bowl we saw, the deaths, th-”

“ENOUGH. Either take the words I give you, or leave me be! You were uninvited to my chambers and now you balk at the advice and answers I give like ungrateful humans! Seek Jane's thread, speak to Makara, and do your damned jobs till otherwise indicated. Things are changing and hectic right now, you'll be plenty busy for certain, clear sight ahead or not. Prepare yourselves for your elements, pay attention to what the humans tell you and what your own abilities are singing in your blood. That should be all the damned guidance you need for yourselves. I'll speak to you in the seating space next,” she said with certainty, a fact being stated and not a preference being indicated.

The fires flared as if challenged, the bottom edges of Dave's clothing trying to lift, young and stubborn and prepared to fight at the slightest indication. He opened his mouth, but Roxy quickly covered it with both of her hands, tugging him backwards even though it stung her palms and fingers. She hissed a warning in his ear as she urged a void open behind them all, jerking her head to indicate John should leave quickly as well.

“Sure thing, no need to turn us out on our ears. Those were fine answers,” she said, laughing to lighten the mood that had grown thick and tense. “Might be back after we do that running around though. Was good to get some confirmation though.”

Pyrope crossed her arms, still looking frustrated. Dave didn't fight to talk, and simply took his thoughts with him into Roxy's void, wanting to get out of that room quickly. Even the decorations were getting on his nerves, bright and cheerful and wild offset by the rising tension in the air and his overwhelming desire to argue that was growing by the minute. He needed to get away, and the Goddess needed her space back to herself to calm down.

Roxy closed the void behind them once John had darted in behind them, making their escape quickly and orderly without having to backtrack through the other chambers at all. Pyrope didn't allow herself to release the stiffness in her jaw and spine till they'd all left. She waited, breathed deeply, then slowly returned to her pile of soft things, curling her body up into it and holding herself tight. She would not sleep again, would not try to dream and wander and rest, but the urgency of things was growing in a way she couldn't put her finger on.

Maryam would be coming eventually, she knew. It was one of the things she could see and feel clearly as day. ..Perhaps she could disclose these problems with her easier. Perhaps even Rose, if it came to it and the gaps remained dark and confusing. Though she was uncertain what use it would be to talk of it at all. There were things happening all around her, things she couldn't track or see for the first time, a restlessness in the future she could feel in her bones in a way she hadn't since time had begun and she first started to fill her duties. It was a blind spot that was hitting her even more sorely than the damage to her eyes had hurt her pride before, and not a blind spot that was offering to teach her things in the same way.

What was a Goddess supposed to do when questioned by lesser Gods. Admit she was afraid?

Laughable.

She hugged herself tighter, smudged her lipstick against a soft blanket, and tried to will her thoughts to relax in fond memories instead. At least those weren't going anywhere any time soon.

#Homestuck #my fic #Dave Strider #John Egbert #Bro Strider #Jake English #The Dolorosa #The Disciple #Terezi Pyrope #Roxy LaLonde

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mistslash25-blog · 5 years

Text

When Bad Things Happen to Good Characters

Jonathan Roth | The Children’s Book Review | October 23, 2018

“Where’s my editor going with that ax?” I said to my writing group one morning in the coffee shop.

“To your title page,” replied my writing partners. “You may have used too many words.”

“I don’t see why she needs an ax!” I said.

In truth, the ax wasn’t unexpected. From the moment my publisher acquired my debut chapter book series, I knew the long initial title was in grave jeopardy. What was written as Beep and Bob’s Horrible Adventures in Space was soon, and rightly, changed to the pithy Beep and Bob.

Though I was fine with letting it go, I’ll admit now that the word “horrible” in the title was a guiding light I followed as I wrote these tales. Though I’m quite fond of my protagonist Bob—he’s a gentle if ordinary soul—it’s a sad truth of story telling that the most effective way to move things along is to have bad things happen to your characters.

In book one, Too Much Space!, Bob is introduced as someone who isn’t a big fan of school and is easily terrified by heights, darkness, spiders and just about anything. So where do I put him on page one? In a high orbit space school of course! (With a best friend who always carries a jar of her three pet tarantulas.) And what happens when he discovers a quick fix for ridding himself of these fears? I pull away at the worst possible moment, and stick one of the spiders in his space helmet!

Okay, I actually felt kind of bad for doing all that. So in book two, Party Crashers, I let Bob spend the entire time attending an extravagant birthday party for his friend during the maiden voyage of the luxurious Starship…Titanic.

Am I mean to my characters or what?

Which brings us to the newly released book three, Take Us to Your Sugar. I’m almost afraid to give this one to kids, because in my efforts to amp up the horrible situations, I hit Bob where it really hurts: his sweet tooth. As this story opens, Bob, who is totally dependent on the space station school cafeteria food for all his meals, learns that the machine that produces the sugar which flavors everything from ketchup to ice cream is broken. And the new parts won’t arrive for months!

The only silver lining is that Halloween is just around the corner, and Bob figures that if he collects enough bulging bags of candy, he can possibly make it to spring. But then he learns that Halloween isn’t celebrated at space school!

So what is poor Bob to do? Endure unsweetened food and possibly an improvement to his health? Or come up with a plan?!

There’s a famous saying about the 3-act structure of fiction: “Get your characters up in a space ship, throw asteroids at them, and then have them find a way down.” (Okay, maybe the original quote says “tree” and “rocks,” but for my purposes there are no trees in space.) And while I’ve been emphasizing the first couple parts of this story principal, it is the last crucial step which finally explains why we take our characters to the limits of their endurance: so they can find a way to face their fears and grow.

I know, maybe not the greatest consolation for them, but of utmost importance to young readers. Even us big kids often still look to fictional characters and the choices they make for our own consolation and inspiration. Just don’t tell Bob I took away his candy for a reason, or he may go on strike before I finish book number four.

—

About the Author-Illustrator

Jonathan Roth

Author-illustrator Jonathan Roth is a public elementary school art teacher in Maryland who likes reading, writing, drawing, cycling, and napping. Though he has never left the Earth, he has met four of the astronauts who have gone to the moon. Beep and Bob is his first series. To learn more, and to download a free Beep and Bob activity kit, visit his website: beepandbob.com.

Written and Illustrated by Jonathan Roth

Publisher’s Synopsis: Beep and his best friend Bob hatch a plan to save Halloween—and their school—in this third book in the hilarious, action-packed Beep and Bob series!

It’s October in space, and Bob is getting excited for his favorite holiday: Halloween. When Bob tells Beep that soon they’ll get to dress up like monsters and get as much free candy as they can carry, Beep thinks he has gone to heaven. But Lani informs them that Halloween isn’t celebrated at Astro Elementary.

Bob cannot imagine life without Halloween! He appeals to Principal Quark, but with no success. Determined to save Halloween, Bob and Lani organize a secret club: SCARES (Scary Costumes Are the Right of Every Student, or, more truthfully, the Society of Candy Addicts who Rely on Energy from Sugar).

As the secret club grows, Halloween fever invades Astro Elementary. Unfortunately, a horde of grotesque aliens, attracted by the treats, also invades the school on the last day of the month. With everyone in costume, no one can tell who’s who. Beep and Bob may have saved the holiday, but can they somehow use their sugar-addled wits to save the school?

Ages 6-9 | Publisher: Aladdin | September 11, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-1481488587

Available Here

Praise For Beep and Bob

“Pretty sporky, as Bob would approvingly put it.” —Booklist

“A strong addition to any library’s chapter book selection.” —School Library Journal

Book Giveaway

Enter for a chance to win a set of all four Beep and Bob books; Including Take Us to Your Sugar, written And illustrated by Jonathan Roth!

Three (3) lucky winners receive:

A copy of Too Much Space!

A copy of Party Crashers

A copy of Take Us To Your Sugar

A copy of Double Trouble

Giveaway begins October 23, 2018, at 12:01 A.M. MT and ends November 23, 2018, at 11:59 P.M. MT.

How To Enter

Complete the entry form below.

Enter once daily (optional).

Giveaway Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Enter between 12:00 AM Mountain Time on October 23, 2018, and 11:59 PM on November 23, 2018.

Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older.

Winners will be selected at random on or about November 27, 2018.

Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

The Children’s Book Review is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Prizes Courtesy of Aladdin/Simon & Schuster

Discover more books like Beep and Bob: Take Us to Your Sugar, written and illustrated by Jonathan Roth, on The Children’s Book Review by following along with our articles tagged with Aliens, Creative Writing, Halloween Books, Illustrated Chapter Books, Space, and Writing Tips.

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Source: https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2018/10/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-characters.html

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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wyrdsistersofthedas · 7 years

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HI, I just wanted to say you have a great site. I noticed you put up a number of art drawings and I am not sure if you have looked here but have you seen Matt Rhodes Concept Art for for Dragon Age? It has some great official concept art from Dragon Age 2 including Fenris and Merril. I would love to hear some of your comments on this. The first part is about Mass Effect but halfway down is about Dragon Age. Thanks again.

Hey Nony!

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. We went through quite a few Matt Rhodes posts (the man is everywhere!!) to find the one we thought you were talking about. Anyone who hasn’t seen Matt’s review of DA2’s concept art is missing out.

All four of the Sisters Wyrd sat down together for tea and to talk about these designs.

Fenris’ Evolution

On his blog, Matt Rhodes talks about how difficult it was to find Fenris’ look. They had not done much with Tevinter so they hadn’t finalized its cultural style and that is apparent in these early designs.

Perhaps the most surprising of the early Fenris concept art was this version, which looks an awful lot like D&Ds Drow Elves. That would have been quite a departure from the lore that Dragon Age had established concerning elves, who had always been shown having the same skin tones as humans races across the real world. Fenris’ skin also shows no signs of lyrium tattoos, which suggests that concept was developed later in the creative process.

Dorothea pointed out that this early design shares many facial features as Solas’ design. Long face, prominent cheekbones and jaw, and a similar nose.

Every inch…

The next design incorporates an intricate tattoo pattern with, what looks like, lyrium highlights. Unlike Fenris’ final design, the tattoos look more like a ritual pattern rather than the skeletal structure the developers used in the end. This pattern would have been really hard to create in game and cleanly animate In this art, Fenris looks like he is wearing mage robes rather than being dressed like a warrior, and the Tevinter look still isn’t there yet. The belt seems to have been a favorite. It will show up in several subsequent art designs. (He looks a bit like Prince Zuko! Wonder if Avatar was an inspiration?) Can you imagine cosplaying this? Those tattoos would be a nightmare!

The next image has several interesting updates. The tattoo’s have been simplified and the lyrium is clearly etched into Fenris’ skin with what looks like words, perhaps in Tevene or Elvhen. (As if these suckers weren’t hard enough to draw as they are in game!)

In this image, Fenris looks very much like a warrior. Almost Conan the Barbarian-esque. One thing Artemis found particularly interesting is that this look has been carried forward into the most recent concept art Mark Darrah has teased all of us with, which appears to include Fog Warrior designs that echo this early art design. This concept for Fenris is definitely more wild, almost feral. This Fenris conveys so much of his personal history: breaking free of Danarius and living among the Fog Warriors before having to run for his life and freedom.

The next design makes some very dramatic changes, and Fenris now has the look we see in game. Mostly. He has the “new look” for elves in DA2, which was a little too close to the Na’vi from Avatar. Larger eyes and ears, long necks, and the distinctive broad noses with high bridges. They managed to make Fenris, Merrill and a few other key elves look beautiful with this new design, but many other elves were…well, not the ethereal beauties they are often described to be in the lore.

The designers have also developed an obsession we feathers. Fenris has feathers, Anders has feathers, Flemeth has feathers, etc. Must have been a texture they were rather proud of and wanted to incorporate in lots of places. Some of the bird fluff disappears off of his legs by the time we get to the final game, but the ones on his wrist cuffs and shoulders stayed. (And the belt is back!)

Fenris’ tattoos change a great deal from his last iteration. They now look like they follow his skeleton, which might make them easier to animate (even if they are still a pain in the ass to draw. But these are far easier than any of the previous designs or the ones Matt would use now. More on that later.) Did they forget the three dots on his forehead in the game? Artemis has tried every angle in game to see them but can’t see them. Yet all the later concept art has them. There probably is a mod for that.

It is interesting that Fenris’ hair is black in this art. We assume that the pain and trauma from lyrium being fused to his skin was what turned his hair white, but as far as we know this has never been confirmed in the canon.

In almost all of these pictures, Fenris is drawn more sinuous than muscular. This implies, to our thinking, that his strength comes more from determination than muscles. Add lyrium as another source of strength and you don’t need big muscles. This idea was confirmed in World of Thedas 2, which stated that Fenris’ “determination, more than his physical abilities impressed Danarius.”

This was one of the last designs for Fenris, but not all of the elements made it into the game. Matt would very much have liked to hack off his hair. Bleh! Yeah, we know everyone thinks he has emo hair, but we think it says a lot about his personality at the beginning of the game. Fenris’ hair veils his eyes and the emotions on his face, creating a kind of barrier between him and those looking at him. This look and his posture convey that he was supposed to be a beaten dog, who has only just begun to remember that he is a wolf.

Matt’s Dream Fenris

On his tumblr page, Matt posted a design for he wishes Fenris looked like… Our response: meh. Fenris is stockier here, with a smaller sword and very clear Tevinter design elements. They were deep into Inquisition at this point and knew what Tevinter’s art style would be and we can certainly see those elements here. Persian slipper style shoes, “harem” style pants, pointed tunic, and curved daggers. (Hey! Matt put him in shoes! What in the Void?) Fenris is also notably heavier set, similar to the stocky elf design we see for ancient elves. Considering how slim male elf Inquisitors are, this is an interesting choice. Sera also has a heavier build also.

Bleh. We don’t care for the bald design, although it does allow us to see the tattoos Matt gave him more clearly. We now see a dragon motif that does seem very Tevinter, but not very practical. And a nightmare to draw again. (We’ll take the ones that made it into the game, thanks!)

Whatever Matt Rhodes would do with Fenris now, his design was set by Dragon Age 2. We did get an updated look, however, in The World of Thedas 2. Notice the changes to his hair and his posture. This Fenris is far more self assured, but armed to the teeth. He knows who he is, and is not hiding from anyone anymore. Slavers better hide from him.

Merrill’s Many Faces

Origins of Merrill

You would think when you already have a character designed, there wouldn’t be much to do for Merrill in DA2. Developing her character, however, also meant updating her look to match the new elements for the second game. Their first attempt produced…interesting results.

Scary lady!

Merrill certainly looked different than she did in Origins in her first draft for DA2. She has a variation on the same outfit she wore in the first game, but without her underpinnings or outer gear. But the most startling change was her face and countenance. Her new look screams “I’m a blood mage!!! Rawr!” It would have been an interesting concept to explore, this malevolent Merrill. She was certainly more stern and imperious in Origins than we see her in DA2. Perhaps losing Tamlen and Mahariel, her closest friends in the Sabrae Clan, could have driven her to more and more dangerous blood magic. She seems to even have augmented her vallaslin to reflect her grim purpose. An interesting AU for peeps to play with, but it wasn’t what the writers had in mind.

After the writers gave Matt more info, he redesigned and created a less scary version, but still rather stern Merrill. The innocence and seeming naivete she shows in DA2 isn’t there yet, but otherwise she looks pretty much like the Dalish elf we know. The new mail hauberk may reflect a new desire to protect herself in an increasingly uncertain world. This armor appears in DAI as a medium armor, suggesting that Daisy is tougher than one might assume (or they just decided it looked more like rogue armor in Inquisition).

There was an attempt at playing with Merrill’s armor, but makes her look more like a rogue instead of a mage. The designer’s definitely liked the art, however, as it too appears in Inquisition. This phase of Merrill’s development also show the influence of the new elf facial structure. Long neck, large eyes, etc. We wonder how the developers would handle her appearance and Fenris’ if they were to appear in a future game. Would they try to make them look as much like their DA2 appearance? Or would they get another makeover to match the newest version of the elves? Tricky either way…

In this concept art, she finally has an expression that is befitting her moniker: Daisy. Her outfit certainly changed. More mage-y, perhaps a little more formal, yet very elvhen.

Several of these clothing concepts eventually did make it into Inquisition. (It is just me, or did they mess up the codes for these three? It seems to me that the heavy and light armor should be reversed.) The middle armor is clearly Merrill’s outfit from DA2 ported into Inquisition. Its presence, along with several other character armors from the second game make me think that cameos were planned for some characters. In fact, several character armors actually made it DAI. Isabela was obviously wearing hers in the multiplayer, and I probably said something naughty when I saw this on the sellswords in the Hinterlands.

It seems likely that they either really liked the designs for these armors or they were planning cameos for several DA2 characters, including Merrill and Anders. (Thank the Maker they dropped the Anders cameo, especially if the picture below was what they had in mind!

Yes, we know that this probably would be his appearance if you let him live, but ordered him to leave Kirkwall without helping the mages, but still!!! We loves him. *Morta sobs in the corner for a few*)

Simply Merrill

Unlike Fenris, Matt said there is little he would change about Merrill. There are, however, a few interesting details in the “how I would draw her now” picture. Her eyes are wide and bright, filled with both curiosity and some trepidation. Her clothes are far more simple than the look he created for his ideal Fenris. Other than her near trade scarf, her clothes are plain and nondescript with no embellishments we can identify with city elves or the Dalish. She is not wearing her mail hauberk either, and we assume the many bindings on her arms are from bloodletting for her magic. Merrill seems very unprotected from the forces she is wielding. It is a night and day difference from the first piece of concept art of her.

In Merrill’s World of Thedas 2 design, she looks virtually unchanged save for two features. Her hair is done with cornrows on the right and her cheek vallaslin is missing. We are going to assume that her vallaslin was an oversight or oversimplification of her Dirthamen tattoo from DA2. (If her vallaslin has changed again we may have to say “Oh, dear!”, shake our heads, and write theories about why.)

Thanks again for the ask, Nony. We had fun going back over these designs and hope it was what you were looking for. There is a lot of other interesting material on Matt’s Blogspot/Tumblr/DeviantArt that we can look into in the future if folks are interested. And we will keep our eyes open for DA4 teases.

-The Wyrd Sisters of Thedas

Bonus! Bela-licious!

Did y’all see this concept art for Isabela?! We love it! I mean, yeah, we love her any way we can get her (and she is a rather inventive pirate queen), but this art is gorgeous. The style deliberately echoes Duncan’s outfit in Origins, and therefore show some insights into Rivaini fashion. To our eyes, it looks very Romani with a pirate flair. It would be awesome to have a mod of this outfit in game, either for Bela, Hawke, or the Inquisitor.

#dragon age #dragon age concept art #Fenris #Merrill #Isabela #Tevinter #Dalish #Rivain #wend the wyrds a wondering #long post

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your-lady-star · 7 years

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Revealing the Star: Triumphant Takumi

Takumi has got to be one of the most interesting, thought provoking, complex and well designed characters to come out of Fates. Much like many of the best characters in the game, Takumi is one that you need to invest your time into in order to truly understand him. Judging based on face value alone might put off a lot of people towards him. After all, he doesn’t exactly make the best first impression. But once you’re willing to look past it and give him the time to grow on you, you’ll find that there is a lot to unpack in him and that there is something truly depressing to his overall theme. And I find all that connects to his unfortunate title of being Fire Emblem Fates’

#1 most damaged character.

Once upon a time, I would have easily given that title to Camilla. There really is a lot of damage on her (if you want to see the full scoop, I recommend checking out Ghast Stations support science video on Camilla), but even with that, we see clear moments of respite and enjoyment in her life regardless of what she’s dealing with.

In the case of Takumi, however, there are no moments of respite or enjoyment.

Unlike Leo, whose inferiority complex only affects how he interacts with his siblings, Takumi’s is so severe it affects how he interacts with everything. It’s not just the sense of inadequacy within his family, it’s the sense that he just doesn’t belong in the world, that he won’t ever be able to make a name for himself regardless of what he does and that he simply isn’t capable of even trying.

In fact, after doing some research on this, I found that Takumi might be going through something even more dangerous. Not only is he dealing with an intense inferiority complex, but I’ve actually seen some signs of possible schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects the way one thinks, acts and behaves. And after looking through the signs one shows when suffering from it, I’ve seen that a lot of them are extremely similar to how Takumi acts in some moments through the games. His standoff attitude, the words and actions he does without wanting to, the belief that others are always talking about him behind his back and the fact that the archives label him as the character that has the worst nightmares all point to signs that Takumi might be suffering more than any of us initially thought.

And because none of the characters or the audience seems to be aware of this, it’s what’s caused so many to just assume Takumi to be just a jerk and just ignore him, which is only making the whole thing worse. Takumi already believes that no one loves him, so people avoiding him because they just think he’s rude and can’t be reasoned with will only allow him to sink further into his disease. People who are suffering from any form of mental illness need to be treated. Ignoring the problem in hopes that it will go away will only make it steadily worse. And with people like Takumi, you need to let them know that not only do you love them, but that you’re always there for them.

And, surprisingly, despite Takumi seeming to try and isolate himself from others in order to avoid getting hurt, he has managed to subconsciously surround himself with quite the large group of people who want to help him. And none more so than his

2 loyal retainers.

Even though we don’t know much on the history between Takumi and his retainers or just how long they’ve been together, one thing has been made clear from watching the way these two interact with their lord: they help to bring out the best in him.

It seems like, more so than anyone, Oboro and Hinata know who the real Takumi is. They have seen what he’s like when he’s truly happy and not worrying about his presence to the world. And it seems like they want to make that side of him more well known. They want others to see the Takumi that is more caring, supportive and lighthearted. And even if they aren’t able to do so, they enjoy the time they spend with him and the connections they formed with him. And what I like most about their bond is how both of them bring out different sides to Takumi.

Hinata’s supports with him show him trying to get Takumi to lighten up and just enjoy his time, and throughout the whole ordeal, it’s not his enjoyment he’s focused on, it’s Takumi’s. How he turns out isn’t what’s important; what’s important is knowing that Takumi had fun during the whole thing and all his effort didn’t go to waste.

Oboro’s is the one I find more interesting, for one big reason. This support showed a new and vastly unseen part of Takumi. Rather than being the one doted on and needing comfort, he’s the one comforting someone else and helping to ease their pain. In this moment, Takumi realizes that he isn’t the only one dealing with deep mentally scarring issues and he puts aside his own pain for the sake of another. It’s what helps to make the bond feel genuine, and unlike a certain pairing in Awakening that demands that we treat it as canon despite them having less chemistry than a rock and a tree, Takumi and Oboro’s relationship seems believable and understandable.

And it’s not just their bond that he has to show for, there’s also the bond he shares with his

3 siblings.

Though, in all fairness, his bond with them isn’t the greatest.

Not to say that they don’t love or care for him, they definitely do and are trying their best to slowly help him, but there is one big obstacle that holds it back.

They’re not really all that good at expressing it.

Ryoma’s bad habit of preferring an easy short term solution, Hinoka being so determined to maintain her tomboy image that I’m pretty sure if she even glances at a dress she’ll explode, and Sakura being so timid and unsure of herself that I’m surprised she isn’t scared of her own shadow don’t really help much in that matter. And considering their complete focus on trying to get back Corrin; let’s just say that it doesn’t surprise me that, even after all these years, Takumi is still suffering.

His siblings have some serious faults in how they handle themselves that they really need to fix if they want to get Takumi any closer to feeling better.

Especially considering that I counted

4 times he fell victim to the world.

Having his mind manipulated by both Anankos and Iago. Nearly succumbing to a fatal illness. Being held hostage by a disguised Zola. And nearly falling into the bottomless void of Valla.

I can’t blame Takumi for thinking that the world is out to get him, since he does seem to somehow have worse luck than Arthur. He has unfortunately painted a giant target on him by showing just how vulnerable he is and how easy it is to manipulate him. I can definitely see why Anankos made him his primary puppet.

Because of the constant hesitations, doubts and emotional turmoil he suffers on an hourly basis, Takumi has made himself very vulnerable and prone to be put into dangerous situations. And I find that it comes from two distinct traits to him. For one, because he can be a bit blunt and careless with his words and actions, it was easy for no one to realize that he was being manipulated and slowly corrupted. And second, aside from Ryoma, Takumi is easily the strongest member or the Hoshidan army, if not all the Fates characters. When you manage to get rid of the strongest person in an army, you almost immediately get the advantage over your foe. And if you can get that person on your side, you pretty much secure an instant victory for you. With this, it’s no wonder why Takumi is both desired and dreaded. And it’s pretty clear which side Takumi listens to more.

Yet in spite of all the turmoil he deals with on a daily basis, not only does he remain one of the most popular characters in Fates, he still remains the most desired

5 star hero.

I know that so long as new heroes get added, this statement is going to become less and less credible, but I still believe that even with all the new characters we’ve gotten, Takumi is still one of the most sought after units. I still see post from people who lament how they have yet to get him or celebrating how joyful they are to have him. And while it’s easy to hate on him because of how overpowered he is and how much it can pain people to have to face him in the arena, especially with recent updates, but that’s more down to the people that abuse him rather than the actual character.

And I know I might seem pretty biased, since I am guilty of using him on my main team. But allow me state why not only I, but many others like me, use him. Not because of his strength, but his character.

I stand by the belief that most if not all the Fates characters in Heroes are of a post Revelations universe. And if that is the case, it does explain Takumi’s personality in this. He seems to have mellowed out from his previous persona and is less harsh on himself. Granted, yes, he still has doubts and issues and he does still think that others look down on him, but it feels like he is slowly growing more confident in himself and is working to stand tall more often.

And that’s easily the best part about Takumi.

He’s easily the character we cheer for the most. The one we want to see grow and better himself. The one we want to see come out happy. We want to see him succeed and earn the peace he so truly deserves.

And with how things are going for him, I think it’s safe to say that he just might be on the right path.

Links: http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1100832-fire-emblem

https://www.paigeeworld.com/post/587881282cedaabf0e48f6a5/fanartfriday-takumi-fireemblem-fireemblemfates-hoshido-drawing-by-theoresama

http://akimiya.deviantart.com/art/FE-Fates-Hoshido-608000947

http://shintokiame.deviantart.com/art/Blame-Takumi-595157360

#fire emblem fates #fire emblem fates birthright #fire emblem fates conquest #fire emblem fates revelation #fire emblem heroes #takumi #fe takumi #save this poor boy #he needs all the love

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