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your-ne1ghbor · 7 months ago

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Hello, Neighbor! (Insert Welcome Home reference here 🏠)

I'm a hundred years late to this, but it's time for me to drop some questions for "The Kingdom of Thorns and Roses"! (I'm craving more Wish content, do this will do for now, lol.)

How did you come with your AU? Is it inspired from other AU's or something else?

What happened to Asha's family in this telling?

Can you drop a little lore about TKOTAR's Star system?

Who's your favorite character to draw in your AU?

Are any of the Teens in this story, are they sent to the oblivion? 😂

I know you mention that Flazino is possibly in your AU, but uh…..is he still alive or actually dead? Cause WG!Flazino can't vent to a dead guy. 😂

Any original characters in here besides Bonsai?

Which other Wish AU's would be some of your favorites?

Are all the songs from the movie included in your story, or us it just certain ones?

How long do you think your story is going to be?

How would TKOTAR!Asha would interact with WG!Asha? (She does have some trouble making friends though, lol)

Any hints for the ending?

Out of questions, but I'll give you a hug! 🤗

OMG QUESTIONS AHHHHHHh🦈🦈

1. How did you come with your AU? Is it inspired from other AU's or something else?

I was inspired from a lot of works! I think what really made me actually GET INTO rewriting Wish was "Alicia and the Kingdom of Star Light" and "At all Costs" Animatics. At first, I originally was going to have Magnifico and Amaya be like this Gaston/Frollo like characters, but overtime, I didn't see them like that! I think this was because my interpitation of Magnifico in the film was more of the "tragic hero" rather than the "tragic villain". Also Asha at the time felt really boring, and Star felt very hallow, which is why I also had to change that super old draft to something new. Overtime, after watching Owl House, Race to the Edge, Wish...15 more times (watched it I think 30 times total), Hunch Back of Notre Dom, and Epic the Musical, I think some of those aspects of what I liked bled into the story. Example, people comparing Magnus to Odesseous LIKE ITS THE VIBE THEYRE NOT THE SAME PERSON-

Not only that, some parts of the story is actually kinda inspired from personal experience! Mainly with the family part- . . . but nothing less, it more inspired from HTTYD and Owl House lol

2. What exactly happed to Asha's family in this telling?

Well...neither of them are dead for starters.

Probably the only Asha who has a fully ALIVE family 💀🙏

3. Can you drop a little lore about TKOTAR's Star system?

Research ^

4. Who is your fav character to draw in your AU?

Agatha my beloved 💕

I don't even draw her a lot, I just love her design lmao

5. Are any of the Teens in the story, or are they sent to oblivion?

Pfftttt they weren't all sent to oblivion Rascal hehehh

Dahlia, Simon, and Gabo will most likely be the ones to end up in the story, so most of the teens are here.

I have some ideas to how they tie into Asha in terms of how they know her on a personal/co-worker relationship.

Dahlia WAS Asha's friend during the best parts of her childhood, before Asha distanced herself from her. Her arc is best kept secret for story reasons, but I think it is pretty wholesome.

Simon I'm sorta concidering to be some form of body guard while Asha goes into the Market.

Gabo probably will the the "consipiracy person who is actually right" type of guy heh- Also a friend Star becomes close with! (He totally does not teach him how to swear-)

I do want to incorpiate Hal and Bazeema and probably Flazino somehow in the story, just not sure how and what sort of purpose they will serve at the moment.

I still don't have designs for them, but I will soon hopefully :D

6. I know you mention that Flazino is possibly in your AU, but uh…..is he still alive or actually dead? Cause WG!Flazino can't vent to a dead guy 😂

So I guess he is now the Therapist! Flazino in my AU? IS THAT WHAT UR SAYING???? (I love it)

Too bad all the therapists are dead in Rosas because of the incident. No wonder Flazino probably dies from poisining. He knew too much.

Anyways no need to worry for the dead guy in the room that probably wont exist in my AU, the dead do exist as ghosts in some way so WG Flazino can still vent to him lmao

(ghosts cant talk tho (but then again, he drank poison which could have ruined his vocal cords but still))

He is looking out for WG Flazino :D (He was killed by drinking a mYsTeRiOuS LiQuId )

Just realized he kinda looks like Hermes- naurrrr not intentionalllll bc he looks like that bc he ded :(((

7. Any original characters in here besides Bonsai?

OK ROSAS, HERE IS ALL OG CHARACTERS IN THE STORY (THIS INCLUDES REPLACEMENTS)

Bonsai

Agatha

Thomas

Morning Star

Captain of the Guard, NOT PHEBUS (I dont have a name for him-)

Evelyn (minor character)

Atticus (minor character)

Agatha's parents (minor character)

Magnus' Father (minor character)

(what I mean by minor characters, I mean that they wont really show up in the story except in portraits or mentions unless I do a lore video that could include them)

CREATURES:

Dragons

Sirens

THE FUCKING FAIRES I HOPE YOU DIE LIKE KYS

Trolls

Ghosts/Ghouls (Good Ghouls Go Bad is a pretty good movie go watch it)

Forest/Water Nymths

Serpants

Kraken probably

Stars (ofc)

probably will be more

They all probably won't show up in the story, but know that they exist.

ALSO THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT, SO HERE IS A CONCIDERATION I HAD.

Although I am personally not sure if they will ever be in the story, along with Flazino, BUT...HERE ME OUT-

A ATLAS BASED CHARACTER. I MEAN THINK ABOUT IT

In Greek mythology, HE HOLDS UP THE FUCKING SKY??? LIKE??? BRO-

AND HE IS A TITAN?/?? ANDD IT WOULD MAKE SENSE??? KINDA???

Not sure, but I wanna put that there because I think a Atlas based character in a story with a sky filled with Star creatures is very interesting.

8. Which other Wish AU's would be one of your Favorites?

I don't pick favorites between fanfics. I personally love them all and I think a lot of them are really interesting retellings!

Except for the freaky ones

I hate you Hiccup x Toothless fanfic go burn (made me not trust fanfics for a long time💀🙏) (BTW I DIDN'T READ IT MY SIBLING READ IT OUT LOUD TO ME AND WE WERE LIKE 😨😨🐄🏃‍♂️💨)

9. Are all the songs from the movie included in your story, or us it just certain ones?

Certain ones. It overall depends on execution in the story.

Im a star is removed for obvious reasons.

But as I honestly think about musical instruments tieing with their respected characters, I might have to make completely different songs for almost all of them-

OK for what I mean by this...

The 4 main characters, Agatha, Magnus, Asha, and Star have their respected instruments tied to their character. This is due to because a lot of the music surrounding the characters in classic disney had instruments tying with their character or enviroment. Ariel, for example, as more whimsical or wonderous music, as she sings "a part of your world". Unfortunatly, I found Wish's instruments not fitting to how I interepret the characters and went for a completely different route.

Asha is mainly tied with either the chello or violin in my version. "BUT ISN'T THE VIOLIN USUALLY TIED WITH THE VILLAIN??" Thats where I say "Does it have to be?" I want to shake it up a bit instead of the violin being just used for "EVIL", because it can be used to tell SUCH EMOTIONAL beats. Here is a cover of the "This Wish" I found:

youtube

And here is the actual song:

youtube

OFC, I would personally add more instruments to the violin cover for it to hit harder. I ironically found a "Epic" (not sure if it is to the Epic the Musical or just Epic version lol) version that hit so hard, I felt like I was ascending:

youtube

Listening to different instruments PLAYING THE SAME SONG hits a LOT MORE DIFFERENT. LIKE YOU FEEL DIFFERENT EMOTIONS LIKE WHAT-

Also a more prominant example is "Dandalions" by Ruth B.

Here is the original:

youtube

Here is the Violin cover (funny enough I listened to this version first before the original. Personally, I think the Violin is better)

If anything, I think the gutair is overused in Disney protagonists, Mirabel had one, Moana had one, and probably more. I just wanted to do something different!

For Star, I imagined the whimsical part of Neverland or more or less instruments that give you that feel, like flutes for example. Or hell, more lullaby! Honestly the best example I can give to show what I am going for is something like:

youtube

Maybe even the At All costs instumental tying in both the Asha's instruments and His instruments at the same time can hit more different.

For both Agatha and Magnus, I liked how the trumpets were tied to the scenes they were in, like when Magnifico calls for a meeting and the trumpet plays, I honestly really liked that! But it doesn't have to be trumpets alone! I imagine Magnus/Agatha to have both a electric guitar/piano tied to their characters! Trumpets can be used to enhance the song their singing!

Here is a example (Ik it is a rewrite version, but I think this is a good one!)

youtube

Unironically, there is not a lot of villain songs that I know of that use pianos. I think it is because it is more in ties with dispair moments rather than actual villain songs. Doesn't mean that they don't exist, its just uncommon.

Why am I ranting about this? Well, blame this guy:

He is right yk-

Shut up.

You shut up

10. How long do you think your story is going to be?

AT least 2-3 months, possibly more or less. It depends.

11. How would TKOTAR!Asha would interact with WG!Asha? (She does have some trouble making friends though, lol)

Ah both interovernts! My fav.

TKORAT! Asha also has trouble making friends. Its mainly due to her having trouble trusting someone and also some more personal issues (this goes for everyone, not just WG! Asha) I think at first TKORAT! Asha would at first just avoid talking to WG! Asha, until after a while, they have a nice cup of tea and just chat! Def would be Art buddies.

12. Any hints for the ending?

I have no idea. Just a lot of chopped up parts in my head. Probably smth like this:

and probably:

What have I done....WHAT HAVE I DONE-

13. Out of questions, but I'll give you a hug! 🤗

Thanks for the Asks Rascal! 💕

I really appreciate it :D

@signed-sapphire @oh-shtars @rascalentertainments

@spectator-zee @chillwildwave @tumblingdownthefoxden

@uva124 @dangerousflowerpanda

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microknifeyuri · 2 years ago

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Nickel's sense of guilt and fear of change. [Character/II S3 Episode 14 Analysis, part 1/?]

Today, the longest episode of Invitational has dropped, and I have many thoughts of it as well. Might do more posts analyzing the events that ocurred as of now in canon, but I would like to talk about the heaviest part in the lore and how most people are not getting it completely (in my opinion), and that being: Nickel's current point of view of Balloon and his relationship with Suitcase and BB.

We all know that Nickel's actions hurted the Grand alliance, but what happened in the episode is that they showed how apparently, Nickel doesn't get exactly that things were completely fucked up.

In the episode, he mainly focuses on the good memories he had with BB and Suitcase, and doesn't even seem to hate Suitcase either, unlike what most people thought (me included to an extent, though I did see him being hurt mostly with their relationship and what happened in s2), but.

Nickel doesn't realize that he actually fucked up with them a lot, and that's the main issue.

Like, sure. He knows that stuff were messy at points but that's all he says. He mainly focuses on the good moments he had with them, maybe that's a product of him growing once he got eliminated and came to terms with himself that "well yeah there was a bit complicated shit but we still had fun together", but deep down he feels a sort of... guilt? Regarding Suitcase.

But even then, Balloon scolds him for trying to erase the times where Nickel made all of them feel bad. Hell! Even then Balloon recognizes that Nickel hurted Baseball deeply! And he says how Suitcase was the only one who had enough courage to stand up for her! Because hey! Nickel did use the same treatment that he used with Suitcase on Baseball! But the difference is that BaseBall kept making excuses for him!

The person who Nickel has been, alongside Baseball, "ignoring" of some sorts, has been Suitcase.

But here's the thing as well: Nickel doesn't know how to make things better again.

Nickel doesn't understand... feelings and complex emotions to put it shortly. He's afraid of change, and the way he just ignores the bad stuff that happened and tries to say that it's the only way that things can work, is... somewhat sad. Nickel doesn't understand a lot of stuff. He probably thinks that, at the end of the day, those were just little conflicts and that there was more good than bad.

But... that would mean he would also be running away from his consciousness over what Suitcase told him.

About how none of what they had was real.

He doesn't realize the damage he has done because hey. As much as you all like to think that Nickel didn't have his reasons to be a dick towards Balloon, he did. He actually did. He even mentions it in this episode, that if Balloon didn't try to manipulate everyone just as S1 started, maybe things would be different.

Nickel SAW and KNOWS Balloon's by his awful actions, and he wanted to protect BaseBall and Suitcase from him, since he thinks that Balloon CAN'T be trust-worthy after everything he did in S1.

That's why he was so aggressive as well towards Balloon. Yes, he cared for BaseBall, but he also cared for Suitcase deeply. The thing is that Suitcase was Balloon's friend, and Nickel can't bring himself to think that someone who he saw being such an awful person, could possibly be targetting someone who he cares about as well. So that's why he tried to push Balloon away for so long. He tried to keep his relationship with Suitcase and BB, he even says it in S2 when Suitcase confesses that she voted for him.

But of course, this is even more complicated. Both Nickel and Balloon fucked up, but Nickel fucked up for a longer time. Balloon was actually changing, and Nickel did only take the protective stance when this was happening. Which like, Nickel was right on that. He had his reasons to NOT trust Balloon. The problem is that he couldn't accept that Balloon was changing, and that he wasn't realizing that his actions were hurting both BB and Suitcase.

What I think that people don't get, or what hurts me the most, is the fact that Nickel is in denial. But it's merely the fact that when he hears Suitcase's voice, he doesn't get angry or mad, or even panics, no.

He's just... shocked.

What are you supposed to tell someone who went through hell, thanks to you, even if you tried to protect her from whom you thought was bad? What are you supposed to tell the friend who you tried to protect and instead hurted them in awful ways?

What are you even supposed to do in that situation?

It's not only that, but the fact that he didn't even think twice when walking towards her, didn't even question if she was truly Suitcase. Like, he immediately went on and tried to explain himself to her-

He completely forgot about everything because he wanted to talk to her and, I do think that he feels guilty for what he did, but he can't put it to words/can't understand it completely after all- but his first instict after seeing Suitcase is to talk to her about it.

He wants to explain himself to her- maybe even apologize, but he doesn't know how.

The thing is that Nickel is smart. With logical stuff, not feelings, according to Adam himself. And that fucks it all up for him.

Nickel can't handle change.

Suitcase can understand change.

Balloon is always changing.

And BaseBall can't keep up with it.

And that shows it here.

Nickel is a complicated character. Guilt is eating him constantly but he lacks emotional intelligence. He can accept that stuff went wrong, but seem doesn't understand what or why they did go wrong.

He regrets what he did to Suitcase most likely judging from his behaviour the mere second he saw her, but he can't tell why exactly. Same thing as Nickel probably realizing that he keeps on messing up the more he clings into that mentality. He tries to move on from the past, but he can't. He even says it. There's no way to make things feel better as of now, so that's why he pretends.

But there is a way.

He just... needs to talk it out with Suitcase and Balloon.

That being said, thank you for reading this.

#inanimate insanity #ii #inanimate insanity invitational #iii spoilers #invitational spoilers #ii spoilers #ii 2 #ii 3 #inanimate insanity nickel #inanimate insanity balloon #inanimate insanity suitcase #inanimate insanity baseball #ii nickel #ii baseball #ii suitcase #ii balloon #max overanalyzes lore

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kokosnusslos · 4 months ago

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Hi I just discovered your blog and your absolutely delicious art so I just wanted to drop by and say how talented and amazing you are but I also just wanted to ask but what exactly is the lore of your purge trooper oc 👀👀👀 Like I'm not gonna lie he looks so cool and interesting and I thought he actually was a character from the franchise I completely missed until I saw it was an oc so now I'm curious to know details and I also keep on seeing another person being drawn with them and I thought they were also an oc until I learned it was a self insert so now I'm also curious about that so does that mean you're self shipping yourself with your own oc which I didn't know you could do but that's actually so cool and has opened my eyes to a world of possibilities now so hope you don't annoyed but at how many questions I'm asking just curious and don't mean ill intent by these

Thank you so much for the kind words, thats so nice of you 🥺 So he's a purge trooper, they're basically imperial troopers during the short aftermath of order 66 where only a few Jedi survived. So these guys are ordered to hunt down those last people and are specialized in doing so. They're only present in the game Jedi Fallen Order/ Survivor hence why people barely know these guys. But I play this game alot and fell in love with them immediately due to their appearance/combat style/voice lines. It was really sad to see that no one really made fanart of them or something so I decided I just create an identity for him if that makes sense. And mostly its just selfship for comfort, this character has made me feel good for a while now and thats just mainly the reason. BUT the "lore" is that I am some sort of outcast rebel/jedi after order 66, yk everyone is on my ass including him, and slowly we decide to not kill each other at the end. How? idk yet. sooo enemies to lovers trope i guess :)

And don't worry, I appreciate you showing interest in my "oc" its really flattering me :') hope you have a nice day!

#purge trooper #sw oc #ask

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inkren · 11 months ago

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Metroid dread has consumed my life for the past 2 days. Its now one of my favourite games ever made. There's a few problems with it mainly the world not being as memorable and easy to navigate as tallon IV in metroid prime but it doesn't matter given how amazing the game is.

I could rant about it for ages but I'll just talk about my 3 favourite things. Massive spoilers for merroid dread.

1. Whoever came up with the idea of letting Samus smack the shit out of your enemies and parrying them didn't get paid enough. Once you learn how to parry basic enemies basically become energy and missile dispensaries. Its so satisfying to parry something especially emmi's since its so hard to parry them. Its also extremely cathartic to parry a boss and start a cutscene where you can just pump missiles into them. Which conveniently leads into.

2. Spectacle. Most bossfights are so cool especially when you parry them and get a bunch of free shots in as samus in the curscene that plays does a bunch of cool flips or rides a massive monster and holds her blaster to their forehead to pump endless missiles into them while they writhe around trying to toss her off. The only thing that could make it better is if the music was more hype like metal gear rising revengeance (which is another game I have to get around to)

And how could I not mention the final bossfight too. The fight with Ravenbeak is so damn cool with it being like a dance with samus and him doing cool flips around each other. He summons black holes and stars and the climax as.... this actually goes with point 3 as well so we'll get to that.

3. Samus is portrayed so well in this game and conveys so much personality even though she says like one sentence in chozo near the middle of the game and at the end of the game she starts screaming madly.

When she meets kraid she is so clearly sick of him that as soon as he roars she shoots him in the mouth. Basically just saying "let's get this over with"

Her conversation with the friendly chozo in the middle of the game as we get a hell of a lore dump and the only words she says in the entire game being "don't worry I'll finish it" pretty sure i paraphrased that but it conveys so much. By having no other words in the game spoken by samus it gives these words so much power. She is legitimately concerned for this chozo and when he is killed she is genuinely sad but it has to wait. Because she has a job to do....and an annoying enemy to kill. (Seriously those chozo bots that jump you are so annoying. )

There's so much more I could say about her characterization in the game and that one scene alone but I wanna talk about the final fight again.

My jaw dropped when she was nearly dead as Ravenbeak choked the life out of her and then she just started screaming like a mad woman and drained the power from the flying fortress making it crash down onto the ground as she beat him up and continued to scream. It was so badass and yet so funny and I was just saying holy shit the entire time. Peak character.

And then the final bit against raven beak where he gets infected with the x parasite. And samus has her new metroid suit which looks freaky and organic and thats the point. She was pushed to this point and now she's basically an energy vampire. Also nothing quite like obliterating your foe with a massive fucking laser to the face.

Of course the cool escape sequence where I barely got back to my ship on time with like 10 seconds to spare. (BTW samus keeps hitting the self destruct button every planet has for some reason. Isnt this like the 6th planet she's destroyed? Why do they keep having to be destroyed and by what?)

Samus gets control of her metroid powers again before escaping and this actually brings me to a point i like about the game. It doesn't reveal there was actually more metroids because they're the series namesake. They stay extinct. All except for samus. And its revealed that metroid means ultimate warrior in chozo. So samus is the metroid now in all meanings of the word. She had metroid dna and is the ultimate warrior of the chozo. Taking the name if the franchise for herself. So next time your grandma sees you playing metroid and points to samus saying "that man's metroid isn't he?" She's half right now.

Anyway my three simple points ballooned way out of my control. Go play metroid dread. Go play every metroid game you can. Which isn't much if you only have a switch but the two metroid games it has are peak.

#metroid #metroid dread #samus aran #raven beak #peak fiction #characterization #badass #samus mercilessly slaughtered her father #he had it coming

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checkoutmybookshelf · 1 year ago

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Re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring for the First Time in Fifteen Years

Hi, Hello, Welcome! The conceit of these posts is pretty self-explanatory. I read the Lord of the Rings for the first time at age 17, in the middle of my parent's divorce (it was messy, we're not going into any details). Needless to say, I remember pretty much nothing about that read, and I would like to give the books a fair shake of a re-read. That's what this is, and there will be spoilers throughout!

I usually do full-book reviews, but if ever I was going to do a chapter-by-chapter re-read, it would be for LotR. The rules are that I'm going in as blind as I possibly can (I have watched the movies and have absorbed like...a reasonable amount of lore from existing on the internet as a millennial) and I'm not doing any research beyond like, defining words for myself as I read. So here we go, and I hope you enjoy rereading with me! Let's talk "The Shadow of the Past."

Good LORD JRR Tolkien can lore dump when he wants to. This chapter was mainly lore dump, which is fine because it was at least interesting lore dump. I'm not a lore girly though, I'm a character girly, so let's go with "we got the One Ring's backstory, now let me talk about other characters because the Ring isn't one just yet."

This is going to sound initially harsh, but it is said with affection: Gandalf is 1000% the pedantic asshole professor who is way too into the Socratic method who you absolutely detest in undergrad but somehow his classes still end up sticking with you more than any other. You then get to understand this prof better as a master's student, and deeply love this prof as a PhD. That's literally the vibe I'm getting from his lecture to Frodo about finding some goddamn pity and compassion for the tragedy that is Smeagol and Gollum. Because it is VERY easy to judge and be critical in the abstract, which Frodo very much is, having never encountered Gollum, and Gandalf has spent time and effort tracking down Gollum with way more background knowledge with which to contextualize the layers of tragedy that Gollum personifies and affects. It's a big ask, to get people to abstract compassion (and do not come in here and argue with me about this, I live in 20-goddam-24, I know what I'm talking about), but Gandalf kind of doesn't let it go with Frodo until Frodo at least softens his position and is open to, if not at, compassion. I've been a student and I've been a teacher, and these conversations are hard from both directions, so kudos to Gandalf for sticking with it, and to Frodo for getting to a place where he was truly listening.

Especially after Gandalf just CASUALLY DROPS that Gollum literally ATE BABIES. I'm not even kidding, he just casually, in the midst of an infodump on Gollum's time tracking Bilbo after losing the Ring, says,

The woodsmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests, it crept into holes to find young, it slipped through windows to find cradles.

AND THEN WE JUST CASUALLY MOVE ON LIKE BABY EATING ISN'T SOMETHING WE NEED TO ADDRESS HERE. I would like to address the baby eating, Gandalf!!!

Despite not addressing the baby eating though, there was some interesting new information in the Gollum infodump that I understand why it got cut from the movies, but I was low-key fascinated. Smeagol was specifically noted to be interested in roots. Gandalf framed that like literal tree and mountain roots, but this is Tolkien we're talking about. Roots have a metric ton of metaphorical meanings too, and the fact that Smeagol was interested in the origins of things, in where they came from, in what made them as they are, is both deeply ironic and deeply interesting. I kind of hope we do more with that, since becoming Gollum is like ouroborosing roots; Smeagol's interest in Gollum is deeply self-reflexive, which might also be how we end up with that bifurcated personality thing. I dunno, but that would be really cool to follow up on.

I also deeply appreciated Frodo's "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK" reaction to realizing that Gandalf had let him keep the One Ring for so long. Notably, Gandalf kind of doesn't explicitly apologize for putting Frodo at risk, but he does acknowledge that yes, yes he made a choice, took a risk, and put Frodo in some level of danger. I suppose we'll take it, even as we acknowledge that yes, Gandalf was working with imperfect, incomplete information. We do the best we can with what we know at the time, or something. And if it took 20-odd years to figure all of this out (which makes sense for the kind of field and archival work required here), then y'know what, better late than never.

That said, Gandalf also kind of...LIGHTLY SKATES OVER the fact that even just possessing the Ring and doing nothing with it for 20 years has affected Frodo. He's not aging. He can't cast it away. He's already caught. Right at the beginning, in CHAPTER TWO of this massive trilogy, it's not a matter of preventing Frodo from being caught by the ring. It's a matter of how long Frodo can resist. He was doomed before anyone knew, concretely, that there was a problem. And jaysus, if that isn't how you tee up a tragedy, I don't even know how you do that. Maybe there wasn't a good reason for Gandalf to say that to Frodo, maybe it would have hurt more than it helped, but I do kind of think PERHAPS YOU MIGHT POINT THIS OUT???

I get the sense that I'm going to be very back-and-forth on book Gandalf...this is going to be an interesting thing to watch develop as I keep reading.

In addition to Gandalf's "Backstory Via The Socratic Method 101" course, we also get some additional Samwise Gamgee in this chapter. Saying "I adore this hobbit and he should be protected at all costs" is not new or even interesting, so let's take a different tack. In the films, Sam's excitement for going to see the elves is...ungrounded. It's a thing about him that we just accept. I deeply relate to and adore the sense we get of why and how the elves thing comes about in the book:

He believed he had once seen and Elf in the woods, and still hoped to see more one day. Of all the legends that he had heard in his early years such fragments of tales and half-remembered stories about the Elves as the hobbits knew, had always moved him most deeply.

This might seem ungrounded, but it's deeply aware of how stories work. Sam knows that the hobbits don't have the extent of Elven lore that exists, but he knows that there is a magic and a power in even the fragments they have, and that captured his imagination to such an extent that a yearning to see, to understand, to know that magic, was born in his heart. That grounds Sam in stories just as much as Frodo is grounded in stories, and more than that, Sam WANTS the magic to be real in a way that Frodo, primed on all the tragedy by Gandalf, I don't actually think does. Frodo is "I wish it need not have happened in my time," but Sam is "Me go and see the Elves and all."

That "and all" at the end is particularly poignant, because if Sam knows some of the stories of the elves, I have to imagine a few tragic tales survived along with the magical ones, so Sam isn't going starry-eyed into this as a bumblefuck gardener from nowhere. There's an acceptance there of the magic that encompasses all that magic offers, both good and bad. Yeah, I'm probably over-reading into this, but I support it at least a little with the fact that at the beginning of the chapter, we're with Sam when the hobbits down the pub are talking about strange beings and creatures and *foreshadowing the ents*. Sam knows that the stories tell of more than just elves, but for him, that wonder is enough to warrant everything else. No, I am not taking criticism (constructive or otherwise) at this time.

Other than a wee shoutout to the legendary "Mad Baggins"--and let's be real, if history must become myth and myth must become legend, I want Mad Baggins to stay alive and not be forgotten--that's about all I have for this chapter. Professor Gandalf shows up to school Frodo and kick his ass out the door, and Sam gets to go see the elves. We'll pick up again next time with chapter 3.

#the fellowship of the ring #the lord of the rings #chapter 2 #shadows of the past #reread #HOW DID WE JUST SKATE OVER GOLLUM EATING BABIES????

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summertimemusician · 2 years ago

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*walks on in, downs tea like a shot* So today because I am sleep deprived and have no self control, I'll be dropping some Zonai Headcanons that will be most likely debunked by Tears of the Kingdom when it comes out and make it y'alls problem:

(Long post down below and it has more likely been debunked by TOTK! I haven't combed through all the lore there yet so fair warning, this was written before release)

The Zonai were likely descended from the Interlopers aka the Twili, but not in the traditional way because the history enthusiast in me is screaming there's inconsistencies and I'm going to find a way to patch them so help me. The Interlopers were the Ancient Twili, a race of sorcerer's who mainly were around Hyrule during the in between period of Skyward Sword and Minish Cap according to Hyrule Encyclopedia, they were sealed away in the Twili Realm by presumably the Zelda of the time, the hero and the Light Spirits for attempting to steal the Triforce, but I don't think they came back after Twilight Princess, at least not right away.

Let me explain, if the Interlopers were a race with their own kingdom or region to live on like the Gerudo, and specially if they were sorcerers, would all of them be onboard with stealing the Triforce? No, because that's not how warfare works and not how people work, they are already sorcerers, they can do magic, break reality in ways never seen before, so why would they need the Triforce? Why would any man, woman or warrior with something to lose support a cause like that when there's more risk than gain? Why would any person risk their entire race facing retaliation if they failed and in turn their siblings, lovers, children being killed even if they could gain unlimited power, presuming the gods didn't punish them first for stealing a power not meant for them? No one with common sense would. We see evidence of this in a Link Between Worlds, the main reason Hilda didn't say anything about stealing the Triforce and why Ravio came to Hyrule, because she kept it in house her plan with Yuuga and Ravio only, why? Because of Ravio's reaction, it's anyone's reaction to a plan like this, it's pure insanity, no one with common sense (and no hubris) would support a plan like this, it would split the kingdom in two: the people who supported the plan (aka Hilda and Yuuga) and the people who didn't (aka Ravio had he actually said something before dipping to Hyrule which would have honestly been more effective/less convoluted if you ask me and the rest of the common Lorulian people, because yes it's a dying world but it's theirs and they wouldn't want to make the situation worse or risk war with another world entirely over the Triforce when having a Triforce already screwed them over due to everyone fighting over it, that's why Lorule's Triforce was destroyed, a hasty and bad decision, but the best one anyone had at the time not to mention the fact Hyrule's and Lorule's Triforce's likely have different virtues). I think that's what happened with the Interlopers, the Twili Ruler at the time wouldn't have wanted to risk their people's safety so they shut down that plan as soon as possible, but it already split the people in two, so what do they do when the traitors and greedy Interlopers go behind their back? Devise a plan of their own to counteract it. Preferably with the people targeted so that they could safeguard their people even after it was enacted.

You know how the Picori Blade was given to a hero before Four before the events of Minish Cap, where it was broken and then reforged into the Four Sword? It was made by the Minish and given away precisely so it could deal with the rampant darkness and monsters running round at the time, acting as a seal which is broken in Minish Cap because Vaati is a power hungry idiot who didn't bother to read the full myth before setting out on a quest for the Triforce (if he did he would also see that the monsters/darkness were sealed by the Picori Blade, NOT just the Triforce, I adore his presentation as a villain but good lord man, read the fine print. When you go on a hubris fueled quest ya gotta know all the lore and you clearly didn't given your surprise when you broke the Picori Blade, redeeming points for realizing the Triforce was on Zelda rather than the chest though, and presentation). It was probably a seal given by the Picori to be used by the Hero of Men because Fi as we know wasn't available, she was used to seal Demise and presumably Sky and Sun took the secret of where she was to their graves or ONLY available if an Incarnation of Demise turned up, hence why we only see it in Ocarina of time and beyond. If Fi isn't available then the Picori Blade is meant to be a substitute to do the job.

So what I speculate is that the greedy Interlopers started controlling what remained of Demise's monsters on the surface with their magic to attack Hyrule in an attempt to steal the Triforce by force with likely a few of their own sorcerers throw in the mix, they probably did it behind the previous Twili Ruler's back because their plan was shut down and, if they were anything like Midna, they would NOT have it (because let's be honest Midna was a strong gal and would do anything for her people if necessary, her love for the light people came later), so they approached the Hero of Men and presumably his Zelda once he got the Picori Blade from the Minish with a plan: the Hero would take care of sealing the monsters with the Picori Blade, while they and the Princess would create the Mirror of Twilight and, with the aid of the Light Spirits due to the traitors creating the Fused Shadows behind their back, would seal themselves with as many of their own fighters and supporters as they could gather inside the Sacred Realm with the traitors to finish them off, which would lead to the Twili we have today before Midna broke the Mirror for good. As a gesture of good will they could have lent some sorcerers and warriors to pledge themselves to the Royal family and more specifically the princess, which would lead to the Sheikah, and the Mirror, in case circumstances ever got drastic again and they'd need to use it to make sure those who didn't want to fight (aka civilians) would be safe and make it so that the Mirror could only be broken by someone with the blood of the Original Twilight Ruler and strong magic (hence why Zant couldn't do it, Midna has both the blood and power, while Zant doesn't) it's a master plan in theory.

Except there's one problem: the remains would likely suffer stigma from the Hylians, much like how Ganon's actions brought stigma to the Gerudo as being liars and thieves, it would explain why later generations would be suspicious of the Sheikah and cull them later on before Ocarina of Time, that's why the Hylian Civil War happened and why by Breath of the Wild Sheikah magic and tech was regarded with suspicion even if it did help 10.000 years ago, it's because of this one event, so the ruler of the Twili likely would have given two more orders after putting someone new in charge: go to the skies like how the Hylians did if needed be (giving rise to the Sky People we see in Minish Cap and their remains in Twilight Princess, plus the structures in the sky and why Zonai structures rise in to the sky), and if for whatever reason things look extremely dire (like say, a civil war and then the rise of a mother blinking Demon King/Warmongering King of Thieves, and then the Twili Crisis which they would most likely get blamed for, and the War of Ages if we want to make Hyrule Warriors the inflection point of the timeline), go to the sea and leave Hyrule entirely (remember, there's other kingdoms outside of Hyrule guys, we see most of them in the Downfall Timeline, the events of Link's Awakening only happen because Legend either attempts to leave or return to Hyrule via boat), return only if peace does.

Look at the placement of Lurelin Village and of most Zonai structures: by the sea, by the ocean, only later on does it fully expand into Faron, Lurelin is also a hidden village and extremely hard to find, what if Lurelin Village isn't only where the Zonai descendants reside, but also their initial settlement back in Hyrule after they thought all was safe and done 10.000 years ago, or heck maybe longer as we don't actually know the time gap between BOTW, the 10.000 years Calamity (I'll call it the Catalyst) and the rest of the Zelda timeline, where they started to use their original and script and name again: the proud Zonai people. Maybe they were like the Vikings, wayfarer people, sorcerer and warrior people by necessity who started out on the shores of Hyrule with a single settlement in case things got bad (because they'd likely be taught some measure of caution and want to stay hidden, or at least have somewhere they could fall on and leave if necessary), and then later on expanded to the rest of Faron and maybe Hyrule's underground, maybe they reclaimed some of their settlements on the skies that only they could access via the portals (which look an awful lot like access points of fast travel) or made it so that in times of crisis their structures would rise up, but then Catalyst and later on the Hylian Royalty finished the remnants off before they could be fully done, with the Sheikah doing the actual deed and painting them in a 'barbarian' and 'savage' light, leaving only those who could escape to Lurelin left and their magical ways to die out if most of the people sent there or who escaped couldn't do magic or weren't taught yet (or maybe they went specifically after the magic users). You can't tell me Ganon 10.000 years ago would leave such a blatant threat to his plans alone, specially if they wouldn't join him (NO ONE would want to pull a Zant, out of respect for Midna and The Hero if nothing else, as it's seen the Zonai worshiped the Hero and the Triforce of Courage even above the Triforce of Wisdom/Hylia/The Princess and The Triforce of Power/Demise/Ganon, they would support him whatever way they could, a first as usually the hero doesn't have much support, Zelda had the Sheikah and Ganon has the monsters and now the Yigah, but who did Link have? Who did the Hero have? They HAD to repay the favor he did to the descendant of their original leader and by the lord they'd do it specially if the Hero of Catalyst was one of them like how everyone is speculating even f it killed them, it's speculated that the luminous stones are the remains of their magic used to seal Calamity Ganon or that the energy with the glowing arm is that, maybe they all were sacrificed to Calamity Ganon by monsters to empower him one last time or sacrificed themselves to give the Hero one last boost so he could aid Zelda in doing it and we know this is a thing that can happen in game, see how the Sages we're almost sacrificed plus the hero in the Downfall Timeline, and how Dusk/Twilight Princess Zelda gave up her Triforce and Magic so Midna could live so it's very possible, maybe that's what happened and the stones are the remnants), and the Hylian Royalty has show themselves to be paranoid and very much capable of rewriting history. So between Calamity Ganon and likely their efforts, they were all but exterminated.

The Hylian Royalty made sure to write the Zonai out of history once Zelda was gone, and also made sure to keep the Hero and his origin as vague as possible but leave it implied that he was Hylian to plant themselves as better, I mean the historians before them also did it, no one ever mentions the Hero of Time being Kokiri, or the Hero of Twilight Ordonian, so why should they mention that the Hero of Catalyst was Zonai? And the Hyrule Royalty besides usually the Zelda's did as much bad stuff as good stuff and clearly disregarded the other races most of the time (y'all may forget how that one Hylian healer refused to treat Prince Ralis all because he was a Zora in Twilight Princess but I SURE DIDN'T. THAT IS A CHILD! THE ZORA PRINCE AT THAT! THEY WERE BASICALLY RISKING WAR WITH THE ZORA BY LETTING HIM DIE IF NOT FOR RENALDO, PEOPLE. I don't have much faith in them for regarding the Zonai with respect as a result, look at their description when we look at the armor related to them: barbarian, savage, those are words usually used when you want to diminish the word of a person, the Celts were called that, the Vikings, indigenous folks too, you get the idea). History is written by the victors and those left to tell the story, and if one side isn't left, what do you get? Details being rewritten or erased (again, looking at real world history: Irish Mythology, Slavic Mythology, the general Celtic cultures around the British Isles, the Aztecs, all of them written out or rewritten in some way that we don't even know what the original myth looks like, we can only speculate, Slavic mythos and culture specially got shafted), so to me that's what happened to the Zonai, the Lurelin people eventually forgot, with no one left to tell the story, only murals that are deep underground and far up in the sky that no one would remember or find until Link (Wild, Slate, Sage, whatever name y'all use or headcanon just BOTW Link in general) and his Zelda (Flora, or whichever name y'all use) eventually find them or if anyone in the Twilight Realm remember and care to tell the history somehow.

Also, since they expanded to Faron, it's very, very possible they met the Ordonian's and they intermarried with them because A: they were the closest people/tribe plus the most similar to them, and B: Geographically it would make sense, explain what happened to the Ordonians, plus also tie in nicely if anyone sees Twilight Princess Link as Breath of the Wild Link's ancestor, which I very much do by the way.

At least that's that from my perspective as someone who reads way too much history, mythology and who has been way too invested in Zelda Lore and the games ever since I was a kid, even if my sleep deprived ramblings likely look like this:

Anyway I'll stop here for today, regular posting content will likely happen later on. I kind of wrote this on mobile motivated only by sleep deprivation and spite and if I don't stop myself now I'll probably write an entire essay on this and I doubt many people would be interested in that.

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jojo-schmo · 2 years ago

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From a lot of your roleswap forgotten land au posts I've seen, I'm guessing you see the forgotten land as more of a place where humans could've once inhabited in the past? And with that question, I'd wonder what your roleswap Elfilis would be like if they met someone like Adeleine? Would it spark up those memories of humans from the past or just feel vaguely familiar to them? Also, I love your art it's so much fun!

Hello! Thank you for the lovely compliment!

And GREAT question! Lemme crack my knuckles and share some of my thoughts! Based on the lore crumbs we got fed in the game, these are some of my headcanons for the comic:

Humans were the previous inhabitants of the Forgotten Land

They were technologically capable on a scale comparable to our real-life Earth.

I don’t think they used the warp technology they got from Fecto Elfilis on a practical, civilian scale. There’s no evidence that the common person had access to this technology since the world resembles ours so much. Wouldn’t the technology make for some great transportation, killer amusement park rides, or even a good way to get rid of waste? But that’s not present in the game from what I remember! Their world is too similar to ours. They probably dedicated the technology to military and academic use.

There’s evidence that they left because they exhausted the planet’s resources, or outgrew the place. Perhaps finding a way off the planet was also what they mainly dedicated the warp technology to.

They abandoned the planet on a population-wide scale, which is why so much of their daily life is preserved. They knew they wouldn’t be coming back so they just sort of dropped whatever they were doing and left everything they didn’t need behind. That’s why the ruins that remain look so frozen in time. It’s like when stores at the mall close up shop. If you go into the space they left behind, you can often find the things they didn’t bother to take with them and get a glimpse at the kind of stuff they did there. (Side note, I friggin love urban exploration, dead malls, abandoned buildings/theme parks, the Life After People show, etc. So a big reason why I love Forgotten Land so much is because it feels like it was made specifically to cater to my interests, haha)

Left alone on the planet, the Beasts evolved to be the main species after a few generations of evolution

The planet’s resources healed after people left, so that’s how it was able to sustain life and even allow a “modern” settlement like Waddle Dee Town to thrive

As for the second half of your ask about Elfilis-!! OOOOUGH it’s a very good question and I want to answer this fully but I cannot go into detail quite yet since it’s a spoiler! But humans are indeed part of their past. That’s all I can say for now!!

Thanks for reading! Smooches! 😙

#roleswap bonus features #forgotten land roleswap #thanks for giving me an excuse to share my thoughts heeheehee #I have so so much written up that will take me a while to reveal but it will be fun and worth it!

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lazyliars · 4 years ago

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/rp

DreamXD actually slots very nicely into a working theory I've had for about two or so months now, mainly centering around one question:

What happened to Dream?

Namely, why did Dream change, when exactly did it happen, and was it solely an internal change, or was there an external force at play, specifically a preternatural one?

I think with DreamXD, we might finally have an answer.

Or at least some clues to follow. DreamXD presents a shift in every single paradigm the Dream SMP has had. Like, I think most of it is just being so utterly blind-sided by George Lore Real, but part of it is the massive ramifications of an Actual God* being present in the storyline.

((*On the other resident god of the server, Foolish:

DreamXD is different than Foolish, in that his characterization is so dramatically inhuman - Foolish talks and acts like a (somewhat eccentric) person, and his powers are, as far as we know, limited in comparison to the creative-mode godhood that DreamXD occupies. And whether that is because Foolish is not a "full" god (having been referred to as a demigod) or simply because he's spent so much time around humans, we don't know, but we do know that either way, DreamXD is NOT that.

DreamXD's voice is marked by glitches and dramatic shifts in tone, he seems to lack control over the different aspects of his personality, like the more "Dream" part vs. the darker one that threatens to eat peoples souls. The "normal" part even displays confusion when George references things that the "darker" part said, implying that it may not be fully aware of itself.

TLDR: Foolish acts more human than DreamXD, who has a very eldritch personality.))

To get right to the point:

The Dream we knew before November 16th, and the Dream we know now are not the same. Something changed, and it changed for the worse.

Consider: Dream was always antagonistic to the L'manbergians - he was always imperious to them, and he was responsible for starting a number of fights between his faction and theirs, just as many if not more than they were.

But, he was also not... evil. He'd pick fights with Tommy, the disc wars were still a thing, but the gravity of the spats they had weren't dire. They were fun. They were... actually a game. He wasn't like the way he is now. While in hindsight we can look at these events and detect a serious undertone knowing what's to come, at the time they were far from it.

There is an argument to be made that he had the same tendencies as now, just not expressed as loudly, and while I believe it's a valid argument, I disagree that it's proof of Dream always being the way he is now.

Sapnap, Badboyhalo, Sam. They all remember Dream as their friend - they remember someone who was, maybe a little aggressive and a lot competitive, but not cruel. Not needlessly murderous. Not someone who steals sentimental items and lines the walls of a disgusting museum to use against them.

Dream cut them out. Sapnap was totally blindsided. Bad doesn't seem to fully believe it. Sam blamed himself for not realizing and tried to take the weight of that crime on his own shoulders by becoming the Warden.

There's also the competing theory that what happened to Dream was purely psychological - either the circumstances slowly isolating him from his friends driving him to the do things he's done, or a desire for control that started early and continued to fester until it overshadowed everything else, or any combination of both.

And those theories are still valid, they could still be the case, but I haven't been able to shake the idea that there is something deeper at play. I can't overstate how the exile arc and everything after it have been so inhumane, so cruel, and... not exactly out of character in the sense that I could never see Dream doing them, but in the sense that I could never see him doing them for no reason.

And there really doesn't seem to be one. Dream says himself, it's like a game. He sees people as toys, puppets. And there just doesn't seem to be an inciting incident that could explain how he made the leap from semi-authoritarian leader who, despite being a warmonger, does love his friends, to heartless murderer who wants to reduce everyone he knows to dolls.

There's... ways, he could get there, but nothing that we've seen makes sense. There is a missing piece, something that must have happened from his POV that we didn't get to see because he doesn't stream.

And DreamXD could be it. This godly entity that claims that it is "a part of [Dream]" but that it isn't him entirely. That seems to share the lack of understanding of humanity that Dream has been displaying like when he asks if resurrecting Tommy was “cool.” But that still loves George. He still, despite apparently not having the same history as Dream, desperately wants to be George's friend.

If I had to pinpoint the moment Dream changed, it would be the day that he revealed that he switched sides, and was going to be fighting against Pogtopia. He was paid for this betrayal in the Revive Book.

I mark this as the turning point in my theory because it is the first time Dream mentions his affinity for chaos in the context of hurting others. However, we also know that this likely wasn't the day he actually made the decision to betray - as he revealed that there was a traitor among the Pogtopians, a fact that he likely would have learned before this.

Now, I mark George's lore stream as the introduction of DreamXD proper, and I want that on the record because it isn't technically his first appearance on the server.

Most people will remember him from Techno's stream, where he logged on to break the End Portal in a panic. I doubt the character was properly written into the lore at that time, but it fits neatly with the rest of what we know about him - a guardian of the server, and the keeper of it's rules. No contradictions.

What less people might know, is that DreamXD has made an even earlier appearance, and it's this one where things begin to get... interesting.

Around roughly October of 2020, Tubbo and Fundy did some improv'd streams centering around Demon Hunting, or rather, "Dreamon" Hunting, and it's during the first of these two streams that DreamXD makes an appearance.

The bare bones of it was - Tubbo is an experienced "Dreamon Hunter" and teaches Fundy his ways. They find Dream, and realize that he has a Dreamon inside of him, which is basically an evil version of him. They attempt to exorcise the Dreamon from Dream via various shenanigans, and eventually, they do a ceremony to free Dream. However, they apparently botch it, and unleash the Dreamon within. After more shenanigans, one attempt to fix it utilizing Fundy and Dream's wedding appears to work, but then DreamXD logs on, flys around at Tubbo and Fundy threateningly, and they end stream on the idea that there are probably more Dreamons to hunt.

Now. There's a lot to unpack here. I'm not gonna go into the nitty gritty details in this post, but I do recommend watching the Dreamon streams, as they have A LOT of details that, if this is getting incorporated into the main story line, could be important - especially the focus on duality, having TWO versions of Dream, which end up being potentially separated from each other.

(Also, they're just really funny streams. Tubbo and Fundy are at PEAK chaos and Dream plays along with their inane bit perfectly, it's just good content.)

At the time of the Dreamon streams airing, they were explicitly non-canon. IIRC Tubbo and Fundy referred to them as taking place In an “alternate universe,” which makes sense considering they would have been on opposite sides at the time (Manburg and Pogtopia.)

However.

And this is where I show you my wall of red string and newspaper clippings.

My singular piece of evidence for this comes from one line DreamXD drops. He simply says: “At least you're not hunting me.”

The Dreamon streams take place around early October. Dream reveals his betrayal of Pogtopia around November 6th-7th. The timeline of the Dreamon streams would line up perfectly with the idea that there was a catalyzing event that put Dream on the proverbial path to hell.

I do not believe that they intended the Dreamon arc to be anything other than a side story at the time, but considering that DreamXD himself was barely canon until now, I don't think it's out of the question that they took a look back at a fan-favorite minor arc, saw an opportunity to co-opt it into the current story line, and potentially fill in some holes regarding Dream's characterization all in one move.

On the question of whether this would be a GOOD storytelling move?

The Dreamon theories were prevalent during the exile arc, and I've got to say, I was never a huge fan. The detachment of Dream's actions from his intentions, and by extension his morality, never sat right with me. It feels cheap to make him a victim and say “a Dreamon did it!” in regards to all of the horrible things that he's done. It strips his agency and makes everything that happened less impactful in my opinion, and I stand by that reading.

BUT. With DreamXD introduced, I feel like it's necessary to look at this from all angles. And with the way DreamXD was characterized in George's stream, I don't think it necessarily ruins Dream's character to say that an external force was involved with his descent into evil.

Namely, the idea that whatever happened to Dream was not really a “possession” so much as a gradual loss of humanity, could be an interesting way to look at this. It implies that Dream was always capable of his actions, but grants us understanding as to why he would actually perform them, and why he might have become isolated enough from his friends that they would let this happen.

The Dream we know now could be an expression of his “worst self” brought to the surface by a Dreamon/DreamXD/other. It also begs the question of what would happen if that force were to leave him, and how it might cause yet another shift in character, especially if it were to be portrayed as less of a switch being flipped, and more of a withdrawal, with a gradual process of realizing how far gone he was.

To close this out, I've been stewing on the idea that Dream hasn't entirely been himself since the climax of the Exile Arc.

I think this theory holds water, but it's also not waterproof... there are plenty of holes, and a lot of that comes from the fact that Dream doesn't stream. We're left in the dark when deciphering his character, and what might appear to be the key, could just as easily be revealed as a red herring, or even nothing at all.

Regardless of the validity of the Dreamon theory, I think that DreamXD is one of the most interesting developments we've had on the SMP in a long time, if simply because his arrival coincides with fucking George Lore Real. God. I still don't know how to deal with that.

I always appreciate people adding to the discussion by the way! Feel free to reblog with additions if you like or leave them in the replies.

And if a single one of you comes to my blog on THIS. THE DAY OF MY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING. And calls ME a c!Dream Apologist to MY FACE..... I will be v sad.

#Dream SMP #DreamXD #Dreamwastaken #c!Dream #georgenotfound #dream smp analysis #dream smp theory #lazytext

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mybg3notebook · 4 years ago

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The Party Scene

Disclaimer Game Version: All these analyses were written up to the game version v4.1.104.3536 (Early access). As long as new content is added, and as long as I have free time for that, I will try to keep updating this information. Written in June 2021.

In these “scene posts” I will explore the scene of the title looking for the information in the dialogues. What I will be looking for is how much Gale “lies”, how much lore is provided, and any extra detail that may be of our interest to highlight. At the end of these posts there are summary points for those who don't want to read the whole post.

Additional disclaimers about meta-knowledge and interpretations in this (post) while disclaimers about Context in this (one).

The party scene, I personally think, needs plenty of polishing. The fact that many characters can have a "jealous" behaviour towards Tav no matter their approval looks suspicious to me. Gale's case is even weirder because if Tav did not romanced him at all, Gale will still share those judgemental comments that seem to come from jealousy, as well as strange dialogue options about “being a bad loser” when the context is not romantic at all. This would make some sense—to a certain extent—if Tav romanced him, but if Tav locked him as a friend, it has no purpose. Especially if Tav explores the option of suggesting him to spend the night together, which ends with Gale rejecting the situation because "they are just good companions" after such display of incoherent jealousy coming from a char who values privacy (and therefore would not meddle into Tav's personal affairs). It seems to contradict his character and therefore, it makes me suspect that the whole party scene is just very raw and unpolished in general.

As I said, the party interaction is very confusing since it doesn't follow the relationship context created by Tav, and in Gale's case looks inconsistent with his char as well, inviting a strong misinterpretations of his character (this is probably a consequence of the decision of making Gale part of EA in the last moment). So this scene analysis may be a bit messy since the scenes are messy too (hence this post's length. I'm sorry).

Whether Gale was locked into friendship or romance, Gale drops his famous line:

As they say in Waterdeep: In wine there is truth. That's usually followed by: In water there is good sense. Good sense will have to wait till the morrow.

A great warning line from a narrative point of view: he is basically saying that what will be shared that day under the effect of wine is true, but it certainly won't be "good sense".

In a friendship path, he would not want to waste Tav's time any longer, and will bid them a good night while promising a bed-story the next day. In that case, the wine line could be interpreted as the final decision of a confession that will happen the next day: Gale has finally reached a degree of trust in Tav that gives him enough courage to finally speak about the details of the "orb" (and I emphasise details because in broader aspect, he already shared what's most important: the "orb" in his chest is a dangerous thing. If Tav assisted with his death protocol, this is undeniable by now, unless Tav allowed him to keep his privacy).

In a romantic path, this wine line could be interpreted as the decision of inviting Tav to share a night, and explaining the details in the morning, the “good sense”. After the wine phrase, we have other piece of prose in which Gale describes a book that it's a bit more than a sexual book:

Gale: Allow me to make the following proposition: there is a book that circulates in Amn, detailing the first thousand nights of a newly-wed king and queen. They turned everything they did into an art. The art of conversation. The art of taste, time honoured and newly acquired. The art of the body. The exploration and acceptance of the self and the other. The art of the night itself. I say we take a page from their book.

Considering that Gale is not only a verbose char, but also a poet and a scholar, the enumeration of the concepts in the description of the book speaks a lot in my opinion. Gale is not inviting Tav to a night of sex (let's remember he never uses that word in EA) but to a deeper degree of "intimacy", as he calls it. There is a lot more involved in what he asks for: confessions in the art of conversation, pleasures in the art of the body, and, hopefully, acceptance. For Gale, acceptance is a big deal: it’s not by chance that he left it last in the enumeration, summarising the whole concepts with the "art of the night". Gale is truly eager to access these concepts, and in doing so, I personally believe he shows a fair level of naivety on this matter. It seems (especially later with his unpolished arguments in the morning) he felt he needed this level of intimacy—of acceptance first—so he could speak the details openly. He wants to have this night before any confession because he thinks that it would allow him to acquire something that would prevent the abandonment that he viscerally fears: acceptance.

Any of the options taken by Tav keeps showing his eagerness. He wants this to happen in whatever terms Tav desires: as a brand new experience (“blank slates on blank sheets”) or with the promise of commitment (writing the prequel of a newly-wed couple). Or if Tav romanced Gale and then chose to spend the night with another companion, Gale will still insist in sleeping together, showing he was open for Tav to have casual sex as long as the "commitment" part would be established with him. This is reinforced by the fact that, if Tav never shared the Weave with Gale, there is no way to sleep with him: Gale is not a character for one-stand nights. He craves for deep connection, for commitment, in whatever fashion he can get it. Mystra taught him not to ask about exclusivity after all.

Gale is so desperate to have this deep connection that if Tav doubts about spending the night with him, he will drop a line which can trigger an alarm in the player:

Tav: I'm not sure you're the one I want. Gale: That's because you've yet to find out what you're missing. Doubt is a spoilsport. Cast it aside.

Gale, the scholar, the one who kept encouraging Tav to doubt and to think critically about everything, suggests to dismiss doubts. Once more we see he needs this to happen. Some players interpret this as manipulation as well. I personally think this also says something else in Gale: since the dev's notes show no second intentions in the only two scenes where dev's notes existed, and instead, they display how much fear Gale has for a second abandonment, Gale is showing here his inexperience with relationships as well as a constant fear for abandonment.

Gale is looking for commitment, for something that can last longer than Mystra's affair did: he wants something solid, but his inexperience in this field made him "acquire" knowledge of how things should work via romanticized means such as books and poetry. In his mind, the acceptance he needs can only be acquired due to the "art of the night", very well detailed in this book he describes.

It's true that, all this part, if we completely ignore the narrative weight that the book has for a book-based character such as Gale, can be interpreted as Gale manipulating Tav to have sex alone; desperate to obtain it, doing everything in order to get it. We can also see the description of the book as a “bait”, as some people do. It's a valid interpretation, especially for a Tav who respected Gale's privacy during the Loss Scene and the protocol, so that Tav has no information with which to connect the dots. But I personally find it an over-magnification to see him as a "mastermind of manipulation". The few dev's notes we have about Gale seem to confirm that nothing shadier than his “orb” despair and his fear for abandonment are going on. These fears are constantly echoing in his mind, and they are, as I said in other posts, the main reasons why he becomes emotional and prone to make mistakes.

Is this action manipulative? It can be seen as “withholding information” by any Tav who didn't push him to explain, otherwise, all the information in a general way has been offered already and there is no withholding at all. Is Gale a manipulative character? In EA we don't see a pattern of that behaviour to qualify him as such. He has been quite honest, explaining in all scenes what he can say and what he cannot, drawing his boundaries clean and clear. We saw him struggling with the explanation of what he lost. The few Dev's notes reinforce mainly his fear for abandonment, lacking any manipulative behaviour behind his actions. His pattern, in my opinion, is that he tends to make mistakes in his emotional state, which is mostly triggered by the “orb” and the concept of “abandonment”. Not so much with Mystra per ser. He seems to be nostalgic but more aware of what loving a God causes (his regret is explicit during the conversation of Karsus). He is quite done with "her love as a lover", but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to be forgiven nor he doesn't love her as the essence of Magic itself. More details in the post of "Mystra and her Chosen ones".

After the party, Tav can have a romantic conversation before the sex “intimacy” or can reject the chance. What seems incoherent in this part is when Tav is not in the mood for sex, and Gale simply cuts off the situation. He is a character who craves connection and intimacy, and pretty much like Wyll, he needs a bond before stepping into romance. To waste a night of celebration that could be used to share any other level of intimacy (let's say, talking? The man clearly LOVES to talk) seems strange. If this reaction is truly meant to be in the game, it would seem that he certainly was more desperate for sex than what all the previous scenes hinted, but in that case it would have done little sense to leave the tale of the wizard for the next night. Gale already knew Tav did not want to have sex, so no point in delaying the explanation of the details. I personally suspect these incoherences are a consequence of Gale being added into EA at the last moment, making him more “shadier” than he is meant to be.

To justify my opinion that this seems to be an unpolished scene: if Gale is not romanced, and conditions are given, Lae'Zel will spend the night with him, talking. Why would Gale prefer to share a night of talks with a companion with whom he had not the Weave connection before, but he won't do it with a Tav who shared it? I see some incongruence here, probably as the result of being added into the EA in a rush. His scenes are less polished and much more messier than the other companions' (certainly not more than Wyll, though) and his bugs and triggering priority show it.

This part is also seen as "coercive" by some players:

Tav: I’m sorry, but I actually don’t think I can do this. I’m just not in the mood. Gale: Not even a simple kiss would change your mind? Tav: No, it wouldn’t.

Tav: Maybe a kiss was enough Gale: Are you sure? One kiss is like one chord in an entire symphony. It begs for more.

Gale: (disapproval) What a pity. One should never be afraid to live life to the fullest. Before we part.. I know there are many things about me that remain shrouded in mystery. You’ve been very patient with me, and I appreciate that. You’ve brought me back from the grey shores of death. You know of my condition, and you know about my unfortunate efforts to win Mystra’s favour, but those are but the broad strokes. The time has come to paint you the true picture. So come find me another night, yes? No kisses, just words. (Leaves)

Asking seems to be coercive for some people just because there is a disapproval. I personally separate very clearly what Tav sees and receives as information from the NPCs and what I, the player, do. Tav should react to what they see, but the player is having a “meta-knowledge” of the situation with the info of the narrator and the approval system. The player knows Gale is disappointed in not having intimacy now, and he expresses it. Then he behaves completely natural, and continues talking (of course) about what he will explain about in the following morning (I don't understand what impedes him to say it in that moment: is it the wine? He fears his charisma checks are at a disadvantage due to the wine? Is it just a reflection of the rush in which he was added to the game? We will see in the full release. To me it looks inconsistent.)

Anyways. The scene continues in the early morning or simply the next night depending on what option Tav picked. Here, Gale presents the details of the revelation: “It is a story full of answers long overdue. It is a story of a man who fell in love with a goddess.”

Tav: You're really about to tell me about another lover? What's wrong with you? Gale :I couldn’t do it before. I couldn’t ruin the chance for us to happen. You were there. How could I say no to you? Dev's notes: Gale revealed he was in love with Mystra. He tells this the morning after. Understandably, the player can react negatively to his timing. He tries to explain himself.

This line clearly shows that there was an intention in hiding the relationship he had with Mystra, which it's an “answer long overdue” (is it?). Now, some players consider this the proof of Gale's manipulations; the greatest betrayal, because people are entitled to know all the details of their partner's past before sleeping with them. Other players consider that it's in poor taste to disclose this exactly the morning after sharing the night with Gale. And I agree. However, I see a scene with a lot of over-magnifications and making things more problematic than they truly are. In my opinion, “the chance for us to happen” is deeply linked to the book of Amn for all the reasons explained before. It's not by chance that this book has such a weight in the scene. Gale also shows with this line that he has no experience nor idea how relationships develop.

I also think that Gale fails so much in delivering decent lines in this scene because, 1) this is a very unpolished text in EA, or 2) this is very on purpose, emphasising that Gale is ready to speak about the two topics that turn him into an emotional disaster and his word choices could be attributed to as someone failing many charisma checks. Maybe that's the intention.

If Tav considers this the greatest of the betrayals they can tell him to leave and Gale will not resist the rejection, leaving the party immediately and facing one of his biggest fears: Abandonment. And once more, the abandonment as a consequence of his own mistake. The irony of this path.

If Tav allows him to explain, Gale will accept any "judgement after telling his story". This is something very related to Gale's approvals: to have a complete grasp of a situation, you need to have all the evidence, hear all the details of the event, before drawing a conclusion. And curiously, no matter what aggressive option Tav picks, Gale gives no disapproval unless he is forced to leave the party. So, after some dramatic reaction, Gale will try to proceed with the telling.

Tav: It’s clear as day you are talking about yourself, you know Gale: I know, but a bit of narrative distance will make it all so much easier in the telling. Indulge me.

From here, Gale gives Tav another courtesy gesture: to pick the version in which this will be explained. He clarifies that the long version, more pompous and verbose and in third person, is the one he would prefer due to the distance. Since the first meeting on the road, or the stew scene, passing through the Loss Scene, we see this pattern again: Gale, the character who always has a lot of things to speak about, has also topics that are difficult to explain and needs to use narrative tricks to do it. Not by chance he is a reserved person: those topics he can't talk about are always personal.

Long version

Gale: Once upon a time, not quite that long ago, there lived a wizard in a tower. The wizard was what one might call a prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it, like a musician or a poet. Such was his skill that it earned him the attention of the mother of magic herself. The Lady Of Mysteries, Mystra.

Tav: What did Mystra’s attention feel like? Gale: Love. Dev's Notes: nostalgic, regretful, bitter, sad, lost romance–all with a bit of hesitation on the front of the line. Tav :He sounds like a very talented individual Gale: He was. Even though it was in Mystra’s affections that his true power lay. Tav: Teacher’s pet, was he? Gale: He fancied himself much more than that. He fancied himself favoured above all others.

These three options give interesting additional information: Gale was convinced that Mystra's attention was love, because he was young and naive. He is now very aware that his talent meant little, because the true power he had was in Mystra's affections, meaning in being a loved Chosen one. He fancied himself unique, as a Chosen would do.

Gale: Perhaps it was not quite love, Dev's Notes: A little embarrassed Gale: but you see, the wizard was but a very young man. It was most certainly love to him. Mystra showed him the secrets behind the veils. The gossamer veils first, draped across the Weave. The delicate veils next, draped across her body. ‘Chosen One’ she whispered, as she slipped them off completely.

This is another fragment with interesting, yet disturbing lines: Gale now, as a narrator, questions if that past feeling was Love. He has matured his sentiments for Mystra, they are less "teenager-like". He is convinced that in the past it was love to him, implying that now he has doubts (concept reinforced once more by the end of the scene). The disturbing line is the definition of "very young man", which I will talk about in the post of "Gale Hypotheses- Part 1", section: "Grooming".

Tav: The veils draped across the Weave? Gale: Indeed. What most wizards perceive is but the ripple of the Weave’s surface. Untold wonders lie beyond. I enjoyed them for a while, as we enjoyed each other.

Once more, in these details, the narrative reinforces how intense is the connection of Mystra with a Chosen one. Again, this is lore information. Chosen ones have a deep connection with Mystra/the Weave/Magic, which is unique. More on this matter can be read in the post about "Mystra and her Chosen ones".

Gale: One day all too soon, the whispers stopped. The goddess spurned the mortal. The veils were drawn once more, and the wizard was left behind heartbroken.

Tav: Poor wizard Gale: Poor wizard. Silly wizard too, for he wouldn’t take no for an answer Tav: What happened next? // I hate to say it, but he really could have seen this coming Gale: He was blinded by love. Good stories are rife with lovers’ follies after all. Tav: Perhaps she, like you, had other lovers she didn’t tell him about. Gale : She might well have had, but that didn’t stop the wizard from trying to reclaim her affections.

Gale: Like so many of the heartbroken, he did something infinitely foolish. One has to think big if one seeks to win back a goddess. So the wizard thought big. [Here he explains all about Karsus who] sought to usurp the goddess of magic so that he could become a god himself. He almost managed but not quite, and his entire empire – Netheril – came crashing down around him as he turned to stone. The magic unleashed that day was phenomenal, rolling like the prime chaos that outdated creation. A fragment of it was caught and sealed away in a book. No ordinary book, mind you; a tome of gateways that contained within it a bubble of Astral Plane. It was a fragment of primal Weave locked out of time – locked away from Mystra herself. ‘What if’, the silly wizard thought. ‘What if after all this time, I could return this lost part of herself to the Goddess?”

Another part of the scene that keeps giving us a lot of information: Gale is very aware now how silly he was in his youth (at this point, one can almost remember his words during Arabella's quest: she is not innocent but that doesn't mean she is guilty) and his past young self was unable to take a no as an answer (which apparently Gale learnt very well when before this revelation or after, Tav can reject him and he simply leaves the party without putting much resistance, despite knowing that Tav only has a fragment of the big picture). The other answer reinforces his blindness by this strange concept that Gale thought it was love, and pretty much uses the word Folly for describing or making an analogy with his past, which again, it's not a casual word: Folly is a formal way to say stupidity and it's also a word that Gale uses to compare his mistake with Karsus' folly. As an extra, the last answer seems to explain very much what he does when Tav romanced him and then slept with another companion. Details of this in the post "Gale Hypotheses- Part 2", section: "Proposition to Cheat".

Short version:

This version is shorter and more into the point without an excess of dramatic details that may end up annoying Tav more than making the process of comprehension better. The short version makes much more clear where Gale is standing: the facts are presented without his typical pattern of embellishing the story.

Gale: […] I am what one might call a wizard prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the Weave, but compose it like a virtuoso. Such was my skill that it earned me the attention of Mystra herself. I soon fell in love with her, and she returned my affections. […] Before long Mystra tired of me. What was I, after all, but a mortal plaything in sacred hands? You have to realise I was heartbroken. I was a young man, she was my first love. I thought it would last forever.

This part reinforces once more that he is very aware that a relationship with a goddess was very unbalanced, that Mystra was his first love, he was a young man, and he thought it would last forever.

For completion's sake, the goblin version has a different introduction:

Gale: Let's just get this over with. No doubt you've guessed by now there was something rather special about my relationship with the goddess Mystra. The thing is, we were lovers once. I am what one might call a wizard prodigy [...follows the same speech of the short version]

Three versions converge in the kneeling. The scene in this point has a different narrative value; a proud character as he is, who has a deep regret for his mistake with the “orb” (he says it explicitly in the "Loss Scene" post) kneels before Tav to humbly show the traumatic experience by placing their hand on his heart, where the “orb” resides:

Gale: Here. Place your hand over my heart. Let me show you Narrator: You feel the tadpole quiver as you realise Gale is letting you in. Into the dark. You see through Gale’s eyes, staring down the corridors of a dread memory. A book, bound, then suddenly opened. Inside there are no pages, only a swirling mass of blackest Weave that pounces. It’s teeth, it’s claws, it’s unstoppable as it digs through you and becomes part of you. And gods, is it ever hungry…

This scene speaks of opennesses in all senses, honest and without any interest of pretence: Gale is showing his greatest regret, the lowest of the lowest he reached, the despair that it inspires. For once, he is not talking, he is showing it (because the experience is the one that makes him speechless and its memory seems to cause him great pain too due to the facial gesticulation). And what Tav sees shows again that Gale has nothing extra to hide: this has been the same exact information that Tav could extract from him in earlier opportunities with successful tadpole intrusions. So, if Tav never reveals that they saw this in Gale during the stew scene, Tav will realise that Gale kept his promise: he was reserved for a while, trusting slowly in Tav, to finally open up and show that he was going to explain the “why” much more later, because it's truly difficult for Gale to speak about.

1-Yank your hand away Gale: Terrifying isn’t it? And that is only the beginning 3-Tav: Gods – why show me this? Gale: I’m sorry, but I had to. After all, that is only the beginning 4-Tav: I slept with a monster. Gale: I didn’t sleep with a monster despite the tadpole in your head. We are none of us monsters. We are merely hatcheries for monstrous things. So we fight them.

This is one of the most ominous information Gale gives us, in my opinion: The experience of how the “Black Weave” rushed into his body is grotesque and painful, and it's meant to cause despair. But that was only the beginning: Gale is everyday dealing with that feeling, but on a bigger scale as its hunger increases with each passing day. The descriptions of his emotions during the artefact scenes adds more despair and anxiety to it. Gale is living in the worst mental state that a person can, but he manages it thanks to his wizard training and the Weave he consumes (he is still alive thanks to Magic, of all things). This shows the mental power of a wizard in DnD. And if you read the post about "Well-known Characters" section: "Elminster", Gale could have been inspired in him since I can see this level of endured torture similar to the one that Elminster was exposed to when he was kidnapped and dragged to the Hells.

Gale: This Netherese taint.. this orb, for lack of a better word, is balled up inside my chest. And it needs to be fed. As long as it absorbs Weave it remains stable – to an extent. The moment it becomes unstable, however..[...] It will erupt. I don’t know the exact magnitude of the eruption, but given my studies of Netherese magic, I’d say even a fragment as small as the one I carry…. It’d level a city the size of Waterdeep. Dev's Notes: He admits he’s a walking disaster waiting to happen. This is said very seriously. The truth is finally out and he has no idea how the player will react to such monstrous news.”

Tav: I should godsdamned kill you Gale: Perhaps that is what I deserve, but you deserve no such thing. To kill me is to unleash the orb. I understand your anger, I do […]

Here is where we know that Gale calls it “orb”, but it's not an orb. For more details, read the post about the "Orb". Tav already knew since the Stew scene that Gale could cause a catastrophe without artefacts. In this scene we just get some extra details about it.

Gale: It is my truth, finally revealed. It is this folly that led Mystra to abandon me completely. I can only hope you won’t abandon me as well. After all we’ve been through.. (After the night we spent together). Surely we can brave even this side by side. Dev's notes: Solemn. Full of yearning his news will not lead to him being abandoned by the player.

And there, Gale's “truth” is “revealed” (not truly, it is only more detailed in the information): We know that the Weave he consumes from the artefacts keeps this condition stable (something we already knew since the Stew Scene) and it will erupt if it doesn't consume artefacts (which is something we knew since the Stew Scene too). So the revelation scene is not so much of a revelation. The whole scene has a writing with a lot of weight in “shocking” revelations and “dramatic” reactions when the context provided shows that there is little to be shocked about, in my opinion. If anything, this whole scene needs serious polishing.

Then it follows the “coercive” part according to some players, which again... it's only Gale hoping this situation doesn't end in a second abandonment. The concept that the “intimacy” of the shared night gives more reasons to stay by his side seems pretty naïve, but maybe that was the intention (thus my suspicion that Gale has no experience at all in relationships, only what he learnt from romantic books). What it's clear is that after the detailed explanation, Gale is desperate to avoid a second abandonment, yet he knows it's unavoidable. This can be seen when Tav doesn't forgive his betrayal (?) of not saying anything about Mystra or the "orb" (he did in the Stew and following scenes, but this context is not acknowledged here), and Gale simply accepts it, showing that Mystra's experience made him learn to accept a no, leaving the party forever (in EA).

Tav: No. This is too large a betrayal. Gale: I see. I am sorry. I am sorry that it had to come to this. All that’s left to say is farewell. Dev's Notes: A slight hesitation, hurt but understanding. He makes a polite little bow, then we see him walk away.

Really, I don't understand what happened with this scene because it's either ignoring any annoyance that the situation can cause on a Tav who didn't push Gale to talk, or it offers an over-reaction when all the information has been shared already, at least in a very generalised way during the Stew Scene. A Tav who doesn't push Gale to speak will have no more details than the ones provided during the Stew Scene at this point in the game, but one who pushed Gale will basically have the whole story covered. The Rpg-options we get here are so white-and-black, and not even coherent with the context, no wonder so many players turned Gale into a “mastermind in manipulation”. This scene is very unpolished in my opinion.

Tav: Gale, are you still in love with Mystra? Gale: I’ll be honest with you; I don’t know. She is my muse still, the embodiment of magic, but the embodiment of love? Only if we ever meet again will I know

Here we have once more confirmation that Gale questions what kind of love he has for Mystra. Considering all the context he gave us previously, it seems that his love for his Goddess as a devotee will never cease, but romantic love is a big question for him. He has given Tav all the hints to make them suspect that Gale probably never knew romantic love outside his experience with Mystra or what he could read in books.

Tav: What would permanently rid you of the orb? Gale: The orb was kept safe and inert in a pocket of Astral Plane, suspended in time. If I can somehow manage to expel it from my body while in the Astral Plane, it will be rendered inert again. Alternatively, I could learn to control it’s chaotic magic, that is; to succeed where I failed before. But without Mystra’s favour, I don’t see how that may come to pass. Of course there could be different answers as well. Faerûn brims with more magic than any one wizard could fathom, let alone comprehend. Who knows what outlandish solutions may yet present themselves?

The last bits of information are more interesting: Gale thought of two possible solutions to solve his “orb”problem. One is to expel the object out of his body in the Astral Plane where time doesn't exist so its hunger or ticking mechanism stops, so the magic will remain inert. The other option is to control Netherese magic. He informed Tav that he already tried this option, so it's clear that Gale's intention when obtaining this book was to master this strange piece of Weave and give the secrets of that control to Mystra. But he failed.

Summary of the post:

There is an important emphasis in acceptance: only through acceptance Gale can open up to share the details of his mistake. He wants to have this night before any confession because he wants to acquire this acceptance that, in his mind, would prevent the abandonment he viscerally fears.

In all the scenes there are many hints suggesting Gale is very inexperienced in relationships: the acceptance he needs can only be acquired due to the "art of the night'', which is one of the main points in this book. His notions related to relationships seem to have been acquired via romanticised means: books and poetry. He may believe that intimacy guarantees acceptance.

Gale “reveals” his truth: he was a Chosen of Mystra, he was Mystra's lover, and the “orb” problem was a mistake he made to earn Mystra's attention. All this information is now detailed here when it had been shared already. There is little “revelation” in it.

Gale's actions can be interpreted as manipulative for a Tav who respects his privacy and has little information about the “orb”. But hardly the pattern extends to his behaviour. His need for acceptance makes him make bad decisions.

A Tav who pushed Gale to speak in previous scenes finds little new information in this one: they will have a more detailed picture of the situation and they will know that Gale and Mystra were lovers.

Gale is very aware that Mystra's love was not exactly love, but it felt like that when he was young. He also knows that the true power of a Chosen is related to being loved by her. He is also aware that a relationship with a goddess is a very unbalanced one. He states that Mystra was his first love, the affair happened when he was a (very) young man, and he thought it would last forever.

Potent narrative image: Gale, a proud character with great confidence, kneels before Tav to humbly show the traumatic experience by placing his hand on his heart, where the “orb”resides.

In general, the whole tone of the scene jumps constantly in my opinion. Tav's options are not toned to the general atmosphere of the scene: or they ignore completely the value of what Gale says, or over-react magnifying information as if it were the first time Gale says it, when a lot of it was shared during the Stew Scene and following scenes. It feels like a very unpolished scene, probably as the result of Gale being a companion added to the EA in a rush.

The Dev's notes explain the whole situation as:

Dev's notes: synopsis: The principal portion of this dialog consists of two main parts: a romantic night intro that leads to a fade to black and implied intimacy, and a section in which Gale tells you his true story in either of two ways (chosen by the player). These are the ‘story’ variant in third person, and the slimmed down ‘story-light’ version in first person. It is the story of how he fell in love with the goddess Mystra, was spurned by her after a brief affair, and how he got himself into big trouble when trying to win her back. The dialog was originally meant to contain only the above, but for recording and cinematic purposes, the story sections of it are also used in a variety of other ways, that is to say, the dialog also contains an intro section in which the scene begins with no romantic intent. In specific cases though, Gale will still try his luck, which you’ll see in the repeat of some lines of an earlier dialog.

This shows that, so far, the intention was always to make Gale explain the “true story” in this scene, which was the one we were told. I think that expecting more secrets would water down this intention here. In any case, the future secrets, if there are some left, may be secret even for Gale himself.

This post was written in June 2021. → For more Gale: Analysis Series Index

#bg3 meta #gale #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale

31 notes · View notes

epicspheal · 4 years ago

Note

Hi again! Just wanted to know your opinion on the Pokemon villains, especially towards a chance of redemption. I think the only villains that kinda got redeemed was Archie and Maxie, learning that what they did was a mistake ( a little too late tho) and maybe Colress ( being the true neutral he is), through the Alola games. But yeah, what's you're opinion on them?

Hi Ihopethisendswell!

I’ve been sitting on this ask for a bit just trying to gather my thoughts. To be honest, the Pokemon Villains are some of my least favorite aspects of the games, mainly because in my opinion they’re rarely handled well (except for original Team Plasma and Team Skull, those guys are amazing and I except no slander of either)

I’ll start with Team Rocket. They have a very basic but realistic evil goal (especially in a setting as fantastic as the world of Pokemon). I honestly can’t say I dislike them. I would like to see more teams using their concept of just taking advantage of Pokemon for profit and selfish reasons rather than trying to tie in some philosophy (because to be honest in my opinion most of the teams who try to use philosophy to justify their extremism just end up looking really stupid for the most part). I like Kanto Team Rocket better than Johto’s plot and Rainbow Rocket was only good for the “what if” aspect and adding to the new multiverse lore. As far as redemption...I don’t think Giovanni or the grunts really deserve it.

For Team Aqua and Team Magma, I actually like them in a “so bad it’s good” type of way (definitely nostalgia based as even though I got into Pokemon during the original anime, I didn’t get to play a main game until gen 3). Like the idea of having two separate evil teams competing against each other to see who can enact their plans first is a super cool concept in my opinion but wasted on the idiocy of the “expand the land/expand the sea” goals. I will say I enjoyed their Emerald enhanced plot and ORAS’s expansion on them in the Delta Episode. I think the Emerald clash of Kyogre and Groudon was the most logical conclusion to their schemes. As far as redemption goes, I do think Maxie and Archie should’ve served some jail time like Chairman Rose because their plan was just as catastrophic if not more so.

For Team Galactic, ugh. They’re my second least favorite. They were just boring and made an already painfully slow game even more intolerable. This is where I give the Pokemon Anime credit, they made them more interesting in the games and I actually really loved how it was adapted (proof that when they want to the anime can have some really solid writing). Redemption for them? Nope, you literally tried to rewrite the world. Even with Cyrus’ tragic backstory...still nope.

Now for Team Plasma. This is how you do an evil team. Easily one of my favorite teams to actually go up against in game. I like that they actually tried to tackle an ethical question with Pokemon in Team Plasma. N was a fantastic antagonist and I’m glad he saw the light at the end and he definitely deserves the redemption. And all of the Team Plasma grunts who actually believed in N’s goal deserve redemption. I really enjoyed what they did in BW2 where they had the Plasma House with the misguided former grunts and the confrontation between the old team plasma and Neo Team Plasma about how ostracized the reformed grunts are. Although I don’t like Neo Team Plasma as much (although the outfits are 100 times cooler), it does make sense that the ones still loyal to Ghetsis would try for another attempt. Also it took me a second runthrough of White 2 to really appreciate Colress and his “this is for science” mantra but you know what, I love him. Him and N are really awesome and deserve the redemption. Ghetsis can go jump in a fucking volcano though, him and his followers (: As for Team Flare, they suffer a lot from not getting a sequel or third version. But like Team Galactic the anime adaptation did a lot of good for them. Team Flare is like Team Aqua/Magma for me in that I think they’re so bad it’s actually good. They actually had some funny dialogue bits and there was actually a lot of potential for them storywise if we had of gotten another Kalos game. The Great War, and AZ all had a lot of potential. Plus having an Elite 4 member working with them? That was more of a twist than Lysandre being the boss. And the Xerosic post-game plot was heartbreaking. Redemption wise though, it’s kind of hard to do with a group who literally tried to nuke the world.

Team Skull. I love these guys. I love them so much. This is another example for me personally of an evil team done right. I really liked how they weren’t even evil, just frustrated youth who were failed by Alola’s tradition. Like I could seriously go on about how toxic the Alolan community really is if the fact that a child failing the island challenge (a coming of age journey) somehow makes them feel so down about themselves and feel like rejects to the point they join a literal gang to find some sort of belonging (this is of course not talking about the origins of Team Skull being from a disgraced Kahuna who incurred the wrath of the tapus). Like I feel so sorry for them and I wanted to yell at the Kahunas in game for them not recognizing that their traditions were creating the Team Skull problem. Team Skull definitely deserved their redemption as they reformed in the post game

Aether Foundation though, ugh. Easily my least favorite. I really disliked the Aether Family as a whole as I felt they were invasive to the plot and that the focus should’ve been on team skull and how traditions while important can have harmful consequences. I will say it was nice to have female antagonist and I vastly prefer SM Lusamine to USUM Lusamine. USUM Lusamine was more redeemable but she was less interesting and USUM really screws up Lillie’s development which I dislike (which is saying something because I really can’t stand Lillie).

Team Yell was a disappointment. Honestly there was so much potential because like Team Skull they are a very grounded team (as you can see, I like the grounded in reality teams more so than the philosphical extremist ones). Like I can totally understand why they would form considering how dilapidated Spikemuth is. The issue is that they aren’t given a chance to do much actual evil. Even though Team Skull wasn’t really all that bad, they still did bad things. Which is realistic given their desperation. As desperate as Team Yell was to get Marnie to become champion I was expecting more sabotage and outright hostility. Which while being bad, would be realistic given their situation. That and the fact that no one really calls out the fact the irony of their sabotage actually delegitimizing Marnie’s strengths as a trainer. Like is Marnie truly one of the strongest trainers from the gym challenge or were their people who could’ve beat her who got targeted by Team Yell and ultimately dropped out? Not to mention the implications of ongoing beef between Team Yell and Chairman Rose. Again so much potential wasted. If they had of just made them just a tad more hostile and had someone point out how they were unintentionally making Marnie look bad, they’d easily be one of my favorites.

Macros Cosmos. I think this was the team most screwed over by the plot, and the controversial anime adaptation did them only a few favors. I’ve said this before, but the royal twins historical manipulation plot was more interesting than Rose’s “I’m going to start the Galarian Apocalypse to save Galar” plot. And the sad part is Rose could’ve been a very compelling antagonist. I’ll say that if they really wanted to make Rose an antagonist, they could’ve taken away the Eternatus plot and just used his poor communication skills to cause problems for the gym leaders and champion. A bad boss with impatience and crappy communication skills is something many people can relate to, and I think would’ve been a more interesting plot than trying to force philosophical extremism on to him because.

And lastly the Royal Twins. Man I hated them, but also they’re some of my favorite antagonists. I think people at times look solely at their goofy hairstyles and entitledness and forget how dangerous these two actually were. They had a whole network of spies loyal to them? Imagine a game with them as the main protagonists where it gets to the point you can’t trust the NPCs because who knows which one supports them. Also their historical revision plot is something so relevant today with textbooks being written in a way to minimize horrible atrocities such as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Granted their plot in game left a lot to be desired, but they had so much potential and honestly a better reasoning to want to awake Eternatus than Rose did. As you can see I prefer the more grounded teams such as Rocket, Plasma, Skull and Yell (in theory) and the Royal Twins given how their goals relate to the real world. I also think in many ways Gamefreak does better with those plots wiriting wise than the philosophical extremist teams.

#team rocket #team aqua #team magma #team galactic #team plasma #neo team plasma #team flare #team skull #aether foundation #team yell #macro cosmos #sordward and shieldbert #ask epic spheal #ask me anything #thanks for the ask!

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kibleedibleedoo · 4 years ago

Text

Hero of your own fate

Chapter 10

A.N. - I got really into the lore while writing this chapter so I thought it would be interesting to talk about it with the dwarves. Plus how else am I supposed to tell Fili and Kili about guns

Word count - 2,223

Pairings - Thorin x Fem!Reader

Warnings - war, death, mental illness, self doubt

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-Your POV-

It was a few hours before you decided to return to the company. Thorin made good on his word everyone was dressed in their proper attire and the troublesome two were on their best behaviour. He gave a gentle nod in your direction causing a fresh wave of red to flush your face. Kili looked like he was going to say something but was rather aggressively elbowed by Dwalin before a single syllable left his lips.

“Did ye find anything good to read in the library lass?” Dwalin asked as you took your place on your bedroll. He was looking for a way to keep conversation away from what happened earlier.

“Not really most of it was in Sindarin which isn't really helpful when you’ve only heard a few words spoken.” You shrugged.

“Typical elves.” Fili grumbled causing the rest of the dwarves to mumble in agreement. Bifur took this moment to pass you a plate of something.

“Ablâg” he gestured moving his hand to his mouth. The plate was full of a collection of meats and cheeses and some bread. The food had gone quite cold but you didn’t mind. Apparently, the elves had delivered food to the company instead of summoning you all to dine together while you were away.

“Thank you, Bifur.” You smiled at the friendly dwarf. “Lord Elrond was kind enough to teach me some of his history when he found me staring at one of the murals. It just seems so amazing that you have confirmation of your creators and nobody thought to tell me Gandalf is a lesser-god.” At this the company looked at you confused. Every single one of them. It felt like their eyes were staring into your soul. “Did you lot not know he was a Miar?” It took a few moments before anyone responded.

“Aye. That we knew” Gloin finally chimed in. “What do you mean confirmation of our creators?”

“Lord Elrond said that Eru created elves and men, one awakening with the stars and the other when the sun was created. He also said that Dwarves were created by Aulë and you slumbered deep underground until after the Elves awakened during the age of stars. He also said that these Valar live in the Undying Lands and something about the elves being able to cross the sea to reach Valinor.” Not a single member of the company had looked in another direction since you began speaking. Even Bombur had stopped chewing whatever he was eating at that particular moment. Anxiety hit you like a ton of bricks. You had started so confident but now it felt like you were talking nonsense. “I think that’s what he said.”

“Lass did your parents not teach you this when you were little?” Bofur spluttered out, tack never had been his strong suit. Gandalf took this moment to finally interrupt the conversation with his arrival. He had an uncanny knack for interrupting conversations precisely when they needed him.

“It would have been hard for them to seeing as they wouldn’t know it themselves” Gandalf cut in. “Our y/n is not of our world master dwarf. She comes from a land very different from this one. A world untouched by Eru himself. A world without great evil but full of selfishness and greed.”

“But who made you and your kin?” Fili directed the questioning back to you. There was a hum of agreement from all of the dwarves except Thorin, who once again refused to look in your direction. You glanced at Gandalf for more help but the wizard had already made himself comfy puffing away on his pipe.

“Well, we don’t really know.” Everyone seemed thoroughly dissatisfied by that answer. “We have theories and dozens of religions but mainly people decide based on the information available, what aligns with their moral compass as well as how and where they were raised. It varies from person to person especially in the modern era where science tells us more about our past than ever before and people are less likely to be persecuted for their beliefs.” That answer seemed to satisfy the majority of the company.

A select few wanted to know more. Fili, Kili, Ori, Bofur, Oin, and Bilbo all got up to sit near you to find out more. Ori brought his book and wanted to write everything you said down, it almost seemed like a fantasy story to him. Oin wanted to know everything about the scientific advancements especially in terms of medical treatments. Not that you were very knowledgeable in that subject but you knew some basic first aid which you told him. He was very happy to hear that and quickly recruited you to be an apprentice healer for the company. To you that meant so much, you were no longer useless, you had a purpose on this quest. Maybe Thorin wouldn’t consider you a burden anymore. The others mainly enjoyed hearing stories from another world especially the technology.

-Thorin’s POV-

The moment Gandalf had said “untouched by Eru” Thorin’s heart dropped. If your existence was not influenced by one of the creators then there is no way Mahal could have made you Thorin’s one. It would be impossible. Yet Thorin couldn’t deny the way he felt about you. It was nothing like he had ever experienced before. I was like there was a physical tie attaching the two of you. He dreamt of your beauty. He wanted to be close by at all times, to share in your happiness. He wanted to protect you, to keep you safe and healthy. He wanted you to want him. No, it wasn’t a want it was a need for those things. He felt the same way that Dis had mentioned feeling when she first met Vili. He was so sure that you were his one that he would have bet all of the gold in Erebor on it and yet here he was.

Every mention of your world stung. He hoped the quiet chatter would drown it out, take his mind away from the mysterious girl who had enchanted him. Yet his nephew seemed insistent on learning more about the weaponry from your world and the things you called guns. In different circumstances he would have loved to learn about ways to better protect his people yet now he just couldn’t stomach it.

With everyone occupied Thorin to the opportunity to leave. He waited until he was out of earshot before he began cursing Mahal. To Thorin it seemed he had been cursed with only misery and pain in his life. It had been far too many years since to joy of his youth, with his whole family around him. Before the dragon sickness tormented his grandfather, before Smaug killed his mother and took Erebor, before the battle of Azanulbizar took three generations of his family from him. He had no time to grieve, he had to look after his young sister and lead his people to prosperity. To work hard, to provide, to make a better life. Now that his end goal seemed within reach it seemed Mahal had taken it upon himself to land another blow by making his one a woman who can’t possibly have him as her one. To him it seemed unnecessarily cruel.

Thorin was unsure how long he had been aimlessly wandering lost in his thoughts. It was now late into the evening with the stars high in the sky. From a small flicker of light, a woody smell, and the sound of cheer he could tell the company had decided to have a late supper though where they got the food he did not know. One of them must have found the location of the kitchen. Likely the hobbit, even Thorin had to admit Bilbo could find food even in a mine, he could give Bombur a run for his money.

He settled on a balcony overlooking Rivendell just around the corner from the rather jovial group. Thorin wasn’t sure if he could face you just yet, the fact that you were nervous around him seemed to be a blessing in disguise. It wasn’t long before his peace and quiet was disturbed, Bilbo had stumbled upon his place of solitude. Though it seemed the hobbit hadn't realised that just yet.

“The throne of Erebor is Thorin’s birth right. What is it you fear?” Thorin knew the elf doubted them the moment he learned of the quest. Gandalf should know it would be no use reasoning with an elf. They sought to stop the dwarves becoming great hubs of power at every opportunity they could. Erebor was the mightiest kingdom of them all and it would be again if the quest was successful. Thorin took a step forward focussing on the conversation, causing Bilbo to become aware of his presence.

“Have you forgotten? A strain of madness runs deep in that family. His grandfather lost his mind. His father succumbed to the same sickness. Can you swear Thorin Oakenshield will not also fall?” It seemed that Mahal hadn’t wounded Thorin enough that night. Thorin shared those doubts though he would never tell a soul, yet to hear another voice those concerns cut deeper than any physical wound. After all he had done, after everything he achieved for his people his reputation revolved around his grandfather's illness.

“Oi people can hear you!” Came a shout from the balcony below. “If you’re going to talk about people at least go where they can’t hear you.”

-Your POV-

You had been looking for Bilbo to offer him another plate before Bombur took it. You found him quickly and noticed Thorin was with him. Both looking out over the city of waterfalls. It wasn’t until you followed their gaze did you notice Lord Elrond and Gandalf talking below. The moment you heard the wizard mention Thorin the noise of the company seemed to fall away, you were shocked to hear of Elrond’s doubts. Especially since they were being expressed out in the open. Your opinion on the pair immediately flipped and in that moment you felt you understood why the dwarves hated elves so much.

Your mouth worked faster than your brain. Before you knew it you had shouted at your host but in your anger you felt no shame. The pair hurried off together into a room out of sight. When your attention returned to Bilbo and Thorin you saw only a shocked hobbit and a heartbroken dwarf at the top of the stairs.

“They had no right to say those things about you Thorin” This was the first moment you had seen a hint of weakness in the dwarf king. They had clearly struck a nerve.

“They had every right.” There was no anger in his voice only sadness. You felt his pain and it cut deep. You wanted to hold him to let him voice his troubles. To help lighten the weight of all that he carries yet you held back. Why would a king trust you, you knew he doubted you and your motives but you could not bring yourself to leave him like this. Slowly you made your way up to the balcony and took your place besides Bilbo leaning against the railings.

“I see there’s a stigma around mental illness here too. I wish people would realise that its nothing to be ashamed of.” You sighed likely realising what you were saying was falling on deaf ears. “I don’t know what happened to your grandfather or father but you can't fear what hasn’t happened yet. If you do then the anxiety spirals out of control until you can no longer get out of bed.” You didn’t dare look at either of them. What had started with you trying to be reassuring had begun turning into a type of therapy for you. “It ran in my family too and I know how much it sucks knowing that all the sadness and worry is coded into your genes but its better knowing and being prepared. I can guarantee every single one of those dwarves down there will help and support you if or when you need them”

You finally decided to turn to Thorin and look him straight in the eyes. It was a bold move and you knew it but you needed to covey how important this was to you. His gaze lacked his usual intensiveness but he did not look away. “You cannot let fear hold you back.” He seemed to be grateful for those words. He gave you a small nod and sighed.

“Then we must leave before they can stop us!” It was only then you were able to look away. The strong self-assured dwarf king was back. “Bilbo take a few dwarves and head to the kitchens. Take foods that will last us on the road. I do not know when we will get an opportunity like this again. Be quick but stay out of view. Y/n start gathering your things. It might be worth changing back into your travelling clothes.” He motioned to the elven dress you were still wearing. Your clothes should be dry enough now that changing wouldn’t be an issue. “We must make haste if we are to be gone by the time the sun rises.”

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Ablâg - food

#king thorin #thorin #Thorin Oakenshield #thorin fic #thorin x reader #thorin oakenshield imagine #slight angst #readerxthorin #fem!reader #thorin x y/n #thorin x you #slow burn #hobbit #the hobbit #king under the mountain #Kilby writes

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minghaocouture · 5 years ago

Text

Fearless: Chapter 10

Pairing: Werewolf!Jeon Wonwoo x Vampire!Reader Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Non-Idol Au Warnings: Language WC: 3.4k+ AU Lore: Vampire Coven Info/Wolf Pack Info/Lore Info Tag List: @moon-asia @uglychildd @woozisnoots @hwangjangmi @rjsmochii @fluffyhyeju @darkacrimson @skjdln @moonchild9499

Couldn’t Tag: @unbaeknownst, @Angelmingyu

A/N: We’re just gonna pretend it’s not 1am and I didn’t upload this super late lol. I also wanted to leave you guys with a little cliff hanger <3

Chapter List: Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 5/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12/Chapter 13/Chapter 14

It was far too early for it to be this loud in this house. Running on a different internal clock than the other occupants of this house proved to be more of an issue to you than you had originally thought.

Now here you were, head hidden under a pillow as you tried to block out the rummaging and chatter from downstairs. You were trying to get over your previous prejudice of the wolves and their pack, but as of this moment you were finding it really hard not to keep hating them, if only for the noise they were all currently making.

A groan left your lips as you heard another loud crash from downstairs. Rolling over and burying your face into the mattress, as if that would help. Hell it didn’t even block out the small laughter in the room you were currently in. Peeking out from under the pillow, you glanced over to the bed that Wonwoo had slept in the night before. He was now sitting up and staring at you, laughing at your struggle. To add insult to injury he apparently decided that sleeping shirtless was something that was okay, even with you in the room.

“Oh laugh it up, wolf boy. We’ll see who's laughing when I find a way to wake you up in the middle of the night.”

“I mean, I could always stay over at your place and give you the opportunity?” The suggestion had you quickly exiting your pillow hiding place and sitting up to face him. Eyes wide as you stared at him, confused by his sudden bold words. “Or...you could call me late at night until I wake up. That works too.”

Rolling your eyes at his quick backtracking and letting out a loud yawn, “I mean, the first one is kind of an option, but I’m still not too sure if i’m going to have a ‘place’ after all this is over with.” You retorted, lifting your arms in the air as you stretched. Working the muscles a bit so they would be less tense. You had been trying to not think about that. Becoming a stray wasn’t something you would want to happen, after all it wasn’t like you wanted to be basically alone for the rest of eternity. Which is what would happen if you were cast out, you definitely weren’t going to join a different coven. It’d feel wrong.

“Well, what’s...what’s the deciding factor? I, well none of us really know all that much about how Vampires work, well besides the basics. And...how to kill you.” That was fair, you barely knew about werewolf living. Deciding to lighten the mood a bit, a grin made its way onto your face.

“Alright, I’ll tell you that if you tell me why all of you look about the same age. It’s...actually kinda weird.” You knew that Werewolves weren’t immortal like Vampires, but something about how everyone in this house looked the same age was a bit off putting. It wasn’t huge, but it was strange, you figured that packs would have like older wiser wolves, like your Coven’s with the Venture, not just a bunch of people in their 20s.

A brief moment of realization hit you, causing your eyes to widen as your thoughts raced. If you were Wonwoo’s mate and he was...only 20. That was, understandably, a bit weird. You were well over a century old, and if he was 20 you were old enough to literally be one of his great great great grandmother. That had to be creepy.

Apparently you had been broadcasting your thought process across your face, cause once again that familiar deep toned laugh spread through the room and causing a rather strange chill to tingle down your spine. It wasn’t a bad chill, just unexpected. Masking that feeling with an irritated scowl, you grabbed your pillow and hurled it at his head. Catching it, he placed it on the bed next to him before speaking up again.

“That actually has to do with our mates. We stop aging when we turn 20 until we find out mate. Well, find and actually uh…’mate’ with the mate.”

“So you won’t age unless we have sex?” You questioned, not bothering to tiptoe around the subject. “Wait...wait a damn minute. You won’t age unless we have sex? How old are you then?”

He paused for a moment, taking a minute as he seemed to be thinking about his own age. Which honestly was something you could relate to. After so many years alive, they kind of just start blurring together.

“I’m going to be 93 this year.” The relief you felt at those words had you letting out an audible sigh. At least you weren’t some creepy old woman compared to him, that would have just been weird if he had actually been 20. Well, to you it would have been. You knew others, mainly Soonyoung, would disagree. Though he definitely wasn’t the best example, considering he still considered himself to be 24 despite being 132.

Realizing that you had once again become lost in your own mind, you turned your attention back to Wonwoo and noticed that he was staring at you. The look in his eyes caught you off guard, it was almost as if you had just hung the stars in front of him with how intent his gaze was. It seemed that now with this mate business out in the open, he didn’t feel the need to hide anything. It didn’t make you uncomfortable, and in fact you wouldn’t mind seeing that look more often. Letting out a small cough to focus yourself once more, you decided to hold up your end of the exchange.

“So, technically all the major decisions in the Coven are made by the Inner Circle. Which includes our Venture, Soonyoung, the Primus, Junhui, as well as two of the other members, Minghao and Chan.” You began, unfortunately Vampire politics was extremely annoying to deal with at times, which is why you weren’t going to go into what a Venture or Primus was unless he asked. Thinking about it, you honestly didn’t know how Minghao put up with it all, he seemed to hate it almost as much as you did.. “I’ve technically got one vote in my favor, and probably one against me, but i’m not too sure how Chan and Soonyoung will react so it’s all up in the air.”

You were pretty sure that Minghao was still on your side, at least you hoped he was. Despite his neck being on the line too, you knew that he wasn’t the type of person to throw others aside, he was loyal if nothing else. You could say the same for Junhui, but he had been pretty upset though, and if Junhui was upset then Soonyoung would probably listen to him and if that happened then you knew Chan would as well. So basically it all would depend on how Junhui reacted to you...walking out after yelling at him...and basically inviting him to kick you out.

So you definitely hadn’t done yourself any favors.

You hadn’t realized that Wonwoo had gotten up until you felt the bed shift a bit as he took a seat next to you, his hand reaching for yours and the instant comfort you felt at that contact was almost ridiculous. A thought passed through your mind, wondering if the feelings that were rushing through your brain were simply from this mate thing between the two of you...or if they were real. That would be a question for another day though.

“I’m sure everything is gonna turn out fine. You gotta trust them a little, Covens are kind of like families right? Just like our pack. So i’m sure they’re going to look out for you too.” You weren’t sure if he knew how much those words meant, and you certainly weren’t going to tell him. After all, you had to keep at least some of your tough image. Though...around him you could probably drop it...just a little bit.

You felt yourself subconsciously scoot closer to him and without even thinking about it you found your head resting on his bare shoulder. He tensed at the added weight but soon the hand holding yours had adjusted to where it wrapped around your shoulders, pulling you closer. You weren’t sure if the Mate thing had anything to do with how you were feeling, but you weren’t about to move now.

“I’m sure you’re right.”

You weren’t sure how much time passed, the two of your just sitting there in silence. But it wasn’t long enough.

The door to the room practically slammed open and you felt your body push itself as far away from Wonwoo as you could. Going so far as to even shove him away as well. Eyes snapping to the door you were greeted by Mingyu, who’s grin could only be described as ‘shit-eating’. He really did have a punchable face, and he was only proving it more.

“Cheol wants you guys to come to breakfast.” He said, obviously holding back laughter as he looked between the two of you. If looks could kill, you were sure that Mingyu would have been dead twice over just from the look Wonwoo was giving him. More than that if you were being counted in the equation.

You groaned as you watched Mingyu close the door, making over exaggerated kissing noises, followed by the sound of footsteps and him yelling something to the other wolves. Which you could assume was related to what he just walked in on. Meeting him for the first time, you were already wondering how someone like Wonwoo could handle being his roommate.

“Is he always like this?”

“I love him, and he is my best friend...but yes, yes he is.”

***

You were pretty sure you were only here so Seungcheol could keep an eye on you. It’s not like you were eating or anything, and the only reason you had a seat was because Sana was still bed ridden. It seemed that some people weren’t taking too kindly to you intruding on their breakfast, and the atmosphere had gotten so tense since you arrived. So it was going about as well as you had expected it to.

A few of the pack, mainly Wonwoo, Vernon, Jacob and Felix, did try their best to seem welcoming but everyone else present was definitely more on edge with you around. Especially Changbin, and if you were being honest his constant glaring was starting to get a bit annoying. First he complained about having to keep the curtains closed while you were around, then it was he didn’t want to sit across from you at the table, and now it was a completely different story.

“Why does she have to sit in here? It’s not like she’s going to eat anything.”

You felt your eye twitch ever so slightly, your jaw clenching in irritation. It was harder to fight your more stubborn and temperamental nature, but you were playing nice so attacking him (even verbally) would probably put you on thin ice. Despite knowing this, you weren’t one to sit back and get verbally harassed.

“She’s a guest, we’re not just going to make her hang out around the house alone.” Which was definitely Seungcheol’s code for, ‘she’s technically still an enemy so we don’t want to give her free range of the house’. It didn’t take a lot to read that guy, he was a good leader or Alpha as they called it, but he was an open book.

Changbin scoffed, shoving another serving of rice into his mouth before he did. To his left Felix let out a small sigh, obviously wishing the other male was in a better mood. The male across from you, the taller stone faced one who you were fairly certain was named Hyunwoo, spoke up.

“Have you heard anything from the human? Or your coven?”

His question had you shaking your head, but you did pull your phone out to check once more just in case someone had messaged you during, what you were calling, the worst breakfast...ever. You weren’t surprised to find a plethora of messages from Hyunjin, asking where you were and over all just kind of freaking out, there were also several from Siyeon, Kevin and Yuna, and even a few from Gahyeon and Eunbi. None from Minhyuk or any of the inner circle though. Which was what you expected. The inner circle was probably trying to decide what to do with you and well, Minhyuk likes hearing about the drama from a distance.

“Nothing from the Inner Circle, no. I am planning on checking in with Minah around noon, and if she agrees to the plan then I’ll go grab her from the bar and bring her back here.”

“And how are you planning on doing that? It’s not like you can go outside before dark and get her. And your whole plan is useless if the stray sees the two of you together. Or did you not think of that?” Once again Changbin decided to speak up, gracing your nerves with tiny spikes of irritation. “Or is there even really a stray in the first place! I still don’t believe you’re telling us the truth. You were probably just a distraction so one of your other disgusting friends could attack Sana.”

If you cared less about your phone, you probably would have broken it with how hard you were squeezing the device, but thankfully you knew self control. Or at least you pretended like you did. It seemed though, that Changbin was just determined to push your buttons, and you’d had enough.

“You know, I didn’t take this shit from my Coven, and let me tell you, i’m not going to be taking it from you.” You began, trying to cool your expression as you stared at the male at the other end of the table. You heard Wonwoo sigh from next to you, of course since he knew you the best he probably saw this snap coming. “Kiddo, you can hate me all you damn well want, but I want you to remember that I’m here to help you. So I’m gonna need you to back off.”

A loud slam sounded through the room as Changbin’s palms met with the hardwood of the dining table. A low growl slipped from his throat as he glared at you, obviously about to jump across the table to make this more of a physical confrontation. Silence fell over the room as his harsh gaze met your stoic one, sure you were pissed but this wasn’t the place to 100% lose your cool. From your side you heard a small growl leave Wonwoo as well, it was almost sweet that he felt the need to defend you, but you certainly didn’t need it.

“You think throwing a tantrum like this is gonna make me leave?” You questioned, a brow raised as you stared down the male who you assumed was younger than you. “It’s not gonna work, I am the Queen of tantrums and loud outbursts and let me tell you now, you don’t scare me.” It was definitely stupid to edge him on like that, especially since you were a guest. You’d probably come to regret it later but for now you were going to show that you weren’t someone that just got walked over. He would understand that.

For a moment you wondered when you started sounding like Minghao, maybe his general attitude was affecting you after all this time. It was amusing to think about, if this was how he and the others felt whenever you acted out. You’d have to question them...well if things worked out in your favor that is.

The air was thick with tension as the sound of a chair scraping against the linoleum cut through the silence.

“Changbin, sit down and finish your breakfast then go and get ready for your classes. ” It wasn’t too surprising to see Seungcheol standing from his seat at the end of the table. He was almost like a father, vaguely you wondered how old he was, it was impossible to tell just by looking at him. His eyes then found themselves looking directly at you. “And you, come with me.”

Would it be safe to say you were in the doghouse now?

Sliding your chair back, you felt something grab your wrist. Looking down you noticed it was of course Wonwoo, staring up at you with concern. Concern that you brushed off. Sure you had probably just pissed off the leader of the group that was housing you, and he could easily attack you or resend his invitation to the home which would end up hurling you outside into the unforgiving and burning sun, but that was too negative to think about at the moment even for you.

Despite your attempt at being nonchalant, Wonwoo gently tugged you closer to him so that his lips ended up right next to your ear.

“If you need me, just call.” the words caused you to chuckle slightly.

“You’re sweet, but I’ll be fine.” Was all you said in return, pulling away from him and following Seungcheol out the double doors of the dining room, to the right down the hallway and into what looked like a living room.

Once inside, you heard a sigh escape from the male as he took a seat onto one the weathered arm chairs. He gestured vaguely for you to join him and sit down. Taking the free chair on the far left of the room, it was a pretty comfortable chair. You definitely weren’t thinking about taking it with you or anything though. Glancing back over at Seungcheol, you watched as he lifted a hand to rub the bridge of his nose.

“You’re really not making this any easier for any of us.”

“Excuse me, for not just sitting around and taking shit from someone who is probably half my age. If not younger. ” You retorted, rolling your eyes. You could tell from watching Seungcheol that he was a good leader, probably better than Soonyoung (though with Soonyoung gone all the time, the bar wasn’t super high to begin with) but leadership can definitely take it’s toll.

“That’s the point. Changbin is only 33. He’s still technically a kid by our standards and he’s a little rough around the edges but…” he trailed off, you could see that he didn’t really want to talk about this. It probably didn’t help that you were a complete stranger. “The point is, even if he attacks first. If you fight back I have to be on his side.”

“That sounds like something a shitty leader would say.” The words slipped from your lips before you could even think of stopping them. You could tell that Seungcheol was taken back by them almost as much as you were. “I mean, should a leader be willing to tell their people when they’re in the wrong? I’m trying to play nice here for the sake of both of our groups, but I’m not just gonna let him talk shit to my face. Fixing things is a two way road, I can’t do this if he’s unwilling to even look at me without the intent to rip my throat out.”

“I understand but-”

“No, I really don’t think you do. I’m sticking my neck out to help you guys. I might lose my place in my Coven, my family, because I’m here. I’m not gonna do that, and get trash talked by a fucking kid.” The anger from the dining room, the fear from your current situation, everything seemed to be finally reaching a head. Your limbs shook lightly as you stared him down, not with an intent to fight, but with all of the emotions you were currently feeling.

He lifted a hand, stopping you from continuing. The room filled with silence once more as he seemed to contemplate your words. After a moment, he nodded solemnly.

“You’re right. I guess we’re all trying to work on ourselves during this. If we do go through with the mission tonight, Changbin will stay home. I think it’ll be best for everyone that way.”

Before you could respond, the loud tone of your phone rang through the room, signaling a phone call. Seungcheol gestured for you to answer it, which you were going to do with or without his permission.

The caller ID was definitely not a name you were expecting to see.

Soonyoung.

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waveridden · 4 years ago

Note

could i ask for elaboration on your ‘tillman/mike/declan are all dirtbags but different kinds’ point, i am Intrigued about your thoughts on them

oh lord jesus how do i explain this. obligatory disclaimer that i am but a humble sunbeams fan hacking headcanons together out of fics i’ve read, so this more than most things might not fit perfectly with team lore.

also i don’t necessarily think “dirtbag” is the right word for me to use here, and if someone has a better one drop it in the replies or w/e, but my thesis for tillmikelan is like... they’re all just normal, slightly-shitty dudes, and their brands of slightly-shitty are all different in compatible ways. okay. this is long let’s go

tillman: is an asshole in like... the most stereotypical, pure, platonic-ideal sense of the word. tillman henderson is a rich kid who was raised in such a way that other people were an afterthought. and i think there’s character development that happens, i think he figures it out (especially in dying and coming back and having to confront that it was a fluke that he came back, that in some ways he is just like everyone else) but his starting place is fundamentally different from mike and declan’s, in that same way that rich people are fundamentally different from everyone else. and that’s not to say that tillman doesn’t care about people, because he does! it’s just that he never fully got past the pulling-pigtails stage of affection for like... everyone.

declan: you have met a declan suzanne in your life. he is not a bad person. he is not a mean person. he’s not even an apathetic person, necessarily, he cares about his friends and team. it’s just that he’s also the kind of person who is perfectly content playing blaseball and minecraft, and that’s what he’s going to do until something else presents itself (and it has to present itself, because he’s not going to go looking for it, there’s no reason to go looking). if you put him in charge of team grocery shopping he will remember to do it about 70% of the time and when he remembers he will get the list about 70% right. he’s fine but you don’t actually want to spend a ton of time around him.

mike: this is an incredibly specific headcanon bear with me. i think pre-shadows mike was not very dirtbag-ish. pre-shadows mike knew everyone’s coffee orders and got them coffee regularly just because he wanted to. pre-shadows mike was quietly very devastated by “mike townsend (is a disappointment)” because he’s trying so hard and it’s not working. and then he goes to the shadows and comes back and has been... lionized? he’s a legend? the announcement for him coming back says “but mainly, mike townsend emerges from the shadows” and he doesn’t understand why he is the main event now, especially not now that he has been gone. they were nice to mike townsend but they weren’t nice to him.

so for mike, in particular, i think he comes back from the shadows and does not feel pressure to be nice anymore. there’s a definite nihilistic streak that wasn’t there before, because he’s not a person (like declan), he’s a narrative (like tillman) but the narrative isn’t actually... accurate to who he is. so he can chill out and smoke more weed and bake for them less often - not never, because you don’t go from caring so deeply to not caring at all, of course he still bakes, of course he still loves his team in tangible ways - and there are no stakes. he gets to do what he wants.

so then: tillman and mike both went places that you’re not supposed to come back from and then came back, and it made tillman care more and mike care less and they get to help each other figure that out. tillman and declan have both always been content with what they have, and are probably pretty shaken up by tillman dying and now by having this second chance to have things again and hold onto them. mike and declan are both normal people who lived normal lives with normal teams, people who have to pay their own electric bills and who failed classes in high school.

and you put all three of them in a room together and... they all balance each other out. declan provides a middle ground for how much tillman and mike have to try right now. mike is there to show tillman and declan that it’s okay to want things, to sacrifice for things, to fight for them. tillman is there to add a little variety, a little aspiration to declan and mike’s lives. and it’s lopsided and they’re all traumatized to fuck and back, but it works, is my point. it works.

#waveridden.ask #i need a blaseball tag #anonymous #long post //#I AM SO SORRY. ABOUT HOW LONG THIS IS #if this doesn't make sense... i can try again but it might not work i have to be honest #Anonymous

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forever-more-never-again · 6 years ago

Text

Light and Dark (Part One)

Word Count: 2879

Pairings: Zuko X Avatar!Reader, Aang X Avatar!Reader, Platonic!Katara X Reader, Platonic!Sokka X Reader, Platonic!Toph X Reader

Warnings: None

A/n: So, I really love Avatar the Last Airbender and had this thought and well...I’ve started another Series that will have irregular updates! Heheheh....

Matsterlist

The smoky skies of the Fire Nation filled your lungs as you drew a deep breath. In all your years, you never thought you would end up back here.

Your homeland.

Taking another deep breath, you fixed the scarf that covered your face and began walking through the marketplace on the outskirts of the Fire Nation.

The palace loomed over you like a dangerous shadow. A reminder of why you escaped all those years ago.

“Princess Azula!” The hushed urgent whispers reached your ears and you flinched.

Stepping into a tea shop, you turn your face away so that anyone walking outside wouldn’t see it.

“Well, Hello there. Could I interest you in some Jasmine Tea? Good for soothing nerves and calming the mind.”

Your attention was diverted from the danger lurking outside to the stout middle aged man standing before you with a welcoming smile.

You couldn’t help but return the smile, as your felt your muscles relax from their constant tension, “Yes...I think, I think I would like a cup.”

You let yourself be led to a small table in the corner, you couldn’t help but smirk as you realized the man had put you in a table where you had easy access to the back door, and a wide view of the entire store and front door.

“I’ll have my nephew come right out with a pot of tea for you-”

The man’s relaxed nature and easy going smile made it easy for you to reply with no hesitation.

“[Y-].” You stopped and cleared your throat, giving a fake first name, “Chen Ikem.”

A flash of confusion and then understanding flew through the man’s brown eyes. And you couldn’t help but grow slightly worried. You should have also used a fake last name.

After all...Ikem was the last name of the late Fire Nation Queen. It wasn’t a very common last name. And if anyone caught a look at your face and put it together with the wanted posters that were from years ago, you would be dead before you could ask for mercy.

Heaving a heavy sigh, you sunk into your chair, eyes vigilant as they scanned the small tea shop. There were only a few patrons. Mainly older generation fire nation males. You could easily take them if worse came to worse.

“Your tea.”

The brusque voice broke you out of your analyzing. Gaze going up, only to freeze in fear as you saw a young man with an eyepatch, a single gold eye staring down at the teapot he held morosely, his black hair slicked back.

You knew who it was. Even with the scar covered. This changed everything.

“I...I have to go!” You jerked out of your seat, startling Prince Zuko into dropping the teapot.

The shattering of porcelain caught everyone's attention. The elderly man, who you now realized was General Iroh-

Oh my god you couldn’t be caught by General Iroh and the banished Prince!

-came out from the backroom with a frown, and a shimmer of tears in his eyes, “What a waste of perfectly good tea.”

Zuko, however was staring at you as you jumped over the table, the scarf around your face falling down to the floor, soaking up the tea.

“[Y/n]?”

The small voice. Reminiscent of a younger prince, who still had hope and love, made you pause for a split second, your eyes catching his.

A pained smile flashed across your face before you vanished out the back door. Escaping into the crowd.

Distantly, you heard his footsteps run behind you, his voice louder, “Wait!”

But you knew how to disappear, and with a scarf snatched from a stand and bumping into a group of young women, and you were gone.

Faintly you heard his curses. But they soon faded as you walked with the group of young women further into the Fire Nation.

A memory flashed in your head as you walked. Remembering when you had been a simple servant girl in the Fire Nation Palace. Playing with the Prince. Laughing together. Kissing his bruised knuckles when he got in fights. The innocence of children long gone now.

Every since you discovered that you were not just a fire bender.

You were the Avatar.

Which carried a death sentence.

Shaking off the memory and the sadness it carried. You slipped away from the group and began walking by yourself.

You had come to the Fire Nation for a reason. Breaking your promise to never return. For one reason and one reason only.

A family in the Earth Kingdom had told you about their daughter, who was blind, running away with a group of unusual people. One of who, they claimed, was the Avatar.

And that caught your interest. According to history and lore, there was only ever one Avatar per cycle. Because the spirit of Raava was a single entity, unable to be duplicated.

So why were you, a Fire Bender by birth, able to water bend and earth bend?

It made no sense, especially considering the last Avatar had been a firebender. The cycle dictated that another Firebender wouldn’t be the avatar until after three avatar cycles.

The confusion hasn't stopped you from learning other bendings though. After escaping the Palace and traveling the world, you had picked up Water bending from an old warrier in the Earth Kingdom, and learned Earth bending from a wacky traveling group of merchant’s.

“My cabbages!”

A strangled cry caught your attention, along with the sight that was with it.

Four young teenagers stood around an overturned stall of cabbages. The vendor yelling at them to pay for damages.

Sneaking closer, your eyes widened as you saw the white eyes of the short woman. Blind.

Looking at the others, you noticed the blue eyes of one of the males and females. Not Fire Nation.

And the smallest male...could he be the airbender that everyone was saying was the Avatar?

As the four took off running away from the vendor, you decided to follow them. Sticking to shadows and alleyways, you keep them in your sight.

They left the inner city and began walking towards the rocky caverns of the mountain side. But before you could see what they were doing out there, you found your feet encased in stone.

“Why are you following us!?” The blind girl shouted, suddenly appearing right in front of you.

The two blue eyed teens took up fighting stances. And the small male looked at you in disguised fear.

You quickly held up your hands, “Woah! Hey, I mean no harm.”

The tall male snorted, “That’s what they all say! You’re Fire Nation!”

Your shoulders tensed before relaxing, your gaze dropped to the ground in shame, “Yes. Though I wish I was not. And according to the palace, I am merely a traitor.”

The small male stepped forward, ignoring the warning looks of his companions. You caught his eyes with yours.

“What do you mean?”

You breathed out through your nose heavily, before dropping your hands. And the stone encasing your feet disappeared back into the ground.

“Toph! Don’t release the prisoner!”

The blind girl blinked, confused, “I didn’t.”

Your snort laugh caught their attention again, “That’s what I meant. I think...no, I know...I’m the Avatar.”

A pause. Silence. And then an uproar.

“What!?” “That’s bullshi-”

“How!?”

Before the girl stepped forward, brandishing water in her hands. A waterbender.

“You’re lying. A Firebender can’t be the Avatar. And I know for a fact who the true avatar is.”

Quickly growing tired of this, you drew the water that she held with her bending to you, wrapping it around you.

Her eyes widened in fear.

“I’ve never heard of this from the Monks. It shouldn’t be possible.”

The small male stepped forward, eyes wide in awe and confusion.

Deciding it was past time for introductions, you dropped the water and held out a hand, “My name is [Y/n] Ikem. I left the Fire Nation years ago after discovering I could Earth Bend alongside my Main Firebending abilities. I lived in the Palace as a servant and know the inner workings of it like the back of my hand. I heard about a blind girl traveling with the possible avatar and that information led me to you.”

The blind girl started before she muttered, “My parents.” And scoffing in irritation.

Sokka pulled a boomerang out from behind him, welding it dangerously at you, “You’re working for Zuko! I knew it!”

Your eyes widened and you flung your hands wildly in front of you, “No! No! I promise! I’m actually hiding from him and Princess Azula! They have a bounty on my head.”

The short kid nodded, looking off in the distance for a moment before turning to you and smiling.

“I’m Aang. I’m the airbender Avatar.”

The female beside him gasped, “Aang! You can’t just give this person that sort of information! How can we trust them!? Sokka could be right, they could be working for Prince Zuko!”

The other male stepped forward, eyeing you suspiciously, “Yeah. How do we know they aren’t trying to play mind games with their-their mind!”

Aang looked at his group, “My gut is telling me that they speak the truth. And you guys know I need a Fire Bender teacher. They could be it.”

Aang grinned sheepishly at you, “This is Katara and Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe, and this is Toph, from the Earth Kingdom.”

You bowed low, hands clasped in front of you, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Aang laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, “So...uh...you can bend other elements.”

You smiled wryly, “Yes.”

Aang sighed, looking at Katara with a plea in his eyes. Whatever silent communication they did, seemed to work as Katara sighed loudly and waved her hand towards the cave they had been heading towards.

“Alright [Y/n], you can come with us. But one step out of place and-”

You laughed, “I know, I know. One step out of place and you end me. I get it.”

Walking in the giant cave, a loud rumble drew your attention to the back end.

You gasped, “Is that a Sky Bison!? I thought they were all extinct!?”

Sokka scoffed behind you, muttering maliciously, “Yeah thanks to the Fire Nation.”

Deciding to ignore him for now, you ran towards the giant white beast with stars in your eyes as you stared into his intelligent brown eyes.

“That’s Appa,” You squealed in surprise as a small flying monkey creature landed on your shoulder causing Aang to laugh as he stepped up next to you, “And that is Momo.”

You chuckled, scratching Momo under his chin, “Well hello Momo.” You turned back to Appa and bowed your head, “And Appa.”

Katara’s voice was loud and icy as she exclaimed, “So...Are we going to figure out what is going on? Why there are two Avatars at one time?”

You and Aang shared a look, both of you were in new territory.

Sighing you walked to where some stones were upraised to be used as seats. Toph already relaxed in one, Sokka and Katara on edge, glaring at you.

Aang tilted his head, “Have you managed to travel into the spirit world?”

You shake your head, “I’ve tried, but I seemed to be blocked. I once entered the Avatar state when I was attacked by some Fire Nation Patrols, but I haven’t done it again since.”

Aang sits down on the ground, legs crossed over each other, hands relaxed on his knees in a lotus pose, he looked at you expectantly.

Curious, you copied his movements, sitting right across from him.

He grinned at you, “Okay. So just...open your mind. Don’t think. Just...be. Allow you spirit to float freely from your physical body. Hopefully the Spirit World can give us some answers about what is happening.”

You nodded and closed your eyes.

Clearing your mind took a few minutes, but then you did it.

You felt a tug, and then weightlessness. Opening your eyes cautiously, you gasped.

You were floating above your body.

Looking over, you saw Aang’s spirit was watching you with a childish grin.

“Freaky, right?”

Noticing the lack of reaction from everyone else, who were watching your bodies closely, Aang elaborated, “They can’t see or hear us.”

Reaching out, he took your hand, “Come on. Let’s see if the previous Avatar’s have some insight.”

And in a rush of wind, you were flying. Images blurred as you fly at speeds you thought impossible.

And when you stopped abruptly, you noticed where Aang had brought you. The Avatar temple in the Air Nomad Nation.

Statues of every Avatar past, stared down at you with stone eyes.

Aang walked up to the latest one, Avatar Roku.

You silently watched in awe as a blue glow illuminated the statue, and then a copy of the statue stepped out. The spirit of Avatar Roku.

He smiled down at Aang gently, “What is it this time young Avatar Aang?”

Aang looked back at you and waved you forward.

Cautiously, you stood next to Aang.

Avatar Roku looked at you in shock and horror, “No. This can’t be possible. It shouldn’t be possible.”

Drawing a breath of courage, you looked at Avatar Roku, “What do you mean? Why are there two Avatars this cycle? Why has a firebender gained the Avatar abilities so soon after the last Fire Nation Avatar?”

Avatar Roku glanced between you and Aang, silent for a long moment, the horror in his eyes never fading, “It’s a sign. A sign of change. Of unbalance. Vaatu is within you, young [Y/n]. As Raava is within young Aang here.”

Aang thankfully shared the same confused look as you, which you found comforting.

Avatar Roku sighed, and waved you both forward. You stepped forward and simultaneously also back in time.

You watched in awe, alongside Aang, as you witness the birth of the first Avatar. Wan. And the connection of the Avatars with the Spirit of light. And also, the subsequent imprisonment of the Spirit of Darkness.

Stepping back into the Air Temple, you rubbed your forehead in anger and confusion, “What does that mean? That I’m inhabited by an evil spirit allowing me to bend multiple elements?”

Avatar Roku softened his gaze and rested a hand on your shoulder, “Not so, young one. Vaatu is simply one side of the same coin. He and Raava had lived together for far longer than humans have. They are light and dark, peace and chaos. One cannot survive without the other. What concerns me, is how Vaatu was freed. He was locked in the tree of time, it should be impossible.”

While Roku was muttering about that, you noticed Aang looking deep in thought.

Turning to him, you smiled gently, “Hey. I’m sorry about all of this. I didn’t...I-”

Aang turned to you, but the voice that spoke was not his, it was femine and held immense power. Avatar Roku took a step back, his posture straightening as he bowed low.

“Do not worry young [Y/n]. My brother managed to trick a young spirit into freeing him. Had I known, I would have stopped it, but sadly Aang here was unable to communicate with me.”

Avatar Roku stood up with a smile, “It’s been a while Raava.”

Aang’s face lit up and a musical laugh escaped, “Roku.”

You hesitantly took a step forward, stopping in fear as Aang’s head whipped around and seemed to stare you down.

Biting your lip, you asked, “So what does this mean for the mortal realm? For...for me?”

The spirit, Ravva sighed gently, almost motherly, which made your eyes tear up.

“Avatar [Y/n]. You and Avatar Aang will be two sides of the same coin. You will balance each other out. But it’s up to you on how to keep Vaatu in check. There cannot be light with dark, just as there cannot be dark without light.”

A jolt and you felt yourself fall into a void.

“Wait!”

“Hush Child. I must speak with my sister.” A cold, menacing voice echoed around you.

Shivering, you were hesitant to speak, “Vaatu?”

A deep sigh, “Yes child. I will explain, momentarily. Your physical body is soon to be in danger, and I wish to talk to Raavu before we are back. So be quiet!”

The roar shook you. And you quickly nodded, unknowing if the spirit could see it in the inky darkness that surrounds you.

In the silence and darkness you took a moment to go over what has happened in just a few short hours.

You had returned to the Fire Nation. You had been seen by General Iroh and Prince Zuko, both who were exiled and banished from the Royal Family.

You remembered the past. And based on the fluttering of your heart, you also remembered the feelings you harbored for the prince.

You had found the Avatar and his group, and subsequently found out that you were also an Avatar, but one that was powered by the Spirit of darkness and Chaos instead of Light and Peace.

Things just got a lot more complicated.

FOREVER Taglist:

@sxph-t @mialeelavellan @rainydaysrnevergrey @platonic-plots @sociallyawkwardcircus-freak-hi @queenbbarnes @mythixmagic @chas-z @thefridgeismybestie @strangersstranger @princess-evans-addict @rororo06 @timelordhunterandmysterysolver

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fgodestinyawakenings · 4 years ago

Text

FGO Destiny Awakenings: Fujimaru Ritsuka and Fujimaru Ritsuko bio

My procrastination on life, writing my story, anything I needed to do is bad enough I’m surfing web day by day so.... Might as well get my ass to work on this

This is pretty long since it’s two people bio, so everything is under the cut!

Note: In regards to their Magic Circuit quantity, neither FGO wiki or material gives any information about them. I’ve estimated them to be around Emiya Shirou’s level of circuit, but can be lower or higher... But more likely lower as they are only receiving magecraft training in the story

Note 2: Foreign languages in here are courtesy of google translate, if you’re able to improvise its grammar, please drop me an ask so I can edit

Note 3: Some of the info are quite spoilerly but not that much spoiler since it’s a base information for me on their personality, background, magecraft

Note 4: After reading the bio, I know some will be enrage with me at the sensitive topics I’m about to touch for this story. Some are imagination, some are based on what I experience, and I won’t revealed which of what is imagination or experiences in reality. The bio will contain sensitive potential topics such as Depression & Family abuse, you’re entering this at your own risk to read.

Reminder: Yes this is fiction, but you need to separate in from reality. I’m not your babysitter to cater your needs, I have put up 4 notes to remind you of the content you’re entering. And yes, I’ve pacing back and forth on their backstory knowing the backlash I received since this is Fate lore we’re going in out of consideration.

Fujimaru Ritsuka

Character Type: Human, Master, Magus

Affliliation: Chaldea Security Organization

Gender: Male

*Lineage: TBA

Birthday: December 6th

Height: 1.72m

Place of Origin: Japan

Alignment: Lawful Good

Likes: Meeting and getting to know historical figures, Magi*Mari, Reading and Researching about history

Dislikes: Needles

Talents: Stage Magic

Circuit Quality: D

Circuit Quantity: D

Magic: Projection (Illusion), Hypnosis

Elemental Affinity: Air, particularly closest to Mist

Profile

Background

Ritsuka’s father divorced with his birth mother for unspoken circumstances and remarried to Ritsuko’s mother at the age of 11. At their first meeting, Ritsuka’s body was completely frail with his bones visible in plain view, wearing a dead emotionless face that shocked Ritsuko completely. His family situation was only described to young Ritsuko that Ritsuka’s father is doing everything it takes to ensure his mother will never come near him again.

But after spending more time with his new sister, Ritsuka gained back not only his weight, but his ability to speak, where first happened to yell at her for being reckless in fighting against their bullies. Though, he immediately regretted doing so and apologized afterwards when he knew all she did was to protect him.

Whenever someone brought up about his mom, Ritsuka immediately pushed the subject away to another topic. However when prodded further a little, he’s often described to be showing his real self by a broken look with a heartbreaking smile whenever he mentions about her

Personality

Intelligent, compassionate, self-conscious and rational with a reserved personality holding a snarky mouth, Ritsuka is considered the “brains” and leader to his sister and contracted Servants in their goal to restore humanity

By many Servants and Chaldea Staff who are Mages, he’s often described as someone “born with a heart that’s unfitting to be a magus”. Ritsuka would often bring his tablet along in each Singularity to inquire and take photos of the historical in each singularity. His scrupulous attention to detail comes in handy when he is off creating strategies to win against the enemies in the Singularity. And his ability to learn magic quickly helps in fasten his pace to be a better Master, but sometimes his answers in avoiding his friends to find out his meeting with Merlin within his dreams leaves others questioning his credibility for his talent.

Because of his strategic mindset, Ritsuka is highly perceptive to the others' feelings, and can figure out the source of most people's inner turmoil in a matter of a few important conversations.

“The last time someone falls in love with somebody, they had either--created a stepping stone to an illegitimate son to bring his father’s kingdom fall into ruins, trapped themselves forever in a land of utopia or even knocked up with his Master’s sister because why the hell not. No offense to you, Caster.”

-- Ritsuka to his sister while mentioning about Arthur’s, Merlin’s and Cu Chulainn’s love life

However his lack of experience in love and holding low regards about it from reading tons of historical and mythology books, had made him completely oblivious to his own and other people who had fallen in love with him. Though this is mainly of his own low self-esteem of his own worth as a person may have stemmed from his childhood, despite being considered an ace in everything he does by his sister. Ritsuka usually hide this but immediately quickly putting back up the façade of “a reliable and dependable but also ridiculously goofy person” when someone notice.

Understanding how critical their situation is, Ritsuka often refuse to sit still when there’s a given chance to do anything to help Chaldea. He also seems to get a little annoyed sometimes when people think he's cute or adorable, as he wants to be taken seriously like a grown-up from people around him as at most times Ritsuka is more mature and wiser than others.

When Ritsuka and Ritsuko are on their adventures in the Singularity, Ritsuka is the one to act as the leader because he is shown to be very brave and smart. He can be very protective of his sister, whenever she is in danger he is always there to help and will do anything to get her free.

It is also well mentioned that unlike his sister whom is open about her problems and sociable, Ritsuka is much more reserved and emotionally distant often avoiding talking about his past and himself. Even though he admired Heroic Spirits greatly and wished to understand them more, some would notice he often forced himself to draw a line from getting too close for some reason. But as the journey goes, Ritsuka has become greatly attached to everyone in Chaldea amd considered them strongly as his secondary family.

With his strong knowledge in history and novels, Ritsuka thinks much like an actual detective.

Despite his serious personality, living with Ritsuko his whole life (who is famous for her silly attitude) has caused him to indulge in childish activities with her. As such often either jokingly teased he’s forced to join with the shenanigans with the Child Servants, or mostly being the butt monkey teasing by them.

He also holds a huge soft spot towards children in particular to Jack and Mordred. When asked why in particular, Ritsuka easily gives his true smile that children like them deserve the love and acknowledgement they needed. But, he does a huge comedic soft spot to Alexandar and Ko-Gil, making his heart thumping when both used their charm while calling him “Onii-chan”.

He also seems to not mind breaking the rules in order to have some fun, which often having him to be scolded by Emiya when he does so. In particular habit is often staying up late or staying over at Romani’s room to watch Magi*Mari.

Abilities

“Merlin: After all, you and I are very similar, Ritsuka-kun. There shouldn’t be a problem for you to learn my tricks. Ritsuka: By similar, if you’re talking about having the same sexual reproductive organs... That’s captain obvious, Merlin.”

-- Ritsuka to Merlin on his first lesson with him

Illusion Magecraft

With his experience in entertainment magic, Merlin had taught him in magecraft of deception and proficiency in Projection. A magecraft that relies on fooling a being’s psyche to win, a magic which Ritsuka concluded only a mage like Merlin befits this magic for his notorious mischievous behavior.

Misdirection

Under the incantation chant “maintenant tu me vois maintenant tu ne”, Ritsuka will fool his enemy thinking that he had disappeared by their five senses. Rather than concealing his presence, Merlin described this spell as “Putting one’s attention focused strongly onto another. Like falling in love at first sight, where your world focus on that person alone!”

This spell Ritsuka commonly mostly to hide himself from enemy, and also additionally do a surprise attack from the back

However due to his quantity and quality of his magic circuits, Servants and enemies with strong sense and Clairvoyance are able to notice his whereabouts.

Projection (Illusion)

Unlike Emiya’s projection, Ritsuka’s projection creates objects based on his memories and imagination. A skill he’s able to do easily as though it’s strangely natural from his muscle memories, he currently lacks the learning to reinforce his projected works to a reality

Under Merlin’s teachings, Ritsuka is able to create an illusion of manipulating to fool his enemies five senses during battle. But, it may not work if one is able to see through eventually

To perform this magecraft, he need to act/pretend of an action in order to project the desired item from his mind into reality. However because it’s like an illusion, not only it lasted for seconds to minutes, that item may not even appeared in his enemy vision if the latter noticed the truth.

Combat

Even if magic circuits is weak, Ritsuka makes it up by physical combat via kendo. In combat, Ritsuka will give commands to his Servants while fighting against the lower mobs summoned by enemy Servants. Lacking any fear towards death, Ritsuka won’t hesitate to step forward to deal against enemy Servants if needed to buy some time for his allies Servant to summon their Noble Phantasm

As such even facing against a professional magus, Ritsuka treats it as an experiment test nearly at the cost of his own life to find a weakness within them.

Role

Ritsuka acts both support and fights with their Servants in Chaldea. He has no specific Servant in mind as being dragged into the World of Magus. Ritsuka admired all Heroic Spirits, often near instantly switched into his fanboy mode when meeting those he admired.

While he enjoys their company and wishes to personally know each of them better, he does get exasperated by some of the extremely colorful and chaotic Servants summoned in Chaldea.

But, Ritsuka instantly draws a line between him and the Servants from getting to close by often avoiding talking about himself and his own true feelings. Despite making himself distant from them, he cares a great deal about them and strongly hated the idea of treating them and anyone as tools or weapons to use.

Unlike his sister, he’s the one who supplies mana generally to most of the Servants via a technique Merlin taught him when he requested earnestly for his help.

Fujimaru Ritsuko

Character Type: Human, Master, Magus

Affliliation: Chaldea Security Organization

Gender: Female

Lineage: TBA

Birthday: May 29th

Height: 1.58m

Alignment: Lawful Good

Likes: Sports (mainly excel in softball and basketball), Morning workout as early as 4am, Sweets

Dislikes: Studying through reading of books, Anyone who hurts her brother and even attempting to bring up his family problems, House chores

Talents: Accuracy in throwing and quick learning speed taught via hands-on

Circuit Quality: D+

Circuit Quantity: D+

Magic: Nine Hand Seal Magecraft

Elemental Affinity: Fire

Profile

Background

Ritsuko mentions to Mash in Fuyuki Singulary Section 9 Part 1 that her real father disappeared on both her mother and her when she was a baby for reasons unknown. As such, it’s noted her mother has been raising her single-handedly by herself before remarrying Ritsuka’s father when she was 10.

At their first meeting, Ritsuko was completely horrified at Ritsuka’s body was completely frail with his bones visible in plain view, wearing a dead emotionless face that barely even respond to her when she first greeting him warmly. His family situation was only described to young Ritsuko when she asked was that Ritsuka’s father is doing everything it takes to ensure his mother will never come near him again, and will only explain to her when she grew older.

She mentioned though he was quiet, he was still receptive if not hesitant in answering to her. But after spending more time with his new sister, Ritsuka gained back not only his weight, but his ability to speak mainly to yell at her for being reckless in fighting against her bullies. Though at that time, Ritsuko chuckled she was unsure why she was crying while he apologized; whether it was the bullies, her brother scolded her, or the happiness she felt when she saw life in her brother’s eyes after months of wondering if the effort was futile to get closer to her new older brother.

Personality

On the surface, Ritsuko is fierce, independent, and pugnacious, but beneath her tough exterior, she possesses a strong loyalty toward her friends and duty as the Humanity’s last Master with her brother. She also has an admirable compassion and devotion, demonstrated when she expresses love toward things such as her family and friends. Unlike the calmer and reserved Ritsuka, Ritsuko is similarly quick witted and impulsive, especially in heated situations. And, she lacked perception towards her rash decisions often resulted in her accidentally insulting others.

Ritsuko is tough, impatient, headstrong, sarcastic, and assertive. Due to her crush on Mash, she tends to pull her away and shield her from others who showed interest in her. Like her brother, Ritsuko fully embraced her position as the Humanity’s Last Master, but lamenting her weakness how she isn’t calm and level-headed as her brother. A trait of Ritsuka she admires greatly when they were kids, as she’ll always be grateful during the times she was in near trouble. Mainly Ritsuka’s willingness and accepting of her secret towards her interest in woman, as she didn’t want her mother to know out of fear of disappointing her.

Because of this, Ritsuko also tends to be protective and even more so than her brother when it comes to his own well-being. Her mother never told anything about Ritsuka’s parents, except as she quoted:

“Mom said I was too young understand. Telling me Ritsuka’s mom did something really bad to him so Dad ensured his mom will never come close to meet Ritsuka again.”

As such, Ritsuko often keeps an eye on Ritsuka’s reaction whenever someone asks about his mom; ready to deflect or even pull him away at the uncomfortable situation.

Initially frightened and frozen with fear at Fuyuki Singularity, Ritsuko lamented with regret greatly how if her strength to save Mash from Artoria Alter’s Noble Phantasm could do the same for Olga Marie. But, she knew better she can’t wallow in grief, vowing to grow stronger and requested Emiya’s and Sadakuni’s aid to train her in combat and magecraft respectively.

Abilities

"Boomer-Dagger”

A pair of dagger crafted specially by Emiya after considering her skillset. It can be used for both physical combat and her magecraft. When thrown to her enemies, it returns to her via an invisible string connecting to her magic circuit. Also, it’s used as a placeholder on her talisman before conjuring her Nine Hand Seal Mudra Magecraft

Talisman

Her catalyst to invoke with her magecraft. Taught by Sadakuni, she needs to place it on her target before doing her Mudras to attack her opponent. Ritsuko often brings her mat of magic circle drawn by her blood to imbued powers into the talisman daily through meditation.

Onmyoudo Kuji-in aka Nine Hand Seals Magecraft

Taught by Section Chief Agano Sadakuni, Ritsuko mainly uses this magecraft for combat. This magecraft relies specifically on specific hand gesture and pattern to conjure her spells. From reinforcing her weapon and physical strength, to summoning fire magic for combat

Rin-Pyo-Toh, ready for battle: Enhancing her physical strength

Kai-Jin-Retsu, release: Conjure an explosion burst of flames

Jin-Pyo-Zai, bind: With ranged of 10 talisman connected by a burning magical rope to bind the target

Zai-Sha-Kai, heal: Transfer her mana for healing or empowering her Servant

Combat

Like her brother despite having slighter better circuits than him, Ritsuko sides along with her brother via physical combat. She often pairs with her brother, acting as a bait to go against the enemy, while Ritsuka pulls off a surprise ambush via his illusion magecraft.

In the face of an enemy Servant, Ritsuko steps back to give orders to the Servant she contracted with.

Role

While she treats Servants who are Kings or Queen with respect by their title, Ritsuko treats everyone equally with respect and as a friend. She’s shown to be more than willing to teach them about the modern technology and slang, also joining them in their crazy plans often resulted in chaotic humor, much to Ritsuka’s chagrin.

Like her brother, Ritsuko detested the idea of anyone treating Servants as tools or weapons as she view those who contracted her as their friend. This feeling also extend to her enemy Servant, believing they are living beings with their own free will and emotions.

While her brother generally supplies mana to their Servants, Ritsuko acts second-in-charge right after he finish mana transferring to their Servant which resulted him immobile and carried around by Emiya or Caster Cu Chulainn.

#fgo destiny awakenings #fujimaru ritsuka #fujimaru ritsuko

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