#does anyone even know Ori

[atopvisenyashill]

look I'm a greenie but I'm sansa devotee first and foremost long before and I will be long after. that is why i have to agree that this idea that rhaenyra's marriage and children shouldn't affect her inheritance being something that doesnt gets applied to Sansa with her own situation by many of these same people is quite interesting.

And Sansa' own marriage hasn't been consummated, nor does she have any children by tyrion that the crown/lannisters can use to claim winterfell. they don't even have sansa anymore! she's escaped

to be completely honest, part of WHY i'm so partial to rhaenyra's side is in fact because of my stark (and martell) devotion. rhaenyra, in both books and show, is put in a really bad spot so her father can mop up his own mistakes, and is given no good options, then blamed for taking the option she thought would be the best. she knows rhaenys was given driftmark as a consolation prize, and she's worried about what happens to her if she's married off to a man that sees her as a womb; this is a girl whose mother and both grandmothers died in childbirth. of course she's being picky and weird about who she wants to marry, especially given that she's a teenager - like, we literally have that moment where Sansa thinks she's going to marry Loras because he's handsome and her age, and is disappointed about Willas, and this feels to me very similar to how Rhaenyra doesn't want to marry Laenor; she knows he's gay and this is going to be an issue for her, and she wants to marry someone she actually knows and likes and trusts.

so when people are like "well what did she expect" it's like well but what was she supposed to do in this situation? annul her marriage and completely alienate the most important allies she has? publicly shame laenor for not being able to have sex with her, once again, alienating her most important allies? rape her own husband?? just not have kids despite her father dangling her inheritance over her head while he's squirting out son after son? so she tries to have a kid, likely assuming her own genes will win out, and it doesn't work the way she wants, every single time. and then instead of anyone trying to offer her any sort of solution - again, no one offers to orys baratheon this, no one offers to annul the marriage, no one offers her a way to protect her sons without pissing off the velaryons, no one even assures her that they won't fucking execute her and the kids - they just go "welp that's why she can't be queen, because she's a WHORE" and then everyone keeps escalating the situation out of fear until she's turning to the one person who is actually offering her a solution and that's daemon. "oh well she could just give up her inheritance" i'm sorry, but you (general you, not you anon) are a fucking joker if you think that Rhaenyra or her oldest boys would ever be safe if she conceded after Laenor died when they're saying that she committed treason by having kids out of wedlock. Corlys may very well withdraw support if he's not getting his grandchildren on that throne as a prize for backing her clearly bastard born kids. She'll never be allowed off Dragonstone or Driftmark again. Something mysterious will absolutely happen to her kids and they'll die and her proof of that is ya know, the fact that this is exactly what happens to Harwin. She's still a constant threat to Aegon's regime, as are her dragon riding children. She was named heir so no, she doesn't get to go back to just ~being a sister~ if she gives up her claim and lives out her days on Driftmark, completely living off the goodwill of Corlys and Rhaenys.

so i find it endlessly frustrating that like, we can acknowledge that marriages in westeros are super fucked up, that jaehaera, aemma, alicent, dany, sansa, cersei, lollys, roslin, lysa, margaery, are all put in situations where they can't say no, where their children are in danger. rhaenyra is put in this exact same situation and she's an overreaching whore. she's a teenager put in a shitty situation by the adults around her, given zero good options, and chooses one bad option out of many bad options because she thinks it will protect her. she is just like alicent, she is put in the same fucked up situation by the exact same dudes - viserys, otto, and daemon - and told "okay don't freak out but your kids in danger" of course she freaks out!! of course they both freak out!!! they're terrified someone is going to murder their goddamn kids in their beds because no one in this situation is willing to de-escalate or bite back their pride and lose a bit.

[auncyen]

I think part of why I like Oboro is because I think of some of the stuff in OT2 as like "depiction of mental illness on fantasy steroids".

In real life, most people who are depressed aren't going to hurt anyone else (the unfortunate possibility of themselves on the table). They might hurt their relationships with others, though, because part of depression is your brain being stuck on only the negative. Oboro gets to raise his adoptive sister and be friends with a kind prince? That's because he's working for the prince's father who, going by Ori's journal fragments, went a LONG time ignoring any strategies Oboro proposed to avoid bloodshed in war and went the bloody way regardless. This same man is ultimately responsible for both Oboro and Ori being orphans, and Oboro didn't exactly enter his service freely. This man acts like this because his bloodline is cursed, which Oboro knows very well the prince has a second, crueler personality because of the curse too, and seems convinced that means eventually the prince will turn out the same way as his father.

He doesn't, but you know, even master strategists can ignore possibilities because of cognitive distortions.

Like this is the same setting where a book convinces a guy who seemed to be decent if extremely hard on himself "you can't save everyone from illness" means "you have to kill everyone so they don't suffer". Same book convinces another person that living is pointless too. Oboro doesn't find anything particularly noteworthy about the book...because he's already realized "the truths it laid bare on my own"... but I think it's noteworthy that even he, by his own account, "played my role" of "dutiful subject" until the day the man (I assume Claude) approached him with the book. Basically: Oboro was depressed and traumatized enough that if the book did change his thinking in any way, it did not register. But while his letter is somewhat ambiguous about when exactly the plan started, the implication seems to be the planning started then, either because he now had an accomplice in the man and/or because the book did nudge his thinking, even if it didn't register to him. (Which again, depression: sometimes you don't realize you're getting worse until it's suddenly like "whoa. wait, at one point in my life I did have more hope, but it feels like I might as well have been a different person then".) We don't have an account of a "normal" person reading the book and staying normal afterward (Castti might have read the book, because the opportunity was there, but there isn't anything saying she did) so it's...hm. That book definitely isn't doing anyone's mental state favors, huh.

Basically take the humans of the OCTOPATH villains: Oboro, Tanzy, Ori, Petrichor, Trousseau, Harvey. Petrichor is essentially a noncharacter, we never interact with her directly and she has very little description even in the infodumping journal fragments. Harvey, well, kind of seems to just be envy to the point of extreme evil. But I'd argue Oboro, Tanzy, Ori, and Trousseau all had depression even before reading the Book of Night (and iirc it's not even certain if Ori actually read the book or not; she's in close enough proximity it seems likely she did at some point, but it's not described). There are definitely other human issues at play behind the troubles in OT2, such as, whatever the hell Harvey's deal is, and while Roque is excluded from the OCTOPATH acronym clique (which seems a bit arbitrary to me given how far on the periphery Tanzy and Trousseau are, but yeah, sure, he's not in the conspiracy), greed certainly isn't helping anyone, but so much of the human side of Vide being brought back seems to be despair and trauma and depression being put on fantasy steroids. And in that context everything Oboro does is still terrible and wrong. But like I get how he screwed up that badly. (And still. Poor Hikari. AU where Hikari read the book as well everyone has the worst time ever)

[nkn0va]

Orie, Wagner, and Mitsuru with an s/o that randomly picks them up?

We live for high class women being flustered when they're shown affection.

-Straight up, Orie is just the type that looks extremely liftable, especially in casual attire. Something you catch onto very quickly.

-You do have the decency to at least not do it out in public most of the time, but occasionally you just can't help yourself, like the first time you ended up doing so.

-She'd managed to finally get a day off between Licht Kreis duties and school, inviting you for a night out on the town to explore and do whatever. She was still relatively new to Kanzakai so this was the best possible opportunity to learn about everything that was around.

-You'd been out for quite a long time and it was obvious you had much more stamina then her, she was looking quite drained despite all the fun you'd had. So you got the brilliant idea of picking her up bridal style out of nowhere.

-Her face immediately turns crimson as she asks you what in the world are you doing, and only gets even more embarrassed as you say you're carrying her back to her place since you can't let the lady be tired. She hides her face in your chest the entire way through and prays that nobody recognizes her.

-As much as she'll deny it, she definitely wouldn't mind if you did this again. Just...not in front of her friends. Especially Kaguya, she's showing no mercy to the poor girl.

-Honestly, you started doing this as a joke more than anything. The way Wagner carried herself was like a high and mighty princess so you only thought it was appropriate to treat her as such.

-As she was playfully gloating about herself you then suddenly lifted her up off the ground, causing a strong, immediate reaction out of her.

-She immediately makes her startled annoyance very known, loudly reprimanding you and asking what the hell you think you're doing. That's about what you expected, but being lucky enough to have become her S/O, you know you're not in any actual danger.

-She won't really do anything really as long as you don't do this in public. For the love of god, do not do this when other people can see.

-It becomes...acceptable over time as you do it more. She at least does recognize the fact that you do it out of affection and admiration for her which is a flattering thought.

-She'll probably still act like a complete tsundere about it but she'll never make any actual moves to stop you, secretly reveling in the attention she gets from you.

-Mitsuru is normally a very professional, put-together woman. The way she holds herself brings about both admiration and intimidation depending on the situation. However you have the rare privilege of being able to see this facade drop when she doesn't need it.

-You wanted to test the waters so to speak on what would happen when you were more direct with your affection, and what was more direct than picking someone up bridal style.

-She initially threatens to execute you, though it seems more reflexive than an actual serious threat. You knew better obviously, but you put her down for now.

-This was doing nothing to stop you from doing this in the future of course, much to her chagrin. Doubly so if the rest of S.E.E.S happened to see you do this. She's at a loss for words as the panic sets in.

-If you want the best reactions, do it away from prying eyes. Her face will turn almost as red as her hair before she eventually settles into it, embracing your warmth and presence with a sigh of content. She feels safe with you, more than with anyone else.

[izzytown]

okay so i had a request to redo my “the fellowship reacts to starbucks” post but with the company (and since this is my niche now, i’m here to provide!)

the premise is mostly the same as the other post, just my silly little headcanons on what the characters would drink at starbucks. i now present to you “the company reacts to starbucks coffee” (part 1/2)

i adore the hobbit, but even though I’ve read the book (and watched the films) a fair number of times, i’m much more well-versed with LOTR characters than i am with those from the hobbit, so bear with me.

note: will not be including gandalf as i’ve already included him in the fellowship’s post - pop over there if you’re curious!

thorin: the grumpy-ass prince himself need not trifle with complicated orders when going to the bux. in fact, i propose he only goes if he’s DRAGGED by his arms and legs by fili and kili during babysitting duty—he gets a dark roast pourover, regardless of what roast is brewed, just because he “respects coffee craft.” you will find him rolling his eyes whenever a frap is ordered, silently mumbling about how his local coffee shop under the lonely mountain is WAY better.

fili: the quieter, more thoughtful sibling, fili is hit or miss on caffeine. if he’s looking for something pretty caffeinated with flavor, i think he goes for an iced brown sugar, toffee nut latte. not too sweet, but very flavorful (just like his personality). if he ain’t feeling a lot of caffeine, he probably gets an iced black tea to have something to sip on while supervising kili's shenanigans. also, he gets a cheese danish as a little snack, it’s canon-

kili: this man is on crack. he’s a kid in a candy store when he walks into starbucks- first off, he gets a birthday cake pop EVERY time without fail (much to thorin’s bank account’s dismay). he’s okay with caffeine, but the taste of coffee is a little much for him, so he cycles through a strawberry açaí lemonade, a vanilla bean frap, a chocolate cookie crumble frap, or an iced chai with cold foam and caramel drizzle. just gallons of pure sugar in a 16oz “coffee” for this guy!

oin: now i know very little about oin, but what I do know is that he seems like he doesn’t give two shits about anyone (respectfully). to me, that sounds like someone who drinks an insane amount of espresso and could care less how long it takes to pull 8 shots. therefore, I propose he drinks a 6-8 shot espresso over ice in a venti cup, with a light splash of cream. the pedro pascal special!

gloin: dark roast is the only acceptable roast of coffee in gloin’s household, how else would gimli acquire his profound appreciation for coffee? gloin tends to go for heavier, powerful drinks, contrasting gimli’s love of a good 'ol cappuccino. gloin’s go-to if there’s no dark roast available is probably a hot black americano with a couple packets of raw sugar, keeping it classic while wanting a drink that packs a punch.

ori: this is the sweetest dwarf you ever did see, and i think his drinks reflect that. not only does he give the vibe of someone who doesn’t drink anything too caffeinated, but he also seems like he has drinks for every season. he’s happy to have a nice chai latte in the autumn, a decaf peppermint white mocha for winter, a peach tranquility tea with two honey packets during the spring, and probably a passion tea lemonade (sweetened with liquid cane) during the summer.

dori: he so slays. dori seems like a mom friend to me, rolling his eyes and being a responsible part of the company, so i’m gonna make the executive decision and say he probably gets a typical “mom” drink, which to me is an iced mocha (or black and white mocha) w/ no whip. or maybe a honey citrus mint tea if he’s feeling sick, trying to cut back on sugar (as if it’s any better for you Lmao)

part 2 is available here

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Ideas #21: Legolas/Gimli, but make it secret marriage

Having recently done a deep dive back into the LotR fandom, I have made my way through what feels like the entire Legolas/Gimli tag. There are some absolutely beautiful fic in it, but most seem to follow the arc of become friends in Lothlórien, start crushing on each other by Helm's Deep, and confess attraction sometime between Pelennor Fields and returning to the North.

And this makes sense. It follows the same arc as their friendship in canon and works. But I found myself wondering what would it take to have an established relationship between Legolas and Gimli before the Fellowship set out?

Just image it:

The events of The Hobbit go exactly the same - except Dáin Ironfoot doesn't take the throne of Erebor. Either he dies in battle or there's some law in place that means Lords of the Iron Hills are barred from the succession of the Lonely Mountain. Balin becomes King under the Mountain.

To make it even more painful, I imagine Dawlin and Glóin falling in the Battle of Five Armies. This turns the line of succession into the withered tree of: 1) Balin, 2) Oín, and 3) Gimli - two old men who have never married and one minor cousin never raised for kingship.

Gimli is very quickly brought to the mountain and named prince.

It is an adjustment - Gimli has never sought this sort of position and thinks of himself as a warrior first and a lord not at all, but what can he do? There is no one else. So he does his best to learn all he needs to know as heir apparent, though it doesn't come naturally and he's all but drowning in grief.

Because there's no one else, Gimli is the one Balin sends to deal with the elves whenever they need to discuss trade or treaties with Mirkwood. And because Thranduil finds dwarves tiresome on a good day, he sends Legolas to do the same.

Legolas and Gimli's first meeting isn't quite as antagonistic as it is in the books, but it's definitely something.

They keep meeting on opposite sides of the negotiation table - and slowly, almost imperceptibly, they come to discover they enjoy arguing with each other. Arguments become discussions become genuine friendship become attraction... and before two decades have passed they admit can they want a relationship with each other.

But Gimli's the heir to Erebor. The only heir. There's a lot of pressure on him to marry and produce heirs, which can hardly be done with a male elf.

There's a lot of problems on Legolas' side of things do, in that, for all no one ever expects him to inherit, Thranduil was once of Doriath. (I also want to shoehorn First Age!Legolas into this, but a younger Legolas might work better here simply for greater weight of parental disapproval.)

In the end, they decide to marry in the elven fashion and present their families with a fait accompli sometime in the 2960s...

...but for one reason or another they haven't gotten around to telling anybody by the Council of Elrond in 3018. And so the Fellowship sets out with no one having any idea Legolas and Gimli have been married for over half a century.

They try to hide it at first, as they've always done - and are relatively successful, though Pippin swears up and down their arguing sounds more like the bickering of one of his oldest and most devoted pairs of relations.

They become a little less circumspect in Moria - where they go not expecting a restored kingdom, but maybe a small community of researchers lead by Ori sent out a few years earlier - because comforting each other is more important than maintaining the charade, but it's too dark for their companions to really notice.

They're blatantly obvious about it in the aftermath of Gandalf's death, but everyone else is too grief-stricken to pay attention. At which point they decide there's no point in trying to hide their relationship anymore. They won't announce it, but they'll stop trying to be covert about it.

It's not until they're halfway down the Anduin that anyone starts noticing Legolas and Gimli's changed behavior, and even then most only think they formed a friendship in Lothlórian.

Aragorn spends all their time as The Three Hunters wanting to push them together and go kiss already, not realizing Legolas and Gimli are whenever his back is turned.

The truth of the matter doesn't come out until sometime after Pelennor Fields - perhaps not even until Aragorn and Arwen's marriage. It messes up a lot of bets.

...and that's all I really have: a convoluted way to get a Legolas/Gimli established secret relationship.

Bonuses include: 1) Thranduil realizing Legolas has married and suspecting who his partner is, but never bringing it up because Legolas has kindly never mentioned it. He plans to ignore it until the breaking of Arda and would like everyone else to continue ignoring it as well. 2) Female dwarves! Perhaps Gimli even being able to abdicate in favor of a female relative so he can go off and found Argalond like he wants. 3) A lot of background angst on Legolas and Gilmi's part - not because of their relationship, but because they feel they should be helping their kingdoms fight off the evil at home, but know that destroying the ring worth even the destruction of all they love.

As always, feel free to adopt this plot bunny, just link back to me if you ever do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas

[horizon-verizon]

Alicent’s fans believing “bastards are monstrous by nature.”

And then, you have incredibly sweet and good children like Tommen and Myrcella. 😭

Bastardy is a legal existence, not a biological one. Like race, though it does have real-world consequences, it is still a construct and should not be seen as an inherent fact.

Therefore, even "legally", Tommen and Myrcella are not even bastards, because Robert Baratheon -- knowing -- or at least in some deep pot in his brain suspecting -- that they aren't his -- accepted them as his kids for his own good. (*EDIT* he didn't know)

Really they are and they aren't, but we won't get into that.

Why?

A)

To maintain his image of not being cuckolded.

B)

Because Tywin Lannister is still his main support and the reason he even was able to successfully rebel and gain the throne. Plus he's genuinely scared of him.

C)

As many male monarchs and lords did throughout medieval and recent history, so that he could have heirs (or/and ensure their already existing "trueborn" kids' parentage do not get suspected...or reduce the suspicion). Eleanor Herman, in Sex with the Queen, says as much in the introduction of the book:

With regard to royal children, the only consideration more important than their kingly blood was the monarch’s self-interest.  Many kings acknowledged children they knew had been fathered by someone else. Often, kings did not want to cast doubt on the paternity of older children they knew to be their own. In the case where the king could not father children, sometimes court factions heartily desired the queen to bear bastards in order to stabilize the throne and cement their own interests.

Fortunately, the queen’s complete and utter disillusionment with her husband usually set in after the birth of the heir.  And so it was not deemed worthwhile to lose international prestige, throw the nation into tumult, and question the paternity of all royal children, simply to deny the one cuckoo in the robin’s nest. In the early nineteenth century, the last son of King John VI and Queen Carlota Joaquina of Portugal was extremely good-looking and slender - unlike either of his parents - and happened to be the spitting image of the handsome gardener at the queen’s country retreat. Other than a few snickers behind painted fans, no one said a word.

D) *EDIT*, corrected by ladystonewolf in comments below

As GRRM said, Robert also genuinely didn't think that anyone physically weaker than him would dare to disobey, rebel or plot against him and his strength in any sort of way, much less his bound-to-him wife/a woman.

........................................................................................

All that being said, yes those are sweet kids and Myrcella has a backbone. The idea that children born out of wedlock are inherently evil, disloyal, overly-ambitious, and weak is untrue.

I mean: William the Conqueror, Orys Baratheon, Brynden Rivers, Jon Snow, Jon of Gaunt’s children (ancestors of today's British monarchy), Benedict Rivers/King Benedict Justman, and so many more!

[sycamorre]

Can I please get the whole girl gang with Ori, Mela, Vaela, and Riven!

[send me a character]

Oh boy you're making me do my homework over here!

Oriana —

Favorite thing about them: I'm going to be incredibly non-specific and say that her growth as a character was my favorite part of playing her. She started out as this uptight, dutiful monk who was scared to show her own face too much for fear of making people mildly uncomfortable (and honestly to avoid invasive questions) to someone who was finally getting comfortable with who they were was such a blast. I love her newly-acquired confidence and the dynamic it brings to her post-campaign. She's far from perfect, and never will be, but she's maturing and making a new purpose for herself other than being someone's errand girl.

Least favorite thing about them: She is the worst pessimist in the world and sometimes her logic is so quick to jump to the worst conclusions that she literally puts her foot in her mouth. And it hurts for me to write that every single time due to secondhand embarrassment but I have to commit.

Favorite line: "She loved you! She still loves you!" at the Prince during the final fight while she's trying to distract him (or something like that). Or Ori's first jab at Damak "Maybe you would see more of it if you stepped out of the shadows" since it still makes me chuckle.

brOTP: Even though the Ori/Damak ship didn't sail, I still think they probably stay pretty close and end up working together on jobs in the future. They absolutely still push each other's buttons, but that's just how they are and they don't question it.

OTP: I am so mad at myself retroactively for not giving into the OriRanna feels by the conclusion of the campaign but I do not regret bringing it up afterwards and getting to enjoy it now at least.

nOTP: Ori and Cobalt are forever divorced and they barely know each other, this is just canon.

Random Headcanon: Ori has a hard time accepting the fact that Sharaea is basically keeping her distance after the Prince's defeat. In part because she does feel that connection still and worries that Sharaea is hurting, and partially because it is such a strange sensation to her to be without the dreams for so long after such a major revelation. It takes her a long time to get used to it, but she still wishes that there was more she could do.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't know if it's an unpopular opinion among our little group, but I never had intentions of making Oriana some kind of fated hero. I never had thoughts of making her tied to a major NPC or giving her any kind of serious destiny, I just wanted to play a radiant energy bomb with the aasimar/monk combo because I thought it would be funny once I pitched the idea to Sam and he told me about Damak who was basically her foil. But I do adore how her story developed and how well it ended up narratively.

Song I associate with them: So many... "Like the Dawn" by The Oh Hellos, "Warrior" by AURORA, and "Drumming Song" by Florence + The Machine to name a few.

Favorite picture of them: I like a lot but honestly one of my favs is the one I made of Chibs trying to hit on her, partly because it's Chibs and partly because I did really like how Ori's outfit came out in this one.

Mela —

Favorite thing about them: Literally the most wholesome member of the group. Not a bad bone or crystal in her body. I am so sorry for all that we put her though.

Least favorite thing about them: Only that I didn't get enough time to learn more about her and her backstory. Sigh.

Favorite line: "Real neighbors. Real family. Not just people that make you feel like you can pretend it doesn't exist."

brOTP: Mela and Halion. Druid buddies that deserve the world.

OTP: Mela is an independent Genasi who don't need no one... though I could be swayed about a certain fae...

nOTP: Literally anyone who would try to be mean to her in a relationship will meet a swift end by my hand.

Random Headcanon: 100% think that Mela's magic is flavored to look like the crystals on her body. If she wildshapes and doesn't specifically want to look a certain way, the animal she changes into will have things like crystal horns/claws, the flame sword she summons has the appearance of a crystal blade, etc.

Unpopular Opinion: I do wish she had gotten a chance to use wild shape more. I think Mela being a cute little critter sneaking around would have been amazing.

Song I associate with them: "Come Out and Play" by Billie Eilish

Favorite picture of them: That dang sketch I never colored, rip

Vaela —

Favorite thing about them: Drinking game QUEEN. Also just the fact that she doesn't take any shit while still having a lot of heart and empathy to those who earn it. Something about that balance between the two just made her all the more lovable.

Least favorite thing about them: she can out-drink my high constituion monk I do think I missed out on really getting to know her during the campaign, and I regret that a lot.

Favorite line: Not a specific line but I think back to Vaela's talks with Erosen when he was ready and willing to be her stand-in dad before Vaela was ready to reach back out to her family and i can't help but smile.

brOTP: Vaela, Riven, and Mela is the real brot3 and nothing can change my mine

OTP: I mean... I definitely have a certain paladin that turns a lovely shade of pink when someone talks about her because she sure is pretty and really cool to boot~

nOTP: Zaresh and his memory is not allowed to ever hurt Vaela again. If Damak didn't do it, Ori would have definitely put him out of his misery.

Random Headcanon: Very little thing, but I could see her gathering small, light trinkets that remind her of her friends and tie them to her bow, possibly for good luck, and possibly as a way to to tell which direction the wind is blowing when she's aiming.

Unpopular Opinion: I still think it would have been cool for her to pull an Erosen and punch Zaresh in the face. Just once.

Song I associate with them: "Dear Fellow Traveler" by Sea Wolf

Favorite picture of them: So fun fact: I never finished them but I started making emojis of the party members for kicks and here's the one I started of Vaela:

Riven —

Favorite thing about them: Riven's sassiness and perfect comedic timing always leaves me in stitches. She really felt like the heart of the party in that way.

Least favorite thing about them: This is the hardest thing and most of my "least favorite" things are mostly the things Oriana keeps fretting about when she thinks about Riven being in such a high position so I'm gonna go with not much at this time to be honest.

Favorite line: Not a line again, but specifically the scene between Ori and Riven where Riv dressed her up while Ori reassured her that she didn't think any less of Riven after they all found out about her half-drow heritage. That always felt like a major point in their friendship and I hold onto it fondly.

brOTP: I wanna say Riven and Halion just because I think their friendship was so neat, and it hurts a bit when I think about their falling out post-campaign. But there's also Riv and Damak's sibling-ish dynamic that I love a lot, too.

OTP: As much as he pushes Ori's nerves, I do think Riv and Delethil are on the same wavelength as each other and fit very well together, even with Eravin in the mix.

nOTP: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Random Headcanon: On the occasions where Oriana comes up to Aerenth on business (either with Ranna for her research or at the request of various Tyados officials who think she's got some kind of in with them because she's friends with Riven), Ori always makes a point to find Riven and any of the other girls that might be there with them after all the formalities are done and run off into the woods to find a clearing to just hang out in like they did before.

Unpopular Opinion: As much as I understand the reason why she and Del made the choice to execute Vasion, I still disagree that it was the best decision.

Song I associate with them: "Savage Daughter" by Sarah Hester mostly because of the rebellious vibes

Favorite picture of them: I mean... I think it's obvious (also bonus Vaela).

[nobodysprincess]

“This is how colonialism works. It convinces us that the fallout from resistance is entirely our fault, that the immoral choice is resistance itself rather than the circumstances that demanded it.” — R.F Kuang, Babel

Resistance does not happen in a vacuum.

Resistance, rebellion, protests, marches, demonstrations, and boycotts all happen in response to injustice.

When you know the context, your humanity should pull you to come out in full support of the Palestinians.

If, after reading this whole post, or even half of it, if you are not emotionally moved or heartbroken by the oppression … I don’t even know what to say.

•

•

When Native Americans fought for their land, the white people called them “savages” while the emigrating thieves were “civilized” and considered themselves “victims.”

Mandela’s ANC (African National Congress, a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid) was considered a terrorist organization by the oppressors.

The Philippines were colonized by the Spanish for 300 years, then by Americans and then the Japanese. Their historical liberation movement was called “terrorism.” (And the League of Filipino Students stand with Palestine.)

The Hawaiians’ land was stolen. It’s a resort. Whenever you see it in stories (movies, tv shows, books), it’s for when the characters go there on vacation; and their culture gets warped, exaggerated, mocked, purposefully misunderstood, and also sexualized. But in reality, even til this day, indigenous children are punished for speaking their native language in school. Their language and culture is nearly extinct. All Hawaiians should be able to speak their language, not just a percentage of them. Even if you can’t relate, at least you can dig and bring up your compassion and empathy to the surface. Is it wrong to be angry about this? Is it wrong to fight back against colonialism and imperialism and capitalism?

Korea had their own independence movement and liberation army. It lasted decades. Yes, they used violent attacks. You wouldn’t have all those beautiful K-dramas to watch on Netflix, if they didn’t literally fight for their freedom.

India, too.

When Palestinians fight back against the oppression, they’re called “terrorists.”

These people are subjugated. It permeates every waking moment of their life. The Israeli colonizers who would call themselves ‘victims’ are the same people who “control the most simple and basic elements” of Palestinian life.

Read that again.

“We basically control the most simple and basic elements of life.” — Ori Givati, former Israeli soldier, speaking up about the occupation of Palestine.

With context, it’s a thousand times more chilling. But even without it, especially if you can relate to being controlled over everything by a bigger but terrible person while growing up, that sentence alone is heartbreaking.

But it shouldn’t take that sentence for people to realize that that’s what it’s been all along since 1948. You just need to open your eyes and see how they, the Palestinians, are treated.

The Palestinians’ water wells were cemented by Israeli soldiers, to stop them from getting clean water. So, forget the Israeli government turning on a simple switch to allow water from their pipes – ‘cause the Palestinians can’t even get fresh water on the only strip of land they have!

How can anyone defend or justify that?

Also, the millions of olive trees that had lived through generations (and it takes years for a new olive tree to produce anything) were destroyed by the Israel occupation since 1948. Now why would Israel destroy olive trees? Olive trees have a very special significance throughout the Middle East. Olive trees are important to Palestinian culture and heritage.

But Israel still continues to burn or destroy agriculture (aside from the bombs destroying it), they never stopped.

Gazan fishermen cannot even fish freely, there have been limits to how far out in the water they could go.

From the words of a Palestinian woman who works in a border school affiliated with the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, established in 1949), translated to English:

“Fishermen are hunted at sea and they're falsely accused of getting close to the border. The fishing area keeps shrinking that they now have a tiny area from which they can make a living.”

Full post is here. For heaven’s sake, it takes a year to even get an item that they order from the Internet finally delivered, and even then it’s not a guarantee. The Israeli soldiers won’t give it to the purchaser if it’s dual-use.

Diving goggles are classified as dual-use, so the woman (who wrote the post I just linked) wasn’t able to get them. DIVING GOGGLES!

Where is your humanity?

If you are so desensitized to the gravity of this happening to 2 million people in the year 2023, and if you see all the deaths as just a number, and these numbers are just a statistic to you … I don’t know what I could say to make you understand.

How about the words of a Native American who visited Palestine in the past, and said it reminded him of his home in the U.S reservations? The United States government stole native land hundreds of years ago, and life in reservations are still so bad that this person felt at home in Palestine. THINK ABOUT THAT!

Go ahead, try and tell me Israel isn’t an apartheid that’s even worse than Nazi Germany, or the U.S. genocide of Native Americans.

This occupation has been going on since 1948! Gazans need a permit to enter West Bank (which is often denied to them), and there are checkpoints on every street. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Even when you finish reading this post, it doesn’t showcase half of how much oppression there is.

•

The Israeli government “control the most simple and basic elements of life” there. That was a quote from one former Israeli soldier.

Here’s another former Israeli soldier, speaking up against the occupation, (Eran Efrati):

“I was broken. I felt like I was the terrorist. And my job was literally to scare people so they cannot think about acting against the Israeli settlers.”

“Very early on, I understood that the rights that the Jewish settlers have are not the rights that the Palestinians have.”

“I understood that I cannot touch a Jewish settler if he is attacking a Palestinian.”

“So (these) Jewish settlers that live in Hebron are living under the same rights that I live in, in Jerusalem. But the Palestinians next to them, next house over, next building over, or sometimes next apartment over, lives under my rule, my military rule.”

“And I can do whatever I want with him.”

By the way, this is Stage 3 of the 10 stages of genocide: Discrimination. The Stage 2 is Classification, and Palestinians are a separated group under Israeli law.

Here’s the link to the video.

And a former Israeli Air Force pilot, Yonatan Shapira, said this:

“I was a captain in Israeli Air Force, I was a helicopter pilot and I realized during the 2nd Intifada what Israeli Air Force and Israeli military doing is war crime, terrorizing population of millions of Palestinians.”

“As a child in Israel, you are being brought up in very strong Zionist militaristic education. You don’t know almost anything about Palestine, you don’t know about the Nakba, 1948, you don’t know anything about ongoing oppression.”

Here’s the link to the video.

•

As of October 30, 2023, Israel has wiped out 881 families. Lineages. Bloodlines. This means 30 to 80 persons in EACH FAMILY.

On October 17, that number was only 47 bloodlines.

« Gaza, Oct. 29 (Petra) - The death toll from the war on Gaza has reached 8,005, including 3,324 children, 2,062 women, 460 elderly people, while 1,870 people were reported missing, including 1,020 children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The ministry spokesman said the Israeli occupation has carried out 56 massacres in the last several hours, killing 302 Palestinians. Most of the victims were moved to the southern parts of the Gaza Strip, which Israel claims are safe zones.

He added that 116 medical staff were killed, 25 ambulances were destroyed, and 57 health facilities were targeted, pointing out that 881 families were lost as a result of the occupation's purposeful targeting of them. »

And if you don’t believe these numbers, because you’d rather believe Israel – guess what? Israel is keeping score, and published it on their Channel 14 news channel with rising numbers. Israel are genocidal maniacs. It’s not my fault you refuse to believe what your eyes can see.

UPDATE

As of November 25 of 2023, the number of deaths reached 20,000. The number of children among them are 8,176.

•

“We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Nice people made the best Nazis. My mom grew up next to them. They got along, refused to make waves, looked the other way when things got ugly and focused on happier things than “politics.” They were lovely people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away. You know who weren’t nice people? Resisters.” — Naomi Shulman

•

•

•

And along with Israel bombing the Palestinians using the internationally-banned white phosphorus—!

It is so violent in its destruction, and, I repeat, it is prohibited under international law! Of course, you’d think that violating the Geneva Convention would result in heavy consequences, but imperialist governments not caring and getting away with anything is a different topic.

It is so wicked, I can’t—

Even if you don’t care about a massive loss of human life, the phosphorus effect on agricultural lands are devastating and lasts for years. It still makes people sick and nauseous with no apparent signs of injury on the plants.

And all the mushroom clouds after those CONSTANT bombs drop on Gaza!

Even if you don’t care about the loss of human life, do you have a speck of humanity in you to care about all the pollution? At the very least?

•

How many times does the Israeli government have to be caught lying or admit to lying, before you realize they can never be trusted because they’re liars? They have a long history of it, too!

OPEN YOUR EYES!

OPEN YOUR EYES!

When the people had a funeral for American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Israeli police kicked and beat the mourners who were carrying the casket.

Is it any wonder that there are former Israeli soldiers and pilots who stopped supporting their government because they felt like terrorists, and realized it is Israel who are the terrorists?

Look at this!

•

It is also NEVER a normal time to say “I’m a little bit fascist,” whether it’s 2000 or 2023…but the video in the tweet below is from 2009. This is an Israeli woman saying, “I’m a little bit fascist.”

Imagine thinking this is normal to talk that way. Imagine thinking fascism is, in any way, good or beneficial.

•

The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip do not have basic human rights.

If you value having your human rights, do not turn a blind eye to Palestine.

Their access to the outside world, via WiFi and the Internet, is the one and only way they can spread awareness of what’s going on.

No government should have the power to turn off water and cut electricity and telecommunications.

Collective punishment is a war crime under international law, a crime on humanity that could easily be done to you. You think you’re safe in your country? Every protest and demonstration or march (on any topic, really) is met with the same brutal police treatment. What’s to stop them from going all out, the moment they get the government’s green light? I remember military vehicles coming out in force during the BLM protests. Many people are permanently blind and/or disabled from the tear gassing and the rubber bullets.

•

You cannot justify indiscriminate bombing on a densely populated SMALL area. It’s never right, but think about this…

The Gaza Strip is 139 square miles.

Detroit, Michigan is also 139 square miles.

Detroit only has less than six hundred thousand people in their population. The Gaza Strip has two MILLION.

Religious buildings, universities, hospitals … bombed, all under the excuse that “terrorists” were hiding there.

The same exact excuse Israel used to justify bombing a school in Egypt in 1970, it is not new and not exclusive to Gaza. They always use the same tactics.

•

•

•

What I’m sharing here is pretty much everything I’ve shared (and then some) about the occupation and genocide against Palestinians. So, pardon me if it’s not cohesive, because it’s not really meant to be. I shared most of this just one time with somebody, and I still got hit back by that heartless lunatic threatening me to watch and “enjoy Israeli retribution.”

It’s bad enough seeing it in the comment sections on YouTube or Twitter; it’s even more mind-boggling to have it spoken in direct response to me in my attempt to appeal to what little speck of humanity they have left, so I don’t make a habit of speaking up.

•

•

Palestinians are Arabs. Arabs are Semites.

If, for some asinine reason, you support Israel on the genocide they’re committing right now against Gaza, and you still want to call me an anti-Semite … then you should know that a former Israeli minister of education said (nonchalantly) back in 2002 that they always use that label as a trick on anyone who criticizes the Israeli government.

And a former Israeli Mossad agent, in 1995, said that labeling someone an anti-Semite is one of the ways he silenced critics. They know you’re not an anti-Semite, but they will label you as such to discredit you.

Victor Ostrovsky: « But I know what they do ‘cause I used to ask them to do it. When I was in the Mossad and we had a guy that gave us problems in the U.S., and he was speaking out and he was talking like people talk once and said, “Israel is bombing Lebanon with cluster bombs,” we say, “Hey, who’s that guy?” you know? ‘Pete Macockey,’ we used to call him. Yeah, which is Pete the Cockroach, ‘cause he makes a lot of noise and you can’t get rid of him. So, what you do is you get in touch with a guy in the station in New York or in the station in Washington and tell the guys in B’nai B’rith to label him. And, of course, the campaign starts, and before you know it, the guy is labeled. And he’s ‘an anti-Semite’ because that’s what we say he is. It shames me as a Jew to tell you that. But that’s the fact and it’s wrong. »

It SHAMED him as a Jew to say that this is what his government does. This is what Israel does!

The same thing happened in Nazi Germany – it was illegal to even mock Adolf Hitler, or talk badly about the Nazi regime. It’s the same thing regarding CPC, Chinese citizens will have their online posts deleted if they criticize China. And it’s the same with North Korea, it’s actually worse than China – they cannot even consume foreign entertainment if it’s not sanctioned by their government.

If you criticize Israel, their government will silence you by slapping on the “anti-Semitic” label onto you.

As Shulamit Aloni said, “It’s a trick, we always use it.” Thank you for exposing yourselves!

If you’ve reached all the way down to this part of the post, and anything I’ve typed out hasn’t moved you emotionally at all, you should stop calling yourself pro-climate and pro-life.

And look!

It’s there for all to see.

We don’t even have to expose Israel’s black hearts, they’re doing that all on their own.

We literally just have to point this out. The rest is up to you.

Imagine Russians doing this about Ukrainians!

Is this who you want to defend? “God’s chosen people” mocking cultural attire, comparing Palestinians to dogs, dehumanizing them, degrading their deaths, laughing at mothers losing their children.

Is this the hill you want to die on? IS THIS YOU?!

The depravity!

•

•

•

“Words and terminology are crucial," said Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian Head of Mission in the United Kingdom. "From the beginning, Israel wanted to link the Palestinian people to Hamas. And then they linked Hamas to ISIS. That’s linking ISIS to what? The Palestinians.”

Article by Lemma Shehadi • October 17, 2023

———

[A thread by Dr_MianUmair1 on Twitter]

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the distinction between Hamas and ISIS. It is important to clarify that these are two distinct entities with different goals, ideologies, and methods.

Hamas is a Palestinian political and military organization that was established in 1987. Its primary objective is the liberation of Palestine, Hamas engages in political and social activities, as well as armed resistance against Israeli occupation.

On the other hand, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is a radical Islamist extremist group that emerged in the early 2000s. Their goal was to establish a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, imposing their version of Sharia law and carrying out acts of terrorism worldwide.

While both organizations have been classified as terrorist groups by various countries, it is crucial to note that their motivations, strategies, and geographical focuses are vastly different.

Hamas primarily operates in the Palestinian territories, with a particular focus on the Gaza Strip; while ISIS was primarily active in Iraq and Syria, although their influence has significantly diminished in recent years.

Hamas, despite being a designated terrorist organization by some countries, also has a political wing that participates in democratic processes and provides social services to the Palestinian people (A reason why they love Hamas)

In conclusion, Hamas and ISIS may share the label of "terrorist organization," but they are not the same. Understanding their distinctions is essential for informed discussions about the region. 🌍🤝

———

But, now, what if I told you that Israel (and the U.S., “indirectly and directly”) created Hamas?

U.S. Congressman, Ron Paul, in 2009:

“If you look at the history, you’ll find out that Hamas was encouraged and really started by Israel because they wanted Hamas to counteract Yassir Arafat [chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO].”

“So, then, we as Americans say, ‘Well, we have such a good system, we’re going to impose this on the world, we’re gonna invade Iraq and teach people how to be democrats.’ We want free elections, so we encourage the Palestinians to have a free election, they do and they elect Hamas.”

“So, we [the United States] first indirectly and directly, through Israel, help establish Hamas, then we have election that Hamas becomes dominant, so we have to kill them.”

Hmm, so Israel-U.S help establish Hamas, playing them against each other until they get their dominance, just so Israel can justify killing Hamas and every single Palestinian? That, coupled with the former Israeli politician saying that they slap the ‘antisemitism’ label on critics to justify killing the Palestinians? Wow, Israel and the U.S. sure do sound like the evil villains here. It almost sounds like…they always planned to commit genocide! Look at my shocked face > ö

But anyway…

•

Painting Hamas with the ISIS brush has implications for how Israel is expected to fight its war with the Palestinian militant group, experts told The National.

“There is a danger in comparing Hamas to ISIS, which can indirectly legitimise disproportionate use of violence on civilians in Gaza, under the pretence of fighting terrorism,” Ms Khatib said.

Experts highlighted the US-led coalition’s war with ISIS in 2014, during which Iraqi and Syrian cities were razed, killing up to 11,000 civilians in Iraq alone and displacing hundreds of thousands more.

“The US government labelled its campaign in Syria and Iraq as 'a campaign of annihilation', so for Secretary Austin to be suggesting Hamas is the same or worse is doing little more than encouraging Israel to assume a similarly brutal approach in Gaza,” said Charles Lister, director of the US-based Middle East Institute’s Syria programme.

The 6,000 bombs dropped on Gaza in the first six days, as claimed by the Israeli air force, had already exceeded the rate of US bombing of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, which averaged 2,500 per month across 46,000 square miles," he added.

NOTE: This article is from October 17. There, Israel wiped out 47 bloodlines (which means 30 to 80 persons EACH family name.) As of October 30, 2023, that number has risen to 881 families taken off the civilian registry. Whole bloodlines, gone.

As of November 25? 20,000 were killed in total. And 8,176 of them are children.

Don’t talk to me if you support Israel, even after everything you’ve read in this post.

FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸

A focus on fighting terror would also obscure the “root causes” of the conflict.

“The narrative will be totally overwhelmed by terrorism and security. Whenever these things happen between Israel and Palestine, there is never a root discussion of settler colonialism, of occupation or dispossession,” said Chris Gunness, a former spokesman for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.

———

This BBC documentary takes place in 1982, years before Hamas existed. What was Israel’s excuse, then, for their massacre of Palestinians and Lebanese Shias that took place after this?

Israel bombs Lebanon and Syria. Two completely different countries. There are no Hamas there. What’s the excuse?

•

They’ve committed all the stages of genocide, and all you have to do is open your eyes.

Israel are the terrorists!

A giant with all the advantages of their size (and a world power like the U.S, the biggest, backing them and funding them) is NOT the victim.

Israel isn’t even scared of the United Nations. Think about that! Nearly five dozen U.N staff members, as of October 30, were killed in Gaza because of Israel’s bombs. And all the U.N can do is hold a service for their colleagues??? Acting as if this is normal?

•

This is Palestine, BEFORE the Israeli occupation:

Where is your humanity?

Resistance does not happen in a vacuum.

Support Palestinians. Save Gaza. Free Palestine!

You don’t need to be religious. You don’t need to be a Muslim, Christian, or Jew. You just have to be human.

[origami-is-life]

Origami stares at her brother.

He's a mess. His hair is messed up, his face is tear-stained, his eyes are puffy and red.

"Oh, Sign..."

She hugs him tight.

"What happened while I was gone?"

He doesn't speak for a long time. Too many thoughts, too many emotions. He finally settles on a question rather than an answer.

"...Where did you go?"

Origami pulls back to look at him. His scarred face. His reddened, haunted eyes. His missing limb. He had even developed a slight limp from some old injury to his leg. It broke her heart that he had been beaten down so many times that he had come to look like this. He won't for long, she told herself.

"Let's go sit down. There's a lot I need to tell you..."

~~~~~~~~

"So you're telling me that not only do we have an older brother, but a younger sister as well?"

Origami nods. Sign frowns a little.

"And... and you have a way out of here?"

"Yup."

"And you and... you said her name was Katrina? You and Katrina came back to find me and our... brother, Simon?"

"That's... exactly what I just told you, yes."

Sigh sighs, staring at his hand. His thoughts tumble over each other, making it hard to think. He sighs again and looks up, a sad and guilty look in his eyes.

"...I can't, 'ga- er, Octavia. I-I... I don't want to."

"...What?"

She leans forward, panic filling her chest.

"You have to! We need to be together!"

Sign shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, Ori- er, Octavia. If he can't follow me out there, then I don't want to leave. I love him, no matter what he does. If he stays here, so do I."

Origami stares at her brother. Panic and an infinite sadness fills her.

"But... you belong with us! Your family!"

"'Tavi, if I go with you, I will break his heart. And no matter how many times he breaks mine, whether on accident or on purpose, I will never break his. Besides..."

He takes her hand, pleading with his eyes for her to understand.

"...from what you've told me, I don't really belong with you guys. You and Katrina are magical girls. Simon is a genius. Heck, you can bring your origami to life! And me... I'm just... normal. Boring. Nothing inherently special about me. I don't belong with you guys out there. At least in here, I've actually made a difference. I can turn into this eldritch horror thingy, I'm dating a ghost. I mean, in here, I am special!"

Origami's heart breaks at hearing this. She grabs his hand with both of hers, tears in her eyes.

"Sign, please! You are special! Please... I came here the first time to save you. To get you out. That's the only reason I came back, is for you."

"And I'm really grateful to hear how much you care!"

Sign smiles warmly and wipes a tear from her face.

"Really, I am. But I can't leave if Bob can't follow. I... I love him too much. You've never dated anyone, but you do know what it's like to love someone so much, you'd do anything for them. And yes, while that's gotten me killed twice already, it's what I live by. You know that more than anyone, I bet."

Origami stares at him, tears streaming down her face. She throws her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. Her voice is broken and uneven.

"I-I need you, St-Steven. Y-You can't do this t-to me. Not again..."

Sign is silent for a moment, but when he does speak, it's clear he's standing by his decision.

"I'm sorry, 'tavi, but I'm staying here."

Origami is silent for a moment, then suddenly stands up. She doesn't face him.

"Fine."

She walks towards the door, turning her head slightly to spit words filled with malice at him.

"Then I hope you'll be happy here with no family and no memory of them."

Before he can protest, she's out the door and down the hall.

[elias-the-scribe]

The Earthbound Stars 3/?

Luck or Fate?

I know it’s been like a month, but to make it up to you, this part is like twice as long as the other two. Enjoy!

Previous First Next

The townsquare was live, more alive than Ori could remember it in their life. The skies were clear, and the sun shined brightly down on the bustling crowds. Venders selling all sorts of delicious smelling foods lined the street, with game booths sprinkled throughout the square. Most of the space was taken up by all the rides. This was the first time Ori had ever been to a fair? Festival? Carnival? They weren’t sure what exactly this was, but they hadn’t been anywhere like it.

Ori dragged Sasri through the crowds, holding her hand so they wouldn’t get separated. It was loud, screams of fear and delight from the rides, people calling to the crowd to get someone to try their food or game, all the conversations mixed into an overwhelming mess. Ori’s shoulders were tensed, and their arms were pressed to their sides in a vain attempt to make themself even smaller. So, they ran, pulling their friend along.

“Ori slow down!” She laughed, “where are we going?”

“To the rides! We can’t eat before going on them because we might throw up, and that wouldn’t be fun.”

“Makes sense.” Sasri nodded and picked up the pace. “Race you to the big spinny one?”

“You’re so on! Last one there buys the winner candy!”

Ori let go of her hand and took off, vanishing into the crowd instantly. They were small, so no one heard their quiet footsteps, or noticed anyone weaving through the crowds. No one except for two vendors, stalls hidden in the shadow of an old crooked oak tree, who knew Ori would be there, and watched the child reach their destination right before the other.

Ori reached out and slammed their hand on the base of the ride. Sasri followed, a few seconds later. “Ha ha! I win!!” Ori smirked smugly before bursting into excited giggles. “C’mon let’s go!”

“Don’t I owe you candy?”

“Where would we get candy here?”

“We can probably find something.”

“Who cares? Let’s go on the rides!”

The sun was starting to set by the time Ori and Sasri ran out of tickets. So, they started to head back. Ori munched on cotton candy while Sasri looked for her family’s booth. “Oh! There they are,” she started walking towards a small booth, but paused and turned to Ori. “Do you want to come with me?”

“No thanks, I’m gonna keep exploring!”

“Alright, have fun!” Sasri waved and ran over to her family.

Ori started walking again, just looking around, lost in their thoughts. After a while, they wandered near an old tree. It looked pretty easy to climb, thick branches practically begged Ori to climb. So, up they went.

“To those brave enough…” A voice called, bright and whimsical. It sounded tempting somehow.

“Or those bold enough…” A second voice followed the first, talking like they knew a secret they couldn't wait to share. Ori jumped at the voices, too busy climbing to hear the two people approach.

“Care to test your luck?”

“Or peer into your fate?”

Ori looked down to where two people stood, at the base of the tree, and waved at them. “Hi!”

“The carnival is going to close soon, but do you have time for one or two games?”

“I have time!” Ori hopped down from the tree. “I’m Ori, who are you?”

“I am Morai, this is my sister Kiara. Our booths are right over here.” Morai pointed to the right, and that’s when Ori noticed the two booths. One had a large colorful wheel and some prizes and the other looked like a fortune teller’s booth.

“Dibs on going first!” Kiara gestured for Ori to follow her to the wheel. “Just spin it and you’ll get a prize depending on what you land on.” They nodded and spun the wheel. It spun…

And spun…

And spun…

And finally landed on yellow. Kiara flipped it over to reveal the prize! It was three stars in a line. She stared at it for a few seconds, lips tight in a line. “What does that mean?” Ori looked up at her, their head tilted slightly, like a confused puppy.

“That…” She trailed off, still staring at the stars, before smiling down at them, “means you won the grand prize! You can pick anything.”

“Really?? Woah! Could I have-” a raindrop splattered on Ori’s head “-an umbrella? I don’t have one with me.” Kiara laughed, it was bright and loud.

“Well, I did say you could have anything. It’s your lucky day, I have one with me.”

“Ori, you should head home. It looks like a storm is coming.” Morai cut in. “We don’t want you getting hurt because you got caught up in something.”

“Huh?” Ori looked up at the heavy, dark clouds above. “You’re right! I gotta go, bye!” Ori took off running, hoping to make it home before the storm reached them.

[grapecaseschoices]

what kind of art would someone make about you? here

tagged by: i stole it; tagging: @serenpedac @galpal95 @quinnorion @mt07131 @sustainably-du-mortain @unitedindistaste @griffin-wood @sun-teas @honeylemonbutte @sunshineandviolets @straightuppotato-ocs @graysonblck @queerdetectiveblue @queerbrujas and anyone who wants!

Hiyam:

films [yes!]

you are wild and there’s no way for your essence to be captured in a frozen format. you are a character and the only way to describe you is to capture you in motion. you are electric. people are naturally drawn to you because you exude confidence. everything you do, you seem to know what your next step is. you are the muse to many, even if you don't know it, but deep down you do. people tend to fall in love with the idea of which i'm sure can be exhausting.

Bethany Josnel:

music [hrm]

you are a breath of fresh air. you are soft and free. you disappear as quickly as you appear, and everyone wishes you had stayed around longer than you did. your voice is what makes people fall in love. everything you say is in harmonies and codes, and only the most experienced listeners can fully understand you. your presence is always enjoyed but you aren’t always given the praise you deserve; people will let you stay in the background. all you want is for someone to really listen to you.

Lala:

poetry [!!]

you choose your words carefully and your words will be heard. you’re smart as hell. you know it and so does everyone else and you carry yourself with a sort of confidence. you’re a bit of an artist yourself, even if unintentional. you can find beauty in mundanity but you also know when to be a realist. people fall in love with you because you are a confident mystery and they're dying to find out more. you fear that this attraction that people have to you is based purely in curiosity and nothing else.

Alana:

novels [pretty much!]

you fall in love easily and hard, and you are the image that pops into someone’s brain when they think of a love interest. you are a romantic and find yourself falling in love a hundred times a day because your imagination is wild and certainly knows how to get the best of you. you are soft and delicate and need to be handled with care, because a heartbreak would break you into a million pieces. you don’t want much else except to be loved and to love. you want to live out your wildest dreams, and the person that loves you can't help but let their imagination run wild with you.

Ori:

paintings [... yeah, i can see it]

everything you do is a work of art. you are beautiful without even trying, simply lounging around looks like you’re posing and waiting for someone to sketch you. you come off as light and easy but you are often misunderstood. people don’t tend to see you for who you really are, and focus too much on how effortlessly you appear to navigate the world. there's some kind of darkness behind your eyes that only some can see under all the layers of paint.

[taoofshigeru]

Finished up an OT2 Partitio solo run, culminating in Chapter 4 and Steam Tank Obsidian. (i.e. complete Partitio's chapter 4 without adding any of the other travelers.)

Achievement feels good!

Some notes:

(1) One change in OT2 that makes solo runs harder is Patience (one extra turn in every four) being replaced with Salt the Wound (50% chance of an extra turn when breaking, which can't trigger twice in one turn), making it a little harder to wrangle bosses that get two or three actions. On the other hand, one thing that makes it way more feasible is the latent powers. This likely varies from character to character, but Partitio having 5BP to call on after taking half his health bar in damage has made him a lot easier to sustain through boss fights even without carrying a deep pool of items.

This is a general mechanic with all latent powers, but it lends itself really well to a solo run. It also kind of fits with his character where he doesn't like picking on the weak but he'll go all-out to show someone powerful a thing or two.

(2) Partitio's latent power and the fact that Hired Help comes as an action in his default class makes him ideally suited to a solo run. Even more so than Tressa was, in fact, because now Hired Help does quad-9s and the latent power makes it much easier to hit 4 times with it.I think Throné would be the next-best character to try it with, since her latent power gives her that extra action. She could also take Merchant as a secondary job into the fight with Claude. Among the main 8, Osvald would probably be the most badass for a player to do, since I don't think he can't get any non-inventor superjobs and his latent power only ups damage output.

(3) I got one of each primary job license, plus Arcanist and Inventor. It's interesting to think about how the secondary jobs are gated. Inventor is available to anyone at any time, though the skills require some specific items that not all characters can get on their own. Arcanist requires Partitio because you need ol' Grand Terry (this amuses me because I know some people are big fans of running Arcanist Partitio). Conjurer requires Hikari because the whole of Ku is locked out until his final chapter. And Armsmaster requires any character who can knock out the debt collector hounding the blacksmith, so Ochette/Castti/Hikari/Throné are all eligible to pick up the job without companions.

(4) Ori good. -_-;

It was my first time experiencing these scenes with the knowledge of what happens to her in Journey for the Dawn, and yeah some parts did hit like a two-by-four. How is it possible to love a character this much?

(5) I have an AU of sorts in my head where Partitio finishes his story before any of the other characters start theirs, and he comes into their story as sort of Big Good figure. (Plop into my ask box and ask me to expound on this and I will and yes that is a threat.)

[cf8wrk4u-us]

Okay, I'm getting a bit inside of One Piece lore and the topic about Devil Fruits caught my eyes 👀👀👀 (later I'll read about the Haki stuff and if there's other power granting stuff)

But since you are my guide for this, what Devil Fruits do you think would suit the Burns family and maybe the Bots (the Bots are machines but alive, so I don't know if a Devil Fruit can grant powers to a machine)???

I read a little about the Zoan fruits that are artificial??? So maybe you could say that Doc Greene made those fruits if you want to add them?? I don't know I'm still learning

hi

Hey friend!

So glad you ask!

Devil Fruits are pretty rare in the One Piece world. Even finding one is a pretty big deal and can grant anyone a power of some kind.

They come in three classes: Logia who become turn into elements, Paramecia who can summon item or change things, and Zoan who can become different animals or even beings.

Artificial Devil Fruits have been created, but only Zoan so far.

Anyone can eat a Devil Fruit, be it a humanoid, an animal, or even inanimate objects.

This is a bazooka who ate a Dog Zoan Fruit.

This is a sword who was fed an elephant like Zoan Fruit.

The only consequence though is that anyone who eats a fruit would forever lose their ability to swim and if placed in water would lose there powers and weaken them. Kinda like it's their kryptonite.

Also if you eat another Devil Fruit you will die from poisoning.

You can't always choose what Devil Fruit you get but it's always a lucky thing to find.

With that info I say that these are the fruits that would suit the Burns family and bots.

Captain Charlie Burns: The Noro Noro no Mi or Slow-Slow Fruit, great to slow down escaping riminals or panicked people, and in rescue work slow down any dangerous debry or disaster. Or the Nuke Nuke no Mi/Through-Through Fruit, which allows the users to walk or travel through any solid surface (kinda like a Phase Shifter).

Kade Burns: The Bomu Bomu no Mi/Bomb Bomb Fruit or Mera Mera no Mi/Fire Fire Fruit, both are good at suppressing fires and making its user fire/burn proof.

Dani Burns: Fuwa Fuwa no Mi/Float Float Fruit or Kiro Kiro no Mi/Kilo Kilo Fruit, both fruits would alow Dani to experience flight or fly herself and possibly other out of the way. Or the Hana-Hana no Mi/ Flower-Flower Fruit, allowing users to grow different limbs in separate place, Dani as a first responder and EMT could use an extra set of hands.

Graham Burns: Giro-Giro no Mi/ Glare-Glare Fruit which allows user to see through anything like X-Rays. Good for an engineer like Graham, another would be the Oshi Oshi no Mi/Push-Push Fruit that allows the user to push anything they want and at any size as if it were soft clay.

Cody Burns: Kibe-Kibe no Mi/Millet Millet Fruit might work well for Cody, given by using it he could feed anyone or any being his dango and immediately befriend them. He probably have a lot of fun with the Tori-Tori no Mi/ Bird-Bird Fruit Model Falcon, where he can turn into a Falcon or the Gum-Gum Fruit like Luffy so he can stretch in anyway he likes. Or the Chiyu-Chiyu/Heal-Heal Fruit, where he could heal those who are hurt with just his tears. Or maybe the Hiso-Hiso no Mi/Whisper-Whisper Fruit that allows them to hear the hearts of animals.

Now for the Rescue Bots

Heatwave: Moku Moku no Mi/Smoke-Smoke Fruit, not only does it allow its user to be a smokey cloud, but it also allows them to be impervious to most physical attacks Not to mention it can cancel out fires. Not to meantion user their smoke to trap or carry others. But maybe the Mera Mera no Mi could work for Heatwave, despite the name, would rather not be able to create fires.

Chase: Ori Ori no Mi/Cage Cage Fruit, which allows the user to create cage like bars from there arms and cuffs to trap opponents. Perfect for a cop/rule follower like Chase. Another is the Nagi Nagi no Mi/ the Calm Calm Fruit, which allows the user to create silence barrier or take all sound away from a certain areas. Something that Chase could use to confuse opponents or create control for a situation.

Blades: I think Blades would like the Mini-Mini no Mi/Mini-Mini Fruit, allowing the user to grow as small as they want. Blades loved being as small as Dani when he was in her body and would probably enjoy how he can buy so much human stuff now that he can be the right size for it. Or even become a real human with the Hito-Hito no Mi/Human-Human Fruit.

Boulder: I think that Boulder would live Oshi Oshi no Mi/Push-Push Fruit to push things far more gently that he could with his own plow. Or the Hito-Hito no Mi/Human-Human Fruit or Mini-Mini no Mi/Mini-Mini Fruit to be as small as a human or become one and enjoy being one as much as they like with everything included. Though he also might like the Ato-Ato no Mi/Art-Art Fruit🎨where he can create abstract art out of anything, but if he's not careful anyone too😅

I did my best but there are way more and feel free to mix and match for the ideal choice for each character. Feel free to check out the website to explore them more ✌️

[gojuo]

omg can we continue the discussion like this? @lemonhemlock​ holding a back and forth in replies is such a pain in the ass 😭

similarly this does not explain why maegelle, vaegon, daella, saera, viserra, & gael did not have dragons with their presumed 43.75%, even tho they had "purer" blood than rhaenyra. same with orys and his baratheon brood.

It’s not stated clearly anywhere but personally I think this is because Jaehaerys held a tight rein on dragon ownership. Maegor and his brother Aegon the Uncrowned’s death would have been reason for him to not let just about anyone have dragons. His daughters especially because 1. he was a raging misogynist and 2. they would be marrying into other houses so of course Jaehaerys would not want other houses to posses Targaryen dragons. The one daughter of his he allowed to have a dragon was married to his second son (third technically but you get what I mean) and would have stayed within House Targaryen + even became Crown Princess/Queen-to-be so it makes sense why Alyssa was allowed a dragon but not the rest of his children sans Aemon (future King) and Baelon (future Hand and then future King). And while Jaehaerys acknowledges House Baratheon as a House Targaryen offshoot, House Baratheon is not House Targaryen so it makes sense why Jaehaerys would never give the Baratheons access to dragons. Why Rhaenys was allowed a dragon I have less explanations for, but it’s worth noting that she wasn’t allowed one until Alyssa died. Jaehaerys probably thought Aemon would still produce a son one day and Rhaenys would marry him and the line would continue through them, meaning Rhaenys would one day become Queen Consort. I mean, we know Jaehaerys don’t give a fuck about age gaps so 😬

elaena targaryen has a dragon egg yet it never hatches with her 20% targness. nor can anyone else down the line succeed afterwards in bringing dragons back. as a result, i don't think it's that much of a stretch to presume that the more your magical blood gets diluted, the less able to are to access your magical inheritance superpowers.

I don’t necessarily disagree with this, I just mean that Helaena’s non-Targ children would be in the same bracket as Laena/Laenor and Jace/Luke/Joff in the “dragon blood” genetics, so I do not think that Helaena being 50% non-Valyrian and then her children being 75% non-Valyrian would pose an issue for those supposed children were they to claim dragons. Laena/Laenor and Jace/Luke/Joff had dragons just fine and they only had a little bit more “dragon blood” than Helaena’s would-be children would have in this scenario.

i see dany as villain-coded myself, but i don't think what makes her a villain is her parents & grandparents committing incest - that's not smth she would have had any control over and it wouldn't be fair to pin it on her.

I know and I think I kinda worded my point a little wrongly but I was arguing the semantics rather than the pedantics really. “Why is it Daenerys of the three-headed dragon who is unequivocally a villain but not the other two?” Well because thematically, it is Daenerys who is fully cloaked in Targaryen-ness while the other two have their maternal families to offset the Targaryen curse. Aegon is referred to as the Sun’s Son (Elia’s son), he grew up on the Rhoyne, he has Dornish companions, he refuses forging an alliance with his aunt and her dragons, he will marry a Dornishwoman, he has more family on his Dornish mother’s side than his Targaryen father’s who he can count on etc. etc. and Jon I obviously do not have to explain. Daenerys doesn’t have that because her mother’s family is her father’s so she doesn’t have any choice (I don’t mean literally) but to be a Targaryen ... which is what leads her down the path of villainy because The Targ/Valyrian Mindset™️ is The Great Evil of the story (thematically) (also because she was raised by Viserys but I’m gonna go waaaaay off topic here if I explain but to keep it short if Daenerys had never been raised by Viserys then she never would have ended up as the great tyrant that she is now. She’s genuinely one of those villains who turned out the way she did because of the way she was raised and there could even be made a case for Viserys as well but this is off topic so let me end it here).

Rather than GRRM having Daenerys be a descendant of two generations of incest because he wanted to strengthen her dragon blood so that she can hatch the eggs, I think it’s because of the semantics that set her apart from the other two Targaryens who are so chiefly tied to their non-Targaryen mothers. (And then what sets Aegon apart from Jon is that Egg grew up as a Targaryen still and looks fully Valyrian whereas Jon did and does not. Which is why Egg will die but Jon will live because House Targ must go extinct but Aegon would have fixed and restored the dynasty without succumbing to his crazy ancestors’ insanity and leaving a legacy of blood 🥲 whichisalsothereasonwhyRhaenyshadtodieandbereplacedbyDaenerys but that’s a conversation for another day lol.) Daenerys doesn’t have that. She doesn’t have the Rhoynish/Dornish part of her as a reminder and warning of Valyrian/Targaryen hubris like Aegon does and again I do not need to explain Jon. I think that’s why GRRM made Daenerys descend from two generations of incest, not to keep her blood “pure” in order to hatch those eggs. That happened because of the blood magic ritual anyway (which we both agree on) and I’m sure Aegon and Jon could have performed that ritual and gotten the same results either way, less incest ancestry or no.

ANYWAYS THE POINT WAS I DON’T THINK HELAENA MARRYING A NON-TARG WOULD LEAD TO ISSUES WITH HER CHILDREN TRYING TO CLAIM DRAGONS!!!!! HOW THE HELL DID WE GET TO THIS POINT 😭

[throne-anguis]

The Moonshade Order is a bomb that Arcanette and Claude manage very carefully Persona au. Here's why:

Harvey can change reality if he wants to. That's already pretty bad. He can change reality and then fuck with all of them if he wanted. Only reason why he doesn't is because he's too obsessed with Osvald. But he could. He very much could.

Trousseau is extremely volatile. He may be kept on leash by Claude but he's also one of the more stronger Persona Users and knows how to do Mental Shutdowns quicker than anyone. So by theory if he does turn against them by the delusion of "Just killing them to save them from the work they put into" then he can very much do it.

Petrichor is in the same way. She has a powerful Persona and is only helping them because it suits her interests and because she respects Arcanette. If she ever finds that Arcanette is lacking, then she'll go back to the Shadows and pick fights for the mindset of "Survival of the Fittest" and that could mean anything.

Kazan and Ori are a package deal. One of them can leave and the other might stay, but they don't know if they will stay. Neither of them don't really go to the Metaverse but the problem is that those two are very much connected to the Real World and can fuck the Moonshade Order over if they wanted to. Kazan is making sure the law gets off their back and Ori pushes forward news that doesn't put the Mental Shutdowns in the spotlight. They can both stop if they both leave, release a lot of things that they don't want people to know, and then things get very messy for them legally.

Claude and Arcanette basically are two people who very carefully makes sure everyone is on leash by use of manipulation and blackmail. Heavy manipulation and blackmail.

The Moonshade Order is a bomb that can go off in any moment and the tactic is to make sure that loose ends are sorted out, people who are found out don't know enough to really help the Phantom Thieves if they turn, use manipulation to keep the more loyal ones on leash, and continuously point out that they're much more powerful.

In the Metaverse.

Outside of the Metaverse they are about average. "Mindt" is just a worker in the organization Temenos works at and Claude may be the true leader of the Blacksnakes but really Mother and Father have been running it for so long that none of them would be loyal to Claude without proper incentive.

Honestly Ori and Kazan can very much ruin their lives if they knew more things but they don't. They just know what to not say and what to cover up.

It is also incredibly unfortunate that Arcanette and Claude failed to factor in the fact that people outside the Phantom Thieves, as those guys can investigate on their own due to them not being the usual suspects, cover up for the others, or use connections that they have personally.

Harvey is one of the most dangerous bombs here and they barely have him on a leash themselves. They probably don't give him all the information they know about the Moonshade Order upfront in order to try and manipulate him. But Harvey is smart and ends up finding out things anyway.

I love the description of Trousseau here. He is on a tight leash by Claude and doesn't even fully understand everything he has just been manipulated so much to be here.

Petrichor respecting Arcanette probably means a lot from her. Kazan and Ori are tragic and I love them. Claude is even scarier than Harvey (in his own different way) with having more power in the organization. Arcanette is the leader and a bitch but not as upfront scary as the rest of them.

As long as Arcanette can't see Hikari's full confidant list they're safe. But if they got their hands on Partitio and had a Sae Niijima aligned torture-interrogation scene with him oh man.

[estethell]

We hardly know anything about Nori and Dori, but since you enjoy drawing them, I was wondering if you have any headcanons that flesh out their personalities, skills, or likes and dislikes? 😊

What did you ask meeeeeeee!! Thanks to heart @sotwk for asking me to talk about them and how I imagine them, I have a whole huge headcanon in my head about them that I have extensively described in my fics that I can talk about them for days, but here I will write only the essentials!!!

-Nori- Let's start with Nori, my lovely Nori ❤

In my fanfiction "An unlikely friendship, an impossible love" I imagined how dwarf society was structured in the Blue Mountains and how they lived before starting the Quest for Erebor. In this context (which I won't explain here because otherwise too long, but if anyone wants to know more my askbox is always open 👀) Nori fits like a sour note! Nori is a thief who robs fools and drunks, he is very good at what he does and is known and feared in his environment. I like to think of Nori as an unbalanced character, in the sense that he is really skilled as a thief and as a con man but really incapable in social relationships as he hasn't developed any due to his lifestyle, in fact he is very awkward in establishing a relationship even only of friendship with Bofur. In the fic I explain how Nori chose to become a thief to help his brothers find honest work in order to live and then, when he could leave and devote himself to honest work, Nori had difficulty doing it because he was too addicted to the infamous life. I imagine Nori as a person who is extremely aware of his abilities and very arrogant, but also very insecure inside about what he doesn't know and afraid of showing weaknesses to others. Also, he has a good soul and is very kind to the people he cares about, but he can experience very intense feelings such as strong jealousies or great anger. He is a sanguine person who however managed to hide everything behind a mask of cold rationality in order to survive in the harsh world of the street!!

In a beautiful project that I haven't delved into anything yet (I hope sooner or later this project will be born because it's really beautiful), modern AU, Nori is a character who uses a mask of arrogance and confidence to hide a deep suffering and fear caused by the his criminal lifestyle, bringing with him the pain of having lived a very difficult childhood.

-Dori- Instead, I have deepened the character of Dori in two different fics. In the fanfiction "An unlikely friendship, an impossible love", Dori is the older brother who constantly argues with Nori and does not trust him because he is disappointed in his choices, he suffers because he blames himself for the choices made by his brother and tries in every way to protect Ori for fear that he will fail in his role as brother major again. But the best characterization that I have given to Dori is found in the fanficition "A bad temper". Here I imagine Dori as a dwarf with an extremely difficult character, he's whiny, picky, always in a bad mood and serious, he's not really good company. But in reality, it turns out that he's so strict because he feels a deep duty to look after and protect his siblings and he's based his life on that. Because of this, pleasure does not exist for him, only duty exists! But thanks to Balin, Dori slowly begins to melt away and we discover that in reality Dori is a dwarf with very strong maternal feelings, a very delicate dwarf who is easily injured and that is why he has raised an armor around him.

In the project I mentioned above, Dori is an older brother who lived his adolescence badly in a family where in fact he was the point of reference despite his age and who tried to deal with the whole situation with violence, to then mature into a refined and educated adult who likes beautiful things and who is deeply ashamed of his past.

Thank you so much for allowing me to talk about them and how i image them because I really love them and I imagined a lot of headcanon about them!!!