#glory ( main verse threads. )

[bcrnking]

@habitualevil | Liked for a Small-ish Starter

The woods were dead quiet, void of sound and shadow. Almost as if the world had frozen in place. But life still moved, just inside the treelines. Dark amber eyes caught in the reflection of armor, if timed just right. The occasional bird could be heard flying out of the trees to safety. The hunt was underway, and it had grown uncomfortably still. Metal clanked, drawing the attention of the wulver, as it swung around. It's eyes moving in the darkness of the forest, searching for the one who hunted it. A deep voice, commanded it, rumbling across the trees.

And the creature let out a high pitched howl, before it ran straight toward the tall dark shadow that loomed in between the trees. Blood sprayed, as the blade connected into the creatures head, busting the skull wide open. The sickening crunch of bone could be heard, as Mjolnir penetrated the wulvers face. And a earth shattering roar could be heard, spilling from the dark shadow. Now moving forward a few steps, before blonde locks spilled past broad shoulders. Head snapping in the direction of someone Thor hadn't seen in quite a long time.

❝ Claire, what are you doing here? That wulver could have made you it's meal. Do you realize the danger in coming here? ❞

That voice, rich with a rough English accent, almost sounding Norwegian. His eyes softened , slightly as he moved towards her. Fingers collecting Mjolnir's handle as he passed the dead wulver. Concerned yet, still somewhat angry eyes connected with Claires. His footsteps carrying him quickly across the forest floor, until he stood before her. Placing his Hammer beside him, one finger sliding caressingly under her chin, as he lifted it slightly.

❝ Why are you here for? What is wrong? "

[sunnydalescoobiies]

THERE WAS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT TO GLORY THAN FINDING HER WAY BACK HOME. that might sound wholesome and sweet but the true meaning behind this goal was nothing short of horrifying. returning home for this god meant releasing absolute hell on earth. every and each portal imaginable, ranging from all sorts of unspeakable evil, would tear and bleed into this reality. doing this meant glory could take on her revenge against the other gods in her own world for banishing her from her realm. and what was life without something to look forward to? after losing to the pesky, mousy slayer in sunnyhell, she fled the city to recover and gather new and improved reinforcements that could successfully assist her in doing this terrifying endeavor. mystic falls is where her research has brought her to. this town had powerful supernatural energy that she was feeding off of and plenty of victims to go around. hopefully more promising henchmen would show their face and faith to her. after all, she was a god and not one to be trifled with.

WHEN GLORY PATROLLED THE BARS DOWNTOWN, SHE HAD SPOTTED SOMEONE THAT SEEMED TO BE STRONGER THAN THE OTHER IRRITATING ANT-LIKE HUMANS THAT INFESTED THIS TOWN. she seemed sure of herself and knowledgeable. after toturing the lowlife scum that dared called themselves the creatures of the night, all that information brought her to this woman. she was told she had powers unlike anyone else. if she couldn't fight for her, maybe she could point her in the right direction instead. she waited for her move before suddenly, in a flash, appearing in front of @salvatoreseer and not letting the poor girl have time to process the god's speed, she bombarded her with questions. glory tilts her head and lets a sly smirk tug subtly at the corner of her lips, “ hey beautiful. a little birdie told me you could help me out with a pesky problem that's been bothering me ” she started confidently. “ you got a minute ? not like you have much of a choice in the matter anyway but i'm tired of being the snot out of people. so, why don't you make this easy and just come with me ? i'll buy you a drink. ”

[eskelwolfed]

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 / 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 / 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐄𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐋 @eskelwolf

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬: cis male, he/him or non-binary, he/they. queer, prefers masc. demiromantic. bottom, submissive, switches when dynamic / chemistry is right.

he is open to ethical non-monogamous relationships in modern IF he did enough healing, and he's in his early thirties. Witchers aren't monogamous by default, they're also forced into solitude and emotionally damaged...so ....monogamy? Never heard of her.

𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭.

In any case Eskel is Not Straight™. He might be bi, pan or very rarely gay.

Modern!Eskel uses he/him and they/them, while I think he doesn't really think about this stuff in Witcherverse. He's just a man. That's all he really knows, besides that he fucks men, women and monsters.

Eskel is generally more submissive, bottom and masochistic leaning. He does switch in many cases, though.

Yes, in fact, Eskel is attracted to men and women but he would prefer a man, that's his default sexual preference since I headcanon him madly in love with Geralt in Witcherverse.

speaking of Witcherverse: Eskel's main romantic interest is Geralt. More on that in this post and this one. That doesn't mean he isn't involved with others, but it clearly became much harder to ship him with other muses. Every thread/dynamic/ship before the [date here] remains unchanged. It's safe to assume we ignore that Geralt exists or Eskel and him have parted ways on bad terms.

Eskel is kinky. While Eskel's modern verses are clearly more diverse and queer, most kinks apply to Modernverse!Eskel. BUT depending on the modern timeline/verse he is a virgin and is sexually inexperienced.

This list is not completed and more kinks might be added.

symbols explained:

🖤 absolute favourite

✅ yes pls

⁉️ unsure/not tried yet&no desire to try

😶 indifferent

👀 curious, willing to try

⭕ soft limit (= can be discussed in established ships.)

❌ hard limit

⏮️ as receiver

⏭️ as giver

Please note that any kink/position/sexual action not mentioned does NOT mean it's a hard limit necessarily. I could've just forgotten to put it on this list or I haven't thought about it yet.

Fave kinks/likes/turn ons are bold.

Kissing 🖤

Cuddling 🖤

Men* 🖤

Women* 🖤

Non-binary folk 🖤

Anal ⏮️ 🖤 - ⏭️ ✅

Biting ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Scratching ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Hair pulling ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Anal gaping ❌

Enemas ❌

Anal prolapse ❌

Piss Enema ❌

Cum Enema ❌

Light bondage ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Heavy bondage ⁉️

Light pain ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Heavy pain ⭕

Cuckold ⏮️ + ⏭️ 👀

Gags ✅ ⏮️ - ⏭️ 👀

Sensory Deprivation ⁉️

Spanking ⏮️ ✅

Caning ⏮️ 👀

Flogging ⏮️ 👀

Whipping ⏮️ 👀

Crossdressing ⭕

Feminisation ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ❌

Cock and Ball play ❌

Body worship ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Watersports ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ⁉️

Threesome 👀

Group Sex 👀

Orgy 👀

Glory Hole ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ⭕

Double penetration one hole ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Double penetration two holes ⏮️ + ⏭️ 👀

Spitroasting ⏮️ ✅ + ⏭️ 👀

Blowjobs ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Cunnilingus ⏭️ 🖤

Face Fucking ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ⭕

Face Sitting (without smothering) ⏮️ 🖤 + ⏭️ ⭕

Total Power Exchange ⏮️ 👀+ ⏭️ ❌

Heels ✅

Leather 👀

Lingerie ⏮️ 🖤 - ⏭️ ✅

Latex 😶

Breath play ⏮️ ⭕ - ⏭️ ❌

Choking ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Chastity ⏮️ + ⏭️ 👀

Orgasm Control ⏮️ ✅ + ⏭️ 👀

Orgasm Denial ⏮️ ✅ + ⏭️ 👀

Orgasm Torture 👀

Edging ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Swallowing ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Feet 😶

Spitting ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ❌

Name Calling ⏮️ ⭕ + ⏭️ ❌

Verbal Humiliation ⏮️ ⭕ + ⏭️❌

Degradation 👀

Pet/Master 😶⁉️

Slave/Master 👀

Collar and Leash ⏮️ + ⏭️🖤

Encasement ⁉️

Age play ⁉️

Race play ❌

CNC ⏮️ ⭕ - ⏭️ ❌

Somnophilia 👀

Dubcon 👀

Public Disgrace 👀

Face slapping ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ⁉️

Cock/Pussy slapping 👀

Cutting ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ❌

Branding ❌

Piercings (non sexual) ✅

Needle play ⏮️ 👀 + ⏭️ ⁉️

Omorashi ⏮️ ✅ + ⏭️ 😶

Voyeurism ✅

Exhibitionism 👀✅

Sloppy Seconds ⏮️ 👀 / ✅ + ⏭️ 👀

Unsafe Sex ⭕

Breeding ⏭️⭕ ⏮️👀

Toys 🖤

Nipple Clamps ⏮️ + ⏭️🖤

Monsters 👀👀

Aliens 👀

Vore/Unbirthing ❌

Ghosts 👀

Butt plugs ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Tickling ⭕

Sex swings 😶

Fetish clubs ⭕

Lingerie ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Corsets ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Speech restrictions ⏮️ + ⏭️ ⭕

No Safewords ⭕

Roleplay ✅👀

Uniforms 👀

Sex outdoors 👀

Fingering 👀

Morning sex ✅

Cockwarming ⏮️+ ⏭️ 🖤

Lotus position ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Doggy 😶

Missionary ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Riding ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Reverse Riding ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

Frotting ✅

Mutual Masturbation ✅

Sex in the car 👀

Extensive foreplay ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Multiple Orgasms ✅

Ice cubes 👀

Filming sex, photographs ⭕

Nudes ⏮️✅ + ⏭️

Sexting ✅

Phone sex ✅

Big breasts ✅

Small breasts ✅

Big cocks ✅

Small cocks ✅

Older partners ✅

Younger partners (18+) ✅

Taboo roleplay 👀

Under the influence of drugs ❌

Bimbofication ❌

Blood 😶

Scat ❌

Sweat 😶

Crying 🖤

Begging ⏮️ + ⏭️✅

Praise ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

Make up ✅

Messy ⏮️ + ⏭️ 🖤

One (partner) clothed, one (him) naked: ✅

Human furniture ⁉️

Gentle domination ⏮️ + ⏭️🖤

Kidnapping ⁉️

Servitude ⏮️ + ⏭️ ✅

[fatedcadenza]

★ Some Bowser's Castle headcanons I have! ★

- Everyday, cooks serve Bowser and Junior a large breakfast, lunch, and dinner that the Koopalings are able to join in the dining hall if they want to. If not, they can have the cooks arrange them meals to eat whenever they want; or they can prepare their own meals (though none of them typically do that outside of Ludwig rarely).

- For the Koopalings, they're able to go almost wherever they want in the castle. The only area strictly off-limits is Bowser's living quarters; though no one outside of Junior, Kamek, and Kammy are allowed to enter it without Bowser's permission. (In the v | one of bowser's many children. ;; ★ verse, since they're all his children the Koopalings can enter when they want.)

- The Koopalings each have their own living quarters, that are individually found in the seven towers connected to the castle's main body. They have a large bedroom, washroom, and a spare room that they can use for whatever they want. In Ludwig's spare room, he keeps his personal grand piano and desk where he sits to write his songs. Cleaners routinely come by once a week to clean their rooms and wash their bedding.

- Bowser is tended to by his own medical staff, which also oversees Junior and the Koopalings. There's an infirmary they can go to for examinations and treatment if they're feeling ill or have been injured. The medics often have their work cut out for them after a scheme of Bowser's has failed and everyone comes back wounded from fighting the Mario Bros.

- Mainly thanks to Junior, the castle has a massive playroom that has an assortment of toys, an indoor playground, and other means of entertainment. One of the most noteworthy objects is a large TV that Junior or the Koopalings primarily use to play video games. Cleaners have to stay on their toes to keep the room as sanitary and neat as possible.

- The castle has a few giant Chain Chomps anchored around its perimeter that act like guard dogs. They're cared for by a group of staff.

- The only instance the castle is open to the public is when an annual tour is held for the castle's lower areas. A guide shows visitors around and allows them to see a glimpse of the building's architecture, art depicting Bowser and older family members that used to rule as monarch, and objects of historical value. The guide also recounts some events and tales of the royal family's glory. Koopa children are abundant in this tour, and their adoration of Bowser is fostered by hearing and seeing how cool and powerful he is. Standard PR and all that.

Naturally, these all apply in my blog canon and might be referenced in threads.

[loganpente]

18+ Only

No Godmodding/Metagaming

Don’t Send Starters to my Askbox Unless Asked (memes are okay)

Always down to turn memes into threads

Ask if you need something tagged (I try to be diligent about this but may slip up or not catch something!)

Logan is a mix of book and and film canons- I lean towards the film in terms of world-building (domed cities, terms, etc.) but have pulled some of Logan's personality traits from the book. For instance he does become a runner of his own volition albeit with the intention of destroying 'sanctuary' so he can go out in a blaze of glory. I've also kept more of his book personality so Logan can be somewhat immature, impulsive and quicker to violence.

Other Blogs: @gowesten @withinycu @bianfu @impercre​ @eynsavalow​ @warriours​ @akcsha​​​ @cheerlaedere

For those unfamiliar with Logan's Run- Several years after a nuclear war and other disasters small remnants of humanity live in a carefully maintained Domed City. In these cities humans are raised by machines. There is no want, everyone has food, shelter and an endless supply of entertainment and pleasure. However in order to keep the Domed City from exceeding it's population all citizens are expected to report to Sleep Shops at the age of Thirty. Those who refuse are to report to the Sleep Shops are called Runners and they are hunted by Sandmen.

VERSES

v;sandman | Logan is a sandman living in the Dome Cities several hundred after an atomic war and other disasters have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. While he doesn't question the system he can be pushed into questioning it.

v;runner | Logan is on the run, having chosen to run in the hopes of bringing down 'Sanctuary' to win some measure of glory. However life on the run has begun to open his eyes to the possibility that there's a world outside the Dome Cities.

v;cult | Logan grew up within a Cult, as before he left for his own reasons but is slowly coming to terms with how damaging the beliefs he grew up with were

v; homeworld | General sci fi verse albeit one where the entire planet follows the 'death by thirty' rule. Rules are much the same as they are in Logan's main verse though he can be shaken out of his complacency by outsiders.

[pika2482]

AOTD 1/5/2024 - Graduation (Kanye West)

[All albums are rated subjectively based off my own enjoyment]

4/10

I am not a very large fan of Rap. Sure, some songs catch my ear and I do genuinely love and enjoy, but I have never been able to get into the genre as much as I'd like to. Of course, that effected my review, but with my usual review header that I give before I even write down the rating, personal influence is much to be expected in this thread. I am not trying to be objective, that is not my goal. This is my album review thread. My rules. My bias. Your problem.

I disliked Graduation. Most of it didn't speak to me, and the songs had a tendency to linger on for far too long. The instrumentals rarely developed past the chorus, and it's home to the worst song I've ever heard (More on that later). Most songs I wanted to skip after the second or third verse, but in the spirit of fariness with the rest of the albums, I soldired on. There's a phrase in songwriting that goes "People can loop your song as many times as they want, but they can't make it shorter". Either cut everything past the 2nd or 3rd verse or develop the instrumentals some to give it some more merit.

Stronger in particular suffered from this. The backbone of the song is actually pretty damn good! Somehow they got Daft Punk to clear a sample, and I jammed with the song pretty hard. It just... dragged. If it ended at like 3:30 or 4:00 it would have likely scored higher, but pacing holds this song, and most of the album back.

There however Was a highlight, And it was a pretty good one too! I found myself genuinely Jamming to Homecoming. What a sick fucking piano riff dude, fuck I wanna LEARN that! Good beat, nice atmosphere, good enough chorus, a flow I could dig, and it didn't outstay it's welcome. I'm gonna be actually genuinely reaching for this on in shuffle. It suffered a bit from the same developmental issues but it's length helped alleviate that.

Other highlights included Stronger, Everything I Am, and The Glory, though they don't make the main highlight for some of the reasons mentioned in the second paragraph.

And now, the aforementioned "Worst song I've ever heard, Barry Bonds. Between it's mediocre flow and vocals, subpar sample selection, and mediocre chorus, yeah sure it's not terrible, just a forgettable 4 or 5 out of 10.

But then Lil Wayne's verse came on.

Some people don't know this, but I am on the Autism Spectrum. Not by much! Just enough to make me struggle with my social life and any type of large gatherings (No, not social anxiety, I'm a complete extrovert). I suffer from something called Sensory Overload, which is commonly found among people on the spectrum. What this means for me is that certain combinations of senses can severely overwhelm me. Overlapping sounds such as; a large amount of people talking at once, somewhat loud music, and the sound of a ping-pong table or basketball dribbling, have triggered this consistently in the past, and cause me to start shutting down. It can also be triggered by other senses, but for me it's usually induced by sound.

Now this next sentence is about the furthest thing from a compliment I can offer

Lil Wayne's voice immediately started triggering my sensory overload.

This combined with its sample choice gave me a Viceral reaction to the rest of the song, as I had to take a short break before continuing the rest of the album. I'd be hard pressed to find a song I hate more than this one.

Overall, a combination of "not my thing" and "I dislike this", with the exception of 3 songs I liked and one song I can compare to nails on a chalkboard. Not a great batting average for a 13 song album. I'd recommend The Glory and Homecoming, but that's about it.

Favorite Songs: The Glory, Homecoming

Least Favorite Songs: Good Life, Can't Tell, Barry Bonds, Good Night

[corrvptor]

@shinkv from here

        There’s a lot of chaos swirling around them and the half-galran almost misses the moment Keith gets hurt; but he doesn’t. Lotor is already hurrying over to the paladins side when one of the soldiers pops up with a blaster, ready to fire again. He moves without thinking and pins them both to the ground, a snarl escaping his throat. It’s instinctual--the need to protect the other half-breed; he shoves that mess back into it’s box. There’s no time to think about the tangle of emotions he can never quite sort out. It takes him no time to dispatch the soldier, much to used to killing. 

         Purple eyes slide back over to the other, stumbling along the wall. He could bring up the wound but knows what it’s like to need to appear strong. Instead he touches the others back to offer support without making Keith voice the issue. “Lets hurry back to the ship and make sure everything is in order. Is it ok if I ride with you?”

[cetacian]

"Well I wasn't going to eat him, he was just dumb enough to get trapped in my web." ~Glory-HasNoPlaceHere [Ruby] (meet my giant spider lady)

Grace looked over between the man and the spider woman. “I see... I mean I would understand if you had those instincts, even if I would ask that you find something to eat that wasn’t going to get people pursuing you. Regardless, why choose this area? You’re probably drawing a lot more attention than you realize, attention you likely don’t want.”

[amchara]

Herondales Don't Fail: Ch. 1 - The London Institute

Ao3 / 1

Kit Herondale, Ty Blackthorn (Kit/Ty), original characters

Wordcount: 5,412 words

Rating: Mature

Summary: It’s been almost five years since an epic line-up of Shadowhunter heroes and their allies closed all the portals to Hell. Now, demons are scarce and the Nephilim are searching for their purpose in this new world. Centurion Ty Blackthorn has been sent to London to investigate a potential new threat, while Kit Herondale has taken up a post helping to rebuild the London Enclave.

Kit was happy to accept the London Institute’s invitation to assist in the rebuilding of the city’s Enclave. But he didn’t count on being blindsided into joining the competition to become its next head - or being hated by most of its inhabitants who assume he’s only there because of his name.

Notes: This is the Kit POV story of "The London Files", which are one-shot or multi-chaptered fics set post-The Wicked Powers. Established Kit / Ty relationship, where they're about 22-23 years old. Set in the same universe as Effortless (Or, the time Kit almost earned an A-Level) but you don't need to read it to follow the story, although it will add a bit more context to Kit's relationships to the OCs (Ade and Ellie) in this fic - basically, they are his school friends from Devon.

You can find the main case file stories here and other stories set in the same verse here. I would suggest also reading 'Weather Change' as it's basically a prologue to this story, although this one can still be read independently.

The morning of his first day at the London Institute Kit woke up with cold feet, morning glory and Ty staring at him like he might burn a hole in his forehead.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” said Ty. 

“Good morning too, love,” Kit said, with a groan. His head was intermittently aching and he suddenly remembered last night. He had come back in after his night out dancing with Ellie and had pounced on Ty, who had leapt up from his report-writing in eager reciprocation. 

Kit looked down… yep, that was one huge hickey that he had on his left pec. And from previous history, he knew his neck probably looked like a drunk vampire had gotten at him. 

Ty’s gaze dropped down to Kit’s fingers searching out his neck. “Don’t worry, we can iratze them before you have to head to the Institute.”

Kit suddenly felt nervous, remembering the day ahead. For comfort, he reached out to trace his finger down Ty’s cheek, from grey eyes framed by darkest eyelashes to his perfect jawline.  

Ty closed his eyes. And then in a graceful movement, pulled Kit closer to him in the bed. His lips found Kit’s and they kissed with a tenderness that deepened after a few beats, Ty stroking his hair gently. 

Kit broke the kiss reluctantly. “Ty- what time is it?” They’d been in London less than a week and he hadn’t adjusted to the timezone yet. 

“5:45. You still have a couple hours before you need to leave,” Ty said, close to his ear, and in his voice, Kit could hear a dark thread promising a very good time in that intervening period. “Especially as you don’t have to drive in L.A. traffic.” 

“That is the sexiest thing you’ve said to me in about.... five hours,” Kit said, pressing a quick kiss on Ty’s cheek. Who needed sleep, anyway? Particularly given their recent schedules… Kit would always seize the opportunity.  

Ty lifted his head and his lips curved in a smile, eyes gleaming with smugness. “Good, as I still have several things I want to do before you leave this morning.”

He could feel Ty’s fingers tightening in his hair, directing his head back into a more advantageous angle that gave him access again to Kit’s neck, his other hand roaming downwards. Kit bit back a groan, and leaned into Ty’s shoulder. 

But a conversation from the previous night right before they had fallen asleep popped into his head.  Kit could feel Ty hovering over him, his lips stroking across his throat. He made his decision. 

“No,” he said. Ty stopped. Kit’s hands reached up and disentangled Ty’s hand from his hair. “Pretty sure we had a deal last night-”

Ty pulled back, with a small pout on his lips. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that,” he admitted but a quick, shy glance upwards meant Kit was certain he was going to get his way. 

“Oh- you can definitely go back to sucking later on,” Kit told him with a grin, letting his eyes drift downwards suggestively.

Ty smiled enigmatically and he looked at Kit with a sardonic eyebrow raised as if to say - why are you waiting?

Kit responded by rolling so he was on top, straddling him and an incomprehensible noise came from the back of Ty’s throat. He reached up for Kit- but Kit pinned his hands easily over his head and leaned over him, his long hair falling around him and tickling the sides of Ty’s face. “My turn,” he said. 

Ty’s expression was of a person accepting their fate. “Okay,” he said, his voice full of desire and slight resignation. 

Kit smiled. He would accept the rare victory of Ty Blackthorn giving up control.   

--  

An indeterminate time later, and Kit entered the downstairs kitchen, freshly showered and ravenous. He nodded at Anush who was standing and peering over Ty’s shoulder as Ty pointed to something on his laptop screen, talking in a low voice. 

Anush was taking notes with fierce speed but managed to nod companionably as Kit crossed the brightly-lit kitchen. They both were dressed in smart trousers and collared shirts, with their Centurion pins flashing in the morning sunlight. “So we’ve considered that they may have stationed part of their network in France?” Kit heard him ask. 

“Yes- but,” Ty paused in his explanation. He tilted his head as he watched Kit turn around, pushing up his sleeves, and Kit wistfully admired the sight. Before they arrived in London, it had been almost six months since he had spent more than a day or two alone with Ty. And given their first London patrol and Ty's injuries, Kit was just thankful he had the chance at all to admire Ty in the early morning light. 

Admittedly, Anush wasn’t part of his domestic fantasy, but Kit supposed he had to make allowances, given how closely he and Ty worked together as Centurion partners.

But he had paused for too long, and he could see Ty about to ask a question. “You’re both starting early,” Kit said hurriedly, grabbing supplies for breakfast. He eyed the coffee machine with slight betrayal- he had sworn he had programmed it the previous night. Then he sighed - and stretched across the counter to turn the switch on at the wall. 

They’d visited the Herondale townhouse on Curzon Street occasionally over the past couple of years - ever since he and Jace had collectively agreed to restore it back to being a liveable home instead of a museum relic - but infrequently enough Kit still sometimes forgot the fact wall sockets in the UK had to be turned on. The coffeemaker gurgled to life. 

Ty rolled his eyes, distracted. “I still haven’t gotten the ban on bringing mundane equipment to the office lifted yet so Anush is taking physical notes for our meeting. It’s much less efficient,” he said, annoyance evident in his voice 

“Give it time,” Kit said, grinning. “You’ve only been working there for a couple days- once they realise their best Centurion is being asked to do his work with one hand tied behind his back, they’ll lift that laptop ban.”

“Excuse me- TWO best Centurions here,” Anush said jokingly, leaning across the table to grab another thick pile of papers. 

Ty gave Kit a small smile as he turned back to his screen. “I hadn’t realised how old-fashioned it would be here,” he said.  

“They’re very traditional here still,” Anush agreed with a sigh. “Honestly, if we can get them to listen, it’d make our lives so much easier to use a computer rather than handwritten notes. Plus filing would be digital and super easy,” he said, looking at their stack of paperwork. 

He turned back to Kit, who could see his sharp brown eyes scan up and down, a crease forming on his forehead. “Speaking of tradition… today’s your first day at the Institute right, Kit?” 

“That’s right,” Kit said, and he narrowed his eyes in return, as he started eating his breakfast. “Something wrong with how I look?” 

Anush shrugged as he held his hands up. “Nah, look man, you know I don’t care. But just so you’re aware… from what I’ve gathered in the week I’ve been here, the Centurion office takes its cue from the London Institute. Super traditional.” 

Kit raised his eyebrows and looked down at his clothes. The pit in his stomach deepened and he could feel the previously-squashed down anxiety rising. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a small frown cross Ty’s face at Anush’s words. 

Kit took a deep breath. “I’ve packed standard issue gear in my bag for training but-” he said, defiantly crossing his arms. “They asked for Kit Herondale, that’s who they’re getting.”

Anush snorted and Ty looked amused. “They’re definitely getting a Herondale,” Anush said.

Kit pasted on a grin. “And who am I to deny them that experience?”

He gulped down the rest of his cereal and poured some fresh coffee into a travel mug. “But- speaking of, I am gonna head out- don’t want to give them any impression other than the one I’m trying to carefully cultivate.” He picked up the bag he had packed the previously evening, silently thanking his previous self for being proactive. 

He loped across the kitchen and bent to give Ty a quick kiss. “See you this afternoon for the wraith briefing?” he said and Ty nodded. “And Kit-” his hand tightened on his forearm and Kit picked up on the subtle warning. 

Kit squeezed back. “I know- I’ll keep my eye out,” he said. 

The mysterious text message they had received the night they arrived in London. The London Institute is rotting from within - tread carefully Herondale.       

--

Sabina was heading down from the armory to grab breakfast, when she came across her sister peeking around the corner of the corridor to the Institute’s entrance. 

She took in her sister’s appearance as she approached. Unlike the previous day, there appeared to be fewer scorch marks on Noura’s heavy duty apron she wore over her gear, which suggested that today’s experiments were going well. Or not well. She couldn’t really tell which but so long as Noura continued to avoid Evelyn’s notice for another couple of months until the new Head of Institute was decided, that was the main thing.  

Noura spotted her out of the corner of her eye and she waved Sabina over. He’s here, she signed, gesturing towards the front door. 

Sabina hurried over. No need for further explanation of who ‘he’ was. The legendary Herondale. And her competition; unless she was wildly mistaken about Evelyn’s meeting this afternoon. 

She debated whether to take a look but her curiosity and Noura’s slightly impressed look was worrying… she decided to risk it. She peeked. Noura pulled her away, grinning, to an alcove where they could talk. 

“Huh,” Sabina said, facing her sister so Noura could read her lips. “He’s… not what I was expecting.” 

She had met Jace Herondale when she had spent a month at the New York Institute, early in her travel year. As a newly Ascended Shadowhunter, and one who had only previously spent time in the old Academy when it came to Shadowhunter society, she hadn’t really felt comfortable exchanging more than brief pleasantries with him, even if he was only a year older. 

This Christopher Herondale, part of the group of heroes who had saved the entire Shadow world four years ago, wasn’t exactly built in that mold. Oh- he had the same broad shoulders and blond hair of his cousin but…

“He looks like a Shoreditch hipster,” Noura said, smirking. “Hot.” She feigned wiping her brow. 

Sabina rolled her eyes but internally, she agreed at her sister’s succinct summary. Well, the first part at least. 

Long hair pulled back into a high bun, dark fitted jeans, paired with an artfully faded t-shirt and converses, a canvas backpack casually slung across his shoulder.... if she hadn’t been otherwise informed, and he wasn’t standing in the entryway and chatting with acting Head of Institute, Roger Stormborn, he could’ve been any mundane she encountered on the Tube. Or as Noura said, a denizen of a certain popular East London bar area. Sabina also could have also sworn she spotted several ear piercings. Definitely not the traditional Shadowhunter look. 

She grudgingly admitted her sister’s second observation was also true. This Herondale was easy on the eyes. But Sabina had long ago learned how to adjust her internal hotness calibration for Shadowhunters- especially the long-lineaged Shadowhunter families, otherwise she wouldn’t have made it through the Academy. 

Plus, the fact that they were often assholes helped.   

She wasn’t sure if there was as much of a glow-up for Ascended Shadowhunters (though Noura had certainly attempted to quantify it via their skincare routine pre- and post-Ascension). But she did admit certain old Shadowhunter families seemed to have something of the ‘je ne sais quoi’ about their features. Even for…  

“Sabina!” A familiar Scottish baritone voice called from across the hallway. Jacob gave her a friendly smile, as he sought her out. “How is the armoury inventory coming along?”

“I’m on break, Dearborn,” Sabina said, with a polite nod. “But it’s coming along. How is library archiving?”

“Fascinatingly actually- if you’re going to the dining hall I’ll catch you up on-”

“I’m actually catching up with Noura so…” Sabina interrupted. She watched as his beautiful blue eyes slid across to her sister. “Of course- I’ll see you at training later,” he said, nodding to them both as he took his leave.   

Noura grinned at her sister and arched a questioning eyebrow, which Sabina ignored. She concentrated on the matter at hand. “What do you think people’s reactions are going to be?” she asked reluctantly, returning to the matter at hand. 

“Evelyn is going to freak out when she sees him. You know- she’s like, all ‘ra rah we’re Shadowhunters and need to hold ourselves to higher standards. I doubt she’ll be a fan, even if he is a Herondale,” Noura said, her dark eyes dancing with glee. “I’d be more worried about lover boy as your competition- but even then,” she shrugged, waving dismissively at Jacob’s retreating back.

Sabina bumped her shoulder. “Ugh- do not start,” she said. But she did feel faintly reassured; she trusted her sister’s intuition. Noura pushed back a strand of her short, black hair as it fell in front of her eyes, watching Sabina straighten up. She nodded in the direction of the Herondale. “Should we go and introduce ourselves?”

--

Kit sucked in a breath as he leapt backwards and out of reach of the broadsword that Jack- no, Jacob was swinging towards him. He hefted his own sword and spun around in an economical half-twist. With brute force, he angled his blade close to the opposing hilt, forcing his opponent to grunt and step back. 

Starting Shadowhunter training so late meant he was never going to achieve the sleek fluidity Emma, Ty and others had, which made close combat look so easy. But he had compensated for it with other strategies- pure strength and well-

He saw his opportunity and kicked out towards Jacob’s ankle, trying to force him off-balance to get under his guard. He grinned at the shock on Jacob’s face, which quickly turned into a scowl as Kit gained the upper hand in their one-on-one. 

He could hear murmurings from the small group gathered on the side of the stuffy training room hall, watching them. 

He also heard Jem’s warning voice in his head. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, Kit and Emma’s dry voice when he pulled out his more unorthodox moves - save those tricks for the actual demons and work on your form when you’re sparring 

But he also heard the echo of Jace’s advice when Kit told him his plans to move to London. You have one chance to make a first impression, so make it count 

Kit’s fighting style was messy, dirty and… mundane. But effective, he thought grimly, gritting his teeth as he swung around and tapped Jacob under his armpit in what would’ve been a killing or heavily wounding blow if they were fighting for real. Given Jacob’s last name - Kit decided he wasn’t going to lose sleep if he fought a bit underhandedly to win against a Dearborn.   

Jacob’s eyes widened and he held his arms up. “I yield,” he said, stepping back. He gave Kit a considering look, as another of the London Institute’s Shadowhunters stepped into the training circle. 

The Institute tutor, Sabina Burakgazi had been one of the first residents Kit had met- alongside her sister, who was also standing on the sideline. In contrast to Noura’s enthusiastic greeting, she had been quiet and reserved, her fine-boned face polite and distant as she greeted him. Even in the training briefing she had given when he joined the afternoon session, she hadn’t given any indication she was seeing him as anything other than an additional body, which Kit was grateful for. 

Sabina stepped into the circle and Kit took the opportunity to do a quick pre-sparring evaluation. A few years older and a few inches shorter than him, dressed neatly in gear, with hair pulled back and held in a beige-coloured turban wrap, Sabina looked more ballet dancer than fierce warrior. But Kit knew that delicacy was likely deceptive. As she sauntered up, he was reminded of nothing more than the leopards that had watched him and Ty warily when they had last visited the San Diego zoo. 

“We’ll finish up here for the time being, Herondale,” she said. Her brown eyes flickered up and down in a business-like fashion, pausing briefly on his left wrist, which was aching slightly. He resisted the urge to rub it. 

Assessing. Like most Shadowhunters did when they learned his name- wanting to see one of the famous Herondale line in action, although Sabina was more subtle than most. Not that he blamed her. 

And at least most London Institute inhabitants seemed far enough removed from the front lines of the final battles to understand his role in them so there were more curious looks, in contrast to the pitying or scared looks he sometimes got when he visited the NY Institute. Evelyn’s invitation had been short and to the point- and while it had specifically requested him, there had been an oddly impersonal tone to it. Kit was hoping it might actually mean that London would be a good fit. Where he could be just an average Shadowhunter. 

Figure out if it was actually what he wanted.  

“We’ve been summoned to Evelyn’s office,” Sabina told him, holding up the fire message in hand before turning away, clearly expecting him to follow. 

Kit wiped the sweat off his brow, and looked down at his gear. “Without changing?”    

“Believe me, you do not want to keep her waiting,” Noura called out, and Kit could see a couple of the other young trainees laugh nervously. 

“Noted,” he said. He held out a hand to Jacob, wondering what his opponent would make of it. Jacob just clasped it briefly and said: “Good match.”

“You’re to come along too, Dearborn,” Sabina said, her mouth twisting slightly when she said his name. 

Kit noted Jacob’s face fell fractionally but he nodded, laying down his sword and flattening down his already perfect head of chestnut-brown hair.   

They both hurried after her.

--

Evelyn Highsmith - the regal Head of the London Institute sat in a high-backed chair in a corner, away from the bright August daylight streaming in and illuminating dust motes in the air. 

Despite her advanced age, she stood to greet them with only a slight lean on her eagle-headed cane. Kit vaguely remembered her from the whirlwind visit to London seven years ago. It had been the summer his father died, he met the Blackthorns - he found a place with the twins - and everything in his life changed irrevocably. 

He wasn’t sure she remembered him but her hooded, rheumy blue eyes watched him closely as he filed in after Sabina, Jacob following. 

The other two Shadowhunters took a sort of soldier’s ‘at-ease’ position in front of her, and Kit tried to imitate them, feeling awkward about it. In L.A. Helen and Aline didn’t stand on ceremony, and in New York, Jace and Clary’s style could be loosely called ‘chaotic coordination’ but clearly - as Anush had mentioned - things were more traditional here. 

Evelyn sat down, and pulled out several folders, clearing her throat. A soft snick of the door and the acting Head, Roger Stormborn entered, muttering apologies for the lateness. He moved to stand behind Evelyn’s chair, facing the three of them. Kit didn’t know entirely what the dynamic was there. Evelyn was in her ninth decade, Jace had told him, and should have stepped down years ago, but had refused to, particularly in the aftermath of the Dark War, and then the mess with the Princes of Hell and portals. Stormborn had been the de facto head for day to day activities. 

Not much was known about Roger- he seemed steady enough, if thoroughly unremarkable, according to Clary’s internal notes on the heads of Institutes. 

“Ms. Burakgazi,” Evelyn began by reading the first folder. “Top of your year at the academy, unusual for a mundane student. Ascended in 2012. Travel year with the New York, Buenos Aires and Jakarta Institutes and a secondment to Sydney. Joined full time with the London Institute and you’ve been with us for - five years now?” Sabina nodded. “Named Institute tutor last year, following Amanda Cartright’s retirement.” 

Evelyn turned to Jacob. “Mr. Dearborn. From the Strathclyde Dearborns - your family has been attached to the Edinburgh Institute for five generations, including several heads…” Jacob stood up taller, if that was even possible, Kit thought. “Travel year included time at the Stockholm, Vienna and Moscow Institutes. Then back to Edinburgh. You were acting head at the Winnipeg Institute for two years before the decision was made to close it and transfer remaining Shadowhunters to Calgary. At which point, you asked for a transfer to London, where you’ve been assisting us in archiving the London Institute’s history.”   

Evelyn’s gaze moved to Kit, and he willed himself not to reveal his apprehension. Whatever was written in her file on that, he reminded himself, it would likely only be half of the truth. If that.

“Mr. Herondale. A late discovery of your Shadowhunter heritage and Herondale name at age fifteen. You had a brief stay with the Blackthorns of the L.A. Institute before Jem Carstairs and the warlock Tessa Gray were made your guardians.” As she chose to only refer to Tessa’s warlock nature and not her Shadowhunter background, Kit suddenly remembered Evelyn’s disdain for Kieran and Magnus. 

“Despite their limited ties to our Institutes and society, you still completed your training. Sometime during this period, it was also discovered that you were the ‘First Heir’ - a Shadowhunter/Faerie hybrid, who was-” Here, Evelyn looked down to read carefully. “Meant to bring the Faerie Realm under Shadows.” Kit could feel Jacob and Sabina try not to look at him at this stage. 

“Despite your Fae heritage-” Kit tried not to bristle “-in 2015, you joined your cousin Jace Herondale, and Clary Fairchild’s quest to Faerie to defeat the Princes of Hell, which of course, as we all know- led to the interdimensional gates closing.” Evelyn droned on. “In the preceding years, you’ve visited a number of Institutes, although none for an appreciable amount of time. No travel year mentioned.”  

“I had a mundane travel year-” Kit interrupted. Evelyn looked up in surprise, spectacles sliding down her nose. “I beg your pardon?”

“I er- spent a year in the mundane world, after the gates closed,” Kit said, defensively. 

“Well, that certainly explains the attire,” Evelyn said dryly, pausing to give him another unimpressed once-over. “Although not the persisting in its wearing.”

“Since then I’ve taken on several missions to the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. And spent extended time at the L.A. and New York Institutes.” Kit tried to keep his voice even. 

“Yes,” Evelyn said slowly, her gaze scrutinizing him once again before returning the paper. “You come very highly commended from those Institutes’ Heads.” 

She closed Kit’s file and then cleared her throat. “I imagine you all know why you’re here.”

Absolutely not a fucking clue , Kit thought, wondering why she had pulled the three of them out of training to basically read back their Shadowhunter resumes to them. Particularly him, given he had only arrived this morning. As far as he knew, he was an extra body, helping rebuild what used to be Europe’s largest Enclave but currently held mainly Shadowhunters a year or two out of their travel year. He snuck a glance to Sabina and Jacob, who both looked pale but determined.

Roger came forward, a troubled look on his face. With a sinking stomach, suddenly a suspicion formed in Kit’s mind.  “My health is no longer strong enough to run such an important Institute. I’ve been afflicted with a mundane illness that is proving troublesome for the Silent Brothers to treat outside the Basilias, and I can no longer put off the treatment needed,” said Stormborn.    

“Sabina, Jacob, Christopher,” He nodded at each of them. “You will be working together to run the Institute until December, and at that point- Evelyn will decide which of you will be the next Head.” 

Kit had thought years of therapy had cured him of the urge to run anymore. But it still seemed that the Shadow World could throw him curveballs to spur that habit. 

--

“Christopher, stay behind please.” Evelyn’s voice was brusque. 

Having half-expected the request, Kit returned to his previous spot and watched as the others filed out. 

Evelyn was writing and he studied the old, dingy paintings of Shadowhunters cutting down swathes of Downworlders behind the large desk as he waited for her attention to turn to him and to get his own swirling emotions under control. 

“Welcome to London, Mr Herondale. I imagine this meeting was something of a surprise to you,” she said finally. 

Kit resisted the urge to shrug. “I imagine seeing how I reacted was useful in some way to you.” If this was going to be how she wanted to play it, he wasn’t going to dissemble. He had seen Aline and Helen use this tactic in L.A. and - come to think of it, other Blackthorns- use the tactical withhold of information in order to throw someone off guard. 

There was a tiniest twitch of her lips, as she nodded. “Perhaps.”

In your invitation, you didn’t even hint at wanting me to be Institute Head- you lured me here under false pretenses, he thought. But he didn’t voice it outloud. He thought about his next few words carefully, trying to figure out how to best sell his objections while still communicating he wanted to remain in London. Close to Ty. “It seems a risk though, bringing in an outsider like myself who doesn’t know your practices and… traditions.” 

He watched her carefully, wondering if she might give clues as to why she chose him as a candidate. 

She pursed her lips. “You’re a Shadowhunter, Christopher-”

“-Kit.” 

“And you’ve gone through the standard training-”

“You mentioned my Fae heritage,” Kit said, trying to salvage the conversation. “Does that not disqualify me?” A slight stiffening of her shoulders was her tell - as he suspected- his ties to Downworlders did bother her. 

There was a narrowing of her eyes. “As much as I hate to admit it, times have changed - and it hardly prevented the appointment of Helen Blackthorn to the L.A. Institute, did it?”

Kit tried to backpedal. “I meant-”

“And from what I understand- it’s hardly a concern anymore, hmmm? No further claims to the thrones of Faerie, due to the loss of that magic.” Evelyn tapped the folder, her gaze steely. 

Kit froze, pushing down unwanted memories. Ash’s desperate, slipping grip as Kit transferred everything, every powerful jolt of magic, a legacy he never wanted, in order to save him and heal Faerie.

“I – no, I don’t have further claims to Faerie thrones,” he said roughly. 

He lifted his eyes. “But frankly, I’m not a suitable candidate for running this Institute, Ms. Highsmith.’ 

“Let myself and Roger come to that conclusion. You’re a Herondale who has survived missions that would’ve killed most Shadowhunters. You have a lot to recommend,” Evelyn said, a tone of finality entering her voice. “And your unorthodox background might just be what this Institute needs.”

Her gaze raked briefly over him. “That being said, I expect you to look like a proper Shadowhunter, Christopher. Including the hair. Starting tomorrow,” she said, turning back to her papers. 

Kit heard the dismissal. He nodded and turned on his heels, exiting, frantically recalibrating everything he had thought about London, and what this post might mean.

--

“Stormborn is retiring? That’s unexpected.” Jace’s voice sounded surprised on the other end of the phone. 

Kit scrubbed his face as he paced the length of the courtyard, ending up underneath the gate, just before the noisiness of the mundane world intruded. He had debated who to call post-Evelyn meeting (he wanted to tell Ty in person) and he figured Jace might’ve had some inkling about this. And if that was the case, Kit was going to kill him for letting him walk in unprepared. 

“Yep. End of the year. And somehow he and Evelyn have decided that I, of all people, am somehow one of the suitable candidates to run the Institute.” 

“Well-”

“Fuck no ,” Kit hissed. “Jace. I told you- that’s not what I wanted, coming to London.”

“Hey, fair enough- and I didn’t give that reference thinking you’d be handed the reins of the Institute.” Jace’s voice was conciliatory. “Especially on your first day. But you know…”

“If you mentioned the Herondale name, I will hang up,” Kit threatened. 

Jace laughed. “You said it, not me. What can I say- attention and authority just flows to us, Christopher. You might as well embrace it.”

“I’m 22, no way in hell should anyone be putting me in charge of anything,” Kit said. “No wonder the Institutes are floundering if they keep putting inexperienced idiots in charge.” 

There was a brief silence on the phone and Kit closed his eyes, remembering. “I mean- I’m referring to myself. It was different for you and Clary.”  

Jace let out a small chuckle. “You’re closer to the mark than you think. I’m referring to myself of course, not my darling wife. Yes-” In the background Kit could hear Clary’s voice. 

“Anyway, you’re also less of an idiot than you think and I say this having gone with you on patrol after eating two plates of Izzy’s cookies…” Jace’s voice softened. “See how it goes. It’s not like it’s being handed to you on a silver platter. And okay, you don’t like being reminded of it but c’mon- you could’ve gone to practically any Institute- but you chose London? Where Herondales have a long history of running the Institute?” Jace’s voice was skeptical. “Evelyn probably had to add you to the running list to fulfill tradition.” 

Kit luckily had a good comeback to that point. “I only came to be closer to Ty, now that he’s been reassigned. And anyway I still think they’re wrong,” he muttered. “Also- f tradition. Everyone keeps saying London’s traditional. So far it looks like it’s where fashion comes to die.”

“That’s Old World Institutes for you.” He could practically hear Jace’s grin. “My advice - give it a month or two. If you’re still thinking it’s not for you after that, endorse another candidate. I’m sure they’d appreciate the support.”

Kit remembered the wary glances Jacob and Sabina had given him, as they left Evelyn’s office. “Not sure about that...”

There was a pause and Kit tensed, wondering if he was going to get a further ‘Herondale name legacy’ spiel. 

But Jace was wiser and didn’t bother, likely anticipating how it’d land with Kit. “You know you’re welcome any time to come to NY again. Anyway, gotta go- Jossy is grabbing at my dagger and Clary is glaring at me.” 

“Yeah, I have to go too,” Kit said, looking at his phone’s clock. “Ty and the other Centurions are arriving soon to give a briefing on the wraith attacks.”

“Now, that I am interested in-” Jace said, his voice suddenly infused with the Institute Head authority that he could turn on instantly. “Send me a message if there’s anything new to report.”

“You mean, anything juicy that’s not in the official dispatches,” Kit countered. 

“In your new role you’ll be writing a lot of those official dispatches,” Jace reminded him. “But also, yes.”

“Will do,” Kit said. Then he remembered the ominous text message- but he and Ty had decided to wait until they had more solid evidence and he decided to keep it to himself for now. Other than this surprising news, there weren’t any immediate red flags that he could point to at the Institute- but then again, maybe this competition would help them both figure out where the message came from, and what it referred to. 

Either way, his arrival at the London Institute was not going the way he thought it would. 

--

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[atelier-slime]

The Music and Story of Dragon’s Dogma

Or: How To Make The Best of a Shoestring Budget and Hamstringed Development

(tons of spoilers for Dragon’s Dogma and Dark Arisen ahead.)

links to music included throughout, pls listen if you can

If you’ve never played/heard of Dragon’s Dogma before I’ll sum it up quickly: It’s an open world RPG developed by Capcom that came out in 2012. It has some pretty massive enemies and features Shadow of the Colossus-esque climbing combat that allows you to clamber all over the massive bosses and hit their weak points for massive damage. The story follows the Arisen (your customizable player character) who is called arisen because they are brought back to life after attempting to battle with a massive Dragon named Grigori. Grigori revives you for showing courage in battle, but steals your heart and tells you that you must kill him to take it back. The Duke of the land is also Arisen himself, and tasks the player with slaying the dragon and bringing peace to the land. Very standard RPG fare.

A year later Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen came out. It included a postgame dungeon and a bunch of new content, and also a small change that fans absolutely fucking detested: The title screen theme was changed from “Flying Into Free” by j-rock group B’z to the much less interestingly named “Dragons Dogma Dark Arisen Main Title Theme”. I specifically remember threads at the time where people would complain about how “generic” or “soulless” they thought it was compared to the original.

t. redditor

I’ll grant that the Dark Arisen title theme does sound more like what you’d expect from a typical fantasy RPG from a purely surface level perspective, but it’s always been funny to me that “generic” was the word of choice for people whining about it, because it’s probably the most poignant and specifically tailored title theme you could possibly have for the game, and I’ve yet to see another game come anywhere close to the amazing shit they pulled off with the music and themes in Dragon’s Dogma.

The lyrics to DA’s title theme are a snippet of the first verse from “Eternal Return” (more on that later) which goes:

'Neath a faulted sky; cross loamless plains, and watered blight Ah! Where gone those days, once Glory shone so bright? Fallen 'neath baleful wings dark as night. Ah! A moment give to me Hark! Shall none hear this soul's tale, Of a land, benight?

After the verse the music trails off, with occasional notes here and there but no real melody. It may not be as hype as Flying Into Free, but what they’re doing here is none the less really cool. It’s the musical equivalent of “Once upon a time” or “A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away.” The singer is a storyteller, bringing you into the story with the song, and she’s waiting for you to press start to begin the next verse.

Now let’s check out “Eternal Return”. Eternal Return is the main leitmotif of the whole soundtrack. I’m too lazy to check every single song, but I’d be willing to guess that anywhere from 1/4th to 1/3rd of all the songs on the OST feature a portion of it in some manner. After the first verse heard in the title, the music swells and the middle 1/3rd of the song is all instrumental, with multiple changes in tempo and instrument including some fucking sick electric guitar riffs. It conjures up the idea of different events and trials on your adventure, both positive and negative, before it reaches the second verse which goes:

Pitiful man whom death has undone, Leaned upon a broken blade, looks too, skyward. Prithee above (Almighty One) Be this thy word? Cried out, begged for truth but no answer's sound be heard.

The “Pitiful man” being you/the PC. At this point in the story your character has been through the wringer, probably fought several of the dragons and other massive boss monsters scattered throughout the world and died a few times. They’re tired, ragged, at their wits end, and is basically just:

And while they don’t get a response from heaven, they do eventually find a deeper meaning:

Yet, now he sees the dragon's dogma, Unbound by time; all-binding, grand design. Land and skies, and seas yearn, Finish the cycle of eternal return. Finish the cycle of eternal return. 

Boom! Title drop! I don’t think any character in the game ever mentions the “dragon’s dogma” or even uses those two words together in a sentence. It’s only ever used in the lyrics.

This is where we get into super spoiler territory, so if you don’t wanna get spoiled turn back now. I would very VERY much encourage you to give the game a try if you haven’t before and are even the slightest bit intrigued, because it’s a truly unique experience and even as just a game it’s really fun and satisfying to climb up a giant ogre and stab it in the head.

Anyway.

If you’re played the game you’ve probably got an idea of what the dragon’s dogma is. For anyone who hasn’t though: While slaying the dragon is hyped up as the end of the game, it’s actually only the halfway point. Throughout the game you meet several other Arisen, including the Duke, but none of them seem all that interested in slaying the Dragon. Being arisen means eternal youth, so they don’t mind letting Grigori hold onto their hearts. You eventually find out that The dragon offers all Arisen a choice: Grant a wish in exchange for the life of their beloved, or do battle to regain their heart but potentially die in the process. All of the other Arisen you meet took the wish, leaving their beloved to die. When you kill Grigori, all of their hearts return, but it causes them to lose their immortality. A massive rift called the Everfall tears open the center of Gran Soren, releasing monsters into the sky. The Duke is reduced to a feeble old man. Another Arisen called the Dragonforged has been alive so long that when his heart returns he turns to dust. The Duke accuses you of conspiring with the dragon to curse him and his city, and the guards give chase. With nowhere else to run, you are knocked into the Everfall.

The Everfall is called the Everfall because you can fall forever. All along the walls of the endless pit are ruins filled with monsters which you learn come from different places and points in time. You eventually discover that your true purpose as an Arisen is to travel the Everfall and gain enough power to challenge and eventually replace the Seneschal.

this asshole

The Seneschal is essentially the god of Dragon’s Dogma. They keep the universe from collapsing through sheer willpower. But they were once Arisen just like you, and they became the Seneschal by killing the previous Seneschal, who was also once an Arisen who killed the Seneschal, etc. etc. ad infinitum.  Grigori, as well as multiple other drakes that you meet during the first half of your adventure, were also Arisen that failed to become Seneschal. (You can even become a dragon yourself if you die during the final battle.)

And that’s what the Dragon’s Dogma is. It’s their duty to challenge Arisen after Arisen until one strong enough emerges to keep the universe going. The infinite cycle of Arisen to Seneschal to Arisen again is the “Eternal Return” referred to.

The thing that’s so cool about the lyrics is that they pull double duty for the story. Are the “baleful wings dark as night“ the wings of the Dragon, or are they the wings of the countless monsters that pour out of the Everfall?  Are the “days once Glory shone so bright” the era of peace before the Dragon came, or are they the days before you learned the true nature of the universe? Are you “crying out to the almighty one” because of the hardships of your travels, or because they were once the same as you, and you don’t want to kill a kindred spirit? Despite having two distinct parts of the story with very different tones, the lyrics fit either way.

If you go back through the game a second time you start to notice all sorts of little details that tie into this, my favorite of which is the song “Star of Heaven”. It’s barely a song, only 30 seconds long, and is just the last 2 lines of Eternal Return, but context is everything. Star of Heaven plays when you step out into the overworld in the evening/at night. It blends seamlessly into the soundscape of the game (I never even realized the churchbell was part of the song until I looked it up later.) It comes whispered across the wind, often times drowned out by other sounds nearby:

Land and skies, and seas yearn, Finish the cycle of eternal return. 

The world itself is urging you onwards to save everything oblivion. Star of Heaven threads the needle directly between diagetic and non-diagetic music. Is there a literal woman singing the song next to your character? No. But is it something in-universe that your character feels and understands? Absolutely.

Another bit is the credits sequence that plays when you get the “true” ending. After you defeat the old Seneschal, you are given the Godsbane, the only weapon capable of truly ending their life. You become the new Seneschal, and if you continue playing the game all you are allowed to do is travel around the game world intangible and unable to interact with anything. The only other option available to you is to use the Godsbane on yourself, potentially ending the cycle once and for all. You get a nice little storybook montage of all of the characters you adventured with, but the last few notes are unmistakably the same lines as are in Star of Heaven.

If you play all the way through a new save on new game+, a new Seneschal will be there. If you’re connected to the servers, it will be someone else’s Arisen who became Seneschal, but if you’re offline, it will be your character from the previous game. “Naught lasts forever, yet all persists unto eternity.“ Finish the cycle of Eternal Return.

“Ok Slime,” you say, “That’s all well and good and extremely fucking cool, but why did they wait until Dark Arisen to change the title theme?”

For that yall will have to wait for part 2 because this post is already long as fuck.

[bcrnking]

@habitualevil - [ Goddess Artemis ] | Liked for a Starter

This wasn't lost on Thor, or any the other Aesir. The existence of other Gods was known of, and even studied. Tyr had been the one to of found out about these other realms. Yet, for them to exist then The God of Thunder believed others had to of, as well. The first experience with another race of god, was with the Greek Gods. Oh, the arrogance of this one specific Goddess, and he thought he had been bad. Crimson Red hair flowing, across winter stark skin, tantalizing and taunting. Maybe the first time in a very long time, that The God of Thunder had felt a HEAVY ATTRACTION for anyone.

True, he has had his fare share of women. Who he has found attractive, but Artemis, oh the bitter pill he swallowed with HER. Curiosity had struck a nerve, and the more Tyr revealed about the Greek Gods. The more ANTICIPATION he had felt to travel to there realm. He needed to know more about them, and against the wishes of THE ALLFATHER, he had traveled to the Greek God's realm. And his time there, he wasn't welcomed with warmth at all. But he didn't care, what he did care about. Was getting to to know Her, Artemis. But what had been a heated affair between him and her. Soon turned into her icy demeanor showing in the end.

And Her & Her Brother both had fucked Thor over, trapping him and nearly over powering him. Just so they could seize his power and stealing Mnjolir from him. But they were FOOL, both of them, they didn't do there research about THOR very well at all. His power base, his strength and his anger were all his fuel, and he nearly killed the both of them, and the other Greek Gods on his way out. It had always been his intention of returning with Magne, Modi and Baldur and waging a all out war against them all. But things never aligned for him.

Something snapped him back to reality, as hands dug into the stone arms of his chair. Blonde locks flung around his shoulders, as he took to his The scent of Lilacs and Roses filtered his senses. A low grumble, vibrated along his massive chest. He knew that stench of perfume anywhere. Dark intense eyes fell onto the dark shadows, blacking out the doorway his chambers. Electricity began to dance across his fingers, raising up his forearm and along his eyes. Raising his arm, he outstretched his fingers, pointing one toward the intruders, as he heard the Hammer slamming against objects before distinctly slamming into his palm. Fingers closing around the handle, as he let out a roar.

❝ ___________ ARTEMIS!!!!! Why are you HERE FOR? ❞

[xiyao-feels]

new tu and xiyao fan from earlier. i searched ao3 as per your suggestion and there's only 500 or so fics for them. :( however, i do have a legit question - what are the differences between mdzs and tu (i've never read the latter). and if you want expand on nieyao (or xiyao) please feel free! i love reading meta! one of the few reasons i miss old school fandom spaces lol. thank you!! :D

Hmmm, I see about eight hundred if I limit to English? But I take your point! But that was just as a way to start; once you do find an author you like, you can look at their bookmarks, for example. (Also I'm not sure if you're familiar with the AO3, but if not, sorting by kudos when doing a general search is a way to get stuff that at least lots of people thought was good. I'm not saying it's perfect, but when you're starting in a fandom it can be better than the default by-date-updated.)

Also I'll take the opportunity to plug my absolute favourite xiyao author, roquen. I didn't mention them last time because they haven't I believe written a post-canon fixit, and you should know that they're mostly sticking to MDZS instead of CQL canon, although with some sprinkling of CQL elements and characterization. Some particular favourites of mine include their AtLA AU and their Sunshot/on the run fics (both series with a couple of short fics), their what you might call a mid-temple hopeful fix-it (divergence where LWJ strikes to kill and LXC takes the blow), the baby LXC fic ("Lan Xichen reverts to being a fifteen-year-old junior, and immediately gets an epic crush on Lianfang-zun"; disclaimer that I was fairly involved with the creation of this one but it's GREAT) and, of course, above all, their gigantic canon fix-it verse, it's worth it every time. It's SO GOOD and the characterization is fantastic and the prose is excellent and UGH. It's so good!!!!! Disclaimer that the second fic in the series, which is the main work, is still WIP, but roquen updates regularly and there are only a couple of chapters left; if you're still wary of WIPs, I'd at least recommend the first fic, which stands alone and is brilliant in its own right.

As to the differences between MDZS and CQL…ho boy. There are quite a few, both major and minor, and I'm by no means familar with all of them—especially the ones that don't involve 3zun, lol. I tried to google around but unfortunately the ones I found tended to be either short or, if more in-depth, contain inaccuracies about JGY/LXC—I think people tend to be more interested in the Wangxian, and then this stuff goes by the wayside. The wiki can be a good source for differences for specific incidents, and although I think it's not always accurate it /does/ usually cite chapter or episode, which can be pretty helpful. 

This, by hualiann, looks like a good overview, though I'd add that JYL, WQ and WN didn't study at Cloud Recesses in the novel and that more generally MDZS has a lot of actual undead.

In general my advice is to take things people say about the novel with a large grain of salt, myself included. And about CQL, too! I have no idea if this is you but when I joined the fandom, if people asserted stuff about CQL I tended to just kind of take it as fact—oh, I thought, I must have misremembered! My memory is pretty terrible, and honestly there was absolutely stuff I did misremember. But also sometimes other people misremember, or fanon gets taken as canon, and then there's stuff like—I mean, I'm certainly not going to blame people for not realizing that "JGY conspired with XY at the Unclean Realm" is a lot more uncertain than you might guess at first, especially if they're more Wangxian focused which most people in the fandom are, but I'm still not going to present it as straight-up fact. (veliseraptor has a recent post examining this here which I would very much recommend).

Honestly I think I'd recommend reading the MDZS NMJ Empathy flashback—chapters 48, 49, and the beginning of 50. That gets you a lot of the JGY, LXC and NMJ backstory, and then you can compare for yourself! I'm also going to recommend Mercy's thread, here, listing common fanons about MDZS (I will add to the list, since it's a bugbear of mine, the idea that LXC recognized NMJ's fierce corpse by his abs).

Okay with all that out of the way, and in no particular order, Sun's extremely idiosyncratic and particularly- aka mostly JGY-focused differences list:

-In MDZS, LXC doesn't become Sect Leader until the burning of Cloud Recesses by the Wen, when his father is injured and then succumbs to his wounds. In CQL, he's Sect Leader from the beginning of the show, his father having apparently died not too long before the show started.

-In MDZS, MY wasn't working for the Nie at all before the beginning of Sunshot; he joined the Nie forces just after Sunshot began. NMJ didn't instantly promote him to be his deputy when he's telling at the Nie men for bad-mouthing him; it takes a few more encounters and/or battles with the Wen (after which MY clears the battlefield and helps the commoners).

-In MDZS, xiyao's first meeting happens when LXC is on the run with the Lan books after the burning of Cloud Recesses. We don't see it happen on the page, and we don't know any details of that time beyond, like, MY helped LXC.

-NMJ willingly sends MY away from the Nie, with a letter of recommendation for JGS, after, uh, an extended overhearing of a conversation between MY and LXC wherein MY's desire to be recognized by his father and gain a proper place in the Jin, the opportunity offered for that by JGS recruiting talent at Langya, and the possible difficulty of obtaining permission from NMJ are all established. 

-NMJ sees MY stabbing a /Jin/ captain, at Langya, after he goes looking for MY. Rather than taking a blow for NMJ, MY stabs himself, faking suicide, then immobilizes NMJ (who's trying to save his life) and flees. This is because NMJ wants MY to go turn himself in for killing the captain; MY thinks they'll kill him, while NMJ says that if the captain has actually been mistreating MY as MY said, MY won't be killed. Personally I think that all the evidence suggests that MY is right, and NMJ is blind to the effects of his position to the extent it's a not insignificant moral failure.

-Okay, so, you know how in CQL MY stabs WRH while he's distracted with WWX, outside on the steps with the Sunshot alliance right outside? In /MDZS/, they're in the Sun Palace, WWX isn't anywhere near the place, he does it to save NMJ's life, and then he starts lugging NMJ's unconscious body out of the palace. And then NMJ comes to consciousness amd demands his sabre and tries to kill him. He likely only survives because of NMJ's wounds, and if LXC hadn't shown up (responding to a message MY sent for aid for NMJ) NMJ might easily have killed him. If you want a more in-depth analysis, I take a close look here in my response to someone's, er, imaginative interpretation of NMJ and JGY's relationship in MDZS.

-In CQL, NMJ's qi deviation happens at the stairs incident. In MDZS, it happens later, when he overhears JGY being upset to LXC about how NMJ treated him at the stairs, and, overcome with rage that JGY would dare (arguably in combination with being polite and pleasant to NMJ's face, although the last time he was confrontational to NMJ's face NMJ kicked him down the stairs and tried to kill him so), he kicks open the door and tries to kill him. He also kills several people as he's qi deviating (seeing them as JGY—while in CQL he also sees several JGYs they seem to be just illusions), and injures NHS.

-In MDZS, NMJ sets fire to all of NHS' nice things. I don't think we're told either way in CQL, although it's worth noting that in MDZS this happens after the stairs (and before JGY starts playing for him again). (I think they do something in FJ?? But I don't take FJ as canon for CQL; see confusion-and-more's post here).

-In CQL, JGY suggests to NMJ that he's always played the corrupted Clarity for him (though granted this is in Empathy, so it's hard to say for sure if this is what he actually said, but in any case it's the only version we're given). In MDZS, it's strongly indicated that JGY only started playing Turmoil for NMJ /after/ the stairs—there's a variety of evidence, but I think the most objective is that WWX, who in MDZS Empathy can literally feel NMJ's anger, actually observes it working beforehand:

Since [JGY started playing for NMJ], Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed.

(Exiled Rebels translation, ch. 49)

And then the next scene is the stairs incident, so.

-In general, the degree to which JGY's position is completely awful is played down in CQL. confusion-and-more talks about it a bit here; I'd also note that some of JGY's dialogue defending himself is removed ( “Some trivial achievements?” He spoke in a shaking voice, “…What do you mean, some trivial achievements? ChiFeng-Zun, do you know how much work I put into such trivial achievements? How much I suffered? Glory? Without the handful of glory I have nothing!”, for example), we don't hear about his mother at the guqin scene, the temple flashback where his mother is dragged naked outside by a client and he's kicked down the brothel stairs is eliminated, etc etc.

-There is absolutely no second flutist in MDZS; also JGY tells us in the temple that QS was already pregnant before he found out about the incest. I think even in CQL it's questionable whether he actually intended to kill Zixuan (see this whole conversation), and significant unveiling or no CQL never actually says QS wasn't pregnant before their marriage so I tend to go with that too, but certainly it's easy to walk away with the impression that he definitely did both deliberately, especially if you aren't familiar with the novel.

-(In general, I think CQL JGY is a lot more sympathetic than most people think once you look closely, but he's also very much set up to look upon a more casual watching as Villain, so.)

-In CQL it's All A-Yao All The Time but in MDZS we see LXC calling him san-di after the sworn brotherhood, and then it's back to A-Yao in the present day (see my last addition on this chain here).

-In MDZS, JGY doesn't shove JL out of the way of the incoming attack.

-The LXC lifting JGY out of his bow thing is from CQL

-The watchtowers! Oh /man/ the watchtowers. God the watchtowers are so much. Uh, confusion-and-more has a post about how much they're mentioned in MDZS vs CQL here, and see my last addition to this thread for an argument that the watchtowers were indeed a force for good. God. Twelve hundred watchtowers. He must have saved so many lives...

-confusion-and-more's watchtower post also reminds me that CQL has the Guanyin temple giving out medicine, while MDZS does not

-The episode 23 scene where Sect Leaders Jin, Nie, and Lan agree to spare some of the Wen doesn't exist in MDZS (though I'll take the opportunity to observe that I disagree with popular interpretations of that scene, see point three here).

-In MDZS NMJ's fierce corpse is literally trying to kill JGY, there's no saber spirit. And like, it's been trying to kill JGY for a long damn time, that's why JGY dismembered him.

-The XY plotline—in MDZS, JGY recommends a young XY (who at thay point has a reputation but is not known to have committed any massacres) as a Jin cultivator, as part of an effort by JGS to recreate the Yin Tiger Seal. JGS has multiple people trying, but most of them aren't getting anywhere and XY is getting furthest. It's during this time that XY kills the Chang clan, and is discovered as guilty by XXC, who brings up the evidence at a conference happening in Lanling; the Jin are stalling, MMJ gets angry and shows up, he almost kills XY on the spot and gives JGS a lecture such that he's forced to relent and sentence XY to death (and incidentally scares JGY, imho quite seriously, while he's at it). Then JGS turns it into life imprisonment once NMJ has left, and then NMJ is extremely angry and attacks JGY at the stairs. (Ch. 30 and 118)

-I mentioned before but I'll add it here too: in CQL JGY asks LXC to stay and die with him, and LXC agrees.

-The CQL ending in general is...hmmm. Despite having most of the elements which complicate MDZS' ending (JL is in a terrible position!), it kind of presents as...happy ending all is fixed now? In MDZS I think it's presented as—more complicated, even though Wangxian do very much get their happy ending.

-Also LWJ is a lot less. uh. Okay, so in CQL he's more Mr Morality, and in MDZS it's much more Wei Ying Right Or Wrong. Also, he doesn't become Chief Cultivator in MDZS! I think that's my least favourite change, because it's like...LWJ hates politics, hates compromise, and never attends the cultivation conferences. At least one of 'this is going to be a major diisaster' and 'LWJ is going to have to go through some significant shifts in his worldview and approach' are going to have to happen, but that's not the vibe CQL gives off at all, and I think it really works against some of the major themes of the text :/

-OH RIGHT I knew I was forgetting something—in MDZS MXY's revenge is focused solely on the Mo; JGY is not part of the curse.

Okay I don't want to go too much on about xiyao or nieyao, because this is already quite long and I don't want you to be waiting forever, but broadly although I certainly think NMJ cares about JGY a great deal it seems to be about his competence and potential; he doesn't really seem to, like, actually like who he is as a person. JGY, meanwhile, is at first very grateful to and then increasingly exasperated by and very much fucking terrified of NMJ, but...well, he doesn't seem to be into him or interested in spending time with him for the sake of it or etc etc.

On the other hand—xiyao. Man, xiyao!!!! They just—they get each other so fast, they're /partners/, they work together so well, they like and they respect each other, they're both like—LXC and MS are on their own tier for JGY, LWJ and JGY are on their own tier for LXC, they're for each other in a way neither is for anyone else, they care a lot about the same things—it's not perfect overlap, obviously, but it's more overlap I think than either has with anyone else, they—invest, they're builders, JGY was planning the watchtowers project from way back and although I have no doubt he was driving it LXC was with him and!!!! ugh!!!!! xiyao are REALLY GREAT, okay.

[graceful-cure-swan]

((One thing I absolutely love exploring, regardless of what verse I’m using, is Tsubasa’s trauma and how and why a girl with her demeanor handles things the way she does. Her trauma in main verse is completely fantastic in nature— being brainwashed by a god from a different planet using a crystal that turns her negative feelings up 1000%— but she’s no less affected by it. Just the mere concept of having her agency stolen from her and having her mind and body controlled against her will to hurt someone, anyone, is just so devastating to her. Even though she was saved by her fellow Cures, the incident still haunts her to this day.

Meanwhile, her FFXIV verse self has seen a lot of people die, both by other people and by her own hands. She’s the WoL in that verse so she got to see the MSQ in all of its trauma-filled glory. Ironically, what happened to her in main verse is one of the few things that’s either incredibly unlikely or outright impossible to happen to WoL!Tsubasa because of the Echo.

Anyway, because a lot of my replies are mostly Tsubasa’s thoughts and feelings, I love showing the less cute side of her even if she won’t say anything out loud. It’s not something I spring on people in threads when it’s not relevant because that would be weird, but still. If you somehow read all of this, thank you. Sometimes, I just like to ramble about my baby for a while, okay?))

[imgloriaa]

‪HOW LITTLE MIX ARE COLLABORATING WITH CNCO AGAIN‬

A THEORY

‪¡DISCLAIMER! ‬

‪this post isn’t a confirmation of a collaboration happening. it is based only on assumptions that might be untrue. ‬I copied and pasted it from twitter, target to an audience that doesn’t know much about CNCO, you can avoid reading some details.

‪SAME CONCEPT FOR THEIR NEW ERAS:‬

‪As noticed, at the end of Wasabi music video we get a loading font saying a new era is happening. ‬CNCO uploaded a video on instagram where we get a loading font for a new era. The concepts are very similar to each other, I would say they look pretty identical. You judge, here the pics:

‪SPANGLISH SONGS: ‬

‪CNCO themselves said they were working on spanglish songs. Their most popular spanglish song has a collaboration in it (which is Reggaetón Lento). ‬Would make sense if they’ll work with them for another NEW song, which won’t be a remix. ‬

‪REGGAETÓN LENTO: ‬

‪Speaking of the song itself, we have to remember the fact it has three different versions. The original one, Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos) is their most popular hit. ‬There’s a second remix of this song featuring Zion & Lennox they played once.The third remix, featuring Little Mix, has been played ever since along with the original version of the song. It goes without saying the band actually liked the collaboration so much to keep playing it every time they can (which means, always). ‬ ‪The song is a permanent song on Little Mix’s setlist for every event or tour since it got released. ‬It makes me think both bands loved it more than we actually think. ‬Has to be added, CNCO wanted (and needed) a spanglish single to get USA’s gp attention. They reached out to Little Mix because Erick and Zabdiel didn’t speak that much english at that time (although Zabdiel has a long verse in english and Erick doesn’t). ‬ ‪

Why do I think they will reach to Little Mix (or another english artist) for a new spanglish song? Because both Zabdiel and Erick don’t like to sing in english. Zabdiel himself said he doesn’t like to and prefers spanish, because he thinks he isn’t good enough at speaking english‬. They have a spanglish song without a feature, but only Richard and Joel sing in english. Zabdiel changed his spanish part into english during lives. ‬

‪FRIENDSHIP:‬

‪It may be not so obvious, since the bands collaborated a friendship has been created. ‬‪As we’ve seen from the many interactions on Instagram. ‬CNCO said before they’re glad to have collaborated with Little Mix not only for the friendship that has been made. ‬ ‪In fact when CNCO and Little Mix met for their performance in London, LM taught them how to armonize (for example) and tons or other things. Beyond work, the bands have been partying together (both London and Miami as far as I know), and, personally, I don’t go out partying with someone I don’t like at all!

‪I highly believe some of the interactions they had during this year were made on purpose. After they used the same “new era” concept, they interacted five times (I’m not counting likes as interaction, they all like each other pictures on instagram). ‬

‪¡ANOTHER DISCLAIMER!‬

‪The previous points were made to point out a couple of things, weren’t actual assumptions. The thread has a sense because of it. ‬

‪COLLABORATED MORE THAN ONCE WITH AN ARTIST: ‬

‪We know Little Mix didn’t collaborate with the same artist twice (but have worked on songs with the same artists more than twice!), but it’s different talking about CNCO. ‬In fact the band collaborated twice with Abraham Mateo.‬ ‪Which means they actually consider working with someone they worked before, maybe because they had fun in the making, they liked the person/people they worked with, and tons of other things. ‬It’s easier for them thinking to re‬ach out to Little Mix again.

‪MALUMA: ‬

‪Little Mix were rumored to be working with Maluma for a song that has never be released. We don’t know what happened to this song, if it actually exist, but what if Little Mix considered working again with a band they have worked before and are familiar with? Also, Maluma anc CNCO are under the same label and management, which means Maluma might have rejected the song and it might have offered to CNCO.

‪SPANISH: ‬

‪Little Mix said before they’d like to learn spanish. For them, learning spanish may be easier through songs. ‬‪Considering of doing another collaboration with CNCO (or other spanish/latin artists) will help them learning something new in spanish. ‬

‪POPULARITY: ‬

‪The reason behind Reggaetón Lento Remix was reaching more popularity for both bands. By collaborating together on the song, both bands got bigger in the UK and LATAM.‬ ‪The main reason behind it was to reach USA’s GP attention (which, unfortunately, both band didn’t achieve yet). CNCO had a tour in the USA, but their popularity there isn’t higher enough, in fact they toured small venues. ‬

‪STRATEGY: ‬

‪To get USA’s GP attention, CNCO need to collaborate with an artist whose main language is english.‬ As said before, Erick and Zabdiel don’t sing in English.‬ ‪In fact neither Erick or Zabdiel don’t sing in english on Pretend, which is their spanglish single that USA’s GP didn’t appreciate enough, or on My boo, which is a three languages song (Spanish, Japanese and English).‬ ‪Creating a NEW song with Little Mix that isn’t a remix will help both artists increase their popularity either in the UK and LATAM, also might help them getting more recognition in the USA.‬

‪COPYCAT: ‬

‪Little Mix’s new era is rumored to be very similar to their Glory Day’s era (that wasn’t that bad compared to the last one), which is when the Reggaetón Lento Remix happened. A spanglish song might typify GD era and the new one. ‬

‪¡END OF THEORY!‬

‪Remember this is a theory only. As the owner of a predictions account I had to write down my thoughts about it, because I have a strong feeling about it (90% of my predictions come from those strong feelings and, all of them, happened to be true). ‬

THANK YOU FOR READING.

‬

[loruleheiress]

idk what fanon take people have for hildy, since I Can’t Read. I think she’s just call Emo as a joke and that’s it. Which, is fine and all. If one were to call her evil but reduce all her motivations THEN I will be like middle finger up to fanon So. I do know that I adore her and try to add a little more OUMPH to her character. I just hope it works and is in character for her is all. Let me go on ahead and list some points for this girly! 

She’s cold, but cares too much. It’s her large motivation. While she would love to see Lorule return to its glory, by her hands alone due to time being out once she comes into reign, she wants the lands to have light once more to bring hope to her people. I do like that Link manages to touch several Loruleans since this proves that they’re aren’t entirely nasty. It’s possible for them to be Nice, it might take some time for them to warm up, and they may not be like Hyrulean levels of nice. HOWEVER! They can still change no matter how long it may take. 

That possibly means with time there will be no more brainwashed knights, no more cults, less thieves. The monsters in Lorule are crazy strong, stronger than Hyrule’s as a matter of fact, but maybe that will be one of the few dangers Lorule has to face after the return of their triforce. And Hilda is ok with this. And several places that have been corrupted mayhaps will become pure throughout time. 

And who knows? Maybe the master sword will make its appearance. Legend isn’t active at the moment on their blogs, but we have a thread planned out where rumors of the sword is at Death Mountain rather than Skull Woods. Lorule is parallel to Hyrule, there are differences as Hilda says. So, we decided to go with the route that the Master Sword is in there. It’s corrupted though due to lack of light in their lands.  

Hilda doubts the gods will communicate with them once the triforce is gone. She does have a fear that they may incur their wrath for breaking something so sacred. It was to stop conflict and bloodshed, but again she doesn’t think that gods are good and can be cruel and a bit evil as well!

SHE LEARNS TO ASK FOR HELP. SOMETHING SHE COULD’VE DONE IN THE BEGINNING BUT DOESN’T. I am here to explain why she doesn’t. She often rejects support or help in main verse for a number of reasons. She has pride, a little mind you, but some pride nonetheless so it feels a bit humiliating to her to turn to someone even if she’s desperate (Yuga seems reliable enough considering their plans she does need another hand to help out so she swallows her pride here). Highly independent, she’s used to being alone it’s all that she knows, she gets things done with her own hands. Ravio leaving left a huge scar, he was the few that was close with Hilda, she doesn’t have many allies therefore, she felt abandoned and angry and hurt and so many feels. As such, she doesn’t trust any one who wants to help out in any way. Keep in mind that her people are pretty uhhhhh hard to trust in general. She shuts off at the mention of friendship because of everything mentioned above. She fears getting close to anyone under the belief that they will eventually leave her too. So, arms distance treatment for all! Thanks trust issues!  

[midknight-sentinel]

//i thought it’d be good to list the verses hallkel had!! so far i have a few, but i’ll list them all and try to keep it a bit brief!! BE WARNED: THE POST WILL HAVE SOME SPOILER MENTIONS FOR DOOM ETERNAL: THE ANCIENT GODS PART 2 IN THE ‘RECLAMATION VERSE’ SECTION!!!

MAIN VERSE: TORTURED CRUSADER

takes place after the events of the betrayal in nekravol

takes place in the doom universe too

but could also be used with mutuals that i’ve rped with on my old hallkel blog if it’s a crossover!

hallkel is a wandering night sentinel elite, having literally FOUGHT his way out of hell to get back to argent d’nur

he’s probably one of like, the few surviving sentinels from the novik era

dealt with a bit of dimension-travel because of the portals, and had to basically fight with them to make his way back home

he stays far away from actual civilization as he could, because they are (most likely) maykr-aligned, and hasn’t met other sentinels much that weren’t aligned with the maykrs

he comes off as more exhausted and prefers to not heal any wounds of his that he may have received, from demons or maykrs or other sentinels alike.

he tends to come off as more weary and exhausted, and sometimes gets a bit more frustrated compared to his other verses, but still, no matter what: he tries to give off a smile

has a habit on writing down a lot of notes about other cultures in a journal he kept from his early sentinel days. which reminds me....

PAST VERSE: EARLY SENTINELS

takes place when the night sentinels were still a thing, and most of civilization was still, you know, intact

hallkel’s a funky lil sentinel man still! and he’s a nobleman!!!

around this time the slayer’s come around and is a Big Thing

hallkel is the slayer’s translator (dubbed a ‘voice weaver’)!

(ofc, won’t force that sort of thing with muns, don’t like forcing, feel free to let me know if you arent a fan of that!! i’d be happy to change it for a thread)

most definitely doesnt know the slayer personally, but tries to translate his english into argentan, and to help him learn argentan

he also tries to learn about the slayer’s culture! at least, the best he can

he also tries to help with JOLLY COOPERATION!!! consider him.... the doom solaire. the doomaire, if you will...

“argent d’nur is a proud kingdom-planet, its walls will not fall!”

glances to previous verse, reads ‘TORTURED CRUSADER’

“uh oh, hallkel!”

DOOM ETERNAL T.A.G. VERSE: RECLAMATION

WOAH, TAG TIME? TAG TIME

basically set after doom eternal!!!

he’s gotten home, and he’s focused on clearing out demons from argent d’nur!

gonna rip and tear those lil bastards

he’s also on a quest to try to reach the world spear! hoping to find the slayer again

he’s hoping that argent d’nur could be returned to its former glory, somehow, and wants to clear out the demons

and also go on a crusade against hell. he will personally want to fight davoth even though he WOULD LITERALLY die to the fucking dark lord

hes just an angry lil sentinel man

“GRIFFIIIITH!!!!” angrily hauling ass towards davoth even tho he prolly lost an arm to the dude

GENERAL CROSSOVER: RESPITE

meant for crossovers with muses from other worlds!!

it’s set in a time in the middle of his tortured crusader verse, but at a time where he hadn’t return to argent d’nur yet

he’s basically dimension-hopping! and just trying to get home!!!

shenanigans shall ensue!

Alternate Verse: HEAVEN’S JUDICATOR

heavily inspired by @savior-of-humanity​‘s Hell’s Champion verse for Master Chief/John!! please check them out holy fuck they’re amazing Lord Almighty!!!!!!!!

with hallkel having gone through hell and struggled to reach home, he uh

kinda caused some fucking problems with the maykrs during his dimension hopping to get home, and found himself on urdak.

fucking hell portals >:(

the maykrs are kinda there like “oh shit a novik-era sentinel?? who is REALLY hating hell like the slayer is? it’s free real estate”

“ayo what can we do with an old-ass sentinel like him”

“oh i know”

they use hallkel to try to figure out more abt argentan anatomy and how similar it is to humans, and basically fucking. reform him to be some kind of biblically accurate sentinel angel

he’s literally in agony

but says “FUCK IT” because now he might throw hands w god

he still kinda acts like his old self too!! kind of.

he’s in so much fucking pain but gives 0 fucks. he’s still cheery. still wants to learn. he just finds it hard to speak bc he’s not coordinated very well

he’s practically a living, walking (flying???) experiment

he Just Wants To Sleep goddamn it

someone let him have some fucking choccy milk. i plead with thee.

//more verses will come around soon!!! feel free to give me suggestions if you’d like! i’d be happy to have them! will put this as ‘verses.’ to make it easier for people to search on my blog!