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autumnbrambleagain · 2 years

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Morrowind has had a really weird modding history. In its early days, Morrowind was one of the few only fantasy games that had open, accessible modding to the degree that it had. No, let’s be honest: it, along with Neverwinter Nights, was one of the only 2 fantasy games that had any real meaningfully accessible modding whatsoever.

It also came out about the same time as Lord of the Rings, and it attracted a lot of what is a dying genre--the wicca-in-aesthetics, the kind of people who have little fairy statues all around the house, who are dragon otherkins but in the 80s understanding of dragons, people who have “winsome dragon statues” made of cheap resin sitting on their computer desks, who go to renaissance faires in vaguely-medieval dresses and buy lots of incense and quote Monty Python often.

No judgements, this is the kind of person I wanted to grow up to be as a kid and I’m deeply disappointed we never made it to that point but life kind of sucks forever, so whatever! Except for the quoting Monty Python part, we have an ENTIRE OTHER rant saved up for that.

Our point we’re trying to make: Morrowind has a very strong, very cohesive setting and aesthetic. Compared to stuff like Ultima, which had a lot of “lore” but was ultimately still very much... very much generic fantasy by comparison? Morrowind takes place in a weird place undergoing colonization, but also trying itself to execute colonization/slavery on OTHERS too.

A place with a deeply entrenched religion, a uniquely bizarre culture, it was, at the time, absolutely mindblowing to see something BESPOKE in a fantasy game when the alternative was, always, remixes of the same handful of generic Tolkein-derived nothings.

Not to say that Morrowind’s setting is honestly like, super great or mindbreaking--it was great in the CONTEXT relative to its contemporaries. Morrowind’s setting is honestly kind of bland in a lot of ways to me these days and it’s why I fuck around in my own settings so much, even if you don’t get to see very much of it. You dont’ see us playing Morrowind either not everything has to be shared with you.

ANYWAY.

Our point: Bethesda, back when it had some good things still in it, went “Here’s this bizarre fucking fantasy setting, it’s weird as fuck and has a ton of internal contexts and consistencies.”

And the modding community went “Nice, I want to put Drow in.” Some of them went as far as “dark elf” and went “Ah, the Dunmer must be like the Drow, they probably have the same culture.” Some modders went ��neat, a fantasy game, here’s my mod that adds a pixie who runs a shop in Balmora!”

You had people like Sabregirl who was putting in races from their original setting so you had fox people and bird-dragons with dialogue about their space civilization. You had moogles. You had Lord of the Rings.

People just layered their generic fantasy onto Morrowind, never engaging with its weird setting, and it was wild. It was weird. It was all there--the setting was waiting to be explored, and people just wanted... here’s my magic unicorn elf dragon fantasy girl with huge eyes and dragonfly wings :3 in this... setting about racism, xenophobia, and lies.

it was great.

One of the best examples of this is the venerable and amazing Uvirith’s Legacy+Building up Uvirith’s Legacy. It’s a great, great fucking “house” mod that expands Tel Uvirith from a shitty little tower into an entire expansion pack with dozens of quests, very minor city management mechanics, a bunch of fun new characters.

Stuporstar made it out of several previous Uvirith mods and did a lot of work bringing it up to code as something new and great and all their own (although I also gutted it and redecorated the interior to suit my moods better but that’s Morrowind baybey)

And it, for the most part, does engage with the actual Morrowind of Morrowind--but it has a TON of holdovers of this older, sillier Morrowind, and I think it’s a great window into it.

It lets you be a proper Telvanni--here’s your tower, here are the slaves you hold in the basement and they’re trying to escape so you chase them down and catch them. This slave complains and makes it clear you are an absolute fucking bastard and you can, you know, free her, or you can take her out into the Molag Amur and murder her.

Your head-of-guard staff is a torture fetishist and you have a prison of prisoners you can exploit. Your library has a skeleton who lives in it. There’s a lich tomb deep underground you can break into and find the original Uvirith and you can fucking just kill him fuck that guy you’re cooler than he is. It’s very “You’re a Telvanni, they’re basically immoral, immortal assholes.”

But it also has things like an ogrim named Cartman because he’s FAT XD

It has, I think it’s a holdover from the earliest versions of the mod, a companion named: Sara N’Trasha.

Who is a Dunmer Ashlander from a thousand years ago.

Wearing modern Orcish armor.

Now, see, Dunmer Ashlander culture has names with phonemes like “Ashamal Abaddamasad” and “Ahhe-Ari Zainsumani”

This character is named Sara N’Trasha.

Sara is a Bretonic name--probably the least interesting of TES’ fantasy is a place literally called Bretony, and yes, someone named “Sara” would be from Brettony. N’Trasha... oh boy. The X’Y structure is seen in Khajiiti names, but N’ isn’t a valid prefix, at least in the time of Morrowind. Trasha also isn’t really a valid Khajiit name--Rasha is, but a “tr” sound for a female is usually followed by softer, vowel-heavy syllables. Rasha would be a male name, anyway. female names are more like “Ahnassi” “Tsrazami” etc.

Also Orc armor--I guess maybe she looted it from an Orc warrior during the 1st era wars I guess? I don’t know man.

But this is my favorite example of the complete disinterest in engaging with the setting in early Morrowind modding. They saw characters sometimes had names with apostrophes in them. They knew there were guys called Ashlanders.

Sara N’Trasha.

Stuporstar has talked about updating the mod and I think renaming Sara was on the docket, but I haven’t seen much word of any updates in years and I’m strongly tempted to just dig around in the mod and rename her myself so it doesn’t bother me as much, el oh el.

But my point is, it’s, it’s an incredible example of the complete lack of interest in very early era Morrowind modding to actually engage with the setting of the thing you’re putting so much work into. It’s mindblowing.

We have a bit of the opposite problem of that in the modern era, I think.

Uvirith’s Legacy has a bit of that, too, and it’s a good intro to this other problem: trying to alter the vanilla game to fit a plothole you yourself created.

UL also adds magic pages that summon a daedra when you interact with it. At some point, whichever modder (stuporstar or someone else??) started it went “How can Gothren have permanantly summoned Daedra when YOU the player CAN’T?”

And invented the pages as the way to summon daedra, and wrote a bunch of dialogue where oh, of course Gothren used these magic pages to summon them permanently.

Except. Except that wasn’t a plothole. We know that there are rituals that bind daedra long-term, but for gameplay reasons the player only ever gets short-term summons. It’s an example of inventing a plothole and trying to fix it.

I feel like we’re dangerously close to seeing that with Tamriel Rebuilt.

Tamriel Rebuilt’s original inception of the Telvanni lands has a lot of the touches of this old philosphy. The silly, Python-esque, do-your-own-thing stuff. There’s an edgelordy Morag Tong base where they go “Don’t kill anyone at night... a true assassin does it in the daylight... watch me cut this hair in half with a knife now.”

And they’re planning on going back to the Telvanni zones and redoing them! That’s great.

But also like, I had a look again at their design documents and on the docket is: demoting Archmagister Gothren to a Wizard or whatever. Why? Because they wrote DIFFERENT lore where there’s an even older COOLER Telvanni wizard, who fits the Telvanni lore better, and now he’s the archmagister.

They are now at the point of looking at Morrowind’s original lore and setting and going “not good enough” which is, which is fine, Morrowind is lacking in a lot of ways. Gothren is a pushover baby bitch, unless you’re using MDMD, in which case no I’m sorry I made him so he can fuck you up rightly. But he’s a boring nothingburger, that’s true, sure.

But now we have Tamriel Rebuilt considering completely redoing House Telvanni on the mainland too--which would make every single Telvanni mod that isn’t updated to match the new improved TR lore out of date.

That’s mostly because they invented an OC and to fix the plot holes their own invention caused, want to alter all of the original Morrowind, rather than fitting TR to fit the vanilla.

Thankfully they seem to be backtracking Mouths being mind-wiped mind-clones of the Wizards which they invented to fix a problem they themselves also invented--my point! My point.

We now have mods taking the lore more seriously than the base game, and creating plotholes in the opposite direction--it now makes the original game look unimaginative, so the original game is going to need to be heavily modified to fit the new TR stuff.

But there’s so many mods coming out for vanilla that also respect and improve on the lore. And now there’s no central governing body. RandomPal did TelAruhn Chronicles which makes it feel way more like a center of power for the isolated Archmagister. MDMD (that was me!) made Gothren powerful and scary so it feels like yeah, yeah this guy could have survived with a bullseye on him this long no problem.

We have mods like UL, which, even if needing a few updates to sort of fit the more lore-respectful era we’re in, reference Gothren as Archmagister. We have mort’s redone Rise of House Telvanni for goodness’ sakes.

And here comes Tamriel Rebuilt... just... planning on rewriting the vanilla game to fix a plothole they themselves invented, which will, itself, create even more plotholes with every other mod that hasn’t been updated to match their own homebrewed lore.

hurr Autumn if this upsets you so much why don’t you do something about it fuck you okay look, we don’t have the time or energy to do Tamriel Rebuilt right now. Life is really fucking dumb (so fucking incredibly dumb) and if we’re going to put that much energy into a creative work it’s going to be something of our own stuff because, honestly, honestly, none of us ever liked working in someone else’s playground when it’s so easy to make your own that just lets you do what you wanted without having to skirt dissonance levels.

Morrowind modding has always been, and will always be, kind of a giant fucking mess, and I love it for that.

I mean this is the game where the default body mod everyone based everything else around, because it was so early back in the day that no one else could MAKE body mods, the one standardized body mod we all use has giant fucking tits because LOL.

#autumn rambles #morrowind #morrowind modding

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edda-grenade · 3 years

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Nature.

Adaar and her parents have a very serious debate about why Solas is… like that.

#feral verse, 1100 words. on AO3.

Adaar wasn’t sure what exactly Solas was—only that he definitely wasn’t an elf. Not fully, at least.

He sounded strange. Like an elf raised among the Dalish, but… off. Maybe he was originally from a far-off clan where they spoke with the lilt and affect he had, but she had never encountered it.

But then again: he didn’t have vallaslin, despite being more than old enough to wear them.

It could be that he had refused them for some reason, although she couldn’t imagine why. All the young Dalish she had known before and after they had received their vallaslin had seemed so happy and proud to bear them, even when their faces were still raw and sensitive from the markings.

Or he had never been offered vallaslin in the first place. That at least would explain why he didn’t appear to be on speaking terms with any Dalish. Adaar still cringed when she remembered the fight he’d gotten into with Lavellan’s First. And Keeper, and Hahren. At least they hadn’t decided to cut trade ties with her family’s settlement.

He wasn’t much better with city elves, the few times she’d managed to convince him to accompany her into the villages or, on one occasion, the town to the north. She had promised Iolain to fetch him the next time a Dalish clan made camp near their land again so he might join them, and Solas had watched the entire exchange like a man watching an execution. They can’t give him what he’s looking for, he had told her afterwards. All they do is play at being elves, like shadows of the real thing.

And what are you? she had asked, angry and baffled. Solas had given her a look of such abject sorrow it had stopped her right in her tracks.

A shadow of what I was.

So he acted like no elf on earth could be his people. And yet, sometimes, he said things like: My people used to, this place was sacred to my people, back when my people were—

He always caught himself rather quickly, and either ignored or avoided any follow-up questions she might pose. Which was infuriating, but also, horribly understandable…

Because Adaar had the feeling his people weren’t considered people by anyone else. The way he talked about spirits and demons, with a fond melancholy he usually reserved for tales of the ancient Arlathan…

“I don’t know,” said Reth, expression skeptical. “He definitely looks like an elf. And he’s a mage, who apparently didn’t learn in a Circle, or from a Keeper, or the Qun, or in Tevinter. I’m more curious who taught him magic than anything else.”

“That’s my point!” said Adaar. “What if he never learned magic because he didn’t have to?”

“I think he was a slave,” Ari said quietly. “From Tevinter. Probably manifested magic late, and then that presented an opportunity for escape.”

“He’s haunted enough for it,” agreed Reth. “It’s like looking into a mirror, sometimes. Terrible.” He shook himself and downed an impressive amount of the sweetshine they were sharing in one go.

“Leave some for the rest of us, kadan.” Ari swiped the bottle while Adaar folded her legs up on the bench.

“Fine, be boring and sensible,” she said, with two fingers pointed at Reth and Ari. “So Papa’s bet is he’s really just an elf mage, Tama’s bet is that but also a former slave—”

“I’m not going to bet on it,” Ari interjected. They drank a deep swig of sweetshine, then pushed it into Adaar’s hands. “I don’t actually want to be right on this. But I most likely am. Definitely more than any of you lot.”

“That’s depressing,” Adaar said with a grimace. She drank and passed the bottle to her mother. “I bet he’s an—not an abomination, like possessed, but something like it probably? An elf and some kind of spirit, fused together.”

“An old spirit,” Tehenan threw in.

“Oh yes, absolutely. The way he talks about ‘the old world’, it sounds like he was there for it, y’know? Like he’s seen it. Watched it all get sold up the coast.”

“My money’s on one of the Forgotten Ones,” Tehenan said with a grin. “Do you remember how pissed he was when Keeper Deshanna told the story of the Great Betrayal? That reeks of personal involvement.”

“Oof.” Adaar rested her chin in her hands, gaze unfocusing as she imagined what Solas might’ve looked like in the old days, before he got attached to his current shape. “That would be amazing.”

There was a soft lull as her parents’ gazes met among the table. Reth leaned his crossed arms on the table so he was at eye-level with his daughter.

“That doesn’t scare you?” he asked quietly. “The thought that you’re learning from someone who is—who is that old and strange and powerful? Whose nature is so alien?”

Adaar met his eyes. “Should it?”

“…No. You shouldn’t ever have to be afraid of anything.”

“I’m not.” She grinned. “Also, he has a really cute sneeze. I don’t think some creepy old god up to nefarious shit would sneeze like that. And—” she lunged all the way across the table to grab the sweetshine, “—if Solas was going to hurt me, he wouldn’t be teaching me all this magic, right? I can do so much more already.” She tapped the bottle, and frost bloomed along the glass from her fingertips. She set it down in mid-air and left it floating there, spinning lazily, drifting across the table. Ari’s posture shifted, tensed, and she listed against their shoulder, fumbling blindly for their hand, then squeezed it tight once she caught it.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it. I’m not gonna make it explode or anything.”

“But you could, huh.” Reth’s eyes flashed from across the table.

“Sure. But that’d be a waste of perfectly good sweetshine, and it’s really not that hard. Not breaking stuff is a lot more complicated than, well, breaking it.”

Ari sighed, and squeezed her hand back. “You have no idea how true that is.” They relaxed, and rested their cheek against Adaar’s temple. “Can you heat it up again, Sunspot? It’s too late for cold sweetshine.”

“Yep, let me just…” Adaar curled her claws and forced warmth back into the bottle at a measured pace. And, because she wanted to show off a bit more, she pushed further than before until the glass was comfortably hot to the touch and the bottle sailed from hand to hand without ever touching the table.

“This is good, kiddo. We should have it like this more often.” Tehenan smacked her lips after the first sip of the now heated drink. “Do you think Forgotten Ones know how to make sweetshine?”

Adaar laughed. “No idea. But if he doesn’t, I’ll teach him how when we make the next batch.”

#feral verse #adaar #adaar's parents #adaar family #solas #like. in spirit lmao #fanart #art tag #fic tag #fic related #saar gets her own tag #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #da:i #meanwhile clan lavellan is over there like 'this guy is Clearly an agent of the dread wolf if not the man himself'#'and this girl acts like he's a twitchy stray cat she basically adopted; a stray cat who's teaching her magic like'#'what tf do you do with that??'

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bunny-hoodlum · 3 years

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NaruHina Fic Concepts IDK when I'll ever get to:

Age Difference one-shots

20yo!Naruto/31yo!Hinata (leaning towards Hinata being a Landlady. Maybe Naruto is a college student that just moved in. Or maybe he's a squatter that catches her by surprise when she's doing a showing of the apartment, and then suddenly cancels, to the annoyance of her prospective tenants. And so as to not get him in trouble with police, she makes an arrangement with him and helps him get his life together. So one standard romance route and one that's pretty much genderbent Higehiro lol).

My "Jealousy" story expanded

A "during the timeskip" short stories series (only 2 good ones so far)

14yo!Hinata gets isekai'd into a Modern AU and Naruto is 20yos. They go on a road trip to try and get her back home. She plays off his assumption that she is a runaway who regrets leaving home in order to spend more time with him than she deserves, all because she was missing her own Naruto so badly. (I had a fic like this from Naruto's perspective but then deleted it twice and wrote Powerless in its place, because it wasn't working. Probably better to write it from her POV instead. Still thought if Hinata had enough chakra to perform ninjutsu in front of a normal Naruto that it would freak him out and be really interesting, but alas. Also she needs to conserve her chakra or she can't return home. Idk if in such a situation her chakra would fail to naturally resupply or not, but the obvs the stakes would be even higher if she couldn't.)

KonoGakuenDen!Hinata's love letter travels between dimensions and lands at 15yo Naruto's feet while he's still training with Jiraiya. (Has this been written? I just thought of this one).

Modern AU: Hinata's family runs a seaside inn and Naruto is a regular patron. She assumes his female friends are his girlfriends and that she has no business wanting to be wanted by him. (Loosely and indirectly inspired by "Goodbye Tsugumi" by Banana Yoshimoto)

Genderbent AUs

This is an oldie from 2010? Modern AU, RTN!Hinata is disowned from her family after trying to protect Hanabi from RTN!Neji. She sleeps around with other women who provide her a place to stay, eventually falling in love with Naruko who is also equally promiscuous. The next day Naruko is nowhere to be found, but there's a male lookalike cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Naruko never told her she had a male twin and Hinata's acquired hatred/distrust of men causes a lot of conflict between the two of them. (NaruHina = enemies to friends to lovers. I would make it NaruHinaNaruko but maybe that's actually weird, idk haha).

Another one I did a huge sketchdump on back in 2010: Modern AU, everyone canon but Naruko. Didn't even have a plot for this. Just wanted to write about a soft butch!Naruko chasing after the seemingly unattainable Hyuga Hinata. 😆

Secret Lovers AUs

Story No Longer Available: Okay, I originally wanted to write my own separate version of my Foster Sibling AU to be where they actually try dating in secret during High School, but I'm letting that idea go and hoping another excuse-- I mean premise comes to me. I'm still trying to write the Foster Sibling AU in adherence to the incomplete Secret Santa plot, so that version is still going to be a thing.

I guess this counts as Fake Dating as well, and I may have written a post about this last year already: Modern AU, Sakura, Ino and Hinata are on Summer break from college in the capital and roadtripping to visit Sasuke and Naruto in a coastal city. Naruto still likes Sakura, Hinata is still faintly interested in Naruto, etc. Sakura catches a cold during the trip and the 4 of them go have fun in another city without her. A regular daytrip concludes rauceously with drunken karaoke and a round of Punishment Games (aka Betting and the loser has to do this or that). When Hinata loses and has to make-out with Sasuke, the context somehow gets rewritten in Naruto's inebriated head and he thinks they have the hots for each other. All of a sudden he stops caring about getting with Sakura, and adopts a dogma to protect Hinata's virtue. The only way he decides he can do that is if he is the one dating her.

High Fantasy AU

Naruto is the half-blood son of The Captain of the Royal Guard and a Pagan Witch (the isle of Uzushio was obtained through conquest, their people assimmilated and seemingly tolerated by the Court, but otherwise distrusted by the common folk. An Uzushio Resistance Army hides in secret and are wanted by the Kingdom). The Uchiha are Wood Elves who used to serve the Kingdom but were betrayed and exiled. They only roam at night to trade with the Dwarves of Iron Kingdom. Sakura is a human travelling with her Venture-motivated Father and henpecking Mother. They settle in with the Dwarves in an Outpost town where her father has accepted a job. Sakura, being bookish and brainy, has no chance of fitting in with the brawny Dwarves. She eventually abandons her true self to prove her mettle, and when she shows off strength in the only way Dwarves care about, she's heartily accepted. Back at the Leaf Kingdom, Naruto's Knighthood training has only been going downhill since he began. When his flaring temper unleashes powerful magic and injures one of the boys harassing him, he's banished. Minato asks Kakashi to accompany his son into the wilderness, where his journey brings him to Sakura and then Sasuke. The Hyuga are High Elves and their first born Hinata is approaching her Coming of Age Ceremony. Royalty from all realms have been invited to attend. Naruto and his companions have by now fashioned themselves into a ragtag group of mercenaries. Knowing that his parents will be at the ceremony, Naruto worms his way into a bodyguarding job for an Acting Troupe that will perform in front of Royalty. He falls for the beautiful High Elf Hinata and attempts to visit her in her chambers. (I have 2 ideas for which way the plot could go. Ugh. Either she is married off to Toneri, or she has to devote the rest of her life to praying in front of the tree that seals away Kaguya. Either way, Naruto chooses to convince her to say 'fuck that' to her obligations, and when she gives in, a dark prophecy is fulfilled. And yadda yadda yadda, Hero's Journey and stuff).

That feels like everything I ever thought of. 😅 I can't be sure if I'm missing another Secret Lovers/Fake Dating concept, but oh well. I feel pretty satisfied with this list.

#naruhina #fanfiction concept #sharing my ideas once again because I just like to #short stories is something I will try to be good at #it's the only way most of these will ever get written lol

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longitudinalwaveme · 3 years

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The CW Rogues: My Biggest Gripe With the 2014 Flash Show

In many ways, the CW Flash show is what got me into comics. While I had watched (and loved) Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and read loads of DC guidebooks as a kid, it wasn’t until I saw a clip from the 2014 CW Flash show that I really got invested in the DC Universe. While I had already started watching B:TAS (and loving it), Batman wasn’t what got me into comics. No, that was the Flash...or rather, it was Captain Cold. While watching a clip from the Justice League episode Flash and Substance on YouTube, I saw a link to a clip from “Family of Rogues” (from Season 2 of CW’s Flash). Intrigued by the premise, I found the show on Netflix, watched the entire episode, and was hooked. Not only was the Flash just as nice as he had been on Justice League, but two of his Rogues were siblings, and they actually cared about one another. I wanted to know more, so I looked Captain Cold and the Golden Glider up. My research into Cold and Glider led me to the other Rogues, and soon I became a Flash fan. I watched the show, I re-watched “Flash and Substance”, I read articles about the characters from the comics...and eventually, I started reading the comics themselves. I loved the characters and the lore, and I enjoyed the generally lighthearted tone of the books even into the modern era. Unfortunately, as I learned more about the comics, I grew less and less interested in the 2014 TV show. It made too many alterations to character I liked in the comics...and eventually, I basically stopped watching the show out of frustration. Ironically enough, by getting me into comics, the show alienated me from itself....and a big reason for that was the way it handled the Rogues. Here’s a rundown of the CW Rogues, and why I was frustrated with most of them.

1. Captain Cold. I actually enjoy Captain Cold on the CW show; he’s recognizable as Len Snart and his sarcasm game is on point. (It doesn’t hurt that Wentworth Miller is really attractive, either). His relationships with Lisa, Mick, and Barry are fantastic, and it’s a relief to have him be treated as a competent threat. That being said...he’s a bit too suave for Captain Cold, isn’t he? Silver Age Cold thought he was suave, but he wasn’t; and modern Captain Cold is middle-aged, grouchy, and very rough around the edges. His smooth, suave nature reminds me more of classic Sam (the original Mirror Master) than Captain Cold.

2. Heat Wave. Dominic Purcell did a great job with the role he was given, and physically he’s an excellent match for Mick. That being said, CW Mick is very different from the Mick in the classic comics, who was a bit dim-witted and rather gentle and sweet for a supervillain. CW Mick, by contrast, is, as I think @gorogues put it, “Hothead McAngryman”, which wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t seem to have bled back into the comics themselves. Villains with fire powers being hotheads is a bit overdone, so I’m not thrilled to see comic Mick being put into that role.

3. Golden Glider. Hands down, Lisa is my favorite of the CW Rogues. Despite the fact that her costume and power set are completely different than they were in the comics, they managed to get her personality down pretty well; making her just as dangerous and competent as the boys. Flirtatious, crafty, devious, and yet still at least somewhat sympathetic, the CW version of Lisa Snart takes home the gold for the best adaptation of a Rogue. If only they hadn’t completely forgotten that she existed.

4. Pied Piper. Note that I have not seen his Season 6 appearance, so I’m just judging this based on his appearances in Seasons 1 and 2. Piper is disappointing; in his first appearance he wasn’t as fun as Silver/Bronze Age Piper or as sympathetic as modern Piper, and I’m not crazy about the idea of him being motivated primarily by revenge on Wells/Thawne, since that wasn’t his motivation in the comics at all. I also don’t remember him being able to puppet or hypnotize people with his music, which is too bad, since that’s his main schtick in the comics. What’s more, if you want to reform a character, don’t do it offscreen via reality warping and then forget about him for four seasons. It sounds like his Season 6 appearance was better, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it. Also, “the Pied Piper” is kind of a nonindicative name if he doesn’t play a pipe/flute.

5. Trickster II (Axel Walker). Axel was actually decent in the CW show. I still like comic Axel better, but they got the gist of his character down and even made him a bit sympathetic. In fact, he’s probably in the top three best Rogue adaptations that the CW did.

6. Trickster I (James Jesse). I love watching Mark Hamill play CW’s Trickster...but man, he is not playing Giovanni Giuseppi on the CW show. He’s playing the Joker with a different name. It’s especially weird since we know from JLU and that one short where Mark Hamill plays himself, the Joker, the Trickster, and Swamp Thing that Hamill can do a non-Joker Trickster and do it well, so my suspicion is that it was just because Trickster was also the Joker in the 1990s Flash show (where he was also played by Mark Hamill). Regardless, murdering random people and threatening to blow up small children during Christmas is not something the Trickster should be doing.

Although this does prove Mark Hamill could do a live-action Joker. I’d pay money to see that. Mark Hamill is a great Joker.

7. Weather Wizard. CW Weather Wizard isn’t egregiously bad. He’s not out-of-character like Trickster, and he’s not boring to watch, but at the same time it feels like there’s something missing. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t quote Twain. Maybe it’s because there’s not the sense that he was a loser before he got his powers. Maybe it’s because they changed his origin completely (and also made him older than Clyde for some reason). It could even be because he’s not wearing a green leotard with a huge collar, puffy sleeves, and ridiculous elf boots. Whatever it is, though, he’s just missing that spark that makes me like comic book Wizard so much.

8. Mirror Master I (Sam Scudder). I don’t know how you make Sam Scudder more boring than New 52/Rebirth did, but somehow the CW version of the character pulled it off. Granted, Cold had already stolen some of Sam’s characterization, so that didn’t help, but they could’ve leaned into his skills as an inventor or his love of showmanship or something. Instead, we got a generic thug with what was basically Evan McCulloch’s power set. Boo! Boo I say!

9. Top (Roscoe/Rosa Dillon). The Brave and the Bold Top is more interesting than the CW version, and he doesn’t even have spoken lines! That’s how boring this Top is. Also, the gender swap was pretty pointless. I wouldn’t have minded a female Top if she’d been intelligent and creepy and snobbish in the way that Roscoe is, but why even bother changing the gender if the character is going to have such a minor role? They also substantially depowered the CW Top, since Rosa can’t spin at super speed and isn’t telekinetic. A massive missed opportunity.

10. Mirror Master II (Evan/Eva McCulloch). I can’t comment on how good of a character Eva is, since I haven’t watched any of the episodes with her in them, but I will say I am disappointed that the character does not seem to be Scottish, does not have Evan’s weird sense of humor, and lacks his tooth gap.

11. Captain Boomerang (George “Digger” Harkness). Not only did he not actually appear on the Flash, but he was also boring and didn’t even seem to have an Australian accent. I was very disappointed with his role in the CW.

And now for characters who aren’t Rogues:

-CW Eobard is really good. I have no real complaints about him.

-CW Grodd is also really good, though I do wish he was from Gorilla City as per the comics rather than a lab experiment.

-CW Magenta got most of the important character beats down but felt a bit out of place with Barry as the Flash.

-CW Shade was possibly even more boring than CW Sam, which is saying something.

-CW Zoom didn’t really feel like Zoom at all. Not only was it weird to see him fighting Barry and not Wally, but he was just a generic serial killer and didn’t have Zolomon’s unique outlook on the world. The loss of his time manipulation powers was likewise disappointing.

-CW Jay is really good. I love him.

-CW Jesse Quick has very little in common with her comic book counterpart; I like the comic version better but don’t actually mind the CW version all that much.

-CW Wally is decent enough, though I don’t see why they couldn’t have kept him as Iris’ nephew rather than making him her brother. Also, they didn’t use him nearly as much as they should have.

-CW Barry I generally like a lot; Grant Gustin is a good fit for the character. That being said, I do wish they hadn’t given him the dead mom origin, which was a retcon I am not fond of.

-CW Iris is quite good (in the first three seasons, at least); she’s intelligent, loyal to Barry, dedicated to her job, and quite independent. The fact that she and Barry were foster siblings in the CW universe is kind of weird, though, since it makes their romance kind of awkward.

-Joe West is not Ira West (Iris’s father in the comics), but I actually don’t care. Joe West is made of awesome. (I like Ira too, but I like Joe enough that I don’t mind having him replace Ira.)

-The Fiddler on the CW had very little to do with the comic Fiddler.

-I’ve never been particularly invested in the Thinker (comic or show), but I will say that the CW’s version of the character was very different from his comics counterpart.

-CW Ragdoll was just as creepy and unsettling as comic book Ragdoll, though he had a very different backstory.

-I never expected Baby Josh to make it into the CW, let alone as a gender-swapped teenager named Joss who wanted to kill Weather Wizard. It felt like they never knew where to go with her character, though, so it was a wasted opportunity. At least she didn’t die like poor Baby Josh, though.

-Big Sir in the CW show is a MASSIVE improvement over the comic version. This is probably the only character I will say this about. Though I will say that I kind of wish he’d gotten his stupidly ugly comic book costume even though it would’ve made no sense.

-Peek-a-Boo is a pretty solid adaptation of her comic book counterpart.

-Rainbow Raider (Prism) is much better in the comics than on the CW show, where he only existed to be a boring plot device.

-Linda Park dating Barry was weird, but they actually did a good job with her character before she vanished.

This is not intended as a criticism of anyone who likes the show or its characters; it’s just me musing about my personal problems with it.

#flash rogues #flash comics #flash cw #barry allen #wally west #iris allen

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bookwyrminspiration · 3 years

Text

Shattered Upside Down

A kotlc wings au

summary: When the world begins to crawl with unnaturally made monsters, the Keeper crew continue to fight like they always have. But a wrench is thrown in those plans when they themselves become less than human.

Chapter 1: The Descent

Word count: 7k

warnings: mild fantasy violence (nothing more than in canon), swearing

taglist: listed at the end beneath the cut, but let me know if you want to be added or removed

!!! Y’all!! It’s finally here!!! And you might be thinking, Quil they don’t have wings. To which I say: be patient!! this is a multi-chapter fic! this is just the groundwork <3

ao3 link here

or read beneath the cut

It was comical, really, just how quickly their security had crumbled into unbridled, ravaged chaos. They had relied on the extravagance of the Neverseen, always too brash, too bold, too eager for attention. They were self-sabotaging. They revealed their plans a moment too soon, wanting the world around them to see the cunning, the thought, to know which moments were their last.

And they’d played the part so clever, it hadn’t crossed a single mind that they were gracing more than one stage. That even when they weren’t putting on a show, they remained ingenuine.

The Black Swan had thought them comical storybook villains, all talk and poise. And then they’d slip, underestimating you and letting you swoop in last second, tossing wrenches in their gears and bringing them up short. A hero. Classic and overused, but a hero nonetheless.

It had been ludicrous to entertain the notion they could be capable of anything greater, anything deadlier. That they wanted to be stopped again and again. That they wanted to build the Black Swan’s confidence in themselves, wanted to be broken and bruised and battered and defeated again and again and again.

Because then who could consider them a threat?

Who would look for them, frail and scattered as they were?

They had all been lured into a false sense of security, taking the first deep, fulfilling breaths they’d had in years. And each day it came easier. Every passing second without disturbance relaxed their bodies and eased their minds. It had been months and months, long enough they felt safe. Actually safe. The idea was laughable now, but it had been true. The Neverseen were gone, dead and buried.

But villains work best from the grave.

The Ruewens noticed the shift first, although if you asked either of them they wouldn’t be able to tell you quite what it was. The subtle gleam gracing the teeth of each new animal they took in, each creature becoming more violent and vocal, tails thumping just a touch harder against the ground.

It was only a coincidence that seven times in a row the creatures were “uncharacteristically rough and wild for their species.” It only became worrisome when the docile creatures began to growl at anyone’s approach, even the ones that had already been tamed.

Then it all went to shit.

Absolute

fucking

shit.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell from the outside; it was surrounded by one-way glass. Look through and all you’d see were splotches of amorphous green, running streams, sunlight soft and secure. But the view from inside was a completely different story. From inside you could see the creeping mold and blood caked along the sides of streams, the marks in the trees and the torn roots, ash where the sun had burned too bright, rusted mist raining down.

What a nightmare they’d made of paradise.

Except, somehow, the Lost Cities themselves had ended up on the outside of the glass, content to pretend the creatures roaming the hills were only a problem if they were near you, which they weren’t. So what a pack of rabid unidentifiable beasts attacked? They hadn’t been here, so it wasn’t a problem.

Then it became a problem.

The creatures moved closer, working their way through the land, ravaging their way towards the Lost Cities. The elves blinked and they were surrounded. Crystal castles tumbled into sand, stone pavement was ripped from the ground, trees torn and shredded, dripping with infection.

They’d had no choice but to leave it all behind. There’d been backlash of course, despite it being in everyone’s best interest. Those who were so attached to what they had, what had remained a constant in the past millennia of their lives that they were fully willing to risk themselves for it. There was no doubt though, that had they been allowed to remain they would’ve regretted it the moment those creatures came to their door, the ones they’d refused to believe were their problem.

So they’d all moved below ground, deep enough they couldn’t be reached. Every inch of surface available to them was dangerous, so they’d gone beneath it. The dwarves had graciously worked to hollow out living space for them all, creating entire kingdoms beneath the sand. And now they were much more powerful, carried more weight with each step, the responsibility they’d risen to clinging to them and eating them respect no one could deny.

They’d all be dead without them.

Not everyone was in one place, a few spots underground scattered throughout the world and it nearly impossible to travel between them. Light leaping didn’t work underground, and it was an incredible risk to brave the surface for a single leap. Once everyone had been settled, they’d stayed there. And they were still there.

I mean, what else could they do?

It had taken them a bit to work out just where these volatile creatures had come from, the ones now spanning the entirety of the world--although the humans were still unaware. Something about the pollution and overall vibe of the forbidden cities kept the monsters away from them.

A few had suggested moving to the forbidden cities as an alternative to living underground, but the disgust for the places quickly killed that idea.

The Black Swan was adamant that somehow the Neverseen had to be behind this. The organization had been the only enemy they’d ever had--and they were right, in a way. Despite months of silence, of nothing, of security, they must’ve done something.

But how, was the question.

Perhaps it would’ve been better had the question never been answered, if they’d all remained ignorant of what had been hidden right beneath them. Certainly, there would’ve been more resistance had every single elf shoved underground been kept in the dark.

But alas, illumination came tied with a silver ribbon.

One of the smaller creatures, really not much larger than a candle, had slipped into the residences, stirring up a ruckus in its frantic attempts to escape as it realized it was trapped below ground. It had been caught in a corner, hunched over away from the lights. The entirety of its body had been shaded by the large mushroom cap covering its head. It was only on closer inspection they realized the red, dripping mushroom was attached to its head. The rest of its body was disproportionately small and warped, grooves scorn into the skin.

They had been taking it back towards a small air vent--so they could release it onto the surface--when they’d seen the small clasp. It was imperceptibly small, silver in color, piercing the underside of the mushroom cap. It was a tag. An identification tag complete with a pin number.

If that hadn’t been enough proof that the creatures had been intentional, the symbolic eye entwined with a sturdy chain would’ve been enough. Their hearts stopped dead. That eye was unmistakably the Neverseen’s symbol, but that chain…

It was clearly another symbol, the two mixed. But--

Fuck. The creature in their hands had grown panicked and impatient, the space they’d thought was its body leering open to reveal rows upon rows of stubby teeth, all sharp edges and imperfections. They’d nearly dropped the creature in their panic to shove it into the air vent, closing it quickly behind as the sharp, tiny stomps faded as it climbed further and further away.

That creature had been created intentionally and the Neverseen had been a part of it, that much was certain. But there was someone else. Another force out there with enough influence and power to corrupt the entirety of nature’s balance, able to rewrite the story of evolution, and they were represented by a chain.

But who was it?

No matter how shallow her breaths, the overwhelming stench of musk and mold continued to coat her tongue and turn her stomach sour. Sophie exhaled slowly; it would do no good to dwell on what she couldn’t change. The rest of them weren’t faring much better, but the thin cloths over their faces provided a sliver of relief.

Sophie, Fitz, Keefe, Biana, Dex, Tam, Linh, Marella, Maruca, and Wylie. More people than they’d usually risk bringing on a mission, but it was a necessary risk for one of this magnitude.

She assumed the thick scent was coming from the swaths of unidentified plant life gorging it way up the sides of the tunnel, clinging to wet, crumbling rock and glowing faintly blue in the light. At the very least it provided slight illumination of the tunnel ahead, along with the branching pathways they occasionally crossed that likely led to collapsed rooms and dead ends. Mere months ago she would’ve been anxious over the thought that the ground above her would give way and crush them all in moments. Now, however, months living underground had made the ground above her a comfort more than anything. If there was enough soil between her and the surface, the creatures that roamed freely couldn’t get to her.

Although that didn’t exactly apply when they were heading straight into the breeding facility; the heart of the creatures, their origin, where they still poured out in lucrative amounts, a constant supply keeping the surface a hazard.

We’re only about a half-mile away, Dex informed them. He spoke into their shared mental space, kept in place by Sophie and Fitz’s combined efforts, eliminating the need for out-loud conversation. Some of the creatures--especially the ones that liked the dark--had particularly keen hearing, and the closer they got, the riskier any noise would be.

Her head snapped to the side as Biana skidded for a moment on a patch of gravel, sucking in a sharp, silent breath as she caught herself. They all winced, pausing to listen if the sound had caught the attention of anything nearby.

Biana didn’t bother to apologize, they all knew it was inevitable and unavoidable--and it couldn’t be undone.

Remember the plan? It was Fitz’s voice echoing through their heads this time, although it felt like he was trying to whisper despite it being mental. They all nodded in response, and Keefe patted his pocket, bulging with the same explosives they all carried.

Sophie cleared her mind, running through the plan--which she’d done so many times by now the exact words were likely permanently etched into her brain. At the end of this system of tunnels--which Dex was navigating them through--was the breeding facility. This breeding facility was where the creatures on the surface were created, and where they were still coming from. Old and new types alike. Sophie had a basic outline of the facility--it had been difficult enough to find the location, buried deep beneath the earth, getting specifics was impossible--and the areas they were to hit. Everyone had a stash of explosives, black cubes small enough you could wrap your fingers around them. They’d get in, set up the devices, get out, and detonate them once they were a safe distance away.

It was supposedly simple, but everyone had their own speculations about what could possibly go wrong; the most likely was that they would be caught in the act.

The tunnel began to widen, opening into a large cavern; but, as they looked up, they realized it hadn’t always been. Pillars rose around them towards an arching ceiling, carved designs gracing the stone. It appeared this place had once been a grand room, almost reminding her of Victorian castles, but the floor had collapsed into rubble, green vegetation covering nearly every inch.

Linh rotated her hand as she fluttered her fingers, seemingly almost absentmindedly. The leaves rustled faintly, in response to her call. She said nothing for a moment, and Sophie’d almost forgotten about it when Linh spoke up.

I wonder how these plants are able to flourish so far underground, seemingly on their own. A memory from only a few seconds ago flashed through the mindbubble--Keefe’s nickname that had stuck-- and as Sophie watched it she could feel the body memories of Linh tracing the water through the roots of the plants and into the ground, trying to find a source large enough to sustain this vegetation.

Linh shook her head, nodding to herself and to assure the others she remembered their goal, their mission. The reason they were here.

Adrenaline hummed through Sophie’s veins as she began to survey the walls, the bases of which were a good ten feet above her head. She could sense the rest of the group doing the same, but it was Tam’s searching shadows that found the entrance.

It was nearly buried in a corner, obscured by mounds of rock and swaths of green, but it was there.

Sophie briefly sent out a wave of consciousness into the mindbubble, assessing her team and assuring they were all prepared. They seemed to be, although Linh still seemed to be ruminating on the water in the room, fingers rubbing together rhythmically.

Releasing a slow breath, she crawled into the hole, small enough she couldn’t have even sat up comfortably. If Dex’s directions were to be trusted, this hole would lead into an old ductwork system in the back of the facility, and from there they could drop down and continue as planned. The ground was jagged against her palms, but at the very least her hands were slightly protected by her gloves--the same black everyone was wearing now. They must’ve donned them before crawling in behind her-including Linh.

It’s dead ahead, she said, having spotted the reflection of the ductwork up ahead. She couldn’t imagine it led to anywhere particularly important in the facility, as the air it would’ve brought in was absolutely foul. Whatever glistening substance coated her hands and soaked her knees was going to linger.

She came to a stop at the edge where the rock gave way to rusted metal, but a moment was all she allowed herself. Bracing, she slowly lowered her hand and weight onto the ductwork, hoping it would remain silent.

A small thud resounded as the metal bent, but that was it. She gave the clear to the group and continued forward, already wishing this part were over. The duct was significantly smaller than the already cramped tunnel, but at least the tunnel had glowing fungus to light the path. This was pitch black and tiny, requiring them to shimmy on their elbows with only the light of their pendants to guide them. She wasn’t good enough at night vision for it to help, and she wasn’t going to waste energy trying. She needed to save everything she had.

The group continued forward with bated breath as they searched for an opening in the pathway, everyone eager to escape this claustrophobic nightmare. It’ll be over soon, she reminded herself, but when Biana echoed back, Soon, she realized she’d spoken into the mindbubble. Her cheeks flushed for a moment, but it was quickly put out of her mind when she saw a change in the lighting up ahead.

There’s something coming up, she transmitted, hushed. Don’t know what though. There was palpable hope in the air; they were all wishing it was the opening they’d been waiting for, but no one wanted to be let down if it turned out it wasn’t.

Sophie attempted to maintain the quickest pace she could without making sound, but in her urge to get to that possible opening, she nearly kicked the side of the duct. The person behind her--likely Marella, she hadn’t looked--sucked in a breath as everyone froze.

After only a moment's pause, she began forward again, now at a much more reasonable pace as the shift ahead was confirmed to be a vent.

She came to a stop before the slits of the vent, peering down into the room below, sending out a sweep of her consciousness to see if she could hear any thoughts indicating people nearby. Determining it was clear, she slipped the small multipurpose tool from where it’d been stored in her sleeve and began to undo the screws. It made an awful groan when she tugged off the grate, and she gripped it tight in one hand as she gently slid out face first, catching herself and levitating the rest of the way down.

The ground was surprisingly further than she’d been expecting, a good thirty feet from the vent in the ceiling to the dusty ground. Her landing left footprints in the dust, but if everything went according to plan the place would be crumbling long before that would become a problem.

The rest of the group slowly drifted to the ground, emerging from the vent one-by-one in a way that almost made Sophie want to laugh. The fear curdling her blood was enough to keep it in her throat, though.

There didn’t seem to be anything in this room besides storage, discarded crates stacked surprisingly aligned, towers reaching up towards the ceiling. Brushing her fingers over the top of a nearby crate, she saw it had a label.

Curious, she tried to read it. Unfortunately, it was either written in ancient elven or some sort of cipher she didn’t understand. Still, she not only wanted to know what was inside, she needed to. If this was something that could be used to create more monsters, it needed to be destroyed.

As she set about opening the case, the others assumed their positions. Dex was already working on something in the corner, hacking the security system so they could monitor the cameras and place them on loop. Biana was near the door with Fitz, who appeared to be mentally scanning the nearby area for thoughts.

She grunted as she pushed the lid open, bracing it on her shoulder as she peered inside. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably, and she very quickly closed the crate before anyone else could peek inside. She didn’t want them to see that.

This room has got to go, she whispered into the mindbubble, and while she could feel their curiosity, they didn’t push the issue. Wylie only nodded, removing one of his explosives from his pocket and wedging it between a few crates near the center of the room.

We’re clear to move ahead, Fitz said, and Dex seconded him, holding up his modified imparter. It appeared to connect directly into the camera feeds, where he could switch between different cameras and assess their surroundings.

As we move I’ll be placing the cameras each group is near on a loop, but try not to linger; it’s not a guarantee. Sophie nodded, and Dex passed his imparter near the door, which clicked unlocked.

The door pushed open, presumably by the now-invisible Biana, and they all filed out into the hall. It seemed to hit them all then, that this was truly happening; this was high stakes. At any moment they could be caught, but if they succeeded the entire place would hopefully fall on top of itself, burying these horrors permanently.

The halls were all the same murky, metal grey, as though trying to imitate the stone it had been carved from. Faint gouges could be seen in the walls, and the lights were flickering balefire, every few feet another ball of flame was placed, providing inconsistent illumination.

Sophie went left with Biana, Linh, Dex, and Maruca; Fitz went right with Keefe, Tam, Marella, and Wylie. They’d done their best to disperse abilities across the groups, but it still left each one lacking key assets. But that was unavoidable.

Biana--with Sophie’s help--ensured that their group remained visibly undetected, and she was grateful they had practiced moving in sync back home, otherwise, everyone would’ve tripped over each other. Systematically they made their way through the facility, not actively trying to hide evidence they’d been there but not going out of their way to make it obvious. The intention was that the plan would be executed and the place would be falling long before anyone would notice anything, so speed was their true ally.

Each explosive placed had the lump of anticipation in her throat rising steadily higher. This was truly happening. She kept reminding herself that in just an hour this would be over. However it ended, it would be over.

Footsteps sounded off to the side, and the group froze, pressing themselves into the corner of the room. Similar to all the others, it was stacked high with crates and racks of vials nearly up to hip height, organized this time by color. Sophie had placed her explosive underneath one of the vials, clearly visible to anyone who walked into the room.

Now they could hear voices as well, murmuring sharply as they came closer and closer to the room. Sophie could hear Biana’s pained gasps in the mindbubble, exerting extra energy to keep all five of them expertly hidden. Her fingers were clamped around Sophie’s own, nails digging into Sophie’s skin as she shook with the exertion.

There was a window in this particular room, so even a moment's slip could reveal them to the figures they watched stop in front of the glass. She memorized their faces, and could feel the others doing the same. A man with curling black hair and light brown skin, talking to someone much shorter than him, who looked to be no more than a child in a frilly gown, hair tangled and red. They were clearly having an argument of some sort, the girl stomping her foot dramatically.

Please don’t come in here. She wasn’t sure which of them had said it, but they’d all been thinking it. Biana would’ve if all her energy wasn’t going into keeping them invisible.

Is something wrong? Their anxiety must’ve been enough to send the message throughout the entirety of the mindbubble, not just their group, and Keefe’s concern echoed throughout their heads. When he got no response the others started chiming in, which at least meant they weren’t in any immediate danger if they had the luxury of checking in on them.

The nails dug further into her skin as the man outside the door sighed, swiping a keycard and unlocking the door, shoving it open with his shoulder as he continued to scold the girl.

“Absolutely you may not--” he began to say, one foot through the door frame, yet he still hadn’t looked, eyes on the girl. The voices in her head went silent, the adrenaline flooding her system drowning her alive until it was only that man and the explosive on the table, ever so visible.

He began to turn, eyes moving inside the room, door fully open as he stepped in.

The girl screamed. She screamed in frustration and stomped her feet and darted down the hallway, barely avoiding tripping on her elaborate gown.

The man’s attention whipped after her and he snarled something incoherent, stalking briskly after her, the door thudding shut behind him.

He left behind a thick silence, and it took a full thirty seconds before Biana’s grip on her loosened, a faint panting coming from the empty space near her as Biana swayed slightly, leaning heavily on whoever was next to her.

They lingered only a few more seconds, just barely enough for Biana to regain her composure. It was imperative they move on as quickly as possible; they had no clue when that man would be back, but it was certain he would return before they'd blown the building.

As they left she took a brief moment to hide the explosive, somewhere that wouldn’t be so easily visible for when that man returned. It would buy them time, hopefully.

Work quickly, Sophie transmitted, sending the message echoing towards the others. That had been much too close, and her urgency must’ve been obvious because she could feel the others perking up.

She could see her group’s minds lingering on that little girl, the one who’d thrown a tantrum and saved their lives. They’d known, theoretically, that there were people in this building, not just supplies and serums and whatever else created monsters, but they’d reasoned their way through the guilt. Anyone in the building was actively harming the planet and helping produce those creatures in some way; they were all complicit, so the world would be better if it were rid of them. That was something they could deal with if it saved their families, their friends stuck underground as the world above was ravaged.

That little girl was just that: a little girl. She couldn’t have been older than five; she played no part in these deadly games, yet she’d pay the same price.

Sophie hauled them through the hallways, ducking into a particularly shadowed corner away from the balefire light, the rest of her team slightly dazed. Someone's memory of that feisty girl lingered in the mindbubble, a silent question, hesitance. She could feel the other group somewhere else in the facility stop dead at the sight of her, dread tightening their stomachs as their minds cycled through the possibilities. How many just like her were hidden somewhere within these walls, unaware of the horror and grief surrounding them, coating the floors and washing through the halls; how many?

There’s nothing we can do about that right now, she transmitted to everyone, desperately trying to return them to their senses. They couldn’t do anything with everyone in such a state, clouded minds and stumbling limbs, and her panic alongside her upbringing fraught with human horror gave her enough lucidity to be the leading voice of reason. Perhaps they’d abandon the mission--although that was a last resort. They’d already gone to so much trouble--but they couldn’t do anything just standing about, practically begging to be caught.

Their minds sharpened, and someone gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, telling her they were there and they were okay. She exhaled quietly, glancing around anxiously to double-check they’d remained undetected.

Sophie was almost certain she could feel the heavy, fluttering pulses of her friends reverberating through the air as they continued on, jumping at each faint sound. Their near disaster had sombered the group, and they all appeared infinitely more aware of their surroundings, expecting someone to appear any moment.

They weren’t communicating exactly, but when they’d gotten down to their last two explosives she mindlessly reached out into the mindbubble, searching for Fitz and the others. She could feel rather than hear his response, although he seemed to be just as distracted. The others in her own group placed the last two as she scanned the surrounding space for thoughts; they made their way through the halls, peering through windows into the rooms--which were surprisingly abandoned. Apparently, the storage units were not a priority when it came to security.

Or they were guarded by something much more sinister than mere guards. The gouge marks in the walls seemed to leer at her, more ominous than they’d been a moment before.

It turned her stomach, thinking about just how expansive the facility was. It appeared infinite, spanning several stories above and a few below them, each floor impossibly tall and wide. They’d made their way down about two flights, targeting the structural supports of the building so everything would be crushed in the downfall. She intentionally kept herself from thinking about that little girl.

There’s the rendezvous room, Dex said, and Sophie shook herself internally, pulling the group forward. When they’d first come up with the plan, they’d intended to retrace their steps and exit the way they’d come, but it was deemed too high of a risk to sneak back up through the floors of the facility, and they had instead designated the room ahead as a meeting spot. It, too, had large enough vents to crawl through, which eventually made their way to an opening that should allow enough sunlight down for them to leap away with; although, if that didn’t work, they could always work their way through the vents until they’d completely retraced their steps.

Like electricity jolting through water, Fitz reached out to her, giving her a direct line to him to allow her to track his location more easily. The tether between them led to just around the corner up ahead. They were coming from opposite sides, and if you knew exactly what you were looking for you could see a large shadow creeping unnaturally against the wall, so crisp it was practically imperceptible despite her knowing where to look.

Sophie’s group made it to the door first, and Dex’s hands shook slightly as he crouched down to fiddle with the lock. He swiped his imparter across it, but nothing happened. She watched him work through his own eyes, peering through the mindbubble as he let them in. The tension grew as the others caught up to them, Tam’s shadows spreading over them slightly, enough so that Dex could disconnect from the chain, lighting the strain on Biana.

She could see him gnawing slightly at his lip as he tapped on his imparter in quick succession. Someone began breathing deeply and slowly, and she started to scan their surroundings again. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t let them be caught off guard.

Marella shook out her hands, sparks flickering between her fingers, growing with each passing moment that door refused to open. The veins in Wylie’s hands shone for a brief moment as he clenched his fist, the shimmer fading as he relaxed his fingers, glancing around.

There’s a different lock on this door, Dex mumbled, mental voice sounding faintly panicked, as though he were putting effort into sounding in control.

Yeah, no shit, Keefe grumbled, but there was a tension lacing the words that shouldn’t have been there.

Just give me...a...little longer. I think...I’ve got it.

Each pause was accentuated by a small tap as he lost his train of thought, fiddling with the locks. Cold dreaded settled itself in the center of her stomach, reaching dripping tentacles about and curling them around her insides, squeezing tight as the oxygen levels in the room seemed to dip-- and the problem didn’t appear to be the kind she could fix with a few deep breaths.

There was virtually nothing they could do but wait for him to finish, and it was agony to sit there, eyes frantically pacing the gouged walls hoping no one was approaching. Fitz’s mind reached across the mindbubble towards her, and she let him in, pooling their energy together to send pulsing waves of consciousness out around them, searching the nearby areas.

With each pulse that passed over them, the thoughts of their friends flared for a moment before dimming as it passed, but there was no one else nearby. No other flashes of thought near them that they could identify.

Wait.

There.

Fitz made a muffled sound of distress, and she could see the others’ heads snap up towards the both of them.

Shit, they transmitted. Opening their minds, they showed the others what they’d found--or rather, what was about to find them. A few halls away were thoughts, approaching quickly in their direction.

Holy shit they’re close, Biana breathed. And she was right. Normally, they’d be able to detect someone this close clear and simple, but there was a haze over their thoughts that she’d never seen before. It was as though they’d made their thoughts invisible, and she’d only barely been able to see through the deception.

There was nothing to be done about it, however, except fervently hope Dex could open that goddamn door before that person walked around the corner and saw the conglomeration of shadows and a door opening on its own. Which would happen in approximately...thirty seconds.

C’mon, I’m so close, Dex strained, mental voice shaking.

Footsteps echoed just a few moments away, and she began to bounce in place, squeezing her fingers so tight she was surprised the bones didn’t snap.

GOT IT, he cried, wrenching the door open as the lock unlatched. It was a race as everyone scrambled into the room, the footsteps and their hidden thoughts growing closer and closer each second. She couldn’t even think through the adrenaline, her arms shaking so badly there was nothing but the colors in front of her and her goal.

The door clicked shut behind them, just as the person rounded the corner.

They’d made it. Her breath came out in harsh pants, and none of the sounds around her made much sense, but she just couldn’t take her eyes off that door.

FUCK, Tam yelled, and as a force field flickered into place around them, Sophie finally turned around.

To find a room full of various guards, all of whom were staring back, malice and shock glimmering on their faces. But what was even worse were the caged creatures behind them.

Viscous pale syrup dripped from vats spread throughout the room, pulsing with thick spiderwebs of veins and mucous. Her stomach dropped as she tilted her head back to see them more fully, vaguely humanoid but distorted. Limbs stretched out like sticky candy, skin close to wreaking, appendages ending in blunt bone creeping its way out of the body. Hair floated around them in the thick substances, matted and black and shining.

They seemed dormant, but their appendages twitched in time to their thunderous heartbeat, sending waves throughout their liquid enclosures.

That was all she had the chance to see before the guards closest to them pulled out their melders.

Everything seemed to be moving at twice the speed it was supposed to be, throwing her completely off her rhythm.

Maruca stood in front of them, arms spread wide as she held a force-field around them all, Biana had let go of her, choosing to spend her energy in a fight rather than vanishing them, and it was as they broke contact that she realized just how much of her energy Biana had taken.

She swayed on her feet for a brief moment, casting out her mind and trying to get a sense of how many there were in this room that appeared infinite.

Rows of vats spread farther than she could see, although not all seemed to be occupied. None of them should’ve been. They’d gone out of their way to ensure they’d stay far away from any creatures, no matter the potential benefits. There was nothing that could be done against them.

Maruca grunted as pangs clattered against the force field, trying to find a way through. Sophie’s breathing quickened as she realized she couldn’t feel the presence of anyone in the room. It was although she was entirely alone. She couldn’t feel Fitz next to her, or anyone under the force field, and she couldn’t detect anyone outside of it.

There was an ominous silence, despite the shouts of the people around her. Security personnel were murmuring into communication devices, alerting others of a “disturbance in sector 34, room B12.” But no one in her group said a word. They’d learned not to. They spoke in the mindspace however, hysterical and screaming.

This was not the room they were supposed to be in.

There was nothing they could do as warning lights began to flash around them, strobing effects searing her eyes as alarm bells tolled, shrill and vibrating.

It couldn’t have been more than five seconds since they’d walked through that door.

She steeled herself, drawing on that knot of power she kept stored beneath her ribs, feeling the energy channel from her chest towards her head, building and building until almost painful. But she couldn’t release it. She couldn’t attack through the force field, and Maruca couldn’t drop it because then those melders would hit them head-on and they couldn’t withstand that.

Everyone else was in a similar predicament.

Then it got worse.

She didn’t think it could get worse.

How could it get worse?

The creature in the tank seemed to be reacting to either the lights or the sounds--it didn’t really matter which. What mattered was that it was moving; it was opening its gaping maw and screaming within that tank, air bubbles shooting their way towards the ceiling and lingering, a never-ending stream as its body began to buck and thrash sporadically, sharp limbs colliding with glass.

The cylindrical vat cracked, a spiderweb of broken veins spreading from the point of impact, growing with each collision as it began pounding against the glass.

The muffled sounds it made were absolutely horrible, and she slapped her palms over her ears, grimacing. But what truly stopped her heart was the sound of falling glass, wet and raining down, clattering about and bouncing off the force field.

Because now the creature was loose.

The figures who had been attacking them now swore, looking back and forth between each other before darting out of the room; their weapons still raised despite them being little threat beneath their bubble.

The door latched behind them, and Sophie seemed to come to the horrifying reality at the same time as the others.

They had no way out of this room.

SCATTER! Maruca screamed as she dropped the force field, and everyone complied, darting around the room, trying to get out of the way, hoping hoping hoping that creature wasn’t the exceptionally violent kind, and that it would leave them alone.

All of the creatures they’d encountered so far had been aggressive in some way or another--some simply left you alone unless you got close, others would attack on sight. They’d started a notebook to keep track of all the kinds they knew about, but this one was entirely new.

The only solace that could be found was that it seemed to be the only one that escaped its tank, the others appearing undisturbed.

Watching it from behind a stack of crates, Sophie could see it growing more and more agitated, banging its appendages against what seemed to be its head in distress, a warbled screech piercing the air as it began to flail about.

She ducked at the distinct sound of tables and boxes being crushed as the creature stumbled, tearing at the ground. She began to frantically search the room, looking for something--anything--that could help them at all. There had to be another exit, there had to be something they could do.

Her eyes met Keefe’s across the room, and for the strangest moment, she wasn’t concerned about the creature killing them all, or the guards capturing them and holding them hostage, or their explosives going off when they were still in the building. She was just worried he could feel her panic and it would be too overwhelming for him to concentrate.

Wait.

That was it.

Her mind clicked the pieces together and she sank to the floor, pressing her back against the shelves embedded in the wall behind her, putting her fingers to her temples. The creature was overwhelmed and overstimulated, and it was reacting poorly. She’d never tried to communicate with or inflict on any of the creatures before...but she’d never had a reason to.

She just hoped it would work.

Using that gathered energy, she reached out towards the creature, a mental hand fumbling in the dark. But it appeared she couldn’t...find it. There was just...nothingness...wherever she reached.

Opening her eyes slightly, she squinted up at the creature, which was still stumbling around in response to the overstimulation. The visual helped her narrow in on its mind, and as she reached for it she began to realize... its mind was the silence. She hadn’t been able to detect the mind of the people in the room or her friends because this creature’s mind was so incredibly silent; it broadcasted a blanket over everyone nearby.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, someone hissed into the mindbubble. But she was so far gone that it barely registered as more than a gentle, far-off whisper.

Desperately trying to control herself, Sophie began bringing forward peaceful, calmer memories; she had to reach further back than she’d expected; life hadn’t been particularly relaxing as of late. Finally, when her head seemed to overflow with calming vibes, she sent them out like a shockwave around her, a ripple in the empty.

Anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention could identify the exact moment the wave hit the creature. Its spine went rigid, snapping straight as its head jerked up, their gazes meeting. Each noise fizzled out in the same instant. No one dared breath in that poignant silence, the space almost empty now, and for the briefest moment, she wished that it weren’t so empty, so quiet.

Her wish was answered.

There was no warning as the creature’s head cocked to the side, staring her down with those empty, glistening black eyes, no warning as it lunged towards her.

Well FUCK, was the only thought in her head as it careened towards her, stumbling as though it’d only learned to walk that day, which it might have.

Its movements were uncoordinated, but that didn’t make them any less violent as the tables around them crashed into each other as it crashed onto all limbs, moving with such speed it could cross the room in less than a blink.

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. Her friends were screaming, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her eyelids were fluttering shut as that suffocating silence pressed in closer and closer.

The creature was charging straight towards her and she couldn’t think. It lost its balance, coming down hard on top of her, but its limbs were too long to crush her, and instead, it was crashing into the shelves behind her and crushing glass and breaking rock and its own bones and she. Couldn’t. Think.

Crystal shattered behind her as the shelves were wrenched from the walls, the creature desperately trying to right itself, shrieking that inhuman sound. Vials began to rain down behind her, crashing on the hard floor.

The noxious scents of the spilling bottles began to flood the room, visible gases blooming from where the colors mixed, sizzling and bubbling on the floor. The creature bucked its head, scrambling away, limbs bashing the floor as it dashed far, far away into the hollows of the room.

The silence was back, but this time it was accompanied by fumes and watering eyes as everyone pushed to their feet, stumbling and coughing.

We havetoget...Dex began, eyeing the frothing liquids….out ofhere. He was standing so far away. How had he gotten there? She might’ve been nodding her head, agreeing with him, but without the adrenaline, everything was...so slow...and the floor seemed liquid and plush.

She couldn’t see who began coughing, their whole body wracked in a fit as the vapors became so thick she couldn’t see. It occurred to her too late to try holding her breath, her eyelids fluttering as she stumbled a few steps, but she didn’t actually know where she was going.

A thud sounded behind her, and she turned, the room seeming to lag as she did so. Biana. It had been...Biana. She’d made the sound. Her body was crumpled on the ground, unconscious. That should’ve sent a spike of alarm through her, telling her to move. To go. Get out.

But she couldn’t think. And the others quickly followed, a series of thuds echoing throughout the space as one by one, they succumbed to the fumes.

Sophie was still standing, and she briefly made eye contact with Dex--why was he so far--watching him fumble with his imparter. An explosive rumbling sounded in the distance, growing stronger and closer with each moment her eyes remained open. She was upright only long enough to see Dex fall before she felt her muscles give, and she crashed down hard.

Wings AU Taglist:

@loudnerdfest @rainbowtay-11 @cadence-talle @pyrokinetic-loser @ahecktonoffandomsinoneblog @itstiger720 @loverofallthingssmart @cowboypossume @jolieharkness @wings-of-hell-and-beyond @shellyseashell @blossomjenniie @imaramennoodle @booknerdddddd @akotlcblog

#that might've been confusing to read #but you can always ask me questions about the au!!#and now i can answer them more because you actually have some content lol #also can I say i hate formatting #cause I do #anyways please give me your thoughts because I've had this au for so long it feels like it doesn't exist outside my mind #so i'd love to know what you think of it #kinda apocalytic if i do say so myself #anyways ill stop now but thanks for readingggg #no clue how many chapters there'll be but definitely at least a few more #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #kotlc wings au #kotlc fic #my writing <3 #shattered upside down #oh also yea it has an actual name lol #tw swearing

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cloudninetonine · 4 years

Text

Follow the light

Chapter 1

Synopsis: A Genshin impact/Avatar x fem!reader

A/N: INSTANT SECOND CHAPTER. Also, some stuff from my previous post about this crossover is probs gonna change

I do not own the Genshin Impact or Avatar franchise

Warnings

“Let’s try it again”

Nodding, you took a deep breath, focusing yourself on your actions as you began to move.

Light on your feet, just like the leaf, if you meet resistance, you must be able to spiral away at a moment’s notice, move like the wind, move like you’re free.

Tsering had practically drilled that into you when you began to learn airbending. ‘It was a must’, she had told you, sending a blast of wind into the the spinning death trap- I mean, into the spinning gates, ‘if you are to be the Avatar you must know how to air bend, even if your power is just that of an average bender as of now’

She was right, of course, but the thought of helping restore Raava’s power and find your brother itched at your mind constantly, kept you awake at night as you practiced your moves, occupied your thoughts when you ate, never had you been so desperate to leave the temple.

Despite that, the thought of leaving these people caused your chest to burn, like you had been stabbed right in the heart with the intent to kill. These people had become family to you, on level with your brother, they cared for you and you cared for them, so you knew when it finally came time to leave, which if you were correct, would be a few days from now, you would shed tears.

You would be alone and it scared you.

“Much better” Tsering clapped, as did the other four nuns, the leading nuns, when you finally ceased, bright smile on your face “You’re improving every day, I’d say you could become a master in just a few more years”

You placed your hands behind you back, rocking on your heels “Would I be able to get my tattoos if I did?”

She smiled back “Of course, you’re considered a nomad after all”

A familiar squeaky voice piped up from your left “Paimon thinks you could improve in your stance”

You sent Paimon the stink eye “You can’t even bend, elf”

“Excuse you! Paimon doesn’t need to bend to know you’re stance stinks-”

“Alright you two, no need to fight” Another nun, Nun Palmo laughed, “(Name), you are dismissed, remember to keep training and if you need help, you only need to ask”

With a ‘thank you!’ and quick bow, you headed off with Paimon for your daily walk around the temple.

“Paimon was only joking earlier, you’ve really improved, your bending was pretty flawless! Though, Paimon noticed that you looked a bit distracted, is everything okay?”

Paimon, the ever so observant, when food wasn’t involved, or when she wasn’t talking, or when she was just...herself. The spirit seemed to know you well enough to notice the shift in your attitude as you bent, mind fogged up over other matters that you didn’t need to think about at that moment.

“Yes, Pai, I’m fine, it’s just…” You searched for the words “I’m starting my journey in a few days and I know Raava is here with me but...I’m going to be alone when I travel so I’m nervous. I’ve never travelled by myself before, my brother’s always been with me so….”

A sigh fell from your lips. “It’s stupid-”

“No it isn’t!” Paimon leaned in close, shaking her fists in exaggeration “Being alone is a big deal! Paimon knows from experience that it sucks being by yourself, so, Paimon’s decided to accompany you on your journey! She am a spirit of guidance after all!”

Your head snapped towards her “Wait...seriously?”

“Seriously!”

The grin that spread across your face was contagious, the spirit mirroring your expression as you hugged her tightly, both of you laughing. “Thank you, Paimon, thank you!”

“No need for thanks!....Actually, keep it coming”

Your heart filled with warmth.

You wouldn’t be alone.

The day came faster than you had expected. As cheesy as it sounded, it had only felt like yesterday when Raava had first spoken with you and the two of you had merged, but it had been just over four months with air bending training being a subject for every single day. A mix of grueling and fun, because learning how to fly using a glider brought you back to earlier days with your wings, but getting your arse kicked by spinning gates, falling from far heights when you mess up your bending- not as fun.

A sort of leaving party had been held the night before, a great buffet for you hard work and just fun games to play with your newly aquired airbending skills. (Tsering had beaten you 5 against 1 in Airball and even then, you were sure she had given you the last one out of pity)

You were changed in your older clothes this time, pulling on your gloves and boots, looking yourself in the mirror in your room the last time. It was weird, seeing yourself in your travelling attire when for the past few years you had been dressed in the familiar orange, yellow and reds of air culture, it only further settled as a reminder that you were leaving today.

You had successfully held back the tears till this point.

“(Name)” Glancing towards your door, Tsering stood with her hands clasped together, a small smile on her beautiful features “Are you ready?”

“Uh, yes!” Fumbling for your bag, you made your way over “I’m- I’m ready”

“Good, but before that” Pulling something from behind her back, she presented it to you “You earned this”

Sat within her palms was an airbending staff, accompanied by your familiar red sash that you supported on your clothes previous. You stood in awe as the elder airbender tied the sash around you, tightening it gently before grasping your cheek, stroking it softly with her thumb. “I will miss you, (Name)”

Tears finally pushed through, eyes glazing over as you engulfed the woman in a tight hug, face shoved into her chest. “I’ll miss you too, Tsering”

Ten minutes later, you were heading towards the bison, specifically your bison, one you had befriended by accident and now considered one of your lifelong pals. You hadn’t meant to bond with him, only airbenders received bison, but you had stumbled upon the ordeal when exploring and he just didn’t seem to care about anyone else. Tsering had let you have him without much argument and smiled when you named him Viator, something she didn’t quite understand back then but now was a completely different story.

“Food has been packed for you, along with water, spare clothes and other necessities” Paimon was already sitting upon Viator’s back, munching on what you guessed was something from breakfast, when you jumped onto the bison’s head, stroking through his fur with love. “Be safe, (Name) and please know, you may return whenever you wish”

“Thank you, Tsering. Thank you everyone, you showed me kindness for all these years and treated me as one of your own. I’ll miss you all so much but I promise I will come back” With a commanding ‘Yip, yip’ Viator had pushed himself off the ground “Farewell everyone!”

The younger airbender girls screamed their goodbyes, waving their hands wildly while the older nuns bowed, sending waves once you began to disappear West, towards the mainland of Teyvat.

Finally, your journey began.

-----

“Look, there it is!”

It had taken an entire day, much faster than you had originally expected and you couldn’t have been more grateful for the existence of sky bison.

From your point, you could see giant cliffs, a small, sandy bay sat beneath them with a path that led deeper into the mainland, your bison following it when you finally hit the shoreline.

“Did Raava say anything about the statues, like, how to even get the power in the first place?”

You shook your head “No, so I’ll just have to see once we find one- woah”

It had taken only five minute to reach a clearing and boy, was it a sight to behold. Cliffs surrounded the area in a crescent shape, the valley holding a plethora of beautiful trees ranging from the famous forest green to autumn time orange. Beyond it stood a city of stone, laid within a sparkling blue lake, Mondstadt you believed. Dead center sat a small isle within the valley, containing just the thing you were looking for.

“That was quick”

Viator grew closer, groaning when you called ‘Yip, yip!’ to drop the lot of you onto the tiny piece of land, Paimon clapping her hands excitedly.

“Oh!” She cried in delight “That’s the statue of the Anemo Archon, Barbatos! He’s the spirit of Air!”

Floating down, you jogged up the statue with your companion following behind, eyeing the tall structure with intrigued eyes when you finally stood before it, glancing around it briefly before Paimon spoke up.

“What now?”

You shrugged “I...touch it?”

“Paimon..agrees?”

Delicate hands reached out, brushing against the golden plaque molded into the botton of the monument when a beautiful glow was produced from the carved diamond patterns, both you and Paimon gasping in surprise as a heavenly sounded resonated through the area, the glow winding up the statue and forming into a beautiful light orb within the hands of the figure head. Slowly, the ball floated down towards you, like a leaf in the wind, then flew into your chest, a feeling of weightlessness flowing through your entire being.

You glanced over yourself.

“Was...that it?”

Paimon huffed “You know, that’s kind of rude to say about the power the Archon just gave you!”

“I didn’t mean it like that-”

A brilliant light flashed before your eyes, blinding you, the whole surrounding scene blurring away. You threw your hands over your face, protecting yourself from the harsh brightness when it faded as soon as it came, the sound of nature that once encircled you now replaced with a deafening silence.

“(Name)”

You turned towards the voice, smiling “Raava”

The spirit flew towards you, you once again lending your hand out only to notice the slight difference within the being.

“You’re bigger” You noted in excitement, watching her wind up your arm “Have I already restored some of your power that fast? If so, this’ll be easy-peasy”

“You mustn't underestimate this journey, (Name)” She spoke with a wisdom that you hadn’t experienced for what felt like lifetimes, your body straightening up in response to her tone “We have only just begun and the road will only grow more treacherous as we push forward. Not everyone will be so supporting in our quest”

A sigh escaped you “Yeah, you’re right, nothing is ever that easy. I wish we had more help though”

“You are not alone in this, (Name)”

“I know, I’ve got you, Pai, Viator-”

“That is not what I meant”

The noise of confusion you made was cut short at the sound of….wind? It grew louder with it second, until the whisper because a magnificent howl, collecting around the two of you before bursting outwards, forms of multiple figures appearing from the darkness.

“Air nomads?” You glanced around at them all “Wait, not just air nomads”

“No, each is an air nomad in their own right” The multiple air nomads eyes snapped opening, revealing a familiar white glow “Not every nomad is in touch with their culture, some fade away, whether that be from their own choice or anothers, while others stick with air custom”

It hit you.

“Past air nation Avatars….” There were so many, you couldn’t keep count! They even faded into the far distance of this mind space! You had known there had been plenty of Avatars but seeing this much was just...wow “But, I don’t get it, the Avatar cycle was destroyed. Wouldn’t the Avatars have vanished? Like in that Water tribe….Korra, like in Korra’s era”

But then again, Tsering had told you that the following Avatar, an Earth Kingdom boy named Genji you believed, had somehow restored the previous Avatars despite the new cycle. No one ever found out how, but no one really cared, they were just grateful for the Avatar.

“I, as well, am not sure why they are returning” The spirit glanced around before facing you once again, sliding further up to reach eye level “Perhaps it is our connection? Your own spirit? Or maybe it is just luck that they return, but they will help you in your journey, they will be your guides alongside me”

You grinned “Good to know I have more backup”

“(Name)!!!!”

The voice of Paimon echoed around you, concern evident in her voice and you glanced around, trying to find her.

“It is time for you to return, but you can always find us again”

The world around you began to fade, the past avatars disappearing within the darkness along with the spirit.

Paimon sighed in relief when the glow finally dissipated from your eyes, you blinking a few times then glanced towards her with an apologetic smile.

“You can’t just go all Avatar on Paimon like that!” She chided like a mother, waggling her finger at you “Paimon wasn’t sure if what happened was worrying or not!”

“Sorry, Pai, didn’t mean to worry you”

She huffed, floating back to Viator “Let’s just continue on, Paimon thinks we should head over into Mondstadt!”

You hopped onto your bison, patting his head “Why, Mondstadt?”

“It’s the city of Wind of course! Poetry and language flow like the wind, so there must be someone who knows about your brother! At least that what’s Paimon thinks”

“Sounds like a good start, yip- huh?!”

A large shadow cast over you, a bellious roar sounding through the valley, deep, thunderous and strong. Glancing upwards, you both watched as a giant creature, with beautiful blue fathers flew overhead, aimed towards the heart of the forest that laid ahead.

“What was that?!” You cried as Viator groaned in alarm, Paimon looking as spooked as you felt “Paimon!?”

“A dragon! We’ve gotta be careful!”

Dragon? What a weird dragon indeed. You had seen quite a few in your lifetime, exploring different worlds with your brother meant you got to experience a whole lot of different things, dragons were no exception. They differed in different worlds, some violent, some passive, some young and naive some old and wise, but one thing that tended to stay the same was that their appetite was a meaty one and when you glanced down at Viator, you decided to take a cautious step for your furry companion.

“Paimon, stay here with Viator” Opening up your staff, you hopped off your animal and flew in the direction of the forest. Your friend called after you, voice high with panic as she begged you to come back, but you weren’t listening, no, you were focused on keeping the people close to you safe, even if that meant fighting a dragon, which you knew for certain you weren’t ready for.

The forest was practically silent compared to the valley. The sound of life that played within the sun had dimmed with the looming trees of oak, muffling the wind that blew through the perfect path that had been carved through the nature with perfect precision, it’s goal on leading to Mondstadt clear with each tentative step you took that lead to where you had seen the great beast land.

‘I wish I had my sword’ Such words shouldn’t come to a nomad, you knew that to be true, but you had lived through battle after battle with your brother for so long, the weight of the blade, the leather of it’s handle, it had been burned into the skin of your hand many times ago. Guilt boiled within you during your years with the nuns, how could you think of fighting while surrounded by such peaceful people? But then again, you could take a warrior from war, but not war from a warrior.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now, I’m back”

You pushed your back against the nearest tree, glancing around it’s wide trunk at the scene.

The dragon was great, indeed. Coloured in an array of blues, from aquatic to deep ocean, feathers and furs adorned it’s body, tipping the tail, decorating it’s wings, lining it’s belly but ended at it’s claws, replaced with silvery scales that reflected the light of the day. From it’s back, however, protruded two tainted purple crystals, that you could sense, all the way from your hidden spot, held nothing but a dark energy that made your skin crawl. The creature’s sheer size was intimidating enough, especially compared to the boy who stood before it, but those crystals- wait.

Only then did you finally notice, too focused on the dragon to see the small male who held his hands out towards it. Sure, you had heard the voice earlier, but the blue beast’s appearance had overshadowed it, though now, you saw him, clear as day and your thoughts screamed about how such a small, fragile looking human could stand tall before such an intimidating animal-

A shout echoed through the forest, a familiar high shout that made you groan inwardly when the dragon let out an ear piercing shriek, swiping towards the boy only for him to jump back to your relief, snapping his head towards you direction, then disappear in a flashing light, the dragon leaving along with him into the sky with a final roar for extra effect.

You glared back at Paimon, panicked stricken face frozen in terror atop Viator’s head, who had tucked into himself at the appearance of the other animal.

“Really, Paimon?!” Running over, you soothed your bison softly “I told you to stay put! What if that dragon attacked?!”

“Paimon- uh- Paimon….” The spirit stumbled over her words for a few moments, when she noticed something within the short distance of where the dragon had been perched “What’s that?”

On closer inspection, it appeared to be a floating crystal, shaped eerily similar to a teardrop which glowed a crimson red, screaming an aura of negativity and…

“Sorrow” You hesitated when you reached out, but ultimately grasped it between your fingers gently “You can feel it right? That sorrow from it?”

“Yeah, almost like spiritual energy but just...sad, really sad” Frowning, Paimon turned towards you “Paimon feels kinda sad now too”

“Yeah, me too”

A cloth emerged from your pocket with a tug, the crimson glow disappearing under the raggedy brown of the material as you wrapped it carefully before stuffing it a bag on Viator’s back.

“Take care of this, will you bud?”

The animal groaned.

“Thanks”

Hopping down, you grasped Viator’s reins and continued down the dirt path.

“So, Mondstadt?”

It didn’t take long to reach the end of the woodland’s winding path. The once dense forestry parting way to a clear road to that great city that stood proud a few acres away, towering cliffs decorating your left for quite a way while to your right laid the beautiful crystal blue waves of what Paimon called Lake Cider.

A strange name, you had to admit, but your spirit friend’s explanation of the city’s famous winery industry only seemed to make it fit.

“-If we ask around, we’ll find some information! Oh, this city is famous for bards! So we can definitely-”

“Hey, you! Stop right there!”

Another threat?

Caution was thrown into the wind and you raced into action, pulling forth your staff in a defensive stance and ready to protect your companions with every last inch of you. Viator seemed to feel the same, as his large frame grew closer to you, towering in size with a guttural growl that even shook you slightly, bearing giant teeth.

Paimon merely fell behind, cowering away nervously.

‘Wow, thanks a lot Pai-’

A figure flew overhead, leaping off one of the shorter cliff sides and descending down to the dirt before you, rolling for safety then bouncing back up on their feet.

Long, dark brown hair, lively golden eyes, fair skin and covered head to toe in red.

Fire nation perhaps? Nun Tsering did say that descendants were fond of the colour.

“May the Anemo archon protect your stanger-...” She started, face kind but guarded until she fell upon your sash and bison “Ah! You’re an Air nomad! I am so sorry!”

Then she bowed, deep and apologetic and you sent Paimon a side eyed glance when she floated back to your side.

“Mondstadt is the city of wind and considered air nation territory” She whispered, “Monks and Nuns are highly respected, well, everywhere, but much higher here. You’re basically considered royalty”

You nodded in understanding before approaching the girl “Hey, it’s okay! It was an honest mistake! What’s your name? Mine’s (Name). This is my spirit guide, Paimon and my bison, Viator”

The younger woman bounced back up, narrowingly missing your head with her own while she stumbled over herself, finally findinger her words as she saluted (?) towards you all, forming a fist on her chest then being thrown outside, hand flattening by her side “Yes, of course! I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius. I would like to personally welcome you to Mondstadt, dear Nun and once again apologise for my rude approach”

“Like I said, it was just a mistake!” Laughing, you bowed “It’s nice to meet you, Amber”

Amber paused for a moment, eyes wide then bowed in return “Likewise, Nun (Name)”

“You don’t need to call me that! I’m only a...nun-in-training, really, so, (Name) is just fine”

“Are you sure? It seems impolite to call you that, even if you’re only in training!”

From the sidelines, Paimon smiled.

The spirit had been informed by Nun Tsering of your inner conflict when you had first stumbled into this world. How hard it had been to open up, how you had struggled to interact with the others nuns, always so closed off and scared, the festering feeling of abandonment brewing a deep rooted fear of interaction, lest any person you may come across would be the next to leave you in the dust, by their own will or not.

When Paimon had first arrived, you had still struggled with that fear, even now if was still visible, if you looked close enough, but she knew she didn’t have to worry as much now, you were doing so much better and seeing you grow more confident made pride bloom in her chest, where her heart would be if she were human.

“Please-” Amber gestured over to Mondstadt, “Allow me to escort you to our city”

“Are you sure? If you’re a knight, you’re probably out here for a reason and I don’t want to get in the way of that”

“Not to worry, my duties have been fulfilled for today, so taking you to Mondstadt wouldn’t be much trouble”

With a smile, you nodded and off your little group ventured.

The walk to the city wasn’t long, no, only 5 minutes at least, filled with friendly chit chatter between you, Amber and Paimon, your bison huffing for your attention like he usually loved to do when your focus shifted. The knight looked ecstatic when you offered her a ride some time, bouncing up and down excitedly then engulfing the beast in a hug.

You liked her attitude, her excitement. It reminded you of simpler times and on a more somber note, of Aether. He always was kinda like the sun, even when you two bickered like normal siblings did, he kept on that lightened aura that just kept you from staying mad at him, a smile surfacing on your face while he cheered in accomplishment, a small tease of ‘You know you love me!’ before you smacked him right around the head and your famous fist fights ensued, the ones you always won.

You missed your squabbles, you his light, you missed him, but you had to remind yourself that this was the start of your journey to finding your brother and you would be reunited one day.

The guards bowed when you finally entered the city, as did the seemingly grumpy blacksmith you passed, the flower girl, the adventure guild receptionist, the jeweller- everyone and you did the polite thing of bowing back.

“You’re attracting quite the crowd already!” Amber laughed, the many citizens watching your group with wide gazes “It’s only natural though, I’m sure Paimon’s already told you that Nun and Monks are regarded highly in the city of wind!”

“Yup! Paimon made sure it was the first thing she knew!” You were positive the spirit ignored your stink eye, “So, who do we speak with about missing person posters?”

“Well, it’s best to speak with Master Jean, if you come with me I’ll show you the way! Here, I’ll give you a little tour around too!”

“That sounds great!” You glanced back to Viator, who stood patiently beyond the gates and watched you with soft eyes. “Stay here, bud! I’ll come back soon- and with some hay!”

The great beast groaned, waddling off somewhere beyond the gate and leaving the three of you to wander deeper into the city.

With each step you took, you felt as though you were being watched with the familiar sensation of eyes pinpointed onto you, though, it seemed... unwelcoming, their stare burning holes into your form. For a moment you glanced around, Amber and Paimon too distracted with talking to notice your focus shift. It didn’t take long to find the perpetrator, a man with long red locks, a few yards away, glaring at you with arms crossed.

You noted to yourself to look for the man later.

“Hey, isn’t that Barbatos?” Gaze shifting once again, your look upon the grande statue before Mondstadt’s church, a figure akin to an angel with long robes, wings and hands out, cupped towards the sky “You know, Paimon remembers him wearing less clothes”

The knight shared a disturbed look with you.

You didn’t really need that mental image.

“The headquarters is right over here-”

There was an instant shift in the air.

The sky darkened with malicious grey clouds, hiding away the bright summer’s sun and replacing it with only a layer of doom, the wind picking up harsher undertones.

“The sky…”

There it was again.

The dragon from the Whispering Woods.

It raced towards the city, circling it’s borders ominously while growling a thunderous and threatening growl before erupting into a blood curdling screech, the noise bringing forth a miniature cyclone along with powerful tornadoes.

The people of the city screamed in fear, rushing around to escape the attack, parents crying for children, knights ordering for citizens to take cover, animals yowling out their own grievances, utter chaos reigned and you felt panic at the thought of Viator alone, waiting for you patiently where you left him.

“I have to go get Viator!” You were already sprinting back to the gates “I can’t leave him alone like this!”

Amber raced after you.

How had this happened so fast? And why when you had just arrived? What was going!? Only moments ago you were touring the city towards the Knights of Favonius headquarters and now this!

“Paimon thinks that the tornado is getting too close!” She was right, it was practically on your heels! “Hurry! Or we’ll get caught up!”

If only it had been that easy.

Amber had tried, you had seen her panic as you felt the pull of the powerful wind current begin to drag you closer, she had reached out, grabbing your staff with strength only adrenaline could cause, trying hard to keep you grounded but you could see it was for naught, as her feet slipped against the stone and the fear she would also get sucked in plagued you.

You made a rash, last minute decision.

“Get Viator!” Her eyes met yours “And take care of my staff!”

You let go and watched her horrified face as you were sucked into the winding wind.

It was terrifying, you had no idea what way was up and what way was down, left was right and right was left. Paimon was screaming, something you couldn’t hear in your throat crushing fear, curled into a ball and eyes shut tightly, hoping for it to end soon. If only you had your wings, if only Aether was here, if only...

“Ravaa” Your own whimpering could not be heard beyond the screaming of the wind, but you begged that the spirit still heard you. “Please, I’m scared”

A beat passed.

The wind still roared.

Another beat passed.

The screams of citizens still echoed through Mondstadt.

Then another.

And your eyes snapped open, glowing a brilliant white.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact paimon #genshin impact amber #traveler!reader

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wild3flow3r · 4 years

Text

Santa Baby // HS

Hey everyone! It’s been a long time since I posted some writing, but this season I was a part of @goldenbluesuit Christmas Song Fic Challenge! It was so much fun and I want to give her a huge thanks for allowing me to participate! Make sure to read all of the other fics in this challenge that have been posted + will be posted in the upcoming days. Without further ado, here’s my piece!

word count: 1.4k

cw: none! just tried to make something sweet :)

In my twenty-five years of life, I never, not once, imagined myself falling into bed with a mall Santa. Let alone one I detested with every fiber of my being. But alas, it was Christmas Eve and even stranger things have happened during the holidays. But honestly, this probably isn’t the strangest thing to have ever happened. This cannot be the first time a mall Santa and his most trusted elf have found themselves in this most uncompromising of positions in the Elf’s flat just a quick cab ride away from Santa’s village.

His lips brush over my jawline before moving down to my neck, his teeth catching on some skin. I feel his hands trying to undo all the knots on the front of my shift. At one point he just starts pulling at them in aggravation, a low groan falling past his lips and onto my skin. I can’t help but laugh, which only earns me a hard squeeze on both sides of my hips.

“You’re being rude,” he mutters. Again I laugh.

“I quite vividly remember somebody stealing my lunch out of the fridge today. Now that was rude.”

He lifts his head up so his green eyes can gaze into mine. The shade of them is darker. If it’s from the lack of light, or from annoyance at me and my dress, or just because of what I feel poking against my thigh under his red trousers, I’m not sure.

“Mabel,” he groans. I am very much dancing on his last nerve now.

“Harry,” I sing-song back. “You should be better at those knots by now, honestly. We’ve been going at this for weeks. You’ve had practice.”

“You mess them up like this on purpose. I know it.”

I met Harry Styles one day in the middle of November when Santa’s village opened for business at our city mall. Originally, he was supposed to be an elf just like me. But then the Santa the mall had hired had fallen ill, and Harry was asked to step up in replacement. He very much did not look like Santa, even with the beard and glasses he was forced to wear, but the children, and their parents, loved him so much, for reasons I could never comprehend, even with being with him as I am now. And because he was such a hit, the mall asked him to step in as Santa permanently.

Even from the first moment I met him, I knew no good would come of him. First off, green eyes were my weakness. But then he opened up that big dumb mouth of his and made fun of my (handmade but mall approved) elf costume. Well, now that costume was making fun of him.

“This feels like something that could end you up on the naughty list.”

With a big roll of my eyes, I kick the elf boots off my feet, hearing the bells on them jingle when they hit the ground.

Another check off on why I found him so detestable. He took his job way too seriously. And not as in he actually thought of himself as Santa, but more the power dynamic between Santa and his elf. Often times I was the punchline to a joke he was making to a child and their parent. All harmless, of course, but they wound their ways under my skin until I was ready to burst with annoyance. And the constant references on finding myself on the naughty list, if I hadn’t found myself in bed with him nearly every night since the day we met, I would show him what would actually get me on the naughty list. Also, he likes to steal my lunches, a big fault in his personality.

I hadn’t meant to start sleeping with him. We were five days into our working relationship when it happened. He often liked to turn everything into a game. The staring contest was our most popular, but there was also the quiet game, and sometimes even a race on who could get to the cab first. He loves a competition. I, on the other hand, find them rather aggravating, but that’s probably because I usually lose. But I don’t know. One second we were in the breakroom by ourselves having a tough match at the staring contest, and the next his lips were on mine. It was like all this tension I’d been feeling for him was slowly being released. And that night, with one of his arms wrapped around my shoulder as we both laid on our backs, his breath slow and steady with sleep, it was the calmest I’ve felt in a long time. I wanted to do it again, and I guess so did he. So unless one of us really has plans that they cannot cancel, we find ourselves most nights after work at one of our homes. Usually mine, since Harry has a nosey roommate.

“Oh poor me, I’m so worried.”

“Just help me get it off.” His pout is almost adorable. Focus, Mabel.

“Stop eating my lunches. I don’t make them for you.”

“So you did tangle them on purpose!”

I shrug, a smirk playing across my lips. “Someone needs to teach you a lesson. Only good boys get what they ask for.”

He nuzzles his head back against my shoulder, his teeth nipping at my earlobe. “I promise to stop,” he whispers. The smile on his lips gives away his lie.

I hum in response. I push at his shoulders until finally he releases me and falls against the mattress on his back. His fingers brush against the back of my hand before I stand up and head over to the mirror. A knot like this would confuse Harry, but I know the ins and outs of it. It only takes me a few moments to get it free, but Harry still found himself bored waiting. I hear him fiddling around with the radio on my nightstand, landing on a station playing a Christmas Hits countdown. The first few cords of Santa Baby play through the speakers. Kylie Minogue starts to sing just as I turn to face him again.

His eyes grow wide as a shed the dress off my body, now only wearing pale green leggings. No matter how many times he’s seen me naked, he always makes it feel like the first. New. Exciting. Sexy.

He’s been sans his shirt and red coat for a while now, but his red trousers stand at my attention. One moment he’s on the bed, staring, and the next he’s on my like a lion on their prey. He throws me back on the bed before covering my body once more. Now his head travels down from my neck to my chest to my navel, humming along to the song the entire time.

“Been an awful good girl,” he mutters along with Kylie while peppering kisses against my hips as he peels the leggings off.

My fingers brush through his curls. I tug at them lightly before he moves any further down. He looks up at my with a question on his face.

“What’s going to happen after Christmas?” I whisper.

It’s been on my mind this last week. After tomorrow we would no longer be working together. We would no longer be seeing each other. I loate this man in front of me. But also, my heart has grown quite fond of him. And he’s really good with what he does in bed. Like really good. And sometimes he’s funny. Alright, a lot of the time he’s funny. And he really is kind, when he’s not trying to get a rise out of me. But we’d never put a label on this when we first started sleeping together. I don’t know what we are now. I don’t know what we will be. But I’d like to know now, to protect my heart if he decides to leave my life for good in two days.

He comes up again, pressing soft kisses against my lips until I’m smiling. “You don’t think you can get rid of my that easily, do you?”

“We never talked about-”

“I know. “But I’m not going to disappear after tomorrow. You’re too much fun to annoy to do that.”

“Oh shut it,” I mutter.

“With pleasure,” he grins before moving back south.

I don’t know what December 26th will bring, to see whether or not Harry and I have been living in a Christmas induced bubble. I don’t know if we’ll make it to the New Year. Maybe we could make it to Easter. But all I know for certain is right now, with Harry between my legs going as slow and tortuous as he can, and Kylie Minogue asking Santa to hurry down the chimney tonight. Kylie knew what she was talking about.

#GBSxmaschallenge #1dff #fic challenge #one direction fanfiction #harry styles fanfiction

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crowsent · 4 years

Text

a fuckton of things i want in da4

a few words censored bc tumblr will swallow this in the void if i dont. long ass fuck list ahead

a romanceable dwarf

more romanceable elves/qunari

more elf/qunari/dwarf companions

consistent writing for once

more nb representation

good hair. please just give me good hair options. give me long hair. give me luxurious flowing locks. give me braids. give me good fucking hair options

let me shittalk the chantry

dalish elf npcs that impact the plot in unique ways

dalish elf companions that are proud of being dalish

if it is set in tevinter maybe uh. maybe address the issue of systemic oppression (and slavery) of elves???????

a return of the friendship/rivalry system in da2 but improved. maybe instead of a friendship rivalry sliding scale its friendship/rivalry/animosity sliding scale. bc rivalry is more like. two people pushing each other to be better than they were before. friendly competition. hes an idiot but hes my idiot kind of deal. animosity would be just regular disapproval. i liked the crisis cutscenes in dai so high animosity would be the same as low approval and might make the companion leave still, but theres more variety with high approval. high approval “friendship” would be the “were best friends and we share many opinions and agree on almost everything” while high approval “rivalry” being “we disagree on almost everything but goddamn it youre my friend and ill follow you into the fade if i have to” so you can have a high approval with someone instead of being a kissass

actions and choices having consequences again

multiple endings again (epilogue slideshows dont count)

dialogue wheels with descriptions that match what you actually say

characters from rivain, antiva, anderfels, etc

gifts. bring back the gifts. i want to give my companions gifts

maybe. maybe a focus of non-andrastian religion for once?

let me shittalk the chantry

i know its a stretch, but maybe. diverse skin colours. please?

nd characters that are written respectfully and treated w dignity

please bring back the talent wheel from dao and da2

more bi romance options

more wlw romance options

more mlm romance options

ace romance options

nb romance options

background romances

let me shittalk the chantry

far fetched but maybe a polycule?

i lowkey LOVED the fast-paced feel of da2s combat so maybe bring that back in some form? maybe improved to mesh with the tactics of dai to give players absolute freedom of playstyle whether they want to be like me and rush into every encounter or play more strategically

companions with unique companion abilities

would be nice to explore cities

would be nice if the open world were a little smaller so it doesnt feel empty all the gd time

more mage spells. mages felt like just another class of fighter to me in dai. they dont really have any awe-inducing wow factor like in dao or even da2. if the narrative wants me to believe that mages are powerful and dangerous and that it takes multiple templars to hunt down an apostate, maybe show that? give me strong mages

remove the jump ability. its pointless

a narrative that addresses the oppression that the chantry and templars perpetuated please

bring back the attributes

make the choices in dai matter. mages governing themselves? i wanna see that

let me shittalk the chantry

please bring back the healing magic for fucks sakes

multi-class system between rogues and warriors?

multiple specialisations that feel like specialisations and not just skill tree+

player-only skill trees

hardening

companion quests that affect their abilities and further dialogue

actual morally grey choices instead of this stupid mage freedom vs templar oppression narrative that is in no way morally grey but is presented as such and thus leaves the conflicts and narratives set up by dao and da2 to be fucking meaningless

bring back the tactics

would be nice to have an origins-esque prologue again. maybe one that would determine future events in game just to give your character better narrative cohesion with the plot

an approval/disapproval system but for companions with other companions. bringing certain companions together may bring them closer or make them pissed off with each other which affects banter maybe quests maybe combat

give me a fucking mabari bioware. give me back my fucking mabari

day/night cycle

a nightmare mode where you have to finish the main quest on a time limit. it is absurd that dai expects me to believe that i have all this time to do wartable missions that can take literal real life DAYS to finish and still thwart corypheus’ plans in time. bullshit

that said. no more wartable missions. waiting for a countdown to finish isnt very fun

let me shittalk the chantry

kal-sharok. ive been hearing about it since dao let me fucking see kal-sharok

dwarven politics

politics in general. my fav dao quest was the succession crisis plotline in orzammar/the landsmeet and wewh in dai

npcs i can talk to. even with generic dialogue like in dao. makes the world more alive

using the environment to your advantage. far fetched but i would love to be able to pull down boulders if were in the mountains or freeze water to get to places as a mage

home base customisation but the customisation choices you make actually. mean something. and do something. or at the very least give more companion dialogue/banter/approval change

laconic and ergonomic codexes. like. sorted by what kind of codex it is, etc etc but then you just get a brief summary of the codex and the option to read more about it so i dont spend eternity scrolling through cards looking for a specific codex entry. cool aesthetic dont get me wrong but real irritating to deal with. also. maybe. the pc making comments about the codex if you do read more about it? like a dalish elf saying “they got it all wrong” when reading a codex about dalish elves written by a human??? that would a) give character to the pc b) incentivise people to actually read the codex to see what was so wrong about it c) summarise the codex for people who want to learn the lore but dont want to spent the entire game reading text

maybe have the merchants in your home base close to crafting stations so you dont have to take a fucking hike if you miscounted the amount of elfroot you need?

let me shittalk the chantry

avvar companion maybe??? interesting lore right there

bring back stat requirements for weapons and remove the class restriction for most shit. obviously a dagger would be better for a rogue than a longsword and a mage would do better with a staff than a sword and shield but its not about efficiency. its about the roleplay. its about the options. give me the option to make a mage with wildly inappropriate stat distribution

bring back sustained mode abilities

traps. bring back traps. bring back the option to stealth into an area, trap the fuck out of it, and go from there

have the three available classes in kind of a rock paper scissors scenario. warriors do real well against rogues who do real well against mages who do real well against warriors. so you can plan your party depending on who/what youll face AND how much their approval will change during the quest you take them on

let me shittalk the chantry

actually resolve the plot points introduced in dai

a more threatening villain. the inquisitor thwarted every attempt made by corypheus in dai. he was not threatening at all

queer characters. background, companions, etc. queer characters

mounts were meh in dai. maybe. make them faster? or less cumbersome? or have your companions on mounts too so theres still banter?

i liked the armour tinting. let me have armour tinting from the beginning

i would really like mages to move and attack at the same time bc lowkey standing in one spot is uhhhhhhh kinda boring

let me check companions friendship/rivalry levels

would be nice if the narrative acknowledged that elves suffered greatly at the hands of the chantry and stopped victim-blaming them

more taverns. specifically like tapsters in dao where theres a dwarf just reciting something in a language i cant understand and if you look its a ballad/poet about dwarven culture and that was a real nice touch let me have that

dalish elf clan. dalish elf clan that does not get murdered please and thank you

meaningful quests. more cinematic dialogue

make found gear / quest reward gear more valuable than crafted gear

game modifiers like in dai were real nice. i want more

let me shittalk the chantry

quests that can be resolved in multiple ways. like connors fate in dao. and for those ways to impact further quests

companions with varying moral alignments

companions that are mutually exclusive (like alistair and loghain) but are both good companions so itd really make you think

a pc that IS NOT a “chosen one” vanilla da2 is my fav dragon age game for one reason and one reason only and that is because hawke is just some random refugee who escaped lothering. no chosen one magic at all. just an ordinary person who is a real good fighter. and that appealed to me more than this “you are the only one who can do it” narrative

let me meet more elvhen gods

if the setting is in tevinter, GIVE ME FUCKING ARCHITECTURE. give me the high spires, the archways, the buttresses, give me statues lining city gates and magic infused into the buildings. tevinter is a land ruled by MAGES give me magical architecture. give me floating buildings. give me fire floating as orbs above the streets like lamps. GIVE ME ARCHITECTURE

SHALE

let me shittalk the chantry

PIERCINGS GIVE ME FUCKING PIERCINGS BIOWARE

more main quests, longer main quests

if it is set in tevinter maybe. maybe address the fact that tevinter has been at war with the qunari for a while? on and off war is still war. and maybe give us the option to influence the outcome of that war?

more voice options. instead of just american voice or british voice, do the thing in dao again where there are multiple voices of different tones to further cement the pcs personality

more armour designs

biased but uh. can. can taliesen jaffe va a character?

i already said qunari companions but specifically saarebas companions

blood magic

FINISHING MOVE ANIMATIONS

please do not let it be as long as inquisition. inquisition was a SLOG in later playthroughs

body sliders. what if i want a tall but lanky qunari? what if i want a buff as shit elf? body sliders

more eye options

let me call out companions

btw bioware. if you really wanted cullen to be a good guy. maybe handle his fucking redemption arc a little better instead of retconning all the terrible and creepy shit hes done in the past k thx

can female walk/run animations not have. so much swaying hips? no one moves like that

personality dialogue that affects future dialogue like in da2 but meshed with the wider range of emotions introduced by dai

keep the race/s*x lock on romance candidates like in dai. keep the fact that some characters can only be romanced by certain races or s*xes

nb and genderqueer options for the pc

cutscenes of companions interacting

ngl i lowkey liked the random encounters of dao so maybe bring that back

my fav quest in dao is the landsmeet / orzammar succession crisis questline but you know whats my second favourite? the rescue mission if the warden gets captured and you have to play as your party members. give me that again

more creepy/dark shit. dai was too lighthearted for me esp after da2 and dao

let me shittalk the chantry

broodmothers. in hd.

red lyrium broodmothers. in hd

companions with different backgrounds. different faiths. different statuses. different families. etc

maybe make the pcs appearance make an impact on the story? like how bull says he likes redheads, but even if you are a redhead, he says nothing about it????? maybe keep track of which slider the player picks so that can affect the story?

i love my inquisitors but maybe. dont. bring the inquisitor in as anything more than an advisor/npc in this game? let me fall in love with a new pc???

if theres gonna be a homebase like skyhold where youre not in armor. maybe give us better clothing?

a kind of gear skin mechanic similar to ac:odyssey where you can change how the gear looks but keep the stats. so you can equip that higher level armour and keep the look and aesthetic of your old armour and you unlock the skins/looks of the armours you discover/make so you can be both powerful AND aesthetic

i enjoyed the nobility/underworld/arcane/etc knowledge in dai unlocking more dialogue options so maybe keep/expand on that but make it more accessible by side missions or companions or something that isnt the abysmal perk system in dai

let me shittalk the chantry

customisable walking animations. does the pc walk straightbacked? slouched? with a swagger? please

since there will undoubtedly be an obligatory fade sequence, maybe have an option for nightmare demons that ARENT spiders. thank you

slap on subtitles and conlang some languages. i want to hear elvish. i want to hear tevene. give me the languages

more dragons. esp if they look vastly different

more bard songs

i am completely biased here, but i would like to hear laura bailey as a va for a character. preferably a voice option for the pc

hey maybe have the true ending actually included in the base game and not in a dlc (tresppasser cough cough)

better val royeaux

please remove the had to do it to em idle animation tis distracting

on that note, more idle animations. maybe some unique to companions?

very trivial but. unique stair climbing/descending animation

bring back talking to companions on the road. maybe with some dialogue that can only be said on the road???

if banter is interrupted, make like rdr2 and pick up where the banter left off

more vallaslin designs please?

if theres another formal scene like dai maybe. give us. decent clothing. or better yet, decen clothing OPTIONS. i wanna decide how i look in a ball full of haughty orlesians

mage vs templar conflict resolved and addressed please. it is NOT resolved in dai. what we got was sequel bait and a slideshow. resolve it please

let me shittalk the chantry

a pro-mage anti-circle circle mage companion like anders

religious person who doesnt victim-blame elves in the codex or in game or anywhere please

characters more like leliana who question the chantry and acknowledge its corruption and greed

unapologetically sapphic companion

idc if its tevinter i dont want to fucking see queer people being disrespected

a true tal-vashoth companion, one who escaped from the qun

have quest decisions affect whether or not a companion will turn hostile to you or not

if IF solas will be redeemed, please do the redemption arc right

more horn options for qunari

an apostate mage who doesnt use me for their personal agenda whilst hiding something from me (morrigan, anders, solas) thanks

i really dig the whole “leader of an army” thing dai was trying to go for. but you didnt actually. lead. anything. would be nice to have that option. command soldiers. send them places that affect further quests. would even use the wartable for its intended purpose. planning wars. battles. like. you get sent word that there are bandits harassing villagers. you can set up an ambush with your soldiers or confront them headon, and theres a new mini-location on the map like the manor you meet vivienne in where you can go deal with the bandits and depending on your choices, there are actually soldiers with you in a field, or traps in a narrow pass, or even in a city. id rather the wartable shit dont return but if they have to, at least this way youre not just waiting real life time for a bunch of text to appear

i am real fucking excited for the possibility that da4 companions can just fucking die on you. good shit. give me that angst

missions that certain companions would refuse to go with you to. you know. so you actually have to use other members of your party instead of the same 3 (three) people all the goddamn time

disabled characters (i want a character who suffers from the same chronic bad leg disease as i do is that too much to ask)

kinda touched on by the da2 combat point but let me do close combat damage with the staff

no multiplayer. and if there is a multiplayer, dont tie it with achievements

let me fucking explore weisshaupt

(i dont think solas will be the endgame villain of da and i dont think da4 will be the last da game but still) again. for emphasis. resolve the plot points dai brought up

full-body scars and tattoo options

companions and npcs changing their opinions about things over time. eg: a pro-circle mage wanting instead for circles to be abolished after a specific side mission or a main quest decision etc

keep the multiple companion quests. and maybe change what kinds of companion quests are available further down depending on choices made in previous companion quests

please for fucks sake give us more characters of colour

let me shittalk the chantry

#dragon age #dragon age 4 #da4 #long post #its 3 am and i am once again putting on my clown wig bc bioware will fucking disappoint me again

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sockablock · 4 years

Link

When in sudden need of a place to stay, Caleb Widogast finds a room for rent at a price so low he can’t believe his luck. Ignoring the concerns of his friends, he moves in and quickly finds himself tangled up in the life of one Essek Thelyss, a reclusive scholar who may be even stranger than Caleb himself…

(start) - (previous) - (next)

Chapter 3: The Preliminary Framework

Dusk slung its indigo cloak across the sky, painting little wisps of orange clouds that shone in the fading pink light of the sun.

“Would you, er, like some…water?”

“Ah. That…yes. Thank you.”

The tap gurgled.

“I wish I had something better to offer, but it is either, well, this or coffee. And it is late for your k…for you to have coffee, right?”

“Er…I suppose that is true. Would you…I bought some milk this morning, if you would rather drink that?”

“No, thank you.”

“Ah.”

“That was…it is a kind offer, though.”

After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, Essek shut the faucet and turned around with a glass in each hand. He put them on the countertop.

He sat down.

His newest roommate—a human—was fidgeting in his chair. Essek couldn’t help but commiserate with that, and stole another look at the man’s face.

Caleb Widogast was pale, as if life on the coast had done absolutely nothing to color his complexion. His hair was a little shaggy, but impressively red, and the faintest shadow of stubble had begun to siege his chin. He had sharp features—though what Essek didn’t know was that Caleb had actually filled out in recent years—framing a long nose and eyes that shone a piercing blue in the lamplight.

The eyes blinked.

Caleb was staring back at him. “Is everything alright?”

Essek coughed and waved his hand. “Oh, yes, of course, of course. I was distracted by…something. Er…I think I must start by apologizing for how our few interactions have played out so far. The phone call, for one, and just now. I hope you do not think me rude.”

Caleb took a little too long to respond, but he did manage a smile, which eased the mood.

“Perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong foot,” he conceded. “Shall we re-introduce ourselves?”

The corner of Essek’s lip quirked up. Ah, so this was Camaraderie. “Perhaps that would be for the best. I am Essek Thelyss. Just ‘Essek’ will suffice.”

Caleb dipped his head in a greeting that some might have called stiffly formal. Essek regarded this as plainly cordial. “My name is Caleb Widogast,” he returned. “Er…is there anything else you would like to know?”

Seldom-used pieces of Essek’s mind whirred to life. Was there? Were names not enough? What were people supposed to tell each other? What was important? What was too much?”

“Of…course,” he tried. “How…old are you?”

“Thirty-three.”

There was a pause. This time, it was Caleb who had to do the thinking. “How...old are you, Mist—Essek?”

“Ah. I would have to be honest and admit that in exact years…I do not know. I am in my second century, though.”

“Scheisse,” said Caleb, before he could stop himself. “That is—”

“Please. It is nothing for an elf,” though Essek preened a bit regardless. “I know a few souls who date back to bygone eras. Compared to them, I am nowhere near the oldest of my kind.”

“I—” and then Caleb blinked. “Does this mean I am older than you? Relatively speaking.”

Essek chuckled. “In terms of mentality and life experience, rest assured that I am as mature as any adult. More mature, perhaps, depending on the adult.”

“I see,” said Caleb, and Essek was surprised to find an echo of intellectual curiosity in his tone.

He tapped the rim of his glass. “So, are you from this city? Your accent sounds…somewhat familiar, but I cannot place if it is something I have heard in Nicodranas.”

“Oh, no, I am not from here,” Caleb shook his head. “I am, er…originally Dwendalian.”

To his credit, Essek recovered magnificently.

“The, ah, oh,” he said. “The Empire. Yes?”

“Yes,” Caleb agreed, “though I have not lived there for some time. I am…how might you say this…not the most patriotic citizen.”

This, at least, Essek understood. “Perhaps we have something in common, then. You may have guessed by now that I am not from Nicodranas either.”

“No?” said Caleb, with an acceptable amount of tact.

“I am Xhorhastian.” And then, after a beat, he added, “I was born and raised in the capital city of the Krynn Dynasty. Rosohna. You might know it as Ghor Dranas, but we prefer our own terms.”

He was admittedly surprised when this elicited a minimal reaction.

“I see,” said Caleb. “I did not know. I have never been there before.”

Essek had to rein in his smirk. “I would be very surprised if you had. Not many outsiders come to visit, and the Dynasty is fond of its secrets. It is perhaps one of the downsides of living there, not much…room for change and new experiences. If it helps, I have not been to your Empire before, either.”

Caleb smiled again. “I may have fondness for my homeland, but you are not missing that much.”

Essek put his glass down. “A lack of patriotism, indeed.”

Caleb laughed. It was a startled, quiet sound, almost surprised by its own existence. Essek found himself with the impression that this man did not laugh much, at least not like this, and then he wondered why.

Later, perhaps, he might wonder why he cared.

His head cocked slightly. “So, what is it that you do, Mr. Widogast? For a living, or—”

“Please,” Caleb quickly said. “If I am to call you Essek, refer to me as Caleb. Ah…sorry for interrupting.”

“Oh, no, it is fine. Caleb,” he tacked on. “And…?”

“Well—” and here, Caleb’s face flushed. He scratched the back of his neck. “These days, I mostly do small magic for hire. Simple spells and enchantments, that sort of thing. A lot of transmutation. I am working on a much bigger project, though that is something a bit…closer to my chest.”

Essek leaned in. It might not have been voluntary. “Really?” he asked. “In that case, am I right in surmising that you are an arcane caster? I met your…furry friend, earlier.”

“My—oh, Frumpkin!” Caleb nodded hurriedly. “Was he—I hope he did not bother you, I told him to stay in the room but, well, he is a cat—”

“He was no bother,” Essek held up a hand. That faint hint of amusement was surfacing again. “He is a charming…fellow. Though I would ask you to at least try to keep him out of my bedroom.”

Caleb closed his eyes. He pinched the bridge of my nose. “My apologies.”

Essek shook his head again. “Please. It will be nice to have a familiar around. At least they are easier to reason with than real cats.”

Caleb opened his mouth. He closed. It seemed like he was trying quite hard to not say something.

When he opened his mouth again, his tone was slightly strained. “You recognized what Frumpkin is. Does that mean you are a wizard as well?”

Essek hesitated. Caleb noticed.

“Ah, bitte—”

“I am.”

A pause.

“Oh. Er…good?”

Now it was Essek’s turn to lean back. “I am…a wizard. From the Kryn Dynasty. Though, as we have established, I left quite some time ago to…to expand my horizons across the world. I am currently…also working on a rather large project in Nicodranas, that I would prefer to keep close to my chest.”

He watched Caleb absorb this information, and…yes, there was a glimmer in his eyes.

“I hope you understand,” Essek continued, “that though I like to think of myself independent from my homeland, there are…some things that I cannot share. There are some secrets, some practices that…perhaps might only be rumor to you, that I would like to keep guarded. You seem a good fellow, but…”

There was a waning hunger in Caleb’s voice as he said, “I understand.”

Essek let his gaze linger. “Good. I am glad.”

Caleb looked away first. He reached for his cup and considered it. “Did you leave Xhorhas to study magic then, Essek? To see and learn from the world?”

“Well.” He huffed. “Something like that. I am certainly here to see what I can learn.” He raised an eyebrow. “Is that also why you left, Mi—Caleb?”

“Actually, I came with some friends,” he swirled his glass, “who were drawn for one reason or another to life by the sea. Two of them are originally from the Concord, and one of them is even Nicodranan.” His grin flickered back. “Her name is Jester. She is…well, she is quite interested in you.”

“Me?” Essek blinked. “But…why?”

“I, ah, told them about your listing. They were rather intrigued by…all of it. That is, they quite wanted to know what sort of person would rent such a nice room for that low a price…”

He trailed off.

“I see,” Essek said. “They must not be the only ones wondering.”

Caleb responded with a small smile. “I would not be looking a gift horse in the mouth by asking, would I?”

Essek found himself grinning back, and the tension from before dissipated.

“I hope not,” he said. “And the answer is that I have had some…slight difficulty finding a good housemate. Money is not so much of a concern for me, given…well, it is not a concern. Rather, I…to be honest, I need assistance in maintaining some aspects of the home. Not in the sense that I want a maid,” he added quickly, “it is just that I frequently have business to attend to elsewhere. I sometimes spend extended periods of time away, and it would give me a peace of mind to have someone here that I trust.”

“I see,” Caleb said. “That does make sense. In that case, I hope I do not let you down.”

“I hope so as well,” Essek chuckled, “because I am quite tired of putting up flyers. Though, to ensure full compatibility, I do believe we should compare notes about our lifestyles. And, perhaps, review our contract?”

“Ah, certainly. I think—”

“One moment.” Essek flicked his wrist and suddenly, with a heavy thud, an enormous ream of paper landed on the counter. He pulled it closer and turned to the first page.

“I find that taking notes and being methodical is best. Don’t you think so as well?”

And silently, privately, he was quite satisfied when Caleb nodded.

“I do. Can I borrow a pen?”

— — —

“You know,” said Caduceus, from the doorway, “Nott was probably just having some fun. I think you’re doing a great job. I really do.”

Fjord spat out his toothpaste and turned the faucet.

“Yes, but you’re biased,” he said through a mouth of foam. “And anyway, even if she is just being…Nott, she does have a point. I don’t know how to do anything.”

Caduceus crossed his arms while Fjord gargled. “Maybe for now, but you’ll get there. You’re still new at this.”

“I am new at this. I think I might have to take over delivery runs, Cad. What happens if a real customer comes in and you’re not there and I can’t answer their questions? I mean, gods, I don’t want to be a liability.”

“I’m sure a real customer would be more understanding.”

“No kidding.” He wiped his face off with a towel. “A real customer wouldn’t leave buttons in our tip jar.”

“She tipped on her card. You were busy giving a speech to her, but I saw.”

“Did she? Oh.” He turned around. “Well…good. But my point still stands. I can’t run things alone. Besides, I’m just a part-timer.”

Caduceus followed him into the living room, where a little teal radio was playing smooth jazz. It was one of the only three stations that the radio ever picked up, but so far neither of them had ever had the heart to replace it.

“You could go full-time,” Cad said, a little haltingly, as Fjord flopped down on the couch. “My aunt is better now, so I don’t have to send as much home. Colton called.”

“Oh. Well, hey, that’s really good to hear. Your family must be pretty happy.”

“They are,” Caduceus sunk into the sofa chair. “I’ll visit them in Midsummer, probably. It’s still a hike to get out to the Savalirwood.”

“You could fly, couldn’t you?”

“No airport.”

“Right. Woods. Right.”

Caduceus gave a small smile. “We’ll get one, maybe. One of these days. But…the offer still stands, you know. We can afford it. And it would be…nice for you.”

Fjord rubbed his eyes. “That’s just the thing, isn’t it? It would be rather nice for me. And it has been nice, you know, extremely nice, working with you in the shop. It’s just that…I’m a rather useless employee. At least I know what I’m doing at the Wayfarer’s.”

“You’ll get better as you practice,” Caduceus said. “If you wanted to…to come by tomorrow, I could show you the new bulbs…”

He trailed off when Fjord shook his head. “I appreciate it, Cad, I really do. But I don’t want to take up your time. And working at the diner isn’t so bad, at least I get free meals and I can still be by the sea. I miss that, you know? And I won’t be a burden for you.”

Caduceus’s tone was low, even as always, so Fjord missed the brief flicker in his eyes. “You’re not a burden. You know which ones are roses.”

“Everyone knows what a rose is,” Fjord snorted. “That’s nothing.”

“And you were right about the delphiniums.”

“Lucky guess.” Then Fjord winced. “Gods, no, that sounds so rude, I…I really do appreciate—”

Caduceus held up his hands. “Just think about it,” he said. “It’s just an offer. It might do you some good.”

Fjord’s shoulders relaxed. He even managed a smile as he reached for the remote.

“Okay. I’ll…think about it.”

Caduceus smiled back. “I hope you will.”

— — —

The front door did not creak anymore, because Beauregard—for all her bluster and brashness—was a very good homeowner. She was proud of the fact that she’d done the hinges herself. Admittedly, she’d used olive oil, but it had worked.

A fruity, pungent smell followed Yasha into the apartment. It was dark. At this time of night, her roommates would be asleep.

Taking care to be as quiet as possible, she nudged the door shut and slid her shoes into the tray.

She stretched. She glanced around.

The faint sound of snoring echoed out from the far hallway. Jester was adamant that she slept like a delicate princess, and this was true granted the fact that princesses also had a head cold. Yasha was never bothered by it, though, and anyway she’d slept under much worse conditions.

She noticed the kitchen table when she moved to put her keys away. She notice that there was still a small plastic container on top of it.

She walked over. She raised the lid. Inside were two pastries so sugary that the glaze shone under the microwave clock.

There was also a note. It read, in plain script:

— — —

“I almost forgot to thank you,” Essek said suddenly.

Caleb blinked. He looked up from their negotiations, mind bloated with clauses, vision swimming with subclauses.

“What?”

“The cheesecake,” Essek said. “It, ah…” His expression softened. “It was good.”

— — —

Fjord clicked the TV on. He wasn’t the most observant guy out there, but even he could tell that there was something bugging Cad.

“C’mon,” he said, and patted the sofa. “Let’s watch something together.”

— — —

Saved these for you.

— — —

Morning came with very little fanfare, ushering in a new day.

In the comfort of his bedroom—now officially his by way of the densest paperwork in Wildemount—Caleb was distantly aware that this specific morning was important for Nott. So important, in fact, that he had decided to break the first rule of spell work and leave his phone on the floor next to him. She was on her way to the airport now, though, so it would probably be some time before she texted with another update.

He tapped his chin with his pen. He stared at the notes scattered across his desk.

He could feel the formulas aligning, feel them working, could taste the lilt of the rite on his tongue. He hadn’t had a breakthrough like this in months, and every second that went by without progress was another second of wasted potential. He had already told himself that he would have something to put together by the end of the week, at least the preliminary framework and a bare-bones proof of concept. Nott was counting on him, after all, and he wasn’t about to let her down.

In his lap, dozing peacefully, was the reassuring weight of Frumpkin. Occasionally, his fingers would cart through the cat’s fur, stopping to scritch behind Frumpkin’s ears and vibrating when he purred.

“It would be easier if I had a template,” Caleb murmured half-lucidly to no one. “Any decent magical library would have a fixed set of transmutation runes.”

His other hand led the pen across a page.

“Too bad the only decent library for miles is still being put together by Beau. You don’t think the other wizard has any templates, do you, Frumpkin? You don’t think he’d be willing to share, do you?”

There was a faint mrow. Caleb sighed.

“It is not a very open profession. I didn’t even tell him what I’m doing, and I live in his house. For all he knows, I could slip up and cause an explosion in the living room. That would be a violation of Section VI, though.”

He scrawled in a few more runes.

“I cannot help but wonder what he is doing. He mentioned…you did not see anything in his…ach, no, that is intruding.”

There was another meow. Caleb scowled.

“I specifically did not ask. No, do not.”

Frumpkin stretched, jostling the bottom of Caleb’s desk. He sighed. He put his pen down.

“It is a secret. I must respect his wishes. Even if…even if…well, he was hinting, wasn’t he? I am sure he was speaking in circles about Dunamancy. Everyone knows…and, götter, it would be so incredible to learn. But…no. No, he has made his stance clear. I will not ask. And you will not go into his bedroom, okay? Not the study, either. That is Section II.”

Frumpkin looked up at him with baleful eyes.

Caleb tapped his cat on the nose.

“Go back to sleep. I was doing so well before you interrupted me.”

— — —

✨ Ko-Fi Link in Bio! ✨ | Requests are OPEN

#critical role #critrole #critfic #fic #shadowgast #oh man sorry for the wait and I hope y'all enjoy!!#cr2 #the mighty nein #now what are the chances of that #nwtcot #long post #such a long post #jay writes #fanfiction #fanfic #modern au

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arcticfox007 · 4 years

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Hope and Feathers

Destiel December Challenge 2020

Day 8: Blizzard

This is a continuation of days 2-7, the master list is pinned to my profile.

Check it out on AO3 as well!

***

Charlie was really enjoying herself. The night may have started off as a way of helping her brothers out, but this Christmas event was actually super amazing. She had managed to snag a hand-knit elf hat while Sam asked about custom made dolls of all things. Charlie got Sam a headband with reindeer antlers and insisted that he wear them. She even convinced him to take a selfie with her, although he voiced his concerns about her using the picture for blackmail purposes.

“Why are you looking for dolls, Sam? What does that have to do with talking to Dean?” Sam smiled mysteriously and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“You’ll have to wait and see. You’re so impatient. What’s with the picture taking by the way?”

“I just thought it’d be nice. I got some sneaky ones of Dean being all adorable with Cas.” Sam laughed.

“So, you are trying for blackmail, clever.” Charlie rolled her eyes. “Actually, can I see the pictures?”

“Sure.” Charlie handed her phone over to Sam. He took a few moments to look through them with a grin growing across his face.

“Do you mind if I send some of these to myself?”

“Go ahead.” Sam thanked her and spent a few moments emailing himself some of the photos.

“If you get anymore tonight, can you send them as well? Dean’s working on a gift for Cas, and I think I can add on to it a bit.” Charlie nodded her agreement.

“No prob. What are you up to, a photo album or something?” Sam shrugged.

“Not really, I’m going to frame some of them. I’m not sure I have enough for an album, we don’t stop and take pictures all that often,” Sam gave Charlie half of a smile and then spotted something in the distance. “Hey, I think that’s the booth I’m looking for.”

Charlie wandered around the custom doll booth for a bit while Sam got into a deep discussion with the artist running the place. It took long enough that she’d started playing on her phone by the time Sam walked back over.

“Well, that cost way more than I was originally intending to spend on Dean, and she won’t have it ready until tomorrow night, but I think it’ll be worth it.” Sam honestly looks excited just for himself, so Charlie just punches his arm and grins.

“You better find somewhere for everyone to spend the night then. Check out the forecast.” Sam’s eyes widen in mild surprise as he sees the weather app on Charlie’s screen.

“Wow, yeah, I don’t think we want to be driving in that. Especially since the Impala isn’t exactly the best car for snow. An actual blizzard, huh?”

“Yeah, it may still miss this area but we might as well see where we can snag a few rooms. There’s some sort of 1800s B&B within walking distance. After that we can go meet Santa Claus!” Charlie clapped her hands with glee and started bounding off to wherever this inn was supposed to be as Sam followed her with a bemused expression.

***

“Dean. There is one over here.” Dean walked over to Cas while dodging some of the crystals hanging from the ceiling in the New Age-y shop one of the kids they’d passed had tipped them off about. Cas had stopped trying to restrain his smile, he was enjoying how much fun Dean seemed to be having playing this silly game.

“Awesome! You’re pretty good at this angel spotting thing.” Dean smirked and winked at the actual angel in the store.

“Yes,” Cas said dryly. “It does seem to be some sort of innate skill on my part.” Dean chuckled and makes sure Castiel records the newest scavenger hunt angel on his list.

“We only have one more on the list. Where haven’t we gone yet?” Castiel lifts an eyebrow as Dean pours over the small map of the historic city he’d found in the event booklet.

“We haven’t gone to get coffee yet. I believe someone mentioned coffee to me before starting this endeavor but we’ve been walking around for an hour, and I still have yet to see any.” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Wow, Cas. I will say the one human trait that’s given you very little problems is sarcasm.” Cas just continued to look at Dean expectantly. “Alright, alright, lets go get you coffee, angel.”

Dean grabbed Cas’ hand to lead him out of the store through the maze of shimmering crystals, painted tarot cards, and velvet draped tables. Cas’ chest felt tight with hope as he allowed himself to be pulled up the stairs towards the door. While, yes, Cas was an angel, that’s not what the word had sounded like when Dean had just said it. Cas felt another wave of grace pulse through his still fragile wings. He kept his grip on Dean’s hand as if it were the only thing keeping him from drowning.

Once they got outside Dean started walking uphill towards the coffee shop he’d seen on the map. Castiel stayed quiet while following, as he didn’t want to draw Dean’s attention to the way that they were still holding hands.

Eventually though, they reached their destination and Dean dropped Castiel’s hand to hold open the door to the small shop with local artwork decorating the walls. Cas immediately missed the feeling of Dean’s hand but pretended to be absorbed in reading the menu board to compose himself before looking back over at his best friend.

“Do you see anything you want, Cas?” For one insane moment Cas almost said - yes, you. Clearing his throat to cover up his near miss Cas stumbled over his words.

“Uh, just something warm? Would you pick? There are too many choices.” Dean’s eyes ran across the menu board for a few minutes.

“You said you could kind of taste the peppermint bark we made, right? The have peppermint flavor on the specials board, if you want.” Cas nodded and let Dean order coffee for Castiel and hot chocolate for himself. While Dean was ordering Cas looked around at some of the artwork hanging on the walls, keeping an eye out for their last scavenger hunt angel. He was contemplating a painting that seemed to be an abstract version of a human eye when Dean came up behind him holding two mismatched mugs.

“Let’s go upstairs, Cas. It’s kinda crowded down here and the barista told me they have an outdoor area up there.” Cas followed Dean up the stairs of the historic building. The upstairs did seem to be more peaceful. Dean walked over to doors leading outside and Cas reached in front of Dean to grab the door since he was still carrying their drinks.

“This is beautiful,” stated Cas. The angel stood still for a moment, taking in the narrow wooden balcony that wrapped into a steep drop off of stone that served as a wall to the store but hadn’t been altered from the outside. Dean noticed what Castiel was looking at and led them back to a table right by the natural rock wall. They had an excellent view of the main street and all of the lights from their vantage point.

“I have to admit, this is a pretty cool place.” Cas agreed with Dean and pulled his drink towards him, only then noticing that the notably handmade mug was covered in bumps that were painted to look like bees. He glanced up at Dean only to find him watching Cas in anticipation. A smile slowly spread across the angel’s face.

“Bees? You asked them for this mug, didn’t you?” Dean chuckled.

“Yeah. If I recall you were very enthusiastic about bees a few years ago.” If Castiel could get any redder out in the biting cold he would have.

“I do like bees, yes.” Castiel attempted to maintain a solemn expression but this was ruined when he looked down at the mug again, feeling new feathers forming as his grace pulsed behind him once again. Dean reached across and touched Cas’ arm for just a moment.

“Hey Cas, are you okay?” When Cas looked back up into Dean’s face, he knew his eyes had teared up a bit, but he smiled fondly at Dean nonetheless.

“I’m wonderful Dean. I just – it was very kind of you. To think of me like that, I mean.” Castiel crinkled his nose to try and prevent himself from actually crying. Dean’s face was hard to read just then, some sort of mixture of guilt and perhaps understanding.

“I, um, I just thought it’d make you smile man.” Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and Cas decided it was time to change the subject.

They began a heated discussion of where they should look next for the last angel. While they were debating the merits of looking in the small train museum it started to snow and Cas took a few seconds to enjoy the sight of the flakes falling on the beautiful street below. They made there way back inside thinking that they may just have to skip to meeting Charlie and Sam as the restaurant was at the opposite end of the main road and the snow was picking up fast. Dean grabbed Castiel’s mug to return them to the front and the angel pulled the blue and white knit hat he’d picked up over his head. He’d made Dean get one as well, in green and red, something he’d probably be less resistant too now that it was snowing. Castiel smiled at the memory of Dean’s protests over the pompom on top of the hat.

“The guy up front said this snow may turn into a blizzard late tonight, so we should definitely regroup with the others.” Castiel silently held the knit hat up to Dean and rolling his eyes he tilted his head forward a bit so Cas could easily pull it on. Cas opened the door and was quietly happy as Dean took his hand again to lead him through the small crowd of shoppers.

***

@galaxycastiel, @jellydeans, @my-favourite-hellatus, @nguyenxtrang

#destiel #destiel december 2020 #destiel december #destiel fic #castiel #dean winchester #deancas #casdean #sam winchester #sam ships it #charlie supernatural #supernatural #supernatural fic #spn family #arcticfox007writes

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infinite-xerath · 3 years

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Runeterra Retcons 5: Janna

Ah Janna: a classic example of League’s older champion design philosophy. While discussing a character’s actual appearance isn’t really my forte, nor is it the point of this series, I do feel like it’s an important aspect to bring up regardless. See, in my honest opinion Janna’s current lore state following the 2015 retcon was actually handled pretty well.

The issue I and many others have is that her design doesn’t really match her lore like, at all. They’ve redesigned her a bit for Wild Rift by giving her more clothes, but that, in my opinion, doesn’t really resolve the larger issue at hand. Before we can delve too deep into the current state of Janna’s lore, however, let’s take a step back and examine how she began as a Champion, and see where things went from there.

Alright, so her first lore portrays her as a mage so in-tune with wind magic that she effectively elevated herself to a higher state of being. At the time, this could easily have put her on-par with mages like Syndra, Zilean and Xerath: other characters who achieved higher states of being through pure skill and mastery of their craft. Sure, her outfit still looked like generic female fantasy get-up #347, but she her archetype was clear enough: wind mage.

Janna’s original lore is… OK. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s fine for what it is: she’s a street orphan who quite literally elevates herself through sheer talent, and now wants to use her new power to help others in need. This was, of course, from a time when the regions of Runeterra weren’t what we know today, and Zaun was apparently more about rampant magics than twisted science. Even still, Riot would go on to update her bio once Zaun became a more science-focus region.

Alright, so this version of Janna is still more-or-less the same as the first, but a little more fleshed out. The most notable change, of course, is the fact that she tends to ally more with Piltover rather than her home due to Zaun’s pollution and reliance on chemtech. Keep in mind that this was a time in which Zaun and Piltover were literally two completely separate cities, as opposed to different layers of the same one. In fact, it could be said that the reason for Janna’s current lore state is because Piltover and Zaun have been retconned into what they are today.

Now, let me clarify that I’ve got no real issue with how Piltover and Zaun are portrayed in the current lore state; in fact, I much prefer what Riot has done with those two regions and how both factions have their ups and downs. In the modern lore state of Runeterra, Piltover is directly responsible for nearly all of the pollution in Zaun, and both sides have their share of dubious science experiments going on. In fact, it’s because of this particular change that Riot chose to retcon Janna once again, and this is where things get complicated.

Before we delve too deep into that particular subject, let’s take a look at Janna’s third, and final lore state in League, shall we? In this bio, Janna is retconned into being a proper wind spirit, rather than a human who simply became a really powerful wind mage. As I’ve said before: I really don’t mind this retcon. It tells a lot about how spirits function in Runeterra and offers some interesting insight into the founding of Piltover and Zaun as a double-layered city.

That said, this was an excellent opportunity for Riot to give Janna a proper VGU and make her into a more spiritual-looking entity, yet they instead chose to keep as a generic fantasy babe with extremely revealing clothing. I mean, look at how the other spirits in Runeterra manifest: Anivia is a giant bird made of ice, Ornn is a big flaming anthropomorphic ram, and the Kindred appear as humanoid ram with a bow and ghostly flying wolf head! Yeah, sure, her Wild Rift design looks BETTER, but it still just makes her look like a typical fantasy elf rather than a literal embodiment of the wind.

There’s also the issue that Janna’s outfit in both incarnations doesn’t do anything to associate her with the region she’s supposed to be tied to: Zaun and Piltover. If anything, her white outfit with the gold trimmings makes her look DEMACIAN. It’s really just a simple case of her design contrasting her lore and character concept: she doesn’t look like a spirit, and she doesn’t look like she’s from Zaun. All of this could have been fixed with a simple VGU, but it seems like this is the design Riot wants to stick with, and thus it is the design we’re stuck with.

So, with all of that said, let’s get into the fixes, shall we? My mission for this rewrite is actually fairly simple: I’m going to give Janna a backstory that maintains her current status as a protective wind deity while ALSO giving a better justification for her appearance. So, without further ado, I give you: my take on the story of Janna. Enjoy.

For ages, mortals have put their faith in the winds. From sailors praying for a good breeze in their sails to children playing with kites, the people of Runeterra have long relied on the wind to bring change, good fortune, and prosperity. Of course, for many the idea that the wind can truly hear such prayers is nothing but a superstition. Those who truly open their ears, however, may hear the wind answer back.

The spirit that would come to be known as Janna began as little more than a small breeze, blowing aimlessly around the southern coasts of Valoran. Every now and then, sailors wishing for a fair breeze would find their requests mysteriously granted, even when the air seemed still only moments prior. Rumors spread, and sightings of a small blue bird appearing just before strong wind became frequent tales among traders. Over time, praying to the Wind Bird became a common ritual for all peoples of the coast, and none held this tradition more fervently than the seafaring folk of Oshra Va’Zaun.

For years, people prayed to the Wind Bird for guidance and protection, building statues and carving charms in her honor. Their belief empowered the spirit further, and it was through them she acquired the name Zephir, meaning “Guardian of Wind.” When uttered by foreign tongues, however, they frequently mispronounced her name as ‘Zephyr.’

Worship of Zephyr became commonplace, until the emperor of Shurima decreed that all “false idols” were to be discarded and the people place their faith only in the Ascended. The temples dedicated to Zephyr in Oshra Va’Zaun were torn down, and yet people continued to carry trinkets depicting her in secret, especially on voyages out to sea.

When the empire fell and Shurima was torn asunder by warring Ascended, the people of Oshra Va’Zaun, now referred to simply as Zaun, prayed to Zephyr for protection. Though her power was lesser than what it had once been, Zephyr nonetheless did all she good to drive back the armies of the Ascended with fierce gales and raging storms. As the war drew to a close, peace finally returned to the people of Zaun, and yet Zephyr was surprised to find her power weakening. In the war’s aftermath, the people of Zaun grew ambitions, wishing to make their city more than just a bustling trade port.

A canal was carved through the isthmus separating Valoran and Shurima, uniting two seas as one. This, in turn, brought peoples from all lands to Zaun in pursuit of greatness, and thus the prayers for fair winds were drowned out by desires of wealth, advancement, and expansion. Soon, Zephyr found herself reduced once more to a faint breeze, drifting aimlessly along the coasts as the world seemed to forget her… That is, until she heard her name spoken on the wind.

The culprit was a young woman named Janna, who had come to Zaun from the far-away kingdom of Demacia. Janna had grown up on tales of the ancient past, devoting her life to studying Valoran’s many myths and legends. Among them, Janna was particularly fascinated by stories of an ancient protector of winds, whose name had been all but lost to time. As the city of Zaun continued its expansion, widening the canal in the process, Janna continued her studies of this fabled guardian, and her fascination only deepened whenever the wind blew past her, as though a presence were calling out to her…

Then, the canal reached its completion, and a grand ceremony was held to celebrate the event. Thousands attended to watch the grand opening of the Sun Gate, yet what should have been a celebratory occasion turned to disaster. Construction of the canal left many areas of Zaun unstable, and the rumblings of the Sun Gate caused whole portions of the city to collapse and fall into the sea. Zephyr watched helplessly as hundreds of mortals fought uselessly against the clashing currents. Many cried out for help, though it was one cry in-particular that caught the spirit’s attention: it was Janna, calling out Zephyr’s name even as water filled her lungs.

In that moment, Janna felt herself being held aloft by a powerful gale. The air itself seemed to speak to her, telling Janna that her faith alone could rekindle the ancient guardian’s power and save the people from calamity. Putting her trust in the wind, Janna allowed Zephyr’s power to course through her, manifesting a staff to control the spirit’s power as her own. As others watched this miraculous display, their faith, too, began to return. Bolstered by their pleas, Janna and Zephyr summoned a massive gale to carry the people of Zaun to safety, before collapsing back into the sea from exhaustion.

Time moved on, and as the city of Piltover was built atop the remnants of Zaun, Janna’s miraculous deed that day also passed into legend. Even still, many continue to tell her story, and the faithful can be found wearing small bird-shaped pendants to honor the ancient spirit that protects Zaun. For those who struggle against the toxic fumes the Zaun Gray, wrestle with the tyranny of chembarons, or face any number of perils, it is commonplace to offer prayers to the wind.

Sometimes, if one truly believes, she may just answer back.

And there we have it. As you’ll notice, I kept much of the early lore the same, with one key exception: the spirit’s name. Now, Zephyr has always been a part of Janna’s character, even though it’s never explicitly referenced in her prior lore states. Zephyr was conceived to be Janna’s familiar: it’s that little bird you see in the background of her splash art. You know, the one that hovers around her in-game?

In her new lore, they try to say that Janna and Zephyr are one and the same; the bird is just a weaker manifestation of her power, though the art and game imply that she can manifest as the bird AND the woman at once? In her kit, Janna’s passive ability is still described as “Janna launching her elemental at a target,” as though the bird is still supposed to be her familiar. So, I decided: what if we kept the spirit as the bird, and made Janna herself human again?

Admittedly, I would have liked to flesh out this Demacian Janna more as a character, and I had a few versions of this bio in which that was the case, but I decided to stick to having the story of the spirit be forefront because I felt that would be closest to Riot’s current vision of the character. Even still, the one part of her current bio that DOES irk me a little is how suddenly the people of Zaun all collectively start praying to Janna to save them. I mean, no one had prayed to Janna for literal centuries, so why would that be the first thing they thing to do in a situation of peril? I felt it would make more sense to have her come back because of the ONE person who still somewhat believes in those ancient stories, rather than hundreds of people all at once.

Now, admittedly, this next part might be a bit controversial to some. Janna fusing with Zephyr might seem like a bit of a cop-out, but I’d like to remind you all that people playing host to spirits is hardly a new concept in League; we have Udyr, Lee Sin, and Illaoi, just to name a few. I also think that it ties in well with the concept of Janna’s original lore, where she was a human that basically elevated herself into being an air elemental. Fusing with spirits to become semi-immortal entities isn’t even that much of a stretch either, thanks to Yone’s lore (though he might be a topic for a future episode.)

As for the conclusion of the story, well… I know it’s a little vague. What actually happened to Janna after she passed out? Where is she now? I decided to leave that up in the air (no pun intended) because I wanted to keep Janna in the same current lore state Riot has her in: an entity of the wind known mostly through myths and stories who might occasionally pop up if people pray hard enough. Plus, you could probably expand on that with her accompanying color story, though we’re not going to be touching on Deep Breath right now.

So, that’s Janna, the Storm’s Fury… Ugh, OK, let’s address that elephant in the room really quick. That is an AWFUL title for her. It sounds like something more befitting of Volibear, or maybe even Kennen. It’s certainly not a fantastic title for a benevolent deity known for showing kindness rather than fury. Maybe change it to something like The Gale’s Mercy or The Will of the Wind.

But alright, in all seriousness, that’s my take on Janna. As always, feel free to share your own thoughts, opinions, and comments down below.

#Runeterra Retcons #Outofpower #Janna #League of Legends

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thedinanshiral · 4 years

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Magic, mages and more

If you’ve played the Dragon Age series you’ve probably noticed some differences here and there. Origins was heavy on tactics, something Inquisition lacks considerably, and Dragon Age 2 allowed for blood magic, which Origins had little of and Inquisition barely mentions. All lore aside, we can experience magic in Thedas more closely through our mage companions in each game ( or your character if you chose the mage class).

First, i’ll discuss briefly how magic spells have changed throughout the games, then i’ll analyse a mage pattern and how it broke. And finally i’ll entertain some future over the top possibilities.

Origins and DA2 were designed primarily to be played on PC, and we see this more clearly on Origins through its tactics-heavy gameplay. Spells in Origins are more suitable to a carefully planned combat strategy, with passive and status-inducing spells presented in a variety that didn’t survive into the following games. DA2 also allows for tactics but the combat system is more dynamic, it’s not necessary to pause/unpause 5 times per second, one can do battles in real time and as a result spells were considerably reduced, prioritizing active/offensive spells, and almost entirely eliminating status-inducing and supportive spells.

Unlike its predecessors, Inquisition was way more console-friendly and all but eliminated the tactics system from Origins; now combat was fast, direct, with a tactical screen capable of basic commands and overall limited, and spell trees were reduced to the bare minimum, with elemental attacks, and very few defensive spells, having completely eliminated healing.

So, in short, summonings disappeared after Origins, as did most of the Creation, Spirit and Entropy trees. By Inquisition, none of the glyphs or hexes survived. Some spells icons from DA2 reappear in Inquisition, but most from Origins never made it past it, and some spells changed name or spell tree between games. There’s a gradual simplification of spell trees from one game to the next, adjusting combat to a more straightforward style, with less support or status-inducing spells and an increasing concentration of active spells with enhancing passive ones. On the other hand, Healing all but disappeared from Inquisition spells, “spirit healer” not even surviving as a specialization, with the only healing spell available being Revival which as the name implies you can only use on an already fallen party member. Surprisingly, Dispel made it through all three games staying in the same spell tree, Spirit, and elemental spells remained the same across all games, with minor changes.

Now let’s take a look at all our main mage companions.

In Origins we have Morrigan (apostate, shapeshifter), and Wynne (circle mage, spirit healer, vessel for spirit of Faith). In DA2 we have Merrill (dalish, blood mage), and Anders (former circle mage turned apostate, healer, vessel for spirit of Justice/Vengeance). In inquisition however we get three mages: Dorian (Tevinter pariah, pyromancer, necromancer), Vivienne (circle loyalist, icemancer, knight-enchanter) and Solas (apostate, electromancer,rift mage).

Just in case the pattern isn’t clear enough..In both games we get an apostate and formally educated and trained mage, a mage who lived in the wild and a mage who lived in cities, a mage who dwells in obscure or forbidden magic used for offense and a mage dedicated primarily to healing and support, a mage who deals in dangerous magic but remains their own and a mage who despite dealing in safer magic harbours a spirit within (by Chantry dogma, an abomination).

This pattern is broken in Inquisition; while we still get an apostate and a circle mage, we also get a mage that while not from the circle still isn’s technically an apostate (Dorian), we also get no healer but we do get a mage that specializes in obscure magic (necromancy), and we don’t really get a mage that has lived in the wild but one who’s lived outside of Thedosian society (Solas, being who he is and having recently woken up from the longest nap ever). And instead of getting a mage sharing their body with a spirit of the Fade, we get an ancient elf who secretely is an elvhen god and the creator of the Veil. Solas breaks the pattern (as well as everything else, apparently).

I’ll focus on Inquisition from now on and leave Solas for last.

Auto-level evidences the default element of choice of each mage. Solas is an electromancer, Dorian is a pyromancer, and Vivienne is an icemancer. Dorian preferring fire makes sense as a Tevinter who constantly complains the South is cold, implying his homeland has a warmer weather he sorely misses. Vivienne choosing cold spells goes perfectly with her personality, presenting herself as an ice queen.

Here is where it begins to get a bit tricky: Specializations.

Dorian’s is Necromancy, which would make a lot of sense...if he was Nevarran. Being a Tevinter it’d make more sense for him to be a Blood Mage. But Origins and particularly DA2 already exposed blood magic, painted it in all its evil colours, made it pretty clear it’s the wrong kind of magic to use for all the dangers it entails. By the time we get Inquisition, we face an actual Magister Siderial and Tevinter is painted as this degenerate empire full of evil blood mages, so getting a blood mage specialization was out of the table. Therefore our Tevinter ally got the next most questionable line of magic, necromancy. Because nothing says “almost evil” as raising up the death to fight for you and draining lifeforce from your enemies.

Next we have Vivienne who specialises as a Knight-Enchanter (KE). She’s a Circle mage, a Loyalist at that, and KE is a path reserved for Circle mages allowed to engage in combat when requested. But we learn from Solas that the powers used by Knight-Enchanters have their origin in the Arcane Warriors of the ancient elves. Vivienne has no known connection to anything elven, so her being able to become a KE is just another example of the cultural appropriation of elven elements and knowledge done by humans and the Chantry.

None of the specializations are entirely new, as already stated KE takes from Arcane Warriors, much of the Necromancer tree comes from the previous games’ Entropy trees, and the Primal and Force trees lend some spells to the supposedly brand new Rift tree.

Then there’s Solas, who is the default Rift Mage once specializations become available. The Rift spell tree is a post-Breach occurrence, as it was developed by mages studying the Breach and resulting rifts that appeared all over Thedas. It should have unique spells yet it recycles old ones: Stonefist no longer deals physical damage as it did in Origins and DA2 when it was in the Primal tree and meant hurling rocks at the enemy, but spirit damage as it now involves summoning a boulder directly from the Fade. Similarly, DA2’s Force spell Fist of the Maker and subsequent upgrades, Maker’s Hammer and Maker’s Fury, described as “slamming enemies into the ground” with some invisible force became Veilstrike in the Rift tree of Inquisition, there described as “smashing nearby foes to the ground” by “recreating your own fist from from the essence of the Fade”.

Knowing what we know about Solas, his specialization makes sense, he’s responsible for the Veil’s existence so of course he’d know how to manipulate its properties. He’s Fen’Harel, after all.

Still with me? Good, because this ride is about to get bumpy.

As the default Rift mage he can use Veilstrike, recreating his “own fist from the essence of the Fade”, but Veilstrike is actually a rename of Fist of the Maker…So what Solas is really doing whenever he casts Veilstrike is casting the Fist of the Maker. By recreating his own fist..It’s all in the name. Fist of the Maker pre-dates Rift magic, but its rebranding as Veilstrike is post-Breach and named after the Veil and not the Maker, possibly because the one who introduces us to this particular spell now is not Andrastian but the ancient elvhen god and creator of the Veil. Technically speaking we could say Solas, having created the Veil ages ago and therefore being the one responsible for the present reality of Thedas, is then, in a way, its maker. It’s a wild idea, I know, and there are some bits of lore scattered around that could support it, but i’m not jumping into that abyss yet-

In addition, let’s go back to his auto-leveled spells. At first sight there’s no basis for Solas being an electromancer. But like his Rift specialization, his magic preferences are lore/plot oriented. To consider:

Solas prefers the Storm tree. Skyhold is, by its very name, the place from where the Veil was installed. Some codices found at Skyhold mention electricity being used in unknown rituals at Skyhold’s location. Solas was responsible for creating the Veil.

With this in mind it can be concluded that Solas has always been an electromancer, and even used his electric powers in some way to help put up the Veil in the past.

tl;dr Solas was originally an electromancer and is a Rift Mage because he created the Veil and knows it better than anyone else. Also, he may be the Maker. (loljk or am i)

Now what would you say if I told you Solas possibly also does blood magic? Too much of a stretch? Maaaybe..Except maybe not. He’s not against it, thinks of it as simply a means to an end, and doesn’t disapprove of it unless it’s done in excess for all the wrong reasons (as they do in Tevinter) or is used to limit freedom like when used to bind unwilling spirits or control people’s minds. It’s just an idea, but there must be an explanation why blood magic and lyrium (titan blood, so, still blood magic) can be used to tear the Veil open. The Magisters did it before, and a second time when Corypheus sacrificed Divine Justinia in a ritual that also involved...Solas’ Foci. That is, Fen’ Harel’s Foci.

From Tevinter Nights we learn Solas is after the red lyrium idol (again, titan blood) which he claims belongs to him and is a necessary element for the ritual he must perform to take down the Veil. A ritual for which he’s willing to destroy Thedas as we know it, regrettably causing the dead of thousands. For all we know, those deaths are a necessary sacrifice because they are part of a massive blood magic ritual, Solas’ own death may also be part of it. If the blood of a Divine could be used to open the Breach, what could the blood of Fen’Harel be used for?? Solas’ new powers as Fen’Harel are, frankly, terrifying*, and he’s decided to do whatever it takes to see his mission through, sadly.

And all this leads me to future possibilities..we can imagine with Solas actively trying to take down the Veil there will be places where the Veil gets super thin or begins to disappear. Pockets of space where reality no longer respects natural laws of physics or logic. The Fade is fluid, ever changing, with the right power it can be reshaped at will and i imagine some of that may begin to leak into the physical world, so we may get mage (or spirit! )companions with skills capable of taking advantage of that.

Lastly, i may add, right now and as far as we can see, Solas is OP as fuck*. He can kill you in your sleep from within your dreams. He can turn you into stone with just thinking of it, which means in a way he can bend the laws of nature of the physical world like he can do in the Fade, If in the future we get close to him,if we get our hands on artifacts or intel.. it won’t because we gathered the right people and resources, it won’t be because of clever tactics and espionage, it won’t be at all because we did anything right. It’ll be because he allows it, because he let us get that far.

If we stop him at all it’ll be because he wants to be stopped.

(Apologies in advance if some of this is poorly written, i revised it so many times words no longer look like words. Also half of this is just wild speculation on my part and nobody has to agree with me, after 5 years i may be connecting imaginary dots but hey, it’s fun! If you read this far...i am so sorry, thanks)

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #solas #spoilers #tevinter nights #magic #fen'harel

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