#(another fun detail of this story is that i considered him my sworn enemy for YEARS before i actually met him) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hanazou · 3 years

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So um .. I just recently found your blog and even though you haven't written that much but you really have a unique writing style and I'm in love 🥺💞 .

So may I please request fyodor and/or sigma headcanons or scenario (whatever you're feeling comfortable with ) being on a date with their s/o and getting lost somewhere trying to find their way back home ? I mean it's just so adorable and been on my mind for a while.

And thank you 💚

𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐲𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭.

— how did you end up here? getting lost wasn't on the agenda.

Book : Fyodor | Sigma

Genre : Fluff with romance or implied romance

Category: Scenario

Word count : 0.8K | 1K

Bookshelves : Leatherbound

Note : I love this request! Thank you so, SO much for requesting Fyodor and Sigma! Truthfully these are far from being my best works, but I hope you enjoy this, love! It took me a while since I had to make sure these are in-character :") Thank you for the patience!

I hope you enjoy these! 💛

“This is quite the view,” Fyodor smiles to himself, fingers treading around his chin like creeping vines. “Yokohama has a sophistication to it after all.”

“Fyodor,” His name from your mouth rolls out slower compared to the cars on the road near you both to give the impression that your patience is unscathed. “We’re lost.”

Yokohama isn’t too huge of a prefecture for you and Fyodor to get lost in while exploring for the sake of the upcoming Cannibalism scheme, but since you both insist to check out even the smallest of details because one can never be too perfect, exploring took the whole day. Outlining the landmarks on a map would have sufficed, but you and Fyodor agreed that travelling in first-person is more helpful in discovering things that can trick the enemies, and that agreement led you travelling together.

It wasn’t hard for someone to get drunk in this cozy atmosphere and forget why they were here, especially if they’re with someone they trust and are fond of. For you, that person happens to be this pale and sickly genius.

The foreign building structures, the bustling unfamiliar crowd, the compact scent from street food vendors you've never tasted, and the crunch of dry leaves under your feet, they are all different from home, but the striking allure and exoticness are undeniable. Hence, you and Fyodor lost track of time and direction. Not to mention his needy eye for aesthetic slows down the pace.

You don’t want to say this aloud, but this atmosphere and mood, doesn’t it feel like going on a date?

Never mind that—you both were having too much fun brainstorming for ideas, too many alleys to check out, too many manholes to note, too many dead ends to utilize for you to recognize both of you have strayed off the planned route. On the bright side is, Fyodor found the ideal, secluded, dead-end alley for him to station his sniper to attack a certain detective, but the bad side is, while chatting with him about how and where to allocate your pawns, you and Fyodor didn’t pay attention to where you’re going.

Where in Yokohama are you now?

Neither of you planned to walk this far around the prefecture, so you can’t pinpoint your position on the map inside your pocket.

“I have great confidence in my memory,” Fyodor gazes around. “I can find our way back.”

“Then why are we still here after—” you look at your watch. “—half an hour?”

“I thought that while having the opportunity, we should take our time to know this area better. There’s artistry in any form of structure even in those we will decimate soon.” He pivots his head to you. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

He sounds like he’s beating around the bush. He won’t admit he got both of you lost.

You hum. “You still don’t know where we are,” You bring the focus back to your point. “Let me take my turn navigating our way back home,” You reach for the minimap in your pocket. “You’ve had your share of getting us lost.”

You wonder how in the world a prodigy like Fyodor affords to get lost. You consider the possibility of him being distracted by this little trip (that feels like a date) itself since you caught yourself doing that, but you shake off that thought. You ought to stop being delusional.

“As you wish,” He smiles at your proposal. “But only because you insist.”

You make wild guesses of your current position by observing the buildings and shops, try to figure out where you are on the map, and take the lead in guiding yourself and Fyodor back. He follows your headship without any protests, taking the same turn as you elegantly.

You catch Fyodor also observing the map with you while he matches his legs in coordination with yours. His eyes turn to you and his raised dark brows ask you why you’re staring at him.

“Is it because you’re not confident I can take us back that you’re watching the map with such focus?” You bait, half smiling.

You want him to admit that he trusts you. It’s a pleasant feeling, hearing someone like him value your judgement.

He made a soft chortle from his chest. “Impossible, my dear,” Fyodor says.

He stops in his tracks.

The sudden halt makes you pause too, and you lower the map to look at his whole face.

You jolt when he takes your hand with his icy pale fingers, guiding your palm to rest on his chest. His coolness mixing with your warmth creates a perfect state of equilibrium that mirrors both your difference yet similarity with him.

“I simply enjoy our mundane little detour.” His voice's vibration from his chest rumbles your hand. His smile is like cotton, but the sharp violet in his eyes holds power over you. “Allow my heartbeat to be the witness of honesty in my words.”

His heartbeat thumps in an orderly calming pattern, his chilly skin still sheathing your hand to press it against his chest.

Ah.

So maybe getting lost isn’t so bad after all.

Your eyebrows quirk when you notice the same scenery outside the car window, forehead matted against the cold glass. “Are you sure this is the right way?”

Sigma’s lips tense down, still staring at the road ahead. “Uhm, yes?” His eyes dart at you for one second.

The two of you, Sigma and yourself, are on your way to visit the last potential location for Sky Casino to expand its branch down below. He demonstrated more than enough faith in your judgement when he invited you to travel to the cities under the sky, offering you a ride in his lavish car. If it were with another person, you wouldn’t see too much into this situation. But with Sigma, it’s a whole different story.

It was the having a luncheon together in a prestigious restaurant of a five star resort with him ordering the best dish for you with a warm smile when he described your order to the waiter. Another being his gentlemanly mannerism, he made a shallow bow when allowing you into his car and opened the door for you, also holding your hand as you got in. The hospitality and elegance from his demeanour excites your heartbeat.

In Sky Casino, he may be your employer and you his employee, but with just the two of you, he makes you feel like the most treasured royalty.

Sigma clears his throat, his fist in front of his mouth while the other around the steering wheel. “I’m certain I’ve memorized every route for the casino’s potential branches.” He glances at the note on the dashboard where the addresses are.

You raise your eyebrows seeing a tower ahead. “And I’m certain we’ve passed that tower in front of us at least twice.”

The expression Sigma makes is made of mild surprise, frustration, and gloom.

"Let's face it," You slouch down your seat. "We're lost."

Sigma repeatedly looks from the scribbled map on the dashboard to the road back and forth, fingers squeezing the wheel in uneasiness. “I could’ve sworn we took the right turn this time…”

Your shoulders deflate at the expression Sigma makes. You feel bad for putting it bluntly. “How about I drive while asking for directions from the locals? You must be tired since we’ve been travelling for hours.”

His head turns swiftly at you, long dual-coloured hair whishing. “You know where we are?” He asks before quickly turning his sight back to the road, stealing glances.

“Not exactly, but I’m familiar with the local dialect and I can ask for directions easily.”

The hesitation and disappointment are still evident on Sigma’s face. You purse your lips, hesitant in how to phrase your next words. “Employers employ people to be assisted with the workload and to have someone to share concerns with. I’m not here just for you to treat me like royalty, I’m also here to assist you.”

Sigma huffs a smile, taking chances to look at your face now and then. “Do you mind the treatment for a royalty?”

“No.” You deny a little too fast. You clear your throat, ignoring the heat in your cheeks. “Absolutely not,” You speak slower. “But even royalties have to give back, right?”

He fails to hide his laughter. He sounds so free, unrestrained, and possibly the most relaxed that day, making your cheeks swell with a prideful smile. As long as he gets to laugh, you don't mind sounding silly. “By asking for directions while talking using a local dialect?” He asks.

Sigma lightly giggles. “Alright, you win.” He slows down the car, eyeing the rear mirror to make a quick stop at the side of the road. “I’m afraid to crash us from feeling exhausted anyways.”

He makes a parallel park and the car comes to a full stop, engine still smoothly running and vibrating the interior.

You ruffle his silky dual-coloured hair as smooth as the leather seat. “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” You say, tinting his cheeks pink. “Allow me to treat you like royalty from now on.”

When you retract your hand, Sigma’s head automatically follows with the yearning to get more touch.

Your eyes enlarge and so does his. He whirls away, hands hiding his face. Loud and uncontrolled laughter erupts from your belly despite you covering your mouth to tone it down. You want to stop—but your chest keeps heaving out the joy, raising your shoulders to your ears.

Sigma shrinks in embarrassment, his long hair curtaining his face as he buries his head to his knees. He looks like a tulip in that driver’s seat. With his fair pale skin, even from your distance you can see the red on his face. “Please don’t tell anyone about it…” His voice can be barely distinguished from your untamed laugh.

“The secret’s safe with me.” You wipe a tear as your laughter slows down. You exhale a wide smile, unbuckling your seatbelt. “Alright, let’s switch now before the sun sets.”

“Wait!” Sigma springs out from his position and hurries his hand to land on yours before you open your door. You tilt your head, and he responds with “Don’t open the door yet.”

He dashes out and jogs to get to your side of the car. He opens your door and stands on the side with a shallow bow, his empty hand offered to you. You stifle a giggle when you accept his hand that gently helps you up until you fully stand outside.

You grin for the umpteenth time at Sigma’s chivalry that reminds you of the demonstration of romance during the regency era. It’s simple things like this that boosts your confidence and comfort around him. You can definitely get used to this.

That is until Sigma’s bow deepens so his lips kiss your hand.

You tense. You expected a normal escort when stepping out. The unforeseen princely kiss and his smile send you on haywire—why are you even there? Why did you go all this way into an unfamiliar city? Just to get kissed? To have him act like your Prince? Why is he even kissing you?

“Even without disembarking a journey I still get lost in your touch and laughter.” He straightens his body, elevating your hand to stay on his lips and chin. You feel his breath on your skin. “Thank you for giving me the honour of getting lost with you.”

Then you remember.

You're there to be with him.

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jhindraven · 4 years

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okay now that issue 6 is out and ive read the thing like 3 times, im gonna do my full review/breakdown of the zed comic and allll my thoughts on it.

no screenshots bc i dont want this to be longer than it is already, and also im not gonna talk about the art itself either. this is simply about the characters, the story, and how that relates to the lore of league itself.

all of this is my opinion, you can agree or disagree with me whatever, yadda yadda lets begin

ISSUE ONE

Probably the best one? In my opinion. The lack of expectations really helped this one not suck. Also the most consistent when it comes to characters personalities, comparing them to the in-game voice lines from league and the card game.

There are scenes in issue 1 that almost foreshadow, or at least reference, the events of Issue 6, specifically Zed looking up to the statue of Kusho, and how Zed kills Althon vs how Zed kills Kusho later on.

The dialogue between Shen and Akali is.. a little clunky? Shen’s dialogue is just a little. formal. but to the point that he sounds like he’s lecturing a stranger, not talking to a former student.

Jhin giving Zed his scalpel from 19 years ago is a neat detail that I wish they used more in the story. Sure, we can assume now that Jhin probably only got it because Kusho gave it to him at some point after releasing him- which means that the scalpel is one of the many wasted plot opportunities I’ll bring up here. Part of the appeal of that scene, if only just for me, was the idea that Jhin stole it from Zed while he wasn’t looking. I remember people pointing out background characters and being like “but what if that’s Jhin there! what if he was there all along!!” But that has now been thrown out the window.

A thing I wish they did was shown more of Jhin’s ‘performances’, even if only in a montage. To show more of the impact this had on Zed and Shen, the strain it put on them mentally and emotionally, and how it affected their relationship. But I understand time and probably page restraints. So whatever about that.

Again, I think this was the best one. Set up the story well, showed why everything happening is important for the character. Neat, cool. Let’s move on

ISSUE 2

Seeing the bodies was pretty fucked up, but tbh? That shit vibed. It’s one of those things I hoped they were gonna do and they did. The bodies looking like porcelain with gold blood?? And the peacock feathers???? Thats fuckin cool as hell. Then they never did it again.

In the flashback comes one of the worst fucking things in this comic. Yevnai.

Listen I adore Yevnai as a character, one of my favourites to come from the comic. You know, in the ONE ISSUE SHE ACTUALLY SHOWS UP IN????? She shows up as simply conflict between Shen and Zed (which never actually comes up mind you), as bait for Jhin, and for? Zed to show that he can sense magic from her kids to show that she’s been cheating on her husband with Quno the vastayan servant (bc we know Zed hates vastaya i guess?). oh and Guess What? the sensing magic thing also doesn’t show up again.

Oh and Jhin follows Zed to Yevnai’s place. But nothing happens from that.

Issue 2 was good, but just a total waste imo. A lot of plot points set up only to never happen again. Best things about it were dead bodies, Jhin’s tiny Zed and Shen puppets, and the knowledge that Shen still writes letters to Yevnai :’(

ISSUE 3

I got so fucking pissed when this issue came out, no shit. They took the events of The Man With The Steel Cane and just. Threw it out the window. I did a whole other post about my issues with it so I won’t just rewrite the same shit twice. But I had to actually stop reading and pace angrily for a bit. I HATE issue 3 bro.

The scene with Kusho :) . Good to know that was now a waste of misdirection because EVERYONE seemed to call that Kusho was still alive. What bullshit. But I’ll get to that.

The inconsistencies in character really show in this one. And that connects to it being a shitty rewrite of The Man With The Steel Cane. They probably wanted a fight between Shen and Zed by this point, being halfway through the comic, and just shoved it in there. Doesn’t mean I’m not mad about it.

Akali and Kayn’s dialogue was probably the best thing in the entire issue. I don’t vibe with Akali/Kayn as a ship personally, but it got a giggle out of me im ngl.

Akali attacking Zed. I guess yeah sure she would. Fits her whole “fuck you i wont do what you tell me shen” vibe. But SHEN? calling off the armistice between the yánléi and kinkou due to the actions of one of HIS ex-students?? Shen would never. Let’s add another point to the ‘This Is Really Out Of Character’ board!

The sworn and witnessed scene was nice, it’s what Kayn deserves. Finally knowing the Kashuri Faction was nice, too bad they never get fucking mentioned ever again I guess.

There’s so many references to The Man With The Steel Cane that they could’ve implimented so much better, especially dialogue. I can’t read the original story without feeling cheated out of what it was before Issue 3. So more wasted potential I guess.

Issue 4

This was a big step up from Issues 2-3. My personal favourite, but not the best (if that makes sense). But there isn’t too much to talk about here? Jhin sets off his bombs from the last issue, it looks cool, but there’s no real story to talk about here. There is a lot of character stuff to talk about though.

Zed choosing to save Shen over getting Jhin is fucking HUGE for Zed as a character. For a character so hellbent on vengence throughout the entire thing choosing instead to save his "hated enemy and closest friend” ?? im sobbing.

This whole comic was emotional as hell, and the most character development we ever fucking saw in this thing. From Zed’s daddy issues to the realisation that Zed’s shadows are shades of Jhin and Kusho (which is now fucking hilarious and makes no sense after Issue 6).

There was a lot of setup for plotpoints that actually did show up later for once, like Kayn being the temporary leader and all that jazz. What it had in emotion, it seemed to lack in real story progression until the end.

Issue 5

This issue was weird for me. Like there was a lot of plot and a lot of character shit that seemed so condensed that it felt like nothing. Zed’s confession in the cell-wagon and the information that Shen was out fighting Noxians too? Alright, sure okay.

Shen still seems wildly out of character for me, since we mostly know him as this beacon of peace and calm- he’s so violent towards Zed all the time it’s strange. Like he points a sword at Zed while saying that he isn’t allowed to kill Jhin, wtf

The callback to Awaken is fucking superb. Really solidifies that video into the lore of the game. Camille being mentioned had me like :hearteyes: This is a nitpick- but I wish we knew what happened at the end of Awaken. Is Camille okay? Did Jhin get injured? It was a week ago, if he did get injured- where and how did he recover so fast? Little details that I wanna know, not really for any real story purposes.

Rhaast finally showing up :hearteyes:, nothing else to add bc nothing else happened with him.

Jhin making the most of Piltoven technology is really cool, and its a scene that made me go “OH YEAH he was a stagehand for a good period of time!!” That’s what we call Tying In Pre-Existing Lore fellas.

Jhin just really shined in this issue. Really set him up to be The Big Bad of the comic, like he had a monologue and everything! Once again, though, that gets absolutely wasted by Issue 6.

Issue 6

Where do I fucking start?

Let’s start with Jhin. I don’t know about yall, but since we spent a solid 5 issues chasing after him I expected more of a dramatic fight. More like the explosions in Issue 4. But uh we got. Some fancy prop work before he got punched in the face twice and thrown on the ground. It’s What He Deserves but like you know, he deserved worse.

As much as I didn’t want it to happen, I’m disappointed they didn’t unmask him at all. His mask was still fucking pristine by the end of the fight!! Not a scratch, not a chip!! But to be fair I think we got maybe 2 pages worth of a physical fight with Jhin so,, sure. Whatever. Out goes 5 issues of setting up? Not to downplay the conflict in that scene of course, I think it was pretty cool. It was just so anticlimactic at the end like wh-

Kusho! Haha they got us good!! The dead dude is actually still alive oooo~ [heavy sarcasm]. Why. It wasn’t a good twist! It was a “oh. okay yeah sure” twist. This might be my heat of the moment response but I have no words for how cheap and absolutely horseshit that twist is. Good thing we only have to think about it for 10 pages because HE FUCKING DIES AGAIN. WHAT A WASTE!!

Whatever, whatever, thinking about it makes me so mad because they set it up barely in Issue 5? I’m just tired this actually drained me irl.

At least we have baby Kayn and good dad Zed at the end to cleanse us of that.

HEY actually did you know that they thought that Good Dad Zed was considered contoversial by Marvel’s editors?? HUH????

whatever, whatever. i’m pissed.

BONUS SHIT

So Jhin’s lore has now had an update to connect with the comic. And it’s fucking weird. Now suddenly Kusho didn’t care about catching Jhin after he found out it was just a human person murdering people? And that it was essentially Not Their Job anymore??? excuse me??

CONCLUSION?

This comic started with a good beginning and a lot of potential. It brought up so many new theories and so many new headcanons. But all that potential and all that interesting story got washed away with unconnected plot points, ‘important’ characters that show up once, and a cheap twist ending that simultaneously came out of nowhere and was easily predicted (in the bad way). It was a fun read for a while, but the ending has soured the experience I had reading it.

Some issues may come from time + page constraints, and the limitations of the medium. But those were mostly minor issues. I wanna give the artists and the writers the benefit of the doubt, maybe blame Marvel as I like to do. But...

6 months worth of waiting for an ending like this? I’m just disappointed.

#this is really fucking long im so sorry #if you enjoyed the comic- good for you. im glad you had fun. i really truely am.#i was so excited for this series.. i feel almost cheated #long post #zed comic #zed spoilers #jhin reads league

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ghostmartyr · 7 years

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SnK 99 Thoughts

This post brought to you by liberal stealing from The Mincing Mockingbird: Guide to Troubled Birds. Because why not.

If you don’t think the ending tagline couldn’t be greatly improved by the addition of Gurren Lagann’s narrator, you are wrong.

So if this month was meant to make me think that everyone in that audience doesn’t have a gigantic destruction flag planted squarely in their midst, well, I’m clearly getting all the wrong signals.

We’ve got significant people from a bunch of major governments come to call. The higher up Marley soldiers that the people who actually run Marley don’t like are chilling. The Warrior kidlets have great seats. The parents of former Warrior kidlets have great seats. There are reporters. There’s a grand reclassification of a lie to an audience ever ready to redirect their Eldian fears and hatred. The current Warriors have been awayed from the premises. People from the East Sea Clan exit before the production even gets started. Willy is manning the stage.

All I’m saying is that if something were to go horribly wrong and a collection of mangled bodies appeared in the place of the crowd, it could be done without causing severe problems for either side of the conflict that we’ve come to know. The most significant losses would be the successor kidlets, and when it comes to the timeframe likely to be covered by the immediate plot, that’s close to irrelevant.

Except as meaningful emotional trauma for the current Warriors (plus Falco), who have ever so conveniently been removed from the audience.

The tension in this chapter points to something exploding, and I... really don’t feel comfortable pointing to any one side as the cause.

In one corner, you have Willy going to pieces over exposing a truth that his family has kept secret for a hundred years. Arguably, that’s a great reason to feel nervous. In the presence of Suspicious Happenings, it becomes one more tally.

In the adjacent corner, you’ve got a prominent member of the East Sea Clan coming to say hello to Willy before his performance. Despite the nation having the most noted interest in not being friends with Marley in the past, Miss Kiyomi is a quality of guest who is free to enter the green room at will, and implies knowing exactly what Willy is up to, and considers some combination of his behavior brave.

Then immediately leaves before his show starts.

In yet another corner, which is actually the nosebleed section of the show, Magath is expecting reports on anything unusual, and absolutely no one is calling the sudden departure of every single present Warrior unusual. Or one of the East Sea Clan peeps leaving early. Or Reiner straight-up vanishing with a Warrior candidate.

In a corner that is actually another basement, Eren is destroying what’s left of Reiner’s stability. By far the easiest corner to make sense of, but sense making is not for the early portions of this post.

Meanwhile you’ve got one faction definitely up to some immediate shady business, because you can’t really say dropping people down a hole is the act of a friend. Unless you subscribe to the Itachi Uchiha school of friendship, in which case, A+.

All that combined leaves us with a terrified circus master, and every prominent piece of plot significance being rushed away from the stage. With three of the available four Marleyan Warriors being collected in holes. The only one not in a hole is closest to Magath, as well as the brother of public enemy number one.

If something were to go wrong, the only Titans not in holes and known to be in Marley are the War Hammer and the Beast.

What gets interesting is that Eren is undeniably the party responsible for Reiner being in a hole, yet the obvious Marley counters to Eren and everything he stands for do absolutely nothing about preventing more Titans from finding themselves in holes. The page where Magath asks for reports on anything unusual, even the smallest detail, is accompanied by Willy stress drinking, and followed directly by the isolation of their Warriors.

Not a single person from Marley finds the departure of their Titans from the production worth commenting on. Pieck and Zeke both have marks of hesitance at complying with their instructions, but absolutely no one on the side they’re supposed to be signed to expresses any concern.

Even though they’re expressly looking out for anything unusual.

I like the idea of Paradis folks continuing their love affair with basements, and I think it would be neat if they’re responsible for Galliard and Pieck’s situation just because we’d get to see Our Heroes in action for the first time in ages, but... no one in the Marley chain of command finds this weird?

Their most powerful weapons get carted off on the night of a declaration of war, and it’s not worth a comment?

Blaming Marley for everything is really easy most of the time, because they’re generally up to no good. In this case, the only thing that’s stopping me is Eren’s involvement. Yeah, no one raises any alarms when Pieck, Galliard, and Zeke make their exit, but there’s also been no one casting suspicious looks at Reiner’s absent seat.

It seems like a really easy thing to claim that whatever happens next, Marley wants their A-listers carefully out of the way, but that would include Reiner. If they are involved, not knowing where Reiner is would be a major concern; you don’t drop people down holes unless the next move is going to be dramatic, and as wonderful as improv is, a lot of great drama works best if you know where your cast is.

Which introduces another fun question: Do the powers that be know where Reiner is?

The baseball mitt from last chapter at least planted the seeds of possibility for communication between Eren and Zeke. If (and the strength of that if is still in question) they have been in contact, and Zeke knows what Eren’s plans are for Reiner, in theory, Marley knows where all the major players are.

Zeke is Magath’s golden boy. He’s also Eren’s brother. He’s in the unique position of having ties that could make him privy to both sides’ tactics here.

He is also, as previously mentioned, the only one not in a hole.

I have no idea whose plan is winning out here, but the sense I get is that there is some kind of “I know you know I know you know” hustling going on, and someone is planning to take advantage of the openings that the other side’s plan leaves.

Basically, the one thing that can be said for certain is that someone is plotting a thing. Too many pieces have been moved too deliberately.

You’d think pinning the blame for a war that hasn’t started yet on a person you’ve never met would be enough for one night, but where’s the fun in that.

...I guess I’m already close enough to that to dive right in, so yeah, in the non-conspiracy theory section, Marley still continues to be horrible!

Like. Let me see if I have this right.

Diet Reiss’ production is all about revealing the true story of the island’s origins. It did not come about purely through the strengths of the Tybur family and Helos, but by the grand design of Karl Fritz.

Karl moves a whole bunch of Eldians off to Paradis and quarantines them, leaving behind a threat that is a total lie, because he’s actually sworn to peace.

He’s the true hero of Marley’s liberation, and so deeply ashamed of what his people have done that he offers up complete surrender to any of Marley’s decisions involving his people. Because his people have no inherent right to life, and he has the right to offer their lives up as part of his personal atonement--though in the meantime, if Marley could hold off a bit on killing them until he’s dead, that would be super rad.

Essentially, continuing the theme of bad parenting, we enter the names of the fathers of modern society, because wow were you all about grand gestures that don’t mean a damn thing and screwing over lots of people because it was easier than fixing the base problems.

Following that, though Willy leaves that part of the story out, Marley proceeds to tarnish the good name of the one Eldian King who helped them for the next century. While reminding all the good little Eldian children that the island is pure evil, and they should do their very best to not be like that.

Yeah, the shocked looks on the kidlets’ faces are depressing.

And of course, the reason Willy is explaining that they’ve spent a hundred years lying about the island is because, hey, the island may have started out a totally chill utopia, but in recent years, the ~*evil*~ Eren Yeager has stolen the power keeping it that way, and now the island’s back to being a real threat that we’ve absolutely gotta do something about!

So enters the latest chapter in Marley being terrible.

This makes my head hurt.

“Surprise, King Fritz was the good guy all along, and we were lying about how dangerous the island was!

Except now we’re not lying and it’s back to being dangerous.

Burn the witch.”

It’s like the boy who cried wolf, only the boy is also a wolf, so are the poor sheep, and really, however it plays out, any peasants unfortunate enough to listen to the boy wolf’s warning are going to get eaten alive. As are the wolves standing on the wrong side of the property line.

The point is, I hope this story ends with Willy being disemboweled.

In other news, Annie’s dad qualifies as one of the better parents we’ve seen solely because he actually cares about his daughter being alive.

Seriously, Reiner’s mother is terrible. She’s so pleased for Bertolt’s father, dying with all of the comforts Marley has to offer because his son dies a noble death as a teenager, and tries to extend that compliment to Annie.

Lady, as far as you know, you’re talking about dead children that your own selfishness condemned. Your son is a basket case thanks to trying to make your life better while you were too much of a coward to do something about it yourself.

(It is more complicated than that. I am not in the mood to care.)

Just... what the heck. A parent caring about their child living should not be noteworthy. The fact that Mr. Leonhart’s honorary status means less to him than his child should be a normal thing, and it isn’t.

If it wouldn’t permanently break Reiner (save that for the things that actually are his fault), I’d be in favor of Karina being disemboweled as well. She’s the only one who’s gained anything out of Reiner’s mission, and she’s happy to take advantage of the spoils even though it’s ruined her kid.

Though to be fair, it’s entirely possible that she hasn’t paid Reiner enough attention to notice that.

Speaking of Reiner!

I do like the opening flashback, bringing the old man up again.

Annie and Bertolt can’t help but dwell on some of the unpleasantness they’ve seen and caused, but Reiner avoids thinking too deeply about it until it slams into him like the Armored Titan slams into walls.

Today, playing the role of the Armored Titan, we have Eren!

Playing the role of walls, the much acclaimed, ever loved, sanity of Reiner!

Yeah, that’ll go well.

Eren’s done his homework. He’s already injured, so restraints won’t stop him from transforming if he needs to, and the massive destruction that a transformation from either one will cause means that he can get his point across without violence getting in the way. If they fight properly, people will die, so play nice.

(For the record, unless he’s fallen off the deep end worse than anticipated, I don’t think he ever intends to harm the people he’s effectively taken hostage. Eren’s always cared about life. Removing that during a timeskip is cheating of the highest magnitude. More to the point, though, Eren’s chosen a threat that requires absolutely no follow through to be effective. Reiner cares about life, too. It’s pure psychological torment, but the only one hurt by it did sort of kill his mother and thousands of other people.)

Reiner’s expressions this chapter are a gift. He’s terrified out of his wits, confronted by a ghost whose memory put a gun in his mouth, and no part of that strain gets kid gloves.

My favorite part, though--well, if I’m honest, there are several favorite parts to this show.

The first one is Reiner’s response when Eren tells him that he’s here to do the same thing that Reiner did.

There’s a lot to be said about how Reiner deals with being a fundamentally moral person who has done a long string of terrible things.

The summary is, “Not well,” but this whole sequence is such a dang microcosm of why Reiner’s head ends up snapping.

He serves Marley. He does his best for them. He protects his home, his family, his comrades. It’s his duty, and everything outside of that isn’t something he needs to think about. He puts it best when he transforms on top of the wall. He doesn’t know what’s wrong or right, but he’s going to see his mission through to the end.

Except Reiner likes to hide his own moral complexities from himself.

He’ll go along with whatever Marley’s plan is. With distinction, even.

But the second Eren says that he’s going to do what Reiner did, there’s only one response. He’s shaky, scared, and horrified. Because what he did to Eren’s people is an abomination. Reiner can’t even grasp why someone would want to do something like what he did.

Eren understands Reiner’s choices better than he does.

He is not gentle about it, and he’s not kind, but Eren gets what Reiner’s lost in the storm of his own conscience.

“You guys were trying to save the world.”

I think somewhere in the last four years, Reiner forgot that he meant that justification. The things he’s done have practically destroyed him. There isn’t any apology or action that can make up for it. He’ll stick to his mission, because he’s a Warrior, but outside of that frame of reference, there is no escaping the horrors or guilt.

(So work really hard at sticking to that mindset.)

But when he first joins the military on Paradis, he states his intentions clearly.

He’s here to save humanity.

Whatever he’s done, and whatever will come after, he means that.

It just so happens that what comes after is so horrible that I don’t think he can bear to connect what he’s done with anything like good intentions.

Eren still can.

He spends the whole chapter sending Reiner to a place that he would very much kill himself to get out of, and he’s still the one who looks at Reiner, and the awful, horrible things Reiner has done to his life, and say that it was born of good intentions.

Reiner hasn’t had the luxury of that kind of understanding. Ever. He can’t get it from himself, because his heart or mind would break at even having the conversation. He’s not going to get it from his friends, because one’s dead and the other mostly hated him before he left her behind. All that he has is memories he can’t share, and guilt that no one around him could even begin to understand.

And Eren might not be okay with any of it, but he sees the one kernel of good that is torturing Reiner, and he acknowledges it. They’re both between a rock and a hard place, and they’re trying to save the world.

It’s a more generous description of what Reiner’s done than he would ever be able to offer himself, even believing it, and for a second, I think the fact that Eren sees that gives him a sliver of hope.

He can’t keep it, because Reiner is damaged beyond belief, but for those few moments, he has someone who understands the best of him.

Best ship or best ship?

Naturally, they’re both still on opposing sides, Eren has just been announced as the world’s Worst, and Falco is watching this all quietly screaming, but hey, something went sort of okay and people aren’t yet dead.

Tune in next month to see that changing.

Oh, wait, I don’t think I did proper justice to Falco’s experience.

There we go.

#Shingeki no Kyojin #SnK 99 #shingeki no spoilers #SnK spoilers #spoilers #tl;dr #chapter post #it's November #that's my excuse

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elstine-harboson · 7 years

Text

The Harboson Chronicles; Now Recruiting.

Hello, hello folks! Yes, yes it is true - the Harboson Company is turning into a ‘house’ of sorts through a long-term storyline. We’ve been gathering land, resources, and the support of various respected Noble Houses to advance forward with our storyline; so why the change? Well, let's get into it!

1. What is the difference between the Harboson Company and the Harboson Chronicles?

An excellent question; the primary thing is that the Company isn’t the main focus anymore - rather more of a side product. We still own our storefront, we’re still running the trade routes, running the GSC, etc, etc. Now, the Harboson Chronicles will be focused on Politics, Intrigue, Strategy/Tactics, IC Growth, Wargames, and Land-Management. If you’re familiar, think Crusader Kings but with your friends, Azeroth as the theme, and more in-depth character progression.

In addition, the Harboson Chronicles is made up of more than one guild. We intend to partner with any and all interested in this new direction. One does not have to join the guild to be involved, but all those involved will be required to follow the same rules and act as decent human beings.

2. So, what’s to be expected if we decide to sign up with you?

There are three separate paths to be included within the guild. A Knight-Inspired path, a Mercenary path, and Partisan path. That being said there are a series of Noble Families with different cultures/customs to sign up with - all the current Noble Families are vassals, or loyal to the Harboson Family. So, one Noble Family might have more of a Gypsy-ish culture focused on trade and exploration, while another might be more Scandinavian-ish focused on raiding and warfare.

The ‘Knight’ path will require one to start as a ‘Squire’ sworn to an already established Knight. The Squires will of course be trained in warfare, tactics, politics and so forth; while generally aiding the Knight in their day to day task. Life in general will vary depending on which Knight you decide to swear yourself to as people will have different values and customs depending on their House. After you’ve proven yourself, your Knight or Lord may grant you some land in which case, you will become a Knight.

The Knightly Path primary consist of politics, intrigue, engaging in battles, and in general trying to expand your influence/wealth/land.

The Mercenary Path is primarily focused on combat-only and suggested for those that won’t be able to be on as often. Folks within the Mercenary Path will be here in a more casual setting generally speaking, hopping on to aid in combat events, get paid and then head off; though not necessary. With time, a Mercenary can be granted the role of Captain, taking on a series of Mercenaries under their wing - increasing their own pay as well. Mercenaries will not be typically be awarded lands.

The Mercenary Path can be used as a trial/introduction rank until you’ve made your decision to stay or leave - a Mercenary can be allowed to become a Squire as a long as a Knight is willing to take them in.

The Partisan Path is not focused on things like blacksmithing and the like, but more on the Noble-Court roles fulfilled by non-Nobles. Such as Stewards, Viceroys, and so forth. Partisan roles are typically things of management, business, and intrigue. Trying to maintain your position and grow your influence while the Nobles squabble over one another. A Partisan Role can be anything from a servant to the Viceroy of the entire Harboson Company; undoubtedly a potentially powerful route.

Partner guilds will be able to generally structure however they choose to; though strictly OOCly rank titles such as Count, Duke, and King will remain for ease of OOC understanding. For example, someone titled ICly as “Matriarch” would OOCly be listed as a Queen/King.

3. The chance to win land? Sounds too good to be true.

Not at all, that is the primary resource of reward really. The whole point is to follow along with a Feudal-Style system complete with ‘Counts’, ‘Dukes’, ‘Grand Dukes’, and even ‘Kings’ though these are all just OOC ranks designed for simplicity and ease to follow. It’s rather simple once you think about it. A Count runs a County, several Counts work under a Duke who owns a Duchy that typically consist of several county-sized territories. A Grand Duke runs a Grand Duchy, which has two Dukes/Duchies, and upwards of six Counts/Counties.

(Please note; ranks such as Count to King/Queen are considered OOC Ranks used to detail general power for ease of understanding. ICly there can be no one with a real title of King/Queen or higher.)

The beauty of the system is one does not have to be good at politics or intrigue to do well; simply serving your Lord or impressing the right people can grant you more land. More land means more resources, more resources means more units for combat. On the other spectrum, a person that is piss-poor at combat can be incredibly sneaky - making alliances and deals, trying to forge land deeds, so on and so forth to gain land in a less direct way.

Upon gaining a certain amount of land and becoming a County you can name your County, describe your culture in as much detail as you’d like - IE: “Western European, Traditional Knights. -- Holy Roman/Gothic styled armor and weaponry. -- Eastern European, light armors, heavy weapons.” Etc, etc -- and if you’d like, even make a family crest and flag for your county using a heraldic system. At that point, you’ll be able to make a lot of choices that’ll affect your county. IE, you can choose to focus on growing your food stocks, focus to train more soldiers, focus on making the best weapons possible, focus on making gold, etc, etc.

4. This sounds like a lot... It seems complicated.

TLDR: We promise it isn’t really. I do not like math, and I do not like homework so I made management as meaningful as possible with the least amount of math and work possible.

On paper, it is - yes. In reality, and once you start getting into it and roleplaying with it - not at all. It typically seems to flow naturally and gives you feeling of what a King back in the day likely felt like. Do you trust that your Allies will come and aid you when your arch rival comes to attack your lands? Or in your paranoia will you rely on your soldiers, constantly drilling them potentially to the point of exhaustion. Do you want to have a smaller elite team of Soldiers, or are you going to attempt to use horde tactics and swarm the enemy with superior numbers? Perhaps you’ll focus on technology like cannons and rifles over the more traditional Knights and Footmen. The choice is up to you.

If you like tactics, even just a little this system will likely be a lot of fun for you - but if you have no interest in even the smallest bits of tactics, politics, or intrigue - then the Mercenary Path is for you; engage in our fun combat-oriented events and still be engaged in the story.

5. You can’t own land.

Ah, that’s weird because I kind of do. But fret not, the land we’re using while based in Azeroth have no exact location nor particular position in which we’ll constantly be flooding and claiming ‘you can’t roleplay here, because this is ours.’

The most detailed one should ICly get is “I own some/lots land in Redridge.”

6. Ahaha, calling yourself a King seems like a quick way to be called a traitor and executed.

TLDR: There will be no IC titles equal to that of a king/queen. Anyone called a King/Queen is done in an OOC sense to easily distinguish ranks.

Typically, yes - but the term is used OOCly for ease of understanding ranks and chain of command; even though by all technical means the ‘King of Stormwind’ is actually an Emperor considering they own several Kingdoms; in reality it wouldn’t be uncommon for there to be several Kings under said emperor - but that’s just plucking at straws. So, for example my character may be the OOC rank of a Grand Duke. with 2 Dukes Under him, and a total of say 12 Counts. But, ICly, I may refer to myself still as Patrician (A more accurate term anyway.)

7. Idk, it seems too ambitious - I’ve seen groups try to do Kingdom RP before.

Ambitious is a rough term, especially since it’s something we’ve been doing amongst ourselves for an extended period now with a series of other organizations and guilds through Discord. (Which we will continue to use as well.) This is not an announcement stating we are ‘trying’ this, this is an invitation stating ‘Hey, we’re doing this. We’re having a good time, you’re welcome to join us.’ And yes, others have done (And are still doing.) styles of roleplay ‘like’ this... Though nowhere near as structured I’d argue.

8. I have seen this before; you just want to control things. This is just a power play!

While I understand your concern all too well, I will have to disagree with you strongly. We are not here to rule over other groups, we will not be prewriting stories or the outcomes. (except for maybe, you know, agreed upon storylines with agreed upon results.) We are here for one simple purpose; having fun. One thing many of us enjoy but can rarely get at a satisfactory level without a butt-load of OOC drama is Politics, Intrigue, and War. We are here as an OOC collective working together with the goal of not winning at a board game, but rather having a good time with all those present. There are rules and limitations in place that add a sense of realism, immersion, and balance that will prevent a lot of potentially upsetting happenings. (Ie, someone steamrolling through all the groups in a day.) We just want to have fun, and more over we want you to have fun.

So fear not, if you want politics, intrigue, strategy, wargames - or just want to give it a shot, give it a try.

----------

All in all, we’re extending a hand to folks that think they’d like to be involved. Rather you want an immersive experience as a Knight/Squire/Mercenary, want to be involved in intrigue and politics, or you think you’d really enjoy our detailed wargame system involving several guilds and actual players rather than just NPCs, and on top of it all enjoy solid storylines then this is something you’ll want to look into my dudes. Leave a message on the post, send us a message on Tumblr, or contact Elstine or Quiinn in-game. Reblogs are appreciated.

@risrielthron @the-news-nerd @percy-dewdancer @addressroleplays @bath-ironstout @demetrius-devereaux @aventinefarms @intoxication-wra @penvenomstarkstar

#Recruitment #Advertisement #Advertise #Harboson #Wargames #RP #Roleplay #WrA #Wyrmrest Accord #Politics #Intrigue #Combat #Discord RP #Management

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shadow-is-upon-us · 7 years

Text

Unexpected

Hello mates and welcome to my first try at a Dishonored fic. A one shot I did because I needed to, since the ending to Death of the Outsider kinda... killed me. So, this is what it came to. Low chaos through all games and DLCs so, there's that (and non-lethal assassinations) Also, spoilers for all games and DLCs - you've been warred. Might be kinda out of character, since it's my first attempt, but consider it humor.

Okay, done, read, review and enjoy~

You can also read it on FanFic or Ao3

They all felt a shift in the Void, but no one was quite sure what happened. At least, until Billie showed up with the Outsider himself, only his eyes were clear. The whole, ‘adopt him’ bit was even more weird.

It's hardly been a week since Delilah was taken care of, trapped in her own fairy tale world. Dunwall was still recovering, and so were Corvo, who had been trapped in stone for two months, and Emily, who worked to restore her throne.

Corvo was still somewhat weak from the prolonged imprisonment, but he had said it was better than Coldridge Prison, so he won't complain. Emily was mostly just happy to be home and didn't need to scavenge up food or coin, even if it was fun at times. Both of them spent the first few days just… resting, doing light work. And no one blamed them. But then, Attano got a surprise visit from an 'old friend', if he could call him that…

"Corvo, my dear friend," the familiar echo of the Outsider's voice rang in his ears and he let out a muffled groan. Suddenly waking up in the Void was never fun, and probably never will be. Maybe only to this God though.

"Outsiders… It's been a while, hasn't it?" the Royal Protector got off the bed and saw he was, as usual, on a piece of rock floating in the Void. "I see nothing's changed here," he muttered to himself, looking at the Whale passing by casually.

"It has been an interesting two months, hasn't it? Your daughter impressed me in much the same way you did, when we first met," the Leviathan was sitting on a slob of stone and Corvo leaned on a broken wall nearby.

"She mentioned yes… I'm proud she managed to restrain herself, even when faced with all these enemies," the father couldn't keep the pride from his voice as he smiled. Emily really outdid herself, but she always said it was because of him. Because she was trying to follow in his footsteps of never shedding blood until absolutely necessary.

"I'm curious, if you would have done the same," the Outsider asked, a small glimmer in his black eyes and a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"…I would have tried," came the answer. "I don't know about Delilah… I heard-," he cut himself off, rubbing his face. It was still a lot to take in, what Daud did fifteen years ago. And how his former Lieutenant – Billie Lurk helped Emily now. He learned all that soon after being freed as Emily needed to tell someone who would understand fully.

"It seems your mercy has rubbed off on more than your daughter," the God sounded so amused as he said that and disappeared in his usual fashion, only to appear atop a stone wall, moments later.

"Are you lonely today? Because you're clearly just… killing time," Attano said suddenly, and he saw the Outsider was taken back. Heck, he even looked away.

"We haven't spoken in two months," the God quickly recovered and disappeared, only to appear in front of the Royal Protector a moment later. "I am curious."

"Emily would probably be able to tell you more about anything that happened than me," Attano said automatically, mentally smacking himself. He still doesn't like the fact his daughter got Marked, but it was her choice. He's just waiting for her to ask him about his own Mark. Not looking forward to that conversation though…

"Perhaps… But she is, new, to all of this. And needs more time to process all of it. You on the other hand, are quite used to it," Corvo only frowned slightly as the Leviathan seemed to chuckle.

"Shall we take a walk?" the Outsider smirked and waved his hand towards the left, where stone and metal seemed to appear of out nowhere to create a path from one floating island to the other.

"You really are acting weirder than usual…" Corvo let out a small chuckle but followed the Leviathan none the less.

"I feel as if I should… apologize," the Outsider said as they walked. Attano gave him a baffled look because today was just getting weirder and weirder.

"I did not know about Delilah until it was too late… She drifted in the Void for a near decade, before being freed. I should have warned you," the God didn't look at his mortal friend, instead keeping his eyes fixed in the distance.

"Yeah, you probably should have…" Corvo said with a small sigh and saw the Leviathan twitch slightly. "But she probably would have found some other way to do this…" he added soon after and continued walking, even as the Outsider stopped in his tracks.

"Corvo," the God said and it sounded anxious? Worried? He couldn't quite place it, but the Royal Protector sat down on some rocks, resting his arms on his knees.

"Do you think it is my fault? That Delilah did, what she did?" the question took the mortal by surprise, especially since it sounded like he wanted to add more. But still, Attano shook his head, to make sure he heard right.

"…You sound guilty?" he stated first because he still hasn't processed the fact the Outsider asked him a question like that.

"Perhaps I am," the Leviathan had his hands behind his back, staring off into the Void again.

Corvo sighed and leaned back on the stones, looking up at the purple glowing lantern floating by. He wasn't really sure what to say, because, he never thought he'd have to say it. Then again, maybe it was who he had to say it to that was so strange.

"How long ago did you Mark Delilah?"

"Decades," was the answer, and Attano could see the God tense. "She may not show it, wandering the Void for 12 years, but she's much older than she seems."

"And Daud?" he never took his eyes off his companion who frowned slightly.

"He was seeking me out since a young age… I granted him the mark at the age of 25, I believe," his voice was getting more and more strained.

"That's about the same age Emily is…" Corvo mused, letting out a small sigh. "I was near 40 when you gave it to me… Hah, now I really do feel old."

"Do you have a point here?" the Outsider snapped his head to the mortal, actually looking annoyed. "You didn't answer my question."

"…" Corvo gave him a steady look before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "My point, is that people change over the years." Opening his eyes, he saw the Leviathan looked puzzled and confused and couldn't help but chuckle.

"If you have given me my Mark at the age most others got it, things would have been different. So, when you Marked Delilah and Daud, you might now have really seen what would happen… You can't control us or our actions."

There was a moment of silence as the Outsider seemed to process the information, relaxing his stance and opening his eyes slightly.

"So, no, I don't blame you for what Delilah did. Or Daud, for that matter…" the last bit was said more silently, but it seemed to echo in the Void. "We make our own choices. You just gave us the tools to do it."

Another silence as the two stared at each other, before the Royal Protector looked away and into the Void again.

"I'm from Serkonos… And Emily was there now…" his voice was softer, quieter, as his expression turned to sadness. "There's always at least one duet singing that song, even if it's not the Month of Darkness yet," glancing at the Outsider showed him stiffen again. "I know it supposedly tells your story… What they did to you. Don't know how much of it is true, but it's the closest thing we have to a real story… So, I know you didn't chose this yourself," a humorless chuckle escaped him. "Seems like none of us ever did…"

"…Thank you, Corvo," the God said and Attano could have sworn he saw a real smile on his lips right before he disappeared. But this time, he didn't see him appear again.

"We have never really had a proper conversation have we… I'm glad we finally did, even if it's for the last time," the words echoed all around and Corvo was confused, but seconds later, he woke up in his bed, as he was supposed to.

It was about a week later, that both Corvo and Emily felt something shift. Their Marks burned and it was only luck it didn't happen during some meeting or whatnot, since they both felt like their hand would melt.

"What was that?" Emily asked, holding her pained hand and looking from the Mark to her father. By now, she knew his story, if only partly, because he didn't wish to go into detail of what happened fifteen years ago. And she can't blame him.

"…Something's happened to the Outsider…" Corvo muttered, seeing the Mark pulse ever so slightly. And the last words the God gave him rang in his head. I'm glad we finally did, even if it's for the last time.

"Should we search for a shrine? See what's wrong?" the Empress asked, concern in her voice as she gently rubbed the Mark.

"I doubt we'd find anything… But it may be worth a try."

For about a week, the duo scoured Dunwall when able, searching for shrines. And while they did find some, they were… dead. No eerie light, no whispering Runes, no shadows licking the floor and walls. Corvo eventually told his daughter of the Outsider's visit, though he didn't do into great detail of what they talked.

The thing which confused them, was the fact their powers still worked. Though at times they would spike, like Corvo overshooting his Blink or Emily's Far Reach gripping too tightly to a fence. They had tried to not use them for that reason, but sometimes it was still needed. Corvo had a near heart attack when he thought he'd trapped himself out of time forever when using Bend Time. Or the time they had to shove Emily's Doppelganger into a closet because it wouldn't disappear. That was a hectic week indeed, but after it was over, what came next effectively turned everything on its head.

"So, as you can see, we will need further funding for a proper reconstruction," Lord Baylish spoke clearly and calmly, standing in front of the Empress who was leaning her cheek on her palm and her Royal Protector looked half asleep.

"Yes, I see," Emily answered absentmindedly. "I'll make sure the proper funds are given."

"Thank you, your majesty," the Lord bowed with a smile and turned to leave, his guards following soon after.

"How many more?" she whispered, tilting her head slightly towards the direction of her father. When no answer came, she turned fully only to find his eyes closed and a soft snore coming from.

"Oh for the love of-," she grumbled and jabbed her elbow into the man's side, effectively making him jump and pull out his sword.

"You fell asleep," she accused and disapproved as Corvo cursed under his breath.

"You sleep more than I do and you know it."

"That doesn't excuse you, Royal Protector."

The answer was a half exhausted glare, but she gave her own tired frown as the two looked like they were ready to drop dead. Just as Emily was about to ask, again, how many more meetings she had to do, the doors opened and a guard stepped in.

"Forgive me, your majesty," he bowed, sounding anxious. "But, there is someone who insists she must speak to you immediately."

"Don't they all…" the Empress muttered, luckily silent enough for the man not to hear. "Who is she?" she said more loudly.

"Meagan Foster, your highness," at the name, both Marked tensed and stiffened, their exhaustion seemingly forgotten. "She has someone with her as well."

"Send them in," Corvo said, his hand already moving to grip his sword. Emily herself moved her arms so she would have her own weapon out in a second.

"Right away," the guard gave a final bow before leaving.

"I got a bad feeling about this…"

It was a minute later that the doors opened again and two figures walked in. One, the two quickly realized was Billie – Meagan – wearing her white coat and a scarf around her head to try and avoid being recognized. The other one was… familiar, but at the same time, new. A man in a hood, wearing a black coat similar to Lurk's, his hands pale like snow.

"Meagan," Emily said flatly, still having mixed feelings about the woman who helped murder her mother. "Or do you prefer Billie?"

"Billie, so long as no one else is around," Lurk grinned and took off the scarf, showing her red glowing eye and not hiding her right arm.

"What happened to you?" the Empress' suspicions vanished as she saw the strange body parts. But she fixed it. She saved Stilton. Billie was supposed to have both her eye and arm back to being whole.

"…He did," the former assassin simply nodded to the hooded man and both of them felt a very familiar feeling. Even if it was only phantom of what it used to be.

"Greetings, Corvo, Emily," the man pulled down his hood to reveal the face of the Outsider, a smile on his face and his eyes no longer pick black.

The duo simply stared in stunned silence, their weapons forgotten, their body language rigid with shock and their eyes wide.

"How-?" Corvo couldn't even properly form a sentence as Emily stood up.

"Is this real?" the daughter asked, descending the stairs, her father close behind.

"It is," the Outsider said, sounding… so human. It was weirder than most of what else had happened in the past few months.

"…" Attano stared for a few seconds, before putting his face in his hands and letting out a muffled groan. "Do I even what to know what happened?"

"It's a long story," Billie spoke up, giving a smug and almost satisfying smirk. "I'm sure you'd find it interesting if you'd listen."

"Well, I didn't have anything important to do for today anyway," the Empress grinned, folding her arms. "And I'm sure your story is much more interesting than boring old politics."

"…I'll cancel the rest of your meetings then," Corvo looked tired and done as he kept looking at the former God.

"Cancel your own as well. You're listening with me."

At the end of the tale, when all four of them were in a small, private room sharing tea, a silence covered the room. The Outsider didn't speak much, only added a comment here or there, as Billie explained the majority of it.

"…Daud sure had some wild ideas…" Corvo said, leaning on the table. "First an Empress, then a Witch and finally a God…" a humorless chuckle escaped him.

"I'm surprised you managed to convince him to help you, after his… defiant intent on killing him," Emily held the cup in her hands, giving a small nod to the Outsider.

"It wasn't easy… But I like to imagine he's a peace. More so, than if we had killed again," Billie looked down at the tea, sorrow in her expression.

"It's delicious," the Outsider said suddenly, probably on his fifth cup of tea. The Marked look at him in mild confusion, before recalling that he hasn't been able to really see, taste, feel or smell anything in over four thousand years.

"I can ask Mina to make a different one, if you wish," Emily offered a kind smile.

"…Thank you," was the slightly embarrassed reply as the three around him all laughed or smiled.

"I can't say I know what you're going through," Corvo leaned back in the chair, looking at the former God. "But being trapped in stone like I was, I can imagine what it may be like…"

"It's… all new," the Outsider had a small, excited smile on his face. "I can't imagine what else I can find now… Four thousand years truly changes a world."

"About that," Billie caught their attention, but she was looking at the ground. "I didn't bring him here, just so we could explain what happened. I was hoping I could leave him in your care."

"…What?" Emily and Corvo asked in the same manner, head moving back, eyes wide and blinking. It actually made the former God and Assassin laugh. Truly, father and daughter.

"Consider him an… adopted brother," Lurk raised the cup to her mouth, taking a sip. "He has no powers, so he can't mess with anything. And he's too… new, for this world to just leave him wandering around."

"Why can't you take care of him? You saved him," Corvo was still reeling from the question while Emily seemed to be thinking it over.

"Please, do I strike you as the type of person who could take care of a kid?"

"I am not a child…"

"Maybe, but you're as clueless as one."

"I like the idea."

"Emily?!"

"On one condition," the Empress smirked, eyes focused on Billie. "That you stay here, in Dunwall, and work for me."

"Excuse you?" now it was Billie's turn to look in shock as Corvo covered his face with his hand. The Outsider was merely enjoying the development and sipping tea.

"You heard me. A woman of your skill… We could use that. You wouldn't be an assassin, mind you. A spy. Maybe even the Spymaster. You'd be paid, have a place to live here… everything you'd need," Emily continued, her smirk turning into a smile.

"…A fulling life, eh?" Lurk mused, setting her cup down. "What about my crimes? Pretty sure people would still recognize my face."

"A full pardon," the Empress said without hesitation. "No one really knows you were part of mother's murder. Only other, minor crimes. And let's not forget the fact you helped me take back my throne and defeat Delilah."

"…You're serious about this?"

"I am."

"…Then who am I to refuse her majesty?"

"Wonderful! My father can begin working with the Outsider to help him adjust and I can help you begin a new life."

"Hey now, I never agreed-!"

"Corvo, it would seem we will be spending some more time together."

"I'm too old for this shit."

As Billie watched the bickering between the oldest and, in a way, the youngest among them, she looked out the window and could have sworn she saw Daud, smiling. He looked… content, at peace… more than she'd ever seen him before.

"You probably would have regretted killing him, just as much as I would have. I'm glad you helped him. You never could turn away a kid in need," she thought with a smile before the new set of tea arrived.

And cut! So, yeah, short one shot about something I needed to put down. Came out better than I thought, actually... Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading! Consider reviewing would you? I'd love to hear how my first Dishonored story turned out =D

#dishonored #corvo attano #emily kaldwin #billie lurk #the outsider #dishonored 2 #death of the outsider #spoilers #mentions of daud #i don't even know

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talietikasero · 3 years

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I went in aware of the (possible) retcons and shit but I watched the whole thing anyway. It’s some ungodly hour way past when I should’ve slept and here’s what I thought. I’m trying to be fair here when I give GG Strive’s story a 6.8/10

Visuals: This game is beautiful. 12/10

Voice cast: I enjoyed the dub. Not as much of a corny anime dub like Sign was, but the returning cast improved from that game -- or at least I thought so. 8.75/10

Soundtrack: One word: Incredible. The duo of Naoki and Aisha on vocals for all character themes -- ok they're only a duet on Ramlethal's [Necessary Discrepancy] but you know what I meant -- was a perfect choice. My favorite themes from when I played the second open beta back in mid-May were Giovanna's [Trigger] and Potemkin's [Armor-Clad Faith], but Leo's [Hellfire] really grew on me the most. 15/10

Game itself: Arcade mode was a fun challenge because I’m an idiot who did all 15 but I got really tired of fighting Nago over and over again. I’m not that great so I’m not worrying about getting the “Messiah Will Not Come” trophy where you fight him but he’s got an infinite blood gauge. Survival gives a good chunk of the lifebar back without making it too easy -- and the “mysterious challenger” at stage 10 being a shadowy Sol with neon red was an okay way to signal a checkpoint. 9/10 I’m not doing online any time soon because I don’t have a wired connection but I hear it’s ass and the tower placement is a complete lie.

Anywho, now on to the real post:

For a finale, the story was... slightly below average. But I’ll be honest here, I kinda had high expectations because of the hype from the past two (?) years, five if you count the total time between Rev2 and Strive's release dates.

The last time I was this critical of a sequel’s story was the gap between Borderlands 2 and 3, which was seven years. I'm going off on a tangent here but I'll sum it up so if you're not familiar with Borderlands you'll have an idea of what I'm taking about. In Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel, the Watcher (Eridian? that saved Athena from execution after telling Lilith and company of her adventures on Elpis with Nisha, Wilhelm, Timothy, Aurelia, and Claptrap) warned "Now's not the time for bickering, Vault Hunters. War is coming, and you will need all the Vault Hunters you can get". BL3 rolls around and there was no big war. Instead, we got a poorly delivered dumpster fire of a main campaign that spanned five planets and the main villains were some bratty livestreamer Sirens that run a planet wide cult. Seriously? The cast was poorly handled there too but I'll stop here.

In the case of comparison to another fighting game’s story, the game that comes to mind is Tekken 7 because if they aren’t a Mishima or Kazama or someone else in that fucked up family that’s plot relevant, they were given a shitty one-fight episode. Sure Nina and Claudio were in the main story mode but that's the thing: they were just there. The returning (dlc) series veterans, such as Anna, Lei, Marduk, and all the way to Zafina plus the newcomers Leroy, Lidia, Fahkumram, and Kunimitsu II weren't given much aside from a brief story snippet. Dare I say it but SFV did their new seasons newcomers and returning fighters justice as they all got episodes of their own. You read that right. Street Fighter V was better to its cast than Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

Unlike the Xrd games, watching the story does not get you any money. The only difference I saw right after was that the Strive correlation chart updated. For what it’s worth, they could’ve done something like DBFZ’s story clearance unlocking a new character, or do an alternate costume where the outfit Frederick wears in the ending (and upon further inspection is the very same one he wore in the flashback) is useable in fights (it’d be hilarious but a good detail added in if you were to select that option but the name plate doesn’t display “Sol” lmao). If Ky has a palette that puts him in an open button white shirt, jeans, and what look like work boots, then let me play in the ending's lab coat, tanktop, and jeans dammit.

I kept track of how many of the playable cast showed up and played some part. Everyone except Ramlethal, May, and Faust appeared in the story -- these three were reduced to credit image cameos >:( Ram’s seen with Elphelt and Sin, while Ky and Dizzy are in the background. May’s with her crew, and Faust is in the desert somewhere or some shit with Chronus.

But even if they did show up, nobody else except like five people did jack shit. Giovanna, bless her heart, was absent for a long period then showed up to fight Nagoriyuki (who eventually sided with the good guys) but got her ass beat after he faked surrender. Potemkin helped but spent most of his time cruising at high speed trying to get to the White House. Ky and Jack-O didn’t arrive until the end either. Axl -- or should I say Will -- finally got to see Megumi again at the cost of I-No’s defeat. The dude got his girlfriend back at the loss of someone he considered a friend but the delivery felt forced as it was confirmed as she was dying -- wasn't part of her character that she has no recollection of a past? Her suddenly remembering a past boyfriend and being able to describe his appearance didn't really make much sense.

Chipp and Anji were in that comical highway chase scene, but then Anji's just wherever while Chipp's in the Pentagon control room. I get that someone had to stay behind and watch from the other side -- this role landing with Leo as he, Millia, and Zato were overseeing commentating on events from the castle’s war room like Brock and Misty during Ash's battles in the OG season of the Pokemon anime, while Daryl was at the G4 conference and Ky was on his way to the fight -- but the pacing and usage of the cast in this story was a mess. Yeah sure it has most of the GG cast in this installment's playable roster present but it didn't feel like a GG story -- really it felt like the live action Resident Evil movies where the source material's characters are sprinkled in, acting more as a "here ya go they're here don't expect much!" type thing.

Honestly, a step down from Rev because at least everyone in that arc were somewhat present with maybe one or two exceptions? Hell, even though they were added as dlc or in Rev2, Dizzy, Haehyun, Baiken, and Answer were in the main story. Being hopeful here when I say that I hope we see more of Goldlewis or get to play as him because his design is badass and so is his coffin flail weapon. On the side of fairness though, I have a feeling this isn’t exactly what Ishiwatari intended (this is unlikely but it's probably Katano's directing? Whatever in any case)? The general reaction I saw from others who’ve watched the story was that the subplots were half baked and the plot as a whole was pretty rushed. Happy Chaos / the Original as the main villain was Calypso Twins from Borderlands 3 level cringe and every time HC appeared on screen I wanted to mute it. There is the bonus story coming later this year, along with the dlc slots, so ehh? The interactions between Colin and Frederick were one of my personal favorite points even if this did turn into “Neon Genesis White House Down”.

“Brown bears don’t give birth to pandas.“

I’m sure like the others who actually paid attention to the story from the end of Xrd to Strive, my main question was this:

After the Justice / Jack-O fusion -- recall the “newly revived” Aria had purely red hair and Jack-O’s halo disappeared. During the mid-credits of Revelator, former friends turned sworn enemies turned frenemies Asuka and Frederick pretty much have one last declaration of war against each other, with Sin, I-No, and Raven as their witnesses -- Asuka even said “take good care of Aria”. Naturally from all of that, she’s not Jack-O anymore, right? Wrong. According to the game, what's inside of Jack-O is only a fragment / shard of Aria mixed in with Jack-O's projected personality (I think). How did they go from "let's do the fusion and guaranteed she'll return" to "yeah nah she ain't comin' back bro"

Xrd Revelator: "Pull this off successfully and Aria will fully revive as a human."

Strive: "Nah bruh. We lied. It just turned Jack-O human and what's inside her is only an unstable shard of Aria -- not the whole thing."

Back to the “final battle”, they don’t fight, rather Asuka removed the Flame of Corruption from Frederick's body (and somehow he got a haircut too). So really what was the fight in Rev2′s [After Story - A] for? Did he get nearly the life beaten out of him from Ky fighting dirty and left that crater in the park for nothing? Seems that way. Asuka lives on the moon and he's got a radio show now because (*bong rip*) that makes sense.

I’ll admit it’s a little cute that the feelings are mutual between Jack-O and Frederick -- he sees her as herself and not just a genetic copy but they expect us to think in the three weeks they've known each other that "oh shit I'm in love with this person" is believable -- and they live in the woods near a presumably 200+ year old space shuttle complete with the launchpad but come on now. That's some Russo Brothers level writing right there -- y'all remember Avengers: Endgame and how when he went across space and time to return the Infinity Stones, Steve Rogers threw everything away just so he could go back to his original era? The now depowered-so-he's-human-again Frederick Bulsara (the ex-gear and world's savior x times over formerly known as Sol Badguy) living in isolation away from his newfound family and friends gives off the same vibe. Especially after that one and only flashback where it's Aria's birthday and he was going to propose but the ring wasn't ready in time so he had that "error" to show instead.

#guilty gear strive #gg strive #don't mind me i'm just being really nitpicky #this isn't the first time i've been down about a sequel's story #and it won't be the last #hell even if it's dated because two seasons worth of cast have been released since then sfv's story was more enjoyable! imagine that #i was writing a fic that i set before strive but now i'm gonna go back and add in some stuff #mostly that flashback because it was cute yet sad

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macsbooks311 · 6 years

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I am beyond excited to be a stop on this blog tour – it is my first! I’m quite sure that I will not do this properly so forgive me in advance if it is not like all of the others. The MAIN THING is that you know about this terrific new book and this fabulous writing team!

Memphis “M” Engel is stubborn to a fault, graced with an almost absurd knowledge of long lost languages and cultures, and a heck of an opponent in a fight. Ashwin “Ash” Sood is a little too posh for M’s tastes, a little too good looking, and has way too many secrets. He desperately wants the ancient map M inherited from her archeologist father, believing it will lead him to a relic with the power to destroy the world. Together they criss-cross the globe from the catacombs of Paris, to a sacred forest in Norway, to the ruins of a submerged temple in Egypt in their search for elusive relic. But through it all, M can never be sure: Is she traveling with a friend or enemy?

I Do Not Trust You is an adventure tale that will conjure up comparisons to Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in their younger days. “M” and Ash are on a mission to find a secret Egyptian relic before a zealous group who believe the relic can bring about power for their cause. Both “M” and Ash have their own reasons for wanting the relic. M’s father, whom she has believed to be dead for over a year, is allegedly being held captive while he translates the ancient text on a hieroglyphic map. Ash, a member of the “Eye.” an Egyptian religious order sworn to protect the relic, must find it before the zealots. While this sounds a bit confusing, all is explained beautifully in I Do Not Trust You, along with some amazing historical, geographical and mythological facts.

The story is simply told and I was never quite sure if this book was meant for younger readers, young adult or adult. It was entertaining regardless of the intended audience. As a history and literature grad, this book was exactly what I enjoy reading. Unfortunately it is being sold as an “adventure” novel and there wasn’t quite enough action for that to ring true. It is, however, a great mystery based on some incredible Egyptian myths. I also felt that the character development is what drove the book, rather than the suspense. I say this because there are those who expect their “thriller” novels to be very tense with a lot of fast paced action. You won’t find that here. Instead, it is a great, steady read with conversational wit and humor. I truly enjoyed reading it. Four Mythological Stars for I Do Not Trust You.

The Two Headed Team:

I had the pleasure of getting to know the authors a little bit and to ask them a few questions. They are amazing women with an impressive combined CV that never ends!

LAURA J. BURNS and MELINDA METZ have written many books for teens and middle-grade readers, including Sanctuary Bay, Crave, and Sacrifice, as well as the Edgar-nominated mystery series Wright and Wong. They have also written for the TV shows ROSWELL, 1-800-MISSING, and THE DEAD ZONE. Laura lives in New York and Melinda lives in North Carolina, but really they mostly live on email, where they do most of their work together.

Writing generally is considered a solitary sport, how did the two of you come together and do you find there are challenges writing as a duo?

We consider ourselves lucky that we can write together, since it’s more fun to play doubles than a solitary sport! We first met when we were both editors at the same company. We each edited a different Fear Street series by R.L. Stine. Melinda worked on the middle grade books, Ghosts of Fear Street, and Laura worked on the YA Fear Street books. One of our jobs was to come up with plot ideas, and that’s a hard thing to do by yourself. Sitting alone in a room and thinking up concepts just doesn’t work as well as bouncing ideas back and forth. We quickly began coming up with all our plots together, even though we weren’t working on the same series. And we just kept doing it! We liked all the same books and movies and TV shows, which meant we had all the same pop-culture reference points, so we could use a sort of shorthand with each other.

In terms of challenges, we aren’t the best writing partners to ask, because we don’t really have any. We began writing together for television and moved on to doing books as a team. A lot of writers talk about how difficult it is to adapt to another writer’s style or to argue over plots. We don’t have that problem. We often joke that we share a brain because it’s so easy for us to write in the same voice.

2. When creating a character for your book, do you already know who they are or do they develop as you are writing the story?

We are planners (as opposed to pantsers) so we don’t write a thing until we know who the characters are and what the plot is. Character is generally our starting point, although sometimes we have a plot-driven idea and work out the characters second. We always figure out their backstories, their personalities and how they’re going to sound, and their goals. We decide on what the main characters need from one another and how their relationships are going to work. Of course, characters do develop a bit as we write. If one of us makes a discovery about them–say, a running conflict they have with one of their parents–we let the other know and it gets worked in as we both write.

3. I Do Not Trust You takes the young readers on a world-wide quest. Do you both travel extensively or did this require a huge amount of research?

We’ve both traveled some, but nothing like what our characters M and Ash do! Sadly, we don’t have M’s ability to speak several languages or Ash’s access to the cash his group has accumulated over centuries. So we researched our locations online and just wished we could be there in person. However, since there really aren’t ancient Egyptian artifacts buried at all of these sites (we assume), many details are imaginary as well!

Thank you to #LauraJBurns and #MelindaMetz for their insight and for this incredible book! My thanks also to Brittani at St. Martin’s Press for this opportunity and to #St.MartinsPress, a publishing company on whom you can trust for great reads.

I Do Not Trust You #Blogtour #LauraJBurns #MelindaMetz I am beyond excited to be a stop on this blog tour - it is my first!

#BlogTours #LauraJBurns #MelindaMetz #StMartinsPress #Macsbooks #Mystery #reviews #Young Adult

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