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tarisilmarwen · 10 months

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Rebels Rewatch: "Stealth Strike"

In which, Character Development! and other exciting features.

I mentioned the husband loves Star Wars ships right? This is another one of his favorite episodes, he loooves the Interdictor class.

Always liked this little musical flare at the beginning, already conveys a sense of urgency and danger.

Sato sounds so aggrieved that he has to have Ezra along, lol.

I mean from his perspective Ezra's just an overconfident plucky kid, he hasn't been around Ezra long enough to know how competent the boy is.

Love the staggered Force Theme prelude in the strings there, all broken up and disjointed. Once again Ezra is sensing impending danger.

Still adore the kaleidoscope color effect Rebels uses to mark being forcibly ejected/yanked from hyperspace.

Bbbyyyyyyyy. :((((

Worried Spacefamily be worried.

Hera wisely understands that the best way to infiltrate a top-secret Imperial project is to keep the aliens off the mission lol.

Kanan is being predictably petty about having to work with Rex.

"I sent Ezra... this is the only way." Ouch. I bet Hera is feeling pretty guilty and has thought a lot about this since they learned about it, so you know she's run it through a million times in her head. Probably why Kanan acquiesces to her judgment.

I wanna know the thought process behind the Imps' decision to haul Ezra and Sato in to see Titus. Like, Sato I get, he's the obvious commander of the unit but I wanna know which trooper saw Ezra and was like, "Hmm, he seems Plot Important, I better drag him along too."

Sato still very much Not Impressed with Ezra's posturing.

Hi Brom Titus!

It's hilarious that Ezra's sarcastically used "Jabba the Hutt" so often it's been logged as a known alias of his lololol.

The Giligan Cut between Rex complaining that he'd never wear Stormtrooper armor and Zeb bringing them unconscious troopers to steal the armor from. <3

"I thought it was the same one we used before." LOL. Okay, I gotta stop before I quote every line in this episode.

Can't help it, it's just so fun.

We cut to the shuttle mid-hyperspace and Rex and Kanan are still bickering, but even in the middle of that we get some lovely worried Papa Wolf Kanan hyperfocusing on Ezra as his priority.

I swear it was explained somewhere what the specific codes Rex gives meant but I can't for the life of me remember where now. Pretty sure one of them meant the shuttle was going to explode? Anyway...

Rex seems like he's having just a grand old time. This must feel just like the old days for him.

Lol Kallus getting excited about Ezra's capture and warning Titus "[...]do not underestimate that boy." He knows firsthand how much of a threat and nuisance Ezra can be.

A little variation on the Death Star theme here, kind of appropriate given this is a very similar-feeling kind of infiltration and rescue.

Maybe that's why I like this episode so much, has a lot of A New Hope vibes.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: Chopper's legs jerking as he rolls over the hump in the doorway.

The ANH vibes continue with this turbolift scene, which is just hilarious. From Rex not knowing which button to push to the Imperial officer snarking at our hero duo, it's just... *chef's kiss*

They are a disaster pair and I just love them.

Cut to the troopers that are escorting Ezra to his "secure cell" and I'm sorry, I adore this whole sequence. Ezra being a little hyper-competent badass is my whole jam, okay?

This is so clever. <3333

Ezra makes very short work of his guards, without really hurting them (something that would contrast in S3 after the whole Malachor Loss-Of-Innocence thing) and then immediately shoots his intended rescue party lololol.

I love how smoothly he moves through this whole scene. He's obviously been practicing and of course the Force operates on a principal of "the more at peace and in tune you are with yourself, the greater strength you can channel" so after his whole soul-searching in "Brothers of the Broken Horn" deal he's come to some kind of serenity within himself that lets him be just super awesome here. Love it.

<333333

Chopper immediately rats Ezra out lol.

Kanan reluctant to split up from Ezra, aww.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The way Ezra raises his hands in aggravation when Kanan and Rex get into it again.

Ezra finally chews the two of them out for all their bickering and takes charge of the mission and you can't even tell me he didn't make Kanan just a smidge proud, with that comment about how, "He takes after Hera sometimes." <3333

No but seriously, fandom of course loves Kanan and Ezra's whole "like my father before me" vibe but let's not forget how it was Hera who first took a shine to him, who saw potential in him, who knew that he wasn't as selfish as he pretended he was, drew out that inner spark of compulsive compassion planted by his parents and has been influencing him on the Rebellion side of things to complement Kanan's Jedi teaching.

Found Family liek woah. :)

Brom Titus looking a little less confident now that the scrawny fifteen-year-old he was specifically cautioned not to underestimate has given them the slip lol.

*cries* He was so TINY!

Very glad Ezra learned binary, it enables hilarious conversations like this.

This is yet another music cue recycled from the Death Star sequence in A New Hope. Like I said, they're really leaning into that this episode.

This little troll I love him so much.

Bit of the "Shenanigans" theme as Chopper rolls up.

Can I just appreciate how well Ezra rolls with blocking shots in zero gravity?

I think Chopper enjoyed all of this a too much lol.

Remember, giving people grief is how Chopper shows affection. :)

Love how they lampshade the terrible vision quality of Stormtrooper helmets.

Sato all ready to square up with this random trooper until he sees it's Kanan.

And his anxious worry over Ezra's welfare is really sweet. Sato does care, he might find Ezra bit aggravating but he's still just a kid in Sato's eyes, someone who was under his protection. (One wonders if Ezra reminds him of Mart a bit.) It's not Sato's fault he's only now learning what a precocious badass Ezra is lol.

This move of Kanan and Rex's is slick.

Lightsaber Naruto run.

I've been told this horn cue is Rex's theme. Makes sense.

Heeeeey remember what I said about Rex's deathseeker tendencies? Yeah.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The drifting smoke in the hallway from the firefight holy cow. Attention to detail.

"I serve the order you put into place, Captain." Ohhhhhh Imma dent his face in.

*hurts in Order 66 feels*

THEY WERE JUST TOOLS TO PALPATINE, THEY HAD A SINGLE PURPOSE AND HE JUST DISCARDED THEM ONCE IT WAS ACCOMPLISHED.

This Hitchcock Zoom with Kanan as if he's sensing Rex's pain. <33333

Character growth! <33333

Ezra one-manning this hallway with Skill and Confidence. <33333

My gosh look how smooth and effortless this is for him. No wonder Sato was impressed.

Nice to see more classic lightsaber positions creeping into the choreography here.

Ezra being all, "OH HECK NO, THERE WILL BE NO SELF-SACRIFICING TODAY!" over the comms. He's very tired of them doing that lol.

The dolly shots this episode are tight.

Aww Ezra still looks really worried tho.

Don't think about him remembering, "I'll take the next one." and "I'll be right behind you."

Aaaaaaaand Chopper just scored the highest body count on the show, lol. (Up until the finale anyway with the Dome explosion and the purrgil-ening.)

My gosh this show even makes total destruction look pretty.

Yeah, getting a top-secret Interdictor prototype imploded is pretty demotion worthy ha ha.

Love how Kallus is basically perfectly fine assigning all of that chaos to Ezra in particular. XD

KANAN SALUTING REX NOT ONLY AS A SIGN OF FINALLY BURYING THE HATCHET BUT ALSO TAKING UP THE MANTLE OF SOLDIER HE WAS SO RELUCTANT TO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON.

This is one of the best episodes of the season, no joke. It's fun, it brings the nostalgia without being kitschy, it lets Ezra and Sato have a little bit of nice interaction (underrated relationship, fanficers have let me down), it shows how Ezra's developing in combat, it finishes the whole Rex and Kanan animosity plot, and Chopper murders three whole Imperial cruisers effortlessly.

Love it.

#star wars #star wars rebels #rebels rewatch #liveblog #ezra bridger #agent kallus #space dad and his precious pumpkin child #stan ezra bridger he's great

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currebunz · 2 years

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Mondstadt crew reacting to S/O being pregnant

Diluc

Is very calm on the outside, he is doing it for both of you. Everything gets baby proofed. No no suits of armor or swords on display. Winery? I don’t think so, he is making sure no one mistakes grape juice for wine. He is very on top of what needs to be done. You would think he was prepared for this. Does not take anyone’s bullshit. Especially later in your pregnancy. No one is making you do anything strenuous.

On the inside, very worried about being a dad. He still has to worry about the Abyss so he worries he won’t be able to protect you both.

Kaeya

Another one good at hiding how worried he is. Won’t even bat an eye about it. Just smiles and good vibes. But boy is he scheming. He will have entire scenarios already planned out in order to make your pregnancy as comfortable as possible. Drinks less to stay sharp too. Although he likes to make jokes about making a small eyepatch for the baby or something.

Albedo

He is actually very enthusiastic about it, he is getting to see human life being created. Although you kind of feel like a test subject, he assures you he just wants to be careful. He has an entire baby log about how often the baby kicked and calculated the delivery. He was right. Albedo strikes me as the type to enjoy brining his child into work with him so he baby proofs his lab.

Bennett

Oh my god he is going to keep away from you as much as possible. But it hurts because he wants to be there all the time too. His bad luck makes it hard for him to find the best time to be around you. Lowkey worried he might be the cause of a miscarriage or something. He tricks out a baby room that has an adventurer’s theme. He also dreams about taking the baby out on an adventure. Very happy dad.

Venti

Another one interested in the creation of humans but isn’t helpful with the pregnancy. He has next to no knowledge as to how to help so he kinda just hangs around. Oh but you bet he is already picking cute clothes and joke clothing. Like Venti would wear the “The Original” shirt and give the baby “The Remix” shirt. He will sing to your belly in hopes he can soothe the baby.

Razor

Has no idea what to do on a humane level but understands your body is changing. Will make sure you are healthy and comfortable. Like he will tell you to eat meat or bring you fruits he knows the wolf mom’s eat. He is trying, he knows it would be better to learn what humans do. Will try and ask Jean about it but speaking is hard. Klee can’t help much but at least she clues him in on it.

#genshin impact #diluc genshin impact #genshin x reader #diluc ragnivindr x reader #diluc x you #kaeya x reader #genshin kaeya #genshin imagines #albedo x reader #genshin impact albedo x reader #venti x reader #genshin impact venti #genshin impact bennett #bennet x reader

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alovelyburn · 10 months

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Rambles about the Millenium Falcon Arc Part 5

...long time no see.

I actually did start writing this a month ago, but it took a bit to get my brain back in the right place after so long away. BUT I’M BACK hi.

Rambles about the Millenium Falcon Arc Part 5

Even though I do think Isidro is meant to evoke Guts he’s obviously not a 1-to-1 comparison, like he’s much more of a chaos imp than Guts ever was. Also he’s scrawny – I do wonder if he should focus more on ranged combat given how good he is with missile attacks. This doesn’t matter at all, but I’m warming up, lmao.

One of the things Miura talked about when he discussed the reason for the reaction for whatever such and such a character was this idea of designing characters to bring out different shades of Guts in order to make him a more multidimensional character. I think this is something he really excelled at – it’s interesting to see his more mentorly side coming out, not to mention the difference between the way Guts treats Isidro and, say, the way Gambino treated him does highlight Guts’ generally better... nature.

And that’s interesting because I’ve talked a lot before about how post-Eclipse (and pre-meeting Griffith) Guts had taken on a lot of Gambino’s traits and attitudes... which is arguably not the best way to navigate the world. But that’s a side of him that comes out mostly when he’s alone and frustrated – when he’s a kid on the road, for example, or after the Eclipse but before meeting Puck. Which is to say, it’s a self-defense mechanism for when he feels lost or angry and lonely without a lot of outlet. When he has people around he chills out considerably, which makes his attempts at being a lone wolf feel a little self-destructive.

I just love how Guts is completely disinterested unless there’s some kind of fight involved. More than that, though, as a pretty straightforward person I suppose he doesn’t have a lot of interest in interacting with people who are wearing a civil mask and carrying ulterior motives.

As for Serpico, it must be odd watching her change so quickly and so completely. This is the beginning of a longer subplot with him watching being weirded out by it and I guess kind of jealous and kind of saddened that Guts and their companions were able to change Farnese in ways he was unable to and thus make her a much healthier and less troubled person.

Okay so as a sidenote, I do really get tired of this. I understand that Casca and Farnese are the most helpless in the group, but the thing where they are constantly the ones targeted for danger is a little meh. You could argue that in the case of trolls it makes sense – given what we later learn about their actions and breeding habits – but it’s still repetitive because they end up being swept up and pulled into troll haven or whatever together again in the future, so like maybe a different plot point? Like the trolls’ presence could have been announced with a battle scene and then Casca and Farnese could have been separated from the group later without eliciting a kind of “oh this again?” type of response, I’m just saying.

Anyway, you know the deal, me and fight scenes are like, eh.

The introduction of magic definitely changed the tone of Berserk. Miura did mention that he made it difficult to manage and slow to start up for balance reasons, and I do think the balance has been largely maintained but it obviously did change the scale of the series and the battles – same with the Berserker armor, for example. This isn’t actually a problem for me in theory but I think the one thing I wish he had done is... I guess better foreshadow the existence of all these things, right?

Like I don’t expect him to have witches in the BSM arc for example – he hadn’t even thought of it yet, he didn’t even know what the main conflict of the story would be until volume 3. But it would have been cool to have more of a buildup leading into Flora and Schierke’s introduction.

Anyway it doesn’t bother me that much, it’s more like the existence of the Hawk prophecies – a missed opportunity that was probably missed just because he hadn’t thought of it yet.

I wonder if Ivalera is going to like, make more of an impact on me during this readthrough. Because honestly, this is volume 24 right? She’s been with them for almost 20 volumes, and I never remember that she exists.

Ah, Schierke. It’s almost fitting that the kind of lighter/less grim tone came in with her because the anime vibes kind of did, too – green hair and all that. I should clarify that I don’t actually mind the lighter tone or the magic or anything, I just think it’s interesting how quickly Berserk went from like grim gritty low fantasy that borders on horror to like epic fantasy adventures. This arc is kind of a transitional point since the trolls are very old Berserk, but obviously the introduction of Schierke and Ivalera really bridge into new Berserk.

Okay this is a little bit of a tangent, but it’s something I was just thinking about today.

So Casca is, for me, uhh... so many a series has a character in it that’s like a major part of the story but you just can’t warm to them and kinda wish they weren’t there because they feel kind of like baggage. That’s how I feel about Post-Eclipse Casca. Like during the Golden Age she served a narrative purpose right, she’s a foil for Guts and then his love interest and then one of his greatest losses. Cool.

Post-Eclipse though I’m just not sure. Don’t get me wrong, I know she’s involved in the story, like half the story is about getting her to Elfhelm. But – and im not sure whether I can articulate this properly but I’m trying – I feel like even though the story revolves around her, she is nonetheless an extra appendage to the plot. She’s a MacGuffin. Her existence causes people to run around trying to do things but she herself is not involved in those things or even really important to them and there’s no purpose she serves in the story that couldn’t be served by something else without much of a change to the core of the plot.

Guts could get to Conviction any way – he could just go there because of the revelation from Griffith, he could get dragged there by Farnese and then escape, he could just be led there by fate – there’s nothing inherent to the Conviction arc that requires him to be chasing Casca. You could say her biggest contribution to the plot post-Eclipse is as a Griffith-obsession-meter, like if he doesn’t care about her, then he’s in full Griffith-fixation mode, and if he’s focused on protecting her, his Griffith obsession is waning.

I don’t know. There is a large part of the fanbase (most of it in the English speaker quarter, in fact) that perceives her as the third protagonist and really puts a narrative weight on her but I honestly think it’s mostly headcanon and cope, lmao. She’s a MacGuffin.

Anyway the reason this section kinda set me off on it is because Casca gets kidnapped or spirited off to Trollhaven twice in this one arc, and she was sexually assaulted twice since Conviction, and she was sexually assaulted and pushed around and used as a MacGuffin for most of Conviction and while this is somewhat true of Farnese as well at this point (the troll thing anyway)... Farnese then becomes a much more formidable person under her own power whereas Casca languishes, gets her memory back, has multiple unconsciousness-inducing flashbacks and then gets kidnapped.

Hmm, I guess the gist of this rant is just “Casca is a character Miura randomly decided to hook up with Guts for drama and then kept around so that Guts would stay mad, and it shows.”

And of course it helps that Casca ends up spending more time with Farnese than Guts so that relationship isn’t’ really emphasized very much outside of a “what is she to you? Oooohh I think I know....” comment every like 8 real world years.

Anyway if she turns out to be crucial in a way that is unique to her later, I’ll be relieved but for now I’m eh.

/rant mode off

So one of the things I really enjoy about Berserk is this feeling that Griffith’s presence, or even the promise of his arrival, inherently changes the world. Before the Eclipse, apostles became more active, and after it they were obviously more present than they had bene before. And after Griffith’s reincarnation, the barrier between the physical and the astral planes start to blur a bit, bringing the monsters out and strengthening the magical gifts of people like Sonia. His presence is such that he changes the world simply by being there... in various ways. Obviously things like bringing the trolls into the world aren’t great, lmao.

And, of course, Guts understands what’s going on even if no one else does yet.

Establishment shot! I’m sort of fascinated by Flora’s mansion if only because it doesn’t actually exist in the physical world.

Now that I’ve gone into that whole rant about Casca, I will take a moment to say it’d be cool if there turned out to be a reason she randomly went digging in the golem – an instinct through her connection to the Moonkid/Griffith, maybe, or just an instinct in general. It’s not something I expect to come up, to be clear – she’s probably just being a curious child since she’s mentally a toddler. But you know, wishful thinking.

This image really sent me off on a death spiral into one of my more obscure theories, which I’m not going to talk about because I hate being wrong about things I’m not ready to be wrong about. But anyway I did look a bit into the meaning of the pentagram which told me... first of all that the use of the pentagram seems to precede any of the meanings we know to ascribe to it, which make sense. But also, that the points of the pentagram represent either the wounds of Christ, the senses, or five elements.

This sent me into a rabbit hole of reading up on elements as understood in different cultures. What I found interesting was like, it seems most places (most) have the same four elements we still talk about today at least to some degree (like it might be wind instead of air, but you know), but there’s sometimes a fifth thing – spirit or heart, for example, in the case of neoplatonic elements, or void/emptiness for Japanese philosophy.

And then I thought about the way Miura liked to combine the philosophies and religious tenants from different cultures instead of trying to fully replicate a specific perspective in his work. Rather the cosmology of Berserk is a little bit of everything, you know? Which made me think... considering the fifth element in Berserk’s world to be Spirit or Emptiness works very well with the way Berserk is set up but it also tends to imply that there’s a fifth elemental lord, unless the joke is that the element is emptiness so the spot for the lord is empty. I’ll probably yada yada more about this when I get to Schierke’s spell in the village because she does say something interesting that I think bears commentary.

But the way Miura repeatedly put the pentagram in a prominent position - even having a whole panel that was nothing but the pentagram, strikes me as interesting and significant.

But one of the things is this: I believe that all religions in Berserk are faces for the same underlying powers – IoE and the Godhand (and perhaps some other servants who fulfill different functions but we don’t know about that). It explains why the old Godhand look like ancient gods, and it explains why Flora triggers Guts’ brand, which is supposed to react to demonic power. Because in the end, she’s still drawing from the same well but in a different way.

Guts being polite as usual, lmao.

It’s interesting that Flora seems to know she’s going to die soon. I know that you could interpret it as her knowing that she is just getting too old and weak, but considering she tells Schierke that they’ll meet again, which refers to the Casca’s Mindscape sequence 30+ volumes later, I assume she has some kind of plug into the future, albeit in a limited way. Skull Knight seems to be similar.

After this Guts says, “It’ll protect against that” with the image of his beast self raping/killing Casca. Which makes me think this scene fuels people’s assertion that he was possessed when he did that, which he wasn’t. But I do think the possessions prior kind of kicked him in that direction and he was unable to extricate himself from it until he was made violently aware of his own dark side and how dangerous it was.

Okay so now we’re going to talk worldbuilding, its my favorite thing.

Bringing this back.

Okay so, I’m just going to break this down into a form I can better reference, rofl.

The Astral plane is, as Griffith would say, where they become one – the afterlife, and also the home of supernatural forces and beings. When someone senses/believes in something that is technically part of the astral world hard enough the thing becomes visible in the physical world, which is why elves have become recognized in the physical world. Later we’ll find out that the astral world’s... stuff used to be a much greater part of the physical world but started disappearing from the physical realm as people drifted from the perspectives that allowed them to be perceived, which continues right up until Griffith brings them back together.

Then the Realm of Idea (the graphic misnames it) is... it kind of reminds me of the concept of the Root in the Fate franchise (and also several actual world religions nevermind that though). The origin of all existence, the blueprint of reality.

And subrealms:

Physical Realm – where people usually are.

Interstice – a shallow level of the Astral Plane that mostly just looks like the physical realm. This is where Guts and Casca are because of the brand. Also where things like ghosts come from when they haven’t realized or accepted their deaths and headed back to the Vortex.

Nexus – a deeper part of the Astral and the space opened by the Behelit/location of the Sacrifice ceremonies. This is interesting to me because Miura once said that in order to injure an astral body, the person trying to injure them has to be in the astral plane as well. Which brings to mind the arguments over whether the Godhand can actually be hurt – people say they must be mortal to some degree because they protect their bodies – e.g Void deflects Skull Knight’s blow and the only time Femto ever defends himself vs Guts is during the BSM arc when the Slug Count uses the behelit to bring the Godhand out. But it makes sense that they defend themselves during Eclipses or Sacrifice ceremonies because during those moments, the entire area is sucked into the Nexus, which means they can be injured in ways they cant be if they’re just walking around on the physical world. Thus, for example, the impossibility of injuring Griffith in the physical world.

The Vortex – A deeper level of the Astral Plane where the megapowers are, e.g. the Godhand, the Element Kings etc. The sea god from the pirate arc, like that.

The Abyss – where the Idea of Evil hangs out.

This page is often cited as proof that there is a heaven and hell, but Flora really is just engaging in conjecture. That said, it does seem like there are places that are more or less pleasant within the astral plane, at least on lower levels like the Interstice, so I suppose its possible that they exist in the Vortex as well. This is one of the areas where I’m the most conflicted because there’s a pretty strong indication that post-death humans lose their sense of self and join the sea of souls where no one has any individuality or identity, but there’s also this comment about karma and such. Plus we do know that some humans do not just melt into the vortex because Flora herself instead became a Daimon although we don’t find that out for a long time.

Right now, I’m sort of operating with the idea that post-death a person retains a sense of self for a certain period of time, during which their experience is dictated by their karma, before they eventually break apart and join the sea. But that’s just a fan wank it’s really an unknown at this time.

This comment is interesting because it brings to mind Schierke’s later comment that the four elemental kings are the same beings that are named in scripture as the four cardinal angels of God. As I said earlier, all religions are one religion.

What did I say the other day? Even witches refer to Griffith as an angel. This kind of burns my bum because people focus on the demon thing very strongly and tend to either ignore the other side of them or suggest that they’re not really angels but are pretending to be – I think Guts even suggests that at one point. But Guts is biased and Flora would know better than he does.

Not for nothing but Guts is being stupid here. Not too surprising, but like what is he going to do, summon them and launch himself at them? They’d crush him like a bug without moving. Come on, man.

But in all seriousness, Guts’ absolute faith in his ability to find a way to win is one of my favorite things about him, but it’s also what leads to him having a mental breakdown when he cant hit Griffith later. I don’t think he’s ever considered the possibility that there’s something he can’t fight his way through.

This also confirms, btw, that Guts hasn’t given up on revenge just put it on hold until he can get Casca to Elfhelm. Otherwise why would he still be trying to figure out how to get at the Godhand? It’s also the best indication that he isn’t only angry at Griffith but at the entire group of them. I assume it’s not dissimilar to the way Skull Knight runs straight at Void if he’s there, but he wont turn down an opportunity to throw a blow at any of them.

So, one of the things that fuels speculation that Casca might be destined to use that Behelit is that... when it comes out, and they’re talking about it, she seems to be drawn to it for no real reason, right, like she just comes walking toward them making interested noises and Farnese has to pull her away.

The obvious counter would be that she comes out because Flora is about to talk about her and Guts’ mission to protect her, but she didn’t really need to be there for that – people talk about Casca and Guts’ relationship or his intentions with regards to her without her being there all the time.

It’s interesting. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but given Miura’s ways it wouldn’t surprise me if it did.

He didn’t listen when Godot told him this before, no way he’s listening now.

But really she doesn’t seem to be trying to tell him to give it up, which doesn’t surprise me – she’s a friend of Skull Knight’s, so I’m sure she understands how pointless arguing with someone in this situation can be.

“The fate associated with it rests in the hands of its master who sent it.” I assume that’s IoE but it does highlight the fact that Slan seemed to be able to affect its reaction/availability to Guts.

When I try to figure out who the behelit might belong to, though, I admit I have a kind of difficult time imagining who it could be aside from Casca or Guts. If it’s Guts, then I would expect it’s there for him to ultimately resist, thus finally breaking the chains of fate that he’s been fighting but accidentally getting further caught in for years. If it’s Casca, on the other hand, I think that ends badly for her. There’s a small chance that such an option could appear for her to give her the chance to turn it down as well, but I’m not sure I believe that she has it in her.

I also can’t think of anyone else that the behelit would really fit in a way that advances the story/moves toward the fulfillment of the narrative promise, really. So I still think the best bet is Casca, though that doesn’t guarantee it obviously. If it’s Guts, on the other hand... well, I guess he’s craving his power right now, isn’t he? I mean in current chapters.

I feel you, Guts.

But no, I gather she means that they’re the servants of the Idea of Evil (unnamed but still), and that they’re mysteries because humans can’t go to where they are, even in astral form, thus they remain mysterious.

Okay translation rant. I wanted to make sure that “If he is the Hawk of Darkness, then he is dreadful” was actually accurate, which it is KIND OF?

What Schierke is saying is

あの者が黙示録に記された五番目の御使いが受肉した姿。。。闇の鷹なのだとしたら者恐るべきことです。

That person is the [incarnated form] of the fifth angel written down in the [Book of Revelation]. If (he’s) the Hawk of Darkness he is.... [dreadful]

So a couple of things. I’m showing dictionary definitions because it’s good to show receipts, lmao.

-The word translated as incarnation is specifically the incarnation of Christ.

-The word used for revelation is specifically the Book of Revelation, though it also means Apocalypse – Utena fans may remember it:

-Finally, the phrase translated here as “dreadful”,

So it does mean dreadful but also fearsome, formidable, like a dangerous or difficult adversary.

So okay one thing I notice about Miura is that he liked to use ambiguous phrasing – the phrase translated as “you’re the only one who made me forget my dream” for example, also means “you’re the only one who let me forget my dream.” Similarly, the word translated as “evil” in a lot of places in Berserk also means “magic” or a supernatural force of some kind, and sometimes it makes more sense that they’d mean magic but the translation still says evil.

I’ll be honest, I think he did it on purpose. Because for example a sentence that means both “let me forget” and “made me forget” reflects the conflict within Griffith himself about Guts’ impact on him and how it affected his goals, which were both burdensome and meant to be his most important thing. So in the discussion of which way it was intended to be read, my main thought is “both.”

How this relates to this sentence is just this: It’s translated as dreadful which isn’t inaccurate but in the context of the discussion Schierke and Flora are having, Schierke isn’t talking about how awful and deplorable the fifth angel is, she’s talking about how Guts has to be crazy to go against him because he’s absurdly powerful. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think her statement is meant to evoke how terrifying he is, either. But even so, and this isn’t the translator’s fault because English doesn’t work the same way Japanese does, but... I can’t help thinking that just saying “dreadful” makes it sound like she’s just saying “he’s awful and deplorable” rather than that he’s a frightening opponent or person. And that doesn’t make sense because Schierke was previously shown to be sort of unsure about whether he would be the savior or (something) else.

It’s also interesting that he doesn’t name some random prophecy but rather the biblical Book of Revelation. And that he didn’t have Schierke refer to Griffith with a normal “incarnation” or “bodied form” or whatever – because there are words for that – but rather as specifically the incarnation of Christ. It does make it very clear (VERY clear) that Griffith here is envisioned as the Berserk equivalent of a Christ-figure as predicted by the Berserk equivalent of the Bible. The fact that he’s served by, you know, apostles should also be a clue about this, but I know people like to suggest he’s an antichrist instead, but I mean...

He’s both isn’t he? I mean I know I’ve talked about this enough but it does make sense that in a world where God is the Idea of Evil, the Christ-equivalent would be a more complicated figure as well.

I just think it’s interesting like... Miura uses a lot of Catholic concepts and imagery in Berserk, but they don’t always mean the same thing as they do in the real-world religion. People often try to read Berserk with I guess real world Christianity in mind, and I get it because of the very obvious parallels, but I do think it’s a bit of a trap.

The thing I wonder a lot – although I guess it’s more like I think about it a lot than that I wonder about it – is the relationship between Skull Knight and Flora. Later I’ll ponder on it in greater depth but it’s interesting to me that even after seeing what happened to Gaiseric she still has this belief that fate can be countered. It’s very different than, say, Skull Knight who kind of lets slip during the death of Elfhelm that fate often cannot be overcome, but that people fight anyway because it’s just the nature of humanity to fight fate (and lose).

Flora’s view echoes Guts’ though, from the Conviction arc when he said he doesn’t believe in causality because he and Casca were meant to die but didn’t. On the other hand... is that really true? Like, Zodd said death would come for him – a death he cannot escape. But Skull Knight was the one who implied to him (right after he left the Hawks) that he could survive it. And if you think about it, given that the demon child/moonkid became Griffith’s vessel there’s a good argument that Casca was always meant to survive, too.

So. I know a lot of people take Flora’s word as gospel, but a lot of characters say things that contradict so they can’t all be right. Though I do think there’s a decent argument that she’s the least biased and her view possibly reflects the attitude that Miura himself brought to the table since he did say he wanted there to be hope in the story, as well.

This has nothing to do with anything but the sylph thing kind of freaks me out. I don’t think I could wear clothing that’s coated in little “living” things, eep.

And honestly, wtf is wrong with Puck? HOW DOES HE NOT KNOW THIS, HE’S FROM ELFHELM.

I have such conflicted feelings about how Farnese and Casca just got some silver shirts (and a silver knife). Because the thing is, I understand that Casca uh probably can’t trusted with a weapon right now, and that Farnese isn’t a fighter at all. But I still feel like some kind of, say, elementally empowered weapon would be helpful for Farnese at least, considering how often these two get kidnapped or spirited away or trapped in dangerous situations.

I wonder what the axe did.

This lead in to the thing where his sword is kind of magical from fighting magical things is pretty interesting to me because... for years the theory was that his sword could hurt Griffith because of that. And it seemed like a decent theory but of course is proven completely wrong on every level. Misdirection! That is, unless the “he cut a hair off of Griffith’s head” theory turns out to be true but that seems increasingly unlikely since it hasn’t come up at all.

By having the brand, Guts and Casca are basically just walking around in the afterlife all the time – at least the edges of it, so I guess they ended up in tune with the dead even though they themselves didn’t literally die. It seems the Apostles also kind of walk that line, which makes sense given their connection to “hell” or whatever. It’s kind of wild to think about the house they’re hanging around in not technically existing in a physical sense.

I mean in fairness he only left her behind once, it was just a really long time.

Anyway, this just reminds me of the time I got that Ask from someone kind of ranting about how Guts has to be with Casca because she’s the only reason he’s still human, which was kind of stupid. Don’t get me wrong, I recognize that protecting her is a strong motivating factor for him, but obviously he was already fighting to remain human for the entire series and I also think... the path he has chosen as a defender and as someone who no longer throws his connections away is as much a part of his continued humanity as Casca herself, specifically – that’s why the Beast always tells him to ditch the whole crew not just Casca.

Also, as I recall, Flora had some knowledge that she was going to be killed soon which... I imagine made it somewhat relieving for her to not have to explain why Casca couldn’t stay there. Also...

It lends this bit a poignancy.

Okay so... I often wonder about the specifics of Flora and Skull Knight’s relationship... and to be more specific whether her role in his life was similar to Schierke’s role in Guts’ life. Was she his spiritual anchor before he got eaten by the darkness? If so then you could say she failed, which Schierke is also in danger of doing in current canon since Guts is losing his shit.

There are so many things that make me sad about Miura’s passing. There’s the obvious human element in itself, but there’s also things like how he talked about doing an arc of the Skull Knight’s history, and how on the DVD for the memorial edition ova, a note came up saying things he says may no longer be applicable. I mean for obvious reasons. But does that mean we’ll never know the deal? I hope not. I want to know what Flora did that got her exiled from Elfhelm and what Skull Knight’s goal really is... I mean this is whiny because everyone has the same concerns and thoughts, but you know, just thinking.

And there it is – bringing to question whether Guts is actually acting in free will or not. Because what I get from this is that Flora asks him why he’s trying to get Guts to do certain things or go certain places, and whether it’s because he feels sympathetic or for some selfish reason, and Skull Knight is basically like, even if I didn’t personally lead him around, he may well be led by causality anyway.

It reminds me of the guidebook noting that Skull Knight seemed to be trying to lead Guts in a certain direction.

I think Skull Knight is ultimately meant to be a cautionary tale for Guts, like... this is what he becomes if he doesn’t let go of his anger and choose his connections and humanity instead... which is not what Gaiseric did back in the day. This does kind of make me wonder to what degree I just talk myself around thinking Guts primarily relies on Casca for humanity though, because one major difference between them seems to be that Casca didn’t die but Skull Knight’s wife or whoever that was did.

Although I guess that’s odd too because Dannan seems to be his ex in some way that isn’t wholly literal.

And this is a really interesting bit for me, because it’s Flora continuing/finishing her comment earlier about God giving them fate – the fate called encounters. So when she tells Schierke God gives us fate and we humans choose it, you can suppose that she isn’t so much talking about Schierke being destined to do such and such but rather she’s talking about Schierke having the option to accept the opportunity to know and involve herself in this story or not.

Also, a final little thought-break – the way the witches here talk about God is interesting to me because it does seem like they buy into the “religion” of the world in a way you wouldn’t necessarily expect, right, like Flora directly references fate being sent by God. They also refer to the God Hand as angels, and later Schierke will explain that the element kings are basically biblical archangels by another name.

And that goes back to all religions are one religion – the same elements with different names and viewed through different prisms but nonetheless the same beings. I kind of think of the different religions within Berserk’s world as... looking at something from one angle vs another angle. Like if you stand in front of something it looks one way and you can only see the front and part of the sides, whereas if you stand to the side you see its side and only part of its front and back, etc. Point being, it’s still the same thing, it’s just that different perspectives or belief systems “see” and name different parts of it.

That thought leads me down some interesting rabbit holes with Berserk though.

Anyway, next up, trolls.

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homuradefender · 19 days

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Thanks to @ihugmomo for the idea^^

| Posting this on my wattpad Kaede1221, and here on Tumblr |

This is my first attempt at writing this ship, constructive criticism is allowed.

Eula x Sucrose, if only they saw her how I did

Synopsis: Sucrose's first day working under Albedo, throughout the day she hears whispers of a Lawrence girl. The rude comments of someone who could be completely innocent upset Sucrose, so she works on befriending the Lawrence girl.

Alchemy was her passion, so no wonder she was accepted to work under Albedo, who was apart of the Knights of Favonius. First day on the job, her hands were busy, but as she started getting used to things, Sucrose heard rumors fly through the air like venomous wasps. ' Did you hear? The Lawrence girl became the Reconnaissance captain!? ' Another voice giggled, ' What are they thinking? ' Another sternly whisper-shouted. The hushed whispers painted the walls, such negativity was not what Sucrose had signed up for, it made her uncomfortable to hear these things about another person. Who for all she knew could be innocent, another victim of bored people's shameless gossip to pass the idle time. ' She's poisoned our beloved Outrider! ' Sucrose annoyingly shook her head in disapproval, shouldn't these people have something better to do? Like their jobs? She thought to herself, that's when it struck her like lightning. Building her courage up she approached Amber, the only outrider the Knights of Favonius had on hand. Something about Amber gave a kind, welcoming energy, when she spotted Sucrose she immediately waved her over, the head band that laid on the top of her head flopping like adorable bunny ears. ' You're the new girl working under Mr Albedo, right? ' She held a hand out, which Sucrose awkwardly took, shaking it lightly before pulling away. ' You're going to love it here! ' The brunette exclaimed, the bunny eared shapes on her head sprung up, Sucrose hesitantly giggled, something was wrong and Amber could easily pick that up. ' Is something wrong? ' She questioned, doing a quick glance over the new Alchemist. ' I'm sorry to question you, but do you know any Lawrence girl? ' Sucrose asked, which Amber jumped at the opportunity to answer. 'My best friend? Eula? I know her! ' Amber piped up, Sucrose nervously stared at the ground, she wasn't the best at things like eye contact, especially when asking someone if their best friend was some criminal or something like that. Sucrose was no idiot, she knew about the Lawrence clan, but why rope some innocent girl in with her clan's past. She had no control over the clan's actions. 'I've been hearing some nasty rumors about her. And it bothered me. ' Sucrose mumbled, Amber sighed, trying to hide her frustration. 'Eula is a wonderful person, people just don't understand that. ' This was a sensitive subject to Amber it seemed like, Sucrose was starting to feel guilty for asking, but that curious side of her brain wanted to know more. 'Is she available this afternoon? '

So it was set, Sucrose would be meeting Eula at Good Hunter, Amber as well, for dinner. It wasn't too long till the meeting time, so Sucrose kept her head down and finished what she was told. When she arrived to Good Hunter, she spotted Amber who was accompanied by a taller woman, short light blue hair, a very neat wolf cut with armor that hugged her thighs. Making Sucrose worry for the blood circulation to her legs. Yellow, captivating, eyes and black gloves that tightened around her slim fingers. Sucrose caught herself staring at the woman, only being snatched from her endearment by Amber waving her over. Eula had a tired look, not threatening like Sucrose had heard others describe, she looked straight out of a fairy tail. Like a mix between a beautiful princess but also a strong knight, Sucrose almost stumbled when she sat down next to Eula but caught herself just in time. 'Hello Sucrose! ' Amber cheered, ' This is Eula, my best friend! Oh and Eula I already told you about Sucrose! I have a feeling you'll both get along! ' Eula's tired frown turned into a smile as she looked at Sucrose, 'Hello there. ' She said, Eula's hands were resting on her legs which were crossed, she seemed polite. 'Eula here is really strong! She's saved me a handful of time! And she uses a claymore! ' Amber practically shouted, 'How dare you Eula! ' Eula joked, 'I will get my vengeance. '

The outing overall was fun, Sucrose had made a new friend, Amber seemed to pull people out of their shells. But Amber wasn't who Sucrose was thinking about, it was Eula. It didn't sit straight with her, Eula was so unique, so beautiful, why would anyone hate her? Throughout the following week, she couldn't help but long to gaze into Eula's eyes once again, the thought made her turn a bright shade of pink.

#genshin impact #wlw #rare pair #rarepair #eula genshin impact #eula lawrence #sucrose #eula x sucrose

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kelp-my-beloved · 1 year

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It had been a month since The World And The Fabric Of Reality was saved, with no casualties mind you, and False the Hermit was still thinking about her doppelganger, laying in her bed in the Hermit Empire unable to sleep.

That might have more to do with having Grian snoring in the bed next to hers than any introspection, but it’s not like she could just get up and leave, right?

Some… measurements had been taken since the whole Everybody Almost Died thing. After all, everybody knew that the first rule when dealing with Your Self That Isn’t Really Yourself was get yourself as many worlds away as possible, but since the Rift still refused to work that wasn’t an option. And if you added the fact that they were both apparently very, very prone to murder since they were together, well.

Both sides of the server had decided to give them nannies.

Yeah.

It was more like having a parole officer following you 24/7 than a babysitter, but the hermits and a few emperors had complained about the term.

Neither False did, surprisingly, but understandably their opinion had little weight in that meeting.

Grian was still snoring. False felt the rest of her sanity crumble to dust.

She threw her blankets away with a groan. Unsurprisingly, her bedroom partner did not even stir.

False was going to take her chance, consequences damned. Her hairs were falling from the stress of not having a second alone since they had all almost died, and while she had appreciated the company at the beginning, and loved her friends very much, she can’t do it any longer.

Not when she had a perfect, secret place with a very comfortable bed far, far away from everybody.

Well, almost everybody.

It didn’t matter. She was just leaving for the night, and would be back and around before the sun rose. Before anyone noticed! Nobody had to know.

If it wasn’t so convenient for her, False would feel both worried and offended that none of the Hermits woke up. Not even when she lighted the rocket and took off to Cogsmead.

Her tower was in the same state she had left it so long ago, complete with the Conspiracy Board and all. It had once filled her with pride, how attentive she had been to every single detail, but now she could barely stand to look at it. She had gone a little overboard with it, pun not intended, hadn’t she?

She threw her jacket over it. When she woke up, she would make sure to throw it out, before sneaking back into her room.

Finally, finally, she fell into her white bed, and let the silence lull her to sleep.

A ball of paper was thrown at her face.

‘Open the door, bitch’

False let herself groan once again, until she realized she had made very sure none of the hermits followed her, and there was only one person who couldn’t physically knock the door or fence or window, and was too shy to just shout at her. That revelation made her sit up with the speed of lighting.

“I don’t know if you can get inside without frying up” she warned False. “I… didn’t really put the electric field, and I don’t know how it works”

The Emperor of Cogsmead didn’t seem too worried about that, and her outfit made The Hermit rethink her decision of opening that door. She looked like she was headed to war, a sword in one hand and a charged crossword on the other, and with a full netherine armor that reflected the light with the subtle shine of enchantments. False was reminded of a starving, desperate wolf she had once cornered in a forest, and decided that the air was too tense for her liking. “Hey, False, long time no see,” she tried, with her best attempt at a smile.

Her doppelganger did not seem to fall for it, and instead rose her sword to her chin, mindful not to cross the line between inside and outside her tower. “What are you doing here?”

Right. A perfectly understandable reaction, considering. Everything.

“I’m not here to cause any problems,” she told her, raising her arms. “I just couldn’t sleep over the Hermit’s base, and this was the only place that came to my mind”

The Other False squinted at her, but lowered her sword. She didn’t save it in her inventory, though. “Aren’t you supposed to have someone watching over you?” she asked.

Ah. “I mean, yeah, but Grian was snoring like crazy… Don’t you?” she asked back.

What were you doing at the devil’s sacrament? A voice whispered in her mind, with no explanation. False shook it off.

That startled her, apparently not expecting the question to be thrown back at her. “I didn’t want to wake Pix up,” she muttered under her breath, cheeks and ears heating up.

False The Rifty was about to say something, when the name caught up to her. “Wait, wasn’t Pix-?”

“The guy I murdered? Yeah…” she finished for her, scratching her neck with the hand still holding the loaded crossbow. “Wait, isn’t Grian-?”

“The guy who loves to prank people and thus nobody is able to sleep while near him? Yeah” And that was definitely the reason why she hadn’t been able to close an eye, sure.

Much to her astonishment, False put her crossbow in her inventory. “Well, I can empathize with that” she said, in a tone of voice that let her know that she wasn’t a stranger to paranoia.

Which. Once again, understandable.

“I…” What were you supposed to say to your doppelganger whom you had called evil and spied on for weeks, but that on your defense was killing people and making them forget about it? “How have you been?”

The Cogsmead False took a step back, and then another. Hermit False could see the hand with a sword tremble in what was likely her containing herself from raising it. “We don’t have to do this,” she told her, voice full of suspicion.

False heart broke a little bit. Just a small crack. Because she was kind of responsible for how skittish False was being, wasn’t she? She had been stalking her for a while, gaslighting her into thinking she had built a whole tower without her knowing. Not to mention all the ‘she’s evil’ thing.

She rose her hands to the air. “I’m not planning anything,” she tried to reassure her. “It’s just, it’s been a while, and we started with the left foot. Maybe we can try to be friends?”

“I…” False blinked, lips pressed while thinking. “You really are me, aren’t you?” she murmured, with an uneasy expression in her face.

False’s first instinct was to reply with a sarcastic comment about her observation skills, but she then realized this was their first real interaction since… since Things Went Wrong. And it was the only time they had, given that everybody had made sure after it that they stayed as separated as possible.

Which was probably for a good reason. Everything she knew about doppelgangers told her that they were meant to go crazy, or kill each other, or something along those lines. Stakes weren’t good.

The point was, while the Hermit had known the Emperor for what felt like a lifetime now, the Emperor only knew her for like, a few weeks, and this was the second time she saw her. False understood the curiosity.

“I really am,” she replied. Then, taking a tentative step outside and leaning against the railing in the bridge. “Kind of crazy, isn’t it?” she smiled at her. “We could even swap places and I bet people wouldn’t notice”

While she did this, False watched her with a confused expression, until she finally relaxed and leaned against the railing too, if a few steps away. “Absolutely not. I’m not good with new people”. Or people in general, they both knew she didn’t add.

False wasn’t surprised. “That’s fine. I don’t think your people like me that much, either”

They stayed in silence for a while, until the sound of a door opening and a historian screaming interrupted them. False started to walk towards him, but stopping after a moment, remembering the foreigner in her bridge.

“So, I really need to go,” she told her doppelganger. Then, after a moment, and with a lot of hesitation: “You can stay the night, if you want. And, uh, come back. It’s your tower. But, also, if you want to come by- in secret, of course, uh. I wouldn’t mind seeing you, now and then. I could use your advise in building”. She finished with an anxious smile.

The emperor left before False had a chance to reply.

“Sure,” she told nobody.

#false and false refuse to interact in cannon so im going to force them #false and false and a lack of sleep #<- if i do a continuation of this im using that tag btw #falsesymmetry #empires smp #empires 2 #hermpires #empirescraft #empires x hermitcraft #empires fic

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bumblebeerror · 2 years

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Be as mad as you want at C!Techno for killing C!Tubbo at the festival, but I want you to consider a few things.

Techno is one of the newest members of the server, doesn’t know many people, and has chosen to trust basically only Wilbur whether for good or ill

Wilbur actively and openly distrusts Tubbo

Techno has no real connection to why that is, or why Tommy and Tubbo are so close, and frankly he has no reason to be seeing as Wilbur seems to be the only one who informs him on their plans in any capacity

Techno is chronically uninformed the entire time he’s with Pogtopia. He’s not even told that the festival will be blown up. Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo all know. The only other person on his side who doesn’t know is Niki.

Pogtopia arc Techno is the pvp equivalent to a stray fucking cat, in that he has no idea what anyone else has and repeatedly runs away from people with more gear than him even in one on one battles. It’s not a stretch to understand why it may be daunting to take on the entire server while his allies watch and refuse to help him

Techno hesitates, stalls, and we see him glance up at Wilbur at least once, looking for an order. Techno is being used in more ways than one, and he’s definitely being used as a weapon by BOTH Schlatt and Wilbur.

Even if we don’t know how many lives Techno has, we know that Tubbo still has more than one. It makes sense that a Techno with one life would choose to kill Tubbo to escape this situation where his life is clearly threatened. Especially because, as he reminds everyone, he’s not a hero. It’s callous, it’s calculated, and it’s a slap to the face. But it’s also (Minecraft roleplay) war.

Techno isn’t a tank PVPr, if you’ve ever watched him fight. Hell, in doomsday he took on the whole server and what was, dare I ask, his main advantages? A massive wolf army that made it difficult for anyone to touch him? Ranged weapons? Pearls? Speed and strength pots? Invisibility pots? Tricks and fighting dirty? Slow fall potions and trident flight? Man fights by being fast and manuverable and taking advantage of confusion. Tubbo had zero armor, no weapons, no pearls. In a 1v15, they’d both be dead as fuck because techno couldn’t just fight in that situation, he’d have to stay in one place and defend from all sides. That’s impossible. It’s why he waits to see if Wilbur will help him - at least they’ve got bows and armor, it might have been possible. It’s what I mean when I say Wilbur is using him as a weapon here, too.

I mean sure, he won when he accidentally started that fight. But did you pay attention to how? Because it wasn’t that he just sat there - he sprayed the crowd a few times, and then he fucking dipped. Not something he could have safely done with Tubbo in tow without any help.

Peer pressure and being caught in the moment are a hell of a drug. Think about Schlatt’s death - Schlatt was a democratically elected president who opened up the borders and helped to create a more diverse populous in L’Manberg, despite his more dictatorous actions. Not to defend him, but seeing as Dream is somehow alive despite torturing Tommy and doing fucked up shit all round, I think it’s not unreasonable to say that Schlatt probably didn’t really deserve to die over being imprisoned or simply deposed. But the hype probably still had you on board with it, right?

Techno makes it clear as crystal that he’s a mercenary, he wants to help, but he’s not there to die for their cause; only to farm massive amounts of resources and outfit them all to the best of his abilities. He’s loyal to them, enough to save them more than once, but he’s not there to lay down his life for Wilbur.

He also made it clear that he’s *not a good guy*. He tells us flat out that he’s not totally on board with what Wilbur’s doing, and that his only true loyalty at the time is anarchy.

I’m not saying killing Tubbo wasn’t a bad thing, but honestly, if it was you, and you had only one life, would you have fought that impossible battle on purpose?

#dsmp analysis #the red festival #technoblade

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the-nysh · 8 months

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if you had to pick a general aesthetic for Garou if he had kept going down the route of evolution his spiral form had begun (or i suppose in the same vain, for his true strength whenever he reaches some kind of self actualisation), what would you wanna go for?

The whole white-black/yin-yang balanced duality theme was honestly quite inspired (though criminally short-lived) from a design standpoint--right down to his clothes, and reflected his strengths in martial arts as well. Of course, anything also referencing his wolf theme is also fun, so a big yes to him keeping his sharper teef too~

But really, what matters most (to me) is that he's still genuinely Himself--embracing his own strengths, his own agency, his own choices--representing the authentic Him. (Not masking, armoring, or repressing his real self while trying too hard to perform and/or become someone he's not, and definitely not when it ceases being him entirely so you probably already understand which 'form' I did not approve of conceptually, once it stopped being Him; complete faceless destruction of the self.) So any growth that can naturally and faithfully encompass that, I'm game for. :'3

But this I feel is where his post-arc comes into play, towards the more honest route he chooses next. Where he figures out how best to come into his own, almost starting over again more (self)constructively this time from a reverted state. So whether he chooses to still closely take after Bang (like a son/successor)--from his xeroxed clothes to his (short?) hairstyle, or expresses more individuality cause lol manga Garou's 'wolf ear' hair appears be to a permanent identifying feature :P even down to distinguishing/perfecting his own fighting style the next time we see him, remains to be seen. But I DO like that his post-arc self kept the facial scar~ So I'm glad Murata kept that visual change!

#opm #garou #smolamipastrami #replies #(oh odd this post got blocked)#so yay on Balance and authenticity on reflecting his own skills/strengths #bonus aesthetic yay on his wolf teef and scar~#(but no thanks on the wchorns and big nay on the cosmic god stuff! but you understand why :'D)#anyway i'm eager to see how much truer to himself he becomes next time

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slumberingcorpse · 1 year

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The Wolf and The Fox

Part 2 “Life”

Summary: When his father comes home with a strange man it becomes apparent that young Lambert has no choice but to leave with the cat-eyed stranger.

“No! I’m not going!” The red haired boy shouts pulling away from his father’s grasp.

His father’s eyes shoot daggers at him before violently yanking the boy’s red locks, “When did I ask for your opinion? Do as your fucking told!” he yells.

The boy cries out in pain feeling his father’s grip tighten. His heart was pounding and his body ached but he wasn’t going to give in, “I won’t go! I don’t care what you say! You can’t make me!” he shouts back refusing to the tears in his eyes fall.

His father has enough and lifts his hand. The boy already prepares himself for the impact. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, but nothing happens.

“What are you-” he hears his father start to shout.

“Let me talk to him. Alone.” he hears his mother respond.

With that, his father lets go of him and walk out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The boy couldn’t help but flinch at the sound before finally opening his eyes.

His mother forced a small smile as she leaned down to his height. Her cheeks were rosy and freckled, her nose was runny, and her eyes, they were full of tears. Gently, she takes both of his hands and squeezes them.

“I know it’s hard, Lambert. But you have to go with him.”

“Why!? I don’t know him! I want to stay here! Why do you and father want to get rid of me so much!?” Lambert shouts unable to hold back his tears any longer.

His mother frowns and gently cups his cheeks wiping his tears away, “Because he saved your father, my heart. We can’t pay him with crowns-”

“So you’re selling me instead!? Like some cattle!? That doesn’t make sense!”

“Honey, not everything in life makes sense.”

“Why not Marek? He’s the oldest! Why am I the one that has to go?”

“Lambert it doesn’t work like that-”

“Then how does it work!? It’s not fair!”

“LIFE ISN’T FAIR, LAMBERT!” She snaps quickly causing the young boy to flinch. She sighs and caresses his freckled cheeks.

“P-please...I promise I’ll be good...I’ll h-help more around the house...I’ll stop getting into fights...I promise...p-please...mom...don’t make me go... I’ll be better...please...” Lambert begs leaning into his mother’s touch as tears freely run down his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, dear but you have to go.” She replies trying her best to hold back her own tears with little success.

Defeated, the young boy finally exits his home, coming face to face with his new guardian. He was like no other man he’s ever seen before. He was dressed in leather armor and had two swords strapped to his back. Around his neck, hung a medallion shaped like a snarling wolf with glowing red eyes. Unlike those piercing cat-like eyes, the man had.

Lambert thought about running, at least that would be his own choice, but then again, where would he go? His parents made it clear. He had no home anymore.

The armored man’s steps were silent as he made his way toward him. Slowly, the man kneeled down and gently smiled, or at least tried to. Lambert couldn’t help but notice the man’s terrifying fangs. He wondered if the man was a vampire.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Vesemir. I’m a witcher.” the man suddenly says. His voice was stern, rough, and yet warm.

“Y-you’re the man who’s going to take me away...”

Vesemir sighs and nods, “I am, but if there’s one thing I can promise you is that I’ll do everything I can to protect you. I understand how you feel, I too was taken away from my family at around your age. I’m not going to lie, it was hard, but I survived and if the gods will it, you will too.”

Lambert stays silent for a moment before turning back to his home. From the window, he can see his mother and father arguing while his older brother covered his ears trying to muffle all the noise.

He tried his best to memorize each of their faces, after all, it was the last time he would ever see them...

<- Previous Part. Next Part ->

Tags: @wrongdodo

#witcher fandom #witcher fanfiction #the witcher #witcher eskel #witcher vesemir #part 2 #kear morons #papa vesemir

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kittyspotatoes · 2 years

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<insert day> Snippet (bc i forgot!!!!) thx for the tag @cwahsont !!

Tagging @illumiera @sanguinettii @mamma-dragon dhwjfj and whoever else wants pls its really fun!! I dont have anything so i'll just drop this thing rotting for days now

Note

Nebarra respects her persistence, but he'll never admit it.

An exhausted groan escapes upon the animal's fall. He could hear the pitter-patter of the storm louder than the wolf's snarling, in fact, it's the only thing he hears with the heavy droplets drumming on his helmet; an expensive piece bearing the glorious and intricate design of the Aldmeri eagle—not so glorious under this weather now. This disadvantage would not yield him any consequences, however, as he steps inside the cave just in time to see the rest of the pack annihilated with a well placed lightning rune. Lifting his feet through mud and leaves, Nebarra sludges with great annoyance to check on the foolish bosmer that hired him.

With a hair that begrudgingly reminds him of Auridon's blossoms, it doesn't take much to spot her; noisy little creature that she is. "This is the fourth cave we've gone back to. Either you're desperate or you don't know where you're going." In which case, he also doesn't know where he's going. His job is to look out for her, carry some things, stay out of trouble; navigation and destination was hers—what in Auri-el's name is she doing anyway? Nebarra can't help but turn his helmet in her direction and wonder what the great and mighty artificer is digging around dirt for. "Hey thunderbug, it's already raining." He flatly delivers in vain, scoffing shortly after when he's left with no response.

"I got it!" A gleeful shout suddenly pipes out of her, simulating the sounds of a whole dish cabinet jogging towards him at the entrance with that bag of wine they stole and all sorts of tinkering tools around her waist. "I got it." She grins, her absurdly big, round, and cumbersome goggles shielding the upper half of her face from the rain. In her grasp is a dirt-stained slightly damp paper; some important notes for another one of her tinkering projects maybe.

"I'm standing here, my under armor soaked, boots muddied beyond recognition, hours away from the comforts of a warm and cozy inn, and I find out it's all for a stupid paper." He's going to kill her, Auri-el forgive him, he's going to wrap his hands around her neck right now—

"It's not stupid." She extends it with casual confidence, the grin fading into a small smile as she lifts the goggles with her free hand to look at him. "You were trying to write it again, right?" She tells him in an understanding tone he's never heard from her before.

Nebarra knows what she meant, what that paper was, its contents—or lack thereof. He was already unfolding it before he can even refuse. And so he stares at it. And stares some more. Seeing what-ifs and images of the past instead of letters and words for…

It doesn't matter.

"Well?" The artificer dusts off her garb, brandishing a proud look from achieving her good deeds for the day.

"Well, you're a lot stupider than you let on." Nebarra crumples the parchment and throws it out on the rain—

—which his companion rushes after like the salvation of mortalkind depended on it. "Nooo, don't throw it away!" She scrambles in search of the item.

He grabs her by the bag and pulls her up. "Enough. We've wasted enough time."

"I would've liked people to know—" She argued. "If there's anyone left that knew me before, I would've liked that they got closure."

She's never pushed this much before, it's both upsetting and surprising for the already annoyed high elf. Once again, she hands out the crumpled thing, shielding it the best she can, and in the period they're traveling together, it never occured to Nebarra how there's actually some fight sparkling in those mint green eyes of hers.

He takes the parchment, and in one exasperated sigh, tears it apart, for good this time. If she's learned anything at all since they met, then she would understand by now, there's no way he's admitting it.

"Not today." He shakes his head, both in triumph and delight over the protests that followed, feeling a little thankful of the noisy rain saving him from her prattling. Nebarra brings a hand atop her head, dragging the goggles down to get her attention. "Want to take a break and hide someplace dry?" And as soon as he finishes, hers was a face of utter shock and disbelief, even under the strange headgear, as if she just heard him speak in an entirely different language. He thinks she's mouthing "What" but who cares—not him, that's for sure—until the initial confoundment turns into a wide mischievous grin spelling trouble for him. Nebarra's already used to this, might as well snatch her bag since he needs something to pass the time—

"Aww Nebs—"

"It's the wine. Shut up weirdo."

Oh she knows he'll never admit it.

#my writing #nebarra skyrim #oc: caelin #but she's not named there shakdbdhe nvm im zzzz #GDI I CANT BELIEVE I'VE DONE THIS SMHHH #what will mr sheep say 😔😔😔#yea yea i'll post it in ao3 when i get on pc.... maybe... oh god...#skyrim

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alynnl · 1 year

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actually I want to know your thoughts on Legend of Dragoon too. And throw in Legend of Legaia while you're at it!

Oh my. It's been ages since I originally played either one but I'll answer to the best of my ability.

For Legend of Dragoon -

Favorite thing about that game: The dragoon spirits and their different abilities. Each one had different uses in battle and then there was the elemental rock, paper, scissors that led a player to target weaknesses, which is a JRPG staple. Also I thought the dragoon armor designs were cool.

Least favorite thing about that game: I guess it's the fact that I saw the whole deal with Shana coming from a mile away. I recognize both the childhood friend romance and the "person being key to a world ending event" tropes being key parts of storytelling in its time but I don't know. The whole "People as objects" (it's almost always female characters!) - puts me off.

Favorite character in that game: Albert, my man! I will admit to my younger self (14-15 years old) having a crush on him, but all in all he's just a decent person. He wants to be a good king and help others, and he's willing to pick up a lance and do the fighting himself if that's what it takes. Also I liked his bromance with Lavitz quite a lot.

Would I recommend it? Why? I don't know if I could recommend it now. The actual hardware to play it would be hard to come by, and I think a lot of the writing and the mistranslation would date this game quite a bit. But it does remain a fond memory of its time.

Free space to go off about something! Can Legend of Dragoon get a remaster? A remake? Something to bring it into the 2020s? I feel like it's becoming a bit of lost media at this point and it's kind of a shame! I'd like to experience it again with fresh eyes and a new perspective as an adult, but at the moment it's not possible!

Rating out of 10: 6/10. I don't remember hating it at the very least. Some of the characters and plot points were enjoyable but others I could take or leave. It's a mixed bag, but I still think this game is worth something because I do remember it well over two decades later!

For Legend of Legaia -

Favorite thing about that game: I liked the combos that you put in. It's similar to a fighting game (but you're not putting in the Konami code!) It was interesting finding out the different moves you could use, and even better when you added the Seru into the mix. Gameplay wise Legaia was very fun.

Least favorite thing about that game: Some of the battles are tough, especially in early game. You really have to be on your toes all the time if you want to win. This was a game in the era where they did not hold your hand, and it shows.

Favorite character in that game: Noa. I love her first meeting and then finding out her origin story later. And I also like her fighting spirit. She might have a simple understanding of the world because she was literally raised by a wolf/Seru, but she does come to know what love is and she wants to fight for it! I respect her writing for that.

Would I recommend it? Why? For the same reason as Dragoon, I can't recommend it solely because it's so hard to find now! But if money and hardware were no object, I would say go for it? The world building is solid, the storytelling simple but enjoyable and the music is quite nice.

Free space to go off about something! Same as Dragoon above but... can we somehow bring this game to modern hardware? I think that it would be a good addition to other classic JRPG collections that are included on consoles like the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 4. I know I would definitely play it again if I had the chance.

Rating out of 10: 7/10! Cool world building, nice imagery, and gameplay that shakes up the JRPG formula. I also like the fact there's only three main playable characters, since it gives each of them more than enough screentime and development. (Even silent protagonist Vaan is enjoyable!)

#replied #send a game ask #Legend of Dragoon #Legend of Legaia #90s era RPGs

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ainarosewood · 2 years

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@sea-wolf-coast-to-coast

FFxivWrite 2022 Day 24 Prompt Vicissitude

Below cut due to length and Spoilers for the Shb Role Quests

Cyella could tell something was definitely wrong ere the Warrior of Darkness managed to reach her and ask a word in private. The Paladin had not looked this wain since she had the Light raging through her aether.

Swiftly the elf finished her rounds with the customers and met the Elezen as she requested at her quarters in the Pendants.

She knocked on the door and shortly after Sallee opened it her leaf green eyes bright with what was overtly a fever.

As the door closed behind Cyella the other woman asked softly, "How long after a bite does it take for an elf to become a warg?"

Cyella's pale blue eyes widened and she asked sharply," When did it happen?"

"This morning when Alphi, Ali and I were exploring Laxen Loft for the guard. It got a tooth through the underpinning of my vambrace. Ever since I've been feeling worse."

The elf nodded, "To be expected and since Elves and Elezen are so alike it seems to be affecting the same…" swiftly she did some mental calculations then swore, "It will happen tonight, there's a full moon."

Shivering from the fever Sallee asked,"So what do I need to do?"

"We need to get somewhere isolated with no one around. I believe I can guide you through the transformation to retain your mind since well I myself was able to but…I don't know if I will have the ability to restrain you should there be a need…I was not exaggerating when I said I no longer had the strength to wield my blade and armor…"

"You might not but G'raha…sorry the Exarch, would. He has a spell that can stop a person in their tracks…"

Cyella was filled with anxiety at that suggestion; she well knew how violent the transformation could make someone But, she couldn't think of another recourse. “Very well let us go to him that is if you can manage,”

Sallee nodded, “I can,” She then took a breath and did her best not to look as worn and ill as she was. Cyella prayed silently that no one thought to waylay them. Elezen and Elves seemed to be similar enough that the change shouldn’t take her before the moonrise but the elf couldn’t be certain.

Together they made their way to the Dossal Gate and Sallee informed the guard they had urgent business with the Exarch. The man let them through with nary a word overtly curious as to what the pair would need but trained enough not to ask. They made their way swiftly up to the Oculus and found the Exarch waiting for them.

“What is wrong,” he asked, concern etched across his face and together the pair explained the situation.

His crimson eyes widened and he asked, “Are you sure this will affect Elezen the same?” turning toward Cyelle.

The Elf nodded, “So far all the signs are the same. And with the moon rising full this evening, the shift will be upon her then.”

The Exarch nodded in understanding, “Here then, I think, would be best I can seal the Tower and no one would dare challenge that much less get through it. That way it would be just you and I in any sort of danger.”

Sallee nodded and then fell to her knees choking back a cry. Instantly the Miqo’te was at her side and she pushed herself up taking several breaths and trying to give him a reassuring smile, then it faded and her eyes widened, “Raha, this may be more complicated than normal for an Elf.”

The Miqo’te cocked his head confused and asked, “Why?”

“Recall I am Ishgardain born…”

Jerking in response to that he exclaimed, "By Thaliak! Do you think that…"

Sallee nodded grimly," From what I've heard a similar sort of change…" she then turned to Cyella, "You used your blood as a catalyst for the first ones…yes?

The elf nodded confused, "Aye..what does that have to do with anything?"

G'raha's crimson eyes filled with sorrow as he explained, "A thousand years ago on the Source, at least by its reckoning Thordain and his knights twelve, the then leaders of Ishgard betrayed, murdered and then consumed the eyes of a dragon of the First Brood Ratoskr. The short of it is any Ishgardian that takes so much as a sip of dragon's blood can transform into a dragon."

Cyella's eyes widened in shock, her own people's history echoing in her mind as a similar tale but with wolves instead of dragons. "More similar than you think. On the Thirteenth shard I could tale you a similar tale of betrayal by Elves and an intelligent race of wolves…your concerned both could happen."

The Elezen nodded then looked at G'raha, "Be ready you of all people here know how to deal with a dragon considering Allags history with them."

The Miqo’te nodded stating, "it shouldn't change how the spell works but I will be prepared."

With that he went into the hallway and informed the guard there to send Lyna to him. Within moments the Viis appeared and he stated, “Have the guard and any of the citizens within the Crystarium evacuate the Crystal Tower. I will need to seal it this evening for something and I do not wish for any to be caught within.”

“Is aught amiss my lord?” the Viis asked sharply looking between the trio where they stood her keen eyes overtly not missing the condition Sallee was in.

“Naught that is not easily handled by what I have within Lyna, worry not. Tis simply a precaution to deal with a situation that the Tower environs themselves are best suited to.”

Giving him a dubious look she simply saluted and stated, “As you will my lord, we will have the Tower clear shortly.”

With that she turned heel and made her way out of the Oculus calling to the guards outside as she went. True to her word, within less than a few candle marks the entirety of the tower was cleared. As soon as G’raha verified that the trio was indeed alone He went into the Umbilicus and activated the terminal. Within moments there was a brief rumbling and Sallee knew that meant the tower doors were closing.

After that they made their way to one of the large platforms of the tower there G’raha swiftly gathered a few things to make a makeshift bed for it was clear to him that Sallee was reaching the end of being able to be on her feet as the pain wracked her body.

Once the bed was made he had her lay down to wait. They tried to have light conversations in an attempt to distract the Elezen from her pain when she was actually awake. The times she wasn’t Cyella reassured the Miqo’te that this was normal for the progression of the shift.

Several uneasy hours passed and finally as the sun began to set Cyella shook awake the Elezen.

The other woman snarled in rage at her but the elf caught her gaze stating firmly, "The main thing you need to do is focus, Sallee keep foremost in your mind who you are what you care about or you will turn into a ravenous beast."

The Elezen took several breaths and nodded painfully, moving to a more open spot. A few more hours passed then Sallee who had been sitting trying to stay calm tensed and let out a blood curdling shriek.

“It's happening,” Cyella said, her body tense with worry and she repeated from earlier, “Remember hold on to who you are Sallee. That is the best thing I can do for you at the moment is remind you of that.”

The other woman nodded grimly before curling over herself crying out again in pain. Shadows seemed to envelope her and both Cyella and G’raha could hear the sickening pops and snaps of bones altering their form.

When the shadows cleared neither G’raha or Cyella were prepared for the form before them. Its head was wolf-like with scales covering the top of the snout from nose tip to mid forehead. A pair of graceful horns swept back between the wolf-like ears. Ceylla had expected a bipedal wolf but instead of forearms the Elezen had a pair of leather wings that she was flapping, sending violent bursts of air toward both the Elf and the Exarch. The rest of the body was very wolf-like with a thick tail that like the snout had scales from base to tip across the top.

A blend of a howl and roar rang out from the newly shifted Elezen and suddenly G’raha’s voice rang out, “Break”

Suddenly swirls of pale colors surrounded the Elezen’s feet and she whirled towards him growling. He stood his ground stating, “Come back to us Sallee I know you're in there! Please dear friend,”

A full actual roar rang from her throat and she strained against the restraint he had placed around her. Alarms sounded within the Tower and she growled, laying her ears flat and looking for the source.

“He's right Sallee, remember who you are, or the beast is all you will be!” Cyella snapped.

G’raha then began speaking again, talking about the woman reminding her of all the things she had done and stood for. Cyella was amazed and listened with interest as he spoke to the woman of her deeds. What she had told him was her wants, desires.

Still annoyed at the restraints and alarms she did not heed him at first and began straining his spell. Worry etched his features and he said, “This won’t hold much longer…”

No sooner stated and the spell shattered causing the Miqo’te to fall to his knees from the rebound of it. The changed Elezen began charging straight for him and Cyella shouted, “No!”

Suddenly shadows surrounded her and she felt a surge of her old powers grabbing onto that she used the shadows to reach out and ensnare the other woman preventing her from continuing her charge.

Shock filled the Elf for she had thought this power long lost to her since her defeat at Ardbert’s hands. But it seemed some of the man’s influence and insistence to do the right thing always rubbed off on her.

At first the warped Elezen roared and strained at the shadows. G'raha, seeing she would not be able to finish her lunge, once again spoke to her reminding her of who she was. Slowly the restrained beast stopped struggling and began to listen to the Miqo’te’s words. After a few moments her eyes went from feral rage to what seemed like an intelligence behind them and a gravelly version of the Elezen’s voice came from the beast's maw.

“Thank you, both of you…Cyella I think I am good now. Sorry for losing control at first.” it stated

The Elf nodded and slowly called the shadows back, watching closely in case it was a trick but the warped elezen simply dropped forward onto the “hands” of the wings and looked toward her.

Satisfied that the woman would not lunge again she stated, “To be honest I wasn’t expecting to be of much use had you lost control….”

Sallee dropped the jaw in amusement, “I knew you had it in you. Even if you were intending to use them you were still friends with Ardbert and the others despite your best intentions. You were a hero of the Thirteenth before its fall. Such things are not easily lost.”

Cyella turned away annoyed. They may have been different people but this woman was all but the spitting image of Ardbert in attitude and it was slightly infuriating even if it was also endearing.

The Exarch gave a smile at that then sobered asking, “Will she be able to return to her Elezen form? I think even with the moniker of Warrior of Darkness or Light people might struggle to accept her as their hero like uh this…”

Cyella nodded, grateful that the Miqo’te chose to change the subject, “Aye once the sun rises since she has her senses she can choose to return to her Elezen form.”

Looking at the woman she stated, “All you will have to do is think about what you looked like and the shift will revert. Now understand this until you master it. strong emotions can cause the change to occur.”

The Elezen nodded settling down and stating, “Then please share with me how to control it,”

For the rest of the night Cyella explained to her the nuances of how to be able to control the shift at will.

#FFxivWrite2022 #oc Sallee Reinard #elezen #wildwood #aether data center #midgardsormr #sentinal elf

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kootiepatra · 2 years

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#FFxivWrite2022 - Day 28 Prompt: "Vainglory"

One character immediately sprang to mind at this prompt, and I already had a gpose all ready to go for it.

=====================

I cannot believe I am hearing this, Keimwyda thought to herself, her bow drawn at the ready.

The man in red armor was ranting, pacing, and yelling—not at her, but at the party on the other end of her linkpearl. He was going on at great length about, of all things, his childhood rivalry with Cid.

Keimwyda considered herself a very empathetic person. She was always slow to judge. She would not begrudge anyone those stabs of envy, those feelings of being overlooked, that gnawing ache of being passed over for someone else, especially someone whom you believed to be unfairly favored from birth. She could fully comprehend why there might be some bad blood between this—Nero, was it?—and Cid.

…but there was a world-ending weapon in his basement, and his castrum was actively under attack. A whole party of adventurers encircled him, their weapons drawn. This hardly seemed like the time.

Maybe we should just… go? Can we go? she was thinking to herself, when a large, clunky hammer of magitek design dropped out of the ceiling, shaking the room as it hit the floor. Nero took it up to wield it.

Well then.

The fight was one against four. It was hardly surprising how it ended. Though, to his credit, Nero held out longer than one might have guessed, and he exited with the same overwrought drama he had displayed on her party’s arrival.

Well… that happened, she thought in a daze. What a character. And what a time to be obsessed with the indignity of being almost the best engineer in Garlemald. She dismissed him from her mind as she pressed on towards her objective. There were far more important matters at hand.

…

The dust of the battle at the Praetorium had settled. Some time had passed. Enough time, in fact, for the defeat of the Black Wolf to no longer be at the forefront of the local gossip. Keimwyda enjoyed the blessed relief from public attention, running odd errands for the Scions here and there around Revenant’s Toll.

She did not expect to be accosted by a man dressed like… well, this.

She was slowly getting used to being recognized by strangers, though she still found it somewhat unsettling. Especially when the stranger was this strange. Even more so when he seemed to know so much about her---and not only her, but the operations taking place at St. Coinach’s Find.

She did not recognize him. Admittedly, between the mask and the ostentatious getup, there wasn’t much to recognize. Yet something about him nagged at her as upsettingly familiar. She did not trust him for anything, but at the very least, she figured the scholars at St. Coinach’s would want to know something was afoot.

It would not be until later, when he sauntered up to the camp, face unmasked, lips curled in a smug grin, with Cid crying out his name in alarmed outrage, that she would understand why she felt like she knew him.

Twelve preserve, what is WRONG with this man?

If she was already floored by his audacity to show his face at the camp, she was doubly so by the fact that he was actually allowed to stay.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked Cid, when she could grab him for a moment alone.

With shoulders slumped and teeth clenched, he replied, “No. I am not.”

“I do not trust him.”

“As well you shouldn't.”

“Can we be sure that he won’t put a knife in our backs at the first opportunity?”

He sighed. “Not at all. But, fortunately—unfortunately?—oh blast it all—I do think that means his loyalty is only to himself, and we need not fear him turning back to Garlemald. And, much as it pains me to say, he is proving somewhat useful.”

Moons later, Keimwyda felt she could have been knocked over with a feather when Jessie actually hired the man. Poor Cid. Poor everyone who would have to cross paths with Nero’s preening swagger. She often wondered if the talent was worth the man it was attached to. She felt a little guilty for wondering it.

But only a little.

Eventually, she came to terms with expecting to see him whenever the Ironworks were summoned for a matter of great import. Further still, after learning the plans of the Crystal Exarch, and the men upon whose research he built, she even gave up on wishing that Jessie would be forced somehow to dismiss Nero from the company.

But every time the Ironworks were called to the Scions’ aid, she found herself holding her breath ever so slightly. Perhaps he had other business to attend to. Perhaps he might consider this outing somehow beneath his notice. Perhaps he had managed to achieve a modicum of humility…? Nay. No matter how given to hope she was, even she had her limits on what she could believe.

Yet if there was one thing Keimwyda excelled at, it was holding her peace. She learned to steel herself to keep quiet at the way he crowed over Garlond at every possible opportunity. She learned to expect his starry-eyed envisioning of his own name in the history books. Despite her feelings towards the man, she was still a peacemaker, and she labored to keep things focused and calm when he and Cid took to verbally sniping at one another.

The Warrior of Light could be civil and get along with him if she must.

But, Twelve help her, he did not make it easy.

#FFxivWrite2022 #FFxivWrite #ffxiv #nero tol scaeva #my writing #cid garlond #endwalker spoilers #shadowbringers spoilers #There are a good handful of people my WoL dislikes more than Nero #But maybe none who she finds more gosh-darn IRRITATING

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serpent-sariah · 1 year

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Shadow of A Doubt

Loud thunder clashes the night sky, lit up by mounds of snow, shining as a flash of lightning flew by. The area around them froze with snow, a mournful fog looms over them, setting a dramatic scene.

Through another clap of thunder, a mournful blast of the return horn by Bjorn's lips, the call carrying through the settlement of Ravensthorpe.

Their best shieldmaiden is carried in the steely arms of Orm Stórolfsson, her head nearly hanging limp off the side, her body is broken, bruises and cuts litter her face, her skin almost paler than the snow. She is in a simple roughskin tunic and trousers, bandages wrapped along her arms. Her armor being sent off to Gunnar by Freydis.

Orm is flanked by Sigurd, Vili, Brondolf, and Ivor, closely followed by Bjorn, Yrsa, and Bragi.

It is not the trudging of boots on hard, stiff snow that gets the acolyte's attention. It's the mournful blast of the horn by Bjorn, closely followed by rushing voices, something about getting someone in the longhouse as quickly as possible. That caused his heart to drop, his pencil actually clattering to the floor, and the sharp stabbing pain of a dagger to the heart, what should've been excitement turned to horror, watching the men haul the unconscious body up to the longhouse.

"Ya alhi," the words escape his throat before he could think, catching up to the group, his own breath catching. His eyes fixated on the limp body in Orm's arms. "What has occurred?"

"It pains me to say," tears hang in Sigurd's eyes, as if he blames himself, "Basim did this."

The acolyte nearly freezes in place. "Basim? Oh dear Heavens. I do not understand. He loved you. He loved Eivor!"

"I do not understand it myself. The man was raving mad, Hytham. Like a rabid wolf. We cannot speak of this as of now. Eivor has need of us now."

Hytham’s heart lurches, watching as Orm places the unconscious war hero on her bed of straw, eyes closed and breathing labored. If it not for the ragged rise and fall of her chest, he would've thought her dead, skin pale, eyes sunken in, noting the blood loss she endured, a cut out whole in her roughskin tunic where the inflamed injury was, the cloth soaked through with dried blood.

"So, did you find what you were looking for?" the advisor asks, pulling Hytham out of his thoughts at her appearance.

Sigurd's head hung. "We did, but it was not for us."

"And the marks on her back and neck?" She notices as Yrsa and Valka look her over.

The question causes Sigurd to rub the back of his neck. "A failure going unnoticed trying to find what we were looking for. I know I have these myself, but truth be told, I think she's one of the Immortals now, despite her grievous injuries."

The comment makes Hytham gulp and Randvi cocks an eyebrow, looking at him curiously. The two know Sigurd is one because of Fulke, and the acolyte caused of Kjotve.

It takes Hytham a couple of minutes to ask the question, fearing the worst. "Did she--did she die?" The words felt like dust on his tongue, causing him to swallow.

Their Jarl hangs his head. "She did... for a time. When she returned to the land of the living, she mentioned that her father, Varin, said something about immortality."

The acolyte sinks to the wooden floor, his knees pressed against his chest.

"You are not happy she is immortal like you?" Randvi asks. "It means you can be with her for a millennia or longer. Something I wouldn't mind being a part of now that Sigurd is one."

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves, dear wife," Sigurd presses a kiss to her cheek. "It would be a heavy burden to carry."

"No, I know. It's not that," Hytham shakes his head. "I am happy to spend all that time with her, I am just..." his heart aches as if a thousand needles were lodged into it, weighing it down into the pit of his stomach. "I am just trying to process everything... as well as Basim's betrayal."

Before the other two could respond, Yrsa and Freydis made their stride over to the three of them. When the girls had first seen their childhood friend's condition, they were frozen in place, eyes big and wide before Yrsa made the first move of helping Sigurd get Eivor in the longship.

Hytham is quick to his feet. "How is she?"

"We've done everything we can, we just have to be patient," Yrsa gives his shoulder a comforting pat. "She will wake up. We are just not sure when."

It didn't make him feel better, honestly, his shoulders slumping and she notices.

Yrsa gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "As long as I have known her from the Bear Clan, she is made of strong stock. She will pull through this, and she will wake up. I promise you."

However, he can't speak, tears welling in his eyes. The whole village was affected, but it hit him the hardest, as if his heart was pulled from his chest and ripped to pieces. Maybe it was his persistent injury. Maybe it was more than that. He hasn't even told her how he really feels, and it almost feels like it's too late. All he could do was give her a simple nod, Saphira coming to nuzzle the palm of his hand with her nose.

When he is able to speak, he swallows back a sob. "What- What injuries did she endure?"

Yrsa gulps. "As you noticed, a severe stomach wound, bruised ribs, and Valka noticed a pulled muscle where the wolf scar is."

"The neck was surely caused when Basim pinned her down, about finding something that wasn't there," Sigurd states.

"You were in the fray?" Randvi places a concerned hand on his shoulder.

"No, I heard the commotion. Basim was not in his right mind, if he ever was," his face becomes stone-cold.

"Sigurd, what are you thinking?" Randvi fears her husband's answer, pulling his arm closer to her and rubbing it. "What's on your mind?"

"She wouldn't be in this position if..." his touch turns cold, as well as his heart, as he draws in a sharp breath. "I failed her... I should've..."

"Sigurd, honey," Randvi cups his cheeks, catching a few tears on her hands. "You have not failed your sister. She's here because of you. She's going to survive because of you."

"We do not know that," he persists. "Her wounds are grave. We could lose her again."

"But I thought you said she is now one of the Immortals," the acolyte looks up at him.

The jarl blinks, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Right. Forgive me. It has been a long journey. I need to step out for a moment." He walks past him.

"'A long journey', my butt," Vili sneers, stopping him in his tracks. He points an accusatory finger at Sigurd, who rose his head, a look of surprise on his face. Vili grabs him by the collar of his vest, throwing him to the ground in the longhouse, and hitting him with the back of his cloak. "You... complete... dip-stick, Sigurd Styrbjornsson! That's my best friend in there! The same one you allowed to get maimed because of your vision quest!" It was still obvious he had feelings for the shieldmaiden, and wasn't doing him any favors with his outburst.

"It is not as black and white as it sounds," Sigurd tries to explain, watching the rest of Eivor's crew pull back the raging vikingr.

"'Not as black and white as it sounds'?" He repeats. "You left us stranded for five days, not knowing if you were alive or not. You show up out of the blue with Eivor on her deathbed over your shoulder. If it wasn't for Yrsa when she awoke, she would've been completely gone. If it wasn't for Orm, we wouldn't have stopped to make camp or get her a healer in Fornburg on our way back here. What a sorry excuse for a brother AND a leader."

"She protected me from Basim's sword," Sigurd tries to defend himself, noting the surprise on Hytham's fave and the stiffness in his posture. The surprise turned into a disappointed scowl.

"That doesn't make up for you leading her to what was a death trap," Vili throws his arms into the air.

"I had no idea Basim was following us," Sigurd presses. "Knew nothing of the treacherous snake's ambitions."

"Sigurd, I had high hopes that you would bring her back with no harm," Hytham clasps his hands behind his back, but he could feel the blood boiling, and resisted the urge to attack him. "You have broken my trust in both. If she does not recover from this, I will never forgive you for as along as I breathe. I was planning on asking her hand in marriage, but you may have stripped me of that."

"Out! All of you!" Randvi raises her voice to be heard. "Valka and Yrsa need no interruptions while addressing Eivor's wounds, and you are not helping."

The raiders holding back Vili complied to Randvi's wishes, but as Ivor walked past Sigurd, he connected his green-gray fist to his nose, and a sickening cracked that made Hytham and Randvi's stomach turn.

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