#is destroyed under the hand of a tyrannical ruler

[spacedace]

It was the final hour. Doomsday at their door, with only hours left before the world was consumed entirely and every last living thing was devoured right along with it.

Summoning the High King of the Infinite Realms was the only option left, and even then felt more like choosing a firing squad rather than a noose at the end of the day. Pariah Dark might - might - accept the task of destroying the foe they faced, but tmit would come at a cost that was near equal to doing nothing at all. Provided the tyrannical ruler simply didn't let them all die, an entire planet dead was an entire planet to add to his endless armies.

They had to try. Stupid and suicidal as it was.

Zantanna and John worked in silence as they created the summoning circle, hands shaking and stomachs cramping as they worked under the apprehensive eyes of the rest of the League. They all understood that no matter what happened, they would all likely end up dead by the end of it. That the best case scenario meant that death was only the beginning of their problems.

Candles were lit. Insense burned. Blood spilled. Words spoken.

Nothing.

Nothing.

It failed, not so much as a flicker of magic. Which was impossible, they'd checked and confirmed a dozen times that they had the right ritual, that they were following the steps, they had done everything right way wasn't it working? What had they done wr-

"Ugh, gross is that blood?"

Elle Phantom, fifteen minuted late to the site of the ritual with both the boys Super, the most murderous Robin and a sugary abomination of an iced coffee from Starbucks, scrunched her nose in disgust as she looked at the summoning circle.

"This ritual is so out of date, where did you even find it? Wait is that Latin? Who tries to summon someone from the Ghost Zone in Latin?"

John had burned through every drop of alcohol and cigarette he owned hours ago while trying to find this bloody damn ritual and was very much not in the mood for the little hellspawn's color commentary on the process.

"I don't bloody well seeing you providing with any alternatives for summoning the Ghost King." He swore, turning away from the gremlin to tear through the ancient book he and Zantanna had discovered with the ritual inside.

There was a loud slurping noise as the undead hero sucked the last remnants of her drink through the straw. John's brow twitched, even Zantanna - who usually seemed endeared by the chaos goblin - looked at the end of her rope.

Then - "Oh, is that who you wanted to summon? Why didn't you say so?" She drifted over, handing her empty drink off to a disgruntled looking Batman, and began rummaging through the unused magival supplies left over from the - failed - summoning circle. "Here, give me like, five minutes."

John was fairly certain his head was about to explode.

"You know how to summon the Ghost King? You?"

Phantom rolled her eyes at him. "Duh, obviously."

"Obviously." Zantanna repeated, looking like she was half a moment away from having a breakdown. She didn't try to stop the ghostly girl, though, and to be fair neither was John. They were already fucked, might as well let the gremlin try her hand at it.

It took less than the five minutes Phantom had claimed she needed.

When she was done there was a significantly smaller circle on the ground. At the cardinal directions of the circle, written clockwise she'd drawn not any magical runes but instead what appeared to be the Roman Numerals for one, then two, then something akin to a sideways T with an additional mark rising upward from the long horizontal bar, then the letter L.

It had to have some kind of ancient magical significance John didn't know as Shazam made a noise like a dying goose and squeaked out the word Loss like it was a question. Phantom gave the Champion of Magic a sharp toothed grin before adding some words in a language John didn't know before she finally allowed gravity to pull her back to earth and plant her feet on the ground.

She wiped her hands together a bit dramatically, looking pleased with herself, but at that point John didn't care. He could feel the building magic, heavy and oppressive as she had begun her task. Unlike the circle he and Zantanna had attempted, this one was working.

He couldn't help thr nervous swallow he gave as Phantom then declared, with a strange amount of seriousness. "All that’s left are the words."

She took a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment, and the world went utterly silent around them. This, John could feel, this was the real deal. Fuck him sideways the hellspawn was actually doing it.

Phantom's eyes opened, glowing with that bright eerie green light of her power. Another deep breath and then -

"You are my dad! You're my dad!" He watched, any scraps of hope she'd instilled in him dying an undignified death as she gave a terrible little wiggle dance while she sang(?) Off key, "Boogie woogie woogie!"

Every last person on Earth was going to die and one of John's last moments was going to be spent watching the little undead shit do the Macarena. Well fuck him, he guessed.

Then there was the sound of the veil between the world's tearing in two and the fucking Ghost King was standing in Phantom's summoning circle screaming in a screeching falsetto:

"When will you learn? When will you learn that your actions have consequences!"

You know what actually at this point John would rather the apocalypse kill him.

#dc x dp #dp x dc #danny phantom #batman #justice league #danielle phantom #danielle fenton #john constantine #zantanna zatara #danny fenton #ghost king danny #Danny got to make up his own summoning rituals when he became king #there's a general one but he also has personalized rituals for each of his family members #all of them involve memes #the day is saved #but it's also the day that the Justice League find out Elle is the daughter(?) of the Ghost King #except for Damian Jon and Con #they already knew

[y-rhywbeth2]

Gods & Clergy: Bane #2

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Religion | Gods | Shar | Selûne | Bhaal #1 | Bhaal #2 | Mystra | Jergal | Bane #1 | Bane #2 | Bane #3 | Myrkul | Lathander | Kelemvor | Tyr | Helm | Ilmater | Mielikki | Oghma | Gond | Tempus | Silvanus | Talos | Umberlee | Corellon | Moradin | Yondalla | Garl Glittergold | Eilistraee | Lolth | Laduguer | Gruumsh | Bahamut | Tiamat | Amodeus | The rest of the Faerûnian Pantheon --WIP

-

Apparently, they are a beautiful combination of every dictatorship ever with some flavouring from the fucking mafia. They also sort-of have a Pope, and sometimes papal schisms.

Social Darwinism for everybody! And remember, Bane is always watching you - do not make him get involved, kiddies.

Can these people get any more delightful??

---

"The world is made stronger by mighty and ordered rule, with the ruled made to fear their rulers and to hate common foes. Weakness and frivolity should be publicly destroyed for all to see and heed. Good is but a shelter for weakness and the whims of those who profess noble goals. Evil is the true state of nature, for winning is everything, and oppression is natural. Fight against good, and exalt evil. Tyrannize and destroy the weak, so that all in time become better and stronger, everyone knowing their place and not daring to question or foment disorder. "Be a tyrant. Make others fear and hate you, but awaken in them hatred of others. Aid tyrants and oppressors, but if they disagree with you or fellow Dark Hands (clergy of Bane) over policy, or turn back from tyranny or oppressing others, shatter them. We are the forge that tempers rulers, to make them ever harder, stronger, and more evil. Laws and rules, not wanton chaos, should reign. Eliminate lawbreakers. Kill or thwart a good creature every day (kill is better). Bring down arbitrary law keepers, and aid the brutally law-abiding. Make others fear Bane—and fear you—whenever possible." - Yet more Banite dogma

Good is evil, and Evil is good. Good is a lie, and Evil is the truth. The one thing all Banites agree on is that implementing Bane's rule is the only good option for the world.

Banite teaching is clear that a world of firm laws and an orderly society is the only acceptable world to live in. Chaos exists only as a tool to achieve this, and is otherwise sinful. This ideal lawful and regimented society will, naturally, be a surveillance state. The overabundance of divination spells and artefacts used for monitoring thought crimes, and the rank "inquisitor," don't exist in the church for nothing.

Society will be made better when the weakness is purged. By punishing the weak, one of two things will happen; they will break, and either clear the way for the strong, or they will take on the hatred and use it to make themselves stronger.

Dissenting opinion is bad, it breeds chaos and undermines order - and Banites are quite firm in their opinion that nobody else is governing their lands properly.

Under Banite rule, people suddenly "going missing" is just a fact of life. Sometimes they turn up a little worse for wear and/or with a mysterious new personality. Often they're just not coming back.

The good news is that since the death of the last High Imperceptor in recent years, the church hierarchy has apparently fallen apart again!

Banites are no longer quite so united by one long, globe-spanning chain of command and are all splintered into factions, backstabbing each other and fighting over which leader's vision and right to lead is greater than the others'. The lower ranks scheme to take the place of their hated superiors, even as they bow and scrape and dance perfectly to the tune of every command.

Bane is willing to tolerate this to a limited degree, because it keeps his higher ranked followers from abusing their authority for personal gain if the lower ranks have space to undermine them when they're unworthy. A "healthy" amount of infighting will cull the weak and ensure he only has the strongest followers.

There are limits though; start rocking the boat too much and Bane will personally smite you dead in front of everyone to make a point.

The Dark One watches his clergy, keeping an eye on those with potential rising through the ranks, and those whose behaviours are a little erratic for his liking. He's known for speaking directly into their minds, or the minds of the followers around them. Although sometimes he turns away to focus on something beyond mortal ken, which can last years, which is when the infighting tends to get really bad. Elminster likens it to unsupervised rats in a cage, gnawing on each other in frustration.

A Banite who shows signs of weakness and "wavering faith" will be demoted... if they're lucky. Other possible fates include the standard Banite fare of maiming and potential death.

Banites in favour with their deity and superiors will enjoy luxury and promotions: Having fun is allowed as a reward for being a good servant, but is not something you're allowed to take for granted. That's "frivolity" and will breed weakness.

The church mostly gets things done nowadays simply because the lowest ranks of the clergy usually attach themselves to some charismatic mid-higher rank, becoming their obedient and fawning slaves in the hopes that by helping them rise in the ranks their superior will elevate them too. Through this, teamwork is achieved and shit gets done. In the higher ranks, where everybody's too afraid of losing their hard won power, this cooperation tends to die.

The head of a region's Banites is the Inquisitor, all of whom answer to the High Inquisior, who is regarded much like the Pope is by Catholics on Earth. Sometimes the High Inquisitor isn't providing their role as arbiter of Bane's divine will on Toril right, and one or more other Banites make the case for themselves as Bane's real High Inquisitor and schisms result with all the usual drama.

When Banites of equal rank clash on something, technically the deciding factor in who gets the final say is supposed to be who has the highest levels in the cleric class (and thus their higher personal status with Bane). If it's equal, then it comes down to who has the highest influence/reputation amongst the other Banites. Ultimately though, the biggest factor is actually which of them their regional leader likes best (you're either in favour, or out).

Particularly within urban areas, Banites are usually hidden kingpins and crime bosses, working from the shadows. Those who seek power and influence may always turn to the followers of the Black Hand for aid; they are always happy to make friends and lend favours. You want to win the next guild election? You want to be governor? They can do that for you. They will employ bribery, kidnappings, blackmails, arrange assassinations, whatever it takes to get you in power. And then you will have that position you wanted, and you will owe it all to the Church of Bane, and to Bane himself, as their loyal puppet. You will obey every edict of Bane as yet another link in his chains. You will know that they did this for you, that they can do all this to you, and that everybody will know this should you go back on your end of the bargain.

The people who serve those people will also serve Bane, unknowingly. Eventually the entire city will serve, never realising who rules them, until one day the Banites' hold over the region is so ironclad that when they step forward to rule openly, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Banite infiltrations are highly organised, and are likened covert military operations, with the leaders given their tasks directly from Bane.

Through these methods, the Church takes over businesses, governments and even entire noble families.

Businesses are of particular interest, as Banites will seek to establish at least some degree of control over regional trade - especially contraband and other illegal businesses, and especially the trade of weapons and slaves. The money they make from this will go towards both the church and their own personal funds.

Few Banites are comfortable openly taking positions of power for themselves until they are certain that it is safe to do so. There's also that little drawback where your siblings in the faith will watch you carefully while holding their breath for a while, to see if you're as secure in your power as you seem to be - and then there's a target on your back because they all want your power for themselves.

Despite losing control, it seems some Banite presence lingers amongst the Zhentarim, where the divide between the cleric-based Orthodoxy and the reformist wizards lives on. The simmering tensions and would-be civil war are held in check only by the presence of beholderkin who will make an example of any idiots that try anything. Bane has no particular interest in seeing his clerics and mages fighting each other, and in most Banite circles the schism has died down. Some of them are even friends and "companions."

(Yes, even Banites have friends. Mr "frivolity should be publicly destroyed - make others fear and hate you" doesn't necessarily approve, but his followers are still only human[oid].)

-

"…Bane is rash, impetuous, and arrogant. He’s no patient, long-term schemer, but lives in the present moment (he wants results NOW). And his pride often makes him over-estimate his own prowess, and ignore his own faults." - Ed Greenwood

Going by some lore; Bane is also an unwitting puppet of Jergal (who is The long-term schemer), intended for one of the older deity's infinite supply of schemes - although his strings are not currently being pulled. He is the dead soul of a mortal man, imbued with divine essence and Jergal's portfolio of Tyranny. "Jergal [on his end] has no intention of treating Bane like a puppet until he has to."

Bane died long before the Three reached Jergal, and the god "stored" his soul away, recognising a similar "quenchless hunger to rule all, and be feared by all through the maliciousness and malevolent [attentiveness] of his rule."

Bane's memory of this has been removed by the Forgotten One, and he wouldn't believe you if you told him so. Whether the other two have had their memories so edited is unknown, but possible.

His original, pre-Time of Troubles holy symbol was intended to be a severed hand in a spiked black gauntlet, dripping blood from the stump (the middle droplet being the longest). The presumed reason for it not appearing in official Realms products is wariness of the Satanic Panic leading to its censorship.

#I think that's mostly it #I left out some stuff about the Baneliches and the origins of the Cult of the Dragon. but they're not important #THIS BETTER BE IT #Update: this was not all of it #the idiot three #enver gortash #long post

[the-void-writes]

WIP Intro: The Heart of Hollow Earth

Genre: Horror-Fantasy (leaning more towards Fantasy)

Summary: Edith Wallace tries to run from her estranged family, only to fall into a magical cave system, The Subterrane, full of creatures out of her best dreams and worst nightmares. The family that tends to her was once human, now mutated by the magic of the caves and living under the rule of the tyrannical King Epoch, who seeks to break the cave’s magic seal and rule the world above. With the help of Theo, a former soldier of the king who’s body was destroyed by magic, Edith must traverse the caves, defeat Epoch’s dark enforcers, and stop the mad king once and for all.

Taglist: @jacquesfindswritingandadvice @pinespittinink @jessica-writes22 @morganwriteblr (Let me know if you want to be tagged or removed)

(Characters under cut)

Characters:

Edith Wallace - A young mute woman, daughter to a blended family that doesn’t care for her. Edith adores flowers and prefers to be by herself in the woods. Although she’s scared of some of the creatures in The Subterrane, she feels sorry for them and wishes to end their suffering. Part of her wishes to join them, to belong to a family that truly adores her.

Theo - Once a young man who fell into the caves and got lost in its myriad of maze-like levels. King Epoch took him in as his right-hand, making him enforce his laws until the magic of The Subterrane started to break and mutate Theo’s body, and the king had to let him go. (Think of his appearance as the Greek Tragedy mask associated with theater, but cracked like marble). He’s protective of Edith and wants to get her out of the caves so she doesn’t end up like him.

King Epoch - The ruler of The Subterrane. He sees the human world through his magic, and he finds it disgusting and weak. All he wants is to take over and replace the weaknesses in society. Since Theo and Edith were able to survive the first few days in the caves, Epoch takes a special interest in them as potential Enforcers.

Icarus - Epoch’s eyes and ears. He’s a small, masked imp that sneaks through the cracks and surveys the citizens, reporting any suspicious activity to the Enforcers.

Erebus and Epimetheus - Epoch’s favorite Enforcers. Erebus is the official executioner, and he prefers to take unruly citizens, shrink them into little dolls that he wears on his horns like ornaments, and snack on them whenever he’s bored. Epimetheus is a peacekeeper, trapping citizens in small globes and keeping them in a storage room to watch as they stumble around in their own mini-fantasy.

Meredith, Lucy, and Kit - Three people who fell into The Subterrane and decided to stick together as a family. Meredith is a local nurse, her primary patient being Theo, thanks to his frequent injuries. Lucy is a proper little lady from an era long forgotten, and Kit is a rambunctious little boy who’s always down to fight. As payment for protection against the king’s Enforcers, they’ve all given their eyes to Epoch, who studies human anatomy to better determine potential citizens during his takeover.

#writeblr #writing community #wip intro #wip: the heart of hollow earth

[demcngeneral]

Name: Ni Tian Er Xing Dace Claim: Zhu Zhengting Age: 10,000 Gender: Male Alignment: Lawful Ht:6'1 Wt:148 Hair Color: Black worn extremely long pulled up in high tail and braided down so it falls past his backside. Eye Color: Blue Species: Demon/God Distinguishing Features: Zhing has pointed ears and his long braid he dresses in dark armor when he is in the field which also stands out. There are patches along his skin that are like stone from the stone curse unrightfully levied at his kin by the Tyrannical Immortals.

Marital Status: Single [varies by verse] Sexuality: Demisexual & Demiromantic Position: Demon General and Ruler of the eight clans. Homeland: The Demon Realm ( a place they were cast by the Tyrant Immortals ) Personality Noble and upright he is a man who speaks his mind freely. Willing to meet violence with words and when that fails a well placed blade is certain to end the issue. He is willing to do anything to help his people, and fought tooth and nail for them for the past thousands of years. Blood, Sweat and Tears are all worthy sacrifices to insure the continued well being of his people. Even to the point of deceiving them if he felt it would be better for them. Though it makes him feel shame, since the secret was the last promise he made to his brother. The last Demon General. He truly believed it was for the best and would give them hope. If he commits himself to something and is dedicated to it, he will give his all. He will never waver and he won't break a promise given to that person. If he claims someone as his kin. You are his kin until you die or he does and likely into the next life. His line only takes one spouse and it is something that he deeply believes in. Mostly because there is too much trauma. The bonding and the loss is enough to tear on of his Clan apart and many of those who do not have high cultivation often die with their beloved. His failing often come in the form of feeling like he has to do everything for himself, that he can not trust others as he doesn't trust easily. He is a survivor, and he knows that trust must be earned and can easily be destroyed. Betrayal is met with death or never associating with the person again. It is simply something he doesn't allow in his life. He has enough on his shoulders trying to hold the weight of the world there. History Zhu Zingting was born thousands of years ago. He vaguely remembers playing under the sunlight of the upper world, and he has vague memories of his parents. They are memories he holds onto and finds dear. Raised by his older brother, with the intention of him becoming the next General and ruler. Their parents were immortals that turned against the heavens and were cursed into the demons they are now. Unlike those of other clans. He is a second generation immortal and there for Demon God. Raised to be noble but ruthless because it was what their people needed. He learned combat at the hands of his brother, the Demonic God of War. As the position of the God of War has been vacant since the betrayal of the heavens. In his youth Xing discovered the truth of the Flower of Dawn that it was the cause of the curse of petrification that was effecting himself and his people. His brother, insisted that he hold the lie and made him swear as a dying promise to the person he loved more than life itself, it was a lie he struggled with much of his life.

It is his ultimate goal to see the current tyrants of the heavenly kingdom destroyed and a true gods restored. He wants the chance for his people to live free and be able to enjoy the things people take for granted. Abilities Legendary Swordsmanship- He has practiced the art of swordplay with his blade for a little over 10,000 years. He is a gifted combatant he is good at seeing his enemies weakness and he knows where to strike and how. Most people fighting him don't have the chance to know they are even dead until they hit the ground lifelessly. Tactics- Many years on the field of battle have led to him being very gifted at commanding armies and fighting great battle at the head of the army. he is a War machine and knows it. He will NEVER command from the sidelines and he will fight along side of his men. Wisdom- He has lived a life of martial and mental prowess he has read many books on many various subjects and he good at offering advice in situations he has some knowledge on or might have seen. Super Speed-He can move across a battle field or a room in a blink. He can be anywhere on a field of battle quickly and he is very skilled at placing himself where he needs to be. He has turned the tides of battle with just this skill. Making an enemy miss a target , a shot to go astray etc. Teleportation- If his formidable speed was not enough he can teleport himself and others with a quickness that borders on instantaneous. He often uses this to teleport in combat and get even further advantages. He has also used this to teleport another out of harms way, and to make sure he doesn't loose a valued member of his group. Mastery of the Demon Sword Art- This cultivation art allows him to summon many blades at once, or one that is very large, he can do the death of a thousand cuts and has achieved the highest tier in this art. There is no one that has mastered it as he has. It is one of his clans sacred arts. Demonic Strength & Endurance: Doesn't really need to be described he is super strong, super enduring and fast. Due to his blood and immortal origins. Powerful Cultivation: He can use his cultivation to heal himself and others , augment another's cultivation. Use it for shielding, stunning and otherwise making a true nuisance of himself. Weaknesses Holy Light (temporarily )-The light of the false Divine Emperor can cause him damage he can not quickly repair as he can normal wounds inflicted upon him. He finds it blinding and makes him have to relay on blind fighting in combat, and is dazzling at best under most situations. Cold Iron - There is some curiosity that he and his clan are effected by Cold Iron, that effects him in the same way cold iron effects the fey. Petrification Curse- This curse was leveled against the whole of the immortals that sided against the tyranny of the heavenly rule of the current immortals. He also suffers from it but his is less because of his cultivations and the fact his healing can keep it at bay. When his chi-energies are low his pain is greater. Divinations- Where as his abilities to use his super speed and his teleportation in combat are second to none due to the diligence of his study of them and his constant practice and war with things. A seer can tell where he will be, as he appears to be a flicker flash of light as he moves. Holy Golden Sword- Where he can recover from most things. Death by the Holy Sword of the TRUE god of the heavens can poison his body and slowly shut it and him down, as the petrification disease would spread to quickly for his powers to contain it.

#About

[at-lilbot]

(They long to be) Close to you

Title: (They long to be) Close to you

Status: WIP 12/50 chapters

Words: 21528

Summary:

Luz Noceda is a guard hired to protect the crown princess, Amity Blight. The only thing is, being a guard isn't her only job, she is also a spy for the rebellion against the tyrannical King, Belos. Luz had been sent to infiltrate the Blight Castle in order to gather intel to bring the kingdom down. What she didn't expect was her growing feelings towards the princess.

(( Obligatory Guard x Princess AU with a spy twist ))

Read here:

PROLOGUE BELOW:

Underneath pitch black skies and starry seas, lied a kingdom, with lands that stretched beyond the horizons, led by a tyrannical ruler whose name shook the souls of the citizens. Within the Kingdom there were three smaller regions. In the east stood Bonesborough, the military stronghold, with vast terrains and high population, perfect for a potent army. In the south stood Gaea, with fertile soil and prosperous weather, the leading kingdom of vegetation. And finally in the west stood Aria, rich in minerals and ore, the empire supplier, where all imports were made. All three kingdoms supported the grand empire under the King: Belos. His authoritarian rule kept an iron hold on the people, the idea of treason foreign to the public, in fear of a punishment akin to or even worse than death. Hardly anybody questioned the absolutist, blindly following his words and laws without a thought, most of the nobility turning a blind eye to the horrors, living in ignorant bliss.

Unbeknownst to the King, within the shadows of the land, where his arms couldn’t reach, a rebellion began to ignite. Angry chatters in the dark, fuelled by the outcasts of the realm, were kindled by the rage of injustice. The people grew tired, tired of tyranny. Without resources, without the numbers of an army, they planned to destroy the empire through other means, from the inside.

Luz never felt so cold in front of a fire. Not only did she miss her family, but the woman before her pierced her with her steely blue eyes, a permanent sneer on her face, judging her every move.

“Lineage?”

“Nobody notable, I am merely a humble serf.”

“And where did you say you were from again?”

“Aria, my Lady.”

The fire flickered beside her, bringing no warmth to the spacious room. Its fiery glow dancing in the woman’s cold hollow eyes. She couldn’t mess this up, she knew that by all means necessary she had to get the position, she had to infiltrate the castle. For the rebellion. All Luz could think about was how much Eda trusted her with this mission and believed that she would succeed. Failure was not an option; neither was getting caught. Luz didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if she got caught, what would happen to Eda and everyone back home. After all, she was committing treason.

“Aria you say? And what brings you to Bonesborough?”

“I have travelled far for the opportunity to assist you, hearing news that you’re in need of a personal guard. Not only am I proficient in all styles of combat, I have also fought within the royal guard.” (That was a minor embellishment, in reality Luz fought against the royal guard multiple times, and won.) “I promise you that you will be safe in my hands, and it would be an honour to serve you Lady Blight.”

Cold blue eyes peered at her once again as she pursed her lips. The woman that stood before Luz, with her signature mint green hair, perfectly slicked back into a neat bun, was the Grand Duchess herself, Odalia Blight, ruler of Bonesborough. Her eyes began to focus on the golden badge pinned on Luz’s chest, analysing its shape, size and colour, her attention mainly on the bird engraved in the centre. The badge was a signifier of the ranks within the Royal Guard, one that Luz stole from a soldier in a fight, hoping it would be enough to convince the Blights of her status. Luz tried to find any doubt in the woman’s eyes, but found nothing in her emotionless pupils.

“The Royal Guard? That’s quite impressive for someone as young as yourself,” she replied coolly, her gaze unwavering, still focused on Luz. “Though it would take me some time to fully confirm that with my sources, I’ll take your word for it, for now.” Luz’s heart dropped. “You may start immediately; our serving staff will guide you to your quarters, and then to the West wing towards the Princes’ Quarters where you will begin your work.”

Odalia began to turn away, her hand dismissing Luz from the room.

Princes’ Quarters? When Luz took the mission, she assumed that she would be guarding the Duchess herself, the close proxemics allowing her to spy on all her meetings for the intel she needed to bring Belos down. Guarding anybody else would make it much more difficult to gather information, though it wasn’t impossible, it would certainly be a challenge.

“Pardon me my Lady,”

The Duchess turned curiously, an eyebrow raising, her glare boring into Luz once again. Her silence indicated Luz to continue. Luz met her glare, feeling her heart begin to beat faster and her palms begin to sweat. Slowly breathing in, she proceeded cautiously, “I was under the impression that the personal guard was for yourself, if I may ask, who am I to be guarding?”

Odalia smiled. Though that smile held anything but kindness, it held no softness, and felt like there was something deeply sinister beneath it.

“My youngest,” her tone deep and cold, “the crown princess.”

#the owl house #toh #lumity #luz noceda #amity blight #luz x amity #fanfiction #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #ao3 author

[runnin-out-oftime]

Almost cries from projecting so hard onto Link Legendofzelda....

#he is j ust... a little boy... #with adhd and/or autism... obvs... #maybe even trans.... #and he has Too Much responsibility that he Never asked for... #and he kind of has to figure out a lot on his own #and process a lot of trauma and world shattering stuff all on his own... #like... like in oot #how TF do you deal with waking up one day only to find out that it's 7 years later #only to find that you basically failed your mission and that the world you knew and loved #is destroyed under the hand of a tyrannical ruler #and that you have grown up and aged to an adult #after being under the impression your entire life that you were of a species that DOESNT grow up #and then promptly be told that your entire life is a lie #and that youre not even really who you thought you were #all with the mind of a 10 year old #in the hormonal and emotional body of a 17 year old #that's soooo much responsibility and trauma and grief to unpack #and he has no time and so little help #it just. it makes me very sad tbh #i want to hug him and tell him that everything will be okay someday

[butwhatifidothis]

Who on your side is going to call you out? Literally every recruitable character except Bernadetta and Lindhardt? And you CAN'T objectively say that the route leaves an objectively worse off Fodlan. A lot of the characters have the exact same single endings they do in other routes. Meaning a lot of their endings are nice and happy and hopeful despite the fact they aided in the conquest of a nation. Hell, some single character endings specific to crimson flower STILL end happily despite this. Alois happily moves to remire and becomes a farmer with his family. Mercedes opens up an orphanage. Also you can't really use Felix' single ending as a mark against Crimson flower, seeing as that's also his ending in all his non blue lions endings.

Those quotes aren't actually addressing Byleth's actions beyond said characters being pissed at Byleth. 

The demonic beasts are never mentioned. The fact that you are aiding in conquest and genocide isn't talked about, just the fact that you are on the opposing side. And some of those characters that are pissed at Byleth and questioning them ALSO *conviently* forget those grievances once they're recruited. Suddenly everybody's all for blindly following byleth in their aiding the conquest of fodlann and the potential genocide of the last few nabateans.

So what, is edelgard "im going to assassinate my classmates and immediately get murdered by bandits in that attempt and nemesis did nothing wrong!" Adrestia suddenly master manipulator? Are all the characters just so blindly loyal to byleth that they're willing to ignore their morals? a

You broke down exactly why, no matter how you look at it, villain route or not, CF falls flat! Because inconsistent writing dictates that 3H can't go all the way with making CF/Edelgard too bad! The full scope of Edelgard's actions never being addressed, even off of CF (the Demonic Beasts are never called out, but the use of them is very clearly villainous given what they are, to use one of your examples)! This is why I have issues with CF - not because oh shit you're the bad guy, but in this regard they don't go far enough! This is exactly why my feelings are mixed towards CF, because of these exact flaws within it.

But even with that, there are still some things of what you said I don't quite agree with?

Like, Edelgard's and Hubert's endings apparently don't point to CF being a villain route, but Alois and Mercedes' do point it to not being one? Why are the latter's endings being given more weight than the former's?

"Those quotes aren't actually addressing Byleth's actions beyond said characters being pissed at Byleth."

...Um... yeah they are? Because they're pissed at Byleth for siding with Edelgard and the Empire? They're not just randomly mad at Byleth for no reason - the characters know what Edelgard and the Empire have done, they don't have to go down the laundry list when they express their anger at Byleth joining her/them. When Ignatz says “We can’t place the future of Fódlan in Edelgard’s hands. If you’re allied with the Empire, I have no choice but to fight you," him not specifically laying out every single crime Edelgard has done does not suddenly mean that those crimes aren't what he's referring to. Shamir saying “You still align yourself with the emperor? What a shame. Let’s make this quick. I don’t want the loser to suffer," doesn't mean that she's just peaved at Byleth for no reason. Ingrid’s quote, “You have chosen to assist the Empire, even while knowing of their deeds. I am truly disappointed in you, Professor. Prepare yourself, heel of the Empire! A wretch like you will never be qualified to rule over Fódlan!” very clearly lays it out that it is all that the Empire has done that is the reason why she’s mad at you and why she thinks you’d be a shitty ruler (and if Byleth is shitty for choosing to side with Edelgard, then that inherently means that Edelgard is also shitty).

Why are they mad at Byleth? Why are they criticizing you specifically joining the Empire? Why are none of them saying “Gee Byleth, it’s pretty ass of you to join Claude’s side, you heartless bitch” on VW? Or similar statement towards Byleth on AM and SS? Why is the Empire unique in being called evil, bloody, savage, etc.? It’s because the action of joining the Empire - joining Edelgard - is a bad one, one that throws away morals to chase the false image of “revolution” Edelgard posits. 

So what, is edelgard "im going to assassinate my classmates and immediately get murdered by bandits in that attempt and nemesis did nothing wrong!" Adrestia suddenly master manipulator? Are all the characters just so blindly loyal to byleth that they're willing to ignore their morals?

The answer? Yes. The same way that Byleth is blindingly loyal to Edelgard and throws away their canonical hatred of TWS to follow her, the other characters throw away themselves to blindingly follow Byleth. Byleth places their trust in Edelgard despite all of the horrible things she’s done, and their character becomes worse for it - the same thing happens to the cast that foolishly decide to continue placing their trust in Byleth despite siding with the villain Edelgard. They either stagnate in their character progression or outright regress, the exact same as Byleth, because CF as a route is all about regression. That’s Edelgard’s whole motivation. It’s not moving forward to a new future, it’s going back to how Fodlan used to be - back under complete Imperial control, with a Hresvelg as the one ruler of Fodlan. 

And Edelgard having one shitty plan and being wrong about history doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to make others look worse than her, how to prop herself up as the hero of the story - we see this from Ladislava, someone who is genuinely completely loyal to Edelgard specifically, that characters genuinely fall for Edelgard’s words. We see this in how she makes Dimitri and Rhea and Claude into these targets that must be destroyed “for the good of Fodlan,” that she can easily shove any and all responsibility for her actions onto her victims. We see this in how she’s just “taking back humanity’s freedom” when she slaughters a heartbroken and maddened Rhea - maddened due to her actions - only to shove humanity under her actually tyrannical rule. Hell, her being ignorant of history again falls back into how CF is partly about ignorance - you’re always ignorant to the depths of your horrific actions due to blind loyalty, so being wrong about history and never being corrected is par for the course.

Where CF falls short is the following: 

the aforementioned endings that always remain the same even on CF, 

where certain characters aren’t given enough attention despite being on CF (Ingrid definitely needed a Felix treatment for specifically this route, since she’s going after the Kingdom directly, for example), 

where even with the idea of the BE getting influenced by the regression of CF they still way too easily side with Edelgard (Ferdinand is by far the worse victim of this), 

where the end result of Fodlan is unification no matter what route you do (more the game overall that suffers from this tbh), 

where the characters don’t mention the depths of Edelgard’s actions off of CF (which is partly why the BE staying with Edelgard on CF comes across poorly, because they never really delve into her actions so them not doing so on CF doesn’t come across very well) - VW is the worst offender of this, as while it makes some sense to have Edelgard be a sympathetic villain on the other routes, doing the same here makes literally no sense (you only know her as a warmonger trying to murder you).

I know this isn’t like, the most popular opinion, but I don’t find it to be an intrinsically bad idea to have the player initially think that they’re not playing a villain route until they go back over the numerous, frankly loud undertones of villainy and evil you help participate in and realize “oh shit wait a minute.” Dragging down characters with you on your path of ignorance and regression? Sounds cool! Playing the other routes and seeing what you essentially look like to all of the people you fight on CF - a heartless conqueror stamping down on all opposition - as you play from the infinitely more heroic POV of the other two lords (+ Byleth’s independent POV) and see Edelgard in the light of a villain (that light the non-recruited/non-CF characters see you in)? Neat! Realizing that you’ve helped a lying, racist, imperialistic warmonger get exactly what she wants as she drags down Fodlan in darkness and tyranny? Interesting! The water is just muddied by poor writing decisions/oversights, but it is very much still (villainous) water. CF is flawed, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t what it is.

But I will ask you this nonnie, if you don’t mind! If you don’t think CF is a villain route, what is it to you? Genuinely curious! 

#ask #anon #exqueuese me princess #anti edelgard #Anti-edelgard #Edelgard discourse #Edelgard critical #just to be safe #like talking about this made me realize that the other characters being ass on CF might actually be like. intentional #I mean in the idea that they were on CF not just because uwu Edelgard but because it's meant to FURTHER showcase how bad an influence CF is #since Byleth becomes way worse on CF and CF is all about making shit ass it'd make sense for characters that naively place their faith #in Byleth like Byleth did in Edelgard to regress to hell in their character arcs #it's debatable whether some should have been playable on CF at all (INGRID INGRID INGRID) but even with that they're like. noticeably worse #though even then if they're gonna have said characters on CF they should've been VERY noticeably worse - down to endings and shit like that #and seeing the difference between how non-recruited students react to fighting Byleth on CF vs off it kinda opened my eyes that wow #bitches DO NOT like Byleth on CF lmao #Funny how Byleth gets more criticism for joining Edelgard than Edelgard does for actually doing the shit that's bad lmao #(by funny i mean maddening) #but yeah! sorry if I came across rude just imo CF is very much a villain route lol

[cmyknoise]

I think Techno & Phil were very well within their right to find and seek revenge against L’manburg and members of the Butcher Army. A lot of problems had been caused and things done against them where I could see the want for revenge (on a personal level, I don’t think they should have gotten any, but I can see why they did). 

I think what they did wrong was hide behind calling it anything but revenge and vengeance. This wasn’t an act of anarchy. They should’ve called it as it was, not made some excuse for their actions. I mean, Techno called other actions before terrorism, this was that but tenfold. This wasn’t anarchy. 

Anarchy is to revoke government, in parts, yes, but it is not destroying a country and leaving nothing but a crater. Anarchy’s goal is freedom of an individual, freedom of the people. Where laws and rules don’t bind people. Destroying government shouldn’t be the goal of anarchy, but rather allowing the people within a country or state or whatever gain absolute freedom. 

Phil told ghostbur he was teaching the citizens of L’manburg a ‘lesson’, but there was no lesson to be taught. Phil and Techno didn’t teach them anything other than ‘government is bad’ and ‘power corrupts absolutely’. Not once did they ever explain anarchy nor teach anyone on the SMP how to live and survive under anarchy rules. All they did was rip the homes and belongings away from people, many mostly innocent people, under the guise of anarchy, for the purposes of revenge. Hell, teaming up with Dream proves this as, teaming up with a tyrant to destroy a tyrant’s enemies is pretty not-anarchist. 

Funnily enough, L’manburg started out as a country that, pretty much followed the rules of anarchy. A small group of people rose up against tyrannical power and fought for pure freedom and independence, and they won. Wilbur stated quite a few times that the citizens of L’manburg could do anything they damn well pleased. The only rules really were- no armor and no Americans (and to be fair, this was established when the fight ended up being all the europeans on the server vs. all the americans). That was it. Wilbur was a president by title only, and held very little authority over the people. That was anarchy. Everyone- Nikki, Fundy, Jack, Tommy, Tubbo, they were allowed to build as they pleased and do as they pleased. That’s anarchy. They had a functioning anarchist country. 

It was then that, wanting to have some sort of say and power over the country they created, that Tommy & Wilbur decided to hold an election. 

Even with Schlatt in power, the new Manburg had become a sort of mix of anarchy and democracy. The citizens, still, for the most part, could do whatever the hell they wanted. Schlatt just, very often, intervened. The creation of Pogtopia was also a form of an anarchist rebellion of sorts. This server has seen so much anarchy in the past, and understandably Techno and Phil wouldn’t know this because they weren’t there, but they never really asked. Hell, even on Doomsday, Techno had no idea what the hell had gone on before he got there. Neither really know the full story of L’manburg. They just know it as a government where a lot of conflict is focused, they hardly acknowledge other factions and the Greater SMP kingdom as also being governments and being ruled over. 

L’manburg, even with Tubbo as leader, was still, in comparison to the Greater SMP ruled by Dream & Eret, a free society. He added a handful of laws, honestly making the country feel a bit more of a democratic-socialist sort of government, but it was much much better than the theocracy of the Greater SMP. 

Techno and Phil don’t quite realize that, by destroying L’manburg, they effectively made themselves rulers and tyrants. They took away the only thing that gave them any sort of freedom. L’manburg gave everyone within it freedom from the theocracy of the rest of the SMP, and by destroying it, it effectively took away these freedoms. People like Dream and Punz can now effectively punish and do as they want to these people, and there’s nothing defending them and there’s nothing that would stop this. L’manburg, ironically, was a wall which through contract made it so Dream couldn’t take away the freedoms of the people inside. Of course, Dream still managed to- he can do what he wants when he’s got people wrapped around his finger. 

If Techno and Phil were to do anything, they could, nothing is stopping them, which, by definition, makes them dictators and tyrants. The moment that they decided to destroy L’manburg, they became the government they were fighting. What they did wasn’t anarchy, it was a forceful destruction and take over. It was revenge, it was rightful, but it was not anarchy. By working with a fellow ruler to destroy it’s enemy, they gave up anarchy. 

The destruction of L’manburg wasn’t anarchy. It was a forceful takeover of an independent nation. It was the destruction of one of the few places which allowed freedom. It was the killing of that freedom. Phil and Techno fell into the ‘lesson’ they tried teaching, that power corrupts absolutely. They’re right in that statement, but they’re not immune to it. They gained power, they make up 2/3 of the most powerful people on the server and they used that power against free people, against innocent people. 

I’m sorry Technoblade, Phil, but you can’t call yourselves anarchists and state your actions are in the name of anarchy when the sole purpose of anarchy, people with absolute freedom, is the one thing you deny them of. 

#dream smp #technoblade #philza #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #l'manburg #doomsday #dreamwastaken #ive taken government class and world history #this is a story which happens quite often #thought i'd put this whole thing out there #i've been thinking about their actions a lot lately #and how their excuse for nearly everything is anarchy #long story short it's not anarchy #and if that was their goal they failed miserably #i only hope that once again the members of the server band together #because if they don't they stand very little chance against techno phil and dream #anyway also this is all roleplay stuff #and i just think its interesting to think about #it was quite fun watching this from their pov tbh #because i definitely can see why they did what they did #i just think that their characters maybe don't realize how wrong of a decision it was to do what they did #especially with whatever morals/views they had before #lemon's stuff

[nyaagolor]

may we please get the mirror world headcanons?

heck yes u may

Most of it will be under the cut bc I talk a lot

I like to think the Mirror World is a reflection of the regular world (I call it Prime World for convenience's sake), and by reflection I mean opposite. It's not opposite in a "good v evil" way, just in the sense that a mirror world counterpart is the inverse of their prime world self, for better or for worse. For example, Noddies in Prime World sleep for most of their lives, while Mirror Noddies barely ever sleep and are constantly alert. Instead of a Sleep Ability, they give Panic, aka the Kirby equivalent of slurping down 15 espresso shots in a row. The mirror world counterparts are no better or worse than the prime world, just different!

Headcanons for all the mirror world counterparts of the Star Allies (or at least the ones I've thought abt) are under the cut :3c

Shadow Kirby (Skirby): Where Prime Kirby is reckless, bold, and overconfident, Skirby is reserved, cautious, and kinda pessimistic. They're no weaker or meaner than Prime Kirby, but seem a bit shy and non-confrontational because they always want to scope out the scene before they launch into anything. Some might call it cowardly, but Skirby thinks it's pragmatic. Much like prime Kirby, though, he's the hero of Popstar and is usually the planet's last defense against whatever eldritch horror comes their way. He deserves a break, though, since unlike Prime Kirby he's not surrounded by friends to help him out

Shadow Dedede (SDDD): He started off as a good king, always being diligent, professional, and responsible in contrast to Prime DDD's self-serving, goofy ways. He wanted what was best for the mirror world, but life didn’t make it easy. The mirror dees, rather than the loyal helpers we know from the prime world, were backstabbing jerks who were loyal to no one but themselves. SDDD tried so hard to be a good king, but had no one to help, no one to pull him out of a slump, so he just slipped through the cracks and got worse. Bitterness and anger consumed him until he started looking out for himself and himself only. He became a tyrant, turning into an iron-fisted, merciless ruler whose laws were enforced through violence. DDD got better with the help of his friends, but SDDD got much, MUCH worse as a result of his isolation and loneliness. Also he has a battle axe instead of a hammer bc I think it's cool

Dark Meta Knight (DMK): He's basically the antithesis of a knight: he's willing to work for anyone no matter how rotten they are; he always plans on backstabbing them later, cares about no one but himself, never plays fair, and is a lazy, rude jerk. He likes spicy foods instead of sweets, challenges children to duels WITHOUT offering them a sword first, and is deathly afraid of heights, despite having wings. He was in the process of creating a land-razing tank called the Halberd, but his crew betrayed him and cut up his wings and mask so now he isolates himself out of anger and fear. After being with the Star Allies, he's made some friends and realized the value of teamwork-- also he likes teaching Adeleine swears. With Dark Mind gone and the Mirror World still a bit of a dump, DMK would much rather hang out in the prime world and get on Meta Knight's nerves. He tries his best to protect the two (2) people in the mirror world he does tolerate, though (it's skirby and sddd).

Mirror Bandee: Hates SDDD with a passion. In fact, he's attempted to assassinate the king at least 26 times, but fails both because SDDD is way smarter than him and also Mirror Bandee is a sniveling coward who runs at the first sign of danger. His repeated failures have made him more of a scaredy cat, so no one takes him seriously anymore. He has a knife and ties his bandana around his "mouth" like a scarf, but it doesn't help to make him more intimidating. His repeated attempts to kill the king (and more recently Skirby and DMK, who hang out with SDDD) have become a constant in their lives and weirdly enough they don't mind his company.

Mirror Marx: I always assumed that Prime Marx was a noddy with Mirror instead of sleep. Well Mirror Marx is the opposite-- instead of having Panic like the regular hyperactive Mirror Noddies, he has sleep. He didn't show up for the events of Amazing Mirror bc he was snoozin. Because of this, he never got the Nova's powers, never tricked skirby, and never did anything evil. In fact, unlike Prime Marx, Mirror Marx cares too much about everyone's feelings, is always kind, and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's the glue holding the mirror world together bc not even the worst of villains want to hurt him. He's just so darn CUTE

Mirror Animal Friends: Imagine the animal friends. Give them angry expressions and sunglasses. Now make them part of a gang. Yeah that's it. The Animals are no friend of skirby's and would sooner maul the poor kid than ever lend him a paw (or flipper or wing). The forest bows to their whims and they rule it like your typical mafia boss. They're jerks.

Mirror Daroach: See these posts.

Dark Taranza: Hoo BOY he's bad. He's real bad. He rules over Mirror Floralia (Sporalia?) which is underground and filled with nasty creepy crawlies. He hates getting his hands dirty and will do anything it takes to get more power and luxury so long as he doesn't have to put himself in danger. He only cares about one thing, and that's himself. What about Queen Sectonia, you ask? She was the original queen of Mirror Floralia, but Dark Taranza mind-controlled her into his puppet to do his bidding. When the people finally snapped and declared war on the tyrannical queen, it was her they shattered, being none the wiser that Dark Taranza was the one pulling the strings. He still has a box of her shards in his castle, just in case he needs a new puppet to play with. He loves jewels and machines, all things inorganic. The imperfections of flowers? Not his style.

Mirror Magolor: Quick tangent here: Mirror Lor Starcutter, rather than being a ship to BRING people to paradise, is a sort of pocket paradise, a little virtual reality magic... thing. It can also be easily modified to only open from the outside. That's important for later. Anyway, Mirror Magolor is brutally honest, but also rude, unfriendly, impulsive, and incredibly violent. He hates machines and will start punching a lamppost if he accidentally walks into it. Scrappy little dude. He would actually rather claw his ears off than be friends with another living being. He just likes brawling and destroying ancient artifacts and that's it. Well one day he tells the mirror crew he wants to go get this thing called the Master Crown so he can destroy it. SDDD, Skirby, Mirror Bandee and DMK realize hey, that'd be nice for us to have, let's join him and then betray him at the last minute. As soon as they get there, though, the crown ends up choosing Mirror Mags as a host before anyone can do anything. Oops! The others manage to shatter him... but then the crown pulls his shards back together and attacks them again. Realizing he's both totally lost it and also immortal, the others lock Mirror Mags inside the Lor as the crown erodes the last of his humanity. Consumed by blind rage and the crown's power, Mirror Magolor just lashes out at anything that moves, biting and clawing at whatever he can reach like a feral cat. There's like a 80% chance he has rabies.

Sorry to Susie, Gooey, Adeleine, and all the non-Star Allies crew, I haven't thought abt them yet

#THANK U FOR THE ASK #i love sharing headcanons #kirby #dark meta knight #shadow dedede #shadow kirby #dark taranza #mirror world #amazing mirror #mirror marx #mirror magolor #mirror daroach #mirror animal friends #Headcanon #mod vex

[enderspawn]

It's alright if u don't wanna answer this cuz this argument gets people really riled up but do you think c!Techno is a tyrant or nah?

Cuz many c!techno apologists argue that he isn't just cuz he's an anarchist but I've also read a lot of essays that go against it and it'd be really interesting to see ur opinion on this

i think he, in some contexts, can most definitely be called tyrannical, yes. a tyrant? no.

to avoid spamming ppl w discourse we've all def heard before (and bc this ended up MASSIVE (like 2.3k ish), but fairly in depth bc i didnt wanna speak out of bad faith and wanted to be EXPLICTLY clear-- oops), the rest will be under readmore

so heres the thing i want to preface: i used to really LOVE c!techno. i joined beginning of s2, right when exile started, and he was arguably my favorite character. since then though i've fallen out with him a LOT, to the point i almost... actively despite him at times (though mainly in a toxic kind of way which i can acknowledge is flawed).

in short, his actions started to speak louder than his words and i lost investment in his personal character struggles because of the actions he took (doomsday was my breaking point. i get feeling angry and betrayed, as well as seeking revenge against lmanberg, but his actions went too far for me to CARE and it hurt so many more characters as well.)

so when i speak, i come from a place of disliking him but also somewhat understanding the position c!techno apologists come from: i used to be one of them myself.

NOW, do i think he's a tyrant? no. for reference in my analysis, i try to look up the definition of terms to make sure they are utilized properly. while "tyranny" and "tyrannical" can have multiple uses, tyrant itself is a more specific term. to combine the top two definitions, a tyrant is referring to "an extremely oppressive, unjust, or cruel absolute ruler (who governs without restrictions, especially one who seized power illegally.)"

techno's position as an anarchist, imo, DOES indeed make him unable to be a tyrant. tyrants are rulers with very clear power over others from a structural way. anarchists are about the lack of structure or power over others and instead viewing the people around you as equals in power.

in forming the syndicate, they very explicitly worked to not designate a leader and instead make it so that no one would have any power over the others systemically. techno may have taken a integral role, yes, but it doesn't make him suddenly "the leader", its a role that wouldve had to be filled by someone (even if it was democratic to decide who to invite, they'd need someone to hand over the invite itself yknow? like no matter WHAT there needed to be A ROLE)

one could argue that he IS a leader in the shadow hierarchy of the syndicate (which, yes, is a real and professional term used in management courses despite sounding like it comes from a 4kids yugioh dub) in that everyone CONSIDERS and looks to him a leader without him having any actual structural basis behind it, but to argue that allows him to be a tyrant is in bad faith i believe. especially because to the people he would be "ruling", he ISNT oppressive, unjust, or cruel. they are his friends and support network and critical for a lot of his personal development (since feelings of betrayal and trust issues are critical to his character and why he acts the way he does). I wish we were able to SEE this develop more, but oh well.

but like i said: tyrant is fairly specific in definition. TYRANNY, and thus TYRANNICAL are not as limited. I've discussed their definitions here. originally, i made that post because i was angry at a take i had seen that claimed that, like you said, because techno was an anarchist and not part of any government or leadership position, he couldn't be tyrannical. to which i heartily disagree.

for something to be tyrannical, they simply must have an overarching/oppressive power over someone or something. it would not be inaccurate if i were to say that something is "under the tyranny" of a concept, because what it means is that something is under the power of another thing/concept. you can frankly call anything tyranny if it is widespread/overarching and you don't like it. mask mandates? tyranny, its forcing me to act in "rigorous condition". hell, theres even such things as tyranny of the majority in which people agree too much on one thing and it gives them unfair power or tyranny of the minority where people with minority opinions have too much power (thats a very grossly oversimplified definition of both, but it covers the base idea well enough for my point)

the point im making above isnt meant to be taken as "anything can be worked to be defined as tyranny thus it is a meaningless claim", it is that tyranny (and again, thus tyrannical) are very open and nonrestrictive terms.

to make it easier to define, alongside the definitions provided i want to add an explicit clause that is (imo) implied in the original definition: tyranny is... well, bad. that is to say if someone has power over a group but literally everyone is fine with it and agrees to it, its not tyranny. thats just a group of people getting along and one happens to have power over another. a leader does NOT equal a tyrant (as discussed above), so leadership should not be equated with tyranny.

thus as an example: wilbur acting as president (before the election) may have been "unelected" with power over his citizens, but no one was upset with that power. thus, he is not a tyrant and not acting tyrannically (as well as the fact his power was, arguably, NOT rigourous or absolute but thats another topic for another time). SCHLATT however IS a tyrant, as his power was absolute (he did not consult his cabinet) and forced people to comply instead of them complying willingly, thus he was acting tyrannically.

now to finally get to the damn point of this essay: where does c!techno lie? honest answer? it depends slightly on your perspective, but it depends a LOT on the future of the syndicate.

techno is incredibly clear in his goals: no governments, no corruption. in fighting with pogtopia, he is actively working to topple a tyranny-- he isn't tyrannical for doing that.

when he strikes out on nov 16th, it is because he opposes them forming a new government. when they oppose him and disagree, he launches an attack against them. is this tyranny? maybe, but probably not. he IS trying to impose his own physical strength and power (as well as his resources) over the others to stop them from doing what HE doesn't want them to do.

however its more nuanced than that:

1. hes lashing out emotionally as well as politically. he feels betrayed by those he trusted and he believed that they would destroy the government then go (i'm ignoring any debates on if he did or did not know that they planned another government, though it is a source of debate). but typically idk about you but i dont call tyranny for someone fighting with another person.

2. he also may be acting with good intent again, in HIS EYES. if tubbo was part of manburg, whos to say he wont be just as bad? he, in his pov, is likely trying to stop another tyrant before they rise.

3. and finally, and tbh the most damning from any perspective: he gives up. he quickly leaves then RETIRES without intent to try and attack again until he is later provoked. tyranny is defined by it not just being power, but power being USED. if he doesn't use his power to try and impose any will, then he's not tyrannical.

Doomsday I am also not going to touch very in depth on for much of the same reasons. My answer is again a "maybe", depending on the weight you personally place on each issue:

1. he's lashing out as revenge for the butcher army and as revenge against tommy for "betraying" him (though this one we explicitly know he was ignoring the fact tommy did not want to go through with it, however he still did trust and respect tommy regardless so his feelings are understandable anyway)

2. he sees new lmanberg as corrupt and tyrannical (which is undeniable: house arrest for noncompliance, exile without counsel, execution without trial, etc), and thus obligated to destroy it

but also, theres the implicit understanding he's doing this to send a message: do not form a government, or else. its a display of force that also works to warn others unless they want a similar fate. phil even explicitly states that he is doing so to send that message, so one could assume techno is doing the same alongside his personal reasoning listed above.

what i just described is the use of a oppressive and harsh (physical) power in order to gain compliance from people (that compliance being 'not making a government'). does that sound familiar? exactly. it follows the definition(s) of tyranny given previously. technoblade is acting in a way that is, by very definition, tyrannical.

so the debate shifts: is he valid in doing so because he is trying to PREVENT corruption and tyranny. like i said, new lmanberg was undeniably corrupt at points. i held nothing against techno for trying to topple manburg, so does that apply to new lmanberg as well? short answer: i dont know. it depends on your specific opinion of what is acceptable. its like the paradox of tolerance: to have a truly tolerant society, you have to be intolerant of intolerance. to have a truly non-tyrannical society, do you need to have a tyranny enforcing it?

personally (and bc im a lmanberg loyalist /hj) i say it is. regardless of the corruption of new lmanberg, they are also giving a threat to EVERYONE. even those who are innocent, they are presented with the exact same threat and rule set: if you make a government, you will be destroyed.

(which, small divergence here, is part of why debating c!techno is so frustrating. so many times you end up hitting a "well it depends on your political views" situation and there ISNT a correct answer there. im here to analyze characters for fun, not debate political theory)

so: the syndicate then. this is where this debate really "took off" and i think its due to one very specific miscommunication about its goals and plans. the syndicate, upon formation, declares itself to stand against corruption and tyranny. when they are found, the syndicate would work to destroy it. so heres the golden question: what do THEY define as corruption and tyranny? if you were to go off c!techno's previous statements, seemingly "any government" is a valid answer. however, he also states he's fine with people just being in groups together hanging together.

what then DEFINES A GOVERNMENT for them? what lines do they have to sort out what does "deserve to be destroyed" and what does "deserve to exist freely"

this is a hypothetical i like to post when it comes to syndicate discourse:

i have a group of people. lets say 5 or so for example. they all live together and build together. any decisions made that would impact the entire group they make together and they must have a unanimous agreement in order to proceed, but otherwise they are free to be their own people and do their own thing. when you ask them, they tell you they are their own nation and they have a very clearly defined government: they are a direct democracy. does the syndicate have an obligation to attack?

there is absolutely no hierarchy present. there is no corruption present. but, they ARE indeed a government. is that then inherently negative? my answer is fuck no (see the whole "difference between a tyrant and a leader" thing above).

but THATS where the issue of this discourse LIES. in some people's eyes, the answer to that is YES. techno's made it clear "no government" is his personal view, but does that spread to the syndicate as a whole? do they act preemptively in case it DOES become corrupt? is it inherently corrupt because its a government, regardless of how it is ruled? the fact of the matter is because of how little we've seen the syndicate work as a SYNDICATE, we don't know that answer. so we're left to debate and speculate HOW they would act.

if the syndicate were to let that government exist, then they are not tyrannical. they are showing that they are working to stop tyranny and corruption, just like in pogtopia again.

if the syndicate were to destroy/attack that government, then they are tyrannical. simple as that. they are enforcing a rule of their own creation without any nuance or flexibility under the threat of absolute destruction.

miscommunication in debates comes, in my opinion, in the above. of course theres more points of nuance. for example:

would the syndicate allow a government like i had described with early lmanberg, where there is an established hierarchy but everyone in the country consents to said leadership? on one hand, there is no tyranny or corruption present which is what they are trying to work against. on the other hand, theres more a possibility of it occuring. perhaps they'd find a middle road between the two binary options of "leave or destroy" i am presenting, such as checking in occasionally to ensure no corruption occurs.

but if they were to destroy it without, for lack of a better word, "giving it a chance" they would be, in my opinion, tyrannical. they would be going aginst their words of opposing corruption and instead abusing their power to gain compliance.

your/others opinions may differ, again it depends on if you see it as worth it to possibly stop future tyranny or if a hierarchy is INHERENTLY a negative thing.

part of the reason so many blog gave up this debate, beyond not getting very clear answers for the syndicate, is because of the nuance present. there. is. no. right. answer. every single person will view it differently, because there is no universally agreed upon truth of right or wrong here. BUT, i hope this helps shed some light on the discussion and my thoughts on it

#dream smp #mcyt #techno #syndicate analysis #YEAH IM MAINTAGGING WHAT OF IT #also i-- idk if it should be crit tagged? i tried to be as fair and open as possible #lemme know what yall think #ANYWAY ANON IM SO FUCKING SORRY THIS THING ENDED UP 2.3K WORDS LONG #I JUST RLLY WNATED TO BE THOUROUGH AND AS FUCKING CENTRIST /HJ AS POSSIBLE FJDKSLFJ #its very nuanced and theres no right answer but you sure as hell know mine now #answered #anon #im at work rn im gonna get fucking fired for this FJDKSFJKL #/HJ HOPEFULLY IN THAT I AM AT WORK BUT I WONT GET FIRED #og post #(jeb bush voice) please clap

[shaheenarnitipsyart]

The New Dawn

It is the 31st time joining @flashfictionfridayofficial​ ! Thank you for the creative prompt! This is an excerpt from my wip, The Song of the Wind. Hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 877

T/W: mention of blood

Svedra (she/her): the founder/first ruler of the Kingdom of Iksa. She killed the oppressive overlord Merikh when she was a mere teenager and became the leader of the rebels. However, eventually she started ruling newly conquered clans as well as new allies with heavy hand. 

Myron (they/them): an envoy of the new ally. Disgusted by Svedra’s arrogant attitude and harsh treatment towards new members of the kingdom. They raised their voice against her and that leads to this scene.

Then go ahead and kill me, right here, right now.’ Svedra threw an unsheathed dagger between herself and Myron. The dagger was definitely not an ornamental one - the grip was worn out, yet, its blade was incredibly sharp like a wolf-fang. It must have fed on the blood of hundreds of people. Myron felt a chill running down their spine. They slowly moved their gaze from the dreadful knife, only to find Svedra’s cold, terrifying smile. Her eyes were piercing Myron like a pair of newly forged arrowheads, so sharp that almost unbearable. Myron managed to hold off, looking into her dark, unfathomable eyes. They could tell that she was not joking. Myron felt that everything else was suddenly gone, and only Svedra, the dagger, and the heavy silence were left to exist. No evening sky. No pillars of marble. No trees in the garden. No fragrance of jasmine. In the world almost synonymous with void, Svedra and Myron, they alone were alive. Svedra raised her chin arrogantly, looking at Myron, whose face turned ashen. ‘It was you who said that I am so tyrannical that I deserve death.’ Svedra’s harsh voice echoed in the hollow world. ‘Then you shall be the one to end the ‘tyranny.’’ Like an aggressive hunting dog, Svedra chased Myron to the dead-end. ‘Take that dagger and put an end to this, just like I did two decades ago.’ She slowly stepped forward like a careful jagger, and Myron felt tears welling up in their eyes despite their best effort not to show fear. At the same time, Myron found themselves awed by her dignified manner. It was incredible that Svedra maintained her composure at this moment of life and death. She sure was a warrior who had survived hundreds of battles. ‘This dagger will surely enjoy feasting on my blood - so did it on Merikh’s.’ This time, though, Myron could pick up a subtle change in her voice in a fleeting moment - grief, regret, or nostalgia? Svedra moved swiftly, picking up the dagger. And next moment, Myron felt an icy hilt pointing at them. ‘Take it. Or do you have a heart of a coward? Be true to your word. But remember - it is not the end of the story. Rather, it is a beginning - the fiery dawn that sets the world ablaze. Answer me, what are you going to do now Will you take responsibility  for your deed?’ With a small, sarcastic laugh, she added. ‘Of course, you will. Otherwise, you would not come this far. Now, just do it.’ The silence was so heavy that it could crush Myron into pieces. Yet, under the weight of silence, hundreds of emotions and thoughts were swirling. I cannot go back. But if I go ahead… will that end the oppression? Is she the cause of all evil, the fire burns down my people, my land? I believed so. She is an aggressor, dictator, destroyer. However… Why does she look like a wounded animal? How much blood did she have to shed? She might have lost someone just like all of us...

Svedra observed the trembling young person, barely managing to stand on their feet. They were no match for her obviously, yet they got a gut. Her initial intent was to utterly destroy this reckless one’s pride so that they could never come back to her. But something changed in her heart. She looked into their wide-opened black eyes filled with disgust and disbelief. And in the middle of those emotions, she recognised her own reflection. For the first time in many years, she felt something other than anger and a desire to control. I really might have turned into a beast that I destroyed a long time ago. What an irony - a hunter became a monster.

After all, Myron was not the only one torn apart in a whirlwind of emotions. She took her pride in what she had achieved - she led a rebellion and established the kingdom. Her desire for territories, her fear of civil unrest justified strict punishment. The loss of her loved ones scarred her heart, driving her for revenge. People avoided her burning gaze so that they would not accidentally cause an outburst of her wrath. But Myron did not break eye contact. 

A comforting evening breeze stroked her face. At the same moment, Myron made a move as if pushed by the wind. They grasped the hilt of the dagger abruptly, throwing it aside, and took her battle-hardened hand. The sound of the blade hitting the hard marble floor resounded. ‘I give you my answer.’ Myron’s grip was so tight, telling that nothing could sway their decision. ‘I wish I could kill the beast in you. Nay, I’m going to destroy it.  But this blood-soaked dagger of yours won’t do.’ In their determined face, Svedra saw her younger self for a second - reckless yet determined. High spirited and radiated with hope for a better world. ‘Then?’ She asked calmly. ‘I don’t know. But the death of the beast will bring new dawn - not the one which demands bloodshed, but the one that brings light. And I will take responsibility, I swear.’

The wind rose and embraced both.

‘Then, so be it.’

@flashfictionfridayofficial​

#fff134 #Flash Fiction Friday #awaiting your answer #the song of the wind #My WIP #the kingdom of iksa

[hafanforever]

Tyrant Terror

So I know it’s no surprise to my closest friends and fellow Disney fans on Tumblr that I have a strong, deep affinity for villains, including those by Disney. And over the last several months, the more I wrote about King Runeard in my Frozen II analyses, the more I realized what made him a tyrant, albeit a secret one, and that led me to think about other villains in the Disney animated canon who were tyrants.

The thing is, while most historical tyrants were people of royalty, you don’t necessarily have to be a monarch in order to be a tyrant. The definition of a tyrant isn’t limited to being a KING or QUEEN who is openly cruel, hostile, harsh, uncaring, oppressive, persecuting, and unjust towards the people they rule. I mean, that is one way to express tyranny, and probably the most famous way it is and has been done. But what it really means for a person to be called a tyrant is being in a position of power, authority, and/or control over other people and MISUSING, to the point of ABUSING, that position, and often for that tyrant's own selfish desires rather than in the best interest of the people being ruled by the tyrant.

So from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Frozen II, there are a handful of tyrannical antagonists who are indeed monarchs, such as the Queen of Hearts, Prince John, and Scar, but also plenty others who are not. There are tyrants who are corrupt government officials, such as Governor Ratcliffe, Frollo, and Bellwether, and even those who wield magic, such as Maleficent, Ursula, and Jafar. And like the villainous monarchs, the non-monarch villains prove themselves as tyrants all because they abuse their positions of power, magic or non-magic power, and authority that they have over other characters. In fact, there are even a couple of heroic characters who start off more as protagonist villains because they display tyrannical behavior before they become better people. On the contrary, the main antagonist enemies of these tyrant heroes serve as darker reflections of what the latter characters could have become had they not learned the error of their ways.

Below is my list of all the villains from Walt Disney Animation Studios that I perceive as tyrants, from monarchs to government officials to sorcerers, and what scenes in their respective movies depict them displaying tyrannical behavior. I even listed villains that would have become tyrants had they succeeded in their longterm goals.

Monarchs

The Evil Queen: Though we never see her actively governing her kingdom on screen, the abuse that the evil queen displays in her authority over Snow White by dressing her stepdaughter in rags and forcing her to work as a maid in an attempt to make her (Snow White) unattractive makes her a tyrant for sure. Furthermore, the way she mocks the skeletal remains of a prisoner in her dungeon suggests the queen is indeed a cruel, tyrannical ruler.

Queen of Hearts: If we want to consider the epitome of a true tyrant that is a monarch from Disney, it can be safely assumed that that role belongs to the Queen of Hearts. While every resident of Wonderland is insane in some way, the Queen is the most dangerous one of all by being the ruler of the land. An egotist extraordinaire, she loves to get her way, insisting that “All ways are MY ways!” and enjoys hearing the words “Yes, Your Majesty”. The Queen outwardly abuses her authority and power over her subjects by becoming furious over even the smallest of matters, during which she loses her literally explosive temper and flies into violent rages. She is also extremely irrational and unjust in making decisions, primarily by utilizing executions as her only and immediate solution to any problem, especially whenever she feels someone has wronged her, while also refusing to let the individuals she wants beheaded explain their sides of the stories. Enraged upon seeing her white roses painted red, when she misses a shot in croquet, and when she becomes the target of a prank caused by the Cheshire Cat, the Queen sentences those she deems responsible to death by beheading. All of this proves just how much she persecutes and oppresses the residents of Wonderland, instilling only fear and intimidation into their hearts. (A pun that is VERY much intended by me, the Queen of Puns! 😆😆😆)

Prince John: While possessing a short temper that isn’t nearly as explosive and violent as that of the Queen of Hearts, Prince John is displayed to be extremely incompetent as the ruler of England during the time that King Richard is off fighting in the Crusades. Stingy and greedy, the prince continually finds ways to rob and swindle his people in pursuit of wealth for himself. John shows absolutely no care that the harsh laws he decrees to gain more money drive the citizens of Nottingham into poverty and starvation, and he even cruelly mocks them on their poor states by saying, “Rob the poor to feed the rich!”. After the villagers start making fun of him with the song “The Phony King of England”, John punishes them by further increasing the tax payments. Soon everyone in Nottingham is stripped of their money and they are put in prison due to their inability to pay their taxes.

Horned King: Even though the Queen of Hearts projects herself as the ideal example of a royal tyrant, she is far less evil and scary than the Horned King. A skeletal creature with green, rotting flesh, the Horned King is completely frightening in appearance and in personality. Malicious, cruel, malevolent, sinister, power-hungry, megalomaniacal, ruthless, and merciless, he is the epitome of a tyrant who is nothing but purely and completely evil. His goal is to find the infamous Black Cauldron and use its powers to unleash an army of immortal warriors called the Cauldron Born in order to become immortal and conquer the world.

Scar: Denied a legitimate chance to succeed Mufasa as the King of the Pride Lands once Simba is born, Scar schemes to have both of them killed to become king. After murdering Mufasa and believing that Simba has been killed as well, Scar ascends to the throne. However, because he allows the hyenas unrestricted hunting rights in the Pride Lands, their overeating leads to a shortage of food, and a drought leads to other animal herds moving away. Ultimately, these events turn the kingdom into a barren wasteland under Scar’s reign, leaving it completely devoid of green vegetation, water, and food sources. Incredibly lazy and incompetent as a ruler, and caring about nothing except the power and authority that being king gives him, Scar refuses to accept that his allowance of the hyenas overeating is what leads to the destruction of the Pride Lands. He instead blames it on Sarabi and the other lionesses since the hyenas complained to him that they refuse to go hunt. When she suggests they leave Pride Rock to survive, Scar obstinately rejects the idea, not at all caring that he has essentially sentenced them to death. He argues that his place as king puts him in the right for whatever he decides to do: “I am the king! I can do whatever I want!”

King Runeard: In his life, Runeard openly presented himself as a peaceful, generous leader to the people of Arendelle AND the Northuldra. But Elsa discovers from his snowy manifestation in Ahtohallan that he did not trust the Northuldra just because they followed magic. Despite his kingdom having seen him as a benevolent ruler, the face the figure of Runeard makes as he sneers "of a king!" implies that only really cared about himself as well the power and authority he had in being a king. Therefore, he secretly misused and abused it whenever the opportunity came along. This is displayed perfectly when Runeard had the dam constructed in the Enchanted Forest, presenting it as a gift to the Northuldra. He claimed that it would strengthen their land, but admitted only to the second-in-command that the dam’s effects would be just the opposite. This was all part of Runeard’s subtle plan to destroy the Northuldra, as he feared they would try to usurp him and take over Arendelle using their magical ties.

Government Officials/Authority Figures

Lady Tremaine: Like the evil queen before her, Lady Tremaine has control and authority over Cinderella once the latter’s father dies, and misuses it by turning Cinderella into her servant. Day after day for ten years, Lady Tremaine orders and bosses Cinderella around, forces her to do every single bit of housework and menial task for her and the former’s daughters, and subjects the poor girl to an endless cycle of abuse and torment. When Cinderella is accused by Anastasia of putting Gus under the latter’s teacup, her stepmother refuses to let her explain the truth and unfairly punishes her with extra chores. Later, Lady Tremaine falsely promises Cinderella she may attend the ball if she finds a suitable dress and finishes her chores, but gives her chore after chore to do to keep her from working on her dress. After Cinderella appears wearing the dress her mouse and bird friends fixed up for her, Lady Tremaine subtly and cruelly manipulates Drizella and Anastasia into destroying it so that she can appear to be fair in her side of the bargain (”If you can find something suitable to wear”) while simultaneously keeping Cinderella from going to the ball in the first place. The following morning, when she realizes Cinderella was the mysterious girl who danced with the prince at the ball, Lady Tremaine follows her stepdaughter up to her room and locks her in to prevent her from trying on the glass slipper when the Duke arrives with it.

Sheriff of Nottingham: Despite not being the main antagonist of Robin Hood, the Sheriff of Nottingham is as much of a tyrant over the town as Prince John is to it and the entirety of England. This is because he is abusive, ruthless, and completely unsympathetic towards the people’s poverty and continually demands that they pay their taxes, regardless of what other problems they may have that hinders them from doing so. It is because of the Sheriff’s harsh decree of taxes, and then by that of Prince John once the latter takes up residence in Nottingham, that the town’s citizens are driven into poverty. The cruel, immoral way the Sheriff collects taxes includes forcing out the coins Otto had hidden in his leg cast, not caring that his act was causing the blacksmith pain from his broken leg, confiscating the one farthing Skippy had been given for his birthday and insincerely wishing him a happy birthday, and taking the single farthing that was in the Friar Tuck’s church's poor box and laughing as he did it.

Ratigan: A notorious crime lord, Ratigan is the leader of a gang of thugs comprised primarily of mice, but also including a bat named Fidget, who is his second-in-command. Although they willingly help their boss with his crimes, they also participate out of fear for their own lives. Ratigan is an abusive tyrant to his minions and threatens to feed them to his cat Felicia if they ever do something that angers him, even if it occurs unintentionally. This is shown after one of his drunken thugs calls him a rat during "The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind”, and Ratigan threatens his other minions with the same fate if they do not keep singing. Ratigan’s latest scheme is to take over London by murdering the Mouse Queen during her Diamond Jubilee celebration and secretly replacing her with a lifelike robot. He and his thugs (who are disguised as royal guards) infiltrate Buckingham Palace and kidnap the Queen, who is taken to be fed to Felicia by Fidget. As the Diamond Jubilee takes place, the Robot Queen names Ratigan as her new "Royal Consort", and Ratigan, dressed in an ornate robe, immediately presents himself in front of the gathered citizens of Mousedom, terrifying them. He then proceeds to read over his long list of tyrannical laws, one of which is a heavy tax policy for people he deems "parasites", including the elderly, infirm, and children.

Governor Ratcliffe: A completely unscrupulous and greedy man, Ratcliffe leads John Smith and other sailors on an expedition to Virginia to find gold, but he secretly plans to keep all discovered riches for himself. Upon their arrival to America, he forces all of the settlers to dig around their encampment, but refuses to do any manual labor himself out of his own sheer laziness. When no gold turns up in the searches, Ratcliffe becomes greedily convinced that it is because the Native Americans are hoarding it. He refuses to believe John's claim that there is no gold around the land, claiming that the Powhatans’ land is his land for the taking and that he makes the laws. After John is captured by the Powhatans, as they believed he murdered Kocoum, Ratcliffe takes it as the opportunity to take the non-existent gold from them, but claiming to his men that it is a rescue mission.

Judge Claude Frollo: Perhaps the darkest and most malevolent of all Disney Villains in animation (aside from the Horned King), Frollo uses his position as the Minister of Justice in the city of Paris to enrich himself and persecute anyone and everyone he considers inferior. He especially holds a deep-seated hatred for the gypsies and plots to eradicate them from the city. Despite his dark deeds, Frollo refuses to find any fault within himself and he truly believes he is a good person who is only trying to rid the world of sin and malice. Any time he commits a crime or is about to do one, he makes excuses to justify them, saying he is doing it in the eyes of God and that his victims are the ones who are really at fault. After chasing and murdering Quasimodo’s mother since he believed that the bundle she was carrying was stolen goods, Frollo attempts to murder Quasimodo since he believes the latter’s deformity makes him an unholy demon. Years later, after trapping Esmeralda in Notre Dame and upon discovering that she has escaped, he launches a ruthless manhunt around the city to find her, burning down the houses of anyone suspected of sheltering gypsies (including an innocent miller and his family, who survive thanks to Phoebus’s intervention) and interrogating gypsies who are captured. During the climax, Frollo makes the excuse that Esmeralda has proven herself to be a witch and will be executed by burned at the stake as her sentence.

Hades: The reluctant ruler of the Underworld and Lord of the Dead, Hades abuses his authoritative role by subjecting his lackeys Pain and Panic to harsh mistreatment whenever they fail a task assigned to them and any other time they do or say something that angers their boss. The two imps only put up with Hades’s abuse not so much out of loyalty to him, but out of deep fear for him. When he discovers that the two did not succeed in killing Hercules as a baby, Hades furiously grabs both Pain and Panic by their necks and chokes them as he demands they explain themselves. Later, after Hercules becomes a famous hero in Thebes, Pain and Panic adorn themselves with some of the hero’s merchandise, much to their boss’s complete ire.

Shan Yu: The ruthless yet respected leader of the Hun army, Shan Yu is an extremely dark, merciless, and dangerous individual determined to take control of China. His thought-to-be impossible feat of getting through the Great Wall to invade China soon makes him notorious and feared throughout the entire country. In his journey to the Imperial City, Shan Yu and his army destroy one village, then slaughter the entire Imperial Army and residents in another village at the Tung Shao Pass in the mountains. He and five of his elite soldiers are the only ones who survive a snow avalanche caused by Mulan. When the group arrives at the Imperial City and take control of the palace, Shan Yu orders the Emperor to bow to him, and decides to kill him when the latter adamantly refuses to do so.

Turbo: Initially believed to be the ruler of the game Sugar Rush, King Candy is secretly Turbo, a racer from the old game TurboTime who was believed to have died after his game was permanently unplugged. Having stolen the throne from Vanellope Von Schweetz, the true ruler, Turbo turns her into a glitch and makes himself the ruler of her kingdom. While he is viewed as eccentric and flamboyant, yet jovial and benevolent, to his subjects, Turbo is extremely obsessive and possessive of his new royal status. He continuously lusts for power and authority and goes to great lengths to secretly abuse his position, not just by allowing the other racers to ruthlessly torment Vanellope, but especially by keeping Vanellope from racing so that she cannot regain the role he had stolen from her.

Bellwether: The epitome of the famous phrase “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, Dawn Bellwether pretends to be sweet, meek, and friendly to successfully hide her true prejudiced, ruthless, embittered nature. Initially the overworked assistant mayor of Zootopia to its mayor Leodore Lionheart, Bellwether secretly hates him and all predators, viewing them as nothing more than savage, dangerous monsters. In her scheme to overthrow him, take control of the city, and drive all predators out of Zootopia, Bellwether becomes the leader of a secret organization of sheep terrorists who create a serum from night howlers to turn predators feral. This would give the illusion that they were biologically reverting back to their "primitive savage ways" and eventually be regarded as too dangerous for society, allowing only prey animals to take up the entire population. However, in her goal to become the mayor of Zootopia, rather than subjecting Lionheart to becoming savage, Bellwether instead develops her plot to ensure that he is removed from office and his positive reputation amongst the citizens is ruined, allowing her to rise to power in his place.

Magic Users

Maleficent: Known as The Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent is a ruthless tyrant who rules her own subjects at her home, the Forbidden Mountain. Using her dark magic, she continuously abuses her power and authority over her minions, particularly whenever they display incompetence and stupidity. This is shown when Maleficent flies into a rage and attacks them with her magic upon realizing that, over the last 16 years in their search for Aurora, they were only looking for a baby, not realizing in their idiocy that Aurora would be growing up.

Ursula: Known for her dark reputation as a sea witch, Ursula was banished from Atlantica by Triton. She explains in “Poor Unfortunate Souls” that she uses her magic to help merfolk attain their deepest desires and only imprisons them if they can’t keep their side of the bargain. However, after she takes Ariel’s voice away and turns the latter into a human to try and win Eric’s heart, Ursula reveals she has no intention of letting Ariel follow through with kissing Eric to remain human. She proves herself to be a tyrant because all she really does is backstab the merpeople with whom she makes deals in order to ensure that only HER desires are met! When she bargains with Triton so he will surrender himself to her in exchange for Ariel’s freedom, Ursula steals his crown and trident, then grows to giant size, declaring herself the ruler of the entire ocean.

Jafar: Unbeknownst to the Sultan of Agrabah, his Royal Vizier Jafar plots to take control of the kingdom, and he needs the Genie of the lamp from the Cave of Wonders to pull off this feat. Once the lamp is in his possession, Jafar succeeds with his first to become sultan. But after Jasmine and her father refuse to bow to him, he wishes to become the most powerful sorcerer in the world to have an even greater amount of power. During his brief reign, Jafar proves himself to be a tyrant by turning Agrabah into a dystopian wasteland, dressing the Sultan as a living marionette and allowing him to be abused by Iago, and making Jasmine his own slave girl.

Tyrants-Turned-Heroes

The Beast: From the time he is cursed and until he finally starts to soften, the spoiled behavior the prince had before his curse remains. He is aggressive, rude, impatient, and frequently and easily loses his temper when something annoys or irritates him. Primarily due to his short temper, the Beast acts like a tyrant towards his servants because he is mean and cruel to them as he gives them orders, which makes them deeply afraid of him. Only on some occasions do they openly rebel against him or talk back to him, such as Mrs. Potts ordering the Beast to act more like a gentleman around Belle, and both her and Lumiere deciding to feed Belle despite being told that she was not allowed to eat unless she ate with the Beast.

Kuzco: In the beginning, Kuzco is very arrogant, lazy, selfish, and self-absorbed, viewing himself as superior to all simply for being the emperor. He rules his empire completely without the best interest of his people and always seeks to have his way, never showing any concern over the chances things could turn out badly for other people involved. This is shown when he sets his sights on building his summer home of Kuzcotopia on the top of the hill where Pacha, Pacha’s family, and other villagers reside. Since the plan will only benefit himself, Kuzco shows absolutely no care or concern that destroying Pacha’s village to build Kuzcotopia will render the residents homeless.

Would-Be Tyrants

Gaston: From what I described about him in “Bride and Prejudice” with his growing obsession with Belle and his low, inferior views of women, there is no doubt in my mind that, had Gaston succeeded in marrying Belle and starting a family with her, he would have run his household like a tyrant. He would be very controlling to the point of being physically abusive to his wife in order to get her to obey every single one of his commands and orders. Like many of the tyrants I listed above, Gaston would undoubtedly use fear and intimidation to keep his wife in her proper place of being beneath him, and he would instill these same feelings on to his own children.

Yzma: Her ire drawn after Kuzco remorselessly fires her, a furious Yzma decides to kill him so that she can take over the empire. While Kuzco is initially selfish, callous, and uncaring towards his staff and people living in his empire, he learns to change his ways by the end of the film. Had Yzma succeeded in her goal, she would have been far more of a selfish, ruthless tyrant than Kuzco was at first. This is evident during her introduction scene, which is one of many times she governs the empire whenever Kuzco is not present. As a peasant complains to her that he and his family are suffering from limited food sources, Yzma spitefully says his problem is of no concern to her, and that the man should have realized this ahead of time.

Hans: While taking over as temporary ruler of Arendelle in both Elsa and Anna’s absence, Hans wins the hearts of the people by acting as a kind, caring, benevolent ruler during the harsh conditions brought on by Elsa’s magical winter. Though he reveals his true, dark nature to Anna and his plot to take control of Arendelle, the fact that he earned the trust and respect of the Arendellians suggest that Hans could truly have been a very worthy ruler. However, now that we have Frozen II and it revealed that Runeard was actually a malevolent tyrant behind the same kind of benevolent facade that Hans used, there is no doubt in my mind that had he succeeded in stealing Arendelle’s throne, Hans also would have become a ruthless, power-hungry, selfish tyrant in secret.

#Miscellaneous Disney #Disney #Disney Villains #Disney Villain #villains #villain #tyranny #tyrants #tyrant #The Evil Queen #Queen of Hearts #Prince John #Horned King #Scar #King Runeard #Lady Tremaine #Sheriff of Nottingham #Ratigan #Governor Ratcliffe #Judge Claude Frollo #Hades #Shan Yu #Turbo #Bellwether #Maleficent #Ursula #Jafar #my stuff #mine

[motherstone]

tell us about the symbolism bby g <3

Poem explanation under the cut!

Broken

To become King

Is to be visible and invisible.

• It's technically metaphorical, of course as the leader responsible for countless of lives, people will rely on you and look on you as an example foremost, and you must project competence and responsibility (hence visible). Invisible on the other hand, means you can't really be your own person in this position. It's far too risky for you and your people to present as a person with flaws and weakness, especially at the time as turbulent as Trellis's, which was post-war.

Our country is weak

Simmering in misery,

Festering with hatred,

And scourged by corruption.

From the lowly snake to the lofty bird,

They starve to bite,

Hungry to maim,

And the number more than the stars.

• Lowly snake refers to the bottom of the barrel, crime lords, peasant criminals, while lofty bird refers to political enemies, antagonistic menbers of the government. Trellis is vulnerable, as many people are preying on him and out for his throat, and he has very little allies, if at all. The stars, in my headcanon, usually refers to the people. Be it living or dead.

Do not falter,

Do not break,

Do not fall.

Even if you must be held together by strings.

• Because once again, I think Supernova doesn't exist, Trellis here actually fights his dad. And it's not a glorious battle of the hero triumphant over the villain — it was a very gruesome and emotionally taxing fight that pushed Trellis to his breaking point and beyond. It means regardless of Trellis's emotional turmoil and general well-being or being manipulated by people far more political-savvy than he us, he must still assume his role and his duty. Not unlike a puppet.

Let your throne reach the heavens,

And your enemies will never destroy you.

• Of course, that doesn't mean other people should know that. Tying to the first verse, Trellis must project a strong kingdom and ruler — although admittedly, he didn't really do a rather bloodless job about it.

Therefore wear your hair long, woven together,

But never to be cut.

• A reference to my hc that hair length is sacred to elves. Typically a great length is a sign of expertise, but it also connects them to their ancestors. But it's also a reference to how burdened Trellis is by his "crown" (as some who had long ass hair and short ass hair, this could also mean literally LOL). Basically, this line is encouraging Trellis to keep connecting to his roots.

Let your immaculate robes touch the dirty ground,

But never let them stain.

• Another reference of mine that Royal robes shouldn't touch the ground (I know book 5 disses on this but LEMME HEADCANON) and any servant allowing so means a trip to the gallows. This one is encouraging him to lower himself to the same as his people but not to the point of immorality (hah)

Render yourself untouchable,

But never unreachable.

• once again, must project an aura of a great king, but he must not close himself off entirely from others. Stuff like that leads to people becoming like his father. They're all string of advice for Trellis to follow in order to be a great king, but unfortunately, trauma and pressure catches up to him, and he breaks down.

And our people will survive.

So, wear this mask and BECOME,

The ruler you were always meant to be.

• in a terrible twist of irony, that while Trellis didn't really end up tyrannic or warmongering like his father, in a way, he still fell.

#asks #broken comic

[akampana]

Very well, you have seen several possible ships. Now let's go to the extreme: Arturia Lancer Alter x Cu Chulainn Alter. The end of the world is coming!

Thank you for the ask!

Oh, Anon, if you only knew how many miles this little ask has run in my head. I worked hard on this, so I hope you like what I wrote or that I at least gave you a good read :)

This is long, and reads more like an essay, so I put it under the cut. Enjoy!

What made you ship it?

Cuturia. I will never tire of exploring this pairing, and damn did I fall deep into the rabbit hole researching for this ask.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Good and Evil - Always a bloody good trope.

I find it interesting how their Alter-ations work

Larturia Alter side:

If you've read through the last ask involving Larturia Alter, I briefly touched upon how I view her as a character, and how she is the older, more realistic, tyrannical version of Arturia, and yet she is not evil. Rather, she fully accepts the incredible weight of her duty, taking in all the hatred from the masses because she believes Camelot's only way forward is if she rules with a vicious hand. I also shortly alluded that she seems to me like the more mature version of the OG Saber, much more so than the Lion King, since Larturia Alter still technically shares Arturia's dream. What differs is the method she used trying to achieve it.

As a Servant, Larturia Alter becomes a loyal spear. She's still brutal in her speech and certainly to her enemies, but most especially to herself.

Cu Alter side:

(I can speak more about him cause of more material, and he was one of the first five stars I rolled so, I've had him almost the entire time I've been playing fgo)

Cú Alter, on the other hand, is altered in such a way that he's literally Medb's wet dream, except...he doesn't exactly end up like the Cú she hates, loves, and hates to love. According to the material, Cú Alter is the product of a wish for "A wicked monarch similar to both myself and Cú Chulainn", and what is birthed from that wish is a twisted misunderstanding of what Medb thinks a king is, forced onto the valiant Cú Chulainn template.

Except there will never ever be a world where Cú Chulainn would want to be a ruler. The sheer dissonance of Cú's essence corrupted by such a wish results in what we got: A dispassionate fighting machine that desires nothing, enjoys nothing, and only remains alive because he has to fulfil the twisted, vision of a "king" the deranged princess made for him. And Cú, he thinks her vision so vile and his position so ugly, that the only way he could see it met was to seal his emotions away and destroy all that contest his claim to that title.

Playing through his interlude and as a Servant, Cú Alter is generally prickly and rather adamant about solo-ing things like the murder machine he believes himself to be, but he does have the capacity to get attached.

So, what happens when the King of Storms and the Mad King collide?

Complete and utter chaos.

On the one side, we have a "good" king who willfully shoulders all the hatred in the world as she accepts her demonic title for the sake of her kingdom and on the other, a reluctant warrior who rejects everything about the title thrust upon him and would sooner decimate an entire continent than have its people live under the evil that is himself.

All they seem to share is tyranny, heavy crowns, and a dislike for themselves, that couldn't work, right?

Not unless you consider this:

Cú will never ever get over how Arturia can stand there, crushed under the weight of her diadem, and still wish to save humanity. No matter how much she was loathed, no matter how much she was detested, the Once and Future King accepted it all, ruling with her iron fist for the good of her people.

He isn't supposed to care. He isn't supposed to give a damn about bloody anything except cutting down Master's enemies, and yet here before him is a Servant he cannot ignore. She, by her existence alone, shakes Cú Alter right down to his very spirit origin, threatening to split the hero from the monster.

Because she is the personification of kind brutality.

She is his exact antithesis.

Apathy to Enemies to Lovers to Something neither can define

In Chaldea, their dynamic would begin with literally nothing, because surface level, they are pretty similar in their vicious conduct. In fact, fielding them together initially gives the Master the impression that they'd get along.

They don't, not after they find out each other's philosophy.

In fact, what occurs between them is bitter rejection, all the way until Cú Alter finally finds himself at the other end of Larturia Alter's definition of kindness and all his barriers crack as if struck by her lightning.

And Cú, cynical, deceptively unfeeling Cú, decides there were enough in the world that hated her, and he would not let himself be one of them.

They still clash, over and over, but eventually it's no longer a war. How can it be, when both sides were beginning to accept their differences? When both sides were beginning to understand?

Everyone questions Master why they're no longer truly at each other's throats, when the evidence suggests that they should be. But Master understands what Lancer Alter and Berserker would never realize, nor admit.

There were never any barriers between good and evil. Not for love.

On a less serious note. uhm. smut.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have about your ship?

I rewrote this ask a few times. Initially, I answered that I thought they'd get along swimmingly, both being instruments of mass destruction, and then I realized wait, no. Lancer Alter's frame of mind is completely different. That argument would apply better to Salter, maybe.

So yeah, the opinion that these two probably really can't fully agree with one another. They could still be brutal baddies together of course, and be the hailstorm power couple of our dreams, but their motivations as individuals would still pretty much differ.

They would annihilate the junk food stash before anyone can blink. Larturia would take it from the others in the interest of their health, Cú would probably just do it because he knew it made them angry.

#akampana asks #cu alter #cu chulainn alter #lartoria alter #arturia pendragon #artoria pendragon #arturia #artoria #lartoria #lancer alter #berserker #cutoria #cuturia #long post

[targaryenimagines]

Fractured: Part One

Daenerys Targaryen x Fem!Lannister!Reader

Word Count: 3,874

Summary: You have known for quite some time that Westeros was in dire need of help. You just didn't know how soon that need for help would arrive. Or how catastrophic the circumstances would be to cause it.

Warnings: None that I can think of.

Note: I have shifted some things in canon to better compensate with this story. I hope that's alright with all of you, and everything regarding that will be explained throughout the series.

Tagged: @schroedingershund

Oh how the mighty have fallen, your mind scoffs as you stare at the decrepit wooden surface in front of you. You could see every minute imperfection as if it was laid bare for your eyes only. That every fissure and crack was specifically put there so you would be able to gaze upon them. To keep your mind from the numbing spiral it had been begging to go in since you went into the carriage. 

You could hear your uncle and Varys whispered conversation. Their words are a soft croon against the buzzing of your static filled mind. However even the softest of noise could become an insistent bother the longer you were exposed to it. A fact that you only became more aware of the longer you were exposed. Closing your eyes you try to ignore the throbbing of your head and the desolate beat of your heart. 

You tried to ignore the memories that were surfacing the further away you got from Westeros. 

Away from your home.

Nothing could stop the memories from festering however. Nothing could stop them from worming their way through your mind. Trapping you in an endless loop without any hope to escape. You could still remember the safety you felt in your mother’s arms and how quickly that had been ripped away. The betrayal on her face as you stood in front of your uncle, protecting him from Joffrey’s tyrannical rule. You remember the way her green eyes glazed over with grief as she stared at you. Her eyes dimmed to an almost jade color, so different from the emerald they normally were. The stark contrast had caused a shiver to run down your spine, because in that moment you weren’t mother and daughter staring at one another. You were two enemies finally revealing themselves to each other. 

You could still remember the sight of your siblings staring at you with tear stricken faces. Tommen moved to approach you before he was stopped by Jaime. Myrcella simply sobbing as you were pulled away from her. Her hands reaching out to clasp yours before they too were ripped away. You could still remember the cold fury that had worked its way onto Joffrey’s face. His thirst for death and destruction had destroyed the very foundations of the Lannister family. 

You could still remember the moment you knew your life was going to change. The feel of the wind on your body as you watched Ned Stark get beheaded. The pain in your chest at the sight, and sound, of his daughter's pain. A daughter that, you must admit, had become a great friend. You can still remember her painfilled sobs as her father’s body was tossed to the side. Little regard being shown to the greatest man you had ever met. The sight of Joffrey smirking cruelly at her and your mother doing nothing to stop him. It was a sight that had set everything into motion. It was a sight that had finally caused you to detach yourself from your family. From the horror that was Westeros. From the pain that the land constantly seemed to cause. 

It was the sight that had caused you to denounce your claim to the throne. 

For you know that you would never be able to do what you have been planning to do if you were the ruler. There would be too many eyes on you at all times to be able to get away with it, but if you stayed the princess? You would be able to come and go as you please while all eyes were on Joffrey. Even your mother didn’t notice that you were gone for the majority of the day. For if she did you know that you would have been in trouble long before now. A fact that filled you with a cold sense of dread, but you quickly shook it off. She was miles and miles away from you and you would probably never see her again. At least not for quite some time anyway. 

Your plan was underway and nothing would stop you from completing it.

You were going to bring the Targaryen’s back to Westeros.

Even if it killed you in the process. 

A thought that would normally cause fear to run down your spine, but only brought with it a grim determination. You refused to have the land, well the people, you love get destroyed by the ones that were supposed to be protecting them. You refused to stand aside as your family destroyed everything that Westeros used to stand for. You refused to be the good little princess that you had been expected to be for your entire life. 

It was time to be like your namesake.

You wouldn’t be the sheep any longer. The lost little lamb searching for warmth and affection.

You were going to be the lioness that so many believed you could never be. It was time to bring Fire and Blood back to Westeros. 

Even if you had to hear the lion roar in pain because of it. 

-------

The heat of the sun on your back is stifling as you sit in the slow moving boat. Your body wedged against that of your uncles with your hands bound in front of you. The glare of the sun off the water almost making it impossible to see the man that sat before you. The man that had taken you captive in the first place. A man that held a name of some importance to you for it stirred the faint feeling of recollection. As if the man had made some impact in someone else's life, but you had only felt the ripples of said effects.

Jorah Mormont was an enigma to you in every single way. You know that he was a “spy” for Robert, and that he had defected after learning new things about his target. That same target now being yours, but you had no plans of ever deceiving her in any way. You need her on your side if your plan is going to work, and it’s only for the betterment of your country. For your people. They need a Targaryen to lead them because no one else can.

They need Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen as their queen, and you were going to make sure that it happened. 

Your thoughts only cause your head to start aching more. A fact that doesn’t surprise you in the slightest. 

Closing your eyes, to dull the pain, causes your other senses to compensate for the sudden loss. You could hear the soft whisper of the water against the hull. Feeling the give and take the water has with the vessel. Wanting to slow it down but the boat being too resistant to be hindered by the effort. You could smell the hint of ash in the air that still lingered from the ruins of Valyria around you. It was like incense with how powerful the scent became the longer you were in the confines of the once great nation. Even after the worst of it went away it still lingered all the same. Reminding you of its presence no matter where you were. 

Opening your eyes you turn your gaze towards your uncle. His dual colored orbs meeting your emerald with unwavering devotion. He was the only family that you had left, at least the only family that wanted you. You can only muster up half a smile for him, and even then you’re sure that it’s a pitiful attempt, but the way his smile only grows causes your heart to warm. As long as you had him by your side you know that you would be okay, and that nothing would come to harm you. 

You were about to speak when you heard the sounds of the air being disturbed above you. Without a second thought your gaze is turned towards the sky where a sight you would have never thought to see flies before you. A dragon, with scales the color of obsidian and blood, passes overhead with little regard to the humans below. Your breath catching as it passes underneath the sun and its scale glow ethereally. 

When you were younger you always loved the stories that Tyrion would tell you about dragons, and the mighty power that was Valyria. How Aegon the Conqueror was able to do all that he did because of Balerion. The sheer might that the great behemoth had to impose on all those that stood between his rider and the throne. Now seeing what you were sure would be a great dragon once grown reminds you of all those stories. Of Aegon and his sister wives taking over the once divided country, and it gives you a new wave of hope. Because, there was no doubt in your mind on who that dragons rider was. You had no doubt that Daenerys Targaryen would do her ancestors proud, and do things they would never be able to do. 

You had no doubt that she was what Westeros needed. 

------

Your muscles groan under the strain you were putting onto them. An ache beginning in the very bone as you continued moving, but you refused to stop. Refused to meet your uncle's concerned gaze as you continued to move down the dirt path. Even though your entire body was begging you to stop and rest, you refused. You were too close to your goal to stop now. 

You know that if it were any other time then you would be admiring the architecture that surrounded you. You had always wanted to visit Essos and see first hand the beautiful architecture that had influenced Westeros. 

But, it wasn’t any other time and you weren’t a wide eyed child anymore. 

You feel your body tense at the hand that suddenly appears on your forearm. Fighting every instinct to throw it off and protect yourself. You know that it was only your uncle and that he was simply concerned, but you couldn’t get those things out of your mind. You weren’t sure you could even call them human. Not with the way they had been behaving with an almost psychotic frenzy. You could still feel the way the body had canted towards you. Its eyes a frenzied brown amid the gray that had taken over. So stark against the expanse of rotten skin that it had caused you to freeze. Your mind trying to connect the being that had been charging towards you with a human being. If it wasn’t for Jorah the beast would have grabbed you, touched you, and, with a shudder, you remember what happens to all those that are touched by a being with grayscale. Your only hope is that Jorah is all right, because you wouldn’t know what you would do if he got the disease because of you. 

A soft voice breaks you out of your reverie, its tone filled with concern. “Maybe you should rest, little one.” You didn’t have to turn to know that your uncle was staring at you with a worried filled gaze. You know that he had every right to be worried, but you needed to keep going. Your people and your homeland depended on it. 

“I’ll be fine, uncle, don’t worry about me,” you respond, after a beat of silence, hoping that your voice came out with the cool nonchalance you had been striving for. 

You can tell that your uncle is about to speak once more, but you’re saved by Jorah’s gruff voice. “We should be arriving soon. You both remember the plan, right?” 

Closing your eyes, you nod, and hold out your hands for the shackles. Your body is already stiff at the thought of being bound again. Remembering exactly what happened after the last time, but you don’t voice your fears. You know this needed to happen because you couldn’t appear to be a threat. You couldn’t seem like you were just waltzing into her territory, her domain. You had to be offered, like chattel, to show that your intentions were pure. You just hope that it wouldn’t end with your head on a spike.

“For what its worth, I’m sorry,” Jorah says, softly, as he chains you. The cool embrace of metal meeting your skin in a familiar hold. You can only muster up a strained smile in response, but it seemed to be enough to satisfy him. And, you have to remind yourself that he was in the same boat you were in. That he was trying to prove himself to Daenerys again, and this was one of the ways he can do so. You shouldn’t judge him too harshly on his actions because you aren’t sure you wouldn’t do the same. 

He also saved your life. Don’t forget that, your mind whispers, and you internally scoff. Like you would forget the fact that he saved you. Saved you from a fate worse than death in some regards. You watch as the man moves to your uncle’s side. Both of them speaking in low voices that you couldn’t quite understand. You know that you should feel annoyed that you’re being left out of the loop but you couldn’t bring yourself to be. Whether it was because you were too tired or because you just didn’t care alludes to you, but you do know that you would be getting your answers soon.  

You follow, without a word, as Jorah brings you to a tunnel that seems to have had its fair share of use. You could tell by the way the stone had weathered away by both the elements and footsteps. Unfortunately there was no escaping the odor that seemed to exude from it. Your nose wrinkles of its own accord when hit by the full presence of it. The smell of body odor and blood causes your stomach to churn. Bile making its way up your throat before you’re able to constrict it. Closing your eyes you try to reign in the nausea that the place invoked in you. You would have to get used to these smells. Even though you wanted nothing more than to scrub your skin raw as you felt them leaking into your pores. You didn’t want to even imagine how horrible you may smell. 

Feeling a gentle tug on the chains binding your arms you open your eyes. Meeting Jorah’s gaze you can see the compassion he has for you, but you can also see the intent within the light blue too. Offering a small smile in return you begin to move down the hall. Your eyes watering slightly as the stench only grows worse, but you persevere because you were so close to your goal. You weren’t about to give up now because you couldn’t handle the scent of your surroundings. 

From where you were standing you could hear the distant clangs of metal. The muffled sounds of men’s grunts and cries as metal met flesh. They were sounds that you were used to, but they were different all the same. Where in Westeros it was controlled, cordial, here the cries were barbaric. They were taunting, their intent clear. 

Turning your head you could see the way your uncle was trying to process your new surroundings. His eyes travelling the length of the corridor and towards the sunlight you could see faintly streaming through the opening. The opening was where the sounds were spilling out from. Along with the barred window on the side of the corridor that allowed you to see what was happening. 

The sounds didn’t prepare you for the sight of what you saw. 

Men, of all shapes and sizes, were clashing together. Their bodies throwing themselves at each other with their blades brandished. Deep set snarls curling their mouths as they fought relentlessly. Bodies falling haphazardly on the ground, their blood getting lost amid the mud. You could see that a crowd of people were watching, cheering. Their eyes filled with a primal desire to see more bloodshed. Scanning the crowd you’re finally able to see the dais where the most important person in the crowd must sit.

Daenerys. 

Even though you couldn’t see her you were well aware of her presence. She was like a beacon of light amid the crowd, and you were the moth. Drawn to the flame that only she could provide. To the comfort and warmth that she could give to Westeros. You just hope that by the end of this meeting you’re not one of the many bodies lying in the mud. 

Feeling Jorah move beside you, you watch as she attaches your chains to the wall. The restriction causes your body to move towards the bench that lined the wall. Feeling the rough stone digging into you causes you to shift, but you make no sound of protest. You only watch as Jorah does the same to your uncle, and then he simply stares through the opening. Watching as man after man falls to the ground. Clearly waiting for the time that he would be able to approach his Khaleesi. 

However, what you weren’t expecting was for Jorah to suddenly stiffen. His gaze sharpens as he watches the final match. A younger boy trying to crawl away from the lumbering man behind him. The desperation in his movement is a clear indicator for his want for survival. You barely have time to react before Jorah grabs the helmet that was resting beside your thigh and rushes out. Your uncle standing with clear outrage and panic, which you could understand. If Jorah were to die you were sitting ducks. There would be no one there to vouch for you, and you know that Daenerys would sooner kill you then hear you out. Especially when you were the child of the very man that had started a rebellion that killed her entire family. Meeting his gaze you know that you had to break the chains that were binding you both to the wall. You couldn’t just be led to your execution like prized chattel, if you were going to die you were going to go out with dignity. You were going to face your executioner head on.  Better Daenerys than your mother. 

Trying with all your might you search for something that could file down the chains. Your eyes search desperately around your surroundings. Hearing the sound of metal being shaved behind you causes your head to snap towards your uncle. Seeing a dagger in his hand causes a brief flash of amusement to dance through your eyes. Of course, your uncle would have a secret weapon just in case things went south. Hearing the sounds of the fight escalating causes your body to tense. You didn’t know how well Jorah was doing, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care that much. Not when your uncle's life was on the line. You watch silently as he tries to file through your chains, but without any luck. It would take days at the rate the metal was chipping away. A feeling of despair was slowly working its way through your body. Your mind flashing through everything that has brought you here. Every trial and tribulation that you had gone through to reach this goal. 

Only to fail when you’re barely a few meters away from her, your mind taunts, and you can’t help but squeeze your eyes shut. Trying to stop the tears from forming, because now was not the time to cry. Hearing footsteps moving towards you causes your eyes to snap open. Your head whipping towards the source of the noise. You could feel the way your eyes widen at the sight of the man that stands before you. The way that your uncle stiffens behind you, and the way the chains tighten when he tries to move in front of you. The horror that fills your body as the man raises his sword above his head. 

You brace yourself for the incoming attack, but are only met with the sound of shattering metal. The feeling of weightlessness on your wrists as the chains were cut free. Meeting the man’s gaze you could do nothing but nod in thanks. Something that you were sure your uncle mirrored, and without another thought you made your way towards the opening. 

Reaching it you could hear the faint sounds of a conversation taking place. Before a fiery voice breaks through. “Get him out of my sight.”

You watch as men move to grab Jorah, and he desperately tries to shake them off. His eyes and words pleading with Daenerys to see reason. “Khaleesi, please, I just need a moment of your time. I brought you a gift. Two in fact.”

You could tell that things were about the head south if you and your uncle didn’t act fast. Moving out of the safety of the opening you make your forward. Acutely aware of your bound wrists and your uncle’s presence at your side. Your uncle speaking to break the stifling silence of the arena. 

“It’s true. He has.” 

Finally, you were standing in front of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. You could feel your heart pounding against your chest. The stories of her beauty didn’t do her justice. The white of her dress contrasted perfectly with her fair skin. Causing it to glow under the Essos sun. Her silvery-gold hair seemed to shine with an ethereal light. Framing her beautiful face and causing her cheekbones to stand out. Her violet eyes were cool and assessing as she stared at both you and your uncle. With bated breath you watch as she seems to deliberate on your sudden appearance. 

“Who are you?” 

The question was asked innocently enough, but the answers held the weight of a thousand suns. You watch as your uncle steps forward, making sure that he was in front of you, before answering. 

“I am one of the gifts. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace. My name is Tyrion Lannister, and the beautiful lass behind me is my niece. The crown princess of Westeros.” 

Utter silence falls after your uncle’s words, and you simply stand straighter because of it. While it may not be necessarily true anymore you would be damned if you would embarrass your uncle. You can see the way that Daenerys had stiffened at the news, and reveal of your birthright. Clearly seeing you as an adversary, and you know you didn’t want that. At all. 

Stepping forward you begin to speak, lowering your head while doing so. Making sure that she was being shown the respect that she deserved. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace. I mean no harm to you or your claim on the Iron Throne. In fact I have come here to help you achieve that goal. The only question I have is will you let me?”

Looking up you’re met with steely violet, and a ball of dread forming in your gut. You know that you were putting your life into the hands of a wild card, but if it was for the betterment of Westeros? You would do it over and over again. 

No matter what. 

#daenerys targaryen imagine #daenerys au #daenerys imagine #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn #daenerys targaryen x reader #daenerys x reader #queen daenerys #fractured part one

[kateis-cakeis]

A Dramatic Retelling of L’Manberg’s History

Once upon a time there was a wonderful place called L’Manberg.

What would one day be nothing but a smoking crater waiting to be rebuilt into something else, something new… started out as a humble van on the outskirts of the Dream SMP’s occupied lands.

The Camarvan, the hto dog van, whatever you want to call it, stood proud on a sliver of land, amongst the grass and sand, with a crafting table sitting in front of it, and a land marked forever by a man of the name Wilbur.

What started out as a simple quest to confiscate brewing stands and any potions drugs in order to create rising demand to reap the rewards, became something so much more. Perhaps even unbelievable to all those involved at the time.

It occurred shortly after the Disc War, this. And when a man of the law, Sapnap, realised that Wilbur and his accomplice, a child, Tommy, were actually making drugs in the Camarvan, Sapnap cracked down on them. Killing Tommy on the spot.

Henceforth, a dream was formed. Of a place where men could go and emancipate the tyranny of their rulers. A place where they could make drugs in their Camarvan in peace. With tilled ground that was sacred, with walls being built to protect them, their values bold and strong. Even nature was to protected on their land.

Tubbo, Tommy’s best friend, joined their cause. Eret too, a man who would later take their great walls and build them even taller, even better. And finally, Fundy, Wilbur’s son, the person who was to be kept safe within their walls.

A place called L’Manberg, with a Camarvan in the middle, and Blackstone walls with yellow and black concrete protecting them.

But their peace did not last long, as in the very moment Wilbur wrote their Declaration of Independance, a book was delivered by Dream, the leader of the Dream SMP. The Declaration of War.

From that point onwards, L’Manberg would never be the same.

After hours of planning, of farming resources, the day of the war came. TNT cannons had been set around L’Manberg. Tommy was shot dead on the doorstep of the Camarvan. And the old Wilbur Soot was finally given armour to protect him.

You see, L’Manberg had another value. They did not fight wars with weapons or armour, they fought them with their words. Words that would never be valued by tyrants, and so the five of them had no choice but to fight.

Wilbur put Tommy in charge of their small army, and they went forth from tower to tower, arrows fired from both sides. Until… Dream’s people retreated, their arrows unable to go high enough to reach those who were firing upon them.

Eret… had a backup plan. To go home, and to go to his secret room, filled with weapons and armour, to at least give them all another chance. They went underground, sneaking along the floors to avoid detection.

All was well.

Until they made it to the room. All the chests were labelled, all were empty. A button lay in the middle of the room, and as Eret pressed it, the walls opened up and every single one of them was slain.

‘Down with the revolution, boys!’

Eret had betrayed.

With Tommy left angry, Wilbur left shocked, and Tubbo and Fundy unable to provide any supplies nor words, it was all coming to a close very quickly.

With one final stand at the entrance of L’Manberg, a single TNT block was placed. ‘Independence or death’. And in that moment, the TNT was lit, and with arrogance, Wilbur told his people to stand back, to avoid it hurting them. Little did they know that L’Manberg had been rigged, and now… the Camarvan and part of their land had been left in ruins.

Wilbur grabbed the Declaration of Independance, and Tommy led them down into a secret hole he had made in the event of an escape. Right to a room of obsidian, to keep them safe. ‘Any last words?’.

Tommy shouted at Dream, screamed, asking for a battle. A 1v1, half a heart, bow and arrows. And so they went to the path down by a river, and made their stand. Wilbur counted down. ‘Ten paces, fire!’. And Tommy died once again, felled by an arrow.

The deal? If Tommy lost, L’Manberg’s independence was over. If Dream lost, L’Manberg would have its independence.

Hopeless… broken… exhausted… The people of L’Manberg returned home, but Tommy did not go with them, not yet at least.

And then… he returned, with their independence. Confused and lost, his fellows asked what had happened. How could this be? But Tommy had given Dream something that he dearly wanted, from a past war won. His discs.

He gave it all up for everything he believed in.

A new era was born, with the people of L’Manberg free. Eret was now the King of the Dream SMP, having betrayed his fellows for the promise of the title, land, and power. Wilbur refused to call him King.

In time, more joined them, and they lived well… for a while. Their flag was built, and houses were constructed outside the walls. All… was fine, great even.

Until the elections.

Wilbur sort more power, he wanted to create a one party system, assigning Tommy as his Vice President. With no one else on the ballot, they would surely win, and gain more power in their lands. But through arrogance, they spoke of their plans to Quackity, and quickly, he disagreed, putting himself down on the ballot.

After all, Wilbur was a threat to their democracy. ‘A single party? Are you kidding me?’.

With Quackity on the ballot and GeorgeNotFound as his Vice President, the die was cast. Wilbur and Tommy as POG2020, Quackity and George as SWAG2020. Two parties. But that didn’t last for long.

Fundy kept flipping between sides, hurting his father greatly, thus beginning a long conflict between Wilbur and his son. Eventually, Fundy formed COCONUT2020, and another name was forced by the people onto the ballot.

But that was not the end, as Wilbur’s endorsement, Jschlatt, did what could not be predicted. He ran for president too. And after a long night of death, after Schlatt got his hands on an axe and a gun, Schlatt too was put on the ballot and it was sent out to the people.

A day and two hundred thousand votes later, the results were announced. Fundy had committed voter fraud, and thus only got a small percentage of the vote, 9%, rather than the thousands he had hacked. Schlatt got 16%, SWAG2020 got 30%, and POG2020 got 45%. By all means, Wilbur and Tommy had won, they had retained control of their country but… it was not so simple.

As, on the night of the election, Quackity made a deal with Schlatt to pool their votes, no matter what. With that combined, they had 46% of the vote. They… had won.

Schlatt proceeded to make a speech. His first decree, ‘as the president of L’Manberg, the emperor!’, was to revoke Wilbur’s and Tommy’s citizenship. They were exiled from the very country they had created with their blood, sweat, and tears.

They ran through the forest, even further into lands unexplored and untamed by the Dream SMP. They dug into the land, blocking up the door with dirt. And… they mined into the rock, finding not one but two ravines! This… would be their new home.

Pogtopia.

Soon, Technoblade joined, a warring man, and a retired potato farmer. He was happy to join Pogtopia, because it was them against the world, against a tyrannical government! ‘Did someone say rebellion?’.

Tubbo, Secretary of State, was kept by Schlatt, but he was no loyal subject. He was a spy for Pogtopia. Fundy, who tore down the walls in front of his father, ‘the walls I built to keep him safe’, who burnt down the flag, ‘Fundy, you bastard!’, was not on Schlatt’s side either, but was instead keeping a detailed diary of his condition to one day show to his fellows, to show to his father in Pogtopia.

A festival… The Red Festival, if you will. A celebration of democracy. Only a couple of weeks after the election.

Tubbo built all the decorations. He wrote a speech, there were plans. So… so many plans.

Wilbur… only a week before, when the festival was announced… had realised something. He was the villain. He was trying to fight for something back that wasn’t his, not anymore, he had lost the election. His nation was far behind him.

‘Dream, I want to be your vessel’. There was one thing he could do. Killing Schlatt wouldn’t solve anything, he would just be replaced by Quackity, which could have been worse, and George was in line after that. Nothing would change. And if they took it back by force, they lost too. There was no way of winning–

Except… to blow it all up. Destroying it was a win in Wilbur’s eyes, because ‘I say, if we can’t have Manberg, no one! No one can have Manberg’.

The plan was set. Dream gave Wilbur the TNT and soon, the festival arrived. While Wilbur and Tommy hadn’t been invited, Techno was, and he was prepared with a crossbow and fireworks.

The festival was going well, until Tubbo’s speech. ‘Tubbo, I know what you’ve been up to’. The jig was up, Schlatt knew Tubbo was a spy for Pogtopia. Everything made sense! The tunnels that had been dug, him walking off during great events!

Techno was brought up to the stage, asked to take Tubbo out. Cracking due to mild peer pressure and the threat of twenty people slaying him if he disobeyed… ‘Tubbo, I’m sorry’. And with two firework rocket blasts, Tubbo, Quackity, and Schlatt lay dead.

Wilbur ran off to his room, to his button, to his TNT. Tommy threw a pearl, tried to attack Techno, failed, and stood where Tubbo had died, yelling his name. Techno, crazed with his power, turned on the audience and fired upon them, killing many. Voices in his head screaming, ‘Blood for the Blood God!’.

Unable to find the button, Wilbur ran home. L’Manberg got to live another day. Everyone returned to Pogtopia, a shaken Tubbo, an angered Tommy, a peer pressured Techno, and a blindsided Wilbur. Niki came to join them too, shaken up by the festival and by the revelation of TNT under Manberg.

Crazed by the idea to make Tommy and Techno fight – for his own entertainment – Wilbur created a pit. ‘It stays in the pit’. Techno won the fist fight against Tommy, repeating that their differences, that the anger stayed in the pit, not to be spoken about outside it.

‘The only universal language is violence’.

The TNT was an ever living threat, brought up by Wilbur at any given opportunity. He was going to blow it up. He was! The day after the festival, he took Quackity and Tommy to his room, L’Manberg’s anthem scribbled on the walls, alongside a button that was right in the middle.

He did not set it off that day. Quackity and Tommy pleaded, and it was agreed that Plan A would come first.

A meeting would be set up with Schlatt and they would end it there. If it went wrong, Plan B, Plan Bomb, would come into effect.

And soon, the meeting occurred. Quackity had written a building permit to trick Schlatt into signing Manberg over to him. It was all going so well, until Schlatt revealed that he knew the truth. That Manberg had been rigged with TNT. He claimed to have taken it, claimed to have put it under Pogtopia, but that was neither here nor there, as Wilbur went to the room while Tommy and Quackity were trying to trap Schlatt in the woods.

Suddenly scared to where exactly Wilbur was, they shouted and screamed, yelling out, trying to find where Wilbur had gone.

And Wilbur… pressed the button. Yet no hiss followed, the TNT was indeed gone. Panicked, he told Tommy and Quackity not to touch any buttons in Pogtopia, which had been filled with the things as a prank by Fundy.

When Wilbur returned home, he realised someone running through their tunnels, ‘It could be my traitor son!’. Fundy finally revealed what he had been doing this whole time, showing Wilbur his diary. Finally, they had their people back from Schlatt.

But the worst was yet to come. Dream joined, telling them that Schlatt had given him something, that he would be on his side henceforth, and finally, that there was a traitor within their ranks. Everyone pleaded their innocence, and trust was broken, but not enough to stop the incoming war.

The 16th of November. A month to the day after the festival.

For the next 10 days, people farmed on both sides. Netherite was acquired, enchantments were gotten, weapons were crafted, and Wilbur mined a double chest worth of sand.

The TNT plot was still in effect, except now, he needed more. Dream would get him the gunpowder, the TNT was assured.

Then… the day came.

It was just like the first war, with double the people. Except there was one notable difference… this was no freedom fighting revolution, this was a coup. Schlatt was a democratically elected leader, not individuals fighting for their independence.

Pogtopia and its allies went running in, firing upon Schlatt and his people. Mainly his people, as Schlatt went missing. They fought and fought, until Dream spoke up, asking to talk to Wilbur. Echoes to the past once again. Wilbur shouted out to his people, asking them to put their weapons down. Yet, he claimed he had no power over them. Still, they did so, and Dream led them into the ruins of the Camarvan (never rebuilt to its former glory after it had been blown up).

Schlatt was in the centre… dying. But not without arguing with Quackity and Fundy before his… time. At one point, it seemed as if Wilbur was going to stab him, or that Tommy was going to shoot him dead, but no… he simply died of a presumed heart attack or a stroke.

With their enemy gone, and Dream surrendering because Schlatt was an idiot, the war was won! The rebellion won! It had worked! Even though the odds were against them at first, they managed to come out on top.

Wilbur called on Tommy to be President, but instead, as he gave a speech, he rejected it. He was not done, not until he had his discs. So he called on Wilbur, and while he mentioned that the new obsidian flag had to be brought down, he declared that Techno had taught him something, that government was not the way to go, so Wilbur… called on Tubbo.

Tubbo would be the new President of L’Manberg. He gave a great speech, everything was going so well. They had won, it was over, it was finally over.

But Wilbur pulled away, claiming that he’d be right back. He climbed out of L’Manberg’s borders and went over the hill, into his room. The button room, with the anthem on the walls. ‘That there was a special place. There was’.

He was finally there. It was his moment… to finally press the button.

Then Philza walked into the room. ‘What are you doing?’. But while Phil, Wilbur’s dad, had a conversation with him, Phil’s mere presence alerted Techno to his side of the plan. He was the traitor, along with Wilbur. He killed Tubbo with his fireworks once again, and went off to kill Tommy too, alongside Dream.

Meanwhile, in the button room, Phil pleaded with Wilbur. But… his son was too far gone. It was time, he had been here too many times before, he had to do it now. He talked about what Eret had once said, a long time ago… ‘It was never meant to be’. And the button was finally pressed.

The hiss came.

Then the explosions followed.

Phil stared out in horror at the crater before them, the button room now an open window into the chaos caused by the TNT. Crystals were placed by Dream to cause more damage, and Techno went off to complete his part of the plan, trying his best to get his speech out with no interruption.

Wilbur triumphant, threw his sword over to Phil, asking him, begging him to kill him. But this was no sad set of words, it was just a man who wanted to be killed because the people wanted him to die. So the crowd watched. ‘You’re my son!’. Phil turned and killed him, and Wilbur began his long walk back to L’Manberg, warning Phil of the withers that were about to be spawned.  

Techno finished his speech, and two withers were spawned, destroying much more of the land. More TNT was set off, and L’Manberg was left in even more of a state.

‘I’ve won! We’ve won! Me and Technoblade’.

Wilbur left. The withers were killed. Tubbo proclaimed he would rebuild. And new members joined the lands of the Dream SMP.

L’Manberg wasn’t ended by the TNT, but the TNT did end another era of its life.

Who knows if it will retain that name. Who knows if it will ever truly be rebuilt into anything at all.

But what is known is that Schlatt’s Manberg died. Wilbur’s L’Manberg is long gone. And Tubbo’s L’Manberg is just the beginning.

It’s just the beginning.

#dream smp #dream smp spoilers #what a history huh #like there is so much #this was only supposed to be a few paragraphs long #but it was 2am when i wrote this #so i went all out #i cant wait for what comes next #this is 3k words btw #and i wrote it in an hour XD #to my followers #i apologise for this