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xcrust · 4 months

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Paint the Town Red [PREVIEW]

I seriously haven't written due to having an education but for my story i want to give you improvement and quality content. So I am not making you all wait too long here is a preview of the next chapter. If there is anything that you feel is needed and note you would want to offer then i would love for you to throw it my way

FULL STORY HERE

All the latest chapters and previous is at that link!!!

Looking between the mirror in front of you, reflecting In the soft glow of dawn's embrace, (Y/n) stood before the ornate mirror that adorned her room. The morning sunlight filtered through the delicate curtains, casting a warm radiance upon them as they examined her reflection. It wasn't the typical admiration one might associate with vanity; rather, it was an introspective gaze that transcended the surface.

As they lifted a lock of hair, the sunlight or rather the glimmer caught the subtle highlights, reminiscent of the glimmers of hope that had guided them through the darkest nights. The relationship between their parents isn't inherently bad. But the isolating feeling never evolved or made anything better. This dark world was something that was all you knew. Inherently when it came to your view of humans it had to be a little different from your older sister. All humans are made corrupt. No matter the family a person is raised from. Though what allows hell borns to be condemned to whatever flock shows up. It is a harsh ideal but with so much bad coming from earth then how could someone even have a belief that earth is all that good when it's corrupting the supposed bad.

Nevertheless the people that showed up from earth kept the seven rings entertained the more time went on. In fact if it weren't for earth then you wouldn't be in the situation that you are now. You couldn't remember the last time you had dinner with your parents, Family dinners hadn't been a thing in a long time. So sitting across a little table of a cafe with the infamous radio demon for dinner is the last thing that would have been imagined in your life.

“So my dearest! I want to know everything about you and what makes you tick” Closing your new pocket mirror you glance at him before going to pick at your clothes, the bunny painted in red stares at you with a charming look in his eye.

“Alastor, you're going all out for a person like me. But what is it that you want.” curiosity might have killed the cat but in hell its survival of the fittest. Between you and him, that's an easy feat for you but survival in getting higher in the food chain? Well that's some grounds you need to work on.

“ Heavens me, or should I say hells me? HA can't a guy get to know another fella?” His burgundy pinstripe suit made your weakness to elegant things. In your heart you are truly someone that cannot be so easily deterred by another. If leaving the Morningstar household didnt prove it. Maybe working on social skills might be the first thing to work on.

“Who are you kidding? What?! Did you want to talk to my dad? Sorry to best your bubble but i'm making a nam-”

“Hush now” he quipped in “now what are you assuming on today” taking out a pocket watch from his top pocket. The ticking being comically loud. Being in hell should have you used to an odd face every once in a while. But looking at him felt like a lost cartoon. “As ive said before, i know nothing about you. You've just got a nifty little… look to you” There goes his smile again. It's so shameless.

“Yeah right” Being hell royalty should've put your name towards everyone that walks this street.

“Sorry doll face, having such a smooth face in this area of town might just be the most interesting piece of plot in these parts” you let out a sudden hitch in your breath. Does he actually not know anything about you? Maybe the overlord title might be a lot harder than intended. “Now doll you're never fully dressed without a smile, now play nice” The grimace on your face might’ve just drowned in your thoughts hearing him say that.

You couldn't make sense of his statement. An earthborn being known to you and probably the purest kind of entertainment in hell. Though if he didnt even know who you were then maybe this could be a better opportunity in the end. No phony respect. Something that would actually make a difference to yourself. Smoothing your expression into soft passiveness.

“Say there, bunny tail, how about you and I take a stroll down the boulevard and paint the town red”

“Aren't you a tough nut to crack? Well who am I to deny a bona fide high roller”

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pogueswrld · 8 months

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*•.¸♡ make up sex ♡¸.•*

pairing: fred weasley x fem!plus-sized!reader

summary: Freddie talks too much, and his girlfriend is exhausting all the ways she knows to shut him up. Softly, of course.

warnings: smut🦢!1!1!1!1! there's plot and fluff, and everyone's of age ofc, although it is hinted that reader is still in Hogwarts, kinda sub!Fred top!reader, like he's whining and panting and begging and shit (bites lip) ANYWAY, dick riding hehe, no usage of y/n.

note: it is 2:59 pm on a Friday, let's see how fast I write this shit. note 0.2: Okay so it's 5:54 pm on the same day, I think I'm done. This isn't edited, but it took me 3 hours to write 😁

He was still talking. Why, in the name of Merlin, was he still talking?

Dating Fed Weasley is fun, there's no denying that, but Good Heavens isn't that a boy a handful. Both literary and figurative. He's got a wide imagination, a never-squelching desire for knowledge, and a big heart. That is a dangerous combination for a somewhat intelligent and never-quiet man.

She's a saint, his girlfriend, and Ginny made a point to always express that to her. "How do you put up with that all the time?" Gesturing to Fred, who was using his hands in elaborate motions as he went on his fourth rant of the morning on the same subject to George. She'd only shrug, lips engulfing another spoonful of whatever ice cream the girls were sharing. "In one ear and out the other darling."

Not to say that she hates it, or that it bothers her- quite the opposite actually. Fred's excited and hyper personality is what made him so interesting to her, it was what drew her to him in the first place. She enjoys listening to him rant, even about the most random things -he stopped her the other day and explained in great detail how penguins mate and how once the female accepts the male's proposing gestures, they're together for life- and she adores it.

Yes, it sure can be a bit much at times, but she wouldn't change it for the world. Imagine loving a man who was as boring and dry as his older brother, Percy? She would have to jump out of Ginny's bedroom window!

Today was her first day back in the Burrow from Hogwarts for summer break, and she was exhausted, to say the least. She was up from dawn, finishing up the last bits of her packing before leaving for the train station with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. And because she's a good friend, she made sure each of her friends made it to their transportation safely before she and Ron were picked up by Fred and George.

In the car, Ron opened the untameable can of worms by mentioning Bill who was staying over at the Burrow for the summer as well, taking a couple of months' worth of vacation away from the dragons and such. That was the spark Fred needed to blast off into a hundred rants one after the other.

He spoke about seeing Bill again, which is understandable, he hasn't been home in years. He spoke about the dragons, which led to his excited mention of his favorites and how he's going to ask Bill how it was training them. Then he turned to Quidditch training, and even though both him and George had left Hogwarts a year or so ago, the both of them still found time to play the game as a side hobby. After that was all done, George gave her and Ron and update on the shop, and Fred went on and on about all kinds of new candies and flavors and combinations they were working on to add to the store by the beginning of next year.

She was understandably tired by the time the Burrow came into view. And as much as she adores her boyfriend, she needed him to shut the fuck up for twenty minutes. But he's so sweet, and his eyes light up when talking, and he gets this beautiful energy surrounding him when he does it that she doesn't have the nerve to ask him to be silent for a bit. So she excuses herself and tries to bury her body under the covers of his bed.

But he finds her there, and he reports to her that dinner is ready, and that Bill is here, and that she looks so gorgeous on his bed, and that there's a strange animal in the backyard, and that Ginny tried to curse the bathroom when he went in to use it, and that he doesn't understand why she'd do that, and that George is out in the garage, and that-

She jolts up on his bed, her eyes twitching as she stares at him. He looks so beautiful, but he's talking too damn much. She cups his face, and he goes silent and stares at her with wide eyes.

"Wha'?" He mumbled, his lips squished together as she squeezed his cheeks.

"You talk too much, ya' know that?" She said, her thumb slightly caressing the apples of his cheeks.

He opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water, and tilts his head ever so slightly. "Do' it bothe' yo'?"

She giggles breathlessly and lets go of his face before pressing her lips tightly against his. "Not all the time, but times like today..." She rests her forehead against his and sighs, "It can be a lot, and I need you to read the room and tone it down a little bit, d'ya think you can do that for me?"

He stares, something in his gaze changes, and he nods. "Of course, baby. Whateva' you want."

Great. Now she feels bad. She sighs and pushes past the blankets swallowing her to sit up on her knees. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and pulls him into a hug. "I love you, truly love you, and I don't mean to be mean to you, and you know I love it when you ramble, but I'm really overwhelmed today, darling. I'm sorry."

Fred wraps his arms around her waist in return, hugging her tightly. It's true that he can't always read the room, and now that he's no longer attending school he's got much more free time on his hands than he knows what to do with. It takes him a couple days to be able to read his girlfriend's body language like he used to once she's home from school, and he feels terrible that he was one of the reasons for making her feel so incredibly overwhelmed. He also feels slightly ashamed of his non-stop rambling all day.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, mumbling something into her skin that made her shiver and giggle away from him. "Stop," she breathes in a giggle, "It tickles."

He chuckles, his hands squeezing at the skin of her waist as he stares at her dreamily. "I said, I'm sorry I made you feel overwhelmed, I promise to try and do better."

She grins at him, so brilliantly, that he can't help but lean down and capture her lips in a soaring kiss. "I love you." He mumbles against her lips, and she smiles while trying to kiss him back. "C'mon now, love, let's go have dinner."

Her eyes darken; her pupils widen, and she smiles that mischievous grin that he adores so much, and he groans while throwing his head back. He knows exactly what is on her mind.

"I have a better idea." She whispers, giggling as she throws herself into his lap and kisses him with such force that she's pushing him down on his bed. He yelps, his hands traveling to the bed and her waist, holding on to her for stability. Bubbling heat travels across his body through her kiss, and he sighs when her cold fingertips trace down his arms, sending goosebumps across his body.

Her kisses transfer from his lips to the sides of his mouth, his cheeks, down his jawline, until she's pampering open-mouthed kisses across his neck like stardust.

He sighs, his eyes closed and his head thrown back on the pillow. "Please," He breathed, a low whine undertoning his voice. She shivers above him, her teeth grazing his skin in a teasing bite.

She's always hated the effect his voice has on her.

"Please what, darling?"

He whines. It's low, for her ears only, it's a barely-there breath, but his mouth is right next to her ear and she hears him loud and clear. Her panties dampen almost immediately.

"Please touch me," He whispers. His hands gripped tightly to her thighs. He knows better than to roam her body without permission. She pulls back slightly, blinking up at him with a soft smile and long lashes. "But I am touching you, Freddie."

He knows this game. This cruel, cruel game she adores to play. He whines in pretentious of hating his role, but his hips buck, and his cock twitches underneath the fabrics of his boxers and trousers.

He slowly traces one of his hands from her thighs to her palm before letting her fingers rest on his aching cock. He guides her hands to gently rub him through his clothes and he lets out a breath when her fingers squeeze around him. "Touch me there." He gasps.

She entertains him, allowing him to set the pace and buck into her hold. He releases deep breaths and low whines, stuttering moans every time she tightens her grip around him. She can feel herself getting wetter by the second, how his eyes are shut desperately, his teeth bite down on his bottom lip, and her name is gasped out of his throat with every other movement. It makes her feel powerful, it makes her entire being vibrate.

"That's enough." She mumbles, pulling her hand out of his grasp and bathing in his complaining whines as she pulls off her shirt. He blinks up at her, watching her boobs bounce in the push-up bra she's wearing before she unhooks it and slides it off her shoulders. He blinks again and swallows whatever drool and saliva has gathered in his mouth, causing his Adam's apple to pop along with the action. She smiles at the sight and quickly bends down to leave a swift kiss on it.

"Take off your shirt." She commands him, and he does so without hesitation, throwing the garment somewhere on the floor of the room he shares with his twin brother. He watches her hands intensely as she teases him by running her thumb on the inside of her trouser's elastic, before slowly pulling the item down and off. He groans at the sight of his favorite panties on her; a partially lacey red thong that settles up between her butt cheeks. She always told him how uncomfortable it made her, but the look on his face when he saw it on her made every second she spent wearing it worth it.

"You're trying to kill me, love?" He groans, daring himself to take a dangerous leap and push his thumb against the damp cloth, pushing down on where he knows her clit hides. He glances up at her, watching the way her lips part and her mouth hangs open at his action.

"And what am I to tell George when he asks? Death by a red thong?"

He grins up at her, picking up the speed at which he's rubbing on her bud of nerves. "Only if you're the one wearing it."

She shudders, forcefully holding herself back from grinding against his thumb. Instead, she grips his wrist and pushes it away from her. She hooks two fingers on each side of his trousers and boxers before meeting his eyes, watching as he licks his lips and nods before pulling the clothing items down his hips and legs.

His cock bounces out from underneath the fabric happily, it smacks against his lower abdomen and she giggles at the sight of precum beads rolling down his slit. He whines, throwing his arm on his face to cover the embarrassing blush that matched his hair color. "Don't laugh at me, why're you so mean to me today?"

Her giggle grows louder, and she leans down to push his arm off his face. "I never intend on being mean to you, my darling, you just bring it out of me. I'm sorry." She mumbles as she meets his gaze, her hand cupping one side of his face and he leans towards her touch. "Don't hide from me, yeah?"

He nods.

"Good boy."

He whines, his eyes squeeze shut and his jaw drops when her fingers wrap around him again, but her thumb is collecting his precum before spreading it down his length before she works a steady rhythm going up and down. His whines slowly turn into moans. His noises were so heavenly that she could swear her wetness was flowing through the fabric of her thong and onto the skin of her thighs.

She sees his muscles contracting and she stops, removing her hand from him altogether. He opens his eyes, blinking up at her in confusion as a noise of complaint slips out of his throat. But he swallows it back up when he sees her push her thong to the side and spread her folds before sitting on his length, and she grinds back and forth on him without actually allowing him access to her.

He groans, throwing his head back. She's coating him in her juices and there's a delicious squelching noise coming from between them and it's driving him insane. He sucks air into his lungs through clenched teeth and shudders when she allows a single moan to slip through her parted lips.

Suddenly, he's engulfed in her warmth and he hisses. His hands grip tightly to her thighs, hips, and any plump skin he can find. He squeezes her, hissing, and pants until he's sheathed completely inside of her. "Slow down," He gasps, "Slow- slow down, slow down, slow down." His voice turns from low breaths to almost high-pitched whines, and she leans down and captures his lips in a silencing kiss.

"Need you to lay here and keep your pretty mouth shut, darling, can you do that? Can you stay quiet for me so your family doesn't hear us fucking?" He whines, hips bucking into her warm cunt causing his eyes to roll to the back of his head as he nods mindlessly. "Yes, yes, yes. I'll be quiet. Fuck- please, baby, please fuck me."

She giggles at his desperate whines, and slowly rocks her hips back and forth, just enough movement to send pleasure jolts but not enough to get them going. She was testing the waters, trying to see how loud he could get without giving him much of anything.

Fred was losing his mind, he could feel her walls clamp down on him every time she moved back, and he could feel himself nudging against her feel-good spot every time she moved forward. Her wetness made a mess out of both of them, making it easy to slide into her and pick up the pace.

He arched his back slightly, just enough to hint at her to go faster. Because she was starting to feel frustrated, she obliged. She switched from grinding down on him to bouncing, her knees and hips working overtime to not make a noise every time her ass cheeks met his thighs.

She's now moaning, leaning down to muffle her noises by his neck or breathe them directly into his ear. Fred's eyes roll to the back of his head every time, and his hands grab onto the fat of her hips to help her.

"I-" She gasps, pushing herself upwards, clamping down on him tightly before forcing deep thrusts with her movement. "I'm gonna cum." She whimpers, and her legs begin to shake and fail her. Fred let out a loud breath that turned into a whimper before pushing himself up and, with a tight hold of her hips, forced her up and down his cock.

"Wa- wanna feel you. Wanna feel you gush around me. Give it to me, please." He whines, his words muffled into her temple, his eyes closed as her walls flutter around him, her body shivering against him and her lips part in long whines. One of his hands sneaked in between them, and his thumb drew quick circles around her clit, just enough to electrify her over the edge.

She freezes up, squeezes down on him and Fred is gone. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly down on him, the repeated squeeze of her walls stimulated him over the edge and they were shaking through their highs together. Her hands were buried in his hair, his hands holding onto her hips, while their lips interlocked in an overflowing kiss.

A few seconds later, their mouths parted as they gasped for air, holding onto one another as their highs dwindled. He traced random shapes on her bare back while she scratched at his scalp in a way she knew he loved.

He was the first to pull back, looking up at her with nothing but love and adoration. He tilts his head and grins, "Do you still want to go down for dinner?"

She laughs, heartily and loudly out of his arms and back onto the bed. "If you'll be going downstairs for a plate, get me one with you. There's no way I can look your mum in the eye after this."

#fred weasley #weasley twins #bill weasley #george weasley #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x fem!reader #plus sized reader #harry potter #hp fandom #hp fanfic

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ineffablyruined · 8 months

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A Game of Spy vs Spy

(Or is it more Mr. & Mrs. Smith?)

Buckle up, because this one's about to get a little.. out there? Maybe. You decide for yourselves. I had this thought at 3am and I couldn't get it out of my head.

This following is based on two assumptions:

1. Aziraphale has a Plan (capital letter included) - see my explanation of why I believe that's the case in this post.

2. Crowley has been working on his own Plan since he dawned there Tactical Turtleneck - see this brilliant post by @justhereforthemeta .

Putting the rest under a Read More because it's a little lengthy.

To summarize both in case you don't have time to read both posts:

1. I believe Aziraphale's scary smile in the elevator is a smile he learned from spending so much time around Crowley and that it's reflective of him coming up with a plan to avert the Second Coming that he thinks is so clever that Crowley would absolutely approve.

The fact that Crowley is seen wearing his Super Secret Spy Gear multiple times throughout the series means he's actively working on his heist. He's plotting, he's planning. He disappears on Aziraphale when the angel is remembering Job. Disappearing on Aziraphale? That's not like Crowley at all.

2. Crowley is so enamored with the spy life (bullet hole decals anyone?) that he begins plotting a heist as soon as he finds out the Book of Life is a threat to Aziraphale. And the turtleneck is his spywear.

Crowley saves Aziraphale. It's his thing. He's done it over and over, countless times throughout history.

But listen to what Aziraphale says. Rescuing me makes him so happy. Rescuing me.

And the times Crowley asked Aziraphale to run away with him? Well, those times, it wasn't Aziraphale's life that was threatened. It was Crowley's. Hell found out he screwed up the baby switch? They were coming for him, not Aziraphale. Armageddon't? Isn't it demons that burn in a fiery pit for eternity when the world ends, not angels?

My point is.. M' point is..

Crowley isn't asking Aziraphale to run away with him at the end of Episode 6 only to chance The Metatron erasing Aziraphale from the Book of Life when they get there.

Crowley already has the Book of Life.

My bet? He had a little side project up in Heaven with Muriel off-camera. He was wearing the beige turtleneck after all.

And when we leave Heaven?

Turtleneck gone. Mission accomplished.

But let's not stop there!

Because Aziraphale has a Plan of his own now that he's returned from Heaven. And I'm betting at least part of it involves the Book of Life. And when he goes to look for it? GONE! And when he checks the files? Sure enough, there's Crowley sneaking it into his pocket. (And if we get an "Oh Good Lord" repeat at seeing Crowley's Heaven outfit, I'm not going to complain).

Alternatively, Heaven is going to find it missing, and they're going to know it was Crowley who took it and Aziraphale has to get it back to try to save Crowley.

Either way, he's going to have to get it.

And I'm betting Mr. BackOnHisOwnSide Crowley isn't going to be too forthcoming when the Supreme Archangel asks for it back.

And let the Spy vs Spy hijinks commence.

..................

Below is one conversation I've dreamed up in my head about all this, if you're into that kind of thing. Enjoy:

Crowley: If only I had access to a place with a truly ridiculous number of old books where one new addition would go completely unnoticed.

Aziraphale: Well, it's a good thing I know this bookshop better than anyone then, isn't it?

Crowley (bearing his teeth): I've reorganized.

Aziraphale: *gasp*

#good omens meta #meta or crack?#I'm not really sure at this point #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 spoilers #good omens #crowley x aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens speculation #go3 speculation

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alessiathepirate · 1 year

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Resident Evil 4

NIGHT TERRORS: Luis Serra x fem!reader

Summary: Waking up from a nightmare and feeling afraid isn't easy get through - unless you have someone who can comfort you.

Notes: English isn't my first language. I apologize for any mistake I made while I wrote this short story.

My Spanish is horrible, so I apologize if something isn't written the way it should be written or if the word is used in the wrong context.

Warnings: swearing, references to PTSD, hurt/comfort

•••

Her eyes snapped open as she sat up quickly, almost rolling of the bed while doing so. Her forehead was shining from drops of sweat, her legs were shaking from fear. With her heart pounding faster than usual she looked around the still dark room and when she recognized it as her own, she tried her best to calm down and settle her heartbeat and breathing back to normal.

Nightmares like this weren't anything new, she got used to it by now, but it didn't mean they got less scary or uncomfortable. She woke up like this many times, late at night or at dawn finding herself unable to go back to sleep.

She pulled her legs up to her chest, hugged them and rested her head on her knees. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

Ever since Spain the nightmares became worse and worse. She was already a mess during the night before the events there, but now it sometimes became unbearable. Too many horrible events accured in Spain while looking for Ashley Graham with Leon. Too many close calls, too many wounds that scarred. Too many accidents involving almost loosing a loved one.

The last one was the worst and with that was the main plot of her night terrors. She often envied the people who can forget these kind of things easily, the people who can let go. She can't.

" 'Everything all right, cariño?" the voice sounded sleepy, but was gentle regardless. Her heart jumped at the sudden noise as it broke the silence, but immediately settled back down when she recognized who it belonged to.

"Yeah, it was just a nightmare."

Sometimes it was still weird, knowing she's not alone and knowing she isn't sleeping alone in her bed. It was also comforting, really comforting - especially when the person she was dreaming about, the person she lost in her dream started to draw gentle circles into her back, then into her shoulder blades.

She heard movements and then felt a presence next to her. Luis sat up and put his right arm around her, using the other to make her look at him while also being as tender as possible. She looked at him, examined all of his features and gestures, trying to memorize the way his lips are moving and the way his eyes are shining.

He was all right, he was next to her and they were far-far away from Spain.

"Do you want to talk about it, querida?"

She hid her face in his neck and closed her eyes, enjoying the way he feels and the way he smells. It felt nice - having someone for comfort like this, a lover who hugs her and talks to her softly.

"I dreamt that I lost you." she said quickly, wanting to get the sentence out as fast as possible to get through the pain it brought. "I don't want to loose you."

"You didn't loose me, cariño, I'm here thanks to you. I owe you my life." his grip on her tightened and she pressed a kiss to his neck.

"You helped me get the damned plaga out of me and the others. We are even."

He brushed some hair out of her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Do you want to get back to sleep?"

"I just wanna lay down with you." she started, then quickly added: "Please, corazón?"

He let out a small laugh before lying down with her, making sure she was as close to him as possible.

"Your Spanish improved."

"Yeah, it had to improve. I didn't understand half the things you called me."

"I can always translate it to you if you ask."

She just chuckled. "Yeah, the last time I asked what something meant you lied to me."

They left it at that and just laid there close to the other. She rested her head on Luis's chest while she caressed his shoulder. Meanwhile, he continued to draw patterns into her skin where her shirt didn't cover her back.

Her uneven breathing finally settled down and the only reason her heart was beating faster than it should, was the fact that Luis was the one lying next to her. It was nice to experience how tamed and actually romantic he could be when he was with her. Sure, his flirting was still there sometimes and the pet names he called her were getting out of hand, but now she wasn't just a señorita.

Her hand touched the scar on his chest, what got there when the plaga was removed. She loved that scar, even if it brought back some unwanted memories. The scar meant that without Luis she and her companions would've never got out of Spain alive. It meant that he was a good guy even if he acted like the man her mother warned her about. To Hell with her warning, nothing in the world will take this man away from her.

The scar also made her remember that he has another one on his back. It's still a darker shade of red and it'll never heal perfectly. The wound was way too deep for it to look like a tiny cut. That damn scar was the reason she had nightmares about loosing him. That was the reason why she was afraid to look at the other side of the bed in the morning, afraid that she'll see no one, afraid that she'll have to realize Luis is dead.

Sometimes she thought about what would've happened if she wasn't there with them - with Luis and Leon - that day. The knife Krauser threw made a nasty wound and when he pulled the piece of metal out, her lover was very close to dying - either from blood loss or from pain. She didn't even dare to think about it.

She climbed closer to Luis and hugged him tighter. She shouldn't think about 'what if's. To put and end to her train of thought, she kissed the scar he had on his chest.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"For what?"

"For being here with me."

"You should say a thank you for yourself as well, querida. You were a real nice doctor."

"Yeah, I managed to keep the ladies' man alive."

"I was only your man long before that."

"Yes, you were." she said with a small, happy smile, not even trying to hide it from him. "I was probably the only woman your flirting was working on." she teased.

"I achieved my goal, it seems."

Her cheeks became a lighter shade of pink, the thoughts about 'what if's long forgotten. He succedded in comforting her and making her forget about the fear she felt after she woke up.

She leaned up to give him a kiss, doing her best to put an honest thank you and I love you into it. Then she closed her eyes and let the soft patterns, what he was still drawing into her skin, put her back to sleep, this time being a hundred percent sure he'll be next to her when she wakes up.

#resident evil 4 #resident evil 4 remake #luis sera #luis sera x reader #luis sera x fem!reader #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #ashley graham #hurt/comfort #fluff #resident evil #resident evil x reader #luis serra #luis serra x reader #luis serra x fem!reader

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yuseirra · 2 months

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*persona 3 reload spoilers*

Good news to ryomina & ryoji fans(maybe!!),

I'd been listening to Color Your Night a LOT lately and it occurred to me, doesn't that song make a lot more sense if the part Azumi-san(the female vocal)sings's taken as the Moon's perspective?

I'd used to think the song was sung from the protagonist&aigis(or his lover)'s perspective but a lot of the lyrics just click when you take lotus juice's part as the protag's perspective AND azumi's part as the moon's.

And the "moon" in this game is actually ryoji....

I look up at the sky, ask a lotta of why<the protag looks up at the moon and thinks why has it all came to be this way

Good and bad but nothing unties us<aligns with what ryoji/pharos said: they will still always be friends

Color the town with my light<the moon literally "shines", it brings light to the town

Another wander in the night

Let me paint the view

Colour the town with my light

For every moment shared with you

Not out in the day

But never fully gone

Going to be back again

Until the coming of a dawn < this entire part makes perfect sense if you take the speaker as the moon, since it's something that only appears at night(but is not really gone during the day, either, just unseen)

When two hands meet at zenith

Nothing comes between us < I think the hand here means the hands of the clock, which would imply 12'o clock midnight

As I drift across the sky

The hour hand turns high<seeing this, that interpretation only makes more sense.

And the MOON is something that drifts across the sky

Around the world I slowly dance<this part too, it matches how the moon revolves around the earth

Looking down below

The one I seek to find

No matter where you might go

Remember you'll be on my mind< and isn't this similar to what ryoji says?? That he'll be watching over everyone, even if he wouldn't be in that same form anymore? It also feels similar to how the moon watches the earth/protagonist from above. He's the one that's developed a special relationship with it.

I'm at ease with things that used to bother me

'Cause your existence just lights me up, yup<the protagonist responds to the other person and the situation he's in like this, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say he would feel this way towards ryoji the way he does for all his precious friends and bonds..

You always got my back, and of course I got your back

Don't you worry about that now

(Hey)

It's been a good day, good night

It's gonna be a good day, good night< this too

Within the inner heart I plead

For you to talk to me

I want to hear all the good and bad

The new stories you have < a lot of people'd feel this way towards the protag, and definitely ryoji too from what I've seen from his links. He wanted to spend more time with the protag and remember the text message he sent to the protag for his third link ep? He wanted the protag to come and talk to him really bad..

The song ends with it saying:

I'll be seeing you, baby<

Well, considering what happens to the protagonist later on, he WILL be seeing ryoji.

This song can be interpreted in many ways, but the moon's significance is really enhanced if you take it this way and it's really interesting considering how deeply tied it is to the entire p3's plot. I could be late on this but I thought this could be some interesting food for thought!

#ryomina #ryoji mochizuki #persona 3 reload #persona 3 reload spoilers #persona 3 #persona #p3 reload #spoilers #yeah...this works better than I anticipated #it actually makes the most sense in some ways because the lyrics imply it's the moon that's talking #it was really interesting thinking about this earlier

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lunareiitic · 11 months

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CANTO 4 SPOILERS BE WARNED

I think it's really interesting (and clever) that we're a third of the way through Limbus' plot (theoretically. 12/4 = 3 after all) and we've split the focus characters in half based on who is actually growing because of their Canto and who isn't, while also showing multiple narrative ways to show that progression (or lack thereof).

Gregor and Rodya have already done their growing. Gregor's a war veteran whose traumatic past should be long behind him, and his character didn't shift after his Canto. His refusal with regards to the whole Yuri thing wasn't a shocking twist, it was the culmination of years of rejecting the life that his mother made for him.

Rodya rejects the idea that she has to develop as a character entirely. Canto 2 is mostly a celebration of Rodya- she makes her own luck and doesn't require these things like "character growth" and "dynamics". She was a one woman wrecking crew then and she's one now, plans and friends be damned. It's why she's able to reject Sonya's olive branch: he's predicating his entire plan on the idea that Rodya would have learned from the Tax Collector Incident. But she didn't, and she knows that.

Sinclair's Canto 3 marks the first Canto where we're actually examining the failings of a member of the team. Sinclair's immaturity, fawn response and unwillingness to take responsibility did directly lead to all of the bad shit that happened to him. Even if Kromer would have done it anyways, Canto 3 takes Sinclair to task for what he did, but in the end, he can't follow through. It's beautiful and tragic that he needs Demian to bail him out of what should have been his cathartic moment of triumph. Sinclair's growing is actively still happening. Canto 3 is only the beginning.

Which brings us to the most recent Canto and Yi Sang. Yi Sang in hindsight is the perfect character to follow up Canto 3 with because Yi Sang is essentially Sinclair if Demian wasn't around. Yi Sang's narrative is about apathy and passive suicidality- he doesn't care what happens to him because life has lost all meaning to him. Sinclair still has some fight in him, all Yi Sang has is ashes. Or so he thinks. Dongrang and Dongbaek are characters who will never move on from their past, despite what both of them think. Yi Sang, through mirroring them, ends up with the most radical character development we've seen so far: true catharsis. Unlike our three previous characters, Yi Sang's Canto manages to get down to the core of his issues and he's able to understand what he must do to get better and does. He conquers Dongbaek (embodiment of rage) and Dongrang (embodiment of despair) and ascends to a place of healing away from them. This is a very conventional, classic character arc structure seen in fiction since the dawn of time, it's classic because it works. But it feels so refreshing and new here in Limbus Company because we waded through three quagmires of difficult regrets, abuses, and traumas that refuse to be handled so easily. Given that our remaining characters are based on murderers (Hell Screen, The Stranger), self-saboteurs (The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Don Quixote, Faust), and the legacy of racism (Wuthering Heights), I'm betting that Hong Lu's might be our brightest spot moving forward. (But who knows. They could give us another goofy Canto out of nowhere like they did in Canto 2. Limbus Company contains multitudes.)

#limbus company #canto iv spoilers #unrelated but it was also so so so funny that yi sang is canonically some kind of heartthrob for toxic science men like. gay helen of troy #I haven't read dream of red chamber because holy shit its long and in a language I can't read but I know it's much less hardcore than-#-hell screen or the stranger or crime and punishment etc

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 4 months

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The Subtle British Pop Culture/Timeline In CHICKEN RUN

On occasion, I've pointed out when the original CHICKEN RUN is set.

It's often been written that CHICKEN RUN was "set in the '50s", a sort of vague descriptor of its rather dreary post-war England setting. One could assume that from the technology present in the movie, and the homages to 1950s prisoner-of-war films. The obvious ones being STALAG 17 (the number 17 is on the main hut that the chickens all plot in) and THE GREAT ESCAPE. The character Fowler was of the mascot division of the Royal Air Force during World War II. All that talk about his medals. Chocks away!

The easiest way to pinpoint when CHICKEN RUN is set, at the earliest, is knowing what the songs are.

The chickens, in a hut, dance to a cover of Joe Turner's 'Flip, Flop and Fly', Turner's original was released in 1955, an early example of a rock n' roll song. Britain certainly had rock n' roll in a pre-Beatles era, but it doesn't seem as well-known to the average American as American rockers - you know, Elvis, Little Richard, etc. - are to Brits.

Later in the film, Rocky the rooster is jamming out to 'The Wanderer' by Dion.

youtube

The song first appeared in North America in November of 1961 - both as a single and as an album track on RUNAROUND SUE (the title track another big hit for him), and if you look in the opening credits sequence, Mrs. Tweedy works with a calendar that says "November"... However, 'The Wanderer' was first released in the UK in January of 1962. And it doesn't seem like much time has passed since the opening credits and the end of the movie...

'The Wanderer' reached #10 in the UK, which was great for an American rock/pop song over there... If anything, the movie is likely set in November/December 1962, so that was plenty of time for 'The Wanderer' to climb the charts, and then be played on the radio every once in a while. Things took a little while in a pre-streaming age, ya know? *waves cane* *I'm actually not that old, nowhere near lol I just love this kinda pop culture history*

So CHICKEN RUN is still kind of a post-war/pre-Beatles England, and it's set in a secluded location inhabited by a middle-aged couple who likely wouldn't have had any idea what was going in the teen beat scene. The Beatles' 'Love Me Do', the single that really put them on the map in the UK, was released in early October of 1962. Being their first true single (not the 'My Bonnie' recording they did in Germany with Tony Sheridan), it charted at a great #17 in the UK... Which of course was nothing compared to what was to come, the strings of #1s, or at least close to that. 'Please Please Me' was the second single, released in January 1963, it hit #2 in the UK. Beatlemania pretty much becomes a thing in the UK by the middle of 1963... It would take a little while for us yanks to catch the fever...

Anyways, CHICKEN RUN is set in November/December 1962. Or maybe it's 1963, who knows, but I think it's pre-Beatlemania rural England. Yorkshire to be exact.

It's kinda funny how the Disney animated ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS shares some similarities in this regard. That film was released in January 1961, and is set in both London and rural England. Its second half during the late fall/early winter no less. The puppies arrive in October, as stated in the film, and the film ends during Christmastime. Snow everywhere, dreary atmosphere, etc.... And then you have the Tweedys in CHICKEN RUN. Mrs. Tweedy is kind of a combination of Cruella de Vil *and* Jasper. She's got the contempt for animals like Cruella, and is taller and the brains like Jasper. Horace, the shorter, pudgier one in the equation - who is onto what the animals are doing but isn't believed, is totally Mr. Tweedy.

That brings us to the recently-released CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET... The sequel swaps prisoner-of-war movies and World War II imagery for James Bond and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. Spy movies in general.

One look at Mrs. Tweedy's high-tech new factory shows that in *spades*. But the folks at Aardman Animations did their homework, a lot of the details and background design and such, it legitimately looks like the lair of a supervillain in a '60s spy movie. Much like how Nomanisan Island does in THE INCREDIBLES, another very midcentury modern-inspired movie and franchise. There's also that charming UPA-esque cartoon on how the chickens are processed into nuggets, great stuff there. I also kind of get a bit of a Gerry Anderson vibe here, too. He was known for marionette shows - done in a process called "Supermarionation" - like THUNDERBIRDS and CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS. I assume most of the crew behind these movies grew up watching those shows.

And of course, a big indicator... Towards the end of the film, all the chickens - brainwashed by mind-control collars that make them all happy-go-lucky - are being forced up an escalator to a popcorn chicken death. In this pretty creepy sequence, they're all doing this while Cliff Richard's 'Summer Holiday' plays in the background. The bright, pastel-colored set adorned with simplistic countryside-looking hills that these chickens are brainwashed in before they are to be ground into fast food is reminiscent of vintage British and European children's programs. I was thinking of stuff like THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT and such, which was also a stop-motion production.

youtube

Oh yeah, 'Summer Holiday'. That song came out in January 1963, it was the title song for a movie that was *huge* in England when it first came out. Cliff Richard is the prime example of a pre-Beatles British pop/rock star, I feel he's almost synonymous with that period of British pop music before John, Paul, George, and Ringo showed up. So, CHICKEN RUN 2 is set *after* January 1963. Plus, Ginger and Rocky's daughter Molly needed some time to grow up a bit.

Either this was intentional or not, but it strangely adds up. It's pretty chronological, either by accident or they made sure they didn't have too many anachronisms... Other than the cartoonishly high tech of Mrs. Tweedy's Fun-Land Farms, but then again, the pie machine in the original CHICKEN RUN was kind of improbable too. But that's the fun of the CHICKEN RUN movies, so it's a staple.

And even in other Aardman works, there are fun nods to British pop culture and media. For example, in WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, Art Garfunkel's 'Bright Eyes' can be heard on the car radio in one scene. Garfunkel is American, yes, but 'Bright Eyes' was composed and recorded for the soundtrack of the British animated classic WATERSHIP DOWN. Just in case you've never seen or even heard of that movie. WATERSHIP DOWN is about rabbits, and in the WALLACE & GROMIT movie, they're dealing with rabbits! Quite clever.

Another favorite of mine is in FARMAGEDDON: A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE. Of course, Shaun the Sheep is spun off from WALLACE & GROMIT, he appeared in the short film A CLOSE SHAVE. The second SHAUN THE SHEEP movie brings in science fiction and aliens, a real 180 from the small-scale first film. At the end of the film, the Farmer accidentally gets onto the UFO and is not on Earth anymore! Before they get him back, a song called 'Forever Autumn' can be heard playing on a radio.

'Forever Autumn' is a rewrite of a Lego commercial jingle composed by Jeff Wayne in 1969, with lyrics by Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass. The two lyricists recorded the first version of that song in 1972 for an album called QUEUES. A couple years later, Jeff Wayne got the idea to do a musical version of H. G. Wells' THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. A musical album, bringing in several mostly British talents to retell - through story and song - the British sci-fi staple. 'Forever Autumn' was covered for the album, with lead vocals sung by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues. Of course, another British group... all for the section of the album in which the protagonist - a journalist - fears his wife had been killed in the Martian invasion. "'Cause you're not here." Which is the lyric heard in FARMAGEDDON when they realize that the Farmer went to outer space!

(It takes a special kind of skill to take such a depressing song and make it FUNNY in any context.)

Anyways, those are just a couple examples off the top of my head. Aardman's work is distinctly British, to the core. And the CHICKEN RUN movies give me a fascinating idea of when they are set, a very cartoon British '60s.

#chicken run #dawn of the nugget #stop motion #stop motion animation #hyperfixations #timelines #when is this thing set?#aardman #Youtube

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otherperson12 · 1 year

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Hi, could I request a onsehot in which the reader is jealous because Lo'ak is spending a lot of time sith Tsireya and she thinks he likes her? So, they get into an argumebt and she accidentally confesses her feelings for him, which leads to a heated make out session (if you're okay with that). Also, the reader is human

Together again (Lo’ak x reader)

Why do I have to create a complex plot for each request to make it as logical as possible? I like to complicate my existence. I have to admit that this is the first time I write something like this, I hope you like it. In this story, Lo'ak is 15 (which is the age I thought he had been from the beginning).

Happy New Year to all, may all your wishes come true.

Pandora was her home, it was the only thing she knew. Spider and she had grown up as siblings, war orphans raised by scientists loyal to the Na'vi. Max had taken charge of her education, from the basics to anything she asked, the best of all was sharing his knowledge with the Sully children. Especially with the rebellious Lo'ak.

They had all grown up together, the four Na'vi and the two little humans were inseparable and hoped it would always be that way. Everything changed when the Sky People returned. The Omatikaya were forced to hide in the mountains, that meant being away from everyone, being away from her.

One day, Lo'ak came to the laboratory fuming, his tail wagging like a whip reflecting his fury; he went to her room, took her by the hand and before she could protest, led her into the forest. They walked - rather he walked, she could do no more than try to keep up with him, running - until they went deeper and found a place away from prying eyes, Lo'ak stopped suddenly, his tail still evidencing his mood.

"We're going to the mountains." He informed in complete annoyance, turning his back on her. She was saying nothing. "Dad says it's dangerous for the clan to stay in the forest. We leave tomorrow at dawn."

She said nothing. She was trying to process what he had said; they needed to go away, far away. Jake had decided that the Clan should take refuge in the mountains. She knew it was for the best after the last attack in the forest, leaving meant that everyone would be safer, that Neteyam, Kiri and Tuk would be safer. That Lo'ak would be safer. But with being safer, they were farther away. It would take her and Spider hours to reach the camp on foot and climbing.

With a squeezed heart and trying to hide the grief, she approached the na'vi and took him by the arm to turn him around, reached up to the opposite face and caressed it tenderly. Lo'ak saw the beautiful eyes behind the mask, full of tenderness and a hint of sadness.

The boy leaned into the opposite hand, placed his own much larger hand over hers, "I don't want to leave you."

"Oh, Lo'ak. You're not leaving me, how far away you are isn't going to change anything. We'll still see each other the same as we always have." She assured him with a small smile.

Lo'ak was still upset with his father's decision, he was forced to leave his friends. Soon after the rest of the Sully children arrived along with Spider, they played and explored all afternoon as they did before the arrival of the Sky People, they took advantage of the hours to be with each other, their hearts pounding full of warmth.

Both humans helped the Na'vi move to their new home in the mountains.

On each mission, she stayed with Kiri, Spider and Tuk until the warriors returned; with her heart in her throat, the girl waited for Lo'ak's arrival praying to Eywa that he would be safe and sound. She knew Lo'ak, and as a good son of Jake Sully, he was impulsive to the max, he did not think or calculate the situation, he only acted. And in that only acting, he could get hurt. She was there waiting for him.

When he got hurt, she took care of his wounds; when he did something and his father scolded him, -after she herself scolded him and pulled his ear- she was there to comfort him. Being together was difficult but they did it, Lo'ak would pick her up at her ikran and then drop her off at night; the routine was different but it worked, they always found a moment for each other.

When Quaritch appeared and took Spider away, she was completely destroyed, her brother had been taken away. It was thanks to Lo'ak that he hadn't taken her either, he had protected her as best he could, after all, he was the one who had put them in danger. The girl was crying inconsolably as she tried to run after the helicopter the other human was in. She screamed and ran after her brother until it was Jake who stopped her, she pushed him and screamed along with Kiri, both completely incredulous at her actions leaving the boy with a monster like the colonel. Lo'ak felt so guilty that he didn't approach for fear of her rejection, he let Neteyam go over and comfort her.

Once again, Lo'ak had approached her to give her the bad news that once again they had to leave, this time even further away. With drooping tail and floppy ears, pain in her every word. This time there would be no visits. Lo'ak would not be able to fetch her and carry her in his ikran, feel her closeness and warmth as they flew. She would not be able to scold or tease him, they would not be able to explore or play together. He would not be able to see her daily or see her at all. What hurt the most were his eyes completely wet from the loneliness she felt. In between cries, as she hugged him tightly as if he would vanish at any moment, she begged him to stay by her side no matter how selfish that was.

"I don't want to be alone." Was what the girl told him. Lo'ak simply hugged her tightly.

The Sullys left and she stayed behind. The first few weeks were the hardest, Lo'ak had to learn to live like the metkayina: to hold his breath, to get used to the water, to put up with Ao'nung and his kind and the loneliness of not having his friend around. He had left her alone and broken in the forest. Tsireya was a beautiful and friendly companion, she showed him the way of the water and made him feel welcome, less "alien", but she was not his girl. She was not his human.

Loneliness had made her quiet and sedentary, she no longer had reason to leave the lab or go to the Omaticaya camp, to laugh or smile. Life was no longer fun or simply happy, she missed her friends too much, she missed Lo'ak too much. He counted the days and prayed to the heavens and Eywa that his favorite na'vi would be okay and stay out of trouble.

Payakan had been a great comfort, they were both outcasts. He was confident enough to talk about his human friend that he had to leave behind back home. He would start with a small anecdote but once he started talking about her, he couldn't stop, he would spend hours and hours talking about the human, how she was different from him. Her hair, skin, eyes, her smile, how she always took care of his wounds with gentleness while she did nothing but curse him.

"..., she is my human." He gestured with his hands to the tulkun who chirped happily.

He wished with all his heart to return to the forest soon and be able to see her, to see his human.

When Norm and Max were alerted of Kiri's attack, both scientists told the girl to follow them to the Metkayina clan. The joy of seeing everyone again settled on her face with a huge smile - she also hoped Kiri was okay - her heart was pounding at the mere thought of being together with Lo'ak again. Every minute they spent in the helicopter was a minute less to see Lo'ak, every minute that passed was a minute less to be next to him and hold him in her arms and be able to hug him. She really missed him.

When she managed to see the different islands scattered in the sea of Pandora she wondered which one he would be on. It was Norm who pointed out the island where the Sully's were, it was a paradisiacal and beautiful place, the white sand and the crystalline salty waters were all the view they had from the sky. Once they landed Jake hurried to take them to the marui where Kiri was, the human was following them from behind when he heard a scream. It was Lo'ak, who from the water and together with his brothers called out to the human with joy. Beside him, the three metkayina, Ao'nung, Roxto and Tsireya watched in confusion.

Lo'ak swam swiftly to shore shouting and calling out to the girl.

"Lo'ak! Lo'ak!" she responded as she dove into the sea to catch up with him.

They both ran into each other's arms excited to be together once more. They had waited so long, dreamed of the reunion that sooner or later would come...brimming with joy, a smile from ear to ear adorned their faces. The human threw herself into the arms of the na'vi and he lifted her from the sand and embraced her, spinning her in the air. They laughed and called each other's name, still not believing that they were together once again.

"You're here! You're here!"

"I'm here, Lo'ak! I'm here!"

"Your mask!", Lo'ak pointed out as he saw that instead of the usual mask, he was wearing a tube in his nose.

It was Max's idea. He and other scientists had been thinking for some time that oxygen masks were a delay for life on Pandora, they had to have spare respirators to breathe and always be aware not to suffocate. For months they worked on a prototype that collected the little oxygen that was in the environment and transported it to the human lungs through a nasal style tube leaving the face uncovered. They had been successful and decided to give the first model to the girl as a gift.

The boy could caress her face and see her eyes without a glass in between, he could feel the warmth of her cheeks and the skin under his fingers. He was completely fascinated by that opportunity, he had to thank the genius son of a bitch who created that little machine.

"Don't worry, it works perfectly," the human assured him with a smile.

"It doesn't bother you?" he asked, referring to the tube.

"No, it doesn't bother at all."

Lo'ak hugged her again.

The rest of the Sully children came to her side and with tight hugs greeted each other. Neteyam was the one who noticed how his little brother never took his eyes off the human's face, he could see how Lo'ak was happy as he had not been for a long time.

Slowly the metkayina approached the omaticaya, intrigued by the new arrival. Lo'ak noticed how Tsireya and her siblings viewed the human, after all, they had never seen one before.

"Tsireya," Lo'ak called to the girl as he took her arm to pull her closer to the human who noticed the touch and closeness between the two na'vi. "She is the friend I told you about." He mentioned to her pointing to the human who was hugging Tuk.

F-R-I-E-N-D. That had hurt. The human was simply Lo'ak's childhood friend. Obviously, humans and na'vi did not coexist, the only thing that existed between the two species was war and death. To Lo'ak, she was simply a friend.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm sorry if any of them caused you trouble." Said the girl referring to Lo'ak and Neteyam.

Before the beautiful girl could respond, her brother stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the human with disdain and distrust.

"Stay away, Tsireya. It's a demon." Ao'nung ordered firmly.

"Hey!"

Before the situation could escalate, the girl grabbed Lo'ak's hand and tugged him to get his attention.

"It's okay, Lo'ak. We should go with Kiri." She suggested trying to pull him away from Ao'nung.

She knew the boy was angry, his tail was wagging furiously from side to side and not only his, Neteyam's and even Tuk's, too. They were on dangerous ground, at any moment one of them would jump on the other and blood would end up running and that was the last thing they needed.

Lo'ak looked furious at Ao'nung, how dare he call her a demon in her face? She wasn't like the rest of the Sky People, she was kind and gentle, she loved Pandora as much as any na'vi, she would never cause him any harm.

"Come on Lo'ak." Insisted the girl trying to get him to follow her.

Lo'ak was reluctant to move, he was going to kill him. He was about to move when Tsireya hit Ao'nung behind the head and approached them with a shy smile. Tsireya had never seen a human in her life, the stories of the destruction they caused and the battle fought against Toruk Makto was evidence of that. But seeing Lo'ak and the Sully’s so comfortable with the human, she was not frightened. Slowly he approached the girl and studied her in detail, they were so different from them.

"She is Tsireya, she has taught me everything to survive in the sea." Lo'ak commented turning away from the human and approaching the na'vi.

"I have done what I could." she replied shyly.

"I have had a good teacher."

The human girl only watched as Lo'ak smiled at Tsireya, and how could he not, she was beautiful as a pearl and they were of the same species, theirs could work. The human just smiled at him, her eyes reflected sadness, Neteyam noticed this and hurried everyone to the marui to see Kiri.

They waited until the scientists could do something to help her, sitting outside with the view of the ocean in front of them.

"This may take a while." Jake said to the children. "Why don't you guys go and show her around?" he suggested referring to their friend.

Lo'ak called his ilu and mounted then motioned for his human friend to ride after him. The girl put on her mask leaving the tubes aside and climbed up next to Lo'ak holding him by the waist so she wouldn't slip and fall.

The boy led the ilu among the reef and corals showing every underwater creature that swam calmly, the bright and vivid colors of the fish and the sea flowers that swayed with the water as if they were dancing. The human was in awe at the marine display in front of her, no doubt it was beautiful. Lo'ak held her thigh firmly so she wouldn't fall, her back emitted a comfort warmth that she didn't want to part from, every time they passed by something she knew the human might be interested in, she would catch her attention with a tap on her leg and point to what he wanted to show with a smile. He loved to feel the warmth of the girl behind him, her presence and her smiles, how her eyes sparkled behind the mask with wonder with everything around her. He had truly missed their adventures together.

Tsireya from her own ilu, caught up with them and waved. Lo'ak let go of the human's leg and greeted the na'vi with a smile. They both began to sign while the girl behind Lo'ak didn't understand what they were saying but managed to see how they both smiled and looked at each other, she was becoming left over.

She caught the attention of the boy in front of her with a small squeeze on the shoulder and pointed upwards implying she wanted to return to the surface. Lo'ak complied and led them out of the water.

"Is something wrong?" He asked without tending to the sudden change in attitude.

"No, I want to go back to the beach." She replied curtly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm tired."

"You were looking good a moment ago.“

"Take me back to the beach, please, Lo'ak." She requested leaving no room for argument.

"Is everything okay?" asked Tsireya who had followed them after seeing Lo'ak and the human girl leave. She sensed the tense atmosphere between the two friends, as if they were arguing.

"Everything is fine, don't worry. I'll drop her off in the village and be right back." Lo'ak assured Tsireya.

Before she could respond, the boy's ilu was starting to swim back. They didn't speak or even meet each other's eyes. The human was annoyed at being jealous of the obvious: she was human and Lo'ak a na'vi, theirs would never work and even if she tried to say something, she would probably be rejected. Lo'ak had the pearl of the island in front of him, they would be a good match.

When they returned to the island, Kiri had woken up relieving everyone, she was safe and sound, but it was time for the girl along with Norm and Max to return to the forest. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay with Lo'ak but with the feeling of wanting to stay there was also the feeling and idea that Lo'ak had found a new friend and possible mate.

Jake invited his old friends to stay a while before leaving, they must have been exhausted from the trip, besides, it was extra time for the little human to stay with her friends for a couple more hours. Norm and Max agreed and the girl had no choice but to go to the beach.

She was sitting on the sand, away from everyone, when she heard Lo'ak call out to her. She quickly got up and started to walk away as fast as she could.

"Hey, hold on." Called the boy to the human as he followed her. He really was confused by her attitude, had she done something?

"Leave me alone, Lo'ak. I want to be alone." She informed him the girl trying to walk away at a quick pace. Seeing Lo'ak hurt her, it hurt her not to be able to tell him everything that was in her heart.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you." He insisted, quickly catching up to her.

"I said I want to be alone!"

"And I heard you the first time! What's your problem?" He was already angry, he really didn't understand what the fuck was wrong with her; out of nowhere she was happy and then she was completely pissed at him for no apparent reason.

He held her arm firmly enough to stop her, she refused to look into his eyes or see him at all, she knew he would have a scowl and droopy ears with a tail wagging behind his back. She did not want to see his golden eyes full of confusion, one because she knew that in that confusion there was pain at rejection, and two, if she did, she would fall completely.

Lo'ak said nothing however, his presence was enough to imply that he wanted concrete answers and would not let go of the girl until he got them. He didn't think it was fair for him to remain in doubt, he didn't want to continue to be rejected by anyone, least of all her.

"Please." Lo'ak asked sincerely.

He wasn't one to beg, but he couldn't handle the mere thought of his favorite human walking away from him. He didn't even want to imagine that, once again, a life without her by his side.

"Let go of me."

"No."

"Let go of me, Lo'ak."

"Not until you tell me."

"Let go of me!" she demanded in exasperation beginning to struggle with him.

"Tell me."

"No!"

"What is happening to you? You really expect me to let you go when you've been ignoring me for half the day?! I've been waiting to see you for weeks and the first thing you do is get mad at me and ignore me for no reason!" Lo'ak said raising his voice. "What is your problem?!"

"She! She is my problem! You are my problem! The way you look at her and smile at her, the way you touch her and seem happy with her!" Confessed the human girl turning her face to the na'vi. Her face was red in anger and she was breathing heavy, her hands shaking uncontrollably on every word. "You are so happy with her and that's fine, but I can't stand to see how my favorite person is with someone else because while I was alone in the forest you were with her. You see her and I...She's like you and I'm not, but I still want to be with you."

The boy was standing in the sand like a statue, at some point he had unknowingly let go of her arm and just looked at her. Lo'ak was stunned, he really didn't know what to say. He watched as she hid her face in her hands somewhere between embarrassed and terrified of whatever he was going to say. He didn't even move trying to process everything she had said to him.

"I was alone, so alone...I couldn't stop thinking about you but you have someone here." The girl spoke still holding her face in her hands.

Lo'ak, slowly approached the girl in front of him. He approached her human and gently took her hands away from his face. At first she wouldn't let him but he insisted until the human gave in, still with her face slumped and struggling to keep the tears from falling to the sand beneath her feet.

Still holding her by the wrists he pulled her closer to himself, bent down to her face, moved his hands to her arms to pull her even closer and kissed her.

It was a simple touch and pressure that made his heart swell with delight, he was about to pull away when she responded to the kiss with the same love as he did. Lo'ak embraced her with one hand on the back of her neck and one on her waist as she placed her hands on his shoulders. They kissed trying to show all that was in their hearts, the feelings that were recently silent and secret on the contrary. They didn't care where they came from or what they were, what others thought or the future, now it was the two of them loving each other.

The gentleness and shyness was left behind as Lo'ak pushed her in such a way that both chests pressed together and she was left with her back completely bent under the weight of him who seemed to want to be on top of her.

Lo'ak grabbed her thighs and made her jump and wrap both legs around his waist, slowly he sat down on the sand with her on top of him. The kiss was fiery and hot in a combination of lips, tongues and teeth. They both breathed heavy at the arousal, their hands exploring the opposite body up and down in search of grounding a place and coming down from the heaven they were in.

Lo'ak broke the kiss and moved from her face to her neck, kissing, licking and biting at all the skin he could find.

"Lo'ak..." sighed the girl in his ear, music to his ears.

With every kiss there was a sigh, with every bite there was a tug on his head and with every lick there was a shudder. Every reaction made Lo'ak seek more responses from her, he felt like an animal that couldn't be stopped. He felt on fire, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest and his hands trembled at the euphoria he felt.

The girl began kissing on his temple and nibbling on his ears, caressing his neck and now free braids. She clung to him fervently as his tail wrapped around her waist. Lo'ak had stopped biting her enjoying her actions, he sighed and called her name as he squeezed her thighs into his own.

The girl held the back of his neck and pulled him away from her neck, they breathed each other's air heavily, she caressed Lo'ak's temple with her cheek in an intimate and tender act. Lo'ak held her tightly as if he never wanted to let her go and he didn't want to, he wanted her only for himself.

"I'm never letting you go." Lo'ak informed looking into her eyes, she simply laughed as she pushed two braids away from her face.

"We'll have to come back sometime." She reminded the girl with a smile caressing his cheek.

Lo'ak laid his head on her chest and closed his eyes. He wanted to stay there for the rest of eternity, he didn't want to face the future. The human took Lo'ak's hand and placed it palm to palm next to hers, she always did that when he felt different and strange, knowing that at least their hands were alike comforted him.

"We are together now and that is what matters."

#original writing #fanfic #avatar the way of water #avatar #lo’ak #lo’ak sully #lo’ak x reader #neteyam #jake sully #kiri sully #neytiri #tuktirey #spider socorro #writing #avatar request

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autumnslance · 1 year

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The Unsundered and Tempering

There's apparently some kinda post going around ruffling jimmies about the Ascians versus the Ancients, with extreme assumptions about a society we see precious little of ourselves in game and mostly get informed of by people still grieving it millennia later.

Most of them antagonists, that like many other antagonists and allies, folks seem to want to take at face value for a lot of what they say, while often ignoring what they do and how, while speaking.

This is something I have noticed among fandom and roleplayers for decades, so it's nothing new, but there's a lot of times the text of any situation is making it clear that even if a character isn't outright lying--even thinks they are being "honest"--that is not necessarily the case.

It also comes back to making sure one is using all the available information--goodness knows I've made a fool of myself before by missing scenes or text that did explain someone's position on lore and characters!

Regardless of how one feels about certain plot points, storylines, or characters, they all inform each other in canon. Different characters say different things at different times in different company. A scene from two expansions ago may inform a new patch cutscene. Actions may contradict words. It all works together.

For an example, since it's come up elsewhere, I've had doubts about how Tempered the Unsundered were from the moment Emet-Selch claimed it, due to one of the last scenes in ARR, cutscene #5 in "Before the Dawn" where we see Lahabrea and Elidibus speak just before Urianger arrives in response to the Emissary's request for a meeting:

Lahabrea: The earth is fertile, and the seeds well sown. By my will, they shall reap salvation unlike any the world has known. Elidibus: By His will. Lahabrea: …By His will.

The Ascians in ARR and HW spend a lot of time telling the WoL about their One True God. Here though, in a moment of privacy before the Archon's arrival, Elidibus has to remind Lahabrea to check his ego as his actions are for Zodiark, not himself.

This is an early indication, alongside Nabriales's actions in the previous patch quests, that not everyone's on the same page in regards to the Ascian agenda. Nor is Zodiark's hold on each red mask absolute--even the ones initially at His summoning.

EDIT: Not to mention Fandaniel's actions in their entirety in Shadowbringers and Endwalker; killing one's god to usher in the end of the world is not the act of a tempered man!

Further doubt is placed on Emet-Selch's claim by Tiamat. We get more of her situation in the Shadowbringers patches, in the "Righteous Indignation" cutscene:

Tiamat: Recall, mortals, that it was I who did first summon my beloved, praying with all my being to bring him forth. You who contend with eikons cannot well be ignorant of the consequence. Alphinaud: …You too were exposed to his influence. That you are yet in possession of your own will is testament to the indomitable strength of your soul. Alphinaud: But were you to meet with Bahamut again, you fear you might succumb. Tiamat: Indeed. Ask the dragonslayer, and he will tell thee the power we of the first brood wield. Were I to lose myself to the eikon's influence, all would pay the price. Tiamat: But it is of little matter. For even had I the strength to resist, I yet lack the strength to break my shackles. This prison shall be my tomb. Alisaie: On the matter of Bahamut's influence, at least, I believe we can be of some assistance. Alisaie: If you're afraid of being enthralled, don't be─we have a cure. And while we've never tried it on one such as you, its basic principles are universal. Tiamat: Speakest thou in earnest? Alphinaud: There is no future for those bound to the past. Alphinaud: That you committed a terrible sin, I do not dispute. But if you feel remorse, you may yet make amends. We offer you that chance. Take it, or you will forever remain a prisoner, not of these cruel shackles, but of your own guilt. Tiamat: A chance to make amends… To lay Bahamut's memory to rest… Tiamat: When our own star faced annihilation, Hydaelyn granted us sanctuary. And now your foes would bring about Her destruction. This I cannot allow. For the debt I owe to Hydaelyn, and to all who have suffered for my sins…I shall fight with you, children of man.

Tiamat is a victim of the purposefully corrupted summoning magic the Ascians distributed. Yet she is not entirely enthralled by the Bahamut she summoned; she fears she would be if she were exposed further to a primal. Tiamat, as a Great Wyrm of the First Brood, is more akin in her aetheric composition to the Unsundered than most others on Hydaelyn. She knows she is influenced by the primal she summoned, and part of her remaining bound is to protect herself and the world from that consequence.

And then she chooses the cure and to move forward with her life, when given the option. As do other enthralled figures among the tribes when granted the option.

While there wasn't yet a cure when still fighting the Unsundered, entreaties to end their crusade and move forward fell on deaf ears--but I doubt very much it was due to Zodiark's influence entirely, and more their own stubborness after having clung to this course for ages.

The first cutscene of "Unto the Heavens" in Endwalker presents finally the intersection of original creation magic and modern summoning, as preparations are made to board the Ragnarok:

Livingway: You've done a fine job of readying the Ragnarok, but for it to take flight, we'll of course need the power of the Mothercrystal. Livingway: Given its immense size, however, transporting it would be an absolute logistical nightmare. Not to mention we'd need to shatter it into tiny shards for feeding to the engines. Livingway: But a brilliant idea came to me: we convert the crystal's energy into forms that can transport themselves! Urianger: Thou wouldst employ summoning…or should I say its precursor─creation magicks. Thancred: Care to explain for our benefit? Urianger: As you may have witnessed at Bestways Burrow, the Loporrits are capable of creation magicks, which they use to shape the moon's environment. Urianger: Yet simple though they make it seem, 'tis a highly advanced and exacting art. To perform it correctly requireth that the wielder holdeth the object in his mind's eye in clearest detail. Alphinaud: Hence the ancients' meticulous management of concepts. Urianger: Drawing upon this art, the Ascians conceived of summoning as we know it. Urianger: A derivative that replaceth the complexity of concepts with the simplicity of zealotry to make manifest a creation. Y'shtola: I see… By combining the Loporrits' magicks and the tribes' faith, we convert the Mothercrystal into primals of purer form and greater obedience. Y'shtola: Summoning as it was intended, one might say. Livingway: Indeed, indeed! Livingway: While Hydaelyn gave us the ability to use creation magicks, She forbade us from using it to make anything possessed of a soul─or similar. Livingway: She didn't say anything about fulfilling the desires of others, though. So! Borrowing our friends' faith, we'll create deities using the Mothercrystal's power, and send them to the Ragnarok! Alisaie: Am I the only one here concerned about the risk of being turned into a tempered minion? Livingway: Oh, right, I was getting to that… From what I've read in Sharlayan tomes, it appears the Ascians incorporated an additional nasty element into their summoning method: the fervent desire to assimilate others into one's belief. Livingway: Beings thus created are instilled with the selfsame desire, and use their powers to enthrall people─starting with the summoner. Livingway: In contrast, our creation magicks─the original and the best, accept no substitutes─don't incorporate any of that rubbish, so there's no risk of tempering. I mean, if the being was on the scale of Zodiark, you might feel a little “tug”…but I think we'll be safe enough.

From what we get here, summoning is quite obviously an offshoot of the original creation energies of the Ancients, but twisted by the thinness of the sundered mortals' aether and using faith and collected aether as a substitute. The tempering part was a later, intentional addition, possibly after the Unsundered had opportunity to examine the effect of Zodiark's summoning on themselves and extrapolating that.

Now, is some of this likely retconning to explain discrepancies in how characters acted and how tempering has been used? Probably! There was supposedly a rewrite of the main Ascian/Hydaelyn/Zodiark storyline, inherited from 1.0, which Stormblood allowed the time and consideration going forward on how they wanted to resolve this long arc. There's a lot in ARR and HW that has been recontextualized to fit, though some things still stand out a bit oddly; they did as good a job as they could, especially given the many years and writers involved.

But from the more recent writings, the intention is not to excuse the Unsundereds' actions with "they were tempered." And the final proof comes from Emet-Selch in Ultima Thule in cutscene #4 of "You Are Not Alone", having been through the preliminary wash cycle of the Lifestream long enough to have had various enchantments removed from him, while yet retaining his self before that too is washed out before reincarnation:

Alisaie: You're leaving!? Emet-Selch: Of course. The encore is finished, and I will not suffer myself to live again by Hydaelyn's magick. Emet-Selch: But more than that, the future you seek is not the past we loved. That is why we fought. And why I lost. Emet-Selch: But though you defeated me, my ideals are inviolate. Invincible. Emet-Selch: Spare me your pity. I have no use for it. If you would do something for me─save our star. Emet-Selch: See this tale to a triumphant conclusion, and with elation in your hearts, bid the final curtain fall. Emet-Selch: Only then may it rise again and a new tale begin─with new parts for all to play.

Through Shadowbringers, Emet-Selch claimed to want to cooperate with the Scions, while only giving bits and pieces of carefully considered information, and moving the goal posts whenever they did prove to him they were able to pass his tests and meet his expectations. It is not until this moment where, his duty to fight finished and the fate of his beloved world in any form at stake, that he is truly honest about what he did and why.

(I may also have an analysis WIP about comparing him and The Sandman's Morpheus and that stubborn refusal to change his mind and ideals, but it's slow going)

So while we mostly do have to go by what characters say, directly to WoL or to other characters in other scenes, each conversation cannot be taken in a vacuum; it is taken into account with their other conversations, with their actions, with other characters' input. And sometimes, the writers change direction, and new information will overwrite the old, even as it builds off of it.

The game is not consistent about Tempering and Summoning, though the double acts of Shadowbringers and Endwalker's story tries to clean that up. I just seriously doubt, from all the evidence, that the Unsundered were as entirely under Zodiark's thumb as say, one of Ifrit's over-hammered thralls and therefore not responsible for their choice and actions, the plans they made and came up with and clung to in stubborn guilt and grief and rage for so long they couldn't do anything else, even when presented proof of other options and chances to change or move forward.

Because another thing ShB and EW have shown us in both MSQ and in the Pandaemonium storyline, is who these men were, to become the Ascians we know, and how their own beliefs shaped them individually when faced with such loss--and how in each case, those past, pre-Zodiark selves would look at the eldritch beings they became by the Seventh era, and be horrified. Not because of any god's influence, but what they were capable of on their own.

...Well OK, Lahabrea already had a pretty good idea of what kind of monster he was capable of becoming. He also chose the worst way to handle it, and never seemed to learn from that. Elidibus and Emet-Selch though, while adamant in their beliefs, were also warped by what they chose to do and be, to where Elidibus even refused to remember his past to avoid the pain, tunneling into his duty with no wavering. Only Emet-Selch chose to remember, wallowing in it, acknowledging the monstrosity of his actions...and choosing to commit them anyway.

EDIT ADDITION: Relevant lore info directly from Banri Oda on Tempering and many other things.

#Final Fantasy XIV #Tempering #Ascians #Unsunderered #Emet-Selch #Lahabrea #Elidibus #Tiamat #Livingway #Banri Oda #lore #character analysis #A Realm Reborn #Shadowbringers #Endwalker

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direwolfrules · 7 months

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Here, have some random Satine Rambles

I like to take a lot of the fandom misconceptions about Satine and the New Mandalorians and headcanon them as in-universe Death Watch propaganda.

Like the idea that Satine banned Mando'a. This is a weird one to me. So, Mando'a script is all over the place in Sundari. It's on the police speeders, it's on signs, it's on the wall of the Cadet Squad's dorm room, all of which is official government property and would have been some of the first places to have Mando'a removed if the ban was an actual thing. Also, Satine speaks Mando'a and Concordian (the dialect from Concordia and in Legends Concord Dawn). We as the audience don't see her speak Mando'a often because when she appears she's usually either:

1) Talking to someone whose primary language is Basic.

2) In a setting where slipping into Mando'a to talk to one person would be seen as undiplomatic at best.

Also, we as the audience don't primarily speak Mando'a, a fictional language with massive gaps in the canon vocabulary, and why would the Clone Wars crew put effort into translating a bunch of conversations into Mando'a for a kids show. They barely had an animation budget, you really think they had the money and time to translate politics into kid/teen-friendly language and then translate that into Mando'a?

Also, Pre Vizsla doesn't speak Mando'a in the show. I don't think he even says a single Mando'a word, which is less than what Satine says.

Or, the idea that Satine banned beskar armor. Here's the thing about armor, based a bit on real-life history. Armor is expensive. Especially well-forged armor. Especially well-forged armor made of a rare, extremely valuable metal with important cultural significance. And if centuries of strip mining depleted the supply of that already very rare metal, and damaged the ecosystem enough that mining it was banned? Well, now the price is at a point where anyone who isn't a noble or exceedingly wealthy can't afford new beskar. Even then, most noble families passed on their beskar through the generations, partly because of legacy and religion and also partly because obtaining new beskar was already ruinously expensive unless you took it from an enemy in war, which would have been ruinously expensive in other ways.

The fact that we barely see anyone wear beskar in Sundari isn't indicative of a ban on beskar armor, it means armor isn't a practical or attainable expense for the average citizen of Sundari. Sundari was a city at peace, before Sidious' plots and Vizsla's attacks. There was no need for anyone but the Mandalorian Guard to wear armor. Does a midlevel office worker need to wear armor to go about his job? Does a retail employee need the weight of beskar plate in addition to whatever stock they have to shelve? Unless you were a member of the warrior caste, which was primarily made up of nobles who either already had or could afford new beskar, you didn't need to be constantly armored.

And since we're talking about armor, the next logical misconception to discuss is the "weapons ban" that keeps getting brought up in every single "Satine Bad" fanfiction ever. When we first meet Satine, there is no weapons ban. Carrying weapons in a city at peace like Sundari is probably frowned on the same way carrying weapons on Coruscant's upper levels is frowned upon (if you're not Padme "Constantly-dodging-assassination-attempts" Amidala that is). It's a case of why would the average citizen need to carry a weapon, not them not being allowed to.

The first and only mention of a weapons ban in the show is when Ahsoka is welcomed to Sundari in "The Academy". Everyone's least favorite corrupt worm-man Almec says that after the trouble surrounding Master Kenobi's last visit, offworlders can't bring weapons into Sundari. It's literally just a ban for offworlders, which is reasonable when you figure out most of the terrorist group threatening to destroy your hard-fought peace and overthrow your government is based off-world.

And like, we see Mandalorians carry weapons. Satine has her deactivator, which we know from the actions of Rush Clovis and Lolo Purs can be a lethal weapon if used against organics. We see the Mandalorian Guards carry stun batons and shields, and some, like Captain Patrok Ru-Saxon, carried blasters to use as a last resort option. The Protectors, who at this point were Satine's bodyguards, had blunt-tipped spears that, judging by how they could be used to block blaster bolts during the warehouse raid in "Corruption", were probably made of beskar. Also in that same warehouse raid we see the Guard use flamethrowers.

Another common misconception is that Satine is opposed to any kind of violence, even in self-defense. This is not true.

As stated above, Satine carries a deactivator, a weapon primarily used to disable droids, but by its very nature of being a weapon designed to output high-level energy blasts can be lethal to organics. When she's using her deactivator she tells Obi-Wan, "Just because I'm a pacifist doesn't mean I won't defend myself".

And this is true. If Satine was so opposed to violence that she wouldn't fight back if threatened, she either would have died on the Coronet or been taken captive by the Separatists. She would have been killed back during the first confrontation with Vizsla, or during the arc on Coruscant. She would not have taken part in the warehouse raid. Satine was not opposed to violence in self-defense, she was opposed to violence as the first option and lethal violence as anything but a last resort.

One of the only times Satine doesn't fight back is when Pre Vizsla and his Death Watch soldiers invade the palace during the coup. If she had fought back, she would have given Vizsla exactly what he wanted: evidence of her betraying her ideals just when her people needed them the most, and an excuse to kill everyone on her side of the throne room. Satine made a choice to let herself be captured in order to spare as many lives as she could. And the minute she has a chance to escape, she takes it.

Then there's the common fandom idea that Satine is destroying Mandalorian culture, which is just ridiculous. Culture is more than just martial abilities and rigid clan hierarchies. It's food, art, clothing, language, etc. Satine telling her people they're not allowed to kill and bomb each other indiscriminately and empowering a central government over the hereditary clan-based caste system is not destroying Mandalorian culture, it's trying to save Mandalorian culture. After all, who'll be left to practice their traditions, to speak their language and sing their songs, if they wipe themselves off the face of the galaxy?

Mandalore had been jumping from one massive civil war to the next for generations, not to mention the wars against outside powers like the Republic. These are massive depopulating events. Each successive war does more and more damage to the planets in the Mandalorian sector. Mandalore went from a lush jungle to a desert. Concordia was nearly entirely deforested. A third of Concord Dawn is rubble drifting through space.

Satine made decisions that, until the machinations of the Sith, brought a level of prosperity and growth to Mandalore that it hadn't seen in living memory. The forests of Concordia were growing again. Trade was beginning to flow. Her people were happy and not constantly fearing war if one of the Houses took offense to something another one did.

Satine encouraged and promoted the aspects of Mandalorian culture outside of the martial domain. She was a patron of Mandalorian artists, and favored geometric designs and art styles, something that most Mandalorians also enjoyed. Her personal yacht was designed to display Mandalorian goods to representatives of other sectors/governments/galactic powers in order to promote trade and encourage a demand for Mandalorian goods. Her iconic dress with the massive headdress is meant to look like a mythosaur, with her earrings serving as the tusks.

She had that classic Mandalorian love for children. The only times we've ever seen her come close to compromising her principles was when children were threatened. When Mandalorian children were being poisoned by black market tea, she threatened the school's superintendent with violence. She was so enraged by the senseless deaths of many of the poisoned children she ordered the warehouse the black market goons had set up in burned down. When Almec went to torture Korkie and his friends she almost gave in to his demands, despite not cracking when she herself was under torture.

And New Mandalore in general was not a society built on cultural genocide like so many people in this fandom like to claim. In New Mandalorian Society a traditional kar'ta was present on many buildings, clothing (there are like five on the Academy's uniforms), and even hairstyles. Sundari's architecture was filled with geometric buildings that only really differed from the Clan Wren stronghold in height and number of turrets.

The real major difference between New Mandalorian culture and the old ways is those not of the noble, warrior caste had much less political power under the old system. New Mandalorian society is committed to peace, because many New Mandalorians are everyday individuals who now get a say in a diplomatic government instead of watching their system get crushed under leaders who only need to know how to fight well. Farmers don't have to worry about their local lord and his dumbass kid pissing off the neighboring lord, leading to a war that burns their fields and orphans their children. Business owners and employees don't have to worry about losing their shops/factories/office spaces in constant bombings.

Speaking of New Mandalorian society, another common misconception I see is people claiming Satine/New Mandalore was racist because it's all white blondes and brunettes. So like, that was a bad design decision by the Clone Wars crew, who wanted to make Mandalore look like space Scandinavia, and it's compounded by the reuse of models and assets. Korkie's class at the Academy has three groups of identical triplets. The crowds of Mandalorian citizens have so many repeated models, hairstyles, and the like, that there are more identical individuals there than on Kamino. The explanation there isn't "Satine is racist", it's "Cartoon Network gave them zero animation budget". Mandalore only got more diverse after Filoni got called out for it and had the budget and opportunity to fix it, which happened after Satine's rule ended.

Also, I see a lot of people taking the word of Death Watch members, children of Death Watch members, and Death Watch-aligned groups as gospel when it comes to Satine. Like, holy unreliable narrator Batman! If the person criticizing Satine is a member of the terrorist group dedicated to her death, a child of one of those terrorists who has probably been indoctrinated in Satine hate from day one, or a member of one of the splinter factions of that terrorist group, they're probably just a little bit biased, ya know? Satine's people genuinely loved her, Pre Vizsla had to stage elaborate schemes with Sith backing to sway the people's support away from her.

Oh, and people like to say that Satine was a bad leader/bad politician because she "left Mandalore weak" and "wouldn't join the Clone Wars". Which is just— did we watch the same show?

Joining the Clone Wars would have been Bad with a capital B. Palpatine wanted a Grand Army of the Republic presence on all the major worlds to facilitate his takeover when the time for Order 66 came. Mandalore was a priority target, remember when he doctored that footage of Satine's Deputy Minister to get the Senate to vote on sending troops?

Mandalore was along the Hydian Way, a major hyperspace route that was the site of frequent conflict. Mandalore's place on the Hydian Way, if they had joined either the Republic or the Separatists, would have made it and its vassal worlds battlefields. It would have devastated the hesitantly recovering Mandalorian people and the even more hesitantly recovering ecosystems of the planets.

Mandalore's position along the Hydian Way also meant that for some trade goods it depended on the CIS and for others it depended on the Republic, so committing to one side or the other would have made the already dangerous black market situation during the war even worse. What Satine did by declaring Neutrality and forming the Council of Neutral Systems was protect the interests of her people and form a voting block to prevent those interests from being trampled over.

Even with all its problems, Mandalore under Satine was strong, just going through issues many other worlds underwent during the war. Death Watch was a relatively new problem, as Pre Vizsla and his followers only got up the guts to act when their Sugar Daddy Dooku gave them Separatist backing. The food shortages were directly tied to the war disrupting the major trade route Mandalore depended on. Corruption amongst members of the government was a plot point in half the episodes of the show.

Mandalore only fell because Satine fell. Satine kept the war away from Mandalore as much as she could. Sideous couldn't get troops onto Mandalore while Satine was alive. With the exception of the very vocal Death Watch minority, the people were united behind her. It was only by running false flag operations with Maul's Shadow Collective that Death Watch was able to generate enough support to stage a coup. A coup that involved killing any government officials and trained warriors who refused to forswear their loyalty to the Duchess, thus robbing Mandalore of a considerable number of possible defenders and the people who knew how things ran and where the paperwork was filed.

If it wasn't for Vizsla's coup, and Maul's second secret coup, there would have been no need for Republic troops at the Seige of Mandalore, because there would have been no Seige of Mandalore. But there was, and Mandalore fell to the Empire. Which led to more internal Mandalorian on Mandalorian violence, which killed even more warriors. Which paved the way for the Night of a Thousand Tears.

#satine kryze #pro satine kryze #duchess satine #siege of mandalore #duchess of mandalore #mandalore #korkie kryze #in defense of satine

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veneritia · 10 days

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when comes the dawn monthly update {4.30.2024}

not me being massively late in posting this and also ignoring my draft oops lets all pretend i posted this in april

THE STATISTICS

the draft → 44,247 words words written this month → 6,441 words total words written this year → 35,384 words hours spent writing this month → 9 hours

APRIL CAMP NANO SUMMARY

6,441/15,000 words written. As always...nano's schedule is so not student friendly lmao.

STORY NOTES

Rewrote the aftermath of the banquet scene twice. Still not totally satisfied with what I went with, but at least it won't overcomplicate and derail the plot

Expanded more on Marius Tracellis. He now has a secret librarian boyfriend <3

Added a new scene towards the beginning of the draft and rewrote the aftermath of Titania's funeral. I'm planning on adding a scene between Dantalion and Fenice that's....not quite family bonding but it's certain something.

I got burned out during the majority of April between final exams and nano, so I'll be taking a short break on the wctd draft and will be focusing on lighter stuff like character studies and the like.

EXCERPTS

BLOG STUFF

I might also take a hiatus from posting the weekly updates, since there really isn't all that much to update on

TAGLIST UNDER THE CUT [ask to be +/-)

@bloomingwrites @writinglyra @zmwrites @trapped-inadystopianovel @inky-duchess @aalinaaaaaa @seasteading @kaatiba @lazulis-stuff @serpentarii @sourrcandy @charlesjosephwrites @marrowwife @forever-and-almost-always @halcionic @caninemotiff @socialmediasocrates @zorya-km @smolandweirdwriter @floweryprosegarden

#wtwcommunity #writeblrgarden #writeblr #collection.my projects #series.wctd #wctd-monthly #wctd.excerpt

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freezing-kaiju · 1 month

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ALRIGHT, IT'S TIME!

THE SECOND RYUKI-AND-BLADE-ACCOMPANYING ANIME POLL IS NOW HERE!!!

SO, MEET YOUR CHALLENGERS!

AJIN Demi-Human

youtube

We start with a dark horror and possibly scifi about ethics in science, immortality, and an outlaw fugitive alien plot as a boy finds himself part of a group of immortals declared legally inhuman. While I have some misgivings about Oh No I Was Secretly A Creature All Along plots, I do fucking love horror and there’s a lot of ways for those plots to hit hard in the trans and gay and autism organs and be really important!!!!

Dimension W

youtube

The New Tesla Energy Corporation has monopolized the fourth dimension and the coils that connect to it. A duo of bounty hunters, one human and one robot, make money via repossessing illegal coils and seek out the answer to the mysteries within the dimension. I really wanna watch this one for a few reasons, the primary one of which is 'there are multiple fat women'. It seems to have freaks and weirdos and fun times, and its comedy is emphasized more than most of the other ones on this list so it might give some needed levity!

Kyoukai no Kanata

youtube

A bumbling monster hunter with blood powers meets an immortal via trying to shank him and ends up in an arrangement where she'll keep trying to kill him to boost her confidence while hunting monsters in what I hope is a monster-of-a-week show that came highly recommended by a friend as her favorite anime, or one of her favorites, so i have high hopes! Script's by the hibike euphonium guy and the power system seems quite interesting!

Air

youtube

A puppeteer (if he’s as good as Sakon will remain to be seen) stops his Road Trip To Meet A Golden Sun Jupiter Summon to stay for a bit in a town and, as happens to anyone who stops for too long, gets attached to the place and also meets a girl who might be said jupiteresque being. My friend informs me that it's gorgeous, sounds amazing (so I'll make sure to get clips), and has "nice sad vibes"!!! And it’s…listed in a “provincial horror” listing… hoho

Heike Monogatari

youtube

A child who can see ghosts and the future walks tirelessly through the tragedy of the war between the Taira and Minamoto families before the dawn of the first shogunate. It's wildly beloved by a friend of mine, and also centers a historical event i know some but not all about and definitely need to know more about the Taira side of. Seems like a beautiful drama, one I could lose my heart over.

SSSS Gridman

youtube

Digital kaiju! Digital hero! Digital amnesia! A monster of the week show about an unknown amnesiac summoning and merging with Hyper Agent Gridman to fight digital, possibly virtual monsters while making friends(?) in the real world! It's the one thing Tsubaraya Productions has that isn't Ultraman, and I expect some tokusatsu vibes from it along with the mecha stuff, i've also heard it has gay girl megatron??

Akudama Drive

youtube

It's a prison break and crime story set in a tech dystopia, starring a scene girl shoplifter, and featuring a bevvy of unpersoned convicts in what seems like an excellent ensemble clusterfuck!!! The Danganronpa crew made this thing! It's also beloved by a friend of mine, and I've heard it'll be a generally excellent tragedy of a time

Canaan

youtube

A reporter gets saved from assassins by a woman she might do yuri with, and the summaries I’ve found seem to imply a plot about terrorism and mystery! It’s a Type-Moon work that isn't part of the fate, tsukihime, OR melty universes! It might still have magecraft, but it's tagged sci-fi too, and a type moon take on scifi sounds interesting... it’s also based on. *checks wikipedia* a…perfect-Famitsu-score visual novel for the Nintendo Wii. So I might need to dig out some old hardware to watch this thing. For fun’s sake!

Killing Bites

youtube

A guy unintentionally becomes the underground wrestling promoter of a ?werewolf? Woman who murders his friends and wins him a shitload of money. The end goal? According to the summary, control of the economy!!! This was recommended as garbage and good lord I need garbage so much good god I need to put some trash inside of me.

#kj grabs a megaphone #kj watches anime #polls #IF YOU WANT TO VoTE MULTIPLE OPTIONS PUT IT IN YER TAGS

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acourtofthought · 6 months

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Counter to all those Elain's book arguments

Contains TOG Spoilers

"Elain's book can't be next because she was barely in SF"

Throne of Glass - Chaol 492 mentions

Crown of Midnight - Chaol 604 Mentions

Heir of Fire - Chaol 400 Mentions

Queen of Shadows - Chaol 480 Mentions

Empire of Stroms - Chaol 12

Tower of Dawn - Chaols Book

The book before Chaol got his own he wasn't even on page. His name was only mentioned through other characters. Though he had previously had his own POV in other books, SJM chose to completely eliminate his POV in Queen of Shadows in favor of waiting until his own book.

"Elain's book can't be next because she isn't connected to the plot"

In Empire of Storms Aelin, Rowan, Aedion, and Lysandra rearrange a meeting with the surviving lords of Terrasen but they reject her as a ruler due to her age.

Witch armies fly to Rifthold so Aelin send Rowan to rescue Dorian while she leaves for the coast to gather allies.

Elide is hunted by Ilken.

Aelin wants an alliance with the pirate king.

There is a battle scene and Aelin is taken by Maeve.

If Elain can't have the next book because she's not connected to the plot then how was it possible for Chaol to have his own book when he had nothing to do with the plots of EoS?

Not to mention Elain is connected to some of the major plots of ACOWAR / FAS / ACOSF:

ACOWAR - She went on before I could answer. "I do not have much time left - before I must return to the lake. To him."

ACOFAS - But Vassa's freedom would end. Lucien had said as much months ago, and still visited her often enough that I knew nothing in that regard had improved.

ACOSF - He should have asked someone before coming here how much time remained before Vassa would be forced to return to the continent.

Koschei said, "Tell my Vassa I'm waiting"

Elain had always wanted to visit the continent to study the tulips and other famed flowers.

Elain is the only one who had visions of Koschei, the girls along with Vassa who are trapped at the lake, as well as visions of the onyx box that's important to him. Elain is connected to Lucien who is living with Vassa who is a captive of Kochei and who is the driving force of a lot of the unrest in their world, whispering on the winds to stir up trouble. Beron now wants to ally with him and that also involves Lucien and Eris as his sons. Az may have always hated Eris but he's Lucien's brother and SJM started building the idea that they'll be reconnecting back in ACOWAR and continuing through SF while SF basically had the NC using Eris as a pawn.

ACOSF - With a new war possible and Briallyn up to her bullshit with Koschei, we need a strong ally. We need the Spring Court's forces.

"No. But we need to summon Lucien." "We need to tell him the news and permanently station him at the Spring Court to contain any damage and be our eyes and ears."

Nesta's throat constricted, and she surveyed the swaying cerry blossoms overhead. Elain would love this place. / But Elain...The Spring Court had been made for someone like her. / Too bad her sister refused to see her. Nesta would have told Elain to visit this place.

So yes, Elain is connected to some of the most pressing concerns in the ACOTAR world. Not to mention with the peace treaty remaining unsigned, that's definitely more of an Elucien story than an Azriel one.

"Cassian and Chaol had Bonus Chapters and got the next book so Az will get the next book since he got a Bonus"

Cassian's Bonus hinted at his mating bond but it wasn't accepted until 2 books and almost 2 years later on the timeline. He didn't actually get the next book after his bonus because Feyre got the next book (ACOWAR).

Azriels Bonus did hint at his mating bond but just as Cassian and Lucien's bonds were introduced / hinted at but not accepted for years, it's possible Az's bond won't be accepted for years.

Neither Lucien or Elain needed a bonus to hint at their mating bond because their mating bond was introduced into the actual series.

Also, the Chaol bonus chapter had nothing to do with hinting at his endgame love interest and is different from either Cassian or Az's bonus because on the timeline his story picked up immediately after his bonus while neither Cassian or Azriel's did.

"Elain hasn't hit rock bottom"

Throughout SF, Elain faced pushback from Nesta. They had the worst fight they'd ever had in all their years, Nesta tried blaming Elain for their fathers death, she faced opposition from Nesta on choices Elain made for herself, and she dealt with rejection from Azriel, ending his bonus with hurt and confusion.

In comparison, Azriel began his bonus with feeling put out at his lack of a mating bond, jealousy toward Lucien, then mad at Rhys and himself. But by the end of his bonus he left feeling more hopeful and at peace. And in the actual book there was nothing to indicate that Az was at rock bottom.

I'm not sure either is truly at rock bottom (Elain already reached hers in ACOWAR and I don't think she's ever going back to that) but Az is definitely not worse off than her. Especially when his issues were a sum total of "why don't I get someone to love" while Elain's dealt with people calling her entire character into question.

"Elain isn't ready for a book, she hasn't had enough development."

Elain cocked her head. Didn't dissolve into the crying mess she usually became when Graysen came up.

Elain, surprisingly held her ground.

Challenge filled each word. Challenge - from Elain, of all people.

"Using me."

"You do not decide what I can and cannot do, Nesta."

"I am not a child to be fought over."

Feyre said to her, gratingly gentle, "It wasn't an easy choice for me to ask Elain to endanger herself like this."

"You think Elain is boring?" "I think she's kind, and I'll take kindess over nastiness any day. But I also think we haven't yet seen all she has to offer."

"Let's focus on helping one sister before we start on the other."

"Including Elain, who is more than capable of defending herself against the darkness of the Trove, if she chooses to. Don't underestimate her."

When Feyre had offered to let her remain home, Elain had squared her shoulders and declared that she was a part of this court - and would do whatever was needed.

Wasn't the entire point of the first half of the Feysand bonus chapter telling us all about Elain? How she surprised them? How she's probably capable of more than they had given her credit for? How Feyre didn't mention anything to her but thought how if Elain had accepted Lucien's gift (metaphor for Lucien himself), no harm would have come to her? How after they help Nesta they'll focus on helping Elain? Didn't SF also demonstrate the same?

People keep saying Elain needs to be more involved in the ICs business to have a book but Nesta began her journey refusing everything to do with the IC. And if Elain is not staying in the NC, why would she be majorly involved in what they're doing?

Elain herself said she's ready for more. Rhys and Amren confirm it as well. All that now needs to happen is her putting that into action in her own book.

"Elain isn't connected to the crossover"

First off, Az isn't connected to the crossover in the ACOTAR series, there were no hints that Truth Teller was part of prophecy in SF. I imagine SJM will eventually merge the two storylines but we don't know if that's going to happen in the next ACOTAR book. As it stands, these series are still marketed on Bloomsbury and SJMs websites as standalone series and SJMs website still says you can read them in any order you want.

If you look back over SJMs interviews she once said she knew who the first two books of the spin-offs were going to be about but was leaving the third open (and was considering a book set in the past). She had already done research for Elain's book at that time which to me logically means the Koschei storyline was never going to extend past book 2 and she wasn't sure whether Az would have a spin-off book.

In another interview she said her initial pitch for the spin-offs hadn't changed and that SF simply expanded the world. You can interpret that a few ways but one of those interpretations is that Elain's book is still second as she originally intended and now that the world expanded she knows who the third book will be about (and any books beyond that). And that does mean Koschei could still be dealt with in the second spin-off, paving the way for possible crossover storylines to be introduced in the third (and later dealt with in any future ACOTAR books she may have signed on for). Remember, the point of SF was to try to stop another war in their world from happening, they are trying to prevent a repeat of ACOWAR.

Everything above is based on facts though my own interpretation.

This part is a complete personal opinion and not based on any fact but, I truly don't think Az deserves his HEA right now. He called Elain a mistake yet he gets to end up with his mate in the next book? That would be a little like Tamlin finding his HEA before Feyre after what went down in book 2. Az barely blinked at the thought of killing Lucien and is insanely jealous of him yet Lucien deserves to continue suffering for another book while Az gets rewarded?

I don't think Az is deserving of anyone until he realizes that Lucien is a good male and that he's happy for Elucien.

Cassian was jealous of what Rhys and Feyre had but he was still happy for them, still felt no one deserved it more. When it comes to Lucien, Az is resentful through and through and until he can see Elain happy with Lucien and not feel bitter, I don't think he's in a position to end up with his own mate.

Also, the series started with Feysand and I know some feel the series should end with an Archeron sister but that makes less sense to me. The series started with Feysand and the Night Court. The series should end with the Night Court.

Chaol's journey took us away from Aelin and Rowan to a part of the continent only he had reason to travel to then SJM brought all the characters back together in the final book in the main lands. It doesn't make sense to me to have an Elucien book that would end the spin off series in Spring, Day and the continent as I don't think much of their storyline will take place in the Night Court. To me it makes the most sense to step away from the NC in the next book then eventually bring it back to where Feysands story started. Az is part of the IC and I imagine his book will deal with Feyre and Rhys a bit more than Elain and Lucien's will.

Then if there is going to be a more major crossover storyline down the road, the current spin-offs will have ended with Feyre and Rhys in the mix of things (they represent the "Dumbledore" or "Gandalf" of the series, nothing new happens without their involvement).

I think either an Elucien or Gwynriel book is still a possibility but I don't agree with the arguments as to why Elain's can't be next. And I really hate the arguments claiming that anyone who thinks Elain could be the next book is delusional.

And it's not just about Elain. Lucien's story has been coming since book 1 and when the author talked about getting into the groove of writing ACOTAR 5, where she's got that feeling of having a crush, a possible Elucien book that would most likely feature Lucien (with fire in his blood), Helion (who she's weirdly obsessed with), Eris, Elain (who shares her own real life energy), Jurian and Vassa could absolutely be a reason for her to feel smitten. That is a book filled with a whole lot of sass, snark, and side characters who she'd finally have a chance to explore in greater detail.

#elucien #pro elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #pro lucien vanserra #pro elain archeron #elucien book #acotar 5 #acotar series #elain x lucien #lucien and elain #elain and lucien #helion acotar #vassa acotar #jurian acotar #eris acotar

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