#oh predetermined fates my beloved

[cheese-water]

The best option was to kill Ranboo. Everyone begging for him to “live” assumes that choice would be the merciful option is naïve for thinking Hatch would simply set him free. No he said verbatim that Ranboo would continue to be our plaything until they became “unusable.” That isn’t being alive, that’s torture, especially for someone who was begging to be killed in the end.

People pushing for a 50/50 split are also naïve in the way Showfall Media operates. While we never know what would happen if the vote split, it wouldn’t of mattered anyway. Hell, it doesn’t matter that we choose to kill. What has been the constant sentiment throughout this series?

OUR CHOICES DO NOT MATTER

Ranboo was dead man walking before the show even began. Do you really think Hatch really is gonna let Ranboo die on his own accord just because twitch chat felt bad for him? NO! He is probably being reprogrammed as we speak, up and ready for their next show. None of this matters. All of this was for data on the newly implemented live audience Hatch installed to see how we would react to certain things.

How could Ranboo’s death be our fault, when our actions and emotions were also being used by Showfall Media?

Who says we weren’t just as trapped as Ranboo, only we get the privilege of remembering his death.

#generation loss #genloss #ranboo #ranboolive #THE MAD LAD #I’m like a detective #I find a single piece of evidence then I make it my whole personality #generation loss finale #oh predetermined fates my beloved #if ranboo ends up permanently dead I’ll eat my hat #There’s NO WAY hatch just lets him die scott free because of TWITCH CHAT #Is his name hatch? #Who cares he’s trying to live up expectations/earn the approval of his maybe dead mentor figure by any means possible #And that’s just simply unethical in the long term #I mean if EVERYONE did that earth’s population would be zero #tsk tsk tsk #simply do you bro who cares about “tHe FoUnDeR” 🙄 #Why am I like this lmaoooooo

[tracle0]

Mmmm STS

(text; hey hi happy storyteller saturday from australia, aka the future! I would like to know... hmmmmm... how would your characters react to finding out they are in fact characters in a story? just 'cause I've been thinkin about all that juicy loss-of-control stuff and other such Spidery ideas in TSS and some of your rambles... I feel like Atlas in particular might have some Opinions about this revelation, and I'm curious about the others too :O ok bye love you have a nice day)

I was very ready to answer this @albatris and then my phone ate it so uh. Here’s your actual answer wew it is now the Monday after you sent it aka 10 days

So. Actually. I’ve. Thought about this question before. Like how would they react to knowing their fate was predetermined (can fate be predetermined?)* and how they might react to me as the person who inflicted such a plot on them. Happy to talk about it. Thrilled, you may even say. Mm!

So yeah like you mentioned! Loss of control and Spider BS is about 60% of the plot, give or take. Atlas particularly has very very very strong feelings about it!! They grew up literally unable to make their own choices for anything until they were 9. They didn’t know anything different, so at the time it was fine - but it definitely scarred them deep when they did realise what had been going on. They fight very hard to keep their mind their own.

So? Finding out they’re in a fictional story and I have already decided their conclusion for them? They’d hate it. They’d hate it! And me! They’d hate me so so much!!! I’ve done horrible things to them and they don’t have control over their life despite all of their fighting and they never have.

Well. I mean. If they can get over the fury and sit down and think about it, if they can figure out that yeah I’m the author and they’re a character in a story, but they are way too opinionated to do anything out of character - is that a lack of control on their end? I built them up and they come along and decide things for themselves and get snarky if I write them out of character. It’s. A strange time.

As an aside, they’d probably also be bitter that I took them from original Sonder. Sure, they were shot in the head there, but there was no godly hijinks hanging over their head there, was there?

TLDR; everything is awful, oh god, someone do something.

Sam! Samantha, beloved. She has. Bad experiences with books in TSS. So she might assume her being in a book is possibly a hangover of that? Maybe? She gets eaten by one. It’s a time and she doesn’t enjoy it even slightly. Hmm. Hang on I’m thinking about this.

Honestly I think she’d be in equal parts disappointed and impressed and wary? Wary because hey does this mean she’s not? Real? That’s? Awful? Hate that? And I agree. It would be pretty awful.

Disappointed because she’s a sociologist; to find out your confined to one book to study things is. Pretty bad for her hobby! That’s only one (my) point of view to study the world through, how is she meant to properly observe when everything is filtered through the lenses of my experience? Awful. 0/10. Her career is ruined.

But - maybe a little impressed. Like yeah she’s forced to see the works though my lens because it’s my book, but. Well. She’s learning through someone telling her that she’s a character in a book. I would assume that means she hasn’t noticed before. I’m also gonna hype myself up and say I’m decently happy with the world building in my head. Maybe she’d be like okay sucks that I don’t exist but yo these towns are. Pretty fleshed out? She could be lying. Thanks Sam.

I do think she’d prefer this world to original Sonder. She’s almost more welcome this time around.

TLDR; studying societies through one lens of the world is impossible, you just ruined my hobby.

A n d y hmm. Defeated and interested and angry I think. He. He struggles with a lot. He’s a prince dammit, he’s got a lot of pressure hanging over his head and for a long time, he struggles to manage it. I think learning that he’s just a fictional character in a fictional story would be. Very. Bad for him. Does he have any say in what he did? What was the point all along? Why did he keep fighting when everything was decided before I had even written a single word?

There are a few times when he gets to enjoy lack of control elements as well. It’s probably not as intense for him as it is for Atlas, but I imagine he’s quite wary about deciding what he does for himself. Learning he never had much choice would be. Eesh.

Angry! I put him through some horrific stuff! I strip almost everything he loves away until he’s hanging onto one person desperately and trying to help her as much as he can! I could’ve just not done that!!!!!! It makes decent plot, sure, but that’s his life! Why did he have to endure that, just for someone else’s entertainment? Angry.

But - interested to a degree. Last time he couldn’t read at all. This time, he is a major bookworm. Adores history books and reading in general. I think finding out he’s a character in a book somewhere would intrigue him to a degree. Privately, secretly, but…? Really? A story? What kind? Fakkin Andy.

He would absolutely prefer TSS to original Sonder. I’m including this fact for you for all of them, enjoy. Last time he was the villain. This time he’s one of the protagonists. I think he enjoys that shift.

TLDR; how dare you make me and mine suffer like this (but also books are pretty dope tell me more)

Nd last but by no means least, Dolly! I. Think. She would care the least, actually? I mean. Mm. For all of them, there’s a degree of anger to it. If they’re characters in a book, it means someone else (me) decides all these horrible things should happen. Atlas could just not serve a horrific god. Sam could have not been eaten by a book. Andy’s family could still be alive. Her tutor could have not been framed for murder. She is endlessly upset about that and I can’t blame her. So. Angry about that.

But like? She’s pretty easygoing I think. It’s possible she would not believe whoever was telling her, dismiss whatever proof they gave. Sure, buddy, I’m a character in a story and you’ve got ten heads and can tame the winds. I suppose it depends on what plot she knows. She has a time in TSS, and more time to come in TCD. Mm.

She! I think she also prefers TSS. TSS definitely prefers her over Sonder. She got the best glow up out of all the characters, I think. Properly fleshed out character and able to do and say as she pleases. I’m happy with how she turned out.

TLDR; why did he have to die? But also, whatever, bucko.

*fate is pre-determined for big and grand events that affect a lot of people, but even then it gets sloppy. Vague and easy to brush off. Sure, X event happened, but only for a little bit?

#STS #tss #asks #mmmm very sorry for the delay. Hectic weekend. Hectic week. Angry at tumblr for eating my ask so ignoring Tumblr #Hi! Here are answers to that question! I. Need to send asks. Respond to asks. Go on Tumblr more again #Things and stuff have been happening yknow. Hate things and stuff. So stressful #Mmmm I’m gonna. Give you bonus content for your wait in the form of Olly answer too #He’s not really part of tss beyond being basically fridged to give motivation to Atlas? #But he is more part of the story for TCD so I will. Offer this knowledge #So! I think as per usual he’d be angry about that fact. Could’ve just not done all this BS to him as the author and controller of the story #Bla bla bla I think he’d respect the fact that stories need conflict the most? Still dislike the conflict but. Mm. #I do think he’d maybe manage it the best? He already has elements of understanding story narratives in TCD #There’s a bit where Andy is told something very very specific and spends the rest of tss and half of TCD panicking about it #Until Olly catches wind of it and provides a different (and correct) alternative #He takes that prophecy bs and literal phrasing and breaks my funny tropes and narratives thanks Oliver love you mwah #So. TLDR; stop making us suffer (especially atlas that’s just mean smh) and also fuck you I’m gonna crack your story wide open #Sorry so late. Am sleepy. Got work. Mmmmmmhh

[chocolate-parfait]

Hiii! I saw that your requests are open, and I want to ask for a Mozart scenario 👉👈. MC/Reader (whichever you prefer) has gone back to her time for a long time (even tho she wasn’t planning for long) but when she comes back she also has Mozart’s kid in her arms (but everyone knows before him coz he is obviously at his piano lmao). So the residents plan to surprise him? If it’s too specific feel free to ignore this. Make sure you sleep sufficiently and drink some water😗😗 thank u in advance :)

Sorry it took me so long! I barely had the time to sleep this past month😳 I hope it was worth the wait-

A gift from Fate - Ikemen Vampire (Mozart)

“I don’t think we should listen in on them...” The cherry haired man whispered.

“Shh Ai-chan. Mozie-kun might hear us!”

“Tofu lover here is right, old Newt. And how could we pass up a chance of seeing that cold-hearted wolf shed a tear or two? It’s a once in a lifetime occasion!” Added the writer, resting his left hand on the scientist’s shoulder.

“Ugh, why did I even ask you two, of all people... Sebastian, tell them something already!” Isaac lamented once more.

“Unfortunately, Master Isaac, I’m afraid to say I’m quite curious myself to see Master Mozart’s reaction. It’s for scientific purpose, after all.”

“For what?” Nine pairs of eyes flew to the butler’s figure.

“Oh, nevermind that.”

"Leonardo, would you mind throwing your cigar away? They'll catch the smell of it" Comte’s placid tone filled the small space.

"What, you curious too, "Comte"? Heh, as his majesty desires" Leonardo complied, putting out his cigarillo against the ground with a dramatic gesture, gaining a displeased glance from the nobleman.

"...thank you. Oh, I believe he's almost there. Everybody, please be quiet."

As their sire spoke these words, all the vampires got closer to the small opening of the door. Some could barely see anything, but the wooden surface was thin enough to let any and all sounds reach the hidden listeners’ attentive ears.

The person that had them all hidden in a small storage room adjacent to the parlor was none other than Mozart. The love of his life had just returned from the future with a surprise of a companion glued to her side, but the man was yet to show his face. He had been, as always ever since her departure a couple of years before, focused on composing his tunes, now devoid of their old brightness and tempo, just like the composer himself.

It was as clear as day that, although his external composure remained unchanged, his heart had decided to freeze himself, a thick layer of frozen indifference to hide a pain akin to that of being torn in half, cruelly and mercilessly. Whenever he let his guards down even the slightest bit, he found himself on a battlefield over which time had no influence whatsoever, and where the ice and snow perfectly preserved the destruction and desolation born from his loss. The blood from a still fresh and open wound laid on the ground, as strong winds hit him with the warm whispers of a long-lost sun, nowhere to be seen.

That was the devastated state in which his being was left in, unaware of the sympathetic smile Fate was now offering him.

That day, a mysterious note found its way between the pianist’s hands, the words “Meet me at 18.00 in the parlor. It’s a matter of utmost importance” written in an impeccable cursive of other times, clearly belonging to one of the many inhabitants of the mansion. When it came to such intimate business, they usually preferred keeping a certain distance from unfolding events, but seeing the hesitation and fear of rejection on the woman’s face, they had all agreed to lend her a hand and give a little pull on the red string that connected the two lovers.

As punctual as ever, when the clock’s hands moved to the predetermined time, Mozart knocked stiffly on the door, finally making his entrance in the scene.

Barely two steps in the room and he found himself stuck in place, incredulous eyes fixed on the feminine figure in front of him. His violet eyes immediately found her face, and his body moved towards hers, attracted by an invisible force that had kept them tied to each other in spite of time and space. She was still as beautiful as he remembered, though his feverish dreams and hazy memories couldn’t hold a candle to the real her.

As impatience shook his body with a strong wave of trembles, with a quick movement he trapped her in a soul-crushing embrace that overflowed with all his longing and love; as his arms tightly caged her to his torso, he nuzzled her neck, finding her warm skin with the cold tip of his nose.

One deep inhale, then another. And another one.

She smelled divine.

Oh, how he had missed that dazzlingly sweet scent, those soft locks tickling his pale cheeks now flush with various emotions, that small pair of arms circling his body and squeezing him tightly. Was this a dream? Had he finally reached the afterlife for a second time? If so then he didn’t want to go back. If living in an illusion meant being with her then he was ready to throw away the real world with no second thoughts. But this, this was real. His mind had already acknowledged it, leaving the heart behind to process its own feelings.

“Meine Geliebte-” (my beloved)

“Mozart-”

They said in unison, voices mixing with harmony in a euphonious melody.

As he pulled back a little to look her in the eyes, a small voice came from behind her body. “Mama...” When Mozart lowered his eyes to meet the small figure’s, he was met with a small child, around 4 or 5 years of age. Before his thoughts could even reach the idea of betrayal, he couldn’t help but notice how every single feature, although still not fully developed, was a mixture of one of his and his lover’s own. The similarity was painfully clear, but once more the brain outrun the heart, and Mozart felt his heartbeat fall to his stomach.

“This is...” The woman started with a wavering voice, maybe from the emotion or perhaps because of insecurity. “This is our son, Charles.”

“Our... son...?” The pianist slowly repeated, trying to give more time to his now nearly-exploding heart.

Bending down to meet those violet orbs so similar to his own, he smiled fondly, reaching a hand out to slowly caress the boy’s head. As he did so, a myriad of realizations hit Mozart like a carriage running at full speed. He could not believe he had missed his son’s birth, his first steps, his first words. The fruit of their love, a life born out of their union. No amount of apologies and care could give him back all that, and the thought brought tears to his eyes.

“Papa! No leave Mama anymore!” The boy suddenly pleaded as he threw himself between his father’s arms. Oh, but of course he wouldn't. How could he? Not anymore. He wasn’t so stupid as to let that damned door separate them again, and not even God could part them anymore. But would the boy understand? He was but a stranger to him, and he did commit the terrible mistake of letting the only person he truly cared for slip away from his grasp once, so how could he blame him for having such thoughts?

“No, I won't. I promise you.” Placing a warm hand on his son's back, maybe as a way to seal his vow, he brought the small, trembling body closer to his chest, trying with all his might to instill in him the sense of security that only a father's embrace can give.

After silently witnessing the whole scene in solemn silence and stillness, smiles and some tears bloomed on the woman and the secret onlookers' faces. As the child shakily whimpered in his finally-found paternal figure's neck, his mother kneeled by his side, where Mozart's arm took her in as he pressed a chaste kiss on her lips. Their passionate reunion could wait for later that night, now all that mattered was being together, aware of each other's presence, warmth and smell. That was more than enough. “Thank you for coming back. Thank you for giving me another chance.”

Unfortunately for them though, an interruption soon came to disturb their peace. Low whispers came from behind the door, and the pianist's trained ear caught them with no effort.

"Woohoo, that was a good one, Wolfie!"

"Shouldn't we just go already? If he were to catch us he'd go on a rampage"

"Still, I wish I could give him a round of applause! It was really moving~"

Mozart turned his violet eyes, now chilly with cold annoyance, towards the source of the hushed voices, silencing them immediately. Though he would have to thank them for the note, he knew they wouldn't have let him hear the end of it with their teasing comments and jokes. Before his thoughts could take the highway to a possible massacre, Charles' brought his attention back to where it belonged.

"Papa... can you show me your piano?"

Such a simple request brought spring into his heart, once plunged into a state of eternal winter. Feeling his every cell overflowing with love and gratitude he simply nodded, adding: "Sure, shall we go?"

Well, his revenge could wait for later. Now he had a lot of catching up to do, both with his love and son, and making them wait longer was definitely unacceptable.

Perhaps Fate had truly decided to be a little kinder to him in his second life.

#my writing #ikevamp scenarios #ikevamp imagines #ikevamp headcanons #ikemen vampire #ikevamp mozart #wolfgang amadeus mozart #answered

[warwaged-moved]

I finished reading the sylv.anas book and this will be spoilerish and filled with complaints so beware (also predominantly alleria-centric, although I have lots of criticism about the book as a whole beyond that). I’ll not really acknowledge any of it when writing war.craft muses tbh, which means alleria is extra canon divergent now

I do like that alleria and liree.sa’s dynamic is more or less as I expected it to be. li.reesa being a stern ranger general, and requiring even more from her daughters (and from alleria, as the eldest and the heir, most of all) is really fitting, and I have always thought their relationship would grow strained as alleria got older and rebelled against the predetermined fate imposed on her. 

I also like that their father is the voice of reason and prone to intervening when mother and daughters are fighting, something that was actually an old hc I had. I don’t like him being advisor to the king though. let him be someone who isn’t politically super important you know. the windrunners are already so important on their own. so yeah, when it comes to my portrayal, he’s still just a guy. also alleria’s favorite parent iudhfuishf

alleria did not leave quel.thalas out of a desire for adventure, much less bc of a man. this isn’t even hc or what I wanted, it’s the actual canon this book throws away. she only left to help the alliance bc she thought the elves were paying too little credit to the horde as a threat -- and she was right. but you can see even in previous books, alleria is desperate to get back to quel.thalas and warn them of the horde attack. she weeps at their forests being destroyed by the orcs and dragon fire. she loves her people and her homeland so much and then this book is like ‘oh no she just wants to go explore the world and get the human paladin d’

and later on she leaves azeroth to try to end the dark portal, and ends up fighting the legion for a thousand years. the reason she doesn’t come back isn’t that she doesn’t want to, it’s that she keeps getting caught in one threat bigger than the other. if you think it’s valid to criticize her for leaving bc she wasn’t in silvermoon during the fall all I have to say is lol. lmao

sylvan.as and li.rath’s dynamic and them being the closest after that was a whole point in alleria’s story, after his death threw her off because she couldn’t handle the grief and got lost in revenge because they were so close, really just. ugh. it annoys me so much. the fact they even have sy.lvanas go to nath.anos in a way that feels like a shitty rip off of plots they used with alleria and tu.ralyon too lol. the fact even when it comes to warning the king, syl.vanas is said to have done it first. like. an iconic beloved character of the war.craft franchise, and you really had to steal plots from her sister for no reason at all instead of giving her an actual story?

please this book hates alleria so much for no reason

also I’ve always been a fierce defender of ‘lor.themar and syl.vanas were close friends in life’ but NOT LIKE THIS. it’s so poorly done. they have no development at all, and are friends simply bc the book says they are, and every single time syl.vanas thinks of them and ha.lduron as ‘the Trio’ I cringe so hard skjdfnaskjdfn

the way they handle sylvan.as is just gross when she ends up not only serving the jailer but also thinking a.rthas was right

an.duin going to the maw in the end sucks so bad let this boy catch a break without syl.vanas around goddamn

I love na.thanos and I didn’t think much of what they did with him in general tbh 

glossing over some of the most important events in syl.vanas’ life briefly certainly was A Choice, but then again, what wasn’t in this shitshow

#‣ out of character { the mun } — ❝ THAT GLOOMY GIRL WHO SIGHS A LOT. ❞ #‣ muse { alleria windrunner } — ❝ VOIDFORGED. ❞

[soleelunabacio]

Okay so here are my Your Name / Noremma thoughts! ⚠️*Goes without saying but, spoilers for both Your Name and TPN*⚠️

...

I was thinking about Your Name and oh my goodness there are such good parallels with the memory loss / searching for each other situation concerning the post-Promise Emma quest, in terms of Noremma dynamics.

Much like how Taki and Mitsuha’s sacrifice means that the memories of each other fade over their years apart, there is still a deep longing that something is missing.

In Emma’s case she may have mentally lost her memories, but emotionally in her heart (and dreams) she remembers her family and connection to her identity.

Then we have Norman whose memories and connections are intact, and he is determined to search the world for her and wanting to be with her(LN feels right here), which makes me think of Taki’s quote ‘I wanted to tell you... That wherever you are in the world, I'll search for you.’

Just like in Your Name, when the couple meets again, although there is initial hesitancy on Emma’s part when she reunites with her family through Norman’s careful and gentle nature, Emma knows he is someone important to her and their love is so deep and special it goes beyond their ‘predetermined destiny’.

This makes me think of how Taki and Mitsuha’s lives were never really supposed to cross in the first place but they found each other and together they brought out the best in their respective individual lives - once again like Norman and Emma defeating the odds and changing their ‘destined fates’ through their personal strengths and true love for one another. Both couples have faced intense separation on multiple occasions, but have always found a way to be reunited. LITERALLY THEIR LOVE TRANCENDS TIME AND SPACE.

ALSO ALSO, the red string of fate is hugely significant in Your Name, much carrying the same soul mate connection as our beloved Noremma string cups. Though the string can lengthen or tangle, it can never break which symbolises not only their connection and understanding of each other but, despite sometimes being far apart there is always the hope the two ends will eventually come together to make one.

Therefore much like Taki and Mitsuha, Emma’s bond with her family and love for Norman goes beyond the importance of memory and their connection is a truly unbreakable strength, displaying that what is in their hearts naturally matters the most and is something that can never be erased and has only been amplified by their development and journey. Now that they are together again and safe in the human word they can finally be happy, flourish and grow from there.

(Also an extra positive note - Makoto Shinkai, the director of Your Name confirmed Taki and Mitsuha did indeed get married after their reunion, sooo in TPN parallel terms and from their last interaction, it’s definitely safe to say Noremma is sailing very very happily with their future) [Though an epilogue or LN showing some lovely married with children Noremma and the rest of the gang living in bliss would be divine]

(Side note - Taki and Mitsuha were not lucky enough to have been blessed with a mutual amazing and supportive best friend / big brother such as Ray haha)

#Noremma #TPN #Your Name #The Promised Neverland #Norman x Emma #Emma x Norman #paralells #otp #63194 #22194 #emma tpn #norman tpn #love #kimi no na wa #yaksoku no neverland

[dmsden]

Jotunheld and Kurdenheim – A Legend of the Shattered Pact

North of the temperate continent of Aldorath lies the frozen land of Jotunheld. In the times of the Dawn War, when the Gods and the Primordials waged war against one another for the very fate of the world, their creations battled one another in these icy climes. A group of gods called the Thanes of the Five Halls had made their children, the dwarves, to live in the mountains there, and the Primordials had set some of their terrible servants, the giants, to conquer all they could.

The giants subjugated the dwarves and forced them into slavery alongside conquered humans. While humans lived their short lives and died growing food for the giants, the dwarves were forced to craft weapons and palaces for their massive captors. But the dwarves secretly implored their gods to help them. Finally, the gods gave a vision to one of their children, Balgon Fivebraids, and he spread the fires of rebellion among his people. The dwarves began to speak a secret tongue among themselves to keep the giants from knowing their plans, and they continue to speak it to this day.

At a predetermined time, Balgon and his followers struck out at their captors with weapons they had forged in secret. They broke their chains and delved into tunnels they had created under the earth, leading into the lands of the Underdark. In their fury, giants pursued into the depths of the earth, following their escaping slaves with a fervor that promised terrible punishments to those they re-captured.

Some dwarves were recaptured, and those that fell back into giantish hands were twisted and changed in terrible ways. Frost dwarves learned their place under the heels of the frost giants, and azers soon willingly learned to serve fire giants.

The great majority of the escaped dwarves, however, continued their harried flight. They fled south, through perilous tunnels that had never before known light. Some dwarves lost their faith on this terrible escape and never left the Underdark. They fled from the giants into lightless places and there heard the whispers of a new power who promised them freedom. Those that listened were twisted into the first duergar, servants of the Fallen God, Asmodeus. The dwarves have never forgiven this betrayal of the Thanes of the Five Halls.

The journey lasted months through the Underdark, and the dwarves feared there would never be true freedom. Balgon began to realize that, even if he led the dwarves to freedom, the tunnels were rising, and they would be a way that the giants could follow dwarvenkind for always. He prayed to the Thanes of the Five Halls, offering his own life as a sacrifice to their glory if they would grant him a way to save his people. And again, he was answered. The gods led him to a massive cavern with a nearly mountain-sized column of stone from floor to ceiling, dripping with water. When Balgon tasted the salt of that water, he realized what he had to do.

He took off his iron crown and gave his beloved axe to his granddaughter, Cassada, telling her to continue to lead the exodus, taking only her hammer to defend himself. After a brief and tearful farewell, she obeyed, and the dwarves surged south, climbing up towards the surface through the tunnels. Balgon waited for the giants, and, when they came, he called out and taunted them, drawing them to him. As they drew close, he raised the hammer, smashing it into the column over and over, beginning to erode its strength. Finally, when they were almost on him, he struck a final time, and the column toppled. Its fall released the oceans overhead to crash down, flooding the tunnels and drowning the giants, cutting them off from using that portion of the Underdark to chase his people.

Cassada led her people up and out of the Underdark into the sunlit worlds of northern Aldorath. They found the Everfrost Mountains and explored them, looking for a place to make a home for themselves. One day, Cassada saw green lightning dancing from the clouds down to a massive ice-covered mountain that she and the other dwarves named Nomenuech (Silverhelm). She and her people delved into the mountain, eventually finding silver, gold, gems, and rich veins of adamantine, the metal which became her clan’s fortune.

The city they founded in Mr. Silverhelm was named Balgondelve by Cassada, and the kingdom that formed around it, Kurdenheim, remains strong and mighty. Against Nomenuech’s northern side, a towering statue of Balgon has been built, gazing out to sea, axe held by his feet, showing the giants that the dwarves are set and ready against them. Balgon’s descendants continue to be a powerful force in Kurdenheim society, and many of the Ur-Thanes of the dwarven kingdom have come from this long-lived clan.

(DM’s Notes: I wanted to give the dwarves a legendary hero in their background, as well as tragic elements of their flight from giantish slavery. I wanted there to be a reason dwarves despise giants, as well as an explanation for the dwarf offshoots in my campaign. This legend seemed a good way to tie it together. I hope it helps inspire legends for your own races in your campaigns.)

(Oh, and those humans I mention also being enslaved? Don’t be surprised if their tale pops up in the future.)

#d&d #D&D #d&d 5e #d&d 5th edition #D&D 5e homebrew #dnd #DnD stuff #DnD 5e #dnd 5th edition #dnd 5e homebrew #dungeons & dragons #Dungeons and Dragons #dungeon master #dungeonmaster #GM Advice #DM advice

[plethorastella]

Custom SoulCalibur Quotes: Stella

Just something I thought I’d do for fun.

INTRO [GENERIC]

Let’s take a chance!

I am not afraid. I will hold my ground!

I have hopes my efforts will pay off.

I do not mind a spar; it is good practice!

INTRO [SPECIFIC CHARACTERS]

GROH

That blade... Do you mind teaching me your ways?

I believe we aren’t on the same definition of “Outsider”...

I do not believe in a predetermined fate.

Your determination is admirable.

KILIK

Perhaps I could help assist in your training?

You seem more experienced with staves than I am.

Perhaps I can learn from you, as well.

Do not worry, I’ll try not to go easy.

NIGHTMARE

You horrid soul! Why must you cause much suffering?!

No one belongs to you...

Such malevolence... I must put an end to this!

Your cruel actions must cease!

AZWEL

Your methods are questionable.

Unethical experimentation is not salvation!

You are not the deciding factor for the fate of humanity.

You have brought this upon yourself.

SEIGFRIED

You seem troubled, let me help you.

One mustn’t go alone on a journey like yours.

Let me prove myself as a powerful ally.

Let me aid you, you should not face this alone.

MAXI

You seem eccentric!

That passion... It feels strong.

Your skills with that weapon... You must have great dexterity.

You remind me of a well beloved friend.

WIN/OUTRO [GENERIC]

Here, let me help you recover.

Do not underestimate the will of an Illumina.

I seem more skilled with this weapon than I thought...

May your rest bring peace.

There has to be a way back... There has to...

Millennia... Where are you?

WIN/OUTRO [SPECIFIC CHARACTERS]

GROH

It has been an experience learning from you.

Your power is great, I can feel it.

Fear of the unknown brings false judgement.

Do not let your duties stray you from your own self discovery.

KILIK

I see... You are such a troubled soul.

Your conviction is strong. I admire that.

This balance of self and darkness; you have great strength maintaining it.

It has been a pleasure sparring with you.

NIGHTMARE

May your atrocities never be repeated.

This evil...! I cannot understand the purpose!

Is all this malevolence... Linked to that blade?

Begone... And do not return.

AZWEL

Humanity’s fate is theirs to decide... Not yours.

Your admiration has brought you to unforgivable extremes.

Progress is not forced. It is only by the will of the soul that they adapt.

Your so called experiments have only brought suffering.

SEIGFRIED

Let me help you.

I will help provide a new path for you to take.

Dwelling on the past will only destroy you from the inside.

Do not lose sight of your self. Hold onto your values and march on!

MAXI

You and Beate would make good company.

That sense of adventure... I like it!

Don’t let anyone take your freedom! Go far and make everyone proud!

I can understand why there are those attracted to you...

TAUNTS

Do not let yourself falter!

Stay strong, keep fighting!

Stand strong, keep going!

[GROH] I have much to learn from you!

[KILIK, NORMAL] Impressive skill!

[KILIK, POSSESSED] Do not let this power consume you!

[NIGHTMARE] Is that all you can do?!

[SEIGFRIED] Stay determined, you have my support!

RING OUT

[1st Time] JUST A MISSTEP!

[2nd and Beyond] AM I BAD AT THIS?!

REVERSAL EDGE

Full force!

Charge forward!

Taking a risk!

[Maxi’s Hair] That hairstyle fits your character!

CRITICAL EDGE

[Normal] I’ll take you! You will not stand... The strength... Of my will!

[Soul Charge] I’ll break my limits! For an Illumina... Never... Backs... DOWN!

Finishers

[Normal] I will never let myself falter!

[Soul Charge] How long... Must I fight...?

SOUL CHARGE

I won’t... Stand down!

[LOW HEALTH] This is... My last chance!

CHARACTER SELECT

[P1] Let us march onward!

[P2] I’ll stand my ground!

GUARD BREAK

Not bad!

But I was firm!

Gotta stay focused!

GUARD IMPACT [FAIL]

Normal

Wha?!

Too early!

Huh?!

Timing!

Low Health

Oh no!

Not now!

Bad timing!

This is-?!

OUT OF TIME/TIME’S UP

I accept my loss. You are a great fighter.

[GROH] I still have much to learn...

[KILIK, NORMAL] You have incredible skill.

[KILIK, POSSESSED] What am I doing wrong?

[NIGHTMARE, AZWEL] My loss will not be your victory!

#soulcalibur #soulcalibur vi #soulcalibur 6 #plethora stella

[snowinabottlearchived]

          COLD BREEZE ON PALE SKIN, STAR FILLED NIGHT SKY ABOVE. it was a picture painted for gods, a rare beauty to be worshiped by everyone passing by and yet ignored by many. what a lucky she had  —  insignificant girl from nowhere, setting foot on a ship made for dreamers. WAS SHE ONE OF THEM ? brown haired girl, fawn eyes staring into secret world so far away she could only guess what it was that fascinated her that much. shimmering light, distant worlds ahead never to be reached by humankind. daring to think she would make a difference. daring to think anyone would be interested to listen a womans words. daring to think that she would ever be able to follow in her fathers footsteps. the fate of her kind was predetermined from birth. be kind, be gentle, be as obedient as possible and most of all  —  never upset your husband. PF. as if amelia johnson ever intended to bound herself to one of those stupid bollocks that spend their evenings in bars, drenched in cheap whiskey. no. she was made to be more. she was made of stardust !  fantasies that would never come true, wishes so immediate they even followed her to this magical place. a ship to bring her to a new home, to new possibilities far from old british stiffness and duties. oh, america  —  land of explorers, country of the open minded. was she expecting too much ? precious heart broken by the rules of modern society, social status not good enough to improve anything. IF SHE COULD ONLY DARE TO DREAM ( because life was so much more, so much deeper than any promise amelia could make to a man she doesn’t even know ). yes, she was definitely her fathers child and that, no matter how far they traveled, would never change. hands carefully adjusting small telescope  —  rather old and rusty than seemingly useful. it was a present, one of the few things she owned rather than her clothes, but what could madame ever want more ? she showed no interest in expensive gowns or dresses, in dinner parties or sumptuous food. HER FUTURE LIED BENEATH THE STARS, where everything could happen, where even a little girls life would matter. born to be more, born to see what others were blind for. brave new world ahead, an ocean between them. a ship made for dreamers. a ship made to escape.

╰╰✩ A TITANIC AU BASED STARTER FOR MY BELOVED @lightconflict

#lightconflict #TITANIC AU 2.0 #finally. #a wild starter appears at 3 am. #BOY. #sorry if its a messy mess

[fire-emblem-heroes-supports]

Berkut/Azura C-A Support

Written by  agentmaplficent

C SUPPORT

Berkut: Hmph! To think those fools from the so called Deliverance are in this place as well… Fernand is not here, and neither is my Rinea. They better come soon… Hm? Who is there?

Azura: Sing with me a song of Conquest and Fate, the black pillar cracks beneath its weight…

Berkut: That song… Those movements… You there!

Azura: Hm? Oh, I apologize. I didn’t see you there, Lord Berkut.

Berkut: (She danced with such grace and beauty… similar to that of my lovely Rinea…) What is your name, dancer?

Azura: You do not remember my name?

Berkut: We have met?

Azura: You and I have been paired up in battle before. Do you not recall my name?

Berkut: Hm… the Lady of the Lake, Azura, am I correct?

Azura: Yes, milord. Did you require something of me?

Berkut: No, I require nothing of you. You simply just reminded me of someone.

Azura: Lady Rinea, you mean?

Berkut: ?! How do you know her name?!

Azura: Peace, Lord Berkut. Sir Clive has told me that I look similar to Lady Rinea, if only by hair and similar color choices.

Berkut: Tch! Oh of course the leader of the Deliverance would tell you about my beloved. Filthy mongrel.

Azura: Lord Berkut. I do not have the patience to listen to you talk down to my companions. Here, everyone is equal, and we are staying under the roof of the royal family.

Berkut: How dare you! Talking to me as if I am some lowly man!

Azura: I grow tired of your tantrum, Lord Berkut. If you excuse me, I must be on my way.

Berkut: Good! Begone with you!

Azura: *walking away* What an insufferable man… he reminds me of Takumi.

Berkut: *to himself* Curse that dancer… But something about her is a mystery.

[Berkut and Azura reached support rank C.]

B SUPPORT

Azura: Phew… it is nice to just walk away after that training session. Lachesis was grateful enough to heal me… Perhaps I shall sing… wait, is that Lord Berkut? Is he feeding the birds?

Berkut: … While this castle maybe my temporary stay, the garden is well attended to. The birds here are perhaps close to those at Rinea’s garden… Eat up, there’s plenty more.

Azura: Lord Berkut?

Berkut: Who goes there?!

Azura: Peace, milord. It is only I, Azura.

Berkut: Oh dancer… what is it you want?

Azura: I have some to hide myself away and sing, yet here you are, feeding birds. I never thought I would see this sight.

Berkut: You will forget what you say here immediately, dancer.

Azura: I prefer singer. My dancing isn’t as well as the lady Olivia or lady Ninian.

Berkut: Dancers… There is only one dancer I consider to be perfect in every way.

Azura: Your beloved Rinea. Yes, I have heard that you two dance.

Berkut: Just who keeps telling you these things and how did they hear it?!

Azura: I admit, I was curious and I asked (y/n) and apparently they know much about us. They said that you are a power hungry man, you hate the common people, and there is only one thing below power you desire: Rinea.

Berkut: That Summoner! How dare they speak of me behind my back! I shall have their heads!

Azura: You will do no such thing. The Prince and Princess will stop you, as will their commander. Now, I suggest you try to compose yourself Lord Berkut. Enjoy the sunset, feed the birds. Perhaps maybe you would like to dance?

Berkut: I dance with no one, besides my partner.

Azura: Hm, truly? I didn’t take you for the loyal type.

Berkut: Are you insinuating that I would betray Rinea in this other world?! You are foolish. Rinea is the only woman I see as my equal, my Empress.

Azura: Ah… so you do love her.

Berkut: Of course I love her!

Azura: Good. Then be kind to her when you return. I am sure she is also a loyal wife, waiting for you.

Berkut: A-hem… She isn’t my wife yet.

Azura: No? How funny… I assumed you two were already married.

Berkut: Enough talk for today, singer.

Azura: Of course. Have a good evening, Lord Berkut.

Berkut: … Hm…

[Berkut and Azura reached support rank B.]

A SUPPORT

Berkut: Lady Azura?

Azura: Yes, Lord Berkut?

Berkut: I have a proposition to make to you.

Azura: You do? And what might that be?

Berkut: Tell me, do you long to return to your home?

Azura: My home? Yes. The World of Fate is my home, I am simply an accompanying unit to Corrin.

Berkut: You talk as if you are a loyal dog.

Azura: *stern* Why did you seek me out, Lord Berkut?

Berkut: I wish for you to attend my wedding.

Azura: Your wedding… With Lady Rinea?

Berkut: Yes. I want you to sing at the wedding.

Azura: Oh my! I never- I never expected you to just want me to come. Aren’t I a lowly common person?

Berkut: Your Corrin says otherwise.

Azura: … Which one?

Berkut: Both of them. They both have said you are a princess of Nohr, correct?

Azura: … Yes. I am a princess of Nohr.

Berkut: The forgive me for my rude words, Lady Azura.

Azura: … You will speak evenly to our comrades, not lowly as if they were animals.

Berkut: Tch!

Azura: If you promise, I will discuss with the Summoner to have me attend the wedding, and then return to my world of Fate.

Berkut: You would go back? Even if it means your predetermined death?

Azura: Yes. I would die for Corrin, both of them, because I love them.

Berkut: Loyal… Fine. I accept your terms

Azura: Excellent. Then I promise this: I shall sing the best tune of mine for your wedding, and I shall sing about your love for Rinea, and how her loyalty is like no others.

Berkut: That song will be the greatest anyone has ever heard, Lady Azura. And only my world shall experience it. You have my gratitude.

Azura: You are most welcome, Lord Berkut.

[Berkut and Azura reached support rank A.]

#fire emblem fates #fire emblem shadows of valentia #male and female heroes #berkut #azura #berkut x azura #submission

[merryfortune]

Legend & Lore: the Deep Sea

AN: Posting this now seems like a good idea :3c

AN: Inspired by artworks by @insanitytragedy [specifically this one]

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Ship: Yusaku/Aoi

Warnings: Character Death, Madness, Dark Themes, Canon Divergent

Word Count: 3832

Synopsis:  Nowadays, they say that you can’t have legends and lore without a little bit of blood and gore.

In which the mysterious hacker pursues the mysterious siren that inhbits the patches of corrupted game data known as the deep seas.

  Game lore states there are monsters in the winds; in the harrowing winds of the Speed Duel. Yusaku knows. He’s reached into the depths of the unknown and pulled one out and tamed it.

  Legend, however, states there are sentient, living creatures in the pockets of patched up and ruined data known as as the “deep seas”. Not quite AIs, definitely not players looking to stir up trouble either. True, living creatures with thoughts and actions that are not predetermined by a real person using an avatar nor predetermined by a computer doing its best to handle the output.

  Legends that are unreliable. Friend of a friend. Quibbles over the massive chat log that get lost in between the hundreds of thousands of conversations between no one. And everyone. Yusaku doesn’t pay much heed to baseless rumour. To what amounts to creepypasta. He doesn’t need to.

  Game. Set. Match.

  Yusaku logs out and pulls himself out of hiding spot with a sigh. He’s sweaty and frustrated. He had come too close in that last Duel to losing. Every game is life or death and he’s already lost too much; he’s got so much he can win back.

  Kusanagi greets him with a sparkle in his eye. Impressed. Yusaku sits down next to him and is impressed. He hands him a bottle of water; it’s lukewarm in Yusaku’s hand.

  ‘Well done, Playmaker.’

  ‘I almost lost.’

  ‘But you didn’t. And you should be thankful.’

  ‘…I am.’

  Kusanagi swivelled in his chair and chucked his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the monitor. Yusaku showed little interest but acknowledged that Kusanagi wanted to bring something up.

  ‘You and I both know that artificial intelligence is somehow muddled up in this whole Knights of Hanoi business. But you and I also know that independent artificial intelligenc isn’t… fully functional. Yet. However,’ Kusanagi paused and Yusaku glared, sceptical, ‘I have reason to believe it will be soon. During that Duel, I picked up… unusual patterns. Someone – or, more specifically, something – managed to get past my barrier. Before the Duel, that zone was empty. No one came in, no one left. But something was there. And it ws moving erratically. I think you have a fan, Playmaker.’

  Yusaku slumped over the desk. He tapped his cheek.

  ‘Doubt it.’

  ‘Clear your schedule, tomorrow, you’re logging in and we’re going to go deep sea fishing. Let’s see if we can find ourselves a piece of artificial intelligence.’

  Yusaku straightened up and yawned. He flexed his hands. ‘Well, we better route the parts of data most susceptible to deteriorating and becoming part of the so-called deep sea system. If we’re lucky, since it’s only been a few minutes since I logged out, we might be able to get a trace on my “fan” but we shouldn’t get our hopes up. It could have just been… a bug.’

  ‘I dunno, Yusaku. I think we’re going to get lucky.’

  The two spent a good portion of the evening making preparations for their deep sea fishing, as Kusanagi had called it. Unfortunately, mere hours later, an unforeseen disruption to their exploration had occurred. Said disruption came in the arrogant, inhuman form of a popular charisma duelist known as “Ignis”.

 Ignis was the Vrains persona of an as of yet unknown person; presumably male but there were rumours of Ignis belonging to a female Duelist. Given Ignis’ avatar, it was hard to tell if Ignis was supposed to be male presenting to begin with. There was little in the way of either clothing and anatomy, instead some cartoonish-looking character with inky black skin and a purple web pattern and bulbous head. Despite being of small stature, Ignis carried quite the large demeanour and prescence on the Vrains.

  Ignis has been vying for the top spot of number one Charisma Duelist for a while now: cocky, arrogant, but puts on a great show. He and GO had been at odds for ages but now Yusaku – no, Playmaker – is the number one duelist in Vrains and Ignis is aggressively eying that title. He’s issued challenge after challenge but today, Playmaker finally accepted for this was no fight for popularity. No, there are larger forces at play.

  Ignis had been instated, albeit temporarily, as a Knight of Hanoi.

  It was a dirty fight. Trick after trick, deception and traps abound but Playmaker pulled through. For himself. For the crowd. It was a riveting duel but a selfish one. Flashy, spectacular, and full of twists: a conversation, of sorts, wherein it was two people greedily yelling at each other but tactfully disguising it as fair play and civility.

  But Playmaker pulled through, at the last second, after a destiny draw and sealed Ignis’ fate in a loss. The evil planted in him dissipated and his card, token of the Knight of Hanoi’s affection for him, banished. It was all well and good but Speed Duels are always a matter of life and death.

  Ignis made one mistake and it almost cost him his life.

  He was making rude remark after rude remark. Yes, he had enjoyed the duel but he didn’t enjoy the loss. That was the kind of person Ignis was. As such, he was passing off his dissatisfaction in cuss words and taunts. Playmaker couldn’t have cared less. He was about to make his temporary escape.

  He turned his back on Ignis but in the corner of his eye, he saw Ignis slip. Such a mistake would likely kill his corporeal form especially from this height. They were above the city and a vicious wind was raking the space between them and the virtual cement; cracked and turned to something akin to water.

  There was a single moment that felt like an eternity. Ignis’ eyes widened as he fell back and his arms outspread by his side. His mouth gaped and he blinked. Like, he didn’t quite believe what was happening. Fortunately, Playmaker could believe that the foolish duelist had fallen off his D-Board.

  Ignis hissed before he screamed. Playmaker whipped back around and instinct took his mind before logic could. Before Kusanagi could.

  Playmaker grabbed Ignis and yanked him back, they traded places in peril. Then Ignis rolled over and blew a raspberry at Playmaker. Playmaker braced himself for the worst and snuck a glance over his shoulder.

  ‘No one beats Ignis-sama and gets away with it.’ he taunted.

  Ignis floated in the digital space. He happily hung out like he was on a gently swinging hammock. Meanwhile, Playmaker was plummeting. He could feel the rush for real. His heart pounded in his chest.

  Yusaku closed his eyes and accepted that, for the first time in years, Vrains will have claimed another casualty. Finally, the mysterious hacker’s identity would come to light. He just wished that he could have reclaimed his past first. He has no doubt in his mind that Ignis would have no qualms over his death.

  Playmaker, no, Yusaku slips into the unknown.

  It’s not like a dive into a pool. It’s more like slipping into a recuperating sleep. Unfeeling but welcoming. His body goes numb but he’s not dead. He’s not dying.

  But that makes it sound too serene. Phasing through the protected realm of vrains into the deep sea is far from peaceful. He’s just experiencing a terrible dissonance between what is happening and what he’s feeling. He actively recognises that nothing is real. He can’t feel anything in his fingers because, technically, they’re not real; not to mention gloved too but some part of his brain refuses to accept that so, his fictional clothes become heavy with fictional water. His eyes sting and he’s gulping down water in lieu of air, not on purpose of course but nevertheless, his lungs are filling with imaginary sea water.

  His eyes flutter shut. He feels infinity at his fingertips. Infinity feels strangely like electricity. Tingling and gradually getting hotter. Yusaku sinks further into the unknown depths of zeroes and ones; of bubbles and seaweed. There was a grave pressure on his chest and he could hear his bones creak and bow beneath it; not snapping, yet, for there was nothing actually pressing upon them. He truly feels like he was at the bottom of the ocean; if the bottom of the ocean was a fault in a highly complex video game data.

  No one’s ever clipped through into the deep sea. The deep sea is highly protected and strongly guarded. It was thought to be impossible to clip through, and yet he had. Playmaker had phased through the other side of where the internet was thought to be impossible to touch. No one expects him to return alive.

  Nor does Playmaker. Nor does Yusaku.

  However, there is one. An unprecedented “one” in this cold, watery sea of “zeroes”.

  A giggle. A light chortle with something deviant lurking beneath its innocence. It sounds almost like the chimes of bells. Yusaku opens his eyes and everything is glitching. He thinks. He’s not certain. It could be his eyes playing tricks on him. It could be the game playing tricks on his eyes. But then, he sees her.

  And she’s beautiful.

  Or, at least, her avatar is.

  She comes closer and Playmaker sighs. He grimly accepts his fate. She comes closer still and clasps her hands either side of his face. She’s curious. She can’t be felt. Her fingers clip through part of her face and her tail twists and sashays to keep them both afloat. The loose, fluttery white fabrics of her outfit are battered by the inertia.

  She feels around the data of Playmaker’s persona and learns of him. She smiles to herself and decides that she will try and save him. After all, this is not their first meeting. It would appear the final hour was upon them: the hour in which Playmaker, no, her beloved Fujiki Yusaku would deliver upon his promise.

  So, she saves him so he would have the opportunity to return the favour like she always dreamed he would.

  She removes her fingers from his face and he falls in love with hers. It’s like a fairy tale for the modern age: superficial and nonsensical whilst maintaining the long honoured traditions of disturbance and cruelty. She is careful to not breach the sensitive data keeping Playmaker’s avatar in tact so she can remain strong enough to pull him through. Unlike him, the data that comprises her is far more flexible. No barrier can keep her out or in. He’s a lot more difficult and cumbersome but, nevertheless, she succeeds in bringing him to the surface.

  Kusanagi, meanwhile in the real world, succeeds in keeping Yusaku alive and breathing. Safe.

  She decides that she doesn’t want to leave the water. She remains by his side though. She idly watches as Playmaker spasms. She watches his back arch as he slams himself down, trying to rid himself of the imgarinary water in his imaginary lungs. He grunts and moans. She giggles. She thinks its funny. Cute even.

  Playmaker comes to and doesn’t log out. He’s hazy and aching. He’s definitely dying now that he can make sense of what he’s trying to process. He turns his head and she catches his eyes. He is quickly ensnared by her unearthly appearance. She’s too solid. She’s too real. She’s not real.

  But she’s beautiful. Large eyes and a button nose. She’s busty but it’s hard to tell with all her jewelery slung around her neck and how the fabrics she’s wrapped up in flutter. She looks as though she has wings. She looks as though she might have had wings once. There is a sense that she is ripped up and broken despite seeming as perfect as a porcelain doll.

  ‘Who are you?’ Playmaker asked; his hands shaking by his side as he tries to make sense of her. Of himself. Of his surroundings.

  ‘Blue Angel.’

  Again, she laughs.

  ‘Are you a duelist?’

  ‘Not yet. I’m still putting together a deck. It’s very difficult, you know when you have to steal the data.’

  ‘Who are you?’

  ‘A siren.’

  Yusaku glares at her. There’s all sorts of weirdos on the internet but Blue Angel doesn’t strike him as one. He examines her avatar. Blue. Lots of it. Blue hair, blue eyes a blue tie around her neck. She basically blends in the water. She’s vaguely angelic too with her fluttering fins at her lower back where human-like skin turned to azure scales. Yusaku couldn’t help but be reminded of the old adage: the more beautiful and colourful, the more venomous.

  Blue Angel huffs. Sick of Yusaku’s scepticism.

  ‘Fine. I’m a rogue AI.’

  ‘And here I thought I would find you.’

  ‘I’ve wanted to meet you for a while, Playmaker. You and I… we’re alike.’

  ‘We are?’

  ‘Well, if we’re ever found by the wrong people, we are doomed to be deleted, correct?’

  ‘…Correct.’

  ‘See? Plenty in common already…’

  Playmaker got to his feet. He craned over his shoulder. He need to escape. He needed to go to the hospital.

  ‘Promise you’ll come and play again.’

  ‘I make no promises. Especially not ones I don’t know if I can keep.’

  Blue Angel became mournful.

  ‘I’ll wait. Forever.’

  She slunk into the water and her eyes became luminous. Her lips move beneath the water and bubbles and ripples shatter the stillness of it. It also caused disruptions to the water’s rendering. It spreads and breaks: unnatural waves.

  ‘Bye, bye.’

  Playmaker logs out once she leaves. Blue Angel gave him a bad feeling. It was deep and torrid. Visceral. It revived an unknown emotion in him: one he had long forgotten. One that he couldn’t explain. Especially not in a state like this. But he could connect it to his voided past. He just didn’t know how.

  Yusaku skipped school for the next few days to recover. He wasn’t the same after his accident; after his encounter with the siren AI known as Blue Angel.

  When he was in good enough shape to think clearly, his first matter of business was to dissect the Vrains for Blue Angel from the safety of his monitor. Not from the inside of Vrains. He hacked through every strain of data and information he could find with Kusanagi in tow. The information that they reaped in return was not what they expected.

  They found old player records belonging to a Zaizen Aoi. She had been Blue Angel before her account was forcibly deleted. The avatar Aoi used, parts of it, had become the rogue AI calling itself Blue Angel: the face, mostly. The AI had transformed the avatar from a winged human to a mermaid. Little wonder: wings would be useless submerged in the depths of the fictitious ocean.

  ‘Do you think we can believe her?’ Yusaku asked as he folded his arms.

  He wanted to believe. He wanted to meet her again.

  ‘We have no login or log-out records for the Blue Angel you encountered. The commandeered avatar is almost definitely its own entity. A simple stalk of Zaizen Aoi’s internet history show that she hasn’t logged into Vrains since her account was forcibly deleted. I have reason to believe that she hasn’t been in a duel since.’ Kusanagi replied with a shrug.

  ‘We have to keep her safe.’

  ‘Zaizen or Angel?’ Kusanagi raised an eyebrw.

  Yusaku shuddered.

  Kusanagi sighed then diplomatically stated: ‘We need to find out if there are other rogue AIs.’

  ‘Blue Angel takes first priority.’

  Kusanagi glanced at Yusaku. His eyes had been taken over by an obsession that twisted them a darker hue of green; or maybe, it was just the light from the monitor slightly discolouring them. Kusanagi hummed. He folded his arms.

  ‘A little obsessed, aren’t you?’

  ‘She’s an improbable existence. She’s fascinating.’ Yusaku admitted. ‘Scientifically speaking.’

  He hastily added that after he had come to a complete stop in his dialogue.

  ‘Mmhm.’ Kusanagi nodded. He sighed. ‘Well, assuming all the deep seas are connected then we’ve already narrowed it down. We can rule out downtown Vrains as well. Too many people know she’s been there so she’s likely avoiding it like plague.’

  ‘But there’s still thousands of digital kilometres that she could be spanning. And we don’t know the full extent of her abilities, she could have the ability to leave the Vrains and enter other internet accesses.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s likely given that her entire existence hinges on Vrains. I don’t believe she would be able to sustain form outside of Vrains.’

  ‘Do you think she can be captured?’

  ‘Captured how?’

  ‘Do you think we could download her to a duel disc? Like the other AIs? Presumably, she has cannibalised one of those and from that, she cannibalised Zaizen’s Blue Angel and likely gained sentience along the way.’

  ‘You want to take the mermaid’s freedom?’ Kusanagi asked. Genuine concern filtered into his voice and it scared Yusaku to his core.

  He hadn’t expected defiance from Kusanagi. Questioning from Kusanagi. He put his hand over his heart and bunched the fabric separating them in his hand. He couldn’t really feel it. His sensory understanding was still numb at best. At this point, he wasn’t expecting for it to return to the way it was before his accident. At least he could feel the movement of his heart though: a slow and steady pulse. It reminded him that he was real. Lately, that simple little fact was slipping form him mind. Frequently too.

  He took a breath and closed his eyes. ‘Yes.’ He decided at long last.

  ‘…Interesting.’

  Kusanagi didn’t further interrogate Yusaku from there but Yusaku’s feelings on the matter were as transparent as glass. His intentions quietly reflected.

  But to Yusaku?

  He could barely decipher the bits and pieces of emotion he felt. He felt tinkered with and now, whenever he moved he could hear the rattle of something having been broken but couldn’t place it. On top of that, because he was still functioning, he couldn’t decide if he was broken at all. Instead, he was just rattling. Something had come loose.

  Yusaku swallowed. A desire as deep as the depths of the sea filled him. He refused to name it but he was apparent. Love, lust, obsession: Blue Angel. He took a breath and for a split second, he was drowning again. He widened his eyes and willed himself to remember he wasn’t online. He was Fujiki Yusaku. He wasn’t Playmaker. This was the real world, not Vrains. He swallowed again as his breath hitched his throat and a sweat broke out on his brow and dripped down his side. He clutched harder onto his shirt.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Kusanagi asked, panicking as he got his feet.

 His hands moved rapidly before Yusaku’s eyes but he could barely see them. They were blurry and Kusanagi was quickly moving out of focus as well. Yusaku shook himself. Took a breath. He willed himself to remain in a conscious, healthy state of mind but he was muddled nonetheless.

  ‘No. Yes. Just let me find her. I have to find her.’

  He heard that laugh again. Light, airy, twinkling like the chime of silver bells. That was Blue Angel’s laugh. He could hear her perfectly. Clear as day. Somehow, it calmed him down. The tension stringing along his shoulder in tight threads relaxed. Kusanagi relaxed too upon seeing Yusaku’s grip on himself lighten.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  Kusanagi sounded like Yusaku had water in his ears. He was vague and murky. Yusaku blinked then stared. And stared. But he could barely see a thing.

  He resolved to find her. He had to find her.

  Yusaku got up and grabbed his Duel Disc. He stormed off and he was unknowingly playing right into Blue Angel’s plans for him. He slams the door behind him and enters the virtual slipstream where he was likely to abandon the air – the winds – forever.

  Playmaker finds her easily enough. She was waiting for him. She watches him with her big, glittering blue eyes and beckons him to the pool where she waits. It’s a puddle in the virtual sidewalk. It’s quiet here. Almost abandoned. It’s almost like someone put a block on the area so only select people could visit.

  Blue Angel begins to sing. She sings a heavenly song that bubbles up from the depths of her throat. She doesn’t speak like she’s speaking through a microphone. That’s one thing that makes her distinct from the players. The players have a crackle of static electricity when they breathe. She doesn’t breathe.

  So, it’s to little eerie wonder as to why Yusaku becomes so entranced by her song. It pulls him in like the moon pulls in the tide. She’s haunting. Lovely. Indescribable. He thinks he’s in love.

  She’s lonely, you know?

  It’s awfully dark and dreary at the bottom of the ocean. She wants – needs – some company down there. Someone who understands how difficult it is to hide when they are everything the other – the commoners – desire in a celebrity. Someone who understands what it is like to hunt and be hunted; to always be teetering on the edge of life and death. Someone who understands what it’s like to phase through life and death. One and zero. And he was the only one to have ever done that. Now. And when he was smaller; younger.

  Finally, they can be together. Forever. Like Yusaku promised her when she was just… Blue. The tame AI. Like she had desired when Yusaku was just that: Yusaku, not Playmaker. He was a chosen child from the experiment. The one that went horribly, horribly wrong all those years ago. Of course, no one remembers. Why should they?

   Yusaku slips. He’s the one who makes the fatal mistake now. He’s too entranced by Blue Angel and her charm to care. He has no one looking out for him from the corner of their eye. So, he slips. He phases through the zeroes and ones once more except this time, he doesn’t emerge as a survivor.

  He sinks. Down and down. In a listless spiral and Blue Angel playfully joins him. She most certainly thinks it’s a game. She batters at him as his hands reach out. A slow regret poisons him. Perhaps, he shouldn’t have trusted the silver song of a siren. She’s not real. But then again, he’s not real either. Not anymore anyway as he sinks further into the deep sea where is transformed into Playmaker for the last time.

  Together… forever. Just like she always wanted. Like he thought he wanted in those tragic days of unreality.

  And now, it’s not just a siren you can find at the bottom of the deep seas but a ghoul: waterlogged and once human… if you believe the stories. The ones fools type out in the group chat: to everyone and no one.

  Nowadays, they say that you can’t have legends and lore without a little bit of blood and gore.

#merry writes stuff #vrains #vrains fanfic #yugioh vrains #yugioh #aosaku #aoi x yusku #yusaku x aoi #yusaku fujiki #aoi zaizen #shoichi kusanagi #ignis (vrains) #go onizuka #and now for the author's prattle tags #if we knew more about naoki's vrains persona #i would have written him in as the person who is spreading the rumours and whanot #so anyway #this is as a weird and dark au but i really like how this fic turned out #non binary ignis ftw btw #alSO I'M GOING TO BE SPAM WRITING IN A MOMENT LMAOOOO

[deeeegiiiiii]

BELOVED MASTER, 

WHAT IS "COINCIDENCE"? 

Anand Viramo, there are three things to be understood. One is the law of cause and effect. That applies to the material world and because science believes only in the law of cause and effect, it denies everything else. The law of cause and effect is mechanical, there is no coincidence. You heat the water to one hundred degrees and it evaporates, there is no coincidence. It is not that one day it evaporates at ninety-nine degrees, another day at ninety degrees. There is no question of the mood, the water cannot decide, the water is mechanically ruled by a law of cause and effect. Those who believe in the law of cause and effect, they will not believe in any coincidence. Everything is predetermined, there is nothing like coincidence. Everything has an inevitability. Then there is another law -- Carl Gustav Jung called it the law of synchronicity. Two things can happen together although they are not related as cause and effect. For example if somebody is singing a beautiful song, some cord in your heart is touched, but it is not inevitable, it is not cause and effect -- it may happen, it may not happen; it may happen to a few people, it may not happen to a few others. It may happen to you one day, it may not happen to you another day. Today you are feeling happy, you have met your woman, your friend, you are riding on the winds. Somebody is singing a song, suddenly it strikes a note in you, you also feel like singing. Somebody is dancing, your feet suddenly have the feel to dance, the mood to dance. But your wife has died, you are sad and somebody is singing and it hurts. The moon has risen in the sky, a full-moon night, and you are sad -- the moon also looks sad, not beautiful. You are in such a sad state that the full-moon night looks like it is ridiculing you; it looks so indifferent to you, so unconcerned, so hard. You are in such a sad state and the moon is still shining the same way it used to, and the roses are blooming and the birds are singing. Nobody seems to be concerned about you, nobody seems to care about you. The universe seems to be very neutral, very cold. You feel hurt, you feel alienated, you feel a stranger, an outsider. Now there will be no synchronicity. The law of synchronicity means sometimes you fit and sometimes you don't fit. It is fluid. The law of synchronicity belongs to the world of mind; just as cause and effect belong to the world of matter, body, the law of synchronicity belongs to the world of mind, heart. Beyond these two there is a possibility of coincidence too. That means no law pertains, or you can call it the law of freedom. That is the ultimate, the law of your innermost core, in fact it is not a law because it is a law of freedom. Things can happen which are not caused by anything and which are not created by the law of synchronicity, just coincidences. Coincidence simply means that there is a possibility of freedom. Now there are people here of all the three kinds. There are people here who have come according to the law of cause and effect; they had to come, it was inevitable, unavoidable. There was something pulling them like a magnet, they could not resist it. There are people here who have come not through the law of cause and effect, but they felt a synchronicity, a harmony with me, a deep accord. If they wanted to resist they could have resisted very easily, if they wanted not to come they could have remained. There was not some gravitational pull, they had to choose. It is out of their choice that they are here. And there is also the third category of people who have just come as a coincidence, accidental. A friend was here, and you had come to see your friend, not to see me, not to listen to me, not at all concerned about me; you had come just to see your friend -- but then you got caught. The friend may not be here anymore, the friend may have escaped. Now this is coincidence. Your husband was coming here, and you simply followed him just as a dutiful wife. Now there are many children, many kids who are coincidentally here. Their parents are here, so they are here; their being here is not their choice, just a coincidence. Their parents are Christian, they are Christian; their parents are Hindu, so they are Hindu; their parents have become sannyasins, they have become sannyasins. This is just coincidence. All these three things happen. The higher you rise, the higher your consciousness is, the more aware you become of freedom. At the lowest point everything is determined, at the highest point nothing is determined. Buddha renounced his palace and the first day, when he was walking on the bank of a river, he created much confusion in the mind of a great astrologer. The astrologer was coming from Varanasi; he had achieved the highest degrees possible in those days. He had become the most famous astrologer; now he is going back to his part of the country. He saw Buddha's footprint on the wet sand; he could not believe his eyes, because it was against all his astrological knowledge. The feet of the Buddha had a few marks which were clearly there on the sand. Those marks were thought to belong only to a man who is the ruler of the whole world, a CHAKRAVARTIN, who is the ruler of six continents. Now what is the ruler of six continents doing in this poor village, on this dirty bank? And why should the emperor of all the six continents walk barefooted? He could not believe his eyes. He studied them very minutely and there was no suspicion, no doubt. Either his astrological books are not right or some emperor has passed from here. He followed those footprints in search of the man and he found Buddha sitting under a tree. Now he was more puzzled; the man looked as if he was the emperor of all the six continents, and yet he was a beggar with a begging bowl. He bowed down to Buddha and he said, "I would like to see your feet. I am an astrologer, you may have heard my name." He looked at the feet and he said, "Now you have created such confusion in my mind, I have never been so confused. For twelve years I have studied astrology, should I throw my scriptures in the river and forget all about it? You should be the emperor of the whole world. What are you doing here? How can you be a beggar?" Buddha laughed and he said, "Yes, there is no need to throw away your books, there is no need to be so confused. Your books are right. I was meant to be a great king, but that belongs to the law of cause and effect. If I had simply followed the pattern in which I was born, then I would have been the king, a great king, a chakravartin. But because I renounced, I took a conscious, deliberate step against the pattern that was imposed, imprinted in my being. I revolted against it, I rebelled against it, I became free of it. I became a witness of it, I dropped my identification with my mind, and once you drop your identification with your mind you are no longer under the law of cause and effect." First you enter into the world of synchronicity and then, ultimately, you enter into the world of freedom. In the world of freedom there are only coincidences. Nothing is absolutely certain, everything is possible. Nothing is impossible. Napoleon is reported to have said: Nothing is impossible. But Napoleon cannot say that, he should not say it. A Buddha can say: Nothing is impossible, all things become possible.

You ask me, Anand Viramo, "What is 'coincidence'?" It simply means that life is not just mechanical. It is not determined by fate and it is not determined by history. It is not determined by your past or by your past karmas. It is not determined, as Karl Marx says, by historical necessity. It is determined only for those who live unconsciously; otherwise it is freedom. You can choose and you can choose to be anything. You can even choose to be a nothingness, that is the ultimate freedom. And coincidences are always happening in ordinary life too. Life is not as logical as you think, it is very illogical. Only the surface looks logical. The preacher decided to enumerate the Ten Commandments to his flock. When he got to "Thou Shalt Not Steal," he noticed a fellow in the first row acting nervously. When the preacher got to "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," he noticed the fellow brighten up and smile. After the service, the preacher approached the man and asked him the reason for his unseemly conduct -- to which the happy one replied, "When you said, 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' I discovered my umbrella was gone. But when you said, 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' I remembered where I had left it." A bachelor named Clem showed up at his weekly poker game with a black eye. His friend Joe asked what had happened to him. "Well," Clem replied, "when I was getting dressed this morning a button came off my pants. I don't know how to sew a thing, so I went to the next apartment and asked the woman there if she would sew it on for me." "Oh boy," Joe said, "she probably thought you were making a pass and socked you, huh?" "No, that was not it," said Clem. "She was as nice about it as she could be. Got out a needle and thread right then and there. She sat down in front of me and sewed the button on while I was standing there. But just as she finished and was biting the thread off, her husband walked in." Life is not just logic. It does not follow a clean-cut path, it goes zigzag. And it is good that it is not simply logical, otherwise there would be no joy, there would be no surprise, you would be simply machines, not men. Coincidences never happen to machines, they can't happen to machines, they can happen only to man. It is your being conscious that makes them possible. Remove man from the earth and all coincidences will disappear, things will be following simple, logical law. But remove man and life loses all its beauty, because life loses its ultimate peak of evolution.

~ Osho

[keeponlovingliving]

Here are my top ten words, compiled from online collections, to describe love, desire and relationships that have no real English translation, but that capture subtle realities that even we English speakers have felt once or twice. As I came across these words I’d have the occasional epiphany: “Oh yeah! That’s what I was feeling...”  1. Mamihlapinatapei (Yagan, an indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego): The wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who desire to initiate something, but are both reluctant to start.  Oh yes, this is an exquisite word, compressing a thrilling and scary relationship moment. It’s that delicious, cusp-y moment of imminent seduction. Neither of you has mustered the courage to make a move, yet. Hands haven’t been placed on knees; you’ve not kissed. But you’ve both conveyed enough to know that it will happen soon… very soon. 2. Yuanfen (Chinese): A relationship by fate or destiny. This is a complex concept. It draws on principles of predetermination in Chinese culture, which dictate relationships, encounters and affinities, mostly among lovers and friends. From what I glean, in common usage yuanfen means the "binding force" that links two people together in any relationship.  But interestingly, “fate” isn’t the same thing as “destiny.” Even if lovers are fated to find each other they may not end up together. The proverb, “have fate without destiny,” describes couples who meet, but who don’t stay together, for whatever reason. It’s interesting, to distinguish in love between the fated and the destined. Romantic comedies, of course, confound the two. 3. Cafuné (Brazilian Portuguese): The act of tenderly running your fingers through someone's hair. 4. Retrouvailles (French):  The happiness of meeting again after a long time.  This is such a basic concept, and so familiar to the growing ranks of commuter relationships, or to a relationship of lovers, who see each other only periodically for intense bursts of pleasure. I’m surprised we don’t have any equivalent word for this subset of relationship bliss. It’s a handy one for modern life. 5. Ilunga (Bantu): A person who is willing to forgive abuse the first time; tolerate it the second time, but never a third time. Apparently, in 2004, this word won the award as the world’s most difficult to translate. Although at first, I thought it did have a clear phrase equivalent in English: It’s the “three strikes and you’re out” policy. But ilungaconveys a subtler concept, because the feelings are different with each “strike.” The word elegantly conveys the progression toward intolerance, and the different shades of emotion that we feel at each stop along the way. Ilunga captures what I’ve described as the shade of gray complexity in marriages—Not abusive marriages, but marriages that involve infidelity, for example.  We’ve got tolerance, within reason, and we’ve got gradations of tolerance, and for different reasons. And then, we have our limit. The English language to describe this state of limits and tolerance flattens out the complexity into black and white, or binary code. You put up with it, or you don’t.  You “stick it out,” or not. Ilunga restores the gray scale, where many of us at least occasionally find ourselves in relationships, trying to love imperfect people who’ve failed us and whom we ourselves have failed. 6. La Douleur Exquise (French): The heart-wrenching pain of wanting someone you can’t have. When I came across this word I thought of “unrequited” love. It’s not quite the same, though. “Unrequited love” describes a relationship state, but not a state of mind. Unrequited love encompasses the lover who isn’t reciprocating, as well as the lover who desires. La douleur exquise gets at the emotional heartache, specifically, of being the one whose love is unreciprocated. 7. Koi No Yokan (Japanese): The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall into love.  This is different than “love at first sight,” since it implies that you might have a sense of imminent love, somewhere down the road, without yet feeling it. The term captures the intimation of inevitable love in the future, rather than the instant attraction implied by love at first sight. 8. Ya’aburnee (Arabic): “You bury me.” It’s a declaration of one’s hope that they’ll die before another person, because of how difficult it would be to live without them. The online dictionary that lists this word calls it “morbid and beautiful.” It’s the “How Could I Live Without You?” slickly insincere cliché of dating, polished into a more earnest, poetic term.   9. Forelsket: (Norwegian):  The euphoria you experience when you’re first falling in love. This is a wonderful term for that blissful state, when all your senses are acute for the beloved, the pins and needles thrill of the novelty. There’s a phrase in English for this, but it’s clunky. It’s “New Relationship Energy,” or NRE. 10. Saudade (Portuguese): The feeling of longing for someone that you love and is lost. Another linguist describes it as a "vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist." It’s interesting that saudade accommodates in one word the haunting desire for a lost love, or for an imaginary, impossible, never-to-be-experienced love. Whether the object has been lost or will never exist, it feels the same to the seeker, and leaves her in the same place:  She has a desire with no future. Saudade doesn’t distinguish between a ghost, and a fantasy. Nor do our broken hearts, much of the time