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wingedshadowfan · 6 months

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i've spoken about this before but let me dissect one of the most controversial fourth wing paragraphs:

Tairn puts us into position, hovering about twenty feet aboveground as Liam flies for the gryphons above us, wielding spears of ice into the injured wyvern’s throat. Blood streams as the wyvern falls from the sky with an ear-piercing cry.

liam's signet is farsight, so how was he wielding ice?

possible theories:

marked ones have two signets and that's just liam's second one (i don't like this theory, it makes them too op and they already have the advantage of being immune to melgren's battle outcome foreseeing powers when there's at least three of them together; i also don't like the possibility of xaden's second signet being mind reading, if marked ones really have two)

it was just a mistake and it was meant to be another third year who was wielding the ice spears and not liam since ice wielding is rather common (i don't like the idea that there was such an obvious mistake left in the book since liam's signet being farsight has been mentioned multiple times, all in that same stretch of chapters - before breaking into lilith sorrengail's office for war games, when he tells king tauri at the reunification party, when they arrive at athebyne and he sees the venin)

saying 'liam' is a figure of speech and it was actually his dragon deigh who was wielding the ice spears since her name means 'ice' in scottish gaelic (i like this one but we don't know for sure if grown dragons can do things like that, we know they have their own magic - like tairn keeping violet seated, or some but not all dragons sensing the wards faltering meaning some might have powers related to weaving/unweaving wards, like mira/nadine do - but its extent is still unclear to us)

my theory:

liam was wielding ice himself - his only signet is farsight, and his ice wielding is some crazy form of lesser magic that he developed himself and kept secret!

supporting evidence/explanation:

Since Dain told me about the patch denoting his top secret signet, I’ve been paying close attention to the patches other cadets have sewn into their uniforms. Most wear them like badges of honor, but I recognize them for what they really are—intelligence that I might one day need to defeat them.

-violet's comment on the importance of knowing someone's signet or abilities (because we know from liam and garrick's patches that they can also denote wielding weapons or riders' hand to hand combat strengths, not just their signets)

I notice not for the first time that other than his Fourth Wing and wingleader emblems, he doesn’t wear the patches others are so fond of displaying.

-xaden not wearing his signet/combat skill patches, then saying this later on in the book:

“Promise me you won’t tell anyone about the time-stopping,” Xaden asks as we head back into the tunnel, but it feels an awful lot like a command. “It’s not just for your safety. Rare abilities, when kept secret, are the most valuable form of currency we possess.”

if ice wielding isn't as rare then why did liam not do the exact opposite and keep his farsight a secret instead (lying his signet is actually ice wielding)? probably because farsight is not as useful in direct combat and he's easily underestimated when he says his signet is just farsight, which is exactly xaden's point

“And your gift?” King Tauri asks Liam. “Farsight, Your Majesty,” Liam responds. Melgren’s eyes narrow on Liam’s exposed rebellion relic, then rise to his sash. “Mairi, as in Colonel Mairi’s son?”

liam is incredibly good at hand to hand combat, and with his lesser magic being ice wielding, he made shish kebab out of that wyvern, so i'd say keeping that ability secret (and only showing it in front of other marked ones and violet in a life vs death battle) was a good call.

the biggest plot holes here are that we don't know much about lesser magic yet:

we know mage lights, speed, voice amplification, etc are lesser magic multiple people have learnt to wield (so far we've seen only marked ones do it but it's probably because riders are taught to do it in later years): so what are the extents of lesser magic? is ice wielding even possible as lesser magic? if wards for example can be both lesser magic (xaden warding violet's door) all riders are taught in their third year, and a signet at the same time (mira's), then so can ice wielding

if so, wouldn't that mean many people can just learn to do it (ice wielding as lesser magic)? so did liam teach himself? or did someone else teach him and only him? when? how? because we're left with the impression that ice wielding isn't a rare signet but we've never heard of anyone having it as lesser magic - it's probably quite hard, and maybe liam isn't as good at it as those who have it as their signet

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allovesthings · 1 year

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Masterpost Targaryen/Stark parallels and contrasts in AGOT

This post is a list of the parallels/contrast I found during the reread in AGOT alone (I’ll do one for each books).

The first one I found was the Direwolves and the dragons being born which bookends a game of thrones. the Direwolves were born in the snow/ice while the dragons were born the sand/fire, all of them are born of the dead, only death can pay for life is probably illustrated there with both species.

Viserys says: “the dragon remembers” in the first Dany chapter about the stolen throne by Robert and the rebellion which later parallels with “The north remembers” when talking about the red wedding and the death of (some of) the Starks.

the Starks and Dany both have anti slavery values: We can see it in Dany’s chapter’s (this feels obvious) but also with Ned when he said that about Jorah “so the slaver has become a spy,’ Ned said with distaste. He handed the letter back ‘I would rather he became a corpse’ (I cheered)“ which is followed by Arya “he should have killed the masters”.

The description of the traits of blood of the dragon and the wolf blood are actually extremely similar : reckless and passionate and a bit chaotic and independant.

The way they talk about the dragon skulls (which are Targaryen thing) as if they are still alive and watching in King's landing and the way they talk about the dead men in a crypts (which is a Stark thing) as if they were alive and watching in Winterfell.

The parallels/contrast between Viserys and Ned’s death. Both of them dies a traitor’s death by execution but only one of them is guilty.

I think that’s a stretch but Dany plunge her entire body into the fire to create life and Jon plunging his hand into the fire to save a life might be put in here.

Cat’s quote which makes the Targaryens and the Stark direct parallel explicit : “if you lose, there is no hope for us. They say there is naught but stone at the Heart of Casterly Rock,Remember the fate of Rhaegar’s children”.Two houses seemingly destroyed by Tywin Lannister with horrifying means with secret heirs and children still alive all over the world with magical creature maybe able to change the outcome of the war for the dawn.

The parallel/contrast between Rhaenys and Arya, two little girls who got Balerion the Cat and the first victims of Tywin, (the parallel is done by Varys), Arya being the one saved by Jon’s gift (who is technically both of theirs brothers) and her knowledge of the tunnels created by the Targaryens (and she feels protected by the dragon’s skulls).

Robb being crowned king and the next chapter Dany getting the symbol of her queenship and essentially being crown queen in her own right with the birth of the dragons a chapter away from each other

There are a lot of Fire (for Targaryens) and Ice (For the Starks) symbolisms, although some characters from said house are associated with other elements (Arya and water, which is what happen when Fire melt ice so this feel relevant to her character in general but this isn’t about that) :

In the first Dany chapter again: her brother had often said that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. “ours is the house of the dragon” he would say, “The fire is in our blood”

In the Second Cat chapter:: Ned could never abide the heat, the Starks were made for the cold: “Even now, he was a Stark of Winterfell, rage and grief froze hard inside him” which links the Stark explicitely with the cold.

I might do a seperate post on Dany and Arya’s arcs specifically (in the entire series) paralleling each other sometimes.We’ll see.

#asoiaf #asoiaf reread #A Song of Ice and Fire #daenerys targaryen #Catelyn Stark #viserys targaryen #Rhaegar Targaryen #Ned Stark #jon snow #robb stark #I'm sure there is more #arya stark #Tywin Lannister

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animatorweirdo · 22 days

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When the Dragons Fly(book 2)

You and most of the villagers survived the night. You take temporal refuge in the destroyed town and try to convince the other chiefs to take a safe route to ensure your and other people's safety. Aelon looks after Eweniel and mourns the fate of one of his friends.

[] = High Valyrian

Chapter 18

Warnings: mentions of orc attacks, dead people, someone getting poisoned, trying to convince stubborn people, possible dying characters, Aelon feeling a bit depressed, getting ambushed, and getting trapped.

(Note: Just wanted to say this is the second last chapter of this series. Hope you are prepared for the last one)

----------------------------------------------------

The aftermath of the attack took a heavy toll on you and those who survived. The attack did not come as a surprise to you since you expected it to happen, so you were perhaps the only one who was least bothered by the attack. However, you did wish you had succeeded in urging the people to leave early so you wouldn’t have suffered the loss of your home and the death of your friends and neighbors. The hopeless delaying and the false sense of security ended up being the things that brought your dream to reality.

Luckily, most villagers were at the edge of the village when the attack happened, so you managed to save most who died in your dream. Helena, Mika, their mother, Eda, Dwenn, and most of Aelon’s friends, but unfortunately, you did not manage to save Eweniel’s parents from the fate of being burned alive in their house. To think she had to suffer the pain of losing her family at such a young age.

There was also Samuel, who had gotten shot with an orcish arrow during the attack, inducing him into a sickened coma.

One positive outcome of the attack was that the chief and the people began to take your words more seriously. You assumed temporary control over the remaining Watchmen and warriors, positioning them at the rear to defend the villagers as you all made your way to the nearby town.

You had hoped you could either seek refuge or warn them of the orcs, but unfortunately, Morgoth’s onslaught reached far, and even the town was not spared from the attacks.

Homes were burned to the ground, leaving nothing but scorched ruins. Dead bodies were gathered on the sides of the streets, carried by those who survived the pillaging. The sight was devastating, but since there were no orcs, you took the chance to rest and regain some supplies for the next journey.

You took it upon yourself to meet with the other villages’ chiefs who had also come to the town and urge them to leave as soon as possible, to leave north and seek safety from the southern lands.

"I propose that we gather all the supplies we have and swiftly make our way through the mountains. There is an old abandoned fortress that could provide us with cover for the night. From there, we can reach Himlad and continue southward." you explained while pointing through the map. “It’s one of the less-known roads, which can give us cover and lose any possible pursuers,” you added. “It also has a good defensive point if there is a need for combat,”

“Why should we go there? Why don’t we go to the eastern pass and seek refuge from the elves of Himring?” questioned one of the chiefs, Horren, an older seasoned warrior with a scar over his eye.

“There’s no one there. The Noldor of Himring have suffered such losses that they no longer have enough people to man it. They have decided to abandon it and retreat to the south,” explained another chief, Baelen, a much younger man than Horren, but more experienced than most.

"Not to mention, going through Himring leaves us open to attacks. We don't know if Morgoth has left forces there to ensure no one can get in or out. It’s too obvious of a trap," you explained. "Through the mountains, we have at least some protection from potential attacks," you added.

"Lady (Name) makes a good point. Perhaps we could pass through the pass of Aglond. It's the closest route to us and offers a clear path southward to Himlad," Deanna, the wife of a passed-away chief, said while cradling her newborn in her arms.

“Possibly, but I think it is too obvious of an escape route. It is a well-known road, and Morgoth could have already set orcs there for an ambush,” you said.

“And how can you be sure the orcs are already there?” someone else questioned.

“Because these creatures do not rest at night, and when there’s an opportunity to ambush a large group of refugees. I think they would be more than happy to prepare for that and send new thralls to the dark lord,” you explained.

“Going through less known roads can give us a chance to pass through without notice,” you added.

“If we go there now. We could get there first,” one of the other chiefs suggested.

“I do not think that’s wise,” you answered. “I think it’s better to be cautious than fall into obvious traps,”

“I think you are being overly cautious. It’s better to take the opportunity than allow paranoia to control our judgment,” Horren said.

You frowned at his response. “My people called me paranoid because I urged them to prepare and flee from a possible attack, but then we were attacked. I don’t think I’m being paranoid about this,” you answered.

“Should we not prioritize our safety first than take risks that could possibly get us killed?” you questioned and Chief Horren looked like he wanted to snap at you.

Your village chief then stepped in, calming you down.

"(Name), I don't doubt your understanding of our predicament, but if we prepare to leave now, there's a chance we could flee before the orcs have a chance to set an ambush," he spoke. "And if we encounter complications, we could then use the mountain road you mentioned," he added.

“Chief. With all due respect. I think going for the pass of Aglong is too big of a risk!” you protested.

“Enough! You've shared your idea, and I think we should go for the pass of Aglond. It's the quickest route we can take, or does anyone else have a better idea?" Chief Horren looked around the room, but most of the chiefs looked away and said nothing. "If not, I vote that we go there as soon as possible. Are we in agreement?" he asked, and the other chiefs nodded quietly while some remained silent.

"I guess that's decided then. We will leave before sundown," Horren stated, looking at you as no one said anything. You frowned, frustrated as the meeting came to an end.

As people waited in line for the cooks to pour their bowls with soup, when Aelon's turn came, the cook filled both the bowls he held. He then walked over to Eweniel, who was seated on a bench, covered with a blanket and wearing a dull expression.

Aelon sat beside her and handed her one of the bowls.

"Here, try to eat something," he said as she grabbed the bowl and the spoon. "Thanks..." she uttered quietly while beginning to eat slowly.

Aelon stared at her worriedly. Eweniel had been quiet since the attack. Seeing her parents die in the burning house had taken a toll on her, and it made the feeling for him ten times worse. Never had he seen his best friend so quiet and hollow in all his life, and he didn't know how to help her. All he knew was to make sure she ate at least.

The two then noticed Rodrick as he approached them with a sullen look.

"Rodrick. How is Samuel doing?" Aelon asked.

Rodrick released a heavy sigh. "Eda is looking after him, but he doesn't look good. He looks like he's having a hard time to breath, and his mom is not doing well either,” he explained. "I heard her crying and I think I heard them mention that... the arrow might be poisoned," he revealed.

Eweniel inhaled, her shoulders slumped as she tried to avoid crying from the news. Aelon held on to her, so she wouldn't fall while trying to avoid crying himself. Seeing one of his best friends lose their parents was hard, but now losing one of his best friends to death was too much. Why Samuel getting shot in his dreams have to come true?

Aelon then saw you walking toward them.

"(Name)" he started. "Rodrick said that the arrow that hit Samuel could have been poisoned. Is that true?" he asked, nearly pleading it wasn't true.

You looked at him sympathetically.

"I went to see Eda after the meeting to see how Samuel was doing. I'm afraid that it's true," you answered.

Eweniel started quietly sobbing.

"But..." you said. "He could survive if we pass through the mountains in time, then we could seek help from the elves. They have medicines that could cure him from the poison in his veins,” you explained.

“It just means we have to pray that we can pass through the mountains without getting attacked,” you said.

Aelon thought to himself before setting down his bowl.

“I will be back,” he said to Eweniel before looking at you.

“(Name), can we talk privately,” Aelon asked. You nodded and motioned him to lead.

You two arrived at a small corner of a destroyed house. Aelon looked around then started speaking to you in your mother tongue.

“[(Name)... Can I take Falconer and Samuel and fly to seek the help he needs?]” he asked.

“[Aelon… if we do that. We would have to risk revealing Falconer to Samuel’s parents. They are now more protective of him than ever. There’s no guarantee they would even agree to hear you out before alerting everyone to kill Falconer]” you explained softly.

“[But maybe with you telling them. They would agree…]” Aelon said.

“[I do not think in this state they would agree to anything I said. Also, Samuel needs constant attention. There is a chance he won’t survive the night if someone is not there to watch him]” you replied.

“[And the only place you could reveal yourself and Falconer is an elven city by the sea which is a three-day journey. Samuel won’t have enough time for that]” you added.

“[What about the Noldor, or the Sindar elves?]” Aelon questioned.

“[The Noldor will kill you on sight if they saw you, and there’s is a chance the Sindar elves will only remain hidden. And I do not think even Nelyo would agree after the defeat he suffered,]” you explained.

“[I’m sorry, Aelon. But using our dragons would only lead us to bigger risks,]” you said.

Aelon remained quiet.

You laid your hand on his shoulder, making him look up to you.

“Believe me. I would have allowed it if we didn’t have such low chances, but sometimes we have to take the harder path. And Samuel is already in a critical condition. I do not wish for you to bear such sorrow, but there is a chance that he might not even survive this walk. I just wish for you to prepare for that,” you explained.

“The only thing we can do is hope for a miracle, or that things turn out for the better,” you said.

“Do you understand?” you asked. Aelon quietly nodded.

“We will be leaving soon. Try to look after Eweniel and hope that Eru will be merciful to all of us,” you turned to leave.

“I have to get the Watchmen in order. Eat while you still can and stay with Helena and Dwenn,” you said then left.

Aelon stood there motionlessly for a while, releasing a few tears as he despaired over the situation and felt the weight of hopelessness settle upon him.

The journey began unpleasantly, with some people still tired and hungry, but everyone pushed through, eager to get away from the dangers of the north.

Aelon was on Dwenn’s wagon with Eweniel. Helena and Mika were sitting on the opposite side with their mother and Samuel was lying on the wagon’s floor with Eda taking care of him. Ramuel was beside them.

You were in the back, prepared to meet possible attackers from the back.

Aelon looked toward the mountains, where he could sense his dragon following. Falconer and Baleria had been following in a safe distance. It gave at least some comfort. He hoped Aegar, Viserya, and Smoke were doing alright as well.

Dwenn seemed to have sensed his distant staring.

“Everything will be alright, my boy. Once we’re out of these mountains, we’ll be safe and Samuel will get the help he needs,” Dwenn said.

“I hope so… he doesn’t look so good,” Aelon glanced down at his sick friend.

A loud horn was suddenly heard, making the people stop in confusion.

You turned around to see a large army of orcs marching toward you.

“It’s an ambush,” you took out your sword with the other men.

The people panicked and began screaming, running away from the sight of orcs. Dwenn snapped the reins and made the horses run. Aelon looked back toward you as you stayed behind with the men.

“All shields on the front! Archers on the hill! Do not let them pass!” you ordered. Those from your village did not hesitate, while the other men hesitated.

“Do as she says!” Chief Baelen who travelled with you yelled toward his men.

You all then prepared and faced the enemy. You slashed down the first orc that tried to attack you.

Aelon looked back towards you, feeling worried until he couldn’t see you anymore. He nearly fell off when the wagon came to a sudden stop. Eweniel managed to grab him before he could fall and pulled him back to the wagon. Dwenn calmed down his startled horses.

“Wow! Easy!” Dwenn yelled as his horses whined and reared on their feet.

“Dwenn! Why did we stop?!” Eda snapped at him. Aelon and everyone on the wagon then saw what was in front of them and why everyone came to a stop.

There was an old abandoned fort in front of them. A wall crossed through the pass, and although the gate had crumbled, that wasn't what caught Aelon's attention. It was the large wall of boulders and rocks that blocked the gate entrance, so massive it seemed impossible to get through or climb over.

Aelon’s eyes widened as the people began to despair. You were right once more. The path had been completely blocked, trapping them between the rocks and the enemy you were fighting back. It was a trap.

Taglist: @natchayaphorn @kimnamnu@thatrandomidiot182 @springfountain @maedhrosiseverything2me

#silmarillion x reader #silmarillion #tolkien #silm fic #middle earth x reader #when the dragons fly #hotd x reader #hotd #middle earth #silmarillion imagines #various x reader #targaryen reader #silmarillion x targaryen reader #maedhros x reader

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themattress · 27 days

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Unpopular(?) Opinion Re:Dragon Ball

The Android / Cell Saga is the best story arc in Dragon Ball Z, if not all of Dragon Ball.

Having been revisiting the series lately due to Akira Toriyama's shocking and untimely death, and comparing the story arcs of DBZ in their manga, original anime and Kai forms, I feel like despite the Saiyan / Vegeta and Namek / Freeza Sagas being far more iconic worldwide, it's the Android / Cell Saga that came out best in all incarnations. First off, there's the pacing:

Saiyan / Vegeta: 48 Chapters Namek / Freeza: 87 Chapters Android / Cell: 91 Chapters

Saiyan / Vegeta: 35 Episodes Namek / Freeza: 72 Episodes Android / Cell: 77 Episodes

Saiyan / Vegeta: 16 Episodes Namek / Freeza: 38 Episodes Android / Cell: 44 Episodes

In all versions, this is the longest arc, and yet it's paced much better than the previous two.

The Saiyan / Vegeta Saga spent 30 of its 48 manga chapters dealing with Nappa and Vegeta on Earth; Raditz lasted just 10 and then only 8 were spent in preparation for Nappa and Vegeta's arrival. The original anime gave Raditz 5 episodes, 16 episodes for preparation, and 14 episodes for the big battle. For the former, it felt like the middle portion ran far too short which caused the end to drag on, whereas in the latter it's the reverse: the middle lasted far longer than it needed to as several episodes were spent on filler bullshit like a bug planet, a second Oozaru transformation for Gohan, fighting phony Saiyans inside a simulation room, or a backstory for the Saiyans and the destruction of their planet that ends up at complete odds with actual canon. Only Kai got it down right, with the first half (Raditz + preparation) and the second half (Nappa and Vegeta) both lasting 8 episodes, making it the ideal version.

The Namek / Freeza Saga has 27 chapters at the beginning where everyone goes to Namek and hunts for the Dragon Balls, 22 chapters at the middle where the Ginyu Force is the focal point, and finally 38 chapters at the end where we get the battle with Freeza. So yeah, the end section dragged on longer than it probably needed to. The anime is much worse: 23 episodes beginning, 16 episodes middle, and 33 episodes end, with a fair amount in each section being pure filler such as Fake Namek, zany Bulma shenanigans, or diversion after diversion during Goku's fight with Freeza. Once again, Kai is the most preferable version, as it again combines the beginning and middle into a first half and the end into a second half, both lasting 19 episodes, dividing the arc into pre-Porunga and post-Porunga sections.

Then we have the Android / Cell Saga. 30 chapters at the beginning where Dr. Gero and his androids are the central threat, 30 chapters at the middle where Cell emerges as the true villain and goes through his transformations, and 31 chapters at the end centered around the Cell Games....and the last of those two can essentially be considered one elongated epilogue chapter starring Future Trunks, meaning it's more like 30/30/30. The original anime's equivalent is 23 episodes, 25 episodes, and 29 episodes respectively - it's almost perfect, with the only flaw being the end section needlessly being dragged out by two episodes more than is needed (one where Hercule and two anime-exclusive students of his hog the spotlight even when the ultimate outcome of their antics is obvious and one where Cell inexplicably spends the entire length charging up his final Kamehameha). Kai makes the pace perfect again, with 14 episodes at the beginning, 14 at the middle, and 16 at the end, with the last two being the wrap-up and epilogue respectively following the main action against Cell.

Beyond the pacing, there's the content. Not only does this arc hold some of the most interesting and influential ideas (the existence of alternate timelines, Dr. Gero's scientific genius, Vegeta's character development, Piccolo and Kami becoming one again, the depths of Gohan's power, etc.) and not only did Toriyama and his editors fluke their way into a remarkable degree of consistency despite nothing having been pre-planned, but almost every character gets something important to do. In the previous arcs, you could count the important heroes on one hand: Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, and the helpful comic relief (Yajirobe in the former, Bulma in the latter). They and the villains carried the arcs while everyone else were either a plot device (hi, King Kai!), sidelined, or made into cannon fodder. But here, in addition to now also having Vegeta and Future Trunks among the heroes, you get important and useful roles for not just those aforementioned characters but also Tien, Yamcha, Roshi, Dr. Brief, Kami, Dende, and even newcomer Hercule (poor Chi Chi and Chiaotzu, though).

And while the villains collectively don't quite measure up to the Freeza Empire in iconic status, they are still superbly designed and characterized, making them highly memorable. Cell himself has got to be the standout, being as good if not better a foe than Freeza. Let's just put it this way: once Goku went Super Saiyan, Freeza was done for, and his destructive tantrum that blew up Namek ultimately claimed no victims. With Cell, it looks like things are going the same way once Gohan goes Super Saiyan 2, but then his destructive tantrum that risks blowing up Earth actually does come at the cost of Goku's life! And then, Cell comes back, now as powerful as Super Saiyan 2 Gohan as he insta-kills Trunks, curb-stomps Vegeta, and breaks Gohan's arm before preparing to blow up Earth again, this time at no cost to himself! This was hands-down the biggest "Oh my God; holy shit; Game Over, man; there's no way out of this" situation in all of Dragon Ball, making the ensuing Kamehameha beam struggle where Gohan is guided by Goku's spirit all the more epic and satisfying. The anime and Kai made it even better, allowing Piccolo, Krillin, Tien and Yamcha to keep on trying to help against Cell despite how futile it was, inspiring a despondent Vegeta to get back into the fray and providing his crucial assist blast. It takes all of the Z-Fighters to save the world.

So that's my take. This story arc is just....well, perfect.

#Dragon Ball #Dragon Ball Z #Unpopular Opinions #Analysis #Comparison

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horizon-verizon · 1 year

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In the book, Aemond seems to have quite an obsession with Daemon. Where do you think it comes from, and how would you interpret/characterize it ?

I’m still thinking about it in ways that aren’t already know or talked about in the current fandom and here on Tumblr. So bear with me here. I might do many edits on this post in the immediate and far futures.

*Update* I was right.

In all and of the two, Daemon acts more out of love than Aemond does, even with him being as violent and brutal as he is. Daemon is flawed and cruel, while Aemond is evil and cruel, though both are ambitious. They both acted out of a lack of love or attentions or recognition at some point.

By and large, Aemond is a character who finds his personhood only through disenfranchising others. He is the potently evil shadow of Daemon. Aemond is a character who lacks love or a true understanding of respect and considers Daemon the beast to slay to solidify and validate his own existence, worthiness, and masculinity.

Aemond is Daemon’s narrative and literary foil.

A foil is:

a literary device designed to illustrate or reveal information, traits, values, or motivations of one character through the comparison and contrast of another character. A literary foil character serves the purpose of drawing attention to the qualities of another character, frequently the protagonist. This is effective as a means of developing a deeper understanding of a character by emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, a literary foil allows writers to create a counterpart for the protagonist that puts their actions and choices in context.

Both

They are both fighters with skill. Both are brutal and willing to get violent (but in different ways and reasons). Both are Targaryens and proud of it. Both want the throne or a strong claim to it. Both are second sons tasked with the role of supporting their older, not-very-competent or completely incompetent brother to keep or gain the throne and are passionate about it (for different reasons). Both squirm with the thought that their existence and purpose is to support such brothers but for different reasons.

And as @theblackqveen says, they even both have a connection to Visenya the Conqueror through her dragon and her sword.

Daemon

Daemon is uncaring of not-family people. Not hateful, just uncaring and thus willing to spill their blood if that will bring him results (Jaime Lannister). Canonically (not HotD), he is a charismatic, violent, and ambitious man. He creates the gold cloaks and inspires the preexisting city guardsmen into believing in their own validity and strengths by revamping their looks, etc.

His mother died when he was 3 from labor complications. Unlike Viserys who seemed to have responded to this by being too much a people pleaser, Daemon sought to completely look out for a small set of people he would think of as his family or “close ones”.

Baelon’s grief would have inspired such reactions from his sons--Viserys to be eager and affectionate, obviously caring. He wants to believe that hospitality and following a sense of duty to those around him will bring him love or contentment. He may have found it difficult not to judge Daemon for taking a “misguided” approach or path, so when Daemon disagrees with him or disobeys his order or does something that is conventionally upsetting, he may have found it difficult to relate to Daemon or see things from his persepctive. While Daemon would, in my mind, is outwardly or superficially crotchety and unwilling to seek/initiate obvious intimacy but needing to be validated through his family and loved ones. However, he doesn’t think words or hugs brings comfort or favorable outcomes--he depends on action.

So he develops his own moral compass that is just adjusted to “do these people act like I matter to them and do they matter to me” all the fucking time because he comes from a dwindled, fraught lineage (Rhaenys' death in Dorne; Aenys' conflicts and stress with the Faith; the Faith; the conflict with Maegor and threat towards Jaehaerys/Alysanne; the internal issues in Jaehaerys' early reign and Rogar Baratheon; Aemond, Baelon, Alyssa, Viserra, Daella, Daenerys-- nearly all Jaehaerys and Alysanne's children die & Jaehaerys' political focus on the Targ's dominance-survival). That plus he wants to, in some way, bring glory, prosperity, and more power to his house.

Daemon and Viserys would have still received the genuine love of their father, Baelon, and would have grown up together as caring brothers, enough that they would know they loved each other. We have reason to believe that his upbringing was still loving and that he maybe thought himself his brother and father’s caretakers. If not in traditional sense, in that he is the one who will do “what it takes” to keep them afloat. In his mind. Especially after his father passes form a “burst belly”, leaving him and Viserys alone. Seeing how Viserys is so eager for validation and willing to have others have a say in what he does, it makes sense that he falls into this protector role even deeper.

He also wanted to be an example of excellence and make a name for himself, especially with being a second son and without a clear, solid inheritance of authority. Second sons in this feudal society are thought of as “spares” in one sense, since if their older brothers die they can take their place and inherit the family resources and the authority over the house. so he’d have felt more pressure to prove himself in the shadow of his brother (while he wasn’t much of a warrior or inclined to develop physical prowess, Viserys was also considered quite attractive before he gained weight).

He supports Viserys in that he was wiling to use a group of fighters to go against Corlys and his group for Viserys’ claim before Jaehaerys I called for the Great Council of 101 A.C:

Reports had reached the court that Corlys Velaryon was massing ships and men on Driftmark to “defend the rights” of his son, Laenor, whilst Daemon Targaryen, a hot-tempered and quarrelsome young man of twenty, had gathered his own band of sworn swords in support of his brother, Viserys. A violent struggle for succession was likely no matter who the Old King named to succeed him.

(Fire and Blood; A Question of Succession)

Yet, at 16 Alysanne marries him to Rhea Royce (the Runestone heir), and while this was a good practical marriage for creating more ties to the Vale and setting up Daemon with some money through his wife’s properties, etc., Daemon did not like the atmosphere, look, anything of the Vale, probably how far away it was from King’s Landing/Viserys--thus the emotional and physical isolation. That he was basically sidelined by his family, kept apart.

He likely thought that since Viserys already had Aemma Arryn (the person who even was the scion of the Lord of the Vale, he himself didn't need to also marry another Vale woman not of his choosing). [headcanon]

Viserys did not let him annul his marriage to Rhea despite its failure. Viserys is directly involved with Mysaria losing her child with Daemon when he forced Daemon to bring back the dragon egg and send her off to Lys:

When he learned that his concubine was pregnant, Prince Daemon presented her with a dragon’s egg, but in this he again went too far and woke his brother’s wroth. King Viserys commanded him to return the egg, send his whore away, and return to his lawful wife, or else be attainted as a traitor. The prince obeyed, though with ill grace, dispatching Mysaria (eggless) back to Lys, whilst he himself flew to Runestone in the Vale and the unwelcome company of his “bronze bitch.” But Mysaria lost her child during a storm on the narrow sea. When word reached Prince Daemon he spoke no syllable of grief, but his heart hardened against the king, his brother. Thereafter he spoke of King Viserys only with disdain, and began to brood day and night on the succession.

(Fire and Blood; A Question of Succession)

He was also not at all attracted to his new wife. So now he knows what it’s like to be a political tool, or he feels like more of a device than a person part of something “great”? (I say somewhat facetiously, he still is a feudal man who is very proud of his aristocratic lineage throughout all 3 of his marriages)

And so their marriage becomes barren (no kids). She comes to hates him too for not loving her home, for openly showing his disdain for it and for her, and perhaps she feels he is unwilling to do his duty like her and she feels resentment towards him and his ability to just fuck off while also being happier with him gone [headcanon].

Daemon doesn’t and never has considered her “family”, is the point nor ever to be in the same league as him, not just because she wasn't royal. Partially because Targs are and have been considered unique and nation-movers right from the Conquest in broader Westerosi culture. She is not a Targ or someone he can think of as his match or someone he thinks could do as much a a Targ can, which presents very interesting questions as to whether or not his pride can be equated to Lannister exceptionalism...I'd say that, eh. The Targs have put their money where their mouth was in most of their generations (and we the readers know that like the Starks but more apparent, the Targs are the closest to being magical beings or have the closest access to real magic) while the Lannisters are more famous and powerful in the main storyline bc of Tywin's reputation gained from the Rains of Castamere/friendship with Aerys II (a Targ) and Steffon Baratheon [the allegiance gives power trio for a while that reflected back on Tywin]. So there's a level of him not believing that they could ever relate to each other. He might have thought it was like trying to get an elephant to mate with a zebra.

I don't think that we should tell people they shouldn't dislike him for that bc yes his person can read as arrogant and he's still a prince/male who has a lot of benefits over a woman like Rhea (but not the authority she has over her own men as a female ruler in her own right, which some might argue grinds his gears more as a second son and this is actually a very interesting and valid thought...but I also doesn't think it bothered him for long to have a wife who has more practical power over others than him since his marriage to Rhaenyra saw no attempts of him barrowing over her, so that would support the idea that Rhea having this wasn't really the issue). But considering how

Still, it's not because of anything she did to him, but because she was someone who enables him to be in a position that he really does not want to be in and he believes it’s unlikely that he’d ever get any sort of glory or power all the way in the Vale, away from King’s Landing, away from the throne. It’s also probable that she also had a very different--sort of "duty is everything, sacrifice your pleasure and making compromises aside"--personality than his, thus convincing him even less to actually try to forge some sort of bond with her. Stern, but too serious, punctilious, and [for him] overly tradition-bound and scrupulous. But who knows?! [headcanon]

Laena and Rhaneyra, though? They both obviously had a lot more in common with him other than being dragonriders than he ever did with Rhea. Laena has her adventurous-ness and some daring, and Rhaenyra has pride and that “restlessness” that Viserys of HotD mentions, that unwillingness to accept a lot or assignment. They are also both his closer blood relatives, real family (remember that he grew up alone with his brother and father, a small set emotionally dependent on each other but also probably not that expressive). Those marriages were better for him, both personally and politically.

Daemon also named his kids after loved people in his life or people who will give love to his daughters.

“Baela” -- “Baelon”. “Rhaena” -- “Rhaenys”.

Viserys (II) after Daemon's own brother, Rhaenyra after her father, and both to spite/oppose Alicent & give their son the cloak of Targ-ness and kingliness: out of pride/love, the latter the stranger reason while the former the icing on the cake.

Aegon (III) after Aegon the Conqueror (king-liness and house pride) & to spite/oppose Alicent.

"Visenya", after the woman who loved her siblings and son and put them first over herself or the realm.

He strategizes more logically than Aemond does and is less prone to act on his anger. Contrast this QUOTE with THIS and THIS.

He specifically distrusts other houses and nonfamily bc the Targs are the pinnacle of power with their dragons, conqueror past, and prestige. He knows other lords--like Otto and pretty much all the mentioned Hightowers (think Maegor, Ceryse Hightower, and the High Septon at the time)--will always have their own agendas.

The reason why Valyrian dragonslords literally kept it in the family was to keep their control of the dragons within their respective families so people like the Lannisters (Queen Dowager Rhaena, Jaehaerys' and Alysanne's older sister) or some nondragonlord Vlayrian family couldn't then acquire dragons to use them against them.

Again, bc he and his brother and father became their own unit--and then it was just him and Viserys--that sense of needing to stick together against others would and did only strengthen.

Aemond

Aemond, by contrast, has little justified reason to hate Rhaenyra like Daemon hated or grew emotionally distant from Viserys.

While Alicent taught him to hate her, he still grew up with the assumption that he could and should destroy/rape people because his male, trueborness allows him to. His preoccupation with his maleness makes him think that he should usurp the heir, even though the law and precedent of “King’s word is law” (Viserys naming Rhaenyra as his heir and never straying) justifies his & the Greens’ treasonous actions.

Daemon, though he hated that Viserys named Rhaenyra as heir and not him, never actively tried to depose her or his own brother. Does Daemon have his own classist entitlement and ambitions, of course! He's a very proud prince in a feudal system with a family/house with a relatively short but twisted past as monarchs. He is also the person who walked around with non-nobles like a smallfolk in KL, like those in the City's Watch and inspired people to want to follow him.

While Aemond grew up dragonless for 10 years, he was surrounded by family and Hightower supporters since birth who show no sign of mistreating him, at all -- unlike in the show. He does claim Vhagar he at 10, which is impressive (while cradle-bonding is not as impressive, nor did he surpass Rhaenyra, who claimed Syrax at 7. Just saying).

He has a history where his mother teaches him and his siblings to see Rhaenyra as unfit because she has extramarital/maybe premarital sex with unassigned men and gave birth to illegitimate children. The V boys, in Alicent’s eyes, don’t deserve to live or inherit the throne because of what the Faith says about bastards and because they are in the way of her own hous, herown, and her children’s power. Bastards are socially stigmatized and unfavorable because they are believed to be inherently untrustworthy and evil (Faith of the Seven).

By having bastards, Rhaenyra acts “unwomanly” and against the standards set for her gender–how can she be a good ruler?!

To him, Rhaenyra is a whore and an inferior person, her sons lesser than himself because their bio parents weren’t married (rumored but we know who the daddy is, not that it matters), and duty and custom goes above everything else, as Alicent teaches him.

So it is Aemond’s duty to make sure that Aegon gets the throne, and for that to happen, Rhaenyra needs to go. Preferably violently. Alicent and Otto both emphasized this to him and Aegon practically since birth, and he would have grown up with this being understood as his main and single purpose. Daemon is what he sees as the obstacle to that goal.

However, Daemon supported more out of love and regard for what he believes would maintain his family's lives and power than duty and to prove his own male privilege. But Aemond sees in Daemon a competitor and his only worthy rival because of those similarities I just listed under “Both” as well as being the person who supports the enemy of the Greens (maybe not the Visenya bit...I doubt Aemond ever seriously thought about how they share a piece of her or her beyond the idea that she was a “witch”, even though he rode her dragon and they both have a strong hand in usurping a rightful heir [Maegor vs Aegon the Uncrowned]).

And with Aemond, perhaps following duty and acting out his role, like Daemon, is a way for him to claim some sort of love from his family, but as @hamliet says, I think love is a transaction for the Hightowers and reinforced that lack in Aemond, creating a cycle of dependency and focus on gaining power through his privilege.

EDIT #1 (inspired by mononijikayu's reblog HERE):

Daemon grew up knowing Alysanne was a huge part of making policies and supporting Jaehaerys' rule; his mother, Alyssa, was a Targ woman known for her actively practicing agency, and his father Baelon never married again after her, preferring to keep the memory of her close and continue to make sure she lived on; and he grew around Rhaenys since they were both children.

Part of his deal with Rhea Royce, therefore, was that he disliked that she was totally emotionally incompatible with him (his own parents were Dragonriders and we as people/humans can and often try to find partners that match the arrangement our *healthy* parents had...if he wants to marry in the traditional Targ way [we remember that Westerosi lords are allowed and did marry first cousins], it is not discriminatory as much as it is almost typical of a nobleman to want to marry within traditions...there is no real indication that he hated Rhea's entire person just because of her looks in the book and after inspecting the context but it certainly was his excuse).

#daemon and aemond #daemon vs aemond #asoiaf asks to me #daemon's characterization #aemond's characterization #fire and blood characters #fire and blood comment #literature elements #foils in literature #viserys i's characterization #baelon targaryen's characterization #baelon targaryen #baelon targaryen (Jaehaerys i's son)#byronic hero #daemon and rhea royce #anti hero #Fire and Blood #asoiaf

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bg3tav · 5 months

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We woke up and headed back to the grove. They're still talking about Arabella. Calling her a devil child. Gods, she is a CHILD. They do dumb shit. Get over it. Moving on...

I talked to a healer to try to get this tadpole out of my head. Nettie was her name. How do I put this, she uh, wanted to kill me. Apparently that's how you cure yourself according to her. Bullshit. Talked my way out of a certain death. Best outcome I could've hoped for. Of course now I have to go rescue that Druid Halsin what's his nuts lost to the goblins. I'm not everyone's fucking errand girl.

On the way out of the Grove we spotted a dragon off in the distance. Must be part of Lae'zel's Creche. She didn't seem to care, but I figure we'll find them eventually.

Shadowheart is egging her on. I enjoy this. Lae'zel is valuable to have around but she needs to relax. Maybe find some wild herbs and chill out. Or I could just get her drunk. If she doesn't turn into a raging lunatic.

I feel like the tadpole is taking more control. We ran into a dying man and two of his friends on the road. Our tadpoles connected, the friends are his siblings. He called me a True Soul? What the hells is that? They said I've been chosen by the Absolute and I can enforce Her will. Maybe this isn't necessarily a bad thing...

I found a cave, and the owl bear that did in Ed. I couldn't kill it. It's a magnetic beast. I see it has a cub. There's been enough needless death in the past couple of days. I won't let her die at my hand too.

Astarion was being all weird when we found a bloodless boar. He tried to rush us past it and then told us it was killed by a vampire and he didn't want to worry me. I appreciate the concern, but I know what I'm getting myself into. I can handle things like this. I don't need to be coddled.

Okay, so, we get to this place called Blighted Village, kill some pesky goblins, and Shadowheart asks Astarion if he has a sweetheart waiting for him. I'm trying to not show obvious interest in their conversation, and I likely failed, but he's not with anyone. Definitely seems to be a bit of a fuck boy, but with a body and charm like that, who can blame him. I'm trying to hide the smile creeping across my face and hope he doesn't notice me blushing. I like this one. I don't know why. I don't know him well, he's fairly reserved, but he makes me feel things. And in a situation as desperate as this, a little lust never hurt anyone.

As we're about to head to camp, we hear screaming from the windmill. The goblins are teaching a gnome to fly. As hysterical as it is, it's cruel, plus killing goblins is always fun. Pesky little buggers.

No one is chatty tonight. I think the novelty of new friends is wearing off. Just as well, I'm tired. Not that I can sleep... And thank the gods I can't. Astarion is a fucking vampire. A VAMPIRE. Explains his awkwardness about the boar earlier.

I mean, there's worse things right?

I let him feed on me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Whatever it takes for him to be close to me. I'm willing to do anything for him and he's still a stranger. And watching him walk away, that confidence, that swagger. I feel things I didn't know I could feel. I'm not mad. Dream fodder for tonight...

#bg3 #baldurs gate rp #baldurs gate tav #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 oc #bg3 tav #astarion #lae'zel #shart #shadowheart

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yournextflame · 2 years

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Hi , I don't know if you answered this yet but what do you think about the theories circulating in the english lore community about Marika being behind the Night of the Black Knives? Maliketh's Remembrance and Black Knife armor are often brought as proof. I find this theory to have no basis in the lore, but it would be nice to hear your opinion.

(If red-black particle in Marika’s body is a stolen fragment of Rune of Death it means that Marika/Radagon had their hands in Night of Black Knives)

So far my main theory is that Marika was behind Night of Black Knives, but the outcome was not what she wanted. My main evidence is how おお、永遠の女王マリカよ。貴女の、醜い落とし子を抱いてcertain ghost speaks about Marika's unwanted children. 落とし子 is a prime example of usage of keywords in JP script.

落とし子 in Elden Ring describes (failed) children which were born or created from rituals or magic. I've been already touching this subject in a post about Omens. A good example of "unwanted" child is Sellen's graven-mass. She aimed for the creation of "starry" child, merged herself with Azur and Lusat (ritual), failed it and the result was a meatball (unwanted bastard child). Interesting, that Zorayas, another 落とし子 created from Rykard's experiments, complains that she was "born not from grace", which is true for the rest of known 落とし子 - Astel, Bastard of the Void, and Kindred of Rot. Maybe there is a connection or maybe there is not, even though we know about existance of the graceless royalty (Roderika), it's hard to believe that Godwyn, the most famous victim and Marika's son was graceless too.

However, before jumping on the idea that demigods, who died during NoBK were hideous abominations born from weird magic, let's consider that the core part of Night of Black Knives is a ritual.

I stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, and used it to forge the godslaying black knives through fearsome rite (Ranni)

A ritual performed on the oddly misshapen blade imbued it with the power of the stolen Rune of Death (Black Knife)

Maybe Marika for some godforsaken reason decided to kill Godwyn for good (I strongly suspect that worship of ancient dragons, a race that previously owned Elden Ring, is what costed Godwyn his life; you aren't estabilishing your little cute cult around your scalie friends, when your mom is one and only god) and collaborated with Ranni, who forged godslaying Black Knives. But Ranni hijacked her plan and broke cursemark in half, therefore Godwyn and demigods weren't killed properly and became 落とし子

However, it raises obvious question: why would Marika, a giant perfectionist, collaborate with a daughter of woman, who lost her mind after divorce, and, to no ones surprise, betrayed her?

I mean, even if we go with popular "Marika wanted to destroy Golden Order from within and help Ranni" it doesn't explain why Black Knives became enemies of Ranni's group in the main game.

Description of NoBK from official bamco site also provides some interesting info:

One grim night in the depths of winter, a flock of unknown assassins stole across the Lands Between. In a coetaneous attack, this foul covenant snuffed out the lives of many of the God-Queen’s kin throughout the empire, too numerous and too scattered for her godly protection to save.

I mean, I can theorize why Godwyn was chosen as target, but what about the rest? Or maybe there was no target at all and Black Knives attacked chaotically and Godwyn was a collateral damage?

After all, I don't deny the possibility that Ranni "did it all". I even have a crack theory that she collaborated with Radagon and maybe one day I will post it, but I need to post my general write ups about him first. Another wild idea is Ranni's alliance with the outer god of deathbirds or its followers, considering how NoBK restored lost sorcery of death. Honestly, along with Marika/Radagon's motivations it's the most lore convoluted event in entire game.

#elden ring #marika #ranni #bllack knives #reply #lore theires #rabbit hole #the more I think about it the less it makes sense #dlc will destroy our theories anyways wouldn't it?#I have a lot of asks #I need a time to answer #closed them for 1-2 days #JP

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closedcoffins · 1 year

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oh, since i’m bored at work, here’s my traditional post-reread review of alice in jails + peter pan in chains that i forgot to post because i was on a plane when i finished them!

first of all: i liked them more than i remembered liking them. when i first read them i think i was just anxious to have completed them, so i skimmed through a lot and as a result they weren’t very clear in my mind going into it.

obviously christopher is a big favorite in this story, but reading it again made me remember why i used to love sham and rail so much; they both stand out a LOT to me. incidentally, i also rediscovered a spark for graham specter through the streets portion and i really like the direction ladd goes in the prisons portion. also, i’ve developed a new appreciation for gustav st. germain. totally forgot that guy is like an absolutely insane fighter who can even put graham to shame. what a guy.

my favorite moments happened in peter pan in chains, but there was a lot overall i was fond of. first of all, the retrospective reveal of not only gig, dragon, and the other inmate being sham vessels, but also BOTH guards present with huey? incredible. and i completely forgot it was firo who gouged out huey’s eye on behest of the “felix walkens”.

in general sham has a lot of standout moments i appreciated. i’ve always loved the conversation between him and isaac on the train because it IS wholly self-indulgent; nothing changed by sham speaking to isaac, he just made that choice because he admired and wanted to speak to him. but i forgot about the most important part of the conversation! sham asking isaac about what a hypothetical “god of matchmaking” should do if he wanted to help others create favorable outcomes but doing so would reveal his position and intent because of obvious manipulation... only for both christopher and graham to figure out their respective sham vessels and, as isaac had speculated, fail to be angry at him for his manipulations.

and christopher! oh, man, christopher. i am always and forever emotional over him essentially adopting ricardo, and the two of them helping eachother to become better people. i like the direction his character goes starting in these novels where he begins to think independently from huey. in the slash, he mentioned that he’d kill his friends without hesitation if huey asked, but he has an introspective moment after his near-death experience where he thinks he wouldn’t be able to kill a friend if he was asked. more than that, despite having been a killer for so long, his newfound reluctance to kill doesn’t actually set him back, and he views fights against people who DO intend to kill him as a “fun challenge”---because he can’t stomach killing them anymore, he really has to get creative.

anyways, there was a lot more i liked but this post is long enough as it is, so. we’ll leave it here.

#muse: sham #muse: christopher shaldred

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rhyske · 1 year

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Hiya! I am back! I was busy for a couple of days. I hope you are doing well!

I do agree that it doesn't seem like the characters have lives of their own save for a few that you can see interacting on screen. but there aren't really any hints of off-screen interactions which is such a missed opportunity. The approve disapprove system is really vague too, like the worst that could happen if you have a low approval rating with someone is that they are kinda cold or hostile towards your player character. I suppose it makes sense in the setting but still kinda weird.

some shit has happened in my playthrough so far… HAWKE, I loved seeing my girl again. but I knew I would have to make THAT choice, to be fair it wasn't that hard to leave stroud behind. AND THEY MENTIONED FENRIS AAAAA I almost cried. but yeah I couldn't do that to my girl or fen because they deserve the world. also Varric, I'd hate to make him sad.

I am romancing Solas and he do be making me mad. I already know he is bad… it's an old game and I got it spoiled at some point. but yeah I don't know what the context is or what his motivation is. I would guess it's something, something elves and their old empire glory days. but it's interesting being able to clearly see the hints of when he lets something slip etc. my brother told me, Solas wanted the anchor for himself(?) and he has posed with his hand outstretched like the inquisitor does, once toward the breach and once towards cole. idk if it's just a mage thing but alarm bells were going off in my head. I have some theories but I doubt I am anywhere near the right answer. The reason I am mad at him is because he literally never wants to talk to me, I've cycled through all of his dialogue and it makes me sad, even after doing some minor quests for him he says nothing, and he didn't show up at wicked grace TT_TT. I suppose it depends on how you play it but I feel like his romance is very fast and then there is nothing? ALSO, THE DREAM KISS WAS WILD, I did not expect that to happen so fast.

Cole's quest was a bit interesting when choosing between making him more like a person or a spirit. I tried both and I had a hard time choosing what outcome I wanted but then I decided to make him more like a person, it was kinda bittersweet in a way and also Varric became like a father to him which was sweet.

oh, learning Japanese is really cool but it's so difficult! I know some small phrases and such but I don't think I could learn to read their characters, I already struggle with spelling in my native language and English haha. it's amazing that you're learning it! do you have someone that you can practice speaking with? I know that really helped me when I was learning English when I was younger. earlier this week I was on an internship at a college I'm applying. for some reason there happens to be a few Japanese students at that college, its kinda in the middle of nowhere so I was a bit surprised hahah I wanted to say hi in Japanese but I was too shy to do it ^^' 💜

Oh welcome back!! I was wondering where you were and if you were okay (: I've been alright! Allergies has been giving me headaches the last week or so >:

Omg yeah for me it was between Alistair and Hawke, and legit. I romanced Alistair both times I've played Origins because I adore him...but I sent him into the Fade. Because I just. Imagining Fenris losing Hawke was absolutely devastating. I couldn't do it. Especially with Varric there, knowing he'd be watching his best friend basically disappear to their death, and having to be the one that lets Fenris know. I couldn't do that to my boy. Hawke and the Kirkwall Crew is my Dragon Age Normandy and I will do my best to make them happy and keep them that way.

I romanced Solas my first time around (Cullen my second) and I highly agree that it's very obvious Solas' romance was a last minute addition. It just...has no build up, and the seeming insta-love it shows is terrible. BUT, I will say, the potential in that romance and the absolute devastation it has has me invested. I won't continue with a Solas romanced world state but I will definitely be seeing how it impacts things in the second game. I can talk about Solas' character for hours, he's the most heart wrenching character I have seen in a game in a long time, and how that translates into a fascinating romance... If it had been done right.

Yeah, there are so many opportunities to have the characters interact with each other in Skyhold and they just...didn't bother with it. Mass Effect 3 they started doing that a bit (and I think it should've been a thing in all three games too, show a cohesive team dammit!) and it was amazing watching the characters talk to each other and share stories and inside jokes and whatnot. They have a life outside Shepard. Dragon Age 2 didn't have a hub, and I think they did an amazing job with the party banter to compensate.

I really liked Cole's quest! I don't remember a ton of it but I also remember not knowing which decision I wanted to do (and kinda feeling confused as to why it was up to me to begin with). I think I decided to go with him being more of a person too!

I don't have anyone to speak with ^^' I've decided to focus more on just reading comprehension, mainly because my main drive to learn the language is to read manga and play games that don't get a localization. I'm also hella shy, so just imagining trying to speak the language or instant message someone in the language gives me so much anxiety!

Oh that's so cool! What's the major? Haha, aaaw, I feel that! I remember, back in high school, we got some Korean transfer students and I so badly wanted to get to know them (I was in a big KPop phase then and trying to learn Korean), but I was way too shy to approach them! I ended up writing a letter in Korean with a help of a Korean penpal instead! I don't remember how I gave them the letter. I think through a friend? They gave me a CD of their favorite KPop band but that was the last I ever had any interaction with them cause I didn't know how to respond.

#purple heart anon #sweetheart anon #asks #i answer #i talk

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wyverian-lady525 · 2 years

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Any of the boys or girls with a S/O who mysterious gets turned into an elder dragon (you can choose any elder dragon you want). (btw I want magic alatreon to mess with their S/O for fun).

Ok!! YES

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The Waifus (Kyle, Reverto, Cheval, Alwin, Lilia, Ena, Kayna, and Avinia) Reacting to Their S/O Who Got Turned Into an Elder Dragon

Kyle

-With Kyle, you would be a chameleos.

-Kyle would be horrified at your power. Not necessarily scared of you, but terrified that a power like this even exists. You were scared to show him, with the whole hunter thing and all, but you hoped that Kyle would understand.

-It took him a while, but he eventually got used to this, even to the point you let him ride around on you. However, he sometimes grabs his bow out of instinct when you do something unexpectedly. You also like to use your mist/invisibility to scare the hell out of him.

-He even gets envious when your in this form, like when he saw this blue alatreon swoop in and decide to have a little sparring with you. Kyle knew that if he intervened, it could mean death, so he just watched (with a pout) from the sidelines.

Reverto

-With Reverto, you would be a teostra/lunastra.

-At first Reverto had no words, before he begin to laugh and clap at your transformation. You were ready for him to draw his great sword, but instead he found this incredible. He had an elder dragon for a partner!

-Catch Reverto riding on your back with a huge grin as well as using you as an excuse to get out of other quests. “A nerscylla? Can’t. Got to bag this elder dragon.”

-He never expected you to get in a fight with this bizarre looking alatreon. But Reverto being the amazing hunter he is, drew his great sword to help you push back this fiend.

Cheval

-With Cheval, you would be an alatreon.

-It had to be an alatreon, that was his first thought. Him and that type of elder dragon weren’t exactly friends, so he had mixed feelings. However, he loved you to pieces, this weird power and all.

-He loves to watch you fight in that form. All your power is truly incredible. He also loves to fly Rathi alongside you as you travel before occasionally hopping onto your back. Turns out, it’s nice to have an alatreon on your side.

-However, his old nemesis turns up and tries to “flirt” with you. Obviously, this blue phenomenon of an alatreon wanted you to be his mate, and Cheval was not okay with that. The outcome is a clash of flames and mist with you watching dumbfounded on the sidelines.

Alwin

-With Alwin, you would be a kushala daora.

-Alwin just stared at you when he first saw this. He’s been around for a while and seen many things, but this was the first of a person turning into a monster. However, he would just smile fondly. It was just another thing that made you amazing.

-He was hesitant for you to be in that form. Alwin didn’t want you to get in trouble with any hunters or other monsters. He also gets a bit embarrassed when you protect him in that form because he usually sees himself as the protector.

-Alatreons don’t live around Alcala, so Alwin was alarmed to see a blue one just chilling with you. Seriously, you guys were just laying side by side, enjoying the sunlight. The wyverian did not approach (for obvious reasons) and he could’ve sworn that the blue dragon smirked at him.

Lilia

-With Lilia, you would be a kirin.

-Lilia was astonished and immediately wanted you to tell her everything about that. After she calmed down (and realized her bombarding you with questions was rude), she began to admire your regal form.

-A kirin is exactly how she could describe you; mysterious, powerful yet regal. She would love to study this form up close, since so little is known about kirins. You would let her, of course, but not before giving her a little shock as a warning to not go overboard.

-What astonished her most of all though, was when you repelled this alatreon (that she swore she’s seen before) away from Lulucion. I guess kirins are more powerful than one might think.

Ena

-With Ena, you would be a nergigante.

-Ena was at first in utter terror when she saw this side of you. It brought up so many painful memories that tore at her love for you. However, Ena was a gentle soul and she knew that this was a part of who you were. So, of course, she stayed with you.

-Together you work to overcome her fear of your form. Overtime, Ena has come to tolerate the nergigante. You liked it because you could better protect her now. Also, allowing her to ride on your back was fun as well.

-It was at one point her horror returned when she caught you trying to devour this rare looking alatreon. In the end, you didn’t win, but you put up quite a fight. On one side, it terrified Ena because it reminded her of the nergigante’s nature. On the other, it made her respect you more for going toe to toe with that beast.

Kayna

-With Kayna, you would be a valstrax.

-Oh Kayna would be ecstatic. She would claim how she always knew there was something special about you before leaping on your back with joy. She would also state how this will make travel much more efficient (Avmar glared at her).

-Catch you two causing chaos around the island. Valstrax is a fast and terrifying elder dragon, so you both would also do laps around the island, trying to get the best speed. The riders get quite exasperated at your antics.

-It was during one of your rounds that you ran into this peculiar alatreon. Needless to say, it was pissed, and gave you and Kayna a piece of its mind before flying off.

Avinia

-With Avinia, you would be a oroshi kirin.

-Avinia was not scared, even though Frostfang jumped to protect her. She found this form absolutely beautiful on you, and perfect for the environment you guys live in. She would politely ask to see some of your powers.

-It felt like you had to re-earn Frostfang’s trust again. The monstie became rather scared of you after your transformation. However, good thing Avinia was there as a buffer to serve between you two.

-When an alatreon showed up in Loloska, you and Avinia teamed up to defend Kuan. However, the alatreon did not attack. Instead, it shot some mist at her monstie. At first, Avinia was horrified, but then she saw that Frostfang wasn’t hurt. He was just an itty bitty baby.

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kaizokuou-ni-naru · 3 years

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The Voyage So Far: Paramount War (Part Two)

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

ace’s execution is, in a way, the exception that proves the rule when it comes to one piece’s themes of blood and family. ace is set up to die for the crimes of a father he never knew and never wanted, and he does die here, but in the end he dies for the family he did choose, in the form of luffy, rather than the one he didn’t.

god do i wish we knew more about ms portgas d. rouge. with ace’s storyline pretty much wrapped it looks unlikely that we’re going to be learning more about her than what we got, which in my opinion is an absolute tragedy, because what little we do know about her is amazing and she’s an absolute badass. oda give us more female ds please.

whitebeard’s power is so cool. it might be one of the visually coolest devil fruits we’ve ever seen, in my opinion. he he causes earthquakes and tsunamis while far past his prime; he pulls the sky apart with his bare hands. this whole arc is world-shaking, and whitebeard’s power is perfectly appropriate for it.

doflamingo’s speech on justice and rightness is one of the most well-remembered quotes from this whole saga, and rightly so. i’ve always found it fascinating, myself, because he’s right. he dead-on hits how the one piece world works- the world government and the marines rule the world not because of any inherent actual goodness or justice or right, but because they won a war a very long time ago.

in a way, this reminds me of blackbeard’s line of “people’s dreams never die” from jaya. i like how oda isn’t afraid of letting his villains be right about the themes of the story, sometimes even having better awareness of them than the protagonists.

man, if i had to pick a single favorite spread out of the whole manga, it might be luffy’s marineford entrance. it’s so epic, and so completely unexpected for everyone else there. absolutely nobody was expecting strawhat luffy to drop out of the sky with a posse including two former warlords. it just makes me grin!! so much!!

it also gets followed up by a solid two pages of just people’s reactions, from smoker’s “what the HELL is he doing with CROCODILE” to moria’s immediate incoherent rage, and i just love that the world and cast of one piece is so well-established and built up that we know exactly how all of those people know luffy and why they react the way they do.

going back to what i mentioned in the last post about marineford being luffy’s conflict of interest arc, i’d say it’s also the only time where he isn’t the future king first and foremost. in this arc, before anything else, he’s a little brother.

there are a lot of what-if moments in marineford. moments where you kind of have to ask “what if this specific thing hadn’t happened, had gone differently?” would things have turned out differently? squard’s betrayal is one of them. does this change the outcome? would whitebeard have been able to survive if not for this injury? there’s no way to know. marineford is a lot of little tragedies, and they just pile up and up.

marineford has just so many incredibly striking spreads. all of the momentous moments (and there’s a lot of them, in this arc) are done full justice. this is such an image heavy post just because marineford is such an incredibly visually strong arc.

conqueror’s haki is so cool and i love the way it’s set up and built up throughout this saga, with luffy’s constant inadvertent uses of it, from duval’s bull to marigold and sandersonia to the wolves in impel down, all leading up to this moment.

i’ve heard people complain about conqueror’s as kind of a deus ex machina, but i honestly love it, it’s very cool and honestly i think it just seems to fit luffy as a power. if there was ever gonna be a character who turned willpower into a weapon, it would be monkey d. luffy.

i’m gonna take this chance to talk about garp, because this sequence of panels is heavily implied to be garp’s thoughts just before luffy punches him down, and it hurts. garp is a flawed person who makes some bad choices, and there’s no arguing that, but i think it’s very obvious he really, really cares about his grandsons, even if he never could understand them as people and that they never would have been happy as marines. and that’s just tragic, really.

the moment ace gets freed and the brief span of time where he and luffy can fight together feel so triumphant, and i think it’s one of the reasons the final tragedy of marineford hits so hard and feels so cruel, because luffy succeeds, here. he saves ace. he gives absolutely everything he had and makes it, and saves ace. the ultimate failure isn’t his. there was nothing more he could have done.

the first time i was reading one piece, i hit this page (which is also the last in the volume) and had to put the book away, take the bus downtown, wander around for a few hours, and buy myself some candy and some new books before i started feeling okay again.

the thing about ace’s death, i think, is that it’s a tragedy, but it also feels so completely essential to the story going forwards and luffy’s character growth specifically that it’s really, really hard to imagine one piece without it. there are a lot of (really excellent!) fix-fics out there for marineford, and although those are often really good and their authors super talented, i think it’s really hard for them to ever hit the same way canon does with regards to this.

i always think of this scene specifically in contrast to zoro and mihawk’s fight, back on baratie. zoro and mihawk are both people who believe in honor in battle, true victory or death, and that’s reflected in their fight, in zoro’s refusal to turn and run even in the face of imminent death, and mihawk’s respect for that resolve. whitebeard, too, is an honorable man. he refuses to turn to run, even when facing certain death.

the blackbeard pirates, however, are not.

i do enjoy how, just like roger’s, ace’s execution backfires tremendously on the marines. this was entirely a predictable outcome, too! this exact thing happened twenty years ago! the marines don’t learn. they don’t change. they’re so assured of their own rightness and power that they make stupid mistakes like holding a massive public execution after the last one blew up in their faces.

(this is why they need coby so badly, for the record, and why it’s important that he still decides to become a marine after witnessing their corruption firsthand in shells town. the marines are long overdue for a reformation, one that orients them towards real justice.)

i really, really enjoy crocodile in this saga. mostly because he hasn’t been redeemed at all, he’s still pretty much the exact same kinda awful person he was in alabasta, he’s just on luffy’s side this time, and it lets us see him in a better light, when he gets angry at whitebeard for nearly dying or when he helps luffy and jinbe escape to keep the marines from getting their way. few of one piece’s characters are truly so one-dimensional as they can seem, and i really appreciate that.

i really really love all the interactions between luffy, ace and sabo as kids. they’re so fun and bounce off of each other so well. even though we only see them together for a brief time, they really feel like siblings. (which of course only makes later events hurt so much more.

i’ve always been a little fascinated by the fact that it takes us this long to get luffy’s full backstory. it’s almost a fakeout, because we get part of his backstory in the very first chapter, and we’re kind of led to believe that’s all there is. it’s not until ace’s introduction nearly two hundred chapters in that we’re given any indication there’s more.

but at the same time, it makes sense. marineford is luffy’s focus arc, as arlong park to nami or thriller bark to brook. he hasn’t had a focal arc that’s really about him before this, while all his other crewmates have. it makes sense that this would be when he finally gets his flashback.

i think it’s cool that dragon and the revolutionaries show up at the grey terminal fire, because it’s one of the only looks we’ve gotten so far into what their actual regular operations are like. and, of course, they’re saving people. i really like this about the revolutionaries, that helping people in trouble is basically their modus operandi, when pretty much everyone else in one piece’s world mostly does saving on an incidental basis if at all.

i think a lot about how the last line of sabo’s letter to ace is also both of their last words to the strawhats.

death in one piece always feels much realer and more impactful to me than in most other series, and i think this is part of the reason why: in one piece, we are always shown the mourning. nami at bellemere’s grave, carrot grieving pedro, ace and whitebeard’s funeral.

there are fewer deaths, comparatively, than most other series, but they’re given so much room to echo. we’re still feeling the impacts of ace’s life and death in the most recent chapters of wano. it ties into the theme of inherited will and all the way back to hiriluk’s final speech, of men not being dead so long as they’re remembered.

the picture of luffy at marineford always kind of strikes me. he looks so young and so solemn, and yet much more himself than he did when we last saw him losing his mind on amazon lily. i really like it.

sometimes i just think about the sheer depth of trust and love the strawhats must have in each other to separate for two years, far longer than they were ever together, to solely dedicate themselves to improving for the sake of crew and captain. none of them even hesitate, and none of them ever doubt that the crew will be reformed at the end of it.

after all, luffy keeps his promises.

#the voyage so far #one piece #opmeta #not japanese #arc: marineford #arc: post marineford #long post

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theravennest · 3 years

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Hot Loki Take: Sylvie was Right

*Spoilers for all of Loki the series up to and including ep 6.

Sylvie was right to kill He Who Remains and free the timeline.

I’m deadass.

He Who Remains forced reality into an endless cycle between a time of Order (he rules as dictator) & a time of simulated and controlled "Chaos" (his Conqueror variants wage war). I say this “chaos” is simulated because when you think about it, it’s chaos that He Who Remains arranges himself by manipulating Lokis.

He Who Remains is so fucking sus but for some reason people are just tripping over their own feet to believe everything he says and vilify Sylvie for killing him.

He literally tells them (and us) that his methods are deceptive and we know for a fact that he’s willing to murder trillions upon trillions of people, planets, and realities to get the outcome he wants. Yet some are still believing everything he says cuz he said maybe 4 things that were truthful, I guess, and cuz he’s cute. Some of us are so blinded by the fear/anticipation of Kang the Conqueror’s arrival, we are letting him bamboozle us.

He Who Remains perfectly and personally tailored the Ordered period of the timeline to produce this exact Sylvie and this exact Loki, had them meet/influence each other, and then had them travel to the end of time...to him.

Now Lokis by nature are agents of chaos and could suddenly swerve left, so to speak, for no reason. So let’s assume I believe that He Who Remains didn’t 100% know what they would choose once they crossed the Threshold (if the Threshold he described is even real, tbh). He also so carefully molded both of their entire lives for that moment in the Citadel. He may not have known 100% but he knew at least 90% of how they would react to everything he said and did when they were both pushed to this place/mindset.

Notice how he teed them up for the fight that ended in his death:

Manufacturing a scenario where they would meet via the TVA’s variant pursuit.

Manufacturing a scenario where they would travel to the Void and meet Alioth.

Kid Loki being in just the right place to give his sword to Loki.

Miss Minutes appearing to menacingly offer an obvious devil’s bargain.

Him slyly telling Sylvie that she can’t trust Loki, putting it into her head just before he gives them his ultimatum.

All of these thing practically gift wrapped that ending to the Loki on Sylvie fight.

Let’s elaborate.

What was even the point of Miss Minutes offering to re-insert them into the same Sacred Timeline with both getting their hearts’ desires there?

Not more than ten minutes later He Who Remains told Loki and Sylvie to their faces that he manipulated all this for the sole purpose of making them choose between taking over as rulers of the TVA or killing him and ushering in a Multiversal War. Neither of those choices would result in re-inserting Loki and Sylvie back into the timeline.

So what is the truth? Why waste precious moments with a creepy Miss Minutes menacing them in that vestibule scene?

Notice how Miss Minutes’ words pushed Loki further onto his path of no longer wanting power or a throne but desiring to change his attitude about himself and the universe. Notice how her words conversely pushed Sylvie into balking at the idea of accepting another “fictional” life after a lifetime of being manipulated and made her double down on her mission to free the timeline and get revenge.

Sylvie has the ability to see memories but interesting how he kept her distracted by condescending to her and provoking her, just stoking the fire to make her react negatively. (Interesting how he was far more focused on Sylvie’s reactions than Loki’s, most likely because he needed her to kill him for his plans to work.)

Now I don’t want to completely shift responsibility for her choices away from Sylvie. In truth, if she had held in her vengeance for let’s say an hour and trusted Loki a bit more, they could’ve sat down to talk about things and maybe found a third solution other than starting a Multiversal War or ruling the TVA that still could’ve even allowed her to get revenge. (More on the ultimatum later.)

But I can’t blame her for losing her cool, either. He Who Remains made damn sure she would burn as hot as possible because he tailor made her life to give her the personality he wanted. And any other version of her out there who might have made a different choice would’ve already been pruned.

He Who Remains tells Loki and Sylvie straight up that he set them on their particular life paths because he needed them to be “changed by the journey” to ensure everyone in that room was in exactly the right mindset to do what was needed to “finish the quest” and presumably “slay the dragon,” aka Him. (Notice the parallels to the speaker narration just before episode 2′s fight at the Ren Fair.)

We don’t know! Sylvie never enchanted him to read his memories because she was so filled with rage and Loki was too busy trying to stop her, he didn’t think to do it either. And we’ve already established that He Who Remains trained them that way. Nothing that happened in that office was without He Who Remains’ influence and meddling.

Another nail in the coffin that convinces me that He Who Remains is a no good dirty liar is Renslayer.

If He Who Remains’ end goal was to either have the Lokis choose to rule the TVA or destroy it and thus end up with no memory of her previous TVA judge role/life, why did he send Miss Minutes to Ravonna with files that caused her to pack her bags and search for what she calls “free will,” AKA the one in charge?

I’d bet dollars to donuts that when the next season rolls around the only people who will know what’s going on and still have their memories will be Loki, Miss Minutes, Sylvie, and Ravonna. (Maybe Kang the Conqueror will know as well but I could see it going the other way too. I’m 50-50.)

He Who Remains was planning something by pushing Ravonna the way he did. Does he want her out of the TVA so she doesn’t lose her memories when everything resets? Does he want her to go find the Conqueror version of himself? I mean, at this point, practically everyone knows who she is to Kang in the comics, so let’s not pretend that’s not an option.

Another thing to think about...it’s super suspicious that he was so eager to make them believe he’s one of the “good versions” of Kang and all these others are much worse while giving absolutely no evidence of that outside of an interactive blob powerpoint, a quirky attitude, and a couple of sad, weary faces????

Who’s to say He Who Remains isn’t playing the long game and always manipulates his variants to eventually give him the chance to seize control of the multiverse?

Who’s to say he’s not one of the Kangs that wanted to conquer too? Funny how the “pure of heart” Kang is the one who still wrested control of all reality, killed off every other timeline with a weapon of mass destruction, installed a fascist time bureaucracy, and set himself up as the dictator. Sounds an awful lot like some conqueror shit to me, just saying.

Even wilder theory: what if this really is the same Kang the Conqueror but at the end of his life? We only have hhis word that he’s a variant. He Who Remains tells Loki that this fight is for the “young and hungry.” Maybe the “young and hungry” he’s referring to is not Loki and Sylvie at all but his literal younger self. Perhaps he set up this entire cycle of chaos and order so that he can perpetually live, conqueror, rule, die, and start all over again? Reincarnation, as he says...

But let’s set that wild theory aside for a moment. Let’s circle back to the Multiversal War debate and say it really is is caused by an infinite amount of his variants.

I think it’s hella sus that He Who Remains was so insistent that Loki and Sylvie only had two choices to resolve this riddle: Multiversal War or running the TVA almost exactly the way he did while maintaining only a single timeline. Those are definitely not the only two options they had. In fact, I could probably name 1-3 other options off the top of my head right now:

Keep He Who Remains alive while learning how he manipulated time and using those skills to slowly unleash the multiverse while killing every version of Kang to prevent him from existing as either conqueror or dictator.

Kill He Who Remains, take over the TVA, and slowly change it to something not horrific or even build a brand new system for governing time.

Kill or keep He Who Remains, still take over the TVA, slow rollout the Multiverse and kill or prevent every Kang along the way.

(I’m not saying these aren’t also morally questionable options, I’m just saying they are different from the two choices He Who Remains presented.)

But let’s say these options I suggested are not feasible. I just randomly came up with them ten minutes ago so it would be fair if they were picked apart logically.

So let’s contemplate this, instead:

Why should we assume/believe that a Multiversal War is actually a bad thing again??? Why are we assuming that He Who Remains’ Sacred Timeline really saved reality from total collapse?

Assuming he told the truth about his motives, maybe he was just...wrong about the end of reality. Maybe he saw what he thought was the conclusion to the Multiversal War coming and erroneously believed it to be the end of everything but actually it was the multiverse sorting itself out and everything would’ve been fine after.

We (and He Who Remains too) will never know because not only did he not show any evidence to back up his claim that reality was on the brink of collapse, but he himself never allowed things to play out naturally. Whenever the end of the war comes to the brink of something, he always panics, weaponizes Alioth, and traps the universe in his cage of Order with the TVA.

Even more controversial take...maybe the collapse of timelines and the end of everything should be allowed to happen. Maybe the natural cycle of reality is to build and build, splinter and splinter timelines, until it collapses and starts all over again from the void.

Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, all things exist in a cycle so why should the multiverse be any different?

After all in all, in all three possibilities an infinite number of timelines is destined to suffer and die. Whether it be during the Kang-controlled Order period, Kang-controlled fake Chaos period, or the unrestrained natural Chaos that collapses in on itself...an untold amount of people are dying anyway. There’s only one of those scenarios that has actual unrestrained free will where those people get to exist how they want, make choices they want (even bad ones) for as long as they can.

(Personally, I’ll take that over what the Kangs have wrestled the multiverse into.)

I’ll just take this moment to re-iterate: trust nothing He Who Remains says. He’s a known liar and manipulator, and unlike Loki he has done absolutely nothing to actionably show he’s not still lying or to show that he’s trying to change outside of some sad looks. It’s all pantomime, bruh. Like, the pageantry of it all astounds me.

Is he maybe telling some truths? Sure. But that doesn’t mean he’s not using the truth to manipulate everything. It’s an illusion, I’m telling y’all! He was up to no fucking good.

Sylvie was far more right to kill him than to not. Loki, Sylvie, & team (prolly also the latest Avengers lineup too) now just need to find a way to break this Kang cycle.

#loki #loki laufeyson #sylvie laufeydottir #kang the conqueror #he who remains #loki spoilers #mcu #mcu spoilers

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yukiwrites · 3 years

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Now, and Forever

Thank you so much for the support as always, @breeachuu !! i can't believe this is really the end of Wolfie's adventures! ToT) Thank you for sticking with me for so long! I'll miss the goodest boyo...

Summary: The alarming news that arrived the night of Wolfram and Dimitri's wedding was just as unexpected. There were signs of a new war brewing in the horizon, so they had to take up arms one last time...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

__________________________

By the time Wolfram woke up from their first night as a married couple, the inner circle of the palace sat in disbelief at the conference room.

Wide-eyed, the half manakete tiptoed to his seat beside Dimitri’s, who had his head down under his laced hands. Sensing his husband, Dimitri lifted his face, showing the hardened expression.

“What’s going on?” Wolfie asked tentatively, glancing at the people in the room: Byleth, Seteth, Gilbert, Dedue, and most of their original classmates from the Blue Lions House sat around the table.

Byleth pointed to the letter that sat at the center of the round table. “This letter arrived during the night,” she explained, then lingered her gaze on Wolfie’s. “It’s from Hubert.”

“What?!” Wolfram gasped, jumping out of his seat to pick the letter up. “But he’s-”

“Dead, indeed. By my own hand.” Dimitri spoke in a deep voice. “Yet, it seems that he had that letter ready to be sent right as the war ended, though it was misplaced for a full year until it found its way to us.”

Gilbert sighed deeply. “According to the person who brought it, the original carrier was one of his coworkers at the palace. There was only a short letter attached to it, saying to take it to the winner of the war no matter what.”

“I wonder what happened to the person Hubert entrusted the letter to…” Annette fidgeted on her seat. “What if they got caught up in the battle and…” her voice trailed off as the outcome seemed obvious.

Wolfie’s pupils shook as he lowered the letter. “But if what he’s saying here is the truth… We’re on a really tight schedule, right? If this was supposed to be sent one year ago…”

Dimitri sighed beside his husband. “Indeed. We must set out to this Shambhala place with haste.”

“And the children of the goddess mentioned here…” Wolfram glanced at Seteth and Byleth, then back to the letter.

“Yes.” Byleth nodded, making all eyes turn to her. “After the goddess granted me her power, I started recovering her memories little by little, especially in these past few months. If any of you have any questions about this, I’ll probably be able to answer them; but my plan for the church in the future does include this knowledge…”

“It will be a drastic change to what’s been believed up until now, so it will require some time…” Seteth added with a hand on his chin.

“Well, at least that letter found us all in the same place, huh?” Annette tried to lighten up the mood. “If it had arrived any earlier or later, it would’ve taken a long time to gather everyone together again!”

“Annie, we’re here for the royal wedding…” Mercedes nudged her younger friend, giggling when she blushed and hid her face under her hands.

“Ah, um, sorry about that! Not saying that it’s good that we discovered a new enemy during your honeymoon or anything but- I’m-”

“Heehee, it’s okay, Annette! We’re fine.” Wolfram smiled brightly, dispersing some of the strained atmosphere of the room. “Besides, I also think it’s lucky.” He crossed his arms, smiling proudly. “My entire family is here, too, and boy can they fight! My Father’s been itching for a fight since a while ago so I’m sure they’ll all go with us, too.”

“Will that be alright? I wouldn’t want to drag them into another war…” Dimitri looked up with worry, though Wolfie replied by sitting back down and smiling.

“It’s okay. It’ll actually be harder to tell them not to come, nyahaha…”

“Half a dozen dragons fighting by our side… Now I almost pity those who slither in the dark.” Gilbert chuckled darkly. The thought of such a sight sent shivers down everyone’s spines; they couldn’t even fathom the amount of power they had by their side now.

“Well, I don’t.” Wolfram pouted, snapping his finger on top of the letter. “Do you think I should call Mother here? She might not know the whole situation here and stuff, but she is, like, almost three thousand years old…”

Everyone but Byleth and Seteth sputtered. “Three thousand-” a collective voice choked as all eyes turned to Wolfie.

“Ah,” he scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Didn’t I mention?”

They all stared, befuddled, at their King’s consort, with varying degrees of surprise.

Dedue closed his eyes, then was the first one to move. “... I’ll summon her here.”

“Ah, thank you, Dedue.” Dimitri recovered his composure. He had heard from Wolfram that his mother was a kind of ancient being, but he had no idea of HOW ancient she was.

He now felt too humbled to even be in her presence, but that had to wait.

For now, they had a war council to run, a year after the end of the last war.

If what the letter said was true, those who slither in the dark was an ancient organization set upon decimating the children of the goddess and any who worship them. Monica, or rather, Kronya, and Tomas/Solon were known members of it, though the man who went by ‘Thales’, who only Byleth met briefly before Jeralt’s death, had taken the place of an influential person no one ever expected: Volkhard von Arundel, Dimitri’s uncle by marriage.

They had dealt a decisive blow against those who slither in the dark during the past war without realizing, as the letter explained. Hubert even snarked, saying that although the Empire had lost that battle against the Alliance and the Kingdom, they cheered inwardly at the death of such a repugnable being.

“That also may be the reason why there hasn’t been an attack from them in the past year.” Byleth added as they discussed the contents.

“If they were busy regrouping after losing so many key members… It makes sense.” Sylvain pitched in, checking the map attached to the letter. “This place’s right south of Hilda’s territory, isn’t it? Good thing she and Caspar are staying here for the time being, huh?”

“See, I told you!” Annette puffed her cheeks to her former classmate, earning a few chuckles all around even amidst all the tension of the looming threat.

“OH!!!” Wolfram exclaimed out of nowhere. “Oh, oh! Now I remember!” he jumped out of his seat, placing both hands on the table. “I don’t think I told anyone, but during that battle in Derdriu, I felt something strange oozing from the enemies… And then, when we got into Enbarr-”

Dimitri interrupted, with a hand on his chin in thought. “You mentioned that something stank, if I remember correctly.”

“Yeah! I felt that there was something familiar about them, but I never made the connection until now. So those were the people infiltrated into the imperial forces… those who slither in the dark.”

“You could smell them?” Felix asked in disbelief, frowning deeply.

Wolfram scratched his nose awkwardly.

“We have better senses than humans,” he said in a small voice, fixing his gaze on the door.

Frowning even more, Felix looked from the consort to the door and, for a moment, nothing happened.

However, soon Dedue opened the door, bringing Nidra with him.

Since she had been brought at such short notice, she wore a veil around her head to hide her ears, though she lifted it once the door closed behind them.

Those inside gawked at the sight of her, now with the knowledge of being in the presence of a being older than time itself.

Blinking, Nidra tilted her head to the side at the strange atmosphere before making her way to Wolfram. “I was told something concerning had happened.”

Wolfie nodded, glancing between Dimitri and Nidra. “Yeah, the truth is…”

Once filled in the details, Nidra took the letter and the map. “This pull I feel… around here,” she pointed to a place near the Monastery: it was Zanado, the Red Canyon, where the former archbishop and strongest of the children of the goddess, Rhea, now resided. “Does it have anything to do with this enemy?”

“Oh, wow! You can feel her from here, Mother? I could only feel it when we arrived at the mountains…”

The classmates exchanged glances around the table, confused. Only Seteth silently gasped in surprise, remembering the talk he and Wolfram had had in his office, over a year ago.

“Aheem, um- yeah she’s on our side, so it’s okay.” Wolfie waved both hands as if to dismiss the topic in a hurry.

“Very well,” Nidra put the map back on the table. “These… enemies, according to this letter, somehow resemble those who once tried to use Lady Tiki in their evil plan to conquer the world. If we had more time, perhaps she would’ve been able to infer her insight on this.”

‘Lady Tiki?!’ the classmates thought at the same time. Was it someone more incredible than the woman who lived almost three millenia standing right in front of them?! They were even afraid to ask.

“I’m afraid my forte is not strategy, as that spot is already taken by a dear friend of mine. However, I will do what I can to help this cause.” Nidra concluded, gracefully sitting down beside Wolfram. “It is, after all, a personal matter now,” she smiled, though the pressure exuding from it made the classmates freeze in their spots.

Perhaps it was true that they should pity their enemies.

_______

It would be for the best not to attract too much attention as they moved, so only a handful of people were aware of the true danger. It would do more harm than good to alert the entire population of a danger that might or might not surface in the near future.

Thus, the newly-married King and his consort set out to the Monastery -- officially, that is -- alongside the Archbishop and her consort, bringing quite a few soldiers as escorts with them.

Hilda sent an express messenger to her brother back at their territory to check if there’s been any activity around that area in the past few months, though nothing in particular popped up.

They weren’t called ‘those who slither in the dark’ for nothing, apparently.

Even in his letter Hubert mused how difficult it had been to pinpoint the whereabouts of Shambhala since they had been very careful with the types of magic they used. He had to follow their lines of supplies through espionage, but that was beside the point.

What mattered was that the headquarters was finally within their grasp, even if it wasn’t during the exact time they were supposed to know about it.

When the former classmates from other houses and the rest of Wolfie’s family had been told about the campaign, their readiness to jump back into battle was inspiring and staggering at the same time.

Even the peace-loving Dorothea immediately jumped into the bandwagon, surprising Wolfram into giving her a big hug.

There was no way of knowing the extent of the enemy forces, so although they left with a considerable number of troops under the guise of an escort, there was no shortage of worry. Even if their leaders had been eliminated, new ones would surely surface, so that wasn’t enough to let their guards down.

According to Byleth, they had been the ones who slaughtered the children of the goddess and made weapons out of their bones and crests stones out of their hearts, not to mention how they had experimented on Lysithea during her childhood or how they had kidnapped Flayn for her blood.

They had to be more careful than ever when dealing with such unscrupulous people.

“Yuck, and I thought no one could out-awful the grimleal.” Cynthia made a sour expression one night after the march. “How’re you feeling, Rammy? Are you okay?”

“Hm… I don’t think I am, actually.” Wolfram confessed as they sat near a random tent. “You know, the first mission I had to go to was… was to deal with something these guys did in a tiny village.” He shivered, holding himself as if to warm his arms from the chill. “It was horrible. I kept thinking about what you and Big Brother told me just so I wouldn’t be a crying mess for weeks.” He leaned on Cynthia’s shoulder as she scooted closer.

“Don’t worry, Rammy. Big Sis here is gonna kick their butts so hard I’ll turn them inside out.” She clenched her fist decidedly. “I’ll probably dust off my dragonstone for this.”

“Whoa, Sis, but what about your pegasus?” Wolfie gasped in surprise.

“Well, my arm in human form isn’t as strong as my,” she mimicked biting the air, “jaws in dragon form.” She grinned. “And I’m ready to fill my belly with baddies.”

“W-wait, what if they give you indigestion!” Wolfie finally laughed, making Cynthia sag her shoulders in relief.

“No amount of baddies could make MY belly upset! Not the greatest hero that ever lived, Cynthia, the pegasus-riding dragon!” She struck a pose, receiving applause from a giggling Wolfie.

Content, the big sister patted her younger brother’s head.

_____

Despite being cheered up by Cynthia, Wolfie still worried as they marched, to the point that he was unable to sleep sometimes.

Dimitri, as one with a light sleep, noticed when his husband tossed and turned in bed. “Wolfram…”

“Ah, did I wake you? I’m sorry, Dimitri.” Wolfie slapped both hands over his mouth. “I’m just so nervous about it all,” he scooted closer, hiding in Dimitri’s embrace. “I keep remembering Remire village…”

Dimitri softly hugged his husband back, digging his face into his thin neck. “Indeed, that was a terrible experience for me as well, at the time. But we will put an end to all of that suffering, now once and for all.”

“Put an end to the suffering…” Wolfie mused. “I hadn’t thought about that. I was so focused on all the evil they did and how strong they must be, I wasn’t looking ahead!”

Chuckling, Dimitri kissed Wolfram’s forehead. “To think the student would become the teacher,” he smiled. “You were the one who taught me to think of the good I could make, so I’ve been taking it to heart.”

“Mhm,” Wolfie grinned, feeling pride well up inside his chest. “Thanks for reminding me of it, Dimitri. I think I can finally have a good night’s sleep, thinking of the good we can do.”

“That’s good.” Dimitri nodded, bringing Wolfie closer into his arms. “The weather gets warmer the further we get from Faerghus, but…”

“Of course, I’m not trading your hugs for anything, not even if it’s too hot!” Wolfie giggled, rubbing his face on his husband’s strong chest.

Under loving giggles and soft embraces, the rulers of the Unified Fódlan fell asleep in one another’s arms on the eve of their arrival.

_____

The entrance to Shambhala was within a mountain, under many strange and familiar contraptions -- they resembled those who lifted them downwards to the Holy Tomb. The air was still and hard to breathe the deeper they went, but under the eerie lights embedded on the walls and the constant flow of dark mages, there could be no doubt about it: they really were in the heart of the enemy.

Byleth took the charge as she had always had, though this time her Sword of the Creator shone brighter than ever, ready to soak up all the blood its owner had spilled to create it. There were Demonic Beasts and Titanuses blocking their path left and right, but with the collective might of mages and dragons, they, too, fell like dominoes to the Kingdom’s might.

There were many traps to be disarmed as they swooped in, some that they had never seen the power of -- like the Javelins of Light, that had decimated Zanado a millenia ago. Though they all equally fell to the Kingdom army due the incompetence of the organization's new leaders.

Once they descended some dozen floors, never stopping with killing everything in sight, they arrived at a room with oval compartments around the walls.

There were eleven of them, with the biggest one menacingly standing in the middle.

Cautious, Byleth asked Yuri and Ashe to approach, as the stealthiest ones in the team, but the moment they took the first step into the room, smoke rose up from the tubes connecting to the compartments.

“Archwind!” Henry shouted immediately, dissipating the dangerous-looking smoke into nothing.

It revealed that the doors to the compartments opened upwards, one by one, revealing dead-looking people inside.

They were grey as ash and the putrid smell that filled the room told the army that something that defiled even Death stood in front of them.

“Seiros…” the man in the middle, who towered over even Dedue at almost 3 meters tall, grunted in a guttural, animal-like voice. He took a whip-looking thing from his waist, immediately whipping it ahead -- straight in Byleth’s direction.

She blocked it with her Sword of the Creator, noticing that that was no whip: it looked exactly like her sword, though it was bathed in black.

“You’re…” she widened her eyes in surprise. “Nemesis!”

“What?!” the army gasped in surprise behind the Professor.

“Then those ten are…” Dimitri’s words trailed off as the 10 Elites each brandished a shadow copy of their original Relics. “Quick, to arms! Do not let them gather their strength!”

“I’ll keep Nemesis occupied! Defeat the others!” Byleth rushed ahead.

Although the room was enormous, it didn’t fit all of the units they had brought, especially not the draconic ones in their original forms. Due to that, Wolfie’s family had to fight in their human forms, though they were no weaker than before -- Nidra especially, who had perfect control over her dragonstone to allow it to give her the strength equivalent to her dragonic form without completely transforming. She fought with her fists.

By her side, Henry cackled maniacally, loving that new side of his wife.

The battle against the revived 10 Elites was over embarrassingly fast, though no one dared to mention it aloud. Perhaps it was because they had just been resurrected, or just because the Kingdom army was just that strong.

One thing was for certain: the moment the last of the ten fell, Byleth’s sword managed to wound and then kill Nemesis, as if he had been protected by magic that connected all of them to him.

“Humph,” Byleth whipped her sword back into its original shape. “It was good that we were informed of this place when we did. I think those who slither in the dark wouldn’t unleash this threat until this age was over, so we managed to protect future generations.”

“We saved the future of not only one, but TWO worlds!” Cynthia threw her elbows back in a pose. “Now I can rub that in Owain’s face, mwahaha…!”

No one truly heard, or simply ignored, her words as they all came to terms with the victory.

“Was this the last floor? Did we really do it?” Someone asked.

“I can’t believe there was so much hidden underground,” another person mused, though, by far, the most common reaction was a shout to the sky.

“We won!!!” They cheered.

It was a mission that ended as quickly as it arrived, though it was by no means easy on their hearts. To be thrown into another war right after being able to stand after the last one made the soldiers’ hearts waver.

Yet, now it was all over.

“I’ll have to make sure there weren’t more of these around the land,” Byleth mused to herself as Seteth wiped the blood out of her face with the worry of a very concerned husband.

“That this place existed at all is already unimaginable enough… But true, we shouldn’t overlook that possibility.”

On the other side of the room, Wolfie hugged all of his family and his husband in turns. “We did it!! Thank you so much, everyone! I don’t think we could’ve ended this so fast without you.”

“Of course you couldn’t! Not without the duo heroes, Cynthia!” Both Cyn and Cynthia struck an ‘x’ pose as petals magically exploded behind them.

“Nyahaha…” a glint shone in Henry’s eyes as he helped flaunter his daughters’ antics.

His heart full, Wolfram’s nose itched with tears. “Thank you so much, really, thank you… Now we can truly, finally be at peace.”

Dimitri slid one hand to Wolfie’s waist. “Indeed. Your help was invaluable, mother-in-law, father-in-law.” He bowed.

“Wow! This makes me feel so old!” Henry giggled, waving his hand to Dimitri’s bow. “It’s fine, I’ve been wanting to spill some blood for a while… hey, be sure to call on me if you need something killed, alright? There’s not much fun- aack, owowow, Ni-Ni!”

Pulling her husband’s ear, Nidra sighed. “Pay him no mind, Dimitri.”

Dimitri blinked, then laughed as warmth enveloped his chest.

It would take a bit of getting used to to finally accept that he now had a family -- and a really big and diverse one at that.

Yet, whenever he held Wolfram’s hands in his, he couldn’t help but accept that reality readily. Truly, only bright days waited ahead of them.

The party dissolved little by little as they returned home.

Hilda and Caspar stayed at the former Alliance to visit her home and tell them the good news of their victory. There was also another set of good news that would visit them in a few weeks’ time, the first of many, many new members of their little family.

Dorothea returned to Enbarr to be with her husband, Ferdinand, and help him rule over his domain. She brought him the news of what Thales had done as Arundel in the Wrym territory, and the both of them wondered if they had ever met the real Arundel at some point in their lives or if those who slither in the dark had truly been infiltrated so deep into the Empire for that long.

Byleth and Seteth headed back to the Monastery, though first they stopped by Zanado to tell Rhea of everything that had happened. They didn’t call on her before since she was still recuperating after five years of torture at the only place she had called home since ancient times, but now that Nemesis had been defeated once and for all, she deserved to know the truth. Rhea weeped for her mother and brethren for the first time in centuries, somehow managing to let go of a lot of resentment and attachments, which stabilized her aura considerably.

Now, Nidra wouldn’t be able to sense her from Faerghus like before.

As the new Archbishop, Byleth would spread the truth of what actually happened at the creation of the Church of Seiros, though she would be doing that over the centuries with Seteth by her side.

Dedue and Mercedes finally went on their trip to Duscur, though Dimitri said that if they wanted to take permanent residence there, he would do his utmost to bring the land back to fruition. Dedue was conflicted at first, since he wanted to serve Dimitri for the rest of his life, but the prospect of rebuilding his land beside the one he loved moved his heart like never before. Besides, it was only a week of travel between Duscur and Fhirdiad, so they could see each other any time.

Cyn and Ingrid established a new Pegasus Order in Fódlan, based on the one from Ylisse. Even though Cyn’s pegasus looked different from the others, it was by no means weaker or slower, so it was easily accepted into the group at the barn.

Claude, now crowned King of Almyra, would sometimes visit Fhirdiad in diplomatic missions, so his promise with Wolfie was fulfilled now that they could meet whenever they wanted. As Cyn was Wolfie’s personal guard, she and Claude saw a lot of each other whenever he visited, and there were some glances…

Cynthia, Meliodas and their spouses moved into their family’s castle, bringing new life into it even after Wolfie and Cyn’s departure.

Surprisingly, the one who visited the most was Henry and not Nidra, though he liked to study Fódlan’s magic more often than not -- it was said that the innate magic he learned could decimate a few dozen armies, though that wasn’t put to practice. … Yet, anyway.

Nidra learned how to braid her hair around her ears from Dorothea, so now she didn’t need to walk around with the veil anymore. She divided her time between visiting Robin in her detached palace and Wolfie in his, so she was by no means staying still, though she still relished in taking naps under the oak tree in the garden.

Wolfram and Dimitri, years later, would decide to adopt a child to be the heir to the throne, though first and foremost they would treat him like their own son before he was to be the next king.

Family was, after all, everything that mattered.

Now, and forever.

#fire emblem three houses #fe3h #dimitri fire emblem #fatesona #fodlansona #my writings #yuki's commissions

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ohmygodtheywereparabatai · 3 years

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Finally watched Hello Future Me’s video floating around my recommended feed, and halfway through his excellent analysis struck a spooky thought! Here’s a theory for the girl in red.

Sane at the Time of the Finale:

Azula’s Downfall Was in Spiritual Revenge

The poetic justice of Zhao drowned by the moon spirit’s other half, Ozai’s power stripped by a full-fledged Avatar... part of what makes Azula’s defeat so unique is her crumbling sense of self, an introspective enemy instead of an outside one. Katara, whose confidence and network of support are pointed out as the mirror image of what Azula could have had, finally gains the upper hand and pins her down.

From birth, the princess endures an environment that perfects and hones her nature to the shattering point. Plenty of signs point to her devolution: the betrayal of Mai and Ty Lee, getting sidelined by her own father at the literal crowning moment, and her irreversible childhood at the center of the snowball effect. But how ‘bout I do anyway, and tie in the mechanisms of the spirit world with Azula’s last moments? The connection is far from obvious, but well and present. The role of another world in weakening such an iron-fisted character visible in the first GIF itself.

I. “Taking you down is the Avatar’s destiny.”

The spirit world is one fundamental half of the Avatar. Its guidance and power are endowed to a messiah-like figure, who masters the four bending disciplines in order to restore and keep balance. It’s constantly reinforced that the Firelord is meant to be brought down by him, that a century of bloodshed is repaid when the warlord’s life is taken, and the end of his corrupt regime is the beginning of a fuller, more peaceful era.

“Aang, you must defeat the Firelord before the comet arrives.” (Roku)

“Your destiny! This is incredible. You will be involved in a great battle, an awesome conflict between the forces of good and evil.” (Aunt Wu)

“I should have seen this war coming and prevented it... But I believe you are destined to redeem me and save the world.” (Roku)

“Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar’s destiny.” (Zuko)

“Everyone, even my own past lives, are expecting me to end someone’s life.” (Aang)

A seemingly inconsequential detail is that the Firelord at the time of the final battle is not Ozai - it’s his daughter. By then, the title of Phoenix King is exchanged for her coronation. The nail on the head isn’t nitpicking terminology, but that Aang already suffered defeat at Azula’s hands. She herself plays a masterful and instrumental role in the war, literally her father’s will embodied. She’s there to hunt the Avatar, lead the massive drill against Ba Sing Se’s walls, orchestrate a coup, oversee the takeoff of the airship fleet, suggest the annihilation of Ba Sing Se in the first place. It’s a long time before we see Ozai at the warfront in the flesh, and even then, the damage dealt by Azula in Book Two and Book Three resonates. Keeping all this in mind, jump to Aang’s death.

“I went down! I didn’t just get hurt, did I? I was gone! But you brought me back.” (Aang, to Katara)

At the end of Book One, when a spirit is killed and revived, balance is reduced to moonless havoc, and all hell descends on the guilty party. The Avatar-slayer would be far from an exception to this counterbalance. So what we witness in “Into the Inferno” - Azula, gruesomely unmade - may just be the most brutal act of vengeance onscreen, and as a direct consequence of this:

While Aang is not directly responsible, it’s safe to assume the spirit world often acts of its own volition. Notable spirits possess harsh views on modernization, and lash out at humanity for its flaws: Wan Shi Tong’s disappearance, the ocean spirit’s wrath, the aye-aye spirit in LoK antagonizing any human presence, the Mother of Faces admonishing vanity and disrespect.

In this vein, the Avatar spirit remains a powerful source of Aang’s strength, weaved into the very outcome of greater forces such as fate and salvation. In the crystal catacombs, Azula threw a wrench into a universal narrative - for an instant, the world really was lost.

And, truth is, we’ve already watched as an entity descended from the Avatar’s power - one who Azula identifies repeatedly as her lifelong plague - haunts her to the point of systemic delusion. Ursa herself, granddaughter of Roku.

II. “You’ve turned my own mind against me...”

Time to reconcile show canon with the comics!

There’s no one who ties more into the tragedy of Azula than her mother. Hello Future Me dredges “The Search” and “Smoke and Shadow” for panels where her condition is exacerbated by fear and animosity. She’s obsessed with the idea that Ursa was pitted against her from day one, and even claims her influence strangled the loyalties of her friends and forced Ozai to “break free of her control.” The possibility of the slightest truth to Azula’s more elaborate fears raises a host of alarming implications. Especially when acknowledging her character is as sharp as a tack - a dulled edge when madness factors in, to be sure, but not negligible.

Is it logical to develop the belief that Ursa was an agent of evil in the royal court? The death of Azulon and her subsequent disappearance... It wouldn’t take long for Azula - aware of Zuko’s fate at the time, and her mother’s resignation to prevent it - to connect the dots. Ursa’s blood relation to the same Avatar that rivaled Firelord Sozin is another thorn in the side of trust. Whether Azula was aware of it or not, the strife born in Zuko, the eternally entangled red and blue dragons, exist to her biology as well. This makes it difficult to ignore a spiritual side to her illness, which draws primarily from Ursa’s “ill” intent.

Azula is also seen embracing the idea that spirits risen solely to take revenge can derail lives, legitimacy, and loyalty. The comics give us a chance to absorb the hidden subtext at face value.

The Kemurikage were born when robbed mothers abducted the children of others as punishment. Fear of the spirits crumbled the warlord Toz’s support and ended his cause. The masquerading dissenters in “Smoke and Shadow” are able to undermine Firelord Zuko’s authority, create a divide between Mai’s family and her father, and sow widespread fear. Curfew, searches, and interrogations shape the beginnings of a “ruthless” rule, eerily evocative of Azula’s much more rapid descent...

So how do Azula’s visions of Ursa, conjured unconsciously or from a little something more, and her steep debt to the world and Avatar link together - forge the ideal weapon and circumstances for retribution?

^ Just like that.

This only covers Ursa’s side of the family, the redoubling of spiritual balance after Aang’s fall like the snap of a rubber band. Azula’s complete undoing has to do with the lashing out of both families.

III. The blue dragon

Now, what was it about that first GIF?

Azula’s health begins to spiral right as she’s slated to become Firelord. Her identity is unraveled and called into question - Ursa made manifest slips through the chinks in her armor, prying at insecurities. Her inner turmoil admittedly makes her a poor candidate for ascension, and at the pinnacle of Fire Nation victory, - the crucial, final stages of the Hundred Year War - past rulers would look down on Ozai’s decision to usher her onto a seat of absolute power. Sozin’s Comet itself is an event that imbues firebenders with enhanced abilities, and it’s been theorized before that the “acting up” of royalty during the finale could be explained as such. The phenomenon may have also caused the reemergence of imperial spirits... and it isn’t too far of a fetch. More on that shortly.

It’s made clear that Azula’s destiny is far from holding royal court. The comics throw around that word, “destiny” a lot, but it’s a given signpost for any projected arc in the world of Avatar. And it ties in nicely with the will and workings of spirits.

Roping predestination with the probable dissatisfaction of the lineage, we finally have a whole picture. The combined force of an upended natural order, demanding the Avatar-slayer’s penance, and a royal bloodline destabilizing her reign in its infancy... planting mistrust and paranoia, and causing rash decisions. From a cherry pit to five minutes’ tardiness, Azula’s clarity and self-assurance are hacked away.

This is inviting the subversion that it wasn’t all in her head. That the Azula who readily accepts the Phoenix King’s declaration is rattled and isolated at best, but far from the composure that took just one afternoon to shatter. Zhao and Ozai face justice at the hands of the spiritual. The third main villain of ATLA might not have escaped due consequence either.

Finally, this scene. Azula, ensconced in blue flames. Is there any suggestion of the presence of spirits?

Azula’s fire is blue for purposes of flaunting her skill and sheer drive for perfection. The hottest temperature is blue in color, exactly her achievement. The technique isn’t bothered with because it saps extra effort, and so Azula’s signature symbol of power is hers alone. Fitting. But the fact remains: after leaving her hands, the fire quickly cools to orange. See below:

This color change isn’t seen in Azula’s throne room. The fire surrounding her is definitely detached from her body.

Now, it’s obvious why the animators didn’t suddenly decide to give the iconic blue a rest... but it’s incredibly intriguing from the imperial spirits angle. If Azula herself wasn’t keeping up the blue flame, then at the time of “Into the Inferno”, we’re staring into the faces of invisible devils on her shoulder, supplying the driving energy from the beyond. Onis whispering unseen evils down her ear that cause her, inevitably, to snap - the voices of Sozin and Azulon, a hundred sprawling generations. The cherry on the top is Ursa, descendant of the liaison between mortal and spirit that Azula personally killed, who torments her long after she’s relieved of the crown.

“Trust is for fools. Fear is the only reliable way.”

Hello Future Me describes Azula’s personality as a Machiavellian type, named after the guy who coined “It’s better to be feared than loved.” Watching her escalation unfold, it’s sad to wonder how someone as fearsome as her responds to being the recipient of that fear - when her own weapon turned on its hilt cuts too deep.

IV. End!

I think the scene above - the girl who opens with this directly after the demise of an admiral who engaged the incarnate of the tides (and swiftly lost), is a bit telling of her fate.

*To clarify, my framing of Ursa’s appearance as spookier than just a figment of Azula’s imagination - *cough* possibly the personified revenge of the Avatar spirit - is NOT meant to demonize Ursa herself! It just offers up an alternative explanation to what Azula hears and sees. Their bond is a poignant standalone, and I don’t mean to hate on the real Ursa/Noriko. Neither does any part of this discredit the impact of Azula’s childhood and history of neglect on her future.

That is all. Thank you for entertaining my theory!

#atla #avatar the last airbender #azula #atla theory #it’s 3 am no regrets

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twomanyideas · 3 years

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Somewhere Only We Know

A Collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

Gratsu Weekend 2021 Prompt: Protect Pairing(s): Gray x Natsu, Ultear & Gray

And if you have a minute, why don't we go Talk about it somewhere only we know? This could be the end of everything So why don't we go somewhere only we know? Somewhere only we know

-Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

AO3

Summary: Their combined might hadn’t been enough to take down Zeref, and the one thing Gray might have been able to do to stop him was the one thing he’d promised Natsu he’d never do.

He should have done it anyway.

If he had, they would never have been captured.

0-0

It was Gray’s obsession with fulfilling his promise to his father that had brought him to Alvarez. He’d wanted to find Zeref, and that goddamned book of E.N.D. It had been a stupid idea; he realized that now. But he’d been grieving, and he’d never expected Natsu to track him down.

He’d never expected a lot of things.

Natsu had tried to convince him to return home, but Gray had been too stubborn to listen, and he’d recognized that despite his protests, Natsu had wanted to fight Zeref as well. After all, there’d never been an enemy they couldn’t defeat once they put their shit aside and set their minds to it, and if they died trying- well, he doubted either of them would regret it.

They’d decided they would fight together to make that bastard pay for everything he’d done. For the lives he and his followers had taken with his magic, for the demons he’d created, who had caused so much suffering and destruction. And in doing so, they would protect their Fairy Tail family and prevent any additional bloodshed.

Their combined might hadn’t been enough to take down Zeref, and the one thing Gray might have been able to do to stop him was the one thing he’d promised Natsu he’d never do.

He should have done it anyway.

If he had, they would never have been captured.

He would never have learned who Natsu was.

Never would have said those hateful words he didn’t mean.

Never would have seen the light fade from Natsu’s eyes as he accepted the truth of it.

Gray had let his rage consume him at Zeref’s revelations, and he’d hurt the one person he’d always loved. He’d really fucked up this time.

They were all but helpless now. Their minds and bodies locked by Invel’s spell, their magic contained by sealing cuffs. No way to struggle, nothing to do but live inside their heads while they waited to see what would happen to them.

How were they going to make it out of this one when no one knew where they were?

It couldn’t end like this, not after everything they’d been through together. There had to be a way out, they just needed to figure out what that was, and soon. But first, Gray needed to make Natsu listen to him so that he could take his words back and beg for his forgiveness.

But the words wouldn’t come, no matter how much he tried.

Hours passed in uneasy silence until a lacrima lit up the inside of their cell, broadcasting its feed in vivid color and sound. The screen showed other prisoners, robbed of their dignity and forced to perform sexual acts. They seemed barely human. Used, abused, and reduced to nothing but toys.

It didn’t matter how much Gray tried to look away or willed his eyes closed; they remained riveted to that screen, even as the sounds and images made his stomach wrangle up in disgust.

Soon that would be them.

The message was obvious: their punishment had yet to begin.

Gray didn’t much care what happened to him, but the thought of anyone but him touching Natsu that way was enough to make his blood boil. They belonged to each other and no one else. That was how it had always been.

After what seemed like forever, the lacrima finally turned off, revealing Natsu’s strangled cries as he tried to break through the collar using brute force.

“Stop it!” Gray pleaded, “You’re only hurting yourself.”

Natsu stopped his efforts, but he still refused to look at him.

Guilt crushed Gray even more than the thought of what the future had in store for them. All these years had passed, and he hadn’t learned a goddamn thing. Just like when he’d gone after Deliora as a child, convinced that he was strong enough to defeat him, he had underestimated his enemy’s power. Ur had paid the price then, and now both he and Natsu would suffer a fate worse than death for his folly.

“This is all my fault,” Gray strained against the spell, stretching his arm enough so that his fingers grazed Natsu’s hand. “I won’t let them touch you.”

He stopped short of making a promise, but he could feel his eyes burn with rage at his impotence.

“Maybe, uhm... maybe if I agree to join him, Zeref will let you go.”

Natsu had finally spoken, but his words were not what Gray had wanted to hear. What was the idiot thinking? Like he’d ever let that happen.

Gray couldn't care less that Zeref had been waiting for Natsu for hundreds of years, or that it had been his brotherly love that had brought Natsu back to life. His heart might have been in the right place once, but it had become corrupted over the years as his mind deteriorated. A life by Zeref’s side would be a nightmare for Natsu, forced to become the demon that Igneel had tried so hard to protect him from. Gray would never allow that outcome, certainly not for his sake.

“No! Besides, we both know I’d never leave without you.”

“Then you’re an idiot.” Natsu declared, turning away to stare at the wall. “Because there’s nothing here worth saving.”

“Don’t you dare say that! You know I didn’t mean any of the shit I said.”

“No. You were right. I’m E.N.D, Gray. A Book of Zeref, no different from Deliora or Mard Geer. You even came here to kill me.“

Gray sighed, realizing there was no easy fix to what he’d done. It was going to take them a long time to get through this. Time they didn’t have.

“None of that matters now. You saw that lacrima. Who knows how long we’ll be able to stay us. I don’t want to waste any of it arguing about things we can’t do anything about.”

“I’m sorry.”

Gray could hear the tremble in Natsu’s voice and it broke his heart. Why was this happening now?

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Natsu. None of this is your fault, it’s his. All you’ve ever done is help others.”

He grabbed Natsu’s hand in his and pulled with all his might until he could wrap his arms around his boyfriend, the chain from their collars dangling between them. “I’m so sorry I got you into this,” Gray murmured into Natsu’s ear as he ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair.

“Sealing cuffs didn’t work on those Tartaros demons since they used curses. Do you feel anything like that at all? Anything that can help break your collar?”

Natsu shook his head, looking defeated for the first time since Gray had known him.

“Oh well, it was worth a shot,” Gray shrugged, acting like he wasn’t giving the matter any importance, for Natsu’s sake.

“Just promise me you won’t do what you said before. Whatever happens, I want to stay with you.”

“I don’t want... that to happen to you.”

“I don't want that to happen to you, either.”

They lay down on one of the cots in their cell, clinging to each other tightly. Gray refused to let go, fully aware that things could change at any moment. He reveled in Natsu’s warmth, letting his fingers travel Natsu’s skin, trying to soothe away the hurt his words had caused. Over and over, Gray reminded Natsu of how good he was, how much he loved him, and how he’d rather die than live without him. But Natsu remained eerily silent. It worried him.

Gray!

Gray heard a voice calling out to him, waking him up from the little sleep he’d managed, but it was too faint for him to recognize who it belonged to. Natsu was still snuggled up against him as he slept. Listening to his snores made Gray smile. He could almost pretend they were back home, their capture nothing more than a nightmare he’d finally woken from.

He opened his eyes to find that although nothing had changed in their cell, that voice still called out to him. It felt closer this time.

Gray!

Was that Ultear? How?

“Ultear?” He called out to her, even though he realized there was no way she could be there.

But against all of his expectations, Ultear appeared before him a moment later, looking as young as she had at Akane Beach months earlier.

“Good, you heard me. I had a hard time locking on to you.”

“How did you- I saw you, you were...”

“Old?” Ultear laughed, “I was. I cast a spell during the Dragon King Festival, thinking I could turn back time and fix everything, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. Even though it used up all my life force, I could only get one minute back.”

“You saved me.”

“Yes, and thanks to that I can do this now.”

“You mean you can get us out of here?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m not really here, not in the way you think. I exist only as a concept within a time distortion. I can’t get you out, but I can offer you an escape.”

“You and Natsu, you’ve both died and were brought back to life through magical interference. Because of that, you’re technically living outside of time.”

“Ultear?” Natsu sat up, rubbing his eyes, “Why can’t I smell you?”

Ultear moved closer until Gray thought she was going to touch the bars of their cell. Her expression became apologetic when her body went straight through them.

“Not now, Natsu,” Gray peered at Ultear, “You said you can offer us an escape, what did you mean?”

“I can take your souls with me. You would escape the horrible future that awaits you and exist as I do, and you’d be together.”

“So we’d die?” Natsu frowned.

“Not exactly,” Ultear shook her head. “Your souls would pass on, leaving your bodies behind. They’ll still suffer your fate, but you won't experience any of it. You must decide quickly, they’ll come for you in about one minute.”

“I don’t care if we die, we both have once already,” Gray said resolutely, his mind inevitably going back to the images of molestation on the lacrima, once again thinking that would soon be their daily fare. “At least this way, we can stay together. Or would you rather live out your remaining days as a slave for those sick perverts?”

“Of course not! I just wanted to underst- wait a minute... When the hell did you die?”

“Boys!” Ultear snapped, her tone reminding Gray of Ur whenever she tried to break up fights between him and Lyon.

He’d never see him again, or Erza, or any of their other friends. But odds were they wouldn’t have, anyway. From the sad look on Natsu’s face, Gray could tell he was having similar thoughts.

“What do you say, Flame Brain? You ready to spend eternity with me?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t like I could get rid of you, anyway,” Natsu joked weakly, a small smile breaking through his grief.

The sound of footsteps approaching their cell grew louder, and Gray snuck in one last kiss.

“Grab hold of my hands and don’t let go of each other,” Ultear offered each of them a hand and they grabbed on, clasping each other’s hands tightly. There was no pain, although they felt a slight tearing sensation when their souls separated from their bodies and entered the time dimension.

Neither of them looked back.

It saddened Gray that Ultear had needed to come to his rescue once again, but he was grateful. At least this time, no one had died to save him.

They had earned that much.

Ultear tried to explain the rules of the time dimension to them, but they didn’t really get them. It was hard to understand what was real, but they didn’t worry about it much. It was just somewhere only they knew. A place that existed just for them, where they could bicker, laugh, and love each other for as long as time existed.

Sometimes Gray worried that Ultear’s rescue had all been a dream, a place he escaped to to avoid what was happening to his and Natsu’s bodies. He thought if that were true; it was a kindness he shouldn't question.

Either way, it didn’t matter. They had their magic, and they had each other. That was all they could ever ask for.

They discovered they could visit just about any place they remembered, but their favorite spot was still the river by the old Fairy Tail building. It held so many memories for them, and they spent countless days sparring and coming up with endless competitions. The dumber the better.

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