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bitethedustfools · 3 months

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TWST Story Idea (4)

Actually, I have no idea what I'm doing. It was supposed to be a theory, and now it's a story idea with probably a bunch of plot holes and nonsense that I came up with at night. But do consider this idea though. It was said that there are 5 greatest mages in the world, with Malleus on the list, and Dire Crowley could probably be in it too. Who knows? How else did he become a headmaster for so long?

Fairy tales change every time they're written and told. Some parts are kept the same, some are not. Some are twisted enough to the point of being called disturbing, and others have their roles reversed, and so on.

It always changes. The words change from book to book and mouth to mouth. Sometimes because the story is a bore, or they wanted to justify the characters' actions, or maybe they simply have forgotten how it goes and made their own story up because they can never let it be forgotten.

Whatever it is, the story is made to fit one's own taste.

Dire Crowley is that kind of person who is unsatisfied with the ending of the stories he comes across. Being a curious bird, he finds it quite strange, vexing even. Why must the good guy win when they have almost nothing? The villains are cunning and stronger even, yet they are defeated by a goody-two-shoes who knows nothing of the world.

Curious, how curious. How could that happen? Logically, the villains should win. It's unfair, like the world is against them. Don't some of the villains come from the same root? So how come they are different?

Crowley wasn't having it. He wanted to know why, and he liked them enough to decide that villains should be heroes too.

And so, he made a story—a story with a certain ending in mind but a hole in between which pages will gradually be filled with time.

He made a world where 7 villains he carefully selected became the most prominent figures in Twisted Wonderland. He wrote the good things he saw in them, and gradually, people admired these figures.

He even made a place for their embodiments so he can watch over and figure out what made them lose. To do this, he made the Royal Sword Academy where the good guys are, the rivals to the villains.

Crowley intended to observe them. They are placed together in a school with 7 dorms. He wanted to see what made them different from the good guys.

It didn't take too long to figure out. Although they are thoroughly competent, they refuse to work together. Each came up with a different plan and proposed the others follow them. The others are of distinguished backgrounds and therefore are too prideful and stubborn to follow.

The story refused to move forward. It stays the same, and nothing changed. They refused to change.

Crowley is upset; this is not the kind of ending he wishes to see. Something must change to move forward, and so Crowley tweaks the story a little bit and begins another story with a twist.

The first Alice, Yuu, gets called over. Yuu is the anomaly in this story. The villains are characters that can't change too much, or else they lack their own identity—the "you are what makes you," if you will. They have to be the same yet different. So Yuu will be the catalyst to move the story forward, the wheels to the cart, and the cogs to the machine.

This Yuu was to be a middleman, smooth things over and let them work together. He was a person of low birth who somehow became a noble. He knew the hardship, and he knew how to connect with people.

The story ended too shortly, sadly. Yuu died. Someone with ill intention killed him, and the others are too indifferent to his death.

Crowley thought that yes, this must be it. This is what sets villains apart from the heroes. It's because they don't care about a single life, and if they do, it is because they lost a good person that benefited them a lot.

Was it because the heroes were kind and good that people would help them? Surely that must be the explanation; otherwise, Snow White wouldn't be able to escape and live due to the hunter and the dwarves, nor would Belle be spared by the beast. Princess Aurora wouldn't wake up if the fairies didn't seek help from Prince Charming.

Because the villains were selfish and indifferent, people don't like them and won't lend a hand. This wouldn't do. Crowley wanted them to be heroes; he wanted to paint the ugly black heart into pure white snow.

The ink dropped on a blank page, and a new story started once again.

Second Alice comes, and Yuu is her name. She is gentle, kind, and her heart is filled with empathy, and she is also willing to voice out her concern. This is good, Crowley thought. This will teach them how to feel, and they also have a rough childhood.

Surely if they are touched by her open heart and kindness, they are willing to change, be kind in return, willing to work together for the same goal.

He watched in interest; they appeared to be enamored with Yuu, who is like a little butterfly fluttering about, only for those wings to rip apart.

"Oh, why are they so cruel?" Crowley lamented. Instead of taking care of it, they'd rather have the wings torn apart. They could not stand the butterfly landing on someone's hands even for a moment.

Crowley called forth another Alice just as the story starts. Again and again and again. He will write the story as many times as he can until the story is to his satisfaction.

He exhausted his magic, and the villains are still doomed to fail by their own flaws and unlucky things. Yuu can only do so much before everything falls apart.

And then the ink splotches on the half-written story, and Overblot came to life. He could not erase their existence. The ink forever stained the pages. Crowley could only roll with it even as new anomalies dubbed Overblot began to pop up. The story hasn't ended yet, and he will only start anew if it stopped.

It was a rather unusual thing to say, but it is the farthest chapters that Crowley has been through. They were nearing the end in every new story with every Alice/Yuu changed.

He lost count of how many Alice/Yuu he has lost and how many villains that slowly changed their way lose their lives to these monsters. No doubt that the perfect story is about to be achieved. The greatest happy ending that the villains deserved is waiting just this close, with a monster blocking the way.

Ink began to drop from his face, dripping onto the already stained book. Crowley too is also nearing his end. His magic is already depleted from using his unique magic and fetching Yuu every time a story starts.

A new story is about to begin, and Crowley stood in front of the Dark Mirror with a white mask. The mask also had ink on it, telling him that the Dark Mirror too had used up their power to summon Yuu.

The next one has to be someone who could survive to the end. Someone who could befriend the villains and show them kindness and recognition they deserved. Someone that can change their ways and improve their perspective of the world no matter how little. Someone to be there by their side until everything.

He reached out to the person whose visage formed on the mirror, urging the person on the other side to take his hand.

"For thee, guided by the Mirror of Darkness,

Follow thy heart and take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.

Flames that turn even stars into ashes,

Ice that imprisons even time,

Great tree that swallows even the sky,

Don't be afraid of the power of darkness,

Come now, show your power.

Mine, theirs, and yours,

There's only a little time left for us.

Do not let go of that hand, at all costs."

Who would have thought that the new Alice who will guide them all to the perfect ending will be a magicless human who is quite troublesome and reckless in nature?

Every Yuu is different. They are summoned from different world/dimension/time to help aid his story (to influence). All of them have magic. Crowley doubted the last Alice/Yuu (from the game. Depends.) will be the last key to open the final door since they are magicless.

Fits for yandere theme as well. This Yuu is very valuable and the key to happiness. Of course they want Yuu to stay here. Of course Crowley wouldn't let them go.

#disney twst #twst wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland #twst yuu #writing prompt #twst crowley #dire crowley #everyone loves yuu #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst

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bfpnola · 8 months

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i dont even have the capacity right now to make as robust of a post as i would like but i really think we all need to be aware of these updates regarding the stop cop city movement taking place in atlanta, georgia, united states of america. bold added for emphasis in the quotes below:

According to the state of Georgia, buying $11.91 worth of glue can land you on a RICO indictment, if the glue is used to protest the police. That’s exactly what it says in yesterday’s indictment against 61 people who have allegedly been protesting Atlanta’s potential Cop City. If you don’t know what Cop City is, it’s a plan to spend at least $90 million and destroy over 300 acres of forest to build a sprawling training center with a mock urban neighborhood to practice police tactics, specifically tactics of repression. Now, sweeping and overreaching charges claim that “militant anarchists” are engaged in a criminal conspiracy to stop this repression training center from being built. But, the indictment proceeds to lay out actions like handing out fliers, giving people food, and even running a bail fund to help arrested protesters as grounds for this case. The social media activity of people involved is referenced, simple acts of free speech are cited, and even ideas like solidarity and mutual aid are discussed as problems which somehow add to the necessity for this indictment.

...

U.S. police killed more people than ever last year and have not changed or reformed since the murder of George Floyd, and the people in Atlanta organizing against Cop City are very much aware of this. Yet instead of acknowledging the simple fact that cops should not kill, and that their power should not be endlessly expanded while they murder without consequence, the state of Georgia is instead choosing to grossly overreach. They’re instead trying to tie the movement to Stop Cop City to George Floyd and say that efforts to limit police violence are criminal rather than justified. Regardless of whether or not activists and organizers fighting the massive police repression training center were in the streets in 2020, they are informed by the knowledge that sparked the biggest protest movement this country has ever seen: police murder without consequence, and expanding police power, means more violence, more killing, and more repression of movements to improve society. We must be clear that anyone who opposes police murders and the expansion of the police state is fighting on the side of justice. The details listed in the RICO indictment, like small Venmo charges, an individual signing their name as ACAB, and people attending a concert show that the state is very much on the other side, the side of ruthless oppression. But maybe even more clarifying is the broad, sweeping condemnation of basic tenants of human goodness. The state lists, “mutual aid, collectivism, social solidarity” as tenants of anarchism that run rampant in the movement to stop Cop City. The charges condemn, word for word, “the notion of social solidarity,” which, “relies heavily on the idea of human altruism.” In a tale as old as time, the indictment of these activists and organizers, of these people, these residents of Atlanta, is more an indictment of the state than of the movement opposed to the state’s interests. The state is revealing itself to be the real villain.

...

The state has given the people of Atlanta, and everyone opposed to the eradication of democracy, no choice but to fight tooth and nail. They have gone for the nuclear option, and in doing so have exposed themselves. They have revealed the fascist underbelly they typically try to keep hidden. They have exposed that when people exercise every democratic avenue available, and are on the verge of success, they will resort to anti-democratic tactics to crush dissent. Beyond just this RICO case, the city of Atlanta is challenging the 100,000+ signatures gathered by grassroots organizers and volunteers working their asses off. Mayor Andre Dickens and his team are using the exact same regressive signature checking and discounting strategy he formerly opposed now that he wants to ram Cop City through against popular opinion and against the democratic process. Between the Mayor, the police, and the state, what choice do we have but to fight. When the government declares itself opposed to the very ideas of solidarity, mutual aid, and care for one another they seek to crush resistance. But instead they spark it. People everywhere are seeing the illegitimate nature of the institutions that kill, repress, and incarcerate anyone struggling for a better world. People everywhere see that institutions opposed to collectively looking out for each other, which seek to ban compassion and care with the threat of violence, have no legitimacy and must be opposed. They cannot be upheld or sustained. In a world where we need each other more than ever we can’t abide a repressive state that would rather police us into an early grave than grant us the resources we need to survive. And although it won’t be easy to overturn the system of capitalism and the violent police state that works to uphold it, we’ve been given no choice. We will Stop Cop City in Atlanta, and we will stop every attempt to build a Cop City anywhere. Officials in other Georgia counties, Baltimore, Ohio, and elsewhere are currently proposing their own Cop Cities, mimicking what they see in Georgia and attempting to build up their capacity to suppress dissent rather than building up their capacities to help people survive and thrive. We will out organize and out mobilize and out build the oppressive systems and institutions that seek to turn this country and the planet into one large police state. We have to. Be careful, but be determined. And get organized. Solidarity.

For over seven years, the fund—a nonprofit fiscally sponsored by the Network for Strong Communities—has provided legal defense and bail support for Atlanta. For aiding #StopCopCity protesters, the three fund organizers were arrested on charges of money laundering and charity fraud. Of what did this “fraud” consist? The warrants cited standard nonprofit reimbursements such as COVID tests and forest clean-ups in their rationale for the arrests. In the words of Kamau Franklin, an organizer with the Atlanta-based collective Community Movement Builders: “This is an arrest which is meant to, again, criminalize the movement, chill dissent, stop organizing, and stop activism from happening to stop ‘cop city’.” In so much as the work is radical, it will be under attack. Organizing that challenges capitalism, White supremacy, policing and prisons, and imperialism always carries risk. In the case of the bail fund, for example, what can movements do in the face of state repression? Potentially by shining a light on how mutual aid funding strategies are under siege, a clearer picture may emerge of ways to protect this valuable activity. Multiple people have noted that the Atlanta arrests represent yet another novel authoritarian and growingly fascist tactic to intimidate grassroots organizing and also draws on a long tradition of state repression against the Black freedom struggle. If successful, it could have far-reaching impacts on the swell of bail funds, abortion funds, transgender healthcare funds, and immigrant justice funds that have grown in recent years.

...

The Atlanta Solidarity Fund arrests did not occur in a vacuum. There is a long history of state repression against radical, grassroots power-building efforts—and those efforts continue today. Historian Say Burgin and political scientist Jeanne Theoharis aptly point out that across 1960 Southern sit-ins, 1961 Freedom Riders, and 1964 Freedom Summer, bail funds were a critical organizing effort for crystallizing and sustaining solidarity action. Where politically motivated captivity for civil rights activists loomed, bail funds responded. Mutual aid funding for these bail efforts were not just tactical, they were cultural. Mutual aid fundraising, in these contexts, gave everyday people a way to invest and engage in the very struggles they supported and needed. Mutual aid would provide yet another cultural outlet for radical, anti-repressive intent. This opportunity to mobilize people in radical efforts clarifies a threat to stakeholders in White supremacist institutions.

...

There are also increasing examples of state actors co-opting both the language and practices of mutual aid. In an interview with mutual aid organizer and writer Dean Spade, the Chicago Community Bail Fund highlighted examples of sheriffs welcoming the arrival of bail funds to support unaffordable bonds, city council-supported ordinances to protect bail funds “while continuing to take the money of Black and Brown community members paying bond for their loved ones,” and the city of New York’s own philanthropically backed bail fund created in 2017. As members of the Chicago Community Bail Fund reflected on New York’s system: “In effect, New York was funding the arrest, prosecution, and release of people caught in its criminal legal system instead of not arresting or prosecuting them in the first place.”

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darkdrin6 · 8 months

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Hi.

It's no longer a secret that NRS is just abominably treating Bi-Han in the new game, and the more materials appear, the more we are outraged. This man was the embodiment of the tragedy and injustice of the life of an assassin, he did not do the most righteous deeds, but it could not be said that he was devoid of honor or at least some compassion. Bi-Han was just doing his job, it was something he had been used to all his life, and he didn't know any other life than the one the clan gave. And now, from a man with a gray morality, he turns into a flat villain who gets punched in the face in the very first chapter. Thank you, NRS, but you made Tanya, the main traitor of the series, noble. A luxurious solution, just ten out of ten.

And in fact, we feel the need to somehow protect and justify Bi-Han. Yes, of course, we most likely will not get at least some clear motivation for his actions, except for POWER. And, perhaps, more POWER. But this man deserved something more than just the flat motivation of some petty villain for one episode. There are too many antagonists in MK who want POWER, so this is already some kind of bad taste.

(We will not consider Bi-Han from the MK 2021 movie as a worthy motivation, because he also does not have a clear motive. He wants to cut out Hanzo's entire bloodline because he wants to cut out Hanzo's entire bloodline, and there's no explanation for it at all.)

What if we suggest you look at Bi-Han's situation from a certain angle? Consider it a fanon, a random idea, anything that will help us justify and protect this person, we don't care, we will fight for him.

So… How about the fact that Bi-Han's downfall is entirely his father's fault?

Yes, we remember that their father, an unnamed previous grandmaster, is still portrayed as a noble man who loved his sons and even adopted the orphan Tomas, who lost his parents due to the actions of his people. It sounds even too good for someone who leads a clan of assassins in the service of his homeworld.

Such a person must have a certain self-control, such is his life, and this is required by his duties to his clan and the Earthrealm.

Let's remember that Lin Kuei is still a clan of assassins, a secret organization (or at least moderately secretive). Were Bi-Han and Kuai abducted from their mother, as in the original? Most likely, yes. Did the grandmaster feel guilty for this, because he deprived his children of their mother? It is quite possible that yes. But he has a duty to his clan, and his children are primarily a valuable resource. Yes, this is a cruel approach, and what kind of father could put up with it? But when a person is pressed by such strong obligations, he has to put up with it. From the extended scene, we can know that the previous Grandmaster saw the clan's path in service, which was probably part of his views too. And here you can go to the next point.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Bi-Han, as the eldest son, had always been regarded as the Grandmaster's heir. Is there any logic in this? Yes. In the clan, as we understand it, the primacy is passed from father to son, and traditionally the older children become the heirs.

What did this mean for Bi-Han himself? Probably a very special attitude. Realizing that his son would have to carry not the simplest burden, the Grandmaster had been preparing him for this since early childhood. He was stricter and colder with him than with Kuai, because Kuai is the youngest child, he should be an ally of his brother, not the head of the clan. Seeing the unequal treatment, Bi-Han felt jealous and tried to earn his father's attention with his successes. But the more he succeeded, the more was demanded of him. Trying to raise a worthy heir from his son, the Grandmaster unknowingly broke his life from the very beginning. Feeling the pain of being so cruel to his son, but unable to back down, the Grandmaster accepted Tomas into the family and gave him father's unspent love. For Bi-Han, who was desperately trying to be better and achieve a better result for the sake of his father's recognition, it was like being ousted from his own family, replaced by someone else.

His whole life was devoted to serving the clan. Bi-Han grew up with the idea that one day he would lead the clan, that this was the meaning of his existence. All his efforts, efforts, sufferings, everything he went through, were only for the clan that all this was not in vain. His unconditional devotion to Lin Kuei was encouraged, and everything that could distract from this goal was ruthlessly eliminated, leaving only the clan and its goals in Bi-Han's life.

It's not easy to become the best, but he has become. The years had honed his skills, his upbringing had instilled in him unconditional loyalty to Lin Kuei, all his aspirations from now on were directed at the clan and its greatness. For Bi-Han, the clan meant everything, was his whole life. He lived for this purpose.

But seeing how bitter the son was, and realizing that he had gone too far, the Grandmaster said that the head of the clan would not be Bi-Han, but Kuai.

Was it a cruel betrayal? Yes. Bi-Han was literally robbed of his life, the meaning of his existence. Father devalued in one moment everything that he had experienced, what he valued, for which he tried and suffered.

Did he kill his father in anger for the way he just threw years of his life into the trash? It is possible that yes. After all, this man trained him, made him what Bi-Han is now. It was his father who ruined his life, trying to raise the perfect warrior for the clan. The death of the previous Grandmaster finally tied Bi-Han to the clan. His whole life, his personality, his whole world was locked in the interests of Lin Kuei. Because while Lin Kuei is succeeding, Bi-Han is not living in vain.

His fanaticism and his irritation with his father and brothers (to be honest, with everyone in general) could easily be explained by such a development of events. Of course, the studio will not allow itself to outline something like this and probably will not give any explanations at all, so we will prefer to stick to this version of events. In the end, it would make at least some sense.

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calliesmemes · 3 months

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RANDOM DIALOGUE PROMPTS, ACT II

ASSORTED QUOTES FOUND IN FILMS, TELEVISIONS, MUSIC, AND LITERATURE.

CHANGE gendered words as needed.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“ A great force is asleep in you. ”

“ All I ever think about is you. ”

“ All I ever wanted was to know what to do. ”

“ Am I a good man? ”

“ Are you going to kill me? ”

“ Becoming the villain isn’t the answer. ”

“ Can you prove it to me? ”

“ Did you really think that I would ever let you go? ”

“ Do you regret taking the vow? ”

“ It was like a switch was flipped. ”

“ Fear cuts deeper than swords ”

“ Forgiveness is different from absolution. ”

“ Have I explained away any part of my guilt? ”

“ Help me. Remind me why I am here. ”

“ How many have died because of my actions? ”

“ How often will you repent? ”

“ How strange this is! What is the meaning of it? ”

“ I appreciate your concern. ”

“ I am beyond repentance. ”

“ I am destroying myself so other people can’t. ”

“ I am doing no injury to anybody but myself. ”

“ I am nothing if not merciful. ”

“ I am so glad to see you! ”

“ I believe you are perfectly right. ”

“ I can’t help but give in. ”

“ I cannot agree with you there. ”

“ I doubt I will be pleasant company. ”

“ I doubt everything, even my doubt. ”

“ I feel as though I have been living a long, long time. ”

“ I fought so hard to free you… ”

“ I have betrayed everyone and everything I know. ”

“ I have survived, but I have not been spared. ”

“ I have this grief and I don’t know why. ”

“ I will do whatever you ask. ”

“ I will not be a caged bird. I will fly free. ”

“ I played my part in the plan. ”

“ I pledge myself to your teachings. ”

“ I’m like a collection of paradoxes. ”

“ I’m sorry you were not truly loved and that it made you cruel. ”

“ I’m not too gone to be healed, am I? ”

“ I'm not everything I want to be, but I'm more than I was, and I'm still learning. ”

“ I’m restless and harsh and hopeless. ”

“ I’ll do all that I can to make things right. ”

“ If I cannot be loved, I must be feared. ”

“ Is everyone in danger as long as I’m alive? ”

“ Is this fair? Is this just? ”

“ Is this what you wanted? ”

“ It ends as it began. ”

“ It would be impossible, I know. ”

“ It’s not my fault — I’m not to blame! ”

“ It’s been a long time since I’ve been me. ”

“ I’ve started this storm; gotta stop it somehow ”

“ Money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it. ”

“ My intentions were not always wrong. ”

“ None of this is your fault. It’s me and my head. ”

“ No harm will come to you! ”

“ Life is full of tough choices. ”

“ Please remove your blade from my throat. ”

“ Pity comes too late! ”

“ Save me from these evil deeds. ”

“ Sorry is not enough. Sometimes you actually have to change. ”

“ That behavior is quite inexcusable. ”

“ The end justifies the means. ”

“ The path of hate is a dangerous track. ”

“ This can only end one way. ”

“ This is why you never should’ve left. ”

“ There’s a revolution coming. ”

“ There’s trouble for all when there’s trouble for one. ”

“ They are not to be trusted. ”

“ What do you mean? ”

“ What is this fighting all about? ”

“ Where were you when I was still kind? ”

“ Why are they all trying to make me into a saint? ”

“ Why can’t you see me? ”

“ Would you like to punish those who wronged you? ”

“ You can’t trust a single thing I say. ”

“ You can’t run from this! ”

“ You changed me. You should remember me. ”

“ You did not mean to be cruel. That does not mean that you were kind. ”

“ You don’t have to make a sound. ”

“ You have been loyal to a greater cause. ”

“ You know what’s best for me. ”

“ You were born for this. ”

“ You’ll always be a slave. ”

“ Your offer is meaningless. ”

“ You’re the one that I need. ”

“ You’re not as brave as you may seem. ”

“ You’ve gone too far! ”

#askbox meme #askbox prompt #rp ask meme #roleplay sentence meme #sentence starters #ask box #roleplay prompts #roleplay sentence starters #* sentence meme

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the-great-anteater · 1 year

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I don't get how there are so many Albert simps in rusty lake fandom.

I can understand liking a villain. Like, if they have a cool bad boy/bad girl vibe. or if they've got some grand plan that somehow justifies their crimes. or just being hot! I can get that.

But Albert Vanderboom? The stinky incel sociopath who didn't overcome his childhood peeves, angry at the whole world? The guy who killed bugs for fun? The child abuser? The one who's driven his sister to suicide, murdered his mother, his brother AND the woman he was in love with? I dunno man. You must be kidding, because it's just crazy

The only difference between him and average real life incel is that's Albert's really smart. Not just a nerd, but really can use his brains and make some complex machinery and magic rituals.

But... sexy?? He's a kind of a man who would slander you if you won't go with him for a coffee break. A kind of character you'd rather enjoy hating than simp for. Very unlikable.

Normalize hating the ugly mf.

#rusty lake #rusty lake roots #albert vanderboom

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 1 year

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Theory on World Dynamic & Blot Pt. 1 (No Beta, apologies in advance for any and all confusion you may have when reading this. Please delete this is you don't feel comfortable with this):

One of the things I didn't get at first was why the Seven were considered role-models in TWST---I couldn't pinpoint how society would openly idolize people for actions that are openly admitted as wrong in a unanimous sense yet not have someone openly question/challenge this. The Seven are historical figures. Some of the dialogue we do get hints at imperfection that are more close to D!Villains the audience is more familiar with. Assuming Earth is meant to be referring to our Earth (in which it is taken in it's entirety without altercations), I think TWST is meant to have similar core parts that reflect our real-world. History-context-wise, it would make more sense that royal/governing figures(Queen of Hearts, Scar, & Jafar) would be recorded---even considered an example to TWST's present day royalty/governing system on do's and don'ts---and respected as seen by the description on the statues (being able to govern over (what I will assume is) a massive population and having the nation surviving---even thriving---are (objectively) ideal feats to be remembered by and put as positive example in the grand scheme of things). If this is true, then it would also make sense for the Seven to coexist with their respective protagonist(s), making RSA possible but also making the dynamic not as black-and-white as simplification will allow. . .Yana didn't need to write an explanation w/worldbuilding cuz she played it smart and just used what she already had---existing reference called real life.

(Note: I know that this ask opens with “part 1”, but I never received any part 2s or other follow-ups after that DX)

I think I get what you’re trying to communicate? (Correct me if I’m wrong!) So I believe this Anon is saying that 1) both the Disney villains and heroes exist in Twisted Wonderland as historical figures, 2) the alternate tellings of their histories can coexist, and 3) like in real life, history can be twisted depending on the narrative/teller and, in hindsight, actions that are considered dubious can be viewed by future generations as morally correct or righteous. (If that’s the case, I expressed similar thoughts in this post.)

There instances in which the original stories they come from diverge or coexist with other versions which are also treated as true. For example, Kalim tells a tale about a princess (Jasmine) who happily married a thief (Aladdin), transcending the social norms of their time. There is also another tale that the Sorcerer of the Sands (Jafar) revealed that someone (Aladdin) had deceived a princess (Jasmine) about their social status, and that he saved the kingdom by revealing the lie. Somehow, the original story became multiple stories, all of which stand on their own.

We must recall that there are often positive spins put on the tales we know of to be the truth; suddenly Jafar is no longer plotting to overthrow the Sultan, but is a loyal advisor who dutifully served his country, Ursula’s deals are justified because the fault lied with her clients for not paying up, etc. This is also true of real life, where, depending on the person you ask or the history textbook you reference, certain events and details may be glossed over or even completely rewritten. This may be due to censorship or a deliberate attempt to control the narrative and what information is taught to and carried over to students (and into the future). Lilia even makes a passing comment about this in episode 7, saying that history can be “changed” over time.

This is likely how and why the Great Seven are worshipped as they are; history has been “twisted” from the (presumably what Yuu views in their dreams), which just goes to show that good is closer to evil (and vice versa) than expected, thus blurring the lines between the two and creating a grey area. This is very much in line with TWST’s philosophy—that there is more to something than meets the eye, and that being truly “evil” or truly “good” doesn’t exist.

#Lilia Vanrouge #twst #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland theory #twisted wonderland theories #twst theories #notes from the writing raven #twst theory

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crappy-homestuck-confessions · 9 months

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MY hot take about Vriska that no one asked for is that she's just disappointing. Like she gets So Much Time And Focus and she does So Many Things that are crucial to the plot and the progression of various characters, but it is so disproportionate in comparison to every other troll and even some of the human kids. Therefore the time spent on her had better be justified. You better make us enjoy our time while she's onscreen. Either we're interested in how fucked up she is, we yell raucously about how much we hate her, or we cradle her in our arms like a poor little meow meow, and Vriska Serket inspires None Of This in me.

She gets just enough development and we are given just enough opportunities to sympathize with her that we understand her and we get what her fucking deal is, but the shit she does and says is way too awful for me to ever like her, so it becomes this Net 0 Emotional Investment because I don't enjoy hating her either because she's not some glorious cackling center of villainy and hubris that I wish to see fall, that's Caliborn. I LOVED Caliborn everytime he was on page, he's a phenomenal villain I want to squeeze him until his stupid glass doll eyes pop. I want to write an AU where he and Callie are a silly little cherry limeade duo who somehow fucking Actually Made Things Work fully in spite of their fated animosity. He's AWFUL and I love watching Hussie smack talk him to his face through an arbitrarily frustrating computer modem radio tower thing.

Vriska is an intentionally bad protagonist because That's The Irony; she's a light player and she's shaped her entire personality around being the coolest and the best and the center of everything, but in doing so she's made herself an awful friend and a bad person who's Very Un-Protagonist-Like. But she's a bad *antagonist* because she's never actually framed as An Antagonist, she is simply antagonistic by a cruel stroke of bad luck that her life was set out to be lived on Alternia where she must blah blah blah EVERYONE is on alternia bitch, Get Over Yourself you are SO pretentious and not even in a fun way!!! In an annoyingly realistic way!!!!!

She's written as a real person in contrast to all these cartoonish personalities literally everyone else on the cast has. Everyone but Vriska in Homestuck is SO much more entertaining than her because she's written to be a normal girl in a fucked up situation while John is written to be a riff on The 90's Everykid who's encountering some truly absurd bullshit for the first time in his life. It's no secret Vriska's Hussie's favorite, and because of that, she gets so much focus and fleshing out and narrative weight that she Does Not Need.

Vriska would be better if there was less of her just Point Blank, because then we'd have a lot of potent moments where we see how monumentally messed up this kid who's constantly trying to keep all the randomness and peril in her life under her control is. Vriska being this awful person who everyone agrees is awful but who they keep around 'cause she's not awful ALL of the time and some of the group has unfortunately formed a deep attachment to her meanwhile she's constantly doing her 'All according to keikakku' shit would be WAY less disappointing as a central character. Also give other people who Aren't Her some of her consequential shit, the distribution is WAY too disproportionate.

(did not expect this to go on as long as it has whoops)

#homestuck confession #mod anu #homestuck #vriscourse

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gotham-fan-shit · 2 years

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mistakes on purpose

Pairing: Cass Cain x Villain!Fem Reader

Request: enemies to lovers cass cain where they do ballet together

Warnings: very brief and mild description of injury

Word Count: 746

A/N: never before has a request targeted me so specifically. five years of ballet and my work as a cass enjoyer consumed my body when I wrote this.

As a ‘villain’, petty troubles that blight your normal civilian life - the one you fill with extracurriculars and social gatherings and a myriad of people you don’t particularly care for only to busy prying eyes - should not bother you, certainly not the point of gritted teeth and clenched fists. This, however, does. It bothers you, inconceivably. She always gets the solo.

It’s not the end of the world. But it is annoying. The style of the ballet doesn’t matter - old or new, classically composed or originally made - she gets the solo every single time. You have to blame nepotism to an unwarranted extent to justify it, even though practically everyone in the class comes from immense wealth, because otherwise the reality is that you can’t deny she’s good. More than that, she’s amazing.

She’s graceful, more so than the average ballerina in the class. Her limbs move like water, and when she pirouettes it’s like watching the wind pick up leaves and shutter them throughout the autumn sky. She’s always poised, and her black leotard seeps into the darkness of her hair. Her eyes are brown, like the renaissance interior of a renowned ballet house, and determined. Yet beneath it all, though nothing is said, her arms and chest are toned, each muscle adorned with constellations of scars and bruises. She is silent and yet her presence is all too familiar.

So, you have decided; she must be annoying, else she is simply too perfect. You ignore her, and roll your eyes whenever she does a perfect routine and a perfect curtsey and a perfect everything.

At night, it seems you cannot escape the enemy of perfection. You get hit by a perfect punch, and a perfect kick and a perfect headlock. When you escape, which you somehow always do and you cannot help but think it is a courtesy, you are plagued with a perfect splotched bruise.

It is an endless cycle. Truthfully, if it were to change you’d have no idea what to do with yourself. Decidedly you don’t want to think about that, so you focus on more important matters - the steps ahead of you, perfecting the routine, and how to get away with your nightly plans.

“Wrong,” a soft voice from behind you explained. You whipped your head around, to be met with a soft smile and gesturing hand. “You’re doing that wrong.” You huff. Cass’ eyes are warm, only kindness behind them, and you feel slightly guilty looking at them. With her free, non-pointing hand, she tucks her hair behind her ear - her hair is tied back in a ponytail, but it is just slightly too short so that her face is framed by thick whips of black.

She gestures towards your arm, and you nod. She moves them both, sequentially, from third to open fifth, and then points to your feet and holds up three fingers. You obeyingly shift your right foot in front of your left. She nods, seemingly pleased with both her and yourself, and gives you a thumbs up. You can’t help but smile, feeling equally pleased.

The next day, you can’t help but purposefully mess up again, hoping she may find it in herself to correct you. She does. Full of kindness and little else, she fixes your position and tells you what to do next.

So you create a habit. Every lesson, without fail, you make some petty mistake so that she’ll correct you - never the same one, for fear of raising her suspicion, though she’s smart (of course) so you don’t doubt that she’s caught on.

This goes on for more than two weeks, and by the time it starts approaching the latter end of the month, you begin to wonder if and when she’ll say something. You are not left wondering for long.

At the end of one session, you open your bag to find a folded piece of paper that you know you did not place there. You open it to reveal a small note in a messy, cursive scrawl. Many words are scribbled out and rewritten. On it: an address of what you somewhat recognise to be a fancy restaurant, at least more so than your usual selection; a time and date; a question, which reads “Would you like to go here with me?”; and a name - “Cass” - adorned with a neatly drawn smile face. You pocket the note, and smile. You are sure to make it there for your date.

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penultimate-step · 2 months

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@greatwyrmgold

continued from previous reblog, replying to you in a new post rather than reblogging bc I don't want to derail the OP with my rant about shield hero, haha.

Would you believe I actually didn't mind that part as much? If only because I have a high tolerance for bs, especially if introduced as part of the premise. However, if you did get squicked out by the slavery nonsense and dropped it immediately, I'm happy for you, because it means you dropped it before it could get to the royal execution/punishment arc, which is straight up one of the most embarrassing scenes I've ever seen in fiction.

Protagonist dude gets the villain's own mother to legally rename her to "slut," while all the characters around him can't stop talking about how much of a kind and generous man he is for not killing, torturing, or raping her instead. The newly named "slut" is then forced to bow down and thank him for making her a "slut" and "whore", while all the audience cheers.

Just. Come the fuck on. Beyond the completely juvenile middle school level of revenge nonsense, beyond the fact that this is just the series doing a PG-13 version of revenge rape fantasy, beyond all the dozen reasons I can't stand this scene - it's just the most pathetically obvious "we'll have our protagonist fulfil his most base desires, but then somehow turn that around and make that be praiseworthy and have the narrative validate and morally justify him" crap that makes it impossible for me to regard the story with any amount of respect.

That was the final straw getting me to drop the series, but honestly it's more emblematic of the flaws of the series as a whole, and the terrible writing of the protagonist that undermines the whole thing.

I think the concept of the series - the basic premise - is actually quite interesting. An isekai'd hero where the focus is on how by being transported, he no longer has the social connections and safety net of the world he knows, who is immediately othered, ostracized, and betrayed by the new world around him, until his sense of trust in others is shattered. this pushes him to moral rock bottom, engaging in slavery and mistreating even his closest companions out of lingering trauma. To succeed, he must confront his own issues and grow as a person, building a place in this new world and making up for his mistakes.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that if this concept was executed even half competently, I probably would have greatly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, a concept like that inherently requires mature handling of moral wrongs done both by and towards the protagonist - and do you really think a writer who would make the capstone moment of a character arc be "you suck so badly that even your mother chose me over you, and also everybody around you says that you're sexually promiscuous and morally bankrupt" has the maturity to write anything close to what would be required?

Whatever promise the initial premise had doesn't even last ten chapters. After the introductory arcs, the writing loses all sense of ambition - it becomes too afraid to actually have the protagonist be in the wrong, and therefore has to frame everything he does as unambiguously sympathetic, that he is a nice guy, and also say he is somehow "deserving" of the power fantasy that the series becomes. This directly contradicts the character arc he's set up to have - It's difficult to simultaneously have a character be an edgy antihero making poor choices, and also have them be always in the right, and so the series bends over backwards to say all his decisions must actually be morally correct, regardless if they actually are. Which was the type of character writing that OP of the original post was complaining about, and also why I can't stand this series.

I don't know. I have friends who tell me the worldbuilding and plot gets really interesting later on. but I don't have any interest in trying again. I think I gave the series a fair shot and it just made me both angry and uncomfortable. If I wanted a progression fantasy with cool worldbuilding, and sometimes I do, there are plenty of those online to choose from.

(Again, I don't have anything against people who like this series, everybody has different tolerances for certain writing flaws and I don't think it makes one evil or dumb or actually accepting of slavery to like the series.)

#not going to tag this as shield hero bc i don't want to put a long rant about the series in a tag for fans #step.animanga

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captain-astors · 1 year

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3, 6, 9, 16 for the violence ask?

HELLO

HI!!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Oh god well I don't have a screenshot but, one that comes to mind quickly was basically some person insisting that Furuta was somehow a good person who didn't actually do anything besides the misogyny and My Friend Did We Read The Same Manga. I'm 90% sure it was a byproduct of the "your blorbos must be morally justified" era of fandoms but WOW. He has decent reasons, but he still commits terrible atrocities that are not by any means excusable and he's aware of that. He's making himself into a Saturday morning cartoon villain, and it's an active decision? Honestly I'd rather see him be misinterpreted as the shallow force of evil he paints himself as, because at least that conclusion makes sense. How do you even get there.

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

This fandom has really mellowed out in its old age but I'd honestly just say either of the two big Kaneki ships (Touken, Hidekane) not because I hate their fans or anything, but just because they're the only ones I've seen stir up ship arguments At All in my brief time here. People have all been pretty respectful of each other's pairings from what I've witnessed, because beggars can't be choosers. These two pairings are the worst of almost no annoyance whatsoever. Certain things aren't my cup of tea, but no one's forced anything on me in my time here. The most controversy on this blog was the old man chronicles and honestly I didn't really care about that. Aro headcanons can be important to people, and understandably! There's such little representation.

9. worst part of canon

The constant trauma being piled on everyone that makes it feel almost cartoonish and unrealistic because almost no one responds to those events like they should unless it's convenient, and wishywashy takeaway. "We're all deserving of a life!" (Unless you're a problem.)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Soulmates, but that might just be because every one I've read feels like an excuse for lack of chemistry. It's cool when it's not a literal thing, like "We keep being brought together, almost like I was meant to fall in love with you" but once it turns into actual law of how that world functions, "Your name is written on my heart and I am incapable of loving anyone else because the laws of this AU dictate it so" it feels odd. There are so many cooler things to do with stuff like that.

I had the most disgustingly artificial strawberry of my life while writing that last one and I think it influenced the tone.

#miscellaneous not-art things #zeph answers questions about media/characters/ships #It was absolutely atrocious. Tastes like the death of a thousand childhood dreams.

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traumatizedbymay2016 · 15 days

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Ok this might be a little bit tinfoil hat, but I feel like a large part of the reason that Tony Stark ended up being the de facto soul of the MCU was that he was in a different genre to everyone else. It feels so obvious to me.

Every other Avenger stars in some variation on character versus character conflict the majority of the time, and the exceptions I can think of are still (generally) external (character versus society and character versus fate seem to be common secondary conflicts). Tony is the only character who stars predominantly in character versus self conflicts.

For starters, the Iron Man trilogy is way better when you recognize this distinction. Whiplash and Killian are lame villains, yes, but it's because they aren't the antagonist at all. At best they're secondary conflicts, but at worst they're straight up just the inciting incident. The real antagonist of the story is the flaw that Tony is grappling with --- in Iron Man, it's his willful ignorance and isolation from the world; in Iron Man 2, it's his fear of needing help or being a burden (and secondarily his fear of his impending death); and in Iron Man 3 it's his crippling anxiety that nothing he ever does will be enough to protect the ones he loves. It's relatively rare that we see any other character perform this kind of introspection at all, let alone see an entire story built around it (Thor: Ragnarok is the only one that readily comes to mind).

Even weirder to me is that this somehow persists into crossover films. Age of Ultron features Tony grappling with the way the remnants of his Iron Man 3 anxieties are interfacing with his mask of hyper competence; Civil War centers around Tony deconstructing that same mask and attempting to hand the reins over to someone else; the examples are abundant (even if they're handled worse here than in the standalone films).

And I think that's why so much of the Marvel discourse that the interwebs seem hell bent on showing me ends up presenting every Marvel character as "uwu soft precious pure bean" heroes who are nuance-free portrayals of goodness and light in spite of their own laundry lists of mistakes that they move past but never really grow from, only to reach Tony Stark and present even the most understandable of mistakes as though they were pre-meditated and cold blooded decisions for which he is responsible and can never be absolved. If the narrative never forces anyone else to properly reconcile their actions, then those actions were clearly justified; when it does so to Tony, that sends the message that his actions are clearly worse or of greater significance than the others' are.

But that difference is about presentation. It's about the story being told and the conflict being centered, not the culpability or severity of the actions at play. I'm not sure any Avenger has ever screwed up as royally as the time that Thor's coronation got crashed and he decided to get his friends together to attempt frost giant genocide, but the narrative chooses not to focus on that in favor of other elements of Thor's progression. Weighing it as lesser is purely based on bias.

And here's the thing! I understand that 1) protagonists are not necessarily good people and 2) good people can and do make mistakes. I actually prefer characters who can do something terrible --- whether as a result of ignorance, trauma, or panic --- and then, in time, learn from those mistakes and become better people. I would argue that makes a character more compelling, not less so. In fact, the very way that the narrative never even acknowledges the potential for Steve Rogers' actions to have a negative consequence when even bare minimum common sense would dictate that there must be at least a little downside is part of why I don't enjoy the character.

But so much fan meta fails to engage with this in any meaningful way, and so you end up with situations where people are ranting about Tony blasting Sam after Rhodey got knocked out of the sky while entirely ignoring the obvious and understandable distress that would cloud anyone's judgement in that situation in favor of treating it like an intentional act of malice on Tony's part; in spite of the fact that there are dozens of instances in the MCU of heroes attacking each other with greater force in lower stakes situations --- Thor choking Tony in Age of Ultron comes to mind.

Age of Ultron is actually the perfect case study in this phenomenon, as it stands. Tony's arc in the movie is an explicit continuation of his arc in Iron Man 3: He's terrified by the vision of his teammates dead and the world at risk, and is desperately trying to solve that problem on his own in a panic. This leads to the objective mistake of Ultron's birth and near rise to power, which the fandom all-too-happily places the blame for squarely on Tony's shoulders.

Except Tony is just one piece of the puzzle. At a minimum, Bruce Banner was equally involved in the creation of Ultron; a task perfectly in line with his established character trait of pursuing scientific advancement at any cost. Cinematic parallels between the birth of Ultron and the birth of the Hulk are unsubtle, to say the least.

Thor could (and should) have provided some instruction to the two pertaining to the literal magic gemstone they were studying, but went off to go celebrate another victory. Wanda used her mind control powers to influence the situation in the direction of Ultron. Hell, I find it hard to take Steve's "sometimes my team mates don't tell me things" line seriously when the lab is a room made entirely of windows inside his house.

The cherry on top, obviously, being that even if we ignore all available subtext and let Iron Man be the sole creator of Ultron, the Avengers were still effectively functioning as a team and were properly equipped to prevent Ultron from enacting any real damage to the world when they intervened in the vibranium deal with Klaue --- but a certain pair of Avengers were literally fighting on Ultron's team at that point, enabling him to retrieve the needed vibranium and capture Helen Cho.

They're not culpable for that, though, right? How was it said... "She's just a kid"?

With the final irony being that the selfsame Avenger in question would go on to marry the Vision. A character who is literally just "What Tony Stark intended Ultron to be." But when it comes to Vision coming out worthy to wield Mjolnir, that's not Tony's fault, is it? It was a team effort, or a happy accident, or the Mind stone intervening. Never mind that it's personifying J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony's creation. Tony's not the one who does good things, he's the one who makes mistakes.

Meanwhile from the perspective of someone who loves the man versus self narrative, Age of Ultron is about Tony admitting his mistakes and quite literally learning from them and doing better next time. He spends the film taking responsibility for the places he messed up and working to understand how he can do better, and the next time he tries, he does do better. The narrative functions as intended.

But because there isn't a single other character in the room willing to admit wrongdoing --- or, perhaps more accurately, there isn't a single other character in the room that the narrative is willing to force to admit such a thing --- the implication to someone who isn't acclimated to the cycle of Fail, Learn, Succeed that characterizes Tony is just that Tony is The One Who Made Ultron. I mean, Bruce Banner gets more remorseful about being mind controlled to unleash the Hulk than he does about having been an active participant in the creation of a malevolent AI.

I just think it's interesting because so much of the fandom buys into the idea that the characters who never admit that they were wrong actually never were wrong, and that therefore Tony Stark is the worst; but at the same time, the whole heart is gone from the MCU as a franchise. There are still individual fun properties, especially when your particular favorite character is on screen, but you can feel in the places where the fandom is even still a fandom and not a toxic pile of self-consuming sludge that there's something missing.

As frustrated as I am that the fandom is like this, though, I'm more sad that other characters never got to have this kind of introspection. There's just so much missed potential for growth in so many of these characters.

#iron man #tony stark #marvel mcu #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #never mind the fact that the Russo brothers definitely did not understand this #and undid the overarching part of his arc for an unnecessary self-sacrifice #look endgame sucks ok

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safely-in-vhagars-belly · 9 months

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Pillars of Salt and pillars of sand: Chapter 2: Alternatives

WARNINGS FOR READING: This fanfiction is dark. It will contain themes as: Non-con, dub-con, dom/sub themes, murder, torture, blood, graphic descriptions of sex, graphic descriptions of murder and graphic description of torture. As well as animal abuse, war crimes, genocide, massmurder, sadism, power-abuse and incestious relationships. Warnings will be updated as the fic goes on.

This is chapter two. For chapter one, please either refer to my masterlist or click here.

Time ticks by, yet is frozen. You stand in the big hall at Storm’s end. Your brother, Lucerys, is on the stone floor. Aemond mutilated his face beyond repair, having taken both his eyes. He showed you the two eyeballs before putting them back into a small sapphire entrusted box.

You need to keep him occupied as long as possible. Who knows, mayhaps that your mother or Daemon will come looking for you and Luc. You hope so, at least. ‘’How long were you planning this, Uncle?’’ You ask, your voice has a sharp edge that cuts right through his smugness.

He does not humor you by telling you when he started planning all of this. ‘’You read too many books, my dear niece. Do you think I will reveal my masterplan to you, now that I’ve thought I’ve won?’’ You pretend to look defeated, but you feel victorious. He has already forgotten about his threat to what he will do if you won’t bend the knee to his older brother.

You must keep him going. You must. The realm’s delight will find you or the rogue prince. And Aemond can not fight two dragons alone. ‘’You are a villain. Just look at how you hurt my brother!’’ You spat. Lucerys is very quiet when Aemond glares at him, daring him to speak. Luc opens his mouth, and before he can utter a word, Aemond has buried his right fist into his stomach, causing Lucerys to double over in pain, clutching himself. You will make him pay for that.

Aemond grins as Lucerys weakly moans. ‘’Not a single word, little bastard. Or I’ll take your tongue as well. Your sister will make choices for you for now on. You are both my prisoners. You will both listen and obey me. When I wish it, you two will both meet horrible ends that Maesters will write about for centuries yet to come.’’ You scowl, unbecoming perhaps but justified. You think about stealing Aemond’s dagger from him, but what does that achieve? He has the Storm’s end guard. He has a sword, even if you somehow made it out alive, to your dragon, he would chase you and Vhagar would kill you both.

The prince has a pleased shimmer in his one good eye when he smugly smiles at you and your brother as his captives.

‘’Do not scowl. It is unbecoming of a lady of your high status…Although, your ancestry is a complicated one, isn’t it, Lady Strong?’’ He refers to Harwin again. Is that all his little almond-shaped brain can think of? Your natural origins?

You fake a smile, a handy skill you mastered well over the years. Insults like these once made you mad. Now they do you nothing. ‘’You think you hurt me with that? You think you insult me with that, Aemond? You know nothing of love. My parents loved each other, yours? Yours hated each other.’’ You notice his effort into composing his face, but his breath quickens as he turns.

It is your turn to chuckle. Aemond glares. ‘’You asked before how long ago I planned this. I have been here for a few days. Cassandra informed me that you were a friend to Lady Floris. So, I traded Cassandra in for Floris, forced her to write that letter, and simply waited for whenever you were stupid enough to come alone.’’ He says.

When he mentions her name, Floris softly lifts her head, but you notice the tears falling down her cheeks. Tears full of regret and sorrow. You do not even notice you are crying again as well until you wipe your own tears away. Lucerys needs you to be strong. The realm needs you to be strong.

You do feel stupid. You should have listened more to Daemon’s lessons, as well as your mothers. ‘’Everyone is your friend…Until their friend can be someone better.’’ You will never forget that lesson.

You force yourself to be brave no matter the cost. No matter how hard Aemond will take revenge. No matter how much abuse you will suffer. You won't break. You are the Princess Maella of house Targaryen. ‘’I am not alone, Aemond. Justyce is with me, and she has an appetite for one-eyed bastards.’’ You tell him.

He grins. ‘’Justyce, that little lizard is no match for Vhagar. Especially not since my dearest dragon is in an awfully murderous mood. Just ask your brother.’’ Lucerys is not looking at anything anymore, not that he can. But he lowers his head when he hears Aemond speak those words. Aemond smirks, condescending. ‘’It is all right, my pet. You are allowed to speak now. Tell your sweet sister what my dragon did today.’’ You become seething when he refers to Luc as his ‘’pet’’.

Lucerys's hands start shaking. You are unable to help yourself and reach out to your brother. The moment your fingers lay on his hands, he calms. You make your voice a soft sush, hushing him the way your mother would before rocking you both to sleep. ‘’You can tell me. You will always be my brother. No matter what happened, He can steal your eyes, take our lives, strip us of our titles, but that won't change a damn thing. You hear me?’’ You force his chin up where blood is drying. Lucerys searches for you before letting himself fall into your arms, sobbing on your shoulders with fast, heartbreaking sobs that make you more determined to hurt Aemond every time.

Luc nods. You smile at him, kissing his forehead lovingly. You mutter that he will be safe. He will be. Aemond has lost his rare patience and advances. He groans at Luc. ‘’Tell her, or I will cut her hair as well.’’

Your hair is a disgrace, according to many. Yet you would not want to live without it. Lucerys starts telling the story, and you listen when he takes sharp breaths, and you see that he relives it. ‘’I ran. He asked me to give him my eyes. I ran. He caught up with me. With Vhagar.’’ Lucerys briefly stops to reach out for your fingers, but he can't find you anymore on his own. He tears up. You clutch his hands.

He continues telling. ‘’Arrax felt threatened and breathed fire at her. I thought it was going to melt her for a moment. It accomplished nothing.’’

Aemond smirks. ‘’Continue.’’

Luc starts to breathe faster and faster, and you worriedly look around the room for help. No one helps you. Aemond sinks next to luc before slapping him across his face. You grab Aemond's coat in an angry moment, but he simply pushes you back on the ground. Luc stares into the distance with his stitched eyes. He cries. ‘’Vhagar and Aemond cornered me. Aemond swore on his mother's life that he would roast me the way a hungry peasant roasts a rat in King's Landing. He gave me his word. I was forced to get off from Ar-Arrex back…’’ His voice breaks as you Hush him by rubbing his back. ‘’Aemond reminded me I used to bully him for not having a dragon. He told me I would finally feel the way he did all those years. I watched as Vhagar advanced on Arrax. I had to chain Arrax down.’’ He rattles nervously as to what you will think of this.

You glare at Aemond. He grins, smirking. ‘’Arrax was ripped to pieces by Vhagar. After that, Aemond made me collect the scales. For every piece that missed, I would get a beating.’’ Your poor brother suffered so much.

You hug him, shielding him from the world with your body. You will not let Aemond hurt him again. Which means complying and coming back with him to King's Landing and to bend the knee to Aegon. Luc whispers. ‘’He took my eyes after, cutting into me with a laugh. He was laughing the entire time.’’ You shield your brother closer, and tighter after that keeping your eyes on Aemond.

Aemond hears it perfectly however. ‘’The sound of my enemies crying makes me just overwhelms me with joy.’’’ He muses. ‘’Trust me, Luc. You, too, were happy when you took my eye. Remember? I remember you smirking, little bastard.’’ He prepares himself to give Luc another kick but this time you take the blow for your brother, shielding him. Aemond chuckles amused. ‘’I always knew you liked it dirty and rough.’’ He groans in your earshell. You spit at his face.

He shrugs. ‘’What will it be, little Lady Strong? Shall I ask the Baratheons for a good seasonal mix before handing you both to my dragon, or will you comply and bend the knee to my brother, the rightful king of the Seven kingdoms?’’ You have no choice.

You never had any. You cradle lucs hair as he spells something with his lips. You read it. Let me die.

You will not let him. You will not fail him again. You begin to cry, covering your mouth with your hands. ‘’We will come to King's Landing.’’ You say between sobs, your voice a mess.

Aemond smiles, victorious and pleased. ‘’Good girl. You will fly on Justyce. I take Vhagar. If you try anything funny, I will drop your bastard brother miles from the ground and just watch as he bursts open as a ripe juicy melon from Dorne and his blood and remains scattered everywhere.’’ He promises and you know that if need be and you mess up, the tiniest slip up, he will throw your brother from his dragon.

You help Lucerys stand. Aemond takes him from you, dragging him with him to the courtyard. You follow close behind as well as Floris. You are shocked. Happy even. But she is not here for you.

She is here for her husband to be. ‘’A-Aemond. You have what you wanted. Will you annul our engagement? We've given you the princess.’’ She says as if you were hers to give away.

You mount Justyce with a ugly scowl. ‘’That's a lady; and I will not make that decision on a whim.’’ Aemond tells her when coming closer to her. ‘’You are lucky to be considered for my hand. You know how many girls would kill to be in your position?’’ He asks her.

You sigh. ‘’Not one, if they knew what I know.’’ You hate yourself for liking that insult. You hate that she is sharp and witty and beautiful. She was your best friend. And she drove a dagger in your back.

Aemond puts luc on Vhagar as he turns on Floris and you can see he is close to teaching her a lesson. ‘’You can't hit me yet. I am not your wife.’’ She snugly replies.

He leans in. ‘’Yet.’’

He leaves her, stunned and nailed to the ground before climbing on his dragon with your blinded brother. He waits for you to go first. So you do; you take off to King's landing, the reins stinging in your hands.

They do not sting as heavy... As the tears in your eyes And the knives in your heart.

#house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #dark aemond targaryen #house of the dragon fanfiction #dark aemond targaryen x oc #Aemond targaryen #Aemond one eye fanfiction #Pillarsofsaltandsand #Aegon II Targaryen X OC #dark!#head the warnings #dubcon #possible triggering content #She/her reader #AFAB Reader #DarkFantasy #Possible noncon #Possible gore #Old work

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belit0 · 9 months

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Grandpa on the run

Indra refuses to believe his age disables him from fulfilling his only goal in life. I've been thinking about this for a long time and I just find lovely the fact Indra's blindness makes him work with Ashura, accidentally.

“I must kill Ashura.... Ashura, Ashura! Where is Ashura!”

Indra Otsutsuki grumbles to the air as the millennial anger against his brother continues to boil inside him.

“Ashura? Oh! I’ve heard that name somewhere... I know the guy! Come on, I’ll help you find him!”

A cheerful voice shouts next to his ear, as a hand unsuspectingly grips his elbow and starts guiding him who-knows-where.

“What’s your name, kind gentleman?”

This voice asks chattily.

“Are you ignorant of me, you foolish piece of trash? I am Indra, fearsome tyrant, straight out of hell for-“

“Who are we looking for?”

Legit is the question, that much is certain, for the doubt in whoever’s tone of voice guiding him is real.

“Ashura. Ashura Otsutsuki.”

“Oh! I know that guy! I think I’ve heard this name somewhere... come on, I’ll help you find him!”

And the direction they walk in changes drastically, turning 180 degrees and retracing those steps they just took.

Indra’s groans and slurred words left by all the way are countless, while his guide sings a friendly song about the moon.

A song his own grandmother used to sing to him as a child.

“Who are you?”

The voice asks for the tenth time and the Otsutsuki’s patience becomes thin.

“Indra! Greatest villain of all time! Best-“

“And what are we doing?”

“Looking for my brother!”

“Who is your brother?”

“Ashura Otsutsuki!”

“Oh! I know that guy! He’s got gray hair and uses a cane, right? “

“I don’t know, you idiot!”

“I used to have a brother! He hated me!”

“I hate you too!”

“That’s okay!"

Indra deduces they somehow made it to a house by how the wood sounds under the soles of their sandals.

“There! There! It’s him! Ashura Ashura Ashura! We found him!”

“What are you waiting for? Kill him for me! In the name of Indra! Strongest one-“

The clatter of shattering glass sounds throughout the room as a mirror collapses in front of them both.

Two pairs of footsteps run down the hallway to meet the Otsutsuki brothers, who are standing in front of a broken mirror.

Izuna speaks first, trying to catch his breath after rushing at top speed behind his escaping grandfather.

“Fucking Tobirama! Take better care of your bag of bones! He might hurt my gramps!”

The Senju looks at him in disbelief, while breathing with the same difficulty as his rival.

"Just because your relative is blind doesn’t justify his idiocy, you fool! My grandfather suffers from memory loss and so you know it! Keep your piece of history away from mine!”

Both young men hold their respective elders by the shoulders, pushing them away from each other.

“Get your hands off me, you cursed child!” Indra shouts angrily towards the nearest wall, figuring that’s where Izuna is.

Life has been an agonizing ordeal since he lost his eyes, and at 80 years old, he’s a pain in the ass for the entire family.

“What a cute kid! I like your white hair! Do I know you?”

Ashura asks happily and innocently as his youngest grandson guides him, his cane holding him.

“Yes, grandfather. You know me. I think so. “

#otsutsuki indra #indra otsutsuki #ashura otsutsuki #otsutsuki ashura #senju tobirama #tobirama senju #uchiha izuna #izuna uchiha #izuna #tobirama #naruto #naruto imagines #naruto shippuden #naruto founders

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tolliver-j-mortaelwyver · 2 months

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Writing Rambles

The most frustrating thing I face as a writer working on original content is the feeling that "I'm not fast enough" in the sense that "someone is writing a similar idea...now I will look like a copy." Or "my version is terrible trash. It needs to be better and perfect...".

Before Avatar the Last Airbender came out, I had been working on a story with characters who had psychic elemental powers. The main character had ice powers, and while my characters had access to more than the traditional elements, the concept of their powers being extensions of them versus magic was there. And the villains? An ancient, dead empire of ghosts hell bent on conquering the world as they had intended before their defeat. Their minions were the witches who were working hard to revive their allied kingdom.

The main character was a piradin (a type of pirate who stole things from enemy ships but primarily for good reasons). She was also meant to be the chosen one of prophecy who would ultimately save the three worlds from the evil empire....and so on and so forth.

Despite its differences, the core felt the same as ATLA, so when that series came out, I looked at my work, saw cliche trash and desparately attempted to fix it only to quit and work on my fanfiction instead. My intent was to pick up my story again, but I decided that it wasn't worth saving and focused on various fanfic ideas instead until something "better" came to me.

That, of course, led to a kick in my confidence as a writer (after some criticism) and the beginning of a mini nervous breakdown that slowly got worse until it became a legit one that ran the course of 2011 and parts of 2012 thereafter.

I never quite gave up on Shy, though. I had had some version of her since the 4th grade afterall, so I couldn't quit. That led to me wanting to write a different kind of story, one where the characters couldn't die...because they were already dead!

I had always had a thing for "the Dead" and "ghosts" (like the kingdom of ghosts from my other story idea), so a collision of fanfic idea, the Afterlife, and a needs to justify spelling dragons with a "j" led to me conceiving "jragons" and their afterlife/afterdeath story. They, ultimately, became "people descended from the demons of hell who fought their way freeof hell and earned God's respect and, thus, dominion of the space inbetween Heaven and Hell"...

Heaven denizens were supposed to be jealous, especially since the end goal for some jragons was to get to Heaven. Meanwhile, demons saw "Isyntr" as both an afront to them and a means to get closer to Heaven and destroy it and....

Yeah. You can probabaly say, "Hey. That sounds kind of familiar" and get how I'm feeling a bit stressed and frustrated.

It doesn't matter that I scrapped this idea long before Hazbin Hotel even came out as a pilot because despite my scrapping the idea and focusing on a new story about "pholks who are people but also gods who must accept that sufferring is eternal," (Oh.Hey! That sounds like FFXIV! fml....) the whole jragons going to Heaven and causing a void-ending war still serves not as the main story but a prequel to my current stuff...and I do worry that if I ever present my stories to the world, someone will just point and say "hey, you're copying xyz" when it's really just a case of "no, it's just that nothing is as original as you think it is, and I just didn't finish first."

Or. You know. That's how it feels, and I hate it. I hate it so much.

Hats off to those who have executed such wonderous ideas as ATLA and Hazbin. Both shows are fun. But somehow, I just can't help but feel frustrated for myself and my own efforts to get something "original" written in this grand sea of awesome games, shows, and the people who had the guts to just execute them.

My problem is that I'm terrified of putting any part of myself out there. That's really just the bottom line, and I need to overcome that trauma demon.

But maybe I will if I write about it. Perhaps that can finally be my "Original Story."

/randomwritingramble

#random ramble #writing rambles

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