#this is like number one rule of good story telling. you cannot keep telling the reader actually this was all someone else's evil plan | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

There were a total of 171.5 billion posts on Tumblr in 2019.

#this is like number one rule of good story telling. you cannot keep telling the reader actually this was all someone else's evil plan

xekstrin · 2 months

Text

Xekstrin Arbitrary Writing Rules V2

1) Sentence variety and paragraph variety is important.

Quick and dirty fix: make sure the FIRST WORD of EVERY SENTENCE and EVERY PARAGRAPH doesn’t repeat too much. (Some repetition is inevitable as you will see later.)

“Huh???” I hear you say.

Ex:

Here’s my example text. Here is another sentence. Here once again is another line of text and even though it has a different length (good) it still starts with the same word and it repeats a bit too much.

Here we have a whole new paragraph, a completely new sentence with commas and everything. However it still starts with the same word. Here you might say, “but I’m repeating it on purpose!” Repeating on purpose is usually fine. Repeating unthinkingly means you aren’t diving into your edits deep enough.

Not a hard and fast rule by any means, but it starts you on the path to thinking more closely about your work down to the itty bitty details.

2) Adverbs are fine… depending on what you want to do.

“It’s not like she loved me or anything.” Sally laughed sadly.

This is a fine brief sentence that still tells us a lot! We can move on to other things while still keeping Sally in mind.

But! If you want to linger for whatever reason… give us some physical details. Tell us what things feel like and sound like. Describe what is happening.

“It’s not like she loved me or anything.” Sally choked when she laughed. Tears were streaming down the distraught lines of her face. Every inch of her was pale and cold to the touch.

Both sections can be equally sad, depending on the context. More words does not mean more emotion! It merely is a tool to let the reader sit with something a bit longer than they might otherwise. You can then try to control the speed a reader is introduced to things, and set up a “wham line” by forcing them to linger somewhere else a bit.

Not every line has to be a poem. Unless that’s your thing. Use your best judgment! Every writer is different and will want to write a scene differently.

3) Said is not dead

I see you, trying to replace every other “said” with “exclaimed” “shrieked”“hollered” “hooted” “ejaculated” or otherwise use another verb to replace “said” for no other reason than you are trying to avoid “said”.

At first this rule seems to go against rule number one, not to repeat words. But “said” (or “says”) is a special word.

Why?

“Said” is effectively invisible.

Readers tend to skim or skip it on instinct. When you use any word OTHER than “said”, however, you are forcing them to make a brief pause and absorb this. Are you wasting their time? Is it notable or otherwise important that this character is doing anything other than saying their words? Use your best judgement.

4) Shi shi shi shi shi shi shi… who is “she”?

We’ve all seen that chinese poem about Shi eating the lions, right?

Writing a lesbian threesome feels a lot like this poem. When in doubt, even if you feel like it breaks rule number one, just use a character’s name rather than an epithet (“the long-haired girl” “the shorter girl”.)

This is less of a problem with het romance but still worth mentioning.

Epithets have their place, if you’re doing it with intention. If you want to talk about swift-footed Achilles, you know your story better than I do! Just don’t use epithets as a backup because you’re scared to repeat yourself. Readers can smell your fear.

5) Readers can smell your fear

Don’t force it. Don’t write for an imaginary audience that is out to punish you. Don’t write defensively in case someone misunderstands. We can smell your fear and it distracts from the story. Trust in your story!

6) Words mean things.

Flexing your vocabulary is sexy. Using big words incorrectly is the writing equivalent of slapping yourself in the face and smugly saying “see how strong I am?”

7) No one knows your story but you. This is both good and bad.

When you are writing, you are trying to show off what’s in your head. The reader does not, CANNOT, see what you see. Mind-reading is impossible.

It’s YOUR job to immerse them in your fantasy as completely as possible. Be clear, be vivid, and engage all the senses. They should know how your fantasy feels, how it looks, what emotions are wrapped up inside it, how it smells, and what it sounds like. What it means.

But also you’re not gonna please everybody so you should just do what you like anyway.

Bye!

#making words #idle raccoon thoughts

185 notes · View notes

paris-geller-was-straightwashed · 1 month

Text

M*A*S*H 4077 & DND

guess who started their m*a*s*h rewatch around the same time they've gotten into d&d and now cannot stop thinking about the utter chaos and hyjinks of The Gang trying to play a campaign. it starts with none of them really super into fantasy roleplay, but they're all So Fucking Bored they might as well play to have something to do.

it started off imaging just what role they'd each play, but now I couldn't stop myself from imaging each person's race, class, AND, just for fun, the dice they'd use!

hawkeye: isn't that bothered about races, probably either an elf or just a human. class is paladin, relating the paladin's 'call for good' something like the oath doctors take to always help and heal patients, no matter what (and, let's be honest, probably feeds into his egotistical nature at being a naturally skilled surgeon, as if he was 'called'). cannot be Asked to care about ability scores (only to deeply regret it when he's nearly off'd the first battle) except for pouring most of his points into charisma. mostly likely of the party to Fuck his way out of a confrontation (no matter the other's gender #bihawkrights). spends most of the campaign messing around and forgetting what his spells are, but when the party hits a serious battle, is the first to throw himself in and use any spells to help his friends before himself. originally wasn't that interested in the game, but overtime becomes one of the ones who gets really into it, screaming across the board at ppl's bad roles and cheering & trying to pick ppl up in glee when they win. dice of choice:

(just the most wack-ass coloured dice I could find, metaphor for the inside of his brain (also this way he can tell if anyone tries to conceal any as theirs)).

radar: while interested in the fantasy stuff (being a comic reader), was a little intimidated with all the math & rules involved until hawkeye and bj convince him. part of me thinks he could be a halfling or dwarf, but then I think he might enjoy being a humanoid creature like a minotaur (farm boy) or a satyr bc of his love of animals. class is bard, where he carries/plays the drum. enjoys and gets really into the story, but is always flummoxed when it comes to the battles, asking what everyone else thinks his character should do (only for everyone to yell back several different answers). always needs a couple of seconds of mental math to add his modifier to dice rolls (me too radar) but when the party comes across a riddle or puzzle, is usually the first to figure it out. keeps trying to pick up small creatures to put them in his sack. is not allowed to talk while people make their roles bc of too many times where he's predicted the number before they can read the dice (the moment of hawkeye's saving role during a Big Bad battle was kind of ruined when radar elatedly jumped up at the nat20 before the dice even left hawk's hand). dice of choice:

(cute little puppers!)

margaret: at first is staunchly against it, calling it childs' play, but eventually is worn down by hawk & bj and is also so bored, she gives in. thought she might be an elf, but in the end chooses genasi, picking fire power. chooses the fighter class, leaving hawkeye to make a remark that gets a dice thrown at his head. doesn't really get super into the meta of the game or the story (often tells the dm to get on with it and cut to the action) but does love to play, where it overtime becomes a good outlet for anger ('the demon tries to approach you, margaret what do you-' 'I SLICE OFF HIS KNEECAPS WITH MY BATTLEAXE!'). is a good player until the roles don't go her way ('you only rolled a 10, so your attack doesn't hit-' 'SCREW YOU! KLINGER GIVE ME YOUR 18 ROLE!'). is pretending like she isn't having fun but everyone can see through her. dice of choice:

(these seemed the most like margaret, elegant but not too girly).

henry: is also peer-pressured into joining. picks barbarian class so he doesn't have to think about spells. tries to pick human bc all the other races were 'too complicated' but got told due to his class, he has to pick a more built character like an orc, so an orc he ends up being. but he's bad at it, often either trying to escape a battle or by being a peacemaker, trying to persuade the monster out of battle but with such a low charisma score, it usually ends up with him getting clonked over the head and margaret jumping in before he's killed. keeps trying to give his gold to poor peasants they meet along the way. doesn't understand any of the mechanics. rolls so many nat1's that nobody will switch dice with him anymore, thinking his are cursed. the game is often more stressful for him then not, but he enjoys the time with his friends. dice of choice:

(I dunno, for some reason when I think of henry I think of a dark orange/amber).

potter: prolongs joining, thinking he's too old for it, but is also peer-pressured and eventually caves, thinking it'll be good for morale. chooses dwarf and for his class to be an old wizard. doesn't understand half the rules, spends most of the time muttering under his breath as he goes over the manual, radar (un)helpfully leaning in beside him to explain. but once he gets the hang of it is a good team member; is the only other person besides margaret to take the hints and puzzles seriously and without him (+her) the party would probably be making circles lost in some boundless woods somewhere. cheers his teammates on when they make a high roll or powerful move and only occasionally has outbursts ('well colonial sir, you need a 16 or higher to cast-' 'MULE FRITTERS! I said cast magic missile and that's an order!!!"). dice of choice:

(same thing - when I think of potter, I think a dark blue).

charles: the last of the group to get into it. completely refused and repeated that 'he was far too smart for that kids' stuff' and everyone was wasting their time. but when someone had to dip out of the campaign last minute to deal with a medical thing, charles was brought in as filler with the promise of a day's R&R. at first I thought high elf, but switched to dragonborne, of the noble variety of course. chooses sorcerer (blessed with some innate magic, as his ego prefers). constantly complains about the needless complexity of the rules and why bother having ability scores when it's the modifier that counts???? is always arguing with the dm on his rolls. uses up half of his turns to use mage hand to steal hawkeye's things or cast ray of sickness on him when he's being annoying - but, when it comes down to it, is one of the more strategic players and has gotten them out of many sticky situations. like margaret, is pretending he isn't having fun, but isn't immune to jumping up with the others over a saving nat20 role, at one time even excitedly picking up a confused radar. in the end, swallows his pride to shyly ask if he can join the party finally ('you know, it'll, uh..it will give me something to do during those boring intervals, and clearly this group needs all the brains it can get..' '..charles, you wanna come play with us?' 'well, if I must..'). dice of choice:

(the snootiest of dice, a pure gold colour).

mulcahy: also initially intimidated by the mechanics, but is happy to play a game with his friends. a possible half-elf or maybe a wise owlin. cleric, obviously. gets invested in the storyline, often applauding the dm's story or asking 'what happens next???" only to be told to wait till the next meet. one of the few who has actual healing spells and probably the only reason everyone didn't die in their first battle. a nerd who enjoys solving the puzzles. actually gets into the lore and one time had a deep, 2 hr conversation with radar & hawkeye about the disenfranchisement of some of the races and the hierarchy of the class/rule structure within the fantasy realm, and how it relates to theirs. the next day, radar came to his tent to show him a little sketch he did of his character in cleric robes, shrugging it off, but mulcahy loved it so much he pinned it up on his tent walls. dice of choice:

(inspired by one of my favourite mulcahy lines, when he's talking about missing holding services in real churches - 'I am rather fond of stained glass', which I always think of whenever I see stained windows. tried to pick the ones that emulated the colours best (also would've liked maybe a light, forest green colour; it just feels mulcahy-esque to me).

klinger: one of the first to join bc what else what he gunna do but sit in his tent, sewing up pantyhose? rogue class, of course, relating to the 'urchin' background. changeling race, so that way with his class he can hide at any moment, and also, as he says, 'can perfectly match his outfit no matter what he looks like!' tries to follow the storyline but doesn't have the attention span for it, half the time guessing the wrong answer to any clue or puzzle (will come and poke the dm awake in the middle of the night with his patrol gun, claiming to have figured it out). second after hawkeye to try and Fuck his way out of a situation. cannot do math to save his life, making margaret often rip his dice away from him to add it herself. will gang up with hawkeye to use his pickpocket skill on charles. resourceful enough to have tricked the villains multiple times and gotten away with it but will also roll to try and kick the villain in the nuts to see what happens. dice of choice:

(these just screamed klinger to me; I like the dark, 'masculine' colour contrasted with with the colourful flowers).

bj: thought I missed him? well, I saved the best for last bc bj...is the dm! ha ha! no one really in particular stood out, but after thinking on it, he seems like the best fit. first, I was thinking of the episode 'the kids' where he gets really into the story he's telling, full of voices and sound affects and all. and secondly, our kindly mustacheo'd doctor loves Mind Games and pranks - what better way then stringing his friends along into one big, zigzag puzzle? bj loves nothing more then having his friends on the edge of their seats, only to pull out a bad guy the group thought they got rid of months ago, glee in his eyes watching them combust into screaming and table flipping. getting a thrill during off hours, hearing hawkeye & charles hastily whisper across bunks to each other on the campaign thinking he can't hear them, or getting shaken awake by margaret in the middle of the night, demanding answers. he spends hours planning out the campaigns in the tent (and finding new places to hide his papers from hawkeye), sometimes writing peg about it and occasionally - if the timing of the mail is right - using her suggestions she writes back. but mostly, bj just loves watching his friends have a good time - cheering each other on and hollering with each battle won, feeling proud of them for everything accomplished (when he doesn't have to babysit hawkeye & charles from casting spells on each other, trying to answer radar's 49th question on how rolls work, or keep margaret from solo fighting the demon fifteen levels above her). dice of choice:

(idk, these just feel 'bj hunnicutt' to me).

other camp members: - frank: was only let in Once after margaret begged hawk & bj, saying it was only fair. initially picked human bc 'they're clearly the purest and most civilized race!!' (causing eyerolls), quit thirty minutes in after being told he couldn't be a fighter 'cause they already had margaret and that he couldn't just 'set all his abilities to 20', calling them all nerds and angrily throwing a d20, only for it to bounce back on the tent beam and hit him in the eye. - some of the nurses have occasionally filled in, but otherwise don't play outside of margaret (most of their time was filled up with hawkeye using his character to flirt with theirs). one time nurse kellye filled in; she played a cute little halfling druid, and her and radar teamed up to help rescue all the forest animals, much to the groups chagrin. - zale & igor: permanently banned. both tried to eat the dice on a dare.

campaigns are held twice a month in the swamp, with drinks and stale pretzels to go around. use to sometimes go all night but after one too many nights of clambering arguments over each other's rolls, the whole camp banded together to force a curfew. while the game only exists within the swamp's quarters, they'll once and a while jokingly call each other by their character's names (and if you're margaret, one time accidentally using it to call hawkeye to surgery, which he now never lets you live down). during the last campaign of the story, radar pulls out another drawing he did - this time of everyone's characters, standing valiantly over the dragon they slayed. it now has a place of honour hung in the swamp.

34 notes · View notes

moorishflower · 12 days

Note

"the tower, the rose WIP" for the wip game 👀

Hello anon thank you for inquiring about the Beauty and the Beast AU! With a twist! It has everything! Food and cooking as an expression of care! A meta-narrative about telling stories! Matthew!

"I will have them sent to your quarters," Dream says, and begins to steer him towards the door. Back out into the tower, out of this strangely close, cosy room, where some barrier Hob had barely been able to see has been broken down. He keeps remembering the feel of Dream's skin under his fingertips. It had been like touching glass. "Back to confinement, then?" he says, trying to keep his voice light. But Dream pauses, for a hardly noticeable moment, before continuing on. "No," he says. Hob's breath stutters. "No, I...You have proven your trustworthiness. You could have left at any point. While I fought. Or afterwards. But there are...rules. That you must follow." "Can follow rules," Hob says gamely. Dream leads them down the short hallway, to the entryway, to the stairs leading up. The door to them is shut, and Hob dreads the approach of them, the thought of climbing three flights of steps with his knee and his calf. "Can't read, but I can follow orders well enough." "Cannot read?" Hob gives the man an incredulous look. "Who would have taught me?" he asks. "My mum knew her numbers, so I can figure those out, but my da was a farmer. We didn't even have a book of hours, not that it would have done us much good." He pauses, then says, wistfully, "My mate Roland can read. His da kept accounts for their landlord, so he knew how to write his name before he could run." "Intolerable," Dream mutters. The door in front of them opens, as if blown by a fell wind; to Hob's surprise, no stairs lie beyond it. Only another hallway, and one he recognises. "Inconceivable. Cannot read."

#ask game #the sandman

47 notes · View notes

readreactrant · 5 days

Note

Hi...Do you know what anime you'll watch this season?

My top 3 fav this season are :

- Tadaima, Okaeri (wholesome BL, also one of my comfort read)

-Black Butler : Public School Arc (yes the ship is problematic but you cannot deny the shipper when you watch it. I'm not shipping SebasCiel but I'm not anti too. Their canon relationship is complicated but great story)

-Wind Breaker (bucchigiri but way better and loveable mc)

Hope you'll like them.....

Hey hey ( ◜‿◝ )♡, Literally following all of these already.

Black Butler was definitely a must, since the announcement dropped sometime last year I've been unable to keep it out of my mind. It's understandable not everyone will ship them but I personally have missed Sebaciel shenanigans so much and seeing favorite characters like Soma (although with less melanin than I remember lol what =_=) in the recent episode just made me so happy.

As for Tadaima Okaeri, I was looking forward to it for a long time, so far I'm not disappointed and it's definitely so fucking cute. All I'm saying is...if any country needs to push baby making propaganda they should go for this instead of the trashy het stuff, I don't make the rules.

I have almost no thoughts on Wind Breaker. It's definitely an upgrade but after the disappointment that was Bucchigiri, I've began to keep my expectations for Delinquent shows low (Tokyo revengers and IWGP are yet to be topped for me). It's not bad but do feel like it's lacking substance in some areas and trying too hard. The main character isn't a bitch tho so I know there's hope for it yet.

To me this year's winter season had way more exciting stuff but there are a number of other anime I'd love to recommend for this spring.

Karasu wa aruji wa Erabanai (The Raven does not choose it's Master) Is almost like the apothecary diaries, but with magic, and without the herbs and medicine...but it has the court politics so yay (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧ taking place in a world where people can turn into three legged ravens called Yatagurasu, Yukiya after causing some trouble for his family is taken to serve the most special of specials crown prince who is to become the next Kin'u after picking a bride from the four daughters of the clan heads sent to him. So basically every gay historical romance Wattpad story lol. Unfortunately this isn't a bl and though you can probably tell the prince will get married in future episodes, from these three eps, I think it establishes the focus will be on him and Yukiya, which, I couldn't ask for more.

Another Recommendation is Kaijuu no. 8, I have no words (in a good way). Just spacial forces slaying gigantic monsters while the main character suddenly becomes one of those monsters and has to still join the special force that at some point will kill him if they find out, or if they have found out they realize he's different from other monsters and can help them win the war for humanity *aot flashbacks ಥ‿ಥ* What I'm trying to say is that... it's good. I think it's funny with characters that have to potential to reel you in. I've been told the manga is pretty average tho but we'll see.

Touken Ranbu Kai is...something, I don't watch anime just for pretty boys but even if I didn't like the plot of this one I'd stick with it just for the guys. Beautiful character designs, the lore feels very fresh and intriguing and as well. There's a lot of philosophical topics I think the show has potential to dive into and I'm excited to see where we go moving forward from the three eps out currently.

Last but not least, there's Sentai Daishikkaku (Go Go Loser Ranger) I really don't want to spoil anything but let me just say, it's a brilliant subversion of the Power Rangers narrative. The sound track is fun while also hitting hard, and the characters definitely leave you wanting to know more about them and the world they're in. Definitely give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it.

Got a bit carried away with this one hahah, welp that's all my recs for now. Aside from my shipping stuff I'll probably talk about any of these every now and then, my top three right now tho are definitely Black Butler, Sentai Daishikkaku and Karasu wa aruji wa Erabanai. Anon has amazing taste but I'm a very big action and supernatural fan at heart so I'm based.

Depending on how disappointing or exciting things get along the line this list might change but unfortunately my feelings don't help the state of my FAL ranking so yeah wish me luck (〒﹏〒)

Feel free to leave YOUR current top 3 for this season in the comments, or if you joined FAL like me or just what you think of any of these of you're already watching them (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

#anime #writeblr #kuroshitsuji #black butler #anime recommendation #spring anime 2024 #Karasu #karasu wa aruji wo erabanai #kaiju no. 8 #sentai daishikkaku #touken ranbu kai

7 notes · View notes

lynettethemadscientist · 2 months

Note

If you don't mind my two cents, I'll tell you what I thought Fallout 4 was about when I played it as a teenager growing up.

To me, finding Shaun was absolutely a drive, don't get me wrong, but in my mind Fallout 4 is about the importance of community.

At the beginning of the game, the people of the wasteland are alone and afraid. They're constantly separated from each other, either by tragedy (Sole is quite literally separated from her family, her lifeline! And Preston's band, who are driven away from other survivors by violence, are among the first people you meet in the game,) their own fear/prejudice (Diamond city has expelled all Ghouls, Vault 81 has chosen to not go outside and to lock out almost everyone, GoodNeighbor representing all of the minorities who were kicked out of other settlements, so on,) or by the Institute (which acts as a source of a lot of that aforementioned tragedy or fear!).

Sole is alone at the beginning of the game. But the very first person she meets outside the vault is Codsworth, someone from her old community. And then she meets Preston. She starts helping the Minutemen. She meets Dogmeat and Piper and Nick Valentine and any number of extraordinary individuals from the wasteland who help her on her quest to save her son! Sole isn't some chosen one, she's a human- a human being out of place and almost reliant on the kindness of the people around her to help her fix the tragedy that ripped her family apart.

And in turn, Sole starts fixing other tragedies. It's extremely hard to be outright evil in Fallout 4. Every faction that's not the Institute could be interpreted as trying their best in an unforgiving wasteland under the Institute's rule. The option to side with the Institute is damn near an afterthought in the game's writing- Sole is meant, metatextually, to be a good guy. To be evil means to not engage with two of Fallout 4's most prominent mechanics- the companion system and the settlement building system. Missing both of these means you miss almost half the game.

Sole starts fixing other tragedies. She helps people. She builds better, safer settlements to ease people's fear. She clears out monsters and other hazards and replaces them with networks. Sole networks- if she even looks in the direction of an organization, she's helping to set up trade and communication and other vital assets to communities!

Fallout 4 insists that no man, not even the protagonist you play as, is an island. You might be the one to rally the Brotherhood, but you don't raid the Institute alone. You've got the entire Prydwen behind you. You might be the one to rebuild the Minutemen, but you are one of an entire army to take down the Institute. The Railroad is an entire organization! You don't do it alone!!!

You cannot beat Fallout 4 without picking a faction. You cannot beat the game alone.

Fallout 4, in my humble opinion, proposes that community is the most important part of civilization. Community helps mend tragedy and heal prejudice. Community is absolutely necessary to keep families safe and to build new ones. Sole starts the game by having her community ripped away from her, and she spends the rest of her journey rebuilding communities wherever she goes.

What are your thoughts on this?

Yes! ABSOLUTELY the concept of Community is ESSENTIAL to understanding Fallout 4's story.

In my last response I kept emphasizing the Sole Survivor's relationship to the settlers for precisely this reason. Because how much you care about your community (and which one you choose) is what defines the future of the Commonwealth. When your whole world is ripped away from you, you have to come up with a reason to go on. You have to choose something worth living for. You can choose to be like Kellogg and let your damage turn you into a self-centered misanthrope, you can choose family over principle and side with Shaun, or even choose principle over people like the Institute, you can choose humanity to the point of zealotry (in other words a more limited scope of community) like the Brotherhood, or you can choose the common man. (Not really sure how the Railroad fits in here ^^;)

You also make a great point when you bring up that even the game mechanics, from the settlement building to the companion relationships to the inability to defeat the enemy without help, all points towards Community as a central focus. That your relationship to those around you defines you.

And this holds true for real life too. Who you care about and how much you care about them (and how you go about doing that) is what determines your legacy.

And I believe this theme ties really well into the final cutscene when the Sole Survivor is ruminating on how much they've lost and their choice to press on in spite of it, they utter the familiar refrain "war never changes". In other words: such is the nature of War; that there will always be those who care more about their ideals than the lives of the people they preside over, and there will always be communities that need defending from such forces.

3 notes · View notes

pumpkincentaur · 2 years

Photo

WIP INTRODUCTION: THE LADY DRESSED IN BLOOD

In the Alabaster Imperium, all those cursed with magic are property of the Emperor.

They are his soldiers, his servants, his stalwart tools of reign and rule.

But a storm brews beneath the Pale Throne, and the scales have just been tipped.

An orphan raised in a remote mountain village on the borders of the formidable Alabaster Imperium, Sevka was born with the uncanny ability to mold the flesh and bone of living things. But this power is no gift—Sevka is an Astara, or star-witch, cursed by the actions of a being that left the world long ago. By imperial decree, she should be the Emperor’s personal property. By religious doctrine, her tainted soul will vanish into nothingness the moment she dies instead of returning to the stars. But a curse laid by her mother—an Astara herself— before her death prevents Sevka from leaving the mountains, so she hides under the guise of a mundane healer, keeping her secret lest the people of her village kill her for it.

The Gods do not love the star-witches, after all, and neither do their people.

When a military incursion from across the border destroys Sevka’s village and forces her to reveal the true nature of her abilities in order to survive, she’s discovered by another Astara and the imperial military and taken to the Snow Palace, where the Imperium’s most powerful Astari live at the Emperor’s whim. There, she is taught to embrace her power as a gift... but a gilded cage is still a cage, and the luxuries of the palace cannot hide the Emperor’s intent to use his Astari as weapons in his fight to expand the Imperium across the world and back again.

Caught between her status as one of the most powerful Astari the world has ever seen, and the dire warnings of the bastard prince who serves beside her as the realm’s foremost living weapon, Sevka must choose a side. A bloodstained life of luxury earned through unquestioning obeisance, or an even bloodier path to freedom that will tear everything she knows asunder?

Whatever Sevka chooses, the world will pay the price. It always does, doesn’t it? That’s how the story always goes.

WIP INFORMATION

Genre: dark fantasy/romance

Series or Standalone: book 1 of 3 in the Fleshwitch trilogy

Expected Word Count: 120,000ish upon completion

WIP Page: here (also linked in the title above)

WIP Tag: #ldb

More information under the cut. If you’d like to be added to the taglist for The Lady Dressed in Blood, please let me know, either by responding to this post or sending me an ask!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS, BABE E!!!!!!!!

Yes, it is I, your number one hyperactive knucklehead writeblr, with yet another WIP. I promise I’m serious about this one... like, for real. It’s something special, I think.

“But Delaney, what about UHT????” UHT still exists, it’s not gone from the blog, as you can see. It’s just... taking a nap. I’ve really been through it this year and took a good hard look at UHT, and in doing so I realized that it’s not the WIP I should be working on right now. It needs some serious work on a conceptual level that probably requires a bit more experience on my end, and so LDB is here to fill the gap.

And, God, I LOVE this project. It’s a love letter to tragic literature as well as what many supposedly-YA romances could be (THIS IS NOT YA. I REPEAT LDB IS NOT YA). It’s a treatise on the way stories work and the way telling a story is really just committing a murder and dragging the corpses around on a stage. It’s a promise of so much more to come, and a small, small piece of a very big world. It’s not the first step, but the next step, and we all know that the next step is the most important one a man can take...

But, this is my project for NaNoWriMo 2022!! It is here and oh boy I hope y’all are ready for it.

TRIGGER WARNING: It kind of says it on the tin, but, uh, the main protagonist of this series is pretty much a fleshbender. This is a dark fantasy project, and it’s going to have some triggering stuff in it. Said stuff includes: body horror, blood, gore, murder, death, manipulation, emotional and physical abuse, imperialism, war, and more. There will also be NSFW scenes that proooobably aren’t going to make it to Tumblr, but I’m undecided on that as of yet. As per usual, I’m not going to let anybody go into engaging with this project without warning them about the big stuff first. Any triggering or NSFW content relating to this project will of course be tagged appropriately.

#writeblr #writblr #writers on tumblr #novels on tumblr #nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2022 #nano 2022 #original fiction #blood //#ldb #myedits #aw shit here we go again

45 notes · View notes

lunarflvre · 10 months

Text

my favorite cruel prince quotes! + pg numbers. cruel prince by @hollyblack

"The servants are overfond of telling me how fortunate I am, a bastard daughter of a faithless wife, a human without a drop of faerie blood, to be treated like a trueborn child of Faerie. They tell Taryn much the same thing. I know it's an honor to be raised alongside the Gentry's own children. A terrifying honor, of which I will never be worthy. it would be hard to forget it, with all the reminders I am given." (10)

"Passing us, Cardan kicks dirt onto my food right before I put it in my mouth. The other faeries laugh." (28)

"I do not yearn to be their equal. In my heart, I yearn to best them." (31)

"But I am done with being weak. I am done with being good. I think I am going to be something else." (43)

"These clothes are a costume for me. I am playing dress-up in ignorance." (55)

"You defied me. More than once. Your only hope is to throw yourself on my mercy in front of everyone. Do it, or I will keep on hurting you until there is nothing left to hurt." (76)

"Because you're like a story that hasn't happened yet." (101)

"He lifts my hand- the same one Cardan had stabbed with the pin- and kisses the very tips of my fingers." (102)

"I am coming unraveled. I am coming undone." (148)

"Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear." (197)

"If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse." (210)

"But we all want stupid things. That doesn't mean we should have them." (219)

"For a moment, all I want to do is lie down myself. But I still have to dig." (219)

"If you hurt me , I wouldn't cry. I would hurt you back." (231)

"Rotting near Madoc's stables. I killed him, and then I buried him. So believe me when I threaten you. No matter how unlikely it seems, you are the most important person in all of Faerie. Whoever has you, has power. And I want power." (258)

"I hate how I feel around him, the irrational panic when I touch his skin." (262)

"Prince Cardan Is my prisoner. I get to decide what happens to him." (267)

"There are so many broken things that I don't know how to fix. But I know how to fight." (276)

"Was it fun to deceive me? Did you like the feeling of having something over me? Did you like that he was flirting and kissing me and all the while promising you would be his wife?" (276)

"We were children. Children can laugh all day and still cry themselves to sleep at night. But to hold a blade in my hand, a blade like the one that killed our parents, and think it was a toy, she'd have to believe I was heartless." (286)

"Cardan grins at me as though we've been great friends all our lives. I forgot how charming he can be- and how dangerous that is." (298)

"Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It's disgusting, and I can't stop." (307)

"I change the angle of the knife, turning it so it's against his neck. He doesn't look nearly as alarmed by that as I might expect. Not nearly as alarmed as when I bring my mouth to his." (307)

"I expect her to say The Liar. She gives me a tricksy grin, full of secrets." (365)

"I will be your puppet. You rule." (370)

#books #the cruel prince #cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #the folk of the air #book quotes

10 notes · View notes

repo-net · 3 months

Note

On that EO Portrait Tier List, I just wanna say that I too try to use every class in a given game! I like seeing what they all can do, and trying to make good use of everyone. Very nice to see someone else doing that, from what I can tell it's a tad uncommon. Also I appreciate the Survivalist 1 and Sovereign 3 love.

Oh, thank you! It's always nice to see fellow people who share the same mindset as me while playing games like EO, ahah. Sovereign 3 is great, isn't he? I think he just has such a great prince and royal aura to him; perfect for deconstructing and breaking down into a more tragic and held-back character in my own headcanons and story. 😅

Since I'm already here, I'm going to add on that I actually take my EO experience a little more differently from other playthroughs since I do have a few rules set in stone for myself.

1. Every single class in the game has to be used, no exceptions. And as much as possible, try to only have 1 character for each class. (This you already know)

2. Before entering a stratum for the first time, you have to decide on who your main party of five is going to be for that stratum, and you cannot deviate from that unless it's a boss fight that feels genuinely impossible to beat with your current setup. (In my experience, the boss fight rule was only used in regards to the 6th Stratum boss in EO3)

3. Each character in your guild has to be used in no less than two stratums, and no more than five stratums. This is to keep things constantly fresh in each rotation and to make sure guild members don't get outshined too hard.

In my case, I've been pretty lenient with following these rules and the only one I've 'broken' is number 1, because I have an extra Gladiator, Zodiac, Arbalist, and Farmer in my EO3 guild - but that's because I used those for my NG+ playthrough where I went for a different ending, and also did as much of the sea exploration as I could because I mostly ignored it in my first playthrough, ahah.

I could show you the counts and the list of parties I've used for each stratum in the three games I've played in a follow-up post to this if you're interested, but I think I've spoken plenty enough and I'm already more than satisfied with just being able to chat with someone who plays EO in about the same way. If you'd like, you can even implement some of these rules in your next playthrough, see how it goes for you.

#etrian odyssey #etrian odyssey 1 #etrian odyssey 2 #etrian odyssey 3

2 notes · View notes

dominoblues · 10 months

Text

I WANT TO BE A WORM CRAWLING INSIDE MOKUBA'S BRAIN AND STARE AT HIS THOUGHTS IN BLISS.

----

The KitKat bar is challenging him. He is sure of it. Looking at him behind the glass with a smug expression. Mocking him, making fun of him. I dare you to push the button. Fucking annoying. He redirects his attention to the row below. The small pack of Kopiko tells a different story altogether. It is begging him, watching him with pleading eyes to free it from the sorrow of the refrigerated prison. That KitKat asshole must have everyone under its thumb, ruling as a king over the microcosmic empire of snacks called FamilyMart. Well, fuck you KitKat.

Mokuba inserts the coins in the slot (one cherry blossom, two phoenix hall) and presses the number ‘one’ followed by the ‘five’. The machine awakes from its sleep with a buzz. The metal coils of the prison rotate releasing the captive small pack which falls in the open compartment below. Finally, freedom. Mokuba grins victorious. He kneels and pushes the compartment door reaching for his cold prize. He shoots a last glance at the snack on the other side of the glass: emperor KitKat is raging, yet powerless. That doesn’t mean Mokuba has put a stop to his reign of terror. No, the moment he turns away KitKat will divert its rage and punishment to the other prisoners under his control. Well, nothing Mokuba can do about it. Goodbye asshole. Not my fucking problem.

He walks away from the vending machine and sinks on the closest bench in the white room, his body feeling understandably heavy because he hasn’t slept in ages. Like a true Kaiba. Fuck hospitals fuck doctors fuck my idiot brother laying semi-comatose upstairs. Again. For the second time. A cosmic wicked prank, that’s what their life is. Years pass seasons change and we are clinging in this fucked up eternal looped hoax of our misery stuck in the same immutable frozen truth over and over again. I hate you so much. I love you so much. I have been surviving just fine without you and I cannot live without you.

Mokuba leans his head compliantly against the wall, closes his eyes and lingers. Seconds, minutes, hours. It doesn’t matter. If he falls asleep, someone will come waking him up just in time for the bijillion things appointed on his daily to-do list he doesn’t even bother to check. As if he needed to. cfo at 9.00 meeting.meeting.meeting. industrial illusions ceo at 11.00. report to the board at 12.00 because those assholes wants to keep up with everything that’s going on like they give a shit about him and the other idiot because this machine for pigs cannot stop grinding and profits.profits.profits Marx was right.

Mokuba lets out an exhausted sigh. He opens his eyes again and looks down at the Kopiko pack hanging from his fingers. He pulls it open and sticks his hand in to draw the small wrapped confectionary. Lunch break at 1.00 reports.reports.reports. r&d at 2.00 testing.testing.testing. He removes the thin paper and shoves the sweet block into his mouth whole. Released from a lifetime under dictatorship only for it to end its journey in a stinky toilet. Someone somewhere has written a philosophical essay about the meaning of life of FamilyMart snacks. The intense flavor of coffee melts in his palate. Mokuba’s eyes fixes on the white spotless ceramic tiles covering the floor of the small waiting room.

Seto woke up two days earlier in the ICU. He opened his eyes briefly. However, they soon had to administer an IV dose of morphine before he went into tachycardia. Doctors tried to cheer him up saying the response to pain was a good thing. YEAH LET ME TELL YOU A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT MY BROTHER’S PAIN, he wanted to yell. Not a word about the rest, though. It is still too early to know, mister Kaiba. He called Mokuba’s name. That must have been a good sign, right?

He had been comatose for sixteen days, fourteen hours and thirty-seven minutes after the surgery. Mokuba had been measuring the time painstakingly with the meticulous precision of an atomic clock because that’s exactly what Seto had been for two weeks: an idle mass of still particles and unreactive electrons at zero frequency of resonance and momentum debunking the entirety of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle; an immovable and immutable pile of flesh and tubes, lines and cables sticking out his nose, chest, stomach and bladder as an extension of his own starving emaciated body.

Yet, Mokuba thinks there’s something decorous and beautiful in his blissfully simulated sleep. Even in his resting state Seto is a fixed mark in the flow of time. Pale and inert like marble crystallized in the eternal beauty of a greek statue that would make Michelangelo blush in admiration and jealousy at his sight. Seto’s charming even in a coma, gorgeous and grotesque as something born simultaneously from the hands of a Canova and a Dalí. It horrifies him and it amazes him he can barely keep his eyes away from the lifeless cocoon.

He woke up then and he went back to sleep. Seto is now a pupa. The chrysalis will complete its transformation and Seto-imago will emerge from its shell at the conclusion of this metamorphosis. Will you still be the same will you be different will you still love me will you accept the pain that we are fucking broken and I don’t care about perfection I never wanted a flawless you I want you to accept me/us for who we are.

-----

(WIP)

#i haven't been posting here a lot lately because i have new brainworms that have taken place of my seto/mokuba brainworms temporarely #but i'm in a blissful state right now so i'm content with what i'm doing #anyway here is some work-in-progress i hope to complete soon #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #kaiba bros #domino notebook

4 notes · View notes

tiodolma · 1 year

Note

hello i am here to scream so I was watching gameplay of the resident evil 4 remake bit random but keep with me. And there is a bit where the protagonist fights against someone who was his friend and superior officer (Krauser) and things happened to make Krauser turn bad and during the fight Krauser said something that made me think of Merlin and Arthur because well why wouldn't it? Krauser says "you and i were always two sides of the same coin. I guess that means we will never see eye to eye". And didn't the dragon describe Merlin and Arthur as two sides of the same coin?

"You and I were always two sides of the same coin. I guess that means we'll never see eye to eye."

Coin symbolism means they're always together but one has to be always in the shadow where the other is in the light. They are not necessarily opposites. It's more likely that each face tells their part of the whole story, not in disagreement with the other face but complementary. Each side of the coin provides information necessary to educate the one who bears and who will eventually accept it. In other words... coin serves a purpose in propaganda and statebuilding.

This is why A Coin is (should be) neither good nor evil. HOWEVER COINAGE IS ALWAYS A SYMBOL OF POWER. OF CONTROL. OF AN IDEA. OF A SYSTEM. Coinage build kingdoms, societies and economies together. Coinage also serve as historical record. Their quality, make and markings harken to a prosperous time where they are in production and circulation.

However a currency is only good while its usage lasts. "two sides of the same coin" / "two sides of the same paper bill".. it's the same but nobody thinks about that. Deface one side or blot out the serial numbers and the coin or bill becomes useless.

In that case isn't merlin/arthur in bbc adventures of merlin the same?

It was prophesied that the whole cannot exist without one of the other, that the kingdom and the dream of a united albion will fall to ruin if one of them is gone.

Then isn't the value arbitrary to whatever currency standards the surrounding countries (or dynamics i guess) around them have? They barter this coin, this idea, this symbol and hopefully the ones they trade it with accept their payment.

If all goes well they get what they need. The spread the coin. Maybe induce inflation, maybe destroy economies, maybe strengthen kingdoms and then eventually rule the world with a common currency, one leader, one system, A United Albion.

If it doesn't go well, if the coin isn't accepted, then what to do? What to do?

Must Merlin and Arthur wait for the coin, the idea of them, their rule to be accepted? will they subjugate those nonbelievers and the opposition? will they use force to establish their rule of law? Negotiate, Bargain? Is there enough time?

#coinage symbolism is wierd #kingmaker merlin #reminds you of the disir doesnt it #what is this #prose #essays #idk

4 notes · View notes

danwhobrowses · 2 years

Text

Interim AEW Champion - Who Will It Be? (And Who it Should Be)

Injuries suck, and sadly injury has knocked on the AEW World Champion's door. Sadly, CM Punk's injury makes him unable to compete until he's healed from surgery, so AEW have a pickle: someone needs to face Tanahashi.

The plan as we can see is to pit Tanahashi against the winner of Moxley (No. 1 ranked) and the winner of Wednesday's battle royale. The winner at Forbidden Door will be the Interim AEW World Champion. AEW has a large roster of potential world champions, but who should be the one to leave Forbidden Door as champion?

Jon Moxley Obviously, the top ranked competitor has the advantage. Not only is he an experienced champion but he already has been feuding with Tanahashi in NJPW, being champion with a crowd too is owed for Moxley.

Wardlow The War Dog is over like rover and number 2 in the rankings, running high on a Goldberg-like push. Putting over the younger powerhouse would certainly be something up AEW's alley, as well as something Punk'd approve of since he claimed Wardlow was who beat him in Chicago.

Bryan Danielson Danielson's two bouts for the AEW World Championship have both been classics, and there was still a lot more untapped with him and Moxley going at it. The Best Professional Wrestler will of course be someone to consider for the world title.

PAC The Bastard hasn't had the most fruitful time in AEW, thanks a lot in part to COVID's travel restrictions but also because the House of Black continue to undo his faction of Death Triangle. But having PAC as world champion would be solid course correction, you cannot doubt his athleticism and talent, let alone his promo skills, and as his heelish tweener role he'd be a great foil for consummate babyface Tanahashi.

Miro God's favourite champion is back, and while people fancied him taking back the TNT title, why not go bigger? Miro proved as TNT champion to be dominant in the ring but able to carry a compelling narrative, people will love to see it.

Malakai Black Malakai Black is coming off strong having defeated Death Triangle, with Julia also recruited the House of Back is established as a powerful and dominant unit, and someone of Black's talents could certainly run as world champion against Tanahashi and a unification feud with Punk.

Adam Cole As winner of the Owen, Adam Cole is definitely someone who can stake a claim. As a champion around the globe, Cole can lead another Undisputed Expedition of Gold to follow up what seems to be the Young Bucks making another claim for the tag titles. You'll get good matches and a charismatic champion, so there's little to go wrong.

'Hangman' Adam Page We must of course consider the one Punk beat as well. Page getting the title back would tell an interesting story given how he lost it after almost falling to darkness. Would a slow heel turn brew from Hangman getting back his prize? And keeping it by any means necessary?

Andrade El Idolo Andrade has recently formed an alliance with RUSH again in hopes of gaining more wins in AEW, people were high on him winning the TNT title but like Miro, why not go further? He's still super talented and charismatic, and while feuding with LIJ would be an ideal Forbidden Door spot for him and RUSH, being world champion may be something more intriguing to El Idolo...so long as it doesn't disrupt his honeymoon of course.

Hiroshi Tanahashi Since a new champion is to be crowned at Forbidden Door we cannot rule out the opponent. What a closer it would be for Forbidden Door for someone to become champion from it? Nobody has yet to do it with AEW's championships at least, so a surprise could be on the card for the Ace of New Japan to take AEW's biggest championship.

KENTA In that same vein though, KENTA was perhaps the first to break through the Forbidden Door between AEW and NJPW, when he attacked Jon Moxley as part of their IWGP US Championship feud but also to help Kenny Omega in his feud with Moxley. The pieces line up well, but also since his initial bout was rejected, KENTA as champion could force Punk's hand with the inevitable dream match and Battle of the GTS.

But it Should Be: MJF While we can all speculate the others to be good champions, for my mind and money the only option can be MJF.

Now granted, this does go with the premise that his promo and removal of the Roster page is a work, but it could also be a spectacular work. Imagine if you would that Shawn Spears seemingly enters the battle royale, and when an over with the crowd winner looks to have won Spears eliminates them, following up that he was never actually in the Battle Royale, but was there to support who was actually in it: MJF. By having him blindside and beat Moxley (perhaps with JAS shenanigans too because this did put a wrench in Blood and Guts plans) we have a perfect situation of Tanahashi the Face and MJF the Heel. But then to have MJF win it would produce ungodly amount of heat, which AEW could use to pose the narrative of MJF holding the AEW World Championship hostage in order to meet his wild and selfish demands; pay rises, giving his allies title shots, keeping the diamond ring, revoking Shawn Dean's wins against him, forbidding anyone he's beaten from challenging for the title. What's more, we could have him think that last point will keep him away from Punk, only for the loophole to be that MJF is actually challenging for Punk's title since he's the interim, but then also win the unification bout.

We can talk all we want about who would make a good champion, but the most compelling story right now would be for the Devil to have his Due.

#aew #aew wrestling #aew rampage #aew dynamite #all elite wrestling #forbidden door #cm punk #aew world championship #jon moxley

8 notes · View notes

matertenebris · 7 months

Text

⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀[⠀ ⠀ i̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ⠀ ⠀ i̲i ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ⠀ ⠀i̲ii ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲⠀ ⠀ ]

VENDETTA'S ITERATION OF ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK. MATURE CONTENT AHEAD., MDNI. HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE FILM SERIES, HER 80'S GRAPHIC NOVELS, & PERSONAL HEADCANNONS. UNDER HEAVY CONSTRUCTION. RULES, STATS & CHARACTERIZATION DETAILS UNDER THE CUT.

i. this is an independent portrayal of ELVIRA ; also known as MISTRESS OF THE DARK. derived from films & comics; albeit my portrayal is headcannons-based.

(a) please don't take tropes, character studies, aesthetics, depictions, or headcannons i have on my account. they are written by me, for eli', no one else.

(b) that being said this account is not affiliated with any of the creators of elvira or elvira's faceclaims. this account is for writing purposes only and should be treated as such.

ii. i am not at all selective with who i write with or follow. i have a tendency to mutual with anyone who i can see myself writing with in the future. therefore if you ever see me or my little dark queen on the feed, do not hesitate to interact or dm me. < 3.

iii. explicit and mature writing on the feed will follow trigger / content warning to keep my friends list safe & stress-free. [ie. like: 'tw DEATH']. more often than not these topics will be brought up in private settings as a means of plot-development & story-telling. if any or all topics make you uncomfortable, please unfollow or softblock, no hard feelings.

PORTRAYAL NOTES.

elvira grew up human, yes, but she has 'accidentally' been using her magickal gifts throughout her entire life----as young as her 1st birthday. her main gift being ... charms & shadow manipulation.

- she is able to sense & contort the emotions of others at an immeasurable scale. able to move inbetween the shadows of any & every object by just seeing / imagining it (however the shadow needs to actually exist, she cannot create it). - she can also draw her power from either substance, emotion & shadow. acting as a siphon using either to boost herself., or others with magickal capabilities.

eli is a shameless flirt. i'm so sorry if she finds you attractive, she's going to be really annoying about it.

she does have her own show still. it's just under her own name & budgeting. depending on which era / verse, she is in, that show can either be visual.. on television or youtube with the biggest productions & unnecessary music numbers the world has ever seen or... she can be a podcast / radio show, where she's reading original spooky stories & / or playing spooky music from the time of 9pm to 5-6am.

STATS.

real name: bellona van'dine elivra talbot. legal name: elivra dark. epthiet: mistress of the dark., the dark priestess. nickname: eli', vi', mistress, etc. birthday: 06/30/1988. astrological chart: cancer sun, capricorn moon, leo ascendant, gemini mercury, gemini venus, pisces mars. gender identity: identities as a woman but has no issue going by both feminine & neutral gender terminology. sexuality: bisexual., no lean. culture identity: white-american. birth location: las vegas, nevada. current location: los angeles, california. occupation: media personality (verse dependent). alignment: chaotic good. trope: the cult classic, dark doesn't mean evil, breaking the fourth wall, the rule-breaker, jerk with a heart of gold, ms. fan service, not a very good witch.

#TELEPLAY BY VENDETTA.#DNI.

1 note · View note

bouwrites · 11 months

Text

Those Warm and Halcyon Days: Chapter 41

Ghosts of the Past

Ao3.

First, Previous, Next.

Story under read-more.

Weirdly enough, it’s not the roar of, “You!” that alarms Veery as he’s clearing some rubble from the chapel, but rather Caub drawing his axe.

Of course, the latter occurs before the former, so it should, perhaps, not be a surprise. Still, Veery has to admire Caub’s quick reaction. He would rather not have his best friend fight Thunder Catherine, though. Caub would definitely put up a tough fight, and with Hoarvug and Sadi circling him protectively as well, he may even win, but there is just no need for this to come to blows.

So Veery gently touches Caub’s axe arm, finding no resistance as he guides the hand down to their sides. “Oh,” he says. “You’re back, too.”

Catherine glowers at him, but stays back, apparently sufficiently cowed by two aggressive agell and a large Albinean. “How dare you return to this holy place!” She growls. “After what you did to Lady Rhea!”

Did Veery do something to Rhea? He… doesn’t remember. “It’s been five years,” he says, “are you really still on that?”

“Where is Lady Rhea?!” Catherine roars with a bold step forward.

“Where…?” Veery knits his brows together. “Doesn’t Edelgard have her?”

“Does she? You would know, traitor.”

Huh? Veery frowns, thinking hard. “Do… you guys not already know that? Wait… did I just assume that or did I… Hm… Oh! Linhardt! That’s right, I remember now.” He shrugs, smiling at Catherine. “When Edelgard imprisoned me, before she sent me back to Albinea, Linhardt said that he suspected she had Rhea. I think it was just an educated guess on his part, but I’d assume he’s right. Where else would she be if you haven’t found her by now?”

Although… if Rhea is missing and not announced captured or dead, there is a good chance that it’s not Edelgard but the Agarthans who have her. Someone with a grudge like that, which seems to be even more harsh against the Nabateans, would definitely want Rhea under their control. (And, despite what she may like to believe, Edelgard does not have the control over them required to stop them if they want Rhea. She herself admits she can’t keep Veery prisoner and safe from them.) That said, it’s… hard to imagine she still lives after five years under the Agarthans.

“Although…” he says, “I’d be surprised if she’s still alive after five years.”

“You would like that,” Catherine snorts derisively.

“I have no love for Rhea, but I’m not going to cheer for her death,” Veery snaps. “The dragons are already all but extinct. If only for reasons greater than her, I do hope she lives.”

“The goddess will not turn her back on Lady Rhea. She lives under her protection. I’m sure of it.”

Veery shares a look with Caub, who says, “Even the goddess cannot challenge fate.” Veery recalls Seteth telling him that exact thing, that if even Sothis’ power over time cannot change something, then it is simply fate. Later, Veery learns that those words come originally from Sothis herself.

He’s sure that they believe it. Caub, Seteth, Sothis… Veery is sure that they believe their helplessness to be fate. He won’t shatter that belief – he doesn’t think he can if he tries, frankly, but he has no interest in doing so. Because… it’s pointless.

Fate doesn’t exist. All it is, is the comfort of believing wholly that there is nothing one can do, that whatever happens is out of one’s hands, and thus outside of their responsibility. Veery isn’t big on responsibility, and there certainly are a great number of things (most things) completely out of his hands, but he can’t believe that the path he walks is anything but of his own making.

And Rhea… has walked right into the hands of the Agarthans, her sworn enemy. It is no one’s fault – not even fate – but her own.

Well, Edelgard holds some responsibility, Veery supposes, in the way that she is responsible for her own actions. The fact of the matter is that Edelgard, or someone like her, is bound to appear when Rhea rules in the way that she does. Both are equally responsible in very different ways such that they are almost two separate crimes.

If believing that fate is controlling things rather than themselves brings people comfort, then Veery has no place to argue. Coward that he is, he flees stress and responsibility like a plague, and in the big picture of things, so long as it is not used to justify atrocities, belief in fate is relatively harmless.

In Veery’s experience, it is not fate, but justice which is used to justify atrocities.

(Justice is just as ridiculous a concept, in Veery’s mind.)

“You. Do you know who you follow?” Catherine squares up, addressing Caub directly, putting Veery aside for the moment.

Caub purses his lips. “I do.”

“And yet still you devote yourself to him?” Catherine bares her teeth, glaring at the both of them with utter disdain. “He is a liar. A snake. He is a poison that is trying to corrupt the Church of Seiros from the inside out.”

At this, Caub laughs. “He’s not a very good liar.”

That… yeah, that’s fair enough. Regardless of how much Claude teaches him, it’s just not Veery’s nature to be anything but himself, wholly. Besides that, it’s hard enough to handle people at all sometimes. Veery definitely does not have the mental or emotional capital to spare to handle lying more than is strictly necessary.

“He turned the people against Lady Rhea! He turned them against their own best example and best hope! I am sure he would gladly see us humans destroyed entirely.”

“You put words in his mouth, Miss.” Caub frowns. “Ah, but… he does not need me to protect him. Not from this. Sorry. It’s clear to me that Lady Rhea is important to you. But… don’t you think that taking it out on the people around you may not be the best way to cope?”

Catherine’s eyes flash with fury. “I love Lady Rhea! I won’t stand by while someone destroys everything she stands for!”

“And I love Veery.” Caub glowers dangerously. “I suggest that you temper your emotions before you embarrass yourself.”

“Ha! Someone’s confident. Tell me, if you’re so certain in your path. Does your cat master love you? Lady Rhea loves all her people. In his attempts to depose her, Veery shows his contempt for humanity.”

Caub snorts. “Love does not need nor ask for mutual understanding. I know well the kind of person Veery is. I love him as he is. Though, you are sorely mistaken if you believe that he holds contempt for anyone.”

Veery frowns at Caub, not quite understanding the path this conversation has taken. All this talk of love… of course Veery loves Caub. He knows that Caub knows that. That said… he’s not quite sure what “mutual understanding” is supposed to mean in this context.

And… Caub isn’t wrong, exactly, but neither is Catherine wrong. Veery isn’t a good person. He doesn’t love humanity or wish the best for them, as Catherine seems to believe that Rhea did. (Not that Veery believes that Rhea did, in truth.) Veery is selfish and cowardly, and he is perfectly aware of those faults.

He doesn’t hate humanity. He would not wish war or death upon them. But neither does he love the humans. He would not wish anything upon them. Frankly, if Veery is to be accused of any great sin in the eyes of humanity, his should be apathy.

Catherine shakes her head sadly. “I truly do pity you, boy.”

“Hm. Then you are kinder than I.” Caub chuckles. “I imagine we see each other in much the same way – we are very similar, I admit, at least in our devotion to the ones we love – yet I cannot help but think that you have dug for yourself a hole and fallen into it.”

“If we’re so similar, then you’ll surely meet the same fate.”

Caub, uncharacteristically, flinches. “Perhaps. If that is how my fate is woven.” With a quick recovery, he steels himself again. “Your leader, to my understanding, valued order. She had you dig your pit and marched you right into it. I suppose that you can blame her for it if you wish. My leader values chaos – freedom – so if I should fall into a pit of my own creation, I at least know that the footsteps I take to it are my own. Personally, I find my own mistakes more palatable than others’. I can only change myself, and my behavior – thus my own mistakes are the only ones within my power to correct. And in that, growth.”

Catherine scoffs. “If he cared for you, he’d guide you from foolishness.”

“One can’t be protected from foolishness, Miss.” Caub says, shaking his head. “We are people. We make mistakes. In my freedom, I can grow from them. To submit yourself wholly over to someone else’s will… We may both serve the people we love, but I would find that quite a hollow existence.”

Catherine scowls. “You can live your life the way you want. But are you really satisfied bowing to a self-admitted fraud?”

“I am. He admits his mistakes, and sometimes, things that are not really mistakes. That is more than I can say for most people. Do not misunderstand, I am not here for him alone. Fate has entwined the threads of our lives, but we march in the same direction. He does not drag me, unthinking, along behind him. And he would not – that is one of many reasons why I do follow him.”

“Vee!”

Veery perks up, turning to grin as Dorothea hurries towards him. “Dorothea!” he exclaims. “You made it!”

“I did.” She quickly pulls Veery into her arms. “I’m sorry I’m late. I totally missed the reunion, didn’t I?”

“Eh, mostly. But everyone will be so glad to see you that it may as well be just starting.”

Dorothea giggles. “Oh, you. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. And the others, too.” She shakes her head, turning somber suddenly. “I’ve been busy these past years. And I’m sorry to say that I bring terrible news. It’s the reason I’m late, in fact. I would like nothing more than to steal you away and listen to all your stories about the past five years, but… I think I rather desperately need to speak to Claude.”

Veery blinks. “Understood. We’ll definitely catch up when we have the time, right? So, for now…” He purses his lips and sniffs, searching for Claude’s scent. In all likelihood, he’s holed up in the war room or library – or perhaps the Golden Deer classroom. “I’ll take you straight to him.”

Dorothea breathes out in relief. “Thank you, Vee. I suppose some things never do change. You’ll always know where to find Claude, and he’ll always know where to find you.”

Veery chuckles sheepishly. “I just… have a good nose. Besides, it’s not like either of us aren’t completely predictable. Come on.” He grabs her hand to guide her, happy to once more entwine his fingers with one of his cherished friends.

Dorothea is not one of the first students Veery begins getting close to, five years ago. In fact, he barely speaks to her until Professors Byleth and Manuela draft him into Faith training and they study together under the unorthodox teachings exclusively for them.

But after that, they bond closely. She is as sharp as Claude or Sylvain, and very patient with him when he doesn’t understand things. After she discovers his ability to sing, she forces him into a few duets, as well, and gives Veery an opportunity to learn about Fódlander music and culture in the process. She keeps his secret, about the hearts from Zanado, and the demonic beasts they fight there, from even Edelgard when Veery honestly does not expect her (or anyone) to.

They fight together, too. A battle-bond the likes of which Hoarvug will approve of. They even face Edelgard together at the battle of Garreg Mach five years ago.

And she’s… just nice to him. Honestly, he doesn’t need any more reason than that. Plenty of people are polite, but that’s all just a veneer. She’s actually nice, like the rest of his friends.

How does five years of war change her? Veery is not very good at identifying much beyond the obvious, but he sees the signs of war in his friends from the Golden Deer. He sees it in her, too. The weary, weathered expression. She has always been a little cynical, but this is not cynicism, it’s… just sadness.

Veery wonders if she has seen people she loves die in this war. He wishes to be good enough at reading people to figure out just how much this war has affected all his friends.

He… can just ask, he supposes, but leaving them behind and completely avoiding it all for five years makes him feel as if he doesn’t deserve that. What is he going to do with that information, anyway? Somehow comfort them from the years of pain? All he can do now is help bring the war to an end.

Besides, ultimately, it’s up to them. Like with Professor Byleth after her father’s death, the choice to move on, the choice to address their feelings themselves or ask him for assistance, is one that they need to make. Even if Veery had been here at their sides and witnessed the five years of war firsthand along with them, it still would not be his place to force his therapy upon them.

(Even if it were not rude and beyond his place, he’s just not qualified to do that, so it makes no sense to even offer.)

So, all he can do is guide Dorothea to Claude and try not to let this dread gnaw too insistently at his gut. And he does so gladly.

As expected, his nose leads him to the war room, where Claude frowns over a map of Fódlan with Professor Byleth, Lysithea, and Hilda at his side. They all raise their heads when Veery enters with Dorothea, and smiles break out all around.

“Dorothea!” Hilda squeals, practically diving over the table to get to them. “It’s about time! We expected you days ago!”

Dorothea smiles, eagerly returning Hilda’s hug. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I got held up on the road.” Her eyes lift to meet Claude’s and her smile falls. “You’re all going to want to hear this.”

Claude sighs wearily. “You just had to bring the bad news, didn’t you?”

“Would you rather be surprised?” Dorothea shakes her head. “Professor, it’s so good to see you. I was worried when no one could find you. Sometime soon, let’s have tea, okay?”

Professor Byleth smiles indulgently, nodding to her. “Of course. It’s a shame our reunion has to be this way, but we’ll make up for it. Come tell us your news.”

Veery follows Dorothea and Hilda over to the war table to peer down at the map. Dorothea is the picture of grace even as she frowns down at the thing, standing tall and proper despite the grim atmosphere.

Dorothea reaches over to point to an area on the map near the Adrestian border. “The Imperial army is marching towards Garreg Mach as we speak,” she says.

Claude clicks his tongue. “Damn. I had hoped… well, it doesn’t matter now. What do you know?”

“I was on my way here when I came across word of them. Kind folk in some of the smaller villages on the way filled me in, and I took a small detour to check on the army myself.”

“That’s dangerous,” Lysithea says. “You should not have approached the Imperial army alone.”

Dorothea chuckles somberly. “Don’t worry about me. By now, I know what I’m doing.” She sighs. “The good news is that the force is much smaller than the one that attacked five years ago. Edie and the other Eagles are not a part of the army I saw on the march. Their leaders are General Randolph von Bergliez and General Ladislava, the Scarlet Warrior.”

“Those names are familiar,” Veery murmurs. “Didn’t we almost kill them last time?”

“…They were in the battle five years ago, yes. I suspect that’s why Edie is sending them. They’ve fought and taken the monastery before.”

Veery is fairly certain that he killed Ladislava’s wyvern and mauled Randolph, but it’s true enough that they will know the monastery better than some.

“Regardless of what happened five years ago,” Claude says, “this isn’t good news. Those two have built reputations fighting for the Empire. General Ladislava even has an epithet. Maybe we should give you one, Veery.”

“No,” he says. “That sounds annoying.”

“Which means you’ll probably get stuck with one, cat saint.”

“Ugh. Gross.” Veery shakes his head. “Anyway. Dorothea. Anything else?”

Dorothea purses her lips. “Not much, unfortunately. It’s a smaller force than normal for Imperial raids. I suppose Edie doesn’t really intend to kill you here, Claude. She can’t be expecting this to be the death of you. Still, she must be hoping to drive you out of Garreg Mach. I haven’t seen the forces gathered here, but I would assume the Imperial force on its way is more than enough for that.”

“So, not a finishing blow, but a disturbing one.” Lysithea murmurs. “We’ve long suspected that when she does come for Claude’s throat, it’ll be done personally. But why not do so now? We’re undermanned and fighting in a location we’ve lost at once before.”

“A location we’ve escaped from once before,” Hilda says. “Her Majesty probably suspects we’ll just be repeating history.”

“Good points,” Claude says, “but you’re overlooking something. If Edelgard isn’t coming herself, then that leaves two possibilities. Dorothea, do you have any information on what she’s doing? I don’t like the thought of her being too busy to spare time to come after the monastery.”

Dorothea shakes her head. “Only baseless rumors. I can go over them with you later, but nothing is remotely credible. From what I can tell, though, she is still in Enbarr. So, whatever she’s doing, it’s there.”

Claude nods slowly. “Understood.”

“And what is this second possibility?” Lysithea asks. “If she’s not busy plotting, why else would she pass up the chance to take you out?”

“Simple,” Claude says. “It’s exactly as you and Hilda say. She doesn’t believe an assault here and now would be that decisive blow. All she really wants at the moment is to stop me from laying out my scheme. What you were missing, though, is that even if that is the case, she would still come if she knew that Teach was here.”

“You say that with such certainty,” Lysithea hums. “What do you think, Professor, Dorothea?”

Dorothea giggles. “I think that if she knew that the professor is here, she would have sent a much larger army.”

Professor Byleth furrows her brow. “I am not sure how she would hear. I am not especially noteworthy outside of your class.”

“That’s not exactly true, but with nothing from you for five years you are somewhat overshadowed.” Dorothea says. “On my travels, I heard that the cat saint has returned to Fódlan, and to Garreg Mach, to deliver divine retribution upon the land.” She covers her smile. “People can be very silly, but we can be sure that Edie already knows about Veery coming back. I haven’t heard a thing about the professor, though.”

“Good,” Claude says. “And with the power of the Sword of the Creator, not to mention Teach’s own skill, that means Edelgard is underestimating us. I won’t pretend we’re at an advantage here, but it’s something. I hate to throw away the surprise at this defense, but I don’t think we have the manpower to afford holding you back, Teach. Dorothea, when should we expect the army to arrive?”

“Within the month,” Dorothea says without hesitation. “It’s a smaller group, so they’re moving faster than the main army, but thankfully they don’t seem to be able to pass through Gloucester territory freely, so they’re taking the long route through the Kingdom.”

“Wow. I never thought I’d say this but thank the gods for Lorenz.”

“Lorenz is doing what he can, but it’s only a matter of time before Edelgard sets her sights on the Alliance,” huffs Lysithea. “Once she’s ready to commit to an assault, she won’t hesitate to enter Gloucester territory regardless, and we shouldn’t sit under any delusions that House Gloucester has control over the Great Bridge of Myrddin.”

Claude hums. “Right. I’ve actually been talking to Lorenz about that. Until we take the bridge, Lorenz’ father will support Edelgard. Too much risk of invasion. I’m surprised that he actually drew the line at marching through his territory, though.”

“Oh, he’d let her if she actually pressured him. He probably just postured so much that Edelgard decided going the long way is easier,” Hilda says, rolling her eyes. “Duke Gloucester has always been good at that.”

“Ha! True enough, Hilda. Either way, let’s not count our blessings. We should just appreciate what time we have and try to gather all the allies we can. The monastery is too important to lose a second time.”

“Where can allies be found?” Lysithea asks. “Remnants of the church are coming back, but I’m not sure we have enough to hold the monastery under an assault.”

“It’ll have to do,” Claude says. “We’ll put word out, say we’ve got the cat saint and are searching for Lady Rhea. Rally both factions of the church as best we can. I would put out word that we’ve got Teach, but we should save that until the army is a little closer – I don’t want to risk Edelgard sending reinforcements and giving us more than we’re planning for.”

Word about the cat saint, huh? “Is that a good idea?” Veery asks. “Has the climate around me changed much since I was here last?”

“Oh, right.” Lysithea sighs. “No one filled you in. The situation with the church is extremely complicated. Edelgard has been trying to stamp out the cat saint’s cult, but all she’s really doing is making it spread from Faerghus to Leicester. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been using your cultists for my own purposes.”

It takes a moment for Veery’s mind to catch up to everything being shared, but when he does realize what she’s saying, he bites back a groan and can’t resist covering his eyes. “You’ve been encouraging a cult around me to get… spies?”

“Essentially, yes. It seemed mostly harmless, and I need eyes if I’m going to find the Agarthans,” she says. “So, in part thanks to me – Claude obviously helped, too – your cult is alive and well in Leicester especially, though there’s also a notable presence in Faerghus, where the old Western Church was. That’s where it started, so that’s to be expected.”

“Sorry, Veery.” Claude chuckles awkwardly. “It was a practical move.”

Dorothea sighs. “I’m not innocent either. Over the past five years, I’ve been helping refugees escape Faerghus and Adrestia. I… may have encouraged the cat saint thing, just to get people motivated. So they don’t lose hope. You’re the closest thing to a tangible guide of what the goddess wants, so reminding people of that really reaffirmed their resolve.”

Lysithea smirks. “Thank you for that, by the way. I’ve had some people join me after you got them out of Adrestia and Faerghus.”

Dorothea giggles. “I was actually going to thank you for taking care of them. It’s funny how that worked out, when we didn’t plan that together at all.”

“Speaking of Sothis.” Veery sighs, shaking his head. “Teach, what’s her take on all this?”

Byleth frowns and shakes her head. “She’s still asleep. Aside from a brief moment right after I awoke myself, she hasn’t woken up.”

Lysithea purses her lips. “It sounds like she needs to heal as well. It’s likely her power that healed you over the past five years. Without more detail, I can’t even begin to make an estimate, but I wouldn’t be concerned even if she sleeps for several years herself. All indications is that it’s an incredibly slow process.”

“Dragons have incredibly long lifetimes,” Claude says. “So the stories say. It makes sense that things would go slowly for them. But that does mean we shouldn’t count on any counsel from Sothis during the war. There’s no telling if she’ll wake up in a few days or decades. Maybe longer.”

“Anyway,” Lysithea says, “back on topic. I have been carefully monitoring the cult worshipping the cat saint. It’s nothing like House Vestra’s spy network, but it’s a very good supplement to Claude’s. Plus, I’ve had them gathering everything that can be found on the Agarthans. The war right now may be with Edelgard, but the Agarthans will fall before this is all over.”

Veery has a terrible feeling that she’s right.

“For the rest of the faithful,” Lysithea continues, “we’ve been working over the years on our image problem. Edelgard getting more and more ruthless as time passes helps, not to mention Seteth and Flayn’s contributions, and that of the remaining Knights of Seiros, but all but the most radical are with us behind Seteth’s primary objective of recovering Rhea. Whether she’s reinstated as Archbishop is a problem for rebuilding, but everyone agrees that she needs to be found and rescued. I can’t pretend it’s not a fragile balance, but we have the trust of the faithful that far for now.”

“Plus,” Claude says, “it’s well known by now that Rhea intended Teach to succeed her. With Teach back, even the most loyal to her will follow. What we need to do is reassure everyone that you both want the same thing, and that finding Rhea is a part of that.”

“Of course.” Veery nods. Professor Byleth nods her approval as well. “I’ve no love for Rhea, but that doesn’t mean I like the thought of her in Edelgard and the Agarthan’s captivity. Is she still alive, though?”

“If she is, it’s only as leverage against the Agarthans,” Lysithea says. “And she’s certainly not being treated well. Either way, she’s important to the faithful, so we must use that.”

Veery sighs. “Well… so long as it’s helpful. Please don’t ever ask me to speak to the faithful again, though.”

“I wouldn’t have done that the first time if I saw any better alternatives,” Claude sighs. “And I am sorry. Rest assured; this won’t be a repeat of five years ago. The church is much more unified than back then, so your statement won’t be necessary. We’ll hold Garreg Mach. I’ll be counting on you, though. All of you. It’s going to take every able fighter we have to pull this off.”

Veery finds himself in the habit of lingering in the entranceway to the monastery. He climbs up over the wall just on their side of the bridge and sits atop it, watching as people trickle in slowly, counting in vain that few reinforcements they get before the Imperial army’s inevitable arrival.

It doesn’t actually help him wrap his head around the numbers of it all. How many men stand ready at the monastery, how many will be attacking, how many men it takes to take a fortress like this, and how many men it takes to hold it. He understands that’s the sort of thing that Claude and the others learned at the Officer’s academy – the sort of thing that generals and leaders need to know.

He doesn’t need to know. He’s quite sure that he won’t understand even should it be explained to him. But watching as people come, knowing that with each group of newcomers comes a few more fighting hands, does bring Veery some comfort. He can use his own lack of knowledge of the details to reassure himself that things will not be quite so one-sided as last time.

…He can still see it. The nightmares wane over five years, but he still remembers it vividly. The fire, the blood, the bodies, piled up in grotesque, crimson and black walls. So much red, so much death.

Edelgard’s dream. How shameful, that it has come to this.

“Veery.” A familiar voice distracts him, stealing his attention away from the view. “…How is it that Claude seems to always know where you are?” Sadi asks, speaking Ancient. “Your friends told me to ask him. I did not expect he would sniff you out so casually, as if he were one of us.”

Veery chuckles. “Claude is just clever and knows me a little too well. What do you need?” Somehow, it feels strange to speak his own language in the monastery. In Fódlan. Before, the only context he does so is when he’s teaching Claude or the others the language, or when Dorothea convinces him to sing.

Honestly, it’s a little strange to think that there is someone else who easily understands him when he speaks that language here in Fódlan.

Sadi sighs, frustration and agitation clear from the single breath. “I asked that purple boy earlier to look at that Relic of his, and he refused me outright. As if he has any claim over a dragon’s soul.”

Purple boy… “Lorenz knows what the Relics are. His situation with his family is complicated, and he has to safeguard Thyrsus very closely because of it. Did you… want to see Thyrsus in particular, or did you simply want to get a closer look at a Relic?”

“The latter, though I could have accepted a less offensive refusal.”

Veery winces. He can… only imagine how Lorenz may have blundered through that interaction. Lorenz, despite his etiquette training, still misses some cues even from humans of his own culture. There are so many ways he will very quickly piss off an agell. It’s a good thing that Sadi expects to be offended here, at least to an extent. Veery makes very sure that his companions know what to expect before they ever step foot on the boat over here.

He’ll probably still have to talk to Lorenz about that later. Not that he doesn’t understand Lorenz’ reluctance to hand Thyrsus over to one of the allies here he probably knows the least about, even under his supervision.

“Your first problem is asking Lorenz.” Veery says simply. “I’ll speak with him soon, so please forgive however he may have offended you. If you want to see a Relic, though, you’re better off asking Hilda.”

Sadi repeats the name slowly. “She is… the lazy one, yes? In many ways she reminds me of you.”

That’s an odd comparison, but Veery won’t deny the fact that they are both lazy.

Well, whatever. Hilda is much less likely to accidentally offend Sadi, and she’s less likely to be protective of Freikugel than Lorenz is of Thyrsus. Still… Veery should probably be there. “Come,” He says. “We can go see her now and ask if she’ll let us examine Freikugel.”

Sadi sighs. “If you say so.”

Veery smiles somewhat awkwardly. “How are you settling in? Are you doing alright here in Fódlan?”

Sadi is quiet for a moment as they walk. “This land is strange, and its people stranger.” She shakes her head. “But I am no soft, furless cub. Do not waste your worry on me. …Unless you fear I will harm one of these humans who stumble through their every conversation with me so clumsily.”

Veery chuckles. “I know you have more patience than that. It’s Hoarvug I worry will act on those impulses. We must remember that we are the strangers here.”

“I am aware. As I am aware that, clumsy or not, your friends are trying. That is more than I expect from most humans,” Sadi says. “And most days I stay by Hoarvug’s side. We have the same worry. Take comfort; I am keeping an eye on him.”

“Thank you, Sadi. I… feel kind of bad that I’ve brought you here and not stayed close.”

Sadi laughs. “Anyone who expects to keep you chained to them is a fool. You’re a solitary cat. We all knew this long before we came here. Hoarvug, Caub, and I are making do, and it is not as if you are not available for us should we need you.”

Veery sighs. That’s true enough. Still, he doesn’t feel great about it. He really should pay more attention to the people who traveled all the way across the ocean to fight with him, rather than sulk at the gates watching people come and go.

Well, the least he can do is help them when they need something. Frankly, this… Veery expects Sadi to want a look at the Relics from the start. He’s surprised she waits this long.

Veery knocks on Hilda’s door. Her scent just outside belies her presence in her room, and Veery knows that everyone keeps weapons on-hand no matter where they go. Hilda may not necessarily bring Freikugel around the monastery, but it’s definitely in her room.

“Hilda!” he calls through the wood. “Could you spare a moment for us?”

The door opens so suddenly, Veery can feel the breeze it creates. “Veery! Of course!” Hilda coos. “Always for you. What do you need? Should I make some tea?”

“Ah… I don’t think so.” Veery chuckles. “Actually, Sadi was hoping to see Freikugel.”

Hilda’s smile falls. “Oh… that thing. Well, I don’t have a problem with it if you really want to. Come in.”

Sadi hums. “That was easier than expected.”

“Yeah,” Veery says, “well, you asked Lorenz first.”

Hilda snorts. “You asked Lorenz? That’s never going to work.” She pulls Freikugel off of a stand and lays it down on her bed for Sadi to see. She sighs down at the axe, frowning as she curls her lip. “It’s kind of gross, isn’t it?”

Sadi sets her jaw, staring intently at Freikugel. “To think that humans would go this far.” She sighs. “Does their hatred truly know no bounds?”

Tentatively, she reaches out to stroke the broad face of the axe. As if reacting to her, the Crest Stone glows. Hilda jumps a little, but Veery grabs her arm to calm her. This is… not a bad thing. The glow is simply an indication that the power of the heart is active, that Freikugel is more than simply a lump of sharpened bone. It should not harm Sadi, who surely possesses a Crest just as Veery does.

That ire of these weapons is directed solely at humans.

“So that is how it is,” Sadi murmurs. Pain is etched clearly on her face, but still she listens to the Crest Stone. “Your desire will be sated,” she says quietly in Ancient, solely for the axe’s unhearing heart. “But your perversion will not be indulged further than this war. I promise you; I will end your suffering.”

As far as Veery knows, there is only one way to do that. To destroy the Crest Stone completely. Then again, Veery would argue that it isn’t truly suffering, just echoing past suffering for them to feel by proxy, since he doesn’t truly believe that the old dragon’s soul resides there.

But there is certainly something wrong with the dragons here. Veery feels no such corruption in Flayn or Seteth, though they are much weaker in terms of raw power than Veery expects from dragons, and certainly compared to the Relics, yet these hearts which power the weapons of humans fashioned from the dragon’s bones and suffering, are twisted beyond simply dying in agony. That’s not even starting on that shattered one, whose fragments were used during the attack at the ball and the Sealed Forest.

There is always another way. Perhaps there is some way to cleanse that corruption. Veery has no obvious path to doing such a thing yet, but he’ll support Sadi should she decide to pursue it.

The dragons that are made into these weapons… Veery does not typically lend too much thought to the dead. They do not care – they do not have the capacity to care – if their remains are well-treated or their wishes respected. Even so, if it is a choice well within his power to make, he thinks it’s good to respect those gone.

“Thank you, Hilda,” Sadi says. Her voice is cold, hiding pain, but strong. “I have learned what I need to.”

“No problem,” Hilda says cheerfully. “Honestly, when I learned what these Relics are, I never wanted to use this thing. Not… that I wanted to before that, really, but you know what I mean.”

Sadi nods, eyeing the heart embedded in Freikugel. “This dragon has an appetite for blood,” she says. “They will drink their fill before this war is over. After, though… we will speak later of what comes after. Your Claude wants his Arcadia to be for us as well as you, yes? Then I must share my thoughts on this matter with him.”

“You should!” Hilda says, smiling encouragingly. “Seteth and Flayn will probably have more sway with him on this than you, but you still have much more of a right to talk about what should be done with these Relics than we humans do. If you have an idea, he’ll listen.”

“…I hope he does.” Sadi sighs. “Veery told me that there are more hearts here, in a tomb under the monastery? I… would like to see how the dragons of old treat their dead, when they are not twisted into these… things.”

“You want into the Holy Tomb? Hm…” Hilda bites her lip. “You can ask Claude about it, but I’m not sure even he knows how to get in. I haven’t checked, but I assume it’s locked up again. Maybe Seteth can help?”

“Seteth, then,” Sadi says. “I will speak with him.”

#write #fanfiction #FE Fanfiction #Fire Emblem Three Houses #fe3h

0 notes

templebain · 2 years

Text

How To Save Cash With Auto Body Repair

Salvage diving is great because you are guaranteed an adventure ever time you go dive. You will face extreme conditions - cold, currents, and limited visibility. You will have success and you will have failure, but you have to take it all in stride. That is part of being a salvage diver. What cannot be used, like aluminum, is compressed and sold when the prices is right. Hubcaps are sold for very little and the same goes for batteries. If potential customers have visited your website they are obviously interested in your business. Auto Responders allow you to stay in contact with these potential customers and build a rapport hopefully leading to selling them your products. If this process sounds complicated, it's not; it's very simple and very effective. It's all about is building a customer base or list as its known. You will need some money after purchasing these vehicles. Like I said before they will need to be repaired. Repairing make take as little as replacing a bumper. Or it may be very extensive as repairing the frame and putting an engine back in place. yonke near me should be a good deal with some of these reparable salvage cars.

If you're thinking of selling off the car parts on your own, think again. The cost you will incur on repairing those damaged car parts before selling them, will be much higher on the actual money they will fetch you. The headache of looking for buyers also cannot be ruled out. Once you salvage your car, however, you don't have to worry about a thing, as the company you sell it to will take car of everything. They are the perfect way to get rid of cars that have reached the end of their service life. Once you feel confident that you are looking at quality vehicles, there is the financing. Here too car brokers have many financial resources who lend clients the money to purchase a bankruptcy auto loan. The exceptional personal service through a car broker includes getting you the best terms for your new used vehicle. And do not worry about the time, you can simply find out if the parts are available online. There are a number of websites who offer import auto salvage car parts services. They will either put you in touch with the best salvage suppliers or you could either check if they have the car parts themselves. The process is easy and only takes a few minutes. One of the classic stories about my dad is his first vehicle. Because his mom certainly could not afford to buy him a car, and the money he made on side jobs and summer employment was not going to get him a car, he got very crafty. He went to the crawford junkyard, bought four junk vehicles, and took the good parts to form one working vehicle. Every time he needed maintenance done, he would go to the junkyard and either find the part in good condition or refurbish a semi-decent part. Through all this work, he became very good at truck repair, which made him very proud. He tells stories about cruising around town with his brother in tow like the two of them were the president and vice president in this beat up old Ford. Auto lenders understand that it is not possible for everyone to get 10%- 20% money as down payment. It's okay if you don't have cash down payment. But, here's one tip if you are short of money - use your old car as trade-in. A trade-in will lower your car loan amount and will have the same benefits of a down payment. You can also use your cash rebates as down payment and avoid paying money out of your pocket. There are many individuals who specialize in rebuilding salvaged cars as a hobby or to resell the vehicle to make money. Before buying a salvage title vehicle, whether it be a car or truck, either to keep for yourself or to sell it, it's vital that you check with your local DMV to find out what the requirements are for putting a salvage auto back on the road. Every state has different laws so it's important to know what your state requires before making an investment.

1 note · View note

onlinepsletuition · 2 years

Text

Tips for Writing a Good composition | PSLE English Tuition in Singapore

Are you Looking for Online PSLE Tuition in Singapore? We are #1 PSLE Online Tuition in Singapore. With over 50000 online tutors, we’ll help you find an online teacher for any level or subject. We are the Award-Winning PSLE English Tuition in Singapore. Top-Quality Study Notes. Free Telegram Consultations. Let your child meet their learning goals at their own pace, with customizable courses. As the syllabus of the Singapore PSLE Exam changes continuously over the years, the demands and expectations that come with it are constantly rising, and more students are signing up for PSLE English Tuition.

Your child is a vigorous reader, has a good imagination, and thinks creatively. However, these alone aren’t enough when it comes to doing well in PSLE English composition writing. Your child also needs a good grasp of the English language and be able to tell a story in a simple and straightforward manner with confidence. If your kiddo needs a little more guidance, especially in the area of English compositions, then here comes the best PSLE English tuition, which paves the path to getting a good grade. There are five different types of composition, such as descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive, and report. Every year, hundreds of students have to face the English composition component of the PSLE exams. Writing a composition does not require mathematical precision, and you do not need to memorize a bunch of formulas and explicit rules. It is a test of the child’s creativity and talent in writing. But we cannot take the exam for them. The best we can do is to give them the knowledge and tips for good composition writing.

Tips for writing a good composition

Never memorize

Memorizing standard PSLE compositions might sound like a useful way to help students to achieve those extra marks but don’t take this easy way out. And it is not the right way to learn and it is not too practical all the time. PSLE tuition in Singapore teaches students the right way to write a composition and not to memorize content.

Language matters

There’s no need to write a composition that’s full of twists and turns as that could end up being a very confusing read and leads to many grammatical mistakes. Instead, keep the storyline simple and make it interesting with good grammar and vocabulary which makes it interesting. Always choose a safe and straightforward plot with a clear ending or problem. Then strengthen your writing by embellishing it with a good vocabulary without any grammar mistakes because it leads to losing marks. The tutors in PSLE tuition Singapore are experts in teaching a good English language.

Add dialogues

One way to add interest is to add dialogue and emotions, instead of just telling a story. The reader is more bored when a piece is descriptive, as opposed to one that simply moves from one scene to another and person to person. Describing emotions experienced by the characters is recommended as it adds layers to any storyline. PSLE tuition online in Singapore is to help students write the best composition in their PSLE English exams.

Conclusion

When it comes to PSLE exams in Singapore, it is for online PSLE tuition which helps in teaching students online. 88 tuition is reputed online tuition in Singapore with the best faculties in Singapore with n a number of branches serving students all over.

Website: https://www.88tuition.com/

Call/Whatsapp: +65 8811 0008.

0 notes

Last Seen Blogs

nguyen013

ENDURE AND SURVIVE

birralover

Bandida

dusiash

Dusiash

twinkx-official

TWINKX

shopping490490

Untitled