#when it started with advisor i wanted to throw up (in a good way)

[aerequets]

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING HAS, ONCE MORE, PUT ME IN MY FEELINGS

(all hail @sometimesiship)

#chapter 34 Ended me and then resuscitated me #when it started with advisor i wanted to throw up (in a good way) #spy x family #my art #loid forger #yor forger #sxf #twiyor #sxf loid #sxf yor #sxf fic #sxf fanfic

[blackhairedjjun]

flowers of every color | 9. purple hyacinths

overall summary: when your father is assigned as the new head gardener to the royal family, you are also tasked with helping him maintain the castle's many gardens and extensive floral arrangements. by chance you find yourself crossing paths with the "ice-cold" crown prince, choi yeonjun... who turns out to be not as ice-cold as everyone says he is.

chapter summary: soobin checks on yeonjun, and beomgyu checks on you; you take the first step to make amends.

word count: 2.7k

warnings: a bit of angst, general panicking/anxiety

author's note: second to the last main chapter! finally getting a break from the angst here i swear 🙏

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soobin doesn’t even need to knock for the older choi to sense his presence. “come in,” he says.

yeonjun is sitting at the edge of his bed when his friend and younger relative enters. he doesn’t even turn in his direction, instead gazing at the flower vase where the wilting striped carnations still are, their stems turning brown. he hasn’t even considered getting them replaced.

“i know you’re still mad at y/n,” he says, moving aside so that soobin can sit next to him, “but don’t be too hard on them, please.”

“i just wish they could’ve ended things properly with you instead of avoiding you.”

yeonjun looks down at his hands and fidgets. “but i... does it matter? maybe they were right, i shouldn’t be friends with them. i mean, shit” — his voice trembles — “i’m getting married. even if we fixed things i can’t just run off to teatime and spend time with them like we used to.”

“well, even if that’s the case” — soobin pauses and stares at him. “wait, hold on, the engagement is real now?!”

yeonjun flops on the bed, buries his face in a pillow, and lets out a long, muffled whine.

“i… i thought things would slow down and all.”

“i thought so too!” yeonjun throws the pillow aside, nearly hitting soobin with it. “but the bride’s mother is a control freak! she’s going to get this alliance even if she forces us all into it! and all our advisors agree that the agreement is just too good to pass up, so if i say that i don’t want to get married, i’ll look like the court idiot.”

“hyung, your mom has to do something about this. she’s bought you time before.”

“how much? even if she buys me time, i’ll still have to marry that princess!” he lets out another whine. “i barely know anything about her! she won’t tell me anything about herself and her mom is probably feeding her things to say so that she doesn’t ruin the engagement! what the hell do i do? i can’t marry a stranger, i just can’t… why can’t i marry y/n instead?”

soobin stares at him. yeonjun, realizing what he just said, sits up and stares back in horror. his ears start to turn red.

“please forget that i just said that.”

the younger choi simply grins. “hyung, beomgyu and i have known since the first time we saw you two together.”

“are you serious?! was it really that obvious?”

“pretty much.” soobin looks down and purses his lips, lost in thought, then glances back up at yeonjun. “that’s why i’m so upset at them at first. you two looked so happy together, and i hoped that you would stay happy. when they stopped being friends with you, it was like stopping a good dream.”

“well, it is just a dream anyway. even if i somehow fixed things with them and they felt that way about me too, it’s not like i can be with them.”

“you never know, hyung. one of the princes in the central region got to choose his wife! i was there at his wedding.”

“maybe, i just hope it’s not too late for me.”

soobin shrugs. “does y/n know how you feel?”

“i never told them. what if they figured it out and stopped being friends with me because they don’t feel the same way?”

“not with the way they look at you.”

yeonjun glares at soobin, mouth agape.

“what?” soobin elbows him lightly. “it’s true! i saw how they looked at you a while ago when you said you were busy. they looked like you stomped on their heart!”

“but they stomped on mine first! how could they feel that way?!” 

“i don’t know with them! just stop stomping on each other’s hearts!” soobin huffs. “look, both of you are hurting and it’s unlike you to be this hopeless.”

yeonjun buries his face in the pillow again, but instead of a whine he just lets out a low groan. he feels his friend pull him closer to his side and his hand rubbing circles in his back. sighing, he pries the pillow off himself.

they both sit in silence for a few moments. yeonjun glances at the vase of wilted carnations and lets himself remember all the flowers you’ve delivered to him. he dwells on the pink roses you left him after the dance, and how he always imagined dancing with you again. he loved having you in his arms and he dreams still of holding you even closer.

even as every day conspires to make that dream nothing more than a flight of fancy, a part of him has always held onto it.

“you’re right. i wish we could just work things out.”

“they will.”

“how do you know?”

“i don’t, but beomgyu’s talking to y/n right now. i think that’s a good sign.”

yeonjun looks at him with eyes full of hope. “about what?”

“dunno, but i bet he’s talking sense into them.”

—

you sit on the grass and hug your knees. the cold response from yeonjun has made your body feel unbearably heavy, so much that you need to sit to be able to bear your own weight. your head is slumped and you close your eyes as you try to grapple with the image of your friend ignoring you and walking away, when all he has ever done before is stay close to you and ask you to stay close by him too. without meaning to you find yourself in front of the wall of emotions again, and this time trying to climb or even approach it feels more daunting than ever.

you feel something shift next to you, snapping you out of your spiral, and open your eyes to see beomgyu seated next to you on the grass.

“your…” you throat feels dry. “your trousers will get dirty…”

“it’s okay, they’re dark colored anyway so no one will see. how are you feeling?”

you bite your lip. beomgyu tilts his head at you and watches you with shining eyes, as if to say go on, you can say whatever you want. you still feel the wall of emotions looming over you, so you say nothing.

“or we can sit down here as long as you like,” he says, filling the air with chatter. “it’s a pretty day, isn’t it? i like this time of year when the weather’s not too warm and the sky is clear. usually soobin hyung and yeonjun hyung and i will play a lot of games or go swimming or ride the horses, especially when we were kids. we don’t do it as much ‘cause of all the meetings, and also ‘cause we get tired faster.”

you nod. there’s something oddly comforting about the image of the three boys playing games in the meadows as kids.

“we usually do it here ‘cause yeonjun hyung’s family has the biggest open grounds, but sometimes we go to soobin hyung’s or my home. we have a tennis court at our castle grounds, you should come! i think you’d be good at it. you were really good at that badminton game.”

“oh… thanks.”

“did you play a lot of sports growing up?”

“a little bit.” you loosen your grip on your knees. “usually when the other children invite me to play, but i never start it myself.”

“oh! you weren’t the type to go running around a lot?”

you shake your head. 

“mm, what did you do when you were a kid?”

“uh, gardening.” you laugh. “and drawing, but i wasn’t very good. i just liked doing it.”

beomgyu laughs too. you start to chat with him about both of your childhood memories, and as you do, the heaviness starts to lift from your body. the initial shock from your encounter with yeonjun starts to subside, and though you still feel that wall of emotions looming in front of you, your mind has now taken a few steps back from it. besides, you no longer feel like you’re facing that wall alone; beomgyu is with you, making sure that you’re okay.

he’s in the middle of telling a story about the time he and another prince from the house of huening once snuck into the kitchen to steal some chocolates, and you listen and wait for him to finish. you’re pretty sure he’s exaggerating the story but it doesn’t matter and you laugh anyway. you feel calm now, not quite free from the heaviness but at least in a place to carry it better.

“hey, beomgyu?”

“what is it?”

“i...” you gaze up at the sky. “i’m scared.”

his expression changes from a carefree smile to a look of concern. “what are you scared of?”

“everything, i guess.” you grip the fabric of your gardener’s smock. “i’m scared that i’ll never talk to yeonjun again and that i broke his heart. what if he doesn’t want to be friends anymore even if i try to make it up to him? but even if i do try to be friends again, will everyone else even let me? he’s getting engaged and he has that princess now, would she even let me be a part of his life? and what if the staff gets suspicious of me again and i get fi—”

“whoa, whoa. slow down, y/n.” he lifts an arm to put around your shoulder, and you let him. “let’s take it one at a time, okay?”

you take a deep breath. “what i mean is, i feel like i’m going to lose either way. either i lose yeonjun because i stopped being friends with him, or i lose him because he’s a prince and i’m just a gardener.”

beomgyu nods and pats your shoulder. “it’s okay to be scared,” he says, his voice soft. “we’re all scared, actually. yeonjun hyung’s terrified. we have to learn to not look scared because we’re princes and people look up at us, but we’re just as scared as you.”

“i know he’s scared too. i’m worried about him but i just... i just wish i knew what to do. it feels like everything i do will hurt, whether it’s me or him or the both of us.”

you hear your companion humming as he tries to think. “i think you can take things slowly...? ‘cause it is scary trying to solve all those things at once, but maybe there’s something small that you can handle.”

“something small...” you smooth down your gardener’s smock. now that you’ve backed away from the wall and aired out your fears, everything feels less overwhelming. you can see the pieces of your problems now: your friendship, your feelings, yeonjun’s feelings, his betrothal. you still can’t fix everything 一 maybe if you had less self-restraint, you’d kick down the doors of the cathedral on his wedding day 一 but seeing each piece of the puzzle gives you some clarity.

you can’t fix the court politics that he’s gotten himself into, but you can make amends with yeonjun. maybe it won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s better than nothing.

you turn to beomgyu with a small smile.

“hey, what are you thinking of now? are you concocting some sort of grand scheme?”

“nothing grand.” you stand up and brush the grass off yourself. “you’re right, i need to start small.”

一

you aren’t part of the official party to send off the visiting branches of the house of choi, but you find a convenient excuse to go water the marigolds at the front entrance where the sending-off will occur. you stand off to the side, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, hidden from the line of sight of the farewell party: the royal family, their advisors, queen hwayoung and princess ajin and their advisors, and a dozen other members of the court. their eyes and yours are all on the parade of carriages ready to leave through the main gate and back to their respective kingdoms.

you watch beomgyu approach one carriage first with his parents, smiling and waving, thanking them for the nice room and the good food and the pleasant time. he waves freely with his left arm while his right arm cradles a pot of sweet peas 一 the one you miraculously managed to prepare just that morning. you smile at the sight just as he spots you off to the side. his smile becomes wider and he mouths good luck to you before finally climbing in his carriage. 

soobin and his parents are next, and though he appears shyer than the younger choi, he still manages to give little bows and dimpled smiles at everyone. he doesn’t wave, not when both of his hands are carrying the sweet pea pot you prepared, and you can’t help but giggle at it. he seems to have taken some invisible cue from beomgyu, because he spots you instantly, then nods and mouths take care at you before he too climbs into the carriage and prepares to leave.

once all the carriages and carts are ready, the main gate opens and you watch them exit, one by one, all while the farewell party continues to shout well-wishes for safe travels. for a while you can see soobin and beomgyu still waving at everyone and shouting greetings back. you can’t yell any yourself without getting noticed, so you send your farewells silently from your heart, hoping that your goodwill will reach them anyway and be felt long after you’re gone from their sight.

the carriages disappear and the party starts to disperse. queen hwayoung and princess ajin disappear almost instantly, and the other court officials start to head back as well. soon only the royal family is left, and the king and queen are soon whisked away by a guard for some important matter to attend to. that leaves yeonjun just behind everyone else, and you take your cue.

“your majesty.”

you hate using his title on him again, but you need to keep up the pretense.

yeonjun whips around. “who’s ther一”

you step out from the side and take out what you previously hid among the marigolds: a small pot of purple hyacinths. “it’s me, your majesty.”

for a few moments he simply stares at you, posture rigid. he doesn’t approach but raises an eyebrow. “‘your majesty’? c’mon are we really not一”

before he can say anything more, you shove the pot into his hands. “pleasenotnownotoutside,” you say. you start to tremble and try to steady yourself with a long, deep breath. “i mean, not where people can see us, please, not here…”

yeonjun’s posture shifts. he grabs you by the arm and pulls you away from the main entrance and off to small courtyard at the side. he looks around to confirm that there’s no one watching, then sets down the pot and steps toward you.

before you can back away, he places a hand on your cheek and gazes at you with tears starting to form in his eyes. his whole expression softens as he studies your face, and you feel the old warmth blooming in your chest 一 it’s been too long since you felt that sensation.

“are you okay? is anyone threatening you?”

he says it so softly that you could melt right into him. you shake your head.

“did they punish you again?”

you shake your head again. “they could if they see us…” 

yeonjun tries to say more but you only tut and tilt your head towards the pot.

he nods, brushing your cheek with his thumb and blinking away his tears, then crouches down to where the pot is. he gazes at the delicate purple flowers before he sees the paper you tucked in between the stalks, then he fishes it out and reads your message:

dear yeonjun, these purple hyacinths are for sorrow and apologies. i’m sorry. i hurt you and i shouldn’t have. please let me explain myself to you. meet me at the gazebo tonight at midnight, and i’ll tell you everything.

he pockets the message and stands up to face you again. as he stands close to you, he takes both your hands in his, tilting his head down towards yours to lock eyes with you.

“okay, i’ll be there.”

already the hours to midnight feel too long.

notes: everybody say thank you beomgyu 😌 we are wrapping things up real soon!!

taglist (CLOSED) @seosalad @lilplilplilp @yeonboy @pyuae @hyuneyeon @strawbrinkofdeath @yushiu @mazeinthemoon @banggyu0308 @shytubatu @kyaneosprincess @agustdiv1ne @whippedforbeomgyu @justineasian @skywithf1 @wrongbathroom @choizzn @bangchansbae @huskyhunny @catsyoon @flowerbe0m

#txt x reader #yeonjun x reader #txt x you #yeonjun x you #choi yeonjun x reader #kpop x reader #txt imagines #kpop imagines #yeonjun imagines #txt angst #txt fluff #yeonjun angst #yeonjun fluff #tomorrow x together imagines #txt fic #txt fanfic #bhj originals #fic:flowers of every color

[princesssarisa]

I'm making my way through the "Donkeyskin" section of Cinderella Tales from Around the World, starting with the versions from Greece, Albania, and Italy.

*In most of these variants, the condition for the father-king's remarriage is either that his bride's finger must fit the late queen's wedding ring or that her foot must fit the queen's shoe. One day, either not knowing about the promise or just not suspecting how far her father will take it, the princess puts on the ring or the shoe and finds that it fits, so her father resolves to marry her.

**As I mentioned in my last post, however, some versions don't have her father want to marry her. In one version, her father is just extremely protective and never lets her leave the castle, so she runs away out of longing for freedom. (Although this is from Andrew Lang's The Grey Fairy Book, so Lang most likely bowdlerized it.) In another, her father betroths her to a rich young man who is really the Devil in disguise, which her fairy governess realizes and alerts her to, but which her father won't believe.

*In different Donkeyskin tales throughout the world, it varies whether the heroine comes up with her gown requests and her disguise by herself or is advised by someone else. These Mediterranean versions tend to give her an advisor: usually her nurse or governess who's secretly a fairy or a good witch, but sometimes a male magician instead, or even the Pope.

*The theme of the three gowns in these variants tends to be this: one gown that looks like the heavens with the sun, the moon, and all the stars on it, one that looks like the sea with all the fishes on it, and one that looks like the earth with every type of flower on it. Several Mediterranean versions of Cinderella also uses this theme for the heroine's gowns.

**Also as in Mediterranean Cinderellas, the heroine sometimes throws coins or jewels behind her when she leaves each ball to distract the prince's servants and prevent them from stopping her.

*Several Italian versions are titled Maria Wood. In some of them, she just wears a wooden dress like the Norwegian Kari Woodencloak. But in others, more interestingly, she encases herself in a full-body suit made of wood, with joints so she can move her limbs, which makes her look like an old woman. Sometimes she sings a funny little rhyme about being "made of wood" when she first introduces herself to the prince or king. This suit also miraculously has room to store her three gowns inside it.

**In other versions, though, she disguises herself in animal skins – e.g. pigskin, rabbit skins, or wolf skin. Sometimes, instead of just passing as a human dressed in skins, she actually masquerades as an animal – a bear, or a horse – although it varies whether she pretends to be an ordinary, non-sapiant animal who stays in the palace yard or a talking animal who works as a scullery maid.

**Giambattista Basile's Il Pentamerone includes a variant, The She-Bear, where the heroine turns herself into a bear by putting a piece of magic wood (given to her by a wise old woman) into her mouth. After she flees, the prince finds her in the forest, and she becomes his pet. The truth is finally revealed when the bear kisses the sick prince, and as she does so, the piece of wood accidentally falls from her lips.

**In another version, called Zuccaccia ("Ugly Gourd"), she disguises herself in a dress covered with strips of dried pumpkin.

**In yet another version, called Pellicotto ("Ugly Skin"), a fairy helps the heroine by magically coating her entire body and face with fur. Then the heroine further disguises herself by putting on male clothes and finds work as the prince's stable-boy. I suspect that "Sapsorrow" from Jim Henson's The Storyteller was partly inspired by this version, since Sapsorrow is likewise completely covered with fur and wears men's breeches in her magical disguise as "the Scraggletag."

*In some versions, she doesn't wear strange clothing or go to work as a servant at all. Instead, she requests a gift of two giant hollow candlesticks or a candelabrum from her father. Then she hides inside one of the candlesticks/the candelabrum, which a servant takes to another kingdom and sells to the prince. Every night when the prince has gone out or is asleep, she emerges and either eats some of his food or tidies his room. This mystifies the prince until he finally spies on the room at night, discovers her, and falls in love. Some similar variants have her hide in a simple wooden chest instead of a candlestick/candelabrum.

*Sometimes she hides her beautiful gowns in a chest, sometimes in three nutshells, or sometimes she has a magic wand with which she makes them appear when she needs them.

*The majority of these versions – and probably the majority from every country, though we'll see if it's true or not – have the prince or king mistreat the disguised heroine. Traditionally, before each of the three balls, she asks to be allowed to go, but he refuses and hits her with an object (often a boot, a shovel, and tongs, though they vary). Then at the ball, when he asks the "beautiful princess" where she comes from, she replies that she's from the land of "Boot," "Shovel," and "Tongs," or whatever the objects were. @adarkrainbow and I have already discussed this recurring theme and how to understand it. In the past, both male-on-female and master-on-servant abuse were more often played for laughs. In this case, assuming that the oral storytellers were mostly commoners, it's arguably social satire at the prince/king's expense (i.e. "Ha ha! Those royals and nobles treat us like dirt, but if we had clothes like theirs they might fall madly in love with us!"), and the princess's trick at the ball can be seen as revenge, sending him on wild goose chases in search of the lands of "Boot," "Shovel," etc. Still, by modern standards, it's not comfortable seeing the heroine treated this way by her future husband.

**Some versions omit this theme, however, and have the prince treat her kindly and see her as a funny little friend. In a few, instead of refusing when she asks to go the three balls, he invites her to the balls, but she pretends to refuse. Zuccaccia is one of these variants: though it keeps the running gag of the prince hitting her with objects, it reimagines them as just light, playful raps amid sibling-like banter.

**One other version has the prince just verbally insult her, and at the balls, when he asks for her name, she replies with the names he called her earlier: "My name is Mud-Scraper," "My name is Blockhead," etc. In yet another, she hits him with the objects each time he refuses to take her to the ball.

*In some versions, at the third ball, the prince/king slips a ring onto the princess's finger, which she later drops into the bread, cake, or soup she sends to him when he becomes sick with love. In others, after the third ball, she sends him food over the course of three days, and each time she drops a golden trinket that she brought from home into the food. Either way, he asks to see the person who made the food, and either she comes undisguised in her beautiful gown, or else he rips off her disguise and reveals the gown underneath it. Or, in a simpler alternative, she asks to take the food to his sickroom herself, and she does so wearing her beautiful gown.

*On her website, though not in this book itself, Heidi Ann Heiner notes that in many Donkeyskin tales (e.g. Perrault's), the father-king gets less blame than he deserves for his incestuous desire and is easily forgiven in the end. That isn't the case in many Italian versions, though: he's clearly portrayed as a villain.

**In several variants, the king is carried away by the Devil as soon as his daughter runs away. In one, he actually sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for the three otherworldly gowns his daughter demands from him, which leads to the Devil claiming his due after the wedding doesn't take place.

**Several other versions follow the heroine's marriage by having the father seek revenge for her refusal to marry him. In an especially grisly literary version, Doralice, the king comes to his daughter's new home in disguise, murders her two children, and then frames her for the crime. For this her husband has her buried up to her chin in the ground to be slowly eaten by worms. But her childhood nurse finally reveals the whole truth to the young king, so Doralice is saved, while her wicked father is tortured to death. In a similar but milder variant, The Deer, the king uses magic to turn his daughter into (of course) a deer; but eventually she meets her husband again during a hunt in the woods and provokes him to shoot her, which breaks the spell. In yet another, the king tries to throw his daughter into a cauldron of boiling oil, only to get caught just in time and be thrown in himself.

@adarkrainbow, @ariel-seagull-wings, @themousefromfantasyland

#cinderella #donkeyskin #fairy tale #variations #cinderella tales from around the world #heidi ann heiner #greece #albania #italy #tw: incest #tw: abuse #tw: violence #tw: murder

[dacompanionreactions]

Hello! Love your blog! I had a kind of a silly/fun reaction. How would the DA:I companions and advisors react to a playful Inquisitor sneaking up behind them and giving them a quick tickle attack? 😊

I guess this is mostly under the assumption that they are all close w/the Inquisitor, and comfortable with sudden physical contact. Enjoy!

Cassandra yelps, a high pitched squeak that has her clapping her hands to her mouth with a horrified expression, utterly mortified at the sound she just made. She blushes furiously, but she's not going to stoop to the Inquisitor's level of childishness and return the tickle attack. She will rise above. Forget this affront to her reputation. Or so she would have the Inquisitor think... for a good tactician never reveals their cards, and always has a plan of (tickle) attack.

Varric laughs. He laughs and laughs and laughs until tears stream from his eyes and his stomach hurts. For him, it really dispells the notion of the Inquisitor being this large figure at the front of a huge military force. It's utterly ridiculous, and definitely not the intended effect the Inquisitor wanted on him.

Solas is taken off guard. He's seen and done it all, so it takes something truly special to leave him stunned. Something like a tickle attack. He stands there in a horrific, drawn out silence after the Inquisitor's attempt to tickle him, trying to process what just happened. Solas spends the next thirty seconds resembling a dumbstruck fish. He hastily closes his mouth and reaches a tense agreement with the Inquisitor to never speak of this again.

Oh, the indignity. Dorian is actually appalled at the noise he makes, which is something between a giggle and a squeak, and turns swiftly on the Inquisitor with (playful) murder in his eyes. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty, oh no, and so he rolls his sleeves up and prepares himself for an all out tickle war. Naturally, the Tevene in him begs him not to stoop so low. His pride, on the other hand, begs him to take revenge.

Sera screams bloody murder. Good luck hiding from her, for the Inquisitor chose the wrong person to start a tickle fight with. This girl is ruthless. She'll hide in the rafters and swoop down upon the Inquisitor when they least expect it. Throw in a few lobbed pies and that'll make the experience downright messy. Never mind playful, she's starting a war.

Blackwall is really ticklish, and ticklish everywhere. He can sense someone creeping about and probably assumes the worst. To be tickled instead of receiving a knife in the back is an odd kind of relief. To him, it helps to maintain a sense of normalcy. Yes, the world has gone mad, but people can still have tickle fights and laugh like children. Normalcy is the best kind of revenge.

Cole isn't ticklish. Still, he understands the concept. It's likely that he'd ask the Inquisitor why they felt the need to try and ambush him like that. He gets that they're trying to be playful and get him to laugh, but there are easier ways to do it!

The Iron Bull is not ticklish. He's not, so don't bother even trying. Except he's totally lying. Ask Krem and he'd say, "The boss is ticklish behind the ears. Don't ask how I know." He'd probably bark out a laugh, then full on lose it at the attempt to tickle him. Though he'd likely not retaliate unless he knew for sure the Inquisitor is comfortable with unexpected physical contact.

Vivienne isn't actually ticklish. Unlike Bull, when she says it, she means it. Any attempt to tickle her will be met with extreme retribution. Messing with the Iron Lady means snowballs flung at high speeds into the back of the Inquisitor's head when they least expect it. Vivienne is all smiles, icy and sharp, and when confronted all she has to say is, "What ever do you mean, my dear?"

He'd have to be really close to the Inquisitor for Cullen to be even slightly comfortable with that sudden movement. His knee-jerk reaction would be to panic. He'd also probably try to defend himself or physically remove himself from the situation. If he is comfortable, well, this man grew up with siblings. He's gonna tickle the Inquisitor right back, maybe even give into childish impulse and full body slam them into the floor... and apologise profusely after. And fix his hair.

Leliana sees it coming from a mile away. She'd turn swiftly and catch the Inquisitor's wrists in her hands, then offer them a knowing smile that simultaneously warms and terrifies. "I wish you luck for your next attempt." Is that a threat or a challenge? You decide.

Josephine would yelp with surprise, then erupt into giggles despite herself. She feels just like a young girl again, having tickle fights with Yvette until her tutors reprimanded her for terribly unlady-like behaviour. Josie would never in a million years dream of actually retaliating, but she sure thinks about it. A lot.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dai #dragon age companions #dragon age reactions #dragon age reacts #cassandra pentaghast #varric tethras #dragon age solas #dorian pavus #dragon age sera #dragon age blackwall #thom rainier #dragon age cole #the iron bull #vivienne de fer #cullen rutherford #dragon age leliana #josephine montilyet

[possibilistfanfiction]

idk maybe this is too big, but beatrice’s reaction at receiving diego’s email in 🐸 🗺? i really really like how you write their attraction towards one another. and here’s a set of 🌮🌮

[thank u for the tacos, maybe i'll have some birria later :)]

//

it's not a good day.

it's not a bad day, either, really.

you got out of bed in the morning. you ate breakfast — congee with an egg and some peanuts. you did the physical therapy exercises you're supposed to have kept up for your shoulder, even though it's been two years; they still help, especially when it's cold and rainy, so you do them. you went to the climbing gym, earlier than lilith ever would; you make your way up some V6s and V7s, but with no enjoyment, sluggish and tired for no reason. you went back to your loft — you'd signed the lease a few months ago under mary and shannon gentle urging and lilith's not-so-gentle demand, because even if you're not here often, beatrice, you need a home. you showered in the dark, blatantly ignoring whatever scars still sting sometimes. you washed your hair with expensive shampoo and conditioner a stylist you like — who lets you sit in the chair in silence she allows to be comfortable and doesn't pester, doesn't try to get you to try anything feminine, schedules you for trims you prefer more frequently than not if you're in town — and try, very hard, to feel real. you dried off, and put on comfortable clothes, and ate lunch, some leftover jerk salmon from the night before.

time moves weirdly on the days where it's not good enough to be solid but not bad enough to cease to exist at all. your therapist says this is normal for people with ptsd, but nothing feels normal about it. it feels like you're underwater, or like that one time when you were eighteen and got completely crossfaded at a party mary and shannon had thrown: everything is hard, and slow, and before you know it, it's nearing four and the light is fading.

you have things you need to do: photographs you need to edit; contracts you need to sign; to start coordinating a tentative upcoming trip to antarctica and south georgia this summer. you make yourself tea and will yourself to at the very least check your email; shannon had said that it helps her when she's having a bad day to set up one task she can do, to ease everything just a bit. you haven't really moved in, not in the way you should: you have a big desk, multiple monitors, all the gear you could hope for; you have a big bed, too soft, sometimes, and a couch. you have a nice, large tv on the wall. you have a few dishes and pots and pans in the kitchen. you have what you need in the bathroom: a toothbrush and a razor and toilet paper and your skincare serums and two clean towels, bar soap from mary dragging you to the farmer's market. you have nice olive oil and two throw pillows. you have a custom hangboard against one wall. there's empty space everywhere, your loft far bigger than you would ever need. not a home, not yet, in any way you can really feel, at least today. especially today.

but you boot up your desktop computer, because you are steadfast and there are still things you need to do, still things you need to shoot so you can show the world what matters. what has to matter, far beyond you and your small life.

most of your emails are boring — the option to do sponsored content for a new camera; an updated contract for an upcoming documentary you're going to help photograph for; a notification that the film you had ordered had, indeed, shipped — but there's one from someone you have never heard of that catches your eye.

you read through it, twice: someone named diego, a grad student at a university in the city, had emailed on behalf of his advisor, dr. ava silva, wondering if you might want to partner on an expedition to guyana. they need a climber, and diego claims that dr. silva loves your photography. you remember, vaguely, from an article before you had — before — that dr. silva apparently has some sort of preternatural ability to find new species of frog, and so it's intriguing, the prospect. everything feels more solid, like you're coming up for air after holding your breath for too long, when you think about the rainforest, and this little project and its simple, pure, important goal. you google ava silva phd frog and there's a link to a bunch of scientific journals, a formal headshot from the university — dr. silva is, well, beautiful, and young — and then, like the world rights itself, a picture of dr. silva smiling, dirty in the way only the real wild can produce, grinning with real joy. she holds a tiny frog — bright blue — in the palm of her gloved hand. there's green behind her, all around her.

if nothing else, you think, you'd like to meet this dr. ava silva, who finds such clear joy in small creatures, in making sure they're seen, and recognized, and named.

you email diego back, offering to be connected to dr. silva, because you want to know more. you order dinner and watch something that makes you laugh and even fish out some chocolate for dessert. you wash your face and moisturize; you brush your teeth; you fold back your duvet neatly. it's a life, you think, one that you are determined, even if it's hard, even if it's impossible, to make worthwhile. maybe tomorrow you'll get to learn more about the world from someone who fills it so fully. maybe tomorrow will feel clear. maybe tomorrow will be a good day after all.

#conservationist au #frog au #listen she's just doing her best ava rly lights up her entire world!!! w her frogs! #even before they have ever met lol #wn fic #avatrice #prompts

[abigail-pent]

John Gaiusposting, Nona spoilers below the cut

FUCK THIS GUY FUCK HIM SO MUCH

like when we got the preview with his POV/ him recounting the story to Harrow-as-Alecto in Harrow's dream, it actually seemed kind of reasonable for a minute for him to see himself as a hero type. Certainly the trillionaires are plausible and appropriate villains. But as it goes on and you realize over time that this is JUST ANOTHER INSTANCE OF JOHN GAIUS PAINTING HIMSELF IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT, I just want to throttle him

like after everything we see of him in HTN it's not surprising, not at all. But it is *interesting* to see him set the scene, set himself up to look reasonable actually, and then turn up the heat on that narrative until we the audience are the frog in the pot of boiling water. by the time we get to the nuclear option, it's too late for us, but looking back, can we really see exactly where everything started to turn?

and the way it's told, it's almost like EJG is implicitly asking Harrow/Alecto/the audience to believe that that's how *he* experienced it. As the frog in the boiling water. but ... that can't be true.

he had competent people around him! specifically he had Cassy, who asks him to choose one goal: destroying the trillionaires' project or saving Earth. he says they're the same thing and seems incredulous that anyone could believe otherwise. but that is so, so, SO obviously false. where was the rest of this conversation? surely our girl C -- would not just let him say that unchallenged.

nope: she had to have told him that's bullshit. maybe he didn't believe her. maybe he did, and didn't care. he had so many "yes" men around him (especially Gideon and Cristabel), and cared so little about anyone but himself, that he must have been far beyond reason at that point. absolute power will do that to you, I guess.

just like. the way he took off Gideon's arm. (ps: what happened to it? is this a Chekhov's gun for ATN? also why was that necessary?) the way he accepted Cristabel's suicide and used it *immediately* to destroy the whole world. the way he LITERALLY SACRIFICED ALL OF HUMANITY TO GET VENGEANCE ON A HANDFUL OF ELON MUSK TYPES. and tried to make it look like everything was their fault, when in actuality, yes they were awful, but John is the guy who threw the baby out with the bathwater. He could have just taken a few deep breaths and gotten on with the actual lifesaving work.

And he was so rigid in his idea of what the solution to a dying Earth should be! He could have tried his hand at fixing things before evacuation, like Augustine suggested, but he was too inflexible to even consider it. My advisor always says "good research is nimble" and this is the opposite of nimble. This is nothing but rank unchecked ego.

*maybe* this story is the way John honestly experienced it. *maybe* this is what the inside of your head looks like when you're desperate to try and save humanity and you throw yourself too hard into research and you make breakthroughs that change everything about what you think you know to be true and you get royally fucked over by funders who then smear you in the press. but even if that's actually how he experienced it: we know that the version of John who recounts this story is actively lying to Harrow-as-Alecto towards the end, about the order in which the nukes went off, and he gets mad when she points this out to him. *this* version of John is STILL ACTIVELY MANIPULATING HER, even *if* he's not purposely structuring the way he tells the story to make his audience think there's some hope and reason left in there.

Augustine was wrong, actually. Someone still does need to be punished for what happened to humanity. But that person is John Gaius himself.

#nona the ninth spoilers #ntn spoilers #nona spoilers #tlt spoilers #the locked tomb spoilers #nona the ninth #ntn #tlt #the locked tomb #emperor john gaius

[thatbadadvice]

Dear Advisor,

I (M 21) have formed a tight-knit friend group in college. Yay! My closest college friends are the members of my ttrpg group, who we’ll call A, B, C, D, and E. A (F 21) and B (NB 22) have been dating for the whole time I’ve known them, about a year. Last year, A, B, and C lived in the same residence hall and were rarely apart. Now that B has graduated, the plan next year is for A and D to be roommates while C, E, and I live in a similar residence hall. I expect to see a lot of B, who plans to find a job and apartment in this town.

B is my friend, so this is *almost* fine. Except that while I like A, and I like B, it is painful to hang out with both of them at the same time. B is a fairly jealous person, and they get very upset and mean when A hangs out with friends without including them. When we get lunch together and the topic turns to an interest of A’s that B does not share, B usually ends up monologuing about how much they dislike the interest. These monologues often turn into teardowns of A as a person that the rest of us awkwardly sit through. A and B have a lot of their fights in public, and they’re mean to each other.

At this point, I’ve seen enough meanness that I don’t consider B a close friend anymore, and I’m wavering on A. I like both of them, but the way they’re willing to treat each other in public, especially the way B treats A, throws up a lot of red flags.

Any good options? I’m worried that if I tell A that I don’t like how B treats her, it’ll torpedo my friendships with both of them. C is A’s best friend, E is B’s best friend, and D is about to be A’s roommate, so it’s not like I can avoid either of them. And I do still like them, especially A. When it’s just the two of us, A is a good friend.

What do I do? I’m tempted to bring it up to our other friends, but I don’t like talking behind people’s backs.

Readers sometimes send Bad Advisor their real-ass questions to answer, so the Bad Advisor is periodically going to try her hand at answering them. If you’d like to submit a question for a Good Advice Interlude, use the “ask” form!

What a surprise it is, going on a decade-plus of Bad Advice, to finally have some TTRPG drama on the blog! ("Table-top role-playing games," for the uninitiated.) The Bad Advisor is all too familiar with the Darth Partner/Missing Stair dynamic (h/t Captain Awkward, the Pervocracy) in TTRPG scenarios and it's a real goddamned bummer, because you can mostly scoot away from the DP/MS at a party but when you're stuck at the gaming table with them, woof.

My first inclination, as an old-ass gamer lady, was to simply tell you that B will probably just move the fuck on from your group now that they're graduated and doing non-college things, but that doesn't help you in the moment, and they might not, and frankly DP/MS folks will show up for your entire fucking life if you're a game-type person in many and various modes, and it's good to figure out how you're going to handle them now and get some practice in with not tolerating nonsense in your circle. I'm gonna use some elaborate/belabored RPG metaphors in this response and want to emphasize that it doesn't mean your life is a game! (I also believe TTRPG life is real life, because it's my real life, too!) But you've given me a delightful tableau within which to work.

Your instincts for not just straight-up shit-talking and gossiping about A and B's deal are correct! You will never be able to keep those conversations totally private (nothing that starts in the TTRPG side-chat ever stays in the TTRPG side-chat), and for both A and B, it will suck to inevitably find out that their buds were engaged in such conversations. Is it possible you could safely feel out the other members of the group on the A/B relationship dynamic, as a fact-finding, temperature-taking mission? MAYBE. But it's a very risky maybe IMO, and if you don't love the dynamic, I don't necessarily think you need side-chat validation on this point. You have information the other players may or may not have; you are entitled to act upon it. I think we dispense with C, D, and E. You aren't them, and you can't control what they do or say or feel, and they aren't asking me for advice. But you can model behavior and steer your party!

So. What are you gonna do?

You start by describing B as a friend, but waffle on that some -- you've become less close because you dislike B's treatment of/behavior around A, which is fair! You're allowed to decide, with new information about how B behaves in particular situations, that you don't really like parts of a person, or maybe even that person at all! You don't have to set the whole motherfucker on fire to make your feelings known in a thoughtful, polite, and even kind way; if somebody else (B) blows that shit up, it's on them! They are a whole other person who will act a way in a game/life that you cannot control; the only thing you need to feel good about at the end of your turn is that you did something that was true to you/your character. Because for real, if there's one thing I know about people, it's that telling people to do a thing because you want them to do a thing (such as: "Y'all are miserable and you should split up!") will almost always result in the told-parties doubling down on the opposite of what the telling-party wants them to do. (This is what I do to torture my folks when I am the dungeon-master, because it is what people do!)

Assuming we're talking about garden variety shitty relationship behavior (which is what I think you've described here) and not full-scale abuse in public, I think you have a number of options depending on the situation. I don't mean to suggest that you should accommodate bad behavior; you already know that feels crappy and sows discord and confusion because you're doing it, now, by trying to side-step around the ick. You gotta choose your move depending on where you are on the board.

The next time A and B get into it in front of everybody (during a game, or at the bar, or the coffee shop, or the student union, or wherever), you pretend-roll a charisma check and imagine you got a 15+ and they rolled a combined 3 (because they have??? nobody likes this!!!!), and you say something to this effect: "Hey, A and B? These vibes are not great, can we table this tiff until later?" Repeat as needed! Passive voice/vague antecedents are great in these kinds of situations: "Can folks not get into this right now?"/"Moving on! Let's focus on XYZ!"/"Feels like we're getting off track — can we do ABC instead?"/"Wow! That's kind of awkward and private! Let's not do that here!" If it helps, imagine B is the obnoxious NPC you need to get the bare minimum of compliance out of to continue the game of not blowing up the entire situation. You already have a good bead on what people do when they feel attacked, because you're literally playing games wherein that make-believe happens! People fight back and get defensive! It's a bad scene!

Other people's bad relationships are theirs to solve, so you can treat interactions regarding those relationships as open-ended puzzle games that are not for you to finish. You are the Oracle, not the puzzlemaster. If you get A or B on their own in a safe space where you're not rushed to get somewhere or hungry or otherwise pissy or wanting, why not ask: How does it feel when A/B does that? What would you like to see happen instead when Bad interaction happens? What might you do about that irritating/annoying/weird thing A/B does? Despite what I said in the prior bullet points, your friends are not NPCs, and of course you know this or you wouldn't be asking — they are the main characters in their own lives, and you can neither save nor sink them.

It might be that A and B stay in this weird bad relationship! If it continues to cause bad vibes at the game nights/within your circle, I think you're well within your rights to say, either to one or both of them if they haven't gotten previous messages: "Hey, I like you both, I want to keep doing XYZ fun things with y'all, but this dynamic is actually really, legitimately killing the vibe, because I don't get to see the fun part where y'all make up and feel good about everything, I only see the bad arguing parts and it's just a real downer!" Don't let them off the hook about this! Stand your ground when they come back with "Oh, we're just joking" or "Ah, well, that's just how we are." Okay, they're joking and that's how they are, but it SUCKS TO BE AROUND and if it's not a big deal, they can cut that shit out!

The whole deal blows, and you're in a sorry position to have to navigate it. It just absolutely is a shit situation to have a friend-group whose dynamic is messed up in this way. But you're asking because your interest is in maintaining a collective good-feeling, and I can promise you that skipping the missing stair of A and B's bad vibes (and maybe specifically B's behavior) will absolutely in the long-term result in the precise kind of bad-feeling you're trying to avoid by skating past it today. Resentment, distrust, annoyance, back-channeling — all of the things we build and do to avoid being emotionally honest with people who care about because we think it'll hurt less in the moment, or get better later, or just change, somehow — are also 10000000% guaranteed ways to push us farther apart from the people we love, rather than keep us close and friendly.

Your people will always be your people. You have a wonderful and beloved friend group, and you will lose and add members of your party throughout your life, but you will never lose any people who were supposed to be your people if you commit to being kindly forthright while modeling your needs, boundaries, and appreciations for them. This isn't a skill you pick up once and do automatically forever; it takes work and commitment throughout your life and it's fucking annoying and awkward and so, so worth it.

#ttrpg #dnd #advice #bad advice #reader submission #college #college friends #friend advice #boundaries #awkward conversations #we've all been there

[signoraviolettavalery]

I have drunk roommates + their friends and I'm stuck in my room. Any distractions? (JO related? I'll take anything at this point)

(I need something to divert my attention before I fully panic)

I'm sorry this is late nonnie but remember that captive prince AU, well @touchyourblood has this idea that after Kris frees Bojan and they get together, Kris suggests that Nace (who was an advisor/councilor in the kingdom Bojan comes from and Bojan's friend) comes for a visit, because he's one of bojan's friends and Bojan misses him and Kris wants to "make up" for all the time Bojan wasn't free

so Nace comes, and Jan gets sent out to greet him (with some guards, of course)

introduces himself, and Nace's like "they sent osmeone as important as a council member to greet me?"

and Jan just shrugs and says "Bojan told me you are important to him. And, of course, an honored guest"

Nace's like 0_0 Bojan told you? you're on a first name basis? he's been talking to you?

and then they arrive and as soon as bojan sees them he runs down from the castle ramparts and throws himself into nace's arms

and nace notices how bojan is free, there's no guards watching him, he can move around as he likes, no one seems concerned

"I missed you," Bojan says, hugging him deeply, whie Jan watches them and smiles

and then of course bojan says 'let's go meet kris' and Nace does a double take like. Kris. the king. you call him Kris

he's slightly more formal with the introductions, like, this is Nace, my bestest friend, and this is Prince Kris. Nace's all formal, of course, bowing, and Bojan is all 'you don't have to stand on ceremony with him, really" while coming to stand by Kris' side, and Kris puts an arm around his waist and now Nace....understands. or thinks he understands

so afterwards they go off together, and Nace of course asks how he is, how he's been treated, etc, which Bojan reassures him "i've been treated well, like an honored guest from the very first day, and i've been giving my expertise and strategy in return"

and perhaps Nace presses him on that, says he looks a little pale, asks if he's alright, and Bojan brushes it off like "yes. I was...sick, but i'm fine now'

but nace won't let it go

'you were sick?" why was he sick? was he taken care of?

so Bojan has to admit "someone tried to assassinate Kris, and I stopped them, but I got injured, and the wound got infected, and it was a whole thing, but I'm better now, I promise. All healed."

which is....a lot for Nace to process

and of course there's that other thing

"Kris?" he asks

Bojan is on a first name basis with...the king? who is just "Kris" to him?

and they're clearly 'together' in some way, judging by Kris' arm around him earlier?

and did Bjoan really protect him out of care/affection or because he felt like he had to?

and Bojan, feeling like he can confide in Nace becauese Nace is his friend, admits "I love him"

"you were his captive" Nace reminds him gently

"I know," Bojan says, "and I know how it must look. But he never once treated me that way. He's been good to me. Better than some other kings I know."

Which leaves Nace worried that Bojan is just clinging to what affection he can find

"It's not like that. He listens to what I have to say. Values my opinions. He cares deeply about his people, and he trusts me to help him take care of them. And at first I simply respected him for that, a king who actually wants the best for his people. But then we bonded. Over music and books and art. Philosophy. He started to confide in me about personal matters. Before I knew it we were friends."

Nace still isn't convinced. "And when did he start taking you to his bed?"

"Nace. Please trust me."

"He didn't take ME to bed. I took HIM to bed "

"What?"

"You should've seen him. How shy he was. He felt so bad about wanting me despite our positions. He asked me to take him to bed. After I was free"

"A freedom he could take away if you didn't do what he wanted" Nace insists

And bojan gets frustrated

"Why do you refuse to believe he could be a good man??" Bojan demands. "He didn't ask to be gifted a person. That was OUR kingdom's idea. Or do you assume all kings are like ours?"

#bokris #captive prince AU #enjoy

[a-student-out-of-time]

Did you watched new heartless deceit interlude episodes?

//Dude, yes, and I have so much to say!

//I'll start in order:

MOMOKA'S DAY OFF

I have to say, my initial thoughts when Akira's secondary talent was revealed- Ultimate Hitman- were how that happened. I wondered what kind of people the Himura clan must be to recruit a teenage girl into becoming a hitman, and my mind went to cruelty, coercion, and a lot of uncomfortable thoughts about what they might've put her through. Especially given how disturbed Akira was about being given an award for it by EOS.

Then this episode came along and proved the situation is quite the opposite.

First of all, I adore Momoka and her chaos gremlin energy. She's hilariously unprofessional, especially on her day off, and yet she's supposed to be an advisor to the Himura clan. Her relationships with Hirotaka and Keisuke are the epitome of the No Energy, Calm, Too Much Energy meme.

Speaking of, I like that Keisuke has no preferred pronouns. They're definitely the serious, business-minded one, but still have that connection with Momoka and Hirotaka.

And poor Hirotaka is the straight man in all these antics : P

Then there's Ryuuji Himura, the younger brother of the former head of the clan, and who turns out is a pretty laid-back, chill dude. While he has a meeting planned with another clan, his mind is on fancy desserts. He doesn't seem like the type to lead a yakuza clan, and it turns out there's a good reason for it.

While Momoka, Keisuke and Hirotaka are having dinner, we get to learn a bit more about their history. The three of them have been friends for years, and reminisce about their old friend Ryuusei, Ryuuji's older brother and the former head of the clan, and his fiance Yukie.

As Timeline Anon reminded me, we've actually seen them once before:

Far from being threatened or coerced like this was Passione, the Himura Clan- and these two in particular- actually seem like they took Akira in and cared for her. Ryuusei and Yukie were like parents to her, and I have to wonder if that includes her siblings too.

What we can be sure of is Akira grew up under their care. But sadly, that didn't last. Just a week before wedding, around 6 years before HD takes place, they died. Something that still affects the trio to this day.

But ultimately, they still all manage to have a nice outing together, reminiscing about old friends.

I'll save my thoughts and speculation for the end, so here's the other:

_______________________________________________

ABOVE THE YELLOW SPRING

So, this one is actually my favorite and it's entirely because this episode says exactly what I've been saying for years:

Being an Ultimate sucks.

Our unnamed protagonist, who's going to be awarded a very prestigious title, gets to enjoy an absolutely hellish nightmare on his way there. The first comes from his overbearing family, who have unrealistic expectations of him and can't stand him complaining about anything.

Stage mom and stage aunt at their absolute worst, even making jokes about throwing him on the streets if he isn't the best of the best. We also hear about how his cousin is facing similar pressures, and that the aunt doesn't want her "wasting time with a boy from some no-name family."

Our protag, who would much rather be at home playing guitar, then has to head to a televised interview, where he also gets to see himself all over town.

He never gets any time to himself, always going from one event to the next, with barely any time in-between to eat and sleep. We don't know what exactly his talent is, but it's something that's only ever been awarded once. He even directly says that people see him as a God over it. I'll come back to that.

But all the while, he has this flash through is mind:

Actually spooked me the first time I saw it.

The interview isn't much better. Protag is exhausted, but can't rest and constantly gets browbeaten by his interviewer. While his mother and aunt criticize him for being ungrateful, the guy calls him a pampered irresponsible brat and accuses him of buying the title.

When the interview finally happens, which EOS director Kumiko Arase herself is watching, he starts off trying to sound good...and then has a panic attack on air. And then decides he's had enough.

What follows is one of the most satisfying moments I've seen in any fangan ever.

He completely demolishes the idea of the Ultimates system and calls it elitist, how it puts ridiculous pressure and a social divide on impressionable teenagers. About how people behind it and the interview only care about profiting off of them. About how people like the interviewer put them up on a pedestal they never asked to be put on, and then tear into them out of jealousy.

Finally, he rejects the ultimate award, calls Kumiko an old hag and tells her she can kiss his ass. All in one fell swoop and I was so happy.

Sure, it means he's been kicked out of the family, but people will forget and he can finally live his own life. But it does mean his cousin will be put through the same wringer now. Still, he promises to come help her when he's settled.

Whoever this dude is, he's my goddamn hero.

_____________________________________________

THOUGHTS AND SPECULATION

So I'll start with the obvious: I was wrong about Akira's background. It's very clear the Himura clan has been more of a family to her than an antagonistic force pushing her into committing evil. Even so, why did she become a hitman?

The obvious answer after seeing this, at least to me? Retribution.

Take a look at what Denshi says about her during his side episode's intro:

Both of them were involved with the clan at a young age. He talks about how she must feel conflicted, yet he doesn't dissuade her from pursuing it or viewing herself as a killer. And she admits she worked hard to get to this point.

I think this is a sign it might've been Akira's decision to become one. Especially because she would've been a child at the time Ryuusei and Yukie were killed, and while we aren't given details, the context clues suggest why. Maybe they were actually assassinated by another clan and Akira became a hitman to get revenge?

Either way, she's still loved and valued by the rest of the clan, and it's clear to me that whomever's behind this killing game has no idea whose wrath they've incurred.

Now, as for our unnamed protagonist, I have no word on who he could be, as he's only been hinted at once by Tomoya. However, I have some info TA was also diligent enough to point out.

Remember his aunt? We saw her in Denshi's side episode too, talking with Isao about investigating on her own.

At the time, because of the hair color, we assumed she might've been Katsu's mom. Now I have a new idea:

Protag was going to be given a title we don't know the name of, but we know is so prestigious as to only have ever been given once before.

He said that EOS has been building him up and people look on him like a God before he rejects it.

We know he has a female cousin under similar pressure to be super talented and good at everything, and his aunt said she wouldn't let her daughter have any distractions.

Who do we know who's hyper-competent, has an unknown but prestigious talent, and would be there at the awards ceremony for her mother to attend?

To put it another way, who in this cast has also been called and named after a deity?

Yep. I'm suggesting this was actually Izanami's cousin, and her ascendance to our local Ultimate ??? was motivated by that. She's clearly extremely talented, beautiful and, as with protag, this:

It's not hard to imagine her family doubled down after her cousin peaced out, and it's given her a very questionable view of the world, especially people she views as "sinners." I can see her being a major rival against Akira, especially when the truth comes out.

So yeah, my thoughts on these interlude episodes, which have only made me more and more excited for HD Chapter 1. Great work from everyone involved!

#mod talks #a student out of time #danganronpa heartless deceit #DRHD #mod theorizes

[r0-boat]

Dragon Marriage

Silas wedding headcannons

( Gn!reader, what they're wearing is up to your imagination and they will be called spouse)

Sfw

Days before

Anything you desire during the wedding is yours. If you want the flowers to be arranged in a certain way he'll see it done immediately, you want a certain location? Done! He'll make sure all the catering is to your liking.

Silas has hired the best chef and all of his kingdom to prepare the meals and provide pastries for the guests and you. The best tailors are working on your wedding outfits

Probably expecting a grand wedding and you're right, but that's only because he has to make it so. He's a King now if he doesn't invite the Kings and Queens of the kingdoms he's on good terms with his Royal Adviser will chew him out.

If it was his fully his decision he would have a private wedding just for the both of you. Don't worry he'll make it up to you tonight ;)

The wedding ring was black that sparkled like stars in the night sky with a purple diamond. the Jeweler said that he used one of Silas' scales to craft it. While the diamond was from his late mother's wedding ring.

During

looked as if it was a fairy tale. Everything sparkled like gems, This is the first time you'll be seeing Silas since the planning started. Because his advisor and the staff joked that if he saw you in your outfit Silas would want to haul you all for himself. Lock you away in his Lair like a kidnapped Princess.

When the Orchestra played as the double doors to the courtroom opened revealing you gleaming like one of his treasures.

A servant taking your hand and walking you down his palms are sweaty and he was practically shaking for his life, you found your answer when you looked up at your husband-to-be. His pupils were slits, eyes glowing, giving you an unreadable look. staring at you while his vows and growling out "I do"

And that look never went away from the rest of the ceremony he tried to keep himself together the servants practically had to pry you out of his arms so they could get you to talk to the other guests.

A prince from another kingdom struck a conversation with you, your husband clenched his fist so tight it tore holes in the palm of his gloves.

You and him got the first dance of the night. He pulled you closer whispering " You look ravishing My love, I apologize for my unruly Behavior, for you, I'll behave myself for now" he smiled kissing you on your cheek. Your body moves with him to the music careful not to step on his feet every time should your eyes stay away from his, " look back at me, don't you dare take your beautiful eyes off me~"

Despite the looming fear/ excitement of what might happen to you tonight when you're finally alone with your husband, the night was great. The food was delicious, all the guests have given you wedding gifts.

Night After

Nsfw

Around the last half hour of the wedding it mostly became business talk, about your coronation and crowning as royalty. And Kingdom relations with the other kings and queens, as well as gossip. Silas noticed the bored look on your face "oh, my love I'm sorry, you can go now, meet me in my room, I want to have to talk with you"

You watched the sunset from his window when you hear the door open, still in your wedding outfit the setting sun made you glow like an angel. Silas closes the door behind him locking it, taking one step closer until who is right in front of you his puples still slits "im going to take you now..." he growls out his voice seeming less human than before.

He rips your outfit to shreds his are already long gone. He picks you up over his shoulders and throws you on his bed. Finally snapping "You Are mine! You are MINE! ALL MINE!! You are WED TO ME! " his mouth is on your neck making sure grinding his throbbing cock hard against you as he harshly marks, bites and sucks on your neck. "Fuck your wetness is making my cock slick!"

Claws dig into your hips as practical fucks his hips against yours affection against your core was like fire, his shaft grinding against you.

His skin started to turn rougher and darker as horns sprouted from his head his teeth getting sharper each time he dug back into your skin.

" I saw the way other guest looked at you, disgusting! Do they know that you're mine now? Do they know that they ring on your finger is mine?!" Silas continues to babble before sucking on your chest his tongue pressing against your nipple as his hand plays with the other.

" tonight I'll make you mine again I'll make you mine over and over and over again"

You wrapped your legs around him as he eases his now bigger cock inside of you. You open your mouth letting out a long moan fingernails digging into his back trying to take his length.

You let out a growl large in his back as he crunch tighter around him your fingers feel something sprouting from his back.

Leathery bat wings sprouted from his back wrapping around you. "Fuck! Y-your clenching I-I have to move"

His tongue hangs out pounding his cock down deep inside, deeper with each rough thrust only stopping for a moment to rut his hips deeper. sounds of his hips slapping against yours fills the room.

His wings hide you from the rest of the world because you are for his eyes only.

His size, the pleasure the lewd sounds become too much as you cum hard on his cock. He slams down into you feeling your insides with hot draconic seed. He didn't give you even a minute of rest before moving his hips again.

He needs more but he is careful not to bee to rough with you, it might be a while before he fully has his fill. This is going to be a long night.

#smut #oc:silas #yandere oc #monster fucking

[friedchickenluver]

I feel like it takes a while for the general populous to warm up to Zuko as Firelord and that’s mainly because of the last 100 years + his fathers reign didn’t really do anything to help the situation but he later becomes the people’s firelord and that’s with the help of his wife he drags him to charity events and with the backing of team avatar.

Now, Zuko was raised around politics but there’s a period about 5-10 years within his rule where he staunchly disagrees with his advisors mainly because they’re still brainwashed and under the spell that Ozai started with “restoring the fire nation to its former glory.” He later ends up just starting over and picking a new cabinet making sure to have at least one representative from each nation to chime in for rebuilding efforts.

Let me tell you though Zuko hates celebrations for himself and his achievements but when it’s his wife’s birthday and don’t get me started on their children. It’s like a national holiday the parties for them are magnificent.

As far as how powerful he is? Behind every great man is a far greater woman. A lot of his plans he runs by his wife before taking it to the advisors because she just knows that they’ll peddle him bullshit and depending on the day Zuko will agree so he can leave but she’s here to shut that shit down.

Now I know we joke that Izumi, the twins, and baby boy are spoiled. But I’d like to think that Zuko does take the time to bring them up as humble as possible and that’s thanks to Iroh having a big part of raising him and when they were settled in the earth kingdom for a bit. -🧚🏽‍♀️

HEAVY ON THE STARTING NEW PART . he got fed tf up with those old dudes who cared not about the country, but power and Zuko was like “fuck this shit, these mfs are UNFIXABLE.” (😂) he fired everyone after the first years of his reign because they actually began to like piss him off . Except two, which are my OCs Midjair and Indy, who were both apart of Ozai’s secretary and Zuko ranked them both up to major advisors . At first they were so traumatized from Ozai’s serving time and had some of his ideologies engraved in their head . but eventually they both showed that they were fixable and so Zuko kept them .

He’s so hellbent on making sure everyone has a say in how things run between countries and within the Fire Nation itself . I feel like he would also renovate a good portion of the castle just to make it look less depressing and intimidating .

He absolutely despises his own birthdays, like everyone including his wife will like beg him to allow them to throw a party or something for him . she’s trying to loosen him up some because he’s such a hard ass it’s basically impossible to gesture him into having some type of fun . BUT FOR THEM, oh the whole nation is going to hear about it, you should’ve seen Izumi’s sweet 16, they had to plan it a year in advance because she’s so extra like her mom . Their birthdays or him and his wife’s anniversary will be like week long events the whole country is celebrating, including endless amounts of gifts and cards, etc .

And of course Zuko would have to run down over major decisions he makes with the advisors, because as politics is mainly still a male predominant occupation, he needs an intelligent women’s opinion to make sure all side sound fair and just . And if those men ever try to convince her that her opinion is wrong in any type of way , oh she WILL shut they ass down before they can utter another word . Zuko knows it’s best if you never try his wife like that . LMAO

The kids are definitely spoiled like they just so happened to born in the right family because they get almost any and everything they can ask for . But zuko will always be quick to teach them that life is beyond anything more than material possessions and wants and needs, he will take them on visits to hang out with iroh just so they can get a slice of his wisdom . Because it’s important that they learn all factors of life before they have to guide themselves on their own journey . (🥹)

At the end of the day, Zuko will always be regarded as one of the best looking Firelord history has seen for a while . And even in times of doubt his family will always be quick to reassure him that he’s doing great and they all love him .

#🧚🏽‍♀️ anon #ˋˏ [sistalks] ˎˊ

[liloinkoink]

I know you're suffering, but personally I love bad dating sims and I'm having the time of my life. and I'd love to know more about the game and/or isekai's hypothetical plot

one, please know this is how this cut off in my notes.

two, yes of course. i would love nothing more

i’m putting this under a cut actually

the game plot i think i mostly got most of the information out in asides and can be pieced together in the fic—player starts at the engagement party, picks a love interest, and then does what they can to get rid of the villain and get a happy ending. most of what i came up for as far as routes and endings goes is in the fic itself, since Martyn took the entire party to just throw out ridiculous and annoying amounts of exposition, as is isekai standard. i honestly had a lot of fun coming up with those—i did bounce the game plot around in a gc, so they’re not 100% mine, but i thought what we came up with was pretty clever

stuff about the game i couldn’t fit because there was no reason to even come up with it, but would influence martyn’s actions if this wasn’t a oneshot, includes like. the way the game works, you only pick one person at the party, and the rest of them sort of drop off out of the plot. if the player picks, say, cleo, then impulse goes home to his kingdom, etho is standoffish and you don’t talk much to him, and Scar will mostly avoid genuine conversation on account of committing so much crime. there are opportunities to change your route later—impulse will write you a letter somewhere mid game, maybe, or you have a random encounter w etho or scar—but switching from your chosen love interest mid-game greatly increases the chance of getting one of their bad ends

Martyn doesn’t actually know the endings that well. he knows the parts of the game Ren is in pretty well, but the good ends? not so much. had i written more of this, that’d probably have caused him problems—there’s probably crucial information on character motivations and such in those—but eh.

(i sort of wanted to include some neutral ends, but that seemed like too much work)

as for the rest of the fic’s hypothetical plot, there were actually two!

we did actually come up w some ideas for if the fic proceeded as a normal isekai, mostly in that we all got wildly invested in isekai treebark. personal favorite message in that particular part of the conversation:

Ren is genuinely a compelling character in this fic to me (the hardest part of writing this was truly trying to pretend he wouldn’t be deeply beloved in fandom tbh), like. again, i alluded to a lot of this without directly saying it or said it in parts, but Ren’s pretty lonely/insecure here in this piece. he’s trying to do what he can for his kingdom, have a relatively pleasant marriage with someone who could at least be a friend.

and yet. who are bdubs’s romance options, to Ren? the captain of the guard who is supposed to be trusted to keep him safe? the financial advisor who is supposed to help keep his country afloat? two foreign powers who he’d want to keep the peace with, who could lead armies to his door? his fiancé colluding with any of these people is a horrifying prospect, especially if he doesn’t know it’s ‘for love’—it could just as easily be purely a bid for power. and really, it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you. he goes from sort of uncertain about the whole thing to his trusted people suddenly turning on him, accusing him of being a villain and keeping apart true love while he’s simply trying to follow the life set out for him to be a good king. when he loses that path he sort of just. loses his mind. listen ren has not done anything wrong i’m an AtPM Ren apologist listen—

speaking of ren apologists. Martyn was also a pretty lonely and an entirely purposeless person before meeting the micra, which. he wouldn’t directly address or acknowledge it, but this familiarity with what Ren is feelings is a large part of why he wants to see a happy ending for Ren so badly

so Martyn stretches out the hand he couldn’t admit he wanted someone to offer, and Ren falls in love instantly. this actually makes Martyn’s entire goal easier—Ren is no longer interested in playing the villain in Bdubs’s story. he wants to be the love interest in Martyn’s. had a few ideas abt that particular desire, ranging wildly from really cute (i cannot stop thinking abt smth Beans said abt Ren seeinf Martyn across a garden and the wag of his tail being audible under his cape) to crushing to my soul (he’s a lonely guy, Ren is. thinking about how isolated he feels and how much Martyn is a light in the dark for him kills me dead)

the ending of the actual isekai plot was going to involve Ren faking his fucking death so the two of them can run away together. personal favorite conversation that never was would be Ren telling Martyn he should be dead (as lead up for proposing to fake his death and elope) and Martyn, who has been trying to avoid that for weeks, being like Ren for fuck’s sake—

i don’t have so much for the timeloop because i literally refuse to flesh it out to avoid temptation. however, a dating sim is a game where one is encouraged to play over and over again until they get the desired ending (or even just to see what will happen). Martyn’s own canonical third life lore is that he’s been playing in death games a while. it matches up pretty damn well, i think, and if i were interested in running with it, i imagine something interesting could be done with it

also, Martyn would be meeting Ren for the first time again every single loop. which is a fun detail to me. i want to be tragic about it—Ren repeatedly forgetting about him should be angsty—but i genuinely cannot believe he wouldn’t fall in love over and over again tbh. it’s love at first sight every single time, simply because Martyn cares about him too much not to show it and Ren will be swept away by that every iteration

that said, if you’re interested in the idea of an isekai timeloop, i genuinely recommend Surviving Romance. it will feel like a bit too much at parts bc it does have maybe Too many premises. but keep going, it’s worth it

also, bonus trivia. i need you to know there was so much stupid shit we came up w abt Martyn before being isekai’d that i couldn’t fit because Martyn didn’t think it was noteworthy enough to mention. that man owns an ita bag. he has downloaded mods to romance Ren and deleted them due to bad Ren characterization (too much Cool Sexy Evil Villain, where is the sad and lonely cringefail dogboy who Martyn fell in love with??)

#oink asks #medusasresfridas #treesekai

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites: The Rise of The New Order Ch. 8 (by @avaveevo)

A few seconds later, Kim-La and Korvo are walking down the halls.

Kim-La: So how did it go with Tortus? Is everything okay?

Korvo: Not good and you are not gonna like what you hear about Tortus’s father.

Kim-La: What do you mean?

Korvo: *sighs* Kim-La, Tortus’s father is Aundryus. The one who started the New Order.

Kim-La: *gasps* No way! That's awesome!

Korvo: No! Not awesome! He is the one who started the Execution. He is a very dangerous man.

Kim-La: *gasp in horror* Wh-what?

Korvo sighs

Korvo: It’s true. Aundryus is a total monster. He even threatened to execute Terry one day ever since his parents refused to let Aundryus rule in the past. They were sent to the dungeon after but later escape.

Kim-La looks down in shock

Kim-La: No… this can’t be… everything that we believed in was a total lie…

Korvo: Kim-La...I-

Kim-La: *sighs but smiles* It’s okay. I understand now. We have to keep an eye on Tortus. Before he does something worse, or else.

Korvo: I know. That's why I had to put up the whole act.

Kim-La: Then good luck. I think you are going to do great. Keep going Korvo.

Korvo smiles

Korvo: Thank you. Now time to get to work. *cracks his knuckles*

A montage is shown of Korvo working. Korvo then conducts very unique discoveries, the rest of the New Order becomes very intrigue and starts to grow interested by this status. Korvo kept working and working while smiling at a picture of him and his family. The montage ends with Korvo approaching the New Order who congratulated him.

Gadget: Congrats, Korvotron.

Moran: You were amazing.

Korvo: Thanks, guys.

Bee: Congratulations Korvotron, you were well… I say accurate.

Korvo chuckles

Korvo: Well, I couldn’t done it without the encouragement from Kim-La. She really gave me so much support.

Kim-La smiles. Tortus watches from the distance and growls

Tortus: How could she?

Tortus looks at a photo of Jessica

Tortus: Grrr! I always knew your son was just like you!

Tortus throws the photo down causing it to shatter

Tortus: Grrr! This can’t be happening! I will not allow Terald to tempt away Korvotron any further.

Tortus picks up a shock collar

Tortus: I know how I can get him away from Terald once and for all.

Tortus laughs evilly

Tortus: But first, I must pay Terald a little visit.

Later, Terry is singing “Higher Love” by Whitney Houston

Terry: *singing* That love, that love Bring me higher love, love That love, that love Bring me higher love, oh That love, that love Bring me higher love, love That love, that love Bring me a higher love

Terry sighs lovingly as he lies down on the couch

Terry: Man, life is good.

Terry then looks at a picture of him and Korvo on their honeymoon as he smiles. But then, he hears a knock on the door. Terry opens the door to reveal Tortus

Terry: *gasp* You!

Tortus: Hello Terald…

Terry grabs Tortus by the neck and pins him against the wall

Terry: What do you want you fucking beast?!

Tortus laughs and knees Terry in the stomach

Tortus: Oh I want anything I ever wanted. Your lifemate’s respect that you stole from me!

Terry: *scoffs* Please. He already knows what you're up to.

Tortus: Hey! You stole my title as Korvo’s favorite Shlorpian!

Cue the song:

[TERRY]

Haha, looks like you could use some help From the big boy of the family himself Check out his glowing reviews on Yelp (Five stars! Flawless! Greater than great!) Oh, with the punch of a pentagram I wap-bam-boom, alakazam Usually, I charge a Capital One Card But you get the family rate Thanks honey!

[TORTUS]

Who needs a busboy, now that you've got the chef (Woah-oh-oh) A Shlorpian Team, free mathmetics I'll rig the game for you because I'm the ref Famous scriptures, higher technology, that's just to start!

Who's been here since day one? Who's been faithful as a pawn? Makes you chuckle with an old-timey pawn Your executive advisor

[That's true!]

[TERRY]

I'm your guy, your day-to-day Your hubby, your steadfast sweetheart Remember when I fix that clog today? I was stuck, thank you sweetie!

[Oh you!]

[TORTUS]

I'm truly honored that we've built such a bond [Aww!] You're like the child that I wish that I had [Uh, what?] I care for you, just like a Replicant I spawned [Hold on now!] It's a little funny, you could almost call me father

[TERRY]

They say, when you're looking for assistance It's smart to pick the path of least resistance

[TORTUS]

Others say, that in your needy hour There's no substitute for pure Shlorpian power! Who just happens to also be your blood!

Sadly, there are times a husband is a dud They say the family you choose is better What a bunch of losers

[Can you butt out of my song?] [Your song? I started this!] [I'm singing it, I'll finish it!] [Oh, you tacky piece of—]

[MORAN]

It's me, yes it's me I know you were all waiting for me I'm here, what a asshole Took a while, but I'm present at last It's me, it's me Moran!

[Who?]

Terry: I'm sorry, who are you?

Tortus: MORAN! STAY OUT OF THIS!

Korvo: *offscreen* Terry?

Terry: *gasp in joy* Korvy!

Korvo runs up to Terry who picks him up

Korvo: Oh honey, thank goodness. What’s happening now?!

Terry: Tortus thinks I'm stealing you.

Korvo: WHAT?! *growls at Tortus*

Tortus: What?! I would never think that! He’s lying!

Korvo: How could you?! Terry is my husband! He would never steal me away from you, you big fucking liar!

Tortus: Why you-

Terry: *slaps Tortus in the face* Stay away from you bitch!

Tortus snaps

Tortus: THAT DOES IT!

Tortus tries to attack, only for Korvo to panic and run off. Tortus growls and follows him while knocking Terry unconscious.

Tortus: GET BACK HERE KORVOTRON! *flings collar at Korvo*

Korvo: *gasps* NO! *starts crying* TERRY-BEAR!

Tortus shocks Korvo with the collar as he screams in pain and falls down unconscious.

#solar opposites #solar opposites au #solar opposites: rise of the new order #tervo #korvo #terry solar opposites #british korvo #yumyulack #tortus solar opposites #kim la solar opposites

[alexbkrieger13]

Sweden's unknown WC tournament: "On life and death"

 Sweden's World Cup premiere here in New Zealand is played on Sunday.

At least the one in football, because already on Monday another championship started at the Swedish base: the Cornhole WC.

- It really is life and death, it seems, says Kosovare Asllani.

In the building where the dining room is combined with the living room, there are ping-pong tables, hanging TV screens and there is a cornhole.

- That is an important part. If we are to be here all the way, it will be 40-45 days. We've also talked about how it's not just what we do on the field, but what culture we want off the field, says football psychology advisor Rasmus Liljeblad.

It was he who recently introduced cornhole in the national team and it has quickly become popular. It's a fairly simple game where you have to throw bags on a board.

You get one point if the bag lands on the board and three if it goes down the hole.

Taken very seriously

While waiting for the soccer World Cup to start, the group stage in the Cornhole World Cup has started, with Liljeblad as the tournament organizer.

- I think it's perfect here. There will also be a small audience. We had maybe 20-25-30 spectators at a match. It will be a gathering point that I think is incredibly important for us.

And this is taken very seriously.

When Magdalena Eriksson talks about it, she weighs her hands at about the same height in front of her face and says that it is almost as important as the impending football championship, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Then we wouldn't have deserved to be included"

Eriksson forms a team with Fridolina Rolfö, but they have had a tough start. The centre-back says they got off to a bad start but a necessary win against the physios.

- If we had lost it, I think we would have withdrawn from the tournament. Then we wouldn't have deserved to be included.

When Rebecka Blomqvist is asked how things are going for her and teammate Jennifer Falk, she doesn't even want to reveal who they recently lost to.

- It was a real bummer. We'll take them in the final later, I think, she says.

- We probably ended up in the heat group, I think, says Jennifer Falk.

Really excited

It is group B that she paints as that. A group that also includes Kosovar Asllani .

- If you had met her, it would have been incredibly heated, says Magdalena Eriksson.

- We are competitive people, you cannot take part in any game without inciting or wanting to win. Of course it gets a little heated, says Asllani himself and continues:

- Even if you meet leaders, or materialists...

Some incite, others send more subtle psychs.

But according to Magdalena Eriksson, who is in group A, the biggest cheerleaders are not in the tournament.

- If Filippa Angeldahl and Nathalie Björn had been there, they would have been. Now they won the last tournament, so they don't want to come in and do worse.

Competitions good for the group

This is not the first time that the national team has competitions on the side. In France in 2019, for example, "Exploding Kitten" was played and the psychologist believes that this has an important effect on the group.

- You get a sense of togetherness and that you spend time together. If you start a match, people gather there.

In hotels, it is not always possible to get to the large open spaces that Sweden has at its base here in Upper Hutt, half an hour north of Wellington.

- Then you eat and then you go up to your rooms. There is a feeling that you are very isolated. Although it isn't. This still gives this bonus, you feel it becomes like a family.

There is also not much going on around the Swedish base, so all kinds of activities are important to cure the boredom.

Stepping into a major championship also means a lot of pressure, so having something to think about other than football sometimes looks blue and yellow as a key if you want to go far.

- It's a bit of a switch on, switch off. I think it's so damn important to be able to do. That once we're connected, we're connected, but you also need to relax in between, says Asllani.

Expect a full house at the final

The group stage, where there are two groups with seven teams in each, ends before Sweden steps into the World Cup on Sunday. It is up to the teams themselves to find match times. Then the playoffs await before match two.

For Jonna Andersson and Elin Rubensson, the first goal is to progress from the group stage, then anything can happen. There may even be talk of lay-in matches.

- So we can hope that we get a simple opposition there. We'll see. I already think that the final picture tree is drawn so that we will see how we will do before the last two group stage matches, Andersson says with a smile.

The tournament organizer Liljeblad expects several audience matches once the playoffs start and hopes for a full crowd for the final.

- WE still have a lot of days between match 1 and match 2. So taking the playoffs in between is the plan right now. But it shouldn't bother.

#gotta love these dorks #swewnt #wwc 2023 #swewnt article

[fayesdiary]

Faye's Fòdlan Journal: Season 1 - Episode 2: Professor Nepotism

<-Previous Masterpost Next->

Last chapter we did the obligatory earlygame bandit cleanup, the three house leaders were so impressed by Byleth almost dying to the bandit leader they began to fight over them and Jeralt had an awkward reunion with his former coworker Alois, who offered him and Byleth to come with them to the Monastery.

An offer they, quite literally, couldn't refuse.

This chapter starts with a cutscene and a pretty good looking mural, while a narration describes the continent of Fòdlan as it currently stands.

To sum it up, it's currently divided into three nations:

The Adrestian Empire on the south, which is by far the largest and ruled by a dynasty lasting a thousand years, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus on the north, ruled by a royal family and its knights, and the Leicster Alliance on the east, ruled by a group of nobles instead of a single ruler. (So is it like an aristocracy or an oligarchy? Doesn't seem a republic like I first thought, that's for sure).

Fòdlan seems to have a single, large religion, that being the Church of Seiros.

These powers exists in relative harmony. A harmony that we know will, sooner or later, shatter like glass.

But enough about that: We have arrived at our destination.

And here we are! The place where we will spend most of the game!

Once inside, Jeralt remarks once again he hasn't been in there for years, and really doesn't want to see Rhea again, while Byleth gives their best impression of Snake.

Speaking of Rhea, here she is along with Seteth, her advisor.

After learning Byleth's mom died due to illness, she asks them their name and Byleth... gives an answer, that's for sure.

The fact Byleth's name is nowhere to be seen, not even in text like in Engage, made me imagine Byleth never finished the phrase and Rhea just rolled with it. Or maybe their name is actually "...", who knows.

It's frustrating for character interactions and immersion, but it's also accidentally really funny.

Long story short, she kindly forces Jeralt back into the knights of Seiros and Byleth to be the new professor since Alois reccomended them and the Academy lacks one professor, days before the year starts. Neither of them are happy about this.

Speaking of professors, let's meet Byleth's new colleagues.

This is Hanneman, a Crest scholar and the one who looks the most like an irl professor. He immediately wants to see if Byleth has a Crest of their own which, spoiler alert, they do. A Mystery Crest, in fact.

As for what Crests are, we will go more into detail soon. Just know for now they're Fòdlan's version of Holy Blood from Jugdral.

This is Manuela. On top of being a professor, she's a physician and a songress.

She is also thirsty as fuck, immediately hitting on Jeralt thinking he's the new professor and not missing a beat when she learn it's actually Byleth, quickly switching to flirt with them. If I have to throw a guess, it's because my Byleth is male.

Since no one bothered to brief Byleth on what they were going to be doing before taking the job (or rather, the job taking them), the two give a quick introduction of the Officers Academy.

In short, it's made of Three Houses™ of students: Black Eagles for those from the Adrestian Empire, Blue Lions for those from Faerghus and Golden Deer for those from Leicester.

And this year they're all lead by the future rulers of the academy.

You know, no pressure for a forcefully hired, unqualified professor with zero experience in teaching and dubious social skills.

Haha... About that, Manuela...

Anyway, they just leave Byleth to look around and get familiar with the Monastery until Rhea calls for them.

Oh, by the way, Jeralt left a while ago, telling Byleth to watch out for Rhea since he thinks hiring Byleth as a professor on the spot is pretty sketchy. Wow, he really doesn't trust her.

And while we're taking about Rhea, she's having her own private conversation with Seteth, who is also far from happy about her hiring Byleth.

And you know, he raises a pretty good point.

Byleth has no trackable background besides being Jeralt's child, seems to be the same age as the students of the academy (emphasis on "seems to", we'll get back to that later) and again, as far as both of them know they have absolutely NO experience in teaching.

Rhea tries to reassure him, claiming Byleth is Jeralt's flesh and blood.

How that translates into teaching prowess is anyone's guess, so yes- Rhea hired Byleth entirely due to nepotism.

Seteth is understandably not reassured at all, and begs Rhea to please be careful especially now that Flayn is with them.

Honestly, I think I like him already.

He seems to be the only one with common sense who isn't immediately awestruck by Byleth's presence.

So I'm sure he's either gonna die horribly or have a moment where he claims he was wrong and Byleth is actually the bestest.

Also Seteth doesn't use any honorifics when talking to Rhea, not in private at least, so I can assume they're closer to each other than it seems.

But their talk is not yet done- Rhea has some news about a *sigh* sus impostor who is frequenting the Monastery and is harboring ill will towards the church.

Gee, someone frequenting the Monastery who hates the church? Who could it possibly be?

Okay, to be fair. Edelgard's hatred of the church was something that was mainly evident in later entries like Heroes, not to mention it's the thing about her people talk the most.

From what I remember of pre-release material, we only knew she hates Crests, which at this point in the story that could mean anything.

Then again shortly after this we learn the Crests were granted by the goddess, so....

We see another cutscene of the three houses and its various students, and along with it there's this closeup of Dimitri I am sure awakened something in several people.

The cutscene ends with Byleth being summoned by Rhea, ready to give them their first task as the new professor.

She gives us our first task: explore the Academy, get acquainted with the students and speak with the house leaders.

How cute Rhea, talking about this as though we have a choice.

Alois, the one responsible for Byleth becoming a professor in the first place, reveals someone else was considered first for the position but they ran away during the bandit attack from the Prologue. Wonder who it is.

So we can start picturing what happened: The former candidate for the role of professor bailed during the bandit attack, Rhea completely panicked at having to find a new teacher mere days before the academy year starts, Alois recommended her Jeralt's child who saved her three most prominent stuents' lives (that since they're the future rulers, their deaths would have started a complete shitstorm across all of Fòdlan) and she just thought "You know what? That's good enough for me", throwing caution to the Verdant Wind.

Which is pretty understandable but on the other hand gee, just three professors for a whole academy with no replacements on hand? This place is understaffed as hell.

You're really telling me no one ever candidates to work at the most esteemed academy of Fòdlan? Are teachers incredibly rare? Or does Rhea just handpick all who work at her place herself?

No because all of those possibilities are quite concerning.

I was about to make a joke on how you're hearing chatter while only Byleth and Edelgard are in the room just like in the older KH games but then all of the students loaded in. They mainly make random comments about the playable cast.

But enough about that, time to meet the NPC that everyone loves.

This is the Gatekeeper. He stands watch, daily reports on nothing and is overall a really jolly fellow. Oh, and he's also voiced by the same VA as Alm, so that's a huge plus for me.

Anyway, since Edelgard's here, let's talk to her.

Even if her dialogue box out of context makes it seem like she's about to roast Byleth.

Basically, the house leaders will give you a very brief rundown of their classmates and what they're like.

We're not going to join the Black Eagles until the third playthrough, so I'm not going to look into its students too much for now.

Save for one exception.

This is Bernadetta. Bernie for short. I'm sure you know her.

I want to recruit her since I know you can recruit students from other houses (though I don't know how) and honestly, I just find her really endearing. Social anxiety is a massive mood and let's be honest, ever since Covid I think most of us have gotten at least a little bit agoraphobic.

Oh, and something really neat about this section is that you can also have the house leaders talk about themselves.

Edelgard mentions some view her as distant and arrogant but that she has to be this way due to her position.

She also thinks she and Byleth have similar personalities, which is curious since until now Byleth's personality has been the equivalent of a DVD screensaver with Sothis as the logo.

After learning the devastating news you can neither adopt nor pet cats in this game (Alear is sobbing in the background), we talk to the other house leaders.

Claude delivers some really funny potshots at his classmates (his line about Hilda is especially funny), but we're not here for him (yet). We're here for Dimitri.

Yet again, another tie to that "darkness" of his Byleth mentioned.

We'll get back to that soon.

As for the his classmates, in rapid succession:

Dedue: Commoner and loyal retainer(?) of Dimitri for the past four years. Quiet but kind. He's also born in Duscur, something that caught my eye for reasons I'll explain again, later. I promise there's a payoff to this.

Felix: Noble. Kinda rude considering when he first meets Byleth he claims he's gonna beat them, but Dimitri claims he's a good guy.

We'll see, for now he seems to be an edgelord in the making.

Ashe: Commoner, although he's the adoptive son of Lord Lonato. Given he got submitted for the worst FE Parent Poll, that's not a good sign. He himself seems to be a nice kid though.

Sylvain: Oh goddamnit. A playboy. One of the tropes I despise most.

On the upside I watched MHA not too long ago, so at the very least I can be sure he won't invoke the same homicidal hatred in me as that purple grape bastard. I just hope he doesn't get too annoying.

Mercedes: Born of Imperial nobility but wound up in Faerghus. A bit of a ditz but really kindhearted.

Annette: A really talented and hardworking noble. Dimitri describes her as cheerful and brilliant, but occasionally oblivious.

Ingrid: Childhood friend of Felix, Sylvain and Dimitri. Extremely diligent, to the point Dimitri claims she's more knightly than most actual knights.

Anyway, after chatting with them and their classmates, our recon mission for the day is done.

We return to Rhea, who asks us if we're enjoying our time at the academy.

Eh. It's okay.

Seteth once again expresses his very understandable doubts at the prospect of hiring Byleth as a professor, but Rhea won't budge on this.

So I guess it's time to choose the house we're going to teach. For real this time.

It may not be at the Prologue, but I think this choice is still way, WAY too soon.

At this point we've barely gotten to know the house leaders and all we know of their classmates comes from their brief descriptions and their dialogue if you meet them in their class where they basically just say hi which is... far from enough to make such a huge decision as who are you going to spend the entire game with.

Overall I think Fates did a better job at introducing its factions before making you decide by making you spend a few chapters with both before the Branch of Fate.

Here the choice seems innocent enough at first - you're just going to choose with students to teach, right? - but the marketing, the pre-release material and hell, even the back of the game box make it abundantly clear that's not the case and that the game will take wildly different directions depending on the House you choose.

And like - originally I wanted to talk about which house I would have chose if I didn't already set the order in stone, but at this point I genuinely have no idea because I have valid reasons for all three.

Edelgard to see what the fuck is everyone yelling about, Dimitri to see how he snaps and kills every last one of them and Claude because he and his classmates seem to be the most chill. But again, WAY too soon.

But luckily for me, I preemptively decided the route order, which means I don't have to struggle with this decision at all.

So we choose the Blue Lions.

We'll see the first effects of our decisions on the next episode, because I have once again hit the 30 images limit.

So I guess I'll have to also keep what I wanted to delve on for later. Stupid Tumblr.

<-Previous Masterpost Next->

#fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe16 #faye's fòdlan journal #azure moon

[maevesheart]

IT’S A CRAZY THING

━ ⋅𖥔⋅ TJ&TQ (02)

FRED WEASLEY X FEM!READER

❝ it’s a crazy thing ❞ the joker and the queen / = (2022)

note: —

summary: waking up in the burrow is the last thing you needed, but grayson isn’t one to sit around and wait.

WC: 1k

TW: kidnapping, dark!fred

TJ&TQ MASTERLIST

THE MALFOY MANOR

Voldemort was furious, as expected. Crashing, screaming, and throwing didn’t lessen his fury.

Your mother and father stood in the back of the room, with both their heads down. Maxwell left in a fit of rage, and though Bellatrix had sent Theo out after him, it was a lost cause.

Blaise was still out cold, and Mattheo had been instructed to watch over him while his father dealt with Grayson, Draco, and Cordelia.

Lucius tried to step in, but his wife had stopped him before he opened his mouth.

After the foul words and all the wrath had been taken out on the young Slytherins, they were all sent away.

Voldemort collected his most trusted advisors — Snape, your parents, Auntie Bella, The Malfoys, and Fenrir Greyback — to figure out a way to get their most perfect prodigy back.

━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━

THE BURROW

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Molly Weasley cried, watched as your head lolled over to your other shoulder, your eyes still sealed shut.

The charm was wearing off, and soon you’d be waking up to see the entire Order of The Phoenix standing above your helpless body. 

Still dressed in your ball gown and emeralds, you slowly started to stir awake.

“Oh Godric, poor thing will be so scared, it’s not her fault that her parents dragged her into this…” Molly stressed, smoothing down the flyaway hairs on your forehead.

“Mum, she’s the enemy!” George scoffed.

“Think about it this way, she wants Harry, Hermione, and Ron dead.” Fred noted, Molly dabbing a tear from the corner of her eye.

Your eyes snapped open at the mention of the Golden Trio’s names, and when you opened your mouth to scream, no sound came out.

The fuckers used Silencio on you.

Since you couldn’t produce any noise, all you could do was glare daggers at the group of men and one woman standing around you.

“Is she awake yet?” A cheery voice called. Tonks walked into the room, and her eyes widened at the sight of her distanced cousin strapped to a chair.

“Wow…” she muttered, slowly walking closer to you.

You struggled against the restraints, but kept your eyebrows narrowed as she held eye contact with you.

“Didn’t we do an excellent job, Tonks?” Fred asked, George nodding in approval.

Tonks didn’t answer. She lowered herself to your level to look you straight in the eye.

“Hey, Y/N/N. Long time no see.” She slightly smiled.

You kept the scowl and sour look on your face despite the welcoming greeting from your distant cousin. It could all be a facade.

Tonks wasn’t a good woman. Your family made sure you knew that. Her mother pranced around with mud-bloods, and she was an auror! The most despicable and desperate career you could aim for…. It was absolutely shameful to the Black family.

━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━

After a little more taunting from the twins, you finally regained most of your conscious and were able to make out the faces crowding around you.

The twins, obviously, a chubby woman with red hair, most likely their mother, Professor Lupin, a man you were supposed to trust, some other man with darker skin who seemed to be older, and then your cousin.

You wanted to cry.

You were so helpless, and unless Voldemort came get you now, you didn’t even want to imagine what these people planned to do with you.

Torture? Or even worse? The thought made you shiver.

You wanted to scream at them, use all the painful spells your father and aunt had taught you. Everything you had been prepared with. Just in case this were to ever happen.

It wasn’t really a secret that you had been lusted over before. Most men dropped at your feet. Even for seventeen, you were like a doll carved from porcelain who was the most perfect being anyone had ever seen.

It also wasn’t a secret that Fred Weasley had thirsted over you since his sixth year at Hogwarts.

Only this time, he was planning to do something about it.

━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━

YOUR HOME — THE BLACK ESTATE

Voldemort had sent everyone home after his impromptu meeting, needing some rest himself.

Your mother cried once she walked through the large and beautiful doors of your home, and your brother threw his wand at the closest wall.

Jozzy, your house elf, quickly rushed to your distraught mother, and helped her stand up.

“Get away!” Your mother screamed, Jozzy slinking away, terrified, into the lingering darkness.

They had just had the worst night of their lives; their eldest and most perfect daughter gone.

Voldemort wasn’t willing to attack to get you back just yet, he wanted to wait to see what they wanted from you.

Your father and Aunt Bellatrix were beside themselves, and tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t budge.

Nobody knew what to do with themselves; it was like a game of cat and mouse. They were forced to wait.

But Grayson wasn’t willing to sit around and wait to hear that his sister was dead.

So, he went and got Mattheo, Theo, Draco, Blaise, and Cordelia.

And if Voldemort had a problem, then he would just have to deal with it. 

━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━

#harry potter #imagine #angst #fred wealsey fic #fred weasley #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley angst #the deathly hallows #fred weasley au #maeve writes 🎀