#'call your love a deity/call family your enemy/call yourself free now'

[stefisdoingthings]

holy wars

[purefrostbyte]

Beauty in Strength

Bnha Japanese Deity AU

Ungyo!Kirishima

Rating: Smut

Beauty in Strength

 “…,..i,…oi,….OI!” The red haired god was awoken from his slumber by his loud and irritated partner. “Shitty Hair you can’t just sleep all the fucking time! We got shit to do, prays to answers and offerings to sort through. Do I need to remind you that there’s a war brewing down there!?” The red head looked over at the ash blonde god who scowled him and grinned, “Come on Bakugo, just getting some rest. You don’t get strength without it.” Bakugo growled at him, “Get your ass up, we’re going inside.” The redhead stretch his muscles before popping off his chair and following his partner. The temple was dark, no monks or people in sight only the orbs of prays that had been said during the day. The redhead sighed, until he noticed an offering on his table, one he was all too familiar with. “Bakugo!” he cheered as he raced to his offering table to pick up the small plate, “She came! And she left food!” The red haired god grinned before biting into the offering, moaning at the tenderness of the meat and the flavor. “She always brings you food dipshit,” Bakugo snapped as he looked through the many prayers left to him.

All of a sudden the sound of the front doors opening filled the temple and the two gods froze, what the hell was a human doing here this late? The two quickly hid as they heard soft footsteps approach and Kirishima couldn’t help the grin that settled on his face when he saw who it was. It was you, dressed in a red silk kimono and holding a plate of Yakitori on your hand. You gently placed it on his offering table before bowing and sliding down to the floor to pray. Kirishima and Bakugo watched you, curious as to why you would be at the temple this late.

“Oh God Ungyo,” you started and Kirishima cocked his head to the side, she was here this late at night to pray to him? “Please hear my prayer. I pray for strength but not the usual type.” The two gods stared at you puzzled, the hell did that mean. “I know I am just a woman, but I cannot stand by and watch my village be demolished.” Kirishima gasped, you weren’t doing what he thought you were doing…were you. “Please give me strength on the battle field to defeat my enemy and protect my home.” Kirishima and Bakugo’s jaws dropped, if the people of your village found out you were doing this, you would be put to death. “Please,” you breathed, “Please be merciful and grant me the strength I need. I care not for if I am discovered and put to death. I only care for the wellbeing of my family.” Kirishima frowned, you were willing to put your life on the line, for you family that would ultimately be the ones sentencing you to death.

You bowed once more, giving your thanks, before quickly getting up and leaving to make it back home before dawn. The two gods watched your retreating figure, one with a frown while the other shook their head. Bakugo shook his head, “She’s fucking crazy.” Kirishima looked to the offering she left him, the Yakitari that she left every time as an offering. Bakugo looked towards his godly partner, “No fucking way,” Baku said, shocked at what he was seeing. “What?” Kirishima asked, fidgeting nervously. “You can’t fore fill her prayer, it’s a fucking death wise Kirishima!” Kirishima sighed before looking in the direction you retreated in. “I have you Bakugo, even if I really don’t want to.”

 The battle had been a success and your village was safe once more and it made your heart over flow with happiness. It had been weeks of fighting, of hard work and bloodshed, but finally it was over. But sadly so were you. You smiled at your family one last time, watching you siblings and parents cry as one of the generals you had fought with, and might I add whose life you had saved, lit the fire beneath you that would soon kill you. You smiled though, much to everyone’s shock, and you thank Ungyo for granting you the strength you need to protect the ones you love. You had prepared for this, you didn’t fear death and now all you waited for was for the fiery embrace of death to take you.

 “Please Yaoyorozu! I’m begging you, give her soul to me!” Kirishima begged as the Goddess of creation and death held your soul. She sighed deeply, “It’s not that simple Kirishima. To keep a soul with you in the heavenly realm, well it would mean she is either your slave or a devout follower.” Kirishima yelled, “But she is Yaoyorozu! She is one of my devout followers! Her life ended because I fore fulled her prayer! Please Yaoyorozu, I need to make it up to her!!!” yaoyorozu sighed and took pity on the god of strength, she could see he felt guilty over everything. “Fine, but you must promise to take care of her,” Yaoyorozu instructed and Kirishima nodded profusely, “Of course, of course! Anything!” And that is how you landed up in the care of the God you worshipped the most.

 Everything hurt, your feet burned and your lungs felt like they were on fire. You sat up, needing a glass of water desperately and your eyes scanned the room. It looked like you were in heaven, everything in the room was white and gold, the decor expensive looking and the sheets you lay on made of silk. Your eyes fell on a man with ash blonde hair, who sat in a chair a little ways away from you. He seemed to be reading a book and hadn’t noticed that you had woken. You looked down at your body and you couldn’t hold the gasp that tore from your throat. You were dressed in probably one of the most beautiful kimono’s you had ever seen, it was red with gold accents and golden loins were sown into the red fabric.

The ash blonde looked up from his book and scowled at you, causing you to shriek slightly. “Shitty Hair! She’s awake!” You cocked your head to the side out of confusion until the doors to the room flew open and rushed in came a man who made your stomach full with butterflies. He had spikey red hair, a scar just above his right that accentuated his crimson orbs. He was muscular, that you could tell because he was only wearing a pair of Hakama, leaving his torso bare for your eyes to wonder. The ash blonde tsked before getting up and leaving, yelling something about going to answer more prayers. You sucked in a breath as the red head stepped closer to you, “I’m sorry for not being here when you woke up Y/n, but the war had me very busy. I’m sure you understand.” He grinned at you and you heart felt like it could leap out of your chest. “Where….Where am I?” You asked timidly and the redhead smiled at you, “Why, you’re in my home!” You bit your lip, not the answer you were looking for. “Then…who are you?” Kirishima found the shyness in your voice and actions adorable, “I am Ungyo, God of Strength. But you can call me Kirishima, you’re currently in my house in the heavenly realm.”

Your jaw dropped, there’s no way. “No,” you said and Kirishima cocked his head to the side and laughed, “No? Sorry but it’s the truth. I answered you prayer about helping protect your village, but I knew the fate you would succumb to. So I spoke with the goddess of death and asked if your soul could reside here with me.” Kirishima smiled and your face flushed, “So your telling me that you’re the God Ungyo and that, I’m currently in the Heavenly Realm?!” You asked, shocked out of your mind. Kirishima chuckled nervously, “Yeah, basically. The guy that was in here earlier is Agyo, but you can just call him Bakugo.”

Kirishima gave you time to take in all the information given to you, he didn’t mean to overload you. He was just excited that you were awake. “Why?” you asked quietly and Kirishima furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Why what?” he asked and then he noticed the small wet dots on your kimono. “Why do you want me to stay here? Aren’t I a disgrace because I’m a woman who fought?” Tears stained your eyes and Kirishima’s heart broke. He had always hated it when you cried, he had followed you around since you left your first offering of Yakitari on his table. It was the first thoughtful gift he had received and he had granted your prayer instantly that day. From there he continued to watch you, and the more he did the move he fell in love with you.

“Hey,” he said softly, lifting your face to look at him, “You are no such thing. You were strong when your village need it most. If anything they made a mistake when they sent you away. Not that I’m complaining, causing now I have you all to myself!” You looked up at him with big doe eyes, you heart bounding at his last comment. “A-..All….t-o….All to you-yourself!” Your stuttering was adorable to him and he couldn’t help the almost primal grin that appeared on his face when he noticed the hint of lust and longing in your eyes. “Yip,” he whispered licking his lips before slowly pushing you back onto the bed, “All,” he was on top of you, “To,” he was leaning down, “My,” his hands were undoing the ribbon of your kimono, “Myself.” He ripped the ribbon open and with it your kimono opened to reveal yourself to him.

A gasp left your throat that was hungrily swallowed up by Kirishima as he pressed his lips to yours. Your lips were just like he imaged, soft and warm, and he couldn’t help the groan that left his lips when his hand met the soft skin of your back thigh. You let out a shaky moan, you had never been touched by a man before and the feeling of Kirishima’s large, strong hands on you was addictive. He licked at your bottom lip, wanting entrance and you obeyed. When you were alive you had given everything to the God in front of you and that translated over in death to. Ungyo held your heart, body and soul and we was free to do what he pleased with it.

The feeling of his tongue massaging yours was heavenly and you didn’t notice when you bucked your hips upwards due to the feel Kirishima was giving you. He pulled away from you with a pop, a small trail of salvia connecting your lips. Your face was nothing less of erotic. Cheeks flushed, eyes half lidded and mouth parted slightly as you panted. Kirishima groaned at the sight, “Fuck I can get use to this.”

His hand trailed up your delinquent skin and you ached your back into his touch. Kirishima’s pupils fully dilate when he hears you moan as he cups your breasts, needing them in his giant hands. You panted as he touched, wanting nothing more than to please you. The only problem was that you wanted to please him too. Your attempt to flip him over and take charge was foreseen however and soon you found yourself with your arms pinned above your head by a strong hand. “Oh no you don’t my little lion,” he nipped at your ear and you moaned, “Today, I pleasure you. After all, you did give up your life for this, let me give you a good reason baby.” His voice was low and raspy and it made your stomach coil delightfully at the promise he was making. “Please,” you whispered in a dreamy state and Kirishima chuckled, “Begging already? Fuck you are just too perfect.”

The swear word had court you off guard, but so did the finger Kirishima had now slipped into your core. You threw your head back, you had never been touched and had never touched yourself, and that made Kirishima all the more excited to claim as his forever. He slipped second finger into you and started scissoring inside you. You gasped and withered under him and all he did was watch with a smile. “Your beautiful baby, god I can’t wait to make you mine,” You mewl at his words, wanting nothing more than to be his. He then let go of your wrists working his way down your body, “Be a good girl and keep your arms there for me ok?” you nodded and did as you were told, confused as to what was about to happen.

Then Kirishima’s mouth engulfed your clit and your moaned so loudly that you were sure that if Bakugo was hear he would have heard it. Kirishima smirked against your core, loving how responsive you were to him. He continued to suck and lick at you lick, working you open and watching how you thrashed and withered because of him. “Kirishima! Kirishima Please!!” you gasped, you wanted him, wanted nothing more than to be his and be by his side. Kirishima let go of your clit and retracted his fingers, which caused you to whine at the loss of contact. “Shhh, baby,” he whispered as he shed his Hakama and aligned himself with your core. He pushed in, whispering words of comfort as you gasped and shook. It was painful, but Kirishima helped you through it and waited until you were fully adjusted.

“You…you can move,” you whispered as you panted, the feeling foreign but not unpleasant and when Kirishima started thrusting, you saw stars higher that the heavens. “Kirishima!” You gasped as your legs clamped shut around his waist. Kirishima growled and picked up his pace, determined to wreck you. “Fuck baby, that’s it. You take me so well,” he was growling in your ear, one of his hands on the back of you thigh for support while the other was lost in you mass of h/c locks. “Kiri, Kiri, Kiri,” you chanted his name like a prayer and fuck if it wasn’t everything he ever wanted. “Yes Baby, fuck. Tell me how you feel baby,” Your head tilted back as he hit a small bundle of nerves on you, “OH GOD! Kiri! Oh, I feel so good. God PLEASE!” Kirishima chuckled at you bending down to you ear to nipple playfully, “Your god’s right here Darling,” his thrusts became harder and faster as he was filled with renewed vigor, “And I ain’t letting you go baby.”

His next thrust was angled just right and you cam, his name rolling off your tongue sinfully as you screamed through the heavens. Kirishima growled and kept thrusting, prolonging your high while chasing his. He cam in you with a groan that boarder a growl and it along and the over stimulation made you cum a second time. He grinned down at you, not bothering to pull out as he wrapped you both in the silk sheets, “Sleep my little lion, you need rest.”

Dear lord was this one long. I want to make this into a AU, so there will be more with other characters. Its all loosely based on Japanese folklore, deities and spirits. I really tried my hardest and I hope you all enjoyed it

XOXO

[philliamwrites]

The Dawn Will Come [Chpt.3]

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses

Pairing: Dimitri x Reader, Claude x Reader, Edelgard x Reader, Yuri x Reader, Edelgard x Byleth, lots of minor pairings

Tags: #gn reader, # platonic love byleth & reader, #reader is a tactical unit, #angst, #slow burn, #subplots, #unreliable narrator, #pining, #remporary amnesia, #reluctant herp, #canon divergence, #lost twin au, #many chapters, #original content

Words: 7.7k

Summary: Waking up in a forest without any knowledge of your past and who you are, you join the house leaders of the Officers Academy to search for a way to return your memories. Unfortunately, the church has different plans for you, and Fate places you in the centre of a cruel game with deadly stakes. It certainly doesn’t help to fall in love with a house leader who is doomed to be your demise.

Notes: Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

Chapter 03: Ties That Bind

Where war, and joy, and terror Have all at times held away; Where both delight and horror Have had their fitful day.

The happiest under heaven A king of powerful mind; A company so proven Would now be hard to find

Gawain put on a good cheer. ‘Why should I hesitate?’ He said. ‘Kind or severe, We must engage our Fate.’

[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]

    „Breathe,“ Hanneman says for the third time. At every tap of his pen against the table, you flinch as if someone is knocking right against the inside of your skull. “You have to feel the Crest, become one with it. Don’t think of it as an addition; see it as an extension of your very self.”

    You exhale but it’s hard to focus after you’ve been sitting in the same position for nearly two hours and your legs keep falling asleep.

    “Focus on it,” Hanneman continues. He starts to gesture with his free hand, an indicator that he’s just as frustrated with your lack of progress as you are. “Focus on the feeling that took hold of you when you fought the bandits. Imagine what you want. Ask yourself what it is you really want, and take hold of that picture.”

    Well, first of all, you really want a sandwich.

    For the past few weeks, you’ve been waking up before sunrise to attend private lessons with Hanneman to get a hold of your Crest’s power. Now the end of the month approaches, and still your body refuses to get accustomed to work at such an early hour, and more importantly without eating first. An hour ago, your stomach started growling, but Professor Hanneman has proved again and again to be very successful in ignoring factors that disturb his lessons. You continue breathing through what you consider hunger pains instead of the raise of new powers, but with the sound of screaming students outside and the occasional flapping of wings as Pegasus Knights fly by on their patrol, it’s anything but successful.

    “Focus!” Hanneman chides again as if he can read your mind and knows exactly you’re thinking of the pheasant roast with berry sauce on the menu today.

    “I’m trying,” you groan and slump into the chair, defeated. “But I don’t feel anything.”

    “Hmm hmmm,” Hanneman hums and looks at you like you were supposed to understand what he’s conveying with that sound. “Maybe we’re looking at it the wrong way,” he says once you don’t follow up on his inexplicable sound. “Maybe we should stop thinking of it as a common Crest, but approach it like it is something entirely different.” He quickly notes something on his paper, then proceeds to flip through the open books he’s splayed out on his desk. “There is so little we know about the Crest of the Herald. I am much frustrated no one thought of studying it a thousand years ago!”

    “I don’t understand. How can it be different?” Your first lesson solely focused on Crests. How they are thought to be power incarnate, bestowed upon humans by the Goddess countless ages ago. Today those who are descendants of Fódlan’s Ten Elites and Four Saints, who fought during the War of Heroes beside Saint Seiros, wear Crests, a sign of wealth and nobility.

    “Well, one possible explanation could be that for whatever reason, the first Herald was different from his fellow warriors, the Ten Elites,” Hanneman offers, leaning back into his chair and looking a lot more interested in the conversation now. “The Goddess must have found him worthy of her power just as she found Saint Seiros worthy.”

    “Then why wasn’t he a Saint?” you wonder. From your understanding, the Four Saints were special comrades of Saint Seiros, just as guided by the Goddess as their leader. What had made the Herald from back then different? “According to everything you told me, he sounds a lot like this Macuil person. Focusing on strategy and all that.”

    “Saint Macuil,” Hanneman corrects you, but there’s no bite in his voice. “And yes, perhaps he was akin to the Saints, but that clearly wasn’t what determined the final decision to name him Herald.”

    “Well, that’s just my kind of luck,” you mumble, but when Hanneman makes a puzzled sound, you ask instead, “And you’re sure I’m a descendant of him?”

    “Most likely! You bear a Major Crest, which means the Herald’s blood runs strong in your body. After he disappeared, he might have settled down and started a family. Unfortunately, nothing is recorded about him after the War of Heroes concluded.”

    “Then how come there was no one else in a thousand years who bore the same Crest?” You aren’t sure you fully understand how they work. Apparently, Crests grant special powers to those who hold them such as high aptitude for magic or enhanced strength. But you know better than anyone that the Crest of the Herald is special. It doesn’t simply give you a boon, it allows you to command the flow of battle. But is it really a blessing bestowed by the Goddess? You don’t remember a divine revelation or talking to a Goddess. Or did that maybe occur even before you were found by the Officers Academy’s students? Before your memory loss? You certainly don’t feel chosen by a deity.

    “Trying to explain the Goddess’ whims would wield about the same result as asking this question,” Hanneman says. “Sometimes a Crest may skip generations. No one can say with certainty who will be chosen. If it will be the first or third born. That is why we must further study Crests! For example, why, unlike other Crests, has your appeared physically visible?” Hanneman mutters more questions under his breath and notes them quickly on his paper. It’s remarkable how enthusiastic he approaches the topic if it only didn’t make you feel like an experiment lying on a dissection table.

    “I want to know so much more about the first Herald,” you mumble. “What was his name? Where was he from?” Why did he disappear and what were the costs he had paid for such a title. Only one month in and Lady Rhea already granted you an impressive room to reside. People treat you with respect and admiration even though you aren’t doing much besides wave at them on the streets or hold some conversations. If being the Herald only encompasses these tasks, you’ll gladly take on the role and speak to people. But that would be a dream too good to be true.

    “We can only speculate,” Hanneman says. “Some believe the Herald came when Seiros needed him most. Our Goddess’ answer to her cry of help. Others believe he was simply a general who originated form a farmer’s family. Other, smaller sources talk about a prince from a far off land who passed through Fódlan and decided to stay. But in all cases, the Herald was a great asset to win the War of Heroes and save Fódlan from the tyranny of the Fell King.”

    “Yeah, no pressure there,” you mumble, sinking further into your seat. Hopefully no one expects you to save Fódlan from evil monarchs. If yes, it certainly won’t happen on an empty stomach. When Hanneman releases you, there’s only one place for you to be. The Dining Hall is crowded at this time of hour. Students and faculty bustle everywhere, eager to get their favourite meal on a plate. Just like them, you are drawn in by the amazing smell of roasted meet and freshly baked pastries.

    The only thing you can live without is how once you enter the room several heads turn in your direction, and a ripple of “Look, it’s the Herald” goes through the crowd, spreading like a wave. Or a disease, you think with a sour taste in your mouth as you move through the parting sea. They want you to acknowledge them but Goddess forbid you actually engage in conversation with them and they flee like you’re the Herald of Pest.

    “Herald!” Well, not everyone escapes. Some seem to like living dangerous.

    Edelgard looks straight at you from between the other students from the Eagle class sitting at a table, removing any doubt she means anyone else but you. Running from her would be a sign of defeat, so you drag yourself over to the Eagle table and give the round an uncertain smile. “Hello.”

    “Herald, if you have time, please sit with us,” Edelgard offers but the look she pins on you doesn't give you any choice. The silence of her classmates speaks louder than words, and a quick glance to Hubert tells you that he very much would like for you to notsit with them.

    “Sure,” you say lamely and sit opposite from her where Bernadetta quickly shuffles to the side to make room, and then further down the bench until she jumps to her feet and flees from the hall. It’s a miracle she’s out of her chambers in the first place, undoubtedly Byleth’s work.

    “Did you manage any progress with Professor Hanneman?” Edelgard asks, carefully cutting her pheasant roast into small bite-sized pieces. She looks the complete opposite from someone capable of hacking away their enemies but you wouldn’t dare to underestimate her.

    “It’s slow,” you admit, solely focusing on shoving potatoes from one side of your plate to the other so you don’t have to look at anyone. “I’ve only grasped the basics of how Crests work and the Herald’s is so different.”

    “Research might prove more fruitful if you’d be called into action,” she says, and it’s difficult to determine if that statement is a simple observation or underlying critique towards Rhea’s decision to leave you out of the major education system. At least that’s something you’re sure of. Edelgard is difficult.

    “Maybe. But chances are higher I get myself killed somehow on the battlefield.” You’re already dreading the approaching noon hours. Byleth has worked out a special training programme for you and the house leaders. So far there hasn’t been a day without aching muscles and bruises for you. Thinking of Byleth, you can’t help but ask, “So how’s Byleth as a Professor?”

    Edelgard considers her plate with mild interest, but her index fingers start tapping against her cutlery. She has small, delicate hands. Cute hands. You gawk at them for two seconds before noticing Hubert starring daggers at you, and quickly avert your eyes to your cup of ginger tea like it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.

    “Our professor shows knowledge in the most curious things,” he says, surprising you by joining the conversation. “I think the Adrestian Empire will benefit greatly from that.”

    You aren’t sure how leading the class correlates directly to joining the Empire, but you don’t want to point that out. Hubert is still too much of a puzzle you’re adamant on not piecing together because whatever picture waits for you after the assembly might be one of horror.

    “She really is one to look up to,” Edelgard agrees, but she isn’t looking at anyone, so it seems she’s saying it more to herself. You want to try and read more out of her expression, but distraction comes quickly in form of more students from the Eagle class. Caspar is the first bouncing excitedly towards the table, and still he somehow miraculously manages to keep his food from flying everywhere. “Herald!” he calls and slides right on the seat right next to you. “How’s the head situation going?”

    “Caspar,” Linhardt chides and gives his friend the disappointed look of a parent that can’t bring his child to use a fork to eat. “Would you stop pestering the Herald with the same question every day?”

    Linhardt hits the mark. It was nice in the beginning to have someone show so much interest in your wellbeing, but now you don’t know if the daily reminder how you fail to regain pieces of your past is rude or just Caspar’s naive politeness.

    “Yeah well.” You try to stuff as much potatoes in your mouth as possible just to avoid talking about it. “Nothin’ yeff.”

    “Herald, please try to keep your manners in check, will you?” Ferdinand comments because of course he catches you with your mouth full and sauce dripping from the corners. Unlucky for him, you don’t really care.

    “Well, sorry.” Caspar frowns and scratches the remains from his plate. The two minutes you needed to finish your potatoes, he’s cleared his whole plate. “I just thought it might help.”

    “Help to be reminded what’s missing?” Linhardt doesn’t look convinced. “I think the Herald knows so better than anyone.”

    “Guys, drop the subject,” Edelgard intervenes. “Let us finish our meals now. Classes resume presently and I don’t want to hear any stomachs growling, understood?” The last part goes with a pointed look towards Linhardt, who answers with a lazy shrug while continuing to poke at his food, looking bored out of his mind. It lasts about three seconds before he brightens up and turns towards you while rummaging through his school bag. From that, he pulls out notes and a pen, and unceremoniously shoves them into your hands. “I have a question, Herald. Would you be so kind and look over these strategic proposals I’ve developed from the last lesson? I understand what you taught us were basics as we find them in the library. I simply took the time and applied those to the strengths and abilities of my classmates.”

    You raise your eyebrows. “You did?” Up until now, you didn’t know Linhardt was paying attention whenever you gave the students your sorry excuses of lessons. You feel like you’ve seen him asleep far more than actually looking at the board or writing, so him presenting his notes to you now is more than a surprise. He has a clean handwriting, small letters that curl into themselves and forget to take a break between words. You squint at the sentences, trying to make them out. It sure doesn’t help that half of it is crossed out by what looks like a strategy sketch with little circles and everyone’s names filling out the space.

    “This looks … elaborate,” you comment, unsure if you’ll ever be able to solve this enigma.

    “No worries.” Linhardt gives a little smile. “Please give me your answer report until tomorrow. And feel free to correct me on anything I’ve done wrong.”

    He’s probably done a much better job than you on your lesson notes, but you nod with a lopsided smile. “I will.”

    “Oh, and while we’re at strategy talk,” Caspar jumps right in, “any good ideas how to take on a taller opponent?”

    “A good kick to their shins?” you suggest.

    “A dagger to their liver?” Edelgard says.

    “Poison in their cup?” Hubert offers.

    “You’re all animals,” Ferdinand says.

    Linhardt groans. “I toldyou how to win in a fight like that, Caspar. Why won’t you listen to me?”

    You don’t want to be part of the argument breaking out between them, so you turn away and try to see what the other students are doing in the dining hall. At the opposite end, Claude catches your eyes and waves like he’s been waiting way too long to finally get your attention. He points at Edelgard and flaps his arms like a chicken. He points at you and spreads his hands behind his head, forming antlers with his fingers. When Edelgard follows your eyes, his head whips around and he pretends to agree with whatever Lysithea just said.

    “I hope you forgive Caspar’s enquiries,” she says, steering your focus back to her. She’s gently tapping the corners of her mouth with an embroidered napkin, and oh there they are again, her delicate fingers. You look away before Hubert catches you staring again and decides to put poison in your cup7. “I speak on behalf of everyone in the Black Eagle House when I say we wish for your full recovery to be soon.”

    “If wishing would only get the job done, I might have something to work with by now.”

    Edelgard doesn’t blink, her expression frozen. “Meaning?”

    “I thought I'd come here and one of the Church's healers would just wave their hands to return my memories,” you mumble, scribbling a tiny Claude with little, evil horns on his head in the corner of Linhardt’s notes.

    Edelgard looks at you like you've just insulted her whole noble lineage. “That isn't how magic works.”

    You throw your arms up in frustration to emphasise that yes, that's the point. You don't know how anything works in this place, and you doubt Byleth's four pages of lesson plans are going to help.

    “If no one comes to your aid, maybe it is time you take matters into your own hands.” You flinch at the scornful sound in Edelgard’s voice. Judging the expression on her face, she seems just as surprised about her outburst. She gets up abruptly and bids farewell with a curt nod, followed closely by Hubert as always. Her classmates look after her, each more puzzled than the next.

    “Didn’t she seem … angry to you?” Linhardt thinks aloud, blinking into the empty space.

    Ferdinand harrumphes. “She’s always like this. Please excuse her, Herald.”

    You don’t think she’s done anything wrong, and yet she certainly doesn’t appear as always. Something about her last words strikes you as especially sharp; reproachful. Those weren’t meaningless words, but you don’t have any ways to decipher the message. A little voice tells you she isn’t wrong either. So far nothing has helped returning your memories—Manuela’s medicine, herbs from the Greenhouse, Hanneman’s spells. It seems like your brain has built defencive walls to repel any probing, which begs the answer to the question what is hiding in secret even more. But can you really do it on your own, like Edelgard suggests? It seems impossible.

    With newfound doubt you finish your meal, saying your goodbyes to the now scattering Eagle students as they scurry off to their next lesson. Two hours are left before you’re meeting with Byleth and the house leaders, and since you agreed to look over Linhardt’s notes, the library seems a good next stop. You still want to go over the seven classical manoeuvres of war, especially since the students didn’t really grasp the remaining two last time, and it gives you a good excuse to look over them again as well. At the beginning, you thought there was nothing you could teach those children, not with experienced colleagues at your side who have participated in countless battles themselves. Who could have thought that talking about tactics and strategies came as natural to you as breathing. Well, Rhea did for certain, and even the students drink up your every word like it is a message from the Goddess herself and you her chosen herald. The irony of it.

    But it isn’t only the students accepting your guidance. Something inside you changed in the last couple of weeks as well. When you started going through the books in the library, it was more stumbling and slipping on foreign terrain, but just in a couple of days, you moved through the matter like a fish following smoothly the currents of its native waters. It felt like home. Like building the foundation of a house from thousand variables, the result different each time but still the same: art. You build the art of battle, the last decision that will bring victory or death. You love every second of it. Which opens the possibility that it really isn’t your first time, but also more questions: Who taught you? What battles have you fought? How many of them did you win? Since those aren’t as simple to answer, you focus on fulfilling the first purpose, and hope that it will some day be enough for the students to survive battles.

    If only it would end there. Your second duty isn’t as easy or pleasant, and it lies in wait for you everywhere, stalking you like a dark shadow with monstrous fangs.

    “Herald.” A soldier gives a courteous bow, intercepting you in the Great Hall on your way to the library. “Pilgrims ask for you near the Entrance Hall. Please allow me to escort you.”

    Immediately, your nerves tingle with nervous anticipation. This is the scary part. Meeting the people, seeing the hope in their eyes. You’d gladly send them back where they’ve come from, but some have travelled for multiple days, and denying them audience would be cruel.

    “Don’t let me stop you from your duties,” you say, unconsciously tugging your clothes in order to appear presentable. “I will welcome them on my own.”

    The soldier nods and bows again, his expression barely readable under the helmet before he disappears as quickly as he came.

    Planning lessons is easy. You can find whatever you need in the library and work out the flow with the students. But nothing can prepare or teach you how to act like the Herald people wish for. Nowhere is anything written on the old Herald, how he talked to them and what promises he’d whispered when day broke. That is where you are on your own. Not even Rhea could answer that question. She only instructed that you see them, and remind them about their devotion to the Goddess—for she was the one who made it possible in the first place.

    The Entrance Hall is emptier than usual. Most of the students are in class, and a handful of knights and soldiers might be at the advanced training camp Jeralt and Alois hold in honour of the Blade Breaker’s return. So spotting the pilgrims isn’t difficult. Especially with the Gatekeeper waving his arms in wide arcs as if fearing you might overlook him.

    “Greetings, Herald!” His grin is blinding. “The pilgrims are waiting for you just at the at the foot of the stairs.”

    “Yeah,” you say. “I can see them.”

    “Oh, yes, of course! If anyone causes problems, count on me to help!”

    “Thanks.” You answer his thumbs up with one of your own before moving downstairs. What a refreshing young man. Certainly good looking under his helmet. Byleth seems to like talking to him a lot as well.

    Today’s pilgrims aren’t much different from other days. Old people are supported by their family members, who have brought baskets with sweets and flowers, presenting them at your feet.

    “Herald,” they breathe in awe, bowing. No matter how often you’ve seen it by now, it still feels incredibly wrong.

    “Raise your heads,” you tell them, helping an elderly woman up to hrer feet. She gasps at your touch, then clings to your hands. You try to swallow past the lump in your throat. “The Archbishop and I bid you welcome. The Goddess will smile upon your devotion.” Your cringe slightly when echoing Rhea’s words and wonder if any second the goddess might punish you by throwing lightning your way.

    “We are blessed to finally meet you,” a younger woman says, taking the old woman from your hands—mother and daughter maybe? “Please accept our gifts, and may the Goddess guide you on your path to light.”

    “She will answer your prayers and guide me so I can bring you peace,” you reply just so you can say something they might want to hear. Judging their delighted expressions this wasn’t the worst you could have said. Dorothea would probably be proud looking at your acting skills. Or point out your bad posture and how you’re avoiding their eyes. Dorothea would probably tell you how much you have to polish your acting skills.

    “Bring us peace?” someone from the last row spits, pushing to the front. “You know nothing, the Herald will bring chaos and ruin!” A man in his forties looms above you, an ugly, padded scar crossing his face from one temple to his chin. A war veteran? They way he holds himself looks like he’s been beaten up once too much to get up again.

    “You heathen, don’t you dare speak to our Herald like that,” the old woman barks, immediately doubling over in a coughing fit. Her daughter supports her, glaring at the man. “Go in peace, but go if you only came to talk ill about our Herald,” she says, clearly upset. "Doubting them is doubting our Goddess. How dare you."

    “First I want to see the Herald do something! What if … if this one is an impostor.” The man turns towards the others, throwing his arms in the air. “Bring forward proof that you are not here to ruin our lands, but to actually serve in the Goddess’ name!”

    This time his demand meets less resistance. Until now people were fine with seeing you and the Crest, but to want actual prove? You could easily threaten them and ask if they doubt the Goddess’ decision, but you’d rather leave that method to Rhea. You don’t want to sound like her. You don’t want to scare people. Yet admitting that you don’t really have a clue how to really use the Crest would surely support the man’s accusation. Diminishing the people’s trust in the Herald is the last thing you want, especially if it means facing Rhea’s scorn.

    “I—”

    “Herald!” A voice calls from the top of the stairs. When you turn around, Sylvain waves and jogs downstairs, looking like he’s been running for some time. “There you are. The Archbishop wants to see you.”

    Oh no, has she heard of your failure already? Giving the choice of facing a group of doubting people or Rhea, you’d immediately go to the people. You give him a curt nod, unable to speak because you don’t trust your voice.

    “I apologise,” you say to the pilgrims, clearing your throat when it comes out as a croak. “I will have something prepared for another time.”

    “No, you do not need to prove anything to us,” the elderly woman says. “We will always believe in you. Please tell Her Grace we are constantly praying to our Goddess and thank her for sending you to us.”

    “I will.” You squeeze her hand a last time. “Save travels.”

    The man still glares at you, but without a chance to keep you present any longer, he turns away and follows the rest. You can’t wait to leave all that behind, and as you steel your nerves for what’s waiting for you in the Audience Chambers, you look up to Sylvain and ask, “Did Lady Rhea say what it is about?”

    He looks over at you and blinks a couple of times, then seems to remember. “Ah ... yeah, about that. I lied.”

    You stop dead in your tracks. “You lied?”

    “Yup. I don’t know what Lady Rhea’s doing. But you looked like you were about to puke at those poor pilgrim’s shoes. As hilarious as that would have been, I wanted to spare you the embarrassment.” He stops now as well and smiles a boyish crooked grin. Sylvain knows exactly what to do with his face so girls fall over themselves to do him a favour, and boys grow jealous of all the attention he gets. Two weeks in, and you’ve figured out his game, keeping a respectable distance that wouldn’t birth the thought you’re avoiding him. In fact, this could be the very first time you’re actually holding a real conversation.

    “Well, I … thank you? But I had everything under control.”

    He looks like he doesn’t believe you. The gatekeeper you’re just passing looks like he doesn’t believe you. You press your lips into a thin line and dare any of them to disagree.

    “Okay.” Sylvain shrugs. “But now we’re here.”

    “Sylvain, what do you want?”

    “Cutting to the chase, huh?” He crosses his arms behind his head. “Why do you think I want something?” Your raised eyebrows seem to be answer enough. Sylvain laughs a little helplessly and returns his hands back to his front, raised as an offer of peace. “I promise, I want nothing. Just a little talking. A little talking hasn’t hurt anyone.”

    Something inside you wants to argue against it, but without a solid argument in hand, you follow him silently, wondering where his destination and intention lies. He belongs to the many students you can’t really read, nothing about his ambitions or goals. Sometimes he gives you this strange look through half lidded eyes, his gaze focused on your right eye—his interest in your Crest undeniable, and yet he’s been one of the few not to talk about it with you. It’s strange because whenever you come together, he looks like there’s something he’s dying to say. This time is no different.

    He leads you to the wooden pavilion in the gardens, but instead of offering you a seat, Sylvain leans his slim hips against the table, half sitting on it. Seteth would be furious seeing this.

    “How’s the Herald business doing for you?” he asks the one question you wouldn't expect from him. “Other than you having ‘everything under control.’” He has the audacity to air-quote. This isn’t a conversation you want to hold right now, leastwise with him. Sylvain must discern that you’re ready to bold from whatever your body is showing. With a quick step, he’s standing between you and the escape route, lazily leaning one arm against a column to uphold the illusion that you’re only having a pleasant talk when in reality his body stands between you and your freedom.

    “Do you talk to the other faculty members like that as well?” you say through gritted teeth, crossing your arms. Sylvain blinks like he doesn’t understand, but you’ve seen this act before, followed by an eerily precise repetition of a subject to one of his classmates when he thinks none of the teachers pay attention. Sylvain is playing dumb and deliberately hiding a sharp mind.

    “Oh, I didn’t mean to offend,” he quickly says, nothing about this crooked smile appearing apologetic whatsoever. “I’m generously curious. You’re holding up really good.”

    “In comparison to what?” you demand, your heartbeat picking up. Is he trying to call you out on something? That you aren’t heraldy enough? But to your surprise, Sylvain looks genuinely surprised by your reaction.

    “To nothing. In general?” He shrugs. “Back on the ceremony day, you didn’t look so good standing up there, and His Highness told us everything happened really uh … ‘suddenly.’’ More air-quotes, whatever they mean this time.

    “If you mean I wasn’t really asked to become the Herald, then yes.” Your arms drop back to your side. “It was suddenly.”

    Sylvain watches you for a moment, and again, there’s this look in his eyes; the need to say something he can’t. He kneads the back of his nape, avoiding your eyes. “All I’m trying to say is … having that Crest out of nothing is cool. Probably. And maybe terrifying? And just—”

    You grow impatient. “Come on, get the words out, Sylvain.”

    “A Crest isn’t just this nice letter of invitation to a privileged life. Just take care, is all I’m saying.”

    And there’s another page to the book of surprises with Sylvain’s name on it. The immediate lack of response catches him off guard; it’s like he only notices now that the vital part to understand this conversation is missing: The source of his doubt towards Crests.

    Sylvain’s body turns in a split second, his feet facing the direction he’s ready to bold towards, but this time you stand in his way and block him off. “Sylvain, are you okay?”

    He blinks in confusion, then furrows his eyebrows in deep thought like you demanded he recites the Ten Heroes from memory or else fails classes. His face contorts with the effort of looking fine. “Why, yes! Just peachy. Why would you think something is off?”

    “Because I have eyes in my skull.”

    “Very pretty eyes, if I dare say.” His answer comes out like a fire spell, hard and fast, seemingly more instinct than anything else. He clears his throat and scratches his chin, loosing momentum. “Goddess, I am bad at this.”

    “You are.” No need to sugar coat it. “If something happened, just say it.”

    “Nothing really happened, I just—” He exhales audibly and stares into space for a long minute, before side stepping you without difficulty. “Actually, I remembered Professor wanted to see me after class. Something about extra lessons about eh. Horse riding. Yeah. I’ll catch you later, Herald.” He winks and bolds away, darting under your outstretched arm before you can catch him. For someone this tall, he’s surprisingly agile and fast, already disappearing behind a tall hedge towards the main building.

    If that wasn’t the strangest conversation you’ve held with anyone, you don’t know what might excel that. Maybe it’s time you stop avoiding Sylvain.

    The Training Grounds smells of sweat and oil. Many students and knights train, which is surprising at this kind of hour, the short break between afternoon and evening classes. You’d like to know what they’re working on, but Byleth doesn’t tolerate inattention in a classroom or on the battle field, and demands you do push-ups each time your eyes wander somewhere off. You hate her a little for that. For whatever reason, Claude has taken on the role of your partner in crime, and does whatever necessary to make Byleth punish him as well.

    “What can I say, I like a good workout,” he said when you asked. He didn’t even try to hide his lie, looking as miserable as you felt. Probably hating Byleth a little as well.

    It’s the fourth week of private training with her and the house leaders, and so far you can definitely say that you were not meant to fight on the field. You see how your opponent moves, you can somehow predict what they’re going to do next—but your body simply protests to act accordingly. You stumble, you fall, you need a second too long to get up and before you can do anything, a training sword is at your throat. Byleth always looks like she wants to facepalm her fist through her forehead. Or yours.

    “Herald, this is not how you disarm someone,” she says, as always, and demonstrates it in one smooth, swift movement, as always. You blow hair out of your eyes, knowing you’re about to fail again. At least that gave Claude a reason to give you a new nickname, though if it’s better than the last is debatable.

    “You gotta twist your wrist, duckling!” he calls from the other side of the hall, immediately drawing Byleth’s attention to him. He and Dimitri are facing off, both wielding a spear which should give Dimitri the upper hand. So far, he hasn’t landed a single hit on Claude.

    “Keep your elbows in!” Byleth berates Claude. “Stop flapping them like some kind of chicken.”

    Claude lets out a disturbingly convincing cluck.

    You raise an eyebrow. “At least someone’s having fun.”

    Byleth sighs. “He’s going to get himself killed sooner than later.”

    “I don’t know. He’s managed so far, hasn’t he?”

    “I’m not sure if it’s a talent or a fault.” She turns back to you and nods her chin towards the side. “Take a break. I’m going to see how the boys are doing.”

    You nod, tensing all over because that’s where Edelgard is currently standing and picking out a training axe. You haven’t talked to her since lunch, and you can do without it for a couple more hours. She barely glances at you when you walk over, and instead checks out the edge of the wooden blade, turning it left and right.

    “Is she as strict in the classroom as in here?” you ask, unable to go on in awkward silence. Edelgard hums, throwing a quick glance towards Byleth from under her long, white lashes. “She’s systematic and consistent. Capable in both fields. I have no reason to raise any kind of complaint.”

    “That’s impressive.” You sure as heck still wouldn’t want her as a teacher. “Even though she’s been pushed into all this, she handles it like she’s never done anything else.”

    “I think as a mercenary, she is used to changing approaches depending on the employer.” Edelgard is still looking at Byleth. Reading her expression is impossible, and you don’t want to point out that sticking a sword into thieves and bandits is not the same as teaching kids how to fight in a battle. Her head whips to you suddenly, and she considers the training sword in your hand. “Speaking of different approaches,” she continues, “have you considered that your field of combat might be magic?”

    You have, so the answer comes immediately. “Chances are higher I set myself on fire.” You stare at her. “I didn’t mean it to rhyme.”

    Edelgard ignores your last comment. “But you haven’t really tried it out, have you?” Your lack of response is answer enough for her, and she nods like that proves a point.

    It’s complicated. You haven’t really tried it out because … the simple answer is, you’re afraid. It gets tricky once you try to search for the answer to that. There’s just a strange sensation when you try to use magic, like there’s a vast sea of possibilities and one step inside is enough to get you lost. It isn’t as bad with wind spells or white magic. You haven’t touched Fire spells because a crippling fear chills you to the bones every time you manage to nourish a small flame inside your palm—the complete opposite to Dark magic. When you tried a MiasmaΔ for the first time it felt strangely … secure. The rope tying you to a shore, it had felt like—

    There’s a loud crash when the spears collide and Claude knocks Dimitri off his feet. The whole room is silent as everyone watches how Claude taps the blunt end of his practice spear against Dimitri’s chin. “Steady on there, darling,” he says with a smug grin. Dimitri flushes bright red, and pushes with more force than necessary the spear away, quickly climbing to his feet.

    “That wasn’t bad.” Byleth quickly steps in before Dimitri can throttle Claude. “Dimitri, you rely too much on your brute strength. That’s a big disadvantage against someone like Claude. And you, young man,” she turns to Claude who’s been smiling victoriously, “are scheming too much and lose time to take action. In a serious battle, you won’t be as lucky as today.”

    “Noted.” Claude whirls his spear from left to right, almost dropping it when Dimitri drills his elbow into his side. “But in a serious battle, I won’t be upfront. I’ll be hanging back nicely, and skewing my enemies with a myriad of arrows.”

    “You can barely shoot three at the same time,” Dimitri grumbles, his cheeks still splotched with red specks.

    “You wanna bet—”

    “That’s enough, guys, save it for then next round.” Byleth ignores their sulky expressions and turns to you, raising a single eyebrow. The message is clear. What are you waiting for?

    Your feet feel like they’re glued to the ground. Edelgard doesn’t hesitate at all. “Let’s go.”

    She strides in the middle, training axe raised. It’s made out of wood, but you don’t doubt that she’s able to severe a limb from your body if she only tries hard enough—and what you know of Edelgard is that she alwaysexceeds even her own expectations. You grip your sword tighter. It’s a clear disadvantage, but better than anything else you can handle. Maybe it won’t be as bad.

    The fight lasts for about seven seconds. The moment you raise the blade, Edelgard is on you and unleashes fierce strike after strike, the power behind each hit forcing you back. She doesn’t bat an eyelash when she easily disarms you, the wooden sword flying over your heads and the edge of her axe on your throat. Somewhere behind her, you hear Byleth sigh. “Again.”

    The next hour is torture. Edelgard throws you to the ground, again and again. Byleth keeps telling you to get up, again and again. One might think they would cut you some slack, being the Herald and all, but it feels like Edelgard is so much more aggressive today because you’re the Herald. Or maybe it’s personal. Maybe she’s appointed you to be her sworn enemy, and won’t miss out any chance to make it as hard as possible for you.

    This isn’t fun. Being watched by Dimitri and Claude, who whisper conspiratorially to each other isn’t fun. Luckily, Byleth notices them gawking and bellows them to focus on working on their stances. Right now, you’re thankful nothing escapes her eyes and she calls her students out on their bullshit. It doesn’t make your current situation easier though. Every muscle burns, just raising the sword is exhausting and your feet feel like they’re about to give out any second. This must be hell.

    When Byleth finally ends lessons, you ignore everything and crumble to the ground, splaying your limbs out in all directions. Surely they can clean up without you, two hands less will barely make any difference.

    A shadow settles over you. You know who it is, and don’t bother to open your eyes. “Go away, Byleth. I don’t want to hear how bad I am.”

    “Personally, I think you have improved, Herald.” Your eyes snap open. Dimitri looks down at you, his forehead still glistening from perspiration. “But facing Edelgard as an opponent usually wields those results. Don’t let it bother you.”

    You want to point out that he and Claude don’t seem to have as much problems as you, even though yes, none of them have defeated her yet in practice. He goes down to your level and sits beside you, and you hate how this all barely made him breath hard, like it’s just a stroll around the monastery whereas you’re trying to climb the mountains surrounding it.

    “I think she hates me,” you blurt out. Luckily, most students have already left the hall, Edelgard included. Dimitri considers this a moment, and you don’t know what to make of his lack of immediate response.

    “I doubt she hates you,” he finally says.

    “But?”

    “But she has a hard time warming up to people. Give her time. Once the ice is broken, you will see that her personality is one you’d like to have around.”

    “Oh?” You watch him for a moment, but Dimitri doesn’t blush or look away. It was a heartfelt, sincere statement, which flusters you for some reason. No one should be that honest.

    “Talking about breaking ice. Do you know if something happened to Sylvain?”

    “Sylvain?” Dimitri raises both eyebrows. “Please don’t tell me he harassed you in some kind of way.”

    “No, no, he just—” You finally get up from lying on your back, and try to explain it by frantically moving your hands. Dimitri still looks puzzled. “He said some weird things about Crests in general?”

    “Hm.” Dimitri stares at your hands for a moment, then quickly raises his eyes back to your face. “It’s complicated.” Well, that answer is as good as none. “And I won’t go into details without his consent. I can only say that if he talked about Crests, in whichever way, his brother must have upset him again.”

    “He has a brother?” Now you’re wide awake. Many students have siblings. You know of Hilda’s brother and Raphael’s sister. It shouldn’t surprise you Sylvain has one as well even though he’s never mentioned it before.

    “Do you have siblings?” you ask, generously curious. As heir to a kingdom, it’s hard to imagine his parents would have settled with one child. But he hasn’t mentioned any sisters or brothers as well.

    “Hmm, I have a step-sister,” he says, although very hesitant and you can see if someone doesn’t want to talk about a specific topic. He doesn’t return the question, which is kind of him and makes you wonder … maybe you have a sibling as well. Somewhere. Maybe somewhere in Adrestia or Leicester a younger brother or an older sister is currently looking for you, unrelenting in their journey to be reunited at last. The thought alone brings a flicker of hope alive. Maybe they'll come once word of the Herald’s return travels far enough.

    “I guess as long as Sylvain doesn’t disturb classes or acts out of order, I would leave him to his brooding. I can tell out of experience, only Felix is capable of cheering him up.”

    “Felix?” Your eyebrows rise to your hairline. “Are we talking about the same Felix?”

    A smile forms on Dimitri’s mouth. “I understand why imagining that might prove difficult, but I assure you, Felix is one of the view exceeding in handling the mess Sylvain is from time to time.”

    “Felix and Ingrid?” you guess, earning a nod from Dimitri. “Ingrid is a very nice girl,” you continue, picking at a loose thread from your uniform. “But Felix seems detests me. Every time he sees me, he looks like he wants to throw his sword at me.”

    “That is—” Dimitri stops mid-sentence. “That might be not so far off from his true intentions.”

    You groan.

    “But I assure you it is for a different reason than you think. Felix is simply … difficult with people holding a commanding position.”

    “He doesn’t seem to have the same problem with Byleth,” you point out. No, whenever he trains with her, he manages something close to a smile and accepts her guidance. Then again, she isn’t his teacher.

    “I’m sure you’ll be able to make him consider his opinion on you during the Mock Battle. I as well am looking forward to how you will guide us.” Dimitri beams. You stare at him like he’s just lost his head.

    “What?”

    “The Mock Battle three nights from today?” Dimitri’s smile falters a little. “Have the Professor and Lady Rhea not told you yet? You are to participate in the Mock Battle as the commanding unit of the Blue Lions.” Now he’s pulling his eyebrows together in worry. “Herald?”

    “I—” You jump to your feet. “I have to go.” Go far far away. Just yesterday you introduced the students to the tactic called Feigned Withdrawal, which involves staging a retreat in order to induce the enemy to abandon its position and plunge ahead in an attack. Dimitri abandons his position, getting up to go after you, but instead of turning back to surprise him with an ambush, you flee the battle and hope the enemy doesn’t pursue.

[sifeng]

Long Dramas for Your Quarantined Soul

Stuck at home with nothing to do? Watch a long, angsty drama and find yourself crying over fictional characters! 

1. Goodbye My Princess (东宫)

Episodes: 52

Genres: Historical/Romance

A young prince striving for power decides to use the ninth princess of Xi Zhou as a pawn in his game, but he finds himself falling for her in the process. Thus sets forth a tragic romance that even forgotten memories cannot stop from spiraling into chaos. Add in some beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes and great actors and you get a fantastic drama!

This will be you after the finale (spoiler alert!)

2. The Untamed (陈情令)

Episodes: 50

Genres: Wuxia/Mystery

During his training, Wei WuXian of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect met Lan WangJi of the Gusu Lan Sect. Even though they are polar opposite, the two are suddenly tied together after discovering a plot by the land dominated Wen clan to acquire all the pieces of the Yin Iron. However, during a battle against Wei WuXian, now known as the infamous Yiling Patriarch, he is presumed dead after falling off a cliff due to Jiang Cheng, who was like a brother to him. Sixteen years later, Wei WuXian suddenly wakes up after a crazy cultivator called Mo XuanYu performed a ritual sacrificing his body in exchange for bringing back Wei WuXian to fulfill his revenge plan. To hide his real identity, Wei WuXian pretends to be Mo XuanYu. However, he is soon reunited with Lan WangJi and the pair then works together to solve a series of mysteries and expose the secret figure pulling the strings behind the evildoings now wreaking havoc in the land. 

3. Ashes of Love (香蜜沉沉烬如霜)

Episodes: 63

Genres: Xianxia/Romance

A story of many lifetimes of romance between the flower deity and the fire deity. She might not be able to love, but he loves her with all his heart, and so does his brother. As secret identities are revealed, love begins to develop, and age old promises end up causing massive chaos and destruction. (sorry for the bad intro, but I wanted to include all the angst I could)

4. Eternal Love (三生三世十里桃花)

Episodes: 58

Genres: Xianxia/Romance

After a devastating war, the immortal tribe paid a heavy price to seal the demon lord. 70000 years later, in an attempt to re-seal the demon lord who broke free, Bai Qian was sent to the mortal realm. In the mortal world, she meets Ye Hua and falls in love with him after forgetting about her life as a goddess. Ye Hua gifts her the name of Su Su. Su Jin, who is jealous of Ye Hua's love for Bai Qian, intentionally creates a series of misunderstanding between them and causes Bai Qian to lose her eyes. Thinking that Ye Hua has betrayed her, the devastated Bai Qian jumps off from the Zhu Xian Terrace. At her request, all her memories have been erased and she forgets Ye Hua. 300 years  later, the two meets again as deities. Another lifetime another world, Ye Hua recognizes Bai Qian but the latter remains indifferent. Three lives three worlds, her and him, are they fated to bear an entangling love?

5. The Rise of Phoenixes (天盛长歌)

Episodes: 70

Genres: Political/Romance

Feng Zhi Wei is the unfavored illegitimate daughter of the Qiu Family, who is then banished from the clan after being falsely accused of a crime. Zhi Wei cross-dresses as a man to attend the prestigious Qingming Academy and stuns the world with her talent and knowledge. She remains loyal and honest to the reigning Emperor during the princes’ fight for the throne, yet soon finds out she is the only surviving royalty of a fallen kingdom. Manipulated into thinking that the current dynasty was built upon the corpses of her loved ones, Zhi Wei ultimately decides to take revenge against her enemies, including her lover Ning Yi. Will they be able to put their vengeance behind them and live a life without hatred?

6. Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜)

Episodes: 58

Genres: Wuxia/Political

In sixth-century China, during a war between Southern Liang and Northern Wei dynasties, General Lin Xie took his only child, the 17-year-old Lin Shu, to the battlefield to fight the Wei army. Unexpectedly, General Lin Xie was framed by a political rival, causing the unjust deaths of 7,000 army soldiers and the poisoning of his son. Lin Shu survived the war but to be cured of the poison, he underwent a treatment that changed his appearance completely and left him in a weakened state unable to perform martial arts again. Lin Shu change his name to Mei Chang Su and later became the chief of the pugilist world and established the Jiangzuo Alliance. Twelve years later, Lin Shu returned to the capital, Jinling, with a secret plan after being sought after by Prince Yu and Prince Xian during their fight for the throne. He then decides to covertly assist Prince Jing, the unfavoured son of Emperor Wu, and wisely rids the court of all scheming officials. (there might not be romance, but the genius of this show is more than enough to make up for it)

7. Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan (甄嬛传)

Episodes: 76

Genres: Historical/Political

A young woman born of Eight Banners family marries the Emperor. After surviving through many murderous scandals and betrayals, she prevails as the most powerful woman in the Emperor's harem, the Empress dowager. In the process, she transforms from a kind-hearted, clever girl to a power hungry, manipulative woman. (again no romance, but so genius!)

8. Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace (如懿传)

Episodes: 87

Genres: Historical/Romance

The road to becoming an empress is paved with treachery. Ruyi (Zhou Xun) is a consort who quickly learns to navigate the treacherous politics of the the royal court and move up the ranks. After becoming Empress, Ruyi still must survive the many conspiracies against her. Her relationship with Emperor Qianlong (Wallace Huo) becomes eroded even when Ruyi is able to overcome the challenges. Can Ruyi maintain her role as Empress under such difficult circumstances?

9. Eternal Love of Dream (三生三世枕上书)

Episodes: 56

Genres: Xianxia/Romance

Two thousand years of enduring love and obsession between the female monarch of Qing Qiu and the ancient god of the Heavenly Kingdom. When Feng Jiu was practising immortal cultivation alone in the wilderness, she was attacked by a beast and rescued by Dong Hua Di Jun of the Heavenly Kingdom. The encounter becomes deeply ingrained in Feng Jiu's heart and to repay her debts, she decides to follow Dong Hua into battle. She soon realizes that her good feelings towards him have evolved into love, but Dong Hua is a god who has forgotten what love means. In order to protect Feng Jiu, Dong Hua sends her to the human realm which results in the death of a friend. Feng Jiu enters the Winged Tribe Princess Ah Lan Ruo's dream sequence in search of a sacred fruit that can bring the dead back to life but gets trapped to relive Ah Lan Ruo's life for eternity. Dong Hua finds a way to save Feng Jiu and realizes that he already reciprocates her love for him, but another hurdle crosses their path.

10. Find Yourself (下一站是幸福)

Episodes: 41

Genres: Slice-of-Life/Romance

He Fan Xing's company is at risk of being acquired while her relationship with Yuan Song faces societal pressures due to their age difference. The consecutive blows in her work and love life push her to an emotional quagmire and it is during this time that Ye Lu Ming  enters her life. Being older in age, he is mature, stable and knowledgeable. He becomes He Fan Xing's life coach and the source of conflict between the couple. For He Fan Xing, it's not merely a matter of choosing the man that she loves but considering the contradictions of adopting the traditional mindset on marriage.

If You’ve Already Watched Those: Royal Nirvana (60 eps; political/romance), Return of the Condor Heroes (41 eps; wuxia/romance), The Story of Yanxi Palace (70 eps; political/romance), Joy of Life (46 eps; wuxia/political), Love and Destiny (60 eps; xianxia/romance), Glory of the Tang Dynasty (60 eps; historical/romance), Siege in Fog (50 eps; historical/romance)

[emathevampire]

Compass for team chaotic good

Compass: who’s the moral compass? in general: what are your OCs’ morality like? do they have high morals, or not? are their morals self imposed, or do they base their morals on religion/family/influence of others?  Well, considering that they’re called Team Chaotic Good, that should give you a pretty solid idea of what they’re about! But not everyone is ACTUALLY chaotic good. Some aren’t even Chaotic. Or Good, in fact! Funnily enough, about half of them are Lawful, actually. So here’s the breakdown. Team Chaotic Good has quite a few members, so I’ll put it under a cut, as it’s a bit long.

Kíhyué: The team leader. Is Actually Chaotic Good. Has a very strong moral core, and while he doesn’t expect everyone he associates with to actually BE good-aligned, he damn well expects them all to act like it. The society he was raised in was largely Lawful/Neutral, but his outlook ended up completely different as a result of the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of strict laws and “neutral” stances that did more harm than good. “No such thing as an innocent bystander. You stand by and do nothing, you do not want to get involved, fine. But do not call yourself innocent. Do not say you did no harm when you could have done good instead.”

Inimicia: Sort of like his second in command, she’s Exalted Lawful Good. Not something you’d expect from the infamous Assassin Queen, or a half-vampire, or someone whose name literally means “the enemy,” but she’s had a long hard crawl up from being born chaotic evil and like hell she’s going to give up the good fight now. Her morals are 100% self-imposed, and she goes out of her way to find others in need of similar impositions and help them learn how to use objectively evil powers for good. Her order of assassins is ironically mostly good aligned, and she works very hard to keep it that way, sending them on missions to slay demons and devils and other undeniable evils who’ve managed to blend into society. This often leads to them looking like the bad guys, of course... nobility who keep their sinister deeds well hidden suddenly drop dead murdered in their own homes, and no one understands why. No one, except the victims of their cruelty whose pleas Inimicia’s spies overhear. She’s especially wary of religion, and any religion that claims to serve “the greater good.” A deity, of course, has the power to decide just what they think the greater good actually is, and cannot be trusted not to be acting solely in their own self-interest, or to actually do good deeds at all. “Go ahead. Paint me as your enemy. The world can believe you all it wants to, I’ll be the villain if you make me. I’ll still know the truth... and so will you.” Xadrea Shadowborn: Is Exalted Chaotic Good out of sheer spite and determination. Unlike Kíhyué, she absolutely expects Good out of everyone, even if she has to drag them kicking and screaming into behaving like decent human beings. Arguably this is the result of outside influence, though it’s... complicated. Essentially, she and her companions in a different universe had been given these artifacts that would tempt them into corruption in exchange for power, ultimately transforming them into an avatar of one of the Archdukes of Hell if they succumbed to enough temptations to lose their souls. Xadrea watched this happen to SEVEN of her party members. She outright refused to fall, ended up hosting the deity Heironeous instead of an archfiend, and saved the universe, all thanks to pure fucking spite and refusing to do as she was told by the voice in her head. Her sense of justice and honour don’t always conform to what one would expect of a literal divine embodiment of Valor, but she argues that’s what makes her best for the job, since she absolutely will not get caught up over doing the lawful thing as opposed to the right thing... something she and Kíhyué both agree is what makes their approach to fighting evil the best one. Her morals, ultimately, come from the shitty little slothful voice in the back of her mind that wants her to lie down and accept defeat, protect herself and forget the world... “Oh, you wish I’d quit, don’t you? Well it’s not gonna happen. NEVER gonna happen. You want apathy from me? Get bent, devil. I’m going to CARE. I am going to care SO much, ON PURPOSE, about EVERYTHING but you, and you can’t fucking stop me.” Anaziah the Kind: A paladin of freedom, Anaziah is another actual Chaotic Good member. If her former epithet of “the Wrathful” isn’t enough of an indication, she certainly didn’t used to have a moral compass, and it’s a testament to her strength of will that she’s managed to change and become a better person. She’s still pretty new at this whole “being a good person” thing, and looks to Faendys and the others for guidance, very grateful to all of them for giving her a chance instead of judging the Drow book by its cover. “I was raised to hate everything that wasn’t like us. To hate, to subjugate, to destroy. But... I was never really like ‘us,’ was I? All they ever really taught me was how to hate myself. The surface world isn’t like that. I’m free here. I’m allowed to love instead. It’s not easy, but, doesn’t everyone deserve the chance to try?” Faendys: Neutral Good, Faendys is the very calm one, who’s never trying to make any sort of deep commentary on anything on purpose, but often ends up making unsettlingly wise comments anyway. They rarely have to say much, and rarely do say much when things get serious, but their small voice piping up with something profound is always what gets the rest of them to shut up and act reasonably when their opposing alignments cause conflict. Even if it’s just a simple “That’s... not okay,” Faendys trusts their gut when it comes to tough ethical dilemmas, and the others generally listen to them. “I know it sounds hard. And it’s probably going to make us a lot of enemies. Even if we get away with it. But... we haven’t been afraid of that before, have we? They need our help, and we know it. What makes this time any different?” Arekos Aidoneus: A dread necromancer who’s also the party healer, Arekos is Lawful Neutral, and the only thing preventing him from being Good is the fact that many of the spells he casts are technically evil (see: raising armies of undead). However, he’s very careful to only use these spells for good purposes, and also has a few spells from the Book of Exalted Deeds on his list... his moral fibre is rather complex. His approach to the subject is based very strongly on his culture and religion: keep the balance in all things, use your dark powers only to serve the light, and defend the cause of good for the cause of evil needs no help to prosper. This creed is how he stays lawful despite actively working towards arguably chaotic goals, because dismantling the government brick by brick is, in fact, something he is required by his social and religious obligations to do, provided that the government in question is evil. Kíhyué and Xadrea absolutely hate it when he brings this up. “The world would love to prove that we cannot be good, that we cannot be kind, that we cannot be anything but evil and should not exist. I should very much like to prove them all wrong.” Amanthos Panideios: Also Lawful Neutral, with a heavy emphasis on Lawful, this librarian monk knows full well that he does not really fit in here... so he follows the others’ lead more often than not, managing to stay lawful despite the chaotic things they get up to the same way Arekos does. He also just... avoids getting directly involved with anything that would involve breaking the law in ways he can’t rationalise. Amanthos is not Moral, he is Ethical, and this is both a good thing (he’s able to rationalise many of the chaotic things he engages with as actually complying with the code of ethics he is meant to follow) and a bad thing (not everything has an easy answer, and it’s very easy for him to potentially fall into Lawful Evil behaviour if someone else isn’t around to check his work). “Oh dear... we didn’t cover this in any of my moral philosophy lectures... Arekos? Arekos, do you know the answer to this one?” Psamion: The bard, the sea captain, the Chaotic Neutral (but good-leaning!) one. He did his time as the hero, and quite frankly he hated every second of it, it traumatised him thoroughly, and he never wants to speak of it again. He’s perfectly content to continue doing his best to help people, in his own way, but absolutely does not want to let himself get dragged into another high-stakes demon hunt to the Hells and back, because he barely came out of the last one alive. That being said, Kíhyué is his closest friend in the entire universe, and he would do anything for him... so, naturally, when Kíhyué says “We have to save the world again,” Psamion just sighs, packs his things, and says “Can’t it just stay saved for once?” as he follows Kíhyué out the door. “Look, I don’t much care for this whole ‘getting involved’ thing, but if Kíhyué says it’s time to put up a fight, and he needs my help, you’d best believe I’m pulling out my knives and hucking a flaming bottle wherever he points me to. The world’s in trouble, and damn it all, by some miracle I’m STILL one of the idiots who lives in it, thanks to him... If I’m gonna fight, it may as well be a good fight.” Eomer: Is a gryphon. Kíhyué raised him from a hatchling, and their moral cores are as such pretty much identical... though Eomer is much more empathetic and often needs to give Kíhyué a kick in a more compassionate direction. “I think you very brave for trying. Maybe we fail, yes, happen some times. But what if not! Any thing can happen! Good thing, even! You would not even try for good? For happy thing? Stupid. Go try. Come try with me. I will go by myself, yes? No? Good! Together, we stand a chance, always worth a chance.”

[autumnslance]

A Lore Nerd’s Analysis of Oaths and Warriors of Light in D&D and FFXIV

This is @wearepaladin‘s fault. Kinda. Actually, I’ve been planning on doing something for awhile, and the idea began to solidify more in a r/ffxiv thread where someone asked “Anyone notice Dark Knight is more like a traditional Paladin lore wise?” My own comment can be found here, where I say I’ve been long thinking of the ways the Dark Knights and Paladins of Eorzea match up to the various Paladin Sacred Oaths of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. I figured I ought to expand on that sooner or later.

So yeah, “I’m your host LynMars/Dark Autumn, you can go below the cut for my TEDTalk on the Warrior of Light, Dark Knights, Paladins, and the Sacred Oaths of D&D 5e”:

Now, as a disclaimer, I have not completed the Paladin quest chains yet. I am nearly to the end of the original lvl 30-50 A Realm Reborn (ARR) chain, though, and since I usually don’t care too much about spoilers, already know what’s going to happen. Partially because I could easily guess and so just looked over the chain info. Anyway.

Paladin (PLD) is a traditional sword-and-shield wielding class of holy light users in Final Fantasy, like in most settings. In FFXIV, the primary group of paladins is the Sultansworn. As the class trainer, Captain Jenlyns Aesc, explains when you first approach him:

“A paladin swears allegiance to the sultanate. A paladin shall be the sword and shield of the sultanate. A paladin defends the people of the realm. Sellswords and gladiators and others of their ilk wield their blades for themselves, but a paladin serves the greater good. Do you understand me?

“The battle arts that the paladin learns have been held secret, nurtured, and perfected within the ranks of the Sultansworn elite for nigh on these six hundred years. Of all those sworn to protect the sultanate--the soldiers, the mounted guards, and the knights--we are the elite of the elite. Our conviction unwavering, our hearts true, our sword skills without peer.

“But the glory of the Sultansworn...Well, much of it is buried in the past now. Our brotherhood grows smaller by the year, we are a shadow of what we once were, and the sultana turns to sellswords to defend her palace. All this, because of one traitor--no, because of a blot of dishonor left by one who shall not be named...And because of him, we have been forced to seek the help of able-bodied adventurers.

“And here you are. We shall instruct you in the paladin military arts. You will not be inducted into the Sultansworn, but serve as a free paladin. However, first you will show us that both your sword and heart have mettle, and you are worthy of the honor.”

So how does this relate to the best-known traditional tabletop RPG? In 5th edition (5e), the traditional classes are handled a little differently than before. To add customization, early in leveling (mostly lvl 3, though a few classes start off right at lvl 1), players can choose a type of their class they want to be; what Bard College they study, what Cleric Domain they know, what Druid Circle they are attuned to, etc. For paladins, they choose a Sacred Oath to swear. This gives them their moral code to follow in the service of their deity or ideal that grants them their divine abilities, while also loosening some of the constraints of the old alignment system, and gives both players and game masters a framework for what the paladin’s behavior should follow, lest they stray and lose their divine favor.

The Sultansworn would fit best into the Oath of the Crown:

Law: The law is paramount. It is the mortar that holds the stones of civilization together, and it must be respected. Loyalty: Your word is your bond. Without loyalty, oaths and laws are meaningless. Courage: You must be willing to do what needs to be done for the sake of order, even in the face of overwhelming odds. If you don't act, then who will? Responsibility: You must deal with the consequences of your actions, and you are responsible for fulfilling your duties and obligations.

This oath is for those paladins “sworn to the ideals of civilization, be it the spirit of a nation, fealty to a sovereign, or service to a deity of law and rulership.” (Sword Coast Adventurer Guide, pg 132). As the name implies, the Sultansworn are dedicated to Ul’dah and the Sultan(a) sitting on the throne. As the Sultansworn train free paladins, however, the Oath of the Crown doesn’t apply. A free paladin, Solkzagyl Keltnaglsyn, challenges the player:

“Simply learning paladin swordplay does not make you a paladin--nor does the armor you wear, or the status you claim...Strike off the shackles that bind your spirit, lift the visor that blinds, and find the true path of the paladin.”

Free paladins would fit better under the more traditional Oath of Devotion, from the Player’s Handbook (PHB):

Honesty: Don't lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise. Courage: Never fear to act, though caution is wise. Compassion: Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom. Honor: Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm. Duty: Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.

All the things the Sultansworn strive for, but without the strictures of devoted service to the sultanate. The Knights of Ishgard (often called Temple Knights if part of their military), though not called paladins in game, can also fall into one of these two oaths. In fact, let’s turn to the Holy See of Ishgard now...

(Aside: “But LynMars,” you might say. “My Warrior of Light doesn’t fit either of those Oaths.” Hold that thought for the end, fam.)

So where do Dark Knights fit in? Why consider them “paladins” in all but name?

Dark Knights (DRK) are from Ishgard, like the Temple Knights; most knights of the Holy See should fit into Crown or Devotion, especially with the emphasis on the worship of Halone the Fury, one of Eorzea’s Twelve gods. But, sometimes...holy men aren’t so holy, especially when so many are younger sons sent to the Church because there’s just no other place for them in the noble household structure. When many are orphaned poor joining out of desperation--and finding they’re still given short shrift over their nobleborn brethren. When sometimes, those in power are corrupted by power, or were corrupted to begin with. What then?

I already have a post about the historical origins of Dark Knights in Eorzea, from the Encyclopaedia Eorzea lore book and the official website. In summary, a lowborn knight, Ser Tryphaniel, solid and true and everything a knight ought to be, saw a priest doing unspeakably evil things to a child. Tryphaniel killed the priest on the spot in rage, and as a result--and thanks to Tryphaniel’s unpopularity among the elite due to his staunch beliefs--the knight was stripped of his rank for killing a “holy man.” Tryphaniel gave up his shield, with its crest and symbology, and used only a great sword.

“A heart bleeds, a man weeps, a soul burns. Thence comes the darkness, to consume…Yet even in the depths, the flame endures…Submit to the flame and harness the abyss…” - Ser Ompagne Deepblack

The Dark Knights appear as heretical monsters to the pious of Ishgard. Their abilities are given names such as “Souleater”, “Abyssal Drain”, “Salted Earth,” “Bloodspiller”, “Shadow Wall,” “Living Dead.” They glow with red and black energy. Ser Tryphaniel decided to fight using “any means necessary” in his crusade to protect those the Church could/would not, the great swords of those few Dark Knights acting as beacons in the dark. Those he trained, those also disaffected by the Church and the corruption in its heart (the plot of Heavensward addresses that), followed in his bloody footsteps.

Dark Knights fit perfectly into the framework of the Oath of Vengeance:

Fight the Greater Evil: Faced with a choice of fighting sworn foes or combating a lesser evil, I choose the greater evil. No Mercy for the Wicked: Ordinary foes might win my mercy, but my sworn enemies do not. By Any Means Necessary: My qualms can't get in the way of exterminating my foes. Restitution: If my foes wreak ruin on the world, it is because I failed to stop them. I must help those harmed by their misdeeds.

This is still a paladin oath from the PHB. The Oath of Vengeance is described as “a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grievous sin.” The PHB even says Vengeance Paladins are “sometimes called avengers or dark knights--their own purity is not as important as delivering justice.”

“To walk the path is to suffer. To sacrifice. Justice demands no less. But we must never lose sight of why we chose to walk it.” - Sidurgu Orl

I rather like @castthemintotheabyss’ low-spoiler summaries of the DRK quest chains. Identity and duty to yourself vs others; family and justice vs vengeance and mercy; to guilt and grief and acceptance of self.

Dark Knights are considered “edge lords” and “emo” and “gothy” and sure, some of that is true to an extent! But this is a class where the capstone lvl 70 ability, “The Blackest Night”, is a protection cooldown based on love. The “flame in the abyss” is the love the DRK feels for those dearest to their heart, their friends and found family--that is what fuels their darkly named and appearing powers.

If you’ve done the DRK quests, and/or don’t mind some spoilers, I highly recommend @haillenarte‘s translations (part 1, part 2) of the original Japanese text for the ARR DRK quests; the English version is rather different, though I think there’s room for both interpretations of Fray to inform each other. I’m also eager to see translations of later quests in this chain (and how the Stormblood NPC matches up).

I also have a Dark Knight tag where I link some of these resources, thoughts, art, and summarize several of the DRK story quests to be minimally spoilery and showcase how the WoL progresses through the self-reflection these quest enforce (kinda amazing for a MMO, actually). I originally completed the lvl 30-70 quests between October-November 2017, if you check the archive.

“They say the war’s over now, but it never ends for people like you, does it?” - Lowdy

There is one more oath I would like to touch on, due to the unique nature of the player character--the Warrior of Light (WoL)--in ANY of the FFXIV jobs, and how the game’s canon generally tends to assume they’ll roughly behave:

Oath of the Ancients: Kindle the Light: Through your acts of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, kindle the light of hope in the world, beating back despair. Shelter the Light: Where there is good, beauty, love, and laughter in the world, stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren. Preserve Your Own Light: Delight in song and laughter, in beauty and art. If you allow the light to die in your own heart, you can't preserve it in the world. Be the Light: Be a glorious beacon for all who live in despair. Let the light of your joy and courage shine forth in all your deeds.

I think FFXIV players see how it fits. In D&D 5e, the Oath of Ancients has naturalistic/Fey origins. The PHB describes Oath of the Ancients as:

“...paladins who swear this oath cast their lot with the side of the light in the cosmic struggle against darkness because they love the beautiful and life-giving things of the world, not necessarily because they believe in the principles of honor, courage, and justice.” (pg 86)

The WoL is Chosen of Hydaelyn, the World Crystal Herself. Certain enemies call them the “Bringer of Light.” To other NPCs in the storylines, they are the “Weapon of Light.”

If your Warrior of Light fits Crown, Devotion, or Vengeance, awesome! I hope you find some inspiration in roleplay and/or writing from seeing those oaths and how they can interact with the FFXIV lore. These aren’t even all of the Sacred Oaths, either! There are others out there, some official and some homebrew, and some even for evil characters (traditionally anti-paladins or blackguards).

A big part of me, though, feels like the Warriors of Light in general due to the storyline, are on the path set by the Oath of the Ancients; the WoL goes through the main story as a beacon for others, struggling to preserve the light in others, in themselves--and, in the case of the Dark Knights, in the depths of the abyss.

Still, it’s up to each player, and this is just some personal analysis on how the classes presented in FFXIV coincide with elements in D&D. In the end, it’s something that can be used, or not, as one likes (or not). I’ve just found the comparisons neat and wanted to get it down, and fate kept conspiring to push me to do that until I finally wrote all this. So thanks for reading my rambling on about nerdy things.

[toabyssandbeyond]

Getting into witchcraft&witchery journal day #14:

personal notes but feel free to read

Tarot reading about my deities&descriptions of them afterwards:

So since last time I shared my thoughts here, I started my Grimoire and have built 3 altars for the three deities I worship... but seeing as our connection have changed drastically over the years I wanted to get to know them better. I decided to make a tarot spread (1st image), only that instead of asking randomly, I decided to ask each at their own turn.

note: if you’ve read my last entry about the deities I worship you’ll know that they aren’t known by others and are pretty much private, although they have parallels in other religions.

First was the deity I call Lady Fate. This is one I believed in since pre-school as this was my interpretation of god... An entity that pre-decides people’s destinies or at least the major milestones.

1. The entity: King of Swords

The King of Swords is a symbol of intellectual power and authority, and has the courage and intellect to accomplish all that he desires. He represents judgement, command, and rulership. His character indicates the stern leadership of a judge, lawyer, or military commander whose emotions must be kept in check under the pressure of battle.

(which you could or could not say fits a deity of fate/destiny...)

2. Their history: Page of Wands

The Page of Wands is similar to the Fool in that he is a free spirit who represents change and new beginnings. He has a true passion for life, despite his understanding of this world is not yet fully developed. He has not yet been weighed down by the burdens of the material world, coming and going as he pleases, and usually encouraging change wherever he goes. He is like the catalyst that inspires changes that might be impossible in any other situation.

3. Past Influences & experiences: Eight of Pentacles

The Eight of Pentacles is a card of apprenticeship and mastery. When this card appears in a Tarot reading, you are working hard to improve your skills and become a master at what you do. You may have recently changed your work, education or financial circumstances, and now you are applying your sheer determination and concentration to master the new skill that you are learning.

4. Personality, attitude & opinions: King of Swords (I mean... yeah it’s the same as the 1st question XD)

5. Their current status: Six of Wands

The Six of Wands is all about success, victory and public recognition. Not only have you succeeded in achieving your goals, you are now being publicly acknowledged for your efforts and your results.

6. Their health overall: Ten of Swords

The Ten of Swords usually symbolises a sudden and unexpected failure or disaster, whereby a power beyond your control crushes you without warning or mercy.

7. Their mental health: Death XIII

After a period of pause and reflection with the Hanged Man, the Death card symbolises the end of a major phase or aspect of your life that you realise is no longer serving you, opening up the possibility of something far more valuable and essential. You must close one door to open another.

8. What they like to do & have done for them: Page of Swords

This card shows you as a young and idealistic person, with lots of plans and ideas for the future. At this moment, you feel as though you could do almost anything. As a Page, you are just beginning to make your way in life, and it is important that you align with others who will not overwhelm you or stifle your direction and ideas. Instead, seek to align yourself with people who will nurture your ideas and will help you to manifest them in an organised manner. Choose a relationship that feels natural, with someone who will learn and grow along with you and give you a chance to develop your own personality and expression. You have an intelligent and sensitive nature, and you may suffer a lot if there is no outlet for your ideas and feelings.

(aw come on you’ll make me cry...)

9. Physical manifestation: Six of Cups

In the Six of Cups, a young boy leans down and passes a cup filled with flowers to a younger girl. The girl looks up to the boy with love and respect as he offers the flowers to her. Love, harmony and co-operation – all key elements of the Six of Cups – shine through this gentle act. The young children also represent childhood memories

The Six of Cups invites you to get in touch with your inner child and experience the fun, freedom and innocence that comes with being a young child again.

10. What to know: Ten of Pentacles

When the Ten of Pentacles appears in a Tarot reading, you are surrounded by wealth and are blessed with financial abundance. There is no ‘wanting’ any more – you have everything you need, especially within the material realm. You feel financially secure and trust that, as a result of your personal successes and accomplishments, you will always have what you need and desire. You express deep gratitude for fulfilling your material goals and dreams.

11. What to avoid: Ace of Swords

When the Ace of Swords appears in a Tarot reading, it is an excellent time to start a new project that needs your intellect, communication skills and mental power. You may be inspired to take a writing class, practice your public speaking skills, or get involved in activities that require more brain power than usual.

(so... I should avoid starting new projects?...)

12. Positive influences, friends or experiences: Six of Wands (yeah I guess this is the same question as no.5)

13. Negative influences, enemies or experiences: Three of Cups

The Three of Cups often indicates a very sociable period – perhaps a birthday, a wedding, the holiday season or a vacation with friends. See it as your opportunity to let your hair down and forget about your day-to-day commitments and obligations for a while. Instead, spend quality time with friends and family and enjoy yourself!

(so... bad influences in social situations? Or made enemies in social situations?... Not too sure...)

14. Conscious desires & thoughts: Ten of Cups

The Ten of Cups embodies happiness, joy, and emotional contentment, particularly in your relationships and family. You have created an abundance of love and happiness in your life, and you now share this love with others, expanding your heart even more.

15. Unconscious desires & thoughts: The Empress III

The Empress signifies abundance. You are surrounded by life’s pleasures and luxuries and have everything you need to live a comfortable lifestyle. You are in a period of growth, in which all you have dreamed of is now coming to fruition.

16. Hopes: Queen of Cups

The Queen of Cups is nurturing, caring, compassionate and sensitive. When you see her in a Tarot reading, you are embodying her ‘nurturing mother’ energy. You support others by listening with your heart, being compassionate, and caring for them deeply. You are empathic and can sense the needs of others by tuning in to your intuition, and you hold the space for others to express their emotions and be the truest, most authentic versions of themselves.

17. Fears: The Sun XIX

In the foreground, a young, naked child is sitting on top of a calm white horse. The child represents the joy of being connected with your inner spirit, and his nakedness is a sign he has nothing to hide and has all the innocence and purity of childhood. The white horse is also a sign of purity and strength. 

(”The child represents the joy of being connected with your inner spirit“... I really hope it doesn’t mean what I think it means...)

So, exactly as I’ve always imagined her, Lady Fate is generally a young deity who’ve worked hard to be at the status she is right now. She wants me to know that I’m not lacking anything and should take control of my life and surround myself by like-minded people... Her health and mental health have taken a hit, and all she wants and hopes for is to be in a place of joy and emotional contentment as well as to be feminine, and to be a nurturing mother... Her physical manifestation seems to be a child. Now I hope that this is not how it looks, but she seems to dislike me connecting with my “inner spirit”... more on that later.

(side note- my heart was pounding extremely hard the entire time I was doing this reading and once I finished it calmed down and now I’m freezing...)

Next is going to be a deity I call Luck. I guess the equivalent in other religions would be Karma, or even “Balance”. (You’ll notice that I frequently refer to Luck as “it” or “them”... somehow their gender was never established...)

1. The entity: King of Wands

The King of Wands represents pure fire energy. Unlike the other Wands court cards, he is not so interesting in actual creation and creativity, or in dreaming up ideas and implementing them himself. Instead, he is more inclined to take an idea and change the world to match his vision. As such he is a natural-born leader of all kinds of people, and he is very visionary.

(That’s... actually extremely fitting, especially when you remember how many people believe in karma... Also another part stated that it loves challenges and adrenaline which from my experience is 100% right...)

(note: fire energy)

2. Their history: Three of Swords

When the Three of Swords appears in a Tarot reading, it is sign that you are feeling deeply hurt and disappointed. Your heart has been pierced with these three swords, through others’ hurtful words, actions and intention, and they have inflicted intense emotions of pain, sadness, grief, and heartbreak. These events feel even more painful because they are often unexpected and come out of the blue.

3. Past Influences & experiences: King of Cups

The King of Cups embodies the perfect balance between the executive and the heart. Not only are you able to assess and manage a situation logically, but you can also draw upon your intuition and understanding of human interactions. As a leader, you care as much about achieving your goals and objectives as you do about making sure everyone is happy and engaged along the way.

(So balance between logic and feelings as well... hm okay.)

4. Personality, attitude & opinions: Death XIII

The Death card has elements of a sudden and unexpected change. Death happens to everyone, no matter who you are, how much money you have, where you live, or what colour your skin is; it is the same with a significant change. So, the Death card can be a sign you may feel as though you are caught in the path of sweeping change and cannot escape its effects.

(an unexpected deity that acts suddenly and without a warning, it doesn’t who or what you are, it’ll find you. That’s luck/karma for ya)

5. Their current status: The High Priestess II

The High Priestess signifies spiritual enlightenment, inner illumination, divine knowledge and wisdom. She shows up in your Tarot readings when the veil between you and the underworld is thin, and you have the opportunity to access the knowledge deep within your soul. Now is the time to be still so you can tune in to your intuition.

6. Their health overall: The Tower XVI

Just when you think you’re safe and comfortable, a Tower moment hits and throws you for a loop. A lightning bolt of clarity and insight cuts through the lies and illusions you have been telling yourself, and now the truth comes to light. Your world may come crashing down before you, in ways you could never have imagined as you realise that you have been building your life on unstable foundations – false assumptions, mistruths, illusions, blatant lies, and so on.

7. Their mental health: The Star XVII

The Star brings renewed hope and faith, and a sense that you are truly blessed by the Universe. You are entering a peaceful, loving phase in your life, filled with calm energy, mental stability and more in-depth understanding of both yourself and others around you. This is a time of significant personal growth and development as you are now ready to receive the many blessings of the Universe.

8. What they like to do & have done for them: The Star XVII

(... likes others doing what they have been doing? Have hope and faith.)

9. Physical manifestation: Four of Cups

Sometimes this card brings the message, ‘Not now, but maybe later.’ While the man in the Four of Cups doesn’t accept the cups offered to him, he doesn’t wholly reject them either. You may be waiting for a sign or further information before taking an invitation or new project. Check in emotionally and spiritually before you say ‘yes’, to make sure the opportunity is a good fit and that you can commit to it in the long-term.

10. What to know: The Chariot VII

Now isn’t the time to be passive in the hope that things will work out in your favour. Take focused action and stick to the course, no matter what challenges may come your way – because, believe me, there will be challenges. You may be pulled in opposite directions and find your strength and conviction tested. Others may try to block you, distract you, or drag down the pursuit of your goal.

11. What to avoid: The Devil XV

The Devil card often appears when you have been tricked into thinking you have no control over your shadow self or these negative forces, and that you can never break free from their hold.

12. Positive influences, friends or experiences: Four of Wands

With the Four of Wands, it is the perfect time to get together with your family and friends and to celebrate all the wonderful times that you have had together. Often, this card reflects the holiday period where you get together with the extended family and join in a celebration. Alternatively, it may be as simple as inviting your closest friends over for an intimate dinner and a few glasses of nice wine.

13. Negative influences, enemies or experiences: Page of Wands

(... this is the same that I got for Fate’s history... Do they have a bad history with each other?)

14. Conscious desires & thoughts: Nine of Wands

The Nine of Wands is like the one last test or challenge before you can reach ultimate success. You feel as if you have come to the end of your fighting powers but you have the skill and determination in reserve. You are in a position of strength and by drawing upon all of your courage and abilities, you will prevail. Once the last obstacle is overcome, you are home free.

15. Unconscious desires & thoughts: Ten of Swords

The Ten of Swords usually symbolises a sudden and unexpected failure or disaster, whereby a power beyond your control crushes you without warning or mercy.

(same as Fate’s current overall health... did they want that to happen?)

16. Hopes: Two of Swords

The Two of Swords indicates that you are facing a challenging decision but you are unclear about which option to take. Both options may seem equally as good – or as bad – as each other, and you are stumped about which option will lead you to the best outcomes.

17. Fears: Six of Swords

The Six of Swords invites you to let go of whatever it is that is holding you back, be it from your past or your present circumstances. Instead look to your future and choose the best option that is most in alignment with your Highest Good and long-term potential.

So... this was interesting. Luck is a leader, knowledgeable, who likes challenges. It has been deeply disappointed/hurt but is now learning to have hope and trust in the future, and it wants others to do the same and take action. It seems to have a bad past with Fate and could even be involved in the reason of her current health. They appear as a man who’s given an opportunity (it’s also what they hope for) but doesn’t take it yet, as their fears are of moving forwards and letting go of what is holding them back.

(note- been cold the entire time of doing this reading, finished and now it’s super hot in here...??)

Next and last deity is my guardian angel, he’s been the easiest to communicate with since he appeared (when I was 15) but it doesn’t look like he wants me to communicate with other deities... And that’s why I want to do this reading, maybe he’ll explain me what is going on this way... (I’m keeping his name off tumblr intentionally)

1. The entity: Page of Cups

As each Page asks you to explore a new facet of yourself, the Page of Cups is asking you to explore your creative, emotional self. You may start a new art class, read books about how to express your feelings, or learn more about developing your psychic abilities. Dreamy aspirations race through your mind, and you may find yourself moved by simple things. Don’t be afraid to let your feelings show and wear your heart on your sleeve.

(well, out of the three he is the one I generally consider as a part of my being. That and also I’ve became a lot more creative and my psychic abilities developed a lot since he appeared...)

2. Their history: Queen of Cups

The Queen of Cups says you are highly intuitive, creative, and in flow with the surrounding energies. In your interactions with others, you can easily read other people to get a sense of how to communicate effectively, enabling you both to feel heard and understood. Others may come to you to confide their personal issues regarding relationships, emotions and feelings. They trust you and know that you always have the right solution. You can instantly tune in to what others are going through and can help them make sense of it. You may be a healer, counsellor or intuitive coach; or maybe just a good friend. You recognise the Divine in everyone you meet.

(also the card I got for what Fate hopes for...)

3. Past Influences & experiences: The Emperor IV

As the father figure of the Tarot deck, the Emperor suggests that you are adopting this fatherly role (regardless of whether you are male or female), providing for your family, and protecting and defending your loved ones. You may be the breadwinner or the ‘rock’ for those who rely on your stability and security.

4. Personality, attitude & opinions: Six of Cups

The Six of Cups invites you to get in touch with your inner child and experience the fun, freedom and innocence that comes with being a young child again.

(was also Fate’s physical manifestation hmmm...)

5. Their current status: Six of Swords

The Six of Swords indicates that you are in a state of transition, leaving behind what was familiar and comfortable and moving towards the unknown. You might be moving house, leaving a relationship, changing jobs, going through a rite of passage or feeling a mental shift of some kind. This change may be as a result of your doing, or forced upon you. You may feel sad and upset to leave behind what is so familiar to you, however you know that this move is essential for your growth and personal development.

(also what luck is afraid of)

6. Their health overall: Queen of Wands

The Queen of Wands is the dominant feminine energy of the element of Fire. She is highly energetic and leads a busy and active life. She radiates health and vitality and has an inner vibrancy that fills her with ongoing energy and inspiration. This Queen is a natural-born, intelligent leader who actively inspires others.

(note: Also fire element, like luck.)

7. Their mental health: The Hanged Man XII

When the Hanged Man appears in a Tarot reading, your projects and activities may be coming to an unexpected and abrupt halt. Don’t keep pushing forward, hoping that more force will drive you to where you want to go. Instead, surrender to the opportunity to pause and view it as your chance to reassess and re-evaluate where you are on your path.

8. What they like to do & have done for them: Nine of Wands

You may have experienced setbacks that now leave you feeling distrustful of others or even yourself. The turning point will come when you are able to leave the past behind you and to cultivate a more open mind about the future. While you have experienced losses in the past, it does not mean that you have to experience further losses in the future. Turn a new leaf and push on.

(Also Luck’s desire)

9. Physical manifestation: The Hermit IX

The Hermit stands alone on the top of a mountain. The snow-capped range symbolises his spiritual mastery, growth and accomplishment. He has chosen this path of self-discovery and, as a result, has reached a heightened state of awareness.

(more or less how I envision him as it is...)

10. What to know: Ten of Wands

The Tens in Tarot represent the completion of a cycle, and thus with the Ten of Wands, you have reached the end of a cycle after a period of struggle. You are finally reaping your rewards after investing a lot of hard work and effort. You have fulfilled a creative venture, realised a dream or accomplished a major goal, and now must deal with the consequences of that fulfilment.

This card can also mean that you are being oppressed by outside sources. You are over-worked, over-tired and over-stimulated. You have more on your plate than you can possibly handle and you have taken on too much at this point in time. In an effort to get to the finish line, you have found yourself overwhelmed with the extra responsibility and activity. You need to stop working so hard.

11. What to avoid: Justice XI

The Justice card represents justice, fairness, truth and the law. You are being called to account for your actions and will be judged accordingly. If you have acted in alignment with your Higher Self and for the greater good of others, you have nothing to worry about. However, if you haven’t, you will be called out and made to own up to your actions. If this has you shaking in your boots, know that the Justice card isn’t as black and white as you may think. A level of compassion and understanding accompany Justice, and although you may have done something you regret, this card suggests that you will be treated fairly and without bias. Be ready to take responsibility for your actions and stand accountable for the ensuing consequences.

12. Positive influences, friends or experiences: Six of Wands

The Six of Wands is such positive encouragement to believe in who you are and your accomplishments so far. Have faith in what you have personally achieved and how this will be received by others. Do not let fear or guilt stand in the way of your success. You ought to feel proud of what you have achieved and not afraid to hold your head up high and feel worthy of others’ attention.

13. Negative influences, enemies or experiences: Knight of Cups

When it comes to making decisions, the Knight of Cups is ruled by his emotions and his heart. When this card arrives in a Tarot reading, you are making decisions based on how you feel about a situation rather than what you think, even if others can’t make sense of what you are doing and why, and your intuition guides you in everything you do.

(which is interesting... because that’s the card I usually get as my representation...)

14. Conscious desires & thoughts: Six of Cups

(same as personality, attitude & opinions. Also Fate’s physical manifestation.)

15. Unconscious desires & thoughts: Seven of Cups

Often, the Seven of Cups can be a sign of wishful thinking and projecting into the future about what you would like to create, rather than taking action here in the present to make it happen.

16. Hopes: Temperance XIV

This card calls on you to remain calm, even when life feels stressful or frantic. Maintain an even temperament and manage your emotions. You have learned to keep composed in stressful situations.

17. Fears:  Eight of Wands

This card is a sign to ‘strike while the iron is hot’. It is most definitely an action-oriented card that encourages you to move quickly to pursue the best opportunities available right now. There is no waiting around while the Eight of Wands is present so determine where your energy will be directed and get on with it!

Honestly? I feel like I already knew all of these. My guardian angel is one that wants peace, is very wishful in his thinking but doesn’t want to take action. He wants me to be creative and keep that childish hope alive but also there’s a possibility that knowing me is a bad experience for him(?). His origin seems to have something to do with Lady Fate, and it looks like originally they had the same desires/goals. His mental health seems to be “on halt” and I also noticed it lately, but his overall health is pretty good. He wants me/us to avoid justice, to not be put to curt... I can only imagine that it’s because I believe in “personal” deities, we’ve been worried for a while how other, stronger deities, would react to that... and now I know- he’s mentioned in both Fate’s and Luck’s fears- “connecting with my inner spirit” in Fate’s and mentioning his status in Luck’s. 

My deities don’t get along. Great. -_-

Also my zodiac, palm, only crystal, and two deities are of fire energies...

Oh and I had to promise Luck that I’ll be productive tomorrow so that it’ll answer me... oh boy.

[ohmygillygoshoppler]

so, I was thinking...

since a lot of my peeps still aren’t all down with their classes yet, I decided to dig up my old DnD manual and make a list of the best classes and backgrounds I could find! if anyone likes, they can select and go with it!

@imagine-darksiders

@askthedarksidersfam

@darksiders-scenarios

@bunnythemurderer

@alqulyndrys

@memesiders

@madyson-delayne

@mopiece

whoever the fuck else in involved... Jesus, this took forever...

barbarian- In battle, you fight with primeval ferocity. Rage is a key factor when it comes to your combat style. You can take a hit, and dish one out, too. You are a moving mountain fueled by rage and hatred, but your party takes care of you, and you protecc them. So whether you fight with your fists or a giant axe, know that your team can always count on you for a bloodbath!

bard- you’ve wandered the lands, playing music, telling tales, and entertaining audiences with your talent. Rarely does a community not welcome you in, as you bring the news of distant lands to the common folk. You can always find a spot to preform, usually at an inn or tavern. At such a place, you receive free lodging and food as long as you preform each night. In addition, your performances make you something of a local celebrity. When strangers recognize you in a town where you have preformed, they typically take a liking to you.

Oh, by the way, you can hypnotize people with music. Just sayin’.

bounty hunter-However fine and noble at first glance, know that a ruthless jailer lies beneath. You’ll hand anyone over... For the right price.

charlatan- you’re a liar, a thief, a cheat, and a sneak. But you do what you can to do the right thing... the wrong way...

city watch- you have served your Community  where you grew up, standing as the first line of defense against crime. You’re no scholar, directing your gaze out toward possible enemies. Instead, you devote your service to your hometown, or in this case, your base. You’re basically the cop of the party. (talk to your DM about the services preformed as a city watchman)

crafter- you find trash and build stuff with it.

cleric- you’ve always had a thing for healing people and making them feel better. You feel like it’s your calling, the thing you were put on this planet to do! Guided by the hand of you deity, you can wreak havok, or weave miracles. As the paladin or monk, should you wind up in a temple or place of worship, you’ll be granted with healing, food, spells, items, and maybe even a chat with you God or Goddess.

cloistered scholar- as a child, you were inquisitive while your playmates were possessive and raucous. In your formative years, you found your way to a great institution of learning... and never came out. You stayed in school forever and now, you’re a genius. That’s pretty much what this whole class entails. Smart. As. Fuck.

commoner- you came from a humble social rank, perhaps a working as a farmer, or an average joe. Although your background may not be a glamorous as others, you find it easy to blend in wherever you go and have some sort of folksy wisdom that can sometimes help you out of a jam.

courtier- in your early years, you were the personage of some significance in the noble court or organization. You may or may not have come from an upper-crust family; your talents, rather than the circumstances of your birth, could have secure your position. You might have been one of the many functionaries, attendants, and other hangers-on in the court of the nobles, or maybe even a behind-the-scenes lawkeeper!

Even if you are no longer a person of importance, your relationships with your party members can be an advantage for you. You might undertake missions with your new companions that further the interests of your organization that gave you a start in life. In any event, the abilities that you honed while serving as a courtier will stand you in good stead as an adventurer.

criminal-you have a knack for breaking the law, and you’re awfully proud of that. You’ve spent a lot of time among other crooks, and may or may not still have contact with your criminal buddies.You’re far closer than most to the world of murder, theft, and violence that pervades the underbelly of civilization, and you’ve survived up to this point by bending the rules and regulations of society. (talk to your DM about your criminal specialties)

Druid- you love the world around you, and all of its creatures! You speak the ancient language of the druids, allowing you to communicate with animals, as well as races outside of your own. Your magic comes from the divine essence of nature itself, that you can cast at your will. Creatures, as well as some monsters are more inclined to listen and help you if you ask.

far traveler- almost all of the common people and other folk that one might encounter here have one thing in common: most live out their lives without ever traveling more than a few miles from their homeland. You aren’t one of those people. You are from a distant place, one so remote that few even know this place exists. You have come to this part of the world for your own reasons, which you may or may not chose to share. Although you will undoubtedly some of this land’s ways to be strange and uncomfortable, you can also be sure that some things its people take for granted will be to you, a new wonder that you’ve never seen. By the same token, you’re a person of interest, for good or ill, to those around you almost anywhere you go.

haunted one- you are haunted by something so terrible that you dare not speak of it. You’ve tried to bury it and flee from it, but to no avail. This things that haunts you can’t be beaten with a blade or banished with a spell. It might come to you as a shadow on the wall, a bloodcurdling nightmare, a memory that refuses to die, or a demonic whisper in the back of your mind. The burden is only now starting to take it’s toll, isolating you from others and making you question your sanity.

hermit- you lived in seclusion- either in a sheltered community like a monetary, or entirely alone- for a formative part of your life. In your time apart from the clamor of society, you found quiet, isolation, and perhaps some of the answers you’ve been searching for.

jester-You were employed as a jester by a noble. You preformed acrobatic stunts, told jokes and stories, and provided entertainment for your employer and his guests. However, you also served a key role, lacing your entertainment with criticisms and observations too controversial for others to say aloud. You enjoy the rare privilege of speaking your mind with little or no repercussions.  As a jester, it id your duty to use comedy as a way to point out the absurdities of the world. You can criticize through a lens of humor without offense. In addition, you gain access to other nobels in order to preform.

monk- you were raised in a monastery, far from the reaches of your peers. You’ve been devoted to a combat style and way of life ever since you were born. The discipline you’ve received from your time in the monetary will stick with you forever. The force in which you use to cut down your foes is called Ki, and you’ve learnt just how to use it.

noble- you understand wealth, power, and privilege. You carry a noble title, and your family owns land, collects taxes, and wields significant political influence.You might be a pampered aristocrat unfamiliar with work or discomfort, a former merchant just elevated to the nobility, or a disinherited scoundrel with a disproportionate sense of entitlement. or, you could be an honest, hard-working landowner who cares deeply about the people who live and work on your land, keenly aware of your responsibility to them.(talk with you DM about the connections and deeds of your family)

outlander- You grew up in the wilds, far from civilization and the comforts of modern technology. You’ve witness the migrations of herds larger than forests, survived weather more extreme than any city-dweller could comprehend, and enjoy the solitude of being the only thinking creature for miles in any direction.  You’ve been to strange places and seen strange things that other could not even fathom. Consider some of the distant lands you’ve visited and how they’ve impacted you.

 paladin- the presence of strong evil registers on your own senses like a noxious odor, and powerful good rings like heavenly music in your ears. As an action, you can open your awareness to such forces and detect them. You know the locations of any celestial, undead, or fiend within a 20 mile radius. Angels adore you, demons fear you, and your team all look to you for protection and valor in times of need.

priest- you have pledged your life to serve a god, pantheon of gods, or philosophy. You serve as the intermediary between your chosen power and the mortal world, conducting sacred rites, offering sacrifices, and expounding the teachings of your faith to those you’ve met. Your knowledge and experience are drawn from the time spent as a priest.

When you are in a temple, or holy place, you can expect to receive free healing, acre, and religious services for yourself and your party, assuming your friends are aligned with your faith.

ranger- you have significant experience in hunting, tracking and trapping. The outdoors are your home, and you are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment, and are adept at traveling and surviving in those regions.

rogue- during your training, you learned the stealthy, silent way of the knife. You’re quick on your feet, and lighter still. Nobody will ever hear or see you coming. You know how to strike subtly and exploit a foe’s distraction. Being the quiet type, you can hear, and are aware of other creatures locations within 10 feet of yourself. Oh yeah, did I mention the knives?

sage- you’ve spent years reading up on the lore of the multiverse. You soured manuscripts,studied scrolls, and listed to the greatest experts on the subjects that interest you. Your efforts have made you a master i your field of study (discuss your skill with your DM).

sailor- you’ve sailed on a seagiong vessel for years. In that time, you’ve faced nightly storms, monsters of the deep, and those who wanted to sink your ship to the bottom of the drink. Your first love is that distant line of the horizon, but the time has come for you to try your hand at something new.(discuss the nature of your ship with your DM)

Was it a merchant ship? A naval vessel? A pirate ship?

soldier- war and battle have been your life for as long as you care to remember. You trained as a youth, studied the use of weapons and armor, learned basic survival techniques,including how to stay alive on the battle field. You might have been part of a standing national army, or a mercenary company who rose to prominence during a recent war. (Work wit your DM to see what military branch you may have worked with.)

sorcerer- An event in a past life, or in the life of a parent or ancestor, left an incredible mark on you, infusing your blood with magic, be it angel or demon. The font of this magic fuels your spells. Charisma and intelligence are your spellcasting ability check. Be warned, however. Sorcery comes directly from you. You only have so much power to give, and that power can be taken away. It’s not a pretty process. It can kill you.

spy- At some point or another, you secretly gained information on a group of people or maybe one person. You were hired by a rival or political enemy, maybe searching for information that could hurt the other party. Maybe you were trying to fulfill your own agenda, but regardless, you’re good at finding things out and hiding your true self. You’re a master manipulator; years of stealth and trickery taught you how to not draw attention to yourself. The way you walk, talk, and move are deliberately forgettable, and utterly extraordinary. You dress in a  way that is easy to forget, no one will easily recall your characteristics or features unless they make an effort to do so.

In addition, you can read and write in a code than no one else is able to understand. Only someone trained in deciphering it.

thug- Years of living in the streets have given you an aura of menace. Your look conveys a basic message to your foes: you’ll as soon break their jaws as receive an apology.Threats and bullying tactics come easily to you. Your demeanor has landed you jobs with less-than-reputable organizations in the past, where you’ve provided the protection and muscle.

urchin- You grew up on the streets alone, orphaned, and poor. You had no body to watch over and protect you, so you learned to do all those things for yourself. You’ve fought fiercely over food and kept a constant watch out for other desperate souls looking to steal from you. You’ve slept on rooftops, in alleyways, exposed to the elements, and endured sickness without the advantage of medicine or a place to recuperate.

You’ve survived despite all odds, and did so through cunning, strength, speed, or some unholy combination of each. You know the secret patterns and flow to cities and you can find passages through the urban sprawl that others may miss. When not in combat, you can travel fast between any and all locations.You as a lot of questions. You hide food and other tools and trinkets in your pockets.You’re driven by your commitment to your squad, and the will to stay alive and fight.

warlock- As a warlock, you’ve made a bargain with an otherworldly being of your choice. For some, it’s as simple as giving a few years of devotion and faith, but for other, a greater sacrifice is required... The more you level up, the more you start to take after your deity; if you’re associated with angels, your hair will turn white, eyes will turn gold, and perhaps you might grow wings. If you’re associated with demons, however... Well, let’s just hope you decide to serve the light...

wizard- as a wizard, you practice and train for years and years to master the arcane arts, as well as arcane recovery. As a student of the mystics, whether they be angel or demon, you have a spellbook containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. The more you level up, the better those spells become.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Secret Wars chapter 10: Forever Fight as One (originally posted on September 23, 2018)

AN: At last the final battle against Thanos has come! It certainly has been a pleasure writing this for all of you to enjoy, and it also warms my heart to see so much love for it. Still waiting for it to be on TV Tropes though. But regardless, I hope you enjoy this and any more stories, Earth-2013 or not, to come! Until then, toodle-oo!

"Did you see how I annihilated Jasper there my love?" Thanos asked Death finally returning to his shrine on Battleworld's moon. "She put up quite a fight, but in the end she had to be put down. It's a shame as well, her gemstone would've looked marvelous on you. In fact, why don't I grant you the shattered remains of the other Gems as a present?" Lady Death gave no answer other than just a roll of her eyes, but the titan took it as a sign. "It may not be spoken, but I still count it as attention." he stated before he heard the rattling of chains and turned to discover Nebula, now free from her restraints and looking absolutely furious. "YOU!" "Nebula, I see you have managed to escape. Exquisite work, but not as much as when I would pit you against your sister." Thanos commended his daughter but he was met with a hateful laugh from his daughter. "You fool! Do you truly think Death will ever love you?! Besides, she's not the only one you should be concerned with right now!" "Let me guess, are you referring to the Crystal Gems?" Thanos wondered preparing to pummel her with the Gauntlet. "Not just those Gems," Nebula answered before looking upward. "them." Thanos had no idea what she was talking about before he turned around to discover a gigantic humanoid man dressed in purple & blue armor with a distinctive horned helmet. This titan was none other than the dreaded devourer of worlds himself, Galactus. "Thanos of Titan, we have come to punish you for your crimes against the universe!" Galactus boomed as several more beings of equal power stood alongside him. There was Kronos the god of time, the embodiment of the very universe itself known as Eternity, the physical forms of life, death, love & hate, the mysterious Uatu the Watcher, a pair of Celestials and the Living Tribunal. "Your abuse of the Infinity Gauntlet's power has gone too far Thanos." Uatu scolded the titan. "If this keeps going on, then the whole universe will become beyond saving! And all for to satisfy both your twisted delusions of balance and your love for Death." "Do you realize who I am? I have made the Diamonds my slaves, made a fool out of Mephisto, reduced one of Gemkind's strongest warriors to gravel and I also have a secret weapon hidden inside my moon!" Thanos bragged preparing to send them all off with a snap of his fingers. "Yet it seems your efforts were all for nothing." the Stranger declared bringing attention to a certain alliance of champions. "Look." The Stranger then produced a holographic image of the Crystal Gems, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Starfox, Silver Surfer, Loki and the Diamonds all marching toward Thanos's statue, ready for a final fight. "I never thought I would see the day the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former superiors, and I'm the god of time." Kronos commented. "It cannot be! This shall not stand!" Thanos boomed furiously, on the verge of snapping even. "I shall have to do it myself, and I refuse to let you interfere." With one finger click, the cosmic hierarchy found themselves fading into dust. "How is this even possible?!" Uatu exclaimed before he finally disappeared. "You can make us fade into dust all you want titan, but mark my words you shall receive justice!" Galactus shouted as he, along with the rest of the deities, finally disappeared. Nebula gaped in horror at the sight of such powerful beings falling to the power of her father before her shock turned to frothing rage and she charged at the titan with her arms as the only available weapon she had. Suddenly, the Luphomoid found herself grabbed by the neck and met with the furious glare of Thanos. He gave no word before carelessly tossing her as far as he can off the moon. "These fools dare take up arms against their savior, rushing head-on into their destiny." Thanos began monologuing to himself. "So I shall provide them with death only deserving of a true warrior. There will be nothing but dust and blood but in the end, balance shall stand triumphant." With a single gesture, Thanos's throne zoomed out of the temple and he sat down, with Death still by his side. Clenching his fist, the Space Stone created a portal that led Thanos down to Battleworld, where he hoped to settle things once and for all.

On the patchwork planet itself, the Ultimate Alliance charged across Battleworld toward the statue of their despised shared enemy. Led by Steven Universe, Captain America, Yellow Diamond, Star-Lord, Gamora and Starfox, this uneasy team-up sought to end the Mad Titan's reign of terror and keep the universe from falling apart under his gold-plated fist.

"Come out wherever you are big guy! You ready for a rematch?!" Amethyst challenged readying her whip. "Hold on there Amethyst, we still gotta hold the line til Tony and the others get there!" Cap explained before contacting his iron teammate through an earpiece. "Stark, how are you, Pearl, Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot, Thor, Rocket and Groot holding up?" "Doing okay Rogers. Still having a few difficulties though." Iron Man replied on the other end in the beach house before an explosion sounded. "I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed trying to put on the fire on his body. "Don't worry, I got you!" Lapis exclaimed putting out the flames. "So what are they building again?" Hawkeye wondered. "A god killer, Tony said." Steve replied ending the call. "Hopefully they get here soon. Thanos doesn't like it when a challenge is kept waiting." "Why are you so insistent that we shall win against Thanos? He's an all-powerful being with the Infinity Gauntlet for your information!" Yellow Diamond wondered showing concern for the outcome. "I've heard that you've defeated him time and again, but how?" With a small smile, Cap sat down at the foot of the statue. "That kind of reminds me of a story from my day. I was only a boy in a library where I learned what it truly meant to be a patriot." he stated. "I was reading a classic by Mark Twain when I discovered a sentence that struck a chord in me. It was so powerful that I memorized it for years to come." "What was that sentence?" Garnet wondered. "That sentence was, 'In a republic, who is the country?'." Cap answered. "'Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its functions is to obey orders, not originate them.'" "What is he even saying? Who is this Mark Twain?" Blue Diamond wondered quietly. "'Who then, is the country? Is it the newspaper, is it the pulpit? Why, these are mere parts of the country, not the whole of it." "How is going on about some Midgardian scribe going to help us here?" Loki asked as the captain continued on. "'They have not command. They only have their little share of their command.'" Steve continued his story while standing up. "'In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country. In a republic, it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself, and on his own responsibility must speak." Steven looked on eagerly as his hero proceeded. "'It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government or the empty catchphrases of politicians.'" Rogers kept speaking. "'Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong & which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man." "Yeesh, Thanos sure is taking pretty long." Star-Lord remarked. "Yes, but what he's saying is true." Gamora responded. "'To decide it against your convictions is to an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, to both yourself and to your country." Steve stated almost at the end of his speech. "'Let men label you if they may." "He got all of this from Twain? Wow." Connie gasped in amazement sitting down next to her best friend. "'If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country. Hold up your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of.'" "So what are you trying to say Rogers?" Amethyst wondered. "What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't matter what anyone says, whether it be the politicians, the press, the mob or the whole world, when they say something wrong is something right." the captain declared. "Our fair country was founded on one principle, to have the right to stand up for what we believe in, no matter the cost. And when everyone tells you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree and tell them, 'No. You move.'" "And when that tree is planted, there will be someone to cut it down." the booming voice of Thanos suddenly sounded as he appeared from a portal on his throne with Death by his side. "By the way, you should be expecting company." he smugly added just as Nebula landed at the champions' feet, mangled and terrified. "Run everybody! Thanos is refusing to just sit around anymore!" she cried out. "He will purge you all no matter what!" "Enough is enough." the Mad Titan declared summoning his alien armies to his side. "Now we play this game my way." Thanos got up from his throne and descended to the ground preparing for the final battle. "Kill them all." The Chitauri, Sakaarans and Deviants readied their weapons and charged, beginning to clash with the Alliance. Although the champions had the strength of two super-soldiers, multiple powerful Gems, a gamma giant and many more to give them an advantage, the sheer number of the extraterrestrials proved to be just as strong. "Dammit, Stark and the midget should've been done ages ago!" Wolverine cried cutting down multiple Sakaarans with his claws while Vision disintegrated even more of them with a blast from the gem on his head. Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch combined their mutant powers to plow through an entire squadron of Chitauri and the rest tried to fight them off, but for the most part it seemed hopeless. "Someone, help me!" Falcon shouted before one of his wings was caught in a Chitauri glider. Just as quickly, he was freed when Drax tackled the Chitauri and stabbed it in the face, causing the glider to crash. "Dang, they're everywhere!" Ms. Marvel said standing back to back with She-Hulk, War Machine and Ant-Man. "Just hold the line until help arrives!" Hank exclaimed growing giant size and stomping on a few Deviants. Meanwhile, Steven, Garnet, Doctor Strange, Captain America and Yellow Diamond managed to find shelter from the attack. "I can't tell if you're insane or love risking it, but that speech from earlier was fairly powerful." the monarch commented. "But how are we going to succeed when there's so many of them?" "I've actually narrowed down multiple outcomes of this war and most of them end with us dying." Garnet explained adjusting her visor. "Only one has everyone alive and victorious." "Only one? How many other possibilities were there?" Steven wondered. "I calculate approximately fourteen million." the fusion stated. "This is only one of them." She kissed Steven on the forehead granting him a vision of one of those futures. He saw every last terrifying detail, from the deaths of Cap & Strange, to Thanos shattering Yellow & snapping his fingers, to his idols like Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Hulk & Quicksilver and even friends like Amethyst, Lapis, Bismuth and Connie fading into dust. "We've got to make sure that good future is this one." the boy resolved after the end of the vision. "But that still leaves the question of what happens in the now?" "I know, because I can hear it." Steve stated gazing up at the sky as clouds began to form. "Hear what?" Yellow wondered and the captain only said one word. "Thunder." A bolt of lightning struck down on the battlefield, incinerating all of Thanos's minions who dared near it and Mjolnir came flying out of it, taking down the rest before it returned to the grasp of Thor himself, along with Iron Man, Pearl, Rocket, Bismuth, Groot, Lapis and Peridot, who was piloting their self-proclaimed godkiller using her ferrokinesis. The godkiller in question was built out of the Red King's warsuit for the main body and both a repulsor gauntlet & a copy of the Breaking Point as its weapons. Thanos stood in awe but was still sadistically eager to find a new foe as Peridot took the first step. "Hey Thanos, come and fight us you clod!" the little Gem screamed charging into battle with the others following suit, requesting that they have words with him. With a mighty yell, Peridot stabbed multiple of the titan's armies with the Breaking Point and blasting the rest with the repulsor gauntlet. Meanwhile Rocket rode on Bismuth's back shooting all that would try to cross their path. "Y'know, maybe Peridot ain't as bad as I thought!" the blacksmith commented doing most of the physical fighting for Rocket. "Yeah yeah, great big guy! Now throw me, I always wanted to try this!" Rocket shouted and she obliged, tossing the furry mercenary into the air as he fired at will before landing on the ground. "You gotta make me one of those Breaking Points sometime! There's some scores I need to settle." "Uh, how about no?" Bismuth nervously answered before smacking an Outrider in the face from behind. "Haha, oh you're gonna get me one someday!" Rocket declared as he went off on his own. "So I take it that's our cue to lead them all?" Yellow asked stepping out of hiding. "You bet it is! Ready Cap?" Steven boldly proclaimed turning to his hero. "Right Steven. On my mark!" Rogers stated and they both raised their shields to the air with a mighty battle cry of "Ultimate Alliance, assemble!" "So this is where our final bout begins?" Thanos wondered preparing to use one of the Infinity Stones. "Very well then!" With a clench of his fist, all time around him screeched to a halt and everybody frozen in place. Thanos took these precious moments to examine the uneasy collaboration that had assembled to eliminate him and began contemplating. "Who would've guessed the Crystal Gems would ally themselves with their former homeworld to stop me?" he muttered in deep thought. "It's like Kronos said, even he didn't see this coming despite being the god of time. Still, it seems most of them weren't as insignificant as I thought." Stepping toward the frozen Peridot and Lapis, the dark lord continued monologuing. "Despite her small stature, the Peridot is much more intelligent than I gave her credit for. And her terraforming comrade is unbelievably strong to compliment her." Then he stepped forward to find Connie fighting alongside Ms. Marvel, War Machine, Black Panther & Falcon. "This human on the other hand I'm quite surprised by. I didn't realize she'd be worthy to wield that sword." After some silence, Thanos clenched his fist and restored time to normal, to the confusion of the Alliance. "I'm sorry, what just happened?!" Connie exclaimed. "It must be the Time Stone! He's using all six of them against us, we have to stop him before he tries another one!" Doctor Strange exclaimed but he was too late, as Thanos made another clench and a wave of red washed over them, changing them into more unusual appearances. "Good Lord, what's with all this gold?!" Tony asked examining the current state of his armor. "At least you look somewhat normal, look at me!" Pearl exclaimed gesturing to her much more drastically different appearance. "I mean, my skin is all blue, my nose isn't as prominent, and look at my outfit!" "You're right Pearl, you look terrible!" Rocket cackled rolling on the ground, now wearing a green outfit while Groot looked more monstrous than normal. "Behold, I am Groot the invincible! Who dares to defy me!" the tree monster declared speaking more than just 'I am Groot' this time around. "I preferred you more when you only said three words." Gamora snarked. "Gamora, can you please cover up? There are children here." Garnet asked remarking on the warrior's now more revealing outfit while stroking her now longer, less square hair. "Would anyone be so kind as to stop Thanos from doing this to us? I seriously would prefer not lookin' like a male stripper!" Yondu exclaimed bringing attention to his equally revealing get-up. "HULK SMASH STUPID COSTUME MAKER!" a grayer Hulk roared charging toward Thanos and tackling him, ending the illusion and returning everyone to normal. "Oh finally, I thought I was going live with those awful boots forever!" Thor let out a sigh of relief as he was restored to his regular appearance. "Seriously, why the tiger pattern?" Lapis wondered to which her Asgardian friend replied with "I was going through a phase." "We can discuss questionable fashion choices later, look!" Yellow Diamond shouted pointing at Thanos, who had now freed himself from the Hulk's grasp and slowly marched toward the champions with a stoic expression and prepared to try the Gauntlet again. "With our combined strength, we can stop him!" Yellow then fired an energy blast at Thanos, followed by Blue Diamond, Doctor Strange, Vision, Starfox, Iron Man, Lapis, Silver Surfer, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel and War Machine joining her in trying to push the titan back. But he remained unaffected, using the Power Stone to project an energy barrier and continued stepping forth closer to the thirteen before smashing his golden fist to the ground and creating shockwaves that knocked every last one of them down. "You thought more would be merrier, but allow me to provide a counterargument." Thanos declared making the Soul & Mind Stones glow before he suddenly vanished into thin air. "W-where did he go?" Connie wondered confused at what Thanos had just done. Suddenly, she dodged an attack by what seemed to be the Mad Titan himself, but he looked much different. He was now more skinny and had the Mind Stone in his forehead, not unlike Pearl. Then more Thanos lookalikes spawned and attacked. One had a physique similar to Garnet and had the Space Stone in his left hand. Another was as tall as Amethyst and had the Power Stone adorning his chest. A third was as slender as Lapis complete with the Reality Stone on his back forming a pair of wings. Fourthly was a smaller Thanos clone around Peridot's height who had an Infinity Stone in his forehead as well, this one being the Time Stone. And finally was a Thanos double who had a shield just like Steven's and wore armor on his torso that exposed the Soul Stone on his stomach. "You say the people of your world believe in you Crystal Gems, but will they remember you?" he questioned as the other stone clones made their move. "Insolent coward, you aren't fighting for that blasted Earth or your fellow Gems, you're simply fighting to live!" the Thanos that embodied the Reality Stone scolded Lapis turning much of her water into insects that began crawling all over her. "I can run away sometimes, but this time I'm not running away from you!" the terraformer declared forming her water into ice and stabbing her opponent through his chest, poofing him as if he were an actual gem. Meanwhile, Peridot faced the personification of the Time Stone who had now formed limb enhancers of his own to gain an edge. "You can run from your past all you want, but at the end of the road your destiny shall come!" he declared blasting her out of the godkiller & sending her flying until she grabbed her mech at the last moment, making it tip over and crush the Thanos clone. "Well you can kiss my gravity connector big boy!" Peridot boasted before pulling down an eyelid with a taunting "Nyeh!" "Love can sometimes be your greatest weakness my dear fusion!" the Space Stone claimed catching a punch from Garnet. "Nobody had ever given me that, so no one else shall-" He was quickly silenced by Garnet who squeezed his head with her free hand and took the poofed Infinity Stone. "And you thought you were stronger than me." Amethyst & Pearl fought their respective counterparts, that being the Power & Mind Stones. Unlike their usually clashing personalities, the Infinity Stones fought and spoke in literal perfect harmony. "True harmony is the key to success." they declared in unison. "If you do nothing but argue, then your fate is as good as sealed." "Y'know speaking of harmony, I think it's time we brought a certain someone back into the fold." Amethyst remarked with a knowing wink toward Pearl. "What do you mean? Oh right, Opal!" Pearl suddenly realized. "It's just been so long since we last formed her, I've almost forgotten what it feels like." "What are they doing?!" Power & Mind exclaimed before they paid witness to the return of the archer fusion Opal, her steely gaze piercing straight through their forms and her bow at the ready. "Any last words guys?" she chuckled readying her arrows. They didn't even get a chance to speak before being put down by the tall fusion who then defused back into Pearl & Amethyst. "My comrades may have been eliminated, but the same shall happen to yours." the embodiment of the Soul Stone declared summoning the other stones to his side and fusing them all with himself, restoring Thanos to his whole self. "What else can you throw at me boy?" he challenged Steven. Then suddenly, he felt his arms being tied down by two sets of ropes. Turning his head from left to right, he found his bare right hand restrained by Amethyst's whips & Doctor Strange's Crimson Chains of Cyttorak and the other covered in his Gauntlet by water chains and web lines. "We're holding him down guys, now!" Spider-Man exclaimed before Garnet pounced Thanos, locking his head between her legs. Meanwhile Pearl & Bismuth gravely injured his bottom half with their respective weapons making him wince in anguish. "You got nowhere to run now Thanos. Either drop the stones & come quietly or face much bloodier consequences." Thor announced. "Like that one for example." Peridot, now back in her godkiller, leaped high into the air ready to stab him with the Breaking Point and finish him once and for all. With a mighty jab, the weapon's silver point wedged itself deep into Thanos's torso. "Who's the comic relief now Thanos?!" the little Gem snarled driving the weapon deeper, making the titan scream in pain. However in the midst of his crippling pain, Thanos clenched his fist and used the Power Stone to send everyone flying, freeing him from their grasp and his death. "Peridot." Thanos groaned using the Time Stone to heal all his wounds. "You are indeed correct, you're aren't as much of a buffoon as I believed you were." Stomping toward the damaged godkiller, he ripped Peridot out of its remains, leaving her legs scrambling around trying to flee. The technician thought this could be the end of her, but instead of being shattered, she was instead gently seated on the ground with a tousle of her tetrahedral hair. "When I am done, only half of your comrades shall remain." the titan assured her. "I hope they remember you." With that, Thanos turned his gaze toward the Diamonds. "But first, I have a score to settle with the both of you!" he declared. "I have tried to make peace all those thousands of years ago with Pink Diamond, yet your kind has refused to answer my pleas. For both that and your betrayal, I have no choice but to execute you." "What gave you the right to think you're strong enough to destroy us?!" Yellow cried preparing to strike Thanos down where he stood with her lightning. "This is for Pink you monster!" She stuck out her hand and zapped him, hoping to at least knock him unconscious but instead, Thanos condensed the energy into a sphere in his hand. "Is that the best you got?" With that, Thanos tossed the sphere at Yellow Diamond and electrocuted her, knocking the dictator to the ground barely clinging on to her physical form while she still could. "Oh my stars my Diamond!" her Pearl shouted rushing to her superior's side. "Please tell me you'll be all right!" "I'll be fine Pearl," Yellow groaned. "it's just that fighting Thanos took quite a lot out of me. I think I'm just going to lay down here for a while." she stated. "Two Diamonds down, two more to go." Thanos declared showing Yellow Pearl out of the way to step on Yellow's torso and preparing to smash her gem. "Even Diamonds should beware when bargaining with Thanos of Titan." Suddenly a wave of blue washed over Battleworld, bringing most of the Gems present to tears to the confusion of the superheroes. "Hulk don't get it? Why everybody crying?" Hulk wondered just as confused as his fellow Avengers. "I believe this is called pathokinesis Dr. Banner, aka the ability to control one's emotions." Silver Surfer explained to the goliath. "And it seems to be coming from a mourning, yet absolutely furious source." Thanos was quietly confused for a few moments, wondering why his crystalline opponents had dropped down in tears before immediately realizing what was happening. A positively livid Blue Diamond standing right behind him, and all Thanos felt was pure, unadulterated fear as the Diamond cast a gigantic shadow. "Your reign of terror has come to an end Thanos!" she yelled, her voice much more menacing than her usual soft tone. "Come, answer for your crimes against all Gems!" "I expected Yellow to be my first victim, but you shall provide a worthy substitute!" Thanos challenged her making the Stones glow. "Come and get me!" he shouted. Blue complied by spawning an orb of light that blasted him at full force with a hail of lasers, but the titan remained unharmed as he charged at full speed before propelling himself to meet the Diamond's gaze. The two of them clashed fists, sending shockwaves all across the patchwork planet and kept on brawling. "Is that how strong a Diamond is?! Have to say, I'm impressed." Captain America stated with a grin. "We gotta get outta here, this hunk 'a rock could go all Alderaan on us any moment now!" Star-Lord panicked just as they saw Thanos being tossed across the warzone right into his statue, making it fall over backwards. Miraculously, Thanos survived long enough to find Blue Diamond on the ground still righteously mad. "I am not done yet." Blue coughed barely getting up. "You will pay for everything you have done to us, our home and our people!" she cried. "Then what are you waiting for? Go on and finish me so that I can be with Death." Thanos beckoned her to land the final blow, eager to be united with his lover for all eternity. But instead, he punched her square in her gem, cracking it and knocking her back as well. "Oh no, Blue Diamond!" Steven exclaimed trying to rush to the Diamond's side before Lapis grabbed onto the back of his shirt. "Steven, I know you're a really nice guy, but can you leave Blue Diamond like this? I'm sure she's suffered worse." the water Gem tried to convince him, not even realizing he was gone before it was too late. "There you go, now find Yellow Diamond and a place to hide." Steven ordered Blue healing her gem with his spit. "W-why thank you little one." the Diamond said graciously. "You know, you kind of remind me of Pink Diamond in a way." Steven knew this was a good time to reveal the truth, but simply decided not to as Blue ran off to search for her sister. "If I cannot shatter any Diamond today, then I guess all that I have killed throughout our battles will have to suffice." Thanos mused before Steven stepped up in front of him. "But why?! What do you want to gain from killing so many people across the universe?" "Simple Steven, to save the universe and win the affections of Lady Death." the Mad Titan answered. "She told me that this universe was growing far too big. Too much of everyone, not enough to supply them." As evil as Thanos was, he did indeed have a point. "You mortals pride yourself on your resources to survive, yet time and again you waste them either for your own selfish gain or to destroy all who stand in your way." "So basically you're planning on 'saving the environment' in your own twisted way? Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate." Amethyst chimed in. "And then when the dust settles and all is well, I plan on perhaps taking up agriculture." Thanos continued. "But you can do that right now. Just take off the Gauntlet and we can take you back to Earth to start your own farm." Steven said. "I'm pretty sure that with time, Peridot & Lapis would love to have you as a roommate!" The boy's words fell on deaf ears as Thanos simply didn't pay attention to him, instead turning to Lady Death. "What do you say my bride? Will the carnage witnessed here in this war be enough to suffice our shared philosophy?" he asked the deity, grasping her hand and his knee on the ground. However, just when it seemed like Death was finally going to answer him after so long, it instead turned out to be one word that ensured that from here on out, everything was on a dangerous roller coaster ride to Hell. "No." This was something Thanos had never heard her say to him before, which made something inside him snap before roaring at the top of his lungs. "SO AFTER ALL THIS TIME, ALL YOU SAY IS NO?!" he screamed. "WELL IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, THEN NO ONE ELSE IN THIS BLASTED UNIVERSE CAN!" The Infinity Stones then began to tear the universe apart in his fury as he used the Space and Power Stones to pulverize the surface of Battleworld's moon, revealing none other than the Cluster underneath. "Now you hideous geoweapon, kill them all!" He tossed the ball of Gem shards down to Battleworld in an effort to destroy the Alliance, but was stopped by Starfox who struggled to keep it from crashing. "Listen bro, she's never going to love you!" the Eternal groaned continuing to keep it above the ground. "Just stand down or there's gonna be big-" Before Eros could finish, Thanos instantly turned him into a stone statue before turning to the rest of the champions and charged toward them. "Steven, watch out!" Bismuth shouted trying to save the son of her former leader and put herself in Thanos's path, poofing her. In a blind fury, the Titan fired a gigantic energy blast at Nebula that nearly disintegrated her before she made one last effort to kill her abusive adoptive father by throwing a dagger at him. Thanos tore the dagger out of his torso & tossed it at Loki, stabbing him in the head and the god fell to the ground dead. "NOOOOO!" Thor and Gamora cried for their adopted siblings and tried to get revenge on Thanos. But his rage made him too powerful for just two beings to take on and within moments, they were on the ground horrendously injured. "What do we do now?!" Hawkeye exclaimed ducking for cover. "Simple, we try fusion!" Garnet commanded. "Steven, Amethyst, you try and stop Thanos! Pearl, you and me form Sardonyx to calm the Cluster!" "You got it!" the two short Gems saluted before they held hands and formed the portly fusion known as Smokey Quartz. "A human and a Gem?! How?" Natasha wondered. "We'll explain later, just let me take care of the grape for a while." Smokey answered before they charged at Thanos. "Hey wrinkle-chin, you feeling a little grounded?" Thanos turned to Smokey Quartz with a loud snarl. "Looks like you need some fresh air!" they joked tying him up with their yo-yos and tossing him around. "Hopefully you don't get dizzy!" However, their puns ended when Thanos shouted "Silence you brats!" and grabbed the yo-yos, the power of the Space Stone pulsing down the ropes before reaching Smokey Quartz, defusing them back into Steven & Amethyst. As Steven fell to the ground and raced to heal Thor & Gamora, he could hear the Cluster crying for help in his mind. "Please...help...us!" the shards all begged. "Thanos...making us...his slaves!" "I know what you are saying Cluster, but frankly you are too late." Thanos declared popping the bubble the Cluster was held in and unleashing the beast within. However, the forced fusion could barely recognize Steven and gave what he could make out as a thumbs up before it plucked Thanos off the ground. "What are you doing?!" the Mad Titan shouted being dragged & tossed around by the superweapon. "You are supposed to be my secret weapon!" "S-Steven...saved us! A-a-and we're returning the f-favor!" the Cluster exclaimed before it threw him in Sardonyx's path, in which she hit him with his hammer. "Thanks for the lift there big boy!" the eccentric showman fusion thanked it before she pounded Thanos to the ground. "You shall all pay for this!" the titan declared and he snapped his fingers, causing the Cluster to start glowing. "Someone...s-save us!" they cried out before exploding, making Gem shards rain all over Battleworld. "Did he really do that?!" Amethyst wondered as the shards fell from the sky. "And this is mine! This is mine too! Y'know what, all of these are mine! Gonna make me a fortune." she heard Rocket mutter while he caught whatever shards he could grab. "Y'know what, the Diamonds can take those Rose Quartzes back because I got's me a new venture!" "Rocket." Steven said glaring at the raccoon. "Okay okay, sheesh. Excuse me for wanting to make money." Rocket groaned dropping an entire armful of shards to the ground, but not before sneakily scooping a small amount of them up with his tail. "How's the view from down there big guy?!" Sardonyx called to Thanos with a hearty laugh, but the titan roared and fired another blast, ending her & turning her back into Garnet & Pearl. "Don't worry, Hulk got you two!" Hulk cried holding out his arms to save the two Gems before they landed in his giant green hands. "Thanks for the lift Banner." Pearl thanked. "No problem bird lady." Bruce replied. "But what can Gems do now?" With a snap of her fingers, Garnet knew what to do now. "Sugillite." she stated with a grin before leaping out of Hulk's grasp and standing next to Amethyst. "Sugillite?" the defective Quartz said before they danced and became Sugillite. "Hey Thanos, you want some of me creep?!" "We should help out too!" Connie suggested grabbing Steven's hand. "Right, come on out Stevonnie!" Steven exclaimed and they formed the fusion in question with Steven's shield & Connie's sword in hand. "Everybody behind me!" they commanded charging toward Thanos alongside the other champions, including a now out of hiding Yellow & Blue Diamond. Unfortunately, they proved to be too weak for Thanos who knocked most of them all down before moving onto Stevonnie. "You won't stop us when we're fused Thanos!" they declared, but they were wrong. Thanos grabbed both of them by the arms and slowly tore them apart, forcing them back into Steven & Connie. "As a matter of fact, I can." "Kids, let's try Stevoter!" Star-Lord cried and the two children agreed, racing into the space captain's arms & forming the part-Gem, part-human & part-Spartaxian fusion. "Ah sweet, laser sword is back baby!" Stevoter cheered charging toward Thanos in a bid to stop him while firing from their laser sword. "Need a lift?" Garnet suggested running alongside Stevoter. "You bet your ass we do!" they replied. "You try and get the Gauntlet offa Thanos and we'll handle the rest!" With that, Stevoter stabbed Thanos in the torso while Garnet tried to remove the Infinity Gauntlet off his hand. "How do you like me now?!" they shouted bashing the titan in the face with their Walkman shield, making it play various songs to further annoy him. "Boast all you want mortal, you're simply just pestering me!" Thanos boomed grabbing the sword by its blade and slowly removing it from his chest. "I know what game you're playing Steven. This is just a distraction while one of your lackeys takes away my gauntlet." "Wait, how did you know?!" Stevoter exclaimed in fear. "This has happened to me before, and I shall not let it happen again." Thanos declared, and with one last blast from the almost-removed Gauntlet, defused Stevoter & Garnet down to their base beings. Tumbling down on the ground, a now scruffled-up Steven found a barely conscious Captain America struggling to get up. "Cap! Don't worry, I got you!" he cried licking his hand to heal his idol. "Thank you very much Steven, but I feel like your mom's powers won't be enough for us here." Rogers stated getting up on one knee. "I've heard from the Gems about how you often feel inferior to Rose because of how much she's done for the Earth. I feel you on that one. Sometimes I feel that I'm just lost in a world that I'm no longer apart of, yearning for a good fight to keep myself away from living a normal life." "Why is that? You seem pretty fine now." Steven said before the captain stopped him. "You only don't understand because you're still a kid. Me, I've lost almost everyone while I was in the Arctic." he continued. "And as for parents, I'm pretty sure most of us can relate. Like for example, there's all the stories that Thor can tell us about his old man. But you, you're different. Rose may have done some questionable things in the past but you can change that by being your own Gem, whether it be a quartz or a diamond." Steve then held out his hand with a smile. "So then, are you ready honorary Avenger?" With tears filling the stars in his eyes, Steven took his hero's hand. "I'm ready Captain." the boy accepted before he hugged the captain, and he returned it causing them both to glow. Everyone else still present watched in awe as the shining mass grew larger and formed into a heroic, stalwart figure with a gaze of solid steel directed straight at Thanos. "Steven..." Pearl gasped in sheer wonder. "Steve..." Bucky added just as stunned. Thanos simply frowned at the sight of this new fighter, wearing a pink version of Captain America's costume with a yellow star on the chest, blue trousers, red sandal boots and carrying Steven's shield. "W-what? Did we just fuse?" the new fusion gasped in astonishment. "Well, no time to contemplate now!" "W-who are you?!" Thanos shouted as the fusion stepped forward while picking up a discarded Mjolnir from the ground. He then took a battle stance with the shield and hammer at the ready with a confident smirk on his face. "Call me the Captain." With a cry of "CHARGING STAR!", the Captain bolted toward Thanos at hypersonic speeds, bashing him in the face with his shield. "STARS AND STRIPES!" he added uppercutting the titan, sending him flying long enough to give orders to the others. "Fallback company, I can handle things from here!" "Wait, we can help!" Peridot exclaimed. "I SAID FALLBACK COMPANY!" the Captain reiterated yelling. The rest of the Alliance nodded and retreated, leaving the Captain alone with Thanos, who was busy recovering from the earlier uppercut. "Is that truly the best you can do? I'd like to see you try harder!" he shouted gesturing the fusion to bring it on. The Captain simply responded by putting up his fists and declaring "I could do this all day." With a single bound, the Captain rocketed high into the air and zoomed downwards with Mjolnir ready to pummel Thanos. When the Asgardian hammer connected to the Mad Titan's face, the result was a quick but massive thunderstorm that erupted all across Battleworld. Storm clouds began to form over the two before it began raining. Meanwhile far off in the distance, the rest of the Ultimate Alliance watched in awe of the final struggle between life & death. "Wait, Cap's just a human! How is he able to hold Mjolnir?" Amethyst asked Thor. "It's very simple Amethyst, he possesses a pure heart, noble mind and the spirit of a warrior. Forever courageous and with a sense of humility." Thor explained. "And it's possible Steven himself might be worthy as well." The two continued going at it like a furious pair of rival wrestlers or predators fighting over their prey, the Captain continuing to whale on Thanos with Mjolnir & both of his fusees' shields. Suddenly Thanos grabbed the Captain by the arm and flung him into the ground, losing his grasp on the hammer. "You're getting closer to the edge, yet you still refuse to yield." the titan muttered towering over his fallen opponent before walking away. "Wait here, allow me to retrieve the Gauntlet so that I can properly execute you." "NEVER!" the Captain screamed immediately getting up like he wasn't even hurt at all. "I won't let you hurt anyone else, whether they be my friends or anyone in our universe!" he shouted clenching his fist. "I'm giving everything I've got into this one last punch, so you better watch yourself!" Thanos said no words, instead pulling out his stasis gun in response to the fusion's last stand. The Captain charged at him with full force, teeth gritted and his fist preparing to attack. The spirit of all his comrades flowed through him, giving him even greater strength than before as their attacks collided. "FINAL...UNYIELDING...JUSTICE!" As a result of the Captain's punch going inside the stasis gun's barrel as Thanos fired, a gigantic explosion erupted dispersing the storm and attracting the attention of the Alliance. "I think that was Thanos's stasis gun!" Gamora exclaimed before Pearl shoved her out of the way. "Steven!" she cried as the champions all rushed to the duo's side. When the dust finally settled, all that was left were Steven, Captain America and Thanos all lying down on the ground. "H-h-he's dead! Thanos is finally dead!" Thor exclaimed taking back Mjolnir. "Let's just check to be sure." Natasha suggested just as their leaders awakened. "What happened? Am I dead?" Steven asked before Connie hugged him. "I guess I'm not, because you're here!" "So it's finally over, huh? A bit anti-climatic if I say so myself." Bucky remarked helping his best friend up. "Let's not speak so soon. Look!" Steve stated, bringing attention to Thanos slowly rising from the ground, his stasis gun now reduced to hunks of metal and face enraged beyond recognition. "I've had enough of all this! Once I regain my gauntlet, you will all pay for disgracing me!" However, where Thanos expected to find the Infinity Gauntlet, he instead touched nothing. "Where is it?! Where's the Gauntlet?!" he screamed desperately searching for it. That was when he heard someone slip it on and turned to realize who that was. It was none other than Steven. Steven felt himself surging with power over the entire universe, literally obtaining the ability to do as he pleased with the Infinity Gauntlet. Everybody gazed in shock and awe at the very sight of this one mortal boy carrying the single most powerful weapon in all of the universe, most notably Thanos who's astonishment turned to glee. "Yes, yes! This is just what I wanted!" he cheered in malicious joy. "A young apprentice to turn into my successor! What are you waiting for Steven, erase them all and we can ravage the universe as father & son!" Steven was put in a moral dilemma for a moment. On one hand, he couldn't bring himself to kill Thanos for that would betray his principles. On the other, he can't allow the titan to run free and wreak havoc across the cosmos. There had to be another way to keep Thanos in check without having to hurt him. Then with a bold, stern look on his face, he made his decision. "No." With a click of his fingers, things felt like they were being set right. Back on Earth, Lapis & Peridot's barn and Pink Diamond's palanquin were restored to their former states. All the planets Thanos had destroyed were pieced back together, including Homeworld, and the villains he had made join him resurrected. The cosmic deities were also brought back as well. A few bits of orange dust scattered about were brought together and formed into Jasper's gemstone, which was then immediately bubbled and sent back to Earth. Loki woke up to find he was now alive once more and the knife in his head gone. "What just happened?" he wondered before spying Nebula and even the Black Order revived as well. "D-did he really do it?" All of the Gem shards that made up the Cluster were reassembled and returned to their place within the Earth. Starfox let out a loud gasp as he felt himself rebuilt and un-petrified. "That's some kid." he remarked with a grin. Finally, Thanos felt himself turning to stone from the feet up and grinned at Steven. "So this is how it must end child. I must say, you made the right choice." he stated. "I hope we shall meet again someday Steven Universe. I hope they remember you." With one last satisfied grin, Thanos accepted his fate and let out a bright flash of light. The explosive flash blinded everyone momentarily. But even when their vision cleared, none are quite sure they should believe what their eyes see. Before them had stood Thanos, proud, powerful, ruthless and near heartbeats from victory. Now in that exact same thought moments later, stood the massive titan transformed into solid granite. With one last thought, Steven also spawned a black hole to get rid of Battleworld, sucking in the petrified Thanos as well potentially sending him drifting through parts unknown. Then the boy felt himself getting dizzy. "Oh, I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna need to sit down." "We can rest later, we gotta vamoose!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Indeed, but what of the Infinity Stones?" Loki asked. "I suggest we divide them amongst ourselves so that they never fall into evil hands again." Thor suggested. "The Crystal Gems shall keep the Mind Stone while Lapis & Peridot shall take the Reality Stone." The Gems carefully removed their chosen stones from the Gauntlet, giving them to Steven & Peridot to bubble. "Meanwhile, the Avengers shall keep watch over the Space Stone, the Guardians get the Power Stone, Homeworld takes the Soul Stone and finally, Starfox shall keep the Time Stone." "Pearl, please remove the Soul Stone from the Gauntlet for me." Blue Diamond ordered her Pearl. "Yes my Diamond." Blue Pearl complied walking up to the intergalactic weapon to collect the Soul Stone and the others soon followed, also making sure to bubble Bismuth’s gem and the Gauntlet itself back to Earth. "So that's it then, we're some kind of Infinity Watch." Starfox commented. "I can roll with that." "Well what are we waiting for, let's move!" Spider-Man exclaimed racing to the Milano. "Apologies everyone, but I feel your ship may be way too small for us." Yellow Diamond stated. "We shall be returning with our own ships." With a single stretch of her arm, a much larger yellow arm appeared alongside a blue one. "I believe this is where we must say farewell." "Bye guys!" Steven exclaimed waving goodbye before Peridot shushed him and dragged him back to the Milano. "Farewell Crystal Gems." Blue Diamond said her goodbyes. "But next time we shall meet, it will be as enemies." Garnet and Lapis shivered at their former Diamond's threat before the Black Order appeared behind them. "Pardon us for the intrusion, but could we perhaps hitch a ride with you?" Ebony Maw asked politely, much to their chagrin. But they still had to be alive for them to eventually be put away. "One side maggot, I gotta fly this thing!" Rocket shouted shoving Peridot out of the way as everybody still present clambered into the Milano. "Okay, you don't have to be so rude about it!" Peridot exclaimed letting Rocket sit down. "All right, everyone hold on!" With that, the spaceship finally took off leaving Battleworld behind as it was fully devoured by the black hole, and started coming close to sucking them in as well. "You got anything that can make us go faster?!" Star-Lord exclaimed. "Makes me really wish this piece of junk came with ludicrous speed!" "Well, I guess this is the end." Pearl stated accepting their fate. "Any final words before we're all sucked in?" she asked the others. "I got just one." Amethyst answered. "Look!" She pointed at a certain red figure that had appeared in front of the Milano's large window. "Well, I see you're all fine and dandy after defeating Thanos like that." Mephisto commented. "Here, let me repay you for doing so." The demon started waving his hands in a pattern that caused a hellish portal to appear around the Milano, spooking the Crystal Gems. "What's going on, what's he gonna do to us?!" Steven cried. "Fear not, I recognize those hand motions from anywhere." Doctor Strange stated. "He is perhaps creating a portal for us to return to Earth safely." "But why? He's freaking Mephisto!" Parker shouted. "It's like he said, this must be his way of thanking us for taking care of Thanos for him." Kamala chimed in when they all felt the craft rumble. "Oh no, brace yourselves!" Steven and Connie closed their eyes tight and held each other close, fearing the worst as the starry background of space was replaced by pure red.

Before any of them knew it, they could hear the calm ocean waves and seagulls squawking over them. This had to be it. They were finally home. There was no doubt, only Earth could have a combination of those calming sounds. There was dead silence between the heroes as they departed the Milano with the Black Order still onboard. It only took a few days to struggle against Thanos, but it felt like years. Suddenly, all the people of Beach City came stampeding toward them, happy that their beloved Gems were in one piece. There were reunions all around. Connie's parents were ecstatic that their daughter was alive, Pumpkin raced into Peridot's arms and Greg brought Steven in for the first hug he had received from his dad in days. The townsfolk were also excited to meet the Guardians again and even more joyous to see the Avengers with selfies & autographs aplenty. "So little guy, how do you feel about your first Avengers mission?" Iron Man asked Steven. "It was awesome! I really hope we can do something like this again soon!" the boy answered excitedly. "I have to agree. It was nice seeing Rogers & Barnes again." Pearl added. "And it was also nice to meet all of you too." "Oh speaking of which, still have to ask." the captain remarked. "Do you still want to become Avengers?" he asked. "No, I think we're fine here in Beach City." Connie answered. "That reminds me," Amethyst declared pulling out her Avengers ID and breaking it in two. "I quit." "I suppose it's because the Crystal Gems are still your home?" Black Widow wondered. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was gonna say!" the small quartz replied. "It was fun being one of Earth's mightiest heroes, but the real heroes to me are my family." "So be it then." Thor said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to bring Loki back to Asgard." he announced pointing to his brother, now rolling his eyes with a scoff. "As much as I hate to say this boy, thank you for bringing me back to life." "And if you'll excuse us, we also gotta go fork the Black Order over to Xandar." Star-Lord added. "I hope one day we can all meet again!" Mantis replied excitedly. "What about you Eros?" "Well, I've got nowhere else to go right about now. Mind if I tag along with you a-holes?" Starfox asked. "Sure, the more the merrier!" Yondu accepted the offer. "Though I think at this rate we might need a bigger ship." "Hey, mind dropping me off at Westchester on the way back? I think Chuck might want me for something." Wolverine asked his fellow Avengers. "We'll make a note of it Logan." Clint answered before they all turned to the Gems. "And we'll make a note to-" "See us again! We get it!" Peridot interrupted with a goofy grin. "All right then, Avengers back to base." Steve commanded, then he turned to his crystal comrades. "And here's an Avengers ID. Just in case, if you need us, we promise we'll be there." "Thank you Cap." Steven said gratefully. As everybody parted ways, Thor & Loki to Asgard, the Guardians to Xandar, Silver Surfer to parts unknown & the Avengers back to their home city, Steven looked at the ID he was given and smiled, knowing that this was an opportunity for more marvelous adventures to come.

And that, after many months of waiting, is the conclusion of Secret Wars! Thank you all so much so sticking by me and stick around til the end of the author's notes for a few special Marvel-style surprises. I've already got a whole 'nother trilogy in the works and hopefully you love it as much as Clod on the Run & this one, which I officially dub the Guardians Trilogy. Until we meet again true believers, adios!

"CRYSTAL GEMS RETURN!" the headlines of the Daily Bugle read, much to the chagrin of the Absorbing Man and his partner Titania as they were imprisoned on Ryker's Island. Carl tore the newspaper into paper scraps in a blind fury while Mary nonchalantly filed her nails. "Oh I'd love to get some payback against those crystal chumps, especially their brat!" "Oh chill out Creel. It's not like someone is going to just waltz in and offer us a chance at that." Titania responded before they heard a guard step in. "Creel, MacPherran, you got a visitor!" he shouted motioning for a silver-haired man to enter. When he met the gaze of the two criminals, he smiled and handed them a case file with a lightning bolt symbol on the tab. "I am Truman Marsh. I have a proposition for you."

Far across the country back in Beach City, Steven slept peacefully in his bed for the first time in ages with the Avengers ID given to him kept on his nightstand. He thought he was going to sleep easy tonight when he opened his eyes to find himself in the same black void that he had met Thanos in in his dreams. Fortunately, the Mad Titan wasn't there to greet him. "Greetings son of Pink Diamond." the voice of Lady Death said, much to the boy's surprise. "How did you know?" he asked. "Didn't Thanos tell you child? I know the name of every soul who has lived, died and ever will be. Yet when Pink Diamond was 'shattered', I didn't see her move into the afterlife." Suddenly a toilet started flushing and out of a door came a man in a red-and-black suit clutching his stomach in pain. "Oh God, definitely not eating 372,844 chimichangas in under an hour ever again!" he moaned collapsing on the ground. "Still better than those forty cakes. That is as many as four tens, and that's terrible." "Uh, who are you?" Steven asked squinting his right eye in confusion. "Aw goddammit! If I'm gonna cross over with Steven Universe, does that mean I have to resist the fanbase as well?!" the man shouted in disgust before looking at you, the audience. "And what are you still doing here? It's over, click away! Go find some Amedot or Stony fic to read!"

The Crystal Gems will return.        

[c-is-for-circinate]

Ok yeah we’re gonna record thoughts and feelings about P5 as we go, because I know me, and when I’m all done I’m going to want to go back to my recorded opinions about the early stages of the game and roll around in my own ignorance.

Spoilers for the first couple of hours of gameplay (up to the establishment of the Magician social link).  Do not spoil me beyond that in replies/reblogs so help me god.

This is Persona does Leverage and I am so excited.

Once upon a time, there was a meek and unremarkable boy living a meek life in an unremarkable town.  He never knew, because nobody had ever told him, that there was a badass living deep in his own heart.  It never came up.  He didn’t get into trouble, not once, not ever.  He believed in justice and the system that looks out for the weak and the meek and frightened women being forced into cars by drunk, powerful men.

(once upon a time, there was a boy, and he was a fool)

Nothing in Tokyo feels real.  The alleys are crowded, narrow, full of people.  The subway is a labyrinth.  This rented room, this garret apartment, full of rust and accumulated junk, this forgotten storage room, isn’t part of any world where people live.  You walk through school and everybody whispers--did you hear about the new boy.  He’s a violent criminal.  He’s a gang kingpin.  He carries a knife everywhere he goes, and he’ll kill you as soon as look at you if you piss him off.  That can’t be you.  That has nothing to do with your real life (your town, your parents, your school--none of that is yours any more.  Now you get this.)  The castle of magic and shadows is no more impossible and unreal a dream than this new school and this new life that’s supposed to be yours now anyway.

The protag is, at heart, deep in his core, a believer in those with power using it to protect those in need.  Not necessarily a believer that they do, now, any more--but they should.  That’s how the world is supposed to work.  You can’t just do nothing.  He’s got power of his own, now.

It turns out that the protag does carry a knife everywhere he goes, in the metaverse.  Apparently he’s a thief now.  Apparently the part all the way down in his core that’s been shouting so loud since he first heard the muffled sounds of a woman calling for help in the distance on a dark night is raging full of strength and magic.  Apparently he can do things, can fight, can rage, and nothing is stopping him, and look, nothing about this world where he lives in now matches anything he’s ever lived in the past sixteen and a half years of his life.  So now he’s a phantom thief and a rebel, and he has power the likes of which shocks even the talking cat, and everybody at school says they hear he carries a knife everywhere, and if one materializes in his hand when he finds himself in a cape and a mask in the world of the mind--he’s doing this now.  Apparently this is the person he’s going to be in this strange new impossible dream-world.  Okay.  Guess we’re doing this.  Sure.

This is a story about bonds and rebellion.  This is a story about being trapped.  It’s about justice and what’s fair, yes, but more than anything this is going to be a story about structures of power--not just about the individuals who hold it, but about the castles and palaces and empires they build around them, about silence and complacency, hierarchies and systems and all of the layers that smother and trap people in place.

The protagonist is here to break those chains, don’t you know, to tear down the castle walls and break the palaces, to fell the kings and punish the emperors.  The protagonist is here to learn to rebel and break through those empires, one by one, but he’s still in chains to his own fate.  He’s doomed by the blade of his own revolution.

You don’t have social links.  Your relationships are not forging bonds.  Your relationships are the wings and the tools you’re meant to use to break free and break yourself out.  Your friends and acquaintances are collaborators.  They steps and allies and tools to use.  (We will love them, because this is a Persona game and that’s how it works, but--will we love them more than we use them?)

(“You were sold out by one of your own,” they said, remember?)

(Captain William Kidd was imprisoned and questioned and probably tortured and never gave up any of his backers, his allies, the various rich men in England who financed his piracy and who kept their heads down and their hands hidden, right up through Kidd’s execution.  Carmen loved her man and then left him from another, and he cried fury and betrayal and cut her down then and there on the opera stage.  These children are so fucked.)

It’s not ‘Persona goes darker and edgier’, because it’s not actually darker than the epic isolation depression despair of Persona 3.  It’s maybe a little grittier.

Persona 3 was a wash of murky green and blue and darkness, existence and fear and loneliness and despair.  Persona 3 was the kind of depression that’s all emotion and numb emptiness, and everything is either as vast as the entirety of human existence, or tiny and personal and super-individual, with all the scope jumbled and knocked askew and nothing in between.  It was not brighter and it was not kinder, but the light was very different.

This is grittier in the way of a high contrast photograph in hyper-sharp focus, black and white edges on every individual blade of grass.  This is not the endless sea of despair.  This is every goddamn day that you wake up and figure out how to grind your way through to tomorrow.  This is a world where people connect all the time, for all the good it does them.  This is a world where rape is real, and abuse is named, and the suicide attempts are not metaphors.  The enemy is not the abstract wash of numb depression and existential despair--it’s real, and it’s concrete, and it’s so very, very complex that dismantling it feels next to impossible.  And we’re taking it on anyway.

(Your personas are human, every one of them so far, not counting the shades of stories and human unconscious the protag’s started picking up from the wayside.  Characters from novels and plays and actual humans who actually lived, not even 400 years ago, not in myth or legend but actual recorded history.  There’s a little myth and a little magic about them all, but they’re human human human at the core, and they didn’t fight gods or take their blessing, they fought other men, and sometimes won.)

And look, high-contrast ultra-sharpness doesn’t necessarily mean more realistic.  You were rescued from the magical castle by a talking cat.  Nobody has blue hair unless they dyed it that way, but you slip through shadows with the billow of your coat behind you like a cape, and all the visuals are sharp and stylized with shadows and angles and black and white and red all over.  This is half Victorian romantic crime fiction, with your tiny garret above the cafe in the city where you were sent for disgracing the family in public, and half pulpy graphic novel, the pre-superhero kind.  This is still very much genre.

This is Persona-does-Leverage.  There are genre conventions and I expect them to be followed--and look, I have seen all of Leverage and I have seen it all three to five times through.  If the story begins with your hero shoved none-too-gently into a cell by a couple of officers who don’t mind putting a knee in his gut, a fist to his jaw, his ribs, a few new bruises and a little blood for their troubles.  If the questioning starts with, “you were sold out by one of your own.”  If that’s how the story begins, and then we slide back through the days(weeks months year) to the very beginning of this disaster--

then that cell is exactly where our protagonist wants to be, and we are teetering on the edge of the grand reveal as every last thing falls into place.

I want it to get to that point very badly.  That’s the happy ending this genre tells me we ought to get, for all we’ll probably need to battle some dire deity of corruption and despair even after that point anyway.  I like that story.

And here’s what else I like: it means that somewhere over the course of the year, the Phantom Thieves become a group that can plan intricately together, that can grift a con where they turn on each other and trust each other to play their own sides.  It means that they can send their leader deliberately into the jaws of something dangerous and painful all alone.  They know he can take it.  They respect him for that.

Of course he can take it.  Look, this is a story with characters who wear their bruises and their knee braces and their scars every goddamn day.  Injuries from metaverse battles are probably going to magically heal themselves overnight, but this is a story where all of the characters are going to have scars before they even start.

Honestly I am so excited to see this group take shape.  I am so excited for these furious, broken rebel children and their revolution.

They don’t use their own names, their own clothes, their own faces when they fight.  They are not SEES, who never had time to be anyone but themselves, and to hell with anyone who cares, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.  (SEES could barely tolerate each other sometimes, tried to kill each other, but found a way to grab on as tight and iron as they possibly could, bonds so hard to make and the only thing that could save their lives.)  They are so incredibly far from the IT, who fought and set themselves to always always being exactly themselves, one way or another.  (The Investigation Team loved each other chaotically and brightly and openly, tripping over each other like puppies and fighting for each other like wolves.)  I cannot wait to see them.

Did you notice, did you notice, the first persona summoning--it’s not just a discovery, it’s a contract.  These kids are making a contract with their own inner heart of rebellion.  They’re making deals with themselves in exchange for power.  They have lost everything they loved, one by one--their goals, their place in the world, the people they care about, even control over their own bodies.  They have lost the things that they once thought made them who they were, and they make this deal, and they become somebody else.  Skull.  Panther.  Mona.  The Joker.  They remake themselves anew.

And that is going to mean so much for their relationships with each other! I can only guess how that’s going to play out and I can’t wait.

I continue to have more and more thoughts, but it’s very late and I need to go to bed very, very badly.  More of this tomorrow after the Epic Grind.  We’ll see if I change my mind about any of it just yet.

[stefisdoingthings]

Vashwood brainrot and Holy Wars by Tuxedomoon has altered my brain chemistry like.

“Call your love a deity” (WHAT the fuck if that isn’t Legato/Knives Vashwood coded idk what is)

“Call family the enemy” (vashwood!!!!!! VASHWOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

“Call yourself free, now” (vash some days….or wolfwood… when the couch…. and he felt like he’d done something right, finally…)

“And when all is said and done/Just face of death to fall back on/Just take a breath/So what’s all the crying for?/Heroes die and then come more” (IM GOING FERAL IF U GET IT U GET IT RAHHHHH)

[pengychan]

Te Rerenga Wairua - Ch. 4

Title: Te Rerenga Wairua Summary: Found by the gods drifting at sea, Maui always assumed he had been thrown in it to drown. When that assumption is challenged, there is only one way to find closure: speaking to his long-departed family. But it’s never a smooth sail to the Underworld, and he’ll need help from a friend - plus a token that fell in the claws of an old enemy long ago. Characters: Maui, Moana, Tamatoa Rating: K Prologue and links to all chapters up so far here.

A/N: Sorry for the wait. Here’s a longer chapter than usual to make up for it. I’ll try to keep updates regular from now on, possibly every two weeks. 

***

Tamatoa had never been especially fond on the sun.

Yes, it was probably the shiniest thing in existence, but staring at it hurt his eyes and really, what’s the point of being shiny if no one can stand looking at you for more than a few seconds? There wasn’t any, that was it. And even without looking at it there was that annoying glare to deal with, reflecting on water and sand; it was one of the main reasons why Tamatoa hardly ever left his cave during the day, unless it was to do pretty deep underwater.

All in all, he preferred the night a great deal more. Stars were a lot better to look at, too:  nice and shiny, but not in a way that made your eyes burn. So, really, short days and long nights seemed a really sweet deal to him.

But of course humans were weird and annoying, and for some reason they also were the apple of Maui’s eye, so obviously he just had to bend the laws of nature over and backwards to please them. It wasn’t the first time he had done it, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. However, as he struggled to hold onto the net where a very angry, very hot, flaming and roaring immortal entity struggled with all its might to break free, Tamatoa knew it would definitely be the last time he would be involved in any of it.

It will be easy, Maui had said. It will be fun, he had said. Just hold onto the net, tire it out a bit, and I’ll handle the rest, he had said, and gone into hiding, to catch the sun by surprise.

Well, the sun sure had been surprised, finding itself trapped in a magical net - was it really magical? ‘Cause, he had only Maui’s word that it was - and now was putting up one hell and a half of a fight to break free.

“Aaagh! Just be still! Be still! Pretty please?” Tamatoa gritted out, struggling to hold onto the net, but of course the sun - Tamanuiterā, Maui had called it - didn’t comply. Tamatoa’s legs skittered over the hard stone ground, digging tracks in it while he desperately tried not to be dragged over the edge of the abyss the sun had risen from, the light so intense it made it hard for him to keep his eyes open at all. And then there was the heat, growing more and more unbearable by the second, making Tamatoa feel like he was about to just be cooked alive.

Unless, of course, Tamanuiterā decided to up the game and just turn him into a heap of smoking ashes. Which was definitely what it would do if Tamatoa let go of it, so dropping the net wasn’t an option at all: he had to hold on and hope that Maui would finally decide to do his part to–

The flaming entity roared again, and gave another jolt that almost, almost threw Tamatoa off the edge and into the flaming pit below. Tamatoa shrieked, throwing all of his weight back to counter and sliding further on the rocky ground despite his efforts. Just another pull like it, and–!

“Maui? I can’t hold on much longer! Now would be a good moment to show up, don’t you think, buddy? Maui? MAU–!”

“CHEE-HOO!”

The scream was barely out of his mouth when another cry rang out, louder than even the sun’s roaring, and something snapped - the net. Tamatoa was thrown back and away from the pit, landing heavily on his shell, his underside terrifyingly exposed. He cried out, lifting his claws to shield himself from a blow that… never came. There were screams and roars, the sounds of a fight, but most of it was lost to Tamatoa: stuck as he was and still half-blinded by the light, be couldn’t see a thing. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation and really hoping that, should he come out of that mess alive, he couldn’t end up blinded or–

“GOTCHA!”

Maui’s triumphant cry was what made Tamatoa dare to crack his eyes open to take a look. The sun was up in the sky, but not too high up: holding it in place was Maui’s fishhook. The magical - again, was it really magical? - line attached to it was pulled taut, Maui holding onto it with all of his strength, muscles straining.

“Who is this? Why are you trapping me?” something roared, the voice coming from all directions at once, and it took Tamatoa a moment to realize who must have spoken; he had never wondered whether or not a flaming ball could talk at all, really.

Maui, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised at all. “It’s Maui, demigod of wind and sea! Warrior, trickster, shapeshifter! Have you heard of me? Sure you have!” he yelled, and yanked the rope, causing the deity to be pulled back closer to the ground. “Now listen up, Tamanuiterā! You’re going way too fast in the sky, and that’s no good for humans - so how about you take it slow, huh? So that days last longer? Friendly suggestion there!”

The sun went very still, a noise that sounded a lot like sputtering filling the air. “Is this what you call a friendly suggestion, demigod??”

“Yeah, would hate to be on the receiving end of his suggestions,” Tamatoa muttered, trying and failing to get himself upright. Well, wasn’t that awesome: he had grown too large and heavy to flip himself back on his feet. Great.

Maui laughed, but when he spoke again he was talking to Tamanuiterā. “Hey, at least no one can say I don’t get stuff done. Because I did get my point across, didn’t I, hot stuff? Won’t have to come here and repeat it all over to you again?”

“No. You have made yourself very clear indeed,” the deity grumbled. “Let go of me, if you want me to begin my journey through the sky at all.”

“Oh, sure. There, you’re free. Get going - slowly, got that part?”

No answer was uttered, but it was clearly a yes: as Tamanuiterā lifted itself in the sky, tired and beaten, it was moving a fair deal more slowly than usual. With a loud laugh, Maui let himself fall back on the ground next to Tamatoa.

“Mission accomplished! Hah! You okay, Crabby? That was amazing, wasn’t it? I’ve got to admit you looked pretty cool back there, holding back a giant ball of flames! Goes with your name, huh? If I were the kind of guy who thinks fate is written in the name, I’d say you were born for this!” he added, and gave him a shove powerful enough to flip him right back on his stomach. “What, not saying anything? Why so quiet?”

“You’re never, ever, ever going to drag me into something like this. Ever,” Tamatoa groaned, forcing himself to stand. At least he could do as much, all limbs in working order, but he was rather sure he was gonna feel that for weeks to come. He’d never had to strain himself so much before.

Maui laughed. “What, did you think slowing down the sun was gonna be easy? But we did it! Look! Now days are going to last longer and humans aren’t going to have to do everything in a rush! Isn’t it awesome?” he added, gesturing to the sky with a wave of his hand, the grin on his face so wide it threatened to split it in two.

“Good for them,” Tamatoa said drily. There had been no love lost between him and the few humans he had met. At least he had gotten a pearl out of it, and the thought of it made him  feel a bit less grumpy. He was about to ask if he could go home now when Maui suddenly turned back and lifted his arms, puffing out his chest.

“Ah-ha! You’re gonna love this! Look!”

“Look at what?”

“My pecs!”

Tamatoa opened his mouth to point out he had absolutely no interest in his pecs either, but he found himself blinking, taken aback, when something on Maui’s skin shifted. The ink from his tattoos was rearranging itself to show something new. There was Maui, unmistakable, using his hook to hold the sun still, and right next to him… wait a sec…

“Hey, is that… me?”

“Yep! Cool, huh? Hero stuff, and you’re in it! Right here on my skin. I know, I know, it’s a lot to take in - breathe and take it easy, okay?”

Tamatoa wasn’t that ecstatic he’d forget how to breathe, really, but he still had to admit it was rather cool to see himself there among Maui’s tattoos, doing something that really was the stuff legends were made of. He opened his mouth to concede that yes, it wasn’t half bad, but Maui spoke first. He had turned to glance at something towards the west, and the grin had faded into a pensive frown. Which wasn’t something Tamatoa had seen on him often, really. Especially the ‘pensive’ bit.

“Hey, didn’t you mention once that you’ve never been in Lalotai?” he asked, causing Tamatoa to blink. He had probably mentioned it, of course, but he was rather sure it had been a long time ago - maybe even thousand years or so. No less than a few hundred, at any rate, so he was rather surprised Maui remembered that detail at all.

“Never been there, no. Not that I remember. Why do you ask?”

“Because it’s not too far away from here, come to think of it. So, what do you think? Up for a tour of your ancestor’s place? After today, you’ve earned it,” he said, gesturing towards the horizon. “Plus, the fight was fun and all, but I’d still be up to clobber a monster or two.”

“… Huh. Why?”

“What do you mean, why? ‘Cause Lalotai monsters are fun to clobber. That’s why. Also, it’s a hero thing.”

“But I am a monster from Lalotai, too,” Tamatoa pointed out, frowning. He may not have grown up there, but that was where his family had been from and where his egg had hatched, so it felt a lot like he was from there; his Gran saying over and over again that was their real home had probably something to do with it, too. Was he saying that, if they’d met there, beating him up would have been a heroic thing to do?

Unaware of his thoughts, Maui laughed like he had just told some kind of joke and punched his left claw. “Hah! Good one! Of course that doesn’t apply to you. You’re my buddy,” he said lightly, and threw the hook over his shoulder after discarding the rope he had tied to it. “So, are you curious to take a look or not? We’ve got all day now that out friend up there is taking it nice and easy!”

He was curious, really, and he followed him without asking further questions, the conversation soon entirely forgotten about.

Or so they both had thought.

***

“… You really don’t like the sun, do you?”

“What gave it away?”

“You complaining non-stop about it was a good hint.”

Tamatoa scoffed, still squinting against the light. “Just got to get used to it again,” he said. Truth be told, Moana could see why he’d have a hard time adjusting: not much light made it into Lalotai. Some part of it were completely dark, some were left in a sort of half-light, but none of them was anywhere as bright the surface in full sunlight.

“Well, don’t take too long getting used. We’ve got places to be,” Maui said, loading another handful of coconuts on the boat before turning back to them. “For the record, the chicken and the pig are off limits. You’ll be catching your own food. If you can still do that without luring them without shiny crap, that is.”

Actually, Tamatoa still had some shiny trinkets on him: he had placed what was left on his treasure back on his shell before leaving the cave. It wasn’t much, but enough to make one long shiny stripe in the middle of his back, and it did shimmer quite a bit in the sun - enough to attract some fish for sure. “Just so you know, I took down a whale once and I could do it again!” Tamatoa snapped, glaring at him, and paused for a moment before looking down at Moana. “It was actually pretty cool. Would you like me to tell you about it?”

“Maybe another time,” Moana said, then glanced at the boat again, entirely missing the disappointed pout on his face. Come to think of it, her boat was barely the size of one of  Tamatoa’s claws. “So. How are you going to come with us? Are you going to swim?”

The giant crab shot her an unimpressed look. “Do I look like I’d float?”

“… Not really.”

“Didn’t think so. And you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

“Are you really going to keep that up for–”

“He’s going to walk,” Maui cut her off, and grinned. “Follow us while walking on the bottom of the ocean like a good little bott–”

“Maui,” Moana cut him off, warningly. Last thing she needed now was for another fight to break out. To her relief, Maui got the hint and dropped the matter with a shrug.

“… Anyway. If he can keep up, he’ll follow us from the bottom of the ocean.”

“Of course I can,” Tamatoa snorted, sounding rather offended. Maui shrugged off his protest.

“Suuure. How long can you hold your breath now? Used to be a decent amount of time.”

It was Tamatoa’s turn to shrug. It was impressive to look at, really: Moana had thought that maybe seeing him in the open would make him seem less of of a giant, but she had been wrong. It was like watching a mountain rising and falling; not quite as impressive as Te Fiti had been, never like it, but still quite a sight. “I can stay without breathing for a whole day now.”

“A whole day as in, a day and night? Or just a day or a night?”

“Huh. Good question,” Tamatoa muttered, reaching to tap his chin with a claw. “A day and a night if I’m at rest, but I’ll be moving, so… probably just the day? Or just the night.”

“Then you’d be fine following us through the day, as long as we stop on an island at night?”

“Yep! Or shallow water - I can make do with that, too.”

“What if we find neither?” Moana asked. Mapping out an itinerary that would allow them to stop on land or shallow waters regularly shouldn’t be too much of a problem, at least according to Maui, but anything could happen out at sea. A bout of bad weather could be enough to throw them off course for hours, or even days.

“Then he drowns,” Maui said lightly.

“HEY!” Tamatoa protested, crossing his claws. “You still need me, you semi-demi-mini-god! Got to tell you if we find the hairpin, remember?”

Maui gave a dramatic sigh. “Way to bring in reality. Ah well. A guy can dream,” he said, then shrugged and held up a hand when Moana rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. Serious answer: if we find no land or shallow waters by night, I’ll turn into a whale and drag this gigantic pain in the butt up to surface to breathe. Pretty sure I can still do it. How does that sound?”

… Can still do it?

“Better than drowning,” was the grudging reply.

“We’ll just agree to disagree on that,” Maui muttered, and reached to hit the drum on the boat. “I’ll be putting this in the water and give it a hit every once in a while, in case the water gets deep and you can’t see us all the way from the bottom,” he added. Thankfully, Tamatoa didn’t seem to quite catch on the way he had stressed out the last word. “You can still pick that up through water and follow, right?”

“Sure I can! Tell me one time I ever got lost!” the giant crab huffed, only to pause and blink as thought a thought had suddenly occurred to him. “… Wait. You’re not going to lead me astray on purpose and then just leave, right?”

“What, to make you drown? Don’t make me laugh. There are more satisfying ways to kill you off. But as we have a deal, or at least as you and the kid do–” Maui trailed off when Moana cleared her throat. Both him and Tamatoa turned to see her staring at them, eyes shifting from one to the other and back, arms crossed over her chest. “… What?”

“I’m going ignore the ‘kid’ part for now. Correct me if I got this wrong, but… you guys have done this before, haven’t you?”

“Not at all!” Maui snapped.

“Well, duh,” Tamatoa muttered.

Moana raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take it as a yes. So the two of you used to travel together?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Duh.”

“You say duh one more time–” Maui began, lifting his hook, but trailed off when Tamatoa snorted and kicked up some sand in his direction, causing him to shout and reach up to shield his face.

“Don’t worry, I’m done talking about old times. You’re the one who won’t shut up,” he grumbled, and gave Moana a passing glance. “Did he tell you how he slowed down the sun? Bet he did. He must have told that story a million times, just minus a detail or two,” he added, and turned his back to both of them. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in the water having breakfast while you get that piece of wood ready to sail.”

Moana watched him get in the water with the grace of a falling tree, the ripples causing the boat to rock violently and both Pua and Heihei to jump on land. She picked up Pua, made sure Heihei wasn’t up to walk to his doom in some crevice, and turned to glance at Maui. He was glaring daggers at Tamatoa, but it wasn’t his expression Moana focused on - it was his tattoos. One of them, really, the one in which Maui was shown slowing down the sun. It looked pretty straightforward - what had Tamatoa been talking about, then? Why had he brought it up?

Before she could ask, or even just wave back at Mini Maui and her own tiny self, Maui snorted and looked away from the water. “Uugh, this guy. At least we won’t have to listen to him while sailing.”

Moana had to admit that sounded like a plus, even though she couldn’t shake off some nervousness at the thought the giant crab would be beneath the boat all along, hidden from sight. Of course she knew he wouldn’t dare attack, especially having nothing to gain from it, but it was still unnerving.

“So… you said we have places to be. That’s great, but… where are we going?” she asked. “Do you really have an idea of where to look?”

“Sort of. It’s called the Vault - not very original, but still. Treasures have a tendency to find their way there - it’s a bit of a magnet for valuable things. Blame the currents, old tales, pirates, magic, whatever. Crabcake took plenty of stuff from there, believe me. Wouldn’t be surprised if that was where he found my old hook, too,” he added, then shrugged. “I’m not sure that’s where his treasure may have winded up, but it’s the best place to start looking. I don’t have better ideas,” he added, and turned to go get the boat ready to sail.

Moana watched him walk away, biting her lower lip. His hair hid one tattoo from sight, the one of his abandonment or perhaps his funeral, but there was another one plain to see on the left side of his back: Maui and Tamatoa at a stony cliff, locked in a vicious struggle.

Make him talk about himself. He loves bragging about how awesome he is.

You two must get along perfectly.

Well, not since I ripped his leg off.

Back then, she’d been too surprised by the casual revelation first and then by Tamatoa simply rising up from beneath her to really give what he had said much thought, but now she couldn’t help but wonder what he had really meant with that since. And, most of all, just what had happened before. Maybe she was just reading too much into things, but–

“Bwoook!”

“Wha– Heihei! No! Come back here! I’m not going to come take you out of a monster’s jaws again, you hear?”

If he heard, Heihei gave no sign of it. Then again, it was to be expected - he was a chicken, and not an especially bright one at that. As she chased after him, Pua in her arms, she failed to realize that Maui had turned to glance back at her for a few seconds before marching towards Tamatoa in quick strides, the hook held tightly in his right fist.

***

“Here, fishy! C’mon, a little closer… just a little bit… thaaat’s right, look at the shiny– OOF!”

“Hey, Crabcake. A word?”

The sudden weight on the back of his neck shifted, and something sharp - not much guesswork was needed to figure out exactly what it had to be - pressed against the vulnerable spot where his neck ended and his shell began. There was no telling how much damage he could caused if he decided to press on, but it would definitely hurt quite a lot. And Tamatoa wasn’t a fan of pain, no sir, not at all.

“Seriously? What do you want from me, man? We can just talk without–”

“Keep your voice down,” Maui hissed. The tip of his hook sunk slightly deeper and Tamatoa had to clench his jaw not to let out a very undignified whimper. “Actually, you know what? Don’t speak at all and listen. Are you listening?”

“Do you see me covering my– ow! Okay! Yes! Listening!”

“Good. Here’s the deal, plain and simple: if she gets hurt, you get hurt.”

… Seriously? “Where’s that coming from? We have a common goal, remember? I have no reason to hurt her! She’s actually better company than you are, if you ask to–”

“Nobody asked you anything,” Maui snapped, but he relented: the painful pressure on the back of his neck eased some. “But as I have seen what happens when a human is unlucky enough to stand in the way when you see any treasure, here’s your official warning. You ignored it once and lost a leg. Next time, it could be a claw, or both. Or your head.”

The smartest thing to do at that point would have been just nodding, saying that yes, he got it all crystal clear. Just say yes, be very still and breathe out a sigh of relief when Maui moved away without maiming him further.

But Tamatoa hardly, if ever, went for the smartest option. So he scowled and turned his head as much as he could, eyestalks poking towards Maui. “You haven’t changed at all, have you? Thousands of years and still the same fixation. No one touches your pets.”

“Humans are not my pets,” Maui bristled. “They’re–”

“Your fans, then. Some difference. It’s eat or be eaten for everyone, but no one touches them because you say so, huh?”

‘Cause Lalotai monsters are fun to clobber. That’s why. Also, it’s a hero thing.

“Don’t give me that! There was no eat or be eaten! You just wanted more treasure and didn’t care who got hurt–” Maui snapped, but Tamatoa had had enough. With a snort, he spun suddenly, causing him to be thrown off him and into the water; an old trick, but it still worked. Maui immediately stood, dripping water and holding up his hook, ready to fend off an attack that didn’t come. Tamatoa was angry, but neither stupid nor suicidal.

“Says the guy who chased after monsters ‘cause it was fun and you looked so amazing doing it,” he snapped instead. “You step all over a giant eel for just being a giant eel doing giant eel things, and you’re a hero. I take some trinkets from humans, sink a few ships, and all hell breaks loose. I was the exception only until you decided I wasn’t anymo–”

“You had been warned to leave them alone,” Maui snarled, cutting him off. “You have no one to blame but yourself. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t ignore my warning again.”

Tamatoa scoffed and turned away. “Fine,” he spat, crossing his claws.

“Fine,” Maui echoed, crossing his arms.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“FIN–”

“BWAAAAK!”

“What the…?”

They both turned just in time to see the chicken being launched through the air by a geyser, followed after a few moments by the squealing pig and then - of course - the human. All three landed in the sea, splashing up varying amounts of water; moments later the human emerged again, the pig on one shoulder and the chicken on her head.

“We’re all fine!” she called out, waving. Like anyone had asked, Tamatoa would have thought if he wasn’t too busy blinking, wondering exactly what had just happened.

“… I have a few concerns,” he finally said.

“Lucky you. I have more than a few and you are most of them,” Maui muttered, causing Tamatoa to scowl. He was about to point out that of course the feeling was entirely reciprocated, but he fell silent when he realized that something was up in the water: the sea seemed to be shifting around her and then… wait, was it lifting her on the boat? What? How?

Maui seemed to notice his surprise, and grinned. “Oh, right. Just thought I’d mention she’s all buddy-buddy with the Ocean. And she’s the one who took on Te Ka. Slipped my mind.”

“That’s kind of a big thing to slip your mind,” Tamatoa pointed out, unable to look away as the human… did she just high-five the ocean? Yes, that was exactly what it looked like. Tamatoa blinked, mentally noting that staying on her good side would probably be a good idea. But how was he supposed to know that some skinny human would be that well-connected? And powerful enough to take down Te Ka? How could that be? What power was she hiding?

“Not the biggest thing that ever slipped my mind,” Maui was saying. “I was more than happy to let you slip my mind for a thousand of years or so.”

“Oh, har har,” Tamatoa said drily. Maui just shrugged, and turned to walk up to the boat.

“Well, we’re good to go. Try not getting lost, because I really don’t feel like fishing you up.”

Tamatoa scowled at his retreating back, but it melted in a grin when he thought about the hairpin safely tucked away in his carapace. Let him think he was so smart while being played like a fiddle to get him what he wanted; it just made everything more amusing.

“Oh, please. I know the way to the Vault like the back of my claw,” he finally called out. A long time had passed since they had first met, after all. Things had changed. “I never get lost.”

***

“Did we just lose him?”

“Naaah, don’t think so. I’m not so lucky.”

Moana bit her lower lip, her gaze wandering over the waves. The sun had just begun lowering in the sky when they had reached the island and begun settling up for the night. Now it was disappearing at the horizon, the sky streaked orange and purple, some stars already starting to show… and there was still no trace of Tamatoa. Of course most of her concern was due to the fact he really was the only one to know what the hairpin they were after looked like, but to be completely honest, she didn’t really like the thought he might have drowned. He had relied on their directions to reach someplace to come to surface for the night, and they’d had a deal she didn’t mean to break.

“Maui, we need him–”

“I know, I know. Just kidding, honest,” Maui said, lifting his arms. He was sitting next to the campfire he’d built, cracking a coconut open. “Well, mostly kidding. Either way, I’m sure he followed us just fine all the way here and will show up soon. He’s probably stuffing his face on seafood somewhere in the lagoon. And if he doesn’t come out by the time the moon is up, I’ll go looking for him,” he added, holding out half of the coconut for her. “Deal?”

Moana smiled. “Deal,” she said, taking the coconut and sitting on a log, pushing her feet beneath the cooling sand; the sensation was all the more welcome after an entire day of sailing. Next to the log, Pua was already napping. She drank some of the milk, gazing at Maui’s tattoos. Mini Maui and Mini Moana both waved at her, and she returned the wave briefly before clearing her throat, her gaze falling back on the one showing Maui in the process of catching the sun. “Look, I don’t mean to pry…” she began, and Maui raised both eyebrows.

“You know there is no reason to start off like that unless that’s exactly what you’re gonna do, right?”

“Okay, fine. I’m kind of curious,” she admitted, and added nothing more. She was certain that Maui would guess just fine what she was wondering about and, if he decided he didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t ask. As it turned out, she didn’t need to.

“There isn’t much to say. Tamatoa and I used to be friends. Or at least we thought we were, but I’m not so sure anymore. We just did stupid things together. A treasure hunt there, some wrestling here, slowing down the sun… yeah, he was there when that happened,” Maui added, clearly having noticed her surprised expression. He reached to tap on his chest, over the tattoo in which he held the sun still. The cast flickering shadows over it. “He used to be here, too, just like you on the other side. But that was a long time ago.”

And now he’s on your back, Moana thought. The two of you, locked in a fight.

“Then what happened?”

“I tore off his leg.”

Moana raised an eyebrow. “There was a reason for that, right?”

“Nah, just an arm wrestling match gone wrong,” Maui replied, and to his credit he managed to keep up a perfectly serious expression for three whole seconds before snorting out a laugh. “Hah! Yeah, of course there was. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d just go around and tear limbs off monsters for fun?”

Moana opened her mouth.

“… On second thought, don’t answer that.”

Moana closed her mouth, and Maui sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Anyway. He always had a thing for hoarding treasure, but it wasn’t a problem at first. I liked the treasure hunting part, and he could keep most of what we found. I gave my part of it to humans, of course. Until one day Tamatoa decided he wanted it all, and…” he paused, and glared into the fire. “Things began to happen.”

“What kind of things?”

“Ships going missing, for one. Some disappeared entirely, while others were found shipwrecked. Treasures were stolen from villages. There were talks of monsters that came at night, but I didn’t think for a moment it may be him. Until one day he raided a village in broad daylight. Can you believe he seriously expected me to think it had been another giant monster crab?”

“And you knew it was him?”

“It couldn’t be anyone else. I was rather sure he was the last of his kind to begin with, but when I went to check at his cave - the old one, I mean, you haven’t seen that one - the missing treasures were all there. The big idiot hadn’t even bothered hiding it elsewhere, and at least he realized denying was pointless after some yelling. I was, how should I put this? Slightly annoyed.”

Well, no wonder. Moana could definitely see why he’d be furious, and how it had led to a fight. Providing for humans, and protecting them, was what Maui had been all about. Because he’d needed to be someone’s hero. Because he’d needed to be wanted and wanted to be needed. “And that was when you fought?”

Maui grinned. “Seems pretty obvious, huh? But no. As in, we didn’t trade blows, but we sure yelled a lot. Mostly me, I guess,” he added with a shrug. “I told him - no, no, stay outta the fire, you dumb chicken - that if it were anyone else, I’d have already torn him apart and taken all the treasure back to humans. I warned him that humans were, and would always be, off limits. That if he tried pulling that one more time, he’d be sorry.”

He fell silent, and for a few moments there were no other sounds but the crackle of fire, the waves rolling on the sand, the light breeze among the palm trees. When he spoke again he did so slowly, his voice lower. “He ignored the warning. I made him sorry he did. But just to make it clear,” he added, his voice lighter, “I didn’t go there and rip off his leg while he was snoozing. I was just thinking of beating some sense in his stupid head. I confronted him, he attacked, and that escalated. He thought he could take on me and he was wrong.”

Honestly, Moana wasn’t certain she wanted to imagine what the fight had been like. Maui was incredibly powerful, and Tamatoa terrifyingly big and strong; the potential damage they both could deal was huge. All things considered, losing one leg wasn’t the worst possible outcome by a long shot.

“I see. And he, uh. I assume he’s held a grudge against you ever since?”

Maui raised an eyebrow. “Now, why would you go assuming that? Just because he tried to eat me after reminding me that I had been abandoned at birth, left to either drown or become food for–”

“SHARK!”

“Wha–”

The warning cry wasn’t anything Moana hadn’t heard before: there had been times when she and other villagers had been idly swimming in the shallow waters around the island - not something her father liked them doing, but sometimes the days were too hot for anyone to resist - when somebody had spotted a fin. The cry had been immediately raised, and a mad scramble for the shore had followed. What followed now, however, was a shark landing from the sky on the sand next to them, causing Pua to squeal and bolt off while Heihei dropped down on the ground, stiff as a stick.

Moana moved before she even had time to process how absurd that was: she immediately stood, reaching out to grasp her oar at the same time, and jumped back, the oar held between herself and the shark.

Except that the shark stayed motionless, just as still and stiff as Heihei. Which was normal for her chicken, but for a beached shark… not so much. With a sigh of relief, Moana lowered the oar and turned to see Tamatoa looming only a short distance away, partly in the water and partly on the sandy beach. For a being that huge, he’d been incredibly quiet: Moana hadn’t heard him coming at all. It was kind of unnerving to realize just how easily he could sneak up on them if so he chose, but she had no time to dwell on it.

“Hey! What’s the big idea here?” Maui was protesting, crossing his arms. “Throwing dead sharks at us? Seriously?”

“What now? I got you guys dinner. You just like complaining about everything, don’t you?” Tamatoa said with what looked a lot like a shrug. “Well, whatever. If you don’t want it, your problem. More food for the human. I’m sure she won’t complain,” he added, and looked down at her somewhat expectantly. “Right? It was a good idea. I thought it was a good idea.”

Moana glanced at the shark, and had to admit that well, he wasn’t wrong. The supplies she and Maui had with them weren’t half bad, really, but nothing really beats something juicy and fresh. Plus, it might be best to try their best to be civil as long as they were stuck together, and she supposed that the fact he had gotten them food was an effort from his part, at the very least.

And Maui wouldn’t be able to protect me all the time. Best to make sure he won’t want to eat me even if he gets a chance to.

“It was a great idea,” she said, and gave her best smile. “Thank you.”

Tamatoa’s uncertain expression melted in a grin that was more than just a touch smug. “You’re welcome!”

“Quit stealing my line,” Maui snapped, then looked at her with a frown. “If you said you wanted fish, I could have caught you–”

“Let’s get cooking this!” Moana cut him off, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible, and grabbed the shark’s tail fin to drag it closer to the fire. Hopefully, Tamatoa wouldn’t pick up anything wrong with her tone and Maui would get the not at all subtle message to just leave it be. “Don’t think we can eat it all on our own, though. You’re having some too, right?”

Tamatoa - who had just started to turn back to the ocean - paused and blinked down at her. He looked incredibly confused. “What?”

“You’re… staying to eat, right?”

“I already had a shark for dinner. And a few dolphi– wait, that’s an invitation! Right? Is it an invitation? It sounded like one.”

Moana pasted a wide smile on her face. “Sure! So, stay for the company?”

Please say no. Please go away.

“How about no?” Maui snapped. Unaware of her real thoughts and entirely ignoring Maui’s protest, Tamatoa grinned.

“If you insist,” he said, taking another few steps on the sand before dropping down on it, legs tucked beneath him and claws under his chin. Even so, he towered over them both. “Wouldn’t deny you the pleasure of my company.”

“I’m not pleased,” Maui pointed out.

“That’s a plus,” Tamatoa replied without missing a beat, then looked back at Moana and grinned again. “I always said you’re the smart one.”

***

[Back to Chapter 3]

[On to Chapter 5]

[melancholicwriteaholic]

Legend of Welp! #32

This one was getting depressing so I added that little joke at the end.

Original Link: Yeah, of course mankind had enemies, even back in Hylia’s rule. Wizards, wars, monsters, all kinds of enemies. I mean, I were a knight. If there are knights, there are enemies. Logic.

Twilight: ?

Original Link: Before Demise came up from the earth with his great army I was mainly a trouble making vigilante. I loved to travel and often took jobs that involved lots of moving about. I don’t like to brag, but my swordsmanship was nothing to sneeze at. I roamed the earth and became so famous and simultaneously infamous that the first time I met Hylia she had already known about me.

Twilight: *eyes perch up*

Original Link: Yeah, Hylia. Zelda’s first incarnation. I think I fell in love with her before she did for me, but who knows. It was a long time ago. I still love her to this day. *sigh* But... sometimes I think it was a mistake.

Twilight: *taken aback*

Original Link: A mortal should never fall in love with a Goddess. Don’t get me wrong. I love Hylia and she loved me too, and I would go through anything for her. But she was immortal and I wasn’t. But that wasn’t the worst of it. It never is that simple when fate and deities are involved.

Original Link: If I had died and that was the end she would be sad, but she would have recovered, eventually. But in order to defeat Demise, she had a plan that involved us reincarnating. Just once, mind you, not over and over again. She would abandon her immortal identity as a God in order to take the Triforce and my spirit inhabiting a new human would rescue her from her sleep. That was her plan.

Original Link: But you know what happened after that, don’t you? Demise placed a curse: a new hero and a new Zelda would always come forth bearing our spirits to fight his incarnation over and over again. Because Demise, despite his awe inspiring power, was just a pissbaby sore loser to the end. Heh.

Original Link: What does this have to do with Hylia? Well, even though we call it “reincarnation,” it’s really not even that. While my spirit inhabits your body, your own soul and identity is truly your own. Same thing with Zelda and Hylia. You, Link, are not me. That’s why it’s possible for two Links and two Zeldas to live at the same time. That’s why the Hero’s Shade could train you and you will be able to, if you will, train the next hero after you die.

Original Link: But let me ask you this: Demise made it so that a new Hero would come about to fight him over and over again. But why is that hero always male? Why does he always have the same body type? Why are you never, say, a female? A gerudo? A goron? Why are you never fat, or short, or skinny, or anything else? Why, in all incarnations of the hero, are you always a human male who looks almost identical to me?

Twilight:  *slowly realizes what OL’s getting at*

Original Link: You look like me, Twilight, because Hylia wants you to look like me. I give her the benefit of the doubt, of course. I think it’s subconscious, or she doesn’t notice herself doing it, but she will not let Demise’s chosen opponent be anybody else but me. She won’t let me go. She also won’t let herself go. Demise promised a Link and Zelda, but it’s Hylia who decided that Link and Zelda will be me and her.

Original Link: You are here for now because of Demise. But I am here forever because of Hylia. 

Twilight: . . . 

Original Link: . . . *sigh* Rest easy, Hero of Twilight. Your soul is free from the mess of a life mine has become. When you pass on you will meet Ilia, and Midna, and your Zelda, and all of your other friends on the other side. You’ll be with the hero of time, the hero of the four sword, the hero of Wind and all other heroes from all other timelines. You, Link, will be free to do as you will after death. It’s best if you forget what I said.

Twilight: . . . no.

Original Link: What?

Twilight: I’ll pass on, but you will too one day.

Original Link: Wouldn’t that be ideal. But-

Twilight: You, Hylia, Fi, and even Demise. I want to see you all on that other side one day, alright? Find a way... even if you have to hook shot yourself towards that distant nebula and beg the Golden Goddesses in person... you had better find a way. Like a hero should.

Original Link: Kid, settle down. 

Twilight: Oh! I’ll help you! *runs off*

Original Link: Link? LINK? Where are you- uh oh. Maybe telling a professional “hero” my sob story wasn’t a good idea...

Twilight: . . . and I also barfed all over a kitten while petting it once. It was super gross. 

Zelda: That is nasty, Link. Why are you telling me all of this?

Twilight: To be unattractive. Very unattractive.

Zelda: Well, it’s working.

Twilight: *fist pump* Yes! Oh! Also I’m thinking of asking Ilia to marry me.

Zelda: Oh, that’s wonderful! When are you-

Twilight: We’re gonna have children and everything! I’m also thinking of teaching my children to NEVER MARRY ROYALTY EVER. As a tradition I hope that will pass down my family for generations.

Zelda: Um.. okay then, so when is the wed-

Twilight: You should really start looking for someone yourself. Preferably someone who’s better than me. Which shouldn’t be hard since I, along with every other Link in history and the future, am just so damned awful. Bye! *runs away, shoving and breaking a vase on his way out*

Original Link: *face palming* Dear Goddesses, I’ve ruined his life, haven’t I?

[redconfidential-blog]

After The Outsider, I felt a little lost. That one book reminded me of how much I love to read, and so I went awandering and ended up in the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, at the time his wayward daughter; Circe was born.

As usual, I didn’t read any synopsis and I have never read any Madeline Miller book till now, so I had no expectations. However, I googled the book title and discovered Circe was a witch of Greek mythology. Unlike other popular Greek gods, I had never heard of Circe. I’ve been a huge fan of Greek mythology from my gaming days with Age of Empire (any gamers here?). In addition, this book had good ratings and the covering so exquisitely designed, I was sold.

Circe was a strange child, lacking any notable power, despite being a goddess. She was not street-smart, cunning or beautiful and so was ignored by her father, unwanted and despised by her nymph mother and siblings, and remained largely unknown. Circe struggled to navigate her world, understand the politics required to thrive in it and make a name for herself.

In her loneliness, she fell in love with a fisherman Glaucos and makes him a god using her herbs, with hopes that he will then be able to marry her. But he betrays her to marry a nymph, Scylla. In revenge for Scylla’s gloating and Glauco’s dismissal, using her herbs, she turns the beautiful Scylla into a six-headed monster with ten legs.

To get her father’s attention, Circe confesses these actions and is punished; sent on exile on the island of Aiaia for all eternity. However, she finds that her “prison island” sets her free. On her island, she cultivates her herbs and hones her talent for portions and spells to become the most powerful witch, feared by even the gods. She will also come in contact with some of the most respected deities and famous heroes of the time, including Odysseus, King of Ithaca, with whom she has a son.

“Most gods and mortals have lives that are tied to nothing; they tangle and wend now here, now there, according to no set plan. But then there are those who wear their destinies like nooses, whose lives run straight as planks, however they try to twist. It is these that our prophets may see.”

Released in April 2018, this book is a sequel to The Song of Achilles which I haven’t read, however, it is perfectly enjoyable by itself. It’s a small book, with about 394 pages so it took only about 2 days to read. This story is told in first person, and I enjoyed Circe’s narration of it. Madeline Miller is such a brilliant storyteller, fleshing out the character so much, it felt like Circe was alive and very relatable. This made what would have been a boring old tale a really enjoyable experience.

First, I like that Circe is a different kind of heroine, nothing as confident or powerful as we often see. She was as uncertain and fallible as she was brave in so many relatable ways, especially in managing her relationships and her personal ambitions. She was emotional and irrational as she was daring and adventurous, following her heart even when she knew that the consequences might be unpleasant. I feel like I watched her grow and find herself; from a desperate girl to a defiant resolute woman.

Next, like most women she was foolish in love, doing the dumbest things. I swear when she was about to put the flower sap in Glaucos mouth and make him a god, I was screaming “Don’t do it! Listen to your grandmother!”. I felt her desperation, hope, despair, loneliness, longing for Glaucos affection, and anger towards Scylla. It made me want to just hug her. I haven’t felt this way about a character since Arya Stark in The Song of Fire and Ice.

In my opinion, Circe was incredibly naive in dealing with men. Perhaps I am very aware of my mortality and that’s why immediately the men had eaten and drank and proceed to call her “Sweet”, I knew they were up to no good and it was time to work that magic spell. But she waited a little too long and was raped, so brace yourself. Yes, this book has some sexual content, nothing too lewd but include bestiality, will you?

However, Circe learnt fast and as you probably already know, turning those and other dangerous men into squealing pigs in her pen was the most hilarious vengeance.

I did not go easy to motherhood. I faced it as soldiers face their enemies, girded and braced, sword up against the coming blows. Yet all my preparations were not enough.

I admire her sincerity about motherhood and single parenting, especially with a difficult child. Her courage to challenge Athena, goddess of strategic warfare and determination that her son will not die is remarkable. This book is honest in its telling that you won’t always like the people you love or the things they do, but you’ll find a way to love them anyway.

This book also affirms my summation that solitude is important for personal development. It is easier to find yourself and discover what you are capable of when there of no distractions or random unsolicited opinions of who you should be or what you should do with your life.

Strength isn’t always an outward physical display, it can also be a silent inward force, a small desire to do better as a person, to give the little you have to the people who need it, to persevere in your own struggle and to right your wrongs.

In all, it’s a brilliant, action-packed story about love; self-love, maternal love and the love between friends and family. It’s about healing and personal development. Madeline provides a refreshing take on old familiar stories, weaving together so many including the story of Troy with Achilles, King Leonidas of Sparta and his wife Helen, Jason and the Argonauts and the golden fleece (I watched that as a child). I really hope someone makes a action sci-fi movie of this book, it will be epic.

If you are interested in mythology or perhaps history, you should read this book!

Have you read Circe by Madeline Miller? Let me know what you think in the comments! As always, thank you for reading! *** Liked this post? Do share it on your social media wall, timeline or feed. Want blog updates and promotions in your inbox? Sign Up Now

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller After The Outsider, I felt a little lost. That one book reminded me of how much I love to read, and so I went awandering and ended up in the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, at the time his wayward daughter; Circe was born.

[nemesis-nexus]

Second Blue Moon 2018 Sermon AVE NINGIZHEDA! Most glorious Serpent on High, hear us! Spring has officially arrived and all around us we see Mother Earth awakening from her slumber! The snows have given way to rain and the soil is becoming softer, the worms are irrigating it from underneath and we have even seen a few come to the surface! The birds, who oddly enough never went completely South for the Winter, are raising a ruckus as if to tell the trees it’s time for them to start blooming their leaves and the flowers to start blossoming their buds! Tonight is the SECOND Blue Moon in only three months, a rare occurrence to be sure and this Full Moon will also “bleed” into April henceforth connecting the months of January, February, March and April – I attribute this connection as one of the reasons this past Winter lasted as long as it did as the Lunar Cycles directly affect the Oceans (specifically the tides) which in turn affect the jet streams which usher in warm and cold weather. March was by far the most interesting month weather wise, at least in my area, we had FOUR Nor’Easters in 3 weeks! Last time we had significant snowfall was back in 2015 when we got 10.5ft, at least we didn’t get a repeat of THAT, HAIL SATAN! Blessed Lady ISHTAR/INANNA/ININNI we call to you during this transitional period to please keep the Season of Rebirth moving forward so that we may begin the planting of crops and let the animals run free in the fields! So that we may sit by the rivers and streams and listen to their eternal song now that they are no longer in a state of icy suspended animation! To be able to take a walk through the woods without having to wonder where the pitfalls are or any fallen trees or branches because they are covered in snow is also a patiently awaited delight as I don’t know anyone who actually enjoys falling down a hillside or tripping over a broken limb and in turn breaking one of theirs! One thing we can say for the Deity’s Creation is that it is both Beautiful and Deadly in many ways! HAIL SATAN! Glorious Dragon who oversees all we know, there are some things we can control and some things we can’t, even though many of us seem to think we can or should control everything which is how many religions (ie THE CORRUPTIONS THAT CAME AFTER THE ORIGINAL) were created, to control the masses and limit free thought and critical thinking! The reason why Satanism endures is because we understand that we are NOT always in control (I dare ANYONE to stand in the path of any size tornado and COMMAND it to stop, send us a postcard to let us know how well it worked out for you) that Chaos is a constant and a necessity, if energy ceases to move then the system collapses upon itself, however if we move with the energy and don’t get arrogant, then all forms of growth takes place and the world continues to flourish. We also understand that RESPECTING NATURE IS NOT AN OPTION, that is not if one wishes to SURVIVE their time here! We cannot control natural disasters such as tornadoes but we CAN lessen the presence of things such as earthquakes by simply NOT DRILLING AND FRACTURING THE EARTH especially not in the amount and frequency that it is currently being done in and how much MORE they want to do it in! The seismic air gun blasts that they need to use in order to even find the oil deposits offshore and underwater not only harms/kills the marine life in the area, it also increases the potential for tidal waves and the chances of tsunami’s such as the ones that almost took out Sri Lanka and devastated the coast of Fukushima! The idea that a certain someone wants to line up the East and West Coasts with offshore drilling projects is beyond unconscionable especially given the DeepWater Horizon disaster of 2011! The OTHER reason Satanism endures is due to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! While our Illustrious Father gave us the Free Will to do as we see fit, we also understand that WE are responsible for everything WE do, that it is NO ONE ELSE’S job to come galloping in to save us from ourselves because we alone are at fault for any messes WE make! It endures because we understand that if we want something in life, that just praying for it is not going to manifest it, that just as much physical effort needs to be applied in the process, failure to act on our own behalf is accepting failure at everything we try because half-assed work yields half-assed results and there is NO ONE to blame for that but ourselves, after all WE are the ones who claimed we wanted whatever then failed to provide the work to make it a reality! While things don’t always work out, even with a substantial effort, we don’t just throw in the towel and insist it’s “god’s will”, that’s a cop out and an excuse to give up right away, it’s also blaming the Deity for its not having manifested which is a direct insult! Instead we review the steps we took and try to come up with a new way to reach our goal, if it is determined that it won’t work out no matter what we do then we simply move on accepting that we were unable to do something and there is nothing wrong with that, it’s part of accepting that things don’t always go the way we want and that there is no supernatural force preventing it from happening! Blaming someone else when things don’t work out but trumpeting your success and exalting your Deity when it does is not only arrogant, it demonstrates a lack of personal character and respect for your Deity! Either you had help in the endeavor or you didn’t, you don’t get to blame someone else for your inability to make something happen then praise that same being when you ARE able to make it happen; that’s a good way to get yourself into some SERIOUSLY DEEP SHIT with the Deity or anyone else whose assistance you may have requested! Sometimes it’s even for the best that some things don’t go how we want as the end result may be detrimental for us and anyone else who may be affected by our actions, ESPECIALLY if they are done in haste or out of anger or grief! The biggest reason Satanism endures in my opinion is because we don’t live in denial that there are many different kinds of people and that it is not for us to judge anyone - with the exception of course of pedophiles, rapists, elder abusers, animal abusers, environmental abusers and religious zealots (regardless of religion) – as there is already too much arrogance and self importance in the world and as a result many people have been imprisoned, tortured and KILLED just because they were different and nothing more! We endure because no matter how much other people may have been taught to hate us, we know that 10 out of 10 times their hate is based on deceit so we do what we can to educate them on the truth! No matter how many people accuse us of crimes we are not guilty of, we rise above! No matter how many lies they tell about us in an effort to isolate us and make us the enemy, we counter with truth, logic and rationale! It is because of these things that we were able to move beyond horrific events such as the Salem Witch “Trials” and the Satanic Panic (among several others) when people generally speaking were unjustly accused of crimes they were not guilty of and the public at large just went along with it because they were too terrified of the consequences if they didn’t! We must keep moving forward beyond events such these and we must cull all those who are hell bent on reviving them as well as the violence and hate they caused from our Community! We must do it to protect ourselves, our children, the Community at large but also to defend the Honor of our Deity who guides and guards us by protecting the delicate Balance of the Multiverse and Life manifested as the Caduceus! Our Deity is himself the Manifestation of all things as well as the embodiment of Justice, Truth, Honor and Freedom! HAIL SATAN! “Second Blue Moon Of 2018 Prayer O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Wisdom! You are the Flame of Intelligence and because of you we are not blind to the Truth! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Clarity! You lift the veil from our eyes and clear the smoke from the mirror so that we may see! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Peace Of Mind! With steady hands and steady hearts we can accomplish anything no matter how great or small! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us The Strength To Carry On! In our most trying times you are our rock and because of that we are able to get past any obstacles! O Father Satan I Ask That You Help Guide Us Through The Storm! When we are stressed to the point where we don’t know which end is up, you are there to help see us through! O Father Satan I Ask That You Embrace And Protect The Most Vulnerable! There are many – young children, the elderly and many animals – that are victimized who need your help to fight off their aggressors! O Father Satan I Ask That You Raise Your Sword And Smite The Wicked! Anyone who abuses a child/elderly person/animal/the Earth in ANY context should be sorted out with EXTREME prejudice! O Father Satan I Ask That You Brandish Your Shield In Protection Of The Innocent! Your love knows no bounds and as much as we may try to help those that we can, we simply cannot do it alone! Father Satan In You All Things Are Possible! Father Satan In You Nothing Is Out Of Reach So Long As We Put In The Effort To Acquire It! Father Satan We Thank You For The Earth That We Call Home! Father Satan We Thank You For The Herds That Sustain Us! Father Satan We Thank You For The Grains That Sustain Them! Father Satan We Thank You For The Waters Of Life – MNI KIN WICONI! Father Satan We Thank You For The Air We Breathe! Father Satan We Thank You For The Fire That Warms Us! Father Satan We Thank You For Guiding Us On Our Path! Father Satan We Thank You For Our Families Both Blood And Spiritual! Father Satan We Thank You For The Friends We Meet Along The Way! Father Satan We Thank You For All The Good Times! Father Satan We Thank You For All The Rough Times! Father Satan We Thank You For Our Ability To Reason! Father Satan We Thank You For Being Patient With Us! Father Satan We Thank You For Enduring The Slings And Arrows Of Corruption So That We May Continue To Evolve! Father Satan We Thank You Most Of All For NOT Giving Up On Us!” ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA! MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INSENCE! Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una! Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In Diabolus Nomen Nos Fides! AVE SATANÍ! (We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER! Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In Satan's Name We Trust! HAIL SATAN!) Ave URURU! Ave ENKI! Ave NINGIZHEDA! Ave AZIMUA! Ave DIMUZI! Ave ININNI! Ave ERESHKIGAL! Ave NERGAL! Ave GILGAMESH! Ave ENKIDU! Ave TIAMAT! Ave ABSU! Ave MARDUK! Ave SARPANITUM! Ave SATANÍ! HAIL SATAN! HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[megamanishashekhawat-blog]

kali mantra to get love back

https://vashikaran.mobi/kali-mantra-get-love-back/

kali mantra to get love back

Love is a kind feeling of heart for someone special for you. Who want to leave their lover! So in order to attract love below are some mantras basic information given by our mantra specialist in order to help you. Whichever mantra you look better to attract love, go for it to our mantra specialist who provide you that mantra.

kali mantra to get love back

Kali Ma is one of the Goddess in Hindu religion, whom all Hindus worship. Kali Ma is the one of a morph of powerful spouse of Lord Shiva, Parvati. The goddess Kali is known as the destroyer of negativity and evil or black power effects. Kali mantra is used for destroying the misunderstanding going in between any two spouses and also to attract love. We are providing you here a Kali mantra written below, for the correct pronunciation of each word with proper way gives you sooner and marvelous benefit through this below written Kali mantra and for knowing this you should contact with us. Our mantra specialist gives you the correct pronunciation and meaning of each word and the direction of make use of this Kali mantra in order to get sooner aid through it. May Ma Kali complete your wishes.

sammohan mantra for love in hindi

astrologer in usa

sammohan vashikaran yantra

Love Attraction Maa Kali Mantra, Maa kali is the biggest tantric. Tantra sadhana in India is one of the most powerful branches of astrology. This marg have been chosen by many tantra sadhak. Tantra sadhana is spread to the whole world from India.

Love Attraction Maa Kali Mantra

Maha kali mantra is extremely powerful, and can get you what you desire. Maa kali can bless you with abundance of love. If you are still waiting for the right person to come to your life, you can chant the maa kali mantra for love and bring the person, who has been made for you, in your life.It has immense powers to make the impossible possible. If you can get in touch with an expert tantric, you can solve all your problems in life. Maha kali is known to be the greatest of all the tantric. As per Indian mythology, maha kali has cut her own mastak and drank her own blood in order to do her tantra kriya.

Chant the following mantra to get maa kali’s blessings, and invite love to your life. Your wish to lead a loved life will be fulfilled by the successful chanting of this mantra. You will enjoy the love of the person who have desired with this mantra. This mantra is powerful in making you reach to the person of your fate. Your destiny is bonded with someone. Many a times, you are not able to get him or her. Love has to find its way to reach you. Chant this mantra to fill your life with love.

“Om triyambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pativedanam

urvarukameva bandhanaanito  moksheya maamrutaha”

Call us to know the procedure to chant this mantra. Niyam are different for men and women. Know the correct measures to be followed while chanting this mantra.

kali mantra to get love back for true love

If you have lost the one you have loved, you have to chant the following maa kali mantra for love to get the person back to your life. You can bring your ex boyfriend, ex girlfriend, ex husband or ex wife back to you by chanting this maha mantra.

Love Attraction Maa Kali Mantra

There are also other tantra remedies that we offer. You can contact us to know the various tantra remedies to get back your ex in to your life. Many people get devastated in their life, when they are parted from their partners. Divorce can also ruin someone’s life. You can repair a broken relationship by tantra remedies. Home, Yajna and Mantra Jaap can bring miraculous changes in your life.

sammohan mantra

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“Him Kunda Mrinaalaabham Daityaanaam Paramam Gurum

Sarva Shaastra Pravaktaaram Bhaargavam Pranamaamyaham”

Tantra remedy can also convince your parents, who are against your wish to get married as per your choice. If you have loved a person, you would obviously want to get married to that person, and lead the entire life with that person. Parents do not understand the sensitivity of a love relationship. They are also under the community pressure, which forces them to arrange their child’s marriage in the community only. Chant the kali mantra for love marriage to get married to the one you have loved.

“॥ ॐ नमो भगवते रुक्मिणीवल्लभाये स्वाहा ॥

Om Namo Bhagwate Rukmanivalbhaye Swaha ||”

The above mantra will bring you your parent’s blessings and happiness, when you will get married to your partner. Your responsibility is towards everyone, including your parents. You cannot neglect your parents, who have raised you this big. You have to walk your path of life with the blessings of your parents and other elders of the family. This mantra will also bring you the consent of your partner and their family. If your boyfriend has been delaying the marriage, you can also convince him to get married to you with this maha mantra.

Contact us to know other astrological remedies regarding love, marriage and attraction. Know the best solutions for you through mantra, tantra and yoga. Get expert advices on love and relationship. Get your janam kundali prepared and know your love and married life. Take immediate remedies as per your janam kundali. Protect yourself from diseases, death, sufferings and longings with the right remedies, as per your graha dasha.

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Attract any person in your life with the kali mantra for attraction. This mantra will get you the person you have loved. You can attract the person with this mantra Shakti. If you are unable to express your feelings to somebody, you can use this mantra to divert his attention towards you. Boys can also use this mantra to attract any girl they want. This mantra will get you the notice of the person. You will get several chances to know the person, and eventually can win over the person.

“Aum haum shahum shaahm, Aum hrihm phatt swaaha”.

“Aum kham kham gyaam gyaah mahum pati/patnim vashyahm kuruh kuruh swaha”.

Contact us to know more on how to attract wealth in your life. You can attract other earthly things in your life, apart from love. Get in touch with us to know the miraculous tantra and astrological remedies to find wealth and prosperity in your life.

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Love Attraction Maa Kali Mantra

Protect yourself from the malefic intentions of your enemies by kali mantra for protection from enemies. Know the maha kali mantra to safe guard you and your family from the attacks of your enemies. This mantra power will protect you from buri nazar. You and your family will be financially secured. You can protect your job or business by this mantra. Your business profits will not be hampered, once you safe guard it with this powerful mantra.

Know the other astrological remedies to get yourself free from court cases and legal litigations. Your enemies can hamper your life by several other means. Take a suraksha kavach to protect your life from any such attacks.

Love Attraction Maa Kali Mantra

Call us to know the future possibilities of your life. Your janam kundali can tell about the path you are going to proceed in to. Get your kundali studies and take mantra remedies for love, marriage and attraction. Protect your life from your enemies with the mantra powers.

Kali Maa Ka Vashikaran Mantra, When you start realizing the power of any of your deity it makes you free from all your tensions and complications. When the blessing of god is with you then you can achieve anything in your life. Happiness will be your permanent guest in your life, all your good intentions will acquire successfully. You may have many problems in your life, may be financial, professional and love problems when you believe in god the spiritual power will stand like a shield in front of you to save you from all the problems.

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If you are in love and you are experiencing many problems in your love. Not to worry at all by practicing the kali vashikaran mantra for love you can overcome all your love problems. By casting this vashikaran mantra you can definitely win the heart of your loved one. Just think, if you are in love with someone and you are not the first priority for him or her. This is very horrible situation in everyone’s life. Being ignored by your loved one is not good for your future. Just think if the person whom you love is ignoring you always then how you can lead your rest of life with them.

However if you are experiencing these types of problems in your life then here is a great solution for all your problems. by casting kali vashikaran mantra for love you can win the heart of your loved one and you can start leading your life happily with them.

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Every one of us will experience the amazing moments of love in our lives and we all love to continue up to our last breath. But due to various situations we are not able to continue our relationship. We sacrifice our relationship due to many reasons. But now all your worries and sacrifices are going to end up because by casting the kali mantra you can definitely get success in your love and maa kali will help make all your dreams true in your life.

Mahakali Vashikaran Mantra, Lord Shiva is referred to as Mahakal as he is one of the Hindu Trinity, Brama, Vishnu and Maheshwar.  He is the destroyer of all elements. There is no element, dimension or even time (kaal) that is beyond him.  He was even about to destroy the world when he performed “Tandava” after Mata Sati jumped into the fire. She felt insulted when her father did not invite her husband, Lord Shiva to the Havan.

That is the power of Mahakaal.  If pleased, he can give anything and everything to his devotee. In fact, he is the destroyer of enemies and evil elements.  If you are running through ‘bad time’, mahakal  vashikaran mantra  will bring unbelievable changes in your life. Vashikaran means having control over the physical or psychological being of another person. The person may be your love partner, enemies, boss or other benefactor.

A Yakshya named Kuber was poor. But he worshipped Lord Shiva and could become the god of wealth. Lord Indra worshipped Lord Shiva and acquired power and position. Ravana worshipped Lord Shiva and made Rati to dance before him all the time. He could even lift the Kailash Parvat with the power bestowed upon him by Lord Shiva. He only knows the right time to get your desired person or object.

If you can please him through mahakal vashikaran mantra you can get full care and attention of your love. There may be a lot of hurdles coming in the way of your love. Your love partner may be inclined towards someone else.  Either of the parents may not be agreeable for the proposal of marriage.. There may be difference of opinion between both of you. But the supernatural power of the mahakal vashikaran mantra can provide you great relief.

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Maa Kakali is the Hindu Goddess of time and death and is the consort of Mahakal, the God of consciousness and existence. She is the form of ‘Adit Para Shakti’ and is beyond time and space.  She is worshipped as the divine mother by various tantric sects. She is seen as the divine protector and bestowal of ‘Moksha’ and Liberation. She is one of the ten Mahavidas. Being the incarnation of death, she is mostly worshipped at the funeral ground or ‘Samshana’.

kali mantra for attraction is the best option for you. First of all, you must consult a Vashikaran specialist to know about the mantra and the vidhi or process of performing the Sadhana. Before using the mantra, you need to achieve Sidhhi in a Samsan Ghat for invoking goddess kali. Chant the mantra for 108 times for seven days. Never venture to do it without proper support and guidance of an experienced and practicing Sadhaka.