#alliance university ranking

[handlewithcharacter]

just saw a post that described Starfleet as a nonprofit and i'm just like oh dang, the military propaganda got another one, boys

[wizard-finix]

LU Star Wars AU: Part 3

Got a theme of noncanon characters for this one, this time we have Spirit and Warriors! (It doesn't feel right having a Star Wars AU without including Spirit)

PART 1 | PART 2

Spirit

Spirit isn't actually related to Wind, but the two of them are so alike in appearance that many mistake them for twins. While Wind loves to pilot, Spirit's interest lies more in tinkering directly with the spacecraft itself. He personally works on Tetra's, Linebeck's, and Wind's ships, and ended up also working as a mechanic for the Alliance for a brief time before moving on.

Spirit has had his own adventures with Spectre (AKA his Zelda); he is one of the rare few people alive to venture into the chaotic Unknown Regions of the galaxy without a wayfinder or star compass and return to tell the tale. That adventure involved an encounter with a ghostlike being named Malladus.

Spirit is also especially in tune with the Force and spirits, just like Wind. He also has some skill with a blaster, and is extremely handy in space combat, but he has no interest in combat and would rather work on his personal projects and ship designs. His personal favorite is a prototype set of powered armor he designed for Spectre, but unfortunately it got wrecked in the encounter with Malladus.

Warriors

Warriors is an active military captain in the Alliance. He is also a close friend of Artemis, who is a high ranking general and a current member of the Imperial Senate. Their home planet has widespread anti-Imperial sentiments and secretly hosts a base for the Alliance, and Artemis does her best to keep it hidden from Imperial eyes.

Warriors actually inherited his saber from his mother, a former Jedi Knight from the days of the Jedi Order, and was taught how to wield it by her before she passed. He grew up on stories of the old Order and is determined to uphold the legacy of being a Jedi Knight. Part of that is looking out for his men and protecting those who can't protect themselves, and protecting Artemis in her efforts with the Alliance.

He has a certain amount of pride in that legacy and the skills and stories he was taught. He quickly rose to the rank of Artemis's personal knight, and his achievements make him stand out among Alliance forces. It took a few particularly close calls with Imperial Forces to temper his pride.

One of those encounters involved a Sith Lord named Cia, whose attention he unwittingly caught. The only reason he escaped alive was due to someone named Lana, who he later learned was Cia's twin sister. Cia still has a one-sided obsession with Warriors in particular and is determined to hunt him down.

Warriors has also met plenty of people across the galaxy during his time with the Alliance; among these people were Wind and Spirit. Wind had a brief stint with Warriors as a pilot and Spirit ended up tagging along for the ride.

(Linked Universe AU belongs to Jojo)

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Royal and Noble Marriages

Marriage is an important part of the life of both royal and nobles in any setting, either historical fiction or fantasy. Marriages are not only life long commitments but they are business and protection deals by families. These are strategies, not relationships. So how can we write them?

Why make a Marriage?

Marriage is at its heart, the seal on an agreement. Two families may come to an agreement to share resources, connections and support one another. For a noble family, it could be about elevation. For example, if the daughter of an Earl marries a Duke, her siblings can now make higher marriages and her family would be more important thanks to this link. It could even be about money. In the late Victorian - Early Edwardian period, many impoverished English peers married wealthy American women for their fortunes. In exchange, the women became titled aristocrats. Royal marriages are made for more universal perks. A royal marriage can change the political layout of the world, it could isolate a kingdom or be the starting gun or a war or end a years long conflict. For example, Kingdom A might be being threatened by Kingdom B. Kingdom C has a powerful military. Kingdom A might offer up a marriage deal to Kingdom C, with the caveat that C protect A from B. C would obligated to act if A gets attacked by B, since A is now an ally. A marriage cements the deal as it creates family ties, which is seen as a sort of permanent stamp on negotiations. After all, would you screw over family?

Marriages of Choice vs Arranged Marriages

Marriages can either be made on behalf of a royal/noble or made by themselves. An heir might be more restricted in this case whilst a younger children have a little more leeway especially if they are part of a large family.

Marriages are not always arranged. But that doesn't mean there aren't restrictions. Any royal or noble will have a list of certain attributes their spouse must have or certain attributes they cannot have. Marriages of choice have to be approved by parents (and the crown if you are a high ranking noble) and if you are royal, sometimes by the government itself.

Arranged marriages are agreements between two families. They might want each other's protection, support or they might simply want to do business together such as opening trade corridors or lifting embargoes on certain items. Arranged marriages are usually made on behalf of both spouses and they are expected to agree to the match for the sake of their family or country.

Screwing over the Deal

Making a marriage doesn't mean that the deal will last forever. Alliances change and circumstances shift. Whilst everyone may be all friendly during negotiations and for some time after, politics is the aim of the game. Treaties can be broken, war can break out and marriages can become unpopular choices. If a country has welcomed a bride/groom one day and then their country becomes the enemy, the bride/groom could become an enemy as well and face isolation and disrespect from the public - even their new family. However they are expected to be loyal to their new family and country, even over their own family and kingdom. These marriages have no promise of happiness. They are a job, a duty to ensure the family is taken care of and securing their futures.

Timeline of a Royal Marriage between Two Royal Families

Offer: The suggestion is made.

Negotiations: The discussion through ambassadors of what a marriage might entails, what each side is willing to provide or what they demand of the marriage. This can take weeks, months even years before a marriage is agreed.

Betrothal: Marriage is approved, treaty signed and the couple is engaged. Betrothals can last from anything from a few weeks to years

Wedding: If one spouse has to travel to their new home, they will travel to their new home and meet their new court, new family and their spouse. Once they arrive, the wedding will take place in a matter of days.

Married Life

These marriages are public, so it is expected for the couple to at least act civil. If they do not like one another or can't stand the sight of another or they just don't love each other, is irrelevant to society and their expectations. They are expected to attend certain events together, sire children and do their duty. There's no rules saying they must live together, so many lived separate lives. The higher ranking spouse is expected to provide their spouse with an allowance and a staff. For international marriages, spouses are not permitted to hire a large party of their own attendants even if they accompany them to their new country. They may keep one or two for company but a newly minted royal should not be waited on by foreign servants, they are a royal of their new kingdom now.

What makes a "good" marriage?

As mentioned above, marriages and relationships are expected to fall into certain perameters. Any spouse - chosen or assigned - should meet certain standards such as be of appropriate rank, follow societal norms and even sometimes be of the same religion. Marriages to anybody who falls out of these standards can be seen as a devasting move - the marriage of Edward IV is still remarked on as a contributing factor to the end of the Plantagenet dynasty. Making the wrong choice of spouse in society's eyes can lead to gossip, being shunned, being disrespected and even barred from succeeding to your birthright. Unequal marriages or morganatic marriages, can even bar children from succession, disallow the couple from attending events together and deny the spouse the style they ought to be entitled to - the marriage of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is a good example to study. A good marriage is seen as one that adheres to all the expectations of society - even if it is an unhappy one.

[minamorsart]

Enter Merla: Queen of Darkness!!! 🖤✨

I was pretty disappointed when VLD didn't explore the culture and politics of the Galra Empire more, especially after Lotor took the throne, and I was also quite disappointed with Merla's cameo. So I decided to take a crack at her design myself! Some backstory below!!

I made her Acxa's twin sister because while I don't believe it was confirmed, I always thought that 80's Merla's character must have been divided into the four women who became Lotor's generals in VLD, so why not make Merla and Acxa related? Plus in every piece of fiction you need to have at least one set of twins ;) That's just da rules babeyy~

Acxa and Merla are from Planet Drule (a loyal territory of the Galra Empire) and are half-Galra and half-Drule. They are not of royal descent, and since they were children they were looked down on because they are half-breeds. As the oldest, Acxa takes on the responsibility of looking after Merla, who over the years begins to grow restless with the two of them settling for low-ranking positions in the army and living a less than satisfying life.

One day exiled Prince Lotor comes to oversee the planet just as Merla is planning a coup to overthrow the corrupt Drule king. The coup fails, and wanting to protect her sister, Acxa takes the blame even though she had nothing to do with it. When she is sentenced to death, Lotor, seeing the potential and skill Acxa possesses, offers to pardon her in exchange for her loyalty to him, thus saving her life (it is my personal headcanon that Acxa is the first of the generals to be recruited). She accepts and tries to convince Merla to come with her, but Merla refuses and insists on staying, saying that she wants to change things on Drule, and that by leaving Acxa is abandoning her. The two part ways on bad terms, and do not see each other for many years.

Merla eventually succeeds in taking the throne, her followers assassinate the king, and she becomes queen of Drule. She and Acxa have the occasional run-in, which is how Lotor and the other generals get to know her more. There is still lingering resentment between the two sisters, however, particularly on Merla's part. The events of VLD proceed as normal up until the end of season 5, and I personally would like to take out Lotor killing Narti and the generals turning against him. Now emperor, Lotor works tirelessly to unite his people and deal with the growing Galra factions which plot to rise up against him.

News of Lotor's ascent to the throne spreads throughout the universe, and soon Queen Merla is paying a visit to the Empire and demanding an audience with him. She knows all about the Galra factions, including Sendak's Fire of Purification, and proposes that she and Lotor marry in order to combine the forces of both the Galra Empire and Planet Drule. If Lotor accepts, the two nations will become stronger than ever and no one will dare stand against them. If he refuses, Merla will merely seek support from the factions, perhaps even form an alliance with Sendak, who will eventually try to take the Galra throne himself.

What can this mean for not only the Galra Empire, but for Voltron and the Coalition as well?? What can this mean for Lotor and Allura's developing relationship??? For those who haven't seen the 80's show, Queen Merla debuts in the US-made 2nd season. She and Lotor are actually engaged for a time! Merla is cold, cunning, and calculating like Lotor, and perhaps even a little more manipulative. She enjoys being entertained and can on occasion be condescending.

And this is not meant to create any unnecessary love triangle between Merla, Lotor, and Allura. While Merla has people in her life she cares for and she respects Lotor, her first priority is maintaining her seat on the throne and looking after her people, so she really only sees Lotor as a means to gain more power. Lotor recognizes this, because he mostly shares the same mindset as her and can see the benefits of marrying her, regardless of his own feelings. And how does Allura feel about this whole matter?? 👀 Only time will tell, though it is also likely that the princess may be too proud to ever reveal how she truly feels. At the end of the day, I just think it would be fascinating to explore more of the politics of the VLD universe and the complications that come with ruling an entire empire whilst trying to keep alliances and territories intact. Plus it would make for some fun drama! Particularly in the romance category hehe.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

DC

What Does it Mean When Your Son Comes Home with Plans for a Death Ray? Asking for a Friend by PrinceJakeFireCake

Basically the title.

Excerpt: “What does it mean when a young man comes home with plans to create a death ray so he can frame Luthor for plagiarism?” Bruce asked anyway, because maybe one of them knew.

There was a long silence. Bruce waited patiently.

“What?” Clark and Diana asked, at the exact same time.

“You know what? Never mind,” Bruce sighed, wearily. “He’s probably just at that age."

Clone Wars

: (Is to) :: (As) by TamerLorika

Cody's General was a perfect example for the men. He ate regularly. He was punctual with his medical appointments. Kenobi socialized with his officers, hosted curated office hours for the rank-and-file, walked the field hospitals during engagements, and made time every Centaxday to review escalated grievance reports.

He was there for his men—but always at the exactly appropriate arm’s length away and half step ahead.

.

Cody notices that Kenobi's regard for himself is always clinical and utilitarian. As he ponders a way to break the stalemate, he begins to learn more about the lightsaber that is so often in his hands, and how it relates to the subject of Kenobi's own soul.

The Exception by Threebea O (ThreeBea)

Cody gets a new Jedi assigned to the 212th Attack Battalion after he is forced to execute his last one. He has enough experience to know how this new Jedi will behave.

But the Sith Slayer proves himself to be the exception to all of Cody's expectations.

Cody leads his unit, fights a multi-front war, and tries to figure out JM-031.

All for the Game

No straighter path than to struggle by otatop

Neil is sick and it's fine until it's not.

There's a lot of soup.

if you saw my darkest parts by KweenDay

When you meet your soulmate, you share your dreams. Even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones.

Jeremy knows he's met him—his soulmate—when he starts sharing his dreams. But those aren't just any dreams. They're all dark and violent, nightmares that make Jeremy suffocate. And Riko Moriyama is in all of them. Jeremy narrows it down to one person—Kevin Day. Except, Kevin already knows his soulmates (plural?), and Jeremy isn't one of them. So why is the universe fucking with him? And why is Jean Moreau looking at him like that?

//Soulmate AU in which you share your soulmate's dreams after you meet them in person.

soleil / sans soleil by electric_typewriter

Jean is slowly learning how to live as a Trojan with the support of his teammates friends. There are better days, and worse. A bad day leads to a conversation with Coach Rhemann. Some uncomfortable questions have to be asked.

SVSSS

Luo Binghe's Guide to Winning a Bride by Meriglass

Five years have passed since the events of the Immortal Alliance Conference, and Luo Binghe is nowhere to be seen. Shen Qingqiu is beginning to fear the worst. That his dearly beloved, golden halo protagonist really did die in the Endless Abyss. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have come to enact his revenge by now?

Meanwhile, Luo Binghe is alive and well. He's just sulking in the Demon Realm.

In which Shen Qingqiu is kidnapped and placed as the official bride prize for a demon battle tournament, and it's up to Luo Binghe to enter undercover in order to save him.

[anthurak]

Funny little thought/headcanon I had while looking at Yugioh card archetypes, specifically the various ones that have spun off of Yugi’s iconic monsters, ie; Dark Magician, Gaia the Fierce Knight, Buster Blader, etc.

In terms of in-universe card-lore, I feel like many of Yugi’s monsters read like this oldschool fantasy adventurer party who banded together to go on a series of epic quests together.

You’ve got Dark Magician, the wise and powerful wizard who brings the group together.

Gaia the Fierce Knight is a knight who joins the party, and later tames a powerful dragon to be his new steed in Curse of Dragon.

Kuriboh is a little fiendish spirit who is probably Dark Magician’s familiar and becomes the party’s mascot.

Summoned Skull is a powerful fiend whom the party forges an unlikely alliance with.

Buster Blader, an up and coming dragon-slayer who joins the party.

Dark Magician Girl, the Dark Magician’s young protégé.

Really, I think it’s easy to picture basically ALL of Yugi’s monsters as being part-or-full-time members or affiliated allies of this hypothetical band of adventurers: Mystical Elf could be an elven priestess who joins the party, Celtic Guardian could be Mystical Elf’s bodyguard, Feral Imp and Horn Imp are a pair of petty demons who get bound to the service of Dark Magician or Summoned Skull, Silver Fang is a wolf the party adopts, the list goes on.

And all the individual archetypes that have spun off of each of Yugi’s monsters represent each of these adventurers going their separate ways to have their own big solo quests and stories after the party disbanded (ie; when the DM anime ended).

Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl clearly continue to have their own long string of adventures.

Possibly with DMG eventually forming her own band of fellow magical girls.

Buster Blader became The Destruction Swordsman, adopted Buster Whelp and had… that whole adventure.

With Gaia, for a while I’ve had a theory/headcanon that the numerous ‘Gaia Knights’ aren’t actually all the same guy, but rather various members of an ORDER of Knights founded by the original Gaia. With each Gaia Knight representing either a rank, position or notable member of the order. With Gaia himself forming the order after leaving the party. He also apparently took Catapult Turtle with him.

Heck, Summoned Skull being retroactively classified as part of the Archfiend archetype could be read in-lore as Summoned Skull becoming an Archfiend after or even as a result of their time with the party.

Gazelle and Berfomet go off to form the Chimera series and also join the Phantom Beasts.

Celtic Guardian takes up a second sword and becomes Celtic Guard of Noble Arms.

The three Face-Card Knights (or the ‘Poker Knights’ as I prefer to call them) probably form their own order of knights with Joker’s Knight and Imperial Bower and eventually become the Arcana Joker trio (with Queen’s Knight/Arcana Triumph Joker clearly having inherited some power from Slifer/Osiris, given her effect).

And the list goes on.

Oh, and the Magical Citadel of Endymion probably factors in here somewhere, given the existence of the ‘Skilled Magician’ monsters. Not to mention Yugi’s use of Breaker the Magical Warrior.

And I dunno, I think it’s really fun to think of the ‘in-universe’ card lore in this way, as well as tie together all of Yugi’s monsters in a cool way. Heck you can reimagine much of Duelist Kingdom, Battle City and the other arcs of DM into more classical fantasy adventures.

[cooking-with-hailstones]

A theoretical framework of how arranged marriage, and reproductive politics could work in the Avatar universe.

(Mostly focusing on the ATLA era, but can extend to TLOK as well)

Why? Because I am a sucker for a good arranged marriage story, I’m fascinated by the politics that they necessarily entail, and I am deeply curious about the ways that same-sex arranged marriages can work diplomatically, socially, and politically. Also, no one can stop me!

(There was an excellent thread about how same-sex arranged marriages could work, esp in a feudal political system, that I cannot track down for the life of me, but I’m drawing heavily from what was discussed in that thread. If you know what I’m talking about, please send it to me.)

So: realistically, humans are gonna human, and during peace times, humans fraternizing with other humans leads to unions, and, well, babies. I imagine among border communities and non-benders, relationships with people outside your nation would be fairly commonplace. The hardline intra-nation relationship standard seen in ATLA would be mostly a product of the 100 year war, rather than anything particularly inherent. 

Canon has also established that arranged marriages, especially among the leadership and nobility of each nation, is not unusual (Ursa and Ozai, Yue and Hahn, etc.) We see political alliances through marriage a few different times through the series. 

We also know from canon that strong benders most often hold major leadership roles - not always, but boy it sure helps. This would incentivize intra-nation marriages to ensure that strong bending prowess stays in the family, if you will. Furthermore, it means no one who’s got the wrong flavour of bending for your nation would end up in a position of political power. 

The importance of leaders being strong benders seems to matter less in the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom, but there is still the implication that these leadership roles wouldn’t go to a bender of a different element. And again, since the leadership and nobility of the Northern Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation all seem to be inherited titles, there might be extra pressure to ensure that the blood “stays pure”. 

The Air Nomads and Southern Water Tribe seem to be the notable exceptions. I do not know enough about Air Nomad culture to really factor them in here, but I have some ideas that I’ll save for another time.

So, in our world, arranged marriages have had and continue to have lots of political and cultural importance - it’s a way of integrating families, a means of consolidating wealth and power, ensuring peace between warring or disputing factions, etc. However, in the Avatar universe, this presents issues for benders. We know from Mako and Bolin in TLOK that two parents from different nations can have children who can bend either element. If an earthbender were suddenly a viable contender for the chieftainship of the northern water tribe, or a firebender inherited a high-ranking position at the Earth Kingdom court, that might become problematic very quickly! (And by the time we get to TLOK - entirely viable as a premise! I would love to see this idea explored more, but I’m getting off topic)

Thus, my proposal: same sex political marriages. 

Any political union that crosses the boundaries of the nations could be between same-sex spouses, to ensure that lines of succession do not become complicated by virtue of the Wrong Flavor of Bender being born, while retaining all of the political, diplomatic, and strategic advantages of an arranged marriage. As with arranged marriages in our world, I imagine there would be a spectrum of parents who would want their child’s active involvement in choosing their spouse, to children who grit their teeth and marry their parents choice of spouse in the name of Duty (hi Yue), to children who are forced kicking and screaming into the union their families chose for them.

An example: Imagine a wedding between two daughters, one of Fire Nation nobility and one from a Water Tribe leader. This union could be MAJOR for shipping and trading, strengthening economic ties between them and ensuring dominance over favorable shipping routes for select fire nation and water tribe merchants. (Now I'm imagining an au of fire and water bending seafaring merchant houseboat lesbians…)

Now there are two diverging ways to pursue this: A. one where these marriages are still expected to produce children, and B. one where these marriages are expected to NOT have children.

In scenario A: Each member of the marriage could be expected to have children via a surrogate or sperm donor from the appropriate nation. The inheritance of each parent would go to the child they sired, but the expectation would be that the offspring are raised by both parents, and share aspects of both cultures. These children would be considered the legitimate heirs of the parents whose genes they share, while having the advantages of being raised with parents and siblings from both cultures: they would be highly sought after diplomats, traders, mediators, and negotiators. The inclusion of surrogate/sperm donor genetics also helps diversify the gene pool among the nobility. I imagine the surrogate or sperm donor would be from a suitable family - not nobility, but not peasantry. Ideally people with a family history of bending. There could be high levels of cultural cache in helping to sire the nobility’s children, even if you cannot legally claim them as your own child.

In scenario B: If the expectation is that these unions won’t have children - or at least any children that would be recognized as legitimate - then this is a convenient way of, uh, well, pruning the family tree of undesirable genetic material. This could include weak benders or non benders. The children who are considered strong benders/desirable would be expected to marry and reproduce with someone of the correct nationality, with the correct flavor of bending, while the non bending, weaker bending, or otherwise undesirable members of the family are convenient tools for families to use for political unions where they don’t risk weakening the line of succession with… whatever it is that the family might not want. These married-off members of the family still hold significant power and influence, they're still considered useful. They just don't get to pass on any inheritance to any children they might have. 

(Both of these feature flavors of eugenics that are gross in their own unique ways! I am not endorsing this! Eugenics is bad! This is an exercise in world building, and hoo boy the eugenicist potentials in the Avatar universe are something I think about a LOT, and on a related note I'm still mad about the handling of the equalist subplot in Korra…)

Anyways, those are my thoughts as they stand now. I fully welcome any feedback, further ideas, headcanons, etc!

[soapy-birblover]

Dead Boy Detectives x The Locked Tomb AU

Charles and Edwin have SUCH cavalier-necromancer potential it’s insane!!!!!!!!

My rambles on this AU below:

Edwin - Fifth House necromancer, generalist with slightly more experience in spirit magic and psychometry. Focuses more on the application of necromancy rather than research. Has studied on the Sixth House at some point.

Charles - Fourth House cavalier, offhand is a buckler (small shield. to protect Edwin :D).

They would have met at Koniortos Court on the Fifth, leading to a rare interhouse pairing which was only allowed due to the close association between their houses (I’m not sure if this would work in universe, as a lot of necro cav pairs are pre-determined, but maybe their pairing was some sort of alliance between houses, or maybe they’re low ranking enough that it doesn’t matter). Due to how revenants work in The Locked Tomb, I think our dead boys are gonna have to be alive, as even if Edwin cracked some way to exist as a fully conscious revenant that doesn’t need to attach itself to something/one, who would their clients even be lmao.

But yeah. Their devotion to one another would be insane (like Palamedes and Camilla levels of insane; they know exactly how the other thinks and are able to work together perfectly). If they were sent to the frontlines to fight, their role would more so be helping things run smoothly: detecting lingering revenants, helping suffering soldiers pass on through the River, solving the odd mystery here and there, whatever.

Charles being from Fourth House has.. hehehe... implications. He would most likely have siblings to “compete with” instead of being an only child, so maybe that feeds into his desire to please his father. Soldiers from the Fourth House tend to die young, so perhaps he’s stressed about keeping him and Edwin safe and alive. Also. "Four for fidelity, facing ahead" AHAHHAHAHA the loyalty is baked so hard into this guy. Charles would be a pretty good cavalier, as in this universe he would have actually had training, but his main priority is to protect Edwin, and he can usually do that through distraction and taking the blunt of a blow. As a necro-cav pair they would try to avoid violence, sort of like Pal and Cam.

Other characters:

Crystal - Third House necromancer who received training on the Fifth House due to a natural talent for spirit and soul magic. David was a fellow Third House necromancer (flesh magician) she dated, but then he died somehow (probably in some dumbass way), and now he’s an asshat revenant haunting her and fucking with her mind. If she has a cavalier, she doesn’t remember them.

Niko - Fifth House, neither a necromancer nor cavalier. Literally just chilling. Maybe she’s a romance writer or academic who writes fanfic on the side.

The Cat King - Heir to the House of the Third, Crown Prince of Ida. His cavalier primary is likely extremely skilled but someone he doesn't care all that much about. Powerful animaphilia flesh magician necromancer, and extremely influential within his house. He doesn't have "nine lives" but is instead very good at self regeneration, given some time, of course, as it's strenuous.

Esther - Seventh House necromancer. She attempted Lyctorhood without knowing that’s what it was, but messed it up (this is when she murdered her husband + his lover), so while she lives eternally (unless killed hard enough), her body is in a constant state of decay that she mitigates with injections of thalergy (which she extracts from little girls :3). She relies heavily on Eighth House soul siphoning magic for her methods, so has probably studied there. She’s not technically a Lyctor, but still very powerful, and lays low on her planet because she's content to just be a menace there, and maybe take over one day, if she can be bothered. She didn't absorb that much of her husbands' soul, so permeability is lower than usual, but still leads to some juicy shit whenever she catches herself thinking or doing something that he used to do, because she HATES him man. Also he was just some guy, so Esther doesn't have any cavalier skills, and can't drop into the River.

Monty - Seventh House cavalier. Esther chose to be paired with him when he was born, because she didn't want to be forcefully paired up with some rando who would report her little girl murders. So, you know, homeschooling indoctrination vibes. Esther doesn’t think she needs a cavalier, so he doesn’t do much besides odd jobs for her (kind of like Ortus but instead of writing fanfic poetry he’s into astrology). His offhand is a chain (I think that's customary for Seventh House cavs? also because chain symbolism relates to his relationship with Esther :P).

Jenny - Second House, neither a necromancer nor cavalier. Likely works to prepare food for Cohort soldiers. Received some cavalier training as a child but was never bonded with an adept, but, you know, the Second House wants everyone to be a somewhat competent fighter. Proficient at rapier with dagger offhand, but weapon of choice in a pinch are her butcher blades (two short swords).

Night Nurse - First House, definitely a Lyctor, idk who her cavalier would have been though (hence I don't have a saintly title for her). Originally Sixth House (all that bureaucracy!), or maybe even Eighth House (Mercymorn vibes). Her offhand is a net because she do be trying to catch people.

Okay. Okay now imagine Edwin trying to solve their conflict with Esther in a more civil manner: cavalier duel between Charles and Monty. Bro that’s. That’s delicious. The drama of it. Esther wondering why the duel seems so personal. Monty glancing at Edwin every few seconds. Charles getting ready to beat Monty's ass. Ehehehheherhehe.

[glorianamultistan]

I do not own the image.

I will be uploading more soon; this has been in my drafts for over six months. P.S.:- you can support me by buying me a coffee; link's on my page.

Lee Know x Male Reader

Part 1

Summary: Prince Lee Know has fallen for Y/n.

It was early morning, around 4 am, when Lee Know was sure that no one was following him; he departed towards the left wing of the manor, the ones where the guest rooms were located.

Y/n felt a light knock on his door and before he could ask who it was, the prince slipped in.

'Your Royal Highness!?' y/n whispered as he got up from his bed and felt a bit embarrassed because he was not in a very presentable state.

'Ah! You are up! Great! Let's go, we need to go to the lake; it will take some time. You wanted to look at the sunrise. So let's go.' Lee Know stated as if all this was a preplanned enterprise.

'Uhm... But sir. I just said it lightly.' Y/n could not understand how his light comment made the prince be present here at such an hour with all this enthusiasm.

He saw the older flinch a bit and feel a bit out of words, so he just complied with the request and 'You took such measures so early in the morning. I apologize; let me just get ready. Oh, don't worry, I can get ready without helpers, sir. If you could please turn around.'

Lee Know stood there, his face towards the door, with a feeling of restriction in his throat as he heard y/n rustle in and out of the clothes.

Lee Know was restless the whole night. He saw y/n for the first time last year at a ball held by his cousin, where the latter was introduced to him with the sole intention of a matrimonial alliance between the l/n and Lee families, both being two of the few most powerful ones in the southern region of the kingdom.

Lee family was also a branch of the royal family, with princes and princesses ornamenting the upcoming generation of family heads. So Lee Know, or Prince Lee Know, was an heir to the titles and extravaganza, and he knew how to use them to get the work he wanted to be done.

Y/n, on the other hand, was an honorable person, not with high titles, as he was not the direct heir and had three elder siblings. But it was truth universally acknowledged that he was the best catch out of all his siblings and hence was courted by a legion of princes and dukes and marquises and all the remaining titles of the realm, even the high-ranking government officials of the other nations and royalties of other empires wanted to have him as their son-in-law.

Why? Just because he was blessed with the supreme combination of mind and grace. He was, at his current age of 23, already an established author and a formal martial artist. He was mannered like no other person, full of the right protocols and courtesies. He was the gem the crowns of all the empires lacked. And, he was utterly clumsy and naive to love approaches to the level of irritation for his suitors.

'We can leave now, sir.' Lee Know turned around to see y/n in casual wear for a walk; he was still affected too much. 'Uh, yeah, let's go, let me, yes, just okay, let's go.' 'But this is my room, sir; I should be the one closing the door.' 'But I insist.'

So, y/n stood in the hallway as the prince closed the door and walked down the few engraved steps that his room had to them, a medieval design.

'Were you comfortable in the room? I got it arranged for you, especially because you like cozier spaces.' 'It is an honour, sir, that you took such measures for me.' Yes, y/n clearly has no idea that they met last year as a probable couple; his parents never notify him of such occurrences as he gets anxious and is not able to present himself. So now, it's the prince's turn to think that y/n is not interested in him and probably thinks of this all as a once-in-a-while opportunity.

'Will you be comfortable on the same horse, or do you want a separate one? Or do you want to drive there? I can ask for the cars too if you don't like horse rides.' Lee Know asked repeated questions to ensure he asserted that he was doing it all for the younger's comfort.

'I have no complaints about sharing the horse, sir.' Y/n liked such escapist endeavours. He was surprisingly cheerful this morning to go and look at the sunrise properly. He had heard of the majestic view of the sunrise which the lake of the Lee manor had. It was sublime, in his older brother's words.

The lake was situated in the little valley formed by ancient hills now eroded to moors. Here the duo reached just a few minutes before the sun was about to emerge through the horizon, and so there was a hazy lavender-maroon sky waiting for them.

'It is indeed sublime.' Y/n whispered. 'Huh?' Lee Know looked at the boy looking over to the climbing sun. Rays shined over them softly, and a light breeze ruffling the long hair of y/n made Lee Know to realise that he might actually have fallen a bit too hard.

What was to be done now? The sun was roping up, and the firmament shone, and so did the face of the younger, watching it all with awe as the mist started to clear up. Lee Know knew he had to take them back before breakfast, but he did not have enough courage to disturb the scene in front of him.

'Uhm, we-we should head back now, we need to be present there for breakfast, or your brother would think I kidnapped you.'

'Yes sir, we must hurry. I don't want to be caught slipping out like this.' There it was again; Lee Know felt a jab at heart; was he really not going to even get a chance?

[voidsentprinces]

I like that the Final Fantasy XIV narrative doesn’t let sleeping dogs lie.

Like, “Why isn’t anyone trying to become an adventurer?” They are. They either are worn out, forced to retire or killed by trying to do the same dungeons you are.

“Why isn’t anyone else trying to face down these raid challenges?” They are. The Omnicrons sent Omega with the task of capture Midgardsormr but also to face the strongest fighters in all dimensions to give their planet a future beyond conquest but also to face the end. But should Omega defeat us, it would of ultimately failed because by the time it returned to Omnicron’s planet, it would of been gone. Consumed by Meteion and thus Omega’s mission was doomed to begin with.

“Why isn’t anyone else trying to fix the corruption of the land?” They are. The Ascians are just trying to recreate their old world and hope to fix what happened so long ago. But in the process are destroying the very world they claim to love. And ultimately, because the Thirteenth Shard is “doomed”. No matter how they’re going about it, right or wrong their goal was unobtainable from the very beginning.

“Why wasn’t anyone else preparing for Meteion’s return?” They were. Sharlayan was. But they were going about it in the worst possible way and even if we had to flee via Moon. We were just delaying the inevitable confrontation with the Endsinger.

Literally, YOU, the Warrior of Light are the only future for the universe. Because YOU are facing down these dungeons that would get the average adventurer killed, YOU are blessed with the gift to help you fight the false Gods that not even the full brunt of the Eorzean Alliance can face, YOU are the one to break the stalemate of Eorzea and Garlemald, help break the shackles of tyranny and light the flames of Revolution in Doma and Ala Mhigo, YOU who will push out the old hundred year teachings of the Holy See and force Ishgard to finally rejoin the world, YOU who is the key piece in saving both the First Shard and the Source from an Eighth Umbral Calamity, and YOU who will face the ends of the universe and come out on top when so many others would and have failed to buck an all consuming despair.

And while you COULD face these all alone, you are not alone. You have adventurers novice to retired willingly to aid and test you, the highest ranking military and political officials to back you, from pirates to noblemen willing to ship you to and fro and grant you sanctuary in distant lands, a man enamored and believing in your old tale, he abandons his time line to save at least one of ours, the support of an old mentor and Goddess to give you one final test, and the support network of your friends and colleagues to light the way through despair and bring forth the hopes and dreams of the universe.

[sunny-three]

My personal backstory on the wesninski-hatford crime family.

Nathan - I imagine he grew up middle class a fairly normal upbringing a banker father and stay at home he was an only child. He was always good at math/numbers so he goes to university majoring in like accounting or some shit. This was taken from the books I’m p sure Neil mentions it. Anyways Nathan’s always enjoyed fighting like his blood pumping he was actually on the hockey team in high school but kicked off for violence. He meets kengo his first year of university when he got into bar fight and ended up permanently maiming some guys eye with a broken bottle. Anyways all charges against him get dropped bc as turns out the guy that Nathan maimed was one of kengos bodyguards. Kengo introduces himself and offers Nathan some low level work. Nathan agrees and slowly rises though the ranks by doing things for the moriyamas ex. Pushing steroids which actually how Nathan meets Patrick dicmaccio who was on his university’s football team.

Mary - grew as a child in a crime family younges child with some older cousins and one older brother. Her mother died when she was about 14 because of an assination. While Mary’s parents were never really abusive towards her growing up in a crime absolutely impacted her in ways she didn’t realize till she had Neil ex. The paranoid the fear etc. Mary’s parents were never abusive to her but her upbringing was far from normal and damaging to her she never realizes that till Neil’s born. I imagine she saw a lot herself in Neil not just in his personality but in his upbringing as being born in a crime family his isolation as child makes her realizesher own isolation and I think that colours a lot of her dynamic with him. I always assumed that her marriage to Nathan was something that basically arranged/some thing that had to be done which is why she’s so reluctant to trust her family after running away bc they were onboard for the marriage in the first place.

The marriage - I always believed their marriage was a the first attempt at moriyama- hatford alliance it was basically an arranged marriage as kengo didn’t have any kids but Nathan was one of his most trusted subordinates. I think at first the marriage was fine Mary grew up in a crime family she’s been playing this game her whole life and Nathan liked the idea that he was building something of his own the alliance with Hatfords happened bc of him he’s carving out his territory in Baltimore and they’ve stated calling him the butcher. Then Mary gets pregnant and they both think why not? But Neil born everything changes.

Mary doesn’t want Neil in this life at all she’s never realized that how she grew up wasnt normal till Neil was born Nathan doesn’t really like Neil at all he doesn’t pay attention to Neil when he’s a baby and when Neil reaches like toddler age Nathan begins to hate him he liked the idea of having the legend of the butcher of Baltimore continue but practice he finds that he doesn’t really care for the idea of child that squirms during police raids or looks scared when Lola brings him down to the basement etc Mary doesn’t help at all Nathan doesn’t understand why she objects to him taking junior to the basement he never stops Lola from having her fun because junior will need to learn to handle sharp objects at some pint Mary runs away before Lola can properly begin show junior how use the knives . What’s really important to me about Nathan and Mary is that Nathan chose this life and Mary was born into it and while that might sound similar it is vastly different and why they would never really work out.

[jarenka]

I love your post-rotj Anakin! I would like to see his relationships with the other characters in the alliance from your point of view

I thought who I can to write about and then remembered that Alexsandr Kallus is around!

"I betrayed Empire for deeply personal reasons and proud" squad. But also "dating a victim of genocide I participated in" squad.

On a more serious note I didn't read any comics with Kallus so I don't know if there is additional info about him working for Rebels, but I headcanon that at first both regular rebels and former imperials didn't trust Kallus. I don't think there are a lot of former high-ranking ISB officers in Rebel Alliance any I think they are pretty universally disliked in both Rebel Alliance and Imperial military. So he has has hard time at first, and had some sympathy for Vader for that exact reason. Maybe he doesn't even play in favourite game of former Imperials "I didn't betray the Empire to work with Vader again".

Anakin remembers Kallus but never expected to hang out with him in the Rebellion. But they can understand each other, because both of them were delusional about Empire and committed a lot of terrible things for it (well, Kallus wan't near as terrible as Vader, but still) and now deeply regret about it.

[thatringboy]

Honkai: Star Rail Au where everyone is shifted to the left

@glowstickblood Asked me to drop it, so I quickly finished it

Pointing out now that this isn't a serious AU and I really don't know if I'm gonna actually write for it

The Astral Express

Trailblazer is the same, can’t fix perfection

Dan Heng is an amnesiac who was found aboard a dead ship with nothing but a jade abacus with his name on it. He is drawn to the culture of the Xianzhou Alliance and believes that they hold the key to his past

March 7th doesn’t like to talk about her past, fair enough. Also doesn’t vibe with the Garden of Recollection?

Joachim is the Navigator of the Astral Express, has history with leader of the Stellaron Hunters

Murata Himeko is the Express’ security officer, wields a battle suit, has a slight drinking problem she supplements with coffee, and often calls Joachim “teacher” for some reason

Stellaron Hunters

“Luocha” is the leader of the Stellaron Hunters, and bears a striking resemblance to someone from Himeko’s past 

Jingliu is a mara-struck Xianzhou native who yearns for death, but it is not her time 

Black Swan is an Aether Editor who specializes in reading fortunes and messing with reality with her tarot cards

The Shogun is a lighting-fueled suit of metal armor said to be piloted by a woman who yearns to find the meaning of life. She also resembles someone from Himeko’s past

The rest of the AU is below the cut!

Herta Veritas Station

Vertias Ratio, Genius Number 83, always appears with a marble bust over his head. Founder of Vertias Station and the Simulated Universe

Ruan Mei, member of the genius society who is the current ruler of planet Ruan. She is the head scientist behind the Divergent Universe

Screwllum is an Intellitron Genius who wants to discover the secrets of creating new life. Don’t ask what’s in the basement of Veritas Station

Herta, member of the Intelligensia Guild who wears a doll mask over her face if she appears in person, often sends puppets in her stead. Wishes to gain the praise of Nous

Kakavasha, Head Researcher of Veritas Station, has a strange relationship with Veritas and seems to have more money than god

Jelena, Head of Security of Veritas Station

Belabog 

Surface

Cocolia is a mechanic originally from the Underworld. She isn’t a member of Silvermane but she still supports them

Bronya, daughter of Cocolia and high ranking member of Silvermane, often goes on expeditions outside Belabog

Pela is a high ranking Silvermane member and is close to its leader. Will help give the runaway Lynx the courage to stand up to her sister

Gepard, prize fighter from the Underworld, doesn’t like to talk about his past too much and wants to help the Overworld as much as possible

Dunn is considered the leader of Silvermane, a kind man who takes care of Gepard

Sparkle is a young smuggler who aids Silvermane, but there’s always more than meets the eyes with her

Clara and her robot father Svarog are a pair of healers who came from the Underworld to help the surface dwellers. Is actually the head of Silvermane

Underworld

Serval is the Architect of Belabog. The Stellaron whispers in her ear and she is training her sister Lynx to take over for her once her plan is in motion

Lynx is Serval’s young sister. A smart young girl training to become an Architect, but isn’t sure how ready she is. 

Luka is a high ranking member of the Wildfire Guards, constantly chasing down border hoppers and smugglers

Natasha is a woman who runs a colony of vagrants separate from Rivet Town. Her and her orphan assistants are considered dangerous

Hook, leader of Natasha’s Moles, wishes to be a great hero and boss

Oleg, captain of the Wildfire Guards, friend of Luka

Seele is one of Serval’s top tacticians, she yearns to see the surface but is too scared to betray Serval

Xianzhou Luofu

Jing Yuan, one of the old members of the Cloudhigh Quintet. An Emanator of The Hunt, now is cursed by The Abundance and wreaks havoc across the cosmos as both Paths fight for control over his body

Argenti is Jing Yuan’s psychotherapist and has the ability to see people’s souls. Possibly the one who smuggled a Stellaron onto the Luofu, willingly turned himself in to the authorities for some reason

Sushang is a Ten Lords Commission Judge in training, trying to follow the family tradition

Guinaifen, formally Guinevere, wants to be the first non-native Ten Lords Commission Judge. She reveres the General very much and often quotes him 

Hanya is a Cloud Knight from the Xianzhou Yaoqing training with her sister, is also the author of several light novels and like to hunt for ghosts

Xueyi is a Cloud Knight from the Xianzhou Yaoqing training with her sister, loves reading a specific series of light novels but doesn’t know who wrote them

Tingyun is a foxian Ten Lords Commission Judge training younger judges. She wields a fan possessed by an angry heliobus

Huohuo is the Amicassador of the Sky Faring Commission of the Xianzhou Luofu. She naturally has a nervous personality and a magic flaming tail said to be a blessing of the Reinbow Arbiter 

Yukong is the General’s right hand woman and is considered second in command of the Luofu. A skilled pilot and head of the Sky Faring Commission, she wants her daughter to try harder

Qingni is Yukong’s daughter. A slacker who would rather play Celestial Jade all day, but is surprisingly reliable in a pinch

Fu Xuan is the head of the Divination Commission and mentor of Qingque. She doesn’t understand why Qingque wants to throw away her comfortable job

Qingque is a member of the Divination Commission and is the student of Fu Xuan. She wants to one day become a soldier and use her skills in the fight against The Abundance, despite her small stature

Yinxing is the General of the Xianzhou Luofu. The Alliance’s first non-native General who became an Emanator of The Hunt and gained eternal life after the fall of the Cloudhigh Quintet and an accident relating to The Permanence (oops?)

Yunli, General Yinxing’s student and master swordswoman. She hopes to live up to everyone’s expectations of her 

Jiaoqiu is the current head of the Alchemy Commission while the Vidiyahara High Elder studies medicine on another ship. Often skips out on duty

Bailu is the current Luofu Vidiyahara High Elder, she is away studying medicine aboard the Xianzhou Yaoqing 

Dan Feng is the previous Vidiyahara High Elder. His reincarnation cycle was sabotaged when he was found guilty for transforming members of the Cloudhigh Quintet into Abominations of Abundance and his new life was stripped of all identifying markers. His title was inherited by the young Bailu

Yanqing is the grandson of the General of the Xianzhou Zhuming and is hunting down cursed swords. Ironically enough, he wields a cursed sword

Antimatter Legion

Duke Inferno is an Emanator of The Destruction and one of the Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion. It is said he had a hand in recent chaos aboard the Xianzhou Luofu

Annihilation Gang

Phantaylia is the leader of a small faction following The Destruction. She will meet her end along with her fellow acolytes by the hands of an Emanator that should not exist

Penacony + others

Robin is a cyborg Galaxy Ranger hell-bent on destroying the IPC after they destroyed her home. She lives by the motto of stealing from the rich to give to the poor

Sunday is Robin’s late brother who died during the IPC’s attack on their home planet

Boothill is the head of the Iris Family. He and his baby daughter were the only survivors after a Stellaron ate half their planet, and he - being a young single dad - was taken in by Maeven Ellis of Penacony. He is an unwilling part of the grand plan to revive The Order and acts as the talent manager in Penacony. It is said that because of his “faulty” Synesthesia Beacon, he can no longer speak his native language nor say his own birth name 

Kafka is a Knight of Beauty searching for her missing Aeon. She finds beauty even in the most grotesque creatures

Gallagher is a being of Memoria created in the image of the Watchmaker to guide the Nameless. It is said he is based off of a man once called Breukelen Tiernan

Misha is a Historical Fictionologist created by the Watchmaker to be Gallagher’s friend and to protect the Dream. He takes the form of an unsuspecting hotel bellboy who wants to become a member of the Greyhound Family, and has traits of many of the employees around The Reverie. He also closely resembles a man who once flew himself directly into the Memory Zone

Silver Wolf is a rather odd Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection who uses Memoria much like one would use a sandbox video game

Samuel is the very last of the Glamoth Iron Calvary and is an Emanator of Nihility. Disguising herself as a Galaxy Ranger using what she learned from a woman named Razalina, her real name is unknown to most, but she has a fondness for headbands

Sampo is a Masked Fool hired by Black Swan to cause havoc in Penacony during the Charmony Festival. Really likes bombs

Maeven Ellis is the previous head of the Iris Family and is the current Dreammaster. She takes great joy in “taking in” any “untalented” soul she can find and “giving them opportunities”. She originally wanted her adopted daughter Siobhan to take her place as head of the Family, but her new pet Boothill is working out quite nicely.  Is said to be a follower of The Order (shh!!)

Gopher Wood is the head of the Oak Family and after the death of Maeven, will take over as the leader amongst the Great Lineages. Is considered a threat by the IPC for his business skills

Oti Alfafla is the eccentric head of the Alfalfa Family. He lives for the thrill of the deal and loves to live life stylishly!

Sir Whittaker is the head of the Nightingale Family and takes his job preserving the Dreamscape very seriously. Since the head of the Greyhound Family is often busy, the security guards usually either answer to him or Gopher Wood when it comes to questions about Dreamchasers

Siobhan is Maeven’s adopted daughter who helped Boothill get back on his feet after he relocated to Penacony. Now she travels the cosmos as a famous mixologist, trying to wash away the stench of the Family in her past. Currently has custody of Boothill’s daughter and is the little girl’s godmother

IPC

Peridot & Bubbles, a member of the Ten Stonehearts and her pet Warp Trotter. Formerly known as Asta before joining the IPC, Peridot of Debt Retrieval views her position as one allowing her to travel and discover new secrets of the universe. Known as the least controversial Stoneheart

Tourmaline, a member of the Ten Stonehearts. Formerly known as Arlan before being recruited by Obsidian, Tourmaline of Stratagems is reckless and often self sacrificing. It is said he had a harsh childhood that culminated into strange survival skills

Obsidian, a member of the Ten Stonehearts. Known as Obsidian of Credit and is the Senior Manager of Strategic Investment, they have taken a personal interest in Tourmaline and are interested in his plans, even going as far as trusting Tourmaline with their cornerstone

Jade is another member of the Ten Stonehearts, it is not said what her skills or her department are

[a-la-campanella]

Lunar New Year post! To all who celebrate, may the new year be full of happiness for you!

I have many gripes about the writing for the High Cloud Quintet, but what I find the most fascinating about their fallout is where it places Jing Yuan, and where it will lead him into the future.

Baiheng is dead. She's gone, and while there is very strong evidence (nothing explicitly confirmed, but we're working with what we can get) pointing to traces of Baiheng in Bailu, part of the reincarnation process is acknowledging that Bailu is a whole other person separated from her past/any other life she may have lived and with different memories/experiences. The future is thus: she will be the next High Elder for the Xianzhou Luofu, and she's content with her position as a doctor and healer to those in need of treatment. She doesn't seem to have any big dreams, and what she has now is enough for her. As part of her duty and the expectations of her, she'll stay with the Xianzhou Alliance until she has to reincarnate. It doesn't matter if she one day grows to dream bigger, the choice is now robbed from her like it was from Dan Feng.

Dan Heng is content with his own life. He's suffered enough as it was when he was first born in this name, escaped the Luofu, running away from Blade across space, and made his way to forge a life he can call his own on the Astral Express. He has no need nor want to be shacked by his past, and he can live freely without the shadow of Dan Feng hanging over him. I'm curious where he'll be centuries down the line, given how long his expected lifespan is, and the lifespans of his companions being... probably nowhere as long. But until they part ways, Dan Heng will have them by his side. Of the current Express Crew, Pom-Pom would still be around, and maybe the Trailblazer too. Dan Heng might die and never reincarnate, or he might someday return to the Xianzhou Luofu again to settle down when it's his turn to return to an egg and be reborn anew once more. Given what he's like, I don't see him going out with mara.

Blade was Yingxing, and now he's Blade. Yingxing is dead in the sense that the person he used to be is no more, and now, Blade is just a blade. Mara haunts him in a way that tortures him, and he'll take the path Elio promises if it'll grant him freedom. Living for so long is his punishment/price, and death will be a mercy. He'll die one day, I'm sure, though I'm fairly confident that day will be far off, too. He has the Stellaron Hunters to keep him company for now, and if Elio delivers his promise, Blade will see his peace in the end with them. After the events on the Luofu, I think it's safe to say his arc will conclude with him moving on from chasing a past that no longer wants him, and breaking free—accepting a certain finality—in what has passed, and what will come (his death).

Jingliu is the only other character besides Jing Yuan to keep her name from those times, but she's mara-stricken like Blade and has her own agenda now. She has no personal attachments anymore to anyone from her High Cloud Quintet days, not even her own disciple Jing Yuan, nor does she display interest in associating with them now. She'll pass one day like Blade, I'm sure. They may not go out the same way though; regardless, I don't expect her to do much even if she does live on after her role has been fulfilled (to participate in the war/"game" against Yaoshi and end the abominations of Abundance once and for all).

Jing Yuan was, and still is, shaped by the people around him. The person he was when the High Cloud Quintet was around isn't the same person he is now, but in some ways, he still shares that identity. He's fond of Dan Heng and still cares about Baiheng (now assumed to be Bailu). Jing Yuan used to dream of being a Galaxy Ranger touring the universe in the name of justice, and instead took to rising the ranks in the Cloud Knights, learning to protect what's left of his home on the Luofu, and becoming a leader who valiantly fights for peace. I'm not quite sure how he'll go out. Maybe in battle, against the Abundance; or maybe Yanqing, trained to surpass him, will be called to cut him down; or maybe he'll retire peacefully, spending his days peeling tangerines and basking under the Sun, until he's older and more gray, and one day, gone.

And it's just so interesting to me, because Jing Yuan is so kind, and it does not make him worse off. Unlike Blade and Jingliu, he doesn't let the mara consume him, and focuses on his happiness instead of the despair. His grief is quiet, he carried the weight of a world on his shoulders, but he still finds the time to take in a disciple and teach him the way of the sword, to visit the doctor who reminds him of an old and dear friend, and to make way for banter with his next-in-line. He's outlived the rise and fall of civilizations during that time, alone and not-alone, surrounded by the people he had and has now, and may live long enough to outlive several more.

Everyone has moved on from those years together, and their pasts may connect, but their futures all lead in vastly different directions. I'm sure Jing Yuan has lamented over the past before, but centuries have gone by since. Many things in the world have changed now, and he lives his own life, too. They all do.

Where am I going with this? Who knows. Happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate and to Jing Yuan especially. As Yanqing might say: 恭喜发财（红包拿来）。

May your red envelopes be packed with extra money so Yanqing can buy that new and fancy dragon-themed sword.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Tripping over a possible BG3 epilogue; how do you think the ascension of a new god of Ambition would impact Bane? Is Bane even still a god after Jergal shoos him away? Is there a court battle involved, or are Tyranny and Ambition hashing out jurisdiction and territory through mortal minions? Who tops this relationship? (is power dependent on the nature of the portfolio or the number of followers? because Gale has like 7 friends and a cat)

Bane definitely would try to take the portfolio, if he saw an opportunity (as would a few other gods. Lolth springs to mind). It's not guaranteed that he would succeed - he tried and failed to take war from Tempus - but ambition suits him very well and he'd want it.

Or he'd try to subjugate the new god of ambition and add him to the roster of 'servants.' With both of them having terrifically bad relationships with Mystra, whose power I imagine both covet, alliances wouldn't necessarily be out of the picture, but, oh, the ego clash. ... and in this moment I feel it in my waters: somebody somewhere ships god-Gale and Bane. Or possibly just Gale/Bane.

Or if Bane and Gale end up fighting, it's possible that Gale and Mystra would have to grit their teeth and play nice for a bit.

A god of ambition could theoretically take a chunk out of Bane's pool of worshippers, as many of them are the ruthlessly ambitious looking to climb the ranks. But mostly they're going to end up sharing worshippers, because these people are going to be making offerings to both.

As an out-of-universe thing, ultimately, Gale would lose ground to Bane just like Cyric did. Simply because of the status-quo of the setting. Bane is apparently one of those annoying inescapable, fundamental cornerstones of the settings existence. He's slightly everywhere and it drives me insane.

He's the BBEG. When 3.5e rolled around Bane was the one of the Dead Three they brought back. He's in paragraphs in books that should have nothing to do with him. Bane is fucking inescapable.

And not to diminish Gale's delightful levels hubris but I'm... actually not sure that Gale is more ambitious than Bane, though I'd certainly be interested to see that theory tested. Perhaps Gale simply hasn't had enough decades, world shaking plots and insane god-killing challenges to power through to show that he's the most ambitious.

As for the rest of it... oh, the nonsense that is 5e and divine rank on Toril, with BG3 making it even more confusing. Because we can't go an edition without fucking with the gods, nooo, that'd make life too easy...

A god's power is still determined by the amount of worship they receive, as far as I know. Worship given out of love and devotion is worth more than that given out of fear (hence why the dead three have more 'pleasant' aspects as a bringer of law/stability, a custodian of the dead and the dying, and a bringer of retributive violence to the desperate... and why Bhaal is the weakest out of the three, because even 'good' murder is not in high demand, so he's not seeing much devotion outside of his loving and loyal homicidal maniacs).

Bane is still a god; we're never truly getting rid of him any more than we're getting rid of Mystra.

How much power he's supposed to have escapes me. The Dead Three have been described as walking Faerûn in to bypass restrictions placed on the gods at the end of the Sundering (meant to keep gods from messing directly with the mortal world). And that's all the information I have on that. Presumably it's a Time of Troubles type deal: they can hang around in a non-corporeal state or possess mortals as avatars (and change to a new host when one dies). They can still do some miracles, draw power from their worshippers and grant divine magic, so long as their worshippers are in range. Their divine domains remain intact, even if they can't visit.

Here Gale technically has a minor advantage, standing at the rank just above quasi-deity, so he should have more power. But he also has less experience, a less established/influential church, less followers, less allies, more restrictions...

Gale has maybe 7 friends he can maybe call on. He doesn't have a cat, as Tara can't bear to look at him. He can make an army of not-Taras though, I guess. At six months old, I'm not sure Gale's done much divine networking yet. His best bets if he wants to fight Bane are Bane's old enemies: Torm, Cyric (nope), Mystra (HA!), Tempus, Helm, Lathander (probably your best bet), Oghma (allied with Mystra), and Ilmater (who is a bit humble to be getting along with Ambition)

I'd say Tempus and Lathander will have the most overlap.

Assuming the Dead Three and their alliances still stand, Bane can call on both Bhaal and Myrkul for aid, as well as Loviatar, Talona and Mask. If Bhaal and Myrkul still have their old alliances then Hoar and Shar might be convinced to get involved under the right circumstances.

There's also an obstacle keeping any friction between them low because Gale can't do anything much on Toril, actively, and the Dead Three are currently barred from the planes, so they can't reach each other to do anything unless they act through their priesthoods (although I guess the Three could personally murder his followers and burn his temples; Gale would have to direct his followers to counter this or attack them, he can't do it directly).

If Bane wasn't hanging out on Toril then they'd still be fighting mostly through their mortal worshippers. Although I imagine they'd have interesting interactions on Cynosure (a neutral meeting ground for the gods, connecting all their domains).

[fairandfatalasfair]

"Despite Israel’s fierce military onslaught, Hamas is still standing, if significantly weakened. The offensive has pushed Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 80% of the population and leaving over 1 million people on the brink of starvation. Yet Israel hasn’t presented a postwar vision acceptable to its partners, and cease-fire talks remain at a standstill." ... "Weekly protests against the government have grown and attract thousands. They are rooted in longstanding grievances against Netanyahu — from his political alliances with far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties to his open-ended corruption trial. However, they have drawn new strength from his failure to bring home the hostages....Some hostage families were among the tens of thousands of people who took to the streets this week calling on the government to resign." ... "Michael Milshtein, a former high-ranking Israeli military intelligence officer who is now an expert in Palestinian studies at Tel Aviv University, says...expectations that the Israeli military’s current approach can destroy Hamas or force it to surrender is “wishful thinking.” ... Ofer Shelah, a former lawmaker who is now a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said the battlefield successes are “almost meaningless” without a diplomatic vision.

“The real threat to Hamas will not be Israeli tanks or warplanes. It’s an alternative to running life in postwar Gaza.”"