#also furiae in the back

[brother-one]

inuart but young (14) (i love his hair)

it sounds like he's in love with his best friend *and* hist best friend's sister, also

[gu6chan]

the brief mention that 1.3 leonard could still be feeling some deep lingering grief over his brothers' deaths still never fails to fascinate me tbh like, does he think of the standards he must have lost since their passing and feel guilt? or does he see them in every child he abuses??? does he keep his grief to himself or does he find it a useful anecdote to what must be a countless number of families dealing with loss??? does the green dragon know? does he confide in it????? since leonard seems to be aware of what arioch lost to the union, just how aware is/was she in what HE lost???????? did they have a role in each other's loss? is THAT where their beef came from??????? im going to merge into a wall

[castleinthemist]

Chart of games I've played lately that have been a potent cocktail of...whatever this is (I'm sure I could've come up with something between 1000xresist and RoR but as a whole I'm too close to both of them to think straight and cohere my thoughts on them in tandem.)

On a side note: I think the rule of rose and drakengard connection perhaps sounds accusatory...i don't think it that way. Manah's abuse from her mother causing her to be manipulated by the Watchers and others and perhaps taking out that feeling on....*gestures* everything feels like the game struggles with who to "blame" for it all (and Seere's guilt about it does flow into that too), but but I also can't really think that it puts the entire blame on Manah's shoulders alone in some endings. i keep typing seere when i mean manah fuck. damn twins. As well as that character; When Furiae perceives Caim's expression and looking away from her as rejection? Far out is that scene awful. The pain in her expression at it like, the one action she does in service to herself and it's killing herself because she interprets Caim looking away from her as rejection of her love. Maybe it was. Do we ever know Caim's feelings on that incestual manner? Goddess Seal and world be damned.

Also I can't blame Wendy for what she did. Like I can, in a way, but like... she's just a lonely kid who went way too far, Jennifer was a lonely kind who had nothing too, just each other and I can understand how her feelings got so twisted on that and the guilt that just surrounds it all. It's saddening how well that game twists the knife on it all and its a little sickening what she did to try and "win" Jennifer back without considering her feelings at all but it's so damn specific in the way it conveys it that like...oh my god...

[catominor]

also can yu draw out an lfc family tree... and show how it interconnects with martinus...

yes!! it's kind of messy and i hope it's like. legible bit yeah..

I didn't go back super far w lfc but you can find the Actual furii camilli family tree here; not sure exactly where he fits in yet but yeah

to clarify: martinus marries furia after poppaea dies, which is ... i haven't decided when that happens yet tbh...

[tarjeismoeworknews]

Article about new season of Furia.

Google translation:

"Finally you can stream Furia season 2: - A thriller about the world we live in right now

Erlend Lundgård

FilmwebPublished:

22.04.2024

The thriller series takes viewers through Europe's darkest corners, into a world of violence, politics and technology. We met the actors from Furia season 2!

The second season of this Norwegian conspiracy thriller has been postponed for a long time, and now it's finally here! The series has found a new home on Prime Video, and this season, among others, Tarjei Sandvik Moe and Maria Mena have joined the acting team!

We follow Ellen ( Ine Marie Wilmann ) and Asgeir ( Pål Sverre Hagen ) on a mission to arrest one of Europe's most wanted masterminds of right-wing extremism and electoral fraud. Asgeir and his daughter are hiding from the dangerous Moldovan Ziminov in the far north of Norway.

Here they are drawn into a stream of violence, politics and AI-driven psy-ops that intend to tear Europe and NATO to shreds, before the Norwegian NATO commander resigns. Their worst nightmares unfold as their true identities and darkest secrets are revealed.

Ine Marie Wilmann plays Ellen, and she can reveal that the character goes through an intense journey this season.

- There was a time when I thought "and this too?!"

She also says that working with the series has made her more concerned about the world, and that she has become much more aware of the importance of protecting our institutions and democracy. Tarjei Sandvik Moe does not recognize that .

-No, I have realized that the world is fucked without this series. Furia is kind of just… It rubs it in.

One of Tarjei's biggest challenges in the series is the name of his character. He plays the state secretary Tarje, which is one letter away from his real name, and led to confusion on the set - made worse by the fact that Ellen and Tarje's father is called Terje, and is played by actor Terje Strømdahl .

- It was one thing for us Norwegians, but the Polish crew, they were like "Tarje tarje tarjaaaa!"

Furia comes from series creator Gjermund Eriksen ( Mammon ), and does not shy away from themes such as right-wing extremism, conspiracy theories or artificial intelligence.

Peiman Azizpour is back after a brief appearance in the first season as Jonas, a state secretary and former AUF leader.

- Jonas has survived terror, i.e. Utøya. He will fight for and stand up to talk about what has happened.

While the first season was launched on Viaplay, the series has now found a new home. After being completed for several months, the season was postponed due to financial problems at Viaplay, and now the streaming service Prime Video has bought the rights. Furia is the first of five Norwegian drama series to premiere on Prime Video this year.

The postponement has been a source of frustration for several of the actors, and Pål Sverre Hagen is relieved that the series can finally reach the public.

The Furia universe is, after all, a thriller that is about the exact time we live in right now, so it was probably time to get it out into the world.

The first three episodes of Furia Season 2 are available now on Prime Video, with new episodes being released weekly.

"

[fantasyinvader]

I got a copy of Drakengard 3 recently, after watching some reviews of the series again. It was kinda nuts watching this one guy go on about how he couldn't believe that it was created by the same guy who did the Nier series even if Nier is a spin-off of Drakengard. But this guy took the games by themselves, didn't back it up with the supplementary materials and interviews like Clemps does.

To me, Drakengard 3 makes sense considering one thing: Yoko Taro hates the little sister type of character. It's why he created Furiae in the first place, a sister character who acted as a damsel in distress while at the same time having incestuous thoughts towards her brother. Throw in Inuart and I'd probably start comparing it to Sacred Stones non-stop. But really, all the characters in the first game were kinda shitty: Caim is psycho, Arioch kills and eats children after her own were killed, Leonard is into little boys and Seere is an annoying child. But what the reviewer said about how despite the fucked up nature of Drakengard's world it's still worth saving even if it was the likes of Caim and his companions to do so.

In Drakengard 2 Caim's love for Angelus (his dragon) sees him attempt to break the seals, dooming the world he saved, so that he can reunite with her.

So, what I was thinking is that Zero was meant to be like the first game, she's the last person you'd expect to save the world. How does she do so? First, she kills her “little sisters” and then she herself dies to her dragon, preventing the flower from destroying the world. She is the complete opposite of your typical female character as well; violent, vulgar, abusive, and pure is the furthest thing from Zero. Hell, she starts missions in a white dress that quickly gets stained with blood. She's not a big sister character, or a love interest, or a warm mother figure, Zero is just Zero.

But then you look at the Little Sisters of the game. One tries to present herself as Zero's complete opposite, but while she wants to save the world she can't bring herself to kill her sisters aside from Zero but her methods won't work either. Two is the quirky positive girl, someone who breaks under the weight of the setting. Three is the little sister who plays with dolls, but this ends up being creepy due to human experiments. Four tries to be the pure little sister, but this just means she's a liar who abuses her own partner, while Five is the well-endowed hedonist taken to it's logical conclusion. They all feel like they are some sort of female archetype, their designs being directly inspired by Madoka doesn't help either.

To me, it's making sense. Zero kills her sisters in part because Yoko Taro hates little sisters, but also because they represent stereotypical anime portrayals of girls. Meanwhile, Zero goes against everything anime wants women to be aside from attractive. What's more, despite the fact that the world has repeatedly kicked Zero down into the mud, she still wants to save it even if it means she herself will die. The fact Furiea was meant to rep Taro's distain for bland forgettable heroines, "who are demure, passive, "virtuous" women who exist only to look pretty and be fought over as a prize for the protagonist"... Zero was his attempt to create the exact opposite.

Can we get an episode of Death Battle where she fights Edelgard?

[sunnidaydreamer]

God, I need someone to talk with about Drakengard.

We need a full-scale AAA remake, to get more people to know about this series!

Yeah, people found out about it through Nier, but it's a product of its time engine and gameplay-wise.

I love the series more than I can say, truly love the series, but the controls are AWFUL.

The movie cutscenes are beautifully done, but the graphics are otherwise bland at best.

But the story it tells!

A deconstruction of fanservice and tropes like the Antihero, the Sister in Love with her Older Brother.

Things like gratuitous violence, with some weapon unlocks requiring INSANE amounts of kills.

The characters! You can tell some of them are or want to be genuinely good people, but they're still people.

Inuart loves Furiae dearly, he thinks of Caim as his brother, but he's consumed by envy. Envy because he can see that the woman he loves may care for him, but she's in love with her own brother. Envy because Caim is strong and respected and everything he feels he isn't.

The Empire, the Watchers, use this to twist him and make him your enemy, purposefully setting him up in a pact with the very dragon that killed Caim and Furiae's parents.

Even when Inuart is able to get free of the brainwashing things aren't just magically better. He's fundamentally changed as a person, driven to madness from grief, willing to fight and kill Caim if it means reviving Furiae.

Drakengard also has interspecies romance! Yes my friends, while it is not in your face explicitly, Caim and the Red Dragon, aka Angelus, do end up falling in love. What can I say, Caim knows what he wants in a woman.

And what he wants is a giant red dragon. Follow your dreams, my man!

Manah is the result of an abused child desperately searching for even a crumb of love, taken over and manipulated by the Watchers, but as long as they tell her they love her she clings to them.

This carries over into Drakengard 2. Even though 2 is famously the black sheep of the series as it was not written by Yoko Taro, and some fans of the series won't even acknowledge it, and it is bowdlerized to hell and back it does have its moments.

Manah before the main story of 2 suffered a head injury that left her basically a blank slate. We see that she has grown into a kind person, who wants to help those who are suffering. She genuinely believes that destroying the Seals is the right course of action.

And when it turns out that destroying them triggered the end of the world? That this is the second time that she has brought this about?

It breaks her.

For a chunk of the later half of the game, Manah is full-on insane out of guilt. She's so broken that the Watchers are able to easily slide back into her mind and soul and possess her again.

The way her trauma and insanity are... handled for lack of better phrasing is, to be blunt, kind of terrible though.

Nowe somehow teleports into her mind and kills the manifestations of her trauma/the Watchers. The power of love?

Once they're dead she's magically better! No more guilt or trauma!

In the third ending she's so healed from her trauma that the Watchers have nothing to hold on to when trying to possess her again and she... absorbs them?

Yeah, there's a good reason 2 is.... controversial to say the least.

I love Eris though, you go my pyromaniac daughter, set a woman on fire with a big ass grin. Are Nowe and Manah an example of interspecies romance? Nowe is some kind of dragon-human hybrid called the New Breed, and Manah is human so.... I guess?

This is only the games by the way. There are several novels relating to all three of the Drakengard games, as well as 2 manga relating to 1, but one of the manga was never finished for some reason. 3 also has a manga centered on the other 5 Intoners after they were accidentally created by Zero.

1 also has novels that are like an alternate universe take as well, but I've never been able to read them and I don't know if they're still ongoing or what is happening there.

[sparklecryptid]

broken!ice!Tredd: HELLO I WOULD LIKE TO APPLY FOR THE POSITION OF LUCHE LAZARUS'S FURIA HERE IS MY RESUME I HAVE SEVERAL CHARACTER WITNESSES ON HAND -

Axis: so turns out Luche doesn’t have a Furia.

Everyone else in the Stop Luche from Going Mad Meeting: the captain?

Axis: she called him - and I quote - a ‘stop-gap measure bound to fail sooner or later’

Everyone turns to look at Tredd:…..

Tredd: *furious at Luche for NOT GETTING A GODS DAMNED FURIA but also. OUTTA HIS WAY CLAN MATES TREDD IS GONNA GO GET IT*

-

Luche of course has no idea why Tredd is glowering at Titus and hovering

She has noticed Tredd has been guiding her back on path more often than not and it’s-

Nice

It can’t last

It’s still nice

[wanderlustmagician]

Taking a breather from reports! So for mythic creatures, I’ve been thinking about the Zeldas. Mostly Flora and TOTK, but also kind of all of them.

So anywhoozle, Flora in this AU is not a dragon. TOTK established that the secret stones being ingested are the cause of dragonification. So while the narrative I set will still have her go all Zelda: Become Dragon she wont be a dragon as a her baseline creature.

So anyways, Hylia is often depicted with wings and I decided to challenge myself by making all the Zeldas be a mythic creature that has wings of some sort.

I finally decided on Warriors being a Griffin (thank you @somer-writes for suggesting it <3) and that lead me to having Artemis be a Valkyrie. They’re warrior women often depicted with wings and she is a Warrior Princess. It works.

Sun is a Phoenix, she’s got the whole ‘Hylia reborn’ narrative and the long sleep in a Crystal… it works it vibes. Plus I wanted her to also be a big bird like Sky.

Dusk is a Erinyes, or Furiae, which in Greek mythology are chthonic goddesses of vengeance and are often associated with the goddess Nyx or with the night. They take vengeance on any man who has sworn a false oath.

Aurora is a Finnguala or Finola. It’s from Irish mythology, but since she was cursed to her own deep sleep and Finola in the mythos is cursed into the form of a swan, I thought it would be interesting to give her this one.

Lullaby is a Gamayun. They’re a prophetic bird from Russian folklore which I felt was very fitting for her.

Dawn is a Firebird. They’re similar to a Phoenix but not the same.

Dot and Fable are Sphinx.

Tetra is also a Erinyes. I debated having her be a Gorgon; snakes for hair, golden wings, and petrifying gaze… very pirate captain, but ultimately went with Erinyes for now. Might go back to Gorgon though.

Flora is also a Phoenix. :)

[sterling-starlight]

Spiced Wine

Taliesin’s comments about Rulindil before and after the Thalmor Embassy infiltration scratched at my brain and forced me to write this at *squints at clock* 2 in the morning. This is also my fist time writing Tally, so I hope I got him right >n< 

The urge to title this ‘Teacup’ was tempting, but ultimately unfitting.

Getting out of the Thalmor Embassy alive was like stepping into a perfectly hot bath after hiking through Winterhold; every inch of Furiae’s body tingled (although that could have also been the residual magicka of her glamour fading away), and muscles she didn’t even know could be knotted at all were slowly loosening.  If she decided that she wanted to spend the next few days in Solitude, she doubted her companions would deny her.

To be perfectly candid Furiae wasn’t exactly gnawing at the bit to see Delphine  any sooner than she needed to. There were other ways to get the information Furiae had found into the surly Breton’s hands- and if it came down to it, she could blame the time away from Riverwood on the rapidly approaching winter.  The roads of Hjaalmarch were freezing over, and extra care had to be taken for carriage drivers especially; no one could be blamed for that.

Alas, despite being wrapped in the comforting embrace of Kaidan’s arms and buried under a blissfully warm quilt, Furiae’s mind wouldn’t still. And the perpetrator was a certain Altmeri sorcerer whom she knew for a fact was still downstairs, needling the hours away with a bottle of wine. (During their time in Solitude, he had developed a taste for the spiced wine. Admitting, with great reluctance, that a common Nord family had concocted a brew that knocked alto wine off its lofty pedestal.) With a sigh that was equal parts reluctance and frustration, Furiae extracted herself from Kaidan’s arms, a difficult task since A) he was a light sleeper and B) he had wrapped his arms and legs around her like an ivy plant. “Whu’ssa’matta?” Kaidan slurred once Furiae had freed herself, pawing for her hand. She smoothed back his hair and kissed the corner of his mouth.

“Nothing. I’ll be back soon.” With a non-verbal response rumbling deep from within his chest, Kaidan settled back to slumber. She smiled fondly before padding out of their room, tip toeing past Teldryn’s (he snorted loudly, but didn’t stir beyond that) and scurrying downstairs.  A chill ran all the way up from her toes to the roots of her hair as soon as her feet touched the uncovered stone of the bottom main floor of The Winking Skeever.  The wind howled outside the tightly secured windows, thick globs of sleet slamming angrily against the panes as if to remind everyone still awake that winter was coming and would spare no one its fury.  It was almost enough to make her abandon her quest and dive back under the covers with Kaidan, but Furiae Revayn was nothing if not stubborn. Leaping from the foot of the stairs to the nearest edge of carpet to seek some reprieve, she wandered into the main tavern area. The fire in the hearth was still burning brightly despite the late hour, sending comforting waves of warmth throughout the space. Furiae’s target was huddled at a table by the fire, curled around a goblet as she had predicted.

“Ah. A fellow insomniac,” Taliesin said by way of greeting. “You may as well join me, rather than stand there like mannequin.” He waved a hand to the empty chair across from him.

“Is there any wine left for me?” She questioned.

“You ask that as though I am a drunkard with no self-control,” Taliesin sniffed belligerently. “I’ll have you know; I opened this bottle of wine not even an hour ago.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“That is a maybe.” As if they didn’t both already know the answer. Furiae rolled her eyes playfully and retrieved a goblet from behind the bar. Taliesin snatched it from her hand as soon as she was in range and looked over it with a scrutinizing eye, nose scrunching in distaste. “For Godssake, at least wipe it clean first.” With a flick of his wrist, he produced a handkerchief from absolutely nowhere (made more confounding by the fact that he had since changed into his sleeping clothes, which had no hidden pouches or pockets sewed into the lining like his Thalmor uniform did. At least not to her knowledge) and wiped down the goblet until it all but shined. Satisfied, he poured Furiae her wine and slid it over to her.  “So do what do I owe the pleasure?” “I have a lot on my mind,” Furiae said. She noted that her goblet was somewhat warm to the touch- Taliesin must have heated up his bottle of spiced wine to help with the chill.

“Understandable. One minute you’re dragging Kaidan, Teldryn and I over hill and over dale -taking us into every single cave, ruin, and fortress you can see- and drinking with Daedric Princes, the next the only survivor of a dead order is expecting you to save an entire country.”  Taliesin swirled the wine in his goblet contemplatively.  “Simple as a springtime stroll through Alinor’s botanical gardens.”

Furiae hiked her shoulders up and said, “that is part of the reason…” she paused, both to collect her thoughts and take a sip of wine. The variety of spices both familiar and unfamiliar swirled around warmly on her tongue and burned pleasantly as it slid down her throat.  “…I’ve also been thinking about you.”

Taliesin had the courtesy to look shocked -scandalized even- and placed a hand over his heart. “Oh, oh my!  I had no idea I occupied your nightly thoughts so!” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “Whatever will you say to Kaidan if he finds out?”

“Nothing, because it isn’t like that at all.” Furiae bit back, cheeks burning. She glared at him over the lip of her goblet as she took another pull. “It’s about you and Rulindil.”

Taliesin crossed his legs elegantly and took a sip from his goblet. “You are doing nothing to help your case but consider me intrigued. Was there anything in particular you were curious about, hmm?”

If Furiae didn’t know Taliesin half as well as she wanted to think she did, she would have given up on the conversation right there and then. Most likely said something very unladylike and then gone into his room to steal his face moisturizers. But they had been traveling together for months by this point, and she had since grown accustomed to his…Taliesin-ness.

“You are incorrigible. You seemed upset when I told you he was dead, and I was worried. That’s it.”

The entire atmosphere seemed to shift. Taliesin’s cat-who-got-the-cream smugness dropped briefly, an expression Furiae had never seen before furrowing his brow for the briefest of moments, before it was swiftly replaced with an almost clinical veneer of indifference.  Despite the howling wind outside, she swore she could have heard a pin drop.

After a pregnant silence, Taliesin spoke up. “Rulindil was in the way, so you killed him.” He waved a hand flippantly. “No different than the multitude you tore through during your quote-en-quote stealth mission.” “You didn’t know those other Thalmor by name or mention any past relationship.”

Taliesin scoffed a laugh. “Relationship?” He un-crossed his legs and set his goblet down. “Oh, no, no, no. My sweet, innocent, hopelessly romantic, ignorant Furiae,” -he poured himself more wine- “The Thalmor don’t have ‘relationships.’ We have… arrangements.  Serving under the doctrine of a genocidal tyrant all your life tends to make things rather -dare I say it- strenuous. Believe it or not, hunting down and slaughtering heretics isn’t all sunshine and jaunts through pine forests. Every now and again, even we crave…” he swirled his wine, “carnal pleasures.”

“That’s it?” She asked. Taliesin quirked a perfectly sculpted brow at the Dunmer. She pressed on. “It was just a sexual thing?” “That’s it. Rulindil scratched an itch I had; I scratched an itch he had. Was it enjoyable? By the gods, yes.”  He looked down into his goblet, that picture-perfect mask of Altmeri indifference fraying at the edges. His lips quirked too far down. His eyes looked too distant.   “But that is all it was. Sorry to disappoint you, but there was no hidden passionate love affair.”

“That’s…” Furiae’s fingers flexed around her goblet. “Really sad.” She held up a hand to stop any further comment from the Altmer. “Not in a pitying way.  Just… I couldn’t imagine only forming relationships through just sex.”

“I could say that I loved him,” Taliesin said with a shrug. “But I respect you too much to lie to your face like that.”  He shook his head and reclined his chair, slipping back into his usual countenance of self-assured relaxation as easily as he donned his robes every day.  “Well, this conversation has been a delight, but I believe it’s over.” His tone was akin to the thunderous strike of a judge’s gavel.

Furiae ran her thumbs along the lip of her goblet, contemplating, before reaching for the half-empty bottle and pouring herself another drink.  A part of her wanted to press more, but the other part knew it wouldn’t lead anywhere. But maybe that was all there was to it.  Her father hadn’t been with the Thalmor, but from what little he had told her about his life in The Summerset Isles, it seemed to match Taliesin’s worldview. Love didn’t matter as much as lineage did, and sometimes the only way to feel anything at all was through sex.

Maybe that was all Taliesin was comfortable with. Maybe that was all he cared to know.

[licantropa]

Hi, so, I rewatched the scene where Furia kills Capsize for a reference I needed.

And like the fact that Tom alerted and warned Furia that Capsize was behind them into the temple just fully got me and threw me into a loop

Cause like everyone wise definitely could've done something, but maybe Capsize never would've been in danger at all if Tom had decided not to tell Furia she was there

And just Capsize and Tom's friendship thoughts (guilt and betrayals but inspiration to become a hero or something like that)

Hiiii!! Yes, 100% to all of that!

I think from an outside perspective, the story needed a permanent death to show that shit was getting serious and that they needed to revive Ianite, although the way it happened felt like the most boring way possible.

The story from the pirates onward should’ve heavily focused on Tom not Jordan. He wants everything all the time all at once. Tom wants to be able to stab his friends in the back and continue to be able to call them his friends! Wants to be the very best champion for Dianite, while also maintaining his friendship with Capsize, and these two wants come into direct conflict with each other. So, it’s not surprising to me that he calls her out to Furia.

The interesting thing here for me is to interpret it as a decision that Tom thinks he can amend later. Death isn’t final for him, so who cares if Capsize dies, he’ll make it up to her later. But she does die! And now he’s made a decision he can’t take back!

Everyone in that room could’ve done something to avoid her death, especially given the fact (if my memory is correct) that it was previously stated that Furia couldn’t die by mortal means or something, so they really shouldn’t have even been in the nether in the first place! They gained ZERO information about Ianite and in fact lost more than what they bargained for.

And that right there is what makes the sequence of events so boring to me. I think Capsize’s death could’ve served the story well if Tom played a much more active roll in it. It shouldn’t have been by Furia’s hands, it should’ve been by Tom’s (or Dianite’s). Tom’s relationship with both Dianite and Capsize is important, as is his lack of understanding in the finality of death.

I don’t know if it would inspire him to be a hero, but I think it would make him consider his future actions a little bit more than he would’ve before.

[coolcattime]

it’s interesting the way that Sonja and Capsize embody the thing the other fears. Capsize being part drowned and Sonja’s fear of drowning (due to trinity island). Sonja somewhat tainted and Capsize’s fear of illness (being a pirate and hating scurvy).

I've never thought about it like this, but you are so completely right. They both embody a fear of the other and that's so interesting.

Like Sonja is definitely scared of drowning, has been since Trinity Island despite not fully remembering Trinity Island. She struggles to even be in the water sometimes as she can almost feel herself getting dragged down. But Capsize has always been associated with water, from being a sailor to growing up on an island. Then she came back as part drowned.

And Capsize I think is scared of illness, especially post revival I think she reacts pretty badly to having a fever (due to my own headcanons about her deaths). And not only is Sonja slightly tainted, there's a permanent stain of the stuff in her fur, and she's still getting flux flu. I've also always headcanoned that Sonja was sick when Furia killed Capsize (as a way to explain her absence in the Nether and the trip to Ianerea), which further links into this idea of them embodying each others fears.

And I love this idea of them embodying the fear of the other, but still completely loving the other. And they definitely help the other with their fear. Capsize will float alongside Sonja when she wants to try swimming, and stay with her on the shore during get-togethers where the others are swimming and she doesn't want to.

And Sonja makes sure to look after Capsize on the rare occasions that she gets sick, as well as taking every precaution possible to make sure she doesn't get flux flu (the magic side is difficult with limited supplies, but she isn't about to complain about magic difficulties when it comes to Capsize).

But yes, I really love this idea of the girlfriends reflecting the fears of the other, but loving each other regardless and helping the other when they're confronted with said fear.

[blindedguilt]

Apparently the dialogue in Japanese during the "Leonard's lament/hunger" is a lot more explicit about his inclinations, would you know anything about this? I've heard that the fairy explicitly tells him to do the nasty to the fallen child soldiers but I've seen no confirmation of this

What WAS Changed from Leonard's Hunger to Leonard's Regret - Drakengard Analysis

//Hey anon! I assume you're talking about the game, right? Because I actually DID translate the full script from the World Inside 10th Anni box for the Leonard's Regret/Hunger chapter a while back (It was the only translated part of an unfinished project to do the WHOLE script that likely won't be finished), but that has in-game comparisons between the NTSC-J and NTSC versions as well! I'll link it here if you're interested. Note: This covers only the EVENTS in the game, and not actual in-game dialogue, as I haven't translated that. Sorry! For ease of access, I'll also provide a hopefully adequate summary below the cut detailing the differences between the original script (Later edited into what would be the NTSC-J version of the game), the Japanese version of the game, and the English localisation! Believe it or not, there was actually more cut content between the script and the Japanese version of the game than the Japanese and the English (Which certainly does have it's blunders, but nowhere near as steep.) And of course, if you have any other questions about this, feel free to reach out to my Discord at barnabism or just send another ask! :) Here's the info, strap in for a LONG post ahead:

So to start with the first scene in Leonard's Hunger, there's a couple points of interest right off the bat, actually!

Pointing Out Leonard's Survival

While it was toned down in the Japanese and toned down even further in English, when the Faerie points out the conscripts in the script it was actually an intended jab towards Leonard's absence "Hiding under the trees" which led to his unintentional survival!

(NTSC) "Hark you, hark! Look in the shadows of the trees. The ones hiding away are probably fine." "......" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey, look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The ones who hide beneath them might be alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Look carefully through the shadows of the trees. The one who does that might survive alive and well! Ahahaha!" "...Kgh!"

I wouldn't chalk this up to "censorship", however (At least not in the case of the English), it honestly kinda reads like a bad game of Telephone which is something you'll see a LOT with the English translation. Where the Japanese seemed deliberately toned down to give more "Insinuations" at best or just to outright write around it at worst, the English seems like its trying its best to pick up on that nuance without... Actually knowing where it's coming from? Without that base point of reference (The script), it seems like there was a lot of grappling around in the dark for those poor English localisers to do. :( *That said, there are some instances where things are explicitly written in Japanese but unable to be fluently translated, like Furiae's confession scene, or sometimes... They ARE just outright changed, like the infamous "You smell very nice" line from Ending D. The Drakengard fanbase DOES commonly assume that the latter is the case all-around, but there's a lot more to it than that! Moving on, here's an example of something that was VERY intentionally taken out from the NTSC-J release to the NTSC release.

"Something Else" - Deleted Snippets From Changed Lines

(NTSC) "Oh, it smells fishy. What will you do? Doesn’t it feel dangerous? Are you shaking? Over here! Here! Here!" (NTSC-J) "It smells fishy. What will you do? Can’t you sense it? Isn’t it dangerous? Hahah! Oh? Are you trembling because you’re scared? Or is it something else…? Ahahahahaha! Here! Here! Look here!" (SCRIPT) Faerie (Maliciously): "You can’t see them, but you can smell them, can’t you? Can’t you? That lively scent is your favouriiite~! Right? A large army of smooth, pallid, soft legs is here!"

So as you can see here, the bit from the Japanese - "Oh? Are you trembling because you're scared? Or is it something else...?" was taken out in the English release, but this original Japanese line that appears in the game is COMPLETELY different from what was written in the script!

And if that edited line in the NTSC-J edition of DOD wasn't clear enough as to what the Faerie was hinting at, here's something that's DEFINITELY more explicit. But unlike the English completely removing it over concerns to content, here it seems toned down as a result of differences in writing systems.

"Inexperience" - Pay Attention to the NTSC-J Line

(NTSC) "Right, right! Young soldiers right out of training, gutted like fish!" (NTSC-J) "Right right, ahaha! Still just sweet little things, lacking and inexperienced!" (SCRIPT) "Right, right, ahaha! Boys, boys, beautiful boys! How appetising~!"

Putting aside the Script's description of the young conscripts as "Beautiful" and "Appetising" (Hard, I know lmao), the edited NTSC-J version VERY cleverly used Katakana to it's advantage to make a point that... Honestly, if you ask me, is even more direct than the Script counterpart. Here's a look at what I'm talking about:

(NTSC-J Original) 「そっ、そっ、ウキャキャ! まだまだケツの青い甘チャンばかりだぜ! 」

I've bolded and coloured the Katakana referenced here with the whole article bolded itself, "Ketsu no Aoi", which as a whole can mean "Inexperienced" or "Lacking in x" (Skill, in this case). The interesting thing here is the use of Katakana on "ケツ" here, which, typically when written like that, is used to refer to someone's bottom. So it CAN be taken as "young and inexperienced" or quite literally, "Their ass is inexperienced" which... *Cough* Yeah. This, of course, is a VERY particular use of Katakana, so I honestly can't blame the English localisers just going "Fuck it" and making it their own.

Scrapped Ideas

An added note before we go onto the next scene, which I believe isn't EXACTLY what you're looking for but something I thought you or anyone else reading this would be interested in. There's also something interesting to mention about the "Garrison" that was brought up here ("If the garrison is here, then the prisoners should be, too."), and that's three things:

This WAS originally going to be a type of "Side-quest" where you go save your Union allies from the garrison and defeating the "Monsters" (I believe subhumans) guarding them, and THEN the conscripts begin to attack you in desperation. Unfortunately, it looks like this sidequest was scrapped, though I question what circumstances led to such a specific line pertaining to the quest still remaining.

At one point, it actually WAS thought that items could be used and included - Particularly "Crystals" and "Smokebombs", though looking back, I wonder if these "Crystals" mentioned here were later saved for the crystals you use to find your path in Drakengard 2....

Remember that one conscript that summoned a ghost at the end of the chapter? All conscripts were originally planned to do that. For better or for worse, it didn't go through.

Necrophilia Jokes

As the title suggests, when you mentioned the faerie explicitly goading him on to do it with the dying/dead conscripts, there actually IS something like that not in the NTSC and certainly not the NTSC-J games, but in the script! You'll find a pretty clear example in the very first line!

(NTSC) "Hey, hey! What’ll you do about the bodies? Stab them again?" (NTSC-J) "Hey, hey! What will you do with the bodies? Hahah! Is your torment growing?" (SCRIPT) "Hey, hey! Are you even lusting after corpses? Ahahah! Aren’t you pent up!"

Which of course is it's own can of worms, but shines MUCH more brightly paired with the Faerie's next line, after Leonard states his commitment to give the fallen conscripts a proper bruial:

(NTSC) "You have time for such luxuries? Well, do you? Do you? Do you?" (NTSC-J) "Hahahah! Is this the time for such a deliberate process? Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!" (SCRIPT) "Ahahaha! This isn’t the time to be toying with corpses. Hey, are you listening to me-? Hey, hey!"

Of course, the Faerie teasing Leonard about necrophilia can and WILL go even worse into the active goading of "Do it, buddy, I dare you" it will give later on, but I want to intercept that with something the Conscript here does in the scripts that really caught my attention - The Conscript, under the influence of Red-Eye, using the weakness of his inclinations to their own advantage.

The Conscripts "Manipulation"

I'm not gonna lie, when I first detail it really brought me back to this fucked up little fanfiction I saw on Pixiv where this conscript ends up seducing and subsequently disemboweling poor Leonard. As you might be able to tell by my mentioning, it's kinda stuck with me. Pixiv is a fascinating place.

(NTSC) "I’m afraid." (NTSC-J) "I’m… I’m afraid…" (SCRIPT) CONSCRIPT (Alluringly): I’m… I’m afraid…

Through the script, there are different dialogue tags to denote the tone in which that particular line is spoken. While this tidbit in itself isn't much, I figured it very worth mentioning just for its role in the general topic of "More controversial things that were snipped out of either the NTSC-J or NTSC versions of Leonard's Regret/Hunger", not to mention the implications it has on the wider nature of Red Eye Disease as a whole! Think about it - Taking into consideration that the script implies the Conscript "Knew" about his inclinations enough to use them to his advantage, Leonard mentioning that this conscript share's his brother's voice is a detail that definitely catches my attention now. I wonder if it was just tragic coincidence, Leonard being unable to judge correctly in his grief, or perhaps RED allowing the conscript to mimic his brothers? Which is an actually TERRIFYING thought, but hey, I absolutely adore it. There is a plethora of writing material and silly thoughts to have from that alone, which, as an RPer, is probably among the best things I can have. XD

The Faerie's Goading

Back to the faerie, there's a final detail in its teasing for this scene:

(NTSC) "Oh? Oh-oh-oh-oh? Feeling pity? For the enemy? Can’t start wavering now!" (NTSC-J) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you just happening to feel sympathy right now? For the enemy? Now’s no time to tremble. Hey!" (SCRIPT) "Oh? Oh-hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh? Are you getting ideas already? For the enemy? I wonder if you’ll go all the way? Just as I thought! Ahah!"

As is the recurring theme here, the script is MUCH more explicit than either, where the NTSC opts for snipping out a couple more details, which in this case is the line "Now's no time to tremble". There's nothing special I have to say about this outside of jesus fuck, of course so we'll wrap it up with the final event scene in Leonard's Regret/Hunger real quick!

Another Note

Just to add, Beholders and Gargoyles were among some of the enemies planned to be put into this level, along with... Treants! It's a popular bit of folklore across Germany, particularly in regard to the Black Forest (Though it came from France) that scared the crap out of me as a kid, so I was pleased to see them here and VERY upset they didn't make the final cut :(

The Final Scene - Leonard's Botched Confession

GOD, from the first time I saw this scene, I was so disappointed. All that tension, all those hints and build-up for Leonard to finally break and be asked "What's going on here? Why are you acting like this?" You'd think you'd get something better than "It's a secret." You just know that this was a scene that got rewritten last second, and it turns out that in the NTSC-J version, it's the same exact case - but in the script? We finally get to see what was intended to be put there (And my years long grudge against that scene was finally, kinda, put to rest.)

So, when Leonard falls to his knees and asks for forgiveness, and Angelus asks (Or perhaps Caim) asks "Why this wasted pity?", the faerie responds for him (Which, keep in mind, Leonard responds to this by immediately begging for Caim to kill him right then and there):

(NTSC) "He won’t say! He’ll never say the truth! It’s a SECRET!" (NTSC-J) "He won’t say! Haha! He’ll never talk about that. It’s! A! Secret! Heehee. Ahahahaha!" (SCRIPT) "He won't say! Haha! That boy was too cute for him to say. He wanted to hold him, among other such things. Heehee. Ahahahaha!"

To add to the bit "He wanted to hold him", the exact word used is "抱きたい", and while it DOES typically mean "To hold, to embrace" among other things in certain ~contexts~ (Like Furiae's confession scene, where the same word is used) it can also mean "To have sex with". The rest of the scene actually doesn't have next to anything changed outside of a tiny added "...You can't." when the Faerie addresses his wish for death that got trimmed from the script, though I will add for context an interesting thing in the same quote a detail added that wasn't originally in the script, similar to a couple other things we've seen so far, is a distinction that can only be seen in Japanese:

(NTSC) "Huh? What did you say? Helloo! You couldn’t die, could you? Just gave yourself a little nick. So sad. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t survive alone anymore, you know. A pact. We made a pact. Don’t forget." (NTSC-J) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!" (SCRIPT) "Haah-? What are you saying? Helloo? You couldn’t die then, could you? Just gave yourself a small little scar! …You can’t. Didn’t you make a promise to live with me, big brother? I can’t live alone by myself anymore, you know. The pact, the pact! Ahahaha! Take care to remember!"

It's actually indistinguishable in either translation, so I'll highlight the Japanese text here:

(NTSC-J Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしもーし?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらい傷バリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」 (SCRIPT Original) 「はあ?　何言ってんのお?　もしもし?　アナタ死ねなかったんですよねー?　ためらいバリバリ!　……やだなぁ。俺といっしょに生きてくれるって約束したじゃないですか、お兄さん。俺、もうひとりじゃ生きられない身体なんですよ。契約ね、契約。フヒャヒャヒャ。 おねがいしマッス。」

Again, it'll be hard to find a difference through all that, but you'll see the game actually added a term to the script's "ためらいバリバリ" - "A hesitant nick", with "ためらい" meaning hesitant and "バリバリ" standing for a small little cut or scar! Together it really is it's own term meaning "A shallow (hesitant) scar" The game, however, added a character - 傷 - which on the surface, doesn't seem to add much, as by itself the character quite literally just means "Wound". HOWEVER, put together with ためらい this creates a very specific term, ためらい傷 (Tameraikizu) which quick literally means "Hesitation wound", and stands as an exact term for the wounds left over when someone who attempts suicide fails and is left with lasting (Usually permanent) scars because of it. And recalling Leonard's failed attempt to slit his throat in his introductory scene... You know, I honestly wondered how permanent that scar was. Either way, I hope this post has the answers you're looking for! I really enjoyed writing it, and of course, if you have any questions, feel free to message me (Via asks, DMs, or Discord!) and I'll be happy to get back to you! Thanks so much for sending this in, just being able to talk about our boy is a treat, so again, I really enjoyed it~ :3> Again, thank you, and I hope you enjoy! :)

[fantasyroyalfamily]

The Sims 4: The Legend of Queen Viva (Who United the entire World) Part 2

NOTE: After this part, I decided to provide a quick narrative of what is to come since I decided to move in a different direction creatively.

...

In summary, Viva has been having dreams of the 9 legendary crystals, so she decided to go on a journey to find answers. In the middle of that, she had to find her cousin Kassandra, with the help of her other cousin Averie and her mother Thadia. However, she did not realize how many people she would lose because of it.

On the ground of Crystala, she found a hidden cave where she sensed an odd energy. She moved inside.

When she entered the cave, she found the crystal of Crystala. When she touched the crystal, the first phoenix emerged and explained to Viva her destiny. She is the chosen one to unite all the kingdoms and finally put an end to the darkness of the kingdoms.

Viva was unsure of this and felt anxious, but she will continue on her journey and see what's to come.

In the middle of the Viva journey, Averie was kidnapped.

Vivia found Averie in the nick of time and fought the stranger, who was none other than Anika's son, Arman, who is also the mystery father of Cinderella's daughter, Cinda.

Cinderella confessed to Lady Thadia that she had a passionate night with Anika's son. Feeling betrayed by her husband's affairs, she made a mistake. However, the King believes Cinda is his daughter. To safeguard her, she implored Lady Thadia to find a nobleman for her to marry before Maddox discovers the truth.

Anika banished her son after he trespassed and informed him to never come back.

So Cinda goes off to journey to Brucreek where she will meet with her new husband, Duke Pence.

Duke Pence and Lady Thadia were to provide him with his new bride. Cinda was happy and had dinner in Thadia's presence. Viva and Averie decided to go to the palace to see if they could find any information about her Averie's sister and the crystal.

Averie decided to meet with the Queen, Snow White, while Viva roamed the palace. She noticed something suspicious and ran when she saw a stranger attacking the king.

Lady Furia admitted that Vervana had asked her to take blood from King Odoran, who comes from the dark elf bloodline, in exchange for her daughter, Antonia. She claimed that this was the only way to get her daughter back. Shari, the mother of Snow White, knew that this situation would be a problem, so they decided to keep the children and her husband hidden. King Elion instructed Furia to go to Vervana and inform her that he and the children had passed away, but assured her that they would provide the blood she needed.

It's important to note that Furia is the king's ex-lover, unknown to anyone, and that Antonia is actually his daughter. This is why he came up with a plan to get her back.

Viva was able to find the crystal of Brucreek and had a successful discovery. However, she started to feel odd as the power she was gaining from collecting these crystals was making her obtain great power.

After bidding farewell to the queen and king, Averie, Viva, and Thadia set out with two crystals but no information about Averie's sister, Kassandra. They traveled to Enkanto Karri in the hope of obtaining information about Averie's missing sister.

Unaware to the Royal Family of Brucreek the chaos to come.

[home-of-the-ascended]

Lost, but Not Forgotten

The guild was quiet for the first time in a while. With the chaos erupting around the realm, whether from negligence or not, death and destruction was still a normal occurrence for the people. Lian has been doing her best to keep the majority of the common folk under control with promises of safety and shelter from the Abyssal threat, word spreading about a lost house was rejoining the Magistrate adding to this. Inara, Imani, and Furia have also been very active as of late, trying to help out the people in their own right. Everyone united to fight against an ever growing threat.

Everyone but the Ascended.

Zhin sighed, exhaling smoke from the pipe he’d sucked on. He watched it form into a feint cloud as it was carried away by the wind. The same wind that carried the smell of abyssal decay and corruption from a once beautiful mountain top. He frowned, his gaze absentmindedly on what used to be Ascension Peak. The mountain top was still aflame in that hellish purple, a reminder of what was lost. How many people died in the explosion? How many were left wandering around aimlessly, looking for a new life? Homelessness can drive one to do drastic things. Zhin knew this too well.

He snuffed out the pipe and retreated back inside his study. Sitting on his desk were a few stacks of papers, mostly just reports from his followers about the status of various locations. Ever since Lian’s sudden promotion to Head Magister, he’s asked his most trusted agents to keep tabs on her progress, this included wherever the Primus and her armies were sent to. With Talus training under Vatu, Zhin knows keeping the Ska’drin safe will help improve the overall look of the Thousand Hands, especially during this trial.

Other sheets were from folks with nowhere left to turn, applications to join the Thousand Hands Guild. They were already warned how dangerous and unforgiving the trials were, how they’ll throw away their life for a life of crime. All the warning signs were there for all to see. Yet some still crawl to their doorstep, begging on their hands and knees for a chance to do something. Anything. Zhin sank into his chair, pulling himself to the table and grabbed a feather pen.

He started off with the reports, reading through them thoroughly. Signed off, paper shifted, next page. Every now and again, his progress would pause by the occasional commotion or a knock at the door, but it was mostly unimpeded. The reconnaissance reports were finished within an hour and a half, nothing too crazy stood out aside from Khan’s usual antics. The attention moved to the recruitment papers. Many of which were denied through Zhin’s scrutiny, but he held onto some of the sheets. There were a few oddballs, some being Tau-Kor monks. Others were people who lost everything after Ascension Peak’s downfall.

Zhin sat back in his chair, running a hand through his tangled hair. He couldn’t allow those people to join his guild. Not because they weren’t cut out for that lifestyle, no, they were faithful to the Ascended. Or, were. These people must’ve lost faith in him, Zhin thought with a slight grimace. Why else would they try their luck here? It was rough, but he still had a job to do. The Tyrant straightened himself up and went back to finishing up the paperwork. Another 2 hours had passed before he could officially say he was finished for the time being. The moonlight pouring into the study was gentle to the eye, a reminder of how late it truly was for Zhin. He rose from his chair, cleaned up a bit, then heading out towards the kitchen.

Whilst heading there, Zhin was surprised to bump into Ying. He expected her to be sleeping, especially with how late it was. According to the elf, she and some of her illusions were running amuck trying to take care of some of the injured that woke up due to pain. The main reason she was still up was due to some tea she intended to make for Jenos to help him out, but got sidetracked when some folks began to complain. Already running herself ragged and the new day hasn’t even begin, Zhin shook his head. “You should try to rest, you’ll make yourself sick and join the rest of them if you let them.”

“But, there’s no one else here to help-” Zhin raised a hand, cutting her off silently.

“Please, go rest. You can tend to them when you’ve taken care of yourself. I’ll ask Buck and Shalin to help out in your place.”

Ying opened her mouth to argue, yawning as a result. She accepted her loss and began to make her way to the bedrooms, thanking Zhin in the process. He wished her a good night, watching her as she left. She was a kind soul, much too kind for someone like him. The pang of guilt he felt as she hovered into the shadows will be a constant reminder for him. He remained in place for another minute or two, making sure she wasn’t coming back before continuing towards the kitchen.

The Tyrant did stop by their makeshift hospital ward to check in on the folks there, true to Ying’s word, some of them were awake and in agony. He fetched clean gauze and bandages, disinfected and stitched up others, even using his sword to help cauterize some of the more severe injuries. When they finally began to calm down and, eventually, fell asleep, Zhin moved towards the kitchen. It was extremely late by the time he entered, grabbing a tea pot and a pair of cups. He searched the cabinets for a specific herbal blend he was taught, snagging it and tucking it away before swiftly retreating.

He made his way through the various hallways, being careful not to wake up anyone. Approaching his room, Zhin knocked on the door to announce his presence. After a few moments, the door opened and Zhin stepped inside, closing it with his foot. Setting the tea supplies onto a small table, he looked up and saw his temporary guest, Jenos, gazing outside. The god had definitely seen better days; he was wearing some clothes Zhin had outgrown, his hair laid limp against his body, the mask resting on a bedside table, and the orb he usually carries was no where to be seen. There were visible bandages loosely hanging off Jenos’ neck, old blood staining them. The Tyrant swallowed, somewhat uncomfortable.

“You’re…awake, for once.” Zhin started, keeping his voice hushed. Jenos didn’t look at him. “I do hope your wounds haven’t caused you too much pain, those wrappings will need to be replaced if you want to keep recovering…” Still no reaction, Zhin’s eyes shifting towards the bed subconsciously looking for any visible blood stains. He awkwardly began to change into something more comfy, seeing as the other wasn’t in the mood to talk. Jenos wasn’t usually a talker to begin with, it was pretty evident within the first week he was brought here.

The Ascended, along with panicked familiar faces, were brought to the Thousand Hands guild as a last ditch effort to get Omen off of Jenos’ ass. It worked so far, but Zhin fears it’ll only be a matter of time before the Abyss realizes where the god’s been hiding. Jenos was pretty fucked up when they brought him in, barely conscious enough to respond before feinting from blood loss. Buck looked ready to take on the Abyss himself for the damage that faction’s caused, Ying and Furia were doing all they could to keep Jenos alive while Shalin, Talus, and Koga scrambled to get a room ready for the god to rest in. Unsurprisingly they thought the best place for god to rest in was Zhin’s room, which was mildly annoying at first until the Tyrant learned to live with the decision.

It was a bit of whiplash seeing all these people here, especially after everything that’s happened between them all. Koga’s still bitter about his exile, Buck and Shalin give Zhin cold glares occasionally, Talus was getting along with Vatu surprisingly well, but Ying was the first to notice Zhin actively trying to help. It was almost painful to the man when she smiled at him for the first time in who knows how long. They were all working together under the same roof once more, for a different purpose this time. The Ascended’s life was in danger and they were the last line of defense.

A cough caught Zhin’s attention, he glanced over at the god and froze. Jenos’ pupil-less eyes were locked onto him, not so blinding in his current state. The Tyrant couldn’t help but meet his gaze, unable to try and brake eye contact. An agonizing minute of silence passes before the Ascended sighs, shifting his attention back towards the world outside the window. Zhin let out a long shaky breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Whatever Jenos wanted to say wasn’t important, he thought, reaching for the tea pot with a slight tremble in his hand.

Zhin grabbed the tea pot and was ready to begin to prepare the pot, but quickly excusing himself to leave temporarily due to forgetting the water. After returning, nearly spilling the water after a freak scream pierced the silence and causing a scare, the Tyrant returned to his room and set the pot up onto a metal frame. He lit his sword ablaze and propped it underneath the pot to boil the water as he added the herbal mix into it. After a while, the water began to boil, Zhin sheathed the weapon and poured them both a cup. Getting a whiff of the tea, the aroma was nice and soothing enough, Zhin hummed. It wasn’t his preferred flavor, but according to Buck, this was the blend Jenos usual made himself. He got up and went to hand Jenos the first cup.

“I don’t know if I made it exactly how you’d like it, but Buck told me this was your, er, favorite blend?” He was genuinely surprised when Jenos took the cup and gave it a taste. His heart sank when the other furrowed his brows. A scowl. “Do…you not like it?” Zhin asked, legitimately worried. He was trying to help the god feel better, why was this so nerve wracking? His heart was racing and all he did was give Jenos bad tea! The Tyrant’s heart leapt into his throat when those eyes were locked onto him again. He could see the god trying to think about his words, considering the circumstances, but it still worried him.

“…try not to hold the sword so close to the pot next time.” Jenos’ voice was unlike the voice Zhin was used to hearing. It was powerful and resonant, with different tones, you couldn’t really hear what the god sounded like before ascending. But now? He definitely sounded mortal, the god’s true voice. The Tyrant didn’t even process what he’d said until a few seconds passed.

“…OH, oh. Ok, yeah, right I’ll get it better next time. Sorry…is, is it not-”

“I’ll drink it, just cook it slower next time. These herbs need time to sit in the water before it becomes a boil.”

Zhin gave a nod, he should’ve listened to Buck when he offered to teach him how to properly brew this tea. He heard a soft chuckle and saw the faintest smile on Jenos’ face before he went back to looking outside, taking another drink. “I think I was wrong about you Zhin. You may have been a Tyrant in the past, but you’re actively changing your fate in a more positive light.” Jenos’s comment caught him off guard. The god continued, “I do appreciate all you and the Guild are doing for my followers, they deserve better than what I can do for them currently. Though, I also apologize for being stationed in your private chamber for the time being.” Zhin batted a hand, downing his cup entirely before setting it aside.

“Oh please, it’s nothing. My people were already deployed to look over your followers and the mountain, some of the monks paid quite nicely for our protective services. It’s a shame it wasn’t enough to prevent, well, that.” Zhin gestured to the ruined mountain. He knew his words meant very little to the god, but it seemed Jenos appreciated hearing the truth. “We’ll do what we can to help, really, it’ll just take a lot of time. Hopefully Lian doesn’t fuck around and cause more issues, we’ve got more than plenty on our plate.”

“…thank you, Zhin Aico…” Zhin barely reacted in time, catching Jenos just before he fell off the bed. Zhin immediately checked him for any issues and found the god was running a fever. The Tyrant tucked Jenos back into his bed, sprinting to the closest water source with a cloth. He came back swiftly, putting the cold rag on the God’s forehead and unwrapping the bloodied bandages around his neck to clean the wounds. Some of the wounds had reopened due to the head movements, Zhin figured as he disinfected and wrapped Jenos’ neck in new wrappings. He sank to the floor, nearly knocking over the tea pot stand. He closed his eyes, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. Jenos can have the bed to himself tonight, Zhin thought with a smile before finally falling asleep.

[astralartefact]

Divine Akeha Analysis Post

the gacha game gives us another lore bomb on a random thursday and i felt a calling, this is my moment to shine

this is your warning, voice of cards forsaken maiden spoilers below. seeing as it is legit canon nier now, you might want to check it out before looking at this! i will spoil my personal favorite reveal of that game, so be warned

this hastly made conspiracy board is brought to you by a "I told you so"-induced fugue state

The Pink Petals

The Lunar Tear is firmly on the spot of "most notorious flower in the NieR universe", so much so that people more often than not conflate them with Zero's flower - and while her flower is probably very much purposefully similar to a lunar tear it actually was precedented by something else too:

Pink Petals have actually been a thing since Drakengard 1, where they were used with Manah to give her a "flower girl at a wedding" sort of thing, probably just to make her creepy man voice even more creepy or to serve as a visual side piece to Furiae's twisted romance.

Even if they didn't intend this to mean anything back then they later picked that back up with Zero's pink eye flower which now continues this symbolism for the 'influence of the watchers/gods'.

2. The Black Flower (sword not entity)

Divine Akeha's sword kind of resembles Zero's sword from her Collab Design, mainly in the way the sword neck (?not the handle, the part right in front of the handle) is decorated going down into the blade and the shape of the blade towards the tip. While I'm not as convinced on this point as on the others, this might be on purpose too: The Black Flower (this time the entity in Zero's eye) is as we know some extension of the watchers/gods. Symbolically it makes sense to me to now take that blade as a reference point for weapons based on the power of gods - and especially since the "Black Flower" in Zero's eye is actually pink, this would serve as a full circle moment too.

3. Lac and Mommy

Her design is 100% based on Lac. There's just absolutely no way it isn't. The colors are the same (grey, red and black), she wears a crown like both Lac and the Ivory Spirit and has two red hair ornaments where his red horns would be - but especially the area around the ornamental piece on her obi is strikingly similar to the button on his belly, the design on the metal piece itself is very similar and then above it is red just like his mouth and below it she has the white of his belly..

For the people that haven't played Forsaken Maiden, Lac is one of your party members and as it turns out towards the end of the game he is a god who's out to sacrifice Laty for his own survival. Laty then sacrifices herself to basically imprison the gods into her dream realm.

There is this other god though, she barely has a presence in the story, but she eventually appears as the person who held Lac's puppet body the entire time: The Ivory Spirit. You can read more about my thoughts about her here, but in summary even if she is not the Mother Beast from Drakengard, she very much could be Mommy, who I miss dearly and I just want to see her again.

(That's btw the reveal I mentioned in my warning blip, the moment when the game non-chalantly turns Lac's card around and she's just there is just so eerie, even knowing that it's coming takes so much away from it and combined with the "THAT'S HER RIGHT???" of thinking she has to be the mother beast, especially given that lanca/mini-zero is her maiden... hands down my favorite moment of all VoC games, I think about it so often)

And now we're here and Divine Akeha with a pink petal sword wears a Lac outfit.

Basically, Voice of Cards is 100% confirmed NieR canon. Expect some of the other Divine costumes to look like the other spirits.

Btw, the Lead Scenario Writer of the Sun and Moon arc Yuki Wada was also the Lead Writer of Forsaken Maiden, just so you know whose name you can curse for this.

(This also fuels my Laty => Seeds of Destruction => Cage theory btw)

edit: character story

How many times have I heard. Have I seen. How their words fade into the air. Drown in fresh blood. Is someone there. Is someone present. Yes. If so, there is no reason for me to exist in the same space.

──────────────────────────────

May salvation come to those who wait for it. May punishment come to those who need it. We worship. We pray. We believe she who sits on the heavenly throne is listening.

weapon story

Flowers bloom when she smiles. Her joy spreads vitality. Buds bloom as she does.

Birds sing when she sends word. They lend their wings as she speaks to us.

The wind howls as she despairs. The heavens rage as she weeps for our tragedies.

The moon shines when she comes to us. She leads our human sacrifices away as we sleep.

(thank you nierrein.guide, you provide a most valuable service)

There aren't any particularly outstanding references in the stories as far as I can tell, even the mention of flowers isn't particularly noteworthy tbh. The most !!! to me is the line "We believe she who sits on the heavenly throne is listening" since it refers to a female god, but that doesn't have to be the Ivory Spirit/Queen Beast, that could just as much be referring to Divine Akeha or an entirely different god such as Amaterasu or something like that, same with the entirety of the weapon story.

I personally also like the line "May Punishment come to those who need it" using "need" instead of "deserve". Very CrimePun of them.