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bluebeary-jay · 1 year ago

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Face to face

Din Djarin x f!Mandalorian!Reader

Summary: as riduurs, you and Din can finally show your faces to each other without suffering any consequences. but when the time finally comes, your insecurities and fears of rejection come into play, threatening to ruin this important moment

Tags: just pure tooth-rotting fluff, Din and Reader being insecure, they're sweethearts though and so in love, Din being a supporting husband <3, mandalorian customs are probably half-accurate but i did my best in research 😌

Word count: 3K

A/N: haiii guys!! long time no see 🤗 i had this idea ever since i watched s2 of the mandalorian almost a month ago and i'm finally done! thank you to all who stick around and i really hope you'll enjoy my first attempt at writing din (feel free to let me know what you think 🤭)! i love all of you darlings 🥰 and as always, happy reading!! 💕

Din Djarin wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but he always wanted a family. The memories of his parents were hazy, but he remembered how much they loved each other and in the depths of his soul longed for a connection like this someday. Being the bounty hunter didn’t give many opportunities to look for a relationship, however, and with time he abandoned the hope for a place and people he could call home. He convinced himself that he was content being on his own.

But then the Child came along, and with it everything has changed. This little wrinkly womp rat became the most precious being in his life and Din was ready to die to protect Grogu – but he never expected that he’d also meet his future riduur because of the kid.

He did. You, a fellow Mandalorian Din spoke to only a couple of times in the hideout on Nevarro, decided to help him on his quest, and from this moment on he didn’t stand a chance. You were everything Djarin admired – brave, compassionate, skillful and kind – and though you both respected the Way of the Mandalore and never removed your helmets in each other’s presence, he knew in his soul that you were beautiful as well.

It was a long road to come to terms with what he felt for you and gather the courage to actually let you know it. But it was all worth it just for this moment when you exchanged your vows and he officially became yours, and you his. Now you were his riduur and he finally had every right to admire and cherish you like you deserved.

And most importantly, he could finally see you. The pair of you talked about this moment a lot during the nights spent on the Crest, tangling your fingers together when the ship was flooded with pitch-black darkness. Din used to whisper to you of his dreams, how he longed to run his eyes over your uncovered body, taking his time to commit to memory every little detail of your physique and expressions. You, with a giddy and wistful tone, told him how impatient you were to at last find out how his lips would feel on yours and what color his eyes were. Even when you both knew you were going to marry, you didn’t rush things and never removed your helmets until your union became official.

But you did see each other’s faces, once, though not in a conventional way. Din remembered it clearly as a day, though his eyes – as well as yours – were covered by a piece of a material the entire time. Both of you were desperate for each other that night, the tension hanging above your heads straining the resolve about waiting. And then came the moment when you didn’t fight it anymore. Instead, you both sat down on Din’s cot and without your sense of sight spent the next hour talking and trailing fingertips down each other’s faces.

Din reminisced about this moment a lot of times. He tried to remember the shape of your features to create a full picture of you in his mind while he laid alone in his bed, longing for your vicinity. Even if your bodies were separated only by the layers of beskar, it was still too far for him.

He didn’t have to wait any longer now.

It was the day of your wedding and Din Djarin never felt happier than in that moment when you recited Mandalorian vows and he got to touch your bare hand again, not covered by a glove, to put a custom-made ring on your finger. It wasn’t a necessary but he wanted to make this day memorable and meaningful for you. A few tears of joy were shed, but his face was still concealed by the helmet, allowing his emotions to take hold of him.

He hadn’t let go of your hand since the small ceremony (if one could even call it that) ended, and you squeezed his palm every few steps as you walked toward a house that was going to be your home for the next couple of days. The Child was being taken care of by other Mandalorians so that you could be completely alone for this special moment.

You were buzzing with excited energy for the whole week prior to your wedding, but now Din could sense his partner’s nervousness. He wasn’t exactly surprised – after all, it has been years for both of you since anyone saw you without your helmet on. But with every moment that you neared the bedroom, you seemed more insular, more withdrawn and hesitant, and Din started to really worry.

“Are you okay, cyar’ika (darling)?”

You slowed down, not answering right away, which caused Din to furrow his brows with confusion. Maybe you didn’t want to do it after all? Maybe it was too sudden for you? Or maybe he came off as too eager?

“Cyar’ika,” he repeated softly, wanting to put you at ease – but it didn’t seem to meet the target. “If you’re not ready…”

“No. No, I’m ready. I just…”

You trailed off. Din wordlessly guided you to the edge of the bed, cradling your hands in his – one gloved one and one not. The light of the setting sun flowed in through the small window and reflected off the hard beskar you both wore, bathing your figure in a beautiful golden light.

He was already so in love with you. What could possibly be the cause of your hesitation?

“I’m just nervous,” you murmured at last with your head bowed, looking at your joined hands. “I don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Disappointed?” the Mandalorian repeated before he could think, and shook his head slightly. “What are you… What are you talking about? Why would I ever be?”

You lifted your gaze, and though Din couldn’t see your eyes, he could almost feel the weight of your fears on his own shoulders. The modulator in your helmet was hiding any trace of it, but he knew you long enough to recognize the tiniest shift in your body language.

“Ner kar’ta (my heart). I could never be disappointed with you.” He laced his fingers with yours, once again admiring how perfectly they fit together, and lifted them to his chest. “You own my heart and soul now, and nothing will change that.”

He hoped to soothe your nerves, but you were still silent. It wasn’t at all what Mando was expecting from this evening and he was at a loss for what to do to fix it.

“Would it help if I showed you my face first?” he asked after some time, and your head snapped up.

“No.” Even with the modulator, your voice clearly sounded broken and regretful, and it was wounding Din more than anything else could. “We were supposed to do it together.”

“We can,” he assured quietly, swiping his thumb over your knuckles. “But the most important thing to me… is for you to feel comfortable during it. If you want to wait–”

“I don’t.” You untangled your hands from his hold and instead brought them to his chest, placing them on the beskar breastplate. He couldn’t wait to take it off and feel your touch on his skin. “If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t marry you and make you my riduur.”

You leaned forward and lightly bonked your helmets together, a sweet gesture Din loved since the first time you did it.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum or’atu an mayen. (I love you more than anything.) More than life itself.”

“I know,” he answered simply and delicately brought your hands to the edges of his helmet. It was obvious what he was offering you. “That’s why I’m willing to do it for you.”

You were still, not daring to move, and Din nodded slightly to show you that he’s certain of his decision. His heart was beating heavily in his chest, though, and he could feel sweat forming on the back of his neck.

Showing your face to others was one of the worst crimes in Mandalorian culture, but doing it with your riduur was the highest honor that not everyone was fortunate enough to experience. But Din Djarin was among the lucky ones. Even though it was not in a way he always imagined, he didn’t care as long as you were happy.

You gripped the edges of his helmet tighter and a high hiss sounded, a telltale sign that the metal piece was ready to be removed. And slowly – so very slowly – you did. Din felt a flow of cooler air on his hot skin: first his chin, then his cheeks, finally his forehead…

And lastly, he inhaled shakily before lifting his head to look into the void of your visor.

A second passed by. Then two. Then ten, though Din felt like it must’ve been a full minute now. And still you didn’t move, just watched him silently, motionless as a statue.

The Mandalorian swallowed with difficulty, starting to feel very self-conscious. The crisp air cooled the sweat gathering on the nape of his neck and he had to use all his self-control not to fiddle his fingers nervously. He felt so naked and exposed under your gaze, though he absolutely shouldn’t – you were his riduur and there was no reason to feel ashamed or insecure with you. But he couldn’t help worrying: what if he wasn’t what you expected? What if you didn’t find him attractive at all?

Then a movement of your hands drew his attention and he watched, transfixed, as you slowly started to take off your glove, tugging one finger off at a time. Once your hand was freed from the confines of the protective material, you flexed your fingers before lifting both of your palms to his face.

Even though Din was acutely aware of your every move, he still somehow flinched in surprise at your touch, causing you to freeze and search his eyes with the air of concern around you. He quickly gave you a small nod, silently begging you to proceed, and, thankfully, you did. Your fingertips traced his cheeks, so delicately it almost tickled, brushing down the path to his stubble, and then back up to the arch of his nose and eyebrows. Djarin’s eyelids fluttered closed and he let out a shaky breath, giving in to the most amazing sensation that your touch was.

“I knew you had to be the most beautiful being in the galaxy,” you whispered from under your helmet with a voice filled with a plethora of raw emotions. Din regretted not being able to see your face at that moment, but if it would help you feel more comfortable in such a memorable and important situation, he was ready to do anything for you.

“I’m sure you’re a million times more radiant, cyar’ika,” he said back. His voice was weirdly weak and raspy, sounding strangely to him – probably because he knew there was another person hearing him without his helmet on. “Even if I don’t see your face, mesh’la (beautiful), today or ever… The love I have for you will never change or waver. That I promise.”

“It won’t exactly be fair to the Creed if I don’t remove my helmet in front of my husband,” you answered, half-teasing, but Din knew there was a real worry behind your words.

“You know very well there’s nothing said about it in the Creed.” He opened his eyes, offering you a small smile. “And I don’t remember our vows mentioning it, either.”

You clicked your tongue with exasperation, but Din also saw your shoulders relaxing, a sign that some of your nerves ebbed away.

“Gev bic (stop it),” you laughed, letting your hand fall down – but before it could happen, Din caught your wrist and lifted it back to his face. He slowly kissed the inside of your palm, down to the veins disappearing under your sleeve, his eyes fixated on your visor the entire time. His smile grew slightly when he felt a shiver run through you.

“I love you, ner kar’ta,” he whispered. “Even if you’re a half-Hutt under your armor.”

“Don’t push it.”

You let go of his hand and Din’s face fell, fearing that he really went too far. He reached for you but stopped when you straightened up and took a deep breath, your hands going to the last thing that separated you from him – your helmet.

He held his breath and his heart beat erratically as he watched you. He tried not to blink, not wanting to miss the moment when he finally got to see your face. Just the fact that you were willing to do this meant so much to him, but…

Slowly, you took your helmet off and placed it down on the mattress right next to his. Then, a pair of irises gazed into the depths of Din Djarin’s heart.

…you were wrong.

Oh, how wrong you were.

There was no mistaking it that you were by far the most breathtaking sight the Mandalorian had ever laid his eyes on.

The Maker must’ve been overly generous, or maybe favored you, for looking at you… it felt like coming home.

You stared at him with gentle, tentative eyes of the most beautiful color in the world, and Din would’ve gladly lost himself in them. Your lips, so tempting and soft-looking, were parted slightly as you awaited his reaction, but he couldn’t move. He just watched, spellbound, and wondered if this truly is reality and not some cruel, elusive dream.

He hadn’t felt such awe even when he saw Grogu doing his magic for the first time. Hadn’t felt such elation even when a new skin made of beskar was forged just for him. Had never before felt such love in his life.

You were a wonder. A miracle.

“Cyare?”

Your voice sounded almost fearful to your ears, but you couldn’t help it – Din seemed unable to utter even a word, and panic started to flood your veins when you noticed tears gathering in his dark, beautiful eyes. “Din–”

But before you could move away, he slipped off the bed and knelt by your feet. You were so taken aback by this action that you didn’t even react when he cradled both of your hands in his and pressed lingering kisses to your fingers, one after another.

“If I could, I’d marry you all over again,” he rasped, meeting your gaze with so much love and adoration in his brown eyes that it took your breath away. “How did I get so lucky…?”

“I think I’m the lucky one,” you let out a breathless laugh of relief, your pupils darting across the lines and grooves of his face. “You… you’re not just saying that, right?”

“Cyar’ika, look at me.” He gently tilted your chin up, making your eyes meet his. For a second he faltered, parting his lips in wonder at the feeling of your skin under his fingertips, before he swallowed and gazed at you again. “Do you doubt my words?”

No. There was really no questioning his motives. You knew Din was as honest as one could be and there were only your own insecurities at play here. But the longer you looked at him, his expression so full of love and devotion, the less relevant your own doubts were becoming.

You couldn’t think of anything else but him.

“I really want to kiss you,” you whispered instead of answering, and his face broke into a wide, joyous grin. “Can I–?”

The Mandalorian didn’t even wait for you to finish – the second those words left your mouth, he surged forward and pressed his lips to yours forcefully, eliciting a surprised sound out of you, which soon turned into a needy whimper. You didn’t give him a chance to back away and instantly tangled your fingers into his hair, moving clumsily to be closer to him.

But when you attempted to climb onto his lap, your breast plates collided with a metallic clank, forcing the pair of you to put some space between you. Din huffed with frustration, while you laughed and cupped his face in your hands.

“You’re quite impatient for a bounty hunter,” you accused him playfully, nudging your nose with his. You took a deep, calming breath, wanting to surround yourself with the smell of him completely, but your riduur didn’t let you indulge for long.

He moved quickly and, without a warning, kissed you briefly again – and then one more time. It was more like a light peck, and you longed to feel his tongue inside your mouth once more, but at the same time relished in every sensation that his lips brought. Every touch he gave you was something infinitely precious.

“I’ve waited longer than you,” he murmured. His hands were already moving, taking off the beskar on his forearms and shoulders, reaching where he could without removing you from his lap just yet. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, cyar’ika.”

You smiled widely and looked up from his deft fingers to throw another teasing comment, but in one second you lost your train of thoughts.

Because Din was blushing.

The feared Mandalorian’s face – a face you were finally allowed to see whenever you desired – was sprinkled with redness across his cheeks and ears. And you were the cause of that.

The thought of it almost caused your eyes to water.

“What are you looking at, mesh’la?”

Your eyes found him again and you smiled brightly, causing Din’s heart to skip a couple of beats.

You took his stubbly chin in-between your fingers and brought his lips closer, planting a soft kiss there that had the Mandalorian melting. He covered your hand with his, feeling the band on your finger under his own.

A miracle.

“I’m looking at you.”

#din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #din djarin x you #din djarin #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal #din djarin fluff #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin fic #this man needs to be PRAISED he needs to be LOVED and CHERISHED !!!!!#imagine having pedro pascal's face and still being insecure 😔 /j

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tadc-harlequin-au · 9 months ago

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Introducing: the official Dance Rush x Souls-like AU collab!

(credits to @nobody-nexus for the initial sketch of SL!Pomni <3)

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY NOW AND IT'S HERE, IT'S FINALLY HERE!

As I've said before, the Dance Rush x Souls-like collab is a special event to celebrate my birthday. The Amazing Digital Dance Rush is an AU owned by @nobody-nexus, my lovely bf <3, and is ABSOLUTELY worth checking out.

During this event, there wouldn't be changes in the scenery yet. That is, until Pomni asks Caine, from his office desk, what the golden microphone is for.

He then says that he's been "testing out an event to keep things fresh", without having to rely on boss-rushes entirely to entertain the current players, since it might "get boring".

He then whisks Pomni away to an entirely new map, an altered version of the Main lounge of the manor.

(Couldn't finish this one, I got really sick at the time of making this.)

Once Pomni is done exploring, Caine then takes her to the Idols stage, where she'll be facing down with three chosen idols in a third person, bullet-hell styled gameplay mayhem. A "Dance Rush event", if you will. ;)

(Sorry, I couldn't finish this one either. Body aches be damned)

There are three bosses for this event, and they are the DR variants whom are completely AI, and non-sentient.

Defeating "Idol_1" gives Pomni the Dance Rush skin, and an unlockable cyberpunk sword, as well as a new special called "Style break". (For normal players post-canon, they'll get a DR!Pomni NPC, being all sorts of useful from giving out gameplay tips, to offering a second chance on a halfway checkpoint if the player fails the current run.)

Defeating "Idol_2" allows Jax to access the Dance Rush skin, and a new special. (For normal players post-canon, they'll get a DR!Jax NPC, who will openly berate and flirt at the same time. He gives out side quests that allows the players to find stronger upgrades for main game.)

Defeating "Idol_3" allows Caine to change into the Dance Rush outfit. Normal players in post-canon will get a golden microphone, as well as a DR!Caine NPC that is just as wacky as the original is.

(He also finally permits access to the rest of the event's contents, such as a brand new map that's entirely explorable, and filled with mini-games if players wanted a break from main game's contents. He also gives Pomni the option to "mute" the pain system of the game, but warns her that doing this ruins "immersion". Ofc, Pomni doesn't care lmfao)

Both the Agent!Gummigoo and Agent!Moon skins remain locked until Dance Rush!Pomni and Caine are "topped in their high score leaderboards" (via doing a no-hit S+rank run), respectively.

Both the Agents, once unlocked, give out specialized items that aid Pomni during the gameplay, as well as having new rounds of dialogues that are immensely different from their original souls-like counterparts.

Caine never got to work on the others beyond Jax since if this was canon, this event would take place around Pomni's late game.

It's unlikely that this'll be a one-post event, so once I recover from my flu I'll be making more DRxSL content.

#tadc #tadc au #the amazing digital circus #tadc souls like au #dance rush au #the amazing digital souls like au #the amazing digital dance rush #pomni #jax #caine #tadc pomni #tadc caine #tadc jax #digital art #artists on tumblr #sketch #au crossover #IT'S MY BIRTHDAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEE

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hankacadew · 27 days ago

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A copy/paste of a very early morning Reddit essay on Hans’ influence in Henry, aka why I’m a die hard supporter of Hans despite his flaws. Please forgive all typos and grammar issues, it’s literally 3am for me.

Alrighty. Here you have Henry, a survivor fresh from Skalitz. A probable young teenager (I’m in my thirties, all teens are young) who just saw his parents, his girlfriend and his home all taken away from him in one horrible day. He’s fixated on revenge and THE SWORD (a representation of his dead Pa’s honor - getting it back to Sir Dadzig). At this point, his identity is wrapped up in all dead things - his dead family, dead home and people to make dead. Dead dead dead.

Enter a young noble brat who to Henry’s knowledge has suffered no real tragedy but is clearly in need of a good trouncing. His first encounter has Hans cast question on his honor and who he is as a man (see the meeting where Hans butts in). Still sore from this meeting and focused on his quest for the dead, Henry encounters the brat once again while training.

(I’ll be honest, I reloaded a save in my first playthrough just to make sure I beat Hans at bow and sword because my Henry was not gonna let some brat beat him regardless of the lack of player skill)

Hans taunts stir up a bunch of negative emotion targeted at the living - Henry may feel strongly but he doesn’t want Hans dead. He just wants to punch the stupid smirk off his face and after besting him at bow and sword (or after getting his ass kicked by the noble who’s been in training for both most of this life) he finally gets a chance to that evening.

Henry outright ignores what he’s been taught his entire life about the superiority of nobles. Here’s a chance to do something, to vent out all the emotions that are surely beating around in his head, finally a target! My Henry kicked Hans’ ass fair and square until Hanush spectacularly arrives on scene to address the madness and restore a semblance of normal standards.

Henry has no choice but to do what Hanush orders him and clearly the brat isn’t happy either. Cue Henry trotting behind Hans like a somewhat grumpy dog (I think it’s fair to argue canonically, Henry is poorly trained and lacking a horse). Amazingly, the good noble brat gives Henry an unprovoked apology that addresses the proper behavior of a peasant with a noble but has Hans admit his fault. The brat turns out to be someone who has a sense of honor, someone who treats Henry as a little more like an equal than every ounce of training has taught Hans about their relative status.

This is the first time ingame that Henry has a chance ti open up somewhat about Skalitz to someone without the same open wounds and how he feels and Hans is pretty decent about it (if still kind of a dick, classic Hans). They get drunk together and Henry has some real human contact.

Cue the next morning of a much more friendly rivalry, culminating in Hans being dead wrong about boar hunting. He disappears and Henry once again has lost someone….BUT he finds him again. THIS TIME he’s able to do something despite it being terrifying as fuck and he still has very little training. Henry is still bitterly angry and disappointed that he ran away at Skalitz and Hans is the first person he saves.

For the very first time since his world was torn apart, Henry has achieved something very real by himself and Hans is damn grateful. At this point, Hans becomes a living symbol that Henry has a very real impact on the world. Hans would likely be dead without Henry at this point.

I think it’s also worth noting that when Henry finds Hans again, Hans is being brave and defiant and quick witted (I absolutely adore the horrible insults he’s giving to the Cumans). This is the person that Henry rescues. My personal interpretation is that this is the moment that Henry imprints on Hans and the point where Henry is elevated above the rank of peasant in Hans’ eyes.

Henry gets Hans home and is recognized as a HERO by Hanush and the rest of Rattay for saving their bratty lord. He’s gone from being the coward of Skalitz (in his eyes, see how often he talks about not running again). This is a shift back towards the living being a reason for being.

This rescue marks the point where Henry stops being a passive object to be done unto and starts being an active participant influencing the world around him. He receives a horse, he embarks on missions to help people. He’s empowering himself and Hans is the springboard upon which he started this path. He’s still obsessed with revenge but it’s no longer the only thing in his life.

When Hans recovers, he pretty much immediately seeks out Henry for the bath shenanigans. Cue a night of fun and the first time in what will probably be a long series of times humoring Capon’s bullshit (I love all the eye rolling you can hear in Henry’s voice in both games). Next To Godliness is a FUN quest. It’s not about murder or revenge - it’s just you and Hans playing together and getting in trouble together.

This time in the meeting with Hanush, you and Hans were working together, not fighting against each other. It’s a whole shift from the first yelling session. Once again, Hanush assigns you to work together but both of you approach this very differently to the first time, you’re a team this time. It’s also another goal you’re set with Hans that isn’t all about Skalitz and the sword.

This is the quest that unlocks the Hans DLC and you know that’s a whole bunch of fun quests working with Hans that ends up with Henry, tooooootally coincidentally of course, getting a love letter from Hans. I do consider these main quests since you’re required to do them to complete the game (funny how it’s the only required DLC *coughcough* Hansry *coughcough*).

I forgot to mention Capon’s Champion but you can technically skip this one. I do see it as an important part of the relationship too - Henry represents Hans and also gives Hans the opportunity to look good to Hanush.

The next time you see Hans in an official main quest is Night Raid. Once again, you have a goal that is about the living and Hans is right there besides Henry. Once again, Henry saves his noble arse - reinforcing how important Henry is to him. Sure the mission is a failure but Henry gets Hans out alive, again. Henry is a real player on this stage.

Throughout the first game, Hans is a consistent and positive (if occasionally irritating) presence in Henry’s life. He plays a significant role in Henry taking the wounds of Skalitz and rebuilding himself into a real man, a warrior - someone in control of their fate. Hans is his friend, his lord - a living symbol of being alive and living life - it’s commented on in the interviews how Hans brings out the lighter side of Henry.

End the first game.

#hansry #hans capon #kingdom come deliverance

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thedwarrowscholar · 29 days ago

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So, I’m writing a fic and I was wondering accent of Khuzdul would Fili and Kili have (I know for definite they would speak classical khuzdul). Do you think they would have an accent from The Blue Mountains? Or would it be one from Erebor? I know they would also speak the dialect of khuzdul from the blue mountains from just living there their whole lives.

Thank you!!!

Well met!

A thoughtful and wonderfully specific question — just the kind I enjoy most. And one that invites us to peer into both the linguistics and lore of Dwarven life. Let’s dig in.

🧭 Where (and When) Were Fíli and Kíli Born?

Both brothers were born after the fall of Erebor and raised in the Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) — far from the halls of their ancestors.

Fíli was born in T.A. 2859

Kíli followed in T.A. 2864

This places their births nearly 90 years after the refugees of Erebor had fled Smaug’s attack. By then, Ereborian speech patterns were still very much present — but largely maintained by older generations. For young Dwarves like Fíli and Kíli, day-to-day speech would have already been shaped far more by the local Blue Mountains Dwarves, among whom they were raised.

🗣️ What Form of Khuzdul Did They Speak?

They would certainly have been taught Sutumkhuzdul ("Stable Dwarvish") — a.k.a Classical Khuzdul — which remained the prestige variety of the Longbeards, used in formal documents, oaths, and instruction. This was especially likely given their royal lineage as sons of Dís, sister to Thorin Oakenshield.

But just like in our world, a noble education doesn’t override regional influence.

Fíli and Kíli would have spoken Classical Khuzdul with a slight Blue Mountains accent — shaped by their surroundings, their peers, and everyday use.

Fíli and Kíli as seen in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit

🏔️ Features of the Blue Mountains Accent (CK-BM)

This refers specifically to the accent of Classical Khuzdul as spoken in the Blue Mountains — not the separate dialect (more on that below).

Key CK-BM accent features include:

Omission of articles in casual speech (influenced by local dialect)

Velar nasal [ŋ] replacing final “n” — e.g. mann (“letter”) = [mɑnəŋ]

Open vowels, such as long “e” being pronounced as [ɛ:] instead of [e:]

So a sentence like "The letter has arrived at my house" (mann nekha zai zaharê) might come out as:

[mɑnəŋ nɛkʰɑ zɑɪ zʌhɑrɛ:] — softened vowels, nasal ending, and omitted article

🧓 What About the Ereborian Accent?

The Ereborian variant of Classical Khuzdul (CK-ERE) had distinct features:

[z] becoming a stressed [s:] in the onset of words

e.g. zanâtdiya (“her hair”) = [s:ɑnɑ:t.dɪjɑ]

Shifting placement of the schwa in consonant clusters

e.g. imnhu (“his name”) = [ɪmnəhʊ] (Ereborian) vs. [ɪmənhʊ] (Standard)

By the time of the Quest of Erebor (T.A. 2941), those speaking this variant were largely elders, and even among them, it may have been fading. Fíli and Kíli, having spent their entire lives in the Blue Mountains, would very likely not have spoken with Ereborian pronunciation natively — though would very likely have been continuously exposed to it through their mother, uncle and other refugees.

As a side note, in The Hobbit, Thorin refers to Fíli as “the youngest,” though Appendix A reveals that Kíli was in fact five years younger. Whether this is a narrative oversight or simply Thorin forgetting in the moment (neither dwarf had reached 85 at the time of the quest), it’s a charming reminder of generational distance.

🏔️ Accent vs. Dialect — Not the Same Thing!

It’s worth pausing here to make an important distinction: Fíli and Kíli would not have spoken the Blue Mountain Dialect (BMK), also known as Khagalkhuzdul.

This dialect is spoken primarily by Firebeards and Broadbeams — the ancient clans native to the Blue Mountains — and it represents the greatest divergence from Classical Khuzdul across all Dwarven speech.

Among its traits:

Complete lack of articles

Distinct verb conjugations in all tenses

e.g. “You walk” is sabsini (CK) vs. ubzûnzu (BMK)

Presence of additional vowels ([ø], [æ]) and unique consonants (“v,” “p,” “zh”)

Use of velar nasal [ŋ] and voiced glottal fricative [ɦ]

Significantly extended vowels in compound words

While Fíli and Kíli would likely have heard this dialect spoken frequently — especially in markets or cross-clan events — it was not their native speech. Their royal education, Longbeard heritage, and cultural context anchored them firmly in Classical Khuzdul, albeit with a slight local accent.

Blue Mountains and Dwarf Hall

🌍 A Shared Tongue, with Subtle Shifts

While regional accents and minor variations exist across Dwarven clans and holds, it’s important to remember that Khuzdul changes very slowly — far more slowly than the tongues of Men or Elves.

Tolkien himself wrote (HoME X – Of Dwarves and Men):

“The change in Khuzdul… was like the weathering of hard rock compared with the melting of snow.”

Even in the late Third Age, all Dwarves could converse with ease in their ancestral tongue — and often adjusted their speech to suit their audience.

Motivations for shifting speech could include:

Formality or ritual

Quoting from written texts

Cross-clan communication

Clarifying a point

Seeking approval or making an impression

As noble heirs, Fíli and Kíli would no doubt have been trained in this linguistic adaptability — likely slipping into more polished, “neutral” Classical Khuzdul in official or diplomatic contexts, while speaking in a softer, (even BM-accented) register at home.

🧱 In Summary:

Fíli and Kíli were born in the Blue Mountains decades after Erebor’s fall

They very likely would have spoken Classical Khuzdul with a Blue Mountains accent

They did were not native Blue Mountain Dialect speakers, which is a separate linguistic tradition

The Ereborian accent was fading and mainly spoken by elder exiles

All Dwarves still understood one another easily in Khuzdul, and speech could be adjusted as needed

As royal sons of Durin’s line, they would have been taught to speak with precision, pride, and adaptability

📜 An Important Note on Source and Speculation

While much of what we’ve discussed above is grounded in Tolkien’s writings, especially in The War of the Jewels, Of Dwarves and Men, and various Appendices, it’s important to acknowledge that the details on dialects and pronunciation — such as those related to Blue Mountain speech — are extrapolations.

They are based on:

Patterns Tolkien established

Real-world linguistic evolution (especially Semitic languages)

Earlier versions of Neo-Khuzdul that had to be consolidated with more recent updates

Cultural distinctions among the Dwarven clans

Descriptive phonology inferred from Khuzdul roots and root clusters

So while this reconstruction is informed and consistent with Tolkien's world, it remains largely speculative — a scholarly guess, if you will, crafted with care, rather than direct canon.

Ever at your service, The Dwarrow Scholar

#neo-khuzdul #fili and kili #khuzdul

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nyarumie · 9 months ago

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hii dropping by to say i love your works sm !! since you mentioned abt narumi requests, id like to make one :3

how aboutt narumi randomly feeling hungry during his game night and when he goes to find food he sees reader! so they end up making/getting food tgt all domestic and fluffy (if you’re cooking bro is definitely not thinking abt wifing u up uhhhh), feel free to create any setting you’d like for the scenario hihi

(also this might or might not be an excuse for me to ask u to become moots aha)

Food Impact! (Oneshot)

narumi gen x reader — pure fluff, more fluff, and even more fluff! sweet and gentle narumi, established relationship, the kitchen staff are eavesdropping on them, spoiler alert: they made a mess in the kitchen.

Author's Note: Readers, please search up the food name references I included here to get the entire picture of what they're trying to make <3

Author's Reply: hi, rye! I think we're already mutuals (at least, it's what my notif bar says? i know im already following u tho! i love your works too <3 it inspired me to write and post too, to be honest) thank you for this request i totally had fun writing it and helped me with my writer's block (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ id love to interact more too!

Cross-posted on ao3. Ask box is open, and masterlist can be found on my pinned. Have fun reading, everyone!

The sight that greeted Hasegawa has an unusual factor.

Stacked yamazon boxes, check.

Littered cans and bottles, check.

Neglected blankets and pillows, check.

An unbothered Captain on his futon playing his BS5, gone.

Or maybe he's just being dramatic. Narumi is actually there, albeit not stuck in front of his huge ass TV for once. Rather, he's shockingly seated behind his office table, adorning a serious expression while giving his laptop an intense focus.

His Vice Captain is rendered speechless. Was he seeing things? The First Division’s Captain… is actually doing work?

“Hasegawa. What is it? I’m busy here.” he said, hands busy on his laptop.

Oh, he's been staring at him for the past 5 minutes, mouth agape. Regaining his composure, he stated his business. “Your presence is requested for an interview. I believe I sent you the notice first thing in the morning.” But is it right to be disturbing him when he’s finally working—a rarer than once in a blue moon occasion?

“Requested, not required. Don't care, won't care.”

“...Then I’ll ask her to do it in your stead.”

“Don't. She's helping me with my work.”

Sighing, Hasegawa turned around to leave, surprisingly not picking Narumi up like a helpless cat to make him attend the interview.

Once Narumi heard the door click, the corner of his lips turned up, unable to stop the smug, triumphant grin from forming. “Hah, too easy! I’m busy working alright, my ass is practically burning from sitting here all day!”

In truth, the laptop Narumi specifically requested when he was promoted as Captain is a gaming laptop. He had somehow convinced the higher ups that its specifications are far greater than anything most officers can handle and is fitting for his position as Captain. Not that they know what it really is, of course.

He has been playing Jenshin Ympact the moment his office shift started. You had practically begged him yesterday to grind for you, saying that you’ll handle his paperworks worth a week’s job as long as he gets your desired character and weapon. “Why won’t she just top-up on this game? We have all the money to get every single character. What a bummer.”

Not that he understands why you’re willing to shoulder his paperworks over playing a game. Nothing’s enjoyable about paperworks at all! But you complained that your back was hurting from grinding, and who was he to reject such a good offer? That means a grumpy Hasegawa would appear less on his doorstep.

Complaints can be heard from him as he speedruns a side quest, mumbling about how the NPCs are too helpless. “What the… why do most NPCs ask for food here? What kind of adventurer doesn’t bring any food with them?”

Karma seemed to have hit him, his stomach growling too loud for his liking.

Ignoring it, he continued, still insulting every single unimportant character here and there. “Boo. Shut up. Don't like you. Go away. I hope you get eaten by a slime—”

And an even angrier sound came from his stomach.

“Fine! I’ll grab something to eat.”

What he meant by grab something to eat, is grab you to get the both of you something to eat. He refuses to eat anything without you, finding it more enjoyable doing mundane things with you around. His stomach has been empty since morning, wanting to get an early start on his grind.

He sulkily made his way towards your own room, knowing that you've been just as cooped up as him in your respective offices.

Not bothering to knock, he calmly opened the door, instantly finding you still working on his paperworks, desk situated across your door.

His familiar presence caught your attention, eyes lighting up in joy at the sight of him. “Gen! What brings you here? Do you need anything?”

Without a word, he gently grabbed your wrist and pulled you up, making you drop your pen in the process.

Confused, you tried calling him again. “Gen?”

“Mhm… heard you. Just come with me.”

“Alright.” You smiled, his uncharacteristically calm demeanor endearing you. He was often like this with you, as if your very existence is his source of peace.

A comfortable silence lingered as you let him lead you to his your destination. Halfway there, you finally recognized the route to the cafeteria.

‘Oh, he's just hungry.’ you thought. ‘But wouldn't he prefer instant meals or deliveries instead of going all the way here?’

But instead of going straight to the self-service counter, he turned and made his way to the kitchen instead. Wait, are you even allowed there? Sure, he's the Captain, but he's not a cook!

He finally let go of your wrist, unceremoniously opening the large door, earning shocked stares from the kitchen staff and making them pause their job.

You pulled at his sleeve. “Gen—”

“Is there an available cooking station here?” he asked.

The staff looked at each other, obviously baffled. “Uhm, Captain Narumi, sir; there is. But it's at the far end of the Kitchen…” a cook said, pointing towards the station.

“Good. We’ll be using it undisturbed.”

Gen continued making his way forward, with you holding the cuff of his sleeve to ease your nerves. You offered an apologetic look at every person you made eye contact with as you both made your way through. He still hasn't said anything as to why you're here of all places, confusing you further.

He came to an abrupt stop once you reached ‘your’ station. It's time to get to the bottom of this.

“Gen, did you say we'll be using this cooking station? Are we actually cooking?”

He faced you, his arms crossing. Suddenly, he looked a bit bashful. “Yeah. That's what I said.”

Raising your brow, you tried prying more information from him. “And what exactly are we gonna cook?”

“Ahem. So I saw this food while playing Jenshin Ympact…” He pulled out his phone, showing you a screenshot of the food.

Invigorating Kitty Meal.

Giggles threatened to spill from your lips. No wonder he wants to make it yourselves.

He swiped the photo to another screenshot. “And there's this other one. You love mushrooms, I thought you'd want something simple to eat.” Milky Mushroom Crisp Tower. How cute, he was also thinking of you!

“They look pretty fun and easy to make. However… Both of us don't know how to cook, Gen.” you frowned.

“But you just said it looks easy to make. There's two of us, that should be good enough, yeah?” he pouted.

Fondly, you sighed. He’s being too adorable right now, you just can't say no to him. “Alright, we’ll try. If it turns out good, you’ll marry me, won't you?” you joked.

He brightened up at this, pushing his hair back, determined to make his kitty meal. “Consider it done.”

After thoroughly examining the screenshots, you personally approached a few people stationed in the kitchen, asking them which ingredients would best suit your planned meal. With a couple of pieces of advice here and there, you and Gen started to put the plan in motion.

He passes you a rather large bowl full of rice, busying yourself with shaping it to form a cat, filling its inside with mayo tuna. He tasked himself with (trying) to cook the steak while watching the eggs boil, which you doubted at first, earning you a complain from him (‘Hey! You're on the same boat as I am; can't cook, can't question!’)

Cooking the steak is quite the task, so you decided to handle your mushroom toast yourself.

You poorly sliced up the mushroom and tossed it in a small pot filled with a cup of thick cream and easily melted cheese. Not hard at all!

You leave it be and checked on Gen, who you find struggling with not burning the steak. “Need help?”

“I’m fine! It's just that this is totally not beginner friendly, that's all!”

“...Gen, the eggs are overcooked.” A series of curses left his mouth as he hurriedly took them off the boiling water, and his nose scrunched up on the smell of something burning.

“Your mushroom! The heat is turned all the way up!” Now it was your turn to panic.

After a couple of errors from both your ends, it was safe to say that you've finally reached the final task of your newly found skill.

You were carefully carving some seaweed, cheese, and ham as the final touches to his rice kitty’s facial features. Gen was standing behind you, arms wrapped around your waist as he watched your art, humming to himself. He seemed pleased despite the mess you both made.

“Let's cook again someday.” he said.

You snort, “Speaking too soon? You won't say that if this turns out bad.”

“Nahh. Not if I’ll marry you.”

You laugh, taking it as a joke. You feel him perch his head on your shoulder, face turning into a frown. “I wasn't joking! Here, have this.”

He took your hand, putting a seaweed ring on your finger. You giggled again, your heart can't take him sometimes. “I didn't mean to laugh at you. You're being too adorable today! Let's eat these right here before they spoil.”

He looked too sad to see the kitty get devoured, sulking despite how good it surprisingly tasted. And yours wasn't too bad either, glad that you were able to salvage whatever was left from the burnt mushroom sauce.

“ ‘M definitely gonna marry you someday.” he suddenly said.

Your head whipped towards him so fast, only to find him munching on his meal, face serious. “Food so good it got you saying that again?”

He shook his head. “Don't you want me as your husband?” he whined.

You felt your face flush, suddenly aware that he meant what he said. “Go put on a real ring on me first. Then I'll take you as my husband.” you teased.

Looking thoughtful, he hummed. “I can wait just fine. It arrives tomorrow.”

Wait. What?

“What arrives… tomorrow?”

“The ring.” he said, matter-of-factly.

You faced him fully, mouth wide open. He’s dropping this information way too casually!

Sensing your stare, he also turned to look at you, food still in hand. “What? If you're worried about the size, I got it covered.”

“You're crazy. When did you purchase it?”

“Hmm… a couple of weeks ago. When I heard you scolding Hasegawa for disturbing me, saying I needed rest for carrying No. 1’s eyes on a daily basis. No one dares to scold him like that! So I decided to promote you as my wife!” he proudly said.

You tug at the front of his clothes, pulling him closer. “I want to kiss you right now.”

He set his food down, placing his hands on your waist. His eyes seemed to sparkle with mirth. “Then, as the Captain of the First Division, I grant you special permission to kiss me.”

And with that, you closed the distance between you, feeling the both of you smile in your kiss.

Bonus:

Unbeknownst to the both of you, the kitchen staff were eavesdropping the entire time. Who would’ve thought that this is how good their Captain's romantic life is?

You two were so absorbed in your own little bubble, failing to notice the suppressed squeal from a staff that was tasked to spy on you when you kissed. Seems like you forgot there were other people around you.

The staff went back to the others, meeting their expectant gazes. Wordlessly, they gestured their ring finger and acted out a kiss. It was comical, but the message was well-received nonetheless. It became an unspoken rule to keep what happened that night amongst themselves, wanting to respect your and the Captain's joyous moment.

#kaiju no. 8 #axia writes for fun #kn8 x reader #kn8 writing #gen narumi #kaiju number 8 #narumi gen x reader #narumi fluff #narumi x reader #narumi gen #narumi gen fluff

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cowboy-robooty · 2 months ago

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Nobody understands me when i say that Japan's character growth in his quest for love is that he needs to learn to appreciate and feel grateful for the relationships and love he already has and through that learn to be satisfied with the Best Friend love he has with America. THEY ALWAYS THINK THAT THIS IS A BAD ENDING FOR JAPAN OR SOME SORT OF PUNISHMENT..... NO THE FUCK? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

I actually really love Japan hes one of my favorite characters and because i love him so much im acutely aware of how hes lowkey a bad person LOL. His entire shtick is that he's polite and sidesteps any sort of conflict and acts very Japanese of course, but in his head he has ruthless thoughts about others that he wouldn't dare to say outloud. it has been shown that although japan would never admit it because it's a very uncomfortable thing to face, he is in essence looking down on everyone internally. Because refusing to be honest with others out of politeness is always going to be partially because "you aren't worth the potential conflict involved with stepping closer to me". He also has a tendency to build up ideas of people in his head and then desire that idea rather than the actual person. Like how he thought highly of italy before their first meeting and his fantasies of being bros with mf switzerland wwwww. Once he actually knows these people his idea is broken and he becomes disillusioned until he either A) goes his separate way or B) slowly grows to like them as the person they are. And because of this trait he is totally the type who keeps thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. Bro is the type of guy who spends too much time mulling over all the hang ups he has with the people close to him and get attached to the idea of a perfect person who wouldn't have all these annoying bad traits. I think Japan also has a more traditional mindset about relationships as in hes not the type who has ever really thought about every form of love people experience is inherently unique. He probably subscribes to the social norm of thinking that romantic love is the "final form" of love and thats why hes on his quest to date somebody because it's a mix of thinking that he needs that in his life to complete it and also just wanting somebody to fuck without being a whore in his head. Thats why he always fucking fails because hell never be able to secure a proper relationship cuz people cant read his mind and he doesn't realize that you cant be close to somebody unless you let them know what you really think even if you disagree. I think Italy is his strongest romantic crush ever by a large margin because italy is one of the few people who he met and went omg what the fuck *ranks italy down to dislike*. But over time because they're in the same gang he was forced to keep interacting and learned to love the person italy is in a more genuine sense because he was already aware and acknowledged the flaws he has. I think this is also why America is Japans absolute best friend ever. Because even stronger than italy japan straight up fucking hated this bitch and was like PLEASE GOD JUST LEAVE ME ALONEEEEE. and now theyre super tight bros because japan learned to love americas virtues as well of course but their relationship is special because japan would only ever be fully ruthless and transparent in his thoughts to america. he would only ever tell america "DONT YOU WANT TO STOP BEING SUCH A FATASS ALL THE TIME?" only with america would he be honest and go "no. i dont want to eat this disgusting cotton candy fruitti tootie ice cream flavor what is wrong with you why would you ever chose that when you KNOW you'll be sharing this ice cream with another person" if anybody else did this hed be like "ah.. ermm.... uh.... maybe.. we'd like to choose something else-" *cut to him paying for a 5 gallon tub of cotton candy fruitti tootie ice cream*. But anyways America is asexual in my truth and isn't interested in romantic love but for him being best friends is the highest form of platonic love for him and perfectly fulfilling. I think Japan also feels the highest form of platonic love for America and can be fulfilled by this but it's only his own inability to appreciate what he has in front of him that holds him back. Because he thinks well thats just my best friends its not the same thing as a BOYFRIEND that he thinks it isn't enough even though it really is.

I also think that Japan had a crush on America but it got shot down IMMEDIATELY and thats why his biggest crush is on italy because italy prefers to pretend he doesn't know (cuz he likes japan paying for all his meals) and just lets japan continue to grow his fantasy LOL WHAT A CRUEL GUY!! I don't think japans crush on america is a big deal either because americas response was like "WHOA DUDE... IM MAD FLATTERED BUT UH.. WELL.... YOU'RE A LITTLE TOO LACKING IN THIS DEPARTMENT FOR MY TASTES BROSKI *taps Japan's chest* WE STILL DOWN FOR FORTNITE LATER?". But yes, does this make more sense now? It's not a punishment that japan isn't mean to find what hes seeking because really even if he found romantic love hed just become disillusioned again. hes in love with the idea of dating somebody not actually dating them and is happiest when he learns through the power of best broship that he already has a sincere genuine connection right there with him.

As for the sexual dysfunction part. that is his actual eternal curse. Sorry I couldn't mention it before because people would see that keyword and disregard everything else i was explaining. Emotional relationship wise he is fine but i do believe in his past life he was the meteor that killed the dinosaurs or maybe had isekai crimes or some shit that has made it so in his current life he is cursed to never seme. It is the price he pays for his past sins. But its ok tho because japan is a freaky ass hentai guy and tbh he does not care much about emotional attachment in regards to sex like thats two different things for him ok he's my gooning god and will always be crying and screaming because nobody will wear a sailor uniform with cat ears and let him seme. uke as a result of negative karma

#robooty bible scripture #ameripan

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narrativelysignificantturtleduck · 1 year ago

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something that makes sokka extremely adhd relatable is that he's constantly looking for his Thing, the one Thing he's good at or useful for that makes up for any failings or flaws or ways he just can't measure up to others. at the beginning of the show he defines himself by being the oldest boy in the village & best warrior, but then he gets his ass kicked by zuko and suki and sees aang's raw power and he can't exactly think fighting is his special skill anymore. but he still thinks he has to be defined by fighting ('man of the house' daddy issues) so he calls himself the guy with the boomerang bc that's turned out to be his most useful and versatile and unique weapon, the one that other people can't outclass him at (after all, it's his most successful attack in his fight with zuko). when he loses it in "avatar day" he explicitly says it's like losing a key part of his identity and the moment katara goes "hey you're good at solving mysteries" he's like "yeah! i'm a detective! that's my new thing! and gets a new set of objects to signify it ("i believe in the power of stuff"). but detective sokka doesn't last bc throughout the entire episode he and katara are pretty equally matched in detective skills and he gets his boomerang back anyway. failed experiment.

and throughout all of this, he's figured out that people find his insistance on getting them fed & his grumpy comments funny and so he begins defining himself as the meat and sarcasm guy, and when he's a tough spot in "bitter work", bargaining with the universe to get him help, he offers that up as all he's got to give. it's obviously a Joke that he immediately asks for meat after telling the universe he'll give it up but it's also pretty indicative of how much he clings to these identities. it's all he's got (he thinks), of COURSE he can't actually give it up. they stuck that boy in a hole for 22 minutes and it revealed so much about how he sees himself.

at some point (likely around "the library" when he takes initiative to come up with a fire nation invasion plan) he also becomes the plan guy, the idea guy, and the gaang find themselves looking to him for leadership. this is perhaps the closest to fully encompassing sokka that any of his "[blank] guy" labels get, since coming up with plans involves planning when and how to fight (boomerang guy) & how to get everyone fed (meat), and people not following his plans is a major source of frustration (sarcasm).

this all culminates in "sokka's master", where the show finally names the underlying insecurity driving this quest - that he's a nonbender. katara being the last waterbender meant she was in danger and that keeping her safe was top priority, and even though hakoda and kya wouldn't have played favorites sokka probably felt a little like the unfavorite child for not being special like her. he lacks an ability, and believes his life has less value bc of it. almost like somebody with a disability and internalized ableism

(interesting, one of the people who most consistently mocks sokka for being a nonbender is toph, early on. toph has a lot of internalized ableism herself, a fear of vulnerability bc she doesn't want to perceived as weak like her parents thought she was. her bending is her disability aid, the thing that allows her to be stronger than people think, so she dismisses a nonbender until she learns better.)

piandao's response to sokka's lack of self-worth is not to train him to be great at one thing, but to introduce him to a variety of different arts, show him that his value lies not in having any one skill but in his capacity to learn and grow. there's no single thing that makes him worthy. it isn't even the combination of all of them that makes him worthy. he simply is worthy.

and i don't know if this is a unique narrative in fiction or anything but it really means a lot to me that sokka doesn't have One Thing that "makes up" for him not being a bender. he's of course extremely skilled and prodigious at many things he does in the show but there's no one savant talent that "justifies" him being in the group and i feel like so many disability narratives - especially for kids - go that route and i really appreciate that atla doesn't and simply says people are valuable because they are valuable, not because of their special abilities

#nina's personal log #sokka #seeing 'avatar day' again reminded me i had this in the drafts #ALSO i think toph is a different disability narrative than sokka but also more nuanced than typical this is NOT saying hers is bad #it's very good #nd atla tag

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themaudlinmimic · 3 months ago

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High Effortposting about my Favourite Fantasy Book Series

A lot of pixels have been spilled on the inherent comedic potential of a character being in the wrong genre. More often than not, this is spent on stuff like that one post about how Sherlock would thrive in an isekai setting or how Columbo would crush the death note mystery. That kind of thing. But in terms of characters quite clearly in the wrong genre, and the interesting stories that can arise from this, I have a bit of an oddball pick.

Deltora Quest is a children's fantasy series which any australian worth their salt has hopefully read. The story is about a young boy and his travelling companions assembling a mystical artefact to defeat the dark lord. The issue being that the dark lord is an insanely powerful sorcerer who has lived for centuries, conquered the entire land so slowly nobody realised it had happened until too late, and rules with an army of monsters and grunts that do his dark bidding. In the end, he is of course defeated by the fully assembled Belt of Deltora and the powerful warding magic it represents, but it takes some time for his influence to fully leave the land.

How was it that such a powerful overlord was defeated? Was it because he failed to account for the indomitable human spirit? His inability (mostly) to make shapeshifters that didn't have a glaringly obvious tell? The fact that evil shall fall and good shall triumph as a base rule of most fantasy?

Well, sure. But I think it's mainly because he's not actually a sorcerer, but a mad scientist in entirely the wrong genre.

Let's start with the basics. Magic in this series can generally be classified into two categories: quirky little oddities that are largely bound to a single place or family, and Real Shit. There are springs of water which can let you see dreams, honey that gives you superspeed if you're a horse, and the actual literal hulk living out his days as a travelling salesman. Baubles, in short. There are also the ancient gems of Deltora, powerful talismans that can ward off all evil, and the sacred city of Tora, home to endless magic and miracles. These two categories are fairly set: the former can appear anywhere but needs cleverness to exploit, and the latter require very specific circumstances to actually work but are basically unstoppable. Magic is either widely applicable but weak, or rare and impossible to use without specific pre-requisites but incredibly strong.

The Shadow Lord, in no particular order, displays the following magical capabilities:

The construction of extremely painful projectile weapons from frog venom and careful construction.

The large scale creation of obedient armies of near-identical almost humans, show explicitly to be grown in "vats".

The ability to speak over long distances and record sounds and sights using a magic mirror.

The creation of vast machinery that billows out smoke and poisons the land.

Accelerated "evolution" and "mutation" (sic) of base creatures by exposure to a strange type of glowing rock.

As a last resort, in the final book of the final series, an actual literal self-replicating matter eating grey goo that can only be stopped by the heat of pure dragonfire.

I'm not certain that he's a sorcerer as well, but it's definitely possible. There are actual no-shit knowledge based sorcerers in this setting, magic is something that can be learned if you are very old and very lucky. It might help explain some of his stranger abilities, such as existing in a non-corporeal form. But what he's capable of obviously goes beyond that. My hunch is that there is a difference between the magic he has learned and the technology he wields, in that one could probably be replicated by even normal people given time and resources, but it's a difference nobody in the setting (maybe not even him) is aware of.

As for his motivations, he doesn't attack Deltora out of some ancient grudge. He is aggressively pragmatic about it. He wants the place for its vast natural resources, and its favorable ports that shall allow him to send vast legions of warships. He's the estranged disfavored son of a noble family, if the deep lore is to be believed, and that's some prime mad scientist material if I ever heard it. He has a history of encountering beautiful magical things, such as dragons and the singing sisters, and creating false versions of them when he couldn't bend the original to his will. I'm not arguing just based on word association with scifi bullshit here. There's themes to this. Whenever given the opportunity, he behaves like a mad scientist would.

And as for how he ultimately gets defeated? Magic. Again and again, it's magic. He can't breach Tora, so he besieges it and cuts it off from the rest of the country with subtle manipulations. He can't destroy the belt, so he scatters the pieces of it. When he is defeated for the first time, it's with a magic belt. When he's briefly taken out a second time, it's with a magical flute. While my memories of his third appearance are hazy, you can bet it was magic that stopped him then as well. He doesn't understand magic beyond a surface level, beyond his own tricks, he can't truly replicate it, and he can't stand against it.

The Shadow Lord is a villain in the wrong genre. And this is his greatest strength just as it is his greatest weakness. This is why you'll never win, Shadow Lord. None of that nonsense about good triumphing over evil: the entire setting is just an outside context solution to your outside context problem. But if it's any consolation, I'm sure that somewhere out there, there's a foul sorcerer trapped in an old world university with a stitched up corpse and a lightning rod wondering how the hell he got there as well.

#deltora quest #I drop essays only occasionally #but when I do it's because I had a *really* neat idea and need the world to know

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trainwiz · 12 days ago

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Sotha Sil Expanded 3.0 is now out!

It's been 11 years since the last update to Sotha Sil Expanded, and I'm finally back to bring it up to Todd's high standards (as well as apply a decade's worth of professional experience, assets, and new modding tools to it).

This features a HUGE amount of fixes, new features, new models, new meshes, new voice acting, new signage, new tubes, and generally aims to address the myriad of problems people had.

Is it still a giant puzzle-filled clockwork hell?

No shit.

Am I going to subject you to needless (keyword needless) suffering?

No. My back hurts and I make estimated tax payments, I'm above that now.

So come and take a trip back to 2012, when we were all bright eyed and hopeful, the internet thought Homestuck could still possibly be good, and Sotha Sil wasn't an eight foot tall brass heartthrob with enough self-insert smut to make even Vivec blush who also invented Tamriel's guns (I mean he still could be, guns are neat).

Full changes include:

The sewers of Sotha Sil have been replaced with a new area and memory matching puzzle, which stars a returning lore character and favorite of mine. If you don't like him, that's fine. Just know that I'm in your walls.

Fabrevar and Gestalt now have new voices (with Gestalt integrating the Gestalt Revoiced mod).

Tons of additional detailing and lighting in various cells.

The sewers still exist as an optional side area now, with their own reward.

The entire Clockwork City and Fabricant Foundry now have signposts to help you better navigate my deranged nonsense.

The Fabricant Foundry now provides telekinetic worker rings, to better help sort through the various deadly garbage you'll be faced with.

Fabricant Foundry puzzles now have lights that indicate when a sector is repaired and item weights have been rebalanced.

While killing mad fabricants in the slums will still cause the denizens to hate you, there is now a new quest that will allow you to seek penance and forgiveness for your horrible actions. To begin, talk to the Archcanon after you royally screwed the pooch.

New models for things like power cores, the Clockwork City's sun, as well as improved textures for things like the fabricant Tribunal.

Various ambient sounds have been replaced to be more modern and less grating.

Guide fabricants have been added to each district of the city, who can provide helpful directions.

Your strength attribute can be used to bypass several small puzzles, including allowing you to break glass, carry more garbage in the disposal area, and more.

Various areas in the city and dungeon that could previously softlock you now have ways and ramps out of them.

Added Sotha Sil's pauldrons, robe, staff, and crown once the main quest is complete. All of these are vastly more powerful in the hands of a master enchanter, much like Brass Daddy himself.

Added various missing icons for items in game, such as quartz ore.

Sotha Sil's mask (now his crown) has a new enchantment and powers.

Changed Subori's quest to be about following various bottles.

The runaway train sidequest now has a nonviolent solution.

The Chamber of Soleh is now a single area, with more queues for the invisible bridge puzzle.

Added sound queues to the radio tower box collection sidequest.

Added non-sneaking based solution to the Slums main quest.

Industrial district main quest now involves tracking down visible lightning blasts, and has multiple solutions for various stages in the quest.

Temple main quest has been shortened and made less tedious, including reducing the radius and locations of the liches and removing various pointless stages.

Added new original artifacts in Sotha Sil's Lab.

The Vault of Magnus will allow you to bypass its puzzles provided you have mastery (100 >) in the associated skill.

The Valley of Udok's puzzle has been redone to be more navigable and based around color matching, and is no longer instant death upon failure.

Vast amounts of optimizations done in various areas, including the Clockwork City itself (which now runs at playable framerates!)

A huge amount of new models, including signposts, lanterns, TUBES, wires, spheres, tunnels, and more, all appropriate or based off the existing Sotha Sil tileset.

Imperfections, Fyr Manor Modules, and Pieces of God are now able to be detected via the Detect Key spell effect.

Fixed issue where augmentations didn't work.

Fixed various script issues that would cause the mod to not work in OpenMW.

Reduced number of enemies throughout the mod, except where appropriate.

Hall of Delirum's meshes are now separate from Ghostfence meshes, allowing better compatability.

Fixed bad integration errors that prevented various doors from working.

Almalexia will now reset herself if you Darth Maul her off the ledges of the final battle arena. You have to do it PROPERLY, with swords, like Todd intended.

Fixed various bad colliders that could cause you to fall through stairs.

Fixed mismatched icons on ceramic armor.

Fixed missing textures for various meshes.

Fixed softlock that occurred with moon sugar crates in the Residential main quest.

Fixed exploit that would allow for infinite Ceramic pauldrons from the High foremer.

Fixed quests that wouldn't mark themselves as complete.

Fixed issue where the Sanctum of Serlyn couldn't be completed.

Fixed lighting issues in the depths.

Fixed issue where various lifts wouldn't function correctly, at least visually speaking.

#morrowind #sotha sil #sotha sil expanded #morrowind mods

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thefirstknife · 10 months ago

Text

The Thread Unfurls Against the Clocks: Saint-14 and how we saved him

Hello. It's time. I already did one summary of how we saved Saint, but I want to go even more in-depth because I later realised that so much of this is unavailable and also happened so long ago that most people don't even know where to look for it and what to look for. I also want to address all the adjacent lore like the stuff about the Sundial and also how it all relates to the current plot.

Finally, I want this to serve as an explanation that there's something very weird going on and that the Saint we have is the real Saint. I've seen people already super resigned after this week's story, simply accepting that there was a reveal that he is truly the "wrong" Saint. I want to analyse all we have on Saint in-depth and focus on how we saved him to show the level of detail involved because I think it's important to understand things in the episode.

Obviously, really compelling lore changes can happen and work out, but in this case I'm just not feeling it, for various reasons. We'll see, but I still think this is worth putting together and that we have plenty of indications that we saved him "correctly" so to speak.

Saint is a unanimously beloved character and one that is so closely linked to our player character as well. The setup for his return was established so long ago and was kept consistent the entire time. I feel like the stuff in Echoes is almost like a culmination of it all, as well as a reminder about what we've done. We'll suffer for a bit for sure but there is no doubt in my mind that Saint will come from this safe and healed. No matter what ends up being revealed, I believe he will be fine.

Contents! Long post under. Spoilers for Echoes Act 2, mostly just in the Echoes section.

Intro

Curse of Osiris quest

Season of Dawn

What's up with the Sundial?

Echoes

Intro

I'm not sure how familiar people are with the full scope of Saint-14, but he's been a character since the beginning. We didn't know much about him at all; the first mention was in vanilla D1 in this grimoire about the Darkness, listing what various characters think about it. Saint's thoughts:

Saint-14's Position argues that the Darkness was an invading armada, an alien force of incredible - but tangible - power. Some adherents believe that this armada sprang from species rejected or discarded by the Traveler for their sins.

All things considered, he wasn't that far off! Really cool detail, but this lore was referenced in TFS, in the lore book Chirality, and especially Saint's bit:

* Saint-14's Position is the most eminently practical of the bunch, no matter how the man himself protests that such an obvious facet of the truth doesn't require a formal philosophical stance to be named for him.

There's 10 years separating these lore pieces! But they're still being referenced because there are some incredible nerds writing this.

This doesn't tell us much about Saint, besides that he's thinking in very practical terms. He views the Darkness as something that can be fought back. Note that at the start we don't know anything else about him, not even if he's a Guardian. In House of Wolves, we get this lore where the author (the Speaker) is going off about Osiris. We get a little piece about Saint; Saint-14 suggested that Osiris should become Vanguard Commander and also vouched for Osiris. This was the first piece of info that these two are familiar with each other. How far we've come since!

After that, we get his helmet as an exotic in The Taken King (though it has no lore other than the flavour text) and a little bit of insight into him with the first proper lore tab that actually features him as a character. It shows his iconic headbutt and ends with him deciding to follow Osiris to Mercury. A few little details are mentioned in flavour text on the following items, mostly quotes about or from Saint: 1, 2, 3, 4. Number 3 is interesting:

"Stand with your back to the Wall, and not even the Darkness itself will move you." —Saint-14

Remember that!

There's a few more in Rise of Iron, again, just flavour text. He's really funny here, and being his usual heroic self here. That's it for his stuff in D1. Saint-14 was some sort of historic figure, he was a Titan, he fought in historic battles, he fought against the Eliksni and he had some sort of connection with the Speaker and Osiris. He was a practical man, a warrior and a protector.

He wasn't really a full character or anything and only had a few quotes and one lore tab where he actually does something. But the stage was set! He was clearly a character they wanted to explore and they did, in Curse of Osiris.

Curse of Osiris quest

Curse of Osiris returned his helmet as an exotic item and immediately gave us hints about the expansion of Saint-14's character and where they're leading him. The lore tab on the exotic is a conversation between Cayde-6 and Lord Shaxx where Cayde-6 insists that Saint is not dead, while Shaxx is just kind of resigned to it. Cayde also notes that Saint was a "weirdo:"

C6: No one ever put down a Kell faster than he could. But man, he was a real weirdo. SX: Eccentricity was his strength. C6: Talking about the Speaker like you're related to him is eccentric. Claiming he's seen the future, that he fought Six Fronts fueled on the idea that some Guardian savior is coming? That's insane.

Wait a minute. Saint-14 claimed he's seen the future and that he believed in "some Guardian savior"? What's that about? Wink wink. Nudge nudge. To make things even more obvious, the remaining conversation is... about the Young Wolf:

SX: Belief is a hell of a thing. C6: Sure, yeah. One Guardian's going to fix everything. Kick Crota off the Moon. Make it look like us Vanguard know our head from our hindquarters. Hey, where are you going? SX: One of the new recruits from Old Russia I've had my eye on—entering the Crucible for the first time. C6: Hey, maybe they're the one. We'll call 'em Crota's End.

Maybe Cayde should've started making prophecies too! But yeah. This was the first proper hint about what they cooked up for Saint's story. Saint has apparently seen the future and believed in a "Guardian savior" and he fought for the City fuelled by this belief. Very interesting! To make things weirder, there's Saint-14's Gray Pigeon which also features some strange lore at the end where Saint addresses an unknown person:

To my inspiration. Your final gift to me I now send back to you. It will be good to see you again.

This was wild to read at the time because it clearly references something that we don't know about, but that's incredibly important to Saint. The theory was that he might be talking to us, the Young Wolf, but how?

That's where the quest comes in. Curse famously didn't have a lot of content, but it did have the post-campaign quest with Lost Prophecies. They were a set of quests where we essentially had to collect items to transform "prophecy tablets" into weapons in the Infinite Forge which was a sort of interactable area in the Lighthouse on Mercury:

There were a total of 11 of these, with the final one being to acquire the Perfect Paradox. Each weapon came with a prophecy in the flavour text and a lore tab. The final one however, Perfect Paradox, triggered a whole separate quest in two parts. In part one, we discover an old Vanguard comm signal coming from the Forest which we follow and analyse to discover that the signal is from Saint-14.

Detecting traces of familiar Light up here. Wait… Saint-14? He's been missing for decades. Saint was one of the greatest Titans who ever lived. Hero of Six Fronts. All that power and he just… vanished. The City's still looking for him.

This quest also features this conversation from Osiris and Sagira:

Osiris: If Saint-14 is lost in the Infinite Forest, it's because he came here to find us. Sagira: You can't blame yourself for every missing Guardian, Osiris. Osiris: For him I can.

If you're lucky (or unlucky, depending on how many emotions this gives you), you can hear this line from Sagira in Presage. This is where it comes from!

The quest is kinda set up in a way to make you think we'll actually be saving Saint here. We finally found his comm signal and it's leading us into the Forest. He's clearly affected the Vex and the Forest with his Light and he's fighting back. Osiris gets involved and urges us to find him. The whole thing feels like we're doing what we usually do; find a problem and fix it.

Part two of the quest continues in a similar vein. The quest is called "Not even the Darkness," btw. Remember that quote from Saint from The Taken King? Yeah. Anyway, we go back to following the trace leading us to Saint, into the Infinite Forest, this time into a simulated future. There, the Vex get alerted and summon a big Minotaur; Hagios, Reverent Mind (whose name means "sacred" in Greek, so essentially... Saint). We kill the Minotaur and then the area behind it opens; it appears to have been guarding it.

When it opens, we're treated to a bittersweet sight:

The area is beautiful, but it's a tomb. Saint-14's body is laid out like this in a pillar of light, surrounded by piles and piles of dead Vex. The Vex fought him for an unknown amount of time and they ended up respecting him; enough to create a tomb and seal his body and set a whole Vex mind to guard it, and apparently, revere it. Despite how hopeful we've been about saving him, he is dead.

As we approach his body, we take the remains of his personal weapon. Back at the Lighthouse, we use these remains and the prophecy to craft the weapon as it was; Perfect Paradox shotgun. The prophecy attached to it:

A tale that's different from the rest: the thread unfurls against the clocks. The one the Speaker loved the best must have a perfect paradox.

The prophecy is from Osiris, of course, which means that at some point when he was making them, he already knew about the strange fate of Saint-14. Not that he is dead; Osiris hoped to find him in the Forest. But his prophecy talks about time travel and a paradox. In the lore tab itself, Saint attached a letter to the gun in which he once again addresses a mysterious person. This person is now definitively identified as us:

All I have left is this weapon. The Cryptarchs say you crafted it yourself, built it out of scraps and Light and sheer will, inside the Infinite Forge. I'll make sure it finds its way back to you.

Well that's correct. We crafted the weapon in the Infinite Forge. But we only did so after recovering its remains from Saint's body, so how could he have had the gun in the first place? Almost like... there's some sort of a time travel paradox involved. This was naturally bizarre at the time; we had nothing else on Saint or any of this during this quest, just these vague baffling hints that there's more to the story. Especially since it involves our character; Saint repeatedly talks as if he had already met us. He says so in the letter as well:

I mourn that I will never reach the heights you have. To me, you represent everything a Guardian can become. Yours is a thriving City. So different from mine. My whole fourteenth life I fought to make my City yours. I never finished.

He knows that our City is thriving and that we are "everything a Guardian can become." But we've never seen him before. This was really confusing and there was also not even a promise that it would be resolved. But it felt like something that they cared about deeply.

It would take 3 years until we got the resolution.

Season of Dawn

This is a big one in general because they really wanted to be as attentive to all details as possible. Even before the season started, they released several weblore pieces to remind us of Saint and bring up some important information.

The first one was The Accolade, about Saint's past and heroic deeds revolving around saving people. The weblore focuses on explaining what his "accolades" are; aka his purple ribbons on his armour and ship. They're gifts from people he saved; tokens of appreciation that turned into a type of a ritual with Saint. If you're saved by Saint, you have to give him something purple and he will wear it with him and remember your name. It ends with Osiris shortly after we found Saint's grave. Osiris went to see it for himself, to check, to make sure. He also laments that he never asked about the ribbons.

The next one is a glimpse into the past, a conversation between Osiris and Saint as Saint hands him the Vanguard Commander title. It's a good look into how that all happened, as well as the differences in approach and beliefs between Osiris and Saint.

And then they released The Sundial weblore (TW for suicide if you're reading the full weblore. One of his Echoes does not have a good time). Osiris is found on Mercury with a machine he built, putting finishing touches on it. It's called the Sundial. Osiris built it in response to Saint being dead, the implication very much being that he intends to use some form of time travel or some other time shenanigans to change the outcome and save him. Osiris never recovered from learning that he's dead and from seeing his dead body in the tomb. The design is Sagira's, and he's also helped by Drifter, who shows up to check the math. I'll go more into the Sundial later.

Osiris wraps up his work on it and turns it on. He splits into his Echoes and enters the machine to start searching through Saint's timeline on Mercury with the intent to find the right moment with the right Saint to save him; he is specifically looking for the moment when they drain his Light.

Osiris’s Echoes scour Saint-14’s timeline on Mercury. But the corridors of time refuse to give way to the moment they need: Saint and the Martyr Mind in the depths of the Infinite Forest. The Echoes work tirelessly for weeks, then months in the space between moments. In desperation, he splits the dozen copies into many thousands more as the work continues fruitlessly.

Osiris experiences what the kids these days call "epic fail."

None of the Echoes ever approaches a Saint. They never find the right one.

Despite all the work put into this machine and all of his knowledge and skill, Osiris doesn't manage to use the Sundial successfully. He never finds the right moment and he never saves him. It's worth noting that when Osiris used thousands of his Echoes, he experienced the time and life of every single one. But for Osiris outside the Sundial, it's only been a few moments. In those few moments, he essentially lived thousands of lifetimes. And died thousands of times. I need people to understand the amount of effort he put into this and what kind of an emotional toll it had.

Completely defeated, he gives up and hides the Sundial. He moves on with his life, doing what he always does, until stuff suddenly changes, which is explored in the next weblore: Actions of Mutual Friends. Us killing the Undying Mind in the season before Dawn changed everything, for the Vex and everyone else. We essentially created a point of divergence. The Vex suddenly had to change their projections of the future; Osiris noticed this and got very concerned.

While he wasn't looking, his Sundial was found, by Psion sisters. They figure out the potential of the Sundial and work to reactivate it, which they succeed in. The Red Legion descends on Mercury, looking to use the Sundial to essentially rewrite the course of the Red War and win.

Osiris finds out and goes to Ikora, to the City, to ask for help. This is the topic of the next weblore: Desperate Times. Osiris defends his choice to make the Sundial to save Saint, despite everybody else basically trying to explain to him that the universe might implode because of it.

This is a lot of setup, but it's necessary. It all leads into what happens in the season and what the season revolves around; saving Saint. It wasn't even a secret, as they very clearly showed it right away in the trailer (best trailer they've ever done). The seasonal gameplay revolved around us using the Sundial to defeat the Red Legion and stop them from trying to figure out how to essentially change the course of history. We had to fight three different Psion bosses, one of each of the sisters, until the end, when the three of them joined together into a single Psion entity for us to defeat.

As we were using the Sundial for this, Osiris also told us about what he made it for originally. He explains a little bit about it and about his failure to succeed, then warns us against using it for ourselves, but doesn't stop us.

I told you before - I tried to save Saint-14. I bent the rules of time using a prototype of the Sundial. It allowed me to walk the corridors of time here on Mercury. But I failed. I never found Saint's final moment against the Vex. I encountered younger versions from his first mission to Mercury, among others. But none were the right Saint. The prototype Sundial still exists, accessible off the main deck. And it can still travel through Saint's personal timeline on this planet. But venture there at your own peril. He cannot be saved. I have walked every permutation of those corridors with a hundred thousand of my Echoes and found nothing. Saint-14 is lost.

Despite this, we make the attempt and then the first part of the quest starts. When we use it, the Sundial reacts. It reacts specifically to the Perfect Paradox:

The Shotgun you crafted in the Infinite Forge is reacting to the Sundial! An onboard transponder is broadcasting coordinates: a path through the Sundial, crossing two time periods. The prophecy blueprint you used to create the Perfect Paradox must have included this broadcast. If you can open up the initial chamber, I can align us to the first time period the broadcast is referencing.

The two time periods are two points in time where it's relevant that we meed with Saint. The first one is in the Dark Age, when he came to Mercury with civilians in an attempt to reclaim the planet and help the struggling population of Earth with resources and possibly old Golden Age technologies. We connect to Saint via comms. He is devastated and demoralised. He failed to protect his people and he's also under siege by the Eliksni and is more or less resigned to dying. Lucky for him, we get there in time to help him out of this situation.

After the battle, we talk to him. Our Ghost hesitates a little but then decides to do it anyway; he shows Saint the projection of the Last City from the future, to prove to him that the everything will be fine if he continues to fight and stays hopeful. We also give him the Perfect Paradox, to help him fight. The loop is set! This gun was crafted in the future and was brought to the past. In time, Saint will die with it and we will pick up its remains from his body, allowing us to craft it in the first place.

Saint-14: What is this? Ghost: The Perfect Paradox. Built by my Guardian out of spare parts and Light and sheer will to aid you.

More importantly, this is the moment that Saint spoke of to other people that made him seem crazy. As we've seen in lore from years before, Saint kept saying that he saw a thriving City and that there's some sort of Guardian savior coming and that he's seen this future. He also wrote in that letter how we gave him the shotgun and how we saved him. This part of the quest is constructed around this lore. This moment is what Saint remembered and talked about. We saved him and invigorated his will to keep going. This is why he is the way he is.

We part ways and leave the Sundial. Ghost immediately goes to check if we messed anything up and to let us know that there's one more point in time to go to:

Okay, let's check the Tower databases to make sure we didn't just wreck the entire timeline. Queuing "Saint-14"… Records state he was a former Commander of the Tower. He vanished on a final mission to Mercury in search of the exiled Warlock Osiris. Well, those are the big beats. Timeline intact. Good job, Saint. But our trip's not over. That broadcast I picked off the Perfect Paradox marked one more set of coordinates within the Sundial.

The second part of the quest started a bit later, but it doesn't waste any time once it does. We're immediately linked up to the other point in time that Perfect Paradox reacted to and we're back in simulated future, in the same area where back in Curse we fought Hagios who guarded the entry to Saint's tomb. Except now, we find Saint who has just had his Light drained from him by another Vex mind; Agioktis, Martyr Mind (note that the name is more or less in the same vein as "hagios," aka "sacred," dedicated to Saint). This is the moment Osiris was looking for, but couldn't find it, because he didn't have the Perfect Paradox.

This is the Vex mind they built to destroy Saint and we find him as his Light has already been taken. But Saint is still eager to fight and greets us happily. Unfortunately Saint is then restrained, the Vex doing everything in their power to kill him. However, this time he's not alone. We're there and we fight in his stead. We manage to piss off the Martyr Mind enough for it to now move to restrain us, which frees Saint, returning his Light to him as well. Saint then delivers the final blow to the Martyr Mind which frees us!

Saint-14: It's been a long time, my friends. I've chased your memory for centuries. You should go now. Those who could kill me are dead. You've made sure of that. Ghost: And what if the Vex take your Light again? Saint-14: Impossible. It cost them everything to build the Martyr Mind. When you crushed it, they were doomed. Ghost: You want us to leave you? You'll be stuck here for years. Saint-14: You've both done plenty. Just open the Infinite Forest gate for me. I'll meet you the long way around, at the entrance. Saint-14: What's a few more years of fighting Vex?

Saint decides to stay in the Forest and wait until we open it from the outside for him, in the future. This is how he leaves in the right time, instead of too early for his timeline, so nothing else is really affected. He waits it out and then exits the Forest at the time of Season of Dawn. This gives us one of the shortest but also the best cutscenes ever. As a note, in the cutscene, when Saint leaves, the Forest gate looks new, like from Mercury's past. This is because of the Sundial's effects on the surface of Mercury at the time, splitting the surface through time, so the Forest gate looked like it's from the past, but it's not. It's present day Mercury.

When we report this to Osiris, to say that he's amazed would be an understatement. I often quoted this from him, especially when people were being weird about Osiris and claiming he doesn't like us or whatever:

In his youth, he talked often about the Guardian who inspired him. I should have guessed it would be you.

We've done the impossible. Literally. The quest is called "Impossible Task." Osiris did everything and he couldn't do it and he lost hope that it would be done. But we did it, because we created the time loop; a connection with Saint that allowed us to use the Sundial in a way Osiris could not.

Saint has been saved! After this, he settled in the Tower. He had a series of minor quests and errands, the best one being the quest for the Devil's Ruin exotic which featured a really long and funny conversation between Saint and Shaxx. Another one is obviously the Corridors of Time quest which is genuinely cannot be compared to anything else as it was a community puzzle of epic proportions. An article that showcases just a little bit of how bonkers it was.

The important part of it is that the culmination of the quest featured us finding our own grave and Saint narrating a eulogy for us. This is important to us now for two reasons: 1) on our grave was a sword, a sword we received as an actual item in TFS, directly from the Traveler to fight the Witness 2) it's possibly a different timeline. The second one is unclear because we simply can't know when we die, but the eulogy specifies that the sword was shattered in the final confrontation where we died. Our current sword is chipped, and it wasn't when we originally got it in the campaign. So either this is a different timeline where it didn't shatter or this isn't that confrontation when we die and it will shatter at some other point in the future.

In this post I also noted how the music that plays in our grave scene and the music that played in TFS when we get the sword is the same. A very clear and deliberate choice. This is a very cool link to Season of Dawn that they brought back over 4 years later.

With the Corridors of Time puzzle ending and the Corridors closing, that concluded the Saint stuff. He was finally saved and he could rest in the Tower! And we know everything that has happened since.

Okay. So...

What's up with the Sundial?

We don't know! But I want to get into it because it's one of those things that they made sure to hint about, without fully explaining it so obviously every weird nerd online (me) wants to figure it out.

Back in The Sundial weblore, there are some peculiar and never explained details about the Sundial that have been kinda concerning and just intriguing to think about. There are a few lines essentially saying that whatever is at its core, it's not good. First is Sagira's:

“That work was theoretical! If the Vanguard find out what you did to build it—“

What did he do to build it? No clue. The infamous core is described only as:

He turned to look at the fluctuating glow of the exposed chronometric core.

When the Drifter shows up, he immediately reacts to this, fairly negatively which makes things more ominous since Drifter tangles with a lot of weird and bad stuff himself. So if he's disturbed about this...:

Drifter walked to the central spire and put his ear up against it. “This core…” he said, leaning close. His eyes darted back to Osiris. “It’s whispering.” Osiris’s expression didn’t change; his arms didn’t uncross. “We’ll seal the core away. I understand the ramifications.” “Good luck keeping that contained. Not something I would bargain with, hotshot.”

The core "whispers." Osiris understands the ramifications. They're both so frustratingly vague so the only thing we're left with is this ominous vibe of something bad being at the center of the Sundial.

This whispering, alongside a few other concerning descriptions and implications of the Sundial is mentioned in yet another weblore that I only briefly mentioned earlier because it wasn't relevant to Saint stuff; Sisters. It's about the Psions finding the machine.

The Psions could somehow feel the Sundial. Or perhaps just the effects it had on time on Mercury, even while it was powered down and hidden.

“Small disturbances,” said oldest Ozletc, the wisest. “Little currents in this timeline. Can you see them, sister?” “I can taste them,” said second-born Tazaroc, the hungriest of her sisters. “I can feel the edges.” Third-born Niruul, the quietest among them, reached her hand out to test the air. “As can I,” said she. “And something else. The source is disguised. The technology is Human, but refined. Surprisingly so.”

They also note the whispering, as well as its potential:

A strange device shimmered into existence around them. They looked up the length of an enormous, golden spire. “It whispers,” said Tazaroc. “Then block your ears,” said Ozletc. “Do you see the potential in this?” “Chaos,” said Niruul. “No,” said Ozletc. “Opportunity. See how it tugs at the fabric of our time? Can you see the seams?”

They also make the strange comparison to the OXA:

“It is so clear,” said Niruul, reverent. “An unobstructed glimpse into what was and what will be.” “Not the troubled ramblings of a mad thing, like the OXA,” said Tazaroc.

The Sundial offered something more and better than the OXA ever could, implying, perhaps, that these machines have something in common; possibly something beyond simply Vex technology. My insanity about this has been going on for a long time and also helped with the TFS CE lore. A bit of a tangent, but also possibly related, depending on what the core is.

Furthermore, Osiris refused to tell Saint about details of the Sundial, including remaining vague about its core in this weblore:

[u.2:13] One is a manifestation of Light. The other… reserved for Taken Kings. Better suited for traversing the Sundial because of what lies at its core. [u.1:14] One day you’ll have to tell me exactly what you and the Guardian did to bring me back. [u.2:14] We did what we had to. Trust me.

So what is it? Well, we know:

It whispers (very obvious and easily detected, both by Drifter and the Psions)

It's something bad (Drifter's reaction to it is uncharacteristic for a man who tangles with the Taken for a living and deals with strange dangerous artifacts all the time)

Osiris' Echoes are better suited for the Sundial because of its core, and Echoes are something "reserved for Taken Kings." Bizarre way of saying it to avoid explaining it

Similar to the OXA, and possibly any other time/prediction machines based on Vex tech (because the OXA itself is confirmed to be more or less the same as the FWC Device, for example)

To recharge it, we needed to feed it Light. This is particularly concerning with what Osiris says about it: "The Sundial is my greatest creation and my greatest regret. What I had to do to forge it I can never take back. As a result, it has components that consume Light. And if you're serious about operating it again, you'll need to feed it. Nothing is free. Ever."

What this points to, to me at least, is Darkness. The core is a Darkness artifact of some sort, merged with Vex tech. This only gained more proof to me with all the new lore about the Darkness and how it governs the mind and memory, especially when the Vex are involved. To the Vex, the future is memory. Merging Darkness artifacts with the Vex might be able to create dangerous time travel machines or machines that displace consciousness through time and timelines, like the OXA and the Device, allowing the user to "predict."

To make things even more convoluted (and me more insane), there's an almost perfect explanation for what this artifact might be. So perfect that I feel like it's too good to be true, tbh. It's a Nezarec relic. I will now list everything that connects this:

It would explain the Darkness artifact. Nezarec's relics were full of Darkness and were being used by utilising that Darkness

Drifter's involvement and experience with it. Hell, the Drifter may have even provided this relic to Osiris, since he had one and did not particularly enjoy having it, which was detailed in Lightfall when they showed us how he got it. Plunder was also rich on this, showing us that the Drifter immediately recognised the relics and understood what they were.

Whispering. Darkness in general has a whispering thing; the Veiled statues, the Witness, the old stories about Dredgen Yor, there's a lot of whispering going on here. But it's really super connected to Nezarec. His relics were whispering to us in the H.E.L.M.. The glaive? Nezarec's Whisper. Another disciple also called him a "whispering Nightmare." All of Root of Nightmares armour lore has it as well, with Nezarec tormenting his victims with whispers; for example here, and here, and maybe even here. I could go on. He's the whisper guy. Literally, Nimbus called him Mr. Whispers.

Psions. The Psion sisters found and reactivated the Sundial... Somehow. They especially were able to almost instinctively locate it despite Osiris hiding it well enough. The Psions also needed quite a lot of time to activate it again and admired the complexity of the encryption, despite it being human, so we can't really say that they found it easily because Osiris' did a poor job of hiding it. Were they drawn to it? Were they drawn to it because of its core? Psions are inherently linked to Nezarec. It's been confirmed back in Lightfall, but also curiously mentioned again in TFS with the Lost Ghosts quest (timestamped here). I'm definitely hoping for some Psion content in the future but this is fairly interesting in this context. Season of Dawn was really the only proper Psion-focused storyline.

Osiris' coma. His coma appears to have been somehow paracausal. At least strange! The scans were showing that he has "no residual activity" in his brain, despite us having lore from his POV showing us that he had a very vivid and visceral activity. He was able to feel some external stimuli, but was mostly drifting through strange visions, seemingly hopping between his... Reflections. Or possibly Echoes. His final thoughts here are also of the Sundial; as if his mind was somehow stuck in there, or lost, trying to find his way out of it. This could just be a consequence of his memories constructing something for him to experience so obviously it's just cycling through what he knows, but...

Waking Osiris up from his coma happens with the use of Nezarec's relics. An important point to note here is that this wasn't so much about it being Nezarec's relics; it had more to do with the inherent Darkness they consist of and Darkness can help the mind and consciousness move or awaken. However, given all of this and given his POV from the coma and the possibility that his mind might have been stuck somewhere with his Echoes in the Sundial, if the Sundial's core is a Nezarec relic, then a Nezarec relic had more chance to bring him back. It's such a perfect connection that I feel insane thinking about it and it feels like I'm constructing a fanfic, but also. I think it's worth considering. Cutscene of him waking up + article from Bungie that details on the whole idea of waking him up with Darkness and why that's important for understanding Darkness.

I have to mention the other theory, especially in comparison with all the above to try and illustrate why it never made sense to me and that is the popular theory that the core of the Sundial is an Ahamkara bone and that the Sundial worked on wish magic.

I'm not quite sure why this was even a theory to be honest. Even back in the day of Dawn, this never really resonated with me because it seems that the only reason this was a theory was Drifter saying "not something I would bargain with" and... Possibly whispers? Obviously a lot of things can whisper, and Ahamkara have been also mentioned doing so, but I don't find this significant to Ahamkara enough for identification just through that. I also don't think that one mention of the word "bargain" is enough either. Many have bargained with Darkness too. There's simply an overlap between Darkness and Ahamkara here, but there are also other pieces that are more closely linked to Darkness like eating Light. We could go even further, if we're considering Ahamkara; we could also consider Worm Gods, for example. The point is that several things can fit here, but I feel like there's overall more things pointing at Darkness.

What gets me the most is that they alluded to this in Season of the Wish, in what seems fairly obvious as disproving this theory to me. Riven and Osiris talk:

Riven: Isn’t it unfortunate your City hunted down all of my kind, Osiris? You might have wished for Saint-14’s return from the Forest. Osiris: And have him trade the Vex’s torment for yours? Riven: Perhaps you simply didn’t want him back badly enough to pay the price. Osiris: Save the bait for someone naïve enough to take it.

I talked about this earlier, but there's several layers of why the moment I heard this, it sounded like it's here to disprove Osiris using an Ahamkara. First, Ahamkara wish magic would be felt by Riven. If Osiris put an Ahamkara into the Sundial, then he did use wish magic and she would know about it. In that case she would not have said this; perhaps she would've teased him about using her powers to save Saint, but that would be a completely different sentence.

Second, Osiris is well aware and wary of wish magic. He knows that had he done so, he would've probably put some form of torment (wish magic backfire) on Saint. This, to me, indicates that not only did he not do this, he didn't even consider it as an option.

Third, if Osiris had an Ahamkara bone and was considering to use it, he could've just done so without building the Sundial. Why bother with the machine if you can just instantly make a wish and the wish doing exactly as you want? Obviously with a caveat, but still. It would've worked right away. Perhaps the Sundial was an attempt to contain the backfire, mixing wish magic with Vex tech to try and prevent the whole thing from going backwards, but even then; Osiris knew there are possible consquences.

And fourth, even if he did all that, it just didn't work, which would be quite uncharacteristic for wish magic. It's paracausal; it should override any Vex tech in the Sundial. If he made a wish, he should ask for a refund! The Sundial worked only because of the paracausal loop we created with the Perfect Paradox and it had nothing to do with anyone's wishes; definitely not ours.

One interesting thing for this theory is the way they said how similar wishing and simulations are. It happened in Wish and now again in Echoes. Here's a freebie for the Ahamkara theory enthusiasts.

Personally though, I simply feel like there's much more connecting and sensible explanation with it being a Darkness relic, rather than Ahamkara.

HOWEVER. The truth is that we simply don't know. I am personally more into it being Darkness (and Nezzy specifically), but I could be wrong and the Ahamkara theory could be proven correct somehow. Hell, it could be something completely different. It could also be nothing; as in, we will never know because they won't tell us because it doesn't matter.

And technically, it doesn't! Nothing really changes if this doesn't get answered. I want that to be clear. This isn't some sort of lore breaking detail. But you know. The nerds would love to know. I really wanted to get into this now that we've had a resurgence in interest about Saint and how we saved him.

Echoes

Okay, so why this monster of an essay? Well, because Echoes revolves around Saint and the Conductor trying to convince him that he's the wrong Saint. That Osiris acted out of grief and pulled a random Saint from the timelines, that he's simply satisfied with what he got because he couldn't get his original Saint because that Saint died.

Saint is convinced in this; that he's some sort of an aberration in the timeline, a simulation or a copy or just the wrong Saint from the wrong timeline. Even an error that must be corrected.

And I simply think that people are too quick to jump to the conclusion that this is the story being told, especially because of the radio message this week where we're shown that Saint and Osiris suddenly have different memories. But I feel like people have already forgotten the other radio message, from week 1. You know, the one where Saint and Osiris talk about their memories and the memories match perfectly:

Saint-14: Osiris. Do you remember when we knew? Osiris: Knew what? Saint-14: That we were meant to be together. There was one moment... though, it took us time to get to it. Oh, but our Hunter Vanguard, so smart, Tallulah... she knew before we did. All our little squabbles and bickering. She saw it first. Osiris: it, uh — ah, well, I was — obtuse. Stubborn. I couldn't recognize my own emotions. Then, Tallulah told me to.. "Be serious". Saint-14: Haha! I remember. So yes, she told me later. Was good laugh. Osiris: Well, I'm glad you found it so amusing. Saint-14: Who could not look back and smile? And I remember your smile, then. So knowing, and so full of our future together. Osiris: What brought these memories on? Saint-14: Hmm. I think about others who will have those same moments now that they know they will a future free from the Black Fleet. Now they have a chance to find love and be happy, like us. We can look behind, but also forward. We cannot see what is coming, but we know it is good. Osiris: You're certain? Saint-14: About us? Yes. Since the beginning. Now, and always.

We have this memory as a lore tab as well. I think this was given to us deliberately, to show us that Saint and Osiris have identical memories and that Saint's memories were never in question and that their history is perfectly aligned... Until he got yoked. Something changed when he got yoked, not when he was saved. This is a new development, which tells me that the Conductor did something to him, rather than Osiris saving the wrong Saint. Because until now, this was never a problem. Saint never had discrepancies in his memories before, with anyone he ever interacted with.

If we take a look at the whole story of how he was returned, it's beyond clear that Osiris was very fixated on saving his Saint, not a random one, and that we went to great lengths to do just that. We only ever interacted with one Saint, the same one, and we linked each other with the Perfect Paradox. It cannot be any other Saint, even with the existence of other timelines. This Saint and this Perfect Paradox are ours, from our timeline, the originals.

However, other timelines do exist. And some entities can access them. The Vex are obviously first on the list. Characters like Elsie and Osiris have also seen them. And clearly, the Conductor should be capable of this as well. It's beyond clear now that the Conductor is Maya Sundaresh. Maya, who was simulated 227 times by the Vex and had those 227 copies of her wandering the Vex network and different timelines.

If the Conductor knows where to look and how, she could see these timelines, including these other Saints, and she could've fed Saint false information while he was yoked. Implanting memories of other Saints perhaps, or something similar.

I know a lot of people weren't there for Dawn, let alone Curse. There's a lot of information about Saint here and a lot of really interesting clues from the past about what's happening now. It's also really interesting how many little details have been transferred through the story over time, showing that this is a plotline they care about very much and want to make sure doesn't get messed up.

There's probably a lot more stuff we could get into for speculation and explanations because there's still more stuff that plays a role in this. The Infinite Forest is a big one, and I suspect the Perfect Paradox is as well, as we're likely to get it next week or the week after as part of the story. Because it should be relevant to the story! It's an inherent part of Saint's story and why he's with us now in the first place.

So what's really going on? We're not entirely sure yet, but assuming that the Conductor is correct and that her messing with Saint is revealing something about Saint's legitimacy is I believe wrong. I think she's using him as an experiment and that she's messing with him, and by extension, with us as well. There's no way that we've had a "wrong" Saint this whole time and that nobody ever had any issues with him. That nobody had any discrepancies between memories with him. Not Osiris, not Ikora, not Shaxx, not Saladin, not Zavala or anyone else Saint interacted with since he's been back. As I mentioned, literally the first radio message shows us Saint and Osiris with matching memories.

It only started after he was yoked. Which means that the yoke and the Conductor did something to him, possibly shown him some other timelines or fed him false information.

Can't wait to see where this is going. I'm not sure how much this Act will cover and if we'll get a resolution to this right now or if it will stretch to Act 3, though if it doesn't get stretched, then I wonder what will the draw of Act 3 even be. Possibly just dealing with the Conductor? I'm very excited. This episode being so focused on Saint and Osiris and the whole throwbacks to Dawn and other past content has been really good. I'm enjoying it very much, this is my entire jam. I had high hopes for Echoes and so far it's been going great.

I'm super excited to see how they solve this and what comes of it and how much of this information will be relevant. And of course, if it will end up being correct! Because as much as I have my theories and as much as I'm convinced that there's something off here and that our Saint cannot be the wrong Saint, I could still be wrong. Looking forward to finding out!

#destiny 2 #saint-14 #osiris #vex #conductor #long post #lore vibing #i hope that this is also helpful to people!#i genuinely could've gotten into more. there are several unhinged tangents to go into at any point

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notomys-mordax-blog · 4 months ago

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Part 2: Neve Gallus and the Shadow Dragons

Overall: 7/10

Important things first. I absolutely love Neve's design. Her casual outfit with the IDGAF unbuttoned shirt is 10/10. She's both very fashion-forward and feminine, but doesn't look soft. It's neat. The only real critique I have here is that I don't like how most of her face is hidden by her hat. While this felt like an intentional choice, I think it detracted more than it added to her vibes.

Speaking of vibes, Neve's vibes are impeccable. She's a classic hardboiled detective solving mysteries and putting anything resembling a feeling in a box where it can't hurt her. They really leaned into the film-noir vibes with her voice direction with mixed results. Sometimes it's really effective, but other times it's stilted, especially next to characters who haven't been pulled out of a crime procedural. Overall, I really enjoyed her bit, but I can understand where critique about her voice direction comes from.

Despite her serious allergy to admitting her emotions, you can see how deeply she cares about the people around her by her actions. This worked really well in her interactions with the companions, but was a little bit more uneven when it came to Rook. I really liked seeing the social activities around the Lighthouse, but it was disappointing that Rook wasn't really directly involved in any of them. As a result they felt like an outsider (or like the Boss that people don't want to get too close to).

You could also see this with Neve herself. She liked to give the other characters small, practical advice and support for their problems, but didn't really seem to give Rook (who frankly, has more serious problems than a lot of his companions) the same treatment. I think this is really an area where the writing would have benefited from the addition of some barks and greetings to help link the "relationship-level-up" scenes and make it feel more like the characters are slowly getting to know each other, versus have an uneven sort of ladder where the relationship moves in jumps and starts.

This unfortunately also extends to her romance. I am the kind of person who really enjoys NPC romances. It not only makes me feel like the characters have more agency, but it is often a two-cakes scenario when it comes to interesting ships. The gender inversion of the detective x femme fatale of the pairing between Neve and Lucanis is really interesting, and they both use acts of service as their love language. Unfortunately, while the two of them have a lot of chemistry with each other, their chemistry with the player character is pretty flat. Lucanis's romance suffers more, in my opinion, because the content is so much sparser, but I also felt it with Neve. My poor head canons need to do a lot of heavy lifting to make the Veilguard relationships work.

Neve's role in the story is twofold. She helps provide a number of useful connections in Northern Thedas (Harding also plays this role). Additionally, she's our guide to Minrathous. For a Rook who does not have a Shadow Dragons origin, she's responsible for convincing the player that the city is worthy of saving. Personally I feel like the narrative emphasized how hopeless the whole situation in Dock Town a bit too much. I would have liked the narrative to give approximately 15% more weight to scenes like Hal and his fish-stand to show that Dock Town had good people and was worth trying to salvage.

Admittedly, I'm also pretty disappointed that we finally get to see THE BIGGEST AND MOST MAGICAL CITY IN THEDAS, but are limited to just exploring Dock Town which feels like a pretty generic fantasy dock town. I feel like this was a big missed opportunity. Frankly I would have preferred if Veilguard was set entirely in one city and we had the chance to really explore that one location.

Neve is one of two characters who can become hardened. This is done not through her personal quest, but through an early-game decision to choose which of two cities to protect from a blighted dragon attack. Thematically I like how the game is moving away from good versus evil choices. One of the major themes the story was trying to tell was that there are sometimes no "good" choices. There are some interesting parallels between Solas and Rook and the themes of regret. What I found awkward here was that there really wasn't justification for why Rook played such a key role in the defence of the city (and subsequently why people outside of Neve/Lucanis blamed Rook for what happened). I also think that the narrative could have done a smoother job explaining that with Minrathous, the problem was not in the defence of the city, so much as it was the political implications. I think this choice would have felt more interesting if they worded it more explicitly to be a choice between protecting the civilians in a city from the immediate brutality of the dragon attack (Treviso) versus protecting the civilians in a city from the long-term brutality of an oppressive political regime (Minrathous).

As a slight aside, I did feel like it was kind of goofy that Neve, who is a well-known public figure, could just waltz into a venatori gathering.

Her personal quest is a paint by numbers affair. You help her with a case that spirals into a confrontation with her nemesis, a venatori mage. She needs to be guided through choosing to leverage the help of a shady organization, or crack the case through legitimate channels. It folded in nicely with the main story, but did illustrate the problems with the venatori as one of the main groups of villains.

Part of me almost wishes that the outcome of Neve's personal quest would depend on whether or not she was hardened, versus something that you explicitly chose. I feel like hardening Neve had much fewer implications on the story than hardening Lucanis, and I would have liked to see some story changes.

The Shadow Dragons

I really liked the idea of the Shadow Dragons. I think they were probably my favorite of the factions. It was really brutal to see what happened to them if you chose to save Treviso over Minrathous. I also feel like their existence could have gone a long way in explaining why the culture of Tevinter was so different from what we might've expected given how it was depicted in the games based in Southern Thedas. Throw in a few lines about how attitudes of slavery in Tevinter have been shifting over the last 10 years due to changes in policy from Dorian and Mae, underground movements like the Shadow dragons and maybe, for bonus points, a certain elf who has been cutting his way through slavers.

Not including Fenris in the Shadow Dragons really does feel like a missed opportunity. Quantum characters are one of the general design problems with the Dragon Age games. Getting to see cameos of characters from previous entries into the series is a lot of fun, and something that the series wants to do. Unfortunately, because of the complexities that would arise from the different configurations in people's worlds, these cameos either have to be super shallow so an NPC can be easily slotted in -- or people's previous canon need to be handwaved a-la Leliana-lyrium-ghost. Personally, I'd prefer half-assed explanations about why a character who should have been dead (or otherwise incapacitated) is back in action, but that's not really a good solution either. Frankly I think returning characters end up creating a sort of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation.

Back to the Shadow Dragons. I liked them! I think my only quibble is that the Viper being the Black Divine was a weird narrative choice. I'm not complete with my save-mintrathous playthrough, so this might end up coming up more in the future, but thus-far, this revelation has been treated like a fun Easter egg. I also thought it was kind of funny (derogatory) that the ventatori who captured him didn't think to unmask the mysterious masked leader of the rebellion. I think the reason they didn't was because the narrative didn't want to deal with the fallout ... which is kinda lame.

Another intrusive thought I had whenever I saw him was that there is a whole masked empire in the south, and whether or not people thought that the Viper was from Orlais. This is a dumb thought, but it is one that I couldn't help but think.

How I would fix it:

Neve's storylines are folded into the main story much closer than Harding's. This means that resolving them would require addressing some of the deeper flaws in Veilguard's narrative. Despite my desire to write multi-thousand word essays analyzing the flaws of the game, I did ultimately enjoy playing it and would describe the experience as being a mostly fun romp with likeable characters and an interesting story that sometimes flubs the execution. I ran across a post describing DAV as one of the most polished unfinished games they've ever played, and this really resonated with me.

The Venatori (and Antaam) were one-note villains with the same pedigree as Corypheus. Note how I didn't name a specific Venatori. Aelia, who was the main antagonist of Neve's route, didn't really have much going on besides "evil venatori blood mage". While I don't think we need to make the pro-slavery nationalists sympathetic, I do feel like they would be more effective villains if it was more clear what their goals would actually look like for the people on the ground. As an aside, my eye twitched a little bit every time the phrase artifact or ritual was used. This felt like a huge opportunity to add a little bit of flavor into the stew. I don't think we need major lore reveals, but what seems more interesting: "We've got to stop the Venatori from using an artifact to complete a ritual" or "We've got to stop the Venatori from using the Chalice of Lost Souls from making legwarmers soul weave"?

Not specifying what the ritual or artifact was really made it clear that these things were just MacGuffins, and doesn't give the player any idea about why the Venatori are evil. While I think the scenes in Arlathan were they tortured animals while sitting on human chairs, it at least gave some specificity to their evil.

The Tevinter presented in Veilguard doesn't really reflect how the Empire was presented in the previous games. If the narrative choice to downplay racism and slavery was done because the creative team no longer felt interested in those themes or equipped to write them a statement should have been made to this effect. Regardless, the in-game cultural shift would be much less jarring for a returning player if some in-universe explanation had been provided. In the previous section I discussed a few different factors that may have shifted the attitude of the general population in Tevinter. This would help show the player that the Tevinter they've heard about isn't really representative of what the "average" Tevinter citizen is like. I think this could be accomplished really smoothly with a banter between Neve and Harding. Harding is surprised to see that the elves are treated more poorly in the South than in Tevinter. She can talk about the horrific blood orgies she's heard about. Neve can bring up that the average Tevinter citizen is horrified that the Danariuses of their country are how other nations perceive them. Additionally, this would help give the player a better idea of what the stakes for allowing the Ventori to get a foothold in Minrathous would be. It's the cultural traditionalists of Tevinter who want to go back to blood orgies.

My making the Venatori more compelling villains, I think you'd end up fixing 70% of the problems with Neve's story.

In terms of the other 30% percent, this is really where you feel the pain of removing the small ways the player can interact with the companions. Even though walking up to the companion and overhearing "hey Rook" is narratively identical to needing to press x to initiate the same "hey rook" conversation, it feels different from a gameplay perspective. Adding this back in would help make it feel like Rook was actually talking to his companions. I would also have really liked to involve Rook into the slice-of-life activities at the Lighthouse! Let the player decide if Rook would be interested in joining a book club, or explore what kind of cook Rook would be. I think this would help the feeling that Rook is a weird boss who listens in on people's conversations.

In Conclusion:

I like Neve a lot and think that the idea of a detective procedural set in Thedas has a lot of potential. I really liked her interactions with the other characters (especially Bellara!) and enjoyed watching her slowly warm up to the party. It's just a bit of a shame that I didn't get the same sense of slowly building friendship from the player-character.

As an aside, Tevinter Nights definitely enhances the experience of playing Veilguard. In addition to providing introductions for most of the companions, it also introduces a lot of important NPCS, this is where you see Neve first confront Aelia.

As another aside, I'm tired of games with end-of-the-world stakes. DA2 is probably my favorite entry into the series, and it has a much smaller scale than the other games. I really would have enjoyed a game consisting of helping Neve unravel mysteries in Minrathous and think that narratively, that sort of story is much easier to tell in a satisfying way.

So those are my thoughts on Neve. I would drink whisky with her while we speculated on who the Viper actually was, but first we need to do something about those Venatori (explain what the heck the cult actually wants).

#dragon age #dragon age: the veilguard #dragon age: the veilguard spoilers #datv spoilers #datv #datv critical #veilguard critical #bioware critical #dragon age critical #dragon age review #neve gallus

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nemesis-is-my-middle-name · 1 month ago

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ok ok ok ok ok MAYBE IM CRAZY. it's entirely possible that I'm deluding myself. was alia dead when they left her? was she for sure not breathing pulse stopped dead? bc i am. I had a crazy thought what if she's in there fighting the dreams. what if she knows what's happening to her-- of course she does!! she knows everything-- what IF WHAT IF SHE'S STILL FIGHTING TO LIVE. what if she's taking that bit of agency she survived long enough to grasp and fighting for it. saying you don't get to decide whether my life is worth living. saying yes they did terrible things to me. no I did not choose to be this. but this is WHO I BECAME and I take pride in it !!

tbh it never seemed to me that she resented her life, and maybe that's because we just didn't hear a ton from her, but i hope against everything that she's tearing lilith a new one for deciding her life was better over than continuing

LIKE !! we know that lilith appears in the dreams she sends. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEE *shredding rubber with my bare teeth*

yesssss!!! YEEESSSSS!!! I mean. when they left her Arthur did explicitly say they were leaving the rest of their supplies with her in case she woke up again and needed them and like. maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part, a way to soften the blow of having to leave her. but what if it WASN’T… what if she is FIGHTING her gentle end, saying you do not get to decide for me if my life is worth living!!

agree also that I don’t think Alia does actually resent her life. I think it’s not for nothing that she was the one to finally clearly articulate that theme that is so central to malev to me, that, “maybe the suffering is vast, maybe there is no reward waiting for us, maybe there is no destination safe enough, but I am choosing to continue anyway, because the point of this journey is not its eventual end.” so yeah I think Lillith was… largely projecting and assuming she knew what Alia felt, actually. Alia accepted the dream bc she Saw that it was the necessary next step, but that doesn’t mean she wanted it.

Alia seems to me like someone who can appear very passive at times, bc a lot of the standard avenues of expression have been taken from her, and also the connection to her vanguard probably takes at least some of her focus, but she’s not actually passive. she seems to be the orchestrator behind pretty much this whole quest, and has commanded the implicit faith of everyone around her. and we know for a fact that her vanguard can’t directly influence her anymore, and still she is making the active choice over and over to fight for reality, even when the odds seem overwhelming. that sure doesn’t say resentment or exhaustion with life to me.

anyway. yeah. Alia meeting up with Lillith and giving her the dressing-down of all time writing so fast she sets the slate on fire. 2k25.

#the nemesis speaks #the nemesis answers #worldwright #mv liveblog #malevanalysis #malevolent spoilers #malevolent 51 spoilers #SWEETDREAMS�� GOD I LOVE THAT #oops this turned into me just rambling about Alia… look. I love her a lot ok #I should go back and touch up that drabble I wrote after 49 now that we know more than 1 thing about her #sorry I did u dirty (mild background mischaracterization) by accident Alia I did not Know #anyway. and then they kiss

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tobiasdrake · 1 year ago

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While you’re on the subject of underexplored Dragon Ball trivia, could you tell us something on the Dragon Balls themselves?

Hmm... not sure how much underexplored trivia I know on the subject. I think most of the details about what the Balls are and how they work are pretty well known. But I can go into a run-down.

Originally based on Journey to the West, the core purpose of the Dragon Balls is to provide a sort of miraculous quest of worthiness to their seeker. On Namek, the planet they come from, each one of six Balls, stars 2-7, is carried by the Choro or "Elder" of the village. To make your wish to Porunga, you must visit each village in turn and pass some great test of virtue that the Choro demands of you.

With the final Dragon Ball, the One-Star Ball, resting in the hands of Saichoro or "Grand Elder". He is the final arbiter of worthiness for your desire to receive a miracle from Porunga.

Krillin, incidentally, is the only person during the campaign on Namek to successfully pass a Namekian elder's measurement of virtue rather than taking a Ball by force. For escorting Dende to the safety of Saichoro's home and for having genuinely good intentions for his desired miracle, Krillin is judged worthy and given the One-Star Ball.

300 years ago, after the Nameless Namekian ascended to the lofty position of God, he was able to make Dragon Balls of his own. Though he didn't have the same organized structure that Saichoro put into his Dragon Ball system, the idea was similar: the Dragon Balls would provide a means for people to produce great deeds when in need.

It didn't pan out. The Dragon Bal ls were a mistake and brought nothing but horror to the Earth, and he regretted ever making the stupid fucking things. After Piccolo killed Shenron, God was more than ready to wash his hands of it.

By the time we meet God, it's hard to disagree. Oolong thwarted a maniac's wish for world domination by spending Shenron's world-shaping miracle on a set of women's undergarments before he could make his wish. A jackbooted warlord shot up multiple regions of the world to claim the Dragon Balls because he wanted to be taller. Bulma shot a child in the face with a gun so she could have infinite strawberries. Or a boyfriend. Either/or.

Honestly, infinite strawberries sounds pretty valid for a wish, NGL. Still wouldn't impress God, though.

There's also a piece of obscure Dragon Ball trivia says that the Dragon Balls were once used to successfully make a wish for world domination. This is why the entire Earth is a one-world nation under the dominion of King Furry. I think it comes from a Toriyama interview? But I don't recall the source so take that with a grain of salt.

In any case, God feels that the Dragon Balls were a horrible mistake and it's hard to disagree. The only thing that convinces him they're worth remaking is Goku's nobility. He sees in Goku the great virtue that has thus far been missing from anyone else who would seek the Dragon Balls, and that makes it all worthwhile.

The process of assembling the Dragon Balls is meant to be difficult. However, Bulma's invention of the Dragon Radar more or less trivialized it.

Notably, as a sign of her genius, the handheld radar that Bulma carries around outstrips the competition every time. She's far from the only person ever to make a Dragon Radar; She's just the only person ever to make a portable one.

That huge wall console is the best that the world's most powerful rogue paramilitary organization could manage. And it's still a hell of a lot better than anything Vegeta or Frieza had. They had to track people and hope a Dragon Ball was nearby.

Though I would be remiss to bring up Bulma's invention of the portable radar and not mention that, fun fact, the Radar that we often see passed around throughout the series wasn't built by her. Bulma's Radar was stolen by General Blue.

It's never seen again after this scene. I guess it was probably still in HQ when Goku stormed the place?

No, the Radar Goku finished the RRA arc with and then continues passing along from character to character is actually this one, created by - I shit you not - a cameo guest star from Toriyama's gag manga Dr. Slump.

Having seen the inner workings of the Radar while it was being repaired, Turbo the flying genius baby is able to reproduce a second copy. This copy would become the main Dragon Radar going forward after Bulma's original Radar was lost and forgotten.

Yeah, Dr. Slump canonically exists within the world of Dragon Ball and has directly impacted the story of one of its most iconic elements. However, this Radar still remains Bulma's genius design. She completely obliterated the entire test of virtue concept. I need you to understand that Bulma is the greatest heretic in the history of the universe, and that she and Vegeta deserve each other.

And now she uses Shenron for plastic surgery.

God was right. Earth isn't worthy of power like this. It was a mistake to bring Shenron back.

With some limitations, the great dragon summoned by the Dragon Balls can grant any miracle that is within Shenron's power. The main restriction this places is simple: Shenron or Porunga may not grant a wish affecting a person more powerful than Shenron unless that person consents.

This limitation serves the narrative purpose of explaining why we can't have Shenron pop any enemy that shows up into oblivion, which had been the Muten-Roshi's plan for dealing with Piccolo originally.

Though I occasionally like to joke about an AU where Bulma uses Shenron to solve the Saiyans. Can't teleport them into the sun or something? That's fine. I wish for you to teleport their spaceships into the sun.

No, I know you still can't teleport them even if you teleport their vehicles. That's fine. I'm asking you to teleport only the ships.

And then everyone lives happily ever after. Until about six or seven years later when the Androids kill us all.

But Shenron's and Porunga's power limitations also mean the story can have fun moments like this.

Goku is able to resist Porunga's attempt to warp him back to Earth because he's too powerful for the dragon to move involuntarily. He must consent to the teleport.

Of note: This particular piece of context doesn't come up in the DBS: Broly film directly, but it provides a fun bit of context to its finale.

When Cheelai used Shenron to save Broly, he had to consent to that. He could have told Shenron to go fuck himself and kept fighting instead.

But he doesn't want to. You can feel it just from looking at his face. Gogeta broke Broly's legendary berserker rage. In this instant, staring down Blue Gogeta's Kamehameha, Shenron asked him, "You want out of this, my dude?" And he said yes please. I'm done. I'm ready to go home.

The power restriction is also the reason why Shenron couldn't revert the Twins to normal humans.

But he can pop those self-destruct devices right out of their bodies, no sweat.

The other key limitation that Shenron has is an inability to resurrect the same person twice - Something Goku just sort of throws in as a new rule at the start of the Saiyan arc.

It's interesting to note that it's not specifically a prohibition against repeated rezzes, but against "granting the same wish twice". This never comes up in any other context, but it's interesting to think about.

Good thing Porunga doesn't have that limitation. Like. At all.

Hey, look at that. He was able to bring back Piccolo, Krillin, and Yamcha even though he'd already revived those two before.

Before the Buu arc, it could be assumed that he could raise people twice because those people had previously been raised by Shenron. Different dragon, different wish history. But no. Porunga's just better.

Our bootleg wish-dragon is a pale imitation of the real thing. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you that. But ours can do multi-rez so suck on that Poru--

Oh, never mind. Muri found out about multi-rez and gave him a tweak. Porunga remains the superior dragon. Of course, he's not the only person to upgrade their dragon. We have Dende to thank for Shenron's upgrades too.

This is a point that I've seen people get confused on. Dende's Shenron grants three wishes like Porunga. However, a multi-rez is so costly that it expends two of those wishes. So you can have three individual wishes or a multi-rez and one other wish.

The language here is super ambiguous, admittedly. It's easy to interpret Dende as saying "If I activate multi-rez then I have to set the limit to two." Like. We can configure Shenron for three wishes OR configure him for two wishes but make it possible to do multi-rez.

But subsequent chapters and authorial statements have clarified the matter. As long as you aren't multi-rezzing, you get three wishes.

It's just. Nobody ever uses Shenron for anything but multi-rez so it rarely comes up. This is not helped by general inconsistency, which Toei is particularly bad about but Toriyama's guilty of too. In the DBS: Broly movie, Shenron inexplicably is back to granting only one!

My dude. What happened to your upgrade? You were upgraded, you defective knock-off! DX

I think he just wanted to get the fuck out of there before Frieza realized he can still make his wish for improved tallness. He grants enough of that shit for Bulma as it is. He doesn't want another person muscling in on it.

This is what his life has come to.

It's also interesting to note that with multi-wish dragons, you can bank a wish if you don't have anything else in particular that you want.

Speaking of inconsistency, they made a multi-rez wish so shouldn't Shenron be down for eight months, not four? Either way, point is that you can cut down Shenron's recharge time by not using some of your wishes. Which makes sense if you think about it, but is more user-friendly than a lot of magical reality-warping macguffins typically are.

Shenron's great about that in general, concerning himself with making sure that the miracle he grants is in line with the intent of the wish, not just the letter. Unlike that bastard Porunga. He knows what he did.

In fairness, that's as much Dende's fault as Porunga's.

That about covers it for the Dragon Balls and their Wish Dragons, I think.

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #shenron #porunga

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