#and I won the weapon banner too

[addictofanimation]

I GOT EVERYTHING I WANTED!!!!!

[narwhalandchill]

also like . huge fan (not) of the way that hsr is having the worst endgame modes of all time . AND. at the same time. genshin Also gets whatever the fuck THIS abyss is like . what the actual fuck.

like u know its fucking bad when i take 1 look at the lineup and unanimously bench international 😭😭 ajax im so sorry but theres a limit to the cringe im willing to commit to enduring for a clear Even when its for u xx. like im sure i couldve figured out A Clear somehow but it wouldve cost my actual sanity wkjjfjkwjkwdkj

(putting the pyro lectors on 12-1-2 2nd wave not final wave feels. Actually SO personal against childe teams wtf. like extending childes melee so he solos their shields without worry for the CD bc its last wave anyway has been THE strat since those fuckers fucking released as enemies and now its like nah fuck you actually. what the hell hoyo)

(give him the narwhalpilled final form op alt already hoyo i WILL c6r5)

anyway. ended up going for the. easiest way out possible and i am Completely shameless on that one.

did aggravate and tazer to safely clean up that demonic 12-1 at first, realized 12-2 is also hell so then i just leave to double up on hyperbloom lmao. o7 truly

except unironically this shit had me crafting and leveling a second fucking prototype amber bc kokomi and neuvi had been sharing my R5 one before 💀💀 bc like. neuvi just wasnt doing enough dmg with that one fontaine event catalyst i usually substitute for either of them and i cant run prayers on him bc he will overcap crit but kokomi Also needed the pamber.... so now she has a 80/80 r2 one.

also i had ZERO patience for DMC energy issues btw thats a 4p deepwood build with SEVENTY crit rate 245% ER and R5 fav (=overkill much) . i love fa🅱️onius . DMC unironically still such a solid unit tho like. had a surprisingly great time using them after the longest time . theres some thinking around positioning ur lotus so it hits multiple waves more efficiently but with that figured out it was p kewl all things considered

ALSO WHAT THE FUCKKKKK i only. NOW. looked at my XQ gears since he was feeling rly Off in terms of ER on 2nd half despite my nahidas R5 fav and i.

I FORGOT I PUT THE LVL 90 ONE ON QIQI FOR THE CLORINDE TEAM 😭😭😭 and bc theyre both R5 its not like. i had any issue proccing the passive so That didnt clue me in to there being A problem. oh my fucking god i made this so much more cringe for myself than it actually wouldve been didnt i..................

[jackross-v]

Audience of exactly 0 people and a pebble will be thrilled to know I got C2 Baizhu with pulls to spare!!

[slurpyboii]

Pulled Firefly with all of my savings before Ruan Mei and was low-key worried I wasn't gonna get her because she's in literally all of FF's bis teams but I won my 50/50 at 30 pity just now thabk you hoyo 🙏

Also ignore that I'm posting this and the sigewinne one immediately after each other I actually pulled sigewinne the moment the banner dropped I just forgor to post, I pulled RM just now

[stcries]

excuse the inactivity, university and fontaine have grabbed most of my attention. however, i am gonna be lurking here for the rest of the evening!

[komsomolka]

Fritz Schmenkel was the only German national who became a Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions during WWII.

Fritz Schmenkel was born in Stettin (today Szczecin, Poland) in 1916. His father, Paul Krause, a brickyard worker and communist, was murdered by Stormtroopers in 1932. This caused Fritz to join the Young Communist League of Germany to fight his father's Nazi murderers.

In December 1938, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht but refused to serve citing illness and other excuses. He was imprisoned for evading conscription. In July 1941, after the beginning of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Schmenkel volunteered to fight on the Eastern Front so he was released. His true intention was always deserting which he did in November 1941. But he couldn't hide in Belarusian forests forever so there was a dilemma. How not to get killed on spot by comrades because of his German uniform and communicate without knowing Russian language? The shivering and hungry Shmenkel knocked on the doors of local village residents, using a simple set of words: "Lenin, Stalin, Thälmann" - and the doors opened. In exchange for help in a simple peasant household, Fritz received food, a place to sleep, and moved on.

One day Shmenkel came across a patrol of German military police and was arrested. Fortunately for the deserter, fighters from the partisan detachment "Death to Fascism" descended on Germans some time later. After a short but stubborn battle, the garrison was routed, and the partisans learned from local residents about the strange German. Not having time for serious investigation, the fighters simply took him with them. That's how Shmenkel ended up in the partisan detachment.

Of course, at first Soviets were very wary of Fritz, they feared that he was a Nazi spy. But they still decided not to act rashly and give him a chance. And soon such an opportunity presented itself. In one of the villages, the partisans came across German detachment. A fight ensued. Shmenkel did not take part in it - he had no weapon. Since there were too many Germans, the fate of the partisans seemed to be predetermined. Fritz asked for a rifle. Realizing that they have nothing to lose and an extra fighter was now worth its weight in gold, the unit commander took a risk. And he was right. Shmenkel started successfully shooting at Germans. The partisans won that battle. Fritz was then accepted as a member of the partisans. He quickly gained the respect and affection of his unit, his comrades started nicknaming him Ivan Ivanovich jokingly adding "Why call a good person Fritz?".

Schmenkel led German military units into ambushes arranged by the partisans. This helped the partisans capture entire units of Wehrmacht soldiers, as well as ammunition and food. Schmenkel quickly rose through the ranks of the partisans. In March 1943, he traveled to Moscow at the behest of the Red Army, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and received further military training. He was appointed deputy commander of a special operations (sabotage and intelligence) unit that operated in a German-occupied area north of the city of Orsha.

Germans put a reward on Schmenkel's head - 8 hectares of land, a house, a cow, and two thousand German marks. Later, the reward was raised to an astronomical sum for those times - 25 thousand marks.

At the end of 1943, contact with Fritz Schmenkel was lost. Only after the war did it become known that he had been captured and tortured by the Gestapo, but Fritz had not changed his views. He was sentenced to death and executed in occupied Minsk in February 1944.

His last wish was to send a letter to his wife Erna Schäfer. He wrote: "Forgive me for the troubles I have caused you by going my way to the end. I did not renounce my views even in the last hours of my life. I am boldly going to my execution because I am dying for my convictions." He left behind three children in Germany.

By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 October 1964, Fritz Schmenkel was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union "for active participation in the partisan movement, exemplary fulfillment of command assignments during the Great Patriotic War and the heroism and courage displayed in doing so."

The memory of Fritz Schmenkel is immortalized in the names of streets in the cities of Nelidovo and Bely in the Tver region. And in Minsk, a memorial plaque is dedicated to him. One of the streets in East Berlin also bore the name of Shmenkel. However, it was renamed in 1992.

[jeonjcngkook]

clandestine | myg (m) teaser

pairing: gangleader!yoongi x f!reader

genre(s)&au(s): gang au, bitch better have my money or i'll fuck ur girl au, angst, pwp, smut

rating: 18+

word count: teaser - 405

warning(s)&smut warning(s): strong language, mentions of weapons, threats of murder

summary: bloodthirsty and dangerous, yoongi wont stop until he gets what he is rightful owed. and if you're on offer, then he just cant say no to that.

banner: @kth1 | @kth1fics

note: hehehe...

“Sir, over here,” you overhear someone whisper — probably having heard the snoring from above you.

The sound of heavy duty combat boots picking up pace and heading straight in your direction makes you still. You don’t move an inch in fear of getting caught, placing a hand over your mouth to keep your breathing at bay.

From underneath the bed, you count five pairs of boots. They move slowly around the bed surrounding you in a circle. Two of them make their way to the side of the bed where Hee-won lies and another two direct themselves to your side of the bed, vanishing behind the comforter that you had pulled down earlier.

The remaining body doesn’t move from the bottom of the bed. Instead, you watch on as he pulls out the chair from underneath the vanity; the scraping of the chair legs against the floor is like nails on a chalkboard causing you to hiss at the sound.

He sits down in the chair and spreads his legs too casually for someone who is breaking into an apartment which can only mean he has done this many times in the past. He’s calculated and smart — knows how to play the game.

The room is silent.

Nobody talks and nobody moves.

Your eyes frantically dart back and forth between their legs, watching for any movement…but nothing. The sound of a large heavy bag being dropped to the floor makes you jump in terror, your body hitting the framing of the bed.

Someone had to have heard that…

Your body chills at the thought of being caught; who knows what awaits you outside of your hiding spot. Who knows what these men are capable of.

You’re able to make out someone shushing those around him and you watch as the man who is sitting in the chair eventually gets up and walks over to the side of the bed to join the other two where Hee-won lays.

One of the men bends down in your peripheral vision as his leather gloves starts to unzip the bag, emptying the contents all over the floor. The sound of metal on metal hitting against each other is deafening in the small bedroom. You watch as guns, knives and an array of other weaponry is scattered in a small pile on the floor.

“Where is she?” You hear who you presume to be the leader of the home invasion ask. “She’s supposed to be here. I swear if this fucker has touched her, I’ll bury him myself.”

[welcometoteyvat]

oops furina c1 acquired

oops furina acquired

[redzeverin]

Razor and the Lupical "features"

Wriothesley has joined Razor's Lupical!! 🐺 Don't worry... He'll get his little wolf ears when he grows up too and decides his own fashion 🤭💜

On a sidenote, I got Wriothesley early and won my 50/50!! The problem was that I lost in the weapon banner TWICE and only got Cashflow Supervision after 180 pulls (got elegy and then skyward atlast).... 😭💔 Really a wallet hogger huh... In the end I said f it and decided to throw my last 30 pulls in the Wrio banner and actually got his C1! Triple crowned the king and gave him the set I prefarmed for (I still need better substats) and he's so fun to play! I just need to learn how to manage the HP fluctuation better. Maybe Sigewinne in the future will actually be a really good support for him, if not Furina.

Anyways, How did everyone's pulls go?

Twitter | Instagram

[mokaisathome]

Can you be parasocial with your own boyfriend? (Part 3)

Part 1 Part 2

   Jamil's luck wasn't the best. He had known that for a while now, as he got dragged in almost every single one of Kalim's whims when they were kids and then worse, had to go along with Azul's schemes during high school (and even now in college, his “friend” still got him involved in too many thongs he didn't care about). Point was, he wasn't lucky. Or, more accurately, someone next to him – Kalim – was so lucky that in comparison, his luck amounted to nothing.

   Board games? When it didn't involve strategy, Kalim somehow managed to beat him at everything because he seemed to only land on things that helped him.

   Lottery? The guy who didn't need anything more in his life was the one who won prizes left and right.

   Gachapon? His hard-earned allowance never got him anything worthwhile every time he went to the arcade near his elementary school, but the one time he let Kalim accompany him, he, of course, got the rarest character.

   Perhaps saying Jamil wasn't lucky was a mistake – Kalim was simply too lucky which didn't amount to anything in real life actually. But today, that was exactly the skill Jamil needed.

*

   The only reason Jamil began that game was because his friends asked him to. At first, he had no interest in it, simply following the story without paying much attention to the characters, but along the way, he found himself interested in the mechanics. Making a character stronger through thorough strategy and planning was more fun than he had expected and even if it was only from time to time, he sometimes streamed it when a boss seemed challenging enough.

   The characters weren't really part of the appeal to him outside their skills and the only times he found himself interested in rolling one was to use them to their full potential. Today was the release day of one such character. A cute girl sure but he had his eyes on her particular skill set – seemingly difficult to use and a bit clunky, but he could make it work. (The real reason was that Kalim who stopped playing the game ages ago because he was bored with it liked her and was a bit sad to see her get trashed because of her kit.)

   The problem was… She wasn't coming home. At all. At this point, he was close to the spending limit he had imposed himself, and every time he clicked on the banner to roll, he got at most a four star but often absolutely nothing. A glance at his chat made Jamil click his tongue discreetly enough that his mic didn't pick up on it. “rip”, “💸💸” and other less kind comments.

   The character's bright smile seemed to mock him now as he clicked through the gacha results to come back to the banner page. Why did he start playing a game without pity again?

   Stopping now would be a wise choice but more than unlucky, Jamil was a sore loser. If it had been something like a boss battle, he would have made changes accordingly and won, but nothing could be done when the battle was with the gacha RNG… Except, something could be done.

   He leaned back on his chair and sighed. “Don't worry, I'll get what I want. I'll just use my secret weapon.”

   Despite what an astounding number of comments on his chat said, his “ultimate weapon” wasn't his credit card but the man sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room. Kalim who never moved from there while he was streaming perked up when Jamil discreetly waved at him and not so discreetly, approached from the computer. Jamil had to hold him at arm's length so he wouldn't appear on camera and mouthed a serious “Don't talk” before motioning him to click on the “Roll” button.

  Kalim happily obeyed and did exactly as Jamil wanted though his “Don't talk” order was mostly ignored (Kalim's words were for him alone though as he muted himself for a few seconds). The screen turned black for a split second before it turned rainbow. As expected. Kalim's luck was unmatched after all.

   No need to look at his chat to know they were excited about the results – the comments rolled too fast for him to read, and they went even faster when after the first five stars, a second one popped up. (Maybe that was overkill, but it was his reward after such a frustrating stream.) Kalim was still next to him, cheering as silently as he could, obviously happier than even Jamil. A few minutes later, Jamil received Kalim's usual red SuperChat, its message full of congratulations and emojis.

   Jamil's luck wasn't the best, but there weren't many people who could brag about ending a gacha rolling richer than they had been before it.

[ofdragonsdeep]

23: On Cloud Nine

Very happy.

As Radz-at-Han celebrates, the cause of it has a few words for the Warrior of Light

(6.5 spoilers)

The excitement that permeated Radz-at-Han felt infectious. The streets were always bright with colour, but today even more banners had been strung across the rooftops, the people donning their best and brightest silks in celebration.

It had quickly grown overwhelming for Ar'telan. Crowded cities always did, given enough time, but the noise and bustle of the party had expedited it. It was difficult to creep away, when everyone in the city knew your face, but in the chaos he had slipped from the Meyhane and into the streets. He wound through markets, open late for the occasion, and past people who only spared him a passing glance. He ducked away from people trying to offer him food - on the Satrap's coin, as he understood it - and ended up in the open air by Meghaduta. He hopped the fence by the fields, only feeling a little guilty, and sat down by the nearest bush.

Carbuncle shoved its head against one of his hands as he looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, the stars sharp and bright in the dark, only the faint sparkles that Lily and Carbuncle gave off with their existence daring to compete with them. He looked up at the moon, bright and white - it felt strange to still call her Menphina, after everything, but it was a part of his heritage just like everything else - and tried to let the sight engender calm.

He still couldn't believe they had won.

Not against Golbez - he had been a formidable foe, for certain, but Ar'telan had never doubted in the strength of his comrades when facing him down. But Zeromus…

He could have faced down the fiend for as long as it took. It could have rebuilt itself a dozen times over, and he could have weathered it. But he had not dared to hope that they could save Azdaja.

He still remembered the feeling of holding her Eye in his hands. The look on Vrtra's simulacrum when they had realised it was a trap. The agony in his voice when they hadn't been able to save her from the void's influence, when Golbez had used her as nothing more than a weapon. Ar'telan had understood it, though not felt the wound quite so deeply as Vrtra himself had. They had already lost Bahamut, and Ratatoskr, and Nidhogg. Azdaja would have made more of the First Brood number among the dead than the living. They had inured themselves to the silence, her lack of answer still a sort of hope, but to know her dead or worse would have been a difficult blow to weather.

The moon, full and bright, shone down on them. Carbuncle butted its head against his leg.

They had won.

It had cost Vrtra an eye, true, but what small a price to pay for his sister's life? Ar'telan would have paid it too, if he had even half the aether of the First Brood to offer. It was the very least he owed them after Nidhogg.

It had been so long since he had been home, that he had begun to forget how it feeled to see a people celebrating a dragon's return. Not a one of the people in Radz-at-Han knew Azdaja, but they knew what she meant to Vrtra, and that was enough. Ar'telan knew that Tiamat, now home in Meracydia, would have heard the return of her call. Hraesvelgr, too, ensconced within Zenith. Ar'telan hoped it would give him renewed reason to believe in moving forward.

It was almost too good to believe.

From the roof of Meghaduta, there was a deep, sonorous roar, followed by a shrill one. It echoed deep in the bones, and Ar'telan closed his eyes to feel it. He no longer carried Hraesvelgr's eye, but something had lingered. The call felt just a little like home.

It was only a few moments later that the sound of fluttering wings cut through the distant noise of celebration. Ar'telan opened his eyes in time to see Azdaja land on his knees.

"Greetings, mortal."

"I would have thought you celebrating," he replied, a smile on his face as he said it. She rumbled in immediate reply, the sound more like a trill in her newly-small form.

"There will be much time for such things in the days to come," she said. "A great many days of freedom stretch out before me, now, and it is only right that I thank thee for thy part in it."

Ar'telan thought about how Golbez had freed her into the corrupting void only to taunt those who would rescue her. How his plan had always been to feed her essence, rich and full of aether, to his hungry weapon-creature. How even the rends that Zeromus had torn in reality did not lead it home.

"I did little worth mentioning," he said, to which she shook her tiny head.

"Vrtra doth speak highly of thee," she disagreed. "It is thy presence which moved him to act. Thy courage which paved a path for them to follow. Thy influence which allowed even the blackest heart to seek forgiveness."

Ar'telan thought about Nidhogg. How none of his hope had reached those ears. None of his pleas had changed his mind. How he had endured for so long, with Hraesvelgr wounded and the lives of all of Ishgard on the line, and Estinien corrupted steadily more with each passing day, and had still not been able to save him.

Hadn't even been able to save his memory.

"I didn't do that much," he said. Azdaja snorted, but it did not sound particularly grand.

"Thy modesty is ill-earned," she disagreed. "I know thee for what thou art, child of Meracydia. My sister's words doth travel across the sound to meet mine own. Thy name is known to us, Shall Ahm." Ar'telan started in surprise at the name. Dragonspeak wrote its translations into the soul, even to those without the Echo, and though he knew what it meant, it was still strange to hear it spoken as a name. "'Tis apt, for thy actions are a shield. Thy kindness a bulwark." She lowered her head then, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. "Though time doth pass in the Void, I marked it not. Only the endless, stretching emptiness. The staid, ceaseless existence. As he took of my aether for his ambitions, letting me feel only enough that I knew it to be loss." She looked up once more, ruffling her tiny wings. "The actions of many did free me from that prison, 'tis true. And it was my brother whose aether did deliver me from the heart of the voidsent I became. But I felt thy pain. Thy care. Thou didst call out for me with him, and I did mark it." Her tail coiled around his knees. "I have missed much, but I have days to learn it, and 'tis because of thee." Her tail thumped against his knees, and it felt a little like Orh Mahr's excitement. "Thou art beloved of my brother. Of my sister. Of my father. Be proud, child of Meracydia. Thou bear'st a legacy of thy people's pain, and from it kindle hope."

Ar'telan raised his hands to answer, but no words came to his fingertips. They sat there for a few long moments, the distant echoes of celebration seeping into the silence, before he found them again.

"Thank you."

"Nay. 'Tis thee who earns the thanks this day," Azdaja disagreed. "Go well, dusk-blessed warrior. I pray calmer times for thee in the days ahead." With a powerful beat of her wings, she took to the skies once more, a swift ascent taking her back towards the rooftop, where Vrtra doubtless waited for her return.

Would they be proud of me, back home?

Carbuncle slammed its head into his leg once more.

…I suppose they would.

[jedimaesteryoda]

Viserys and Robert are two characters we only see in A Game of Thrones. They are kings and pretenders set against each other, but they somehow share things in common.

We see Viserys through the eyes of his sister Daenerys and we see Robert through the eyes of his foster brother Ned, the people who would be most generous in their view towards them, and through them, Viserys and Robert by their descriptions given would both be fantasy protagonists on paper.

Fifteen years past, when they had ridden forth to win a throne, the Lord of Storm's End had been clean-shaven, clear-eyed, and muscled like a maiden's fantasy. Six and a half feet tall, he towered over lesser men, and when he donned his armor and the great antlered helmet of his House, he became a veritable giant. He'd had a giant's strength too, his weapon of choice a spiked iron warhammer that Ned could scarcely lift. In those days, the smell of leather and blood had clung to him like perfume. . . . Ned had loved her with all his heart. Robert had loved her even more. She was to have been his bride. -AGOT, Eddard I

Robert is the trope of the reluctant monarch, someone who was originally living a carefree life in the country, but then finds himself forced to claim the throne not because he wants it, but because the current king is a tyrant and he takes the throne to avoid the lesser evil. He was a strong warrior, who fought to recover his bride who was abducted and kept in a tower, and killed the black knight in battle who took her. He also won over former enemies and turned them into friends with his mercy and charm.

Yet sometimes Dany would picture the way it had been, so often had her brother told her the stories. The midnight flight to Dragonstone, moonlight shimmering on the ship's black sails. Her brother Rhaegar battling the Usurper in the bloody waters of the Trident and dying for the woman he loved. The sack of King's Landing by the ones Viserys called the Usurper's dogs, the lords Lannister and Stark. Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as Rhaegar's heir was ripped from her breast and murdered before her eyes. The polished skulls of the last dragons staring down sightlessly from the walls of the throne room while the Kingslayer opened Father's throat with a golden sword. . . . The realm will rise for its rightful king. Tyrell, Redwyne, Darry, Greyjoy, they have no more love for the Usurper than I do. The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children. And the smallfolk will be with us. They cry out for their king." He looked at Illyrio anxiously. "They do, don't they?" "They are your people, and they love you well," Magister Illyrio said amiably. "In holdfasts all across the realm, men lift secret toasts to your health while women sew dragon banners and hide them against the day of your return from across the water." -AGOT, Daenerys I

Viserys is the trope of the young exiled prince, his royal father was murdered, his family overthrown by a usurper and he is on a quest to regain the throne. His brother's family is murdered and even his mother passes. Even Rhaegar is given a romantic flair of being a noble knight "dying for the woman he loved."

However, Viserys's story is marred by the fact that the Usurper and his dogs were actually justified in overthrowing his father Aerys II and Robert turns out to be a better king than the one he overthrew. In Robert's case, it turns out his betrothed never wanted him and went with the black knight willingly. His allies also engaged in horrific war crimes like Elia's rape-murder and the murder of her two kids.

"My brother will never take back the Seven Kingdoms," Dany said. She had known that for a long time, she realized. She had known it all her life. Only she had never let herself say the words, even in a whisper, but now she said them for Jorah Mormont and all the world to hear. Ser Jorah gave her a measuring look. "You think not." "He could not lead an army even if my lord husband gave him one," Dany said. "He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a snake. The Dothraki make mock of his weakness. He will never take us home." -AGOT, Daenerys III "You are the King's Hand, Lord Stark. You will do as I command you, or I'll find me a Hand who will." "I wish him every success." Ned unfastened the heavy clasp that clutched at the folds of his cloak, the ornate silver hand that was his badge of office. He laid it on the table in front of the king, saddened by the memory of the man who had pinned it on him, the friend he had loved. "I thought you a better man than this, Robert. I thought we had made a nobler king." -AGOT, Eddard VIII

Martin deconstructs the trope further as both protagonists through whom we largely see the two figures come to realize that both of them are unfit for the crown. Daenerys realizes that Viserys is never retaking the Iron Throne, being weak, incompetent and foolish. Ned becomes disillusioned coming to the sober realization that it turns out Robert, the guy who didn't want the throne in the first place ends up being a lazy king not very active in ruling and administration, nor is he as noble as Ned thought he would be.

They both end up dying by the end of A Game of Thrones, bringing about their destruction through their own flaws. Viserys is killed after he threatens the khal's pregnant wife and sister he abused with a sword over his thwarted entitlement to both the crown from Drogo and Daenerys. Robert is killed in his arrogance hunting a boar while refusing any assistance, and by the wife he isolated and abused. Both of them were also pretty drunk and arrogant (with the former influencing the latter) during those actions.

In a fit of irony, Viserys and Robert were both miserable men with Viserys miserable over not having the Iron Throne while Robert was miserable because he had it. Viserys wished to be in Robert's position as the king sitting on the Iron Throne while Robert wished he was in Viserys's position of living in the Free Cities, free of any duties or obligations and able to pursue his own path.

Viserys's sister Daenerys ends up being the textbook exiled prince even though she was a princess, and does more in two years than Viserys did in his entire lifetime by hatching dragon eggs, and securing a crown and a kingdom. She has the wits and resourcefulness that he lacked as well as tries to fit the ideal image of a Good King/Queen, freeing millions from slavery. Ned himself ends up fitting the reluctant monarch trope despite never wearing a crown, being the reluctant Lord of Winterfell ruling over his kingdom of the North. He proves to be an honorable man and adheres to his ideal of justice, becoming paternalism personified.

In the end, Viserys and Robert proved they were never the main characters of the story, just sad men who pursued things that resulted in their own self-destruction.

[cagebladeweek]

CageBlade Week Roundup

Thank you to all the contributors who helped make this week a success! We are grateful for everyone who took time to make words, do art, reblog, comment, and cheer on. Thank you! Before Anything Else: @asweetlovesong made our spectacular 2023 banner. THANK YOU SO MUCH!❤️

Without further ado, here is a masterpost! And yeah, it's long, but everyone in here deserves the shout-out.

Day 1:

Art:

Johnny & Sonya having a snowball fight by @asweetlovesong

Fics:

Spark by CosmicTapestries / @cosmictapestries

Bless Your Heart by jayiin/ @thenotebookwizard

Just Feel Better by ktbl / @dei2dei

Underdressed by @roztekawrites

Day 2:

Art:

Green Lantern Sonya takes her boyfriend to spaaaace! by @2tunafish

Fics:

Symptoms May Include by ktbl/ @dei2dei

Starstruck by CosmicTapestries / @cosmictapestries

I’ll be fine! By jayiin/ @thenotebookwizard

Panacea by @roztekawrites

Day 3:

Fics: 

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by by ktbl/ @dei2dei

Patching Up by @roztekawrites

Day 4:

Art:

Gargoyles! Spins on Sonya & Johnny by @drawingmouse

Fics:

You Are My Kind by ktbl/ @dei2dei

Southern Belle by jayiin/ @thenotebookwizard

The Sweetest Sound by CosmicTapestries / @cosmictapestries

The Best Catch by KarasikVsouse / @drawingmouse (English) and in Russian, Лучший улов

Surprise Gifts by @roztekawrites

Day 5:

Fics:

Developments by ktbl / @dei2dei

Exhibition Match by jayiin / @thenotebookwizard

Star-Fighter by @roztekawrites

Day 6:

Art:

Johnny's Early Career by @2tunafish

Fics:

Full Of Himself by jewels_and_gems / @blade-in-a-cage

Priorities by KarasikVsouse / @drawingmouse

Just Push Play by ktbl/ @dei2dei

Day 7:

Art:

Free Day Family picture by @drawingmouse

Free Day Johnny & Sonya Kameo Kiss by @2tunafish

Fics:

Blowing Kisses by @roztekawrites

What He Really Won by jayiin / @thenotebookwizard

lay (your weapons) down by ktbl/ @dei2dei

The Best Intentions and a Bowl of Skorthózoumi by CosmicTapestries / @cosmictapestries

Bonus! "day 8" "Admirers" drabble also by @roztekawrites... I mean, CageBlade -- if it's Janet Cage, it's still CageBlade, right? ;)

Here are some other great pieces of CageBlade content that were posted this week, though not for the event; we’re rounding them up here so they can get some more love too!

Don’t think these were intended for cagebladeweek, but coincidentally @crimescrimson posted some spectacular gifsets so we’re including them here! One & Two

Also posted this week was this great Revenant redesign by @darkimperialjedi

And this captures Sonya and Johnny’s dynamic in a nutshell, by @corre1310-blog

[onlyaceishere]

I just did the Teyvat character sorter for like the 500th time and I wanted to post my top 10 because im bored

#10 - Yelan

(Lost my 50/50 to Dehya during 4.0 phase one D:)

#9 - Kazuha

(Lost 50/50 during 2.8 to Jean but got revenge and won the 50/50 during 3.7)

#8 - Albedo

(Been in an Albedo arc recently but I've never wished on any of his banners so im hoping to get him on his next rerun)

#7 - Venti

(Never got a five star on any of his banners yet but skipping in 4.1 due to Hu Tao)

#6 - Cyno

(Never wished on any of his banners because I have Raiden but I don't use her and I like Cyno better so soon hopefully)

#5 - Charlotte

(Please release her soon Hoyoverse)

#4 - Hu Tao

(Lost 50/50 during Lantern Rite but Im guaranteed for 4.1)

#3 - Heizou

(My main he's great. Spent my first crown of insight on him two weeks ago and I have his weapon r5 + I have c5 so yeah)

#2 - Collei

(One of the best characters in the whole game imo so underrated)

#1 - Lyney

(Feel in love with his character after act 1 of the archon quest but it was too late... I already had spent all my primogems on Yelan. So I'll do whatever it takes on his rerun

15-11 were

#15 - Yoimiya

#14 - Lynette

#13 - Gorou

#12 - Wriothesley

#11 - Nilou

Ok bye

Healer Venti is almost done so stay tuned!!!

[blizzardrush]

Coming of Age

                          Dragunov Week Day 3: Alternate Universe

I've wanted to write this for a long time.

Content warnings: canon-typical violence, depictions of blood and gore, character death.

Read here or on AO3.

Thank you, and enjoy! @dragunovweek1

                                        1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

                                                      -  -  -

    Life could not go on this way, and the insurgent was in the thick of it. He was whatever was needed -- planner, consultant, writer, runner, spy. Whatever it took to stop the common people, his people, from starving in the streets.

    He met with workers in factories and organized strikes. He spoke with disaffected soldiers and secreted weapons into the proper pockets. He stood atop statues and shouted for reform, a banner in one hand, the other in a fist. The air and his heart were charged with electric excitement. His world tilted on the edge of change.

    He was captured. He was stolen away with a bag on his head and delivered to a small, underground room.

    They tried to make him talk, to surrender his comrades, their agendas, threatening devastation. He spat in their faces. The Empire was already decrepit. If he didn't perish now, it would be of exposure in the cold, too poor to afford heat. Wasn't that a familiar story? How many Imperial Guard had lost siblings to famine? Wives? Children?

    They left the room for a while. They came back with knives. Bayonets.

    The insurgent had craved many things in these desperate times. This was the first time he craved death.

    The last thing they took before they dumped his ruined meat in a slush-filled alley was his tongue. No seditious words evermore.

    His comrades found him the next day, and mended what they could, but their attention was required elsewhere. Troops had fired upon the crowds marching on the Winter Palace. Hundreds were dead, many more injured. They bid him farewell, certain it would be the last time they saw him alive.

    But a frigid flame yet burned inside him. He refused to succumb to his wounds. The revolution needed him.

    He was no help to the cause in his broken state. When he gathered enough strength to walk, he crept aboard a train due west. There was a place beyond the Empire that heralded a miracle: a cure for any ailment and injury. One needed only arrive through its gates, and arrive the insurgent did.

    However, with treatment completed, he awoke in a world more warped than the one he knew, its psyche squalid and sloshing with vile mystery. He gripped the edges of the clinic doors and watched the sun dip past jagged spires.

    Yharnam was very dark at night.

                                                      -  -  -

    "I know what you're doing, and I'd advise against it. Beasts are your primary concern. Not hunters."

    Sergei Dragunov, crossing the threshold of Oedon Chapel, sneers at the crow-woman lurking in the shadows. Does she? Has she seen how power turns ordinary men into slaves of the elite?

    "Not undeserving hunters." Eileen peers at him down the curve of her beaked mask. This one carries mild interest. Beyond doubt he's an outsider, for she's never seen him on prior hunts, but he moves with experience of won battles. Observing him dispatch Gascoigne made certain of that. "For your sake, you had best tell the difference."

    That is easy enough. Dragunov turns his gaze toward the Grand Cathedral, its hammer-like edifice looming over the Ward. He needn't be in Yharnam long to see the mark of the Healing Church in near every aspect of life in the city. That's how it begins. Control over all. Property, faith -- daily health. The fangs of a parasite sucking the populace dry.

    Perhaps there is time to save this place from tyranny yet. Never in his past life had he thought to be an assassin, but here he has the blood, the Doll, the dream.

    Torchlight gleams off the weapon at his hip. Though tarnished with age and layers of dungeon dust, Eileen recognizes it well. Sergei turns to leave.

    "Hmm." She rubs her chin, gathers her thoughts. "What path you choose to follow is your own. What prey you choose to hunt. I will not stop you, but take heed. Some burdens weigh heavier than others. Don't let it drain you of your youth."

    He hesitates, frowning back at her before continuing the march toward the Cathedral.

    Eileen chuckles. Must not hear that often.

                                                      -  -  -

    A spider dies, and Yharnam falls to ruin.

    The Grand Cathedral once more. Dragunov kneels on its top step. Its imposing facade pales in comparison to the bruised, putrid sky above. His hat blocks the worst of the sloughing colors. The heavens hold not his attention regardless.

    Eileen, propped against a stone statue, lies in a pool of her own blood. Sergei places a palm over her heart. Its beat is faint yet steady, as is her breath.

    As is her voice, when she speaks. "Well, young hunter? Have you made your choice?" Fluid crackles in her throat.

    He has.

    The towering doors are open. He walks inside.

    A hunter staggers before the altar. Curiously, his hair comes to a thick point. He quakes in pain, bent double and clutching his head. Hearing Sergei's footfalls, he looks over his shoulder, eyes wide and wild.

    "Get back," he croaks, "Get back!"

    He damns himself to slaughter. Dragunov breaks into a run. If he can get there in time -- he wrenches his short sword apart into its constituent blades, siderite shedding sparks--

    Like many before him and many more to come, the hunter explodes in a flash of light and shower of gray fluid. Wicked claws burst from his existing arms and the scaled legs protruding from his belly. His skin erupts in black stripes and boils, and his wings hang heavy with shaggy feathers.

    The beast turns, the scream that rips from its throat careens around the Cathedral walls, splintering the windows.

    Dragunov rushes on, blades reaching for bestial flesh. Slashed blood invigorates his own even as the monster tears at him. Rage smolders coldly within him, drives his dancing, dodging dashes away only to dive in openings between swinging limbs. The wretched, ruinous Church--

    On the beast's forehead, a crimson eye cracks open.

    The light it flares sets Sergei's mind ablaze. He's in over his head. This empire spans further than earthly borders. His is a futile fight against the very heavens themselves, and the tsars who reign there are as gods. He is an ant, an atom, in a sea of incomprehensible puppet masters.

    Blood -- his own blood -- spews from him in spearheads, and yet pressure still builds. Dragunov stumbles, dropping one blade. He is going to burst apart.

    The beast laughs, arms wide for a lethal embrace.

    He has one last chance. His free hand scrabbles at his hip. Where is it, where is -- there!

    The beast's hot, rancid breath fills his nose as his fingers find the trigger of his pistol.

    The shot blasts through the madness. The beast shrieks, reeling back, molten quicksilver from the bullet scalding its exposed chest.

    Sergei sinks his remaining dagger into its writhing heart. Wrenching it free throws the beast to the ground.

    --his hand is empty. Both blades lie on the floor. The talons adorning his fingers shrink into human nails.

    The Grand Cathedral is silent.

    Dragunov watches the beast melt into ruddy sludge. He was too late for this one. Flitting from hunter to hunter, watching for signs of Church influence, is no longer an option. Too inefficient. As the night intensifies, so must he.

    The throne of the Healing Church lies near.

    He injects a blood vial into his thigh, feels its soothing spread around him, and withdraws to see if Eileen still lives.

[mammonprotectionsquad]

I gotta recap what happened yesterday with my pulls because I'm sure I used up all my luck for at least a year xD

So, Furina's C0 was guaranteed. But for her C1 and C2 I won both 50/50s. Got all that with 200 wishes which is pretty good. Then I did one ten pull on the weapon banner at 67 pity. I fully expected to lose my 50/50 there because I was too lucky the last times. What happened instead? I got Furina's weapon not once, but twice in the same damn pull! Then at 0 pity I decided to pull on Baizhu's banner. First 10 pull gave me C5 Charlotte, second pull actually gave me Baizhu 😶 so I won three 50/50s in a row on the character banners. And I'm also very sure that I won my 50/50 on the weapon banner at least the same amount of times in a row now. Wtf xD