#and also a lot of greater lore things went over my head because i went in knowing nothing about the honkai universe

[mymarifae]

honkai star rail

[snailfen]

not that anon but who's your favorite sluggy

so i never played the original MSC, but originally my favorite was the saint. i loved the idea of being able to just Leave situations and have a grappling tongue at all times as a newbie. i really struggled with platforming and survival back then, so i really liked them. fuck losing all karma upon dying, i could just Leave!

out of the vanilla scugs, monk was also my favorite back then. i REALLY hated the lore removal, but my gaming skills were already just Piss Poor in general so rain world was almost nigh impossible at first. also i liked being friends with lizards and scavs and i couldnt bring myself to attack scavs back then.

so, between then and now, my favorites have changed. between the MSC slugcats...

this is one of those few times i can answer from Every Possible Aspect of the candidate, like gameplay, campaign plot, etc. Which is really cool! when MSC dropped, Riv was the one  I played first using the "unlock all campaigns" cheat. I REALLY wanted to play saint first, but knowing from the start that the slugcats were ranked by difficulty and saint was locked behind 2 slugcats as opposed to 1, I curbed that urge and went for Riv since they were my second favorite.

now, their super exaggerated movement was hard to get a handle on, i will admit- but i hadn't played this game in a long time so i was just rusty on top of that. but i can confidently say im used to them! i love using their abilities to see just what i can do. there was a time i was playing with a randomizer and it was really fun having to adapt to each new situation like an opportunist. i wish i recorded it! but riv really helped me get over my hesitance when i was faced with predators, which was a bad habit I'd had for a long time.

campaign gameplay tested my lay of the land as well; especially by starting out in drainage system. i practically never set foot in drainage system back in the day, so i didnt know where in the world to head. I luckily detected the garbage wastes gate like, right away. trying to navigate the parts of the game more beaten off the main path of vanilla was difficult but fun! having only so much time to get from place to place was a fun challenge. then, after getting the rarefraction cell, trying to see how far i could go in 1 cycle was even greater.

now the plot is really where riv got me for sure.

looks to the moon has been a favorite character of mine for years. i never really stopped thinking about what happened between her and pebbles; every few months or so i would think about it. just how... hopeless things were for moon. It really made me sad. i think i speak for a lot of people when i say i wished that i could help her in some way. but the only thing i could do is bring her neurons, really. i never really made sense of pebbles side of the deal, like i knew what was going on with him and i felt bad, but it never really hit me how horrible things were for him. it all just felt so... tragic, yknow? that things ended up the way they did for the two of them.

exploring their superstructures was an experience. i originally planned to go to pebbles through shaded citadel after visiting moon on my first playthrough, but plans changed when i considered dealing with memory crypts, and the leg, AND underhang with my cycle limit (i had already sort of guessed that riv was after monks point in the timeline, but i didn't know that those areas got worse for riv so i was just thinking in terms of vanilla) so i went through the wall.

I kinda wish I saw at least memory crypts, but thats ok because the low gravity in the normally zero-gravity access shaft, plus the proto dll at the end, told me everything I needed to know before facing Pebbles chamber. Floating through his decayed structures... it hurt. I remember my first encounter with him in vanilla felt just a word away from being downright incomprehensible. he really came off as some god I couldn't percieve. but now, seeing the walls corroded by nothing but Rot, only small parts I actually recognized just barely peeking out amongst the decay, I just couldn't look. I felt like... like my arteries were clogged just by seeing his condition. Hearing him listen to Halcyon Memories, a favorite (previously) unused track of mine created a special kind of somber that I will Never re-experience.

Then, Moon's structure. This one is special. I got suuuper lost in here, but im glad I did. Up until a certain point, I had been taking the scenery in with a kind of reverence you would have while walking around a graveyard. I wandered for a few cycles, and at some point, Random Fate started playing. I didn't recognize the bass line yet, but when I had stumbled into what I immediately recognized as Moon's Memory Conflux, the Sundown melody kicked in.

Recognizing both things at once, I got all... like, choked up. Like... I'm finally helping Moon!  But... what about Pebbles? Why can't I help him? ...And like, I knew why; he brought this fate upon them both. But that didn't make it hurt any less. He asked me to do the only thing he wanted: to give all he had to redeem what he did. So in the end, this was all I could do to help him; in the same way that this was all Pebbles could do to make up for what he did to Moon.

Don't get me started on the ending. Seeing Moon restored to even a fraction of what once was had me so happy! It was exhilarating to say the least. But I was tearing up on the edge of my seat when she reached out to Pebbles. Watching the messages roll in slowly, seeing what she had to say, all the while praying that Pebbles could hear her.

Seeing Moon call herself Pebbles big sister is what broke the dam. From what I saw back in the day, people usually skirted that title of hers when it came to Pebbles, or never really acknowledged it. Even I did, for some time. But it never made sense to do that! Moon and Pebbles would never feel such anger, betrayal, or regret over everything that had happened if they weren't very close. I found it very important that that's who Moon was to him. Not just a great friend, but a big sister. I'm so glad the MSCteam felt that was important as well.

Speaking of which, seeing the names of community members and fans that I recognized in the credits got me sobbing again when I thought I was done. This expansion was a loveletter to the game from the fans, brought in officially by the actual developers. The Rivulet campaign especially enforced that feeling of love for the game- by having compassion for the tragedy two iterators and finally helping them reconcile.

I finally felt satisfied, not only because I was able to help Moon- but because I had also realized the tragic life that Pebbles had led. Those two things had never really left my mind.

anyways WOOOOO that was a lot of rambling. hope you enjoyed......

[evelyns-writing-blog]

Catch the Wind: Reincarnated into an Idealised Shell - Chapter II: Nix

[Previous chapter]

Despite leaving me by my lonesome yesterday, today it appeared that Shiro didn't want to leave my side at all. After we settled in in our new inn, he dragged me all over the city to different clothing shops to find something that fit me. It took all morning. Personally, I would have worn anything, but Shiro was really particular about it.

  "You've gotta dress up in a way that expresses your personality, Marisa!" He said.

  But of course, that made sense completely. If we're playing dress up with my personality in mind, then we should ditch these clothing stores and start finding a trash bag that suits me!

  In the end, he settled on an outfit comprised of light armour and dull colours, with the exception of a cape that was dark red. When I asked him why he picked out this sort of outfit for me, he just said, "because it looks cool."

  It's not as if it wasn't a practical getup, but Shiro really should get his priorities straight. But given that he paid for all of it, I couldn't exactly complain. Especially when it was, admittedly, very cool looking.

  Along our shopping trip, I learned that this city was called Nix. It was surrounded by water and had this massive cathedral looking building in the middle. I couldn't see it from the inn we stayed at before. But it really was beautiful, and massive. Extremely so. It even had this huge stained glass window that depicted a really pretty woman with a crown on her head. Didn't take a lot to figure that it was a depiction of a queen.

  According to Shiro, this was the capital of Ferrum, a country that was in a near-constant winter, and that giant building in the centre of this city was where the queen and her family lived.

  Most of this country was uninhabitable, but due to some recent wars, it managed to innovate and chip away at that uninhabited land, building underground cities and weather barriers. Apparently the latter of those, whatever a weather barrier actually entailed, weren't needed here in Nix, as the weather in this region wasn't deemed dangerous, but it couldn't have hurt to implement one anyway, right? That wind was seriously not good last night.

  War was brought up a lot in Shiro's explanation of this country, and most of it went over my head, but it wasn't exactly painting a pretty picture of the place. But since it was peacetime, it looked like I didn't need to worry about being dragged into some war. I was happy about that, at least.

The history of this place seemed very deep with lore, but I'd rather talk about Shiro himself.

  The more I stuck around him, the stranger he got. The reason it took us until mid day to finish buying me clothes wasn't because he actually had that much trouble finding something for me, and more so the fact that he kept getting sidetracked.

  Any time he saw someone in even a mild amount of trouble, he would go over and try to resolve it. I guess that proves he didn't save me because I was special or anything. He'd save anyone. It was admirable, but if he stopped for every little thing, he'd end up wasting his youth. I didn't stop him. He was doing a good thing, after all, but I'd be lying if I said that all these diversions weren't ticking me off.

  I felt like if I told him no, he'd hit me back with a, "so I shouldn't have helped you out either," and that was the last thing I wanted to hear.

  Seeing Shiro with a ponytail during the day was much better than in the dark of that forest. A sight for sore eyes. How I wish I could openly dote on him. I wanted to spoil him rotten seeing him like this. (Shiro Ponytail Edition, as I call it.) But alas, I had no money, in fact I was relying on him. The very opposite of spoiling him. Is there any greater irony than that?

  Needless to say, Shiro was also pretty bossy, making sure everything went as he wanted it to. I objected to getting a cape with my new clothes, but he just pouted and looked to be on the verge of tears. So I caved and accepted it.

  But that's okay! I'm a sucker for his cuteness so I'll put up with anything!

  ...

  Ahem.

  All of that excitement aside, I really did find Shiro to be a great guy. With someone like him, I think I can easily slip into society in this world without much of a struggle.

  Oh, and one more thing. When that innkeeper said Shiro was famous, she meant it. We were getting all sorts of looks. Or rather, he was, and I was completely ignored. On the other hand, he didn't seem too happy about it. He kept his head down and always seemed to rush through busier areas.

  He seemed so upset, in fact, that I didn't feel like it was my place to really ask him about it.

  At any rate, we made it to a restaurant near the front gates of the town, and it had an engraving on the door that said "Mercenary Guild Associated Business," with a little check mark underneath. I had noticed this same engraving when I tried searching for Shiro in that tavern.

  It looked as though this "mercenary guild" had locations tons of locations. I suppose it was only natural for a big city like this, but this restaurant was huge. And considering it was so close to the entrance, it might have even been the main guild building. At least for this city.

  The plan for today was to get me into this guild so I could stay by Shiro's side. This wasn't my idea, but his.

  "I've joined other people's parties before, but I've never had a partner of my own," he said, "and who else but you?" That cheery smile gave me little confidence, surprisingly. "Oh, don't worry, We'll take easy jobs. You'll be completely safe from danger! You have my word!"

  That's what he said, but it was still annoying scary experience. Enough to make me want to hid back at the inn. The only reason I didn't was because I felt grateful towards him.

  The mercenary guild had four ranks. From lowest to highest it goes:

  1. Beginner

  2. Average

  3. Highly skilled

  4. Expert

  I didn't know what any of that meant, but I figured I'd learn as I went. Though it didn't take a genius to understand that a being an expert meant you're the best of the best.

  Shiro guided me through the process, but I probably could have figured it out myself.

  Something of note that isn't too important, but moreso just really strange, before I signed up, the receptionist at the front desk of the guild half of the restaurant had taken a blood sample from me and injected it into a small plastic card.

  "This is how we make verification, sir," the receptionist lady said. "These cards are connected to a magic network, but it requires a small, one time activation, using your blood links the card to you. And because of that magic network, if you were to ever lose this card, you could simply buy a new one and give it your blood. This will of course erase the other card's data, so to speak. So no one who finds it one day could impersonate you."

  What a complicated system! Explain it in English!!! I wanted to say that, but I just nodded.

  "Oh, that's odd," she said. "It appears you're already signed up to the..." she paused, looking confused. I glance at Shiro but he didn't seem to have a clue either.

  "W-What's wrong?" I asked, timidly.

  "Your details aren't showing up. It's corrupted," she explained, showing me the card. The letters were all warped, unreadable. The card even had my face on it, well, at least I assumed so if this really was my card, because this picture was also corrupted. The top half of it was missing.

  I sighed. "That can't be right though. I've never been here before."

  "It's really not an issue, sir, we can easily erase this data and sign you up from scratch."

  It went something like that. The fact that it happened was inconsequential though, since, as the receptionist said, I can just sign up again, but something bugged me about that, I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

  Rather than getting frustrated by trying to rack my brain around it, I just pushed it to the back of my mind.

  The receptionist handed me a form that I needed to fill out, and told me I should fill it in by the end of the day. So me and Shiro took this opportunity to order something for lunch and then sit down at an unoccupied table.

  I filled out the information, but stopped when I reached putting my name on it. I thought about it for a moment, and then went to Shiro for some advice. "Is it alright if I skip out on putting my name on this for the time being?"

  Shiro tilted his head. "Why'd you wanna do that?"

  "Well it's... I was thinking of changing my name," I explained, keeping my eyes down. "Marisa doesn't suit me at all. It makes me sad that I have a name like that..."

  I didn't look up even for a moment. I faced this situation before. It scared me. Shiro would probably deny it too. Everyone in my life did. It's something I'm used to. "Well, you've gotta put something in there, but if you can't think of a name right now, it's fine, because you can change it as many times as you want," he said, casually.

  I looked up at him, and was greeted with that same warm smile that he gave every time I looked at him. "As many times as I want?" I repeated his words in a meek whisper.

  He chuckled. "Well, maybe not too many times. The receptionist lady might get angry at you for bothering her about it too often. But yes. There's no limit on how many times you can change your name."

  I sighed in relief and wrote down my name. It confused me as to how, but I could write in this world's language as if I'd been writing in it my whole life. It sure was convenient.

  "What sort of name do you want anyway?" Shiro asked, going over my form to make sure I didn't make any mistakes.

  "Well, there's plenty of options, but I haven't really decided on one yet. But at the very least I want a normal name. One that fits," I explained, twiddling my thumbs. A normal name over in this world might be a strange one, though. So I'd have to think even harder for a new name.

"Let me know what it is as soon as you figure one out, okay?" Shiro said, folding the form and tucking it into his pocket. "If your current name is making you uncomfortable, I'll try to avoid saying it unless it's necessary."

It's really not that big of a deal at this point, since I'm used to it, but I really wouldn't mind if he decided to call me Marisa until I come up with something else. There is such a thing as being too nice. Isn't it a both to avoid calling me by a name?

Being nice... Especially to me. The amount of niceness that I deserve is minimal.

...

The food arrived, finally. Come to think of it, this was my first meal since I got here. Since this was a different world, I was expecting the food to be vastly different from what I normally ate, but on our plates was essentially just the breakfast of someone who wasn't lazy and had the funds to cook for themselves (even though this was for lunch.)

  I took my time eating it, but shiro wasted not even a second. Surprisingly, he didn't make a mess. To be honest, I still wasn't that hungry, most likely because I slept for so long.

"Hahaha! That was tasty! Way better than the food at that Inn!" Shiro exclaimed putting his plate aside.

  I suppose now was a better time than any to ask this. "What were you doing in that forest before you found me?"

  Shiro shrugged. "Multiple things. Mostly just collecting wood though. It's only gonna get colder from now on, so wood is more in demand."

  "Makes sense." It sure was lucky that he ran into me. Maybe it was fate. Being realistic, it was just a coincidence. "Hey, do you think you could teach me magic?"

  Shiro's ears twitched as soon as I said that and he got up and giddily shouted his response. "Really?! What type?! I'm at least at an above average level for all types of spells, you name it! I'll teach you!"

Everyone glared at us, and for some reason, I felt like I didn't want to be here anymore. "Ah... uh, fire magic, maybe..." I mumbled, trying to keep a smile on my face.

Shiro excited gasped and grabbed my hands, causing me to drop my knife and fork. "Thank you!" He exclaimed. Guess I found out about his favourite topic. "I've been wanting to teach someone how to use magic for months, but most people around here already know!"

Now I just felt even more out of place. Not knowing magic seemed like a rarity based on that. But that exactly why I wanted to change that. Magic seemed like it would be at least interesting to learn. I don't imagine my life in this word will be very different from the last one, but it should serve as a distraction at least. If I got really good at it, I'd have bragging rights too if I ever felt as though I was lacking in vanity.

Shiro held his hand out, and soon after, a ball of flame quickly grew out of thin air above his hand. "All you really need to do is imagine the spell you want to cast, and it should appear," he explained, being less reckless now that he was holding something that could very well burn this place down. "Though for a beginner you'd probably need a magic staff to stabilise your magical energy. As someone who's basically a pro, I don't need one. How about I buy you one and teach you the basics of magic when we get back from your trial job?"

Trial job? The receptionist didn't mention anything about that. But I could guess that it was essentially a test of my abilities to decide what rank I should start out at.

"I mean, if it's not a bother, then sure," I said. "But what sort of trial is my trial job?"

"Oh, that? I believe it's based on what you do with the form you fill out," Shiro explained, turning the ball of flame in his hand into a ring. Show off. "For me, it was a fake escort mission, but if I had to guess, yours will probably be the typical cave raid."

What I wrote in my form was that I was good at a memorising anywhere I went, like a human map. Which actually was true, once I've been somewhere once, I could get there without any help the second time. My one achievement in life. I guess I could understand why that would correlate to going into a cave to (probably) look for treasure. It would be hard to get lost if I had a good memory for these things.

"I'll be with you in case things get too rough, so don't be intimidated. You won't actually be in any real danger. These trials really are just test runs." Shiro made the flame disappear and giggled.

That laugh... that laugh, that laugh, that laugh... it's too cute. I gotta kiss him. I gotta grope him! One day! That laugh is just too cute! Drives me crazy! Does that make me so bad? I wonder what his reaction would be if just went in for the kill right now.

...

Forgive me. I'm terrible, aren't I? A bullet to the brain would fix this. I contemplated attacking one of the stronger looking guys and getting them to kill me. Just fucking bash my skull in.

"LARPing, then?" I said, accidentally. I doubted that was a term here. Shiro, as expected, didn't understand. "Uh, it's not important, forget I said that." Facepalming from my own failure, I took in a few deep breaths to try and counteract the psychological pain.

"I'm starting to worry about your head, y'know..." Shiro said with a sigh. "But I kinda like the way you act. I've never met anyone else like you before. It's a nice change of pace."

I think that was a compliment. But he's right, I'm not right in the head at all. I'm a complete mess! "If anyone's a nice change of pace, it's you!" I replied.

At any rate, I finished my meal. Compare to the instant ramen I usually eat, this was much better. I felt good eating food for once in my life. With a fulfilling meal and a fulfilling conversation. All that was left was to give the form back to the receptionist lady.

I was nervous that I'd be denied by the Mercenary Guild, but that ended up not happening, they accepted me and told me that my trial would take place tomorrow.

Shiro treated me to drinks after. Dragging me along to another location. I felt great full to have someone like Shiro looking out for me, but this amount of dedication to "treating" me was getting out of hand. If I wasn't careful, he'd end up planning my whole life out. I'm not that helpless, now.

It was a little shocking to see Shiro downing a pint of beer like it was nothing. What a lawless world, kids shouldn't be allowed to drink that stuff. But even as an adult I just ordered a glass of water. Getting drunk at 2 in the afternoon wasn't for me.

  I really had to question whether or not Shiro was actually as young as he said, or maybe it's just that I'm so childish. It's the latter, definitely. Shiro proceeded to down two more pints and I just sat there, stunned. What's more, he wasn't drunk. Not even a little tipsy. What sort of power was that?!

  "Ahh, that hits the spot!" he said happily. "I'm kinda disappointed you didn't pick out a drink, are you allergic or something?"

  I shrugged. "Im absolutely terrible when I'm drunk, so I only drink when I'm alone so I don't piss anyone off." That was just an excuse. I was an alcoholic in my previous life, I'd drink until I stopped thinking. But for whatever reason, I didn't feel like drinking at all. Maybe because this is a new body. It doesn't have a taste for alcohol yet.

  "That's a shame, really." Shiro frowned. "Why didn't you tell me? We could've gone somewhere else."

  "I didn't want you to feel weighed down by me," I said, laughing it off.

  "Oh, that's nonsense, there's plenty to do, it's not like this was somewhere I just had to go to. You're fine." Shiro stood up and put some money on the table before reaching his hand out to me. "Why don't we go somewhere more interesting!"

Pulled in by his niceness, I put my hand in his and got up myself. "If you're sure," I replied, timidly smiling back at him.

"Well then! Let's head off!" Shiro, unchanging in his gleeful attitude, pulled me along out of the bar.

As it turned out, we never ended up going wherever it was that Shiro wanted to take me. A boy around 15 years old by the name of André came rushing up to us, yelling Shiro's name. He wanted Shiro's help with something, so we were set on another side quest.

  He kept going on and on about a man named Donovan. What were his exact words again?

  "It's terrible! He's flirting with the princess again, I think he's really going to do something bad to her this time!"

  Shiro had awkwardly laughed in response. "You say that every other day, André. I have my suspicions about that man myself, but I guarantee you he's not some sort of playboy."

  André was agitated the whole time. Anxiety ridden. "But—!"

  Shiro patted him on the back. "But sneaking into the castle's gardens is always a good thing, so I'll check on them for you anyway."

  It's better than what I had planned anyway, he added.

  André thanked Shiro on his hands and knees before we departed. That's all was said. Shiro was easily swayed.

  "What do you mean by 'sneaking into the castle garden'?" I asked.

  "It's exactly what you think it means," he relied, simply. "You don't have to come in with me, by the way. Not that I've ever been caught doing this, but you seem on edge about it."

  As if. "No, I'm fine with it, I was more worried about you than myself," I replied, scratching the back of my head. Back when I was a teenager, I'd break into school every night with my friends and mess around in the computer room, so I'm not a stranger to this sort of thing.

  However, a castle is a little different from a school. But if Shiro's done it before, that definitely helps.

  Shiro pouted. "Hey, don't think so little of me just because of my age."

  "There's not a thing about you that I think little of," I retorted with a sigh. "Anyway, who is this Donovan guy? Why's that kid got it out for him?"

  "Oh, it's just pure jealousy," he stated, a-matter-of-factly. "Princess Sherri's got a crush on Donovan, a high ranking knight that's in charge of the magic/science development team they've got in the castle."

  "And what about Donovan? Does he reciprocate those feelings?"

  "As far as I can tell, he doesn't. From what I've gathered, they always meet around this time for the princess's magic lessons. I've met Donovan, and he definitely has an aura about him that scared me at first, but he definitely doesn't have any ulterior motives or anything. The only thing suspicious about him is the fact that he so quickly rose through the ranks despite being a commoner. He showed up a year ago."

  If he's not acting strange with the princess, it had me wondering why Shiro is going out of his way to check up on this. That much was enough to make me curious about his own goals here.

  We stopped in some alley and Shiro looked around for something. "It's less so Donovan I'm spying on here, but Sherri," he said, picking up a ladder from a hole in the back of one of the nearby houses, and placing it against the castle walls. "She's nice enough, there's nothing wrong with her, some would even say she's acting like a normal teen. It's just that... something bugs me about her."

  "Why's that?" I asked. "Don't tell me you caught feelings for this princess and haven't realised it yet."

  Shiro shrugged. "It's not her looks either. What bugs me is the fact she's a royal. Or rather, her lacking a royal attitude. She's entirely selfish, but she wasn't always this way."

  Supposedly, whenever she met her people, the citizens of Nix, of Ferrum as a whole, she was soft spoken, polite, and selfless, speaking as the next in line to the throne, she sought to make the lives of citizens easier, but recently, she's not bothered with those sorts of meetings, and has even started gaining a foul mouth.

  I had to interrupt Shiro's explanation. This was actually a fairly easy thing to explain. "Sounds to me like she's going through a rough patch in her life," I told him. "Teenagers get like that. How old did you say she was now?"

  Shiro started climbing the ladder, and I followed. "She's 16. And it's definitely not just some rebellious phase, these changes only started happening four months ago. It wasn't even gradual. It's like she changed overnight."

  ... Now that was something to be concerned about. "What do you think caused it? You don't think this Donovan guy has something to do with it?"

  "It's too early to tell, I can't get close to either of them, so there's really no way to get solid proof. And staking them out like this hasn't yielded any results."

  "Why not just get André to ask her. He seems to be close to her if he came just now asking you to save her."

  Shiro stopped. "I..." he said, struggling with his words. "Did not think of that..." he hit his head lightly against one of the steps of the ladder.

  Still just a kid, aren't you? "Dont beat yourself up about it. I forget obvious stuff like that all the time."

  Regardless, we continued up the ladder and we reached a ledge. Climbing onto that, we crawled across it until we reached a gap in the wall, sidled through, and came out into a larger gap, and past that, a bush. Shiro put a finger to his lips and sat down by the bush. I followed suit.

  I couldn't see the other side of the bush that well, but there was still some visibility. This gap behind the bush was covered by a bridge much higher up in the castle, making it dark enough that visibility from the other side would have been even harder. No one would have been able to see us even if they stood right next to it.

  "Can you see them well enough?" Shiro asked in a whisper.

  "It's a little difficult, but I can," I whispered back. For some reason I was feeling even more nervous. If we got caught, I'd probably die.

  I got a good look of what these two people looked like.

  Sherri, the princess, dressed nothing like an actual princess. While very fashionable looking, she looked more like the medieval variant of a punk rock girl. In other words, she was tomboyish, wearing a shirt and trousers instead of a dress, the trousers were actually ripped too, ironically enough. Even a lip ring. Her blonde hair was cut short and messy too. I could definitely understand it now, why Shiro is worried. I'm all for people dressing how they like, but a complete disregard for your surroundings like that is just incredibly outrageous. I could kinda respect it, if it wasn't a princess.

  As for the man, Donovan, he was dressed far simpler, a black cloak around him, I couldn't see much of his body because of it. As for his face, though, he was dark skinned, had red eyes and spiky white hair. He was young and beautiful looking, but for some reason, just one look at him caused my heart to tremble in fear. I didn't want to be here at all now that I was really thinking about it. But there was nothing out of the ordinary about him. I wondered why I was so scared.

  We listened in.

  "Come on, tell meeee~..." Sherri said, hugging Donovan's arm. "What was it like?"

Donovan chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "It really wasn't that big of a deal, your highness," he replied. Something about his smooth and deep voice annoyed me. "It's certainly not something someone of your status should have to deal with."

"Pretty please~~~~~!"

"Your mother would have my head on a pike if I told you about it any more than I already have."

Just what are they talking about?

"They're already getting on my case about your looks. That's not even my fault. I wish you weren't so reckless, if I may be so bold, your highness."

"Huhhh?! Fuck that stupid bitch! I won't tell a soul that you told me! Tell me what it's like!" Sherri suddenly got really aggressive and pulled on Donovan's arm.

"A-Alright, alright, hahah," he replied, patting her on the back. "But only if you behave, okay? Be good for the next week."

"Ugh! So annoying! Fine, but take me out to those tasty restaurants later! I wanna try that new item on the menu at the main Mercenary Guild location!" I felt like if I had to listen to this girl's whining any longer, I'd die on the spot.

Donovan sighed. "If you insist, your highness. But please don't wander off this time. Honestly, you drive a hard bargain, princess. If you push this any further, the queen might cut my funding."

"And I'll simply raise it back up once the bitch is dead!"

"W-well..." Donovan seemed to not know how to reply to that. What a pushover.

Shiro whispered to me. "You see what I mean? This isn't right at all."

"I kinda feel bad for that guy," I replied. "I guess André was just over-exaggerating."

"As I said, he sees Donovan as a rival in love, but Donovan is anything but a lover, he told me this himself, the only thing he cares about is his work." Shiro yawned silently. "Looks like they're about to leave. But I can stake them out later if they're going to that restaurant."

I forgot to ask him, but... "Why are you so adamant on eavesdropping on them if you can't find anything of interest from it?" It really didn't make much sense to me.

"... Because she's not really herself right now..."

"But isn't this out of your hands? I don't think you can do something about this without talking to her, you didn't even think to get someone else to do it for you before I brought it up."

Shiro sighed and got up. "I just wanna help people..."

"..."

"Even if I found nothing the last time, I might find something this time, or the next time, right?"

Persistence like that that is too scary. Shiro was definitely naive about the world. He thinks he can do something about anything. It kind of made me feel bad for him. It's way easier to not bother. That's what I thought. "Quit while you're ahead," I said, nonchalantly as we shuffled our way through the tighter gap in the wall.

"W-Why you," Shiro sounded like he wanted to shout at me. He grabbed my arm and bit it. Hard.

"Aaa—!" I covered my mouth and nose as I quickened my shuffling. "What the hell was that for, man?" I said, my urge to scream rivalled Shiro's own.

"Shut up and keep moving, I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Jeez, you don't take criticism well at all..."

Despite our arguing, I couldn't see us falling out over this, but I do kinda feel bad. Maybe I shouldn't have spoken up. Instead of saying sorry though, I just stayed quiet until we got back to our in room, feeling too awkward to speak up again.

On our way, we did run into André again. Shiro told him that nothing happened. He also asked André to ask Sherri directly about her sudden change. He was apparently a servant of the royal family, which is why he even knew the princess to begin with.

Shiro was in a bad mood but he could have at least credited me for the idea.

Before reaching our new inn, Shiro stopped, turned to me, and handed me a few silver coins and a map. "Buy yourself a sword, I'm going back to the Mercenary Guild."

...

He was definitely mad at me.

As always, I'm a fuck up and a moron. I must've struck a nerve.

I decided to just go with the flow and look at the map. Shiro had already drawn out a path

to a weapon's store.

Whatever...

I felt like a total piece of shit.

[Donovan]

It appears that the garden is no longer a safe place for the princess to visit.

I noticed only one person's presence while I cured Sherri's boredom, a young man. Though I could not tell who it was through that bush, it's someone inexperienced with eavesdropping.

But it's because of the fact I only noticed one person that is cause for concern. A child was with this man, and they were completely hidden from me. The only time I noticed him was when they were leaving. It could be that this child has come to spy more than once.

I'll ask to have that part sealed up. What awful architecture this country has.

The princess didn't seem to notice, so it was not cause for concern. If they were here to kill her, they would have done so, a gun or any projectile magic would have been fatal even from behind a mere shrub. They would not have succeeded, but they would have tried. I did nothing to shield her. But it would be problematic if she died. My cloak is bullet proof, and I have incredible speed. A bullet would not reach the princess.

If they were assassins, then perhaps they've simply heard of my abilities. I am, of course, aware of my fame in this city. The reason I know they weren't assassins was because the young man was scared, I could tell. He was scared and confused. He didn't even know why he was there. The kid must've dragged him along.

Eavesdropping is the most likely reason, so it must be so.

Nevertheless, what a foolhardy pair.

As humorous as that would be, given there's nothing worth eavesdropping on, I couldn't laugh about it. It reminded me of my childhood too much. It's all so pointless. And anything that's pointless is a pain.

I made my way to my lab, and kept my eyes down. These foolish nobles I had to live with hated me, so I had no choice but to if I wanted to keep my status as high as it was. Their glares didn't affect me, but it was best that I appear meek and subservient to them.

Perhaps they're jealous that I have the princess's favour. And with a princess as emotionally driven as her, it could turn out bad for them once the her majesty, the queen, dies. I wanted to avoid that conflict. Unnecessary deaths are worthless to me, and the risk of being assassinated for setting my sights too high wasn't a risk I was willing to take.

For the years the queen has left, I want to live in peace and without being the target of suspicion.

If I can do that successfully, maybe I can find meaning in this meaningless thing we call life.

[Marisa]

I got a longsword.

It was heavier than I was expecting it to be, but with my new body it was no problem at all.

I practiced swinging it around in our Inn room, but I wasn't very good at it. I thought it would be easy based on movies and anime that had sword fights in them, but it looked like muscles only took me so far. I could barely aim the sword at all, so maybe I should have gotten a shortsword instead.

The idea of fighting didn't really appeal to me. But it would be good to have at least some sort of defence just in case. If I ran into those wolves again, I could probably die slower.

Guess I was going to have to get used to this longsword, because I doubt I could get a refund. This is a fantasy world, I don't think refunds exist.

I put it back in its sheath and crashed into the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as the inn we were staying at before, but it was nice enough.

...

It's just about dinner time. I should probably eat something. But all we had in this inn was fruit that looked weird to me. It was shaped like a hand with four fingers. I didn't really want to put that in my mouth...

Enough, I'll just wait for Shiro to come back home! I'm not eating anything weird until I saw him eating it himself!

But he didn't come back until late, so I ended up going to bed without eating.

I'm starting to wish I kept my mouth shut.

———————————

Author’s Note:

World building is hard, so I tried to keep things light here. Sorry if you were expecting deep lore, but I’m not that good of a writer. I’m not that good at writing in general. Still, my biggest worry is spelling mistakes rather than figuring out a complex world. If you notice any errors, please send me a message about it.

The next chapter will be a significantly longer one, so please be patient and pray for me as I go through the pain of writing and editing that monster.

[Song of the day]

[Next Chapter]

[forgottenluck]

Hello, very curious! Did your blog start as a canon yuri and overtime become this massive au or had it always been an au? If the former, why still say they are yuri? if they doesn’t go by the name yuri or have any resemblance to his canon? I would love to have the courage to do something like this but I also do not wholelly understand it? I apologize if asking this upset you at all!

Lore question?

LORE QUESTION

I LOVE LORE QUESTIONS!!!!!

*cough*

This is absolutely not upsetting at all! I don't get to talk about Koun's beginnings very often, so I'd love to explain a bit!

So consider this a lore dump for Koun's history as a character! Also this got very long so i'm sorry friend.

A little history on Kie and Vesperia

First thing to note, I've been a Yuri Lowell fan for years. And I really mean years. He's been an absolutely fascinating character for me, and I adore how layered he is even in his official canon. It's rare that you get a morally grey main character in a video game, and Yuri was my first introduction to that kind of character in media that wasn't portrayed as a throw-away character. The struggle of good and evil in video games (and media in general) is not a new concept....but at the time, the struggle of a morally grey MC was something I hadn't experienced before.

Good and evil aren't black and white. It's always grey, because it's always based on introspection, environments, and personal experiences. A society can see someone as a good person, but in reality that person is corrupt. Or a person can do something for the greater good but end up scorned by society due to their actions. It's all about perspective....and Vesperia in general handles this topic extremely well. Both in how it handles Yuri's actions, as well as how it handles government corruption and planetary crisis.

This really got me to love not just Yuri, but the game in general, as it was a very real story that...without the fantasy elements, could happen. It wasn't like Graces, in which Government corruption and planetary crisis was solved by friendship....but through war and death that Yuri had to do with his own hands most of the time.

But enough of my gushing over Vesperia and Yuri! I just wanted to explain why I chose Yuri of all characters.

RP History Before Koun

So we've established that I've been a Yuri fan for years. Lets talk about RP. I've been rping on tumblr in general for about....10 years. My first blog was a blog known as @novelisticartist which i had converted from a personal blog to a rp blog thanks to a couple of friends I'd made. My first ever rp post was made on May 14, 2014 (I just went and looked) and it was with a Yuri rper (AU Yuri). The character on that blog was originally a character I'd made up on the fly, an OC that grew along side the blog and the characters I interacted with.

I've been a writer for a lot longer than 10 years. I have massive stories in my head, hundreds of characters, etc....but until that moment, I'd never really set them out on the internet proper. I had rped a little on Deviantart, but nothing to the scale of tumblr. And I wouldn't be here today if not for that one AU Yuri lowell rper giving me the push I needed in order to try.

I used that blog for 2 years, before I moved over to a new blog. This blog was at that time a multimuse blog called musesofadenvale. Originally I worked with both blogs, but thanks to my ADHD I had a hard time focusing on both. Plus, interest had waned for my original character on novelisticartist. So eventually I moved over completely to the new blog.

Origin of Koun

For years, I had been playing a game called Aura Kingdom off and on. It's only been recently that I've completely quit playing, due to them moving servers and not giving enough warning to players to move their stuff over. I lost years worth of work due to this, and it completely turned me off the game. But I still have very fond memories of it, and it's existence has cemented a lot of lore for Koun in general.

Around September or October of 2015, I met some new friends on there. We'll call them M and A for privacy. They were avid rpers and we just....started rping together. I had styled my character in Yuri Lowell style, long black hair, used a sword, etc.....and we all just kind of ran with it.

This was what he looked like in game, and it was really fun to just kind of shove him in the situations that were in the game. I was doing my best to keep him as canon in personality as possible and We had a lot of interesting rps. one of which was where we were all demi-humans, and were trying to escape and it was just silly fun.

Unfortunately, me and A did not last as friends. She was a minor at the time and was not in a good household, and often times used me and M as venting stations. I was handling a lot, taking care of my mother at the time, who was recovering from a transplant, and we ended up growing apart after I put my foot down and requested that I not be vented too at the time.

But me and M continued to be friends for years. It was to her that I initially suggested the basic idea I had at the time for Koun. We were playing the game together and an idea hit my ADHD brain like lightning. She was aware of my love for Vesperia, and Yuri Lowell. I'd introduced her to the game and we had fun talking about it. And as we were playing, I just....had the thought of "what if Yuri Lowell was a god of luck?"

M absolutely lost it at the question, and started talking about how ironic it would be, hilarious even. Since in Vesperia, Yuri often talks about he's cursed with misfortune. The irony of him being a literal being of Luck was hilarious.

And yet...the idea stayed with me. Dug itself in my brain.

At the time, I was already rping on tumblr, and had already divided my attention between the two blogs. I was also playing Okami at the time too, and I have a weakness for japanese folklore in general. I played around with him on Aura Kingdom for a while, did a lot of research into some aspects of folklore, and fleshed out a lot of things on pen and paper (most of which were destroyed in an event at my old apartment which sucks but it is what it is.)

Finally, in January of 2016 I posed a question to my main blog Novelisticartist. I'd spent 2 years building up lore and fleshing out the character on that blog, and I had quite a few people who praised me on the sheer amount of work i'd put into her....so I posed the question of "would you all be willing to rp with an extremely AU version of Yuri Lowell?"

I wouldn't have even suggested it if the first person I'd interacted with had not been an AU Yuri themselves. Unfortunately, that blog is no longer on tumblr, and I hope wherever they are, that they're doing well.

Past Koun and Current Koun

When I first started rping Koun, I really focused hard on keeping what I believed to be the main elements that made Yuri...well Yuri present.

Sassy, Sarcastic, a being with a authority issue. A self-sacrificing idiot sometimes who travels around due to wanderlust.....willing to do something dark for the greater good. I worked hard to integrate similar lore into his AU as his canon...similar things happening. He has a Flynn, he has a Estelle (though their names are slightly different)

Everyone's interpretation of canon characters is different, after all. This was what I believed to be what the main elements that made Yuri up. Kind, but sarcastic. Blunt, but willing to help.

But he's had roughly 6ish...7 years (math not my strong suit) to develop. I'm quite aware that what I intended to do with him is not exactly what happened. he's evolved, changed as a person, with each interaction he's had over the years.

He is not the person he started as. But does he still count as an AU?

In some ways, yes. In others, no.

The basics of him are still the same. He's still sassy. He's still a self-sacrificing idiot. He definitely still has problems with authority figures. He has a thirst for adventure, he works easily with others despite whoever they are.

But there is a rather large divide now between Yuri Lowell, and Koun no Yuuri. Yuri rushes into danger, has a thirst for battle along side of adventure.....but Koun has become cautious. He has legitimate fears, he's cautious about who he interacts with, he has learned from mistakes and events.

The reason I still call Koun a "Yuri Lowell AU" is because I still see Yuri in him. Yuri was a core part of who he was for so long, it's not something I can just get rid of. I've debated with myself numerous times on whether or not to just call Koun an OC at this point....and I think he does qualify as one by now....but i talk myself out of it every time, because of what I see in the character.

As for the name thing, it's more....Koun's full name is Koun no Yuuri. This means "Luck of the Lily" very loosely. One of the things that I liked about Yuri was he gave nicknames to everyone...silly ones, but still nicknames. Koun is merely a shortened version of his own name, and he will often introduce himself (if he gives his full name) as either Koun or Yuri, giving the person the choice as to what to call him.

End Stuffs

I'd like to note, I'm dyslexic and neurodivergent, so explaining things isn't exactly my forte, so some of my reasoning may not make sense. It's hard to get the right words out to explain what's in my head.

In my years on tumblr, I've seen many things. Many different variants on how to rp different characters. I've seen sort of AUs, massive AUs, characters based off canon but not canon nor AU. Heck, the first person to get me rping on tumblr was a "Hipster" Yuri Lowell. The most important piece of advice I can give to a person...

Is do what you like.

Sure, there's lots of discourse over how things need to be "completely accurate to canon" if you wanna call yourself canon.....but I really honestly think that's bullshit. Because as I said earlier, Canon is subjective. Everyone will interpret differently. In the end, what everyone else thinks doesn't really matter, because you should write how you want to write.

Write what you want too. Write what makes you feel good. Find yourself some people who will write with you to have fun. Because that's important. It's important to have fun in what you do. What you write.

If you want to write a mostly canon character, do so. If you wanna write an OC, go for it. If you wanna write an AU canon character so AU that it passes an OC, jooin uuuuus. We welcome you with open arms.

I am always open to questions, or if you need advice! And I absolutely love lore questions! I'm sorry if this long ass reply was intimidating, but I love talking about Koun's backstory, his conception, and meta posts in general!

[artdev]

I’m probably gonna get attacked for this lol

Tommy Character Analysis

From a sane yet angry child

The character of Tommyinnit is one of the worst characters on the entirety of the Dream SMP. Yes, the other characters have their flaws, and they have all done some very horrible things, but Tommy has continuously made bad decisions. These decisions have done nothing good for himself and have caused suffering for the other members of the SMP. In this essay I will provide reason to the fact character Tommy fucking sucks and every other character, yes including Dream, are so much better and have redeeming qualities to their characters. I will give a disclaimer: this is about THE CHARACTERS not the CONTENT CREATORS

Tommy’s First Days on the SMP

Tommy’s first day on the SMP was the last day of peace that server would ever see. From the get-go Tommy did nothing but cause nothing but problems for the original people on the server (Dream, George, Sapnap, Bad, Sam, Ponk, Callahan, and Alyssa) which resulted in a ban from not only from Dream, after refusing to obey under his exile he was put in, himself but also from George. The bans were lifted but everything spiraled from that point on. Tommy was the spark that started the disc war. This was a war that spanned over a series of months because Tommy would not stop killing Dream, so in return Dream confiscated tommy’s discs as a punishment, it was Dreams server, so he was not going to let Tommy go around causing problems without consequence.

Quick history

L ’Manburg

L’ Manburg started out as nothing but a drug caravan, started by Wilbur and tommy, would grow into a large country separated by large black walls keeping everyone out and let only a select few in. After a war Tommy did the only selfless thing, he would ever do in his whole time on the SMP. He gave up one of his discs for L’Manburg’s independence, after losing a dule with Dream. In all this tommy keeps up his thieving and antagonizing ways.

The election

The election was Wilbur’s attempt to regain power and respect within his country, there were multiple parties, POG 2020 (Wilbur and Tommy), SWAG 2020 (Quackity), Schlatt 2020 (JSchlatt). POG 2020 was the overall winner but was beat out by 1% by Schlatt and Quackity who had formed a coalition. With Schlatt as the president and Quackity as the Vise President the country is changed to Manburg, the walls are torn down, and Tommy and Wilbur have their citizenship is revoked and are banned from Manburg.

Pogtopia and Manburg v Pogtopia

Pogtopia was the ravine that served as a base for Tommy and Wilbur after the election. This is when techno (my fuckin beloved) had joined and sided with Tommy and Wilbur with the promise of chaos and war. With techno on their side, they start to build up and prepare for war. The war between Pogtopia (with the old residents of Manburg) and Manburg (pretty much everyone else on the server). The war ended with Schlatt having a heart attack in the remains of the destroyed drug van, Tubbo becoming president of Manburg, followed by Wilbur blowing up the country, with assistance from techno, and his grand death at the hands of his father.

Exile

Tommy was sent into his third exile by Tubbo after Tommy once again was causing problems for Tubbo and the new L ’Manburg. Tommy was sent thousand and thousands of blocks away from the greater SMP and he was not allowed to return unless he wanted to die. After spending months in exile with Dream coming by every day and taking Tommy’s things, and tommy almost taking his last canon life, tommy had escaped exile and went to the closest place he could go. Tommy set up a base under Technoblades retirement home and was soon discovered by Techno. Despite Tommy stealing Techno’s items and just being a annoying ass bitch, Techno let Tommy stay. With the help of techno tommy was able to sneak in and out of L’ Manburg.

Final L’ Manburg War

After a confrontation in the remains of a now destroyed community house, Tommy had sided with Tommy, another declaration of war, with Dream and techno going to blow up L’ Manburg. Tommy planed with the other members to gather resources to face off the most powerful people on the server. In the end L’ Manburg lost and was destroyed with nothing left but a sizable crater in its place.

The end of the disc war and drams imprisonment

The end of season two of the SMP was the end of the disc war, after tommy and Tubbo meet up with Dream at the top of a large mountain, where the three fought to get the discs. Dream eventually leads the two brits to a bunker where Dream had been collecting the attachments on the server, like Tommy’s cow henry, Ghostbur’s sheep Friend, and open slots for other pets and Skeppy. While Dream was going to kill Tubbo he was stopped when the entirety of the SMP, lead by Punz, came through the nether portal that led into Dream’s base. They surrounded Dream and caused him to surrender, and landed him in pandoras vault, a large prison built by Sam under Dreams request. Whist Dream has been in prison Tommy has visited a few times and has done nothing but was nothing but an annoying child to an already suffering man. During what was supposed to be Tommy’s last visit he ended up being locked in the cell with Dream due to a potential security breach in the prison, meaning tommy was stuck with Dream for what was only supposed to be a week. Tommy was stuck with Dream for more than a week, like was stated in the terms and conditions of the prison, this extended time alone with Dream was bad for the both of them and it led to tommy losing his last canon life. Tommy was revived by Dream three days later and was freed from the prison shortly after, now out and full of fresh trauma.

Present events

After being revived and released back into the world tommy swore that he would kill Dream. As of tommy’s most recent lore stream there was an attempt. Tommy armed with invisibility and fire res pots, under the cover of Ghostbur paying Dream a visit, snuck into the prison to kill Dream. When tommy finally go to Dream’s cell, he got to trigger happy and took out the axe to soon which ended in tommy being caught by Sam and left Ghostbur stranded with Dream on the other side of the lava. Now that Dream had Ghostbur he would be able to bring Wilbur back and that exactly was happened, Wilbur is now back and as crazed as ever with 13 and a half years of isolation on top of that.

Tommy and His Trauma

I will not ignore Tommy’s trauma, nor will I downplay what he’s been through, cause truly been through a lot. That being said his trauma should not be used as an excuse to blow off what he’s done, if one is going to do that you better danm well not go around and ignore others trauma. Tommy has been through some horrible things, his exile, Dream’s manipulation, being beat to death in prison then being revived, losing not only a brother figure but also a place he called home, as well as the manipulation from Wilbur, these things can really do some damage to a kid or an adult. Tommy though uses his trauma to excuse any wrong thing he does. There are characters on the SMP with similar trauma, Jack Manifold was the first character to come lose all his canon lives but he came back out of spite, both Tommy and Jack went through something similar. Jack, however, doesn’t use this trauma to make excuses for being a massive prick. Jack uses what he’s been through as motivation, while it’s one of his motivations to do something bad, but he doesn’t use it as a hindrance. Now let’s look at someone has experienced the same things as Tommy, Tubbo, Tubbo went through almost everything Tommy went through plus more. Tubbo was manipulated by Dream, saw his country get blown up TWICE, hell he had to mourn the death of his best friend on TWO SEPREATE OCCASIONS, he was killed by someone he thought he could be trusted, was manipulated as well as verbally abused by Schlatt when working in his cabinet. Tubbo has gone on to build his own little town, start a family, he had run a country pretty danm well and created NUKES. Tubbo doesn’t let what happened to him hold him back from doing great things or keep him stuck in his old ways, Tubbo was able to break from what he originally was, a side kick, and has done wonders.

Tommy and His Relationships

Keep in mind this is not about whether Tommy cares about people it’s about how he acts and how that affects others. Tommy cares people so I cannot shame him for that, but despite that he still causes problems for said people.

Tommy and Dream

Tommy and Dream have never gotten along, anyone with fuckin eyes can see that from a mile away, they are always at each other’s throats and always butting heads. Dream is normally pretty levelheaded, until Tommy comes around. When Tommy was trapped in the cell with dream that was bad from the start, but the extended time was even worse. Tommy has always been an aggressor towards Dream, during the war for L ’Manburg when Dream was meeting with Wilbur, Tommy lashed out at Dream and put the independence of this new nation on the line to try and fight Dream. Now on to more recent examples, Tommy’s death. When Tommy was trapped with Dream in the cell Dream was pretty stand offish, if anything he was excited at first, being stuck in a cell with no one to talk to is pretty fuckin lonely. That excitement was sure to be short lived. Tommy is quick to start antagonizing Dream, hitting him, hurling insults at him, and just being all around unpleasant, Tommy would also take things like Dream’s clock and books and throw them into the lava just to upset him. Tommy also killed the one thing in prison that Dream had, a cat that he named hope, another thing Tommy took away just to show “what happens to things you care about”. All these things would build up over time which lead to Dreams burst of anger and caused Tommy’s death.

Tommy and Technoblade

Time to get absolutely PISSED. Techno was never a person to Tommy, he was just the Blade, a weapon to be used till he was not needed. Ever since Techno first logged on Tommy though he had scary dog privileges, getting mad at techno for when he went and assisted Wilbur in the destruction of L ’Manburg when techno had made it clear he was not a fan of government. After Tommy had fled from his exile he went to hide under Techno’s home without Techno’s knowledge, before he was discovered by Techno, he would steal from him and use them in useless ways, such as decorating his hidey hole with gold blocks or how he stole Techno’s gapples and ate them when he didn’t need to, practically wasting them. Once he was found by Techno, Techno let Tommy live with him despite being a leach, he let tommy eat the gapples, and even assisted in getting tommy in and out of L ’Manburg, he even hid Tommy from dream and lied to one of the most powerful people on the server to keep tommy safe. Techno was very patient with Tommy and what does Tommy do? He goes around and goes back to Tubbo, the man who exiled him in the first place, actively backstabbing Techno, and when him and Dream team up and destroy L ’Manburg for the second time he has THE GULL to get mad and shame Techno for it, it’s fucking awful.

Tommy and Tubbo

Tommy and Tubbo are great friends, I can’t lie about that, but he still manages to make shitty decisions that affect him. When Tubbo was president of the New L ’Manburg Tommy started causing trouble, all starting when he (and Ranboo) burned down George’s house, forcing Tubbo to put his vice president under a probation. Even after being put under the probation, he still caused problems. Tommy made Tubbo choose between the safety and freedom for his country or his best friend staying, in the end it was tommy’s fault for being casted into exile, he just wouldn’t behave and follow the rules. He also constantly pushed Tubbo’s trauma to the side to put a spotlight on his own, making him the center of attention, ignoring someone who’s supposed to be his best friend. Now, I will say, he did do something good for Tubbo, during the final disc confrontation he gave Dream the disc’s they were fighting so hard for in return for Tubbo’s safety, I have to give credit when credit is due.

To The C!Tommy Apologists

I know people are going to come after me for this, to any Tommy apologists reading this, please just can it /nm. In canon tommy is about 20 something? You can’t keep using “Oh HeS a ChILd!’ CC!Tommy is a child. Yes, I understand he’s traumatized, so is every other character on the SMP, he isn’t special. Also, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEAVE US DREAM APOLOGISTS ALONE. All your arguments are so similar and you all thing dream, who is obviously mentally ill, deserves the everyday beating which is incredibly fucked up. Now I know not ALL Tommy apologists are like this but it is a lot of them, regardless of what dream did, he does not deserve to be rarely fed and he does not deserve the constant torture. Also please stop wit the whole ‘dream is obsessed with tommy’ shit, I can’t remember the tag for it at the time of writing this, but it is the creepiest thing I’ve seen and everyone portrays dream to be some yandere stalker and its just not poggers to be honest, and it comes off as very predatory which is ALSO not poggers. To any tommy apologists friends I know IRL this is not directed at you and just know I love y’all.

[not-the-tie-youre-looking-for]

Something that's been bugging me for years since the Legends finale. If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do you think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out? On the one hand, from Legends Thrawn's portrayal I imagine he would without a second of hesitation. On the other, Canon Thrawn has been much more... restrained? And on a third point, there's the fact that Legends and Canon Thrawn seem like they really could be the same person just at different points of time. cnt in next

...I'm just curious if anyone else was curious if Zhan agreed with that direction taken. Which, on that note, did Zhan ever say anything about his thoughts on how Rebels handled Thrawn? Both from a writing standpoint as well as an acting and musical one (Thrawn's various leitmotifs)?

Oh man. Ohhhhhhhh maaaaan. My friend, you have asked exactly the right person this question, because not only have I wanted to talk about this multiple times before, but I also have ~receipts~. 👀

⚠️Spoiler warnings for Star Wars: Rebels, The Mandalorian, the canon Star Wars novels Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising, and Thrawn Ascendency: Greater Good, and the legends Star Wars novels Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and Outbound Flight.⚠️

Oh man. Where to begin.

Lets start with who Thrawn is, because depending on who you ask, you're gonna get different answers—whether you're strictly a Legends fan, Dave Filoni, a guy who's only seen Thrawn in Star Wars: Rebels, Timothy Zahn, or just a writer/artist fan like me.

To Timothy Zahn, the man behind our favorite chiss, Thrawn is a character that is constant in both attitude and personality throughout all of his content. In multiple interviews, ranging from Thrawn's debut in Rebels to the latest about the writing of the Ascendancy Trilogy, Zahn states that Thrawn in canon and Thrawn in Legends are indistinguishable.

And so I present the receipts:

In a 2017 interview with The Verge on writing the first canon Thrawn book Thrawn, Zahn is asked the following question and responds as such:

How do you navigate bringing back a character who already has an extensive backstory and audience expectations, with telling a new story that fits in the new continuity?

Actually, I didn’t find that to be a problem. I’d never written Thrawn in this part of the Star Wars timeline, so it was simply a matter of bringing him into the Empire and chronicling his rise through the ranks. It’s still the same character as in the 1990s books, just a decade or two younger and in a very different military and political environment.

In another interview with The Verge in 2018 (a few months after the finale of Rebels aired) about writing Thrawn: Alliances, he repeats this sentiment twice:

Thrawn feels like if it had been written before the canonization purge a couple of years ago, or if you squinted a bit, it would serve as a perfect setup for Heir to the Empire.

Oh, I don’t think you need to squint at all. I wrote him in these two books to fit in with everything else I’d done. So if someone at Lucasfilm snapped their fingers, and suddenly all of my other books were canon, and there would be no real retrofitting that would have to go in. It would all fit together.

Thrawn: Alliances feels more at home in the new canon, especially because Thrawn has been fleshed out a bit more in Rebels. Was there any adjustments for that?

Not really. I’m getting to play with more canon characters like Vader and Padmé and Anakin, but the character himself, I still see him as the same person. He’s got goals, and he won’t necessarily share them with you, but he as long as you’re going the same direction, he’s happy to cooperate and assist along the way.

...and this is referenced again in a 2020 interview with Polygon about writing Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising:

Along with Thrawn’s appearance in Rebels, Zahn would pen a new novel, Thrawn, that chronicled the character’s early days as an Imperial officer. Zahn didn’t have to change anything with the character, telling me in 2017 that “he’s like an old friend who I understand completely.” While Heir to the Empire was no longer canon, a reader could easily read Thrawn as a precursor to that classic novel. Thrawn went on to become a major presence in Rebels, and Zahn continued to explore his origins in Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn: Treason.

The next day, an interview with IGN was published on the same subject:

Thrawn is an especially unique case because Zahn has been able to effectively continue the work he started way back in 1991 with Heir to the Empire. That novel may not be a part of official Star Wars lore any longer, but as Zahn explained, Thrawn himself is basically the same character regardless of continuity.

[....] The closest comparison between Chaos Rising and Zahn's earlier EU work is probably 2006's Outbound Flight, which is set during the Clone Wars and details the first encounter between Thrawn and the Galactic Republic (while also retroactively laying the groundwork for elements of Heir to the Empire). That novel is no longer canon, but Zahn told us he prefers to operate as if it were. He's making a concerted effort not to retread the same ground as Outbound Flight and to avoid contradicting the events of that novel as much as possible.

So yeah. In Zahn's opinion, Legends Thrawn is Canon Thrawn is Book Thrawn, and there is no difference whatsoever between Thrawns in, say, Outbound Flight, Heir to The Empire, Alliances, and Chaos Rising. I wholeheartedly disagree, but lets move on.

Now that the books are out of the way, its time for Rebels.

In July of 2016, after the trailer announcing Thrawn's canon debut aired, Dave Filoni had the following to say about Thrawn's character in regards to Timothy Zahn:

“I was pretty adamant with a couple of people saying, ‘Listen, we need to have Tim sign off on this. This is kind of a waste of time [otherwise],'” says Filoni. “We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns, but without Tim’s okay, what does it mean? That’s not going to be good. Once we had some stuff, we wanted to do what we thought was right and make the character. Then we brought him in. We had the production fully prepared. I said, ‘Look, if there’s something that Tim says that I think is really valuable, even if it changes something dynamically, we need to be ready for that and see what we can do.’ I wanted to make sure we did this right by everybody. We brought him in and we didn’t really tell him why. We just flew him up to Lucasfilm and sat him down in a theater and said, ‘Hey, we’re bringing Thrawn into the show.’ He was like, ‘Wow.’ and I said, ‘Yeah, wow. And I’m going to show him to you right now and you let me know what you think.'”

(Before we continue, keep that first highlighted sentence in mind for future reference. I'm going to come back to that later.)

Fortunately, Timothy Zahn was delighted at the show’s approach to the Empire’s imposing blue-skinned Chiss.

“We showed him some of the scenes with him,” Dave Filoni recalls. “He looked like a kid in a candy store. I think it meant a lot to him not just because it was his character, but because you have to imagine what he went through when it was announced that everything is Legends now, not Expanded Universe. I get that and I’ve always appreciated the work that goes into the Expanded Universe… For Tim, I think it was us saying, ‘No, no, no. We really like your character. We want him to be part of the real thing. The canon universe.'”

So in 2016, before we even saw Thrawn in action beyond a trailer, we were told that Zahn gave the OK, and he was chill with the way Thrawn was created in the show. In 2017, he gave a little more of the background of this process in an interview with FANgirl Blog:

The events of Thrawn dovetail closely with Rebels and shed light on some of Thrawn’s more seemingly surprising actions on the show, like when he appears to lose his temper and yell at Lieutenant Lyste. What was it like to see Thrawn come alive onscreen? Is he how you’ve pictured him in your head?

I don’t see my characters in terms of voice or appearance, but rather as personality or attitude. That said, I very much enjoyed the way the Rebels team brought him to life, in his appearance, voice, and actions.

I also appreciated the freedom I had to tweak certain incidents, such as the one you mentioned, and give additional or alternate explanations for the viewers who may have thought those were somewhat out of character for him.

He doesn't really elaborate on this, but we can assume he had SOME creative input on Thrawn's character, and he was overall pretty happy with the choices made in the show.

But then, we have this from that earlier 2017 the Verge article:

When did you learn that Dave Filoni was intending to bring Thrawn to Rebels, and did you have any input into how the character would be handled?

[...] I didn’t have any real input into how Thrawn was going to be handled, mainly because the lead time of an animated series is so long that much of season 3 had already been finished. But I trusted Dave and the team to do the character right. After all, why bring him into Rebels if you were going to drastically change him? Having seen the entire season now, I think we can agree that my trust was completely justified.

So... he didn't have "any real input," but was satisfied with it in the end? I guess? I don't know. We're getting into some contradictions now.

The last thing I've got in regards to Rebels is an interview Zahn did with the YouTube channel Star Wars Explained after the finale aired, where he responds to the following:

“So, maybe let's jump over to Rebels for a little bit. Now that it has wrapped up, how do you feel Thrawn was represented in Star Wars: Rebels?”

“They did a really good job—they not only understood the character and how to write for him, but they also understood the meta around how you defeat him. The only way to defeat Thrawn is to throw something at him he can't control, or can't anticipate. Given perfect knowledge and control, Thrawn will always find a way to win. But they understood, this is how you defeat him, these are the things we can use against him... so his portrayal in general, is very good; he's smart, he's anticipating, he's a step ahead of everybody, he's looking at clues and picking up on them, so I was very pleased with how the Rebels team handled the character."

I think these quotes answer many of your questions, so to answer your initial question: If Zhan had been the writer for Rebels, do I think he would have had Thrawn bomb Lothal to bring Ezra out?

Yes—but ONLY because at that point, the only established™️ Thrawn content was found in Legends, where Thrawn was a ruthless and calculating warlord.

However!

I do believe that if given the chance to re-write the Star Wars: Rebels finale using his now-canon novels as a solid background TODAY, Zahn would choose to not let Thrawn bombard Lothal's Capital City.

I believe this because he made one single very interesting creative choice when writing Thrawn that completely overwrote Thrawn's pre-established Rebels character: Thrawn was not responsible for the civilian deaths on Batonn—Pryce was.

And that's that on that.

A few months ago I would have ended it there, but today, Thrawn's story is no longer just contained in the novels and Rebels, but also in that of The Mandalorian.

This is where I will proudly say I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Before The Jedi aired, I was 100% sure that the next time we saw Thrawn, it would be nowhere NEAR the Empire, because Zahn was pretty adamant in the novels that Thrawn was only in the Empire to help. His. People.

So now he's apparently doing fuck-knows-what in fuck-knows-where and is STILL associated with the Seventh Fleet and Imperial Warlords???

Huh??? Despite the fact that he held no true loyalty to the Empire or to the Emperor??? It's been months and I'm still confused as fuck. Add to the fact that Zahn also doesn't know what the fuck is going on to the equation and we get a big fat question mark with one pretty clear answer that Filoni said himself that we have to keep in mind:

"We, of course, can do what we want with a character that Lucasfilm owns."

So I don't think Zahn has much control over Thrawn as we would all like to think. We can hope he gives us the crazy Thrawn and Ezra Space Adventure™️ novel all we want, but ultimately, Thrawn's fate does not rest in his hands.

If you guys have more to add please let me know!!! This is, obviously, a topic I am very passionate about, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

Considering the name of your blog I'm just wondering if you've taken a look at lore of the Silver eyes blog and their analysis on ironwood? I did and I had to stop a quarter of the way through out of sheer rage. It's just one long list of head cannons explaining why ironwood was always evil and the moment he tried to compare Atlas to the empire from Star wars I was out.

I blocked them a long time ago but not before seeing the post your talking about. Now I will be honest I don’t remember the post too well in terms of specifics within it but I do remember feeling extremely angry when reading it. What was very frustrating about this “analysis” is that I do recall them relying extremely heavily on their own personal head-cannons regarding James and acting as if they where in reality canon. I also remember seeing them sending their post to other James haters to try and get praise for this analysis and how good and accurate it was.

Now as I said it’s been a long time since I’ve read the post and they’re buried somewhere in my block list so trying to find the post and break down where it fails is just going to take forever and maybe it might be worth it but it also may just leave me angry and pissed off and that doesn’t sound like a good time for anyone. But this does seem like a good time to talk about the environment surround James and any of his fans.

Now I joined the fndm officially only very recently. I stopped watching the show for awhile because I just got way to busy and didn’t have the time to watch much of anything if I’m honest. So it’s hard for me to discuss how the fandom was before V8, all I can really talk about is post volume 8 and the environment we are in now and how James and his character are treated. But what I’ve seen and experienced is a very weird hatred towards James and his fans.

I regularly see posts from what can only be described as James haters outright lying about what James did in earlier volumes to try and twist him into a mustache twirling villain rather then allowing him to be the morally complex and flawed character he was up until Volume 8. He is a man who made both good and bad choices throughout the series, who did morally questionable things for the greater good of humanity because he didn’t see a better option and for the most part, neither did I. He was someone who spent a lot of time suffering and struggling with severe PTSD that goes relatively unchecked by anyone around him who then turned around and blamed him for breaking from the pressure and blamed him for things they *cough*fuckingWinter*Cough* told him to do. And the mega fans ate it right up. 

I have seen people claim James was manipulating Yang when he was disqualifying her from the Vytal tournament and later on when he gifts Yang her new arm, that Jacques did what he did because he knew James was a bad person who was trying to take over Atlas and he was the only one standing in James’s way, that James was trying to forcibly take over Vale from Ozpin, or more recently that he was completely useless and couldn’t do his job. If you examine the text however it’s pretty damn clear none of this nonsense is true. Plenty of people have broken each of these things down far better then I ever could but we know he wasn’t manipulating Yang because James and everyone else had no idea that Emerald made Yang see Mercury attacking her when he didn’t. James had every reason to want to be the one to talk to her from being head of security and not her headmaster so it would likely appear to be less biased to him having lost half of his body in an unknown accident so he likely felt he could relate to her and thought genuinely that it was an adrenalin rush that made her see something that wasn’t happening. 

I have already discussed why the Jacques thing is just complete nonsense but I will say I would like to know the thought process of the person making the post and the mental gymnastics they went through to convince themselves that Jacques of off people was somehow the one who was genuinely trying to help people rather then just the selfish asshole the show has repeatedly shown. 

The argument that James was trying to take over Vale is one I see most often which still to this day confuses me as to what made people decide this was what he was thinking. We know James is scared, we know James is the type of person who likes to keep control over the situation whenever possible, and we know he thinks very highly of his army. Now it could be argued that James liking to have control indicates a desire to take over Vale but I would disagree. James brought his army because he saw a danger, one he felt Ozpin wasn’t taking seriously. So he decided bringing his army to ensure safety was necessary in order to keep people safe. Now one flaw of the inner circle is that they seemed to have struggles with being on the same page and agreeing on what the best plan of action is. But even with this flaw, James still defers to Ozpin’s judgement and let’s him send a bunch of first years and a history teacher to investigate and when shit hits the fan because of this decision James honestly reports what happened, nothing more, nothing less. He didn’t manipulate or force the council to consider if Ozpin would remain headmaster after this incident, he didn’t take joy from it, he was doing what he felt needed to be done for peoples safety. 

I have been working on a long post about the last point here, but one thing I would like to mention is that regardless of the in story arguments as to why James isn’t useless, at the end of the day, RWBY are supposed to be the protagonists. The writers are going to do things to ensure they are a. apart of the plot and b. generally taking charge of the main plot. That is kind of just how writing goes. 

But even pretending James was supposed to be seen as incompetent, someone who is incompetent is NOT necessarily evil. I would even argue they generally are not evil or even trying to be malicious. Especially with James if he is incompetent (something I really do not think he is) we can see he is constantly trying to do good and help people out as best he can with what he has. He’s not this monster the writers and mega fans are trying to make him out to be, he’s a mentally exhausted man suffering from severe PTSD that our so called heroes ignored for potentially weeks. 

Sorry I know I rambled on way longer then necessary for this one I just had a lot to say. 

[shepard-ram]

Ender-anon here with the final part. When I started this I didn't exspect it to be so long this was only suppost to be a quick little prequel to my first smpearth ask but my love of world building and lore made it a lot longer,so I give thanks to Shep for letting me sent in these rambley fic's hahaha.

The calm before the storm

You stared in shock at the letter currently sitting innocently on your desk, although that shock was quickly turning into a combination of stress and panic because of a simple letter telling you that Emperor Philza would be visting within a few day, Emperor Philza the man who never left the capital unless it was to fight on the frontlines during war was leaving the capital of the Arctic Empire and coming to you country in the span of a few days.None of the princes even mentioned that their father was even thinking of heading to the front let alone going on what was pretty much a holiday disguised as a diplomatic trip, then again none of them were in the empires capital Wilbur and Tommy were in their own domains while Technoblade was leading the empires army assisting with the current war the empire was embroiled in their own way. The days leading up to the visit you were working yourself harder than you ever in order to get everything ready learing everything you could about the man from pouring over old letters from his sons to running around having talks with old diplomats that had met with him,only sleeping when you could no longer ignore the looks of concern that were being shot your way as the dark circles under your eyes grew as the visit drew near. Finaly though you were done everything was perfect, it was touch and go for a while when you realised that the palace kitchens wouldn't be able to make enough food but once you requistioned the military academys kitchen you were able to make up the difference. So now you stood in full regalia ready welcoming the leader of the most powerful nation on the world who was currently exspanding to your tiny probably one of the weakest nations so yeah nothing to be worried about right? Thankfully everything went well and your worries looked to be for nothing but you couldn't keep the smile off your face when he complimented your efforts, talks over the welcoming feast went great especialy once the subject shifted from politics to the princes you freely laughing as Emperor Philza who he kept trying to get you call him phil(he really was like Wilbur) shaired stories about their childhoods,such as the time Wilbur got into a crate of blue dye and got completely stained blue and his toy sheep was still blue.The next day you gave the Emperor a tour of the capital while he happily bought so many things spending so much money that you bigest concern was now if you economy could survive his vist.The rest of the trip went well he even let you spar against him though with how much Techno told you about him in your letters you could with some effort counter his fighting style letting you win despite the fact that he kept flying out of the range of your sword.All in all the vist went realy well you thought as you waved the Emperor off,you didn't offend him in any way, your economy survived his shopping spree and he even gifted you one of his feathers as a gift relations with the Arctic Empire couldn't have been greater, six months later as the Arctic Empires troops over ran the world you would be crying as you read their declaration of war.

The missing Piece of his family

There wasn't much that could surprise Philza especialy when it came to his family, but when the rift that had been growing between Techno and his younger brothers disapered overnight he had to know why, what had fixed the rift that was ripping his family apart when his years of attempts at bringing his family back together had failed every time.It wasn't untill his heir requested permistion to vist the small nation of Rhodes ( jokingly nicknamed Rhodes Island due to the mountians that surrounded the nation like an ocean surrounded a island) only a month after his last visit that the pieces finaly clicked in to place as he remembered Tommys poorly hidden obsession with you that hadn't diminished over the years, Wilbur's need to look after you and protect you from the world and now Techno had joined them with his obsessive desire for you to become his perfect little sibling you were the Tommy to his Wilbur he claimed.The fact that his sons were so attached already ment that once their future world conquest reached your nation he would gift you to his sons after all you made them happy, your reward for gaining their love would be a higher station than you held currently after all who would want to rule over a tiny isolated nation when they could become family to the strongest royal family in the world and have your every want and whim fulfilled( well except for your freedom).As he read over Technos latest report for the the front the thought hit him, he should at least get to know his future child, get to know the person his sons saw as their missing sibling.So he made arrangements to vist your nation it would be the first time he had traveled out of the capital in prime knows how long he could afford to take a break of a few days the empire could function without him for a few days.

Upon arrival to Rhodes however and saw the festivities being held in honour of his vist he coundn't help but be impressed who ever had planed this had his respect maybe he could tempt them away to work for him in the empire,his joy turned to concern(though you wouldn't be able to tell from his face) when he got a good look you, you had dark circles under you eyes and had a slither of fear in your eyes when you welcomed him.You were also younger than he thought you were while he knew you where younger than the twins he didn't expect you to be closer to Tommys age than the twins he knew that you had been ruling for a few years now, how young were you when you had the country forced upon your shoulders the only reasion Tommy had Buissness Bay was because he had councilers that could take over if it ever got to much for him its no wonder that Wilbur was concerned about you if you were constantly working your self to the bone like this. Shaking those thoughts from his head and after introductions were made he inquired about giving thanks to the organiser of the events(so the empire could acquire them) only for you to tell him that you personaly organised it all yourself oh his heart clenched abit when you beamed up at him when he complimented your efforts, rage flaired in his chest when you told him that you had done it all by yourself had nobody looked at you struggling and offered to help his future child had they all just watched you work yourself to near exhaustion for a nation that clearly didn't deserve you, no wonder his children wanted to bring you home you deserved better than this. When he heard you laughing as he told you stories about the things you future siblings had done he knew that this was what his family was missing, the next day while you showed him around the tiny capital,he bought gifts for his sons and if he caught your gaze on something bought it as well after all you would need things for your room and when you asked him for a spar he could see why Techno was so sure on you being the Tommy to his Wilbur as the same glee that he was so used to seeing in his heirs eyes during combat filled your own as the clash of blades rang out, losing despite his aerial advantage was also a plesant surprise so your draw agains Techno wasn't just a fluke.With every actitivly,every convisation, every moment spent with you only convinced him more and more that his sons were right you were the missing part of their family, you only cemented that thought as you accepted his gift of a feather from his wings, on the flight home he couldn't wait to get your room all ready for when you came home to them.Six months later after conquering any nation strong enough to be a threat of his familys ambition he finaly sent you a war declaration, it was time to bring his familys missing member home.

Ender-anon: I'm finally done,won't lie almost screamed when my laptop decided to update in the middle of writing this it took 5 hours to update.

[mizelophsun11]

Mizeloph's Tale Chapter 10

Pairing - It is building up to General Kirigan x OC Sun Summoner and when it changes to Kaz Brekker x OC Sun Summoner I will make sure it is mentioned

Summary - Anna is faced with a lot in just one day, she meets two faces while faces something from her past. While she has been able to find a nice get away in literature, Anna cannot hide from the world forever and must face reality.

Word count - 2789

-

The next morning Anna went to combat training, on her way back to her room she spotted the library. As she roamed the rows of books Anna came across one that she recognized.

Anna smiled and pulled the book out “The Bone Road Ebbs and the Bone Road Flows, I remember you..” she opened the book to the first page, not realizing she wasn’t alone

The Apparat approached her from behind “educated?” he asked

Anna jumped and dropped the book “sorry, I didn’t hear you come in..”

He nodded, then picked up the book and gave it to Anna “it is alright, I should have announced myself, but you didn’t answer my question, for a book like this there must be some level of education involved, so are you?”

She nodded “when I was growing up in the orphanage the head mistress, Ana Kuya, always seemed to be after me. She said no one would want me because of the way I looked, my hair. So she made me read every book that was in the library at the orphanage. However, reading became an escape for me”

The Apparat paused for a moment, watching Anna admire the book in her hand “I would like to be friends, I am the Kings spiritual advisor, we will be seeing each other a lot, it would be good for us to be friends”

“Alright, I guess” Anna was feeling weirded out and was about to leave, she put the book away and went to leave, but was stopped when The Apparat began to speak

“You're curious about the lore of the Stag, correct?” The Appart asked

“Yeah, I guess I’m just trying to learn more about this whole grisha life” Anna was really trying to consume as much knowledge as she could

The Apparat walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book, he brought it over to the table and began to flip through the pages until he found the one. On this page Anna saw four animals, one being the Stag, with a man in the middle.

“One of the first Grisha in recorded history, the Bonesmith. He knew that Grisha would be hunted so he worked on a plan to magnify their power” The Apparat looked over the page

Anna looked at him confused “why was he called a Bonesmith?”

“He made creatures from his own finger bones..” The Apparat went to continue but Anna cut him off

“What the.. There wasn’t some other way to help save Grisha? Instead of using his body parts..” Anna couldn’t imagine what the process must have been like

“No there wasn’t, as I was saying with his bones he created mythical animals attuned to only Grisha. They learned that killing one of these beasts and then melding a piece into their bodies would amplify their abilities. There have been reports of the amplifier only working a minor miracle, but with the right binding, the increase of power could be astonishing” he smiled and closed the book

“So, to amplify a Grisha's power.. They would have to kill a magnificent animal? I know it’s suppose to help, but it feels wrong to kill something to just get some power” Anna did not like the idea, she remembered when she and General Kirigan were riding to the Little Palace and mentioned an amplifier, she wondered if he already knew about her dreams of the stag at this point

“Sometimes sacrifices must be made in order to protect the greater good” The Apparat went and grabbed a book then handed it to her

Anna looked at it “The Lives of Saints? Are you giving this to me? Why?”

“It’s a gift, we are to be friends after all like we talked about, this seemed like a nice gift to mark the beginning” he made his way towards the entrance of the library then turned around when Anna wasn’t following him “come, Baghra awaits”

Anna looked at him confused, “Wait, who is Baghra?”

The Apparat and Anna walked through the courtyard with a few Oprichniki following behind them. Anna was still not used to having this much attention on her and while she did appreciate the protection, it still felt unnatural. They approached Bagrahs little home, the Apparat stopped Anna before she went in.

“Do not worry, every Grisha trains with Baghra to harness their power and while it can be quite brutal it can be very rewarding in the end. Most of the peasants hate Grisha, but I believe it is because the Grisha don’t suffer. However, you have suffered, haven’t you? It is only the beginning…” The Apparat walked off

Anna watched him leave and thought about what he had said, it was unsettling for sure, she was definitely reconsidering this friendship. She went into Baghras place, Anna walked down the steps and looked around. To her this felt like more of a dark cave, her eyes landing on the women sitting in a chair. Anna set her book down near the bottom of the stairs and walked over to her, Baghra got up and approached her.

“Well um.. Hello” Anna said

Baghra looked her up and down “you should have been here yesterday”

Anna sighed “sorry, I only found out that you existed a few minutes ago on my walk here”

“Hmm, let’s take a look at you shall we?” Baghra began to circle Anna “a Sun Summoner who wastes her time training with Botkin, do you think you will punch your way through the Shadow Fold?”

“No of course not, but it’s better to know how to defend oneself in case of something happening” Anna knew that if she was ever ambushed she would not want to be the weak link

“Where’s the rest of you?” she asked ignoring Annas combat training comeback

“I don’t know, but I mean where is the rest of you? You’re short” Anna laughed a little

Baghra ignored what Anna had said “where are your parent’s?”

She stopped laughing “I don’t know, probably somewhere in Ketterdam dead in a ditch or at the bottom of an ocean” Anna never knew her parents so all she could do was guess, at this point she assumed they were dead

“Where did you grow up?” Baghra asked, continuing with her questions

“Depends, I was on the streets of Ketterdam until I was 10 then crossed the Fold to go through the rest of my childhood in Keramzin at an orphanage ” Anna felt like she was all over the place, so many places she lived

“Then where do you belong?” Baghra was trying to just get all of the information she needed before truly beginning Anna’s training

“You think I know the answer to that question? I have been everywhere and never stuck, Ketterdam didn’t work, then the orphanage wanted me out when I was old enough, I was once a map maker until I suddenly became the Sun Summoner. I just don’t know..” Anna felt like a mess, yes she had been trying hard to believe that she now belonged at the Little Palace, but it was all just so much. She had been tossed from place to place without really being able to stick, she missed the simpler times, when she wasn’t Grisha. Anna thought about if she had never been discovered, what she would be doing right now, probably dead.

“Well, if you don’t know where you belong, do you know what you are?” Baghra could see that this girl was lost and desperately needed her guidance

“I mean, I am a Sun Summoner” Anna said, she wondered what the purpose of these questions were, shouldn’t she be training to summon or something?

“Oh really? Then can you summon the sun without holding onto General Kirigan? Did you know that he is a human amplifier?” she asked

Anna was surprised by that, she was still learning “I did not know that..”

“Now, can you summon the sun on your own?” Baghra was now getting to the real questions that had the answered that mattered

“No.. just the one time when we were in the Fold, but other than that, I haven’t been able to..” Anna realized that she didn’t have any real control over her powers

“People are looking to you to be the answer for all of their problems, you also need to believe that, take some time and come back tomorrow, we will continue then” Baghra said, there was so much pressure for Anna and maybe she should have been harsher, however Baghra did not believe that harsh words would accomplish their goals

Anna nodded, grabbed her book then headed back to her room and looked over at her desk. A few pieces of paper and a pen were there, she had forgotten about her promise to write to Alina and Mal, Anna went over to the desk and began to write a letter.

Dear Mal,

You would be so proud of me, I was able to hold my own in a fight yesterday, it felt amazing. I am so sorry I did not keep up with writing, things have been really crazy with all of the changes. I wish that you were here with me, it would make all of this easier to deal with, to have my friends with me. I will make sure to talk to someone so then I can get you and Alina here to the Little Palace. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely Anna Mizeloph

Anna finished writing her letter to Mal, she grabbed an envelope then folded the letter and put it in. She sealed it closed and set it to the side, Anna grabbed another piece of paper and began to write another letter for Alina. She did not know if her friends were together on the same journey so to make sure that they got a letter she wrote two different ones.

Dear Alina,

I miss you so much. I made two friends here and they always seem to cling onto me, I wish you were here. Sometimes I feel like everyone just wants to be close to me because I am the Sun Summoner, but I know you are not like that. Maybe they aren’t with me because of who I am, but it’s something that runs through my mind. You are the one who always stood by me no matter who I was, I want to try and get you and Mal here sooner rather than later. I hope you write back to me, it would be great to hear from you soon.

Sincerely Anna Mizeloph

Anna did the same thing with Alinas letter that she did with Mal’s, once it was sealed shut she set the letters off to the side. She would remember to tell Genya to send the letters, while Anna was slightly hurt that she had not gotten any letters she could not really complain. It was something Anna should have also been on top of as well, to keep in touch with her friends. Anna went to her bed and pulled her sketchbook out from under her pillow. She looked at the drawings of the Stag then moved to the drawing of a younger Kaz she remembered. Anna pulled out a pencil and began to work on the details of the one drawing, after a few hours of drawing she noticed it was late. She put her sketchbook back in its hidden spot under the pillow and made her way to dinner.

Nadia waved over to Anna, she walked over and sat between her and Maria “how was your time with Baghra?”

Anna thought for a moment “it was.. Good, a lot of questions though and not a lot of summoning, but it was just the first day”

They continued to chat when a few servants brought over a nice looking plate of food “oh! It’s to celebrate your victory with the King” Nadia said

“Victory? You mean the demonstration?” Anna asked, Nadia nodded

“Oooh, you even have the otkazat’sya taster, they are normally reserved for the royal family” Maria said and a few others watched the royal taster eat Annas food

“Delicious, you will be happy with the meal I am sure, I just have to, um, survive” the tasters smile faltered but continued to taste “I believe it is safe”

Anna leaned forward a little so then she could whisper “this is not some type of punishment for you, is it? Because maybe I could talk to someone for you…”

“Oh no, this is an amazing job, I was so happy when the other taster died…” the taster realised what he said and stopped eating “it should be good” he left the table

Anna watched him leave “thanks..”

“Don’t get use to it” Maria said

“General Kirigan makes sure that we have peasant food to keep us humble” Nadia continued from Marias comment

Ivan stood up and everyone became quiet, he pulled out a large parchment “News from the Fjerdan front, in the First Army, many casualties in the 18th, 27th and 36th battalions” Anna’s interested peaked at the mention of the 36th battalion but decided to stay quiet for now and could ask later “among those dead, six Healers, four Inferni and Three Heartrenders. The Fjerdan’s will be no match against a unified Ravka” his attention then turned to Anna “why are you eating figs? When you should be training every waking moment to tear down the Fold”

Something inside of Anna snapped at what Ivan said and she stood up “don’t blame me, you think I ran from that test? I was locked into a dark room when testers came. You might be taking your anger out at me, but you have no right to! You have no idea what kind of hell I was given on those days!”

In her mind she went back to those days, darker than she let on

-

Anna had her back to the door while she was talking with Mal and Alina, it was the first day Grisha testers were coming when Anna was there. Suddenly Ana Kuya walked in, Mal and Alina ran while little 10 year old Anna was grabbed by her hair and dragged up to a room a few stories up. She tried to fight back, but with the tight grip that Ana Kuya had on her hair only made the pain worse. Ana Kuya took out a skeleton key and used it to open a door to a dark room with only one window that was high up enough for Anna to have light, but not see out of.

“Please stop! You are hurting me!!” Anna struggled and then felt the release of her hair, which was then replaced by the sharp sting of her cheek, she had been slapped

“Be quiet you stupid child, you are to stay in here every time Grisha testers come, do you understand? Or the punishment will be much worse than a single slap”

Anna felt tears running down her cheek “I don’t understand” she felt another stinging slap fall upon her other cheek

“You are not to make a sound, girl, understand?” Ana Kuya said harshly

Anna nodded, then sat down on the ground, the room she was in was empty and so the only place she could be was the ground. Ana Kuya left the room and locked the door behind her, after that every time Grisha testers came Anna became scared. She never understood where Ana Kuyas rage came from when the Grisha testers came and it was directed only to Anna. After that day Anna would basically run to the room she had been locked in the first time to make sure Ana Kuya did not become angry. She always thought Ana Kuya was a kind caretaker, for the most part, but that day changed her opinion forever.

-

To everyone else in the room it was only a second, but that memory for Anna felt like years. She slowly put her hand up to her cheek remembering the pain of being slapped, but she felt something wet, it was tears. This was the first time she had cried since she got to the Little Palace. Anna took off to her room, she ignored the calls of Marie and Nadia, she just kept running until she got to her room and slammed the door shut and completely broke down. She went to her bed and sobbed into her pillow, Anna pulled her sketchbook out and went to the page of young Kaz. Anna held the sketchbook close as she cried herself to sleep, it was all just too much for her.

-

Author Note - Thank you so much everyone for being patient with me while I got this chapter together! I was struggling to write this week but I wanted to fulfill my promise in getting this chapter to you all. I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say, reading everyones comments is always so much fun! I don't know if updating chapters will be this long for the rest of this story, but I will try to update a bit more than just once a week.

Tag List - @rika90 @itsemy01 @hotleaf-juice @teatimeforusreaders @benbarnes-supremacy @graciefullygracie @aleksanderwh0r3 @klaudosh @herbatkazmilosica

[rayofsunas]

Hey so regarding inazuma and Baal I have some head cannons and your my favorite writer so I thought I’d just dump them all here.

Insazuma is the nation of eternity right? And Baal is basically the second archon after the original one died off somewhere presumably 500 years ago during the destruction of khaenri'ah.

The vision hunt decree was created for the Perdue of “eternity” and subsequently the people who’s visions were taken lost all their ambition. You get where I’m going here? Maybe Baal isn’t acting out of greed, but are justificing her actions to protect her people? The people of khaenri'ah had ambitions greater than anyone in that world could comprehend; they lived withought the guidance of a God, sought knowledge well beyond their limits and created destructive machines capable of “tilling” an enter battle field. Already we can see a shift in the archons perspective towards celestial- venti stated outright that he doesn’t like celestial, and Zhongli not only retired from his role as an archon but placed several meticulously planned tests to gouge his nations strength and stability in the face of a destructive god. Both nations, in a way, are becoming more similar to khaenri'ah in that they are both Godless, independent, and free from omnipotent influences.

Here’s my theory; The Goddess Baal, before inheriting the title of Archon, had witnessed the massacre and destruction of the khaenri'ah people and in order to prevent her nation from suffering the same fate she had launched the vision hunt decree to remove the people’s ambitions before it consumes them. She has witnessed the power of celestia, and in order to avoid the same fate she has made it her goal to separate Inazume from khaenri'ah in all forms and that’s why she continues on her role as archon instead of watching from the sides like venti or Zhongli.

Another thing, a small spoiler warning for those who haven’t finished the quest

I think people who are emotionless used to be the most emotional and heartfelt kind of individuals. Ayaka describes the Raiden Shogun as a cold and emotionless being, akin to a manager or something (I can’t remember her exact words) and I think that’s because Baal had been planning the decree for a long time now and had to steel her resolve knowing the impact it would have on the common folk. In her mind, what she is doing is better for the lo run and is necessary for the survival of her people.

This is just a theory, I haven’t finished the quest myself but it’s been weighing on me for quite sometime now. Anyways, I hope you have a wonderful day!

SPOILERS + be prepared for my declarations rambles.

YOU’RE SO SMART, AND YOU'VE SPURRED ON MY LOCKED AWAY THEORIES THANKS. and I thought similarly, though now that you mention it, baal behaving selfishly seems like she could be protecting her people. after all, the vision hunt decree only happened recently (I think months to a year before the traveler’s arrival in mondstadt), so something shifted dramatically between the archons and celestial for baal to do that in the first place.

me and my friends chat about theories like this all the time on discord and everything you said makes so much sense! I also thought zhongli stepping away from his role as an archon was not just his way of freeing himself, but his way of seeing how his people would fair without a god (this is legit confirmed i think); and they’ve done just fine, proving to celestia that they’re wrong in believing nations and people need a ruling governing body, like an archon. but I feel like baal is still just selfish, even if she’s doing this to protect her citizens, my gut is just telling me she could be both selfish and also be doing this to protect her people.

but about the archons; my friends and I have tied the archons to tons of real life lore and myths, and something that keeps popping up with all the archons is different types of religion and beliefs; we found out that they each represent or are similar to the seven princes of hell (and there’s something about them coming up in demonology a crap ton too, and the similarities are a bit too similar... PAIMON IS MENTIONED TOO AS A KING OF HELL IN DEMONOLOGY LORE AND THAT'S NOT VERY CUTE.... I HAVE SO MANY THEORIES FOR PAIMON YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!). but I think the archons are like 50/50 bad and good (like they’ve done bad things willingly or not before the travelers arrival aka destruction of khaenri’ah) but celestia is the main antagonist, I’m 100% positive of that.

the hydro archon is said to know not to make an enemy of celestia/the divine, so I feel if any of the gods were to back celestia, it would be the hydro archon. but, this leads me to my first question; what in the world does celestia think about the gnosis’ being taken? I’m gonna assume they may care a little less about venti and zhongli because they’ve basically retired, but the other archons? they’re still active and actively represent celestia, so I’m curious to know what celestia would do when baal’s is taken (we know that she’s the next target, because one of the tsaritsa’s goals is to take them all). will baal be punished since she’s still an active ruling archon, or not? something is telling me she will, but who knows...

and this may sound obvious, but i think the archons represent celestia’s own ideals, although over time with the change of archons and maybe shifted opinions in celestia, said archons have changed and now their actions contradict what their title is, I think the reason behind that is because they’re the original and last reigning archons over their respective nations, but the others? they represent ideals, and some of their actions or just people interfering (harbingers talking the gnosis') have contradicted what they stand for entirely.

for example,

venti (ideal is freedom): his is so ironically obvious, but his gnosis was taken from him, against his will; there's nothing free about that. and he also retired from being an archon, and because of that went into hiding, also nothing free about that either; yet he represents freedom. you see what i'm trying to say? lol.

zhongli (ideal is contracts): nothing for him because i don't know much, but i think it's funny how he represents contracts, which are usually very tedious and there's a lot of depth in them, and he just gave his gnosis up so easily and willlingly (even if he has his reasons) by creating a contract like ???? it's funny to me.

baal (ideal is eternity): I haven’t started the archon quest yet for her, but I know she says she is the most eternal of all and sees herself as everlasting, but she’s legit younger than a good few of the archons (venti and zhongli so far!). I also think the original archons ideal was eternity and that’s what they had hoped for their people, but after the fall of khaenri’ah, war, and their death, baal came into power and realized it would be a threat to celestia if the people believe in eternity (like I said, something shifted severely after the war, because a lot of the original archons died or disappeared and their ideals almost became shrewd and a thing of the past with the new ones who took their places) therefore creating the vision hunt decree to get rid of visions; with more people coming into contact with visions, or maybe even when they realized humanity would be fine without an archon ruling over them, war would break out again and this time celestia would be the target. speaking of targets, this is random, but there’s an overwhelming presence of military surrounding/in inazuma and maybe that’s not just to collect visions and because war broke out amongst the people there, but it’s for protection against celestia and the harbingers (I think the other archons know about venti and zhongli's gnosis' being taken, so they're all weary). if baal were to overthrow celestia or betray them somehow, I’m sure since she’s an active archon they would retaliate.

the dendro archon (ideal is wisdom): the dendro archon is way more obvious, as dainsleif says he’s less than wise, but that’s his ideal... he’s also the youngest, so that’s another contradicting fact; young people are often called unwise.

the hydro archon (ideal is justice): I know nothing about her, but she represents justice. I don’t have a solid explanation for her, but based off of theories and if for a moment we assume celestia is the main antagonist, she is said to be afraid of celestia but seemingly backs them by not leaving like venti and zhongli... considering what they’ve done, I’d say she can’t possibly represent the ideal of justice correctly if what had happened to khaenri’ah was far from just, especially since the archons and celestia were behind it but her ideal is justice?

murata (ideal is war): I have no idea about her at all either, there's not much... but considering vanessa was able to pass into celestia when she died and she's considered the children of murata, I think we'll get more info on celestia then too, and more about khaenri'ah, since she's the god of war. she's gonna have the DEETS I tell you!!

the tsaritsa (ideal is unknown): nothing contradicting for now! she is a bit confusing because of how little info we have, but I have reason to believe she's against celestia, hence her taking the gnosis'. for now, until confirmed, I think her ideal or rather goal is to get rid of celestia. i don't think she has a gnosis or vision tbh, maybe the archon before her did and she's assumed to have one as well or maybe it even got taken away... but, i think that's one of the reasons she's created delusions, they're said to be a lot more dangerous and powerful (i think) than visions too. there's also this thing I found out about the gnosis' being designed after chess pieces, and how although there are 7 archons, there are only 6 chess pieces (pawn, rook, bishop, knight, queen, and king)... meaning one of the archons (not venti or zhongli, because we know what their gnosis' look like) has a gnosis that isn't designed after a chess piece... or in my words, doesn't have one at all. aka the tsaritsa... I think the tsaritsa not having a gnosis fits too snugly with her actions so far. and don't get me wrong! if we assume she doesn't have a gnosis, I don't think she's retaliating because of that, i think she just wants to change or get rid of celestia entirely. like this makes perfect sense because the tsaritsa is the only active archon seemingly and openly going against celestia's ideals, whatever they may be...

and about me saying the archons are "evil" or in the wrong for what happened to khaenri'ah (even if they were forced by celestia), in the archaic petra set, ZHONGLI IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN AN EMOTIONLESS AND MERCILESS GOD WHEN HE SLAUGHTERED COUNTLESS OTHER GODS DURING THE ARCON WAR, in order to fulfill a contract of sorts. this is why I think there were ulterior motives during the war and although yes, for now, it seems the archons were forced into complying during the war, I really think they had some willingness too.

at the end of my ted talk I have come to the conclusion that we can't trust the archons until we know more or celestia like... ever AND I STAND WITH THE REGULAR DEGULAR PEOPLE!!!

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 27: Rathian, the Queen of the Land

I mentioned during the Rathalos review that there’s a reason why there wasn’t a lot to say about Rathalos’ behavior, and that I would discuss that here. The reason is simple: I was only talking about half of the species. Rathalos is the name given to the male members of the Rath family (AND LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING, RANDOM TUMBLR-GOER READING THIS: ZAPH ISN’T TALKING ABOUT THIS KIND OF RATH!), so it’s time to see what the ladies are all about. Introducing the Queen of the Land, Rathian!

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter World)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Rise)

Appearance: Rathians, obviously, look a lot like Rathalos, but there are some subtle differences besides the color. First, Rathians have a large chin spike to gore things they run/fly into. The spikes on their wings are also placed differently, being more spread out than they are on Rathalos. If you look at the MH1 render, you’ll notice that there are markings on the back of Rathian wings, rather than having them on the undersides like they are on Rathalos, who also have a different pattern. The final big differences that I see are the spiny hairs on Rathian’s wings, back, and tail.

Considering Rathian and Rathalos are meant to be the same species, it makes sense that they’d look similar to each other, but they have some differences that make them distinct. My only real gripe is that I don’t really like the shade of green they used, so I honestly prefer Rathalos’ design. Still, Rathian looks just fine. 7/10.

Behavior: Rathians are known as the Queens of the Land for a reason; even though they can fly perfectly fine, they patrol their territories on foot. But that’s because Rathalos already has the air covered, which brings me to an interesting aspect of Rath behavior: When they choose a mate, they stay together and hunt as a couple, as well as work together to guard their nest. Despite how strong Rathians are, they prefer to hunt smaller monsters like Velociprey/dromes and drag them back to the nest, while Rathalos grab larger prey such as heavy herbivores and weaker wyverns which they can airlift back home. This is apparently because Rathalos are the stronger of the two, but not only are Rathians still powerful enough to only be threatened by other apex predators, they’re larger than Rathalos are! Rathians are 75.6 ft long at largest and 37.8 ft long at smallest, while Rathalos are 73.8 ft long at largest and 37.4 ft long at largest. Yes, there’s barely any difference, but that just means that they should command the same respect that Rathalos do, since they should be just as powerful! Instead, monsters such as Plesioth find Rathians less threatening than they do Rathalos, which is moronic. It feels like the devs thought they couldn’t make Rathian an equal to Rathalos because it would make the latter less impressive, but by making the female Raths weaker it just comes off as (hopefully subconscious) sexism.

If Rathians are stuck fighting a monster that actually has a good chance of killing them, they can let out a special roar that their mates recognize as an SOS. If their Rathalos mates can get to them in time, then whatever attacked them has to deal with two of the most powerful wyverns around at the same time, which is likely a death sentence for anything but the most overpowered monsters out there. I like the idea of tag-team hunters, but I can’t get over the fact that Rathians are weaker than Rathalos for no good reason, and no, making Rathalos look better doesn’t count. 6/10.

Abilities: I can speak from experience here, too, because I’ve actually killed a Rathian in the Rise demo! Rathians have similar abilities to Rathalos, but there are a few key differences. First, Rathians seem to have greater proficiency with their fire abilities than Rathalos do, as they can spit out several bursts of fire at once. They can also charge their fireballs up to create a more powerful blast that ignites the ground, creating longer-lasting flames. 

Secondly, Rathians lack venomous talons, but that’s just because their venom is channeled to a different part of their bodies: their tails. They do this by doing an aerial backflip that swings their tail like an uppercut. The wiki says that the barbs on the tail are what injects the venom, but it also says that they can poison you with their tails even if you cut the clubbed tip with the barbs on it off, so its best explanation is that the organ that produces the venom is located near the tail’s base and not its tip. Finally, Rathians do more damage with their head-on charges because yes, that chin spike is indeed made to impale you.

Like I said, I’ve killed one of these before, but it didn’t come easy. They use their abilities rather effectively, and I doubt that the one I fought was a high-rank Rathian. Really shows you how dangerous these ladies are. 7/10.

Equipment: If you’re worried that the devs just recolored the Rathalos equipment for Rathian, then good news: they actually tried this time! Yeah, there are a couple of recolors, but the majority of the weapons are unique. To prove it, remember the Sword and Shield that I showed for Rathalos? Here’s the Princess Rapier, the Rathian SnS from the same game:

See? Completely different! Rathian weapons are either Poison or Fire element, and this one definitely leans more into the Poison aspect, since plants and poison have a strong connection. This looks cool, but I can’t help but wonder where the smith got those vines and thorns from, ‘cause the only things that went into this weapon came from Rathians. Next up is a Hunting Horn that’s called the Valkyrie Chordmaker in the majority of its appearances, though the render I’m using come from MHO, which doesn’t have English names for equipment:

The reason I used the MHO model for this weapon is that it best shows off how pretty it is. There are several neat touches to it; the head may be a bell, but the handle is a flute, which, by the way, has the Rathian wing markings around the finger holes, and there’s a crown marking where the bell and flute meet, as well as a bigger crown that the bell’s leaves are emerging from. Those leaves also give the impression that the bell is like a flower bud and the handle is a stem. I just really like this thing, okay? To end off the weapons, here are the Dual Blades shared between Rathian and Rathalos in almost every game that has Dual Blades for them, the Twin Flames:

I like how the Rathian blade is bigger ‘cause that’s how Rathian and Rathalos actually are, though it makes the Rathalos blade look more like a kunai or dagger than an actual sword. Other than that, this is a sweet, symbolic weapon that becomes less sweet when you remember how you got the parts for it. As for the armor sets, they’re not recolors, either. Here’s the Blademaster armor from Tri:

The men’s set looks really cool thanks to the helmet, though I can’t help but be reminded of Reptile from Mortal Kombat when I look at it (Note: I have never played an MK game in my life, I’m just interested in the characters, lore, and sometimes even the meta). The women’s set, though, raises a question: why do you need a dress made of steel, especially when you’re probably gonna be dodge-rolling in it? Well, whatever. Let’s end this off with the Gunner set from Tri:

Well, that’s a shift. We went from lizardmen and warrior queen chic to military garb. I mean, it makes sense; not only are you a Gunner, but Rathians are the perfect color for making camo out of their body parts. Don’t ask me where the goggles came from, though.

The Rathian equipment is all great, apart from one or two recolors of Rathalos weapons. There were several weapons with cool designs that I couldn’t show due to my weapon limit of 3 and the fact that I didn’t like how small the renders were, but I think that the Chordmaker alone made up for that. 8/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: Listen, if Rathalos was getting a high score, so was Rathian. They’re both impressive monsters with cool equipment, but I like how Rathalos looks just a bit better. Still, this is one queen that’s earned her throne, and no one’s taking it from her any time soon. 7/10.

[tintentrinkerin]

adelphopoiesis

Author: tintentrinkerin

Title: adelphopoiesis

Requested by: @schaefchenherde

Header by: @wincestismyheart​

Divider by: @firefly-graphics​

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Demon!Dean x Sam

Warnings: Blood and Gore, Sam Drinks Dean’s Demon Blood, Anal Sex, Not Canon Compliant

Content: Chasing your baby brother around the bunker with a hammer is fun, right? But what if you tickle his thing for blood?

Read here or on AO3

Dean’s most effective weapon is not the hammer he destroyed the door with. The hammer that’s stuck in the wall now beside Sam’s head. It’s not his physical strength, radiating like utter heat from his body, showing in the tension of his neck, the firm grimace of his mouth, his pretty mouth. It’s not the First Blade. A blade powerful enough to kill anything and anyone, but Dean himself. 

Sam’s only weapon is a lousy knife. A demon knife, that will barely leave a scratch on a Knight of Hell. 

“It’s all you”, Dean says, leaning in the knife, leaning into Sam’s half hearted attack. 

The way Dean looks at his brother, it’s tearing Sam apart in so many ways. Ways he thought he’d buried under guilt and hunts and lore and his shame. Sam gives in and takes the knife away, he will regret it so bitterly, he knows. Of course he knows. He can’t even lay a single finger on Dean. The demon in front of him wears the face of his brother but there is nothing left of his soft side for Sam. His voice, how he calls Sam, how he says Sammy, the hair, the determined look, the tongue against his teeth. Like he’s a predator and Sam’s the prey. 

Dean’s eyes turn black.

It’s a whooshing sound and it darts Sam’s ears the moment he thought he’d surrender and then, the First Blade, fast as an arrow lands in Dean’s hand. There is not a blink for Sam to react before Dean looks at him with a triumphant smirk. The knife glides through Dean’s smooth skin of his throat like it’s warm butter. Blood spills. 

Blood

Spills

Blood is Dean's most effective weapon.

Its smell is so familiar, so luring. So intimate and so…powerful. Sam turns and runs. He needs to go. He needs to get away. 

“Oh Sammy, baby brother, don’t run away!”, Dean mocks. 

Shit, he’s right behind Sam and Sam’s judgement clouds already. He isn’t even fast. It feels like running through molasses. The air feels thick and strong, pressing Sam down, and the smell of iron and lust and Dean, oh my God, it’s Dean’s blood! - He needs to get away! Sam manages to worm through the destroyed door to the electrical room, but he catches several splinters. Some even bite his face and he gets stuck with the cast of his elbow. Spraining the right elbow, why, Sam, why did that happen? Everything’s against him. 

Memories of Ruby appear in his head. Of the smell, the taste, her body, the sex. The grunting and the mind blowing orgasm, the banging against walls everywhere they went. The power, the trip. His increasing power, a stimulant better than any human known drug. It resonates all within him with the odor of Dean’s musk and his blood. He can smell its potential, its strong taste. Sam even imagines how it would make him feel. Running away never felt so hard like right now. He remembers the withdrawal and the pain behind his eyes blinds him as he trips in the hallway and tumbles against a wall. Stinging pain in his arm, in his head and his legs feel heavy. It’s like he has Dean’s breath in his neck all this time. Even though he can’t hear him come close at all. It sounds like Dean is far away, in another world. 

“Come on, Sammy, I know you want a sip of it. Makes you all giddy, doesn't it? I can smell you. All of you.”

Sam yells something, but he can’t even make out what he says. 

“Keep runnin’ if you must, but you know I gotta find you sooner or later. It’s my home, too!”

The alarm is blaring again and Sam has no idea how far he can run. There won’t be any walls that might hold Dean back. He’s regaining strength, the human blood wears off. Even that Sam can smell. How much stronger Dean gets with every minute. 

“I taste delicious, Sammy. Just fuckin’ delicious.”

Oh, yes, Sam bets he does, that’s exactly why he needs to keep running. The smell gets even more intense now and Sam wonders how much Dean can cut himself up with the First Blade. He should’ve given the damn thing to Crowley when he had the chance to do so. 

“Stay away”, he croaks. 

There’s another hallway, one leading deep into the intestines of the Forbidden Bunker, how Dean and him called it jokingly, when they discovered it. An area full of locked doors made of the weirdest materials. Only one chance is left for Sam, when he finds that one door he unlocked in these months without Dean. He had learned a lot about witchcraft since Dean left this note on his bed, when he left Sam for Crowley and a life as a demon. When the only way to save himself from Dean was to hide himself in a panic room again, hallucinate again, he would have to do it. He rather sees Lucifer again, Mary, Bobby, all the victims they couldn’t save than to fall for Dean’s lure. Drink his own brother’s blood. This was perverted, disgusting, twisted. Even for them. The monster hunters, the monster fuckers, the monsters themselves. 

“The longer you run, the harder I bleed, brother!”

Sam tries every door on the way, but none opens. Sam’s eyes sting from the smell. What the hell is Dean doing? Covering the walls in blood? That would be insane. Even Dean would faint at one point. It must be impossible to drain a body so much before it dies. Dean isn’t possessing a body, he still has his own, whatever that means for him and his physis then. Sam trips again, he falls, on his right arm of course. He tears up from the pain that fills his chest, his arm, his shoulder. He can’t survive that long if doesn’t find a hide-out. 

It seems to be near, because Sam still can read the signs on the doors and when he finds room 616, he pushes the door open with a long and agonizing cry and slams it shut. It’s the door he unlocked already, a room, bleak as an empty tomb. Cold and pitchblack, there’s no electrical light, just candles, but Sam won’t be able to find them. He can just hide in here, pressed against a wall, praying to Castiel, to Hannah. He even cries for Crowley inside, someone needs to help him. 

Footsteps.

The smell of blood. The First Blade scraping on the tiles, Sam knows it’s that. 

“Gotcha! I really thought you’d be a bit cleverer than that. Where’s the fun when you cage yourself like a mouse?”

The door bursts open, way too easily. None of the sigils and runes seem to be an obstacle for Dean. And when light shines in the room and Sam can see not only Dean’s silhouette but also his face, he knows. Dean is covered in his own blood. His face, his slit throat, still pumping blood in long and rhythmic spurts from the wound. His arms are drenched in blood and now, with a biting smile, Dean looks at Sam and the Blade carves an S in Dean’s arm. 

“Come here, Sammy. Come to your big bro and lemme get you something real good

The stench is so intense now that Sam first vomits in violent jerks and then faints. The last thing he sees before the world turns completely black is Dean’s triumphant, sweet smile and his eyes. His normal green eyes. 

When Sam awakes again, he is tied up. Bound to a chair. They’re in the dungeon again, how did Sam come here? His head aches like it’s been run over by a stampede of bulls and his mouth tastes like vomit and blood. He tenses immediately as he’s present enough to realize his situation. Dean has tied him up here, and now he’s sitting on the desk in one corner, right beside the blood donor box that Sam got from the hospital. His legs swing and he hums a strange melody. 

“Oh, look who’s up.”

Dean jumps on his feet. Sam can see the First Blade, the damn Blade, resting on the table. Then Dean takes the syringes of human blood and starts spilling them. 

“You won’t need them anymore, Sammy. I think I won our little chase.”

“Dean, don’t do that… please. I can still…”

Dean hisses. His eyes turn black.

“You can still what, brother dearest? I already told you. I am what I am now, I am free. I’m finally free. Of humanity. I’m strong now. Efficient. Deadly.”

Sam winces when he moves in the ties. The ropes cut in his flesh and Dean removed the sling on his arm. His elbow hurts so much, it’s taking his words away. 

“You were deadly before already. The Mark made you powerful.” 

“But guess what, I’m even better now. Dean Winchester 2.0 - I’m all in for my upgrade. You see it as a bad thing, but what I see is … potential. Chances. Oh Sammy, I can conquer the world. Hell. Heaven. You really want the boring Dean back, huh?”

Sam shakes his head but that makes him feel dizzy, he stops.

“I want my brother back. The brother I loved.”

Dean’s black eyes target Sam like he’s prey again and he hates being looked at like this. It makes him feel less human, less Dean’s brother.

“I am your brother. Nothing ever changed that. But I told you to stay away from me, I told you not to look for me. But you did. You plotted against me, with Crowley, with Cas. You tied me up in this chair, you tortured me with human blood. Against my will. For someone who’s all over the place with autonomy and respecting boundaries you violated mine just perfectly.”

Sam squirms. The problem is that Dean is right. But Sam did it for the greater cause, didn’t he? Dean becoming human again was the best for everyone!

“You make me sound like the bad guy here, that’s not fair”, Sam mutters.

Dean laughs and it’s a deep, rough laugh that makes Sam’s skin crawl. This is so much Dean, even darker than usual. And it shakes Sam to the core. 

“Good, bad… Who cares. Human categories, bullshit. Nothing’s fair, Sam.”

“I need something to drink”, Sam says faintly now. 

He won’t make Dean untie him, that’s for sure, but maybe Cas will come to the rescue soon, he can maybe delay things. Also he needs to get rid of the taste of old blood in his mouth. Dean doesn’t reek of his blood that bad anymore, Sam is very much aware of the pink line across Dean’s throat. A scar. The blade will cause scars. Or at least the weapon delays even Dean’s healing. 

Dean smiles. 

“Sure. But why waste water on you when I kill you anyway?”

Sam’s heart sinks.

“Will you?”

Dean shrugs as if he doesn’t give a shit at all.

“Thinking about it. But you’re my brother, as you keep on reminding me. Maybe I should give you a chance to redeem yourself in my eyes and let you live?”

“And how would you do that?”, Sam asks, winding in his ties. 

Dean goes away. Doesn’t say another word. Sam is stunned and damn, holy shit, he’s afraid. Dean will kill him. But what is it with the possibility of letting him live?

The smell of iron. Like a perfume, soft and silky. No. No no no.

“Dean? Dean!”, Sam cries and fights the restraints harder.

He did it again. He slit his fucking throat, Sam knows it. And this time, he won’t be able to run, he won’t be able to fight back. He’s tied up, he’s in pain, he’s weak. It’s not like with the other hunters who wanted to force him to drink demon blood. He could fight them off, but now?

Emaciated. Sick. Depressed. A broken arm. Hungry. Tied up. The addiction is pulsating through his veins, giving him the chills. It’s hot and cold at the same time. Like crackling in the air, the heavy scent of blood and Dean, he can only say no.

Dean won’t take a no, why should he? He’s a Knight of Hell. Sam is human. His brother is back, his throat cut deep enough to see the structures of muscles, veins, nerves, his trachea, the pulsing blood. Sam vomits all over his shirt, but there’s not much left except bitter, yellow gall. 

“You’re sick, huh?”, Dean coos in a voice like he did when Sam was younger. It’s meant for comfort but now it just feels like mockery and Sam wonders how he deserves to see his brother slit his throat, twice, just to seduce Sam to drink it. It's so fucked up. It’s low, even for lean, mean Dean. Human Dean would’ve never provoked Sam’s demon blood addiction. 

Sam nuzzles against the hand that’s stroking his face, his eyes squeezed shut. His lips tremble. 

“Let me make you feel better, don’t pull away, Sammy…”

Sam cries out and some ugly big tears fall down his face. Is it so easy to break? He’s gone through so much pain already, through torture, rape, withdrawal. He was betrayed by everyone he loved, especially Dean. Dean’s hand is warm, but his skin feels like marble when Sam leans in, rubs his face in the palm of Dean’s hand. Is this still his brother? Is there any humanity left? 

But what would that change? They’re here now. In a bunker soaked with demon blood, Sam is tied up, Dean reigns. 

“Hush, hush”, Dean purrs, both of his hands holding Sam’s bobbing head. “It’s gonna be alright… Sammy, just give in. There will be no more pain, just us. You and me, against the world. Like it used to be.”

Sam opens his eyes but all he sees is blurry and red, it stinks of iron and vomit and Dean’s black eyes…

“I wanna see your normal eyes”, is all Sam can say right now.

A smirk.

“Anything for you, Sammy.”

And Dean’s eyes flash back to green and Sam can have the illusion of his brother just for a moment longer. Thick dark blood is pulsing out of Dean’s cut on his throat. 

“It looks disgusting, Dee.”

Dean only laughs.

“It’s not supposed to be beautiful.”

Dean cups his hand before the dripping wound, collects a tiny lake of blood in his hand and then, gently presses his blood covered hand against Sam’s lips. 

The world turns upside down. Sam feels the spinning, the spinning, the spinning!

The taste makes him want to barf, violently, but the old creature, the blood sucking monster was waiting patiently beneath the surface. Patient but greedy. Now it’s unleashed it bursts out and the first drops, he swallows. His lips limp and curled in utter disgust, but now, oh now, there’s a jolt running through his body, he sits straight up, first ties grinding, the ropes won’t last. The shackles won’t last. 

“Come on, sweet baby boy, you want more…” Dean sings, eyes black as the night. 

And slowly, very slowly and enjoying, Sam’s lips brush Dean’s hand, collect the blood, a tongue, pink, hot sneaks out, licks the offered hand. 

The ropes break. The pain in Sam’s arm fades. It’s a movement even Dean didn’t see coming when Sam bursts out of all restraints he put on him and grips Dean’s hand tight, as tight as possible and sucks three of Dean’s fingers dry. 

The Knight of Hell rejoices, pulls Sam close, closer than they’ve been for a very long time.

“That’s it, Sammy, yes, that’s it, let me take care of you… such a greedy boy…” 

Dean’s voice is distant to Sam, distorted and hollow, he remembers their youth, the motel rooms, the flickering lights, the old tv, how Dean smelled of whiskey and beer. John’s passed out in an armchair, stained in blood, piss and vomit. 

He remembers Dean’s care. The kisses at night, the stealthy handjobs in the shower, how Dean ‘taught’ him how people do it. 

Make love. 

Sam was twelve. Dean was sixteen. And he was a grower. 

A slut. 

All of this drenched in velvety red tint.

The ritual.

“Let me take care of you, Sammy…”

“I love you, Dee.”

“Never tell anyone.”

And Sam never had told anyone (but Lucifer knew - he knew everything) and deep down, buried in his mind, these feelings were in peaceful slumber, violently dragged across the floor now, kicking and crying, 

A W A K E

Sam is awake. 

He remembers the awkward, painful, dry fuck in the back of the Impala after they killed the Wendigo, so long ago, and how they never ever said a word. 

Spit is shitty lube.

So is blood.

It roars. The monster roars in Sam’s chest. It’s in agony, it’s in joy, it’s free! 

And Sam is just a puppet, always been nothing more than a puppet. He watches himself suck Dean’s fingers, then sticking his own fingers in the wound, stir it, stir Dean’s insides. The gurgling, the retching. Dean’s satisfied moans, his hands all over Sam’s now healed body. 

“Yes, Sammy, let it all out, come on… Let it all out.”

Sam only hisses. This blood, Dean’s blood, the blood of a demon, of a Knight. It’s so much more potent than Ruby’s or any other demon’s he’s ever drank and tasted. Dean is delicious. Demon tend to taste like rotting meat, titan arum aroma.

But Dean tastes of all the good things. Dahlia, petrichor, amber. His musk makes Sam’s blood boil and his pants bulge. 

“Sammy.”

“Dean”, is the first thing New Sam says. 

What Monster Sam says. His voice sounds low, rough, barely in control. His body is shaking, too much force is withhold now. 

“Brother.”

The wound on Dean’s throat is closing up again already, the healing ability is really incredible. Sam will bite it open very, very soon, but first… 

Dean doesn’t protest, he doesn’t fight back at all when Sam slams him down to the ground like he weighs nothing. There’s the crunchy sound of maybe, bones breaking, or just getting sprained, but even that, Dean will heal in no time. Dean lies on his stomach, attempts to get up. 

“Sammy-”

“Sammy is not here right now.”

There’s no surprise, no scare in Dean’s voice. Sam stomps his bare foot in Dean’s back and Dean stays, doesn’t even breathe. The adrenaline rush in Sam’s ears makes him deaf for most other things and seeing demon Dean down on his stomach, defeated so easily, it’s almost an insult. Sam crouches down, one foot still on Dean’s back, pressing him down. 

“You surrender?”, Sam asks, eyebrows raise.

“I didn’t mean to fight you at all.”

Dean chuckles, his voice raspy

Sam drags Dean on all fours, rips apart his shirt (the pretty red shirt, ruined with blood anyway) and Jeans and when he holds Dean’s hips, bends over and bites Dean’s neck, Dean hisses “Come on, Sammy, that’s it.”

That’s it.

Sam tears apart skin, Dean’s blood gushes in Sam’s mouth, warm and silky, smooth and delicious. 

“Is that what you wanted?”, Sam says in a breathless moment, before he starts sucking the wound dry, the bleeding will stop soon, way too soon for Sam to be satisfied. 

Dean growls deeply, pushes against Sam. Pleading. Sam pushes two fingers inside Dean, but feels very quickly, Dean doesn’t need it. He doesn’t want it. He needs Sam. He rips off his jeans, down to his knees and when that’s not giving him enough space, he just tears it to shreds completely. Dean’s ass is perfect. Round, juicy, firm. When he gives it a slap - a hard one - he enjoys the noise Dean makes. And then he thrusts completely inside, without hesitation. No foreplay. No gentle feeling ahead and preparing Dean’s wonderfully tight and delicious ass. He feels amazing, hot, tight, smooth. Dean hands grip Sam’s wrists tight while he fucks into him, raw, without anything to soothe the pain, make it easier, make Dean nice, slick and wet. But he doesn’t complain at all. 

“That’s it”, Dean chants, in his low, low “Let’s finish this game” voice. That’s it, over and over. 

This is no sex Sam would ever have if he was in his right mind. Covered in his own vomit, Dean’s blood, on the cold floor. Not that he has fucked any guy after he fled off to Stanford anyway. Dean is all he knows. He only knows what Dean taught him about fucking ass. 

Dean starts getting slippery with his own blood, Sam’s blood infused spit and finally, cum. Sam loses the feeling of time and space, all he can do is fuck Dean until one of them passes out, and if Dean passed out, Sam would continue anyway. 

The adrenaline rush plummets too early for Sam’s taste, the haze clears up and he’s getting aware of his ripped off clothes, the shreds of Dean’s. The fluids, the smell, the feeling. Crust everywhere. Dean is still on his knees, head sunken on the floor, his arms stretched out, breathing heavily. There’s no sign that he’s in pain. But Dean’s a demon, right? He will be fine. 

Sam drags him up, and the cocky smile, the perfect hair, it’s all gone. Dean looks like he’s had the same otherworldly experience. It’s a sight that makes Sam chuckle. 

“What are you laughing at?”, Dean asks, coming on his feet, gently swaying, but finally his wounds are closing up. 

“You threatened to rip my throat out. With your teeth.”

“Not there yet, Sammy. Not yet.”

The situation is unreal, Sam feels unreal. He knows he will never be the same. Something’s broken inside him, crumbled - yet ready to expand again, into unknown territory. 

He doesn’t remember the coercion, Dean’s betrayal - or was it Dean’s way of deliberating Sam?

Sam, leaning on the table, watches Dean come close and he leans in, a hand in Sam’s hair, gently pulling. Their kiss isn’t gentle, nothing will be gentle for a while. Teeth clash, the table scrapes along the floor and the throbbing of Dean’s pulse makes Sam rise up again. Dean bites Sam’s neck, sharp pain - and Dean drinks. The feeling is satisfying and roughening Sam up at the same time. He pulls his Knight close, closer, grabs him and bends him over the table, both still bleeding, Dean high from Sam’s blood. 

“For a Knight of Hell, you’re very pliant”, Sam growls in Dean’s ear.

Dean chuckles.

“I just bend the knee to my King.”

Sam frowns. 

“What do you mean?”

Dean hikes up and drags Sam to the mirror in the Dungeon.

“Take a look”, Dean hums, rich and satisfied in tone, “acknowledge who you are.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. First, Sam’s mossy eyes just look glassy, clear, beaming with desire for Dean. 

Then he draws in his breath with a sharp hiss. 

“You got your daddy’s eyes, Sammy.”

Sam’s eyes turned yellow.

[jinjojess]

超高校級の英雄 V3: Danganstuck Classpects V3

Okay, okay. 

Enough waiting around; let’s get this up and ready to go.

These are obviously just my own opinions on things, and as such are very closely tied to my own personal interpretations of both the V3 characters and also of the classpects themselves. For clarity’s sake, I based the aspect rationalizations from the official lore here, and I used the MSPA wiki for direction with the classes.

Just as a quick note, I used some of the FTE info (which is debatable in its veracity) for some of the assignments. Sorry, gotta work with what I have to work with. Also, if anything is expanded on in Homestuck 2, I have no idea, as I haven’t read it (or the epilogues, for that matter).

Akamatsu Kaede Prince(ss) of Time Derse Dreamer The Land of Sharps and Flats

Going off the canon description of Time, it makes perfect sense for Akamatsu. She’s goal-oriented, wants to skip to the credits, and would rather take a leap of faith than wait things out. To say nothing of the strong associations between Time and music. I went with Prince for her as a class since it’s the destroyer class--Akamatsu very literally destroys both Amami and herself (and her goal of getting everyone out alive) thanks to her own impatience in wanting to stop the one responsible for the killing game. I had her sleep on Derse since she’s supposed to be a bit of a protag subversion in that she hatches a literal murder scheme. Her equivalent of the Beat Mesa is a big metronome. 

I also have an alt land name for her in The Land of Ninths and Eighths to reference the time signature of Claire de Lune (which is 9/8). 

Saihara Shuuichi Page of Doom Prospit & Derse Dreamer The Land of Glass and Fingerprints

I considered making Saihara a Rage player at first given how the ultimate conflict is (supposedly going to be) solved in Chapter 6, but the description of Doom players as being commiseraters rather than healers really stuck out to me as appropriate for Saihara. Of all the characters in the game, he’s one of the few that doesn’t actually push anyone to heal, and his ultimate gambit in the 6th trial is to counteract the audience trying to self-medicate with catharsis at their expense. He takes a while to come into his own, which is the signature trait of the Page class, too. As a Doom player, he dreams on both moons, which for reasons I can’t quite articulate just clicks for me. The glass in his land name references not only magnifying glasses but also mirrors, since his is very much a journey of self-reflection.

Amami Rantarou Seer of Breath Prospit Dreamer The Land of Sails and Nail Polish

I really like what I came up with here for Amami. Breath is linked pretty strongly to his FTE reveals about how his desire to explore led his sisters to disappear into the ether (and changed his direction in life), and the angst he feels over wanting to reunite with his sisters hints at his trouble with bonds (the Breath inverse Blood’s territory). I incorporated the boat stuff into the theme with the idea of sailing for his world name, while the nail polish is for his sisters and that extra scene with Akamatsu. I went with Seer as the class since Amami Knows Things, and there’s that bit about Seers “having a strategy guide in their head” that I wanted to be a callback to the special map and the fact that he’s the Shogo Kawada of this operation. Prospit as the dream moon just felt right, so there it is.

Iruma Miu Thief of Space Prospit Dreamer The Land of Caulk and Nuts (and Frogs)

I don’t care if you have to have Frogs somewhere in the Space player’s land name, I will stand by that pun! So Space is all about creation and seeing the bigger picture, and to me that jived with how Iruma is an inventor. While Time is deeply linked to music on a conceptual level, Space is linked to nurturing, including growing plants, raising animals, and parenting. The Space and Motherhood parallels fit well with Iruma’s canon aspirations and goals. I went with Thief because Iruma is very much out for Number One, and wants to hog up all the creation ability for her own ends. Prospit dreamer because she’s the type.

Ouma Kokichi Bard of Heart Derse Dreamer The Land of Kings and Horses

There’s a lot you could do with Ouma, and I’m sure that plenty of people peg him as a Void player because of the lying. For me though, I read Ouma has being primarily concerned with his own identity, and how he’s perceived by others. Fractured senses of self are a Heart concept, after all, and it seems that Ouma likes trying on identities to see which one ultimately fits him best. I made him a Bard because they’re unpredictable and all about helping or hurting a session in random turns, but also because Ouma himself is allowing his own identity to be destroyed thanks to his paranoia and inability to let anyone get close to him. He dreams on Derse with all the other schemers, and I went with a name pun for the planet that can also function as a chess reference (ala his bandana and his 5d chess approach to life).

Kiibo Sylph of Mind Derse Dreamer The Land of Shells and Ghosts

Since Sylphs are healers, I wanted to have Kiibo in that role, since he’s usually trying very hard to smooth things over and fix problems. I went with Mind for him for a few reasons: one is that Kiibo’s self-identity is subsumed by his “inner voice” that later turns out to be audience suggestions, meaning that he’s healing things through the choices of others and doesn’t have as much of a Self as it were. Another reason is because I made Naegi a Mind player and Kiibo is clearly meant to be a bit of a callback to him (up to and including the fact that Naegi very much functions as an audience insert in the first game). I made Kiibo a Derse dreamer because he literally hears the whispers of the audience members telling him what to do. The land name was me having a little fun and poking at his aspect a bit.

Gokuhara Gonta Heir of Light Prospit Dreamer The Land of Pins and Wings

Light is all about knowledge, and Gonta has, while specific, quite a lot of knowledge. He likes learning, and is open to new information to re-evaluate what he knows. I made him an Heir since the speculation is that they are subsumed in their aspect, and Gonta is very passively knowledgable. He often offers helpful suggestions based on things he just happens to know, for instance, and what ultimately undoes him is Ouma showing him the “truth” of things, which Gonta doesn’t even think to question. He’s a Prospit dreamer who’s been awake for awhile, unwittingly watching the clouds for signs, and his land name is a reference to pinning butterflies into a collection.

Shinguuji Korekiyo Mage of Light Derse Dreamer The Land of Scrolls and Masks

Meanwhile, on the other end of knowledge for knowledge’s sake, we have the other scholar, Shinguuji. Unlike Gonta, he’s actively out there seeking knowledge, rather than being drawn to it, and his motives are undeniably selfish in nature, so I wanted him to be an active class (I’m assuming Mage is the active counterpart to Seer, shhh). Shinguuji uses his understanding of his field--humans--to progress his own goals and wants. He’s also smart enough to know what pieces of information to share and which to keep hidden behind a convenient zipper. Made him Derse because shemey as all hell, and I went with some general imagery for folklore for the land name.

Chabashira Tenko Knight of Breath Prospit Dreamer The Land of Sweat and Flipping

I think we can all agree that Chabashira is probably not a Derse dreamer. Meanwhile, I chose her aspect for a couple of reasons: first, because aikido is generally about evading attacks which strikes me as a windy kinda deal, even if Neo Aikido is a bit different; second, because her central conflict in the game is about learning to let go of a bond she desperately wants to forge with Yumeno (which, again, is a Blood-related matter); and third, because flipping somebody would create a gust of air movement and that image made me laugh. I went with Knight for Chabashira, since the most common interpretation of Knight is that it exploits its aspect, and I think that Chabashira is able to exploit the various currents of influence (especially in Chapter 3) to great success. I also think that she exploits The Breeze to nudge Yumeno’s path out of danger by taking her place in the kagonoko ritual. The land name is the sweat of training in martial arts, and the flipping is not just about said martial arts, but also about being flung off a see-saw.

Toujou Kirumi Knight of Life Derse Dreamer The Land of Sticks and Carrots

Life players are generally known to be trying to fix everybody’s problems, whether they want that to happen or not, and if that doesn’t scream Toujou to you, I don’t know what will. I went with Knight again for the exploitation aspect of it, where Toujou uses her position as authority in the group to further what she believes to be the greater good (hedging my bets here since we don’t know if Knight is active or passive). She’s clearly a Derse dreamer, because even if she wasn’t schemey, she’s droll as fuck. Her land references the two main ways to motivate someone: threats and rewards.

Harukawa Maki Knight of Time Prospit Dreamer The Land of Beans and Demons

I know, I know, but really, if you think about it, HaruMaki and Dave do kind of have a lot in common (and not just the fact that they have red eyes). The part about Time that fits well to me is that a Time player’s life is marked by strife and struggle, which HaruMaki has in spades. Like Akamatsu, she’s impatient and often acts rashly, in an attempt to cut out the middle man or advance what she thinks should be happening. She’s the last of our Knight squad, exploiting Time (or more broadly, destruction/entropy) to try and help out, such as trying to off Ouma or attack the Exisals head on. There’s also a bit on the Wiki that’s speculated that Knights often try to conceal their insecurities by acting tough, which is HaruMaki’s M.O. While she doesn’t have the music theme, assassination is very much about timing. I had her dream on Prospit because she’s not really a plans person, deep down, and her land name is a joke about her name/birthday referencing Setsubun.

HaruMaki doesn’t have a Beat Mesa equivalent, but she does have a tool specifically for causing a Scratch: a huge, unwieldy kantana.

Hoshi Ryouma Prince of Blood Prospit Dreamer The Land of Grass and Clay

Here you go, anon, what you were waiting for. I personally peg Hoshi as a Blood player, through and through. He’s stubborn, values bonds with other people, can lead via inspiration rather than direct command, and feels grounded. I think he’s a Prince thanks to the fact that he ended up destroying the very people who meant so much to him, and in the aftermath continued to push people away and pre-emptively destroy any possible future bonds. He’s a Prospit dreamer because he can see flashes of the future, though he often doesn’t read them correctly. His land is a reference to different types of tennis courts.

Momota Kaito Rouge of Hope Prospit Dreamer The Land of Wishes and Stars

The key part of a Hope player is that they can dream up a better world than the one that exists, and that can definitely be said about Momota. Like Jake, he’s a bit in his own head and immersed in his fantasy version of reality, where he plays the hero and is able to save everyone else. He’s somewhat gullible, to a point, and he’s the most superstitious of the bunch, showing how much stock he can put into the thing he believes. The sheer power of Momota’s belief is infectious, hence why I made him a Rogue--he’s out there trying to impart his sense of belief into those around him, for everyone’s benefit. He dreams on Prospit because of course he does, and I made his land name reflect literal space in conjunction with his talent, and to riff on that inspirational poster about shooting for the moon and landing among the stars.

Yumeno Himiko Heir of Doom Prospit & Derse Dreamer The Land of Death and Magic

While most people who played V3 picked up on Saihara being depressed, not everyone has noticed that Yumeno also suffers from the same bleak view of the world. Similarly to Saihara, Yumeno is not a healer, or a doer. She’s here to sigh and complain and tell you that’s rough, buddy. Because of that, I can definitely see her as a Doom player. I made her an Heir, as one who is consumed by their aspect, since Yumeno is very much doom and gloom a lot of the time. She’s also subconsciously drawn to death, as she gets close to both Angie and Chabashira before their untimely demises. It’s through their deaths that she comes more into her own, hence why it’s also part of her land title (I don’t think I have to explain the other part). She dreams on both moons because Doom players are implied to do so.

Yonaga Angie Witch of Hope Derse Dreamer The Land of Prayer and Idols

Like Momota, Angie has intense faith on her side; if Angie thinks it’s true, it’s true. She’s also similarly not looking at the same world as everyone else, instead seeing something slightly different and colored by her own beliefs. However, unlike Momota, Angie is not interested in helping others find their own faith, and would rather use the power of her belief for her own gain. Hence why I made her a Witch, an active class that manipulates its aspect. The other characters may not believe in Angie’s religion, but they sure do believe her when she tells them to sacrifice their autonomy for safety. I put her on Derse since her god could very easily just be a specific horrorterror, and the land name is connected to religion. 

Shirogane Tsumugi Maid of Void Derse Dreamer The Land of Scripts and Swatches

I went through a lot of possible Classpects for Shirogane, including Light, Space, Seer, Heart, etc., but I think that this is what I’m going to settle on. Derse Dreamer because not only is she schemey, she’s listening to whispers of her bosses and the ratings, albeit in a less direct sense than Kiibo (what’s more horrorterror-y than a focus group!). Void as an aspect works well to me, since Shirogane is always going on and on about being plain and forgettable, about how she hides in plain sight, and even her talent is about becoming somebody else rather than herself. She’s also the one who in the end throws the “truth” into question, instead concealing it in favor of ambiguity. I went with Maid since one of the speculated interpretations is one who creates or creates through their aspect: she not only (arguably) erases the casts’ identities and memories, she does this in order to have “blank pages” on which to write the killing game’s drama. Whether Maid is an active or passive class is unknown, but if it’s active it makes sense since she’s using other people for her own gain, and if it’s passive, it could be argued that she’s doing it in service of Team DR or the audience.

Speaking of...

Bonus!

The V3 audience Muse of Space The Land Beyond the 4th Wall

I don’t like assigning Master Classes unless I have a really good reason, and here I think it works. The fans are the epitome of the “wait-and-see” model, and their crime as it were is their general apathy toward the very real subjects of the killing game. They’re all big picture and no important details or nuance. You can’t get much more passive than being an audience member, hence Muse class, yet it’s their desire to recycle the series over and over that leads to the killing game’s very existence (they’re also not too upset about letting the kids’ past lives be sacrificed for this act of creation). The V3 audience is collectively in the real world as opposed to the Medium, hence the “planet” title for them. In the context of an actual Sburb game, they’d likely be Exiles.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah, no Rage players in V3. I couldn’t find my notes the other night when I got home, so I just went ahead and reworked all of the classpects from there.

The Aspects were fairly easy to assign, but the Classes really had me scratching my head for a good long while. Maybe it’s because it can recontextualize the Aspect elements depending on what it is, or maybe it’s because we don’t have as much information about how Classes work. 

Anyway, whew, that’s it! Hope you enjoyed!

[corpsentry]

WHEN THE WAR IS OVER AND I AM LYING AMONGST ANGELS, WAITING FOR YOU TO FIND ME: a spoiler-filled addendum

because i buttfucked the timeline harder than nintendo and That’s Mildly Concerning ao3 link

q: what the fuck is this a: this fic is the answer to the question, ‘how can i reconcile the events of breath of the wild and age of calamity into a coherent narrative?’.

q: what the fuck happened a: age of calamity was a dream zelda had while partying in ganon’s apartment for a hundred years.

q: [you point a nerf gun at my head and smash my knees in with a hammer concurrently] what the Fuck happened a: link has a line near the end of chapter one which goes something like ‘my mother used to say dreams are the memories of people from another world’. this is the core concept of the story. while age of calamity is a dream to botw zelda, who saw it unfold over the course of a hundred year nap, it’s also real. in my incredibly fucked up version of things, it happened- just not in the same universe as botw. when botw zelda settled in to drink cheap beer with ganon for a hundred years, her consciousness drifted across time and space to the age of calamity timeline, where she proceeded to live out someone else’s life for a few months. are the other characters in aoc aware of this? link is. at the end of chapter two, when he pleads with zelda to ‘rebuild the old world with [him]’, he falls out of character. he betrays the real purpose of this timeline and his place in it, which is to salvage what botw could not.

q: what the fuck is up with the space-time continuum thing a: inspired by the multiverse theory (note that i know nothing about multiverse theory apart from the fact that there are multiple verses), i decided it would be fun if i added a third dimension to the botw/aoc pair. the inhabitants of this third universe are aware of the existence of multiple worlds. they are also aware of the prophecy of calamity ganon’s return, but for the purpose of this essay it does not matter if calamity ganon will rise in their world. the primary concern of zelda in this third dimension is whether she can engineer a universe where link does not die. as she says in chapter two, there are a thousand possible outcomes, but only two fulfill her requirement: the outcomes that constitute botw and aoc. we can assume she went to enormous lengths to uncover these universes, as described by impa, who says with some disbelief ‘you destroyed the space-time continuum for a boy?’. zelda destroys the space-time continuum. she moves through timeline after timeline, tweaking dialogue and moving the hour-hand ever backwards, and at the end of it all, for all her suffering, what does she actually achieve?

q: okay so what the fuck is up with the scene where link kisses zelda and is like i had a dream where i died and then nothing happens a: first of all, you’ll find this scene near the end of chapter two if you’d like to take a second look at it. as for who exactly this zelda and this link are, it’s unclear. maybe after botw zelda woke up, the original aoc zelda and aoc link lived happily after the war. maybe the zelda in the third dimension missed a positive outcome in her thousand-bullet-pointed list. maybe this, too, is a dream someone had, while lying in a field of flowers somewhere. your call.

q: rabbit???????? a: the story about the rabbit is a framing device. first introduced at the end of chapter one when link tells zelda a story on the bridge at night, it eventually comes to parallel botw zelda’s experiences, but in reverse. the rabbit is happy in her reality. she has a dream where everyone she loves is gone, becomes immersed in it, and is eventually saved by the voice of some-god-or-another. zelda is not particularly happy in her reality (botw). she has a dream where everyone she loves survives, becomes immersed in it, and is pulled out of the dream by some-god-or-another. the important thing to note here is the second rule the rabbit lays out in the story, which is that you, as the dreamer, can’t tell anyone that you’re dreaming. self-awareness is a sin in these lands, but the greater and far worse sin is to attempt to share that self-awareness with someone else. this is why link is so adamant that zelda not finish speaking at the end of chapter two, when ganon is defeated and they are standing on the balcony. he wants her to stay. he’s in love with her. he doesn’t want her dream to end because in a way her dream is his dream too; they want the same things (peace, living champions and family, each other). unfortunately for him, zelda has to leave the aoc world behind, because even a hundred year nap has to end, and so she says what she has to say, she says it feels like she’s dreaming, and she wakes up.

q: please explain, in plain english, whatever the hell goes down in chapter 2. a: chapter one is a relatively straightforward retelling of the first four story chapters in hwaoc. chapter three returns the reader directly to the botw timeline, where link shoots a glowing arrow at ganon’s ass, killing him instantly. chapter two is the glorious fuck that lies in between. in short, it splices the events of aoc and botw together with overlays and meta commentary from the third universe mentioned above, where zelda is trying to engineer a happy ending, and the ambiguous fourth one where link is the one who sees the dream. i made use of several batshit devices here, but the most prominent one is, i hope, the encore. the [ENCORE] is initially used to signal that a scene will be set in the botw timeline. it makes its first appearance before botw zelda and botw link’s journey down from mount lanayru, which, as we know, does not take place in aoc. this is played straight up until the halfway mark or so, at which point i swap out ENCORE for encore and finally ****** (still says encore though). this distinction is lost altogether once impa begins dragging link’s body up to the great plateau. up until now, ENCORE and [these brackets] have been used to distinguish the botw timeline from the aoc one, which is not an encore and is not in [these brackets]. the next segment, concerning the battle on the great plateau, flips them. now impa and co’s funeral procession is ‘real’ and the charge zelda leads to the temple of time is ‘fake’. i wonder why.

q: ‘the lights are BLUE or YELLOW or PINK’. explain. a: what’s a play? a pretense. what does it take to pretend? actors. what is zelda doing? dreaming.

q: fourth wall breaks. explain. a: the interview segments are an homage to the seven thousand articles about age of calamity i read before playing age of calamity because this game was effectively my reason to live for the months of october and november. sooga talks about google maps because he’s dead (possibly dlc?) and dead people have the right to say fuck-all. every device in this story was implemented for a vaguely coherent reason. and then i fucked it up for fun.

q: what is the state of zelda and link’s relationship? a: in the botw timeline i imagine they’re involved with each other even before calamity strikes. in the aoc timeline i imagine they’re working their way towards something, but several important trigger events in botw don’t take place in the aoc timeline and the stakes overall feel significantly lower, so i’d hesitate to say their relationship develops to the same degree it does in the botw timeline. this is all personal conjecture, so you’re free to disagree.

q: why does the last line sound like a hannibal lecter line? a: [dab] god’s plan

q: why does zelda say there are a thousand possible outcomes, and only one where link lived in chapter 3? a: the first rule of time travel: don’t.

this is everything i can think of off the top of my head that might have confused people, but i did unfortunately write this thing so if there’s something else that made you go ‘the fuck?’ please don’t hesitate to drop me an ask or a line in the replies, i’d be happy to help. also, if it isn’t clear as day, i have a lot of fucking feelings about both of these games, so if you want to talk lore, theories, or just miscellaneous zelink fuckery, hit me up. i’ll go sleep now. take care everyone.

[technospotatoes]

C!SAM - Redeemable Qualities Analysis (Dream SMP)

Hallo! I’m back with another brain rot post for ya’ll instead of doing my schoolwork :] 

Recently, I’ve been doing some thinking and theorizing with some friends on discord following Quackity’s huge lore stream (if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you watch it). I woke up this morning with a head full of many thoughts about C!Awesamdude and where his story could take us. Seeing as how there is going to be lots of change in the future with the server, there must be changes in these characters as well-- evil to good, good to evil, and the like. With these changes comes my thought: “can these characters be redeemed?” Here are my thoughts on how this applies to C!Sam.

Please let me know your thoughts and theories, I’d love to discuss with you! As always, strap in, it’s gonna be a long one :]

I hope you enjoy!

Author’s note: I want to start this off by saying that all of the contents being discussed are fictional, and are from the Dream SMP universe. I do not support the actions of these characters, but merely have interest in analyzing them through a lens of psychology and for entertainment purposes. Content of this post will contain spoilers up to 3/25/21 of the DSMP lore. I will also talk about ATLA a little bit ;)

Content warning: mentions of torture, manipulation, death, possible psychological trauma

(pls be safe ily)

What makes a redeemable character? 

  Redeemable characters are some of the most pleasing and favored characters in modern media. Their stories are rich with emotion, and they can even evoke some form of catharsis within the most skeptic consumers. Redeemable characters are memorable and inspiring, and without one, a story can feel empty. Before we apply this character trope to the Dream SMP and C!Sam, we need to answer a basic question in order to fully understand the complexity of redeemable characters and how they are so universally significant. 

What is a redeemable character?

  Simply put, a redeeming character or characteristic counteracts or corrects something negative. From a storytelling standpoint, a redeemable character is someone who has roots in good qualities, turns bad, and has the ability to revert their wrong choices to become a better person. 

Examples of redeemed characters in popular media include: 

Zuko - Avatar the Last Airbender

Boromir - Lord of the Rings

Kylo Ren - Star Wars

Severus Snape - Harry Potter 

  Zuko, for example, starts his story off as the villain. He tirelessly hunts down the protagonist, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal to please his father. However, as the show progresses, we learn that Zuko wasn’t always bad. He was only driven to his path of villainy because of his fear of failure, of his father (the firelord and true antagonist of the show), and of a greater punishment than what he had already received. With the help of his uncle, Zuko learned to push through and accept his past, while also making amends with his wrongs and coming to the realization of who the true enemy was; ultimately choosing peace and unity over destruction and fear.    Zuko’s story is so appealing because it was drawn out. It was raw, it was real, and it was a genuine telling of how damaged people can heal, change, and come to accept themselves. Because he went through the process of redemption, he was not only able to be loved by those around him, but also by his audience-- And I believe that this can be the same case with any redeemable character. 

So how does this relate to C!Sam? How could he possibly be redeemable if he is not evil?

  C!Sam has become increasingly interesting to me in the DSMP lore, and he has shown how complex his character is-- in contrast to many first impressions that people have of him. Based upon his actions from the past, and his willingness to remain neutral in times of conflict, we can conclude that he sustains both “neutral good” and “lawful neutral/good” qualities. This means that Sam is a reliable character, driven by his own personal values, and is devoted to helping others (when he sees fit). Evidence of these qualities emerge…

When he sided with Pogtopia during the Manberg War to maintain good relations with Tommy and Tubbo. 

When he saved Hannah from the Egg

Created Sam Nook to assist Tommy in building his hotel

Built Pandora’s Vault for Dream

Showed concern for Ranboo after one of his denied prison visits

  Sam’s moral code is deeply rooted with good intentions; he keeps an eye out for his friends, maintains his relationships, assists in builds/projects, and also serves as a “stable adult figure” for some of the younger members of the server. In contrast to his logical outward appearance, C!Sam lets his emotions drive his decision making-- which can lead to many severe consequences depending on how he acts. However, recently Sam’s actions indicate that he is experiencing a flip in morals. 

Below are incidents that have led to C!Sam’s recent change in moral code. 

Incident 1: Trapped with the Egg

  Many weeks ago, during the height of character involvement with the Egg lore, C!Sam was lured into a trap by BBH and Antfrost. He spent about a day trapped in close contact with the Egg, and after he was saved by Puffy and Tommy, he was clearly changed. It is likely that the Egg is behind these sudden changes in character motivation for Sam… similarly to how it corrupted BBH, Ant, and Punz. Whether this is the case with Sam is unclear. 

Incident 2: Tommy’s death

  C!Sam and C!Tommy’s relationship within the DSMP lore is one of my favorite things to talk about. After his victory over the disk war and finally landing his nemesis in prison, Tommy was left empty, without much to do. He decided to take upon a new project to incite a new era of peace, and was able to enlist the help of Sam with building his hotel. Throughout this process (and under the watchful eye of Sam Nook), Tommy and Sam were able to develop a bond with each other through their work, along with their interactions at the Prison. 

  Sam has made it clear that he intends to defend Tommy no matter what-- but after his untimely death at the hands of C!Dream, Sam was deeply wounded. He felt as if he failed his promise to keep Tommy safe, and he made it clear that the blame for the “security issue” and C!Tommy’s death should be placed fully on him. No matter how selfless and responsible this makes his character appear, this event will only serve as the basis for severe consequences in moral change in the future. 

Incident 3: Confrontation with Quackity

  Following the large emotional impact of Tommy’s death, C!Sam is very vulnerable, because he is still within the stages of grief. C!Quackity came to Sam for a partnership, to take advantage of Sam while he was low to gain the upper hand. It’s no question that Q’s character is a talented manipulator, we can see that clearly in his interaction with Sam. Q restates again and again that Sam failed, further cementing Sam’s existing guilt and desire for revenge for his failure. Sam gives in to the manipulation, and somewhat reluctantly allows Quackity to torture Dream to get information and to get payback for what he did to Tommy... which completely goes against what his responsibility of Warden entails. 

  As Warden, C!Sam is supposed to uphold the law and rules of visitation, but because of his leniency with Quackity (in breaking the rules) and because he is still emotionally raw, he no longer defends good from evil, but is now biased against it. C!Sam probably wants Dream dead, but as Warden, his opinion shouldn’t matter. Because Sam fully blames himself for failing Tommy, he's lost the "lawful good" in his character, meaning Warden Sam (as a set of morals) truly doesn't exist anymore.

Incident 4: Ponk’s mistake

  To recap a stream briefly, Ponk did a prank on Sam a couple days ago, and stole a few of the expired keycards to Pandora’s Vault. Rightfully, Sam was very angry, and not only took back the keycards, but also imprisoned Ponk. However, where this interaction should have ended, C!Sam only took it to the extreme. (TW!!!!) Out of anger and frustration, C!Sam tortured Ponk for his wrongdoing by setting him on fire, and amputating his arm (END TW!!!). 

  This only proves my point from Incident 3. Warden Sam is fading, only bits and pieces of his morally neutral character remain within him for basic tasks. His encounter with Quackity had a huge impact on his psyche, not only is he allowing the torture of the prison occupants, but he is doing it himself as well. C!Sam is now starting to believe that pain and torture are the only solutions for punishment, which is the complete opposite of what he believed before Dream was imprisoned. 

In short...

  C!Sam is losing his grip on moral and mental stability because of his emotional insecurity due to his psychological trauma. Because of this, I believe that it is entirely possible for Sam’s character to explore the route of evil and unlawful values-- which furthers the possibility for a redemption arc. Even currently, Sam is eligible for redemption as well.

  If C!Sam is willing to acknowledge his wrongs from today and improve himself upon them, he will likely become a more memorable, lovable, and even more human character than we’ve seen in the SMP before. 

SIDENOTE!

IRL Sam recently posted in his discord talking about his character. Here are a few key things to keep in mind as the story goes forward: 

“There is a LOT of things in the plan for me as a character and a very big change is coming about for me as the story moves along.”

I believe this change could be a villain arc, or a turn towards evil that incites the possibility for redemption. 

“My character is playing a role that I think is VITAL for the server and a role that I like to think was a good one for me to pick up and accept.”

You can read the reddit post I referenced for this here (ty to my friend on discord for providing me with the link <3)

TYSM FOR READING!! <3 <3 <3

[angstbabyjae]

DSMP Tier List

This tier list was shared in a discord server I’m in, so I thought I’d give it a go. Not entirely satisfied with the section titles, so I used them quite liberally. I will explain why I put people where I did. On the tier itself I didn’t order them by preference but in my explanation I will. Please not that they will be ranked from favorite to least favorite per category (for example: I put Sapnap technically above Niki despite liking her character more) and not by how much they deserve to be in each category (for example: I prefer Technoblade to Phil but I believe people excuse Technoblade’s actions more than Phil’s). I encourage healthy suggestion in the comments since I only joined the fandom around the Green Festival and haven’t seen the history/POV’s of every character, though I try. Enjoy.

Gonna slap on a big ol’ “/rp” here just to be safe.

You've done nothing wrong come here (holds you gently)

So the thing about this section is that I don't believe any dream smp character is completely innocent, so I used this section more like a top of tier than as it's title implies.

1. TommyInnit

Ngl, Tommy is my favorite character in the Dream SMP. As a fellow Loud Person I relate to him a lot and his feelings that nobody really likes him. His mental health struggles are close to my heart and (SPOILERS) his death just made me so devastated. I really hope they don't end his arc like this. Not when he was just starting to heal, please. Tommy has certainly done a lot of things wrong. I'd highly recommend watching the exile decision from both Tubbo and Tommy's POV's because you can really get a grasp of their mindsets. Despite this, he is my fave.

2. Ranboo

Until recently I preferred Tubbo to Ranboo, but cc!Ranboo just totally outdid himself on lore and acting to the point where I couldn't deny it anymore. Ranboo did do *some* things wrong, but they are less extreme than many on this list (I don't count things he might have done under Dream's control since he wasn't conscious). Ranboo's character makes me go into protecc mode. So yeah, very good enderboi.

3. Tubbo_

Tubbo doesn't have much lore for his character, but like I do with many others on this list, I like to overanalyze and interpret certain characters to be deeper than they are. The Tubbo I have in my head is a lot more complex than what cc!Tubbo probably meant to portray. There is so much angst potential with his character, similar to many others, but what puts him top tier for me is the emotional connection I have to his character and how I relate to getting so much put on my shoulders and having to make tough decisions.

you're an amazing character

Okay so technically Schlatt should be on this list if we are speaking from a narrative standpoint, but seeing as the way OP labelled the other sections on this chart I'm guessing they meant morally as well.

4. Alex Quackity

Quackity is my favorite adult character. I don't even know why, I just love the idea of this comic relief character becoming such a catalyst for plot and more serious as time goes on. I love taking the dream smp characters and making them deeper than they probably are, as I do with Tubbo, but now it seems cc!Quackity is fully taking his character to the height of his potential and I can't wait to see what he does with him next.

5. AweSamDude

(SPOILERS) As such a big Tommy fan I must admit, my first thought when Tommy died was that Sam was partly responsible. If Dream told him what he did to Tommy in exile like he claims then he would have at least put up the obsidian barrier between them or something. After watching Ranboo's most recent stream (right now it's March 3rd) I understand why Sam did what he did more. My initial anger towards him has dissipated a bit. I still love his character so much. He really did care about Tommy and now... dang. I can't wait to see what happens with him next.

6. Captain Puffy

It was very close between ranking her or Sam higher, but given all the in depth character stuff we're getting from Sam right now, I'd have to rank him above. Despite this, Puffy is a character that I started out not knowing anything about and am now feeling her climb the ranks in my books. Sometimes I feel like she's the only adult who actually put Tommy's well-being above other things, despite them not interacting often. I wasn't around for the whole "duckling" thing with Dream and have yet to watch the VODs, but I just want her to visit him now and punish him for the Tommy stuff. (SPOILERS) I can feel Dream's next ploy being trying to convince someone to let him out in exchange for bringing back Tommy and if Sam doesn't cave then Puffy probably will. Also, I really hope that her and Niki's relationship isn't forgotten. There's so much angst potential there. Also, I need sapphics to survive.

7. Eret

So, I wasn't a fan of the SMP during season one. I hadn't even heard of it except for like my friend referencing Technoblade now and then. After watching some VODs of Eret's I am slowly starting to fall in love with her characterization. I am so soft for their redemption arc, for the regret he feels. Now that cc!Eret is back from their mental health break I am so ready for more.

8. Fundy

Fundy's a character that I will forget how much I love until he goes live again, or until I reread his old quotes. He has a lot of lore to him that surprises you every time you remember. Whether its his last speech to Schlatt to COCONUT 2020, Fundy always gives the audience something more to think about.

9. "Ghostbur"

Ghostbur is one of the few characters who genuinely make me want to cry. cc!Wilbur's performance was both hilarious and immaculate. I really want to find out more about his lore, though. Do all dead people with unfinished business get an alternate version of themselves to roam the Earth while you stay in the afterlife unable to make contact unless the veil is thin? Was Ghostbur just Wilbur pretending the whole time? (SPOILERS) Is Tommy going to get one? Is Glatt canon? Much to think about.

10. BadBoyHalo

While I despise egg-possessed BBH, normal BBH has my entire heart. The fact he gave up his mind for Skeppy is *chef's kiss*. I am very impressed with everything cc!BBH is writing right now.

11. Karl Jacobs

My second favorite polyamorous dimension hopper after Star Butterfly (let me have Startomco please)! TFTSMP just gets better and better each week. His time travel shenanigans are so fun and mysterious. Karlnapity is just a big ol' pot of angst just waiting to happen. WEDDING SOON PLEASE!

no intense opinion

While I do have opinions on some of these characters, they aren't intense enough to place them anywhere else.

12. Ponk

I don't watch him all that often since he's live during my school time, but what I've seen I love. Him starting that whole side plot expanding on that one TFTSMP episode intrigues me and I can see it tying into the egg somehow. Him and Sam are really cute together (/rp) and I want him to become more plot relevant again.

13. Antfrost

GAY CAT GAY CAT GAY CAT! In all seriousness, I really want him to do stuff with his character to make him more than just BBH's second-in-command (I have similar feelings with Skeppy, but I know he isn't very big on lore). Side note, but I really love the hc that RedVelvetCake is inside the egg. I want him to join so bad.

14. Purpled

I've only just started watching the actual clips from pre-L'Manberg times and Purpled was once much more plot involved than I thought. Him planning on getting his revenge on Tommy at the same time as the "police" investigating the Camarvan back in early season one was comedy gold. Shout out to BlueberryTV on YouTube for making it so easy to watch. In conclusion, we stan an underage mercenary.

15. GeorgeNotFound

Idk if this is a hot take or not, but I feel a good portion of people who love George's character are just DNF shippers who want to turn his crumbs into an angst factory, but you know what? Valid. While I am not a DNF shipper, I have seen the angst y'all have brought to the table and very much appreciate it.

16. ConnorEatsPants

The most I think I've seen of Connor has been the hostage scene and the non-canon party scene from this season. I don't have much to say except that his small speech to Tommy after he was let go about him not being a bad person despite traumatizing him hit surprisingly hard in the feels.

17. Skeppy

cc!Skeppy is not a big roleplayer, and I get that, it's just sometimes his character feels a little like an accessory to Bad's character. Please link me some good Skeppy moments in the comments if you can, I want to try and learn more about his character. His angst with Bad right now is top tier, though, and I choose to believe that Big Daddy Island is canon and that Bad took him there to keep him free from the egg. I actually wrote a fic about this if you want to check it out! Mind the tags, though, I went a little macabre with it.

18. HBomb

When I first learned about the SMP it was two nights before the green festival and I was up until 3am at my aunt's house reading the plot summary. The first clip of the smp I saw was the election VOD, where HBomb joined for the first time. I don't know much about him other than the fact he was Fundy's maid for a time and it was absolutely hilarious. I saw the recent stuff with him leaving Greater SMP to start over and enjoyed it. Hope we get more stuff like that with him.

19. Callahan

Gets all the ladies. What else can I say?

you're trying your best and I respect that

20. Sapnap

I put Sapnap here because he's on his way to becoming an amazing character. The angst stuff with Dream is the stuff George fans can only dream of (pun unintended). I like how he went from the cop, the pet killer, Dream's right hand man, to mushroom cottegecore gay living his best life and dealing with the pain of losing his best friend. The whole "Dream's bitch" conversation with Tommy that I saw an animatic for some time ago made me hurt so good. Also #KarlnapityWedding2021.

you're redeemable, thin fucking ice though

These are characters who I somewhat dislike to a degree, but still have hope for. In my opinion this section should be switched with the one after it in terms of which is worse, but oh well.

21. Wilbur Soot

I know he's already dead but if he's brought back to life I want a redemption arc from him back. (SPOILERS) If neither him nor Tommy come back to life then dsmp has a horrible track record with killing off their mentally ill and (tw) suicidal characters. Wilbur has done some awful things, but if he's brought back I don't think he'd be beyond saving.

22. Jack Manifold

I need to say something about Jack. He is so very very close to being in the "you're trying your best" section right now after his most recent stream. His redemption arc is so close I can taste it and if he is redeemed right I can see him joining my faves. His most recent stream was just so well acted that my heart just wants to forgive him already... until my brain remembers he tried to nuke a child. Don’t know if this is also a hot take, but I think he had more of a right to be mad at Tommy than Niki did, but I know for Niki it's more complicated than that.

23. Niki Nihachu

There was a time that I adored Niki Nihachu and a part of me still does, but she has gone a little bit off the deep end. I do understand it's a trauma response, though. cc!Niki said that her villain arc is almost over, which disappointed me a bit because we kinda barely got to see it since it was so overshadowed, but I am also relieved. I just want my wlw baker back :(

people excuse your actions more than you deserve

I am just going to pretend that this section doesn't say "love". I still like these characters a lot even though they get away with a lot of shit.

24. Technoblade

I love Technoblade too much for him to be ranked this low, but like I said this ranking is based on fitting the section descriptions, not how much I love them. Technoblade's POV is understandable but also that doesn't excuse the pain he's caused so many people. L'Manberg was more than it's a government as much as Techno is more than a weapon.

25. Philza Minecraft

Philza deserves to be in this section a little less than Technoblade because I actually agree with a lot of what Philza fans say. Tommy is not Philza's kid. Phil has a lot of trauma around killing Wilbur, yes. I just don't see how you could watch Ghostbur's Friend speech during Doomsday and think he was in the right for doing it.

i don't like you

26. JSchlatt

JSchlatt is an amazing character in many ways. The acting? Glorious. The dialogue? Spot on. With that being said, YAYY HE'S DEAD!!! I really like leaning into the abusive relationship hc with him and his cabinet. He was probably the most fun villain we've ever had, though.

I WANT THIS MOTHER FUCKER DEAD

27. DreamWasTaken

Come on, do I even have to explain?