#and maybe the 3 elemental dragons showing up too

[saccharinerose]

I beat TotK today ✌️

[fallingdownhell]

Hello hello hello there, good writer! I was wondering if you'd be open to writing platonic HCs for the currently playable Archons in the game. Basically, way back when during the Archon War (or in Nahida's case, some point early on when she was instated as Sumeru's new Archon) the Archon's save a baby dragon's (the reader) life.Now, centuries later, at some point following the events of the Archon quests, they encounter Dragon!reader reader- now a fully-matured dragon (Dragon is the same element as each Archon. Individually, I mean, they aren't multi-elemental). The Archon recognizes them through any number of factors (a scar in a very particular area of Dragon!Reader's body, a discolored patch of scales, etc.) And as for how they encounter each other, maybe the Archon is accompanying the Traveler on a commission, and dragon!reader saves the Traveler or Archon's ass when the situation gets dicey, maybe the Archon senses a familiar presence and investigates, perhaps paths cross and they find themselves saving (or assisting) dragon!reader yet again, or maybe it's just a chance case of the stars aligning in just the right way. Apologies for the massive word dump, just thought I'd give you some prompts in case you have trouble coming up with ideas for this, if you want to do it, or course!

That is such a cool idea! And I really appreciate the word dump, it really helped me out a great deal this time around, so thank you, kind anon<3

Characters Included: Zhongli; Venti; Nahida

Content: gender neutral! dragon! reader; platonic headcanons;

Word count: 2,2k words

I hope this comes somewhat close to what you had in mind. Hope you enjoy<3

Zhongli

Zhongli often looks back fondly at the times where he had adopted this strange baby dragon

the Archon War was a though time period, both for him and the people at his side, but having that baby to take care of by his side and teaching it all sorts of things made it somewhat bearable for him

he would often play around with it, sometimes even play fighting to show it a few moves and tricks and the dragon seemed to enjoy that a whole lot

though cuddling sessions always seemed to be the dragons favourite, especially when a certain spot under his chin was being scratched

it was a difficult spot for others to reach, seeing as it was surrounded by brown spikes, indicating your resonance with the Geo element, but seeing the happy expression on the baby's face made it worth it in the end

When the dragon later got older and grew up in Zhongli's care, it would often join him in various battles while the War still lasted

On one such battles, the dragon got hurt pretty badly in it's left eye, ultimately loosing it in the process. But it adjusted rather well to living with only half it's eyesight

Later, when the Archon war ended and peace had returned to Liyue, the dragon was all grown up now as well. And one day, without any prior indication, the dragon had just left, never to return again

Zhongli wasn't sad or anything. He understood that this is simply how nature works and he only wished the best unto his foster child

Sometimes, the Ex-Archon wonders if that dragon is still alive, but those thoughts always leave him rather quickly again. It's no use pondering about the unknown

And yet, imagine the surprise on Zhongli's face when he saw another dragon roam the sky just as he finished dealing with Azhdaha alongside the Traveller

Finding an opportunity to slip away from the group, he began traveling in the direction he saw the flying creature

it took some time, but he eventually found the dragon as it rested besides a small lake, soaking in the rays of sunshine onto it's scaled skin

fascinated by it, since dragons were a rare sight to see in this day and age, he decided to approach the creature, silently as to not startle it too much

as he got closer to the dragon, the creature soon picked up a new scent in the area and opened it's big eye, now spotting the approaching Zhongli

quickly, the creature got up and began roaring at him, and that's when Zhongli noticed a particular scar on the left eye of the dragon

Could it be... was it actually you?

Your name slipped past his lips and it made you hold in the middle of your actions. Zhongli could see the uncertainty in the dragons form, so he said your name again, staying still in his spot, only a few steps away

the dragon, still unsure, took another sniff of the surrounding air, taking in the scent of the new arrival, and suddenly, memories from its time as a baby came flooding into his mind, and you recognized the man in front of you

now seeming much calmer, you got closer to Zhongli, your long neck extending towards him so that your head was right in front of him

with a smile, the Ex-Archon extends his hand as well to scratch that certain spot under your chin, like he had always done many, many years ago

at this, the dragon closed its eye and a low grumbling sound could be heard deep within it's throat.

Zhongli almost couldn't believe it. His old friend was still alive and apparently doing pretty well for itself..

for some time, the two of them just sat down in the grass, enjoying the light of the still shining sun, while Zhongli just began talking, telling you of all the things that had happened while you were gone

And you were listening to every single one of his words, feeling happy to finally be reunited with him again..

Venti

Most people know about Dvalin - or Stormterror - and his connection to the anemo Archon. How he was one of the four winds that protected the nation of Mondstadt

but what the people did not know, is that there was a second dragon with the anemo Archon that had been taken in by him when it was only a small baby

as a result, the baby dragon has been raised both by Dvalin and the anemo Archon at the same time. While it learned typical dragon behaviour from Dvalin, Venti provided the baby other lessons important for its life ahead

the little dragon has always been a playful and adventurous one. It was getting into trouble quite frequently as a child, but such was the nature of freedom

Venti had always adored looking at this little dragon baby as he found the light green colour of your scales to be quite mesmerizing. He liked to think that the colour represented your connection with the Anemo element, and himself.

But what he found even more adorable was the little patch of white scales, right between the beginning of your legs and your hind legs. It was about the size of the palm of his hand, the colour never really coming through on that spot

While Venti and Dvalin engaged in the Archon war, you always decided to stay behind, rather enjoying the serenity that the nation of Mondstadt brought to you than to engage with bloody battles all the time

As time went on, you grew older and older, and Dvalin knew that the time would come where you would leave them behind. To find your own place within this world, without them by your side

and sure enough, one seemingly peaceful day, you went up to them one last time, seemingly telling your goodbyes with your eyes before you turned your back to them and flew off into the distant world ahead of you. Excited to see what was liying ahead, but also sad you had to leave them behind

many, many years have passed since that fateful day and a lot has happened since then. A mysterious traveller has appeared in the world of Teyvat, helping Venti to bring his old friend Dvalin back to his senses

Since that incident, Venti couldn't help but think back to the old times quite often, reminiscing of the memories all three of them shared. He would often wonder how you were doing these days, if you were well off..

on one such days, when he was laying beneath the tree at Windrise, thinking of old times, he did not notice a bunch of Abyss mages and their underlings approaching

when he did, it was already too late and he was surrounded by enemies. Though he tried fighting his way out, the number of enemies just seemed to increase, instead of decreasing

Venti began to worry and just as he was about to summon his old friend Dvalin for some help, a roar echoed from above the sky. All heads turned up as a huge creature descended downwards, instantly attacking the abyss mages and their hoards

for a second, the colourful scales made him think of a certain dragon, but he quickly shook off that feeling, concentrating on the battle at hand

it didn't take long until the enemies were dealt with, and as a moment of peace came to them, Venti turned and took in the familiar colour of light green scaling..

But.. that couldn't be, right? It surely was just a coincidence.. another dragon that just happened to have a similar colour to the one he once raised..

But, as the dragon remained on the ground, patiently looking at Venti, he couldn't shake off that feeling of familiarity

And then, the dragon turned to its side, showing Venti the undeniable truth of a missmatched patch of white scales among a sea of green..

It really was you...

Joy spread over Venti's face as he realized it really was his old friend that had come back to see him again

It didn't take long until he was on your back and you began ascending towards the sky again. Up there in the sky, with only the winds holding you back, Venti also summoned Dvalin to him to complete this reunion

Many roars sounded all throughout Mondstadt on this day as there were now two dragons roaming the skies of this nation...

Nahida

As the god of Dendro, Nahida had always liked the nature and all of its inhabitants

she would always try to sneek away to find a spot somewhere within the rainforest where she could just sit down and listen to the sounds of nature all around her

while the sages at that time did not approve of her behaviour, she continued to do so with the excuse of wanting to form a connection between her and her nation as well as it's people

one day while she was out again, she stumbled upon a tiny dragon baby. As she got closer, she noticed that the baby appeared to be hurt quite badly, yet it still backed up when she got closer, scared of her

it took some time and gentle reassuring from Nahida's side, but eventually, the small dragon let her get close, inspecting the wounds inflicted to it

deciding that she wanted to take care of it, she used her powers to build a sort of little hideout where she nurtured the dragon back to health over the course of a few weeks

while doing so, the baby dragon began trusting her more and more, until eventually, they formed a kind of bond between them

once the baby was all healed up, it didn't dissapear like Nahida thought it would. Instead, it decided to stay with her, playing around and growing up with her

every single time Nahida managed to slip out, the two of them were always together. Either laying in the grass, listening to the nature around them, or playing around and sometimes, she even helped the little dragon in learning how to fly

when they got tired, they lay together on the ground, the dragon having it's head on Nahida's lap as she carefully caressed the top of its head where the beatiful, deep green scales where less sharp than everywhere else on its body. The colour reminded her of the rainforest itself sometimes..

but what she found almost a bit more beautiful were those missmatched eyes of the dragon. One in a beautiful, piercing blue colour while the other was deep red, a stark contrast between the two

But then came the day where Nahida was whisked away by the Sages and sealed into the Sanctuary

it took hundreds of years until the traveller arrived in Sumeru and with the help of some others finally freeed Nahida of her everlasting prison

Thankful to have finally escaped, she did her best to handle everything by herself the best she could. She guided her nation into a new direction and took care of everything that the Sages had taken over

which led to her not once having left the city since she has been freeed. Though Nahida yearned to just go outside and sit in the nature again, she had obligations to take care of, that required her urgent attention

until the Traveller came around another time, insisting on her taking a break for once. In his words, all those problems would still be there once she returned from the break, but her well being was important as well, especially for her people she needed to be in good shape

so, taking him up on the offer, the Traveller, Nahida and Paimon went into the rainforest like she wanted to. While wandering around, they passed the old hideout Nahida had once built for that baby dragon

Memories flooded her mind upon seeing it and she smiled a bit, though it appeared to be a bit sad. The Traveller noticed, but before he could ask Nahida about it, they heard some rustling behind them

Weapon at the ready, the Traveller was prepared to attack should the need arise

And then, from behind some trees, a dragon emerged, eyes fixed onto them

and Nahida instantly recognized you. Not because of the deep green colour of your scales that only seemed to have become even more beautiful over the years. But because of those disscoloured eyes that she was never able to forget

you seemed to recognize her as well, showing no signs of aggression at all, which made the Traveller lower his weapon again

finally reunited again after so many years, both of you seemed happy to be within the presence of each other again

you gently pressed the tip of your nose into her face, gently blowing air into her face which made her giggle a bit. She then climbed onto your back, resting there while the now four of you continued this walk through the rainforest

And even after that, you continued to stay by Nahida's side, always there to protect her should anything ever happen to her again. You were ready to make them regret their decision if people decided to ever mess with her again...

[fiery-emblems]

Like a lot of people I sometimes ponder what my favorite characters might look like if they were allowed to grow older. I've been seeing a lot of good designs for older Soren specifically so of course I got to thinkin' about my own take!

Some notes on design process under the cut cause I think we should all share our thought process once in a while:

So, for this I didn't want to just want to go with "Soren, exactly the same but older". My thought was "if I was actually in charge of designing for a fire emblem game, one that takes place in a future Tellius perhaps and featuring this character as a guest (a la Tiki or the Awakening trio, which they should keep doing BTW) how would I go about doing that".

You have to think of course, about what the character is actually doing and what their role is. It seems pretty likely that after RD Soren is either traveling the world with Ike or wandering around (probably the former) so "traveler" was the theme. As far as the overall shape and the outer layer especially it seemed obvious to reference the dragons, who are also travelers:

I don't want to just straight up copy the look of the robes though for a couple of reasons. 1) that's boring and the idea here is for an updated visual style 2) I wanted to combine different elements to evoke a feeling of mixing cultures. I figure if this scenario takes place say, 80 years in the future or something, fashions will have moved forward and perhaps you would see elements of beorc and laguz fashions mixed together. Especially for Soren given what he is. So I went with an inner layer that looks more Victorian puffy sleeves (which you don't actually see a lot of in PoR or RD since the characters favor more stiff looking tunics, but they are there and I figured its the future and maybe Crimea has entered its puffy shirt era) with the outer layer looking more like what the dragons wear. 3) Staying with robes seems kind of stagnant. I imagine that a much older Soren who's lived a good life along side his love has probably chilled out a little bit. A little bit. 4) I think having more leg visible gives a more adult silhouette.

The other consideration is the hairstyle. As much as I love Soren being a carbon copy of Rajaion, it wouldn't be the most interesting design choice if I was the character designer of a game to just copy a past design 1 for 1. So I decided to just lengthen his hair a little bit and give it a look like its been blown around in the wind. Soren is the windy guy and I'm assuming he would be more chill here so why not let it be loose and free? This also helps avoid him just looking like Sephiran cause I see that a lot too lol.

Yes I also changed the shape of his brand. I've always been fascinated by the fact that it changed shape between games. I know it was likely just a design oversight but what if it changed because he isn't an adult yet and it changes more as he ages?

Lastly there's the why. Why would your fav show up as a guest character? What would he even do?? Well I think Soren could be really fun actually if we assume he went with Ike and that Ike kept Ragnell with him. I'm picturing a situation where Ike has lived out his natural life and died, leaving Soren to return to Tellius alone in order to tell Mist's family what happened (cause Ike just left without telling anyone anything lol), and to return Ragnell to them. Instead some conflict breaks out, you know how it is, and the more chilled out Soren is convinced to bestow the sword onto the new starry-eyed lord who reminds him of his beloved.

Oh yeah. I can see it now.

[ashistired37]

Yes the nap was refreshing. Let's talk about what I think is going on with Erin!

So. Spoilers for 2-2-32!

sorry most of this is based on speculation but that's the fun of this! If you disagree or think there's something I missed I will very gladly read through it! I love theories even if they aren't mine feel free to share yours <3

Okay so I literally wrote a draft of my theory the night before so I'll summarise it.

Basically I think what's going on with Erin- atleast subconsciously is tied to the backstory theory I cooked up.

I think his soul was either very prone to elemental corruption or the elements were just too much for him to control.

I think maybe using one element like we've mostly seen him do was alright but using it for too long would cause problems. So using them would usually lead to him being bedridden or sick in some way.

Because of this he probably felt powerless in a way. Sure he could use all the elements but he can't do anything meaningful with them without injuring himself (or others depending on how out of control his powers were before the magic tats/seals)

I mean obviously he felt helpless when it comes to helping Tess. He was a child what could he say to his father to get through to him? We don't know much about his parents but from what we know his father was definitely a douche. We know Erin and Tess seem to like/respect their mother and she was probably a Soul mage but that's about it

I think the line about holding him back just meant Tess would TRY to stop him from overworking himself which probably came before the seals. Maybe he kept trying to make his magic work despite knowing how much of a toll it takes or even after he got the tattoos he probably wanted to feel useful now that he could actually use his powers safely. He had to.

This is why I think he's a good person to parallel Kendal. They're both trying to justify their existence by doing.

Kendal with saving Vash.

And Erin by solving problems.

Is it fair to him to assume he can do all that? No. This whole thing really reminds me of the first episode of I think justice league?

I know it was a DC animated show- where in the first episode they assign superman to protect the whole world and when people protest saying he doesn't have enough hands for that he reassures them he will take care of it.

Erin's kinda like Superman in this case- oh wow I never thought I'd say that. But you understand why I draw the comparison. They're both insanely powerful and taking on way more than they can in these instances.

Now I know I mostly used 2-2-30 and 31 but I had to use them so we can get to the 32 stuff.

Him saying no one can help him and that it always comes back yo him to carry the weight because nobody can catch him if he falls as hubouris it sounds it's also. Really fucking sad.

I think he probably had a lot of instances where people expected him to fix things because of how much power he has (probably his father or even fellow students of The academy but that's just a guess) so he internalised it.

"But Atlas didn't you say he probably feels like this because he feels the need to justify his existence so he doesn't feel as helpless?" yes. Because I think it's both. Things mixed together to create the awful storm that is Erin mc hubris pants.

On another tragic note he's been one of the core members for so long. Since like chapter 4-5. This guy has fought with atleast Alinua and Kendal for AWHILE now. He knows they can help but the one thing they can't help him get rid of or solve?

The dragon.

He's right. He's absolutely right but that's only if you think about directly helping. By directly getting rid of it. If you think about helping him more indirectly so he can get the help he needs? They've been doing that since they met him!

Obviously he's not thinking completely rationally if he was more level headed he could probably acknowledge this but I NEEDED to mention this.

I might add to this sometime but I am exhausted I'll see you after ANOTHER nap

[mermaid-trash]

Hi! I’m crazy shy about this but I have a NSFW oneshot prompt with the archons (Ruka not Nahida for dendro obviously) but I only have ideas for the first three so I wanted to share it… please don’t hate me…

All vision holders suddenly went missing, on the same day Celestia informed the archons that they’re sending down a god whose been kept in captivity. Most archons wonder if the two events are related, many worry that this god is supposed to replace one of them.

1. Venti was told the god would travel to each nation, starting with Mondstadt. He hopes to endear himself to this new god in hopes they won’t kill and replace him. As he’s waiting at Stormbearer Point, cecilia petals fall from the sky and completely coat the ground. From the petals emerges a girl wearing a white frilly lace-covered corset romper whose hair ombrés into glowing pink. Her god name is Asmodeus, but goes by Y/N, she is the goddess of fertility. She’s nervous and asks to go somewhere more private where she tells Venti that Celestia sent her to complete a mission. The vision holders where kidnapped and murdered by the abyss, Celestia managed to obtain their souls and wants Y/N to birth new bodies for them… but they want to make them more powerful by infusing their bodies with the power of their element, however, this would require Y/N to procreate with each archon. Venti is disgusted by the idea, by Celestia, and is initially disgusted by Y/N until he discovers she is being forced, bound by celestial chains which get tighter and hotter the more she resists or is unsuccessful. Venti pities her and is very kind, comforting and gentle with the poor traumatized girl.

2. Venti informs Zhongli before Y/N shows up, Zhongli starts off very hesitant, but instincts take over and he gets a little… rough, when breeding her. Wholesome aftercare ensues.

3. Ei is also told ahead of time by Venti, and her genitalia changes upon meeting the goddess. This makes extremely uncomfortable and it takes her a bit to get into it, however, once Y/N has birthed new bodies and recreated all the electro vision holders, Ei kidnaps her and tries to force her to revive Makoto by birthing her a new body, however, Y/N refuses as it’s morally wrong and she doesn’t have access to Makoto’s soul.

That’s my only ideas for now, but Zhongli and Venti would have to save her and deliver her to Rukkhadevata, and Y/N would eventually have to go through all archons.

bestie I have been thinking about this ask for days now and I love it

Venti's relationship with Celestia is strained at the best of times, and he's furious that they would force someone into a situation like this, but after seeing how much pain his refusal is causing you, he changes his mind. He's careful and tender, all soft touches and gently rocking his hips against yours, kissing your tears away and whispering promises of safety into the crook of your neck. When he cums, the pain of the celestial chains subsides a little, and he helps you clean up with a sad smile.

Zhongli, on the other hand, whilst also being furious at Celestia, is a dragon who has been thrown a piece of meat, and it gets harder and harder for him to resist. Then, he finally snaps, and apologises profusely as he flips you onto your knees, lifting your ass in the air with ease and thrusting in as deep as he can go all at once. He's too far gone to control his movements, too eager to pump you full of his seed, but in the afterglow he makes sure to kiss your bruises and apologise for his loss of control.

And Ei....bestie I don't even know what to add, she's petty and possessive and maybe a little yandere here? And I'm so into it <3 I cannot write for female characters but I love your interpretation of her

thank you so much for putting this in my inbox ;;-;;

[turian]

beloved gamer mutual & comrade @rhubarbspring tagged me to do a video game about me ( tysm for tagging !! truly loved reading all ur game thoughts. <3 ) explanations behind my choices under the cut.

(also, i had to cheat a little bit in the "you love, everyone hates" category, because i don't think people on tumblr hate da2, but one of my best friends despises it because of reused assets and combat designed more for consoles than pcs. and i can't remember any other controversial beloved games right now. the best i can do is games i love that i'm not sure anyone remembers? imagine ubisoft ballet? which, like. do people hate that. i don't think so).

tagging @cowsquirrel @malcriada @sakraya @ansburg @anoramactir + literally anyone i might have missed who wants to do this

favourite game of all time: so, look, i hate her as much as i love her. i always go back to new vegas even though i have a lot of criticisms of it - i had a realization recently after the release of the fallout show that while maybe i was projecting intergenerational trauma onto the game and using it to process some things, there is a lot in the game that is extremely imperialistic, even as it dabbles in anti imperialism. i can't get into all that here - better essays than i'm capable of have already been written on new vegas - but i also have to admit that new vegas taught me to see game writing differently, and helped me a great deal in improving my own writing. it's also just really entertaining playing later games by obsidian and picking out the new vegas elements. i think that new vegas gets praised too readily for being progressive when in reality it's only the most progressive game in the fallout franchise, and i think every time i return to it i'm noticing one more thing that'll kind of be making my eye twitch. but, yeah, i think it would also be dishonest to not include it here, regardless of my mixed feelings, because i keep going back, and because there are so many angles to it, and because i keep catching myself comparing other games to it.

i think a lot about like........... how so many themes i can relate to exist within the narrative of new vegas, but that doesn't feel entirely intentional. like, benny is so real to me because ! he was forced to assimilate into this culture that was not his to survive. and ulysses as well. and like!!!! yeah idk. going insane. i feel very similarly about dragon age elves tbh i'm like okay i feel seen but also this game is racist! kms :') will be projecting hard and taking so much psychic damage

many such cases tho </3 baldur's gate 3 and their treatment of the gur is always going to be a mix of relatable and uncomfortable to me

favourite series: soulsborne! i like how bleak it is, love the theme of death and rebirth, love how thankless the games can be, and i also love how the combat reminds me of muay thai. had a coach explain something to me using dark souls combat as an example once. i didn't really get these games at first, until i saw my best friend playing - she is ridiculously good at them - and then i sort of realized that they're just combat puzzles, and that like... they're kind of about honing patience, i guess? and after that they really became my favourite.

best soundtrack: honorary mentions: mass effect and dark souls both have some individual tracks i revisit on the daily, and skyrim's secunda is beautiful. but hollow knight doesn't miss, and i love how every track matches its environment.

favourite protagonist: i grew up in a really dysfunctional somewhat criminal family so like... lol. i feel seen when i look at arthur morgan <3 him and charles are both close to my heart. john can stay too ig

favourite villain: SO okay, maybe this is cheating a little, but. the reapers from mass effect. went into that game with zero spoilers, and finding out that they were in fact cosmic horror games was so <3

this would probably have gone to new vegas except benny (and also ulysses + i think he's more narrative foil than antagonist, as is benny) literally did nothing wrong in my eyes and after that point it's like... who is the main antagonist? the ncr and legion both? like yeah they're interesting but...

best story: i haven't actually finished pathologic on my own yet. kind of obsessed, though. just feels responsible to put it here. honorary mentions to new vegas, some fromsoft titles, twd, imagine ubisoft ballet........ (i love her and i miss her).

i feel like a lot of story games i've played actually have garbage stories with good characters, which is why they're not here. baldur's gate 3 and ME, for example. or like... ME has a great story at first but they fuck up the ending so badly that a popular theory i've heard passed around essentially boils down to "it was all a dream!"

have not played but want to: i was actually supposed to apply for a job with the team that made these games !! i didn't because it would have required relocation to the US, but. idk i feel like they keep showing up, always highly recommended, and i think i own one? so yeah, i should really get around to that.

you love, everyone hates: again, i cheated on this one. i don't think people on here hate dragon age 2.

you hate, everyone loves: skyrim, detroit: become human, stardew valley (because it's a weird little cottagecore colonialism game but also because i don't really vibe with the art style and i get stressed as fuck in it because nothing is happening... it is simply not for me), and fallout 3 and 4 (because they're masquerading as games with choices but they fully aren't, they suffer from bethesda writing, and they are super unapologetically racist and imperialist). i mean like... not mad at any of my friends who like these games i just cannot play them. i don't really think any of the games on my list are unimpeachable, tbf.

favourite art style: disco elysium !! it's so <3 like, i also love it for other reasons!! but every time i play it i end up wanting to draw.

favourite ending: new vegas has four endings. i feel differently about them all, but the independent ending is very much shaped by the infrastructure the player assembles during a playthrough, and while it is maybe imperfect and very open ended in some ways i like how it doesn't really reassure the player. also, i really like certain elden ring endings and the dark souls 1 ending. and pathologic.

favourite boss fight: hollow knight has a lot i've really enjoyed (particularly hornet's). for elden ring, malenia is the fave, tho <3 when i defeat her i tend to feel really disappointed. like, get up. let's go again. parrying her is extremely satisfying.

childhood game: we like... found out we had some cousins which is wild because this has been a tiny family since Certain Incidents A Long Time Ago and they also had nintendo ds access and they were not into this game. and like... look, i'm not saying it's great, but it had dark souls ish combat? like, you could lock on? you could roll? and i ended up replaying it as an adult and being like. huh. not that bad.

+ imagine ubisoft ballet ily

relaxing games: distance, injustice 2 (i main red hood & black canary but i like playing robin too. it's super imbalanced and they still haven't nerfed starfire !! and it's incredibly funny like good for her), dark souls 1, and elden ring.

stressful games: again stardew valley because i would play with friends and it was like oh god i need to leave. i do not know what to do, i am useless, i am understimulated

+ red dead online is not a good game to play without substantial backup . so glad i had horse insurance because if i hadn't my only friend in that world would be dead. that said, i did like to hunt in that game + play the fps levels with groups

games you always come back to: new vegas but maybe she'll release me someday. idk. also unfortunately i didn't include it earlier but i keep going back to the sims 4 and baldur's gate 3. and fromsoft titles because i sometimes just crave that combat.

guilty pleasure: new vegas again!!! i guess i kind of talked about my extremely complicated feelings when i first spoke about it, but yeah. there's just so much to unpack and i'm never going to forgive it for a lot of things. the horrors and the joys are both numerous but the joys will never not be tainted by the horrors

tons of hours played: elden ring + bg3 + new vegas + mass effect. i don't have the hours of new vegas and mass effect available tho as they are confined to a now dead xbox 360

[butterflydm]

wot deeper dive 2x4: daughter of the night

This specific post I am going to avoid any spoilers from the books! I will be doing another post later today that includes those spoilers and related thoughts.

I feel like I can safely call him 'Ishamael' now. The information is all there in the episodes.

I do like this initial 'calling' scene, though we got a lot of it teased to us before the season aired, so I've talked about it before. But we hear the word 'Lanfear' here, though it's followed by a lot of Old Tongue, so it might not have stood out too much to people who didn't already know that it's someone's name.

Given what we saw of the flashback last season "3000 years ago", I feel safe in saying... yeah, looks like Ishamael is among the ruins of that older civilization. Probably brings back some memories. Also, time-stamp note: it looks like he's wearing the black buttoned outfit that he wore last season, not the blue with the gold tie-clip-like design that he's been wearing this season.

3. The bloody woman! I wonder if she's bloody (and naked) because that's what she looked like when she got sealed up or if it's something that happened due to the process of unsealing. It looks like the seal was already partially damaged, so maybe that's why Lanfear was bloody when she woke up.

4. I loved Anveare's plotline through this episode. I really enjoy what the show is doing in showing us the downside of being a channeler -- outliving your friends and family, watching them grow old and die. Having children is a crapshoot -- if they're a girl, and they can channel, then it's a relatively normal parental relationship. But if they're a boy or if they're a girl who can't channel, then they will inevitably die before you. We're introduced to Anveare again by showing us her signs of aging -- she looks at the lines on her face and puts on an elaborately-styled wig to cover how white her real hair is.

5. Here's a question: given the age of her butler and how she talks later about needing to ask friends for food (and the general vibe of the manor house itself); it sounds like their house truly is fallen, as Moiraine mentioned in s1, and is having serious money issues (though in the way that nobility has money issues rather than the way that the people in the Foregate do -- she's not poor, she lacks funds) and Anveare seeks to fix the problems both of money and of her house's image by marrying her (unnamed for now) son to the Cairhienin queen (also unnamed for now). The interesting thing to me about this is that it means that her conversation with Rand in the last episode probably did have an element of genuine sympathy for the Foregaters in it -- it sounds like she's also felt like she could lose her home and her place in society. And it's implied that she's an artist! I really loved seeing the sketches and paintings in her study.

6. The conversation between Lady Anveare and Moiraine is so painful! Moiraine is NOT here to engage emotionally with her younger sister -- she is here to find Rand and to try to keep Lanfear away from him, and she has no time or patience for anything else (as we saw with her behavior with Lan as well). It's clear how frustrated Anveare is with Moiraine's behavior. I'm assuming that she guessed straight-away that Moiraine's appearance here had to do with the mysterious redheaded boy who visited Logain and made an appearance at a party (because it's also made clear in this episode that Logain being sent to Cairhien was not 'business as usual' with male channelers but an oddity, which means that Anveare has probably been keeping an eye on the sanatorium ever since he arrived) -- if Moiraine actually had been willing to slow down and take tea with her here, I wonder if Lady Anveare would have just told her about Rand. But Moiraine "my loyalty is to the Dragon Reborn and him alone" Sedai does not have the patience for such things. I like that we're really seeing the damage that Moiraine's singlemindedness has been doing to her relationships with the people around her. It's not targeted at Lan! It's everyone who gets in the way of what she thinks she must do! The way Moiraine sweeps back into the house and just immediately starts giving orders!

7. Guilty Rand and Selene ready to take advantage of it (twisting the knife by blaming herself for the fire when of course she knows how it really started). She's so manipulative! I love how effective she is as a villain here. She's good at finding weak spots and exploiting them without giving away that she's aware of what she's poking at. And the facial expressions are just... on point, always. But Rand is worried that he'll hurt anyone if he's around them, and the more he cares, the more he worries.

8. Poor Nynaeve. The Accepted testing really put her through the wringer. I like that we only hear the flashback here and that we don't actually flash back to the test. It just happened last episode! We can remember it fine. They did a good job of showing why Nynaeve is currently feeling more emotionally connected to Liandrin (who also has a child, like Nynaeve has the memory of having a child) than to Egwene, who has not experienced anything like what Nynaeve has gone through. And Nynaeve needing to take that moment to remember and go back to put her ring on. Egwene is trying to hard to connect with Nynaeve but Nynaeve just... she was essentially 'trained' by her time as a Wisdom not to want to burden 'the kids' with her troubles (we see that in the very first episode when she launches her Bel Tine lantern separate from the rest of the village, not letting them see her mourn the people she's lost).

Also: the Accepted rooms are a big upgrade from the novice rooms!

9. We transition from Nynaeve feeling out of place to Lan feeling out of place. He has his hair down, similarly to how he had it in her vision of her AU future, but the quiet happiness that was on his face in that future isn't here now. This is a slower-paced episode for Lan and he doesn't get a big reveal at the end of the episode like we get in most of the other plotlines but if I think of it as an Alanna-focused plotline rather than a Lan-focused plotline, there is a reveal -- the poem and, potentially, the worry that Lan and/or Moiraine might be Darkfriends (we'll maybe find out next week if that's where her thoughts went or if she instead assumes that Moiraine is hunting Darkfriends or something similar).

I mean, thinking about the information that Alanna has:

a. discovers this poem which references the Daughter of the Night -- she doesn't even want to believe that Lan knows who it's referring to! Because of the Implications.

b. talks about how Moiraine changed twenty years ago, very abruptly (this is also likely when Moiraine and Siuan had their very public falling-out) and became colder "like ice".

c. Moiraine was willing to use Alanna to threaten Lan with a forced bonding, which Alanna went along with because Moiraine is her friend, but she may now be thinking about that in a different way -- why would Moiraine want to push Lan away that hard? (this would be leaning into the idea that Moiraine is a Darkfriend and Lan isn't)

It's pretty suspicious, when you think about it! So... if I think of this plotline as less about the show trying to tell us about Lan and more about Alanna: Investigator (mirroring Moiraine: Investigator in Cairhien) in Cairhien, then I feel more patient about the slower pace. And Alanna: Investigator has two co-conspirators that she trusts absolutely, which is a big contrast to Moiraine, as is her relationship with her family! Where Moiraine is cold and pushes away her only relative that we meet, Alanna is warm and teasing and clearly has maintained strong bonds with her large and loving family.

We get three very distinct and different types of ways that Aes Sedai deal with being Aes Sedai and how that affects their family: you can be the cheerful guardian angel of your extended family, like Alanna is (and Maksim and Ihvon are clearly fully part of the family as well, and adored by the children); you can cut them off entirely, like Moiraine has; or you can keep them a secret so that your enemies can't use them against you, like Liandrin has.

10. Alanna always being hungry is such a great character choice. I think I may have read that it was initially the actress's idea? But they are definitely playing into it this season and it works so well, on so many levels. She is a woman of strong appetites, who isn't ashamed to show it. And, like she did with Egwene and sex in 2x1, she's assuming here that Lan also has large appetites (for food, in this case).

11. This scene with Alanna does feel like it gives us a lot of information -- Maksim and Ihvon are on suicide watch for Lan (suicide is a big theme in this episode, actually), but Alanna doesn't think that's the issue here. We learn that Alanna plans to return to the Tower the next day, and we get the info drop about Moiraine's abrupt change twenty years ago. We also have Alanna feeling Lan out about his current plans. Despite what other characters say, Alanna herself doesn't much behave like she's planning to bond Lan imo. She mentions Nynaeve to him here and presents Nynaeve as the potential new option for him. But Lan was just told in 2x2 by Moiraine that he failed her as a Warder and he felt that too -- he wasn't able to protect her just by himself and so he's doubting himself.

In... certain ways, what Moiraine did to Lan over the last few months is not dissimilar to what Liandrin did to Mat, in terms of making them doubt themselves as a person. Their motivations were different but the results appear somewhat similar -- both Lan and Mat are adrift and not certain which direction to turn. "Where would I go?" seems to be the question on both their minds. Lan doesn't feel he would be any use to Nynaeve, just as Mat doesn't feel he would be any use to Egwene.

12. Moiraine looking at all the little pieces of her youth -- the dollhouse, the mirror, the books, the music box, the... cigars? And I love her silhouette her in Cairhienin dress. It's so distinctive. She allows herself some softness here, when she's alone, that she doesn't allow when she's around Anveare. Moiraine: Investigator is now out on the town! This scene is even more interesting knowing that Celestin (head of the sanatorium) sends reports to Lady Anveare. I wonder if Lady Anveare has already guessed that the redheaded boy is a man who can channel, given who he was interested in meeting and that Moiraine went to speak with him too.

13. Loved Moiraine and Logain's scene but, wow, very sharp and intense. She tries to bribe him with the wine and fails, but she does successfully bribe him with the promise of being allowed to kill himself if he does want she asks (which really puts it into perspective how terrible it is to lose the One Power). We get our explanation here of why the gentled false dragon was in Cairhien instead of Tar Valon (bait for Rand) and it's so good! Definitely a joint venture between Siuan and Moiraine -- I imagine that Moiraine penned her a desperate message as soon as she was able to, after realizing at the Eye that she'd screwed up by letting Rand leave. I imagine they also probably made it very public gossip that the false dragon was in Cairhien, explaining how Rand found out about it in the first place.

14. It does sound here like Moiraine's current plan is to stay in Cairhien so that Rand can learn from Logain, but it's very possible that discovering Lanfear in bed with Rand at the end of the episode has changed her plans. We will see!

...also I love Moiraine's pockets.

15. Poor Egwene trying to sort through her feelings, while Elayne does her best to be supportive. Elayne is very sensible-head here, which I appreciate. This isn't a situation that Egwene can 'fix' for Nynaeve, no matter how much she wants to help. It's a lovely and sweet moment between the two of them that shows their growing friendship, and we also get to see them doing chores at the same time, which shows us that Elayne is settling with the White Tower routine. Egwene feeling small and useless in the Tower. Baby. *hugs*

16. And then we get the flipside of things and see Nynaeve's discomfort in the Tower and with being Accepted. She tries to go to the Warder's training ground to find Maksim and Ihvon, but only finds a friendly Warder-in-training who has heard the hot gossip about her skills and is interested in presenting himself as a potential bonding option for her. We do see here that it's the specific friendships that she'd formed already that she was seeking out in the earlier episode when she sparred with Maksim and Ihvon, and not simply sword training itself.

17. Liandrin spots this conversation and then receives a message. This is where we get our discussion between Liandrin and Leane about the invaders on the western coast. The conversation is very vague with Leane, but then when she talks to Nynaeve later, Liandrin suddenly has a bunch of information about a specific group that was captured by the Seanchan. Given that we do find out in this episode that Liandrin is working with Ishamael (from the Mat & Min plotline), it's easy to guess where she got her information about Perrin and Loial's capture.

I love Leane's little shoulder wrap thing. The fashion in this show just vibes with me. I enjoy it. We do learn here that sisters were sent to investigate the attacks in the west.

I am very curious about what explanation they'll give for where Siuan currently is. They've made it a mystery and pointed out twice now that it's a mystery (both here and in 2x1, in the conversation between Egwene and Nynaeve).

18. Aw, wolves! This scene is great. Perrin gets some answers from Elyas, we learn about how the wolfbrother business works, Perrin learns that he isn't a werewolf, and we meet Hopper! What a cutie! I really liked the visualizations and the sendings of the wolves. We also learn that the wolves have been seeing Perrin's dreams.

I love how Elyas clearly is trying to help Perrin but his idea of help is just kinda... off from what Perrin thinks of help as.

I really like how seriously the show has taken Perrin's grief over Laila.

19. Lan has been obsessing over the poem, and Maksim catches him putting it away (explaining how Maksim knew where to look in the later scene). So... if I'm thinking about this storyline in terms of Alanna: Investigator, then Maksim talking to Lan here is just as much about trying to get information out of Lan as it is about trying to 'help' Lan get over his 'broken' bond with Moiraine.

"Have you ever known a marriage that is exactly the same another?" I do like that they are establishing that Warder bonds can come in all different kinds of ways.

20. Now we are back with Moiraine: Investigator, who is trying to figure out where Rand might have gone after the inn that he was staying in burned down. (I assume this conversation was also reported to Lady Anveare, lol)

21. Lanfear admits a small lie to Rand here (to get him adjusted to the idea that she can lie to him and it's okay?), saying that her family never came here, that it was actually her and her ex. Lanfear constantly talking about her ex with Rand: haha, I understand why he's just ugh, "Ugh, idk he sounds boring [aka I don't want to talk about your ex-boyfriend 24/7]" especially since we know from the conversation later that Rand has caught feelings for 'Selene' even though he was trying his hardest not to. He's likely assuming that the ex was older and more sophisticated and it makes him feel young and unsophisticated in comparison when she keeps bringing said ex up.

The music here is so good.

22. Mat and Min! This is a cute interaction, though it's colored by the fact that the viewers know that Min is working with Liandrin. Mat is so so adorable here and I'm glad he was able to shed the coat for this scene. Also, Min paying the bartender to get Mat drunk (so that he'll sleep through her 'meeting' later).

23. This conversation with Nynaeve and Liandrin is so good and so manipulative. Liandrin is able to take the information that Nynaeve discovered (about her son) and use it for her own benefit. I do think there's a certain amount of regret for her that she's pulling the trigger on the plan that she was given to follow by Ishamael (from her apology later) but there's no hesitation. We know from the conversation with Min in a little bit that Ishamael makes promises. "I couldn't risk losing the only thing in this world that's truly mine." A reason to make a deal with Ishamael? And she offers the carrot here for Nynaeve to take -- people you love are in danger. She knows Nynaeve well enough to know that Nynaeve will take the bait, and likely assumes that Egwene will get swept along with Nynaeve (she saw how much Egwene cares about Nynaeve last episode).

It's only Elayne that was a 'complication'.

24. So, again, in the context of Alanna: Investigator... Ihvon trying to work out why Moiraine left Lan behind (and being the distraction), while Maksim and Alanna snoop in his stuff. We do also learn here that Alanna and her Warders all agree on their top priorities: the Light winning out over the Dark (and then dessert).

25. Genuinely enjoyed Anvaere successfully playing Moiraine. This is her city! She's the one who stayed! She knows the place and the people. And it's a good reminder to Moiraine that people who can't channel can be just as capable as those who can. She left Lan behind to protect him, but Lan is willing to risk his life for this, just as Moiraine is. Anvaere has been doing the hard work of re-establishing their house and family after their uncle did something that destroyed their reputations (unspecified). And Anvaere got what she was after from the beginning -- for her big sisters to sit down and have tea with her.

26. Elayne and Egwene's conversation here is very cute. Elayne has lived with duty all her life. She's just perfect in this scene (she's perfect).

Nynaeve not expecting Egwene to come with her has to be SUCH a blow for Egwene to hear. That Nynaeve has misunderstood her so badly, that she's believed that Egwene is after power for power's sake, rather because she wants to use that power to help people (and especially the people she loves).

And Elayne following them. So cute!

Of course, then Liandrin shows up. But it was very cute until then!

27. "No one escapes their fate. You know that better than anyone." This dream that Ishamael pushes on her, so that she'll be more receptive to his offer, really is so heartbreaking. No wonder she wanted to escape and travel and go as far away as she could. The show has done such a good job setting up believable emotional stakes for the characters.

The second that Min realizes who she really made a deal with, she wants to break it. And here is where we officially find out where Ishamael wants Mat to be led: to Cairhien.

Of course, Rand is in Cairhien. And Min had that viewing about Mat stabbing Rand. But she doesn't know that Rand is in Cairhien. Interesting puzzle pieces.

28. Once we know that Lanfear is a Forsaken, I feel like we can guess that she set up this entire scenario (ex. why are they sleeping outside? Selene said she wanted to, probably, to set up the scene properly) -- she brought the Fade here, she wanted Rand to use the One Power so that she could act out the part of Distressed Girlfriend Struggling With Learning Her Boyfriend Can Channel. She does such a good job, too. She really plays on his fears and how desperate he is to still feel like himself. You can really see how his heart his breaking when she pulls away from him.

Natasha and Josha are so good in this scene. There are so many levels. She also manages to continue to give surprisingly solid life advice, which is somehow incredibly hilarious to me. But I feel like Rand is, uh, probably going to believe all that advice is terrible now.

We also see that Rand is learning the sword but still isn't very good at it, as the Fade quickly disarms him and he needs to use the Power in order to protect himself and (probably more importantly to his mind) 'Selene'.

29. There is definitely a part of me that wishes that this had just been a romance scene. Rand getting tied up (and liking it)! 'Selene' literally thumbs open his mouth for their kiss! The way she kisses down his body and the expression on his face! It was a very very sensual scene, very well done. "You are the first woman who's seen me as a man" he tells her and I think he means that pretty precisely -- he loved Egwene but he still felt like a boy with her.

But instead of being a romance scene it's, you know, a deeply traumatic moment for Rand and will hamper his ability to engage in emotional intimacy (which will also potentially lead to other delicious angst in the future, though, I hope). We've definitely been getting a lot of trauma for our youngsters set up in recent episodes and we're only half-way through the season, so plenty of time for more trauma.

So far, we have:

a. Mat has been, essentially, emotionally sabotaged by months of Liandrin picking away at his brain; and we know that he's been set loose to follow a plan laid out by Ishamael which is not likely to lead to rainbows and puppies (I will have some theories in my later post with book spoilers).

b. Nynaeve suffered the trauma of the arches and now has been betrayed when she finally had come around to trusting and respecting Liandrin Sedai.

c. Perrin watching one of the men that he's been traveling with killed in an incredibly brutal way and being helpless to do anything about it. He also was told that what he is brings him closer to the Dark One.

d. Egwene has been the main target of all the 'fake-out deaths' in the show -- Nynaeve in episode 1 (which she believed until episode 6); Rand in the current season; and then Nynaeve again last episode.

e. After struggling with his identity all last season, and making the choice to abandon his friends for their own safety, Rand has built himself a new life but couldn't help himself from caring for the new people in it. Just as he'd given in to his emotions about Selene (who he has potentially been sleeping with for months at this point) and she appears to have accepted him as a male channeler! ...he learns that she's essentially a super-charged version of Dana (to simplify things). He literally gets covered in her blood while he watches helplessly, gets hit with incredibly distressing news that he can't question because he knows the person saying it can't lie, and then has to abandon this woman that he's come to love while she's lying dead on the floor and his sword still has her blood on it. Formative trauma centering around emotional intimacy and sexual engagement, table for one!

30. Alanna, Maksim, and Ihvon also realize here that one of the Forsaken is loose, which is gonna confirm their belief that the Last Battle is at hand. Alanna doesn't want to believe that Lan knows he's been carrying around a prophecy about one of the Forsaken, aww.

31. Lanfear reveal! This ending was so intense. Moiraine attacking Selene but explaining that she couldn't kill her and then that blink at the end. So good!

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 1, Episode 7 review

Another great episode (Kabru!!! Kabru!!!)! Once more I have very little to say except that I liked it. Great animation, great music, great voice acting in both Japanese and English.

No weird anachronisms in the dub script, though I will say there were actually a few lines of dialog pertaining to the plot that were easier to understand in the Japanese subtitles, some nuance got lost in the dub but was clearer in the Japanese, and normally it's been the reverse until now.

A few more thoughts (and possible spoilers) under the cut:

I think they are being a BIT too faithful to the manga at points, they are leaving Laios' nose off and not finishing it a lot in this episode, which is something Kui did a LOT in the early manga and stopped doing later as she got more experience with drawing his character. There's no reason for the anime version's nose to just not get drawn except that they're trying to imitate the manga panels, which I think isn't necessarily great, since the earlier art just wasn't as good as the later art in my opinion.

The character designs in general have been averaged so that the designs overall look closer to Kui's end-of-manga style, so doing early manga style choices with only Laios looks weirdly out of place.

Obviously sometimes the nose is left off for comedic purposes, but it was happening in all kinds of shots in this episode, and it looked like the animators just didn't want to bother.

They cut out elements of Kabru's party's story in order to fit 3 chapters into this episode. Hopefully the missing parts will be included in the future episode when Kabru and his party return, and we'll get to see them interact, since most of the character development they get IN the story happens in those scenes.

If they just completely cut those scenes and don't include them later, it'll leave Kabru and his party really underdeveloped, as well as not telling anime viewers some worldbuilding stuff that would be really nice for them to know.

Though the animation and pacing was generally good, moving so quickly past Senshi's sadness over having to kill Anne felt like a disservice to that plot beat.

Also might have been nice to have a longer moment to focus on Senshi and Marcille bonding, though what they did was adequate.

The fight with the kraken was good, however, the nuance of "we can't attack the kraken because it's under the water and we are on top, and it can hit us from any direction but we can't hit it back" was sort of lost.

This made using waterwalk on the kraken seem to come a bit out of nowhere.

Also the kraken didn't really struggle or move after getting stuck on top of the water, which might have helped show that it wants to stay underwater and being up top like that was bad for it.

Other than that, a really solid episode.

Some predictions for upcoming episodes and adaptation choices:

Next episode will be the Falin flashback and the first undine fight and then following episode the 2nd undine fight + tentacles Then combine the frogs with the dragon planning. Maybe also the necromancy chapter? Or they put that at the beginning of the actual dragon fight episode...

OR

They just do the Falin flashback as fast as possible, and do all the parts of the undine together. So, that'd be 4 chapters in one.

[the-bar-sinister]

Chains of the Dragon (29283 words) by thesavagesabretooth

catch up here

-

October 3, 2028– 5:50 pm 

It had been a long flight. A really long flight. Klavier had been on some long flights before, but this one might have taken the cake. 

He felt like his skin was made of bees and his stomach was made of sandpaper. He had his sunglasses pushed up on his nose to protect himself from the evening sun, and he walked close to Ema as they made their way through the marketplace.

Still, despite it all, despite the nerves and the tension and the lack of sleep, he kept the smile painted on his face.

"Some place, huh, fraulein!"

“Yeah, it’s pretty neat, huh?” Ema chuckled, though he could tell it was forced. She was shuffling along, her eyes dark even over her lazy smile as she hugged her bag to her side. “I have to admit, part of me really loved being here for a while. The tea’s fantastic, the food’s great, and you can’t say it ain’t interesting.” 

"You must have been having a good time, ja? While we're here, you'll have to show me the sights." He moved to slip his arm around her waist as they walked.

Ema flushed, and for a moment she seemed about to protest before she leaned into him with a sharp laugh. “I’ll give you the grand tour. Knowing you, if I left you alone you’d get grifted by Ahlbi or something.” 

"Me? Grifted? Never! I am simply a generous soul who likes to let his assistance flow freely." he laughed and tossed his hair, but she could probably tell how glad he was that she didn't push him off her. The crowd was overwhelming to his sleepless mind. "So where are we going exactly? You said something about a palace, but I might have been mistaken."

“I’m taking you to the palace.” she pointed to a large and ornate structure in beautiful pinks and blues on a rise just outside of the main town. “Specifically we’re going to go see if Yuta…Lord Regent Nahyuta…can set us up with some temporary lodgings that aren’t just on the temple floor again.” 

"Lord Regent Nahyuta, hmm?" He cocked his head. "Sounds like the two of you are close. I had no idea that you were dating a prosecutor prince, fraulein– no wonder a humble rockstar doesn't impress."

Ema flushed brightly. 

“...why the heck did you jump right to ‘dating’, Klavier? And get outta here with that sadboy over-humility. ‘Doesn’t impress’, my ass.” 

He laughed and brushed his hair out of his face again. "Sorry, fraulein, perhaps I'm just intimidated. I'm a little out of my element, but it seems you're right at home here. Probably Apollo is too, ja?"

Ema huffed, and tucked her hair over her ear with a little pout. 

“It’s not like LA, I was shell shocked too when I first got here. But it kinda grows on you. Maybe it’s the air.” She walked a little closer to him “...anyway, yeah. I guess I am dating the prosecutor prince– so maybe that’ll score us some good beds.” 

"I would hope so! Sounds like it will for you at least." He gave her a sly look. "So you are dating, ja? And here you were trying to imply like I was reaching in my deduction,"

“All I said is it was kinda desperate to assume, Klav.” She huffed up at him with a sly smile “...but yeah. He took a liking to me, and I took a liking to him. We’ve had a thing going for a little while now, since I got assigned to him. Took him out to his first American cheeseburger.” 

"Oh that sounds like a fun time, fraulein! You should take me out for an American cheeseburger as well!" He teased lightly, his fingers playing a guitar riff on her hip as they walked arm in arm. He hoped that the needy loneliness didn't seep into his voice.

It must have, as he caught her looking at him with a funny look. “How about I take you out for a Khura’in dinner instead? You know, for the novelty.” 

He flushed and ducked his head. "Ach, well, if you insist, liebchen, I certainly won't say no! So, you are dating the prosecutor prince– how about Apollo? Does he have anyone here?"

He hurried the conversation away from himself, but in his haste accidentally stumbled on another topic that might be construed as insecurity. Of course Klavier was not at all insecure… even though Apollo had ditched him.

Ema rubbed her neck. 

“Uh…kind of also Nahyuta, Klaiver. And me, honestly. We’ve been getting closer, you know?” 

"Oh." Klavier turned it over in his mind. Apollo and Ema. And this prosecutor prince. He could start to see why Apollo wasn't bothering to call home. He pushed the thought aside. "Well! That sounds like we're likely to get decent accommodations then, ja?"

“Either that or a three hour sermon.” Ema snickered like it was some private joke as she bumped his shoulder .“I'll give it 50/50.” 

"A sermon, fraulein?" he chuckled with her despite not quite understanding the joke. "Oh! Is he the monk that Trucy was talking about?"

“If Trucy was talking about him, I uh…imagine you’ve got a pretty skewed impression of him, don’t you? I think she’s still pissed about the Gramarye trial. Not that I can blame her of course…but yeah, he’s a monk of the Holy Mother and an international prosecutor.” 

"I'm afraid I didn't actually get much of an impression of him at all through her babbling. She was very upset," Klavier said. 

As they walked he glanced a little at the strange buildings and the bright colored clothes and strange, almost festival atmosphere that was so different than a typical street in LA..

The two of them passed a small group of Khurainese men and women talking excitedly near what seemed to be a weathered old electronics stall, as the words ‘plumed punisher’ rose clearly out of what was otherwise a foreign language to Klavier.

The sky was bright and blue, and the air was crisp and sharp to the lungs with none of the familiar LA smog.

“Poor thing.” Ema sighed as she gave the people a wave– at least one of them waved back as if he recognized her. “He’s a pretty good guy, honestly. He could be a little…cold…during trials, sure. But he had his reasons. Things weren’t great for him.” 

"Oh no?" he cocked his head. "Well he's a prosecutor, and not all of us are so warm and cuddly as I am, ja? But what do you mean things weren't great for him?"

Ema looped her arm around him in a sign of shocking public affection for her, and started scrounging in her coat pocket thoughtfully.

Before them the great temple loomed and caught the light in a glistening starburst, and off to its side, the gilded palace and its high walls.

Hanging from flags and banners, Klavier saw the somewhat familiar shape of a reversed magatama– or was it something else?

Ema sighed as she pulled her snackoos from her pocket and offered him some. 

“Oof, she didn’t even talk about that? Nahyuta was the son of a defense attorney. A defense attorney who became a rebel after being accused of murdering his wife.” Her smile grew grim “and the doctrine at the time said the sins of the father will be visited upon the child’.” 

Klavier took the offered snack and put it in his mouth thoughtfully, surprised both by the gesture and show of public affection. Ema must feel very comfortable here– or she was worried about him. He wasn't sure which it was. Either way he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"I am starting to feel like I didn't ask enough questions when I rushed out here," Klavier drawled. "If I'd asked them– I would have come even faster. The sins of the father visited on the child– what an evil doctrine."

He shuddered, trying not to think of his own father. Of course, there was a shield between him and his own father's sins…

“Yeah, I hated it when I first heard it…hate it still.” Ema grimaced as she munched miserably at a snackoo.

A small child bustled past Klavier, chasing after a bird with a laugh, which lightened Ema’s expression before she sighed and continued.

“Nahyuta’s father was an exile, accused of killing a queen, and he grew up in the mountains with Apollo as a child of revolutionary guerillas. Only, Nahyuta wanted to change the system, so he became a prosecutor with the intention of subverting and changing things from the inside.”

She put a snackoo in her mouth, pausing to let a yak walk past with its owner, then she continued. 

“but his aunt caught him in a trap. She’d recaptured his recently born little sister, and threatened him with her future. ‘Do everything I ask, or I get her labeled the daughter of a murderer and let her suffer’. He didn’t wanna let Princess Rayfa suffer…and he was already treated like dirt because of the sins of the father rule, so he wound up becoming Ga’ran’s pet prosecutor until Mr. Wright and company managed to get her deposed.” 

The story of abuse pulled Klavier's attention away from the exotic and adorable yak, and he grimaced.

"Mein gott… that's terrible! Tell me that something changed, fraulein? It sounds like you are leading up to something better?"

A older sibling shielding the younger by sacrificing their own honor. No wonder Ema found herself falling for this prosecutor prince. How much like the sister she looked up to he sounded.

“Well…he’s been made regent, and Rayfa the princess, so there’s at least that. The DC act…which ah, made it so defense attorneys would be executed with their clients, was overturned. And I know he’s wanted to try to change perception on the ‘sins of the father’ belief…but it takes time.”

Ema’s fingers flexed against his before she tugged him past the yak. “Things are looking up, we’re trying to fix it, but it ain’t going fast because nobody’s wanted to risk becoming an attorney again and people are stuck in their ways.” 

"I'm sorry, fraulein," he began as they entered the shadow of the looming palace, "Did you say that they were executing attorneys?"

“Uh huh.” Ema grimaced. “Holding them to the same punishments their clients got. ‘As representing and attempting to save an unclean soul spoke to the uncleanliness of your own.’ It made you just as guilty in the Queen’s eyes. Of course…it was a terror tactic to keep control of her people at the end of the day.”

She looked at Klavier, as he noticed a knot of people by the doorway. A young woman and a number of what seemed to be attendants were heading off towards the temple to the distant sound of soft bells. She didn’t seem happy, the young woman, but at this distance he couldn’t see much of why.

“The accused didn’t even get a trial. They just did a dance to witness the last moments of the victim and went off the assumptions because ‘the dead never lie’ .” 

Klavier's gaze lingered on the unhappy young woman for a moment before they were drawn back to Ema. He shook his head.

"Ema… fraulein that… that's monstrous…" He found he could hardly wrap his mind around it. "Our own court system is hardly perfect. Flawed. Ripe for abuse. But that…"

“Was evil, right? Yeah. It was. But Mr. Wright tried to stand up against it and basically strong-armed them into giving a proper trial to save Miss Maya and Ahlbi…a kid…from execution. Now Apollo and Nahyuta are trying to fix it in the long term, that’s..”

She nibbled at a snackoo with a frown. “That's why they’re working themselves so hard here, Klavier. It’s that or let things like the old justice system slide back into power.” 

"Okay…. I can sort of start to see why Apollo might be having difficulty coming home," he murmured. He glanced up at the palace, pausing in front of the long pool of water that stood before it.

Ema looked down into the water “yeah. That’s kind of why I’m not keen on forcing him back. Something’s gotta be done, you know?”

Their reflections were perfect in the clear water…it was almost divine, in it’s way. A perfect mirror to the soul without even a ripple from the gentle breeze.

“Come on. I think you’ll like Yuta. Just…don’t take anything weird he says to heart. I think it’s his way of teasing.” 

October 3, 2028– 6:20 pm 

Ema had been able to get them past the guards at the door without an issue– one look at the forensic scientist and they seemed to recognize her instantly and wave her inside.

However, they’d been told that Nahyuta was currently out for the moment on an errand and would be back relatively shortly. After a bit of reassurance and Ema’s demand to be let known the moment he returned, she wound up giving Klavier a bit of a tour around the place’s first floor to kill time.

He’d gotten history lessons, clearly relayed from things she’d been told recently, and a number of anecdotes about the happenings in these very halls from ‘that’s where Mr. Wright basically told the Justice Minister to go fuck himself’ and ‘this was used as a prop in the plumed punisher’.

Klavier didn’t know exactly how much time had passed when the sound of footsteps and bells rang through the air from the doorway of the hall.

“...such disrespectful…evil….cruel…nasty…” the voice was high, feminine and youthful, and it seemed every syllable was punctuated by another ringing of bells “when they find th–”

The voice abruptly stopped with a gasp “Miss Skye?” 

Klavier turned with curiosity at the sound of the voice. He knew the sound of young ladies' voices– whoever it was sounded about the age of a typical Gavinners fan.

He saw a young woman, a girl really, standing in the center of the hall with her hand over her mouth in surprise.

Her dark hair was wound in intricate braids that looped behind her head and held it out of her wide and piercing eyes. She had tattoos over her face, marking underneath the eyes and in the center of her forehead, and wore a long white and green trimmed shawl over a pink dress. When she moved, Klavier saw that her arms were connected by a long ribbon that trailed from one bell-clad cuff to the other.

Ema turned with a grin and a sudden bow–one where she put her hand against his back and tried to push him down into one as well.

“Good morning, Your Benevolence.”

Klavier was quick on the uptake– and while he wasn't one to bow and scrape to royalty, he wasn't above doing so for a young girl, especially one Ema was willing to do so for. He took the encouragement and more so, sweeping into a court bow.

"Good evening, meine Prinzessin," he said– teasingly correcting Ema's jet lagged estimate of the time, and giving the greeting his own personal flourish.

The girl relaxed somewhat, before she slowly walked towards them with the ringing of the bells around her ankles.

“Main Princess Sin? What is this silliness your friend spouts, Miss Skye?” the girl asked with a pout that seemed more curious than upset. 

 Ema snickered,

“It’s German, your benevolence. The glimmerous fop here’s always been fond of it.” She bumped his shoulder. “Klavier…meet Princess Rayfa Padma Khura’in. Future Queen of the country and a friend of mine.”

The girl dipped into a curtsy with a gentle smile “Good evening, Mr. Glimmerous.” 

Klavier straightened up when Rayfa did, and flipped his hair with a bright and charming rock star smile. "Please, Prinzessin, my friends call me Klavier. Of course– you may call me anything you like."

If there was one thing that made him feel more comfortable after no sleep and in a foreign country– it was putting on a show. That much at least was practically normal.

The princess put her finger to her chin, looking deep in thought for a long moment with a soft ‘hmmm’.

After a moment she smiled. 

“Alright, Shaved Head.” She tapped her chin again– Klavier admittedly felt a little sensitive at the name. Only part of his hair was shaved after all… maybe he never should have… “or is Gold Head more appropriate?”

Gold head he liked better.

Ema had started to snicker into her hand. “Here we go…lucky man, you’re gettin’ one of Princess Rayfa’s famous nicknames.”

Rayfa kept her triumphant grin, before she tilted her head “are you another forensic scientist, Mr. Klavier?” 

"Who, me?" He beamed brightly at her. "No, unfortunately I have no such luck to be among those esteemed ranks. I'm merely a prosecutor and a former rockstar, I'm afraid, prinzessin."

“Rock star…?” Rayfa paced a little closer with a curious glint in her serious eyes. “You don’t look like a rock to me. I’m not stupid. You DO look like the sorts of prosecutors that Braid Head spoke of back in the states, though.”

"Forgive me, prinzessin, my guitar is with the rest of our luggage for now, ja?" he rubbed the back of his neck. "Admittedly, for the moment I am more prosecutor than rockstar. Who's braid head?"

“......” Rayfa stared at him for a long moment, before she turned to Ema in exasperation. “why does he keep calling himself a star of rocks?” “Remember Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin?” Ema murmured to her with a look of amusement. “...and his music that he broke out during the trial? That’s rock music. Klavier’s just as loud as the guy but like, a hundred times nicer.”

Rayfa sniffed, and tossed a lock of her hair over her shoulder. 

“So you’re a rockstar…or were. Yes. That makes sense. I knew that.” She pointed with a smile “If you’re a prosecutor then I’m glad to have you here, gold head! Braid Head could use some help!”

"Braid head?"

She paused a moment before she waved her hand “Miss Skye. Explain.”

"...that’s her nickname for her big brother, Klavier. Nahyuta.”

"Ahhh, of course, I should have known," Klavier nodded graciously and filed the information away for later. "I have heard he is also a prosecutor. In fact, it's him we've come to meet today."

Rayfa seemed to suddenly become excited, leaning forward with a palpable air of excitement “are you here to help him prosecute the retrials faster?”

“Ehhhh…” Ema waved her hand from side to side. “Sorta, kinda. We’re actually looking for a place to sleep first.” 

Prosecute trials faster– it wasn't what he'd intended but if that was what was keeping Apollo from LA it wasn't the worst idea he'd heard either.

"Indeed, prinzessin. We came to the country to visit my good friend, Apollo Justice. Perhaps you know him too?"

“HORN HEAD!” Rayfa’s smile spread across her face. “Yes! Apollo Justice is one of my gr–” she seemed to catch herself, and composed herself into a far less excited affect, her voice dropping and her smile growing muted as she nodded after glancing nervously over her shoulder.

“Apollo Justice is a good friend of the crown.”

Ema must have known what was happening from the way she quietly grimaced and glanced off to the side “Yeah, she’s taken quite the shine to me and Justice. I’d call us great friends.” 

"That's wonderful to hear," Klavier nodded. He chuckled at the epithet. Horn head suited him. Maybe even better than 'forehead'. "I've always thought that herr horn head needed more great friends, ja? Perhaps you're a good influence on him, meine prinzessin."

She covered her mouth with her hand, perhaps hiding the fact that the big grin had returned. 

“I’m simply the best influence on everyone I meet…and I was such a good influence that horn head helped me save a few flowers from my garden just the other day!”

Ema turned towards her with a frown. “...wait, what happened to your garden?” 

Klavier felt something in the back of his brain light up at the exchange and he put his arm around Ema with a big, affected smile. "Didn't you hear her, fraulein? Apollo helped her save them, ja? Wonderful."

Ema’s expression didn’t brighten. 

“...that’s good to hear, ” she murmured as she half fell against Klavier, who put his arm around her. “I’ll see if I can take some time to keep an eye on them while I’m here, your benevolence.”

Rayfa’s fingers hid her mouth again as she nodded. 

“Of course. If it makes you comfortable you are more than welcome, Investigator Skye…but yes. Horn Head is a wonderful man, and I am certain I’ve only ever been a good influence upon him.” She checked over her shoulder again before she whispered. “By the way, Investigator…can you teach me more about luminol later?” 

Klavier watched the interaction with interest. He wondered if the princess was interested in detective work– or just interested in spending more time with Ema. Lady Justice knew that talking about forensics was the best way to get her attention.

Ema’s expression finally lit up, her muted anger evaporating into a big grin “well. If you have time, your benevolence…I’ll bring my kit and I’ll give you another lesson, okay?”

Rayfa squeezed her hands together with a look of genuine excitement in her clear green eyes.

“Thank you, Emma. I’ll request that mother give me some time to prepare.” She tilted her head at Klavier “....you, gold head.” 

Actually interested in investigation then. Now wasn't that interesting…

He performed a little bow for her. "Ja, prinzessin? How may I be of service?"

She peered at him with her arms crossing over her chest. “You and Miss Skye are close, are you not? You’ve got your arm about her. Are you her paramour?”

Klavier laughed and flushed, pressing his hands to his chest over his heart. "Ah well, who truly knows the heart of another? Fraulein, am I your paramour?"

Ema turned a bright red, and she started to sputter like a teakettle “YOUR BENEVOLENCE!” She whipped to look at Klavier “don’t encourage her!” she spit.

“It is a simple question.” Rayfa huffed with a note of petulance in her tone. “I simply wished to know if I should invite him to the lesson. He could tell me of prosecution in the United States…and perhaps more about rock music.”

Ema pressed both hands to her face , making a keening sound. 

“Paramour….what the fu—frick kind of…I…hhh….” She looked up with a voice that came out nearly a growl “I suppose yes. In his way.” 

Klavier smiled broadly– and naturally this time– rather delighted by her response. "In my way, ja. And prinzessin, I would be most happy to teach you of prosecution, and rock music too."

Rayfa looked satisfied, and dipped into a low curtsy. 

“Then I shall look forward to both your company, barring unfortunate incident or my duties.”

Ema was rubbing her face as she nodded “yeah, should be fun…”

"Perhaps we can do that after we catch up with this lord regent Nahyuta? Unless you could be so kind as to extend us accommodations, prinzessin?"

“I …can.” she admitted with a thoughtful rub of her chin again. “in a fashion. But perhaps you’d best speak with Nahyuta. I’m still going through my lessons, after all.” 

"Ja, no problem there, prinzessin," Klavier said with a smile. "We're just waiting for him now– no trouble in waiting a little longer."

“If you would like, you can wait in the garden.” Rayfa said as one of the guards approached her and whispered in her ear. She nodded seriously before smiling “that’s where his lodgings and palace office are, after all..” 

Klavier chuckled. "Only if Ema declares the grand tour to be over. I haven't seen the garden yet, in any case."

Rayfa pouted again, her hands on her hips. “It's the most beautiful part of the palace! Ema, you simply must! By royal decree!”

Ema held her hands up with a tired smile. “Of course, your benevolence. Come on, glimmerous fop. Let’s go look at Rayfa’s flowers. They really are pretty.” 

October 3, 2028– 6:45 pm 

Klavier happily trailed after Rayfa and Ema to the gardens. He had always expected that if he was in a palace it would be to play a rock show, but somehow the truth was far stranger and in some ways more magical, in its way. If tragic, too. What would Apollo say when he saw him?

Still he kept the thoughts in the back of his mind, and kept his tongue and the room happy talking about his old band to the princess, who seemed quite curious about it.

But as they headed out into the palatial gardens out of the dimly lit halls, Klavier heard another voice speaking.

"I can move a guard detachment here on a permanent basis if you command it, your grace," a gruff voice offered.

“As loath as I am to allow it, given the calm and sanctity of our garden– I’ll give it due consideration, captain.” The voice answering was anything but gruff. It was rich and soft spoken, elegant yet surprisingly deep. “Either way, I’ll ensure such a display does not happen again.”

Rayfa’s eyes widened at the sound of the voice, and she vanished running past the verdant foliage towards it.

“What in the blazes…?” Ema murmured “something’s happened?” 

Klavier cocked his head too, curious. "Some kind of incident it sounds like, fraulein. Shall we investigate?"

He grabbed her hand and tugged her forward after Rayfa– though at a bit less of an urgent pace.

Ema nodded, as the two of them hurried past the lattice and under the overhang that lead into the garden, and out into the sprawling green expanse….

The garden was beautiful, certainly…with green swaying grass and sparkling ponds surrounding cobblestone paths and walls leading to royal residences and two tall pagodas at it’s far ends…Klavier could see where brightly colored pink flowers mingled with others…though…far less than expected for a palace garden.

It looked like large sections had recently been torn out.

It was by one of those recently uprooted sections that a figure stood with Rayfa and a sharply uniformed palace guard near a section of wall.

The figure beside Rayfa put his hand on her head as she seemed to grow increasingly angry at whatever was on the wall before them. She had begun to physically shake as they whispered something down to her.

They were striking. A beautiful and androgynous figure with long and flowing white hair tied in a braid that reached their legs, clad in a stiff white coat with a high collar and pants that were lined with gold that caught the sun, and clasped at the elbows with golden bangles. Long eyelashes lay half lidded over brilliant green eyes, and painted lips murmured comfort down at the furious Rayfa.

Caught in the wind, a scarf of filmy fabric framed them like a halo as they looked over their shoulder at the two of them.

“Ah, visitors…I’m afr–”

They paused before smiling with what Klavier could only imagine was recognition and even subtle affection “Ah, Investigator Skye. I was hoping you might return soon.” 

Klavier could immediately see what Ema– and apparently Apollo– saw in him. Looking at him felt less like looking on a man and more like looking at some beautiful godling descended from one of the enchanting heavens. A strange mixture of jealousy and desire welled up in Klavier's heart and he felt a familiar urge.

He swept into another bow. "Ah, mein engle, you must be the prosecutor prince that I have not heard enough about, ja?"

The guard standing behind Nahyuta, armed with an AK-47 gave Klavier a hairy eyeball, but Klavier didn't pay attention to that.

Nahyuta smiled, a small and subtle thing, and huffed a quiet breath as his fingers formed a position of prayer, middle and ring fingers forming a circle with his thumb and his pinkie and forefinger extended…one hand pointing up and the other down.

“Prosecutor Prince…is that how you’ve been describing me, Miss Skye?” He turned his eyes to Klavier after they opened again. He seemed to scrutinize him for an instant before he pointed his extended fingers towards him.

“...Klavier Gavin. Of the Gaviners. Am I correct?”

Ema had gone rigid and flushed “no! The prosecutor prince thing is Klav—” she paused “...wait you KNOW him???” 

"I'm honored to be recognized in such a far off land, mein prinz," he purred, his smile widening especially at Ema's flustered reaction. He rose slowly from his bow, looking Nahyuta over one more time– but subtly. "I am afraid the Gavinners are no more, but I remain. A humble prosecutor– humbler still in such magnificent company, ja?"

Nahyuta chuckled quietly under his breath, and as he shifted position Klavier could see the source of Rayfa’s fury…someone had painted something over the wall’s surface. She was still shaking over the guard when Nahyuta seemed to look over Klavier for a moment himself, with a subtle flick of the eyes. He was a tall, lithe figure..with delicate fingers and the tattoo of a coiled dragon against his palm. He tilted his head, and his hair shifted against his cheek.

“I’d listened to a fair bit of your discography while I was studying the culture of LA in preparation for my trials.”

“My condolences to your ears, Nahyuta.” Ema snickered, though like all of her barbs about his music it lacked any real venom.

Nahyuta chuckled at that. 

“I found it…interesting, dear. If I recall, I’d gotten some of the recordings from your office” He took a step forward and offered his delicate hand “there is no need to humble yourself, Mr. Gavin– really it’s I who should be humbled that you’ve come to visit our country, though I wish the circumstances weren’t so…”

“HEINOUS! EVIL!” Rayfa stomped her foot behind him “How DARE THEY!”

“That.” He gestured towards her with a soft sigh. 

Klavier tossed his hair out of his face as he straightened up, and peered over at the offending wall. Graffiti had been sprayed across it– very dire looking piece of graffiti indeed, even at first glance. It depicted what seemed to be dead and wilted flowers, over which was written a broad slogan in letters that Klavier couldn't read.

"Ah," Klavier nodded. "What a shame— there's been a crime committed, ja? What does the slogan say?"

Nahyuta pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

“Indeed. ...it says ‘Khura’in belongs to the people’. “ He glanced up at him “...you’re close with Investigator Skye, no? If so I can trust you with this. There’s been some…unrest, as of late. Unrest we hadn’t expected after the deposing of Queen Ga’ran.”

Rayfa had started to sniffle, but pressed her hands to her face to stifle them “...it’s my fault.” 

"Unrest, I see," Klavier nodded and stroked his chin. "Of course, mein prinz, you may trust me implicitly. As for fault, I hardly see how it could be yours, prinzessin?"

Nahyuta shifted to put his hand on Rayfa’s shoulder with a concerned furrow of his brow. 

“it couldn’t possibly be the case. Even Mr. Gavin agrees.” he sighed “...it seems some of our Defiant Dragons, the group my father organized, have decided that the whole monarchy must go rather than simply the singular bad ruler.”

Ema walked quietly up to the graffiti and began to examine it with a frown. 

“Huh…wonder if we can get a handwriting analysis…track down who made it…or maybe there’s some traces left…hair stuck in the paint, or something.”

Rayfa stomped her foot again, and turned. Her face was red and tears glistened in the corners of her eyes as her fists shook in front of her. 

“It’s …it’s…it’s my fault because they hate me for my father an…for Inga and Ga’ran! They must see me as a …a spoiled little imitation of them!” The way she spat the words, they sounded like someone else's. 

Klavier raised his eyebrow, and glanced from Rayfa to Nahyuta, to Ema. He was starting to get a sense that he didn't like.

"Well, prinzessin, I think fraulein Ema is right– we must track down this criminal and see what they have to say for themselves, ja? Somehow I doubt that you are the source of their complaints, but if you are, then they can see for themselves how wrong they are– don't you think?"

Nahyuta nodded slowly. 

“...that perhaps would be for the best. I’ll increase the guard and set up a perimeter…we’ll investigate and see if we can Holy Mother willing, find and bring the culprit to justice and understanding. Will you assist us in this, Mr. Gavin?”

He glanced at Ema with that subtle smile again “Investigator Skye is already on the job, of course. And I’ll have to send word to Apollo and Datz to have them visit the Defiant Dragons sooner than we’d hoped.”

Rayfa sniffed, and wiped at her eyes. “how wrong they are, indeed…” 

Klavier reached out to put his hand on Rayfa's back– then he looked at the guard with the gun again, and stopped. He had no idea if it was acceptable here to put a hand on royalty. He'd heard stories about people getting their hands cut off.

He knelt, instead.

"Your majesty, in all the stories I know, a princess is a symbol of hope and strength for her people. A shining star to be cherished and admired– much like a rock star for Americans, ja? I am sure that for your people, it is no different."

Rayfa blinked at him in surprise, her eyes going wide under her fringe of hair. 

“...oh..oh my, mr. Gold Head…a shining star to be cherished and admired, like a rock star…”

Nahyuta put his hand to his chin with a subtle smile “interesting analogy, but I can concede to the logic. He is, as expected of a prosecutor, correct. For our people it is no different…save for in the hearts of those who wish to stir trouble in their ignorance.” 

"Criminals with troubled hearts," Klavier said, shaking his head. "A princess should pity someone like that, not take their words to heart, ja?"

He stood up again and brushed his hair out of his face and looked to Ema. "Fraulein, would it be appropriate for me to take a photograph of this graffiti? I have a friend in America who might be able to tell us something useful about its dubious artist if she sees it."

Rayfa nodded as she wiped at her eyes. “...of course. I won’t take their words to heart, Mr. Gavin…I’ll endeavor to find pity for them.”

Nahyuta placed his hand on her back for a moment before he hummed. “a friend who can speak to the nature of graffiti?”

Somehow Ema snapped out of her scientific haze enough to whip around and point to Klavier “snap away. If you’ve got an expert, then you’d better get them on the line asap.” 

Klavier pulled his phone out of his pocket, and centered a photograph of the graffiti. It might take a while before it got enough of a signal to get to its recipient, but he'd do his best.

"Ja, I think Ema maybe knows her. She is in the police academy right now, training to become a forensic scientist. But she's already a master of art analysis and detecting forgeries.Fraulein, you remember Vera Misham?"

Ema stepped out of frame, before she snapped her fingers with a smile. 

“ah! Of course I remember Vera.” She chuckled “...actually, I’d been really happy to hear she’d gone to the academy. And you aren’t wrong, if anyone can analyze this , it’s her.” 

"Obviously we'll want to compare it to any other graffiti that might be seen around here, ja? But my assumption is we don't have a lot of examples to compare it to."

Klavier had switched from one type of performance to another. Honestly, he loved to perform as a rock star– but prosecution– investigation– was even more compelling sometimes. A mystery was so wonderfully distracting.

“Not terribly many, no.” Nahyuta hummed with his fingers once more in prayer “but there’s some in some of the old Defiant Dragons safehouses and bases.”

Ema brushed her hair out of her face, and bent down low over the ground with one hand in her pockets. “Let’s get some photographic proof of that…in the meantime, I’m going to see if I can find any traces…Yuta, is my ad-hoc lab still up and running here?”

“But of course.” he closed his eyes “it’s an earthly attachment I couldn’t bring myself to remove. Not with the threat of one of your own sermons hanging in the air.”

“Tch.” Ema smirked, “good. I’ll run some tests if I find anything.” 

"Sounds like the game is on, ja, Fraulein? Finding our accommodations can wait."

Ema looked up with a broad smile. “the game’s afoot, Klavier. Who needs rest when we’ve got a mystery?!”

[violet-moonstone]

Heathers Part 2: Warrior Heather

Read Part 1 here

Option 1: Current Heather with a More Detailed Backstory

Before we discuss major alternatives, let’s go back to my question: Who was Heather’s mentor? I think it makes sense for them to be someone she met after her village was attacked, or who at least survived the attack. The combat skills and weapons/armour knowledge she exhibits in RTTE aren’t present in RoB, so they should be things this person taught her after the attack. Maybe in response to the trauma and danger she faced, she sought out a mentor who could teach her how to fend for herself and get revenge—or perhaps, this mentor found her and wanted to impart their knowledge to help her. And to explain why this mentor is no longer part of her life in RTTE, I’ve come up with 3 options.

1. Heather and her mentor mutually decided it was time to part ways once Heather was ready for her quest. This mentor was unable to join her due to some sort of illness or injury.

2. Her mentor taught her survival skills but didn’t do so in the hopes that she would enact vengeance and instead tried to dissuade her from going down that path. Their disagreement about revenge caused them to have a falling out, and Heather left the relative safety of living with/near them. The loss of the only stable/loving relationship she had since her adoptive parents died only worsened her abandonment issues.

3. Her mentor recently passed away, which prompted her to set out on her own. Again, really exacerbating that grief and anxiety.

If these changes to her backstory were made, I would be much happier with her new character direction in RTTE.

That being said, I have to say I’m still not a fan of the appearance of her design in general. I don’t like the brown and silvery blue colour combo. I would prefer something more desaturated so they don’t clash. Generally speaking, HTTYD characters designs are a great example of how to pair colours that don’t usually go together; by making their clothes earthy and desaturated, any clashing colours aren’t as glaring—plus, it makes the clothes look more lived in, which fits the vibe of the world these characters are in. The warmth and richness of the brown in Heather’s new outfit isn’t pairing well with the cold armour IMO. I want to see clothes that look well-made, but heavily worn. She’s not used to getting new clothes on a regular basis, so she’s going to make what she does have last.

I also think instead of forming what looks like a very hazardous skirt, the scales she’s wearing should be used as armour over her abdomen...you know...where all those very important organs are? I don’t get the leather vest thing for her when scale armour is an option. I think this is an example of another issue I have Heather’s design and how she functions in the show: she’s a warrior with a large, bulky weapon and a huge, armoured dragon..but she also has rogue/stealth elements (This is where the leather vest, hood, and occasional face covering comes in). It’s possible that I’m thinking too narrowly, but I think we should pick a lane—if not for believability, then at the very least to make her design more visually clear.

If we’re staying in the armoured warrior lane, then let’s ditch the vest and hood and go with armour over the abdomen, maybe with some chain mail too. Underneath, she can wear a tunic, anywhere from hip to knee length. The colour scheme of her tunic, leggings, and boots could range from dark/desaturated blues, greys, and black. These would work nicely with the colour of her armour. Maybe there could be some brown for variety, but in less rich hues than what’s in her design has now. I also think she should have a helmet (I’m thinking no horns though...and maybe it partially covers her face, so she can have a dramatic reveal when she takes it off) and coil her ponytail into a bun when she’s fighting. Finally, if she’s a warrior, she should have a bulkier, more muscular physique.

Here are some ideas for what I think her design could look like:

Imagine the armour over the woman’s chest and shoulders in the first image is made from Windshear’s scales instead.

Part 3 because my computer hates long posts

[twomiddlefingersforthehaters]

_Art Book of Naruto Uzumaki_ Part-3

This appeared on the front cover of the issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in which the serialization of Naruto began. I mainly wanted to establish that this character is a ninja and convey his personality by doing things like putting a leaf on his head, having him make a hand sign, making him look cheerful...but putting all these elements into one picture ended up making it appear jumbled. Also, I used a coloring pen called a COPIC marker here for the first time, and because I wasn't used to it yet, I colored little by little as if I were using a brush. As a result, the coloring came out oneven.

Here's another one I drew for a shonen jump commemorating the second anniversary of the Naruto series. Naruto's making peace signs, but holding up two fingers also represents the number 2, for the second anniversary (laugh). When I was drawing this picture my schedule was so tight that my editor suggested, "Maybe it'd be easier to do a design where Naruto is appearing out of smoke!" As it turned out. It was difficult drawing the right amount of smoke to cover Naruto's body (laugh). I just couldn't decide how much of Naruto should be hidden or visible, or how to show him emerging from the smoke. The bluish color of the smoke was used to make Naruto stand out. I usually use this kind of color scheme so that Naruto's orange outfit will "pop".

In this volume, Tsunade appears along with Jiraya and Orochimaru, and Naruto gets tangled up with them. So I drew those Three Legendary Ninja on the book cover. I put Naruto on the cover became I had to, more than for any other reason (laugh).

I wanted Naruto in some kind of pose, so after some agonizing, I had him make the formal greeting of the yakuza from the movie Jingi. I've seen many of the flims in the Jingi movie series, and I like those kinds of Japanese modes and customs. [ Jingi is a Yakuza series that describes humanity, justice, and moral relationships between a boss and his henchman, or a master and his pupil. ED]

This dragon head actually exists in China.

There's a dragon on top of the roof tiles of the wall of a house or something.

That image was so impressive to me that I wanted to put it on top of a roof, not just a wall.

The top of the roof tiles form the backbone of the dragon, and it connects the dragon's tail and face. Naruto and the other three on the roof are wearing sashes. Naruto's sash ties his sword to his back, and the wind is making all the sashes float on the air.

I created this piece based on the catchphrase "Hide your appearance, but don't hide your dream" (the winner of a catchphrase contest held by Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003). Naruto is hidden but his dream is not... I had a really hard time coming up with a composition that would express this idea while sticking to the Naruto style. Boy, this was a handful (laugh). [Naruto's banner reads "Number one under the sun! Hokage Naruto." -Ed.]

I wanted to draw Naruto's hands creating a sign, so l designed this to emphasize his hands. Also, I wanted to show the sign from the side instead of straight on. I like drawing hands, fingers and toes. But they're difficult...and I can't do them very well. Actually, I could've chosen at the beginning to have Naruto wear boots instead of sandals, but I picked sandals because I really wanted to draw toes. It's a major headache for the animators (laugh).

I actually like drawing animals, too. Partially because of Akira Toriyama-sensei's influence on me, I've always felt that a manga artist has to be good at drawing animals. So I've practiced them since junior high school. In this picture, I paid close attention to balancing the layout of the animals. I also wanted to draw some small object to spice up each animal, such as an apron for the dog, a hat for the tanuki (raccoon dog), a bandage for the monkey and a scroll for the weasel. But actually, the bird doesn't have anything... (laugh).

I spent a lot of time drawing this because it was for the cover of the first volume of Naruto. It took me a week just to do the rough draft and about a day and a half to color it. One reason it took so long to color is that I used gouache (a kind of opaque watercolor paint) I had had since college. I personally like gouache because you can use it to give a lot of depth to the colors. I ended up having to redraw the main lines with a precision pen because the paint covered them up. How's that for double work? (laugh).

[archandshri]

The Lionheart Brothers Bookcover (part - 3) from Shri - 29/03/24

Hi Archie!

I'm glad that my bullying (affectionately) worked!

Seeing you getting so stuck in your character's stories makes me want to get back to my comfort characters and their stories - I'm actually trying to make some official character sheets for them, so maybe one day I'll be able to officially show them to people.

Until then here are some of my warm-ups and cool-downs of them instead.

Anyways getting into Part 3!!!

Recap on what I was talking about

The last blog was about how I was completely lost in what to do next as I just couldn't come up with anything with the right vibe.

So I went back to the basics by analysing first what the existing covers were doing and what I liked and disliked about them.

Notes at the time

What I’m struggling with is both depicting their relationship (their adorsion for each other) while also showing the more intense scene later in the book

Both the covers on the left [above] have the brothers physically larger than the dragon, showing how although the dragon is massive, the story is about them and overcoming the dragon.

These are good examples, showing more of the adventurous side.

Though I don’t like how it shows the dragon which is a mystery of the whole book, so kinda a spoiler.

I also had a look at other book covers to find what kind of vibe I wanted the cover to look like

I absolutely loved the composition of this one, with the ice queen overshading the character, again showing the control over the progestins story.

I then came up with these two sketches.

This was the breaking point for me although it's very similar in composition to the first draft I did, its tone is completely different.

Differences

Brothers Poses:

The pose on the first draft was showing fear, running and determination. while the new pose of the brother shows the absolute adoration they have for each other and how the book is driven by their love for each other.

Notice how the older brother is not even looking at the perales ahead he's just looking at his younger brother with so much love, while his younger brother returns the gaze.

(btw I am obviously talking about familial love)

This gives the cover a hint of a vintage look, implying the tone of the story - capturing the innocence of vintage stories I was struggling to capture.

Notes at the time

Positive

Love the position on the ruler

Improvements/edits

The cherries at the top look better in the sketches

Bird feels a bit strange in that space

Rusty legs need tweaking

The space on the ruler's right is strange

Note how during the colour phase I took out the eye complete getting rid of the dragon. this was because I felt visually that the area was getting too busy, distracting from the brothers. so I took it out.

And other notes

The Cherries and the roses are a narrative node towards the village's feathers in the book. Cerry village and wild Rose village.

Look how the brothers are in front of the border/frame, this was to visually show how they go from one world to another in the story. going into another world with the vibe of a painting or a storybook.

The dove flying onto his arm shows how he's an advocate for peace and will fight for it (pose - he's visually standing against the bad guy in the image) and his natural acceptance of the dove shows it's his nature to fight for peace.

The bag guy seamlessly blends into the landscape filled with shadows - again showing his control over the lands. Notice how the two elements in red (and at the highest pion of the page) are the shell/horn and his helmet feathers - these are his symbols of power

His cold colour pellet contracting with the warmth of the brothers

Screenshot from my slides

and here's the final! (finally) (Q_Q)

Anyway there is my process from start to finish on doing my book covers (with a lot of issues along the way)

Let me know if anyone has any questions!

I'll see you all soon and have a lovely day!

[hazelestelle]

Winter 2024 Anime Review

I watched a few of the winter 2024 anime, and here are my thoughts ^_^

7th Time Loop: 10/10

It’s so beautiful! The animation is fantastic, the story is interesting, the characters are great, the romance makes sense, it’s just wonderful. I love it so much, I bought the manga, because I need more.

If you watch one anime from this season, make it this one.

My instant death ability is overpowered: 8/10

It’s fun! It’s obviously a parody, but it has enough serious moments too. The MC’s backstory is so intriguing. I really hope there’s a second season because I want to know more.

It gets minus points for Mokomoko and Hanakawa though. All that shouting was incredibly grating and annoying, and it wasn’t funny anymore after 3 seconds.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House: 7/10

It’s cute! That’s really it, it’s a lovely shoujou with supernatural elements. It has heartfelt moments and funny moments. No real surprises, but it’s nice to watch and pretty to look at, and has a good enough ending that it doesn’t necessarily need more seasons.

Villainess Level 99: 6/10

I don’t know. I think My Next Life as a Villainess was better. This wasn’t bad, but for me, Yumiella was just too obtuse at times. I would have loved to see more of Eloanora, especially with how prominently she features in the ending theme, and I did like Patrick.

It gets minus point for the worst cgi dragon in the history of cgi.

A sign of affection: 5/10

I’m really on the fence about this one. The animation is beautiful, there’s no doubt about it, and I love how they used colour to show their different ways of thinking and their “worlds”.

But I didn’t buy the romance. Yuki still pretty much getting a heart attack and being so so embarrassed about Itsu even just looking her way, even after they got together and had kissed, got annoying fast, and Itsu was just way too aloof. I didn’t feel that he liked her at all. For example, she was so excited about landing that job, and he texted “grats”? Not even a full word. Come on, dude.

And don’t get me started on Oushi. He’s an arsehole and an idiot, and I don’t even wanna say more about him. I didn’t buy Shin and Emma’s romance either. The only ones who made sense were Kyoya and Rin.

I had a lot to say about this, haha.

Solo Leveling: 3/10

I don’t get it. I kept watching because I kept waiting for something to happen that would justify the hype, but it just didn’t. Nothing happened at all. The pacing is so bad, I feel like I have watched 4 episodes, maybe 5 if I’m generous, but it’s been 12 already.

I will say though, the soundtrack is fire. I ordered the CD because it’s so good. And the animation and aesthetic are very good too, which is why I didn’t give it 0 points.

I just started The weakest tamer goes on a journey to pick up trash, and High Card season 2 is next on my list. If you have any recommendations for me, let me know ^_^

[qianqiancandyjar]

Yokai Ninja AU Masterpost

RC9GN_Yokai Ninja AU

Title: Struggle of the Caged Bird

Status: Updating, duh. It's my favorite.

Introduction/Story summary:

Randy was adopted by Norisu Clan eight years ago, and trained as a ninja like he always dreamed when he was a kid. However, he did not understand why he couldn't go out like the other ninja students, and why he kept dreaming about a pair of red eyes that made him dizzy. Just what are Master Nomi and First hiding from him?

Or: Randy is Tengu, First is a Dragon, Theresa is a Carpfish yokai. Nomi isn't quite righteous when it comes to a bird demon. Sorcerer just want power. Which side is justice? Does it matter anymore?

(This au will be really out of character. Don't like, don't read!)

List of comics:

Part 1: Many first encounters

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9

Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Part 2:

Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16

Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19

Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22

Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Part 3:

Chapter 27 | Chapter 28

(Trying and failing to come up with subtitles)

Something about this au:

I'm obsessed with the idea of Norisu having a dark past. I mean, ninjas aren't always heroes like in the show. They are more like assassins in Japanese history.

Seriously? A bird demon's feathers were used to make ninja suit. Carpfish elements appeared here and there in the show. The Pearl of Chaos's true origins remain vague. A bunch of forbidden knowledges of "The Shadow Warrior" were never showed...

There are also many fanarts and fanfics exploring this idea. My AU inspiration came from some of them, to be honest.

There's actually an alternative cover(below), but I think I made it too...creepy and obviously going off the theme.

I tried a new style of comic. This story will show in different points of view. When the character's area on the panel lights up, it means this part is his or her point of view, and only show what the character saw, heard, thought or felt.(If not, it means I forgot, haha)

PV/POV panel ver. 1 | ver. 2 | ver. 3

Basically it's me trying to put everything I like and almost every headcanons about rc9gn in one au comic, including but not limited to:

Tengu didn't start out as a bird demon. Something terrible must have happened.

Carpfish symbol of Norrisville has a tale or something, maybe.

First Ninja being a dad to Randy. Or big brother?

Evil Randy? Good Randy?

Fowlerham, perhaps. But less romance plot.

Nomicon wants to control the demon while also want a perfect ninja to carry the duty.

So much ANGST. Some terror, mystery, suspense and so on.

Howard being a good friend.

[faeriecinna]

WIP Questionnaire (2.0)

I was tagged a second time by @finchwrites, so I'll do this for my second WIP too.

Project.Ink

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

As I mentioned in this post, as someone from an Irish family, I wanted to write a novel that paid homage to our folklore, so I decided to mess with the general concept of a 'changeling'. Rowan came to be when I tried to think up a character that was a faerie who, for some reason, believed they were a human - and the rest followed.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Not so much a theme song, but Rowan and Killeen's song is definitely Dying Star by Ashnikko and Ethel Cain. I'd probably have it playing in the background when Killeen realises who Rowan actually is to her.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

Rowan was the first character I created for this story so I do have a soft spot for her in my heart, but because I knew I wanted this to be a queer story, when I created Killeen I basically just turned my ideal woman into a lesbian fae warrior so??? of course I would die for her?? Plus being The Inquisitor for The Sidhe Court is kind of a slay, no?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

Never read it, but from what I've heard I can only assume ACOTAR peeps would be into it. If anyone has ever watched Zone Blanche/The Black Spot (spooky french supernatural murder drama), that is EXACTLY the vibe I'm going for - just Irish (and if you haven't watched it you should).

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

There are two parallel storylines in the story - Rowan's storyline when she is taken into the Fae realm, and the second storyline that follows the aftermath in her small town when her parents report her missing. I struggle a fair bit with actually writing the aforementioned second storyline because I get so caught up with all the lesbian dumbassery that I forget there is in fact a second layer to my plot.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Crows, ravens and other corvids are ALWAYS a motif in my stories. The Sidhe also have a strong supernatural connection to the flora and fauna so not only are there several different kinds of forest dwelling animals in the story, but most of the characters can communicate with them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Honestly for a fantasy book my setting/map is rather small so most of the travel is done by foot. I guess there'll probably be a few police cars involved and maybe some kind of sailboat at some point lmao

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

In the earlier stages of the first draft atm. I started this as a passion project only about 6 months ago even though I had the plot idea for a couple of years.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

Queer fae. Need I say more? Also I'm hoping the fact that there are a lot more spooky/horror elements to this story, as opposed to a lot of faerie narratives, will interest people. It's all going to be set in Ireland as well so that's another demographic that I hope will enjoy it!

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

It's a queer story where the characters are just... queer.... and in love... there's no homophobia, no "I'm gay and that's okay and normal!", no having to come out - it just is right from the get go, a gay story about gay girls being gay without that being the focal point of the narrative - so I hope that if it ever gets published, it'll be a book that queer people can go to when they need a spooky gay fantasy without any of the trauma and alienation that we feel as queer people irl. I hope people connect to the story and take some comfort in the darkness.

And I'm gonna tag @sleepywriter00 @akiwitch and @eccaiia

(blank under the cut)

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[moongothic]

Still not unconvinced that if crocodad real Crocodile was made to think he lost his baby in childbirth. Why or by who I don’t know, but it would explain a few things.

I mean sure, that would explain why he has trust issues, why Crocodile couldn't recognize Luffy as his child etc, but like. While the scenario is interesting, it feels hard to believe because there are so many easier explanations to why things turned out the way they did. Like this concept would require so many leaps in logic that it'd feel unnececary from a pure writing perspective

Like, for example, if we just wanted an explanation to why Crocodile didn't stay with his baby/bring him along with him, and why he didn't know his child's name:

1) As I've talked about before, staying with the baby would've stripped that child of any freedom to choose their own path, instead becoming an immidiate target for anyone with a beef against Crocodile (anybody who wanted to mess with him could just target the baby instead) and/or the WG if they ever revoked Crocodile's Shichibukai status (which they could do if they ever found out he had been involve with the Revs). Luffy would've been doomed to grow up like Robin and Ace had the WG ever found out about him, so Crocodile and Dragon would've had to leave Luffy behind, for Luffy's own safety, so he could be free to become whoever he wanted to become. (And let's not forget how freedom is a hugely important theme in One Piece, how being "the most free person in the world" is literally how Luffy defines what the Pirate King is)

2) Knowing ^^^ it could've been too hard for Crocodile to name his child, knowing he might never see the baby again. Or maybe, knowing his child would end up in the care of Dragon's father, letting Dragon name the child was intentional. Maybe Crocodile had an idea for a name but The Divorce went bad and he never got to name the child. Or maybe it's customary to let the non-birthing parent to name the child in the world of OP, like it seemed like Roger was the one who named Ace too?? Point is, there may not be any clear answer, but there's many simple explanations we could work with.

But then if we wanted to make the "taken from childbirth and lied to" route, like. It just raises so many questions. Too many. 1) Who stole the baby 2) Why did that person get to be around Crocodile and the baby at this time 2.5) Letting anyone untrustworthy know about the pregnancy would be dangerous as hell, who the fuck would Crocodile have allowed even near him at this time 3) Who took the baby to Garp 4) Why/how did Garp know about the baby being his grandchild 5) How did Dragon find out about Garp having his baby in safety 6) Why didn't Dragon tell Crocodile the baby was alive 7) Who told Crocodile the baby had died 8) Why/how did Crocodile even believe that

And my personal favorite

9) Did they show Crocodile someone else's dead newborn baby as "proof" that his child had died, or did they just take the baby, lie to him, and Crocodile somehow believed it without ever demanding to see his baby? Like. I'm sorry, but there's no fucking way. There's no fucking way. Like sure, giving birth and your baby dying would be a horrific experience and maybe you wouldn't want to see let the parent see the corpse immidiately because. Trauma and all. But they can't just throw the corpse baby into a bin five minutes after birth without letting the parent see their child at all. Like what if the parents wanted to bury or cremate their baby??

Like I'm not saying you can't write an interesting story that could work, you could. I'm just arguing that there's far easier ways to explain how Crocodad could've happened. Like there's perfect in-universe reasons and thematic elements you could work with