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dkniade · 2 years ago

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do you have any ships (or if not, best genshin character dynamics) (from welcometoteyvat)

I’ve had this in my drafts for quite a long time and since I’ve written up the answer already, might as well post them

——

I like a few ships but I don’t think I’ll necessarily make (much) ship content myself. Most likely I’ll just write platonic stuff haha. I do have lots of platonic character dynamics I like too.

Seems like this is gonna be long since I got inspired and wrote some snippets, and there are quite a lot of dynamics. I also have some fic recommendations here and there. Allow me to ramble about them, haha

Spoilers for some backstories ahead!

Characters and Pairs

romantic ship: Albether, KaeLuc, XiaoVen, KaeBedo, AlbeLuc

platonic dynamics: Nameless Bard and Venti; Shenhe and Yun Jin; Kaeya and Tartaglia (main team); Il Capitano and Tartaglia; Venti and Albedo; Kaeya and Bennett (main team); Albedo, Dorian (Subject 2), Fellflower, and Rhinedottir

For ships—

Albether.

It’s fun to see how two people not of Teyvat find each other and understand each other in this quiet yet intelligent way. Albedo’s curiosity towards Aether is nice to think about. And Aether’s kindness will surely reach Albedo’s lonely heart as well, even if he doesn’t understand a lot of what Albedo is saying. Aether is the heart and Albedo is the brain, so I think he can teach Albedo what it means to be a human, patiently, and Albedo might actually listen seeing that they both are “peculiar” people, as he puts it. Plus, Paimon can join in on the conversation too. I wrote a (platonic) fic around the themes of understanding and heart vs brain, emotion vs logic.

“Clear Sediments Beneath Loneliness”

KaeLuc.

The two have a ton of tension and complexity in their relationship. I feel that before they even start exploring the romantic side of it, they should make up and forgive each other and themselves first… Diluc should be nicer to Kaeya and give him some positive attention… The dude needs love…

But since they’ve been partners for so long before Crepus’ death and they still kept working together after it (e.g. during the Black Fire Incident in the manga), generally sharing information to achieve their goal of protecting Mondstadt, I think they’ll be even stronger if they make up and start to work together publically again. Come sunshine or rain, Mondstadt is in good hands thanks to these two. They should also work on their possible fear of the rain and each other's elements.

But you know, conflict is what makes stories interesting, so I’d love to see how these two personalities clash and compliment each other despite everything. This pair’s got a lot of potential in a lot of genres.

Fic recommendation. I like comforting quiet fics where characters talk about their feelings. A while ago I read “Hazy Days (Bottled Up)” by imitationicarus, a Kaeya and Diluc (relationship up to interpretation) hurt/comfort fic with 1867 words. It takes place in Angel’s Share, where Kaeya has anxiety and is hearing voices, and Diluc comforts him in his own quiet way. While I don’t read fics very often, it’s still one of my favourite Kaeya and Diluc fics because of the dialogue and inner thoughts. Here’s an excerpt:

But Kaeya would not release his fragile guard so easily. “That’s a good story you’ve spun there, but I’m afraid that’s not true. I just like the flavor.”

Kaeya met Diluc’s gaze, and for the first time, he saw something there—a fire, flickering embers not hot enough to burn, but hot enough to keep warm. To help survive in a harsh and bitter winter.

(Though, I admit, I’ve been avoiding Kaeya and Diluc stuff lately ‘cause of exhaustion and just wanting to see something different, haha)

XiaoVen.

Recently I realized that “outcast and storyteller” dynamic I like so much is basically XiaoVen lmao. I’m not very familiar with Xiao’s character (haven’t yet gone through his quest), so apologies if I mischaracterize him… But I think Xiao’s distrust, vigilance, and darkness contrasts Venti’s friendliness, peacefulness, and overall lighthearted personality very well.

Music is a powerful thing, so I want to see the two sitting on top of Juejun Karst, looking down at the stone forest and Liyue Harbour in the distance, with nothing but the crisp sound of a Dihua flute piercing the misty air. Or maybe Xiao can sit at the balcony of Wangshu Inn on a night with the full moon, and a cool breeze would blow through his hair accompanied by the sound of a flute somewhere. I like the idea of Xiao and Venti spending some peaceful time together under the full moon.

KaeBedo.

How could I forget, haha. Two highly intelligent knight captains of Khaenri’ahn descent, yet one deals with lies and the other deals with the truth, both withholding vital information about themselves and having serious issues on abandonment and receiving love. Kaeya thinks if he tells the truth about himself, he’ll be rejected and abandoned, while Albedo thinks if he doesn’t find the truth about the world and himself, he’ll be rejected and abandoned. Now if they trust each other and find in each other a confidante…

“Kaeya, you know I seek for the truth above all else. I won’t force you to tell me if you’re not ready, but if you’d like someone to listen… I’ll be here.”

“Haha, reliable as always, Kreideprinz. I’ll consider your offer. You, on the other hand… Let me tell you a secret.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s not necessary to offer your everything in the pursuit of affection. We… are all flawed in our own ways.”

“Hm. I’ll keep that in mind.”

They even have similar colour schemes (indigo, black, white, gold) but with different ratios to reflect their morals and personalities: Albedo’s dominant colours are white and gold, Kaeya’s dominant colours are black and indigo… Plus, all the Khaenri’ah star motifs on their outfits, and the symbolisms in their eyes. Kaeya’s got a star-shaped pupil and Albedo’s eyes reflect the symbol on the alchemy table. They also have a lot to hide from their respective Pyro-affiliated sibling/sworn sibling, so that’s another thing they can bond together over, I guess?

I have another fic recommendation:

romantic slow burn KaeBedo, “Casading (In a good way)” by Hubbleablubble, with the headcanon of (trans man) Khaenri’ahn Royalty Kaeya. Subtle hints are scattered across the fic but once the dots connect, there was a lightbulb moment for me. At 14009 words, this high quality slow burn fic from Albedo’s point of view absolutely ripped my heart out with its elegant wording and unsaid thoughts.

You’ll find Albedo’s winding trains of thought, Kaeya and Albedo slowly getting to know each other, a beautifully described fight scene, moments of quietness and emotional intimacy here and there, and heartfelt internal monologues. Here’s an excerpt from around the beginning:

He hums his thanks, and nearly starts when he looks up to meet his fellow captain’s gaze.

He’s never seen him this close before. A lone star blazes in a pool of blue. It burns into him, the affable twinkle belying a cold intensity. Albedo’s mind supplies him with an image of Rhinedottir, who’s eyes, while a baleful bronze, were much the same.

Oh.

Well. He supposes there may be more to the quartermaster than he’d assumed.

AlbeLuc.

Alright so this one was specifically due to @/brotato_chibs and @parvaillust on Instagram for making lots of nice AlbeLuc art. (Please check them out! Chibs also does a lot of Albedo in general along with Subject 2!) Rather than forcing romance onto the two, their AlbeLuc is portrayed with mutual respect, stability, and kindness (though not without some friendly teasing). It’s very cute…

I like the sense of formality from both Albedo and Diluc… It’s a very quiet but stable kind of trust, knowing that despite their pasts, they’ve found someone they can rely on. Of course, if Albedo is corrupted and goes against Mondstadt, I don’t think Diluc can take that seeing he’s already gone through a betrayal from Kaeya…

ALRIGHT NOW FOR NON-SHIP DYNAMICS— There’s a lot! Please bear with me!

I like platonic versions of the ships I just mentioned, but also—

Nameless Bard and Venti.

When I say “outcast and storyteller” I mean I’m very weak for the idea of “I’ll tell your tale for all to hear so you’ll always be remembered” and I think these two started that love for the trope. Symbolism and remembrance in names is a very meaningful topic for me… I like that the nameless bard doesn’t have an official name, so fans can come up with whatever symbolic names they’d like. The idea of Venti taking his friend’s appearance to “travel the world in his name and image” and the whole “when they praise the Anemo Archon’s name, it’s you who deserves it all, not I” is also very dear to me.

Recommendation: This comic by @popping-greenbean’s expresses that pretty well, featuring a shapeshifting Morax, subtle expressions, and flowing pencil strokes as free as the wind.

I want to see Venti write ballads praising his friend… But speaking of, here’s another recommendation:

The Venti fan song “Last Words” by Circus-P, featuring Fukase and Len Kagamine. The tale of a young bard, of fallen tyranny, and of the bright lure of freedom carried on by the archaic winds. Stay until the end of the song for a surprise. I’m pretty sure this was a huge push in my starting the game. Here’s the refrain:

May the winds carry forth

My soul when I’m gone

May the harsh of the storm

Never linger for long

May the birds ever fly

Where their journey leads them

May the lands and the skies

Be ever blessed with freedom

Shenhe and Yun Jin.

Outcast and storyteller, Liyue immortal/mortal version. More legends, more isolation, more faithful storytellers. When I first watched the PV for “神女劈观” (”The Legend of the Girl Who Split the Altar”, officially known as “The Divine Damsel of Devastation”) I nearly felt like crying over the music and lyrics and visuals, especially at the extended chorus which I didn’t expect. I’m weak for extended choruses with a key change and new lyrics… I can’t really say much about the characters’ dynamics because I don’t know them well, but the idea of a Yun Jin who holds onto tradition while wanting to append a new verse onto an old tale to give Shenhe the happy ending she deserves is very nice… Also, I like that visually, Yun Jin’s design is very colourful and eye-catching while Shenhe’s design is more black and white and gives off a more solitary air.

Kaeya and Tartaglia.

The potential they have together in my main team because of their high positions in their respective organizations and their clashing personalities of hidden agendas vs head-on fights is interesting! A scheming and manipulative strategist amidst the ranks of the (at least outwardly) righteous Knights of Favonius contrasts the confident and outgoing warrior within the shady ranks of the Fatui, but it just wouldn’t be as fun if they both take the style of their respective organizations… They’re both “outcasts” from their organizations, so maybe they see their colleges in each others’ personalities, in a way. Though, I wonder would Kaeya make a better Fatui Harbinger, and Tartaglia, a Knights of Favonius Captain, haha…

Tartaglia: Ah, Captain Kaeya! I’ve seen him in battle. His mastery over the Cryo element is truly amazing. But instead of using that power, he always hides behind the scenes, thinking about whatever plans he’s got in that head of his… I can never understand him well. Whatever. I’d gladly fight for him, whether he needs me on the front lines or not. As long as he doesn’t directly oppose the Tsaritsa, I’ll follow him into battle anytime.

Kaeya: Tartaglia… He’s willing to follow my plans, no questions asked. How interesting… But he is rather impulsive. Still, he’s quite obedient towards me… for a Harbinger. I wonder, just how far is he willing to go for the Tsaritsa, and how far is he willing to go… for me?

Il Capitano and Tartaglia.

Something about a lower-ranking Harbinger being eager and going (in Capitano’s POV) “Pwease fight me, s-sir!!” to the menacing-looking Harbinger in a helmet is so funny to me. It really puts into perspective how much Tartaglia stands out against the rest of the Harbingers in his methods and personality! And how he’s the youngest.

Venti and Albedo.

Hear me out. Albedo is a talented artist, Venti is a bard whose appearance honours the Nameless Bard, put the two together, and I’m sure the artist and the model would get along. And the Traveler or maybe Master Diluc will pay for the portrait.

“Oh, the talented Master Albedo! Won’t you please draw a portrait of me?”

“Of course. But… Why the sudden request?”

“Ehe, isn’t wanting to see a portrait of me sketched by the best artist of Mondstadt enough of a reason?”

“‘Best artist’… You speak of me too highly, Master Venti. But very well. I will do a sketch of you.”

“Is it ready? Lemme see!”

“Here. I tried to capture the effect the flowing wind had on your braids and cape. As always, the winds are ever changing, so I couldn’t sketch out all the details. Please forgive the looseness of—”

“It’s beautiful… You’ve truly captured his— I mean, my visage well.”

“Is that so…? Your form is elegant, Master Venti. I merely sketched down what I saw.”

“You did a great job. I’ll treasure this sketch, Master Kreideprinz~”

But at the same time, the God of Freedom and a homunculus from the land of sinners who had little autonomy for most of his life… It could be a comforting thing.

“Kreideprinz, the one born from chalk… Your Art of Khemia is formidable, and of course I grant the people of Mondstadt the freedom to do whatever they’d like, but…”

“I understand. Should I lose control one day… Can I ask you to stop me?”

“Well, let’s just enjoy the present peace, shall we, Albedo? Your freedom is yours. What would you like to become?”

“…”

“Is the great chief alchemist at a loss for words?”

“I’m afraid… I don’t know the answer to your question. I’m sorry.”

“No, it takes time to find who you are. Some people are still searching, to this day.”

“And is that allowed?”

“Of course. Everyone should live their life the way they want to live. To live for someone else’s dreams… can sometimes be a painful thing.”

“…”

“What’s on your mind, Kreideprinz?”

“I didn’t know I was allowed to do so.”

“To do what?”

“To live life… for myself.”

Kaeya and Bennett (main team).

Here’s the thing. I think Kaeya sees a lot of his younger self in Bennett (misfortunate, casted aside from his peers, has father figures, self-deprecating while lifting others up, etc) so I believe he’d be a great team captain and encourage Bennett, telling him how important his role in the team is. They’ve got pretty similar swordsmanship in their Normal Attacks too, so I like the headcanon that Kaeya taught Bennett swordsmanship too.

Bennett makes self-deprecating jokes and Kaeya finally realizes how he might’ve been to others when he slipped up and made jokes himself in the past, so in that sense, he can care for Bennett and indirectly improve himself and his confidence.

And now, angst. Bennett brings misfortune, right? He’s a Pyro sword user who blames himself for rain, right??

Kaeya. Pyro sword. Rain.

Now imagine the fear and panic that surges through Kaeya as the sight of a blurry figure with a flaming sword in the rain triggers his past trauma from his Vision fight against Diluc. That’s what I’m talking about!!! He panics, he steps back, he tries to cover up with jokes, but Bennett senses it and internalizes the blame onto himself. The hurt. The misunderstanding. And to a kid nonetheless, not Kaeya’s own peer.

Kaeya, how are you gonna react to this conflict in the rain for the third time? And how are you gonna mend it?

Albedo, Dorian (Subject 2), Fellflower, and Rhinedottir.

DID YOU THINK I WASN’T GONNA TALK ABOUT THESE FOURRR HHH cries

The setting and ideas stirred up by Shadows Amidst Snowstorms!! Hear me out!! The one-sided rivalry between Albedo and Dorian as the unknowing perfect version and the “failure” prototype… THE WAY THE REVEAL WAS FORESHADOWED IN THE STARSILVER QUALITY LINES AND ALBEDO REPAINTING THE TRAVELER’S PAINTING OF PAIMON IS SO GOOD. THE SYMBOLISM. GOD I love it.

And Rhinedottir… DAMN IT, RHINEDOTTIR. THINK. What did she have to do for Albedo and Dorian to turn out like this? A highly intelligent recluse who fears rejection, and another one who straight up refers to himself (under the guise of talking about Starsilver quality) as useless??

“There’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you, but feared rejection and disappointment…”

--Albedo, “Something to Share”

“Useless things should be disposed of at the outset.”

--Dorian, “The Snowy Past”

…Y’know, a lot of things can be interpolated from a character’s well-written dialogue, both in what they say and what they leave out.

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bugslaststraw · 6 months ago

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So as you can see there's a LOT of potential for a good character but honestly Vilda is legitimately my in game name. You can find me out there. On a Swedish server but still. She started out as just a self insert and originally she looked. Well she looked like my transition goals before I knew I was trans basically. But then things happened and now she's her own character and I've written like 70k words about her whoops so now she's nothing like me personality wise she just happens to be based on what I needed for myself as a kid. If you don't wanna read those 70k words (understandable) you could at least go stare at the cover for a few seconds to appreciate that that's the longest thing I've ever written. Ever. Rest under cut.

So. Vilda Ravenhill arrives in Jorvik because she ran away from her parents at 16 which is not nearly as fun or dramatic as it sounds because she always said she'd move out as 16 anyway, because she hates her parents, and her parents who were too depressed to parent properly just sort of sighed sadly and let her say that until one day she cut her hair and spent all her money on a ticket to Jorvik. It was part of one of those riding camps for beginners packages. She isn't a beginner, as a matter of fact horses are like the one thing she's good at, but her plan is to bail as quickly as possible and then find a way to make money. She quickly runs into a young man called Justin though, and because he's nice she tells him of her situation and he lets her stay in her lodging at the camp for a bit. She then immediately runs into her Soul Horse and bonds with him, because you know it's not like she's got a choice, she and her horse are the main characters of a prophecy, they HAVE to meet, it's literally fate and fate doesn't give a shit if you want free will or not. When someone called Maya at the stables realizes she can talk to horses, like literally talk to them, she calls her girlfriend (canon) who's one of the soul riders, and whoop-de-doo Vilda is dragged headfirst into the Saving The World Cult and nothing goes right after that.

The theme I'm going for is. Free will I guess? Does the Chosen One have free will? Is the Fifth Rider like Aideen's Jesus Christ, a reincarnation of the goddess herself? Is Jorvik even real? Vilda is from Stockholm and is generally very practical, grounded and critical, and Jorvik, which is like free from capitalism and never got Covid and is so beautiful and pretty and perfect all the time feels like a fairytale world to her. She keeps having moments of complete derealization where she starts to doubt anything around her is even real to begin with.

She's also got some severe anger issues and HATES authority and is constantly fighting the urge to be a bitch all the time every day. She's chronically embarrassed, mortified by the concept of having feelings and liking things. She overworks herself trying to Save The World not because she's all that empathetic or selfless but because she thinks/knows she has to, according to the prophecy. And if she can't fulfill the prophecy what good is she, after all, she has no skills aside from magic and horses. Although her ego doesn't come across as too small but rather too big. She's The Chosen One after all. She's Not Like Other People. She's Special. And sometimes it's almost like everyone else is a bit... small. And stupid compared to Ve. Ve can do things nobody else can. None of them can do it as well as her, that's fact. Which means she should be doing it. She's Responsible for everyone else. Currently she's fighting tooth and nail not to have a villain arc. Will she have a villain arc? Maybe. Haven't decided yet.

There are other characters of course. Aside from following Vilda and the Soul Riders, the 70k word fic also follows the Dark Riders to an extent, as well as fleshing out some of the Keepers, specifically one of them, who's name is Avalon and who's got an interesting relationship to Vilda's previous reincarnation, Catherine... Oh and Avalon's insane brother Evergray who was exiled from the Keepers for Literally Murder, who's a magical conspiracy theorist and the best character in the whole game. They do nothing but fight. Its great.

Vilda Ravenhill follows the recent trend in my writing (see: Utopia, or anything else on my ao3 tagged "meta gothic") of just barely breaking the fourth wall a bit. Not entirely, but sort of waving the concept around. It's a kind of horror I guess? But it's not really scary in any way other than purely conceptually. Still. That angry teenager is my proudest creation and I don't get to talk about her nearly enough for my sanity.

So because someone (@theblabarmy hope it's ok to tag) wanted to know. Um. I should make a self indulgent post about my brainchild on this blog. I guess. I have a side blog for her/sso related stuff (@vilda-ravenhill) but still. Hey.

So to preface Star Stable Online is an open world mmorpg about being the Chosen One horse girl who has to fight the bad guys. It's badly written but unfortunately really well concept'd. Got some good art direction. About half the character designs are ass and the other half are genius. Sometimes for the wrong reasons. The gameplay is fine. The fandom does nothing but complain and the creators are so sensitive that they keep listening to bad complaints just because they sound angry. It's got one hundred thousand lore retcons. There are books. The book lore doesn't match the game lore. It's a weird game. I've loved it since I was in like fourth grade and trying to survive being bullied so it's definitely special to me anyway ok more under cut this is long

It gets weird when it comes to the plot though. Cus, well basically it's like this: the whole plot takes place on a fictional island called Jorvik. Somewhere between Norway and England. Its its own country. Its rural and there's like one mall on the whole island. And on this island there are druids that know like actual nature magic and shit? And there's a nature goddess called Aideen, and she has a prophecy that four girls and four horses, called the Soul Riders, are gonna save the world or whatever. These Riders change with time when they get old and die and have to find new ones, but the Soul Horses reincarnate for some reason? Like they can remember their past lives and shit.

So there's this hippy nature cult around Aideen where some of the druids are devoted specifically to her and to training/protecting the Soul Riders, and they're called the Keepers of Aideen, okay. And each Soul Rider has a unique power with it's own symbol so there's like the Star rider the Sun rider etc and they do different things.

But as it turns out there's a secret second prophecy that says there's a FIFTH rider who's like super duper important and knows all FOUR magic circles and that's the player character. Who. Turns out. Is also reincarnating? Like you meet your own previous reincarnation in game and it's the dead mother of a character you already know. Star Stable is bad until it suddenly makes a U turn and does something really clever and there's so much potential and that's what drives me insane.

And there's also this other dimension called Pandoria? And it's got people in it too but Pandorians can't survive on earth because they're dearly allergic to time, yes, literally to time, and humans who stay in Pandoria for too long get very sick and their magical ability goes haywire. There's a pandorian on Jorvik who has created a bubble where time doesn't exist, and he just hangs out and occasionally tries to kill you.

There's also an in between void dimension full of literally nothing that you have to go through to get to Pandoria. Like it's The Void it's The Nothing it's The Fog. There are these magical trees that grow on Jorvik but that reach all the way into Pandoria through The Void and they've got a whole root system there. You can apparently get lost in The Void and never return. It's actual Limbo and it just hangs out there.

Oh and lets not forget the evil counter-cult masquerading as an equally evil oil company (sso has an environmentalist message) that have four DARK RIDERS and DARK HORSES and DARK EVIL VERSIONS OF THE GOOD MAGIC like Dark Sun and Dark Star I shit you not, and they worship an evil chaos god called Garnok who is Literally Just Cthulhu, and their leader is a little too into it for some reason, and also witches exist and they're sometimes evil sometimes not but also they're always evil but that got retconned because star stable is not a good game and keeps contradicting itself and never does anything with its potential or characters or story because it's bad okay holy shit Tumblr doesn't like it when I write this much text hold on

#vilda ravenhill #bbugseye taps #covr #egg

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whumpwillow · 2 years ago

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Show us that Eli essay 👀

Written in October, 2018 at the time of reading Vengeful, by VE Schwab

SPOILERS also this gets long

again, v.e. schwab, what the fuck she went hard on him & the whumping, like almost as much as with Holland -- which was a lot. it was kinda to the point where it was like, "okay, you're just doing this to cause him more pain," & I can relate to that honestly. I've done that in whump fic. But like -- I was so shook when I found out what Dr. Haverty did to him for a year like damn I have written & read whump & never thought of that! It was so gruesome but it was still plausible & fit well with the narrative -- also it was really satisfying to see Eli being tortured & I felt bad at first because I didn't feel bad for him, but then Schwab got into the backstory a little more & I was like, okay, maybe I feel a little bad. a tiny, miniscule amount. I think she was a little tryna get us to feel bad for him but also not too much, so it wasn't annoying which was great, it was done really well cuz Eli still kept his douchey attitude & mindset (& is really fucking stupid while being smart at the same time). But yea, Eli was being hurt a lot (honestly VE Schwab! so gruesome -- I love it) but he was still dumb, like, "ah yes I have to hunt down all the EO's!" yet he would say shit like, "An EO isn't just the product of their catalyst. They are the circumstances, but also the psyche." (pg 183) & I stg I almost threw something. He makes me so mad because he says shit like this but doesn't realize it! Boi -- listen to yourself! He says that EO's are the product of the person they were before, yet believes they're all evil because they've come back from the dead without souls. He doesn't see that Victor was evil before he died, he was a sociopath, (still is) but its his original psyche (although he was less homicidal before) & Victor is one of the main reasons Eli believes EO's are evil

addendum: These were 2018 thoughts and I've since discussed a theory in which Eli knows that Victor was evil and that becoming an EO isn't the cause for someone to become evil, but Eli made up this whole justification that turning into an EO makes someone "unholy" and that that is what turned Victor into a "monster" because he literally just did not want to see Victor as a bad person. which is really sad but makes sense with his character because he's obsessed with seeing himself as a good person and justifying his actions and rationalizing everything to fit with his own distorted narrative of events

But that's because Victor killed Angie & tried to kill him [Eli]. Victor was fucking psycho beforehand (although I do remember Victor dragging the knife along the wall as he was going up to Eli & I'm like wow. you are actually the living embodiment of a horror movie. that, along with his black clothes & white hair & him just casually talking on the phone while someone is tryna kill him -- boi. he's so extra) so Eli should realize that! The EO thing brought out what was latent in him (same with Eli, that's why he says he feels different) but it didn't create the evil in him. it was already there. I think it's both a form of denial & cognitive dissonance because even if in Vengeance, he's acknowledged he's a monster (whereas in Vicious he thought he was the only good EO. like all other EO's were bad except him & it was his duty to get rid of them, but it was really just a projection of his own self-loathing because he felt that he was wrong & soulless & an abomination. In Vengeful, he's acknowledged that all EO's, including himself, are evil & that he's not an exception anymore, yet still a denial. He's saying he's a monster because he's an EO, not that he's a monster for its own sake. It's still disconnect -- "I am not wrong, it was what happened to me that made me this way." because he doesn't want to believe that he was inherently evil or soulless to begin with (which connects to his backstory, now that I know most of it, where his father said he had the devil in him & that there was darkness in his eyes, so he would beat Eli for being wicked. & Eli didn't know what he had done wrong, but started to believe his father's words. There was a really heartbreaking quote that summed it up nicely. "Eli didn't know how he was broken, but he wanted to be healed. He wanted to be saved." (pg. 152) Anyway, back to what I was saying about denial and disconnect. He blames his & Victor's & Serena's evil nature on not their nature but on them having lost their souls when they became EO's because he doesn't want to think of himself as inherently evil, or wrong, like he was made to feel by people in his life (& not just his father). That's where the cognitive dissonance comes in too. He has to believe that Victor & Serena were evil once they became EO's, even though he never knew Serena before, & Victor is very clearly strange, if not outright sociopathic, because if he acknowledges that Victor was not right in the head beforehand, it would lead to a dissonance, because if Victor was evil before, that couldn't mean Eli only became evil after, so he resolves that become become evil after they become an EO

addendum: to add to this, it could also be about how he loved Victor and did not want to believe he was evil, for its own sake (rather than his own self justifications of his own moral standing)

Eli's psyche is literally my favorite thing. There's so much there (I almost said "to dissect" but then I was like, "oof bad choice of words," lol) but he's such a complex character -- my gosh. There's so much to write about. I'm loving it. But yea, I don't think I mentioned what happened to Eli at the hands of Dr. Haverty. And lemme tell ya -- hoo boy. I thought Eli would be getting beat up in prison -- I never expected this.

There's more but I got tired and there's so many more pages aaaaaa

#just so you know #i wrote this all in a notebook so i had to type all of this up #and that's why i got tired and didn't finish lmao #willow answers #answered asks #not whump #vicious posting #vicious ve schwab #villains series #eli cardale #eli ever

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eclipsamoved · 7 years ago

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me rbing woy is never a good thing lol

#i havent been doing great emotionally lately #and when that happens peepers is always the first thing i resort to as a coping mechanism #in a few months ill have been like this for 2 years #a character has never ever been as important to me as he is #a character has never... stuck with me this strongly for this long in my life #i always move on from interests within a few months #and even though i cant stomach woy #peepers is still so vital to me #and there are so many factors #of course the main one is the dumb orange bitch who engraved him into my psyche with trauma #since he was the only solace i had in that relationship #my only source of self esteem and he provided me with the ability to express my feelings in a way that felt right #not even just that though #when i saw him for the first time i was unexplainably drawn to him and hes what drew me to watch woy #and its never really faded #I ONLY GOT INTO LOONEY TUNES CAUSE I KNEW THEY DREW INSPIRATION FOR PEEPERS FROM MARVIN #also that one fic where peepers is not only trans but is literally written with my birth name same spelling and all (its not a common name)#that definitely helps fuel it as well #theres just so much #hes so important to me and he always will ve #peepers yaps

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another-miracle · 4 years ago

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Under 1000 Words

Fic by @claudeng80 [Rating: No Rating]

For how short it is, you’d be surprised how much pain it invokes, gosh. The sadder single Dad!Obi AU, but with so much love for Shirayuki still!

A Fic That Got You Invested in Fandom

An Economy of Suffering by @sabraeal, @bubblesthemonsterartist, and me! [Rating: T]

I remember never intending to contribute / participate in this fandom at the early stages, but I stumbled upon the then-series (now first 2 chapters of this fic) for this idea, and I was like, omg I’m so gonna write an angsty Obi continuation of this. It was only after I’d posted it that I realized I just kick-slammed the door into the playground of the biggest writers in the fandom??? HAHA Jen and Joanna graciously let me play though, and in the end, it is the fic it is today.

Made You Laugh Out Loud

Dessert & Reward by @sabraeal [Rating: T]

I L I VE for Obi being totally out of his element and being pushed around by his butler and his housekeeping staff. It’s absolutely adorable. And I giggle-snorted at how completely intimidated by Kiki he is, and how Yori finally could gain the upper-hand with Kiki around. Love it! (also there’s lots of pining and omg it’s the best

Action-packed Fight Scene

Love and Other Monstrosities by @vivianvivi1 [Rating: T]

Referring to Chapter 2 of this fic, and not exactly a fight scene, but definitely action-packed as the gang fight for the survival of Obi’s sanity. I remember bookmarking this fic early on when it was still a one-shot (to my delight, the author added a first chapter!). The angst hurts so good and my heart just pulls for Obi and Shirayuki in this fic.

Canon Divergent

I am become death by @bubblesthemonsterartist [Rating: M]

Oooohhhh boy. Absolute poetry. I completely fell in love with this fic when it came out. I remember it being such a foreign way of narrating that was so very intriguing - that made me both uncomfortable yet glued to the words. I remember also being delighted that a second chapter was added! Amazing amazing work.

Steamiest Kiss

Rarely Pure and Never Simple by @sabraeal [Rating: E]

This is probably the 1000th time this fic is gonna get recc-ed under this category *side-eyes Jen* but the category speaks for itself!! Other than that, the continuation is absolutely adorable as Shirayuki continues to explore her sexuality as well as her future alongside Obi, who is strung along like a lovesick puppy (despite having admittedly more experience than she does). Beautiful.

Wept Real Tears

Ever After by @bubblesthemonsterartist [Rating: E]

What’s more heartbreaking than everything you’ve been working for in canon to fall apart post-canon? Especially at the cost of your beloved friendships. Astounding AU-building of what happens when you trap a brilliant mind in a role not meant for her. Also, I will never not cry at the idea of Obi falling out of the habit of ‘returning home’ then realizing he has home to return to with Shirayuki.

Favourite Fan-made OC

Bob & Gayle from Wide Florida Bay by @sabraeal [Rating: E]

Look. I know nothing about American culture - let alone idk Southern(?) American culture. But seeing Obi being parented by these two is crazy and something I never knew I needed. They’re absolutely adorable (and *spoilers!* I love that it’s while meeting them that Shirayuki realizes she loves Obi) Adorable!

First AnS fic you read

If You Want Him, You’re Going to Have to Fight Me by @bubblesthemonsterartist [Rating: G]

I can’t be 100% sure this was my first AnS fic (it could have been something of Jen’s as well), but this was definitely one that left the biggest impression on me early on. I’m such a sucker for Hurt/Comfort fics and there’s just something about a person finding comfort and safety in the arms of another, and being able to fall asleep from that. Absolutely lovely.

Favourite Minor Character

Haki from Seven Suitors for Shirayuki by @sabraeal

Man, I never thought that I would love a character who is barely shown in the manga (maybe like, 5 panels at most?) Loved her snark and the unexpected camaraderie she found with Obi. I loved how Jen has written her to not only support the main pairing, but to really be a source of comfort and a force of sorts to help them see not just the good in each other, but in themselves. Solid character creation. So good.

WIP

Saint Elmo’s Fire by @infinitelystrangemachinex

Wow, this fic just broke my heart. Though sad that it’s a WIP, but it also has a bittersweet sense of completion to it. Obi’s POV is truly heartbreaking and to see him try so hard to help his Miss survive, when in the end, she was doing the same for him at her own expense - ugh *chef’s kiss* Absolutely absolutely breathtaking.

Canon Compliant

Fugue in Three by @infinitelystrangemachinex

This fic must have been (as it should) recommended a hundred times over at this point because it’s SO. DAMN. GOOD. Gosh. The feels you get from this fic. I remember describing it to the author once as “tearing skin from bone” - it just gets beneath your skin and into your flesh, and you definitely feel like a different person after reading it. One of the pillars of the AnS fic archive imo. A must-read.

Oneshot

Fussing with Firedrakes by @leewritingrecs

This is buried in one of her one-shot series, and it is indeed a treasure to be found! (do read her other fics too, they are gold) A very cute AU, with an interesting twist. Kiki and Obi as dragons!!! What could be better! Very cute.

AU you took a chance on (and loved)

Shift by @xaphrin

A modern AU - much like Jen’s WFB - I never liked modern AUs until I joined the AnS fandom. It never seemed like people could do it right in other fandoms, but gosh darn it this fandom has an absolute talent for it. Shift in particular is really cute and lovely, with angst sprinkled here and there. It isn’t complete from what I remember, but still lovely to read through. (hi xaph!)

Favourite trope

A Dress for Shirayuki by @traditional-with-a-twist

So a super super guilty pleasure of mine is reading when dudes are completely awe-struck by their love interests in beautiful dresses / an outfit they don’t usually wear (or their own clothes idk; i just like it when they’re awe-struck). Gosh this fic. I remember reading it and just sitting there staring into space thinking about what I’ve done to deserve to read this. I love it, and it comes with a underlying layer of angst too which is - ugh, perfect. So so good.

#ansficbingo #obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #no blackout #but all that i can produce at this point of time #so many good fics recced tho!!#i love this fandom to pieces

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blossom-hwa · 3 years ago

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ihi lina! these past 2 nights, i ve been staying up late until early morning to binge-read your works one at a time. i am one of those who already read most of your stray kids fics but your way with words made me want to try all your works. i really had a fun time looking through all the stories youve written. this may be a long ask but i really just want to share my reactions through some of the ones i recently read hehe.

Whispers of Nature (plus TTA): out of all the stories under this alternate universe, i ve only read bloom before. first in the list, brave. at first i thought this will end with the reader dying. fortunately it didnt! i wouldve cried more if it did. chan saving reader from self-hate really softened my heart. the words he told her. the words that encouraged her to face the truth head-on and gain courage. i love every single one those. next, constellation! if i were the main character, i dont think i would be able force myself to stay and enjoy the remaining days that felix has before going back to the sky. the love that l have for him will grow deeper after all. although, it is true that it would seem selfish in felixs perspective. and thats what i like about this story the most. how reader made amends with him after avoiding him for the past days (?). she made the last memories of felixs here on earth the happiest he could ever have even if it will hurt her so much in the end. its also comforting to know that even if the two of them are so far away from each other physically, their hearts and souls are the closest they have ever been. felix is watching over her by the border between sky and earth. its a bittersweet story that was the best read after something as sweet-ended as brave. time and time again is the third story i read on the first night. from the start up until the end, it made my eyes swell from tears. every single life that reader had to live through with the knowledge that she and changbin will never end up together hurt me like a bitch :< my favourite life story of hers was of her first reincarnation. if im not wrong, it was the time where changbin was a son of some noble while reader was just a seamstress in the village. maybe its because it was their first reunion after changbin died an unknown death from her first life. or maybe its because of how they fell in love only through, as you stated, "vivid conversations, knowing smiles, and in the end, the barest brush of his hand". i honestly also dont know. what im sure is though, this specific lifetime of theirs was the closest to my heart. lastly, moonstruck. perhaps i shouldve started with this one first given that the other spin-offs gave so much spoilers about changbins history. but i guess, im also thankful that i read it last. it readied my heart for what was about to come. out of all the WoN aus, moonstruck was the only one that ended with the readers death (not including bloom since she was still alive at the end of the main story). still, it was inevitable that i would sob no matter how much i know about the outcome. their love is just really wholesome. periodt. plus the moon goddess (?), his mother. i love how supportive she was about everything changbin did. the end was depressing and intense! i figured out as much that she will die, given that it was mention on brave that someone special to changbin was killed off by the opposing kingdom. they almost got away from the king but i guess fate, or maybe you, have other plans for them :<<

Pearlescent + Bloom, Bloom, Pow!: these were the stories that i finished last night! starting off with pearlescent. the first part was so intense in a way that i really had no idea how it will end. i love the readers transformation from being a helpless child who got taken away from her mother to a woman who knew how to fight for herself even if it was just the simple 'talking back'. what happened to her was very traumatizing, just uttering a simple yes right in front of that king (🤢) wouldve needed a lot of bravery. yes, she was broken about her mothers death that she witnessed firsthand, but still, props to her for staying strong. something as disturbing as that wouldve wrecked and crushed anyone to pieces. still, with her determination and the help of sangyeon, she was able to break free from the shackles that bound her down. and in some way, im really proud of her character. when younghoon appeared unannounced and brought back happiness to her, i felt so happy for them. younghoons really understanding :"> i can see why reader fell for him. their progress as romantic partners were slow and thats exactly how i love it. after all, you need time to gain trust within one another. the closing for this ask, bloom, bloom, pow! there were two moments where your story gave me a bunch of butterflies in my stomach. first! when changmin got jealous of eric when he and reader bumped into each other. the second time was when reader jumped on changmin and they almost kissed. the whole story was full of fluffy moments, my heart didnt take it lightly. after the awkward silence of their moment with them being on top of each other (?) , i remember changmin walking out without dancing. it made me remember kevins words that at times he doesnt dance, it means hes pissed as fuck. when i realised that, i screamed so loudly :"> and the cafe scene from where changmin got envious of eric because reader and eric had been conversing too long with each other. after separating ways and reader looked back when she felt someone starting at her back, it really made me flusterd. i can imagine a changmin wearing round glasses in a big sweater just staring back at her. other than those two, the shenanigans of TheBoyz schemer line got me enjoying the story to its full extent. kevin being a loudass, eric being the chill and mature type, and younghoon being, well younghoon. it was really hilarious. contrary to the previous works of yours that i read, it was a breathe of fresh air. so far, this is my favourite of yours, sorry bloom. i was smiling and giggling all throughout. it was so cute huhu. i love every charavter so much. younghoons “Tell me you fucking kissed. You better have.” is literally me, please.

it may sound so stupid, but reading your tbz fics got me listening to their songs. ive heard of them before but was just too lazy to start trying them out. for some reason, your stories gave the push and motivation i needed to finally start HAHAHA anyways, im still continuing on finishing every single scenario from your tbz masterlist so maybe expect another ask? once i find the time away from my studies. maybe start your ateez and golden child masterlist after that. im just basically after your writing lol if youve reached this far in the ask, thank you for taking the time to read it. just knowing that you acknowledge this brings me joy since youre undoubtedly one of my favourite authors here in tumblr. i hope you have a nice day/night lina!

- anon who liked bloom and under the snow, now all your works lol

okay I'm sorry this took so long to answer but I really really wanted to address everything here because GOD anon I was feeling so much like shit when I saw the notification for this ask but as I kept reading, I kept feeling better and better. just want to emphasize that. because oh my god, leaving these brief reviews on so many of my works all at once is just?? anon it's so overwhelming but in the best way possible, I swear I almost started tearing up when I was reading this ask for the first time. I remember your ask about bloom/under the snow and I appreciated that so much but I never imagined you coming back to binge my works in just a couple of nights like?? first of all make sure you're getting enough sleep !!! but second of all thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU for taking the time to read all of those works and then taking more time to send this lovely ask. the fact that you said I'm one of your favorite authors here makes me feel very warm and happy :) so thank you so much!!!

also, what the fucK my works have gotten you into tbz?????????????? I feel like god what the fuck anon I'm so glad you stan them now and to know that it's because of me..... >:) does that mean I can get you into ateez/golden child as well??? JK JK but really, this made me smile so much when I first read it :) just as a plug for some of my mutuals here, if you're interested in reading more for the boyz I'd recommend checking out @wavesmp3 (shawna) and @thepixelelf (casey), they've got some really really good stuff!!!!

good luck with your studies, anon, and I hope you have the loveliest day!!

#lina answers #nas #anon #whispers of nature #bloom bloom pow!#time and time again #pearlescent

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missmaxime · 4 years ago

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17! 18! 30! 32! 38! <3 <3 <3

Thank you for these! 🥰 17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback? I don’t. Well, not immediately. I try to distract myself for at least half an hour to an hour after posting because by the time I post I’ve already gone mental from finaFinalreRerereadFiNaldefDEFDEF.def x34 and I need to calm down. But after that I compulsively refresh AO3 (for the Beth/Rio tag) and depending on the time of day I start replying to comments or wait for it until morning. I don’t re-read my own fic until at least the day after (and inevitably fix some v obvs spelling mistakes I got blind for during edits). 18. Do you have a WIP that you keep telling yourself you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably a lie? A little while ago I would have maybe said Wild at Heart, but I recently started editing the new chapter and now I’m feeling that story again (I got a bit lost with it over season 3, and it’s a long fic I’m not really used to writing – I had no oversight in my notes and outline and ugh). I think when I do publish it might have a bit of a different tone, especially because I think I progressed a lot over the past six months as a writer. But I have by now accepted that I will never re-write those earlier chapters, so I’m just going to move on and continue the story. BTW. If someone can recommend a/their Word Processor to get a better oversight in longer WIPs, please do! There’s no published WIP I won’t get back to from what I see now. I have a few in my WIP-folder that are a lost cause, main reasons are either because I either forgot I wrote it to begin with, or because I don’t like my style or plot anymore. 30. Post a snippet from you’re a current WIP without context - no more than 300 words. From a WIP I definitely won’t abandon, but one that’s also taking me crazy long to write (because world-building):

Annie swallows everything down, but keeps the bowl of candies protectively close to her chest. “I can’t believe they reached out to you twenty years later,” she says, plopping down next to Beth. “I can’t believe they subpoenaed me.” Annie sits up. “Technically they summoned you—” Beth gives her a look that immediately shuts her up. “You know, it’s good they did. They probably got a notification that you got rid of your Dean-shaped baggage and thought: Presto Matcho, and let’s go!” “Maybe I don’t want to be matched up.” “Relax, sis. Just go out on a date, get those cobwebs cleaned out if he’s a seven or up, and move on with your life!” “Annie!” “You’re right, maybe don’t be that picky, make it a six.” Beth’s all fired up to blow a gasket when a man with a bird tattoo sprawled on his neck enters the waiting room, accompanied by a dark-haired woman in a suit. They’re in a heated discussion, going through a pile of papers that’s full of marked segments and bookmarks. Beth’s getting a bit lost in thought, looking at him when she feels Annie leaning her head on her shoulder. “I served him too,” she whispers in Beth’s ear, pulling her back into reality again. “You!” she hears the guy say, pointing at Annie, who immediately throws her hands up in defense, totally forgetting she was holding the candy bowl which immediately tumbles onto the ground, scattering its contents over the floor. “Hey, I’m just here for my sister, don’t come at me bro!” she tries to laugh it nervously away. He doesn’t think it’s funny. But his gaze lingers on Beth a longer time than might be appropriate before turning his attention back to the woman beside him. 32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from? I can have different favorites varying on the week / day. It usually changes when I post a new fic. Sometimes I’m not even super in love with a line when I post it, but it grows on me when I re-read later. So just three random ones: Regardless of his repeat observation of ‘you’re so tight, baby’, she’s definitely not going to indulge him with the Snoozefest Saga of her sex life of the past decade. – from Stuck in the Middle It’s a decision he almost immediately regrets. Apparently, Elizabeth is very convinced of her (faulty) navigation skills. And mind you, he has an essentially AI-worthy navigation system build into his (“Is this what you drive? Don’t you think it’s a little… out there? Like, surely you don’t really need something so preposterous to arrive in?” she had laughed cutely after that, but he felt slapped in the face – and not the kind he might be paying her for) G-wagon. – from The Girlfriend Experience “Yeah,” he smiles. “We real good friends too, aren’t we?” he says suggestively. (It’s just, he can’t help it, knows it’s dumb and petty but ugh. He’s suffered through Mick’s eye-rolls enough after returning from a No Elizabeth Murder Night again. The other guy casually looking up from polishing his custom ninja throwing stars - don’t start about it, it’s a whole thing, and Rio’s convinced the man can’t even get them into a wall a three feet away if he wears that one jacket - waiting for Rio to cock his head and ask: “What?” “Nothing,” he had replied, dipping a cloth into the jar of polish. “’Nothing’?” Rio had repeated – a little more petulant than he intended. “What are you, my wife?” Ever so slowly, the corners of Mick’s mouth had turned upwards. “Heard spot’s taken.” Rio may have keyed Mick’s car that night.) Beth smiles back stiffly. - from I See Your True Technicolors I don’t know, I really like doing these kinda scene-in-scene (or sentence) things, I don’t know if this has a name. 38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)? Hmm that kind of depends what part of the process we’re talking about. Let’s roughly break that up in three parts: 1. Working out the idea (8/10): Really, really chaotic. This is just days or weeks of just flashes of ideas and plotpoints and lines of dialogue shooting through my brain. Haphazardly writing those down in various docs, on paper in between my work notes, or in the notes on my phone. When I finally know the rough outline of the story I go into; 2. Writing the fic (4/10): I’m a super chronological writer, I really move from scene A to B to C until I finally arrive at Z. But when I start writing I often only really know A, D, E, J, O, Q, Z – the rest will just grow or appear organically as I write. Sometimes it does mean I won’t write for a few days because I circle back to step 1 for a certain scene. A good example is the Artic Hunter Fairytale Beth tells Jane in Chapter 2 of I See Your True Technicolors. I knew up front I was going to write a scene where we would see how this seemingly unweighted moment for Beth – she’s just telling a nighttime story – had a massive impact on Jane. There were some themes and motives I felt like needed to make an appearance: the more tangible reason of Jane’s quest, how young kids often hold their parents’ word as truth, and I needed it to be a true heartfelt moment between Beth and Jane. But before I wrote the first line of that scene I had no idea that would be the scene that it became. So I do outline a bit, but I need to create enough room for myself for moments like that to happen. It’s one of the things I enjoy most about writing. It’s a bit of an organized mess within a tighter frame/outline. 3. Editing (7/10): I’ve really been perfecting my Editing skills over the past 6/7 months – it’s not perfect, but you live and you learn. I spend more time working on the fic after I ‘finished’ it, really ramped up the spelling and grammar checks (I love you Word editor, but I also hate you), and take more and more care to make sure that all my dialogue feels IC ánd distinctive enough per character (especially the latter I feel like lacks in earlier WAH chapters). So, work in progress, but I feel pretty confident in this one. Again, thanks for sending these! <3

#asks #writer asks #fanfiction #my fanfic

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angrylizardjacket · 4 years ago

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Yaaasss!!! Jelous Ben was si cuteee and we love a supportive mother, her mom is fantastic and a savage. I hace a question, how did you come up with reader's character in x-men?? I legit googled it as I thought it was a real character, so welk done.

i love her mum so fuckin much, dude, she’s supportive but can still be embarrassing at times. i wrote her, not like my actual mum, but like my dad now that i think about it. dude literally told me over the phone that he’d physically fight people for shittalking me (not just in general, there’s more context, but the point still stands). idk i think it’s disingenuous to not let parental characters have certain flaws, like they’re allowed to be overprotective and spiteful, as well as caring and supportive. i love her too.

oH SHIT DUDE LEMME TALK ABT MY GIRL CASSIDY TEMPLE I LOVE HER SO FUCKING MUCH AND I”VE PUT SO MUCH THOUGHT INTO HER THAT THIS WILL HAVE A READ MORE

so cassidy’s powers are actually based off of an xmen oc i’ve already written 70k about, Aoibheal Cassidy, younger sister of Banshee, Sean Cassidy, and Cassidy Temple’s name is a reference to her, since originally I was going to essentially have Y/N playing Aoibheal (because it’s my fic and i can include an homage to my xmen oc as a treat). the powers themselves are based loosely on Multiple Man from X-Men: The Last Stand, except Cassidy’s clones can’t live a life of their own like his can. In the xmen fic, aoibheal starts off with having unlimited clones, and they can explode because i thought it was neat tbh.

From the original fic, Molotov Heart, chapter 3, rubatosis:

[Context; humans experimenting on mutants between X-Men First Class and X-Men Days Of Future Past have caught Sean and Aoibheal and they experiment on them even though Aoibheal’s powers have not manifested (she is approximately 13) and they kill her brother in front of her]:

Stunned into silence, she can feel something white-hot building inside of her, all the rage and fear and pain becoming almost tangible.

She mutates.

Copies of Aoibheal, clones, appear around them, filling up the space between the now screaming and bewildered 'doctors'. Aoibheal herself doesn't seem to notice the clones, bawling her eyes out, an action the clones themselves are mirroring, and she thinks of nothing but freedom and escape, focusing on the white-hot feeling inside of her until it overwhelmed her. With the force of a bunker-buster bomb, the clones began to combust, began to explode, first a few, and then all at once. Killing the human personel who had kept her hostage, the blast reduced the warehouse to mere cinders, freed Aoibheal and left her clothing in tatters, but she was alive damn it.

The reason Cassidy has a limited number is because i needed a way to have her powered up as a horseman, like a distinct power up, rather than just something unseen like heightened reflexes and strength.

I would like to point out also, that it’s not stated, but Cassidy’s explosions (NOT AOIBHEAL’s) are never to do with heat, they’re always about force. the explosions themselves are never hot, never have anything to do with fire or anything like that, she builds up force inside of the clones, and lets it tear her apart from the inside out as a wave that destroys the things it comes into contact with.

The scream was originally hereditary, like Banshee, it developed as her secondary mutation.

From the Marvel Wiki:

The Secondary Mutation (or "Second Mutation") is a phenomenon in which an existing mutant undergoes another mutation, gaining additional powers, such as healing, or a change in appearance.

Secondary mutation is noted as the appearance of new powers, or an increase in existing powers.

It was stated by Beast that the secondary mutations usually occurred in the twenties of the subjects, and generally appeared in time of great stress.

From the original fic, chapter 8, nodus tollens:

The appearance of the secondary mutation:

The world falls apart in a blur of movement. The gun goes off just after Raven jumps and makes a break for the window, the bullet curves as she crashes through the glass, following her on the way down. Tackling Erik earns Hank a mean right hook to the jaw, but Aoibheal’s there, looking at Trask like a dear in the headlights, memories whipping through her head like a hurricane - the sick fuck looks pleased to see her – her mouth falls open and she screams. She and the clone scream in tandem, their voices supersonic as the surrounding people clutched their ears for dear life; struggling to keep a hold of the feeling in her chest that caused her to explode, the clone detonates like a firework, scorching the wallpaper while Trask is stumbling to the door. There’s blood leaking from his ears but Aoibheal can’t move, can only scream and relive the memory of her brother’s murder over and over again.

Hank discussing it:

"I've never seen a secondary mutation so vastly different!" No longer blue or furry, [Hank’s] smile is excited as he looks over at her. Sharing the cockpit feels almost familiar by now, with Aoibheal curled up in the passenger seat nursing a glass of water. "It makes sense though, your original mutation – the explosions – would be an extension of your temperature immunity, but your secondary mutation is hereditary."

Cassidy’s scream, however, unlike Banshee’s, only effects things with ears, not inanimate objects like glass. Of course she could learn the right pitch to get glass to shatter like an opera singer, but generally speaking, her scream only effects things that can hear.

OKAY LETS TALK ABT THE STUFF I FABRICATED FOR THE FIC

oh GOD I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MAGNETO

not as in romantic, as in he is literally her character’s main inspiration in the films. i’m literally making a fake trailer right now that’s intercut with moments from his DOFP speech that was broadcast to the whole of america.

i love dofp (possibly to my detriment) but i always thought it was weird that no-one was ever like.... magneto has a point. BECAUSE HE HAS A POINT. he’s speaking directly to disenfranchised and SCARED mutants across the nation, and yet everyone’s heralding Mystique as the new face of mutant kind. YES she made a point, but like.... did no-one vibe with magneto when he promised the destruction of mankind? i would. anyways.

so i thought it would be interesting for this character, Cassidy, to have this hero-worship of Magneto, taking his words to heart like scripture, ultimately making her a foil for Phoenix, Xavier’s protege.

it’s why i specifically included this:

“You should be,” you hissed, putting your all into the words as you spoke them, and you hear Ben inhale sharply beside you, “we shall inherit the Earth.”

“What follows is a struggle as Cassidy and the figure – revealed to be her clone – proceed to kill the man. When they’re finished, and the man’s dead on the ground, Cassidy straightens her outfit, and we hear –“ as the director reads, Michael begins to slowly clap, “a slow clap, and it’s revealed that Apocalypse, as well as Storm, Angel, and Magneto, had all witnessed the event.”

“We are the future, we are the ones who shall inherit the Earth,” Michael reads as he stops clapping.

“Magneto,” you breathe reverentially, and when you look to him, you and Michael share a sharp smile.

which is a direct quote from magneto’s speech in Days of Future Past:

You built these weapons to destroy us. Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different. Well, I'm here to tell you, to tell the world, you're right to fear us. We are the future. We are the ones who will inherit this earth, and anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men you see before you. Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there, I say this; no more hiding, no more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame and fear for too long. Come out, join me. Fight together in the brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow, that starts today.

which ALSO is what turns her into the next big villain for the franchise, because she sees Magneto, the man she kind of thinks of like a god, turn on and help kill Apocalypse, the man who claimed to be an actual god, and side with the people who, ultimately, don’t want to destroy the human race like she does, and also killed the man she loved. she takes Magneto’s ideologies and turns them up to 11. he fucks off to create a mutant paradise away from prying eyes and is happy, she won’t be happy until all humans are punished.

it’s why, in the beginning, she and raven can’t still work together, because raven wants to rescue mutants, but not at the expense of unnecessary human lives, and cassidy sees all humans as complicit in the torture, and therefore deserving of punishment.

she has deemed herself judge, jury, and executioner of human kind, and they have all been found guilty.

i’m so excited to see if i get around to writing some of the next film because i really want to explore the dichotomy of Xavier’s ‘no-one is ever really gone/there’s always hope’ and magneto’s ‘you were right to be afraid of us, we are the ones who shall inherit the earth’. Everyone has given up on Cassidy in one way or another, whether it be by betrayal or death, and so when she finds this symbiote who literally becomes a part of her, makes her stronger, and is happy to kill people with little regard for who they are, she’ll take it.

EDIT: here’s the first 26 seconds of the fake trailer (Y/N here is played by Jurnee Smollett, aka Black Canary from Birds of Prey)

youtube

ANGEL & RIOT

i wanted y/n to kiss ben hardy that’s literally it.

actually no that’s not it 100%, i think it’s super amusing in a kind of bleak way that he got fridged for her, like his death, both in the “””comics””” (as in the comic universe for the fics) and in the film, causes her to seek out a force that would help bring him back to life. in the “””comics””” she originally seeks out a mutant, but when the mutant who can bring people back refuses to help her, she’s told of experiments at The Life Foundation, who are working on engineering the next step in human evolution, and she’s thinking that they’re experimenting on mutants again, like trask, and goes in guns blazing, but instead finds symbiotes. she bonds with a symbiote, thus becoming Riot Control, and the symbiote initially promises her all these things, including being able to find a way to ressurect angel, but eventually (in the “””comics”””) the power he gives her overtakes her need to ressurect her love, and riot ends up using her to try and build a ship to bring more symbiotes to take over earth.

IN THE FILM

okay OKAY okay OKAY so she’s looking for a way to ressurect angel at first, but riot’s in her ear while he’s seeing all her memories, and is convincing her to get revenge on the people who are responsible for his death (nightcrawler, jean, and Magneto specifically) so its not that the xmen are just in the plot by happenstance there’s like actual beef, love it.

I also love that Cassidy’s powers are handicapped when she’s got Riot, since her scream would injure or even possibly kill him. Yes i specifically paired her with a symbiote for that reason, which is also the reason why her clone explosions aren’t heat based.

but anyway, can i spoil the ending? i wanna spoil the ending;

so there’s this big showdown between riot control and the xmen, and jean confronts cassidy, trying to talk her down like ‘what would angel think if he saw you? What you’ve become?’ and Cassidy’s furious, thinking that jean’s trying to guilt her, like, angel would be so ashamed

“Keep his name out of your fucking mouth, you have no idea what he’d think-”

“He’d be terrified of you.” And it’s so fucking like, cruel and cold coming from Jean.

“Shut up.”

“You have become a monster; you have maimed your idol-” [we cut to a shot of magneto looking all fucked up and bloody, watching with anger in his eyes] “and you have left Angel for dead. If you’d really cared about him, you would have already gotten him back. Instead, you come for revenge against the people who could have helped you -”

or something like that, and riot control has a whole breakdown, lashing out, snarling that no-one could help her, and when they tried, they ended up dead (angel, apocalypse) and she starts losing control, and her voice starts to distort in and out of riot’s, making it clear he’s taking control of her completely.

there’s this big, final fight, which culminates with jean grabbing cassidy’s face and trying to burn riot out of her.

“No-one is beyond help.” And Jean’s like, got tears in her eyes, desperate to save this girl who’s caused so much pain, but who sees herself as so wretched and beyond help, and we see the symbiote burning away and screaming, but also the physical signs of cassidy’s mutation as like, peeling away in embers, like the black scales around her eyes, and the way her whole eyes are seen as black is now clearing away, and she takes both of Jean’s hands and forces her to keep holding on, to keep looking in her natural fucking eyes for the first and last time as she burns out too.

“You can’t save everyone.” and then Cassidy’s just ash in the wind.

also this ending, in a meta-sense, makes sense, because after this Disney buys Fox and there’s no more this-universe X-Men films, so they had to do a self-contained story, there couldn’t be things left super unresolved.

OR maybe she’s fine, maybe she gets saved and riot burns out of her (spoilers, he fucks off and doesn’t die, hence, Venom (2018); it takes him about 20 years to recuperate) i haven’t decided.

#the angry lizard speaks #hyniels #dreashappyworld

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galethehotandfabulous · 5 years ago

Photo

Once again I’m back on my bullshit.

So I reallyyyyyy felt like coloring something today and doing character designs and I remembered these guys and went for it. I uploaded the sketches of (most) of these guys a while ago, and I hope that @weavemeamyrtlecrown doesn’t mind that I’ve completely gone off the rails with design and have probably ignored details that they’ve written in their wonderful fic. (Also I’m sorry it seems like I’m so obsessed with your characters- it’s only because I am lmao)

So brief description of some choices here: Nephyrm- I wanted him to look the most like how I envision Rhys, with only subtle hints of Feyre in the shape of his face. Addy- So this one I never actually uploaded the sketch of, but I kinda imagine her as a mini Nesta for sure. (I really struggled with hair color here cause tbh I’m not sure what Nesta’s hair looks like??? Blonde? Light brown? Dirty blonde? My memory fails me) so I went with a sort of straw brown/blonde, and I think features-wise she would also take after Nesta. I would say the main part of Cassian that’s visible is her eye color- a hazel brown. Lysander- What a pretty boy tbh, Lysander is a pretty even mix of both Feyre and Rhys, with middle-toned skin, darker hair, and gray/blue eyes. Also I’m sorry if he’s giving everyone pirate vibes here, cause that’s what he’s giving me. Marcy (right) and Mel (left)- Being twins, I definitely wanted them to look really similar, but not exactly the same. Mel I kind of headcannon to be the more outdoorsy, training, battlefield type, so she’s naturally a little tanner, and Marcy is more of the diplomatic, library, indoors type, so she’s a bit paler. Both, however, have the same tone of hair, and the same violet eyes. Vesriel- Like Lysander, I wanted Ves to be a pretty even mix of Rhys and Feyre, but with some coloring switched. So he has visibly more brown/lighter hair, darker skin, and his eyes a middle ground of lilac and gray. Also, I don’t remember why exactly I gave him curly hair, but I think it’s just because I envision Feyre’s hair to be wavy and I guess he’s too hardcore to actually brush his hair after flying around all day?? Sahil- Okay. So. In my head, I actually kind of see Sahil looking more like Rhys but... I’m so obsessed with one of the boys taking more after Feyre? And that the older he gets, the more she realizes he looks like her dad? And that he looks so different from his siblings, so there’s an inside joke with the inner circle that he’s the adopted child lmao (Also this is going completely off on a tangent and has no basis in the actual fic but I keep picturing him as the one who has the least magical ability and is just this funny, wise-ass, but extremely battle-skilled warrior, who never gets frustrated at his lack of magic). ANYWAY. So he looks the most like Feyre with lighter skin, brown hair, and gray/blue eyes. And freckles.

Sorry for the long ass post but I got carried away having fun~ Link to the fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11562825/chapters/25975404

#fic #fanfiction #acotar #acourtofthornsandroses #acourtofmistandfury #acourtofwingsandruin #art #myart #longpost

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cooltrainererika · 5 years ago

Text

Alt-talia Compilation: Family

(This is a semi-AU! Please see my other works for an explanation)

Phew! This is last-minute! It’s the 9th here now, but I think it’s still the 8th where the blog is being hosted! I hope it isn’t too late! This is for the @heta-oc-week event, specifically for Day 3: 1/24, Family. The first two could be argued to be Modern Day, though, especially the first one. I realized I could do another Ripped From The Headlines type thing, since the nation in question came up in an internet argument.

So I’m deciding to write up a bunch of characters I haven’t written yet. Note, sadly, I haven’t developed any of these characters much yet. I pretty much had to conduct research in the span of a few days and hope it’s accurate. As such, nothing established here about these characters is set in stone, including characters who appear here as female staying that way.

...Especially since here I made my first foray into Sub-Saharan Africa. A region that is often hard as goddamn balls to personify due to its countries’ ethnic diversity and often lacking in coherence. But I seriously wanted to finally step into it. Though the character I initially intended to be the main character, one of the more coherent ones, actually ended up being only mentioned, because I had to come up with a story direction too. I wished I asked my friend from one of the two main countries there a few days ago for better accuracy, aaaahhh...

I’m sorry if these seemed rushed, but I just want to get something out there in case I can’t make the rest I have planned (and I could maybe submit the ones I can’t release on time for the Valentines event as platonic prompts?). Also, the third one is (maybe?) my first attempt at putting dark humor into writing. So if you’re not that comfortable with really dark jokes, I plan you skip it. The main character in the third fic is probably one of the few characters in Alt-talia who could be called a villain, so she’s, uh, kind of awful. Even by Alt-talia standards. Yes. Though showing sweet moments like this probably kind of ruins its effectiveness as opposed to if I showed their awful actions first. Oh well.

That’s it! If I want to add more it will be under the cut. And I’ll add more stories later for this and other prompts if I have the time!

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Conviction As Solid As Rock

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne…”

On the 29th of January, the countries of the United Kingdom finally left the European Parliament for the last time.

After the agreement was finally ratified, and the parliament was awash with relief, the other member states and their MEPs stood to send them off properly with a surprise serenade.

“For auld lang syne, my jo,

for auld lang syne,

we'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet,

for auld lang syne…”

Just as they were about to leave, the other member states gave them their goodbyes.

Scotland was obviously holding back sniffles as France consoled him, clearly not wanting to leave.

“Why’d ye have to use one of my songs?! Ye just had to make it worse fer us?!”

Germany stuck out his hand.

“You’fe caused us much trouble. But ve still vish you ze best of luck.”

France turned away from his childhood friend and huffed.

“Was about time.”

England was finally able to coax Malta’s embrace off him, took their hands and shook them.

“Surely.”

Belgium, this time, took his hand with both of hers.

“We will miss you, despite how it looks.”

“My, thank you. Now, cheerio. See you at negotiations.”

“...”

“No-ortherrn Irrela-and, come o-on. Et’s time to-o go.”

Northern Ireland broke his staring contest with his Republic counterpart as Wales tugged on his suit, exchanging one final, uneasiness-filled glance before facing down and following the rest of the family with rapid steps.

“You beddur give ush a good negotiation! If you come crawling bac- AU!”

“I nev’r plumb for you aga- KURWA!”

“Ah, yes, freedom at last!”

“Freedom fer you…”

—————————————————————

When they returned, someone was waiting in front of their common house. It was a rather sturdily-built man, overly dressed even for the chilly weather, shivering in the English humid winter night air under a heavy coat, his face a mosaic of features and indeterminate ethnicity but possibly vaguely Mediterranean.

“...Ello?”

The man turned to him, and his brown eyes lit up as he waved.

“Oh! I was waiting for you!”

England blinked a bit.

Then, a small monkey poked its head out of his coat, confirming his identity.

“...Gibraltar?”

“Ey, Gib! It’s ye!”

Gibraltar‘s smile was glowing.

“I’ll open the door for you. I thought we could spend time as a family to celebrate our exit from the EU!”

Now, Gibraltar himself, as a part of the United Kingdom, could enter the common house whenever he wished. However, like the diligent son he was, he had waited this whole time for who knows how long in the British winter cold, just to greet them for this special occasion.

England patted the man on the head.

“Now, that’s my Gib.”

“Dedn’t oo just fo-orrget about-“

“Now, now, you can open it. Come on.”

—————————-

Gibraltar strolled through his streets where his people mingled, an uncertain mood hanging in the air.

Many spoke of what was to come. What awaited their future; from the mundane, such as how it may affect the cost of groceries and jobs, to the larger issues, such as how they would deal with a certain old thorn in their collective sides. But many went about as they always did, as if this were any other day.

From this day on, they were to be disconnected from Europe.

It seemed so strange. It had been, what, almost half a century they had been in the union? It was so hard to believe that finally, after three years of tedious negotiations, they were leaving.

He had been against this, very strongly in fact, but he was to accept it.

After much walking, he reached a good spot in one of his beaches, the massive rock that gave him his nickname looming so close to him that it may as well have been next to him, and he sat himself down, the sand a nice cushion through his khaki shorts.

The beach was quiet now, as after all this was a normal weekday. The turquoise sea he knew oh so well extended in front of him, a piece of Moroccan land and Ceuta just so slightly peeking over the horizon.

His monkey hopped out of his bag, grumpy that she had spent longer than she would have wanted in it.

“Hey, you said you wanted to come with me today!”

Gibraltar felt a presence behind him. A nation. The nation he wanted to meet the least right now, but who he had been unfortunately expecting.

He immediately stood up and spun around.

Spain. His expression was cheerful as per usual, but Gibraltar knew exactly why he was here, and it wasn’t just to say “Hi.”

“Olà!”

“...What’o ya want, España?”

He could just see the irritation his cheerfulness masked become crack through at the tone he greeted him.

“Ay! I just thought I should pay my little Llanito a visit! And don’t talk like that to me.”

“Why not? Why shouldn’t I?”

His monkey started to hiss.

Spain’s face slowly twisted into something between anger, determination, exasperation, and offense.

“Ah, el mocoso, I thought you Brits were supposed to be polite?”

Stoicism was never one of Spain’s strong points; he was a cheerful man known for his passion, glowing with a charisma many found appealing, but his peers in Europe, his children, and he himself knew more than well enough how quickly that passion could explode into a raging fire.

But Gibraltar hadn’t gotten his nickname just from a geographical landmark.

“Bollocks! ‘Ave ya ever met a Scotsman? Stop treating me like I was ever yer lad, España!”

Now any pretense of cheer had dropped.

“Why?! Why do you stay with him?! You voted to stay! You said you wanted to stay! What’s your problem?!”

“What’s YOUR problem?! Let me go!”

“Don’t you DARE talk to me like that! I’ll get the rest of the EU on my side-“

Gibraltar held back his macaque with his ankle. No. This was his place to talk.

“Do it! I ‘are ya! If ya care’ about me so much you wouln’t have shut me out twice! An oh, on’t give me that ‘Oh, Franco made me do it’ bollocks, I remember the queues, the burnt cars, the border fuckery in 2013, bloody 2013 - just 8 years ago ya cunt! - violating the EU’s dedications to customs borders because oh, ya just had to throw a hissy fit over me again! It’s been 300 years you twat! And you’ve done nothing but prove that I can’t trust ya! An ya know what? I survived both times! Without ya! Ya don’t own me an’ I only ‘ave one family! Ya know what? Ya just can’t get over that you can’t controlled anyone like ya used to! ‘Cause it’s not me ya want anyway. Ya just don’t like that the borders look a bit odd, ‘cause of course now ya care about things being out of place, an’ can’t let go that we kicked yer arse in a war that means bugger all anymore! No wonder Catalonia hates ya! Of course I want ya to bugger off!”

Spain was starting to shake. That last one especially had struck a nerve, as intended. Maybe bringing up Catalonia was too much. Frankly, Gibraltar would have felt sorry for him, but damn it, he was in a moment, and he couldn’t be stopped now.

“And oh yeah, they’re my family! Not you! Ya never were an’ never will be! I’m fucking BRITISH mate! I was born when they claimed that rock! An I’ll make sure it stays that way! Now go an cry to the EU as much as ya want! But I’ll survive without ya! I’ll survive like all those other times! I’m a bloody fortress, an’ this fortress hasn’t fallen in 3 centuries an’ it ain’t falling now! Now leave me and my family alone!”

Spain opened his mouth, attempting to say something. He looked like he wanted to materialize a hundred slippers to throw at him, like an angry mother of a reckless child.

Gibraltar knew it wasn’t going to sink in. After all, he still didn’t learn after 300 years. Three goddamn centuries. And when everyone finally started to suspect Spain was finally moving on, his tendency to abandon rationality when he was involved would always reared its ugly head. He knew almost everyone in the EU had also grown tired of it; England had once recounted to him, quite amused, how Antonio had blown up at Ludwig, who after putting up with it for hours while looking very dead inside, had told him bluntly to be reasonable on the matter.

Really, it was a shame. He knew Spain was better than this. They even worked at each others’ places at times, and after they both became EU citizens they were actually able to have amicable conversation again. He could genuinely be a sweet person on good days. Maybe it was just that he felt he needed to hang onto what he still had left. Being right on his doorstep probably just made it all the more painful. He supposed it was just how nations were. He was aware how nations, especially once great or currently great ones, clung onto power and control out of primal instinct.

Still, his hang-ups weren’t his problem. He had been British for 3 centuries, he was born British, and that was all he had known.

It was like a parent eternally bitter about losing custody. Except that in this analogy said parent had had no stake in being the child’s parent in the first place.

It was just then the giant, hulking form of a battleship passed by behind them; one of the battleships of the great Royal Navy, the Union Jack flapping proudly upon it.

It’s sight made Gibraltar’s heart awash in safety.

He grinned at Spain, his pet imitating him. It was a bit too perfect a timing.

“Oh, look at what showed up!”

Spain stared, then back at him, and left without a word.

Gibraltar sighed and plopped back down on the sand.

Honestly, he didn’t know what awaited him.

More than anyone else, he wished to remain. He thought cooler heads would have prevailed, but it was times like this that it truly hit him how small he ultimately was.

Because it wasn’t as if England couldn’t be arrogant and generally out-of-touch, Scotland couldn’t have his drunken fits of immaturity, or Wales couldn’t be annoyingly spacey… They weren’t perfect. Especially England. While he never told him so, he had noticed how England took a tad too long to to remember him more often than he would have liked. Though he knew very well he hadn’t been as important as he used to be for a while now, so he had no reason to be on Uncle England’s mind constantly anymore anyway, it could still be frustrating being reminded of that.

But he was British. Unlike how Uncle England seemed to see it sometimes, he didn’t have a particular affection for him, or any other member of the kingdom, so much as the plain fact that he loved his family; all of it, for the silly, sometimes puzzling mess they were as a collective, in its entirety.

The United Kingdom was where he belonged; because it was his family. He was part of this union as much as England or Scotland or Wales or Northern Ireland. And no matter what was going to happen in the future, even if they were heading towards a cliff, he would never hesitate to jump off with them. They cared for him. And he remembered when England himself seemed genuinely offended by him being called a “colony”, insisting that he was a valuable, integral subject of the crown.

If anything, he could take a temporary shock or need for readjustment. He could tough it out. What he truly wouldn’t be able to take was if this were going to cause their kingdom to break up.

And so, he stared back out to sea, where the naval vessel was docking in the harbor.

He let his macaque climb on top of his head, waving at the ship.

Besides, he would survive. And change wasn’t always bad.

And moping around wasn’t going to happen anywhere. Tonight, no matter what seas laid ahead, he was going to expect the best.

Because if they were going to be in this together, his gut knew there was going to be light at the end of the tunnel.

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Two Swahilis, Different Ideals

When they were gaining independence from Britain in the 60s, their leaders floated a certain idea; an idea that they were to become the proud parents of a new nation.

She could even delay independence, it had even been suggested to Tanganyika, as she was called at the time; she could step out of the yoke of colonialism hand-in-hand with Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar, and the new federation, into the bright future ahead. It sounded romantic, a bit overly idealistic.

While they were but children at the time, for children at their physical age, on the edge of showing the traits of adulthood, it was not uncommon for her people, especially girls, to start to think of children of their own. And of course, it would only be after everything had settled and fallen into place, when they had gained their footing on independence.

That never materialized, and by 1964, the year she and Zanzibar had their - rushed and mostly forced - wedding, it became clear their child wouldn’t be born in the conceivable future. But they still had the Community. After all, they were like family, siblings even.

Yet, by the 70s, it was clear this wasn’t meant to be either. She and Kenya had found themselves on the opposite sides of the Cold War, and Uganda was at the mercy of not only a tyrant, but a brutal, insane madman of a tyrant who despite his claimed desire to unite Africa had a bloodthirst that still left its marks in Uganda’s flesh and with delusions of grandeur that defied the human or even nation imagination, though for their continent this was unfortunately merely somewhat unusual by then.

In the end, several diplomatic disputes, slander campaigns, small wars, and a campaign to take down a tyrant later, official relations between her and Kenya were worse than ever, as they were between Kenya and Uganda - who was in no shape to do much at all except try to rebuild - and everyone was to move along and start anew, as if the failed project had never happened.

Decades passed from then. They fought, had diplomatic spats, but at times, when they could, met at a personal level; until, at the turn of the century, it became in their interest, according to their leaders, to once again reunite as a community.

They were to become East Africa’s EU, Kenya, now a spirited young man, had said with great confidence. He had become the most prosperous out of the three of them, and it was as if he had assumed leadership. But just like before, he was pushy, she felt. He had a bit too much power.

Even so, many joined their little club after the revival; Rwanda, the rising star child of East Africa, her less fortunate twin-but-actually-chronologically-much-younger-brother Burundi, and most recently, young South Sudan, though they were often in no condition to dedicate much time to the EAC. Well, neither was Burundi, but South Sudan even less so. Poor kid.

And it wasn’t long until “it” became a subject of consideration again.

“Think ‘bout it, Tanzania! C’mon! Do y’ think it would be a boy or girl?”

Tanzania blinked.

Kenya, somehow with his eyes simultaneously both on his new Tecno Spark smartphone and Tanzania, turned them completely to her and nodded before resuming his position.

“You’re da woman, aren’cha? Y’d love it! Ya should be likin’ dis da most!”

Tanzania flinched a bit.

“...Kenya, why are you so eager about this arrangement?”

This time, all of his focus turned to her.

“Why? Why are ya so negative? It’s a globalized world out dere, Tanzania! China, big mega corps, investment! We’re gonna have’ta be sailin’ dose seas to make our people rich!”

“Well I do know tha-“

“It’s things ya understand when ya become woke to the world like me, girl. I’ve made deals, I’ve seen da good, I’ve seen da bad, I’ve been around. An’ we’ve gotta stick together to get our voices heard! We’ve gotta protect ourselves from it if we’re gonna venture out dere! Or else our nature and businesses are gonna suffer!”

“And you’re planning to take my property too, right?”

Kenya huffed and shook his head, putting his phone down and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Dis again? C’mon Tanzania. Why do ya have to be like dat? I’ve tried to be a good brother, but all ya do is complain! And even among da others yer da only one who complains ‘bout bein’ in dis community! Why ya nervous when it comes to dis, when ya tell me I have no chill, eh? Why ya gotta be like dat? We family here, nah?”

“We are! But you’re the pushy big brother!”

Kenya frowned deeply.

“Well, I wanna help, ya know? An’ I can’t help yer not as rich an I control most da dough.”

“...Touché!”

“Gah! I wasn’t meanin’ to offend ya! Get a thicker skin, will ya?”

“Besides… our leaders will just get in another tizzy even if this one gets resolved. Not to mention your more fragile state; I know who I am, but your people are still somewhat fragmented, to say the least... And don’t you still think a child outright is too much? It’s too soon. We and our leaders are too different.”

“Ya keep sayin’, take it slow. Ya think dat works in today’s economy, sis? Wonder who he’s gonna look da most like… maybe she? Though they might be young n’ cute fo’ a long while since they’re gonna be a confederation, apparently… wonder how long it takes ‘em to age? Switzerland’s one, right?”

Tanzania almost fell over where she sat.

“Did you even listen to a word of what I said?!”

“...Anyway, we’re doin’ dat constitution no matter what!”

He put his phone in his pocket, suddenly stood up and grabbed her wrist.

“Kenya! Let me go!”

“It’ll be fine, girl!”

“I get it! Let me go!”

“Ah, women, women. Why ya gotta be like dis?”

“You’re walking too fast! This is a violation of sovereignty! This is exactly why I don’t trust this! Let go! KEENNNYYYAAA!!!!”

And thus, they made their way to yet another round of bickering, though not before getting yelled at by their bosses for tardiness even for their standards, and all the other members of the EAC could only sigh.

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The Devil’s Foal

Mongol Empire jumped off her horse, commending her men for another battle well done.

They had returned early in the morning; that city had put up an annoying fight. Pitiful, really. It got more blood on her coat than expected, and it felt like it was freezing onto her.

She gave her trusted steed a pat before telling another one of her men to go quarter it.

“Another success, it seems.”

It was her Khan. She stood to attention.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Go take a rest! You deserve it.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Taking a bag of loot, she made her way to the stream next to where her yurt stood, taking her helmet off and shaking her hair free. Soaking her blood-soaked coat into the stream, grumbling at how some of the bloodstains had soaked in, she didn’t notice the figure sneaking up behind her…

“Eke! Eke!”

She spun around, and there was a little boy with the appearance of a 5-year-old, looking awfully proud of himself.

Batudai, her precious oldest son.

It hadn’t been long after her formation she had found herself the mother of a few Egg-realms - she was quite shocked, she was chronologically younger than even some human mothers when Batudai was blessed upon her, though due to her rapid maturity she probably shouldn’t have been - and for some reason, she felt she knew there were going to be more in the future. Maybe if any future conquests were going to be to her taste, though carrying one like a normal woman would could only be a hinderance; she belonged with her men and her steed, in battle, firing arrows into the skulls of her pitiful enemies.

Though, it was a bit early for Batudai, she realized; it usually took the scent of roasting horse meat for him to wake up in the morning.

“Did I scare you? Thought I was asleep, didn’t you?”

She chuckled, set her coat aside, and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“Oh, you little mischievous you!”

He wrestled himself out of his mother’s grip, and gawked at the new riches that had been bought back; it wasn’t much, for nomads had to travel light, but that didn’t subtract from the fine feats of artistry they were.

“You got another one, right momma? Wow, you’re strong! And it’s so shiny!”

“But ah, you see Batudai…”

He sat down, looking at his mother with his sparkling, innocent eyes.

“There’s an even greater treasure. One that isn’t as tangible, but it is more valuable than any gold… the glory of conquest. The crushing of defiance. The visible loss of hope in your enemies’ eyes! The croak of petty, weak humans as an arrow pierces their throat! The weeping of a grieving realm as they reap the consequences of their insolence for daring to defy you! The delightful snap of a sword through the neck! The crack of bones under hooves! The fear and despair upon the face of those who heard of your feats as they bow at the hooves of your horse begging for mercy! THAT is the true treasure!”

Her son looked at her, tilting his head.

“...What?”

“...Sorry. I got a bit carried away.”

“So what I’m got from that is, you’re really strong? ...I wanna be like you, momma! I’m gonna be strong like you some day!”

She hugged him close.

“I know you will!”

“And all under Tengri will be ours!”

“That’s my boy!”

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Notes: I tried not making Spain a one-note bad guy here guys. I really did. It is Gib’s POV, so it will be biased. Though personally I am a bit more on Gib’s side here. I’m sorry for any Spanish readers, it’s just that nations can’t help but act like Narcs by default. Especially former and current Superpowers. Modern Germany is probably the only major world player who isn’t some degree of Narc and that’s only because of extraordinary circumstances.

Africa: I can’t rely on individual tribe cultures for many Africans because choosing one would not represent the nations, so I kind of have to rely on stereotypes. But I wanted to actually go with what Africans thought of each other. ...But my god was information hard to find. And I thought finding information on Liet was a pain. I had so few good sources. Yay. I hope they had some merit.

Kenya talks like that because I saw a comparison on Quora or something made that if Tanzanian Swahili was standard English, Kenyan (or at least capital region) Swahili would be kind of like AAVE. While it’s not a reliable source, I didn’t have a lot to go off of at all, so I had to go with what I got. I hope I can reach my Kenyan friend soon. I really gotta contact him again... But still the more educated of the two speaking with more of an accent is a pretty good way to play with expectations I think.

Kenya isn’t just animals and tribes in the countryside living traditional lifestyles, but it’s also a business hub, a growing nation thought to have a bright future. I also heard that because of that, some Tanzanians get the impression that Kenyans are in a bit of a rush all the time, like the New York “I’m walkin’ here!” stereotype, not responding much to casual greetings. Or maybe it’s just Nairobi, but still again, I really don’t have much information. So I wanted to reflect that here; he’s a busy, fast-talking, somewhat impatient modern young businessman who knows a bit about how the world of international relations works.

He’s eager about the EAC here because the aforementioned Kenyan friend was, and many points Kenya makes were based off of his, but idk how popular his opinion is, even though he claimed it was a popular opinion. I think he also claimed that Kenyan national identity was pretty unified but information I found indicated otherwise, so maybe he’s just a passionate Kenyan nationalist who while not extreme is a bit more optimistic than others. Still he’s my best source now.

Kenya is a bit of a phonaholic because smartphones are apparently even huger in Africa than the rest of the world, because they’re small and cheaper and easier to use than a computer; due to this, they use them for a lot of business things and have been a boon for entrepreneurship in Africa. In Kenya, Techno is a local brand made to fulfill local needs and has a larger share than other brands, which is just great news in general. And i thought just worked as a shorthand to immediately convey that he’s young (I’d say he’s like 20 to 21 here? Note that most of Western Europe is almost if not in their 30s at this time), a business type, impatient, tech savvy, modern and far from the primitive African stereotype, and constantly receptive to information but a bit inconsiderate of Tanzania’s needs all at the same time. And I may or may not have been inspired by my African friends, though it was the Liberian one who wasn’t afraid to just start casually scrolling on his phone as soon as he found what I was saying uninteresting. I was shocked but I kind of appreciate the bluntness.

Tanzania meanwhile is more quiet and polite, actually a bit more laid-back, though that isn’t seen much here, but less worldly. She’s more of a conservative person, but I made her female because apparently Tanzania is pretty high on the Gender Parity Index, though obviously as seen here there is still sexism. And I couldn’t make Zanzibar female (not only is Zanzibar even more culturally conservative but Zanzibar is grammatically male and Tanganikya/Tanzania female in most languages with that, it was too good to pass up) though in their cultures it would still be a bit weird that the more prominent one of the two is the wife. Then again it’s not like the two would be particularly close anyway, I’d imagine they barely think of each other as husband and wife (and thank goodness because Tanganikya would have been like... 14 at the time at most? Ewwww...).

Being a former Socialist state, Kenya’s Capitalism-babble can go over her head, so Kenya probably thinks that she’s a bit dumb, especially because she’s not as educated as him. The biggest opposition to the EAC seems to be from Tanzania, because of a history of Kenyans buying up Tanzanian land and fears that a confederation would make it worse. Kenya would have more power in this dynamic it seems, despite Tanzania having more landmass, if not among the EAC as a whole, just by virtue of him being the one who has the most idea and conviction of what he’s doing; it’s kind of like how Germany finds himself as having to be the leader in the EU, except unlike Germany Kenya is nowhere near as humble (despite his rather fractured identity, though that is merely mentioned here) and hasn’t been deprogrammed from his instincts. So it’s kind of easy to see why she would be a bit skeptical. Though I seriously hope this happens sometime soon, because I just want to see more underdogs succeed in this geopolitical landscape.

Mongolia: Batudai here is who is to later become Yuan, and modern Mongolia. While Mongolia and Mongol Empire are conflated in canon, and are shown to be male I think, I make them separate entities since I thought that would be the easiest to write due to how the Mongol Empire eventually split apart.

“Tengri” is the God of the original religion of the Mongols, from what I can gather basically being synonymous with the heavens.

And, yeah... the dark joke in the room. The Mongols were quite fond of... ahem, helping themselves to the women they conquered. Since I make Mongol Empire female, due to the relatively high social standing of women in Mongol society at the time, I can imagine she’s done unpleasant stuff to some of the many male realms she terrorized over her short but brutal career, especially since they’re more likely to find a man being victimized by a woman to be humiliating...

I have had the idea that Yuan is the son of China and Mongol, even though I imply that he doesn’t have a father here because I thought that writing implying there was a pregnancy would complicate things and it would weigh her down, and it’s just hard to pin down what the timeline for births of Egg Nations should be due to their nature. Also it wasn’t like China was taken over immediately of course, and as strong as she is he’s too proud to let that happen unless he’s completely defeated.

I did say that she’s terrible even for an Alt-talia character, right?

But I headcanon her as a good mother because Genghis Khan is still widely admired in Mongolia. In fact, saying something bad about him is akin to heresy. It’s not just a Vikings and Scandinavians situation either, like, a gag manga got blasted by Mongolians for using his image in vain once (I hope no Mongolians see my work... aah...). As such, to Mongolia themselves, Mongol Empire was a loving mother, and that was the only Mongol Empire they knew. They know little about the suffering she caused, just the good side she showed them.

Also, while I kind of want to make Mongolia female, it seems that it might be a bit more logical to make them male, hence them being male here. While Mongolia is kind of known for having a “reverse gender gap”, this is due to the women being sent to do less traditional work; which means universities, which in a modern societies leads to modern success. That isn’t really an indication of how society sees women in general. I would much prefer them to be female, because I can see interesting dynamics play out between her and China during the Yuan Dynasty, but until further notice Mongolia is male to be safe.

I may post my sources for my research later. IDK.

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