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axilarycobra · 23 days ago

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[Wings of Fire] C Dragon Character Headcanons

Hey, guys! Back for the next letter (there are a lot of characters with C names so I decided to just do the letter C so it isn't too long because I think if it's too long, it's less likely to be read completely).

Quick note: if you like any of these, they're all okay to use! If they're super specific headcanons, like my headcanons for Armadillo's & Anaconda's backstory, then I would maybe like some kind of credit because those are more developed stories that do include original characters (Armadillo's father, Anaconda's mother, etc.). But most of them aren't really so specific that I think I have any right to own them, especially since they aren't my characters. Although if you ever do use a headcanon for anything, I'd love to see it so please feel free to tag me!

Also also, just want to point out because I've seen this before, but yeah, these aren't headcanons. I made this stuff up, but no one uses the word for that (I don't even remember it) and I don't like it so I'm calling these headcanons.

Cadelle - Cadelle is one of the greatest historians in the HiveWing tribe, but she kept her research a secret from the queen and ladies because she was not a fan of them; she enjoys Jewel better as queen than Wasp. She remained in the Hive Kingdom after Jewel became queen, but she lent her research to the universities in the LeafSilk Kingdom at Cricket’s request because she secretly doesn’t hate Cricket.

Camel - after the war, Camel settled down in the SandWing stronghold and worked in the mailroom which he enjoyed a lot more than being a soldier. Camel’s sister is Saguaro and their parents would always compare them, making Camel feel insecure since he wasn’t as strong or tough as her.

Canyon - Canyon never liked Scarlet, he just wanted to be king because it would make other dragons look at him more; he secretly cared how Tailwind viewed him and would go out of his way to interact with them because he wanted validation from them as their younger brother.

Capybara - Capybara is Thorn’s cousin.

Carabid - before Wasp learned about Carabid’s power, he was a nerdy HiveWing who spent all of his time in libraries, similar to Cricket; he was timid, shy, and tried to help out SilkWings when he could; after Wasp used him as a weapon against many dragons, he felt guilty, but eventually found a home in the LeafSilk Kingdom where he worked as the librarian, archivists, scientist, and journalist in Chrysalis University.

Cardinal - Cardinal is Cliff’s best friend; as Cliff grows older, Cardinal hangs out with him a lot. He is the dragonet of Jasper and a SkyWing who Jasper is now divorced from.

Caribou (bard’s daughter) - at JMA, Caribou is placed in the gold winglet and becomes friends with Sepia, Newt, Barracuda, Changbai, Alba, and Snail.

Caribou (bard’s friend’s sister) - Caribou is a jewelry maker and owns a shop in Village-of-the-Plentiful-Seals.

Caribou (bard’s friend) - Caribou was from the circle rankings and the palace, but moved away due to the pressure, finding a home in Village-of-the-Plentiful-Seals. Their brother is Fjord, but they hadn’t seen their brother since they left and were informed after the war that he had died in Scarlet’s arena.

Caribou (bard’s grandmother) - Caribou was a scholar who worked as a traveling librarian before settling down permanently in Village-of-the-Plentiful-Seals.

Caribou (bard’s mother) - Caribou is one of the village scouts who protect the village from any dangers; this includes hunting polar bears, scouting for avalanches, and watching for other dragons.

Caribou (bard) - Caribou used to dream of meeting dragons from the other tribes, but when the war happened, they hid in their village, afraid to fight other dragons; while their daughter is at JMA, they plan to go on trips to the different kingdoms to meet other dragons.

Caribou (princess) - Caribou was considered one of the most beautiful IceWings in the kingdom while she was alive; many believed that she married Snowstorm, but she only had eggs with Snowstorm, which she raised with her wife; Caribou was the daughter of the IceWing queen, but she never wanted the throne, so her cousin, Queen Marble, challenged her aunt instead.

Carmine - Carmine did not have a close relationship with her daughters and only viewed them as being necessary for the throne, despite being upset that Sunset died, she just had another daughter to replace her.

Carnelian - Carnelian would have eventually warmed up to her winglet and become friends with them, especially Umber and Winter. She had a sister named Torch who she looked up to and was an elite soldier for Ruby which is why she hated being sent to JMA.

Cattail - after the war, Cattail and her siblings learned how to handle cattle and started a successful cattle farm in the Diamond Spray Delta; Cattail boasts that she laid the egg of the dragonet of destiny, but all of the MudWings she is around tell her that she doesn’t even care about him.

Cereus - Cereus becomes one of Blaze’s friends in the SandWing stronghold. During the war, her family pressured her to have eggs so she did with Camel; however, neither of them are in love, but they still raise the dragonets together.

Cerulean - Cerulean is one of Turtle’s meaner brothers, but he tries his best to be nice to Turtle ever since Turtle saved the world.

Chafer - Chafer is one of Lady Cicada’s sons, which is why he looks similar to her; it is also why he and Scarab knew each other and why Scarab was so okay with shutting his store down for a day.

Chameleon - after losing his scroll, Chameleon tried to find somewhere to go, and at the request of Kinkajou, returned to the Rainforest Kingdom where Glory apologized to him and welcomed him back to the Rainforest Kingdom; he apologized for his nasty behavior towards everyone and eventually started working with the other healers; the masks he made under different tribes somehow materialized into real dragons who had to figure out how to navigate the world themselves.

Changbai - Changbai is reserved and doesn’t often speak; they are in a relationship with Alba. They have an interest in history and geography. When they were a dragonet and lived in the Ice Kingdom, Changbai was told that their father died when they were very young, but this was a cover-up, as their father was Hvitur, an IceWing who had to flee due to his forbidden romance with Prince Narwhal.

Char - Char was a childhood friend of Oasis; when Oasis was pressured by her mother to find a dragon to marry, she just chose Char because she believed that it would be easy to marry him without actually having to love him, but she quickly found that spending time around Char was quite annoying and the two often had to spend time apart.

Cicada (AGttDW) - Cicada was the second queen of the HiveWings; she was respectful of the other tribes, but also ambitious, eager to expand her tribe.

Cicada (TLC) - Cicada loved art and before the Tree Wars, she used to make wood carvings as a dragonet; she is resentful of Wasp for making rules that censored trees.

Cinnabar - Cinnabar would become a member of the SilkWing Assembly, by request of Tau. Cinnabar eventually starts dating Io and Tau and is reunited with her grandmother Danaid.

Clay - Clay never liked to read because his eyes always hurt when he tried to read something; later in life, he would get glasses that would help him be able to read clearly without pain; Clay developed an interest in music and would go on to teach a music class at JMA.

Clearpool - as an adult, Clearpool returned to the Kingdom of the Sea where she inherited the throne from Pearl.

Clearsight - Clearsight never romantically loved Darkstalker, and just saw him as a close friend. On Pantala, she had dragonets with both Sunstreak and Maple, although it is commonly censored that she had LeafWing dragonets. She went on to have more dragonets with BeetleWings so the HiveWings became their own tribe, but her NightWing/LeafWing dragonets were so few, a new tribe wasn’t created from them.

Cliff - despite being a prince, when Cliff grows up, he becomes a trusted advisor to the SkyWing queen.

Clorinde - when the SilkWings were looking for staff members for Chrysalis University, Luna, Io, Swordtail, and Blue searched for their old art teacher so that they could bring them to be a professor at the university. They are the parent of Glider.

Clubtail - Clubtail fulfills his lifelong dream of owning a sweets store, where he uses his flamesilk to make baked sweets. He is the father of Grayling, who believed he was killed by Lady Bloodworm, but was actually taken to Wasp Hive to be returned to the flamesilk factory without Grayling’s knowledge.

Cobra - Cobra and Thorn knew each other as dragonets and after Cobra was thrown into Thorn’s dungeon, Thorn tried to convince her to become good so Cobra can be released. Cobra hasn’t committed yet, but Thorn keeps coming back to her every week to talk.

Cobra Lily - Cobra Lily becomes one of the soldiers in the LeafWing military, one of the military bodies that protects the LeafSilk Kingdom.

Cochineal - Cochineal was the younger of her and Scarab; she would constantly taunt her older sister and make fun of her; during her reign as queen, Scarab would try to suggest things to her, but Cochineal dismissed her every time. When Cochineal had lots of daughters, Wasp was her least favorite and she hoped Wasp wouldn’t be the one to become queen, but things didn’t turn out how she liked, as Wasp had figured out the secret of the Book of Clearsight, so Cochineal was forced to give her the throne so Wasp wouldn’t reveal it to the tribe.

Coconut - after returning from JMA, Coconut became a fruit gatherer in the Rainforest Kingdom; he works as an apprentice under Mangrove and Orchid, the two treat him like a son.

Comet - Comet was a fictional character who never actually existed; there exists ancient NightWing fanfiction between him and Mindhealer.

Commodore - Commodore was the youngest of Clearsight’s dragonets with Sunstreak; he loved telling stories and became an author, his mother would help him with printing his books.

Copperhead - Copperhead met his RainWing lover during a negotiation between the two tribes, the RainWing also being a prince; when they ran off, Copperhead was welcomed by the RainWing tribe.

Coral - Coral’s mother, Queen Conch, never paid attention to Coral when she was a dragonet. Because of this, Coral felt lonely and when she had dragonets, she coddled them because she believed that it would make them feel like they weren’t lonely.

Cowrie - Cowrie was very supportive of Clearpool and protected her when they returned to the Kingdom of the Sea.

Coypu - Coypu never knew that she wasn’t related to Sawgrass until she was elderly and had passed the throne on to her daughter.

Crane (L1) - Crane was one of the last ambitious MudWing queens in history; all of her siblings had died during skirmishes with the RainWings and SeaWings, causing her to make big military decisions since she had nothing else to lose.

Crane (TDP) - before her death, Crane had gotten into contact with the Talons of Peace and hoped to convince her siblings to join it.

Cricket - Cricket became a librarian and archivist at Sapling Academy, and later, Chrysalis University; she raised Bumblebee like a daughter to her and Blue, but the two didn’t date for a long time and just see each other as close friends after breaking up.

Crocodile - Crocodile lost all of her siblings during the war, which is why she chose to work for Burn. She survived Glory’s venom and is held as a prisoner by Queen Coral.

Crystal - Crystal and Gharial have dragonets together; they decided to raise their dragonets not as royals, just having them be regular Sanctuary residents.

Current - after returning to the Kingdom of the Sea, Current decided to go into aquaculture, as he liked to make food, but couldn’t stand the sight of knives. He would go on to meet someone and raise dragonets away from the palace, but his dragonets were never considered part of the royal family.

#wings of fire #wof #wings of fire headcanon #wof headcanon #my headcanons #headcanons

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lucky-clover-gazette · 6 months ago

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prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 12

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

Laurent gave Damen a long, pensive look and said, eventually, ‘Yes, the trap is closing and there is nothing else to be done.’

context: sarcasm. he would never admit this if it was true

An hour put several miles between them and the rest of Laurent’s men, and that was when Laurent pulled on a rein and circled his horse around Damen’s briefly; he was watching Damen as though he was waiting for something. ‘Think I’m going to sell you to the nearest Akielon troop?’ said Damen. Laurent said, ‘I’m quite a good rider.’ Damen looked at the distance that separated his horse from Laurent’s—about three lengths. It was not much of a head start. They were now circling each other.

i can’t tell if they’re genuinely questioning each other, or playfully proposing a race. honestly with them it’s probably both

also, do you think their horses are tired of their bullshit? do you think they’re falling in love too?

Relaxed in the sunlight, Laurent watched him approach, as one expecting an arrival welcome and familiar.

this is such a sweet moment. i hope nothing happens to interrupt it

It would feel so right to rejoin them, to emerge from the grey maze of Veretian politics, and return to something that he understood: the simplicity of knowing his enemy, and facing a fight. He turned. Laurent was watching him. He remembered Laurent sizing up the distance between two balconies and saying, ‘Probably,’ which, once appraised, had been enough for him to jump. He was looking at Damen with the same expression.

moment of truth damen!

He could take Laurent down the hill and deliver him into Akielon captivity. The desire to do that thrummed in his blood. Nothing was standing in his way. Damen pressed his eyes closed briefly. ‘You need to take cover,’ Damen said. ‘We’re inside their scouting lines. I can ride as lookout until they’ve moved on.’ ‘Very well,’ Laurent said, after a heartbeat passed with his eyes watching Damen steadily.

YAYYYYYYYY

He had to be cautious—not only for Laurent’s sake, but also his own. He was wearing Veretian clothing. Under normal circumstances, an encounter with an Akielon outrider would not be a threat to a Veretian. At worst, there would be some unpleasant posturing. But this was Makedon, and among his forces were the men who had destroyed Breteau. To men like that, Laurent would be a prize beyond measure.

wait damen i thought we were talking about your safety, not laurent’s. oh well

Damen returned to his horse, mounted, and picked his way carefully along the wide, rocky stream bank to the shallow cave that, to his searching eyes, appeared empty at first. It was a well chosen spot: the entrance was hidden from most angles, and the danger of discovery was low. An outrider’s job was simply to ensure the terrain was clear of any obstacles that might impede an army. It was not to check every crack and crevasse on the unlikely chance a prince might be squeezed in there. There was the dull rattle of hooves moving on stone; Laurent emerged from the shadows of the cave on horseback, his manner carefully casual.

he knew where to find him <3

Do you think I’d get on well with Nikandros of Delpha?

foreshadowing

The idea of Laurent let loose on the political landscape of northern Akielos did not make for appealing thoughts.

foreshadowing

‘I wouldn’t have to tell them you were a prince to sell you to that troop.’ Laurent held his ground. ‘Not really? I would have thought twenty was a little grown up for that. Is it the blond hair?’ ‘It’s the charming temperament,’ said Damen.

Though the thought existed: If I took him with me to Akielos, he wouldn’t be given as a prisoner to Nikandros. He’d be given to me.

if you’re curious about that scenario, damen, allow me to introduce you to a little website called ao3

(is there a fic about this happening at this specific point of the story? if not, there should be. they’ve built up their relationship so much and, if in character, damen would be mostly concerned with keeping laurent safe. kind of a like a reverse book 1 situation.)

If the tactic didn’t occur to Kastor, it would certainly occur to Jokaste.

i think they should give her an official role in the government. not that i like the akielion government. i just think she deserves a seat with all the other shitty people

Laurent said, ‘To get what you want, you have to know exactly how much you are willing to give up.’ He was regarding Damen steadily. ‘You think your delightful Lady Jokaste doesn’t know that?’

so laurent has totally figured out that jokaste specifically betrayed damen and sent him to vere. this is an underhanded reference to that. also this is a pretty good hint that laurent Knows

There was only one thing he could do. As the spray of water sheared up from under his horse, he hefted his sword, changed his grip, and threw. It was, emphatically, not a throwing weapon. It was six pounds of Veretian steel, forged for a two-handed grip. And he was on a moving horse, and many feet away, and the man was moving too, towards Laurent. The sword drove through the air and took the man in the chest, ramming him into the ground and pinning him there.

not the yeet of death...

‘I saw you fall.’ Damen heard the rough sound of his own voice. ‘Are you hurt?’ ‘No,’ said Laurent. ‘No, you got to him.’ He had pushed himself up into a splayed sitting position. ‘Before.’

i love this reaction. he’s dazed and in shock. he doesn’t elaborate on the “before.” it’s like he’s giving a status report, or at least trying to deliver it as such

Concerned with the possibility of injury, he was only distantly aware of Laurent looking back at him.

laurent might have just fallen a little tiny bit in love with you, damen. also literally fallen. ouch

‘Can you stand? We need to move out. It’s not safe for you here. Too many people want to kill you.’

and that’s a wrap on damen being reluctant to protect laurent! it’s down bad 24/7 pretty much from now on :)

He was staring at Damen.

damen: are you okay?? we've gotta get out of here

laurent:

‘I’m sorry,’ said Laurent. Then he said, ‘We can’t leave him here.’ He wasn’t talking about the horse. Damen said, ‘I’ll do it.’

this is an interesting contrast to the scene in book 1 where laurent remorselessly makes damen hold a guy so he can slit his throat. here, laurent apologizes. here, he says “we.” here, he doesn’t force damen to do it. and here, damen voluntarily does what needs to be done, so the recently-attacked laurent doesn’t have to.

When it was finished, he walked out of the undergrowth and found a place to clean his sword.

craft note: i like how this is written around the central action, instead of just naming the action itself. like it’s not just “so he killed the guy.” pacat tends to do this with sex, too.

It meant sharing a horse.

and there was only one horse…

Laurent’s gelding had a limp, which Laurent, on one knee, drawing a steady hand down its lower leg until it pulled its hoof up sharply, pronounced a sprained ligament. It could follow on a lead carrying the packs, he said. It couldn’t carry a rider.

horse girl laurent! saving this horse to make up for the one his uncle poisoned and forced him to mercy-kill in book 1!

So Damen swung into the saddle. A moment later he felt Laurent’s hand on his thigh. Laurent’s toe nudged into the stirrup. Laurent pushed up behind him, shifting until he was snug in position. His hips fitted unselfconsciously to Damen’s. Once he had settled, he clasped his arms around Damen’s midsection. Damen knew this about riding pillion: closer, it was easier on the horse.

LMAOOOO have fun with that guys

He heard Laurent’s voice from behind him, a little more oddly strapped-down than usual, ‘You have me over the back of your horse.’ ‘It’s not like you to give up the reins,’ Damen couldn’t help saying. ‘Well, I can’t see the way over your shoulders.’ ‘We could try some other arrangement.’ ‘You’re right: it should be me in front and you carrying the horse.’

this is adorable because they’re both very clearly flustered and not even bothering to hide it. they’re just bantering to avoid addressing it. laughing at the absurdity of the shared circumstances and their bodily reactions. it’s cute. they’re cute.

The horse’s rolling gait pushed their bodies together in constant rhythm.

i have never before considered the inherent eroticism of riding a horse with another person.

do you think their sexual tension freaks out the horse? do you think damen’s horse, who i’ve now decided is in love with laurent’s horse, is relieved that its injured partner has been brought along? are the horses qualified to file hr complaints, if damen and laurent get too weird with this? these are important questions.

Damen was aware that Laurent was taking more time with the horses than was necessary or usual. He ignored it.

this might be a strategy thing somehow, but i also think it’s sweet if laurent just takes comfort in the company of animals and is trying to make himself feel less shaken up after his near-death experience and the most sexually tense horse ride in recorded history

He would never know what had provoked that man to attack. Maybe he’d been thinking of the safety of his troop. Maybe whatever he had lived through at Tarasis or Breteau had stirred violence in him. Maybe he had just wanted to steal the horse. A third-rate soldier from a provincial troop; he would not have expected to meet his Prince, a commander of armies, and face him in a fight.

damen really did kill one of his people. damn. and he’s trying to be empathetic, because he’s damen, and that’s what he does.

‘I thought killing was easy for you,’ said Laurent. His voice was rather quiet. ‘I thought you did it without thinking.’

translation: are you okay?

‘I’m a soldier,’ said Damen, ‘and I have been for a long time. I’ve killed on the sawdust. I’ve killed in battle. Is that what you mean by easy?’

translation: i know i should be okay

‘You know it isn’t,’ said Laurent, in that same quiet voice.

translation: but you aren't

‘I know your feelings towards Akielos,’ said Damen. ‘What happened at Breteau . . . it was barbaric. I know it must mean very little to you to hear me say that I’m sorry for it. And I don’t understand you, but I know that war will bring worse, and you are the only person I have seen working to stop it. I couldn’t let him hurt you.’ ‘In my culture, it is customary to reward for good service,’ said Laurent, after a long pause. ‘Is there something you want?’

yeah guys this fireside heart-to-heart is totally all business. 100%

‘You know what I want,’ said Damen. ‘I am not going to release you,’ said Laurent. ‘Ask for something short of that.’ ‘Take off one of the wrist-cuffs?’ said Damen, who was learning—he realised somewhat to his surprise—what Laurent liked. ‘I give you too much leeway,’ said Laurent. ‘I think you give no more or less than you want to give, with anyone,’ said Damen, because Laurent’s voice had not been at all displeased.

what the fuck is wrong with them. i love them so much

(also, laurent not releasing damen is like a safety matter right now, right? for both of them, honestly, and their men. it's not like a flex of power.)

‘There is something I want.’ ‘Go on.’ ‘Don’t try to use me against my own people,’ said Damen. ‘If it comes to—I can’t do this again.’ ‘I would never have asked that of you,’ said Laurent. Then, when Damen looked at him with flat disbelief: ‘Not out of sweetness. There is little sense in pitting a lesser sense of duty against a greater one. No leader could expect loyalty to hold under those circumstances.’

1) i love this little hint of the “laurent is sweet” theme we see later on

2) the immediate certainty of “i’d never make you do that” really shows the real laurent, in a way we’ve rarely seen before. it’s like damen and the reader are finally being let in to the truth of him

3) “There is little sense in pitting a lesser sense of duty against a greater one. No leader could expect loyalty to hold under those circumstances.”

translation: i know that if you had to choose between me (the lesser duty) and your people (the greater one), it would be insane to expect you to choose me.

this reminds me of nicaise and laurent. as much as laurent tries to convince him otherwise, nicaise believes that laurent will always choose something more important than protecting him. neither of them expects anyone to stay by their side, or advocate for what they want and need. so they push people away instead and convince themselves that they’re meant to handle things alone.

‘I’ve never seen a throw like that,’ said Laurent. ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. Every time I see you fight, I wonder how it is Kastor got you in chains and onto a ship to my country.’

his big stupid heart

He had never, in those days, sought to put himself inside the mind of Kastor, of the men around him, their ambitions, their motivations; those who were not openly his enemies, he’d believed, were basically like himself.

NICE VS. GOOD THEME CENTRAL REALIZATION!! “those who were not openly his enemies, he’d believed, were basically like himself.” but here he is, having killed one of his own countrymen to protect the person who should be his worst enemy, reeling with the uncomfortable reality of his nation’s cruelty and forced to confront its victims. knowing, more and more every day, that he shares more values with laurent than he ever has with kastor or jokaste.

‘He poisoned my horse,’ said Laurent. ‘You saw her, the morning of the hunt. She was already feeling it, even before we rode out.’

something about laurent referring to the horse with “her” instead of “it” breaks my heart. he must have loved her.

‘That . . . was your uncle’s doing?’ The silence stretched out. ‘It was my doing,’ Laurent said. ‘I forced his hand when I had Torveld take the slaves to Patras. I knew when I did it . . . it was ten months to my ascension. Time was running out for him to make a definitive move against me. I knew that. I provoked him. I wanted to see what he would do. I just—’ Laurent broke off. His mouth twisted in a small smile that had no humour in it at all. ‘I didn’t think he’d really try to kill me,’ he said. ‘After everything . . . even after everything. So you see I can be surprised.’

what a huge re-contextualization of book 1. laurent hadn’t expected this consequence of his choice to honor damen’s request, but he had suffered it in silence instead of blaming damen or regretting the choice itself.

damen and laurent’s arcs both deal heavily with the idea of suffering alone—who’s doing it better, who deserves to do it, if they even need to suffer alone when they could suffer (and succeed) together instead. i’ll keep pulling at that thread as the reading goes on.

Damen said, ‘It’s not naive to trust your family.’ ‘I promise you, it is,’ said Laurent.

you guys are on opposite sides of a scale here. it’ll be good when you start balancing each other out

But I wonder, is it less naive than the moments when I find myself trusting a stranger, my barbarian enemy, whom I do not treat gently.’ He held Damen’s gaze, as the moment lengthened. ‘I know you’re planning to leave when this border fight is done,’ said Laurent. ‘I wonder if you’re still planning to use the knife.’ ‘No,’ said Damen. ‘We’ll see,’ said Laurent.

that laurent response is soooooo nicaise :’(

also, going from “whom i do not treat gently” to the eventual “i think if i gave you my heart, you would treat it gently” AHHHH

also also, laurent outright admitting that he trusts damen? and then saying that he’s still pretty sure damen is going to kill him with a knife, almost as if laurent deserves it? his brain is so mean to his heart

Damen looked away, his gaze raking the dark beyond the campsite. ‘You really think it’s still possible to stop this war from happening?’ When he looked back, Laurent nodded, a slight but steady and deliberate movement, the answer clear, unmistakable and impossible: Yes.

were you really expecting any other answer from mr. "probably"? or did you just want the reassurance of hearing/seeing him confirm it?

‘Why didn’t you call a halt to the hunt?’ said Damen. ‘Why ride and cover up your uncle’s treachery, if you knew your horse had been poisoned?’ ‘I—assumed it had been made to look as though one of the slaves had done it,’ said Laurent, a little quizzically, as though the answer was so obvious that he wondered if he had misunderstood the question.

again, laurent often seems to view his own suffering as deserved. like it’s a no-brainer. it’s a really interesting quality of his, that somehow exists at the same time as his self-assurance and strong moral conviction. maybe it’s because of that conviction that he’s so easily able to blame himself when he and/or the circumstances fall short of his moral standards.

He thought of Naos, who had been so certain. He wanted to lay the blame for what he felt on Laurent, but what he felt had no easy name, and in the end he said nothing at all, but banked the fire in silence, and when the time came he lay down on his roll to sleep.

he’s rounding a corner with the nice vs. good theme! i wouldn’t say it’s pleasant for damen to develop this kind of mistrust, but at least it makes him less delusional. and a certain amount of skepticism is important to keep yourself safe (said by someone like laurent, who has way more skepticism than a normal well-adjusted person)

He woke with a crossbow bolt in his face.

not a great way to wake up after a mini-crisis about trust issues

Damen now knew the precise number of arrows Laurent needed to have trained on him in order to shut him up. It was six.

He didn’t resist the gag either, though it came as a surprise; Damen saw his head jerk back a little, reflexively, as a cloth was shoved into his mouth.

gagging laurent is worse than taking his sword. his voice is his #1 weapon!

#captive prince #capri #sam reads capri #lamen #laurent of vere #damen of akielos #goddamn these books are well-written.#and well-CONSTRUCTED!

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mattsturnioloscasket · 11 months ago

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“𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐓” (Matt Sturniolo)

IN WHICH: Y/N has played volleyball all her life, she was known as an original at this point, due to the fact that she's played for the school since middle school. She was now a senior in high school, which meant college was next year. What happens when at Y/N's last game, there's a college scout looking for new talent, in the crowd...

(ion play volleyball don't humble me cs ion know shit❤️. this is gonna be really unrealistic to so :p)

Y/N was at practice, putting away the nets with her friend Kylie. Her boyfriend Matt and his brothers had been waiting for her on the bleachers, telling her to take her time.

"Okay, i'm done." She walks toward Matt and his brothers. Y/N waves to Kylie as the other girl picks up her bag and leaves.

Nick nods "Good, Good, so are we gonna head to our hou-" Nick was cut off by Y/N's coach yelling her name. She turns around.

"Yeah, Coach?" "At tomorrow's game there's going to be a college scout from Stanford, coming to watch you play. You better bust your ass tomorrow if you want to impress him." Y/N nods, blinking while being taken back by coaches words. Coach walks away as Matt runs to his girlfriend.

He picks her up off her feet, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you!" Y/N nods, hugging him back. Matt puts her down so his brothers. oils congratulate her.

"Im so happy for you! Now can you hurry the fuck up i need pepsi." Chris says. She nods, picking up her volleyball and walking away with her best friends.

Matt pushes Y/N on the bed, hovering over her, while kissing her. Y/N sighs into the kiss, not kissing back. Matt pulls away.

"You good?" Y/N shakes her head. Matt sits up, reaching a hand out for her to grab to help her sit up.

"What's wrong?" Asks Matt, concern in his voice. She sighs.

"What if I don't impress this scout tomorrow?" Matt shakes his head in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You're so good at volleyball, why would you think that?"

"I-I don't know. There's just so many other girls who're better than me on the team. And we're facing the number 1 team in Boston!" Matt shakes his head.

"You're going to do great! You're gonna have me, Chris, and Nick cheering you on." Y/N nods.

"O-okay. You’re right."

"Exactly. Do you wanna watch a movie?" Y/N shakes her head.

"I've gotta get home and get ready for the game tomorrow." Matt nods, understanding.

"Oh okay! Let me drive you home." Matt stands up, slipping on his sneakers. Y/N nods, also slipping on her shoes and walking out the door.

————————————————————

It was now THE game and Y/N was dreading it. She was terrified to say the least.

The other team looked terrifying to her, but she felt herself calm down at bit at her boyfriends cheers.

Matt had made sure to get seats up front with his brothers, he wanted his girl to hear his cheers, and so he could see the game better.

If it weren't for Nick, Matt would've worn a shirt with Y/N face on it, and acted like a complete fangirl. Nobody wanted him to embarrass her like that. Well Chris did.

—————————————————————

The whistle blew, signaling that the game started. Y/N was the first server.

"Let's go Y/N!" Yells Matt. She flashes him a smile, throwing it up in the air, and jump serving it over the net. The other team fails to hit it, as it falls to the ground. Matt stands up screaming.

"YEAH Y/N! ATTA GIRL!" Nick claws him down, explaining to him how he was embarrassing her. Y/N and her team cheer, yelling ‘ACE’.

She notices an opponent on the other team giving her a nasty look, but she ignores it, figuring they were just mad, and focusing on the game.

Y/N serves again, hitting it over the net. The other team hits it back, so she calls it and runs for it. She dives to the ground, almost hitting it, but she misses.

Y/N groans, standing up. Matt stands up, screaming. "Hey! It's okay you've got it babe!"

Chris stands up also, grabbing Matt by his shoulders and pushing him down, sitting next to him and rubbing his shoulders.

Y/N sighs, laughing at her boyfriend. The same opponent laughs again, mocking Y/N with her friend.

"God girls who can't play are so embarrassing." The girls say loudly, clearly wanting Y/N to hear.

Y/N always speaks up for herself, she's not scared of anyone. She shakes her head, walking towards the net.

"Do you guys have something to say?" The girls stay quiet.

"Cause if you do you can come address it to me." Matt shakes his head, wondering what his girlfriend was doing. He couldn't hear well due to the cheers.

"God, actual trash." Laugh the girls. Y/N shakes her head, breathing out a laugh.

She walks around the net, toward the girls. Also ignoring coach and the refs begs to stop.

"Look, watch the way you girls talk to me. I don't know how the girls are at your school, but here we speak up for ourselves"

The girls laugh, changing positions, one of the girls shoulders, purposely bumping into Y/N's. She sighs, knowing what this was going to lead to.

Y/N tackles one of the girls to the ground, hitting her repeatedly. The triplets stand up from the bleachers.

"Holy shit." Laughs Chris.

"What the fuck?" Matt mumbles to himself, watching his girlfriends every move to make sure she wasn’t getting hurt.

Sure enough, she wasn’t. The girl was all talk and really couldn’t fight.

Y/N continues to punch the girl, not caring about the crowd booing her.

The ref runs over, managing to pull her off.

"L/N, you’re on the bench!" Yells coach, in front of everyone.

Y/N groans, tears of anger forming.

She runs out into the hallway, abandoning the game.

Matt walks off the bleachers, running after his girlfriend.

—————————————————————

Y/N sits on the ground in the hallway, putting her face in her hands. Matt runs in.

"Hey-Hey let me see." He attempts to take her hands off her face but she won't take them off.

"Baby, let me see" Y/N takes her hands off her face, showing him her hands.

"Just a couple bruises, you’ll be fine What happened N/N?" Y/N shakes her head, not wanting to speak.

"I-I just.." Y/N bursts into tears. Matt ticks, pulling her into his chest and rubbing her back.

"Talk to me love."

"I-I dunno i'm just so stressed with this college scout, my grades, youtube, I-I just don't know what to do anymore!" Y/N cries harder into his chest. Matt could feel himself tear up, he never knew she was feeling this way.

"Oh, baby, i'm so sorry." He pulls her away from his chest wiping her tears.

"Look i don't know what went on out there, but you can't let one stupid fight ruin this for you. I mean you have a fucking college scout waiting for you out there!" Y/N slightly giggles.

"They’re a bunch of nobodies! You’re letting those two girls get to you instead of blocking them out like they don’t exist. So wipe your tears, and get out there. you can't let two girls from whatever school come into your school and make your cry like this.” Matt was technically right. He stands up, holding a hand out for Y/N.

“Do i look like shit?” Matt laughs.

“You’re beautiful, my love, always and forever.” He pecks her lips, leading her back into the gym.

———————————————————————

^^^^^ live laugh love nick‼️. BUT LIKE MY POOKIE BABY MATTYYY😓😓😓😓

#chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo imagine #sturniolo smut #sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo fluff #madi filipowicz #nathan doefluff #nathan doe #college #stanford university

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innocence-wont-save-you · 2 years ago

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>Scout up higher and the left building

Two other overseers wave at you before dipping away. You stare down the remaining two as you sit, tapping your spear against the floor impatiently. Neither of them seem to care, instead joining their tentacles and spinning around, blithely ignoring your glare as they twirl in sync. You harrumph, opting to try and sharpen your spear.

You don't get very far with your rock when your overseers return; you set it aside to look at their projections. The first displays an aerial view of the entirety of your biological processing facility. There's more buildings here than you previously thought; there's one far ahead of you that you missed, and a smattering of smaller and mostly submerged buildings on the borders of the facility. Large, thick pipes also wind their way out of the current building you're in and towards what you presume is your heavy metal processing facility. A thinner pipe connects this building to several of the smaller submerged buildings ahead.

There is a second thick pipe connecting this building to the one to your left, which happens to be the largest building in the whole facility. The second overseer's projections show its interior, which is heavily flooded, with water pooling in places that it clearly should not be in. Dimly, through the water, you can see the outline of a tank. It's likely—you dig around in your memory for a while—the clarifier facility. The flooding there is a bad sign.

Your gaze snaps up to the sky as a warning rumble of thunder sounds. The clouds are starting to grey. You'll need to move fast.

Scene 3: Clean Up

The first thing you hear when you power back up again is the loud gurgling of water struggling to drain. This access room is, thankfully, still dry, but you can hear the water sloshing around right outside the door. You grimace, resolving not to open it, at least for a while.

It would be good to clean up around here somewhat. You're not going to be back in your can for a while, but seeing the state of things so far, you're honestly a little surprised everything has continued functioning mostly normally. You should at least try to unclog some pipes so these areas can drain.

... and, probably, clean up some of the refuse. You cringe at the pile in the room with you. How is there so much?

At any rate, you still need more supplies. Hopefully once the water drains enough, you can navigate around your biological processing facilities without the Miros quail snipping at your wires for a while.

#i find it somewhat funny that both times yall have chosen to scout #it's around the half-cycle mark #also CS and kadw: this is essentially what i'm imagining for the two of you with innocence JKKJDF #ce's just Glaring at the two of you and you two are like yippee wanna watch us dance??

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chained-spirits · 5 months ago

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I heavily doubt there will be an update this month, I've been preoccupied with Artfight, and LM Twili, so I apologise

I still want to post something this month, so here are some Chained Spirits doodles I did during exam season !

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rredbirdii · 8 months ago

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can’t decide if he’d be a comp sci student or a business kid so i drew both

cs!major tim drake hcs

- would not touch grass

- no one would know that he’s tim drake bc all he does is stay in his room and rot

- that’s tim drake? you’re lying there’s no way

- is he doing his work? no he wouldn’t he’d half ass everything but still somehow get 100% on every assignment because he is just That Guy

- bro forgets he has assignments because he’d never been to and probably will never goes to a single class ever

- he would do so well in all extracurriculars if he tried but he just try-harded high school so he could get into university but now he’s doing side projects and not trying at all because Cs get degrees (still doesn’t gets Cs because he’s just so good)

buisness!major tim drake

- would look so put together (he always pulls up in the most subtly expensive fits )

- bro would wear makeup to hide the eye bags

- literally only goes to school to network and scout out possible future hires for his company

- LITERALLY A NEPO BABY

- still does not try in class (again barely goes to class)

- everyone has a campus crush on him

- is obsessed with linkedin

-literally already has a business is literally going just for shits and giggles

#business would make more sense bc of his job n everything but like CS major tim had my heart #he would not touch grass #he would be soooo pale #he would be so pathetic (i want him so bad)#tim drake fanart #tim drake #dc comics #dc fanart #but general consensus would be that he does not actually gaf about his courses at all #pls give more headcanons about him

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divinecomedyproductions · 3 months ago

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Fandom Woes: Self-Righteousness of Modern Tragedy

I think I want to explain my case better about my beef with modern tragic/more-bitter-than-sweet fantasy/sci-fi, such as RWBY, Code Geass, and D.Gray-Man and it’s not necessarily the stories in of themselves

It’s the Self-Righteous Martyr/God-Complex of toxic contingent within these fandoms, to me they seem to ultimately not care the message the tragedy and suffering of these stories are trying to convey, but rather enjoy them and flaunt them for their own self-righteous megalomania

And I know that sounds hyperbolic, but it’s the tone, attitude and behavior of these people that give me that impression

For example with Code Geass and RWBY and the tragic deaths of Euphemia Li Britannia, Shirley Fenette, Lelouch, Pyrrha, and Penny respectively

As soon as that happened, many among the fandom would come out and theatrically proclaim the necessity of these tragic deaths, how it is so realistic an shows “thats life”, and brag how ultimately hopeful the stories still are and how it taught them how to be oh-so hopeful despite the odds, and I can see them act that way towards the burden of Allen Walker if the fandom was still active today as it was back then.

In any these cases, these people act as if they themselves were righteous martyrs, prophets of God,Life,Reality, usually the latter two because they claim "that's life" or "that's reality" all in a tone that reeks of holier-than-thou arrogance and vanity...

"Of my virtue, I am justly proud..."

Or worse, they speak with ghoulish glee and bragging about it gives them a feeling of power over these fictional characters as if they themselves are God almighty and it bleeds into how they treat real people who didn't like it by passive aggressively or belligerently belittling, judging, shaming, gaslighting, and sneering at them, implying the worse reasons of their distaste, and tell them to go watch a sitcom or slice-of-life anime or something

Then they are quick to condemn other fictional characters like Suzaku from Code Geass for being such a SOB and cheer on Watts putting Cinder on Full Blast, all while implying themselves to be such better people than both

Then they brag about what story was told with these ideas and concepts to be the end-all-be-all of these concepts in any fantasy/sci-fi epics that have even the slightest tinge of darkness and conflict and, lock them down into little theories, formulas, dogmas, and rule out everything else as a corruption, heresy, or a worthless little parasite, because they themselves are the infallible, all-knowing, and all-seeing “literary experts” who got everything all figured out and everyone else, wether the majority or minority, as peon reprobates.

Which then they pressure onto creatives with less power than them, especially when they disagree. All while they themselves can do whatever they want and do whatever they want with things they are unhappy with because “we know better than you”

I have experienced this expressing my ideas of what RWBY could have been instead, AU and Original work and been told it could only work as a slice of life anymore or a sitcom, or otherwise what I do with this stuff is ultimately meaningless and heresy and spiteful

All while they supported things like His Dark Materials Trilogy which is the Anti-Narnia written by a Atheist who hates CS Lewis and Christianity with a passion because he made the concepts more “interesting”

Or how making a sexy magical Captain Marvel with her own sailor scouts like Kamen America and her Kamen Corps because the creators were unhappy with what was done with the concept of Captain Marvel is nothing but a "Porno Captain Marvel Rip-Off"

while making an evil superman like Homelander and other nasty rendition of superheroes in "The Boys" by a guy who despises superheroes is totally fine because he knows what's the "interesting" end-all-be-all of these concepts.

All these things I describe can be summed up to figures in the Bible, The Pharisees

youtube

“They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”-Matthew 23:4

They brag about the virtues and necessity of tragedy at the expense of fictional characters and real people, and boss around other creatives on what they do with this stuff, especially when they are unhappy, all whilst they themselves do whatever they want because they are supposedly so “objective”, they don’t need to follow the rules like everyone else

These prigs will tell others to “broaden their horizons” and give them the benefit of the doubt, but will refuse to give others the exact same courtesy because once again, “We know better than you.”

These self righteous people seem to only enjoy these stories not because of the message the tragedy and suffering is trying to convey, thats just a shield for them, but rather for their moral superiority and the thrill of power over others and being the measure of all things, for they know how life exactly works for specific individuals in specific genres and they know how to carry it out exactly.

They know with a "G"(gnosis) what's the end-all-be-all of specific concepts in ideas in specific genres and how to carry them out and they alone are the alchemists who can turn lead in to gold and everyone else is subjective and suffer from false consciousness.

In fact, I compare them to Digory’s Uncle Andrew in The Magician’s Nephew who though he could control other people by using their values against them to get them to do what he wants, while he himself doesn’t need to follow the rules, and basked in self congratulation of being a “great magician”

“Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny.”

And while we’re at it and Code Geass is on the table, let me point to one of the antagonists of Akito The Exiled, Gene Smilas

He was the mentor and surrogate parent of Lelia Macal who sought to bring Europe to a brighter future, often invoking the tale of the venerable St.Joan of Arc.

But when the time came to supposedly save EU, did he bet on his own life like the Saint did?

No.

He decided to position himself as God and Lelia as Joan of Arc, planning for her to die as a martyr for his own gain and become Emperor of Europe, because she happened to be a young lady with good morals who wasn't afraid to fight alongside her troops.

Like Uncle Andrew, Gene was nothing more than a peddling magician, but worse, he saw himself as God who controlled Lelila's destiny all while basking in delusions of righteousness in his quest for power. While Uncle Andrew was at least scared straight by Narnia.

To use a description of the Pharisees from the TV Series Jesus of Nazareth(1977) but slightly tweaked,

He bowed before the Story of Joan of Arc, but violated the heart of it.

And that's why I am so irritable about Tragedy in these kinds of stories, it feels like they are no longer enjoyed out of humility, compassion, truth, goodness, and beauty.

But rather out of pride, vanity, power, cruelty, and moral superiority

and sometimes it tempts me want to write my inspired stories in a way that gives them all the finger rather than for what I saw these ideas and concepts could have been, just so I can give them a taste of their own medicine

I know that's wrong, but these people test my patience, especially when they keep invading other people's spaces, bypass other people's "curations" because "there's nothing subjective about this, I need to correct and educate you", and getting away with this kind of nasty behavior

Because they are perfectly “objective” and everyone else is “subjective” therefore “subjected” to their “objective” will.

@beatricehawthorne @vitamaeternum

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