#game of thrones ahh ending

[hisuchanly]

diana gabaldon pulled out grrm on her blog and said that the showrunners of outlander completely ignored her and went against her wishes and that’s why now we have this mess and since she hasn’t written the last book yet we will have a show-original ending. it’s so joever.

[mr-culper]

In general, the brothel scene was brilliantly film. I especially liked the shooting angle from above, because Aemond looks like death there.

I really like how they did it. Although for me this whole scene was, as it's said, too much, a bit thick. Well, I don't know, but it was hard for me, I felt uncomfortable watching the brothel scene from the beginning to the end. And yet milk. Oh, Christ.

But then I thought maybe it should be uncomfortable.

We had grown accustomed to watching someone being killed, tortured, maimed in TV series. Game of Thrones has rape scenes. Outlander has rape scenes, and they are filmed in remarkable way. Several women were raped there, at least one child, – on top of that then his hand was cut off after some time, – and one man. And the scene with the male character, oddly enough, is the worst of all: he was in prison at that time, he was tortured, abused and raped. The scene is truly monstrous, awful and nightmarish, but I watched it, and you know what, it didn't really scratch me. I mean, I was like: well, ahh, that was terrifyingly, what next? let's continue to watch next. And my gut tells me that I wasn't the only one who thought so.

That is, now, for some reason, we – humanity – take a calmly view of very scary things. Or very indecent ones. In TV series, there are explicit scenes of torture, explicit scenes of sexual content, which are also generally inappropriate to show, yes, some other 'too much' moments... and that passes for normal. However, as soon as one shows a scene where a character is just lying on someone's soft lap, trying to abstract their mind, and all this is so vulnerable, tender and fragile, that people say: we feel uncomfortable!

So, watching someone being raped or murdered, or how captain Flint struck Singleton across the face with a cannonball and beat him to a bloody mess – this is normal for us, but watching a person who is vulnerable, open and seeks solace – is no.

We, the audience, are so unprepared to face our own vulnerability that we feel uncomfortable seeing it in someone else.

We are ready to meet with any expressions of violence against other people, against ourselves, because life is dark and full of terrors. One reads the news items every morning, there is an endless chain of murders, explosions, riots, arson attacks, terroristic acts, and some other villainies happen all the time. It has even start to wear thin! We have become so accustomed to it that at some point one sits and says: ah, someone was blown up here again, something fell there, something was burned out, someone was shot, those built a trebuchet and bomb their neighbors across the border, someone was flayed alive. In general, nothing new. You just sit and think: okay, things are getting worse every minute, but overall, it's possible to live, just live on, we are constantly faced with all this, so, darling, just keep yourself alive, please...

And then they show us Aemond in a brothel, and we are not ready for it. We feel uncomfortable, because we begin to feel vulnerable ourselves.

In Black Sails, in Season 3, John Silver says an absolutely wonderful phrase: I cannot look weak, I cannot feel weak, I cannot be weak.

I totally agree.

We are all obsessed with... well, not all of us, but many of us, I know people like that, I am that person myself... with not being weak, not looking or feeling weak, with being strong in any situation. I'm obsessed with self-control as well. Maybe that is why Aemond is so like-minded for me, not only because of fierce embitterment contained in both of us, but also because of the idea of controlling our own feelings.

I used to be very wishy-washy in my previous life. Now I'm a kind of reasonable person, but before... I'm very ashamed of who I had once been, because I complained about my life, I was spineless, weak, neither fish nor fowl. It really pissed me off, I hated and despised myself for it. At some point, I realized: I must to grab myself by the balls (figuratively speaking), clench my fists and jaw, stand out the cords of my neck and become a strong person or do something of that kind to stop despising myself. So yes, I'm obsessed with the idea of ​​self-control, with being someone who solves problems, neither creates ones nor suffers from them.

And maybe for me, and maybe for many others, it was uncomfortable to watch the scene with Aemond and Sylvi for this very reason, because all of that is such an exposure of the human soul that you just unable to bear it.

I really like the House of the Dragon screenwriter's innovation in this regard. The brothel scene hit us where it hurts the most. Well done. I'm delighted. They did this scene so great. I love it showed Aemond from his vulnerable side, from the side of a person who is also worried, being emotional over, but is trying to somehow solve all this in other ways. It doesn't mean Aemond does nothing. He does what no one else does – he thinks. He takes a break and reflects.

That's an excerpt from the new episode of the Tea & Rum podcast about Aemond's first brothel scene.

To find more episodes go to Boosty.

Other posts about that.

[acatalystrising]

Alriiiight! As I promised to @daimyosprincess - here at long last is Small Favors! This fic…sheesssshhh, this fic. It almost destroyed me! It’s absolute pure filth borne of one too many days of Boba brain rot, so buckle up, people!

Enjoy the ride! 🫠😉

(Zwei, this basically ended up being dedicated to you after all the lovely prof Boba content you’ve been giving us. I hope it lives up to your expectations! 💚🖤)

TW: NSFW, minors dni. This contains smut - predator/prey, fingering, dirty talk, pre-discussed non-consensual sex, piv, f!receiving, bondage, dom!Boba, pet names, teasing, slight degradation, all the usual suspects 🙃

Small Favors

The day Boba Fett called you a hellion, you were pretty certain it altered your brain chemistry.

To make things worse? He’d said it on his way out of the door, dressed in full armor, heading down to the throne room for yet another day of rulership.

Leaving you alone to ruminate on his words.

That simply wouldn’t do. You tried to be his good girl - lounging on his bed, boredly counting the cracks in the ceiling, doing as you’d been told…but where was the fun in that? You couldn’t help but let your imagination take over, wandering to a particular scenario that had intrigued you as of late.

Oh, the Daimyo was strong. Powerful, capable of overpowering you in seconds despite your best attempts to put up a fight. You could never forget it, no matter how many times he pleasured you senseless. But it made you wonder…

You knew how Boba the Daimyo handled you. But…how would Boba the bounty hunter? The mere thought of your love hunting you down like prey sent thrills coursing through you. But you’d been hesitant to mention it, given how many times he’d openly stated those days were behind him.

But the day was crawling miserably by, the hours even longer, and you needed a distraction. You knew you’d probably regret it, even as you stood and got dressed. But right now, you felt like doing something dangerous.

You were going to play with fire.

-

You were merciful (or smart) enough to wait for his last visitor to leave for the day, but not a moment longer. You struck before he had the chance to get up.

Boba still sat on his throne, powerful thighs spread like an invitation too good to refuse, as you made your way to him. His eyes followed your every step, hunger unabashedly flaring in his amber gaze.

But instead of sitting in his lap as he surely expected, you skirted around the throne, tracing a lone nail along his armor as you walked behind him. He reached for you, but you dodged his fingers with a smirk, tapping the back of his head instead.

“See you’re in a teasing mood.” His voice was gruff, tinged with exhaustion from the day’s tedious events, but you pressed on, still staying right out of his reach.

“I don’t don’t know what you mean,” you tapped his pauldron with another grin, and he shifted to face you, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

“What game are you playing at, little one?” He patted his thigh, a command he expected to be obeyed. “Been a long day.”

Oh, you were at war. You knew it was probably in your best interest to do as he said, and he was tired, after all. Perhaps he’d be too tired to play along. But…you didn’t want to throw your plan out the window just yet.

“Maybe you need some exercise. Wouldn’t want your skills to go to waste.” You raised a brow, stepping around the armrest and stopping before him, still out of his direct range. “Why don’t you come get me?”

Boba arched a dark brow, gaze locked on you, completely still. You realized a moment too late he was waiting for you to continue. Either that, or calculating his next move. Probably both. It sent a thrill coursing through you.

“I…”

“What’s this about, hmm?” He crossed his broad arms over his even broader chest, heaving a deep breath that flexed his beskar plates as he fixed you with a quizzical expression bordering intrigue. “Wanna play hard to get? We both know how that would go.”

Ahh, there it was, your golden ticket. That, or the action that would seal your doom. At this point, you’d already committed, and it was too late to back out, now.

“I don’t think you could catch me, old man.” You smirked, hands on your hips, looking at up at him with a raised brow. “You’re a Daimyo now. Lots and lots of sitting. You’re bound to lose your edge.”

Oh, you knew you were asking for trouble.

Boba regarded you evenly, a small smirk working its way on the corner of his lip. Those thick, skillful, beautiful lips. Oh, he did too.

“Is that so?” He looked down at you, eyes narrowing imperceptibly, a teasing lilt to his voice. Ahh, so he was humoring you. Good. “So confident today, mesh’la.”

You had the audacity, or stupidity depending on who you asked, to spit your tongue out at him. Him, Boba Fett. You were probably one of the few that ever could and live to tell the tale.

“Definitely.” You made a dramatic show of shrugging, making sure you leaned forward just enough to let the low neckline of your shirt do its job. “In fact, I don’t even think it would be hard. I’m fast, cunning too. I bet I’d even be able to outsmart the greatest bounty hunter who ever-”

Boba was on you in an instant, and you couldn’t help but loose a shriek as you were pulled into his lap before you could blink. Damn, that was quick. Quicker than when you had anticipated. And you’d thought you’d given him a wide enough berth. He curled his arms around you, pinning you to his armored chest, and pressed his face against your neck, breath hot and scalding - voice low like the thunder of an oncoming storm.

“Wanna flirt with death, little one?” He nibbled your earlobe between his teeth, a low growl rumbling from the depths of his throat, sending heat pooling between your legs. “Fine. But we both know you’re biting off more than you can chew.”

Oh kriffing gods.

You somehow managed to pull two halves of a thought together to form a sentence.

“Wanna test that? Give me two days. Bet you can’t catch me.” You shot him a smirk and shrugged. “Who knows, it could be fun.”

“And what would I get in return?” Boba’s voice was cold, calculating. Calculating, as he watched you, eyes narrowed, studying your blown out pupils and shallow breaths. He had to know you found this arousing. Especially if his hunter senses were still keen.

“Anything,” you confidently met his gaze, even as his grip on you tightened. “Anything you want.”

He fell silent for a moment, chest heaving, heart thundering beneath the beskar. A sly smirk curved on the corner of his lip, accompanied with a cutting gleam in his eyes, and it was then that you realized you were screwed.

“Anything.” He mirrored, dipping his head to meet your neck, sucking a bite on your pulse point. You bit back a moan despite your best efforts, far too keenly aware as one of his hands slid down your side and settling on your inner thigh, dangerously close to your crotch. “But you’ve already given me everything, mesh’la. Why would I risk losing what is already mine?”

Oh maker, he was playing with you. Making this harder than necessary. Punishing you for disobeying him.

“Umm, I…” you swallowed hard as his hand slipped between your legs, stifling another moan as he slowly, gently, torturously caressed your clothed clit. Gods, this wasn’t how you’d expected this to go. “I…just thought it would be fun, ya know? I’m always…maker…always wanting to try new things with you.”

He hummed, kissing your neck again, then your ear, your cheek, and finally your lips. He kissed you like a starved man, greedily nipping at your lips, tongue carving a path into your mouth, claiming you as his. He slipped his hand underneath your pants, your underwear the only barrier, deft fingers already bringing that coiling heat closer to the surface. You bucked against him, chasing his fingers, and he kept you flush with his chest with a growl.

“So my little princess wants to be hunted, hmm?” He had the audacity to lick a stripe up your neck as he circled your arching clit. “She wants to be hunted like a bounty? Like prey? That what you really want, little one? To feel helpless? Trapped with nowhere to go? Darling, I’ll show you helpless.”

You could only nod, a whimper breaking from your throat when he slowed his movements, delaying your pleasure. It nearly brought tears to your eyes. Dammit, this was supposed to be your game, not his, and yet you found yourself unraveling in his clutches yet again.

“Please, please don’t stop. I’ll do anything, I’d let you do anything,” you pressed against him with a whine, meeting his waiting gaze as you made your plea. “Fuck me bound. Even if I said no. Make me yours, break me, ruin me, I don’t care. I just want…wanna…”

You fell silent, embarrassment flaring your cheeks, but you should have known that he wouldn’t let you get away with silence. His free hand gripped your chin and tilted your face up to meet his, just forcefully enough to make his point.

“Say it.”

There was no room for disobedience now. Not when you were literally at his mercy. Not when his command rolled through you, making you tremble with excitement.

“I want you to hunt me.” You forced yourself to speak, even as his eyes darkened, his fingers slowly caressing you again. “Chase me down, and capture me. Use me as you see fit. That’s…that’s what I want.”

He chuckled darkly, the sound echoing on the stone walls, as he zeroed in on your clit again, your pleasure nearly bubbling to the surface.

“So much begging, poor princess,” his voice was a mocking coo as he wrung the pleasure out of you, your vision going white, jaw slack as your orgasm hit with the force of a speeding train. “You’ll have one day, sweet thing. One day to run, and when it’s over, you’ll be begging me to come for you.”

-

You should have believed him.

Should have realized how hard he’d make this for you. But you’d been confidently foolish, going so far as to travel off world to some backwater forest planet on a neighboring system - albeit sparely populated…just to be safe.

But as the minutes had ticked to hours, and hours into the evening, there still had been no sign of your hunter. Whether this was because he was toying with you, or you’d actually given him the slip, you didn’t know - but you pressed on anyway. And as the cerulean sky faded to lilac and crimson hues, you started to worry.

You’d taken a one way trip to get here, even hired a smuggler to fly you. Anything to make it more exciting. More real.

But perhaps you’d gone too far.

You couldn’t help but feel a sliver of worry cut through your chest. Maybe you’d been overconfident, going to such lengths. What if he had lost his edge? What if he couldn’t find you? You’d be stuck alone, on a strange planet, with nothing but a short range commlink to try to call for help.

Stars, you also missed him. Missed his voice, his touch. You’d underestimated how quickly you’d tire of his absence - and as you slipped through the trees, slowing to a leisurely walk, you finally let your guard down, too lost in your whirling thoughts to keep playing the game you insisted on from the start.

The shadows had crept over the foliage, enshrouding the trees in darkness, hiding the armor that would have otherwise glinted in the sun.

You didn’t seem him until it was too late.

Strong arms suddenly wrenched yours behind your back, throwing you off balance and against a nearby tree. Your scream broke the silence, unheard in the miles of uncharted wilderness, unable to break free from the vise like grip clamping down on your wrists.

Boba’s breath flared hot like blaster fire on your cheek as he pushed you against the tree. The rough bark bit into your skin, only a minor fleeing pain, the true cause for your panic currently locking your arms behind your back in a vice like grip.

“Really thought you’d give me the slip, hmm?” His deep voice was rough and staticky with the helmet, tone absolutely deadly as he lifted his binders to your wrists. “Poor little girl.”

You clenched your legs at that - unable to stop the reaction from pushing your brain off the edge, diving into a freefall. Damn it, not yet. You couldn’t let him have his victory this easy. You had to be more of a challenge, flustered brain or not.

“Let. Me. Go!” You twisted in his grasp, tucking up your legs and lashing out with a kick to his chest.

He grunted, the force of your attack pushing him back a few centimeters - just enough space for you to work with. You broke free, heart locked in your throat, and spun around the tree to give you some distance.

You knew you couldn’t win. He was the better fighter in every way - an opponent you’d never once been able to beat, despite your own skill. But just because you knew you were going to lose didn’t mean you were going to go down without a fight.

The trees whipped past in a blur as you carved a wild, desperate path deeper into the foliage. All was silent save for the crashing of your boots through the fallen leaves - the first warning that you were doomed. The second warning came too late.

A sharp prick bit into your shoulder, and your reflexes reacted too late - a scream stuck in your throat when a whipcord whipped around your body - throwing you to the ground. You could already feel the effects of the tranquillized taking over - vision blurring at the edges even as you still struggled in vain. Even as Boba stepped into your rapidly fading sight, armor glinting in the sunlight.

“Careful, little mouse,” his voice was cutting, sinfully victorious, as he knelt beside you. Kriffing hell, you knew he was smirking underneath that damn helmet. “Wouldn’t want you getting hurt. You’re worth more alive.”

You felt the moment the binders slapped on your wrists, sealing your fate…

And then your vision went dark.

-

By the time you awoke, the Slave 1 was already well in sight.

You were slung over Boba’s shoulder like a carcass, arms and legs limply dangling, mind still buzzing from the sedative he’d given you. You tried to open your mouth to speak, but your words were a pathetic slur.

He either didn’t hear you, or was ignoring you. You could feel the strength of him, muscles coiled underneath armor - all sinew and power. He held you with one arm, but you knew you’d never escape, that large gloved hand locked around your neck. You whimpered as the ramp lowered, ushering you both inside - inside to whatever fate he had planned for you. It closed, sealing you both in, and dooming you.

You couldn’t help but feel a thrill as he unceremoniously dropped you to the ground, right outside the cells. You wondered if he’d cage you in one to make the experience more real, but Boba seemed to have other ideas. He grabbed your bound arms and drug you across the floor, ignoring your shrieks of protest when he stopped in the center of the cargo hold.

Boba was quiet - he hadn’t said a word since your capture, and part of you wondered if it was part of the act, or if it was truly upset at the lengths you’d gone to evade him. So, you tried to take matters into your own hands.

“Please, I didn’t do anything wrong. I bet of you, let me go!” Your broken voice was truthfully cracked, parched after your strenuous day. “I’ll do anything, I swear I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Boba Fett had the audacity to ignore you. In fact, he turned his back on you, lifting his gauntlet to key in a code. A mixture of indignation and embarrassment flooded your chest, prompting your next move.

“I know you can hear me under there, bucket head.” You rolled your eyes with a scoff. “Or are you as deaf as you are dumb?”

“You know what you did.” His voice was low like thunder - cutting. A very different tone than the one he oh so often used with you.

This…this was entirely different. Excitement mixed with fear coursed down your spine as he slowly turned, that black t-visor locked on you with deadly focus.

But you wouldn’t be deterred that easily.

“What exactly did I do, huh?” You would have crossed your arms if you could. Instead, you opted to dramatically shrug. “Shouldn’t be too hard to list off my crimes. That is, if big words aren’t too much for a brute like you.”

Boba lunged forward with the speed of a viper, taking you entirely by surprise when his fingers gripped your chin, absolutely wrenching your face up to meet his - albeit hidden behind that helmet. And you were starting to realize why many would find it so terrifying. Heart hammering in your chest, you whimpered when his fingers squeezed your jaw, effectively clamping your mouth shut.

“Mouthy little brat, aren’t you?” His helmet was inches away, your panting breaths fogging the visor as he lowered his hand from your jaw to your neck. “Could just put you away in a cell. Would be what you deserve. But I might have to teach you a lesson.”

Oh gods. You swallowed, hard, and couldn’t resist the urge to wriggle beneath him, breaths growing shallower by the moment.

“You? Teach me a lesson? In your dreams.” You had the audacity to roll your eyes, spitting out your tongue to goad him further. “Sorry, but I have standards. I don’t fuck trigger happy bounty hunters.”

Boba Fett had the audacity to chuckle. A deep, dark chuckle that rumbled through your chest and tingled down your spine. Oh shit…you were in trouble. Big trouble.

“Is that so?” He gave your neck a squeeze, his free hand gripping your binders with another dark snicker. “Poor little kitten’s trying to give me orders? Ironic.”

His hand left your throat, and you yelped as he single-handedly picked you up by the binders, lifting you into the air, and pinned you against the ship’s wall. He magnetized the binders with a soft buzz, then left you dangling there - your toes barely able to touch the floor.

“What the hell?” You huffed, straining to reach the ground, heartbeat hammering so loudly you could barely concentrate, even as you felt his gloved fingers caress your jawline. “Let me down! Stop this, I mean it. Let me go, you kriffing jerk!”

Boba ignored you, helmet titling slowly to the side as if tracking his own journey tracing your neck until it stopped just above your shirt.

“You asked for this, little one.” His tone was impossibly husky, dark and rich like spotchka on the back of your throat. “You have a choice, kitten. You can either fight me, or…”

His hand slipped under your shirt, burrowing beneath your bra, and caressing your nipple with deft, skilled fingers.

“Choose to enjoy it.” He pinched your nipple too hard, and you yelped, thrashing even as he slowed back to a caress. “Your choice - but you’re not getting out of this.”

“N-no, please,” you tried to shy away, but he wouldn’t have it, pinning you to the wall with one hand, the other lifting from your shirt and wandering ever so slowly lower. “I’ll…comply. I’ll do anything. Just…please don’t hurt me.”

He chuckled, hand settling just above your crotch.

“Still giving orders, hmm? That’s not how this works.” He deftly unzipped your pants and slipped his hand into your waiting heat, a dry hiss emitting from his vocoder when he found the evidence of your arousal. “Dirty, dirty girl. Getting off on this? My, my.”

He circled your aching clit, and you cried out, trying to arch against him, breaths coming in near choked gasps as he quickly worked you towards oblivion. Damn, his patience must have flown out of the window. Perhaps he…

Just when you were on the precipice, Boba pulled his hand away. You cried out on frustration, heart pounding like a drum when he dropped his hands to his own pants, pulling his weeping cock free from its confines.

“Little kitten looks like she wants milk.” His voice was a sinister coo as he ran his thick shaft through your slick. “Poor baby.”

You whined - you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t stop the moan that ripped from your chest when his fingers once again found your clit, wringing your pleasure back to the surface. But yet again, when you were on so close, he pulled away.

“Ah, ah, ah, not so fast.” He raised his hand to your mouth, and you begrudgingly licked your arousal off his gloves. “You’ll come only when I tell you too. Can you be a good girl and do that?”

“Boba…I…” you writhed, pleading, but he promptly removed his hand from your clit with a growl.

“Didn’t give you permission to say my name,” his voice was all thunder and hellfire even as he seated himself in you with one brutal thrust. “It’s Sir to you.”

Your eyes widened, moans bouncing off the durasteel walls as he pounded into you, somehow feeling even bigger than normal. Your hands clattered uselessly against the wall, pleasure arcing up your spine as a steady heat grew in the pit of your stomach.

You cried out when he changed the angle, his cock hitting that deep spot that made you see stars. You writhed against him, legs wrapping around his back, trying to force him deeper. He growled, not slowing his pace in the slightest, and you whimpered when a hand reached up and tweaked a nipple.

“Bo-Sir…I…I’m,” you hated how pathetic you sounded, begging like some weak willed thing. But you felt it, your orgasm approaching like a speeding train, and there would be little you could do to stop it. “I’m…so close. Can I, can I…”

“I don’t know, not sure you deserve it,” he slowed his pace to a torturous crawl, slowly sliding through you, the wet sounds painfully loud in your ears even as you cried out in frustration. “Got your manners yet, little one? Have you learned your lesson?”

Oh Maker, he was torturing you. This was not how you had expected this to go - this was calculated, focused, intentional.

“I’m…I’m sorry. So sorry. P-please…” tears pricked your eyes, and you swore he was driving you absolutely mad, edging you with a calculated skill he hadn’t done before. “I take it all back. I’ll be good…I’ll behave. Just please, please…”

He pulled nearly out of you, helmet pressed against your shoulder, rasping voice directly in your ear.

“Please…what?” He stopped moving entirely until the only sound that could be heard was your desperate panting.

“Please, please let me come.” A tear slipped down your cheek, more from the building denial than anything else. “I’ll…I’ll be a good girl. Your girl.”

Boba grunted, pounding back into you with renewed vigor, one hand finding your neck, the other, your clit. He fucked you relentlessly - your back slamming into the wall as the edges of your vision dimmed.

When you finally came, your vision went completely white - all sound reduced to a ringing as burning hot pleasure seared you to your core. You screamed, writhing against him even as he continued driving into you, less focused and more reckless, chasing his own high.

“There you go, kitten.” His voice was dark with lust, armor flashing in the dim lighting. “Not so hard, hmm?”

When he came, it was with a deep groan that reverberated into your chest. He had you pressed against the wall, helmet against your neck, breaths rasping as he finally slowed to a stop.

For a moment, all was silent save both of your panting breaths. Boba was completely still, and for a moment, you worried he was genuinely angry. Had you gone too far? Had you done something wrong? Had you-

His hands reached up and unlocked your binders, catching you before you could fall to the floor. You couldn’t help but cling to him as he carried you to the cockpit, gently laying you in the small cot.

“You okay, my love?” His voice had regained some of its warmth, but still carried a dark edge. “Hope I wasn’t too rough with you.”

“I’m okay,” you nodded, meeting the visor with a small smile. “You weren’t. I’m honestly impressed you found me so quickly.”

He grunted, sitting beside you, gloved hand slowly caressing your hair.

“Didn’t expect you to leave Tatooine.” The helmet tilted in your direction. “You had me worried, little one.”

Oh stars. Had you gone too overboard? It hasn’t crossed your mind that Boba Fett would be afraid.

“Oh…I’m so sorry,” you curled into his chest, holding him close. “I’d only wanted to make it realistic. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“It’s okay,” he wrapped his arms around you and held you close. “Only startled me initially. Gotta admit it was fun, watching you trying to give me the slip. It was cute.”

Wait a second.

You narrowed your eyes as he removed his helmet, mirth shining in his own.

“Exactly how soon had you found me?” You tilted your head to meet his gaze.

“Oh, little princess,” he pressed a kiss to your temple, then your cheek, and finally, your lips. “You never left my sight.”

Taglist: @daimyosprincess @hideflen @thirsty-boba-fett-posts @marierg @deewithani @rain-on-kamino @rexxdjarin @ceapa-mica @bobathirstaccount @dukeoftheblackstar

[kckt88]

Another Plane of Existence.

Summary:

The aftermath of Vaera suffering complications.

Warning(s): Language, Traveling, Time Skips.

Word Count: 2260.

Author Note: A companion piece to Courtship/Wedding & Consummation/Bath Time/Arrival(s)/Mother & Father/Petitions & Final Tributes/The Hand, The King & The Dragon/Dragonstone/Blood & Cheese/A Time for Grief/ Rooks Rest & the Silver King/The Gullet/Taking of a City/Harrenhal and the Rivers/The Gods Eye/The Fallen Queen/New Beginnings/Ravenous & Don't Leave Me.

But can be read as a one-shot.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon or Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used.

Comments, likes, and reblogs are very much appreciated.

Vaera wasn’t entirely sure what was going on.

One minute she was writhing around her bed in agony surrounded by Maester’s and midwives, the next she was in the throne room, watching her grandsire Viserys as he stood over Daemon.

“We were young men. She is just a girl. Your niece” raged Viserys.

“Rhaenyra is a woman grown, better her first experience be with me then some whore” replied Daemon smugly.

‘So, Daemon was always a cunt’

“You fucking-You have ruined her. What Lord would wed her now in this condition?” raged Viserys as he knelt down and wrapped his hands around Daemon’s throat.

“Who gives a fuck what some Lord thinks, you are a dragon, your word is truth and law”.

“I have spent a lifetime defending you. But your heart is even blacker than I thought, I should disinherit her, as I already did you and be done with it” said Viserys.

“Wed he too me. When I offered up my crown, you said I could have anything. I want Rhaenyra, I’ll take her as she is and wed her in the tradition of our house”.

“Your already wed” exclaimed Viserys.

“That didn’t stop Aegon the conqueror from taking a second wife” replied Daemon.

Viserys hesitated for a moment, almost as if he was disbelieving what his brother was actually saying.

But then he drew his dagger and placed it at Daemon’s throat.

“You are no conqueror, you are a plague, sent to destroy me” snarled Viserys.

“Give me Rhaenyra to take to wife, and we will return the house of the dragon to it’s proper glory” whispered Daemon, his eyes never leaving Viserys.

“Of course, it’s not my daughter you lust for, it’s my throne” said Viserys.

‘Technically Daemon did lust after her mother, but he also wanted war and chaos’.

Next Vaera was standing in the council chambers.

“I have decided, to take a new wife” said Viserys as he looked over at Rhaenyra.

Gods her mother was so young. She was beautiful.

“I intend to marry, the Lady Alicent Hightower, before springs end".

“This is an absurdity” said Corlys as he rose from the table.

“Lord Corlys I-“

“My house is Valyrian, the greatest power in the realm” said Corlys.

“-And I am your King” replied Viserys.

Corlys stormed out of the council chambers.

Vaera wanted to follow her grandsire, but she couldn’t. She could only stand there rooted to the spot and watch as the tears rolled down her young mothers face.

Suddenly the council faded and Vaera was standing in another room. Well lit and filled with the sounds of children.

‘I remember this room’.

Vaera looked around the room and spotted her younger self, sitting in the corner alone, drawing.

Jace and Luke were huddled together next to Harwin Strong.

The door opened and her mother walked in followed by Ser Laenor.

‘Father’.

“Mother. Come and see” shrieked Luke in excitement.

“Ahh that looks like a fun game” replied Rhaenyra.

Laenor patted Luke gently on the head before he came over to Vaera.

“What are you drawing little dragon?” asked Laenor as he crouched down.

“A seahorse” replied Vaera.

“It’s beautiful” said Laenor smiling brightly.

“I drew it for you” exclaimed Vaera.

“Well, I shall treasure it my little dragon, as I do all of your other drawings”.

Vaera watched her younger self smile sweetly at Laenor and then continue to babble endlessly about everything and anything.

Laenor ever the good father, listened patiently and always offered his own thoughts, when Vaera eventually took a breath of course.

‘How I miss him. He would have been an excellent grandsire’.

But once again the room began to fade away. The voice of her father growing more distant.

Now Vaera was standing in the gardens, she could hear the sound of muffled sobs lingering through the air.

‘Oh my, Aemond is that you’?

Vaera silently observed her younger self approaching Aemond as he hid in one of the overgrown bushes in the garden.

“W-What’s wrong?” asked Vaera.

“They all laugh at me” sobbed Aemond.

“They laugh at me too” replied Vaera sadly.

“I-I’m not a true Targaryen, I don’t have a dragon”.

“I don’t have a dragon either, it doesn’t make us any less” said Vaera.

“What does it make us?” asked Aemond.

“It makes us more” replied Vaera.

Aemond wrinkled his nose in confusion.

“Mayhaps, we belong to other dragons, we just don’t know it yet” said Vaera.

“You really believe that?”

“Of course, in my heart I know that one day I will fly and so will you” replied Vaera softly.

Aemond cocked his head to the side for a moment as he thought about what Vaera had said.

“What do you have there?”

“It’s a honey cake, I stole it from the kitchens. Would you like some” said Vaera sweetly.

Aemond looked up at her and wiped the tears away from his cheeks.

“I would thank you”.

Vaera smiled and sat next Aemond. They didn’t speak again; they just silently enjoyed each other’s company as they ate the stolen honey cake.

‘Back then I had no idea that this sweet shy little boy would one day become the love of my life’.

‘We were so innocent back then, with no idea what fate had instore for us’.

Then Vaera was standing over Aemond as he was laid on his bed weeping, the left side of his face covered by thick bandages.

"Prince Aemond's recovery will be long and painful, Your Grace"

"How many more procedures must he endure?" asked Alicent.

"I'm afraid I cannot say Your Grace. Only time will tell".

Alicent took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Come now Alicent, the boy needs to rest" urged Otto.

'He was so young. He didn't deserve to have his eye taken'

Vaera then began to move rapidly through other events that had happened in the Red Keep, Aemond's frustration over having to relearn the most simplest of tasks, his training with Criston, her return to the Red Keep, seeing each other for the first time since Driftmark, their courtship, their wedding, the birth of Aemon and Rhaegar, their joy as parents and their worst nightmare as their sweet boy was taken from them.

The tears rolled down Vaera’s cheeks as she watched her younger self cradling the body of her first-born son.

“Our boy. They took our boy” wailed Vaera as she clutched Aemon’s body.

Suddenly a blinding flash of light engulfed the room and Vaera jumped to cover her face.

When they light dissipated, Vaera looked around the room, which was now empty. No blood. No bodies. Nothing.

It was an empty void in the midst of chaos.

“Mama”

Vaera whirled around and her heart almost stopped when she came face to face with Aemon.

Her sweet boy, her first born son, stood smiling as he held Rhaegar’s stuffed dragon teddy in his hand.

“A-Aemon” sobbed Vaera as she launched herself at her son and began peppering kisses all over his tiny face.

“Mama” squealed Aemon happily.

“My little dragon” cried Vaera, as she closed her eyes and breathed in her sons scent.

“What’s wrong?” asked Aemon.

“I’m sorry I didn’t protect you” sobbed Vaera.

“No mama, it wasn’t your fault” replied Aemon quietly.

“I-I should have fought harder to save you”.

“But mama I saved you and Rhaegar.” said Aemon.

“I know you did and I’m so proud of you. Oh, my sweet boy I miss you so much”.

“I’m always with you and daddy” said Aemon brightly.

Vaera nodded her head and quickly wiped away her tears, she didn’t know how long she would have with Aemon but would savour every single second.

“Come on mama, there’s somewhere else we need to go” urged Aemon as he took her hand and led her down the darkened corridor.

The sounds of children laughing and playing soon filled her ears. They were in the gardens on a warm summers day.

“It’s a nice day” said Aemon smiling as he watched his siblings chasing each other round the gardens.

Vharla was perched under the tree reading to Jaerys, and Caelan was sitting with Rhaegar.

“A-Are they?-“ muttered Vaera as she watched two small identical twin girls race past her.

“The last of your babes, Saeryna and Daenys, they will give daddy lots of headaches when they get older,” laughed Aemon.

“I’m sure your father will be able to handle it” said Vaera.

“Eww gross Aegar, don’t put that on me” squealed Maella as her brother threw a worm at her.

“It’s only a worm” replied Aegar.

“You’re a worm” said Maella sticking her tongue out.

“Not my fault your such a baby”.

“I’m not a baby” exclaimed Maella.

“Yes, you are” snapped Aegar as he ran away.

Vaera chuckled to herself as she stood watching her children.

This is what she envisioned when she said she wanted as many children as her body would allow. Her own siblings barely looked her way unless they had to, and she had spent so much of her childhood alone. She didn’t want that for her children, sure they squabbled and Aegar liked to throw worms at his sister, but at least they had each other.

“Time to go mama” whispered Aemon as he again took her hand.

They were back in the throne room, only this time it wasn’t Viserys who she saw.

Vaera stared at the man sitting on the Iron Throne, the conquerors crown resting against his long silver hair.

He had a small silver haired boy on his knee, who looked no older than three name days old.

“Who is that?” asked Vaera.

“That is my brother and his son” replied Aemon.

“Rhaegar” exclaimed Vaera her eyes wide with surprise.

“My brother will be a good King and so will his son Aemon”.

“He names his son for you?” asked Vaera.

“-And father of course” said Aemon smiling.

Suddenly an icy dread filled Vaera’s stomach. Rhaegar looked no older than twenty and if he was King, what had happened to Aegon.

“W-What about Aegon?” asked Vaera.

“He abdicated and Rhaegar was crowned King just after he turned eight and ten,”

“That’s only six name days away” exclaimed Vaera.

“Don’t worry mama, Rhaegar will be ok. He’ll have you and daddy to guide him”.

The throne room began to fade away and soon Vaera as back in her chambers that she shared with Aemond.

“Idañnykeā perzyssy” said Aemon as he stared at his father (Twin flames).

Aemond was a shadow of his former self, his hair dishevelled and knotted, his clothes creased and unkempt.

“Aemond” whispered Vaera.

“Without you he’s losing the will to live” said Aemon sadly.

“No. H-He can’t” exclaimed Vaera.

“He can’t live without you. Daddy’s heart beats for no other”.

Aemond was knelt down by the side of the bed, clasping her hand in his. The scarred side of his face pressed into the mattress, as he cried.

“It’s time for me to go” whispered Aemon, as he gently ran his hand down his father’s head.

“Please. Come back to me” begged Aemond.

“I-I don’t want to leave you alone” muttered Vaera.

“Oh mama, I’m not alone” whispered Aemon as he turned towards the door and waved.

Vaera looked up and saw Helaena waving back, Jaehaerys and Maelor standing beside her.

“Helaena” sobbed Vaera.

“You need to go back” said Helaena as she watched Aemond place a gentle kiss on Vaera’s head.

“Please my love”

“B-But Aemon he-“

“-Will be waiting for you and Aemond, but it’s not your time” replied Helaena sweetly.

“Daddy needs you more than I do” whispered Aemon.

“Hear my voice my love.”

“I love you so much” said Vaera as she wrapped her arms around Aemon and held him close.

“-And I love you mama. Go back and be with daddy, I don’t like hearing him cry,” said Aemon as the sobs of Aemond grew louder and louder.

Vaera nodded as Aemon took hold of Helaena’s hand and they faded away.

She didn’t want him to go, but she knew she couldn’t stay.

Aemon was right, Aemond needed her and so did their other children.

If this wasn’t her time, then she needed to go back.

So Vaera took a deep breath and climbed onto the bed.

Aemond had managed to fall asleep with his face pressed into the crook of Vaera’s neck.

But something moved against his hand, and he jerked awake.

Aemond stared in shock as Vaera’s fingers were moving.

At first, he thought he was imagining it, but then Vaera’s eyes began to flutter.

“V-Vaera” exclaimed Aemond.

Is she waking up? That’s it my sweet. Come back to me. You can do it.

“Vaera. Issa dōna ābrazȳrys” gasped Aemond (My sweet wife).

“A-A-Ae-m-mond” stuttered Vaera as she finally opened her eyes.

“I’m here my love. I’m here” whispered Aemond.

“L-lo-ve y-you-”

“-And I love you. It’s so good to hear your voice” cried Aemond.

“A-Aemon, he was here with Helaena” muttered Vaera.

“What?” exclaimed Aemond.

“I saw them, and I saw Rhaegar as King” said Vaera.

“Hush my love-“ said Aemond as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I swear it, he was here. I-I can prove it, the names you’ve picked for the girls”.

“I haven’t picked any names” said Aemond.

“Yes, you have, deep down, you know what you would like to call them, you were just waiting for me to wake up”.

“Tell me” urged Aemond curiously.

“Saeryna and Daenys” replied Vaera firmly.

“H-How did-“ exclaimed Aemond.

“Like I said, Aemon was here. He told me”.

The logical side of Aemond wanted to argue that what his wife was saying was impossible, that it was just a lucky guess on her part, but he couldn’t.

The look in her eyes told him all he needed to know.

Their son had been there.

[nopynopa]

Clone x OCs reality show 🎉🎉🎉

Fives: Hello there welcome to reality show an…

Echo: Can we start now?

Fives: Sure 😀

Fives: Hey Jesse and…

Umlilo: Umlilo is my name.

Fives: Ok, I will give you a challenge.

Jesse: Yep, we can do it right ?

Umlilo: Have we got a challenge we can’t ?

Fives: Echo give them.

Echo: The challenge is not to say the same words.

Fives: Chocolate

Jesse: Factory

Umlilo: Cake Yeah! we can do it. Again please?

Fives: Love

Umlilo: Story

Jesse: Is nothing

Umlilo: What? 😡

Jesse: Just a game😅 I set it myself lol

Umlilo: You don’t have a better idea,do you?

Fives: Wall

Jesse: Of thrones

Umlilo: Of the ring

*Everyone is laughing*

Umlilo: Say it again!

Jesse: Wall of thrones

Umlilo: What?

Jesse: I set it again 😂 but you said Wall of the ring too.

Umlilo: Ahh too easy challenge. You know it has much probability too not say same words.

Fives: Ahh next time I will improve.

Fives: Kix and… what is your name?

Eyre: Eyre

Echo: We have a challenge for you two. Fives will say a word and you have to say the same word in unison.

Kix: Let’s start

Fives: Star

Eyre & Kix: Wars

Kix: We did it 🥳

Fives: That one too easy. Cup

Eyre & Kix: Of coffee

*Eyre and Kix high five*

Echo: You two did very well.

Eyre: Because we know each other very well

Fives: This one you can’t do it. I

Eyre & Kix: love you

Echo: 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Fives: I give in now🥲

Eyre: You did so well 😁

Kix: No,we *kiss her cheek*

Fives: Tup! Can you introduce your girlfriend ?

Tup: This is Souta, my girlfriend.

Souta: Hello everyone

Echo: Fives have a challenge for you.

Tup: I am scared now

Fives: Not to scare

Echo: Fives will ask and three of us will answer it but you mustn’t say the same as me

Souta: So me and tup can say the same word, right ?

Echo: Yes. If you say the same as me, you will lose

Fives: Say senator name

Echo: Padme Amidala

Tup: Bail Organa

Souta: Amata Hiralis

Fives: Second, Say planet name

Echo: Naboo

Tup: Kamino

Souta: Bayuka

Fives: Say Jedi master name

Echo: Obi wan Kenobi

Souta: Yoda

Tup: Anakin Skywalker

Fives: No!!!! General isn’t a Jedi master!

Echo: Oh tup, you lose now

Tup: 🥲

Fives: Say songs name start with L

Souta: Lemon tree

Echo: Love me like you do

Fives: last one now, Souta if you answer not the same with Echo you will win. Say fruit name end with T

Echo: Carrot

Fives: Echo!!!! Carrot is vegetable. Souta you win

Souta: 🥳

Tup: Good job my dear 🫶🏻

Fives: Hardcase what are you doing

Hardcase: Play with a duck 🦆

Talia: Actually I am a duck lol I’m Talia nice to meet you.

Echo: We have a challenge for you

Hardcase: Exploding ?

Fives: Absolutely not!

Echo: Fives will say a word and you say 5 words that relate to the word that fives say. Not the same

Fives: Bedroom

Hardcase: door pillows sleep bed room

Talia: night peace relex pajama soft color

Fives: Wait why soft color ?

Talia: Because bedrooms should be decorated with soft color.

Fives: Good answer next…

Anakin: What are you guys doing ?

Fives: Reality show general.

Anakin: Why didn’t you invite me? Have someone recorded video?

Echo: No general

Anakin: Restart the show!

[ladytauria]

tauria!! 9, 14, 21, 74, 80, 84, 104, 122 from the book rec ask game please <33

ahhh thank you maya!

9. your favourite book of 2020

ahh, i'm actually going to answer this for---last year, because i remember it and also bc i hit my reading goal last year!!

so my actual answer would be nona the ninth, but as i have already rec'd gideon to bean and mentioned harrow in this list, i shan't count it.

s o.

i think i'm gonna go with The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski, which is part one of a duology. the first is a retelling of cinderella, the second of sleeping beauty.

the first, to me, was much more enjoyable than the second, although i deeply enjoyed both. the first is singular pov, the second is split (i liked the LI's more!)

the book takes place on an island which is segregated into three classes / rings, each of which enjoys a vastly different quality of life than the other. the protagonist lives in the lowest class, where, if you're charged with a crime, no matter the severity, the guards can take any tribute they ask---from a few strands of hair to some blood to an eye, etc. she works with her guardian to help sneak people out of the lower ring and into the upper rings, and has always yearned for a taste of them hersellf. after spending a night in prison, she meets an outsider--the first on the island in many years--who helps her achieve just that.

also the plot twist in this book is. amazing.

14. a book that made you trip on literary acid

like. in the most positive way possible.

Harrow the Ninth.

look. i wasn't going to rec sequels. i wasn't.

but oh my god.

i walked away from this book with a headache and i said thank you ms. muir <3

(runner up answer would be the stars are legion, bc. oof. that book was a mind-fuck. again? best way possible. but also. damn.)

21. a book with a red cover

literally the first book that came to mind was Eldest, of the Inheritance Cycle.

(i was going to answer with "witches of ash & ruin by e. latimer" but my kindle cover is now blue -.- and uglier, imo. whatever.)

but, uh. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett!! i started the discworld series with the tiffany aching series, and i highly recommend <3 the nac mac feegles make me giggle so much <3

also i deeply love tiffany and all of the things that pterry conveys through her <3

74. your favourite love triangle

i didn’t forget to answer this before i clicked post wdym

this is hard!!! ngl i actively avoid love triangles in books after being so inundated with them during some of my peak reading years lmao

ahhh but

i actually didn’t mind how the love triangle was handled in the early throne of glass books!

i don’t necessarily recommend those but i was. obsessed with them for a time xD

80. a book that reminds you of a loved one

i technically answered this on bean's! that would be "a girl of the limberlost" or "the secret garden" bc they both remind me of my mom.

also almost any murder mystery will remind me of her, as those were her favorite genre.

u h m. but to name a different book; i think of my brother every time i see a riordanverse book, particularly the Percy Jackson <3 i let him borrow my copies (i've. mostly forgiven him for their now beat up / falling apart state) and watching him develop his first otp / devour them was so sweet <3

104. a fluffy, sweet read

so i didn't technically rec it on bean's list, i just mentioned it.

Legends And Lattes - Travis Baldree! cozy, slice of life fantasy with a sapphic romance. an orc retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of coffee. (its a gnomish thing.) has a lot of dnd-like setting things and so much found family <3

also it made me hungry, so like. have ur favorite warm drink & pastries on hand when you read it bc you may also end up wanting them <3

122. your favourite winter read

hmmm.

okay so first! um. when i think winter / autumn / summer / spring read i don't necessarily think about season in the book itself, but rather like... how i feel during those seasons. so! autumnal reads i prefer spookier vibes; summer i want lighter books i don't have to focus too much on bc the heat has melted my brain; and for winter i want books that are good for spending a long time under blankets, so. chunkier the better. (i don't know what a spring read is to me.)

i am going to answer this one with two books!

the first i have not actually read -- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a fucking beast of a book. i am... about 20%? through it? i think? but i had to put it down bc i couldn't give it the full attention it deserved. however, i think, due to its size, it would be a lovely book to devour over a handful of snowy days, curled up in blankets <33

the second i have read, and i actually wouldn't call this one chunky, but. i dunno. it's made for a nice evening read, i think. anyway! The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A McKilip.

[ book rec ask game ]

[baidar-oroq]

A random discourse on FFXVI's story

I finished FFXVI earlier in the week, and given the strong connections that it was with FFXIV between the devs and a lot of the story, thought I'd wax eloquent here. Spoilers behind the cut:

I think the most interesting thing about the story of FFXVI is pretty much how it's another take on the basic story of FFXIV and the Ascians; Ultima's motive is to destroy all life on Valisthea in order to recreate the lost world of his people, which is not too far removed from the Ascians wanting to destroy all the shards to rejoin them with the Source, and Clive as Mythos being the vessel through which that will happen is a couple of steps to the right of the WoL becoming a sin eater and causing a rejoining. Variations on a theme, if you like. In a lot of ways, FFXVI's story feels almost like an AU of XIV, one where Hydaelyn is conspicuously absent-or perhaps, given the role of the Mothercrystals in the story, a story where She is merged with the Ascians to create Ultima. Had Hydaelyn turned out to be really sus, could this have been a direction that FFXIV could have gone in?

Probably not, and the reason I think that is Clive's final speech to Ultima as he lays dying, because it is the perfect encapsulation of Venat's philosophy of "you will suffer and die, but you can rise above that to find hope and joy." That philosophy stands in stark contrast to Ultima's fear of death, selfishness, and his inability to understand why his creations have surpassed him. Like the Ascians, he does not believe in his lessers, can not understand why Clive is capable of defeating him; like Emet-Selch, he is so lost in the desire to rebuild the world he lost that he can not see the world that could be made by his creations.

Plus his last form straight up has Emet-Selch's Elpis hairstyle, lol.

I heard a lot of complaints about side questing in the game, and they stemmed, most likely, from the early MMO style fetch quests. And that's a shame, since as you progress further and further into the game, whole character arcs and subplots are resolved in the side quests. The most romantic scene between Clive and Jill happens in a fucking side quest! Vast amounts of character development, full on story arcs, are resolved there. If you haven't played FFXVI yet, don't sleep on the side quests, they tell a lot of the story.

Which is good, since the main story, on occasion, is a bit underwritten. It's not really confusing, or bad, but the first two-thirds of the game, focusing on the Game of Thrones styled wars against nations, loses a bit unless you plunge heavily into the lore (and to be fair, the in-game lore options are AMAZING) since you have to keep track of a variety of nations that aren't particularly well defined (the pagans with Iron in their name, the traditional fantasy British-esque empire, and the Norse kingdom.) In the end, the various warring nations take a backseat to the machinations of Ultima, so this isn't as big a knock on the story as it could be, but it is still there.

Now to one of the controversial points of the story, it's lack of POC and the whole, rather sad explanation of "well it's Medieval Europe!" People have theorized that there are no POC because of the story's slavery subplot, where magic using Bearers are shunned and enslaved at birth, and having POC in a world with slavery would look bad.

To which I frankly call "bullshit." The obvious answer to this problem is to make none of the slaves POC. Hell, there's a desert area with rather Arabic architecture in it, make it (1) full of POC and (2) the one place in Valisthea where there are no slaves. Ahh, but expecting Japan to think laterally about that sort of thing is likely too much to ask.

But I'm still gonna.

There are other complaints; Jill is occasionally underwritten, and her trauma arc is somewhat buried under the main story, and while she doesn't die like I expected (c'mon, you know this team's record with female characters, ESPECIALLY ones connected to Shiva) she does suffer a sort of death by giving her Eikon powers to Clive. Most of her trauma is thankfully implied rather than openly stated, but as per usual for this crew, there is a lot of sexual abuse and assault suggested around her story. (Though she does get to kill the man responsible for it, in the end.) And I wish we could have had more time with Cid, who is a fantastic character, but given his role in the story he bowed out at the right time.

I am, however, still waiting for Uncle Byron to die, because he had "the comic relief turns out to die heroically" written all over him, and yet he survived!

Plus Torgal is the best wolf, love and praise him

[rosietrace]

🍀✨ for any of ur ocs!

Cracks knuckles I'm about to get a little silly 😈

Warning: Long ahh post

Oc ask game

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤† Victoria Shard, the beautiful manipulator

✑ 🍀 — What originally inspired your oc?

───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

I'm glad you asked! And plus, I have her (updated) inspiration board to help me out with this >:]

───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

Behold! Victoria Shard's inspiration board!

Now..... Onto the explanations >:)

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Upper Left: The Magic Mirror ]

↳ Snow White and the seven dwarfs (1937)

Obviously, we're going to start off with her main inspiration, the Magic Mirror!

But first, I'll give a little fun fact! Victoria wasn't inspired by the Magic Mirror, at least not originally!

During her conception back in October of 2020, Victoria was originally going to be twisted from the Evil Queen's crow instead of the magic mirror

This, however, changed after realizing how much she suited the magic mirror much better (especially with the unique magic I've given her)

Anyway, back to the trivia!

I wanted to take key aspects about the mirror and find a way to put them into Vic as a character.

This ended with these characteristics about the mirror being transitioned into key pieces of Vic's personality:

Honest ➜ Blunt, Incapable of lying (but capable of bending the truth)

Ominous ➜ Intimidating

Reluctant(?) to serve the Evil Queen ➜ Obligated to follow orders from certain individuals (Her grandmother, father, Vil, etc.)

Obviously one or two of these three reasons may or may not seem far fetched, but that's mostly because of how twisted my logic can get 😭

For obvious reasons, the Magic Mirror is also incorporated into Vic's unique magic: Mirror Mirror. It allows her to persuade others into telling the truth to whatever she asks, but can also alter their psychological state(similar to how the Mirror calling Snow White fairer than the Queen essentially made her vanity/envy transition into wanting to kill Snow White out of spite)

And although I can't spoil anything about it, I will say this: Mirrors play a really big role in Vic's main story, and I had to create a new dimension for her story because of it.

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Upper Middle: Kafka ]

↳ Honkai Star Rail (2023)

Okay.... It sounds odd on paper, but I have a reason for this, I swear 😭

I can't exactly spoil anything about why Kafka's one of Vic's inspirations, since it's crucial to her behavior in an unspecified main story, but I can tell you one other reason!

Her voice. More specifically, her English voice.

Cheryl Texiera, voice actress for Kafka in the English dub of Honkai Star Rail, also happens to be one of three voice actresses for Vic's EN voice.

I know, three voice actresses for one character is fucking weird, but I couldn't help myself and it was hard for me to choose between the three options chosen 😭

Really, the only thing I can say is that the calming sound of Kafka's voice fits Vic's more casual nature with those she's close with.

So, for now, that's your only answer as to why Kafka's one of her inspirations ^^;

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Upper Right: Medea Solon ]

↳ Your Throne (2019/2020)

So, Medea is one of my favorite manhwa characters.... Ever. And, while reading Your Throne around the time I was redeveloping Vic, I legitimately thought: “Hey, why don't I just... Give Vic certain aspects of Medea's character?”

So I did just that, like I did with the Magic Mirror.

List of traits Medea and Vic share:

Manipulative nature

Skill in combat(More specifically, swordsmanship)

Political knowledge

Cunning and Ambitiousness

Color palette

The last one is slightly significant, as before Medea, Vic looked a lot more like.... A taller, more mature, female version of Epel with long hair. Thankfully, I didn't go through with that 😭

And, not-so fun fact: Medea's backstory was one of the inspirations for Vic's backstory ;-;

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Middle Left: Arlecchino, the Knave ]

↳ Genshin Impact(2020)

This inspiration mostly came about after the Fontaine teaser: “The last feast” 😭

I couldn't help myself! Arlecchino's voice, wardrobe, and way of speech was just so..... Victoria.

It felt way too perfect to not incorporate a bit of her into Vic ^^;

Erin Yvette did a fantastic job voicing her in both the Fontaine teaser and A Winter Night's Lazzo, and I don't regret adding her as one of Vic's EN voice actresses.

With the way Arlecchino acts in both trailers, I can most definitely see Victoria acting in such a way whenever she's in a particularly more manipulative mood. More specifically, when she wants to assert control over others.

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Middle Right: Raiden Ei/Shogun ]

↳ Genshin Impact(2020)

Okay, so for obvious reasons.... Raiden, more specifically the Shogun — rather than Ei —, inspired a lot of stuff for Vic.

Her color palette, her personality, way of acting, etc. And especially her voice. Miyuki Sawashiro is just- Chefs kiss

The fact that she voiced two characters who Vic was inspired by just amplified how much I don't regret making her Vic's JP voice actress 😭

I could go on and on about how Ei and Vic also share similarities, especially with Vic's softer side, but if I did? This post would be longer than originally intended 😭

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Bottom Left: Momobami Kirari ]

↳ Kakegurui

It sounds far fetched like Kafka, I know, but I only really based Vic off of Kirari for two key things about the character.

Her voice

Her intelligence

Kirari is also voiced by Sawashiro, and frankly, Sawashiro's performance as Kirari and Raiden Shogun fit Vic perfectly.

Kirari has this calming, yet unsettling kind of voice that can easily put anyone on edge, and that just happened to be a voice I wanted Vic to have! And as said before, I'm never going to regret making Miyuki Sawashiro Vic's JP voice actress.

Plus, with how intelligent Kirari actually is, I can also vividly see Vic using her intelligence to play around with those around her. Especially with what I have planned for her character arc.

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Bottom Middle: Keira Parvis ]

↳ I am the real one(2020/2021)

Keira, more specifically past Keira, was a major inspiration for Vic's behavior as a child. Which is to say Keira didn't have that much of a good life 😭

Desperate to please her father, Keira strived for his attention in the same way I imagine Vic doing as a child. Except in Vic's case, she's desperate to please her grandmother, rather than her father.

Keira in present day is also manipulative and intelligent in her own right, but her level of intelligence is more suitable to a much younger Victoria.

▹     †𝆤࿙๋࿙࿚⊱【 ♛ 】⊰࿙࿚๋࿚𝆤†

[ Bottom Right: Claudia Chamberlain ]

↳ I became the Male lead's rival

And finally, Claudia! Funnily enough, the character shares a name with one of Vic's servants

Unlike the other characters, I didn't take much inspiration for Vic from Claudia except for pieces of her appearance.

Personally, Claudia is how I always imagined Vic to look like with white hair. And I've been brainrotting about white haired Vic many times 😭😭

As for her behavior, Claudia doesn't seem to share many characteristics with Vic's general personality. Her softer side, maybe, but not so much with the personality we know Vic to have.

───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

✑ ✨ — How did you come up with your oc's name?

Good lord, this post is going to get even longer.... Sort of.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

For reasons — Those reasons being spoilers — I can't reveal the meanings behind three of Victoria's names: Regina, Amarantha, and Annabella.

These names play a really significant part in her main story and the unspecified main story, so for now, it's best if you don't know anything behind the symbolism of those name choices.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The name Victoria was chosen because she wanted to win. Always. Never lose, only win. But she can't always do that.

It's already been really well established how much Vic loves winning. Getting what she wants brings satisfaction to this woman's veins, and losing just takes that away from her

To Victoria, losing meant failure. And by being a failure, she's failed her family. Her title. The very thing she's worked her ass off, her whole life.

As told by Grimhilde, “Losing shows weakness, and a Shard shan't show weakness”. And Victoria still tries to go by her grandmother's word.

She's willing, and I mean willing, to do whatever she wants to get what she so desperately wants.

Even if it means hurting those around her.

➜ The name Victoria also happens to be the name of the Roman Goddess of Victory, also known as the Roman counterpart of Nike. As such, in Latin, the name translates to ‘Victory’.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

A Shard is bound to shatter. And with time, Victoria will as well.

➜ A ‘Shard’ is a broken piece of glass created after having done something to damage the glass just enough, for it to shatter — and eventually fall apart.

Obviously, with her motif of glass and mirrors, the last name was fitting for Vic. Especially with her connections to mirrors and glass in her own lore.

However, the name also serves a more symbolic purpose of portraying Victoria as a character.

She's fragile.

No matter what she does to deny it, no matter the victories, no matter the honor such victories bring her; She's still fragile. As fragile as any other mortal, despite not being one herself.

At the end of the day — what happened to Victoria only happened because Grimhilde chose to hurt her when she was only a kid.

And by hurting that little girl, she continued to hurt the young woman she so desperately wants perfection out of.

───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

Interpretation of meaning: ‘A broken victory’

───◌┈┈───♡⃝───┈┈◌───

[3cupsbybed]

I've been watching farscape lately. Almost done.

And ahh how to deal with a story ending. In general Its sad .. Its why I like happy ending or fanfics. I know the show got their final ending they wanted in a mini series thing.

I can tell s4 ends like not in mind of to be a series finale eek.

Anyway just wanna say ..

Wtf with father and sons? There are Some weird plots in the show. And plots that can get rated R at times.

Yeah.. I like how this wholesome show pg13 show can also make me feel scared or cry or In awe of it... than those edgy rated r shows we have now. Oh 22eps! Omg poor actors n crew overworking ... And we get standalone episodes..Etc.

Also think it's so impressive with the love story where we all know who is otp in the show. Like Bones n Booth. Also love triangle that works. Like yeah love and care respect both sides.

I love parallels. I think aeryn started to love john-moya again(?) When in an episode of the group being vulnerable or acting more of what they want /crave? So yeah it like happened twice in the show 💖

Game of thrones names... / cool villains ../ show can be funny at times lol family 💖

Humans are hopeful. "I love you beyond hope."

[honestlyitsjustsam]

alright now that i finished my first bg3 run lemme rate the companions from worst to best based on their story, voice lines and gameplay value

long as fuuuuuck thread

9. Halsin

It is with a heavy heart that I say this, but Halsin is maaaad boring as a companion, his story was so sleeping material next to the rest of the gang. He is too naive and often ignorant, and you get to see it by his voice lines when you reach Baldur's Gate. He lived for 350 years but is still trying to see the world as black and white… he is literally one second away from becoming an eco-terrorist, and even though it's hilarious, it’s not enough. Plus, he is sooooo weak in the battlefield except when he is a bear, and even then, the value he brings is non-existent. He just feels like goon material, sure he is hot and large, but… that’s kinda it. I wish he was polished and was a companion since the ending of Act 1.

8. Minsc

He is hilarious!! And I liked him more than I originally thought I would. His little companion Boo really makes me laugh, and some of the lines he says are straight-up ridiculous, which makes him very funny. But aside from this, he is kind of a dumbass, and even though I’m okay with it, I didn’t see much development for his character. Maybe if I played other BG games, my reaction would have been different, but he was kinda just there. But during battle, his movement speed is insane, and he wasn’t such a bad asset. I personally made a mistake and recruited him sooo late, so that’s on me.

7. Jaheira

Ohh Jaheira!! My mom, my mentor. I liked her more than I thought I would, and I am glad. I swear I got teary-eyed when she first called me “cub” 😭😭 MAMA!! That being said, I feel like she got the Minsc treatment from me as I haven’t played the other games. And I kinda dislike this “strong woman = absent mom” trope. I sincerely dislike it because strength doesn’t come from solitude; it comes from showing up when people need you, and it comes from showing your love. Also, the Harpers questline was booooring, kinda don’t care for a force that cannot do shit but use arrows. But she was a tremendous help during my fights, her becoming an owlbear and tearing up ass was such a delight to play as. Genuinely like her and would like to see more of her.

6. Wyll

Ahhh my prince charming. The one true good character of the gang. I really like him a lot; his story being this intertwined with Karlach’s makes me so happy, and he is genuinely a kind soul with a brave heart. And the locks mod for him? Uuh, made him 10 times hotter! But that being said, he is kind of weak in the battlefield (as I realized warlocks are uhhh), and his story with his dad wasn’t interesting to me. Thus, I destroyed the pact and didn’t even try to save him from Iron Throne. Be nice to your kid who sold his soul for his people, mf. And his pact with Mizora broke my heart; I wish he had another way to deal with her. But hey, the horns look good, and his heart is in the right place (though I always kinda cannot love purely good characters as they lack depth and kinda act like a book of virtue). He definitely lacked in the content department as well, so thus, I cannot add him higher than 6th…

5. Karlach

Ahh my beautiful fiery friend, Karlach is such an inspirational character because even though she is going through quite literally hells, she still keeps her upbeat and charming self up. She aspired me to look at problems with less of a scornful face, honestly. I'll try to be like her; I really want to. It pisses me off how short her story is compared to the rest and how sad her fate is: either go to the literal hell you are trying to escape or die. I'm glad in my run Wyll was able to go with her, but it was nothing but a temporary solution. Her story didn’t end in a way; just left incomplete, thus I cannot put her higher. I like her in battle; she was my tank after all, though I believe I wasn’t able to build her to her potential, thus Lae’zel was a better fighter than her. I still love her personality, her full-of-life views, and her hilarious voicelines. Her being a tiefling makes her more appealing, as they are probably my fave race in BG3! Long live my hot, fun, and energetic babygirl <3 <3 <3

4. Astarion

Ahhhhh the pale elf. Astarion is such a delightful character, from his funny lines to Neil's incredible performance to his story to his general behaviors, acts, and preferences to HIS INCREDIBLY STRONG BUILD for his battle style. I love him. I adore him, and I cannot wait to romance him as OG Durge hhihiih. I feel like a great amount of the taste of backstories of companions is locked behind their romances, thus to understand them more, I must romance them!! Oh joy, love it. Astarion was such a savior for me during fights, and especially if I managed to make him attack while sneaking, he was sure to get multiple crit hits. Though I feel like the rogue class is a bit boring to play as: I make one ranged attack, and if the enemy is close, I can do one close-range, but if not… well, I need to skip him. So yeah, it was definitely powerful, but the thrill always ended too quickly. I genuinely love Astarion's story. I love how devs showed his abuse—it’s not common to narrate sexual abuse towards male characters, and I’m glad his story is there to make me cry. He is truly a quality character, and as you get to know him more, you understand his hostile self in Act 1. That being said (I hope no one gets this the wrong way), I think him in general and his story are overrated as fuuuuck in the fandom space, and the way Larian only focuses on him to cater to the audience kinda annoys me, thus makes me not like him as much as I'd love to. It's a real thing that a fandom can make or break a character for me, and this is kind of his situation, so why I think he belongs to the 4th spot. But who knows—he may go higher or lower after I finish his romance path.

3. Lae'zel

Now if anyone told me that I’d like Lae’zel as much as I do now, I’d laugh at their face as I was kinda annoyed by her rude self as I was watching the EA version of the game, but OH LORD she is truly a gem, my soft frog treasure. Yes, she is rude. Yes, she is bloodthirsty. Yes, she is persistent. But they all make her such a compelling companion, as you get to see her kinder self. After the travel to Creche, you get to see how nice she is to Tav. She actually tries her best to cooperate and find common ground with you, not because of the affliction alone, but because of the time you spend together. She is suuuch a slow burn, and I love her for that. So me betraying her at the end really felt like a sharp knife to my chest. I tricked her after going and retrieving the fucking hammer—MIND YOU, HOUSE OF HOPE WAS LIKE HELLS FOR ME. I kept on dying and dying to those fucking fireballs, but to make her happy and contribute to the liberation of her people, I did it. However, at the end, I think I was gaslighted into thinking that the Emperor was the only choice for survival. It pisses me off how her story is intertwined with the ending this much. Maybe I should have picked Orpheus, so I wouldn’t be so disappointed in myself. A chance for another playthrough. I just love her a lot, AND SHE IS THE POWERHOUSE OF MY TEAM. She is the strongest companion I had, no joke. She crit hit so many people and saved my ass so many times. I’m actually so grateful for a queen like her. The reason I put her slightly lower is because her Act 2-3 story was not as strong as Act 1 for me. I did see her improve, but the spotlight of it turned from her development to the freedom of her people slightly, thus I wanted the spotlight to stay on her. I must romance her to see her even softer side, my frog queen!!! I kiss you; I smooch you <3 <3 <3

2. Gale

OHHH DEKARIOS you have captured my heart with your endless vocabulary knowledge and swagless rizz 💜💜💜. The real Gozde stans know she can never say no to a brunette malewife guy with pretty brown eyes. I LOVE Gale, and searching up his name after my run left me shocked as I saw that the majority hated him sdhsgdhsgd. Now, I'm not gonna lecture anyone, but if the only reason you hate him is because he eats only THREE of your artifacts (which are ridiculously easy to find in Act 1, Skill issue) and because he talks a lot, yeah, I don’t wanna listen to you lol. But if you are actually critical about his neutral self and his inflated ego, I’m all ears as it is always delightful to listen to takes that make sense. I kinda see myself in his story, thus maybe why it hit me this hard. The prodigy genius wizard (I’m not calling myself genius, but I had VERY high grades ehehe) who thought his studies defined him, thus became this egotistical guy who was pretty decent in magic. Literally ruined his life for his ambitions to become something more, burning out like a candle that gets lit up fast, locking himself up in his tower and succumbing to depression and self-hatred. A relationship that broke his self-love, and now he hides his deepest insecurities behind his shield of "Gale of Waterdeep" title. Thinking the world would be a better place if he just killed himself. Thinking himself so worthless that a small token of appreciation feels like a parade he needs to cherish. Thinking the only way to improve himself is killing Gale Dekarios and becoming the memory of a once-great wizard—not stopping there and actually trying to rise to godhood of ambition just to show everyone, Mystra and maybe himself, that he is enough. OH THE ANGST. In the past, I did have such cold feelings for myself; sometimes they still resurface. I did think of taking my own life because of the pain I caused for my family and friends. Even though my reason isn’t as explosive as his, I get him, and Tav's romance revolving around healing him and not having kinky sex 24/7 really touched something in my heart. I thought that maybe I, too, deserve to be loved. Maybe I, too, should reach for highs that are realistic and stop being a suicide threat 24/7. Ohh, I adore him. I can talk for hours about his story, but I gotta keep it short. He is incredibly powerful in combat if you build him right, and I believe I managed to do that. He taught me so many different words, and his sudden flirty remarks really left me speechless, just looking at the screen fucking dazed. Ahhhhhh I LOVE YOU FUNNY MAGIC MAN.

AND NOW THE WINNER IS

SHADOWHEART

Ever since I watched my bestie play EA, I knew she was going to be my fave character. I don’t know if it’s because of her soothing angelic voice, or because of her goth design, or the way she sees the world, or because we both share religious trauma, but I don’t care—she is my favourite companion, character, BABYGIRL, girl for girls, and everything really. In EA, she was a lot colder and had her walls up, but I feel like they tweaked her to make her more likable—probably because of the male audience lol. But nevertheless, my love for her didn’t lessen an inch. She is one of the realest characters. Her trauma is actually so heartbreaking: getting stolen from your fam because a CUNT wants to be the right hand of a deity who is nothing but misery and pain to people, getting educated your whole life in the ways of being cruel, GETTING YOUR MEMORIES TAKEN FROM YOU as if they aren’t what makes you who you are!! These are some hard-to-swallow things that I absolutely eat up when they’re fictional. Religion is a weird thing—it makes you feel safe; believing in something makes you feel grounded. But you also feel the pain caused by people who use that religion as their sword. Shart’s case? Shar was a master manipulator, played her like a toy, fucking used her to her liking. Thus, another reason why I’ll always HATE DnD or medieval gods—they’re all talk and no action. They only take and leave you disappointed. Fucking selfish mfs. And I was so glad to watch Shart embrace herself even though it cost her family’s demise. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked how her fam died—it really showed the player that they actually wanted what’s best for their daughter and not some cheap “fam reunion oh no you guys are dead again” trope. She jokes like a dad, and her smile is the warmest thing in the game. She is one of the most sapphic-coded characters I’ve ever seen, and I just cannot wait to romance her with my righteous paladin. When it comes to fighting, I feel like I wasn’t able to make her much of a fighter but more of a healer. Dgmw, she saved my ass multiple times, but she also missed. A LOT. Regardless, if I was playing the game without the party limitation mode, she’d def always be in my party both because of her aid and humour and because she is the prettiest girl ever. I LOVE FEMME CHARACTERS MUAH. 💜💜💜

[supernovaodessa]

Curious... Vanilla cake, lemon cake, Italian cheese cake.

Vanilla Cake: How do you spend a lazy, rainy day?

Ahh...my favorite kind of day 😍 It starts with morning snuggles in bed with my kitty. Then drawing a bath filled with scented bath oils, flower petals and candles lit all around. Listening to a rainy day playlist and reading a book. If I'm feeling up to it I'll cook up something nice and cozy. However, if it's a proper lazy day I'll end up ordering takeaway and enjoying it on the couch whilst binge watching something like Downton Abbey, Killing Eve or Game of Thrones/ House of the Dragon.

Lemon Cake: What/who makes you smile the most?

What comes to mind immediately is the first snow of the season. I'm smiling just thinking about it! Winter is my favorite and when I feel the first chill in the air I get so excited. You can smell the snow before the first flake even falls from the sky. And that night when everyone else is asleep I go outside and watch it. How the pearl white snow twinkles like diamonds and stars in the moonlight. Nothing can ever beat that.

Italian Cream Cake: Name five of your top travel destinations.

The UK

Spain

France

Italy

South Korea

I hope these answers have satiated your curiosity.😊 What would your answers be?

[biffhofosho]

Chapter 4

The end of chapter 3 almost became the end of me, sadly I had to rush to tend to my family BUT their conversation stayed with me for the rest of the time. Hyungwon was so vulnerable and honest and she responded in kind and his smile at the end. JKNG;KJSD\NVO;I

NOW LET’S SEE WHAT THIS CHAPTER HAS FOR US

The description of the palace, wow, if used to that, no wonder the emperor and empress feel anything less than that was inferior. I understand but still boooooo for them. In any case I am happy Naran found a favorite place in the palace

“I’m very relieved, my lady. My room is on the left. Yours is on the right.”

“They’re closer than I thought.”

“Do not worry on that account, Princess. I shall never intrude unless you ask me to visit you.”

I AM DYING!!!!

And her room? Bed big enough for two? The ANTICIPATION???

It wasn’t long now. She would be in this bed, and it wouldn’t be for sleeping.

I should like it very much if you looked at me…

“Is everything all right in there?” called Hyungwon from the lobby.

OF COURSE NOTHING IS OK!!!!!!!!! Oaeo;bfonbfdzoojmlkerf

I just LOVE how affected Naran is by Hyungwon

Change her name? NO WAY. it must have been so difficult for Hyungwon to oppose to his father’s wishes

“Prince Hyungwon risked his father’s favor to side with you, my sun. Did you not see?”

“I saw a son challenging a father, same as I do with my mother. It’s nothing novel.”

“Stubborn and willful thing,” said the queen, though this time it was colored with warmth. “You truly are a reed, Narangerel. He did that for you, not in spite of his father. My read on that boy was exactly right. You two will be something magnificent.”

kjNGV;O\NV;OI\SNVKLDMZ;XL  HE IS DOING IT FOR HIMSELF BUT ALSO FOR HER, I AM SURE!!

WEDDING DAY JITTERS!!!!! I totally understand her, I would be running for the hills!!

“I couldn't survive this without you, Magda.”

“Of course you could. New title or not, you’re Moghul. We can survive anything.”

SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Ahh the ceremony, you’re describing everything so well, I can see it vividly in my head

LOL THE GOOSE HONKING

“When the curtains covering the doorway were pulled back, her husband waited with his hand outstretched. “Welcome home, Princess Supreme Narangerel.”

His cheeks were plump and his eyes were crescents as his wife slipped her hand into his. The palanquin shifted with her weight, and Naran pitched forward into Hyungwon’s grip. He lowered her to the ground, and together, they headed into the throne room.”

THIS IS SENDING ME

And the last line, GODS I CAN’T wait to read that following chapter!!!! But it will have to wait for now.

Yes, I really wanted the palace to feel overwhelming and impressive, and it is (since it's a real place and wow wow wow, you know?). Maybe the emperor and empress will be a bit more than we've initially seen, but the question is in what ways?

Ahhhhhhhhhh the bedroom scenes. The building tension in those scenes is my favorite thing in that chapter, tbh. The implications and the possibilities!

Affected? Yes. Acknowledging it to herself? Haha, thope.

Hyungwon's motivations for a lot of things will become clearer and clearer in the very near future. What a stupid, beautiful hunk... *sob*

Babygirl Magda is always there just when she's needed the most.

The wedding scene was actually kind of insane to write tbh. Part of me wanted to make it its own chapter, but I ultimately made the decision to leave it at the end of four because in reality, the day was so out of Naran's control and, ultimately, despite the fact that she's the star of the day, she has very little to do with it! Isn't that insane? As I researched royal weddings, my first impression was that the woman is a fixture more than anything. As I said in that section, everything happens around her and to her, but she is not required to do much of anything! She's a piece on a board game being shuffled around to strengthen other pieces. I wanted that to shine through the exposition. Honestly, it's meant to be pretty sad, despite how lovely a few key players are in their little interactions with Naran.

Hahaha, the funny thing is the goose was actually a part of the royal ceremony for real, but I also wanted it to infuse a bit of how preposterous everything was happening around her. ;)

In the end, the wedding day was hardly about the couple, isn't that crazy? Those bits and bobs at the end when the bride and groom could finally connect need to really felt like they mattered because the reality is he's all she'll have in short order, huh.

So if the day wasn't about them, let's see how if they can make the night heh heh heh.

Love you, girlie! <3

[dangermousie]

Ok, I keep dumping enough to open my own dumping company so this is the last addition, I promise!

My bretheren in being annoyed at this set up @aysekira @mercipourleslivres @da-man-si and anyone else, I just realized which drama this set up makes me think of (unfortunately not in this drama’s favor) - and it’s not any of the ones I mentioned before but the glorious, tragic favorite that is The Rise of Phoenixes.

TROP, just as KMLM has the set up of an elegant, wrongly accused prince trying to ruthlessly avenge his beloved dead against his royal siblings and to win the power game, while FL is a survivor of a tragedy that resulted from power games for the throne and one ML is accused of. He starts out trying to use her but he’s drawn to her from the start and eventually she becomes everything to him, but he cannot derail his goals even for her.

The reason I am making this comparison is because there is a sequence where his plans for vengeance result in deaths of people who like ladies here, were dear to FL - and once again he wasn’t the one who planned to murder them and carried it out but he didn’t care. And she comes and rages at him and it causes a break - you PROMISED me she screams! She feels betrayed, the distances. It’s very similar in some ways - this is her realization that this charming fellow traveler is really not as pure as she thought, that he is ruthless, that he lies, a thought (which FL in KMLM makes explicit) that if he’s like that with others, will he be like that with her, disappointment in his (lack of) morality in her view, his ruthlessness.

But it worked so beautifully in TROP, the way it did not here. And I think it’s a variety of factors - it’s because our FL in TROP is young and sheltered and bright eyed and idealistic (FL in KMLM is a freaking assassin) and this is her first time in complexities of the world (TROP is an age gap romance for a reason), it is because her biggest disappointment is not abstract morality but that he betrayed her expectations of him and the image she had of him and the word he gave (but also once again from the start she is portrayed as an innocent idealist the way Mei Lin cannot be with her past.) But also because ML really is genuinely ruthless. He did not try his utmost to protect from collateral damage unlike ML in KMLM. Her accusations feel more fair.

The ending of TROP is very much what I think the ending of KMLM will be - “love is never fated for an emperor” so he won the game of thrones but she is dead and he is drowning in loneliness, every day a torture of unfulfilled longing. And I want want want so badly to be as devastated by the ending of KMLM as I was by TROP so I need the drama to make me love FL again.

I do think some of it is censorship - even TROP ended up suffering from censorship and that was in much more liberal days - so KMLM is doing its best. But ahh, I wish oh I wish.

PS that is not that scene but this small bit shows why all their scenes were insane!

@aysekira when the current onslaught of airing cdramas ends, want to make this our next rewatch?

Nobody ever did it like them before or since.

OK, FL really shouldn't have spent so much time with Xiyan siblings because idiocy is contagious.

The way she complains that MRJH didn't tell her he burned the ladies is bizarre in the first place (since when must he tell her everything; she hides stuff from him too, as he points out) but it's an emotional reaction so I get it. But her fit about his methods being ruthless is INSAAAAANE! It would be one thing if he deliberately offed them (and even then - par for the period and class) but he did not. He drew attention to them to deflect from Mei Lin and as a result, things cascaded and ultimately, Crown Prince and Hostage Prince killed them. He didn't put the random foreign women's safety first but like HE IS A PERIOD ROYAL, not a modern head of a charity nonprofit. And I would buy her rage if she was a modern transmigrator with modern morals but THIS WOMAN IS A PROFESSIONAL ASSASSINNNNNNN! Where were her morals when she was assassining on behalf of the shadow sect or taking random kids in to turn into mini assassins.

Ummmm exactly, does she expect to get revenge by being a boy scout against a mass murdering crown prince? Her morals are so high I don't think she'd even be OK with what someone like Fan Xian is doing in JoL and once again, she is a period woman and an assassin!

Good Luck. Lady you are blessed with beauty, tenacity and fighting talent, but oh dear, you are not blessed with brains.

This really screams "we needed a misunderstanding/angst/separation now so we are gonna cram it in even as it makes no sense."

UGH

tl;dr modern morals sit ill on an ancient time assassin.

Are...you complaining a royal prince didn't make some stranger commoner women's lives his priority in his revenge plan? Woman, you are an idiot.

[ukiyokki]

mars reads too much dreamnotfound fanfiction for their own good

a dreamnotfound fanfic recommendation list by your resident dumbass (me)

this took way to fucking long... i’m tired

below is a (very extensive) list dedicated to all my favorite dnf fics, ranging from quick one shots to 100k+ word monstrosities that devour the storage on my computer, forever incomplete masterpieces to ongoing works of art, you get the idea. i provided links for each fic/series for your reading pleasure. there will be no smutty/nsfw fics on this list, that’s just not my vibe lmao. this list goes in no particular order, and i’ll update it from time to time when i feel like it. now, without further ado, let us begin.

Heat Waves (complete) by tbhyourelame

(wtf else did you expect, looking at a dnf rec list?) amazingly well written, and while it’s not my favorite dnf fic it’s damn near close. in the midst of a brutal heatwave, a suffering dream comes to terms with the fact that he is desperately in love with his best friend. everything i could say about this fic has already been said by nearly everyone who’s read it, so if you haven’t yet caved into the hype, just go for it. you won’t be disappointed.

Gonna be around (completed) by georgescatcafe

(mc irl) my favorite dnf oneshot to date. just read it, i don’t wanna spoil for you :)

Inferno in the Sky (ongoing)by zairielon

(star wars au) an ongoing star wars au currently clocking in at almost 200k words. need I say more? everything about it absolutely slaps, each chapter is amazingly written, and it’s just good. also, can we just appreciate dream and tubbos dynamic in here? 10/10, amazing, must protecc. oh right, a summary: george, an exiled padawan turned engineer, must return to the jedi temple after attacks on it from an unknown assailant threaten the safety of himself and the other jedi.

Like Magic (ongoing) by KangarooKen, NotGra55 (Gra55)

(harry potter au) the unofficial official dnf harry potter au. we watch the young unlikely wizard pair grow up together throughout their years at hogwarts as they battle good old fashioned wizard racism. beautifully written, incredibly fun and suspenseful, and just an overall blast and a half.

GeorgeNotFound, Son of Poseidon, and the League of Minor Gods (ongoing) by Clichewho_69, Cygnvs, Trash_Kinggg

(percy jackson au) percy jackson au? check. “road trip” (technically quest but u get what i mean)? check. enemies to friends to lovers? check. this fic follows the plot of the lightning theif (albeit loosely), but everything is explained enough where you don’t have to read percy jackson to understand what’s going on. basically after moving to the usa, george gets taken to camp halfblood where he learns that a) gods exist. b) he’s the son of poseidon and c) he needs to prove that he didn’t steal zeus’s master bolt.

Protected (completed) by aenqua

(royalty/camelot au) my favorite piece of dnf media of all time. dubbed the official dnf camelot au, where dream is the heir to the throne and george is a servants son with a secret that couldp get him killed. these childhood friends grow up together and learn trust, love, and acceptance. (that summary did not justice to the masterpiece that is this fic) here’s the directors cut

The Hunter (completed) by HederEgo

(mc irl) a choose your own adventure fic with 13 different endings, where dream the hunter must kill george and stop him from beater the ender dragon. enough said.

The official dream team cowboy AU (series)(ongoing) by antsu_in_my_pantsu

(cowboy au) cowboys and outlaws horses and shit. and the big gay. it’s a cowboy au, what else did you expect? fucking yee haw (all seriousness this is a great read, i loved it so so so so much and i can’t wait for the final chapter to release).

This is a Drista moment, let's just accept it (completed) by Qekyo

dnf fic from drista pov. considering its unique perspective, it’s perfectly done. beautifully showcases a sibling relationship through drista and her memories/moments with dream, and it just works, y’a know? also drista supremacy.

Dear Dream (completed) by Qekyo

(wwii au) i don’t cry when watching/reading anything sad. translation: i’m a heartless bitch. however, this fic is the only exception. it caused me to cry so hard my mom walked in my room and asked if i was ok. ‘nuff said.

TECHNOlogical Wingman (completed) by Closeted_Bookworm

techno is the autocorrect ai on dreams phone, and he gains sentience. interesting concept, and the author fucking nailed it. great fic.

It Was Only a Fic (ongoing) by imagineitdear

dream starts reading a dnf fanfic (we’ve all been there buddy).

Teacher’s Pet (ongoing) by niyuha

(teacher au) in which dream is a high school english teacher and george is the new comp sci teacher in room 297.

Saltwater Secrets (ongoing) by earlgay_milktea

(mermaid/high school au) a great example of the shear amount of variety in fics this fandom has to offer. when i started reading dnf fics i would have never thought i’d find one about a mermaid george hopelessly crushing on his human friend, who happens to be his schools star swimmer. yet here i am, and i am far from disappointed.

Smash My Heart (incomplete) by dontrollthedice

george and sapnap are commentators for duper smash brothers tournaments, and george develops a crush on an up and coming smash streamer named dream.

roleplaying in the dark is harder than it seems (completed) by Alienu

laser tag. 10/10

solar system (completed) by quartzfia

(mc irl) george vists dream in pandora’s vault.

Ramblings of a Lunatic (completed) by jungkooksfic

ahh communicating through a notebook left on a shelf in a bookstore- what a perfect way to start a relationship.

Paint me like your French Girls (It's Charcoal, Actually) (completed) by Turtle_ier

(artist au) george is an art student, and dream is a model.

00:00:00 (completed) by isleofdreams

(soulmate au) 00:00:00 is the moment you meet your soulmate, as indicated but the clock ticking down on your wrist until the moment you meet. i’m not a fan of soulmate aus; this fic is the exception.

Blue Skies Smilin' At Me (completed) by kivy

(artist au) i don’t usually cry while reading stuff, but this brought me damn near close. george is a painting conservator and chats it is with the ghost of the artist if the painting he is working on. they fall in a love.

Current Location (incomplete) by hendollana

(influencer au) george simps for a hot american instagram model. who knew he’d actually follow back?

The Withering (series) (series ongoing, 1 work completed) by App1e_Juice

(mc irl) lore and world building and fight scenes and everything i crave. what’s not to love? something starts making the plants and crops around dreams village wither, and must team up with new friends to find the cause of the mysterious disease plaguing the land.

Minecraft, But You Can't Leave (complete) by facadecake

(mc irl) dream and george are sucked into their own private minecraft world together and must beat the game to escape.

Free The Game, Beat the End (incomplete) by goatgoatwasfound

(mc irl) a glitch in minecraft causes thousands of players from around the world to be trapped inside minecraft, with only one way of escape- beating the ender dragon. first dnf fic i ever read, and it’s still 10/10 for me.

Why don't you come a little closer? (completed) by lifeofandoms

george gets stood up by a date, and Dream pretends he’s the date to save george from the embarrassment. simply adorable.

lightning bug (completed) by saintachesP

(band au) while on tour, dream realizes his feeling for george.

Hold me closer (completed) by Treesofmyheart

(mc irl/dsmp) i just,, really like this trope.

Dizzy on caffeine (completed) by GleamingGreenGoggles

(coffee shop au) best dnf coffeeshop au i’ve read. periodt.

living a life of crime isn’t always easy (series) (completed) by itisjosh

(mafia/assassin au) stockholm syndrome except it’s not weird.

Inhibitions Make Interesting Situations (completed) by Ship_On_The_Sea

i pissed myself laughing. it’s just a dream and george being hilariously dense, flustered idiots. serotonin central.

thy eternal summer shall not fade (completed) by gracequills

(high school au) that moment when you recite shakespeare to your crush in your ap lit class instead of confessing (hate it when that happens).

All is Fair in love and Football (ongoing) by graciegirl2001

(college au) #1 favorite college au. in which george is a cheerleader, and dream is the football teams rising star player. this one gets extra points because of the amazing karlnap moments sprinkled throughout. *chefs kisses air*

online love (completed) by andbutso

(high school au) online classes go zoooooooom

Can’t help falling (completed) by isleofdreams

dream re-learns the guitar to sing to george on his birthday. beautiful. fluffy. amazing

dance in the rain and my arms (completed) by lazy_kitkat

george is a rain god, and dream is a wind god

Weather Boy (completed) by DaintyDiizzle

wouldn't you like to know, weather boy? (where dream can control the rain)

The color orange (completed) by anon

(mc irl) dream describes the colors of a sunset

Family Mode (completed)by Strawberry_flavoured_tears

they’re dads :,)

Breathing Room (incomplete) by papercranes

(band an) an amazing band au. the mad lad author wrote original songs for each chapter. above and beyond, mad props :). unfortunately, it’s incomplete

Piece of Clay (completed) by carbonbrine

(artist au) george is a sculptor and his sculpture comes to life- but oh no he’s hot.

Try (completed) by Not4typicalwriter

(royalty au) george must choose a suitor, but none of them are up to dream, his head knights, standards. or dream is hella jelly. also protective dream is perfect

When the Roses Bloom (completed) by HederEgo

(royalty au) close second for my favorite fic. go to royalty au for a quick serotonin bost. it’s all fluff and flowers and crushes, and i love it. criminally underrated.

Heavenstruck (ongoing) by dontrollthedice

george is dreams guardian angel, and dream want to find out more about him and his past life. bittersweet :,)

Bang and Burn (completed) by App1e_Juice

(spy au) george accidentally falls for target number 1 on sapnap’s secret agency’s hit list. this ones great, i love me a spy au :)

Can I get a uhh… (completed) by lemonskies

dream keeps pulling up to the drive through mcdonald’s that george works at drunk.

Pretty Stranger (completed) by anon

when looking for dream in the terminal, george sees a cute guy and decides to flirt.

Take my Hand (completed) by latinbias

(royalty au) another royalty au? poggers. surprise twists? double poggers. love this a lot.

seconds, minutes, hours, lifetimes (complete) by meridies

ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP *inhales to compose herself* roadtrip au. unrequited love, ignored feelings, longing, pining, you know the drill. absolutely love this one, its the best roadtrip au i have ever read, in any fandom. (maybe cause i identify with it a little too much, but thats not important. whats important is that you read this fic. right now. im waiting).

Message redacted (complete) by justyouraverageloser

(text fic) dream asks for a girls number and realises hes been given the wrong number. however, an unexpected relationship starts to form between him and the stranger on the other end of the line.

the waves (completed) by anon

(mc irl) this fic was written by the same anon who wrote the color orange, which is up there on my fav dnf oneshot list. dream and george know they have a higher purpose. they don’t know where they came from, or why they are seemingly the only humans in the world, or how they feel about eachother, or even where the skeletons come from, but they are sure of one thing: they have to beat a dragon.

The Dream Doll (completed) by PeppDream (Pep_Pizza)

(voodoo i guess) i’m a real big fan of fics with really out there or unique concepts, so naturally this one makes the cut! i really liked it, it’s really sweet and made me think a lot about what matters to me in the world. george finds a strange doll in an antique shop, and would really like to just stuff it in a drawer and forget about it. sadly (?), the doll has other plans.

last updated February 6th, 2021

[not-poignant]

So the Fae Tale Verse saga is coming to an end and I feel conflicted. Of course I feel very sad, I mean...10ish frickin' years. I very much ike to believe this work is among some of the core-memory factors which contributed in shaping the person I am right now... that's how good your work is. I know so many people already told you that, but I cannot do otherwise. And yet I'm also so genuinely grateful for what the future holds. Despite I will miss Augus and Gwyn so much. A 1000-times gramercie!

Ahh thank you so much anon!

I feel conflicted about it too honestly.

I am relieved, because 9 years hurting the same characters frankly gets old after a while. I just want them to be happy, and that means I have to stop writing them. It's a weird thing to spend 9 years with these people in your head 24/7, with increasingly fully realised personalities, and then one day just being like 'no no it's cool, I'm going to stop hurting you' and then having a lot of other folks being upset with me about it lmao. But at the end of the day, I feel like I've told their stories, over and over again, there's so many versions of them falling in love with each other, and they're all hurt/comfort and angsty, and it's like, okay. On that level, I am 100% ready to let them go and I was probably ready a little while ago.

(And I also know from watching other creators, that forcing to write characters once you're done with them, for the sake of readers, makes creators very bitter towards those characters. I've seen creators unknowingly or knowingly punishing characters just to spite an audience (Supernatural comes to mind), and I don't ever, ever want to get to that point. I'd rather depart while we're all in love with these characters, than at the point where I hate them, and everyone else is upset with what I've done to them - this is absolutely a phenomenon that happens, and as someone who felt the beginnings of bitterness at the idea of feeling 'forced' to write them, I realised it was well and truly time to close the door. I do not want to do that to any of us, and I simply don't want to keep writing them anymore).

And then I'm also sad, because I've spent again like 9 years with these guys in my head and they're great company and I love imagining them doing things together, or puttiing them in crises and I know them so well as characters that I always know how they're going to react and what they're going to do, and there's something very comforting and easy in that, and I won't have that in the same way with new characters for at least 2-3 years. Like I can do my characterisation work, but let's face it, thinking about a character and writing some exercises can never compare to writing a million words about those characters and how they literally react to things. So I'm going to miss the comfort and ease they represented re: my writing process, but I'm also just going to miss them. I know I can go back and reread, but it's not the same.

And then I'm also really scared! I don't know if I can write captivating new characters a second time. I don't know if people will stick around. I don't know if I'll attract new readers (which is kind of really crucial if I want to keep doing this for an income). There's a whole lot of - I don't know this world like I know Fae Tales, I can't answer almost every question yet, and elements of it are really challenging (the worldbuilding is way more expensive and there are conlangs).

And finally, I'm excited. Excited to try something new. Excited to see if I can do this all over again, and create something epic and fun and wild and angsty and hurt/comforty with new characters, so that we all get to have the experience of reading Game Theory the first time, or The Court of Five Thrones for the first time, but with an entirely new story, where we're all getting to react to that together.

Fae Tales has definitely contributed to some core memory things with me! :D

But yeah, the inner conflict is really too anon, it's a big thing for sure <3333

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Thank you so much for the reply! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts here! And I definitely agree with a lot of them.

You seem to be of the same mind of Maximillian Dood and The Night Sky Prince in a lot of areas. Max's favorite part of the game is the same as yours.

And The Night Sky Prince was kind of disappointed that this game turned into another "we have to kill god/fight our fate" Final Fantasy game, just because the majority of the Final Fantasy games have been doing that lately? (It's too bad that with Dawn of the Future, Final Fantasy XV fell into that. Because it was probably the first one in ages that did the opposite of these things, and was about accepting your fate, and had the gods be good and stuff.)

And I know fate is a large theme in Final Fantasy, but you'd still think that if they're going to write about it, they'd be able to subvert things more, or have it at least be less in your face. Like, Night Sky Prince brought up Final Fantasy X as an example of that. In some ways, Final Fantasy X is also about changing fate, of course. But it goes about it in a way where it's less obvious than the other games, so that you might not even notice it. And where it feels like there's so much more to it than just that. And I can't help but to agree with him.

Night Sky Prince also ended up missing some of the Game of Thrones elements in XVI--and the war of nations that the game started with, and that we were promised--like you did. And the fact that the game kind of turns away from that is probably a good thing for the FF purists (and maybe serves as a twist?), but if nothing else, at least the game was original for a Final Fantasy when it was doing the Game of Thrones things, in his eyes.

For me... I definitely agree that the last act was the worst. I don't hate Ultima. There's stuff about the story with him that I like--videos I've seen on YouTube about how he's a villain deconstruction are definitely interesting--but I almost wish they had brought him into the story earlier, or made it clearer that he was the Big Bad earlier on? Because is it just me... or does this game almost feel like Tales of Vesperia in some regards, where the plot doesn't seem to always want to know what it wants to do, and keeps going from one thing to another? It's not nearly that bad, of course. With Tales of Vesperia, it was that numerous writers for the game had different ideas for the story and instead of deciding on one, they just opted to put them all together. With this game, I think they did have a clear story and vision from the start... but I feel like they were trying to be secretive? And to do a man-behind-the-man type thing quite a few times, which left me wondering what we were really building towards more than once? IDK. I think that's part of my issue with the last arc. But it's definitely the weakest one, for sure.

Oh my gosh, I love your theory about the dark summons so much! Ahh! I didn't think about that. But something like that would have been so cool!

And, yeah... the inconsistency about how Dion was fine after Clive took his summon and why Jill gets sidelined still bothers me. Is it because they wanted to do the tragic love thing with Clive and Jill, somewhat? Or because of all those years Jill was forced to fight in wars against her will, which got her closer and closer to petrification? A little bit of both?

Oh, dang. Anabella forcing all of the Dominants to give Olivier their blessing would have been so cool, if such a thing were possible.

I also wondered how Clive was able to skip getting Leviathan with Ultima's plans for him, tbh (I'm also wondering if Typhon was a summon?). I'm hoping the DLC we're getting (that seems like it might be about Leviathan?) clears that up. And right now, I'm definitely buying into the theory that Medicine Girl was Leviathan, but she hadn't awakened. But we'll see.

I don't want a sequel explaining what happened to Clive or Joshua, either. A lot of fans hate the ending (which is understandable, and definitely their right to) and they want that clarity of what happened, but I think getting rid of how the ending of the game is ambiguous would ruin it. First of all, I like the sort of nod to FFVII's original ending there, which itself was ambiguous. But more than anything, it fits in perfectly with the theming of the story. Final Fantasy XVI is a game seeped in lore. You can have the lore explained to you any time you need it, even in cutscenes. So the fact that the Final Fantasy XVI's ending is the one time you can't, and you don't know for sure what happened there, was clearly an intentional design choice. You're supposed to be able to choose for yourself what happened to them, like that whole thing about how Cid wanted to build a world where a man could choose how he died, but it wasn't how he met Clive that he realized he should be trying to create one where you could choose how you lived: Clive finally created that with the ending. And offering that choice through the player is just really genius.

I'd be all for a CId prequel. Haha. I think most people would be. He definitely is the best Cid the series has ever had. Though it seems like that might be what the upcoming DLC is about? Which also would be cool. I just hope the DLC is expansive enough to cover all we'd want with a Cid story:)

And, yes: Clive is just the greatest. How I love him so.

The last we talked about Final Fantasy XVI, you'd just seen someone get punched by a certain someone. Are you any further now? Like, have you seen the ending of the game? And if you have... I guess the developers of Final Fantasy XVI have said that this game has so much lore, they could make a sequel with it, which is most definitely true. LOL. Who knows if they'll ever actually do that (if so, it'll be very far off), but if they do, what do you think it'll tell? What would you want it to do?

I have indeed seen the end of it by now! To be honest, I kind of have mixed feelings on the plot of the game as a whole. Love the characters, Clive especially is now one of my favorite Final Fantasy protagonists, but I can't help but feel that the game is a little disjointed in spots. They advertised it as the story of Clive's life spanning three eras, but those three eras don't have equal weight and end up coming across as Prologue #1, Prologue #2, and The Actual Game if that makes sense given that you've actually played the game and I've only seen other people play it. And, honestly, when I think back on it, I kind of liked what Prologue #2 with Clive in his late 20s was putting forward the best out of all three sections

I liked the darker and more personal angle that they were putting down, with a story about a man whose latent powers went berserk and he ended up hurting someone close to him, desperate for revenge without realizing that the one he wants revenge against is himself. But then it feels like they resolve that angle very fast and everything after that is a very classic "god is evil kill god" Final Fantasy plot. It's a well-done version of that plot to be sure, and I can really respect how well they tried to capture the feeling of old-school Final Fantasy games, but given how much of the marketing was about this game being darker and more mature, to me it felt like the themes got almost less mature as it went on, going from personal grief, this desperation to rebuild, the price of revenge, etc. to a more generic "free will good" story

Spoilers from here on out

That said, the developers are correct that there's so much lore, and to me that's the best part of the game. I've always found stories that heavily feature elemental-themed areas a lot of fun, like Avatar: The Last Airbender or One Last God: Kubera, so this game giving each summon a specific element and, for the most part, keeping it one summon/element per faction was really interesting to see brought to light. I think the fact that they touched on different factions viewing their Dominants differently was a good start, I just wanted to see a bit more of it on-screen because again, like I said, they started doing that at the beginning, but then it kind of got completely overwhelmed by the "Ultima wants Clive to have all of the Dominant powers" stuff and then never bothered to really look back at how the people felt about losing their nation's Dominants (also they way that they handled Clive taking the powers was kinda weird? Like, Dion carries on just fine and can still transform but Jill gets benched? What?)

Ahhhhhh I just... I almost wish that Ultima had just been an interesting background element and that the game as a whole had focused more on the infighting between the nations and Dominants and Bearers, rather than the other way around. I just found Ultima so generic and uninteresting, and that the game focused too much on making Clive this Super Awesome Chosen One because of it, when I found he was at his best when he was just a kind, awkward man struggling with this unprecedented power he was stuck with and the trauma it brought him

Because to be honest, at the start of the game I wondered if, maybe, what was happening was that they were gonna pull some classic Final Fantasy Dark World stuff and have it be that every Eikon had a dark counterpart. So Ifrit would be the Dark Eikon of Fire to Phoenix's Light Eikon of Fire and they could have used other classic FF summons as the Dark Eikons, like Garuda vs. Sylph. And the Light Eikons could bless people with their power like how Clive had the blessing of the Phoenix, while the Dark Eikons could steal powers. But, no, it's just Ifrit being Super Special and everything. Also... why... was Joshua the only one who could seemingly bless others with his power? Dion couldn't give Terrence a Blessing of Bahamut or anything and give him some light powers? Jill had to let Clive absorb her Shiva powers rather than blessing him with them becauuuuuuse...? And, man, it could've been so interesting if they had a sideplot on Anabella trying to force all of the Dominants to bless Olivier to match Clive or something. Or maybe not even a sideplot, that sounds like I would've liked it way more than the Ultima stuff because of how much more personal it has the potential to be and the game could've been a race to take the power of each Dominant before Olivier could get their blessings. Olivier was so underutilized

As for the lore, I think they do a really good job fleshing out Bearers, so really if they had more to look into, it would be the unanswered questions. Like, we know that Valisthea is only one continent on this world (Cid isn't originally from there, and IIRC neither was Barnabas's family), so what are the others like? Where is Leviathan? Are the theories that the Medicine Girl was Leviathan's Dominant, just not yet awakened, true? (Also, if Ultima needed Clive to have all of the other Eikon's powers, why were we even allowed to skip Leviathan? Shouldn't we have had to track them down? Why did they end up lost?) If the truth is that Ultima's people descended from another world and created humanity, then where did the idea of the Goddess Greagor come from? And what about the legend surrounding the star, Metia? Is Metia magical or is it just a cute legend thing?

Hmmm. If they ever did more with FFXVI, it would have to be a prequel, wouldn't it? Because I think where it left off was exactly where it should have, with some hope for the future and the world moving on, bittersweet with all of the losses that it took to get there but worth it all the same. (I know that there's a lot of theories about who "Joshua Rosfield" is in the end, and I actually prefer that it's ambiguous. Whether you think Clive succeeded in bringing Joshua back at the cost of his own life, or that Clive took Joshua's name which is the one that I think has the most in-game hints to it, or even if you want to think of a third option like one I've seen where Clive survived, but the "Joshua Rosfield" in question is actually his and Jill's son named in Joshua's honor, sacrifices were made and hope remains)

So I think the route with the most potential might end up being a Cid-centric prequel about what life on other continents is like. And I would never complain about more Cid, especially in regards to how he was chosen by Ramuh and what about how things are on other continents is that made him so averse to how Valisthea does things. I think that Cid is really something special due to his status as an outsider looking in on Storm and Ash and how his different perspective compared to everyone there is such a catalyst for what happens in the plot and it's a real shame that most of what we get of Cid is posthumous. So if FFXVI was to get its own sub-series, that's where I'd take it