#going back to medieval guilds

[marzipanandminutiae]

"Traditional European ArchitectureTM is the best! modern architecture is degenerate!"

"alright, well, putting aside my strong disagreement on the philosophical/ethical undertones of your statement- I do love old buildings! you must be a big proponent of paid apprenticeships for preservation students"

"um what?"

"well, people have to know how to preserve these buildings. and as it stands now, only those willing to go into student debt or with family money to fall back on while they study can afford to learn the techniques involved (unless they're lucky enough to be born into a family with their own preservation contracting business). young people aren't going into these fields even if they want to, because they can't take the financial hit"

"yes but why should anyone have to pay them to learn? they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps!"

"...right. well, what about preservation grants? nationalizing historical site museums?"

"government handouts! no way!"

"preserving and revitalizing traditional forms of building craftsmanship, like decorative masonry or plasterwork, stained glass, tiling, clockmaking, etc?"

"those things cost too much and will hurt the building company's bottom line!"

"talking about the people whose labor made these incredible works of architectural art possible?"

"woke history!"

"adaptive reuse, like letting businesses rent historical buildings with appropriate restrictions on modification?"

"ew! not in my backyard!"

"traditional buildings in styles from other parts of the world?"

"no, no, no! everyone knows western art is the most ~highly evolved~!"

"so, let me get this straight: you just want grand old buildings to be there, and stay perfectly intact, unused for anything, with no effort whatsoever. and you want new buildings to happen in that style but somehow as cheaply as throwing up a glass-and-steel skyscraper that starts falling apart in six months? also only western-style buildings, and we should only talk about very specific people who occupied them?"

"yes!"

"my guy, you don't actually love old architecture"

[thatdeadaquarius]

Hello there, friend I'm here for fluff

OK, this has been on my mind for a while

But like

The reader is just becoming the biggest parent to the Benny's adventure team kids

And the wolfs

We are like a parent of like 27

Knitting and making food brushing razors hair(let's be for real, you would hear a crunch when you brush it)

I'm not gonna lie

Do these kids know what spices are?

Cuz when I think about it

Razor hasn't had shit so he's has the least tolerance for spice

He would probably cry if you feed him a pepper

Bennett has tried spicy food but does go well with it

And not completely sure if fischl has had a spicy food before

But what flavor does mondstadt add to their food??

These kids need the damn flavors

AHDHAKALL FERAL ANIMAL AQUARIUS- ANOTHER PLATONIC ASK AAHHHHGGGGDJJSFHSAK!!!!!

AND ITS YOU!! ITS- ITS- ONE OF THE WRITING RULERS OF SAGAU (FOR ME AT LEAST) <3 !!!!!!!!

You cooking in genshin all anime studio ghibli style looking like food from god (literally): ⬆️

Sun: Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: Headcanons-ish

Stars: Benny’s Adventure Team! (Bennett, Fischl, Razor), Diluc, mentions of other Mond characters

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: mild cussing, & Trigger Warnings: none known.

Please comment if I missed any. /gen

☆

^^ The posts being referenced in ask, (OG Razor ask) (Benny + Razor) and a more direct sequel, a part 2? a part 4 atp?? of this post (Imposter/Not Dark AU + Razor + Diluc) ^^

OMFG

ALRIGHT LISTEN UP BITCHES

SINCE UR IN TEYVAT

YOU GONNA COOK LIKE TEYVAT

AS IN-

SHIT BE SUPER EASY TO COOK, AND MASS MAKE DEPENDING ON COMPLEXITY OF DISH

(So, like Zhongli's special Bamboo Shoot Soup is like getting made... once a year if you read the little desc. for that dish 💀)

AND THEYRE ALL LIKE-

ANIME GORGEOUS FOODS ✨️❤️‍🔥

OKAY SO

PROMO TIME-

U GUYS HAVE TO WATCH THE ANIME "CAMPFIRE COOKING IN ANOTHER WORLD"

Bc that's mostly where this inspo gonna come from to both be realistic cooking + best parts of video game cooking

A guy gets isekai’d and instead of hero powers he just gets the skill of "online grocery shopping" LMAO

and ofc he gets insta gifted whatever he orders and starts making dishes and adding spices and regular stuff you know. like soy sauce.

but the best part is the food in that world is like British medieval soup shit

like barely salted, no spices definitely, no sauces, its barren

so he ends up attracting all kinds of interest that want to eat his cooking ofc

And it gives buffs too!

dw i didnt spoil anything u don't learn in the first episode, but that's just to say that's exactly whats happening here

u DO have to manually collect more ingredients but its so worth it, also u can just buy in bulk or put a commission thru the adventurer guild

tbhhh now that i say that, that could be how u end up drawing in Benny’s Adventure Team even more, bc they just take all ur quests for collecting ingredients around Mond!!

(u have to actively sneak behind their back and whisper to Katheryne that you want to put in other food quests in other guilds tho, silly kids will absolutely go running around Liyue and crazy shit just to have an adventure and do smth for you + eat ur banger food lol)

omfg the first time u barbecue smth???

the wolves, Razor, and Andrius??? Go feral.

Fischl and Benny who were already on their way to u guys to hang out again start booking it thru the woods, dodging hilichurl camps (thatve since settled down and been v peaceful to the wolves + anyone in the woods of Wolvendom after u started living there)

they knowww ur cookin smth fucking amazing

(and u even have some hilichurls and mitachurl that wander close to Andrius’ edge of the woods to shyly beg for scraps,, u give them a portion)

Razor was actually lookin at u like u hung the stars just for him when u gave him a homemade barbecue sauce to put on his food

(u acc may have done that to Teyvatians according to Andrius + the stories u overheard from Springvale…)

ok but the amount of begging u get for desserts like-

No, Razor u cannot have chocolate cake/cupcakes after every meal, u need to take care of ur teeth

(u use ur collection of mora-monster-donations for comms for more ingredients and living supplies like fabric + furniture, u cant afford dental on top of that for ur boy)

Fischl dutifully declares you the “best chef in the kingdom” and writes down all ur recipes (u have them auto-stored in ur settings obv but it cant hurt to have a physical copy, and they look so happy doing it, u don't have the heart to tell them its not necessary-)

Benny insists on both giving u extra ingredients when he takes ur commissions, and giving u handmade trinkets or weapons for the meals!!

No!! He will not take “im good” for an answer!! ur sharing ur home-cave with him, taking care of his best friend Razor, and now feeding him food better than Liuli Pavilion!!! There’s no way he can just take all that and give nothing back!!!!

and theyre not the only ones getting some food tbh

when the knights begin patroling near Wolvendom and slowly all of Mondstadt to search for their “All God”, u break up the beginnings of a fight between 2 confused knights and the now peaceful hilichurl camp at the edge of Wolvendom

U offer some snacks u were going to give Benny’s Adventure Team when they got back (u made little triangle sandwiches, rice balls, etc. finger foods, and u made plenty extra bc u kno their teenage appetites lol)

the knights and hilichurls nearly cried with appreciation, which made for a hilarious sight when the teens actually showed up lmao

ur wearing ur cloak, bc u dont wanna take on that whole “creator of worlds” title just yet, and the kids helped verify u werent anyone suspicious (Benny + Fischl keep ur godly secret, theyre the best like that 🥰)

the knights just swing by for snacks occasionally (they also either pay u in trade or with mora, theyre not bullies)

another person who gets flavored food privileges is the lazy librarian witch herself

u also sometimes pick Razor up from Lisa’s tutoring and bring “the best tea and tea snacks in the world” along with to share with Lisa and him

(she is also fully aware after awhile of meeting u of what u are, and fully believes this is why the food must be enchanted to be so good, but u dont want to be treated super reverently she can tell, so she keeps ur secret too and is just extra flirty when u come by lol)

(Razor refuses to let his pare- Lupical move out of ur cozy cave to the library, so he sometimes hauls u away when Lisa flirts too much LMAO)

…and the moment you've been waiting for.

Yes, Diluc got to try ur food that night he was searching Wolvendom for signs of the god of Teyvat

tbh Diluc was half-convinced that shit was a fever dream.

a bunch of sleepy wolves, a coffee table in the stone colosseum, a giant spirit wolf licking a big plate clean, the wolf-kid glaring at him, and you.

you with gold eyes, staring right thru his soul, like you already know everything there is to know about him, (like the way Kaeya looked at him that night),

like he doesnt even have to introduce himself

and he doesnt, u just lightly smack Razor’s hands until he gets rid of his claymore w/a pout, since Diluc had long since dropped his,

and grab a plate, piling on what leftovers u could, and turn back around from the coffee table to smile at him, patting the cushion-seat beside u for him to join

The giant glowing wolf licks his lips and watches him, the wolf-kid’s creepily watches him, and you, with eyes gold in teh light of a simmering bonfire just past the table, watch him

he just sits down and begins to eat.

its the best food he’s ever had, its his dad’s favorite dish, but not realistically, but the way memory embellishes a dish so much it can never be tasted again, except its right here. in front of him. u pour some wolfhook juice for him, and offer him a napkin to wipe his mouth and eyes

Diluc visits often after that, obviously.

u give him snacks too, and when he lets the staff try some, Adeline will not stop harassing him abt gettin ur recipes/ingredeints so u get him to pay Fischl to get a copy of their recipe book :)

including blank pages for future entries, and Fischl is literally glowing with happiness, would not stop monologuing abt ur food for weeks (send help Oz wants some peace and quiet sometimes)

Oh Diluc absolutely told the Favonius knights he found you. But he’s not saying where LMAO

Jean is actually begging him, Diluc ik u hate the knights but this is an international investigation-

this is the closest Diluc has ever gotten to getting under Venti’s skin.

when he told him this at Angel’s while bartending, he just casually ofc said this, just his smug little smirk, and the anemo god cracked a glass and everything- esp when he said he tried ur cooking??

he's gotta start looking over his shoulder in the city bc not only is Venti stalking him, the entirety of Mondstadt’s citizens are glaring at him in envy everywhere he goes LMAOO

(Venti now has a bar glass or too on his tab to pay off as well)

mans is literally paying u in weapon/artifact materials/mora to make him lunch one day and Venti nearly lunges over the counter

(Diluc purposefully ate it in front of him 💀)

ur food is the ultimate, “u could make a religion out of this!” /ref

like Diluc fully gives u offerings of ingredients he can pay for shipping from other countries + along with regular materials after grinding in domains

does the rest of Mondstadt + the world find out where u are?

only if Diluc lets them tbh. LMFAO

☆

bk trashfire my beloved <3 love ur ideas and stuff, goes without even saying im so sorry i took actually forever to respond :’(

hope u have a great weekend and i did this little side story justice for you

Safe Travels BK Trashfire,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡my beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit / @chinuneko / @silvers-tongue

@kiyomi-uchiha777

[evilwickedme]

I said I'd never do jumblr content again and yet here I am because this keeps coming up and it's like the only thing I can think about. That said I will not hesitate to turn off reblogs if y'all are horrible in the notes again, and be warned that I will be blocking anybody who supports any of the theories I mention immediately

There is no such thing as a conspiracy theory that isn't antisemitic. There is no such animal

Antisemitic conspiracy theories go back thousands of years. The ones that still have the most hold on culture to this day are the blood libel, and the protocols of the elders of zion

The blood libel was an accusation that would be brought against Jewish populations in Europe often but especially around Passover claiming that we were killing Christian children for ritual purposes, usually to use their blood for baking matza or other nonsense (it is important to me that you know that this is nonsense. It is horrible and damaging but also to the core a ridiculous lie that never at any point made any sense. They just didn't care). Debatably this trope is present in the merchant of Venice. Undebatably Jews were killed because people did and still do sincerely believe this

The protocols of the elders of zion is a fictitious document published in Russia at the very beginning of the 20th century, supposedly detailing the meetings of the Jewish people who secretly run the world. The protocols were almost immediately proven to be a rip off of another document - ah, plagiarism - but that hasn't stopped antisemites from embracing it wholeheartedly (special thanks fuck you to Henry Ford for publishing them in his newspaper, spreading it across the USA). It built on previous antisemitic tropes, from the greedy banker trope (Jews were forced to be money lenders in medieval Europe as it was forbidden in Christianity and Jews weren't allowed to join any guilds, preventing them from making money in any other capacity - the reason why there are so many Jews in Hollywood is identical, but in the early 20th century) to the concept of dual loyalty (i.e. Jewish are loyal to ourselves above all else and cannot be trusted to be loyal to the country where we live, see: modern trope that every Jew is probably loyal to Israel and the subsequent idea that it's okay to ask every single diaspora Jew how they feel about Israel immediately upon meeting them). It's also worth noting that the word cabal, used to denote the shadowy organizations that supposedly control the world, comes from kabbala, which is Jewish mysticism

The idea of lizard people, created by a guy literally named Icke because he is a gross human being, was designed to repackage the antisemitic shadow cabal concept to be supposedly more palatable

Most qanon theories also build on all of this, such as world leaders preying on children (remember pizzagate?)

But more importantly conspiratorial thinking always positions you as the good guy standing against a mysterious "them", an other which is influencing things behind the scenes. The Jew is the ultimate other, and specifically an other that supposedly forms a shadowy world government, controlling everything and yet somehow not managing to get rid of antisemitism (see: protocols of Zion, lizard people, we control Hollywood and the government which is of course conspiring against you). There is no way to decouple the idea of an evil shadowy organization (usually also referred to as a cabal to really hammer it in) from antisemitism and antisemitic tropes

And this means that even supposedly "harmless" conspiracy theories attract antisemites and train people who aren't necessarily rabid antisemites to confirm those kinds of biases. Obviously Qanon and lizard people are antisemitic, but what does the moon landing have to do with Jews? Well, it was Hollywood and the government that faked it, obviously. Hell, even the conspiracy that Taylor Swift is secretly a lesbian and is either still secretly dating or is exes with Karlie Kloss is riddled with antisemitism -

Okay so I need to explain my position on this because I fucking hate this conspiracy theory, and the fact that most people simply won't acknowledge that that's what it is. Firstly, Taylor Swift has stated that she is not gay or considers herself an ally at least three times off the top of my head, and specifically denied that she was dating Karlie Kloss. Secondly, outing people is wrong. Thirdly, the conspiracy theory hinges on the idea that she would be risking her career by coming out, except that she's proven that basically no controversy can come in the way of her career, she's already "come out" as an ally, donated to glaad and the equality act, promoted queer musicians & artists & designers (there was a song in the reputation tour that was dedicated to a gay designer every single night of the tour). So what's stopping her from coming out at this point? Mysterious forces, clearly. The antisemitism in that I've already explained, but also the virulent antisemitism among Kaylor shippers aimed at her husband and at the fact that she converted to Judaism is fucking disgusting

Again: even a supposedly harmless conspiracy theory leads to antisemitism and attracts antisemites

A few years ago I tried to rewatch white collar cause I remembered really enjoying that show as a preteen and after around a season I just couldn't stand it anymore, because all I wanted to do was jump into the universe and yell at Mozzie to shut the fuck up because these conspiracy theories were barely presented as a joke and never challenged even once by any of the characters. When I rewatched that 70s show it also fucking sucked, but at least it wasn't showing up in every single episode. The blacklist focuses entirely on a literal Cabal, that's what they're called

This stuff is so normalized and it's fucking everywhere and it's exhausting. Jews are to this day being murdered over this. I can't change the world by myself, unfortunately, but if you don't have a specific person to blame for your troubles, shut the fuck up. Just shut up. There is no conspiracy against you. Sometimes life just sucks. Or definitely does for the Jews who get shot at over this shit

Again, I'll be blocking anybody who parrots this bullshit in the comments but especially fucking gaylors y'all are one of the main reasons that being a fan of Taylor Swift's music is fucking unbearable. Just accept you can connect to music made by somebody different than yourself it's not that difficult of a concept

[celaenaeiln]

okay so spoiler but

dick beats the fuck out of bruce in batman 138 for drugging and hurting jason and i’m just like “damn you GO dick”

kinda reminds me of someone telling me that above all else, dick is a big brother

but what do you think about that?

OMG OMG OMG FR?!

DUDE I'M SO EXCITED TO READ IT!!!

Dick is chill with Batman on everything but the second someone hurts his family?

He'll tear the world apart.

Titans (2008) Issue #29

What matters to Dick the most in the world is his family. He goes absolutely ballistic when someone hurts them and that includes Bruce. And for all the crap Bruce said to Jason? HE DESERVES IT.

Dick is also fully capable of beating Bruce to bits because like Bruce said

Nighwing (2016)

"Your experiences since you went out on your own have made you more than qualified to be your own international strike force of one."

Actually I want to bring up something about the importance of family and the Roma culture.

For the Romani, there is nothing more important than family. In the medieval ages, they migrated from northern India to all across the lands to all over the world but primarily Europe where they were instantly popular. They were excellent metal-workers and basket makers and in a time when these were the most sought after commodities/talents ever, people were completely taken by them. However local guilds resented this type of competition, so they enforced economic punishments on them in order to monopolize customers.

This time period also experienced a lot of religious activities such as the protestant reformation so there was a lot of religious tension. Considering the Romani's fame and success in things like fortune-telling and how they were from another religion, the Church hated them and feared they would change the minds of "proper christians".

The church and guild worked together to push the Roma out of their society and threw vile stereotypes on them that still last to today. The Romani have been prosecuted for centuries.

Okay, why is this important?

It's partly because of these actions, even though the feeling already existed before, that the Roma culture stresses the importance and value of family. Because for them, it's the Roma vs the whole world. They started forming clusters after the persecution where all those who were Romani would be family. Found family.

Dick, being Roma, takes family extremely seriously. He cherishes them, loves them, and refuses to abandon them. He accepts all their mistakes and success because he loves them for who they are.

Dick is the legendary big brother everyone wants to have.

No matter what happens, he will always protect his family and the good. Even if the threat comes from inside.

So for as much as Dick adores Bruce and loves him with every fiber of his soul, he loves Jason just as much too and there's no way he's just going to let Bruce go for what he did to his baby brother. His baby.

Slay king.

Big Brother Dick's always got everyone's back.

[leafa-blog]

DAY 2 BLIND DATE

**** ONLINE CHAOS ****

— How did I get into this trouble? — he said with his hands on his face.

—Didn't you say you wanted to try? — he put his hands on her waist.

— Yes, I said it, but… How did I let you drag me into this? -

— Don't complain! Look, we already have a date, in 3 weeks everything will be ready-

— Oh no… What if I hide under a rock? -

— Stop talking nonsense!... Oh right, now I'm going out with Ichigo, we're going to see a movie, are you sure you don't want to go with us? I wouldn't like to leave you alone -

— No… don’t worry, I’ll be fine, you know I don’t like ruining their dates -

— You don't ruin anything! And if he says something, I just hit him and that's it - he smiled widely.

She laughed at the last thing I mentioned — I know you will, but still, I'm fine, I'm going to finish the essay I have pending and then I'll go to bed, okay? -

— Mmm ok fine, I'll go change then, he'll be back soon -

- OK -

.

.

.

.

— Have a good time, guys! — he said goodbye to his friends, then closed the door and headed to his room.

He turned on his laptop and began his homework, he looked at the clock, it was barely five o'clock, he continued and continued, when he finished he looked at the clock again, it was seven o'clock, he went to get something to eat, about two sandwiches, a glass with some juice and that was it, he looked in his drawer for his headphones that were shaped like fox ears and opened the application.

— You took a while to connect -

— Sorry, I had homework, and I just finished it.

— Okay, and your friend? I usually hear her singing through the microphone when you log in -

— Oh, don't worry, she went out with her boyfriend, you know, dates and stuff like that -

- Hmm -

— And the others? -

— They've already left, we already have the mission -

— What?! You stayed to wait for me? -

— Maybe we'll go or we won't catch up with them -

- Clear! -

The girl was in her room playing an MMORPG with a group she met in said game, she had been playing for more than six months, the type of game was from the medieval era, they were made up as a group of adventurers or Guild as they called them within it, there were two girls including her and three boys, each in their role, Priestess, Adventurer Swordsman, Ninja Warrior, Assassin Warrior, a Thief Fighter, they had gotten along somehow, and that's why they tried to meet at least in the game three times a week.

— Damn, where did you go?! -

— I'm behind you! -

— Priestess, do something! We need you to heal us! Otherwise, we won't be able to defeat him! -

— Coming! - he made an incantation - ready, wounds healed and power increasing gradually! Go for the dragon! -

— Where the hell are you two? We need help! -

— Idiot, we're on top! Bring him to the center and we'll do a combo! -

The fight continued until the boss fell.

— Yesssss!!!!! — some of them shouted euphorically.

— Young man! Are you still playing?! Go to bed now! - a scream was heard in the background from someone sending one of the members to sleep — Huh? What time is it? - he spoke into the microphone.

— It's already past 12?! -

— Damn, I have to go to school in a few hours!

— Hahaha, that's what you get for staying in high school, kid - one of them laughed.

There was a commotion and then the Ninja Warrior disconnected.

— Shut up, we have a midterm in the afternoon and you haven't even opened the study handouts! - said the Fighting Thief.

— And for what?! It's always the same information! - mentioned the Assassin Warrior

— We make a good team but you are all very noisy - it was the Swordsman's turn.

— Say that again! You better shut up or I'll kick your bedroom door down and get you out of there! -

The girl heard her companion's laughter and couldn't help but feel happy.

— I envy you all so much… you all not only know each other, but you live together.

A giggle was heard . "Not really, it's a pain to put up with these two," the Fighting Thief mentioned.

— And you are a pearl in the sea, aren't you? — he said ironically.

— Shut up! I'm talking to her, where are you taking my piece of pizza?! Let her go! -

— Make me! Ha! -

— You'll see! Come here!!!! - an intermittent offline was observed on the characters of those two.

— See what I'm saying? — his voice sounded as if he were bored?

— Still, it must be great, are you sleepy? -

— If you say so, and no, I'm not sleepy, don't you have classes in a few hours? -

Her giggle was heard . “No, I have until the afternoon too, I sent the essay by mail so I’m free until 11… and you?”

— As these two said, we have a midterm in the afternoon, I've already read the summaries so no problem, it will be easy to pass -

— Sometimes I envy your confidence, I am a bundle of nerves when I am evaluated -

— From what you've told me, you're a good student, why are you worried?

— You remember about my scholarship, right?

— Yes, I remember, but still, you should stop being nervous, that will only make you stressed - she heard a typing - do you want to go on a couple mission? -

— Thank you, you are someone trustworthy, even though I don't know you in person... of course, why not? -

And so they continued in the game completing a mission in one of the caves, there were goblins and both had to rescue the villagers captured by those horrible creatures.

— Holy Light! -

— Perfect! Now enchant my sword -

— Yes! - He extended his staff and performed the spell.

— Share the Pain, Red Winged Soul! - A few more blows and even the goblin champions fell, along with the troll that was in the cave.

Then they both saw the words “Congratulations” on their screens and knew that they had successfully completed the mission.

— I think it's time to go to sleep -

— You're right, it's already 3:00 and you need to rest… -

— You too, see you later -

- Wait! -

- Hmm? -

— It's just that... well, a while ago I said I was going to ask them and I hadn't had the chance-

— What is your question? -

— We've been playing together for a long time now, but I was wondering if one day I could meet them and find out their real names? —

— Mmm, well the reason we don't give our names is because it's hard to socialize if you know who you are, but I think maybe it could work, you could also ask them where do you live? Online games are worldwide, at least we know we're all in Japan -

— I'm in Karakura and you? -

— Kyoto -

There was a sound of disappointment, either it was his imagination or the girl took the answer the wrong way.

— Bu… well, maybe one day I can visit them… huh? I think my partner arrived, I'll leave you, we'll connect the other week -

- Bye -

- Offline -

— Earth calling Orihime! Hell answer! -

— Sorry! I'm sorry -

— Damn, what the hell is wrong with you? You've been in the clouds since Friday, what happened? Is someone bothering you? If so, tell me who it is and left him unrecognizable to his mother! -

The young girl laughed softly, sometimes her friend was very overprotective of her. — No, it's nothing like that... I was just thinking about other things... -

— Are you still thinking about the handsome young man you'll see in two weeks?

— What?.... Rukia-san! - her red cheeks showed the embarrassment she felt — You know very well that I didn't want to get into that - she covered her face.

— What's wrong with it? Well, maybe we don't know what he's like, but I don't think things will go so badly for you... I've heard that Rangiku met a young man named Gin, and now they're both a couple, things went well for them - he put on a smile from ear to ear.

— Rukia-san please don't make it seem like it's the coolest thing in the world, what if it's someone who only seeks to do harm? - just thinking about it makes me tremble internally — I'm stupid to follow you in these things... - she pouted.

— I already told you to calm down, nothing will happen, you'll see that it's just your imagination, these sites are trustworthy! Believe me! -

Orihime Inoue, a 20-year-old girl, studying her third year of industrial engineering, beautiful, fair skin, orange hair, goddess-like silhouette, or so some of her classmates called her; was studying at Karakura University thanks to a scholarship she managed to win, this because her parents could not afford such a place or even higher education.

She had as a partner a short girl, short black hair with blue tones, her eyes were an intense violet, her attitude was always cheerful and sometimes angry, she was studying Business Engineering, just like her boyfriend Ichigo, a tall young boy, very handsome, and they got along very well, for some strange reason and say strange, they both looked too much alike, physical features, hair color, the only thing different was their character, he was cheerful but explosive, she was sweet but naive, even so they had come to have a good friendship since the first year they met.

And it was precisely because of that friendship that she was there, in a mess not knowing what to do, how she got into that situation, the only thing she said was that she was a little envious of her friend's boyfriend, but it was not for the little girl to sign her up without asking her, to a blind date site...

— I must be crazy -

— I would say yes, but since I still don't know why, I can't confirm or deny -

— I don't know whether to laugh or cry with your answer -

— Whatever you think is appropriate -

— Guys! Could you stop chattering and help me!? I'm about to be devoured by this Rock Dragon!!!! - said the Assassin Warrior.

— It's an Elemental Dragon, you idiot - he took out his sword and recited a few lines - Let the blood of the chains join the sword, show the pain and cut its wings - with incredible speed he gave 13 stabs and a last cut managed to weaken the dragon, to almost ninety-five percent of its power - Shit, I couldn't finish it, are you going to stay there or are you going to do something?, stupid cat -

— I'm not a cat, your brain is… -

— Chamois combo strike!!! - and with a sparkling kick he managed to finish defeating the dragon.

— See, it wasn't that difficult?

— Shut up!!! - he roared — damn it how the hell was I supposed to know I activated that trap?! And where the hell is that brat?! -

— Don't call me a brat! Here I am the Ninja Warrior Nnoi… -

— Whatever you say! You could have warned me about that trap! -

— I told you! Didn't you read my message? How are you playing and you don't even know how to use all your settings? -

—Your damn child…! -

— Leave him alone, he's been angry for a week now -

—And what happened? — asked the Priestess.

— Do you remember the partial we said we were going to have? -

— Yes… don't tell me what? -

— Yes, I quit, and now he has to work on an essay and read 200 pages to earn extra credits -

— Oh -

— Hahahahahahaha! And then you say that I'm the idiot who doesn't study hahahahaha what a brave example you give me, old man! -

— Damn brat! Come back here and repeat that! -

— Back to his usual nonsense -

— Guys! I forgot to tell you, a new game has come out and I've read several reviews that it's really good! Do you want to try it and we can go in? -

— What is it? — the youngest asked curiously.

— Ahhh… mmmm - a nervous giggle was heard.

— You forgot, right? -

— Yes.. Sorry!, but I think it is with BBS something like that….-

— BBS? What is that? A song? -

— No! Damn, I'll remember, look it up and send you the details, okay? -

And everyone in their own way answered Yes.

— Do you have time? — the priestess approached the Swordsman.

— Do you need anything? -

— Yes, that's what I'd like to talk to you about, but not in front of the boys.

— Okay, if you want we can go into the rest area and chat, what do you think? -

- perfect -

They both moved to the rest area and after their companions said goodbye and logged off, they continued chatting for a while longer.

— I want to understand you can't tell your friend that you don't like the idea and you just accepted -

She sighed in defeat — Yes, now you understand why I said I'm a fool. I don't know how I let her drag me into this. Honestly, the idea doesn't seem good to me and I'm scared.

The young swordsman sighed imperceptibly but listened to the girl's story then replied

— Look, I'll be honest with you, it's a crazy idea and I think it's stupid that you accepted it without putting up any resistance.

— I know, I know... what do you think? What do you think I should do? -

— When do you say it is? -

— Next week or so she told me, I honestly don't know what to do, I don't want to go but apparently there's a small fine that they charge you if you don't go and my friend paid in advance so I have to go... I'm about to stick my head in a hole - her drama was heard - I don't know what's going to happen but I hope things don't go wrong -

— Do you want me to tell you a little secret?

- Yeah? -

— My friends did the same thing, just like you, they pretended to be me and agreed to everything, so I just have to go on a blind date just like you -

— Are you serious?

— I wouldn't be telling you this if it wasn't true, so I have to show up even if I don't want to -

— Misfortune follows us… we have some friends who love to get us into this kind of trouble -

— You just have to face it. If you don't like it, you turn around and leave. I intend to do that. I'm not going to be there wasting my time with someone here that I don't know and who I've never agreed to go out with. I suggest you do the same.

— I think you're right. In any case, I'll put some pepper spray in my bag. I don't want to run into some fat, old guy pretending to be a young man, so I can end up running away from him. — A nervous laugh was heard.

— You read a lot of fiction novels, right? I think your tastes are in forensics. At what point do dates become that type? There are several platforms, from what I understand and from what these idiots told me, where they are in charge of avoiding these types of scenarios. I think the page where they entered my information has one of these filters. Could it be that or will you soon see on the pages “dumb boy is murdered on his first date”?

— Don't joke about that! -

— I'm just stating the obvious -

— Still… don't say that… well, you clearly guessed my tastes and I hope you're right about the platform -

— Just do what you have to do, if you don't like it, turn around and walk away, say "thank you and I'm sorry", you can even tell her that you didn't mean to be there, that something happened and you leave, cut off your friendship and that's it -

— Nice phrase, I can do the first one, but the second one… how am I going to leave Rukia-san… if it's true that she likes to get into my things, but she's a good girl -

- If you say so… -

— Listening to your answers, it makes it sound so easy -

— It's easy, the problem with you is that you like to meet the expectations of others, I give you some advice, live your life and don't think about others, not everyone will help you when you need it -

- You think? -

— I've only just met you online, and from what I've seen, if you're that type -

— You… Have you been through something similar? -

I only heard typing and the response took a while to arrive.

— I don't go around telling some aspects of my life everywhere… but… I think I can make an exception with this -

— No! Please, if it bothers you, don't tell me anything -

— Even though I say that they are idiots, they are honestly trustworthy people. Before university I was in a group with some classmates who put me in a very complicated situation that almost cost me my last year of study, but in the end it was resolved. I mean that you can't trust everyone... I don't trust everyone.

— I think you're right, my brother says the same thing too, I don't have to be confident and even less try to please everyone -

— Your brother is smart -

— It's the best! - she sighed - I really enjoyed talking to you, I've taken a weight off my shoulders waiting for someone to listen to me, and I appreciate your advice too -

— Well, one more thing, with all this I forgot to tell you, and the others forgot to mention it too, next week we won't be able to connect, we have some activities and we'll be on an exchange at a university outside of Kyoto, so we'll be busy -

— Really? It's a shame, it'll be a long week for me, but that's okay, I'll wait until they come back and Ninja will be out too? -

— Do you really want to play as a couple with that kid? -

Rio nervously — Hehehe you're right, no, I don't want to, he's very good at playing but he's very intense and there are certain comments that make me uncomfortable when he says them -

— Okay then, see you next time -

— Yes, goodbye -

-Offline -

After that, they both left the game. The girl began to think about what he had told her. It was true that she needed to be a little firmer, that is, not always try to meet other people's expectations. She had to think more about herself. She didn't deny that her friend possibly wanted the best, but she also had to respect her decisions. When she said no, it was a no.

Unfortunately, he couldn't cancel the appointment, but he would do what he said: he would go, see the person and tell them that it had been a mistake and that he was grateful for coming. He hoped with all his heart that nothing bad would happen when he did that.

The days passed quickly in the blink of an eye, before she knew it she was ready in a white turtleneck shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, knee-high boots, and a dark beige thigh-length trench coat... she had put on a light makeup, had part of her hair braided in a half ponytail and strands falling over her face, she put on some accessories and in her purse she already had everything she needed for that night, her friend helped her get dressed and gave her a lot of advice on how to have a nice conversation or dinner with her date, clearly the orange-haired girl wasn't happy about what was about to happen yet, but as her brother sometimes said, " take the bull by the horns"...

— I'm excited about what's going to happen tonight! You have to tell me everything in the morning! -

He gave a forced laugh. “I told you the first day and I’ll say it again, this is not a good idea, but because of you I now have to comply.”

— I already told you that everything will be fine, just have faith! -

He thought internally — Yes If I could have the confidence, that you say I should have, I wouldn't be doing this in the first place -

— Well, here is the address, this is the restaurant where he will be waiting for you at eight o'clock, he says he will be wearing a black jacket and black jeans, he doesn't say anything else -

— Are you sure? -

— Yes, sure, it says that what you have to do is that when you get to the restaurant you tell the waiter that you are going with the knight of swords-

—Knight of Swords?-

— I have no idea what he means but that's what he put in the note -

— Okay then I'm leaving, I'll see you later if something happens I'll be calling you... and if you don't answer me I assure you that my ghost will look for you to the ends of the earth! -

— Yes yes yes, leave your drama, go now! - he pushed her out of the apartment.

—And where will you be? - I speak through the door.

— Go now! I'm leaving with Ichigo, he's coming for me in an hour! -

Just as she thought, she would be alone in this mess.

.

.

.

— Good evening, I have a reservation -

— Yes, Miss, in whose name? -

— Ummm… Knight of Swords? - she said embarrassedly.

The girl at the reception changed her face when she heard the name, she looked at her with disdain, a furtive glance up and down... Was it her imagination or was she upset with her for something?

— Follow me - I say dryly

They passed a couple of corridors and a few tables; in the background a beautiful violin and piano melody, it couldn't be, it was her favorite “Here to Stay” by her favorite composer Shiro Sagisu.

He couldn't deny that the place was beautiful, very sophisticated and elegant. After passing a couple of tables with diners, he finally saw the figure of a man from behind through a large window. Immediately his heart began to beat nervously... a slight tremor reached his hands, he encouraged himself internally and walked over to the table, behind the gentleman who was there.

— Young man - the receptionist called - Your companion has arrived -

She saw that he only nodded, and she responded with a " Anything you need just call me " he saw a blush on her cheeks and a smile, when he saw her again her face changed to an apathetic one again he looked up and down and walked away completely ignoring her, What had that been? No idea; returning to the present he sat in the chair in front and looked at the young man.

— Hi… hi – now she understood the receptionist girl, the boy was very handsome and there was no doubt about it, his skin was white to the point of almost looking pale, hair as black as night reaching the height of his shoulders and a rebellious lock falling over his face, green eyes, but not just any green, but deep and hypnotizing ones… — Excuse me… Knight of Swords? – she asked, even more nervous than before.

— Actually… well yes – was it just you or did his voice sound familiar?

She faced him, she didn't know what else to do, he was handsome and all, but still... it wasn't what she wanted... or was it?

— Thank you and I'm sorry -

— Thank you and I'm sorry -

They both spoke at the same time, staring at each other, remaining silent for an eternal minute…

It couldn't be... or was it even possible? He had learned that phrase from his playmate... perhaps...

— Fourth Sword? -

— Shun Shun Rikka? - he asked as well.

— Yes! You are the Fourth Espada… But how?! … You… You were my blind date? -

— Apparently - he said, then adopted an attitude of complete calm, leaving behind that astonishment that in the end was not even noticeable.

— But… how? I mean, you live in Kyoto… How are you here? -

— You forget that I mentioned that we were going out with the boys, for a University issue -

— That's true, so... They're at Karakura University? Why didn't you tell me? It's the only university in this place -

— I told you that I don't tell every aspect of my life to anyone -

— Yes… but…- and her spirits fell, she thought that despite the time they had been playing, it had been enough for them to consider her at least a friend.

The boy, seeing the young woman's disappointed face, decided to continue. "Hey..." he spoke quietly, hoping that she would hear him. "Don't make that face... I'll be honest, do you remember that I told you that they forgot to mention that we were going to be away for a week?"

- Yeah… -

— They wanted to give you a special surprise, Third Espada, but there was something very important that they also forgot and only realized when we were here -

- What is it? -

— He forgot to ask for your number… -

— What?... - I still didn't understand.

He sighed imperceptibly — What I mean is that with everything we came here to do, they forgot to ask for your number and since I warned you that we weren't going to connect, we assumed that you wouldn't do it too, she entered the game several times to find you but to no avail, so we assumed that it would be difficult to contact you and even less so if we didn't even have your real name -

And then she realized what he was telling her, he was right, she didn't connect again, she wouldn't do it until the entire week had passed. "Oh, I understand... thanks for clarifying for me," and she smiled radiantly at the young man.

There was something that stirred in the boy, that simple smile managed to make his cold heart beat quickly, a long time ago in his high school years he had fallen in love, but he had also been deceived and in the worst way, thanks to that, he decided not to give his heart to anyone again, anyway if you didn't have a heart, there was nothing to give, it was an empty shell as his friend sometimes said, but now, why did he feel so comfortable with her? She was very beautiful without a doubt, however, trusting someone again was not in his plans, but when he saw her sad face for some strange reason he didn't like seeing her like that at all.

- Good night,Are you ready to order? - said the waiter who arrived

— Oh, sorry, I guess not… - in the end he thought that if he was forced to be there, they weren't going to continue with that game any longer, remembering their conversation from last week.

— Please, can you give us about 10 more minutes, we haven't decided yet, thank you -

— With pleasure, sir - and the waiter left the place.

— Are you sure? - she asked doubtfully - last time you told me you were leaving... -

— That was before I knew it was you, do you want to keep chatting? - that vibrant and masculine voice, different from what she heard in the game, mesmerizing, immediately caught her.

— Yes… please – I said, embarrassed and blushing.

— Well, let me introduce myself properly... My name is Ulquiorra Cifer, a 4th year Robotics Engineering student, I'm 22 years old and I like online games, my pseudonym is Cuarto Espada - the drawing of a smile was seen on his face.

She happily replied, “Nice to meet you, I'm Orihime Inoue, a 3rd year Industrial Engineering student, I'm 20 years old, my pseudonym is almost always Shun Shun Rikka, but sometimes I use Hime, I like many things but lately I've been into online games.”

And they both extended their hands in greeting.

A pleasant conversation began. They talked about a little bit of everything, her and his tastes in music, art, among other things. They realized that they were both similar but at the same time different, they were like day and night, but for some reason they both complemented each other. He seemed to be bored by everything, but listening to her you could see that he was not distant or apathetic to the conversation. He really liked that she was intelligent even for the smallest things, even her appearance of innocence.

She was in the same circumstances as her companion, she couldn't help but think that her playmate was someone very interesting, apart from being educated and very intelligent, she always assumed it but seeing him face to face was something else, she was still amazed at how fate worked in that coincidence, but there was something that didn't fit her... Something that she felt he was hiding from himself, she didn't know how he would do it but she would find out. Her curiosity always got the better of everything.

They had a delicious dinner, a perfect atmosphere, and the company was certainly pleasant, after that they both shared their numbers and this time they surprised the black-haired man's friends, finally he met Tercero and Sexta Espadas, Nelliel and Grimmjow, their real names, they explained to him that they decided to create a group with matching names, as they were all in a class called Spanish, it was where they liked the name as such they even mention it in the real language. She also introduced them to her friend and her boyfriend Ichigo, there was a rivalry who knows why with Grimmjow and the orange-haired man, but in the end they all got along.

She created a very close bond with the boys, taking advantage of the holidays that came at the end of the cycle, she spent Christmas in Kyoto with them, and as everything happened she couldn't help but fall in love with Cifer, so she plucked up her courage and with the help of Nell and Grimmjow, she declared her love to the young man and he, who was also beginning to have feelings for the girl, accepted, so at Christmas they began their courtship, their relationship was going so well for a long time, that they hoped that after both finished university, they would go to live together in Tokyo prefecture.

Nell convinced everyone at some point after months of asking for it, playing a new online game that had been out for weeks already, she read the reviews and everyone found it interesting, so they left the Medieval Adventure game for a while and were now playing on a completely different field.

— Chain Bat -

—Tear Panther! -

— Declares… Chamois -

— Prayer Saint Teresa! -

A hard battle was taking place in that arid and desert field, with the darkness in the background and its sands of an immaculate color.

— Shit! Where did he go?! -

— Here I am... Grimmjow! - he shouted as he pulled out his sword — Bankai!!! -

— Hahahaha I wanted you to be serious!! Tear it off!! -

— Getsuga Tenshou!!! -

— Sexta, what are you doing? We had to make a plan -

— This is my Fourth plan! - punches, combos his transformation was amazing - Brat where did you go now?! ... Nnoitra do something with that Sado boy! -

— Don't give me orders! I'm just finishing with him! -

— Ahhh! -

— Okay, I beat you Grimmjow, now where did Cuarta go? -

— Were you looking for me? … Dark Zero -

— Damn it! Getsuga Tenshou!!-

— Soten Kisshun! —

A golden shield managed to protect the Fourth Espada, thus preventing his energy level from declining.

— Eh?! Rikka what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be our ally?! -

— Sorry Shinigami, but I'm part of the Sword Team, infiltrating the enemy was easier than we thought -

— Leave the rest to me, the others go get them -

— Yes! — shouted those in his group.

— Resurrection Second Stage - and a new and powerful transformation managed to show….

— Damn! Now I see two HP of Vitality and Strength? -

— It's time for the fight... Shinigami - he spoke while a green halo came out of his hands — Lightning Spear -

.

.

.

-Congratulations-

— Hahaha this is great! Another victory for the Espadas! - shouted the Fifth Espada Nnoitra energetically

— I haven't managed to defeat you yet, but I know I will soon - said the Shinigami — You surprised me with your double agent act Inoue -

— Thank you very much, Kurosaki-kun, you did well too -

— I told you that you would like this game, Bleach Brave Soul -

— I must admit it's great -

— Yes, who would have thought that you would become good at this, after complaining so much when we asked you to join us, Itzugo -

— For the thousandth time Nell is Ichigo -

— Sorry, I still have a hard time pronouncing Japanese names, Orihime is the exception, her name is easier -

— Yes of course and Grimmjow's name isn't that hard to pronounce or is it? -

— I'm Polish, what did you expect? The name is French, it's basically in Europe. I can pronounce some European names, but not Japanese ones.

— Yes yes, okay, I understand, call me whatever you want -

— So Ichigo, what do you say we play a duel, you against me and see who's the best?

— Don't you get tired of the same thing? You've already fought more than ten battles and they end in a draw? said the young man among them.

— Shut up, brat… -

— Okay guys, we're going to log out... there are still things we need to continue unpacking -

—And how are things Hime? Aren't you bored of living with Bitter Face? -

— Nell …. - the black-haired man warned

— Hahaha, you see, you are just bitter! I am surprised that you have found a girlfriend and one as sweet as Orihime, I thought that you would remain single forever hahaha -

— Oh, that's right! Before we leave, I'm inviting you to our wedding. We're getting married in two months, so you have to come. — She said energetically.

— HUH?!!!!!!!!! -

Everyone was in shock at the news, it was so serious that in the end he was going to get married? And nobody expected that, much less from his friend Ulquiorra.

— Orihime, you just broke the news in the middle of an online game — said her fiancé, a little annoyed.

— It's okay, besides they are our friends… -

— Are you sure? Look at the inbox wall -

And then the girl and the others checked, At what point had the news “Sword Bat marries Princess Hime-Rikka” gone viral and famous? Everyone read it… but… who?

And at that Grimmjow screamed.

— Damn brat! Was it your truth?! You did the same thing months ago in the other game!! -

— What?! You can't keep this news to yourself! Ulquiorra is the most powerful player here, at least they should know that he's already with someone so that no one can take him away from the Princess!!! -

— You bastard! -

And from one moment to the next, despite being online, everyone was happy for their friends, since it was no secret that they made a cute couple.

She took off her headphones and silenced her receiver, and so did the black-haired man.

— I think we'll leave it for a while to process, don't you think? -

— Sure, come here - and he picked her up and carried her to bed - I'm tired, how about we sleep for a while and then continue? -

She laughed softly - it's okay, even though we've been here for a week, organizing everything is exhausting, and who would have thought that today we would be here and together... on a blind date... -

— You said it… - he slowly approached her and kissed her lips, starting with a caress but then intensifying… — you are the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life… -

— You too… I love you Ulquiorra -

-END-

[fallenwhumpee]

Promise

• Part 1 • Part 2 • Masterlist •

Warnings: Medieval settings, blood, battlefield, dissociation.

"We are not taking that mission!" Healer shouted to Leader, their head stretched back to stare at Leader. "We don't take missions in villages. And this won't be an exception."

"Like it or not," Leader towered over them, putting a hand to their chest to stop them from getting closer. "We don't have any choice in that. We can't abandon our lands to the enemy. We will fight."

Leader watched as the anger got more intense in Healer's eyes.

"You will send us to slaughter! You know we don't do well in the missions involving civilians. The team..."

"No one will visit you after this." Leader cut sharply. "I promise. I won't let my team pull their usual stunts."

"You can't just stop them from taking a blow for some random stranger."

"Have more faith in me. When did I get us into something we can't handle?" Leader tried again. They needed Healer to see their point.

Healer looked at them for one more moment before sighing and averting their eyes. "But I'm not patching anyone after this."

"That's the spirit. Now pack up. We're leaving with the lunch."

Healer nodded, leaving Leader alone. Leader made their way to their room in the guild's barracks. They closed the door behind them slowly, letting their shoulders drop.

"I don't know what should I do," they admitted to the haunting heaviness hovering over them. A moment later, the familiar bone deep feeling of loneliness washed over them, and they had to lean on their desk to stay standing as their strength drained from their body for a moment.

"I can't  keep going on like this." They muttered to themselves  after it. This was getting beyond their control.

Stopping their thoughts to save their sanity, straightening their stance slowly. They walked over their wardrobe and pulled out a large shield, their sword and armour. They couldn't help but stare at them for a moment before starting to get dressed. The armour over their skin was the only thing that made them feel secure in those days. The only thing they felt like they belonged to.

Not their team.

Despite loving them dearly - and being loved back - Leader was not a part of the team. They were the sword and the shield between them and the enemy, but not a part of it. It was just according to the regulations. Leader couldn't afford to be among the people they were sworn to protect. It never ended well.

Slowly pulling the straps and locking the metal pieces into each other, Leader abandoned thinking altogether. A moment of peace was needed, and they found it relaxing just to do something and not think. They only left their helmet out, putting their long sword to its sheath on their back, placing the very large shield over it. Making sure it's secure, they packed two set of clothes and some water. They were ready to depart.

But their eyes lingered in the big room, checking it for a last time. Their bed was tidy, so the other... They averted their eyes. They forgot nothing. There was no need to torment themselves more.

Stepping out of the suffocating room, Leader felt heaviness linger over them for one more second, but they smiled when they saw their team and ignored the feeling.

"We are ready to depart." Right Hand walked a step forward. "Briefed about the mission. The place looks good for defence. I don't understand why they need reinforcements there."

"They need replacements. And I've heard it's nearing the end. The enemy is giving up. Just need some more pushing."

Leader walked past the team after glancing at everyone, the smile on their face not faltering despite the emptiness pulling their mouth down. They got into their house with one move, the shield messing with their balance a little. It was vast, even for Leader. They had never understood how...

No. Leader wasn't hoping to think about them. Leader had to keep their head there and then. They simply turned to the horizon and rode the horse.

"The battle will be already going on when we arrive," Leader said after they covered a significant distance. "I want you to stay close and work as one unit. You will just hold the defence until another order, either from the general leading the battle or from me. I need you to fight as long as you can, in the other words, do not try something idiotic because none of you will be useful if you're dead."

That gained some chuckles but also nods. Good. Leader needed them to stay alive and well. They made a promise, after all.

The rest of the ride was silent on Leader's part, listening to their comrades and keeping an eye on everything. They only slowed down once they reached the narrow gate, the last lights of sun already departed, leaving them in dark. The battle sounds began to give Leader goosebumps. They felt their heartbeat match with the distant clatter of metal and shouts, their hand instinctively reaching their sword.

The team hid the horses, getting ready to dive into the battle. Without a word, Leader drew their sword, the weight of it familiar in their grip. They blew out a breath and scanned the scene before them. Their focus shifted to their team.

"Stay close," they felt the need to warn.

Without further orders, the team advanced. The disgusting smell of blood-soaked soil once again filled their lungs, the ground beneath them shook. There was nothing, nothing that could distract them from doing what was right. They would not attack, never attack, but they also wouldn't hold back their sword raised to protect.

When Leader's blade met the enemy's for the first time, their focus was absolute, every movement precise and calculated. The clash of metal, the cries of the soldiers, and the roar of battle filled the air, a chaotic symphony that set their heart racing. They moved with a single-minded purpose, their sword an extension of their will, their body.

When their body caught up with their mind, they shifted their focus. Their limbs moved with the will to survive, while they could finally take off their mind from... all of that.

Their eyes found their team, which was holding themselves very well without any help. But Leader could see the telltale signs. Very few civilians were left on battlefield, but their team was already making a safe circle for them, but not as careful as Leader would like.

Still, Leader trusted their team. They trusted and went on, avenging their sword with swift motions. Their one eye was still on their team, and they could see the enemy finding more and more openings.

It was the last straw when they saw Teammate nearly dropped their sword under pressure.

"I hate doing your job," they muttered to the air, taking out their shield. They gripped the shield tightly, their focus shifting entirely to the task at hand. With practised precision, they positioned themselves between their team and the enemy, using the shield to deflect blows and create openings for counterattacks.

Blow after blow made Leader falter, their arms getting heavier from carrying the large shield with one and their heavy sword with the other. Still, they kept their footing as the shield absorbed blow after blow.

When the shield was slammed to their chest by another shield, Leader's breath were knocked out of their lungs, a crack sound lost in the loud clash of two sturdy metal. Leader gasped and relieved the pressure by stepping aside, the motion causing them to lose balance but gain some space. They swung their sword, managing to get under the armour of the enemy general— but also being the victim of the same move.

Their shoulder was stinging, the pain sharp and fresh and distracting, but Leader knew they couldn't afford that. They lunged forward, ignoring the strain they put to their shoulder as the pain only became another chaos in the background.

If it was in more friendlier terms, Leader could enjoy the fight with someone even to their strength, but on the battlefield, it only meant danger. A threat to get rid of. As Leader's sword clashed against their opponent's, their focus narrowed. They couldn't afford to be distracted against such opponent. With swift and calculated movements, they parried and struck, each blow getting harder to maintain.

Despite the burning pain in their shoulder, Leader pressed on, their movements fueled by adrenaline and the instinct to survive. With a final, decisive strike, they brought down their opponent, the clash of metal not banging in their ears for the first time as their sword cut the flesh.

With a weary sigh, Leader glanced around at the scene of the battlefield. The enemy forces were retreating, and the villagers were slowly emerging from their hiding places, cautiously reclaiming their homes. Their team, though battered and worn, stood strong beside Leader, thankfully without any injuries. Years of practised efficiency guiding them, they set up a small camp for their remaining, prioritizing the healing tents and such before finally setting up one for themselves.

Leader slid in without being noticed, a small basin of hot water on their hands. They didn't want to join the celebration outside when they felt so dirty after the battle, and they didn't have the strength to do so. Placing the basin next to their makeshift bed, they took of their armour, pain throbbing with their every move. They ripped the thicker set clothes they brought with them, soaking them with hot water and slowly but tightly wrapping their shoulder. They then wore the other set, hiding the handmade bandages. They didn't look terrible, at least.

Taking the remaining fabric, Leader begun cleaning their armour, the simple and repetitive motion calming their breaths and relaxing their muscles. While tending to their armor for what felt like an eternity, Leader's thoughts were empty, as if the cloth and water could wash away all of their problems. They set aside the cloth foe a moment before they took the shield, the metal gleaming faintly in the dim light of the small gas lamp, the blood over it turning to a dark coloir. They sighed heavily, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling.

They could wash their armour, their sword sloppily, but they could never think of doing that to the shield. Not their shield, the shield, that once belonged to Leader's dear friend, Caretaker. Leader smiled at the imaginary of Caretaker freaking over the possibility of their shield getting Rusty, but Leader's smile soon turned bitter. Caretaker would be freaking out, only if they had been alive...

Just as they were about to pick the cloth again, a voice broke through the silence of the tent.

"Leader?"

Leader glanced up to see Healer standing at the entrance, their expression a mix of concern and hesitation.

"Yes?" Leader replied, their voice as flat as ever.

Healer stepped inside, their eyes scanning Leader's weary form. "I... I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have questioned your judgment earlier. I understand now that you were doing what you thought was best for everyone, and I should've teusted you not to pick up a mission that may compromise the team. You were right on your promise. No one from our team visited me tonight."

Leader stated Healer for a moment, progressing the words. "It's alright," they assured. "I'm just glad that this ended well."

Healer nodded, smiling with relief. "I also wanted to invite you to join the celebrations outside. The villagers are grateful for our help, and they want to thank us."

Leader shook their head slowly. "I appreciate the invitation, but I think I'll pass.."

Healer's expression fell slightly, but they nodded understandingly. "I... Okay... Just know that you're always welcome if you change your mind."

"Thank you," Leader smiled softly. I'll keep that in mind."

With a final nod, Healer left the tent, leaving Leader alone with their thoughts once again. With not much left to do, Leader cleaned the shield while listening yo the celebrations and ignoring their thought before curling up into their bed, the lively chatter outside serving as the lullaby to defend Leader's mind feom nightmarish memories.

[my-pjo-stuff]

hypothetically if someone where to write a medieval royalty au where thaluke happened what would be somethings that would be interesting, and in this extremely hypothetical au they've only met like 3 times also how would one hypothetically incorporate swabian food and culture into the hypothetical fic?

Well to start off I'd like to say that I would enjoy it very much if you could send me a link to whatever work you will do in this hypothetical AU. Also I'd like to thank you for giving me an excuse to geek about my culture. ANYWAY ONTO IT ALL, so the easiest, most obvious way to bring in swabian culture would probably be the dialect. However that could only really work if the work was in German, which is props isn't, so the swabian dialect (which is a GERMAN dialect) props won't be able to get to use. After that you could definitely bring in traditional clothing! Now there are a few flavours of swabian based on where you are- I for my part am from the Black Forest, which is why I'll use that as a reference.

You could definitely use inspiration from our traditional clothing, the Schwarzwaldtracht! It's quite the old and traditional thing, the red cap you can see is called the Bollenhut, and women are allowed to wear it after their first holy communion. For men it's the bit stereotypical Lederhosen-ish look.

Ofcourse there's also things like food, in which we have quite the variety. A personal favorite of mine are Käsespätzle. You can imagine it kind of like a German Mac and Cheese but better.. It is made with the traditional Swabian noodles called Spätzle, it is mixed with stewed onions, cheese, bacon and then flavoured with salt and pepper. After that it's backed for about 20-30mins and voila! It's done and in my opinion a great meal! It's unironically one of my favorites and a childhood meal. Some also serve it with a mushroom sauce.

After that we can ofcourse to festivities, which I think this one called Fasnacht will be quite interesting for your AU in terms of romance. You can imagine it a bit like German Halloween, but longer and with a much longer tradition. Fasnacht traditionally is celebrated the week before lent, meaning six weeks before easter. It starts from Schmotziger /The Dirty/ (a Thursday) to the Aschenmittwoch /Ashen Wednesday/. During this week so-called Narrenumzüge happen (lit. translated to Fools Parade). Basically there are these huge parades of so-called Narren (fools), Narren are people dressed up in different costumes as different characters.

Here you have a few! Each village or community has their own kind of Narren, with their own unique costume and "character". They are organized in Narrenzünfte (Fools' Guild). They are basically just communities for everyone dressing up as them, with officials and all. Each Narrenzunft has their own sort of "motto", it is a phrase or word consisting of two parts. One will be said by a Narr (singular of Narren), the other by someone watching the parade. What happens will be that the different Narren will come up to people during the parade, they will then say part of the specific phrase of their village/community and the other person has to say the rest. If they manage to do it they then get either candy, in some cases alcohol and even things like brezels and other foods. They also have so called Narrenhymnen (Fools' Anthem) which, just like the name says, is a anthem for the specific Narrenzunft. Generally this time is considered to be a time to "let go of all rules" and "go crazy". People dress up in costumes to go visit these parades and also go to parties. Imagine just a week of drinking and partying all around. Now ngl this Fasnacht is HUGE with many other things, this kind of Fasnacht is also very much southern. While celebrated around all of Germany, the northern version is much different. I really advise doing your own research or sending me a DM or two if ya have more questions! You can easily have Luke and Thalia meet during this or something akin to Fasnacht in costume! If you want this to be set in swabia itself...well, don't. Genuinly I can only advise you DON'T. German history is an absolute mess even outside of the 20th century. Most our known history was spent fighting each other, Swabia being one of those areas which were conquered and given up and sold etc. genuinely it's a shitshow and if you do not want to get into German history just avoid historical swabia all together. Welp, I hope I was able to help you with this answer !

[lemonhemlock]

I think one of the most frustrating things about both the ASOIAF/HOTD fandom is the inability for people to discuss these characters or books without projecting their own personal/modern sensibilities. I've noticed this a lot with TB so targ nation in general, but they fundamentally hate the world building and lore of a feudal medieval monarchy. They hate tradition, they hate religion, they hate the concepts of honor and duty which is why they can't or won't understand Criston's character if their lives depended on it, they hate anything that can be deemed in anyway conservative, religious, traditional lol, they hate the inheritance laws preferring males, they hate that women have to stay chaste before marriage, they hate arranged marriages, they hate the fact that people care so much about bastards and that bastards cannot inherit, etc. I could go on. Yes, from a modern perspective a lot of these things are now deemed obsolete and uncool, but there were very good reasons for these things AT THE TIME. These people just hate the entire lore that this world is based on and instead of good faith engagement with the lore, they just call anyone who uses the world/lore to logically analyze the text a sexist, misogynist, tradcath, conservative, or whatever. It boggles my mind. Why interact with media, and not just interact with it, but have entire social media accounts dedicated to their hyper fixation and borderline parasocial relationship with these characters/books if they fundamentally hate the world and hate seeing their faves lose as a result of the rules in place. I'm begging these people to go read one of the thousands of fantasy books that isn't set in a rigid feudal monarchy.

This is such a spot-on, insightful comment into how a lot of people interact within this fandom. 👏👏👏 This typology of the late stage social justice internet warrior that fundamentally refuses to engage with the historicity of the story's spatio-temporal setting, i.e. a feudal medieval monarchy of European inspiration, that predates centralization and thus absolutism. Even though Westeros is so very obviously decentralized, many fans do not realize this for some reason and pretend it's an absolute monarchy a la Louis XIV.

Many people, like GRRM, who is a prolific science-fiction writer (!), are attracted to this setting regardless, because of the pageantry (look how obsessed he is with creating house sigils and mottos), the romantic flair + the fact that it's literally the setting of fairy-tales, which inspires in the reader a world of magical possibilities. Of course, the world of ASOIAF is an attempt to shore up the 'realism' of this imagological construct, but medieval fantasy is a genre in and of itself, like there are certain flavours of societal layering and organization that are inescapable, like the rigid social structures, the political rule as the purview of the elites, the importance of religion in everyday life etc.

This is not to say that those aspects are in any way aspirational for a modern person or that we should yearn to go back to those times, only that they are merely characteristics that developed hand-in-hand with the technological advancements and the economic progress of the period. If you have a civilisation whose economy is centered on land ownership as the main source of wealth acquisition, its society is going to look a certain way. Certainly, in Westeros there are some craftsmen and merchants, but there seem to only be a handful of towns throughout the entire continent and, off the top of my head, the mention of guilds and the middle classes are few and far between in the books, so there is no concrete way of determining how consolidated the bourgeoisie is. At the same time, this is absolutely just a story and not a 1:1 recreation of those times, so these gaps are completely understandable, as there only is so much worldbuilding one man can do.

Anyway, I often see analysis or commentary being circulated, which are obviously a projection of modern sensibilities, like how there should be no king at all or the Iron Throne is evil or how Westeros should revert to being separate kingdoms because somehow the concept of unifying regions with a common cultural and religious background is automatically bad, always and with no exception. To me these are rather perplexing, but they are so wide-spread that it's not even worth it to try and open up that particular can of worms. Some of these takes don't even make sense if you expand them to their natural implications. Someone has to be the king in a medieval society; it doesn't work like some people envision this - no one chooses to rule and that's that, problem solved? How is society going to be organized then? It's doubtful that the conclusion of the last book will be anarcho-socialism. The Iron Throne consistently cuts kings who are unworthy to sit on it - it's not a symbol that the author intended to be construed as malevolent. Sure, death of the author and all that, but it's not described as mystically quasi-sentient for nothing either. Fragmenting Westeros back into individual kingdoms while maintaining the feudal structure retains the inherent unfairness and inequality of said hierarchy; it's amazing to me how it could be considered progress etc.

To wrap this up, yes, I agree, some people would be much better served if they simply found other fantasy media based on a different time frame. Because it doesn't make sense to become so entrenched in this specific one if you hate the medieval period so much. Again, this is not to say that the Middle Ages cannot be criticised because that's just the way it was back then, they absolutely can, but a lot of criticism shared around is just done in bad faith and with no real desire to understand the historical phenomena at play.

For example, a few days ago, someone commented on one my bastardposts that "just because it was illegal doesn't make it fair", with the implied solution to that conundrum that Rhaenyra should simply be allowed by society to do whatever she pleased. No reflection on why that law/rule was in place to begin with, no consideration of how it would impact the wider community, no proposal as to how one could advance to a society in which all children are considered equal, regardless of their parents' marital status etc. The thought doesn't go beyond "feminism in its modern definition can magically crystallize in any historical period because it is completely divorced from the material conditions of a society".

[starlightsuncrow]

Finally have a free momence, I was curious what your Starfall is generally about, and how it compares to your GW2 alt universe! And any character differences as well, since you mentioned a few different alts (sorry if you’ve explained this in a post before !)

- @magitechbatt

omg,,,, you want to know about Starfall? Buckle in!! It's gonna be long. I've never got the chance to explain so thank you!! Starfall is an original setting @cheddargoblin and I created, the story's premise is: "Long ago a star fell, and changed the world forever both physically and magically and even in it's current day societies across the world struggle to re-find their place in a world grown more wild and hostile around them."

Medieval-ish fantasy with themes of freedom, change, healing and bonds, a good story about found family and overcoming entirely different kinds of bias and classism.

Gw2 has some shared themes and the setting isn't too far off ! Starfall is darker,cruel though. One big difference tho is Starfall happens mainly in snowy regions! Now onto the characters!

I'll speak about my main two, since the rest are still a big WIP.

In Starfall Crow is an ex-mage hunter who escaped the Guild ( main place where hunters are trained and also big anti mage propaganda between all the things, even if they are mages themselves). In escaping he's constantly hunted, due to being an important figure and...a big weapon that was trained specifically for "purposes" by his mentor. The black arms are tattoos ! Cruel symbol of how many mages you captured/killed and so on. Has to learn to fight his own life of bias and brainwashing to live "outside". He's like a caged dog who finally tasted freedom and will fight for it to death if needed. Closed off with MANY issues, they haven't lost a small spark of naivety and hope though. Big part of the character is the revelation they're a fae ! No, they didn't know it. It's complicated. Hehe's also a "cursed" fae, courtesy of the mentor again. Describing the cursed fae as magical beings who have to survive on blood and magic, since they're made of magic. Without feeding they end being feral beasts who won't ever go back to being sane. They go through addiction and withdrawl usually. He's a fighter and adapts easily, someone give him a break please. He's the struggler but keeps going , a love for freedom keeps him going. Crow in Gw2 is a saltspray who fled from the Jade Wind, searching for a cure or something to help back home. After centuries of disguises he fell into the end of the Inquest and got basically " cursed". Vampirism about blood and magic, for a being like a lesser dragon it's...not fun i'd presume. Got saved by Dragora, lived and learned under Drago's wing and then joined the commander's gang in s2. Revealed their true identity much later during EoD<<< caused some drama. They're Starfall's Crow without the harsh environment they lived in, in gw2 he got a taste of it but not enough to compromise his whole life. Marked by it but doesn't let it control them. He's an exploration of who Crow would have been if he escaped sooner from the Guild.

So both keep that duality of self, same coin, just a little to the side in gw2. Neither of them are too different. Fun story about Cardamomo, he comes from gw2 actually! He's my commander and that's part of his core personality. Never make me think of jokes with characters and pairings because 90% of times they end up happening <<< Cromo happened this way. In Gw2 he's the sylvari commander, a naive and full of wonders sylvari who learnt fast war changes you. Forever.

Cute guy who sees the horrors and comes back angry, frustrated and not much hope and will to fight again, but that's all he knows how to do after all. That's why Gyala and part of Soto hit hard. They're tired, they don't know how to rest. Big trust issues? Or more about they can't let be seen weak and vulnereable. The important thing to know about Momo is that he wasn't Cardamomo at first. He starts as Caoimhe until the Departing. He dies, he comes back. He comes back different. I love the mirror theme so much he IS a mirror. A broken one. Caoimhe died, Cardamomo came back with less memories, some gone forever and a personality made to withstand the trauma just to fight Balthazar. Oops, Caoimhe took too much time to recover and now this commander has two pilots. They're the same guy still! Momo isn't a new different identity, he's more of...some aspects put together to give time to heal. Similar personalities to the point there's no much difference unless you know what to look for ( they have a slightly different behavior and manner of speech). It's like a fragment who learnt to be its own thing, while still following the main purpose of protector.

It's a toughie to describe I'll be honest, if I can finish that fanfic i'm writing maybe it helps understanding it (or i can simply ramble on another post <3) In Gw2 he's a dryad, beings born with a specific purpose ( in this case it's about balance). I'm still working on many details but he keeps the commmander "role" so to speak and absolutely gains the Caoimhe/Cardamomo duality again. Loss is part of his character in many ways too eheh. He's a bit more off putting and warms a bit slower than his gw2 alt though! Playing more on the fact this guy isn't human at all. I've been trying to keep both my ocs' cores for both settings with some modifications but more or less the alts end up being "what ifs" and explorations of a part of the main character that can't be explored easily in the main setting. They aren't as different as I make them sound probably.

Fun fact, dryads and fae are rivals, this didn't stop Cromo happening( one half didn't know, the other didn't care). The main alt i can explain is Dragonheart for Momo! Selkastra ( saltspray is just an appereance change and plays more on Crow being young but still... a dragon) Dragonheart is Momo's champion self? so to speak? That one transformation in EoD but what if we can access to it under circumstances and what if it follows the different aspects too? Otherwordly momo <3 Each aspect affects Momo differently and he acts as consequence too. Physically and mentally. If Aurene is the Prism Dragon, Cardamomo is the prism itself reflecting, each side something different. There's Fae Crow to explain too, but nothing too big changes apart from making him extremely ethereal and fey-like. Not to be mess with, fae are known to bend rules and twist them to their like. Even tho Starfall Fae are...a bit particular. I hope these are enough to answer your questions, which im so so happy u asked!! (it got so long he l p) I'm terrible at summaries but this made my whole day, thank you so much again !! <333

[cozzzynook]

Medieval Soundrod AU Anon here again. I bring part 2!

Distance sounds of drunken chatter followed by laughter drowned out swarming thoughts that currently filled Soundwave's helm. He carefully tapped his servo on the old wooden table as he gazed into his fizzy drink of engenx. It had been months since he had last seen Hot Rod and he was worried that the red predacon had gotten himself caught by some hunters. The blue mech let out a derry sigh not noticing the look of concern on Megatron's face.

"You're worried about your little Mech-Friend are you?" The large grey mech rumbled as he took a sip of drink before speaking again "I'm sure we would have heard something by now from the hunter's guild...Laserbeak and Ravage have been keeping guard there for weeks."

Soundwave gave another sigh he knew Megatron was right, hunters had the awful habit of bragging about the mecha-animals or predacons they slayed to their fellow hunters. But it did so little to calm his nerves these days so Soundwave just hoped that Hot Rod and his flock just moved deeper into the forest or into the mountains away from any villages. Without saying another word the Blue mech stood up giving a sharp nod for Megatron before heading out the door for some air.

Outside the busy Bar was peaceful, the cool breeze made Soundwave shiver a little forcing him to clamp down his plating as he took a short stroll down the street. Halfway he paused at an ally hearing footsteps followed by shuffling fabric. Soundwave quickly grabbed his knife in case it was a bandit trying to mug him, instead his visor light up as he saw a familiar face emerge out of the darkness of the ally.

"Long time no see handsome." Hot Rod smiled brightly, he wore a long cloak that had a hard time hiding his large golden wings. He was also holding a bundle blankets. "Sorry its been a while...My carrier has been super protective ever since my little brother hatched. Sorry if I worried you"

Soundwave didn't answer instead he pulled Roddy into a hug giving a gentle nuzzle on his helm just thankful he was alright. The pair just hold each other for a while enjoying each other's warmth. "Glad you're alright...I was afraid that someone had hurt you" Soundwave whispered as he transformed his mask away so he could kiss Roddy's helm.

Hot Rod gave a soft smile before pulling away shuffling the blankets he was holding. "I also have something to show you...don't be mad okay?" Soundwave nodded a bit confused but he watched Roddy pull away the blankets. He let out a gasp in Hot Rod's arms was one single egg with deep blue and gold swirls along its shell. "You were sparked? I wasn't aware that was possible" Soundwave spoke as he carefully placed his Servo on the smooth shell, he could faintly feel the soft spark beat of their sparkling. He then gazed lovely at Roddy before placing a gentle kiss on his partner's cheek before pulling them into a protective hug. "My sweet spark I'm not upset, my new mission is to protect you both now and forever." Roddy smiled nuzzling his helm under Soundwave's chin with a gentle purr.

{little Bonus} "Well, should we report the good news to Megatron? I'm sure he will be THRILLED to hear he is going to be an uncle" Laserbeak chirped from his post on the wooden beam. Ravage swayed their tail side to side before giving a pleased purr as they sat on the roof. Turning his attention to their bird companion he answered "Of course, but lets make sure they return to their little 'Lover's nest' before heading back...I want to see Soundwave make a fool out of himself first. Think of it as revenge for removing my favourite pillow the other night." Laserbeak chuckled before taking to the sky to follow the expecting couple.

{Hope you enjoyed the second part and yes Roddy's little brother is Bumblebee :D}

Aaaahhhh i love this!!!!

Baby predacon bee is with optimus crawling all around their den while Roddy is off to unite with his bitties sire!!

Poor Ravage, his favorite pillow must be avenged!

[violetlunette]

Maybe this is just me, but something I miss in portal fantasies—the original isekais—is how the audience was allowed to explore new worlds.

Nowadays, isekais focus mainly on characters which is great as that’s what interest me the most, but they’re always in the same places which is a high shame.

What I love about portal fantasies is the exploration of characters and the worlds. I like seeing new lands, new creatures, etc. That’s why stories like Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, Land of Oz, the Phantom Tollbooth, Harry Potter, and etc. appealed to me. All these had interesting and unique characters with creative worlds to explore, and they were optimistic about showing the readers the world. There was always a feeling of welcome that still makes readers want to go back, even to this day. (And two of those series are over 100 years old! Now that’s impressive.)

Nowadays, the majority of the worlds can all be squished into five places; A world inspired by Tudor / medieval Europe or ancient China or Korea, a “magic” otome school or a JRPG inspired world.

With the latter two we don’t really get to see the world, especially with the first one.

In 90% the stories I’m read which take place in a world inspired by Tudor / medieval Europe have the same main locations:

*The Protagonist’s room

*The room to greet guests

*A small part of the garden for tea parties

*Castle where a ball is being held

**Same places as above, though the castle garden will look more magical

*Castle hallway

*Throne room

*Ballroom

*Village that either looks like a meadeval town or London in the early 1800

*Dress / jewelry / magic shop

*warehouse

*hidden information guild

*Bakery or kitchen if the protagonist cooks

There’s a few more location, but I’m willing to bet that the next story you read with an early Europe inspired world will have five or more of these as main locations.

I’m less familiar with the eastern ones, but I’m sure they basically have the same, just eastern style.

And there’s a reason for that as these stories are ones with a focus on noble politics whether its in an early European inspired setting or eastern inspired court.

These environments are minimal as having a controlled environment allows the readers to focus on the characters and the mental war being waged. Still, what a waste, especially with a fantasy setting with dragons, elves, and dwarves, who’s villages we never get to see and who’s race we barely learn about.

Otherwise, we usually just get the slice-of-life fluff that takes place in a fantasy world. Which I understand, as these were popularized in the 2020s where—things happened. And during that time everyone was burned out, tired, and overworked despite the massive layoffs, so the idea of going to another world and just being able to chill was appealing to the masses. (Especially in countries where most “isekais” were made.) Anyway, the world building here is mainly just fluff or jokes.

There are the “trapped in a game worlds” but those worlds are all the same and dull.

I’m not saying all those are bad but I miss stories where we get to travel and see the world! I miss Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yugi, Escaflowne, and more. I miss the adventure aspect of seeing a whole new world.

Please don’t misunderstand, I love the “isekai” genre and how it’s being used to dissect certain tropes like main character syndrome, but can we switch out the politics for a good old adventure once in awhile?

[bespectacledbun]

The World of IkePri — Obsidian's capital

[not really sure what this is exactly other than a way to keep all my thoughts organized and in one place. I talk a lot about the worldbuilding and settings of ikepri on discord with my friends, but it gets hard to keep track of everything, so I figured it was just best to make posts on Tumblr for it so I can keep it all under one tag]

Anyway, I was reading Chevalier's sequel route and got to chapter 3, when Chev and Emma go into town and tour around the capital of Obsidian. My immediate observation was the actual location of the town vs the fortress of the royal family:

Just like Rhodolite's capital, the capital town is located close to the royal residence; however, unlike Rhodolite's capital it is not located directly within the town itself. Rhodolite's royal castle is certainly on a higher elevation (given that one side of the grounds disappear into a cliff, and you can see down into the town from the castle in multiple places) but in general, the entire capital follows the layout of a medieval walled city.

A walled city was exactly that: the royal residence would be at the most defensible end of it, surrounded by the houses, guilds, businesses, and markets of the main town, all enclosed by high walls with gates, battlements, and watchtowers. Rhodolite's royal castle itself has separate walls and gates, but the town is still within accessible distance. Generally there would be only a single gate in and out of the royal castle, but multiple gates for the town so that carriages didn't have to circle back to go the other way once outside. The lands outside the town gates would be farmlands, orchards, and livestock pastures to feed the town's residents. Obsidian, on the other hand...

As seen in the background, Obsidian's capital is separate from the main royal residence (the fortress in the distance) and at a MUCH higher elevation than the surrounding town. Disadvantage of this design: the town is pretty much first in the line of fire if invading forces get deep into the country enough to reach the capital.

The advantage of this design, though? Absolutely nobody can surprise attack the Obsidian fortress because with that elevation they can survey the surrounding land for miles, not to mention all the turrets, parapets, and arrow slots that are actually on the fortress itself.

Now, for the second part of this post, the capital itself:

Like any city, past or present, Obsidian's capital is divided into differing districts– the industrial district to the west, and commercial district to the east. given it's size I would have expected it to be divided into 4 at the minimum, but I'll work with what I get. Chevalier mentions in the chapter that unlike the rural areas of Obsidian, the wealth disparity is far less noticeable in the city, but it's still there, and it directly ties to the two districts of the city. (For my notes on the guilds and businesses of ikepri, please see this post)

THE INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT – WEST

More likely than not, the industrial district going to be the poorer (or at the very least, the less wealthier) side of the city. Some of the guilds and businesses that would be there in the industrial district would be:

blacksmiths (along with farriers and other "rough" metalsmiths)

weapon smiths, armourers, and armories

hide tanneries and dyers

leatherworkers, saddlers, spurriers

lumber processors

stonemasons and carpenters

launderers and bath houses

meat processing butcheries

cheaper (or lesser-quality) apothecaries

brothels

cheaper inns and taverns

Although it is very unlikely that slums still exist (given how developed the capital is under Gilbert's rule) the houses in the western district would be more practical than luxurious. Farmers would live on their own lands outside the city, but the industry workers would have their houses on the west side as well.

THE COMMERCIAL DISTRICT:

By contrast, the commercial district in the east would certainly be on the more middle-class and wealthier side. The establishments are finer, the guilds are larger and more expansive, and the materials are of better quality. I'm thinking the commercial district would things more along the lines of–

silver/goldsmiths and jewelers

clothiers and fur merchants

tailors and seamstresses (poor people mostly made their own clothes unless in uniform)

shoemakers and hatmakers

bankers, moneylenders, tax collectors

merchant imports & exports

more expensive inns, finer rest establishments

doctor guilds and pharmacists

information guilds

If any nobles were staying within the city, they would likely stay at the royal residence, have their own houses in the east side, or they would be staying at one of the better quality inns. The majority of the markets, government administrations, and military quarters will be located near the center of town, where they are accessible to both districts. Any religious buildings will also be near the center, cause the church bells and the town criers need to be heard all across city.

That's kind of.... everything, I guess? I'll probably add more later if I remember anything important. This is mostly for myself, but if anyone wants to use it for reference (or talk to me about worldbuilding brainworms) feel free to do so

[classtrialguru]

Okay here we go.Being a horse jockey must be an exciting profession and I am here to explain the in's and out's of Ace's talent.

Origins

While modern horse racing was introduced in the 18 century, the earliest records of the sport came from the Greeks as they had chariot racing as one of the competitions of that age, so horse racing was inspired by this activity, then it spread to neighboring regions like the Middle East, Africa, Persia, and more . Races in the medieval times were conducted to determine one's speed on horseback. The King's Plate races were introduced by Charles the second which were the first ever races that gave out awarded prizes and when the rules of the sport were first made known.France then established the Prix du Jockey Club in 1836. Betting on the winner has also been around since Louis the 14th.

The Process of a Horse Jockey

Well to become a horse jockey you got to learn how to ride a horse which probably means that Ace learned how to ride a horse prior to becoming a professional horse jockey. The legal age of becoming a horse jockey is around sixteen in America and England. Then you go to an academy like the Bluegrass Community Technical Colleges Equine program which is located in Lexington, Kentucky or the Professional Racetrack Exercise Rider/Jockey Program in Olds College in Canada, and The British Racing School in Great Britain. They also have to have a high school diploma or GED.They are also required to pickup a job in that profession like a stable hand or groomer which means Ace probably knows how to clean a horse in the proper way your suppose to clean a horse. Then you would need to get an apprenticeship license which in the US you would need to pass all their exams and be placed in a racetrack for sixty days by a committee to get hands on training. Another thing that a jockey would need would be a professional and personal reference which personally makes me think. Who was Ace's personal reference like sure he is very talented with riding horses, but with his overall personality assuming that his bark with no bite type of behavior was a thing before he went professional and went like "yep he'll be fine". I mean yeah the reference might be he's parents, but anybody else that was close to him would probably know how he would react in such a dangerous sport, but back on topic. You would then need to compete against schooling race and get your journeyman jockey license. To get your journeyman jockey license you would need to have a two year degree from jockey school and the schools usually limit the amount of students to twelve per year.Next thing to do is hire an agent and join a jockey's guild. The guild's bargain for their members and will provide life insurance, disability benefits, and will advocate for safe working conditions.

On The Tracks

Now that we know the process of becoming a horse jockey, I think we should get into the general stuff they do. The average salary for a jockey is around $52,645 and the crazy things that they only get five percent of what they win. They do a lot of calisthenics like squats and burpees, they're also some weightlifting thrown into the mix. Jockey got a riding simulator to practice how to ride and balance on the horse properly. They usually eat foods with high in proteins and fibers, but they diet themselves and drink little to no water since the weight limit of a jockey is one hundred and twenty five pounds. The horses also have to be one hundred to six hundred. pounds. The colors the jockeys wear are actually for the owners or trainers that employ them and the tradition was influenced by racing events in Italian city communities. Now there are five types of racing that range from flat racing to Steeplechase racing. Flat racing is the kind of usually racing where the jockeys and their horses go around the track to the finish line. National hunt racing or better known as jump racing has the horses jumping over hurdles to the finish. Endurance racing is a fifty to one hundred mile that takes the horses and their riders through different kinds of terrain like forests and mountains. Quarter horse racing is a race that's a quarter of a mile to see which horse can go the fastest under such a short distance. Lastly we got steeplechase racing which is basically the same as national hunt racing, but with different obstacles like water and bushes. There's also a race for horses that haven't won a race. Horses can get over excited because they know they are about to race so the routine in a stable is designed to keep the horses calm.

Betting

Investigation Time

So betting on horses is a complicated system of statistics and the ability of the horse you're betting on. So the least complicated bet would be the straight wagers, which the person would bet on if their chosen horse will win wager it will need to get first place, for place it would need to get first or second place, and for show it would need to get into first to third place. The minimum you can bet on them is $2. Exotic wagers are more complicated and difficult to win since you would be betting on multiple horses. So Exacta is where you bet on which two horses will get in first and second place, Quinella is like Exacta but the places of the horses you bet on can be interchangeable, and for Doubles you can bet on two horses that are in two different races. A technique used by a group is known as show parlay, where the group will bet on the same horse and double the amount they bet on. This is the repeated till they lose their bets.

So now we're at the final stretch. Now it seems that Ace can't do a lot to help solve a murder but he is very strong and stubborn which helps when bodyguarding the crime scene or helping with arguments as an extra insight. He also definitely has a lot of knowledge on workout equipment because of the requirements of his talent, which I will admit is very specific in the case that there's a gym in this chapter and if it was anything else then he would just be a bodyguard. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask at any time.

[beardedhandstoadshark]

7th Dragon iii is SUCH a mixed bag of a game tbh

On one hand, combat system my beloved: it‘s so cool to have your unused teammates still play an important role in your party, and that every class not only has 2 main skill "paths“ to take in a sense (your healer class also being a fist punch fighter for example) but that they‘re all feasible to acquire, as well as unique on their own. I love the classes in this game so much yall don’t understand.

On the other hand, it takes like half the game until you can properly utilize it and 25% to even know the back-row team thing exists at all.

The story is cool in itself, and I love how they actually Went There in the end (including letting you loot the dead bodies for keepsakes, oof) but WOW does it seem to hinge on nostalgia-bait for previous titles. Or at least that’s my assumption, as I’ve never played any of the others.

But there’s just a lot of details where - even as someone who only knows this game- it’s very obvious they only exist for fans to point and go "YOOOOOO”. The unlockable quest portraits, being Unit 13, superhero guys’ side plot, multiple areas in this game…not to mention the red guild lady and her spooky sis. They’re the biggest offenders. Iirc those two are like, major staple characters in the other games. Not only is there 0 setup to attachment for new players to them since they expect you to already have it from the other games, but if I knew and liked those characters only to barely see them when they exist in ONE chapter before getting offed like that? Dude.

I mean it was a sick bossfight and my favorite one in the entire game presentation-wise, but it also just…feels so unearned. Idk.

The "nostalgia bait” areas too. They didn’t have to be the way they are. The old Unit 13 hangout place is actually rather decent imo, because it succeeds in being its own unique place outside the nostalgia, even if just a little. One of my fave games, Zelda twilight princess, has a lot of "callback” areas like this too! But unlike this game, its areas still function like unique places inside the world if you don’t have that callback.

TP right, you don’t need to know the abandoned Hidden Village was the prev games’ series staple Kakariko for it to still be "that one place where the game goes full wild west shooter with sick music to rescue a lone old lady and play hide n seek with the army of cats living there”. I sure didn’t!

Same way you don’t need to know said old Unit 13 place was (most likely, I’m guessing here) a previous games’ main hub or what happened here in other games for it to still be "that place that used to be important for the people whose shoes you’re filling, that now lays abandoned and broken at your feet as you try to finish the mission they started (and also has teleporting patheays)”. That’s some good stuff right there.

And then Vermillion Tower and 7th Encount are both Just There and you’re supposed to care.

Combine that with most of Eden basically being a rehash of a single area in Atlantis, and both of these are just "go in a circle for multiple levels’ with different flavors of fantasy medieval, there’s really not much of substance here, is there?

Which is a shame since the core concept of traveling through time consistently to the point it’s casually used by the people to save to connect across eras, is SO COOL. Any time npcs from two eras, going "isn’t it cool how we’re so far away yet meeting here?” I went YES IT IS SO COOL.

Those 2 kids from the past going "our parents are stupid about class rules so we’re gonna run away to the future where they don’t exist” and you running around to exchange the gifts they made for their present-time Tokyo friends they made while staying in this time?

Or, Eden Fox Lady being starstruck by Ms Atlantis Queen? Her seeing her people are still around and prospering despite their home country being gone? Them kinda planning to visit their new country someday? yes yes yes more of all of that please

The non-callback characters in general, good stuff. How the Atlantis ones (especially our general elf buddy) keep asking and calling back to the sea and whether you can hear it because it was so important to their culture. That one quest with a present-time Fox person spooking around, and at the end he just asks "does your place have a sea?”, for it to be followed by silence and a "No. It’s surrounded by mountains. Gotta hide from others”, and he says nothing but you KNOW what he thinks because of that.

Or how you can sus out Mio’s dad is, well, her dad way before it’s revealed since he says stuff along the lines of "abandoning others is a shitty more. …Not that I have any right to say that” because, turns out he went to get milk and never returned. And that Mio figured it out too and you just see her happy. The rivalry you can have with Yuma, trying to make him understand his life has worth on its own but it’s ultimately no use. Mio’s dad adopting him in his head because he knows he fucked up but also that Yuma's getting fucked up by his circumstances. And despite everything, it all wasn't enough.

There's so many good points that just get thrown out the window half way through. The ending in particular, oof. Of course too high stakes wouldn't stick, but the fact that despite establishing a post-game world, we don't even get to play in it, but get sent back to Ch5 again.

Also I can somewhat excuse the dragons going poof, but cmon. Yuma wasn't a dragon, he's a human with high stats. My man was the equivalent of someone breeding pokemon for tournaments and slapping bonbons at their faces so they evolve faster.

We were literally god for a few sec, why not just make him and Mio actual siblings. Or the twins not-swords. What does our protag have against them specifically.

Also.

Why are we able to fuck a minor.

Even ignoring Yuma and his reverse "anime girl is actually 1000y old dragon” type shit going on, just...Mio. I do NOT care how anyone chooses to personally interpret her scene or your characters’ age- the game portrays you as an adult at all times, her dating scene is just like the others which are VERY obvious about getting spicy behind the fade to black, and Mio’s dialogue during said scene is straight up smth along the lines of "Can you…make me an adult like this?”

That girl is 14. The intention of the devs is very clear. Also you have to do this if you wanna get a strong item; how great. (sarcasm)

Speaking of which; tone it down with the casual sexual harassment in general? Sure That One Scene with Allie could be read as hidden forshadowing (her checking that you’re not pulling a Yuma rn) but cmon. "Hope I wont get sued for sexual harassment ✨”. Oof. And until that one I thought Julietta was the walking stereotype, but no he’s the more normal one of them. She’s like "the Mother", i know, so that’s what it’s probably supposed to come across as, overbearingly caring, but nah. Someone at Sega just heard "mommy” instead and the rest of the world has to suffer for it.

Anyways I do like how pretty much every single npc in this game is casually bi AND that one random guard is explicitly gay. AND they didn’t censor Julietta’s name/name him John or smth, frankly shocked they didn’t do that. Good for all of them. (Still the flamboyant harrassing queer stereotype but half the npcs need to be on some list so it’s whatever. He's very chill for the setting he's in. The non-callback characters in general are pretty good in how they're fleshed out, too.)

Genuinely though, for a game that explicitly gender locks voice actors and portraits, or any game ever while we're at it, the casualness of this was. Surprising in a good way. Could've just been the result of the way the game handles character/team composition in cutscenes and the devs being too lazy to change it, but other games would've gone out their way to gender lock this too.

Anyways, the game has a cat cafe that lets you hang out with them to get skill points and one class learns their Super Strong Skill of Mass Destruction from it. 10/10 no complains best feature ever.

TLDR a very 6/10 game and it lost all those points in the actively malicious presentation. Don't use callbacks to previous games as the entire basis for the plot, especially if those games were on other console lines/Japan exclusive, respectively. Oof. Love the cat cafe though. More games should have them.

[moriche]

Hello dear friend Moriche,

Might I please have 21 (First major change in their life, and how they dealt with it) and 25 (First major success in their story) for Veryn.

And could I also have 🌍 (First attempt at worldbuilding, or a notable piece of worldbuilding you're proud of) and ‼️ (Free space! Tell us about a notable "first" in your writing journey!) from you?

Hello! Thank you so much for your asks! You may absolutely have the answers :D 21 - First major change in their life, and how they dealt with it

Veryn's first truly major change in life was when he was given the opportunity to go to the Arcane University. He'd been apprenticing at the Mages Guild since he was 13 years old, and being gifted enough at magic, the Guild gave him a scholarship to attend the University. He took it very well - he moved out from the orphanage of St. Alessia into a small room in one of the many insulae of the Arena District. He flourished at university, meeting new friends, gaining a lover, and everything went incredibly well if not for that one night that instigated the second major change... 25 - First major success in their story To some extent, that'd be the University too, but that's the boring answer. The first major success he's gotten in Fear in a Handful of Dust is breaking into Sharn's house on Caius orders, in order to find out that she is a necromancer. He's scared as hell, but he plans the break-in well and manages to pull it off without a hitch.

A large chest stood at the foot of her bed, the kind you’d store blankets in. Veryn reached out towards it, and then yanked his hand back when his sense of magic screeched in alarm. “Damnit!” When he looked closer, he realised that the chest was trapped, and that the ensuing spell would have crumbled his hand to dust. He’d bet his savings there wasn’t anything remotely near bed linen inside. Another tiny cut; some blood-filled runes. The ritual took hold, and Veryn blinked rapidly to get rid of the dizziness that washed over him. Overriding two wards at once took an awful lot of energy, and he wouldn’t have long before his magicka ran dangerously low. He downed a potion to stave off the worst of it, but getting caught inside while the wards became active again wasn’t something he looked forward to. Hidden inside the chest were more books, together with neatly stacked bundles of notes. Veryn took out the one on top, a heavy tome called Legions of the Dead. At first sight it seemed to be an overview of different kinds of undead, but when he read some sections it didn’t stop at that. The text dealt with summoning too, and with preparing the ancient dead in order to resurrect them. The next two books were a treatise on soul magic, and a manual on how to safely handle black soul gems. “You’re not a Blade,” he whispered to himself, putting the book back where it belonged and reaching for a sheaf of notes. “You’re a necromancer. The Temple would kill you if they ever found out.”

🌍 - First attempt at worldbuilding, or a notable piece of worldbuilding you're proud of

I'm going to go with this little tidbit I added early into Fear in a Handful of Dust. Way back, my degree was in Medieval History, and that is still something I very heavily draw on while worldbuilding. Inspired by this old concept artwork of a procession of Vivec, I gave Morrowind Miracle Plays. In real life, they're medieval plays that show important/well known/popular stories from the Bible. Given how much the Temple feels based on medieval Roman-Catholicism, I knew I had to add those plays to Morrowind as well.

It helped with figuring out the Temple religion, too. Each Saint’s Day — and there were a surprising amount of them — the local craftsmer guilds hosted miracle plays. They acted out segments from the scriptures of the Three, and from countless hagiographies. Not only was it neat to watch, but it also showed which parts of their religion the local Dunmer considered most important: second only to the living gods were Saint Veloth and Saint Nerevar.

‼️ - Free space! Tell us about a notable "first" in your writing journey!

I've had so many firsts but I'm going to talk about the first time joining a writing community! In this case, the /r/fanfiction discord server, a place where I was warmly welcomed and where I made a lot of good friends. I've joined more discords and communities since then, but I'm still very active on that first one too. Eventually that all led to me re-activating my Tumblr and reaching out and making friends within the TES community here too :D! Writing with friends is much more fun than writing alone - having folks cheer you on and interact with you is so amazing <3. So thank you for giving me those asks and liking and reblogging, all of you! You're wonderful!

[bambiraptorx]

FANTASY AU??? MY FAVOURITE REPTILES SHOVED INTO MY FAVOURITE GENRE??? TELL ME MORE PLEASE?!? <3

Okay, so the setting is more or less Generic Medieval Fantasy Land, but instead of having the standard fantasy races, yokai and humans pretty much coexist alongside each other. The land is currently in a time of peace. Sure there's some conflicts, but those tend to be more based on issues between nobility/ landed gentry than widespread war. Many cities and villages are fairly isolated, and there isn't really an overall ruler, just a scattering of city-states that occasionally try to conquer each other.

That being said, let's get into actual characters!

Leo is something of a traveling bard who wanders from town to town, with a 'magic flute' that can turn into a sword. (It's worth noting that the flute is not actually magic and it's actually Leo's ability to magically transform objects into swords that's at play here. He is not aware of this.) Nobody knows what exactly he's searching for, but he consistently takes an interest in unusual magic and strange occurrences, often offering the villages he stops in to help with their mystic problems if he can. Sometimes the issue is that a slumbering dragon under the hill that the town is built on is waking up, sometimes it's that everyone in town is turning into frogs because their main well got enchanted somehow (and seriously guys, just dig a new well at this point? please?)

Raph is his main traveling companion, often seen as the brawn to Leo's brains. He's actually more of the impulse control to Leo's hare-brained schemes though, except when the hair-brained schemes are coming from him lol. Between the two of them, they've earned a reputation as something of a pair of folk heroes, to the point that people will occasionally seek them out to ask them for help. Raph isn't as fond of the traveling as Leo is; he doesn't like the constant inconsistency and change. But until they find what they're looking for, they have to keep going.

April is something of a travelling storyteller, who's crossed paths with Leo and Raph enough to know that wherever they go, crazy things follow. Sometimes she travels with them, sometimes they split up. Occasionally she does odd jobs in villages, especially if she wants to keep a low profile. Half of storytelling is gathering information, after all, and if there's a shady merchant selling bad potions or a count whose servants keep disappearing, you can bet that April is going to find out about it. (She's kinda like the fantasy/pre-movable-type printing press version of an investigative journalist.) She may or may not be under an oath to never tell a lie.

Donnie doesn't travel with his brothers, partly because he prefers the city life to the open road and partly because, as the youngest master craftsman of his guild, his work is constantly under demand. He's known for having a special touch when it comes to his creations, whether clockwork, iron, or precious metals, and his precision and focus are something to behold. Unlike many metalworkers, he refuses to make weapons (something the rest of the guild is fine with because of the demand his work receives). Rumor has it that the trade coming to his city has doubled since he started selling his work. Also, he draws his eyebrows on with charcoal. They tend to get smudged.

Mikey's just stuck in a magical amulet lmao. Leo and Raph have spent the last several years trying to figure out how to get him out without having to go back to the person that put him in it initially, but hope running slim on that front.

Draxum is... interesting. He lives in a massive forest known for its mystical wildlife and properties. They say that he lives in the exact center of the forest, twenty days' journey from any side, in a decrepit tower as old as the trees themselves. Some call him the forest's witch, others its guardian spirit, still others its god. All anyone knows for sure is that he's been there longer than any of the villages built tentatively on the forest outskirts, and that no one wants to get on his bad side. There are rumors of trophy hunters travelling a bit too deep and coming out irreversibly changed, both physically and mentally. Forest fires may rage for decades, then extinguish themselves in a single night. Paths seem to open between the trees and close at random. There is a saying in many towns on the fringe: as crazy as spending a week in the forest. Locals never explain the meaning, apparently finding it self-evident.

And almost everyone who's spent any length of time within the forest boundaries reports a tall shadowy figure that lurks just outside the boundaries of torchlights and campfires, never engaging, just watching. Sometimes, upon close inspection, the shadow is revealed to simply be a tallish pillar of stone, one so covered in moss and vines that it can't have been touched for centuries. It's unwise to get too close to the pillars, though.

Sometimes they'll follow you. And that's never a good thing.