#he becomes the very enslaved beast he's been told he was all his life

[textualviolence]

HYBRID-CYBORG DUALISM IN ONE BEING MY BELOVED

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write Day 2

Aberrant - departing from an accepted standard OR diverging from the normal type.

CONTENT WARNING: asshole parents denigrating their child with sexually charged language

"Master? A letter arrived for you."

Ahldblaet Fyrilberksyn looked up from the stack of documents with an irritated expression at the servant who'd interrupted him, a hyuran male of fair skin and hair.  "Well, boy? Who is it from then? Twelve save you if this isn't worth interrupting my very important work!"

The man went even paler. "I....I don't know, master. The envelope was not signed. The post markings indicate that it originated in Eorzea, but otherwise the only marking is that of a small green axe. I don't know..."

Ahldblaet's eyes, normally perpetually narrowed due to being deep set in his face, widened in shock. "Give that here!" he shouted. "And be gone with you!"

The servant scurried over to Ahldblaet's massive desk and practically dropped the envelope on the nearest corner before fleeing with all haste, as though for his life. Ahldblaet immediately snatched it from the stack of parchment it had fallen on and inspected the markings that the servant had mentioned.

"Husband?" a voice called from the side door that led from his office further into the home.  Said door opened and a shorter Roegadyn woman stepped through, her ash-colored skin in marked contrast to the sea-blue dress she wore. Her dark grey hair framed a face that wore an annoyed expression. "What is all this bellowing about? You are disturbing my guests. It is...unseemly."

Ahldblaet turned his severe gaze upon the new entrant. He was tall and exceptionally broad, a picture of strength in his youth, but his body had taken on a measure of fat in his older age and more sedentary work. Despite this, and his balding head of hair, his steely eyed expression still cowed many of the people he dealt with on a day to day basis. "It would seem, wife, that the enormous investment we have paid into those mercenaries we dispatched to Eorzea may have finally borne fruit. This is a missive their leader sent me. After our last communication I told him, in no uncertain terms, not to contact me until he had something of note to report. Unless he has foolishly ignored my orders, this would mean he has something."

The woman was not cowed, having long becoming immune to her husband's glares. Impatiently she gestured to the envelope. "Well, open it then, you great oaf!  Maybe we will finally learn where our daughter vanished to!"

Ahldblaet tore the envelope and removed the missive inside. He began to read aloud, knowing from prior experience if he did not, his wife would snatch the paper from his hands mid-sentence. She was not a patient one.

"Masters Ahldblaet Fyrilberksyn and Lady Usynwyda Holaszirnwyn,

I am please to report that after much time and hard work on the part of the Emerald Marauders, we have located your wayward daughter. Furthermore, we have determined the reasoning as to why she evaded both us and every previous mercenary company your lordship sent to retrieve her

First, your daughter is no longer using her given name of Syhrwyda Ahldblaetwyn. Asking after that name yielded no results, aside from the merchants who recognized it only as pertaining to you. By sheer luck, we eventually stumbled across a Roegadyn language scholar who knew the translation of her first name and directed us to an adventurer known as 'Fearless Willow', one of the Warriors of Light.

I am hoping the story of the Warriors of Light does not require an explanation for your lordship, but I will remind you that these people are slayers of godlike beings who regularly enslave the minds of mortals around them, have engaged massive numbers of Garlean soldiers and magitek armor, defeated Imperial Legatuses in single combat (including the Crown Prince), and decisively ended a thousand-year war between a dragon horde and the nation of Ishgard.

From there, we set out to determine if this woman and your daughter are one and the same. It is well known that one of the Warriors of Light is in fact a Roegadyn woman, but we needed to be certain. Adventurers are often well traveled and thanks to the Aetheryte network, difficult to track. Your descriptions were also primarily of the physical sort, which did not help, as appearances are easy enough to change.

We caught a break in speaking to one of the mercenary crews you'd previously hired. Many of them had been either entirely wiped or or reduced in numbers to the degree that they'd disbanded. What few remained refused to speak with us once it became clear who we were tracking. One particular mercenary of an Ala Mhigan band (known as the Graybear Den, which if you recall abruptly returned your payment and refused the contract) however, let slip some valuable information after our agents plied him with enough drink. Once he realized who we were speaking of, he grew agitated and swore he would never help us find 'the Warrior o' Light". It would seem the Graybears believe they owed a measure of loyalty to the Warriors of LIght for their instrumental parts in liberating their homeland.

It was, however, enough. Once we determined that your daughter and this Warrior of Light were in fact one and the same, we began looking for ways to isolate her and take her prisoner. Unfortunately this has proven extremely difficult. As they are involved in affairs that affect the entirety of the star, the Warriors of Light are often on the move, moreso than normal adventurers. Furthermore, as I have mentioned, they are peerless warriors, often in each other's company or those of their fellow Scions of the Seventh Dawn. If you don't know the order, suffice to say they are Warriors and Scholars both who labor on behalf of all peoples to defend the world against tyranny and false gods. They are exceptionally successful in this regard. The Scions often meet and collaborate with the leaders of various powers on this continent, who are often accompanied by their own soldiers or bodyguards.

We have remained patient however, and managed to catch a glimpse of her. As I mentioned was likely, she has extensively changed her appearance. Her hair is now of a longer cut and nearly all black, with only highlights of the teal you had mentioned remaining. She has also taken to wearing dark makeup.

We have also determined that unlike her fellow Warriors of Light, she does not dwell in the Scion's headquarters. Instead, she has taken to living in the Hingashi port city of Kugane, where she has a modest home in the district of the city reserved for foreigners.

Finally, and you may wish to brace her ladyship for this part, she does not live there alone. Our spies have reported that her home is occupied by two other women, and their observations of them interacting within the city indicates that the three of them are lovers

We believe that this is our best shot at capturing her, but the price for her return to you has just doubled.

You are doubtless shaking with rage, but you hired us to retrieve a woman that you led us to believe would provide minimal resistance. Even isolated from the other Scions in Kugane, we believe we will face extreme resistance in this job. For starters, your daughter has mastered several forms of combat, including the ways of the Hingashi samurai, the axe-masters of Abalathia's Spine, and the art of thaumaturgy. She is also known to wield the Sharlayan art of Astrology, and has mastered a form of dance from Radz-at-Han that wields circular blades with deadly precision.

Furthermore, Fearless Willow is a known and loved name within the borders of Kugane, despite being a foreigner in a city that remains neutral to all concerns beyond their borders. She was instrumental in aiding their geomancers in repelling an attack from a fox-like beast known as 'Kinko' and she also trained alongside the Sekiseigumi (the samurai order that enforces the laws of the city, brutally so) and helped them put down a rebellion from within their own ranks. One of her lovers is a high ranking member of the Sekiseigumi. The other is a member of her dance troupe who is on an extended tour in the city. She is every bit as deadly in the art as Fearless is.

The point is that, even isolated from the other Scions, many people will rush to her aid. We expect heavy resistance and significant losses. The original reward will not suffice to cover this.

We will not move forward with this operation until we have your confirmation of acceptance of the new price. And we suggest you hurry, as events brewing suggest your daughter will soon be called back to the fight, at which point it is impossible to tell when we will have another opportunity

Cmdr Guji Pokiji Chief Executive, Emerald Marauders  

Ahldblaet set the letter on his desk, shaking with rage as he looked to his wife."How DARE that miniscule INSECT think to extort us?? A Warrior of Light, indeed. As if our useless fool of a daughter has the brains to take on even one sort of combat discipline, much less five! How gullible does he THINK us to be?"

Usynwyda nodded, a disgusted sneer on her face. "The NERVE of her, to merely toss aside the name we chose for her, only to refer to herself in the....ugh...common tongue! Still, the name cannot be a coincidence. Whatever other lies that little gnat undoubtedly told, this is the best lead we have had on Syhrwyda since she ran away."

"It is. And if they are not all lies, then it is all the more imperative we retrieve her before word of any of this gets out among our enemies. The very idea that she would toss aside the husband we painstakingly chose for her after careful selection and delicate negotiation in favor of laying with another woman, much less two! I worried she would do stupid things, but this level of degeneracy, of abberance? It is unconscionable!"

Usynwyda shuddered. "We cannot let this get out. I can never face any of the ladies if they should learn my daughter has become no better than some...common whore. We must marry her off to the Greinmyrgan boy with all haste before she does any further damage to us, to the company."

Ahldblaet scribbled furiously. "I am already writing orders to have our ship made ready and for our elite guards to prepare for a journey. We will find her and we end this nonsense."

Far away, in Kugane, the Warrior of Light known as Fearless Willow shuddered as she prepared to fall asleep. She had no ping from the Echo, no signal from her finely honed danger sense to explain it, but she definitely felt as if trouble was heading her way, and no idea what it might be.

[megashadowdragon]

In the upcoming The Winds of Winter many characters we've come to know and love are going to intersect with each other. Their personalities and backstories are going to collide and the result of the concoction is going to vary from character to character.

In this thread, I'm going to touch on the interactions between two individuals that, weirdly enough, don't seem to get a lot of attention from the fandom in regards to how a potential interaction between the two might go down.

These two being Tyrion Lannister and Victarion Greyjoy.

On examination, there couldn't be two characters more different than each other. In a way, they're almost perfect foils to each other. Before I get into any foreshadowing indicated in the text of the books, I think it be best if I laid down some of these differences to give you guys an idea:

Tyrion has a sharp mind and uses this to great effect in understanding people's motivations and the politics surrounding them. Victarion is described as a "dullard" and "dumb as a stump" by GRRM himself, with not much knowledge or interest in the ways of greater politics.

Tyrion uses his wit to make jokes to entertain himself and those around him. Victarion heavily dislikes humor and it's even indicated in the text that he "mistrusts laughter".

Tyrion is a small, stunted dwarf with not much in the way of physical prowess. Victarion is a tall, muscular man who is a renowned warrior with great strength.

Tyrion regularly dismisses and mocks the idea of gods existing, thinking that all the suffering in the world proves that no gods are looking out for anyone.

If there are gods to listen, they are monstrous gods who torment us for their sport. Who else would make a world like this, so full of bondage, blood, and pain? Who else would shape us as they have? - Tyrion ADWD

Victarion is an extremely devout religious man that believes that the suffering in life is the proof of a god existing.

Life is pain, you fool. There is no joy but in the Drowned God’s watery halls. - The Iron Suitor ADWD

Now, I've listed these differences to give an idea on how these two could easily be connected as foils to each other, but surprisingly there's also some similarities between the two that connects them further:

Both Tyrion and Victarion have murdered former lovers of theirs after they betrayed them by sleeping with a family member. Victarion kills his wife after sleeping with his brother Euron and Tyrion murders Shae after she sleeps with his father Tywin. Both using their own hands to do it. (Tyrion strangling Shae and Victarion beating his wife to death with his fists).

Both were betrayed by their brother and have a desire to seek vengeance against them and destroy them.

Both have met Moqorro at sea and Moqorro has stated prophecies to both of them.

Both have fought and commanded in naval warfare. Both utilising fire in a naval battle (Tyrion with wildfire at the Blackwater and Victarion throwing the first torch onto Tywin's ship at the burning of Lannisport).

Both are seeking out Daenerys to use her for vengeance against their family. Tyrion with his siblings and his father's legacy and Victarion against his brother Euron.

So, now that the differences and similarities between the two characters have been established, I'll move onto what an interaction between these two might entail and what purpose it would serve.

The Monkey Demon

“We have become swollen, bloated, foul. Brother couples with sister in the bed of kings, and the fruit of their incest capers in his palace to the piping of a twisted little monkey demon.” A preacher at King's Landing ACOK.

“The dwarf, the evil counselor, the twisted little monkey demon. I’m all that stands between them and chaos.” - Tyrion ACOK

Tyrion Lannister, the monkey demon. Once tried to save a city and gain the people's love, found none and was promptly punted into a cell. Tried to work in his family interests, even if it meant defending the crown of a worm-lipped tyrant born out of incest, was turned on and blamed for the tyrant's downfall. Tried to find love in the arms of a whore and found out whores don't play fair (or where they go). All attempts, all that effort to seek validation had blown up in his face.

So, what's left?

The game of thrones, of course. You know, the very game that produces complete sociopaths like Varys and Petyr Baelish. With every other avenue denied to him, what else would be left for our favourite pampered lil shit Tyrion Lannister?

A man who's been denied everything and who has now found a re-newed purpose in life through a game of manipulation and deception. An individual with obligations no longer holding him down. No family to support, no love from the masses to be gained, nothing. All that's left is to engage in a game where self-gratification can be bought and the chance to tear down the old ghosts that persistently haunt him.

I won't engage too much into the finer details of Tyrion's character arc, but I highly recommend reading this excellent essay meereeneseblot . wordpress . com/2013/11/22/paying-his-debts-part-i-tyrion-in-kings-landing/ to better understand where Tyrion's arc will be going into TWOW.

So, our favourite dwarf finds himself traveling (waddling) to Meeren, hoping to seek the favour of the beautiful Queen Daenaerys Targaryen. Under siege with dubious allies and dragons you want to use to burn down your family's legacy, but they're too busy swarming the air like horny mosquitos...

But.... what's this? Ironborn swarming ashore? What the fuc-... With a complete donkey-brain of a captain leading them and who's just ready to be manipulated, you say? AND he wants to use Daenarys for his own ends too?

Muy bueno.

Now, to get to the point of the essay.

The Iron Captain

The Drowned God had not shaped Victarion Greyjoy to fight with words at kingsmoots, nor struggle against furtive sneaking foes in endless bogs. This was why he had been put on earth; to stand steel-clad with an axe red and dripping in his hand, dealing death with every blow. - The Reaver AFFC

So, I've showcased that Victarion Greyjoy's character is not one to dabble in higher politics or any other high-minded thinking. He's a man bred for splitting an enemy's skull in two with his axe, not someone trying to worm his way into people's confidences with false charm to achieve their own ends. Unfortunately for him, he's about to come across somebody who is.

A monkey on the mast above howled derision, almost as if it could taste his frustration. Filthy, noisy beast. He could send a man up after it, but the monkeys seemed to like that game and had proved themselves more agile than his crew. The howls rang in his ears, though, and made the throbbing in his hand seem worse. - The Iron Suitor ADWD

The moniker that's been labelled for Tyrion of "Monkey demon" earlier in ACOK has made a comeback by GRRM in Victarion's ADWD chapters to foreshadow their relationship going into TWOW. And what that relationship will entail, I think I can safely say, will not be a positive one. Not for Victarion anyways.

The monkeys, though … the monkeys were a plague. Victarion had forbidden his men to bring any of the demonic creatures aboard ship, yet somehow half his fleet was now infested with them, even his own Iron Victory. He could see some now, swinging from spar to spar and ship to ship. Would that I had a crossbow - The Iron Suitor ADWD

So, we can see that the passage likely connects Tyrion with the "monkey" moniker by way of referencing a "crossbow" as well as the word "demonic". As we all know, a crossbow is what Tyrion used to slay his father in ASOS. The mention of a crossbow in conjunction with monkeys being described as "demonic", I think we can safely say that Tyrion is being referenced by GRRM in Victarion's chapters .

Okay, so let's assume that Tyrion is referenced in these passages. What does it mean?

Here's what I believe: Tyrion, upon encountering Victarion, would have the judge of his character. Tyrion outclasses Victarion in every way when it comes to intelligence, wit, and manipulation. The two are at the same location (Meeren) and both want the favour of Daenarys. It seems inevitable that the two characters will cross paths. Tyrion would realise that this is a man that he can outwit and use for his own ends.

The first passage describes negatives feelings felt by Victarion at the monkey's "howling". This, I believe, is foreshadowing of Tyrion's attempts to manipulate Victarion. The "howling" used in substitute and reference to the lies that Tyrion will use on Victarion and his men.

Victarion's "frustration" is telling. There are two other characters in the series that aren't as versed in dealing with manipulation and the game of thrones in general, like Victarion. Those two being Eddard Stark and Barristan Selmy, and they reacted in similar ways to manipulation used on them.

“Most likely the king did not know,” Littlefinger said. “It would not be the first time. Our good Robert is practiced at closing his eyes to things he would rather not see.” Ned had no reply for that. The face of the butcher’s boy swam up before his eyes, cloven almost in two, and afterward the king had said not a word. His head was pounding. - Eddard AGOT

“Volantis.” Selmy’s sword hand tingled. We made a peace with Yunkai. Not with Volantis. “You are certain?”

“Certain. The Wise Masters know. So do their friends. The Harpy, Reznak, Hizdahr. This king will open the city gates to the Volantenes when they arrive. All those Daenerys freed will be enslaved again. Even some who were never slaves will be fitted for chains. You may end your days in a fighting pit, old man. Khrazz will eat your heart.”

His head was pounding. “Daenerys must be told.” -The Queensguard ADWD

When Ned encounters a lie by Littlefinger when they talk to him, it's described in the text as his "head pounding". The same happens when Barristan talks to the Shavepate in Meereen. It's likely that the Shavepate has his own agendas and when Barristan hears him he has the same reaction as Ned in where his "head pounds". The implication being that they instinctively know it's a lie, but can't grasp the higher details and fully realise it.

Victarion isn't an honourable man like Eddard and Barristan, but he shares the same ineptitude regarding the game of thrones as they do. The reaction isn't the exact same, but it's described in similar negative detail that taxes him. We can also refer to Barristan's passage where his hand "tingles" during the exchange, just as Victarion's hand "throbs" from the monkeys.

So, what is Tyrion's goal and why would he even need to bother with Victarion and his crew? We can refer back to this passage in Tyrion's final POV chapter in ADWD:

“I am dancing as fast as I can.” He wanted to laugh, but that would have ruined the game. Plumm was enjoying this, and Tyrion had no intention of spoiling his fun. Let him go on thinking that he’s bent me over and fucked me up the arse, and I’ll go on buying steel swords with parchment dragons. If ever he went back to Westeros to claim his birthright, he would have all the gold of Casterly Rock to make good on his promises - Tyrion ADWD

Tyrion's ultimate goal from ADWD and going forward is to tear down his father's legacy and to wreck vengeance upon his siblings. In order to achieve this, he has to acquire power. It's my belief that he'll try to persuade Victarion's men to fight for his cause. In the same way he swindled the Second Sons with promises of riches of Casterly Rock, I believe he'll do the same with Victarion's men.

To get a better picture of the character of the Ironborn soldiers I refer to this passage:

His words drew mutters of assent. “Slaver’s Bay is too far,” called out Ralf the Limper. “And too close to Valyria,” shouted Quellon Humble. Fralegg the Strong said, “Highgarden’s close. I say, look for dragons there. The golden kind!” Alvyn Sharp said, “Why sail the world, when the Mander lies before us?” Red Ralf Stonehouse bounded to his feet. “Oldtown is richer, and the Arbor richer still. Redwyne’s fleet is off away. We need only reach out our hand to pluck the ripest fruit in Westeros.”

“Fruit?” The king’s eye looked more black than blue. “Only a craven would steal a fruit when he could take the orchard.”

“It is the Arbor we want,” said Red Ralf, and other men took up the cry. The Crow’s Eye let the shouts wash over him. Then he leapt down from the table, grabbed his slattern by the arm, and pulled her from the hall.

- The Reaver AFFC

Euron Greyjoy, the king of the Ironborn, proposes an ambitious plan of acquiring dragons to rule all of Westeros, but his Ironborn soldiers opt for the easy way out. A way that will require less effort and with the promises of quick riches. Why sail half a world away when the gold is in their backyards?

The ironmen that have sailed with Victarion, will see the imp bearing his promises, and might just decide that he's their ticket to a grander prize. Their Iron Captain is a formidable warrior, aye, but Casterly Rock would have all the riches they need, and who better to offer them than the rightful born heir of Casterly Rock?

We've already seen Victarion's men turn on him before:

Victarion grabbed him by the forearm. “Refuse him!”

Nute looked at him as if he had gone mad. “Refuse him? Lands and lordship? Will you make me a lord?” He wrenched his arm away and stood, basking in the cheers.

And now he steals my men away, Victarion thought. - The Reaver AFFC

As I've highlighted in the first two passages, the monkeys are described as being more "agile" (more cunning) than Victarion's crew and infesting "half of them". It makes sense, since it's not like Tyrion can swindle 100 percent of Victarion's crew, but at least half of them? That doesn't seem like too much of a challenge, given what we know of the Ironborn's character.

Victarion Greyjoy mistrusted laughter. The sound of it always left him with the uneasy feeling that he was the butt of some jape he did not understand. Euron Crow’s Eye had oft made mock of him when they were boys. So had Aeron, before he had become the Damphair. Their mockery oft came disguised as praise, and sometimes Victarion had not even realized he was being mocked. Not until he heard the laughter. Then came the anger, boiling up in the back of his throat until he was like to choke upon the taste. That was how he felt about the monkeys. Their antics never brought so much as a smile to the captain’s face, though his crew would roar and hoot and whistle. - The Iron Suitor ADWD

“You have a gift for making men smile,” Septa Lemore told Tyrion as he was drying off his toes. “You should thank the Father Above. He gives gifts to all his children.”

“He does,” he agreed pleasantly. And when I die, please let them bury with me a crossbow, so I can thank the Father Above for his gifts the same way I thanked the father below. - Tyrion ADWD

For half a year he cartwheeled his merry way about Casterly Rock, bringing smiles to the faces of septons, squires, and servants alike. Even Cersei laughed to see him once or twice. All that ended abruptly the day his father returned from a sojourn in King’s Landing. That night at supper Tyrion surprised his sire by walking the length of the high table on his hands. Lord Tywin was not pleased. “The gods made you a dwarf. Must you be a fool as well? You were born a lion, not a monkey.” - Tyrion ADWD

Tyrion will use his personality to amuse and charm a majority of the Iron Fleet's crew, all so he can win them over and bond them to him, but Victarion won't be amused. We've already seen Tyrion's prowess used to great effect in winning over a crowd during his slave auction and he'll do the same with The Ironborn by playing the part of an amusing fool; "dancing" and making witty jokes to the bemusement of the knuckleheads from the Iron Islands.

He could send a man up after it, but the monkeys seemed to like that game

Victarion had forbidden his men to bring any of the demonic creatures aboard ship, yet somehow half his fleet was now infested with them, even his own Iron Victory.

Their antics never brought so much as a smile to the captain’s face, though his crew would roar and hoot and whistle.

Victarion may have some vague idea that the "monkeys" are nothing but trouble for his crew, but like Eddard and Barristan, he can't quite grasp the finer details of what a game of thrones player like Tyrion is trying to achieve exactly. He doesn't see the capering little monkey as someone trying to swindle his crew right from under him. "and sometimes Victarion had not even realized he was being mocked. Not until he heard the laughter. "

Because ultimately, the joke is on Victarion. The Monkey Demon makes his japes and charms all, while laughing from above at the dumb brute who can only frown his displeasure and not realise what the monkey has in store for him, until it's too late. And Victarion, finally realising the punchline too late, will be the biggest mistake of his life.

The Glory That Awaits

"The Lord of Light has shown me your worth, Lord Captain. Every night in my fires I glimpse the glory that awaits you." - Victarion ADWD

One of the biggest constants in Victarion's arc is that he's basically a born stooge. He's being manipulated by characters superior in intelligence than him, and while these manipulations haven't born fruit so far in AFFC and ADWD, I think they'll finally bloom and bite him in his kraken ass in TWOW.

Moqorro

Euron

Tyrion

It's been heavily implied in the text that all three characters are going to use him just to achieve their ends. The only character that hasn't interacted with him yet is Tyrion, but the first two share something in common that I think will translate over to Tyrion's machinations as well. That something being dragons.

Euron gifts him with a dragonhorn and bonehead extraordinaire Victarion thinks that he'll use it for his own benefit and snag himself a dragon. As if Euron would be stupid enough to allow Victarion to do that.

Euron was a fool to give me this, it is a precious thing, and powerful. With this I’ll win the Seastone Chair, and then the Iron Throne. With this I’ll win the world. - Victarion TWOW

Interesting that the word "fool" is invoked for Euron, a man who is more cunning than Victarion by miles. After all, you don't just secure a kingship like Euron did through sheer luck.

That's what the dancing little monkey will seem like to Victarion as well. Lord Tywin, a man after Victarion's own heart because he never smiled or laughed, wasn't amused by the monkey's antics either:

Lord Tywin’s mouth tightened. “Very droll. Shall I have them sew you a suit of motley, and a little hat with bells on it?” - Tyrion ASOS

He considered Tyrion a motley wearing fool. We all know how that ended for Tywin.

Moqorro then tells him that in order to capture the dragon for himself, he must claim the dragonhorn with his own blood.

“Your brother did not sound the horn himself. Nor must you.” Moqorro pointed to the band of steel. “Here. ‘Blood for fire, fire for blood.’ Who blows the hellhorn matters not. The dragons will come to the horn’s master. You must claim the horn. With blood.” - Victarion ADWD

So, the first two characters are connected via the use of the dragonhorn. Judging what we know from Euron's character, it's extremely likely that he's pulling one over on Victarion for his own ends. Since I've established that Tyrion is also going to do the same through this essay, it's highly likely Moqorro is just using Victarion as well.

Here we see Moqorro relaying a prophecy to Tyrion:

“Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark. And you. A small man with a big shadow, snarling in the midst of all.”

“Snarling? An amiable fellow like me?” Tyrion was almost flattered. And no doubt that is just what he intends. Every fool loves to hear that he’s important. “Perhaps it was Penny you saw. We’re almost of a size.”

“No, my friend.”

My friend? When did that happen, I wonder? - Tyrion ADWD

Definition of amiable:

friendly, sociable, and congenial. generally agreeable

Definition of snarling:

Something used by predators before they rip your throat out.

Moqorro's label cuts to the heart of the matter, despite Tyrion's "incredulous" reaction to it.

How can the jovial, charming little dwarf be anything but a good, fun time? "Snarling"? Does it "look" like he wants to burn down all of Westeros just to get some empty satisfaction at the downfall of his family? Does it "look" like he wants to use people less intelligent than him to achieve those ends?

Yes, Tyrion. Yes it does.

So, onto the next point. Since we've established that Tyrion doesn't have Victarion's best interests at heart, there's a question we should ask ourselves here: Why would Moqorro consider Tyrion a friend if he can see that he'll just end up using Victarion? His prophecies seem to be pretty on point in judging future events and how it relates to people, so why look so highly upon the dwarf?

It's because Moqorro is manipulating Victarion for his own ends as well. If he was Victarion's true ally, he wouldn't be so chummy with Tyrion.

Considering Moqorro looks so favorably upon Tyrion, his claims to Victarion that he can claim the dragon for his own are dubious. Moqorro's prophecy for "the glory that awaits him" to Victarion may not be the glorious ending Victarion thinks it'll be. Since Moqorro is a priest of fire, the "glory" he speaks of is something that he himself finds glorious. Fire.

During Victarion's travelogue in ADWD, he starts to incorporate The Lord of Light's beliefs for his own and mixes it with his belief of the Drowned God.

He wondered if this was how his brother Aeron felt when the Drowned God spoke to him. He could almost hear the god’s voice welling up from the depths of the sea. You shall serve me well, my captain, the waves seemed to say. It was for this I made you.

But he would feed the red god too, Moqorro’s fire god. The arm the priest had healed was hideous to look upon, pork crackling from elbow to fingertips. Sometimes when Victarion closed his hand the skin would split and smoke, yet the arm was stronger than it had ever been. “Two gods are with me now,” he told the dusky woman. “No foe can stand before two gods." - Victarion ADWD

In one final, humiliating punchline, the Iron Captain will serve his two gods. But not in the way he intended.

“Might be his robes caught fire, so he jumped overboard to put them out,” suggested Longwater Pyke, to general laughter. Even the monkeys were amused. They chattered overhead, and one flung down a handful of his own shit to spatter on the boards. -The Iron Suitor ADWD

The captain could not abide lies, so he had the Ghiscari captain bound hand and foot and thrown overboard, a sacrifice to the Drowned God. “Your red god will have his due,” he promised Moqorro, “but the seas are ruled by the Drowned God.”- Victarion ADWD

The captain answered with a nod, grim-faced, then called for the seven girls he had claimed to be brought on deck, the loveliest of all those found aboard the Willing Maiden. He kissed them each upon the cheeks and told them of the honor that awaited them, though they did not understand his words. Then he had them put aboard the fishing ketch that they had captured, cut her loose, and had her set afire.

“With this gift of innocence and beauty, we honor both the gods,” he proclaimed, as the warships of the Iron Fleet rowed past the burning ketch. “Let these girls be reborn in light, undefiled by mortal lust, or let them descend to the Drowned God’s watery halls, to feast and dance and laugh until the seas dry up.” - Victarion ADWD

His plan to snatch a dragon and win the world will backfire horribly. Believing he'll become Aegon the Conquerer come again, he uses the dragonhorn to bring a dragon to him. Since the dragonhorn is at least six feet long, it'd be a pain and seem redundant to move it from the deck of The Iron Victory. Thinking the dragon will be binded to him, he'll be happy as a pig in shit when the horn gets tooted like an old lady's fart.

That is, until the dragon swoops down and opens his maw to unleash a nuclear holocaust on his sorry ass.

When he raised his whip, he saw that the lash was burning. His hand as well. All of him, all of him was burning. Oh, he thought. Then he began to scream. - The Dragontamer ADWD

It's not too far-fetched to say the passage connects with Victarion, considering his arm and hand have already been described as split and smoking. It's also isn't the first time his hand is referenced, as I've stated before in the reference to Barristan Selmy. Both references coming from the same book ADWD.

Engulfed in dragonfire, he'll have no choice but to jump overboard into the sea. That'll snuff the flames right ou-

The white roses drew back, as men always did at the sight of Victarion Greyjoy armed and armored, his face hidden behind his kraken helm. They were clutching swords and spears and axes, but nine of every ten wore no armor, and the tenth had only a shirt of sewn scales. These are no ironmen, Victarion thought. They still fear drowning. - The Reaver AFFC

None of his men had seen what became of the knight after he went over the side, however. Most like the man had drowned. “May he feast as he fought, in the Drowned God’s watery halls.” Though the men of the Shield Islands called themselves sailors, they crossed the seas in dread and went lightly clad in battle for fear of drowning. Young Serry had been different. A brave man, thought Victarion. Almost ironborn. - The Reaver AFFC

In a buy two-get-one free deal, the char-coaled Iron Captain will serve his two gods, sinking like a rock to the bottom of the ocean to feast in the watery halls of the Drowned God for eternity. The Monkey Demon laughing and capering all the while.

At least the Drowned God will be impressed with the Kraken armor.

The End

So, in a final analysis, I believe Tyrion will convince at least half, if not most of Victarion's crew to join in his cause, thinking they'll be rich beyond their wildest of dreams, not realising that they're just expendable pawns for Tyrion to fulfil his desire for vengeance.

While the exact logistics of how Tyrion is involved in Victarion's death escape me, I certainly believe he'll have a part in it. As I've stated before, Tyrion will likely be involved with Victarion and his plot for dragons just like Moqorro and Euron.

The white cyvasse dragon ended up at Tyrion’s feet. He scooped it off the carpet and wiped it on his sleeve, but some of the Yunkish blood had collected in the fine grooves of the carving, so the pale wood seemed veined with red. “All hail our beloved queen, Daenerys.” Be she alive or be she dead. He tossed the bloody dragon in the air, caught it, grinned. - Tyrion TWOW

It'd also be guesswork on my part to write what exact manipulations and lies Tyrion will utilise on Victarion and his men through dialogue, but I think my rough sketch is enough to give a general idea for the direction they'll likely take.

Considering that Tyrion is inevitably going to meet with Daenerys, and since it's not like he has any easy passage to any other location, he'll likely be at Meeren for a good while.

And since it seems highly unlikely that Victarion will just be killed off at the Battle of Fire, considering he's been chronicled and built up in the past two books, I think it's safe to assume that the two will have lengthy interactions with each other while they're stuck in Meereen.

Whether or not Victarion will be around long enough to meet the fair-haired queen of his dreams is unknown, but it's possible he'll be dead before then.

After all, wouldn't it be a worthy prize for our beloved imp to come bearing gifts of a naval fleet bonded to him to the lovely Queen Daenerys? All from him, no other person claiming ownership of them.

"The old captain? Eh, he wouldn't have been as generous as me."

Despite all of that, despite all the manipulations and deceit, will Tyrion be truly satisfied at the end result?

That night Tyrion Lannister dreamed of a battle that turned the hills of Westeros as red as blood. He was in the midst of it, dealing death with an axe as big as he was, fighting side by side with Barristan the Bold and Bittersteel as dragons wheeled across the sky above them. In the dream he had two heads, both noseless. His father led the enemy, so he slew him once again. Then he killed his brother, Jaime, hacking at his face until it was a red ruin, laughing every time he struck a blow. Only when the fight was finished did he realize that his second head was weeping. - Tyrion ADWD

[princesssarisa]

“Beauty and the Beast”: Belle’s beautiful discontentment (warning: long)

In my Feminist Defense of the Animated Belle, I addressed most of the issues I’ve heard people complain about regarding Belle’s character. But there was one I didn’t touch on, because it has very little to do with gender roles: the common complaint that Belle is a “snob.” I’d like to discuss that topic now. I’d also like to use it as a springboard to discuss a valuable aspect of Belle’s character that sets her apart both from certain Disney princesses who came before her and from depictions of Beauty in other Beauty and the Beast retellings: her willingness to own her discontentment.

I do understand the “snob” accusations. After all, Belle’s neighbors are poor peasants working hard to eke out a living. It’s only natural that they have little time for books or dreams of adventure and think Belle’s passion for those things is impractical. It’s reasonable to sympathize with their perspective more than the movie seems to want us to. It’s fair to argue that the movie has a (probably unintentional) classist undertone by portraying the villagers as small-minded and bigoted and by having Belle only find a kindred spirit in a prince, albeit an enchanted outcast prince, and find her ultimate happiness by leaving the town in favor of a royal castle. I’m grateful that other BatB retellings exist (e.g. Megan Kearney’s webcomic, or Robin McKinley’s Rose Daughter) that portray Beauty’s peasant world in a more positive light, depict the historic cruelty of royal court life in the Beast/Prince’s backstory, and have him leave the castle in the end to become a peasant rather than Beauty becoming a princess.

But none of the above is any reason to criticize Belle.

I don’t think she looks down on her neighbors. She most certainly doesn’t shun them, as some critics claim she does. Just look at her meeting with the baker during the opening song: she tries to have a friendly conversation with him and tell him about the wonderful story she’s read, only for him to rudely brush her aside with “That’s nice... Marie! The baguettes!” I don’t interpret her subsequent shrug and eye-roll as showing disdain for his “low-class” disinterest in books – just as “Oh well, as usual, no one shares my interest.”

Nor do I buy the claim that she shows disdain for the “I need six eggs!” woman (and by extension for all struggling mothers) when she rides past her. It’s true that she does seem to be smiling, which might imply amused contempt, but she might also just be enjoying her ride on the wagon while at the same time wistfully yearning for a new life, with her expression having nothing to do with the woman. I don’t know what the animators meant to convey. And even if that overwhelmed mother does represent the life Belle doesn’t want for herself, and if Belle sings “There must be more than this provincial life!” in response to seeing her, what’s wrong with that? I don’t think it’s an insult to women who choose to have big families. Even a woman who chooses to have five kids shouldn’t be expected to wrangle them all by herself while also doing her grocery shopping, with no help from her husband or from anyone else. That’s the kind of unpaid labor women have too often been forced into and it’s not “insulting other women” for Belle to yearn for something different.

Belle has the right to be bored by her small town life and want something more. She’s not some rich girl looking down on the poor peasants; she’s a poor peasant too. A person trapped in a dull, stifling lower-class existence has every right to long for a different life. Would we accuse Cinderella of being a “snob” and “ignoring the value of domestic work” because she dreams of escaping from her enslavement by her stepfamily? Of course Belle’s life in the village is more comfortable than that, but it’s still reasonable that she should want to break free from its limits.

“But Belle is clearly richer and more privileged than her neighbors!” some critics argue again and again. “Most peasants in those days were illiterate, so the fact that Belle can read shows she’s had a higher-class education, and in the stage musical, Maurice tells her she’s ‘class’ while their neighbors are ‘the common herd’!” I don’t buy that argument. I’ve never bought it. Not one bit. The movie’s setting isn’t the real late 18th/early 19th century France – it’s the Disney version of it. The village has a bookshop in the animated version and a church library and schoolhouse in the live-action remake. There’s no indication whatsoever that Belle's neighbors can’t read. (Gaston holding her book askance as he looks for pictures in it and Le Fou’s inability to spell Gaston’s name don’t count; the first is a “parental bonus” gag implying that Gaston is looking for a centerfold, while the second is a “Le Fou is stupid” gag. Gaston quotes Shakespeare in “The Mob Song,” so he’s clearly had some education.) Belle just stands out because she has a passion for books, instead of only reading now and then during breaks from “more important” things, and because she would rather read than engage in smalltalk about practical everyday matters. Belle is shown borrowing her books, not buying them, which I presume implies she can’t afford to buy them, and Maurice builds his invention out of ordinary household items (e.g. a wood stove, an axe, a teapot), so he presumably hasn’t spent much money on it either. Nor are they any better dressed than their neighbors, nor does their house look any fancier. They certainly don’t seem richer than Gaston, who apparently owns the village tavern and can afford to arrange a wedding party on short notice and bribe Monsieur d’Arque with a bag of gold to help him blackmail Belle. As for Maurice’s remarks in the stage version, they’re clearly about her personality, not about social class.

Belle also has the right to be an individualist and a misfit. That’s part of the whole point of her storyline. It seems to me that critics who complain that she “looks down on normalcy” are doing the same thing the villagers do, which is supposed to be wrong: saying “It’s a pity and a sin she doesn’t quite fit in.”

It’s no surprise that people should complain about Belle’s complaining, though. Traditional fairy-tale heroines aren’t supposed to complain. As much as we can joke about the cliché that the “I want more” heroine became during the Disney Renaissance, we shouldn’t forget how innovative that kind of heroine was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Just think back to Snow White: at the beginning she’s dressed in rags and forced to work as a scullery maid by her stepmother, but we find her smiling and cheerfully humming as she scrubs the castle steps. Then there’s Cinderella: a bit more complex and openly discontented than Snow White, but in general she still goes cheerfully about her chores. The heroine who lives in unhappy circumstances but “bears it cheerfully and without complaint” is a mainstay of classic, old-fashioned fairy-tales (and other stories too). The early versions of Beauty and the Beast are no exception. After Beauty’s family falls into poverty, we’re told that her sisters constantly wail and cry over their lost wealth and status, but Beauty swallows her grief, resolves to be cheerful, patiently shoulders all the household chores, and devotes her days to consoling her father and siblings. For this she’s held up as a role model, in contrast to her complaining sisters, who despise her and insult her for it, but whom she always loves and forgives.

Of course there’s value in that kind of character. Resilience in the face of adversity and finding happiness where others find none is a strength in its own right. But it can be overdone. The more that women, poor people and outcasts are encouraged to be cheerful, patient and uncomplaining, the more they’re expected to “stay in their place.” Any righteous desire or demand for a better life or better treatment is labeled “rude,” whiny,” “petulant” and “selfish.” It doesn’t always cross that line, but it can.

Linda Woolverton, the head screenwriter of Disney’s BatB, knew that she wanted Belle to be different both from the traditional Beauty and from the likes of Snow White and Cinderella. So did lyricist Howard Ashman, whose experience as a gay man did much to influence the outcast heroes and heroines of the three Disney movies he wrote for. As noted in this Time Magazine article, they resolved to create a heroine for “the next century,” who wasn’t “based on being kind and taking the hits but smiling all the way through it.”

They definitely succeeded.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s wonderful that Belle owns her discontentment. It’s beautiful that she doesn’t try to fit in or put on a patient, cheerful mask, but unabashedly yearns to escape from her dull, small-minded village and find adventure in the great wide somewhere. It’s wonderful that she has no patience for Gaston’s rudeness and arrogance and that she loathes the thought of having to give up her reading and intellect in favor of a mundane marriage and raising a gaggle of children. It all leads beautifully into her friendship and romance arc with the Beast, where she refuses to tolerate his bullying, refuses to let him control her even though he’s the master of the castle, only forgives him when he earns her forgiveness, and inspires him to change for the better. The happy ending comes about precisely because Belle was willing to be discontented and shamelessly wanted more than she was given at first. This makes her almost the opposite of the original tale’s Beauty, whose story was written as an allegory for arranged marriage and whose purpose was in part to convince girls to submit to unwanted circumstances for their families’ sake. I love that instead, Belle refuses to submit to what she doesn’t want, and her refusal becomes the catalyst for all the positive growth and transformation in the story.

Let’s hear it for heroines who want more!

[aion-rsa]

There Are No Secrets of Dumbledore Worth Adding to the World of Harry Potter

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The sunk cost fallacy is a powerful thing. Despite the fact that the current pandemic has audiences more desperate than ever for tentpole films, no one has exactly been clamoring for the continuation of the Fantastic Beasts series, slated to have five movies in total. So it was with muted fanfare that Warner Bros. announced the upcoming release of the third Fantastic Beasts film, set to premiere in April 2022 under the title Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Those who watched The Crimes of Grindelwald will remember the prominent role of a young Dumbledore played by Jude Law—clearly the series isn’t quite finished exploring the famously eccentric wizard’s backstory. But given J.K. Rowling’s history of not knowing when to stop opening up the vault, unloading new factoids that simultaneously demystify the wizarding universe and cast its characters in a poor light, you have to wonder: Might everyone be better off if the secrets of Dumbledore were left untold?

The Fantastic Beasts series has never exactly set the world aflame with its brilliance. The initial film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, approached the success of the original Harry Potter film series, earning $814 million on a $200 million budget. (Notably, it was the eighth highest grossing film in 2016, when each of the other Harry Potter films were in the top three highest grossing for their respective years.)

The final bait-and-switch reveal of Johnny Depp as the notorious Hitler-esque villain of the series did little to whet the appetites of moviegoers, and the second film fared considerably worse at the box office. The Crimes of Grindelwald made $150 million less than its predecessor, the worst showing of any Harry Potter film by far. 

It was roundly criticized for its less than inspired plot and borderline offensive imagery surrounding some of the non-white characters. More than anything, audiences were turned off by the perceived pointlessness of the series: this was not an expansion of the Harry Potter universe that anyone was really asking for. And yet, the franchise soldiers on, kept alive more out of sheer bloody-mindedness than anything else. At this point, surely the kindest thing to do would be to put the poor dear out of its misery, releasing Eddie Redmayne from the shackles of a multi-million dollar contract and letting him go back to making inspirational period dramas. But as long as Rowling has life left in her body, she’s committed to tearing down her own legacy. So here we are: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

It’s no, well, secret that name-dropping Dumbledore in the title is a Hail Mary borne out of the desperate hope that evoking one of the most popular characters in the series will drive audiences back to the theaters. But realistically, it seems like Dumbledore’s backstory (and any hidden revelations contained within) has already been fairly well-mined. We’ve seen him as an old man, the wizened mentor of Harry Potter as headmaster of Hogwarts. We’ve seen him in flashbacks at various points in what we have to assume is an unusually extended middle age, thanks to Harry’s exploration of the Pensieve in an effort to learn more about Voldemort’s shadowy past. We’ve gotten first hand accounts of his early life from his brother Aberforth, and we’ve even read excerpts from an (admittedly potentially libelous) biography published posthumously by Bathilda Bagshot.

And now with The Crimes of Grindelwald, we’ve seen him as a roguishly handsome young Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts in the 1920s, thanks to Law in an impeccably tailored three-piece suit. Does Dumbledore even have any secrets left?

Setting aside all of the substantial on-screen exploration of Dumbledore’s past, we haven’t even begun to take into account one of the most powerful vessels of canonical Harry Potter intel: the famous Rowling info dump. Ever since Harry Potter put J.K. Rowling on the map, it’s been clear that she has veritable notebooks full of background information that didn’t make it into the books and films, and nothing delights her more than sharing some of these details. Some of them are puzzling but harmless, like the time she posted on Pottermore (apropos of nothing) that Hogwarts didn’t used to have indoor plumbing, and that witches and wizards simply relieved themselves wherever they stood and magically vanished the evidence.

Others add nuance to beloved characters: the revelation she shared shortly after the release of the final Harry Potter book, for example, which told us Dumbledore was gay. Learning all of this shapes our understanding of the series, but it also feels a little bit like a cheat. If it was important to Rowling that we know Dumbledore’s sexuality, why did she wait until after the ink was dry to tell us, and not simply include it in the text? In many ways, it’s a half measure; an opportunity to pay lip service to progressive values but without any inherent risk. (And the more that we learn about Rowling’s views on gender politics, the more it comes across as disingenuous.)

To be frank, audiences have reason to distrust Rowling’s attempts to elaborate on characters from the original series. Historically, this has not always improved said characters. Nagini, for instance, began as an intriguingly intelligent snake, one able to maintain a powerful bond to Voldemort when he was unable to connect with any of his own species in the same way. Everyone just sort of accepted that character as read, and no one asked for more of an explanation. The universe did not need a Nagini prequel.

But in The Crimes of Grindelwald, Rowling couldn’t resist the opportunity to tinker, and then we end up with a Nagini that is an incredibly problematic depiction of an Asian woman. She is enslaved by a circus owner and burdened with a blood curse that initially gave her the power to transform into a snake but, by the events of the original Harry Potter series, she is permanently fixed in snake form. Who in the world thought adding that to Nagini would make her a more compelling character? Proof that there is creative danger in becoming so rich and powerful as an artist that no one is willing to tell you, “No. That’s a bad idea.”

So while there are diehard fans out there, presumably thrilled by the news that the Fantastic Beasts franchise lives another day, there is a notable sense of dwindling enthusiasm amongst audiences at large. The Secrets of Dumbledore does little to inspire hope that this installment will prove itself worthy of existence, feeling more akin to a cynical attempt to capitalize on his popularity. Instead of making fans excited to learn more about the enigmatic Albus Dumbledore, it can’t help but evoke a feeling of dread. People still like Dumbledore, even with his questionable beliefs and actions in his early life, but what will happen when Rowling takes another swing at him?

No matter how much she intends to add to the character, there’s the very real risk she’ll take something away. Indeed, it seems obvious to everyone but the production team that she’s long since reached the point where the best thing for her own legacy would be for Rowling to put down the pen and walk away. Stop it before she does irreparable damage to the characters that a generation of children grew up with.

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[supertvngames]

Naruto AU - Shuji Uchiha Scenarios Part 1

Shuji Uchiha is the adoptive brother of Naruto Uzumaki. And the half-brother of Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha from their mother’s side, and half-brother Shisui Uchiha from their father’s side. And as well as my OC.

-Pre OS-

Mikoto Uchiha adopted Naruto but has to move out of the Uchiha Distract and into the late 4th Hokage Minato and his wife Kushina’s with the newborn child. Over a while, an Uchiha man was given permission to help Mikoto. The Uchiha man is the father of Shisui Uchiha. They accidently conceive a child, the child was named Shuji. Weeks after Shuji was born, his birth father died.

While growing up, Shuji had a big brother worship towards Shisui as Sasuke towards Itachi. Shuji and Sasuke tend to argue who’s the better big brother, Shisui or Itachi. However out of all his big brothers, Shuji actually favors Naruto because Naruto took the time to listen to him and play with him. Shuji is also seem patient with Itachi than Sasuke is. Even if Shuji likes Shisui better, he looks up to Itachi. And Shuji even considers Sasuke to be most relatable.

Shuji even met Izumi, Itachi’s lover. Shuji sees Izumi as a big sister-figure, mainly due to Shuji not being as stingy as Sasuke especially when it comes to Itachi.

Shuji is practically a mama’s boy, he is always seen with his mother Mikoto. Shuji learn about not just cooking and cleaning, but learn about Mikoto’s fighting skills at a very high level. Mikoto is a role-model to Shuji.

Shuji doesn’t get along with his stepfather Fugaku. Mainly due to Fugaku not being the type to open up his feelings and being a hardass.

Shuji, in-person, witness the death of his mother Mikoto and his big sister-figure Izumi in the hands of Itachi. Naruto was staying for afterschool after a prank gone messy. Shuji and Sasuke found each other as they see Itachi, as he spares them seeing the potential of them obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan. Both Shuji and Sasuke try to fight off Itachi yet they had no progression. Shuji had to break down the news to Naruto about Mikoto’s demise.

Shuji did his best to enter the academy, to be with his remaining siblings, so he wouldn’t be alone at the house. He was then accepted.

Shuji tries to convince Sasuke to move into his and Naruto’s house because they’re family, and they’re all that’s left for each each other. Sasuke, however, prefer to live in an apartment, to which Shuji visits to keep his half-brother company and see how he’s doing. They train from time to time.

Shuji along with Naruto have been oppressed and discriminated by the Konoha villagers. Shuji has notice that this has happened before the Uchiha massecre, however now, it’s more nasty. Shuji simply doesn’t understand why they hate him and his big brother but he definitely wish the villagers are dead.

While with Naruto, Shuji noticed a girl who has been looking from afar. The girl was Hinata Hyuga. To Shuji, she seems rather cute and nice. Shuji encourages Hinata to come and hang with him and Naruto. Shuji even noticed another girl, Hinata’s little sister Hanabi Hyuga, to which both Naruto and Shuji convinced her to stick around as well.

Shuji helps Naruto train, especially when it comes to preforming the ordinary beginner jutsus.

Shuji does make time to make food and clean, and Naruto does his share as well since the two are working together.

-Original Series-

Shuji and Sasuke may have hold resentment towards Itachi for what they did to their parents and clan. However, Shuji wants to put the revenge mission on hold. After all, there’s nothing they can do for right now. Both he and Sasuke had some disagreements. Yet they still train together.

When Shuji sees that Naruto failed the graudation exams, he purposely funk himself so they could be ninjas another time. Shuji simply doesn’t want to leave his big brother’s side, until Naruto told Iruka that Shuji failed the graudation on purpose because he knows that they need the money.

When first meeting Konohamaru Sarutobi, Shuji thought he was some sort of strange kid even for the grandson of the 3rd Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Shuji, like Naruto, began to befriend Konohamaru. Naruto and Shuji played with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. Even invite Hanabi after convincing Hiashi that she needs to stimulate her mind in order to be an effective fighter. It’s the only way to have her live her life better.

Instead of a three-man squad, it’ll be four-man squad for each team: Team 7 - Naruto, Shuji, Hinata, & Sasuke Team 8 - Kiba, Shino, Sayuri, & [A new girl character, a non-clan one] Team 10 - Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, & [A new girl character, possibly a Sarutobi] Same could be said for Team Guy/Gai, and two more teams in the same year as them. One team would have three girls and one boy, both teams have females senseis

Shuji overheard some girl’s talk about Naruto, how she is badmouthing him as an orphan. Shuji pummels Sher to the ground. Enraged that someone is making of his brother after he and Shuji lost their mother.

When seeing he’s on the same team as his brothers and the girl he loves, Shuji was rather happy that they got to stick together. Shuji can fight along side with his relatives and his love, he reassures Hinata that they can all protect each other, they all have each other’s back. Yet, Shuji couldn’t help himself to protect Hinata (and his brothers).

When visiting the Hyuga District to pick up Hinata, Naruto and Shuji get violently angry at Hiashi for badmouthing his own daughter Hinata, being stopped by Kakashi. Hearing Hiashi says that Hinata is a “failure” and that the Hyuga, Shuji remarks that if she was a failure, she’d be taking after him, a lousy good-for-nothing selfish man who is nothing more than someone who brought two girls into the world only to refuse to take responsibility as a father.

After seeing Hinata having a bad situation at her household, Shuji offers to invites Hinata to his and Naruto’s house, at least dinner so he could cook, maybe once every afternoon as a getaway and to get to know each other.

There are times in B rank missions that Shuji ends up in trouble to which Hinata comes to his aid, although, Shuji isn’t upset. Shuji is, in fact, happy to see Hinata becoming stronger and more confident.

Shuji would even help out Naruto and Sasuke from danger as well, especially if it seems over his head, yet he doesn’t want to bear losing his only family he has left.

Shuji would grow from 1 tomoe at the early of the original series, to 1-&-2 tomoe, then 2 tomoe at the middle, later 2-&-3 tomoe, and then fully mature 3 tomoe at the end of the original series.

Shuji did run into Orochimaru at a different place and time, possibly on a mission soon before the Chunin Exams arc with a mix members on Shuji’s part. However, unlike with Sasuke who woke with the power up, Shuji woke up yet he is technically dying but manage to fight on.

It was until later on, Shuji was at death’s door compare to Sasuke when receiving the Curse Mark, until something alerting happens to either of his brothers or Hinata. Shuji finally overcomes the mark’s effects on him and began to have a murderous anger.

When Shuji sees how horrible Neji went through, being enslaved with a mark that can kill you, losing a parent, all that at such a young age. All the while, Shuji holds a grudge against Neji for looking for an opportunity to kill Hinata, yet Shuji still sympathize Neji.

Shuji sees that Gaara, like his big brother Naruto, a special power (although, it’s the power of a Tailed Beast) to which his own village fears and hates him for something that can’t be helped, yet also sees that Gaara got it worse than him and Naruto especially since he has his own father trying to kill him, unable to communicate with his siblings properly. Shuji pities Gaara.

After the Invasion on Konoha by Suna and Oto, Shuji’s speech patterns became more aggressive, especially after the mark reactivates. In Japanese, at first, Shuji’s 1st person pronoun was “Boku”, then it became “Ore”, to show how aggressive Shuji became.

Shuji begins to see that things between him and Hinata aren’t going anywhere. He sees Hinata showing more visible affections towards Naruto.

Shuji and Neji are having a rocky relationship. Until later on, when Hinata becomes temporarily blind, seeing Neji took care of her and even go out to help her condition, Shuji finally fully forgives and trusts Neji, and even tells Neji what’s on his mind, which is vowing that he will find a way to free him and the Side Branch family.

When he and Sasuke heard that Itachi return, and is after his big brother Naruto, Shuji was scared and furious. By the time he and Sasuke run into Hinata, Shuji explains to her on the way that Naruto is in danger and that they need to find Naruto as quickly as possible.

Shuji have to remind Sasuke that they have to run away with Naruto and nothing more, they can’t take on Itachi since he did defeat Kakashi. By the time, they did met up with Itachi, Shuji tries to think of how to escape with Naruto, only to see Sasuke charges at Itachi with a Chidori with Shuji thinking ��What a dumbass”. Shuji tries to help Sasuke out but Itachi beats the crap out of Shuji and put him in a coma as well.

By the time both Shuji and Sasuke woke up from their coma, like Sasuke, Shuji became different than he was before. Shuji became rather moody, bitter, and has guilt. The encounter with Itachi and Kisame haunts him. He, his brothers, and Hinata were in a no-way-out situation to which they all could get killed. Shuji tries to rationalize and justify his failure only to see the fact he wasn’t good enough. Shuji finally begins to see why Sasuke couldn’t put the revenge mission on hold, so Shuji then train with Sasuke more than ever.

Naruto and the others began to see Shuji is becoming more and more bitter after each mission and those missions was that they either failed or even success through dumb luck. Especially since he and Naruto seen the suffering and unfortunate events in different places. Shuji ask them how many times they are going to get beaten before they wise up and they realize that being a ninja isn’t a game. Think of Leo from TMNT 2003 Season 4, I admit he was a jerk but he has his reasons.

When Kakashi told Shuji let go of his revenge like Shuji did once before he was put into a coma. Shuji told him that he didn’t let go, he put it on hold, and that Itachi plan to take his older brother Naruto away from him. Shuji already lost his mother, his big sister figure Izumi, and eldest brother Shisui, he not planning to let Itachi go around free. Kakashi tells him that he too lost his loved ones and he only look into the past. However, unlike Sasuke, Shuji doesn’t buy it, his response is “you no longer seek retribution? You dishonor your loved ones. I will honor the memory of my fallen”.

Well, that’s it for the scenarios for Shuji Uchiha for now. I might have more plans for him, some I having a bit of a mix feeling, but I’ll discuss them another time. Until then, see ya.

[terryballs]

The Solar System in Doctor Who is crazy

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, you’re probably aware of a few intelligent species that call the Sun’s system their home.

There’s humans, of course, and Earth also has the Silurians and the Sea Devils. The Zygons are refugees on Earth. The Ice Warriors are on Mars. And the Cybermen were first shown to come from Mondas, Earth’s astrophysically-improbable twin planet.

That’s already six intelligent species who call this system home. But what if I told you that that’s barely scratching the surface?

Mercurials

Mercurials are tall, silver-skinned humanoids with pointy arms and flat, round feet. They are very much products of their time, underdeveloped peaceful creatures who manage to survive on Mercury and bear no ill will towards humans.

Mercurian Energy Beasts

The other sapient lifeforms on Mercury are the Mercurian energy beasts. As their name suggests, these creatures have quite a fearsome appearance. They are gigantic, made of lava, and have huge beard-like fronds. However, again, they are actively benevolent.

Venusians

With five arms, five legs, and twelve eyes on stalks, Venusians were masters of martial arts, and taught the Doctor a form of Aikido. They are capable of absorbing memories by eating brains. They are said to have gone extinct due to Venus’s global warming.

Wispies

These gaseous creatures are made of the Venusian atmosphere - perhaps they even are the atmosphere.

Cytherians

 Also known as Thraskins or Plinge, Cytherians look like lemurs, but they’re the size of humans and more intelligent. Cytherians were responsible for the climate change that killed the Venusians and birthed the Wispies. Unlike the Venusians, the Cytherians managed to survive the cataclysm due to their mastery of cryogenics. When humanity terraformed Venus, the Cytherians awoke and were enslaved, until the Doctor freed them.

Merpeople

Earth is home to multiple intelligent aquatic humanoids. The Third Doctor encountered the Carpanthans, who deliberately hide themselves away from terrestrial civilisations. But far more interesting are the merpeople. They prefer “merrows”, but humanity fixates on the image of the mermaid far too much for the preferred terminology to ever catch on. Merrows are the creatures of legend: half fish, half human. They can breath the air and have no difficulties talking outside of the water. A mermaid called Magda was the mother of the Time Lord known as the Doctor - he was, after all, half-human on his mother’s side.

Tuskens

Descended from pigs, Tuskens very rapidly evolved into a fully sapient species due to the intervention of the Doctor, who taught them how to speak English.

Dolphins

In the Whoniverse, dolphins are as smart as humans, and are capable of two-way communication with the help of assistive technology. They can also survive on land through the use of robotic spacesuits. Dolphins have colonised aquatic worlds throughout the Milky Way.

Sidhe

The Sidhe are multidimensional beings who resemble Tolkien’s Elves. They are responsible for most paranormal phenomena on Earth, but largely keep to themselves. Their greatest intervention in human history was fighting against the Nazis in WWII due to the threat that Nazism posed to their realm.

The Silence

Although they were originally a hostile invasion force, the Silence lived on Earth for generations. They were able to live on the planet undetected due to their antimemetic properties - they were wiped from a person’s memory as soon as they were outside their vision cone. The first Silence were genetically modified Catholic priests designed to hear confession. If we accept that white people can be Americans, we must surely accept the Silence as Earthlings?

The Forest of Cheem

At the other end of the scale, the Forest of Cheem are sentient bipedal plants. They evolved from Earth’s rainforests. They’re from Earth’s genetic stock, but they’re also aliens.

Terrae

Before the Moon became a moon, it was the planet Theia. Like the Earth Reptiles, the Terrae, who lived on Theia, were worried when they foresaw Theia colliding with the Earth. They hibernated beneath Theia’s surface, and were only disturbed when humans mined for helium on the Moon. Their corpses turn to a purple dust, which humans consumed as a recreational drug.

Lunaries

After the Reptiles made it to space, but before the humans did, the Lunese formed a colony on the Moon. They were an insectoid species who evolved on Earth and formed diplomatic relations with every nation of Europe in the late 16th century, bringing the ambassadors to the Moon, which was full of Earth life.  

Lizard Kings

What, you thought there were only sapient reptiles on Earth? No, no - Mondas has its own reptiles, both aquatic and terrestrial. The Lizard Kings were even thought to, paradoxically, have helped to bring about the Cybermen by sending an augmented ape forward in time to Mondas’s future. The Cybermen have an obsession with the Lizard Kings, but have never found any alive.

The Flood

“The Waters of Mars” introduced the Flood - a waterborne parasite that seemed to possess intelligence. It was able to operate machinery and successfully lay siege to a Mars base. It is thought that the Flood was buried in Mars’ ice by the Ice Warriors as a desperate final defence.

Cerulians

Now long extinct, the Cerulians lived on the dwarf planet Ceres between Mars and Jupiter. They had a two-caste society, divided between Masters and Scribes (slaves). Eventually, Masters trained Scribes to spend their whole lives flattering the Masters, and the Masters came to enjoy it. Neither caste noticed when Ceres was hit by an asteroid, eradicating life on Ceres.

Fendahl

History keeps repeating itself in the Solar System. Before Ceres, there was Planet 5 - a planet variously known as Minerva, Hestia, or Asteris, but usually just called Planet 5. In the early days of the Solar Sustem, this planet was home to the Star People, who created the Fendahl: a species where each individual contained thirteen separate parts with their own intelligence. Like on Ceres (and indeed Mars - the Ice Warriors were originally slaves), the Fendahl were intended to be a slave race, but they proved to have telepathic powers strong enough for them to consume the psychic energy of all non-Fendahl life on Planet 5. This caused a “rare” intervention in the outside world by the Time Lords, who feared that the Fendahl were threats to life in the universe. They were probably correct - the Fendahl were capable of making Great Old Ones like Fenric turn and run in fear. The Time Lords placed Planet 5 in a time loop, making it completely invisible and inaccessible. Some theorise that the planet broke up into the Asteroid Belt - which, of course, contains Ceres...

Europans

A race of amphibious insects evolved on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Unfortunately, in the 20th century climate change nearly caused their extinction. Colony ships flew out to other worlds, but the only known success landed on Earth. The Third Doctor helped them form an Earth colony... but then time was rewritten, and the more cynical Seventh Doctor was sent to help UNIT instead. This unfortunately ended with UNIT killing all the Europans.

Vogans

The Vogans live on Voga, a former planet made entirely of gold. Early in their history, the Vogans were visited by a Vampire Hunter named Rassilon, and their society thus mirrors Gallifreyan society in many ways. They have grey skin, white hair, and high, domed foreheads.

Voga was of great interest to the Cybermen, who possessed a fatal weakness to gold. The Cybermen tried to blast Voga out of existence (which would not have destroyed the gold, but who said Cybermen were clever?). They only succeeded in sending Voga spiralling through space. The Vogans hid underground, and emerged when Voga settled in a stable orbit around Jupiter. I would point out that this makes Voga one of four bodies in the Solar System to dramatically change its orbit after evolving sapient life, and one of two to become a Moon of a larger planet. It also makes the Vogans at least the tenth species to go into hibernation following a calamity, most of which did it underground.

Waro

Aside from the Fendahl, the Waro were the solar species who were most hostile to humanity. Short goblin-like creatures with huge bat ears and terrible tempers, Waro were native to Neptune’s largest moon, Triton.

Siccati

Lastly, the Siccati evolve on Sedna. Never heard of Sedna? No, nor has anyone else. Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object which Gary Russell was sure would be named the Tenth Planet.

The Siccati were a race of bohemians, dedicated to art above all else. As Sedna is tiny, freezing, and has an irregular orbit, the Siccati relocated to floating cities in the atmosphere of Neptune.

Conclusion

The Solar System is weird. I have skimmed over some species, but there have been:

- Three instances of a species creating a slave race which leads to their destruction.

- Ten species who have hibernated (mostly underground) to escape a calamity.

- Four species who have been disturbed by humanity when hibernating underground, causing conflict between them and humans. One race, the Cytherians, were even enslaved by humanity.

- At least three different origins for the Moon (Theia colliding with Earth, Mercury’s twin planet that sent Mondas off into space/scared the Silurians, an egg).

- Four bodies being expelled from their orbits after evolving sapient life - the Moon/Theia and Mondas from within the Solar System, and Voga and Skaro (yes, that Skaro) from outside it.

- Multiple aquatic societies.

- Multiple species said to have inspired the human myth of fairies.

Earth’s solar system is weird. How weird is the rest of the universe?

[fortitudinem]

THE CREATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOMS OF AURADON

When the small Kingdom of Auradon re-emerges after a decade of being missing and yet, unmissed, there is a lot of confusion all around. The ruler of the Kingdom, Prince Adam, now King Adam, reveals himself to the world once more, exclaiming that he was cursed by an enchantress for ten years to take on the form of a hideous beast, but that the curse has been broken with the power of true love and he can now resume ruling his kingdom.

The curse itself had been woven in such a way as to make people forget that Auradon had ever had a ruler, or to bypass it completely. It had kept it safe, but also relatively undisturbed for over ten years. Adam had a lot of catching up to do, so despite having found his True Love, in the form of a common girl from the nearby village by the name of Belle, they put the wedding on hold until he has a better grip on what it means to be a King.

He takes to it like a duck to water, learning politics and economics with a surprising amount of ease. He sets up trade routes, funds local businesses and starts funnelling money into the local area and forging alliances with nearby kingdoms. Belle is inducted into Adam’s court as Lady Belle and starts learning what it means to be a queen, having never been involved in court before.

Over the next few years, technology begins to spread at an ever-increasing rate. Hot running water is invented and spreads through all the kingdoms and with this, steam is easily harnessed to create the steam engine.

Adam approaches his closest neighbours to propose an alliance, something that could help them all fight back against even the most dangerous foes. He speaks to the King of Verrelac (who is trying to secure a good future for his kingdom for his son Prince Christopher and his new wife Princess Ella), King Stephen of Solaria (who is still very protective of his daughter, Princess Aurora), King and Queen of the Summerlands (the recently integrated kingdoms of Queen Snow and King Florian), Queen Eilonwy of North Riding, King Arthur of Camelot, King Richard of Westerly and Prince Regent Eric of Tirulia. After nearly a year of discussion, they write up an agreement to all operate under King Adam’s banner in exchange for better trade deals, better protections and more political powers. Tirulia is the last to sign, but with the presence of a new threat- the sea witch Morgana, and their daughter’s safety on the line, it is seen as the best choice to make. Adam brings the Fairy Godmother into his council and she agrees to help him with his goals.

For a year their prosperity grows, they develop even more technological marvels, first gaslight then electric lighting (after finding out how to harness electricity, aided by magic), better metalsmithing processes. Many factories are built, buildings are climbing higher than ever before, cities are developing rapidly into commercial and economic hubs, highly populated by citizens who are flooding in from villages on the outskirts for the new jobs and opportunities of city life. Automobiles are invented, making travelling easier. This presents Adam with the opportunity to travel to kingdoms outside of his banner-lands and start negotiations afresh. He enters negotiations with King Frederic of Corona and King Hubert of South Riding, Emperor Kuzco of East Riding, Emperor Qui of Northern Wei, The Sultan of Agrabah, Prince Naveen of Maldonia and Queen Anna of Arendelle. These talks take over a year but are also eventually finalised.

Cities are ever expanding in the heart of what will be Auradon. Places like London and Auradon Central are thriving metropolises and people are flocking to them. Businesses are booming, Auradon is more prosperous than ever. Add to that the invention of a mundane way to talk across long distances so that everyone can access it and not just those with magic, otherwise known as the internet, and the development of computers, based around the idea of magic mirrors but smarter and much less magic. Plane technology allows for transportation across even longer distances and over otherwise dangerous terrain.

This allows Adam to progress even further. He speaks to Simba, Tarzan and Louie in the deep jungles, King Edward of Faraway, King Fergus of The Borderlands and Chief Tui of Motunui, they all agree to sign up under his protections. With the rest of the Kingdoms now behind him, Adam can push his final, slightly more difficult goals, speaking to the gods that rule Olympia and the elemental spirits of Schwartzwald. He creates a treaty with the gods, allowing him control over the mortals in their lands. The elemental representative of Schwartzwald, Elsa of Arendelle agrees; driven by the strong desire to protect the people of her enchanted land (and with Arendelle already signed on and a promise of being left relatively alone, there seems to be few reasons to refuse).

The final stage of his uniting of the kingdoms is to remove the magic that cloaks Neverland, placing it firmly within the real world. He attempts to do the same for Wonderland but finds this exceedingly difficult, instead managing to convince many of its residents to instead simply retire to Auradon. Neverland enters into the agreement with Auradon, taking its place amongst the kingdoms. Atlantica is also drawn into the treaty.

With the entirety of the known world having agreed, King Adam finally consents to marry Lady Belle, who becomes Queen Belle. Each Kingdom is invited to a public vote for High King and Adam wins with an 85% majority. All the kingdoms sign a fresh new treaty document, declaring the unification of their kingdoms under one banner and one King. The calendars are reset, to herald a new age of union, years become marked as AU or ante unionem for anything from before or as IB or imperium bestia for this point onwards. 

Adam unveils his master plan for getting rid of threats to the kingdom, a prison off the coast, where human criminals and magical villains alike can be placed as there will be a magic-nullifying barrier around it. The idea of a prison to store their most dangerous enemies that can safely contain them, particularly one that is being marketed as having no cost to them, is seen as a good thing and The Isle of The Lost is created.

Adam enters into arrangements with the gods of Olympia, taking away Hades to lock him on the Isle for the crimes he committed against Zeus, and with Hades removed from the underworld, all of the previously dead villains are brought back to life to be placed under lock and key on the Isle. This is met with mixed opinions, but Adam smooths over any worries.

He passes the Recycling Act through his royal council, a law that will send unused food from Auradon to the Isle, saving on food costs and preventing waste, as well as providing a place to recycle old furniture for use, again reducing the costs. The council agrees and the goblin-barge system is altered to take waste from Auradon. Citizens are encouraged to send any surplus of goods (food, clothes, furniture) to drop-off points are set up for the Isle. This is marked as doing a good deed and so everyone contributes.

He begins renovations on a disused castle in Auradon, to turn it into a private preparatory school for the upper echelons of Auradonian society. Fairy Godmother is named headmistress and the class schedules and curriculum passes through both Adam and Fairy Godmother before being approved. They have blanket control over what the students will be learning.

However, something unexpected happens. A rebellion starts, the villains on the Isle are not content with being locked in a prison. Outside the barrier, there are those still sympathetic to the villains and a group of witches, including the daughter of one Madam Mim, decide to free the villains. Working together, they manage to punch a hole in the barrier, allowing some of the villains to escape. Maleficent leads them to Auradon and they fight against the royals, with the intention of overpowering them, dethroning them and enslaving them. However, they are beaten back by Fairy Godmother and Adam’s forces and they are transported back to the Isle. The barrier is immediately strengthened, and the people are told it was a magical mishap, rather than given the whole truth about the barrier having previously been vulnerable to synchronised magical attacks. Yen Sid volunteers to go to the Isle and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.

Following this attempted rebellion, Adam declares that magic should no longer be used as a quick solution. It should not be used at all where possible, as most functions of magic have now been replaced with a suitable technology. He encourages all Good Citizens of Auradon to abandon their magic/magical devices/magical natures and instead embrace life at a level more challenging, but also more rewarding.

The Offscourings Act is passed, declaring that as the villains have thrown their charity back in their face with their attempted takeover, the food they are being sent will no longer be in the form of unused and unopened goods, but in the form of scraps. Citizens are no longer encouraged to send whole packets of food but are instead given special recycling bins, the contents of which are collected and sent to the Isle.

Not long after this, Queen Belle announces the joyous news that she is pregnant and several months later, King Adam and Queen Belle welcome a healthy baby boy into the world. They name him Benjamin Florian.

Over the next year Adam passes a new set of laws make his line of succession the automatic line of succession and to eliminate the voting aspect of becoming High King. As the Kingdom has seen nothing but prosperity and happiness, as well as the prevention of a rebellion, everyone agrees. Prince Ben is named heir to the crown and throne of Auradon.

With the passing of King Hubert of South Riding and the insistence of Phillip and Aurora that they wish to stay in Solaria and not take on more responsibility, South Riding is merged into the Kingdom of Corona, though they keep the name South Riding.

Nine years into Adam’s reign, the last of the known villains/criminals are caught and imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost. A huge celebration is thrown around the Kingdoms, as well as the campaign to Keep Auradon Good. Every citizen is encouraged to Be Good and to be the best person they can possibly be. This includes leaflets, billboards and posters. Some of these posters are shipped over to the Isle of the Lost, to try and encourage the residents to rehabilitate and reform. They are regularly replaced due to high levels of graffiti.

Over time the royal council is relegated to a more advisory role, but they still hold sway and political pressure, however the King gets final say on laws and regulations.

Criminal activity in Auradon is practically non-existent. Trade is good. Every nation is prosperous and happy. The skies are always blue, and the sun is always shining. Birds help princesses dress in the morning and life is good. The people are good. Everything in Auradon is perfectly good.

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Fandom 5K Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me with any questions.

Dragon Age | Fullmetal Alchemist | The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Where the Sky is Silver and the Earth is Brass

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; infidelity; unrequested polyamory; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

—

Fandom: Dragon Age

Character(s):

Group: Cassandra Pentaghast/Female Lavellan

Female Lavellan

Group: Charter & Rector

Genre(s):

Canon-Style Plot - Freeform

Action/Adventure

Worldbuilding

Established Relationship

Mystery/Procedural

I'm playing this game for the first time and loving Cassandra and Lavellan together so much. (I'm playing with a mod where I can romance her with a female PC!) Lavellan starts off as this confused and small and non-Andrastian prisoner who disagrees with Cassandra on so many things, but Cassandra puts so much trust and faith in her and so much on the line for her - even with Lavellans who are adamant that they're not chosen, they're just doing their best and they happen to be the ones in the position to make this choice. Cassandra is so proud to know her, and backs her up even when she disagrees with Lavellan's choices! The romance scene is really cute between two characters who are adults and have a day-to-day working relationship that isn't going to change, but are still just having fun with how charming it is in a way that builds on their friendship. Not to mention their battling together, of course - the ways they can protect each other and fight for each other's goals (and give Cassandra all the elven swords and shields), how worried they sound if the other one gets hurt...whoops, I found myself another loyalty kink ship.

I also just like playing as Lavellan generally, with how much of an outsider she feels (the "Dawn Will Come" scene is so alienating! it really works!) and how much of the game is about visiting the sites of past elven trauma and/or glory days.

My Lavellan uses the (default lol) name of Ellana, is a rift mage, sports a lovely buzzcut and vallaslin, has a lot of feelings about elf history (and visiting the Plains/Graves especially), believes in elven gods and doesn't care to pretend she's Andrastian, and besides Cass is closest friends with Solas, but don't feel that you have to write my specific PC - I'm excited to read about yours too!

But! I also love all the little hints about the work that Leliana's agents are doing, and their friendship (walking in on their card game at Caer Bronach is kind of delightful), and the letter from Rector's mother asking why he uses a code name for work (why are you ashamed of your name, Wilbur??) is one of my favorite in-universe documents. Slice-of-life or slice-of-mission with Charter and Rector would also make me really happy. Here again, just the closeness and trust and faith that these people have in one another is my jam.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Canon-typical levels of Cassandra's association with the Chantry and belief in the Maker/Andraste/the Herald shouldn't be taken to contravene my DNW of Christian themes, but I wouldn't want Satinalia fic or something focused on the Andrastian faith. Please don't put F!Lavellan in a different romance, even if we didn't match on the Cassandra ship.

—

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Character(s):

Group: Olivier Mira Armstrong/Maria Ross

Genre(s):

Action/Adventure

Canon-Style Plot - Freeform

Getting Together

I'll admit: I am a shallow, shallow person who loves the heartwarming and id-satisfying Briggs loyalty-kink complex (The watch! Buccaneer handing Olivier a clean pair of gloves after she kills Raven! Constant and deeply sincere saluting! Olivier’s explanation of why she wants Miles around and her lack of patience for anyone’s shit) but would like an f/f manifestation of it for actual shipping. Post-canon or AU where Maria is assigned to Briggs, or works for Olivier in Central? Does Maria foil a plot against Olivier, or Olivier save Maria's life in battle? Does Olivier order Maria into a firefight? Hit me.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Olivier/men, even mentioned.

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb

Character(s):

Matthias Nonius

Genre(s):

Action/Adventure

Canon-Style Plot - Freeform

Fantasy

Nonius was one of my favorite new characters in Harrow the Ninth. His whole impossible arrival via evocation-by-poetry, battle with the Sleeper, and epic departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could...I don't know, exactly. (Iiiii also just love that he's named for the Redwall mouse.) I'd love to read more about his life - being unprepossessing and very human but also paladin-like and really fucking good at being a swordsman, representing the Ninth House in slightly less decrepit times, his mysterious past with Gideon the First (and Pyrrha, sort of), however it happened that he died far from home in an unknown place and couldn't be recovered for burial, "chickenshits don't get beer"? Or, er, his afterlife - going to fight with Marta, Ortus, and Pro, re-encountering G1deon as allies...

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem

Character(s):

Group: Abigail Bellweather/Raelle Collar

Original Historical Witch Character(s)

Group: Sarah Alder & First Bellweather Ancestor

Genre(s):

Action/Adventure

Canon-Style Plot - Freeform

Mystery/Procedural

Worldbuilding

I fell hard for this show and Abigail/Raelle is the ship I’m most excited about - they get off to a bad start for all kinds of personal history reasons and have problems with each other, but when it gets down to the wire Abigail would do anything for Raelle and is very gung-ho about having Raelle’s unconventional but extremely powerful magic under her leadership, regardless of Raelle being a loose cannon. She told her she loved her!! <3 And by the end, Raelle also clearly knows what Abigail's going through (like when she talks her down in "Citydrop"), respects her leadership, and cares deeply about her and wants to protect her in return. I love that loyalty dynamic, and their competence as fighters/witches.

Physical combat, strength in general, magical strength, ability to work magic together, knowledge of the magical canon vs. out-of-the-box techniques...what parts of their skills and their bond could be challenged in the weird dimension that the end of season 1 leaves them in? Or when they get back home and new challenges await? (In my head, the decision not to send them to War College is not revoked; the unit becomes some kind of special-forces secret strike team rather than cannon fodder.) Maybe something where Raelle goes/has gone into a fight as a berserker-type for Abigail and then comes back to her, or where Abigail protects/has protected her soldier (her girl!! I love her protectiveness of Raelle towards the other cadets, imagine it in a battle!)? Or an arranged marriage AU where it's usual for witch soldiers to marry to combine their magic power or something...If including smut in the story, I'd especially be up for something d/s-y where the loyalty-kinky dynamic of Raelle being Abigail's weapon, at her command, is echoed in sex!

OR. The alternate history that the show has created is so interesting and I'm craving expansion of that through fic! Tell me about the Bellweather ancestor who was a slave and ended up powerful and influential enough to begin a dynasty, and how she met and was recruited by Alder. Or other enslaved witches, witches in the American Revolution or the Civil War, or the founding of Fort Salem and standardization of American military magic with its various influences, or Chinese or Jewish or Mexican immigrant witches who maybe came from different magic traditions and might have had to make the choice of whether or not to reveal that they had magic (if the system knows you because of your descent in the country?), serving their country but also binding their daughters and granddaughters forever.

Fandom-Specific DNW: Abigail/Adil (at all; if he's mentioned, please make them just friends), focus on Raelle/Scylla (dwelling on Raelle still having feelings for Scylla or on her getting over Scylla for Abigail; you don't need to retcon their having been together), Scylla bashing.

—

Fandom: Where the Sky is Silver and the Earth is Brass

Character(s):

Chaye Roznatovsky

Demon

Genre(s):

Fantasy

Canon-Style Plot - Freeform

Worldbuilding

Anything expanding on this story would make me really happy. Chaye’s years with the partisans, the comrades-in-arms she had and loved then and who else’s memory she holds or makes into a weapon, her journey to America, going by the surname of “no one.” The demon’s mirror world, its loss of that world (what exactly happened on the other side?) and its need to be where Jews are, demon Judaism? Or the future of both of them now that they’ve found each other!

Fandom-Specific DNW/Opt-In: DNW Chaye/demon. The premise of the story being what it is, I'm explicitly okay with antisemitism being a prominent feature of the story if you write something that covers either or both characters' backstory, but would prefer post-war antisemitism not to be a focus.

[mrstethras]

The Forgotten Ones were some of the Rebel Elvhen [theory]

There is very little known about The Forgotten Ones, referenced in so few of the codex entries throughout Dragon Age, however, from what is offered to us, I believe them to be Elvhen who opposed the tyranny of the Evanuris, likely freed from their enslavement by Solas, and since raged and warred against them. They were perhaps the favoured slaves, the most talented of them, to have been considered as gods as well upon facing against their enemies. This is just a theory that I’ve been playing around with, a post of rambling, but I figured I’d share my thoughts on what little we have of them.

“The Forgotten Ones belong to the ancient Elven pantheon, but their names were lost after the Great Betrayal. Their worship continued in the shadows, despite efforts to stamp it out in the old Dalish kingdom. This staff belonged to a priest of those gods, specifically Daern'thal.” - Codex attached to the Weapon Pyre of the Forgotten.

“The legend says that before the fall of Arlathan, the gods we know and revere fought an endless war with others of their kind. There is not a hahren among us who remembers these others: Only in dreams do we hear whispered the names of Geldauran and Daern'thal and Anaris, for they are the Forgotten Ones, the gods of terror and malice, spite and pestilence. In ancient times, only Fen'Harel could walk without fear among both our gods and the Forgotten Ones, for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways, and saw him as one of their own.” - Codex: Fen'Harel: The Dread Wolf

So, the Forgotten Ones were of Elvhen kind, if this codex entry is to be believed, that they were the ones who resisted the enslavement of the People? Some were likely freed and joined the cause? Their names, or what they represent also seems important, because unlike the Evanuris, they are named rather abstractly as representing feelings, emotions or other such general (often negative) terms, such as pestilence. In the same way that Abelas means sorrow, I feel their names were adopted dependant on their ruling pantheon, or what they represented. That these were people, rather than abstract ideas. This is similar to how the Protheans were named in Mass Effect, when we meet the last living Prothean Javik, and wake him up to find he embodies or is named for vengeance.

“There is precious little we know about Fen'Harel, for they say he did not care for our people. Elgar'nan and Mythal created the world as we know it, Andruil taught us the Ways of the Hunter, Sylaise and June gave us fire and crafting, but Fen'Harel kept to himself and plotted the betrayal of all the gods. And after the destruction of Arlathan, when the gods could no longer hear our prayers, it is said that Fen'Harel spent centuries in a far corner of the earth, giggling madly and hugging himself in glee.In ancient times, only Fen'Harel could walk without fear among both our gods and the Forgotten Ones, for although he is kin to the gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways and saw him as one of their own. And that is how Fen'Harel tricked them. Our gods saw him as a brother, and they trusted him when he said that they must keep to the heavens while he arranged a truce. And the Forgotten Ones trusted him also when he said he would arrange for the defeat of our gods, if only the Forgotten Ones would return to the abyss for a time. They trusted Fen'Harel, and they were all of them betrayed. And Fen’Harel sealed them away so they could never again walk among the People.” —From Codex entry: Fen'Harel: The Dread Wolf 

It’s also very clear that the Forgotten Ones have been smeared throughout history to appear as negatively as possible. Quite like how Fen’Harel has been misunderstood as a malevolent god, rather than the god of rebellion, which is far more accurate an interpretation. In the above codex entry it makes the Forgotten Ones and Fen’Harel appear as the villains, whereas post-Trespasser we know this is not the case -- and so the situation can be turned on it’s head in that the Forgotten Ones were not the wicked anti-pantheon, but warring against and resisting their wicked gods, the Evanuris. It’s also important to note that from the codex entries, Fen’Harel tricked only the Evanuris, and got the Forgotten Ones to return to the abyss (likely for protection) as he defeated the gods -- which was what the Forgotten Ones desired. It’s also likely Solas chose to do this only after the murder of Mythal.

As for the abyss -- and where the Forgotten Ones are -- I feel as though they are in Uthenera, likely returned to the mines within Titans. In Trespasser we see that ancient mines are discovered to have protecting statues of both Mythal and Fen’Harel guarding. We know that Mythal was the most motherly towards the People -- compared to the likes of Andruil and Falon’Din, and their statues and iconography surrounding these locations was not only completely unexpected and out-of-place, but as though those mines had been re-purposed for protection or safety for the People. The undiscovered location within the Titan in The Descent DLC is known as the Uncharted Abyss.

Quick note on the Abyss: “Here lies the abyss, the well of all souls.

From these emerald waters doth life begin anew.

Come to me, child, and I shall embrace you.

In my arms lies Eternity”.—Canticle of Andraste, 14:11 This fragment is where Andraste goes to speak to the Maker for the first time and convinces him to forgive mankind. It describes a beautiful temple deep under the earth surrounded by emerald waters. In which we find a sea called The Buried Sea within the Titan in The Descent. Though I feel like the Forgotten Ones aren’t in that particular Titan, they may be in a fallen Titan hidden away and in Uthenera, a death sleep within the mines Solas asked them to briefly return to. Which is also similar to how the Protheans in Mass Effect were stored, only in cryo stasis. I do feel as though Solas did not intend to leave them this way, but his battle with the gods left him unable to return to them once it was done. What with the Veil stripping the realm of its natural state and all of its magic. We also know that the Evanuris did not like to linger within the Titans. Andruil, for example, would hunt (likely dwarves and creatures) within the Titans, and also the Forgotten Ones, but returned more and more lyrium addled. “One day Andruil grew tired of hunting mortal men and beasts. She began stalking The Forgotten Ones, wicked things that thrive in the abyss. Yet even a god should not linger there, and each time she entered the Void, Andruil suffered longer and longer periods of madness after returning. Andruil put on armor made of the Void, and all forgot her true face. She made weapons of darkness, and plague ate her lands. She howled things meant to be forgotten, and the other gods became fearful Andruil would hunt them in turn. So Mythal spread rumors of a monstrous creature and took the form of a great serpent, waiting for Andruil at the base of a mountain. When Andruil came, Mythal sprang on the hunter. They fought for three day and nights, Andruil slashing deep gouges in the serpent's hide. But Mythal's magic sapped Andruil's strength, and stole her knowledge of how to find the Void. After this, the great hunter could never make her way back to the abyss, and peace returned.”—Translated from ancient elven found in the Arbor Wilds It’s also worth noting, that when the time came when the Forgotten Ones needed a place that was safe and to hide, Mythal had removed the location from Andruil’s memories.

Other such information on the Forgotten Ones that strengthens the idea for me that they were never gods, nor malicious, but rather the opposing forces of the People against the Evanuris:

“The script is an ancient elven dialect. Upon further observation, it twists, the words becoming visible: There are no gods. There is only the subject and the object, the actor and the acted upon. Those with will to earn dominance over others gain title not by nature but by deed. I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me. Let Andruil's bow crack, let June's fire grow cold. Let them build temples and lure the faithful with promises. Their pride will consume them, and I, forgotten, will claim power of my own, apart from them until I strike in mastery.” -- Codex entry: Geldauran's Claim

A Forgotten One enforcing the idea that there were no gods, but rather extremely powerful people whom ensnared and enslaved the rest. That the Forgotten Ones themselves should not be viewed as a pantheon either, but rather a powerful opposing force in their own right.

"In the story, Fen'Harel was captured by the hunting goddess, Andruil. He had angered her by hunting the halla without her blessing, and she tied him to a tree and declared that he would have to serve in her bed for a year and a day to pay her back. But as she made camp that night, the dark god Anaris found them, and Anaris swore that he would kill Fen'Harel for crimes against the Forgotten Ones. Andruil and Anaris decided that they would duel for the right to claim Fen'Harel. He called out to Anaris during the fight and told him of a flaw in Andruil's armor just above the hip, and Anaris stabbed Andruil in the side, and she fell. Then Fen'Harel told Anaris that he owed the Dread Wolf for the victory and ought to get his freedom. Anaris was so affronted by Fen'Harel's audacity that he turned and shouted insults at the prisoner, and so he did not see Andruil, injured but alive, rise behind him and attack with her great bow. Anaris fell with a golden arrow in his back, badly injured, and while both gods slumbered to heal their wounds, Fen'Harel chewed through his ropes and escaped." --Felassan, to Briala

Note: This is a story being told within the book and should be regarded as such, a tale including myth rather than entirely fact -- however, it is also important in understanding the Forgotten Ones lived amongst the Evanuris, and were also powerful. This is also likely referencing to Fen’Harel’s relationship with the People prior to the Evanuris’ plot to kill Mythal.

“The carvings tell the story of the Betrayal. The Dread Wolf tricking all the gods away from the world. Long ago, there were two clans of gods. The Creators looked after the People. The Forgotten Ones preyed upon us. And one god who was neither. Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf. He was kin to the Creators, and in the old days, often helped them in their endless war against the Forgotten Ones. We barely even remember all their names, let alone who struck the first blow, who was wrong… Fen'Harel was clever. He could walk among both clans of gods without fear, and both believed he was one of them. He went to each side, and told them the other had forged a terrible weapon, a blade that would end the war. He told the Creators it was forged in the heavens, and the Forgotten Ones, that it was hidden in the abyss. And when the gods went seeking it, he sealed them both in their realms forever. Now he alone is left in the world.” --Merrill to Hawke during Memento of the Dalish 

Again, this is a perfect example of the tale having been turned on its head throughout history. That the Evanuris are believed to be the innocent party and that it was the Forgotten Ones who were wicked. Come Trespasser we discover it was the Evanuris who were in fact malicious and cruel and enslaved their People. Therefore, such tales can be viewed from the opposite end. That what we hear and read of the Forgotten Ones is that they have been mostly erased -- and when not -- smeared by propaganda. 

And a little silly, but I love this one: A Bottles of Thedas is the Abyssal Peach: "Not so much filtered as dredged. Should be kept in a cold, dark place. Also locked. Forgotten as well, if one is wise." This could be a cheeky reference to the Forgotten Ones locked away inside of a Titan. There are a lot of other codex entries that link to and from this topic and I may go into more detail at a later date if people are interested! I also have a very tinfoily hat as to how the Blight is potentially related to the Forgotten Ones -- but that will need another post entirely. Thanks so much for reading, if you got this far through all of my rambling! And if you’re not quite done, see my collaborative theory post with @kita-lavellan on The Old Gods HERE!

[therealvagabird]

On the Origins of Orcs and Goblin-ken in Archenia, and the Time of the Cataclysm

Read below the cut, or check it out HERE.

Throughout the history of the world of Archenia, mortals have always entreated with dark powers at the promise of glory and dominion, even at the cost of damnation. In the latter days of the Scaled Eon alone, great empires of Lizard and Snakefolk spilled blood in the name of Set, Serpent of the Outer Dark; while in long forgotten ages before that, stranger beings unknown to Man or Dwarf or even Elf gave praise to the Lords of Chaos, and the Dark Court of the Fae.

But it was in the time of the Great Cataclysm that an evil was driven eternally into the very heart of Archenia’s world-spirit. From the great Void Beyond came a being of untold desolation, which crashed into the planet’s crust as like a meteor, destroying the Reptilian empires of the era, along with the proto-civilizations of Giants and early Humans.

This Cataclysm was known as the Hungering End, “Tharizdun” in the tongue of the Elder Fiends, and it spread a gibbering corruption across the surface of the ancient world that threatened to cast all pure life in a howling void. Forms of darkness once relegated to the furthest planes beyond the veil of nightmares now walked the lands of mortals – Fey and Elemental were changed, transformed into the early Fiends, who themselves either grew fat off the conquest of other souls, or were bound to the hosts of those dark beings which followed in the wake of the Cataclysm, chained to the will of their unfathomable master. While these dark spirits were powerful, they still possessed some limits by the nature of their uncertain corporeality, and the denizens of Archenia were not want to go peacefully into the night.

Drawing upon powers once thought untenable on such a massive scale, the Fey – guardians and reflections of Archenia’s own world-spirit – brought into being shells of flesh that some of them might inhabit. These were the first Elves, known in those days as the Eldar, or Eladrin. The Elves, in the wake of the destruction wrought upon the mortal races of the latter age by the arrival of the Hungering End, would serve as a shield against the oncoming tide of darkness. They, along with their Fey progenitors, stood to face the hordes of aberrations and outsiders on both the physical and spiritual planes. Due to how long ago that eon of battle was, and the sheer scale of the devastation that proceeded, it cannot be known if the war between the Elves and the Ancient Shadow lasted for centuries or millennia.

The servants of Tharizdun – the dark flesh-shapers and alien warlocks of the Void Beyond – were not to be faced down so easily, however. They saw how the Elves provided a bulwark against their conquest, despite some limitations already expressed in their now-mortal forms. Taking samples and slaves from the many races they could find about the blasted lands of Archenia, these primeval corruptors wrought terrible magics and sciences, until they had brought into being a new plague of creatures which would assist as fodder in their domination of this world.

While the monstrosities they wrought, by purpose or accident, were myriad, foremost among them were those beings that would one day be known as “greenskins” – though that distinct feature would not be so consistent on the first of their race. In those days, there were the Urks and the Hobbes. The former were brutal beings, of great stature and tremendous strength, forged as they were from the flesh of beast, and Elf, and Giant. They were to be the vanguard, and crush with military force that which would not yield to dark magic alone. The latter, the Hobbes, were as petty reflections of their devious creators, being less imposing in physicality than the Urks, but possessing sharp wits and an endless capacity for cruelty. In many ways they were similar to the modern Hobgoblins, being tall and lithe, and suited both for operations of arcane cunning and murderous dexterity.

The races of Urk and Hobbe became the foremost enemies of the Elves in those days, and for many long ages the Eldar fought alone. From the elemental planes coalesced the Giants, as part of a similar response of self-defence as the Fey had undertaken, but the Giants were brutal and power-hungry, and many fell in with the forces of Darkness. All that could not be corrupted was destroyed, and the Elves searched all possible avenues by which they might halt the Cataclysm, no matter the cost.

In the end, help did arrive. The Light, ever-present within the plane of Archenia but often distant, birthed forth a host of Incarnates. Among these were the Celestials, who purged all evil wherever it might be found, and were themselves even less corruptible than the denizens of the Green. Also there was Ule, the Great Smith, who crafted from among the Elementals of stone a race that might overcome all trials, creating the stalwart Dwarves. Other Archangels there were, who parlayed with those mortals who were yet untainted, and little by little they drove back the Shadow.

By the end of the long war, Tharizdun was chained within the Abyss, along with its hosts of demons and devils, who lacking the means to escape began then to turn upon each other, ensuring their imprisonment. The Elves, with allies besides, claimed dominion over the world as its greatest protectors – but none could ignore the scars that had been left behind. Archenia now had a cancer within its very soul, and forever after mortals would be more susceptible than ever to the whispers of the Elder Evils. Though they themselves did not fall, a shadow lay on the hearts of the now-mortal Elves, and the allies which they had to coexist with in absence of foes. War broke out, many times and at varying scales, most of all between the Giants and the Elves.

In this age, two things happened to the Urks and the Hobbes. First, both diminished, lacking the invigoration of dark power that had been granted them by their masters. However, with this diminishing came stability, and the horrific mutants once known as Urks and Hobbes adapted to their given environs, becoming the grey-skinned Orogs and Ogron and the green-skinned Orcs, along with the dark-fleshed Hobgoblins. These Hobgoblins kept up the fleshcrafting habits of their creators, in part as a way to sustain and heal their new mortal forms, creating of themselves the races of Goblin and Bugbear, among others. Throughout the wilds, in distant places removed from the light of the sun, these races of “greenskins” – as their most common members were called – continued to terrorize the races of Elf, Giant, Dwarf, and later Man. Though in many ways the Urk-kind and Hobbe-kind came to resemble the other mortal races, developing traditions and cultures as their biology stabilized, they were prone to be enslaved and rallied whenever a Dark Lord came forth seeking conquest. The greenskins still remembered their origins, and the Great Shadow was their god.

However, this era in turn passed in the latter days of the Age of Elves and Giants, when both the world-spanning civilizations of these elder races began to collapse and diminish after millennia of bloodshed. From among the tribes in the middle lands of the Arch-Continent there arose a legendary Orcish warrior by the name of Enkidu Bloodeye. Enkidu was a leader and a chieftain, a mighty warlord as well as a wise shaman, adept in both guile and strength. He undertook an epic spirit-quest told in the oral histories of Orc and Goblin whereby he learned how his people might best parlay with the spirits of the world, as well as give proper rites to their ancestors. With this knowledge, Enkidu gave rise to a new set of shamanistic traditions by which Orcs and Goblins might make their own destiny, and separate their souls from the thrall of darkness, while not sacrificing their strengths. So it was that by the high ages of Man the greenskins were not simple monsters any longer, but had many cultures and stable societies, though they were forever want to be labeled as barbarians and savages, and some were still enthralled to the Great Shadow.

So mighty was Enkidu in all things that some scholars have since guessed that he was not one individual, but maybe several. Indeed in all cultures of the greenskins, though many traditions and rituals overlap, Enkidu is portrayed in many different guises, from the classic Orc Chieftain to even portrayals of Goblin medicine-women who – if not said to be the true face of Bloodeye themselves, are upheld as prominent disciples or wives. Other ancestors are also given praise to, along with the spirits of fire, storm, and stone, though this varies from tribe to tribe. Binding all these disparate traditions are the beliefs that the races of Orc and Goblin must be strong, and forever work to secure their own place in the world, no matter what hardships befall them.

Though they have arisen from grim circumstances, the Orcoid and Goblinoid races have in latter ages proven themselves to be as capable of heroism or villainy as any people. Their cultures are simple, without pretense, and traditional members of their species approach all things in a practical manner not unlike a more brutal version of those homely religions practiced by Halfling or Gnome. While they may forever be identified as antagonists – as invaders and conquerors – they are just as want to show such wrath against the true servants of Darkness as against any of the races of Archenia.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Colonialism

You back into things sometimes.

One of my many guilty pleasures is old school pulp, which I first encountered with the Doc Savage reprints in the 1960s, then old anthologies, then back issues at conventions, and now thanks to the Internet, an almost limitless supply.

And to be utterly frankly, a lot of the appeal lays in the campiness of the covers and interior art -- brass plated damsels fighting alien monsters, bare chested heroes combatting insidious hordes, etc., etc., and of course, etc.

Once past age 12, I never took these covers or the covers of modern pulps such as James Bond, Mike Hammer, or Modesty Blaise seriously; they were just good, campy fun.

While my main focus remained on the sci-fi pulps, I also kept an eye on crime and mystery pulps, war stories, and what are sometimes called “sweaties”, i.e., men’s adventure magazines.

Despite the differences in the titles and genres, certain themes seemed to pop up again and again.

Scantily clad ladies, typically in some form of distress, though on occasion dishing out as good if not better than they got.

Well, the pulps that drew my attention were the pups made for a primarily male audience (though even in the 1930s and 40s there were large numbers of female readers and writers in the sci-fi genre).  Small wonder I was drawn to certain types of eye candy; I had been culturally programmed that way.

That’s a topic well worthy of a post or two on its own, so I’m putting gender issues / the patriarchy / the male gaze aside for the moment.

What I’m more interested in focusing on is the second most popular characters to appear on the covers (and in the stories as well).

The Other.

The Other comes in all shapes / sizes / ethnicities.  Tall and short, scrawny and beefy, light or dark, you name it, they’ve got a flavor for you.

“Injuns” and aliens, Mongols and mafiosi, Africans and anarchists.

Whoever they were ”they ain’t us!”

Certain types of stories lend themselves easily to depicting the villainous Other.

Westerns, where irate natives can always be counted on to launch an attack.

War stories, where the hero (with or without an army to help him) battles countless numbers of enemies en masse.

Adventure stories, where the hero intrudes in some other culture and shows them the error of their ways.

Detective stories, where the Other might be a single sinister mastermind but still represents an existentialist threat.

And my beloved sci-fi stories?

Why, we fans told ourselves our stories were better than that!  We didn’t wallow in old world bigotry, demonizing blacks and browns and other non-whites because of their skins.

Oh, no:  We demonized green skinned aliens.

Now I know some of you are sputtering “But-but-but you wrote for GI Joe!”

Boy howdy, are you correct.

And boy howdy, did we ever exploit the Other with that show.

I never got a chance to do it, but I pitched -- and had Hasbro accept -- a story that would have been about the way I envisioned Cobra to have formed and been organized, and would focus on what motivated them.

They were pretty simplistic greedheads in the original series, but I felt the rank and file needed to be fighting for a purpose, something higher to spire to that mere dominance and wealth.

I never got to do “The Most Dangerous Man In The World” but I was trying to break out of the mold. 

For the most part, our stories fit right into the old trope of The Other.

Ours were mostly about the evil Other trying to do something nefarious against our innocent guys, but there’s an obverse narrative other stories follow, in which our guys go inflict themselves on The Other until our guys either come away with a treasure (rightfully belonging to The Other but, hey, they really don’t deserve it so we’re entitled to take it from them), or hammer The Other into submission so they will become good ersatz copies of us (only not so uppity as to demand equal rights or respect or protection under law).

These are all earmarks of a very Western (in the sense of Europe and America…with Australia and New Zealand thrown in) sin:  Colonialism.

Now, before going further let’s get out terms straight.

There’s all sorts of different forms of colonialism, and some of them can be totally benign -- say a small group of merchants and traders from one country travel to a foreign land and set up a community there where they deal honorably and fairly with the native population.

The transplanted merchants are a “colony” in the strictest sense of the term, but they coexist peacefully in a symbiotic relationship with the host culture and both sides benefit, neither at the expense of the other.

Oh, would that they could all be like that…

Another form of colonialism -- and one we Americans are overly familiar with even though there are all sorts of variants on this basic idea -- is the kind where one culture invades the territory of another and immediately begins operating in a deliberately disruptive nature to the native population.

They seek to enslave & exploit or, failing that, expel or eradicate the natives through any means possible.

It’s the story of Columbus and the conquistadors and the pilgrims and the frontiersmen and the pioneers and the forty-niners and the cowboys and the robber barons.

It’s the story where different groups are deliberately kept separate from one another by the power structure in place, for fear they will band together and usurp said power structure (unless, of course, they band together to kelp make one of ours their leader, and build a grand new empire just for him).

It’s the story where our guys never need make a serious attempt to understand the point of view of The Other, because they are just strawmen to mow down, sexy lamps to take home.

I think my taste in sci-fi and modern pulp writing in general started to change around the mid-1970s.

Being in the army quickly cleared me of a lot of preconceptions I had about what our military did and how they did it.

The easy-peasy moral conflicts of spy novels and international thrillers seem rather thin and phony compared to the real life complexities of national and global politics.

Long before John Wick I was decrying a type of story I referred to as “You killed my dog so you must die.”  Some bad guy (typically The Other) does a bad thing and so the good guy (one of ours -- yea!) must punish him.

Make him hurt.

Make him whimper

Make him crawl.

Make him suffer.

The real world ain’t like that.

Fu Machu falls to Ho Chi Minh.

As entertaining as the fantasy of humiliating and annihilating our enemies may be…we gotta come to terms with them, we gotta learn to live with them.

That’s why my favorite sci-fi stories now are less about conflict and more about comprehension.

It’s better to understand than to stand over.

. . .

The colonial style of storytelling as the dominant form of story telling is fairly recent, dating only from the end of the medieval period in Europe and the rise of the so-called age of exploration.

This is not to say colonial story telling didn’t exist before them -- look at what Caesar wrote, or check out Joshua and Judges in the Old Testament -- but prior to the colonial age it wasn’t the dominant form of storytelling.

Most ancient stories involve characters who, regardless of political or social standing, recognize one another as human beings.

And when gods or monsters appear, they are usually symbols of far greater / larger forces & fates, not beasts to be subdued or slain.

Medieval literature is filled with glorious combat and conflict, but again, it’s the conflict of equals and for motives and rationales that can easily be understood.

It was only when the European nations began deliberately invading and conquering / dominating foreign lands that colonialism became the dominant form of storytelling.

It had to:  How else could a culture justify its swinish behavior against fellow human beings?

Even to this day, much (if not most) popular fiction reflects the values of colonialism.

Heroes rarely change.

Cultures even less.

We’ve kept The Other at arms length with popular fiction and media, sometimes cleverly hiding it, sometimes cleverly justifying it, but we’ve had this underlying current for hundreds of years.

Ultimately, it hasn’t served us well.  

It traps us in simplistic good vs evil / us vs them narratives that fail to take into account the complex nature of human society and relationships.

It gives us pat answers instead of probing questions.

It is zero sum storytelling: The pie is only so big, there can’t be more, and if the hero doesn’t get it all, he loses.  (John D. MacDonald summed up this philosophy in the title of one of his books:  The Girl, The Gold Watch, And Everything.)

It’s possible to break out of that mind set -- The Venture Brothers animated series brilliant manages to combine old school pulp tropes with a very modern, very perceptive deconstruction of the form -- but as posted elsewhere, imitation is the sincerity form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness, so while I certainly applaud The Venture Brothers I don’t want to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

Because they won’t.

They’ll pretend they will, but they’ll veer off course and back into the old Colonialism mindset.

We need to break out, break free.

Here in the U.S. it’s African-American History Month.

The African-American experience is far from the Colonialism that marks most white / Western / Christian storytelling (and by storytelling I include history and journalism as well as fiction; in fact, anything and everything that tells a narrative).

It’s a good time to open our eyes, to see the world around us not afresh, but for the first time.

Remove the blinders. 

I said sometimes you back into things.

Getting a clearer view of the world I’m in didn’t come from a straightforward examination.

It came from a counter-intuitive place, it found its way back to the beginning not by accepting what others said was the true narrative, but by following individual threads.

It came from Buck Rogers and the Beat Generation and Scrooge McDuck and the sexual revolution and Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance and the civil rights era and Dangerous Visions and the Jesus Movement and Catch-22 and the Merry Pranksters.

It came from old friends, some of whom inspired me, some of whom disappointed me, and yet the disappointments probably led to a deeper, more penetrating insight into the nature of the problem.

This Colonialism era must come to a close.

It can no longer sustain itself, not in the world we inhabit today.

It requires a new breed of storytellers -- writers and artists and poets and journalists who can offer 

It’s not a world that puts up barriers by race or gender, ethnicity or orientation, ability or age.

There’s ample opportunity for open minds.

All it asks of us is a new soul.

  © Buzz Dixon

[nemirutami]

[Royalty/Retainer AU] Retainers Souji and Yosuke with princess Ayane! Souji, formerly known as Narukami, Retainer of the royal family. Yosuke, second born prince of the Hanamura family. Ayane, former aspiring musician of the royal family. Their outfits are based on an old Oratorian story involving a lost princess who (in the company of only her two most trusted retainers) tries to find a way back home.

Family histories, country, character bios, and details further listed below! It’s very long though so brace yourselves. Extra thanks to @straylize for beta reading this monstrosity that only I and maybe 2 more people will care about.

Family Hanamura (History and Lineage) The Hanamura lineage was originally one of common blood with no hint of nobility. It was the Hanamura’s charisma and leadership that managed to gain them a following to rival that of the royals, a following they would quickly come to wield as a sword. The rulers of Tatsuhime at the time, the Narukami family, were a peaceful people that tried to reason with the Hanamura family’s thirst for power. Their pleading fell on deaf ears. For every plea to negotiate, the Hanamura family struck the kingdom where it hurt the most. They targeted the people, the innocent, and the children. They were merciless in ways that brought the Narukami family to retaliate despite their peaceful outlook on life. Their retaliation was met with fire, and as fire met fire, it burned the path to war. King Narukami was told to forfeit by his adviser, seeing as too many innocent had been harmed, and their military was in shambles.

So the Hanamura family overthrew the rulers of Tatsuhime, and claimed the throne for themselves.

Though that wasn’t enough for them.

The conquering was swept under the rug, and the modern heirs are unaware of the blood that taints the Hanamura name. The Narukami family remained with the Hanamura family after the conquering. The Narukamis were never executed. They were royalty that lost the war, and as such, they were forced into servitude. With time, the context of war was forgotten, and the term slave was later changed to retainer to better mask the nasty truth.

King Taichi Hanamura and his life-long adviser Tohru Adachi continue to keep the peace in Tatsuhime. Unlike the Narukamis, Hanamura's approach to peace appears a little more than… contradictory. The country formed a pact with Velru to ensure prosperity, providing Velru with retainers and military in exchange for Velru's unique resources. The two kingdoms have long since past arranged marriages, wedding Velru natives to Tatsuhime natives.

However, after Souji Seta (formerly known as Souji Narukami) deserted, things took a turn for the worse in Tatsuhime. After both Souji, Ayane, and Yosuke left Tatsuhime, a highly skilled team of assassins snuck their way into the Hanamura palace, and assassinated every last Narukami and Hanamura. Since Yosuke and Souji denounced their titles, any power that comes with their lineage is now moot, and they have no reason to be tracked down and targeted. Had Yosuke not followed Souji, he still wouldn't have been able to claim the throne, given how he's not actually the King's biological son. With no royalty left, the written contracts state that the power of authority shall fall to the king’s closest adviser. That same adviser quickly broke ties with Velru, and invested heavily in the military once he had full control of Tatsuhime. For what purpose? No one is sure yet. Tatsuhime is now ruled by Tohru Adachi.

Family Narukami (History and Lineage)

The Narukami family were the first royals of Tatsuhime, elected by the people. They were generally well-liked by the whole community. The name “Tatsuhime” itself comes from an old shrine that bore great significance to the community, and king Narukami made that landmark the name of their country in honor of his people. However, after being enslaved by the Hanamuras, the family was left no choice but to either choose a life of servitude, or death. The family yielded, hinging their bets on the next of kin to be more lenient and willing to negotiate. In reality, they only sent their whole family lineage down a path of submissiveness, and the Hanamuras exploited their weakness for peaceful change. Prior to the Hanamura family’s invasion, most Tatsuhime resources went into preserving knowledge and maintaining the second biggest library on the continent. Living so close to Velru, the Narukamis learned by example, but that left their military weak enough for the Hanamura family to break through. After the invasion, and after the Narukamis were dethroned, the Hanamura family doubled the military budget, creating drastic changes, and setting the whole country down a different path. The preservation of knowledge was something left for Velru, and the library of Tatsuhime slowly deteriorated with time. Because of this, the modern Narukami family has no idea that Tatsuhime’s people elected them to rule. Though, even the Tatsuhime natives have forgotten the impact the Narukami family made on them, and the origin of their country name no longer holds any meaning for the natives.

Narukami Retainer Behavior and Treatment (What is to be expected) The Hanamuras outsource retainers as a part of their pact with Velru, however, all Narukamis stay in Tatsuhime, and are not permitted to leave the palace unless they are escorting a royal family member around the capital. Breaking this rule invokes a strict penalty, and forces soldiers to keep the suspect under supervision until they can confirm their whereabouts during the time they were missing. They are forbidden from leaving the country, and if any attempt is made to leave, they are banished for life. If they attempt to return after being banished, they are to be detained on sight.

Their retainer uniforms are unique, and differ from that of other retainers. Unlike the standard Tatsuhime retainer uniforms, the Narukami retainer uniforms do not bear the crest of the country on their chest, or on any other piece of their retainer clothing. Their uniforms are almost colorless and washed out, similar to that of other royal staff members (such as kitchen attendants and guards), with silver rather than gold lining. At the very start of the Hanamura Monarchy, they were denied access to weapons, and were prohibited from training with soldiers. Over time, that standard changed, and even the Narukamis are now allowed access to train and become more efficient to serve their king. However, they are still not allowed to speak unless spoken to. Some of the staff members sympathise with the strict rules forced upon the Narukamis, and protect them from penalty whenever they speak to someone first. However, if the Hanamuras find out about it, only the Narukamis are penalized. The royal staff has been conditioned to ignore the Narukami first names, implying each Narukami is the same as the next, and that their first names do not matter given their lower status. While retainers from the Arisato Kingdom take more daring risks and tend to go to the extreme to protect their royal family, the Narukamis are locked inside the palace, doing simple tasks for the royal family almost no different from common servants. They remain the royal family’s shields, but in a different way to that of the Arisato retainers. If one Hanamura happens to break the laws and perform a heinous act, it is a Narukami’s responsibility to take his place and face judgement.

Naoki Hanamura

Age: 30 Zodiac: Beast Birthday: Appene 24, year 739 Mother: Sakura Hanamura Father: Taichi Hanamura Siblings: Saki and Yosuke Hanamura. Birth: Planned birth. Likes: Training, Coffee  Dislikes: Souji, Yosuke, Arrogance Bio: Without a retainer in his early years, Naoki was pushed to train harder in order to defend himself in ways his retainer could not defend him yet. Because of his upbringing to be more independent, he sometimes tends to shun help when he feels capable of completing tasks by himself, insisting that he does not need a retainer if his retainer is incompetent or inexperienced.

Saki Hanamura

Age: 28 Zodiac: Fallen Birthday: Mori 24, year 741 Mother: Sakura Hanamura Father: Taichi Hanamura Siblings: Naoki and Yosuke Hanamura. Birth: Planned birth. Likes: Going out, Food Dislikes: Pettiness, Jealousy, Pushy People Growing up: She was held to a high standard just as her older brother, since she was to be queen in case of an unfortunate event. However, it still left her enough free time to enjoy all the little things Tatsuhime had to offer, and she often had Souji escort her around the capital just as an excuse to get him out of the palace.

Yosuke Hanamura (Second born Prince) Age: 25 Zodiac: Jirae Date of Birth: Charion 22, year 741 Mother: Sakura Hanamura Father: Taichi Hanamura(?) Siblings: Naoki and Saki Hanamura. Birth: Unplanned birth. The king questioned the news when he was approached by his wife, but he never would have guessed she cheated on him with another man… to this day, Yosuke assumes the king is his biological father, and the king assumes Yosuke is his biological son. Only Sakura Hanamura knows who Yosuke’s biological father is. Likes: Souji, Attention, Long Bike Rides Dislikes: Rules, Limitations, Thunder Given Nicknames: Partner (Souji), Hanna (Ayane)

Hanna: At a young age, Ayane was never able to really pronounce the name ‘Hanamura’ correctly, fumbling with the ‘r’ a lot. Since she only ever spoke to Souji and Yosuke, she opted to calling Hanamura “Hanna” instead. Once she learned how to pronounce his surname though… she didn’t stop. He doesn’t have the heart to tell her the name sounds way too uncool and girly because she lights up when she says it. Souji pokes fun at him for it, but doesn’t say anything to Ayane either.

Partner: From the way he protected Souji during his upbringing, to the way Souji defended Yosuke against his older brother’s mean spirited comments, the two have been inseparable and have grown stronger together despite the unfairness that came their way. The two began calling each other ‘partner’ jokingly because of how many times they acted out an old Oratorian folklore where the two retainers in the story fondly referred to each other as ‘partners’.

Growing up: His parents focused all their attention on their firstborn child, so he was given a lot more leeway to be carefree. Because of how little attention was given to him during his upbringing, he was practically raised by the staff, spoiled and allowed to have his every wish granted on a whim. He soon figured out he could take advantage of his power to benefit Souji, pulling him away from his older brother whenever a conflict got too intense.

Bio: Headstrong and loud. He knows he'll never be considered king, since it's tradition for the firstborn to claim the throne. Regardless, it doesn't discourage him from getting his way, much to his older brother's annoyance. Both his older sister and older brother consider him unreliable because of his carefree upbringing… or so, he assumes. Trivia: He commissioned a tailor in Oratorio to replicate three costumes from an old book he found in Velru, all for the sake of accurate theatrical performance. The three costumes consisted of two retainer uniforms and a princess attire. He says it was for a better and more believable theatrical performance, but in reality, he just wanted Souji to own one nice outfit he could call his own, and for Ayane to be inspired to get more confident through the princess in the tale.

Souji (Yu) Seta (Firstborn retainer to the firstborn Hanamura)

Age: 25 Zodiac: Brute Date of Birth: Impera 20, year 741 Mother: Mirai Seta  Father: Yami Narukami Siblings: None. Birth: Late birth. Retainers from Tatsuhime rarely get married unless the King wills it. As such, the chosen mates are carefully examined for their aptitude to provide the best possible offspring. However, the chosen woman had a miscarriage, and it slowed down the process to establish a suitable retainer for the future heir. The king up and refused to search for a new mate, inisting the woman was chosen for a reason, and finding a new mate would take too long. They decided to wait for the woman to collect herself before putting her through the same amount of stress. Some speculate that the woman was trying to stall and get out of this arrangement, but none can say for sure. She was dismissed and escorted out of the palace shortly after she gave birth. Thus, Souji was born years after the royal firstborn, nurtured and raised by the staff. He was born out of necessity for the Hanamura Family, and is therefore younger than the prince he was assigned to protect.  Likes: Music, Jogging (especially during early mornings), Cooking Dislikes: Stubborn Idiots, Opposition, Liars Given Nicknames: Yu-chan (Ayane), Partner (Yosuke), Narukami (Palace staff)

Yu-chan: Souji approached Ayane at a young age with hopes of friendship, but with little to no success. After finding out she’s been told not to speak with the Narukamis or the Hanamuras, he tells her that the penalty doesn’t apply if she speaks to him first, and that even if it did, that only the Narukamis are punished. Seeing her hesitate even after explaining it calmly, he tells her to call him “Yu” instead. That way, she’s not speaking to a Narukami. It was innocent and logical enough for a young Ayane to get comfortable with, and ever since then, she’s fondly called him “Yu-chan”. Partner: Given to Souji by Yosuke. Being held to a much higher standard than the retainers before him, he was often tossed in situations with bad odds. In those moments, Yosuke lent him a hand to ease his burden. While those actions would have been prohibited had they gotten caught, it helped the two bond on a more personal level, and Yosuke eventually opted to calling Souji his partner.

Narukami: Staff are told to only use the Narukami surname when referring or speaking to them. To this day, very few know Souji’s first name. Souji changed his surname from Narukami and took the surname of his mother once he decided to denounce his loyalty to the Hanamura family. Having uncovered the truth behind his own lineage and the history behind the Hanamura kingdom, he seeks his own path, unrelated to the Kingdom and the country as a whole. His retainer outfit (Oratorian greens) represent his change of heart, and a path he’s chosen by himself, believing a brighter future might await in the capital of the Arisato Kingdom. 

Growing up: Rushed to take responsibility, he was often treated unfairly for not measuring up at a young age. The firstborn prince treated him unfavorably because of his slow learning curve, believing Souji should be held up to higher standards than the retainers before him, despite being younger. That is what the first born prince claimed. In reality, Naoki is more annoyed about Souji spending time with Yosuke than he is about his ability to hold his own as a retainer. This strained relationship led Souji to become closer to the second born prince, who actively defended Souji whenever there was injustice within the palace. He shared a room next to a musician's daughter by the name of Ayane Matsunaga. She was… talented, in a way. Being separated only by a thin wall made the despairing cry of her trombone an alarm, and helped him get ready for his duties the mornings she practiced her solo. In the long run, he became fond of it despite its quirks, but his favorite pastime was studying in his room to the tune of a peaceful and harmonic flute that echoed from the very same room.

BIO: Raised and brought up to tend to the firstborn prince’s every need, he rarely found free time to make friends. The only retainer he bonded with was soon shipped to Velru, and from there on out, his only close friends have been the second born prince and a young aspiring musician. Being younger than expected, he had to adapt quicker, and often tried to endure hardships without a single complaint so others would feel safer in his presence.

Trivia: He despises when others call him “Narukami”. The Fall of the Hanamura Family: Souji has no reason to avenge the Hanamura family, seeing what the Hanamuras did to the Narukami lineage, he feels as if justice was served. However, because of his close ties with Yosuke, he refuses to sit by in ignorance, and although he will not fight and get revenge, he can expose the truth that lies dormant within Tatsuhime about King Adachi… whatever that truth may be.

Ayane Matsunaga (Former Aspiring Musician)

Age: 20 Zodiac: Drake Date of Birth: Appene 17, year 745 Mother: Airi Matsunaga Father: Jungo Matsunaga Siblings: None. Birth: Unplanned birth. A musician’s pay is miniscule compared to that of other staff, and the two parents struggled to make by for what the Hanamuras were paying them. Despite playing at every event the family hosted, they were often looked down on for having lax jobs, so their relationships with the rest of the royal staff is a little muddy. They were not comfortable enough to bring a child into the world, but decided not to turn down the opportunity. While the child was not unwanted, it was far too big of a task than the two parents could manage on their own. Likes: Music, Fishing, Souji’s cooking Dislikes: Being mistaken for a kid, Rude people, Intimidating people Given Nicknames: Lady Ayane (Souji), Queen (Yosuke)

Lady Ayane: A nickname that comes from the Oratorian tale of a lost princess and her two retainers, where one of the retainers refer to the princess as “Lady” instead of “Princess”. Queen: The habit of calling Ayane “Queen” comes from their theatre performance, where one of the retainers accidentally calls the lost princess ‘queen’ rather than by her princess title. The tale speculates that the second retainer was a traitor, one sent to kill the royal family, but failed, and is then forced to follow the princess and her retainer around until he can safely strike and kill them too. The second book to the tale is nowhere to be found, so what actually happened to the princess and the two retainers is unknown.

Growing up: She was very shy, and barely managed to make friends with Souji. Her parents often left her to do as she pleased, but warned her never to speak to the Hanamura family or the Narukamis, fearing she might get herself into trouble somehow. She taught herself how to wield a bow and arrow since she needed some form of protection, and it was the only weapon that wasn’t too heavy to lift. Bio: She enjoys old Oratorian folklore and tales from other countries. Yosuke often brings her books from Velru to cheer her up, and all three of them act out long-winded plays together to forget their hardships. The three grew up together, and Ayane thinks of them as her family. Thanks to Souji, she’s become more assertive, and thanks to Yosuke, she’s become more comfortable with both her strengths and weaknesses.

Trivia: She’s more confident as princess in her Oratorian outfit, but breaks character the moment she’s intimidated or threatened.

[mathiaskillmaster]

Rebirth of the Dragon (After GOT / Daenerys Targaryen) Part 12

Essos, Dothraki Sea

As was the custom, Kinvara's body was cremated at a funeral pyre, at a ceremony where Queen Daenerys and each of her allies paid silent but sincere homage to the late priestess, who, knowing what would arrive, had accepted her fate in order to save the life of one of the dragons. Daenerys could never forget this sacrifice to save one of her sons, and would do everything in her power so that the death of Kinvara was not in vain. The necklace of Kinvara had been removed from her, and according to the custom of the cult of R'hllor, the object was taken back to Volantis by the guards of the Fiery Hand, in order to be given to the successor of Lady Kinvara who would then see baptized new high priest or high priestess of Volantis. The ashes of Kinvara were not locked up to remain a prisoner of an urn but allowed the east wind to disperse them, so that her body and her soul could forever live free forever.

From this sacrifice Joreas could have come back, alive and well, and rid of all traces of the venom of Manticore that was eating him. It was as if the poison had evaporated from his body, and maybe that was the case? The powers of the Master of Light were very mysterious, and yet so real to judge by what she had seen in recent months. Not far from the dothraki camp, by an early afternoon in the pleasant warmth of the sun and in the middle of the tall and wild grass dancing in the wind of the East, Daenerys sat on a large rock, leaving the heat cover her and the wind caress her face and her hair. Joreas was with her, sleepy, his head resting on his mother's lap and also let the star of the day warm up his brown scales. Delicately and without pulling him out of his torpor, Daenerys, pensive, caressed the neck of her young dragon, spending a lot of time with him for the past few days, making sure that he regains his strength, that he eat well and manages to to sleep. Drogon and Mirrandes had also been very concerned about the health of their younger brother, and Drogon, as protector and big brother he was, remained permanently close to the other two, almost playing the role of father.

Mirrandes fluttered in the azure sky a few dozen meters above the plain and seemed to bring something between her mighty claws. She dropped not far from the rock what looked like the bloody carcass of a wild ram. Alerted by the sound of the carcass falling on the ground and the smell of blood, Joreas raised his head in a hungry roar, and Daenerys watched him move toward the dead animal, while Mirrandes joined him for the feast. Although a little disgusted by the strong smell of blood and fresh flesh nearby, Daenerys can only be reassured to see her two new children dragons eat with appetite, grabbing large shreds of bloody flesh between their jaws. Although very young, they were already as formidable as adult beasts. This prey being too small for him, Drogon remained behind, lying peacefully in the tall grass and while letting the sun's rays warm his giant body, watched his younger brother and younger sister feasting on their prey. Still sitting on the rock, Daenerys began to close her eyes and looked up at the sky, letting the afternoon heat again overwhelm her.

Recently, she had received news. Shortly after her departure for Westeros, the slavers had managed in the utmost secrecy to reform their coalition and one by one, had taken over the cities liberated by the young queen, enslaving the poor again and reforming their vast and horrific slavery empire of Slaver's Bay. This news, though not surprising, had plunged the queen into deep anger. Other rumors coming from Volantis's neighboring countries were that the Golden Company, or at least what was left of it, had fallen into disgrace after the fiasco of King's Landing, and that the warriors who still composed it found without contracts. No news of any kind came from Westeros, and for Daenerys it was not worse. Never again did she want to hear about this damn West land.

Apart from news from different countries, Daenerys continued to make dreams for the least singular. One in particular marked her. She was always alone, in a huge dark space, cold and desolate, in the middle of which stands a gigantic barral asleep, and each time, the screams of the crow resound, coming to surround her from all sides while three terrifying blue eyes are born of the gnarly bark of the barral, disemboweling it in a flood of blood and darkness and harpooning the young woman with their monstrous irises. While she thinks herself at the mercy of this nascent monstrosity eager to devour her, the fiery and protective flames interpose, and from them emanates a great dragon with incandescent eyes, roaring against the abomination of darkness and hindering him.

_ "I would not like to be at the place of this dead animal." suddenly commented on a familiar voice approaching the rock. It was Yara. Daenerys smiled slightly at her coming and let her come to contemplate the feast of the two dragons, having turned the ram into a real bloody puzzle. Yara leaned against the rock, before talking to the queen again.

_ "With all due respect, my queen, you should not be left alone outside the camp, especially with a faceless man in the area."

_ "I'm not alone," Daenerys corrected, pointing to her dragons, who could be just as formidable as a legion of over-armed guards. She scored a point. Yara also noticed that Daenerys seemed to be staring at her while mentioning that she would never be alone.

_ "Speaking of faceless man..." Daenerys said turning to Yara and taking a tone almost suspicious "... Who tells me that you are not the murderer who took the face of Yara to approach without arousing suspicion?"

Yara showed a smile, almost amused, and looked at the queen straight in the eye.

_ "In that case, what are you waiting for to order your dragons to tear me to pieces, or to burn me to ashes?" Yara asked, almost defiantly. Daenerys said nothing, but recognized that Yara's nerve was not displeasing to her. She liked to see women with a strong character, like her.

_ "Maybe I should ..... but no ...... I'm tired of losing the people who matter to me."

_ "That's the weight for all the leaders, without exception ..." Yara told her as she approached and came to sit next to her. Daenerys let her go, still listening to her. "... I could not even be there to help my brother Theon during the Battle of Winterfell. I let him go, hoping he would come back .... and he sacrificed his life for a family that only used him."

Daenerys knew what family she was referring to, which gave her a bitter taste in her mouth, as well as a deep feeling of sadness across her throat. Daenerys' hand gently took Yara's hand, forcing Yara to look at the dragon queen in her eyes.

_ "I didn't know your brother very well, but he had appeared to me to be a noble and honorable man, just like you. The alliance of our two houses is one of the best things I could ever do. The dragon and the kraken, united against their common enemies."

With these words, she had tightened her grip on Yara's hand, symbolizing that strength and union that survived through them. Yara remained silent, but she understood Queen Targaryen's words very well and nodded forcefully. Reassured, Daenerys rose from the rock, falling to her feet on the soft ground, and began to move away, before giving a final order to the queen-born.

_ "Meet me behind my tent, in a few minutes, with your armor and your weapons."

********* As requested, Yara made her way to the khaleesi tent, with her armor with the kraken's coat of arms on her breastplate, and her belt, ax and sword. A little puzzled by the Daenerys order, she did not say anything to Shen or Grey Worm. Going around the tent to get behind, Yara found herself in front of Daenerys, who was waiting for him.

Queen Targaryen stood there, wearing a dothraki leather outfit, like that of the warriors, and holding in her hand her sword with the gleaming blade that was given to her in the flames and judging by her look, was determined to make use of it. Yara raised an eyebrow.

_ "Majesty?"

_ "Why did I lose everyone I loved, Yara? Tell me why?" asked Daenerys, which Yara did not know what to say. "Because I was not strong enough ..." Daenerys completed "... but today you're going to help me become one, you're an ironborn, the first queen of the iron islands, a true warrior .... Train me to sword fighting."

Yara had heard it well. By the determined tone of her voice and look, she knew she was more than serious.

_ "Is this an order, my queen?" Yara asked one last time, as if to tell her if she was sure of what she wanted. Daenerys's look was enough to make her understand the answer. Yara pulled off her gray cloak, dropping it to the ground and taking her iron sword in hand, making a few nimble reels with and coming in front of Daenerys.

_ "First, show me how you position yourself."

Daenerys executed herself, and holding her sword in her right hand, placed her right leg back and her left leg forward. Yara examined carefully.

_ "Watch your feet." she said pointing to the bottom. Daenerys lowered her eyes to see, and suddenly felt the cold tip of Yara's blade come to touch her chin. Daenerys then looked up at her and Yara made him understand by the look she had made a mistake.

_ "First lesson ...." said the iron queen "... never lose sight of your opponent ... One look elsewhere, one second of inattention, and you are dead."

Daenerys nodded and Yara pulled her blade away, stepping back several steps and firmly grasping the handle of her weapon, staring at Queen Targaryen.

_ "Now, attack me." Yara asked simply with conviction. Daenerys took a deep breath, gripping her sword with both hands, and darted for a smoky first hit, which Yara countered very easily. The two blades clashed in a thud, giving rise to a few sparks. The sword was neither too big nor too small and seemed perfectly suited to the handling of the dragon queen, as if it had been fashioned for her and her alone.

Daenerys then attempted further attacks on the flanks, but Yara avoided them or all of them with her blade, even tripping the dragon queen to the ground, disarming her and blocking her on the ground. But as Yara reached out to Daenerys to help her get up, she was thrown to the ground of the young Targaryen woman who took advantage of the opportunity, picking up her sword and in turn, blocked Yara on the floor leaning over her.

_ "I see you are learning fast, majesty." Yara said, unable to stop herself from sketching a smile.

Daenerys smiles too, proud of her little trick. The two women remained silent for a few seconds, looking into each other's eyes, and Yara could only see that Daenerys was now leaning over her. Finally, too, and seeing the semblance of embarrassment over the sudden flush of Yara's face, Daenerys withdrew, a little embarrassed too, and her cheeks tinged with a slight purple.

_ "I .... uh ..... let's continue, please." said Daenerys, to change the subject and put an end to this somewhat heavy silence. Seeing the queen brandishing her sword again in front of her, Yara straightened up, picking up her weapon and gladly joining the next lesson.

********** In the evening, as the sky of the Dothraki Sea was painted red twilight, Daenerys had returned to his tent, after long hours of training with Yara. The body invaded with aches, the young queen wanted to relax and had a bath in the small bathtub that was available to her. Leaving her dusty clothes, laying the sword and its sheath on the bed, and detaching her long silvery hair falling like a waterfall on her shoulders and the top of her back, Daenerys entered the hot and steaming water, without fear of the slightest burn, and sits peacefully, letting her muscles and mind relax after such a day. A young girl, Mira, formerly captured by the dothrakis and originally from the fishing village who was attacked, was proposed as a new servant of the khaleesi, which the latter accepted, promising the girl that she would never treat her as a slave.

Bringing a chalice filled with hot water, the young maid poured it into the bathtub, adding a little more steam, and then came to wash the hair of Daenerys, the long, silky silver hair dripping with drops.

_ "Mira ....." Daenerys asked, keeping her eyes closed while her new maid was washing her hair ".... I've never asked you before, but why did you wanted to become my maid? Don't believe that your company displeases me, on the contrary, but nothing compelled you to do it."

The young Mira smiled shyly while spinning a strand of silver hair and letting the water flow into the container underneath.

_ "My parents often told me the story of this young and mysterious silver-haired queen, shining like a sun, who arrived one day, from nowhere, at the head of a large and powerful army of former slaves and with her three majestic dragons born from stone and fire .... One by one, she released the cities from the hold of slave masters, bringing a semblance of hope to those who had all their lives treated worse than animals ..... it was as the priests and priestesses of R'hllor once said: the one born from fire and ashes, the one who was promised by the master of light, would one day bring down her judgment on the culprits and build a better world."

Daenerys opened her eyes, listening to every word that was spoken by Mira, who said it like a girl who likes to tell her favorite story. Daenerys was touched, internally. If she had been able to give hope to young children, like Mira, she had to pursue this path, as the master of light had shown her.

_ "And ... where are your parents now?" asked Daenerys again. The question gently made Mira grimace, and the queen guessed that she had just opened a more sensitive subject.

_ "My mother died two years ago by a high fever, and my father lost his life when the dothrakis attacked our village. Their khal, the one your majesty reduced to ashes with her dragon, which decapitated my father and forced me to look."

Onro. It's about him she was talking about. It also reinforced Daenerys' conviction of putting a definitive end to this monster's actions.

Now that she has finally rallied her khalasar, strengthening her new army with the help of unsullied, ironborns and R'hllor faithful, Daenerys may soon be focusing on her new and primary goal: the reconquest of Slaver's Bay and the final eradication of the slave empire. She thought for a moment about the mercenaries in disgrace of the remains of the Golde Company, and their war elephants, who had remained in Essos. Extra troops would not be too much, she told herself while being washed.

**********

Westeros, King's Landing

A fine rain of flakes had begun to fall on the silent capital of the six kingdoms .... A gray sky invaded by black clouds had chased the sunlight as well as the heat of the summer for a macabre and biting coldness. Accompanying the snow, a polar wind had risen, coming from nowhere.

In the streets of King's Landing, no noise was heard, not even the breath of a person ..... Blood and death permeated every part of the city. Slowly advancing and gathering in hordes more and more important, civilians and soldiers, men, women and children, all formerly human but now reduced to blue-eyed cadaveric puppets, crossed the devastated and dead streets of the capital, all heading towards the great gates. At the head of this gigantic new army of the living dead, Bran advanced, his ice skin streaked with veinlets having completely covered his face like the rest of his body, his blue eyes shining in the darkness rising around him, and thin ice horns having begun to grow on his forehead. Among the first deaths that followed him were Bronn and Ser Davos, who were also transformed.

Followed by his new army, Bran, or the new Night King, looked in front of him and made his slow but determined step towards north, apparently determined to reach the place of the defeat that saw his death: Winterfell.

[renegaderoyalty]

finally completed my new ref of Dark Meta Knight! this time i’ve also gone ahead and typed out a headcanon backstory for him so that my interpretation makes more sense to those outside of my immediate friend groups.

Though it’s not common knowledge, those who know him well know that Meta Knight is a demon beast, created by Nightmare to enslave and conquer the free races of the galaxy, who revolted against his leader and took the rest of his generation of demon beasts with him when he fled. What is common knowledge is that he was the beacon of leadership and hope for the Star Warriors later in his life, all the way up to their genocide. He’s had some rough patches in his years, but he’s managed to come out of them as a hero to Dreamland.

So why is it, then, that his mirror counterpart ended up a villain? Was Dark Meta Knight created evil and simply chose to remain that way, or does this knight have a story of his own--one that isn’t being told?

Perhaps that’s not true for every Dark Meta Knight in every alternate universe, but it’s true for this one.

The Dark that this story focuses on was not born a demon beast, but rather, one of the earliest freedom fighters who rose against the mirrored demon beasts that Dark Mind brought with him in his endeavors to seize the mirror world as his own. Though Dark was young and had never desired to fight, his natural talent with mirror magic soon placed him at the top of the ranks of his ragged yet determined band of rebels.

They were few in number, but all remarkably strong, each one carrying a different set of talents in combat united under their shared desire to protect the galaxy they lived in. Though Dark Mind had the advantage of an army created solely to die for him, he was still hard-pressed for every victory he won.

Dark himself become a beacon of hope among them. No matter how many losses or deaths his band of warriors suffered, not once did he ever drop his hopeful and optimistic attitude. He took it upon himself to provide the morale that they couldn’t generate on their own, and continued to do so all the way up until he, Shadow Jecra, and a small team of knights had their camp stormed on one fateful night.

We know how this story goes for Meta Knight. What no one ever tells us is that on that night, when a winged beast swooped down to snatch up Shadow Jecra, Dark Meta pushed him out of the way, leading to him being the one grabbed. That was the last time he would see any of his fellow warriors through his own eyes.

He was brought back to Dark Mind’s nearest fortress, where he was held prisoner until Dark Mind himself could come assess him. He decided that rather than executing him, he would keep Dark Meta alive, seeing that he could use his affinity for mirror magic to strengthen his own powers.

So, he did what any reasonable high-ranking dark matter would do: he used his magic to turn Dark Meta to glass, hollowed him out, suppressed his mind, and used him as a host body. His new form allowed him a broader range of powers and increased speed, mobility, and stealth. Even if his new body was fatally damaged, it would simply shatter and release his true form rather than hurt him.

Dark Mind went on to use Dark Meta’s body to wipe out the rest of the Mirror Star Warriors. Within two years, they were erased from the face of the galaxy, and the last free planets were crushed under his regime. His war had been won, his opposition had been decimated, and any survivors worth keeping were hollowed out and turned to glass to be used as puppets.

And then, thousands of years later, he made the mistake of attempting to extend his control beyond just the mirror world, involving Kirby and Meta Knight in his struggles for conquest. This is where the story we know begins.

We see Dark Meta Knight shatter after his battle with Kirby. We see him shattered again when Dedede finally destroys the Amazing Mirror, after learning that he was the one who corrupted Sectonia in search of a potentially stronger host than his broken, barely-surviving puppet. Dark Mind’s flame is finally extinguished by the heroes of Dreamland.

And with him dead, broken glass pieces reform, and the Mirror Star Warrior who martyred himself for his people rises again as his true self. While his body bears cracks, scars, and permanently shifted colors, he’s still who he used to be. Many of his memories of his past life have been erased, but he still dreams to protect something, even though he doesn’t know where this instinct comes from anymore.

At the very least, he would appreciate it if you stopped calling him edgy.

[techfeels]

Meditation

Meditation is a skill that opens doors that you might not otherwise know exist. — Sam Harris

It’s hard to write about meditation. Its benefits are so subtle, and gradual to appear, that it can be difficult to pin them down into words. But I feel that doing it daily has had a profound effect on my everyday experience, so I thought I'd try to write a few words about it.

You may have some misconceptions about what meditation is. No, it’s not just hippy mumbo jumbo. There is no religious element. It doesn't require you to sit in the lotus position. The point is not to stop thoughts or feelings from emerging altogether. At its heart, the aim of meditation is simple: for one to become aware of their state of mind, and to notice thoughts and feelings arising, without becoming enslaved by them. Meditation will help you begin to understand your own mind much more clearly, and to become more cognisant of how external stimuli affect what kinds of thoughts arise. Patterns will emerge. You’ll notice things like, ‘Oh, when I don’t exercise for a few days I start to feel more irritable’. You’ll start to connect the dots between your thoughts and the rest of your life.

I feel like for most of my day, my mind is caught up in minutiae. There never seems to be time to consider the important stuff. For many of us, our minds are in a state of perpetual distraction. We've lost all tolerance for boredom, so we're quick to entertain ourselves whenever we encounter a moment of silence. We rarely give our minds time to rest — it's just jumping from one thing to the next, all the time; then we go to sleep, wake up and do the same thing the next day.

The unhappy truth about the world we live in today is that you need some defences set up to combat the onslaught of negative news, attention-hijacking social media, and relentless advertising. If you just accept the status quo, your life is going to be more difficult than it needs to be. Meditation is one of the best defences against these external stimuli that I know of. It's a moment of calm in a frantic world.

The essence of meditation is noticing things as they are, not how we want them to be. It engenders a feeling of acceptance, rather than constantly striving for something different. We’re constantly told by the endless amount of adverts we’re subjected to, and social media in general: your life isn’t good enough. Meditation is a panacea for this type of messaging, that manipulate our ways of thinking for their own ends. It shows us the truth. You start to become more content with your lot in life, and stop craving the one more thing that is supposedly going to complete the puzzle.

The idea behind meditating regularly is to bring that kind of focused attention into the rest of your day, but the meditation itself can also act as a reprieve if you're experiencing some particularly negative emotions. Focused attention on the sensations in your body, the sounds and smells around you, and your breathing can have the effect of distracting your mind away from the negative thoughts that were plaguing you a few moments ago. Once those thoughts are no longer being given attention, they tend to dissolve away. Every time I sit down to meditate, when I open my eyes at the end of the session I am appreciably more relaxed than when I started.

Hopefully, by this point you're convinced and are raring to give it a go. If that's the case, I think the next step is to download a guided-meditation app on your phone. (Unless you're one of those dumbphone people, in which case: kudos! You can use the Web instead.) All of the main ones allow you to try them out for free, with the option to subscribe for the full experience. I hope you won't scoff at the fact that you might have to part with some money to make this habit a reality — at first it can seem uncouth for products that help with mental health to charge you for the privilege of using them, but these apps all have development teams, and servers to run, too. If the habit sticks, you'll think of it as some of the best money you've ever spent, anyway.

There are three main meditation apps that I'm aware of: Calm, Headspace, and Sam Harris's Waking Up:

I would not recommend Calm — their app is all fancy animations, but the content is lacking. Their instructors don't give the impression that they deeply understand what they're talking about; it's more like a bunch of gym bros have been told how meditation works, and they're just rehashing it for us. That's not the kind of person I want to learn something so fundamentally important from. The app is also very irritating about trying to get you to subscribe, going so far as to feel misleading in some cases. Aside from meditations, it does have some other general-wellbeing features that might be of interest, such as stories narrated by famous people (including the inimitable Stephen Fry), designed to lull you to sleep.

Headspace is what I would recommend to most people. The app has quite a lot of whimsy to it, with some lovely short, animated videos to explain the key concepts. There are both individual meditations, and longer packs to be done over 10–30 days, for almost everything that could possibly ail you: from exam stress, to commuting, to trouble sleeping. But the real reason to choose Headspace is its meditation instructor, Andy Puddicombe. Whereas I don't trust that the Calm instructors really know their stuff, I have complete trust in Andy's knowledge and understanding of the mind. Not only is his voice rather relaxing, he seems very humble, trustworthy, good-humoured, and honest.

Sam Harris's Waking Up is a bit of a different beast to the others — it contains a lot more of his unique personality and viewpoints; it's more opinionated. Alongside 50 daily meditations, Harris gives a number of 10–20-minute talks on a variety of topics, from the nature of consciousness to the use of hallucinogenic drugs — if you're a fan of his podcast, you'll find these equally as fascinating. Subscription pricing is a bit higher than the other two, though. But there's a decent amount of free content available, so even if you don't end up subscribing you should check it out. I find it to be a nice complement to Headspace's more-repetitive style.

All three of these apps allow you to try them out for free before subscribing. I hope you'll give at least one of them a go; there aren't many things in this life that can profoundly change your day-to-day experience like meditation can.

Having practised it daily for a few years now, I know that I will never stop meditating. It’s something that I always look forward to doing, and never feels like a chore. I will do it until the day I die. You should try it, too.

Here's to the next 1,000 days.