#i love ancient civilizations that met apocalyptic ends

[ubejamjar]

FFXIV Vanilla Gpose | Two | Location The Wanderer's Palace

I shall never forget learning the truth of tonberries, the truth of Nym. Wandering those halls, I could feel the terror of the sick left to drown. What was the end goal for such an act? Had those responsible felt regret before the Voidsent swallowed them whole? It's impossible to know. May we never repeat their mistakes.

[gaming-artificer]

I'd like to get this blog started by sharing an aesthetic that I absolutely love, especially in the setting of a game, and one of my favorite games, My Time at Sandrock, which follows it. It's a "post-post-apocalyptic" setting, in which the apocalypse has happened, the world was destroyed or became uninhabitable, but by the time the game (or other media) takes place, people are beginning to get on their feet again. I don't know if there's a specific name for this. I've seen "reclaimed by nature", but while that's often a part of these settings, that the ruins of the world before the apocalypse have been filled with plant and animal life over time, it's not always the case. "Hope punk" is probably the closest.

I'll probably come back to this idea a few times, but for now I'd like to talk about how well I think My Time at Sandrock embodies this aesthetic.

For anyone who hasn't played or heard about the My Time series, they're super chill singleplayer (for now) RPGs where you play as the "builder" for one of the "Alliance of Free Cities" (Portia and Sandrock, in their respective games). They have a vibe very similar to Stardew Valley, where the game is based around days in the calendar year, but you can work at your own pace, build your workshop as you like, complete quests to improve the town, and socialize and form relationships with the NPCs. My Time at Sandrock is one of my favorite games of all time. It's currently my banner image, and I met one of my now best friends during the multiplayer closed beta.

My Time at Sandrock takes place in a frontier town in the Eufala Desert. It's this world's equivalent of a gold rush town, where people flocked to dig up relics and technology from the Old World (the game's term for the civilization who lived before, and caused, the apocalypse). However, most of the town's already scarce natural resources were squandered during this time, and it fell on hard times. Your job as the new Builder is to help the town get back on its feet by helping to build buildings, explore the ruins, defend from monsters alongside the Civil Corps, with the end goal of achieving prosperity for the town, sustainably this time.

The town of Sandrock is built nearby a massive ancient ruin, resembling a shopping mall, called Paradise Lost (a name which I think is referencing the "Paradise Lost" step of the Hero's Journey). This ruin is presumably what a lot of the Ruin Divers were interested in. The game has a cute, cartoony style and I love wandering through the hazardous ruins, fighting cleaning and construction robots, and wondering what they were building before the world was shrouded in darkness.

So, how did that happen?

300ish years before the game takes place, was an era described as the Age of Corruption, when technology had peaked, humans lived the high life, and robots did most physical labor. However, before long was the Day of Calamity, when the technology that the humans had built for war caused chaos and darkness across the world.

For 200 years, humans lived in darkness, mainly underground, under nuclear winter conditions while monsters owned the land above. Finally, a man named Peach built a machine to blow through the clouds, allow sunlight to reach the land, and allow humans to come out from underground and begin to rebuild civilization. This event is commemorated as the Day of the Bright Sun.

The series doesn't give much detail beyond this, but I don't think it should, unless it's the focus of a future game. It's just enough to give context to the settings, as most of their worldbuilding happens in the present, not in the past. Both games take place in a world 100 years and two or three generations after the Day of the Bright Sun. Civilization is being rebuilt, people are prospering, and there is even a religion called the Church of the Light formed around non-violence, cooperation, and opposing the use of Old World technology, as they believe it's dangerous and fear the same end as the Old World had.

Sandrock, though, has gone through this pattern again, in its own way. In their rush to strike it rich on Old World technology, the ruin divers and the city used up all of their natural resources, resulting in the trees all being chopped down, the town's oasis drying up, and the only thing left being the ruins themselves. You, as the town's new builder, are put in the empowering position of lifting up Sandrock from this situation and restoring it to its former glory.

This is the part that I love so much about My Time at Sandrock. The prospect of rebuilding an entire civilization is difficult to achieve as one character. Games like Civilization, RimWorld, and Terra Nil tackle this by making the player essentially omnipotent, giving them control over the whole developing civilization at once (or in Terra Nil's case, with wildly advanced technology). But Sandrock does this differently: By re-creating the reconstruction effort on a smaller scale, with just one town, and placing the player not at the top, in charge of everything, but as the one doing the grunt work to build bridges, buildings, lifts, farms, train tracks, and much more (though some of this has been in the pre-release multiplayer story mode). You slowly get to see this charming frontier town rise back up from the desert. Over the course of the game, you even get things like tourists appearing once you repair the train tracks. It's an absolute joy to watch your hard work come to fruition, and see the town overcome its own mini-apocalypse.

Thanks for reading! This is a topic I've wanted to share for a long time, and I'm glad I finally had the time to do it. I'd highly recommend My Time at Sandrock, especially if you're a fan of games like Stardew Valley, or aesthetics like the one I talked about here It's a super chill game, and I love playing it to relax after a long day of work or college lectures. And, if you want someone to play multiplayer Sandrock with, feel free to message me!

[stillwinterair]

Hey Nick! What is your favorite Star Wars book? I'm looking to read a lot more star wars novels this year and I think you'd be the expert

I unfortunately haven't read nearly as many Star Wars books as I'd like, mostly because several times through my life I've been like "I'm finally gonna read some Star Wars books!!" and whatever I pick up is somewhere between terrible and mediocre.

That said, I've read a few good ones!

A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller remains my favorite SW book for now, mostly because it's just tonally everything I want out of Star Wars. It's also a prequel to the Rebels animated series, and covers how two of the show's main characters, Hera and Kanan, first met. It's good, campy fun with a really well-realized setting and a great cast of characters.

Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston is a sequel to The Clone Wars that covers bits of Ahsoka's life shortly after the rise of the Empire, and it's good fun if you love Ahsoka! Some parts of it are now technically no longer canon, as it alludes to things that happened during the Siege of Mandalore that didn't actually happen once that arc finally came out, but mostly the book is about Ahsoka continuing to help people wherever and however she can and sending a new friend into a gay panic.

Bloodline by Claudia Gray is a fantastic political thriller turned adventure about an older Leia Organa, struggling to hold the New Republic together. This is some of the best character work any of the original trilogy cast has gotten in new canon works, and really highlights her internal relationship with the two father figures in her life, long after their passing -- Bail Organa, and Darth Vader. It explores these really meaningfully, I think, and the political climate of the New Republic by this point in the timeline is very... let's call it familiar.

Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson. Hear me out. This book fucking rules. It's goddamn weird, and it's very Mad Max, and it works so well. This is one of those books that really shows how good the sequel era might have been if they had taken actual risks with it; most of this book takes place on the post-apocalyptic, tribal world Captain Phasma came from, and while it feels a lot like Mad Max, it also feels like the early seasons of LOST, too? It's wild. This is one of the hardest Star Wars books to recommend because Captain Phasma the character is like the epitome of sequel trilogy schlock, clearly engineered to sell toys and look cool and to make Disney look inclusive or whatever, only to be killed off twice as lamely as possible, but trust me, this is genuinely good content.

From a Certain Point of View is an ongoing 40th anniversary project, releasing short story collections that retell the original trilogy movies over the course of 40 short stories per movie, all from different perspectives. There are two out now, one for A New Hope and another for The Empire Strikes Back, but I've only read the first one. It was good! It fell apart a little bit in the last half, as the first half was a really fun collection of weird and wild tales from all over the galaxy (and especially Tatooine), but the latter half is so heavily focused on the Death Star and the battle around Yavin that it's just, like, exhausting, man. The same story structure plays out a few times too many. However there IS a short story that implies Grand Moff Tarkin is having an ongoing erotic affair with the young man whose armor Luke steals when he arrives on the Death Star, and that whole short story is told from the point of view of a mouse droid, so that one fucking rules.

The last one I'll suggest is one I'm not even done with yet; The Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith, a trilogy published in 1983. I'm halfway through the first book now, and I would have probably finished it in one sitting if not for my having ADHD and dyslexia, but it is SO... good might not be the right word, because it's mostly 1980s dime novel sci-fi schlock, but the writing is punchy and the dialogue is a hoot and it's SO cheesy in all the right ways. The main villain in this trilogy is an honest to god evil space wizard. Not a Jedi, or a Sith, or anything recognizably Force-y, he's just like, a sorcerer in space, for some reason. And he out-cons Lando in the first book to go find an ancient artifact left behind by an ancient civilization, the fucking Mindharp of Sharu, a name which pretty clearly spells out the tone of the book. I can't, like... I cannot properly express just how much dumb fun this book is. The prologue is set around a sabacc table, where dim light filters down through thick wisps of cigar smoke; it's all flash and pomp, swindling and daring escapes, crooked cops and capers, and like, also an evil sorcerer is there. This first book in the trilogy, Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, might be the best Star Wars book ever written. (And yes, they all have titles as ridiculous as that.) I might completely change my mind by the end, and I'll definitely finish it over the next couple of days and have an opinion by then, but so far this book rules and I'm excited to get to the rest of the trilogy.

Now, I've read a lot more Star Wars than this, but most of it's, like... bad. Or if not bad, then mediocre. A modern favorite, Dark Disciple, a sequel to The Clone Wars, is straight up dogshit. Meanwhile a true classic, Heir to the Empire, is... fine, at best.

The true best of Star Wars books is always gonna be shit that doesn't take itself too seriously, and isn't afraid to get at least a little bit weird.

Anything more than this... you're gonna need to find yourself an actual expert on the topic lmao

[sunderedazem]

Seeking Petrichor, 1, 4, 7, 9, 13, 15

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Hmmmmm....I think honestly I was just kinda....assigning cultural practices to Killua, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika, kind of like a “what region of the world are they inspired by” sort of deal, and it kind of exploded from there? And then, of course, I also just got carried away with the idea of magic+technology+nuclear apocalypse+centuries ago = post-apocalyptic high fantasy AU

(For reference! Gon and Sahertan culture are going to have more of an ancient Celtic feel, whereas Killua and Padokea are heavily inspired by ancient China and Japan. And the other two you haven’t met yet, so XD)

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Ooh, okay, so my favorite line of dialogue is actually HELL of a spoiler, because it’s from an endscene that I wrote really out of order. So this one is actually my second choice of what I have currently written. Speaker is Killua, from Chapter 7!

“The Zoldycks kill barehanded,” he murmured[...]. “But we occasionally use blades on those opponents we respect, and you’re a coward.”

(some lines removed b/c they’re not dialogue though)

7: Where did the title come from?

Hmm. It’s sort of a spoiler, but not really....Long story short, it’s abundantly clear by now that Killua has some kind of power over storms and lightning, and this power can be incredibly destructive. However - and this is sort of a spoiler - elvish magic is not usually destructive, not in the way Killua’s can be. Furthermore, Killua’s in a very chaotic place right now - his throne has been hijacked, there’s an evil Necromancer that’s cursed his sister, and he can’t control his own magic. And now he’s drawn Gon into the mix, and Kite has also fallen victim.

So, the title ties in because “petrichor” means “the smell the world has after a fresh rainfall.” As in, the smell that comes after storms.

So, “Seeking Petrichor” - because the boys are looking for this storm to end - Gon is looking for closure with his father and Kite, and Killua is looking for the succession war, his sister’s cure, and a way to control his magic - so they can stop and smell the rain.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

Surprisingly, no. It kinda just...popped into my head fully formed. IDK how.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

LOTS of instrumentals off youtube that I don’t know the names of, and my Killua-themes, Gon-themes, and Killugon Spotify playlists. (mutuals can DM me for the links, if you’re interested)

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

A) I’m an over-descriptive bitch and I love it

B) Gon. Is HARD. To write. So difficult oh my god.

C) I looked up the structure of the Chinese civil service examinations and possible ranks one could attain from them so I could construct Padokea’s ridiculously complex hierarchical system. (there are three types of ranks, and they all interplay differently ARG)

Thanks for the ask!!!! @subdee - here are the answers to yours too

[keeyo7]

Spontaneous Asks

Here are some questions from a thing.

How does Mad Men end?

What is your favorite food to eat when you’re feeling sad? And if you don’t feed your feelings like I do why are you a robot?

Do you have a perpetual age in your head that when you think of yourself at that age and if so what is that age and why?

Who was your hero growing up? Fictional or otherwise. And if you could would you trade places with that hero?

What was the first time you experienced the emotion “humiliation?”

If someone asked you when you were 13 years old who are the 5 people you’d invite to a dinner party who would you have said?

Where were you when you realized god was a holy implausible lie?

What’s your favorite invention? How many inventions do you think there are?

What do you like most about yourself?

What animal would you save from extinction if you could?

What is the earliest memory you have of doing something cruel?

What is the thing you desire that you are ashamed of desiring?

Do you have social anxiety and if so how does it manifest?

Why did you choose that outfit today?

Did you ever name your car? If not, what the hell is wrong with you?

Do you believe in ghosts? Where is your evidence?

Why would you never talk to your cousin again if you needed a reason?

You win a contest which allows you to draft a 28th amendment to the constitution, guaranteed to pass. The only stipulation is that it must be food-related. What is your amendment?

Gun to your head - choose a reality competition show to come to your home.

Sir or Madam, how do you sleep at night?

When was the last time that you felt furious?

What ridiculous formality do you slavishly observe?

If you were forced to make a career change, and your success was guaranteed, what would you do?

What was the last thing you've done that you've considered 'brave'?

When did you realize you weren't alone?

If you could eat all the dessert and never have any ill effects, but all you could eat is dessert, would you?

What's the worst advice you've ever received?

You can use your rib to make another living thing, but not a human, what do you make?

What is your earliest memory?

If you could be invisible and go visit a current celebrity's home, who would it be?

Corn or Flour?

If days of the week had colors, what color would each day be and why?

What was your best mistake?

You can switch bodies with one person for one day - who would that be? And describe your one day as that person.

What is one event that you would go back and change in your life?

What's one thing that everyone in the United States can agree on?

How do you want people to remember you after you die?

What's the worst fear you ever overcame, and how did you overcome it?

What's the dumbest thing that ever sent you to the emergency room?

What is a trait of yours that other people compliment you on most often?

What's the deal with Mario Lopez?

What's the best gift you've ever given?

What is the loudest thing you've ever heard?

If you could spend a week in any TV show, what would it be?

Would you rather live without electricity, or a toilet forever?

What is your million-dollar idea?

Does everyone deserve to be heard?

What about baseball?

What's a good New Years's resolution?

How are eyeglasses made?

Which person (any person) would make the best sibling?

What is something you've considered telling one or both your parents but have not?

If you were to be a famous religious leader who would you be?

Do you toilet paper every toilet seat you use or is there a public toilet you wouldn't?

What laws do you regularly break?

Was your parent's divorce your fault?

If you were going to get a tattoo in one hour, what would you get?

Why is the suit purple like this pen?

When was the last time you told your parents and siblings you loved them?

Can you fix a bad kisser?

What book influenced you most as a kid?

Why the long face?

When's the last time you felt tricked?

Who would you kill first if murder was legal?

What existing superhero do you relate too?

Define magic

If you met yourself as a child, would the child you honestly like the adult you?

What was the last item you donated to charity?

What bad job of yours would you erase from your personal timeline?

Data or data, how do you pronounce it and why?

What's your favorite Prince song?

What was the singular childhood trauma that has defined you as an artist?

What sport would you play if you had all the physical ability but no mental awareness?

Whose hair would you like to find in your soup?

What toy from your childhood do you miss the most, and if it broke, how?

What is the first thing you broke that wasn’t yours?

What kind of small business would you like to own?

What was the last dream you can remember, and why do you think you dreamed it?

Who was your childhood hero? Are they still?

Do you consider cheeseburgers to be a part of the sandwich family?

Did silent movies have to be pitched back in the twenties?

Do you still eat pudding as an adult?

It's 3am, you're up. What are you doing?

What brings you fulfillment?

When did you first realize you didn't fit into society?

If you could eat one fruit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

What's the most fun you've had in a hospital?

What is your sliding doors alternate career?

Why do you care about God?

Where was the first slice of pizza you bought as a youngster?

Who was your mentor getting into your profession?

When did your parent or caregiver most hurt your feelings?

What is the first joke you laughed at?

What was your first suit?

What day would you like to go back and re-live? PS: You can go back to change things?

How did the movie The Sandlot effect your life? If you haven't seen it, what is the medical condition that prevented you?

What's the song to which you lost your virginity?

What happens if the Supreme Court gets rid of Roe v. Wade?

Have you ever called 9-1-1 to help a stranger? Tell us why?

At this very moment, a health inspector is about to walk into your home. What rating would your kitchen receive?

What sport or game could you kick my ass in?

Are you a bad girl? Are you? Are you?

What is the last great meal you ate and who did you eat it with and what did you talk about?

What clubs were you in in high school?

What do you do for exercise?

Have you ever been arrested?

In an apocalypse, what will be the most valuable item to trade?

If you could remain one age for your entire life, what age would it be and why?

What food item have you consumed the most of in your lifetime?

What's the most scared you've ever been?

What animals have you seen in the wild?

What song do you always have stuck in your head?

When was the last time you cried out of happiness?

Stipulating that there's nothing wrong with "here", if you could be anywhere else right now, where would that be?

What is the most embarrassed you've ever been?

What was the worst encounter with a stranger you ever had?

What is the best or worst travel injury you've sustained?

When did you first learn what sex was, and how?

When is the last time you vomited?

What ingredient would you remove from the world and why?

What is the first song you remember hating?

Tell me something your hometown is known for?

Who was your best friend as a child and what would you do together?

Which job from earlier in your life would you like to do again, and what would it have to pay?

What's a memory from your childhood you wish you could change?

At what point in your life did you feel your most 'hot' and most 'not'?

Is it racist to do an Italian accent?

What is your favourite font?

What time period do you think you belong in?

What movie have you lied about seeing?

How do you feel about your eye colour?

When was the last time you pretended to know something?

How many times have you googled yourself this week?

What do you think is your finest quality? What do you think is your worst?

Have you ever gotten lost?

At what moment have you felt the most adult?

If you could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

What is the best gift your parent ever gave you?

Favorite author when you were a teen and why?

What flaw in your character has been most beneficial in your life?

What's your favorite ancient civilization,and why?

Have you ever stolen anything?

Have you ever had a religious experience?

Do you know your neighbors, or do you try avoid them and why?

Choose one exotic pet: macaw, tortoise, boa or alpaca. You must choose.

Of all life's great firsts, which was your favorite?

What movie universe would you most want to live in?

What is your most embarrassing superstition?

Are you excited for the singularity or are you terrified?

Name three celebrities you would recruit to your post-apocalyptic survival team and why?

What's the best thing to find underwater?

Lyft drivers: What do you think?

How many eggs can you eat in one sitting?

What is your least favorite question strangers often ask you?

Would you invite yourself somewhere?

What is a place that gives you immediate joy?

It's 1967, you're in San Francisco: what are you up to?

If you were going to commit a crime, what crime would you commit?

What do you want someone to whisper in your ear?

What is your biggest failure?

Why are you here?

If you were to name a star, what would the name be?

Which one of your family members reminds you most of Denzel Washington?

What is a dream you've had that is actually interesting?

What would you have your evil twin do, if you had an evil twin?

If the purge were real, who would you kill first?

Hi, hello, are you single, and will you date me? I'll make you so happy.

What is a time in your childhood that you were at your happiest?

Who was you favorite teacher?

If someone wrote a musical about your life, what would it be called and what would it be about?

What's a style concept that you've always wanted to try (mohawk, tattoo, piercing)?

You can make a souvenir penny machine for any person, place, or thing - what would you make it for, and why?

If you were calming eating, say, a banana split, and you looked across the room and saw yourself from five minutes earlier, what you you do?

If your spirit animal were an animal you had met or seen, who would it be?

If you were born the opposite sex, what would your name, personality, and occupation be?

Do you pretend to like/read famous writers when they die?

Why are you here?

What's your first memory?

What song do you put on when a hook up is coming over?

What is the most romantic country in the world and why?

How many kangaroos are in the San Antonio zoo?

What was your first pet's name?

What was your first job?

If you could start any conspiracy theory what would it be?

You have full funding to recreate any album with you as the lead singer, what album do you choose?

Are there any recurring dreams that are significant to you?

Worst first kiss?

When was the last time you were in a stream?

What is your relationship with God like?

Who is your secret crush right now?

Where do you plan to spend the apocalypse?

Which celebrity would you like to die in the arms of?

If you were a neighborhood in either Los Angeles or New York, which would be and why?

If you could be killed by any weapon (not gun), what would it be and why??

How are you like your parents, good and bad?

If you could go back in time and kill one person, who would it be?

What is your favorite vacation destination?

What was the last thing you did that made you feel like a kid?

When was the most attractive you've ever felt?

What is the most uncomfortable place you have sneezed?

If you could make a themed restaurant, what would it be?

[winterscribe]

That Vampire Hunter D thing I’ll eventually write coherently

So now that I’ve FINALLY found the Vampire Hunter D Fandom I’m working up the courage to share some of my headcanons (my stupid anxiety makes it irrationally hard) The problem is a lot of my headcanons require at least basic knowledge of the fantasy world that I started when I was 14?Ish? And the Ocs I created. Like I decided to yank D out of his post-apocalyptic hell world and put him into this peaceful world populated by non-assholes, or in some cases, slightly less homicidal assholes… ok the number of assholes is much less than on the frontier, and even the homicidal ones usually need a good reason to be homicidal. None of this “I’m gonna experiment on thousands of individuals and put my son through a living hell for shits and giggles” - LOOKING AT YOU DRAC, LOOKING AT YOU!  

Anyway it’s really long and rambly so READ MORE-

Anyway I’m gonna make a series of posts explaining the basics, who’s who, How D got there, basic worldbuilding, that kinda thing. I’ll go through and link ‘em as I finish them. And I’ll make a masterpost because there are a few tags on my blog about the world and D’s family.

Now, since this world was started when I was 14 there are some things that are a little...odd. Names that Stuck and I can’t change because I’ve been calling it that for over 5 years, plot lines that involve characters from a different franchise but i haven’t figured out how to replace. Seriously I have GOT to figure out how to replace Fucking LOKI. FFS I haven’t liked that character for 2 years WHY is he STUCK THERE

I’m currently worldbuilding and planning a few novel’s based on Avaleara’s life, but the first 2 would be before she met D so I don’t think anyone would be interested. I’m gonna write certain scenes though, like Avaleara and D’s first kiss, the emotionally overwrought scenes that bring them together, stuff like that. But hey, if you like really overthought worldbuilding and sprawling sci fi/fantasy worlds, lord knows i could talk about Rev’haros for hours, so feel free to hit me up.

Story

D’s Part of the story line starts when Avaleara was punted through the barrier between universes by her uncle’s failed experiment and ended up on the frontier. By sheer happenstance, she landed right in front of D, who pretty much ignored her because she wasn’t trying to kill him and he needed to get to a job. Avaleara decided “Hey, there’s a fifty fifty shot he’s heading towards civilization, Im’ma follow at a respectful distance” Now, while Avaleara is decidedly Alien in appearance (aprx 6 ft tall, really dark purple skin, has horns, bio-luminescent markings, ALIEN) she has interacted with humans before, has even been to an Earth before, (Multiverse ftw) she has a pretty solid glamour already prepared, so while D knows what she looks like cuz he saw her, she can blend in on the frontier.

Except yah’ know, she doesn’t speak the language cuz the only Earth languages she knows are Japanese or English from circa 2000. Her trying to figure out the frontier dialect is like someone who speaks old English plopped down in the middle of modern day- She can sorta kinda figure out the gist but dear god is it difficult and makes her headache. On top of that since she comes into town a few hours after a Dhampir, well people don’t want shit to do with her, so she keeps vaguely wandering after D. I haven’t figured out the turning point yet, but eventually D interacts with this strange woman trailing aimlessly after him even as he cuts through an incredibly deadly forest and other such frontier horror ‘scapes that should have gotten her killed but didn’t. Because it’s D, he has a better grasp on “ancient” Japanese (Also I headcanon that his mother was of Japanese descent because Tony Thornburg) So they can communicate better.

Eventually they sorta travel together (Again I need to flesh this out) for a few years. About a decade of sorta traveling together (though niether of them will admit it, and certainly won’t admit that they enjoy eachother’s company) Dracula decides to be an asshole. For Hand Wavy reasons he comes up with a test for D and Left hand, that involves poisoning D. (IDK i’m kinda toying with the idea that Dracula had another success that was better than D, and decided to get rid of him, buuuut that would mean another character and i think it really goes against canon so idk if i’m gonna go that route)

The thing about Avaleara is that she is really possessive (part dragon) and fiercely protective of those she’s attached to. So Drac didn’t count on being hit with 900 pounds of sheer protective RAGE. Seriously Avaleara is the kind of person who, if she has something to protect, she will get back up no matter what she gets hit with. Spear through the heart? Bitch please she has two and you just handed her a weapon. Cut off an Arm? Regenerative powers and a history of being tortured so she doesn’t even flinch at the pain? Fire? She’s been burned alive before and it awakened her latent dragon genes. Water? She was born with an innate gift for controlling it. (so i kinda gave her every power I ever thought was cool, oops. HI MARY SUE)

She doesn’t kick Drac’s ass, but she does seriously wound him which is enough to startle him and, since he’s already accomplished poisoning D, he retreats, firing off a psychological attack as he goes. At that point Avaleara has one of two options. Use the last of her strength to fight off the attack, or draw the poison from D into herself (I had a reason for this but it's in a notebook buried in a box somewhere. God I hate moving) Another thing about Avaleara- if it's a choice between saving her life and saving someone else's, she will save someone else's. Every. Time.

So She saves D’s life, but falls into a coma fighting both the poison and Drac’s attack. At this point, her father, Maruketsukai (there’s one of those names I can’t change) appears, because her family had been keeping an eye on her but hadn’t pulled her back home cuz reasons. D does not trust the guy that appeared in midair. D owes Avaleara a debt because she saved his life. D also wants to know how the fuck she managed to wound the Sacred Ancestor. D is a stubborn bastard who will recklessly enter a portal to another universe because he owes someone a debt. He will also stand guard at their bedside for 5 years while they are in a coma because they saved his life.

(I think this is still in character- I mean he wouldn’t do it for just anyone, but shit this person fought Dracula and lived. For Him. yeah he’s gonna stick around and make sure they’re safe before he fucks off.)

His protectiveness earns him the undying loyalty of Avaleara’s family. Like, he’s obviously straight up ready to cut his way out of the room if they so much as breathe wrong in her direction. Ordinarily death threats aren’t the way to endear yourself to your in laws but Maruketsukai and Nikara are… not ordinary.

During the 5 years that Avaleara is in a coma, D learns a lot about her world, her family, and her past. Like the fact that she’s second in line for the throne, and that a previous lover had betrayed, kidnapped, and tortured her and that she had extreme PTSD and massive trust issues because of it. That’s why they had left her on the frontier, because for the first time in two thousand years, Avaleara had sorta trusted someone, or at least, didn’t seem overly paranoid about them, and they wanted to see what would happen.

D spends a lot of time with Takashi and Mizuki, because they speak Japanese. Takashi is the son of Sesshoumaru and Kagome. (Yes from the anime Inuyasha. I did mention this started when I was 14 right?) That’s why he speaks Japanese. Also He drags Avaleara and Mizuki to Earth occasionally which is why Avaleara has a human glamor. Its interesting for D to meet another half breed who is so blase about it, but Takashi grew up in  La’ Shevare, where genetic modification for the express purpose of interspecies breeding has been a thing for several million years. Pretty much no one is a pure blood. But since he’s also the nephew of Inuyasha and has listened to his father express his regret over how he treated his brother, he at least partially understands where D is coming from. Sorta. Academically. Ok not really but he tries. And totally has a talk shit get hit policy when it comes to D. Like call Takashi a half breed, make fun of his heritage, whatever, so long as you don’t make fun of his parents, he don’t give a fuck. Call D a half breed, make fun of D’s heritage, prepare for at least 3 broken bones. Probably more. Seriously. He’s 45 years older than Avaleara, held her in his arms as a baby, grew up with her and fell in love with her sister. She’s Family.  He was helpless when the man she loved broke her and twisted her into someone else, was helpless during her recovery because she wouldn’t let anyone in to help her. The moment D popped up, planting himself between Avaleara and any perceived threat, was the moment he became Pack. And you Do Not Fuck With a Dog Demon’s Pack.

Eventually Avaleara wakes up, except thanks to the psycological attack, and her previous ptsd related issues, Avaleara first thinks D is a hallucination. It takes awhile for it to set in and stick that he’s not. D sticks around, convincing her that he’s real and she’s not going insane, and just being really patient when she freaks out and thinks she’s seeing things, because hey, it was his asshole dad who did this to her so he kinda feels responsible. Plus he’d still really like to know how she wounded him.

It boils down to - Avaleara has spent the last 2 thousand years studying a variety of fighting techniques from all over the Rev’ Haros System, a system whose recent history spans back a few million years. D may know all the fancy vampire tricks, but 10,000 years is a drop in the bucket, a single lifespan of a person from Rev’ Haros. The whole system is so much more advanced than even the vampires at their peak, just because they’ve had the time to develop so far. The average person could go toe to toe with greater nobility if they had to, nevermind the people who are actually trained. Not to mention their fighting styles are so different, so alien to anything on Earth, that Dracula was at a significant disadvantage from that alone.

Avaleara happily agrees to train D in some of these styles. He doesn’t plan on sticking around long enough to learn them all. But he does, and she happily teaches him everything she knows until he is literally the only person who has a prayer of killing her. Shes very proud. Their sparring matches are epic and terrifying.