#i mostly have it playing in the background

[gotta-winwin]

(🎞️) ... hit the road docu.<> for you to walk comfortably

word count: 1k TW: fluff? nothing too crazy - woozi's segments pretty mild compared to what's about to go down („• ֊ •„) italics are interview moments cut between other scenes a/n: welcome to the first instalment of htr!

Cyana couldn't help but glance at Woozi when they won the Album of the Year at Asia Artist Awards. She wanted to see that glow of a smile flood across their producer member's face, a smile she so rarely got to see. He was usually so stoic around her.

"We won." Jeonghan breathed into her ear, pulling her and Dino in for a hug. "We won."

She looked at Woozi, who had been tugged into a group hug with Seungcheol and the others. "We won." She mumbled, mostly to herself. She couldn't quite believe it.

"It was hard to imagine we had won." Woozi said to the camera. "I was looking for Cyana the whole time, trying to see her reaction. I never thought we'd succeed with her next to us." He shrugged, a little sheepish. "Guess I was wrong."

"Hi!" Cyana waved to the camera. "We're practicing for our Osaka concert right now." She moved to show the members with the staff in the background. "Apparently they did this all last tour as well, to keep in line with the local staff."

Woozi could be seen directing the bulk of it, naturally taking over as he knew most about their sound design.

"It sounds a bit lower," Woozi said into his mic. "can we adjust that?"

"It was amazing, to see Woozi oppa controlling the stage, even when we weren't performing." Cyana smiled as she recalled. "It made it even harder to hold a grudge."

Woozi approached Cyana as they sat in the green room, two hours before the concert. She was busy eating, her phone propped up as she watched Criminal Minds on low volume.

"Your mic pack's acting up." He informed her, sitting down opposite her. "They're fixing it but we don't know how long it'll take."

Cyana paused her show, looking up worried. "Is there a spare?"

"The staff are finding one now." Woozi let out a loud sigh. "It's a bit hectic today."

"I was kind of checking everything that day. It wasn't that I was a perfectionist. There was just a lot of changes. It was a different size stage, we had changed formations and cue sheets." Woozi recalled the day.

Cyana nodded after hearing the interviewer's comment. "I don't think our performance in Osaka would've gone as well if it hadn't been for his attention to detail."

LOCATION: UNIVERSE FACTORY

"I spend most of my time at the studio. It's like my second home." Woozi explained. "It's also where I see Cyana the most."

Cyana's sprawled on the studio couch, face facing the ceiling as she listened to the track Woozi was playing. "Pause it." Cyana sat upright, her face in thought. "Wait, go back a few bars."

"I liked working with Woozi oppa. We didn't really have much to say to each other outside of work, but working on music was something that could bring us together." Cyana let out a tiny laugh. "I guess being sleep deprived does bring people together."

Woozi rewinds the track, bringing it back to the chorus. "Here?" He asked, looking at Cyana for confirmation.

The girl nodded. "Yeah, play it again?"

The two grew silent as they concentrated on the beats. Cyana stood up suddenly frowning. "What is that sound in the very back? The dat-dat-dat-dun." She mimed drumbeats as she tried explaining what she was hearing.

"Cyana didn't know how to work the sound mixing board yet, she was learning as we worked but I could tell it frustrated her, having to explain her thoughts to me." Woozi couldn't help but smile. "It was endearing, I have to say."

"I know what you mean." Woozi nodded, following her train of thought. "I hear it too. Must've altered when we mixed those two beats together yesterday." He clicked a few keys on the board. "I'll find it."

"Bumzu sunbaenim told me Woozi oppa's always been like this, even as a trainee. A pure musical genius." Cyana shook her head in mild disbelief. "I came to learn that producing is literally his entire life. He doesn't even think of it as anything special."

Cyana let out a yawn, sitting back down on her spot at the corner of the couch, curling her legs up. "You should take a break, oppa. You've been staring at that screen for hours."

"I felt bad, that I couldn't hold my fair share of the work. Sometimes it felt like I was just directing him." Cyana admitted. "I thought: he must feel annoyed, having the maknae throw ideas into his area of expertise."

Woozi stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders back. "I'm fine, Cyana. We can keep going." Rolling his chair across the room, he opened the mini fridge and threw her a bottle of water before taking one for himself. "We'll forget tomorrow."

Cyana could only smile ruefully at his persistence, taking a small sip of water. "Only if you're sure."

"What else can I say?" Woozi shrugged. "The members all say I work too hard. That I should be sleeping more, going out more, living more. But I am living- when I'm making music."

Woozi cued up the track once again, sifting through it to find the error both he and Cyana could hear. Cyana watched from behind, feet tapping absentmindedly to the rhythm.

The concert venue held an insane amount of people. Cyana could only stare out into the vast sea, smiling from the sidelines as Woozi started his Opening Ment.

"I'm a stickler for routine." Woozi said, elbows on his knees as he explained to the interviewer. "Cyana proved to me new things can be better than the old- and I'm grateful to her for that." He side eyes the staff. "She won't see this, right?" Looking back at the camera, he continued. "Anyways, I'm thankful for my members because they are the ones who love my music the most. Because of that, I feel no pressure in creating, only joy."

The cheers from the crowd washed over Woozi as he performed with his members.

'There is something so special about seeing people enjoy your group's music. And it is even more special knowing you created it."

a/n: wahhh first hit the road ep done! it was def a journey, trying to combine cyana into the episode and also keeping it woozi-centered. I tried following the format of the og youtube docu- lmk how it was! these instalments might be on the shorter side just cause the docus are pretty short themselves (｡•́︿•̀｡)

[solar4seekstron]

TFE!Kup x Cybertronian!GN!Reader: Dad #3

Content: 18+ (at one place) mostly fluff and Kup adapting to family life.

TW/Tags: fluff mostly, Kup wants some but Nightshade spikeblocks him, Kup becomes a dad, that’s all.

You were to say the least- nervous. Kup was staring at you with cigar between his dermas. Arms crossed as he stared down at you. The toe of your pedes moving making circles in the dirt as you stood there.

Looking away as cows and birds can be heard in the background. Your cervos behind your back as you held five little robots.

Kup only squinted his optics more as his digit taps his arm.

“Y/N”

“Hm?” You hum without looking at you as he places his cervos on his hips.

“Give them to me. Now.”

You’d let out a soft sigh as you move your cervos infront of you. The Malto bots sitting in your large cervos as they looked at Kup.

Twitch will then speak with pleading optics. “Come on dad #3! We promise we’ll be good!”

Thrash then joins in speaking after. “Yeah we are like the goodest boy kid to have there is! Ask our mom and dad- the humans ones!”

The others nod as Nightshade then spoke. “We promise to be well behaved! Well I will at least.”

Nightshade giggled as you and the other boys did.

Though Kups face shows he wasn’t too impressed as he sighs as he takes his cigar out of his mouth. “Give me the bots Y/N. We should return them home and be on our way.”

The small boys looked at you. You look away and down sad as Kup places his cervos around yours.

Taking the small bots as they groan and reach for you.

“Come on we’re literally next to the Barn.” Kup and you were standing literally next to the barn as the human family Maltos stood there watching.

“Come on they’re so sweet and maybe that’s what we’ve been missing all this time! Don’t you regret never-“ Kup would then interrupt you as he looks at the small bits. Few of them hitting his large cervos with their fists as they make little grunting sounds.

“We were at war! And plus what do we know about kids? They take up time and worst of all the fragile!”

You’d let out a sigh as takes the kids back gently from his cervo. Him watching you with almost wide optics as you walk to the human family. Gently setting the small bots down.

Nightshade and twitch both reach their cervos to you with saddness in their optics. You frown as you looked down.

Kup then putting his cigar back between his dermas as he faces away.

“Come on. We got a mission to complete.”

You have the tiny robots a small smile before you stand up. Once you turned around you had a frown. Passing Kup without saying a word.

After some time you continue to ignore Kup. Rather it be over a mission or when he wants to gets….sweet.

Back at base with the others you continue to ignore Kup and even his forced compliments. The others including Optimus and Megatron to snicker as Kup grumbled.

Eventually a time came when there’s an attack from a Decepticon. You and Kup are assigned to come handle it. So you both drive to the location.

The ride was dead silent.

To both of your surprise the malto boys were there fighting swerve and breakdown.

Kup then told the bots to get out of the way. “Get out of here kids! Let the adults handle these dirty Decepticons!”

“But-“

“Now bots. We’ll be fine! Please find safety!” You tell him in a much..nicer tone.

Kup would take on Swerve as you took on Breakdown.

You were able to take him down easily being older and more experienced. Breakdown was pretty impressed, I mean he always does admire a strong boy. Especially when it’s a cute one.

Swerve was able to get an upper hand. Even insulting Kup for looking old and all. The bots then take swerve down while Kup got stuck under a rock.

Before thinking to shoot at it. The bots having already taken the big bot down their self. You’d comm for a pick up as Kup speaks to the bots. “You small bots really proved yourself. Guess you all ain’t just babies playing heroes…hm. Guess I was wrong.”

He puts his cigar back between his dermas as he walks away. The small boys cheering behind him. Kup having a small smile at the corner of his dermas.

———————————————————————————

A few months went by. You and Kup moving into the barn as Bee moved to the base to do more work.

You guys were able to get a barn next door built and move a berth and weapons closet it. The ground tunnel even connecting to the terrans base.

One night, before a family game night can start for another hour.

Kup was reading off a data pad as you laid on your side catching on some sleep. Kup would look over at you before a gun comes on his dermas. Taking his cigar out and using one arm to support himself up. His frame over yours as he kissed the side of your helm.

“You know we don’t have to get out of bed for a good while. What do ya say we..make the most of 2 hours?”

He gave you his old smile he use to give. Something that complimented his face back when you both were much younger then.

You let out a soft chuckle and lay on your back. His dermas soon on yours. Your glossas soon pressing and dancing together. You both holding each other close with your cervos on the back of his helm. His cervos gripping your waist.

Both of you letting out soft moans and sighs.

But then a voice beamed startling you both. Kup falling off the berth as you sit up and looked at the small bot.

“Hello Mom #3 and Dad #3!!! Oh am I interrupting cuddle time?” Nightshade asked.

Kup responded as he sat up. “YES!!!”

“What is it my little one?” You says as Nightshade flys and sits on your lap with a smile. Kup glaring at them as he stands up.

“It is time for our family game night! Will you joining us still. We decided to do it early since mo and Robby have to wake up early!”

“That sounds wonderful. We’ll be there.”

As nightshade left Kup crossed his arms and grumbled as you stood up after getting off the berth. You’d then place a kiss on his cheek as your cervo rests on his chest.

“Another time sweetspark.” You’d say with a smile. Then you take his cervo and walk out of the barn with him.

Kup then having a smile on your dermas as he walks behind you. But as you both got closer he moved his cervo on your other side on your waist. Staying close as you both smile and wave to the others. Ready for family game night.

UGH I DID THIS INSTEAD OF TAKING A NEEDED NAP BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT!!!!!!

Sorry I had to post this my baby girl Kup is so precious to my heart! And I love the Earthspark series so I wanted to add him😭😭😭

I hope you guys enjoyed this and as always a repost is appreciated! I hope you all have a good rest of your day and I’ll see you all on December First! Byeeeeeeee

[alexturnerisbrat]

Old-fashioned men always want a mistress.

Part 1 - Exactly the wrong time in exactly the wrong plce

A/n: this is my first time writing and for register English is not my first language so i apologize for any mistakes. I mostly just read but i liked how it’s turning out. That’s just a proper introduction but hopefully it will be a serie. Hope someone enjoys it!!!

Warnings: unspecified age gap, alcohol, cigarettes. (This part has actually nothing it’s just foi context lol)

*May 13th 2022*

It’s just another rainy night in London, you loved how melancholic the city has always made you feel. As someone who always had a weak spot for those romantic moments where you just caught yourself lost in thought staring at the rain drops in the car’s window, living there just fitted you well

As your cab arrives at the pub you had picked to meet your friend, you glance at your phone. A couple missed calls and a text saying she couldn’t make it and a desespere apology voicemail asking for you to not hate her.

It didn’t bothered you that much, In the rough times you were passing by it seemed just like the cherry on top. “Typical” you thought in front of the pub. You were between just going away or having a shot first till the scent of cigarettes just filled your nostrils, you haven’t smoked for ages and you just missed the comfort nicotine could provide you right now.

You followed the smell and you saw him, blue jeans, white shirt, gold chain round his neck and an expensive looking brown leather jacket. You could tell he was a considerable amount older than you, his dark brown curls that seemed perfectly messy without any effort. The kind of guy that didn’t needed to try hard to look good. He was just there, near the entrance, his back against the wall for support, smoking his cigarette.

You walked closer to him, awkwardly shy, his strangely familiar face, his big brown eyes lingering you as if he was expecting something. Then you just casually asked for a cigarette.

He gave you a soft smile and handed you a brand new cigarette from the box while his rested on his mouth. You thanked him and he gently held his lighter for you. After taking some drags of it, you looked up, meeting his gaze. He was a little bit taller than you but a little bit short for a man, it was just kinda cute. Then you finally broke the silence by thanking him again as a failed try to start a small talk.

He nodded, not any word, he just nodded with his shy teeth almost showing off. When your were almost in the middle of the cig, you couldn’t help but think the feeling of knowing him from somewhere were starting to bother you a little too much, so you finally gathered some courage for asking.

“It may sound weird but… i know you from somewhere?” You said a bit hesitantly but the tension was cut off by his shaky chuckle, you looked at him with a confused smile as he shook his head holding a laugh.

“No we don’t… at least i don’t know you”

You get a little confused but you just play along, after you two had a small talk about where both lived and those kind of things.

When you grew more comfortable around the stranger who you felt weirdly attracted to, and you finally presented yourself properly and he did the same.

After some minutes chatting he asked if you were up to a drink and obviously you accepted it. Entering the unknown random pub with an intimate low orange light and jazz music playing softly in the background, you both sat down and asked for the drinks. You asked a martini and he laughed.

“What?” You asked confused but amused by his laugh.

“You’re a classic, got it.” He looked at you playfully rolling his eyes and you couldn’t help but chuckle. With a light smile in the corner of his lips he looked at the bartender and ordered a bottle of beer.

He found cute the way you didn’t have recognized him and he could just be a random guy you were having a drink with.

[hoardingpuffin]

If I see one more - just one more - person post their Arcane Live Action fancast and put some 20 year old able-bodied guy that mostly still gets cast for teenage roles as Viktor I. Will. Rage!

FIRST OF ALL, ANIMATION IS A LEGIT MEDIUM!!! NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE LIVE ACTION!!! PART OF THE APPEAL OF ARCANE IS IT'S ARTSTYLE!!!

Secondly, before anybody gives me the "Well they are actors, their job is to act" speech: I DON'T GIVE A SHIT! If people actually cared they would cast actually disabled people for disabled characters. Disabled actors exist, fucking let them do their jobs! Also, even if we take the fact aside that casting an abled actor is iffy - Finn Wolfhard and Timothée Chalamet and so on are still too young to play Viktor?! Like. If you HAVE to pick an actor at least pick Harry Lloyd, his V.A. who does look the part at the very least!

But also. As stated above. There is LITERALLY NO NEED for Live Action Arcane. We don't need a Remake. We don't need a live action reboot. Some of y'all need to fucking understand and accept the validity of animation as a medium. Arcane has great storytelling, stellar music and a brilliant cast, but one of the biggest factors of why Arcane works is the artstyle, the fact that it's animated, the artistry of the individuals working at or for Fortiche, the work put in by the illustrators, 3D modellers, background artists, animators and so on. Not everything has to be live action.

[qveenpoppy]

things i noticed in my pilot rewatch:

wolf almost immediately grabs a glass of champagne when he walks into the wedding with his first patient. i know the show's hinted at him having drug issues, but maybe he has some alcohol ones too? (unless that idea was abandoned since the pilot was written/filmed.)

"except now we're prescribing drugs instead of taking them." "speak for yourself." yeah he's definitely still dealing with those drug issues. i feel like the show's mostly implied for that to be a past thing (we've only seen him take anything twice, to my memory? not counting 1x09's upcoming flashback sequence) but i wonder if/when that'll become an issue again (maybe another patient loss that hurts wolf harder than roman's did? like a father figure, that'll bring back his feelings of guilt over his dad's death?)

it's tiny but i feel like van's crush is hinted at here, with him offering ericka an extra pair of scrubs (while jacob cockily jokes about his being too big for her) and the way he sneaks a glance at her while she changes (not in a creepy way, it's like a nervous/shy kinda way).

he also smiles at her when she yells at jacob while they're searching for hannah's childhood home, after jacob un-empathetically says the kids would be better off with their dad (guess van likes strong women; girlboss/malewife vibes? lol)

"do i ever have to talk to him again?" (wolf talking about nichols.) lmao, you're gonna be in love with him in about 6 episodes from now. also someone write me some pilot era wolfnichols hate sex.

"name one person you like who's not a patient." "you, i like you!" he's so autism-coded ❤️

wolf still uses cassette tapes in his car (which is also quite old, since it still plays tapes), what a grandpa

carol has a picture with michelle obama in her office (not really an important thing to notice, but i thought it was cool)

there's a line in one of the flashbacks (apologies for not quoting it verbatim) from muriel about "keeping our differences to ourselves", which probably explains why wolf isn't super open about his facial blindness. (and probably applies to all of his other traits that make him "different", like his sexuality, or popularly headcanon'd autism. i mean, i know he's open about his sexuality now as an adult, perhaps as a way of rebelling against his mom, but, as we may see in more flashbacks, he probably kept it to himself for quite a while.)

van is completely frozen when hannah has her seizure, he even backs up a little when she falls out of her chair. probably didn't wanna touch her and experience a phantom seizure.

whoever directed the ep made zach & teddy look like they're the same height when nichols confronts wolf and kicks him off the case. i guess it keeps them, literally and figuratively, on the same level in the dispute. but now we all know that wolf's actually shorter, and it's funny how that's been primarily highlighted when they're fooling around with each other. (i know it's an intentional directing tactic, though, bc a similar thing was done in the batman v superman movie when bruce and clark stand eye to eye - henry cavill is also 3 inches shorter than ben affleck. emphasizing the height difference would imply a power imbalance, which you don't want in these sort of gray zone conflicts!)

"the only way this will work is if we open up to each other." [nichols walks by and catches wolf's eye] foreshadowing

(i don't mean just like foreshadowing their romance, but maybe also the impact that nichols will have on wolf, getting him to open up about his past and whatnot. same, perhaps, for nichols, since we still hardly know anything about his background, besides his military experience and implied own closeting.)

(could also quite easily and literally refer to their work relationship, as we learned from that interview with teddy that, despite their romantic connection, they're still going to have some disputes about patient treatments in future episodes/cases.)

[veilkeeper]

i've been documenting how shafted the lords of fortune get, both with faction content and reactivity for your background. while i haven't played veil jumper yet and can't properly compare, i think lords of fortune probably just beat them for worst reactivity in the game. as far as i can tell from what others have said, thorne, mercar, de riva, and ingellvar all have good reactivity or at least interesting unique dialogue.

it really is a shame that bioware so obviously played favourites. why make these factions part of the game or available as backgrounds if the writers had no idea how to make them feel like they mattered? the veil jumpers and lords both suffer from such an obvious lack of direction and cohesive concept that its almost funny.

they marketed the veil jumpers as daring dalish adventurers going into the fade for the sake of exploration, and then you get into the game and they awkwardly try to get around the fact that you dont have to be dalish to be part of the obviously intended to be dalish faction, and the jumpers mostly just stumble around the woods and die trying to stabilize ancient artifacts.

likewise, the lords are supposed to be pirates/mercenaries who are chasing gold and/or glory at any cost, but bioware was unwilling to have a major faction be morally ambiguous so they pasted on a "but we don't steal and we ethically repatriate cultural artifacts!" on top. and then didn't know how to write dialogue or quests for """good guy pirates,""" or whatever, so laidir ends up being this like... vague blank slate with almost no references to their background even inside the hall of valor, lest they accidentally imply rook stole something once.

Listen i'm a big fan of Veilguard. Feel like I gotta start with that.

But can I just say not all origins are created equal?

My first playthrough I did Veil Jumpers. It was cool but there was really no mention or connection to the other Veil Jumpers. You haven't been gone long and yet Bellara doesn't know you? And besides a few little lines theres no real mention of you interacting with the other Jumpers.

Compare that to Crow Rook. Teia missed you, Viago missed you. You hear from gossip with the other crows how Viago is worse when you aren't there. You have fun little conversations with Lucanis. You have a letter from Viago where he calls you Idiot. You matter and were important, only sent away because you had to be but people missed you.

Now i'm not too far in yet but Warden Rook gets fun bits with Davrin. The First Warden hates you even more. Antoine and Evka talk about how you fucked up but they still love you and know you did good.

I haven't done the other factions yet, so I don't know if its the same for them. But the fact that the Veil Jumpers are so lacking makes me sad. Its like you had no impact on that faction. Oh you lost an important map? Well shit. We aren’t going to mention it. Its dumb and I wish there was something for them.

[0aurelion-sol0]

An Arcane Hexplanation: Noxus

For the first post in this mini-series of posts, that will elaborate on elements of Arcane that were only superficially touched upon in the show but also elements that might remain confusing for some, I wanted to touch on this faction that has now become an integral part of the story of Arcane but which was not very much explored in and of itself. I will try to be as informative as I can without going into spoilers but beware that there may be informations that might give hints about the shows's ending and the franchise's future.

Especially for parts of the audience that haven't played League of Legends or haven't been that interested in it's lore which is quite a lot actually when you look at the people who watch the show. Which is also one of the reasons why it was made to first place, to reach as many people as possible in the hopes they would be interested in the games or the lore that comes with it but I digress.

Keep in mind that what I am using here is both the old and current pieces of lore I have at my disposal of the world of League of Legends since now that Arcane has become fully canon to the story of Runeterra, the world in which Arcane takes places, elements may change and vary in the future given that the old and current lore of Piltover & Zaun had quite different elements of it that got retconned by Arcane when it became canon. I expect the same for the other parts of that world

We have two main characters that are connected to Noxus, Mel and Ambessa, the current known members of the Medarda Clan. They provide some background info and elements about Noxus relating to their pasts and current motivations but much of it remains unclear or a mystery in some cases with one of them about Mel that is probably going to be revealed in Act 3. So...

What is Noxus ?

Basing ourselves in the old and current lore of the world of Runeterra, Noxus is an expansionist empire that is considered brutal and threatening to most people that lives outside of it's borders. It worships and respects the strengths and talents of it's population, especially in combat and war. Which oddly makes it a quite inclusive society as success through strength, of many kinds, is what is mostly rewarded in that society which contrasts with it's colonizing and "war-prone" attitude.

It is quite powerful and probably the most powerful nation on the continent of Valoran where it is located on the eastern side of it but given it's expansionist endeavours, it's borders also reaches into the Shuriman continent located south of it and in the archipelago called Ionia located further east and north of it, it enters into The Freljord. It also goes west towards the nation of Demacia, which it has quite the rivalry with. (Noxus also has multiple spies in multiple nations or cultures around the world, that are led by different types of forces that are in Noxus who do this for different reasons for each and everyone of them, but we will get back to that later down this post.)

In between the Valoran & Shuriman continents lies the main setting of Arcane, Piltover & Zaun. It connects the two continent together and as such is quite prized by many people in the Noxian empire, not just by Ambessa.

It's strategic position is important both in terms of trades but also power. The City of Progress makes the most of it's geographical position economically by being both a trading route by land and sea; but also it's incredible evolution in technology could provide Noxus with the means to expand it's empire all over Runeterra. Especially if it gets it's hands on Hextech.

But Piltover & Zaun being so important to the continents' global trades (evidence with Noxus itself having Holsek in Arcane shipping his products there) and also being a cultural center for most of the other nations makes it difficult to obtain, first because while Noxus might have a bigger army, Piltover & Zaun are still far more technologically advanced than them which gives them an advantage in battle and two, because many other nations might unite to take Noxus out if it ever tried to actively take power there.

Noxus thrives on being expansionist because it needs people, it needs war and it also needs land. But also it seeks challenges, as challenges makes you stronger based on the Noxian dogma.

Because the capital of Noxus is located in a part of Valoran which is not very fertile and so part of that expansionist attitude is also to survive and meet needs for it's population that aren't met. It has a very diverse wildlife though ranging from giant arachnides, drakes, big reptiles and more Jurassic Park-like creaturs. And of course, Poros, because Poros are everywhere! 😉

That capital is named Noxus Prime or more commonly known as...

The Immortal Bastion.

It was built long ago, after an important catastrophic event, by someone that I can't talk to you about because it's likely going to spoil Season 2's Act III of Arcane. Just know that this person is bad, REALLY bad.

That person raised that city in what was called long ago, the Noxii territories but given that the reign of that person was extremely violent and tyrannic, they got betrayed by people from their own inner circle who forged an alliance with the tribes that lived there and was able to "defeat" that person.

Centuries passed, as well as wars and invasions, and as of today it has remained intact and is hardly penetrable by anyone or anything by force due to it's architecture. At least, one that is below or similar to Noxus' level of power.

(I'm not sure if the city Mel painted is this one as in the old/current lore, it is not by the sea but the show could retcon that and make it close to it. It could be Basilich since it is by the sea and was mentioned in Arcane in relation to the Medarda family. But know it be could another one as the architecture for the bigger cities of Noxus is quite similar to represent who is in charge.)

It's also important to remember that compared to Piltover & Zaun, Noxus isn't afraid of magic. In fact, it weaponizes it and it's history has been the most influenced by it. Noxus respects strength but anything that can make the empire grow and evolve whether it's trade, craftmanship, magic, intelligence or even art is respected if it challenges the people and Noxus to become stronger.

You CAN start from nothing and rise to the highest places of Noxus if you show that you are worthy to be there.

Which is why when Noxus conquers, it gives you a choice: follow the empire or die. Noxus will be your life from now on, you will be under their command, follow their laws and culture. Oddly enough, people who embrace Noxus will find that their life improves in a good way but those who don't bend the knee, follow or are able to live by the Noxian culture will be destroyed or be outcasts in that society. Especially since now that you live under Noxian law, it will make sure that everyone knows it by: appointing a leader to make sure that Noxian culture and law is followed where you live and put Noxian architecture + any ways to show authority there as a means to make sure your whole life is dedicated to it- (However it doesn't change the facts that even thought Noxus puts his culture and law firsts, in many cases the cultures remain and merges with, with Noxus having many languages and religions within it that all contributing to the power of it's empire given the nature of those elements.)

-Much like what Ambessa did with Cailtyn in Piltover & Zaun but that came from her own motivations rather than something asked by Noxus.

Because as we know, Ambessa is being targeted by someone from Noxus and that someone is very important.

But this also makes sense when you consider what Noxus is, given that Ambessa is a general, she holds a certain amount of authority in Noxus which can clash with other people who have as much or more authority than her there. And given the need of a challenge or to pursue a goal that would be able to show your strength and/or maintain a power for every Noxian, especially if it can contribute to the empire or their vision of Noxus; it will clash with different visions and people as well.

But in the case of Ambessa, it's little a bit more complicated. It's part of it but it's not just that. Before we get to that, we need to talk about the leadership of Noxus.

Because you would think that Noxus would be ruled by an iron fist by one person, some dictatore or oppressive leader, well it used to be 🤭 and still is to some degree but it's more complicated than that as what Noxus fears the most in the world might be what would come from the outside of the empire or what rebellion could happen somewhere in a land they've conquered, but from inside of the empire itself.

You see Noxus was a monarchy and when you have a culture & dogma like Noxus, people will try to reach the top, they will eventually come into contact with people who also want to go there or are already there.

This has created many problems for Noxus in the past with one person taking over the empire or inheriting it and doing not so great things with it, followed by many others after that. This created a lack of stability for Noxus, which made it vulnerable. It also doesn't help that those leaders could easily be influenced by groups and noble houses who have their own agendas for Noxus and themselves.

So to remedy to that, something was created to ensure something like this would never happen again...

The Trifarix.

The Trifarix (also known as the "Council of Three") is the current form of government of Noxus, which embodies the fundamental tenets of the Trifarix doctrine, or the "Principles of Strength." which are Vision, Might and Guile.

Sounds familiar ? Yes! It is what Ambessa says to Caitlyn during their training. She also believes there is a fourth one: Sacrifice, which she thinks heightens the three other principles.

This structure happened after a revolution led by Jericho Swain which transformed from a monarchy, led by emperors like Boram Darkwill, the last emperor killed by Swain himself during the night of the revolution, to a meritocracy led by three different people, each representing a different principle.

The first being Vision, represented by Jericho Swain, The Noxian Grand General. Main face of government for the Empire and overthrew the previous ruling House of Darkwill.

According to Swain's reasoning, while one person could ruin Noxus through incompetence, madness, or corruption, or the three combined, a group of three people would always have two people to hold one of the members accountable, ensuring that no one could rule Noxus alone and with no opposition.

The second being Darius, the Hand of Noxus who embodies Might. Commander of the elite Trifarian Legion, the most elite and loyal legion in modern Noxus.

And The Faceless. The current identity of that member is unknown. Rumored to puppeteer the dark underbelly and politics of Noxus. Unknown status to outsiders suits the Trifarix's and the Faceless' purposes: sowing fear, suspicion, and unease among the enemies of Noxus allows the Faceless to walk more freely among those who might have their guard up.

And while all of this on paper might sound great, the noble houses and other secret groups can still influence Noxus plus the Trifarix in some way and remnants of the old monarchy still exists, even if they are being hunted down by the Trifarix and it's army.

The culture of Noxus is still brutal and expansionist just like under the monarchy, plus most of it's population live in austerity given how harsh Noxian dogma is. Plus the presence of class differences & inequality is just as present in Noxus as it is in Piltover. Swain himself is from a noble house that was hungry for power and who helped the very house he was going to overthrow at some point before creating the Trifarix. And though his vision of Noxus is everyone being united for the empire regardless of who they are, the reality is that most people still plot against it & he knows it.

But there is one more problem that I have yet to talk about and that is relevant to Arcane's plot. You know where I'm getting at here...

...The Black Rose.

Without revealing too much as it will be explored in Season 2's Act III of Arcane & possibly the future show that will likely be about Noxus, at some point Swain realised that the Black Rose was influencing Boram Darkwill in the shadows of Noxus to do what they wished when he was sent to an invasion of Ionia where all the conditions he was led into would lead him to meet his death there.

Swain was once part of that group that he, at some point during his youth, "defeated". He was manipulated by the matron of that group to execute the most prominent members of it and stage an execution for said matron so that she could hide her existence to strike at the right and regain power over Noxus. This led to Swain killing Darkwill & his followers to make sure that person wouldn't get full power over Noxus and destroy any trace of the Black Rose as well.

That person is called...

...LeBlanc.

You've all already met her but haven't as well. You know her voice but have never heard it. They are everywhere, she is everyone.

Again, I can't say a lot but just know, she is such a bad bitch. She is truly a great character, one of the better ones of LoL's lore.

She is the matron of the Black Rose. The leader of this cabbal, both older than Noxus itself and quite important to the history of the empire. She is a powerful sorceress that has influenced Noxus' and the worlds' events for a long long time. She has her own sets of spies, outside of the ones Noxus has, that she uses to keep track of everything that happens in the world and influence the politics of it to meet her wants with of course the help of people who follow her and the Black Rose, including it's members.

Most members that are part of the Black Rose don't even know she is LeBlanc, hell that she is even named LeBlanc or that she is their leader or what she even looks like. In fact, the name LeBlanc is not even guaranteed to be her real name anyway.

And since that no one knows who is the person that represents Guile, there was an idea and rumour that she was that secret third member in the Trifarix. But given her nature and her relationship with Swain, it is unlikely but who knows...

...maybe she's already influencing him or the two of them were able to make a deal that benefits each party in the end.

But there's a reason for all this manipulation & trickery, there's a reason why she influences the world politics... and why she kidnapped Mel.

But I can't tell you, because it would spoil you. X)

However know that her inclusion opens the gate to LoL's lore and universe in a way that is so immense that I am impressed she even is a player into Arcane, at least such an active one. At best, I thought Swain would be the one to show up but it would make sense that with the appearance of something as powerful as Hextech, she wouldn't stay in the shadows for long.

This is where it leads us into the next show that comes after Arcane and that will continue some of the plotlines that were started in it, which will likely be in Noxus. And we will find out what it will be and what is the reason for it in this final act-

(Again to remind that everyone, these informations are from the current/old LoL lore, some aspects of it will change, just like with Arcane, to fit whatever story they might want to talk about in the future.)

-But while in Piltover & Zaun, the reasons for our characters' actions and motivations are more personal but obviously still influenced by politics and the world around them, falling into shades of gray that we can see ourselves into...

...with Noxus, the shades are darker. And more red too, but compared to the city of progress, we might lean more into horror than tragedy this time around.

_________________________________________

If you are interested in more League of Legends lore or lore about Arcane, I invite you to check out the current Runeterra map which features every information you might want to know about the universe.

Plus here is a... short animated film ? that was done for the card game Legends of Runeterra which won't spoil you anything and just show you what Noxus is about in a way that is closer to what Arcane is. It features Darius and his troops fighting a king that refuses to surrender to the Noxian empire.

Hope you enjoyed the post, I will be back soon, this time to talk about... Felicia! There are certain things that I think need to be talked about with the revelations surrounding her character.

In the meantime, let's finish the last three episodes of Arcane and celebrate what this show gave to use.

[livmightlive]

LU Soul Eater AU: Four

I must admit, Four has a really edgy 2014 lab AU that I spent too much time thinking about. I did have fun though so here’s his backstory and a trigger warning for unethical human experimentation. I don’t think it’s anything more graphic than what would be in Soul Eater.

A small disclaimer: I’m going mostly off of what I remember from the manga for any sense of canon, I haven’t had the privilege of playing the game yet. 😔

I think I mentioned before, but each of Four’s colors are a different type of knife. Together they’re able form the four sword.

Green is a machete. 

I decided on that for him because I think that machetes look really dangerous, showing up in a lot of horror media, and can cause a lot of harm, but that is not what they are meant for. Machetes are meant for clearing bush and foliage away to clear paths through forest or jungle. They can be used to obtain resources. A trailblazer or leader might use this knife. Green grew up with his father who was a captain in the royal guard. Green was being groomed as a weapon for the Princess Dot. Upon manifesting as a machete, a lot of people, especially Green’s own father, were disappointed and believed him to be a poor weapon for a princess looking crude and brutal. Together, Dot and Green proved the masses wrong, with them both proving themselves as leaders before fighters. 

Vio is a throwing knife. 

Vio is a child runaway. I can’t figure out what would be a good reason for him to run or what his family would be like, but I imagine he learned a dangerous secret. I also like to think that despite Vio being very smart, he can be unreasonable and is able to rationalize himself into making bad choices. He’s a throwing knife because it takes a lot of learning and skill to be able to wield a weapon such as that. It also takes something crazy to throw your weapon away from you and be able to rely on it to return. Vio can be recalled by his meister, but it has to be of his own accord. He can also control his flight to some degree. Up until the events I’ll describe in a minute, he had never been wielded before.

Blue is a trench knife.

In the background of the events during my story, there’s a war raging in the background that’s much more prevalent in Warrior’s story. This has caused a lot of children to be orphaned, Blue included. He grows up in a poorly funded orphanage and gets into a lot of fights growing up. I chose a trench knife for Blue because it is a very brutal weapon, something which I think he can be. It’s also a weapon that when you use, you know that you are aiming to really hurt your opponent and that you have to get really close to do so. There are also two main ways to use a trench knife, the blade, ofc, and the brass knuckles which I think kind of show how Blue thinks outside the box, especially in combat. It’s also a weapon that’s mean to be used when your back is against the wall.

Red is a Switchblade.

Red also grew up in an orphanage also due to the war. He and Blue grew up in the same place but weren’t close with each other. He definitely grew up more of a lover having a high level of empathy. Despite being picked on, maybe bullied a bit, Red is the type of person who never wants to hurt somebody else even in self defense. I chose the switchblade for Red because it kind of conceals its nature most of the time hiding in a sheath. A switchblade is a weapon that has to be used in close quarters, but unlike Blue’s trench knife, the opponent might not even recognize it as a weapon until it’s too late. Switchblades are spring loaded and fast, but by pressing a button, the user has a lot of choice before they use it. I think Red would be able to stop himself from being triggered in his weapon form if he tried hard enough.

All of the four were born in the same year, all being roughly the same age. (Yay this means I can choose their zodiacs!) When they were all 11, each of them were kidnapped in the same winter by a witch called Vaati. Vio was first, being a homeless child he was hungry enough to be lured in by the prospect of working for food and board. This later would be something he feels ashamed of thinking himself more clever than that. Next would be Red who thought he was helping an elderly woman carry her groceries home… into a dark alleyway. Blue would be next, probably just being classically kidnapped after he poked around somewhere shady. Green would be the last, going on a personal mission to investigate the rapid disappearance of kids from the city he lived in. 

Vaati is a witch who is trying to make weaker weapons stronger in order to arm the army of the ancient evil (ganon) that he and many other witches are trying to revive.  For his first experiment, he wants to fuse several small/young weapons into one big stronger one. He chose the four because they’re young enough to be malleable but old enough to actually be able to turn into their weapons. They also conveniently have a lot in common, age, gender, and weapon type which Vaati thinks will make it easier to fuse them.

Vaati begins a series of experiments that don’t really seem to make sense to the four. He’ll force them all to work together to complete puzzles only to rip them apart for the next few. Vio, who’s been there the longest, plays along well knowing what to expect. Green, who’s been training already for a long time, doesn't struggle too much with physical or mental challenges. Red and Blue however struggle a lot causing Vaati to use crueler and crueler experiments to get them to obey.

Vaati’s struggle with Red and Blue resides in that Blue fights back the most and is actually quite brawny for a tween and Red won’t fight at all refusing to take his weapon form and even if he does, he won’t unsheath. Blue is something Vaati must subdue and break in. Red is something to trigger. He routinely exposes them to extreme temperatures, Blue the cold and Red the heat, and subjects them to frightening simulations. (I’m basing this off the manga with blue being frozen, red in the burning village, the giant poe)

Most confusingly, he makes the four wield each other which is not natural/impossible for weapons to do. Vaati achieves this with the help of magic.

Vaati works using his own son Shadow as an assistant. Shadow is a similar age as the boys and enjoys the power he gets to lord over them. Secretly, he’s really happy to have so many other kids around. That being said. He hasn’t been properly socialized so his idea of trying to play with them is just by mildly tormenting them. 

Vio is the first to start befriending Shadow. Like in the manga, he does this with the intention of later betraying him, planning on using him as means to escape. He unexpectedly begins to genuinely like Shadow and starts to experience extreme guilt in thinking about what he’s going to do. Nevertheless, Vio begins to start faking Stockholm syndrome. This is really confusing for the rest of the boys. Blue thinks that Vio is bad person and is actually siding with Vaati. This leads to a fight between them that results in Vio being separated from the rest of the boys. (I didn’t mention it but they’re usually locked in the same room between experiments.) Red believes that Vio actually has Stockholm syndrome and feels really bad for him. Green can see through Vios' plan but just thinks that it’s a really bad idea. He doesn’t say anything though because he doesn’t want to ruin it for him just in case it does work. 

Red is the next to befriend Shadow, though it’s unintentional. Despite everything, Red does his best to remain kind, maybe not so much to Vaati, but to Shadow, sure. Red thinks that Shadow is just a brainwashed kid, which he’s kind of right about. Shadow starts to like Red because he’ll go along with any game he wants to play. 

Green falls after Red gets more chill with Shadow. The games they play look fun and Green really didn’t have a lot of chances to play growing up. He starts to take a page from Vio’s book, trying to pry information where he can from Shadow. Somehow he feels less bad about this than Vio does. 

Blue thinks everyone is going crazy in here so he takes to verbally bullying Shadow whenever he swings by. Shadow, being a weirdo, thinks that it’s a form of banter so he just bullies Blue back. Unexpectedly, and to his own horror, Blue finds it really fun to be able to have a witty back and forth with somebody who can match his level.

Shadow for the first month or two is really his dad kidnapped people his age. It’s so FUN having people to play with! He even has a best friend now in Vio. He doesn’t really think about the implications of his dad hurting his new friends, and his role in that, until they start acting different. 

Vio starts having panic attacks (out of nowhere!/s) and can take hours or even days to calm down rendering him unable to even speak. This is the first thing that rattles Shadow. It’s the first time he felt hurt seeing somebody else hurt. His attempts to calm Vio down begin selfishly, wanting him to stop acting weird and to start acting like his best friend again. Eventually it turns into genuine and raw concern. Shadow, for the first time, feels bad because somebody else does. He starts just really wanting Vio to be okay. 

His other playmates start breaking down too. Red is too exhausted now to play. He sleeps most of the day away and when he’s awake he’s too shaky and weak to do anything. Blue becomes dissonant, stuck staring at walls. He won’t respond to even the strongest of Shadow’s remarks. Green is caught between caring for the other two. He becomes too busy to try and pry information out of Shadow.

Then a day comes where Vaati gathers each boy and throws them into the middle of a collection of runes drawn on the ground with a combination of their blood. A flash and they’re all rendered into their weapon states, unwillingly. After a few moments there’s another flash and only a single weapon remains. The Four Sword. When the weapon takes its human form back, only one terrified boy stands sharing features of the four that formed it. 

Despite Vaati’s satisfaction, Shadow feels that something REALLY wrong just happened, and it did. He later visits “Four. Four is shell shocked, barely able to walk, confused, and really, REALLY scared. He looks at Shadow and begs him to let him out. Shadow obliges.

Picking up the newly formed Four sword, Shadow vanquishes his own father and runs with his new friend Four. Shadow was greatly wounded in the fight, his father cursing him to never stand in sunlight. Four is traumatized and so confused. He decides to go to Green’s father, now technically Four’s father, unsure of where else to go. 

The two boys tell the story to Four’s dad and a proper raid is unleashed on Vaati’s lab, leaving out the parts where Shadow was Vaati’s accomplice for most of the time. No body is found. Four’s father tries to defuse him, which just terrifies him. Shadow gets some medical treatment but most people don’t want to treat him, as he was Vaati’s son. 

Four’s father, unsure what to do with two traumatized children, dumps them on his father, Four’s grandfather who lives out of town as a blacksmith. There they all heal and after a few years learn to defuse. They’ve all spent so much time together though that they can’t bare to part. They are literally part of each other now. Green’s father decides to give them all knight training and Shadow learns how to wield each of them and Four properly. They all know how to wield each other too but this is uncanny for a lot of people. Weapons wielding weapons… 

Shadow goes missing at the end of a dangerous mission. All too soon, Four is called to accompany 8 others on a holy quest. He sets out determined to save the world and his best friend. 

And that’s Four 😭 goodness that ended up a lot longer than I expected. 

Please, and I’m begging 🙏🙏🙏, let me know what you think, your own headcanons, critiques, questions, ANYTHING. And who you’d like to see next! 

Thank you 💕

[strqyr]

as much as i love 'war' as a song, i do kinda wish the fight between team rwby and the ace-ops was presented more as a tragedy(?) rather than as a moment of ass kicking. ya know, like qrow vs clover was; it doesn't have to be this way, and as an audience you shouldn't want it to be this way, they should be allies, friends, etc, and maybe there was a way to prevent it from ending this way, but it was not the road taken.

obviously it would require for there to be more interactions between team rwby and the ace-ops beforehand in positive light; not only in terms of training—with team rwby taking the advice they get from these more experienced huntsmen and huntresses to heart—, but also on more personal level, but overall, as the fight is, it just feels tonally... off. it's mostly masked by the banger of a song—and the soundtrack in general—that plays in the background, but it's just... with salem in the horizon, i don't think a fight between allies should make me feel hyped in the moment.

i don't know if this is the best way to phrase this to really get across what i'm trying to say, but again, comparing team rwby vs the ace-ops with qrow vs clover, because of the difference in tone, the latter feels like it has more depth to it; that these characters are taken more seriously, while with team rwby it's like... as long as they look cool, it's fine, ya know?

but i want more than that. i want the same depth, the same seriousness for team rwby as other characters get in similar situations. but at times, it feels like the writing is either too unwilling, too afraid, or just too uncaring to do so.

[transificationbeem]

Headcanons/Dynamic stuff for rook and contentment:

Little bit of background on my Rook for context/those interested: My rook doesnt have a name other than "rook." He's veshothi, raised by two Tal-Vashoth in a mercenary company/commune that still used role-names, so his name before he came "Rook" was "Tamassran"; he was trained to be, and briefly was priest of an altered, Tal-Vashoth bastardization of the qun (affectionate) as well as the teacher of the groups children (so, yeah. Tamassran.) He's a mage, so healing rolled into that. When his gender (neither a man nor a woman) came to light, his parents demanded he either change roles or stay a woman. He ran off with a recent-to-the-company laborer Tal-Vashoth named Athlok, settling in the Anderfels not far off from Lavendal, though the village is gone by the time canon rolls around. Athlok and he have a kid named Sataia, he works as the village healer and tutors the local rural children (though it takes a bit to earn trust in a mostly human and elven settlement). The local mine gets overrun with darkspawn. Athlok dies. Rook is blighted. Recruited by the wardens. (Sataia is okay!) You get the picture.

◇ Rook was possessed by Contentment in a similar fashion to how Lucanis was by spite, only much late (post First Talon Lucanis). Ie: captured by the venatori, who thought doing to Lucanis' lover what was done to him (very likely to fail and kill him) would be perfect poetic revenge for Zara's death. Obviously this doesn't go well for them.

◇ Rook and Contentment don't start on good terms, to put it lightly. Rook is, frankly, petrified of contentment as an emotion and as a spirit (he can't afford to let down his guard, to get comfortable. He certainly can't afford to rest). It doesn't help that Contentment introduces itself by impersonating his dead husband.

◇ Rook was already on very good terms with Spite. He's spent the whole game trying to get Lucanis and Spite to see eye to eye. By the point contentment comes into play, Lucanis and Rook are an Item with a capital I (mechanically, they were locked in), and Rook was trying to figure out how to broach the subject of making this into Thedas' second Polycule-That-Includes-A-Possession (DA2 Anders and Justice I love you)

◇ Contentment is a LOT older than spite, though not necessarily more powerful, and generally treats mortals as playthings or meal tickets, usually both. They're a bit of a busy body, possessive, and generally unconcerned with anything that isn't making the object of their fascination as relaxed and/or blissed out as possible. They can come off as lazy and selfish given these are traits they like to try and encourage in their mortals, but that's not exactly the truth of the situation. They covet beauty, kindness, and acts of devotion.

◇ Contentment (pronouns are they/it) is already head over heels for Rook. They like puzzles, and a challenge, and Rook is so wound tight that getting him Unwound is both.

◇ Contentment is mildly curious about Lucanis. Right now it enjoys Lucanis' company because Lucanis makes Rook content, which makes him Useful. Right now they see him as a mortal worth "keeping"; they're very invested in Lucanis treating Rook right, which they don't really have to worry about (Rook, however, is VERY worried about the pressure contentment is putting on Lucanis, and is having none of this).

◇ Contentment and Spite HATE each other.

◇Spite finds Contentment arrogant, lazy, and selfish. Not only is Rook THEIRS, but Rook is far from happy with the current situation, and given Rook is one of very few people that really enjoys Spite's company, that's a big problem. It doesn't help that Spite is also pretty possessive, and that Contentment is far from nice to him.

◇ Contentment thinks Spite is immature, brash, and hates that he keeps calling them out when they try to manipulate the current situation in their favor. They're only doing what spirits of contentment DO; besides, all of this is in Rook's best interest (Rook very much begs to differ!).

◇ Spite keeps calling Contentment Desire, (with some pretty colorful adjectives attatched) which pisses them off to no end.

◇ Lucanis, by this point, is juuust starting to see eye to eye with Spite. They still aggravate each other, they'll probably never stop bickering, but he's softened on him a bit. Begrudgingly. Contentment is one of the things they really don't agree on, but warming up to Spite has left him a little more open minded about the whole thing.

◇ While Lucanis is wary of it, worried they'll take things to far, he could think of worse things than a demon trying to make sure his lover with a savior complex and "I'll rest when I'm dead" attitude remembers to eat, sleep, and relax once and a while. He's keeping a close eye to make sure Contentment never gets out of hand—just as Rook has been keeping an eye on Spite in the event Lucanis has gotten thrown into the back seat, so to speak—but he's not hostile. He's not unlikely to develop a crush, but right now Rook is too freaked out—and Contentment too unconcerned with that— for that to be paleatable to him.

◇ Eventually this is going to settle into a really weird polycule. I don't make the rules.

◇ Everyone else on the team is mildly horrified and also eventually amused. Lucanis and Rook initially try to sleep almost in shifts (and it isn't like Rook wasn't already doing that for Lucanis before this when he could) but sometimes they nod off at the same time and suddenly everyone else is dealing with Contentment and Spite having the arguement of the century

◇ The possession and the unusual way it came about has the unintended effect of Lucanis and Rook being able to see each other's demons when they want to be seen, as well as hear them and feel their touch. This has interesting results. Namely Spite and Contentment bickering in the background until Rook and Lucanis both tell them to shut up. Outloud. In front of everyone else. Who can't see or hear them.

◇ Spite is taking FULL advantage of being able talk to Rook and he is being insufferable out it.

◇ Contentment keeps getting into Lucanis' personal space in ways that are generally annoying. Also making a lot of wildly innappropriate comments.

@ab121500

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

I like hermitcraft fandom but im really struggling to get through the series itself, it's truly ruining me

[ineed-to-sleep]

Some sketches I did to try to get a feel for what I want my Rook to look like 🤔

[the-dragon-girl-27]

Flocking doodles

Maiasaura watching over her hatchlings

Sigilmassasaurus fighting for territory

Boreaspis swimmin round

Gigantopithecus yeeting another Gigantopithecus to assert dominance

[bookshelf-in-progress]

If I could write stories as quickly and vividly as I can envision them, I would have written at least three lovely novellas in the last week. Two of them this morning.

[anghraine]

Speaking of GW1 and GW2 ... I've had plenty of complaints over the years about how GW2 has chosen to handle and retcon human-centric GW1 lore, the framing of the human gods, etc. That said, I've recently been appreciating that GW2 has retained a particular element of GW1's treatment of humanity and their gods that I've always really liked.

Humans in the GW universe are not really generic everymen, as humans so often are in fantasy settings. Nor are they so wildly varying and unpredictable that there's no sense of humanity having its own distinct flavor like the other playable species do. In many ways, they occupy a vaguely "elvish" position in the world—they've been on this world for a very long time and used to be a major power, or rather, made up many major powers with various warring factions that sometimes found common cause.

But in more recent eras, many of the ancient human civilizations have dwindled and/or suffered various atrocities and/or lost their minds. And culturally, humans tend to have a strong affinity for the mystical and even more for the divinely mystical, which their political power in previous eras was directly tied to. The vast majority of humans in this world are faithful worshippers of a human pantheon of six gods (formerly five).

Not all humans are magical or religious, to be sure, but a lot of them are, to the point that this seems their most distinctive cultural quality. Minor NPCs tend to have background dialogue invoking the gods ("By the Six!"), or referencing one of the gods (often but not only the goddess Dwayna, leader of the Six). The main human NPC of the core game, Logan Thackeray, continually references the gods, as do most of his military fellows.

Most interestingly, though, if you choose to play a human, you will automatically be a devout adherent of the faith of the Six regardless of any other choices you make. In addition, human PCs are blessed by one specific god among the Six whom you choose at character creation.

This mostly has minor flavor effects in practice. A priest of the god you chose permanently hangs out in your home district, and sometimes other priests of your god can perceive some mark of their deity's favor when they look at you.

Howeverrrrr, when I say "their deity," I don't mean that they exclusively worship the god they've dedicated their lives to, or that "your god"—the god whose favor you enjoy as a human PC—is your god in any remotely monotheistic way. Humans faithful to the Six are faithful to all the Six until one of the gods falls to evil. And when that god becomes the villain of the second GW2 expansion, various human NPCs are shown going through a crisis of the soul regardless of whether he was their particular patron or not. Having a more specific personal tie to one of the gods, or being particularly blessed by one of them, or being specifically devoted to a life of service to one of them, does not in any way prevent humans from devotion to the rest of the pantheon.

Mechanically, this means that no matter which deity you choose as your particular patron, your human PC starts the game with the ability to pray to Dwayna, goddess of life and air and healing. When you pray to her, a blue image of Dwayna materializes, heals you, and vanishes. As you level up, your human-based skills will extend to prayers to the other gods.

Praying to Lyssa, goddess of illusion/chaos magic and water and beauty, confounds foes by inflicting random conditions on them and random blessings on you. Praying to Kormir, goddess of spirit, order, and truth, will free you from negative effects like immobilization. The final prayer you can use, iirc, and the most powerful, is the prayer to Balthazar, the god of fire and war who ends up going super evil. If you're playing a fragile class like an elementalist or mesmer, praying to him is actually great, because he blesses you with two fierce hounds made of flame who fight alongside you and soak up damage. (Praying to Balthazar does feel a lot weirder in retrospect, I'll admit.)

In any case, the point is that you can pray to ANY human god and receive a brief visitation from that god, because the entire human pantheon are your gods even if you're only special to one of them. A similar dynamic is at work for NPCs as well. A recurring NPC in the core GW2 story, for instance, is Rhie, a priestess of Grenth, god of cold, darkness, judgment, and death (he's not evil, just goth). Even by priest of Grenth standards, Rhie is greatly favored by him, and as a result is able to perform powerful rituals dealing with the boundaries between life and death. But there's no expectation that this means she should abjure the other gods in any way, and she certainly does not (in fact, she provides a Human Religion 101 rundown about the gods in general in her first appearance in the human storyline).

And it's so common in fantasy, I feel, that polytheistic cultures are conceptualized as giving adherents a wider choice of gods to be the one they actually worship for real, often with the implication that worshipping one god in the pantheon naturally translates into hostility or apathy towards other gods in the same pantheon. And so I do enjoy playing a religiously devout character who has a special patron deity blessing her and who is emphatically polytheistic throughout her entire original storyline.

[skeletalheartattack]

i gonna be a joyous and beautiful bird for a brief moment if that's okay with you guys