#i really have never seen anything like this before EXCEPT with dragon age

[dekarios]

i dont think ive ever seen a fandom clutch so hard to their preconceived conceptions of characters before the games even out that they can write 461 pieces of fanfiction and shove em on ao3

[del-thetiredwriter]

Saintess of Dragons part 1

Part 2, part 3

Yandere/dark Targaryens-Velaryons x female modern reader

English is my second language

Gif is not mine

“My lady, Prince Daemon has informed that he wishes to see you.”

You put the paintbrush on the table at the voice of the maid.

"I understand. Help me get dressed. Do not touch the canvas, place the materials in their usual places, and finally, no one enters my study while I am away.”

As you passed through the corridors of the court , you saw the officials rushing in for the celebrations. It was that time of the year. The day everyone loved but you hated: "Rising Star Celebrations".

A new Star rose in the sky 11 years ago tonight, a Star never seen before, brighter than any other. That night, the dragons roared in unison as if celebrating someone's arrival, and the 'gods' sent a savior, a saint.

That saint was you. When you woke up one night, you found yourself in a bed in the Red keep, surrounded by council members and the royal family. You couldn't believe your ears when they explained their situation to you.

The whole thing was like a terrible joke. You really were in the book 'war and blood' that you read. Of course it sounds like amazing thing that living in your favorite series but actually it wasn’t.

⁎

You finally arrive in the room where Daemon is waiting for you.

“You took a long time to come.”

" There's nothing can be done. I'm busy" you said expressionlessly

“You look the same. Like I saw you 11 years ago tonight. You're still the same except for your clothes and that expression on your face. Indeed, as expected from the Saintess sent by the gods, the gods love you so much that they don't let time change you. You never age."

Daemon said, that look in his eyes that you don't like. He was staring at it like a Hunter looks at his prey.

“Are you jealous? Unlike you, I will always remain young and beautiful” You replied.

A laugh broke out from Daemon at your words.

“How are Laena and the girls?” you asked.

"They are good . They arrive in Kingslanding tomorrow. You know Laena is pregnant so she can't come directly on the dragon.”

“Yes,” you whispered.

‘She will die soon. Just like everyone’ you thought.

⁎

“Where have you been! You have to get ready for the night,” Rhaenyra said in a sweet angry voice.

“I was with Daemon. ” You said as Rhaenyra combed your hair.

“Daemon? Did he do or say anything strange to you?” Rhaenyra asked.

“Here's the usual Daemon. He didn't say anything very important." You said.

A deep sigh came from Rhaenyra. She looked sadly at your reflection in the mirror. She placed her chin on your shoulder and wrapped her arms around your waist.

"Rhaenyra?"

" You are very beautiful. Tonight is a special night that brought you to us, to me, but sometimes when I look at you, it feels like you will leave me at any moment. It's like you're going back to where you came from."

You didn't know what to say at Rhaenyra's words. She was right, you still wanted to go 'home', but you didn't know how. Living here in this world was exhausting and dangerous. You were afraid to change the future at the slightest mistake. You hated see peoples deaths and misery but order to stay alive and make sure future stays same you had to.

“Sometimes I want to lock you in a place where no one can find you, not even the gods, so you can’t leave me ” Rhaenyra whispered.

"What did you say?" You didn't hear what Rhaenyra said.

" Nothing . Now we have to go ." Said Rhaenyra, and you went to the celebrations together.

[vigilskeep]

hi! ive seen you talk about your surana a bunch but i dont know if ive seen her full story. what were some of the pivotal decisions she made? i love hearing you talk about your ocs, theyre always so in depth and thought out!

oh thank you!! :) my surana is my Eldest Daughter from my very first full playthrough of a dragon age game, so i think a lot of people newer to the blog (like... from less than a year and a half ago probably lmao) have less of the context in complete form. so i will attempt to summarise!! it may be... long...

minerva surana is a manipulative, driven elven circle mage, heart-breakingly willing to sacrifice whatever she believes is necessary for her Grand Goals, who is often so busy playing 5d chess she forgets she’s a twenty-one year old with no experience of the world outside the tower

okay it did turn out fucking long the rest is under the cut its like 9 bulky paragraphs enjoy

her family were tevinter liberati, elven slaves who had devoted themselves to buying their way out and very recently succeeded. her parents were desperate to see her and her elder sibling grow up knowing only freedom, and sent their children south with another part of the family while they remained to pay off the last of their debts. the journey was long and difficult, and they had little left when they ended up in the denerim alienage. in a twist of bitter irony, magic that might have made minerva someone of value in the imperium saw her freedom once more revoked in the south. minerva remembers nothing of tevinter, and only a few fragments of what came next: of light through the vhenadahl’s branches glinting on a templar’s blade, of her sibling fighting them and being knocked to the ground, terribly still, with blood in their hair, and of her grandmother saying what she might have said many times on that long journey south: we can survive anything, as long as we never look back. ironically, minerva often took that to heart by denying all memory prior to the circle.

young apprentice minerva was a sullen child, with few friends; karl thekla took an elder brother’s interest, and jowan clung to her talent. she only really flourished when, after her terror of her natural gift for spirit magic saw her self-hatred turn dangerous in her early teens, first enchanter irving took an interest. he was a father figure to her, and he showed her how to channel her power into control, and her distress into ambition. newfound devotion to elemental magic saw her hailed as a prodigy, and surely a future first enchanter with irving’s tutelage. (only irving considered her too headstrong for the role. he never told her, fostering the drive he had cultivated, both fearful for the state she might return to if he didn’t, and curious as to what else she might become.) she grew up arrogant and beautiful and deeply loyal to the circle, learning that it was only the weak and the defiant who would fail to thrive there, and convinced she was neither. many of her peers wanted to be her, and few of them wanted to spend much time in her company. except jowan, still the little brother hiding in her shadow, and halliserre amell, a rebellious rival with a winning smile, who made up for their lack of her discipline and raw power with sheer brilliance, and whose heated arguments eventually developed into... ah, something else heated.

not long before the start of the game, amell told her they were going to accept tranquillity. it didn’t matter how clever they were; with their weak magic, they would die in the harrowing. they’d only been so defiant of the circle before because, having accepted their fate, the risks were nothing to them. furious and unable to admit it was because she was in love, the last thing minerva ever said to them when they were whole was that they were a coward not to try. when jowan told her he feared he too would be made tranquil, minerva was still recovering from the loss, not to mention flushed with even more arrogance than normal from her own successful harrowing. she had been the perfect circle mage all her life, twice as good as everyone else to make up for every rumour about where she was from. surely she had earned one defiance. surely she could save this one thing, her oldest friend. and she is a loyal person, in her way, emotion powering her fierce drive, incapable of abandoning what she has set her heart on. irving, from whom she had learned everything, was ahead of her every step of the way. he arranged for her to be taken in by the grey wardens. she had proved herself as headstrong and unsuitable as he had feared—and she was shocked and bitterly betrayed to finally see that—but he also believed this might bring her to where she would truly belong.

as a grey warden, minerva’s highest concern is perception. when the stakes of the game are revealed, she has enough hubris to see it as a chance to not just save but change the world. defeating the archdemon isn’t enough. she needs to be seen defeating the archdemon, at the forefront, as an elven mage; she has enough idealism to believe it will really matter for her and people like her, and enough shrewd cynicism to consider what she may have to sacrifice to achieve it. mostly she approaches problems with the skill for diplomacy and management that irving taught her, with that good good Master Coercion skill. she gets many of the “better” and certainly more peaceful quest outcomes, not always motivated by altruism, but determined to be remembered well when she leaves each faction behind. her one great sacrifice of this goal to be seen as the perfect mage is when she takes up blood magic, determined after she sees its power that she alone can handle it, to get the job done and keep what’s hers alive fight after fight. but that only makes her more dedicated to her actions elsewhere

the real test and most pivotal moment of her arc is at the landsmeet. she has arranged anora’s marriage to an alistair hardened for the role (once more following irving’s example, learning to teach ambition as he had taught hers. is there love in that, or just selfishness? she doesn’t know). all that matters is that the joint rule neatly fulfils her desire for compromise to please all parties. but then she struggles between two aspects of her goal: she wants to be seen, personally, as the victor; she does not want every noble in ferelden to see her kill the hero of river dane with magic. she knows how that scene will be remembered, in the end. when riordan suggests recruiting him instead, it seems the perfect solution to everything, the salvation of the day. and then she realises she’s broken alistair’s heart, just when he’s breaking hers. she is incapable of backing down in front of them all (it’s only to alistair, her alistair, but she can’t do it—not to a human, and not to someone part of her will always see as a templar—not when everything she wants was so close.) he abandons her for the throne she taught him to want. she goes on with loghain in the party, and eventually—unable to let loghain snatch the final sacrifice from her grasp, and realising she does want to win and live, after it all—convinces him to do the dark ritual.

in terms of her most important relationships with companions: minerva traditionally romances zevran, who is in many ways uniquely her match having learned the same bitter lessons with the crows that she learned from the circle, and who is so dear to her and capable of lightening her heart when no-one else can. i’ve also experimented with the idea of her romancing alistair, to really dramatise the Landsmeet Divorce and capitalise on future political shenanigans where she could one day be his mistress, but more traditionally they are simply an extremely closely trauma-bonded pair of people who are incapable, at least that year, of really understanding each other deep down. it falls into a pattern where she loves someone with all that fierce drive, enough to die for them, but she will always prioritise what she thinks they need over what they are saying and what they want, often with misjudgements and terrible consequences for them both. it was true with amell, it’s true for many others

she has something very intense and homoerotic going on with morrigan, she has a strained relationship with leliana and wynne, and she has respect and comradeship and a fair bit of fundamental disagreement with sten and loghain. the awakening squad are the people she will consider family for life, most notably nathaniel who she started out not liking at all and is now her work wife, her right hand, can finish her sentences, etc.; anders, who remembers her as karl’s annoying teacher’s pet telltale little sister and is still sometimes baffled by who she’s become; velanna, who makes minerva her most genuine self by having regular screaming matches with her as a sign of affection; and oghren who tried to quit drinking at the same time she tried to quit blood magic, leading to many conversations that deeply baffled everyone around them.

the “current” minerva surana is a sharp-tongued leader who was born for the role of warden-commander, who loves her work and that it matters, who has a truer confidence that is less blindly arrogant and more willing to admit to mistakes, who has worked her breathless way up to h*lding h*ands in public with someone she loves, who has finally learned the hard lesson that the world needs more than an heroic example who followed all the rules to truly be bettered... and who, as rebellion brews, has never been one to sit back and watch while others changed the world

[imakemywings]

How to Kink Meme 101

I think that for fans who never used Dreamwidth and didn't grow up on LiveJournal, kink memes can be a little intimidating (I know I was intimidated initially). But I've also never seen a format that works better for hosting one that Dreamwidth. So here is a quick guide to get you reading and posting on kink memes (and YES, there ARE still active kink memes on DW--and if your fandom's isn't, make a new one!)

And just to cover upfront: Despite the name, requests and fills generally do not have to be sexual in nature (a kink meme will state in the rules if requests are required to be sexual). You can usually request anything on the kink meme, from the smuttiest smut to the fluffiest fluff and everything in between.

The first step is always to review that kink meme's rules. Most of them will be common sense--don't bash, don't out another poster, stay on topic, etc. But it's always good to check in case there's something you didn't expect (ex: some kink memes require you to put certain trigger warnings in the title of a request).

TO REQUEST:

Find the active prompt post. Many kink memes for larger fandoms will have multiple prompt posts. When one gets too long, mods will close it to new requests and start a new one. They will usually try to make it very clear which is the active one. Here's an example from the Dragon Age kink meme:

Part 8 is where you go to prompt. Other parts may still be open for fills, but are closed for new prompts. Here's another example from the Mass Effect kink meme:

Here, the current post is stickied to the top of the page, and is tagged "current part" to let you know it's the active prompt post.

2. Once you select the right prompt post, make sure you're replying to the prompt post itself, not to someone else's comment. DW pages vary in style, but that reply button can reliably be found at the bottom of the page. Here's another example from the DAO page:

The "reply" option WITHIN that bottom request will respond directly to that comment. The "reply" option in the bar at the bottom will reply to the entire thread. That's the one you want to hit.

Here's another example from The Silmarillion kink meme:

And one more from Middle-earth kink:

3. Okay so you've hit reply and you're ready to type out your idea. The one most important requirement of all kink memes is anonymity. Anonymity in requests, and in posting. Even if you feel comfortable posting with your username attached, you need to post anonymously. You can de-anon somewhere else and even link to that, but the post on the kink meme should be anonymous. That's where this button comes in:

"More options." You hit that, and you'll get the option to make an anonymous post:

And now you're really ready to go. Put something short and descriptive in the title (Ex: "Kirk/Spock Coffee Shop AU" or "Iron Bull get pegged") and give a longer description (as needed) in the body. Requests can be as short as a sentence or as long as several paragraphs--whatever you feel like is necessary.

Make sure to include any "do not wants" here! If you aren't sure what that means, check below.

NB: Generally, it's considered polite to keep a reasonable ratio of requests::fills. That is, if you're making a lot of requests, you should be trying to fill some from others. It doesn't have to be only fic either--if you're better at drawing than writing, a fanart fill most often works too!

TO FILL:

Okay, so there's requests...but say you find an idea you really like and you want to give OP a fill. It's going to be the same deal as before, except in the body of your post you'll put the fic rather than a request. DW has a character limit per comment, so it's not unusual to break even a relatively short fill into multiple posts. Nor do you have to post the whole fill at once--updating as you do with a fic elsewhere is totally fine. Here's what it will look like when multiple fill posts nest:

And that's really all there is to the basics! DW is an older, more barebones site, so if you're accustomed to the newer web, it may seem clunky and hard to navigate, but once you've posted a time or two it will seem very simple and the kink meme community is a lot of fun!

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

"Do not derail" - Generally it's common courtesy on the kink meme not to derail a request. That is, if someone wants "A/B outdoor temple sex" it's considered rude to comment "Would love to see this with A/C!" If you like the idea but want something changed, it's better to just post your own request, even if it's very similar.

Asking for clarification - It's totally fine if you want to ask OP for clarification on a point before making a fill. Keeping it anonymous, you can just respond to the original prompt to see if they meant X or Y, or if they would be okay with Z thing in the fic.

"Bonus" requests - It's pretty common to see "bonus" requests in a prompt. That is, things OP would like to see, but are fine not receiving. You can put as many of these as you like in your requests, and as a filler, can choose to include or not include as many of them as you want. Here's what that might look like:

5. DNW - "Do not wants." This is where you put anything that would be a deal-breaker for you: something that would cause you to not read the fic at all, or not to enjoy it. Again, you can put as many as you want, or none. Here are some examples of that:

6. Commenting!! - If someone fills your prompt, you should make sure to thank them! Even if the fill wasn't exactly what you wanted, it's nice to find something kind to say about it, since someone spent the time to write something for you. And of course, feel free to comment even if the prompt wasn't yours!

7. Multiple fills - There is absolutely no problem with doing multiple fills on a prompt! If the prompt inspires you, go for it! I've definitely written fills for prompts that already had two or three fills. Usually, OP is delighted to have more than one fill ^.^ I think it's really interesting to see where different authors take the same prompt, and some prompts are open to a variety of characters.

8. Fill posts - Some kink memes also have a separate "fill post," somewhere you drop links to fills. This is just a neat way of collecting them, so if you fill a prompt, try to drop a link there, just to get more eyes on it!

9. De-anoning - So you've written a fill anonymously, but you want to share on your AO3/tumblr/Twitter/wtv. Feel free! You can out yourself as the author of a fill wherever else you want, and "de-anon from the kink meme" was a pretty common author's note to see back in the day. You can even comment on the original kink meme fill with a link to other places you've posted it. Personally, I usually come back and drop an AO3 link to any fills I crosspost.

10. Timing - Some kink memes are quite old, with requests going back 10+ years. The OP of that prompt may no longer be checking it, but that shouldn't stop you from filling the prompt if you like it--you're almost sure to find another audience owo

11. Alerts - DW is pretty limited in the "notifications" you can receive from it, but if you have or make a DW account and want to get notified of updates on a kink meme, you'll want to first subscribe to that page.

(I'm already subscribed here, but that little journal will show a green checkmark if you aren't yet subscribed, and you just hit that so that any new posts on the meme will go into your DW feed.)

However, because kink memes operate more on comments than posts, you'll also want to get alerts for any new comments from the active prompt post. Find the active prompt post, and hit this bell button:

You'll get this pop-up:

And you can go ahead with the email notif, or if you're like me and want DW notifications to stay on DW and out of my email, hit "More Options" and uncheck the email notif. This way, any new comments will only show up in your DW inbox as an unread message.

And that's everything! Or at least everything I can think of. If you have another question please feel free to comment. I think kink memes are a lot of fun and I hate to think of anyone unable to participate because they're not familiar with the format.

Enjoy!

Kink memes in this post (+ some others):

Dragon Age main page (Origins, II, Inquisition)

Middle-earth kink

Silm kink meme

Arcane kink meme

Mass Effect kink

Skyrim kink meme

[some-pers0n]

Alright gamers! I've collected a list of notes that my friends were able to pick up on while reading the leaked guide. It's a bit disjointed and hard since it's quite difficult to read, but here we go. Under the cut is a bulletpoint list of it all.

This is the video I'm talking about, by the way.

And a quite couple of notes:

This isn't the full thing. Several pages were skipped during it. Some sections cut-off abruptly because of that

Some things simply aren't readable (at least to those I've worked with and myself) because of the motion blur from the pages turning and the slightly low quality

I'll leave out a bit of stuff from the stories that aren't terribly relevant (like what happens in them) as I don't really consider them lore. Only bits and pieces from them that are relevant I'll include

With that being said, let us begin with the lore dump.

MudWings chose their own names

MudWings have adobe buildings

MudWings have royal balls

Burn threatened Coral to try and get her into joining her side, but Coral refused

Burn pretty much tried intimidating all of the tribes into siding with her via blackmail

Blaze tried to get Coral on her side and the letter was so disjointed that "she could barely write or string a sentence together"

^ "It was abundantly likely that she had never read a single one of Coral's bestselling scrolls"

Blister bribed Coral into joining her side by promising the treasure that she stolen from the SandWing treasury before she left

Blister memorized all of Coral's scrolls so that Coral would like her more

After the burning of the Summer Palace, the SeaWings refused to speak to Blister because it was only then that Coral realized that Blister was fishy with the death of Kestrel and also manipulating her the whole time

There is a letter from Anemone to Tamarin that's basically a love confession plus a vent dump

^ Anemone tells Tamarin about how she was incredibly isolated her whole life and had no social life due to her mother and status as a princess and animus. She had never seen another dragon that wasn't a SeaWing (except Blister) until the DoD came. She writes about how she wishes that there was a town like Possibility built near the borders of the Sea Kingdom so that the MudWings, RainWings, and SeaWings could all mingle about. She also talks about her insecurities over being a ruler and wishes that Auklet will be the one to step up and claim the throne. Anemone writes about how she feels intense guilt for attempting to kill her family and says that Auklet hasn't done anything like that, thus would be a better queen

^ Anemone wanted to gift Tamarin a pearl but Kinkajou didn't allow for it because she suspected it was enchanted

The Rainforest Kingdom has "strange geological formations" that can be dangerous

Dragonbite vipers have an evolutionary cousin called Lanceheads, which live in the rain forest

Glory theorizes that the reason why the screaming monkeys from THK adapted to scream like that was because it was done by the NightWings so that they would lose sleep, resulting in an easier takeover

RainWing knowledge was limited for ages because of how some outsiders would go in and never return, which is why RainWing venom was unknown

RainWing assassins are real

^ RainWing assassins were known to hunt during the day while NightWing assassins worked during the night

Queen Anaconda's grandmother outlawed the use of venom on dragons due to its lethal nature and later tried to disband her army because of a peace treaty she signed between the RainWings, MudWings, and SkyWings

^ Because of no war, the RainWings become more laid-back and this is why they're like the way they are in the modern day

There is a story about a NightWing named Comet who was hatched under "a" comet (no particular comet specified) and with no full moons. He was supposed to be powerless, yet he had a vision. The story cuts-off there

There's a part with a couple pieces of SandWing treasure

^Desert Tiara: This tiara, worn by queens for centuries, is [???] from silver into spikes resembling cactus spines, and embedded with crystals to represent the precious [???] of the sandwing kingdom

^The Twilight Necklace: This necklace is a long, thin, coiled chain made of a [???] black metal, possibly of NightWing origin. Care should also be taken when [???] [???]"

^The SandWing Scepter: The scepter is a staff of oak wood, plated with [???] gold, and inlaid with onyx and pearls. Records suggest the scepter is possibly [???] [???] and [???] animus-touched, but care should be used when handling the scepter [???] [???] [???]"

^Assorted Gems and Coins: Likely in [???] stamped with Queen Oasis' symbol

Smolder keeps Rose on a leash via a bracelet he got for her and has her in a cage when she's not being good or it's night time

IceWings do not use scrolls to preserve stories, instead using "bards", which are storytellers. They are chosen from birth

^ There is a story about a bard named Caribou in the book who's from The-Village-Of-The-Plentiful-Seals, a village near the gift of sustenance, which are three lakes where if a dragon sticks their claws into the water they'll always catch a seal

Nearly every generation in each family has someone named Caribou to honor an animus whose name was Caribou

Icewings have a yearly feast where they go to The-Village-Of-The-Plentiful-Seals where they eat, sing, tell stories, and dance for five days and five nights

The aurora borealis is said to be the Great Ice Dragon's frostbreath

There are Great Ice Dragon temples that feed the poor and hungry for free

Where-No-Dragon-Goes-Hungry is another village and has a MASSIVE statue of Caribou carved out of whale bone

Where-No-Dragon-Goes-Hungry also does a yearly competition on who can make the best caribou sculpture

We-Venerate-and-Remember-Caribou also has a market that stays open all year and holds the Great ice Dragon temples

Noble IceWings despised the gift of sustenance due to believing that it was a easy way of getting food, saying that it only are lazy and that they should work for their food and be useful to the tribe

Canyon was the name of the Skywing King who married Scarlet. He was like Scarlet, but a man. Obsessed with his appearance and a bit egotistical

Skywings have marriage rituals where the two lovers will fly up in the clouds and say wedding vows or something. They do this alone, there are no wedding guests or anything like that

^ This changed when Scarlet became queen, and she threw lavish parties for marriages, but people didn't really like that (because Scarlet would also have gladiator fights as part of the "party") so most dragons would either do the wedding ritual in secret or would just not marry

SilkWing schools take their dragonets to their hive's misbehavior way twice a year to terrify the young dragonets into obedience

^ "Do HiveWing dragonets get traumatized this way? Nope."

Here are some rules that are listed that SilkWings must follow:

"SilkWings are assigned professions suited to their limited set of skills as a tribe and begin work as soon as they have wings."

"SilkWing partnerships (marriages) are designated by Queen Wasp and her sisters, and are binding unless the queen chooses to sever them."

"To preserve the dignity and unity of our two tribes, personal relationships between HiveWings and SilkWings are not tolerated."

"No trees are allowed in the Hives, neither planted in your terrariums or gardens, nor portrayed in our art, in solemn commemoration of all the lives lost during the tree wars."

"To ensure their safe transit throughout the Hives, all SilkWings must wear bracelets designating their school or place of work at all times. Travel between hives must be cleared with supervisors and local HiveWing authorities."

"All dragons must refrain from stealing or destroying property"

"Each SilkWing metamorphosis must take place within the cocoon."

SilkWing dragonets are taught only by HiveWings, and are told that all HiveWings learn what SilkWings learn at a much much younger age in order to keep SilkWings feeling inferior

Silkwings who are especially good at something, or just quick with their work, are often assigned tasks that are much harder for them. "Troublemakers" are always given the hardest jobs. Io theorizes this is to keep SilkWings too busy and too tired to wish for a better future

Yellowjacket Hive is the "manufacturing" hive and has factories and stuff. They produce glasses, lamps, and book printers. They also have a university that specializes in engineering

Hornet Hive is the economy hive, where shops are everywhere, everyone is in accounting, and has a university for commerce, and apparently there are companies or something because Hornet Hive is where people manage their employees which are scattered throughout the continent

Vinegaroon Hive specialized in ecology, and has a bunch of cool fish in a lake (they get eaten). Dragons from Vinegaroon Hive are usually the ones to lead research expeditions? They also host hunting trips

Mantis Hive is still just "The College Place" where they teach HiveWings to become professors for the other colleges in other hives. They also focus on innovation, and part of the hive collapsed a while ago which is theorized to be from an industrial experiment

Tsetse Hive specializes in doctor stuff and healing and stuff. They probably have a med school. It is now basically confirmed that Tsetse Hive has a prison where anyone over the age of 50 is sent. since Wasp cant control elderly dragons

LeafWings don't have very much

There's some letters from Sequoia to someone named Linden, and then Belladona takes over and sends a letter to Sequoia about how her letters are no longer welcome but most of the words are too blurry to make out. I think this part is just about how the PoisonWings and SapWings used to have friendlier relations, but Belladonna changed this when she took over

[dj-of-the-coven]

Thanks for asking @vivi-mire and @goldensunset! To answer your questions, I'll preface this by saying I don't actively seek out character playlists that often, but I like making them. Unfortunately this leads me down some dismal fucking roads while looking for other people's thoughts on the subject.

Possibly to the surprise of some, offline I am known mostly for 2 things: anarchy and music. Music is my life. I have one million other hobbies, and in online spaces I mostly talk about video games, but my true essence is music--particularly rock and punk. My collection spans over several mediums. I have a 2018 Victrola record player that I've repaired by hand, a 2004 CD-radio player, a 2021 cassette-CD-radio player, and a 2007 Insignia MP3 player. Most people around my age ditched CD players by the time they were in high school (no judgement there), but I used mine this morning. I have two books in my bag on cassettes right now. I play two string instruments and have considered picking up a third! I don't say any of this to brag--it's just what I choose to do with my time and money, same as anybody else. The reason why I bring it up is to emphasize that I both know and care a lot about this particular subject. And let me tell you. What I feel when I see the same 6 artists over and over again in every character playlist is not simple haterism... it's pity with a dose of concern.

What bothers me more than the music being ill-fitting for some fictional character is the tangible evidence that most people do not have the means to discover new artists; also, to some degree, the foreboding conclusion that we are losing a diversity of taste. There used to be magazines and independent radio shows, local performances, older kids in the neighborhood you could talk to to find new bands, but the rise of streaming as the primary distribution method has severely limited the ways through which interested parties can discover music. Ask someone you know how they discovered their favorite artists--for real!! Most of the time, they'll answer, TikTok, Youtube, or Spotify. Algorithms. Mathematical processes designed to funnel people into profitable avenues of advertising. These are the things determining the music taste of today's listeners, and it's powerful fucking stuff, to the point that even radio stations have been affected by the algorithms of these unrelated websites. When I was living in Los Angeles, I had to watch the station 106.7 KROQ slowly go from playing 90s grunge and nu metal to running the Arcane theme song by Imagine Dragons 27 times daily, because it was being played to market the show. Everything is morphing into profit sludge! An equation on somebody's computer somewhere determined that this specific pool of artists would be able to turn a bunch of queer 16-24 year olds into a marketable demographic, and thus Tumblr is overrun by the same 8 or so bands in every poll, every uquiz, every embedded spotify playlist. You guys ever heard of Hozier? I've been listening to a rad new artist lately, yeah! It's Cavetown. You should listen to Mitski! Did you hear about Mitski? I think you should listen to Mitski. What about Mitski guys. What about Mitski.

Again, it really doesn't have anything to do with the quality of any of these artists (except for Imagine Dragons, which I'll never hesitate to shit on). I just think it's... odd, and upsetting, that so many people are trapped inside this tiny little bubble of music that has been algorithmically determined for them as the genre they can be arbitrarily sorted into for marketing appeal reasons. It's like hearing someone say they've never seen it rain before. I discovered many of my current favorite artists by browsing through secondhand stores, talking to older punks in my community, renting CDs from the library, reading magazines (I recommend Razorcake), and going to local $5 cover shows held in the basement of a record shop. It physically pains me that this method of discovery is dying. It hurts to think of how few people are engaging seriously with the music scene in the places they live. It devastates me to see so many people being restricted by their circumstances from finding the music that will speak to them, specifically, not every single young, white, very online gay person living in the United States.

Basically--this is not okay. Something has to change.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S03E08 - Sleeping Beauty

Okay episode which gets good with character interactions. In fact, I don't really get bored with S3 up until the end where they put some lackluster episodes.

You see one kid being mean to the other, then a minute later you cut to an interaction between parents and you realize why.

These parents are awful.

Charlie: "You have never seen a fairytale before?" Sarah: "I have, except I find them all insufferably sexist". Charlie: "Well, they offer historical context". Do they? Because I don't remember dragons in my history books. Anyway, I'm with Sarah on this one and luckily I didn't grow up with them.

It is interesting, however, that Charlie seems to know quite a bit about these things. I distinctly remember no boy would ever be convinced to sit down and watch these movies.

Sweet potato jerky? Why does that sound so tasty? It's a dog treat.

This is just an excuse to get Sarah home.

"Your new place, which I see for the first time ever, is really incredible!"

Have I mentioned yet on this rewatch that Charlie must be taking kickbacks to be able to afford a house like that? No?

"Kids are loud". Water is wet.

Too cute.

"I guess they're alright". Make up your mind. More importantly, isn't there ample space on the couch next to Charlie for Sarah to sit? What's she doing over there?

Jesse calls from work, Joe is also over there, NO ONE is surprised that Sarah is at home with Charlie and Rex.

See? Instead of reacting to Jesse's antics, react to the fact that your detective and your head of forensics (your? I have no clue) are playing house instead of being anywhere near the precinct.

"Rex is a detection dog. His alerts establish reasonable suspicion to search". Well, thank you, Sarah. Charlie never actually explained it. I wonder if this actually holds up.

I can actually imagine the writers at the start of the season trying to come up with a reasonable excuse for those searches based on Rex's nose. At some point, they might have even opened a law book. I don't think that it would hold up in court to say that a police dog smelled illegal substances and rule based on that but it might give probably cause for a search. All this changes depending on where one lives, though. And if they find something, well, then you have your proof right there. The whole gist of it is to make sure the search is legal so you don't jeopardize the entire case.

"The dog ruined my favorite pants". Maybe you shouldn't have run?

"He's trying to hypnotize me. You're all witnesses."

"So Rick is not the owner of our... glass slipper". I think Sarah is about to whack you with the case file.

Sarah: "Where do you think of starting?" *Rex barks* Charlie: "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, too, partner". Guys...

Why do I think this was taken from when they're looking for the stepmom in the end of the episode? He looks too serious and very much in a hurry, which is not something that he is supposed to be in the current drive.

"I can assure you there are no drugs in this house". Charlie literally has a drug sniffing dog with him, how do you think he's not going to find anything?

I think the lady's excuse that she's going through a brutal divorce actually did get a bit of a reaction from Charlie. Not that he'd give her the drugs back, of course.

Dad-influencer. I hate this age.

"What was your babysitter doing in the back of your truck?" I can't believe there was a logical explanation for this other than "We were having sex".

"You don't think it's possible to have a platonic relationship with an attractive woman?" Wise move not to answer that.

I'd definitely like to ask the Hudson and Rex production where they get their car brand covers because in greek tv productions their look like shit.

"Everyone I know drives this car". This is a 50K Mercedes. Where are we?

I did not have sexual relations with Stacey Nielsen". Okay, who put that in there? I can't listen to it without laughing.

Sad that it wasn't some kind of threesome. She was just carrying their child.

The production getting their money's worth out of the new house.

"She made this for me. It's some sort of woman with... one, two, three, four... seven kids?" "These are dwarfs" lmao

Snow White was in witness protection? Maybe in the next Disney installment.

Sarah: "You don't need a prince for a happily ever after". Get that man, Sarah. Do you have any idea how many men would protest that statement?

Joe: "Nice of you to join us this morning". Don't do this, Joe, we keep trying to extricate him out of the office, let him be late for once!

Charlie: "Rex took forever to get out of the house this morning. Rex: "Don't you dare sully my good reputation!" Charlie: "Okay. I took forever to get out of the house this morning". I love their suspicious looks and also, I WANT TO KNOW! What happened? What are they hiding from us? WHAT??? What did you cut out?

"Need I remind you, Charlie, that warrant-less collection of DNA is not admissible in court?" Maybe. I mean, we sometimes base an entire case off of it.

Seriously, why is he so chipper?

Sarah: "Stacey's not the mother". Joe: "I'm sorry, what the what?" Charlie: "Yeah, what Joe said". You can tell Sarah loves delivering such news.

Again with the looks.

I believe that a person having a perfectly good womb should be able to use that womb however they see fit, including getting paid to carry the baby of a couple that for whatever reason can't or won't do that. The law's intent should not be to police people's wombs but to make sure that children shouldn't be born and grown to be taken advantage of. So it should be legal in cases of parents who want to have a child, and illegal if for example one was to gather fifty women and grow children through surrogacy to take advantage of them (not the only example, just one I thought of). Taking advantage of your body's ability to carry children for monetary gain so that they can be ultimately raised in a proper family that wants them is not the same as taking advantage of children.

"I had a glass of wine at lunch." "Was it served in a salad bowl?" Burn!

Why would you bring the kid to the place her stepmom might commit suicide?

Rex to the rescue once again. I think I've seen this on Kommissar Rex too.

Big damn hero.

"What a needless tragedy this all was". I've seen so many certifiably stupid deaths on crime shows, this doesn't even rank at the top 20.

Suspiciously big enough space for Rex to jump onto. But looks weird before that. Also, thanks for squashing by beer/wine theory like a couple episodes later. I am now thinking that the wine goes with the couch lol

"I think you'd make a great mom." "You're a great dad. To your fur baby over here." "What do you think, pal, you like being my fur baby?" Rex's growl sounds like he wants to bite anyone who says the word fur baby again. Maybe that's just me, though.

It's a good thing Sarah has an alternative plan to motherhood because I can see the future and I suspect it will take a long time.

Again, the case didn't grab me. But they spent sufficient time outside of the office and mostly in Charlie's new house that we just saw for the first time that I didn't mind.

[blasphemecel]

Raihan — Applin And The Flop Confession

PAIRING: Raihan/Reader WORD COUNT: 2.6k TYPE: Humor, Fluff, Pining NOTE: Clichember Prompt(s) 2-4: Overprotective Dad Trope (except you have two dads and they're a Toxicroak and a Krookodile and they're technically your pets more than anything) + Oblivious Love Interest + Failed Confession . Clichember is going to be an event where I write a short fic with my own take on really overused tropes throughout November-December.

Your Pokémon are scary.

It's silly for Raihan as 'The Dragon Tamer,' a grown ass man, and someone who knocks his head into doors an embarrassing amount of times a day because he's too damn tall to feel afraid of trained Pokémon.

They're yours, so he knows they won't hurt him despite spending most of their time glaring at him with their arms crossed when he's around. The most aggressive they get is dragging him away from you when he tries to hold your hand or to swing an arm over your shoulder and getting between you two when you hug. He's aware he's not in grave danger.

Still, having a Krookodile — something he hadn't even seen before you moved here from Unova and he made friends with you — bare its fangs at him isn't pleasant, and neither is seeing a Toxicroak extend its poison sac in his general direction. Certainly they haven't charmed him, but it's clear they don't like him either, and the thought makes him a little sad. They're your companions, after all, and Raihan wants them to trust him.

However, no matter how good he is at planning and coordinating during battles, maybe this really wasn't a good idea.

It's not his fault you just 'haven't ever caught a Dragon type before' and you 'want one so bad.' Granted, he could've given you one, but that's not half as fun as hunting for wild Pokémon, and that wouldn't have been half as romantic, anyway. Now the two of you are in this situation.

"Are you sure there's a Dragon type in this area?" you ask with skepticism lacing your tone. "I mean, I pass by here all the time and I've never seen any."

"Don't worry, there is one," Raihan reassures you with an amiable smile. "But they're evasive, so I'll catch one for you." Obviously, you could do it yourself — you're a capable enough trainer —, but this is all just a ruse for him to give it to you.

"Yay! I can't wait! I haven't trained a new Pokémon in ages."

Krookodile and Toxicroak loom behind him, which he tries his best to ignore. Raihan's method of doing so is trying to focus on your cutesy excitement, though the holes the two Pokémon are drilling into his head aren't that easy to feign ignorance to.

Applin usually hide in trees, but that makes them both hard to spot and even more effort to catch. It's not that uncommon for them to fall on the ground, though, and that's how most trainers stumble upon them.

Your two companions exchange conspiratorial noises between them, but Raihan doesn't pay it much heed, and neither do you. After a while of pointless roaming and too many Dottler encounters, in the distance, Raihan finally sees one. He's quick to nudge you on the shoulder and point ahead, and Krookodile and Toxicroak are far too intrigued to show disapproval. "Look, there it is!"

"It's just an apple?" you say, rubbing your chin in confusion. Despite holding you in high regards, sometimes Raihan found you to be... dense.

"That's an Applin," Raihan corrects you with a sigh before he puts his hands over his hips. "They're skittish, so it'll be better if we approach it quietly—"

Krookodile's brows(?) shoot up in alarm before he starts gesturing at Toxicroak, who doesn't seem to react beyond letting out a few sounds in response. It's obvious the two of them aren't happy, though.

You and Raihan observe them with curiosity, exchanging a confused glance, but you're far too surprised to do anything when suddenly your Toxicroak speed-walks towards the poor little Applin and creepily stares it down. Krookodile lumbers after him not long after and lets out a loud growl, effectively startling it away. Raihan loses sight of it somewhere in the tall grass, though he gets the feeling trying to pursue it again right now wouldn't be a good idea, anyway.

"You guys are so mean," you whine, stomping up to your Pokémon with your shoulders up to your ears. Raihan follows you absent-mindedly, though the part of him that likes drama is curious to watch this play out, even if it's putting a delay on his courting plans.

Toxicroak looks ashamed of himself, but Krookodile goes all guitar riff like he's arguing with you, then he extends his little claw to indicate Raihan as if this is all his fault. His eyes widen when he realizes they have incriminated him. "What'd I even do?!"

You turn your head towards Raihan and then snap it back towards them. "No! Stop acting like this!" you say.

Krookodile huffs, turns up his snoot high in the air like a snobby human and his tail stands tall on alert. Despite his previous sentiments of embarrassment, Toxicroak nods and pats his friend on the shoulder in agreement on whatever you're even discussing.

"Don't be like this. You're not my parents. You come from MY BALLS, I don't come from YOURS," you say, and the sentence hangs in the air, slightly disturbing everyone in the vicinity. You don't seem to notice though, and to emphasize your point, you return them to their Pokéballs. Then, apologetically, you gaze up at Raihan with the sorriest expression you can muster. "Sorry man, I dunno what's up with them. If you don't wanna look for the Applin anymore, I understand. I don't wanna waste your time! I can find one on my own-"

Originally, he'd been planning to ask you where that line about the balls came from, but now, with a hasty laugh, he blurts out, "Let's keep looking for it. It can't have run off too far away, right?"

Somehow on cue, the Applin rolls out of the tall grass again, now that the threats are gone. It glances between you two apprehensively from afar, trying to decide if it should flee or not. Raihan decides to deal with this by throwing a poffin at it.

The Applin mostly seems confused by this, but approaches it anyway.

"I feel like you could've been more subtle about this," you say with a hint of taunting.

"Oh, quit taking the piss and watch."

You then watch as he throws a love ball at the Applin which he considers too distracted with eating the poffin to retaliate, and you can only laugh at him openly when it breaks out after a few swings and appraises him with what feels like a judgemental stare.

Raihan raises an index finger and closes his eyes, still sporting a cocky grin. "I meant watch this, not the last try," he says before throwing another love ball at it. That damn thing better get in there before he runs out of these — Raihan bought them for the occasion, cheesy as he can be.

This time, Applin sacrifices itself in the name of romance, pleased with the food offering. You and Raihan both turn towards each other and squeal and hop up in excitement like little girls, but then you remember you're not children and decide to pretend it didn't happen.

Raihan goes to retrieve the Pokéball, but you stop him. "You know, I expected you to do something more special, considering you're The Dragon Tamer an' all."

He rolls his eyes at your quip, but he lets out a little laugh despite himself. "Heavens forbid I try to do something nice for you."

Raihan presents you the Applin by going down on one knee and handing you the Pokéball like this is some kind of overdramatic proposal. As a joke, you curtsy in front of him, then take it, and he tenses as he waits for what you have to say.

You stare at it for a while until your eyes sparkle. "Yay! I finally have a dragon! I'll take good care of it, don't worry. Thank you soo much, Rai."

From a faux confident smile, Raihan's cheerful expression drops to a mildly unsure one. Do you... not understand? Awkwardly, he stands up like he got electrocuted and coughs into his hands, resulting in an eyebrow raise from you. Then he resorts to blinking at you like an idiot until he finally mumbles out, "No problem, mate."

For a second he wonders if you'll question him, but then you remember something and let out Applin, Krookodile and Toxicroak all out, holding the tiny apple in your palms. "Listen, Applin's a part of the team now and you gotta deal with it, so be nice or I'll be angry. Like, really mad! Like, soo scary."

They stare at you like they're the villains of the narrative and you're trying to give them a friendship speech, but you still insist on your bullshit. Then, after some silence, Toxicroak nods and goes to whisper something to the other.

"C'mon, promise. Promise. Promise. Promise."

Krookodile considers for a moment and then accepts whatever he had suggested, moving his snoot near your palm to smell Applin while Toxicroak tries his best to pet it carefully. The two exchange expressions of perhaps approval and maybe a hint of self-satisfaction. Raihan wonders what could've possibly changed over the last ten minutes, but figures it's not worth questioning.

At least they're getting along now?

As he has recovered from the psychic damage he just took, Raihan pulls out his Rotom phone with one hand and draws you way too close to him with the other, winking at the camera as usual. Your cheek squishes against his. “Hug Applin in front of the camera so we can all take a selfie. It'll be super cute, I swear."

You're about to comply, but the only photo Rotom snaps is one where Krookodile is pushing Raihan's face out of the way and his nose is so close to the camera everything else is unfocused. Toxicroak throws up a blurry peace sign in the background while you flounder to save Applin from slipping out of your grasp.

___

A few weeks later, you run inside his gym and claim it's very important. He knows it probably isn't, but it's not like he gets that many challengers, so Raihan still humors you. "What's up?"

"Look, you're not gonna believe this," you say before you reveal your surprise, giving him a close-eyed smile. Krookodile and Toxicroak linger around you as usual, though by now Raihan knows he shouldn't let them deter him if he wants this to go anywhere.

Raihan comes face-to-face with a Flapple. He gasps, exaggerating his shock at your revelation. "Woah, that was really fast. You don't fool about, do you?" Then he turns his attention back towards you and gives you his usual wild grin. "He's such a cute little guy now. I say this calls for a celebration!"

When Raihan stands up from where he'd been sitting, you tilt your head, expecting him to tell you what he has in mind. And he plans to, but before that he feels himself lucky enough to go for a hug without Toxicroak stabbing him in the stomach or something silly like that.

He's almost embracing you before Flapple gets between you two and hisses at him. Raihan's hands drop to his sides immediately, and this time the theatrics of his reaction are even more extreme. He clutches his chest and looks away, pretending to cry. "I can't believe you're betraying me."

You twist your lips downwards. "What?"

Why are they ganging up on him?! Despite trying to make a joke out of it, it hurts his feelings that your partners hate him so much, even though he’d never show it. Toxicroak and Krookodile hang around you all the time. They're practically your best friends and, for some reason, they can't stand him. Is he doing something hurtful to you without realizing it? Do they think his personality is rancid? Will he have to get blessings from an over-glorified frog and an edgy crocodile one day? Because if so, that's so not happening.

What's the issue?

Toxicroak and Krookodile seem proud of themselves. Well, at least if your Pokémon love you this much, it means you treat them really well. Not that he doubted that, but it's the only copium he's willing to huff to accept this predicament.

___

It's at some kind of event that Raihan notices your Toxicroak, Krookodile and now even Flapple glaring and hissing and overall trying to drive some other guy away from you. For a second he's relieved he's not the only one they hate, but then he notices the guy is trying to be flirtatious towards you, and though you're not swooning at his attempts, you also don't appear to find him repulsive.

Raihan's face blanks. Oh, of course, it should've been obvious... It's not that there's something wrong with him. Your Pokémon just have a jealousy problem.

As your conversation with him goes on, though, Raihan suddenly deems it a good idea to join. He stands somewhere between the aggressive Krookodile and the creepy Toxicroak he had considered his nemeses not too long ago, while the traitorous Flapple flies near him.

Despite the less-than-thrilled expressions they regard him with when he approaches, Raihan feels a sort of camaraderie with them right now. He doesn't consider himself a possessive man by any means, and it's not like you're dating him yet. Despite that, he can be competitive concerning anything he cares about. He coughs fakely as to announce himself and goes, "Ahem, am I interrupting something?"

"Hi, Rai-Rai!" you greet, waving at him with a smile, and the other guy blushes as he watches you. "You're not interrupting anything."

"Great," he says, choosing to ignore your embarrassing nickname for him for now, clenching and unclenching his fingers in his pockets. "Remember the rematch with Leon I was telling you about? I just wanted to let you know I saved you a front-row seat if you want to come." Of course, he didn't need to announce this since phones exist, but he needed an excuse to interrupt your conversation.

"You're such a show-off," you say, though you're still smiling at him. "You better not lose if you're making me watch."

"I can't lose if my good luck charm's there, so you'd better come," he tells you in a way he believes is suave.

The Unnamed Man, who you almost forgot is still here, unnecessarily asks, "You two know each other...?" like it isn't obvious you do.

"Yeah, we're very close," Raihan confirms with maybe a tad too much enthusiasm. "I gave [Y/n] an Applin as a gift, and it turned into this Flapple, see?" he says as he points at it.

The Unnamed Man, a bit crestfallen, mumbles something under his breath and walks away. At this, you frown. "Well, that was rude," you call after him, but he turned his back on you and you can’t tell if he even registered your reprimanding. A bit disgruntled, you say, "He didn't even tell me his name when he started chatting me up."

Raihan isn't sure you gathered anything important from what just transpired, but Toxicroak gazes up at him with newfound respect and Krookodile looks proud, somehow, and tries to pat him on the back, though his short arm only reaches Raihan's waist. Flapple nuzzles into his cheek. For the first time, he feels happy to have their attention.

Does this mean they're on his side now? He hopes this isn't a 'he thinks he's on the team 😂😂😂' situation.

[winvyre]

[Valerie's Story] World Timeline

Dead Era

Everything before White Comet. Comparable to the Bronze Age in our history.

White Comet

The origin of Magic. In comparison to before the event, the world now seems alive with this new energy, imbued and weaving in everything. People discover new powers due to Affinity, animals and plants evolve into magical creatures, and portals to other worlds open up.

Chaos Era

Catalysted by the White Comet event. The world has almost literally been reformed so nobody really knows what's going on and they're trying to figure it all out while being hunted by demons that came through one of the portals. Demons gain power by eating magical humans and the powerful are highly sought after delicacies but they won't say no to non-magical humans if starving. After all, magic is in everything. Dragons are also an other-worldly problem, causing mass destruction because they're wild beasts and not intelligent unfortunately. The Six Immortals are born towards the end of this period.

Demon's Lock

2000 years of chaos ends with this event. The six regions decided to work together for the good of humanity by doing something about the demon problem. The rulers hold a conference and each brings along a champion mage to contribute the effort. They quickly realize that they are in way over their heads and the only ones who can do anything against the Demon Queen and her ranks are their champions. Long story short, the six champions drive the demons back into their realm by using themselves as bait (the demons had never seen such powerful humans before, they were rabid) and Gail sealed the portal. The world is finally safe.

"But what happened to the dragons?"

Part of their plan was to seal the Dragon Realm portal first then tame some dragons to make the fight easier since some demons can fly and humans are decidedly flightless. Also the Demon Realm portal was thousands of meters tall and floating over the ocean.

Academic Era

Now that people don't have to worry about being devoured by demons and having their villages burned or otherwise destroyed, humanity progresses! The champions move on to new adventures. Ved studies magic and founds Hellebore Magic Academy, Omie helps struggling villages, Alvaro breeds dragons, etc. (They do reincarnate during this time with varying frequencies except for Omie who has never reincarnated) Old explanations for magic are combined with Immortals lore over time; this will eventually become full-blown religions. The peace and prosperity lasts 1000 years.

The White War

Bellona regretted reincarnating that one time because she misses her girlfriend. She couldn't give less of a fuck about anyone other than Omie. Omie cares very deeply about the world and its people. Bellona's like "I only want you and for your attention to be only on me!" And Omie's like "But I want to help the world!" So Bellona's all "Well you can't care about the world if there is no world to care about!" And thus the White War begins.

Bellona uses her Blight Magic to send plagues and raise undead armies, truly and catastrophicly damaging the world. She's able to combat the other five because they're not only fighting her and her army, they're also doing damage control for the rest of the world.

When the five finally corner Bellona, Gail opens the portal to the Demon Realm and they shove Bellona inside. Thus ends the 1000 year White War. (Yes, this counts as an Era)

The Silent Era

The White War is a technological setback and much is lost in the way of knowledge. The Silent Era warps the stories of the war because of how mangled the aftermath was and because the Immortals disappear. The once just-powerful-mages become gods in the eyes of the people. Worship grows and Bellona's image in particular is that of a queen of the underworld. She's not so much the one who destroyed everything and more of an object of superstition.

The Current Era

Nobody knows they aren't in the Silent Era anymore but in the future the thinning of the veil between worlds and the re-emergence of the hoary will be considered the mark of the beginning of another Era.

[shouldaspunastory]

Thank you @rosella-writes! @dadrunkwriting

Varric Tethras & Hawke (Based upon but canon-divergent from Dragon Age: The Veilguard gameplay release, 1052 words)

"Hawke," Varric coughs, staring wide-eyed up at what can only be a hallucination. Fuck, the power of whatever Chuckles was doing with his ritual and the force of the statue Rook helped bring down to interrupt it all must have really hit him hard. It's been a while since the last time he imagined his best friend like this. Missed them, sure. Maker's breath, he's missed them more than anything. Their absence left a giant and gaping hole- in his life, in his heart… Trying to fill it with anything else, to keep busy, writing, networking, fighting, chasing down Solas, none of it had ever done any good. He still wakes up at night hearing what the Nightmare demon had said, and the worst of it is, it was all true.

"Once again, Hawke is in danger because of you, Varric. You found the red lyrium. You brought Hawke here..."

He had brought them there. He sent the letter inviting them to Skyhold that sealed their fate. He dragged them to Adamant, into the fucking Fade, and he left them to die. Varric should have waited, shouldn't have rushed through the portal, but instead pulled Hawke through with him. After all the shit the demon taunted Hawke with, of course they would stay behind, try to do the right thing, help people. Sure, Hawke never asked for any of this, never aspired to be the Champion of Kirkwall- or anywhere else for that matter, but behind all their grumblings and endless jokes was a good heart. A damn big, bleeding one. Varric should have known better. Should have done more to stop them.

It should have been him, not Hawke. He should have told Hawke why the Nightmare demon would have singled them out as the subject of Varric's greatest fear. Should have said- shit, so many things, so many times, and so much sooner.

"You got old," Hawke whispers softly, a gentle hand reaching out to cup his jaw, a thumb smoothing curiously over his beard.

Varric smiles, huffing out a laugh, "You didn't."

"Yeah, the Fade is fucking weird," Hawke says returning his smile with a shake of their head. "You finally grew a beard. Has Fenris seen it yet? I do sort of like the gray," Hawke assesses softly, examining a strand as they turn it over between their fingers.

It's only then Varric realizes how quiet everything is. No rumbling sounds of thunderous magic, no screeching of demons, no shouts of fighting, no twangs of bows or clashes of swords. He winces suddenly recalling a flash in Solas's eyes just before Bianca splintered in his hands and tumbled away in pieces. The last thing he remembers was the statue coming down and making a hasty backwards retreat down the steps to try and avoid it, whatever followed after is simply not coming to him.

"You're not real," Varric whispers, no longer sure whether the pain in his chest is a physical injury, or an emotional one. He's dead. Gotta be, right? Except Dwarves don't dream. And he sure as hell isn't worthy of any kind of paradise with Andraste, much less with Hawke.

"Rude," Hawke laughs shaking their head. "That any way to thank me for saving your ass?"

"I can't remember who's leading on that front," Varric replies, deciding to play along with the fantasy for as long as he can. It's sure to hurt later. If, in fact, there is one. But for a good memory, even a fake one, being able to talk and laugh with them again, after so many days and nights tortured by the worst possible scenarios, it's gotta be worth the price.

"Convenient," Hawke replies raising a teasing eyebrow. "You know, I thought it went without saying, but I was rather hoping after my grand sacrifice you'd do a better job trying to stay alive."

"I didn't ask you to do that," Varric replies, biting his lip and doing his best to reign hisq emotions back in as the anger and bitterness of his words reach his own ears.

'I know," Hawke replies patiently, carefully tucking a stray strand of his graying hair behind his ear.

"I didn't want you to do that," Varric admits voice a little choked now, as he fights against the urge to lean into their touch, into the warmth and comfort of it.

"Someone had to," Hawke offers with a rueful, apologetic frown as their hand slowly cradles the back of his head.

"Maybe, but it doesn't always have to be you."

"But talking sense into an Elvhen god bent on destroying that world, that's a job only Varric Tethras can handle," they challenge.

"I had help," Varric protests, but he knows already, just as he always has with them, this isn't an argument that he'll be winning.

"Not enough."

"So, am I dead, then?"

"Do you wish to be?"

"Every day since I stepped out of that rift and you didn't," Varric laughs, but there's no real humor in it, and Hawke's answering frown only deepens.

"You write so many happy endings. You put your characters through hell and back, sure, but most of them find or win their happiness in the end. Can you really not save a little and write one for yourself," Hawke asks.

“Not without you,” the dwarf replies a little teary now. “I know maybe that’s foolish and stubborn but- I had my shot, and I blew it. I should’ve told you what you meant when I had the chance.”

“And what do I mean to you, Varric?”

“Ha. Maker, Hawke. Everything. You mean everything,” Varric confesses, leaning into their hand that cradles his head before clasping the other and pulling it to his lips to kiss the back of it before laying it over his heart. “If you're here to take me to whatever comes next, I don't deserve an angel half so pretty, but where you go, I’ll follow,” Varric nods, resolved. "Even if I gotta pick the lock to get in."

"Always so dramatic," Hawke chuckles softly, shaking their head as they stroke his cheek once more. "You're not dying on me, Varric. Not yet. Not today," Hawke smiles. "We've got more living to do yet," Hawke whispers leaning down and gently pressing their lips to his.

[yobotica]

Fandom Homework

Idea by @razielim, I like the idea of sitting down and talking about the stuff I want to be working on! Mostly pretty rambly here, so I'll put it all beneath a cut:

It's all gonna be about the WIPs, baby! I think the thing that comes to mind most on 'boy I wish I could finish this' is actually the fallout AU I have for Assassin's Creed. ShaunDes, of course, but I think the ultimate plan was to try for OT3 with Clay on this one. I've never done it, but I get a lot of comments for that on my other fics and I think it would be interesting in this setting if I can make it work. I think the current plan for this one is more a sort of main 'how the group got together' vibe (all the moderns) and then snippets/side stories for some of their adventures. I do have an overall plot involving everyone figuring out who they are, secrets coming to light, etc. I just gotta get it all written is all.

Second is obviously to finish my in progress titanfall fic, which I usually just refer to as Weary, lol. While I've never once really felt pressured that updates are few and far between by comments on AO3, I sometimes regret posting it before it was finished. I never post WIPs as they're worked on because I am the slowest writer - once I get going, I can write pretty fast, it's just the getting started that trips me up. That, and i end up writing a lot of stuff that it turns out, it's not time for, or it's just not right for the story. I think I'm at like, over 15k words discarded for this fic overall, some of which has been repurposed/used already (just later than when it was originally written), but most of which has not. (Yet; I know at least two bits are just too early).

Third is a fic that is almost 10 years old and unfinished. It's only been posted up to chapter 10 on the assassin's creed kinkmeme, the last chapter of which was posted in 2016. It's almost complete, actually, sitting at just under 55.5k words, but I can't quite pin down the ending. Then it needs to be edited. Insert sad-cowboy emoji.

I'd really like to revisit my old DS9 stuff. I never published any of it on AO3 - in fact, I can't even remember if I've published any of it anywhere. It's some of the earliest stuff I've written, and it's pretty rough by my standards, but it's still something I'd like to get some time into and whip up into something readable at some point.

I want to learn how to draw transformers! I've wanted to for a while, but I recently watched Transformers One and it was gorgeous. There's a lot of different styles for the whole franchise, but I like that one a lot. That and Transformers Prime, which I haven't seen yet, lol. I'm a pretty recent fan, to be honest, but me and a friend have spent a lot of time making transformers OCs that I'd love to be able to draw just for fun. (It's the only reason I play Forza Horizon 5 at all, is to make the car forms for those that can be made in that game.)

I'd love to get works written for a few fandoms I've been into for a while, but never written for. Stuff like Dishonored, Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver, Inception or even Dragon Age. Mostly based on vibes rather than concrete ideas (except for dishonored, which I have exactly one (1) idea that could be used for fic), but still. It's something I'd like to do.

Oh! I need to finish and edit the FFXV fic I have in progress! It could be considered complete enough, to be honest, but it feels incomplete to me for some reason. I wrote up to a certain point, then lost all steam. It's set post Episode Ignis alternate ending, a really, really cute and sweet fic.

I think one thing I'd like to do is maybe just post a collection on AO3 of my WIPs. I don't think of anything I've written as abandoned, even if it's been years since I looked at them, but I also do think some of it was pretty good! I don't know how readers feel about this, though.

I'd like to get more Deus Ex fic written, too. I had a few things perk my interested for kinktober but October was mostly a really shit month for me, so I got no writing done at all. I definitely don't mind using those prompts late or anything, but I still haven't got any creative juice for writing right now, so they're just sitting there, waiting for their time.

I've also had a few ideas that I think I might never write but maybe folks might be interested in hearing about or adopting themselves? Like prompts, maybe. Adoptable fic ideas. Mostly it's stuff I'd love to read but not research to write myself, but that feels a little selfish, lol. But I also just think they're fun to talk about and gush over even if they never actually get written.

I think this was nice to sit down and write out. I don't post very much about myself or my work, but I've enjoyed seeing people talk about things they'd like to get done or things they have in progress and thought I'd share. I'm wishing you all well and hoping you all have something creative you'd like to look forward to doing as well! <3

[pinedemon]

I've seen many posts about people missing how common asks used to be so I have been trying to send about an ask a week. Now I send this ask first anytime I follow someone as I really don't want to bother anyone, so I'd love to know if you enjoy receiving asks and if so what kind of asks. Not having energy for asks or being comfortable with them is perfectly okay.

The categories I have in my ask notebook that I file under are in colour. Please feel free to make your response as long as you want or private (the asker cannot directly respond to private responses).

Self, Job/Work: please let me know what you are comfortable with from eh idk just ask it to nothing personal at all.

Baggishield/Tolkien, Dragon Age, Johnlock/Sherlock, ineffable spouses, other fandom: Please let me know what fandoms. I think my main fandoms and ships are Bagginshield/The Hobbit, Sherlock/Johnlock, Dragon Age Inquisition, {Pippin/Faramir Merry/Eowyn}/The Lord of the Rings and I dip my toes in a few that I currently can't remember but ships I don't engage with the canon of at all are: Good Omens but only for Crowley/Azirapheal, Stranger Things but only for Steve/Eddie , The Witcher but only for Geralt/Jaskier, and Ladybug and Cat Noir but only for Adrinette .

OC's, art/drawing, their writing, blog specific only

Story snippets ideas and prompts: Do you like receiving them?

Pets: I'd love to know all about them

Garden and Hobbies: What type of gardening and/or hobbies?

Like being tagged in things: If so what kinds of things?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer.

hey! i remember being on tumblr in the old days (old-ish, like 2014-2017) and asks were sooo common and so fun to just get to know people. i'm glad you're doing this, and i love to get asks!

about me and my job: i'm a researcher currently employed in a government lab where i work with common viruses like HSV and influenza in order to understand how they affect people with specific genetic diseases. microbiology (and biology in general) is one of my greatest passions and i LOVE geeking out about it. seriously don't get me started lol or please do actually. let's talk about it

fandoms: i'm kind of all over the place here. i love so much media but my biggest fandoms as you can tell from my blog are probably lotr/the hobbit, wwdits, btvs, hunter x hunter, the x files, and merlin. i also LOVE severance; it's such a great show but i'm not sure if there's even a fandom for it?? and i'm no hardcore shipper, but i like bagginshield, samfro, methur, nandermo (frankly any ship on the show), destiel because i'm still living in 2016, aziraphale/crowley, and mulder/scully. tbh there are probably so many more

writing/blog: i do love to write, yet i've never published any fics online before. BUT i've got a few fics in the works which i want to try to post soon -- my ao3 is the same as my tumblr although there's nothing on there yet except my treasured bookmarks lol. i'd like to get prompts or story snippet ideas, but sometimes i can be such a slow writer that i might struggle to respond to them. but who knows! maybe it'll bring out some inspiration in me.

pets/hobbies: i don't have any pets right now, and my hobbies usually involve playing and listening to music, writing, reading, making and collecting jewelry, and cooking.

as for being tagged in things, i'm happy to be tagged in anything! this blog is still very new, and i'm excited to make new mutuals here :)

thanks for the ask!

[dervampireprince]

hi Prince! it's been a while since I've been around and seeing your Astarion stuff has me wondering, have you played/looked into Dragon Age at all? Its one of my favourite series and we have a lot of similar interests - it seems like it would be up your alley! (particularly a brooding elf character in the second game lol)

i haven't and i don't want too.

i really don't want this to come across as rude, but i really don't like when people recommend me things it makes me uncomfortable and makes my brain never want to engage with whatever has been recommended to me on the principal that it has been recommended, that someone has told me should watch it. and especially when its a stranger who doesn't know me telling me they think i'll like it, or they know i'll like it. when you don't know what i'd like because you don't know me and its parasocial to say that you would accurately be able to recommend me things when you don't know me. us having similar interests does not mean you know me.

it makes me uncomfortable to me told i should watch something even if it's by someone i'm close too. telling me i should watch something/will like something/seems right up my alley is a guaranteed way to make sure i never watch the thing, regardless of who you are. it feels like pressure. it feels like if i don't like the thing i've disappointed or wronged someone somehow. and the majority of the time, i don't like the thing i've been told i'll really like. something being the same genre or having similarities with something i already like doesn't mean i'll like it.

a better way to get me into something is someone i know just talking or showing me something, without telling me i should watch it. and if it seems interesting then i'll get curious and look into it and maybe watch it. like my partner loves jujutsu kaisen and talks about it all the time but has never pressured me into watching it and has never said i should watch it or that she knows i'll like it, and just by seeing her enjoy it makes me want to watch it.

this got long, probably because i just got a comment on youtube telling me how much they think i'll like some horror game despite me not playing horror games nor consuming horror content because i find it too upsetting. seeing that i like 'fear and hunger' doesn't mean you can make the assumption that i like horror stuff or want to play horror games. that might sound strange, but me liking one horror thing doesn't mean i like other horror things and i'm very careful about how i consume fear and hunger stuff as it's full of uncomfortable topics.

i'm guessing dragon age is being recommended because i've made baldur's gate audios. but i've never played baldur's gate and i don't want too, i heavily dislike playing RPGs, i hate playing turned based combat, i hate playing any sort of combat in games (there are exceptions when i love the game's art/story/characters/music enough like hades and undertale), and i don't know anything much about any character other than astarion. i've just watched all of astarion's cutscenes and dialogue and connected to him.

none of this was meant to sound rude or like i'm angry at you, i just am a bit fed up at the moment of these comments. unless i ask for recommendation of new shows/games/etc then please don't tell me how i should watch something or would like something. by all means you guys are allowed to talk about things i haven't seen in my comments/asks/discord/request characters for fandoms i haven't made audios for before/etc but the moment it turns into telling me i should watch something or will like something is the moment i'm going to get uncomfortable.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

dr part 2 (and some part 1) questions how would fusion and what ever zeatrixes elements work in legacyverse where would they go in the compass? what about geo what would he be like when it comes to cole jesse and cam how would the source dragons fit into your element lore would wyldfyre immediately unlocked her potential the moment she got her powers since she could use them right after the merge happened (same question for euphrasia and geo) when riyu activates soras powers with his spark would it count as her having a controlled artificial outburst what would be sora's, wyldfyre's, euphrasia's and geo's nrg/elemental abilities be And if you don’t mind can you plz do and eye color reference chart for geo and zeatrix and maybe euphrasia if wind being associated with white in the show now had changed anything with the eye color Thank you

This is a lot of specifics for a lot of people who have only showed up like once so far or haven't fully tapped into their element yet T-T)9

how would fusion and what ever zeatrixes elements work in legacyverse where would they go in the compass? -> As mentioned, they'd probably be considered Outlier Elements given that the FSM never mastered them. If Technology is a Lightning Outlier and Heat is Fire Outlier, thennnnnnn I've been considering Fusion as another Ice Outlier (since it's ability to "change the shape/purpose of objects" aligns nicely with the likes of Water, Form, and Gravity if you squint), whiiiiiiich would then leave Element Z as another Earth Outlier. Pending, of course.

what about geo what would he be like when it comes to cole jesse and cam -> I'm not saying a WORD about Geo until he shows up in at least one more episode (I'm expecting some kind of Avengers team-up of these new oneshot EM's/allies against Ras' plans tbqh) but you can have this to chew on if you want

how would the source dragons fit into your element lore -> Currently they don't! Though I personally hope they somehow tie it back to the First Realm and its dragons cuz that'd be cool and thematically fitting

would wyldfyre immediately unlocked her potential the moment she got her powers since she could use them right after the merge happened (same question for euphrasia and geo) -> I'm chalking it up to ~residual merge phenomena~ giving these guys their powers from the get-go, since (presumably) all of them were older than 14 anyway (aka the age attunement starts to show). That being said, just because they have (mostly) full control of their powers doesn't mean they've achieved their "True Potential" (as we've seen with Sora...and even Jesse in the current time, if we wanna be truly pedantic)

when riyu activates soras powers with his spark would it count as her having a controlled artificial outburst -> yeah, that's about how I'd describe it. Although it still hasn't been really established what Riyu's whole deal is to begin with, so, pending!

what would be sora's, wyldfyre's, euphrasia's and geo's nrg/elemental abilities be -> Dunno, still wanna see more from them before making a call that big. Except for Euphrasia; she probably has the same NRG/Elemental Ability as Morro, but fine-tuned towards herself (and maybe instead of Stormcaller she has Stormender, or something)

And if you don’t mind can you plz do and eye color reference chart for geo and zeatrix and maybe euphrasia if wind being associated with white in the show now had changed anything with the eye color -> Maybe one day, but like I said I wanna see more from Geo first (cuz his element seems to have a lot of cool-toned power colors, even more than Wyldfyre, but then his eyes are already yellow-orange which is like the complete opposite fdjhgfdghfd), we still dunno what Element Z is so I don't have all that much to work off of (though that pending power color is definitely gonna be Wisteria), and I'm still associating Wind with Jade...so Euphrasia's got some brand new stuff to worry about

[beastofhearts]

So...Shazam 2 was a fun lil disaster

Like I really like the core ideas the movie had (Billy abandonment issues manifesting and affection the relationship with its siblings and the whole deities trying to come back) and laughed quite a bit during the movie, but I dont think the execution was as good as it could been. Definitely not as good as the first one but still I would suggest you to see it when it comes to streaming services

Spoilers below

1) I think it would had helped the audience understand some decisions and allowed the emotional scenes be more impactful, if we had seen the character’s as themselves instead of seeing them as adults. We need to remember these are teenagers...and in some scenes the adult versions doesn't make much sense.

2) Regarding the last one. I also think it would be nice if the writer also remembered they are kids. Look I love unicorns but if a black horse with a horn comes rushing at me... I wouldn't stay put with a big smile. I love Darla, I really do. But let her have more emotions than “ :D”

(That being said. I love the design of the unicorns. I think they are based on Karkadann? -persian unicorns- which is a nice surprise! Others monsters designs are a bit more rough but I still enjoy my mythological beast ♥)

3) Athena... Athena baby what im going to do with you. 3.1) What are you doing on a high school if you are 6.000 years old? What are you gonna learn if that something you decided at the END of the movie? is a school really the place to learn about humanity? 3.2) She mentions Freddy “saving her” from the bullies as the reason as to why she saves him from the dragon, but the bullies really never targeted her...  they were annoying, yes, but not hostile. At least to her, they were dicks to Freddy. 3.3) Why are you crushing...on a ... baby, compared to your age? Actually, why are you acting like a teenager at all? Like I just need one line, a “I been asleep for most of my life” excuse here

Again, I really like the character conceptually and I love the idea for her power, but she seems lost all the time and very out of place compared to her sisters and I was given no reason why. However and though I admit im not the biggest fan of romance subplots, I tough the dynamic between her and Freddy was very sweet. 

Actually, I think all 3 sisters are interesting! I would had loved to expand on their loss, their imprisonment and their discussion a bit more before everything went down like it did.  I would also loved to know if Ladon was sentient or not. He seemed to kill Hespera in his own accord but we don't know why he did it (and why with the tail when he has two good claws) ... I would also had liked for Athena to try to reach out to him while he was trying to scare her.

... I hate that he used his “paralyzing fear” for like 10 minutes and decided not to strike once. Moving at the pace of a snail. (But again, Freedy coming to save Anne was *chef kiss*)

4) The dream sequence with Wonder Woman really wasn’t well executed. It didn't had any service (it does not foreshadow, doesn't show or explain anything new) except conveying the wizard message. It took time away from other things that would had benefit from a longer time. In general, I do not know how I feel about Wonder Woman here. It only very conveniently solves one problem but back pedals all the consequences we had during this movie.

And hey, I know its unrealistic to think Shazam would be dead for longer than 2 minutes but giving Athena back her powers? why?

And that's it! Other than that I think I don't had any troubles with the movie. It was fun, packed of action and had good emotional moments and I specially like how this is direct consequence from the last movie!

[kat651]

totally random idea I got (sorry for the weirdness in advance)

ᵗʰˡˢ ˡˢ ʲᵘˢᵗ ᵃ ʳᵉᵃˡˡʸ ʷᵉˡʳᵈ ˡᵈᵉᵃ ˡ ᵍᵒᵗ ˢᵒ ᵇᵉᵃʳ ʷˡᵗʰ ᵐᵉ ᵃˢ ˡ ʷʳˡᵗᵉ ʷᵉˡʳᵈ ˢᵗᵘᶠᶠ

You never really felt like you were anything extraordinary, even thought you lived in the storm spire, as though you were Zubeia’s own child. Sure you were a human and you really shouldn’t have even been in Xadia, but you still felt like you didn’t deserve this life and to be honest, you didn’t. If you had been treated like how Avazandum treated all other humans you would be dead. But he was the one who convinced Zubeia to let you live in the storm spire as if you were one of them. That was (your age) years ago though and now Avazandum was gone and you lived off the grid (with the exception of a few people knowing where you were )

Once Avazandum had been killed, you left the storm spire, promising Zubeia you would return in time. That was a few years ago. 

You were currently at the peak of the cursed Caldera, watching Lujane and Allen (big sword guy) flirt with one another. You liked Lujane, and Allan was a quite agreeable man once you got used to the fact that he loved his giant swords. 

(They are actually a ship in the show, if you watch the end credits you can see Allan courting a disgusted Lujane in more than one of Callum’s sketches)

Allan had been a bit skeptical of Lujane when she revealed to him that she was actually a moonshadow elf, but he loved her nonetheless, and that made you happy. 

How you hadn’t come across team Zym when they came up here was quite simple, you had gone on a little (two week) adventure and had completely missed the events. You liked it up at the moon nexus, you spent hours relaxing near it when Allan an Lujane got to annoying. (Lujane loved to throw a party). Tonight was one of those nights. Half of the village was up here, partying. Tristan (guy with the sun forge dagger) often joined you. He had grown quite used to the fact that the cursed Caldera wasn’t actually cursed (and that it was all just a big hoax orchestrated by Lujane). 

Tristan sat with his feet in the water as the sounds of party music echoed off the mountain. You came up. “May I join you?” 

He nodded and made room for you to sit. Neither of you were interested in each other romantically, you had both made that very clear to one on other. You were just very close friends, people joked that the two of you were siblings separated at birth and honestly it wasn’t hard to tell why they said that. 

You looked over at Tristan. “I’m thinking about heading into Xadia,” you said quietly. 

“Why? You can experience all of Xadia in a day if you’re here!”

You shook your head. “That isn’t so, you can’t ride on the back of a Twin-Tailed Inferno-Tooth Tiger way up in the sky! Or play with baby dragons, oh! Or watch sparing matches between elven knights!”

He smiled at the excitement in your voice and face. “Maybe you’re right…” He said. 

You looked over at him. “I love it here and all but I’ve got family in Xadia and I haven’t seen them in a long time. I’ve got a brother I haven’t even met!”

“Wait! You have family in Xadia?!” He grabbed your shoulders and looked at your with wide eyed excitement. 

You sighed. You hadn’t told him about where your family was or the fact that they were all ferocious dragons. “Um yah about that… I have an interesting back story…”

“You told me all about it. How you were taken in when you were really young and-”

“No, I was taken by Avazandum, the king of the dragons!”

His face lost its color. “What?”

And so, you spent the next hour telling him the full truth of your past and who you were. 

You expected him to be angry for keeping it a secret but instead he just smiled. “I understand why you didn’t tell me the full story, it’s not because you don’t trust me it’s because you don’t want they information falling into the wrong hands.”

You smiled. It was crazy how well Tristan understood you. He pulled his feet out of the water and dried them before putting his boots back on. “Come on y/n, why don’t we head back to the party for a bit? Allan finally talked me into giving him a rematch, and a fair one.”

You smiled and took his hand, letting him pull you to your feet. “I bet he’s flirting with Lujane again.”

Tristan chuckled and shook his head. “Probably…”

The two of you headed back to the party and you stoped to talk to Lujane who was surprisingly not flirting with Allan. 

When you explained why you wanted to head back into Xadia she smiled. “Well the war is over and it’s probably for the best that you go meet your brother and let the dragon queen know you’re alive and well.” 

You looked over at Tristan who was having an arm wrestle with Ellis’ dad. “I think Tristan may end up going with me, he’s a good friend…”

Lujane smiled. “Indeed, you two are nearly inseparable, he’ll be by your side through just about anything.”

You smiled back. “He was my first human friend…” you admitted as Tristan rises his fists in the air with a smile of victory on his face. “But part of me wants him to stay here, as much as he doesn’t want to admit it, he really is a big part of this town, he brings life to your crazy parties.”

Lujane chuckled. “Indeed he does…”

Allan walked over and placed a hand on Lujane’s shoulder. “Hey moonlight…”

You rolled your eyes and walked off, leaving the two to flirt…

-.-.-

In the morning you set off to leave for Xadia, Tristan met you at the bottom of the cursed Caldera. “I’m coming with you.”

You smiled. “I thought you might say that…”

A few of the towns people, ones closer to you, came running up to bid you and Tristan farewell. You looked at Tristan. “You ready for an adventure?” 

He smiled and gave you a nod, “I’ve always wondered what Xadia looked like…”

And with that being said, the two of you headed off, entering Xadia by nightfall. 

“The trip to the storm spire is gonna be a long one…” you said as the two of you walked under the stars, searching for a safe spot to make camp for the night. 

“Look, these flowers are incredible smelling, come here!” 

You took a few steps back as Tristan bent forward to sniff the flower. He staggered back. “Ahhh, what is that?!?”

“There Toot-lips, Peri-stinkles, Flatu-lillies, actually there commonly just known as a fart flower.” You said as he fanned his face to get the smell to go away. 

“You’re so mean!” He said with a laugh. 

“Yah I know…”

The two of you set up camp in a small cave, both falling asleep almost instantly. You didn’t realize how tired you were until you had laid down. 

In the morning the two of you immediately began to walk again. You had a long journey ahead of you if you wanted to reach the storm spire. 

You came across many things on your walk. A farmer recognized you and gladly gave you his spare horse. The two of you traveled much faster that way and by noon the two of you could see the storm spire. “Isn’t it amazing?”

He nodded. “It really is…”

As the two of you rode across the plane, Zubeia leapt off the cliff and flew down to greet you. It took her only a moment to realize it was you and when she did she was overwhelmed with joy. Her child was finally home. 

You jumped off the horse and she lowered her head to get a better look at you. “Oh y/n, I’ve missed you so much!” She said with a joy filled voice. “Come, your friend too…”

You sent the horse back to its owner and you climbed onto Zubeia’s back, offering Tristan a hand. He skeptically climbed aboard and smiled. “I’d hold onto something if I were you…” you whisper as Zubeia tore through the sky and to the top of the storm spire. 

The two of you slid off and Zubeia immediately cast a spell so that the two of you could breathe the thin air. 

Tristan looked around with awe. “It’s beautiful…”

Suddenly, a little storm dragon came running up. “Y/n this is zym…”

You smiled and knelt down so you were level with the dragon. He sniffed your face before licking you. “It would appear Zym knows family when he sees it,” zubeia said with a smile. 

You smiled back and gently patted Zym’s head. It was good to be home.