#i will do all the dragons eventually bc i love them regardless

[redraccoondog]

My first (albeit rushed) attempt at making a light dragon using a sea serpent resin mold. I did not expect gold foil to resist all logical attempts at manipulation but it still turned out pretty close to The Vision. Lil Pancake for scale.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

as a lifelong ATLA fan who narrowly had ATLA dethroned as my top show by The Dragon Prince steadily over the past 5 years, the similarities between the two have very little to do with the surface level parallels that get regularly drawn between them.

Like ATLA, TDP has Books for seasons and chapters for episodes, but unlike ATLA, which only touched on storytelling sparingly as a theme, TDP is obsessed with interrogating storytelling and history and the presence of unreliable, biased narrators throughout many of its episodes (most notably 2x05, 2x06, 3x06, 4x04, and 4x07 among them). Half of what you learn in the 1x01 intro ends up being a lie once you reach S3, with more being steadily deciphered.

Yes, TDP has different magics with people living under those umbrella terms... for the elves. Humans are coming culturally at things from a completely different angle, and the elves' connection to their primal sources are discussed philosophically in detail, informing their practices and their culture first hand, including the way they chafe against humans, who are arcanum-less. Many animals in the world are also connected to magic, which influences both their design and which ones get hunted for humans' more 'clever' solution in dark magic, including each other.

The core issue of the Puppetmaster, down to being a coercive magic formed by someone deeply resentful of their imprisonment? Said puppetmaster is the main endgame antagonist of the entire show with all of S4 onwards being exploring the ethics of controlling people against their will in various methods, and the entire show itself being a thematic battleground of fate (imprisonment) vs free will for virtually every single character.

Where ATLA mostly concerns itself timeline wise with ending the war, very little thought is shown by any of the characters as to what they'll do after the war. This isn't a problem (as it reflects the sheer domineering scope of the conflict) but even Zuko being firelord is only ever really addressed with 2.5 episodes left till the finale. TDP, meanwhile, ends its 'war' in s3 and s4 opens up with dealing with the old wounds festering between people with centuries of history, the struggles that come when people aren't able to let go and believe they're safe or mourn in a healthy manner, and the religious/cultural clashes that may occur when trying to integrate different groups of people.

TDP also has an evil father with a devoted daughter and a brother who eventually defects, but it explores the reality of an abusive parent who loves/will sacrifice for you and your right to leave regardless, even if that means leaving the sibling you truly deeply love and who loves you in turn. Which means that when you and your sibling are on opposite sides of a deep ideological conflict, it actually really fucking hurts bc we've seen first hand just how much they love each other and also how and why everything fell apart not in spite of that love necessarily, but also because of it.

Is this to say that TDP is a 1:1 with ATLA or that it's better? No, not at all, and the latter is subjective. I prefer TDP, but I think they're about on equal ground when you look at each show currently as a whole (although TDP has two seasons left to go).

But TDP takes a lot of what ATLA was doing thematically with some of its most interesting beats and then builds or expands upon them further. It talks further and more consistently about the cycles of violence; in many ways, Jack De Sena's character, Callum, begins the series largely where Sokka had ended (and he's not the most like Sokka anyway; very much his own thing); we get Faustian bargains and centuries' long grief and fucked up people who are trying both succeeding and failing at not doing fucked up things. There are antagonists, but it is very hard to actually label anyone at this point a straight up villain. Moral greyness is where the show starts, and it just continues from there.

That's not to say the show is nothing but dark and depressing - like ATLA, there's a steady thread of hope and humour even as the show gets steadily closer and closer to its 11th hour point - but the show is usually emotionally heavier. There's more blood and potentially disturbing imagery with body horror and on screen death. There's so much foreshadowing you basically can't go more than 5 minutes into any episode without having something that's going to come back around or be referenced again like 3-5 seasons later.

Just to be clear - TDP is like ATLA, but it's like ATLA in interesting ways beyond the more shallow surface level that usually gets attributed to it, while still very much being its own show and its own thing. And that is why I tend to recommend it to people who like ATLA.

Thank you and goodnight

(Also, the fandom doesn't have any ship wars, and the show is queer as fuck)

[strwberri-milk]

Could I request Zhongli, Childe and Diluc getting jelly when their s/o buys and starts cuddling in bed with a plushie of them?

All those Zhongli dragon plushies make me want one soooo bad

i love this trope so much bc its so funny to have like lighthearted jealousy

Zhongli doesn't mind too much that you want to cuddle with a little dragon plushie. He thinks it's cute how you hold onto this smaller version of him and how happy you are to be with the both of them.

When it becomes "excessive" he likes to teasingly become jealous, just a bit. Ultimately he knows that you aren't actually shoving him aside to be with a plushie.

You turn your back to him, playfully pouting because he "upset" you and swearing that you'll never hold him again. Your face is buried in the plushie in your arms, ignoring him calling your name and his light touch on your shoulder.

Eventually, he decides it's "too much" and ends up gently pulling the plush out of your arms. You make a displeased noise before he ends up sliding your arms around his shoulders, holding you too tightly for you to complain anymore.

Wordlessly, you decide to hold him too, giving up your brief stint of mock anger to return some of the affection you've been withholding from him as he smiles to himself for another small victory against fabric and cotton.

Childe thinks it's cute at first. He finds it adorable that you've named a little narwhal after him and that he can always find you holding it whenever he's on especially long trips. It soothes his heart to know that you've got something that reminds you of him to keep you company.

When he's got a few late nights in a row he again thought it was cute to see you holding onto the narwhal. He was easily capable of taking it out of your hands and replacing it with himself but it slowly became harder and harder.

One night when he totally can't take it out of your hands he decides it'd be better to just wake you up. You slowly open your eyes to see him giving you puppy dog eyes, a big ol' pout on his lips as he whines for your attention. If he was actually a dog you'd be able to see his tail wagging happily to finally be getting a response from you.

You hold onto the plush regardless, giving him a sleepy kiss on his head as he continues to take the plush out of your arms. Being half asleep as you are, you decide to let go of the plush to take your needy boyfriend back into your arms. He tosses the narwhal over his shoulder triumphantly before burying his face into your chest, holding you so tight you that there'd be no chance of you getting something between your bodies.

Diluc thinks it's a little childish to be so jealous of a plush toy but here he is, staring down the owl in your arms as you read a book and wanting to do something about it. The bed is big enough for all three of you but he doesn't think your heart should be, crossing his arms and frowning to himself as you shuffle around to make yourself more comfortable.

You can feel his stare on your back, laughing mischievously to yourself as you know he's caught himself in a dilemma. You can hear the gears in his brain turning as he tries to figure out if he should do something or not, trying not to shake your shoulders with laughter.

After what might be hours of him deliberating but was really just minutes he finally comes into your view, your eyes grazing upwards to meet his. The way he can see you smiling exposes your malicious plan but he can't stay mad at you when you open your arms for him.

He slides onto the mattress with you, pulling both you and the owl into his chest. He'll work on getting rid of the thing some other time - seeing how happy you are just like this is more than enough for his heart.

[top-rhaenyra]

hello!! i was wondering what were your thoughts on corlys totally accepting luke as his heir:) do you think it was out of guilt? bc he genuinely liked rhaenyra? etc

this is a really interesting question, thank you!

i want to say, first off, that i can't pretend to know corlys's character nearly as well as i feel i know rhaenyra/alicent's, so take my opinions with a massive grain of salt. from what i can remember as well, these kinds of internal dynamics weren't expanded on much either (something i'm severely hoping to see in s2).

second off, i think a lot of this dynamic will be expanded on when team black finds more dragon riders, a few of which will be corlys's own bastards. i would imagine that they'll have that relationship be as decent as one can be between lord and bastard son, and i think this will reinforce his acceptance of luke as driftmark's heir

i think his acceptance of luke comes from a few places. at first, it was probably just to protect laenor. it's one thing for everyone to know that the strong boys are bastards, its another thing for that fact to be acknowledged by their alleged grandfather. while i don't think anyone would do anything to laenor physically (obviously), laenor's own father outwardly going "yeah these are not my grandkids" would put laenor (and rhaenyra of course) in a bad position both emotionally and politically.

after this initial acceptance, i think laenor's own insistence that luke is his own child helps corlys "get over" any possible animosity. regardless of blood, this child has his family's name and his son loves them as his own. what can he really do?

of course, eventually i think he does come to just like luke/the strong boys in general as people. i think just as a human being, it is hard to begrudge an innocent child bc of their parentage, especially if you watch that child grow up.

regardless of alllllll of that, importantly, is jace and luke's betrothals to baela and rhaena. regardless of what he truly thinks about the strong boys' parentage privately, and what everyone else believe publically, velaryon blood as well as velaryon name will eventually inherit both the iron throne and driftmark (if all goes well, of course). these marriage, imo, soothe any possible uneasy feelings he may still have towards luke specifically inheriting driftmark (if they even existed in the first place)

in the end though, there's not a ton to go on in the show. i'm probably making up most of the shit i just wrote. team black's internal dynamics were woefully underdeveloped imo, but if we take corlys's opinion that "history remembers names not blood" at face value, i don't think there was much, if any, questioning or resentment of the strong boys' status as true born velaryons from corlys.

[dramavixen]

Do you have any headcanons for Shangque and DFQC’s relationship? I’m so fascinated by why Shangque is so devoted to DFQC, even when he was emotionless and ruthless. Yes, DFQC saved him but Shangque really goes beyond the call of duty. And why did DFQC choose to save Shangque and make him his bodyguard? It could be bc he’s a dragon but iirc dragons aren’t endangered species. And DFQC didn’t think much of Shangque’s loyalty until Xunfeng’s attempted coup. What made them choose each other!

Oh, this is a fun question!!

SQ is a bit of a dummy, so that's what I'd consider the biggest contributor to their buddy-buddy relationship. Based on his lonely background, it makes sense that he'd cling to the first person who showed him compassion. That's probably also why he's almost foolishly loyal to DFQC. He's experienced firsthand that the guy is capable of understanding right from wrong, so regardless of the lack-of-emotions side of things, he believes that DFQC can be good.

Most importantly, DFQC doesn't lie. He may be hesitant to share what he considers to be weaknesses (e.g., the curse), but every word out of his mouth is the truth. To someone who's been lied to in his whole childhood, that's probably the greenest flag to have ever been waved in SQ's face.

DFQC also likely understands more about loyalty than he initially realizes. Even though he's a massive psychopath, he can tell who has his back and who doesn't. SQ, after several thousand years, doesn't exhibit any behavior indicating that he would be disloyal. That's more than enough to earn DFQC's tentative trust.

In my head, SQ is more of a secretary than anything else. If this were a modern-day office drama, DFQC being a CEO and SQ being the dude who chauffeurs him around and arranges all his meetings is too perfect of a picture. Everyone thinks secretary!SQ is so scary-looking and buff that he can and will beat you into the ground, and that's the real reason he's employed. But turns out that he's pretty harmless and CEO!DFQC himself is trained in ten different forms of martial arts.

I digress with the AU (admit it, we'd all watch it)...but my general headcanon is that they were BFFs and caused dumb problems together by accident all the time, and that's the real reason they became so close:

When DFQC ate food and couldn't tell if it tasted good or not (from the whole lack of emotions thing), he'd sometimes have SQ eat with him. SQ raved about the food, having never been treated to such delicacies in his life. Eventually, based on what dishes SQ cleared, the kitchen ended up only preparing what he liked eating for future meals. SQ, on the other hand, was so touched that DFQC fed him royal food which suited his tastes that he felt the need to return the favor. He dragged his boss out for little adventures outside the palace to search for food that DFQC enjoyed. It never happened, but at least SQ became a happier employee and DFQC got some daily walks in.

The kitchen once tried brewing a new kind of tea. SQ happened to be the one drinking it that day and was allergic to the leaves—nothing too serious, just a temporary rash. DFQC, thinking someone poisoned the tea to assassinate him, burned the kitchen down. SQ was incredibly moved by this supposed delivery of justice.

A palace servant once confessed to SQ. Not knowing what to do, SQ tattled on her to DFQC, who didn't understand what the hell he was going on about because who cares about love? But it perturbed SQ enough that, concerned over his right-hand man's work performance, DFQC transferred the servant to a different section of the palace...after telling her that he'd kill her if she tried pursuing her feelings further. This was when rumors that DFQC harbored secret affections for his assistant dragon got started.

SQ once caught some palace servants excitedly gossiping over his "special relationship" with DFQC. Still a naive dragon, he misunderstood and became obnoxiously proud about it, declaring his loyalty to DFQC with even more fervency. DFQC also knew of the rumors, but couldn't care less. But SQ did seem to be working harder, so he did nothing to stop them.

When DFQC was imprisoned, SQ tried to help stabilize the Moon Tribe with Xun Feng and the other officials. The chaos and decline of the empire that DFQC sustained utterly depressed SQ, who felt terribly incapable as everything fell apart around him. Everyone kept telling him that DFQC was gone for good and that the Moon Tribe was doomed, but he knew better. One day, DFQC would return to bring his people back to glory. Waiting for the return of the old days, SQ began his long wait for DFQC in hibernation.

Thinking a lot about this brotherhood now. And I do really want that AU.

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Interlude (BC) Chapter 29

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Master Post

Having dinner under the stars with his friends and family was a treat for Vlastimir. It was surreal after all that he had been through, but welcome nonetheless. Eventually Leif’s constellation came into full view and was gazing down upon everyone. Zoltan and Morana were in awe, with the former muttering something about the nightmares that plagued his older brother. Vlastimir caught this and knew who he was referring to, the context giving him chills. Blood-Wraith felt happy seeing Leif again, as he always did at night in recent times. Naturally Deimos and Vexation spent the rest of the evening telling everyone stories of back when they used to explore the Cosmos with The Dragon of Old.

The next morning, Vlastimir and Ekaterina were back at The Singing Storm Tower, packing up their belongings. It was a shame for Englehart as they were leaving before Dunja and Barna returned, but he wished them safe travels regardless. The two then returned to the mansion for a final round of goodbyes before heading home. With everything all squared away, Radovan escorted the Dracul’s to Ironfire Station. Blood-Wraith tagged along as he wanted to see the train they would be using (in reality he was bummed out to see Vlastimir and Ekaterina leave).

Blood-Wraith watched as the train slowly pulled away, vanishing once it left the station. “I’m going to miss those two.”

Radovan patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, you’ll see them again. Zoltan’s a good chap and I definitely plan to stay in contact with him.”

“That’s cool, dad” he replied as he began to leave.

“Do you want to go for a walk, Blood? A little father-son time?”

Blood-Wraith paused. “Thanks, dad, but I want to go check in with Vex about that anomaly I encountered. Maybe later.”

Radovan smiled. “Very well, son. Just know that I’m always here for you if you need me.” He sighed once Blood-Wraith was out of sight. Raising a son was already proving trickier than raising a pair of daughters.

Upon returning home, Blood-Wraith was greeted with an unfortunate sight: Valentina had her belongings packed up. “Not you too, Val?”

She winced. “Ooh, I’m sorry, Blood. It’s just that urgent matters popped up back in my universe.”

“Are they that important?”

“Unfortunately. Nasargiel stressed that it was a matter of utmost importance.”

He had to concede on that one given what Valentina had told him about her universe’s Inferno. He sighed. “Alright, I guess. Tell Gabriella I said hi.”

“I will.” She gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that I’ll visit you whenever I can. And don’t be afraid to come visit me. We’d love to have you along for dinner.”

“Thanks. Bye, Val. Stay safe.”

“You too, Blood. Farewell for now.” Valentina did not immediately take off, as she had a couple of things she wanted to take care of first.

Vexation had been quietly standing there. “Hey, Blood?”

“Yes?”

He could see and hear how bummed out he was. “So I talked to Eustorgio last night and he had some pointers towards what you had discovered yesterday. If it makes you feel better, I have some potential explanations we can explore.”

Blood-Wraith shrugged. “Sure, Vex. Let’s hear them.”

After stopping by a few shops, visiting some alchemists, and grabbing some books, Valentina was ready to return to her realm. All she needed to do now was quickly visit Rose and Radovan. Fortunately they were both at the Raynot mansion. “Rose? Radovan? Do you two have a moment?”

“Of course,” Rose replied. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s Blood. I’m pretty sure I just bummed him out…”

Radovan looked at her packed belongings and nodded. “Don’t beat yourself up, Valentina. Duty calls at the worst possible time.”

“I know. Do you two have everything all wrapped up in regards to your positions?”

“Almost,” Radovan replied. “We’re nearly done with getting all the records up to date at the tower.”

“I’m free at the moment,” Rose pointed out. “Does Blood need attention?” Valentina nodded.

“That’s what I figured,'' Radovan said as he calmly tapped his fingers on a windowsill. “I’ve noticed he’s been a bit emotionally hectic ever since we met him…”

“A bit?” Rose cut in.

“Okay, fairly hectic,” Radovan answered. “I feel so bad for him, getting tossed into the tail end of our conflict with Milosh, and right out of the figurative womb too. It’s a lot for a boy to handle.”

Rose nodded in agreement. “Well then I guess I’ll just have to go visit him. Don’t worry Valentina, we’ve got this. Thank you for all the help you’ve provided thus far.”

“Thank you too, Rose. And you too, Radovan.”

He shook her hand before she left. “Well he is our boy after all. If you ever need any help, don’t hesitate to ask, Valentina.”

Upon departing the mansion, Rose watched as the dark angel flew into the sky and vanished, leaving behind some stray feathers. Valentina’s black wings were quite the sight to behold. Once Rose reached Blood-Wraith’s house, she rang the doorbell and waited. Opening the door was Blood-Wraith, who looked somewhat sad. He was processing a lot of emotions and his friends leaving did not help in the slightest. 

“Oh, hey, mom. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Hello, dear. I did not have anything else to do today, so I figured I’d come and sit in on one of your lessons. Is that okay with you?”

A smile started to appear on his face. “Sure, come on in.”

Vexation was sitting in the recliner as Blood-Wraith and Rose sat down on the couch. “Hello, your grace. Glad you could join us.”

“Same. So what have you two been up to? Hopefully it hasn’t been too bothersome.”

Blood-Wraith set some notes down on the coffee table. “Well, we think the thing I ran into is some kind of entity. It’s kind of complicated though. Truth be told, I’m not feeling these journeys into the collective unconscious…”

“Well like I keep saying, Blood: I’m always open to any ideas you have for this stuff” Vexation replied. “This is just the most guaranteed way to attain the knowledge we seek.”

“I imagine it can’t be all that bad if the means are that flexible,” Rose pointed out.

Blood-Wraith thought about that notion, wondering if it related to the entity. “Well either way, we were going to talk about Deimos and Vex before you arrived just now.”

“Ah, how intriguing…”

“In particular he wanted to know about what led to our group breaking up” Vexation clarified. “It’s an unfortunate tale, but one that bears repeating.”

Rose’s interest piqued. “I’d dare say I arrived at the right time then. I’ve tried to research the ancient past, only to find missing information and contradictory passages.”

Vexation chuckled, as some of that may have been his fault. “Oh boy, where do I even begin? I suppose context is in order. Me, Eustorgio, and Tiberius were all mages looking for knowledge. We craved it. And who could blame us? It was the Epoch of the Cosmos, when everything was fresh and new. Our countless travels eventually led to us crossing paths with Leif, multiple times. Eventually we all became friends out of mutual benefit. Leif could get us to where we needed and we often had the solution to his problems. Plus there was the fact that Leif was just a likable dragon in general. He was positive, caring, starry-eyed, and would not give up.”

“Was the problem between you guys really that bad?” Blood-Wraith inquired. “He seemed pretty bummed out when I met him.”

Vexation nodded. “Yeah. The schism between us really tore him up. I was shocked at what happened to Leif when I ran into him after the Epoch.”

“If I may ask, what was the inciting incident for all of this?” Rose wondered.

“That…” he said with a sigh. “Are you two familiar with the Old Gods?” They were unsure. “Right, expected. The Old Gods are entities that existed before God showed up. When God created the Cosmos, his light shone on the void, Revealing the existence of the Old Gods. Paradoxically, God counts as an Old God in and of himself. Right now we only know eight: God, Death, Father Time, Threrth, Klernta, Mar-Gargn, Zertherhar, and The Deep God. The Deep God is important here as he foresaw a lot of stuff relating to all of us. For some reason he told Leif in a riddle instead of going to Tiberius…”

Rose was confused. “Well that’s a bit bizarre. Maybe he felt Leif was… was he trying to protect all of you?”

Vexation rested his head on his fist, slightly averting his gaze. “Honestly I think The Deep God knew everything had to play out as it has, hence why he went to Leif. He knew Leif would become distraught and cause Eustorgio to go off his rocker. You’re all familiar with the idea that avoiding your destiny only makes it happen faster?”

“Yes, or that general concept, at least,” Rose answered.

“Geez, I don’t know how to feel about these Old Gods…” Blood-Wraith said to himself. “What did the Deep God tell Leif exactly?”

“A vague, truncated version of everything we’ve gone through.” Vexation groaned. “He warned that one of us would turn our back on God, which was preposterous… little did we realize that Eustorgio had a crisis and began to fear his reincarnation.”

Blood-Wraith thought back to his battles with The Lich, especially the one at the Metal Oasis given what he said to him back then. “I think I get it. So all that stuff he said to me…?”

“Was a watered down version of what he was going through back then.”

Rose noticed how odd that answer was, then realized something. “Vexation, being able to confirm that would’ve required extensive knowledge of the battle. Were you actually there at the time?”

“Guilty as charged” He said with a regretful chuckle. “I used a curse to hide my presence. It was so tempting to stab The Lich in the back right then and there. The least I could do was soothe Desislav while everyone was distracted…”

“Hey, wait a second! What about Drago?” Blood-Wraith interrupted. “She nearly died!”

“Well I was going to help, but Ferro asked me to hold off. Death wanted to talk to her.”

“Eh?” Blood-Wraith was lost.

“Apparently she’s had multiple, near death experiences during her exploration career, no thanks to Ethor’s death I’d imagine.”

Rose looked incredibly worried. “Oh dear. I think I need to have a talk with Dragoslava when I see her again…”

“Vex, were we in serious danger?” Blood-Wraith questioned.

“Yes and No. The threat was real, but I would have executed my backstab early if things had gone south.”

“So what was stopping you from just acting and helping us?”

Vexation sighed again. “Everything The Deep God ever said. Few grasp that everything is in a precarious, ever so fragile balance. One tiny alteration and all of that flies off the rails. Knowing to any degree is infinitely worse than not knowing. Why do you think Eustorgio went completely bonkers? It’s truly maddening and I’ve had moments where I’ve found myself at the brink of losing my mind.”

Blood-Wraith looked slightly terrified and mildly upset. “Oh God, I don’t know if that makes my anxiety worse or better…”

“Blood?” Rose set her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t let it worry you. All of you are here now and that’s what matters. Clearly The Deep God knew we’d be able to fix everything.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Don’t fret, Blood.” Vexation coughed a little. “Focus on yourself and go with the flow… It’s kind of hard to do when you’re someone like me, but it is doable.”

Rose looked at the two and got up. “Well since we’re so worked up and our throats are dry, how about I make us some tea?”

“Yeah, I could go for that,” Vexation answered, then got up to stretch his legs.

“Thanks, Mom,” Blood-Wraith replied. “That would be nice. Everything you need is in the top cupboard.”

Next: Chapter 30

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

[a-little-lostmoon]

HEARTSABYUL PICKING POKEMON STARTERS (and why)

im bored and so i bring together two of my favorite things. I’ll do every dorm eventually and each person will get their own pokemon (probably.)

ACE ~ he’s an oldie pokemon fan, loves the classics isnt as much of a fan of the newer gens and will rant about it on twt. the first thing i thought of for him was fire type bc he’s rather headstrong and blunt and has that sorta firey energy about him. with all of this said, Ace picks charmander. Sue him for loving the classics. He also absolutely loves the fact that charizard is a fire flying type bc it means they have matching magic (kinda, he just thinks it’s cute) but still wishes that charizard was a dragon type bc he thinks dragon types are cool. He prefers charizard y over x and deuce calls him weird for that. believes in charizard supremacy.

DEUCE ~ like ace, deuce is also an oldie pokemon fan and is proud but hes less outspoken about it (keeps a gameboy and ds hidden in his closet). my bf argued that deuce would be good with a fire type starter and while i can agree to an extent i still went with a water type so i didnt have any repeats and bc i personally think he’d pick a water type and he enjoys pokemon meta, especially in the early games. he’s probably into speedrunning and mods too WHICH IS WHY deuce picks squirtle as his starter. he thinks turtles are cool—and you know whats even cooler? a giant turtle with guns on its back. he and ace get into arguments about whether blastiose or charizard is better constantly with no end to them in sight. I also enjoy that adeuce both get matching gen 1 starters

RIDDLE ~ now riddle, unlike the other two, hasn’t got much if any pokemon experience or knowledge save for… maybe a few pokemon cards that chenya gave him when they were kids and he hid away somewhere safe, but he doesnt know much about pokemon at all. so what does this mean when he’s picking out his pokemon? well, he doesnt lol. he gets someone else to choose for him based on what’s “optimal” bc he doesnt want a bad pokemon and trey ends up picking cyndaquil for him cus he thinks that cyndaquil/typhlosion and riddle are similar (also he doesn’t know pokemon meta) and riddle grows very attached to his cyndaquil, probably ends up giving it a nickname too. no one tell him about nuzlockes, he will cry at the thought of loosing his cyndaquil (and hes died a lot in games, hes learning tho)

CATER ~ im ngl cater is one of the last people i assigned a pokemon to so if it seems slapped on then thats why but also i still think the vibes work so well with him. if this was like an actual twst characters in a pokemon world au cater would absolutely be a pokemon coordinator or some sorta thing like that. definitely take a lottaaa photos with cute pokemon too, he’d be rly drawn to any cute pokemon HOWEVER (bc there’s always a however) the pokemon he picks isnt one of the main pokemon that most people would consider the cutest out of the starters, its one he’s very drawn to and finds super cute regardless of what others think. this pokemon is… CHIMCHAR! idk if others will agree with me on this but i personally think cater and chimchar would make such a cute combo and his chimchar would be super camera ready at all times, they’d have so many selfies together. i didnt mean for caters thing to be so long but to wrap things up fast he plays the games bc theyre recommended and popular, and has watched some shows for the same reason however he’s not a die hard fan of pokemon.

TREY ~ and finally the dorm mother! as mentioned in riddle’s thing, chenya was very into pokemon as a child (still is for nostalgia probably) and thus he tried his hardest to also get trey into pokemon though trey only ever rly got as far as watching some of the shows and collecting some of the cards. he actually knows how to play the pokemon card game the official way though! which is certainly a surprise considering the fact he forgot the basic type matchups. when the others get trey back into pokemon he ends up growing attached to chespin very quickly. Just a little cute quirky grass guy, he grows attached instantly. he likes all the grass type starters a lot but chespin stands out to him most, probably because he has an attachment to the kalos region too. he finds chespin in the show to be a very charming lad and now he wants a chespin/chesnaught pokemon card.

I’ll do the others when i feel like it i just didnt wanna cram all 22 students on one post thats a lotta effort. maybe ill do an actual twst characters in a pokemon universe someday tho who knows

[a-libra-writes]

You sound as though you are a busy bee 🐝 at the moment, but it you have time I would love to hear any headcanons you have on the relationship between Shireen Baratheon and stepmother!reader. That sweet little girl just needs a mother figure in her life and I would love to know any thoughts you have on how the Baratheon household would change if the Reader was to marry Stannis. And it is totally your fault that I have fallen in love with the emotionally constipated man that is Stannis 😍

okay okay i have other stuff to write but this is my weakness bc Stannis + Shireen + kiddos i am weak.................. (also i am always delighted to drag more people to our One True King)

This is interesting because 298AC Stannis bitter and tired, and he has a distant relationship with Shireen, in spite of the fact he loves her. This distance is because of a combination of factors, but I think if anything happened to Selyse, Stannis would make a point to try to involve himself in Shireen's life more. He'd be terribly awkward about it and unsure of what to say or do.

Because honestly, he and Selyse were not the best parents to Shireen. Selyse just outright ignores her and considers her a shame and a burden, and while Stannis cares and sees her as his heir, he does little to actually show his affection. Before Edric, the girl's only friend was Patchface.

So ... a stepmother has a lot to deal with here.

First, showing genuine attention to Shireen would be such a huge step. Inviting her to family meals (and dragging Stannis to them because he needs to eat and not spend all waking hours working), telling her "I'm happy to see you today", checking up on her lessons with the maester and asking what she's interested in, asking her questions about herself, and so on. The simple actions of being treated like a person and not some invisible shame would do wonders because she really is a clever girl that wants to know people - see her quick and close friendship with Edric.

I think she'd be very curious about a stepmother, but also resigned about how she might be ignored, especially if a baby comes along. I think as much as Stannis tells others that Shireen is his heir, he never made this known to the girl herself.

Shireen would probably attach herself quickly to a kind stepmother. They'd start to have bedtime stories - aka stepmom starts a book (a history book?? children read these???), and Shireen quickly begins telling her about it. Going out to the gardens and the sea, making faces at the dragon statues around Dragonstone, brushing her hair in the morning, and so on.

I think while Shireen has plenty of book knowledge, she has little on being a lady - her mother decided she wasn't fit for court, and Selyse is not a woman of court to begin with. If Shireen is going to be Stannis' heir, she needs to know etiquette, elegance, social maneuvering, and so on.

Stepmother definitely needs to give Stannis an earful about how unprepared his daughter is in this regard. He has to admit she's right ... he'd also probably feel a lot of shame in what a cold upbringing she's had, considering how vibrant and loving his own parents were.

Also, a big step would be bringing Shireen to court - first when Stannis' vassals gather at Dragonstone, then perhaps small tourneys in the Stormlands before tackling the Red Keep. It's tricky, because you'd want to build her confidence and speaking before subjecting her to the cruelties of King's Landing. It's something she'll have to face eventually as she gets older, but you also want to protect her and keep her safe from it. It makes Stannis anxious because he doesn't want her to be ridiculed.

And he will find out whoever does so and put them at the top of his shit list, theyll never eat lunch at Dragonstone again

And while I feel she wouldn't be terribly interested in dresses and balls and such, she's happy to tag along if her stepmother and Edric are going. I think Stannis would be shocked to see his little girl chatting with the other kids at a table, fitting right in, occasionally turning back to her parents with a smile. At the end of the evening, running up to her father and asking if the son or daughter of Lord so-and-so can come to Dragonstone some day, because she wants to show them the statues and library and grounds.

And if a baby does come along, Shireen would be the most doting and capable older sister. Reading a long history of Aegon the Conqueror to the babe, discussing matters of Dragonstone with them while sitting in the garden ... She's probably the only ten year old you'd trust to hold a baby and watch them. With a serious expression she'll carry the baby to Stannis and say "Father, you need to wish them goodnight!" and won't leave until he does so.

Also sweet grandpa Maester Cressen would be so happy to see this change in Shireen. She reminds him so much of young!Stannis in her isolation and sadness, and he's always regretted that. He probably invites the stepmother to several lessons for Shireen's sake (and to get Edric to focus).

Regardless if the stepmother approaches their relationship as a mother figure or big sister, she'd flourish with the right encouragement. She's intelligent and very capable for her age! I'm also not so sure she'd call her stepmother "mother" in any way - likely "Lady (name)", and then just her name once they're close.

[read-weep-repeat]

It hasnt been mentioned for a while bc fishy mc is skjfhfhka 🥰 but i wanna go back to whelp mc (well, not actaully a whelp but mistaken to be one anyway) & dragon! bts.

So like they assume oc’s a tiny dragon, right? Bc oc technically does have a hoard…and like allows them to see & touch all those stuff…then while they discover some stuff in the hoard that they could kind of copy so that oc would like them more, they see 7 figurines of dragons that straaaangely look like their dragon forms and while their heart were melting & they were cooing, oc suddenly seems them with it and gets protective over it (honestly baby was just shy that they found it) so oc kinda shoos them away as oc feels like being swallowed up by the ground bc embarrassing 😳 but then the next few days oc kinda tries to stay away from them (bc ov didnt think that theyd like her back just as much) and kinda just plays with the figurines and the 7 of them find her like that EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. and WHO EVEN KNEW 7 GROWN, STRONG ASS DRAGONS WILL GET JEALOUS OF FIGURINES OF THEM??? but then they hear oc mumblinh as she plays with the figurines ‘i love all 7 of u but baby doesnt wan’ hurt. they want a lil baby dragon. unlike me. im plain like the icky vanilla pudding. they dont even kno i no real whelp. im just little and i like keeping the things i love near me because it safe. 🥺’

SO THEY ALL LIKE WHAT KAJFHFHKALDHBF AND EVENTUALLY THINGS FALL INTO PLACE AND THEY CUDDLE WITH OC AND REASSURE HER THAT THEY LOVE HER NO MATTER WHAT AND WILL ALWAYS BE THEIR LITTLE WHELP REGARDLESS. NESTING OCCURS.

- THE END -

Ahh yes whelp mc, my love.

They do assume it, not great on their part but she’s so small and sweet and the hoard makes them throw cautionary thinking out the window.

I kinda wanted to keep her hoard a surprise but it’s so cute I just need to tell you. SQUISHMALLOWS! dragon mc has a hoard of squishmallows, and has a book (like a photo card book) with all the tags and bios)

Just imagining the boys watching with heart eyes as she flips through the book excitedly and explains the extension of her collection to them? 🥺

I can also imagine that Jungkook used to collect them too when he was a whelp, and the boys explain that to her. Also he digs through his old hoard (cuase now he’s moved onto jewels and other precious items) and brings out one of MCs dream squishs! He doesn’t know it is at first but he gets all smug when she gasps and gives him so many thankful kisses. (The other boys grumble and try to find squishmallows in their hoard that they had gotten for young Jungkook, but they’re gone)

Anyway!! Back to what you were saying! It would be so cute if mc got those “paint it yourself” figurines of dragons, and then painted them to look like each boys dragon form! She would definitely be embarrassed, even if the boys think it’s the cutest thing ever.

They are jealous though 😩 Jin would have to explain to Jungkook that hiding them so she spends time with them instead is not at all a good idea. Jfkfkgkggk

If they hear that while she’s playing with the figurine version of them 🥺 crying and soft times

They all bring her into their den while she’s little, and put her in the middle of their big dog pile. They reassure her that they love her, not the idea of her being a dragon. She’s still their little girl, their little whelp, no matter what.

And maybe during the confession, one of the boys starts purring. It’s like a air conditioner purr, so so loud. (I’m picturing Jimin or yoongi)

And maybe Joon is the one holding her, and he points at the boy fluffing pillows and blankets involuntarily, as if he’s making a nest, and asks mc if she knows what he’s doing. When she shakes her head no he goes

“he’s nesting. Just for you. When a pack gets a new mate or a whelp, it’s instinct to nest. he’s trying to make you feel comfortable.”

And she watches as the purr spreads like wildfire. the boys start to cocoon her in pillows and blankets, each doing something different to make her comfy while they purr like engines. 🥺

[notveryglittery]

birthday prince (3)

summary: virgil decides roman deserves a day off.  words: 2,100 / ship: prinxiety (roman/virgil) author’s note: this is part three of my Giving The Gay Anything He Wants series for roman’s birthday (june 4)! all ships are written implied romantic but i’m not stopping you from interpreting it otherwise. check the end notes on ao3 for credit on these gifts (bc i don’t know where to put them in this post)! i hope you enjoy!!

part 1 (roceit) | part 2 (logince) | part 3 (prinxiety) part 4 (royality) | part 5 (dlampts)  read on ao3

— — —

“Best two out of three.”

“I thought this was a birthday gift!”

“Yes and?”

“So why don’t I automatically get to pick the first movie?”

“Because I know you’re on a princess kick and full offense, if I have to deal with a talking animal as the comedic relief sidekick, I might actually die.”

“... Okay. Fine, okay, that’s fair.”

“On shoot.”

One, two, three, shoot — Virgil’s scissors versus Roman’s paper meant that the birthday boy did, in fact, not get to pick the first movie. He feigned upset for only a few moments longer before flopping back into their pillow fort. He supposed, given all the hard work Virgil had put into this, he could put up with one non-princess Disney film.

Earlier in the day, Virgil had rather unceremoniously kicked Roman out of his own room, claiming he had something important to do. Were it not for how close they’d grown, Roman would have been upset and suspicious; he trusted Virgil now, though, and knew that nothing would go wrong. He’d spent an hour playing cards with Logan and Patton before Virgil shouted for him from upstairs. When he’d arrived back to his room, it looked almost unrecognizable. It was mostly illuminated by fairy lights, providing a cozier feel than what he was used to; the floor to ceiling windows looked out into a rainy forest instead of the usual rolling hills; his bed had been turned into a truly impressive collection of blankets, pillows, cushions, and stuffed animals. The canopy had been removed which bothered him a little but only until he realized the projector that had been set up, pointing at the ceiling. There was a basket at the foot of the bed, filled with snacks and bottled drinks. Roman figured they could stay here for the next twenty four hours and be perfectly fine.

Surrounded by what was possibly every soft thing to be found in the Mindscape, Roman clutched Mrs. Fluffybottom to his chest as Virgil got the movie set up. She’d been his favorite plushie for the entirety of his existence; he’d taken her on many adventures over the years but she’d comforted him through a number of breakdowns too. He swore there was actually something magical about her.

Virgil threw himself down next to Roman; he had swapped out his usual hoodie for one that was fully dark purple and had even longer sleeves. After Roman had stopped gawking around his room, Virgil had tossed a sweater at him. It was so bright it was practically neon but it was rainbow print and he loved it. He’d immediately changed out of his t-shirt and had grabbed Virgil in a tight hug. Roman definitely intended on starting a sweater paw fight at some point during their movie marathon.

“You good with Hercules?”

“No comedic relief sidekicks, huh?”

“Phil is not a sidekick!”

“What? Are you trying to tell me right now that Philoctetes is a main character? You can’t say he isn’t comedic relief! He gets hurt just for laughs way too often!”

“No! I mean. Maybe?”

Roman laughed, bumping his shoulder against Virgil’s. “Whatever, you dork. Of course I’m good with it. You could have picked The Black Cauldron and I would’ve been good.”

“Talking animal. Comic relief. Sidekick. Gurgi checks all of those boxes. I would’ve been going against my own word.”

“Hmm, fair,” Roman said, humming a little.

As the Muses began singing them through the opening, Roman took a moment to appreciate everything Virgil was doing for him. The basket of goodies was stocked with every one of Roman’s favorite snacks, including enough chocolate to make him sick. In fact, it’d been the first thing he’d decided on, before Virgil could even tell him what the plan for the day was. Not that it was really much of a plan, anyway. Today specifically had been set aside just for Virgil to spoil Roman however he wanted. That apparently meant marathoning Disney movies, napping as much as they pleased, and eating all the junk food they wanted. It was a far cry from how Roman usually spent his time; what with all of the projects he was constantly juggling, or the content he had to help Thomas produce, or the issues to take care of in the Fantasy Realm. He didn’t really realize even how hard he was always working.

Apparently, however, Virgil had.

Something was shoved into his face, startling him out of his thoughts. He shot a glare at Virgil, who was watching the movie and acting totally inconspicuous. The item turned out to be a stuffed dragon, one he didn’t recognize from his usual pile of plushies. The scales were shimmery, a nice ombre of purple and blue shades, the wings were tucked against the body, and… Holding his hand against the stomach was warmer than the rest, as if it had a belly full of fire. That was so cool! He squeezed it tight in his arms and went back to watching the movie, feeling even comfier than before.

With the credits rolling, Virgil ushered them both out of bed and into a couple minutes of stretching.

“I’m not having you complain to me later on when your bones start creaking.”

“You make it sound like I’m so old, Virgil!”

“Older than me,” Virgil teased. He ducked out of the way of a thrown cushion. “Oh, is that what we’re doing?!”

Roman took a face full of pillow and suddenly it was on. He couldn’t begin to guess how long they fought for, darting around the room and over the bed, swinging their feather-filled weapons at each other. He did know that by the time he collapsed on the floor, he was breathless with laughter. Virgil was so far gone that he’d dissolved into alternating between wheezes and complete silence. Eventually, they did manage to get back into their nest of blankets, though there was plenty of shoving, poking, and tickling as they did so.

“I dunno if I’ll make it through this next movie so pick one that I won’t mind falling asleep during.”

“You besmirch the name of Disney if you think there’s a single film boring enough to allow that!”

“You dozed off the first time we watched The Good Dinosaur.”

Roman spluttered. “I had just come back from a week-long quest! And that’s Pixar!”

Virgil actually cackled. “You can’t pull that excuse! Disney owns Pixar!”

“Stop bullying me,” Roman cried, “it’s my birthday!”

“It’s two days before your birthday, actually, so I can bully you all I like.”

“I’m picking The Black Cauldron, then! See how you like dozing off during your favorite movie.”

It perhaps hadn’t been his best choice. With Virgil snuggled into his side, warm and soft, the sound of his even breathing accompanying the utter lack of any songs… Well, Roman really didn’t last much longer. They found each other in the Dreamscape. Edges were fuzzy, sounds were muffled, and touch was electric. The Dream Palace was a blurry shape in the distance, attracting his attention every so often when its crystal spires caught the light. Virgil sort of just appeared, as if created from the colors of the setting sun. Roman had a feeling he was made of the field of flowers he’d woken up in.

“I like it here,” Virgil said, sitting down next to Roman.

“Remy does a nice job with it,” Roman agreed, slowly picking daisies and dandelions to weave into a crown.

“You do, too,” Virgil argued. “You have a hand in almost everything, you know.”

Roman frowned at him. “I do not.”

“Yes, Ro,” Virgil insisted, “you do. The Memory Archives look the way that they do because you and Logan watched one episode of Doctor Who together and had the inspiration to redesign.”

Roman chuckled, a little nervously. “I guess.”

“Memory Lane doesn’t hurt Patton because it knows better than to hurt anyone you love. It might be connected to him and his room, but you’re the one that created that safety net.”

“Virgil…” Roman tried, voice slightly strangled.

“I just need you to know how important you are. You aren’t told enough.”

“It’s fine—”

“You’re important, Roman. You matter. You make a difference.”

Roman finally stopped trying to tie together the stems of the flowers. Virgil took his shaking hands into his own and held them tightly. It was just enough that Roman could actually feel it versus the tingly sensation that the Dreamscape normally worked with.

“We love you. We appreciate you and your hard work.”

If it weren’t for that everything around them was already blurry, Roman might not have noticed his vision swimming when tears filled his eyes. It was hard to not know suddenly that he was crying, though, regardless of how physically present he was in this space.

Virgil let go of his hands and instead, cradled his face gently. “I know I go against you sometimes but in the long run, I want you to be just as happy as you make the rest of us.”

He waited a moment longer before smiling and squishing Roman’s cheeks. Roman giggled a bit in response. Virgil gave him two careful pats before pulling away. Picking up the flower crown Roman had abandoned, he set to work on finishing it. Roman wiped his tears away and sat still in the sunshine, content to simply let himself soak it up until he was completely warm from the inside out.

When they woke, the screen projected onto the ceiling was displaying a screensaver of 3D pipes. The forest outside the windows had been replaced with a cliffside view of the ocean. Virgil stirred next to him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He absentmindedly pressed a kiss to Roman’s cheek before getting out of bed. He was gone for a little while, during which Roman found two more plushies that he didn’t recognize. They were a gryphon and a lion, both extremely soft to the touch, and with fierce expressions that reminded Roman of how Virgil looked when he was in fight mode. He wondered how these new stuffed animals kept sneaking into his collection but he certainly wasn’t complaining.

When Virgil returned, Roman burst into laughter, because yes, he supposed there was no chance of sneaking that one into the pile.

“There won’t be any room for me in bed, Virgil!”

“Guess you better get used to sleeping on the floor then,” Virgil said, dropping the massive Simba plushie on top of Roman.

This just made Roman laugh harder. The fabric on this one was fluffier than on the others, something he could sink his fingers into if he wanted. It was nearly as big as him, or maybe it just felt like that right now since it was smothering him. Before he could move it, though, Virgil sank himself down onto it as well.

“Virgil!!” Roman gasped between snickers. “Get off, you fiend!”

“Hmm…” Virgil hummed, pondering. From where he was laying, he could just barely look directly into Roman’s eyes. This made it all the funnier when he finally decided, in the most deadpan tone, “nah.”

After some wrestling, which led to them both falling out of bed and Roman bumping his elbow and howling for five minutes about his funny bone before Virgil kissed it better, they were finally settled back in to continue their movie marathon.

They watched Moana, Tarzan, and, Mary Poppins before sleep began to take them once more. Seeing as the sun had sunk below the sea quite some time ago, it was safe to assume it was late enough to call it a night.

“I got you…” Virgil paused to yawn. “Got you one more thing…”

“Vee—”

“‘S not much.” He held out Mrs. Fluffybottom for Roman to take. “I just… I made it so that she can never be hurt.”

For a moment, Roman’s lethargy was chased away by astonishment and surprise. He could feel the enchantment just from holding her, though it was passing by the second as the magic was fully absorbed.

“I know you… take her on adventures a lot. Fightin’ bad guys ‘n stuff.” Virgil shifted further into the blankets as sleep continued to take hold on him. “Wanna keep her safe. Know you will, anyway. But jus’ in case.”

Roman rolled onto his side so that he was facing Virgil. He kept the bunny plush tucked between them and took one of Virgil’s hands in his. “Thank you…”

“Love you. Happy birthday, princey,” Virgil told him, papping him once more on the cheek.

Sleep settled over them quickly after. Roman would wake in the morning, feeling more secure and warm than he had in quite some time, surrounded by plushies and Virgil’s arms, and know that he had so much to be grateful for.

[yukipri]

On Deuce, Part 1 - a One Piece Mermaid AU Text Story

Alrighty, here's a story thing on Deuce!

My goal for this story? series? thing, is to not just give everyone a better idea of who Deuce is, but also bring up other Novel A characters and events that are relevant to the Mermaid AU (and there are several), especially for those who have not read the novels. Also want to give some info on what the hell Ace was doing in his Three Years between when he first left Dawn at 17, and him restarting his journey together with Lu.

I am defs in no way going to retell Novel A (if you wanna read them, the official English translations are out through Viz), but there are defs some major changes that occur in Ace's past as a result of Lu being a mermaid, that I feel are relevant and will tie in to some future decisions.

WARNINGS for this section:

＊I have not read the English translation of Novel A, only the original Japanese, and as such names etc. may be inconsistent.

＊This section contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Novel A volume 2, specifically about the identity of one of the novel only charas. If you want to read the novel without being spoiled, you may want to hold off on this, but if you don't care, go ahead!

＊Just a lotta Deuce being introspective, he's just that kind of guy.

＊Hint of implied AceLu

~~

Three years ago, Deuce met Ace on a deserted island, and they formed the Spade pirates together. Deuce was Ace's first crew mate on his first adventure, and he finds it poetic that he's also his first on his next, a journey all the way back to the starting point.

Deuce, in many ways, is Ace’s opposite. While Ace was the Spades' fire, their Sun, the charismatic leader who drew them together and whose flames fueled them forward, Deuce was the voice of reason and responsibility. Deuce was their strategist, their navigator, and their doctor all in one, a true First Mate who gave more orders than the captain to keep their crew functioning. If Ace was their beating heart, Deuce was their backbone.

Ace loved the Spades, and the Spades loved their captain, love him still, even after joining the Whitebeards. But Ace also carries darkness, and secrets that he decided he didn't want to burden his crew with, both for his benefit and theirs.

Ace has two major secrets: one, that he’s the Pirate King’s son, and two, that his “little brother” is a female mermaid.

The first, only Deuce knew among the Spades. He found out on accident, back on that deserted island where they first met.

Deuce likes to think that the rest of their crew would have accepted Ace regardless, that their faith wouldn't be so easily shaken by their captain's heritage. But at the same time, he both understands and sees wisdom in Ace choosing to remain silent. Knowledge of even the mere existence of the continuation of the Pirate King's bloodline is something that the World Government would and has killed for. Ace doesn't want to subject his crew to that, and to be honest, Deuce doesn't either.

But one other on their crew knew Ace's second secret, regarding the identity of his younger brother.

When Banshee, the lone woman on their crew, revealed that she was a mermaid, Ace's reaction wasn't that of a typical pirate. Their other crew members were a mix of awe at her tail, and rude disappointment that their mermaid crew mate was a plump older woman and not a sexy young babe.

But Deuce watched Ace, and saw his eyes widen, glued to the shimmering rich green of the mermaid's tail, and Deuce knew that he was being reminded of a specific person.

Deuce was already in the room when Ace asks Banshee to join them to talk in private. Deuce makes to leave, but Ace gestures for him to stay--after all, Deuce already knows what they're going to talk about.

"Auntie, sorry for calling you in here all of a sudden," Ace begins, using the nickname the crew had adopted for her.

"This is about me being a mermaid, isn't it," she says bluntly. "Is that going to be a problem, or...?"

"No, no, not at all!" Ace quickly holds out his hands placatingly, eyes wide.

Deuce doesn't blame Banshee for her wariness; he's heard more than enough about the dangers of mermaids out at sea, especially around pirates. Which, is probably what Ace wants to talk about anyway.

"It's...well, this is less me wanting to ask you questions, and more me wanting to let you know something," Ace begins, and Banshee frowns. The crew knows the basics of their captain's origins, and has had their ears chatted off about his love for his brother--but he doesn't talk much about himself much.

"It's about my little brother--"

Banshee heaves a huge sigh, all tension leaving her shoulders, and she throws an are you fucking kidding me glance at Deuce, who also sighs but minutely shakes his head to redirect her incredulous gaze back to Ace. Because well yeah, it is about Luffy, but it's actually serious this time.

"Well, you know my little brother Luffy," Ace begins again. "I don't tell a lot of people this, and actually other than you, only Deuce here knows. But...he, is actually a she, and she's, well, a mermaid."

Deuce watches the information sink in, because it clearly wasn't what Banshee was expecting.

"Is that why you caller her 'younger brother'?" she finally asks.

"Well that...that's a bit complicated, actually. That's not the reason why she's my younger brother. But I realized it's convenient, so I've just been going with it."

"I was going to say, if it's intentional, that's awfully clever of you, captain," she smiles teasingly, and Ace sputters while Deuce snorts. Banshee has a point, because Deuce actually had been the one who'd mentioned the convenience of the title 'little brother' in protecting Luffy's identity. But, he keeps quiet for now.

"So, yeah, I just wanted to let you know that well, that's where I stand regarding mermaids." Ace shrugs, then scritches his cheek, looking away. He's always awkward about Feelings talk, but it needed to be said, and Deuce feels proud of him.

Because mermaids are so incredibly vulnerable above sea level, surrounded by humans. While young maidens are the most targeted, coveted by slavers as a free ticket to wealth, power, and connections to even the Celestial Dragons, even an older woman like Banshee might face discrimination and danger. Ace had wanted to make Banshee feel safe and secure on his ship, and revealed his own familial connections to give his words weight.

The woman smiles fondly at Ace, much like she might a son, and ruffles his hair as Ace blinks dumbly. "Thank you, captain," she says. "I knew I had a good feeling about you, before I asked to join this crew. It's not often a mermaid joins a pirate crew, you know?"

"You surprised me, I didn't know mermaids could have legs," Ace says honestly, eyes brimming with blatant innocent curiosity as they flick shyly to her feet, and Banshee ruffles Ace's hair harder. "It's my first time meeting a mermaid other than Lu."

"Mmm, well, she seems to be in good hands, with an older brother who knows how to be discreet about her, even if it's only by following Deuce's plans," she says, and Deuce guffaws while Ace buries his face in his hands, because of course she'd already guessed. "But well, I know now. So you can ask me anything you'd like, and tell me about her, if you want."

With Banshee's invitation, Ace pounces on the opportunity, and Deuce listens in even as he continues writing in his journal, occasionally taking notes in the margins when their their conversation gets interesting. Banshee tells them how merfolk tails split when they reach thirty, allowing them to live as humans on land. She tries to convince Ace to keep his brother hidden until that age, when mermaids are far safer and less attractive to slavers, but Ace shakes his head. It was hard enough convincing her to stay behind this time. She'll be leaping off that island at seventeen, no matter what I say.

Eventually, someone comes banging on the door to pitifully beg Banshee for food.

"Thank you, Auntie," Ace says as they get up to rejoin the crew outside.

"You talk to me again whenever you want, captain. And I'm always ears to hear more about your darling Luffy." She says the last part with a knowing little wink, before stepping out, leaving Ace blinking with confusion.

Deuce sighs, because Ace can be oblivious at times, and clearly doesn't know how he looks when he talks about Luffy. And Banshee just found out that said Luffy's a girl, a mermaid, and unrelated to Ace by blood.

To be fair, Deuce's pretty confident that Ace's feelings wouldn't be any different even if Luffy was a guy and human, but he gets where Banshee's coming from. Even if it still seems far too early for Ace to come to any realizations about himself.

~~

~~

~~

Bc YEAH, Ace had a mermaid on his crew, so of course that is Majorly Relevant to AU.

Prolly jumping right to Whitebeards next update for this series, whee~

As always, thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you so much to anyone who can spare me a few words of thoughts! ;A;

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

~This ask has been added to the Mermaid AU Text Headcanons Compilation post~

[barnesbabee]

Damn what did Jennie do to be called “that thing”? I don’t follow like kpop tea super closely so maybe I missed something...?

Also fucking Dispatch man, they really do be dropping shit to cover up all the recent bullying accusations

~ Fae💫

I wasnt going to answer any more asks about it, I was just gonna go bye bye and enjoy life as I did before I was a kpop stan (that is unless YG comes out and says it's a lie, which is what we're praying for on this side), but I figured since I'm hating on Jennie so much, I might as well give you an explanation.

And before anyone comments 'WOW YOU'RE SO OBSESSED WITH HER', I used to be a blink. Shocker, I know, but what a lot of you don't know is that I'm a YG stan, meaning I love all groups under YG. Blackpink were ANNOUNCED and I already loved them, that's right, pre-debut. I was a fan up until ddu ddu ddu era, after that it eventually went downhill.

Just a little background was needed.

Disclaimer: I absolutely adore Jisoo and Rosé is indifferent for me. My problem lies with the other two. Jennie especially, Lisa is more of a 'I don't like her attitude' kinda thing, I don't hate her.

Onto my essay we go.

1. The fact that she's a spoiled little bitch who got everything she wanted before, and still gets everything she wants now is appalling. Her family is filthy rich so she probably just woke up one day and said 'gee I want to be an idol, even though I have no skills that stand and I don't even live in Korea this seems pretty cool'.

The point here is that she always gets what she wants.

Don't believe me? Her nickname is YG's princess.

Still think I'm exaggerating? Ok.

Jennie was the ONLY ONE out of the group who got a solo.

Jennie got a solo while they still had promotions going on. Jennie had group AND solo promotions. While that happened, Soohyun from AKMU (AKMU is a group under YG formed by two siblings, a girl and a boy) was left TO STARVE. Her brother went to the army and for 3 fucking years she was left to nothing. Her brother said she even wrote a whole album and YG said no. Instead Jennie got her solo. Soohyun had to wait over a year after that to get a song to come out, which totals to 3 years she waited for a comeback.

And please, someone riddle me this, I beg of you. WHY did Jennie get the solo. She's not exceptional at dancing, she's not exceptional at singing, she's not exceptional at rapping. I don't even know how she got this famous within the group, Rosé's got the vocals, Lisa has the dance skills, Jisoo has the face, what does Jennie have? Why did she get the solo? Why not Rosé? Jennie keeps hogging brand deals and front row seats at fashion shows and instead of giving Jisoo and Rosé a chance Yg said 'here my little baby, take this chance and make a very basic and underwhelming song that everyone will love regardless for some reason'

And the fact that she didn't have any repercussions (believe me, when YG punishes someone, you can tell. Just look at Hanbin, he got kicked out bc one time he thought of buying drugs :D) after breaking one of YG's biggest rule is appalling to me.

For whoever doesn't know, YG hates happiness and love and he doesn't let artists date. Now I don't know what the contract says, but just so you know, Bobby from ikon said in an interview during Killing Me era (2018) that they weren't even allowed to be in the same room as the female trainees. iKon debuted in 2015. And Jennie, in 2019 (3 years after their debut, just like the 3 years that had passed for ikon at the time of bobby saying that) was caught getting into Kai's car and it later came out that they were dating. Bonkers, I know.

But she still got away with it.

2. The 'injury'

Now I started hating Jennie around the lazy Jennie period.

Basically she was performing with the happiness and energy of a fat girl running the mile in P.E class. If she could look any more uninterested she would be a corpse.

Now later it came out that she twisted her ankle and that's why she was performing that way. However, last time I checked ankle injuries don't affect face muscles or arm movements.

GD had a heat stroke mid concert. He performed with T.O.P, right after that he had a heat stroke and in the 4 minutes T.O.P was performing a solo he got better, because after top he had a solo to perform and fans paid for a show, and G-Dragon delivered a show.

The thing that I really don't understand was the way she performed her solo and the group songs was completely different. And that's what triggered me. Like oh during your solo youre busting your ass but in the group songs I guess it's not worth it.

She could have AT LEAST made a less bored face.

So, so many idols perform with injuries. So, so many idols perform while their mental condition is absolutely fucked. Is it messed up? Yes, yes it is.

And do I know how much it hurts to force your body through pain? Absolutely I do. I'm the only libero in my team, my knee is fucked and my back is begging me to stop but I couldn't stop because my team needed me and even if my back pain wakes me up at night I play as if everything was alright because that's what I'm there for.

And that's what she signed up for. What? Once inconveniences hit suddenly being an idol isnt cool anymore?

Try being Rosé, she busts her ass and she changed her voice to what YG wanted and he still ignores her and gives her no brand deals. You can look up how neglected she is.

that's why I dislike her, some people like her you're very much in your right to disagree with me

[venusmages]

THAT BEING SAID, heres my list of criticisms for CP2077 so far because i’m not just blindly praising it. under a readmore for a few spoilers, one major character spoiler so if you’re playing don’t read this until youre finished with act 1

this isnt bringing into the account of the criticisms console players are talking about bc im on PC, but i completely agree with frustrated console players about launch being a mess.

the fact that they cut you being able to take jackie with you to go meet with meredith is really frustrating. i wonder if they lost time and it broke something because it was in the gameplay demo from a while back.

on the same vein, t-bugs ‘death’ was so sudden and fast that i didn’t even register it as her supposedly dying until v brings it up later in the level. i thought she had just gotten hurt and booted from the program. if she’s actually dead i’m going to be incredibly disappointed and its going to be one of my few genuine sour notes on the game.

the romances are laughably inserted and shouldn’t have even been part of marketing in my opinion. from my understanding it looks like they’re all sidequests and there’s only like four of them total anyways. dont bother if your v isnt into one of the two options they have and just pretend youre kissin whoever you want lol

takemuras introduction was amazing but i feel like i missed a dialog somewhere that explained why he ended up getting chased by arasaka so fast after the events of act 1. i know his motivation but am a little confused about whats going on.

in the same vein, some optional dialog choices don’t actually feel optional if you don’t want to feel like you’re missing context for whats going on. i don’t mean this in a lore way, i mean this in a basic narrative way. 

i like that v clearly has their own personality that you kinda tweak and manipulate through your own actions, like with geralt in the witcher series. however i completely understand if people were lead to believe they’d be getting COMPLETE FREEDOM and are let down by the reality of V being a slightly less mailable character. as someone who likes witcher and the dragon age and mass effect series i’m okay with my oc having a pre-ordained personality but marketing could easily have misled people to believe otherwise and thats a totally valid complaint.

i love jackie to DEATH and hes one of the most likable videogame characters ever. however i do wonder sometimes if he suffers from ‘bilingual people don’t talk like that’ syndrome. it can get kinda muddy given how translators work in this universe.

in the same vein i think some of the calls for the game being transphobic or misogynist are overblown but i feel like part of it is the game might not be properly relaying that the overly sexual, violent, objectifying advertisements in 2077 is actually part of the lore and not CD trying to be cheeky ala Saints Row. Its a crit on consumerism and how desensitized the populace of the future gets to hatred, violence, and sex that it has to be overblown to the point of ludicracy. it might not translate for someone who hasn’t taken the time to look into the lore or familarize themselves with the vibe of the series before picking up the game. YES it is incredibly gritty and dark, but thats the point. However I think that fact needed to be communicated better because it just won’t be palatable for some people. Its stuff like this that makes me think we really need content warnings ALA fanfic for... all media, really. its a good idea. i could see the ‘fuckable piece of meat’ line being genuinely terrifying for some people and it comes out of nowhere. I like dark media and content but i don’t know if the game properly conveys beforehand that this is a BLEAK. world. BLEAK. 

i also think, unfortunately, its clear the team was crunched and ran out of time for a lot of things they wanted to add into the game. i feel like tying gender to v’s voice was the most elegant solution they had considering all of the voicelines in game. not saying it’s the best solution, but i’m glad they did that rather than tie it to body type or genetalia.

that being said i wish you could have a biotic pussy or dick in this game just bc that would be some cool transhumanism. same in general i wish you could replace limbs or eventually get more cyberware options that changed how you look.

I’m glad they’re gonna fix the epilepsy trigger but I’m also surprised and disappointed no one caught that might be a problem earlier on. I wonder what play testing was like.

Also glad the dev team isnt going to be treated like the new vegas team and they’re getting their bonus regardless of the game’s review score. that’s some stupid bullshit but every publisher does that shit unfortunately.

the fact you cant change your makeup, cybernetics, or hair after the start is dumb and i hope they fix that.

the c key being for crouching AND skipping dialogue is inelegant to say the least. you can fix it in settings for skipping dialogue to be ‘hold c’ but it shouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.

ai definitely wasnt finished and it shows. largely in how theres clearly no AI driving and how cops feel half-implimented.

managing stash is CONFUSING. so is the hacking minigame until you get used to it.

it is a LITTLE apparent that you’re going to go into Cutscene Time because characters tell you to sit somewhere specific. However once you’re in those locked scenes the game is still super immersive and beautiful so it’s not too bad.

i don’t understand why youd buy a car when you have one already and a motorcycle but i’ll still probably shop around for funsies

combat definitely feels floaty but ive played bethesda games and nothing can be as bad as those so its fine for me.

i know there’s more but thats what i have so far. I’m having a great time but those are my Thots.

[saintnesryn]

short daenerys meta for @aelinbitch

ok so I AM NOT A GOT/ASOIAF BLOGGER so pls no one take this too seriously

(j@nsas and northern/stark apologists do not fucking interact)

anyways lovely bella, who has never seen nor read the series, asked me if i could share my thoughts on daenerys targaryen + white saviorism (btw there will be some spoilers, sorry)

TW for racism, rape, slavery, abuse, misogyny, child abuse, suicide

so i’d like start by just saying that i do understand why some people believe dany is a white savior. the scene you referenced (the scene where dany is being held up by a bunch of brown ppl who’re calling her mother🙃) was done in such poor taste in my opinion. as a poc, it did make me uncomfortable and i wish that the writers had done something different. there’s also a lot of criticism on her character for basically interfering with other societies and trying to ‘fix’ them. believe me, i get it, i really do.

that being said, i personally do not see her as a white savior or a racist or a colonizer or anything like that. from my understanding, colonizers go to different countries and kill citizens and force the remaining citizens to follow their beliefs and practices, and basically annihilate whole societies (colonization is way more complicated and serious of course than this really condensed summary but you get the picture). dany has done NONE of that.

firstly if you look at historical imperialists, you’ll notice that they basically come from wealth and privilege. dany is an exiled, penniless, abused child at the very beginning of the series. she has absolutely no power, no authority, and no money. her brother, the only family she knows physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses her. she has no allies, no one who to protect her. while she eventually does make a name for herself, the hopelessness and loneliness that came from being so neglected doesn’t leave her. she unlike these historical imperialists understands what it is like to be poor and hungry and homeless and thus her intentions are vastly different from theirs. also she never tries to destroy people’s culture? she learns the languages and customs and tries to assimilate more than anything so...

next, daenerys herself is a victim of the very crimes that she vows to end. for instance, when she goes to cities and bans slavery, it’s not coming from a White Man’s Burden type of place. dany herself is a former slave, having been sold off to a warlord at the age of 13. while being this man’s wife granted her a bit of power (great, she could give a few commands -__-) she was still a child bride and was not treated like a real person. she is also a rape victim, having been raped every night by her husband to the point she was suicidal. so when she is so vehemently against rape, it’s not bc she thinks she’s better or bc she looks down on these ppl it’s bc she’s literally a victim and doesn’t want others to have to go through it. and i also have to add that if dany’s problem was something like religion or cuisine or music or something petty, i would understand why ppl would be mad at her. but like, i shouldn’t have to explain why rape and slavery are bad????? regardless of if you’re a victim of it or not, you should know that those are really bad things and we should all actually try to end those things?.?.?

now she gets criticized a lot bc she burns ppl alive sometimes but like- SLAVE MASTERS AND RAPISTS DESERVE TO BE BURNT ALIVE FOR FUCKS SAKE. and here’s where it gets interesting ok bc daenerys was basically punished by the narrative for being a revolutionary. instead of being wishy washy and lenient, she takes radical steps to ensure that these practices end. so if that means killing every slave master or rapist, she will do it. it’s honestly such a breath of fresh air from the stupid idea that if you kill a bad guy you’re just as bad as the bad guy. she unlike any character in the series and most characters in the media is not afraid to take down systems of oppression.

and throughout all of this dany is literally such a sweetheart. the show at least tried to convince us that she was EViL and mAd aLL ALong but there’s no one in the series who continuously gives a shit like dany does. like she actually listens to her people and advisors and considers their needs as well as her own. she goes as far as to lock up her dragons (who she sees as her children after her own human child was sacrificed and she was made barren) to ensure the safety of her ppl. the show really tries to squander these behaviors and attitudes of hers. in the book for instance, there’s a scene where one of her handmaidens is dying of a fever(?) while they’re all like stranded in the middle of nowhere (she’s poor again in this scene btw so much for her ‘privilege’) and everyone tries to convince her to leave the girl to die. daenerys- too kind for this world- targaryen instead gives the girl her water and stays with her until she dies. in the show however, the handmaiden actually ends up betraying daenerys leading to this whole revenge plot 🙃.

and finally for now ;) daenerys allies herself with multiple women and poc. it’s funny how the most marginalized folks in the series rally around her out of their own volition yet somehow she’s the racist woman hating asshole of this series 🤡

TLDR : DRACARYS

[ofieugogyshz]

1 2 4 6! @goldenworldsabound

@goldenworldsabound

1. Are any of your F/Os LGBT+? ummmm p sure my idol girls are all somewhere on the ace spectrum. Rin is nyanbinary! [geddit? bc she nyas?] She probably is also demiromo and ace! Mari is definitely lesbian and actually probably not that ace at all. Ai-Ai is mmmmm maybe pansexual? and Demiromo? I honestly wouldn’t know without seeing more content of her. But I can see her being pan easily. Hanamaru is aroace! 

as for the boys... uh. My husband is in a queer relationship regardless bc I’m queer, so it doesn’t really matter? And Otoya... Ace? Ace. Aspec? Grayce? I honestly don’t know since, y’know, basically otome series so it doesn’t really matter much. 

Caulifla is possibly bi or pan leaning strongly towards girls, so more likely goes by lesbian? idk how to explain that one correctly right there bc my brain is mush rn

Kale is lesbian

Cabba is ace and demiro because i said so.

Trunks is an enboy/enby demiboy, and also ace. because he can be?

i think i’m missing someone but it’s probably bc they don’t come up/haven’t figured into anything.

2. Did you come out to them? How did it go?

uhhhh coming out to lance re being ace was more like shouting excitedly because i finally found the word/experience explanations that made sense and realizing that FINALLY. A WORD. TO GET EVERYONE OFF MY BACK ABOUT DATING AND NOT WANTING SEX. BLESS. it basically just involved me excitedly yelling across the room to him. it was cute, he says. 

realizing being arospec was....... a lot more difficult bc i worried a lot about him thinking that it meant that i didn’t love him, bc i do, and that maybe it proved that i was more selfish or something, and etc etc, but he could tell that something was eating me up lately so we finally sat down and had a talk and he... took it very well? he wasn’t hurt by it because i still showed him love and compassion and support and pointed out that my feelings towards him hadn’t suddenly changed or been any different than they were before all of this. that it didn’t change anything about how i felt, how much i loved and cared for him. [and he gently nudged me about if i had thought about gray or demi labels and whatnot and i eventually found/looked into more labels and hoo boy my sub labels are too much please help i do not like having like 4-5 terms and conditions] i still felt bad for awhile that i couldn’t love him in the same way that he did, but he did his best to show me that our love was still the same, if not it being seen in a different light now, and that he wasn’t going to leave me or get angry with me because of it. it was a really hard first few months for me bc of intense guilt about it but he still stood by me and eventually it started to go away.

the enby stuff was a recent thing as of a year or two ago and i basically was just like “hey babe, i think i’m enby? or agender? i’m not sure which rn but enby sounds cuter and has the better flag colors so i’m gonna try out that for awhile” and he was just like, “okay. let me know if you change pronouns or anything” “ ‘kay “

4. How did you celebrate pride together?

i go as part of sbux’s group and my husband usually has to work but this year (and 2018? or the year before. Whenever the mass shooting happened) he went with me to make sure I stayed safe. if it happens this year he says he’ll go with me again, tho he’s been trying to suggest that I skip out on it this year if it happens. I told him I’ll play it by ear. 

There aren’t a lot of us aros and aces at pride. Someone’s gotta represent us and that’s usually me.

6. Do you own any pride merch? Have you made any yourself?

not a lot! I recently got some more stuff this year. Ummm I have an ACE hat with the flag colors on the word ‘ace’ and that’s been cool. I’ve forgotten to wear it for the last few years but it also got lost a coupla times the last few years ;>> I recently got a cute agender and ace pin at the last con I went to before all covid happened! and I picked up two queer pins from hot topic, i thought? maybe it was just the one, which is “Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not”. I feel like there might be something else I’m forgetting about between but I recently gave in and bought the dragon wing collar pin here and the aro one here. ;>_> gee i wonder why. 

Oh! if tarot decks count I have the Numinous Tarot! and I backed their oracle deck based off their huge comic. and i think there might be one more deck but that’s honestly the only one that comes to mind that is EXCLUSIVELY queer by design and not just “the lovers card is queer and that’s all the rep you get in the deck” [btw the lovers in numinous was instantly my fave/i fell in love with/was BASICALLY WHY I BOUGHT THE DECK, because it was definitely aroace inclusive and i even asked the creator about it and they said it was an influence!] 

I was gonna make myself some beaded keychains of the flags but that fell through as did my energy levels. 

OH THE FLAGS. I FORGOT THAT I BOUGHT ACE AND ARO FLAGS OFF AMAZON FOR PRIDE LAST YEAR. i was gonna get an enby one but they weren’t as cheap :T plus i can only fit two flags around me as a cape. which is one more than others.

[loregoddess]

Hey, remember me saying I was gonna write out the DGS-Echoes AU idea? I wrote it out. This is 99% rambling, 1% actual AU talk. I lost steam partway through, but still got the gist of all my ideas so I’m...going ahead and post bc I doubt I’ll ever find the motivation to revise/rework this in the future.

I’m not usually an AU person really, but I was playing through the Very Dramatic reveal of the Masked Knight (aka, we all knew he was Celica’s “dead” brother the moment he showed his pink hair for half a second) and was like, huh the reveal of a mysterious masked knight brotherly figure kinda reminds me of Asougi’s reveal in DGS2 and then I was like wait...

Now, in this AU there are no perfect parallels bc there just...aren’t. And Asougi isn’t Conrad bc that would make Susato Celica, which would then make...I guess Haori as Alm? But Haori doesn’t have enough characterization to really go off with this idea. But casting Ryuu and Asougi as Alm or Celica does work, albeit with the lack of masked knights which is...fine honestly.

The question then is who is the “Celica” and who is the “Alm”? Asougi tends to rush forward into things and generally takes a more aggressive path in DGS, so he seems like a good fit for Alm, and Ryuu’s entire thing is being confrontational in a non-confrontational manner, making him a decent Celica, but Asougi tends to make rash, emotional decisions which is more like Celica, and Ryuu tends to act levelheaded and think most of his decisions out a bit which is more like Alm, and there’s the fact that the writing in Echoes screws over like, 90% of the women anyhow.

After writing both out (er, writing one out, attempting to start the other), I couldn’t bring myself to cast Genshin as Lima IV, and casting him as Rudolf is slightly less mean-spirited of me, so we’re assuming Asougi is Alm and Ryuu is Celica. This means we don’t get the angst of having Vortex manipulate Asougi, and miss out on the image of Sherlock raising Asougi and Iris as his kids, but we get the angst of Asougi having to fight Genshin, and also the angst of the ridiculous stabbing-to-life scene. Although if you want, flip-flop Asougi and Ryuu bc that stabbing-to-life scene would be super intense regardless of which was manipulated into sacrificing his soul to Duma and which was instructed by Mila to stab-to-save the puppet-corpse left behind.

Asougi leads the Deliverance, Ryuu leads the Pilgrimage For as far as character casting goes, I’d have Asougi as Alm (unique sword-wielding class), which would make Genshin Rudolf (this sorta works bc Genshin isn’t technically a bad parent but makes some really questionable decisions--I’m sorry, dueling a serial killer to the death, so that said serial killer can have an honorable death, is...uh....Genshin can we maybe talk this out--which is more or less on par with Rudolf’s “my son was marked to save the world so I’m going to give him to my friend and send him off to the neighboring country which I will then wage war on so he comes and kills me and eventually the gods as well”).

Yuujin is Mycen bc he’s as good a Mycen as anyone. Susato would still be his actual daughter of course (I’m saying fuck gender-locked classes, bc she’d make a great dread fighter), and Haori would be one of the childhood friends from Ram (cleric class bc she’s a med student in DGS and also bc clerics are one of the best classes).

Ryuu is the Celica (sorry to Ryuu’s dad who I’m almost certain was not as shitty as Lima IV) and is therefore the “dead” prince of Zofia gone into hiding (unique bow-magic class?). Sherlock fills in as Nomah bc if anyone’s gonna get lost in the flooded waterways beneath a temple devoted to a very powerful goddess bc he was worried about his kids, it would be Sherlock (I guess he can be a mge class as well, it more or less works). Iris is his adopted daughter as well, she’s probably a cleric bc she has similar hair to Genny and also writes stories like Genny does. Lestrade could fill in as the Saber, being the mercenary Ryuu and Iris hire to help them get to Mila’s Temple.

I don’t have people for like, 99% of the enemy goons, but there’s plenty of unpleasant criminals in DGS, so take your pick. I’m casting Vortex as Jedah though, bc who else would be the manipulative head of a shady organization?

With this sort of setup, Asougi, Susato, and Haori would join the Deliverance, with Asougi getting talking into leading it, while Ryuu, Iris, and Lestrade head to the Temple of Mila, find she got kidnapped by the Duma Faithful, recruit Sherlock, and decide to head to Duma Tower. Asougi and co. are eventually forced to confront Genshin, and Asougi is understandably devastated and confused when he figures out Genshin’s his father, and also kinda mad with Yuujin for like, not telling him anything (but they still have a chance to work it out and still be a family afterwards, bc that’s literally what Alm and Mycen’s supports are). But Genshin’s dying words also revealed the treachery of the Duma Faithful, and Asougi knows Ryuu is in serious danger and heads over to Duma Tower. (There’s no Berkut or Rinea in this AU bc there just...isn’t). Asougi’s fears are spoit on, as Vortex has manipulated Ryuu, playing on his doubts, and Ryuu foolishly agreed to sacrifice his soul to Duma, believing that doing so would save his friends. This is of course, a very, very bad idea. Which is when Asougi shows up, sees the possessed Ryuu, and with Mila’s guidance we get the very angsty stabbing-to-life scene, where Asougi thinks he actually killed Ryuu for a few moments before the power of magical dragon swords and love restore Ryuu’s soul and then they and their friends go and kick Vortex and Duma’s asses into next week. And then they get married and rule Valentia with a castle full of cats.

I was gonna write an entire summary of Echoes but like, with the DGS characters, but lost steam halfway through, so that’s why I have the summary of the summary instead. I was more interested in trying to figure out which character to cast as who...

But anyhow, that’s that.