#it does not need softening

[cygnahime]

Bioware made some Decisions about softening factions/moral disagreements/etc in Veilguard, but to me the one that's simply bizarre is...Tevinter slavery???

Because it's so incredibly unnecessary. Because the faction you connect with is the Shadow Dragons, abolitionist agitators. You really wouldn't have to deal much with people who think slavery is ok, because they are hardly going to be your allies. Neve is your Shadow Dragon contact, so whatever else, she shares those beliefs enough to be in good odor with them.

(And there is nothing unbefitting of her noir nature in "fighting the injustice in the very structure of society that one person cannot overcome". Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown Minrathous.)

They wrote Dorian as having pulled his head out of his ass and incorporated "you can't treat people well and enslave them" into his worldview, which isn't much of a stretch considering. He and Maevaris are, in fact, abolitionist politicians, not powerful enough to get anything done but just too powerful to easily get rid of. Real life has had plenty of those.

So...why bother to soften or erase that Tevinter is a slave state? It's not like we have any friendly characters who support it, including the Tevenes, unless I've missed something. They could not have party arguments about slavery the easy way!

So - I made an elf mage Shadow Dragon, okay, because that seemed interesting, but in practice the game doesn't give me much to work with. No conversation about what happens to elven slaves who manifest magic. About how far just "mage" doesn't get you around here. Hell, in the backstory they had her bust up an underground Venatori slave market, which is, frankly BS of the highest order! There don't need to be underground slave markets; there are regular markets for that! The whole point is that she and they took down completely legal places of business, because the law in Tevinter is evil! The Venatori don't have to coup Minrathous to go after them; the government already should be.

Softening it is so wildly unnecessary compared to e.g. the Crows, to the story they wanted to tell, that I'm just ??? confused more than anything.

[archersartcorner]

I have so many moments from the pandora principle I wanna redraw and not the skill to draw them (GUESS ITLL HAVE TO BE BAD) so just starting off with this good missable moment where Spock tells Bones he’s gonna go to hell LMAO

[happyk44]

Jason who immediately loses respect for people who don't own up to their mistakes vs Annabeth who would rather die than admit she made a mistake

[seiwas]

iwaizumi hajime the type to run to the store for you at some outrageous time like 2am—

—in nothing but his sweatpants, sleep shirt hastily thrown on. it’s thinned out from each wash and is way too faded to be worn out; there’s a hole or two somewhere on the sides. and his hair’s all messed up, sticking out every which way with a bit of sleep still in his eyes.

he’s yawning through the aisles, slides smacking against the store floor as he looks for what you need. self check-out is mechanical at this point, movements memorised.

when he comes back home—to bed, you’re sat up against the headrest, waiting. he drops the paper bag beside you and climbs under the covers, slinging an arm around you as he whispers in your ear, lazy and sleep-laden while his eyes fall shut, “need anything else?”

[ahollowgrave]

a bit ago i told myself i wouldn't ship prudence and odette (idk why I guess I hate fun) but the truth is odette looooooooooooooooooooooooves a mean woman and prudence/odette feels like poking a bruise and i'm very into it !!!!

(also I think they look!!! so good together!!!) this is only in the WoL/Scion AU (and others) because 1) they have to be forced together to become anything they are not women who would willingly spend time with each other (at first)(But not in a like enemies to lovers kinda way you know??? they don't care enough to be enemies)(it's more like reluctant coworkers to ??????)

2) RP wise I always have more fun writing slow burn romances with other people than playing barbies on my own, but i have really been enjoying playing barbies on my own with these two.................

3) in RP Odette is dating Pru's boss and so Pru is like 'fuck this noise i'm out' she does not get close to her bosses lovers (except when she needs a ride thanks captain) and truly they just would not understand one another in this setting !!! (also pru is lowkey with ibant but if you say anything about this she will cause harm with great purpose)

[gottagetgogottagetattahere]

Knives is such a hypocrite and a liar and he lies most of all to himself and i hate him but i also love it. Bro's so coked up on copium all the time.

Claims to be doing it all for the sake of Plants, then arguably takes away their agency and freedom way more than humans ever could. Claims to be doing it for his brother and literally ruins his brother's life in every possible turn. Claims humanity never learns from their mistakes and it literally takes dying for him to stop doubling down on his bullshit. the medical abuse done unto tesla horrified him so much and yet he is directly responsible to the same abuse being subjected to countless of children.

Given the chance, I would love to be his sleep paralysis demon. i do not think I could fix him, but I think I can drive him to early retirement from super villainy.

[fromtheseventhhell]

hi! I’m a new fan of asoiaf (and Arya obvi lol) and I love ur blog <3 there’s a popularish post on this site that basically talks abt how the comparison between Arya and Lyanna is meant to convey that they were both tomboys and not that Arya is actually really pretty and I generally agree bc obviously yeah but it seemed kinda weird that like so many of the ppl reblogging that post were like either huge Sansa stans or were hellbent on telling others that Arya is NOT pretty which… I feel like is also missing the point?? Idk if you know which post I’m referring to, but either way I was wondering if that’s like a general fandom opinion that Arya is meant to be this conventionally unattractive person that doesn’t have looks really tied to their stories (kinda like Brienne)? Or if this is just something you’d see on tumblr cause I’ve heard the fandom here is a bit different than on like Reddit or twitter

I can take a guess at which post you're referencing and yes, it is a generally accepted idea that Arya isn't meant to be pretty. I don't think that's specific to Tumblr either, I've seen people on tiktok/reddit/twitter/etc. argue the same. While I do think there's a point to be made about Lyanna's memory being romanticized, I disagree that the conclusion should be that Lyanna and Arya aren't meant to be pretty. The idea that personality and looks aren't dependent on each other seems to be a difficult one for this fandom to grasp, so they treat Lyanna being pretty and her being a tomboy as mutually exclusive when they can (and do) coexist. There would be no point in Arya and Lyanna being referenced as pretty as many times as they are (several times for each of them) if that wasn't the case. "Missing the point" is a great way of describing it because this take is dependent on ignoring what's written in the books. As usual, I think this links back to fandom's inability to comprehend female characters that don't neatly fit into flat archetypes and their placing value on beauty and not wanting said value associated with the wrong "type" of characters. Arya and Lyanna being pretty and wild/non-conforming seems to be a little bit beyond fandom's processing capabilities.

[celluzu]

I need spiderbit screenshots please I'm trying to explain them to my irl but I think talking about the grandpa murder might have fucked it up. I need cute pictures to prove they love each other sooo much the grandpa murder is ok please. 🙏🙏🙏

[waitineedaname]

im rereading bits of the airplane extras and man i would kill for more night hunt missions with sqh + sqq + lqg in their disciple days, theyre so ridiculous

[justalittlebluetiefling]

You know, I really love Jester’s ability to completely break down the walls people craft for themselves. Like, the Nein all have a hand in breaking down each other’s defenses (and Essek’s defenses, as another example) but it’s Jester who really goes in there like a wrecking ball and takes them out. She makes people feel emotionally safe and that’s pretty powerful. 

[egginfroggin]

(Tags from this reblog) (so, so late in responding to these, ouf)

Yeah, it is a horrible time for everyone!

(This got super long, so full rant is under the cut)

Ingo was raised to believe that his powers, like Emmet's, were a gift from one of the Dragons.

He's has been under the impression that his powers -- while unusually strong -- should be able to be controlled, and believes that he is at fault for his own lack of control.

In actuality, bonds are needed to temper the uncontrolled ice that Kyurem cursed him with at birth. The powers grew with age, and unfortunately, Ingo was cut off from the very thing he needed to have any hope of controlling them.

On Kyurem's side of things, however, it sought to spread the same agony of isolation that it felt to the humans that scorn it. Its curses, throughout the ages, always end in tragedy -- the cursed child is either killed, or goes mad and winds up dead by force or by choice.

Ingo is the first cursed child it has ever met, and it was intrigued by him. Here's this isolated, lost soul, deprived of the warmth all children should have, and yet he isn't mad. He's more sad, than anything, and desperate to keep his twin and kingdom safe.

So, curiously, it shares the secret of controlling its powers -- the warmth of bonds -- and forms a connection with Ingo. Ingo gets some control over his "gift," and Kyurem gets a bond for the first time in centuries, if not the first time ever.

So they both get solace and find a level of understanding in each other, and then things go wrong, and Emmet finds Ingo. Cue interaction and separation (may have dropped him down a chasm, oops), and Ingo's emotions becoming once again volatile and full of guilt.

Kyurem chooses arguably the worst time to confess that it cursed Ingo, because Ingo is already full of guilt and self-hatred for hurting Emmet again, and the Kyurem basically tells him that he was never meant to control himself.

Ingo was, as per Kyurem's interference, essentially born to sow misery in his family. Kyurem, when it cursed him, wanted him to be miserable, and to spread that cold hatred to those around him, because Kyurem couldn't do that itself.

Control wasn't ever anything Ingo was meant to have.

Needless to say, the abrupt realization that, frankly, none of this is Ingo's fault simultaneously lifted an enormous weight from his shoulders and incited the worst, most vicious wrath Kyurem has ever been on the receiving end of.

I remember mentioning that bonds need to be reciprocated and upheld. The bond between Ingo and Emmet is all but broken, and while Emmet keeps offering his end, Ingo never picks it up and ties it to his own, completing the connection.

Ingo breaks their bond just about immediately, which leaves them both worse off than they were before, because Kyurem can now properly mourn its isolation, and Ingo properly embraces his own (symbolized by his eyes adopting a sulfur tone and his skin turning pallid, almost gray, visually matching with Kyurem).

So... yeah, betrayal is a good word for it. Ingo has been trusting Kyurem and eagerly accepting its tutorship in the hopes of bettering himself, and then he finds out that... basically, it was this or death, and was always meant to be death.

Everything about Ingo's existence at that point in the fic is a happy (read as: miserable) accident set in place by Kyurem.

And Kyurem didn't even tell him, didn't even think to tell him, until when? When he tells it that he almost killed his twin again? When he's a mess of emotions? When he's already poured everything he has into their connection, worn his heart on his sleeve and confessed every bit of self-blame he's ever felt to it?

It tells him that it was all unnecessary?

It couldn't have said as such earlier, so that he'd have had even a tiny, modicum of a chance at making things right?

No amount of regret can fix this.

[crows-of-buckets]

Dav spoilers (hardened lucanis ending choices)

Is it low-key bad that I really liked that hardened Lucanis made the choice to separate from Spite without Rook's input. It felt like half the endings of the quest were the companions going "hey you pick this for me I'm nervous" even though that makes zero sense for half of them so Lucanis telling rook "this is what I'm going to do" was soooo refreshing

[kelpiemomma]

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The Alpha Alakazam glanced at Khan, who had been oddly subdued since begrudgingly giving up where their next destination was, and then Ingo heard “you might be surprised by what you need,” and suddenly he was in the middle of a blood bath.

And Ingo was no stranger to battles- he and Emmet made a living off them, after all, and he'd participated in a handful of raids against scientists who thought they knew best for the world. He had seen the aftermath of people who had been attacked by wild pokemon, and what remained of those who decided their best course of action in life was to jump into a set of train tracks. It was never any less horrifying, and Ingo occasionally had nightmares about what he'd seen, but where he was now…

It simply was a nightmare.

Fires burned in varying degrees all around him. Some consumed trees, and some consumed bodies. He tried to find something to put them out with there was nothing nearby. Not even snow. At the sound of laughter he turned his head to see a group of humans in pale tunics walking away, a few of them carrying bloodied sticks. Anger flushed through his veins and he went to chase after them but was pulled backwards instead. He tried again, and again, but their strange words vanished into the forest and faded into darkness. Ingo was left surrounded by corpses of pokemon, confused and horrified.

There was nothing he could do, and he didn't know why he was here.

The sun faded in the sky and the fires began to die, slowly turning to embers. The bodies they'd consumed were nothing but charred husks, and the primitive buildings he'd first thought to simply be fallen trees collapsed on themselves with no support left. It has taken Ingo longer than he cared to admit that this hadn't just been a group of pokemon- it had been their home, where they'd had their own rooms. There were enough bodies here to be an entire family, the kind biologists loved to see where he came from. They were so few and far between, requiring a curious amount of intelligence, teamwork, and tolerance. He knew people, personally, who would have loved to observe this family.

And here he was, observing their bodies instead.

A terrified yelp grabbed his attention; another den had just collapsed. Apparently this inhabitant had been alive. Ingo dashed over and tried to remove branches- his hands went right through, but he didn't stop trying. After releasing his own anguished scream - why was he here when he was so useless?! - the branches moved. An ashen, burnt paw emerged first. The sticks wiggled again, collapsing around the body further, until the remaining pokemon finally managed to pull itself free. And it was only then, staring at the young Zorua, that Ingo finally realized what he must have walked into.

He turned to look, to take in what he had taken for granted before.

The bodies weren't just pokemon. They were Zoroarks, Zoruas. Pokemon that had, from his understanding, been long loathed in Hisui. Seen as ill omens, as dangers to their societies. This clan must have settled somewhere, thinking it a safe area to raise their family, only for it to be discovered by humans. Humans who were fearful of what they saw as dangerous. Attack before you are attacked. Ingo could, to an extent, understand why- pokemon in Hisui were so much more aggressive, defensive, than those he had grown up with and known. Some people had pokemon partners but they were not like what he was used to. And with this clan settling in, with new generations being reared, he could only imagine the thought process the humans who had found it must have had.

Get them, before they get us.

He turned back to the Zorua, who had emerged from the collapsed den and now stood silently.

Staring.

Ingo wanted to know what his expression was, but just as he began to lean over to look the pokemon began moving. He approached the closest corpse first- this one hadn't been burned, at least, but there was a puddle of blood haloing it. The Zorua didn't seem to notice his paws getting wet as he drew closer, lifting a paw to nudge the body. The corpse. As Ingo expected, there was no response. The Zorua tried again, finally turning away when the corpse remained still.

Ingo followed as it staggered around the ashes of the clearing, prodding at every body it found regardless of their state. Some were so very obviously dead… but the Zorua still tried.

Trauma, Ingo knew, did funny things to a mind. To one as young as this…

It was no wonder why Khan was the way he was.

The young pokemon finally stopped, his breaths coming faster and faster. Ingo knelt down when his back legs collapsed, arms reaching out as if he could help. As before, he simply phased through. The Zorua turned his head, finally revealing the scar that Ingo would come to know well, now a fresh wound that still bled. His paws were cut up and burnt, there were scratches and lesions all along his back. He was a mess. Ingo could hear frantic, near-silent whines coming from the Zorua. It was hard to say if the volume was from fear that he would be heard, or if the smoke had gotten to his lungs.

Tears began slipping from the Zorua 's eyes. His panting became one long, hiccuping whine. His head remained turned, staring behind him, and Ingo was struck by what he'd yelled at Khan in anger so long ago, and yet so recently.

“You have no idea what it's like to have a family you can't return to!”

Khan, of all of their companions, absolutely did. This… this was why his reaction had been so strong, why Nana and Mnesomyne both had stepped in to stop Khan from assaulting - perhaps even killing - Ingo.

This is why she sent me here.

Ingo looked down at the Zorua again. Khan seemed to be frozen in place, but the wind around them was moving leaves and leftover smoke. It was only Khan who was frozen, unable to look away from his slaughtered family.

“I'm sorry,” Ingo said quietly, placing his hands around Khan's body as if he could actually hold him, “I'm so sorry.”

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

Nothing makes me want to get started on my whole writeup about Limbo like having to see dumbass opinions about him, people really want him to be an innocent monster (he’s not. He. He very much did behead Seimei out of envy after copying his texts he got from Hakudou. He did this by having an affair with his wife. Also Seimei was drunk at that time too. The very first page he appears on describes him as violent and arrogant. This is a story from 1662…. He does not have the innocent monster skill and Shikibu also calls the living Douman monstrous… if anything, Salieri, an actual innocent monster was warped into being more like Douman, even though he did not have the sort of envious enough to kill relationship with Mozart like Douman did with Seimei in the least)

I’m almost at the end of the Douman chapters of Abe no Seimei Monogatari (1662) I should probably summarize them cause they give a lot of context for why he’s Like That

[tuxedo-rabbit]

Im seeing a lot of Zev/Warden posts on my dash today and its giving me Gertrude/Zev feels.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Break 🤝 Ebisu - waiting for years to die and then realizing when the time comes that they want to live...

anon i don't know who you are or what prompted you to send this, but....... yes, I suppose? but also Ow why did you have to make me think of this