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saphiccarma · 6 months ago

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Could do a agathaRio Vidal x goddess!reader *angst and death of a character*

R is basically the goddess of creation *her powers are like a counterpart for Rio meaning whenever she collects the souls of people that die, r creates new life and both usually never interfere with each other Job unlesss it absolutely necessary and is dating both. Rio and her are very close to each other because of their powers working together as one so it’s not surprising that Agatha falls for both and working together to create life using magic*

She may not have known about Agatha having a son, she can feel her anguish and pain and hates when both fight and Agatha being angry at both of them

During Rio and Agatha fighting each other, r makes the biggest sacrifice by trading her life to bring back Nicholas *she love them both and would anything to make them happy even giving up her powers for them but there a big penalty of using magic like this and falling in love while making sure she does her job with no distraction. she watches over them in spirit even sending a sign letting them know she ok but also tells Agatha that Billy needs her guidence*

Both Rio and Agatha feeling regret and guilt because of this and makes sure Nicholas never forget r and her heroic deed *r acts like a third mother to nicky*

- And if she grabs for your hand, and drags you along

Relationships: Agatha Harkeness x Rio Vidal x Reader

Summary: Even in Death, you found a way to watch over your family.

Warnings: Character death. Nothing else (lemme know if I missed anything)

A/N: Took me a hot minute, but this was really fun to write. Sorry if it strayed a bit from the original request, but I hope it's still satisfying!

Death and Life were often seen as counterparts, and on a surface level, they were. Death was associated with destruction and decay. Life was often thought of as creation and blossoming flowers. You and Rio were supposed to be exact opposites.

For the most part, you were. Rio was sarcastically playful and sharp, and you were blunt yet soft.

You created life. Whenever Rio stole, you gave. Whenever you breathed life into a new soul, Rio sucked someone clean of their life. It was a delicate balance that had to be maintained

In the thousands of years (honestly you had lost track) that the two of you had worked together to create balance, you had grown close. A relationship had developed. One that was strictly meant to be had outside of your job. It was not meant to interfere with your duties.

But that promise that deal, became increasingly hard when a certain someone came along. Agatha Harkness.

A witch killer, a woman with chaos magic. At first you were cautious about interacting with her, instead choosing to hang back as Rio teased and flirted with your permission of course. It was amusing to watch Rio fumble slightly at Agatha's snappy remarks. Typically, she was the one on top in your relationship. Most metaphorically and literally. Then as time passed, you found out why Rio had fallen for Agatha.

She was just a young witch trying to survive in a world that was not meant for witches. Most witches would curl their lips at her, she was a coven less witch after all, but all you saw was the best parts about her. Her humor that never failed to make you laugh, the softness of her lips, her hands that trailed down your body gently - savoring every bit of it. What was meant to be something that never developed turned into something more.

Two divine beings, goddesses, had fallen in love with a mere witch. It was straight out of a fairy tale.

And when you mixed Death and Life with a mortal vessel, well, you got something interesting. You were given a child fated to die. At first, you hardly noticed the life brewing in Agatha's stomach. It was masked by a cloud of death. It was a child that was never meant to live.

But as her stomach grew in size and she became even harsher than usual, you realized something was up. Rio had known all along. She could feel the trail of death that followed Agatha around like a lost puppy, hovering over her stomach and waiting for the right moment. You tried not to let it hurt that neither of them told you.

You didn't find out until the child was born.

Sitting in the forest, playing with flowers, you gasped as you felt an anomaly enter the world. A creature that was born of Life and Death. Something that made your powers go wild and spring you into action. You teleported instantly, eyes widening at the sight before you.

Agatha was leaning up against a tree, her breath heavy and blood slowly dripping from between her legs, and her eyes were trained in front of her. Death stood there, dressed in an elegant green dress, and her lips pursed, and brows furrowed. She was apologetic.

You tilted your gaze towards the witch, eyes narrowing in on her. She was giving birth. She was with child.

"You are with child?" Your words were said slowly, offended that you were not told.

Eyes snapping towards you, Agatha exhaled sharply, tears pooling in her eyes, "Clearly," her tone was clipped and tight with pain, "Please, my love, let him live." It was a plea for life, begging Life herself to let Death's child live.

Your fingers twitched as you glanced at Rio, and with one look you knew that you could not save this child. Agatha must have noticed because she let out a near animalistic sound.

"If you do this, I will hate you both forever," she snarled, yet her eyes betrayed her harsh tone. They were filled with tears and desperation. She was pleading for her son to live. Your heart broke at her fragility, and you wanted nothing more than to give her what she wanted.

Rio sighed, "I cannot my love. She is unable to do it." She gestured towards you.

Pressing further into the tree, Agatha shook her head, "I won't let you."

Slowly, Rio tried to take a step forward, but a weak purple glow flickered in Agatha's hands. Your breathing quickened. Rio stopped when she noticed the magic, unwilling to hurt her girlfriend, but she had a job to do.

The gears turned in your head. Rio was only required to collect a soul. An eye for an eye. It didn't matter what soul really, as long as she met her quota for the day then her job would be fulfilled. And before you could stop yourself, you blurted,

"Take me," Both women snapped their heads towards you, "My life should be enough. He can live forever. Take me instead."

You could see Rio considering it, her mind mulling over the possibilities. You knew it was possible; it had to be. Agatha let out a cry of pain. You rushed towards her, steadying her before lowering her to the ground.

She gripped your arm tightly, "I don't- You can't-"

Emotions were at war inside her. On one hand, she didn't want to lose you, she couldn't. But on the other, Agatha wanted this child so much. She wanted to be better than her mother, she wanted to cherish him or her and love and care for her baby forever.

Wrapping your arms around her, savoring in her warmth, you placed a kiss on her forehead. Her fingernails were digging into your skin, hard enough to draw blood, but you hardly cared. Instead, you held her as she bit down on her own teeth.

Rio said nothing, her hands clenched at her sides as she watched the two of you. In that moment, she knew that there was nothing she could do that would stop you. It was better this way anyways. Being a goddess had its perks, so she suspected that you would still be able to visit in ghost form. (And if you weren't then she would take Agatha and the child to visit you.)

Agatha cried out as she pushed the child, clutching onto you tightly, a lifeline as pain flared through her. You held her tightly, willing to be her support and offered Rio a soft smile. Death had never hated her job more. You could feel the life leave the boy the minute he left his mother body, but at the same time, Rio took your soul. You didn't have to die for it to happen, but you felt yourself leaving.

"Can I see him?" You asked faintly, giving Rio a pleading glance. This situation was hitting her the hardest out of all of you, at least emotionally. She didn't want to take your soul. Even though she would still be able to see you, Rio didn't want to cause any more pain to Agatha.

She nodded, barely perceptible, and you offered her a dazzling smile. Your arm was burning Agatha's tight grip, but you hardly cared, instead tears welled in your eyes when Agatha released you and cradled a little boy. He was bloody and crying loudly, but he was perfect. Giving Agatha one last squeeze, you placed a kiss on top of her head, before bending down to press another to the boy's head.

"Goodbye my loves."

Agatha looked like she was going to cry, but instead she just clenched her jaw and held her child tightly. You stood and approached Rio. Death had her eyes shut, lips pursed tightly, and you cupped her face.

"It's alright," you whispered, her eyes fluttered open when you caressed her cheekbones, "I want this."

Rio swallowed thickly, but took a hold of your wrists, and then you were gone.

^_____________^

Nicholas was turning five today. Your ghostly form drifted towards the house, a soft smile on your face. You may be slightly transparent and could float and drift through things, but you could become physical enough to enter the mortal plane and interact with things. Slowly, you opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped inside. You could feel Rio already inside.

Apparently, you weren’t quiet enough, because footsteps came barreling towards you. A tiny body crashed into yours. Your form flickered slightly, not that Nicky noticed, but you crouched down, wrapping your arms around him.

"Mom!" he cried, burying his face into your shoulder. You laughed softly and placed a kiss to the top of his head.

"Hello, my little love," you cooed, "I brought you something." Nicky pulled away, bouncing on his toes excitedly. Even in death, your powers still worked. With a wiggle of your fingers, a plant appeared, potted already. It was a Venus fly trap, several plant mouths dangling open. "A Venus fly trap," you whispered.

Nicky blinked wide eyes, a smile curling at his lips. He looked so much like Rio. Delicately, as if afraid he would break it, Nicky told ahold of the plant. You laughed as he bolted off, shouting for his mama and mami.

"Bring it down," Agatha chastised gently. Despite her tone there was a soft glimmer of amusement in her eyes, and she placed a hand on Nicky's shoulder. He held the plant up to her face and Agatha pulled back slightly. "Very interesting."

Rio stood behind her, a small smile curling at her lips as she met your eyes, "Of course, you have to outdo me every time."

You raised a brow.

"Mami forgot," he said bluntly, yet you didn't believe that for one second. Rio would never forget. She shrugged cryptically and hid a large smile into Agatha's neck.

Turns out, you found out several hours later that Rio got Nicky a goat. Suffice to say, Agatha was not happy, but Nicholas certainly was - based on his excited screams and overjoyed clapping.

^_______________^

Squirming relentlessly, Nicky screamed as Rio dangled him over the water by his ankles. It was a lake day with the four of you. Agatha and you lounged on the shore, with you curling into her side, and Agatha rolling her eyes at Rio's antics. Your form had been flickering in and out of the mortal plane that day, but you still chose to hang out regardless. Being the girlfriend of death may have allowed you to break some rules, but that didn't mean the laws of nature had to like it. You weren't supposed to be here.

"Should I drop him?" Rio hollered. She stood over a small cliff, just about a yard above the water.

Nicky shook his head, "No!"

She ignored him. You laughed softly, sitting up slightly from your spot next to Agatha. The woman pouted when you extracted yourself from her grip, but sat up with you, her arm wrapping around your shoulders.

"I don't know," You gave a hum of consideration, "He didn't give me a hug when I showed up."

With Nicholas getting older, him now being eleven years, he began acting moodier. Like he didn't care. You knew that he still did, but it still hurt a little. Nicky stared at you, betrayed at your words, and let out a scream as Rio dropped him. Blowing you a kiss, Rio jumped in after him.

You giggled and pressed a kiss onto Agatha's cheek. The two of them emerged seconds later, Nicky propped up on Rio's shoulders and her arms digging into his sides as she tickled her. He was screaming, squirming in her grip, and trying to fight Rio off.

"Mom!" He called for help, "Mama!"

Agatha rolled her eyes, but reluctantly stood, offering you a hand. You took it with a soft smile and waded into the water. Rio and your son were back under, presumably wrestling, and you could see ripples on the surface.

You shrieked as something touched your ankle, sending Agatha a withering glare when she smothered a cackle. Then, you were being yanked under the water, fully submerged. Arms were wrapped around you, and you were grateful you didn't need to breath to survive, because water would have flooded your lungs.

Seconds later, you were dragged up, Agatha's arms hoisting you up. She was cackling relentlessly and her head was thrown back. You gave her a side eye, shoving at her harshly, and she fell into the water.

"Hey!" She spluttered as she emerged, her hair clinging to her face. As she began to come over to you, ready to take revenge, she disappeared beneath the water. You burst out laughing.

Something tickled your ankle again, and you floated above the water, a triumphant smirk on your face. Nicky popped above the water, a pout on his face.

"Not fair!"

While he was busy whining at you, Agatha and Rio had emerged in the distance, their lips connecting the moment they noticed Nicky was distracted. You scoffed, pouting a little, but kept Nicky's attention.

"Fairly fair," you smirked down at him and kicked your foot, water splashing in his face.

He spluttered, wiping his hair out of his eyes, and glaring at you. With one sudden movement, you were yanked back under. Nicky had his arms wrapped around your ankles, before moving up to your waist, and you wrapped your arms around him return. Kicking both of you to the surface, you showered his face in kisses, ignoring his protests.

This was your baby boy, and you would do anything to keep him safe.

^_____________^

Despite being hundreds of years old, Nicholas still acted like a moody teenager. You floated beside him, your form only visible to him and Agatha. A boy stood in front of Agatha, going on a fake tirad about how much he read about her. You rolled your eyes. Leaning down so that you were right next to Nicky's ear and he flinched.

"He's fake," you whispered, tilting your head as you studied him. He walked around with an air of death, much similar to Nicky and Rio, although not as strong. His death was covered up by a sigil and some other powerful magic. "And supposed to be dead."

While you didn't appreciated people being fake to your wife, you still felt a pull towards him. He was special, you knew that much, but there was something else. You couldn't quite place your finger on it. During her many years of being alive, Agatha did many cons, mostly to grow her own power, but you think Westview was one of the unnecessary ones. And as you stared at the kid longer, you realized who he was.

Billy Maximoff. He had a familiar air around him. Yet he was supposed to be dead.

Oh Rio would be so pissed.

You hovered over to Agatha and sat on the arm of her chair. She gave you a side-eye and you could tell she was pissed. After Wanda, you may or may not have let her stay under the spell, but it’s not like you could do much to help her anyways. You didn't have a physical form.

"You need to help him."

Agatha rolled her eyes, not that Billy noticed, but she cut him off.

"I'll help you."

Nicholas raised both of his brows, casting you a confused look, and you shrugged with a small smirk.

Oh Rio was going to be so mad at you.

#agatha x reader #agatha harkness x reader #rio vidal x reader #rio vidal x you

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baldursgate3tempobsessed · 2 years ago

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Astarion Very Happy Ending

So full disclosure, my Tav was a Selunite, and I can't stop thinking well if Bhaal can have a mortal chosen one, why can't Selune?

Also, spoiler warning, stop reading here if you don't want, but like damn girl I freaking turn a Shar priestess away from her god back to you, free a man from his devil's contact, high-key save the world, kill bhaals chocen, convince my vampiric lover to not sacrifice thousands of people, stop an entire goblin army from murdering Tieflings and druids alike, and literally free your daughter. A reward is in order!

This is that reward:

Astarion was slowly getting used to living in the shadows again, as loathe as he was to admit it. It was quite the transition, despite the fact that his time in the sun had amounted to less than a year. But what a lovely year it was. Nearly a perfect one in comparison to the rest of his life. And the promise of more of the same was a suitable balm to being cursed back into the darkness.

It was difficult, but with the love of his life by his side it was more than tolerable. Borderline beautiful in fact, to be able to live his life so freely despite the infuriating complications.

The money also certainly helped.

That was one thing Astarion always had over his brothers and sisters, his fantasies of a better life had always surrounded around Cazador's murder. Not his approval. He may have been completely unaware of the horrifying dungeon beneath their feet, but he did know where the deed to his estate and other properties were kept. And now had enough connections with the higher up's of Baldur's gate for some frankly exquisite forgeries. It had been a particularly satisfying feeling to sell all of his former master's possessions off, even more so when it came to the land. Almost like he was tearing apart his legacy and handing it off to the highest bitter, piece by piece.

Though, being there with you to find and settle in your own little corner of paradise was an even better feeling. Maybe it didn't quite reach his past dreams of grandeur, but it turned out settling in a quaint and poorly lit townhouse in the upper city was more than enough for him to be satisfied.

It was a good charming life, one that Astarion was sure he didn't deserve. But that certainly wasn't going to stop him from enjoying it. Though as much as he adored where he ended up, he'd be lying if he said it was perfect.

No, perfect would have been finding a way for him to ascend without becoming a monster, living in a world where he could be with you fully, completely, out in the sun like the kind of lover you deserved. It made him feel... startlingly inadequate. Everything you did had to be in accordance to his schedule. His lack of capabilities. And just because you always insisted it didn't matter didn't fix the feeling of inadequacy. He hated it, hated the fact that there were so many hours of the day that you couldn't share. He didn't regret his choice, not for a moment, but that didn't mean he was fully satisfied with the consequences.

But in his own defense, he did make up for it in other ways. Mildly frustrating and draining ways, if not a bit rewarding. It had been his own fault, falling so utterly and completely for such a goody two-shoes. A zealot to Selune, as fierce as she was compassionate, always trying to do what was fair and just. Always dragging Astarion on for the ride of her cleric duties.

But he couldn't blame you for all of his new do-gooder ways. Not when he was nearly the leader of a bizarre cult of repentant vampire spawn.

It was just the slightest bit exhausting to so often be playing the part of their heroic leader, fighting all of his murderous instincts to work for a better future for himself and the brethren he had personally damned. Though he'd be lying if he said he didn't get any satisfaction from it. It felt... good to teach them new ways to live. To give them the chance at the beautiful life he had managed to secure for himself.

He wouldn't do it forever, just until he was confident enough to be sure that his departure wouldn't lead to a massacre on either side. Then the two of you would be off to explore the lands, working to do your goddesses work with just a touch of hedonistic activities on the way.

Astarion was looking forward to it. He hadn't done all that work to be selfless forever. No, he was going to be forced to insist on a few years of having you all to himself, with only the occasional bits of volunteer work for the temple as interruption. Then the two of you could go back to galivanting about the lands being local heroes. But he had earned an extended vacation.

One that, luckily, he hadn't had to fight you on too much. That was just one other thing he loved about you, your complete understanding that Astarion would always be a little selfish, especially when it came to you. The one person who had ever really been his, who loved him, who understood him, who believed in him. Could he be blamed for wanting to have you all to himself?

And admittedly, he did have you more often then not. Even if on occasion he did have to share with your beloved goddess.

Astarion sighed as he watched you pray in the moonlight, completely absorbed in your quiet, mystical chants. Despite his distaste for the length of your prayer sessions, Astarion did like seeing your more ritualistic side. Just... maybe not for the morally correct reasons.

He was well aware that being so involved with a vampire was clearly against your religious doctrine. But it didn't matter. You still choose him, despite how the knowledge nearly made you an outcast amongst your own kind. But he mattered more than your reputation, more than the lessons you had been taught your entire life regarding love and evil.

You still had your faith, but you never let it shake the faith you had in him, something that he valued more than he could ever express. It was perhaps a sick thought, but it also made him feel exceedingly powerful, to know the true extent of your feelings. Even more connected. It was almost... like he was defiling you, corrupting a beautiful flower to turn away from the sun to something even brighter. A love that Astarion doubted most could ever hope to feel.

Perhaps that was not the best outlook on your religion, but oh well. He'd keep those thoughts to himself. What you didn't know wouldn't kill you. Besides... if anyone had been corrupted it was him, plagued with a new sense of loyalty and gods, justice. All from the beautifully strange woman kneeling in the moonlight.

Though, you sure were taking awhile tonight. Nearly twice as long as your usual nightly prayer. He hated to interrupt your worship but this was starting to cut into his time a bit here.

"My dear," Astarion called out, swinging his legs over your shared bed to stand, "Don't you think that you've been kneeling there for a touch too long?"

But you didn't respond, still muttering under your breath, even faster than before.

Astarion narrowed his eyes as he walked closer towards you, confused by your lack of response, "Darling-Tav?"

Astarion stopped, eyes wide as he got a solid look at your first. Your eyes were wide open, body rim rod straight as your irises glowed a vibrant blue light.

What in the nine hells was happening? Astarion kneeled next to you, his heart in his throat as he shook your shoulders, "Tav, love, can you hear me? What is this?"

You didn't answer, you didn't even acknowledge his presence. But you did start floating in the god damn air. Astarion stared, helpless as he watched you levitate, words that he didn't understand spilling from your lips.

Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. You fell unceremoniously to the floor. Astarion scrambled towards you, his heart in his throat as you started to come to. He settled your head in his lap, his hands shaking as he touched your face, lost on what he should be doing.

You blinked your eyes open slowly, that angelic glow still radiating from your irises. But you didn't look frightened, more... excited.

You grinned up at him, your voice slightly cracking when you murmured, "We've been blessed."

Astarion stared at you, brow furrowed. He was happy you were alive and speaking but...

"That's lovely?" Astarion tried, "But severely lacking in terms of an explanation. Are you okay?"

You nodded eagerly, suddenly sitting up with an unexpected amount of energy, "I'll explain later, we don't have much time."

What was it that compelled you religious types to be so cryptic? But you didn't give him anytime to question. Instead you wrapping your arms around his neck and smashing your lips together, kissing him hard enough to take his breath away.

He wrapped strong arms around your back, pulling you in closer, always helpless but to return your affection. But something about this was different. He could feel it, holy magic spreading through him through your lips, down throughout his veins, changing something inside of him. It wasn't unpleasant per say, but it certainly was startling. Startling enough for him to almost push you away, if it wasn't for the fact that he trusted you with everything inside of himself.

Neither of you pulled away until the blue fire in your eyes had died out, and Astarion was left with the intense sensation that something had changed, irrevocably inside of him.

You stared at each other, Astarion in confusion while you looked nothing short of gleeful, "Do you feel it?"

He felt... strange. A warmth still spreading through him that was settling. Astarion raised a brow at you, exceedingly impatient when he asked, "First, how about you explain to me what in the hells that was?"

But you didn't answer. Instead you stood with an adorable hop, lending a hand out to help him up, "Do you trust me?"

Astarion almost rolled his eyes as he took your hand, annoyed that he fell for someone that had just as much of a flair for the dramatic as he did, "You know I do."

You helped him to his feet before you started to mumble again, a startlingly familiar incantation seeping from your lips. It was the spell for daylight, the very same that you had used to help defeat Cazador. The kind that could now kill Astarion in mere moments.

He was too shocked at your audacity to even protest, believing for a split, terrifying second that he was about to die a fiery death. Sunlight suddenly filled the room, bright enough for Astarion to tightly shut his eyes.

Then...nothing. No burning, no pain, nothing but the sounds of you both breathing.

That didn't-how was he-what did you just do?

Astarion stared at you, absolutely flabbergasted with his mouth hanging open, staring at the borrowed daylight like a simpleton, "But how?"

You were still grinning ear to ear, looking happier than Astarion had ever seen you before. You grasped his hands in yours, your smile gentle as you explained, "I told you. We were blessed. Our Lady of Silver gave me one gift, and this is what I choose."

If sunlight wasn't already staring him in the face, Astarion would never believe it. But here he was, alive and standing under it's warmth. A gift from a goddess, spent on him of all creatures.

"It can't fix everything," You clarified with the slightest frown, "But it can fix this."

He could feel the truth in your words. He was still... wrong. A creature born of something awful, doomed to eternity and a life of bloodlust. But part of that wrongness had been culled, curling up and dying from Selune's holy magic, from your enduring love.

It was a dream he never thought possible. One that he had accepted never having. But here he was, here you were, continuing to give him the impossible.

It was enough to bring tears to his eyes. Astarion reached up, cupping your face before confessing the truth he couldn't quell.

"I don't deserve you," He whispered, voice hoarse, "I'll never deserve you. Words can't express my thanks. You have given me everything, while I have nothing but myself to give in return. But it's always yours. Everything inside of me."

He meant every word, he always would. Until his last breath.

You shook your head, gentling cooing at him, "This is a time for celebration my love, not for doubt. You've earned this."

He hadn't. And he doubted you'd ever be able to convince him he had. But he'd still take it. Gladly.

"I love you," Astarion murmured, helpless to say anything else. He pressed his lips against yours, the gravity of his new life just starting to settle in his mind.

He was free, as free as he could ever hope for. You had achieved what Cazador could not, all without a hint of malice or horrifying sacrifice. But through kindness, love, and perseverance. You had already freed him once from his own mental shackles, his last remaining ties to the tyrant that made him.

And now you've done it again, saving him from at least a portion of the taint on his soul.

It was beautiful, wonderful, and Astarion would never waste a moment of it.

#astarion #astarion fic #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #baldur's gate 3 #spoilers #and that's how selune got herself a cult of 7000 vampiric spawn hoping for the same blessing #this is very fairytale romance #like mr. i'm not a fairytale prince is kind of acting like it here #or is he the saved princess?#up for debate #romance #very romantic #i think #fluff #very fluffy

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zynxsone · 26 days ago

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Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans. A review and why it's an abomination to the series and why it has a low rating.

I don’t know why I just decided to write a review now but I still am doing it. Original review is a tad bit long so I shortened it.

First of all, I would gladly say that Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards have been an amazing part of my childhood. I started watching the show in 2016 and I absolutely loved it. It excited me that 3Below had come after, along with Wizards in the making. When I heard that there will be a movie to complete the series, I was excited! — only to be disappointed in the outcome.

While I loved certain parts of the movie, everything else was badly written and executed.

Now, let’s talk about Aja. She was so out of character in the movie, as if she was a totally different person; she would never leave anyone in danger even if she did not know them, especially Claire who is a friend. Aja may be Queen now, but she is no coward and definitely no jerk.

“Jim, it’s too late, the bridge is about to fall!” Hello? Didn’t she basically try to use her own life core after finding out that Morando had just destroyed half of Arcadia and that it was too late? She would not choose running away as an option, never. She is a warrior.

Eli's appearance was not needed. But I still love him regardless. Though, he did not play a huge part but was used as an emotional anchor for Steve, basically. He doesn't do much in the movie, he didn't even do anything at all. Even if he doesn't appear in it—everything would still be the same since the Robot-Titan he designed was going to be helmed by Varvatos.

The inclusion of the Mpreg subplot felt completely unnecessary. It’s unclear whether it was meant for comedic appeal or simply to put reason to Krel’s dislike to romance. But either way, it added nothing meaningful to the story. It wasn’t even a central detail, and its impact was negligible. Additionally, Aja and Steve's complete lack of concern for their newly born children—who essentially is about to vanish when Jim chose to go back in time—was baffling and emotionally hollow. Their reaction (or lack thereof) undermined any emotional weight the scene could have had. His pregnancy had literally more attention than the building up of the characters and the plot.

Steve had potential to be used in the movie, a more heroic part. But the writers decided to shove him off and be a forced inclusion and it was disturbing to see. But at least it made a number of people laugh. We could have had a scene where the concept of Creepslayerz is back, but NO!!! We get teenage Male pregnancy instead, a detailed one.

Krel has done nothing in the movie but be useless [my poor boy]. All they did to him was write him as a jailbreaker, we didn't even get to see how they got Excalibur. We're supposed to SEE what they did,

I found this movie deeply disappointing, especially since it wasn’t directed by Guillermo del Toro, the one who started it all.

And the part where they were trying to find the Order— when Douxie's soul got reverted back to his own body, Claire tells Krel that "I can just lock on a Nari and portal us there." Then why didn't you do so to track down Douxie's soul earlier when he was mistaken for Nari at the moment? 😭

So many of the deaths felt unnecessary—especially Nomura’s. Killing off such an important figure in Jim’s life without any real weight or closure was incredibly frustrating. And Strickler’s death? That, too, lacked the emotional depth it deserved. If the writers were aiming for an impactful character death, it would have made more sense to choose Blinky—Jim’s mentor and father figure—whose loss would have carried a much deeper emotional resonance. Draal’s sacrifice worked because it was meaningful and justified within the story. In contrast, Nomura’s death felt careless and hollow. It was as if she were treated like a disposable side character, despite having a significant connection to Jim—especially during his time in the Darklands where they started to have a platonic connection. Her bond with him mattered, and the way her story ended just didn’t reflect that.

Back to Strickler’s part, he really died for nothing. His sacrifice had no use since Skrael’s titan was indestructible by just using some few pieces of bomb. They should have known that bombs will do nothing as the titans–they're made of magic. Him choosing to sacrifice himself was not a bad choice, he would do anything to protect Barbara and now Jim, but it was done unprofessionally.

The mention of Jim’s father after his sacrifice was so random while at that, it was absurd. Jim doesn't care about his father so why does he now? He said it himself, "You know I don't care about my father." To Blinky. I know that this is fan service but we know absolutely NOTHING about his father other than he is a cheater and is probably friends with Steve's father as they both do skiing.

SO many sacrifices, yet none even have the significance they deserve and the writer just shrug it off because hey time is important

Oh, and by the way,

And let’s not forget one of the biggest plot holes: they literally created a fusion of Akiridion tech and magic that could block out magic itself—and no one thought to use it against the Titans? Seriously? Only Toby remembered the artifact, but by that point, they were all on the verge of death. That kind of oversight just makes the characters look incompetent and undermines the stakes entirely. This is bad writing. Like yes, characters can forget their own creations. But this one? The one they made specifically for the Arcane order? The one that removes their magic?? Stop.

There are so MANY plot holes in just one movie, it’s hard to process.

Also, why is Jim suddenly using a serrator—a weapon he’s never used before to fight a demigod made of fire? They could have at least shown that he struggled to use something he has never wielded before.

Seriously, WHO wrote Jim in this movie? Because I have a gift for you, and it’s ticking. Jim was completely useless in this film. He’s already accepted that he is the Trollhunter—”amulet or not.” So why are we revisiting this question? Yes, the amulet’s rebuild was a nice touch, but Jim constantly went back and forth about whether he’s still the Trollhunter, quoting "but without the amulet am I still the troll hunter?” just feels unnecessary and repetitive. It undermines the growth his character went through, turning him into someone who can’t seem to accept his role despite everything he’s been through. Yes, him being anxious and questioning is his character, but we have already gone through this before. His personality has been completely altered—Almost everyone included!

I liked the jailbreak scene. It made me laugh and smile to see Lucy and Ricky playing a part. [I’m so sorry but Eli absolutely had no point in showing up. He only came back as Steve’s midwife.]

Nari and Skrael’s fight lacked depth. There was barely any meaningful interaction between them beforehand to establish why their confrontation mattered beyond the surface-level conflict—Skrael’s desire to reshape the world versus Nari’s choice to protect her friends. That alone doesn’t justify the importance of their battle. The emotional stakes were weak because their relationship wasn’t explored. On top of that, so many character dynamics were either ignored or rewritten entirely, stripping away their importance to the story and one another.

And how did the heartstone suddenly come back to life? The trolls, Jim, and Claire left because they were on a quest to find a new heartstone where the trolls can live. Why did it randomly come back to life after the Titans woke up. Doesn't make sense.

But I will say that the movie did have great action scenes. But there was no teamwork when fighting Bellroc, everyone was set aside as a decoy.

Jim going back in time was my last straw. He knowingly risked everything—his loved ones, the balance of the world—just to make that speech and undo everything that had happened. He was fully aware that tampering with the past could lead to even greater danger, yet he still made that reckless choice. It undermines the growth he went through and paints him as someone willing to gamble with countless lives, including those he claimed to protect. That moment didn’t feel like a heroic sacrifice—it’s a careless, desperate rewrite.

Toby’s death was well earned, It was a heroic act.

Having Toby become the new Trollhunter is a rushed decision that obviously showed that they had no intention of continuing the franchise. Throughout the series, it was emphasized—both through dialogue and major plot points—that Jim was the Trollhunter and that it was his destiny. There was even an entire episode centered around the idea that if anyone else wielded the amulet, the world would fall into chaos. Didn’t Merlin himself say that “My Amulet does not make mistakes.” and out of every creature he can choose, it was Jim. So why are we forcing Toby to wield daylight. This is very ridiculous.

The amulet chose Jim for a reason. By suddenly passing it on to Toby, the narrative undermines its own message—especially the core theme that “Destiny is a gift.” If it was never truly Jim’s destiny, then what was the point of all his struggles and sacrifices?

Nari was a good inclusion since she plays a big part in the movie and the entire series, but I feel like Douxie was the only well written character throughout the entire movie, but he still has flaws just like every other major character that appears in this movie. Though, he wasn’t really important in the movie. He was more of a sideline.

The two pages of a book being stuck by a sticky food was the dumbest decision to build up climax. Blinky is not that stupid to not notice that two pages are glued to each other, if so, the pages would be bulky.

Also, WHAT happened to the thousands of foster children of Barbara and Strickler? The last we've seen of them was in 3Below's "Mother's day" episode. Why is Barbara and Strickler on Camelot??? I am very worried

It would have made for a more decent ending if they had allowed Toby to die entirely. While it’s harsh to say, it would have added importance to the story and given Jim a much-needed emotional arc. Jim could have been forced to confront the harsh reality that he can’t save everyone, no matter how much he tries. Instead, he passes his so-called destiny to his friend, the one who he went back in time to, knowing all the huge responsibilities, hardships and death-experiencing moments he had that would now be Toby’s future. Why would he ever want this to his friend that just died a moment ago? This is so stupid, then he goes off chasing after Claire while completely aware of what Toby will go through.

Toby wouldn’t even survive Bular in the canals. Because as it was stated, Jim only did thanks to his chef skills. Not to be offensive, Toby was in a bad shape at the beginning of the show [not that there’s anything wrong with that of course.] The writers are PRETENDING, gaslighting themselves that Toby will be exactly how Jim came to be the trollhunter. Toby has his own skills and fighting style, but he is not made to wield daylight. It completely invalidates his character and abilities as a person.

And one of the reasons how Jim was able to defeat Gunmar was because he had to SACRIFICE himself to transform into a half troll. Toby will most likely will get himself killed trying to defeat Gunmar and so will Jim, probably. Unless he has the ability to while being human. The world is screwed.

The ninth configuration scene was so ass, that's all I can say about it.

If Jim had to choose a moment to go back to, it would have made sense for him to pick the point just before the fight with Bellroc and Skrael on the train. With the knowledge he gained from experiencing the entire battle, he could have easily defeated them, avoiding the entire mess that followed. [He can actually choose a time to go back to, by the way.] This decision also seems selfish as his choice.

Honestly, they could have defeated Bellroc without having to use the new amulet if they just remembered to use the trifurcate blaster [magic blocker].

The only good parts in this movie was the animation, cinematography, and the visuals.

The only reason I’m giving this review two stars is because of Bellroc. Their portrayal in the movie was genuinely compelling, especially the scene where they try to manipulate Jim into abandoning the fight and fleeing to his friends—just to make it easier to seize the Heartstone. [Also a self-indulgent reason because they’ve become my favorite character.]

This was a terrible way to end the series—terribly written, atrocious even, and incredibly rushed. Even fanfictions written by 13-year-old fans have more cohesive plots than this. It’s disappointing to see a story with so much potential collapse like this. It reminded me of how I felt about How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's ending—but at least that had meaning and had a reason WHY. Rise of the Titans doesn’t even offer that. [And ironically, both stories are canonically set in the same universe] which just makes the contrast more frustrating. It’s like Spider-Man no way home had a cheap copy of an ending. This movie was a mistake.

The ending is what makes you say: “why?”

I recommend stopping at Wizards and imagine your own ending on how they’ve come to save the world.

#i was originally going to post this as a review for the movie on google but I realized that it had a word limit so im just gnna post it here #tales of arcadia #trollhunters #3below #wizards #jim lake junior #claire nuñez #douxie #douxie casperan #toby domzalski #nari of the eternal forest #bellroc #bellroc keeper of the flame #skrael of the northwind #skrael #steve palchuk #aja tarron #krel tarron #eli pepperjack

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super-subraminion · 2 months ago

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apple white is so horrible but she is also so kind and thats why she's awesome

(super long yap session below because i want to ramble about apple because she is so interesting to me just as a warning lmao)

i feel like i see sm ppl on like tiktok and all (which maybe my first mistake was expecting nuance on tiktok) acting like she's like the evilest character on the show and i feel like thats just so reductive of her character

like apple is so kind she genuinely loves her friends so much; she's always been so excited and kind around raven when everyone else was afraid of her; despite the fact that her happily ever after is essentially nepotism, she works so hard to prepare to be a good ruler and wants the best for her future kingdom; she's constantly seen helping people and trying to enact change as leader of student council(i.e having the duck crossing or smth along those lines, i don't remember exactly), etc etc.

but at the same time she fails to realize how cruel she can be at times and thats why shes so awesome. like hello, the daughter of snow white, this elegant, perfect, delicate princess also simultaneously being so selfish is so good?? even though she loves her friends so much, she fails to realize or understand why they wouldn't want to uphold the status quo; even though she is kind to raven, that kindness comes with the expectation that raven will sacrifice her life to uphold the system for apple's happily ever after; even though she grinds and grinds to be a good ruler, she is still unaware of the privilege she has; even though she helps people, she can just as easily say out-of-touch and cruel things(like when after legacy day, she takes a dig at the rebels because they don't have happily ever afters)

honestly apple's privilege in and of itself is so interesting to me- because she does go through so much and she is a victim of the system— imo everyone is a victim of the system because even those with happy endings have to sacrifice their free will in order to obtain it(i.e ashlynn's ending is good but she'd have to sacrifice her relationship with hunter for it, cerise also technically has a good ending assuming she goes w the red riding hood destiny but she sacrifices half of her identity for it). in apple's case, she was conditioned to accept everything that came with her destiny with a smile on her face, conditioned to accept a man as her destined prince when in reality they had no idea who her destined prince was and she's gay so she would've just been trapped in a loveless marriage, lied and manipulated to so she could maintain the system. assuming that eah's snow white follows the canon of the original fairytale(ik there's some differences like how raven technically wouldn't become apple's stepmom, and raven's mom wasn't apple's mom's stepmom), apple has to knowingly go through 2 near death experiences and one that basically works, only to have a someone she doesn't even love beyond accepting the fact that that he's destined for her to wake her up. one detail i've always liked about dragon games is how they went all out in the scene where apple is poisoned- the detail is visceral and horrifying, she is genuinely struggling, etc; and the reason i really liked that they animated it that way is it adds to the horror of apple's story, because the path to her happily ever after is horrible.

at the same time, the reason apple is willing to go through any of this is because she can afford to. i don't think(???) her parents die(someone pls feel free to correct me on this because im not actually sure) unlike ashlynn's (im only assuming because its explicitly mentioned for ashlynn but never talked about for apple). she isn't poisoned for long. she may not truly love daring, but he's a good enough guy, conventionally attractive, heroic, and a nice friend to her. and she goes through all this to be the most beloved person in the world, the ruler of like everyone, and get a life of absolute luxury. in the long run, she pays pretty small prices to get the best life ever. i think most of the fandom is in agreement when i say that she easily has like the best destiny on the show.

but from apple's perspective, her destiny isn't the best. she only knows her hardship, and she does have to go through a lot for her destiny— the point i mentioned earlier about how horrifying the animation is when she got poisoned is proof of that. its so telling that she cant understand why her friends would be hesitant of their destinies— especially her formerly royal friends like briar and ashlynn. briar and ashlynn similarily also get ultimately happy endings of a life of wealth and being beloved— but the price they pay is a lot greater than what apple goes through(not to mention ashlynn also has the extra motivation of being in a relationship with hunter). i feel this is especially obvious in thronecoming where apple tells briar that "we all have a part to play"— apple feels that she is also sacrificing a lot to uphold the system anyway and the way i see it is that she thinks its unfair that others are questioning their roles when it's the natural order of the world to make big sacrifices. but what she can't grasp is the others r willing to risk it all because their destiny is so tragic— like how raven tried to find everything she could about potential rebellion before she rebelled because if there was even a chance she didn't have to contractually obligate herself to a hellish life forever it was worth the risk(mostly emphasized in the books). apple upholds the system not only because of the way she has been lied and manipulated to, but also because she can afford to make sacrifices; raven rebels against the system because her sacrifice is sacrificing everything about her, including her wellbeing and life.

like shes so much more interesting than just being "the real villain of ever after high", she's another teenager a victim to the system— except she has more to gain than others so she simultaneously religously upholds the system. shes so interesting because of her sharp contrasts in character and i feel that reducing her like that takes away from the complexities of her character

obv i get why people don't like her character anyway, a character being complex doesn't mean people have to like said character. i'm definitely biased towards her because i do like her a lot but i get why people don't but idk man i feel like going in the direction of "she's the real problem!" takes away from the entire idea that this system is harmful to everyone, even those with privilege, and it also just makes her less interesting because part of why i like her and why she is such a compelling character is because she's so crazy in the sense that she is so kind and horrible at the same time— she's so hypocritical but her headspace makes sense at the same time and i find the duality she has to be really strong writing

if you made it all the way to the end thanks for reading my long ass yap session i wrote this instead of preparing for my lit essay i think i should get diagnosed-

also feel free to correct anything i said if i accidentally spread misinfo- theres always tiny details about this show that i get confused about every now and then and i always want to know more about this show

update i did my lit essay and unironically writing this helped me somehow so my lesson is that not doing my homework and yapping about ever after high is always the solution

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anthurak · 4 months ago

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Here’s something that might be a bit of a hot take:

I think Summer is inadvertently responsible for basically the ENTIRE current/‘modern’ plot of RWBY.

As in, Summer’s whole super-secret-sapphic-suicide mission with Raven wasn’t just the defining and inciting incident of Ruby’s and Yang’s whole character arcs. She also unwittingly kicked off all of SALEM’s current plotting and scheming.

I think basically EVERYTHING we’ve been seeing Salem do over the course of the show, from creating Grimm Hybrids to using Cinder to steal the maiden powers to even recruiting ALL of her current followers to her current plots to destabilize the kingdoms, ALL STARTED with whatever happened when she met Summer.

For one, I think it’s pretty apparent that Salem ‘learning she could do something new…’ as Ruby put it, didn’t just lead to her Grimm Hybrid program, but ALSO the ‘Grimm-Implants’ that have allowed Cinder to steal the maiden powers. Thereby giving Salem a far more direct way of getting to the Vaults and acquiring the Relics.

And that’s not even going into what ELSE Salem might have learned from her encounter with Summer and Raven. Say for example, things about the Silver Eyes that nobody else has realized…

I think 15+ years before the show started, Salem probably didn’t have ANY schemes or plots in mind and may have even been close to giving up on whatever her true goals actually are*. But then SUMMER not only inadvertently emboldened Salem, she gave her KNOWLEDGE that provided Salem the proverbial missing piece(s) she needed to finally accomplish her goals.

In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that, through Salem, Summer’s actions butterflied out to affect/inform pretty much ALL the major events that have shaped the present day of RWBY. Shaping not just Ruby’s and Yang’s lives, but maybe even Weiss’s and Blake’s too. Like perhaps Salem’s machinations as part of her new schemes are what led to the death(s) of Ironwood’s predecessors and lead to him being installed as headmaster, general and the unexpected new member of the Ozluminati, greatly altering the future of Atlas. Or maybe Salem’s recruiting of Leonardo informed waves of anti-Faunus actions in Anima via deliberate mismanagement/non-action from Leo, which in turn lead to the further radicalization of the White Fang?

Basically, given just how central she is to the stories of two of our main characters, and RWBY’s theme of decrying ‘heroic sacrifices’ and the implications that Summer’s mission is going to end up being framed as a huge MISTAKE on her part, I think it would be rather appropriate if Summer also unwittingly kicked off the ENTIRE modern plot of RWBY.**

Also you may note that I’ve been stressing that Summer unintentionally did all of this, because as I’ve stated elsewhere I think the idea that Summer might have willingly joined Salem just doesn’t work with everything we’ve learned so far. Particularly with Summer being the ‘patient zero’ of Salem’s Grimm Hybrid Program.

*Considering that Oz’s GUESS about her goal being a suicidal-cosmic-temper-tantrum is such an OBVIOUS red-herring at this point that it is baffling how some people still think it’s actually legit

**Also it would make a very fun twist considering how so much of the fandom seems to think that Oz is somehow at the center of everything.

#rwby #rwby theory #rwby analysis #Summer Rose #Salem #how summer's martyr complex screwed EVERYONE over

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literaryvein-reblogs · 4 months ago

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How do I write a scene where a previously “dead” character comes back and faces their friends who mourned for them, looking physically different than before? It’s been a few years since their death, but I don’t how to write the scene.

Writing Ideas: Back from the Dead

a list of resurrection tropes

Accidental Resurrection: A deceased character/s is brought back to life without having been intended to.

Attending Your Own Funeral: A resurrection happens when people are gathered together to mourn for a character's death.

Came Back Strong: A resurrected person is more powerful than they were before they died.

Damaged Soul: A resurrected person comes back in a worse mental state than before.

Death Amnesia: A resurrected character remembers nothing about the afterlife.

Escaped from Hell: Someone refuses to stay dead even though they're already in the afterlife, so they break out and head back to the land of the living.

Inhuman Human: A character is resurrected with their mind/soul intact but their body in bad condition.

Refusing Paradise: A dead character chooses resurrection over entering the peaceful afterlife.

Resurrection Revenge: A character comes back from the dead to avenge their own death.

Resurrection Sickness: Someone suffers physical weakness as a result of resurrection.

Resurrective Immortality: A form of immortality where it is possible to kill the individual, but they keep coming back to life afterwards.

Rotten Reincarnation: The cycle of death and rebirth is seen as heinous.

Unwanted Revival: A resurrected person isn't happy about being brought back to life.

Waking Up at the Morgue: When a resurrectee comes back to life, they're likely to find themselves wherever their dead body was stored.

We Can Rebuild Him: Saving a person's life by converting them into a cyborg.

Examples

In Classical Mythology, before Sisyphus 'died', he told his wife not to do any burial rites. When in the Underworld, he appealed to the queen of the underworld, Persephone, if he could go back up to earth to haunt his wife for not giving him the proper rites. She agreed and he came back from the dead.

Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert from Tangled. From the time that he says in the opening, "This is the story of how I died," it only leaves the viewer guessing until the climatic part, when he is fatally stabbed In the Back by Mother Gothel's dagger and, rather than let Rapunzel risk her freedom for his life, cuts off her hair with a broken mirror shard in a Heroic Sacrifice before breathing his last in her arms. Thankfully, Rapunzel's magic tear brings him back to life. This is justified, since in the original tale, Rapunzel healed her beloved prince's eyesight with her tear.

In The Brothers Grimm's "The Three Snake Leaves" the hero uses the titular leaves to bring his wife back from the dead. At first it seems fine, but after being resurrected her love for him has turned into hate and she tries to murder him on a sea voyage. He is rescued by a faithful servant and she is executed.

The basic premise of Pet Sematary is that what you bring back is not what first died. To disastrous degrees. Specifically, while they stop decaying and can pass for alive if cleaned up, what comes back is a moving corpse that cannot heal, saddled with whatever injuries may have killed it. To further worsen the deal, while the corpse has all the memories and echoes of their personality, what "comes back" is not the soul of the deceased but some form of Demon or Monster from Beyond the Veil bent on making the one who resurrected it suffer through killing those they hold dear, and then them.

Game of Throne's Jon Snow. Seemingly averted, for the most part. Despite his resurrection coming from circumstances similar to Beric Dondarrion's, the only marked change in him is a (more) melancholic demeanor and a new hairdo. His willingness to interpret the preceding events as an out from the Night's Watch may also count.

Inuit Mythology: Sedna is just an ordinary woman until her father chops off her fingers and throws her into the ocean. She becomes the goddess of the ocean, the most important goddess of the Inuit cosmology because it's only with her on their side that the people can avoid starvation. Her fingers turn into seals. Another version has her being thrown in the ocean first, followed by the chopping off of her fingers (which turn into seals), hands (which turn into walruses), and finally her arms (which turn into whales) to get her to stop clinging on to the boat.

Merlin (2008) has had a few resurrections, all of which went wrong. Tristan du Bois: undead wraith, Lancelot: Soulless Shell, Uther: Took a Level in Jerkass, which is quite impressive considering he was a genocidal tyrant in the first place.

The Twilight Zone (1959): In the episode "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank", a man comes back from the dead, but the townsfolk notice some things are off about him and decide that he's possessed by a demon. He manages to shame them away… and then lights his pipe without a match or lighter.

Osiris from the Ancient Egyptian pantheon died repeatedly only to return a short while later, suffering several indignities such as being resurrected without a penis, which was eaten by fish before it could be found and reattached. He averts the Trope in that he never came back in some monstrously horrific form, but true to it in that afterwards he was usually worse off than he was previously. And green.

The Lord of the Ring's Gandalf the Grey dies and comes back as Gandalf the White with augmented powers and authority. He is a lesser-angel figure on a mission from greater-angels and hasn't completed his quest so he is sent back and the restrictions previously placed on his power (to prevent overreliance or corruption) are relaxed.

Writing Template: Resurrection Scene

PART ONE

What is the purpose of this resurrection?

Is it based on the prophecy or is this resurrection random?

In prophecy usually a group of people, a village or more patiently waits for the prophecy to happen. Whether the person being resurrected will save the world, save their country or is a symbol. The prophecy can either be welcomed or feared. How has the people prepared for this resurrection? What is promised in the prophecy?

For a random resurrection, who decides to bring back the person or the deity. Do they have their own power or easy given to them? Why did they decide to wake up from their…. rest?

Describe the signs of the prophecy happening. What takes place right before the resurrection or during the resurrection that shows the reader something important is about to happen or is currently happening?

The skies can part, crows can gather, a national disaster such as an earthquake can occur. Maybe the prophet who spoke of the prophecy is dying or says it’s happening within three days. Depending on the sign it allow your reader to know whether the person who is being resurrected will be good or bad.

During the resurrection things may or may not go as planned. But that does not mean the person being resurrected is a bad person. There could be an evil force preventing the person from being resurrected. What are the witnesses doing in order to make sure the resurrection is going well? Do they close their borders or their gates to prevent outside from entering?

Who notices these signs and who prepares after noticing the signs. Is there a way for these people to rush the signs? Do they create their own signs as well such as using fireworks for celebration, going to a church to pray, dancing in the rain,etc?

PART TWO

Who witnesses this resurrection and what does it inspire them to do?

Who are the chosen people to witness and do they already have an idea this was going to happen? It doesn’t even have to be human.

Could only be family or friends, or random people, no one at all is worthy, or perhaps someone who is dreaming. Do they want to be better people after seeing this? Do they want to tell everyone they know after seeing this? Do they question the world around them and their existence? Or do they wish they never saw it?

For a random resurrection there must be a random people to view it. Because no one knows that it was going to happen. How are these random people taking it in? Do they run and hide. Rejoice? Scream and shout? And maybe they heard something about this but they didn’t know it was true. Now that they see it before their very eyes are they are shocked, and standing still like stone.

If the witnesses aren’t human but animals or creatures that you created, what do they do after and during the resurrection? Assuming that the person being resurrected is the main character, how do they feel about no one being meant to see this?

What are they inspired to do now? Do they wait until the resurrection is completed or do they start right away? What device,if any, do they have available?

They can be inspired to spread the word about the resurrection. Maybe do what ever the character being resurrected did so that they can resurrect too. Whether it’s sacrificing themselves or changing themselves for the better. Do they want to worship the resurrected person?

Some people may not even be able to finish the resurrection for whatever reason. Whether it is because they are fainting or they’re afraid or because they can’t wait to do with what they are inspired to do. Maybe their in a trance or were told specifically by the resurrector to go forth and do something. Also, if they have electronic devices they can use that to their benefit.

PART THREE

What does the person who is being resurrected look like? What are they doing?

Note their clothing, and their hair, and how their skin looks. Use some adjectives to describe them. What point of view is it? The witness’s point of view, the resurrector? Each person will have a opinion of what the resurrection looks like.

Their appearance:

Clothing: None, Robe, Torn clothes from when they died, Clothing restored from when they died, Wings

Hair: White or silver; Natural color; A bright color such as yellow or orange; Styled very long; Styled messy or clean; Like it was before; Flowing in the wind; Silky, thick, smooth

Skin: Clear; Still dirty from when they died (if they were in battle); Younger; Older

Adjective to Use: Glorious; Radiant; Superb; Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome; Unimaginable; Promising; Inspiring; Flawless; Peaceful; Perfect; Timeless; Awe-inspiring

Depending on whose point of view it is, how is the person being resurrected seen? Is there envy, remorse? Example: An enemy just finished off the main character but he is resurrected shortly after. Also, what does the facial expressions of everyone in this seen look like? Does it match the way they look? The person who has risen from their… slumber may look like an angel but has a nasty look on their face. Or vica versa.

Does the look change? The person being born again can go from happy to mad in an instant. So can whatever they are wearing or his/her hair. Example:

From clean white rob, bowl-cut hair, and brown eyes — Torn robe, spiked hair, red eyes.

From Torn clothing, messy and dirty hair, and red shot eyes — Clothing fixed, hair fixed and eyes back to normal

These changes can be temporary or permanent.

Are they already doing magical things? Are they doing things they wouldn’t have done in the previous life? Are they better or worse off? What interaction do they have with the witnesses?

Do they now have powers? How do they use of these powers? At first do they scare the witnesses because they don’t know how to use their power? The may accidentally hurt someone or burn a tree down. Are they floating while being resurrected? Do they disappear after being resurrected or even fly?

Do these powers change them to be better than before they were dead or worse? Can they control their powers? Do they even want the powers? What are the power intended for?

PART FOUR

What message is sent to the people who are witnessing the resurrection? What is the person being resurrected thinking?

Is the witnesses being ordered to do something? Are they able to have a conversation with the person being resurrected? Are there any warnings or other prophecies?

They are probably told to tell people what they have seen. Or may not. Maybe they need to keep quiet about it for a while in order for the resurrected to attack the enemy with surprise. May they have risen only to tell one last message to the people. If that’s the case it has to be something important. For example: How to win a battle, how to create something, take away something, restore something, or improve something.

There does not need to be a conversation, however, they can still communicate. Whether it’s with gestures, with a song, showing the future or another prophecy using powers…. If a conversation does take place, who is doing most of the talking and are questions being answered not only for the reader but for the witnesses?

What thoughts are in mind of the main character, whether they are the person being resurrected or a witness? What do they see that no one else sees?

Maybe they want to go back to…. sleep. Or ditch and figure out their new powers. How about if the resurrect isn’t the correct resurrected or a fake. Can a witness see that? Do they notice? What if the resurrected see a witness that is a trader. What do they do?

PART FIVE

What is the next step for the person being resurrected?

How does the future look; what changes forever

After all is said and done, where is the resurrected going? How do they plan on getting there and are they going alone?

What is promised, what is warned, what is happening as the resurrected says his/her goodbyes?

What is left behind, given as a gift, or what words are repeated? How has this moment changed the history of your story? And who would believe it besides the witnesses?

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Here are some tropes and examples you can use as inspiration. When facing their friends, what are their reactions? Is it positive/negative? Are they accepted or treated like a stranger in this new form? Similarly, when they look physically different than before, is it a positive/negative change? Are they decomposing? Do they look the same or are they "better" now? Do go through the links as well for more examples. Or you may use (and alter as needed) templates, like the one I found above to help guide your story. Hope this helps with your writing!

#anonymous #tropes #writing reference #character development #writeblr #plot #writing ideas #literature #writers on tumblr #dark academia #spilled ink #writing prompt #creative writing #writing inspiration #light academia #writing tips #writing resources

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utilitycaster · 1 year ago

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I feel like the way I think about Ludinus Da'leth is like...the Anti-Vespin. There's the basic actions they performed - both unleashed something long-sealed, but Vespin Chloras intended to destroy what he perceived to be a sealed danger, and Ludinus is using Predathos as a weapon. However, what strikes me is how the two of them have acted so far towards other mortals rather than the existential threats they've tangled with.

I suspect Ludinus is bringing in Bells Hells not because he expects them to join him, but because he really, really wants someone to validate his plan that is ultimately just a monument to his choice to wallow and make Exandria worse for it. No one likes him. He's not Ruidusborn; he can't commune with the Weave Mind and the Reilora the way others can. Liliana is in pretty deep but she's wavering, Zathuda resents him (and it seems to be mutual) and Otohan's dead. The Assembly is crumbling and the Empire's not doing well either, and the world has to an extent united against him.

Vespin chose, in his brief moment of clarity after he had unleashed the Betrayers and lost himself, to do what he could to improve Zerxus's lot, expressed anguish and remorse for his actions and his legacy, and said that he hoped the Ring of Brass would be given more grace by history. He was willing to accept the title of villain, despite being something much more complicated, because in the end he understood that giving the world a chance to survive was far more important than clearing his own name.

Ludinus, on the other hand, is fighting against historical strawmen. His resentment towards the gods is just that: a burning resentment. He could have left his mark by rebuilding post-Divergence Exandria. Instead, his legacy is one of rot, war, hatred, and corruption, from Molaesmyr to the War of Ash and Late to the Bloody Bridge. He could have been an architect of the modern age for the better. He could have tried to revive Aeorian magic and culture, and, as I've discussed, potentially even the people. He instead focused only on a centuries-long goal of destruction out of sheer spite.

Vespin was willing to shoulder any insult, deserved or not, for the rest of eternity because he understood it was less important than doing whatever he could in the few moments he had to mitigate harm. Ludinus is willing to destroy anything to retaliate for an insult.

Ludinus is livid about being robbed of an age he never got to see by the gods; and quite possibly, with the destruction of Molaesmyr, killed some of its last survivors outside exceptions such as himself. He claims to hate the gods' uneven blessings yet his alliance - and reliance - on Ruidusborn sorcerers has always made it clear that was a lie. And none of this will bring back the world he lost, and indeed, may very well set society back further.

He will tear everything apart out of hurt feelings and a desire to be correct when he could have left a shining legacy. It is the opposite of a heroic sacrifice; a petty, small self-destruction. I think he wants Bells Hells to tell him it was worth it. And I don't think they will.

#critical role #ludinus da'leth #vespin chloras

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picaroroboto · 3 months ago

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Family, sacrifice, and heroism in Canto 7

Let me preface by saying that as common as they are in fiction, tropes and themes about family can be hard to talk about because family can be a difficult topic for many people, and as a meta poster I don't want to reveal too much about my own issues while trying to discuss video games. But on a post I made the other day about Ryoshu a commenter left a note to the effect of "are any parents actually suited to being parents?" and I think those words are gonna stick in me for a while.

On that note Don Quixote the First Kindred AKA Dad Quixote is probably one of those sort of imperfect parents, given how he created his Family largely to heal his own loneliness. There is lots of genuine love between him and his Kindred, no doubt or argument there, but the suffering the Bloodfiends went through while following his orders not to drink blood seems tatamount to abuse and neglect. Restraining their appetite in order to not harm humans is a heroic sacrifice for the greater good, but the others lacked his strength of willpower to endure the hunger - maybe he could power through it knowing it's a heroic sacrifice, but the rest don't feel the same because heroism is his dream and not theirs. It could be said that as a parent he holds his children to high expectations that they in the end are unable to reach.

Of course what they do to him in return is terrible, downright biblical torture with the Christ-like imagery of being nailed to a structure, but worse than the physical suffering is the way he is psychologically broken by the loss of his dream, not just the adventure with Sancho but the way his children betrayed his ideal of coexistence. Now believing his dream to have always been impossible, he turns from his heroic sacrifice for the greater good and resigns himself to sacrificing his dream for the good of the family, at the expense of both his great suffering and the lives of human victims of La Manchaland. At one point he says "I am no longer the only one with claim to my body? It must be used...for the good of my Children..." He may be the Father of the Bloodfiend clan but here he expresses something like a distressing view of motherhood that forces women to devote everything to their families.

And the ideal he sacrificed and sacrificed for wasn't even his, at least not at first, he picked it up from Bari and her stories. Ironically her title of "Knight of the White Moon", in the original novel it belonged to a character who was trying on behalf of Quixote's family to return him to sanity, essentially beating him at his own game by dressing up as a knight and challenging him to a duel on the condition that he'd return home if he lost. The best scenes in the novel are ones where other characters get drawn into Quixote's madness and are left wondering who is actually crazy here: him, me, or the whole world? Like one of my favorite scenes, where he mistakes a group of police and the chain gang they are leading for slavers with captives, and charges and frees the prisoners - like he's got a point there, the incarceration system is little different than slavery with any other name.

Back to Limbus, the Sinner Don Quixote often seems like a fool because she just can't understand that The City is an incredibly unjust, corrupt place, but like her original she is also a question - who is the fool here: the cynical world, or the idiot who believes in justice? Time and again her belief leads the Sinners into trouble, or leads to no result at all, but because she keeps trying to believe, the other Sinners get infected by her optimism a little and are there to push her back when she's on the verge of abandoning her principles once her memories return and she sees what has been done to her father.

I know I said at the start that I don't want to reveal much about myself in meta, but I have a thing for stories that treat heroism seriously. Allowing your hero to see both the dark and the light in the world, to be tested by ambiguity and failure and suffering, makes them so much better than a story where the hero always wins just because they're the hero; a battered and imperfect hero in an unjust world becomes a light amidst darkness like a star in the night...anyways that's why I love Canto 7, even the anime-like action sequences and power of friendship moment, because it is truly fitting. Don the Sinner has awoken from the dream in learning her past and having to fight a battle that was neither just nor easy, but has also chosen to continue dreaming, in choosing to continue believing in things like justice and friendship despite everything she's been through and will continue to go through on her journey.

...And I guess this post got away from me and my original intent, but that's what happens when you set off on an adventure, isn't it?

#limbus company #don quixote lcb #canto 7 #canto 7 spoilers #meta posting on my art blog

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maikingsenseofit · 2 years ago

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There’s so much discourse from people who want to misconstrue Zuko and Mai’s relationship (to further their own personal shipping agendas) and how they understand Zuko’s decision to leave Mai in the fire nation.

No, he DIDNT want to leave her behind like he did the rest of the gala and glamor of the fire nation . No she did not make it easier for him to leave because he truly had no attachments to the home that spurned him.

In fact we see in CANON (not your fanfiction, sorry you have to come to this reckoning) that Mai is the one thing that ties Zuko to his old life. His one regret. His heroic sacrifice for the greater good.

The writers (The Ehasz couple mind you) literally go the extra length to include Mai when Sokka and Zuko deepen their friendship in The Boiling Rock. This was a pivotal development for Sokka and Zuko’s characters.

Sokka asks Zuko if he had anything or anyone he cared about left in the fire nation. Zuko says, “I did have a girlfriend Mai.” And when Sokka remembers her in a somewhat positive way, Zuko can’t help but smile the biggest most lovestruck smile he’s ever shown in the show. Clearly this man loved her.

Then Zuko volunteers this next piece of information without provocation, where he says “Everyone in the fire nation thinks I’m a traitor, I couldn’t drag her into it.” CLEARLY the dialogue shows that he had considered involving her but he couldn’t because he knew she would object and he wanted to protect her.

We literally see a poignant scene where he takes off all of his armor, portraying him in the rawest and most vulnerable state, when he writes her a letter (this is after he visits his mom shrine too). He takes his time writing it too. The authors deliberately used this scene to show that this wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right decision Zuko had to make.

His dialogue “I’m sorry Mai” is a direct parallel to when Aang apologizes to Katara for his own sacrifice.

Compare that to Zuko leaving JIN or Zuko abandoning Katara in the catacombs. These supposed “love interests” are not even spared a second glance, a grimace of regret, or anything showing that Zuko truly cared about them (when they were not directly in front of him). Zuko completely forgot about why Katara was upset at him (you literally betrayed her trust) and doesn’t even remember Jin until he runs into her again in Going Home Again (thank you AE!)

Alas people will continue painting canon as they see fit and then deluding themselves into a circle jerk. But THATS where I come in.

#mai #zuko #avatar the last airbender #maiko #atla maiko #atla #pro maiko #anti zutara

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anhilliator1 · 3 months ago

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Just read @intrepid-fictioneer-7's analyis on the madness of Servants, and it's got me thinking about Fujimaru's mental state and some implications of the lore.

We do know that they were most definitely a regular human at the beginning of the story; however, lore and dialogue imply that this is no longer the case.

The event where Vritra debuts has her note that both Mash and you seem both human and not human at the same time. It makes sense for Mash, as she's a demi-Servant, but why Fujimaru?

And then there's a bit in Koyanskaya of Light's profile - "Koyanskaya had planned to incorporate the Foreign God into her eighth tail, and to use Chaldea's Master for the ninth." To become one of her tails, it has to be a "Monster not present in the history of humanity." I think that says it all, really.

Fujimaru has been in multiple situations very similar to the ones that gave rise to heroic legends, having faced down the absolute worst threats to Humanity several times over.

And not just that - the very nature of pruning Lostbelts means that Fujimaru has an incredible amount of blood on their hands; enough that Kali is intrigued.

They've gone through far more than any human should ever have to go through, and it's implied throughout the story and confirmed that by Ordeal Call that, even if they were to return home at the end of it all, they would never be able to return to a normal life ever again.

Hell, Ordeal Call II reveals that Fujimaru not only has the potential to become an Avenger, but the most powerful one of all.

What I'm getting at is that what if one of the reasons that Fujimaru is able to empathize and connect with Heroic Spirits to such a degree is because they think like one, having fought through many of the same circumstances and now afflicted by that same madness?

Sure, they may not be as broken as some of those that they have under their command; but, as some have said, it's likely at this point that Fujimaru is the quintessential human to an utterly inhuman degree.

The way I interpret that is that he does things that would seem normal for a human at a glance; but if one were to examine it, they'd realize that Fujimaru's ability to do that goes far, far beyond the limit of what any normal human should be capable of.

For example, Humanity may be known for the indomitable spirit in the face of overwhelming odds; but for Fujimaru, it's seems that it's ontologically impossible for them to give up no matter what they're facing when even the most determined of humans would have given up.

A human, no matter how righteous, may still fall into evil if the circumstances are extraneous enough - but we actually see Fujimaru put into such a circumstance - and refuse to do so.

They can't ever stop moving forward, because if they do, it means all the innumerable sacrifices that have been made during their journey would have been for nothing.

Sure, it may be more subtle, but the underlying madness that would make a heroic spirit's mind incomprehensible to a regular human is still there.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka" may still be there, but it's buried under the being that is "Humanity's Last Master."

#fate/grand order #fgo #fate grand order #headcanon #fujimaru ritsuka #ritsuka fujimaru #gudao #gudako #long post

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yandereunsolved · 1 year ago

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Hello there I don't know if you take requests or not but what if reader was a yandere instead of the Links

If you do more than one character in one fic or something can I request this with Time, Deity, wild, and four

Obsession Is In The Name - ,, yandere reader w/ (separate) Time, Fierce, Wild, & Four

cw(s): yandere themes, suggestive themes, graphic gore

— Time —

✧ You most likely fell for him after he saved you. You weren't close to him during his journey—well, not physically close, at least. You had stalked him while he was saving Hyrule. You'd do odd jobs and stock up on supplies to conveniently leave near him. You'd patch him up when he was sleeping and cuddle with him as well. It was like both of you were forbidden lovers because he is the hero and you are his devoted stalker.

✧ You are always there to valiantly defend him. After his toughest journey, you make sure to murder all those who question his ways. You read an awful prophecy on the walls of a temple that both of you visited on his journey. Sure, he wasn't aware you were there with him, but you both still visited together. That thought—the thought of him turning into some strange thing with bulky armor—only made you more protective. You became increasingly paranoid and sloppy in your killings.

✧ Which led you to murder Malon, Time's girlfriend. You carved her heart out of her chest and stabbed it until it was nothing more than unidentifiable chunks of flesh. You dumped her body in some deep, murky lake water. She deserved it! That bitch deserved it. You wanted to dig your eyes out of your skull whenever you saw the two of them together. You just couldn't handle it anymore. She must be the reason he turns into the Hero's Shade. She doesn't give him a worthy offspring to teach. She doesn't help him spread the news of his heroic adventures. She doesn't watch over him and protect him when the nights grow long and the cold nips at his figure. You had to save him from her and himself. He didn't really love her. She was just a substitute for you. After all, if the hero is so busy protecting everyone else, who will protect him?

✧ Ganondorf saw that in you. He saw your obsession as something he could use to corrupt you. This wasn't Time's Ganondorf. This was another version of him. One in a dimension that was trying to take over every other time line. You were initially disgusted when he invaded your dreams. He was clearly trying to manipulate you into joining his side. You were livid at the thought of betraying Time. So you killed him! You crossed dimensions just so when he woke up, you could be above him. There was a look that was so crazed in your eyes that it would rival the one seen in Cia's toward Warriors.

You didn't feel bad either. He was simply scum. You were helping this different Hyrule. Their Link would surely be grateful for you. Even if this version of Link didn't know it, it was you who mercilessly slaughtered Ganon. Each of his body parts put on spikes of Hyrule Castle, as a reminder, no version of Ganondorf may touch your Link.

✧ You came back after a while. You aren't sure how long. The whole dimension-hopping thing isn't as easy as it looks. You look for Link, and you can't find him. You call out Time, Link, baby, sweetheart, darling, and no one answers. An acidic, bitter feeling rises in your throat. It feels as if someone shoved a bunch of hot Goron coals down your throat.

You don't sleep that night. You can't.

You run around in a crazed manner for the next few weeks. You threaten anyone you can get your hands on. You make sacrifices for whomever will listen. As long as its name isn't Ganon or Ganondorf, you would align.

You were on your way to some hidden temple to try and sacrifice something to an evil deity when you slipped and fell into a portal. You weren't even able to scream. It was cut short as you ended on top of your Time, your Link, your love until the end of time itself.

✧ You became acquainted with the other versions of him. Awe doesn't even begin to describe how you were feeling or how you continue to feel at this absolute miracle. You found him, and there are other hims. Time was much more concerned than astounded. He was frantically checking over you, worried that a villager he had only spoken to a handful of times got dragged into this mess. So what if he only sees you as a villager right now? He's just pretending. He loves you! He's smothering you in attention and concern.

He even gets the one Link, Hyrule, to give you a health examination. You weren't exactly thrilled to be separated from him for a short period of time, but it was because your Link cares, so it's okay.

✧ You grow closer to Time, and he even allows you to call him Link in private! You get to see him out of his armor, and you aren't even stalking him! It's a gift from the golden three, for sure. He has such well-defined muscles and an athletic body, even after all the hits and illnesses he has been through.

He is protective of you. He doesn't allow monsters to kill you. He doesn't allow the other Links to question or offend you. He even threatened Legend once after Legend got aggressive with you because you broke one of those trinkets of his! You did it on purpose, but Time doesn't have to know that.

✧ That is just one of the ways you keep the other versions of Link away from you. You walk the fine line between polite and rude, caring and vicious, towards all of them except for Time and, oddly enough, Twilight. You enjoy his pleasant company. It almost feels as if he is kin to you. You have the same inclinations around him as you do around your Link, except in a more platonic manner.

You like it.

Getting rid of Malon was worth it. There's no way Time is going to turn into that hideous monster. Learning that Twilight is a descendent of Time only affirms your past agrecious behavior. You must have started a family with him! Twilight may literally be kin to you.

✧ You still threaten anyone outside of The Chain. It is an instinct for you. You had to slip up one of these days. You did, and you regret it. Link found you midway into murdering someone who had flirted with him. You didn't feel any remorse for the person, only remorse that Link now felt conflicted.

It won't stop you from committing these vile acts in the future, even if he asks you to. Sometimes your darling is wrong, and that's okay. That's why you are here—to protect him and save him from when he is wrong.

✧ He chose to confront you about your strange tendencies in private. When he questioned you, you confessed. He recoiled with disgust in his eyes. He thought of you as a child who needed to be guided. You needed to be saved from yourself. Why couldn't you see that?

"I see myself as your guardian. You can't simply throw around the word 'love' to get out of the consequences for your actions."

Throw around the word?

Oh, no, no, no, no.

YOU DIDN'T JUST USE THE WORD! YOU LOVE HIM MORE THAN HE HATES THE MOON. YOU HAVE SEEN HIM AT HIS WORST, AND STILL YOU LOVE HIM. YOU HAVE KILLED AND TORTURED AND DONE UNSPEAKABLE THINGS FOR HIM.

He thinks of you as a child?

If anything, he is the child.

✧ Perhaps Legend could finally be of use after all. You simply stole a few potions, tweaked a few things after learning magical cooking from Wild, and voilà, a love-inducing amnesiac potion was invented. You mixed it in with some Hylian dressing and made sure that he had some on his salad one night.

Look!

The hearts in his eyes—you can practically see them. He now loves you just as you love him! You'll deal with The Chain, do everything, and then go back to your Hyrule. You'll settle down with him, and everything will be perfect. You have your Link. He's your happy ending. Just you and him, until the end of time.

— Fierce —

☾ Fierce has known you since the beginning. So the first time that spark of obsessive love appeared in your eyes, he knew. You are his devoted follower. You are the only one allowed to live and guard their temple. He was indifferent to your existence at first. He has had many mortals fall to their knees and beg him for his seed within them—womb or not. Yet none have stayed with him through their most vulnerable and weakest moments. His indifference slowly changes into something he isn't familiar with. He knows he should have cast you out the first time he saw you cry, but he didn't. They are a deity of war but also protection. They couldn't just cast their little priest(ess) out.

☾ You slay any entity that enters this place of divinity and worship. You find no difference in one of their followers or one of Ganon's monstrosities. They are all threats in need of elimination. A friend could easily turn foe if you aren't cautious enough. There can only be one mortal residing within the walls of their temple, one priest(ess).

☾ He is pleased by your devotion to him. He rewards you with his mask. The one item that no one possesses but you. To adorn his mask is to become one with him. That is a blessing you can never repay him for. You treat it as if it were made of glass, despite it being stronger than any Hylian or Twili armor. You never wear it within the temple. Being graced with the sense of his presence is enough. You only place the mask on when you need to slay many of Ganon's monstrosities at once.

That has only happened twice, and you have little memory of it. The one thing you do remember from both of those times is how invigorated you felt. Unstoppable. Perfectly at peace. It was as if every trouble and doubt you had were simply nonexistent.

Your hands often find their way to the mask. You don't wear it; you simply allow your fingers to graze over the surface of it. You gained the permanent markings of the mask after your first time using it. You always touch the marks on your face and trace over them. It could be the material of the mask or your flesh; you were marked by him. It made you feel a sense of completeness you had never known before. It is so incredibly safe within the temple of the Fierce Deity, for you at least.

☾ They find themself amused by your reverence. It sparks more interest in them. They find themself often teasing you in various ways. He will ghost your body with spiritual touches. He'll leave notes for you around his temple. He'll ask you the most invasive and downright mortifying questions, and you will willingly answer. It only spurs him to be more attentive toward you. They say it a lot. It just does.

Your mortal antics greatly amuse them. They would never willingly admit that you are the priest(ess) he holds most dear to his heart over the several that he has had. It makes them want to move forward in this strange 'relationship' you both are in.

☾ So he leaves you needy. He doesn't pity the way your soul begs for him either. They're purposefully being obtuse. They need you to sink down to your knees once again and pour your heart out. Only then can he give you a fraction of the affection that you desire and then disappear once again.

It is what his entire being craves. They need dominance and control. You cannot protect someone if they have a chance of disobeying you. You have shown that he could kill you and toss you into the deepest depths, and you'd still follow him with a broken mind and body.

☾ As time goes on, he begins to indulge in your mortal needs. He gives you affection and tender love through his blank stare and empty heart. They grace you with their hylian form. They are easily able to manipulate it, but he knows your preferences well by now. He can see your eyes bulge out of your head and your body grow faint.

You worship him in any way you are able when he appears in his hylian form. He is still well over seven feet tall. It's deeply intimidating and slightly arousing if you had to speak the truth.

☾ You are his little pet—wait. That isn't the right term, is it? Non-deities prefer the term partner or spouse. You are his small 'malewife', if he is remembering the definitions correctly. He may be a deity, but he hasn't had the time to keep up with the evolving languages of the other races. Still, you are his, and he is enough of yours.

You are such a submissive thing for him. You're so ready and eager to get your hands on something and slaughter it to get his praise.

☾ He thrives within your bewitched nature. The pure violence that emanates from your soul when something dares question him is arousing, to say the least. You and the deity both grow closer. There is one thing he makes known to you: you can be as impassioned as you'd like, but his word is law. You cannot go against it, as it is an extent of him. Not that you ever would. You love him too much.

— Wild —

ღ Death Moutain, the Hot Springs, where you met your darling Wild. You had come across a side of the mountain covered in malice, with three large, fiery chuchus ambushing you from behind. You had to escape across the malice, and you became drenched in it. Your footsteps were weary and unstable; you fell into the healing springs as your legs gave out.

When breaking the surface of the water after your wall, you were met with a completely nude Wild. Your eyes widened as you sheepishly averted your gaze from his. You would soon learn that his wounds were so extensive that he had to be carried down here by a Goron. Fireblight Ganon was the monster you would soon learn of that he had slayed. He freed Divine Beast Vah Rudania.

This was the hero from those stories? The hero that was asleep for a hundred years. You couldn't take your eyes off of him.

ღ You didn't know much Hylian sign, but you got the essence of what he was saying. You both were lone travelers, so you decided to stick together that day. Wild was naturally overprotective of you, for reasons you could only assume. Your heart slowly inched closer to his, and after waiting for him to free Divine Beast Vah Rutain Zora's Domain, you realized how important he became to you.

You became even more overprotective of him than he was of you. You would be quick to fury at anyone who made any slight toward him. He couldn't even interact with any townsfolk without you hovering, one hand always firmly placed on your weapon. Your attraction to him was quickly spiraling into something far more dangerous.

ღ Wild knows it's toxic, but he still soaks up every last ounce of affection you bestow upon him. He's been starved of affection and love for the last hundred years. Only half of his memories are back, and even those ones seem to be devoid of any type of love. He had the other champions, but they didn't seem to fill his soul with joy, even though he deeply cared for them in a platonic sense.

He practically purrs when you touch him. His body leans into your embrace. He wants to take in your scent and keep you close to him forever. He is just in need, and you are willing to provide it so readily. His eyes water, and tears threaten to escape when you speak such sweet words to him.

You promise to never leave him. That's the one thing that makes him sob.

He always signs back something even sweeter than whatever left your mouth. He feels as if he could conquer any enemy when he sees you learning how to communicate with him. No one has done that for him. Zelda knew some, as he remembers, but she still preferred to just speak and not sign to him. You're getting better every time you do so. He just wants to smother you, but he refrains.

ღ After each day, the two of you cuddle. It doesn't matter where you are—on the ground or in a stable bed. He shyed away from your touch in the beginning. You both consented to cuddle, but the monsters within his mind caused him to retreat back to his internal shrine. He feared that you would be disgusted by the many scars that adorn his body. He was more scarred than unmarred flesh.

You didn't flinch or have an expression of contempt on your features when you saw him without his tunic. You have already seen some of his scars before, at the hot spring, and when you needed to patch him up. You weren't aware they were so extensive. Still, you accepted him and his body the way it is. You lovingly traced his scars that first night, and he has been hooked ever since.

It is the thing he cherishes. Whenever you two needed to sleep, it became his favorite time. He just couldn't believe you were so intrigued by them. You always told him that you'd love him and his body, no matter what. You wanted him to eat more so he could regain fat and muscle. You wanted to find a proper healer so that he could get checked up on. You were somewhat of a healer, but not proficient within the means of the title.

He always has nightmares, and you soothe him. He prefers laying on top of you in a defensive manner, so he can soak up your warmth, but if the two of you have to sleep on the ground or another rough surface, he prefers you laying on top or to his side. He wants to save you from the discomfort. You deserve it.

ღ Not everything with you can be so perfect. You have your flaws, as does he. So he has to do his best to keep you in line. He has to learn how to act like a disappointed parent. That seems to make you rethink any rash decisions you may want to make.

He has a ground rule of 'no killing any non-enemies'. It is the hardest rule for you to follow. It's even harder, considering he's found that you are quite clever about murdering people behind his back. He refuses to give you attention for a little while after you kill someone. He does his best to seem firm in his actions, but he can't deprive himself of you for too long. So it's the blank stare that works the best. You always feel guilty and apologize.

He'll have to find better methods in the future to keep you docile. He just has to stop feeling so honored when you murder someone for him.

ღ When the time comes, you help him through the arduous Hyrule Castle. You let him lead because he somewhat remembers some of the groundwork. You are able to sneak past most of the monsters. They don't seem to pay you any mind. You find Zelda's diary before he does, and you shove it in your bag. You later light it on fire and let it burn. She had some very romantic things to say about Link. You didn't appreciate that.

ღ You weren't allowed to follow him to defeat Calamity Ganon. He expressly forbade you from doing so. So you helped him fight Calamity Ganon anyway. You covered his back and kept Ganon distracted with arrows. Both of you narrowly survived.

It was just something you had to do for him. You couldn't let him die. If he died, you wanted to die right next to him in the glory of battle. After the entire thing, the both of you cried and clung to each other.

Of course Zelda had to come in and ruin this sacred moment between you two.

ღ Zelda was now freed. She said that your services were no longer needed. Her and Wild needed to go rebuild Hyrule. Zelda knew what you were. She had been watching over Link during his entire journey. She sensed what you were and what happened to you. She saw you burn her journal and the pure contempt in your soul whenever his name was mentioned within her inky letters.

It was very intense between you two. Only the Master Sword would be able to cut through the thickened tension rising in the air.

Wild did his best to calm the both of you. He defended you and thought Zelda was just acting jealous. He knows you have your quirks, but you didn't abandon him when he needed you. You can continue to travel with him. That's his decision, and it's final in its making.

ღ You reluctantly travel alongside Zelda with him. You constantly threaten Zelda behind his back. You do it most when Link is sleeping. You will make thinly veiled threats under the guise of passiveness. They are so vague that Zelda has no ground to stand on when trying to convince Wild of your corrupted nature.

Zelda is unable to keep herself safe from your assaults due to her weakened magic. You try to slit her throat, and she cannot put up a barrier to protect herself. She makes it out with a thin cut along her collarbone. You lie, and Wild believes that Zelda got hurt, and it wasn't your doing.

You do it again with poison, then fire, and you even tried to murder her by pushing her over a cliffside.

As abruptly as the attacks had started, they stopped. You stop making attempts at her life. Zelda is even more on edge. She is just waiting for you to strike again. She knows what you are. She would never trust something like you.

ღ Zelda gets so paranoid that she allows the two of you to venture on your own. She needs to come up with a plan since Wild won't listen to her. You move into his home in Hateno Village. It's lovely that you both are able to settle in for a while. Your romantic relationship is official! You are able to keep him to yourself most days. You make him stay home more and more. He is content with it. He gets overwhelmed when he has to walk into the village and be bombarded by everyone's questions and praises. Some even try to degrade him for his first failure. That villager or villagers who insulted him always go missing the next day. Wild doesn't mind it so much now.

ღ He has to begin to take care of you. You come down with a strange illness. It isn't deadly, from what you are able to tell. Your skin becomes more red, with a strange tint to it. Your irises change to so dark a color that people feel as if they are looking at death when met with your eyes. You become easily exhausted, so you only leave the house at night. You become more violent and unhinged. You nearly kill Wild.

ღ You thought you scared him off, but almost instantly he forgave you. He couldn't blame you for something you couldn't control. Purah diagnosed you with gloom disease, an infection created from malice that spreads throughout one's body and turns them into a puppet for evil. It's impossible that you would have a disease like that. Calamity Ganon has been defeated. It must be an aftereffect from your original time being poisoned by the malice.

ღ He pledges to stay by your side and help you regain your health. He doesn't need the villagers, Sidon, or even Zelda. All he needs is you. Your relationship isn't perfect, but you both still try to make it work. How unfortunate that it will leave him in tears as the kingdom falls once again.

— Four —

ꨄ︎ You first met Four by complete accident; you both had an order of the same forging material, but they didn't have enough, so you ended up splitting the amount of materials until the next shipment of them came in. You thank the goddesses every day for that accident. You believe it was fated. It had to be fated. The two of you were meant to be.

ꨄ︎ After an awkward apology, the two of you began to talk. You connected instantly; well, that's what you tell yourself. You told him about your dreams of becoming a blacksmith. You were just a novice, so Four offered to take you under him as an apprentice. The orders were multiplying by the day, and he did need an extra pair of hands.

ꨄ︎ You became entranced by the way he worked and the complete concentration in his multicolored eyes. His frame may have been small, but it was well built. You have to wipe the drool spilling over your lips multiple times a day. You manage to get so lost in admiring him that you've tuned out the words forming on his chapped lips.

You want to get his lips so wet with your own. So badly. You need to kiss him.

"Ahem—did you get all that?"

You could only nod in embarrassment and end up clumsily executing whatever he had instructed you to do. Four just took this as you being inexperienced. You seemed so focused when he was talking. You must just be a slow learner. That's okay. He can work with that.

ꨄ︎ You always overwork yourself. It is something he has chastised you for before. You still do it over and over and over again just to hear those worried words escape his mouth. You take pride in them. You do it just to see him gently stop you and ask you why you do this to yourself. You could 'you' and go into an extensively in-depth monologue about your never-ending devotion to him, but you just settle for some generic answer. The sore muscles and burnout are always worth it, just because you do it for him and you get rewarded with his attention, which you covet so religiously.

ꨄ︎ The best part of being his apprentice, coupled with the fact that your brain can't admire and listen to him at the same time, is when he guides your movements and teaches you. Him physically touching you, his back pressed against yours, his calloused hands adjusting your movements. It's enough to make you want to beg for him to touch you more. You can't help it. He's so hot, both in the metaphorical and literal sense.

ꨄ︎ It leads you to begin following him to his cottage at the end of the workday. You wouldn't call it stalking per se; you are simply people—person watching. You are observing your mentor and learning from him. That's all. It becomes a routine. Four knows something is off, and it causes him stress. He does his best to figure out who is following him home, but you are clever with your use of stealth potions and noise-suppressant clothing. Four becomes so distressed that, after he comes home one day, he splits.

You were so surprised that you nearly fell off your hiding perch. You leaned in and tried your best to listen to them bickering. You only got bits and pieces of what they were saying. The Red one was mentioning your name a lot. It only seemed to be in a positive way, given the fact that his voice was pitched upward and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. You may not have known much about this strange split, but you did know that you were going to use it to your advantage.

ꨄ︎ It isn't necessarily a bad thing that you are inflicting anguish on him, right? You are just doing it to learn more about your esteemed mentor. You also just can't stop. It was first when you noticed that his eye colors shifted out of harmony when he was troubled. You soon deduced that each color must correspond with those people that split from him. You did little things to agitate him. You'd make sure he didn't know, of course. It's just that the orders kept arriving late, project plans disappeared, and finished pieces suddenly broke or had chips in them. It was enough to turn his internal, perfected harmony into the dying screeches of an alley cat.

So he split right in front of you by complete accident.

ꨄ︎ All four of them froze up and just stared at you with wide eyes. Your nose began to bleed. There are four of them. You are in love with four people—well, four parts of one person. It was just too much for you. They are all so gorgeous. You nearly fall, and Vio catches you. While he holds you against his muscular frame, they continue to argue about the problems that have been going on. They say they have to get to the bottom of this. Oh. You'd love it if they got to the bottom of it.

ꨄ︎ A routine forms from it. You help them solve the problems you create. You look like a hero to all of them. You are always so caring and soft with them. You help heal any burns he gets from the forge; you are always attentive; and there is never a moment where a compliment doesn't leave your mouth about him and his smithery.

You are slowly integrated into the more intimate aspects of his life. Anytime they split, which is rarely, you help mediate the arguments. You aren't partial to any of the Colors since you love them all. It is a dangerous toxin for you. You learn so much about him and about them that you begin to feel sick when away from his presence. It's a disease that affects both your heart and mind, threatening to drive you into insanity unless you heal it with his time and touch.

ꨄ︎ You cannot handle any competition. Anything that gets within his vicinity ends up dead the next day. You aren't even able to restrain yourself any longer. You'd stop doing it if he asked, maybe. However, that'd require him to know what you are doing for him. You want him to know, but you don't know how hurt he would be if he did.

ꨄ︎ What solution can you find to that? Enchanted items. You gift him small trinkets that have been enchanted. You play it off as something small. You are merely being as good-natured as always. Some have protection enchantments, others ward off bad energy, and even one that will supposedly attract him more to you. You are incredibly careful about making sure none of the enchantments are too strong. It still has to be your little secret. In your defense, you are only working in his best interest.

ꨄ︎ Four asks the Minish to help him figure out what is happening. They tell him the truth. They have known it was you all along. They were just too terrified to tell him. You look so scary.

What?

It shatters his insides. He splits.

Their reactions to your yandere tendencies are mixed.

Red thinks that it is kind of sweet. You may be slightly insane, but you treat them all so well. You deserve a second chance. All Four needs to do is talk it out with you.

Blue wants to have you locked up for what you have done. It is insanity as Red said. You need to be stopped immediately. Who knows how far you will go? They have already dealt with Vaati. They don't need a copy of that situation all over again.

Green does his best to calm the two down. Red and Blue are getting into a heated argument, and more strife in this situation won't solve anything. A part of him agrees with Red, and the other with Blue. You have been so kind, but your actions are unjust. He just feels betrayed.

Vio is impressed. He wants to know the extent of this infatuation you have with Four. He won't lie and say that he isn't attracted to your possessiveness. Something about it just makes him hotter than the heat in the forge.

ꨄ︎ They stay split for the night as none of them can come to an agreement. Any attempt at communication just ends in a screaming match. It's a blessing that this is one of the few nights where you weren't able to stalk him home due to your schedule of killing the people that got too close to him.

It was that night that not only did they learn of your true nature, but it was also the night in which the plan to truly test you was put in place. It was Shadows doing, as always. Shadow popped up next to Vio and convinced him to truly test your limits. Vio was both surprised and relieved to see him again. He thought he was—that he was gone. Shadow has just been watching all of them in the darkness.

Vio could almost chuckle. How typical of him.

ꨄ︎ So in the morrow hours Vio leaves his counterparts and goes to the forge. He sees you there, but acts as if he doesn't. He heavily flirts with one of the customers. He could see your body language shifting to something more rigid and bitter. Shadow snuck up behind the customer and pushed them onto Vio. They both kissed, and since no one else was there but you, they continued. Vio didn't resist making out with the random buyer. He was disgusted at the fact he had to kiss another, but if it meant seeing you snap, then it was worth it.

ꨄ︎ Snap you did. One of the new swords Four had crafted earlier in the week lopped the head of the patron clean off. You didn't stop there. You grabbed Vio by the collar of his tunic and began to drag him towards Four's cottage. He didn't resist; he was more amused than anything. The rest of the Colors didn't have the same reaction.

ꨄ︎ You got on your knees and confessed everything to them. Every little thing in your heart and mind, you spoke. You begged them, begged him, to return your affections. Yet they were in disarray. They rejected you. They rejected you? They rejected you!

You left and didn't return for a few weeks. The Colors were on edge and had a few choice words for Vio, but they reformed into Four. Everything was normal until, after a long day of work, you came up behind Four and knocked him out. You chained him to his bed with an absolutely unhinged expression in dilated pupils.

ꨄ︎ You ignored his panic and resistance. You only cooed and took that kiss you had been so patiently waiting for. You broke. Your sanity was consumed by your devotion to Four. If he denies you his love again, you'll kill him with his Four Sword. It's romantic the more you think about it. You'd be able to keep the Four Sword if you killed him. You could keep his clothes, and he'd always be yours. His body would be yours because you would have taken his life from him. He can love you or die at your hands. It's really his choice. 𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭

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burningcheese-merchant · 2 months ago

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Merchy! I saw String Gummy and Schneeball on you top 10 faves list! PLEASE gush why you adore them so! As a long time TBD stan, nothing makes me happier than seeing others talk about them! :D

Before I say anything else at all... Random, zero prompting, BUT! I HAVE to say it. I REALLY love that they're called the "TBD". Calling the time travel agency TBD, which is an acronym more famously known to mean "to be decided", aka something to be done about/in/with the future, is really clever. I don't know if it was a conscious choice or a funny coincidence, but regardless, it charms the hell out of me, personally

Anyway, let me actually answer your question lol

String Gummy!

His design is peak imo. I love Cookies for whom you can really see what ingredient they're supposed to represent, and String Gummy is no exception (his hair 😍). I love his muted color palette, I think it does a good job suggesting how worn down/tired he is + how grim the time and place he showed up from is (plus, it really makes his violet eyes pop!). His outfit gives me... steampunk vagabond vibes, if that makes sense; super cool to me. And like... his posture. The way he carries himself. Idk, it's cool as hell to me. A slightly bowed head and a hard glare, with his weapon slung over his shoulders and his hand obviously still resting over the trigger. Simple but very effective way to showcase that he is a serious, paranoid/distrusting, perhaps slightly trigger-happy individual who is confident in his skill but ultimately unhappy with how he acquired it (immense hardship), yet nevertheless eager to use it against you if he deems you a threat. Maybe I'm overanalyzing but that's how he read to me the first time I saw him, and he still comes across that way and I love it. I love that I can tell so much about him just from how he looks. That's peak character design

I'm just a very big sucker for serious, stoic, unsmiling characters. (You'll notice that a good deal of the ones on my faves list are like that lol.) I don't really know why, I just am for some reason. I feel more drawn to characters who appear more in control of their thoughts and emotions and respond to dire situations with the seriousness they require/deserve (meanwhile, characters like Shadow Milk genuinely irritate me like mad lol). Characters who actually properly demonstrate that they must carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, and do so with solemn grace. And String Gummy fits this criteria imo. Charging himself with the Herculean task of fixing mistakes in time and apprehending time criminals in a ruined, borderline apocalyptic future where not even the institution that grants him purpose and authority really has any power to do good anymore. But he carries out his duties anyway, without fail and without hesitation, because a) it's what he must do (I'm also a fan of characters who willingly suffer and sacrifice and make hard choices for the greater good. I love selflesness), and b) it's in service of the woman who saved his life (I also love characters who are loyal, especially when that loyalty was born from some sort of tragedy)

I love tragedy. Suffering builds character. Lost in time, not even remembering where/when he was originally from, rescued at the last moment by a heroic figure (Future Croissant), living in a broken future, dedicating himself to an impossible task for what may as well be eternity with nigh-zero reward, risking his life and safety to fulfill his final mission of fixing that terrible future even at the cost of erasing it (and even himself, or so he thought), watching his friend/leader in the future die as she orders him back to the time he originally came from (and to live well. To be happy), doing his best to move on and make peace for himself, with everything he's seen and done, finding new, tentative happiness and purpose in life, but obviously still struggling... Inject that shit into my veins

I love his relationship with Croissant, both past and present. How he seems a bit more at ease with/around her than he does with anyone else. How they clearly care so much about each other. How Future Croissant trusts him with her flaws and failures, with knowing that she was the one who destroyed the future, and String Gummy caring for her and working tirelessly to help her despite all of that. How neither ever loses faith in the other no matter what. How String Gummy was so desperate to go back and tell her he did what she asked him to; how he always yearns for her guidance, for her approval, for her company. And their final moment together, with her revealing that the past (the original timeline) is where he's from and meant to be, and giving him one last order to go back there and live a good life, thanking him for everything as she fades away with the rest of the future that he helped save (with the past fixed, that future was undone, and so was she)... String Gummy mourning her, always keeping her in his heart, but trying to fulfill her dying wish and live well in the past/present... Feeling that same attachment to Past Croissant, who he recognizes behaves so much like Future Croissant (because it IS her, they're the same person), and them eventually forging a close bond... Sigh... This little heart of mine...

Yes, I ship CroisString. Very hard. I love them. I can go on about that in another post because I have more thoughts about it

He has a gun. He has a gun. He has a gun. HE HAS A GUN. HE HAS A GUN!!!! IT'S A COOL LOOKING GUN!!! IT LOOKS LIKE A SHOTGUN! STEAMPUNK SHOTGUN!!!

His friendship with Marble Bread is very charming to me. It's sweet that he found companionship with the sort of person he really needed in his life: someone with the same stoic temperament, same hardworking spirit, and who respects that String Gummy doesn't want to talk about his past and never presses him about it while still offering support if he needs it. They're so chill with each other. They have this understanding that doesn't require explanation and it's great

I also want to see harm befall Timekeeper, she is a menace (affectionate but also not)

Schneeball!

Oh my gosh. I just love her so much, dude. I love her ATTITUDE. Her one-track mind and dedication to her work/craft. Her lack of patience towards anyone who stands in the way of her research. Her bold, straightforward demeanor. Girlboss 100

I love her constant bickering with Maple Taffy. Her behavior towards him is so fucking funny. Her eager yet no-nonsense approach to analyzing relics VS his more laissez-faire, attached one (she wants to crack everything open immediately, he wants to hold onto stuff and marvel at them). The way they work together to get MT out of the memory relic he ends up trapped in (and her reluctance to even help him, just because she's so frustrated with him + she's more interested in studying the relic itself)

L O fucking L

She looks super cool. Love her hair, love her dress + work apron combo. This might be weird but I love characters with glasses that obscure their eyes. Eyes are windows to the soul and often betray us and our true feelings; that little design quirk makes it so you have to think/guess a little harder at what a character is really looking at, or really thinking about. Adds a little touch of mystery to them. Plus it's just cool to me lol (ngl this is why I prefer her default look over her costume. Her eyes are pretty but I like when she wears those kooky glasses)

She reminds me a lot of Edna Mode and any character that does that gets an automatic S-tier ranking from me

(Not exclusive to Schneeball, but I like when Cookie Run characters are named after ingredients previously unknown to me. I had no idea what a schneeball was before Schneeball Cookie; now I do and I want to try one haha. Same with most of the Yagwa Village Cookies, plus a few other ones. I've expanded my culinary horizons and learned about so many new foods thanks to Cookie Run haha)

#day 900 of wondering how short the plots of all the Cookie Run games would be if someone just got a gun and shot everybody lol #idgaf if you're a dragon or a Beast or whatever the fuck. ain't nobody faster than a Glock #never needed Gingerbrave and co. or the Ancients or anyone. just needed 2 people. one named Smith the other named Wesson lol #blow Shadow Milk's stupid fucking head off so no one ever has to listen to him again please God #anyway it's funny that I went on so long abt String Gummy and then Schneeball is just “HISTORIAN EDNA MODE YESSSS”#cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #string gummy cookie #schneeball cookie #merchant asks

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jeannereames · 2 months ago

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Hi Dr. Reames. I was just wondering, as someone who has been looking into Hellenism, how exactly were Alexander and Hephaestion (though I'm more interested in Hephaestion) worshipped? Little details that we know of, like, what kind of particular offerings were left at their altars? What kind of rituals were performed? Festivals? Was their worship intertwined? As a rebellious Gay maybe I'm looking to join lol. Anyway, much love, a history buff that appreciates your work. 👍

Worshiping Hephaistion and Alexander

Hephaistion was named a “hero,” which means he’d have received typical heroic worship in a heroön, or hero shrine. Usually, these were modest, but the one planned for him in Alexandria was quite stupendous. The one in Pella where the dedicatory plaque from a certain Diogenes (SEG 40:547: Διογένης Ἡφαιστίωνι ἥρωι—Diogenes to Hero Hephaistion), was possibly also more sizable. Vouturas (who published the dedication)* thinks it was to the north or west of the acropolis and palace complex, maybe in a cave, although I don’t know of any caves there. If there were others elsewhere, they were probably more typical.

Anyway, hero worship was highly individualized by region and even city and family. Making any certain claims is virtually impossible, but as a heroön, the (flat) altar would likely be inside although the architecture of shrines could vary, as noted. The altar might also have a hole in the middle for blood (or other fluid such as wine or oil) offerings to be sent down into the earth for the dead person. (In contrast, ouranic [sky deity] altars were always outside and raised.)

Blood offering for heroes were small, dark/black animals, such as cockerels (especially popular as a psychopomp), rabbits, piglets, small game birds, puppies, etc. These would be killed and the blood drained on the altar (into the hole if one was there), then the whole sacrifice would be burnt (or buried). That’s why such offerings were typically small. The average person couldn’t afford to waste a large animal. (The oath in book 2 Rise, of Dancing with the Lion, features a blood sacrifice at the hero shrine of Iolaos outside Thebes. So that describes a rite for you, albeit a rather specific one.)

But blood sacrifices were more expensive. Much more common were bloodless sacrifices. In fact, bloodless sacrifices were THE most common sort and might be combined with a blooded sacrifice. Bloodless sacrifices were usually a libation of wine/oil/honey/milk/spring water, or incense offered on the altar, or special little cakes baked and left in the offering patella, or small cup/platter that might be in the hand of the hero’s image….

…just like you see below on the dedicatory plaque. The woman is pouring a libation (likely wine) into the patella being held by “Hephaistion.” She also has a little round pottery jar that likely contained incense, also to be offered. These are both super standard. It’s like going into an Orthodox or Catholic church and purchasing a candle to light before an icon or other image and placing it in the sandbox. Dedications could also be more personal, depending on circumstance. A lock of hair, a memento, a toy…etc.

Hero worship was a weird thing. And, as noted, highly individualized to a region. Heroes were usually connected to something specific. For instance, Hephaistion’s name was to be used in Egypt in mercantile contracts. I find this intriguing. But just as saints are typically the “saint of…” so also with heroes, who oversaw ___. Most of the time, these were mythical figures, although the founder of a colony (oikistes) received hero cult after his death. By the early 4th century, we also see some historical people included. Heroization of Macedonian kings after their deaths may also have been a thing, but that’s more speculation than certainty.

Later evidence suggests that cult for real, historical people as opposed to mythical people in the distant past never really gained a huge foothold. Even “worship” of Hellenistic kings and Roman emperors was more pro-forma and patriotic than actual. Now, keep in mind that the heroes I’m calling “mythical” were absolutely believed to be real people by the ancients. But they lived “way back then” in a “different time” (the Age of Heroes) and so had a special patina that Joe Average Greek (even a Very Important Person) never quite acquired.

One of the rare exceptions to that was Alexander. Hephaistion…not so much. His cult probably didn’t much outlive Alexander himself.

Diogenes dedicatory plaque was made in the last quarter of the 300s…e.g., just shortly after Hephaistion’s death. It’s the only one of its kind, and may have been purchased shortly after Hephaistion died but before word of Alexander’s own death reached Pella. E.g., Diogenes might have been trying to earn brownie points from whatever officials there in Pella would notice his piety, and pass on news of it to Alexander. It’s nice but middling in cost, with nothing distinctive about it. E.g., the figure (Hephaistion) is a generic hero horseman of a type we often see in the north (See image below, a grave stele from Thessaloniki area, Roman era), plus a generic female worshiper. The fact the dedicator was a man, but it’s a woman on the plaque leads me to conclude it was pre-carved. These dedicatory figured plaques and tombstones took so much time, many were pre-carved. So that probably is not what Hephaistion looked like. The plaque has been damaged on the left and may once have included a tree, perhaps with a snake in it, which would be standard imagery. That may be the edge of the trunk we can see behind the horse’s rear leg and tail. (For a whole lot more, go HERE; I've seen tons of these Hero Horsemen in museums in both north Greece and Bulgaria.)

After his death, Alexander did receive cult much more in line with godhood (if not on the same level as Zeus), akin to what Herakles might have received. As he was human (and died), the sacrificial animals would have been dark, not light (as for an ouranic, or sky deity). The Ptolemies instituted an entire cult centered on Alexander worship, in fact, which no doubt helped solidify his elevation into true cult status. It also helped the Ptolemies’ claim on power. 😉

As for whether sacrifices were made to Hephaistion along with Alexander—hard to say. It wasn’t at all unusual for Greeks to combine the worship of related deities. For instance, when sacrificing to Apollo, one might also sacrifice to Leto, and/or Artemis. But it wasn’t assumed, and the Ptolemies, who promoted the cult later, had no real reason to promote Hephaistion’s too. We lack record of a temple to Alexander that also included a heroön to Hephaistion, but there could well have been one, certainly in Alexandria. Or in Pella. (Greeks allocated a shrine to each deity, even if they might be constructed inside the same temenos, or sanctuary.) Yet worship of Alexander wasn’t encouraged by Kassandros, nor by the Antigonids later. In fact, the royal cemetery at Aigai fell out of use for centuries after the burial of the last Argeads. So cult to Alexander (and Hephaistion) appears to have been more limited in Macedonia itself.

I’ve discussed worshiping Alexander in a YouTube video, linked below.

youtube

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*Emmanuel Vouturas, “Ηφαιστίων ήρως.” Εγνατία 2 (1990): 123-173.

#asks #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #ancient Greek religion #ancient Macedonian religion #Alexander the Great #Ptolemaic Empire #cult for Alexander the Great #cult for Hephaistion #hero cult in ancient Greece #Classics #Hero the Horseman #ancient Greece #tagamemnon

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