#the only one I haven't run yet is a Shadow Dragon but I'll get there

[corvidaerook]

My crow, Cassian:

My Veil Jumper, Rowan:

My Mourn Watcher, Moore (like Momento Mori:)

My Grey Warden, Karreth:

And my new guy, a Lord of Fortune named Hayes

btw show me screenshots of your rooks. i want to see them.

[kiame-sama]

Humans Are Extinct- (Yandere!TWST x Fem!Reader) Monster AU pt 4

(Since my computer died, I will use some of the other monster AU art I haven't used in a chapter yet instead. Hopefully I can rustle up another computer soon or get Ol' Peepaw Sammy (my 10+ year old laptop) to run my drawing software without having a heart-attack.)

Warnings: collaring, aggressive kindness, yanderes are rampant in this story, invasion of privacy, romantic yanderes, platonic yanderes, monster AU, some history for the monster AU, mention of Humans being eaten, Teachers and Crowley are going to have a ROUGH time, more characters being introduced, reader insert, fem reader, Driders, Crows, Minotaurs, Shadow-men, Selkies, Dragons, Fae, Bats, Harpies, Unicorns, Nemean Lions, Grim is less boisterous/confident in this AU given his rough life but he is still the sassy and clueless kitty-creature we all love, reader is called several affectionate pet names by platonic yanderes (Pup/Cub/Chick)

~~~~~~~~

"So... What happened here?"

You cuddled your new monster friend close to you as you looked upon the building you had been carried to by Rook. He had been swift to return you and the cat-monster you befriended to the building the supposed teachers had been leading you towards. Even as you sat on the large Spider's back and stared up at the building, you could see the apparent change that had overcome it.

It mostly looked the same as it had when you had run away from it, but there were several improvements and adjustments that had been made in the short time you were away. Where the windows had been boarded up, they were now all clean and fixed. Where the siding of the building had been in obvious disrepair and even falling off in some places, it now looked like it had received a needed bit of care and reconstruction.

"I can answer that!"

You let out a yelp at the sudden interjection, unconsciously reaching out to Rook's torso and clinging to the Spider man in fear. The way you yelped made your sudden visitor giggle in amusement at your behavior. Hanging from what appeared to be a dead tree branch above you was that same pink and black haired guy that had been in the Dragon's nest with you. He had an impish smile as he regarded you, that smile slipping ever so slightly as his eyes flicked over you and how tightly you held to Rook.

Rook was actually both amused and felt endeared by the fact that you grabbed onto him in a bid for protection from the Drider. It was so very sweet to him to see he had earned some goodwill and trust from you by rescuing you from the Undying Ursus Minor. Even when you relaxed upon realizing who was speaking, you very clearly held tightly to your soft companion, Grim.

"Oh? Did you make a friend out in the forest?"

The Bat Fae dropped from the branch, righting himself before he even hit the ground as he approached your little group. He took a long moment to look at Grim before he gained a kind of impish smile.

"I'll have to inform Malleus about your new charge. We wouldn't want this little one getting burned to a crisp by Malleus. Besides, I know how protective and adoring Children of Man can be when it comes to their cherished companions. The last human I met died for their companions."

Grim seemed unsettled by the Bat's presence and you could feel the way his torn wings seemed to pull closer to his body. Maybe it was the fact that the Bat had wings that were a lot like Grim's, and maybe it was the fact that this newcomer had been so keen to startle you. Regardless, you felt a strong need to protect your new friend as he was the only one who didn't seem to have some kind of twisted agenda planned for you.

"Anyway, Malleus and the other Housewardens showed up after you ran away- not a wise move, might I add- so several of them decided you should be somewhere safer than an old run-down building. Malleus did most of the fixing, but it seemed even Schoenheit was keen to make several additions to your accommodations. They're still mostly here, Malleus went back to his nest to give you some space."

You carefully slid off of the back of the large Spider man, noticing the unusual softness of his fur along the back of his Spider body. There was a kind of intimidation you felt now that you were back on level ground, as the height of Rook's Spider back did make you feel somewhat safer. Now you were on level ground and felt very small next to the blond who towered over you.

In some ways, you wanted to question the unusual Bat, but it quickly became clear you were not going to get that chance as the more adult-appearing men approached. The Crow was in the lead and was flanked by four others that seemed to be older than the monster men you had encountered en masse when you first entered this twisted nightmare land. Two of the men you recognized as the two who came with the Crow to retrieve you from the odd Dragon that had claimed you. The other two were unfamiliar to you, but no less beastly than the first.

One of them seemed to be an older man somewhere in his fifties with gray hair and clear creases along his brow and mouth. Attached where his lower half should have been was the body of some kind of big cat, a pair of oddly large wings sprouted along the shoulders of the cat body and the lower back of the man. He almost seemed to walk with a slight limp as his back leg had clearly suffered some kind of damage in the past.

The second newcomer was a man that seemed to be wreathed in shadows. All you could really make out from the darkness was the skeletal white mask adorning his face, lining up on the same place his own skull would be. His bright purple eyes pierced through the darkness and gleamed like gemstones beneath the brim of his top hat. He seemed younger than the others, but you found it difficult to accurately gauge his age due to the shadows that wrapped around him.

"Now that you're done racing off with no regard to your own health, foolish little chick, it seems I must have a lengthy conversation with you regarding the dangers that are ever present to someone as magically lacking as you."

~~~~~~~~

Several Housewardens and even a few Vice-Housewardens gathered nearby the Ramshackle building and watched the interaction curiously. It was true many had all pitched in to make the decrepit building a bit more liveable for you, but it was nowhere near the level of quality they believed an extinct species should have. They did what they could in the short amount of time they had, busying themselves with the project instead of charging headlong into the forest like many wanted to.

Rook and Lilia had excused themselves from the stern lecture the Crow was giving, opting instead to retreat to the nearby group. Many of those present took interest in Rook, as they could detect the scent he now carried due to carrying the fragile Human back to the safety of campus. A few even tried to take a subtle sniff of the Drider in an attempt to catch more of that uniquely Human smell.

"Roi du Poison, your faithful Huntsman has returned victorious with the little Human completely safe and sound!"

Rook was quick to take his place next to the peacock Harpy, practically beaming from the joy of another successful hunt. For all the beautiful muses Rook had claimed, he was closest with his muse Vil Schoenheit as the peacock Harpy had been one of the primary driving forces in Rook's life. From learning to care for his own appearance to taking care of Vil's pin feathers, he had few he could thank half as much as Vil.

Vil gave the slightest of smiles at having his second in command back by his side, his feathers ever so slightly rousing and fluffing out to show the Harpy was pleased. For all the eccentric behavior his Vice-Housewarden showed, Rook was nigh irreplaceable to Vil. Just knowing Rook had been the one to rescue the little Human was also another source of pride for Vil as it was another source of envy from the others.

"At least Rook can be trusted to bring the Human back promptly. I doubt the same would have been said of you, Leona."

The Nemian Lion was standing away from the group, but the clear way his ears angled back showed he was annoyed. Leona knew he wasn't trusted around the Human without supervision. He and anyone else from Sunset Savana would have to prove themselves 'domestic' to even be considered.

It was Sunset Savana that continued to eat Humans the longest and thus had been branded by the other Kingdoms and Queendoms as barbaric monsters. Leona didn't often pay attention in class- especially boring ass History- but even he knew the way Humans had been adored by so many others. Riddle went as far as not letting Leona out of his sight the second they arrived at the rundown excuse of a dorm. He knew the others wouldn't trust him around that fragile Human even with supervision.

"Piss off, Birdy."

Rook was not thrown by Vil's casual sniping towards Leona, the two proud Housewardens always seeming to be at odds. Instead, the Drider turned to the red-haired Unicorn with a pleasant smile.

"Roi du Règles, you will be pleased to know mon Trickster is Mademoiselle Trickster. You mentioned earlier you could sense her purity, non? That would make her a Human Maiden; the ideal boon companion for a Unicorn such as yourself!"

"Is she? Then it seems I must endeavor to even greater heights to protect her. No doubt the common rabble here will be eager to get at the only Human and only female on campus."

It was then a certain displeased yell split the air, originating from the Human in question. The shout unsettled the various students present and even managed to make Riddle almost rear from the sudden interjection.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

~~~~~~~~

You stared incredulously at Crowley, your hands resting over the collar that now sat securely on your neck. Despite how you pulled and groped at the material, you couldn't find a way to unlock it and free yourself from the new and rather dehumanizing feeling of being collared. Even Grim got himself a matching Collar, though his looked more like a pristine bow. Both his collar and your collar had a little device hanging where the tags would be on a dog's collar.

"You've made it more than abundantly clear that you will wander away to areas that can be dangerous to your health if you are allowed to freely roam. I can't have you ending your life prematurely simply because you didn't have the sense to stay away from something dangerous. That collar of yours will make it much easier to dissuade you from going places you shouldn't."

Grim was still trying to wriggle out of his collar while you glared angrily at the overgrown Crow who put it there. You eventually had to stop Grim as the little cat-creature was beginning to thrash and could hurt himself if he wasn't careful. Luckily, the little beast soothed with your touch and stared up at you through his mismatched and scarred eyes. Even though you wanted to lay into Crowley for daring to put a collar on the two of you like you were some kind of pet, the man who had introduced himself as Divus Crewel spoke up.

"I know you don't like the collar, but try to think of it from our perspective, sweet pup. You aren't a normal sight here or anywhere in our world. If certain ne're-do-wells caught wind of a Human living on our campus, they may try to poach you if given the chance. We don't want to give them the chance."

You frowned angrily at the men but also somewhat understood where they were coming from on the matter. Though you really couldn't grasp the concept of Humans being extinct- given the fact you came from a world where Humans were the only truly sentient species- you did somewhat understand where they were coming from. Classifying an animal as endangered only made an increase in the demand for pieces of said animal. They were certain Humans were extinct, so you were more than just a prized commodity to collectors and hunters alike.

"How does the collar help against poaching? If someone wanted to get me with an arrow or a knife, a collar doesn't do anything to stop that."

"That is true in most cases, but your collar is enchanted. The collar keeps track of your location and will alert us as well as the Housewardens if anything does try to harm you. It can't stop a full attack, but it can deflect minor magic."

"Why did Grim get collared too?"

"Because, though I am loathe to let a beast of the forest stay with you, it is better you have some kind of magical protection with you. His skills are subpar compared to a Housewarden, but it is still more skill and magic than you have available to you. Best to keep track of the both of you."

Grim didn't fight his collar anymore, but he certainly didn't look happy as his little torn wings drooped and his ears angled downwards. He was clearly quite displeased but didn't seem too upset despite the fact he did not sign up for this kind of treatment. Once he resigned himself to the collar, he slightly perked up and raised his lopsided gaze to meet that of Crewel.

"Hey, Seal-guy, does this mean I have to go to classes with my Hench-Hooman like a student and stuff?"

"It would be ideal to have (Y/n) attend classes, if only to keep her around professors and prevent the loneliness from negatively impacting her health. Humans were known to be a social creature, after all, and with no other Humans around the other students would be the next best thing."

"... So does that mean I can actually be a fancy-pants student and become the greatest mage to ever live?"

"Whatever keeps you by (Y/n)'s side. Though it may behoove us to enlist the aid of other students as well... They will have to prove themselves first, of course."

Crowley nodded along to Crewel's words as if they were the most obvious thing and you vaguely got the impression that the Crow really didn't realize what he was agreeing to. Though he was the Headmage- which to you meant he was the head of the school- he seemed far less aware of the situation as a whole and leaned on the other professors for that information. Something about him made you wonder why he was so eager to keep you on school grounds. It made you think back to his comment about the last human he met and you wondered if that had anything to do with how keen he was to keep you yet seemed keen to let the others take point in explaining things to you.

It was during this thought that the older looking man spoke, his voice aged and almost fatherly in how he spoke to you.

"Naturally, you are still the only true expert on Humans, being one yourself, so we will have to ultimately trust your judgement. I am of a mind with Divus that we should not be allowing a forest beast unrestricted access to you, but you seem to trust this Grim. Should you need something, you have but to ask us one of us. I also feel Mr. Rosehearts, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Draconia, and perhaps even a number of others would be keen to aid you. Don't ever go to Savanaclaw for aid. Though it may have been several hundred years ago, many of those from Sunset Savana and those of specific beastman lineages were instrumental in the extinction of Humans. Better to be safe than sorry with your safety."

He had been introduced to you as Mozus Trein, the History professor. Though you were curious as to why he seemed so fond of you, you figured it had something to do with you being Human and his natural love and fascination with history. You had to admit, it was nice that he didn't talk to or about you like you were a pet or some kind of exotic toy- an exotic animal, maybe, but not a pet. Most of the professors seemed to be of a similar mind- minus the Crow- and that somewhat helped put you at ease with them.

"So, does that mean it will only be Grim and I in here? No one else?"

"Well, the regular ghosts or fore fairies may pay you a visit and check in on you. Would you like someone to spend the evening here as well? I understand this is a new place and some company may put you at ease. It is my understanding that Mr. Draconia has already made a secondary nest in this dorm for you to use at your leisure, no doubt the others added beds or various furniture as well."

"No, I kind of like the fact that it's just me and Grim, I was just wondering because all of them are here," you gestured to the group of Housewardens and Vice-Housewardens nearby, "so I didn't know if they were staying or not. It is getting super late at night..."

"They should be returning to their dorms soon, though Housewardens and Vice-Housewardens are not bound by the same curfew as the other students."

He glanced at the others before back at you, a serious look of concern painting his features.

"Are you certain you would rather be alone tonight? Some wayward fools may try to enter the dorm when we leave."

The genuine concern in his expression and tone made you seriously consider his words. It was true that you didn't really feel very safe with anyone other than your small companion Grim, but the wizend professor did have a point. His prompting paired with the fact that you had made many poor choices for yourself this night did more to sway you than expected. You looked at the several monsters waiting nearby and had to conceed that someone keeping an eye out was not a bad idea given the already rocky start to your time in such a world.

"... I think you might have a point, actually..."

"How about this; you choose from the Housewardens and Vice-Housewardens who helped fix up this old dorm for you. Clearly they have at least shown they care for your wellbeing enough to put in an effort to make it livable. I will say now- however- should you choose Leona, I will choose someone else for you. I would love to say all our students are safe, but that just isn't the case and we can't take chances with you."

"That seems fair... But how do I know which one Leona is?"

"Leona is the Nemean Lion- ah, but I forget, you don't have Nemean Lions where you're from, do you?"

You shook your head. You could recall that there were Greek myths of Heraclies slaying a golden lion known as the Nemean Lion, but nothing like the monster men you have met.

"I will point him out when you decide who you feel is safest to stay with you."

"Okay. Grim, want to help me choose?"

The stout creature smiled eagerly in response to your question, holding up his front legs for you to pick him up. He was not like a cat in the sense that he was thrilled when you held him, but he did seem to enjoy your warmth and the fact he didn't have to walk when you carried him. As you cuddled Grim, professor Trein began to lead you to the group.

It was easy to feel somewhat safe with the older man and you kept close to his side as you two approached the group of fellow students. They all looked curious at the fact that you and the professor had approached them first. Perhaps you were going to thank them or ask them for something else to help you settle in.

"Listen up, you lot. I would hope others have enough common sense to leave (Y/n) here alone, but we all know that isn't going to happen. Since you are the ones that actually showed up to ensure our only Human is safe, it is safe to assume you care what happens to (Y/n). We feel it would be best to have either a Housewarden or a Vice-housewarden remain here for the evening in the event someone tries their luck."

Professor Trein then glanced back at you, nodding his head towards the group in clear invitation to approach. As you drew close, you couldn't help but take note of how all eyes quickly fell on you. Some of the people there were familiar to you, and some were not.

Rook was among the familiar, same with the Harpy that stood next to him. The only one whose name you recognized was Rook's as he had been the only one to actually introduce himself to you.

"... Can I choose Rook? He's the only name I know..."

"I would happily accept, Mademoiselle Trickster, but there is one far fairer and better than I at all but hunting. I suggest you choose Roi du Poison, the beautiful Vil Schoenheit."

The Spider man made a sweeping arm motion to his side towards the Bird man, as if he were presenting the Bird man to you. The Bird in question seemed surprised by the sudden introduction but took it in stride and instead turned his purple eyes to you. As you locked eyes with him, something odd happened. His feathers seemed to quiver before the feathers atop his head raised, his tail feathers doing the same to create an almost dazzling display of iridescent colors. He was clearly a peacock Bird man, but what didn't make much sense to you was why he was showing off for you. You didn't think you were really worth showing those feathers to since you weren't a Bird like him.

"You are welcome to choose one as fair as me, little Human. I will ensure your safety to the furthest of my capabilities."

It almost seemed like the peacock were trying to make himself seem like the best choice, showing off colors and strength in an effort to have you choose him. If anything, you weren't the only one who was surprised at seeing such a display from the peacock. The others seemed almost shocked by this showing of feathers but someone was clearly far less than pleased upon seeing Vil posturing for you.

"Absolutely not! I refuse to allow anyone who does any kind of display dance for her to be permitted anywhere near her. I would have your head if you weren't my senior, Vil! Such a maiden should not be accosted by eager men who only see her as a breeding toy. Professor, I demand you override this choice and select me to guard this Human. I shall uphold every rule the Queen has set and I will not allow such tomfoolery to burden this Human."

Vil seemed angered by this as his feathers ruffled and stood on end, eyes glaring angrily at the offending Unicorn man. The wickedly sharp tallons on the ends of the Bird's fingers seemed to only be sharper when displayed with such clear disdain for the Unicorn. It seemed like a fight was on the verge of erupting before Grim's voice interrupted them.

"I don't like any of them! Maybe the Spider-Drider-guy, but this is my Hooman which means I should choose who protects us!"

"Are you-? What the hell is a 'Hooman'? She is a Human, not 'Hooman' and I don't appreciate your casual disrespect for her species-!"

It was during the Unicorn's rant that you interrupted, feeling angry that the man would dare talk to Grim like that. Sure, you found it odd that the cat creature called you Hooman, but you certainly didn't mind it either. Even above all of that, Grim was your friend and these men were not.

"And who said it was your place to correct him? I know what I am and I think it's cute he calls me Hooman. What I don't appreciate is how you think you can yell at him! He can call me Hooman if he wants, you are not afforded the same privilege! And I have a name. It's (Y/n) (L/n), so don't you dare ever call me anything else."

Your sudden snapping at the Unicorn clearly surprised and unsettled him as he took several steps back, almost seeming like he was about to rear from your yelling. Even though his blue eyes stared in absolute surprise, you felt no need to back down and if anything you wanted to chase off the delicate Unicorn for daring to raise his voice at Grim. A light chuckle met your ears and drew your ire away from the Unicorn and to another familiar grinning face. It was the pink and black haired Bat.

"Keeheehee, seems she doesn't like you very much Riddle. Or, it could be that Humans are traditionally a pack-bonding species and little Grim is now her pack. Clearly Riddle isn't your choice, so who actually will be?"

You frowned at this question and went back to looking at the group, Grim seemed to be doing the same as he purred and snuggled down into your arms. From those you now knew, you still figured either the Bat or Rook would be best. It was then someone else caught your eye bringing you to a halt as you stared at them.

He had sun kissed skin and dark mahogany hair. Even as he stood in the light of the moon, he almost seemed to have a golden glow that wrapped around his scowling figure. When he noticed you looking at him, his bright green eyes narrowed ever so slightly before looking away from you. His actions were as if he were trying to dissuade you from picking him despite the fact he was among the group. You vaguely recognized him from the many who you first saw when you came tumbling out of the coffin.

"Choose someone else, Mousey. They won't let you pick me, I might gobble you up."

"I'm not a-"

"Yes, you are. You are a little Mousey herbivore of the only sentient species Nemean Lions dared to feast upon."

"Nemean...? You're Leona?"

"I'm surprised you even care enough to know my name. Leona Kingscholar, second prince of Sunset Savana and Housewarden of Savanaclaw. Careful, Mousey, you aren't safe around me. I may not have tasted Human before, but I'm willing to break several laws to give it a try."

He almost seemed like he was trying to actually get you away from him, a look of vague sadness hiding behind his smouldering emerald eyes even as he glared at you. There was more to this tale than he was telling but you knew he wasn't going to give you the information you wanted. With another long look at the golden Lion, you turned you gaze back to the group as a whole.

"I guess... Since the Dragon- Malleus, if I'm remembering properly- isn't here, I'll pick the Bat."

"Aww, I'll be sure to let Malleus know you wanted to pick him. I'm sure he'll be pleased. I can keep an eye on you and make sure those other whippersnappers don't come sniffing around. Keeheehee, cute that you call me Bat, but I also have a name if you feel like using it. Lilia Vanrouge, at your esteemed service, (Y/n). Malleus is my primary ward, but he certainly wouldn't be too displeased if I kept an eye on his hoard as well."

You nodded, wondering just why the Dragon decided you were one of his but not willing to question Lilia as to the true motives just yet. It almost seemed like those present fixed Lilia with a jealous sneer as the Bat happily joined your side. Trein simply nodded, accepting your choice as it was not Leona- whom he planned to berate for threatening you- and was a fairly safe choice. Lilia was of the few who had encountered a Human before in his many centuries, so no doubt he would be safe around you.

"It is decided then. I shall see you in my class tomorrow, (Y/n). Do not hesitate to reach out to me should you need anything. Your other professors and I will be working on getting you a phone to communicate with us faster. For now, sleep well, little cub."

[kaija-rayne-author]

DAV is maximized (made for?) Tank/Warrior players

Curiosity is absolutely one of my fatal flaws. I was sorta feeling shitty about the whole 'you probably just suck at the fighting system in DAV' thing.

Let me preface this with saying that I'm good with rogues. It's my usual playstyle and I almost always do a first run of any RPG as a rogue.

What I'm really not all that good at? Tanks. Pretty much any other class I'm at least suitably competent with. I mean, I can tank, but it's just not something I'm more than acceptably good at. I also have very little experience with them. I think I've tanked in 3 games? Out of the, it must be hundreds, of games I've played? I just don't prefer to tank. I'm a rogue/mage/healer style player. The one who backs up the tank or keeps them on their feet, y'know?

So, because curiosity will likely be the death of me at some point, and despite never wanting to touch it again, I made a warrior character in DAV. I just... had to know if it was me or the game. I suppose I enjoy actually being a good gamer more than I suspected. DAV offended my pride, perhaps. Self-awareness isn't comfortable.

That fighting system, that I had so much trouble with as a rogue (with other rogues and a mage as backup since we don't get our tank companions til later in act one) has, so far, been so fucking easy as a warrior I'm actually thinking of increasing the difficulty level.

DAV is just maximized for warrior players and people who like to bash barrels in, not any other class. Which is just shitty game design.

I suppose I should have seen it before. The rest of the companions you start with are all support characters. Two rogues and a mage. Your first companion you aquire is Bellara, also a rogue. Oops. Mage. Bellara is a mage. I forgor.

I dunno, I'm going to run this character until I get to the spot (when Harding receives her special ability) where I first wanted to rage quit as a rogue. But so far? I haven't died once. I'd gotten creamed numerous times as a rogue character by this spot in the game. I can go toe to fucking toe with a fucking ogre! And only have to heal once!

It's truly ridiculous. I'll test out mage after, if I can find the patience. It's reasonably unlikely that I'll actually decide to finish this run. Unless I do it for writing my fix it fic reasons . But I can kinda see more clearly why some people actually liked it. It's actually almost fun as a tank.

I did also say I'd never touch DAV again too, though, soooooo.

If you turn your brain completely off, don't give a shit about the Lore, and if the story is a back seat sort of thing for you as a gamer, this might actually be somewhat fun. It's not Dragon Age regardless, they screwed the pooch to sell the pups on that one. (I'm a Lore fiend, story and character first player. I legitimately don't give a shit about the fighting in RPGs. It's a back seat thing for me. As long as I can make it work, I'm good.)

SMDH

I said DAV was wickedly unbalanced in my review series, but I didn’t think it was so bad that they... just didn't bother to make it a fun game for rogue players. Despite them getting rid of half of what makes playing a rogue fun (sneaking, hiding in shadows, picking fucking locks, y'know, rogue stuff.) Not sure about mages yet. I do want to try one just out of pissed off, irritated curiosity, though.

Snorts. They made this game for warrior players. And I can't honestly find words to describe how shitty that is. It lacks most of the stuff that makes any RPG an actual RPG. It's maximized for warriors and people who like to destroy barrels. (Why. Why the fucking barrels?) Rogues are nothing but light skirmishers. I'll have to actually play a mage and see, but I've talked to people who said it's easy as a mage, too.

WTAF does BioWare have against rogue players to nerf the class so badly?

I'm honestly floored by how easy this game is as a warrior. I'll even test it out on max difficulty, (which is usually what I play at, max or one down).

But the shittiness of designing a game mostly for tank players can't be ignored. I changed nothing but the class. And I'm not far enough into the game yet for build to matter that much. I think I've gotten roughly 5 skill points to put into my character.

No wonder they denied game keys to honest reviewers.

[martellspear]

Hey! I love your blog and your dedication to Elia Martell as a character. I have read your fics on ao3 and absolutely loved them. And I was wondering if you had any recs for us Elia enjoyers out there? Canon-compliant or AU it doesn't matter I just want to consume Elia content like there is no tomorrow <3

hi, anon!! thank you for your sweet words, they mean a lot and i'm so happy that you enjoyed my fics 💗. i haven't read many fics - studying is getting in my way -. but, i'll share a list of my favorites ones and my bookmarks.

* warning: it's LONG

First of all, I'd recommend checking Failed_to_Deanon, she's insanely talented and has a lott of elia-centric works

A Farewell by Ramzes - one shot

In the morning of Rhaegar's departure for the Trident, Elia Targaryen makes a surprising discovery about her husband and their marriage.

The Sun Rises Again by amn_elfire - fanfic - 10/?

After her death, the Seven give Elia the task of saving her people from Rhaegar and Lyanna's folly with the opportunity to avenge her children by sending her back in time to before her betrothal with Rhaegar was ever arranged. Or With her prior memories still vivid in her mind, Elia sets out to prevent the events that led to the deaths of thousands while never forgetting who was at fault for the deaths of her children. But she isn't the only one.

All Too Well by starboundheart - fanfic - modern!au - 1/?

Five year after a fairly clean divorce, Rhaegar decides its time for a family vacation - to Summerhall. Under the guise of his children needing to know each other. But as always, the man has ulterior motives. Or does he?

Elia's House of Ghosts! by biohazard603 - fanfic - 3/?

i can't wait to read this one!!

Elia buys her first house! She has always been drawn to that old abandoned tower, the Tower of Joy, and now it was finally hers! Too bad she doesn't know or remember the ghosts that were there first. or Modern AU where Elia buys a haunted house.

clear the board, reset the pieces by lostchildofthenewworld - fanfic - 9/9

All they ever wanted was the opportunity to go back and do it right, to allow themselves to be happy.

The wolf burned like the heat of the sun for her alone by Redroses123 - fanfic - 10/?

Rhaegar has to get rid of his wife so that he can be with the woman he loves. He does this in mad Targaryen fashion. Elia finds herself hitched for life to the second son of Rickard Stark. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise she doesn't understand yet. How will this change fates design. NOT FOR RHAEGAR FANS

Repercussions of the First Sin by Sunspear22 - fanfic - 27/?

It started with a blue crown...

The Bereaved Dunes by aurasjournal - one shot

this one is so beautiful

In the Bereaved Dunes, where shadows weep, A tale of love and sorrow, bound to keep. Elia, my sun, in your memory I tread, Through sands of despair, where tears are shed. I should've taken you far away, my dear, To Dorne's warm embrace, where skies are clear. But fate had other plans, a cruel twist of hand, In the Bereaved Dunes, where sorrows expand.

What if you go, what if you stay by Biggestscarinyourback - fanfic - 4/4

She listens to the eyes of violet and sits down. Her husband's eyes are almost this colour too, she reflects again. But not half as bright, certainly no laughter in them. His are darker, cold as they are soft, a confusing contrast that gives her no reprieve. They should have been burning, The Last Dragon they had called him and yet he lacks any and all fire in those eyes, as far as she has seen. The blood of the dragon runs hot, they had declared, she has it too, running in her veins, burning. A bittersweet look into Princess Elia Martell's life amongst dragons and lions, from the day of her wedding to her tragic demise.

Lazarus in the Sun by Anonymous - fanfic - 3/?

The Princess of Dorne is a marked woman. With her husband victorious at the Trident yet somehow still missing, now more than ever does Elia Martell find herself stuck between a rock and a hard place: to stay in King’s Landing with herself and her two children at the hands of a madman, or to take the jump and escape? A spur of the moment decision turns into a years-long deception as Dorne wrenches her way out of the Seven Kingdoms on the back of a lie. And though peace is finally taking root once more in this corner of the world, no sooner do the gods laugh when an unexpected figure from the past comes back and unsteadies the ground beneath them all.

Hourglass by spearsndragons - fanfic - 11/?

Elia dies and awakes on the day of her wedding. Armed with the memories of her previous life, she is determined not to let them come to pass. She will make the Seven Kingdoms regret they ever underestimated her. In another part of the Red Keep, the Gods of Old Valyria send Rhaegar back in time to fix his wrongs and ensure the survival of House Targaryen. Rhaegar knows his madness and hubris led to the destruction of everything he loves and cares for. Never again. OR AU: The Gods and fate reverse the hands of time. Elia seeks retribution and Rhaegar endeavors for redemption. In one life, they were husband and wife. In this one, they might just be each other’s biggest adversaries. But, while Elia and Rhaegar plan to prevent the tragedies that befell them, they find out they are not the only ones who were given a second chance. And not all who came back are their friends.

we fall apart as it gets dark by sunstealer (TheSunsetStar) - fanfic - 2/?

this one is SO dear to me <3

The apparent abduction of Lyanna Stark sets off a chain of events: Brandon Stark and his allies march to the Red Keep, where Brandon demands Rhaegar's head. A duel is called by Aerys, and fire serves as his champion, leading to the death of Brandon's father and Brandon's own imprisonment. It's only after these events that a letter arrives at Winterfell, written by Lyanna herself, explaining that she left of her own accord. The deaths of the Lord of Winterfell and the Heir of the Eyrie, along with Aerys' demand for the heads of Robert and Ned, ignite a rebellion. Elia, isolated in Kings Landing without her children, must play her role as the dutiful wife. However, complications arise when the man who once demanded her husband’s head becomes her constant companion, the Kingsguard sworn to her. Will she stay true to her duty or follow her husband's example and forsake it?

Sunset Embers by spearsndragons

Five years into King Rhaegar I's reign, the realm prospers under his progressive leadership. However, the same cannot be said for the king's family. Behind the walls of the Red Keep, Rhaegar grapples with his inner demons, and House Targaryen continues to be haunted by the war's tragic end. Water magic resurfaces across the sea in the Golden Empire of Yi Ti for the first time in centuries with the arrival of the Emperor's new wife. She works to uncover the forgotten history of the world, only to realize that her own past refuses to be buried. OR Dark AU: Is this love or a curse? To yearn for freedom while willingly chaining ourselves to someone, finding solace in the very shackles we can't bear to break?

wherever the wind blows by TheSunsetStar - 1/1 (part of a series)

Rhaegar comes back to her, bringing along a wife and child. Ashara comes back to her, grieving the loss of a child with wolfsblood. Oberyn also returns to her, having just returned from his journeys across Essos, offering words of apology. Everyone returns, yet her daughter never does. or in her desperation Elia gives her daughter to Varys and never sees her again.

Reckless by sunstealer (TheSunsetStar)

"Get out," she tells him. "Leave." "You're not going to talk to me?" His voice comes out hoarse; she wonders why. "You've done enough!" she lets out. He looks disappointed when she says it, his eyes clouding over. She almost apologizes for snapping at him. But she reminds herself that he shouldn't be here at all, he shouldn't be here with her. "Goodbye, Rhaegar," she says gently, not allowing any trace of emotion to surface in her voice. The name sounds foreign coming out of her mouth, as though it belongs to someone else. She wishes for the days to go back to before he met Lyanna. Before everything turned sour. Before it was too late. or Rhaegar returns to her but things are difficult now.

Baelon the Cruel and His Queen of Love and Beauty by sunstealer (TheSunsetStar) - fanfic - 6/?

Baelon Targaryen, the second-born son of King Aerys and Queen Rhaella, and the twin brother to Crown Prince Rhaegar, possessed an ethereal beauty expected of one with Valyrian blood. Yet, behind his captivating face, an aura of cruelty and ruthlessness lingered, casting an unsettling shadow over his reputation. And his sudden appearance at the Tourney at Harrenhal unknowingly changes everything. (or just a crack fic about Rhaegar's 'cruel' twin brother and his shenanigans at the famed Tourney at Harrenhal)

Right Where You Left Me by TheSunsetStar - fanfic - 19/19

elia is dead in this one, but she's so important to the story and i love this fic, so it makes the list :)

Rhaegar's life is spared by the valiant intervention of Arthur Dayne, moments before Robert deals the fatal blow. With their lives preserved, Rhaegar and the remaining Targaryens seek refuge on Dragonstone, eventually making their escape to Essos. Regrettably, Rhaegar is forced to leave his eldest daughter behind. Left in the midst of her adversaries, Rhaenys grows up surrounded by those who view her as an enemy. As time passes, she becomes entangled in the treacherous game of thrones, particularly in the aftermath of Cersei and Jaime Lannister's public execution for their incestuous relationship. Caught in a web of schemes and deceit, Rhaenys finds herself compelled to employ similar tactics in order to ensure her own survival.

[ninjas-and-coffee]

Hi can I hear more about your retelling of Ninjago?

Yeah absolutly though im not sure what about it you'd like to hear so I'll just start from the beginning lmao.

(1: Way of the Ninja)The Pilots follow Kai and Nya who have heard stories about the undead rising and stealing people away in the dead of night. Nya believes it to be myth, while Kai is nervous and stays up late at night to keep watch. They go to a market near their village to sell weapons and wind up staying out too late, and get attacked by the undead. Kai briefly holds his own by using fire, before a set of figures in black descend from the trees and fight off the skeletons. Nya is stolen and Kai is badly injured, he's taken to the monastery of spinjitzu for healing and meets the others. He stresses the need to go find his sister and Wu shows up dramatically in the doorway to say that the underworld cannot be easily accessed by mortals and then asks how he got his fire. Kai doesn't know, just that he was born with it.

The story from here is Kai recovering from his injuries and inadvertently becoming acquainted with the other ninja. Kai also knows there must be another way into the underworld and goes through Wu's scrolls and finds one that says dragons can pass through realms. So all he needs is a dragon. Kai recklessly tries to perform a ritual fire dance/art to summon the Dragon of Fire (Protector of Flames) and is stopped by one of the others. Wu says that was dangerous because if he summoned the fire dragon and was deemed unworthy he would be killed. Kai is dejected but Wu agrees to teach him the Way of the Ninja. (roll credits)

(2: The Weaons of Destiny)After that Wu figures they should all find the elemental dragons and travel to the underworld to stop the skeletons from stealing more people. BUT, the ninja are young and inexperienced, so they need weapons to channel their gifts and use them properly so they go to each respective temple (where the original dragons were found, minus the dragons themselves.) to get their weapons. Weapons of prophecy only to be wielded by the new Protectors of the Realm. Kai doesn't care about the prophecy only Nya so when they near the temple of fire and he hears a voice he runs to it without backup. Garmadon taunts him, Nya is in peril, Kai fights the shadow by creating light with his element until Wu shows. He doesn't get Nya back she is taken by Garmadon and told to come down to his realm and fight him properly by the next dawn or she dies.

(3: King of Shadows)Kai and the others focus up and perform the ritual to summon the dragons. They are told they're not ready to become the new protectors of the realm by the dragons, but they will still help. Travel to the underworld, Wu goes to fight Garmadon while the ninja free the captives and fight the skeletons. Wu asks why he kidnapped all these people, and Garmadon needed collective energy of their will (souls?) to create a portal out of the underworld. And with Wu and the ninja down here he finally has enough power to do it. They fight over the portal, Garmadon escapes to an unknown realm, Nya and the other prisoners are saved, and they go back home. Now knowing that they saved the day, but with Garmadon in one of the sixteen realms it's only a matter of time before he shows up again to takeover/end Ninjago.

[I'll probably make another post about Season 1 or upload my google doc for this. Or feel free to ask questions. Ive got most of it mapped out up to season 5. And separate storyline for s8-10. Skybound and Hands of Time were giving me a hard time so i haven't figured them out yet :P]

[shreedle]

Hello! Would 23 and 26 be okay to ask about?

(From this ask game here.)

Hiya, thank you so much for the Ask! And of course it is okay!

23. What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

There's quite a few of these, but I'll talk about one of them. This is technically cheating since I had a whole RP blog dedicated to this AU, but things have changed and I haven't actually posted fics about this AU on AO3 yet.

I have a sorta-reverse-MMZ-AU (that I call Tartarus/Valhalla depending on which era it's in) that I've always wanted to write but I've struggled with. This AU is basically a "if X5 went even worse than the three endings" - basically, Eurasia hit the earth fully intact, Zero went Maverick in X5, and X did not survive, but Zero did.

I know what happened in between, but by the time the story would start, the planet is still screwed up, and Zero's the leader of Elysium, while Alia runs a resistance group from the shadows and ex-Elysian scientist Ciel is the figurehead. She eventually finds a badly-damaged (and later discovered to be amnesiac) X in the ruins of Eurasia and brings him back, and gets him working again. Nobody in the Resistance except Alia knows he's actually X, and she keeps it quiet because he really doesn't need that kind of pressure on him.

Axl is in this story, too, though his backstory is different given Red Alert never existed, and he becomes X's bestie (and more) while the latter tries to figure stuff out. Other major players include OC Reploids based off of Zero to replace the Guardians, a Wily descendant trying to fix the Virus problem, and a still-infected Zero trying to deal with X's sudden reappearance after nearly two centuries.

26. Do you ever “prep” your fics with outlines or warmups before you start writing, or do you just dive right in?

I have a super bad tendency to just dive right in when I start up a fic. If I DO make scraps, warmups, or outlines, they're usually extremely barebones. I might write a summary of the plot and talk about the major events that I want to happen, and that would be about it.

For example, for A Real Hero, I basically had this as my outline: -The summary that I used -Vent gets Model Copy X -Vent meets up with Aile and the Guardians -Vent and Aile destroy a Model W

That's it. Everything else came in after I had started writing it.

The only fic that I wrote a significant outline for was Dragon Star (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds), and that was because I wrote up what would've been an entire multi-episode duel, and if I didn't outline it, I would never get the duel figured out or written.

If I have a major AU that I'm writing fics in, like Svarga, I actually have quick one-sentence summaries of events that happened (such as stuff where you can do things differently in games). Like, for example, in X2, Xephyr still got all of Zero's parts, but they were stolen by the X-Hunters (in the game, it's either or). In X3, he ended up with Zero's saber and Doppler saved him in the end. And in X5, the Enigma destroyed the colony on the first try. There's more, but you get the gist of it.

[idle-starship]

Oh that's how you add titles. Anyway this is about Project Avalon and choosing a plot

Pardon my slowness in learning how to use Tumblr lol.

Ever since naming Project Avalon yesterday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that story. I have two ideas of where I want the story to go, and I'm kinda struggling to decide which path I want to take.

(Also reminder that this story used to be based on Arthurian legend, but it is not anymore, however I have yet to change the names of the characters.)

The first option is the one I've been working on for a few years, but keep running into roadblocks. It's about a rancher, Arthur, who joins this training camp for those who wish to become knights. There he meets, Lancelot, Dinadan, and Mordred. After freeing Merlin from her curse by pulling the sword out of the stone, Arthur and his new friends join her in her quest to take down the Shadow Elves syndicate. He also learns that he he only half human, his other half being Dragonkin, so during his journey he has to endure trials to help awaken his dragon abilities or... whatever. The dragonkin aspect is a relatively new addition to the story so I'm still trying to figure it out, lol.

The second path I could take is just focusing on the romance between Lancelot and Dinadan. Originally this version was just going to be their backstory, but truth be told I've focused more on these dorks than I have the rest of the story, and they've become comfort OCs of mine, so I'm tempted to just have the main story center around them. In this version it would make them the main characters instead of side characters, as well as other major narrative changes like making Lancelot a Prince and having them fall in love earlier than they would in the other version. To give a super quick rundown of the plot (since this paragraph is already too long): Lancelot (a siren) gets cursed and washes up on the shore of Dinadan"s (a faun) town. Dinadan helps him break the curse, and Lancelot helps him escape the shitty town. They become fast friends and eventually develop feelings, and that's about all I've got.

…Y'know... as I'm writing this out, I'm realizing that the first version is a lot more interesting than the second. I'll probably stick with the original plan of just having the second version be Lancelot and Dinadan's backstory and having them fall in love in the main story.

I apologize if this didn't make much sense or was very bloated and messy, I was very tired while writing this lol.

Anyway ignore the King Arthur tags I know the story's not Arthurian anymore but I gotta get that sweet sweet engagement agrfrgkfdgrhsr

[willinglyghoulified]

My Final Thoughts on DA:TV: A Detailed Review

I finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard at a crisp 80 hours. That's with doing basically all the quests and getting the best ending possible. I started a new character as well, but I'll be reviewing the game mostly on my first run since I haven't finished my second playthrough yet.

Details on my first playthrough:

My Rook: Harper Mercar (she/her), a mixed elf from Minrathos, no Vallaslin (Dalish tattoos)

Faction: Shadow Dragons

Romantic Interest: Davrin of the Grey Wardens

My Inquisitor: Annessa Lavellan, love interest to Solas

Companions Dead: 1

Major spoilers and my full review under the cut. Warning: it's ridiculously long.

The Graphics: Let's get this out of the way first because it's the first thing everyone sees. This game is CRISP. Like a McDonald's Sprite in a Styrofoam cup kind of crisp. The details in each biome and every piece of clothing and armor are appreciated. I absolutely loved looking at everything, especially taking it all in after traveling somewhere new. Every character looked amazing, and even Rook looked like she belonged there. You know how the character that you make always looks different than the other characters in the game? Whether the graphics are a little different or your character is a little bigger than everyone else or something? It's weird, right? Well, that doesn't happen in this game. Rook, even though I CREATED her, looked like she belonged there just like anyone else. It was refreshing.

The Gameplay/Mechanics: The fighting was pretty smooth. I can't complain about the combat at all, except that the block/parry system was a little lacking to me, especially as a Rogue, so I went through the whole game dodging instead. And on my second playthrough, I'm playing as a mage, and I have to say that the mages in this game are more badass than in the previous games. Their fighting syle is so diverse and quicker than I'm used to. The skill point usage was pretty nice, too. A little bummed than you can only get to level 50 though. As for the map, I was a little disappointed to find out that some areas are only available through particular quests and I couldn't go back for chests that I thought I could go back for. I also miss being able to travel with more than 2 companions. All the previous games allowed you to travel with 3 (although I'm not 100% sure about Origins). And as for the dialogue wheel, well... I think this is the biggest letdown of the game.

The Dialogue: This is the reason we were all here, isn't it? To form long-lasting relationships with interesting characters that we could write fanfiction about and obsess over. Well, I have news for some of you, and you're not going to like it. The dialogue in the game is incredibly lacking sometimes. Even the moments that are supposed to be funny weren't really all that funny. For example, in DA:I, you got to hear Solas bicker with quite a few companions. Or listening to Bull describe the way he would wear a shirt when needed was very funny to me, the way he talked about maneuvering his horns into the shirt. I can't think of a single time that I got that particular feeling of companions ACTUALLY getting to know each other, even at your base (the Lighthouse). Most of the choices you make in-game don't affect the way your companions see Rook. They will always wind up liking Rook. You'd have to actively ignore them in order to get their bond to increase because doing their quests, talking to them anytime they want to talk, completing quests with them in your party, or simply doing one of the main story quests WITHOUT them in your party will cause their bond to increase. The only time their bond decreases (besides the few moments where it says "blah-blah disapproves") is when you're faced with the decision on which city to save, either Minrathos or Antiva, and whichever one you don't pick, the companion from that city becomes Hardened. When they're Hardened, bond will be very hard to increase, they will not use support roles anymore, and some of their other abilities get stronger. And EVEN THEN, a Hardened character will still wind up forgiving you and their bond will slowly increase more as time goes on as long as you're doing the quests to help the city after it's Blighted. There's no room for disagreements or rivalries. There was one for a short time between Lucanis and Davrin, but it was quickly resolved after they talked it out. I'm just disappointed with how dull the dialogue is, and how rushed my romance with Davrin felt, too. I'm currently romancing Lucanis so I can't say that all the romances felt rushed, but Davrin's was... I don't know, a slow burn that turned into all of a sudden discussing their future together? Also, someone said that this felt more like a group therapy session than companionship, and I felt that.

The Companions + Varric and Dorian: There's a lot to say about everyone. I added Varric and Dorian as honorable mentions since they were past companions, but Solas needs his own section since he was so pivotal to the story. The companions in this game felt kind of stiff to me. Not in, like, the flavorless sort of way, but the "why is everyone getting along?" sort of way. I wish there were more disagreements instead of "and how does that make you feel?" or "it'll be okay, things like this happen, take deep breaths and put one foot in front of the other. You've got this." I mean, that's a GREAT dynamic to have, but I really was hoping for more rivalries. Instead, I started dating Davrin, Harding started dating Taash, and Lucanis started dating Neve. I felt like a matchmaker-therapist. I'm guessing that Davrin and Bellara would have been a couple had I gone with some other option, but that's just me making assumptions based on what happened so far. Anyways, here's what I thought about them individually.

Bellara - She's the sweetest person I've ever met. Also clearly ND and very self-aware. I saw some of myself in her, being scatterbrained and forgetful but determined to finish what she started and do everything to the best of her abilities. Her story was a very sad one, losing someone only to find out they're still alive just to lose them again. I can't imagine going through that. I wish they'd given us a little more detail on the Anaris situation, that was a little confusing and raised questions for me personally about the other Forgotten Ones. (I also haven't read all of the codex entries though, so I'll be exploring the rest of those soon.)

Davrin - Davrin likes to come off as a hard-ass, but I couldn't take him seriously as soon as the game labeled him as "Griffon Daddy" on his companion page. I fucking died. I admire how fearless he is, though. He's not afraid of death and, in fact, embraces it as a part of what he signed up for when he joined the Wardens. He doesn't falter, and he knows when he's too in his feelings and needs help making a rational decision. I wished the pacing for his romance was a bit better, but he overall is the kind of man that ties himself to you for the long haul, and death is something best avoided because he wants to reach that future with you.

Emmrich - What a sweet and dapper man Emmrich is. I will be romancing him next. I appreciate having an older bachelor option in the game. After all, it has been 10 years since the last game, and some of us have changed our tastes to fit our ages. Emmrich is a selfless individual who cares deeply about people even though he knows that everyone's clocks are ticking. He wants to see his friends live a meaningful and fulfilling life, and his fear of death makes him all the more relatable. I like thinking of him as a prodigy in his field even though his co-workers may find him as an oddball. And let's not forget Manfred. He's absolutely adorable. I had Emmrich give up Lichdom to save Manfred. He's wonderful. Manfred is 10/10, best character.

Harding (Lace) - Scout Harding was given much more character than she was originally presented in DA:I. Where she didn't reciprocate to flirting or jokes in DA:I, she appreciates those kinds of things in DA:TV. She's wrecklessly nice and caring. She wants to look strong, like she can do anything and doesn't need any help. She wants to be one one you can lean on for anything. She'll hold the weight of all her friends' worries and bury hers deep inside of her. Overall, she's the Cheer Bear of the Care Bear team. Her story was an interesting one and uncovered a lot about the dwarves and why they can't dream. The unfortunate thing is that she died in my playthrough, constantly repeating the words "Whatever it takes," to remind me that I'M the one that put the idea in her head to sacrifice herself. (Thanks, Harding. Thanks a lot...)

Lucanis - Lucanis is an interesting character. Right off the bat, he reminded me of a young Antonio Banderez. He walks softly and carries a big knife. His voice is like silk. He absolutely LOVES coffee (and based on that alone, he's my ideal man). I like Lucanis a lot, and I tried to romance him first, but I picked Minrathos over Antiva since my Rook was a Shadow Dragon, so I gave up on the romance because it would have taken too long for me. I also like that you get to know about Lucanis's family, unlike Scout Harding who only talks about her mother and we never get to see her. (If you romance her, does that change?) I also love the portrayal of Spite, his forced demon companion. He's hilarious, ngl. And the complete opposite of the quiet, composed Antivan Crow.

Neve - I was skeptical that I'd like Neve at all at first. She was a bit stand-off-ish to me. I find many detectives quite boring, though. It's a personal flaw. She also doesn't speak with a lot of emotion, and actively throws herself under the bus with comments like "yep that's what most people say about me," and "I get that a lot." It felt like she was actively flaunting her bad reputation and it kind of made me want to roll my eyes. After getting to know her more, though, I found out that that's just how she rolls. She really IS hunted by most of the corrupt magisters of Tevinter and a lot of Venatori leaders, because she helps the little people, frees slaves, brings the baddies to justice. I found out that she really is a badass and it's not just words but actions that backs that up. And in the end, she became one of my favorites because she was the one that was captured by Elgar'nan and used to control the Blight. She almost died, Blight coursing through her veins, and what did she do as soon as she was free? She yells, "GET OUT OF MY CITY," and fights alongside her companions. Her full name is actually Fucking Badass Neve Gallus.

Taash - Taash was a bit of an anomoly, and not just because they're a Qunari. I'm honestly happy that we had at least one Qunari companion. It's because they're the only character whose quests bounced between "holy crap, we're fighting a dragon" and "holy crap, this is an awkward family moment." Don't get me wrong: the portrayal of going through the self-discovery process of being non-binary was pretty accurate. But one quest, we're yelling at their mother to stop being such a bitch, the next quest we're fighting a dragon, the next quest we're feeding seagulls, the next quest we're fighting another dragon, the next quest we're saving their mother who dies anyways. (Not in that exact order, but you get what I mean.) However, pacing aside, Taash's quests stressed me out the most due to the sheer weight of expectation, both from themselves and their mother. They always had someone in their ear saying "you're this, you're that, you need to act like this, you need to act like that." And THAT'S what it's like for someone who's going through identity crisis. It can get so heavy that you think of suicide. Taash could have been on the brink of it before Rook helped them see that only THEIR happiness matters, not their mother, not the people in Rivain, not the Qun. All that aside, Taash is a straight-up badass. I'm just surprised at how young they are. Between them and Emmrich, the romance options definitely have a wide range.

Varric - I can't believe I called that shit early on. That blade went almost THROUGH his man, and he lived? NO WAY. Lo and behold, I called it. I just hate how we had to find out. Solas and his mind games. Aside from that, though... Varric was awesome as always. You could see it had been 8 years since the Inquisition. He was right when he said he had a good run, but I still miss him all the same. And I will mourn Bianca, too.

Solas Solas had to have his own section because he's the real main character here. This whole story was written for him, the Inquisitor, and the fans to have closure and you can't convince me otherwise. Solas, for all his flaws and terrible decisions, is still one of my absolute favorite and most beloved characters. I fell in love with him harder than my Inquisitor did. But the best thing about Solas is that he's (refreshingly) not your typical bad guy. Does he need to be stopped? Yes. But does he also need to be saved? Absolutely. Did he kill a lot of people? Yes. Did he relish killing those people? No. Did he do it for a greater good so that more people wouldn't die? Absolutely. The Evanuris have and always will be, the biggest threat in the world of Dragon Age. But he had to kill and sacrifice so many to even imprison them. It's wild to me that Rook and her team, no matter how many allies she had amassed, was able to take down the gods when Solas couldn't. But plot needs to plot, one way or another. The ending of my game was the good ending, where he tied himself to the Veil to keep it in place and he left with Lavellan to seek atonement. Finally, my Inquisitor was able to leave with Solas. Finally, Solas was able to share his time with someone after so long of walking alone. I bawled like a fucking baby. I couldn't have asked for a better ending. Seeing Mythal release him of her service, seeing him tremble and cry like a broken child, and that burden finally lift off of his shoulders, it hurt me deep down and I just wanted to cradle him. Over a thousand years of regret finally ended. What can I say? Solas will always be one of my favorite characters because of his incredibly strong duality.

The Story and Pacing Here it is, the final critique. The story itself was good. It had a lot of key points that provided a lot of clarity and closure. However, I'm pretty sad to find out that everything came back on the elves. Everything turned out to be the elves' fault, even if it wasn't THEIRS but their GODS. I hated that the most, after seeing what Thedas was like to the elves already. So many being slaves in Tevinter, so many living in slums in Kirkwall, and so many more scattered to the winds living in Dalish clans and attempting to recover what they could of their ancestors. Turns out, it was all the elves' fault all along. Smh. But those plot twists were twisting. And I was taken by surprise almost every time. So that was a huge plus for me. Discovering the history of the Evanuris was also fascinating because I eat up lore like my dog eats up everyone's Thanksgiving leftovers. My only concern was the pacing. It felt so slow in the beginning, and then once the ending came, I was like, "Oh, we're at the final quest already? Wtf?" Then the "last quest" turned into a loooonnngggg 3-part quest. It went from finishing up sidequests to fighting through an army of darkspawn to kill one god, a companion dying, getting majorly tricked by the dread wolf, having sex with my romantic interest, a tactical montage, more companions possibly dying, fighting through another army of darkspawn, Inquisitor and Dorian reuniting briefly, and killing the last god. After you kill the last god, there is nothing else. No more gameplay. There are credits, but you can't go back to the lighthouse and talk to your companions about the fight or your love interest to spend time with them. The rest is left up to the imagination, which is where us fanfic writers come in. But still, I would have loved for some aftercare after this game gave it to me raw.

Final Thoughts That's it. We're finally to the end. If you stayed around to read my ridiculously long review, thank you. I did have a lot of ranting to go over. Some of you know that I love Dragon Age just as much as I love Fallout, and this game is near and dear to my heart. Overall, I loved the game. I know it could have been done a lot better though. I'm disappointed that it only too me 80 hours to do everything and get to the ending because I'm pretty sure I put over 100 into Inquisition, but I just shrug and carry on. I got the closure I desperately needed in my Solas/Lavellan story and that's all I care about.

Pfft. Rook Who?

[megarywrites]

the writeblr garden spooky season prompts

day 3: creature(s)

— What animals/beings/entities exist in your wip?

other than your average dogs and cats (one of which is a cameo from my own dog) that appear in this story in particular, the only real creature that comes up is Kama, who is a sea serpent. As I'm in the middle of rewriting the first book, I haven't quite reached her again yet, because she gets introduced in the first chapter of book 2, snippet from the first draft below.

The sunlight, so dim and cold this far beneath the ocean's surface, winked out. I immediately withdrew from Mitha's minstrations, making myself as small as possible as I recoiled away from the impenetrable darkness rapidly coiling around us. Mith looked up, then around, her mild interest morphing into exasperation as she slapped at the shadow made solid. "Stop—" was all I was able to make out before her speech slipped into a language I had never heard before. Not the old tongue that Geros and even Sosta would use when the occasion called for it, but something...something even more foreign. The void relaxed, the coil loosening, the light returning to reveal a midnight-blue sea serpent. Looking as though it had been dropped right out of one of Pa's outlandish tales. My mouth fell open involuntarily as it swam around us, its pale blue eyes glowing slightly as it inspected me. Three translucent tendrils floated out before its gargantuan face, with bulbs emanating the same blue light as its eyes attached to the ends of them. I couldn't even begin to fathom how long its body was, but if I had to guess, the serpent could have ringed around the hedges that fenced in my home. Twice. It was covered in dark blue, barbed scales, though as it slithered closer to me, the color variation became more apparent. Throughout its face and along its spine, the scales were as dark as night, but the color transposed to the same shade as the surrounding water once they covered its barnacle-dotted underbelly. There were some patches of scales that shone on their own, matching its eyes and the bulbs. Several layers of spiny fins ringed its terrible face like a mane, with another lining its back, the spikes running through it coming to varied peaks. There were more fins along its sides and belly, undulating as it swam around me. It paused before me, staring down its bumpy snout with its huge, fish-like eyes. I barely resisted the urge to back up when the needle-like teeth jutting out of its mouth threatened to scrape my chin.

— Are they more lore or plot related?

Kama is unique in that she is both lore and plot related.

So, book one ends with Thala being thrown overboard and drowning, and book two opens with her being remade as a mermaid and given a second chance at life (atm, Second Chance is literally the title of the first chapter for book 2). Kama is the one who has the magical capabilities to do that (because of lore related things that i'll get into in a second), and she and Mitha work together to save women like Thala who die at sea. When Thala makes the decision that she wants to return to the shore and have her revenge on the people who brought about her and so many other women's demise, Kama is also the one facilitate her return to a fully human form.

Lore-wise...like I said above, Kama is a sea serpent, which are also called wyrms, and she is one of the four variations of dragons in Dracrie, which is my storyworld. Now, wyrms are the oldest creatures ever created in Dracrie, and they keep to the recesses of the ocean more often than not, so they have avoided the petty disputes between the dragons and the humans that brought about the breaking of the world. When the world was first formed, and the dragons being the first creatures that the gods (the Locsi) made, they were gifted some of the Locsi's powers of creation so that they could shape the realm to their liking once the Locsi grew bored and decided to retreat from Dracrie. The dragons shared their gift with the humans they eventually bonded with, but after the war and their exile, they stranded humans with their now unstable magic, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Kama, however, is different, but i'll get into why in the following question.

— Do any have a special connection to the human/mortal characters?

As I said above, the wyrms do not interact with humans if they can help it, aside from, you know, destroying ships for the enrichment of it all. Kama is the only wyrm in existence to have ever bonded with a human—Mitha. Their origin story is one that I'd eventually like to write a book about, but that won't be for many years. Mitha, which is not her true name but the one we know her by in the Seafoam books, originally hails from would become the island nation of Jou'eou, and she helped to nurse a beached young Kama back to health, and their unbreakable bond was formed.

When everything went to shit, Kama returned to save Mitha from certain death, taking her with her into the sea. They quickly realized that this wouldn't be sustainable with Mitha being in human form, so Kama used some of her magic to change her into the first mermaid, so that she could stay with her always.

To this day, they are the only remaining bonded pair of human and dragon.

[crystalelemental]

After five thousand years, finally I have reached Route 217 and can evolve my Eevee to a Glaceon. I wasn't sure I'd live to see this day, but finally the team is composed.

Wormadam fuckin rules, dude. It's put in a ton of work. Obviously, this is a comparative statement, but I'm legitimately impressed with how well Wormadam seems to be doing for itself. It's not a worldbeater, its typing and horrendous speed hold it back from that. But it's put in great work against the gym leaders. It swept Gardenia, was waiting in the wings of the Maylene fight with Psybeam and a resist to clear, finished up Wake whose Floatzel was running train on us (I was under-leveled, it's my own fault), and solo swept the majority of the routes between Sandgem and the place where you transfer Gen 3 Pokemon. I've been really happy with its overall performance.

Alakazam is, to the shock of no one, kinda nuts. I traded it to get Calm Mind at level 36, and while I haven't had to directly use it, its presence is a constant threat. I'm going with Psychic/Shock Wave/Recover/Calm Mind as the set, and it's handled what it needs to handle.

Lickilicky is alright but held back by early moveset. Broadly, it manages to do okay, but the main hangup is really just that it lacks its coverage moves. The bulk on evolution, in addition to the speed boost which seemed insignificant but was not, has really done it some wonders.

Which is more than I can say for my fail child, Houndoom, who is garbage. I'm sorry, this thing is a shitshow. Only learns physical moves, but it primarily special. I didn't even take a -Atk nature! I let myself be a bit flexible and took the first Mild Flash Fire I got, but holy hell, man! Constantly fails to KO, constantly dies, it's just been a mess. It functions, but not in any way that allows it to impress. Which is extra sad because I have this Flamethrower TM here, but I'm having a real tough time justifying it. Like, buddy, give me one reason to not just replace your ass with Giratina. Dragon and Ghost are open types on this team, and I love that thing.

Gastrodon is...fine. I'm not going to sing its praises, mostly because its stats must be bad, because HP Electric often barely managed to 2HKO Gyarados. It's quad effective, girl. Why are you struggling? Now that we have Surf and Earthquake, its STABs are putting in a lot of work, but I admit to feeling less than impressed with Gastrodon. I've teased the idea of switching back to Floatzel. But also I did give Gastrodon the Earthquake TM, so like. Probably need to commit.

And finally, the star of the show, Glaceon. I have not been able to use Glaceon yet for anything. I evolved it and immediately backtracked to level/EV farm on South Route 210. But I am definitely putting in as much work for Glaceon's sake as possible. Shadow Ball, Water Pulse, Ice Beam, and apparently its Hidden Power is Ground, which is honestly solid even if it's not the Electric I kinda hoped for. The funny thing about this Glaceon is, I trained Eevee up to Bite off of the Wayward Cave doubles with Mira, so she's super physically bulky, then trained a lot on Gastly so she's got a pretty respectable Sp Atk. She's not quite on par with Alakazam's Sp Atk, but she's putting in some damn good work for it. I'm currently EV training mostly speed, to capitalize on the Naive nature, and because Glaceon is otherwise just another slow option in the team of mostly slow options. She has the potential to be...well, not fast, but fast enough to surprise some opponents that need surprising.

For the future, I have definitely decided to replace Houndoom. I'm kinda frustrated with it. So it looks like I'll be running Heatran in post-game after all. Gastrodon's kinda here to stay because I invested in Earthquake, a decision I mildly regret, but had no other sane options to work with. Lickilicky and Wormadam are definite, while Alakazam...I'm tempted to change over to Cresselia or Mesprit, but we'll see.

[lubdubsworld]

Blackberry Winters.

Part 1

Check part one for warnings 💔

Part 2.

Namjoon stared at his mother, her words registering but not quite sinking in. He blinked, a couple of times and swallowed dryly, trying to gather his wits that felt like they'd been scattered to the four winds. There was a dull ringing in his ear, a feeling of impending horror and he had to fight to bring himself back to the present.

"She is...?" He couldn't even say it. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised the irony of it. It wasn't supposed to makes him feel that way. The reason he had taken her to bed was for this : a heir to take over the duties of the head alpha after him. And yet, he knew that he couldn't just ignore all the things that would come with having a pregnant mate. All the added responsibility.

At the heart of it , Namjoon was exhausted.

He had been trained for this position but it didn't make it any easier. His wolf yearned for solitude and serenity, peaceful quiet where he could contemplate life and all its mysteries but the duties and responsibilities kept piling up. He had no time to indulge in such whimsical fantasies. From daybreak to sundown, he drowned in problems that demanded solutions, issues that required his intervention and he was always giving so much of himself to so many.

It was as taking a toll.

And now here was the promise of another new soul. A pup. Fully dependant on him for survival. It was hard to be ecstatic.

" Why do you look so surprised? Have you not been sleeping with her?" She frowned, moving closer to the small wooden bench in the corner of the room. She sat down, primly adjusting the large swathes of her skirt. Even at her age, she was a beauty and despite being a widow, she was treated with great respect by all the wolves in the clan.

" I have... Of course...I just didn't expect her to ...so soon. " He muttered hesitantly. He made a quick calculation, Conceived at the end of autumn meant the child would be born at the end of summer. Rains and more rains. He would have to commission the weavers to make a lot of warm blankets and thick bedding for the babe. And make sure that all the birthing huts had their roofs mended. He felt an ache in his chest. He knew he had to have a heir. It was part of what he was responsible for. But he wasn't ready to be a father yet. Especially not with someone like her.

" You haven't been very subtle in your disdain for her, Joon. It makes me wonder of perhaps I have failed in teaching you the ways of a husband." His mother's sharp voice made him wince.

His parents had been deeply in love with each other. His mother had been an equal contributor in running the clan, his father's most trusted confidante. He couldn't imagine having something like that with the woman he had rather recklessly chained himself to for life. But he couldn't be openly defiant in front of his mother.

So he bowed.

" I've tried to talk to her mother. She looks at me like I'm some marauding villain."

Lady Kim scoffed.

" Because, for all she knows, you may as well be one. Think of who she is, how she was raised. Her mother died when she was eight and she has been keeping house for her father since then. It Is a miracle she knows how to read a few words and to write her own name. Old man Gong is unkind and cruel and I've only ever watched him treat her like an unruly dog that needed discipline and never like his own flesh and blood. She knows men to be cruel and powerful and capable of doing her great harm. Add to it your status as the head of the clan, of course she thinks you're dangerous. "

" am I to be blamed for her childhood now?"

" Don't be obtuse. That is not what I'm saying. I just want you to consider her upbringing, before you write her off as dramatic or hysterical. "

Namjoon sighed deeply.

" Alright, mother. I'll try to talk to her again. "

And he knew that he had to. If he wanted some semblance of peace in his life, he would have to make an effort with his wife.

----------------------------

Jiah sat by the haybale near the barn, cross-legged on the dirty floor as she watched Misu and Loshim, two of the stable boys tend to the horses. She stared at the careful way they brushed the large beasts, their tone gentle and soothing as they murmured reassurance to the agitated animals. She found it fascinating, how even an animal that powerful could feel fear and anxiety. It made her feel better about her own shortcomings.

From a very young age, she had known of her flaws. She was jittery, prone to cold sweats and breathing problems, easily frightened and absolutely terrified of confrontation of any kind. Her parents had been, to put it lightly, unkind. They had seen her as a burden, as something broken and useless and cumbersome and that had done nothing for her self esteem.

To make matters worse, they didn't let her attend lessons with the other omega girls, her education limited to scribbled writing on granite with chalk when her father was feeling bored or charitable. She could read a few words with difficulty . Could write her name out if you gave her some time and patience.

At first, her ignorance had been embarassing but over time she realised her education wouldn't serve her much purpose.

She thought of herself as something temporary and fleeting. Not meant to leave any lasting impression on the world. So it was alright if she didn't know what every other girl her age did. She was going to live and die in that hut near the boundary walls..... She would have no use for fancy words or exotic dances.

Or so she hd always believed.

So when the head alpha had asked for her hand in marriage, she had nearly passed out from her heart giving out.

Namjoon was seven years older, almost thirty winters old and she had only ever caught glimpses of him when he came to check on her father's watchpost occasionally. He was a tall man, strapping and intimidating with dragon eyes that glowed red. And one evening he had stopped by her side when she had been tending the beets and potatoes in the small vegetable garden out back.

He had stared at her for a few long minutes while she had sweated in nervousness and then he had promptly asked for her father. When the man had Stepped in and told her father that he was looking to make her his bride, the old man had been jubilant while Jiah had been confounded.

She hadn't wanted to say yes but she had been too much of a coward to say no. Besides, she didn't know if saying no would have any repurcussions....she didn't want to risk offending the literal head of the entire clan. What if they banished her? What would become of her then?

And so she had said yes. And here she was.

Mated to the man for life, her wolf connected to his and his mark on her neck and now....his child in her womb.

She felt the familiar stirring of panic, digging her nails into her palm to ground herself .

Jiah had long come to terms with the fact that her mind was not her friend. It sometimes tried to attack her , tried to make her feel irrational things. It convinced her that she was a bother, that she was useless, that she was a burden. It also tried to tell her that she was in danger, that she had to run and avoid and get away, even when she was perfectly safe.

When she had first come here as the head Alphas new wife, her brain had wrecked havoc on her senses. Had made her feel like a hunted animal, always cowering and hiding and trying to disappear . Namjoon had tried to be friendly, tried to be courteous and all she had done was hide and recoil, skin ice cold and words practically non existent. She hadn't said a word to him those first few days and even the bedding had been a nightmare, her entire body stiff as a board and she knew that he had probably felt like he was making love to a corpse.

She regretted it. Deeply. But there was not much she could do about it now. Besides she wasn't sure she even wanted to. It was obvious her husband's affections lay elsewhere. She had seen the way he looked at that courtesan. Had seen him sneak out for walks with her, had seen them huddled together in the room with all the scrolls and leather bound books.

Jisoo was a beautiful omega, well read and trained in musical arts. She played the gayageum and the flute, knew how to entertain guests with a perfect ceremonial dance and she was always at the helm of every festivity, dressed in vibrant fabrics and full of life.

She was also madly in love with Namjoon.

Jiah sighed, watching the horses paw at the dirty stable floor. She wanted to get to know her husband, yes. But she knew that even if she did, he would only find her wanting and inadequate in all ways.

And that was just not acceptable .

She maybe self aware when it came to her short comings but she also had her pride.

She would rather live like this. Tucked away like an embarassment, hidden like a dirty secret because then there would be no piercing gaze weighing her against her peers and declaring her broken.

Yes.

Pregnant or not, she wanted nothing to do with her husband.

------------------------

" Are you feeling well now?" Namjoon's voice startled her, eyes going wide as she looked around the resting quarters , gaze finally falling on the man standing near the large table on the side. Namjoon was bent over the rough oak surface , papers spread out in front of him, an oil lamp burning bright nearby, casting a sepia shadow on the man himself and she hesitated, debating the pros and cons of excusing herself to go see his mother instead. Maybe claiming a headache?

In the end she did neither, resolving to at least make an effort with this.

" I'm well, alpha. " She swallowed the lump in her throat. " I'm sorry for inconveniencing you. "

He straightened, turning around to look at her finally.

" Do you wish to move into another room?" He said briskly and she startled.

" Another room?"

" Now that you are with pup, there's no reason for us to keep sleeping together. I prefer having my own space. "

Jiah felt the blood rush through her ears. This shouldn't hurt but it did and she could feel the self loathing flood her senses. She stared down at herself, the lack of beauty and the utter lack of any kind of elegant upbringing. Of course he didn't want to stay with her any longer. What had she been thinking , agreeing to this farce of a mating?

" I... Alright. "

Namjoon turned away from her.

" Good. I've already arranged for all your things to be moved to the west wing , next to the gardens."

Far away from his rooms, Jiah thought bitterly. The sudden realization that Namjoon had been looking for some sort of brood mare and not a mate hit her . And it suddenly made sense that he hd picked her.

Someone easy to boss around.

Someone who wouldn't demand anything from him, loyalty or affection or attention .

And it irked her for some reason.

Why did he get to treat her that way? Why must she put up with it?

But she stayed quiet because she wasn't sure what to say.

" You can leave now, Jiah. " He said dismissively and she hesitated before stepping out of the room.

And she wondered if with her departure, someone else would be taking her place in his bed.

-----------------------------

Authors Note : would you guys like first person narrative or should I continue in third person? 👀

[tsarinatorment]

Book asks: 2. top 5 books of all time? 20. what are things you look for in a book? and 15. recommend and review a book. Please and thank you!

@bug-crimes, @burning-moths and @hadronkaleidoscope also asked for 2 and/or 15!

2) Top 5 books of all time?

This is a tough question and I'll definitely be cheating and encompassing series into this at times, but, in no particular order because picking five was hard enough in the first place...

JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Leaving this trilogy out feels like blasphemy so of course I have to mention it!

David Clement-Davis' Fell. This is actually a sequel to The Sight, but while I enjoyed that as well, Fell completely blew me out of the water!

Stephen Lawhead's Dragon King Trilogy. Lawhead has written a lot of very good books, but this was the first of his that I discovered, and it remains my favourite (if only pipping The Song of Albion by a slender margin!)

Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness. The sequel, This Present Darkness, isn't quite as good but the original book is incredibly complex and I greatly enjoy reading and re-reading it.

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddle's The Edge Chronicles. A childhood favourite of mine that I keep hopping back to again and again; particular shout-out to Midnight over Sanctaphrax in the Twig trilogy and The Last of the Sky Pirates in the Rook trilogy.

15) Recommend and review a book

I mean, you can consider any of the above as recommended because they're all fantastic, but for choosing something a little different I'm going to go with Dragon Orb by Mark Robson. Yes, I am once again cheating and going for an entire series here, but this series seems to be criminally under-recognised and if you love dragons and dragon riders it's fantastic. Reviewing this when I don't have it to hand and haven't read it in a few years is tough but I'll give it a go and review the first book in the quartet, Firestorm.

This series focuses on four teenagers, who in a world where dragons and humans co-exist, discover that they are bonded with a dragon. We are introduced to the world through the eyes of Elian, whose first meeting with his bonded dragon, Aurora, is filled with misunderstandings and showcases both the rarity of dragon riders within the universe and the honour associated with becoming one. Soon after, we meet Kira and her bonded dragon, Longfang, at which point we are introduced to the darker side of the universe - the existence of dragonhunters, whose aim is to kill and sell dragon parts for money. The introduction of the third teen, Nolita, really starts to accelerate the plot when the name of her bonded dragon - who she is rejecting out of fear - is revealed to be Firestorm, the titular character for the book. We are only briefly introduced to Pell, the fourth teen, and his bonded dragon Whispering Shadow, but it's enough to set them up for the second book (named Shadow and clearly based primarily on this pair). The general arc of this first book is based on bravery, specifically Nolita's as she faces her fear of her own bonded dragon in order to complete the first in a series of quests the group must face to save the Oracle, the being that gives all bonded pairs their reason for existing.

There are some serious oversights in the editing stages of both this book and the series as a whole, it must be said, but the premise of the story is engaging and absorbing, the themes within the books run deeply and have meaning beyond a superficial plot device, and the characters are all well-developed and easy to like. If you like dragons and dragon riders, this really is worth a read!

20) What are things you look for in a book?

An engaging narrator or main character. If I'm not getting on with the narration, I'm not going to bother reading it no matter how good the premise is.

An interesting premise - if it’s something that’s been done to death in my opinion and I’m sick of it, I won’t bother with it (if it’s a trope I love and am not yet sick of, that’s another story!)

Also solid world-building, especially in fantasy worlds. I prefer fantasy anyway, and things like Rick Riordan’s or Cassandra Claire's works which mingle modern day with an overlay of fantasy in particular have to be done right, but when they are done right, they're great!

Book Asks

[babygirlkiki1016]

Masterlist

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Company

"Do you have to leave?" Lani asked as she handed me my bag, she was always the nervous one.

"Yes, it's important. Take care of things while I'm gone, I have faith in you Lani. I'll be back before you know it." Lani was like a younger sister to me, the one always hiding behind the older one. While I was going to be missing, I put her in charge of the kingdom. She knew how everything worked, she was always there next to me when I was taking care of business anyhow. Of course, after a few days of traveling to the shire I wanted to turn back to see if she was alright, but I knew I had to keep going. And eventually, I stood in front of the green door with a dwarven letter carved into it. Taking a deep breath I knocked, and the voices I had heard went quiet. It's just a bunch of dwarves, nothing to be worried about. The door opened to reveal a hobbit, not as tall as me but he was up to my shoulders.

"Uh, c-come in." He steps to the side, and I walked forward, they must've been expecting me. Setting my bag down by the front door, I took in everything. It was small and cozy, I wish my home looked like this. Continuing on I came across the thirteen dwarves Gandalf had mentioned.

"This is Y/n Y/l/n, I believed she could be a wonderful asset to our quest." The raven-haired man couldn't keep his eyes off me, it was like he was dazed, now that I think about it every dwarf's gaze was still on me. Including a young man about my height, maybe even taller. I smirked, hello handsome, my cheeks burned a shade of crimson as I realized my thought process. Gandalf nudged the man to get his attention, and he snaps out of his trance.

"My name is Thorin Oakenshield, it is a pleasure to meet you, my lady." He bowed his head slightly, giving me a small smile.

"You won't be saying that in a few seconds," I muttered, Gandalf swallowed nervously as he said his next words carefully.

"I should mention, that Y/n is also...The Queen of The Digonisks. The Soul Of The Black Dragon." Everyone's eyes widened, but no one said a word except the blond man in the back.

"What's a Digonisk?"

"There dragons, and murderers." Thorin glared at me with a fire in those blue orbs. I just rolled my eyes, of course, that's what he thought of me. Yet how could we be the murderers when their kind slaughtered mine? "I want her out, that filth cannot come on this quest with us."

"'That filth' has a name you know, and for your information, it's not really up to you now is it?" I exclaimed, he went to protest but Gandalf held out his hand to silence him.

"She can help us Thorin, she has the ability to take down Smaug. She might be the only one who can."

"I don't care." He abruptly stood, not even a foot away from me. "Leave, or I'll strike you down where you stand." Silently, I conjured a dagger and placed right against his side making him gasp.

"You'll be dead before you can even draw your sword, you should be thankful I came to help. I could've easily said no and let karma continue it's pace. Especially after what your kin did to us, you took my home, killed my people! Your no better than Smaug himself. Now sit." I forced him back into his chair, his hand gripped tightly on his blade. He wants to play does he? Bring it on.

"Enough!" Gandalf stood, making the room fill with darkness. "I brought her along, and so she shall stay, if you try to lay a hand on her I won't hesitate to lay one on you." He was furious, but as he sat back down the room turned back to normal. Each dwarf was scowling at me, except the two in the back. Right, they don't know the history between us.

"It was nice meeting you, your majesty." I bowed, and turned back towards the door. "I'll be outside, tell me when we're leaving."

"Wait! You haven't even heard about-" Gandalf stands but I raise my hand, silencing him. "At least stay and listen." I stopped, I already new of their quest, there was no reason for me to be in this room. And none of them probably didn't want me to stay anyhow.

"You can sit by us." The man in the back offered, patting the seat next to him with a smile. The other's hissed at him but he ignored their comments, making my way to the end of the table, I sit between him and the blond. Both were slightly blushing, and staring at me with those beautiful eyes though trying to make it less obvious. Thorin continues to eat his stew, making very little eye-contact with me.

"Perhaps we could do introductions? I still only know two of the people in this room."

"Right, that would be best." Gandalf agreed, and he pointed to each individual as he named them off. "Here you have Thorin, the leader of our company. Bofur, with his brothers Bomber and Bifur, then Dwalin, Balin, Gloin, Oin, Dori, Nori and Ori. Then last but not least the two next to you, Kili and Fili." None of them seemed happy, if looks could kill I would've been dead the moment Gandalf mentioned what I was. When Gandalf named off Kili, he winked at me while slightly smirking. I winked back making him look away embarrassed, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked, looking over at his king, who nods.

"Aye, envoys from all seven kingdoms."

"And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hill say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked, Thorin hesitated as he stated his answer.

"They will not come." The other dwarves become visibly upset, I decided that this might take awhile. So I played with the little flame that came from my finger, it didn't burn me for I was immune to fire. I was in my own mind, my own little world while humming a melody.

"Can she please leave?" I heard Thorin whisper, leaning closer to the wizard. "She does not belong here." Gandalf knew nothing would get done if I stayed, so he gives me a pleading look. Happily I left the table, and headed back outside, it felt nice out here. Sitting on the pavement I watched the stars, they were a lot farther away now. My kingdom was high up in the sky, higher than the mountain of Erebor. It's far above the clouds where no eye can see, Gandalf made it that way with the help of my mother's grimoire. He made what's called a floating island, only digonisks and wizards can enter. I heard the hobbit door open, and out came Kili with a bowl of food.

"Here." Kili smiled handing me a bowl of stew. "I thought you would be hungry, so I brought you some stew."

"I'm not eating that, especially not from a dwarf." He slowly brought it back to himself, he seemed upset for some reason.

"It's not poisoned if that's what your worried about." He muttered, sitting down next to me. "Here I can test taste it." He quickly took a bite, showing that it wasn't fatal. He handed it back to me with a look of hope.

"Thank you." I took it from him, and hesitantly took my first bite. It tasted delicious, even my people didn't have soup made like this. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Ah no, Bombur made it, mostly for us but I figured you were hungry." Well at least he had some manners, he's certainly more nicer than Thorin. "Don't worry about my uncle, he just, he told me why he hates your kind. Even though that happened, you weren't the one doing the killing."

"Of course he's already spreading rumours." Kili glanced over at me with curiosity. "How about you hear my side of the story. Believe which ever one you want, it won't matter." Cause soon my people will be set free, and each and everyone of you will be filled with guilt. "My kin aren't killers, the village of Hargen had been over run by orcs. We were the first ones to respond to the crisis, and we had driven out the enemy. Yet when the dwarves showed up, Thror believed it to be us who slaughtered them. That wasn't the case, blinded by rage he started rumours about us, saying we weren't peaceful and that we were murders. There already had been rumours, but that was mostly because Digonisks are extremely powerful. The people of Middle Earth knew that if we tried, we could over power them. When they started making rumours, they thought that we would go hide in the shadows. Yet we stilled stayed strong, and when that wasn't enough..." A single tear slipped down my cheek, the horror that occurred in that building was enough to make someone insane. I quickly wiped it away, I can't let him see me weak. "...The dwarves became the true monsters, them and mankind had invited us to the grand ball. I was only a child then, but I remember I was so excited to see the tiny men that roamed our world. Most of us had showed up, and when the doors closed the explosions started."

"...I'm sorry you went through that, but if you hate dwarves so much. Why come and help us?"

"There is something in that mountain that proves my kin is innocent. Reports from Thror himself about what really happened that day. And I intend to find it, so my people can be free once again. That's the main reason why Gandalf brought me here, he showed me a letter from Thrain. Explaining where to find the reports." He looked back to sky, wondering what to say next. I continued to eat my stew, and once I was finished he offered to take the bowl from me.

"Come back inside, surely if you explain to my uncle what's in that mountain he won't hate you as much." I hadn't thought of that, but what if he decides to go burn the papers before I get there? Though he seemed like a respectful man, and if we are going to be working together on this journey then he has to see me as an ally.

"Alright, might as well give it a try." He smiled and grabbed my hand dragging me along with him. "K-Kili wait!" He seemed more excited than I, as we passed each dwarf grimaced at the sight of me.

"Uncle!" Kili exclaimed catching Thorin's attention, he immediately separated our hands. Stepping infront of his nephew he pulled out his sword, pointing it at my neck.

"I suggest you put that thing away, wouldn't want a wizard and a Digonisk fighting you now do you? I have come to show you something, it might make this trip a whole lot easier." He didn't budge, reaching into my cloak I pulled out the same scroll Gandalf had brought me. Thorin slowly took it from my hands and undid the ribbon, his eyes widened in shock at his father's handwriting.

"How did you get this?" He looked back to me, he had hope that his father was alive.

"Gandalf gave it to me, it's the main reason I'm here." Thorin seemed to be more at ease with me in the room now. Did he actually believe his father's words?

"What does is say Thorin?" Balin asked coming closer, Thorin couldn't believe his eyes. Gradually he handed the scroll back to me, and all I saw was remorse in those blue orbs.

"It was written by my father, he says that in my grandfathers room the truth about her kind remain. The real reports about what happened that day in Hargen, if this is true then..." He couldn't finish his sentence, a thousand emotions appeared at once.

"This doesn't mean anything, it could be a lie. Those reports could show something different, but we still don't know if the evidence lies in the mountain." Dwalin interrupted, making the furious look on Thorin's face return. Well so much for that, Gandalf sighs in disappointment. Even he had hope that Thorin would be reasonable, I went to head back outside but Thorin grabs my arm.

"If your coming with us, then you have to sign the contract. I won't be responsible for your death, nor do I feel like dealing with a bunch of angry dragon slayers." Balin, kindly handed me a piece of paper, inside read the rules and what not. They would not be responsible for anything that happens to me, which was fine but if I were to die who would set my people free?

"I want to add something to this, if I am to go on this journey and I die. You must set my people free, get the reports from your grandfather's room and show everyone that my people are innocent. That is all I ask." He seemed shocked at my request, although I didn't want to trust him with this kind of task it was the only way my people would be safe after I'm gone.

"Get me a pen." He grumbled, using my magic I summoned an ethereal white feather. He watched as I wrote down my terms and signed it, then when I handed him the pen he couldn't help but stare at it. It glowed brightly in his hand, never had he seen something like this. After examining it he signed his name on the line, then handed the pen to Balin who signed it as a witness.

"Welcome, Queen Y/n to the company of Thorin Oakenshield." He smiled, that made me feel somewhat welcome. At least he has manners like Thorin's nephew, maybe all dwarves aren't so bad.

"Your welcome to stay inside, get as much sleep as you can. You'll need it for the journey ahead, I have a feeling we're going to be needing those wings of yours." Gandalf suggested but Kili and Fili perked up at his comment.

"Wings? She has wings?" Kili asked coming closer, taking off my cloak I spread them. "I didn't even realize the you could fly!"

"They look a lot smaller when folded, but yes I have wings. There easy to hide under a robe, and not very noticeable." He reached over to touch them, I flinched slightly as his fingers ran over the scales.

"May I?" Thorin asked with a light blush on his face, how could the king under the mountain have rosy cheeks? I nodded, watching him cautiously as he ran his hand over my skin. He let out a small smile as he stretched them farther to get a better look. "They're huge, how could they be so small when tucked away?" He muttered, but when he realized he was getting a little into this he stepped back. That stern look returning to his features. "Get some sleep." That was the last thing he said before walking away, at least he's somewhat warming up to me. I settled in the corner of the hobbit's house away from everyone else, surrounding myself with my wings to keep me warm. After a few minutes of silence, I heard voices again except this time it was the dwarves singing a song. "Far over the Misty Mountains cold. To dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day. To find our long-forgotten gold." Thorin's voice was most audible, and for some reason, it soothed me.

"The pines were roaring on the height, the winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread. The trees like torches blazed with light." I sang along, which made the dwarves silent. The song wasn't unknown to me, everyone outside of the shire knew the story of Erebor. After a moment they sang along after I joined, but softer than before. Maybe because they loved my voice? Or maybe my voice soothed Thorin and he wanted to hear more, as he reassured me.

@fili-is-my-lover @lunariasilver @kirenia15

[anime-onlys]

Spring '21 anime list: What I tried, what I'm watching, and first impressions!

Shaman King (2021)

I hadn't heard about this show until the reboot was announced, and it seems neat so I'll give it a shot! Hesitation isn't quite the right word, but I am watching cautiously because there's a lot about early 2000's anime that should stay in the early 2000's. I'm prepared to take a certain amount of product-of-its-time-ness, but only so much.

I really like its unique visual style. It feels like it's got a similar vibe to Soul Eater and TWEWY with its chunky proportions and face design, and the squash-and-stretch animation really lends itself to comedic moments. I feel like there are some eminently cosplayable designs in my future.

Character-wise, it's only been one episode but I'm taking a liking to Yoh. Based on the OP I hope that Ryuu will be an early-antagonist-turned-loudmouth-friend like JJBA's Okuyasu or Sk8's Shadow. That's one of my favorite character tropes.

The World Ends With You the Animation

My friend is a huge TWEWY fan, so our group was really looking forward to this anime. I saw a little of the gameplay when the Switch version was released, up to the end of episode 1's plot. I know it's going to be excellent story wise, and I already may be planning on making cosplay of that Reaper with the skeleton hoodie.

I love a unique visual style and an awesome soundtrack, of course TWEWY already had that coming in. The CGI Noise are a little clunky, but allow for some really great fight sequences. The characters' CGI models are nearly seamless with the 2D. It feels like the plot is moving fast, but according to my friend they just skipped some fetch quests and puzzle solving that wouldn't have been interesting to animate.

I'm really looking forward to this one each week!

Dragon Goes House-Hunting

One of those "eh, we'll give it a shot" shows. A bunch of us have been eyeing real estate lately, so at the very least it's topical. If done right, the concept could be fun!

We spent most of the episode HATING the dragon's character design. Its proportions are just...awkward in every way. The neck is extremely short and thick and leads into a human-muscled torso, the arms are tiny twigs, and the legs are a little too human and a little too thick to be anything but unnerving. It's bad.

Oddly, except for the dragon, the rest of the creature designs are pretty great! In contrast to a lot of anime, they let them be really non-human and had a good design sense. The humor was solid, the Monster Hunter references were on point, and the character interactions were fun. The OP is GREAT, too!

We'll be continuing this one! If you can make your eyes stop hating you for forcing them to look at the Monster Factory reject of a dragon, I'd say give it a shot.

You Can Make A Mug Too

Now that Yuru Camp is over, we wanted another lighthearted anime that might teach us something while it's at it. You Can Make A Mug Too was one of our picks to sample because one member of anime night has recently acquired a kiln.

My impression is an approving but unenthusiastic "Fine, really." You can definitely tell it's an anime made to bring in tourism to the town it's based in. The characters don't really grab me, but they set up a solid emotional backbone for the story. The production quality isn't stunning, I was hoping for some nice pottery wheel animation but didn't get any.

It's probably a decent show, but we won't watch any more because of the next one on the list.

Supercub

Going straight from You Can Make A Mug to Supercub was like going from store-brand ice pops to fresh gelato. I can already tell this is my favorite anime of the season, hands down.

First, the production quality is excellent. The backgrounds are beautiful, the score is understated but well done to the point that Debussey's Clair de Lune felt like it had been made for the scene it was used for.

More than the production quality alone, this anime's direction is exceptional. It takes 'show don't tell' and uses it perfectly, using body language and soundtrack and shot composition to communicate as much or more than the sparse dialogue. Like, they made my heart skip a beat with nothing but color grading. THAT kind of exceptional.

I haven't spoken much about the plot because I really have no idea where it's going to go. Will we fill in why Koguma is so alone, or will we only move forward to seeing her connect? Will the past of that Supercub come back to haunt her? This feels like an anime that can and will absolutely wreck me, but at the starting line all I can say is I'm READY.

If you only watch one thing this season, watch Supercub.

Continuing anime:

My Hero Academia Season 5:

This season is interesting because for the first time, I think I'm going into it with almost zero spoilers (Dabi's real name is the only one I have). The only plot spoiler I thought I had, that Hawks was somehow working with the League of Villains, was revealed at the end of episode 1. I really enjoy going into things blind so I'm looking forward to this season!

However, the OP is the most disappointing thing out there. Nothing about the song, animation or composition is memorable or even noteworthy. Bones and MHA have access to all the money and talent in the industry and they best they can do is "Fine, I guess".

Yuukoku no Moriarty season 2 (Split cour):

I really enjoyed Moriarty's first season, but the second part of a split-cour always has the risk of running off the rails. What I enjoyed most about the first cour was the reverse-whodunit formula: Here's a terrible noble and the people they hurt, how does Moriarty get rid of them while making it look like an accident? The end of cour 1 started to focus heavily on Sherlock and I don't want the show's namesake to end up sidelined.

Knowing Irene was coming, I was really hoping for a Scandal in Belgravia that follows the books...at all, where the end of the story is that Irene escapes with the photo (except this time aided by the Moriarty brothers). Few or no Sherlock adaptations actually want to engage with the sexism of the era or today's, and just want to paint her as a blackmailer or temptress instead of a woman holding onto the power to protect herself. The beginning was extremely promising, but that went off the rails pretty quick. I still haven't yet seen an adaptation of Irene Adler that I like.

Zombieland Saga: Revenge

I watch this show because it's fun and ridiculous, and I get to hear Mamoru Miyano having the time of his life in the recording booth. I love this show because it always ends up surprising me with its solid emotional backbone. It looks like this season is shaping up to be more of the same!

What blew me away was this episode was the first time I saw a CGI dance sequence that I LIKED. Ever. The characters used different mocap so they weren't eerily in sync, the song and dance itself was well made and supported by excellent camera direction and shot composition, there were 2D cuts to closeups of the dancers as well as audience, and they actually pushed facial expression!

It's a good time. Give it a shot.